Wallace mulled it over for a moment, before shrugging delicately. “Very well. It’s highly irregular, but these are changing times, I suppose. My servants will find a place for them on the vessel and ensure they’re deafened while inside.” The Plenipotentiary clicked her tongue on the top of her mouth, and smiled graciously. “Sergeant, see to it that this person is brought to me post-haste. And don’t let anyone else find out where they are going, thank you.”

“Yes ma’am.” Skopec grunted, his eyes glazing over as he conveyed the order.

Wallace glanced between Marae and Freyr. “Happy? We can’t be too long - I’m making a lot of people quite unhappy by showing up like this.” Her voice lowered to a conspiratorial level. “Quite exciting, isn’t it?” She smirked.

Freyr didn’t understand what was about to happen, but the Plenipotentiary had piqued her natural curiosity. It wasn’t like she was going to get a full and restful night’s sleep anyway. “Blast it, I'm in. If only for a change of scenery.”

Skopec stepped forward, beside Marae. “I’m coming too, to make sure they return in one piece.” Wallace beamed at his scarred face. “I knew that already. Chirtsey will show you to a jumpseat.” She motioned to her left, and one of the black-and-white robed orderlies bowed. The dark maelstrom floating around their head flared, as though lightning had riven the clouds.

“Shall we go aboard? I don’t want to dither.”

Marae nodded her head. “Of course. Although, if I know my husband, he is going to want to come along once I tell him I am going somewhere. No matter where it is. I am sure you know Nirann, though. If you’ve ever been to Threria, you have met him, considering that he pretty much is the city. Besides which, I am guessing this is something he should hear too.”

Ultimately, the group did not delay much longer. One of Void company, the sniper and recon specialist Mar’Ghel was called aboard to help bolster their protection. As well, Marae was, as usual, correct with her assumptions about her husband. Nirann was eager to join once Marae told him she was leaving the tower. It would not have even mattered if it were an important matter or not, he was simply always eager to find something new to do. Being trapped in a single body tended to be quite an irritating experience for him, much less being trapped in a single building. Back home, he had every camera and sensor in Threria to be his eyes and ears. There was always something interesting for him to observe somewhere in the city, so his current situation felt exceptionally limiting for him.

The vessel that the group boarded was as peculiar as Wallace herself. By Human standards, it possessed sophisticated technology that allowed it to hide many parts of its nature from observers. Its shape was difficult to discern from the outside, and even its interior had sections that were blurry to some observers, and not others. For being a diplomat’s personal vessel, it was quite sizable, being about seventy meters in length with three separate decks. Most certainly, it allowed for ample privacy in whatever ways were needed. Mar would be waiting in the anterior section of the ship, but Marae stayed close with the rest of the group. Ultimately, she did not yet know what matter, specifically, Wallace came here to discuss, so Marae would have to wait and see.

Inside the vessel, it was as if the storm outside disappeared entirely. It could not be seen, nor felt. “I must say, I am surprised to see you here, Plenipotentiary Wallace. I would have expected your services would be needed on Rothia.” Marae remarked.

“I run most of my business from this ship.” Wallace motioned grandly to their blurred surroundings as she led them through the wide aisle towards the stern with her two aides in tow. Freyr thought she could see movement through the blurred forcefields all around. People, perhaps? Deep purple and pink and blue lights blinked on and off, like lighthouses in the fog. Two people stepped out from behind the curtain and onto the gangway, but stopped and let them pass. Each bowed deeply to Wallace, their faces blurred beyond all recognition.

“It offers me a greater degree of discretion than Rothian worlds, and I can be wherever I'm needed. We have state of the art signal tech on board, courtesy of our Friends below Babylon.” Freyr realised now that she’d worked on some of the components for this type of ship, nearly half a decade ago now. She cleared her throat nervously, still in awe of the things they’d deployed without fully understanding them.

They arrived at a grand set of doors, flanked by two guards in elaborate dress. “Chirtsey, make Sergeant Skopec comfortable please. Alderney, serve us some tea in my office.” Wallace commanded her two servants, as the doors opened up ahead of them. The Institute soldier looked apoplectic with rage, Freyr realised, but didn’t say anything as the rest of the party followed the Plenipotentiary.

