full image - Repost: OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 087 (from Reddit.com, OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 087)
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~First~ (Sorry it’s late, had a conversation with my dad and I just learned all the details of this years camping trip. It’s a distracting subject.)A Scion of Many WorldsThey had arrived far earlier than expected so the snake tamer show wasn’t for another hour. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty to see though. The Chaotic Quintet had sniffed out, possibly literally, the aquarium portion of the zoo and right now...“Seven laps now.” Zaviah says as she watches all five of the tiny Nagasha race a small school of brightly coloured fish around a circular tank. It was in the style of a large pillar so you could walk all around the habitat.Or in the case of the girls, race numerous fish simultaneously as your extremely amused mother recorded it.“Think they’re going to keep it up until they’re dizzy?” Emmanuel asks.“They’re going to make me dizzy at this rate!” Zaviah exclaims and he chuckles.“Hey, what’s that breed?” Mary the Second asks and Emmanuel turns, knowing full well what’s there.The tank she’s indicating has crystal clear water and several bright blue fish in it that are trying t butt up against their reflections against a massive mirror. There’s a sigh from Lady Ailure. As he crouches down to be closer to the two girls.“So what would you do if I actually vanished into that mirror?”“Are you going to?”“No, but what would you do?” He asks genuinely curious.“Uh...”“Making things up as you go is a good way to end up with a tangled mess behind you. At the very least have what I had, which is a general idea of what you want and something to work towards. That way even if you can’t come up with a plan in time you have a general direction you’re working towards. You two think getting rid of me will help? Well, what will it help? What do you both actually want?”“Both of us?”“If you have an idea that you both want the same thing, or things that don’t bump into each other. So what are you both actually going for?” Emmanuel asks as the eighth lap is completed and the quintet are starting their ninth. No sign of exhaustion in the fish or the little serpent girls, so the race must continue.“I...” Oleana tries before sharing a look with Mary. “I just want things to make sense again. Everything changed and you went from the big problem to the big answer and it doesn’t make sense.”“Hmm... well I think your education has worked against you a bit. You’ve been trained to fight, trained to solve a lot of problems with swords and spears. This problem though needs you to think it through, to understand and plan around it.”“But... but that doesn’t solve anything, all the changes are still in place.” Oleana protests.“Not all change is something that can be undone. In this case is it something you want undone? Numerous famines and droughts have been broken, peace negotiated and medicines delivered. There would be a lot of death and misery on Lakran if what I did was undone.”“So you say, but we haven’t seen that. Lady Margri kept me in the southern forests to aid her in her patrols and Lady Dalrin is on the guard of the Southern temple. The same temple that SHE assaulted and YOU broke out of!” Oleana explains before pointing at Magrica and then Emmanuel.He then turns to Mary the Second and smirks. “Is the fact that I put on so much weight what’s turned you against me?”“You looked like a strangely formed Urthani, now all Urthani are strange. Because of you!”“Yes. And even if some black hole was going to open up, swallow me whole and I was gone forever, that wouldn’t change. The change has been made. You can either run from it, or learn from it.”“But... it’s not fair.”“How is it not fair?” Emmanuel asks. “Things change all the time and everyone has to deal with it. Things changed for me, things changed for your mother and everyone on Lakran. Things are changing on this station even now for everyone that lives here, and that’s just because we’re visiting.”“Really?”“Yes really it...” Emmanuel says and there’s a flash of light as Zaviah finds that camera he’s been ignoring and she lets out a cheer. The quintet abandon their race and swarm around her to get a good look at the vaguely insect shaped camera drone.“So that makes two buys I owe you.” Emmanuel calls over.“I’m going to make you regret ever bringing me out in public.”“Trying to shame a man with military training is a bold move little lady, do you really wanna see how this pans out?” Emmanuel calls over.“Bring it!”“Alright then, consider it brought.” Emmanuel says before turning back to Oleana and Mary. “Anyways I think you two need some time to think. But seriously, stop following your first assumptions and go with things. When I first woke up on Lakran I thought I was captured by a crazy cult and in mortal danger. But you both can easily tell me the Grand Midwives are anything but. Well... maybe some of them. But such a large organization will have one or two crazies in it.”“Oh? And who’s the crazy in the grand midwives?”“I dunno, it’s a generalization. More something to brace myself in case I ever run into a crazy. I haven’t met one, but someone irrational is rarely hard to find.”“Like you?”“You think I conquered a planet by being rational?”“You admit it?!” Oleana demands.“Why wouldn’t I?” He asks.“... Oh sweet goddess just what am I going to have to do to make this man squirm?” Zaviah asks in quiet horror.“I dunno tiny, but I can’t wait to find out!” Magrica says with a laugh.“I’m nearly twice as tall as you.”“And yet you don’t live half as large!” She replies. “Anyways, I can’t fight anything here so I’m pretty bored and...”Magrica pauses and puts a hand on her stomach. “... These two are going to be ripping the wings off grand gliders before they’re ten at this rate.”“There’s a reason why I double checked that the station and the shuttle we used to come here had a well stocked medical section.”