The species stayed relatively separate on their journey to the lab. Gazes Fondly seemed to be in charge of the QV, marshalling them to group their suits together in one large amorphous blob. They appeared to have some kind of team meeting, swirling round together while their combined suit rolled along the corridor. The Tindrel kept trying, and failing, to latch onto the perfectly flat walls. The tiny hooks attached to their legs protracted and retracted dozens of times.

There was no welcome party on the ship, per say. There had already been an official exchanging of team sheets that frankly Freyr had paid little attention to. But shortly after moving from the acclimatisation chamber and into their new lab, Dr Lang spotted Knossos of the Sacred Band standing guard by the door. Freyr waved.

A loophole in the agreement for scientific expeditions meant that vessels could hire private military personnel to act as security and support staff. In the case of this expedition, that just so happened to include some of the most effective warfighters in the Diaspora. Captain Andersen had lobbied extremely hard to put her team on the ship, instead of a team from some other ship in the fleet. Outremer’s vestigial fief system meant that military officers were allowed to augment their retinue with elite and/or specialised individuals, using funds accrued from the various services an army or naval vessel can do for its surrounding community. Sending these special units to do ‘good works’ was a common way of building up their master’s status and influence. It also meant Captain Andersen could monitor the mission through the eyes of all the Sacred Band while they were on duty.

Knossos himself wasn’t in armour, for maybe the second time since they had met. His scarred and craggy skin was pale and his grey beard neatly clipped. Despite his advanced age, his crew uniform still bulged with augmented muscle. The sidearm on his hip wasn’t even close to standard issue. He nodded a fraction of an inch in reply.

Freyr turned her attention to the centre of the cavernous hall. After frenzied, technical collaboration, another miniature Vault had been transported aboard the Rothian science vessel. Manufactured secretly in orbit around Outremer’s moon, it was roughly fifty metres by fifty metres. Much smaller than the vault used to house the Cradle, it had been designed to perfectly fit another organism like the Navigator. If this other being was bigger, and the Navigator had declined to give any details, it could expand slightly at a large cost to its overall integrity. Dozens of Institute technicians jealously guarded its control systems.

The QV & Tindrel teams instantly swarmed over to take a look at the device.