---

The forest was thick, and luckily, the glow of the trees helped keep most of the hidden crevices illuminated. The structures were in a large state of disrepair. There were ancient ruins back on Earth that were better kempt. But regardless, Izumo was already going underway as the equipment was being set up. He had his tools, brushes and picks. Old school as it was, he was good at his job. Normally calm, he certainly loved his job. Mason didn’t know much about him, but he couldn’t help but think that anything Elm had said after arriving just went in one ear and out the other.

Mason wasn’t much of a head in this expedition. He mainly tagged along with one of Elm’s assistants as they took samples of various mosses that grew within the city itself. He became a pack mule of sorts swapping vials, swatches, and other tools. But he didn’t mind. This close to the camp, he was able to quickly drop everything off, and packed it nicely. He lost track of Jenkins, thankfully, but also D’Artigan. Mason presumed that he went with Jenkins. How D’Artigan could stand him still eluded Mason.

Time spent on the wonderous planet was cut short, unfortunately. The crew had barely managed to do any research before a communication came through with the order to return to the ship. It was short, and concise. Much groaning was to be had as they had to quickly pack up everything, they had laid out what felt like not too long ago.

Getting back to the ship wasn’t that long of a journey. It felt shorter actually since they’ve already walked the distance once before. Aboard the ship, Mason found himself with the others as questions about the outcome with the Holy Vei were directed to captain, and his team of diplomats. The team mostly seemed down, leading Mason to believe that things did not go well. Captain Carabello remained quiet, leaving for the bridge and leading the ship back into orbit.

The ship was preparing to swing around back to the wormhole when the captain rounded them up to explain what happened. He looked like he was having a hard time to come up with the words, when the ship received a communication. Someone was injured. Captain Carabello hastily made the decision to allow the distressed individual aboard the ship.

The injured lay on a med table as Mason looked over him. The figure groaned and wormed as Mason quickly went through his pre medical checks. The figure was humanoid, had black and red skin. The colors were spotted all over his body like some odd mosaic. He had no hair and the few times Mason could see its eyes; they were completely black. The figure's most striking feature was that he had four arms. It made the creatures flailing that much more troublesome. Mason had not seen this kind of alien before, but he was humanoid, and that helped considerably. In the several courses Mason had taken involving alien anatomy, it was learned that most humanoid species had similar bodily function. The size, shape, and location of organs differed between species. Some times certain organs would be missing or preform the same function differently. Regardless, humanoids had enough similarities so that the same medical treatments could be used between them; skin, bones, and blood.

An overhead disc covered in lenses looked over the figure, mapping his body. The table measured the figures weight, and a handheld device Mason pressed against the figure’s skin took note of chemical composition. All in all, this entire procedure took a minute if not two. This was exciting, Mason would admit to himself more exciting then his brief time exploring the planet below.

“Alright, I can do this.” Said Mason, a little enthusiastically, “You’ve been shot. Your skin is remarkably tough, so it looks as though it wasn’t able to penetrate much deeper past your hypodermis. Still, I may need to do a skin graft. Let me just grab this here and…” Mason went about cleaning the wound. It was difficult because contact with the cleaning solution caused a spark of pain, and the figure didn’t want to stay still. He spoke out various sentences and phrases of varying degrees of discontent, but Mason had no clue what he was saying. He didn’t want to bother with the translator, leaving his nurse to figure out how to patch it into the med bay.

Did he not want medical attention? Thought Mason. It would be helpful if he’d sit still. If he doesn’t, I may have to sedate him.

Before Mason could do any actually medical work, who other than Denise had power walked her way into the medical bay. Of course, Mason had forgotten to lock the door, and his nurses wouldn’t think to. Mason quickly put down his tools walked over to the door if the operating room where he sealed it. The medical bay had two operation rooms that were separated from the main facility by large and thick paraglass panes. These panes could be fogged to prevent view and the doors leading into them could be locked from both sides. In this way, either side could ensure the room remained sterile.

“I do not have time to be dealing with you right now, Denise. I have work to do.” Mason walked across the room to a prep area. He washed his hands, and then walked back by the door. Along the wall next to it was a control panel touch screen. After a few presses, the glass fogged. Robotic arms from around the observation disk above the table began to lower just before the fogged glass completely blocked them from view.

“Sandra, could you please entertain Denise once you figure out the translator?” The nurse looked up from the computer screen. She was not pleased.

