The trip was taking a while. The two inhabitants of the ship passed the time by playing games and looking out the wide transparent windows at the shining stars. Hyas wasn't nearly as interested in them as Rosetta, having been born right in sight of one instead of on a faraway moon, but they were a little curious about the larger ones.
‘The star you and I orbited was very small. Your planet and moon were tidally locked, so that’s why you never saw it when you lived there.’
“Aaaah! They’resosparkly!!!” Rosetta clung to one of the makeshift handles by the window. “Sopretty!”
‘The moon we’re going to isn't too close to its sun, so we should be able to see it sometimes as we orbit.’
“Yaaay! Newhome!”
‘Yes…’ Hyas grew quiet, gazing at the distant specks of light. They had used a great deal of energy getting the spaceship running and keeping it intact, but Elgyem were pretty resilient when in their natural habitat. Space, untethered by gravity. Most of the universe’s life seemed concentrated near suns and planetary bodies, though, instead of the open vacuum. If they were going to decide what to do with their life, it made sense to follow other life forms first.
“Shinyshinyshiny!!!” Rosetta squeaked. Hyas blinked, but a quick dip into her train of thought revealed that they had accidentally shone a light pattern without realizing it.
“Can we be friends?”
---
In some solar system a ways from the last, a dim, red-tinted star shed gentle light upon its satellites. Planetarily, it had a decent range; some large, some small, quite a few on the verge of having liquid water. It would have been a nice place, if it weren’t for the layered asteroid belts, all spinning precariously close to some of the planets. A freshly-ruined spaceship was a new addition, however. The ship orbited one of the many moons quite peacefully, but its two passengers were panicking.
“Waaah! Theship! Hyaaas!”
‘I know, I know!’
Awoken by the faint pitter-patter of pebbles on the hull, Hyas had taken a look out the window and realized they were heading straight into a massive asteroid. They hadn’t been able to disengage the autopilot, likely due to the age of the vessel. Rosetta could do nothing, and even as they managed to psychically pull the ship up and away from the danger, more rocks had smashed into the top side of the ship. It had been a frightening few minutes as the two of them tried to free themselves of the asteroid field with minimal damage, but they eventually made it through and to their set location.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
‘I'm fixing it. Stay calm.’
The life support system was still working, pumping and recycling air. Hyas focused on clamping shut the holes in the ship and making sure Rosetta didn't get pulled out. Once everything was mostly intact and their partner calm, they looked out the cracked windows at their new home.
The old, buggy AI had done the best it could. Missing a large chunk out of half of its mass, the remaining surface of the moon resembled a crescent of Swiss cheese. No surface was without craters, and there was a massive cloud of debris still orbiting it. Sometime recently, an apocalyptically-big object had crashed into it. Hyas doubted it still could support much life.
Rosetta seemed to think the same. “Ohnooo!” She pointed to a small drawer on the side of one of the control panels, and Hyas opened it for her. Inside, it contained some folded plastic-fabric. They pulled one out for her, and it unfolded into a vaguely star-shaped suit. She took it and put it on.
“Gonnagetonthemoon!” Rosetta chimed.
‘Okay.’ Hyas looked back out at the destroyed moon. They doubted there was anything the two of them could use, much less anyone still alive in the ruined atmosphere and compacted soil.
They had come all this way, though. They should at least look.
Opening the ship’s double-hatch was difficult, as Hyas hadn't fixed the exterior one. There hadn’t been time to do much more than get the ship airtight. Piecing it together with Rosetta’s help, they eventually got the airlock ready. Hyas followed her through, out into open space.
The orbit of the moon was exceptionally weak and far away from its planet, but Hyas still felt the pull of it. Their ship wouldn’t be safe left alone, what with the asteroids and all (being out of the rings didn't mean much in this solar system), but Rosetta and Hyas were determined to investigate the moon they had come here for.
