Ekontis was an odd delight for Katsi. A girl as honest with her feelings and in love with her family as Katsi herself. Konni, as she insisted Katsi call her, couldn't help but laugh as she recounted the most recent of the many tales of her siblings. "While the 'favorites' spoke to the weird white haired siblings, Cero was just sitting in the back with me poking fun at them. I mean, how can you be more pretentious or arrogant. Thinking you can just tell us how time is going to go?"

Katsi shrugged with a chuckle, "Dean was telling me all kinds of weird things. People who can see how the story ends seems pretty normal over indestructible gym rats and a withered old druggie in an exosuit that can juggle space battleships with ease." Konnie laughed at the comment, seemingly unsure of exactly what Katsi was talking about. A refreshing change as most of her crew seemed to know more about the larger cosmos than her. Katsi nodded, "It's true though. Dean doesn't have any reason to tell lies that insane."

"Whatever you say, Kat." Konnie waved her off, and for a brief moment she remembered the situation once more. Tak with a headwound, her sister comatose. As she remembered this, Konnie sighed, "I'm sorry. You probably talked like this with my sister all the time.

"No. Tak was a lot more reserved and soft spoken. When I met her she wanted to be her own person, and I keep wondering if she closed herself off in the process. I only ever really saw her talking with Sai."

"That just means she is soft on him." Katsi looked up at Konnie with a sparkle in her eye, "If she is singling out one guy, then she is sweet on him. I know all my sisters pretty well and we don't waste our time on people without good reason." As the two finally entered a cafeteria that Katsi pretended she knew as there, she saw a rather motherly looking figure in a yellow vest and rather modest clothing. Konnie greeted her happily, "Hey, Ett! I brought her! And she is an absolute delight. I'm sure you guys will get along great. See ya, Kat!" Konnie left with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. It was almost reassuring and the soft smile the Ett gave her helped to further put her at ease.

Ett waited for Katsi to sit down and motioned to an assortment of tea bags and cookies, a teapot simmering in the middle of the table. Katsi sat down and picked out a rather nice looking blend of Chai before pouring herself a cup and eating a sugar cookie. Once she appeared settled, Ett spoke with the kind of gentle strength that most normal people heard from their mother. "Greetings, Ms.Sasori. It is my understanding that you have been helping to make my sister more comfortable. I appreciate your efforts in doing so. That said, I wish for any information you have on your sister's condition." Katsi was about to explain what she had seen and heard in the medbay, but was quickly stopped with Ett holding up a patient hand. "Allow me to clarify. Not her current health but the condition that drove her to lash out in the manner she did. Especially with that odd form. I need to know for the sake of my family." Katsi swallowed hard as she considered her options and if she trusted this polite but oddly reserved figure.

========

She is outside of the usual margins but her makeup is the closest to pattern we have had in over a century.

Trace it back. A schism of this nature cannot be naturally occurring. We have more than enough permutations for reference.

She watched as the lab coated figures ran like busy little ants. What few displays she could see from her current containment didn't look good. Despite this, the voices she heard didn't seem like they were any of these. She tried to find the odd one out again. To find that unclear face and force it into focus. It was nearly a compulsion. Maybe they had answers. Maybe they could help. As her mind tried to focus on it, instead she saw a small scorpion on the outside of her tank. No one else seemed to take note. It wasn't moving very quickly either. whether it was an absentminded stroll or a leisurely purpose with which it moved, she didn't know but she found her mind leaving that face behind and fixating on the tiny details. Despite this being a sterile lab, this arachnid with its vivid carapace had managed to defy all odds and enter this place where nature held no home. As she watched it walk across the glass, eventually a bird with vibrant plumage landed on a nearby console. As she stared at it, she felt like it reminded her of someone. It turned its head to the side, looking her up and down as if piercing her to the bone. Eventually its gaze moved to the scorpion and it began to make small trilling sounds. The scorpion stopped in response, tail raised to strike, claws open to grasp its prey. Before she or the insect could process it in full, the bird struck the glass of the tube she was in. A small chip appeared, the tiniest amount of damage but the first signs of escape she had noticed since she got here. A moment later, the scorpion's tail lashed out faster than she could see. Analyzing the glass, she noticed that the damage had increased some. The bird struck once more, prompting the scorpion to do the same. They managed to repeat this process a few times before one of the scientists glanced over in passing. As if sensing their little mission had become compromised, the bird flew away and the scorpion dropped from the glass and scurried into a vent.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The Anomolies have escaped. Trace the root or clear the chaff. There is no point to corrupted data.

I am here to hold your hand. Do not fear that you are drowning. We will overcome this together.

=============

Katsi sighed, "So, my sister was given a gem by the lady that she says made this deal with her and, according to Tak and Dean, her feelings of guilt over what she did are so strong that her own heart is forcing her to become more like a monster than she otherwise would be. Sai was helping her to work through her trauma, but the best he could do for now was to keep the two versions of her from killing each other."

Ett sipped her tea, nodding reassuringly with eyes free from judgement. Closing her eyes carefully, she nodded slowly, "I do not know as much about biology as Sita and Ellefu, but I'm sorry you were pulled into this madness. I'm sure you would have been happier if you had stayed home."

Katsi laughed a little, "I mean, it is a nightmare, but this is still so much better. Back home I was a failed revolutionary. Here, I get to spend time with my sister every day, I have an immortal boyfriend, and I get to play with technology and scientific principles that I never would have seen back home. The emotional crystals are so much more complex than I had ever knew before now. Contrasting Sai's crystal with my fresh harvests from that Crossflow event was really enlightening." Ett smiled patiently, but Katsi was able to quickly realize that Ett had no idea what she was talking about. Clearing her throat, Katsi moved it back to her focus. "I have a reason to believe that The Original is working within your number. I just need to find out who."

Ett nearly dropped her tea for a moment. Recovering her composure she took a deep breath and stated in a hushed tone, "I don't know who of my sisters you spoke to or why they share my fear. I for my part was reviewing the reports to the larger world that were made." She leaned forward so that only Katsi would hear her. "They reported thirty of us as kidnapped. Thirty and no more than that. That means one of us is a runaway. One of us never received the deprogramming from Mister Phoenix." Katsi seemed confused, reviewing the members of the group she had heard about from Konnie. At first it seemed to add up. Their names were all numbers from various languages and the largest number she had heard was Trinta, or Thirty. It was only when she tried to count back down that she realized the thirty first. Cero. Ett nodded, "Thirty is our names but thirty one is our number." She leaned back and spoke coldly as her hands began to shake, "I will say nothing of your investigation. I will not inform my sisters. If you can find a way to the hanger unseen, then you may have a chance to search our craft for the missing pieces. If one of us is the traitor, they can't have done it without a trace. There has to be something they know their sisters would not find." Katsi nodded, placing a reassuring hand on Ett's wrist. Looking into the genuine eyes of betrayal and fear, Katsi couldn't help but feel for the woman. She had to find answers for her. To save her sisters from this lurking threat. She owed it to them.