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 Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:48 am
Sail Away, Sail Away
Toki had done well, and Tian Yue was once again reminded of how grateful he was for the Aoide's service as he regarded the spread of materials, notes, and papers that covered the rest of his desk now that the star charts were safely put away. "So.. what is all this?" He'd sent Toki out to look for any information he could find on ways to get to the Gallery, ways to get out into space.
"I found a few different options, my Lord - some magical, some not... some practical, some not." Toki pursed his lips in thought. "Hopefully one will serve?"
"Let's see them, then." Tian Yue reached out and picked up something at random; a business card, as it turned out, though it was a bit dirty and had folded corners. "Far-Flung Portal Services - what's this one?"
"Ah, yes - a terrified young man tucked into the remains of an office," Toki replied, and Tian Yue sighed. "The last remaining member of the company, it seems... but he would be willing to open a portal to the Gallery if we give him coordinates."
"Hm. Instant travel..." That was appealing, but Toki was squirming. "What's the catch?"
"It's one-way..."
"Eugh. No." Tian Yue flipped the card into the trash, then paused. "But please, after I'm gone - go back and bring that young man some of the things he needs. Food and such."
Toki bowed. "My Lord is most generous. Let me see... there is also this..."
The two of them picked slowly over everything Toki had brought, which ranged from something as improbable as a 'magic space elevator' ("The old man seemed sincere..." "Don't listen to people who wear tinfoil hats, Toki!") and as unusual as trying to harness various space-dwelling creatures. But all of them had something wrong.
Finally, at the end, Tian Yue had whittled it down to one option, and even that was unsure - there was a spaceport, a Cosmodrome, within three hundred miles of the Pantheon. He would go there, and seek out any remaining beings that might have functioning ships there... and pray that the things Toki claimed were really possible. Faster than light travel. Warp. Anything that was fast and accurate.
It was terribly unsure, and it made Tian Yue uncomfortable, but short of the ridiculously impractical method of flying there himself... he didn't seem to have any other choice.
"The Cosmodrome it is, then," he said, trying to sound light-hearted about it all. "You did well, Toki."
The Aoide bowed once more, the cloth bunny ears flopping down over his face. "You honor me, my Lord."
After Toki retreated, Tian Yue stared at the star charts, and at the maps he'd had before. Littered with marks, scribbles, and crossed-out stars - his own work, and Gianfar's.
I hope there's some mortals still brave enough to touch the heavens now. Otherwise... I am doomed. And wasn't that a disconcerting thought?
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:49 am
A Final ReportSosiqui Tian Yue stood hesitantly in front of Zhijian's door. It was the morning he had set for his departure, and everything was ready. He was armed with accurate star charts and with plans as concrete as he could make them... all that was needed was to say goodbye to Morgan and the Aoide, and then go.
But something made him pause at the Fangbridle's threshold. He should tell someone that he was leaving, and his destination, so that - if nothing else - if something happened to him along the way, the Twin Crown would know that he fell in his duty, and did not run away from it. But seeking out one of the other Dragon Kings seemed like too much baggage to add to an already burdened journey, and the chances of Destruction granting him an audience to report were slim indeed. But Zhijian at least knew him in his new self, and had treated him with kindness...
Resolute, he raised one hand and knocked on the door, three times. Meepfur Zhijian was lying on his bed of furs when the knock came, toying with the gems of his hoard. He would have to work on expanding it, once other things such as furniture were taken care of. But for now he was resting in his freshly-painted room, windows open to coax out some of the smell...not that he noticed it much anymore.
With a lazy stretch he stood and went to the door, wrapping a large hand around the knob and opening it to see who called. His ears, now decorated by some of the mirrored bangle gifted to him by his Lord, perked at the sight of his fellow dragon. "Tian Yue," he greeted, opening the door more fully so that he could enter.
He offered no apologies for the bare state of the room. Sosiqui "Good morning, Zhijian," Tian Yue said, offering the other a tentative smile, then looking surprised as he smelled paint. He took the invitation and entered, turning his head to see what the Fangbridle had done. "Did you do all this yourself?" he asked, with surprise. He hadn't pegged Zhijian as the crafty type. "It looks wonderful." Meepfur "Thank you," he rumbled, pleased by the praise. "It is this or live indefinitely in a world all of white, for as yet I have no servants. And as I have been given no order from our Lord, I am pleased to have a task of some kind in the interim. I have been too long idle to idle further just yet." Sosiqui "Where did you find the supplies? My Aoidei have to go miles and miles to- no, this is not the time for that." Tian Yue sighed. "My apologies, Zhijian, but I wanted to let you know that I'm leaving today to follow our Lord's orders... if he should happen to ask after me" -not bloody likely- "someone at least will know where I am and what I'm doing. I would speak with him myself, but... I doubt he would be interested in recieving me at this point." Meepfur "If they wish to speak with me, they are welcome," he said in answer to Tian Yue's desire to know, and yet hurry that did not allow for it. Zhijian nodded then, understanding. "I will happily be keeper of such information for you. Is there anything else you would ask of me, brother?" Sosiqui "I could ask the pair of them to tend to your needs while I'm gone, if you like - Toki and Nebula, though I haven't actually seen Nebula since..." Tian Yue frowned. Where had the blasted feline gone, anyway? "I'm sure she's around somewhere."
He took a deep breath, then smiled at the other Dragon King. "Nothing other than that, brother, except your goodwill. I am going to the Gallery of Celestia - however mortals or magic can bring me there, since if I were to fly on my own I wouldn't be back for thousands, maybe millions of years." He made a face; there was a vague memory that it had not always been so. Meepfur Zhijian considered, and after a moment nodded. "My needs are few, so perhaps you could let them know that I will call if I have need of them? Provided they are not otherwise occuppied by your own orders, of course."
"I do not know how far that is," he admitted, "Although from the sound of it the trip would be long even with my assistance. I do not have a head for calculations; I can fly a fair distance in the span of an hour, three hundred miles or so, but I do not think I have the strength to do so more than twice each day." With no other task to be done, it was as natural as breathing to offer help to his fellow dragon. Sosiqui "Of course - they won't have many things to do, and Toki would go mad if no-one were around to give him orders. He's not happy unless he has a job, but other than making sure Morgan has what she needs... I'll let them know that they're at your disposal until I return."
He looked out one of the windows, and pointed vaguely upwards. "Up. Up and up and up, among the stars. Some light-years. Miles per hour has no meaning in that space, unfortunately..." Meepfur "Thank you," he said, dipping his head lightly. It would be good to have the help of Tian Yue's aoidei if he required it.
"I am of no help to you in such a capacity, then." Disappointing, to be true, but it was Tien Lung's quest, not his. "It seems a task indeed, to find a way there." Sosiqui "It will take some doing - but there's apparently a spaceport a day's flight from here at my own top speed. I'm hoping to find some mortals with a functioning ship that can be bribed... Toki laid aside a good bit of gold and jewels in anticipation of Tien Lung's rebirth, and some of that should work." Tian Yue was reminded once again how grateful he was for the Aoide's foresight. "With Knowledge's help, I have prepared star charts to navigate. If the Gallery still stands, I will find it, or perish in the attempt." Meepfur The aoide had saved some of his master's hoard? Zhijian felt a faint stab of jealousy - he would have to rebuild his own, unless he were somehow so fortunate. Still, he had already begun to formulate plans for collecting more treasures...if he was lucky, his hoard would indeed begin to grow.
He nodded, approving of and understanding Tian Yue's resolve. "So well-prepared, you will surely find it." Sosiqui "Find it, and bring back some treasure of memory." Tian Yue nodded, firmly. "I'm not exactly sure what our Lord meant when he told Shaiming to tend to the matter of his consort, but I know what Shaiming thought he meant... and I can only hope that those thoughts apply to Tien Lung Tian Yue as much as they did to Tien Lung Shaiming." Meepfur "Tien Lung is Tien Lung," Zhijian said simply, with the slightest of shrugs. He did not recall anything of having a consort or being in love himself; if he ever had, the memories were buried so deep that they might as well have not existed at all. He could not relate to Tian Yue in such matters. Sosiqui "I hope you're right." Tian Yue nodded, then smiled. "Thank you. You've given me another good thing to take on this long journey with those words. When I return, if all goes well - perhaps some pretty thing from the stars will find its way into your hoard, if some still remain." Meepfur A smile spread across Zhijian's maw, and his eyes glinted. Pretty thing? Why yes, he did have a certain weakness for pretty things. "I would be much obliged," he purred. Sosiqui Tian Yue grinned back. "If there's any beauty left in the heavens, I will bring a fleck of it back for you," he promised. "My chambers bear the sign of the dragon-over-stars... Toki and Nebula will be at your disposal while I'm gone. Take care, brother. And... watch over our Lord while I cannot." Meepfur "I will," he pledged, clawed hand over his heart, and then grinned. "Return safely, brother, for my hoard is hungry."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:50 am
Until We Meet Again
Tian Yue took a deep breath. His bag - a large duffel with a reinforced, extra-long strap so he could fit his neck through it in dragon-form - was packed. He had his star charts. He had exchanged farewells with Morgan a few minutes earlier, and was only pacing around his rooms to ensure he had everything he needed. Toki trailed him like a lost puppy.
"Toothbrush?"
"Yes."
"Star charts?"
"Yes."
"Extra granola bars?"
"Yes." Tian Yue made a face; the granola bars were not tasty, but they were filling and did travel well. Still, something rankled about them - he was a god, a Dragon King, and here he was carrying around granola bars?
