Hive Mind

There were new friends coming on board! Shaharrash had much excitement about this new update. They were not friends yet, but they could be, and that was very interesting! They were also Grinders, and that was interesting too! Shaharrash was not entirely sure what a Grinder was, but he had heard the crew say that was what the newcomers were, and he was very eager to find out. He did not not know anything about how much Grinders needed things to be cleaned, but he was very ready in the event that they required assistance.

The crew was also saying that the Grinders were going to be quarantined and that they would have to clean up after themselves for a while. Lucky them! Shaharrash would have to wait to clean for them until some later date. There was much talk of humans, too, and human spaces. The engineers had been mumbling very many things about humans!

Shaharrash had not seen any more than usual, but he did not mind them. They were very funny little creatures. He liked to watch them run around. Sometimes he would leave them little things by their hiding holes, like small rags or empty containers. He was not sure what they would do with these things, but was always very pleased when some of them disappeared. Perhaps some day he would see something he recognized!

Until then he would have to be very patient. Patience was difficult, but fortunately there were many interesting things to do and then you did not need to be so patient after all.



"You are restless." Xial's analysis was certain, and not a terribly difficult one to have made. The Captain was pacing back and forth, checking monitors that had not changed since he had checked them last, looking for updates as if something on the screens would tell him something that he did not yet know, or answer his many questions.

"Your crew is competent. You are satisfied with your decisions. Your confidence will be more easily understood by your people if you display your trust in their competence." Xial was curious about what was to come as well, of course, but she was sitting down, calm as always.

"I am certain they will alert you as soon as there is anything to mention, Captain. The crew is very communicative. Unlike some others."
 
Captain Muir grumbled softly, but he knew Xial was right. He forced himself to pick a corner and stay there, folding his top pair of arms over his chest while his bottom pair reached behind him to clasp hands. "They are competent and communicative. You are correct," he told Xial with just a hint of grudging. He looked at one of the screens displaying the security team as they suited up. "They are the best crew I have flown with, and I have no desire to lose even one because someone in a cozy, rich position is too embarrassed to share information that might indicate a mistake on their part." His tail thrashed for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and deliberately forced himself to calm down. "Never mind. We are almost there. Soon, we will have all the answers we will need."

