Ck'Trrk'Ka's vision narrowed until she could only see her bright yellow foe. When that [bitch] Ma'elge'yk leaped, she'd be sure to be ready with a countering kick...

A bright flash from her side caught her attention, and she risked a quick peek in that direction. That peek became a full-on stare as a geyser of molten rock spewed forth from the top of the remaining cliff-face. The geyser moved across, carving out a deep rut. Then it stopped, and resumed to trace a vertical line down from that first rut.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other Matriarch staring in similar fascination. It wasn't until the geyser started the next vertical line that Ck'Trrk'Ka realized it was tracing out a Karnakian rune. A rune from the ancient scripts.

When the third rune started, her feathers went flat against her skull as she realized what the geyser was writing. "|No! No, don't you dare!...|"

The Matriarch turned away from the wrecked cliff and saw [Maria] sitting on [Resh'skk's] shoulder. The [Jornissian] held his maser weapon against his other shoulder as he fired at the distant rock face. [Maria] held her pointing arm next to his helmet, tracing her finger in the air as she showed the soldier where to 'write'.

Ma'elge'yk hopped in place and waved her wings, showing a distress equal to Ck'Trrk'Ka's own. "|Please! You mustn't! This is forbidden!|"

"[Eat my shorts,]" said the human as she continued her tracing.

Ck'Trrk'Ka took a step forward, only to stop at a warning hiss from [Resh'skk]. His unblinking eyes didn't waver.

"[I can shoot at the cliff, or I can shoot you. Your choice.]"

She turned back and saw Resh'skk's invisible beam trace out the last rune. It wasn't quite complete, but it was bad enough. "|No,|" she murmured as despair filled her.

[Hrathra'sstah] slithered up next to Resh'skk, and she tilted her emerald hood as she regarded the giant rune-sculpture. "[Hmm, not bad. But shouldn't that bottom rune have a cross-bar?]"

[Maria] smacked her head. "[Of course, the superlative. Sorry Boss, I keep forgetting. Put a hash line through the middle of that last one, [Reshy].]"

"[On it.]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka sank to the ground in defeat as the final rune flared into completion. She stared at her taloned hands. In spite of all her power, all the millions of disciples she commanded, she had nothing left. Her world was crumbling around her, and she couldn't keep hold of it.

She looked up and spread her arms, as if beseeching the rocks to give answers. "|Why?|" she cried out.

The [human] slid off of [Resh'skk's] shoulder and paced forward with the odd, wobbling gait of her kind. "[Why? You dare to ask why? It's because YOU. DON'T. LISTEN!]

It didn't seem possible for such a small being to generate such a furious shout.

Ma'elge'yk started back as [Maria] stabbed a finger over at her. "[Neither do you. You're just as bad. Like a couple of [bad eggs], the pair of you.]" She then pointed at the distant set of runes. "[Read it. Both of you.]"

"|I know what it says,|" said Ck'Trrk'Ka. "|I've read it all my life.|"

"|I know it by heart as well,|" added Ma'elge'yk

"[Then one more time won't hurt. Read it again.]"

The Most Reverend Beacon-of-Light, Matriarch-of-the-33rd-Path raised her eyes with a heavy heart. Her gaze traced down again over the runes she knew so well, the ones that her Path took such pains to keep secret. Always before, reading The Final Sutra had brought her a measure of peace. There was no peace this time, now the sacred text was out in the world where anyone could read it.

"[Do you want to know how a [human] translates The Final Sutra?]" asked Maria. She didn't wait for a response from either Matriarch. "[It's pretty simple. 'This Above All Else: Be Excellent to Each Other'.]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka gave a sad, warbling chuckle. "|That's pretty accurate.|"

"|Yes, I agree,|" added Ma'elge'yk.

"[Okay, so if that's what it says then why don't you follow it?]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka fluffed out in anger as she rose. She turned to glare at Maria. "|I have studied the works of Ta'irrl'qc for centuries, you...you...hatchling!|"

[Maria] didn't flinch as she faced down the Matriarch's anger. "[I'm sure you've studied it. But have you listened to it? He was trying to tell you something. Tell us something. Think about what he asked us to do. Not to 'be nice' to each other, not to 'be kind' to each other. But to be excellent.]"

