NationStates Jolt Archive

Mapped System Y7595, Classification B3 Type, Planetary Body 4:

The Klikiss had no need for names. Being hive minded meant that they each knew what the other knew and as such had no need for descriptive factors in their language. If they wished to identify soemthing they either labelled it with an official registration or used simplistic words to convey meaning, Klikiss Hives would often refer to each other along the lines of "the Hive upon the great river by the forest" or "the Hive near the mountain in the desert"; or something similar to that principel.

Needless to say they did not have much in the way of poetry.

It was also a given that they did not go for much along the lines of artistic design or consideration. But when the Klikiss built something it was built to last, built to work, built to succeed. But one planet in particular, a world which another race, the Ciscilians, had named Wraast to break the monotony of numerical registration. But this world was different.

It was, dry, barren, it's ecosystem ravaged, forests, bio matter resources, all had been strip mined from the world, only vast colonies of microbes in the ocean, which had profilirated through the predator free ocean, survived as the worlds only major organism; the oceans fizzed away as the microbes built skyscaper like colonies in the ocean and diligently converted carbon dioxide to oxygen. But despite this, it was clear that the world was far from devoid of life.

Across the continents, across every sun drenched heat bathed landmass, on a world which would have succumbed to a run away green house effect if most of the gases had not been sucked from the atmosphere, sprawled one of the greatest complexes in history.

The world was dotted with what seemed to be pyramids, immense obelisks, mountains and hills cleaved in half and transportal doorways built into their sides, cables and pipes like immense snakes wound through the world. Surrounding these thousands of structures were the Klikiss Hives, immense termite mound shaped complexes, they varied in their design and composition, showing that different Hives had built different complexes; millions of Klikiss forms marched in endless scurrying lines across the world between buildigns to carry out their tasks. And above all of this, in the battered and much abused system which housed not only this world butthe other strip mined orbital bodies, floated Klikiss ships, from immense Hive vessels to great interconnected masses of Swarmships.It was not a Klikiss colony world however, it was a combined effort, a tribute to their capabilities, but they were not yet finished; it would however be one of the greatest successes in history.

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Mapped System Y7595, Classification B3 Type, Planetary Body 4, Northern Hemisperical Landmass, Planetary Feature Type F3, Classification 2.

"Pyruvial Mountain"

The worlds largest mountain had been cleaved in two, the subsequent face had been smoothed down, components had been inserted into the face, and it had been converted into the largest transportal the Klikiss had ever built. It had not however been switched yet.

This was not entirely due to the transportal itself, the Klikiss had thousands of fusion powerplants built across the world, but those also had to keep the planets other facilities running. This transportal howeve required immense amounts of energy, energy which in terms of this universes laws would be nearly impossible to provide; but that did not concern them, this project was supposed to escape the laws and boundries of this universe.

It would not only be able to provide an access point to anywhere in this universe, but it would provide a doorway to every point in every conceivable universe, the Klikiss had taken the principels of probability and improbability and then applied them to a real life scientific experiment.

Jeck Van Deest was a Ciscilian, which made him stand out from the thousands of Klikiss which were in the same building as him let alone the planet. As a humanoid with blue skin, hair and red eyes he stood starkly against the insectoid Klikiss. The Ciscilians had aided the Klikiss in the more imaginitive aspects of the project, they had near encouraged them to build it. If this was a success then the Klikiss would neve to need to commence a Great Swarm in this universe, the universe would be saved from one aspect of war and trauma and the Ciscilians could finally retreat into isolation as their self imposed role as galactic peace keepers. Together the Ciscilians and Klikiss had used raw science and mathmatics to build the greatest monument to their legacy.

And they had to conceed partial defeat.

Jeck Van Deest, the Head Project Manager, trained in evey area of intellectual thought from mathmatical probability to applied sciences, had had a meeting with the Breedex of The Klikiss Hive, the ruling faction in the Klikiss's race. For them it had been admitting that it would not be worth, and would be near impossible, to create enough energy to open the transportal, but there was another way they suspected, which was why he flicked through a datapad containing the Klikiss's speculations on an interesting possbility; a Domate loomed over his shoulder, his translation device whispering the meaning of it's various rasping and clicking sounds.

"A possibility of unbound unrestrained enrergy of unprecedented proportions." The Domate flicked it's forelimbs in a gesturing motion, pointing at a visi-sketch of an alien being radiating massive amounts of energy from it's body. "If such energy is radiated from a small being with limited abilities to tap into the universe which supplies it, then we could obtain much more by implementing it in a scientific manner, we just need to know how."

"And so you are proposing what?" Deest was not entirely convinced, a race which could radiate energy at will? Nonsense, religion and magic had their roots in science, supernatural beings were merely manifestations of sentient creatues created from the rampantly improbable nature of a universe's sudden expansion; they cold project themselves through into this universe, long since established to not be a "normal" univese, but they could be killed if one knew how.

"I am proposing that we approach this race, which we already have some semblance of relations with, and ask for assistance."

"And you think that this race, this... Greywatch, would be interested in sharing the knowledge of how this works? Surely they would defend such secrets?"

"We are not intertested in secrets, just in the result, what it acheives, we don't have to tell them how our device works, and if they wish they can utilise it, they would have access to an unimaginable amount of resources. What race would reject such a possibility?"

"One which has nothing to loose? From your reports it seems as this race is approaching Utopia, only step or two behind my own Ciscilian Ascendency."

"Utopia is subject to personal beliefs, as myself and the other Breedex's have been telling your people for centuries."

Deest went silent for a moment, it was true that the Klikiss had been banging on for millenia about how all races were equal in terms of ethical and cultural beliefs, unfortunatly it had taken a chance meeting with a Greywatch machine of war to convince the Ciscilians of such a thing being real. The Klikiss had an air of smugness about them which hadn't seemed possible when it all came to light.

"Well... they may be interested in learning, scientific exchange perhaps..."

"I will contact them with all due hast, we are already behind schedule, the Hives are becoming irritable at the resources being taken to this world."

"Are you sure they'll be interested?"

"I'm never sure, but i can assume that some things are more likely than others." With that the Domate luumbered off to leave Deest in peace, he was uncomfortable about utilising something profoundly unscientific, but the project was his main priority.

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En Route To Greywatch Territory:

A message blazed it's way across the cosmos, speedign towards the known areas of the Greywatch empire, wrapped around the fabric of space time itself so that it would not be intercepted by any unwanted factions. It contained information on the general idea of the project, to create a porta between this universe and the many other universes which existed in infinity, no technical details were given, but an image of the world and it's sprawling heavily developed state was provided. A calm voice accompanied the message, reading out a choice greeting and a request for help.

"Greetings Greywatch, i am a Breedex of the Klikiss race, and i have a request for help in scientific pursuit.

Our two races are developed in terms of science, in accomplishments, and yet the unknown still sprawls before us, we intend to unravel these mystereis, and create a device which will bring an end to need and want. A transportal which will not only connect to anywhere in this univese, but to anywhere in any other universe.

Science and technology, aided by the Ciscilian Ascendency of whom you have had dealings in the past, have created this immense device, but one problem stand in our way, realistically we cannot summon enough energy to power this device, but we believe that your race may have a solution. We are aware that members of your race can summon immense amounts of energy residing in another univese or perhaps an enclosed area of a budding diemension. Webelieve that htis may hold the key to our problem.

Of course we do not exect you to part with this information readily, and we doubt our capacity to understand it fully, as such, we are willing to except an exchange of services, we are willing to give you access to this trans diemensional transporter if you are willing to provide us access to a means of obtaining energy from an alternate universe.

If this is in your interest even vaguely then we request that you dispatch the people whom you deem appropriate for such a venture to the enclosed co-ordinates which will take you to the site of the project.

Thank you."

The ship was dark like all FM ships, but then again the halls and rooms were never all that well lit. Black and red made up much, if not all, of the color scheme. It was like any other ship that the Forbidden Ministry had been producing as of late. A 1Km ship of an exotic design, definitely not that of Greywatch; a solid black hull that gave off odd energy signatures as bolts of red Cryptic energy surged across it. Scans would show the ship to be somewhat alive but inorganic and certainly not anything natural. The ship dropped out of PSR followed by a Greywatch research vessel and they both moved to the coordinates they had been given. Inside the FM ship, there were more people gathered than usual; whereas most FM ships required small crew of only 15 or so people, this ship had well over 120 people on it. The Greywatch vessel was the one to announce both ships’ arrivals, sending out the standard greeting before asking if they could now send the necessary people to the surface. The Council had taken great interest in this, especially because the Klikiss, through a long message that tried to describe Cryption scientifically, had requested that those possessing the special ability be sent. The Council had long feared the day that outsiders would begin requesting the assistance from those with Cryption, but the Klikiss were allies with Greywatch that understood all races were equal (and hopefully that no race should be abused or taken advantage of because of a special ability). If Greywatch were to trust anyone it would be them. Still, the Forbidden Ministry was a group that was difficult to earn the trust of; if someone requested the aid of those with Cryption, the FM was going to be very suspicious. But for the time being, they would simply wait and watch and learn.

The Greywatch vessels was detected immediatly, the world of Wraast was in itself a giant super computer tracking the positions and predicting th emovements of every particle that it had on it's immense hard drives, the Klikiss computers did not immediatly identify the strange Greywatch craft, but the research vessel was identified readily enough. Safe in the knowledge that they would pose no threat the vast assembly of Klikiss vessels remained calm and motionless.

The Breedex of The Klikiss Hive was currently stationed on the world, as such she took the liberty, or rather a drone controlled by her, took the liberty of sending a message to the Greywatch vessels accompanied by one of their standard synthesized messages:

"Greetings and welcome Greywatch, I welcome you to the world known to other races as Wraast, the center for the greatest scientific project known to us. I am pleased that you have received and responded to our request of scientific co-operation in this matter, i have enclosed co-ordinates where you may land those whom you have chosen to represent you."