The Rothians did not truly expect any danger from Wallace herself, and the ship was more than able to keep itself hidden from any danger that might be out in the city. Still, Rothians always took their safety seriously, even with mild threats of danger. Mar’Ghel was content to wait wherever the Plenipotentiary desired her to be, as she had been chosen to be their protector for a reason. Being the recon specialist of Void company, her suit was equipped with the most capable sensor suite available. As well, both her suit and Nirann’s current frame were equipped for Gravitational Wave Signaling, allowing them to communicate via principles not even detectable to Human technology. Nirann himself walked at Marae’s side, wanting as much to keep her safe as he did to keep her company.

Wallace’s office was a large space, capable of spanning three entire decks worth of space. It was spherical in shape, with the floor and some of the wall being transparent. Evidently, they had decided to ensure their privacy by taking the vessel underwater, based on what they could see outside. Nirann took a few moments to observe a curious fish beneath him as he took his seat. Initially, the office had been quite featureless, but it was a space that seemed to be meant to be adaptable to whatever purposes the Plenipotentiary required. Near the center of the room, tables, chairs, and other needed furniture formed up from the floor itself. They were comprised of small, interlocking panels no, more than a square centimeter in area, which could form to nearly any shape. The panels were even chromodynamic, allowing them to change color to give the furniture a more natural appearance.

At first, the furniture was more generalized, but as everyone sat down, their chairs quickly adapted and re-shaped themselves to conform exactly to their specific forms. The ship did seem to allow for exceptional convenience and luxury, though neither Nirann nor Marae showed too strong of a reaction. Rothians were accustomed to such forms of luxury, though given Wallace’s extensive experience with them, she was not likely surprised.

“I’ve seen your ship docked at Rothia before.” Nirann remarked towards Wallace. “I’m curious, do you tend to have as much fun in here as you do in Threria? Because you know, that’s a pretty high bar, considering the last outing of yours that I saw.” He laughed.

Wallace laughed musically along with Nirann as she sashayed across the spherical office. “Oh yes. I have fun wherever I am. I realised a long time ago that waiting patiently for your life to become more enjoyable will often prove disappointing. One must act.”

A left-hand chaise longue constructed for Wallace as she approached the far end of the seating area. The Plenipotentiary arranged herself elegantly across it, with her back to the main transparent bulge. She spared barely a glance at the floodlit lake depths around them. Freyr couldn’t help but track a mobula-type creature as it flapped past the back of the ship. The seat she’d chosen, closest to the door, seemed more like one big amorphous cushion than an actual chair. She gripped the material on either side of her to avoid sinking any further.

“Is that what you’re expecting tonight? A good time?” Wallace showcased her perfect teeth in a smile, as the double doors glided open again. Alderney entered, followed by a floating tray of tea and sweet treats. They stopped to one side of the group, and began decanting the steaming hot liquid into dainty cups.

Nirann could not grin, but his posture did become noticeably more relaxed. He crossed one leg over his knee and leaned back into the chair, which further adjusted to him. “I am expecting business. But…I saw how your last business outing in Threria went. It ended up with a fair amount of drugs, a fist fight, and Vreta in bed with that Human agent. So, I know those two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“Nirann…” Marae groaned, nudging him with her elbow before speaking up herself. “Naturally, you would not come all the way here and seek us out if it were not important.” She took a moment to grab her cup of tea in her hands, though for the moment, she simply waited for it to cool down. Despite the treats, refreshments, and all the other formalities, Wallace still had not given any hint as to why she was here. Although Marae had been eager to relax with Freyr before Wallace arrived, she was now wanting to get to business. “We have been stuck here for a while, after the attacks, though we have been continuing our work as best as we can in the meantime.”

Wallace’s expression remained static while the others talked, smiling politely. She gave all three of them equal eye contact from her position on the chaise longue, studying them. Without a word, or looking up at Alderney, she accepted a cup and saucer of fragrant tea and cradled it with both hands. Her servant bowed, and having finished his duty, padded back towards the doors.

“Yes, so I'm told. Allow me to apologise again for these unfortunate circumstances.” The double doors closed again behind Alderney, and then promptly disappeared into the wall with a hum. The silence of the office intensified as any connection with the rest of the ship was muffled.