The human wobbled forward and poked at Ck'Trrk'Ka's chest. "[Be the best that you can be. Never accept that you can't succeed, and never rest on 'good enough'. Not for your own sake, but because that's what the universe needs you to do. Because otherwise we wind up chasing our own tails. We get lost in rituals and think that they point the way forward. We think that we know the truth.]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka shook her snout. "[It's not that simple, little one...]"

"[But it is! And it's not just you, okay? We [humans] get lost in our own little truths and rituals, and somehow believe that we know everything. For a time we thought there were spirits inside every rock and tree. Even after we knew better than that, we thought we were alone in the universe. We thought that we were the masters of all creation. But we were wrong. We're still wrong, all the time.]"

[Maria] pointed at the ten-story-tall Final Sutra, its runes still glowing red with a faint residual heat. "[That? That's how we get to right. All of us. Now you two [birdbrains] have a decision to make. Are you going to sit here and squawk and shed each other's blood? Or are you going to [FUCKING] LISTEN to the one whose words you both claim to revere?]"

She dropped her hand and glared at both of the Matriarchs. "[At long last, are you going to be excellent to each other? Make your choice.]" The human turned and wobbled away, escorted by Jornissians on either side.

Ck'Trrk'Ka turned again to regard the huge carving on the cliff. She felt Ma'elge'yk step up beside her. She waited for the inevitable taunt.

"|It's impressive, isn't it?|" said the Matriarch of the Thirty-Fourth Path. "|I imagine it was even more impressive to read it off of the Claw itself.|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka waited for some follow-up verbal jab, but none came. She swiveled one eye back to regard the other. "|It was. The words themselves are a balm, of course, but to read them while holding the last remains of our dear master...I always found it a transcendental experience.|"

"|Hmm. I'm sorry I never got the opportunity. I'm also...sorry about what happened. You were right, sort of.|"

Now the coppery Matriarch turned her head to stare at her opponent in disbelief.

"|I shouldn't have goaded you into trying to take back the Claw,|" continued Ma'elge'yk. "|I do bear some of the blame for this.|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka stared at the ground for a long time. "|You didn't 'goad' me into anything. I walked into this with both sets of eyes open.|" She peeked back at [Maria], who'd just rejoined the others. Even from such a distance, the little [human's] soul was still a fascinating swirl of sparkles.

Ma'elge'yk turned to regard [Maria] as well. "|She really does have a way with the scriptures, eh? Perhaps she was a Karnakian in a past life.|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka chuckled again, less sadly this time. "|Careful! Keep talking of reincarnation and you'll wind up in the Seven Rings.|"

The yellow Matriarch responded with a full-throated, chirping laugh. "|I still might! Maybe those [lunatics] are right and the [humans] are closer to the divine. Nothing would surprise me at this point.|" Ma'elge'yk turned and looked around the box canyon. "|This is nice spot, you know. A bit dry, but we can always bring in more water.|"

"|Hmm.|" Ck'Trrk'Ka looked up at the carved Sutra in the distance, then up into the sky above. The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains, giving the entire canyon a red and golden glow. She grinned as she realized what Ma'elge'yk was hinting at. "|It is nice. A good spot for a temple.|"

Ma'elge'yk's tone became unexpectedly shy. "|We could, er, put a temple on each side. There's enough room. It would be a little bit cramped, but we like to build upward anyway.|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka took in a deep breath. What she was about to say made her feel like she'd just stepped out of an airlock without a pressure suit...but it had to be said. "|No.|" She pointed at the giant carving. "|One Sutra, one temple. One temple where both Paths may come and worship.|"

"|That's an...interesting idea. We'll need a suitably large amphitheater for congretory singing, maybe in the center there just before the landslide...|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka leaned forward and sketched in the dust before them. She was so excited that her talon trembled. "|Yes, and we'll have dormitories for the two paths on each side. Central offices here at the front...I could always use a bigger office.|"

"|As can I. We can make the entire corner here a parking lot.|"

"|We'll need two lots, there's never enough parking!...|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka felt her despair fall away as the pair chatted and sketched in the dirt. For the first time in a long while, her heart was filled with nothing but excitement for the future.

"|That's impossible,|" murmured Ter'yeik. The former Second Claw stood in a stunned daze next to Oscar as the two of them looked upon the distant Matriarchs' excited and impromptu planning session.

"[Aw, come on [Ter'yeik]. You should know better than to throw around words like 'impossible'.]"