As the others started to survey the ruins and set up an improvised camp, Elm finally had some uninterrupted time to study the tall trees, luminescent moss and to just be a biologist and not a team leader. Followed by a member of the security team she walked over to the edge of the forest and started to take samples from the plants, especially focusing on the trees which fascinated her. It seemed impossible to take a sample without damaging the trunk - the blue layer on the top wasn’t typical bark, but rather a solid, very hard cover without any dents or cracks as you would see on a normal tree. It made sense given the trees’ extreme height that they needed to be supported by something durable.

Elm sighed and took out a small scalpel she used to gather samples. She hated to harm the trees, but these were too fascinating to pass up on an opportunity to learn more about them. The blade ran over the blue surface, making an awful sound, but not leaving any marks. A frown appeared on Elm’s face when she found out that the once sharp tool is now blunt and useless. She turned over to her escort and fished out a small drill out of a backpack he was carrying. Diamond tip. That has to go through like a phaser beam through butter.

It didn’t. What the hell were these trees made of? Elm layed one hand on the trunk and closed her eyes. Despite what people thought, trees had certain ways to communicate with each other. It wasn’t communication as humans would imagine it, no gossiping about leaf colors or complaining about this year’s saplings, but more like shared feelings. Pleasant when the sun came up after rain. Wary when stronger wind blew. Fearful when there was a fire. Elm, being basically a tree herself, could sometimes connect to this communication. It was more difficult the more ‘alien’ the world was. Since the trees here weren’t like anything she had seen before, and to be honest, looked more like statues to her, she didn’t expect much from this. But the reaction was so strong she twitched and quickly pulled her hand back.

The trees were definitely alive, they weren’t some strange stone or metal tree-like statues as it might seem by their impenetrable bark. They were very much alive and while she couldn’t understand most of the communication running between them, she picked up on the strongest feeling - overwhelming hostility. This planet didn’t want them here.

Elm was a bit shaken, but didn’t lose hope of acquiring a sample. But how? Her thoughts were interrupted by the comms as Captain called the team back to the Prize. Looks like the negotiations didn’t go well. Elm wondered whether it had something to do with what she felt earlier. She was frustrated that they had to end the expedition so abruptly, but she was still the leader and had to make sure that on their way back everyone is encountered for and there is no equipment left behind. As she was returning towards the ruins, she finally saw something that made her happy. It was a sapling, a tiny version of the tall trees, not even a foot in height, but already with shining blue impenetrable bark. Elm removed it from the ground, carefully digging out all the roots, and placed it in a special container along with a large patch of the dirt it was originally growing from. At least some good news.



Back on the Prize Elm headed for a quick debriefing, learning that the negotiations truly didn’t end well. There was some alert from the bridge that took the captain and several more crew members away before they could decide on what to do next. As Elm’s assistance wasn’t needed in this situation, she went straight into the botany lab to oversee the processing of the many samples they collected on the planet, and, more importantly, to start studying the sapling.

D'Artagan

Biologist

Location: Planet Unknown: “Home of Holy Vei”, The Prize

[i]Adressing: @Randomness @ShiningSector@Tortoise

D'Artagnan was exploring he surrounding area; form what he could see their was many strange creatures on this planet. Fauna that was quite fascinating to him; jotting down notes of everything he was seeing. One particular creature that interest him was a butterfly like insect; however this one had multiple eyes with six or so wings on each side of it's body. Watching it flutter it's many wings landing on a flower. The flower being a mixture of a bright pink and green. Making another quick note of a slug like animal with three eyes and a strange blue spiral pattern on it's back. Following the others towards a the grouping of huts and buildings; Being told by Elm how they should stay close. He was not planning on venturing alone. Going with Jenkins to study and take notes; watching him like a hawk in case he tries to leave the group.

But before he could take some notes on a three headed deer he was told to go back to The Prize. He had a face of disappointment because he wanted to keep studying the fauna in the area. But he was not going to be like Jenkins and disobey orders. Once he was back on the ship; he could not help but felt sadden to leave the planet. He felt their was so much he could explore and learn; perhaps he could try to convince the captain for him to come back. Getting a commutation form Jenkins to go to the medical bay and help the medical team with their new guest.

‘I believe you mean what you say. But I do not believe you are true.’ Fuck was that even supposed to mean? ‘You’re not full of shit, but you are.’? Or maybe ‘Your facts are sound, but you’re still bullshitting.’? Hardly, since she glossed over Astrid’s PRC-USSR mixup. Funnily enough, you could argue Astrid was actually full of shit with that last statement. Guess Vei lumped all reds into the same, nationalized basket? Or she was just talking out of her ass like Astrid expected her to. Perhaps it was for the best they got kicked out of discount Birkenau before Astrid could say something inappropriate about it.