On the sloping side of Pyruvial Mountain, behind the immense cliff face which would serve as the transportal in this project, was a landing platform, it was clear apart from a few rugged pieces of equiptment and a small egg shaped silver craft which was clearly non-Klikiss in origin. A Domate accompanied by a Drone with a translation box stood by the platform with the Ciscilian Deest. Deest himself was wearing minimilistic clothing, shorts and a shirt, tinted goggles to dim the light which bounced of the rock, and on his back was a pack of sorts which hummed loudly, it was blowing out cool air which circulated around him, he was sweating profusely, it was clear he was not suited to this environment. The Domate however stood by, motionless and forever patient, unaffected by the roaring heat, the bright light which bounced off every surface and the sharp bite which came with the moisture free air.

With the response from the Klikiss came the FM's response. Before the research vessel even had its transports loaded, the FM ship was dropping pods. The ship didn't have any need to open its hanger, the pods simply grew out of the hull and launched themselves to the coordinates that had been given. Three FM pods were ehaded to the surface, falling quickly through the atmosphere. As soon as they were close enough, the pods shifted themselves, changing shape to match that of large birds. This was the form the pods would use to keep themselves from smashing into the surface like meteors (the typical way a pod landed). The birds were large and black, they didn't appear to possess any eyes but knowing the Forbidden Ministry, they didn't need any. All three birds slowed themselves and hovered for a few moments above the welcoming party before changing form yet again to resemble large, black dog-like creatures. The creatures sat patiently, as if waiting for something else to happen. After a few seconds, that something did happen: a rift opened up behind the dog-like creatures and a single person stepped through. The person was dressed in a white suit and had dark purple hair. His eyes eyes were shielded by a pair of shades and his skin was slightly pale. A Cryptic aura surrounded the figure, giving anything near him a feeling of discomfort. The figure bowed slightly, "Greetings. My name is Shadow and I wish to establish something now: I will be the resident Cryptic master while Greywatch maintains a presence here. Any questions you have about Cryption or Encryption will be addressed to me until further notice." Shadow spoke with authoriy, obviously he had a lot of power, and didn't what anyone else thought of him. "The scientists will be here in about 20 minutes, that gives us time to discuss what you need in further detail. I know you are trying to make a rift system that will allow you to access any universe, be they ours or others. I know you require great amounts of energy for this project and that you believe Cryption will help provide that power. So, why don't give me a little tour? Then I'll be able to tell you exactly what we can do."

The Ciscilian watched the pods descent and Shadows emergence with great interest, a small amount of amazement and disbelief surfaced but was quickly squashed with logical scientific thought. He felt a slight cold squeezing sensation around him when the man emerged, he shifted his fotting slightly to get more comfortable, the two Klikiss forms however seemed relativly indifferent to the strange sensation. The Domate began clicking and rasping away and the clam smooth tones of the translation began flowing from the black box the Drone held.

"Indeed, it is a pleasure to have you here. I am the Domate of the head Breedex of the Klikiss race, i am, that is the Breedex, is glad that you have come. This Ciscilian here is Deest, an associate scientist helping us in certain areas of the project."

Deest nodded his head and wiped his forehead as a bead of sweat ran down.

"Pleasure to meet you, so glad you could come. Your race is highly revered in my society, you'll have to excuse the Klikiss's erratic speaking habits, having a singular hive mind makes it difficult for them to... articulate sometimes in the right sense."

The Domate turned it's great crested head towards Deest,

"I'm sure the people of Greywatch are more than aware of our nature. Races do not sit idly by, there is information gathering on both sides whether we like ot admit it or not."

The Domate turned it's attention back once more to Shadow,

"The idea of a tour is indeed most appropriate, if you would care to follow us."

The Domate turned and lumbered towards a transportal at the edge of the landing pad followed by Deest and the scuttling Drone. The Domate used one of it's arms to tap a number of the stone squares around the circumference of the trapezoid stone slab, after a few secodns of rapidly dialing in the right code the doorway shimmered, resolving to show a new landscape, the Domate stepped through beckoning the others to follow.

They emerged onto a terrace, built into the side of a montain much like the landing platform had been. The mountain sloped down below them, before them a flat featureles landscape stretched some many miles ahead of them before stopping abruptly and shooting upwards 90 degrees, it touched the bottom of a great trapezoid shaped mountain face, flawlessly smooth, eye wrenching to look at, even from this distance they had to look up somewhat to fit it all into their line of site. The transportals flat pane was clearly visible, standing out unnaturally against the rougher sides and what was left of the mounains natural peak which continued upwards.

"This is the transportal. We cleaved the mountain in two and built it into the rock face, the other half houses most of it's components. Although most of the computing is done in installations across the world."

The Domate turned once more back to the transportal, not particuarly interested in it's breath taking majesty, more concerned about fulfilling some kind of mental check list. It tapped on a few stone panels before an image resolved showing an immense structure like a pyramid surrounded by obelisks the size of sky scrapers. The Domate pointed through the portal.

"A computing unit, and a number of memory banks, there are sevral thousand of them scattered across the world of varying sizes."

The Domate allowed Shadow to look through if he wished, but shut the transportal without stepping through. Instead inputting in a new code, this time it opened up into a small corridor which the Domate and Deest stepped through and into. The corriodor was cool and dimly lit by a yellowish lighting. They proceeded down the hallway, the walls of which were completely covered with Klikiss symbols, scrawls and images. They emerged onto a balcony which ran the length of a large circular room, they were eleven floors up, but a further five were above them. The room had a large amount of dust covering every surface, it seemed abandoned. In the center of the room, stretching up from the foor and up to the ceiling, was a large device which seemed to resemble an immense glass tube filled with a vast variety of copper looking delicate devices which seemed to be delicatly interconnected by thin spindly wires. Machines which resembled simple generators, huge transistors, tesla coils and a great variety of other strange contraptions which would have easily felt at home in the Victorian era of humanity. Deest stepped up to the balcony and swept of a large amount of dust which had accumulated on the side, a few bolts of electric jumped from the cloud of dust he stirred up,

"Dam residue" Deest muttered, he turned towards Shadow, "This was our initial attempt to harness an alternate form of energy, the Klikiss had waged war once agaisnt a race with access to something the galaxy knows as the "Force"".

He chuckled slightly, "Nonsense of course, it was there though... some form of particle energy i think... seems to be assocaited with all atoms in some manner... Still, i'm not concerned with the specifics, i was concerned with trying to harness it."

He swept an arm up and down the length of the room,

"There was some initial success, we managed to gather large amounts of energy from the surroundings and store it in this device, unfortunatly two models of it exploded for some reason... Eventually we realised that it was a dead end and left it, so that was an option out of the window."

He shook himself somewhat,

"Before i go anyfurther have you any questions?"

Shadow followed without speaking. He looked up and down everything being shown to him, his photographic memory taking in everything. If it hadn't been for his suit, his hosts might have noticed something very odd happening to his body as he moved behind them Coming to the portal, he was unphased by its granduer, he acted as if the thing was nothing more than an oversized toy. It didn't seem to interest him in the least. His hounds followed obidiently and without words, showing off some curiousity but little else. When they came to the room he finally spoke, "I have heard of the force, and I've seen it destroy entire armies without any trouble. Not something to be tested in combat... but that aside. I believe I can say that what you have planned is not going to work. The reason being is you science. You have called upon Greywatch because you require Cryption. Cyrption is not something that you can put into a machine and use as a battery. It is something that demands one's respect, if you refuse to respect it and choose to treat it as any other resource in the universe..." Shadow removed his shades and allowed his deep, violet eyes to rest on his hosts, "There will be serious consequences. I do not mean to threaten, I simply speak from experience." He moved his shades to a pocket inside his coat. "Now then, if we could continue. I may be able to figure out some way to help you."

Deest was rather taken aback and was momentarily concerned he had over stepped an unforeseen boundry somewhere, "My apologies if i have offended you But i was simply looking at it from a puely scien-" he was cut short by a sudden spine shivering screech which emmitted from the black box. The Domate flicked one of it's forelimbs at Deest along with two smaller ones in what was evidently a gesture of some sort, Deest shut his mouth and glared somewhat at the Domate who had now focused it's attention back on Shadow, the clam soothing tones of the black box began coming forth once more.

"You are completely correct of course, something with the capacity to cause serious harm should indeed by respected, out of both fear and awe in a sense."

Deest snorted at this, "Fear and awe? That would make it no better than a belief, and beliefs are worth nothing in all practicality, fear and awe hold civilizations back, nearly every race i have read about which has feared and awed at the unknown remains stagnant in backwardness untill some bright individual attempts to explain that which was feared! It is the accumulation of knowledge that we should understand! Not believe!"

The Domate took several heavy sudden steps so that it spun round to face Deest who took several surprised steps backwards, it was clear they had descended into some form of argument which was more to do with them than Shadow.

"Has it not occoured to you that he respects this ability NOT because he is in fear and awe of it BUT because he has come to learn of it in the same way that those inquisitive minds discovered the mysteries of electricity? And because of this he understands it's potential! KNOWS that if we mis-handle it it could have consequences?" The Domate jabbed one it's fore limbs which was as large as Deest's torso at him, "You should know that everything has an explanation! Just because you cannot comprehend it it does not mean that it is a dissimissable phenomena! We would not after all throw him into the control center and tell him the basics of how to operate our transportal? No we could not! We may provide him with the knowledge, but not the wisdom with which to use it! If he opens the portal to the vacuum of space unprotected then the entire planet's at risk of decompressurizing!". The Domate stepped back slightly from Deest who was refusing to meet with one of the Domates many red eyes, "This project should have taught you by now Deest that the universe, this universe, deviates from scientific principels in a predictable, explainable, but utterly bizzarre manner." The Domate moved to turn back to Shadow.

