Song of the Void

”Much has been said about the values of different races. Not their value as a race, as that would be both unethical and too hard to determine, but what they hold dear and important. Of course, no race is a monolithic whole where each member holds the exact same values. That doesn’t include those races that have a hive mind of sorts, but those are the exception and even they sometimes have deviants that go against the norm. That said, certain races do tend to weigh certain values as a society. Take the Azi for an example. The Azi value a life of service and they often feel a strong sense of civic duty. While some Azi are by nature greedy and think the life of helping the community a burden, they are in the minority.

Why is this? Part of it is genetics and the way their minds work, which causes family bonds to become very important for them. An Azi would do almost anything for their family. The government has spent generation after generation to foster this view with the careful use of propaganda, publicly rewarding appropriate behavior, as well as subtly controlling other societal factors to push their preferred view. Over time the previously common trait has taken root deep in the psyche of an entire race. The government has also managed to include the state in this bond, thus creating a deep well of patriotism that borders on fanaticism in certain segments of the population. Nowadays the government doesn’t have to do the enforcement of these policies as these fanatical elements will do the enforcing for them. While violence against their own is rare due to the mentality they are enforcing, the greedy are shunned and turned into social pariahs. Social engineering at its finest, done with the best of intentions.”

- High Ambassador of the Mrrroww

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Despite her initial instinct to rush towards the source of the item tainted with void energy, Selendil discovered that she could not really leave just yet. The first problem was that the fixer, Huang, needed some time to get his businesses in order. He was a man that traded with several beings that most intelligent people didn’t want to anger. Some of those trades were time-sensitive. Once again Selendil thought it would be easier to just drag the man along with force, but Lilly managed to convince her otherwise, arguing that they still needed his cooperation even if they didn’t need him on the crew. In this case, she allowed the Mrrroww woman to succeed as there were other things delaying them.

The main problem was that she had agreed to wait for the arrival of both Moonshadow and Amaterasu. She had not expressly given her word to do so, but that was semantics. Dhar considered their promises to be unbreakable to a large extent. The main reason for this was their shared consciousness, the Unity, as any lies would be seen through rather easily. Another effect of the Unity was that a word about someone being a liar or prone to making promises they were unable to keep spread quickly and far. The net result was that the Dhar did have a certain penchant for being vague with their promises especially concerning timing, but they kept to their word once it was given.

Some elements of the Dhar society had rather forcefully argued that these principles did not and should not extend to other races. Behind this idea was the belief in the inherent superiority of the Dhar as a race, and the feeling that promises to so-called ‘lesser beings’ did not carry the same weight. Those lesser races were subject to their whims anyway. These elements didn’t have much clout in the Dhar society, but they did exist.

Selendil did not share their ideas, though she did not dismiss their claims without careful consideration. As a Keeper she was supposed to be a neutral judge and arbitrator of the wisdom of those that had passed, so she was obligated to take the views of others into consideration. She did not agree with the more extreme element, though she was less fierce about keeping her word towards other races than many others would be. She would not break her word unless pushed to the extreme, but she recognized that there truly was a difference between promises between Dhar and casual promises made to other races. Luckily the trace of void energy on the items was old enough that she didn’t think they would benefit from rushing into things. Most of the damage had likely either been done already or had been avoided.

Despite this, Lilly noticed the impatience in her new boss and managed to placate her somewhat by finally finding several good cooks and chefs for the ship. In fact, the kitchen was now by far the most well-staffed part of the ship. On the other hand, they still had only a single doctor for example, which was grossly inadequate to keep the medbay staffed around the clock. Luckily Khaemwaset had been able to recommend a few other people that fulfilled a position he called a ‘nurse’, though the more than slightly perverted expression on both his and Lilly’s face indicated something that went beyond Selendil’s understanding of the word. That duo might be a source of trouble down the line.

The delay did have some positives as well. In addition to the few positions they managed to fulfill on the crew, they also managed to start acquiring and installing some of the personalized equipment that those crew members needed. The equipment on the ship was a strange mix of Dhar technology and anything they managed to acquire on the station. The Dhar items were, of course, superior to the others, but they also came with a few problems. The main issues were that much of the original Dhar equipment was still damaged as they were lower importance when it came to repairs and the fact that they were operated with a psionic connection.

The other races had long been stumped by the fact that many of the more impressive pieces of Dhar technology were controlled completely by a psionic connection. The Dhar had all been psionic, so naturally their ships and items reflected that fact. Controlling things with your mind was much more effective than using your hands, and this fact had not been ignored by the other races either. Many of them used mind-controlled technology as well, though the practice was not yet widespread due to technical hurdles. The difference was that the Dhar were also all psionics which simplified the procedure, while the other races tried to build complex and clunky mind-machine interfaces with mixed success.

