These others might have been even stranger than the first two droids. Rex used a frame that lacked many similarities with the bodies of any of the known intelligent species. That, in itself, was not something unusual to Senjen. Back on Orostro, Utaysi usually took direct control of specialized machinery and vehicles when needed. The thing about their usual bodies, and those of other intelligent species, was that they were versatile. The reason organic evolution tended to converge on certain features with intelligent species was that it allowed them to perform decently in nearly any situation. Rex here was much more specialized, with a wider gap between its strengths and weaknesses. They were a team, so they probably had practice using each other’s strengths and covering each other’s weaknesses. If Senjen needed to work with them, he just hoped he would be able to mesh well with them.

The last one, Tantō, was...quiet, though that did not stop her from showing off. He was not sure if that was enough to go off of to take a guess on the kind of person she was, but it probably meant she wasn’t completely stoic. If all else failed, she did seem like the type that would be easy to get along with by leaving her alone.

Senjen tried not to allow himself to get too distracted with his thoughts and guesswork. He took a look down at Rex. “Ah, right. You’ll have to forgive us; we have quite a few more occupants in the ship now than we usually do, and on short notice. We do have space, but we might have to do some improvising on quarters. We cleared out enough of our stuff in the quarters to make room for four, but we should probably make sure the organics have their spots there. You know how they need their ‘personal space’. If you go through the hall on the right there, straight to the end, that is the storage room. Plenty of space there to pick out a corner for your things.”

“Excellent. We shall go claim our rightful place in this delightful craft. These two bid you a good evening.” Rex made a subtle head gesture to Tantō and they padded silently out of the cargo bay.

“Should one of us, you know, go with them?” Light asked Senjen. He didn’t know how he felt about two random, not to mention strange, synths wander around his home.

“If you’re worried about them stealing anything, don’t. Neither of them has ‘possessions’ save what’s inside or attached to their bodies. The bags Rex carries are mine.” Major admitted.

“Here are the final two members of the team. Allow me to introduce you to Omega and Halo Of Pearlescent Eddies.”

Light had been so distracted by Rex and Tanto that he didn’t even notice that two more figures had ascended the ramp. One of them was QV in an unnaturally clear gelsuit, who he presumed was the one called Halo of Pearlescent Eddies. Light noted with macabre curiosity that they were heavily augmented, perhaps 50% organic remaining. Most of her appendages had been replaced, along with her eyes. The most unusual upgrade though was large power plant, surgically attached to her back by an array of cables.

She was lounging atop a very unusual droid indeed. It was a very rough, approximation of a Tindrel, probably equalling the rest of the team put together in terms of mass. It had a shield plate for a face and four large, blocky body segments, propelled on four rectangular legs each. It was laden with ordnance all over, including a hovering crate containing three suspicious-looking spheres.

A spike of adrenaline lanced through Light’s system. A female, on this ship? He felt so embarrassed – the place was a complete mess.
“H-hello. I’m Into the Abyss In Search Of Light. This is Senjen.” He said.

“The name of a wanderer, and a zealot. Who is your family?” Halo Of Pearlescent Eddies asked bluntly. Light blushed.

“I didn’t know them well. They disowned me.”

“We are all disowned here. Except for Major, he keeps us grounded.”

“BAKKRRHHH” came a strange, crunchy wail from the depths of Omega’s frame. His body began to buck and jerk, until Halo Of Pearlescent Eddies quickly stroked behind his faceplate and they calmed again.

“Don’t be afraid. He is just nervous.”

“Omega got hit by a prison train about eighty years ago. Was never the same since. He’s still a big softie inside though, let me tell you.” Major explained.

“Softie? You should’ve seen the train!” Bodach boomed, letting out a hearty laugh. Him and Diarmuid returned to the group, sans bags.

“Who else are we waiting for?”

Senjen tilted his head towards his friend. “Light, we’re going to all be stuck in here together for days while we’re en route. I think we’re going to have to get used to each other. At least a little.”

Senjen had been about ready to move on himself before Major introduced two more additions. He had not noticed them either, as he had honestly not been expected how large Major’s team was. How many was this up to now? Seven, including Major. Things in the ship were going to be a bit crowded on the way to their destination.

Halo of Pearlescent Eddies was an interesting one. She was a QV, enhanced. Her physiology made it easy to see the extent of her improvements, perhaps the most impressive of which was the power supply. It was rather large and attached by an array of cables to her back. Honestly, he felt that it looked like overkill for the implants he could see, which begged the question of what, exactly, it was meant to power.

The QV woman was a mystery, which would give Senjen something to be curious about, but the sudden outburst of the last droid was more off-putting. It was like he panicked for a moment, and though they were able to calm him quickly, it was still hard not to feel nervous about it. He was the most heavily-armed member of their team, and apparently the one who was prone to fits of panic. Senjen was not even sure what it was around them that could have even triggered him, if Major was being honest about what happened. That, he supposed, was not a guarantee.

