"We don't know what they are." Seppard sipped his tea with a grimace on his face. If Diana had to guess, it probably didn't suit his tastes. Not surprising given the limit on what he could import. "Mind you, I am referring to both the predator and prey."

"The predator I can understand, but you don't even know what was killed?"

"We can guess." He dumped yet another spoonful of sugar into his cup. "A few of our expeditions into the forest have noted a much greater number of fauna than found in these fields, though we dare not venture too far. They say it is much too easy to lose your way in those woods, and the size of the creatures they did see is concerning."

"How large?" Titanyana, appearing quite haggard from a lack of sleep, bubbled her question through her own cup of leaf juice.

"Depends, but some of them are about the size of these houses." Nothing in her expression changed, but her ears did droop. "To be completely honest, we think the only reason they haven't attacked us is because they don't see us as food."

"You make it sound like a bad thing." Leno's tail swayed gently as he observed some of the men training in the distance. They were a Holifanian contingent, the one responsible for security of the compound, and Diana deduced he had some issues with the lack of his brethren. For whatever reason this gripe was not verbalized. "It will give us the time we need to build up our strength."

". . . is that right?" Seppard took another sip, his eyebrows creasing once more before he put the cup back on his saucer. "I do not mean to insult your understanding of the universe or your pride as a warrior, but the Nekh as you are now cannot simply 'fight' these things. I need you to understand your position on the galactic stage, if only in terms of your combat capabilities, and will explain it to you NOW so that you do not develop any delusions as to what you can and cannot handle. You, the Nekh, have lived on a planet hosting what most would consider an untenably low level of Split. Your struggle is admirable, anybody with sense would be shocked at your tenacity in the face of certain death, but it has undoubtedly left your current generation in an undesirable position with regards to combat strength. These beasts have competed against each other in this incredibly rich environment since time immemorial."

Leno made to interrupt, but was cut off by a very aggressive index finger pointing at his chest.

"They possess a level of power myself and many others consider to be absurd, and there are precious few people at my disposal who can handle them without an extreme numerical or mechanical advantage. I can count on one hand the number of people I would even consider sending into that forest by themselves. Two of them are at the Sanctum, two have roles within the administration, and the final one is . . . well, here he is now."

"Mornin' Sepp." Kayes stepped out of the vehicle wearing a uniform Diana considered much more 'practical' than his usual garb. "Didja miss me?"

"How could I ever miss someone as crude as you?" Seppard practically shoved his tea into Kayes' hands, slapping him on the shoulder as he rose out of his seat. "Have you been holding up well? I hear the Council has been running you ragged."

"Eh, it hasn't been too bad all things considered. Cayzi's education and training has been a bit more entertaining than Trebar's, though I imagine part of it is because I know what I'm doing this time around." Kayes brought the cup to his lips as Cayzi finished extricating himself from the car, wincing as the liquid reached his tastebuds. "The ersatz stuff, eh?"

"It's what they put in the rations, apparently." Diana did not find the taste particularly offensive, likely a function of her underdeveloped taste for refined specimens a generous serving of sugar. "I might have to barter with that merchant fellow for something less aggressive."

"Mhm, yeah. It serves it's purpose though, which is all we can ask of it."

"What's wrong with it?" Petunia, who only just walked out onto the porch with a fresh pot, had not quite kept up with the conversation. "Have I made the tea incorrectly?"

"It's no fault of yours, Petunia. The tea is military issue, meant to keep you awake and little else." Kayes' closed his eyes as he dropped the rest of the tea. "The taste of caffeine is a bit strong to those with Guayan heritage."

"Caffiene?" Titanyana's ears perked up.

"It's a poison some plants use to drive off insects." Seppard adjusted his eyepatch, subtly wiping away the buildup of oil at the bottom. "In small doses it can wake you up a bit, but larger ones might cause the heart to stop. We've bred a species that has a much greater amount of it for people expecting combat or who are in a disaster zone, situations where being alert and awake is important, but it doesn't taste great."

