Overlap: The Other Side

<04/01/136,159 {Avion 139} - 06:57 | Orbital Sector Zf41E512, Genosis, Altiri Sector Space>

After finally hearing the hymn of Sierra's voice in my mind, I relaxed a little with my hand on some of the controls and the flat keys in front of me, piloting most of the navigation controls while Junko sat beside me controlling other aspects of the FS Triag class starship.

"We have you in view Cy-Stars. Approaching Sector Zf41E512. Lumina? Your destination setting is in corral coordinates -156,279,451,900.5254, 257.10, 908,254,131; horizontal axial tilt of 2.9 degrees, vertical axial tilt of 1.0 degrees, orientation heading North zero. Also, it's good to see you."

"Likewise." I held every single digit to memory, and would later confirm the coordinate setting with the leader of the Stryders Aggressor Group after orienting the ship to such precise settings in space. So much was still on my mind from before, but like everyone else, I remained focused on the task at hand, never forgetting the hidden dangers of piloting these large spacecraft.

Junko assisted me with the sub-systems and power controls, while I took to navigation, drifting the ship into an exact position, and then taking the twenty minutes it would require to set the tilts perfectly correct. Despite the lack of auto-pilot functions, the ship did come with some amount of pilot support for lining up these numbers exactly right, but I double-checked, because they had to be fully precise.

After nearly getting everything correct, I tried to contact Sierra for confirmation again, but there was a bit of a waiting pattern, as she was doing the same for all the other Cy-Star ships, giving them different sets of locational coordinates for five starships total to the formation, merging that formation with the ten ships ahead of them; five of which were from the Stryders, and five more were from Radion. After confirming minutes later that the numbers we had were correct, I keyed in more data, locking in these coordinates and keeping the ship in its exact position.

"All positional keys match. Adding full power to the AGCR systems now. Junko?" I merely waited on Junko to confirm that the settings I was applying made it through to the relevant subsystems of the ship.

"Confirmed. AGCR system is fully operational, and our coordinates and rotation is perfectly still... Shall we?" Junko knew she didn't need to ask, but I could understand why. The sluggishness of my reaction to all of this was easily noticeable, even to myself.

It's incredibly rare that any of us are allowed to meet other aggressor groups in person, let alone communicate with them telepathically. The queen forbids all communication between aggressor groups and even some of the people down on the planet, though if asked, she sometimes makes exceptions like these moments. My sisters and I were heading out to meet some great friends of mine. Though I don't get a chance to talk to them as often, the Stryders and the Radion consist of people most important to me, me and all of my sisters.

This isn't a simple gathering to chat about the calm; it's much more important in setting. Still, part of me doesn't want to know. Part of me doesn't want to talk about our recent findings. No matter what I feel though, I cannot deny myself and the others from seeing our greatest friends. That is the reason for our travel today.

"You'll be fine."

"I don't need the reassurance." Though I was not meant to sound harsh reassuring Junko about my part to play in all this, she must understand that I can handle myself now.

A few months passed ever since The Unity became aware of new alien life. Rumor spreads fast about this among the other aggressor groups, and one of many details relevant to the developing situation is that the relative position of these aliens is said to be impossibly far in distance, more than what was ever thought to be possible, proving the universe to be boundless. I never thought anything in life would surprise me ever again, but I was wrong to think that way. Of course, if these rumors are true, about the distance at least, then there isn't really anything for anybody to be afraid of...

As if I could lie to myself. I might have Junko and the others fooled, but I could feel my own body shaking, trembling in the mystery of the unknown ever so often. I don't think Junko has noticed, but despite all that I've ever been through, I'm nervous, for reasons I don't yet understand why. Am I really afraid of the aliens, or am I simply afraid of learning more about them?

"Sierra just gave me the numbers for the shift. Give me a moment to key this in." Junko went to work keying in numbers from the flat keyboard attached to the side of the outer shell of the massive teleportation chamber, which I was walking inside of.

Using these massive teleportation machines isn't something that scares me at all, despite its hidden dangers. We use them all the time to jump from ship to ship, the machine using quantum relocation to shift our position from one active chamber to another active receiver chamber, yet another innovation of Altiri genius from science made long ago. They can be dangerous though.