Hyas helped push Rosetta to the rocky, pockmarked surface. They collapsed on the ground after her, and she picked them up and balanced them on her head once more. The suit did nothing to diminish her strength. Bouncing happily across the terrain, Rosetta was plainly pleased to be back under gravity’s control. They scanned the area for anything that might signify the remainders of a civilization.
After a while of searching to no avail, Rosetta seemed ready to give up.
“There’snothing.”
‘We should keep looking. It’s not a very big moon, especially with most of it gone. The ship is still fine.’
She puffed out her cheeks. “Notgonnafindanything.”
‘Maybe so.’
The two of them sat down and looked over the ledge of a large, empty crater. Hyas was tense with the concentration it took to remain upright. ‘We need to keep looking.’ Their words sounded empty to both of them, even in Rosetta’s mind.
The moon turned, slowly, and eventually it reached the point in its orbit where the sun just began to peek over the edge of the planet. Rocky ground, once a dull lifeless gray, was lit up with a dull crimson glow. They watched as the edge of the day crossed over, dipping down in the crater to come up the other side and wash over them. It wasn't anything short of glorious.
Rosetta pointed at something within the crater. “What’sthat? Looksdifferent.”
Hyas stared blankly in that direction. Towards the upper-left-most portion of the crater was a point of discoloration. It was a pale, unsaturated yellow, with what might have been a spot of red towards the middle. They raised their arms from where they lay on the ground and flashed a signal in the direction of the object.
“Hello. Hello. Do you read me?”
No response. Hyas was picked up by Rosetta, and she began the trek by jumping as far forwards down the side of the crater as she could. For a moment, a hint of weightlessness almost returned to them, but it was gone in an instant. Rosetta landed with a thud, and continued in great bounding leaps across the bowl.
“Doyouhearthat?” A faint murmur, growing louder the closer they got. Hyas could only feel the barest of sound waves at first, and not nearly as quickly as Rosetta did. They were there, though.
To Hyas’ surprise, once they were in range they detected a psychic output. It was faint and unfamiliar, but it was definitely there. Whatever they had found was likely intelligent.
Coming up to it, Rosetta set Hyas down and poked at it curiously. It resembled the lunar soil but a different shade. Half-buried beneath rock and sand. A red eye stared straight in one direction and did not move when Rosetta waved at it. All the while, lifeless as it seemed, it was speaking constantly in a heavy, shaking tone.
“... eternal night, moons upon moons forever turning, phasing, a vanquished foe does not fault the stars but for to bring them guilt. The cycle continues, unheeding, uncaring of those on the ground below. Stardust is an inconsistent and disreputable currency. Only fools believe planets have souls."
Rosetta tilted her head to the side, clearly uncomprehending. The psychic waves this new creature outputted were strange, but Hyas was able to read them without much difficulty. It didn't seem to have a conscious mind in the same way Rosetta did, so their attempts at scanning were unsuccessful.
“Hi? Areyoualive?”
‘I can't tell if it really is. It either doesn't have thoughts or it knows how to block them.’
“Huh!!! That’sweird! Wantedanewfriend.”
The red eye moved and looked at them, and the monologue suddenly halted. “You are an imbecilic species.”
“OH!!! Rude!” Rosetta looked angrier than she had been when she had scolded Hyas for the mindreading. “Hyas! It’smean!”
Hyas pulled themself up off the ground and raised their lights. They hadn't yet figured out how to communicate with the creature, as they could not find its frontal train of thought to speak into. Flashing red and yellow warning signs, they questioned it.
“Who are you? Why do you not want to come with us? This moon has nothing left for you.”
“No one in this solar system can read what you’re saying.” Hyas blinked and floated back a little upon the realization that the being was reading their mind. What a weird sensation.
