Difference between revisions of "User:Taln Fan/Draft"

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[[Spensa]] performs maneuvers to evade the enemy ace, as her shields are down and theirs are not. Spensa blasts a drone out of the sky, but runs into its debris, as there is no gravity in space to bring it down to the ground. The drones help the ace corner Spensa, so she tells [[M-Bot]] to call [[Jorgen]]. While waiting, she flies closer to [[Detritus]] so that the planet's defense systems will begin targeting the [[varvax|Krell]], thus negating their superiority in numbers. Spensa sinks into her subconscious and attempts to activate M-Bot's [[cytonics|cytonic]] hyperdrive, but M-Bot informs her it is offline. Spensa performs a maneuver to get on the ace's tail, trails them for a bit, and eventually gets a shot off as the ace spins around and takes a shot at Spensa. The ace misses, but both of Spensa's shots connect, destroying the sleek black ship. M-Bot reminds Spensa of the presence of the drones, and she begins to turn her ship around, only for [[Kimmalyn]] and [[FM]] to swoop in and finish off the drones. Spensa swings back around to inspect the ace's debris, and M-Bot informs her that the fight really could have ended either way. Spensa wonders why the [[Superiority]] doesn't just send dozens if not hundreds of aces like the one she'd just fought to wipe humanity out in one fell swoop. She also recognizes that humanity will eventually win, as they are slowly recapturing more and more defense platforms and [[acclivity stone]], and M-Bot's technology is helping the entire fleet. Jorgen contacts Spensa, fuming, and gives her, FM, Kimmalyn, and Spensa's new wingmate, [[Sadie]], instructions to hang out for a bit until they have orders to return to their new command post on the defense platforms, [[Platform Prime]]. Sadie informs the others of a warning light on her proximity monitor, and the four look up to see the arrival of two Superiority battleships docking near the Krell monitoring station. M-Bot informs Spensa they are capable of bombarding the planet, to which she responds that the defense platforms will hold. The group finally receives orders to return to Platform Prime, and they begin their descent.

 

=== Chapter 3 ===

 

[[M-Bot]] calculates the flight's return to [[Platform Prime]] through the other abandoned platforms as [[Spensa]] contemplates how many people must have used to live on the platforms, with all the skyscrapers dotting them. [[Skyward Flight]] meets up with [[Xiwang Flight]] to dock at Platform Prime, a large, blue-glowing platform. M-Bot forces Spensa to take his mobile receptor with her to her meeting with [[Jorgen]], and Spensa informs [[Dobsi]], a ground crew member, of the damage M-Bot's fuselage sustained. Spensa returns to her bunk to see [[Doomslug]] and wash up, then meets up with the rest of her flight. She talks with Kimmalyn and Sadie, as well as [[T-Stall]] and [[Catnip]], two new members of the flight. Jorgen arrives and dismisses the others, and lectures her on how her [[cytonics|cytonic]] abilities are too important to risk fighting useless battles by herself against the [[varvax|Krell]]. She admits she's been taking needless risks to recreate the situation where she hyperjumped at the [[Battle of Alta Second]]. [[Kimmalyn]] returns to the room and informs them that the engineering team have uncovered a video recording in the ancient archives.

 

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[[Spensa]] and [[Kimmalyn]] enter the data bank room, colloquially called the library, and are greeted by [[Rodge McCaffrey|Rodge]], who informs them that the engineering crews have discovered the final video logs of the platforms before they were shut down. [[Cobb]], now the Admiral of the [[DDF]], enters the room, and is greeted by Commander [[Ulan]]. Cobb tells Spensa to meet with him later, then gives the signal for the video to be played on a nearby computer screen. A technician turns on the volume, and a blonde engineer tells the monitor that the planet's defense platforms are insufficient and that the [[delver]] has tracked their communications and is fast approaching. He switches the screen to a camera on Platform Number 1132, as the sky begins to rapidly fill with stars, which Spensa quickly realizes are malevolent eyes, coming towards the planet. The shadow of the delver is cast over the platform, and Spensa sees a circular object at the center of the delver's dust cloud. The screen returns to the man in the library, where a woman reports the failure of the other platforms, and the imminent assault from the planet on the delver. The man continues typing, only to be consumed by the shadow of the delver, but not before the blackness gathers behind him, and forms a shape: Spensa.