Teleportation using these machines requires absolute stillness in the relative starting coordinates as well as the ending coordinates for the few nanoseconds it takes for the process to finish. Any shift in the coordinates more than a few nanometers can cause one's limb to become detached and lost somewhere else, and if the variation of spacial location is great enough, one might warp directly into outer space instead. Thus, the spacial coordinates of the sending and receiving chamber must be known precisely ahead of time, and not changed during the process.

The thing is, even in our unique solar system of Genosis, where everything inside our ring nebula doesn't orbit around our A-6 class star or the celestial objects within, everything in space still drifts and shifts from time to time, especially when gravitational forces wish to act on those objects. Even though we have the ability to use a universal reference point to generate an entire three-dimensional coordinate map of our solar system, if we position any object in a specific place and leave it for even a few seconds, those coordinates can change easily, that or the rotational orientation of the object. If we keep our ships at corral position, they do not orbit Karnak; they remain entirely motionless, even though under normal circumstances, Karnak's outer gravity well should by that point pull us in for a crash.

However, our coordinates do not shift or change even by a single nanometer, once we get everything into position. The very technology responsible for this is the reason we can use these teleporters safely, the reason why we can float in space without allowing our ships to move at all. The Anti-Gravimetrical Core Refractor, (or AGCR for short), provides The Unity with this benefit while in outer space. The machine prevents all external gravity outside the hull from enacting any kind of force on the ship, push or pull, so long as this force is under a certain threshold. It also does not work so well when two or more ships implement a traditional docking procedure, which is why the teleporters are a better use of our travel.

"Ready when you are." I waited for Junko to configure the device as I stood inside, waiting for the sudden bright flash and drowning loud noise I wasn't fond of. Sierra set things up today so that I and half of my team will warp directly into her main ship, so that we may all congregate together for a meeting in person, where half of her own team, as well as half of the Radion Aggressor Group will be joining as well.

When teleporting from one ship to another for any reason, one capable pilot of the starship must be left behind without exception. In this case, I will be warping to Sierra's ship, while Junko stays behind here to look after the navigation, mainly since the AGCR still needs manual recalibration every so often, and also because this safety measure has saved countless lives in the past. For the ship of Rose, Sherika, and Derria, they get to send two of themselves instead of one, since they are the odd team that has three to a ship where the default or average is two. The same rules apply for the other aggressor group teams too, so I won't be meeting with every single member of the Stryders or the Radion, though I'll be among friends all the same.

I can't explain what teleportation feels like, nor do I care to. All I notice is a sudden loss of time, maybe about a few seconds of consciousness before I am back again, safe and unharmed in any way, minus lingering dizziness. I wish I knew exactly how these machines work, if only for curiosity's sake; but the understanding of this science is beyond even me. I could take the time to learn it, but right now, I have something more important to focus on.

Already was the environment around me totally different. Each starship has slightly different designs, and even the main rooms which are generally the same space all have customizations made by their ships' captains over the years. All I cared about was who I could see in the meantime. I would have to wait a few more minutes for everybody else to arrive for our little meeting. Upon seeing the familiar faces I've long missed, I could finally let myself smile, exhale, and relax.

Chapter Theme Shift: I sun ~ (Blue Reflection OST)

<04/01/136,159 {Avion 134} - 07:55 | (Sierra's Starship), Genosis, Altiri Sector Space>

When everyone arrived on the same ship, we all gave each other the warm greetings I waited for. Those of the Stryders who joined us today were, (besides Sierra), Emily, Heather, Brighter, Tabitha, and Regenia. Among the Radion, it was Blissera, Linda, Nora, Reiki, and Nataliee. Among the Cy-Stars, we had Derria, Sherika, Hurma, Fionne, Luna, and me. Crowded as the large space was, I welcomed so much company, relishing the proximity of so many friends when I'm used to spending time only with Junko on that large empty starship.

Since Sierra was the one conducting the meeting, she used her assumed authority to organize everyone after we hugged and caught up on some things. "Everyone try to form a circle." Everyone did as she asked without hesitation or conflict, and our circle formation allowed all of us to see each other's faces as we would speak.