“Afraid I’ll pop any moment?” Magrica teases.“Something like that.” Emmanuel admits.“Oh don’t be. I’ve seen and helped out with the older women of the tribe as a little girl. I know what it looks like. I’ve got a bit more roundness in store. Unless they’re going to be really, really small. But that’s plenty rare.” She says and he nods.“Hmm... I suppose it should be expected.” Morgana mutters to herself.“What’s this?” Horace asks crouching down to be closer to the mad scientist spider woman. She indicates the drone that Zaviah let her salvage. She has already pulled out most of the parts and is holding up the transmitter.“There’s not been a lick of Protn in either drone brought to me. Which with this means it’s been working off the local systems. Unfortunetly as these bits don’t have internal batteries or memory banks I can’t backtrack the frequency.”“There’s an easy answer to that.”“Yes I know, it’s why I told Zaviah that if she breaks the one in a way that leaves the transmitter intact that I’ll owe her a small favour as well.” Morgana says before smiling. “No doubt whoever’s doing this is just curious, but I doubt they’ve put it together that non-cloaked cameras and legally placed cameras are all being left untouched.”“If they go through enough drones before figuring it out they might scream in frustration so loudly we’ll be able to track them from that alone.” Horace says in amused tone.“I doubt it. Few races can scream through bulkheads and be heard.”“But at least one of them calls Lakran home and may have a very curious member of their species looking into it.”“You think our little spy might be a phosa?”“Possibly. But... I was just theory crafting, it could be any species. For any number of reasons too. Honestly? If I were to put my money anywhere, seeing as they seem to be made of local parts and on the local network, meaning cheap to mass produce and make. I’d wager we have someone not well off, curious and not very wise. So maybe a child?”“Hmm... well the materials are of fairly low quality...” Morgana admits as she quickly pulls out several more parts and holds them up. “But that’s only compared to the highest quality materials, that level just before you start special ordering your screws and bolts with very specific alloy percentiles.”“I see.”“Again, this type are locally crafted by a few factories in the production portions of the station. Nothing exciting.”“Do either of you believe these drones to be a true threat or merely someone more curious than polite?” Lady Clarity asks as she interjects herself into the conversation.“More curious than polite. What they’re doing is bad manners and little worse than that. It’s why it’s a game of it and not something we’re dealing with right away.” Horace says.“He’s right, I know where they are more or less immediately, but none of them could even harm one of the little ones, let alone myself.”“I dunno, if they tried bonking each other with one they might.” Horace teases.“They’re not quite that chaotic. They do know not to hurt each other.” Yserizen notes leaning over to join in.“Then no, these things are no threat. The only difference between these and basic off the shelf camera drones is that these ones have a very basic cloak on them. Very, very basic. On the level where they wouldn’t be approved for a drone specified to observe animals.” Morgana says. “They are built well, but the only thing exceptional about them is that they’re cheap and easily made.”“So could you teach me how to make them?” Zaviah asks and Morgana smiles.“I would love to. We’ll even use the parts of the ones you hunt to show you.”“Alright, so that’s my favour then.”“Oh nono, I am pleased to teach. I love it. Save the favour for something else.”“What do you mean?”“You’ll think of something.” Morgana states.“Look at that one!” Slimizz calls out as she points out to a bright yellow marine mammal that is mimicking her movements and the other four start moving along with her and they’re quickly dancing with the miniature whale.“So we still have time until...” Zaviah begins.“Calling in a token?” Emmanuel knows where she’s going. She points to a nearby plaque and he raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”“Yes.”“Alright then. Did you bring a bathing suit?“No...”“Alright, that’s part of the token. We’ll need to take a few minutes to get you one.” He says.“Really?”“Really.”•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•She hits the water in a concentrated dive. On the other side of the glass she can see them all. The little Nagasha girls cheering and swaying as the small whales start swimming around her. She had been warned that the tanks were actually a lot bigger on the inside she turns around and sees entire pods of the playful beasts and they butt up against her gently. Friendly clicks and squeals as they dance around her. Playful and kind.The choker that went with her new bathing suit kept her lungs filled with clean and fresh air, but also allowed her to swim down with ease. The goggles let her see as she all but dances around the creatures that have never been on Lakran and might never be on Lakran.What she does now, no Queen of Miru has ever done before. She swims further down and several of the friendly beasts nuzzle up. She gently holds on and they start swimming with her. Letting her ride the small whales underwater.She exhales a huge lungful of water and cannot keep the smile off her face. She can see Yserizen speaking to an employee of the zoo and indicating herself and her daughters. It looks like she’s the first one in the water and far from the last in her group.She sees him there. The big, terrifying moth image she held fades away as the water makes her vision ripple. She doesn’t really remember where that image first came from. She can... almost forget ever being angry at him. He waves at her, the fur hides the details but the way his eyes are bunching up ever so slightly tells her he’s smiling.She waves back at her Dad.~First~ Last
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