“As you've likely guessed, a meteor struck my moon. Most of the other Lunatone were crushed.” The Lunatone looked up at the sky and took the same tone it had before. “But he survives alone, wounded gravely, abandoned to do naught but speak. Do the heavens pity him? Does that cold, unfeeling dark acknowledge his tribulations? No! They send emissaries to mock and scorn him. They sneer when he refuses to bow.” The Lunatone looked back at them.
“Tell me, do they speak legends of the great Callisto in your places of birth? Or does God withhold me even that?”
“Gods,” corrected Rosetta. Judging by her thoughts and appalled expression, she was just beginning to realize what they’d stumbled upon. “Hyasdowehavetobringhimwithus?”
‘It would be good to. He may be delusional, but I'm sure he can be of value.’ Personally, Hyas found Callisto’s ramblings no more strange than he had Rosetta’s strange body and culture. At least this new being didn't seem to have a visible mouth. If it did, it was comfortingly buried where they couldn't see it.
But Rosetta was horrified. Something about the concept of a creature made of rock disturbed her, not helped at all by how senile its speech was. She knew, and thus Hyas knew, that creatures of this type were not at all common in the solar system they had come from.
Hyas stared intently at Callisto. “Do you want to leave this moon? We have a ship.”
“I know you have a ship. It is a flawed, weakened construct of foreign design. As deadly to space travellers as can be, though I suppose an Elgyem of your design would not know of that.”
At Callisto’s reply, Rosetta frowned. “Itworks! Wegottaairsupply, andanengine, andfoodandwater. Itworks.”
“Barely. On time borrowed from a naive and unlearned being. Do you think it will last?” Callisto’s words, even coherent now as they were, rung cruel. “And what of that mockery of a navigator? Neither of you know the stars well enough to travel with that ship of yours. You are guided by a senile machine in a broken shell of a vessel.”
“What do you suggest we do? Do you know the stars?” Rosetta looked between the two of them, unable to follow the half-conversation.
“Of course I do. Callisto was an excellent navigator, honored in his time as one of the greatest explorers of the--” and here Callisto made a noise that somehow managed to sound rocky and ethereal at the same time; Hyas guessed it was the natural language of Lunatone. “He sailed the stars with more accuracy than the best of machines. Entire galaxies were travelled and no planet was left unturned!”
“Ithinkhe’sjustbragging,” Rosetta whispered. “Can’ttrusthim!”
‘Can he really be much worse than the AI? It’s as much a guess with the ship as it is with him.’
Rosetta pouted, but looked back to Callisto with a resigned expression. “Whatairdoyouneed?”
The Lunatone looked somehow smug, despite being half-covered in moon dust. “I only need it to talk. The vacuum will harm me eventually, but I can stand anything except a heavily corrosive atmosphere.”
Rosetta eyed Hyas doubtfully, one last-ditch effort to stop this, but they merely nodded. “Fine! Hmph! I’mnotcarryinghim!”
“I can fly myself.” Callisto rose, shaking off as much dirt and gravel as he could, and once he was more or less clean the two visitors finally got a good look at him. He was a weathered crescent shape, with a strange sort of beak sticking out of the center of the curve. His two eyes were outlined in black, hollowed, and fairly inexpressive. The bottom part of his body was partially chipped off, the crescent dull instead of coming to a point like his top half. Floating a few inches off the ground, Callisto stared at Hyas at about eye level.
Picking Hyas up once more and balancing him on her horns, Rosetta started up the crater, Callisto following beside her. She managed to jump high enough to reach the top of it once it got too steep to walk, and tossed Hyas over the edge. They fell slowly, but managed to hold themself floating long enough to psychically grab Rosetta and pull her over. Callisto hovered up as well.
The ship was still intact, aside from a coating of moon dust and rocks from the cloud still orbiting the wrecked moon. Hyas floated everyone up inside (although Callisto insisted he could have done it himself) and cleared off the windows. They turned to look at their new friend.
“Do you want to say goodbye?”
“No need. There is no one left to say goodbye to.”