"Before we begin," Sierra started, "I want to bring everyone up to speed on a specific detail of what's been going on. Lumina? I'm told you especially will be relieved to hear this."

Who? Who told Sierra that I felt any particular way about this news? Did Junko meddle again?

"Mhn-hm." Fionne looked directly at me nodding with a soft smile, her response directed at the thoughts I still projected loudly enough for the room to hear. "All of us knew Lumina. All of us could feel your uneasiness about this. Nobody is trying to meddle in your affairs. When Sierra heard about this, she really wanted all of us to meet; it had nothing to do with trying to make you feel better. Though, it's what all of us want anyway."

My anger left so quickly. I couldn't be mad at anybody for feeling that way. They're my sisters; family to me. All of us care about each other more than anything in the world, and whether I want them here with me or not in any moment, we're stuck together, always trying to make sure we are happy and prosperous. "It's okay Fionne. I think I was just in too much shock by it all at the time."

"You are not the only one Lumina."

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind myself a while ago, but I've come to terms with this now." It was both Junko and Talor telling me this from the comfort of their own ships, having attend this meeting in their own way through telepathic monitoring. Everybody is really here in their own way, as it doesn't take much concentration to maintain the ships' corral position.

I doubt they felt exactly the same way I have about this, but they're still right anyway. I'm not the only one who was messed up by the news of this. In fact, this is the very reason we are having this meeting right now, to discuss what has been developing with the situation of the distant life forms. "Thank you, everyone. I'm okay, really."

"That's good to hear," Blissera replied gleefully. "I think we'll all feel better too once Sierra tells us what she learned the other day."

I tilted my head innocently, not knowing she was any amount more knowledgeable about the situation than I. "Okay then. Sierra? What did you learn?"

"Not wasting any time I see." She didn't mind the rush though. After how crazy everyone's been feeling, learning about this one specific thing has calmed her entire crew already, and it's high time the Cy-Stars realize it too. "Everybody in The Unity knows exactly what happened at the end of our last year. We found alien life; that's all the reports told us about. This news alone is not what has been concerning to most. The most concerning factor of this scenario is, what are we going to do about it?"

With some confusion, I and some of the others from my team and from Radion glanced about with some confusion... Was there something we could have done about this?

"I'm of course talking about our possible first contact protocols, which are still being developed in the Altiri Temple even as we speak. Everyone's been wondering, what do we do with these aliens? Do we try to reach out to them? Do we try to rally them to our cause and warn them of heathens? Do we instead leave them be? All of these questions are very important to answer, because regardless of which person takes up the task of becoming an ambassador of The Unity, the fact is, the next thing we do about this will affect all of us, every single Altiri in our entire world. It is important, even if they are further away in distance than we thought."

My eyes lit up in her words, allowing me to see the idiot I've been for a while now. I wasn't too sure what I've been worried about all this time, but it kept digging into me. Sierra just brought it out in the open, that which has been bothering me more than my sisters. She's right too. What The Unity does next affects all of us, including me. What exactly is the queen going to do?

"One of the newest details to come from this, the confirmed rumors that have been going around, is that the distance between us and this alien race is impossibly far apart. The scryers gave out the coordinate stretching vectors to everyone, including you." She pointed to me when she finished.

"Then as you are certainly aware, I have not tried to make use of that information myself. From what I'm aware of, neither have my sisters."

"That's fine. There are lots of aggressor groups out there right now who have adopted the same caution as you have, choosing to hold onto the data and do nothing with it at the moment. Even I myself have not made use of it, but that's only because I still need some practice sharpening my senses again. May you be in a similar state?"

My eyes turned askew towards the metal floor to my feet, unwilling to answer right away. It's embarrassing to have to admit this in front of anybody. My team, the Cy-Stars aggressor group is fairly up there in rank; in fact we're getting close to the top ranked position in terms of which aggressor group out of a thousand performs the best, mostly in training and physical skillsets with those training procedures. I don't think those evaluators know just yet that I've allowed my own clairvoyance to become so rusty. Having not used it in a while, I would need lots of practice before I could ever use that power to peer into those vectors. "I am," I admitted with defeat.