"Underwear?"
"Toki, I'm not stupid!"
The Aoide shrank back immediately. "I'm sorry, my Lord!"
Tian Yue sighed. "I know - it's just because you care. I'll be fine... I have everything I anticipate I'll need. I can't plan for everything. For all you know I'll be back tonight because I couldn't find anyone willing to take me up."
"Oh, my Lord - I pray not." Toki drooped a bit. "I will miss you."
"I... I'll miss you too. Take care of Morgan - and if you find Nebula..." The feline Aoide had still not manifested, but in his rush Tian Yue was past caring where she went. He would worry about that when he returned. "Let her know what has happened, of course, and I want both of you to place yourselves at Zhijian's disposal while I am gone, when you're not tending to your own matters or to Morgan's needs. He is Ying Long."
Toki bowed. "It will be done as you command, my Lord." He looked up with a longing, wistful expression that reminded Tian Yue abruptly of his own adoration of the Twin Crown. "Return safely..."
"I will." Tian Yue smiled, and hefted the bag.
Toki watched at the doorway, then the window, until his master was out of sight.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:52 am
QUEST: Remember The Stars I - Mission to the Deep Space
Tian Yue coiled through the sky in dragon-form, his clothing and supplies in a bag hung around his neck, deep in thought. He was on his way, on his own now - armed with aid from his Aoidei (well, Toki, anyway), from Zhijian and Gianfar, and of course from Morgan. The farewells had been tender... but he couldn't linger in the sanctuary of the Pantheon. He didn't want to, when it came to it. The quest given to him by his Lord drove him on.
The scent of rusting and corroded metal, along with spilled fuels, rose to him on the wind, and he looked down to see a rambling building downwind, edging over the horizon as he approached. That had to be the spaceport, the Cosmodrome - and he rumbled, pleased, as he spotted ships docked there, some attached to the buildings like airplanes at their gates, others clinging to stage rocket launch pads. Most of the vertical launch arrays were tilting at disturbing angles, though, and that gave him pause. Rusting metal, spilled fuel and tilted ships... but surely among the two dozen he counted, at least one could be crewed and brought aloft at speed.
He dove down and landed cleanly on the ground in a cloud of dust as his claws touched gravel. He looked around before shifting back to human form, the oversized strap of his bag sliding down to his feet immediately. It was quick work to extract his clothes and get dressed again; no fancy hanfu this time, only jeans and a sweater. Coming in ostentatious and flashing gold as if expecting it to get him everything in life wouldn't work, he was sure.
Looking over the low arches that made up the main Cosmodrome, all tarnished chrome and glass that was now dirty, cracked, or broken completely, he realized again how profound Destruction's influence had been. He had become so accustomed to the area around the shop that he had nearly forgotten it had once been a town instead of broken walls and burned-out husks of former buildings.
The automatic doors wheezed open in front of him, though, and he stepped forward into the echoing hall. Dirty linoleum spread out in all directions, and the fluorescent lights that still burned flickered at odd intervals. Tian Yue grimaced and shouldered his bag. Clothing, maps, some rations, a few personal items, and his sword - but not the sword Destruction had given him. It hadn't seemed right to bring it when it was meant for Tien Lung and he was not yet accepted as such. Instead, he carried the sword Crispin had practiced with, freshly sharpened.
Tian Yue's footsteps echoed emptily off of the walls as he walked forward, his tail swishing slowly back and forth. He passed shops here and there, most with security gates pulled down or breached, all looted and empty except for trash and objects that served no useful purpose. The restaurants smelled foul from food gone bad, and he went past them at a swifter speed. There was nobody to stop him at security, and the metal detector wailed impotently at the presence of his sword.
Maybe Toki was wrong... maybe they've all gone. Why would anyone want to be here? With every step, Tian Yue's heart sunk a little further. He had relied on there being someone, anyone - would he have to return and plan further? Delay more?
What's that noise?
Now that he was in the gate area, he heard sounds caused by someone other than himself for the first time since entering the Cosmodrome. And then, a person - a child looked suspiciously at him from a waiting area, then resumed pulling the stiff foam cushions off the chairs. After a moment, Tian Yue realized the boy was building a fort, and he smiled. At least someone can play in the midst of this.
After that, the sightings became more frequent. Waiting areas became ramshackle homes, and a short line of people at a still-functioning water fountain gave him a wary look. But all the gates he passed were empty, bereft of ships...
"What d'ya want?"
Tian Yue did his best not to jump in surprise as a small group of men stepped out from a pillar to stand in his path, scowling at him. The one who had spoken was burly, a toothpick held in one corner of his mouth. "What d'ya want?" he repeated. "We're not interested in feeding more mouths."
"I'm not interested in taking any of your food, don't worry," Tian Yue said, quickly. "Or anything of yours," he added, as one of the men gave him an even dirtier look. "I'm actually looking for a ship..."
Another man let out a guffaw, and the group gave him a collective look that spoke more clearly than words - You fool. They drifted away, shaking their heads, all but the burly man who had spoken first.
"A ship, huh?" The toothpick waggled distractingly when he spoke. "What for?"
"I need to go out into space, to a particular place... and then return. I'm willing to pay whatever's asked, and I'll help on board if needed." Tian Yue spoke plainly, spreading his hands in entreaty.
The man gave him a calculating look. "Ya look like a softie, but yer no spindly thing... pay in what? Money's no good, useless paper. Not unless you want to wipe yer a**."
"Er... we might want to talk about that somewhere more private," Tian Yue said quietly.
The man raised one eyebrow, then nodded and beckoned sharply for Tian Yue to follow before setting off at a brisk pace. The dragon followed him through the gates and what looked like a maintenance passage before arriving in another gate section.
"Non-commercial. No tourists here. Ship's this way," the man muttered, walking up to a gate and pressing his palm on a sensor pad. It beeped, fizzed, and opened with an asthmatic wheeze. The man waited until Tian Yue had passed through, then stepped in and let the gate slam shut behind them.
"Alright. Talk." He folded his arms. "If ya been stringin' me on, ya won't be happy with the results, boy."
The deity in him rankled at that, but there was no reason to pull rank, and Tian Yue took a deep breath. "And I'll warn you not to take what I carry by force, or you won't be happy with the results either. Just so we're on the same page."
The man nodded. "Whatcha want and whatcha got?"
"I need a small ship - crewed, of course - to take me to a destination some light-years up. I have coordinates and star charts. Detailed ones that are accurate for the current state of the sky," he added, with emphasis.
The man raised one eyebrow. "It's a bloody mess up there - bloody mess everywhere. How'd ya get that kind of detail?"
"I know people who knew, and I... study the stars myself," Tian Yue replied. He pulled out one of the star charts that Gianfar had helped with from his bag, and handed it to the man, who scrutinized it before handing it back.
"If ya bullshitted that, ya did a good job," the man admitted, folding his arms. "Go on."
"The ship should have some means of faster-than-light or warp drive. Nothing that requires cryogenic sleep - I need quick transport in real time."
"My Nova Bandit's got a functioning FTL warp core," the man acknowledged. "But it ain't cheap, boy."
"I know." Tian Yue reached into a pocket and produced a small bag. "I have payment... but since when we arrive at the destination I want you - or whoever - to stick around and take me back instead of running, it'll be this... and two more identical bags upon return to this spaceport." He opened the bag and let the gems spill out into his hand - five heavy gold coins, a star sapphire, and a diamond. Small, but flawless.
The man whistled, then reached out. "Mind if I test that?"
"Go ahead." Tian Yue let the man pick up one of the gold coins and bite it, then scrutinized the diamond carefully.
"And ya say two more bags just like that on return?"
"Yes." The one bag was a pleasant amount; three was a small fortune.
The man folded his arms and gave Tian Yue a long look. "How do I know yer telling the truth?"
"I'm afraid you're going to have to trust me..." He saw the man begin to scowl again. "And there's one more thing I can offer you during the trip." Before the man had a chance to ask, he reached down, found the shield within himself, and expanded it outward.
The man's eyes widened as the radius of the shield, visible as a waver in the air, passed him. "What... what is that?"
"My power. It won't block physical things or magic attacks, but it does lessen the effects of the wrongness I know you've been feeling. What's eating the stars and made the whole world go upside-down."
"And what would that be?" The man gave him a sharp look. "If you know, I owe it a kick in the balls for wreckin' my sky."
The idea of the man trying to kick Destruction was almost funny, and Tian Yue had to force down a laugh. "The gods."
The man snorted. "Right. And where'd we be going on this little journey? A planet? Star? Asteroid?"
"A... structure."
"Space station? Derelicts are dangerous."
"No... not a space station. It's hard to explain, but you won't need to land on it or even go within a hundred miles of it if you don't want to. I can get myself that far."
"Really." The man chewed on that toothpick of his, and Tian Yue thought he heard it snap between the man's teeth. "No funny business. We go, we wait for ya to do yer business, we come back. How long?"
"I'm not sure, but let's say - a week's time on the structure, maximum."
"Mmmm. And ya give me that bag o' tricks now, two more when we get back, and do that shieldy-thing around the Bandit the whole time."
"Yes."
"The FTL drive's cranky - ye'll have to work for it, boy. Can ya work?"
"Try me." Tian Yue lifted his chin and looked firmly at the man.
"Hah!" The man pulled the toothpick out of his mouth and threw it to the floor, then held out one hand. "Ya got yerself a deal, boy. Cap'n Jax Corvus, of the Nova Bandit, at yer service."
