<> <> <> * Hestia follows, trying to piece this together. "So... why the disappearing act?" * Zeke follows as well. It's a party! * Kyle follows! Party with the Mupploths! (Back from medicine time.) I think we met some cousins of yours on another planet. * Amadeus nods in agreement. He's pretty quiet. Maybe digesting all of the new information thrown at him. <> "We did not ... disappear. We stop...ped existing." (Oh, well that's alright then. *reaches for her keys*) * Kyle blinks. ... Stopped existing? <> "We are Guuub. But ... we are not the Guuub. With the Duekti and the Cxxkrchk, the Guuub could not be. So we .... stopped being." * Hestia really does not look like she wants to be having this convo while she plays Indiana Jones, but speaks anyway. "I get it. If you didn't want them to track you down, you had to wipe evidence of yourselves out." (I love that ATCverse species have three settings when conquering forces come calling.) (Practically everyone: Die out. Sleythin, Guuub, a couple others: Ninja vanish. Humans: Saturation fire.) ('s what we get for being the least civilized species in the galaxy.) (Haha. "Too stupid to surrender," that's humanity.) <> "Not just. These... are not Guuub." <> (Welp, I'm out of ideas. Over to Amadeus.) * Zeke tromps along. He states, "By moving to a new form, you changed your being as well." * Kyle carefully navigates his way down. "That's just confusing." <> "Yes. We are not Guuub. We sought ... peace as lesser selves." * Hestia raises an eyebrow. "Impressive technology to pull off what I think you're saying." * Amadeus blinks. "So you changed your species." Pause. "Holy Space Jesus." That's pretty damn wacky. * Amadeus peers at the head !Guuub. "You must be taxing that brain to its fullest just to be able to talk to us." "It is what ... had to be. We tired of being big. Instead we thought to be ... less." <> * Zeke looks around as they walk, and says in reply after a few moments, "Survival puts pressure on all living beings." <> I suppose a world of giant trees would have giant natives... <> "These ... were our ships.": * Amadeus whistles, and he walks over to one of them to get a better look. * Kyle goes to investigate the ships! <> <> "Our... cousins. Were helpers, before we became them." * Tomas nods, "Being a dog wouldn't be so bad if it came to it." * Amadeus looks over at the foreman, trying not to look a little horrified. But it's hard. He's obviously not sure what to say. "It is simpler to be." Makes me wonder what they thought about it. * Hestia goes to examine a ship! <> <> "What... specifically do you look for?" * Zeke states, "The abiltiy to bypass, disable, and/or withstand interdiction devices." Yeah, the Deukti are doing this interdiction thing that really messes with interstellar travel. * Hestia scratches the base of her neck with one finger a bit. "Well, that's one thing, yes..." <> "Those... are sensitive devices. Time may have ... broken them. But we can look." <> ~ I liked it better when the story was different. Somehow this is creepy to me now. ~ * Zeke replies, ~ Like the Sleythin in response to the Cxxkrchk, they sacrificed freedom for safety. Survival. The method is... unusual, but the necessity is not. ~ ~What else are you looking for Hestia?~ ~ Answers. I'm not sure on the shape of the questions yet. ~ <> * Hestia watches the to-do carefully. ~ You said the other ones of these you found carried some sort of... death plague, right? And if these... whatever they ares, are actually Guuub, how the hell did they get where you found them? ~ <> "There ... it is." (so, what. we make subspace guacamole and smear it on the ship?) * Kyle goes to inspect the item. ~They may have been taken from that location. It's possible those weren't actually Guuub, just... whatever it was before they were Guuub.~ <> * Kyle scratches his head. "Well, it's some sort of organic processor. But other than that I really got no clue." I could... probably figure out what it does. But it'll take a really freakin' long time. * Hestia glances at it. "It's almost as if you hired a systems specialist to do this sort of thing. May I?" Be my guest. * Hestia handles an artichoke.exe! She spins it around a moment, then grabs one of the cables. "Not silicon plus-based, obviously, so mass producing's going to be hard, but integrating it with what we have shouldn't be a problem. The Breaker won't be restricted by the Duektibot interdictors, at least." That was our immediate goal, so that is satisfactory. * Zeke's holoface smiles slightly. "It may involve us significantly in the fighting to come, however." (Oh man, almost 10. Okay, we need to work to a close, I am v. close to just passing out.) * Kyle thinks, then asks the Mupploths. "Do you perhaps have more of these, or a way to grow them?" (Oh no!) "Per-haps. More could be found. Growing... our builders are very old. Maybe it could be done." (Nothing else from anyone?) * Hestia spins the artichoke in her hand. "I guess we'll see once it's installed..." (Okay then.) <>