 

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[[Spensa]] sees herself displayed on the screen, and shouts for a tech to turn off the screen. [[Jorgen]] grabs Spensa and holds her back, asking what she saw. She tells him and asks him if he sees the same. He squints and says he can vaguely see stars and a dark shadowy shape. [[Cobb]] orders the screen turned off and tells Spensa to meet with him immediately. He also tells [[Rodge]] to continue working on his project. Cobb leads Spensa to the observatory and asks her what she saw. She tells him, and he tells her how dire the situation really is: the [[DDF]] knows nothing about the [[Superiority]], but that they do know that somehow the Superiority travels the stars without attracting the attention of the [[delver]]s. Cobb also tells Spensa the planet's anti-bombardment systems won't hold out for long against the Superiority battleships and that she may not have to worry about the delvers. Spensa tells Cobb she was trying to push herself to access her [[cytonics]] in the heat of battle, and he tells her he might have another way to get the humans off Detritus.

 

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[[Cobb]] leads [[Spensa]] back to the docking bay, where she sees [[Rodge]] working on [[M-Bot]]. Cobb asks how his project is going, so Rodge taps his datapad and M-Bot transforms into a [[varvax|Krell]] ace. Rodge reveals he has manipulated M-Bot's hologram programs to make M-Bot appear to be other types of ships. Rodge continues to explain that M-Bot's capabilities are in espionage, not on the front lines where the [[DDF]] has been using him. Spensa realizes Cobb and Rodge want her to infiltrate the [[KRELL|Superiority space station]] and possibly steal hyperdrive technology. Cobb elaborates that he wants Spensa to bring a team with her, possibly start a spy school to train the DDF pilots in espionage. Cobb knows if the plan is to work, it has to happen quickly, as the DDF doesn't know how long they have with Superiority battleships lurking nearby. Spensa feels something odd, as if someone has arrived, when Cobb receives a call from [[Rikolfr]] informing him that a solitary ship has hyperjumped to the edge of Detritus' defense platforms. Spensa asks Cobb if she can go check it out, as [[Platform Prime]] is closer to the ship than the ground crews. Cobb consents, on the condition that [[Kimmalyn]] go with her.

 

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[[Spensa]] gets in [[M-Bot]], performs a preflight checklist, and exits the docking bay. [[Kimmalyn]] comes out of her bay, and the two head toward the alien ship. M-Bot informs Spensa the ship is not making wise choices in evading the defense platforms, which a [[varvax|Krell]] ship would not do. M-Bot calculates an interception course, and Spensa and Kimmalyn draw closer. Spensa receives permission to give chase, gets closer, and sees the ship is very damaged and spiraling towards a crash. As the ships reenter the atmosphere, g-forces begin to take their toll, and Spensa nearly blacks out. She then senses an overwhelming feeling of panic, seemingly broadcasted from the alien pilot. Cobb tells Spensa his analysts believe the ship to be manned, making it necessary to save the ship. Spensa [[Starfighter#Light-Lance|light lances]] the ship, and slows its descent. Both ships lands safely, so Spensa jumps out of her ship and onto the alien ship. She climbs over the canopy and looks through the cockpit glass to see not a Krell, but a humanoid woman.

 

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[[Kimmalyn]] climbs onto the canopy of the alien ship as well, and [[Spensa]] searches for the manual release to the cockpit, as the alien woman appears to be bleeding. Spensa releases the cockpit, and the woman starts speaking in an unintelligible language. The woman taps a pin on her flightsuit, and she begins talking in English. She tells Spensa her people and the humans were allies once and that Spensa is not to trust [[Starsight (station)|Starsight]]. She also implants the coordinates of Starsight in Spensa's mind. Three [[DDF]] troop transports and the rest of [[Skyward Flight]] touch down, and [[M-Bot]] tells Spensa he's hacked the alien ship's computer and discovered the alien's name is [[Alanik]] of the [[UrDail]]. He also tells Spensa he has access to all of the ship's databases on Alanik's people, her planet, her planet's history with humanity and the [[Superiority]], and much more. Spensa meets up with [[Jorgen]], and tells him that she has to go immediately to Starsight, as the coordinates are fading and the humans might not get another good chance to infiltrate the Superiority. M-Bot tells Spensa that she can use Alanik's pin to make her English input output any alien language. Jorgen gives his approval and tells Spensa he'll inform [[Cobb]], and they kiss. Spensa gets back into M-Bot, yanks the coordinates back to the front of her mind, and activates M-Bot's [[cytonics|cytonic]] hyperdrive.

