Crew of the Korolev's Story

Crew of the Korolev

Part crew, part defensive force, Rhia's tithes tend to her needs.

Rhia's crew wanders into the clearing though there's a few that headed back to the ship. High soldiers had many crevices they could hide small pistols and few wanted to reach inside their mouths past the fangs. The remaining five high soldiers clustered around the ship that had landed. Poorly socialized with humans if the guards showed fear or concern none of the weaponized forklifts could tell. High soldiers crossed their blade arms and locked some of the talons as a matter of social conventions to demonstrate peaceable conduct. The smaller five workers barely to the waist of most humans idled as they picked and ate small weeds and blades of grass. All wore their tabards bearing Rhia's ship registry information. Rhia's second remained to watch the ship quite busy sitting in the large central chair that still carried her scent.

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Rhia looked at the ship as she moved along with Geniti while she pressed her hands together. Sighing at her crew but appreciating their care all the same. A trader's eye told her they didn't get outworlders much and Gardeners were likely not something they'd seen often.

Rhia put her fingers to her lips and shook her head not sure which of newcomers would be Lineage of Wrath to Gardeners, "Your guards are very prompt! Mine follow me everywhere but they don't mean any harm."

A flourish of her right hands said to Geniti, "Your sun reminds me of ours on Sopitos! Though ours takes up most of the sky."

Lei Wufang wrapped up her conversations as it was time to get back to work. She had tomes to decipher, and the magic of the mountains wasn't going to wait.

Taking her leave, she said goodbye to her new friends and heading back towards the path.

One of Rhia's own did come across somewhere suitable as a clinic off of the commons. A small advertisement where they recognized some of the many symbols used by human healers. If not some of their clothing. As workers clustered around this advertisement peppered relevant things about it to their Matriarch.

Rhia waved off the passel of large spiders that followed her. They peered at corners and stared at doors. While just being protective of a Matriarch it did tend to alarm the Humans as it looked like they were casing the area. She preferred the humans at ease. Especially when trying to give them anything for free, let alone selling them anything.

Due to the security wash up doc did not have many people there but a nurse obliged with some time to meet with her. Rhia explained her people as best she could for the human and that as she had approved of this place other Gardeners may arrive seeking work. This left the nurse a large glass bottle of dreamtime, some fluorinated hard tack, and fluorine supplements for passing Gardeners. There were some things a pharmacy needed to know about their pharmacology and Rhia knew most of the bare essentials by rote. Perflourocarbon blooded triploids had quite varied reactions than your average human to medications.

However she left a stern warning that humans were absolutely not to be dispensed Dreamtime. While it was a critical medication to assuage isolation hysteria in Gardeners it proved a dangerous narcotic in humans. Though that Oculi had evidence it may be viable to treat strong mages or telekinetics rendered untreatable and comatose by exertion could not morally test such a thing with rigor. A business card gave the contact details for both Rhia and Matriarch Hygieia from which to contract Gardener Healers if necessary. Herself if should they wish to order more of the mundane supplies.

After a nice relaxing time in Freeport meeting new foreigners Rhia found this jump far easier a thing than tracking down the planet Earthrend was on. Rhia was always surprised how much punishment the High soldiers could take as he'd lost a fourth of his blood supply from various barely healed injuries. Even as her two healers among the crew ate and drank themselves silly trying to make enough blood to put back in him he wanted to leave to serve Rhia. Dedicated things but just a little too mercenary for her taste though she why Bvetin and Nemesis were so protective of that lineage. While sturdy walls and war machines the Orthodoxy made she found them rather inflexible.

Speaking of lineage Rhia pulled her mind from the Gellar field surrounding the drive core to find Sunrise quietly squeezing at her calf then slowly moving up the leg with a soft wet cloth with the other. The ship whined to a stop just past high orbit as Sunrise stared at his own particular moon. As his eyes wandered a bit too high she could hear the idle Quietus between the crew as he expressed distaste about the existence of her clothing. A reaching hand clenched, raised, then hesitated whenever he stopped dabbing at sweat and adjusting the central array she reclined within.

