City of glass

Everyone was on edge as Sola completed her return to normal space. The Moa’thif homeworld was still some way off, a dull blue-black pearl in the vibrant light put out by the twin stars it orbited around. The binary pair at the heart of the system was truly stunning - tendrils of stellar mass dusting the void between the two glowing orbs as they slowly spun through space. Despite the beauty in front of them, Aricia couldn’t find much joy in the spectacle. Even though the butterfly girl still took a number of photos, she too was operating under the weight of knowing they were likely flying towards more Fractal activity.

Dustin paced on the bridge, watching the planet’s approach in the main viewscreen. The flash of lightning through the broiling acid clouds was visible on the long range scans - the small closeup of their destination in the corner of the viewscreen looking apocalyptic as they moved ever closer. “It’s not exactly a hospitable looking planet.” He mused to nobody in particular, then shrugged. “Doesn’t mean they don’t need us.” Turning to where a junior officer was manning the pilot’s seat (Sammie having been ordered to rest so that she could take part in the away mission) he gestured towards the planet. “Put us in a high orbit. I don’t want to run the risk of Sola’s hull clipping into that stuff; Rye says she should be fine, but I’d rather not test it.”

With the bridge crew perfectly capable of managing a gentle flight in, Dustin went for a nap. It’d be a good five hours to cross the distance from the jump point, and once they arrived he had no idea of how long he’d need to be awake between confirming the permission Emely said she’d negotiated for them to send down a shuttle, and then doing their initial investigation into the potential Fractal presence. Arriving in his ready room, he arrived just as Bleu was emerging from the ambassadorial bedroom, scanner in hand. She’d taken to running occasional scans on Trea’k, Meli, and now Emely in the bedroom rather than medbay; with the adjustable cushions, the three pregnant women found it more comfortable there.

Seeing his expression, the slime woman holstered her scanner. “The ladies are all fine. Are you off to bed? I’m free if you’d like some company - my team will call if I’m needed.”

Dustin paused, then shrugged. “I was just planning on sleeping for a bit, but if you would like to join me feel free; I need to rest before the mission so we can’t spend too long on anything else.”

Bleu nodded - and then proceeded to curl into Dustin once he’d climbed into his bunk, her form shifting to mould into his body like the world’s softest cushion. As he wrapped his arms around her, she gave a contented sigh and whispered “I don’t say it very often, Dustin, but just curling up with you is… really nice.” In response, he kissed the back of her head - and within minutes the pair drifted off to sleep.

Dustin awoke to the sound of the alarm, coupled with a sudden chill as Bleu flowed off the bed, the medic reforming upright and picking up her scanner from his desk. “Time to get to work Dustin. I reiterate my request to join the away party beyond just staying on the shuttle.” The medic’s tone was firm - this had been an ongoing discussion from more or less immediately after the meeting where they’d identified the potential of Fractal agents working on Thif.

He gave the same answer he’d offered her every time she’d raised it thus far. “No, love. Emely’s tried, but no matter what we say they just won’t budge above four members for the away team. That has to be me, Sammie, Defia and Yril’k - we need every weapon we can get if we might be running into Fractals to try and make sure we don’t need your assistance. Hopefully, a little scouting and we’ll find enough evidence to back up our guesses that they’ll not only let us land more people, but also supply us with military escorts.”

The Queri woman frowned, but didn’t object any further - instead retrieving bottles of water for them both from the automat. “Fine. But if you need me, call me - I’ll get to you even if I have to drive the shuttle straight through the wall of their stupid spire.”

Rye was finishing the pre-flight checks on a Rabyth shuttle when Dustin arrived in the bay. Out of Sola’s entire compliment, it was the only one that was rated to spend any significant amount of time in an atmosphere like the one beneath them; while the other shuttles would be fine to dip in and out they had no idea if they’d need to land their transport on the surface or not, and so were opting for caution. In theory, the shuttle would rest safely inside one of the shuttleports the Moa’thif had constructed on their main hive for visiting off-world dignitaries - but nobody that was planning on landing wanted to risk it when they had the stronger hulled vessel available.

“All set?” He asked, glancing along the elegant hull as the bunny girl nodded, jumping down from where she’d been double checking the top of the craft.

“Yup. She’ll last long enough if we need to spend time outside their docks, and I can probably push her a little longer than I should if need be. Me and Bleu will be waiting if ya run into any trouble.” The Rabyth woman hefted a rather heavy looking wrench as she spoke, grinning at him before tossing it through the shuttle’s hatch to land with a crash inside.

Dustin nodded by way of reply, then headed in the direction of the space suit racks. They weren’t taking any chances - while in theory they could have gotten by with minimal protection and an oxygen tank inside the spires, he’d opted for full environmental suits for everyone that’d be leaving the shuttle. Rye followed behind; she’d pack her suit just in case. Bleu and Defia probably didn’t need them - but for the sake of concealing the rogue Fractal’s species she’d wear one, while the medic was bringing one in case she needed to use it to evacuate one of the others.

Yril’k’s suit was custom made to accommodate her bladed arms; Rye’d tinkered with the design to allow a section of durable material to pull back on demand to reveal the natural blades. It’d allow her to fight if she needed to, whilst still keeping her chitin protected from the harsh environment in the meantime. It did require assistance to get in and out of - as Dustin and Rye entered the changing room, Sammie was busily locking seals up the Vex’ess woman’s back while Defia hovered nearby.

“Alright, ladies. We’ve got a meet and greet initially - I’ll handle that.” Dustin began, pulling on his suit and checking the oxygen supply. “Once that’s handled, they’re going to send us down into the deep levels if everything Emely has arranged checks out. Assume we are being monitored at all times. Defia - if you spot anything odd, let us know immediately.” Pausing to fasten his gloves, Dustin gestured to the weapons locker on the far wall. “Sammie and I will both have pulse carbines, you two have your natural abilities. Staying safe is the primary goal, confirming our suspicions about a Fractal presence is secondary. We’re potentially outnumbered and outgunned here.”

Sammie slapped Yril’k on the back as she finished fastening the last clasp, then bent and picked up her own helmet. “We’re on it, Dustin. Shall we?” Dustin nodded, pausing to toss the pilot a weapon from the rack before grabbing his own and heading out to the shuttle.

The atmosphere on Thif bubbled up to meet them as Rye followed the flight path they’d been given. Through the dark blue and purple clouds, lightning flashes illuminated the shadows of mountains and giant twisted tentacle-like structures as they descended towards the surface. Banking, one of those structures grew close - the acidic clouds parting to reveal a vast spiralling glass teardrop into which the Rabyth woman steered their craft.

For a moment, it looked as if there was nowhere to land, as if they were going to fly straight into the structure, and then it opened - great doors of thick obsidian glass sliding to one side to reveal a landing pad of gray metal. Slowing, Rye brought them down onto that pad even as the doors closed behind them, separating the away party from the churning storm outside.