nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

While lots of human-style furniture is understandably meant for bipeds and little else, there is a K'da poet-warrior who is appreciating the chance to test out one of the chaise lounges in the Plaza, its cushion long enough to allow the entire length of the tiger-sized creature to stretch out comfortably, hanging his forepaws over the side.

Perhaps it's frivolous to spend his time this way when there are other things he could be doing, but he's been in the Nexus many times and never had reason to ask a question. That is no longer the case.

"Have you ever had cause to uproot yourself from your home and travel to places unknown, with no intention of returning? Did you encounter any difficulties that you had not expected?"

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Heartened that she isn't put off by his nature, Faris is more than content to satisfy her scientific curiosity. "Chanath is still on the ship at this time. I can remain safely separated for six of your hours at a time. Before that time limit is reached, I must physically touch a suitable host and transfer onto the surface of their skin, appearing two dimensional to your eyes. K'da in this state resemble your human art form of tattoo."

He's attentive to her statements about her enemy, these Cylons, and their strengths and weaknesses. "There is no path to reasoning with your enemies?" he questions. "No peace that may be formed, or at the least, a cease-fire?"

Her eyebrows go up at the explanation. That is definitely not like any of the symbionts she's familiar with. Not unless you count the friendly microbes that live on human skin, but they certainly don't form tattoos...

"Do you then have to stay on your host's skin for a while? Can you, um... can you sense what's going on around you when you're in two-dimensional form?" She pauses a moment before asking, "Does Chanath know about the Nexus?"

She shakes her head. "Not so soon after they occupied our settlement. There are a lot of hard feelings left over from that..." Remembering her coffee, she reaches for it, a small frown on her face. "I'm hoping that after we find Earth, we'll have a little more leverage against them, and we can have a real truce. As equals."

"We require a minimum of one hour to fully recover, though a K'da may stay as long as they wish with no ill effect. The senses of touch, hearing, and sight remain intact, with restrictions if the host's clothing is in the way." His tail resumes its catlike movements, comfortable with this topic. "She is aware, yes. I was stranded here for a matter of months and had to rely on a temporary host before I could locate the correct door, so I had to explain my absence and survival. I continue to visit as a learning opportunity, and to remain in contact with friends I have made."

The K'da pauses, before deciding to share this with her also. "I am considering if it would be possible to relocate my peoples through the Nexus. Perhaps not stay here, but pass through another door to an uninhabited world. It may be the only way to guarantee that the Valahgua cannot reach us."

Her clarification makes sense, strategically and otherwise. "A sound decision. It is far easier to negotiate when one is not trapped against a corner unarmed. Warrior's luck to you and your people in this."

"She must have been so worried," Adia murmurs, but she tries not to let herself get emotional over their separation. He was able to survive and find his way back to her, and that's what matters. "What do the Shontine look like? Is there a limit to what other species you can use for a host?"

His idea for relocation intrigues her. It's something that has crossed her mind once in a while when thinking of her own people. "It's certainly possible... but you could only move so many people at a time. And portals aren't always stable. You'd need to coordinate everything in advance."

She takes a sip of her coffee, then nods quickly in response to his words. "Yes, exactly. And thank you. We're closer than ever to finding Earth, but it's still a tense situation." She pauses a moment herself, then asks, "Do all the K'Da and Shontine get along? That is... do you have a government? Do people generally agree on what to do when it comes to the war?"

"Yes, she was," Faris agrees, flicking his ears back for a moment as he recalls how surprised and relieved Chanath and their shipmates were to see him return. "The Shontine are very like humans in many ways. More varied in coloration and with broader backs and shoulders, from what I have seen of your people." Her other question is answered with a dip of the head, having picked up on human mannerisms a bit during his time trapped here. "It is unclear what makes one species suitable and another not, but limits do exist. I could not wrap myself around a living plant, for example, but humans are quite compatible."

He is also in agreement with her analysis of the relocation idea. "It would. It presents the same logistical difficulties of colonization, with additional problems. I am certain the fleet would wish to bring our ships along, as well."

Faris draws himself up a little, proud of his peoples and all they've accomplished together, despite the threat of annihilation. "There are minor arguments, yes, disagreements on battle plans or personal opinions, as with all species. But we are all in agreement to work for the greater good of the people, to do what must be done to allow us our survival. The K'da cannot live alone and the Shontine do not wish to, so together we reach for agreement between us all. Each ship is represented in council by a K'da/Shontin pair and one Shontin that is not a host, so that all voices are heard." He tilts his head slightly, and asks, "How is it with your people?"

"That must make it easier for you, then, to be in the Nexus. This place is full of humans." She grins briefly before mulling over his description of the Shontine. "Are there other humanoid aliens where you're from? What did your original hosts look like?"

She blinks when he mentions bringing along ships. "Some people have done that. A ship, at least. But the portals on the ground, from what I've seen, aren't large enough to accommodate entire ships... do you have faster-than-light travel? How long does it take you to get anywhere?"

It is a relief to hear that his people get along so well. That sort of unity is of utmost importance when facing an enemy. But when he asks of her own government, her expression turns to worry. "It's, um... not quite as harmonious as that," she admits. "We have a president, a commander of the military, and the Quorum -- that's a legislative body of twelve representatives, one for each former colony."

