An Unexpected Encounter
Semi-plotted starter for @constable also ft. my other blog @sixthweyoun
Zara— that was their name, even if it was rare these days that they heard it used— had only been back home for a few months before deciding that it was time to set off again. Truth be told, they didn't want to go home at all, at least not at first. They'd let themself be convinced, after years upon years of playing solid and trying to forget what they were, that forgetting what they were was impossible. So they'd followed that impulse back to the Link, back home, and there they'd stayed for as long as they felt they needed to.
It was... disconcerting to them, at first, just how natural it felt. Not just how natural it felt to be at one with the rest of their kind, but to take up the mantle of Founder, to expect and receive obedience. It felt terrifyingly natural to them to be a god. I will leave again soon, they would tell themself, and then they would forget. When they finally did leave, it wasn't out of disappointment in their people or fear of what they would become if they stayed. It was out of curiosity. They needed to know if any of the others were still trying to find their way back home.
They took a small craft, of the kind often used for diplomatic missions rather than military ones. For their attendant, they selected and activated the sixth iteration of the Tayli line, a line that had served them well in the distant past. And when they were ready, they set off in search of evidence.
It had been a calm, if unproductive, journey for the two of them. Tayli-6 did her work with skill and quiet grace, providing them with companionship when they desired it and leaving them alone when they desired it. But something was missing from the interactions they had with her, even if they couldn't quite place it. You miss the Link, they told themself, it's unfair to expect any solid to provide what you need. To be of use to you is the best that she can hope for.
This sedate and unsettling peace continued until an occasion, a couple of years into their journey, when they ran into another ship that seemed to be going after the same thing that they were.
With trademark speed, Tayli hailed the other vessel. "Unidentified vessel, you are interfering with a Dominion exploratory mission. Please state your intention or redirect course. We do not want to harm you, but failure to do so will result in retaliation. I repeat, state your intention or redirect course."