---

“So… this is it, then?”
The technician’s voice broke Astrid out of her thoughts. With the Prize now back in very high orbit and talks of the mission being scrapped circulating throughout the grapevine, she started reinvesting her time from the ship to the junior servicemen who thought this mission would open a lot of doors for their careers. After visiting an alien Pope, supervising a trio of rookie techs repainting the ship’s nameplate was nice to calm one’s nerves. And yet, she found herself staring at the planet where the recent events transpired.
“Looks that way, Lance Corporal.” She sighed and turned around just in time to catch two of the three shoving each other with their elbows, probably over something stupid one of them said on a different channel she couldn’t hear. But just as she was about to start chewing them out for being idiots in an environment where an electromagnet on each heel and a tether connecting you to your buddy were the only things keeping you from floating off into space…
“Prize to all EVA teams, return immediately. Unknown ship on approach, hot.”
“Team two copies, four coming in via the ventral fore airlock.” She gave the regulation reply and turned her attention back to her charges, “You two neutron stars, stop doing what you’re doíng, grab the rollers and skip along back to the barn.”

Having stowed away the three vac suits, there wasn’t much she could do for the fugitive. Well, aside from preventing Denise from reaching the med bay, but was she willing to sacrifice brain cells by interacting with the woman for the local? A resounding ‘No’. There was, however, something more in her line of work. Not wanting to bother Carabello directly, as he was likely busy with the situation, she simply sent a text message via the ship’s internal communication system, hoping he’d see it before the situation blew over.

To: CAPT Carabello
From: LT Faust
Captain, are we going to attempt recovery of our guest’s ship, or do we not bother because of the risks?

Wouldn’t be the first time she’d be catching a drifting derelict, and she was still curious about what made Havi stuff tick and how, but approaching any damaged and uncontrolled ship was dangerous in and of itself, not to mention how the - she assumed - Havi pursuers might react to the Prize stealing one of their ships after aiding a fugitive when they’ve been told to sod off.

Robin was looking forward to her time exploring around the planet. They were on one part of the planet she was starting get curious about what the other areas of the planet were going to be like. As a general rule, planets usually followed a pattern of life. Some planets had civilizations that were barely getting used to the concept of the wheel, but one could see that system was on the verge of change. On the verge of growth and making breakthroughs though at times that growth came with a high price. Unfortunately that price sometimes entailed civil war or the loss of a civilization's foundation. Other times one understood that the journey that they were on was one worth taking. No matter how painful or difficult seeing them discover their potential as a civilization was breathtaking. Robin loved moments like those and she was honored that she was able to witness it a few times in her career.

Looking around Robin was impressed with the nature that was before her. It all looked semi-familiar on some levels, but Robin knew that when she studied it closely Robin would see many differences. A sly smirk crossed her face as she realized that she was about to see something new and there was a part of her that thought, "If they could see me back at ISS Science H-Q. Even Captain Hansen would be jealous of me." She set her gear down in the makeshift camp and then pulled out her portable scanner. With that she walked a few feet away and began running her scanner over some of the leaves of a nearby tree, and then moved onto a couple of the bushes. Robin couldn't wait to breakdown what the scans were showing. Her and Baby would be in the lab going back and forth on their findings and cross checking them with the ISS Science database. The anticipation for Robin was almost palpable this was one of those time she would be willing to pay ISS to let her work for them.

Just then came a shock to the system in that they had been ordered back to The Prize. Robin was crushed. Her anticipation was replaced with bitter disappointment and her wide eyed look was now a snarl. Robin took four leaf samples and but them in a bio-pod and said, "No way in Hell I'm going back without something to rub in Hansen's face." She quickly gathered her gear and before she knew it she was back on The Prize. As she made her way to the Bio-Lab she tapped her comm-link and said, "Baby it's me, listen get the lab up and going I got some samples for us to go over."

Baby replied, "Acknowledge Dr. Pearson. I wasn't expecting you for at least another two days. Judging from your voice and several of the communications through the ship I take it this wasn't a successful first contact."

Robin said, "At this point Baby you know more than I do. Although we haven't started a war yet so we got that going for us."

Baby replied, "Indeed Dr. Pearson your Chai-Latte is on your desk waiting for you."

Robin said, "Thank you Baby. I'll be there in one minute get the shower chamber ready to go and another uniform."

