January 18, 2019, 3:33 pm.

Okay. Yes, Smoulder, I know you're a master of hopping. But teleporting isn't quite the same. As I'm pointing out this minor difference, I'm broken out of my thoughts by Josh's sudden movement.

"Finally!" Josh exclaims before slumping over behind us.

"I guess he finished," I whisper to Smoulder while Roberts ensures Josh doesn't smack his head. I wonder what Josh's intelligence is. Does it apply a modifier for when we're trying to complete these quests?

Smoulder doesn't appreciate me trying to change the subject and reminds me that I need to try hopping while holding her tight.

"Excellent. Once Josh recovers, I think it's time to continue exploring. We'll double-check the Crew Quarters then see if we can't find another challenge," Beth decides, tossing the book she was perusing into the scattered pile.

While she's doing that, I put Smoulder in her pocket, making triple sure that my shield is wrapped around her. I don't feel entirely ready to subject her to this, but it was my idea.

So, with a deep breath, I teleport across the room. Then I check to make sure Smoulder's okay, flicking a glance at her status even as I'm pulling her out of my pocket. She didn't take so much as a single point of damage. Cuddling her close, I whisper, "that was easier than I expected."

Smoulder just nuzzles me back while conveying a feeling that can best be summed up as, "I told you so." Admitting the foolishness of my trepidation, I look back to the others and the pile of miscellaneous loot we've gathered.

Not willing to leave anything behind, I start preparing it for dimensional storage.

Stacking everything neatly, I set aside one copy of each of the books. There are three different books from what I can see, all about different K'tharn cultures from before their apocalypse. Might be worth something to Rufka or Tipan, but we've got at least six of every book, so I'm keeping copies for myself.

We all take one of the pads as well. They're a little large, roughly twenty by ten cm. I imagine they're sized for the Yrken. When I started packing things away, Beth was tinkering with one of the pads, she determined that we could use them to bring up any aspect of the System we'd interacted with. This includes things we'd only glanced at, such as the abilities in the shop as well as the maps and the data on the consoles. Pretty useful feature.

The lunchboxes turn out to be titanium that I can manipulate. I keep one lunchbox intact which I put my K'tharn books in, but the rest become raw material. They only add up to a kilo, but that's still a decent amount of titanium. I'm not sure it'll be more effective than steel, but I can't wait to test it.

Everything we didn't set aside; I wrap into several large bundles that I put in my pack.

Then we continue our way down the tower, quickly searching through the Crew Quarters below. Now that we've found something, Beth doesn't want to leave any room unchecked. Even so, the search is only cursory, and we split into teams of two on each floor to cover ground faster.

Roberts and I are checking the floor above the cafeteria when we stumble across a room that doesn't immediately swing open. When Roberts pushes against it, it flashes the notification about citizen authorization then opens. This room isn't empty. Calling out to Beth, we stay out of the room even as I note its contents. Against the far wall is a humming machine covered in glass, like a grocery store frozen foods cooler. There's also a desk with its matching chair and an end table. All sized for a 3-meter tall creature of course.

"What'd you find," Beth asks when she and Josh run over.

"I'm not certain, but I believe we've found an office," Roberts replies as Beth approaches the room.

Scanning the room through the open doorway, Beth doesn't say anything.

Taking our cue from her, we all remain silent. That is until Roberts decides to ask," what do you think? Should we investigate?"

"Yeah. I just don't want to look in that thing," she gestures at the frozen foods cooler with a shudder. "I'm afraid we're going to find a half-rotten, what did you call them?"

"Orc," Josh answers with a grin, looking in with interest.

"Yeah, a half-rotten orc."

"Well, if that's your concern, I can check. I've seen far worse than a rotten cadaver," Roberts offers, his transparent staff resting above his shoulder. His armour is interesting. There are times I can't tell it's there. Like now.

"That'd be great," Beth motions him forwards while forming a large pistol out of Umbra. When did she add that to her arsenal?

Beth notices me staring and explains as Roberts cautiously approaches the machine, poking it with his staff.

"The rifle isn't useful in close quarters. Or against quick targets or crowds. I figured I should have a couple more options," she demonstrates, shifting the pistol to some sort of assault rifle.

