Outsider

[Laowai]

A day turned into two, and then three.... and halfway through the fourth day the navigator's voice chimed across Laowai's cabin comm system: "We've reached the facing wall Elder, commencing scans as ordered."

Ben looked up from the notes he was studying on his desk. Hitting the comm system he replied, "Good, let me know as soon as you find anything that matches the energy and configuration that we're looking for".
Clicking the system off he sat back in his chair. This mission was guesswork, a stab in the proverbial dark and he knew it, the chances of finding what he was looking for, and then getting anything useful from it, were slim to none.
On top of that, he did not know if he had the ability to do what he thought needed to be done.

She was imprisoned. While it was true she was alive in a sense, he could see her, periodically touch her, she was, for all intents an purposes imprisoned. Locked in the crystal chamber on Tangier, which was now orbited by a Hessian supply station - a fact that made this mission all the more important. He had to get her out.
There had to be a way.

He had gleaned, over numerous personal encounters and by various dealings with those who knew that what passed as a consiousness among the Nomads was able to move from one physical entity to another. It was also well known among the Corsairs, from many deadly examples of personal experience that these beings could take on different shapes, adapt themselves, become what they needed to - death was, as it was to Zarita, a state of transferance.
What the Corsairs of Tangier lacked though, was a desitnation to transfer to. They considered their crystal chamber to be life beyond death and in many ways it was. However Laowai had began to understand that this was incomplete technology, the consiousnesses stored in the chamber were meant to be maintained yes, but they were also meant to be able to be transfered.
How?

That was another question, the answer to which, he hoped to find here.

He rose from behind his desk and opened a small door in the wall beside it. Reaching in he retrieved a small glass and a bottle of Kusari Baijiu. He poured a large dram and took a swig, the heat of the liquid passed from his throat to his chest and he closed his eyes, "i hope this isnt a waste of time" he thought.
Sipping from the glass he moved the the window in his cabin and gazed out at the vastness of the system around him - it was strange, unnatural to see what he beheld; there were no stars, only the vastness of a landscape that sprawled out where open space should be.
In that moment he felt truly small; "who are we to even hope to comprehend... that"? he thought.

He shook himself from his thoughts and decided to make himself useful while the scans were being run. He had been out of touch with Crete for some time and decided to see if he could still access his home system
"Computer" he called out, "access Elder system #Laowai and download contents".

The computer chimed a confirmation and then its emotionless voice called out; "unable to comply, Elder systems unavailable, Comm beacon does not reply".

He took another sip from the glass. This had better work, and if not they could not stick around - for they were very, very much alone out here.

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