trans_9 | The Hidden Villiage

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The Hidden Villiage

Several hours after Cargn's message to the command staff, the crew was summoned to the Obs Deck in Stacy's usual fashion. Upon arrival, they would find a mission briefing much like the ones that came before it.

The hologram next to it would show a rather unusual looking planet, with a single, massive ocean taking up the majority of the surface, and a single, perfectly circular continent taking up the rest. It appeared rather unnatural at first glance.

Planet Designation: Unknown. No records of a system existing at this location can be found. All information is based on preliminary scans.
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Unknown.
Sentient Life: Unknown.
Water: 74.8% of the planet's surface.
Climate: Temperate.
Landscape: Mountainous.
Air: Normoxic concentration. Slightly elevated levels of carbon dioxide.
Air Pressure: 101.3 kPa (kilopascals) = 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch)
Sky: Blue. Occasional cloud cover.
Sun: A class G2V, yellow star.
Warnings: No records of this planet exist. Suggest taking extreme caution while planet-side, as dangers that have not shown up on preliminary scans could exist.
Mission: Scout planet's surface and locate artifact known as the Tapestry.

Well. It certainly wasn't much to go on. But the Tapestry seemed to be important enough to the crew, so it might be worth the risk.

Maybe.

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Those following Cargn past the invisible barrier would find themselves in a rather unexpected place.

Here they would find a rather expansive settlement amongst the trees, apparently hidden by the barrier they had just passed through. It was difficult to tell exactly what was producing the barrier, however, as there wasn't much in the way of such advanced technology in the immediate area.

As they were taking in their new surroundings, the crew would find they were being approached by several tall figures, recognizable as Rom by those crew members who had encountered them during the mission at Orongo.

"Greetings, Thread Walkers," the foremost Rom spoke. "You have been expected."

That was... an interesting trick. Some kind of holographic camouflage, apparently.

Leon raised his hand in a gesture towards the crew, a simple motion to 'hold' while they were being approached. The people didn't appear hostile, but you could never be too careful.

Leon stepped forward.

"I'm Leon S. Kennedy, Captain of Transmigration 9. If you expected us to come, then I assume you know why we're here."

"Laq'hi, son of the village Matron," the Rom replied. "We saw your ship. Given how well hidden this planet is, there are only two possibilities: you've stumbled here by accident, or you are here to find the Tapestry."

He tilted his head slightly, as if thinking about something.

"And given how quickly you found this village, I'm inclined to believe the latter."

Leon nodded. "That's correct.

"We were given a map on the planet Gondepetil, which eventually directed us here. We've been told that the Tapestry is vitally important to our future, though the explanation of how it works was somewhat... esoteric."

Laq'hi tilted his head thoughtfully once more.

"I see," he said. "If you were given the Map by our brothers and sisters among the Moai, then the Tapestry will indeed be important to you. But it is not my place to decide if you are worthy enough to receive it. The Guardians will be the judge of that. They will also give you a better explanation of how it works."

He looked behind him, motioning to the men around him to disperse before turning back to the crew.

"The way to the Tapestry doesn't open until night falls. You are free to spend the time waiting in the village, so long as you try not to make any trouble."

Being a woman of few words during a mission, Sofia simply gave the Laq'hi a polite nod in thanks. She would not move unless Leon gave them the orders.

"Wonderful! Lovely village to wait in," the Doctor said with the faint undertone of not looking forward to waiting, lovely or not-so-lovely village. Time in chronological order, in excruciatingly linear seconds and minutes and hours. Not exactly his sort of thing...something the Ponds and Jamie could probably attest to. He hung back for the most part, content to simply size up Laq'hi, who (so far) seemed to be a perfectly pleasant young man not inclined to skewer them or take a page from Mother Reda's book and serve up some scapegoats.

He liked Laq'hi already.

The Doctor had his body half turned back the way they'd come, dying to take another look at the barrier they'd come in through. It'd pass the time and give him a better idea of their tech.

Well, that was... generous of them. There was still the matter of the Guardians and actually securing the Tapestry, but at least it didn't look like anyone was in any immediate danger.

"Thank you," he told Laq'hi, then he turned to address the crew.

"You heard the man. Have a look around, try not to cause trouble. Also, try to at least stay in pairs." He didn't want anyone getting caught out there alone, just in case things went south.

He then turned to look back at Laq'hi.

"If you don't mind, though, while we're here, I'd like to have a word with the Matron, if possible."

"I suppose that is possible," Laq'hi replied with a thoughtful click. "I was just going to report back to mother about your arrival anyway. Besides, I'm sure she would be interested in meeting you herself."

He turned and began walking, motioning for Leon to follow.

"Come. Your crew will be safe with my men watching over them while we speak to mother."

he did have to think about that for half a second, but he did request the meeting. So he nodded, and started to walk along with Laq'hi.

It didn't take long for them to reach the center of the village, where the advanced technology of the buildings seemed at odds with the ancient look of the town as a whole.