"If I remember correctly, you should have some experience with it, Titanyana. The Heartbreaker Toxin Nemo used on you utilizes caffeine." Kayes handed off his cup to Petunia. "Do your people have any history with the stuff, Diana?"

"We, uh, used to drink it to keep ourselves awake and productive, like . . . ubiquitously." Diana looked down at her teacup, understanding why her response wasn't as negative as everyone else's. "We even had drinks with as much caffeine as we could manage to give ourselves a kick of energy. Honestly, this doesn't feel like it has any caffeine."

The group collectively turned to Diana, each sporting a different reaction. The Holifanian camp primarily reacted with intrigue, Cayzi alone appearing excited by the information. The Nekh seemed much more concerned, Petunia and Leno occupying two sides of the extreme with regards to someone willingly consuming poison. 

"Anyways, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Ah, yes. I thought today would be an excellent time to begin enlisting some of the Nekh in development programmes. Construction and farming are necessities, but you and I both know it isn't enough."

"Mm, yeah. Donovan needs a contingent of Nekh suitable to become Trawler pilots, which I anticipate Titanyana can handle given her experience in the field, and another group that will be trained in crowd control and management. Leno, would you be able to pick out a few people that are a bit taller than the norm or can keep a cool head amidst a mob?" Diana sought to purchase goodwill from Leno by letting him prove his worth. "I don't think we will need more than twenty, but it might be a good idea to have a few more."

"Certainly, though I would like to ask the reason behind it. Each clan has their strengths, after all." Leno sounded a bit suspicious of Diana's intentions, the use of the term 'crowd control' likely having evoked concern pertaining to her governing strategy.

"Your people are going to be packed incredibly tightly into the ships we plan to manufacture, and so we need people who can effectively quash unrest whilst in transit lest they hurt other people." Diana quoted Donovan's own reasoning, adding what she believed to be the logical extension of his though process. "There is also the matter of shepherding everyone into and out of the ships, which will require someone to maintain order. Having people die in a mad stampede to get aboard would be a tragedy."

"I see." His eyes narrowed slightly, but if he had doubts they weren't voiced. "It might be a bit tough to gather twenty men that satisfy those conditions. Or at least it may prove difficult to gather those who fulfill the conditions and are willing to return. Most of those present are people who held a strong desire to leave in the first place."

"Just do your best. The worst case scenario is that we may enlist some of the Sanctum's contingent to fill out your ranks."

"Why not us?" Seppard accepted the cup back from Kayes. "You are aware of our situation, correct?"

"To flip your point on its head, I would like you to consider our situation." Diana sipped her tea again. "We, as in Donovan and I, need to legitimize our competence and authority in the eyes of the Nekh. Our avenues through which this can be achieved are rather limited at the moment, and demonstrating through the example of others is one of the few means at our disposal. No offense to you, but your presence as an authoritative body on a vessel we have constructed and own will severely undermine this effort."

"And the Sanctum won't?"

"They could pose an issue to some extent, but less so. I need you to keep in mind that our approach remains focused on damage control, as in preventing our situation from getting worse rather than making it better. You consider every Nekh saved to be a 'gain', not an incorrect position in and of itself, but it isn't our position. We consider the Nekh to be our people already, so we are much more concerned with what we are going to lose."

"I see." Seppard nodded along, the Nekh developing pained expressions in response.

"I don't." Cayzi tilted his head, confused. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"Not at all!" Kayes rubbed his disciple's head. "To make this into an analogy, you may think of us as starving beggars and the Terrans as chefs in a restaurant. When presented with a pile of ingredients that will soon expire, the beggar is far less concerned with discerning the quality of those ingredients as he is satisfying the pain in his stomach. The chef, when faced with that same pile of ingredients, will instead focus on creating the best meal possible, be it for profit or their own stomachs. They will prioritize using the best ingredients before they spoil so that they aren't wasted."

"To go a bit further," Diana was immediately disgusted by this analogy, which equated the Nekh to something which was consumed. She could not change the analogy at this point, so she might as well twist it in a less callous direction, "we want to maximize the amount of 'food' we can make, so we will be trying to use ingredients just before they spoil. Even if they are of lesser quality they are still ingredients, and two mediocre dishes can net a bigger profit and feed more people than a single fancy meal."

