Unipsi, lovely entity
chapter 31c: intel
After leaving the NDU, Scilla started her shift almost as if nothing happened. Her extremely good mood didn’t go unnoticed, especially by Morea.
“did something good happened?”
“you could say so”
“I’m kinda curious, how is her ship? And what did you do inside it? Did you sleepover? Why does she allows you to do so?”
“Chill with all the questions. I can’t even answer most of them. For the rest I’m her friend. As I allowed her to go all around my house she allowed me do go around most of the NDU”
“most?”
“yeah, most. I can go only where she lives”
Morea was getting confident in her capability to extort information from her friend, but Scilla noticed and was playing along.
“and how is the place?”
“it’s amazing, there is a dimensional rift inside that generate an…”
“you are trying to fool me commander. I’m not that stupid”
“well your questions were all stupid so I replied accordingly. Anyway I’m her friend and of course I slept over, she sleeps in my room all the time.”
“oh. Then why are you so happy?”
“can’t you mind your own business?” replied Scilla with an irritated voice.
“sorry commander. I didn’t mean to be noisy…”
“nah I’m joking. I just had a good dream about home. Nothing else”
“fuck you! I thought I had offended you”
“sob sob I have feelings too Morea”
“shut up siscon.”
Morea left her commander alone and resumed working at her position. Few hours later Idra appeared at the main deck door. She moved closer to Scilla and started a conversation.
“did something happened while I was away?”
“not that I know. Why?”
“your crew... greeted me while I was coming here. Did they took some drugs?”
Morea, as predictable, was close enough to hear and the first to start laughing followed by Scilla. Confused Idra continued.
“what the fuck? Are you two on drugs too?”
“Should I tell her commander?”
“yeah go on.” Scilla was planning on letting Morea speak. It was a good opportunity to make them socialize a bit more and maybe become friends. So Morea proceeded.
“we are completely fine. It’s just that your reputation has improved drastically”
“my what?”
“reputation, you know how others feels about you. You help them and they like you back. Simple isn’t it?”
“so you mean that your ‘comrades’ are no longer afraid of me?”
“woah woah woah! Easy there. Admiration and gratitude are different from fearing you. I can’t speak for all but I still prefer to stay at least 2 meters away from you. Let’s say that they no longer see you as an enemy walking among them, but as a really scary ally capable of both good and indescribable atrocities”
“mmh, so it’s kinda like back home. I like it, will it stay this way?”
“Don’t know. It will depend on your behaviour. Anyway, did you had a party on your ship?”
“No, why you ask?”
“well you have been away for a couple of days, I thought you were partying by yourself”
“what I do on my ship is classified”
“classified or not you let commander Lis in. Why can’t I get in as well?”
Idra didn’t seem pleased by the request.
Should I interfere? She is being a bit too noisy
“Morea, there are a series of elements that needs to be present in order for you to board the NDU. So far you lack all of them. To make you feel better not even other Esterians are allowed in so, do what you want with this knowledge.”
“I get it. But in case you change idea…”
“I won’t change my mind. Don’t make me slap that idea out of your head”
Morea gulped at the idea of being slapped by Idra and politely backed off returning to her position.
“Well you treated her well. Got used to company?” initiated Scilla.
“no, I just had no reason to hurt her. Deep down she is a good kid, and a loyal underling of yours”
“a little step forward is better than nothing.”
Scilla then lowered her voice so only Idra could hear her.
“Anyway about this morning…”
“this morning what?”
“well you know what”
“no I don’t”
so this is the game she wants to play. It was definitely embarrassing but not that much.
“ok. So supposing that you have no idea at all. I will just say that it’s fine. I had my laugh so don’t go too hard on yourself for just a mistake, a distraction”
“shut up. You have…”
“don’t start with that. I know perfectly how it feels. I let you look at my personal collection. I let you meet my fucked up family. Give me some recognition please.”
Idra stayed silent for a bit and replied.
“well we both had our share of embarrassing moment. Mostly caused by me, so sorry…”
“you are forgiven for something so stupid”
“so… you are totally fine?”
“yeah. If you want… we I would like to come over more often”
Idra looked away and replied.