Tian Yue took Jax's hand and shook with surprising firmness. "And I'm Tian Yue. Nice to meet you, Captain."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:54 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars II - Take Off From Home
"There she is! My little thief. What d'ya think, eh?" Jax beamed paternally at the spaceship nestled into the loading dock. "Former asteroid miner, little nimble thing, but rugged. Best class of ship out there t'my mind."
The Nova Bandit was small, about the size of a crew shuttle from any given sci-fi show Tian Yue had ever seen, but it was in better shape than almost anything the dragon had seen since leaving the Pantheon. The metal gleamed softly under the fluorescent lights, from nose cone to the airfoils mounted on the back. The entire thing had a trim and light appearance - speed for dodging asteroids in belts, no doubt, until the target was found.
"She's beautiful," Tian Yue said, and meant it. Part of him was excited - a real spaceship, and not a clumsy NASA design, either! The other part was bemused - it seemed so awkward, but it was also... cute, in a way, that humanity should seek the stars in such a vessel.
Jax stomped up the gangway and pounded on the door. "Oy, Penny, let me in - got us some cargo! Payin' cargo!" He flashed a sly grin back at Tian Yue, who quirked a smile in return, not sure how he should feel about that.
The door opened with a crisp hiss, and Jax beckoned for Tian Yue to follow as he strode inside. "Oy! Penny!"
Tian Yue followed obediently, down the small single-file corridor with his bag slung over his back so it would fit without crushing. Jax was still bellowing, further up. "Penny? PENNY. C'mon, girl!"
Abruptly, the corridor opened up into what Tian Yue recognized as the little starship's bridge - and there was indeed someone else there. A young woman, with bright red hair frizzy and piled into a thick braid, wearing denim overalls stained with grease. Jax snagged a toothpick from a waiting tin can and bit down on it as he appoached her. "Now yer just living up to your nickname, girl. Tian Yue, this here's Penny Dreadful."
"Penny Halloway," the girl retorted, finally turning so Tian Yue could see her face - cheerful, but marked with a sharp scar across her right cheek. "Who're you? Nice tail."
"I'm Tian Yue... nice to meet you, Penny," Tian Yue replied, giving her a friendly, slightly nervous smile.
"He's paying? Really?" Penny gave Jax a skeptical look.
"Yeah, he's payin', and workin' too. I'm gonna cadge some fuel out of the 'bots, Pen - you show him to one of the empty cabins. One of the cleaner ones. Then grab the star charts and we'll get the co-ords in." Jax sat down roughly in the captain's chair and dragged a swiveling console over in front of him, scowling at it. The toothpick in his mouth waggled ferociously.
"Alright - Tian Yue, was it? Come on." Penny actually tweaked his tail as she went past, and Tian Yue blushed red automatically, tail twining tight to his side in reflex. She smirked, and led him down another corridor. "This here's the hall with the quarters off it. It's a triangle shape, basically. The bridge is one point, two halls branching off of it - one goes to the airlock, the other one goes around. Five rooms on the side here, storage and warp housing on the other side, and engineering on the back end. Galley 'n' facilities, and medical, in the middle. Got it?"
"Uh... I think so." Tian Yue watched, bemused, as Penny stopped at a doorway with a touch pad, her fingers flying over the input with easy speed. A lock disengaged with a click, and the door slid open.
"Alright. You can bunk in here. The first two rooms on this hall are the Captain's and mine - ones on either side of yours are storage. Yours is kind of storage too."
Tian Yue peeked into the room. As advertised, a pile of cardboard boxes cluttered the bottom bunk, but the top one was clean and empty of everything, including linens. "Do I get a blanket?"
"Naw, you get to freeze. Of course you get a blanket." Penny rolled her eyes and grinned at him. "I'll get stuff out for you. But for now, dump your crap and get those star charts the Captain mentioned."
Nodding, Tian Yue obeyed quickly, dropping his bag down on the floor and bending to rummage through it. The sword made the bag clang when it hit, which in turn made Penny raise one eyebrow, but she said nothing when Tian Yue finally stood up with the charts in hand. "Paper, huh? Well enough. Come on."
She darted back down the hallway at great speed despite the tight fit, and Tian Yue had to scramble to keep up. Jax turned around in his chair as they re-entered the bridge, and he held one hand out expectantly towards Tian Yue. "Gimme them charts, boy."
Tian Yue handed them over, and Jax squinted at them again before nodding. "All them ex-ings mean a dead star? Damn shame..."
"You have no idea."
"Don't I?" Jax fixed Tian Yue with a firm look, then turned away, bringing his free hand to type into the console. "Time to meet the last member of our happy little family. Extrude optical scanner input device, Mio."
"Extruding." A pleasant female voice spoke suddenly, her voice carefully neutral; simultaneously, a panel slid out of the console and turned until it was oriented horizontally, offering a scanning surface.
"Also, please recognize a new temporary crew member - this here's Tian Yue." Jax jerked one thumb at Tian Yue. There was a barely-audible sense of whirring and movement, and the dragon abruptly felt as though he were being scrutinized.
"Recognized. Please speak for voice sample, Tian Yue."
"Ah... hello, Mio?" Tian Yue looked all around. "Are you the ship's computer?"
"I am MI0 - Mechanized Intelligence Zero," the voice said. "I am programmed for swift calculation, climate management, and other essential functions."
"That's awesome!" Tian Yue beamed, impressed. So here, at least, technology had caught up to humanity's dreams - at least in this case.
"Voice sample sufficient. Crew acknowledged," MI0 replied. "Ready for input."
"Alrighty, Mio - these are star charts. Crossed-out ones are... gone... so update accordingly. If these aren't as accurate as you say they are, there will be trouble, by the way," Jax continued, glancing at Tian Yue.
"They are, to the best of my ability. The shifts and absences should all be correct." Tian Yue's tail flicked a bit at the tip as Jax nodded and began scanning the charts.
"Mapping. Updating database." MI0 hummed for a moment. "Update complete. Identify target."
"That's my job," Penny said, smoothly, and slid into another seat, her fingers dancing lightly over the console. Tian Yue looked over her shoulder and saw the scanned images of his charts come up on the monitor, one by one. "Circled in red?"
"Yes. It's an artificial structure called the Gallery of Celestia."
"Mmkay... inputting the coordinates manually, Mio, map 'em and print results to nav console..." Penny typed rapidly, squinting at the markings on the scanned image, then paused. MI0 hummed again, and a line of text appeared on the bottom of the screen. Penny scrutinized it. "That looks good. You?"
"Yes..." Tian Yue wasn't entirely sure what the numbers meant, as MI0 seemed to use a measuring system he wasn't familiar with, but it felt right.
"Good." Penny pushed back from the console and stood up abruptly, then pointed at another chair. "That one's yours. Sit down and strap in, and try not to throw up."
"I am not going to throw up," Tian Yue protested, walking over to the chair and brushing crumpled papers out of it. For all that the Nova Bandit herself was gleaming, there was a lot of clutter around inside. He sat down, had a moment of awkwardness as he tried to get comfortable with his tail, and strapped himself in. "Is this right?"
Jax eyed the safety harnesses. "Looks good to me. Fuel full, atmosphere full, all systems ready to go. Let's get this show on the road." He grinned, and hit a button.
Immediately, there was a great grinding noise from outside, as the massive doors that made up the loading dock's roof creaked open. For a moment, Tian Yue was afraid they would jam, but even after hesitation after hesitation, they moved slowly open until the sky lay free and clear above the Nova Bandit.
"Good, good. How's nav, Penny?"
"All clear, Captain." She flashed him a quick thumbs-up.
"Good. Alright, boy - we'll show ya what the Nova Bandit can do. It's a strange sky, but she'll make it fine... just give us that shield you promised."
"Oh, right. Just a minute..." Tian Yue closed his eyes and concentrated, bringing the shield outward. He heard Penny gasp as the field opened up, enclosing first the bridge, then creeping outward into the hangar. Tian Yue paused to adjust the position of the shield, slipping it back so that it engulfed the ship from the center out, then expanded it out until it could go no further. It was a tight fit, but the Nova Bandit was completely enclosed in his power.
He smiled. "Go ahead." When he opened his eyes, Penny was staring at him, but Jax cleared his throat pointedly and she turned around again.
"Thanks, boy - just keep that up. Ah, the air feels clearer already!" Jax grinned, the ever-present toothpick waggling in his mouth. "Engines up - Mio, ready for lift-off."
"Acknowledged." The AI's smooth voice chimed through the bridge, and was then drowned as the engines started up. For a moment the ship shuddered violently, then stabilized.
And then, with a lurch and a jerk, the Nova Bandit seemed to leap skyward, the g-forces pushing Tian Yue back in his seat - but he didn't feel like throwing up. Quite the opposite, as the engines roared and the starship powered upwards... he grinned with a wild glee. This was what he was supposed to do. This was right. It was proper and perfect that the mortals should seek the stars this way, in the bellies of their metal dragons.
The world dropped away below, and the heavens - broken, bruised, emptied - loomed ahead of them.
He was on his way.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:56 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars III - Into the Undiscovered Ocean
The Nova Bandit soared high above Gaia, the planet's curve a line of brilliance against the darkness of space. On the ship's bridge, Captain Jax turned his chair to face Tian Yue's, and raised one eyebrow. "You didn't need the bucket. I'm surprised."
Tian Yue laughed. "Hardly." Do you possibly think I would feel ill upon entering my true element? "What happens now?" He could feel the shield still encasing the ship, part of his mind always maintaining it even as he spoke to the captain.