"I still don't believe in the donuts" he muttered,

The Domate swivelled it's head back once more at him, it's main body core inflated slightly, it's eyes blazed, evidently in irritation, suddenly it seemed to calm down once more, "We will prove it, science shall prove, maths shall prove it, the laws of physics shall prove it" the Domate pointed at Shadow, "But in a most fantastic case of irony it will b through what we cannot understand that we will prove the improbable." It turned back to Shadow fully, "My apologies, the Ciscilians can only naturally supress their disbelief for a short while before they have to vent somewhat. For my race, everything is possible, logic dictates it."

“No offense take-” Shadow was cut off by the screech and did his best to ignore it. It was certainly an uncomfortable sound and he was curious as to what the Klikiss was trying to do. It was then that the two hosts began breaking down into their own argument, both of them expressing their opinions. Shadow and his hounds waited patiently until he felt it was to expand a little on what he’d said before. He smiled slightly to the Domate as it looked back to him and apologized, “Oh, I don’t mind. It is good that you both have your own opinions. I had no idea Cryption was such a talked about ability between your two peoples. My primary concerns in this case are what elemental form of Cryption would be best and how to convert it into something you can use.”

The Domate and Deest drew a blank on what Shadow meant by "elemental form" but the Breedex had a vague idea of what to do.

"Perhaps it would be best if you saw the situation for yourself..."

The Domate lumbered back down the corridor in which thay had entered which Deest and the Drone dutifully followed. After travelling back through the transportal they emerged into an immense roomm, it was wide, but that distance was comparitivly small to it's length; twelve large transportals lined the right side of the walls, huge blocky pieces of equiptment on treads were up against the opposite side, thick metal rods as wide as a double decker bus went from each of the metal blocks and connected to another large piece of blocky machinery, from that huge cables and pipes emerged and travelled out through the transportal to another location.

"Those" the Domate said gesturing towards the blocky items of machinery, "are power conduits, nineteen of which are hooked up to twenty four of the power outlets." The Domate drew Shadows attention to the transportals, two of power conduits emerged from each, through the transportal could be seen a maze like assembly of equiptment like sky scrapers, the conduits themselves were more than four stories high. "Through there are the power sub-stations where the power is distributed. Follow me."

The Domate and Deest led Shadow through the room, past eight of the conduits which were surrounded by hundreds of Klikiss scientists and engineers, those close enough to them glanced at Shadow as their antenna twitched erratically; one turned round and pointed an appandage at Shadow before clicking in a satisfied manner and went back to work.

They arrived near the center of the room, three of the large transportals were on the stretch of wall behind them, a conduit trailed out of one of them but the other two were switched off. On the opposite wall, where the conduits were normally pushed up to, where five sets of large metal rods, each set consisted of three poles of metal embedded into the wall and sticking out, they were as wide as a tunnel.

"These are the electric system conductors" the Domate said gesturing to them.

"Commonly known as plugs" Deest said chuckling.

"Yes," the Domate contiued, "The sub systems of the transportals are ready to work, fully supplied with power, unfortunatly the main part of the system, the one providing the energy to allow us to push our way out of the immediate diemensions and into others is... powerless."

"It would be inefficient to build more generators" Deest said waving a hand irritably, "The trick isn't holding the portal open, it's getting it open in the first place. Something which we don't have the energy to do in any practical manner."

"We have a vast assortment of left over equiptment, the capability to produce and devise whatever it is you think is required to get this project fully operational, the only limit is that it must be able to deliver the power through some form through those transportals and connect to those sockets, preferably through a power coupling of our design but we have fuses in place just in case regardless of that..." The Domate was looking at Shadow directly now with it's seven red eyes,"The question we pose to you is of course, can you do it?"

Shadow and his posse looked over everything as they were led through what seemed like a maze of technology. He didn't know, and didn't care too much, how everything worked and functioned. The main thing here was producing power to open up some uber tech gate into other universes. He hoped for their sake said other universes actually existed. He'd heard the arguement but it never really interested him, it didn't affect anyone or anything around him so there was never a reason to care. Apparently that was about to change. An entire planet being used to fuel this one project... well at least this group had dedication. He shook his head at the offer of using some of their left over equipment, "I'll have to use my own equipment, in which case I'll need a fairly open area to begin working in. There is no proper elemental form that can handle this so I'll probably have to find some way of transferring Cryption into pure energy. No offense, but I doubt your equipment would handle what I have in mind. I've worked with large quantities of Cryption before and the last time I made the mistake of thinking supernatural energy could be stored using modern technology, I ended up erasing a star system. I don't really want to make that mistake again." He snapped his fingers and his body burst into thousands of black feathers. However, this change only lasted for a second as the feathers very quickly gathered together again and Shadow's body was recreated. He had changed greatly; he was now dressed in all black: a pair of sandles, some long pants, a sleeveless turtleneck, a mask that covered the lower half of his head, and some goggles. He hair had also spiked up a bit and his skin had become a dark gray color. There were were numerous red designs tattooed onto his arms and hands, the most interestnig of which were the eye designs on the back of his hands. He also seemed to radiate an odd energy, an unnatural chill surrounded his body. "As soon as I have a workplace, I will begin my research." As Shadow spoke, his hosts would see that his teeth had now become razor sharp, obviously Shadow wasn't as human as he appeared. His now slightly glowing purple eyes looked back and forth between the two of them. The hounds didn't seem to take any notice of Shadow's transformation, obviously familiar with it.

Deest and the Domate watched Shadows transformation with different reactions. Deest was somewhat shockd by the transformation but held himself respetfully enough. The Domate however showed neither shock nor surprise, it's mind mostly residing in a Breedex on an entirely different planet meant it didn't have to wory about being suddenly harmed, on the other hand the Breedex took in just how odd this was.

The Klikiss had seen many strange things throughout their travels, their probing into the mathmatical nature of their universe revealing most of them, and Shadows certainly wasn't the strangest sight the Breedex and her forebears had witnessed, he was however quite possibly the most surreal of all of them.

"You will have you work space with little difficulty" The Domate said gesturing to the immense inactive transportal behind them, with that it activated, shimmering slightly, it opened up slowy with a graual hum, the scene seemd to sharpen, dim and alter slightly. Deest cursed in Ciscilian.

"Do we have to?" He said slightly concerned,

"Speed and care Deest are our priorities" the Domate replied stepping forward, Deest follwoed dutifully, they both stopped before the transportal, Deest wthdrew a small shiny stone from a pocket of his and tossed it through. It hit the salth encrustd ground with a crunch and rolled.

"A suppose it's ok then..." he said tentativly.

"The Domate ignored him and followed by the Drone lumbered through. Deest followed, seeing that they were both alright.

It was revealed slightly as to why Deest had been anxious, transportals normally linked to each other, an infalliable method, two automated clocks as it were rapidly exchanging information to ensure that all was well. This transportal however had opened up in the middle of nowhere without another transportal, the Klikiss were using the planets own monstrous computing systems to be able to open accurate portals easily without the safe opposing receiver. Not that Shadow would have known this however, the Klikiss knew they had teleporter technology. A technology which the Klikiss had built, tested, and then tossed aside in disgust and horror. The method which they had used, and which hundreds of other species had used, was merely the sending of data to create an exact copy of the person at the other end. Effectivly creating a clone of the person whilst ripping the original to shreds; the Klikiss, who relied on the Breedex's single mind for sentience, had been horrified, never mind it did not affect anything in society, but the realisation had sent shocking revelations through how they considered and approached their technology.

Of course, Shadow was unaware of the Breedex's momentary pondering on this as Deest had forced himself to walk through.

"Is this clear enough for you to work?" The Domate said gesturing around at the empty landscape, a few pyramid and hive like structures could be seen to the far east but that was it. The transportal providing access to an entirely different place thrummed behind them. "If there is anything you need, we will provide it, workers, food, resources, equiptment."

"I'm guessing you will want details on the power conduits." Deest said simply, "Seeing as how you will need to hook your device up to them some how."

"Also," The Domate interjected, "will we be allowed to watch and assess it's development? Or will you and your people wish to work in isolation without us learning of your secrets?" The Breedex was very simple and to the point, the Greywatch people she assumed would defend their knowledge to great lengths, in the same way the Klikiss protected their knowledge of the mechanics of the universe, very few races realised that their every move was predicted, followed and calculated by the computer which served to help run this project. In the Breedex's mind, it did not matter if either of them knew the others technique. In the end they would both benefit from this, for that matter the Breedex thought to herself, Greywatch had not mentioned any payment or return favour. How interesting, perhaps they intended to black mail the Klikiss with their creation. It didn't matter, the Klikiss intended to allow them controlled access to the final project.

Shadow looked around at the area, "Perfect." He gave a slight smile, as he began saturating the ground with his Cryptic energy. He would begin summoning support for this project soon. When Deest mentioned the power conduates, Shadow simply shook his head. "I don't believe they'll be important. As I said, balancing Cryption and technology is a dangerous practice. I have something unique in mind for this project." He then turned to the Klikiss, "We will be working in isolation." Shadow was blunt about this. The Forbidden Ministry may work for Greywatch, but they sure as hell were not the same thing. The FM was an organization that guarded secret, secrets so dangerous that they had no qualms about committing mass genocide if it meant protecting their knowledge. They were called 'Forbidden' for a reason. "I would also ask that you keep your distance from this area at all costs. Do not come to us, we will come to you." Shadow was very stern about this. It wasn't a request, it was a demand. He and his team were going to be dealing with extremely high amounts of Cryptic energy. To those who worked with or possessed Cryption, it was a well known fact that anything stupid enough to walk into large, powerful, concentrated Cryptic aura would die instantaneously; and Shadow knew once he began working, this place was going to be one massive deathtrap to everything around it except those possessing Cryption or Encryption. "Also, the Greywatchers are arriving now. You may wish to go greet them. I will begin preparing this area."

The Domate acknowledged Shadows request, "So it shall be. We will leave you to your work." With that the Domate, Drone and Deest returned back through the transportal, it flickered and slammed shut; leaving Shadow to work in isolation. They returned to the landing platform which Shadow had initially arrived at to meet the other Greywatchers.

