Touchstone 1 - Stray

the squads: Second, Third, Fourth and Eighth. So no new squads, and none of the ones I really don’t feel comfortable with. I wish First was going though. Who am I going to chat with?
    What happens this trip is incredibly important to me. I really need for it to be possible for someone else to give people security clearance.
    Friday, March 21
    Poetry, Death
    I succeeded in being well-rested and on time for today’s mission. It’s scheduled to last three days and we’re currently about to go through the big gate into deep-space. Eeli took care of any initial uncertainty I had by glomming on to me the second I showed up and taking me on a tour of the Litara , though by this time the only areas I hadn’t seen were the flight deck, the research labs, and the ‘airport lounge’ meeting areas.
    There was still some time before take-off by the time she brought me back to the pods, but most of Second and Third Squad were already sitting waiting. You have to stay in your pod for take-off and landing, and when you go through the gate to deep-space.
    “Are you able to tell me the rest of the poem now?” Eeli asked, as soon as I’d sat sideways on my seat. I could have wished she’d not waited till we had an audience, but at least it was only two squads.
    “Guess. Is poem written by man name Dylan Thomas. Wrote for his father who was dying.” I felt marvellously uncomfortable, adding: “My voice really not suited to this,” but making an effort to put some feeling into it. I only know the poem because it was one of the few that we’d had to read in Eng-lit which I didn’t outright hate. I certainly don’t go round reciting at the drop of a hat.
    I got through it by looking only at Eeli, but my face felt very red at the end. “That what wanted?” I asked, feeling even worse when I looked around and saw that I had all the captains watching me from the far door, along with those who’d been in the room when I started.
    Eeli was enthralled, and said: “You sounded totally different! Like a different person!”
    Annoyed, I told her: “Can actually speak own language, after all.”
    “But what does it mean?” Nils from Second asked, watching from the pod directly opposite. “A part of that was what you said in the Pillar, right?”
    “Yes. Translation very bad, sorry.” I read off the translation I’d been working on, wishing the captains would go away. If that gets put in the mission report I’ll be extremely peeved.
    “I got quite a lot of it!” Eeli said, excited. She cast a beaming look over at Taarel, like a kid who passed a hard test, then back at me. “Thank you for telling me the rest. It’s so sad and at the same time beautiful, isn’t it?”
    I just smiled weakly at that, and was glad that the command came to prepare for launch. And I wrote this up while they did lots of prep-checks and then took off and now we’re heading toward the interplanetary gate which, for the first time in four trips, I might actually be awake for.
    Today’s Assignment
    The gate was dull. You can’t properly see it from real-space, and once you’re in deep-space there’s just whiteness.
    It took maybe twenty-five minutes to reach the exit to Muina, and once we were through Grif – Grif Regan, the Second Squad captain – briefed us for the first part of the mission. Unsurprisingly this involves going back to my town, and the Setari taking me down to visit the communication platform. They’re going to see whether anyone but me can give people security clearance (I am hoping so hard) and then, whatever the case, they’re going to clear everyone on board, offload a heap of equipment and set up a camp just outside town, keeping anything explodable separate. Then the Litara is going to leave us here. After that the Setari are going to explore more, including in the near-space, while the greensuits guard the greysuits as they analyse everything they can get their hands on. There’s also a few non-KOTIS scientists of an archaeological extraction, brought in to begin the enormous task of recovering Muina’s history.
    Of first importance is the Ddura, of course, and whether it can be made to not blow up equipment, or if equipment can be given security clearance.
    I think I’ll need earplugs for the inside of my brain.
    Saturday, March 22
    Reprieve
    The Ena manipulation talents can give people security clearance! I’m so happy. I didn’t even hide my relief when we were on mission, and Taarel gave me the same