RPG Grove

"...But the thing about the universe is that it does not keep secrets. In the anthropomorphic sense, at least." Dr. Betua Argent stands stiffly behind a lectern bristling with holomedia controls xe's never quite gotten the hang of. Xe plays with an ancient focus device with one hand out of sight, trying not to be obvious about it but knowing from a probalistic standpoint that there are too many sensory organs in the lecture hall to expect that no one is aware. "Yes, the corporation found the NCE first; they had the right resources pointing in the right direction at the right time. And for a while they suppressed any leaks about their discovery. Even their resources were not enough to hide the universe from itself, however. Independent discovery was a constant possibility." Xe gesticulates with xer other hand, upsetting the armless hologlasses mounted on xer face, forcing xer to adjust them as xe pushes away the leafy growths from xer crown that threaten to block xer face. "The emissions, the observational data, was all out there for anyone to put together, especially as the NCE became more active. Fear of such is what made them so sloppy, but that's neither..."

The murmurs in the lecture hall finally break through Betua's tunnel vision, and xe blinks and squints to see who has come in late and caused such a stir. Then xer eyes widen. "Captain?" The focus device drops to the floor and rolls out into plain view.

How have I unexpectedly matured?
How do I betray the naivete that lingers?

Kyeera stands there at the entrance, the faintest trace of a proud smile on her face. It was incredible to see, the growth Dr. Argent exhibited as xey spoke to the hall of students. She could remember a time, not so long ago, that the idea of facing this many people at once would have terrified xem. But look at how proudly xey stood, speaking of xeir findings and research, really pouring xeir heart out, for so many to hear.

Xey were still awkward, to be certain. But in that hilariously adorable way xey had always been. Always fiddling, always adjusting. As if painfully aware of the positioning of every facet of their existence, while simultaneously oblivious to the world around them.

She would be more openly proud if it wasn't for the subject of lecture. She had seen the look in the NCE's eyes mere days ago, but it still haunted her dreams. It was unfathomable to her that that creature could be anything but pure evil. While she admired Betua's hope, she couldn't help but realize that xe was the same naive fool xey'd always been.

"Dr. Argent..." Kyeera greeted, careful to use xer proper title in front of her class.

A prestigious member of the faculty catches up with us...

"Madam Hastur..." a familiar voice huffed, the run-down and portly shape of Betua's Dean appearing behind the captain, clearly out of breath and trying to keep up. "Wait... you can't just..." He put a hand against the door-frame and took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

Kyeera Hastur wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2025 3:00 pm"Dr. Argent..." Kyeera greeted, careful to use xer proper title in front of her class.

A prestigious member of the faculty catches up with us...

"Madam Hastur..." a familiar voice huffed, the run-down and portly shape of Betua's Dean appearing behind the captain, clearly out of breath and trying to keep up. "Wait... you can't just..." He put a hand against the door-frame and took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

Captain Hastur is as inscrutable as always. Betua wishes for the n-th time that her thoughts had traceable emissions so that xe could verify the difference between approval and disapproval. How many times has xe wondered whether xe had been left behind because the Captain thought xe was unfit, or because she liked xer too much to risk.

And into that thought process drops the Dean like a neutron star. He is apparently attempting to be discreet in his objections, but the acoustics in the lecture hall are dreadfully good, and that's before one accounts for the omni-directional microphones picking up every tiny sound for the benefit of remote attendees. Bereft of the focus device, Betua starts picking at the papery outer layer of xer skin.

"I don't care how important you think you are," the Dean says in a huffy stage whisper that Betua can clearly hear from the front of the lecture hall and so can doubtlessly be heard at all points in-between. "Your past deeds don't give you a license to disrupt any lives you damn well please. You can't just barge in. Dr. Argent is of a very distractable disposition—"

"Thank you, Dean Bell," Betua cuts in. "It is always gratifying to know that one's higher ups have their best interests at heart." Under the growing pile of cellulose flakes on the lectern, an alert pings. Xe frowns. That sensor has never picked up anything. Xe designed in just in case—

One of the students is revealed to be a spy ...

Fingers rapidly moving through the holocontrols, Betua cuts the remote feed, refines the scan, then focuses a spotlight on a molluscoid student. "Why are you here?" Betua asks.

The look of confusion on the student's face melts into slack passivity, and their movements take on a choppy cadence. "I wondered if anyone was still looking for me." The voice is rough, the inflection all wrong. "And who should fall into my presence but Kyeera Hastur?"