The doors to the Bio-Lab opened and in one motion Robin dropped her gear and began stripping out of her clothing and heading to the shower. In a matter of seconds Robin was clean and back in her standard uniform. Robin pulled out the bio-pods and hooked them up to a computer. She took her Chai-Latte and said, "All right Baby let's start with this one and give it the full work up."

Baby replied, "At once Dr. Pearson. I feel you should know that there is a situation occurring on the bridge." Baby gave Robin a complete rundown on the ship and their new passenger that Mason was preparing to operate on. Robin quickly downed her Chai-Latte, burning her tongue slightly, and said, "I'm on my way to assist Mason Baby. No further work until on the bio-pods until I get back."

Baby replied in a somewhat depressed tone, "Acknowledged." Robin let out an exhale and said, "Fine you can start on the first one that's it. If you do any others I promise you I will have you defragging the Science Database and re-cataloging the last two years of away missions in two dozen different languages." In a somewhat cheerful tone Baby replied, "Acknowledged and thank you...Robin." Robin let out a smile with a chuckle as she tossed her cup in the trash and made a sprint to the operating room.

Robin went into the scrubbing area and got ready to go into the operating room. She then realized that the door was locked. This didn't surprise Robin knowing Mason as she did, but Mason also trusted Robin and she was one of handful of people that he gave verbal authorization to unlock the door. She said, "Computer open operating room door authorization Commander Dr.Robin Pearson 126-068 Kappa Epsilon Nu." Robin heard the door unlock and she entered the operating room. She locked the door behind her and said to Mason, "Mason it's Pearson I got your back on this one." Robin knew enough about anatomy and physiology that she could assist in surgeries, and was rated as a field medic but she wasn't a doctor and she didn't want to be one either.

Robin walked over to a computer center on the left wall and punched a few keys. Within seconds she had the vitals and the patient's body on two monitors. She said, "From what I can tell vitals are within safe parameters but they're at the low end of the spectrum." Robin then opened a channel to the Bridge and said to the Captain, "Captain this is Dr. Pearson in the O-R. I'm patching in the video feed to the monitors at my station on the bridge. I will not open audio channels at this time and I will open them only if necessary. Dr. Pearson out."

Robin then turned her attention back to the patient and said to Mason, "All right Mason, Medical Recorder is running and things are still holding steady."

Interactions:
@Tortoise
@Randomness

Upon reaching their destination, which so happened to be at the center of an abandoned village, Elm provided the entire exploration team with their orders and instructions. Scientists and security guards immediately set out to their respective tasks. Gue'rach, whom up until this part was busy playing the part of an overgrown pack mule, finally laid down may duffle bags he had carried all the way here. Arranging them all in a row and opening each bag, he revealed that many of the sacks contained an abundance of supplies. A couple of the bags contained water containers and a variety of pre-packaged meals, along with the typical rations most crew members would rather not consume unless their very survival depended on it. Gue'rach honestly didn't understand his crew sometimes, especially with them not holding the protein-rich supplements with any high regard; he practically lived off the stuff while he was in the KIDF. The other bags in the row possessed medical supplies, full-on first aid kits, cargo harness, additional universal power cells, and an array of electronic equipment and sensors.

It was clear he had made quite the arrangement with the logistics and supply department to relinquish many of the assembles assets available to everyone in the group.

But perhaps the most impressive of his arsenal was the large metallic container he had carried in which, upon unsealing the box which unfolded itself upon his command, deployed a transportable console for field-use. Similar in design to the terminals found back on the Prize, the mobile console allowed for the same kind of functions, such as site-to-site communications, analysis scans, and data storage. As everyone spread through the ruins, Gue'rach spent most of his time setting up the seemingly convenient device and establishing the wireless and digital handshake with the Prize's main computer. Minutes later and after some fumbling with the apparently not-as-convenient-as-originally-thought device, Gue'rach has programmed the console to rune several automated surveys of the local area. Already, he could see data being compiled, ranging from soil make-up to carbon-dating. Satisfied, he had the program run in the background while allowing anyone in the team to use the console as they saw fit.

---

For about an hour, Gue'rach wandered through the village on patrol, passing by some of the researchers and security personnel as he strolled through the street, assuming the cobbled path he was on was in fact a street. While he wasn't much of an archeologist, he couldn't help but ponder in interest on the history of the ruined village they dwelled in. Obviously, they knew next to nothing of the inhabitants of this planet and could only, for the time being, uncover the most basic of aspects of the people who once occupied the small town. The architecture belonging to some of the mostly intact structures seemed rudimentary and matched that with similar construction practices shares by many other ancient and primitive civilizations, such as the notable use of clay - assuming the material he was observing was in fact clay - and the use of archways to strengthen the design of the structures.

