First Contact.
The Mission to recover the male and the Animal, it was a go, Mina had already managed to adapt the shuttles docking-port to theirs, and the other ship gave a green light, so that they could pressurize the bridge between it. And both, Tilly and Mina could soon cross over to place the first in a series of extension Antennas that would permit uninterrupted communication with Aria and the Wishkeeper.
They knew from the other ships AI that they had to reach the primary hallway, a vaguely heptagonal shaped passageway that connected the bridge to the rear half of the ship, though it did not go all the way to the rear, where they where docked. But knowing that all the other hallways where shaped pentagonal, and that the ships interior layout was build symmetrical gave them a good starting point. Though the layout of the differing rooms made the passage towards their respective goals somewhat frustrating.
The Ship, it had no interconnected pathways they could use, as it seemed that room layout was prioritized in its construction, placing them close together to guarantee quick supply lines between different sections of the ship as much of it was set up to be one giant automated factory.
The hallways where more of an afterthought it seems, and by the Information they had gotten from the Maggie AI, it seemed that this was intentional as this ship was equipped with sleeper pods, made to carry colonists to a new world, where the ship would remain in orbit as a station, with its docked vessels acting as miners, providing resources to the main vessel, which in turn would provide necessities down to the surface of the newly colonized planet.
There seemed no point to have an intricate means for personal to use the hallways for more then their stay on the ship, which would consist of a few years at most, as they would either sleep for most of the time, or be ferried to the surface of their new home, while Android units took care of this vessel, controlled through the ships former AI, which, by the Maggie AI’s information, had critically failed.
“ Aria, Think I found it. “ Tilly would report, soon as she found the primary hallway, her gaze narrowing as she took note of the extensive damage to its walls, which was reported by the Maggie AI, and it sure seemed there had been a struggle a long time ago here.
“ Ok, got to split here. Be careful. “ Mina spoke to Tilly as she denoted a sign on the hallways wall, describing the path towards the reactors, two of them, and by the description, each with their own control unit, so that Mina likely would have to spend some time figuring out the system. And she would likely need a few more antenna’s to keep the communication stable to Aria, as she had placed hers mostly, and those Tilly carried where meant to connect towards the bridge.
“ You too. I will call in soon as I found him. Keep an eye out for that animal as well, given circumstances, it may have wandered off. “ Tilly responded, and then nod at Mina before they split. Her path would be easier, as she just needed to follow the hallway towards the front of the ship, with only the distance of near 700 meters prolonging this journey as she still had to be careful and check the oxygen levels for anything strange, as much of the atmosphere should have been vented after that explosion, which did not seem to be the case.
And it wasn’t the only thing that made this ship feel uncomfortable, it felt like she was walking within the dead husk of a derelict, with most power having been cut off after the last stabilization maneuver. The few emergency lights still providing light within the hallways gave it an eerie touch, and the outdated use of materials used for the wall paneling added in the sensation that this ship was way past it’s prime.
Tilly dared to trace a finger over one of the panels, allowing her intrinsic ability to analyze organisms and materials she touched, to determine that it consisted of an aluminum-composite material, a sign that cost reduction and lacking material acquisition methods influenced the build of this ship, a sign of lacking technology as well, as the construction of steel and titanium composite was actually a lot cheaper and quicker to assemble, if methods where present to refine and tool these into the needed shapes.
“Nearly a thousand years. “ She whispered to herself, she found it unbelievable that this ship survived such a span of time with it’s cheap construction, the titanium and steel skeleton structure was perhaps the most resilient part of what she could sense, but the rest, it was hard to imagine it survived this long.
The universe was a violent place if one did not know how to navigate it, and this ship, it likely only survived because of this magnetic shield bubble they used, without it, this ship would not have survived its journey for this long. It sure looked ahead of it’s time compared to the rest of the ship.
It would be another 15 minutes to finally reach the bridge, and when she got there, she could already spot the man, laying there on the ground. At which point, her steps hastened, trying to make sure she could render medical aid, if there was anything that could still be done, and by the ragged, pained breathing he released, there was clear indication that he was alive, and in pain.
“ Can you hear me ? “ She spoke, more out of dutiful reflex as she knelt besides him, but it was quickly obvious that he was unconscious, so she placed her right hand onto his shoulder, closing her eyes, to fully concentrate on looking through his body’s structural composition to determine any damage it sustained, quick to find a series of broken bones, tissue damages, and even a punctured lung on his right side.
“ Crap. “ She hissed, triggering the communicator to connect to Aria while she broke down part of her hand into a black gooey substance that would start to penetrate into the mans body, meaning to start repairing the damage he sustained.
“ Aria ? I found him, human male, multiple broken bones, punctured lung and likely internal bleeding. I am trying to regenerate the damage, but it may take a while. “ She reported while her body’s substance begun working on him.
“ Good, how long will it take ? “ Aria asked.
“ An hour, maybe two, I’ll have to absorb the blood and seal the damaged tissue before he drowns on it. “ Tilly responded, focusing on sensing the damaged area again, only to find herself confused as the tissue regeneration wasn’t centric on the area she was aiming for, but, active across the whole damaged area.
