Mother X: Father

by Tatsurou

Saturn Veiling

As Alinivar set the course, Moondancer gazed out the back viewport at the wreckage of the Mothership. Without the energies of the Engine to hold it together, it was disintegrating in space as the vines Master Magnolia had left behind as bridges came apart against the pull of inertia. There was no need to make the ship self destruct to keep its secrets, as it was taking its secrets into detritus of its own accord. Soon there would be nothing left...and she wanted to watch as much of it as she could, as a last tribute of the place she'd once called home.

Before long, the ship dwindled out of sight as they entered Saturn orbit. Moondancer turned to Alinivar as their ship came to a halt. "Going after the Zexonyte now?" she asked curiously.

"Among other things," Alinivar confirmed.

"There appears to be another race arising on Saturn," Niiue spoke up softly, still reeling somewhat from what had happened aboard the Mothership. "Some kind of sphere life forms. Someone in Satanae might be able to tell you more, but you should definitely investigate that while you're down there."

"Will do," Alinivar agreed as the group moved to teleport to Satanae. "And..." He turned towards Moondancer and smiled. "Maybe we can try diplomacy. We might just make some friends."

Moondancer smiled softly. It seemed she wasn't the only one whom Master Magnolia had made think.

---

Satanae proved to be a very brightly colored village in the southern regions of Saturn. The ground was bright blue, the rocky walls of plateaus were bright pink, the plateaus had orange tops, and bright red and blue flowers scattered around. In the distance, a swamp in puke green, neon blue, and dirty orange could be seen side on to the town. The group's base of operations was a former base for one of Greyface's allies, and was made of grey metal...the only place that wasn't an eyesore to Moondancer. "How do you...stand living here?" she murmured, struggling to keep her throat as closed as possible.

"What mean, boing?" Col. Saturn asked curiously. Alinivar also looked at her without understanding.

"Various races *click* see light in different spectrums," Larice explained. "What is *whirr* painful to your eyes is comfortable to theirs."

"Please tell me it's not all this garishly bright?" Moondancer whimpered softly.

"Further north it's darker blues," Zarbol offered helpfully.

"We need to swing by the swamp," Alinivar spoke up. "There's something there we need."

"Can...can you get it without me?" Moondancer pleaded. "I'll...wait for you on the path north..."

"The cave's this way," Zarbol offered, turning to lead the way there while the others headed for the swamp.

The inside of the cave was a much darker blue, with overall muted colors as compared to Satanae. Moondancer took a few calming breaths as she leaned against the wall, idly blasting a monstrous PSI manifestation that charged her as she caught her breath. "Thanks, Zarbol," she murmured softly as she felt her insides return to a semblance of normal. "That was...unpleasant."

"I take it you don't like bright colors?" he asked curiously.

"No, bright colors are fine," Moondancer countered. "It's just...the way those colors clashed...it was not pleasant to look at. A bright splash here and there is fine, but I felt like my eyes were being assaulted."

"Well, the others shouldn't be too long," Zarbol promised, "and the northern region of the rings is much darker, since it's in the planet's shadow. Muted blues leaning towards purple, and a few splashes of faded pink."

"Purple and...pink?" Moondancer murmured in surprise, for a moment getting a flash in her mind of a mane blowing in the breeze. She quickly shook her head to banish the thought. "Well, we should do what we came here to do."

"Agreed," Alinivar said as he entered, a Blue Gem in his grip as the others followed him. "Spheres and minerals, here we come."

The area on the other side of the caverns proved to be just as Zarbol described, though it was plain the rings had been damaged at some point as several chunks were missing, making it somewhat difficult to maneuver. Eventually, they encountered a Smiling Sphere - there was no other way to describe the golden object - floating in a dead end.

"Hello there!" Moondancer greeted warmly. "Are you friendly?"

The sphere did not respond.

"The people in Stanae *bzzzt* said that only flame could make them move," Larice observed as he gathered his PSI.

"I'd rather try something else first," Moondancer countered firmly. "Maybe they can't speak vocally. Maybe their communication - if they have it - is entirely PSI based. I want to find out before we start randomly trying to kill them." Stepping up, she pressed her horn to the sphere. Can you hear me? she asked, making her thought as clear as she could make it.

...explosion time? the sphere thought back. We gonna fight?

Why do you want to fight? Moondancer thought back, putting the focus on the sphere's desire.

Fight fun! the sphere thought back, its message gaining clarity as Moondancer's PSI connected more firmly to its. Smash, explode, bits make more!

You reproduce through explosive sporing? Moondancer gasped in shock even in thought.

...you don't?

No, we don't, Moondancer replied. You're the only creature I've encountered that reproduces that way.

The sphere was silent for a time. ...we make mistake, it answered finally. Must tell others. So sorry! We not attack anymore, no more fight, no more make not-us explode. With that, the sphere backed up onto a spring of air that launched it to a higher cliff, zooming off into the distance.

"...I think it worked," Zarbol observed dryly.

"So what was that about?" Alinivar asked. "You had the communication locked between the two of you."

"The spheres reproduce by scattering spores through exploding," Moondancer explained. "That's why they fight, to push each other into exploding. They didn't realize we didn't do that."

"So, attacking and exploding on others was their way of saying 'let's make babies'?" Zarbol asked in surprise.

The four older beings exchanged glances. "...not say that, boing?" Col. Saturn suggested hopefully.

"Yeah...let's just say Moondancer cleared up a misunderstanding, and now we're working on opening communications," Alinivar agreed.

Comments

[Dark Feather]

... Happy Creepers.

[the other sans]

before we start randomly trying to kill tham
the sphere thought back, it's message gaining clarity
We not attack anymore,
no more fight, no more make not-us explode

1. Them.
2. Its.
3. Spacing problem here.

Well, if we needed another baby boom...

[NightWallopingNuggets]

BOING!

[Zamorakas Devilhorn]

8274393
Okay, now I cannot un-see that.

[ChaosFerret]

Can you hear ma? she asked, making her thought as clear as she could make it.

me

Unless, of course, she's feeling particularly motherly.

[Dark Feather]

8275128
You'r not suppos too.

[Dirty Bit]

That explains everything~!

[ICCUWAUSIMTOI-Backup]

It is like a Creeper that reproduces like Orks...

[Life Beat]

8276901

[Naturefang]

8274393
That was a good episode of game theory