“Ah, well, right now we’re just waiting on Ruknar to get here. I think she’ll have that AI, and we’ll be able to get going. Make yourselves comfortable. This is a Tindrel ship, fortunately, so I don’t think any of you will have difficulty navigating it. The halls are plenty wide for everyone.” Senjen said.

It was only about half an hour before an Ruknar and Seraphim arrived. Light was still in the cargo hold, sorting out the cargo hold after his various passengers had left a load of luggage strewn about. They themselves had disappeared, apart from HOPE and Omega who stayed to chat with him and not offer help.

An unmarked van turned up at the ramp. The rain, not letting up, hammered the metal roof. Ruknar climbed out of the passenger’s side and went to the back doors. She was clad in a clean white environment suit with a clear visor. It had the word ‘Rental’ stamped on the composite parts, except for the bulky utility bandoleer packed with medical supplies slung across her front. This was emblazoned with the universal mark for medics. The whole thing was designed for minimising the possibility of contamination over the protection against any other type of damage.

She opened the back doors and an unexpectedly ornate-looking Chekeri droid clicked out onto the docking area. They were a light yellow and red colour, with exquisite individual feather detailing. With them came a floating orb about the size of their heads. It had a glowing lamp for an eye and numerous holes and small appendages on its body. This must be the ‘decontamination’ solution that the Quadrarch of Vitality had mentioned.

“Hey Ruk…you ok?” Light asked, sheepishly. They hadn’t had the chance to talk after their meeting.

“Lets just park that question for now, hmm?” She replied testily.

“This is Seraphim.”

“Greetings. I’ll need a full tour of your ship to ensure proper safety procedures are implemented.” She said in a beautiful, musical voice.

“Oh, ok. My colleague can give you the full tour. He’s around here somewhere…” Light said, feigning a look around the cargo bay while also messaging Senjen that they’d arrived.

Senjen was practically running through the ship’s halls after he got Light’s message, though he slowed down before reaching the cargo hold so he could walk in more calmly. Ruk was the last one they were waiting on, along with this last AI she was in charge of shepherding around. Senjen got a good look at both once he made it to the hold. Seraphim was...unusually fancy. Given the nature of their mission, he had been expecting something more plain and unassuming. He supposed they were not planning on Seraphim being seen at all, but he also did not think they should plan on everything going right.

Ruk looked more how Senjen had been expecting. He felt like it was overkill to actually wear the suit to the ship, but nevertheless, he was glad she had it. In an ideal world, she would be armored and protected from any sort of threat, but if they had to choose, the disease was probably going to be more of a threat than anything else. QV suits served as environment suits on their own, so hopefully none of them would be at risk.

“Hey, Ruk, good to see you.” Senjen greeted her first and foremost, but he did not ignore Seraphim. “But um...yeah, you need a tour? It’s not that large of a ship, so it shouldn’t take long. I’ll help you both get settled in. You can take my quarters while we’re on route, Ruk. I don’t really need the space, so I can do without for a while.”

“Ok then!” Seraphim replied, keenly.

“Hey, thanks.” Ruk said, eying up the other people in the cargo bay. Diarmuid and Bodach and both reappeared to help coax Omega into the hallway. The prevailing opinion was that exploring the ship would help him relax for the journey, except he didn’t really want to move. Diarmuid produced a battered old fiddle and bow and began to play it, emitting a bright and lively tune. Omega snorted happily and began to follow Diarmuid as he walked backwards through the blast doors again.

“There are more people here than I expected.” Ruk said. She took her helmet off with a hiss and cradled it at her side, suddenly self-conscious.

“Tell me about it. They’re all spread out, too, making it all feel very cramped. There’s a Chekeri called Tantō and a quad called Rex setting up camp in the engine room. There are two, maybe three bipeds in the storage room and these two might squeeze into the rec room. If not, they’ll have to sleep here in cargo.”

Light shivered. This whole arrangement was very irregular; despite how ramshackle the place was he had become quite ‘house proud’ of their little ship. These new arrivals had no idea where everything was supposed to be, and had immediately begun rearranging things.

“Anyway. This is all of us, I’d better get us in the air! Sooner we head off, the sooner we can get home.” He left them alone and headed to the cockpit. That was one room he’d forbidden anyone except Senjen to enter for now.

It did not take more than a few hours into their journey before Senjen was back moving around the ship. After the others got settled in and while they were making their way into orbit, he had been lingering around in the cargo hold. They weren’t carrying much beyond their own supplies at the moment, but it was one of the only places that no one else had decided to take up in.

