UPON VESTIA: CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

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Asher considered his words for a few seconds, glancing around the room as he thought, then looked to Kay again. "I've been thinking over everything that's happened today, and I feel like it would be wrong for me to leave Terra before the androids have been granted their freedom," he said. "I think it might be in the best interests of the children and the androids if I stay on Terra while Vestia goes on to the Imperium." He wished he could have phrased it better, but he just didn't know how. Ugh.

"No really bright light." Matt added. Yeah, bright light hurt his eyes, especially if it was sudden.

Elsewhere on Vestia, Tala left Sawna's cafe. She'd probably head for the Silver Devil, plodding along and feeling contented with the large amount of food she'd just consumed.

~~
There were probably various androids around too, doing odd jobs around the ship.

"You don't like feeling helpless, even when it isn't something anyone expects you to be able to help with." Dawn said quietly then shook her head "I understand that, even if there isn't much that can be done for it."

~~~~
Shane looked to the dragons too, though they didn't have any particulars they wanted to add.

"Oh yeah, good point. Don't wanna blind anyone." James filtered the maximum brightness of the world, looked around at the others, and not seeing anyone else who seemed to want to say anything, pressed the randomize button.

The room faded to a city which was a combination of smooth glass structures and trees. The light wasn't too bright thanks to the tree cover, and the streets were immaculately clean.

Nobody seemed to be on the streets at the moment, but if they looked up, they'd see creatures slowly moving along bridges and sturdy branches above.

The keen-eyed might realize that the creatures looked somewhat like Terran snails.

Esk grit his teeth, he looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Happy?"

---

Matt squinted up at the trees but he couldn't make out the snails, just vague shapes. "Where are we?" He asked.

---

Mourn nodded "This book place." He declared, sweeping a hand around. "What else want see?" He didn't seem to think Celia would want to stay and chat to Ethan. "Babies annoying." He told Ethan. He didn't like babies, they seemed to just demand attention from people who could be paying attention to him or being useful. Eugh.

---

Silence and Ivor had managed to get lost on the way back from the kitchens, all the corridors looked too similar.

Dawn sighed and stood, looking to him "I want you to be happy and I want to be your friend. You don't have to hide from me."

~~~
"Are those snails?" One of the dragons asked confusedly. Who had heard of sentient snails?

"They sure look like snails," Ellie said. "What the heck?"

James looked to the control panel, wanting to figure out what this place was. "Helixia, home of sapient, gastropod-like species. They, uh, communicate by color-changing, and climb a lot?" He looked amused.

~~
"I should probably go talk to Amalthia Draco about where I sent the androids now," Celia said. "And decrypt those files for you." She didn't much want to stay near Ethan, he was weird and rather hostile, ugh.

Ethan shot Celia a glare, and nodded at Mourn. Babies were fine from a distance, he just didn't want to babysit them. Or really go anywhere near them.

~~
Tala spotted Silence and Ivor. "Greetings," she declared. "Where do you go?"

"Strange" The same dragon said, shaking his head and looking around curiously.

"Bye bye other robot!" Mourn called, gesturing that Celia follow him. "We find lady."

---

Ivor stared at Tala, looking more than a little terrified.

Silence tilted her head. "Go? Nowhere."

"we... w.. we got lost..." Ivor explained.

----

"Snail people huh? Cool." Matt wasn't that weirded out by this, hey, there were sentient spiders and plant people, snails was just kinda, okay, whatever after that.
"They can change colour?" Well he wasn't gonna be able to communicate with them hah. "That's kinda awesome."

---

Esk frowned, finally looking up. "why?" He demanded. "Why do you want to be my friend so bad?" He didn't get it.

"Bye," Ethan said. "Don't let Celia get high and mighty at you." He shook his head, he really didn't approve of her being on board. Even if she probably wasn't as evil as her mirror copy.

Celia followed Mourn out. "Right, let's find her." And get awaaaay from the grouchy robot.

~~
Tala snorted softly, she thought Ivor's terror of her was silly. Of course, she understood that she was big and loud and possibly slightly intimidating, but still, it seemed silly to her. "You got lost going nowhere?" she asked.

~~
"Apparently. Not sure how that works." James shook his head.

Some snails wandered down from the bridges over head. Now they were closer, they didn't look exactly like Terran snails, they had six eye stalks, and their 'shells' turned out to be made up of hundreds of small scales. Those who weren't colorblind would see that the scales shifted hue in seemingly random patterns. Weird.

"I wanna touch one," Ellie said.