Rhia's gentle hand and black fingers reached over to push Sunrise's cyan digits away while waggling a finger at him. Arms crossed down in supplication Sunrise sent an image of cloudy skies. While she wasn't that opposed given the lack of men in the party Rhia sent him an image of Taeth and the Korolev's name on the surface just north of the jungle. Sunrise excitedly scampered off as the crew expressed disappointment. They were never a very private species and Rhia momentarily wondered what she'd have to change if she did take on a human cook.

The ship's thrusters rumbled to life as her crew spun the Korolev for orbital insertion.

The crew of the Korolev emerged from openings all over the ship. Not creatures limited to the strictures of gravity had no issues clambering about the underside of their large cargo ship to access service panels. Several metal containers carried by other high soldiers down the ramp each bowed when their carriers put one foreleg flat against earth before the High soldier of a Primal Matriarch. They knew even though this place may pose danger for them the High Soldier considered it a time of rest. As did his Matriarch. They found it comforting and looked less about the area as they set up an external power shunt.

When going into an area with unknown dangers one opted for more heavy protection than the moss dress she wore for the fancy occasion. A set of carapace armor scavenged from Imperium wreckage her engineer Armful modified using the facilities back in her armory. Heavier than many humans could carry the lower half sported an armored skirt of rectangular ceramite plates to cover her wings and lower thorax. While she had the helmet at her side her antennae stuck out the brigandine hood instead. One could hardly communicate through the helmet with Quietus without a transceiver.

Though sunrise had put in a woeful desaturated Quietus of a metal bucket upended over a flower it didn't take much to convince him why it was necessary. Her Quartermaster rather preferred the safety for his Matriarch but she could tell the arms worker would still rather be able to look. As she stumped down the ramp in the heavy boots looked from side to side inspecting the area Jaunt selected. It was on a bluff set against the Iron Sink with the dense rise of collapsed ships well beyond. There were few direct lines to here the ship itself did not occlude and gave them some respite from possible nightly acrid fogs creeping off the Iron Sink. This particular area was actually stone and sand excluding the population of metal shrapnel in the sediment. She'd approved their landing site after checking on surface scanners that her ship wouldn't end up sunk in some dune just like the rest. The iron sink only looked visually safe to land on larger portions but the whole of it was horrifically unstable and likely for floating battleships to roll as not.

As matters of defense continued Jaunt and Earthrend pillaged what stone they could find. If only to clear cover from the area and deprive any enemies of it. Larger boulders Earthrend hewed into long ingot-shaped barriers that she directed others to drag into place. Rather than Jaunt's more militaristic interests she directed them to a less compact layout as she'd need the area to sort salvage. Sand and gravel filled in rearward portions of their walls against possible caustic flows. They were mostly for protection from wind and to corral creatures. Other workers busied with making a small cobble bunker and harvesting rebar from shards of crafts in long showers of sparks from grinding wheels. High soldiers with piledriver tools anchored to their blade arms smashed these metal bits through dirt and stone.

Satisfied that they'd somewhere to work she sent out a text message to their contractor in her usual casual tone, "We're here on site early, dear. We'll be building a base camp until your designated arrival date. Attached are our coordinates on Taeth. I picked up a few more of our boys on the way, no charge. You can find Jaunt Bvetin and Earthrend Hestia on the contractor interlinks."

While diplomatic to non-gardener males the Gardener Matriarchs, especially those that grew up on Sopitos, did not especially stand on ceremony with them either. Though on occasion some saw this lack of deference as an insult and a non-gardener lodge demands of a Matriarch to defer, at the very least their attendants would notice the ire from every Gardener in earshot. Oculi had a cultural dossier and diplomatic brochure she dispensed prolifically to many contractor and mercenary companies. This was rather better than the 'diplomatic incidents' arising from security forces pointing a gun at a Matriarch or screaming a little too aggressively near the Orthodoxy.

"I'll be sending a crew member to handle the reception, they are on site already. Surveying and scouting materials, encampment site potentials, wildlife, local natural resources, etc. There should be a forward payment with her, please do not mind her attitude, she doesn't trust new people. Making her perfect for negotiations and business. Please be mindful of her arrival within 24 hrs. I shall appear within the next week."