Once they were out of orbit and had started the jump into interstellar space, Senjen went pretty much straight for his quarters, where Ruknar would be staying. He floated in from the hall and found a spot on the ceiling to grab with one foot to anchor himself in place. He knew nearly every little protrusion in the cavern-like walls of the ship that he could grab to control his movement in zero-G, so he could move around quickly without so much as looking.

“Hey Ruk.” Senjen said, a bit softly. “Settling in alright? I know it’s not much, but out of all the places on the ship, I figured this was where you would be the most comfortable.” He said, with a quick glance around his half of the space. There was a dense, if not somewhat haphazard, arrangement of all sorts of decorative plants that he took care of. They were all genetically modified to be suited for space travel, so they were hardier than most natural flora. Flowering vines, grasses, shrubs; he had assembled an assortment with no particular theme or organization aside from “looking pretty”.

Ruk’s suit stood to attention in one corner of Senjen’s quarters. She’d taken it off soon after Light had informed her there would be oxygen to breathe during the journey. He was notoriously stingy in this regard, only needing oxygen pumped into his suit personally. The rest of her meagre belongings had been offloaded from one of the pallets that’d followed them onto the ship from the van and tidied fastidiously away. Senjen would notice her red knapsack lying empty on the hammock she’d just finished securing between two bulkheads.

“Hey. I think we’re set, thanks. The plants make it cosy – kinda.” Ruk turned towards him and motioned around the room. Her side was clearly delineated from Seraphim’s. The Chekeri AI had decanted a miniature laboratory from the same pallets and was in the process of setting it up. Unlike Ruk’s spartan lodgings, it was a picture of organised chaos. She looked up from her work and gave a friendly wave.
“All going great this end, thank you for asking!”

The floating orb drone descended from the ceiling and sprayed a fine mist in Senjen’s face. It had already scouted the entire ship and disinfected, but this must have been some extra layer of cleanliness.

“Seraphim – you should tell Senjen and the others about your role at some point on this journey.” Ruk said, pointedly.

“Absolutely! I’ll be happy to debrief, just as soon as my workstation is operational. It is a higher priority right now.” Seraphim chirped.

Ruk sighed, before looking back at Senjen.

“What do you know of the others? I’d sleep better knowing who I’m sharing a damp space cave with for twenty cycles.”

Senjen pushed lightly off of the ceiling, allowing himself to rotate around slowly and grab on securely to the floor. He was pretty sure non-climber species tended to feel more comfortable with their surroundings in a “natural” orientation. He knew there was probably no way to make this whole trip “comfortable” for her, with how long it was going to be in a crowded space, but the little things could add up. At least she was not going to have to spend it all trapped inside a suit. QV might be comfortable with it, but that was about as far from nature as a Chekeri could be.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know too much, beyond some quick introductions.” Senjen replied with a tone reminiscent of a sigh. “I know the FGC hired them, in a manner of speaking. It’s more of a ‘we help them, they help us’ sort of arrangement. For their background, I mostly just know they’re meant to be good at their job, and we have to trust the judgment of FGC.”

Senjen pushed himself over a bit closer, stopping himself against the wall next to Ruk as if casually leaning against it. “Individually, Major is the one in charge of them: the one holding them together, it seems. I got the sense of him being...professional, I guess? I don’t really understand what he is, exactly. He said he’s synthetic now, whatever that means. The next two...ah, what were their names? Bodach and...Dairmuid. They’re from Earth, and they seem like a duo. I’d expect them to never be too far apart. Rex was polite, formal. But, well…” He started speaking a bit more softly. “Some AI kind of disturb me. The ones that aren’t really...people. Again, it might just be that he was being polite, but it can be hard to tell.”

Ruk scoffed at the thought of trusted FGC. “I know this is risky, but do we really need so much muscle? It’ll be hard to do any proper science with this many boots trampling all over things.”

Her almond eyes flicked to Seraphim when Senjen mentioned AI. The other Chekeri was humming a soft tune while swiftly unpacking a whole host of test equipment. It seemed to Ruk altogether too early to be cramping up the place with gear, but she didn’t know the how to intervene. These machines did not carry Sthrirad; they could not be read like regular Chekeri.

“Maybe its for the best. Viruses aren’t interested in artificial anything…I did some digging yesterday – this so called Holophage sounds like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Primarily because no two people seem to be able to describe it similarly. The reports seem either deliberately obfuscated, or hopelessly short sighted…What do you think of my suit?”

Senjen could not help but to agree, though he tried to be optimistic about the situation as best as he could. “I do wish I knew more about why FGC picked them in particular. At the very least, I guess it is in the FGC’s interest for this mission to go well, so...they probably believe that Major’s team will be a benefit. I think the one you might want to keep a respectful distance from is Omega. Apparently he experienced some trauma at some point and has some...issues. HOPE, the QV, seems to be able to calm him. Those two also seem like a duo.”

