The
Darkstrider
jumped once again into hyperspace, leaving behind the Luuchari hyperspace waypoint. There were few ships loitering around this waypoint, as it was oner of the lesser used waypoints. Few people used these hyperplanes to reach Naucturi space, as most travel and commerce came from other points in the galaxy.
Once the ship was away, everyone in the crew, including the VI's, were to attend a meeting in the lounge. Alex had called everyone up, as they still had an objective to complete. Delilah and Jaesa walked through the doors and found that everyone was assembled, including Stanley, who was there via a holographic interface.
"Is that everyone?" Alex asked.
"Just one moment, sir," Stanley stated as he made a few gestures in the realm of cyberspace. Moments later, a full rendering of Zuzanna sitting on her bed appeared right next to him.
"Good afternoon, sir," Zuzanna said with a smile.
"Good afternoon, Doctor Walczak. How are you feeling today?" Alex queried.
"I'm holding out, sir. While being abed like this isn't ideal, I'm still grateful to be alive!" Zuzanna replied.
"With any luck, you'll only be there for a few more days. Now, let's get down to business and go over why I called you all here today," Alex told them.
"Which is, sir?" Natalya asked, looking up at her man fondly.
"We will need information about how to comport ourselves among the Naucturi. Not only that, but on how to keep a low profile while moving around a station that is in their territory. So, who among you knows more about the Naucturi people than everyone else?" Alex questioned.
"That would be me, and Pree, sir," Inari stated, raising her hand to get the brawny Croat's attention.
"And don't forget me," Korsa said, crossing both sets of arms under her breasts.
"How often have you dealt with the Naucturi?" Priya wondered, not thinking that Korsa had dealt with them much.
"Before I settled on Andaari station and opened my clinic, I spent a few years traveling the galaxy. Lived on a Naucturi colony world for a few years before making my way out there," Korsa stated.
"You lived among the Naucturi?" Taal'ani asked, surprised that she, the resident hacker, didn't know about this little tidbit of information.
"Yup! Was studying with their medical professionals for some years doing research," Korsa stated.
"For...?" Alex started, hesitating to speak more, as he knew this was a touchy subject for Korsa.
"Yeah," Korsa said with a sigh. "When I didn't find anything that led to the results I was looking for, I left them behind and continued traveling."
"Mama, you didn't tell me about that!" Natalya said, fixing her brown eyes onto her foster mother.
"You never asked," Korsa giggled in her defense.
"She does have a point!" Alex said with a chuckle, which earned him a
'really?'
glare from Natalya. He stared back at her with a
'bring it, honey'
look, which would have turned into something else had Priya not interrupted.
"OK, OK, OK, can we put that aside for now?" the East Indian woman questioned, bringing attention back to the reason they were there to begin with.
"Yes, please! Save the eye fucking and punisher grade sex for when the rest of us aren't here," Inari said, shooting a glance at Natalya.
"Punisher grade sex, huh?" Kasumi questioned, giving Alex a glance.
"We'll talk later and, by the way," Alex said as he leaned in to Kasumi so only she could hear him. "Natalya is the one doing the punishing."
Kasumi blinked a few times, then turned to look at Natalya, who just shrugged and grinned. The Asian redhead then started fanning herself as many lustful thoughts raced through her mind. She sat herself down, keeping her cool while everyone else was seated so they could let Inari, Priya, and Korsa have the floor.
"So, where should we start?" Priya asked.
"Probably with the basics of how Naucturi society functions as a whole," Inari stated.
"I would venture a guess that many Naucturi are along the lines or mindset of Admiral Kantori?" Alex wondered.
"In Naucturi space, Admiral Kantori is considered to be a very liberal man. What is reasonable to most sentient species is straight up outlandish to most Naucturi. Especially if they are from the main cluster of worlds where they originated from," Korsa stated.
"Great! So they're uptight... assholes?" Shazza questioned, making sure she had the right turn of phrase.
"Not how I would say it, but that is a very... apt description for how they are towards other species. Thankfully, only those who are from their homeworld tend to be like that. Naucturi who live on the fringes of their territorial republic, are more reasonable than most. The only Naucturi you'll find who are more along what the rest of the galaxy sees as good people are those who live outside their borders," Inari stated.
"Great. So my worst fear of condescending asshats is an actual thing," Alex grumbled, while a few other crew members looked at the big man, somewhat amused.
"That's not far off the mark, but it is better to assume such things among the people in their slice of the galaxy. While there are reasonable sorts among them, we have to be careful, as it can be difficult to get a read on them," Korsa stated.
"So, they are much like humans and other sentient species that way?" Aesha questioned.
"Pretty much, yeah," Inari said in agreement.
"Are they strict adherents to the rule of law?" Luminia queried.
"Generally, they are, but most of them are of the assumption that any visitors don't read or are unfamiliar with their laws. While they do follow the guidelines that are set out by the UCW, since they helped found it, that is what they generally are. Guidelines more than actual rules," Priya told them.
"How close are their laws to those of the UCW?" Luminia pressed.
"Pretty close, but with just enough differences that if you step wrong, they can tie you up in legalities that are a downright pain in the ass to wriggle out of," Inari told her. "Why?"
"I'll let you know later, but just know that if we should run into any trouble, it will be handy to have me close by," Luminia said cryptically.
"Is there anything else we should know about the Naucturi in general?" Alex wondered.
"Yeah. Be sure to keep your ego in check, as Naucturi are insanely arrogant when in their home systems. They often view other races amongst the galaxy as lesser species, especially humans," Inari told everyone.
"Why is that? I mean, I get they are one of the elder races of the galaxy, but there has to be some sort of logical reason for it?" Kasumi asked, believing that logic thinking beings would be above such pettiness in this day and age.
"There are two main reasons for this, but they are far from legit, logical or even practical! What's worse is that they are deeply rooted in Naucturi society, even to this day," Korsa told her.
"And they are?"
"The first being that when humanity was chased off their world by the Xuul'khan, they are seen as having brought the 'demons' to the doorstep of galactic civilization. Not only that, but the fact that they didn't try to take back their homeworld has lessened them in the eyes of such a proud race. Since humanity has no 'True Home' as most beings do these days, the Naucturi thinks it gives them license to turn their noses up at humans in general," Korsa stated.
"And the second reason?" Shazza wondered, her disgust for this so-called 'elder race' apparent.
"Before the rise of humanity, the Naucturi were the apex race among the stars. Their civilization had the most relics that were left behind by the Primes. This gave them the technological edge they used and enjoyed when dealing with the other races. It allowed them to bargain from a position of strength. When humans arrived, sporting technology of the Primes and of a level that dwarfed their own, they were... offended," Inari told them.
"Offended? Why would they be offended?" Kasumi questioned.
"Because, for the longest time, the Naucturi held this belief that they were the 'Chosen' race of the Primes. The ones who would rule the galaxy in their absence. The fact that humans had technology they didn't, shattered that belief in many of them. I'm sure you can imagine how tough a pill that was for them to swallow," Korsa said with a raised eyebrow.
"Even out here, among the various people of the galaxy, supremacist ideals still run rampant," Alex growled, having seen more than enough of such arrogant and narcissistic attitudes.
"How? How is it that any race can see another race's possession of better technology as a personal affront to them?" Shazza questioned, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Naucturi arrogance. Because they held such an advantage over others for so long, even the most open-minded of their people fell prey to these supremacist attitudes. When it was discovered that humanity had so much in the manner of Prime technology, the Naucturi demanded that it be handed over to them," Korsa went on.
"And... what was humanity's reply?" Alex questioned.
