[b]Redana![/b]

"Contemplate the Engine," buzzed the Hermetic. "For the first revelation is that it is greater than the ship in which it rests. It can be made to burn as soft and cool as the heartbeat of sleep, or as loud and hot as the heartbeat of love. All devices and machines flow from the Engine but they are but emanations, ways to channel the celestial fragment into more precise forms. Sometimes they are unnecessary."

He finishes constructing - and it is a humble thing he has made. Instead of a bowl, he has made a covered pot.

[b]Vasilia![/b]

Apollo Silverbow watches you beatifically. Though he is serene and forgiving, in his eyes are reflected darkness. Your stress. Your nightmares. Your exhaustion. All that besets you and weighs you down, all of your regrets and doubts. His smile is kind and he does not judge you for them, but neither is it easy to meet his eyes and all the things that fill them.

"I don't give a damn how the captain [i]feels[/i] about their post," said Galnius, but these aren't Galnius' words. These are the words of fear passing through a mortal conduit. "There are lives on the line. Potentially millions or even [i]billions[/i] with an Imperial Princess involved. The Grand Armada is after us and they have weapons that can end [i]stars[/i] and a leader who is confident in wielding them. With a word, Princess Redana would have a navy to match. Everyone here is fulfilling their function, but you? You carry the heaviest burden of all and do not seem to realize it."

[b]Alexa![/b]

Hades is sitting there besides the both of you. His eyes are crystal blue and gleaming, but he says nothing - just shuffles his cards.

"Hey, Alexa, I'm a [i]Ceronian[/i]," said Isty, making a face. "Don't think I'm any less a tool of violence than you are. I might have blood in my veins but once the banners go up and formation instinct kicks in then I'm just another cog in the machine, same as you. I don't know if what we have is the same as what humans have, but we're in the same boat on this one, okay? So let's at least do the courtesy of calling each others' deconstructions [i]deaths[/i]."

Hades smiles a little and starts laying cards out in the ancient game of solitare.

[b]Mynx![/b]

It takes a long time for that to soak in.

Bella is [i]miserable[/i].

Was she - really? This whole thing was so exciting, wasn't it? They'd left Tellus! That was her dream! Wasn't that everyone's dream? Wasn't the motivation for every single person on that enormous, horrible, wretched ball of cement? To get [i]out[/i]? When she'd lain awake during the agony of the Second Ascension, listening to the sound of her bones crack and feeling her organs rearrange within her body all she'd been able to think was that this would one day be worth it because she might get to [i]leave[/i]. And to leave in luxury and comfort, with a ship and her best friend and catching up with Redana so she could be with her too... that was the dream. Right? Together, to the stars...

But this wasn't that.

She was awake now. Awake to her friend who was crying. Who was desperate. Who had endured pain and betrayal and loss and night after night of fear. It hadn't been playful, excited teasing she was doing. It had been cruelty. Because she'd thought that Bella was just pretending to be grumpy and was secretly just as excited as she was to be away.

This wasn't her dream. Maybe that'd come later. But right now... right now she had to get back to work. 

She hesitates for just a second as she reaches out to take Bella's hand. When she does it's a firm grip and she stands up, straight and strong. Bella said she didn't want an apology, and she didn't want her to tear up or look hurt. What she wanted was...

"I'll do better," said Mynx. What Bella wanted was someone reliable. She could shapeshift into that.

[b]Bella![/b]

You stare at the Ikarani Adept through a one-way mirror. She sits cross-legged in the centre of the gleaming white clean room, not one speck of dust to distract her, violet eyes wide and staring at nothing. All around you can hear the buzzing of incredibly powerful dampeners, machines that block out even the rumble of the ship's Engine from reaching through into that room.

"It's essentially sensory deprivation," Mynx said, not making any sort of comment about how creepy this was or any other expected wisecrack. "Ikarani are data addicts. They absorb information like sponges and can draw increasingly complex conclusions from even the slightest bit of information. Operational life in the wild is three days, less if they find any books, after which they need to be memory wiped or..." Mynx started to trail off, but then swallowed and finished the thought. "Or else they go rampant. That's a point where they've absorbed a terminal amount of data and have become true superintelligences. From that point there's no stopping them, they'll keep gaining knowledge and intelligence until they rival the gods themselves. And, like the Ikarus myth that they're named after - they [i]fall[/i]."

[hider=Ikarani Adept]
[b]Ikarani Adept[/b]
[i]A data-addict, capable of weaponizing an entire world against itself.[/i]
System Integration: An Ikarani can raise the Escalation Level of an environment it is in. It may need to take actions to accomplish this, but there is no limit as to how far it can raise the Escalation.
Data Absorption: An Ikarani can accurately identify and locate everyone within an environment it is integrated with. It can accurately guess plans and reactions and is almost impossible to surprise.
Rampancy: When a Temple Assassin has reached the stage of Rampancy, it becomes a Threat to the World. It also has the ability to instantly destroy any other threats contained within the Environment.[/hider]