"Wow. You're a lot quicker with that," I observe.

"Yep. Turns out it only takes a long time to form it the first time. Fairly handy."

"Yeah, no kidding," I reply as we look back into the room. Roberts is standing next to the machine, standing on his tiptoes to peek inside.

"Interesting," he mumbles before carefully climbing up the machine to get a better view.

"It appears to be a stasis chamber of some kind. An empty stasis chamber," Roberts calls from his balanced perch.

"Good. Josh, can you watch the door while we search the room," Beth requests as we step inside.

As Josh mumbles his assent, we move into the room. Beth motions me towards the desk while she investigates the end table. Flying up to the table, I discover it's strewn with several plastic pages similar to the ones in the books we've found so far. But these are all loose and it looks as though whoever was using them was writing on them freehand. I try to read them, but whoever used this desk their notes are barely legible.

After reading through half of them, I realize they're crossing parts of the writing out, then scribbling notes in the margins.

"Tastes better with…"

"... need to add ….. ginseng then…"

"Only remove roast …... the oven after…"

As I rifle through the notes, I mention, "I think this may have been the cook's room."

"See if you can find anything about the kitchen. I'd like to check in there if it doesn't take too long," Beth requests as I hear a thunk from her direction. She's pulling open a drawer in the end table, checking inside.

"Sure," I reply while trying to sort the notes. Okay, recipes here. More recipes there. Seriously, I don't think there's anything but recipes. How many different ways do you need to prepare, let's see, Vhethal? Wait, isn't that the name of the deer-thing we ate the first day? Huh, maybe Roberts would like these.

I spend five minutes searching through the desk's contents, but I come up empty. The main thing I got out of reading through all these recipes, is hungry.

"I don't think there's anything but recipes here," I tell them as I search through my neat stacks of plastic while sharing more fruit jerky with Smoulder. I got a little better at reading the hand-scratch writing, so now the recipes are organized by meat, fish, fowl and baking.

"No sign of anything useful in the cabinet either. Not a huge loss. It's unlikely there would be much of use in the larder anyway. Let's keep moving," Beth directs us as we once more split into teams.

"Thought you might want these," I say as I proffer the recipes to Roberts.

"Thank you, Alexis. Are these local recipes? Hmm. Yes, these will prove to be interesting. I'm not certain how compatible we'll be with these creatures, but it appears they at least prepared similar foods," Roberts replies as he accepts the recipes, rifling through them as we walk.

We don't find anything else, additional stasis chambers or otherwise as we sweep the rest of the floor.

We check the Cafeteria again quickly, Beth checking to see if having the pads or the recipes helps with the door but nothing happens. So, we go loping down the ridiculous stairs to the floor below. As is becoming our standard routine, Roberts and I start with the room on the right while Josh and Beth go left. The moment we touch the door, I call out.

"We've got another one," I tell Beth and Josh as they join us.

"We might have something on the other side too. Door's partially open but it seems to be stuck," Beth informs me while Roberts cautiously steps inside the room, investigating the stasis chamber.

The former occupant seems to have had a thing for model ships. Like the cook's room, the room has a giant chair and desk. But they're frankly overshadowed by the prominent feature of this room. The numerous display cases, which clutter the space as if the owner had run out of room, but insisted on having all the models close. Each case contains intricately detailed miniature ships, all neatly arranged, a complete contrast to the display cases themselves.

Focusing on the model of a ship that seems familiar, the system reveals the name is the Thenite Skyscreamer. Its blocky design has two nasty-looking spikes projecting from either side of its cabin. It's in a stand next to a spherical ship with several tubes sticking out of its back that the system labels as a "Phothen World-ship." When I look back at the Thenite Skyscreamer, I notice the prompts.

"Would you like to know more? Obtain the codex on the Thenite Skyscreamer for 18.6 focus and 13.7 facet."

"Would you like to know more? Obtain the codex on the Phothen World-ship for 18.6 focus and 13.7 facet."

"Wow. Apparently, I can download a codex for each of these," I mention as I gesture around the room at the models.