"What happens now is you and Penny get aft and get the warp rig running. Once that's up, it'll be... a few days before we arrive at your structure. Funny thing, though, Mio doesn't have a record of anything there..."
"She wouldn't." Tian Yue unbuckled the safety harnesses and stood up. "Even if nothing's there now, you'll still get your pay."
"Of course, or you'll have a short trip out the airlock." Jax laughed, though there was a core of steel to it - he didn't quite trust his passenger yet, that much was clear.
"That won't be needed." Tian Yue smiled pleasantly at him, then turned to see Penny getting up out of her chair as well. "You'll have to show me what to do."
"Oh, I was counting on it. The Bandit's a sly one, but the warp core takes some doing. She's supposed to have ten crew, not three..." Penny shook her hair sharply as the end of the sentence trailed off. "But we make do."
Deep water there. "Lead on."
"Okay. I'll yell when we've got her up and stable, Captain." Penny threw a lackluster salute in Jax's direction, then tugged disconcertingly on the end of Tian Yue's tail. "Come on."
"Why do you keep doing that?" Tian Yue complained as he followed Penny out of the bridge and down the narrow corridor, keeping his tail well behind him and away from her.
"Doing what?" Penny gave him an innocent look, over her shoulder, then stopped as the corridor made a sharp turn. At the junction was another door, and she placed her palm on its center.
"Acknowledged," MI0 chimed after a moment, and the door hissed open. Penny gestured for him to follow, and Tian Yue did so, though he kept his tail warily curled close, away from her.
She saw, and made a face. "You're so silly. Anyway, this here's the engine room. Be glad the Captain put in the sonic absorbers he did, or you'd be deaf now."
Two great engines, shimmering with heat, sat in each corner of the large room, which had only small portholes for windows and masses of exposed support beams. There was no pretty paneling or frippery here, only raw power and practicality. In the center of the room, surrounded by control panels, was what looked like a large cylindrical tank, from floor to ceiling, with the central part made of seamless clear glass. It was dark inside, but translucent...
"What is that?" Tian Yue walked over and put one hand on the cool glass, then pressed his nose to it. Liquid, and... something floating within...?
"That's the warp core. Stand back..." Penny waited until Tian Yue had taken a few steps away from the core, then flipped open a safety cover and touched the switch underneath. A loud hum immediately started up - and then the core flooded with light.
Tian Yue gasped in spite of himself. Within the tube was a massive green crystal, smooth and faceted, bathed in light and bobbing in the center of the liquid. "It's... beautiful!"
"Isn't it, though?" Penny looked at it affectionately. "Highest-grade strellite, grown in some lab or another. Nature never made this stuff, but it's pretty anyway. And radioactive as all hell." Tian Yue took another step back, involuntarily, and Penny laughed at him. "It's shielded, doofus, or we'd all be dead. That glass ever cracks, and the Nova Bandit loses half her name and just becomes 'Nova'... but in the meantime, we're going to go fast." She walked over to the consoles flanking the tube and flipped some more switches, and the screens began to glow.
Tian Yue followed, and peered over her shoulder. "How does it work?"
"Electricity from the ship's generators - very high voltage. You pump it through the strellite and it... kind of refracts it around inside the facets, and amplifies it, changes it somehow into a different kind of matter. Sort of like plasma, but not quite... it's hard to explain. I just know the basics." Penny shrugged, and peered at the status readout for the core. "Anyway, that gets focused into twin beams on the front of the ship. And those twin beams carve a sort of tunnel into subspace, clearing the way for the Nova Bandit." She looked up at him, and grinned. "If all goes well, anyway."
"And if not?"
"Kablooie! But don't worry, it'll be fine. The readouts look good. Mio! Confirm core readings, please!" She raised her voice.
A moment, then, "Core readings confirmed. Accurate to 0.0001 seconds."
"Good, thanks." Penny tapped at a few keys on the console. "So... what you get to do is follow my directions. In order to get the core up, we have to power it up slowly. We really should have another person..." A shadow passed over her face, and was shaken away in a quick movement of her head. "But you should be fine alone if you pay attention."
"Okay. Just tell me what to do." Tian Yue nodded, serious.
"Good. See that, over there?" She pointed. "That's the generator. What Mio's going to do is crank it up to full, and there's a series of switches..."
The explanation was long, and complicated, and involved such a sequence of events that Tian Yue wondered it wasn't automated, but apparently that was what being short-staffed on a starship got you. After a dry run, Penny and Tian Yue both took up their positions, ready to scramble.
The girl took a deep breath. "Alright. Let's go for broke - and don't mess up!" Her hand ventured towards his tail again, then pulled back, and she turned her face upwards towards the intercom. "Captain! We're beginning now! Mio! Initiate warp core startup!"
"Initiating. Generator to full. Power stream sequence beginning." MI0's voice chimed out, and chaos began. Time seemed to slow as Tina Yue threw himself across the engine room in time with Penny, and the AI's voice counting time in the background, incongruously calm. Switches, buttons, wheels - once a missed step, and a frantic whirl of movement and swearing by Penny to bring it in check. And then, suddenly, there was nothing more to poke, prod, or turn, and Tian Yue held his breath.
"... Four... Three... Two... One. Subspace warp initiated."
"Come on!" Penny hissed, barely audible. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white.
Then there was a crackle, a roar, and Tian Yue stumbled backwards as the ship accelerated abruptly, and there was a strange moment of silence. Everything paused - then returned to normal, except that a web of electricity was crawling over the strellite crystal's surface within the shielded core.
Penny was red-faced, beads of sweat on her brow, but she wiped them away with one sleeve and beamed at him. "Awesome! We did it! Even if you almost opened the ion vent."
"How the hell do you do that normally?!" Tian Yue was panting. "That seems horribly impractical!" He glanced over at the nearest porthole. Space had been eclipsed by a web of shifting colors, and stars flashed by as elongated streaks. It certainly looked like a warp should, if sci-fi TV on Earth had been any indication.
"Wellll, the Bandit isn't exactly the highest grade tech available. Strellite's really outdated, and this particular system is obsolete even for strellite-based warp, but the Captain doesn't believe in sentience cores. He says they're too destructive, and that taking life to fly is wrong." Penny pulled the elastic off the end of her braid and shook her hair out. "And... you're supposed to have more people..."
"Three or four more!" Tian Yue wiped his own forehead.
"We... made do with two. Marten was... nevermind." Penny's hair crackled with static as she shoved it back roughly into a ponytail. "You did fine. Let's go tell the Captain, Mio can monitor the drive from now on. You'll just have to help again on shutdown."
She brushed past him and headed down the hall, leaving Tian Yue alone with his thoughts.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:57 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars IV - Imbalance
"Sammiches, juice, and cookies. S'not much, but it's more'n most." Jax plopped a paper plate with an egg salad sandwich on it in front of Tian Yue, then tossed a juice box that the dragon had to scramble to catch. "Prime vic-too-als." He stabbed the top of his own juice box with a straw, a little harder than was really needed.
Tian Yue looked down at the sandwich, then shrugged and took a bite. It tasted fine, really. "Homemade?"
"Penny's work." Jax nodded at the girl, who smiled tentatively back. "Juice n' cookies are manufactured, natch. Scrounged from somewhere or other around the Cosmodrome."
"Mmm. Food's... pretty thin, huh?" Tian Yue took another bite, and put the straw in his juice. It was apple, and watery. But drinkable.
Jax snorted. "Understatement. What the hell's been going on this past - nearly a year and a half now? Everything breakin' down, the world in disorder, stars goin' out... and nobody really knows why." He took a savage bite from his sandwich.
"The gods." Tian Yue shook his head.
"Pah! ******** the gods," Jax muttered. "******** 'em all if this is what they bring."
Tian Yue flinched. "It's not. It's... hard... to explain."
Penny, across the table, gave him an odd look. "Are you serious?"
"Serious?"
"Do you really think it's some gods doing all this crap?" The look in her eyes was unreadable, but it reminded Tian Yue of an animal poised to run.
"I..." He hesitated. "I don't just think. I know. I've seen them." I am one.
Jax scowled. "Gods don't walk where the likes of us can see 'em, boy. ******** 'em all, up there in their high heavens, laughing at the world gone mad-"
"They're not laughing! Not all of them," Tian Yue said, putting down his sandwich.
"Then what are they doing to help us, huh? That's what I'd like to know. Don't talk to me about gods, boy. No gods would allow this s**t." Jax's voice was low, and dangerous again. They were on the edge.
"There's more than one kind of god. They don't all have to be nice. What about those gods of plague... murder, famine, war? Destruction?" Tian Yue looked soberly at Jax, making it clear he was deadly serious.
"I don't want to live in a world that tolerates that for a god," Jax said, and Penny nodded.
A sad smile crossed Tian Yue's face. "You already are. You always have been."
An odd flush came across Jax's own expression, and he looked away for a moment - then took an abrupt bite out of his own sandwich. There was a long and awkward silence.
"Let's... let's not talk about it any more. Whatever it is, we can't do anything about it," Penny offered, trying to make peace. She offered them both a small, hopeful smile.
"We- no. I'm sorry for bringing up such unpleasant things." Tian Yue shook his head.
"S'alright," Jax said grudgingly, after a moment. "Ya speak yer mind. Good trait, s'long as ya don't go too far."