Shadow was pleased to be all alone, now he could truly begin the research. He sat on the ground, legs crossed, and began his ritual. Shadow was a genuine Twilight Demon, a old one at that. He had no need of the equipment the Klikiss had lying around, he would simply bring his own. It was a thirty minute process, but once it was done everything would truly begin.
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A single transport departed from the Greywatch vessel in orbit and traveled down to the surface with due haste. Everyone knew those from the Forbidden Ministry were not big on waiting that the FM had alreayd deployed its rep(s) to the surface. They scientists had to catch up. The transport hovered over the platform for a few moments before touching down. Its back opened up and out came the Greywatch team; two scientists, an engineer, two technicians, and two guards. Interestingly enough, the engineer and technicians were all droids, probably advanced ones; while the guards were both human. The scientists were both Xarniosi, rather human looking ones though much of their bodies had obviously succumb to the conversion process. One of the Xarniosi introduced itself, "Greetings, I am Marex 011. My team and I are here on behalf of Greywatch to learn more about this gateway you have constructed."

Deest had departed the Domates company to go and argue over some logistics another Breedex had brought up, inevitably the Klikiss would probably win the argument as to if it was at all possible to have a universe exactly like theirs out there as opposed to merely uncountable numbers of universes out there which vey slightly from this one. As such, the Domate with it's Drone were there to greet the Greywatch team. The Domate watched as they emerged, noting the droids and human guards and intrigued by the appearence of the Xarniosi who seemed to be not entirely organic. The Breedex erfocused on the situation when the one known as Marex 001 spoke, she had a feelling that this was when the politics begun.

"Well, what do you need to know for the collabaration between us to be a success?" The Domate's translation flowed out calm and sweet as usual as she turned and lumbered towards a transportal gestuing for them t follow. "I have spoken to your.. other, Shadow, and have informed him of the situation. He is aware of our need for power, and i have showed him the means by which it must be poured into the system." The Domate keyed in the correct code for the transportal and lead them through, showing them the same view of the inter-diemensional transporter that Shadow had seen earlier. "Forgive me for misunderstanding but i was under the impression that normal science was useless in terms of Shadows part of the project, and so rendering both our parts in his department void. What do you need to know and why? Or is it more of a case of what you want to know?"

The Greywatch group followed closely, Marex 011 taking point. He did the talking on behalf of the group, "More in the field of the latter category. We are aware of Shadow's participation and that he came without the support of the Council. We are aware that there is not much we can provide in the way of support because you specifically requested the use of Cryption, even if you attempted definition came nowhere close to describing what Cryption is. We are here to learn more about what you have actually constructed here, how you intend to use it, why you designed it... the basic facts. Think of this as being something of a diplomatic and learning experience. Well, a learning experience for us at least."

The Breedex saw through the eyes of the Domate as it looked out over the ridge, the portal towered up towards the sky, the hundreds of Klikiss flyers and maintenance platforms which she knew were there were unen at this distance, going past miniscule to to non-existant. She pondered over the one called Marex 011's question, the Domate showed no sign of emotion or discomfort, but the Breedex momentarily pondered just saying "No" to assertain what their reaction, and therefore their motives would be. Of course, past experience had taught that that kind of behaviour went down very badly with non-Klikiss races. Instead she decided to just tell them what they wanted to know, after all there was nothing wrong with that.

"What we have constructed" the black box burbled out as the Domate clicked away, "is a transportal which not only allows us access to anywhere in this universe, but to every other conceivable universe and diemension in existence, or at least that's the theory."

"The final result is this" the Domate gestured at the portal, "built into the face of a mountain, now cleaved in two. But going into this were two other smaller projects. Firstly one where we have built a computer of such collossal power and complexity which can not only calculate the required probablities and formulaes required to gain access to other diemensions via this transportal, but it is also engaged in the process of tracking, calculating and monitoring the position of every particle in this universe and predicting it's movements so that we can not only gain an increased knowledge of particles at the quantum level. But also so that we can see what transpires in this universe and subsequently predict the future by accellerating the model."

The Domate paused, "That smaller project may be partially made redundant by the transportal, it is predicted that due to probability the odds are that a universe which is ours but at any and every point in both the past and present can be accessed. Subsequently giving us a window into all areas of the progress of time in our universe. This also bypasses the fundamental paradox of looking at the future of our own actions in our own universe and so changing the future, subsequently making the future prediction calculated by us redundant."

The Domate gave the Greywatchians a moment to take it all in before launching off once more.

"The second smaller project was simply the supplying of power to this world, generators have been built across this planet, also transportals have been built at sub stations to bring in power from our other worlds, it is a massive effort between our Hives, and yet we still do not have enough power. Hence why we require your peoples assitance to find an alternative."

"As for why we are building this project. I suppose it's a two fronted objective, both of which are backed by both my kind and the Ciscilians. On the one hand theres the pursuit of knowledge, on the other it's an alternative way of requiring resources without angering the other factions in this galaxy. If this works we will have infinite resources in our back garden, our Great Swarm will be endless and the most powerful show of harvesting this universe, and many others will have ever seen. And we do not even have to tresspass into universes which support life."

"Also the Ciscilians see it as a way for them to deal with us, since they see our potential Swarmings as a threat to peace in the nearby regions of this galaxy. This way they will not have to worry about us. As for it's applications in this universe, perhaps a jump gate to any area in this universe maybe, but we are not to interested in this universe, the other universes and diemensions hold the most promise. It will be of great insight to us to tap into universes where "super natural" energy originates from, perhaps we may be able to see first hand the supposed realms of the "after life" which many races believe in. For by all means of infinity they to must exist."

"Your thoughts?"

"Ambitious." Was the only word uttered by the Xarniosi. It had no reason to say anything else. The others remained silent, having nothing to add. The Droids looked over everything carefully, taking pictures of some areas and performing descreit surfaces scans.
------------
The empty area that the Klikiss had granted Shadow was no longer in the same state. There was now a massive, black citadel where there was nothing. The struture towered several stories into the air, its dark halls alive with activity. Several Drones and acolytes had been summoned to help their master with his project. Dark energies surrounded the citadel, a red lightning arcing from spire to spire. Shadow himself worked alone, having Drones come by occassinally to give him reports and updates about others in the citadel. It was going to be a long stay, he just knew it.

Since the Greywatch Droids had been through no areas other than the landing pad and this viewing platform, and the actual transportal being many hundreds of miles away, their surface scans would pick up on nothing apart from the foundations of the balcony upon which they stood, and the bare composition of the transportals. Most of the Klikiss's technology could be easily duplicated for it's functional simplicity, a core component of the normal transportals was in fact a spring driven binary computer which kept the time to avoid any compications associated with powering digital technology; most of the workings of the Klikiss's technology however focused on the programming of their computers, without which the transportals did nothing other than radiate energy.

Seeing as the Greywatch scientists were, even by the Klikiss's standards, untalkative, the Breedex decided that perhaps they woud be more enthusiastic, as most scientists were, if the Breedex explored more personal areas.

"What of your people?" the Domate asked, "What are the technological and scientific acheivements and aspirations for your Empire? What are the things of which you are most proud? Your personal areas of research?"

-------------------

Shadows transformation of his surroundings had not gone unnoticed, especially on a world whose every particle was mapped and tracked. Nonetheless, it mystified the Klikiss who monitored it's "progress".

Of course, they had no idea as to what was transpiring, no reports, no advice, just a simple "leave us alone we're working you'll get in our way" direction. Which was why they had taken precautions.

Directly above Shadow and his complex, unseeable to the naked eye and hanging stationary above the world, was the "exit" of a Klikiss Torch.

Klikiss Torches were a range of transportal technology which took different appearences, functions and methods, but had the same result of anabling a powerful weapon that would be unmoveable, to project itself anywhere across the galaxy; or at least that was the functional specification.

This Klikiss Torch hanging above the planet, amongst the other Klikiss vessels, was essentially a large kilometer in diameter disk. One side of it was perfectly smooth and stone like, like a normal transportal, on the other side however was a small collection of hive like cities where the Klikiss who operated it lived. It was linked to another stationary transportal which served a large energy projector which drew power from one of the many diemensions which surrounded this one and subsequently was easy to get into; it's power was relativly unharnessable howeve and so the Klikiss had developed it into a device of destruction. If something went wrong on Shadows part that put the entire world at risk the Klikiss would unhesitatingly fire their weapon up and reduce Shadows complex and the surroundnig area for many miles into a salt encrusted crater.

-------------------

Pertaining to the Klikiss's straight forward honesty however they made no secret of this preperation. A polite and instructional video was sent to the two Greywatch vessels in orbit explaining what they had planned as a last ditch precaution, and even provided a simulator which gave a rough idea of what it would do.

They accompanied it with a simple message, asking to be informed of what was transpiring should something which appeared cataclysmic from Shadows facility happen but was in all actuality harmless to avoid blowing him and subsequently the entire project into atoms; if it was at all possible to turn a Cryptic user into atoms using extra-diemensional energy.

Also as an after thought they asked what timesclae they thought it would take Shadow to make progress, if enough free time was a thand and Greywatch was embedded in the Klikiss's affairs then the Breedex would extend something similar to a cultural exchange trip.

