Ship's Log: Captain-Mayor Ian Brooks

As repairs on the Craton continue, Admiral Vandoss has made a suggestion. There exist individuals whose mere presence has been known to be a protection against the effects of a Leviathan's Reality Break Shadow. We don't know why this is the case, but such people are born, not made - and only born in the most distant and wild colonies.

We have no idea why this mutation - or whatever it is - does not appear in settled space.

Despite such people being incredible rarities - fewer than a thousand have been found so far - Admiral Vandoss believes that he knows the location of one. A trail of rumors and spacer talk suggest they are in the Begonia System, on an unchartered colony of people who left Earth over six hundred years ago. Since the advent of zerodrives, contact has been made with them, but they've remained independent and possess a xenophobic streak. They are, however, known to be peaceful.

Rather than wait for the Craton to be fully repaired, I have elected to take a small transport and a handful of staff to go retrieve this person, if possible. In addition, I hope that a lighter diplomatic touch can help convince the Begonia colony to join the Sapient Union.

Officially, we call them Cerebral Readers. But the locals, they call them something else; Seers.

*******

"Dad, Mr. Kell is here," Persis said.

Zachariah Urle looked out from the small shuttle's hatch, feeling a sense of dread in his stomach. The being was standing over by the door, perfectly still, staring at him.

His eyes went to his two children, Hannah and Persis. Both of them were staring at the being, but their looks were . . . fascination. Not horror, not revulsion, not nausea.

His first meeting with the Shoggoth ambassador still bothered him. There had been numerous reports of people having strong reactions to its mere existence, even just from passing it in the halls, or loitering outside its quarters.

They got used to it, but it seemed almost . . . universal. But not with his two girls, and he could not explain why. They had seen him at a distance, he had wanted them to know what the being looked like - or chose to look like, he reminded himself. Shoggoths could look however they wanted . . .

"Dad?" Hannah asked, nudging him. "You're spacing out."

"Yeah," he said. "How are you both feeling?"

"Good!" both girls said, beaming at him. He recalled promising them ice cream later, if they behaved.

It was a good reason for them to lie, but still . . .

"Why is Mr. Kell here?" Persis asked curiously.

"I'm supposed to meet him at 1630," Urle replied, shoving his concerns aside.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, he asked to meet with me. Hopefully not to ask to come with us."

Hannah turned in his direction, waving her whole arm and yelling. "Hello, Mr. Kell!"

To Urle's surprise, Ambassador Kell waved back - albeit in a strange manner, his movements stiff. He did not otherwise move.

"Don't bother him," Urle said sternly. "He's a very private individual."

"But he came here and he waved back," Hannah said.

Persis let out an exaggerated gasp. "He's not dangerous, is he? Dad, you wouldn't let someone dangerous on the ship, right?"

Urle had to consider that one. "He's - it . . ." He took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, you know how some aliens are dangerous because they have poisonous hairs or they breathe out stuff that's toxic?"

"But that's not their fault!" Hannah said quickly. "They're just that way and they don't want to hurt anyone."

"I know, I know. But Kell might be the same way. He's a very, very old being and he's . . . well, he's kind of special. So let's not go bother him, all right?"

"All right," both girls said in a disappointed monotone.

"Now, I'm not meeting Kell for five more minutes, and I have to make sure the coolant lines are sealed." He raised his voice to address Kell. "Five minutes," he called. It was only 24 minutes after. He had time.

Kell responded with a curt nod, and Urle dove back into the small shuttle's open bay, wriggling in deeper to the access tunnel.

Hannah and Persis waited. Their eyes kept going back to Kell, unblinking and unmoving, standing near the door.

Minutes passed, the only sound being Urle's mutterings and soft curses as he checked each coolant line.

He could have just sent in a drone, of course. But he contained sufficiently-advanced sensors in his own enhancements to do a better job than most drones. He had the ability, and so he would use it. Plus, he enjoyed doing this work himself.

When 1630 came, Kell walked over.

"I am here to meet Zachariah Urle," he told Hannah.

The girl stared up at him. She felt nervous; something about the man creeped her out. But she had met many kinds of aliens before, and that was not an uncommon feeling.

"He's my dad," she said. "DAD, MR. KELL IS HERE TO SEE YOU!" she yelled.

"I'll be right there!" he yelled back, his voice muffled.

Persis was staring up at Kell from his other side.

"Are you dangerous?" she asked.

"Yes," Kell replied.

"Are you going to hurt us?" Hannah asked.

"No," Kell replied.

