Chapter 6

Cyrus went on to explain to Daegnon a more complete definition of being a captain. The Goblin eagerly listened, learned, and seemed to embrace his new title. Then, with a handshake—a gesture apparently uncommon among Goblins—they confirmed their roles and officially formed their alliance.

Extending his right hand to the Goblin, Cyrus explained, "It's a handshake, a way of confirming an agreement."

Daegnon’s brow ridge lifted inquisitively. Goblins didn’t have facial hair, at least not that Cyrus had seen, so it was strange watching the muscle underneath the brow move so distinctly. The Goblin slowly extended his hand forward, watching closely to see what Cyrus would do.

Cyrus chuckled and gripped the small outstretched paw in his own. The Goblin's hand felt extremely unusual. He wasn’t a big fan of touching other people, so he wasn’t the greatest judge, but the Goblin’s skin felt a little too rough while at the same time slightly oily. There was also the differing number of fingers, which together gave the sense of shaking the hand of someone other than human, which was obviously something Cyrus obviously had never done before.

Shaking another human’s hand had a certain feel to it, but since the Goblin's hand was slighter, skinnier, and had its joints positioned differently, the contours felt distinctly alien. Cyrus didn’t let Daegnon notice any of his feelings about the shake though, and gave the Goblin’s hand a firm squeeze and a light shaking movement.

Daegnon, for his part, after a couple of up-and-down motions, latched on firmly as well and joined in with the shaking. Since Cyrus was not the touchy type and Daegnon knew nothing of human customs, they pumped right along, shaking for an extended amount of time. So long, in fact, that Daegnon didn't notice when Cyrus released his hand and was gently trying to pull away.

The handshake lasted for almost a minute, and it quickly became uncomfortable for Cyrus, who was unused to prolonged physical contact. Finally, he could take it no more. He withdrew his hand more forcefully than usual, saying, “Okay, that’s enough. Thanks, Daegnon.”

“Thank you, Cyrus!” Daegnon replied, his demeanor obviously enlightened by his new title and his first handshake experience.

The two then stood and walked to the closest Goblin, feeling much more comfortable around each other now. “This is Prayda,” Daegnon said as they arrived. “He good at talking, sneaking, and sticking pointy things in people’s backs.”

“Okay… those are interesting qualities,” Cyrus replied as he took in the Goblin lying on the table. There wasn’t much that was overly distinguishable about this Goblin that Cyrus could discern; he had the same green-hued skin, the long bat-like ears, and blocky webbed feet. The only thing really different about him was his nose. Rather than the roundish nose that Daegnon had, a nose also shared with the thick Goblin that had attacked him before, Prayda’s nose was long and came to an almost unnatural point.

“His nickname is ‘Silver-tongue’ from clan. He always go on trades. He talk the tall-folk into anything,” Daegnon continued.

“So he’s good at communicating. That can be useful,” Cyrus said, looking at where Hoshi’s Goblin face was displayed on the wall across from the platform they stood alongside.

“Once the ship is up and running, communications and trade will be essential. For now, his abilities may not prove to be the most useful. We can place him in stasis for now unless Daegnon feels he would have some other, more technical skills,” Hoshi said in a somewhat metallic voice, giving Daegnon a viable option as to whether to wake this Goblin or not.

“By chance, do you think he’d be any good at fixing things?” Cyrus asked, not exactly knowing yet what all needed to be repaired.

Daegnon rubbed his chin in a very human-ish way. “Probably not. He never do good at digging. He do okay at catching grubs though.”

“Okay, then I think we should leave him here sleeping. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to be able to help us fix the ship right now, and it’ll be one less mouth to feed. Is that okay with you, Daegnon?” Cyrus asked his Goblin captain.

“He will just sleep here?” Daegnon asked in return.

“Stasis will slow the body’s metabolism down to an almost imperceptible rate. While I can’t be absolutely certain without proper scanning and tests, a Goblin should be able to remain in stasis for several years before suffering any damage,” Hoshi informed the two.

