“Lower main engine output. Final corrections with RCS. And we are….. good!” Katsi threw her hands up in triumph, “First try!”
Anisa teased, “We circled the planet about twenty three times, but sure. First try.”
Gavin sighed over comms, “As long as we didn’t enter atmo or leave the gravity well, I’m counting it. I’ll see you guys in the hanger.” As the comms went quiet the two sisters gathered their things and stared for the elevator.
Katsi was having a hard time hiding her unease, but Anisa tried to reassure her. “Look, I get it. This is our first alien planet, but Gavin says it is the safest place for us to gather resources.”
Katsi nodded, remembering the briefing. Still, the look of quiet hesitation from Dean told her that there was more to this planet than Gavin was sharing. Expressing this indirectly she asked, “Do you really think these people are okay with us floating above them after what we did?”
Anisa hesitated herself and shook her head, “I don’t know, but we don’t have a choice. Dean will be staying on the ship just in case, I think, but Gavin seems to think they won’t mind. I just wish he would say why. Not this ‘you’ll see’ approach.”
The sisters got into the elevator silently, a few moments later stepping out onto the same floor as the hanger. As they went down to Bay 2, they saw Gavin waiting for them. “Okay, so we had space for my freighter in here, but I have to give you some more notes before we go down.” The girls swallowed but he waved their worries away. “It isn’t that bad. So, when we first land you guys are gonna be taken to the side and given the orientation video. I already gave them your language and planet of origin.” Gavin spoke firmly and directly, “First rule of good interplanetary etiquette is that when you go to another planet, you accept their rules and cultures as is and form relationships from there. If you want to help a revolution, do it later after you have your feet on the ground.” When the girls looked between themselves he stated one more thing, “This planet is always the safest place to get your space legs because Tak’nasi isn’t really one for war and isn’t easily offended. Once you have finished Orientation, I’ll come get you guys and we will make our way to my contact from there.” He opened the hanger and motioned them in.
As they entered the hanger they were greeted by what could easily be mistaken for a space dumpster. An ugly shade of military green with a matte paint job on its boxy appearance made clear this thing was built for function over flair. They were about to say something but he smiled and patted the hull. “Best smuggling ship I’ve ever had. Durable. Inconspicuous. Unassuming. Shielded compartments and space to spare. Not to mention it is a fittingly outmoded model which works great for most planetary bureaucrats.” He kissed the hull as if he hadn’t seen it in awhile and motioned them to follow him in.
Shrugging, they followed and found the inside heavily customized with a great deal of quality of life improvements. Two pilot seats designed for maximum comfort for long distance travels as well as cup holders. Five seats behind the pilot seats for passengers. Plenty of leg space and pacing room for anyone they wanted to walk during the flight. Katsi picked the copilot seat and began familiarizing herself with the controls. Gavin lowered himself slowly with relish into his personal pilot seat, motioning Anisa to the back. She shrugged, strapped herself into her comfy passenger seat and was amazed when some oddly relaxing music began to play from the headrest. She settled down as the clunky freighter began its slow departure and trip to the planet.
—————
Landing in the hanger, they got their things and left, seeing a red headed girl wearing goggles with a second set on her head. She was bundled up for winter but the room seemed rather agreeable to the girls. The girl offered her hand for a handshake and announced, “I am Tak’Nasi. Pleasure to meet you.”
As if talking to an old friend, Gavin patted the girl on the shoulder, “I’m going to go see Tak’Nasi. You got this, Tak’Nasi.” The girl waved goodbye to him with a smile as he left and turned back to the girls, waiting for the handshake.
Katsi seemed a bit puzzled at what Gavin had just said, but Anisa took her hand and shook it. “Anisa Sasori. This is my little sister Katsi. I heard there was going to be some kind of Orientation?”
Tak’Nasi nodded, “Indeed. Follow me and we will get you up to speed.” She lead the way with a confident march, eventually leading them to a very ornate set of doors with a digital display that showed the word Welcome in big friendly letters. This unnerved Anisa a little as things this overtly welcoming always put her on edge.
‘This is too sweet. Like a carnivorous plant. Be ready to strike back.’