“Sure. Anytime. Now I’ll go back. The AI core won’t unveil its secrets if nobody works on it. See you this evening”
“ok, bye”
Back alone Scilla’s mind drifted on some ominous thoughts. The creature spying on them. Her initial hypothesis of it being a manifestation of Idra’s artefact was wrong.
Maybe I should tell Iris about that creature, or maybe she already knows because the Whispers fought it back. Still it was capable of getting inside our minds and connect them. Was it an occultist as well? Maybe not considering that it needed to adapt really slowly. Is it really a researcher of the Whispers? But where is it? Where does it comes from and what is its real objective? What could its species want and where could its kind come from. Such horrible creature, but maybe it was not even its body. It changed shape once in the dreams so maybe it can change shape more often.
In the end Scilla decided to keep her thoughts to herself, at least for now.
A new routine had began for Idra and Scilla. During the day they would work on their own ship. Scilla spent her time classifying their loot, making sure it was safe and preparing documents for its future transport. Idra on the other hand was delving deep inside the AI core. She had no intention to waste even a second. The core contained precious information that she desired avidly. Every other night they would met in the NDU. Mostly to eat and chat. But the 14 day of the journey Idra prepared something new. They had just finished eating when Idra left her comfy position to walk at the wall in front of the bed, the wall between the 2 door allowing to enter and leave the room. She touched it and it comes to life. It was now a screen projecting a menu completely unknown to Scilla but not so unfamiliar.
“so this is like a TV?”
“yep, it’s a particles interference projector but it’s basically a holographic TV. Do you mind if a show you a series that I like? I will obviously translate it”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Will I have some glimpses of her civilization? Maybe they have flying cars or something like that.
“not at all, I would like to see it”
Scilla’s hopes were soon betrayed. The series depicted 2 males Esterians, stranded alone in hostile environments and showing how to survive for enough time to allow rescue. Nothing fancy, no advance equipment, no cities to look at, no technology in sight. But on the other hand she had a happy Iris leaning onto her while watching the show. After 1 episode of 30 minutes they chat a bit more and then Scilla left the ship. They decided to sleep separately for both their sake. The toothpaste embarrassment was not entirely over but more importantly Iris was not sick or in need for company. It was definitely too early to share a bed in normal conditions.
Their journey ended and as soon as they got in range they were contacted by the spaceport. It was Mira Dragva, Scilla’s friend.
“Fucking hell, finally! Welcome back L.F. Sheridan. Commander Lis I have an urgent message to convey”
What is happening? they are usually busy regulating standard space traffic, why are they so eager to convey such message? And what was that opening?
“go on Dragva”
“Hakavor HQ require immediate support. During your absence an Esterian spacecraft invaded our space and has yet to move. No reply, no contact at all. I’m sending you the location.”
Scilla looked at Idra but she denied her involvement.
“ok, we are on the way. Do you know what type of ship it is?”
“it’s not in our archives. It’s small but long. We hoped you… well you would know something”
“I will try to do what I can.”
Scilla closed the communication and spoke to her crew.
“well, you hear her. Get on moving. Not too fast and keep the weapon away. Idra do you know what they want?”
“well small but long doesn’t tell me much. We have a lot of ships. But if I have to take a guess, they are here for our friendship declaration”
“oh, fuck. Weren't you a high rank? Did we mess up somehow?”
“I’m indeed a high rank individual. And no we didn’t mess up. I suppose it’s nothing that serious but who knows”
30 minutes or so later their ship alarm started ringing. Their scanners revealed a small long vessel moving full power toward them. The spaceship was of a greyish colour and shaped almost like a long arrow head. It was opaque and smooth to the eyes. Immediately after the laser lock alarm. The ship was probably pointing its weapons at the Sheridan.
“What the fuck! Idra, you told me…”
“Open a comm channel. Focus on the laser tracker. It’s not a weapons system, it’s a communication guide system.”
Few second later an image from the ship cockpit. An Esterian was standing right in front of the camera. Its military training was evident as he proceed to salute Idra.
“Comandante Vanni Spini ETU Xern 5486 richiedo un colloquio con Idra 511 Weeping Sky (commander Vanni Spini ETU Xern 5486 I request a meeting with Idra 511 Weeping Sky)”
Idra placed herself in front of Scilla’s terminal and replied. She didn’t salute back. She had no need to.