“I hope to secure your release in the coming days, so you can pursue whatever path you decide.” Wallace continued, sipping her boiling hot tea. “My staff have asked for use of the Barbarossa to house you again, the Human elements at least. But the Navy wants to meet you in person beforehand.” Wallace plucked a lokum cube off the floating tray as it went between the group and popped it in her mouth.

“Hmm, it sounds like you may also want to speak to Rareth about some of this after we are done. She is technically the one who is ultimately in charge of the Rothian expedition, after all. Just be aware that she may not be as, um, sympathetic about the effects of all the chaos on Outremer as we are. She expects Outremer to honor its agreements with us promptly, regardless of who is in charge, and I don’t feel that she has as much patience for diplomacy. Most of us do understand, though, that with all this upheaval on Outremer, you need time.” Marae explained.

Nirann gave a glance towards the tea. It was hard to tell through the expressionless face of a droid, but his body language did make him seem somewhat annoyed that he could not join in. Regardless, it did not take long before he actually started to get down to business as well. “That’s all true, yeah, but no matter how blunt she might be, Rareth might actually have a point here. We can sit around this resort playing political games until the heat death of the universe, but the Navigator, the Cradle, every other being involved in this, they’re not going to wait on us. Whatever their ends are, they’re going to be pushing straight towards them regardless of what we do. I say it’s best that we get properly back to work sooner, rather than later.”

“These are…special circumstances - there is no doubt. I just hope that particular appointment doesn’t get in the way of meaningful collaboration...a little bird told me that the area immediately above the Cradle has been evacuated now.” With that statement, Wallace took another polite sip of tea, little finger erect.

Freyr slurped hers too, cupping the vessel in both hands. She was pleased by the news that people were being moved to safety, but it somehow felt a long way away now. This chair was more comfortable with every passing second, and the atmosphere inside the office seemed intractably cosy.

Everyone listened in silence to Nirann as he piped up. Freyr noticed a spark of enthusiasm ignite behind Wallace’s eyes. “Now, that’s an interesting subject. What do you think their ‘ends’ are?”

Nirann looked closely at Wallace as well for a few moments, or at least he appeared to be looking at her. Eventually, he gave a shrug as he answered. “If I could figure that out, I would be a hero. Well…even more of a hero.” He only tilted his head slightly, but it would be easy to imagine him grinning with his tone.

Marae’s sigh seemed expected at this point, but regardless of his approach, she did agree with the point Nirann had been making. “I think we all wish we could say more about them, but there are just too many unknowns. And, well, wild speculation is more dangerous than useful. My husband does have a point, though. The Rothian people could help accelerate every part of our efforts far more than we are right now. We could bring in more resources, more specialists, better computers. And we could help with all this other trouble too. Evacuations could go much faster with our help. We may not yet be sure what is or is not true about the Cradle, but the possibility of a major threat to us has made this project a priority for the Rahn’Saki. That much I do know. We could make a lot more progress with those kinds of resources, but we need to get through all of this…what is the phrase? Red tape.”

“Mmmm.” Wallace sub-vocalised indulgently, leaning back in her chaise longue. “I understand this must be very frustrating for you. Rothians have a clarity of direction going back centuries. By contrast, us Humans are tribal by design.” The Plenipotentiary gestured between herself and Freyr, who blushed lightly.

“We are all part of a rich tapestry going back thousands of millenia. A shared story that’s full of hope, yes. But also violence, deception, greed. We’ve been brought low enough times to understand the benefit to forming groups of like-minded people. But now, our civilization is spread across hundreds of objects, floating far apart in space.” Wallace took a pause to sip her tea. A finger of bright light brushed the water above their heads, from the surface. Freyr craned her neck but couldn’t see the source.

“These ancient bonds which tie our people, institutions, beliefs and ideas together are taut. Some have broken, snapped under the strain of generations apart, or the wars. Others have crystalised, and a few have evolved into something entirely new. This ‘red tape’ you see, is actually not an altogether negative sign. It shows that people are talking to others which they ordinarily wouldn’t. It is abrasive and sometimes violent right now, but I believe the unrest is symptomatic of old fractures which are finally beginning to mend. The question is whether our society will mend around the Cradle, or eject it like our own bodies might with a foreign object.”

