In Pursuit of the Kaheshi

Losm turns towards the board a makes a motions towards them, they speed up their movement of counters. He speaks.

"The Board will be ready soon, however does not your methods waste some resources? We have done our method for many years, and not much has changed, though now some thought groups have made new innovations, we still primarily rely upon our no waste system. How long is your 'length of recorded history'?"

Despite being an astrophysicist, she gives a surprisingly detailed defense for their food production, stating concepts without fully elaborating on them like it's second nature to her, hinting that children of the species may actually be able to maintain and even build parts of their growing operations.

"We use our 'waste' to produce methane for the production of methane until it is dry and then burn it for heat. Relying exclusively on natural fertilizer... I don't see how your population can expand any. If anything it should slowly decline from starvation from a gradual loss of nutrients lack of new nutrients entering the system. We can always fix more nitrogen from the atmosphere. Another benefit is that without soil to or water to transmit disease from plant to plant, if one should get sick it can easily be removed from the grow house without spreading to other plants and causing crop failure... Did you ask something else? I feel like you had another question."

Losm listens intently and replies.

"Though we do not understand why you think that nutrients would be lost, we did have another question. We had asked how long you had been recording your history."

The other Kha'ni place counters faster over on the table.

Knowing that solar rotations are varied from planet to planet, she thinks for a moment before answering in a number of half lives of Uranium 232 equal to a thousand Earth years. "We have records of our civilization before then, but they're spotty and incomplete. The books our ancestors saved were mostly military manuals and engineering textbooks and documents."

Losm, nods He takes time doing some mental calculation before replying, then replies in the same manner using half lives of Uranium-232.

"Our recorded history goes to roughly 262 half lives of Uranium-232 back. Our development stalled several times do to problems with lack of water for steam engines, lack of easily accessible metals and other resources. It took our people a long time to reach our current state, and we had help. We have earlier records but they are too incomplete to be of use."

The Kha'ni moving the counters stop suddenly, stand up and bow to Losm, he stands and says.

"Ah, the Board is ready,shall we?"

He goes over and sits into one of the chairs at the table uncomfortably as they are poorly designed for Kha'ni. The counters are in various patterns of complexity. Several of the gems and jewels in the sides of the board are pressed inward. A large flat jewel is on one side of the Board and Losm is careful not to have it obscured for several feet from it. He looks expectantly at Mistress Kyvu.

She in turn looks expectantly at him. "Priest-Academic-Explorer-Senior Losm," she recites with surprising accuracy. "I don't understand what I'm supposed to do. Do i just move random pieces?" She asks hesitantly.

He nods and says.

"I will move the pieces, you can tell me what you wish to know of my peoples history."

She looks to the board "How... How about your first contact with other species?"

He thinks for a moment then nods. He rearranges the pieces into a new pattern, then presses in the large flat jewel on one side of the device. An audible click is heard then...

...A full color hologram is presented out of the jewel and it shows different scenes moving to prominence then fading away. First is of a Kaheshi standing across a table from several Kha'ni, the one of the Kha'ni is dressed in heavy, full body robe and a mask, the other only wears a thin red robe. Then the scene switches to another Alien creature which those who know of them would recognize as a Thyaras bowing and being bowed to in return by another Kha'ni dressed in a heavy full bod robe and a mask, they are standing on sand that seems to reach into the distance.

As the Scenes switch to meetings of the various races they have met previously shown scenes are shrunk and moved to the top as the next scene is shown. Two scenes appear at the top without being shown larger. Losm speaks.

"We have had many contacts with Alien races. Is there one which you would see in greater detail?"

She looks in awe at the holographic display when it starts up, pausing for just a moment before she radios to her subordinates to set up a camera to record the fantastic and foreign alien display. She sits rapt at attention, taking her own physical notes and asking a flurry of questions about each race she sees like an eager student.

By the end of it she has pages of scrawled notes. "If you have any other queations... I believe I'm going to send for the mission's Chronicler. My words can't compare to what you've been generous enough to show me, but his can get close. If you have any questions, please, ask so he can prepare."

He nods and speaks.