“Okay, so Prayda will stay asleep, even though he might look dead. The ship will keep him alive; he’ll just be in such a deep sleep that it might not look like he’s going to wake up,” Cyrus explained. “But when we need him and his skills, we can wake him up like nothing happened. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, that is an accurate description,” Hoshi’s voice rang through the room. “He will be perfectly preserved until his skills are required.”

Daegnon looked concerned and took a long moment to think about all that had been said. This was his first real decision as captain, and he didn’t want to make the wrong choice.

He thought about Cyrus’s explanation and the assurance from the ship's spirit, or AI as Cyrus had called it. The human seemed genuine and had been truthful so far as he could tell. Daegnon realized that they were all in the same precarious situation, so it made sense for Cyrus to be honest about their chances and capabilities when working together.

Also, the image of his ancestor on the displays had been accurate, and the spirit had spoken with knowledge of his clan's past, which furthered Daegnon’s trust that Hoshi and Cyrus were telling the truth and would be allies.

It also occurred to Daegnon that keeping Prayda asleep did seem like the best idea. He had heard that some people could sleep for years without waking up. Then, when they did finally arise, they had to ask what had happened and why things were so different. He supposed that if he had to explain to Prayda later on why he had been left to sleep for so long, it wouldn’t be too hard to explain. So, as long as he was safe, which Hoshi guaranteed, then it would be the right decision for him to stay asleep.

“Yes, Prayda can sleep, as long as you say he’ll wake up,” Daegnon told Cyrus and looked at the image of Grubnash in turn.

“Okay, I promise that as long as we survive, he will be safe and will wake up when we need him. Is that good enough?” Cyrus asked, making a small X across his chest.

Daegnon didn’t understand the gesture but figured it must be a human thing, so he just snorted and nodded, satisfied.

Cyrus and Daegnon watched as a semi-opaque layer of tangible light created a shield around Prayda and the platform he was lying on. It wrapped around the entire structure, forming a tube of lightly glowing blue-tinted light.

The inside of the tube then filled with a slightly darker blue mist. The entire thing looked extremely cold. Then, a circular hole opened in the wall closest to where the platform was floating, the opening suspiciously close to the same size as the tube of light now encircling the Goblin.

Daegnon’s eyes went wide, and he began to lunge forward, but Cyrus laid a firm hand on the Goblin’s shoulder. “It’s okay, this is the stasis part. Think of it like he’s being frozen, and to wake him back up you just have to melt the ice.”

Daegnon didn’t look fully convinced and still worried about what was happening, but he allowed himself to be held back. They watched as the tube floated into the opening in the wall. The wall then sealed shut, and all traces of Prayda and the platform he was on disappeared.

“You make it sound like we could see Prayda; this is different,” Daegnon said, looking up at Cyrus.

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“I am sorry, Daegnon. I did not fully elaborate on the procedure, but I didn’t disagree with the explanations given. If you would like, I can extricate him from the holding bin so that you can visually monitor Prayda if you wish,” Hoshi said from the speakers in the room, the image of Grubnash mimicking the facial gestures to make it seem as though the digital image were the one speaking.

Daegnon pursed his lips, not happy with the way he’d been dealt with. The AI had used big words, and it took him some time to process them, but they were becoming clearer to him the more he spoke with Cyrus and Hoshi. It felt like he was learning from them.

Finally, Daegnon spoke, “Just make sure you don’t forget your promise, but Prayda is okay in the wall.” He then walked to where the tube had disappeared into the wall and placed his hand over the spot. He didn’t have any particular fondness for Prayda, other than the fact that he was one of the few Goblins here on the ship, but that was enough to make Daegnon worry for his safety and return.

‘I do understand how this must look like some form of magic to him, how he is lost as to what is happening to his friends and what may happen to him as well. Our lack of ability to properly convey more advanced ideas does make communication difficult, as I predicted. I do sense a strong will within him, and the SCANT is working to boost his mental acuity, but I hope he and the others will be up to this challenge,’ Hoshi said into Cyrus’s mind as they watched the Goblin dealing with his emotions.

