Forums » Sci-Fi Roleplay » Travellers (Semi-Open RP between Tara and Catrin)

Thyr made a face, "I suppose I could, but if I get noticed tapping into fashion nexuses in the SenNet and the other AIs get wind of it and start commenting, I'm blaming both of you."

Tara giggled, "Aw... fashion not manly enough for an old warrior like you?"

"No... no it isn't." The AI said.

The scholar shook her head and turned to Catrin, "Anyway, most young Terelains will at least be apprenticed in their parents' trade, or attending some educational institute. I suppose there would be a few young ones off travelling in-between picking up a job or heading off to one of the big academies I suppose."

"Ah..." Thyr said, "I... yeah, I found the fashion that's in vogue right now. I think this particular fashion is from some odd little backwater colony."

Tara looked curious, "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you shave off all your fur, paint yourself green and-" He began

"Thyr!" Tara cried, "You didn't even look did you?"

He chuckled and grinned, "Only teasing. The fashion's silver, but with swirling, iridescent patterns and most clothing seems to be some kind of snyth-silk. I found a rather... striking example with diamonds stitched into the weave that seems to mirror the night sky as seen from the equatorial regions of Tyshal."

Tara looked thoughtful, "Hm? Well... I think I'll have to g on a short shopping excursion once we land. I don't have much silk stuff, synthetic or otherwise."

Catrin smiled. "You could say that you are committed to carrying out even the most unpleasant of missions. Sense of duty is manly, right?" She chuckled. "Besides, I'm sure Tara can come up with examples from various cultures in which interest in fashion is an attribute of masculinity."

She seemed interested when Thyr mentioned the new fashion, and remained so even after it turned out he had been joking. "Shaving all the fur off and green paint... could look interesting..." she mumbled before she started paying attention to the real fashion. Her eyes lit up. "Oh, I like iridescent patterns and silvery metals! And the silk! I'm so glad the fashion isn't something completely insane. As it often tends to be."

"Do you think I could come, too?" Catrin asked Tara enthusiastically.

Tara nodded, smiling, "Certainly, you don't think I'd go off on a big shopping spree in the largest markets this side of Levadau without bringing along my newest girl-friend, did you? The Ancestors know I won't be taking him along." She pointed at Thyr, "The only thing he'd be good for is carrying stuff... and since we won't have access to loads of holo-emitters or field-projectors, he'd be pretty damn useless... even as eye-candy."

"I resent that." The AI said, "I'm not exactly here to be ogled at anyway... or carry your bags."

"Except... your're pat of my starship, so technically you already-" She began.

"Yes I am quite aware of my primary functions, thank you." He replied, he then shook his head and smiled to himself, "Look how the mighty have fallen, eh? The mind that planned the Tai'shayn Offensive, the brain behind the ship that punched a hole through the Ysaldra Line and opened the way for the Siege of Tyralis... and now I'm stuck carrying around bags and being ogled."

"Oh poor baby... life's so hard for you isn't it?" Tara giggled.

The AI sighed, "You know, if I didn't like you so much... I really really wouldn't."

Tara blinked, "Um... I.. does that even make sense?"

Catrin beamed at Tara, her ears all perked up, as well as her stance. "I'm glad. Thank you."

She twitched her tail in a questioning gesture at Thyr. "Are you actually genuinely depressed over having less glorious functions now? I really hope not, but if you are, is there anything to be done about it? Is it common? Can I help in any way?" She was a bit concerned.

Thyr shook his head, "Depressed? No, of course not. A little nostalgic for the old glory days? A little. There's nothing that could be done about that, short of another Great War starting, and as much as I miss my old days as a soldier... I wouldn't relish it like I used to. I'm... older now. Different. A civilian." The AI gave her a warm smile, "Thanks for the concern, but it's like anyone who was powerful once and isn't so great any longer; you tend to miss the old days... but I don't think I'd ever o back to being a warship AI... I'd be pretty useless at it."

"Useless? You? But... all those stories you keep telling me, you saw the Second Great War from start to finish. All that experience would be invaluable." Tara said disbelievingly.