They nodded, and the engine kicked in with a sputter, evening out to a consistent hum. The ship pulled away from the moon, away from the red star. Hyas raised their lights and wished the solar system the best of luck.
‘The star you and I orbited was very small. Your planet and moon were tidally locked, so that’s why you never saw it when you lived there.’
“Aaaah! They’resosparkly!!!” Rosetta clung to one of the makeshift handles by the window. “Sopretty!”
‘The moon we’re going to isn't too close to its sun, so we should be able to see it sometimes as we orbit.’
“Yaaay! Newhome!”
‘Yes…’ Hyas grew quiet, gazing at the distant specks of light. They had used a great deal of energy getting the spaceship running and keeping it intact, but Elgyem were pretty resilient when in their natural habitat. Space, untethered by gravity. Most of the universe’s life seemed concentrated near suns and planetary bodies, though, instead of the open vacuum. If they were going to decide what to do with their life, it made sense to follow other life forms first.
“Shinyshinyshiny!!!” Rosetta squeaked. Hyas blinked, but a quick dip into her train of thought revealed that they had accidentally shone a light pattern without realizing it.
“Can we be friends?”
---
In some solar system a ways from the last, a dim, red-tinted star shed gentle light upon its satellites. Planetarily, it had a decent range; some large, some small, quite a few on the verge of having liquid water. It would have been a nice place, if it weren’t for the layered asteroid belts, all spinning precariously close to some of the planets. A freshly-ruined spaceship was a new addition, however. The ship orbited one of the many moons quite peacefully, but its two passengers were panicking.
“Waaah! Theship! Hyaaas!”
‘I know, I know!’
Awoken by the faint pitter-patter of pebbles on the hull, Hyas had taken a look out the window and realized they were heading straight into a massive asteroid. They hadn’t been able to disengage the autopilot, likely due to the age of the vessel. Rosetta could do nothing, and even as they managed to psychically pull the ship up and away from the danger, more rocks had smashed into the top side of the ship. It had been a frightening few minutes as the two of them tried to free themselves of the asteroid field with minimal damage, but they eventually made it through and to their set location.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
‘I'm fixing it. Stay calm.’
The life support system was still working, pumping and recycling air. Hyas focused on clamping shut the holes in the ship and making sure Rosetta didn't get pulled out. Once everything was mostly intact and their partner calm, they looked out the cracked windows at their new home.
The old, buggy AI had done the best it could. Missing a large chunk out of half of its mass, the remaining surface of the moon resembled a crescent of Swiss cheese. No surface was without craters, and there was a massive cloud of debris still orbiting it. Sometime recently, an apocalyptically-big object had crashed into it. Hyas doubted it still could support much life.
Rosetta seemed to think the same. “Ohnooo!” She pointed to a small drawer on the side of one of the control panels, and Hyas opened it for her. Inside, it contained some folded plastic-fabric. They pulled one out for her, and it unfolded into a vaguely star-shaped suit. She took it and put it on.
“Gonnagetonthemoon!” Rosetta chimed.
‘Okay.’ Hyas looked back out at the destroyed moon. They doubted there was anything the two of them could use, much less anyone still alive in the ruined atmosphere and compacted soil.
They had come all this way, though. They should at least look.
Opening the ship’s double-hatch was difficult, as Hyas hadn't fixed the exterior one. There hadn’t been time to do much more than get the ship airtight. Piecing it together with Rosetta’s help, they eventually got the airlock ready. Hyas followed her through, out into open space.
The orbit of the moon was exceptionally weak and far away from its planet, but Hyas still felt the pull of it. Their ship wouldn’t be safe left alone, what with the asteroids and all (being out of the rings didn't mean much in this solar system), but Rosetta and Hyas were determined to investigate the moon they had come here for.
Hyas helped push Rosetta to the rocky, pockmarked surface. They collapsed on the ground after her, and she picked them up and balanced them on her head once more. The suit did nothing to diminish her strength. Bouncing happily across the terrain, Rosetta was plainly pleased to be back under gravity’s control. They scanned the area for anything that might signify the remainders of a civilization.
