"So you created the Glint? How did you do that, if at all. They have fossil evidence of evolution from pre-existing fauna." Eli asked.

Somehow the intelligent tree huffed audibly.

"I did make them, and that evidence is proof of my mastery."Rass Misiun replied.

The tree limbs still waved over the translucent orange screens. However, the red fronds that crowned the tree trunk and obscured the blinking crystals shift slightly. Eli could see more detail of them. It gave him the impression that the thing had focused some attention on him.

Eli asked another question, "What do you mean? Surely the evidence disproves that you had anything to do with their race at all."

Whatever software that translated for Rass was, it was good. Rass replied with an audible level of pride in their voice, "I made their whole genetic tree, influenced them since they were a single celled organism. A bit of a tuck here at their DNA, a little additional RNA. A few key populations given immunotherapy, more gene editing. I have their entire genetic lineage on file, with all of my strokes recorded. That is my mastery."

"Why?" Eli asked.

Rass Misiun's branches stopped moving. The red fronds that crowned his trunk unfurled and the crystals that Eli had glimpsed before, were exposed. A cascade of lights glittered across them.

"Why? Because a life spent hiding in fear of a pathetic worm like a Tharg is no life at all! I'll practice my art, and when those abhorrent worms appear before me I'll burn their flesh away and finish what my race should have been able to do long ago! If not for their luck, we Guo'Saphyrn would have cleansed their ugliness from the universe!"

Rass Misiun's entire trunk trembled as he spoke, the glittering light from the crystals went harsh, and bright white. The fronds curled and uncurled like lashing tails.

Eli took a step back, away from Rass and noticed one blip on the screens was moving very quickly towards their location. He crossed his arms to cover several compartments as they opened.

"Why do you hate them and why do they hate you?" Eli asked.

"What reason do I need to clean up filth? They have been an eternal stain upon the beauty of life ever since they appeared. Their existence lessens any art I create by proximity! We tried to make them beautiful but they declined our efforts, so they had to be erased." hate dripped like water from Rass Misiun, "The Tharg managed to fight us to a stand still while destroying our great works but for every victory they gained, we scored a wound on them."

As Rass continued speaking his branches resumed their movements and tapping on the screens, "We made sure that even if the Tharg defeated us, they would never recover. They would at best have a pyrrhic victory. We sterilized them."

A line of scorching light erupted from the closest wall, but was deflected at the last moment by a panel of light that appeared in front of Rass Misiun.

"Did you really think that would work worm? You aren't the first to try to end me, I'll vaporize you like the other before you! Rass Misiun bellowed.

A shimmering field of hexagons formed an aura around the Guo'Saphyrn, and several mounted weapons descended from the ceiling. Eli dashed to get behind the Guo, the only available cover in the room. A familiar voice called out from somewhere in the ceiling.

"I figured I would give you a sporting chance, you infernal demon, before I reduced you to trembling weed."

A large panel of white metal fell from the ceiling, followed by several spheres spewing blue smoke. More streaks of light raced through the smoke, leaving holes of clear air in their wake, which filled with more smoke. Those attacks were repelled like the first, deflected away by panels of hexagonal light.

It was a distraction, for Silghen Morseg charged out from the smoke, tossing a large rifle to the side with one arm and drew several large blades with his other three. While he circled Rass Misiun, he slashed and stabbed at the Guo'Saphyrn. The array of hexagons would flash into being wherever a strike got too close to Rass Misiun. However the hexagons weren't deflecting the strikes but forming around half way up the blades.

Rass Misiun reacted by swiping a branch across the display he'd been using, then the three roots that attached to his trunk flexed and lifted himself up. Rass's branches whipped out at Silghen, scored a few superficial cuts then pulled them back before Silghen could chop at them with his blades. The Tharg's suit was made of some strong weave of materials and resisted the cracking branches.