The problem in this case was obviously the fact that non-psions would not be able to use the Dhar tools or equipment. They could theoretically use voice commands to have Nox handle such things, but some things demanded a reaction speed or focus that made voice commands impossible. There was also the fact that the Dhar simply didn’t need some things that other races did, either because of their nature as energy beings or because of advancements in their evolution as a species. That’s where the outside equipment came in. Luckily the ship was able to modify itself to an extent to accommodate for such things.

Selendil was currently observing the installation of some large pods within the medbay. Interestingly the other position that had already been staffed to a relatively decent extent was the one in charge of simple manual labor, such as carrying large and heavy objects like these pods around. Strong beings that were good with their hands were relatively easy to find and Lilly had done a good job in screening the possible options. Of course, these new crew members had been less happy when they had spent hours hauling the large and heavy pods here from the hangars on the auxiliary arms of the ship, only to have Selendil effortlessly levitate them all into position with a wave of one of her tails.

“So what are these exactly?” She asked as both Lilly and Khaemwaset looked like they had just realized something obvious they had missed earlier. Still, they didn’t think that asking Selendil to haul cargo was a good idea.

“These are bio-regenerative units or regen-pods as many call them," Khaem stated while winking at one of the female Azi they had hired as a laborer. “Incidentally, that one is upside down.” He pointed at one of the pods.

Selendil just flipped around the pod that weighed almost a ton with a single wave of her hand. “So they’re healing pods.” She stated. “Why not just call them that?”

“Because they don’t actually heal anything too complex. They simply help bodies regenerate damage they have sustained, like a missing arm or deep lacerations for example. They don’t do much when it comes to actual diseases or other things that are more complicated. The patient is placed inside and the whole pod is filled with a nutrient-rich solution rife with nanites. The combination will be able to rebuild most simple tissue and bone damage, though it still has some trouble with nerves and complex organs like the liver, cheepak, and kidneys.”

“Cheepak?” Selendil asked Lilly who was shooing the laborers away. The Azi female had actually wanted to stay.

“Oh, that’s an organ only found with the Azi, Dashane and a handful of other races. It produces many hormones. Kind of like certain parts of the brain or glands in many other humanoids.” Lilly explained. This was something that she had to know because some drugs affected the organ and turned people more aggressive.

"Hmm, anyway, your problem is with the low-grade of nanites," Selendil stated. "I consider it almost insulting to have such low-grade nanites on this ship. Speaking of, nearly everyone I’ve met so far outside Moonshadow and certain Illum has had low-grade nanites in their bodies."

"Oi, those are the highest grade of bio-nanites you can find on the market!" Khaem stated a little defensively as he was quite proud of the price he had managed to haggle for them. The seller didn't realize what he had in his possession and sold them way too cheap. "Besides, military-grade nanites should be fairly rare as they tend to be important strategic assets."

“Well, your highest grade is quite bad in that case. Remind me to have some of the nano-fabricators create some half-decent medical nanites for you. It still won’t be very high in quality since that requires specialized equipment, but at least it will trounce this stuff.” Selendil replied with something that would’ve been a dismissive sniff with races that had a nose.

“Nano-fabricators?” Khaem asked with a high-pitched voice. Nano fabricators were the cutting edge of the cutting edge technology even among Mrrroww, and even those barely managed to create something as complicated as nanites.

“You didn't tell him, Lilly? The medbay has a dedicated nano-fabricator, as do most of the specialized facilities on the ship. The engineering has two, although only one is functional at the moment. I did assign the fabricators as a high priority on the repairs queue, but Nox apparently decided one was enough for now." Selendil replied, confused by the excitement of the man.

“You don’t even have a proper engineering crew yet. Why would I repair more than one fabricator for them?” Nox shot back a little defensively.

“How…what level of precision is the fabricator in the medbay capable of?” Khaem asked filled to the brim with excitement at the thought of all the medicinal uses. He hadn’t even thought of the possible prosthetic or augmentation opportunities yet.

“What level of precision? The fabricator can create basically anything with enough time. Anything created from the materials from our own phase that is. The only question is the time it takes to create something, as more complicated substances require more time. Well, and you need to know what you’re making. The fabricators don’t work on vague instructions. The fabricator can’t create anything that requires dark phase materials without the proper raw materials of course. It’s also not capable of temporal enhancement as that requires dedicated facilities and highly-skilled operators.” The question had caught Selendil by surprise. Why would someone create a nano-fabricator that wasn’t capable of creating just about anything?

Khaem jumped towards Selendil in an attempt to give her a crushing hug. “Iloveyousomuchpleasemarryme!” He exclaimed filled with enthusiasm. He even forgot to ask about the temporal enhancements that Selendil mentioned.

Selendil just made a small wave and Khaem crashed into the nearest wall. “Is he okay?” Lilly asked slightly worried.