"I'll try not to, Captain." But you are, you are doing something about it... He desperately wanted to say that, to offer them that hope - but they would not believe him. Better to leave it at this... for now.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:59 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars V - Fallen Leaves
The days on the Nova Bandit passed slowly. Sometimes there was work to do - cleaning up, helping Jax or Penny scrub floors or organize some of the clutter that packed the storage rooms. Meals were awkward, the conversation quickly and artificially kept away from the subjects that had so troubled their first dinner together. But in the evening hours, Tian Yue was left to his own devices, to awkwardly try and swing his sword around the enclosed space of his cabin or try and get comfortable enough to read something, the effort of keeping the shield around the Nova Bandit a constant pressure in his mind.
He was doing just that three nights into the journey, trying to get through an obscure history of the people of Luna, when there was a tentative knock on his door. Surprised, he looked up, then slid out of his bunk and padded over to the door. It hissed open at his touch.
Penny was on the other side, and she looked furtive, shy - even scared. "I... can... can I come in, Tian Yue?" She bit her lip.
"Of course." He stepped back from the door, bemused, and she darted in, perching on one of the cardboard boxes, her legs dangling and brushing the floor lightly. The door closed behind her, and he turned to look at her with confusion. "Is... is there something you want?"
"It's... um. About what you said at dinner, that one time... the gods. Do you really think....?" Her voice trailed off into a question.
"I do." Tian Yue nodded firmly, then moved to sit on the bunk facing her. "I have seen the gods myself. They live, and move, and grow again into their power."
"I hope some of them can stop what happened... Captain, he's stopped believing in the gods." Penny looked away. "I... I've always known there's power out there... just looking at the stars, there has to be... something..."
Tian Yue smiled, softly. "His name is Lucius."
"Wh-whose?"
"The god of the stars. Universe. His name is Lucius."
Penny's face lit up with a radiance Tian Yue had not expected. "Really? There really is a god of the Universe?"
"There really, really is. I've met him."
"Then... I hope he gives us safe travel... even though the Captain doesn't believe. He's... he's mad. Very mad." Penny's voice dropped, even though Tian Yue knew nobody outside of the room could hear what they were saying anyway.
"About what's happened to the world?"
"K-kind of..." She shook her head. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to mention this to the Captain. He'd vent me out the airlock if he knew I'd told you - well, no, he wouldn't really, but he'd be... really angry..."
"I promise," Tian Yue replied, gently. "Though if it's such a close-kept secret, maybe you shouldn't?"
"No... n-no. You should know." Penny's mouth quirked upward in a brief smile. "If only so you know why the Captain is... how he is. That way you won't accidentally provoke him."
Like I almost did over dinner. "Fair enough. The secret is safe with me."
Penny nodded, and took a deep breath. "About a year ago, after all this crazy stuff started happening... we were out running courier missions for a larger fleet out of Venatha. Do you know Venatha?" At Tian Yue's negative gesture, she went on. "Well, it's a gas giant planet about 200 light years from Gaia. They have sky-cities there. Anyway, the Fleet of Venatha was having trouble with their comm because of all the new trash and ion clouds in space, so they had a bunch of smaller runners come up and relay the important stuff manually while they headed back home."
"Sounds dangerous."
"Not really, not if you know what you're doing. And the Captain did... there were four of us then. Him, me, Marten, and Lyril."
Tian Yue nodded, but at the familiar name - Marten - his stomach sank. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. "So what happened?"
"Um." Penny looked down. "We were docked to one of the Venathen flagships, the Duriel, with an airlock tube out. Y'know, it's a flexible airtight system between two airlocks that you can walk along... good for when you can't afford the time to do a ship-to-ship lock. Anyway... Marten went out to deliver the message..."
She stopped. "You don't have to-" Tian Yue began.
"No!" She snapped at him, her voice cracking. "Yes I do. Shut up. Marten went out to deliver the message, but while he was in the airlock tube... one of the stars nearby went nova. It was a young star! It shouldn't have, there was no indication - nothing! But just out of nowhere, suddenly, FOOM!"
She was weeping now, and Tian Yue stood up and reached one hand out for her, but she swatted it away. "The shockwave tumbled the entire fleet all around... and vaporized the airlock tube... while Marten was..."
"Oh, Penny - I'm so sorry..." was all Tian Yue could say. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose.
"Marten... we never found him. I hope the nova just vaporized him immediately, so it was... fast... and Lyril, she was in the airlock in the Bandit, not strapped in. She got wrenched around. Her back broke. She's... still alive, but she's stuck on life support, in a pod, back on Venatha. More machine than human now. That's... that's part of why the Captain doesn't like sentience cores..."
"And why the Captain doesn't like the gods?"
Penny shook her head, and looked up to meet Tian Yue's gaze. "Marten was his son. And my... my lover."
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Penny. I really am..."
"Thanks..." She sighed. "I was always brought up to believe in higher powers, and I turned to them... prayed hard, read the books. But the Captain turned away. He's so angry. Everything since then has only made him angrier. Don't... don't mention them again. If they exist... he might try and do something terrible, and get himself killed. And I can't let him do that!" The look in her eyes was desperate. "He's the only thing I have left!"
"Penny... I'll do what I can, but there are some things I might have to say that have to do with the gods..." He hesitated. "The place we're going is a place of the gods, after all."
Penny grew very still. "A... a place of the gods?"
"Yes. One of the sanctuaries of the god of the Universe."
"Is he g-going to be there?" For a moment, she was frantic.
"No! No, he's not there. He's... somewhere else."
Penny relaxed. "Oh, thank goodness." Then, unexpectedly, she locked gazes with him, giving him a penetrating look. "Tian Yue..."
"What?" Absurdly, he felt like he could hardly bear the piercing look in her eyes.
"Who are you? You and your tail... and your magic shields, and your seeing the gods?"
"I'm..." Now it was his turn to look away. "Nobody special."
"... Right. Okay." Penny stood up, and smiled wanly. "So now you know. Okay?"
"Okay."
And she turned, and was gone in the hydraulic hiss of the door opening and closing.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:00 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars VI - Fly-By Contact
The engine room of the Nova Bandit was awash in small-scale chaos.
"Turn on the coolant!" Penny yelled at Tian Yue as she darted past him, her own target another set of switches. The dragon frantically tried to remember which of the many wheels set into the warp core was the coolant valve, found it, turned, listened for a moment to the hiss as the stuff hit the strellite crystal and flashed to steam immediately. Then Penny ran past again, shouting more orders, sending him to power down the generator to normal levels.
In the background, MI0 was counting in that unsuitably calm voice: "Thirty seconds until warp core deceleration. Twenty-five. Twenty. Fifteen. Ten."
"Hold on!" Penny cried, and looped her arm through one of the handles on the wall.
"Five."
Tian Yue lunged for the handle next to hers.
"Zero. Deceleration now."
The Nova Bandit shuddered powerfully, and then everything lurched sickeningly forward in a way that didn't quite seem physically possible. Tian Yue actually felt vaguely ill for a moment.
Then it was done, the strellite crystal falling dark and still as it had been before, the space outside the window moving so slowly in comparison to warp that everything seemed frozen.
"Subspace exit on obsolete strellite. Urgh." Penny shook her head, then freed herself from the emergency handle. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Tian Yue shook his head and let go of the handle. His muscles ached in that arm now, from the tension of holding on. "Does it always do that?"
"Every damn time." Penny stretched, and grimaced. "Let's head up. Your... place... should be in scanner range now."
Tian Yue followed Penny back to the bridge, where Jax was sitting in the captain's chair. He raised one eyebrow at the two of them as they entered, and scooped up another toothpick. "Well, Tian Yue, we're within 500 klicks of your structure." He grinned, obviously proud of himself and his ship, and chewed on the toothpick.
"Does anything show up on your scanners?" Tian Yue slid into 'his' chair and peered curiously through the large windows in front of the bridge. Stars - too few - clouds of dust and debris... he could feel bits of it sliding through his own shield and puffing off of the Nova Bandit's own physical shielding. Still, the view itself seemed oddly familiar even with the omissions. His heart beat a little faster. We're close.
"Mm. Mio, bring up the display. Area scan." Jax leaned back in his chair.
"Acknowledged. Area scan..." A long pause. "Complete. On screen."
A readout popped up, overlaying the view of surrounding space, with everything around the Nova Bandit marked. Jax made a face at it. "Too many bugaboos. I don't like it."
"You don't have to like it," Penny piped up. "We got shields."
"Mmm. So, a structure, huh?" Jax squinted down at the smaller scan display on his chair's console, then poked at it with one finger. The view on the main screen shifted, moving in on a larger spot. "That's the only big thing that's not a piece of space cra-damn!"
Jax's voice trailed off into an incredulous curse as MI0 displayed the high-resolution image of the place he'd indicated. And Tian Yue froze.
There, on the screen in front of them, was pure memory. A series of platforms glittered coldly in the too-far light of the surviving stars, their lines sleek as they flowed, one to the other. But even as Tian Yue stared, the slow knowledge of what was missing crept into his mind. The arches, where are all the arches, and - that star's gone, and that one, and... there should be more platforms, not rubble...
... Lucius...
"That's it," he said, and his voice cracked. He cleared his throat, and tried again. "That's it, Captain."
Jax bit down hard on the toothpick, and Tian Yue heard it snap. "The hell is it?"
"A structure, as I told you - the Gallery of Celestia. It was once so much more than it is now that you would weep to see it so ruined..." Tian Yue shook his head.
"You said it was a structure, but I thought it was... some kind of space station. Is it art? There's no atmosphere!" Penny was wide-eyed.