"Interesting. That might give us a lot of useful information. Once we're sure the room is safe, you should download a few," Beth suggests as we wait for Roberts. He's balanced on the edge of the chamber gazing inside.

"Yes. About that. It would appear we've found someone. I think they're still alive," Roberts informs us, still hanging on the edge.

"Interesting. Are they asleep or in stasis or what?" Beth asks while we all edge closer to the humming machine.

"Hold on," Roberts responds as he closes his eyes while staring at the occupant. Yep, Roberts is capable of staring with his eyes closed. It's kind of impressive really.

"Ah. It looks like they're in stasis. It would appear he is greatly injured. I can't do anything at the moment, but I believe I could restore him if we were to bring him out," Roberts answers before jumping down next to us.

"Okay, let's see what we can find first. I'd rather not be messing with this with no understanding of what's keeping them in there. Alexis, do you have a codex for these people?" Beth checks as she moves to the end table.

"Huh. Not yet. One sec," I reply as I fly above the Yrken in the chamber. Yeah, it's an orc all right. This specimen is roughly three and a half metres tall.

“Creature analyzed: Yrken. Gene-seed B"

"Yrken are a well-established and loyal servitor race. Trading their freedom for ensured genetic continuity, the Yrken are held in great esteem for their continual efforts on behalf of the Creators."

"Name: Lugett Ell

"Attributes: Physical; Extreme, Mobility; Extreme, Magic; Extreme, Awareness; Extreme."

"Attacks: Restricted."

"Defences: Restricted."

"Would you like to know more? Obtain the codex on the Yrken Builders for 18.6 focus and 13.7 facet."

"Okay. I have the codex available to me. I'm just gonna lie down first though," I tell the others as I float to a spot near the floor, pulling my pack off to use as a pillow.

Before I can get settled in, Beth objects, "Hold on, kid. If it's going to put you out, I'd like to secure the floor first."

"Oh. Right. Sorry," I apologize as I shrug my pack back on.

"No problem kid. I appreciate the enthusiasm," Beth reassures me while we continue searching the room. By the time we're done, I've received more than a hundred different 'Would you like to know more?' notifications. There are so many interesting ships. The Alston Library Ship has no visible weapons or protrusions unlike most of the other ships. It's blocky form simply resembles a thick plus (+) symbol.

There's one which appears to be a specific ship. Abapira's Wanderer is a strange mish-mash of parts that seems as though it's been blown apart several times before being reassembled. I'm not certain, but it seems like it started life as a small fighter but now it's much larger and more durable. I bet there's quite a story there.

There's another of the pads in the end table but otherwise, the room only holds the Yrken and the model ships.

Since we already know the room across the hall isn't empty, Josh leads the way directly there. Like Beth was saying, the door is stuck. I'm not able to manipulate it, the door having the same resistance as the rest of the ship. There's an opening in the upper corner which I could fly through, but Josh steps forward and manages to force the door wide enough for each of them to squeeze through as well.

We don't immediately enter though, Beth scanning the room for a minute before gesturing Roberts forwards to check the chamber.

"Empty," He declares as Beth and I enter, "and this one doesn't seem to be functional."

This room has several containers scattered around the corners. When we investigate them, they're all empty except for a couple of pieces that may be fasteners. The fasteners appear to be made of the same material as the walls, highly resistant to my manipulation skills.

"Whatever was here, it seems like someone took it all," Beth observes as we look at where the contents of the stasis chamber appear to have been removed.

"So it would appear. I surmise these are the quarters of one of those skeletons we found," Roberts agrees as we move to the next room. We don't find any additional stasis chambers in the remaining rooms on this level, but we do discover three standing devices in the normally empty chamber at the end.

"Object analyzed. Yrken cleansing unit. This simple device uses pressurized water to cleanse a Yrken of whatever filth and grime that may buildup throughout the course of their day. Designed to provide Yrken with maximum relaxation and comfort for a minimum of fifteen minutes per day."

"Condition: Functional."

"I think it's a shower. The analysis indicates it uses pressurized water," I inform the others as we look at it.

"Finally, a shower where the faucet is over my head," Josh kids, setting a hand on its side while peeking inside.

