Song of the Void

”Culture shock is a rather common phenomenon when it comes to contact between races. Most of the time diplomats and other first contact personnel are trained to handle surprises and they are also briefed on the cultures of other races when such information is available. But what happens after the first contact situation and the initial diplomatic stage have passed? If friendly relations are established, traders, mercenaries, spies, and general adventurers flow across the borders. Inevitably cultures will clash, and these people are not diplomats. Neither are they people who handle such shocks well, at least not all of them. That’s where trouble comes to the picture. It’s all well and good to preach tolerance, but even tolerance takes you only so far. Tolerating someone stabbing you in the gut because of some perceived slight doesn’t make you any more likely to survive.”

- High Ambassador of the Mrrroww

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Ka’eo looked at his surroundings brimming with curiosity. He had been told that he would become part of an important hunting pack on a ship of a Predator that could kill all of them with a flick of her finger. That was the story at least. Working together with a Predator was somewhat out of the ordinary from the outset, but it was not the first time. There were some Predators that could be reasoned with, and all hunters respected strength, of which this Predator seemed to have more than enough. It might create more problems working with so many Prey actually. Ka’eo had no problems with it, but he was in the minority when it came to that opinion. Others usually pushed in their more aggressive opinions, and he didn’t care enough to defend the Prey that could not defend themselves. He would just have to see how things turned out this time.

The ship felt…odd. There was always a certain feeling present on Dashane ships, a feeling that was gone when on Haven or the ships of other races. On this ship, the feeling wasn’t just gone, but it seemed like the whole ship was filled with an opposite feeling. It was an odd concept. He wouldn’t have been able to explain the original feeling, so how could he know that this ship felt the opposite? He just did. It was his sense as a hunter. The hunters usually associated this sort of feeling with powerful psionics, but how could an entire ship feel of psionics? The feeling wasn’t unpleasant exactly, but it was a bit disconcerting.

As he stepped out from the chamber he had been ‘warped' to, he noticed that he was not the only arrival. That was another intriguing concept, warping. At one moment he was in one place, and the next moment he was somewhere else entirely. That would take some getting used to. The beings coming from similar chambers as he were not all Dashane. There were also three Mrrroww and a Guardian. The Guardians he could respect. The stoic plant creatures were not hunters, but they were powerful. They were also honorable in their own way. The cats? They were a mixed bag.

Four other Dashane also arrived the same way he did, and to his surprise, he recognized all of them. They all had at least two things in common. They were all skilled hunters, but they were all similar to him in that they too didn't have that disdain for Prey. Perhaps this could work after all. They all nodded to each other in greeting and silent recognition of the facts. The Guardian just stood silently to the side as well. The cats were less silent. The trio was keeping up a constant stream of conversation in their own language. Or to be more precise, the one with a short golden fur and a large mane was keeping up a conversation with a large cat on one of those floating pillows. The third one, the black short-furred female, kept a close eye on the Dashane.

That one had seen battle. Judging from her eyes, a lot of battle. She still had that battlefield wariness about her that didn’t just leave after the battle ended. And she was intelligent enough to keep an eye on a possible threat that the Dashane could pose. She, of course, didn't know that the Dashane would not be starting anything, so she was wary. She felt like a warrior. That was the air around her. She might have been a worthy hunter at some point, before seeing too much battle and blood. Now she was a warrior. Ka’eo could respect that. The difference between a warrior and a hunter was not a large one, and even some Dashane got the two mixed.

A pair of Mrrroww came from the only hallway that didn’t end up in a chamber similar to the ones they had all arrived at. The first was one of those cats on pillows, while the other one was someone he recognized. “Moonshadow.” He greeted with some satisfaction. They had hunted together before. He gave her the hunters greeting by pointing his nails at the floor, and the other Dashane noted the gesture. He would’ve pointed a spear at the floor if he was using one, but nails would do as well.

“Ka’eo.” Moonshadow returned the gesture with a savage grin. “It’s good to see you.”