"Because I like you, because everyone deserves friends, because I want to be your friend. I don't know, I just do." Dawn said with a shrug
~~~
"Can we touch them?"
"They are just holograms"
"Still, it isn't polite, is it?"
The dragons argued a little before one of them went over and put his hand near one so it could crawl on him if it wanted to.

The snail-aliens were sticky and slimy underneath, so maybe it was good that the snail creature didn't climb onto the dragon. Of course it was only hologram slime and would come off the moment the dragon left the holodeck, but still, gross. They were scaly and smooth, not slimy on top though, and they'd allow themselves to be petted, shells shifting through an array of colors which meant who knew what.
They were big for snails, but not huge, around the size of a small cat.

"I don't care if it's polite, I'm gonna pet the rainbow snails," Ellie said. Which she did. "Shane, pet snails with me!"

James watched, amused. "The things you can find in a holodeck," he muttered to Matt.

Esk stared at Dawn incredulously. "but WHY?" He repeated. Nobody wanted to be his friend, except Dawn, and he never could quite wrap his head around why. Was she actually nuts? She was probably actually nuts, but it was something that had always bothered him. She'd never really given him a satisfactory answer as to why she'd saved his life and why she continued to tolerate his presence. "You never give me a proper answer." he told her. He sighed "And i'm not hiding okay? I'm just... not good at the whole.. people thing." He waved a hand dismissively. For all he could read people, his social skills weren't great.

---

Silence nodded "Don't know where are, mean we're lost."

"we.. w.. were trying to find a familiar landmark..." Ivor looked anxious.

----

"It's kinda cool." Matt told James. "So how sentient are they? like.. are they like people smart or...?" They were so small, big for snails sure, but small for people.


---

Mourn headed down the hall. "Ship? Where dragon lady?" He asked.

Tala looked at the two curiously. "The shuttle bay is not far from here. Is that a landmark you know?" she asked.

~~
"I dunno," James said. "I mean this city looks like it was built for snails, I assume it was built by snails, but I dunno how that would work, come to think of it..." It wasn't like the snails had opposable thumbs, after all. "They have a whole language though, apparently, expressed through color apparently." He started prodding at the control panel again.

~~
Vestia would look around for Starr, and see if she was free at the moment.

Dawn sighed and looked away again, uncertain once again. "I don't have a 'proper' answer to give you, it just is what it is. Why does anyone like anyone?"

~~~
Shane shrugged as he went over to pet a snail. "I wish we could understand what they are saying."

~~~
Starr was in her room, doing something on her tablet.

"what if they're saying stop it?" Matt teased, he watched the snails curiously.

---

Esk thought about that. "Similar interests, not wanting to be alone... " He shook his head, he didn't really know either. "look, Dawn, i'm sorry I avoided you. I didn't know what to do and I.. picked the wrong solution. " he took a deep breath. "Only complete assholes never accept they're wrong so..." Eugh, he hated this. But he was better than his father, better than his brother, HE COULD admit this. "I was wrong okay?" Eugh, that sucked. He didn't want to have to do that again.

---

Ivor and Silence looked to one another.

"m... maybe?" Ivor looked uncertain.

----

Mourn led the way to Starr's room then.

Celia would follow Mourn.

~~
"Maybe the computer can translate," Ellie said thoughtfully. "Computer, translate?"

"Translation not available," the computer said.

"Aww," said Ellie. "Guess we won't know if they hate us for petting them."

~~
"Come with me," Tala said cheerily. "Or ask Vestia for directions, I suppose."

"t.. thank you?" Ivor looked like he didn't want to say no to Tala, even if he disagreed, he'd just do as she said.

Silence looked at the camera. She hadn't thought about the ship giving directions.

---

"I dunno, maybe if they didn't like it they'd leave or something right?" Matt suggested.

Starr looked up and opened hte door when she was advised she had visitors. "Hello Mourn and..?"

~~~
Shane chuckled softly and looked at the snails then around again.

"computer lady." Mourn pointed at Celia. "have body now."

Vestia's camera nodded to Silence, yeah, she was always listening.

Tala led the shifters toward the shuttle bay. "You were aboard the Silver Devil before. Mayhap you miss those good days of old," she said conversationally as they walked.

~~
"I mean they aren't even sentient here in the holodeck, so it's all cool," James said. "You can pet them, they'll never mind."

Ellie nodded. "I like that about holodecks, no people with opinions." She grinned. "We can look at other worlds too," she added.

~~
Celia nodded. "I'm here to fulfill my half of the bargain, since I'm here now."

"Small ship. Cramped." Silence remarked.

Ivor remained quiet, just nodding politely.

Starr smiled and nodded "Right, what do you need for that?" She asked curiously.

Tala shrugged. "One becomes used to the size. Mayhap in time you would have been fond of it." She snorted again, "Or mayhap not, as you hear the minds of others so well."

~~
Celia smiled slightly. "Give me a piece of paper and I'll write the coordinates down. Then you'll be able to find the places where I sent the androids, although I can't guarantee that they won't have been intercepted on the way there." She added, "And a second piece of paper so I can write down how Mourn can decrypt the evidence against MegaBrainTech."

Ivor cringed.

"not so easy to get lost." Silence nodded, though yeah, in her current form? it was way too cramped on the devil.

---

Mourn rummaged through his pockets for paper and a pen and handed them to Celia.

---

Matt laughed. "Petting possibly sentient snails, what a life we lead."

----

repost: Esk thought about that. "Similar interests, not wanting to be alone... " He shook his head, he didn't really know either. "look, Dawn, i'm sorry I avoided you. I didn't know what to do and I.. picked the wrong solution. " he took a deep breath. "Only complete assholes never accept they're wrong so..." Eugh, he hated this. But he was better than his father, better than his brother, HE COULD admit this. "I was wrong okay?" Eugh, that sucked. He didn't want to have to do that again.

Tala glanced at Ivor. "You fear me," she remarked. The guy kept cringing, it was kind of obvious even to her.

~~
Celia took the pen and paper, and started writing out the information. It was going to take a bit, there was a lot to write out.

~~
"Yeah, man," Ellie said. "Truly this is a good day." She petted a snail for emphasis.

Ivor ducked his head. "i.. i'm sorry..."

"Scared of everyone." Silence told Tala dismissively.

Ivor stayed quiet.

---

Mourn waited impatiently, hopping from foot to foot.

--

Matt snorted. "wish we could understand em though.."