Ter'yeik waved his arm at the fluffed-out pair. "|I'm telling you, that is Not. Possible! The enmity between my path and theirs has lasted for longer than your entire civilization!|"

"[Yeah but that's just, like, your opinion man.]" The [human] let out a warbling chuckle. "[It's funny, sometimes you can beat on people's opinion for ages and get nowhere. But sometimes one little word is enough to get 'em to change their minds.]"

[Oscar] put his good hand on his hip and looked at the distant Matriarchs. Even from a [hundred yards] distance their excited peeps and chirps were audible as they huddled together.

Ter'yeik turned and stared down at the diminutive creature. "|Change their...minds?|"

"[Of course. It's not like ideas have inertia, ya know.]"

The Karnakian continued to stare at [Oscar], who finally noticed the scrutiny.

"[Uh, [Ter'yeik]? What's wrong?]"

Ter'yeik stared as, for the first time ever, he truly saw a [human].

He saw a creature made of spun sugar and glass, someone he could poke a claw through with minimal effort. Slow, fragile, easy to kill. [Humans] weren't even apex predators on their own planet. The Karnakian had read about plenty of [Earth] animals which could kill [humans] with ease.

And yet...[humans] hadn't died out. They'd taken one look at their precarious situation and decided they wanted no part of it. And so they'd just...changed things. By the time his own kind discovered Dirt, the peril of extinction had most definitely shifted onto the so-called apex predators.

[Humans] didn't accept their place in the grand scheme of things.

They just didn't.

Ter'yeik had heard of this so-called [placebo] effect that [humans] displayed. He'd dismissed the stories as utter nonsense.

But now he knew they were true. The stories were all true, every bit of them.

How could they not be? He'd just seen it with his own eyes. One of the smallest and weakest of [humans] had turned that ultimate power against a religious cold war percolating for tens of millennia. It had offended her, and so she'd simply pointed and deemed it not to be.

And lo, it was no more.

[Humans] were small, they were fragile, and there were no limits as to what they could accomplish.

They had no limits at all.

Ter'yeik held up his wing-arms and began backing away, slowly. All four of his wide red eyes remained fixed on Oscar.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Oscar turned to face the Karnakian and took one step forward.

The Second Claw let out a little shriek and hunched himself low, taking a few more steps back in the process. His keeled chest heaved as if he was in the middle of a panic attack.

Oscar turned and waved his un-damaged arm to get the others' attention. "Hey, guys? Need a little help here, Teriyaki's freaking out!"

Ter'yeik let out a long, guttural trill that somehow got across a message of utter fear, as if he was trapped in a small room with some horrible wild beast. "[No limits,]" he moaned.

The human turned back and raised his good hand, palm out. He pitched his voice lower and soothing. "Teriyaki, my man, relax. I'm not mad at you about the whole trying-to-frame me thing from earlier. It's all water under the bridge."

Ter'yeik's chest heaved even more deeply, but he didn't speak.

"What's going on? Just talk to me, I can help-"

The word seemed to snap Ter'yeik out of his mute paralysis. "[NO! No help, no limits! You have NO LIMITS!]"

"But I-"

Ter'yeik screamed like an overloaded flute, then turned and fled up towards the canyon's mouth faster than Oscar could hope to run.

The Captain limped up just as Ter'yeik reached the outlet to the flat desert beyond. "[Dammit, [Oscar]!]"

"The fuck did I do? Not my fault these raptors are nuts."

"[You're not wrong about that.]" The Captain sighed and her eyes unfocused as she accessed her implant. "[Now what was his tracker's shutdown code...ah, yes.]"

The distant cream-colored figure of Ter'yeik lurched and then fell forward in a sudden cybernetic paralysis. He twitched, trying to overcome his locked-up nervous system. A faint shriek of "[No limiiiits!]" came drifting back to the pair.

Ck'Trrk'Ka bustled up on the other side of Oscar. "[What happened?]"

Oscar shrugged. "Don't ask me. Dude just freaked out and did his best Jesse Owens impression."

The Matriarch sighed. "[Unfortunate. To be fair, he has been under a lot of stress as of late.]"

Two more Karnakians joined the group, one gray and one blue. They also stared curiously at the distant, wailing, and very stationary figure of Ter'yeik.

Oscar smiled at the newcomers. "Hey there Tarky, Frick. Good to see you're not dead."

"[Yes, that is fortunate,]" said Irr''kttz.