 

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[[Spensa]] finds herself floating in the [[nowhere]], and sees the [[delver]]s' eyes begin to open as they stare at her, bursting with hatred and malevolence. [[M-Bot]] tells Spensa they're being contacted, and as she looks out M-Bot's cockpit, she sees a space station, a flat plane dotted with lights: [[Starsight (station)|Starsight]]. The people attempting to contact M-Bot seek identification, speaking in the language of the [[dione]], so Spensa asks M-Bot to fudge [[Alanik]]'s transponder signal. Spensa calms down and looks inward to see if she can pinpoint how to return to [[Detritus]], but she has no [[cytonics|cytonic]] coordinates for Detritus, only Starsight, so she asks M-Bot to calculate their location. In the meantime, M-Bot's fudging has failed and the [[Superiority]] is sending ships out to investigate. Two ships level off near Spensa, M-Bot patches through their comm line, and they begin to speak in an alien tongue. M-Bot hacks Alanik's translation pin, and the aliens begin speaking English. Spensa tells them she is Alanik of the [[UrDail]] from the planet [[ReDawn (planet)|ReDawn]], and that she is responding to the Superiority's request for more pilots to form a larger space force. The two ships tell her she is welcome to dock at Berth 1182, then fly off, and Spensa can't believe she's succeeded, expecting the two ships to turn around and fire at her at any moment. They don't, and M-Bot informs Spensa they are some forty light years from Detritus, meaning without a stolen cytonic hyperdrive, there's no going back. Spensa flies closer to Starsight, and sees that the flat plane of the station was surrounded by a bubble that must keep air and heat in the space station. Spensa feels towards the general direction of Detritus, and feels what she believes to be Alanik's cytonics, then proceeds to enter the bubble.

 

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The two alien ships guide [[Spensa]] closer to the station, and she observes aesthetically beautiful buildings and parks on each block. [[M-Bot]] tells her that there is no radio chatter; the [[Superiority]] is as scared of the delvers as the humans are. Spensa pulls into the docking bay, and M-Bot tells her that the platform has breathable air for her and the correct pressure. He also tells her that the aliens will understand her English output because their pins will understand one of the main languages of the people who thrice tried to conquer the galaxy. Spensa pops the cockpit and gets an access ticket to the docking bay from one of the aliens. Spensa remains in the ship, and is approached by an alien who refers to themself as [[Cuna]]. Spensa tells [[Doomslug]] to stay in the ship, then gets out to meet Cuna. Cuna guides Spensa through [[Starsight (station)|Starsight]] to where she will stay, passing by markets and parks galore. Cuna tells Spensa that by agreeing to be in the Superiority's defense force, Alanik might gain secondary Superiority citizenship for her people. Cuna further tells Spensa the Superiority prefers races that are not too aggressive but also have primary intelligence. The [[UrDail]] have thus far been barred from Superiority citizenship due to their alliance with the humans in the [[Human wars|Third Human War]]. Cuna tells Spensa they are a member of the [[Department of Species Integration]], and have personally been trying to integrate the UrDail into the Superiority. Cuna takes Spensa to her quarters, and tells her that as a [[cytonics|cytonic]], Spensa poses a threat to the Superiority, as it was people like her who first drew the [[delver]]s from their realm to attack the Superiority. This forced the Superiority to control the cytonics and limit radio communications, but they have since discovered cytonic hyperdrives that do not aggravate the delvers. Spensa realizes that the reason the Superiority never sent a massive attack to wipe out the humans was because they simply didn't have the numbers, and they instead control the galaxy by controlling access to cytonic hyperdrives. Cuna then tells Spensa the reason the Superiority has been gathering pilots like her is because they believe the delvers are watching the Superiority, and they have developed a superweapon to combat the delvers that they need large amounts of pilots to deploy. Cuna tells Spensa that the [[Department of Protective Services]] is overseeing the delver combat operation, but that they have significant say in it. Cuna tells Spensa she needs to pass their tryout the next day, and also warns her that her cytonic abilities will be muted by Starsight's cytoshield. Before they can leave, sirens go off around the building, a ship lands in front of the building, and a human woman steps out.

