Without a hint of irony Aleph thought this was much too fast.

Yes she knew they had on their journey to Redweed scraped at speeds that edged into the unfathomable.

But it was one thing to be coasting apparently in free fall most of the time but for very subtle shifts and nudges at random intervals and quite another to be hurtling around in a giant tube full of other passengers.

Also trying to perform acrobatics with a control stick that Aleph was pretty sure was not meant to do anything of the sort.

“Oh vey! Careful there! Oh! Oh I’m sorry I did not realize you were handicapped, is the condition serious? Oh my is that one of you or three? Are you pregnant! I bet you are such dear little... larva? Or are those organs! Do you need a tonic?”

Aleph, omega and Quarti were a bit taken aback by the earnest tone of a voice that honestly reminded Aleph of one of the older village elders.

The bystander had grabbed them by one of the limbs and helped pull them into a grip when they made the last transfer into the current massive loop.

The space of the transit had expanded immensely and the loops for hooking into the over all transit had expanded and intermeshed into a web of grab holds that flexed and shifted as new commuters slid into place and others dropped out.

There were strange letters (or maybe pictures?) that swept past as they moved. Some even seemed to be stuttering to cause a kind of motion or animation. One that was actually rather smooth if you looked straight ‘down’ with the outsweep of the transit appeared to be a map with a bright red marker showing their position in the over all loop and various ‘stops’ for downshifting speed.

Aleph shook her head and tried to grapple with what she was seeing.

But no matter how she looked at it she could not perceive the helpful bystander as anything but a slightly burnt log with weird wiggly worms on both ends wrapped in some kind of dress.

“Uh... Oh um... Thanks we are actually three of us in here, and no none of us are pregnant, and we what did you mean by condition?”

The lump of rock? Slightly glowing coals? Garden ornament?

Aleph had no idea what to call it but they seemed to sway a bit in understanding.

“Oh I see visitors? Immigrants? Are you choosing to stay? I’m sure I could find you a nook a bit outside of my sister’s place. Do you prefer molten sulphur or chlorine? Oh my that must be kind of stuffy. Did you just eat? Really it is so nice to be meeting new people I am ~༶࿂⌘⌥⍻⏦~ how are you?”

What?

What even was all of that?

There was some scrambling squawk of noise.

Omega came to the rescue with a bit of a out of focus look to her eyes and faint blue glow haloing her head.

“Uh, right in order. We are just visiting... Oh uhm... Don’t really like molten sulphur OR chlorine, both are kind of bad for us. Thank you for the offer of staying near your sister’s place though, And actually the air is very fresh and nice in here, We are actually on our way to somewhere that can help us with getting something edible. Thank you it is nice to meet you as well and I don’t think we can translate that to our local language... Uh? I think the mapping in this interface meant to put it as something like Equidiscent-turbulence-place-branching-incomplete-current? I’m not sure if that comes through right. The network is all a black box to me there.”

Sixdottir swayed over from her own hand hold and turned to face the chatty glowing ember with wiggly bits that Aleph could not really think of a good name for.

“Oh! I’m sorry about that, Hello I am ferrying these Trader Passengers to the Gastronomist in Petalweft Salts. Thank you for helping them get a hold, They are new to the transit hoops! Do you need anything? I have contact with the ministry of external affairs at the docks”

The lump seemed to glow a little bit brighter as parts of it fluttered a bit more excitedly around the hoop it was stuck too.

“Oh goodness deary doo! I am quite fine with all my needs! I was just making sure that these nice visitors had everything they need! It is very kind of the ministry to see to them like this! I’ll make sure to check in to see if there is anything I can do for my local External Affairs ministers Such good work you do!”

Sixdottir swayed a bit back and forth as they swung along, rotating down to check the map.

“I’m doing what I can... sadly I cannot do more then take them to the gastronomist. They need some one better suited from the ministry to see their needs”

Aleph blinked a bit there and turned to look back at Sixdottir.

“Wait a moment, I thought you said you were only taking us that far because you didn't want to be responsible for our safety because we are quote ‘crazy’ unquote ”

The strange burning log in a floofy dress went a little dark, the embers seeming to fall cold.

Then flared up brighter.

“Oh is that the case dears?”

The burnt log shifted a little but Aleph honestly had no idea which side was its face, or if it had one.

“Well I suppose that’s understandable if these newcomers are bit beyond your means to handle dear. Maybe I should see about asking some of my neighbors if they can lend some time to the ministry. Since you need some more assistance catering for special needs of our guests?”

Sixdottir’s gaze fixed on Aleph.

Her tone was sweet but had a tension under it that Aleph wondered if was only being sent to them.

