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Translation ...

Year: 75,350 A.A.
Location: Nësťys - Atyr
Designation: Rythe - Triumvir Initiate

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The window was crusted with ice, forming an elegant frame around Nësťys' glowing figure and the stars shimmering beyond reach. The stars had captivated Rythe long before she left Glací within her new body two centuries before. Many Humans believed stars to be the souls of the dead, placed out of reach to watch over them. She didn't know what she believed them to be. Death did not exist to her people.
   
Long, slender fingers, a light sandy brown but overlain with a pearlescent sheen stoked the glass, and sparks of energy jolted through her arm. A sigh parted her lips. She had been in this facility and away from natural things for far too long already, but she doubted she would leave any time soon. One of the three Triumvir Initiates was always present in the facility on Atyr, keeping watch over the planet wherein the plague dwelled.

"Lady Initiate," a soft voice called behind her.

She glanced past her shoulder, allowing a moment for her silvery golden hair to waft back from her face before addressing the newcomer. "What is it?"

"Triumvir Ersíl has requested an update on our operations here."

"I shall answer her at once," Rythe promised. Her young assistant bowed her delicate head and floated away, bare feet inches from the ground.

Rythe turned the opposite way and started down the glistening corridor, letting her own feet carry her. There was something solid and assuring in the movement, feeling the cold floor beneath her soles and the strength of her body as it bore her.

She could float just as easily as other Glacíens, though not all were created with that ability, but for some reason, walking just seemed more natural to her. Ersíl theorized that one of her previous bodies might have grown weak over a long period of time, leaving some subconscious fear in her psyche that had carried into this body and she craved the assurance of her body's strength as a result.

But whatever the reason, she preferred her feet on the ground, and her body covered in clothing, unlike that assistant had been. It was not unusual to pass a nude Glacíen; they were natural beings and had no cause to be ashamed of their natural bodies as the Humans seemed to think.

When she first awoke in this body, she had often forgone clothing, up until she was selected to be trained as a Triumvir Initiate beneath Ersíl. As a representative of her people, she would be working more closely with Humans, and they had found it best to acquiesce to making some effort towards Human comfort in their dealings with them. It tended to make things flow more smoothly.

Rythe rounded a corner and came upon the door to her private chambers, where she would be able to speak freely with her mentor. She entered, already waving a hand towards the glass control panel of her holographic projector. Fragments of glass chinked against one another as they shifted to obey her commands, activating the panel and opening a communication link with Ersíl.

By the time she stood before the large platform, an image of her mentor was already mirrored in the shards. Ersíl's large silver gaze met hers and Rythe bowed her head. "Speak," the Triumvir invited.

"There have been no further complications on Nësťys since the plague victim who went rogue," Rythe answered. "All security protocols have been adhered to without exception, and my additional measures were put into effect without question."

"Very good." Ersíl's low, gravelly voice was warm with praise and she offered Rythe the merest sliver of a smile. "I am pleased with how you have managed the affair. As is the Creator."

Rythe straightened immediately, her body lifting off the floor just a fraction. "The Creator knows I am here and of my efforts?"

"Of course, Child. It is His duty to know all that concerns our kind, and He is most pleased by my choice in successor. You will meet Him yourself someday, and have the opportunity to hear it from Him. I will send for you soon and one of the other Initiates shall replace you on Atyr. Be ready for my call."

"As is your will," Rythe answered, bowing once more before her feet met the ground. The transmission ended without a farewell from Ersíl, though one was not expected. Rythe breathed a sigh of relief as she straightened.

For a time, she had thought she was sent here as a punishment for some sort of failing, but perhaps it truly was as Ersíl had told her. They did not think the other Initiates were capable of securing Nësťys after the debacle of a plagued cyborg killing a pilot and nearly killing several guards in an effort to escape. After all, the incident had occurred during another Initiate's watch, and she had been summoned to clean up the mess.

Rythe emerged from her chambers just as her assistant was raising her fist to knock. The young Glacíen did not startle at her sudden appearance, and merely clasped her hands before her slender waist. "You are wanted in the command center. An ESC ship has just arrived claiming to have a plague victim to drop off."

Rythe cocked her head, already running through the drop offs she had recently authorized. "There were none scheduled for today," she mused. "Strange. We are always given plenty of notice."

"That is why you are wanted." The assistant floated behind Rythe as she set off towards the command center, her pace quicker than before. "I believe they transmitted all of the proper access codes and have been cleared for descent, but we thought it prudent to inform you."

"I should have been informed before clearance was given," Rythe muttered. "In the future, inform your superiors to ensure that I am consulted in unusual circumstances such as these before they take action."

