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Admiral Miles stood on the viewing deck, watching silently as the Vusis eased into its designated berth. "Have we cleared enough room for the First Tails fleet?"

Base Commander Brown looked over her datapad and nodded her affirmation. "We should be able to handle the first batch Chrarada is sending us without a problem." She said, watching quietly as another ten Aasteran ships entered the hangar bay and made for their refit stations. She then passed the data to the Admiral. "Flag quarters have already been prepared for the officers and captains. We also have a few housing complexes ready for Chrarada or any other political entities that my visit."

"Excellent work, Commander. Now I just have to hope Chrarada doesn't gut me or melt me with that poison."

"I believe it's a neurotoxin, sir. A venom, not an acid." Commander Brown clarified calmly.

Sparing a quick glance at the Commander, Admiral Miles chuckled and turned towards the lift. "Shall we go meet our mind-melting allies then?"

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Chrarada calmly walked off her ship, moving past the landing ramp and onto the clean observation platform. Turning around, she paused to survey the massive hangar. Terran machinery and engineers came from seemingly all directions, swiftly flocking around the docked ships as their crews began to leave. "Well, it looks like they have this part all figured out. Might as well leave them to it." Finally, feeling some of her frustration fade. She decided to wait for the Admiral.

Not having to wait long, the soft chime of a lift arrival snatched her attention, and she turned to watch as Admiral Miles, and Commander Brown left the lift. Waving her tail in the Admirals direction, Chrarada finished her final authorizations and put her com pad away. "Admiral, It's a pleasure as always. Though I'm saddened Viscia, is not present to greet me."

Admiral Miles grimaced at the thought of the dressing down heading Viscia's way and nodded. "I believe she is currently at the lab, working with Chief engineer Tanda and Dr.Leviye."

"So she's not hiding away? Or is that just an excuse she's using as a means to avoid me?" Walking towards the Admiral as her crew began to pile out of her ship, Chrarada stopped to look around once more. "All the more reason for this refit now, isn't it?"

Looking around, Admiral Miles couldn't help but sigh and nod. "Well, I can't speak for Viscia. However, the situation does indeed warrant a speedy refit of your fleet."

Walking past the Admiral and Commander, Chrarada entered the lift and motioned for the duo to follow. "Shall we go check on my dear councillor's progress then?"

Following Chrarada and the Admiral into the Lift, Commander Brown selected the engineer section and waited for the door to close. "Our explorers have departed again. They seem to be heading in the opposite direction of their first mission."

Chrarada studied the Commander intently, holding back a grin as she noticed the slight shuffle of her victim's feet. "Could you send me their flight plan if it's available? I would like my navigators to be informed of the places our people have already visited."

"Of course, First Tail!" Commander Brown replied as the lift arrived at their goal. Walking off the platform, Commander Brown lead the duo through some long halls and towards a tall set of double doors. She paused and snapped a sharp salute before walking off silently, heading back towards her command centre to get some much-needed work done.

Keying the door open, Admiral Miles walked into the lab and took in the sight of the three staring at a metal brick of some sort. "I'm glad to see you find ingots so interesting." He announced as the three turned around. He noticed Viscia shrink a little, her tail curling around her leg.

"It is a data storage device, Admiral. Though we have not found a way to interface with it as of yet." Dr.Leviye responded.

"Did you find what sent the signal? Or where it was sent to?" Chrarada asked hotly, attempting to intimidate the man speaking to her.

Seeming unfazed, Dr.leviye brought up a diagram of the signal. "Negative. We are aware of it and which direction it went. But tracking where it will end is rather difficult as space is very large."

Chrarada eyed the strange man, his unflinching and calm attitude an odd sight before her evident anger. Taking a breath and calming herself, she walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. "So, what have you found then?"

Admiral Miles relaxed as Chrarada took a chair, thankful she didn't cause a scene. Following her example, he sat in a chair off to the side and let her get some questions out of the way.

Viscia relaxed slightly and walked over to pick up a datapad. Quietly she walked it over to chrarada, handing it over before she quickly retreated to let Dr.Leviye address Chrarada, his super being calm seemingly having an effect on her upset leader.

Chrarada listened to the explanations from the odd man with concern, making sure to ask questions to better understand how the information was arrived at and the validity of the theories. "So you're saying Terran technology is far more advanced than this suspected race of thieves?"

Dr.Leyvie watched as the female in front of him began to relax as he finished up his presentation. "That would be correct. At least when concerning this pod. The video evidence supports this theory, as all weapons seemed to be low-powered lasers, rail guns, and the lightships presumed Ion beam. No match for our shields, anti-matter lances, or torpedo technology. I would speculate, the exploratory ship piloted by that female of yours, Srettia, correct? Is more than a match for these, 'Thieves' as you put it."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Chrarada slowly sat forward in her chair as she listened to the doctor. "So you're saying once we're refit with Terran shields and armour, their weapons will be ineffective?"

"Correct. Though, that is as long as their weapon technology has not advanced in the last two hundred years. Judging from what I have seen so far, I would say it is improbable they have advanced very far. Their understanding of their own systems is minimal, to say the least."

Chrarada got up and stretched her arms to the ceiling with a calm face. "Thank you, doctor. Viscia, I will see you in my quarters later tonight." Turning towards the Admiral, she motioned for him to follow as she left the room. "Admiral, my apologies if I have been... Difficult. Would you be so kind as to show me to my quarters or assign someone to do so? I wish to rest for a bit."

Inwardly relaxing, Admiral Miles decided to show Chrarada to her assigned home personally.

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Ethuci struggled to step forward in the waist-deep snow as the wind and hail battered his armour. True to Finley's words, the storm was a nightmare to navigate. Having to switch to a hard light tether as the steel one was cut through by ice, Ethuci stopped once again to count his team.