"Not to worry... I'll help you sharpen the ability again, if you'll let me."

I expected Sierra to be the one to tell me that, but to my surprise it was Hurma, glaring at me with more care and determination in her eyes than I've ever seen before. I also wasn't too aware that Hurma had such excellent control of her powers, especially considering this means she willfully chose not to look at those vector coordinates. "I have yet to decide Hurma, but thank you for offering."

"Hold on just a second," Reiki interrupted, looking directly at Sierra with mild concern. "You said that other aggressor groups are yielding to caution on the matter, but what of the colonies down on the surface?" She asked a good question. Aggressor Groups only represent tiny fleets in outer space, part of the Altiri Military. The thing is, ordinary people on Karnak do not have to be in the military in order to learn long-range clairvoyance.

Sierra replied swiftly, having already been certain of the reason for her choice words. "Plenty of people on Karnak certainly do have the authority to use their ability, but the information specific to these coordinates has been withheld from the general public. Only the Aggressor Groups are currently authorized to use clairvoyance to gather data about this celestial planet."

"So she's playing the rank game again?" My question was merely rhetorical, the answer already certain. This isn't the first time our great queen has carefully filtered out information or authority between those in the military and those outside of the military. There have even been times when specific Aggressor Groups ranked highest got more privilege and special treatment, simply because of their public rank. Still, it certainly feels wrong to deny the people on Karnak access to peer their minds into the space of this alien world. Why would she decree such a law?

"Doesn't that seem a little unfair? The queen is allowing Aggressor Groups like us to meet in person, and I don't have to tell you how rare that is. But something like this comes up and they want to play hush-hush?" I found myself nodding in agreement to Ashiela's point, even though she had to project her thoughts to everyone here to make it known.

Still, I'm sure I don't have to remind her to be a bit more careful with the tone of her voice. I question decisions made by the queen all the time, but at the end of each cycle, she is still our great queen, never to be disrespected, as she was once our savior, founder of The Unity and all we are today.

Sierra answered willing to this as well, proving she was somehow the most knowledgeable person in the room today. "It's specifically because there are currently too many unknowns right now that the queen is trying to put a cap on this. You see, there is nothing wrong with using our powers to learn more about this civilization. The problem comes in the possibility that one might wish to go beyond data gathering. The last thing the higher-ups want is for any one of us to make any direct interference with these aliens, even if only for a telepathic greeting."

Actually, that's the most sensible thing I've ever heard, and Sierra of all people put it into terms we could all understand instantly. Yeah, it makes sense to prioritize caution and control on this situation. This alien species might react hostile to a simple greeting, or they may misunderstand anyone's sudden attempt to make contact if the right words and emotions are not chosen carefully and at the right time. If some random Altiri on Karnak decides to make that mistake, they would mess up so much for all of us. The queen probably has a ban on external communication to this species for this very reason. "So then, I take it any form of telepathic contact is out of the question?"

"Nothing is certain." Sierra knew she would need to elaborate, but she inhaled calmly for a silent moment, letting that lone phrase sink into all of us. "Going back to what I said before, the thing most concerning on everybody's mind is what exactly The Unity will do about this situation. There are lots of options for us on the table, but any single option will have positive and negative consequences. I presume this is one reason why we have heard so little development of the situation from the temple. I surmise the Royal Scryers wish to collect as much data as possible about these aliens before deciding on a first contact protocol, let alone authoring any attempt to interfere in the lives of those we know not. So you see Lumina, and everyone else, the heart of this news is to tell you that no first contact protocol has been established yet; and at the same time, no such contact with this civilization is allowed either."

"But, they have authorized all of us to scan the same system, all of us in the military at least." Linda caught on to the discrepancy faster than anyone else did, but not to the reason behind the confusion. It was something Brighter could answer for Sierra, and so she did.

"Exactly. You see, the Royal Scryers and the queen want nothing to do with any contact scenario, but they certainly do wish for anyone interested to use their clairvoyance and learn more about this civilization, and has also ensured that only the responsible among us take part in such endeavors. To top this off, the scheduling of Meeting B has been pushed up for all aggressor groups. Think you can put two and two together?"