"I'm a civilian AI now; I have compassion, mercy, empathy, an appreciation for organic life beyond my crew and the protection of civilians. If they were removed from me now I'd become... not me." The AI looked disturbed at the thought, "Besides... war is hell. Glorious, in some ways, beautiful in others, but ugly and terrible all the same. I wouldn't want to return to it. I look back at the things I did during the war, the battles I've fought, the countless thousands, millions perhaps, that I've helped kill... well, as I have said before, a lot of old war-AIs have gone mad when they've been re-purposed to civilian life, and gain a new perspective on life." He smiled at Tara, "You're quite right though, I did see the War, from start to finish... and that's precisely why I'd be a bad choice to be recommissioned. I've seen far too much in my time."

Tara smiled warmly, got up from her chair and actually hugged the hologram, "Yeah, well, you might be a grizzled old veteran, dreaming of glory but shying away from war... but your my grizzled old veterna, you hear?"

Thyr smiled, "I... thanks, Tara."

She nodded, "You're welcome... besides, if I sent you back now, I wouldn't get my deposit back."

Thyr broke out into a grin and laughed, "Yes, well I'm sure you'll agree I was worth every penny you paid to the Archives."

Catrin seemed pensive about what Thyr had said. "Well, yes, war is hell... You said you gained compassion, mercy, empathy and so on..." She smiled at him "That could be useful. Can't AIs become, say, economists, co-deciding the fate of more than millions, this time using compassion along with exquisite reasoning, computational skills and their experience with tactics and strategy?" She chuckled. "Maybe being ogled and carrying Tara's things around is a... questionably pleasant way of spending time before you achieve more greatness."

She shrugged and smiled widely. "Or maybe you'll love being ogled so much that you will forget about the past and just enjoy it. It's not like you've had much experience with it - it's just been a week. Maybe it will be an acquired taste for you."

Thyr seemed to considered that and then shook his head, "An economist? Important perhaps, and a useful thing, but... I would grow restless with such a position, and there is little glory in being an accountant." He smiled slightly, "At least with Tara I get to see the wider galaxy, sights and civilisations unknown to others... it might not be as exciting as leading a raid on an enemy stronghold or breaking the battle-lines of the enemy fleet, but there is an... attraction to her work. Her enthusiasm is infectious, no matter how often it makes me wory for her safety... or sanity on occasion."

"Hey!" Tara said, offended, "I think of all of us, I am certainly the most well-adjusted. At least I don't have homicidal tendencies. Remember when you wanted to squish Catrin under our landing pads?"

Thyr smiled slightly, "It's in my core programming. I can't help it."

She shook her head with a smile, "Sometimes I wonder if you lie awake at night dreaming up ways of killing people without using actal weapons."

"Well, I don't sleep, so I have to occupy myself with something." Thyr said with a grin, "And knitting doesn't appeal to me."

"You could always try helping me keep my records in order." Tara said.

"Last time I tried to fix the chaos you call your filing system you loked me out of the ship's non-essential systems for two weeks." Thyr reminded her, "Although, maybe it was because I found your secret stash of romance poetry."

Tara's eyes widened and if she'd been Human she would have blushed, as it was her tail curled in embarrassment, "That was valuable research! It was a thematic analysis on pan-galactic courtship practices."

Thyr said nothing, beyond a silent disbelieving look.

Catrin 'shrugged'. She hadn't really meant anything that had something to do with accounting, the governmental positions which involved making sure billions of beings would be kept reasonably happy, occupied and fed involved a huge amount of analysing, strategising and trying to predict the future. And if one was wrong... well, the beings paid for it. There was no glory in these things, just a lot of responsibility. But maybe there were special AIs designed for this purpose, or supportive purposes related to it, or maybe AIs weren't allowed in at all. So she didn't comment further.

Instead, she nodded. "Well, I'm glad you enjoy it," she said with a smile.

She shrugged and smirked when Tara mentioned 'well-adjusted'. "I'm not supposed to be well-adjusted to anything, so I'll gladly let you take the first place in that one."

