Chapter 002: Introduction

The Explorers' Guild is the biggest and most influential extranational organization from those operating under the direct oversight of the Confederation of Mankind. It is a country within a country, tasked with exploring new worlds, charting star maps, unearthing remnants of the various precursor species and providing Mankind with exotechs.

It was created in 2440 in the aftermath of the Fimbulvinter Sanction, and given the freshly terraformed world of Illumination in the Unity Sector as its headquarters. With the practical monopol on exotech discovery and trading within the Confederation of Mankind, it amassed substantial wealth. Its power and influence grew too, especially after the Machine Wars where it expanded to become the police force within the borderlands beyond control of the Confederation members.

Its internal structure is complicated and murky, almost cult-like at times. With top-of-the-line cybersecurity and extensive use of loyalty enforcer implants, the Guild is an organization shrouded in mystery. No one but the highest ranked Guild's personnel (and perhaps some members of the Supreme Council of Mankind) knows how it actually works. And even they tend to know only as much as they have to.

With its immense wealth, extranational authority and suspected links to thousands of high profile assassinations, industrial sabotages and Hyperspace disappearances, it is an organization viewed with suspicion and envy in equal measures throughout the Human Space.

Encyclopedia Galactica

Book 2, page 202-204.

***

EGS Echo - Hangar Deck

18:15 28.03.2610 STT

Christopher Hall

Captain Keller turned out to be a bit imprecise - his 'we are arriving' was a thirty minutes long period of the shuttle decelerating, matching speed with the cruiser. And since deceleration was practically an 'acceleration but in reverse' (as he said this, his face lit up with impish glee), this meant that the 'simulated gravity' had to be activated again.

It was a really long thirty minutes for Christopher. Alexander seemed unfazed by the problems, claiming that it was something that people got used to eventually. While Christopher was trying to maintain control over his stomach, Alexander woke up Ryan from his medicine-induced nap. With the young man suffering from the same problem as Christopher did, there wasn't much of a talk.

Christopher had a while to take a closer look at Ryan before the arrival, though. And he wasn't sure what he saw. The man's skin was white, but there was something subtly asian in his facial features - which, honestly, wasn't all that strange. But lime-coloured hair (the Ivy League cut if he remembered the term correctly) and a Welsh surname made everything feel strange.

It's six hundred years of scientific progress that I missed. It's a miracle that people still have bodies! I should probably get used to people looking strange, I guess.

Then there were his clothes. Black T-shirt and what looked like tracksuit trousers. So similar to the 21st Century that it was almost suspicious in the 27th Century. The idea of clothes so far in the future not requiring technobabble to explain how they work was slightly disappointing for Christopher.

Was the local police after him for using a time anomaly to import cheap clothes from Earth without paying taxes? That would explain his attire pretty well.

Even when the deceleration ended and the symptoms subsided, Ryan didn't seem to be in a particularly talkative mood. He was avoiding eye contact and answering the Captain's questions briefly, if at all.

When they finally left the shuttle, they found themselves in a hangar: a spacious area with four similar looking shuttles inside. Each of them looked like a child of late USSR industrial aesthetics and a modern passenger jet that lost its wings and stabilizers somewhere. Made from metal, built like a cigar, though with numerous rough looking thrusters scattered throughout its external surface.

The hangar aesthetics resembled the shuttles. Since Christopher was always a sci-fi nerd, the place instantly made him recall some similar ships from the fiction he read or saw. The hangar looked like a mix between Nostromo, Event Horizon and Firefly. The first two ships that came to his mind were anything but reassuring. And the last one certainly wasn't a technological marvel.

They could stop trying to save money on lighting, that's for sure.

As the piles of crates began sliding down the ramp on their own, Ryan and Christopher walked down onto the hangar's floor, following Captain Keller. The man's apparent enthusiasm gave him a spring in the step they had problems catching up with.

Christopher had almost tripped over his own feet when he saw the person awaiting them.

It was a woman, that much was immediately obvious. She wore something resembling a rather skintight futuristic bodysuit (white and bronze, with some golden trims). The contrast with the industrial surroundings was stark; it was something straight from a completely different (and much more futuristic) setting. It also showed her every curve - and there was a lot to show.

The dimly lit hangar wasn't the best place for Christopher to try to assess someone's face - but the woman was beautiful. In a mature way - she was 35 years old, maybe closer to forty. Then again how was he supposed to know how old she REALLY is? It was the future, she could as well be three hundred years old. He had no idea what the average life expectancy was.