"DAD, HE SAYS HE'S NOT GOING TO HURT US!" Hannah called out.

"I said I'm coming!" Urle shouted back. He was cursing and wriggling backwards, but he had gone several meters deep.

He cursed himself - he should have set a timer! But he had gotten distracted, and forgotten the Shoggoth's perfect sense of timing.

"He's really weird," Persis hissed quietly to Hannah.

"Don't say that!" Hannah snapped back. "It's very rude!" She looked back up to Kell, considering him. "Dad said we shouldn't bother you, but you came over to us. Are we bothering you?"

Kell was quiet for several long seconds before answering. "No," he finally said.

"DAD, HE SAYS WE'RE NOT BOTHERING HIM!"

"Open the access port halfway down the passenger's section, I can crawl out there!" Urle called back.

"I'll do it," Persis said, zooming into the ship.

Hannah was still looking at Kell. "You can come into the ship and meet him. It's our ship, we've been working on it for a year. Dad says we might use it on our trip out to the Begonia system."

"I understand," Kell replied.

Hannah took his hand, to pull him along, but let go just as quickly. "Your hand's so cold!" she said. "Aren't you freezing?"

"No," he said. "I like the cold."

"Ooh, I saw a show about worm things on Europa that like the cold, too. But they're tiny, not big."

Persis had opened the hatch, and Urle was slowly backing his feet out, into the sitting area. She came back out, drawn to the conversation.

"I liked the puffer-slugs better," she said. "Mr. Kell, someone said you kind of look like a puffer-slug, do you? When you don't look like us."

"Describe it, I'm not familiar with life off of Earth," the Shoggoth replied.

"Oh, it's like a slug, but it's kinda round, and it can sweeeeell up and when it takes in too much it can explode and send eyeballs everywhere!"

"I don't think it had eyeballs," Hannah insisted.

"I do not explode," Kell replied. "But otherwise - that is somewhat reminiscent."

Urle had managed to extricate himself from the ship and ran out. He absently was unscrewing an eye attachment he'd attached to one of the augments on his face.

"Ambassador, my apologies, I got sort of stuck. Let's go," he said, trying to usher the being away.

Kell made no resistance, stepping away from the shuttle.

"You look different," Kell noted.

"I can swap out my augments as I need to," he said. He had less on than normal, revealing both eyes and most of his face above the nose.

"Pragmatic," Kell commented.

"Dad, can we come?" Persis asked.

"No . . . girls, I'll have a drone take you down for dinner, and I'll join you for ice cream in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay," they echoed. A small hovering drone obediently went over and began to lead them away.

"Goodbye, Mr. Kell! It was a pleasure to meet you!" Hannah said, with Persis adding her own agreement.

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you!"

Kell said nothing and once they were out of sight he looked at Urle. "You do not wish for them to be around me."

"No," Urle admitted, meeting Kell's gaze evenly. "I don't know you well enough. This ship is very safe, and I like that."

"I understand," Kell said. "You are concerned for your offspring. That is natural. I understand you do not believe words without evidence, but I shall tell you anyway; I am no danger to them,"

"I appreciate it, but it doesn't change my stance," Urle told him. "Sorry."

"Unnecessary. Someday, though, you will learn that Shoggoths do not lie."

"What did you wish to meet me about?" Urle asked, glad to change the subject.

"I understand that you and the Captain are going to a distant place called the Begonia System."

Urle scowled. "Our destination was not released. How did you learn that?"

"One of your offspring named it," Kell replied.

Urle barely restrained his curse. He adored his children, and yet they had a tendency to say too much . . .

"I shall accompany you."

Urle lurched, his stride breaking. "No, Ambassador, I must insist that you do not. It is not a civilized place-"

"And you would take your offspring there?" the Shoggoth asked.

"That's different. I am going to be chaperoning them, and-"

"I remind you that I am an ambassador," Kell said. "You call me by that title, and yet you seem to have forgotten its meaning. I endeavour to meet new beings and civilizations that my kind have not yet encountered."

Urle wracked his brain for an excuse to refuse. "That may be true, Ambassador - however, I-"

"I do not require permission," Kell interrupted him to say. "I am simply informing you of the fact."

Urle had no reply to that. "Perhaps you should bring this up to Captain Brooks."

"He is indisposed, but his . . . computer . . . told me to bring my information to you - as it was merely considered a formality."

Urle closed his eyes, begging the stars for patience. "Then I have nothing to say, Ambassador. We leave at 1200 tomorrow. Do not be late."

"I am never late," Kell replied.