His black eyes narrowed as he watched the security team leader do a final equipment check and then loaded everyone into the first pod. They looked like aliens in their bulky, harsh red suits and giant masks that obscured their faces entirely. The pod doors closed, and with a quiet whish, it undocked and floated gently through space, followed by cameras and sensors aboard the ship.

~~~~

Muir wasn't the only one watching the feed. Gillian stood by the glass of Uuril's tank watching his moniter as closely as she could with the water distortion. The fins along her arms fluttered with nerves as the pod separated from the ship. The safety of the crew as far as equipment functioning properly lay entirely on her shoulders. True, she did not test and check every single nut and bolt of every piece, that was why she had a team, but ultimately, the responsibility lay with her.

"They are going to be fine," Uuril assured her with a wave of a tentacle. "Everything was checked twice before the security team even set foot on the pod, and they, themselves checked it."

"I know, I know, I just get jittery when it is a retrieval mission. So many things can go wrong," she sighed. "At least the quarantine station is all set up, so there will not be any problems there. The Grinders can file directly into the units and make themselves as much at home as possible. This must be so stressful for them."
 
Xial did not think Captain Muir had become calm. He was, however, more accurately portraying the appearance of it. That was satisfactory. Xial had learned many things about accurate portrayals of appearances. Such things were important. Sometimes, she had found, they were more important than there being any truth behind them at all.

Currently, she was portraying calm, confident support, and a trust in her Captain's faith. That was what the crew needed to see. They needed to share in Captain Muir's confidence, and that meant they would look to her for how to behave. The appearance was paramount.

The trust was not.

Xial trusted Captain Muir to make good decisions. She trusted his judgment and the operation of his ship. She did not trust his optimism that they would soon have answers. It was her belief that answers would not be forthcoming any time soon, and would possibly not be forthcoming at all. She did not express this sentiment. It would not have been optimal, at this point in time.

She kept her hands folded back and her eyes on the feed. This, too, was about appearances. Eyes were important sensory organs for most species. Xial found them useful, and preferred a body which had them. They were not, however, her primary means of perception. Her attunement was to vibrations - motions, sounds, tremors. She was aware of the Captain's position in his seat without looking at him, as she was aware of the twitch of his tail behind him, even if she did not appear to notice, and chose not to comment.

"Contact countdown on screen three."
 
Muir watched the screen, making a deliberate effort to appear calm. He was not normally this anxious about a simple retrieval, but he felt a bit agitated today for more reasons than just the retrieval. He realized now that he was allowing that agitation to affect his work life. That was not professional for a captain. No, a captain did not let his emotions run away with him like this.

The pod touched down on an empty part of the dusty planet, and Muir's eyes narrowed as the security team's cameras flickered to life on a separate screen. Each man had a personal camera attached to his or her or its left shoulder that showed more or less what they saw. What they currently saw was a lot of jagged rock covered in dust and particles. Small volcanoes jutted up on either side of them, but none of them were currently active. The team took reading after reading, quietly discussing their findings and reporting them back to the ship as they compared. Nothing more showed up on the scanners than what they'd already been expecting, not even unknown substances. Two of the security team took the lead while the others trailed behind, still checking their readings continuously as they walked across the unstable ground to the Grinder camp situated in the shadow of an overhanging cliff.

It was a nice camp, and they'd gotten as far as making simple housing structures for themselves, but it was clear from the abundance of implements situated in every single nook and crevice that their main goal was mining, not setting up home. In fact, the location was directly on top of the mining tunnel leading deep into the earth. The Ginders, themselves, were massive stone people, mobile rocks even though they were not technically made out of actual rock but a close relative of stone. The adults stood anywhere from five to seven feet tall, their "skin" showing various colors from black to brown to red and many with rock-like striations, and all of them with the same stocky build. Some looked relieved to see the security team. Others displayed clear signs of annoyance, anger, and agitation. A large portion simply seemed resigned. The security team took readings all around the camp and even partway down into the tunnel leading to the mines before contacting the ship.