His venture eventually lead him to a rather small and narrow building, probably large enough to hardly house a single person. Half of the structure appeared to have rotted away, resulting in the roof caving in. But perhaps the most notable feature was inside of the building. As Gue'rach curiously peered inward, he could make out an elevated platform at its apex, a rimmed circular cavity purposely falling into a compartment within the altar-like platform. Turning his head slightly to his right and presenting his two left eyes, he looked into the pit before him. Using a light-emitter, he could see dark greenish stains splattered about the floor of the pit with clumps of what appeared to be ash scattered inside. He emitted an intrigued hum and produced a scanner and held the device just over the small entryway. After a few seconds, the scanner resonated a ping, indicating its scan had concluded. The scan report detailed that the composition of the material within the pit contained several mineral compounds, listing components such as silicate, calcium carbonates, calcium phosphate...

The list continued, soon containing an additional listing of unexpected biological material and then - coprolite. Gue'rach suddenly groaned and with the instinctual evasive movement one would perform to avoid getting decked, he recoiled away from the pit and soon from the entire structure. As it turned out, the building was, in fact, an ancient outhouse.

As Gue'rach stomped away and compiled what was quickly becoming an embarrassing report; a report he was suddenly keen on scrapping, his communicated badge had pinged. And then pinged again. It was quick widespread message from Captain Carabello ordering the exploration team to abandon their mission.

"Crap," grumbled Gue'rach.

---

It didn't take a genius, or even perhaps an empath, to grasp the mood that spread like an infectious disease through the Prize. After a quick debriefing, it was made known that the Holy Vei and maybe even in association, the Havi people, had rejected ISA negotiations for coexistence and had promptly banished the Prize and any other ISA civilizations from the system the wormhole resided in, thus effectively ending any interests of exploring other star systems outside the Havi system. Gue'rach could understand how this could damper the spirits of the Prize's ISA crew of explorers. Even he felt disappointed that their mission had come to such an unfortunate conclusion such as this. Then again, he could somewhat understand where Vie was coming from. The Kotor Star Union, despite being an ISA member state, had often grown tiresome of the advances of some of the peaceful members, especially calls for more potent immigration treaties and full disclosure of cultural information. The stress was also shared by many Auval’kotor as well, with a smaller and yet growing percentage joining the ISA. Though in comparison, Vie was presuming an extreme and unproven notion of full cultural assimilation.

Gue'rach pondered these thoughts at his main station on the bridge while going through the routine system and security reports. Before the somber mood could fester any further, the communications officer snapped to Carabello and reported a smaller Havi fact was hailing them. Gue'reach quickly looked up on the main screen and brought up his station's defensive and offensive features and redied them, standing by and waiting for Carabello's word. At it so happens, a Havi individual was pleading for help, stating they were hurt and being pursued. The declaration seemed suspicious but before Gue'rach could interject, Carabello had already ordered to have the Havi being brought aboard. Seconds later, Korax made the advisory that if the individual they had just rescued were being pursued, their pursuers would not be far behind.

"I agree with Korax's assessment," he declared to Nick, "it would be advantageous for the Prize to be brought to Yellow alert."

The outcome didn't surprise her the least bit. But at that point, there was no use worrying about it any further. They'd just have to take their loss and continue to move forward.

And that's what she did. Beatrice headed back to her quarters seeking to change out of her clothes. Not that they were particularly uncomfortable, but the tense interaction had made the young woman sweat just the slightest bit. And if she wasn't engaged in any strenuous or physical activity, she hated the feeling; it was a small pet peeve for her. Another reason why she would choose to stay out of the sun if she could help it. "Get out there," or "You gotta catch some sun". She would hear that all the time, but she wouldn't pay any attention to them. Beatrice was naturally pale, and if she was outside for a prolonged period of time without sunscreen, she would burn. Of course, nobody else but her had to suffer through that pain.

After she freshened up and got comfortable, Beatrice figured she could finish familiarizing herself with the systems onboard. That was the plan, at least until she found about the newcomer that had boarded. Beatrice found it a bit odd that they were practically kicked out of Havi only to now have one of them asking for help. That's what the alert stated anyway.

Possibly a blessing in disguise... she thought to herself, turning around.

Beatrice headed back to retrieve her equipment. She wasn't called out yet, but one could never be too sure. Besides, it didn't hurt to have an additional body. She preferred to be proactive anyway.