"I don't care how important you think you are," the Dean says in a huffy stage whisper that Betua can clearly hear from the front of the lecture hall and so can doubtlessly be heard at all points in-between. "Your past deeds don't give you a license to disrupt any lives you damn well please. You can't just barge in. Dr. Argent is of a very distractable disposition—"

"Thank you, Dean Bell," Betua cuts in. "It is always gratifying to know that one's higher ups have their best interests at heart." Under the growing pile of cellulose flakes on the lectern, an alert pings. Xe frowns. That sensor has never picked up anything. Xe designed in just in case—

Kyeera hardly acknowledges the Dean. Really, she only needed him to point her in the direction of Betua's lecture hall. She'd briefly explained that she had need of xer, but that had only agitated the small man. She couldn't blame him for that, though. Mammals were always easily excitable, and she'd given up on trying to expect differently.

But a surge of pride hits her again when Betua speaks up for herself. She hadn't expected the Dean to be so open on his opinions, and while he wasn't wrong, she loved seeing that her old crewmate had learned to speak up for xemself.

One of the students is revealed to be a spy ...

Fingers rapidly moving through the holocontrols, Betua cuts the remote feed, refines the scan, then focuses a spotlight on a molluscoid student. "Why are you here?" Betua asks.

The look of confusion on the student's face melts into slack passivity, and their movements take on a choppy cadence. "I wondered if anyone was still looking for me." The voice is rough, the inflection all wrong. "And who should fall into my presence but Kyeera Hastur?"

Betua is probably the first to notice the spy, to point them out, but Kyeera is the first to act. Pulling her gun from beneath her long coat, an action that, despite the obvious danger of the spy in the room, still draws a gasp of horror from the Dean, she aims it directly at the spy.

"You shouldn't be here," she announces, seemingly ignoring the frozen postures of all of the students surrounding her.

...And we are forced to kill them and then run before the school authorities capture us.
...And we almost fall into their trap, barely escaping with our lives.

The old Kyeera wouldn't have hesitated. As soon as her sights were on her enemy, she would have pulled the trigger and been done with it. But this Kyeera was older. Wiser. Softer.

She grits her teeth. "You shouldn't be here!" she shouts, putting a hand, her cane dangling from her thumb, on the chest of the Dean as she pushes him out. Practically throws him, given the unnatural strength her species possess and the force with which she removes him. "Go! Get out of here!" she commands, the students around them now realizing that her comment before was meant for them.

The panic ensues, students scrambling from their seats and heading for the doors surrounding the lecture hall. All the while, Kyeera keeps her sights trained on the intruder, and it keeps its sights trained on her.

"You too, Betua!" she commands, slowly moving towards the lectern. "Get out! Now! We have to lea-"

This command falls only a fraction of a second short. She can see it, the bending of reality as the NCE forces its will onto this dimension through this avatar. Its body folds inward, disappearing into the space outside of their realm of understanding. As it blinks out of existence, the void left in its wake reacts violently to the remaining reality that surrounds it, sending a shockwave through the lecture hall.

Kyeera acts on instinct, launching herself over the lectern and tackling Betua to the ground. As soon as they hit the ground, they're suddenly moving sideways, towards the emptiness left behind. Kyeera clutches Betua to her chest , taking the brunt of the damage as they hit moving desk and flying books.

And then suddenly, it stops. Reality rights itself, and Kyeera falls back onto the floor, breathing heavily, mere inches from where the intruder once stood. Had she not acted, they would probably both be gone.

"This is not how I wanted this reunion to go..." she huffs. Turning her head, she sees the warning device blinking next to her face.

'She was prepared...' Kyeera thinks. 'More prepared than I was.' She turns her head again, her chest still heaving from the exertion as another thought crosses her mind.

'What makes you wiser that me?'

Betua Argent wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2025 3:50 pmThe look of confusion on the student's face melts into slack passivity, and their movements take on a choppy cadence. "I wondered if anyone was still looking for me." The voice is rough, the inflection all wrong. "And who should fall into my presence but Kyeera Hastur?"