And was she considered 'beautiful' in the 27th Century? Or was that the current average look? Christopher had no idea how much genetics and plastic surgeries had improved in the meantime. If that was average then the journey awaiting him was going to be aesthetically pleasing.

The first clue that she was something else than he initially thought were the eyes. Despite the dimness of the room her eyes were visible. Their slits were vertical. He didn't really figure out what he was seeing instantly. It took a few more steps for Christopher to notice the detail responsible for his brief loss of balance.

There were two unmistakable cat ears atop her head. And a tail on the opposite end of the body.

There were catgirls (or cat women in this case) in the future.

”Tiaa! How lovely to see you!” Captain said, waving towards the woman. Christopher understood immediately that this was going to be an interesting meeting when he saw the woman's face. Besides, her tail was whipping back and forth. He wasn't sure if the cat tail language was fully transferred to the catgirls of the future, but if he remembered correctly such movement indicated anger. Though the intensity of that emotion typically showed in the speed of movement, and hers was rather relaxed.

”Two. You brought two new recruits.” Tiaa replied. Her voice was certainly feminine... but also stern. Christopher wasn’t even sure what sort of language she was speaking, but somehow he understood what she was saying perfectly. The angel’s ‘gift of tongues’ was no joke, apparently.

“Are you aware that we lack three hundred people to reach the full staff for a heavy cruiser of this class?” The cat woman continued. “And you bring two new recruits, instead of two hundred.”

Ryan and Christopher stood behind Captain Keller, so they didn't see his reaction. He said nothing, but whatever face he made it was enough. The catwoman sighed loudly.

”I guess I should be happy, in the end.” She added. “It's twice as many recruits as during the last shore leave. You should go to the bridge, captain. The shuttle with our new executive officer will arrive in twenty minutes, and I believe that you will want to prepare a proper welcoming party for her.”

”Wonderful!” Captain clapped his hands to highlight the word. Then he turned to face Ryan and Christopher. “Ok, my new minions. I'm leaving you with Tiaa. I have some captain's stuff to do. Christopher, I'll contact you once you get through the medical check-ups.” Without waiting for their response, he moved towards the exit, passing by the cat woman and whistling happily.

Neither Christopher nor Ryan knew how to refer to the woman, they stayed silent. It was Tiaa who spoke first.

”All right, country bumpkins.” Christopher winced internally when hearing that. “My name's Tiaa Sistonen, and I'm the chief petty officer of this ship. In case you aren't aware of how the Navy works, let me enlighten you - I'm the person responsible for everyone aboard this ship without an officer's rank. Unless you make something explode and get the attention of an officer, all your screw-ups will be dealt with by me. Do you understand that?” Christopher nodded.

So much about 'gene engineered catgirls for domestic ownership'. If someone was owning someone here, it’s the other way around.

She didn't exactly look like a Navy equivalent of a marine sergeant, but something in her posture and voice almost made him stand to attention. Even without an order to do so.

”I'm sure that Captain has described the crew of this ship as some happy go lucky hippy commune...“ Tiaa continued, her eyes narrowing. “...but I'm used to receiving verbal answers. Repeat after me: Yes, chief.”

”Yes, chief.” Christopher and Ryan replied almost in unison.

”Now, about your assignments.” Tiaa continued talking. “You are both going to become part of Recovery Team Eight. It's all recent recruits, just like you. So you shouldn't feel out of place. Recovery team work means landing on things previously secured by our marines and then stealing everything that isn’t bolted to the wall. After which you find screwdrivers and go after the rest.”

“Uhm, Chief.” Christopher decided to be the brave one. He took advantage of an audible pause in Tiaa’s talk, but he was still seriously afraid of scolding. “I’m not sure if the ‘it’s all recent recruits’ part is all that reassuring here. I’m sure the marines are all badasses, but being a rookie among more rookies in a potentially dangerous place is a bit…”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” She replied. No scolding, apparently. Even some faint… satisfaction? Did he ask the right question? “We won’t be letting you anywhere without professional supervision for quite a while. Also, such operations are rare, so you are going to have months to prepare for it.”

For some reason Christopher was almost certain it was going to be less than ‘months’. If he was going to be an apparent protagonist in an adventure story, the least he could do is be genre savvy.

“On the other hand, this would mean nothing to do during the next few months.” Tiaa continued. “Since Explorers' Guild human resource policy is 'who doesn't work doesn't eat', each of you will also be assigned to various jobs aboard the ship. Which one of you is Ryan Welch?”