"I heard you two raised the alarm when Maria and I got snatched. Thanks."

Irr''kttz bobbed his crest. "[It wasn't enough, but I am pleased to have played some small part in your rescue.]"

The human patted the gray Karnakian on what passed for the alien's shoulder. "And you! I hear you got up to some bad-ass driving."

Tk'rii'na looked puzzled and glanced back at his feathered tail. "[What does having a poor posterior have to do with driving skill?]"

"Er, never mind. Old human expression."

Ck'Trrk'Ka gave an imperious peep that was the Karnakian equivalent of clearing her throat. "[Irr''kttz, will you please go collect my wayward Second Claw? Be very gentle with him.]"

The alien bowed and hustled off as Ck'Trrk'Ka sighed again.

"Don't be too hard on the guy, ma'am," said Oscar. "I mean, I know he had a hand in...well, in all that." He turned and waved at the giant rockfall behind them. "But it wasn't malicious."

"[We'll make sure Ter'yeik receives the best of care,]" said the Matriarch. "[Some time in a quiet and peaceful place will do wonders for him.]"

Oscar couldn't help but ask. "We?"

Ck'Trrk'Ka shrugged her crest. "[The Matriarchs have come to an understanding. We're going to petition the Holy Diarchy to annex this planet.]"

"It's a little far from the Karnakians' neck of the woods," said Oscar.

"[Exactly. It will make coming here that much more of a pilgrimage.]"

Tk'rii'na darted his head around. "[We're short one in number. Where's the thief?]"

Oscar turned and pointed near the shuttle. "I just saw her over there..." His finger indicated empty space. "Aw, crap."

The Captain growled and shook her head. "[I suppose Ter'yeik made a good distraction.]"

"[It doesn't matter,]" said Ck'Trrk'Ka. "[Someone like her will get back into trouble. Eventually her luck will run out.]"

Rgrarshok touched her ear. "[Ah, that's some better news. I apologize, but we must be going. One of our drones spotted the other one.]"

A pair of blue-and-black taloned hands gripped into the hard-packed desert soil, and corded muscles heaved to pull a long, trailing body further along. Sssnnathor glared ahead at his goal, the crumpled body of one of his Jornissian guards. The setting sun made a long, black shadow which trailed away from the corpse. That shadow was the only reason he'd been able to spot it. 'It' was one of the casualties from the fight atop his vehicle, a fight that had nearly killed Sssnnathor as well. But he was far too augmented to die from something minor like massive internal damage and a fall from a speeding vehicle. Still, he needed the water and rations within that guard's armor. His internal injuries were healing, but far too slowly. He needed to get more mobile, and fast.

With one last, desperate heave Sssnnathor reached his goal. He peeled back the dead guard's chestpiece and gave a hiss of delight at finding a water pouch. The tyrant snatched the treasure out and poured it down his throat. All too soon the pouch was empty. A little more scavenging yielded a few ration bars, which the tyrant swallowed just as hastily.

As Sssnnathor ate the wind picked up, kicking up a veil of dust which surrounded him. He paused in the middle of his desperate eating. Was he hearing things? He could have sworn he'd heard the whine of shuttle engines.

He turned at a noise, and saw a small figure wobble his way out of the blowing dust. The [human] held a silvery rifle at the low-ready position, and the setting sun made that weapon appear blood-red.

"" muttered Sssnnathor.

Behind the [human] limped the mammoth wall of fur known as the Captain. Sssnnathor didn't have to look around to sense the other Senate team members surrounding him.

The [human] stopped just out of easy tail-smash range. He tilted his helmet as he regarded Sssnnathor. After a long moment of contemplation, he finally spoke.

"[You are [fucking] nicked, me old beauty.]"

Sssnnathor dropped the last half-eaten ration bar and raised his hands. "" This could still work. After a little bit of healing time while in custody, he'd be able to break out of confinement with ease.

The [human] tsked. "[Aaaand that's a problem. Seems that [Sssnnathor] is already dead. Confirmed killed a ways off in that direction.]" He pointed into the distance. "[Or at least, if he's not dead now he sure will be in a few days when he dies of thirst.]"

"[The paperwork is already completed,]" said the Captain. "[So you see, you're more of an inconvenience than anything else.]"

Sssnnathor flicked his tongue out as he thought furiously. ""

"[Oh, you mean these?]" The Captain pulled a couple of familiar data chips out of her uniform. "[I believe this is all we require.]"

