Carpathia IV: Episode 23 - The Brown Elf
Space, Centaurus Void, NCCS Shadowdancer
Despite the awkwardness, Aire felt reasonably satisfied with how the meeting was going so far. Though there were some causes for concern, no shots had been fired nor any hostilities exchanged. It was a start, not an ideal start, but not a worst-case scenario.
Upon entering the small conference room, Ksenva paused and looked around near the doorway, training her eyes on the few features of the room. The long, computerized conference table. The chrome and leather office chairs. The walls, divided into small, detachable panels with silver strips in between. It was a functional, not beautiful room.
Ksenva: It's rather austere, isn't it?
Adell: It's not a room we use often. In later versions of this class of ship, it was removed completely.
Ksenva gave the room another look-around and then raised her arms, the palms of her hands pointing upward and prodigious bracelets clattering with the movement. Aire wondered if this were an elvish custom or blessing that was not known to the elves of his world.
Adell: Would you care to...
Before Adell could finish his sentence, Ksenva stepped quickly to the head of the conference table and helped herself to a chair.
Adell: ...have a seat. In that case, let us all sit.
Adell and the others spread around the table to sit down, with Adell and Aire taking seats opposite each other, close to Ksenva and Teren and Ryuu sitting one chair further down. Faelon and Kain did not sit at all, but took up positions flanking Ksenva, standing just behind her. Adell reached for the tray of drinks prepared in advance for the meeting.
Adell: Would you care for a drink? We have water, apple cider, and some wine, which is an alcoholic beverage made from a fruit called "grapes."
Ksenva paused, considering the offer, during which time Aire wondered if it were possible that an offer of drinks would be considered rude to her. There was much they did not know and even the most innocuous of offers could be considered an affront if they were not careful. Ksenva, to his relief, indeed made a selection.
Ksenva: I shall try your apple cider.
Adell reached for a wine glass and the decanter of apple cider on the table and began to pour.
Adell: That's a good choice. This was made on the apple farm run by two very good friends of mine. It's starting to become a bit of a delicacy on my world.
Holding the glass daintily by the stem, Adell placed it in front of Ksenva while he proceeded to pour glasses for the others. Ksenva eyeballed the glass suspiciously for a few seconds before leaning in to take a sniff while the others watched in anticipation. Ksenva picked up the glass by the stem and sniffed again before holding it to her left side in front of Faelon.
Ksenva: Faelon, taste this.
Faelon grabbed the glass by the bowl with both hands.
Faelon: Yes, madam.
Without any more hesitation, Faelon took a drink from the glass while Ksenva turned her head slightly and watched carefully from the corner of her eye. When Faelon finished drinking, he passed the glass back to Ksenva, who was still watching him carefully. While Aire watched, he could think of no other explanation for this other than Ksenva testing for poison. Aire was growing more concerned by the moment, as Ksenva being harsh and grumpy wasn't just a one-off thing.
Adell finished pouring and distributing the glasses of cider. He offered glasses to both Faelon and Kain, but both adamantly refused. Not keen to press the matter, Adell held up his glass and the others did the same, with Ksenva following their lead.
Adell: Let this meeting be the start of a new friendship.
Adell tapped his glass gently to Ksenva's, who observed with some befuddled indifference. Aire watched carefully, not able to tell if she was annoyed or impatient at this ritual. All but Ksenva drank from their glasses before she did the same, further cementing Aire's belief that she expected the possibility of poisoning.
Ksenva: These are quaint little rituals you have. I would be interested to indulge more, but I am on a schedule. Have you seen another ship like mine in this area? One of our ships is damaged and lost and we believe it to be near here somewhere. It is imperative that we find it quickly.
Adell: I'm afraid yours is the first ship like it that we've ever seen. If any of us had encountered another, it would be well-documented.
Ksenva took another sip of her cider. Her facial expressions still did not vary much since the first time they met, bit it seemed clear that disappointment was now subtly etched upon her face.
Ksenva: I see. If that is the case, I wonder if you can explain how it is that a vashtari has managed to join your crew. Are there others?
Aire knew this moment would come, that it would be necessary to at least partially explain the origins of the peoples of his world. Since she first appeared on the viewscreen, he considered how to tell this story, but he still felt uncertain of where to begin.
Aire: That is quite a long story.
Up to now, Ksenva maintained a level of politeness, even if it was measured with careful deliberation and some mild annoyance, but now, having been addressed directly by Aire, her response was immediate and untempered.