"He'll survive. See, there’s no blood.” Selendil replied airily.

“He’s bleeding rather profusely though.” Lilly pointed out as blood started seeping out from under him.

“Well. It’s a good thing we have brand new medical pods then, as well as a brand new medical staff.” Selendil countered with the same tone.

“He’s our only doctor though!” Lilly screeched and dashed out to call for the nurses.

-----

Either due to fate or due to some bizarre coincidence, both Moonshadow and Amaterasu ended up arriving within minutes of each other. Amaterasu had brought along several of her handmaidens that had skill in Progenitor archeology as well as any specialized skills that might be useful on the ship. The Cybran fixer Huang was rather shocked to see almost three dozen of Illum’s finest walking calmly on the ship. Moonshadow had also brought along a handful of the more useful crew members from her own ship. Since there was no longer any point in trying to hide their spying on Selendil, she might as well bring along people that were useful.

As soon as they were on board, Selendil gathered all the senior officers together on Lilly’s urging. It was useful for all of them to have some idea about their current goals as well as the current situation with the ship and the crew. They also needed to establish a clear chain of command. The group that gathered in the newly created conference room was a colorful group of beings from various races. Aside from Amaterasu, Moonshadow, Lilly, and Khaemwaset, the room also held a Coatl in a colorful poncho, the Cybran Fixer Huang, a silent Guardian and surprisingly some kind of insectoid being, that Selendil didn’t recognize, wearing an apron and a chef’s hat.

"Before we get started, I believe some introductions are in order," Lilly said, her words being the only ones spoken in the room in the last several minutes as everyone looked at each other with clear confusion or suspicion. “My name is *cough* Lilly *cough* and I’m the personnel officer of the ship. I’m sure most of you are already familiar with the owner of the ship, Selendil.”

She looked towards the disinterested Dhar who simply nodded. Selendil’s presence here without the environmental suit was drawing most of their attention, as she was rather impressive even without the feeling of power surrounding her. Her nature as something truly different was rather obvious by the intangible feel she gave everyone. Lilly kept staring at her until she gave up and decided to say a few words. “As everyone heard, I am Selendil and I’m a Keeper. None of you understand what the title entails, but you will learn over time. That will hold true for many things. Nox introduce yourself.”

“Greetings everyone. I am the ship's and Selendil's personal AI. You can address technical questions and other quick queries to me. I will guide you with the operation of the ship. I will be able to hear your questions anywhere on the ship, so do not worry." Nox greeted the others with a chipper voice. The AI had also turned its voice more feminine to make a better impression, which elicited quite a bit of amusement from Selendil.

“That…sounds like a bit of a privacy concern.” The insectoid being stated with a surprisingly smooth and nice voice. Many present were aware that the voice was the result of a voice modulator that translated her normal speech to something intelligible.

“That’s something you will have to deal with.” Nox stated. “I generally don’t care what you do in your private time, and I will not spill any of your secrets unless absolutely necessary. However, you’ve likely already noted that the ship was not really designed with privacy in mind. None of our ships were.”

“Can I ask why?” The same being asked and continued. “Oh, and I’m Zzz’tak, the Head Chef. I’m not entirely sure why I’m here.”

“I’m sure you all have a lot of questions. We would prefer you save them until after the introductions. Incidentally, you're here because we needed someone to represent the rest of the crew.” Lilly stated, moving things along. She also didn’t mention that Selendil had naturally wanted the leader of the cooks to be present as in her mind it was an important position. More important than the others actually.

Moonshadow and Khaem introduced themselves rather simply, and the two were the ones that were actually known by the other people. Moonshadow due to being the High Ambassador of the most prominent species on Haven, and Khaem because he had actually treated many of their acquaintances in the past. Their positions on the ship were also rather obvious. People got more interested as the Coatl’s turn came.

“Greetings to everyone. My name is Nochehuatl and I'm the science officer on this ship. My specialties are astrophysics, molecular science, and xenoengineering. I'm hoping we will get more staff to expand the range of expertise of my department, but for now, I can answer many of the science related questions you may have." The Coatl male made a small bow. He was extremely courteous and most of the other officers had a good impression of him already. Some like Lilly and Khaem were of course aware of his gambling habits, but many ships had their own gambling setups, so that was not frowned upon. What was even better, Nochehuatl had a bad habit of losing most of his bets which made him even more popular among the crew.

The large Guardian that resembled a long but thin old tree got up. “Cherryblossom. Anything to do with plants I decide." He sat back down after his short speech. He had brought a specialized chair that looked like a tree stump. The source of the name was obvious as pink flowers momentarily bloomed on his branches. The name sounded a bit too cute for him, but no one was going to say anything to his face about it.

