Once Moondancer had relayed the message to Larice to head for Jupiter, Niiue steered their little pod away from Saturn. "Where are we going now?" she asked curiously.
"We're going to meet up with some backup," Niiue explained. "Some Starmen of Super, Deluxe, and Ghost rank have acquired a more stable ship for our use, one with a bit more breathing space and a teleportation array we can use to go from ship to planet and back again as we need to. While Alinivar and his crew take care of things out here, we're going to see about investigating the source of all this. I want to find out how Greyface got ahold of that technology, and what effect that's having on Earth."
"Isn't that...dangerous?" Moondancer inquired worriedly. She'd never set hoof on Earth, and wasn't entirely certain she wanted to. With what going there had done to Giegue...
"I don't think we need to worry," Niiue offered comfortingly. "I doubt observing will unseat our psyches...and it might just give us information we need." He smiled as a ship came up on the monitor, a saucer class much like what they'd made available for Alinivar and his group, but with a docking bay for smaller pods like their own. "Here we are."
Moondancer floated nervously beside Niiue as they docked. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but she was already feeling her world fraying somewhat around her. She was...she had to admit it. She was afraid of what was to come, of what she might lose next.
Once aboard, Moondancer took in the crew. Starmen - the only servants of the Geeg she'd ever encountered - were roughly humanoid shaped entities with a metal exterior and tendril upper limbs. Starmen, the lowest rank, were grey. Supers were gold. Deluxes were bright silver. Ghosts had a uniquely reddish-black exterior that drained light from around them, giving them an eerie aura. "Welcome Commander Niiue, *click* Commander Moondancer," a Starman Super greeted as they entered the main control bay, which took up most of the ship. "Course has been *click* laid in."
"Then let's go," Niiue stated firmly, glancing sadly at how Moondancer moved even closer to his side, seeming afraid of trying to talk to the Starmen around them. Sighing, he pulled her into a gentle embrace, deciding to hold her until they reached Earth. He'd hoped she'd talk to them, maybe find a way to bond with them as a way to maintain her mental stability...but she plainly just wasn't ready or equipped to do that. Anything beyond what was 'necessary' for this mission was plainly too much for her just now...
As the blue planet came up on the monitor, the Starman Super turned to Niiue. "Commander Niiue! We're coming up on the planet. *click*" He turned to glance back at the sphere. "It's strange...this primitive place. Of all the planet's to repel Giegue's advances... Finally we'll find out why... Here's hoping we don't get the same reaction in the process. *click*"
Moondancer frowned thoughtfully. She didn't really like the way these Starmen spoke about Giegue...though she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Still, they were here for information. She would just have to follow Niiue's lead...and not leave his side.
"I know it's not my place to say so," the Starman Super continued, "but don't spend too much time down there, Commanders."
Moondancer blinked in surprise. Last she'd checked, questioning orders and trying to suggest better ways to handle situations is what got Larice branded a traitor. And yet this one, a Super, was daring to chide, to caution Geeg Commanders? Was it that those of Super rank had more authority to speak? Was this something Niiue had ordered? Or...was there something she didn't know about the Starmen in general?
"Head straight for that Polestar place," the Super continued. "That's where the PSI reading is coming from."
PSI reading? Moondancer thought, shocked. We're investigating other PSI users?
Yes, Niiue confirmed. We don't have many readings, and this is the strongest we can pick up. I'm hoping one will lead to Ninten, or some other member of that family. I'm...I'm pretty sure the only way to save Giegue is to make him face them again, and somehow make things right. But...
...but...? Moondancer thought back worriedly.
While you were communicating with Larice, I was able to briefly touch Alinivar's mind. I...I know who the Apple has named as those destined to defeat and destroy Giegue...and the leader is of Ninten's blood.
Moondancer let her thoughts fall silent as she turned that over in her mind. It sounded somewhat familiar, like something she'd once seen in her own Magicant...a part she wasn't supposed to visit yet...
Turning, Niiue carried Moondancer to the chute that would send them down to the surface. They found themselves in a human town painted in the colors of Autumn. "...Twoson..." Moondacer said suddenly.
Niiue looked down at her in surprise. "You've been here?"
Moondancer shook her head vigorously. "No. But...I feel like I know this place..."
Frowning, Niiue carried her over to Polestar Preschool, doing his best to ignore the way locals turned to stare at the pair. He then moved carefully to the upstairs before cloaking himself and Moondancer in inverted PSI energy. Short of an incredibly powerful PSI user, no one would even be able to see them...but maintaining it was costly, which is why he hadn't done it sooner. It was really only good for short bursts of investigation.
Inside the room they entered were a man and a woman leaning over a crib, in which a baby girl slept. "Say, that ribbon looks really cute, doesn't it?" one of the parents said, it was difficult to tell which through the inverted PSI.
"Yeah," the other agreed before laughing softly.
The parents continued to talk, but Niiue ignored them as he moved to examine the baby blonde girl. She was definitely the source of the PSI energy, but-
Before he could complete the thought, Moondancer's eyes widened. "Paula," she said suddenly in recognition...and yet she had no idea where she got the name from.
Dancer! a thought came back, and with it an excited surge of PSI that caused a nearby teddy bear - one that one of the parents had just been fetching - to burst into flames.
Niiue immediately warped them out of the room, and back to the ship.