firstofitskind | Spaceship Parking, and then [Location Redacted], The Mainland, Wednesday Afternoon

"Good," Verity declared. "Because I left all the Aeslin back home and they'd never forgive me if I abandoned them for Bermuda."

Okay, they would. As a Priestess, there was very little she could do that would lead to them not forgiving her; choosing one of them as a sacrifice hadn't even come close.

"They were very enthusiastic about your gift, by the way. There were fashion shows involved."

That she had watched because she hadn't fully forgiven herself for the sacrifice thing yet.

"That's adorable," Liam said. "I'm kind of sorry I didn't get to see that for myself. I am glad they liked them, though."

They were coming up on their destination, finally, which meant Liam was bringing his hands together in a motion that looked as if he were holding an invisible basketball. The glowing purple sphere of energy that represented the Interdimensional Drive appeared between his hands and he pulled it towards him. The world around them vanished, replaced for a moment by the glowing energy fields of interdimensional space, before Liam used one hand to 'push' the ID drive in the direction of the viewscreen and they reappeared in normal space.

Verity tried to keep an eye on what Liam was doing, but she couldn't take her eyes away from the window. First the world fell away to replaced by lights energy and then they were suddenly over a rainforest. She was from the Pacific Northwest, so she knew green, and yet she was still floored by just how green it was.

"That was gorgeous," she breathed.

"It's even more amazing on the ground," Liam promised, as he began their descent.

"You've been to the rainforest often?" Verity asked. "I mean, I'm guessing at least once, unless this is going to be even more adventurous than I was guessing."

"My work took me there a couple times," Liam confirmed. "Both officially and with the Liberation." The latter of which had kind of led to why they were here today, as she would soon see.

"So what did you do here?" Verity asked, impatiently waiting for him to...park or dock or whatever spaceships did so she could take her seatbelt off and get a closer look at their surroundings. "Either officially or with the Liberation."

"Officially?" Liam said, finally managing to find a clear enough spot to set the shuttle down. "There were archaeological digs for Taelon relics out here. Unofficially... well. That's why we're here, as it happens." He'd stop being a mysterious little shit eventually, Verity. Promise.

But for now, he was finishing the landing sequence and disengaging the virtual glass so they could step outside. "After you."

"Good, because the suspense is killing me," Verity laughed, practically bouncing out of her chair to get out of the ship. She'd been fascinated by it when she'd first climbed aboard but it was nothing compared to the excitement of finally getting to see the Amazon--and whatever Liam's surprise was.

"The air smells amazing," she said as they disembarked. She was wearing impractical shoes, but didn't seem at all discomforted by them.

Honestly, she'd worn higher in worse terrain.

Liam supposed he ought to have maybe given her slightly more information than just 'dress for someplace warm', but she seemed to be managing okay, so.

"Even Taelon tech couldn't rid the world of air pollution. But out here? You wouldn't know it," Liam said, stepping carefully over towards a small stream.

Even if he had, she just would have worn a thicker heel. Verity was very short, at a ridiculous 5'1, and her heels helped compensate for it.

If she could run across a derelict roof chasing an ahool, she could manage in the rainforest. "It's lovely out here," she said, looking around. A trio of brightly colored birds took off into the sky and something skittered through the underbrush. "I wonder if there are any cryptids in this world," she said, reaching for his arm.

"Not the way there are in yours," Liam replied with a shake of his head. "But there is something." One hand reached to take Verity's, while he held the other out, palm open, and activated his shaqarava.

The pinkish-purple glow swirled in his palm briefly before he sent it gently arcing over the stream.

After a moment, there was a similarly-colored blast of energy from the other side, fizzling out a few feet from where the pair stood.

Edited 2017-12-29 08:22 (UTC)

"Okay, what is that?" Verity asked.

Other people might have looked a littler nervous or at least concerned that their date and some unknown entity were tossing off candy-colored glow beams at one another. Verity just looked excited and intrigued by it all: the lights, the mystery, the starship, everything. Any more enthusiasm and she'd be tugging him towards the stream to get a closer look at whatever was over there.