Nirann tilted his head, looking slightly to the side For a moment, it seemed like his gaze could have been going up to the transparent ceiling to observe the aquatic life above them, but it was hard to tell exactly where he was looking. Strictly speaking, his optics did not have a singular point of focus, so he could simultaneously focus on everything within his field of view. “Hmm, I guess that’s one way of looking at it. A nice sentiment, could make for a good introduction in a book, but I doubt the Cradle is going to read it. It’s not going to wait on the bureaucracy. If we don’t take action and get to work, then these beings we don’t yet understand are going to be making all the decisions for us. At that point, we’ll just have to hope we agree with them.”

Marae turned towards Nirann, placing a hand on his metal shoulder. “I know you’re right, dear, but the issue with tribalism is that we don’t have one Human who can make all the decisions.” She turned her attention back to Wallace, taking just a short break for her tea. “I know you can’t just force your government to act, but I would suspect you do have your influence. So, how would you recommend getting our team to work again, peacefully?”

Wallace laughed like a few accidentally pressed piano keys at Nirann’s comment. She nodded and ate a few small sugared nuts, listening to Marae. Freyr finished her cup of tea and realised she wanted some more. She looked over at the attendant tray, and it obediently hovered over to her.

“Well Marae, if someone had acquired a lead on where another of these Cradle creatures may have crashed, that could help.” Wallace began. “But i think the real question is what you plan to do with all these celestial voyagers if you find them?”

Freyr’s ears perked up at the mention of Cradle creatures, and she sat forward in her seat.

“Well, my plans for my team still hasn’t changed.” Marae answered. “We need to improve our understanding of them. The one we have found has been frustratingly resistant to study, but we have still improved our knowledge of its technology, its communication, its behavior. Perhaps with a larger sample size, with more of these beings to study, we will be able to gleam more insight into their history and motivations. Understanding, above anything, will help us make our decisions.”

The more subtle implications of Wallace’s tone did end up going over Marae’s head, but Nirann’s software could analyze her body language and vocal patterns in great detail. He had spent countless hours observing Human visitors to Threria, generally for the purpose of safeguarding the city. “Our study of the Cradle being has given us information to work with. We have some understanding of what they are, and we believe we know where to look for more of them. Especially now that we know their signal profiles. I expect that we will be able to find more in time…but if you were to already have a lead we could work with, I’m sure that would save us some time and help the cause.”

Freyr jumped in after Marae, now that one of her favourite subjects was being discussed. “These entities have had countless millennia to diverge. Their architecture may be completely different! We just don’t know yet - the Cradle doesn’t have any kind of imprint for each of these life forms that we can detect.” She smacked her lips, tasting the tea on them. “The Navigator - what the one we found on Rothia calls itself - doesn’t like to talk straight with us. Another one may be more disposed to letting us in on their secrets.”

Wallace’s icy white eyes lit up at the mention of secrets. She grinned luxuriously and looked to Nirann, still draped over the chaise longue. “I do hear whispers, now and again. Information, wafting through the ether from dark and developed corners of this galaxy alike. One particular bit of information may be of use to you.” The Plenipotentiary finished her tea and rested back on the attendant tray with a soft clink. “But fair warning, my source will not surrender this intelligence unless you do something for them first.”

Nirann was scanning even the smallest, involuntary twitches from Wallace, though everything about his body language still made him seem relaxed. The way he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, or the small movements he made as if he was trying to get more “comfortable” all felt natural and organic. Absolutely none of it was at all necessary, or even helpful, to his robotic form, but the way he flawlessly mimicked organic mannerisms could make one question whether he was actually doing it subconsciously. “Fair warning, depending on what your ‘source’ wants, you may need to find Rareth and talk with her. If it’s anything major, she will have to approve it. I know she’s not nearly as fun as I am, but she is one of the few people around here who actually seems to be able to accomplish something, as of late.”

“How could anyone but your people or ours have found another one?” Marae questioned, mostly thinking out loud. “We’re the only ones who should know about them right now, so either Outremer or Rothians should be the only ones to know to look for them. These Cradle beings have remained undetected eons longer than either of our civilizations have even existed, so the odds of someone just stumbling upon them by chance now, of all times, are infinitesimal. Unless…well, unless it made itself known.”