"It's... hard to explain. But there is - should be - atmosphere. It's magic. Sort of."
Jax heaved a sigh. "Well, there's a lot of crap between here and there, and I don't much like takin' my girl through it, I'll tell you what."
"It's fine. I told you - get me within a hundred miles, and I'll get myself the rest of the way. Please, do so." He couldn't take his eyes off the image on the screen - it was practically hypnotic.
"What's with you, anyway?" Jax snorted.
Tian Yue didn't even turn to look at him. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to see this place. No idea." There was something deeper than merely Tian Yue in his voice; a true echo of Tien Lung.
"It's emotional for him, anyone can tell that, geez," Penny hissed at the Captain. "Leave off and let's just go get closer, okay?"
"Mmhm. Fine. One hundred miles, but no closer." Jax raised one eyebrow at Tian Yue as if expecting him to explain himself, but the dragon remained entranced.
With a sigh, the Captain took the helm and began moving the Nova Bandit in the direction of the Gallery.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:07 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars VII - Starless Wavelets
Tian Yue was only distantly conscious of the passage of time, and only watched hungrily as the Gallery grew ever-closer on the Nova Bandit's screens. He was unaware of the odd looks from the Captain, and the worried expression on Penny's face every time she glanced in his direction. The mere sight of the Gallery had prompted a deluge of memory, old memories of Tien Lung, and he could barely keep up with them. But they were fragmented, and moving so quickly that he could barely get the feel of them before they were gone, replaced with another broken moment from the ancient past.
Suddenly, he became aware that the Gallery was not growing closer any longer, and that Jax was staring at him. He blushed, sharply.
"Glad to have ya with us," the Captain said, dryly. Penny shot Jax a disapproving look.
"I'm sorry," Tian Yue said, looking sheepish. "This place is... very special to me."
"I guessed, since y'were starin' at it like it was yer lover." Jax chewed on his toothpick, realized it was broken, grimaced, and tossed it aside. "So. We're a hundred miles out, and I ain't goin' no further. Too much crap."
"Thank you." Tian Yue stood up, and caught sight of Penny's odd look. "What?"
"Um. How... how are you going to get there?" Penny looked awkward.
"Took the words right outta my mouth." Jax raised one eyebrow at Tian Yue. "How ya gonna get there, boy?"
That's right - they would hardly let him go without some explanation, and it would be impossible to hide once outside the Bandit anyway. "Er. Well... more magic again, in a way. You know, um, my tail?"
"Since Penny can't keep her hands off of it, yes." Jax grinned, and it was Penny's turn to blush. "What about it? It secretly a spacesuit?"
"No... it shows part of my nature. I can shapeshift, Captain. Into the form of a dragon."
Jax didn't react nearly as strongly as Tian Yue had thought, merely raised one eyebrow at him once again. Obviously the man had past experience with the strange things that came off of Gaia and into the stars. "And? Dragons 'splode in vacuum same as anything else, boy."
Tian Yue shook his head. "Not me. I'll be perfectly fine. But I can't shapeshift here, I'm... er, a bit too large. The airlock will work, though, and then you can vent it and let me out. I'll come back when I'm done, within the week limit we agreed on. Is that okay?"
Jax thought for a moment, then grunted and nodded. "Fine with me. S'long as I don't have to pull the Bandit any closer in, I could care less how ya get over there. Go... do whatever you need to do. And if yer wrong about the explodin' bit, make sure yer far enough away when you do to not getcher gunk on my ship." He grinned.
"Thank you, Captain." Tian Yue made a face at the man, who only grinned back harder, until the dragon had to grin too. Jax wasn't a bad sort once you got to know him - you just had to stay well away from his dangerous edges. "I'll be on my way, then..."
"Lemme know via the comm when yer ready."
Tian Yue hurried out of the bridge and into his cabin, and began shoving everything he had brought back into the bag. After a moment, though, he realized he was not alone. Penny had followed him.
"What?" He looked up at her, questioningly.
She bit her lip. "You're... a dragon?"
"Of a kind, yes."
"You didn't tell me."
"I... sorry. I didn't think you'd care."
Penny shook her head. "I... kind of. I'm not mad or anything, though," she added, quickly. "Just surprised. A dragon that can withstand vacuum and radiation and who knows what out there?"
"Yeah." Tian Yue grinned. "It's... pretty cool, I guess."
"Pretty cool? A lot cool!" Penny scooped some of his clothes off the nearby bunk and handed them to him. "Can I see what you look like in your other shape? I've known a couple of shifters in my time, but none of them were dragons."
"Uh... sure... but please don't watch me actually change? I have to... take off my clothes so I don't tear them, and um...." Despite his best efforts, the stubborn blush colored his ears.
Penny laughed. "Ooh... okay. I'll have to try really hard to not look, then!" She winked, then giggled at Tian Yue's pained expression. "No, I won't look. I promise."
"Thanks." He smiled at her, then zipped up his bag. "I think that's it... other than rations."
"I'll get you some. A week, right? They're not tasty but they're hardy and hearty." Penny jumped up and darted into the galley across the way, returning a moment later with a handful of foil-wrapped packets. "Here you go."
"They look... uh, nutritious." Tian Yue eyed the packets dubiously.
"Very!" Penny smirked. "That's about all you can say for them, too."
He shoved them into his duffel, and zipped it up. "Thanks. I think... yeah. I'm ready."
Penny followed him to the airlock, and watched as he wound the strap of his duffel through one of the handles within. "Tian Yue?"
"Yeah?"
"Take care of yourself, okay?" She looked at him, awkward.
"I will. Don't worry." Tian Yue smiled back. "This is a place that belongs to the gods, remember? I'll be fine."
"It looks like they haven't been here for a long time. Just... just be careful." Penny ducked behind the doors then, and they hissed closed, the heavy locks clunking into place one after the other. "Let us know when you're ready," she said, her voice faint and muffled by the intervening metal.
Tian Yue stripped quickly, then tucked his clothing into the duffel bag too. The airlock was just barely big enough for him in dragon-shape - but it would do. It would have to do. There was no way his current form could handle the vacuum of space.
He took a deep breath, and changed.
A moment later he felt confined, squished, every scale pressing against metal or another scale, tail cramped beneath him. He let out an irritated roar.
His heightened senses picked up a sharp intake of breath from behind the airlock. "T-Tian Yue?"
"Yes," he rumbled, flexing his claws, with a sudden absurd idea of scratching his way out through the outer airlock. "Let me out!" Command rang in his tone.
"Y... y-yes!" He heard her running feet retreat towards the bridge, and a moment later Jax's voice came over the intercom.
"Alright, dragon-boy - you ready?"
"Yes," Tian Yue hissed, impatient.
"Gotcha. Godspeed." The intercom clicked off, and a moment later the hydraulic hiss of the outer doors opening began. Tian Yue had never been so glad to hear them.
It took every bit of self control he had to remove his bag from where he had secured it and loop it around his neck, instead of leaping out into the black abyss the instant he was able to move. But preparing the bag was the work of a moment, and with a surge of power he pushed off the Nova Bandit with enough force to shake the ship. He shot out from the airlock and into his element in one long, whiplike movement, letting out a roar that vanished as sound-carrying air went away.
This was nothing like flying in merely the sky. This space was his true element and home, and he raised his head with a fierce pride as he coiled past the bridge windows of the Nova Bandit. He caught a brief, amusing glimpse of Penny and Jax staring before he turned away, his eyes focusing on the distant glitter of the Gallery. There was indeed a great deal of space trash, dust, rock and other debris between here and there - but he was far more nimble than the spaceship, which now seemed hopelessly unwieldy and fragile to him.
With another soundless roar, Tian Yue set off through the great void, twining his long body towards home.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:08 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars VIII - Misted Moon
Time and the influence of Destruction - perhaps also the binding of its master - had not been kind to the Gallery of Celestia. Tian Yue threaded his way through the remains of crumbled arches and tilted platforms that had drifted away, cast about and moved by some celestial wind or star gone nova. Many of the broken arches hung shattered in space's vacuum, holding on to a faint echo of their original graceful shapes. Yet closer to the great span of marble that made up the main floor of the Gallery, the arches had fallen entirely... some of the magic of the place was still in effect, then, creating the gravity that had dragged the arches down.
It's all so changed... Tian Yue had to keep reminding himself that this was the first time he had ever seen this place, so strong was the memory of Tien Lung. Yet still it came only in flashes and flickers, only hints of true recall floating on a sea of ancient emotion.
Once all of those ornate arches had been whole, he knew, delicate constructions of glass, mithril, and platinum cupping smaller platforms in their midst as they stretched in leaping curves from the main floor. Those platforms that still remained were tilted at odd angles upon their tattered supports; most had fallen. Here and there, torn strips of sheer fabric hung along the edges of platforms and arches both.
Tian Yue drew closer, and felt a faint tingle sweep over him; simultaneously, gravity tugged him downward. There was a moment of frantic whiplike movement as he compensated awkwardly for the transition between space and safety, before he turned and circled a moment over the main floor. There was a faint thought that once the floor had been clear, giving the impression of dancing over the stars, but now fine dust coated the surface along with the ruin of the graceful arches and high platforms.
The dust rose and fell in clouds as Tian Yue landed. He shook his head violently and hissed at the dust that swirled around him, beating it away with great sweeps of his tail. How dare it be here, defying this once-glorious place?
Penny's words echoed through his mind. It looks like they haven't been here for a long time. How long had it been since last the gods set foot on the Gallery's floor?