Will be the txt message sent back to the Matriarch.

The Korolev may be quite large but space was still a premium. Rhia stood on the top of the Korolev's top dock as hydraulics push a rectangular ship slowly upward. Reinforced Solar panels covered as much of its top half as possible. It was more of an emergency measure than to keep the plane in the air but she'd rather her tithes have some power and no fuel in the field than none of either if it came to that. As the launch elevator rose entirely the metallic clamps anchor it to the hull in a resounding clang of metal. Some of the ship parts were still rather brutish but they served perfectly well in spite of the former owner's apathy toward painful noise levels. Her mind within the ship she checked the hydraulics and a cursory look across the lifter's systems. Other crew scuttling around the flight deck she found looking over it for pre-flight checks but nothing was obviously throwing alarms.

They'd only brought the one air vehicle for this as heavy cargo lifters using air-ingesting plasma engines were power-hungry. The lifter was large and had little internal storage but with a prodigious run time even if lifting its own weight. That power bank a dual purpose to serve remote operations with varied onboard equipment. There were solar backups and combusted liquid or solid fuel generators onboard.

The Utility vehicles were another matter as smaller things could be easily packed. Gardeners preferred extreme clearance though these had omnidirectional wheels. While the utility vehicles had a lower top speed than conventional wheels being able to tow, lift, or shift at erratic angles over harsh terrain would be better for salvaging. They had spare parts and the normal wheels to switch in if necessary.

Rhia squatted at the top edge of her ship as the whine of those utility engines emerged from below. She saw them drive into view after leaving the Korolev and be lined up on one side. Earthrend was still raising the retaining wall on that side to cover the vehicles but had to travel further for loose stone. Jaunt was helping to drag more back as workers attached a cargo trailer to the newly arrived utility vehicle. That should at least speed things up a bit.

They had three however and it seemed one was still packed given cargo cameras so ordered her crew with a small bit of Quietus with her mechanic's name. A utility vehicle with normal offroad wheels and weapons packages instead of forks. The acknowledgment came a few moments later as Rhia left the roof to get back to earth. They might have to go fetch the crew member and speed could be important. As for the multilaser pod, Rhia wasn't about to lose a paycheck for her crew. The utility vehicles weren't tanks by any means but they had light armor and bullet-resistant windows not cheap metal housing like most you'd buy on the market.

Rhia sent a response to Maxim as it would be half an hour minimum for a switchover to finish, "We may have the lifter launch-ready by the time she gets here. I'm getting a utility vehicle ready for scouting duties within the hour. We are weapons ready and listening on the microwave band if your Matriarch calls for reinforcements. See you soon."

Leandra Olkoye was dressed in a very unusual outfit for her. Sporting a suit that was specifically design for extreme climate. It was the kind of technology that was common in certain clusters of the galaxy, due to thier own weather systems. This one was designed for corrosion, thermal changes, gravity extremes, and general protection. Her breathing through the half mask that went with the fancy skin tight suit was such that the red, blues and blacks matched up in a very fashionable way.

She had been studying the area for weeks. Looking over the ships and diving to see how deep the water in the area was. There were quite the few things that she could profit off of here. Of course, none of that meant anything until she and the crew could establish a method of getting things set up in an organized shop. Somewhere in a city, or even in the impromptu way she already had set. It was rather rough, but the thing would hold. For now, the best thing to do, is to contact her master.

She checked her arm, and a holo display shifted to show the messages forwarded to her from the contact she was supposed to meet. The reception from the ship acting as a relay was pretty weak. So over the last few days, she kept moving back to the land cruiser to rest and receive connection. Since the land cruiser was connected to the ship and had a sharp connection at all times. These suits being in a beta form wasn't always the most reliable in extreme conditions like the planet of Taeth.

The message made it clear that it was time to move. So she packed her gear into the cruiser and made due to leave.

