Nerves gave way to vigilance; a hyper-awareness of not just the movements of the Dvergr closing ranks as they descended toward the cave, but the emotional energy around them. There was tension, but not animosity. There was no sense of ill-intent to them, and yet Kir still felt uneasy. Perhaps it was stubborn tug of X’hondrian ethics - their long neutral, pacifistic culture had bred a sort of revulsion to modern weapons, and here she was surrounded by the sort of thing that could likely turn a living being into little more than a pile of ash. She tried not to make a face at the thought; it wouldn’t help to offend the Dvergr right off the bat with her own distaste. The little voice in the back of her head that liked to play devil’s advocate reminded her that she might have to learn to swallow violence with a straight face if she wanted to facilitate a rebellion. 

Kir shook the thought away for the time being and tuned back into the conversation as they followed Astri, delving into the darkness of the cave. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to to low light. She had almost forgotten that X’hondrians were adapted to live in near-total darkness. Of course, their eyes could adjust to light - a necessity when much of their time was spent in amongst the other species of the galaxy. The military base they’d built to hold her back on Earth had almost never provided the right environment for her - harsh fluorescents eventually gave way to even harsher LED lights, and she had long given up trying to convince them to adjust the conditions of her containment after years of complaints falling on deaf ears. It was perhaps as much an experiment as it was a form of torture to gauge her response. Yet another reminder of just how young and naive humanity was still. 

The lanterns that hung along the passage spilled over with cascades of bioluminescent plants that scattered the shadows into darker corners. Others grew along the walls, their glowing roots curling carefully through carvings in the wall to depict intricate, sprawling designs. It was obvious the Dvergr intentionally married form and function into a thing of clever beauty.

Kir’s eyes traced the designs on the way, only barely listening to the conversation again as she was reminded of her home. The darkness of the planet had almost necessitated the evolution of natural luminescence. Plants and animals both sported their own versions. Even the X’hondrian’s themselves were dappled with patterns that were unique to the individual - even in total darkness, an X’hondrian could recognise their loved ones by the dapples of light on their skin. 

Though the designs were unfamiliar and the plants wholly unknown to her, the similarities to her home were unmistakable. A sense of ease worked its way through her, relaxing her anxieties far more than anything else had since their ship was forced to land. Mentally cataloguing each carving they passed as they walked, she compared them to X’hondiran designs. She was first and foremost a historian; she couldn’t help herself as she sought meaning in everything she saw. 

Zev watched her for a while; she looked more in her element than he’d seen her since they met. Lyris was busy holding most of the attention as she introduced her story which Zev took as his cue to quietly nudge Harrison. He nodded toward Kir as she scrutinised one of the root systems growing along the wall. 

For a moment longer, he watched her before calling her back to reality, “S’pose we all came together in our own way, but I think Kir is the really the glue that holds us together.”

Hearing her name, Kir turned her focus and realised she hadn’t been listening. She was grateful for the low light hoping it hid the way her cheeks flushed blue with embarrassment. 

“Sorry, I was busy admiring the craftsmanship of these carvings,” she admitted sheepishly. “It reminds me of home. What were you saying, Zev?"

“Nothing important. I bet the view gets better,” Zev teased lightly as they seemed to approach the end of the passage.

The cavern walls opened abruptly to a much larger chamber where their real artistry showed itself. Technology designed to work with nature in facilitating an advanced, cave-dwelling civilisation. It was a marvel of engineering. Kir’s eyes widened as she took in the buildings that had been built down from the cave ceiling. Walkways passed between the hanging structures and even across to the structures carved into the walls. 

“This is incredible,” Zev commented, sounding genuinely impressed. “Talk about an impressive defence system.”

Kir was stunned silent. She wished she had an archival core and a recorder tablet. She wanted to document everything and send it home to the X’hondrian archives. What an addition it would be! But…the archives were likely either gone or catastrophically damaged. She tried not to think about that loss of thousands of years of history and documentation, instead focusing on the stairs that began to slide out of the wall to provide a path down to the bottom of the cavern. 

Normally, she wouldn’t need stairs. Even with the limitations imposed by the metal in the slave bands, levitation was still possible even if full-fledged flight wasn’t. She could have floated down, but Earth had starved her so completely of the radiation her body needed to function properly, she doubted she could even manage to slow her descent if she stepped off the edge. Kir peeked over, pressing her lips together in a thin line as she considered it. It would be a taste of freedom she hadn’t had in so long, but it wasn’t worth the risk. Space was full of radiation, but even what she’d been able to absorb during their short time away from Earth likely wasn’t enough. Stepping back, she sighed and resigned herself to walking down the stairs with the rest of them.  

“You okay?” Zev leaned over to ask. 

“Of course, yeah,” Kir lied with a smile. “Just admiring the view.” 

Zev didn’t believe her, but didn’t press further. It had been a long day already and it was only getting started. Instead, he asked Astri, “So, Kir obviously isn’t the first X’hondrian you’ve helped. What happens to those you’ve freed before? They can’t exactly wander around the empire freely.”