It doesn't matter. I'm here now. Tian Yue snorted and continued to sweep away the dust as best he could. Swirls of it leapt into the air as he herded it away, batting it beyond the reach of the Gallery's power, where it swirled suddenly in slow, lazy movements free from gravity's pull. He wondered idly what it looked like to the watchers in the Nova Bandit.
Only when the dust had been mostly moved away did he stop, returning to sit in the middle of the main floor with a low rumble. Now he could see the stars - and more rubble - gathered under his feet. He snorted again, then roared.
There was no response, merely echoes until the outlying vacuum swallowed even that.
Tian Yue heaved a sigh as the last bits of adrenaline from the flight and his cleaning frenzy left him, and he turned around in a slow circle. Everywhere was ruin, bare threads and remains of splendor, coldly unfamiliar in a way that made him ache.
He shifted forms again, then, dragon-shape melting away to fragile human, and crouched naked in the center of the great platform. The place seemed more overwhelmingly desolate in this shape, but he resisted the urge to change back immediately - if nothing else, he had to eat and drink as human, as all the rations he'd brought would be only one meal for the dragon.
Tian Yue pulled clothing from his duffel and got dressed slowly, not really caring that the faraway watchers in the Nova Bandit could probably see him - though the reminder did make him reach out and check the distant shield that still encased the starship. It had faltered some, and he shored it up carefully.
Once dressed, he took a long, deep breath, and stretched.
"Well," he said aloud, to nothing. "Here I am."
Now what?
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:09 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars IX - Interval of Frozen Time
Now what, indeed.
Tian Yue took out a packet of rations and opened it, making a face at the odd, chemical smell that wafted out of the packet. Penny's dour assessment of them had been all too true, but he couldn't be picky, and made himself finish the whole thing. A few sips of water rounded out the meager meal, but despite the unappetizing flavor the rations were indeed filling.
When he was done, Tian Yue took a deep breath once more. Taking the time to calm down and eat something had given him the chance to regain his equilibrium, no longer drowning under the frantic memory and wild emotion that this place stirred in Tien Lung.
I need... something. Something concrete, more than flickers and flashes and vague feelings. He frowned, and got to his feet, leaving the duffel there in the center of the main floor. Something I can hold in my hands; memory that I can repeat clearly.
But where? All he could see was rubble and ruin.
Tian Yue moved to the nearest collapse. A glass arch had tumbled here, dumping a high platform with such force that the slab of... jade? had cracked down the middle, split in half. Sheer fabric lay torn and crumpled under the ruins here and there, and he had a vague thought that once the purple shreds had been great billowing curtains, to obscure or reveal as Universe and Tien Lung chose. Another step into the rubble and crystal crunched under his feet, bringing to mind a sudden vision of delicate lounges and tables, placed here and there among the soaring platforms.
He shook his head. The split-second impressions were worth very little, for all that they made his heart beat faster, and there was nothing in them he could bring back. Oh, dearest Universe, nice to see you - did you know that we once had a lovely crystalline chaise lounge in the Rococo style? Right...
There had to be something more substantial! What did you want me to find, Shaiming? What did we- you- do here? Was it so familiar, so long-lasting, that there was no reason to lay up memory in your mind when it surrounded you at every moment in this place? No answer, of course, but Tian Yue clenched his fists in determination. Shaiming had reason for everything he had done - so if he wanted to come here to find something, it stood to reason that there had to be something here to find.
A higher pile of rubble caught his eye, this one surrounding a precarious arch just so, holding it in fragile balance so it did not fall. Without thinking, Tian Yue rose up to spiral lightly around the arch's span, landing delicately on the high platform still supported there, only realizing afterwards that he'd flown without being in dragon-shape. Oh - well, that's useful. The excitement that would normally have come from such a discovery was dampened and distant - something else had caught his eye.
The remains of a former arch, crumbled on the corner of the obsidian platform he now rested on, were glowing.
Tian Yue made his way over carefully, wincing as his weight made the platform sway alarmingly. But it did not fall, and he crept slowly until he was standing by the twisted platinum. There was indeed something beneath that was bright, flickering erratically.
He bent and dug into the pile, wincing as his claws scraped on the metal; one bent back and snapped at the tip. He threw the pieces over the side as he cleared them, slowly untangling the twisted puzzle that had been formed by the arch's collapse, aiming for the bright prize within.
Finally, with a last heave, he dislodged a bit of metal just enough that something rolled free from the pile, chiming lightly as it moved against the obsidian. Tian Yue dove for it before it could roll off the edge, and caught it in both hands.
It was an orb, made of smoky glass and warm to the touch, that fit cleanly between his two cupped palms as he stared into it. A patina discolored the surface now, but inside, flickering unevenly but brighter now that it was in his grasp, was a tiny star.
Gift. Microcosm. Smallest of the bright lights. How long had it lay buried there, waiting? More bits of memory - a gift offered, accepted with joy, given pride of place above all the treasures that mere mortals brought to offer Universe and the Dragon by his side. The first gift of Universe to Tien Lung; offered awkwardly but with the flicker of understanding what the concept of gift meant... and received, he remembered, tenderly. A precious relic beyond price.
Tian Yue held the orb close to him, feeling its warmth against his chest as he cradled it, his eyes slipping closed. This is a treasure. The thoughts summoned his promise to Zhijian to bring back something for his brother's hoard, but the very idea of giving this to anyone made him hiss, draconic jealousy and desire at the fore. No, this was too special. It was his.
One memory's motion stirred another, and Tian Yue opened his eyes, looking up. There - a thread of mithril barely holding together, kept aloft by a miracle? No, he realized, looking at the highest platform far above his head, the field of magic and of gravity had retracted and eroded over time, leaving the high mithril arches in space's vacuum, freed from gravity's crashing pull and hanging in a phantom vision of what their whole forms had once been.
The urge to transform and leap up to the high place immediately was nearly overwhelming, but Tian Yue fought it and held it at bay. He was tired from the journey here, from what exploring he had already done, from the emotional impact of the Gallery. Best to sleep now, in the protected place, than risk exhaustion above the field of safety.
Regretfully, Tian Yue made sure his grip on the orb was firm before leaping off the side of the obsidian platform, spiraling down to land softly on the main floor below. He held the orb close with one arm as he dug blankets out of his duffel, arranging them in a rough bed before flopping down on it, placing the orb in the center and curling himself around it, a dragon on his hoard.
The stars that remained twinkled blindly at him as he drifted off to sleep.
Remains. Remnants. The surviving stars; the surviving arches and platforms. All that is left of Tien Lung. Remnants, all of us.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:10 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars X - Into a Storm Not Memorized
Morning - inasmuch as there could be 'morning', in this horizonless space - brought little clarity to Tian Yue's mind. However, he had slept the sleep of the exhausted and come out refreshed, and as he moved from his blanket-nest he felt better prepared for the next phase of exploration. He devoured another ration with hunger that belied the taste of the thing, then ate another one after realizing he hadn't eaten all of his allotment for the day before. He similarly indulged himself with water, and after finishing with everything and making sure the orb was safe and not able to roll away, he stripped off his clothing and changed once more.
The platform he had seen the day before loomed high above, beyond the grasp of the protective magic, but he took a moment to check on the orb one last time. It fit snugly into one claw, and he purred at it with draconic contentment before putting it back into the blanket-nest and coiling into the air. Passing the border from gravity to space in the other direction was a simple matter this time, and spiraled upward above the highest platform, gazing down at the black marble.
This was it.
Not the highest place, as once even lighter and more whimsical arches had branched from this black marble floor upwards, cupping small glass platforms that spiraled up still further, their arches providing anchor for falls of cloth that made this area private if Universe and Tien Lung so desired. Now what curtains remained hung at odd angles, however they had chosen to drift in zero-gravity. But this span of black marble... this was sanctuary, place of rest and respite... and also of joy, play, deep familiarity. Tian Yue drifted slowly above it; with no gravity, there could be no landing.
But there were phantoms everywhere. A flicker of a starbright wing, a laugh, an answering roar. A wave of remembered pleasure. Supplicants, offering to twin coiled forms, nebulae encircled by scales. Offerings, gifts, requests of blessing, outpouring of worship...
Home. Sanctuary. Temple. A tremble ran down Tian Yue's body from nose to tail-tip, veering him slightly off-course, and he corrected automatically. What can have happened to Universe that he remembers none of this? There must be something here...
Some cloth looped oddly caught his eye. It was twisted up, trapped between two edges in a broken glass arch, but there was weight to it. There's something in there? Curious, Tian Yue moved to inspect it, reaching out one claw to poke at the object within, snaking his tongue out at it. The cloth was brittle, and tore; the dragon snatched reflexively at the object that drifted free -
A small thing. Bracelet? No. No. A collar, herringbone, black as the marble below and the space surrounding, with a bright scale in the middle -
Memory. Tian Yue roared soundlessly into the void as it it hit him, more powerful by far than anything he had yet encountered. Universe. Object of desire, a chase, pursuit! Courtship, long and playful, a teaching of emotion and discovery that the petty politics of Pantheon's court did not have to matter so. Mutual giving and taking. The Black Dragon, Shadowshield, coiling before Tien Lung. The question, brother to sister; the amused response. The delicate removal of a single scale. Dwarven hands, the most skilled crafters, devotees of Forge and Creativity; adamantium formed around Qian Lung's gift with artistry unmatched. The gift, offered with breathless hope, bold dragon...!
