[b]Mirror[/b] Matty lets out a meep as you propose her adoption, but doesn’t further interrupt you during the story you tell to Trosta. She’s a good girl that way, and well-trained in minding the shop to boot. It’s obvious she’s flustered though, intensely so. She notices your glance for her reaction and it’s a blush, and she doesn’t seem to know what to do with her hands anymore. She lifts one, lowers it, runs the other through her short light brown hair, fingers deftly smoothing it against the side of her head and down to her speckled neck fur, which seems to calm her a little. She does it again, but then realizes she’s been doing it, starts, tries to pull those hands behind her back and clasps them tightly. You can almost hear how conscious she is of every part of her body and how intentionally she’s trying not to fidget. She’s got to be wondering if you’re serious or if you were teasing her, but either way it’s obvious you hit the target dead center. [Take a string on Matty and she’s flustered as all get out.] For her part, Trosta is amused, and then she is listening. She nods sometimes, in that odd avian way that Zaldarians have sometimes, her bronze skin glinting in the light of her forge when she does. She’s not confirming what you’re saying, just letting you know that she’s listening, that she thinks she’s understood when you’ve said something. She isn’t using the sign language herself as you go, she sits and considers. Rests her head on one hand. When you’re done, she waits to make sure there are no more words to be added, and then she nods one more time, more sharply. “You are owed an apology because you are right. I know the story of Solarel and the Aeteline, and that is what the story is called among Zaldarians. You are a notable pilot in that tale, do not underestimate any stand against the Aeteline, for it is a cursed god indeed. But I did not know [i]you[/i], your looks or your name or your stature were all new to me, until you told me what role you had played, noble pilot.” She offers a slight bow then, and makes a hand gesture of apology. “As to your other things, you offered me several thoughts all together, related but not, is that not so? First, you asked to know the possibilities of the Hangar that my people made for our competition, so we will tackle that. Yes, it is possible that someone skilled with nanobots came into your private space and did your armor harm. It would be a very shameful thing for the current Empress if this is so, the culprit would be banished as Solarel is banished. Perhaps the culprit already is banished, but I do not know any artisans who reside in this system that have the talent necessary and are banished from the Empress’s sight. A new arrival then? That might narrow who you should ask after, there cannot be very many Zaldarian artisans recently arrived here, fewer still who would risk the Empress’s ire for Solarel.” She cocks her head, thinks, and offers an apologetic sort of shrug that tells you that you’ve reached the limit of what Trosta knows about the sabotage. It wasn’t nothing, but it was speculation. “Second, you ask to adopt my assistant. I do not understand what you mean by not poaching but maybe poaching her. If you mean to take her from my shop for your crew, I suppose I cannot stop her, but if she wants my permission, the answer is no. It took me some time to find a Hybrasilian engineer to work with me and I wish to learn from her and impart my skills to her in turn, I would be loathe to have her leave. If this is something of Hybrasilian family that would not take her from her work altogether much, then I do not know of it but it has my blessing if she wishes it.” She looks at Matty, who is nodding vociferously, having forgotten about keeping her hands clasped and instead having one back on the side of her hair bobbing along with the nod and the other worrying little claws against her pants leg. Trosta gives a satisfied nod to herself that you will work out the details and turns back towards you with a smile. She makes a sign of amusement with her hands. It’s noticeable that she does hand speak like Solarel does, but rather seems to use her hand gestures to more clearly articulate her emotional state to supplement her speech. “Finally, you ask me for chains for your armor. This is a novel request for me, and an honor, if I understand it properly. Chains are a thing that Zaldarians sometimes forge for the armor of gods when the god that inhabits the armor is very strong and very unstable. The Aeteline was one such, its curse in large part due to the weakness of its chains as compared to its god. I have never heard of such a request for armor from Hybrasil or the Consortium, as I understood that your gods were somewhat more tame than ours. Further, you asked me for chains for your hands, for your mind, not for the god of your armor. And you have showed me glimpses of its function now that I might understand this properly. I think, therefore, that you are your own goddess, a divinity of both mortal and divine will warring within one body. You ask for chains to bind that side of you that is wild and fierce and cannot be constrained without help, that the other side of you may learn and grow.” She stops, looks at you. “Please