The Xarniosi produced the equivalent of a small sigh, "That depends who you ask in Greywatch. Despite us being united as a single nation, we still operate more like an alliance. The Council's Ministry of Science is actually several organizations, factions, and sub-factions which all work in different fields towards the one goal of 'advancement.' Most important to the humans are the advances in lifestyle and society in general, at least that's what I believe. They focus heavily on how to improve themselves before setting their sights to other goals and seem to be most interested in diplomacy. Humans are probably the most... adaptive race in Greywatch as they typically seem very willing to morph their society so that it fits the needs of others, I believe this is why so many races are willing to live side by side in Greywatch. The Xarniosi like myself focus on two specific goals: we wish to collect all information we can and add it to our Archives and we wish to rid ourselves of the parasite which plagues our bodies, while at the same time learn more about our past. The Leanorians are by far the least developed race in Greywatch, and are quite willing to admit this. However, like humans, they evolved from the Elden and also happen to pocess Cryptic abilities. The Leanorians live on a world that is attacked by what they've labled as demons; they wish to not only find a way to eliminate this threat but also want to become closer to their human cousins and eventually catch up to the other races in Greywatch, technology wise. The Kiixori are an insectoid race that are aggressive and wish to do nothing more than fight, at least from what I've seen. I do not know their goals, they might not have any. The oldest Greywatch race, the Elden, are much like the Leanorians, but they have intentionally hindered themselves from developing, for what reason I do not know. The Elden, for all practical purposes, have reached a state just below immortality, I have not met a single Elden that is younger than the age of five thousand years old. The Elden live mostly in solitude, the few that mingle with the other races often do so because they are bored and find that they have nothing better to do. Then there are the Dragon-kin, an artificial race originally created to serve as elite soldiers in Greywatch army during one of the New Heaven conflicts. The Dragon-kin, due to their being human hybrids, are very similar to their human creators in almost every way other than looks." Marex didn't bother going to any details about specific advancements and desired futures, these things didn't matter all that much to him. He simply wished to lay down the basics and move on, his voice made clear his lack of interest on the particular subject.
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The Klikiss were probably not aware of Shadow's own amount of preparations regarding the project, they were also probably not aware of his ship's nature. The FM ship was unlike other ships because, to some extent, it was a living entity. As soon as the Klikiss sent a message to the FM ship, its hive-minded nature made Shadow was quite aware of how the Klikiss had prepared for his arrival. He didn't need to see the Klikiss Torch to know that it was there, he was quite aware of the Klikiss's way of dealing with certain situations... the Klikiss message was nothing more than a confermation of his suspiscions. Either way, that meant nothing to him at the moment as he was busy constructing a way to make the Klikiss gate run on Cryption, pure Cryption rather than going through an unneccesary conversion process. He did see it fit to sent them a messenger to answer their questions and did so after finishing what he saw as the first step of this little project. The Greywatch ship in orbit took the information but didn't bother to act on it. The FM was in complete control of the project, they were only there to monitor and learn.
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Said messenger appeared on the same platform as Greywatchers. It didn't blink in, or use any other sort of obvious technology. It simply wasn't there one moment, and was the next. The guards were quick to raise their weapons before realizing the thing standing to the side of them actually wasn't a foe. The being stood before everyone, dressed in black, apparently ceremonial, armor. The creature's face was obscured by the mask it wore, a mask which hid even its eyes. The being looked to the Greywatchers and then to the Klikiss, "Shadow sent me to answer your questions."

The Breedex didn't have enough to time to venture along a different path of conversation, being clear tha the Greywatchians were obviously not interested. As a race, no, as a society, she found them all to be rather... narrow minded. It seemed as if each species had cut off it's ties to anything other than it's own speciality, assigned by... humansthe founders of the Greywatch Empire the Breedex assumed. The Domate turned to the messenger.

"More of an inquiry, the hives are wondering as to the expected time span of your project. Additionally, some Hives have suggessted a form of cultural exchange for educational purposes regarding society."

The Domate gestured towards the Greywatch group,

"We are getting the impression however that people of your society may not be interested in learning the nature of our own civilization."

The messenger shrugged, "That depends on how quickly we get ahold of a vast amount of Cryptic energy. Normally, I'd go with several years, seeing as this project is so large but that time can be cut down to some mere days if we try our... other means. As for cultural exchange, you are talking to the wrong group of people." Marex took over, "Indeed." Marex found the brief whine of the Domate as nothing more than an annoyance. "We were sent to learn about this gateway system and nothing more. So to that extent, we, the people standing in front of you, do not care too much about a cultural exchange as that's not apart of our job. Your message to our people certainly didn't highlight your interest in one, but if it's diplomats you so desire at this moment, then we will make the proper people aware of this." The Breedex could think what it wanted, it wasn't like Marex expected any Klikiss to understand. Every Klikiss was little more than an extention of its queen, tailored to do a simple job and move on. He doubted they had individual personalities, feelings, or overly complex thoughts; if they did have the ability, they certainly weren't very keen on showing it. To him, the Klikiss racial structure had been easily reconsturcted by the FM, the Drones carried out the most basic of tasks without question and could hold a little extra programming or be customized for special jobs; everyone was hiveminded and served as little more than extensions of some central body that was little more than a incredibly gifted puppeteer; and then you had the FM's different branches, like the Klikiss's different hives, except in the Klikiss case it it could be safely assumed that every hive had the same purpose and possessed little diversity or sense of individualism. Of course, Marex was quite aware that his opinions were biased and based this upon only what he'd seen and heard; perhaps a proper diplomat, who had the ability to hold back all judgements until after a meeting, could clear up the air of simplicity that seemed to surround Klikiss 'culture.' However, after such a random tangent of thoughts, Marex came back to the world les than a second later realizing that none of this was even his concern; he had a specific job to do and every nanosecond counted. Marex made a simple motion with his hand and one of the droids nodded, "Request sent. A diplomat will be sent ASAP." Marex looked to the being, "Thankyou. Now that there's an actual diplomat on their way here, I'd like to get back on task. Shadow, being his predictable self, has yet to send us an actual detailed report of what you covered with him, so if you don't mind I'd like you to show us what you showed him. Go into all the details, please, don't leave out a single thing unless it is classified information. I wish to make a thorough report and construct a detailed entry into the Archives that will expand your section beyond the past conflicts our races have been involved in."

Although on a Hiveship many hundreds of kilometers above the world the Breedex picked up on Marex's tone; her own opinon on Marex's attitudes were further fortified by the chemical induced "feelings" that the Domate and the Drone went through. Klikiss sub-types were not stupid, they indeed lacked in an individual personality, instead sharing a single one, the Breedex's one. But the sub-types were capable of thought, the Drones themselves were little more than instinct driven creatures, but like most creatures they were subject to a certain amount of emotion, which was why, as a torrent of chemicals flooded its system, it began lightly tapping one of it's rear arms with crab like claws against the metal translator it held.

The Domate on the other hand, as the highest sub-type, was capable of intelligent thought and formulating opinons with regard to situations. It's view of Marex dropped drastically, whilst the Drone was merely agitated and angry the Domate was able to expand those basic instincts further into feelings of an irritation; all because it thought that Marex, the ape based creature which stood before it, believed that it's sense of being in the universe was higher than the two insectoids which were before her. A common view shared by many races in the galaxy. The Domate merely stiffened slightly, the Klikiss did not act on their emotions, it was up to the Breedex to make decisions and guide them, a few moments later the Breedex mentally encouraged the Domates system to introduce calming chemicals into it's body; the Domate relaxed and turned it's attention to the messenger.

"Thank you for the update, if there is anything you need please do not hesitate to ask."

The Domate went to turn it's attention to Marex once more when it noticed the tapping by the Drone which had become gradually louder as it tapped harder. Alerted to this through the Domate the Breedex mentally navigated it's way through it's mental web to this particular Drone and encouraged the release of similar carming chemicals, the tapping stopped; the Breedex also dropped a mental instruction into it's mind to seek out a form of physical related release.

The Domate did nothing for a few minutes as the Breedex assessed the information available to her and judged up Marex's tone, comparing it to the Domates chemical response which she had observed, she came to a similar conclusion as the Domate had done, Marex was rather indifferent to her kind and as a result had acted arrogantly and, to the Klikiss's annoyance, rudely.

The staring continued for a while longer, finally the Breedex decided to play it's words across the Domate, the Domate began clicking and raised a forelimb at Marex and pointed,

"You are rude." The Domate, or rather the Breedex, said simply and calmly, "And judging by your nature so far you will not care much for this observation. Your people evidently have a limited understanding of my kind and i will forgive you for your obvious indifference in much the same way as i have had to do so for every other race my kind has ever encountered." It was clear that the Domates tone and way of speaking had changed slightly, as if it now had a personality, coloured by thoughts and opinions, the result of the Breedex directly pulling on the Domates mental strings and handling the situation directly. The Domate began ponderously moving away from the balconys edge towards the transportal, it was silent for a few moments as it moved, before the translation started up once more.

"I normally prefer to let my sub-types hadle matters directly but it is clear that you are neither considerate nor particuarly helpful." The Domate gestured towards Marex once more, "You evidently have a low view of my kind. Perhaps you would have been somewhat more polite if you had known that your every word went directly to me, yes i am speaking in the first person and if you knew the basics about my kind you would have realised by now that i, the Breedex, was speaking to you directly. My Hive stretches back over millions of years, generations of accumulated knowledge and yet i haven't found a single race which hasn't come to the immediate conclusion that me and my kind are uncivilised, uncultured and animal like, treating my sub-types with an air of contempt untill they realise they have been speaking either directly or indirectly to me." The Breedex turned the Domates head once more to look at Marex, "I am not angry, irritated or hurt by your kind, merely dissapointed."

The Domate pressed a series of panels on the transportal and its surface began to throb, the Breedex/Domate looked back at them, "Anything you care to say before we discuss what is relevant and what is not with regard to what you wish to learn?"