She blocked out the thoughts and entered alongside the entirely curious Katsi. When they went through they came to a room that was comfortingly warm despite being so sparsely decorated. The smell of mangos and bananas wafted through the room. There were two chairs with desks waiting for them and a screen on the opposite wall. On the desk was a whole ream of paper as well as a pencil, a pen, a quill with inkwell, a charcoal stick, and a paint brush with calligraphy ink. Katsi remarked, “It’s like they don’t know these were all used in different eras and nations.”
“Or like they are trying not to assume our preference.” Anisa flipped through the sheets of paper before going to the back of the room and leaning against the wall. She never benefited from taking notes like everyone else. Katsi however couldn’t seem to help herself and began using the calligraphy brush to practice some of the ancient writing their dad taught them about.
After they had been settled in their places for a few minutes, the screen lit up showing the face of the girl that showed them in here. She smiled at the camera and waved, “Hi, I’m Tak’Nasi and this is a pre-recorded video to teach you about my culture.” She cleared her throat and adjusted her notes, her cutsie appearance fading a little as she moved forward and becoming a bit more formal. “I was a scientist with a single unending question. What are the effects of nurture and personal interests on our personalities? What’s more, is identity bound by titles and names or can our very experiences make us unmistakable. For example, if you have two friends named Kiz’aknaru, do you really need to specify which of them you are talking about? Or can people usually just figure it out?” She cleared her throat, “As questionable as it seemed to my peers, I set out among the stars, terraformed a planet, and began a colony of just me and clones of myself. As different interests were nurtured we had promising results but the scale was too small. By the time we had taken over the whole planet, we had begun to socially stagnate. I introduced mild genetic tweaking within limited parameters and that drove us back out into the stars and created enough social diversity to keep our base of knowledge expanding.”
She put down her notes and adjusted her goggles, “I want to make this clear. The genuine Tak’Nasi passed away long ago. By the time you see this, I will have passed as well. Among us, this is all acceptable and admirable. We go, we learn, we return and share, and we go again. We all know who which of us you are talking about, and we appreciate the visitors. Not only does it add a level of diversity within our experiences but it is nice to spend time with people other than ourselves. It can be confusing to outsiders, but do your best or try not to worry to hard about it. As far as the laws are concerned, you have a right to defend yourself, and we encourage it because some of us prefer to get field data on new equipment. You are entitled to privacy, but since we share all that we learn, don’t be surprised if the whole planet knows pretty quick. Finally, you can take any raw resources you need, but any of our actual inventions have to stay on the planet unless you buy it from one of our marketplaces.”
She took her goggles off and smiled again, “Just remember that we are a giant experiment with an exact purpose. The only taboo for outsiders is destroying our data. If anyone tries, we will not hesitate to destroy the offender.” She stood up from her table and said, “That’s three two five nine done. You good to take over starting with six oh, Tak’Nasi?” The video cut and the door opposite the one they came in through opened.
Katsi blinked in disbelief, expecting it to be longer. Anisa patted her shoulder, “They want knowledge. Doesn’t mean they intend to share it.”
Gavin walked in nodding, a Tak’Nasi in tow. “Yep. That’s one way to put it. You aren’t gonna be told straight out how they do what they do, but poke around and Tak’Nasi will be more than happy to talk the science of it with you.”
The Tak’Nasi with him sighed, “I wish she wouldn’t. We get so many letters from the cosmic patrol telling us to cease or they will try to lock down the planet. It’s like they have no appreciation for science.” She motioned them to follow her and Gavin laughed a little at their complete bemusement. As they stepped out onto the polished golden floors of the colony, they took a second to absorb how many of Tak’Nasi they were seeing. All in the same outfit with minor variations, alongside other alien life they had never seen before. Upon seeing a decapodic alien standing like a camera mount and holding out an odd bit of tech that seemed to work like a camera, Katsi passed out. Anisa was hardly staying conscious herself.
‘You’ve done worse. Don’t be so fragile.’
She felt a little better but far more empty. Gavin motioned and a whole team of Tak’Nasi ran up and lifted Katsi. “Alright. Let’s go meet my contact.” Anisa nodded and tried to adjust herself to this new window to space.