I already have, though Nora wanted to share her knowledge before I could get the chance. "They want to use us." The implication of her words should annoy most anyone who realizes it, though it was hardly a surprise. In fact, the only surprise to this was in the sneaky way they were going about it this time. "Everyone knows how interstellar data collection and research ideas are brought to the queen. There is a separation of two distinct groups of scryers; regular scryers, like many of us in aggressor groups and especially scientists from Karnak trying to focus on specific fields, and then the Royal Scryers, who work directly under the queen, knowing far more than any of us, and only selectively sharing what they learn."

She's right about all of that, but there is still the reason unexplained. "The Royal Scryers only behave this way because they don't want false or dangerous information to spread to The Unity from the normal scryers." Everyone knows how this works. If a few genius scientists band together and reveal something amazing to the world, so long as it is not primitive, it is only because they were allowed to disclose their findings, authorized either by the queen herself or her Royal Scryers, who constantly reside and work inside the Altiri Temple. If however some of the information is desired to be filtered out or kept from public ear, those scientists would not even be allowed to disclose their findings, though the Royal Scryers will do it for them, with some due credit, but not with full disclosure of the knowledge learned.

There is also another system between the Aggressor Groups, Scryers, and Royal Scryers which is well known, but never spoken aloud; an invisible way of life which reigns supreme in this sector of space. Sometimes, somebody on Karnak or on a spacecraft might encounter something, learn something, or undergo an ordeal which leads to an increase of knowledge about a particular subject. It may be something small, such as someone discovering a flaw in the ship’s master computer programming, and even lead to some kind of horrible accident; or something large, like the discovery of information related to the psionic dimension. In either scenario, word of any increase of knowledge does not quickly spread to other aggressor groups if it does at all, mainly because of the communication ban between us. Any critical change in any situation usually follows with that person or group docking with the temple and informing the queen of such matters. When this happens, the Royal Scryers hold onto the knowledge, but release the information in such a way where nobody can be sure who is involved in any particular incident, effectively removing any personal identifiable information from any finding. Meanwhile, if researchers (in many cases referred to as normal scryers), refer their findings to the queen or Royal Scryers, they sometimes do so in ways which are unintentional and unwilling. Royal Scryers will take what information they can from ordinary scryers, or information reported by any aggressor group, consolidate that information, and then filter it, whether permission to use such data is given or not.

Even I don't totally agree that it feels right, but this is how a situation like this will work. The Royal Scryers have been trying to scan ACS414 for months now, determining all the data and information they can about this planet and its personoid life. However, the Royal Scryers do not number very high, so their time to collect such information using long range clairvoyance on such a large planet is going to take a lot of time.

If the Royal Scryers therefore ask ordinary scryers and responsible aggressor groups to adopt the same exact job as they are doing, with at least a thousand aggressor groups (10,000 or more) Altiri scanning the same planet, then their data collection efforts can be sped up to amazing measures!

There are problems for them of course. The Royal Scryers cannot simply just ask random aggressor groups to take part in endeavors which are not part of their original duties. Even if they tired, many would be put off by the idea, disgusted to be asked to learn about a place knowing they are simply being used by these Royal Scryers for a combination of data collection, and later decisions to be made about the first contact protocols. Not everyone would be opposed, but without knowing who to trust in advance, it would be like asking someone to devote time and resources to something they might very well oppose. I've already heard of some aggressor groups proudly announcing that they will have no part in scanning ACS414, as if to take a xenophobe approach to this.

The other problem, which is dwindling down now, is the shock everyone still feels about the very news of this alien civilization. Like myself, others are uncertain if this is all really a good thing. While it does all hinge on which decision The Unity will make with these aliens, none can be sure which decision will be made in the future, which should be scary enough on its own. Many do not want to know what else is out there, or would rather let someone else handle it. When there are enough Altiri who feel the same way, the Royal Scryers can't really expect a lot of aggressor groups to collectively join them in a task of scanning the ACS system. It would be a fair insult if they did encourage others to try, even if they tried to do so passively.