“High Ambassador.” The gold-furred male Mrrroww stated in a slightly questioning tone. Ka’eo knew enough about the other races that the cat felt slighted that Moonshadow had greeted Ka’eo and the Dashane first. Silly Prey.

“Prince Hazeem.” Moonshadow gave a small nod. “I did not expect you to be among the first ones sent.”

‘Ah, that explains it.’ Ka’eo thought to himself. Princes and the like were usually rather puffed up and full of themselves. Though, if he remembered correctly from their earlier discussion with Moonshadow, the Mrrroww didn’t function as a monarchy. Maybe it was a clan thing?

“Who else would they send on such an important mission?” The male Mrrroww asked a little haughtily, though perhaps that was an unfair judgement. For all Ka’eo knew, that self-confidence was earned.

As if to answer that question without actually answering it, Moonshadow went to the warrior female that was of the same clan as her. Panthers if Ka’eo remembered the term correctly. “Kurnau. It’s good to see you again. I wasn’t sure you would come.”

The Mrrroww called Kurnau briefly touched noses with Moonshadow. A rather blatant gesture of closeness as far as Ka’eo knew. “Moonshadow. I wasn’t sure either until I got here. However, I need answers, and I believe I can get them here.”

“Well, Selendil has more knowledge about the Shinzen than most, so perhaps she can help you with that.” Moonshadow replied before mentioning something else in their own language.

‘Shinzen? Well, that explains her warrior nature and constant vigilance. Not to mention the harried nervousness.’ Ka’eo thought to himself. The Dashane were aware of the recent troubles the Mrrroww had faced. Some Dashane considered hunting for information to be a good alternative to hunting live Prey. They were good at that hunt as well.

“Yes, yes, that’s all very interesting, but can we get on with it?” Prince Hazeem demanded. “Standing around here isn’t very productive, and I believe we’ve fulfilled the conditions demanded by politeness. I see the owner of the vessel did not come to greet us.” That was something that actually interested Ka’eo as well, though he would’ve phrased it differently.

“As much as I loathe to agree with the prince on anything, he’s not wrong there.” The cat on the pillow expressed his reluctant support. “Standing around here is not very productive.”

“Lilly here will be showing you to your quarters. In the meantime, I will be taking the hunters to meet with Selendil. She was still working the kinks out of the main core a few moments ago, and we really don’t want any trouble to occur with the main reactor core.” Moonshadow explained patiently in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone. She then turned to the Guardian. “I believe Cherryblossom already explained the general outlines to you. We have a transporter ready to take you to the hydroponics.” The Guardian simply nodded in reply.

‘Taciturn as ever.’ Ka’eo thought to himself. The Guardians were not really ones for ceremony either, so it was understandable that they got straight to business.

“Wait, the Dashane are meeting the owner of the ship first?” Prince Hazeem demanded in an indignant voice. Ka’eo’s respect for the prince fell a notch. The cat was too focused on minor details like preference based on perceived rank.

“Yes.” Moonshadow stated simply and her voice got a bit colder. “We don’t need anyone here that feels they deserve anything just because their parents are royalty among their clan. You’re here because the High Command made a request and Selendil agreed to that request on my advice. She did not ask you to come here and I would appreciate it if you didn’t turn me into a liar by making my advice wrong. She will get to you when she gets to you. Incidentally, any training that you will receive will also come when she deems it necessary and appropriate. And if you have trouble with that, you can get transported off the ship right now.” The very specific description was a quite obvious stab at the prince.

At least the prince had the self-awareness to look contrite instead of offended. That brought him back a notch in Ka’eo’s eyes. He might be a twerp, but he could learn. The Dashane has seen the prince’s type among their own often enough. Those people always either learned to deal with their hang-ups or died. It was good to see that the owner of the ship was taking a proper stance from the very beginning. If you indulged these kinds of people, they would learn to expect such indulgences later. In fact, unless Ka’eo’s guess was wrong, the prince was acting this way mostly because that was expected of him. Maybe back where he came from, he had to act this way, in which case he might be able to adapt quickly. Or not, in which case it would be fun to see him learn.