“I will speak to Datius Jharn, but I wanted to get your opinion first. You are the experts my source has requested, after all, and will be able to assess whether this lead is worth investigating.” Wallace purred, clicking her fingers. “Foremost, have you ever…

Hardlight generators clicked on, hidden within the ceiling. A three dimensional hologram appeared in the space between them. Gradually, the outline of something began to appear.

“...seen this before?”

Freyr shuffled forward on her giant pillow, pulling her overlay glasses out of a pocket and popping them on her head in one clean motion. “Wowee.” She murmured, as the object gained form.

It looked like an armoured insect, with two sets of steel wings extending above its bulky carapace. Six manipulators sprouted underneath like legs, waggling in every direction. Ten light blue emitters blinked out from its flat face.

“I haven’t. Have you?” Freyr looked at the two Rothians perched next to her. After half a second she looked back at Wallace. “Where did you find this?”

“I didn’t find it. But my source sent me the imprint after these things took over fifteen orbiting factories and began making more. Bigger ones."

Nirann analyzed the hologram he was viewing within fractions of a second. Given the context of the conversation, he had already queued up all of the Cradle data he had on file to draw any comparisons he could to what Wallace was showing them. He had records for every Cradle being that had been observed since these troubles had started, but unfortunately, they did not contain as clear-cut of answers as he might have liked. “I can’t say I can identify it specifically, no. It’s a mechanical being, obviously, arthropod-inspired. But, it’s not a match for any observed Cradle entity.”

“From what we have seen, Cradle beings do have a history of creating insect-like creatures, moreso than other biological forms, but I wouldn’t say that alone is enough to cement a connection.” Marae added.

Nirann leaned back in his chair, carefully observing each of the details he could see in the hologram above them. “I think the most important part of them is the context surrounding them, really. Whose factories did they take over, and where did the initial machines come from? Have there been any other observations about them other than their appearance? Any communications? Hostility?”

“I can’t divulge all of the context yet, I'm afraid. The situation is very delicate, involving a dispute between two species. And because of the distances involved, the less information that’s sent through relays, the better.” Wallace leaned back, quickly glancing towards where the door would have been.

“But what I do know is that these things took control of comm arrays attached to this factory system and began pinging nearby systems. It says they also disrupted the early stages of a Ga’Brosh tournament on a nearish Orbital, and-”

“Hold on.” Freyr held out a hand. “A, umm…thing, did that inside the Cradle too. It found the Navigator on Rothia after it finally decoded a message carved into Rothian DNA. Took control of comm arrays, I mean.” One of Wallace’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly. “Ah… is that so?”

“Mmmhmmm. These beings have never generated matter outside of their shells before though. If they’re connected, it's a big step forward. How big are we talking?”

“I, ah..”

“Computer, add a credit card for scale.”

A physical payment chip appeared in the hologram next to the hacker bug, dwarfing it. “So they’re nanobots - intriguing…”

“Quite. That’s why I brought this to you. Is it worth investigating?”

Nirann leaned forward with a slight chuckle, his body moving as if he had let out a breath. “I mean, I would say that a swarm of unknown nanites taking over some orbital factories warrants investigation pretty much by default, yeah? Now, should we be the ones investigating…I’d say it’s worth a shot. If we can get a close look at them, it shouldn’t be too hard to at least see if they are related to the Cradle. If not, we can pass it off to another agency to handle. Besides, it’s not like we’re doing much else, right now.” He shrugged.

Marae was taking a closer look at the hologram. Knowing they were nanites did change how she thought about them, but ultimately, she did agree with Nirann. “Nanites can be very dangerous, but we do have effective means of defending against them if they turn out to be truly hostile. Nanites would have taken over every aspect of warfare by now, if they could not be defeated. Still, probably best to keep our distance. If we get a Rothian ship at the planet, we can get some specialized sensors that can listen in on their communications, between each other and any external entities.”

“I can say with confidence, though, that Rareth isn’t going to have anyone lift a finger until we get the full story. We are partners in this, after all. You’re going to have to give her that context at some point.” Nirann added.