Leandra Olkoye had prepared everything in advance, including a make shift shelter with the ship that was a ways away from where she was supposed to meet the client. However, upon existing the sleek hover vehicle she used to get around on the planet, she was astounded by the brilliance of coordinated building that was happening before her eyes. This was...nothing short of the very essence within the word 'efficient'. Leandra does not impress easily. In fact, one could say she was constantly disappointing by the way people handled business. However, not today. It would seem as though the client arrived early, which is around expectation.

Outside of expectation was the building of the preliminary shelter that was under construction. Their skills were not to be underestimated. Which only make's thier reputation even more secure. The information gathered about thier skills to build was exactly what was need if they were to complete the tasks needed. So, it was time to start the negotiations. All the money, and paperwork needed was prepared ahead of time.

Surely the client would notice her arrival by now. So Leandra waited 10 feet away from what could be known as the 'entrance' to the newly constructed safe space of the client. Maxim would be pleased to know exactly the kind of people that responded to his request. Leandra turned on the recording feature to her nano-suit. The entire conversation would be video recorded. Not that anyone could see the thousands of nanites that rededicated themselves to the task of 360 recording. She was ready now.

As the vehicle appeared several red barnacles splayed as flat as possible on the underside of the hull tracked with barrels of sawtooth mounted rifles at best charitably considered 'anti-material' given their massive bulk. There wasn't a stone within hundreds of meters of the area as they'd carefully chiseled compacted stone and metal into building blocks. The smaller ones assembled with care into a crude cobblestone and dirt edifice two meters high to block ramming through the open entrance. Festooned with rebar of sharp metal scrap on the flat side. Though as she rounded the berm and left the vehicle a small rectangular hole dropped into the dirt. There were various workers moving things underneath the ship, just out of the line of sight.

Faint sparkle-gleams of selective tapetum cells common to the multiple Gardener eyes appear within. It left gardeners with a vision noisy in its alternating of regions between crisp and sensitive to the dark. As Juant emerged from the sub-ground bunker his weapon came first of a reciprocating autocannon on a stabilized gimbal mount two blade arms easily directed upward through the hole. Multiple legs propped a car-sized crimson spider topside. Other workers appeared through similar small ceramic plates over divots in the ground flip away randomly near the entrance. Jaunt had sounded the all-clear presuming the false matriarch that had arrived and not passed into the demesne was the one they were waiting for. Workers put their guns away then went back to their duties in complete silence to the audible ear. The blasts of Quietus on the RF spectrum were another matter.

The ship's external speakers erupted as Rhia's voice boomed, "I'll be with you in a moment. Shaper's work to do. If you need to talk to the boys use text in low band RF. I'm the only one with vocal folds. Jaunt can use Eigengrau if you don't want to read. He's the large red one with the emplacement weapon."

The other red barnacles stood 'up' on the bottom of the ship as their sniper rifles stowed to snap clamps on their back. They walked along the underside until able to dismount via the Korolev's landing gear. Jaunt heaved the emplacement weapon to his back as the large high soldier moved closer. A small green light lit on a small speaker along the strap of his bandolier when a hand from under his cephalothorax reached up to press a switch there.

As Jaunt goes to greet hydraulic whining comes from the top of the Korolev as Rhia engaged with the cannon. That large artillery piece well modified from its original shuffled quietly clockwise to a target further on than both of them. Jaunt makes no move as the barrel fires in a fury of a pressure wave and psychokinetic energy. The round lobs slowly into the distance as it impacts the sand trap ringing the periphery of the wrecked jungle. Red-Orange heating rather than an explosion light boiling around the detonation swirls and inhales into the ground as Rhia's efforts turn a small area to rough sandstone. Just hard enough their utility vehicles would not get mired. The desert was full of such traps as far as Jaunt could tell from above hence their place here as it was at least closer.

Leandra Olkoye was fairly certain that speaking over the RF frequency provided was quite unnecessary. But she was inclined to listen, for better understanding and for a show of faith. One of the first rules of business was to gather the faith of your partners. This was a step to make sure that this was well understood - Leandra would do what was necessary. Certainly this was not the sort of situation that needed any real emotional involvement so she would comply. She didn't like the idea of having to deal with...lower life forms; but this was pride speaking, and once more, she needed to remind herself to put the pride aside. Every single time dealing with benefactors or relations concerning expansion, meant needing to put her pride aside.