Once she grabbed her bag, Beatrice made her way down to the docking bay. If nothing else, she could link up to their system. That was the best case scenario.

He was halfway to the Med Bay, walking fast, when his trusty datapad beeped to signal another message. It was an annoying, hourly sound, which Nick almost always ignored. But now was a unique situation, so he glanced at it quickly, and saw a note from Lt. Astrid waiting for him:

To: CAPT Carabello
From: LT Faust
Captain, are we going to attempt recovery of our guest’s ship, or do we not bother because of the risks?

Ouch. That was a tough enough question to make the Captain stop in his tracks.

On the one hand, the ISA crew might learn a lot from their first look at technology this side of the wormhole. Alien tech always surprises. And if Havi engineering is anywhere around standard for their region, it would give the Prize crew an informational edge going forward.

But then there's Vei to think about. She might be new to English, but she hadn't left much room for interpretation when she told the delegation to get out. It would be easy to explain away picking up the passenger: he was injured, he requested aid, etc., etc. But it's a lot harder to explain capturing a Havi ship and trying to figure out how it worked. If the ship is armed, it's practically an act of war.

But having met Vei once, Nick decides she wasn't going to listen to anything he said either way. They'll just have to hope that first contact with the Havi won't end in a shootout.

To: LT Faust
From: CAPT Carabello
Go ahead. Try to leave it functional. Don't spill anything on the seats.



Nick didn't regret listening to Korax and Gue'rach's suggestion to put the ship on Yellow Alert. When the Universal Translator finally got set up for their guest in sickbay, nothing he had to say was good.

His name was pronounced in a way the human tongue couldn't quite imitate. At least, Nick's tongue sure couldn't. A spelling with Latin letters might be "T'ri," if you use the apostrophe as a stand-in for that same freaky growl that Vei kept making. Apparently, it's a natural part of how the Havi people speak.

And it looks like the attitude is too. When Nick introduced himself as the leader of the "travelers," the alien told him that he was too short to be a leader. Also, the room was too cold, the lights were too dark, and the doorways were too small. Entering the second hour of this conversation, it was getting really tempting to turn off the Universal Translator.

"Fine, whatever, everything is wrong," Nick admitted. He had ran out of diplomatic decorum. "Are you happy now?"

"No," T'ri replied.

The captain sighed. "Alright, why aren't you happy now?" These simple, direct questions had proven to be the best at getting a real answer out of him.

"Because you are not being true."

"How am I not being true?"

"You do not really think that everything is wrong." The alien took another breath, and Nick was sure he was going to add Even though it is, but he seemed to catch himself. Is that progress?

Slowly but surely, it was. They settled into a slow but steady question-and-answer pattern, and the verbal barbs subsided. For a long time, T'ri still didn't volunteer any information that Nick didn't explicitly ask for, and it was still like pulling teeth to get a clear answer, but now it felt like their guest was cooperating.

Somewhere along the way, he seemed to decide that Nick wasn't very bright. Maybe it was because of all the questions. But at least that made him more patient. T'ri took on a lecturing tone that reminded Nick of a professor he used to learn from. His answers were longer, then, and easier to understand.

He taught Nick about the Havi deity, the "God Named Truth", which T'ri and Vei both technically worshiped. But according to T'ri, Vei was a heretic. He said that she was a usurper who had deceived the nations of Havi into giving her power, then betrayed and destroyed them. T'ri was obviously a bit biased, but with some careful questioning, Nick was eventually able to put together a picture of what must have really happened.

Vei was a new ruler. At most, she'd been in command of Havi for about 5 Earth years. She came into power as the head of an international diplomatic organization- something like the U.N. of Old Earth. According to T'ri, their shared faith in the God Named Truth had been the only thing that the various nations of Havi could agree on, so this organization used their religion as a way of conducting diplomacy. There didn't seem to be any difference between high-ranking priests and diplomats.

When some kind of political infighting threatened to trigger catastrophe on Havi, possibly coupled with environmental pollution, Vei's organization used it as on opportunity to seize power. To the national leaders, they claimed that they would restore order and political cohesion. On the side, they secretly funded religious fundamentalist sects to assassinate or terrorize their opponents. Eventually, the public lost faith completely in their governments, and Vei was there to fill the power gap. It was a coup.

But just when Nick was about to bring up the dangerous subject of why T'ri was being shot at, the Holy one herself interrupted him. The Prize was receiving a hail from her compound. Was that foresight? Probably not.