 

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Following the human woman comes a [[varvax]], who [[Cuna]] introduces as [[Winzik]], the head of the Department of Protective Services. The group enters [[Spensa]]'s quarters and Winzik has the human, [[Brade]], test Spensa for [[cytonics|cytonic]] abilities, after which he warns Spensa not to use her cytonic abilities on others. As Cuna and Winzik continue to talk, Spensa realizes she is being used as a pawn in their greater political power struggle. Spensa agrees to follow the [[Superiority]]'s rules, and Winzik and Brade leave. Cuna tells Spensa she can have supplies brought to her quarters, and then leaves. [[M-Bot]] contacts Spensa and asks her to move him away from the public docking bay so he can be more comfortable and connect to the station's public datanet to look for information.

 

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[[M-Bot]] tells [[Spensa]] that he has deactivated all of the [[Superiority]] surveillance devices in her quarters and that he's taking a general imprint of the datanet so the Superiority can't track exactly what they're searching for. He tells her all traces of [[cytonics]] and hyperdrive technology are missing, however. He also tells her that he is miles ahead of Superiority technology in terms of holograms. He then tells her the five main leading races of the Superiority government: the [[cambric]], [[tenasi]], [[heklo]], [[varvax]] (like [[Winzik]]), and diones (like [[Cuna]]). He tells her that diones reproduce by merging together and becoming a temporary third individual. Spensa then has M-Bot arrange for supplies that both she and [[Alanik]] would consume to be brought to her quarters in bulk. M-Bot then covers some other necessities, like attempting to contact [[Detritus]] and sending word to the [[UrDail]] updating them on "Alanik's" progress with the Superiority. Spensa checks the information Cuna gave her on the flight test the next day and sees most of the participants are secondary Superiority citizens and that if she is to succeed, she will be issued a Superiority [[starfighter]], which she hopes will be equipped with a cytonic hyperdrive.

 

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[[Spensa]] gets in [[M-Bot]] and takes off the roof of the embassy, headed toward where the tryout will take place, half an hour of flying away. They receive a flight plan, and enter a stream of a couple dozen assorted ships headed to the same location. M-Bot tells Spensa he should send a message to [[Alanik]]'s people, giving them basic information the Superiority will overlook, encrypted with a message that she is not Alanik, that Alanik is injured and Spensa is performing her mission. M-Bot asks Spensa if he's truly alive, and Spensa points out he changed his own code, and then asks if he could change his own code to fly himself, after which M-Bot makes clicking sounds and restarts. This happens once more before they realize M-Bot can't even think about flying himself without his computer restarting him. M-Bot reaches the location of the tryout, a mining station surrounded by another atmosphere-simulating bubble. They land and Spensa disembarks, and approaches a crowd of aliens listening to [[Winzik]], standing on a raised dais, addressing them through a voice projection tool. Winzik informs them the [[Superiority]] must always be on high alert in looking for [[delver]]s, and someone in the crowd asks if it's true that a delver has entered the realm. Winzik confirms this, and quickly moves on to discussing the waivers they all need to sign. Spensa receives one, but doesn't know her travel identification number, so goes up to a [[varvax]] taking questions. A group of small fox like creatures are talking to the varvax, telling it how they are no longer a monarchy and should not have to prove their loyalty to the Superiority for the umpteenth time. Winzik approaches Spensa and tries to talk her out of trying out. [[Cuna]] approaches Spensa next, asking about Winzik's intentions. Cuna reveals that Alanik is the only pilot that accepted her offer, and that one of their reasons for asking species like Alanik's to try out for the force is to see their human-given [[Starfighter#Light-Lance|light-lances]], which generally require more confidence to use in combat, in action. Cuna leaves, and Spensa gets back in M-Bot and takes off towards the edge of the asteroid field.

 

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[[Spensa]] falls in line with the other pilots, and a few ships down she sees a sleek black [[varvax|Krell]] ace. She senses a soft ringing sound coming from the ship, and instantly knows [[Brade]] is the pilot. [[Winzik]] comes on over the general instructions channel informing the pilots that they are allowed to use ship to ship radio transmissions and that if they feel aggressive or feel overwhelmed, they are to power down their ship and flash their emergency signal lights. The comm cuts off and instantly dozens of drone ships detach from the mining station and swarm the pilots. Spensa zips away from the battle at Mag-3, and inspects the field. She can tell most of the pilots have never been in a battlefield scenario, as they scramble around with no sense of direction. Spensa contacts Flight Command and asks what the objective of the exercise is, to which they respond that to pass, a pilot must survive for 30 standard minutes. Spensa asks what constitutes a death, and Flight Command tells her that she misunderstands their purpose, and she then sees a drone shoot down a nearby ship with live [[Starfighter#Destructors|destructor]] fire. Spensa dogfights with a couple of drones, using her [[Starfighter#Light-Lance|light-lance]] to destroy one but avoiding using her [[cytonics]] to intercept their FTL communications. This scares the drones off, as they know they don't need to test a pilot with obvious skill, but rather pick off weaklings. Spensa sees a large fighter with many destructors, a warship, under heavy attack from the drones, and accelerates to go help them out.