So, the scryers have come up with a different strategy instead, a cunning one at that. They've forbidden any kind of contact or interference with this alien species, but have allowed the data collection of this species, all in a way that is totally optional. If Sierra is right, and Meeting B is being moved up, it means that the queen and Royal Scryers wish to preemptively ask all of us what we have learned about this alien world, if we did in fact take part in peeking into this zone using clairvoyance. Whether Altiri know this in advance or not, the mere fact that our efforts to search this planet are purely of our own volition and choice, will prevent any negative cohesion in a more collective setting for those who do want to try it.

It's a strategy that isn't working too well now, but only because more time needs to pass before the curious aggressor groups become comfortable enough to trust in their abilities and their decisions to learn more about this alien species, a time that won't be long I think. People will eventually want to learn more, and when they do, the scryers will also learn more about the same target, by consolidating all of the data which will come from people like us; in particular, from those who decide to look onto this planet. From all of that data, the Royal Scryers will either chose to continue collecting more information while forbidding any contact, or they will devise up a plan for a chosen select few to become the telepathic diplomats of our world, in an attempt to talk to this species. The second option is much scarier, so they'll give off the image that this is merely for data collection, for as long as they can, ensuring none are discouraged from learning more in the first place.

I knew most of this beforehand, and it took me merely seconds to think about it. Sierra must have still noticed everything on my mind though, unable to read all the thoughts which I chose not to project. "Not to worry Lumina. The fact is, there is no established first contact protocol, which means we don't have to feel uneasy about using our ability, if that is what anyone choses to do. Yeah, the Royal Scryers will be collecting information too, and they may even resort to asking us in meetings about what we find. But all this does is prove they have no intention of trying to take any action to interfere with these beings."

So she fell for the trap too? "I don't know what to say to that Sierra. Clearly you missed Nora's point though." The whole room was wide-eyed about my bold words, but all I was doing was giving her honesty. "That very behavior and mentality right there is exactly what the Royal Scryers are hoping for. If we simply take their word for it and believe that they and the queen will default to the decision of not contacting this alien species, we get used in two different ways at once, playing right into their hands. They're not our enemy, but I won't be used like some kind of instrument to later support a decision I may one day oppose."

"Do you really see it that way?" It was interesting the way things were turning out already. Sierra didn't seem the least bit bothered by my words; she was in fact smiling back at me, as if she knew what she was doing.

"What other way can there be to see this?"

"I know full well what the Royal Scryers are planning to do." After a few quiet and mild gasps, Sierra gave her reasons for her choice already obvious. "If you have already thought of such things, then you must realize that the queen has already considered this aspect ten times over, just as well as her subjects have."

"I don't see your point."

"My point is, that these Royal Scryers are very well going to use the information we gather and collect, whether we do it for them or merely for ourselves. They want as much info as possible, because they wish to make a decision or a possible change in this situation. However, an ill-informed decision is usually one with poor consequence."

"I see where you're going with this. You're thinking, 'why not help them instead? If the scryers get the information they want, then they will be less likely to make any poor choices.' Am I right?"

Sierra looked me dead in the eyes for a few seconds with her smile, and I soon found it to be a bit creepy. "It's the strangest thing Lumina. I've known you for such a long time, but I think this might be the first time I've ever seen you carry so much question or doubt in the queen."

"I never said anything about doubting my great queen, and I take some offense to the allegation." It doesn't matter whether or not the queen can theoretically snoop in on this very conversation; I mean what I say. "This isn't about trust or wanting to help out. If anything, you could say I'm wondering if those other groups wanting nothing to do with that other world are not as crazy as they sound. I'll admit I'm still undecided in all of this, but what of their opinions? Why would I ever want to help the scryers if it might mean The Unity makes contact with a species that some of us would rather want nothing to do with?" Does Sierra not take into consideration the thoughts and feelings of these other aggressor groups? We may all be separated by protocol, communication bans, and different backgrounds, but all of us are supposed to be on the same team, of the same mind, perfectly unified. If the queen did one day decide to contact them, it would very well contradict that which her greatness represents, and yet I've heard nothing from her to challenge this assumed allegation.