"Of course."

Rythe said no more and hastened to a borderline sprint, already rifling through the glass that surrounded her in search of any sign of the Human ship.

The Eight Systems' Coalition did not use glass in the windows of their ships as a standard, but she had learned that the ships often used to drop off plague victims were older and considered expendable, so they could eventually be destroyed to prevent the spread of the plague if deemed contaminated. Those older ships were made with older materials, including real glass.

But she could not sense any trace of it beyond the facility where she stood. "Did the ship report directly here as is customary?" Rythe asked her assistant.

"No, Lady Initiate. It remained in the moon's orbit and transmitted everything by radio. They claim their victim was already in the later stages of the plague and did not wish to risk exposure to our facility."

"But they believe we cannot catch the plague."

"Of course, but if you'll recall, you did authorize a visit from Chief Scientist Orazon. It is still forthcoming, but perhaps the ESC has informed their pilots to take care of potentially exposing visiting Humans of importance to the plague."

"Perhaps."

A pair of automated doors hissed open, granting them access to the command center, where several Glacíens hovered before a round table in the center of the room. A scan of the unusual ship was displayed above it, and they appeared to be running its call sign. As Rythe approached, each member stood erect and inclined their heads to her before returning their attention to their tasks.

"This is the ship?" She asked the analyst closest to her.
   
"Yes, Lady Initiate. We did a thermal scan for lifeforms as well and found only two."

"Strange. I would expect there to be guards, not just a pilot and the victim."

"Likewise, but the pilot insisted it was a matter of urgency given how late stage the victim was."

"Did the pilot say where the victim was recovered from?" Rythe leaned closer, reading the data that began to appear alongside the ship's projection.

"A scientist from Lyrro, which would be a highly irregular event on its own. To our understanding, they have guards on site meant to dispose of any scientist who becomes afflicted the moment symptoms appear, so as to not intervene with the cleanup efforts on the planet."

"Has the ship already gone down to the landing zone?"

"Yes, Lady Initiate."

Rythe's silver gaze flitted to that of her assistant. "Have my own ship prepared. I want to follow them."

"Down to the surface?" The analyst repeated. "Lady Initiate, only authorized personnel are permitted down to the planet."

"And I am the successor of a member of the Triumvirate, they who are second to the Creator Himself. I act with their authorization." Her gaze hardened to stone and the analyst lowered his eyes in deference. Rythe whirled on her heel and trailed her assistant out of the command center. The female was already speaking into a communication's radio on her wrist, informing the pilots of their new orders.

By the time they reached the ship hangar, a sleek, silver vessel was primed and ready for takeoff. Rythe breezed past her guards and pilots and paused on the ramp, looking back at her assistant. "Remain here," she ordered. Her assistant consented and Rythe continued into the cockpit as the boarding ramp sealed itself shut.

Her guards remained back in the passenger area and the pilots had already taken their seats when Rythe slid into hers. "Track them until you pick them up on the scanners," she commanded. The pilots voiced their understanding as the ship lifted out of the hangar and soared into open sky.
   
Ice gathered around the edges of the viewport as they passed through the moon's thin atmosphere and moved into space. There was no sign of the other ship and Rythe kept her gaze locked on the scanners for any sign of it.

They flew past one of the ominous, moon-sized defense stations situated beside the quarantine planet and Rythe fought back the crawling sensation beneath her hardened skin. Something about the machines had never sat right with her, but what it was, she couldn't define. Once they were past the defense system, their descent through the atmosphere began anew.

Breath stilled within her lungs as she waited for her first glimpse of the planet's surface. Despite her statements from earlier, she had never been on Nësťys before. Very few Glacíens were permitted there. For the safety of their kind, by the Creator's proclamation.

The Humans were told that Nësťys was a place to leave their plagued to die in peace, and where research would be done to hopefully one day find a cure. There were scientific outposts, Rythe knew, but they answered only to the Triumvirate, and the Triumvir Initiates were never even allowed to sit in on the meetings.
   
Gradually, the clouds parted to reveal sprawling ruins of ancient cities, long since lost to decay and neglect. There was no greenery that she could see. Only miles and miles of ashen dirt, and... Rythe stared at the landscape in revulsion, but soon managed to shake her disgust away.

"Have you spotted the ship yet?" She asked.

"No, Lady Initiate. The scanners are still empty. We're coming up on the drop zone now."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked back out across the planet. She could make out the stone landing pad where ESC pilots were allowed to drop off the victims. The same pad where the cyborg's attack had occurred, but there was no ship. They flew over the area and pressed on, waiting for the scanner to ping off another vessel.