Building Things of Beauty

Spending so much time at the beach made things much easier for us to pass the time while the Tirtris were revived. We had been making this virtual world more of a home and Niracina had finally started to settle in on the seasons, so we had a better idea of where we wanted to be each day. When we entered we still were in the field, but we had constructed a translocation pad in several of our favorite locations to get us from there to where we wanted to be. Today, it was the beach, we were busy constructing a massive sandcastle, it would be big enough to walk through and with a little work we would make it a permanent feature. We also planned to recreate the igloo in a permanently cold location as well, this would give us different places to hang out depending on our moods. The castle was coming along nicely, but because we wanted to build it ourselves it took quite a bit of time to get any section done. The first part was nearly complete, and that would be the main entrance to the courtyard. Most of the moving of the sand was done by me and as I finished each section Niracina and Ambri spent hours decorating it with stones and shells, making it look like the richest palace you had ever seen. As the sun set and I finished up my work for the day I sat down on the beach with them and enjoyed the view. It was nice here, she had done a wonderful job creating this world and it just kept improving as she continued to experience things.

Back on the ship her desire for beautiful things was starting to show as well, though the outside of the ship didn't change the inside was becoming quite a bit more interesting. As she matured she began growing different colored crystals in various locations that enhanced it all, making it look elegant and intriguing. They weren't all just for show either, they also gave a different kind of control of the ship, some of the crystals were used to access certain sections of her memory, others served as ways to project images while some were just for control. The ship would be a little less automated with these changes, but it seemed to be the way she wanted things to be. Her mindforce powers were also increasing as well, making the chairs slightly less necessary for us to connect with her, though we still needed them to enter the virtual world. She had also made a formal translocation chamber so that arrivals and departures would always be from there, this would give us some added security as she would block translocation in all other parts of the ship. The colors along her walls also changed, each room producing a little different feel to it and some non-practical features showed up as well, mostly aesthetic curves to the walls but a few things that served little to no purpose such as little curtain looking things that shifted as you walked by them. All in all she was becoming quite a lovely ship.

Survivors

The atmosphere on the planet wasn't in great condition, but it was good enough for me to be able to walk around on it. The scene that you saw when you stood upon it was similar to what you would see in old apocalypse movies, it was just wasteland all around you. The probe had continued doing its scans and I wandered about for a while, hoping to find some remnant of the life that was once here. It appeared however, from what I saw and the images the probe sent back that there was nothing left, the planet was dead. I took a small sample of the soil to keep as a reminder of what happened here, I imagined I would eventually put it on display with the information I had of the aliens, however as I was about to leave the probe reported a strange reading. I quickly translocated to its position and saw a small cave opening, from inside of it were energy readings as if there were something being powered down there. I knew it was unlikely that anything important would be there due to the amount of time that had passed since this planet last had life, but I had to check it out.

The cave was deep, Ambri had sent a drone to go with me and keep me safe. Both her and Niracina stayed in contact with me, both because they were curious what it looked like and they wanted to make sure I was doing alright. As we made our way deeper I heard the distict sounds that only come from technology that is running, I knew there must be something left after all. When we finally reached what seemed to be the base level of the cave I noticed there was some light through one of the passages, we made our way towards it and the sounds got louder. Once in the chamber we could see everything clearly, the lights weren't very bright but in such a dark cave they may as well have been the sun itself. The chamber was filled with all sorts of monitors, controls and pods. It appeared to be a cryogenic system. I took scans of everything before we got to work seeing if we could figure it all out. The controls were easy enough, very basic, I don't think the Tirtris had planned on making it complicated technology. The screens showed that the inhabitants of the pods were still alive but in a very deep sleep. Using the drone for parts I created a link between the technology down here and Niracina, after a few minutes she was able to get control over the entire system and figure out how it worked and to see how you woke up the inhabitants of the pods.