”It's me, chief.” Ryan said. Christopher suddenly felt curious. Was his companion already disciplined enough to add the chief part unconsciously? Or was it going to take a while longer to settle in?

”According to Captain Keller's decision, your official rank from now on is enlisted third class. And your assignment is engineering.” The catwoman turned her attention to Christopher. “You, in the meantime, were marked by the captain for officers' training. Which means that from now on you are a cadet. And you are going to stay as one until I decide that you are ready. I do not expect you to be ready within the next few years.” It didn't feel as if she was trying to insult him. It was an honest assessment on her side.

Christopher couldn't believe his ears.

”Officers' training? A cadet?” Tiaa gave him a perfectly emotionless stare. “I don't really think this is a good idea. Chief.” He added after a split second.

”Well, then there are two of us.” Tiaa said, proving catgirls of the future could hurt people even without physical contact. “Explorers’ Guild isn’t a regular Navy and is much more lax in its approach to such things. We have everything we need to run you through an equivalent of an officer’s academy on our computers, as long as some of our officers offer their help. However, such treatment is typically reserved for veteran petty officers with flawless service records.”

She didn’t have to add that Christopher certainly wasn’t qualified for this, either.

“That’s why we’re going to focus on that first.” Tiaa continued. “As a cadet you are technically considered to be an equivalent of a second rank enlisted, but in this case I’ll bend the rules slightly.” Her voice left no doubts as to whether she was happy about it. “You are going to act as a petty officer in charge of the Recovery Team Eight. Since the oldest of its members has service length counted in months, you won’t feel too out of place.”

“What?! How… How am I supposed to do that!?” The last time he was in charge of a group of people, it was a guild in an MMORPG. It ended horribly for everyone involved. Including the game itself.

“Well, you can start by referring to your superiors in a proper way.” She gave him an ice-cold look. He almost took a step back. “Then you can get used to Captain Keller making unexpected and unorthodox decisions that somehow end up working well more often than not. And then you should work hard, because I’m going to be in charge of your training and I’m a rather demanding teacher.”

Christopher knew of at least one person that would be almost ecstatic when faced by a prospect of being trained by a demanding adult cat woman. He couldn’t be further from that. The angel had probably picked the wrong candidate for the job… on the other hand, why would an angel pick a pervert for a job? Christopher might not have been the purest out there, but at least he wasn’t salivating at every girl.

“Now that we have the pleasantries behind us, we can proceed to the paperwork.” Tiaa said, unaware of Christopher’s internal chaos. “And then you’ll meet Lith.”

Christopher was curious if she was aware of the depth of disdain audible in her last sentence.

***

EGS Echo - Command Deck

18:48 28.03.2610 STT

Commander Lena Drathari

Commander Lena Drathari - a member of the Explorers’ Guild for about five months - was brimming with enthusiasm as she walked through the corridors of the Echo.

She absolutely loved the ship. The dimly lit and maze-like corridors occasionally filled with the faint smell of oil and working machinery created an almost romantic atmosphere straight from some historical piece about the times of the Solar Commonwealth. Someone without experience with such things could have taken it for a sign of disrepair, but Lena spent many years in the Navy. There was no grime, no signs of disrepair. The ship was operating in peak condition, despite being understaffed.

Even if she didn’t check the data beforehand, she’d have suspected that the ship was visegradian in origin. Warrior culture didn’t really care about keeping things beautiful (though they would have kept more trophies on the walls). The maze-like structure of the interior complicated life for attackers (and with proper design it was barely a problem for the internal logistics of the ship). The dim lighting was sensible for a race that had night sight of a khrakii that overdosed on night vision potions.

The ship looked magnificent. And she couldn’t wait to meet the person in charge of it. She read a lot about Captain Keller, and was truly amazed - both by what she read and by how much his character file was decimated by censorship. She often heard the stories on how much the Guild was hiding from the world, but this was ridiculous. He was, she knew, an extremely talented spaceship captain, and there was a lot that he could teach her.

I’m acting like some braindead groupie about to meet her idol. Get your act straight, Lena! Half a year ago you didn’t even know that he existed!

“Madam.” The petty officer that served as her guide interrupted her thoughts. He stood by the large set of metal doors towards which he pointed. “The bridge is there. Captain Keller is waiting for you.”

Just try not to squeal. And let’s hope it won’t end up like always.