This was something she was well accustomed to at this point. But that didn't make anything less annoying.

Leadra strode inside of the small, palace-like fortress under construction. She was aware that these creature were different in many ways from other societies. Building everything around thier matriarch. Given that women held higher standard in thier society, it should not be too difficult to procure the necessary paperwork to be signed.

"Set to aproppriate RF Channels. Auto adjust and translate as needed." She spoke to the suit, as she tapped the mask for filtering through all the dust being strewn about. The visors attached to her mask adjusted, and even gave everything cleaners more vibrant colors for distinguished. Brighter reds, blues and greens. The most recognizable colors were all amped up. She could now see very clearly all the turrets and people moving back and forth in coordination. All whilst her client, was blowing things up in the distance on one of those said turrets. Leandra made a beeline of sorts to navigate towards her, she was uninterested in anyone else. She wanted the person in charge.

A translation system might spit a soft white noise as it tunes to the various low-band channels the gardeners were using. At least at first in a reasonable interpretation of something looking for audio. Though given signal patterns would soon adjust those expectations. Hard chirps did indicate a channel opening along with the bands they used as each began spoke to the others. A likely visual pip added as they did so. If anything an error might appear on the visor of an advanced semasiographic language in use. Nonverbal engrams among brown quietus on low bands encoded concepts in part or whole rather than words and letters. More so for the one-time pad ciphers in use from white quietus which in either case made direct translation impossible.

Two engineers at the bottom of the ramp Leandra approaches start to flicker small maps at each other. Some of the images are clear enough but much of the non-visual context lost by translation hardware. An AR overlay one of the sane presentations of putting the pips and transparent vectors above their heads. Various shards of wheel blueprints and friction charts with circular indicators fading in and out. Though they still gesticulated at space in front of them to different parts of their shared inner workspace. Each silently argued over the road's next segment to the wrecked jungle as it was one thing to get a scout vehicle somewhere but quite another to tow a multi-ton load over fine sand covered in metal fragments.

The square of noise above Jaunt's head, however, if it was there only a moment before the translation adapted again, was Eigengrau. Named from a human concept for the color they saw when drawing a noise. It was indeed audio from a high soldier very well-practiced.

The voice was very crisp and enunciated English, quite devoid of a speaking creature's breath, as he chased behind Leadra well enough, "You are from Maxim, False Matriarch? You are valued in this temporary demesne. False Matriarch Rhia will be coming from the bridge for your convenience."

The High soldier stopped at the bottom of the ramp Jaunt's voice unmarred by exertion or background noise, "In the interest of false Matriarch Rhia I give you, false Matriarch, the key to access the lexical interface. We regret that Gardeners do not have touch interfaces if you prefer them. Can you receive Quietus? [Translation system: Encryption key transmission]"

At the far wall of the cargo bay, a worker attends Rhia behind glass. One verdantly colored Gardener, sunrise, busily clambering onto the glass as he helped Rhia into the top half of her armor. Jaunt backed up the ramp behind Leandra the power supply on his autocannons humming to life. Two Matriarchs in one spot set the paranoia of the High soldiers on fire. There were already arguments in the ciphered white quietus as the other high soldiers decided lanes of fire to defend the ramp.

Indeed Jaunt said what he meant as the walls while clean and well attended were stripped of human interfaces. The Lexical interface responded from nodes behind armored walls to present a virtual interface of words and buttons the speaking races could better navigate.

Leandra's suit would indeed be able to translate quite accurately what was being said. She would know the response of Quiteus would be such that would surprise this species. But she was uncaring of it. She herself could actually speak it. But it would be fracture. It's been about a decade since she needed to speak the language of the insects. She hated it regardless. Such a grotesque language indeed.

"I am Leandra. I understand what I must. I will need a private quarter to discuss details of negotiations. Also, I apologize for my late arrival, as well as late response. I was quite busy with preliminary details and scouting." She said, to both of whom it concerned.

She knew that she needed to get things done amicably, but she was not about to conform her ways so easily to do it.