The process would be very slow in reviving them, the state that they were in was very deep and had kept them alive for an unknown amount of time, but we knew it would have been more lifetimes than one would like to imagine. I left the parts in place that Niracina needed to maintain control of the system and then dismantled the drone, creating a translocation platform so that I could travel to and from this location back to the ship, I didn't need to stick around for so many days and really didn't feel like climbing back through the cave. Niracina was also still gathering information about what all the pods contained and I wanted to see what she found. As I looked over the information she was analyzing I realized at about the same time she did that not only did these pods contain survivors, but there were other pod locations deeper in the planet that contained preserved specimens of the life that had lived on this planet with the Tirtris. This meant that with some effort we might actually be able to help this race come back from the brink of extinction. With this realization it would make the next few days difficult, they would just seem so long, but it, along with the survival of the other aliens, put hope in us that we would be able to find many alien races that the Klatvix had attempted to destroy and fix the wrong that was done to them. We just hoped that the aliens we encountered wouldn't be so traumatized by the experience that they instantly hated all other species.

Snow Day

My breath made small puffs in the cold air, the snow on the ground had been a bit unexpected, however I hadn't been in here for a couple days due to my studying of Klatvix history. I remember explaining at one time to them what exactly an igloo was, but I didn't expect them to actually make one. They had spent the better part of a day in mounding up the snow just so they could carve it out into a place to sit in and stay warm, it would have, of course, been easier for Niracina just to choose a warmer season for this world but she wanted to experience this and Ambri had agreed to it, being curious enough about it to give it a try. As I crawled through the opening I could feel the warmth that the structure was holding in, I knew they had some sort of device in there giving them more heat than what their bodies were producing. Once inside I was warmly greeted by two smiling faces, they were both dressed warmly and seemed to be enjoying the experience. They were both drinking some tea and as I sat down they offered some to me. As I took my first sip I considered how I would relate what I had learned to them, Niracina had not taken any interest in the historical information and had kept it isolated from her main database which meant she had no idea what I had learned. As I felt the warm tea make its way down through my body I took a breath and started from the beginning.

I knew it was difficult information for them to take in, but it gave them a desire to go and see the planet as well. We changed our course so that we could see what became of the Tirtris world, it would be much closer than the next cube anyway. The rest of the time in the virtual world was spent talking to them, figuring out what they had been up to without me. It turned out I didn't miss too much, they had been discussing this snow substance and the igloo and how comfortable it actually was once you finished it, however they would soon be ready for some warmer weather again, they both preferred the sun a lot more. Before I let Niracina do that, however, I wanted to show them some other features of snow, things I hadn't explained to them yet. So we spent about an hour outside the igloo playing, making snow angels, or at least that's what they finally called them once I explained what an angel was and pointed out the shape we made in the snow. We also created snowcreatures, mine was the most traditional looking. Then there was the snowball fight, I have to say that Niracina was a pretty good shot, hardly ever missing her target. When that was done and we were worn out Ambri and I left the world so that Niracina could change the season, being in there when it was changed was just a strange experience, so it was always best for us to leave.

Back in the ship was a much different feeling, we found more and more that we enjoyed actually being able to talk with Niracina face to face instead of through the interfaces she had constructed. She did her best to make it more like the virtual world, even going to far as to modify and grow Nasero's holographic projection, but it just wasn't quite the same. We knew it was hard on her too, she much preferred being able to touch and feel things and interact on a more personal level, but she knew that we had to live outside of her world as well. We were nearing the planet and would soon see what had become of it, our systems were much faster than theirs were back when this all began. As the planet came into view, with its lifeless, dull look, I had Niracina deploy a probe to scan the planet and explore its surface, if possible I would actually step onto the planet and explore it first hand.