 

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The warship's shields go down right as [[Spensa]] arrives, but their [[Starfighter#Destructors|destructor]] turrets keep firing at the drones. Spensa flies through the trailing drones and hits her [[Starfighter#Inverted Magellan Pulse|IMP]], hoping to distract as many drones as possible. She gains a tail, but the warship is able to cut down each drone trailing her. Spensa falls in next to the warship, and [[M-Bot]] tells her they are receiving a call from an unfamiliar radio channel. M-Bot patches it through, and only cheering can be heard on the other end. A deep voice on the other side informs Spensa she has saved the [[kitsen]] flagship, [[Gaualako-An]] (Big Enough to Kill You) and with it, [[Hesho]], former king of the kitsen. Spensa asks if they want to form a flight with her, and Hensho says yes, but only if Spensa can find another quick starfighter to balance their flight. Spensa sees [[Brade]] flying off in the distance, and patches a radio comm to her asking if she wants to join. Brade responds by [[Starfighter#Light-Lance|light-lancing]] another ship into an asteroid and flying away at high speed. Spensa goes toward the ship Brade has just damaged to ask if they need assistance. She patches through a radio comm, and tells the pilot to turn off their ship and flash their emergency lights. The [[dione]] pilot tells Spensa they cannot, because the collision has crushed their emergency lights. Spensa tows the ship back toward Hesho via light-lance, and sends out a radio comm via the general channel and asks if any ships can assist them. A feminine voice responds after a second attempt and promises to help if Spensa promises not to shoot. Spensa agrees, and a drone comes out from hiding behind an asteroid and is almost shot by Spensa, until things are sorted out and Spensa tells the feminine pilot to distract the drones keeping her from assisting the dione. The pilot does so, and Spensa is able to dislodge a small rock from the dione's boosters, allowing the ship to have fully operational boosters. The dione informs Hesho and Spensa that their name is [[Morriumur]], and the trio continue patrolling the battlefield until time expires and the drones return to their hiding places on the underside of the mining platform. The surviving 50 pilots return to the atmospheric bubble atop the mining station and exit their ships. Spensa is about to angrily demand why the Superiority used live destructor fire on civilian vessels, but is beaten to it by a hulking gorilla-like alien. The alien slams [[Winzik]] for not using dummy rounds and firing on an untrained populace, and proceeds to threaten Winzik. Winzik takes offense and releases the gorilla-alien, identified as [[Gul'zah]] of the [[burl (species)|burl]], from duty. M-Bot restrains Spensa from getting further involved, and Morriumur steps in and asks Spensa if she wants to get food with them.

 

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[[Morriumur]] and [[Spensa]] enter a cafeteria, and Morriumur tells Spensa a little more of how their species' reproduction works, and they argue about the hypocrisy of the [[Superiority]]. Morriumur tells Spensa they are joining the Superiority's pilots because they were born with a high level of aggression for a [[dione]], and they thought this the best way to prove themselves to their family. The cafeteria has food and liquid for all kinds of species, so [[M-Bot]] tells Spensa what [[Alanik]] would be able to eat that Spensa can consume too. Morriumur tells Spensa of their theory of why so many species, flora, and fauna across the galaxy look and act so similarly: he believes humanoid [[cytonics]] crossed the galaxy before they had stone tools. Spensa and Morriumur continue discussing the ethics, including how dione families choose whether or not to birth a child based on its personality, when [[Hesho]] and his crew enter the cafeteria. Hesho proposes a formal alliance between his crew, Spensa, and Morriumur, and the trio hypothesize what their Superiority training will entail next. None of them know much about [[delver]]s, so none of them know exactly what to expect. Hesho calls out the Department of Protective Services for its lack of empathy, and the group settles into eating their meals. Spensa hears the song of the stars outside of [[Starsight (station)|Starsight's]] cytoshield, she also hears the humming of [[Brade]]'s cytonics nearby. She excuses herself to use the restroom, and goes towards the humming. She turns a corner and sees Brade speaking with a group of dione officials and [[Winzik]].