*******

"Transport Hurricane, this is Coordination Platform OS-1 - control of your craft will be returned in ten seconds."

"Understood, OS-1," Urle replied. His hands were already on the controls.

Within a system, near inhabited stations, little was left to chance. Coordination platforms remotely piloted each ship, keeping them in lanes and moving in such a way as to minimize - as much as possible - the chance of catastrophe. There was just too much danger letting even the most experienced human pilots control a ship.

Even once he regained control, very little human input was needed. But among the small group on the transport, he was by far the most qualified - the augments in his hands allowed him to interface directly with the ship's computer, rather than having to rely on things as crude as control sticks.

The ship shuddered as the Coordination Platform relinquished control, and Urle directed the ship to head towards the aperture.

"What is this Begonia System like?" Kell asked.

Urle turned as much as he could to look back. "You volunteered to come and yet you don't even know anything about our destination?" he asked.

"The details were unimportant," Kell replied. "The location is not on an unmoving ship, which makes it preferable."

Urle did not want to say it, but he was annoyed that the Ambassador had simply inserted himself onto the bridge. He had not asked, but simply had come in. Just like how he had invited himself on the excursion.

The rest of those along for the ride had the good sense not to be cluttering the small bridge. It was cramped with four, and Kell himself, despite his form being average in size, still felt like he took up more than that.

And weirdest of all, the Shoggoth didn't even strap down like a normal person. The Hurricane was far too small to create its own gravity, and if you wanted to stay in your seat you had to use straps.

But not Kell. He just sat on his seat and stayed there.

"Well, we're just moving to the zerogate and going through. Not much to see from here," Urle said, hoping Kell would take the hint.

The Shoggoth did not seem to take anything, staring at the monitors. "The ships I have been on so far have not needed to use these gates. Why does this one?"

"Only big ships can do that. This is a small transport that can only comfortably carry fifty. The generators on it aren't nearly powerful enough to open a gate, and even if they were, there are a lot of neophysics that make a larger zerodrive work far better-"

The Ambassador tapped one of the consoles. "What do the colors indicate?"

"Stop touching that! Everything is fine," Urle snapped, resisting the urge to physically push Kell's hand away. He was being reminded all too much of a child at this point.

"Ambassador, please return to your quarters. We'll be making the jump in two minutes and it is important you occupy your quarters at that time."

Kell's look made it clear; he perceived the the meaning behind Urle's words. But evidently, he still accepted the request. Standing, the being floated off the bridge - at least now having the decency to act like he was in zero-g - and Urle breathed a sigh of relief.

Taking the ship to the zerogate, he signalled to the passengers to prepare.

The gate ahead of them was massive, its edges already beyond his view from the cockpit screens. The optimal width for them had been determined to be 3.2 kilometers, for reasons even he wasn't certain of. Neophysics was more counterintuitive than classical or even quantum.

Experience had taught him the subtle differences between a ship jumping under its own power and using a gate, however. The gates offered a rougher ride, and he strapped himself in with the heavier safety straps. Hopefully even Kell would, or the being might find himself falling flat on his face.

Throttling the ship forward, the external cameras all dimmed just before he crossed the threshold. The sensation of falling, the gravitational jolt as they entered zerospace was rougher when using a gate, and he lurched forward in his seat.

As the sensors confirmed their successful entry, he flipped on the internal comm.

"We have entered zerospace. Next stop is Zerogate Relay 96 around Wagner 731, in 37 hours. All movement restrictions are lifted until then. Mind your heads."

Unbuckling the safety straps, he sat for a moment. His connection to the ship's internal systems showed him that Persis and Hannah were both playing Callagh's Tower in their sleeping bags. They averaged playing it for 53 minutes at a sitting, and had only been playing for a few at this point, so they were likely to continue being distracted for some time. He didn't need to check on or bother them, as their vitals all showed perfectly normal for girls their ages.

The idea of a nap was entering into his mind when the door to the cockpit opened, and Brooks drifted in.

"Captain," he said, sitting up straighter.

"We're off-duty until we get to Begonia," Brooks said, smiling lightly. "So it's just ‘Ian’, Zach."

At ease, Zach resumed his slumping. "I won't argue it."

Brooks held a tablet, scanning over data as he absently pulled himself into the seat Kell had recently vacated. A look of surprise went over his face as he sat.

"The chair is cold," he said.

"Kell was just sitting there."

Considering that a moment, Brooks shrugged it off and strapped down.

"We have very little information on this supposed Cerebral Reader," he said. "Not even a name. Just that there is a report of such an individual in this colony."