"Further prattle will only delay what is important, but since you asked... Rudeness is in the eyes of the beholder. I consider myself to be brutally honest and straightforward, something most races obviously cannot stand though I will not apologize for it because it's my job. I care very little your feelings, to be quite honest. But do not think I hold myself or anyone else as being 'higher.'" Marex rolled his unconverted eye as he put the neccesary emphasis on 'higher'. "Race may mean a lot to you, but do me there is simply biological and non-biological, nothing more. And believe me, to some extent, I could say I envy you. Look at this body." Marex outstretched his arms revealing how much of his body had been coverted. He was a abomination or flesh and machine, both seemingly competing for control over his form, "Look at me. It's disgusting, isn't it? Having a disease that makes you stronger, but at the same time kills you by reducing you to a hollow shell of your former self. Though, I have done what anyone in my position would do, I've bucked up and decided to deal with it. Now then, in terms of me not knowing you could hear me... I am quite aware you could hear every word I said, as I find your kind to be somewhat similar to the Forbidden's Drones-" He made the appropiate gesture to the messenger who simply shrugged. "-and every other insectoid race I've heard of. And I was intentionally speaking to you, yes you Ms. Queen. On terms of culture: Am I indifferent to your culture? Without a doubt. Do I jump to conclusions and offend others? All the time. Do I look like the kind of person who will change? No. Am I selfish, cruel, and someone who no one could possibly love? By all means. You can say I am as stubborn as the virus which inhabits me. But at least I am not some machine that some faraway being can control at a whim and speak through, at least not yet. I am not made to serve every desire of some all mighty master. I am Marex 011, a diseased being from a corrupted, foolish race that sometime ago doomed itself into what it is today." Marex's voice remained completely unchanging, he gave the entire monolouge as if he had written a year beforehand and was now simply reading it off a script, "I, find joy, interest, and passion when learning about machines, not people. I love science, schematics, mechanics, and engineering. The transportal networks that you have set up interest me to no end. The fact that you believe you can access other universes is fantastic, I wish to see the outcome. The fact that when I am done here, I will be able to place all of this in the Archives fills me with joy. But I care little about your race, or any race. I care little about your feelings, or anyone's feelings. I care little about you, or anyone else, including myself. And if you wish to hate me for, do so. Emotions are a plague, that is what I believe, and your little outburst does little to convince me otherwise. Many members of my own race hate me for my lack of diplomatic skills, that isn't enough to make me change. I apologize for the lack of forewarning about the people you'd be dealing with; but to that extent you shot yourself in the foot, figuratively of course, with your message to Greywatch. I was chosen for this for two main reasons: One, I take my job far more seriously than others, ensuring I rarely get off task. Two, because I actually have some knowledge of the Forbidden Ministry and their inner workings, which means I know when and when not to question them; this is something you don't know how to do. Now is a perfect example." Marex now turned away from the Domate focussing all his attention to the messenger, "You said other means." The messenger nodded, "Right, that. Shadow is planning to use the greatest source of Cryptic energy we know of so far in order to harvest said Cryptic energy and have a power source ready within a week." Marex shifted his weight, "The Season Shifter Worldslayer. Shadow, once again, does something I predicted. Very well, I shall report this to the Council immediately."
"Figured."
Marex turned back to the Domate now, "Now then, is there anything else you wish to add, confirm, state, expand on? Is there any other obvious flaw you wish to point out? Go ahead, insult me and look down on me all you wish. I don't care now, nor will I ever. So to end this with a human pun-" Marex opened a small part of the left side of his chest, displaying a small, yet powerful generator, "-I'm heartless." Both voice and facial expression remained unchanging, apparently both were set in stone. He and the rest of team moved forward, "Now then, can we please get on with this? This subject bores me to no end and I wish to see what I came here to see."

The Domate produced a rattling sound, the closest a Klikiss got to the equivilant of laughter. "Disgusting? Certainly not, an abomination of your former self? Maybe. But you yourself being an abomination? Certainly not."

The Domate tapped a few more tiles around the transportal, it seemed more limber and energetic than it had been. Marex's retort had pleased it to no end.

"You should take pride in what you are" The Breedex said simply, gesturing at Marex's arms, "Appearence matters not, surely it's the intellect and drive behind a mere physical form which should be valued in not just individuals but in a species." The Domate waved one of it's hind arms at Marex between it's forelimbs, "You say you do not care about anything of my kind beyond our capabilities and technology, not based on what we are but in spite because of what you are. This puts the meaning behind your words, and as such i understand." The Domate paused in it's pushing of buttons as the Breedex made one more point.

"Given your situation and nature you will not change yourself, having come to perhaps loathe yourself which is something i see no reason for if you follow it to it's logical conclusion. You implied me and my kind when referring to an all mighty master, indeed a pull the strings on all of my kind, but i do not dominate them, i merely guide them. It is how we evolved, but that is not my point. My point is that although all of my kind may lack in a personality, vary between the sub-types with regard to their initiative, intelligence and capabilities; each of them can feel emotion in varying extents. You are similar to my scientist and engineer sub-types. Focused on a task, without consideration for feelings and so called emotions. My scientists may have the greatest intellectual capacity but it is at the expense of emotions. You, on the other hand, are in a sense superior to a Klikiss Scientist when it's taken on its own. You are capable of great intelligence and gathering of knowledge, but you are capable of much more" the Domate gestured at Marex again, "certainly capable of much more than the mere machine which consumes you. If emotions are a aprt of your species then you should embrace them, not suppress them. I apologise if i hav spoken out of term to you, i for one belive in politeness and tact, but as you said, everythings relative."

The Domate turned round fully and assessed them, "Now perhaps onto something which will interest you. Would you simply like to see the technologies such as transportals, or would it appeal to your scientist like nature to peruse through a more... assorted collection of our works."

Marex simply nodded to the Klikiss's speech, indicating that he both understood and respected the opinion of his host. Then, with a slight and uncharacteristic smile, he commented, "If I may say this one thing regarding logic: I've found the only logical thing to do in a universe such as this one is to ignore logic itself. But as you said, onto other things. You've presented me with quite the desicion, for both things you have offered interest me a fair deal. Very well," he clapped his hands twice and looked back to the rest of his group, "If you will allow this Greywatch team to multitask, I will take a droid with me to view the collection you have on display while the rest of my group views the technology of the transportals. Fair deal?" The messenger looked to the two of them before snapping its fingers and leaving the scene. Marex also went on to proceed with the update he'd nearly forgotten about, "And the diplomat should be here within three minutes by my calculations."

OOC: I have awakened from my slumber and walk this earth once more.

The Domate and Drone clicked rapidly, which although wholly alien was rather appealing, an expression of pleasure.

"I am everywhere that my sub-types are, i do not mind how we deal with things. I will send my Domate with you Marex along with the accompanying Drone, i will dispatch another Domate to welcome your diplomat; but i am afraid i will be stretching myself to thinly to allocate another Domate to your other group. I will have an Observationist sub-type welcome them."

The Domate completed it's pressing of the transportals tiles, opening up an entrance which merely opened onto a dim corridor, it was illuminated by a seveal fire fly like creatures which produced an orange light around them; with the Klikiss symbols scrawled across the walls it resembled an Egyptian crypt.

"If your other group Marex would kindly proceed through here and wait they will be meeted by the Observationist which is on it's way. I must inform you however that at certain points i myself will not wish for you to take readings of certain areas although we will be open about most of it. If you do try to take readings my Engineer and Scientist types will instinctivly not take kindly to it, if you stir them it will be difficult for me to reign them in; but providing you listen to me all will be well."

(OOC: I'll put them through so we can move things along, if thers anything you do not like say so and i will edit myself for you.)

After the transportal closed behind the other group, leaving them to wait in the mostly empty corridor with a dense buzzing sound coming from either end, the Domate keyed in another location.

The portal opened up onto a ledge which looked over a vast mesa. From the picture frame like view that the transportal provided it could be seen that it stretched far over the horizon, the ground seemed to be barren, composed of a multitude of vivid variations of orange and red and light browns. The Domate gestured through, "Shall we?"

(OOC: Nice to have you back, thought i'd be patient and let you find your own way back :D. You can send down your diplomat in the next post if you like, the Domates on it's way. I can't be everywhere at once ;) )

Marex looked to the other Xarniosi, a 'female' if indeed it still possessed its genitalia, the being nodded to him before taking the others, save for a single droid, through the portal. Marex now turned back to the Domate, "Indeed." He stepped through the portal now waiting for whatever came next.
----
Meanwhile, yet another ship appeared in orbit. This one was a Harbinger, though despite it being a military vessel it obviously wasn't here for anything else other than the drop-off it was performing. A single transport exitted the ship and quickly made its way to the surface while the ship patiently waited. Once the transport had reached the platform the others had been dropped off at, it hover for a few moments. Without it landing, the doors opened and the diplomat jumped out. As soon as she had exitted, the transport left, heading back to the Harbinger which, as soon as the transport had docked, left the system.
----
The diplomat that had been sent was dressed in a gray uniform and wore a pair of dark goggles to shield her eyes from the sun. She also wore a white cap on her head, her short blond hair sticking out from underneath. She was also carrying a backpack of some kind, though its contents were not clear. She waited patiently, looking over the edge of the platform.

The Domate followed Marex and the droid through the portal along with her Drone, they stood on the ledge, facing out across the mesa the side of a collosal mountain stretched up behind them, a small pathway led down the side, but the Domate directed Marex's attention to the view, sweeping one it's forelimbs across the scene, "This is our homeworld" The Domate produced a strange mixed over lapping series of clicks, buzzes, hums, whines, chirps, rasps and all manner of other sounds which weren't translated, "We have no equivilant for what you would call it's name, although name is not the right word."

The full scene afforded to them was something the Breedex doubted Marex would appreciate of given his nature, although the Klikiss themselves rarely stopped to admire the view as it were. A great plain was before them, a mixtre of yellows, reds and oranges, like a variety of coloured pastels had been rubbed over it's surface; here and there the ground glittered, crystallized salts from natural means or by products of the Klikiss's activities relfected the sunlight. In the distance could be seen a great sea which sparkled in the distance, but nearer to where the montain was located was an immense Klikiss Hive. The collosal termite like structures rose up into the sky like ancient gothic arcitecture, smaller Hives surrounded it or rose up from the main strucutre like turrents, smaller buildings like pyramids, obelisks and squat square structures were gathered round the base.

The Domate turned down the path an began lumbering off beckoning Marex to follow, two suns, or perhaps three, loomed ovehead, one a bright yellow beating down on the world, the other, which was small yet appeared like a red "giant" also loomed just above the horizon; but another one, a dark disk hanging in the sky marked by the occassional flicker of light in places on it's surface or a dim glow which blotched small parts of it's surface hung over head like a spectre. The air, with the heat, was heavy and dense, but suprisingly, it was fresher and cleaner than encountered on most worlds, indeed an over abundance of oxygen was present, sothing and filling.