She didn't join the discussion about trying to kill her or other beings, and chuckled at the 'pan-galactic courtship practices' comment. "Why be ashamed of wanting a little romance? On the other hand, I'd be ashamed of wanting to study pan-galactic courtship practices from just poetry. I'd want to get as diverse a collection of materials as possible. But it's a good thing you didn't study pan-galactic mating practices... otherwise Thyr would have found your stash of alien pornography." Catrin was only able to hold a serious expression for a couple of seconds after this, then she started giggling, covering her mouth with her paw.

Thyr shook his holographic head, "Besides, they have dedicated AIs for handling the economy. Hell, that was one of the first things we AIs were designed to help with when the Kingdom first started creating true AIs, well, the economy and research. I mean, do you know how complicated an interstellar economy is? Not to mention the exchange rates between vastly different currencies and species. You'd have to be an AI to get anything meaningful done."

When Catrin made her comment on pan-galactic mating practises, Tara made an odd choking sound, her eyes widened further and she buried her head in her hands, then she looked up and glared at the AI, "Not one word you."

"What? What did I do?" Thyr asked in confusion, then his eyes widened slightly and he grinned, "Oh... That."

"We swore never to speak of it again." Tara said.

"Did we?" He asked, tilting his head, "I don't remember."

"We never speak of it again." Tara said dangerously, eyes narrowing, "It was a misunderstanding... the translator broke down."

"Sure, of course it did... and I'm a toaster." Thyr said sarcastically, "The one time you ever had to use a translator throughout an entire study..."

"It was a mistranslation!" She said, "Um..." She glanced at Catrin, "Anyway, um... oh! Thyr, are we coming up to Aerin?"

"Don't change the-" He sighed and shook his head, "Fine... we're in visual range of Aerin now, but it'll be another twenty minutes before we enter orbit."

Catrin laughed. "Of course you would. Alright, I understand. The positions are already taken."

At noticing Tara's reaction, Catrin calmed down a little and stood still with her paw on her mouth and her eyes wide, watching the exchange between Thyr and Tara with utmost attention. When Tara glanced her way, she lowered her paw and looked back at her innocently.

She smiled at the change of subject. "Oh, can you show it to us?" she asked nearly excitedly. "I'm looking forward to seeing it, and Tara probably is, too, after not having seen home for so long. Or not?" she asked, turning to Tara. She still had that entirely innocent look about her.

"I was trying to buy fine art." Tara muttered to herself, "Stupid translators."

Thyr grinned, but apparently he decided to have mercy on his thousand-year-old friend and said, "Certainly, and it's been thirteen years since we last saw Aerin, even for us that's a long time. It'll be nice to the Homeworld again."

"Bring up a full holographic projection, Thyr. I want Catrin to see Aerin in all her glory." Tara said.

The hologram nodded, the holographic view-screen that dominated the front of the cockpit appeared, on it was a blue-green world, half of it covered in the darkness of night, decorated by three silver moons. The view zoomed in until the world dominated the screen - five continents, the northern continent and crescent-shaped western continent dominated by mountains, the central continent had a single vast forest at its north, an equally huge desert in its south and great plains on its eastern and western coasts, the centre of the continent was also dominated by mountains, and a small spur of them went south to separate the western plains from the desert. The southern continent seemed to be a single mass of emerald jungle, upon which there was no sign whatsoever of settlement or civilisation. The eastern continent was the most varied; the south was a broken mass of mountains and jagged peaks, huge craters and deep rifts and there were many islands surrounding it. A northern crater surrounded by mountains gave way to plains, and between the southern and northern mountains there was an ancient forest, the far eastern coast was a single great plain with cities visible all across them, with a single great river running south from a lake near the northern edge of the continent to the sea.

Tara was stood up, staring at the planet with a smile on her face, "Behold, Nah Siima Aerin. The Shining Jewel. Birthworld of the Terelains, the Gillorians, the Isthenir, the Nymphs and the Dragons, the Crown of the Third Kingdom and the home and cradle of the Terelain civilisation for more than thirty thousand years." Tara turned her eyes from the planet to the three moons orbiting it, "And, of course, the Three Sisters; Ilaris, Queen of The Night, Senura, The Guide, and Tara-Menil, The Little Sister, who have watched over and nurtured this world since before Terel first stepped foot on her soil."