First Contact, the Tirtris

The technology that went into the communications cube was the first they had been able to attain. The cubes didn't come about for quite some time afterwards but this was one of the first alien technologies the Klatvix acquired. It was through their dabbling with technology that they picked up a signal being transmitted, it was an open, unencrypted signal looking for alien life, much like what humans used to do in hopes of finding another alien species, however this one actually did what it was trying to do. When they picked up the signal they used the information provided in it, which included instructions for making a transmitter to send a message back, to further their development. It was probably around this time when they had this major boost to their technology that they grew hungry for more. When the aliens who sent the original message received the reply they had advanced quite a bit since that message was sent and so they actually traveled to meet with the Klatvix. Before their departure they sent another message informating them that they would be coming to visit, the message arrived in days instead of years but the ship would take much longer to arrive. The updated information sent with the second message advanced the Klatvix even farther, they could now communicate with these aliens with only days of delay instead of having to teach the next generation to wait for the message, they used this to their advantage and inquired of what they could construct in anticipation for their arrival. The aliens, being so excited about making contact, didn't think much of the request and quickly sent back some specs for a space station for the ship to dock at, the ship would be far too large to actually touch down on the planet and if there were a space station they wouldn't have any problems in their visit. They also figured that having it done would save them some years before they could properly interact with this new, advancing race. The Klatvix began designing their station using the information they were given, but they had no ships to perform the work, so once again they expressed their interest in helping and explained that they didn't have ships capable of doing this. Once again the aliens sent them the information they needed, after that all was quiet for the years it took to make the trip. It was this race of aliens that had started the Klatvix's ability to travel among their own solar system and gave them the information they needed to prepare for conquering them.

When the aliens finally arrived the station had been finished for quite a few months and the Klatvix ships had evolved a bit beyond the original specs sent, which pleased the aliens. Upon arrival they introduced themselves as the Tirtris and expressed their joy at having found an alien species advanced enough to receive and understand their message. The first couple of months with the Klatvix was a pleasure, they were treated to the finest things that they had to offer and talked freely of their technology and their sciences. The Klatvix learned quickly, taking note of everything in books and drawings and collecting samples when they were available. They learned much of the universe from the Tirtris and began advancing their technology farther. It wasn't until the Klatvix asked about defenses and weapons that the Tirtris quickly learned that this race wasn't quite as advanced as they had hoped. The Tirtris had long ago evolved beyond conflict and used their technology for bettering the lives of their people, but with a simple question about defenses and weapons they figured out that the Klatvix were still suffering from the desire for war and conquest, they talked to them about this, trying to help them understand that there was a better way, but when the Klatvix learned that they were not going to get any additional advantages from these aliens they wasted little time in deploying the ships they had kept hidden, the Tirtris didn't have time to respond to any of it and their ship was quickly destroyed and the visitors taken as slaves to help the Klatvix advance. Unfortunately the Klatvix knew now where their home world was as well and worked diligently to prepare some ships to make the trip there and destroy it, fearing that there would be more Tirtris coming to take revenge for what they had done, but the Tirtris had no idea what was coming.

When the Klatvis ships arrived they found a world that was disarmed, there were no defenses and no weapons and so they took it, enslaving the people and forcing them to mine the planet dry. After years of working in these conditions the Tirtris were dying off and their planet with them, all life had been destroyed so that the Klatvix would be able to continue developing their ships and technology. It was towards the end of this world's life that they received a response to the Tirtris signal from another alien race, and realizing they could once again conquer a world and take its resources they responded, posing as the Tirtris. So it was, that with one group of aliens, not realizing the damage they could cause, had advanced another alien race to the point where they could go out and begin their conquest of other races and worlds. After reading over all the history this cube contained about the origins of its technology I made note of where the Tirtris world was, I didn't anticipate finding any survivors, but I had to see what had become of the planet when the Klatvix abandoned it.