After a while of searching to no avail, Rosetta seemed ready to give up.
“There’snothing.”
‘We should keep looking. It’s not a very big moon, especially with most of it gone. The ship is still fine.’
She puffed out her cheeks. “Notgonnafindanything.”
‘Maybe so.’
The two of them sat down and looked over the ledge of a large, empty crater. Hyas was tense with the concentration it took to remain upright. ‘We need to keep looking.’ Their words sounded empty to both of them, even in Rosetta’s mind.
The moon turned, slowly, and eventually it reached the point in its orbit where the sun just began to peek over the edge of the planet. Rocky ground, once a dull lifeless gray, was lit up with a dull crimson glow. They watched as the edge of the day crossed over, dipping down in the crater to come up the other side and wash over them. It wasn't anything short of glorious.
Rosetta pointed at something within the crater. “What’sthat? Looksdifferent.”
Hyas stared blankly in that direction. Towards the upper-left-most portion of the crater was a point of discoloration. It was a pale, unsaturated yellow, with what might have been a spot of red towards the middle. They raised their arms from where they lay on the ground and flashed a signal in the direction of the object.
“Hello. Hello. Do you read me?”
No response. Hyas was picked up by Rosetta, and she began the trek by jumping as far forwards down the side of the crater as she could. For a moment, a hint of weightlessness almost returned to them, but it was gone in an instant. Rosetta landed with a thud, and continued in great bounding leaps across the bowl.
“Doyouhearthat?” A faint murmur, growing louder the closer they got. Hyas could only feel the barest of sound waves at first, and not nearly as quickly as Rosetta did. They were there, though.
To Hyas’ surprise, once they were in range they detected a psychic output. It was faint and unfamiliar, but it was definitely there. Whatever they had found was likely intelligent.
Coming up to it, Rosetta set Hyas down and poked at it curiously. It resembled the lunar soil but a different shade. Half-buried beneath rock and sand. A red eye stared straight in one direction and did not move when Rosetta waved at it. All the while, lifeless as it seemed, it was speaking constantly in a heavy, shaking tone.
“... eternal night, moons upon moons forever turning, phasing, a vanquished foe does not fault the stars but for to bring them guilt. The cycle continues, unheeding, uncaring of those on the ground below. Stardust is an inconsistent and disreputable currency. Only fools believe planets have souls."
Rosetta tilted her head to the side, clearly uncomprehending. The psychic waves this new creature outputted were strange, but Hyas was able to read them without much difficulty. It didn't seem to have a conscious mind in the same way Rosetta did, so their attempts at scanning were unsuccessful.
“Hi? Areyoualive?”
‘I can't tell if it really is. It either doesn't have thoughts or it knows how to block them.’
“Huh!!! That’sweird! Wantedanewfriend.”
The red eye moved and looked at them, and the monologue suddenly halted. “You are an imbecilic species.”
“OH!!! Rude!” Rosetta looked angrier than she had been when she had scolded Hyas for the mindreading. “Hyas! It’smean!”
Hyas pulled themself up off the ground and raised their lights. They hadn't yet figured out how to communicate with the creature, as they could not find its frontal train of thought to speak into. Flashing red and yellow warning signs, they questioned it.
“Who are you? Why do you not want to come with us? This moon has nothing left for you.”
“No one in this solar system can read what you’re saying.” Hyas blinked and floated back a little upon the realization that the being was reading their mind. What a weird sensation.
“As you've likely guessed, a meteor struck my moon. Most of the other Lunatone were crushed.” The Lunatone looked up at the sky and took the same tone it had before. “But he survives alone, wounded gravely, abandoned to do naught but speak. Do the heavens pity him? Does that cold, unfeeling dark acknowledge his tribulations? No! They send emissaries to mock and scorn him. They sneer when he refuses to bow.” The Lunatone looked back at them.