“ Wait, something. “ She mused, this, it wasn’t her substance repairing the damaged areal, it was something else.
“Did you encounter a problem ?” Aria interjected while Tilly tried to do a deeper scan of his organic composition.
“ This. Something isn’t right. Aria, He is human, but he has no cell degradation, and his body contains an extra organism that decomposes and rebuilds damaged matter. It’s slow, but he essentially has a sort of, regeneration factor. “ Tilly reported.
“ Is it possible he is a variation ? Or maybe a Genetic mutation ? “ Aria suggested.
Tilly doubted it, something felt off to her, but to make sure she directed her search towards his genetic information, which required her to focus hard on it. But despite her best attempts, it appeared like something always seemed to sidetrack her.
“ What ?” She muttered, trying once more to focus on it, but it felt suddenly like something was drawing her in, and before she realized what happened, she was facing, someone.
It was for just a moment, but she could clearly see it, a man, turning around to face her, look at her with pure black eyeballs that felt like they were looking into her soul, a sensation that frightened her, and then it was already over again.
“ The heck was that ! “ She cried out as she darted back on her feet, taking a few steps back. And she could see then that the man on the floor, his eyes where open, completely black, but it was a swirl of black that slowly subsided, giving way to the gray eyes that where being hidden behind his eyelids as they closed again.
“ Is there a problem Tilly ?” Aria asked, alerted by Tilly’s reaction.
“ I think, he’s a psyker, and he’s experiencing a backlash. I think I just had a peak at his psychic plane. “ Tilly explained, which was more of a guess, but she could feel it, because it influenced her to some degree.
Her body was acting up, a psychic wave, interrupting her own cells to the point that she had a hard time holding together her human appearance, to the point, her human form begun to shut down. But instead of loosing her form and revert to her true appearance, her body begun to lock itself in on her inner self, or rather, the chosen self as it was called before Siren’s settled on Eden.
“ Are you sure ? “ Aria asked.
“ More an educated guess, the backlash threw my conversion cells into disarray, it seems to be some kind of, reconstitution effect, it explains how he is currently repairing his own body, and the repair event we witnessed earlier. He appears to be doing it subconsciously too.
But I think it’s reaching dangerous levels, we may need Thomas, he knows more about this stuff, and given that this man may have influenced the ship, it might be a good idea to keep him here for the time being, at least, until we know of the exact effects of his abilities. “ Tilly shared with Aria, watching how her body begun to change against her will, with her garments breaking apart, and her skin sprouting pink fur as she was about to see her own inner self for the first time.
“ I will contact Marianna about it and get Thomas involved. I’ll let the Wishkeeper know that we may need to set up temporary camp on the INC Hope as well. “ Aria agreed.
“ Have them bring me a change of clothing too. I can’t control my shape right now, it’s locked me into my chosen self. “ Tilly requested, naming it as they used to before Eden as much about the Sirens, never truly was as it looked like on the surface.
“ Understood. “ Aria responded.
Tilly would dare then to lean closer to the man, trying to recall the face she saw in that, psychic plane of his. It was not the same, but it may just have been how he would prefer to perceive himself.
The man on the floor had sharp angular features, while the other had something more, delicate, near ethereal. He had dark, near black hair, gray eyes, and was, by her estimate, about 5’11” tall. She would nearly describe him as, handsome, something she dismisses for now as part of her Siren nature, showing increased interest in a prospective mate.
His worn down uniform was more of interest, it appeared to be part of this ships outfit, which threw the ship scavenging idea overboard, it looked more like he was part of the crew, which became more plausible given her guess about his psychic abilities.
“ Ah, this is going to be a headache, isn’t it ? “ Tilly sighed, looking at this man that, like this ship itself, appears to be a ghost of the past, a past that may be tied to their founding father. If that was true, it may be interesting to hear tales about him, and their exodus, but something told Tilly that it might not be that easy, psychic abilities could be both, helpful, and a danger, to both the wielder and those around him.
But that reminded her, there was supposed to be an animal, yet, she has not seen a glimpse of it so far. Perhaps her initial assumption was right and it wandered off ? She did pass some makeshift fencing earlier so, it shouldn’t be far.
An assumption that prompted her to have another look across the ships bridge, and good thing she did, as, right besides the door, there was said animal, but it was a discovery to her more shocking then the mans abilities.
Those eyes looking at her, watching her, they already where a giveaway, like blue crystals, pure and intense, and with it, the sensation of her presence, one that should not be possible, one she had not even felt until she looked at her. That alone should have been impossible, as Sirens, and those before them, could always feel the presence of one another.
“ A-aria, there, is a Nah’Rahan first here. Contact Marianna and inform her. “ Tilly reported, her voice quivering, a mixture of fear and confusion on it. She could hardly even move as her body felt like frozen in the presence of what disguised itself as a Vixen.
There had always just been one first, and Tilly could tell, this wasn’t her.