Hezexhel was the first he spotted. Stepping out from the wall of snow and ice, he stopped and turned towards Ethuci. "This can't be right. Even our armour's shields are having problems with the shards of ice." Losing his footing as a particularly large piece of ice smashed off his shield, Hezexhel hissed through his com.

"No, I don't get to orbit Aaster often, but I've seen a storm like this from orbit. We just never knew they were this bad." Ethuci replied, watching as more of his team started to appear and signal they were good to continue. Ethuci nodded and turned to advance towards the distant city. "We're only a few minutes out. Let's get going."

Hezexhel continued to maintain his position, moving back into formation and taking up the rear. "Then we must give our thanks to the builders. To create structures that could withstand a storm such as this for so long. I weep for our ancestors and their lost knowledge."

Switching to a different visual spectrum in an attempt to pierce the veil of the storm, Ethuci proceeded towards the city. "Knowledge we will reclaim when we pass this test." Pausing momentarily every few steps in an attempt to keep his team together, he finally saw what looked to be the familiar ruins of his people.

Letting a cautious grin sweep across his face, Ethuci turned to wave his team forward, an action that knocked him off his feet as a block of ice crashed into his shoulder, sending him rolling across the empty snowfield. Checking the damage, he breathed a sigh of relief to see it was minimal. "Curse this storm! I will enjoy the moment we come face to face with those responsible." Getting up out of the snow, Ethuci brushed himself off with the help of his squad and continued into the city.

Hezexhel huffed as he plucked another team member from the snow. "We will show them the fury of our people. A people they failed to destroy. Who's anger only grew while they ignored us."

Picking up a piece of ice and throwing it towards the ruins, Ethuci sighed as the wind carried it off. "Don't approach the ruins. We'll go the long way around it."

Moving around the run-down buildings, Ethuci noticed a slight change in the storm as he entered what he assumed was the broken city. "Mind your surroundings; something is off." He advised, taking another few steps into the city. "Visibility should be going getting better, but it seems to be getting worse."

Walking past some large mounds of ice and into the decimated streets, Ethuci motioned Hezexhel to join him. "What do you think? The ruins and buildings should help to clear things up, right?"

Double-checking his squad was still well and behind him. Hezexhel keyed the affirmative. "Think the storm is getting worse?"

Motioning for the team to continue deeper into the city, Ethuci nodded. "We're almost at our destination. let's keep moving." After tens of minutes of walking through the snow-filled streets, the team realized they were now surrounded by towering buildings.

Hezexhel looked around in astonishment, pausing mid-step to stare into the sky. "What are they?"

Finley, who had been quietly watching over the group as they made their way through the city, finally interjected. " My people call them skyscrapers or cloud pierces. These are the remnants of your civilization's achievements. I was amazed when our orbital mechanic showed me pictures of them. The fact that a lot still stand is quite the achievement."

Ethuci turned to look at the solo member of the group. "Your people's imaging can pierce the clouds covering our planet?"

Finley keyed affirmative and pointed forward. "Pay attention. You'll regret it if you don't."

Ethuci snapped back to reality and looked around. Exhaling in relief as there were no sudden changes in the environment. "Let's keep moving. We're not far now."

Slowly walking down the street in the waist-deep snow, Ethuci pointed towards the designated area and keyed a solo com to Hezexhel. "When we reach our target, keep an eye on our observer. I don't want him interfering." Hezexhel went green and started slowly moving towards the quiet observer to better respond in case of mischief.

Upon reaching their designated area, Ethuci signalled for his team to set up the hardlight walls and repeater beacon. "Let's get this over with. Take it slow, though. I don't want any mistakes."

Watching the surroundings as his team began to work, Ethuci noticed some of the buildings were missing large portions of their structure or were completely filled with ice and snow. Marvelling at his people's ingenuity, he failed to notice a large piece of ice heading towards him. He attempted to raise his arms in defence. However, he was slow and winced in pain as the ice pierced his shields and slammed into his armour, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying across the street into a building.

Slowly getting up, Ethuci checked his damage, only to notice once again he only took minor damage. "Stay where you are! I'm alright, just continue your work." Making sure not to disturb anything else, Ethuci made his way out of the building and back into the square.

Once He arrived at the building point, it didn't take long for his team to finish their tasks, taking only minutes. Yet, upon finally finished their work, the hard light simulation faded, and the team was now standing in an empty hangar bay.

Standing behind the landing team, Finley gave a slow clap. "Congratulations! You pass, just barely. Now, if it were up to me, we'd spend another few months doing various simulations. However, It's not. We'll have to settle for the few days we've done. Go back to your quarters, get some food, wash up, whatever you need to do. We'll be dusting off the day after tomorrow, so make sure you're ready. I'll send you the information you need tonight so you can study."

Stepping forward out of the group, Hezexhel pointed a claw at Finley. "You owe us a meal, Commander."

Laughing, Finley plucked a piece of tech off his belt. "I have already paid for your meals and informed the cooks prepared for your arrival. Just go grab it whenever you're ready."

Ethuci grinned as Hezexhel stared at Finley in confusion. "So, I assume you had confidence in our success?"

Finley lazily removed his helmet and sat on the floor. "Not one bit. I was confident you would fail. To be honest, you were slow, made a few mistakes, and your positioning was wrong. You risked your team by moving out of formation too many times. But, you made the right choices where it mattered. So as long as you respect the planet and its climate, the next mission should be easy."

Ethuci thought on how many times he called upon Hezexhel and decided Finley had a point. "Would you care to join me for an evening drink tonight, Commander? I would like to speak more at length about what you just said."

Taking off a piece of scanning equipment from his shoulder, Finley shrugged. "Sure thing, I'll bring the beer."

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