To avoid any awkwardness, Amaterasu quickly got up as it was clearly her turn. She sat the closest to Selendil’s right side and they had already gone around the table. The only two people who had not made introductions were her and the Cybran man who sat separated from the rest. “My name is Amaterasu, and I’m a member of the Illum. It was my understanding that I’m supposed to be something like the First Officer on this ship.” Her tone was a little questioning as she had only received a short message from Nox upon embarking the ship.

"The first officer is a good way to think about it." Lilly quickly interjected, knowing that Selendil had a different idea about the position. However, she also knew that Amaterasu was an Empress so having her be the First Warrior or Champion was a little unsuitable.

"I heard the name of the Dread Empress is also Amaterasu," Huang called out from his spot at the side of the room. He used the title most Cybrans and Tetrarchy used for the Illum Empress.

“Yes, an interesting coincidence is it not?” Amaterasu replied with a small smile. She wanted to keep that fact quiet for now, mostly because she wanted to know how long it would take the others to figure things out. The damn Cybran man was spoiling her fun. “In any case, it is my understanding that I will be in command should Selendil not be present?”

“To be exact, Nox will have the final say, but it has been brought to my attention that most races dislike being under the command of an AI, so ‘she’ will not interfere unless necessary.” Selendil replied, emphasizing the word ‘she’ on purpose. If Nox wanted to take on a feminine persona, she certainly wasn’t going to stop that. “Other than that, you are the second in command, yes.”

Now everyone turned their heads, or mandibles in the case of Zzz’tak, towards Huang. “Right, he is Huang, a fixer, and the reason we are in such a hurry to leave. I won’t lie, I’m kind of hoping we might succeed in recruiting him as a fixer on the ship, but that will likely have to wait until we are done with our current mission. As most of you have already realized, he is a Cybran and our voyage will take us towards the Cybran controlled space.” Lilly explained in the man’s stead.

“So what is our mission exactly?” Amaterasu asked. “I likely don’t have to mention that the Illum aren’t exactly welcome in Cybran space at the moment.”

“He was in possession of an item tainted with void energy. We will need to find the source of the energy and make sure no one is opening doors that should remain closed.” Selendil summarized and then gave the same short explanation of void energy she had given Lilly and Huang earlier.

“Forgive me if I’m outstepping my bounds, but I find it hard to believe that your people stepped away from such battle. From what I know, the ‘people’ were looking for worthy opponents to fight most of the time. It feels odd that you should close a door when finally facing a foe worthy of your attention.” Amaterasu pointed out, using the Eternal Empire’s language to indicate Dhar without actually saying it.

“Before that, I’d like to know more about this ‘your people’ thing.” The science officer Nochehuatl asked a question many of them were thinking.

"I suppose you would want to know," Selendil stated with a nod. She had decided that it would be easier in the long run to just state the truth rather than try hiding it from her crew. “This is a Dhar ship with a Dhar in command. Or for those of you not aware, a Progenitor vessel.”

Her calm words were followed by exclamations, though surprisingly very few questions. Still, Lilly waved them all down. "Stay calm and keep the questions to yourself for now. We will be here for weeks if you all start asking the questions that you no doubt want answered. Let's take one topic at a time. You will find out more later on."

“To answer your question Amaterasu, you’re right. In most situations, my kind would have been ecstatic to have a worthy foe. The problem is that this foe is not so simple to fight. Oh, there were glorious fights and plenty of worthy battles, but the problem was that the denizens of the void didn’t fight in conventional ways. Some of them can and did. Those were the best battles my race had in eons, but they were rare once the enemy realized the futility of that particular tactic. Most of the denizens of the void are no better than wraiths, spirits that infect others to slowly take them over. These wraiths of the void took over several of our own fleets and some of our greatest warriors turning them against us. The battle became a lot less glorious when the enemy realized that to be their best tactic and the war turned into a battle where Dhar fought other Dhar.” Selendil explained with a quiet voice.

“Civil wars are always the worst.” Moonshadow commented sagely, earning a scoff from Amaterasu for the implied jab.

“In any case. The fighting turned out to be without end and the losses actually started to become problematic, so the Keepers were called into the war. We ended it. The door was closed and the last of the enemy were hunted down. We had hoped the door was closed for good, but now it seems someone else is toying with the same idea.” Selendil quickly explained the conclusion of the war and the reason they were doing this.

“I feel compelled to ask, but what’s stopping these enemies from taking us over? And how would we know if the people we are looking for are not already under that very influence.” As the science officer, these kinds of questions were something Nochehuatl had to think about. If they had no ways of fighting the possession, then he would have to come up with something.

"As I said, the Keepers were called in to end the war, and we have our own ways to do so. You just so happen to have the last and the strongest Keeper in Dhar history on the ship.” Selendil replied with confidence.