As Sssnnathor clutched at his jacket pocket in shock, the Captain nodded at the [human] and strode off into the whirling dust.

Sssnnthor glared at the [human]. ""

"[Nope. This is my call. They trust my judgement. If it's any consolation, it wasn't easy. But you're too determined, and what with all of your implants and modifications there's no way we can keep you in jail. Sooner or later you'd break out and start this whole [shit-show] all over again.]"

Ssssnnathor's voice became a shout ""

The [human] shook his head. "[I had a little chat with one of your slaves on the drive over here. If eternity means winding up like you, then y'all can keep it.]"

He raised his rifle.

It was many hours later,and the Claw was now back in orbit. Thanks to some fancy hacking of the planet's comm systems by Bgrarh and Egwreh, those below now knew that they were soon to be under new management.

A lot of them left, of course. Those with a more 'checkered' past felt no desire to become subjects of the Diarchy. As they fled, they passed unharmed through the planet's security systems...but many of their ships wound up bearing a few little extra surprises. The surreptitiously planted tracers would activate if they ever re-entered Senate space.

The crew was all patched up from the various injuries, and at the moment they all waited for orders on where to proceed next.

"{We're about the closest thing to actual authority out here,}" said Myyreh. "{I bet the Senate will make us stay in orbit until they can scramble an emergency fleet.}"

[Oscar] didn't respond. Myyreh lay at a slight incline on her bunk, with [Oscar] in turn laying along her torso on his side. His head came nearly to her chin, and with her un-bandaged paw she combed his hair. The tiny-chomper hadn't said much since coming back on board, and now he'd been silent for longer than usual.

"{You made the right call, you know.}" she said at last.

[Oscar] stirred. "[Eh?]"

"{[Sssnnathor]. It was the proper course of action.}"

"[Oh, I'm not upset about that. He had it comin', worse than anyone I've ever known. And I've known some nasty people.]" He wriggled against her so that he now lay on his back. "[I'm just bummed I had to give [Egwreh] back that rifle. I really liked that rifle.]"

Myyreh wrapped her arms around him. "{So I heard. I think we should write a ballad of your feats when you broke back into [Sssnnathor's] palace. [Oscar], the Slayer of Drones!}"

[Oscar] chuckled. "[And Flipper of Switches!]"

They lay in a pleasant silence for a while, until [Oscar] spoke.

"[I thought I'd get a lecture.]"

"{Hmm?}"

"[From you. Something about never doing something this reckless again.]"

Myyreh sniffed his hair as she pondered his statement. "{It wouldn't be right for me to make such demands. Our job involves risk. We can try to reduce that risk, but there's no way I could prevent you from ever being in danger again. And even if I wrapped you in padding and never let you leave the ship...well, then you wouldn't be you anymore. You wouldn't be the person I love.}"

[Oscar] picked up her bandaged paw and kissed it. "[I could say the same. And since I love you all the way back, how about not getting hurt next time?]"

"{I make no promises.}" She bent down and kissed his forehead. "{But I'll do my best.}"

The pleasant silence returned for a while.

"{So how long until your arm is healed?}" asked Myyreh.

"[Kgrashak] said about ten days. You?]"

Myyreh raised her bandaged paw and regarded it. "{I should be getting these off tomorrow. I'll be back to full functionality within a [week].}"

"[Huh. Wish I could heal as fast as you guys. I guess nanotech can only do so much.]"

She hummed as she hugged him again. "{It's too bad. I was going to give you such a snuggling after I rescued you.}"

"[This doesn't count as snuggling?]"

"{Not for me.}" Myyreh slid her good paw downward and gave his center a gentle grope. "{This is just the prelude to snuggling.}"

"[Ah. Honey-babe, you know I'm always game for some sexy-time. But maybe we should take it easy? [Kgrashak] is gonna give us both that look if we make our injuries worse.]"

Myyreh leaned down and ever-so-gently licked his earlobe. "{I view it more as an exercise in adaptability.}" Her paw increased the pace of its groping. "{There's a position I've always wanted to try...}"

Maria came to a halt as she entered the Claw's lounge. The place was packed, since everyone on board was here either sitting coiled-up while they faced the door..faced her. She did her best to keep her voice level. "Hey guys and gals. What's up?"

Captain Rgrarshok stood. "[[Maria Vargas], for displaying uncommon valor in service of the Senate it is my privilege to award you the Order of Hgnalth.]"