After a few moments they moved to the next Goblin, the extra-wide one who had spearheaded the charge against Cyrus before they were all knocked out by the SCANT mist. This one was obviously more bulked out than the others, so while hesitant about whether he would still be a threat, Cyrus was optimistic that this one would have the aptitude to assist with ship repairs.

“This one’s name Raknak. He very strong, has Ogre blood in him,” Daegnon said as he joined Hoshi and Cyrus at the table.

“Ogre blood?” Cyrus asked, but kept his eyes focused on the opposite side of the table, where only he could see Hoshi standing.

Cyrus listened to the holographic image of Hoshi speak into his mind, noticing that the lips on the image began to move as they spoke. Previously, the face had remained still, but now, just like the digital Goblin image Hoshi projected to communicate with Daegnon, Hoshi’s holographic image spoke with actual facial movement.

‘I am finding some interesting peculiarities in this one’s genetic makeup. The SCANT hasn’t been able to fully map out the DNA of any of the Goblins yet, but this one does seem to have a variance which I can’t account for,’ Hoshi said only to Cyrus in response to his question. ‘Daegnon and the female also have an unusual variance in their DNA, but the variance in them differs from the one in this Raknak. The remaining three all have a very similar or base genetic makeup,’ the AI finished.

Cyrus listened and understood but had another question he had to ask before he could move on.

‘Hoshi, why didn’t your lips move before now?’ Cyrus asked, a small smile tickling his lips.

‘I have been studying the facial movements of both species and feel that I can now accurately replicate them. Before, I did not have enough data to properly replicate the image’s movements,’ Hoshi replied through the mental link they shared, the lips on the image moving as though the image was a real person speaking to him.

‘Ok, but I’ve been talking a lot more than Daegnon. Why did you only enable the lip synching just now, at the same time as the Goblin image?’ Cyrus asked, curious as to why the AI would start moving the image's lips at the same time.

‘The answer is simple. Goblins have a much less complicated muscle structure, so they are less emotive. The timing was purely coincidental,’ Hoshi explained unemotionally.

‘Okay… I guess that’s good. Yay for humans?’ Cyrus said sarcastically.

There was a slight pause before Hoshi replied, “I am not certain why you would celebrate this fact. It basically means that humans are more difficult to understand, harder to heal, and much more difficult to emulate. If anything, the Goblin’s simplicity should be celebrated rather than the human complexities.”

Cyrus just smiled at the AI’s misinterpretation of his sarcasm and shook his head.

Daegnon, not understanding that Cyrus was asking Hoshi about Ogre blood instead of him, answered as well. “His great-great dam was an Ogre. His great-great sire caught her and brought her to the burrow but kept her for himself only, didn’t share with the rest of the clan,” Daegnon explained.

It took a moment for Cyrus to realize what Daegnon was saying. The word "dam" wasn’t one he was very familiar with. “Wait, are you saying that his great-grandmother was an Ogre? Is that what you meant by 'dam'?”

Daegnon looked at Cyrus funny, as if he didn’t understand the word he had used either. “What is ‘grait-granmuthr’?” he asked, the words coming out garbled and mispronounced.

“Okay, like, the mother of your mother is a grandmother, and the mother of her mother would be your great-grandmother. Is that the lineage you're talking about?” Cyrus asked.

Daegnon smiled, a toothy grin that looked like he was thinking perverted thoughts. “I heard about you tall-folk and your families. Goblins don’t have that; we have clans. We use a dam for breeding, sometimes if she’s good then she’ll last for a few generations. Like my Elf mom, she my mom, she Glix mom, she also my grand dam, which means that she also my father’s mom.”

Cyrus was stunned, his worldview forcefully trying to keep him from comprehending what the Goblin was saying. The words Daegnon used made sense, but the thought didn't want to take hold in his brain.

“You mean, your father and your mom, but he was her… and you, also your grandpa...” he trailed off, his words not quite making sense, the full sentence not fully forming.