"They're called skrills," Liam grinned at her. "Watch." There was a rustling of leaves, then, and two scorpion-like but also clearly alien creatures skittered out from under plant cover.

"Aww, lookit those little guys," Verity said, leaning forward to get a better look. She moved slowly and didn't try to reach for them; no cryptozoologist survived past ten by blindly trying to make friends with new and potentially dangerous species. "What can you tell me about them?" she asked. "Is there a colony nearby? Are they colony-dwellers? Or mated pairs? Or...?"

Hopefully this was Liam had planned for the date, because he'd just introduced Verity to a new breed of creature and she was a little distracted now.

This was going pretty much exactly as planned, yes.

"The Queen is nearby," Liam said. "She's the one who replied to my signal. These two are from... one of the first litters she had out here, I think."

"Drones, soldiers, or workers?" Verity asked. "Or something completely different? I need to write this down! I need a pen and--I don't have a pen." She felt up the sides of her dress like there would suddenly be pockets and stationary there by magic. Space-magic? "...I don't suppose your ultra-cool, very fancy spaceship has a notebook or pen on it, does it?"

Not warning her to wear better shoes for a trek through the Amazon was fine. Not preparing her to have notetaking equipment when introducing her to a new species? Might need to have a talk about that.

"I don't have a notebook," Liam said apologetically. "If the Queen agrees, though, you could use my Global to take some recordings?" He took the phone out of his pocket, sliding open the screen.

A noise that sounded like some sort of combination of a purr and a chitter rose from the underbrush, and another skrill appeared, this one noticeably larger than the others.

"They won't be seen by anyone from this world," Liam told the Queen. "Unless and until you're ready to share your family with them."

That purr-chitter came again, followed by a small blast of skrill energy that landed at his feet. A warning shot, of sorts.

"She says she'll trust me on whether or not she can trust you," Liam translated, handing over the Global. "So, go ahead."

Edited 2017-12-29 20:01 (UTC)

"You have my word that the only person in this world who will see my notes are Liam," Verity said, speaking directly to the Queen. She wasn't sure if the Queen could understand human speech or if Liam was going to need to translate for her, but it seemed rude to talk about her rather than to her. "My people keep many species secret from humans who would hurt or fear them if they knew of their existence. And I am honored by your trust."

Sure, it was mostly in Liam, but the Queen still could have said no.

"Telepathic communication?" she asked, raising the...Global?...to snap a picture. "Or some kind of alien connection? Or something else?"

"All of the above?" Liam answered. "She understands us, and I can understand her, but neither of us is really built to speak the other's language proplerly."

"Fascinating," Verity said, glad she'd gone with her instincts in addressing the Queen directly. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said, looking back across the stream. "My name is Verity."

"Is there something I can do to show respect?" she asked. The Queen was sapient enough to have conversations with Liam, so there were likely traditions and modes of respect that Verity could adopt while speaking to her.

"You're pretty much doing it already," Liam said with a smile.

"Technically, plenty of people know that the skrills exist. That they're here, in the wild... that's the part we're trying to keep secret, for now."

"So how did they end up here?" Verity asked. "Either on this world or in this spot, whichever." Or both! Verity was always down for both. "They don't look to be native, not really."

"May I come a bit closer to see you better?" Verity called. "Or have someone come to me? You're really quite lovely. I won't touch without permission, of course."

Or make any sudden movements! Because, again, not an idiot.

One of the younger skrills apparently took this as a cue to skitter over until it was merely inches from them.

"Like just about everything in my life... it all started with Taelon meddling," Liam explained. "The skrills were taken from their homeworld, and bioengineered to be given to certain humans as weapons."

"Can they not go home again now that they've been bioengineered?" Verity asked, taking pictures of the tiny skrill from as many angles as she could, sometimes pausing to politely request that it change positions slightly. "Or is this home now and they have no reason to leave?"

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