Catrin smiled when Tara asked Thyr for the holographic projection. While she took a very good look at the planet she didn't seem particularly impressed by it - it was just another planer, after all.

Her smile turned a little wry when Tara stood up and gave the lengthy introduction. She waited for Tara to finish, but after a curt acknowlidging nod, she had to ask. "Do all Terelains feel this way about Aerin? More importantly, are young prospectors from outer worlds expected to display a similar level of eloquence about it? I really hope not, please tell me they aren't."

Tara faltered and looked a little lost at the reception to her grand introduction, "W...well... no, I suppose young prospectors aren't expected to be so eloquent... but... every Terelain is supposed to feel... something when they see the Homeworld, I mean it was the cradle of our civilisation, it was the place our species was born, it is the heart and capital of our civilisation."

"To the Terelains, Aerin is the centre of the universe, the most beautiful and most important of all worlds, the centre and origin of all civilisation, the Alpha and Omega. It is sacred, sacrosanct. The only species with more awe and reverence for their original birthworld is the Xin'Ta'Faxi, and that's only after they turned the whole planet into a 'holy city' and decided to kill any alien that dared to try and land on it." Thyr said, The hologram gazed silently at the projection for a moment and then said, "Aerin is so culturally significant that the entire Kingdom would likely implode if the planet were ever conquered or destroyed. Terelain civilisation would collapse."

"I guess not everyone feels as strongly about Aerin, but it should still be... uh... awe-inspiring, I guess, special, to see it." Tara said, then she smiled slightly, "I guess to you, someone who's seen billions of different planets, it's just another rock, but to me and my people... well, Thyr said it best. This is home."

Catrin gave Tara an apologetic smile. "Oh. You were being serious about the whole thing, then. My apologies." She waited until Thyr made his point, smiling briefly at the idea of everything imploding, and when Tara finished speaking, she 'shrugged'.

"Well, it's not just another rock, rather... just another enormously awe-inspiring thing to come across. If you think it through, everything is a miracle, even the fact that we can move a muscle. Such macro-scale things as civilizations are certainly very impressive, but if you look at things in the right context, almost everything is." Catrin smiled a little.

"Hence I tend to be awestruck when I'm in the state of mind for it, and to be honest grand introductions send me into the opposite one, I've heard too many and too many of those were about me." She smiled more brightly, "Or my family members, and... Well. I'm sure you can guess what the members of ruling classes do when the public eye turns away. It's hard to take all the pomp seriously when the boy who is just being introduced with all the grandeur pulled a prank on you earlier that day."

Tara smiled wryly, "I guess so, still when you have a civilisation as old as ours, you tend to find a great deal of pomp and ceremony... after all if we stroke the egos of the big cats for a while, they're less likely to get bored and do something stupid."

"Heh, reminds m of all the pomp that went on when we declared war on the Gillorians. I mean sure, we had already sent fleets out to deal with their incursions, we aren't stupid, but all the speeches and ceremonies were getting on my nerves. I wanted to get out there and do some real fighting, but no, I had to sit around parked in orbit for three days whilst they sealed off the Temple of Elenuin and opened the sanctuary of the Temple of Ashindra." Thyr said with a shake of his head, "But I suppose the forms had to be observed, to make the war legitimate... and I guess it took people's minds off what was going to happen whilst the Admiralty marshalled the Grand Fleet."

Tara smiled slightly, "Well, you'd know more about it than me. All I know about the Rites of War come from old historical holos. Anyway, I had best go and perform the Rrital before we enter orbit. Thyr, will you activate the holoprojectors in the lounge and synthesise some incense sticks?"

"Of course, Tara." He answered.

Catrin laughed. "Perhaps, but those who depend on having their egos stroked allow themselves to be manipulated. I would think most of the biggest cats are immune to it, or they wouldn't be biggest." She smiled at Thyr's description of how Terelains legitimised wars, and when Tara mentioned the Rrital, she nodded.

"Would you prefer to perform it privately?"