tell me if this is the right understanding. If so, I am honored that you, having just met me, would trust me to craft something so precious. It will not come cheap, and I will need Matty’s assistance and quite a bit of your time, I think. But I will do it.” *** [b]Dolly and Jade[/b] “Aaaaaaayeeee” shouts Angela Victoria Miera Antonius as you fire your Bola caster and she is sent sprawling, trapped and suddenly tied. It’s thrilling, having her, even as your brain is fracturing itself through a series of parallel universes where this goes differently and wishing there were some way to simultaneously experience each separate reality at once. “You! Dolly! And Jade! I knew it! I knew you had a game! You taunt me, embarrass me, recruit the other Hybrasilians, and then lure me out here to be your sacrifice! Oh, oh oh! When I get free, you will pay for this! When you least expect it, oh you’ll see, you’ll see!” She’s really working herself up here. You’ll need to gag her before taking her through the more populous streets if she keeps this up. You’ve made a double-edged threat there, in that she might well not want this embarrassment caught on camera, but you might not want her shouting and begging for help where there are lots of people around, you’re only two Hybrasilians and a bowcaster is not exactly heavy armament if someone decides to help. Ksharta’s done a good job on the ropes. She’s grinning, her heart’s beating fast and she’s full of thrill, as well as sweating and with her fur ruffled at all the exertion. It looks like she’s made Angela fairly comfortable as well, and given her perhaps a bit more room to wiggle than is entirely safe for a bound offering, but Ksharta also seems like she’s enjoying watching it. That’s something to tuck away for later. Angela herself seems hard to read. She’s outraged, and you don’t necessarily know TC folks all that well, but you think if she were really, truly angry and upset about this, she would be reacting somewhat differently, perhaps with less rising to the scene she finds herself in? She hasn’t said anything about your offer from Jade either, unless you count her saying that she’s a sacrifice as agreeing to be your offering, which is a stretch right? Maybe Jade could calm her down though? She’s good with gags. But is it okay to do that if Angela’s still on her rant and hasn’t really given you a proper answer? Jade, what do you want here? *** [b]Solarel and Isabelle[/b] The shuttle completes its route through this odd underground structure and comes to rest at what is functionally a landing platform. It doesn’t really appear designed for the shuttle per se, but it is flat and wide, more than adequate for purpose. The ancestor geist is still with you, and still wishes Isabelle’s shoes removed. This is a very old geist and probably is not functioning terribly well, but it is what it is. Annika has begun talking to several of her geists. The ones she’s talking to now are small, ride-alongs like little spirit birds that are useful for communications. Though they don’t look like they’re Zaldarian in origin. If you have studied bird-life on some TC planets, the manifestation of Annika’s geists is probably closest to some kind of sea-flying hawk. Don’t feel rushed to untangle yourselves, you have time while the shuttle settles to appease the geist, get your bearings. At this point, the crew doesn’t seem particularly rushed either, and even as quasi-kidnapees, everyone here has that easy air of people who know that there simply isn’t anywhere else to go, so there’s no reason to stress or rush about. Only Annika herself seems nervous, and that mostly because her resting state appears to be seething with impatience for a universe that does not instantly manifest her thoughts into reality. When you do go out, you’re going to find yourselves in a connected underground cavern system, partially natural, partially bored by nanobot construction. This cavern system has some lighting, via the nanobot construction standards, so you will be able to see at least where you come out and realize that it is large. Large enough, and populous enough with geists, that there may be god spirits here. Isabelle, this will probably be rather overwhelming. You might have heard as an educated and up to speed Consortium family member, about the countryside of Zaldaria and their strange technologies (not to mention the already copious fiction on the matter). But nobody in all the fighting over the Cerulean Belt has ever mentioned something like this as the prize. Nobody in your family knows about any place like this. Also, like, stepping away from the family politics, this is just absolutely wild. You’ve never been anywhere like this before and while it may not be a rainbow of colors or anything, this combination of natural and machine construction is wondrous and you should seriously be asking yourself if this qualifies as magic. Solarel, here is the thing you should know when it comes to this. This space, this population, it’s big enough for gods. If you have ever asked yourself how you might find a new Zaldarian mecha without the favor of the Empress, the heretic before you has handed you one such answer, at least assuming you have the strength and skill to seize it.