"I'm not sure I'd want to take a shower that's meant for a creature that large. It'd be like stepping under a waterfall," Beth laughs, her pistol held casually. I wonder if she has an automatic safety feature. It uses her resource to fire, so she must be in greater control than with a normal gun, right? I mean, it's not like my spells activate unless I want them to.

"Personally, I've always found bathing beneath waterfalls quite refreshing. If occasionally challenging," Roberts opines while keeping a watch behind us.

"You've gone bathing beneath waterfalls?" I question Roberts while Beth checks the shower units over, looking for anything that might be interesting.

"Oh yes. Every summer. I used to take our daughter Julie and her family to our cabin up near Bear Lake," Roberts answers, his eyes going unfocused for a moment before turning back to me.

"I have no idea where that is," I reply honestly which causes him to chuckle.

"Few people do. It's a small village a short distance north of Prince George," he informs me. I'm not sure where Prince George is either, but at least I've heard of it.

"It's a pretty cool name. Bear Lake," I note instead of admitting my ignorance.

"I agree. That's why I say my cabin is near Bear Lake instead of Prince George," Roberts admits as Beth finishes her sweep.

"I think I've been there," Josh mentions, "you have to drive through to get to Alaska, right?"

"Yes. If you're going through British Columbia," Roberts confirms, continuing to describe the alternate route through Alberta while Beth leads us back to the room with the models and the Yrken in stasis.

"Okay kid. I think it's time for you to download that codex. Be careful," Beth warns when Roberts finishes his declaration that I really need to go to Banff and Jasper national parks since I've never been to either.

"Will do," I acknowledge as I put my pack on the floor while pulling Smoulder close.

Okay, time to download the codex on the Yrken. I wonder if this is going to be nice and simple like with our resources or if this is going to be more like Uthica. I'm expecting Uthica-like, ergo the laying down.

Welp. Time to find out.

"Yrken Codex downloading."

"Remote Access requested. Local Network under Anti-Corruption Lockdown. Download paused."

"Please wait. Verifying Identity."

Huh. This is new. I give Smoulder head-scritches while we wait to see if the system will let us download the codex.

"Identity confirmed. Welcome back, Citizen Pandora."

"Download commenced."

"Codex obtained: System Species - Yrken. Gene seed B.

Description: Yrken are a biological bipedal species with a long history of administration and rescue operations within the system. Yrken maintain a nuclear family structure. Their mate-bond is permanent once formed. This bond shapes them greatly throughout their first life. A Yrken who loses their partner will die within a month, unable to function without their literal other halves. A Yrken who has not chosen a mate-bond isn't considered an adult, as no Yrken can be considered whole by themselves."

I forgot that downloading a codex came with an intimate understanding of the subject's biology and mating habits. Ugh. I'm sure nothing in that magazine could surprise me now. Note, mate-bonded they may be, but that doesn't preclude them from having 'special friends' as well.

"Yrken nearly wiped themselves out after first gaining access to apocalypse class weapons. There were several tribes of their original people who happened to stumble across Creators. The Creators had arrived to investigate the aftermath as per Apocalypse weapon protocol D-34-003. These tribes asked for protection, and in her infinite wisdom, the Creator Odeon added the Yrken to the ranks of her Builders.

Though the decision was uncontested at the time, the Creator Meras later expressed his dissatisfaction with the inclusion of such a warrior race serving amongst the pacifist Builders. While unwilling to divest her now favoured people from her entourage, Odeon could not simply ignore another Creator's demands.

As a compromise, the Yrken are granted a second life. In this second life, they are provided with any combat skills they desire as well as intense training. Due to the nature of their second life, they are reborn without their bond-mates. They are encouraged to vent any frustrations on whichever opponents Meras has chosen deserving of testing.

Despite this opportunity, most Yrken choose not to participate in their second life, passing beyond the veil instead. Those who remain are everything that Meras could have wished for."

Interesting. I'm reasonably sure this is the first time I've seen the names of any of the Creators.

No replay this time. That's good. But honestly, this kind of feels anticlimactic.

….

Staring at the stasis chamber I wait for the Yrken inside to wake up.

No? Oh well. It was worth a try. Guess it's time for the next codex.

Now, let's see. Which ship should I do first?