“richiesta accettata, ti invio le coordinate di atterraggio. (request accepted, I’m sending you the landing coordinates)”
Idra turned around and spoke to Scilla.
“send them the HQ coordinates. We are going to meet them. Oh and before you freak out it’s and intel ship. You know the one that carries data across solar systems”
Scilla and her crew all let out a sigh of relief and proceeded toward the HQ and the new unknown Esterians.
The Sheridan and the NDU landed separately. The first to land was Scilla that immediately moved to the Xern landing zone right beside the HQ along with the NDU landing platform. The long ship was different from the NDU on basically everything. It felt polished and deeply thought before production. It was not powered by the same thrusters and so it didn’t emit any strange screaming. Once landed 2 creatures got down. The ship had not interference device but a glimpse of an airlock is useless. The 2 Esterians were a male as tall as Idra and a smaller female. The male was the commander Spini from before. Black power armour, 3 weapons, robust and military posture. Surely a soldier. His suit had the goo protective layer but his was not reactive at all. To Scilla if felt dead. On the other hand the female was completely different. Her presence was childish, she had no weapons with her and she was looking everywhere without a second of calm. On her sides cables and a couple of dark boxes with no openings. They stood still waiting for Idra to arrive as well. Idra left the NDU with a different armour set. She was wearing the same one as when she met the Liin. The 3 horns on her head were covered with black goo, hers was definitely alive. As soon as she was near, the other Esterians moved their right arm to compose their salute. Right straight hand perpendicular to the torso with the arm in a V shape as aligned as possible with the shoulder. The man had no problem to keep it up, while the girl was starting to shake, probably from excitement. Then Idra spoke.
“Andiamo dentro e poi mi spiegherai tutto. (let’s go in and then you will tell me everything)”
Idra’s voice was cold and detached.
Does she know them? And who the fuck is the little hyperactive girl? She is like 160cm, do they use kids in the army?
Their walk toward Hakavor’s skyscraper was almost silent. The only one speaking was the girl. She was constantly trying to get away and get closer to Idra, but Spini kept her in place. Scilla could hear her speaking and even without understanding a word she could understand Idra. The female Esterian was almost constantly speaking about her or trying to speak with her.
If I have to make a guess she is a fan of Idra as well. But what is her purpose?.
Dhalia had ordered a room to be prepared immediately and was waiting for them with her guards. She didn’t forget her broken arm that has healed just a week before.
The room was a standard meeting room, nothing too fancy. They immediately went for the couches and sit across each other. While the Esterians were doing their business Dhalia took Scilla aside. They were whispering to each other.
“who the fuck are those? Have you seen them before Scilla?”
“I have no fucking clue. But Idra spoke with them and said that they are an Intel crew”
“but they already send their ambassador on Leanira acting as one, why the hell a second one?”
“you think I know? Idra just said that it’s all ok.”
“do we thrust them? And what the fuck is the little girl problem?”
“I was wondering the same. For now let’s see how things evolve”
Meanwhile at the couches area Idra was speaking with Spini.
“quindi? Come mai siete qui?(so? Why are you here?)”
“abbiamo ricevuto notizia del contratto stretto con I Leani. L’Unione Tecnocratica Esteriana richiede ulteriori informazioni. (news of the contract with the Leans reached us. The Esterian-Tech-Union request more information about it)”
“Ragionevole. In breve sto migliorando i legami con i Leani. Allunga la mano e collegati ad un supporto di archiviazione. Ti passo il piano dettagliato. (reasonable. Briefly I’m working to improve our relationship with the Leans. Extend your hand and connect to an archiving support. I’m going to sent you the detailed plan)”
They were all busy with their own conversation except the female Esterian. Excluded form both Idra’s and Scilla’s conversation she was bored. Her eyes felt onto the table with gasses and a bottle of water. She wanted to drink to kill some time but had no idea if she had permission. Her superior was speaking with Idra and so she moved toward Scilla and Dhalia that had just finished their “secret chat”. The girl looked at Dhalia and with her acute and joyful voice asked.
“can I drink the water?”
Both Dhalia and Scilla were confused. So far no Esterian had ever asked for permission to do anything, especially permission from non Esterian. Idra that was about to connect her suit to Spini immediately stopped to reply.