They were in the Situation Room again. It was starting to become more familiar to Nick than his own bedroom.

"So," he began, "we have a decision to make, and it's too big for even a Captain to make on his own."

The Captain explained Vei's message to his crew. She had told them that T'ri was a dissident priest and a wanted criminal, who escaped a high-security prison and stole the vessel he arrived in. "That explains why he's been shot," Nick adds, "and why he was worried about being pursued."

Of course, Nick also communicates everything that T'ri told him, and the theories about Vei that he was able to put together from T'ri's simplified answers. "If he really is a dissident priest, that would explain why he knows so much about Vei and her organization. He may have worked for her in the past."

Which makes the whole thing more complex. If Vei really rules Havi, and T'ri really is former follower, than that makes this a deeply internal affair to the Havi people. There's a real question as to whether ISA even has the right to be involved.

Or, there would be, except that Vei just brought them into it. "Vei has asked us to return T'ri into her custody, where- and she was clear about this- he will be executed for treason." Carabello lets that settle across the room. "Normally, I wouldn't even consider it, except..."

He pressed a button on the datapad, and a recording of Vei's voice filled the room. "If you return the criminal T'ri to us, then we will consider..." even through a recording, the growl-snort was unmistakable "...reopening negotiations with ISA." As if it wasn't obvious enough, Vei had added: "I may allow your ships to pass through this system."

So now the Prize crew was facing a moral dilemma. "If we turn T'ri over," Nick said, pronouncing his name more like Tree, "other ISA ships can explore this side of the wormhole, and we might be able to really get a diplomatic foothold here." He sighed. "But we'd be condemning a man who, as far as I can tell, hasn't done anything but refuse to accept Vei as all-knowing and holy. You know, I don't think I blame him for that one." This was not something that Carabello wanted to decide on his own.

He looked to his crew for support. "I need opinions, ideas, other alternatives- anything."

D'Artagan

Biologist

Location: The Prize

[i]Addressing: @Tortoise

D'Artagnan did his best to help around inside of the medical bay; although personally he felt pretty useless. He was guided along by the other medical staff; He knew a lot about the human anatomy and medical tools so he could get through some of the instructions given to him.

Afterwards he along with Jenkins made their way over towards the briefing room. He wondered how he could be of any help with this stowaway situation. This was a very difficult situation; The religion of his people was the majority and there were other religions on his planet. There was religious discord in the past and some even today; but it was not a major issue in his homeworld. He found it to be deplorable that you are focused into a religion you do not believe in.

He wondered if Vei was no better than some of the Zar'Fatwa high priest; causing pain towards others who do not share her beliefs. “Would we be able to try and convince Vei that Carabello is free to believe in another god or not? If not then could we try to get Vei to understand that there are other religions that one can believe in?” He suggested thinking that Vei could be reasoned with; and come to an understanding to save Carabello and the crew of the ship.

But deep down he thought that Vei could not be reasoned with which saddened him greatly.

Korax, First Officer

Things went as planned. With the Captain giving the order to go to Yellow Alert, Korax took over managing on the bridge as the ship settling into a controlled chaos. Gear was stowed, weapons armed, shields raised and other protective measures put in place. If trouble came calling, they would not find the ISS Pride wanting.

And indeed it came, the mentioned pursuers appearing. It was difficult to say who would win in a fight at this venture, but for the moment there would be only talk as the Havi's communique was relayed to the Pride.That was then passed on to the Captain, and soon they had convened in the Situation Room to discuss the problem that was at hand.

Considering what the Captain had relayed, they were in quite the dilemma. A gamble on what the truth was, the continuation of their mission, and the state of the Havi. It was no easy situation.

Normally Korax would work for the collective good, the good of the whole. Yet simply saying that they should hand him over was something that should not be leapt into. After all, there had to be consensus. "If Vei is unwilling to provide information corroborating the claims made, that complicates the issue at hand," Korax noted from where it sat. "This one would also note for the Captain, if no one else, that this encounter will set tone as well as precedent for the Pride's mission if it is to continue." It did not make any judgments, not on its own.

Of course the Captain had asked for alternatives, and those could be provided. "If the truth is desired, the Pride could attempt to stall for time while dispatching a team to ascertain whose claims are more correct. it would not be an extended period of time, but suitable justification could be insinuated to earn some leeway to do so." With that Korax fell silent, waiting to hear what the others had to say as it considered further.