All clear. No dangers detected.

Muir glanced at Xial. "You may go down on the second retrieval pod after we have scanned the first group of Grinders upon arrival. If everything checks out, you may go and see what you can find. Take every precaution."
 
The retrieval was progressing according to near best-case scenarios. The team had made landfall without incident. Scanners had shown nothing warranting concern. The team had arrived at the camp without incident. The Grinders themselves were present at the site. Some looked dissatisfied, which was not ideal, but they were not actively inhibiting the team. Additional scans also seemed normal.

Captain Muir had settled down, as well, or at least managed to maintain the appearance of it. He had turned to Xial with permission for a planetside excursion, and she gave him a slight nod of acceptance. "Of course, Captain. Just because I appreciate statistics does not indicate a desire to become one." It was, perhaps, another glimpse of that does the first mate actually have a sense of humor? that would leave most of the crew guessing, but the Captain likely knew her well enough to understand it.

After all, if she had been being strictly precise, she would have indicated that everyone was a statistic already, and it was just a matter of which statistic one happened to be.

"Some of the colonists are displaying signs indicative of displeasure. This is not unaccounted for nor unwarranted, but... perhaps it would be best to encourage the team to divide those individuals among the retrieval groups as much as possible."

That way, if they chose to create an issue, the numbers would be unfavorable. Also, statistically speaking, they would be less likely to make that choice without the rest of the group to back them up.

"Are all of the colonists present and accounted for?"
 
Captain Muir's lips twitched slightly, and his ears flicked in amusement at Xial's joke. He watched the feed from the cameras for a while before saying, "I believe you are correct. I will have one of the crew mark which ones are more... agitated than the others and have them distribute them through the other groups."

He crossed both sets of arms and studied the monitors as the security team moved through them. It might have seemed as though he hadn't heard Xial's question about the presence of the Grinders, but he was making certain he had the correct answer before giving it. "Yes," he finally said. "I believe they are all accounted for, but the security team-" He stopped at a squawk on the communication device and pressed the button. "Captain here. Go ahead."

"Security Team One. All adult colonists accounted for."

"Good. Take the first group and report to-" He stopped again and his ears pricked. "What do you mean all the adults? What about the children?"

"Sir. All children under the age of ten circles are not recorded on official records."

Muir made certain his finger was not on the button before he allowed himself to groan. Then he pressed the button again. "The collection crew is on their way. Begin grouping the colonists to board the pods, and one of you get a list of children. We will not leave anyone behind. Report back once you have the list and have ensured everyone is accounted for."

"Understood, sir!"

Muir straightened, his tail flicking. "Xial, why is it these runs never go smoothly? Children always go to hide when changes come. It is what they do. I guarantee we will have to hunt down at least one."
 
"Statistically speaking, Captain, we are still within parameters for 'smooth,'" Xial stated. She was aware that this was not necessarily helpful. Still, some degree of unaccountability was to be accounted for. "Also, previous interactions indicate that if things did go smoothly, you would be more concerned."

Captain Muir seemed to work best if there was at least one problem that needed to be addressed. Too many problems were not ideal, but some small issue to focus his energy on seemed almost beneficial in some ways.

"Grinder progeny are... not self sufficient." Most sapient species eventually became self-sufficient, but many started out dependent on adults for care. Xial had always thought that would be very concerning - to create an offspring that required additional care and lacked the skill or intelligence to be fully capable on its own.

She knew little about child-rearing. It was not something her species participated in. "Will their... parents... be able to assist?"
 
Muir's ears twitched slightly then went still as he listened to the chatter on the video feed for a bit. Then he turned his attention back to Xial. "Yes, their parents will be able to assist, but sometimes children have places they hide that parents do not know about. I and my siblings did when we were small, and we often used then when we wanted to avoid doing something we did not want to do. Such as leaving our home." He heaved a sigh. "It will most likely take more time, but hopefully Grinders are more reasonable than Furyans."