Betua frantically fumbles through xer materials on the lectern. Xe hadn't expected to ever see direct communication from the NCE again, so xe is completely unprepared to be confronted with a mouthpiece speaking for it. Papers scatter to the floor as Betua unearths...xer tablet. Unfortunately, xe stuck it in read-only mode to stop xemself from trying to rewrite xer lecture notes in the middle of giving it and xe's too clumsy with excitement to find the button that will open a new document. Tossing the tablet aside, Betua keeps the stylus in hand and begins marking xer skin as xe takes notes, oblivious to the frenzied evacuation of the lecture hall. "Well since we have an opportunity for dialogue—"

Kyeera Hastur wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2025 4:14 pm "You too, Betua!" she commands, slowly moving towards the lectern. "Get out! Now! We have to lea-"

This command falls only a fraction of a second short. She can see it, the bending of reality as the NCE forces its will onto this dimension through this avatar. Its body folds inward, disappearing into the space outside of their realm of understanding. As it blinks out of existence, the void left in its wake reacts violently to the remaining reality that surrounds it, sending a shockwave through the lecture hall.

Kyeera acts on instinct, launching herself over the lectern and tackling Betua to the ground. As soon as they hit the ground, they're suddenly moving sideways, towards the emptiness left behind. Kyeera clutches Betua to her chest , taking the brunt of the damage as they hit moving desk and flying books.

And then suddenly, it stops. Reality rights itself, and Kyeera falls back onto the floor, breathing heavily, mere inches from where the intruder once stood. Had she not acted, they would probably both be gone.

"This is not how I wanted this reunion to go..." she huffs. Turning her head, she sees the warning device blinking next to her face.

'She was prepared...' Kyeera thinks. 'More prepared than I was.' She turns her head again, her chest still heaving from the exertion as another thought crosses her mind.

'What makes you wiser that me?'

"But—" is all Betua has time to say before Kyeera tackles xem to the ground with a dull thunk. For some reason, xer mind focuses on the sound of Kyeera's scales scraping against xer papery outer skin than the sudden eruption of a minor singularity in the middle of the hall. I wonder how the texture of her lips differs, xe thinks. Out loud, when the commotion is over, xe says, "How did you want this to go?"

Blinking blearily at the Captain—Betua's hologlasses are either buried under rubble or pulled into another dimension—xe notices her looking at the warning device xe had made. "I know we disagreed about the NCE's motives and intentions, but I never forgot that it is intelligent. Capable of trying new things." Betua tilts xer head, still looking into the slits of Kyeera's too-close eyes. "You always seemed to think of it as an animal. Or a... a universal constant."

Xe scrutinizes her face. Aside from the NCE, Betua had made a study of the Captain, looking at her words and actions, her claimed objectives and her outcomes, trying to understand what made her so effective. so focused. It always feels like xe is missing something. What can't I ever truly learn from you?

"But—" is all Betua has time to say before Kyeera tackles xem to the ground with a dull thunk. For some reason, xer mind focuses on the sound of Kyeera's scales scraping against xer papery outer skin than the sudden eruption of a minor singularity in the middle of the hall. I wonder how the texture of her lips differs, xe thinks. Out loud, when the commotion is over, xe says, "How did you want this to go?"

"No explosions, for one," Kyeera muttered simply. She continued lying on the floor, seemingly unbothered, but also recognizing that she was going to have a hell of a time getting up. She didn't exactly want Betua's first impression of xer captain after so long to be that she was broken.

Blinking blearily at the Captain—Betua's hologlasses are either buried under rubble or pulled into another dimension—xe notices her looking at the warning device xe had made. "I know we disagreed about the NCE's motives and intentions, but I never forgot that it is intelligent. Capable of trying new things." Betua tilts xer head, still looking into the slits of Kyeera's too-close eyes. "You always seemed to think of it as an animal. Or a... a universal constant."

Xe scrutinizes her face. Aside from the NCE, Betua had made a study of the Captain, looking at her words and actions, her claimed objectives and her outcomes, trying to understand what made her so effective. so focused. It always feels like xe is missing something. What can't I ever truly learn from you?

"I see it as an enemy," she explains plainly, as she had so many times before. "And even you can't argue that the feeling is mutual." She sighs heavily, ready to begin her accent to a standing position once more. Luckily, her cane hadn't become a casualty, and there was now plenty of furniture nearby for her to grab onto.

Kyeera admired that Betua wanted a peaceful solution to all of this, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't get it through to her that just because peace with such a being might be possible doesn't mean it should be sought after. Intelligence doesn't equal benevolence, and she was certain the NCE was as far from benevolent as a being could be.