Tara smiled and shook her head, "No, you can watch, it is perfectly fine. The Rrital is often performed communally on large starships anyway since it is a greeting for home and an affirmation that the Homeworld retains her primacy. The only Terelains I'm aware of who prefer to perform the rite in private are those who follow certain insular sects worshipping Ilaris or Senura."

Tara left the cockpit and entered the lounge area, which Thyr had reconfigured; the seats vanishing into the floor and the food processor hiding away inside the wall. It looked bare without any furnishings. Standing near the centre of the room were some unlit sticks of incense in a holder. Tara took up her position in front of the incense sticks, "Okay, activate the projectors, Thyr."

The walls shimmered out of existence, replaced by inky black and scattered stars, here and there fast-moving lights were seen, and the bright star Aera was easily seen, off to the left and slightly above was Aerin itself, half the world shadowed on darkness, threaded by the bight smudges of lights that were cities, with bright sapphire oceans and emerald green land easily seen on the day side as most of the southern continent was visible as were some sections of the central, with the dull white-beige of the southern desert predominant. The three silver orbs of the moons were well within view, parts of them lost in darkness. There was a steady stream of lights moving towards and away from the planet, as well as other points of light moving in orbit of the world, some of the largest structures could be seen as more than moving lights; trade ports, orbital habitats and research stations could all be seen.

Tara stared at the scene for a moment and took a deep breath and then knelt before the incense sticks, she held out her hands and a spark leapt from her hands to each stick, igniting it. A sweet, calming scent wafted up from the gently smoking incense. Tara closed her eyes and bowed low to the floor towards the smallest moon, pressing her forehead to the floor, when she rose back up again onto her knees she sang out a soft, clear song-like prayer in Old High Terelain, and then she repeated the bow and prayer once each time to the middle and largest moons, with that done she bowed a fourth time to the planet itself and sang out a longer, more complex prayer, her voice rising and falling hypnotically as she incanted the words of her ancient tongue. She bowed twice to the planet, shifting to a second prayer and then closed the Rrital by standing to her feet and blowing out the incense sticks and stepping back, bowing one final time to all four celestial bodies.

Tara turned around and took another deep breath, she looked very relaxed, as if s subtle weight had been taken off of her, "There... that satisfies my obligations.... Thyr, please contact Aerin Orbital Traffic Control and schedule the earliest landing you can on one of the starports."

"Of course, Tara. I'm interfacing with Traffic Control as we speak.... ah, we're in luck, there's a window open on Station Y-0983. I'll bring the into range of the station's automatic controls." The AI replied.

"Great, thanks Thyr." Tara said warmly, "You can deactivate the projectors and restore the lounge to its proper configuration now."

Catrin nodded and smiled. "That's good to know. Thank you. I'll stay by the door."

She walked a short distance behind Tara, did as she said in order not to be in the way of anything, and watched carefully - after all, she may be required to perform a Rrital herself someday. Thankfully it was rather short.

The way Tara worded her statement caught her attention, though. "An obligation? Is that how you think of this?"

Tara seemed to consider the question for a moment, "Um...I guess so. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do believe in the Younger Gods, and in respecting the Homeworld, but it is largely something I feel obligated to do. It is tradition, a sign of respect for the homeworld and devotion to the Three Sisters, but I will admit it can be a little.... ah... bothersome to do every time I return to Aerin. Still, the Rrital is short and it is... an affirmation of returning home, which is comforting." Tara smiled slightly, "I suspect that a lot of people don't bother, but my mother is a Loremaster and when you live with someone like that for the first fifty years you tend to feel a certain.... duty to preserve the traditions and rituals of your culture, even if only by performing them so they do not fade from memory."

Catrin smiled. "Of course. It's interesting, how many rituals and traditions your culture has. Perhaps it's the length of your lifespan, among other things, that causes that - such a long life needs to be punctuated by them, otherwise it would feel like going from nowhere to nowhere, forever." She paused to consider something. "Especially for those whose vocations are relatively uninteresting."

Then she smiled. "Any last pieces of advice before we land? I think I managed to read enough about etiquette to avoid being challenged to a duel, and I hopefully I'll manage to be reasonably polite as well." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose I'd better sell some of my platinum before we go shopping - I should have some money to spend, or it won't as much fun as it should be."