“yes you can”
“oh, but shouldn’t I ask the local chief? So I mean Miss Hakavor?”
“nah, it’s unnecessary. You don’t even have to call her miss.”
Then Idra looked at Scilla and Dhalia.
“She is new, fresh from training and never been out”
Scilla replied back.
“well that was definitely a change of standards. I won’t be disappointed if you become more civilized”
“said the brute barbarian to the deity of order”
Idra and Scilla laughed, they were the only two.
“let’s get back to business. You girl…” Idra pointed at the Esterian.
“oh, I’m Alba Corvi in change of…”
“I know what your position is. Get your ass back on the couch and start preparing”
“Sissignora (yes miss)”
Alba rushed back and place the 2 dark metallic boxes on the coffee table. While she was preparing Idra and Spini connected their arms. Idra’s goo extended onto his armour and they stood still for few seconds. Then Spini replied.
“Capisco perfettamente mia signora. Riporterò tutto al governo centrale. Il Fondatore la guiderà al successo. (I understand perfectly my lady. I will take this to the central government. The Founder will guide you to success)”
Whatever Idra’s plan was, Spini definitely appreciated it. As soon as they finished the girl was ready. She had the 2 boxes on the table, a big cable connected one end to Alba’s upper back, right on top of the spine. The other ends of the cable were connected to a vanishing socket in both the boxes and one end was left loose. Idra took it, her goo from the arm connected to it. Then she moved both boxes closer. She placed her free hand few centimetres above and let small threads of goo fall down. The dark boxes opened in half bending like an open laptop They were totally blank. Just the opening internal system, nothing else. Idra’s threads increased in number until they covered everything. Something was surely happening as Alba was wobbling and in general she was having a hard time to even stay sat. About 3 minutes later the process, whatever it was, come to an end and Alba fell down. She seemed to have received quiet the toll and was now laying down on the couch with the cable still attached.
“well I suppose this ends our secrecy. Vanni take a box, I will detach Alba” Idra stood up and moved Alba into a better position. She placed her hands on the cable and pulled it out. The girl was still trying to show energy and spoke back. Her voice was definitely tired.
“was I good?”
“yes. Probably one of the best intel carrier I have met so far.”
Alba was shaking happily but was too exhausted to jump back. Still she had the strength and audacity to ask Idra.
“can we took a photo, together? You know… I’m a really big fan… and I would… I would love to record this honour… can...can I??”
Idra laughed. Then she pulled back the girl making her sit beside her. She rummaged through Alba’s suit pockets and pulled out what looked like a fancy smartphone. She seemed used to take photos with people. This time she decided to have some fun. She took the first photo normally but then she swung her harm across Alba’s back pulling her closer by grabbing her waist. Alba was surprised and looked at Idra’s hand while she was taking a series of photos.
What the fuck. I get that she calls everybody by their name. But she is too close, few fingers down and she would have grabber the girl ass. If she wants to grab an ass mine has to be the first.
Scilla was jealous but soon she calmed down. Idra left Alba and Vanni on the other couch and moved back to her position. However instead of sitting on her empty spot she sat on Scilla’s leg. Her flawless movement and new position implied power, a power that couldn’t be contested by anyone, except Scilla.
“am I comfortable?”
“yes, better than the couch”
Spini faked a cough to intrude.
“I don’t want to exceed my welcome but, now that our job is done. May I ask for and autograph my lady?”
“I recall meeting a Spini in my life? Was it not you?”
“I have an older brother that joined the army before me. The is always bragging about seeing you at the base so… if I can I would love to throw such honour back at him….”
Idra laughed again. This time she was happy. She was no longer seeing them as a threat to something undefined.
“brothers rivalry. This brings me back home. Sure give me something to write one”
Dhalia and Scilla assisted at the process. They were in disbelieve. The ambassador had part of his family saved by Idra, but those two. They were just fans. People that deeply admired her and apparently a lot of people do the same.
Well I suppose I don’t have a reason to be jealous any more. Still this is crazy. They are almost venerating her. Spini’s brother brags about seeing her, SEEING HER. I will ask more about this. I get it, she is a remnant, but just how much high in their technocracy is the remnant?