Ksenva: How about you tell it!
Aire, though taken aback, did his best not to show any sign of being cowed by Ksenva's outburst. For the sake of diplomacy, however, he thought it prudent for Adell to be the one to continue the rapport, however shaky, he was developing with Ksenva. Without any prodding, Adell obliged.
Adell: If I may, madam, the world Aire comes from is very unusual. There was a malfunctioning wormhole generator on his world for many thousands of years, randomly bringing people from other worlds to it. It was destroyed many years ago, but now his planet is teeming with species from many places, including humans like myself plus many others. Many, like Aire, do not know where their species originates.
It was a reasonably succinct explanation, Aire thought. It answered Ksenva's question without giving away too much detail. Aire hoped that this would be enough to placate her for now. Ksenva's eyes narrowed, whether in surprise or in disbelief, Aire did not know.
Ksenva: That's quite a story. You'll understand that I do not immediately believe it.
Interrupting the proceedings was a light knock at the door. Kain immediately snapped to attention, whirling around to face the door with his hand on the hilt of his sword with Ksenva observing as well.
Adell: That will be a fresh decanter of cider. Come in!
The door opened and behind it was Quenya, carrying a tray with more cider and clean glasses. Aire, however, noticed that Ksenva was having a most extreme reaction indeed, with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open as Quenya strode timidly into the room with her tray.
Ksenva: A brown vashtari! How is this possible?
Quenya paused for a moment, mid-stride, taken aback by Ksenva's comment, and quickly recovered and placed the tray on the table. Ksenva continued to look on in astonishment.
Aire: Thank you, Cadet. You may go now.
Before Quenya had a chance to respond, Ksenva slammed her hands on the table and stood, looming menacingly over everyone else.
Ksenva: How dare you give an order to a vashtari darker than you! And to a female no less!
Ksenva paused and stood up straight, holding her finger to her mouth as though contemplating her next move while the other sat in stunned silence.
Ksenva: No, I shall not stay here and be party to this abhorrent behavior! It is unnatural! Kain, we are leaving!
Ksenva was already making her wait to the door when she shouted her order at Kain, who quickly followed. The others stood as well with Adell chasing after.
Adell: I shall escort you to your shuttle, if you like.
Without breaking her stride, Ksenva shouted back at Adell.
Ksenva: I can find my own way!
Marching rapidly, Ksenva was already nearly at her shuttle door by the time Adell got outside of the conference room. Kain positioned himself strategically behind Ksenva, so that Adell wouldn't be able to reach her even if he broke into a sprint. With utter futility, all Adell could do was watch as Ksenva and company boarded the shuttle leaving Adell with only one order he could give the shuttle bay crew.
Adell: Seal the entrance to the shuttle bay, then decompress and open the door.
After Adell gave the order, Aire and the others sprinted up behind him.
Adell: Teren, as soon as they're out of the shuttle bay, go to condition yellow. Get to the bridge right away and have Nalma prepare a full tactical report.
Teren: Yes, Captain.
Teren darted away while Quenya slowly approached Aire with tears in her eyes.
Quenya: I'm so sorry, Commander. I screwed up.
Aire leaned down and put his hand on Quenya's shoulder.
Aire: No, Quenya. This is not your fault in the slightest. I think you might have provided us with some valuable information, even if it isn't good news. You may report back to Engineering.
Quenya sniffled and took a deep breath.
Quenya: Yes, Commander.
Quenya ran off while at the same time, the shuttle bay doors began to open. The Vashta shuttle was already powering up while Adell addressed Ryuu, but not before shouting out an order to the security staff.
Adell: Go ahead and close the blast doors! Okay, Ryuu, what do you think now?
The blast doors closed with a cacophony of noise and Ryuu waited to respond until their cycle completed.
Ryuu: Definitely not at all like the elves we remember. They didn't have any racial issues back then. Everyone was pretty mixed up. We helped them stabilize a supervolcano that was threatening to wipe out all life on their world a long time ago, so they might have records of what we can do. If they have an authoritarian society now, they wouldn't like that we have that kind of power. Best case scenario right now is that Ksenva is part of some racist splinter group. Whether or not that's true, we should regard her as dangerous.
Aire: I agree, and I think it's no longer feasible to hope for the best. We need to assume the worst from here on out.
Through the blast doors, they could hear the Vasta shuttle departing.
Adell: Okay, sounds like we're all on the same page. Let's get to the bridge and discuss strategy.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
Jenova87
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
All city pictures from SimCity 4