On another screen, the visuals followed a large pod descending to the planet's surface. It reached the surface in a few minutes, and the door opened to allow more crewmen to exit to help the Grinders board. The Ginders grudgingly moved forward, and the crew divided them first into families. Each family had to have eyes on their children and the children recorded before they moved onto the pod. One family was missing a child, but it was quickly found with its friends. Things still moved slowly, and it was nearly an hour before the first pod was ready for liftoff.
 
"Children's behavior is fascinating. Not ideal, but fascinating." Xial did find it genuinely interesting. It seemed many biocates had evolved a juvenile period, during which they tended to act in ways contrary to their best interests. Surely the pattern must have some evolutionary advantage, but to her it seemed somewhat unnecessary. Perhaps she would have felt differently if her species experienced transitionary periods, but they did not. There was nonexistence and there was existence. Bodies could be changed, but she had not been any less of a person in any of her previous iterations.

Perhaps the growth period forced an adaptiveness towards changes from outside. She could see how there would be some advantage in that. Her people were not inclined towards changes that they did not choose. The war had been... challenging.

Yet, they survived. The progress on the surface was slow, but continual. Xial busied herself studying Grinder pediatrics, in case it should become relevant at some point. Hopefully, it would not be necessary. Eventually, the first pod had indicated preparedness to return.

"No signals of anything unexpected at this point."
 
"I did not do much research into Grinder offspring, but it is my understanding that Grinders have a difficult time separating themselves from wherever they call home. With that in mind, perhaps the little ones are having trouble accepting the idea of leaving even more than their more mature parents," Muir mused aloud.

The first pod arrived at the station, and the medical team began scanning the individuals and escorting them to their quarantine pods while some of the engineering team stood by in case of any technical difficulties. The scanning went quickly, and soon the first Grinders were well on their way to being properly situated in their quarantine with their personal items while the rest of their belongings were scanned and sent to the holding bay.

Muir noted that the Grinders were scanned with nothing strange coming up. "Xial, it appears all is well. You may be dismissed to go planetside."

~~

Gillian stood off to the side double-checking and triple-checking the equipment before allowing the pod to return planetside. They had five other pods, and her best team members were doing the same with those as the Grinders slowly dissembarked to be scanned. Everything looked good! There was nothing wrong with any of the devices, and, surprisingly, not a single sign of tiny humans. Apparently, humans drew the line at living rocks and volcanic planets. That made her job easier. She hadn't relished the thought of trying to capture them and box them up.

The collection crew waited patiently for Gillian's nod, and then they loaded up into the pod. There were four collection crew for each group of seven to eight Grinders. They could possibly fit more, but Grinders were naturally heavy, meaning liftoff from the planet could prove difficult if they loaded to many people or things into one of the small pods.
 
"Some people are like that." That, at least, Xial could understand very well. Her species was much more attached to their world than many others - in some cases, physically so. There were those who never sought to leave, who remained part of the world-vein rather than take a body at all. Some day, perhaps, she would choose to go back and do the same, but for now she still wandered. Her world needed wanderers, just as it needed builders and craftspeople and all the other many things that required bodies. Not everyone was cut out for such a life, however. Xial was aware, as always, that she was not home.

"I will... talk to them about it. If the opportunity presents itself." She gave Captain Muir a quick nod at his dismissal, stepping away from the console as he had things well under control here, and if he was willing to allow her to go down to the planet with the next group, she intended to be prepared to do so.

Fortunately, Xial required little in the way of preparation other than to make her own way down to the departure area. She would stay out of the way of the crew as they completed their checklists, but let them know that she was ready for descent whenever it was appropriate.
 
Muir remained on the bridge keeping an eye on the readout panels and the video screens. He'd actually started to relax a little now that they were in the middle of transporting the Grinders off planet. He was fully aware that there was still plenty of time for plenty of things to go wrong, but now that they were in the middle of the evacuation, there was only one way to go. Questions would have to wait. Problems would be solved as they presented themselves. People could be dealt with or ignored as needed. It was so much easier to deal with than the constant anticipation.