Her gaze drops to her coffee. "For the most part, we get along, but we've had some rough patches... our former president was on trial for colluding with the Cylons when we were under Occupation, but he was recently acquitted. That's stirred up some bad feelings. People wanted someone to blame for what happened."

"It is, but not all humans would be welcome to the idea, and it is not honorable to use another person against their will. I was fortunate to find a human who bore many tattoos and did not mind temporarily gaining another." The word 'humanoid' intrigues him, though he can see why she would use it. It makes sense to use one's own species as a basic point of comparison. "There surely are, though I have not seen them all myself. The Dhaghem may have been similar; the old songs are more concerned with honoring their heroism and sacrifice than what they looked like."

So many questions! It has been a while since he's answered this many, but a warrior is patient, and this human's enthusiasm for learning is commendable. It reminds him a little of the last breeding cycle, when the population had many curious cubs. "We do, though it still takes a great deal of time to travel. We have been traveling for two of your years, but I do not know your distance units well enough to say how far we have come."

Unity is in his nature, as one might expect. A K'da who doesn't care about others is a dead K'da, so cooperation is a matter of life and death, even without the Valahgua to worry about. Her human government sounds much more chaotic, though not surprising. "Though justice and vengeance often have the same result, they must not be confused for the other. Was the trial a fair one?"

Edited 2017-07-30 19:44 (UTC)

Well, it is a rather intimate relationship, to have a being that can still see, hear, and feel living on your body, but she likes to think that she'd be willing to be a K'Da's host if they had no other options. "People in the Nexus can be very generous, but all the same, I'm glad you now have a reliable way back to your host."

She'd be embarrassed to realize that she's asking a lot of questions, but it's not often that she gets to meet an alien, even in the Nexus, and considering how similar their plights are, she'd like to learn as much as she can. "We have FTL drives, too. They use a kind of teleportation technology, but it's very limited. I've often wondered if it would be possible to use those drives to teleport here, but I'm not an engineer. It would solve the problem of only being able to move a few people at a time, though."

It is fortunate for the humans that their enemy is not the united front that they present themselves to be, but Adia has only scratched the surface of this particular reality. For now, she takes a small sip of coffee and wonders if her people will ever learn to permanently set aside their differences. "I think so. The tribunal wasn't bribed or blackmailed. They said there wasn't enough evidence to convict him... treason is a death sentence. They took their deliberation seriously."

He dips his head against in acknowledgment and agreement. As interesting and sometimes fun as the Nexus has been, it was a relief to see his beloved Chanath again. The PINpoint clipped to his ear, like a Bluetooth headset, is small but simple, and priceless beyond measure to him.

Faris truly doesn't mind her asking so much. He has the knowledge to spare, and though he's never been a teacher, learning and bettering oneself is never a bad thing. She's different enough from the humans he's met too, sparking his own curiosity, and it's only fair to give if one intends to ask for something in return. "I am not an engineer either, but if such a thing is possible, it would save both time and resources. But we cannot attempt this until there is somewhere to go."

A death sentence... the idea of execution is a drastic one, from a K'da's point of view, but sometimes a necessary evil. Still, this person she speaks of avoided that fate, so there's little reason to say so. "That is good. Your people must prove guilt rather than innocence. A guilty party may yet be punished, but the innocent can not have their punishment reversed."

"Of course," she agrees, although her thoughts are partly elsewhere. Should she be trying to find a portal to an uninhabited world, too? She had considered, perhaps as a last resort, that her people could relocated in the Nexus. But maybe a more stable environment is what they need, too. "If you have your ships, you could also try a portal that leads directly into space, but that's probably riskier... and I don't think those portals are as stable."

Adia nods. "It's not an ideal that's always followed, especially in wartime, but it's what we strive for." She frowns at a recent memory. "The Cylons did not. At least when it came to humans. It's one of the reasons the coalition government they forced upon us failed. But, I mean... how can you trust a group of people who tried to kill you, and that you killed in turn? It's why I'm not hopeful about any peaceful resolution... at least until we find Earth."

"Yes, there is that risk," Faris agrees. "And our star charts may be useless after such a move, making navigation difficult. It is not without its problems. The risks must be carefully measured."

He has to admit that she has a point. If the Valahgua came to the Shontine and K'da and asked for peace, he imagines that his own peoples would dismiss the possibility outright for similar reasons. Especially with the Death still in the hands of their enemy. "Trust is a fragile thing, woven with the delicate threads of hope. It does not take a sharp claw to break it."

"Exactly," she replies. "I've spent a lot of time when I first came to the Nexus looking up star charts from Earth's perspective, but I'm not an astronavigator, and I'm not sure it would help, even if I were. Do you think there are any humans in your universe? You may even have an Earth, but you're in a completely different galaxy."

His statement rings true. She's often been told that she trusts too easily, but even she'd be hard-pressed to take a Cylon at his or her word after what happened. "Good thing you at least have that trust among your own people. My name is Adia, by the way. Thank you for answering my questions... I never thought I'd meet someone going through such similar circumstances." And a dragon, no less.

"I am told that some of our other scout ships have contacted humans," Faris admits readily. "I do not know if there is an Earth, or where it may be. It is possible."

He drops his lower jaw slightly in a K'da smile. "I am Faris. I must also thank you for answering mine. I also did not expect to find such close similarities with the struggles of my peoples." As sad as it is that those parallels exist, that more people should have to suffer, a shared burden is a lessened one, and he appreciates the opportunity.

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