 

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[[Spensa]] crouches by the door, listening to [[Winzik]] and the [[dione]]'s conversation, when [[M-Bot]] tells her he can enhance her bracelet's auditory reception capabilities so she can better listen to the conversation. He does so, and Spensa hears another dione, named [[Tizmar]], arguing with Winzik over the ethics of using live [[Starfighter#Destructors|destructor]] fire on untrained pilots, telling him there were a dozen casualties. Spensa feels a mind pressing against her own, and hears another official ask why [[Brade]] is standing up, alert. Spensa realizes Brade can sense her too, so she scrambles back to the cafeteria and sits down back at her table just before Winzik comes in and stares straight at her. A dione official comes up to their table some time later and informs Spensa and [[Hesho]] they will be in a flight together, along with Brade and a cinnamon-smelling [[figment]] named [[Vapor]]. [[Morriumur]] is left in a flight of their own until Spensa argues with the official, who gives in and allows Morriumur to join their flight. The group splits up, and M-Bot tells Spensa he has partially succeeded in lying, he tripped his security alarms to stop a group of engineers from inspecting him. Spensa comes to the conclusion that if she can't steal a [[Superiority]] hyperdrive, maybe she can steal one of their [[cytonics]], Brade, by telling her of [[Detritus]] and a group of humans who would appreciate her flying abilities.

 

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[[Spensa]] returns to the embassy, and tells [[M-Bot]] she only got into the [[Superiority]]'s military by the skin of her teeth, nearly losing her cool like [[Gul'zah]]. M-Bot asks her if she has skin on her teeth, to which Spensa responds no, then wonders where the metaphor comes from. M-Bot tells her it is from an English version of the Bible, an old version of the Book of Saints, read commonly on [[Earth (Skyward)|Old Earth]]. Spensa pets [[Doomslug]], who recognizes Spensa through her [[Alanik]] hologram, which leads Spensa to wonder if [[Vapor]] recognizes her as a human. Spensa turns off the lights and takes off her bracelet so she can be herself, and gets in the cleaning pod to bathe. M-Bot tells her Alanik's people have sent back an encrypted message asking to speak with Alanik. Spensa tells M-Bot to send an encrypted message back saying that Alanik will contact them when she is healthy, and that for the time being, Spensa is carrying out her mission. Spensa asks M-Bot to tell her what the people down in the street are talking about, and he tells her they talk about normal things, like daycare, dinner, and their pets. Spensa tells M-Bot she's going to perform maintenance on him, so she begins working on him. She then asks him how he learned about the Bible and Old Earth, and he tells her that the Superiority has lots of information on Old Earth in their databases. Spensa asks him to tell her about Pine Leaf, one of the stories [[Becca Nightshade|Gran-Gran]] had told her. M-Bot tells it in a very factual, matter of fact way, unlike Gran-Gran's storytelling style. M-Bot then begins wondering if he's alive again, telling Spensa that the [[dione]] philosopher, [[Zentu]], proposed three conditions that indicated true life: growth, basic self-determinism, and the ability to reproduce. He so far has only met the first condition, and begins wondering if he can copy his code onto another ship, only to restart. M-Bot tells Spensa it would be too hard anyways, copying the code would be easy, but he would be too slow, because in his current state he uses FTL processors to calculate and make rapid decisions, but being in another ship would render him unable to do so. He tells Spensa that he has a cytoshield that blocks [[Starsight (station)|Starsight's]] cytoshield and allows his FTL processors to function on Starsight. While working on M-Bot's reflective underside, Spensa sees the eyes and a delver, so she scrambles away. Spensa then tells M-Bot the story of the man who lost his shadow: one day a writer lost his shadow, searched for it, lost interest, but eventually his shadow came back and having traveled the world, switched places with the man so he could travel the world, but refused to free the man and lived out his life, marrying a princess, becoming wealthy and famous. Spensa worries she already is the shadow. Spensa decides to sleep in M-Bot's cockpit, listening to the sounds of the people and traffic down below.

