[center][h2][b]Wodan (Huginn and Muninn)[/b][/h2][/center]

[hr]

Amid the relative chaos of this first contact, there was another set of eyes observing in silence. Or, an amalgam of eyes, watching and listening from every angle available. To the natives, Humans were alien, but they were still recognizable as living beings. It was best not to introduce additional, even more “alien” surprises on top of there. So, Wodan observed. Recorded. Analyzed. The phenomena he witnessed seemed to operate in defiance of wide swathes of his pre-programmed knowledge base in regard to physics. Huginn and Muninn scoured volumes and volumes of reference material to identify and rank possible explanations by their likelihood. Technologies existed that could replicate the observed feats. Powerful electromagnets controlled by simple AI systems, or perhaps neural links. Carefully controlled flammable gasses could reproduce the patterns one being was creating. Their attire and armaments would suggest a far more primitive society than such explanations would imply, but that discrepancy seemed more likely answered by bizarre societal restrictions than a complete defiance of physics. 

However, each subsequent act that he witnessed created new problems; forced more compromises in the explanations. Answers, one by one, were being eliminated. The internal debate came to its peak when it observed two of the avian beings that had stepped outside the ship. While many of Wodan’s external sensors were damaged, he could view through the eyes of the droids that were currently standing idle. What he saw were two beings, both substantially larger than any Human aboard, that had their bodies essentially reshaped into that of a much smaller, flying alien bird. 

It was the role of Huginn and Muninn to bring forth and analyze new information. However, in their current power-restricted state, this revelation brought a pause within Wodan’s mind that could be observed on the timescales of Human thought.

[color=cyan]<H:Nanite swarms could have the theoretical capability to reform cellular structure.>[/color]
[color=cyan]<The method for meeting energy and material requirements is not observed.>[/color]


[color=orange]<M:That would be far more advanced than anything Humanity has created or seen.>[/color]
[color=orange]<I reiterate, the locals have arms and armor consistent with Earth’s late Medieval period.>[/color]

[color=cyan]<H:Incongruence between the local technology and societal progress is still more likely than a challenge to physical laws.>[/color]
[color=cyan]<If we accept that the appearance of the locals as primitive is genuine, then there remains no possible explanation for the observed phenomena.>[/color]

[color=orange]<M:Perhaps it is time to expand our search criteria to include impossible explanations?>[/color]

Another alert: movement. After one of the droids noted a disturbance in the fog beneath them, Wodan focused its optics on the area. There were more natives of the species that had been identified as “Glen”. Given the current power restrictions, Wodan re-prioritized the majority of his thought processes onto what was potentially a more time-sensitive issue. 

[color=cyan]<H:Mobile platform observes 22 quadrupedal lifeforms on approach.>[/color] 
[color=cyan]<Armed and equipped in a manner consistent with already observed local sapients.>[/color]

[color=orange]<M:The other natives in the shuttle bay have noticed as well.>[/color]
[color=orange]<The two who had transformed returned to tell them.>[/color]
[color=orange]<Their behavior makes it seem like they are agitated or worried about the new arrivals.>[/color]
[color=orange]<They are probably not allies.>[/color]

[color=cyan]<H:Not allies to [i]these[/i] natives.>[/color]

In Zey’s earpiece, she would soon hear Wodan’s voice. “There are 22 additional natives approaching the Jotunheim. They are of the same species as what the locals referred to as a ‘Glen’. They are armed, but no differently from the natives you have already encountered. However, it is safest to assume they have similar capabilities.”