[b] In memoriam[/b] [i]Bhut hurota brukah elen bhut hakan.[/i] - Temple teaching Kalus leaned against the railing, peering down at the vast city stretching out below him. The quiet burbling of water, emanating from the raised aqueducts running nearby, filled the otherwise-quiet air. Gardens and parks were scattered throughout the city, and planters filled with all manner of beautiful flowers were built into the edges of the aqueducts, many of them somewhat overflowing, with cascades of colorful vines spilling over the edges. The city had begun built on the edge of the ocean, and had eventually begun to expand into it; beautiful structures rose out the water and many were connected under water by tunnels and above water by bridges and aqueducts that transported clean water through the cities many plants and gardens, drawn from the sea and filtered by a number of treatment facilities. Separate treatment facilities handled the drinking water which was transported by underground piping instead. In truth the aqueducts were an aesthetic choice rather than a truly functional one, although some hid piping inside that transported the drinking water between buildings in the Aqua District. Kalus breathed it in before looking across to Zuruniac. He'd known her for a few weeks at most, a disaster had claimed her parents and he was her nearest relative. She was a distant and it showed. His family had Raver heritage but while his grand parents had moved away from Raver and all but forsaken it, his great uncles family had remained. Zuruniac was very much a Raver girl, immersed in its culture since birth while Kalus a Techseer of the Order of the Book and bore only his hides colour as sign of his ancestry. Bound by blood and little else. Yet, it was in both their cultures for family to look out for each other and so here they were. "It's so beautiful. Different to- to what I expected." Zuruniac said at last, placing her half drained glass on the table and approaching the railing "What were you expecting?" Kalus asked, glancing over to her "Just... Concrete titans. Lifeless, scarring the sky. But it's beautiful." Zuruniac paused for a moment before continuing "Though, I feel surrounded. There are so many people." "What is your town like, Zuruniac?" Kalus said in a stilted manner and instantly cursed himself for it. The girl seemed to shrink away again and answered quietly "Small but vibrant. Alive." Zuruniac looked up to him slowly, cautiously "Will I ever see it again?" "Of course. Once you are done with this year's instruction, perhaps we shall visit it. I have some money spare." Kalus looked back out over the city and although he was not looking at her, he could tell Zuruniac had grimaced. His communicator buzzed in his pocket. A thousand hells awaited his apprentices, apparently he could not even have a day of rest without one of them losing something and needing his help. He sighed heavily before taking it out and activating it. [i]Your presence is required. My apologies but it is urgent. The reliquary has unlocked. Come with haste.[/i] Kalus eyes widened in surprise and he turned to the door, speaking quickly to Zuruniac as he quickly packed his back "I don't know how long I'll be gone, I trust you can cook without starting a fire." [b] Temple Ship of Garen-Badu, Inner Sanctum[/b] [i]Luk ji minkun kotun gous nakun nerehanun sumeso zujah sivi darilis, eris munuhan yun brukah elen yun fusirin hut dun alak ner ghut.[/i] - On the Traitor Tribe, Chapter 4, Holy Perseverance of Kulan-Mylin The Temple Ship had dropped out of warp space in system, a short sunlight journey away from their destination. The colonists watched the observation screens as they laid eyes on their new home. Or so Garen-Badu imagined as he sat in his sanctum, writing the first entry to the log he would use to document the world's development. He was the newest of the Adabhutay and had eagerly leapt at the chance to seed a new world. He heard the door to his sanctum slide open and someone enter behind him. "My lord? We have not arrived - there has an unexpected complication." The young commander said. Garen-Badu stopped writing as his heart sank. He wiped the entry to his log with a long sigh and turned to face Arlok; he was a soft faced and rather unassuming compared to his more experienced peers but Garen-Badu had chosen him to lead nonetheless. He saw something in the young soldier, but what it was even he could not say. "A complication? I am aware our data was somewhat incomplete, is the world not capable of sustaining life? Are we returning home?" "No, lord Garen-Badu. We have detected a nearby craft of alien origin, trawling through a nearby system - specifically they are currently holding orbit above an aquatic world, more than that we cannot say for sure." Arlok replied. Garen-Badu's crestfallen look vanished and his eyes lit up at the prospect of contacting a sentient alien species. "We thought you might want us to divert and attempt to establish communication." "Your foresight serves you well. Send them the prime numbers. If they are interested in speaking with us, they will likely respond in kind. If not, we will hold until our drives can make another jump. Set a course for that system. I shall join you shortly." Garen-Badu said. Arlok gave a short bow and spun in place, leaving Garen-Badu to his own devices. Garen-Badu raised his hand, the sleeve of his robe falling to reveal the metallic gauntlet that covered his wrist and hand. The fruit from his plate rose into the air and soared towards him, landing perfectly in his grasp. He raised it to his lips and took a bite out of it, savouring the taste. What a time to be a god. [b] Temple Ship of Garen-Badu, Control Chambers[/b] Garen-Badu strode through the doors and into the control room, glancing around to the various officers. Arlok turned and approached him, bowing to him before speaking "We're approaching system. I've commenced a scan of the alien vessel and can confirm it is armed with kinetic weaponry and missiles. I believe it to be a military vessel and while I don't doubt our weapons would be able to put it down should it prove hostile, it's weaponry may be capable of inflicting severe damage. Shall we continue with contact?" "Indeed. Friend or foe, they will come and we shall know. We may have need of another jump, vent as much heat from the drives as you can." Garen-Badu replied. He glanced around the control room, checking over his crew; The communications officer tapped a series of commands into his terminal. One ping, two ping, three ping, five ping, seven pings and so on up to ninety seven. An intelligent species would surely find some way to respond in kind. "Done, my lord. We are awaiting response." The Communications Officer replied in his sing-song voice. It was unusually high pitched for a male Cholokah'zu, courtesy of some chronic disease as Garen-Badu understood. "May it come quick." Arlok grunted. "The drives are cooling but we lack sufficient coolant. It will be several minutes before we are able to safely jump." The Techseer Prime noted as he glanced over to Arlok and Garen-Badu. The techseer had not approved of Arloks decision to reduce the amount of coolant the ship was carrying in favour of terraforming resources and his dissatisfaction was evident in his tone.