The First of Many

Being able to interact with Niracina in the virtual world made our bond with her much stronger. We could experience things together that simply were not possible when she was a ship, and watching her learn new things through her virtual body was wonderful as well. She was like a child with her interactions, though she had created this world she had no idea what it would be like. Some of the sensations that she felt were only possible after we helped her get them configured properly. Her favorite though was feeling the sun upon her skin, the warmth of it was much better than what she felt through her hull. We had been spending quite a bit of time in this virtual world, watching it grow and expand and change seasons. She hadn't quite figured out how fast she wanted seasons to pass and how she wanted the seasons to act so we had a different experience every day. She could have made it different every moment, but for our sake she slowed it down so we could enjoy it with her. The girls definitely grew closer together in this virtual world, they would often leave me to my explorations so that they could spend some time together talking. It was wonderful, but unfortunately we had to leave it at the end of each day and that was difficult. She understood why we had to leave but wished that we could stay or that she could leave with us, but we simply didn't have that kind of technology on her yet. It would be possible in the future when she could grow the technology for us to enter it as heavy energy, but it would put a heavy strain on her at this time.

When we finally arrived at the first cube we wasted little time in docking with it, the technology that Niracina had evolved worked perfectly and we had instant access to the cube. Interactions with it didn't work at first, however, it recognized me and it still wasn't authorized to give me any information, however we were able to upload the new programming and once it had permeated the system it became quite a bit more accomodating to us. We were able to extract all the information it had about all the other cubes as well as get the information we needed to evolve our systems to become the center of all cube communications, this would allow us to have greater control over them when we arrived as well as being able to track them with quite a bit more accuracy. This of course would take some time, so we first determined the location of the next cube, once this was done and all the plans were made we left the cube and had it compact itself, there would be no need for a chamber inside of it now and we would be able to store it safely until we could offload it at one of the stations. Once this business was done Ambri wasted little time in going back to visit with Niracina, I however spent some time going over the information we had gathered and learning about this cube and the next one we were going to visit.

A Simple Picnic

We always ended up here when we came to this world, a field of tall grasses and flowers. The sweet smell of it all filled the air, that was always the first thing I noticed, it was fresh and clean and sweet. The next thing I always noticed was the warm wind playing with the plants, making them wave and bow. After appreciating these things for a moment I heard the sound of something moving through the field which made me turn. My eyes fixed upon what had made it, Ambri was moving her hands through the grass, the seeded heads felt slightly tacky this time of year and soon the seeds would be done maturing and the field would go dormant until the next generation started growing. When she had finished her exploration of the grass she moved to my side and slipped her arm through mine, she was wearing a long, sleeveless, deep blue dress. On her feet were some simple sandals, which was not a normal accessory for her but she was learning to like them, at least when she walked through the field. She had put her hair up today, I could just imagine the chore that had been, but she did it because she knew it had a tendancy to get tangled with everything here and she wanted to avoid having anything stuck in it while we were enjoying our time together. At her side was a basket of food, I could smell the scent of the fresh bread and the sweet fruit that she had brought along. Today we had decided it would be good to enjoy the warm weather and have a picnic. We had a spot we liked next to a small stream, it would take a little while to walk there but we didn't mind, it was nice to have the time to talk and enjoy the fresh air a little longer. It wouldn't just be the two of us this time, which was okay, we enjoyed her company as well, it just always took her a moment to catch up to us, she did so much love lying in the field for awhile. As we made our way to the edge of the grass I heard her coming, we both turned to watch her approach. The first thing that always stood out was the dark, deep forest green hair, it was nearly black it was so dark and in a field of gold it stood out. Her hair was long and straight and so it waved in the breeze and bounced about with each step. As she came closer the you could see the greenish tint to her skin, it had been getting darker with the extra exposure to the sun. She was amazing to watch, such a thin, tall figure with fluid movements. Her body didn't have very many curves to it, even her face lacked any deep features, her nose being thin and nearly flush with her face and her lips being but a thin line between her cheeks, but her eyes were brilliant and full of life, though it was hard sometimes to look at those deep crimson pools. The iris took up most of the eye, leaving little white to show. As I took it all in she smiled, it was a sweet smile and warmed my heart to see it, she knew I was once again taking in all the features she had designed this body with. It was still strange to see Niracina this way, but it was nice to be able to interact with her as a being instead of just as a ship. She looked at me as a daughter would look at her father, she had worked hard to make a form that I would approve of, and though it had been a very simple design she had done a fine job with it. We were a strange looking bunch I imagined, but together we were a family. We quickly continued on to our spot by the stream and had our picnic, when we were done it took only a few moments for the surroundings to fade and for us to find ourselves back on the ship.