Despite everything, Kyeera was happy to see Betua. Not only because it felt good to reconnect with another from the old crew, nor because xe was safe from whatever that thing might have done had she not shown up, but because if anyone could come up with a solution to this mess, it was xer. She was smart. Smarter than all of them.

Kyeera Hastur wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2025 5:02 pm"I see it as an enemy," she explains plainly, as she had so many times before. "And even you can't argue that the feeling is mutual." She sighs heavily, ready to begin her accent to a standing position once more. Luckily, her cane hadn't become a casualty, and there was now plenty of furniture nearby for her to grab onto.

Kyeera admired that Betua wanted a peaceful solution to all of this, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't get it through to her that just because peace with such a being might be possible doesn't mean it should be sought after. Intelligence doesn't equal benevolence, and she was certain the NCE was as far from benevolent as a being could be.

"There are mutual hostilities, yes," Betua concedes as the Captain regains her feet. Had she been injured in the event? "But hostilities end when both sides realize they cannot get what they want through pursuing them." Xe activates the tracking beacon on xer hologlasses and begins picking through the rubble, following the ping. That was the thing, though. To get to that point, they have to stop the NCE from getting what it wants through its current, destructive means, and Betua has every confidence that the Captain is prepared to do that.

The Reformed

The urban jungle of Yoham stretches out before her. She knew she had to act fast, she also knew that Xi'asz was a slippery bastard. But her intel was good, and just as predicted, she saw him racing down the alleyway towards her, at first, oblivious to her presence as she leaned against the dirty brick wall with a drink in her hand.

Who are you running from?
How do I help you find reprieve?

Honor was a word the recently installed Mayor-Baron of Yoham may have heard once in passing, but was otherwise clearly ignorant of. Cruelty, on the other hand, cruelty was one with which the despot was deeply familiar and wallowed in regularly. When the contract made it to Xi’asz, the broker was sure to include numerous individual pleas for intervention from Yohamis threatened to be gnashed to pieces in the bureaucratic machine the Mayor-Baron was putting in place.

It’s not mercenary work, it’s atonement, he repeated in his head, a familiar refrain that had become a mantra ever since…

He shook his head, forcing thoughts of the past out. The cybernetic connection cables flowing from his scalp that allowed his brain to directly interface with computer terminals shook like a mane and he flinched at the rattling noise that came with it. It wouldn’t do to give his position away with such a careless gesture. He took several breaths, each shallower than the last, willing his heart rate to drop to a nearly imperceptible level and waited for the Mayor-Baron to emerge from his ostentatious dwelling.

Xi’asz lost track of how long he waited, but justice is patient. The first sign was a cadre of technogarchs leaving the mansion. A handful of guards that Xi’asz had been assured were traitors for pay stepped out to secure the exit and then finally the Mayor-Baron in all of his corpulent, repugnant glory waddled into sight.

A lithe, emerald finger snaked its way around the trigger of Xi’asz’s rifle, the weapon of dozens of generations of his ancestors. He closed his left eye while his right peered into the telescopic sight and shifted his shoulder a bit to improve the shot’s angle.

Breathing in and holding it for a moment he squeezed the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Not now, he silently implored the old ones. And then the blast of superexcited plasma exploded from the barrel at the top of the building where Xi’asz had so carefully been waiting to spring his trap. The millisecond delay was too long and it went wide of his target, evaporating a piece of support column instead of the Mayor-Baron’s head.

”Krithik!” he cursed in his native tongue and rose to his full 2-meter frame, breaking out into a technologically assisted run across the roof top, the pistons just below the surface of his skin making a whirr-pish noise with each lengthening stride.

He bounded across a 10 meter gap from this rooftop to the next, then spotted a drainage pipe he could slide down to reach the surface streets. Xi’asz could hear the shouts and warning sirens _{klaxons blaring} echoing through the alleys. But he knew the maze, had memorized them while he plotted. Every contingency had been accounted for. Plans A through H all flowed out in front of him as he turned one corner then the next.

Ahead he saw some foolish drunkard, leaning against a wall and slugging down their drink despite his hulking form charging toward them.

His jaw dropped as he skidded to a halt, recognizing the “drunkard.”

Every contingency had been planned for…save one.

”C-Captain?!? Wha- Is the Siren nearby? We need to move.”

His words floated in the air, the tender song-song quality of his voice belied by his burly appearance, before being absorbed by Hastur’s tympanic membranes.

How have my years of running haunted me?
How am I still beautiful?