Putting her hand on her heart, Blissera backed up Sierra, addressing all of us from the comment I just made. "I feel for those other aggressor groups too. Their feelings on this situation are just as important to consider. The thing is, we all have to accept the possibility regardless that this species may wind up being contacted someday. It does nobody good if the choices we make are done out of fear."

"It isn't always about fear Blissera!" For the first time today, I could hear my raised voice ever so slightly, and so I took a breath to calm down and explain. I know for an absolute fact that most of my sisters understand the same things that I do, especially Sherika and Rose, who oddly are not speaking up along with me right now, but I'll address that later. "I get it; the queen is probably not ever going to contact these people if she discovered that they might be dangerous in some kind of way." For example, if the aliens are also telepathic and in addition have some unknown or hidden telepathic alien neighbor with far greater technologies, this would be most dangerous. The queen would consider possibilities even beyond this example; she isn't an idiot. "But what of the world we target? What will happen to an unaware civilization when we reveal ourselves to them? There's no guarantee of anything, but there is always the chance that our interference may hurt them or provide negative consequences from our own actions. They might be exactly like us you know."

"You don't know that Lumina." Hurma, who has also been a bit quiet finally spoke up, facing me even though it hurt to take any side. "None of us know much of anything, about what they are like, if they really are like us, or even if they have the same dialect as us. We may find out that they would never understand our diction or our voice. They might not even be intelligent."

"And that's supposed to make our interference okay?"

"No one is saying that." Finally, Sherika walked into the center of this crowd, putting herself into a spotlight and speaking what I wanted to hear, though I wasn't certain if she would take my side on this. "I trust our queen, because I know that our queen would never make any dangerous mistake for us. That's the very reason she and her scryers want nothing but data at this point, to learn every possible vector before even thinking about taking further action. So if a day comes where she does want us to make contact, I surmise it would only be with great reason. More so to the point, if we for a moment assume contact would become inevitable, it would combine with the notion that there is no danger to The Unity in the process of doing so, mainly due to their immense distance from us; we would never physically reach them, or them us. Finally, if these aliens could in some way be driven to hurt themselves in any indirect way from sudden awareness of alien presence relative to them, then I think they wouldn't be very intelligent in the first place, not enough for us to want to contact them. Even with that being said, if there is one set of aliens out there, there must also be more, more that may one day contact them instead of it coming from us. My point is, this may be a future that none of us in this room have any direct control over, nor will we ever."

I expected Sherika to have many wise words to tell us, though I didn't know what to make of her attitude. "Are you trying to tell us we should just let things happen as they may? What if revealing our presence to them turns out to be negative, for us or for them?"

"Then I would stand right by you Lumina, and expect you to make the queen aware of this concern you have. I doubt others who feel the same way are brave enough to speak up about it, but our queen is not heartless. If you raise your voice respectfully, she will hear you. If you and I raise our voice together, we shall be louder."

"Do you think the queen will really listen to us when we are so few?" There are a thousand different aggressor groups, and even Sierra and the Stryders are taking the more accepting approach of wanting to be involved. Why would the queen listen to me or my team when a majority will be swayed by dangerous curiosity?

"The queen hears all of us," Sherika assured. "I will say, I don't think it will be easy for us to convince anyone of anything though, if we prove to others to be unknowledgeable in what we feel. The scryers will not be so eager to hear our plight or our warnings, if we know so little about this alien world, where they know much more."

How have I missed this before? I can't believe I forgot that knowledge can be our greatest power in the same irony. "You're saying, we should scan the system and use what we learn to prove our point before a worst case decision could ever be made?"

"That I am." Sherika knew she was sure of herself, and I could feel her happiness in me having realized the same as she had. She knew for a while this was the right way, but she waited on me to be ready for the answer.

Somebody has to speak up for those other aggressor groups wanting us to have no part in this other world. They won't do it for themselves because even so much as scanning the ACS system partly gives in to that which they oppose. However, collecting information about something is not the same as taking any direct action. Using this method, I can...