"It's a balancing act." Seppard tagged in, also recognizing the crudeness of Kayes' analogy. "Focus on those that will expire soon, taking the best among them to maximize our efforts here. It would be a cruel waste of human resources to leave talented individuals to die, but you don't have to take them immediately. If they can survive until the next ship comes, you can instead evacuate someone that is worth a little less who wouldn't survive to see that next ship. In the end you will have not only preserved the most valuable people, but a greater number of people with higher average value compared to taking them at random."

Cayzi's eyebrows furrowed, his focus wandering elsewhere an internal argument taking place as reality and the necessity of the Terran situation clashed with his moral compass. Attaching value to a life almost certainly went against the teachings of the Holifanian church, especially when it came to saving them.

"If it makes you feel any better, it isn't like we will be going too deep into this analysis." Titanyana shook off some of her stupor, pitying the boy now coming to terms with Donovan's cold calculus. She had gone through a similar phase. "Most dishes are complemented by or built upon some sort of grain. If the chefs want to make a complete meal, grain will be needed, the quality of which does not matter nearly as much. Even if it did, the chefs have neither the time nor patience to sift through each individual seed to judge its quality. So long as it isn't rotten, its good enough."

"Manpower." Leno continued in Titanyana's stead. "No matter what brilliant plans and ideas those with talent come up with, if there are not enough hands to put them into action then nothing will come of it."

". . . oh." Their words seemed to alleviate some of his concerns. "Where does loyalty fit in then?"

"Loyalty is a two way street." Diana stood up and stretched, pulling the sleeves of her sweater forward to cover as much of her arms as possible. She had seen a few bugs flying around and was not interested in being a landing pad for creepy crawlies. "Generally speaking, it is based upon mutual trust, consistently beneficial results, and positive interactions. We are confident in our ability to provide results, and our relationship with Titanyana is that of close friends, but we have limited opportunities to show our trust in them. Demonstrating our willingness to let them organize the evacuations themselves is one such opportunity. Having Holifanian soldiers on board would undermine this, making it seem like we cannot trust the Nekh and need the Holifanians to ensure order is maintained."

Cayzi tilted his head the other direction, closing his eyes.

"How would your opinion of me change if I constantly read scripture to you instead of trusting you to read it yourself?" Kayes interrogated the young boy with a smile on his face. "I'll help you work through passages or concepts you struggle with, as well as direct you towards material that will expand upon your knowledge, but I have faith you can handle the rest yourself."

". . . and in return, I trust your direction and answers to my questions."

"Which is why the Terrans can't rely on us to keep the peace. We can provide assistance, but the Terrans must establish their ability to lead now so that it is easier to trust them in the future. Does that make sense?"

"I suppose so." Cayzi clearly wasn't entirely convinced of the morality, but he seemed to have accepted the logic behind the decision.

"With that taken care of, I suggest we all get to work. Kayes, I need you to come with me. Cayzi must stay behind." Seppard stood up and bowed to both Diana and Titanyana. "The two of you will each have a vehicle at your disposal. I have instructed your drivers that they are not to leave the extents of the currently developed land, and that they are to be mindful of the fuel they consume whilst driving you around. You are free to do as you please wherever you please it, this is your home, but I ask you to respect the drivers and heed their advice."

cakeonfrosting

Sorry for the delay, but I have some good(?) news! I've passed my FE exam!!! Now I get to wait another 4 years before I take my PE exam and become a professional engineer. My mother is now on the upswing from breast cancer - a dual mastectomy operation (they took her boobs off) followed by a separate restorative surgery (they gave her new boobs). That should be a load off my mind, but the construction season is starting where I live - and the contractors have already hit water mains . . . twice. It isn't even my project (not even my department) but I was the one combing through preconstruction photos to determine if the main was marked (it wasn't).

At current rates, I predict seven more mains will be struck before any of my inspection projects begin.