Aleph was not sure what was going on with this shift. It had started with Quarti being snappy, ill tempered and all around more incomprehensible.

This had been becoming common for the last week or so but it had finally came to a head here at breakfast.

She just flipped out and threw a cup at Omega over their old argument over what was the best ‘meditation’ medium.

Normally those were rather friendly little back and forth hazing.

Both people laughing and smiling.

But not this time. This time she was incensed over it and seemed to be unable to keep herself in a modern dialect for more then every other word.

It had been something to do with the pot of pungent ‘stuff’ she had been stewing off in one side of the habitat ever since they made the cake for Pylo.

Omega would sometimes bring up how it could be a health risk because of biofilms. Quarti would make a comment about something. They would complain about the two methods of meditation.

Quarti found the modern pods stifling and frustratingly ‘clumsy’. She had been complaining about it and muttering how she was going to ‘fix’ it.

Omega apparently hated the clean up after ‘soaking’ in the usual symbiote gel and much prefered the cleanliness of the sealed culture gel packs.

But this time Elsie stepped in, and asked for clarification.

And that got Quarti to start talking, but Omega interrupted her and then Quarti lost it and threw a cup at her head hard enough to shatter the ceramic and started ranting and raving at everyone.

Omega was bleeding and probably a little concussed from the impact and now the two of them were being held apart by Elsie and Aleph had no idea what was going on.

“Quarti! What are you DOING Omega’s HURT! Are you okay?!”

Quarti looked... scared?

Her tone was shrill and completely illegible, Aleph could barely recognize some of the words from classes on ancient history.

She was turning to look everywhere wildly, like a trapped rabbit. She was tugging hard on Elsie’s grip on her shoulder enough that either the armature was actually being pulled along or the assemblage was moving slightly with her to avoid her spraining something against the grip.

“Miss Quarti, Please calm down... You are going to injure yourself if this continues”

She started chewing on Elsie’s arm leaving dents in the plastic casing from her teeth. It was honestly really really REALLY disturbing.

“Sola Huǒ infernum Tàiyáng diablere!”

[https://i.imgur.com/8vyPH9A.png]

Aleph had never seen her act like this before, not in the two years she had known her. It was just completely out of the blue.

“Miss Quarti Please stop or I will sedate you”

What? Elsie could do that? Well they probably could but Aleph had a bad feeling about it. Then again Quarti just bit into her own wrist in the frenzied panic that seemed to have taken over the quirky but otherwise very collected and composed individual.

“I apologize miss Quarti”

And that was when she slumped limp from whatever it is Elsie did.

Aleph just stared. In mild shock, they had just been having breakfast like always and then Quarti just totally lost it.

Lost it and hit Omega! She jolted into action remembering the injury. Grabbing the first aide tin and rushing over to Omega.

Her friend’s eyes were tracking but the head wound was still bleeding in a wet mess down one side of her face and she seemed out of it otherwise.

“W’what just happened? Why was sss”

Aleph mopped up the blood then squinted down at the cut before it started welling up again, she poked and prodded it a few times much to her patient’s grunting of pain. Then took out the light and shined it into her eyes to check the dilation. Was there anything else she needed to check?

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

She checked over her internal lists from the drills then nodded and began easing Omega down on her back in the cushioning of the habitat’s fluffy clouds. Grabbing a cushion from one of the chairs to support her neck and head up and then got to work bandaging the wound.

“Hey Omega, Talk to me, she winged you really hard there, you still got all your teeth?”

Omega frowned a bit then blinked hard.

“She didn't hit me in the mouth... Uh right... right good staying still, stop bleeding... uh... good job Aleph”

She nodded then looked over at Elsie.

“Uh you got like a scanning thing or something to check if she’s hemorrhaging or there is anything nasty inside her skull?”

One of the arms reached over and gently brushed the back of Omega’s head ruffling her hair before the screen nodded.

“According to your medical texts there are no serious injuries, just minor concussion. She shouldn't even suffer anything wrong thanks to-”

And then Aleph’s world was full of screaming.

Panicked fearful wailing and fire and terror and burning.

And then just as suddenly it was gone. She was laying down in the cool fluff of the habitat and her brow and neck was aching and hot like she had overheated her symbionts.

She looked over and saw Omega crouching next to her with heavy bandaging on her upper brow and a smile of relief.

Elsie and Quarti were nowhere to be seen.

“What just happened?! Where’s Quarti! Where’s Elsie!”

Omega flinched, oh that was really loud. Why was she screaming, why did her throat hurt.

“I think she’s maybe... sick. Or really stressed? Elsie can’t really tell because most of it seems to be coming from her soul. And uh... I can’t pull in any skill shares. Because she’s being... Really really really LOUD since Elsie put her under. And uh I didn't want to risk leaving you alone til you woke up”

Aleph flexed her fingers then reached up to touch her neck and flinched. Which just hurt worse! The inside of her spine was tender and stingy. There was the hissing scratch of one of the airlocks cycling.

“We had to move her so she stopped burning out your symbiotes with all the uh... screaming. We were worried we’d actually have to drain the glands out in your back and forehead”

There was another the hissing sliding of the airlocks over to one side but Aleph ached too much in her neck to turn to look.

“if she was using her full reach Elsie would have had too or you could have gotten brain damage... again. I don’t actually know why but I’m glad at least for that.”

Aleph stared at Omega and decided to just lay there. This was the weirdest shift. From slightly agitated breakfast sniping to their resident oracle going completely stir crazy and screaming so loudly she needed invasive surgery to drain out her resonance symbiotes.

What had just happened?!

She didn't know, it was some kind of spirit soul stuff and apparently no one noticed?

Quarti should have mentioned something if she was sick!

Omega sighed at her side and pushed herself wobbily to her feet.

“Well since your up and not gonna die from brain cooking I need to get over to the colony vault and see if I can get any other shaman that might have any clue what the fuck is going on with Quarti”

Her mentor didn't look well enough to stand let alone walk but even thinking about getting up from the cool of the cloudlike fluff around her hurt. Another rhythmic hiss, was the airlock broken too? They normally never turned that much.

“Fine, go before something else happenmf!”

And then there was nothing but glistening pink flesh engulfing her and Omega all sides.

What was up with this shift?!