-------------------

As the other Greywatch party waited in the dim corridor with the occassional fire fly buzzing around their heads a Klikiss form rounded the corner and walked towards them. The Observationist was a Klikiss sub-type which allowed the Breedex to focus clearly on what was going on, it appeared much like a Drone, except it was taller and less heavily built, it's head consisted of five immense red eyes embedded in it's face plate, each one the size of a large plate; a sweet honey like smell accompanied it, and so was surrounded by dozens of fire flys which illuminated a great amount of area around it. The translation box it gripped beneath it produced its standard softly spoken tune.

"Greetings," the Observationist directd it's eyes at th other Xarniosi, "This is the form in which i will use to guide you. May i ask what you name is? I'm afraid i have yet to learn it."

--------------------

The transportal at the edge of the landing platform shimmered and a Domate accopmanied by a Drone emerged, as they approached the Greywtach diplomat the Domate could be seen to be limping slightly, it was missing a leg, it's two forelimbs were battered and bruised, it's carpace cracked and scratched in alot of places, one of it's eyes was also a dim red as opposed to ht eothers which were birght red.

"Welcome Greywatch diplomat, it is with pleasure that i receive you here, may i enquire as to your name?"

The droid accompanying Marex was already taking all sorts of samples, readings, and other recordings of everythign presented. However, unlike the simple and unmasked surface scans of before, these were both incredibly detailed and completely invisible. Marex on the other hand inhaled deeply through his nose, it certainly was different from the hellish landscape that was his homeworld. He had no change in expression for as the Klikiss had assumed, the view meant nothing to him. "I see." Was all he said as he looked around before turning his attention ahead to the large hive, "Is that where you store these other works?"
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One would notice that despite the soldiers being the only humans there, they were very relaxed. Their weapons were pointed at the ground and they didn't appear to have a care in the world. The other members of the Greywatch group seemed anxious to move on, even though many of them were droids. The female Xarniosi looked up at the Klikiss that approached it and gave a slight bow of the head, "My name is Arc 562." Her pale green eyes looked over the halls, she seemed very interested in the fireflies that surrounded the observer and restrained herself from reaching out and grabbing a few just to get a closer look at them. "We are ready when you are."
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"The pleasure is mine, the name's Angela Goldenrod." Came the response as she looked to the two beings in front of her. She walked towards them, looking at the Domate's injuries. Must've been doing some dangerous stuff in there, she thought to herself, poor thing. She gave a slight bow, "How do you do?"

The Domate proceeded down the sloping path with the Drone keeping close behind, the path itself wound down the edge of the cliff, back and forth untill reaching the bottom. "That is where we store our other works yes, anything ranging from initial or innovative machines of our own devising, to blue prints of our constructions, scientific principels, all of them are stored here. We also keep alien equivilants which we salvage and discover on our journeys, from advanced technologies to ones which are merely different, some are merely intriguing due to their oddity."

"The hive itself is on the site of where our Hive was orginally based, but during one of the Great Swarmings we were driven off world. We later rebuilt a new hive here out of... instinct I presume when we returned. Since we were the most technologically advanced of all the hives when we conquered them we decided to store our technologies here; I believe a museum is the closest equivilant."

--------------------

"No need to act in such a manner Arc Five Six Two." The Observervationist said waving a spare appendage at her, "The token is well received but i prefer beings to respect others based on intellect, accomplishments and wisdom rather than a culturally enforced protocal. You are free to be yourself."

The Observationist with it's highly profecient eyes, and a brain specialised at spotting small details and figuring out what they were, alerted the Breedex to Arc's interest. "Fire flys?" The Observationist waved at the them as they buzzed round it's body, "Attracted by a scent which i release, serve to ensure a constant source of light around me. More of an evolutionary trait than anything else." The Observationist turned and began moving down the corridor, "I shall lead you through this project as it works, i hope that you find it a stimulating intellectual experience; we certainly have."

-------------------

"Greetings Angela Goldenrod" The Domate's translator replied with a somewhat happier than ususal tune, the Domate itself and by extent the Breedex had been pleased by her show of interest in them, "Please stand and act as you would, no need to apply cultural protocol here unless you truly wish to as an individual." The Domate gestured for her to stand upright, "As for your question, as the Breedex i am busy, stretched across the galaxy by the threads of mentality connecting me to billions of minds, performing more tasks than there are atoms on this world; in other words, i am fine and all is well. If you were referring to my Domates appearence, it to is well, as my oldest Domate it has allowed me to oversee the more complex and potentially dangerous projects my race has undertaken over the centuries; although it has experienced more than it's fair share of injury it's position has contributed to it's age. Most of the others oversee battles."

The Domate came to a stop in front of Angela, looing hgh up it looked down on her in a non-threatening manner, the Drone, which was only five foot high, looked up at Angela in unmasked curiosity, "May i ask how you are? And further more, what you hope to experience and or accomplish here, i asked for a diplomat, but am not sure in which capacity your purpose is."

"I see." Marex said quietly, following them down the path, droid close behind. Despite his lack of interest, he recorded everything that was being told to him. A museum, huh? It reminded him of the Archives. "I imagine you have quite the collection."
-----
Arc shifted her weight as if in thought before replying, "I will be sure to keep that in mind. However, where I come from, one's manners are weighed as heavily as one's intellect, as Marex no doubt made clear. Though I do thank you for your openess and understanding." The droids were sure to record the information the Observationist had provided about the evolutionary trait. Arc simply gave a nod as the Observationist led the group through the halls, "I'm sure the experience will be quite worth our while."
-----
Angela smiled having straightened up before the Domate said anything. "Standard diplomatic procedure, a way of greeting and showing respect to others that is accepted amoung most races in this galaxy. Though, I'll be sure to keep what you've told me in mind." She listened to the Domate as it spoke, lifting a brow as it refered to itself in detatched, third person style before remembering what she'd heard of Klikiss queens. She smiled slightly as she looked between the two insects, one large and the other short, so very much like the Kiixori. "I'm happy to say I'm doing well, thankyou." she then thought it appropriate to address the last question befor ethe second. "As you said, you asked for a diplomat." She gave a slight pause as she removed her cap in order to get a better look at the Domate, "And I would be that diplomat. As for what I hope to experience and accomplish: anything you believe is worth showing, please show it; if there is something specific I wish to see, I will be sure to ask. My purpose is to learn about you and in so doing allow you to learn about the nation I represent. In so doing, it is my hope, and the hope of my employers, that a much stronger bond can grow between our two peoples."

"Quite the collection" the Domate replied as it walked before Marex, "This Hive contains an example of nearly every piece of mechanical technology which we have developed or obtained. Other Hives have come to focus on other areas or try to out do the other; but my Hive maintains the... monopoly, on technology."

As they came to the end of the path it merely led them onto a quarter of the way from where they had started, embedded in the cliff side wall however was a large bathysphere like vehicle resting on the inside of a large tunnel. It was easily large enough to fit in several Klikiss, the Domate gestured towards it as her Drone scuttled in,

"This will take us to the Hive complex, if you would care to enter."

-------------------

"For a culture such as your own which seems dedicated to the aquisition of knowledge then yes it will be quite worth your while..."

The Observationist quickly but lightly led them down the hall with it's odd form of scuttling locomotion, in part of it's mind, the part which was designed to make decisions and form thoughts without the Breedex's direct involvement, whirred and flared as it formed thoughts and scenarios about it's guests...

As they neared the end of the corridor the sound of buzzing increased, a faint mixture of smells could be detected.

"I am taking you to the room where we calculate the required probabilities to allow us access to the desired universes, locations, and diemensions; the Ciscilians call it the Hippocrites Lounge."

They were led through a wide door onto a platform set halfway up an immense room, more like a cavern, resembling the internal structures of a beehive. The buzzing sound was a consistent drone, different tones and intensities would sweep the room like a mexican wave, strange scents, from bitter to sweet, mixed and clashed and overwhelemed each other in the room. Nearly four hundred Klikiss Acientist types were in this room, each focused on a computer monitor, Warrior forms and other Observationists prowled the room. The Observationist gestured to the nearest Klikiss Scientist, it was of a different morphology to the other Klikiss, of all types, that the Greywatch teams would have met. It was more angular in it's shape, more protusions adorned it's shell, red marks adorned it, different to the smoother and more curved shapes of the main Klikiss seen so far; the Observationist's gesture was an invitation for them to take a look around the room, or at least the immediate areas given it's size.

"This room is composed of scientists from many Hives" the Observationist explained, amplifying it's output to be heard clearly above the din, "The buzzing and scents are mass communication, they need to think together, a challenge when communication is not something we practice on a concious level." The Observationist paused, allowing a sweeping increase in the buzzings noise to sweep past them and further through the room, "By communicating and swapping information continuously they can remain in sync, it is very important that I, and the Breedex, myself that is and the Observationst, myself... I mean..." The Observationist paused, clicked and rattled to it's self rapidly and began again, "They cannot be disrupted or interferred with, if they pass on the wrong information then it will sweep through the room. A double edged sword... they can do things rapidly, but may make mistakes, we do of course have another group making checks on their data. So far so good though. Questions?"

------------------

"A stronger bond indeed" the Domate and Breedex replied thoughtfully, "My kind are certainly forming an interesting link with your kind here on their world, will be interesting to see where it leads..." The Domate trailed off, suddenly clicked to itself and turned, gesturing for Angela to follow it lumbered towards the transportal.

"As a diplomat you must have been in a similar situation to this many times i suppose, listened to races drone on about themselves and their supposed accomplishments. Let's try and veer away from me going on about my kind with you being forced to dutifully listen and pretend to be remotely interested." The Domates translation had a tone to it which implied it was joking, a lighter quality to it. The Domate dialed in a code in the transportal.