With a flick of her tail, Moonshadow led the Dashane to a transport platform that rapidly flew them through the empty area that seemed to run through the heart of the ship, connecting the decks together. “Would this large empty space not be a big structural weakness in addition to being a waste of space? There are simpler ways to move around.” One of the other hunters voiced the question they all had.

Moonshadow nodded. "I asked the same when I came on board, and I got a rather long explanation. I'll summarize some of what I remember. The structural integrity is not an issue due to the field that maintains that very thing. If that field fails, we have bigger problems than some empty space. Additionally, the empty space actually serves a purpose aside from transportation. One thing you will quickly learn is that on Dhar vessels the rooms and even decks can shift to suit the needs of the crew. Some empty space is useful to accommodate for such shifting. Additionally, it apparently has something to do with the resonance of the material that makes up the ship, but I won’t pretend to understand what that has to do with anything.”

The Dashane all nodded. They didn’t really understand fully, but that wasn’t the point. What they needed to know was that the space actually had a purpose. Some species made purely aesthetic choices when it came to building ships, even to the point of compromising the ship’s practical usefulness. All they wanted was to know if this was such an aesthetic choice, or if it was something built for an actual reason. They might have thought a bit less of the Predator if it was an aesthetic choice, but mainly they would just learn more of her due to such choices.

They were all brought to the heart of the ship, and the closer they got the more restless they all became. They could sense two important things that their guide seemed entirely unaware of. They could sense the enormous power of the Predator, and they could also sense that power containing something extremely dangerous and wonderful. It seemed like they were sensing the beginning of everything, except that the beginning was like a beast shackled by powers that nothing could avoid, such as time.

As Moonshadow stepped off the transporter platform, she noted that none of the Dashane had followed her. With a small mental grin, she too stayed next to the transporter. “I was told it could be dangerous going further, so we’ll have to wait for a short time.”

“That’s fine. We can wait here. No rush.” Kamaile, one of the other hunters stated with a high-pitched voice and Ka’eo could sense her frills shaking. He would’ve judged her for such a display, if not for his own frills doing the same.

“I think she’s done anyway.” He added as his senses told him that a cover had been thrown over the power they had sensed earlier. Now that feeling that had scared them earlier was largely absent. The Predator also pulled back her own claws and hid her power behind a façade that the other races could not see through. Or at least that’s what it felt like.

They all watched as a tall being with long limbs and several long head-tails came through the open doorway that was immediately covered by a field of energy that didn’t allow anyone to see through. The Dashane had noted the lack of closed doors before, but it seemed this place was an exception. The being with the skin that was almost white-ish blue in places and black in others looked at them with eyes that seemed bottomless wells of power. They also noted another sharp tail above her hips. They stared at each other for a handful of tense seconds.

“Welcome aboard the Enduring Symphony.” The being finally spoke, releasing the tension in their bodies. “I will keep this brief. I’ve been led to believe that the Dashane are worthy of being part of my crew. That you bring something that others would not. We shall see. You have already no doubt noticed that the ship has other races as well. They too bring something that others do not, and that includes you. No, they are not as adept as hunting as you, and few of them will be able to best you in battle. That does not matter. That’s not why they are here. That’s why you are here. And ultimately, that’s why I am here. I will not have you look down on the others because of their deficiencies. On the other hand, I will not allow them to do the same either. If any of you will have trouble with this concept, then tough luck. I will break that attitude out of you, and you will not enjoy the process. Am I understood?”

"We have heard and understood," Ka'eo stated. He liked where this was going. Now he almost hoped a few of the more aggressive Dashane would come along, just so he could see them broken.

“Now. You have stepped on a journey, a hunt that will see you grow stronger and bring you to places you would never get without my assistance. In return, you will fight and kill on my commands. That is our bargain. I don’t need murderers or hunters that can’t take orders. What I need are people with skill and the intelligence to apply their skills where and when I so choose. Am I understood?” Selendil repeated the question.

"We have heard and understood," Ka'eo stated again and the others nodded. They really liked where this was going.