“Tell me, do they speak legends of the great Callisto in your places of birth? Or does God withhold me even that?”
“Gods,” corrected Rosetta. Judging by her thoughts and appalled expression, she was just beginning to realize what they’d stumbled upon. “Hyasdowehavetobringhimwithus?”
‘It would be good to. He may be delusional, but I'm sure he can be of value.’ Personally, Hyas found Callisto’s ramblings no more strange than he had Rosetta’s strange body and culture. At least this new being didn't seem to have a visible mouth. If it did, it was comfortingly buried where they couldn't see it.
But Rosetta was horrified. Something about the concept of a creature made of rock disturbed her, not helped at all by how senile its speech was. She knew, and thus Hyas knew, that creatures of this type were not at all common in the solar system they had come from.
Hyas stared intently at Callisto. “Do you want to leave this moon? We have a ship.”
“I know you have a ship. It is a flawed, weakened construct of foreign design. As deadly to space travellers as can be, though I suppose an Elgyem of your design would not know of that.”
At Callisto’s reply, Rosetta frowned. “Itworks! Wegottaairsupply, andanengine, andfoodandwater. Itworks.”
“Barely. On time borrowed from a naive and unlearned being. Do you think it will last?” Callisto’s words, even coherent now as they were, rung cruel. “And what of that mockery of a navigator? Neither of you know the stars well enough to travel with that ship of yours. You are guided by a senile machine in a broken shell of a vessel.”
“What do you suggest we do? Do you know the stars?” Rosetta looked between the two of them, unable to follow the half-conversation.
“Of course I do. Callisto was an excellent navigator, honored in his time as one of the greatest explorers of the--” and here Callisto made a noise that somehow managed to sound rocky and ethereal at the same time; Hyas guessed it was the natural language of Lunatone. “He sailed the stars with more accuracy than the best of machines. Entire galaxies were travelled and no planet was left unturned!”
“Ithinkhe’sjustbragging,” Rosetta whispered. “Can’ttrusthim!”
‘Can he really be much worse than the AI? It’s as much a guess with the ship as it is with him.’
Rosetta pouted, but looked back to Callisto with a resigned expression. “Whatairdoyouneed?”
The Lunatone looked somehow smug, despite being half-covered in moon dust. “I only need it to talk. The vacuum will harm me eventually, but I can stand anything except a heavily corrosive atmosphere.”
Rosetta eyed Hyas doubtfully, one last-ditch effort to stop this, but they merely nodded. “Fine! Hmph! I’mnotcarryinghim!”
“I can fly myself.” Callisto rose, shaking off as much dirt and gravel as he could, and once he was more or less clean the two visitors finally got a good look at him. He was a weathered crescent shape, with a strange sort of beak sticking out of the center of the curve. His two eyes were outlined in black, hollowed, and fairly inexpressive. The bottom part of his body was partially chipped off, the crescent dull instead of coming to a point like his top half. Floating a few inches off the ground, Callisto stared at Hyas at about eye level.
Picking Hyas up once more and balancing him on her horns, Rosetta started up the crater, Callisto following beside her. She managed to jump high enough to reach the top of it once it got too steep to walk, and tossed Hyas over the edge. They fell slowly, but managed to hold themself floating long enough to psychically grab Rosetta and pull her over. Callisto hovered up as well.
The ship was still intact, aside from a coating of moon dust and rocks from the cloud still orbiting the wrecked moon. Hyas floated everyone up inside (although Callisto insisted he could have done it himself) and cleared off the windows. They turned to look at their new friend.
“Do you want to say goodbye?”
“No need. There is no one left to say goodbye to.”
They nodded, and the engine kicked in with a sputter, evening out to a consistent hum. The ship pulled away from the moon, away from the red star. Hyas raised their lights and wished the solar system the best of luck.