Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-Five - Cross-cultural Xenopsychology 101

Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-Five - Cross-cultural Xenopsychology 101

Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-Five - Cross-cultural Xenopsychology 101

That was a rush, I said.

The two remaining planes were rocketing away, both of them just hazy blurs with trails of black smoke behind them now, though it looked like they were both running out of propellant. Maybe they would glide the rest of the way back? I hoped that they didnt have any more planes like that. Or bigger, scarier things to fight us with.

That was certainly something, Amaryllis agreed.

A clunk sounded to the side, and I turned to see Awen extricating herself from the inside of her crossbow turret with just a bit of difficulty. It was a tight fit in there, after all, and it didnt look like she had installed a proper door to get in and out yet.

Well done, Awen! I cheered before enveloping her in a big celebratory hug.

Awen laughed and returned the hug. Thanks!

This thing is so cool! And its just the prototype? Are you going to make it even cooler?

Awa! It needs a lot of tweaking. I didnt realize how many problems it had until I started using it. The sights arent good; the turning speed is really bad. I think some of the controls could be placed in better places. I should take notes before I forget, for the next iteration, I mean.

It is an impressive contraption, Amaryllis agreed. If you improve it a fair bit, perhaps simplifying it some, Im certain there would be a market for them. Merchant ships often have ballista emplacements that take up a lot of room. This seems more compact.

Awen nodded. Thats what I was thinking too. The Beaver is very small. Id like one of these to be able to deploy from both sides. Ideally. It might take up one of the bedrooms on the other side.

We have two that are empty... one now that we have a passenger, I said.

Speaking of which, Amaryllis muttered.

I nodded. Amaryllis had questions, and, well, so did I. But there were other things to look into first. The rush of victory was fading, and I was beginning to notice all the damage.

It wasnt too badI didnt think. Some ropes cut, a few burns across the tarp of our balloon. The holes were already being patched up by Steve and Gordon, with the Scallywags working as a team to reconnect one of the lines.

There were burns here and there, but most didnt seem more than paint-deep. A bit of washing and a fresh coat of paint would fix the worst of it.

I need to talk to Clive, then Ill join you below deck, okay? I asked.

Take your time, Amaryllis said. Ill be in the office. I think we might have gone a little off course. Not too much, mind, but Id still like to chart everything properly, just in case.

And I need to figure out how to get this back down, Awen said. I think I skipped off the rails; this is going to be annoying to fix.

Lets make sure the Beavers in tip-top shape before we worry too much about that, I said.

Awen nodded. Right. Im going to go look at the engine room, make sure that nothing is loose or on fire. She waved us off as she jogged to the back and then into the aft section.

I moved across to the other deck and hopped closer to Clive. Hows it going?

Hes holding up, the old harpy said. Ive been in my share of engagements with pirates and some nasty flying beasties. This was far, far from the worst. Port sails arent deploying right. Weve lost some buoyancy from escaped helium, and I think the rudders sticking a little.

Is any of that critical? I asked. The buoyancy bit sounded dangerous.

On their own, no. Theyre all little things, the kind of problems thatll pop up and need some maintenance. But its a lot to take care of all at once, Clive said. The boys are taking care of the balloon now. Thats the main thing. We can still turn and maneuver, and once the rigging is fixed on the port side, we should be fine. Itll be jury-rigged for a while, but well make it back to whichever port.

I sighed, some nerves leaving me in a gust. Good. I was worried.

We are too individualistic. We have too many memories from the shard that we split from. On occasion, a shard will break from a cry that has too much of the named ones power. I am like that, I suppose. I remember thinking of myself as myself, as an individual as opposed to part of the whole. That is something reserved for those cry that have grown grand and powerful, and who have earned the right to individuality. I am not even healed from my own split.

And so thats why youre being chased down, Amaryllis said. They want you dead.

No, not necessarily dead. Merely broken more until I, we, lose our individuality. Some shards are against this. Shard of Waterwatches Compassion, Third Split and One Whole is one of those.

How can they be against it if theyre not, uh, an individual?

Individuality and the ability to think for oneself is a fine line among the cry; one that grows blurry as a cry grows and begins to earn their way into our society.

I hummed. So, I guess... are we still bringing you to the Lonely island?

If you wish it; we would be grateful.

The amount of gold we received will barely cover the repairs we had to do, Amaryllis said.

I gave her a look. I dont think the damage is that bad.

Amaryllis crossed her wings. Well, I would have asked for more if I knew of the danger.

We were not expecting the aircraft, Moonie said.

I nodded. We werent either. Are planes common around here?

No, Amaryllis said. Ive seen some, but they are frequently disasters. Little room to transport anything, they require small but powerful engines. Need a dedicated pilot, not to mention a landing area that isnt compatible with any modern port. Ive seen some proposals for them as fighter craft, but I think todays attack proved their inefficiency.

Well, we have plenty where Im from, I said. Not rocket powered ones though.

Have you seen the size of the Beavers engine? Can you imagine something like that on a craft so small? Amaryllis asked.

Uh, I said. I guess? Turning to Moonie, I asked the question on the tip of my tongue. Do the cry have lots of planes?

The crystal turned from side to side, a sort of headshake, if its entire body counted as a head. When airships became common enough that we realized the Grey Wall would no longer be as effective as it once was at stopping armies, the Crying Mountains commissioned dozens of different sorts of craft. There are hundreds of aircraft stationed around the Crying Mountains to be deployed in case of an attack. Not that the great named ones couldnt burn ships out of the sky.

Scary, I said. I could still vividly remember the giant crystals jutting out of the mountains on the other side of the Grey Wall. If those were actual cry, living, thinking people able to use skills, then... well, if their lasers were proportionally the same size as those from the small cry that had attacked in those planes, then they would be firing beams of magic as big around as the entire Beaver. That would suck to fight against.

The cry learned their lesson about invaders long ago, Moonie said.

Right, I replied. So, were going to bring you to the Lonely Island. I dont know if youll be happier there, but, well, its on the way, and thats where you want to go, right?

Moonie bobbed. It is. There are others like us there. I want to meet them, to make a new home for ourselves, myself.

Alright! And maybe on the way there we can share some stories and have a bit of fun. Ive never made friends with a genderless sentient crystal before, so theres all sorts of new things to learn, Ill bet.

That sounds like it might be... amusing? Moonie tried.

The word youre looking for is traumatizing.

Amaryllis!

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