***

EGS Echo - Command Deck

18:48 28.03.2610 STT

Lieutenant Commander Lith Athalia

“Did I really need to attend this?” Athalia said, looking at Captain with a barely hidden irritation. They’d known each other for too long to bother about pleasantries and all that military talk. “We both know that I’m not one for ceremonies. Besides, I have work. I should have been in the medical bay, preparing for our two new arrivals. And you know that.”

“C’mon, Lith.” Captain, a large ball of happiness as always, slapped the petite medic in the back. Despite the force behind it being substantial, Lith didn’t budge an inch. “We both know that you are a genius that needs no time to prepare for something like that. You are permanently prepared for every imaginable medical emergency.”

There was sarcasm accompanying the genius part, which was something Lith decided to ignore. Sarcasm doesn’t work when it accompanies a complete and objective truth.

“Besides, for Ryan it’s just the standard nanoware cerebral implant. You can do it with your eyes closed.” Captain said. Lith nodded in answer - Keller was undoubtedly correct once again. “I’m more curious about what you find in Christopher. Especially since the angel has said something about improving his body.”

“Angel.” Lith snorted with laughter. “This is the reason why I accepted your offer. What is considered breathtaking, absurd or insane by the majority of the Confederation of Mankind is normalcy for the Guild. What do you think that being actually was?”

“At this point I’m not excluding any option.” The captain replied, his face indicating that he was in his rare serious mode. “Besides, this is not the place to have that talk. Walls have ears here.”

That was something Lith had to admit was true. Sure, the Explorers’ Guild invested a lot in top-of-the-line cybersecurity, but it was hard to find a greater concentration of coding wizards in the Human Space than Echo’s crew.

“So, let me guess. You want to keep my report on Christopher’s condition private.” Athalia said. Captain nodded in answer. “The inner circle only?”

“Let’s keep Innocent out of the loop for now.” Captain stated calmly. “His unbending and rigid moral code is as much of a blessing as a curse. The part about the supposedly ‘angelic’ entity responsible for it would just make things worse.”

“Fair.” It was obvious to Athalia that the Captain made sure that none of this was recorded. He could do that as a captain. Of course there were ways to circumnavigate that blockade, though they required doing things that Innocent typically didn’t do. He took his role as the head of Echo's cybersecurity seriously. “So only you, and Mendez.”

“That depends on what you’ll find.” Alexander replied. “All I really want is to check the report before sending it to Innocent.”

“Not a problem.” There was a reason why Athalia had rewired everything in his little kingdom right after joining the crew. The Medical bay ran on a separate network entirely, and neither Innocent nor Foucquet could do a thing there. Unless they sneaked in physically - but he was prepared for that too. “That aside, what’s the real reason why you brought me here?”

“Oh?” Captain faked surprise quite convincingly. Not enough for Athalia though.

“If this was all you wanted to talk about, you’d just drop by my office with a bottle of expensive alcohol to talk about old times.” The captain chuckled loudly. “Spit it out.”

“Well, when it comes to you making a scene, I prefer when you are doing it under my supervision.” Captain replied. Athalia already suspected it was something like this. In fact, he managed to mostly decipher what it was about in detail before the door opened.

The woman that walked onto the bridge was unusual. Deep indigo skin, bright silver eyes with neither irises nor pupils, and back-bend horns on the sides of her head. Someone without Lith’s medical expertise might take her for a Variant, one of those pitiful victims of Mankind’s premature dreams of genetic grandeur. But he knew instantly what it was.

His hatred and anger were tranquil, focused and controlled.

“It’s nice to see that you haven’t started a firefight, Lith.” Captain looked at him with pride in his eyes.

“Right. It’s totally my self control.” Athalia replied. Certainly it wasn’t the fact that he had just heard Innocent sneaking up on him from behind. “I’m going to excuse myself now. I have work to do.”

***

EGS Echo - Command Deck

18:55 28.03.2610 STT

Commander Lena Drathari

“Sir.” Commander Drathari saluted the person she recognized to be Captain Keller. “I’m Lena Drathari, the new executive officer assigned to this ship.” He had a reputation for an unorthodox approach to problems and being rather lax when it came to proper decorum, but she prefered to be too formal than too informal for a first meeting.

“At ease.” Captain sent her a heartwarming smile. “As much as I would like to go through the typical ceremonies accompanying an officer joining the crew, I’m afraid I’m forced to take the shortcut here. We’re leaving Triana at 2am tomorrow. I’m going to introduce you to the officers right now. Then you’ll have free time to unpack your things. Your first shift at the bridge will be at 8am tomorrow.”