My chain of thought cut off for a brief moment in the silence surrounding me, as everyone was looking right at me with some kind of expectation. I'm kind of used to this behavior. Everyone always looks up to me, even in times of uncertainty, for I am the leader of the Cy-Stars, and have been for many years. I guess people just find that quality within me most inspiring; none ever want to wield their authority above me in this group. Still, it reminded me of something very important. "We can be a loud voice of reason where others cannot reach." Me and my sisters; all of us on the Cy-Stars make choices like this together, and I can already tell with such powerful confidence that my sisters want the same thing.

"Does that mean you have decided on a manner to conduct yourself prior to Meeting B?" Sierra was asking a direct question, though I didn't understand why she was so psyched that I came to any decision.

"We have decided, that myself and the Cy-Stars will refresh our clairvoyant abilities, and take to the task of scanning the ACS planet with our fullest attention. If the scryers want information, we'll give them all the information, the kind that will make them think twice about playing any dangerous game in the future. I will learn from this planet, and collect information without doing anything else about this. Any of my sisters who wish to opt out of this idea may do so, as there is no harm in merely learning or refusing to learn about this planet." I still am not fully certain if anyone on my team has a different feeling about scanning this planet, but I will never force any Altiri to do something they are uncomfortable with. It's still a little strange to see Sierra going at this in her own way. She's doing the exact same thing as us, but her reasons and inner motivations are just a little different, enough to feel the rivalry in the air.

She sighed gracefully, confident and excited, at last announcing the reason why. "Alright then. I promise to wait a bit before our team does the same. I don't want to get a head start on you, but let's see just how much information we can gather by comparison. Whoever learns the most before Meeting B wins."

She thinks this is a game! "You never change sometimes, Sierra." I wasn't angry or upset at her silliness. It felt so comforting to see her like this again. Now that we're all decided on what we should do, everyone including me is much more relaxed, as it should be.

"I want to say the same for you, but..." Sierra and I locked eyes as she held her chin with a smirk, probably to bother me about some nonsense theory.

"I haven't changed in the slightest. You should know I've always been this sharp."

"You may have always retained your sense of self, but last time we talked, you just seemed so inactive. It's like, you've been so quiet, so calm, and totally obedient to the peace around you."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No, not a bad thing. It's just, this alien stuff is the biggest news we've had in over several thousand years. Prior to that, I think you and your mind have been stuck in this strange kind of stagnation, detached from all of us. As I look on you now though, I see someone who has come alive again, more strongly than ever before..." Her words trailed off, only enough for me to notice.

I knew Sierra wasn't going to bring up that stuff about my mom again. It is true though, that I've been a bit less of myself since all those years ago, shortly after Zinod fell, after my mother died in that horrific explosion, and I've been left alone in this world that never changes, spending countless years doing jack all with my sisters until I became numb to every surrounding about me...

Something Sierra said got my attention; I couldn't outright deny her claim at all. Noticing only now, I do feel different ever since news of this broke out. My mind is working stronger and faster than it was for the longest time, my body healthy and ready to jump. It's as if I've been hibernating for the longest time, only waking now. Is it because something unusual happened? Does being my full self require some kind of change, some form of struggle or conflict? It couldn't be; such reality would defy the idea of peace, would it not?

"At any rate," Sierra revived in our attention, "let's hang out for a few more hours. We've got time and a lot of catching up to do." All of us have been waiting for the moment to talk and hang out with each other, whether we talk or play again. Never was there a time when we fought, only have we helped each other in some ways or others.

I don't think Sierra planned as much as it looks like she has, nor did she know with any certainty how this discussion would go down. Even so, it's as if she's well within her comfort zone despite the unusual chaos of today... How does she do it? "Sierra?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome... But for which are you delivering gratitude?"

"I don't really know yet... But when I find out, you'll be the first to know." Maybe it was because she and I talked our hearts out about what we were supposed to do about this situation. Maybe the reason eludes my understanding. The matter is, I really do feel better, better and stronger, as if I've been reborn to a cause requiring all I am to manifest within me. I think it's more than myself too. I've never seen Sierra this happy before; the smile she didn't carry when last we spoke. Even my own sisters are more energetic and in the mood, unified with all of us in what is to come.

Whether or not our future is scary and uncertain, we will do everything in our power to do what is best for The Unity, and what is also best for us, for we are The Unity, us and every Altiri in this vast universe.