 

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[[Jorgen]] enters the [[DDF]] infirmary to check on [[Alanik]]. He reflects on his breaking of the DDF chain-of-command protocol, and asks for any updates from the doctor in the room. The doctor tells him everything seems okay, but they just don't know what an [[UrDail]]'s vital signs should be. On his way back to his ship to take ground crew duty, Jorgen hears the alarms going off, in a pattern that indicates incoming fire. Jorgen heads to the command room, and meets up with [[Nydora|Ensign Nydora]], a woman in the [[DDF|Radio Corps]]. She informs him that the [[Superiority]] battleships have taken up a position over a gap in the the platforms directly over [[Alta Base]]. The DDF can do nothing but hope the [[DDF|Engineering Corps]] have gotten the platforms there online. The battleships begin dropping bombs, only for a section of the platforms to open up and launch bright energy blasts at the bombs. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, except [[Cobb]]. Jorgen asks Cobb what the matter is, and Cobb tells him that the platform that fought back wasn't one of the ones the Engineering Corps had been working on. He also tells Jorgen that even though they managed to get a few platforms online, all of them are low on power and will take years to fabricate new solar collectors. Jorgen then tells Cobb that he's seen white lights in the corner of his eyes. Cobb then decides to take him to meet [[Becca Nightshade|Spensa's Gran-Gran]].

 

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[[Spensa]] awakes to [[M-Bot]] warning of intruders downstairs, so she grabs her handheld destructor pistol and heads downstairs. M-Bot tells her the locations of the two intruders, and Spensa ambushes one of them, who drops a plate. The intruder claims to be a housekeeper sent by [[Cuna]]. The door chimes ring, and Spensa opens the door to see Cuna themself. Cuna confirms the story, and identifies the housekeepers as Mrs. [[Chamwit]] and her assistant. Cuna enters the embassy and they head to a meeting room. Cuna asks Spensa what she knows of the [[human wars]] and the [[delver]]s, which leads Spensa to the conclusion that the human had tried to weaponize the delvers, only for them to backfire and consume the human planets, just as she'd seen on the video on [[Platform Prime]]. Cuna tells her that although they and Winzik disagree on many things, one thing they do agree on is that they need to have a way to combat the delvers should they ever return. Cuna also tells Spensa the humans aren't a real threat, and that rumors of their impending escapes are just stories drummed up by the Department of Protective Services every time they need a new funding bill passed. Cuna tells Spensa they wants her to act as a spy and report on whatever the Department of Protective Services has them do in their training. They also tell Spensa the ship they will be traveling on has a [[cytonics|cytonic]] hyperdrive, so Spensa should pay attention when they jump if she wants to increase her powers. Spensa gathers up her things and tells Cuna not to touch M-Bot, then heads to the docking platform to board her transport ship.

 

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[[M-Bot]] tells [[Spensa]] her shuttle will take her to the trade vessel ''[[Weights and Measures]]'', they also cover the species within Spensa's flight. M-Bot also tells Spensa about the [[kitsen]] [[cytonics|shadow walkers]] who came to [[Old Earth]] thousands of years before, but mysteriously stopped coming due to being ostracized among their own people. The shuttle passes a group of people waving signs, led by a [[burl (species)|burl]]. M-Bot searches the local news outlets and finds that they are protesting the use of live destructor fire in the tryout and the [[Superiority]]'s treatment of lesser races as a whole. Spensa's shuttle reaches the last ship on the docks, what she identifies as a troop transport, due to its multiple ports for launching starfighters and the knobs on the sides for gun emplacements. Spensa gets out of her shuttle and is told she will be picked up again at 9000. Spensa is joined by [[Hesho]] and his crew, who informs her that he was unanimously voted down in each measure he brought forth in his people's democratic assembly. A drone flies over to the group, now joined by Morriumur and Vapor, and informs them they will be Flight Fifteen, which Hesho immediately renames [[Flowers of Night's Last Kiss Flight]]. The flight is led down the corridors of the ''Weights and Measures'', and Spensa feels she should peel off from the group and head a certain way. She does, and hears the stars, when a soldier guarding the intersection yells at her and she goes back to where her flight went. They enter a little chamber with half a dozen jumpseats, they strap in, and prepare for launch. Spensa relaxes and listens to the stars, hears the captain's command to prepare for hyperjump, then her mind floods with information, the location of where they're jumping to, a shrill scream, and then the ship enters the [[nowhere]].