“That’s quite early.” Her interest in visiting the world was rather scarce, but it still stung a little. “Is there any reason for that?”

“Triana is a totalitarian regime.” Captain replied. “And they are very touchy about their authority. I stole Ryan from the attention of the local death squad, and a group of our marines got into a serious fight with the security on the transit station. I prefer to disappear from orbit before the Hereditary President Johnson decides to engage us in a dick measuring contest.”

Definitely unorthodox and definitely lax. Damn. Could be worse, I guess.

“You’ve already met, if briefly, Lieutenant Commander Lith Athalia.” Captain continued. “He was the man that stormed out of the bridge right after you entered. He’s the Echo’s chief medical officer, but also doubles as science officer.”

The ‘man’ part cleared a significant part of Lena Drathari’s doubts. The discovery that he was an officer was startling, however.

What sort of uniform was that?! Even the anarchies had stricter military dress codes. It felt like something straight out of Yalka.

“Unfortunately, he doesn’t like your kind.” Captain concluded the introduction. It was something Lena had already guessed from Lith Athalia’s refusal to acknowledge her existence despite walking right past her.

“One more of the Alliance’s victims?” Lena replied. She wasn’t even angry. At some point in life you just got used to it. At the very least the captain seemed to have no problems with her, which was reassuring.

“You could say that.” Captain’s reply was scarce in detail. “Try to keep your distance from Lith, and leave ordering him around to me. I have experience in that field.” She could only hope the medic was at least competent enough to warrant such treatment.

“And now, time for the second officer present.” Captain said, for some reason mouch louder than earlier. “Innocent, would you mind?”

Lena was startled and took a subconscious step back when someone - something? - suddenly materialized from nowhere right beside Captain Keller.

It was a robot, that much was certain - but the strangest one she had ever seen. Thin robotic arms, much thinner than their human counterparts. His head appeared, at a first glance, to be a human one, but covered by a helmet with an opaque visor. However she could see a thin metallic neck underneath, with some exposed cables in place of esophagus and larynx.

Then she saw that the robot was wearing a cassock with a clerical collar.

What in the…

“Hilarious Remark: Booo!” The robot spoke, its voice almost grotesquely robotic. She could write a better voice synthesis program in a few days, so it had to be intentional. “Polite Welcome: I welcome you, child of Rethan, on the Echo. May your duty be successful and your book of debts clear.” The lack of even the slightest bow that was supposed to accompany that greeting didn’t miss her attention, however derailed it currently was.

“I... “ It took her a second to process what just happened. “And may my duty be beneficial to you.” The most polite and official greeting according to the tenets of her culture (and her religion) was the last thing she expected to happen.

Wait… Innocent? As in THAT Innocent? No way, right?

“This is Lieutenant Commander Innocent.” Captain took advantage of the stunned silence that followed. “He is this ship’s tactical officer, second officer, head of cybersecurity, an on-board psychologist and chaplain in charge of the approximate half of the crew that belongs to his Church. Also, a berserk.” The last part explained the strange look.

Looks like there is someone more hated by the general population than my kind aboard the ship. I have no idea what to feel about that.

“Well, I still haven’t paid back that part of the First Debt.” Lena decided that it wasn’t a good moment to ask the questions that flooded her mind. “So I look forward to working with you, lieutenant commander.” The berserk nodded in approval, albeit scarcely.

“Polite Reply: I believe you will have many occasions to do that during our work together.” The priest added. “Necessary Excuse: I’m afraid I’m urgently needed in my chapel for the rosary that is scheduled to start within twenty minutes. I wish you farewell and hope that you will like the other officers.”

Soon he was gone. That’s when Lena decided to finally ask the most pressing question.

“Is he… THAT Innocent?” She always thought he was a myth. But she wanted to make sure.

“Who knows?” Captain refused to cooperate. “Don’t try to hack anything on-board or you might find out.” He sighed. “He won’t admit that but I suspect that he is giddy with excitement. He expects you to be a worthy opponent on the field of video games. We have no one who measures up to him.”

A berserk, priest, tactical officer and a videogame maniac? Wow. And I thought Athalia was out of this world.

“Well then.” Captain clapped his hands and gave her a wide smile. “Time to meet the other officers.”

She could only hope that they were slightly more normal than what she had seen thus far.