Only take this, beloved - only this, and all that I could hope under the Twin Crown's domain will have come to pass. A gentle movement, the moment of offering. A symbol, that I will guide you, love you, protect you even as the Shadowshield entwines her scales 'round Gaia - if you will be mine, and I yours-
A moment, timeless, frozen. Then a movement, reaching out, acceptance...?
Is such joy even possible for any creature but a god?
Thus entranced, entrapped by the surge, Tian Yue drifted helplessly, dazed until it released its hold on him. He shook his head, slowly, tightening his claws around the precious relic.
This is it. This is what I've been looking for... but why? Why is it here? He reoriented himself and moved downwards, falling awkwardly as gravity took him once more, his landing on the main floor ungraceful and stumbling. He did not care. I remember, I remember now. I- no, Shaiming- Tien Lung had this made... a courtship gift... and it was always there. Always, always... never removed... of course, in the Fading, but... but how... why?
Tian Yue took a deep, shuddering breath. That, perhaps, was where the heart of the matter lay.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:11 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars XI - Influence of Truth's Appearance
The finding of the orb and the collar were catalysts in Tian Yue's mind. Memory flowed more easily now, and when he closed his eyes he could better visualize how the Gallery had once looked in the height of its splendor. Universe had changed, he realized, more than he had thought - taking on gender and physical form, vulnerable to mortal passions where It had once been aloof. Perhaps that was why Lucius had failed so... unused to dealing with such intense emotion, blinded by it, especially under encouragement by faithless Love.
So we are both strangers to each other, really. That... makes it easier.
But why had the collar been so discarded? True, it was wishful, silly thinking to imagine the gift encircling Universe's jewel all those millennia, but... it should not have been where it was. There was something disquieting about it.
Think! What has Tien Lung seen? What of the Fading?
As Tian Yue bent his will to the question, memory surfaced, slowly.
"Will you be gone long?" The words just hung there, neither eaten by the true vacuum beyond the Gallery of Celestia, nor answered. Universe waited, impatient, as the seconds passed into minutes, staring at the dragon's coils. "Will it be LONG, Tien Lung?"
The Starscale shuddered; his lover did not often use his crown-name, which meant it was worried. He set down the great cargo they had prepared together to send out to the reaches; the Gallery had incredible stores of food, medicines, riches and raw materials. Universe had no temples, few needs, and many admirers. Travelers and ships from every reach came to pay homage, or hope to earn a smile from the starlit deity. Tien Lung did his best to quell the hoard jealousy and stab of lifelong-mate instinct when mortals gazed so on what was his. "I do not know, Fair One. All is in turmoil; your Father and Mother call. She is fallen, he cannot revive her. My brothers and I must be the pillars within you both, to give you new bones. Help the people."
"These things I know," Universe's eyes lowered, stars tamed as jewels on silver leashes dangled from elaborate weave in daybreak hair. There were shadows there, something his androgynous star was hiding, Tien Lung decided.
"You harbor secret against me; you need not carry it alone. Try, lover."
It looked back up at the dragon, searching. Emotion never came easy, half the problem in their confusing, mortal bends. Foreign to the remote expanse of what Was. As difficult as the word and concept 'I'.
Shudders ran through the slim shoulders and Tien Lung extended out a clawed foot, curled it gently around the slender back and wings as support. "You grow weaker as well. Your concentration has been thinned, you cry out in respite... wounded. I have noted these things."
"Would not trouble you so, but for the fear...it is strange, choking. It clouds the mind, weak to mortals' flight or fight. Harmodius will beckon me to come, if he learns for certain; do not tell him. His focus must be on the Empress and the others. They are in greater peril, further gone. The Universe must be held together, or the magic of the gods will disperse as particles of dust in solar winds. I..." Universe paused, tone fading to a whisper, "Do not be gone overlong, Tien Lung. As magic comes out of me, it does not replenish. I will not be able to make the distance to the crown halls when the time truly comes for Him to worry."
The dragon lowered his muzzle, flicking out his tongue to be caught and drawn into space within all space in deepest kiss. However small the physical form looked, Universe ever surprised him, taking all of him in in celebration. Space filled. Dazzles of solar arches licked along his lover's limbs, and the dragon hesitated, torn for just a moment between immediate duty and the other option presented him. Only his love could elicit such hesitation, and Tien Lung gave a great rumbling chortle and purr as he set Universe on the marble platform again. "You tease me."
Universe smiled. "I do."
So vivid; Tian Yue turned almost expecting to see Universe-of-Memory there behind him, waiting to be cradled in the purple claws of Tien Lung; his own claws. But there was nothing, of course.
He let out a long sigh and lay down, resting his chin on the cold marble of the floor, tailtip twitching from side to side. There had been departure, and then - then? What then?
Nothing. Though he sat and tore through every thought that had been Tien Lung's for hours on end, until he was exhausted once more, nothing came to light but a sense of confusion, and deep foreboding. What had happened to the Starscale's beloved in that dreadful time? They had all been brought low, even the Dragon Kings - all but the Twin Crown, eternal beyond all things.
At last, weary to the bone, he let the dragonshape melt away, and crawled into the blanket-nest, not bothering with clothing. He burrowed into the blankets and curled around the orb, letting his fingers rest on the warm surface as his other hand held tightly to the collar.
There is so much I don't understand... so much. Oh, Shaiming...
Memory sequence written by Ivynian.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:12 am
QUEST: Remember the Stars XII - Collapse of Frailty
A dream...?
A flicker of a purple fantail, just ahead, vanishing into the mist. My own? No - WAIT! "Shaiming!" Tian Yue screamed, the sound cutting rawly into his throat in an instant. "SHAIMING! Wait! Wait for me! Please..."
He ran, desperate, but the dragon's tail was always just a bit too far away, and his leg muscles burned with exertion. Every attempt at flight failed miserably, and the darkness closed in on every side.
"Please wait!" Tian Yue sobbed, tears blurring his vision - and then, suddenly, the mist opened up and out, dumping him into a clearing with blurred boundaries, the stars arching high overhead. The dreamspace - and there, floating in the center, the dragon.
"Shaiming! Oh, god, I've been so alone without you-" Tian Yue threw his arms around the dragon and held tight, burying his face in Shaiming's mane, before he realized something was wrong. The dragon stood motionless, unyielding, staring blankly ahead.
"S-Shaiming? Shaiming?" He shook the dragon, harder, then harder still, finally reaching up one hand to wave in front of sightless eyes before bending down in pain and shock, his other hand clenching so hard in Shaiming's mane that bits of it tore away in his grasp. "No... no! I didn't want this! I didn't want this!" Tian Yue rocked back and forth, tears streaming down his cheeks, clinging to the comatose dragon with all of his strength. "I can't do this alone! Come back - or take back what you gave me... I can't..."
There was a distant snort, then, and Tian Yue looked up, damp and red-eyed. The dragon was as still and cold as before, but...
Foolish dragon.
Tian Yue released his hold and turned around, his eyes wide. "I..."
Foolish! Who are you talking to?
"I - Shaiming, you... you...? Who are you?"
Who is Shaiming?
"Shaiming! My - my best friend, the Dragon King Tien Lung, the Starscale Consort, beloved of Universe and Guardian of the Twin Crown..."
Are you not those things?
"I... no. No, I'm not! Universe doesn't know me, and I don't know him - the Twin Crown has rejected me, and - I'm just a stupid, stupid human trying to wear a dragon's skin..."
The snort again, sharp, derisive. Universe knows no-one as he did once; that is no failing. The Twin Crown mourns in his own way; that is no failing. What are two things blended as one? What are they? Tell me.
"A... a mixture? A solution? An alloy?"
What is an alloy?
"M-metal. Blended, two different kinds made into one thing-"
And stronger. Stronger than everything that made it!
Tian Yue paused.
How do you test an alloy?
"... In the fire?"
And what happens?
"It... breaks if it is impure or badly-made."
And if not?
"It... is stronger still?"
Proof lies in the fire. Who knows the trial by fire better than Destruction? Answer me that, if you can.
Tian Yue opened his mouth, then closed it, and shook his head. "I cannot."
Two things made one are not subtracted from. They are only added. You know this. You must know it, from the core of your being. Stop fighting the mantle of the Dragon! The Twin Crown may not like it, but you are what you are - if you fight it any more, you will die in His fires, or sooner! Stop fighting!
Tian Yue looked up in shock. "I-"
Stop fighting. Embrace Tien Lung! Complete the forging - it has been set into motion, but only you can finish it. Take the skin of the dragon, stitch it to your own - and be the Worldshield.
Tian Yue curled in on himself. "And if I cannot-"
You can. Take it!
A star popped, nova, in the sky above, throwing beams of light downward to illuminate the floating form of the dragon. Tian Yue approached it, his hands shaking.
Take it! Shaiming is not there. Who are you talking to?
"Myself..."
Louder!
"Myself!"
LOUDER!
"MYSELF!"
WHO ARE YOU?
"I am... I am Tien Lung! I AM TIEN LUNG!" Tian Yue roared it at the other dragon, feeling the dragon form come around him, scales rushing to cover him like birds coming home. The roar echoed, and chimed off of the reverberating stars as he dug his claws into the misty earth.
For an instant, a smile flashed across the silent dragon's face - and then it burst apart, flashing into nothingness, a flow of light rushing forth from within to bathe Tian Yue.
You are my heir. I am not forsaken. Destruction will know this. Tien Lung will live on.
And Tian Yue smiled.
"Who are you talking to?"
Myself. A laugh, then, rich and deep. Myself. Foolish, foolish dragon.
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