As soon as she got the green light, Astrid took to assembling the team needed to snatch the thing. In the time it took to get two pilots and three technicians to the shuttle bay, she’s had time to explain the operation to one of the sensor officers to guide them to wherever the Havi shuttle had scooted off to in the meantime. Teleporting the pilot directly to their medbay had the unfortunate side effect of leaving the Havi shuttle in uncontrolled motion through frictionless space.

Fortunately, the target ship was pointed in the Prize’s general direction, but not right at the Prize, so the shuttle could launch and then wait for the target to approach, match speeds and grab it all in the relative safety of proximity to the Prize.
“So, anyone else not looking forward to explaining this to the locals?”
“Sorry, Your Holiness, our boss is just so curious about your space jalopy.”
“You two want to walk home? Give me shit about it if it fails or after it’s done. Looks like whoever was gunning for this poor bastard is trying to catch the thing too, so let’s hurry. I’d rather not get two and a shootout for the price of one.”

With the wayward transport craft approaching, the shuttle accelerated, matching speeds and using maneuvering thrusters to inch closer, attempting to latch onto it with magnetic landing legs. To everyone’s chagrin, Havi ship hulls were made of a nonmagnetic metal, probably some Aluminium-Magnesium alloy to save weight, judging by the holes in it. That meant they didn’t suit up in vain after all. The engineers floated out the shuttle’s loading bay in pairs, one person of each pair hauling sheets of steel, the other a welder. Before long, the Havi shuttle was covered with said sheets in two places, allowing the magnetic landing legs of the Prize’s shuttle to latch on and carefully tow it back. “What’d I tell you? Let it never be said salvage techs have boring jobs.”

---

She only had enough time to get halfway through disassembling one of the shuttle’s engines - A standard-looking chemical unit using hypergolic propellant - when she was called to the Situation room. That was never a good sign, and this time was no exception. “She said she will consider reopening negotiations. She didn’t promise anything, what’s stopping her from putting the poor sod’s head on a pike and telling us that she considered but we were still free to go screw ourselves? Pardon my french.” Astrid added her two pessimistic cents when asked for more opinions. “Especially since - with your approval, Captain - We just nicked one of their ships. Speaking of, there’s a bunch of weird glowy bits in there I can’t even begin to understand from a glance and I’d like a second opinion before someone grabs a screwdriver and starts poking and hoping.” Astrid added with a glance at Beatrice and Robin.

Nick nodded along to his crew's suggestions.

"I think Astrid may be right," the Captain affirmed. "Or half-right. We have obviously upset Vei, and I don't believe she's really that open to alien contacts."

As for D'Artagan and Korax's suggestions, Nick was more skeptical. "Unfortunately, I don't think we have the time to open up a dialogue or launch an investigation."

A holo-display flickered to life on the desk in front of him, showing a large Havi spacecraft. "This vessel arrived a few moments before I called the meeting. You'll notice that it is either the ship that escorted us here, or the exact same model. For the record- that means we can outrun it." He cleared his throat, catching himself. "If we have to, that is."

"Either way," he concluded, "it's demanding an answer immediately. We need to decide now whether to send T'ri to them or grant his asylum."

D'Artagan

Biologist

Location: The Prize

[i]Addressing: @Tortoise

D'Artagan rubbed his chin thinking of a way he could resolve the situations; usually with a tough decision he would consult his father or his spiritual mentor. However in this situation he would not have a lot of time to hear their advice. So he would have to come with a solution of his own.

“I do not know if my opinion matters, captain; i think that we should not give up T’ri; i feel that he should be able to express whatever religious belief he believes in. Again i do not think we can convince them; so could we out run them?” He suggested thinking in the back of his mind that they would not be able to.

Astrid didn’t have much else to say on the subject. Or any subject that didn’t involve a socket wrench in some capacity. “I say we return the cold shoulder. Then again, there’s a reason I’m not a diplomat.” Astrid huffed, examining the holographic depiction of the alien vessel, the engineer’s eye trying to pick out obvious weaknesses and comparing to what she knew for certain about their ships from the shuttle. “Shall I prioritize examining the weapon damage to the recovered shuttle to better tell what sort of firepower we can expect?”

“Either way, at least by our standards, they have very little to go on. Treebeard has requested asylum because he’s being persecuted for his theopolitical beliefs, and under our system, the Prize is considered ISA territory, meaning you can choose to grant him asylum on those grounds and they can go f- pray.” She caught herself, “Now sure, that claim may hold less water than a sieve with them, but it’s not like they went out of their way to explain how their law works, if they even have laws beyond ‘The church says so’.”