At the center of the settlement was a somewhat larger building, into which Laq'hi led Leon. Inside the building was a fairly large, circular audience chamber, at the center of which was a simple platform, with an elder, wizened looking Rom woman seated atop.

Laq'hi approached the elder Rom, leaning to place one cheek next to hers--something like a kiss on the cheek for when you don't have a visible mouth.

"Greetings, mother," Laq'hi said to the elder as he returned next to Leon. "The strangers from the ship above have arrived, and they have the Map with them. Their leader wishes to speak with you."

The elder Rom leaned forward with interest.

"Well then," she said, "Greetings, Thread Walker. I am Rosh'hi, Matron of this village."

Leon casually looked around the building; this was quite the setup they had here.

He bowed respectfully towards the elder. "Greetings, I'm Leon S. Kennedy, Captain of Transmigration Nine. My crew and I have come here looking for the Tapestry, and I was hoping you could answer a few questions about it."

"I only know of what the Guardians have told me about it," she replied, "but I will answer what I can."

"Then you probably still know more than I do. We've been told that the Tapestry is an important and powerful artifact, but exactly what it does and how it can help is still something of a mystery to us."

"From what I am told," Rosh'hi replied, "It allows you to read and weave the Threads of your own fate. It is rather difficult to describe, but essentially, it creates opportunity where there was none by allowing you to see the possibility coming from the actions of those who are not bound by fate, like you and your fellow Thread Walkers."

"Some powerful Thread Readers," Loq'hi added, "like the one you came here with, are capable of similar things, but nowhere near to the extent of what the Tapestry is capable of."

The elder Rom nodded.

"Simply put," she continued, "you will be shown the likely outcomes of a choice you will be called upon to make, and it will help make one of those outcomes a certainty."

"Oh, that's..." Okay. Yeah, he could definitely see how having all of the consequences for your choices laid out in front of you could be a huge boon to them.

"Okay.

"Do you have any idea what the Guardians want in exchange for it?"

"That, I do not know," she said. "They have been here since the Tapestry was first hidden here many ages past, so they are ancient and inscrutable. Still, they have been wise and fair in this village's dealings with them, so I do not think what they will ask of you will be unfair."

She pauses thoughtfully for a moment.

"A word of caution when using the Tapestry, though, Captain. It is said the Tapestry has a will of its own, and it will only reveal what it believes is critical in how the future will unfold. It will not give you the answers to every question you will ask. But given time, you should be able to get it to show you the path you wish to walk."

He thought about that for a moment. And, well, the path they wanted to go was one thing, but they still had to go where Stacy took them. Which brought up another point.

"The Daligig still have us on kind of a leash, though. What can you tell me about them?"

The wings on Loq'hi's back fluttered in agitation.

"Imperious and arrogant, those pigs are," he said.

"We...have a long history with them," Rosh'hi added. "It is not well known--and it would stay that way if the Daligig had a say in it--but we Rom share a common ancestor with them.

"Our kind split ways with them when our peoples disagreed over the way they would interfere in the affairs of others, sometimes with force unbefitting of an outside interloper. They could be rather...bullheaded in their attempts at spreading peace and order.

"But things seemed to change several centuries ago, just before they helped establish the GIA. They became more secretive, more withdrawn, and began working on projects the aims of which few if any outside their ranks know of.

"I would tell you more, but that is all I know of them. Our elders on our adopted home world might be able to tell you more, but approaching there uninvited will only make you an enemy of our people."

That was an interesting take on them.

"How much do you know about their conflict with the Ohm?"

"Very little," she replied. "We know the return of the Ohm heralds an important change, but the nature of their return is still unknown to us. As for the Daligig's involvement with them, I know even less, other than they announced their plan to deal with them--the Transmigration Project--surprisingly quickly after the first Ohm attacks."

"'Return?'" That little detail caught his attention. "We've been led to believe that they came out of nowhere and invaded the Bleed, not that they've been here before."

Rosh'hi laughed slightly.

"I'm sure you've heard people say the Daligig were the first race to expand through the multiverse, but this isn't true.

"It was the Ohm. According to our history, they weren't much different than any other race at the time. For some reason, though, they were embroiled in a war with many of the other major species at the time. But just as they were poised to wipe their enemies out, they disappeared to some remote, uninhabited corner of the multiverse, where they evolved to the form we know today.

"There are only a handful of races left in existence from that time, so no one remembers the Ohm's first appearance save as ancient myths."

His brows furrowed as he took that information in. That was all definitely something to think about, and put some things into context, but raised just as many questions as it answered.

"Can you tell me which races are still around from that time? I'd like to know just in case we cross paths with them in our travels."

"I'm afraid I cannot help you much there," she replied. "Most races from that time became reclusive, even more so than my people and the Daligig have been. Even the Greys, who trade much of their advanced technology in exchange for military protection, are reluctant to confide in anyone about that time."

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The Hidden Villiage

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