It has been a very fascinating experience making your primary home in an organic, intelligent ship. The fact that she can control her own evolution is an amazing thing to witness. All the potential upgrades we had come up with for her systems were nearly done, including the non-lethal weapons that would allow her to transport a potential enemy to a virtual world. One of the more interesting things she was growing though was her own virtual world. She had developed it in two ways, the first being a world in which she herself was living and which we often used to enjoyed some time together and the other where she could store prisoners. Both were quite lovely, but in the prison one there was no communications with her, she could monitor it all she wanted but you were not aware of anything but the world. In the one she lived in she could still monitor everything and you could do the same too if you focused on it, it was a strange feeling actually, in her world when you focused on the outside you could feel the things that she felt, all the parts of the ship, the different forces of the universe, I actually could know what it felt like to be a ship. The more amazing thing about it though was the immense detail she put into it, the sights, the smells, the tastes, she was making sure to include all the details to an even deeper level than we had accomplished in our original simulations, which of course meant that Evan was working to keep up with her. Niracina's imagination was a lot more developed than we had originally thought, I knew she wasn't designed with it but the fact that she had it made her a very amazing ship.

A Time of Peace

It was nice to have no need to rush, we didn't feel pressured to reach the cubes, they were mostly non-functional without commands to follow. I hadn't imagined there were so many, but when we had sent out the query for location the responses had been amazing. There were so many cubes, many of which that had not seen or heard from their creators in quite a long time. Some of them had been equipped with drives to allow for faster travel while others had been placed in systems and had never really moved. Each one had a unique purpose, though we would only be able to figure out these purposes when we picked them up. The first cube we decided to go after was one we had seen before, it had been moved since then but we found its location pretty quickly. It was the cube that maintained communications with the other cubes, it was the only one we could receive a signal from directly, but once we had it that would all change.

The information that was being delivered to us from the station was invaluable, each cube had a common system to allow access and would respond once Niracina finished evolving her equivalent to it. We also found the code we would need to give the cubes to make them recognize us as their new masters. But the most exciting thing we found was that each cube not only served a single purpose, but they also represented a piece of technology from another alien race, and if we identified the cube we may be able to find out where the alien race's home world was and try to make peace with them, I was sure the fact that we had captured the Klatvix would help us in that endeavor, at least if the aliens had survived the encounter. We had hopes that some of them had survived, we knew of at least the one for now, but if there were others we would be happy to make friends with them or help them out if their home were destroyed as well.

As for homes, Nasero reported that his planet was now without dome, the atmosphere had been converted to a point where it would finish itself without assistance, this allowed him to use the dome's resources to construct a research station and manufacturing facility. It would be run by the drones he constructed and he would maintain full control over them. He also reported that the creatures that had lived in his biodome were now multiplying on the planet, each area of it being picked up by a different set of critters. This made Ambri happy, as she loved seeing the cute, gentle ones and knew that more space would mean more safety for a lot of them. With all this good news from him I knew that this meant he would be able to focus more of his attention on the triple star system stations, I knew he was anxious to come up with better power sources, even more so now that we had need of the excess power to increase our simulation capacity. Overall, things were looking up, there were no conflicts we needed to address, the planets were being terraformed as we had hoped and we were on an easy mission to bring in the last of the Klatvix technology.