"While We thank you for generosity there is much more we could show you. However that is of another time. As well while we enjoy this shring we must return to the Search. We would give you coordinates."

He gives coordinates of where to find a Kha'ni station, it very far away comparatively. He also gives the coordinates to a Frontier Station of the Kaheshi that he believes might help communicate with them. After that he states their desire to return to their ship and continue the Search.

The attending scientists bid their fellow scientists farewell while giving the coordinates to their homeworld.

With a new lead in their investigation the science flotilla flies off toward the Kaheshi frontier station.

The Frontier Station is easily found near the Border of Sa space, mining ships are moving between planets in this relatively industrial system used just for mining. As the Yuxu vessels approach, the local Royal Navy Defence vessel calls out a signal towards them as it approaches.

Once hailed the vessels kill their engines and begin to drift. The flotilla answers the vessel's hail by transmitting the data gathered from its previous encounter with the science vessel in order to begin communications, but otherwise stays silent as if wanting the other ship to make contact first.

A few minutes after the data is received a video-feed is opened with what appears to be an underwater bridge. With Kaheshi in a variety of uniforms. Several people by holo-graphic consoles appear to have a wire from the ship attached straight to their wrist devices, in the center of the bridge stands a Kahesh in a much finer uniform with several icons along it propaly marking rank or medals. It speaks as it is being translated.

"This is Captain Re'kel of the Royal Navy Vessel 'Shield of Sa'. Youve entered Mining System 8 of the Crownship of Sa, the kings interstellar domain. Who am i speaking to?"

The ships open up their video feed consisting of five different individuals in their own windows. The figures all sit behind their cameras dressed in form fitting uniforms with flashy designs around the upper chest and upper arms. The few other crew that pass in and out of the feed wear the same uniform but lack these embellishments. The center figure speaks, "I am Archmaster Kyu'el of the Awakened Dreaming Clans. The others you see are my fellow ship masters and scientists. We made contact with one of your survey vessels and became separated, and later a race called the Kha'ni gave us the coordinates to this system."

"To resume our conversation with an individual by the name of Ira'les, if I pronounced that correctly. I take it that you're a military officer? I have two children in our ground forces and one aboard a ship."

"I am an officer of the Royal Navy. You would be correct then." he gestures with a hand to one of the others on the bridge who starts looking through holo-graphics. "We will try and establish contact to Ira'les through our warp-relays now if within reach. I am sure your offspring will make you proud if you desire a military duty is right for them. I just do this duty in the name of the King, to ensure the Citizens safety."

"Only one of mine languishes in duty while the other two do what calls them, like all of us present. Our clan has been fortunate enough to have been appointed to these ships by our Queen."

The Naval officer nods before one of the operators turns to him and talks in a way you cannot hear. Before he salutes and looks at the screen to talk "Weve established contact, youl be speaking with Ira'les shortly. Its been an honour."

"The honor has been all mine, thank you," he and all of the other captain-equivalents salute back to him before the feed is cut.

A feed is opened to the vessel, with the Kaheshi scientist inside a chamber on their vessel..Whereever they are, looks like a large research room. Ira'les is there looking at the screen before talking.

"I am delighted to see you were able to find one of our stations! And establish contact with us again! Greetings. I apologise for the happenings that split us from each other."

"I'm sure there was nothing that either of us could do about it, so let's not waste words on it, I'm merely happy that no one was hurt and that you made it back to your ship in time to escape."

"Aside from some space amoeba, we have found the galaxy to be unusually pleasant so far, which conflicts with our knowledge of rogue black holes, sudden gamma ray bursts, and all manner of freak occurrences. You've been out here longer ghan we have, what else is oht here?"

Kyu'ell looks at the camera with a vague sense of fascination while another of the captains begins to speak rather calmly for giving such a grim assessment. "It sounds like they're cowing the populace with terror to break them and keep them from rising up while posturing to the rest of the galaxy. Before unification neighboring breakaway clans would resort to cannibalism if raids were insufficient. It was typically done to intimidate neighbors into giving food as tribute to stave off further raids, and if that didn't work, well, no one likes having to smell the piled partially eaten corpses of their clan kindred."