Eli watched while that took place, he'd pulled out a welding torch and a multitool from his forearm compartments. The smoke curled around his boots while he skirted the edges of the fight. Neither alien seemed to be gaining an edge, each swung or lunged at the other, only for the other to block or dodge out of the way. For what must have been an eternity for the participants but was only a few minutes, all three beings circled each other.

At least until a large blast was heard, and what remained of the blue smoke was blown away from a wave of pressure. The lights and Rass Misiun's array of shields flickered then died. Lights in Eli's helmet flicked on, he saw Silghen leap onto Rass's trunk directly and sunk one blade solidly into the dark bark, but before Silghen could do more damage, the three arms of Rass Misiun looped around Silghen and pulled him away.

Eli saw his chance and rushed forward to get between the two. He held the welding torch against Rass Misiun's trunk, near the lodged blade and with his other hand he had the multitool spark spark ominously near Silghen's neck.

———

The crew of the Mad Dash was strewn about on the ground, away from a smoking hole that used to be part of an ornate hallway. The eight pairs of glowing eyes flickered in the darkness. Naytani's eyes were bright in anger as she shouted, "Why the glisht would you put it on the main power conduit!"

"How was I supposed to know it was the main power supply? Yors said it would be a good place for it," responded Ozmak, "Wensley and I aren't specialists in bomb placement!"

Yors's orange eyes looked back at Ozmak, "Don't put this on my tree! I said it would be a good place if we wanted to destroy this place."

"You didn't—"

"I said—

"EVERYONE QUIET ON DECK," shouted Saule, his own blue eyes were ablaze, "We don't know if that was the main power or the only power source. First off, is everyone ok. Sound off with your name."

"Ozmac here."

"Wensley, my arm is hurt."

"Flik here but I'm immobile…"

"Naytani and that's because you're still on the gurney."

"Yors here, I think I lost an eye."

"Stuhkey alive and battered."

"Riyn is fine but my head is spinning."

"That's everyone then. Ozmac and Naytani get first aid and help Yors and Wensley, Riyn join them if your head doesn't settle," said Saule, "Once everyone is able we check on the ship, the Mad Dash probably fell when the facility lost power but we don't know if it did. Our best bet is to get Eli and contact someone for a ride."

———

"So why don't we tell the frustrated android why you two want to kill each other, with out making me start setting fires or tazing people?" asked Eli.

Silghen spoke first in his rasping insect buzz voice, "The Tharg have hated the Guo'Saphyrn since they tried to commit genetic atrocities against us. They tried to change our bodies and minds to something they thought were more `beautiful`. They had done so already with star systems, other species, all so they could remake the galaxy into their parad‐argh!"

A branch that circled one of Silghen's arms tightened and bones cracked. Eli turned back to Rass Misiun and deftly scorched a line of fire across Rass's bark.

"Don't try to silence the other too. I want both sides of this grudge before I make any decisions." Eli stated.

Silghen spoke softly with a touch of grit in his voice, "The shrub can't speak with the power out and when power returns he'll just kill you and me both for having seen him like this."

Eli turned his projected face up toward the cluster of crystals that he thought acted as Rass Misiun's eyes and asked, "Is that right?"

A sound like small pebbles bouncing and sliding on glass came into hearing then coalesced into speech, "Do you really think I can speak without aid of machine worm? You've never heard our natural voice before because you weren't worthy or important enough to hear it."

Rass Misiun continued, "Yes we Guo'Saphyrn have altered species, star systems and such but only to make them better! Without my touch the Glint wouldn't even be here, some ugly amphibians would have become the intelligent species and ruined the lustrous luminous aesthetic of the world. Why if the Tharg had let us help them they would have been the pinnacle of beauty!"

At that Silghen thrashed violently and managed to free an arm and chop off a branch holding another arm. "You have no right! We were sovereign over ourselves and happy with our appearances! You wanted to make us some gaudy scaled servants to do your work for you! Why don't you tell the human what the ultimate goal for your pets here was?"