Bridgebuilder

Williams, Carbon, and about half the rest of the crew had come down to the portal, some with offerings - Zheng and her power cells, primarily - but most with a healthy sense of curiosity about the third kind of Tsla'o.

It was a bit strange to stand before the portal, particularly with the other side heavily crewed. It was a mix of Human and Tsla'o milling around the computer equipment this time, Humans clad in Navy work unforms and the Tsla'o wearing the protective gear that Carbon had worn aboard the Sword of the Morning Light when he met her for breakfast. Two were standing on a short section of scaffolding inspecting the new bioscanner, that assembly glued to the ceiling and standing out against the putty gray with that subdued dark red the Tsla'o applied to a lot of their hardware.

Alex was again struck by just how clear the event horizon of the portal was. There may as well have been no distance between the parking garage and the interior of the Artifact. This side of the portal being cut into the side of the hill, one could imagine that it was merely a doorway to a subterranean complex - and perhaps it was - particularly with the tent covering the view of the landing zone.

The notable exception being that there was no sound coming through, as sound just didn't pass through for reasons only the builders knew for now. Everyone over there was talking, but Alex could only hear the conversations over on this side. It was mostly Amalu and Zheng, as they were standing next to him talking about deep sea fishing, of all things.

The duo on the scaffolding got done tinkering, closed up the access door and rolled the platform out of the way. A couple of the workers walked through it as a test. The guys on the terminals looked happy with what they got, thumbs up all around.

Williams glanced over the small crowd, a finger pressed to her earpiece. "Affirmative, the outgoing items are in place, and we are ready to receive the new personnel."

Her counterpart on the other side of the portal yelled over their shoulder, gesturing back towards the staging area.

Another surprise: in addition to a few Navy personnel that Alex assumed were actually from Eleya's Royal Guard, Tashen was escorting Neya. He was putting in the work right now too, because it became very clear, very quickly, that Neya was not as excited to travel to the Artifact as Alex had been. She looked more nervous than when she had been left to monitor him after the assassination attempt, gait stiff like she was forcing each step. Her tail, much more puffed out than normal, remained still behind her.

The escort was dressed in the usual military gear, gray dress tunic and pants. Tashen in a subdued black jacket, and Neya clad in the same military cold gear the rest of the Tsla'o were using, save for it being a rich shade of blue with some yellow accents.

Zheng gasped softly and leaned over to Amalu, her voice low. "Oh my god, you didn't say they were fuzzy."

"I- I had not thought about it." He sounded a little surprised to be saying that, but he'd also grown up knowing what they were and how they looked. Had one in the family, apparently.

Tashen was talking to her about something. The exchange didn't appear to be heated, but more heads were turning towards them the longer that they spoke. It was probably a pep talk, which tracked with how Neya looked... And didn't seem like something that was in Tashen's wheelhouse at all.

The coordinator on the other side of the portal watched them for a minute and then turned to Williams, picked his comm up and spoke briefly.

"If she's having cold feet, go ahead and send the cart through and we can take care of that first." Williams replied, giving him a nod before turning toward their little group. "Zheng? You're up."

The way that Neya's ears and antenna shifted down said she heard enough of that exchange to realize she was holding up the show. She held a hand up to Tashen and he stopped talking, eyebrows lifted.

An empty, pallet-sized grav sled hovered slowly past them, under the scanner, and then through the portal. It came to a stop in the middle of the group that had gathered there.

Alex watched Zheng set a small polymer case she had printed to hold the power cells onto the bed. Mostly he was still keeping an eye on Neya. The pep talk had continued. He wasn't exactly sure how protective he was supposed to feel for her, according to how Zeshen worked. But her being dragged here was sort of his fault, so he was feeling pretty strongly about that right now. Not that there was much

The grav sled rotated in place and started back through.

Meanwhile, Neya stood up a little straighter and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and rolling her shoulders.

She exhaled slowly, and was someone else when she opened her eyes again. Chin up, a warm smile replacing thin, pursed lips. She spoke to Tashen for a moment, clearly channeling Carbon now. The way that she gestured as she spoke was just as Carbon did it, her demeanor matching how his wife would interact with someone.

It made sense. Acting as Carbon was something Neya was already very comfortable with, this was just a little bending of the rules. Another thing Neya was very comfortable with. No sigil, no official duties, just making a daunting task easier, more palatable. Carbon had already gone through the portal, after all. She was standing right there across the threshold, waiting patiently as proof.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Neya gave Tashen a little bow and then she clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. Alex and Tashen were both alarmed by this, as it was done in a very Alex manner. Tsla'o didn't do that. That was something he did. It was something he had done to Tashen before, actually.