After a moment, Senjen cast his gaze over to the corner where Ruk’s suit had been tucked away. He looked it over, though there wasn’t really much for him to gain in doing so. To his eyes, it was...a suit. It looked like it would do its job to protect her, but he would have to inspect it in detail to see if there was anything wrong with it. “Your suit? It...well it looks functional. I obviously don’t have much need of an environment suit, so I don’t really know much about them. I probably know more about gel suits, honestly. As long as it can protect you from the virus, though, that’s what’s important. Whatever this holophage is, the last thing I would want would be for you to catch it. And maybe the markings will help you look the part as a medical researcher when we’re down on the planet?” He suggested, though after a few seconds, he chuckled. “Or, well...I guess it’s not really a ‘part’, is it? You literally are a doctor, and you’re researching the virus. We won’t necessarily have permission to do it, but, you know...details.”

“The big Tindrel-adjacent in the rec area? Got it.” Ruk made a mental note. At some point she would have to leave these quarters; Chekeri simply couldn’t sit still for that long. But thankfully there were thousands of tiny nooks and crannies to rediscover on this ship. Ruk would simply slow down her movements and appreciate the little things in life until they were on dry land again.

“Well, I won’t be doing much of the research. From the parts of Seraphim’s spec sheet that weren’t redacted, she seems more than capable of solving this crisis on her own.” Ruk lowered her voice at the end, so as not to attract the attention of the extravagant Chekeri bot, but to no avail. Seraphim raised her head and looked as though she had given her the first compliment of her entire existence.

“Aw, I’m glad you think so! I was designed for a scenario fitting many of the parameters of this mission. But I’m sure we can find some way for you to contribute as well.”

The little orb drone suddenly detached from its docking station and whizzed from the room. Presumably someone was doing something unclean somewhere on the ship.

“Well, thank you Seraphim. But my main role is to look after you. Make sure you’ve got everything you need…and such. Can you tell us anymore about what to expect down there?” Ruk asked. Seraphim cocked her head at them.

“I have a limited corpus of information to work from right now, but the so-called ‘Holophage’ doesn’t match any previously documented vector-borne diseases. That makes it one of the most valuable research opportunities in the cosmos.”

Senjen attention was distracted for a moment when the drone activated and floated itself out of the room. He was pretty sure that one was just a cleaning drone and did not have much actual AI of its own. “You know, we might need to tweak that thing’s settings. We need it to decontaminate anything coming into the ship, not make the whole place spotless. It better not mess with my plants at any point…” He grumbled.

In any case, Seraphim had taken notice of them now. Senjen supposed it would be a good time to figure out what sort of AI she was, and where exactly she might lie on the sapience spectrum. He was looking as her strangely ornate frame, trying to figure out what model it was while they spoke. “Right, um, the Holophage…” Senjen started to speak, but as he actually started to think about what Seraphim was saying, it dawned on him how strange it really was. “Hold on, what exactly do you mean? When you say it doesn’t match, do you just mean that it’s a new disease, or an entire new type of disease?”

“In my experience, pathogens mostly follow the same pattern. They invade the host’s body, reproduce, and damage cells or release toxins, which leads to illness. They either destroy their host, or are removed by force.” Seraphim’s voice lost its zeal, became slower and more deliberate. “The reports smuggled out to me suggest the Holophage does something different. Instead of going to war with the host, it convinces it to change on its own. Become something totally different.”

Ruk pondered this for a second. “Like the Sthrirad? It has significantly changed the Chekeri respiratory system, and rewired our brain chemistry.” Seraphim locked eyes with her.

“Perhaps. Though the Sthrirad took four thousand years to integrate with the Chekeri people – the Holophage may have managed it in just one. Either that, or it has been circulating in secret, without our knowledge.”

Senjen struggled to understand what Sepharim was saying. From the start, he was a lot less familiar with matters of disease than either of his companions here, and this one was strange even on top of that. He could tell that Sepharim was probably trying to explain it in simple terms for the uninitiated...namely himself, but he wondered if that did not just end up confusing him more.

“Okay, so...wait.” Senjen tried to collect together in his mind what he knew about organic bodies. . “Your code...that is, um, organics’ ‘code’ is DNA. That’s what gives your body the instructions to do everything it does, if I’m remembering. But, unlike machine code, DNA doesn’t change in a person’s life, right? It gets mixed around when you reproduce. If the holophage is changing the body of the hose, then does that mean it is editing DNA? Is that possible?”

Senjen took a look at Ruk for a moment. He could not see the Sthrirad and his body could not really interact with it, but he at least had some knowledge of what it did. “The Sthrirad changing your DNA was just...evolution, if it happened over many generations. This holophage sounds completely different, I think.”