“Now. Your Master of Hunt has not yet arrived. When they do arrive, you are free to arrange yourself in whatever rankings you see fit. Until then, you,” Selendil pointed at Ka’eo. “are in command. I lead this ship, and the ship’s AI often speaks in my stead. You will meet her later. Aside from that, a human female named Amaterasu is my second in command. If you want a Dashane in that position, take it up with her and prove yourselves worthy. Be aware though, that the ability to inflict violence is not the quality I seek from the person in that position, and she serves her purpose well. Barring that, you already met the Mrrroww called Lilly. She handles personnel matters, though she doesn’t hold command over you. I expect that your Master of Hunt will take over that duty when dealing with the Dashane. Any questions?” Selendil looked at them expectantly.

“What is in there?” Ka’eo asked with reverence in his voice as he pointed at the door behind Selendil.

“That would be the main power core of the ship. Your duties will include keeping everyone that is not me away from the core. If you sensed even a bit of what was going on earlier, you also understand why.” Selendil gave a really curt explanation.

The Dashane nodded. They understood. Or at least they understood enough.

------

"Well, that didn't go well," Clawsome stated, not hiding his glee at Hazeem’s misfortune.

"No. No, it didn't." Hazeem admitted, outwardly displeased. Yet internally he wasn’t all that unhappy. Ka’eo had been right in his analysis. Hazeem didn’t act like a ranking obsessed twat because he wanted to. He did it because that was expected of him. Among the Lion Clan, rankings and observing the accompanying preferential treatment were vitally important. The shift in what was expected of him was jarring, but not entirely unwelcome.

“You will find that Selendil has little regard for ranks or titles you may hold among our people. To her, all that matters is what you can do, and if you’re annoying or not. If you want respect from her, you will have to earn it, either with actions or with ideas.” Lilly explained as she led the group of Deities towards their accommodations. She had already lost any reverence towards Deities after having spent some time with Selendil. Some of the Keeper’s disdain had rubbed off on her. The Dashane had also ignored the halos above the Deities heads, mostly because to them such things were largely irrelevant.

"Good to know," Kurnau commented curtly. She had been personally given this assignment by the Primaris. It was something of a reward for the job well done during the Shinzen invasion. It was kind of a shitty reward, but it was what she had requested as soon as she heard about the opportunity.

“Yes, too bad that your father’s position as an Emir will not be relevant here Hazeem.” Clawsome, on the other hand, was taking the opportunity to vent some of his earlier frustrations.

“Doesn’t mean I lost the ability to kick your ass Clawy," Hazeem stated with a nasty grin. The two had been rivals for a while as they were both young and promising Deities. A lot was expected of both of them.

"Just don't do it here in the hallways," Lilly interjected.

"Yes, it would be somewhat unfortunate if you made a hole in the hull and got sucked away," Kurnau said a bit sarcastically.

“Oh, you won’t have to worry about that. None of you three will be able to even scratch the walls, not to mention the outer hull.” Lilly announced with a merry tone. “We just wouldn’t want you to make a mess. Also, there are some people on the ship that could get injured, so…”

“Wait, what do you mean we can’t even damage the walls?” Hazeem asked suddenly intrigued.

“Ah, well, the ship is built to resist psionic attacks. It would take someone much stronger than either of you to actually overcome that resistance. Also, the ship is protected by a structural integrity field, so until you can overcome the power supplied by the main core, no damage can be inflicted.” Lilly explained.

“That’s…reassuring?” Kurnau said slightly questioningly after a moment of tense silence.

“So who’s the strongest person on this ship? Aside from the owner of course.” Clawsome asked.

“That would most likely be Amaterasu. She’s the First Officer. Moonshadow technically might be able to match her, but it’s hard to tell. Xiaoli is also extremely skilled, but a bit lacking in pure power for the time being. I expect that will change soon.” Lilly speculated. They had not actually ranked the people on board in any way so far.

“What makes you say that?” Kurnau asked curiously.

"She's receiving personal tutoring from Selendil on occasion. Apparently, she should be pretty close to receiving two halos, but she just needs a bit of a push. She's also focusing on her base strength first." Lilly liked to gossip, and the three Deities all noted they had found a nice source of information.