“Oh! No, no no no no! that won’t be necessary at all! I’m already calling for a replacement to come from my ministry office, some one better suited to satisfy and look out for our visitors’ PRECISE requirements! Just going to have to meet up with them after the gastronomist I promise. They are a very quaint trio you see, they simply MISUNDERSTOOD me, this is why I’m having a replacement who can better DEAL with them”

Quarti looked at their soon to not be guide.

Then looked at Aleph and raised a brow with a mischievous smirk.

Aleph looked over at Omega who was not paying attention gauging by the halo of blue flooding around her head and back.

Then turned back to Quarti sparing a sligth glance at sixdottir and gave a slight nod.

“Oiy Mis special! I’ve not wanta be-a-botherseome lass but our wi-bit-guidling Sixdottir is just somech polite tidy like an was not wanting ta impose on yor fine manners! They are just so horribly overworked at ther ministry of externa affairs, why I behts she could use a nice long breather from how HEAVY and INTENSE her workload is and I think between uswiselike (no offense we knows youse helpful like there hear us plenty but thoughts counting) could you maybe have sum friends check in careful like on all the hard work she be doing us up for? We would want ta have her overworking and making any more mistakes like is was with us ya?”

Aleph could not SEE any change in sixdottir’s face, but she imagined that there was something like teeth grating happening out there.

The tone of voice from the strange burning log was pleasant and happy as can be.

“Oh of course! Please don’t be such a silly one there ‘sixdottir’ it is the help of no one if you overwork yourself so! I will make a recommendation with my eldest brothers with the ministry of work and practices to review you at External Affairs! We will get that workload problem of yours sorted out quick as can be and you can maybe get into a less stressful position! To the best of our ability!”

Sixdottir’s voice was a fragile facade that as far as Aleph could hear in the translator seemed brittle as spun sugar.

“To support our needs!”

Those big burgundy eyes were just staring at Quarti.

Aleph and Quarti chimed in echo loud enough to jolt Omega out of whatever she was checking on the networks.

“To Support OUR Needs!”

The guide slowly lilted around to stare a bit off center at the outer wall of the loop as the map morphed and flashed by.

The friendly burning coal log continued.

“That is very nice of you dears. Is there anything you need besides guidance to the gastronomist? I’m one of the ministers of internal affairs for the Accelerata District. It is a humble service I know! Nothing like the esteemed plumbing and services guild! But I do what I’m best suited too... Besides the small miscommunication from your overworked guide has everything been alright? Nothing untoward happened? ”

Omega rubbed at her ear and glanced around.

“You two mind keeping it down? I was kinda busy”

Aleph raised a brow.

“What were you checking on the network”

Omega’s expression was a little pained.

“I think I was reading reviews of the ‘gastronomist’ we are going to see. Not one hundred percent on that though. Translation says some odd things that I’m not sure are true or not”

There was a snorting sound in Sixdottir’s ‘voice’.

The red eyes of Aleph's friend and mentor turned to the guide and a brow raised.

“What? I mean I don’t know if I’m reading it correctly, it probably is honest, just it could be getting scrambled somehow and mean something to me it shouldn't”

Sixdottir sighed.

“The translation software I provided you is some of the best available in the Ministry of External Affairs and we performed a very thorough evaluation of your verbal and visual languages and provided records from your Shipkeeper. If she gave us accurate notes then It’s as accurate a translation as possible, the only ambiguities should be cultural contexts that could not be foreseen. Please don’t insult my competencies any further in front of one of the organizational ministers...”

The still unnamable log of smoldering rock in a poofy dress swayed a bit then began to perform a curious tumble. Swinging down from its current perch in the rigging by flexing its little cilia on one end, then letting go to grasp another and another.

“Oh don’t worry they are just looking out for your well being Sixdottir. And speaking of which I will check in with my eldest brothers as soon as I see them about how busy your scheduling is! Goodbye dears!”

And then with that it was flipping back and forth down to the outer wall, sailing free just in time to slip into another slightly slower loop and enmesh itself in another column of holds and cabling.

The commuters had not eased up but there were fewer of the strange bug folk and orbs here, and quite a lot more of the strange smoldering glows of ‘rocks’ as well as things that Aleph did not even know how to start describing.

Omega hummed and looked between everyone, even including Sixdottir in a glance.

“Um so... does anyone else find her kinda creepy cheerful? Like even compared to sixdottir here?”

Quarti just laughed and shook her head.

Aleph shrugged.

Sixdottir’s voice sighed even though her gaze was intently looking at the flicker of the map on the outerwall.

“You won’t trust possibly the sweetest and most innocent of people in the entire reef... But you stand with a defective siren? Like I said, you three are utterly crazy”

The eyes turned to fix on Quarti’s toothy grin.

“Either that or you are very very evil”

The grin widened.