‘That makes more sense,’ Hoshi calmly interjected into Cyrus’s semi-functional mind. ‘If the Goblins use a common female for their breeding, that would explain the similar traits I am seeing within their DNA. The X chromosome from the dam would be consistently passed on through multiple generations, while the Y chromosome from various males would vary. This means that Daegnon and the female are siblings through the mother and explains their similar genetic variant.’

The science talk didn’t help Cyrus to understand; it really just added another layer for his mind to work through. He stood, blinking and unresponsive, as he tried his best to repress the ideas Daegnon and Hoshi had just put into his brain.

“Cyrus, are you going to be alright?” Hoshi’s metallic voice asked aloud after the room went silent for a few moments.

Simultaneously, in Cyrus’s mind, he heard, 'This is just another form of selective breeding, although Goblins are the first species I have heard of that perform it as a natural form of mutation and survival.' The AI's image blinked from where it had been standing to reappear next to him and placed a hand on Cyrus’s shoulder.

The actual sensation of the digital hand touching him seemed to snap him out of the oubliette his mind was falling into. He had seen the images on the displays around the room, had seen how the light used to create the images looked as though it had substance, but until now, he hadn’t had the opportunity to actually touch anything projected from them. So to now have something made of this semi-solid light touch him was a startling yet intriguing sensation.

Rather than being hot, like a light bulb, or even as warm as another person’s skin, the touch was cool. It had substance, but not solidity. It was almost like someone had laid cooled pudding on his shoulder and then moved it around slightly. The feeling was both fascinating and disgusting at the same time.

Cyrus stared at the hand touching him, the AI’s words not fully registering. Then a slap to his inner thigh brought his attention sharply to the small green person standing chest-high in front of him.

“Not your idea of a good time, I take it?” Daegnon said, the grin from before still present.

“No, I can’t say that it is. We definitely have very different societies,” Cyrus responded, still not fully back in the moment but wanting to move on from this discussion as soon as possible. “Uhhh… Okay, so this guy, Raknak, do you think he would be good at fixing things?”

Daegnon’s smile lessened, becoming more thoughtful but keeping a hint of mischievousness to it. “Yes, he’s strong and smarter than Khibi,” the Goblin pointed to the next table they would be visiting.

At that table lay a much smaller Goblin. Even compared to the other two ‘normal’ Goblins, this one was diminutive. He was clad only in what looked like a dingy diaper, a small piece of well-used cloth tied around his crotch, barely covering what might be underneath—something Cyrus was not at all interested in finding out. The Goblin was unremarkable in any other way.

“Gooniz probably not be much good at fixing stuff either,” Daegnon continued, gesturing to the platform on the other side of the room. “He’s okay, good at making these two do bad things, but I don’t think he's gonna be much help,” he pointed to Raknak and Khibi when mentioning “these two.”

Daegnon then pointed to the female Goblin who had been next to Cyrus before he was set free. “Glix, she’s smart. She’s always making and fixing things. She works hard and learns quickly.”

“Okay, so Raknak and Glix should join us, and the other two stay sleeping for now?” Cyrus asked to verify.

Daegnon nodded firmly, puffing out his chest. “Yep, that’s my decision as captain.”

Cyrus couldn’t help but smile. This Goblin was already seeming smarter. The SCANT was working to improve his thought process already, but Daegnon also had this almost childlike quality that made him seem humorously lovable. The dichotomy was unusual and not what he expected when talking to a Goblin. Although talking to a Goblin hadn’t really been something he had expected to do in his life, so really he didn’t know what to expect.

‘This is going to be a strange life now, isn’t it?’ Cyrus said, mainly to himself, but Hoshi responded as if he had asked her.

‘I am uncertain as to what your life entailed before, but from the data I gathered about your planet, I do think your current circumstances should prove to be both challenging and entertaining. I am certainly glad I was able to balance your brain’s chemistry as soon as I did; the imbalance would have made your dealings with these creatures much more difficult.’

“Wait, what?!"