~~~

Gillian exited the pod she'd been checking and jumped in surprise. "First Mate!" she blurbled, quickly snapping a salute. "I had not realized you were here. Are you going to go down with the extraction crew?" She quickly ran over the first mate's requirements for flight in her head. Yes, the first mate had everything she would need in the pod.
 
"Engineer Gillian." It was an acknowledgement of the individual present, more personalized than an anonymous greeting. Recognition of individuals was important to many species. It was equally important to know which ones. "I have just arrived." This was reassurance as well as statement of fact. Engineers were often absorbed with their work and did not notice people quickly. While this did not bother Xial, she had found that sometimes it bothered the engineers.

"The Captain has indicated that he believes it safe enough that I go down with the next group." Xial considered this momentarily, then added, inquisitively, "What is your opinion?"
 
Gillian relaxed a little in relief at Xial's statement that she hadn't been there long. Good! She'd once had an incident when she was only a cadet working near a loud engine and so completely focused that she did not hear her superior yelling for her until he'd grabbed her shoulder. It had been a shocking event, but even now she still got lost in her work. At least now she was the boss of the engineers so only a few people had the right to yell at her. Xial being one of them, but Xial was an unnervingly patient being, and Gillian respected her for that.

"It is my opinion that it is safe," Gillian said cautiously, "but I would take some precautions. The scanners are picking up microscopic amounts of an unknown element. It may be nothing, and none of the Grinders are affected by it at all, but it is something to be aware of. Also, there do not appear to be any small creatures. No humans, no rodents, no vermin, nothing. It may be that there is no food for them to live off of, but I have never seen a settlement of sentient creatures that had no vermin at all."
 
"That is very unlikely." This was not a statement of disbelief in the engineer's assessment. It was a comment on the probability of such an event: statistically unlikely, so much so that it warranted comment. There were many worlds without any living creatures, but those which were able to support sentient life tended to have many forms of it, whether they were initially present or whether they came in later, with colonists. Worlds chosen for colonization almost always were able to support such populations, whether by accident or design.

"No insects, either?" It was best to be precise about such things, especially when the statistics were already outside of the standard purview.

"This unknown element - you are already trying to isolate a sample for study." This was not a question, because that was what engineers did, and Gillian would already be doing so. "Have you been successful?"
 
"No insects that I've been able to locate. There is still a chance that they are being missed by our scanners, it is possible, but improbable. I still have scanners going for al signs of smaller life forms, and I adjust the parameters every ten minutes."

She paused to make a quick adjustment on one of the dials on the wall behind her. That done, she turned back to the first mate.

"I have isolated three samples, but I have not received any results yet," she replied. "It is unsurprising to have an unknown element. All worlds have a large number of elements in their atmosphere, and I have yet to find two that are identical no matter how similar they may visibly appear."
 
"Thank you. Please keep me posted if there is anything of note in your analysis of the samples." Proper analysis was time consuming. Many results would not be available at the same time. They would come in based on testing times, and information would be processed as it was ready. Concerning matters could show up in any number of the tests.

Xial was not entirely comfortable with the lack of information available and the myriad ways in which things could go badly. As she tended to be more cautious than Captain Muir, his assent was not necessarily enough to make her comfortable. Nonetheless, she was not here because she wanted to stand around waiting for test results. She was here because she wanted to explore the stars. Her motherworld needed explorers, even if it was not easy.

"I believe I am prepared. What is the estimate on transit time?"
 
Gillian knew the answer off the top of her head, but she still took the time to check her records before replying, "The transits are averaging twenty-three clicks to reach from planet to ship - or vice-versa - and it is taking the ground teams approximately ninety-seven clicks to load the pods for departure. There are five more pods of people to be loaded, and then two to three pods of material items after that."

She glanced at the pod. "This pod is prepped and ready to go. The team is ready to board it and waiting for my notification. If you wish to board first, I can notify the others while you strap in. Are you familiar with the belts?"
 
"Start the team boarding," Xial decided. "I will board after they do. I do not require additional time. I am familiar with the belts, yes." Xial had been on several transports before, including these. She had also been on transports in previous bodies, with different requirements. This necessitated a high degree of understanding.

If the team was ready to go, she did not want them to feel as if she was delaying the next step. Also, allowing them to board immediately let her make one more check with the Captain, to see if he had any additional instructions. Xial did not think it likely - or, rather, she did not think it likely that he would have additional necessary instructions. It was entirely possible that he would have nervous instructions, which differentiated in that they were things that she already knew and he already knew she knew.

Hopefully he would not spend overmuch time pacing in her absence.
 
The team started boarding within seconds after Gillian alerted them, and she made a final check before nodding to Xial. Once the first mate was on board and everything was secure, then she shut and sealed the pod. The landing pods did not have windows and were built to withstand all known disasters. Some had even theorized that if you didn't mind living in very tight quarters, the pod could even function as a small house if someone was desperate after a crash landing.

The pod descended so delicately that those inside did not even feel or hear when they rushed through the atmosphere to a gentle landing on the planet's surface. The pod door opened to reveal the harsh, unforgiving, red stone surface of the planet. The team scurried out and went straight to where the gathered Grinders were still in the process of arguing with the crew as if that would get them anywhere. THe crew had their orders, and there was no appeal. The Grinders had to go. And, reluctantly, they were slowly going.
 
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