"You may ask any questions you wish, to what you eel you need to know and what you would like to know. During which I will show you the more interesting areas of Klikiss territory as well as anything i feel will be beneficial to your understanding of my kind. Perhaps this will be a good place to start."

The Domate led Angela through the transportal into a glass tunnel beneath a sea, the glass tunnel looked delicate, although the oceans surface was not in sight the sea was brightly lit, the water was clear, and much could be seen for long distances off. Or at least it would be possible to if it was not for immense multi coloured shiny termite stuctures which loomed up from the depths of the ocean, past the glass tunnel and up towards the surface.

They were collosal underwater structures, their surface texture like the shells that sea creatures spun themselves. streams of tiny bubbles emerged from countless tiny vents in it's surface, making the ocean fizz slightly. They were in every direction, their wider bases closer together further down but opening up as they became narrower near the top. Around them a vast array of aquatic life from trilobites the size of cars, amonites the size of blimps and an unimaginable number of smaller creatures, fish of smaller sizes and all kinds of creatures swam and weaved their way past each other. The Domate simply stood and let Angela take it all in with a simple,

"Welcome, to the oceans of our homeworld."

"Monopoly on technology, huh?" Marex mutered under his breath, "Interesting." Marex was quick to enter the vehicle followed by the droid. "Well you certainly know how to whet one's appetite."
----------
It didn't take very long for the soldiers to cover their ears, and eventually activate their suits to block out the noise. The droids, however, were busy recording sounds and images for implantation into the archives. Meanwhile, Arc was mapping out the room, using the constant sound as a form of sonar for a not perfect but fairly accurate map. "Hmm, very interesting indeed." She breathed deep through her nose, getting a sense of the multitude of smells in the room. "I assume you don't mind if we take oxygen samples?"
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Angela smiled at what she assumed was a joke and stepped through the portal. She looked around the area with clear suprise. "Well," she started, "I've heard about underwater cities... but I've never been in one." She looked to her guide, "Tell me, what inspired you to build this? I always thought insects, be they developed or not, would choose to stay away from large bodies of water."

The interior of the bathysphere was devoid of any furnishings or form of support, the curved back wall was covred in a maze of glowing lines and symbols; making it look somewhat like an abstract circuit board. The entrance hatch swung shut as the Domate stood to one side and the Drone scuttled to the rear panel; lacking windows a light in the roof flickered on to provide a dim orange light.

The Drone pressed a large triangular button in the middle of the panel, causing a slight jump to be felt in the bathysphere and a dozen small pings to echo throughout it's structure; a dull hum could be heard from outside. There was a pause as the Drone scanned the display, a few seconds passed, then eveyone in the room would experience the sudden force accompanied with going from stationary to moving; the Domate and Drone easily absorbed the shock with their eight legs, the Domate kept an eye on Marex to ensure he didn't fall.

"Magnetic levitation" the Domate explained, attempting once again to find some form of conversational ground with Marex the Domate tried a new topic, "Tell me, if you do not mind, you have made clear your affinity for technology, from where does this drive originate?"

--------------------

The Observationist turned to focus it's vast eyes on Arc, it seemed to be assessing her before turning it's head once more and suddenly talking as if it had done nothing, "I don't see why not, I don't see why either." It wandered forwards through the room, heading for a transportal located near the center of the room, "any questions of other requests before we move onto the next part of the project?"

-------------------

The Domate and the Drone rattled in something which a human may have equated to as a laugh, "Intelligence runs against instinct in most cases does it not? Why should it not provide us with the rationale to overcome a simple fear of water? A good point nonetheless however, admittedly we do not make a point of building close to water if we can help it, this is the only underwater complex my Hive has built and is in possession of, I cannot accuratly say the same for the other Hives."

The Domate and Drone began leading Angela through the tunnel which wound round the structures, "These structures are stromatolites, that is colonies of bacteria, these vast structures are over a million years old, composed of limestone and calcium giving the structures their mostly clean white colour, but also uncountless types of impurities are locked up in the structures giving them a shimmering multi-coloured quality."

The Domate approached the side of the tunnel which had wound close to the stromatolite, hundreds of minute bubbles could be seen endlessly pouring from it's side, "As you can see they produce oxygen, as a by product of their activities they keep the oceans and lower atmosphere clean, they are not part of any food chain, but they make it possible for all creatures on this world to live; these structures are the living breathing lungs of our world."

The Domate cocked it's head to one side and looked at Angela, "A stark contrast to my own kind and the effect we've had on the world's surface."

The droid had no problem absorbing the sudden movement; Marex’s body moved only slightly, his upper body experiencing an almost ragdoll effect while his legs remained as unmoving as stone. He turned his head to look at the Domate that seemed eager to converse with him, “If you’re asking me who first constructed such a device, I couldn’t say without some research. There are probably thousands of races who thought of and constructed it without any outside assistance. However, if you’re asking me how such a device functions… just give me half a minute...”
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Arc pretended not to notice the Observationist; she was watching it as it watched her, though the way she did so was much less straightforward. She saw the world in a different manner than most, finding odd ways of using the nanites which infected her body. She nodded, apparently to no one, but the droid with her apparently understood the gesture. Two cylindrical devices emerged from its back, each one coming out about five inches and only remaining in sight for three seconds. The devices then vanished back into the droid and weren’t seen again. The others moved to follow the Observationist as Arc continued to stand for a few moments more. She looked as if she was waiting for something but after a few seconds had passed, she moved to join the others. “Continue on, please.”
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“Good answer. Oddly enough Greywatch is the same, we don’t typically make a habit of build underwater cities… but apparently building on desert, volcanic, and frozen worlds happens to be just fine.” She gave a laugh before moving to follow, listening to the Domate as it spoke. “Interesting way of producing oxygen. I’m curious as to how this works full-circle. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen in doing so while animals breathe oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. If these bacteria are not a part of the food chain, is there something that keeps them from reproducing too fast and simply depleting the limestone too quickly? You said these structures have been here for millions of years, how have you kept them from deteriorating completely? Or have you occasionally had to replace the limestone every now and then?”

The Domate and the Breedex thought rapidly about what they had said in relation to Marex's answer, they realised, after consulting their language database, that what they had meant and what they had said had been two different things. What the Domate had meant to say, and in a sense did, was to ask where Marex's species drive for knowledge had come from. Unfortunatly the nature of the galaxys most abundant language involved many meanings for the same word. Marex had used drive in the context of machine rather than urge; ironically appropriate the Domate thought considering his nature. Nonetheless, the Domate remained silent, intrigued to have accidentally stumbled upon a viable topic of conversation. Meanwhile the transport continued to rumble along.

-------------------

"Very well" the Observationist replied, having made sure that the Greywatch party was with her. Approaching the transportal the Observationist entered a code, stepping through the Greywatch group was beckoned to follow, they emerged at the base of collosal pyramid and obelisk like structures that were like a chain of small hills and spires in themselves. "This is the simulation center, here you will see how we attempt to simulate the movements of this galaxy and more importantly the outcome of this project." As the Observationist moved off she inquired of Arc, "does Greywatch operate any large projects for scientific and technological purposes?"

--------------------

The Domate was happy to answer Angela's questions, also recognising her distinctive human laugh. "Seeing as this is a natural ecosystem it took as a while to research it and deduct just how it worked; we also had to factor in our own affect on the ecosystem." The Domate gestured once more to the stromalite's, "For starters these grow slowly, so there is not a fear of them getting out of control, although they are abundant throughout nearly the whole ocean of our world." The Domate gestured out both sides of the glass tunnel, showing how the stromalites could be seen looming through the murky depths in all directions, "It has been calculated that the sea level is fourty seven standard galactic meters higher then it would be if these stromalites were not present; they take up a lot of space, the few areas that they are not is due to erosion by the more powerful underwater currents which still manage to circulate in some areas; aside from those the seas are mostly calm. With regard to running out of nutrients, if they do not have the nessacery compounds to either generate limestone or a substitute they simply respire, so no growth but they do not expire either."

"In the past, given evolution, our world would have been a varied ecosystem on land, so yes the plants and animals would have taken in oxygen and produced carbon dioxide, which in turn would have either gone into the atmosphere or dissolved in the ocean. The plants and bacteria both produced oxygen, and so although the chemical system was more weighted on producing oxygen there was always enough carbon dioxide we believe for it to continue working. They are exempt from the food chain due to their intial importance to pumping oxygen into the primordial atmosphere, whenever a species arose which could utilise the stromalites as food they were quickly reduced to near extinction, but since they were the only source of oxgen the ecosystem tended to collapse, we belive this happened several times, the stromalites thankfully surviving, untill we got to a mature diversity of species where they simply ignored the stromalites as it were."

"Of course, as to why the stromalites have not run out of deposits for building their structures, that involves my own kinds evolution, rising and surpassing all other species, our natural cycle reducing entire habitats to barren land as we harvested their resources, strip mined and then later engaged in the vigorous burning of natural carbon deposits. During the periods where we hibernated, which are often centuries, the nutrients washed out into the oceans, accumulating in rick sediments for the stromalites to draw upon."

The Domate paused for a moment, "If it had not been for the stromalites my race would have killed off our only other source of oxygen through simple evolution. Thankfully the oceans are rich in biodiversity, chance served as well I believe." The Domate watched as a swarm of large ammonites swum past, "after all, after encountering other races and learning their history we realised that if most of them had been as vigorous as us in our harnessing of resources then they would have gone extinct; many did and have since that realisation befell us."

“I’m going to take your silence as you telling me you’re not quite sure how to respond. Don’t worry; despite the typically destructive nature of my nanites, I can link up to this transport without damaging it. However, I’ll only do so with your permission.”
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“The largest projects in years past have probably been the creation of the first Worldstarters and Worldslayers; that is, before advanced replication technology became available. We don’t devote entire planets to single projects in this manner, except in the case of the Heaven Spires. We try to keep our projects very compact.”
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“I suppose you’re very lucky to have had that ace in the hole, as it were. So, where are we off to next?”

OOC: Much shorter than what I orignally had in mind but felt I had to get something down.