She turned towards the portal, walking at a pace that Alex would consider lackadaisical. Something Carbon had complained about him doing - despite his longer stride, he walked slower than she did and it annoyed her, even though she always smiled when she chastised him about it.

It was one of those things he had shared in the link with Neya, because he correctly guessed that she would find it funny. Sort of ice breaker stuff while they couldn't communicate well within the link because of the language barrier.

The Zeshen stepped up to the mark, waiting on the controller to give the go ahead, and stepped through without a bit of hesitation. She stopped short of Williams and Carbon, bowing to them in a very practiced manner and spoke very formally. "Lieutenant Williams, Lan Tshalen. I am pleased to make your acquaintance and to meet you again. I will be at your disposal as long as needed."

The blending of their mannerisms wasn't something that Alex had expected to see, and it was more than a little odd. It got Neya over whatever hurdle she had been stuck on, and that was the important part for now.

"Likewise, Miss Khensha." Williams bowed back to her. "I am told you have been briefed by the Empire about why you have been summoned here. If you have any questions we will answer them, of course."

Neya gave her a nod. "Yes, the map that requires a sort of genetic presence to unlock. I fear that I do not fully understand it, but I know the part I will play."

"Good. Unless there is anything else you would like to know first, we can proceed to the map immediately." Williams looked between Neya and Carbon, a quick glance directed towards the rest of the group to see if anyone looked like they were about to speak up.

Everyone was ready to go.

Alex and Sergeant Karras brought up the rear of the procession. He figured that it was the safest place if only to limit interaction with Carbon and Neya, who were at the front chatting with Williams.

As they passed the base, Carbon peeled off and headed towards the command building. The off-site control team requested that command staff not touch the pedestal, and that at least one of them was not near the grove while this phase was underway on the chance that something unexpected happened.

Everyone else proceeded up the hill, into the grove. Maybe a fifteen minute walk total. Alex avoided staring, but did catch the occasional glimpse of Neya's tail, still stiff but close swaying normally now even without Carbon present.

Williams had called for volunteers the night before and had been met with a few instant offers - Zhenshen and Zheng immediately stepped forward, Amalu a moment later, and about half of the crew total, which was more than enough.

Zhenshen and Crenshaw were already up there waiting for them, the scanners pulled back and set up to monitor the event to see if anything new could be gleaned from these interactions.

"Scanners ready?" Williams waited for confirmation they were before she pointed out their volunteers, running down the list. "Alright. Zheng, Miss Khensha, Specialist Amalu, Zhenshen. Step up and touch the pedestal at your convenience."

Zheng was first to the base of the map. She was excited to be part of this, and laid her hand on the stone-like structure without hesitation. The holographic light above the carving of the Human woman began flowing into the curved bowl of the pedestal as expected, the same glowing red as the one that Alex had triggered. A second musical note started playing in a tone that was harmonious to the first one.

Amalu was next, hurrying to keep up with Zheng - Alex was absolutely sure Amalu at least had a crush on her now - and became the first Tsal'o to engage with this step of the puzzle. Just as the Human side did, a rivulet of holographic light flowed from the notch above the Tsla'o male carving, a vibrant blue. A third note was added to the chorus, all of them rising together in a pleasant manner. Zhenshen was next, a single finger pressed to the gray stone adding the fourth marker and another tone.

Alex looked over to Neya just in time to see her swallow hard, that cover of Carbon and himself faltering for a moment, amethyst eyes wider than normal as she stepped up beside Zhenshen. She laid a shaking hand on the edge of the map pedestal, the final flow of light added, the last note in the chorus humming to life as all five rose to a crescendo before being softly muted.

The globe shut off and the pedestal reconfigured itself. What appeared to be a single solid structure fractured radially, crisp lines forming in the surface of the bowl, ten spokes rising up from the edge - five of which contained the glowing lights.

In the place of the map, a shard of the stone-like material the pedestal was made from was being phased into existence. It looked to Alex like it was being made with a matter compiler, but in mid-air and with no identifiable printer parts at all. The top was a smooth cylinder that gave way to angular cuts near the base that made it look like it had broken off something. It looked to be about three centimeters in diameter and no longer than his forearm.

The entire print took a minute, the grove near silent as they all stood and watched this. Once completed, it was lowered into the bowl of the map base, hovering upright. Five pinpricks of light glowed to life on the crisp upper edge of the cylinder: two red, three blue, in the same pattern as the edge of the pedestal. This was repeated just below, threads of light running down the side.

Williams was the first to speak. "Nobody touches that until we get scanner pulls from it. That means you in particular, Sorenson."