Maria half expected the Captain to break out some sort of over-sized medal and pin it to her lapel. Instead, the big Dorarizin just bowed. Maria bowed back, then cleared her throat. "Oh. Sorry, I don't know what that is."

Rgrarshok's face split in an rare grin as she straightened up. "[I'd be surprised if you did. You're the first [human] to ever be honored thus.]"

"Wow." She looked behind the Captain and nodded at Oscar, who slouched against a bulkhead. "He doesn't get a medal?"

"I'm a member of the crew," Oscar replied. "Being brave is my job."

"[But not yours,]" said Rgrarshok. "[Now for the bad news.]"

Maria crossed her arms. "You didn't say there was bad news."

"[It's not that bad. Your medal is a matter of public record, but the circumstances around it are definitely not. The official story is that [Sssnnathor]...and only one [Sssnnathor]...tried to kidnap you. He died in the attempt.]"

"Hey, if you want me to keep schtum about the duplicating stuff that's no skin off my nose," said Maria. "Just out of curiosity, does this mean I get a big-ass medallion or something?"

Rgrarshok gave a grating chuckle. "[No, but I thought you deserved some sort of physical reward. I asked Egwreh to modify your baggage.]"

Maria's arms dropped to her sides and she frowned at the two Jornissians coiled off to the side. "You let them mess with my stuff?"

Hrathra'sstah smiled and shrugged.

Egwreh stepped up and held forward the Überduffel. It swung from her paw, seemingly unmolested.

"[It's the same as before,]" said the engineer. "[I just added a few more functions to it.]"

Maria's eyes narrowed as Egwreh set the Überduffel on the deck in front of her. At least it looked the same as before. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"[For a start, it now has an integrated power system woven through it. That's for a sensor suite which tracks your bio-signature. I've also added an outer layer of nanofabric. You won't notice it, but it's interfaced with the sensors. If it senses you're in distress it'll auto-deploy. You can also manually deploy it by saying the word [Teddybear].]"

"Teddybear?"

In response to Maria's question, the Überduffel seemed to explode up into her face. She shouted in alarm and waved her hands to fight off the swirling fabric tornado which surrounded her for a moment...

Then she stopped and regarded her hands, which were now wrapped in a matte-black fabric. Maria looked down and saw the same skintight fabric also covered her body. She reached up and felt at her face, which also had a mummy-like wrapping. The fabric didn't seem to impeded her sight or breathing. "Cool! So it's an emergency pressure suit?"

"[Among other things,]" said Egwreh.

Resh'skk let forth a hiss-laugh. "[Since you insist on getting yourself into trouble, I asked them to augment it a little.]"

Egwreh reached forward and tapped a claw against Maria's wrapped-up chest. She felt the fabric over the impact spot harden. "[It also acts as low-profile armor, similar to what you used during the [Sssnnathor] infiltration. It doesn't have any offensive weaponry, of course.]"

"Of course. I'm guessing you'll want me to keep quiet about this as well?"

Rgrarshok nodded her ears. "[It's not strictly illegal, but it would be tedious to explain. Officially it's just a pressure suit.]"

"Got it." She looked down again and tugged at her sleeve. "Soooo...how do I get it off? Do I just say 'Teddybear' again or..."

Another fabric whirlwind resulted as the armor sucked itself back off of her and back onto the Überduffel. The force of it pulling off of her spun Maria around in a full circle. Egwreh regarded Maria as the latter tottered about and blinked in surprise. "[Hmm, that release is a little too forceful. I'll need to recalibrate it a bit.]"

Rgrarshok raised a paw to get everyone's attention. "[And I also have some more good news. Our relief will be here by tomorrow, which means that in another few weeks we'll be back in Senate space.]"

Maria saw everybody relax in relief as the realization spread that there was now a time limit on how long they'd be crammed together.

"[Have they given us our next mission yet?]" asked Ngralh.

The Captain clasped her paws behind her back. "[I have chosen our next mission, XO. We'll be heading to [Hsnrahtath-5] right after we drop off all of our guests.]"

"Sounds like a Jornissian planet," said Oscar.

Bgrarh cocked his head. "[Wait, isn't that place mostly ocean?]"

"[It is,]" said Rgrarshok. "[Famed for its beaches and mild climate. Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say 'mission'? I meant 'vacation'.]"