Caveship

14 || Escape from Torith

Tah-Kuell clasps his hands together excitedly. "Very interesting process. I would very much like to see it in action."

Sarah follows closely behind, wiping some of the tears away from her eyes. She stares at the ground as she walks, mulling things over. Tah-Kuell slows down his pace to join her side. He can tell that this whole ordeal is causing Sarah to have mixed emotions. He places his arm behind her back in a caring gesture. "I'm sure we'll find a way to communicate with them again some day. No need to worry."

Several ships dock on the floor above them. The mechanical whir and hum of several docking arms holding the ships in place being heard even as far down as the lobby below. Not having noticed them before, Tah-Kuell and Sarah now look inside some of the rooms they walk past. Most of the rooms are filled with what can only be described as lab equipment. Beakers, flasks, and cylinders of different shapes and sizes stand on top of shelves and tables inside. Praeryndori and several beings from a race Sarah has not yet seen work together to conduct experiments on several crystal artifacts suspended in the air.

Nal'rook looks between the two stragglers. "I must make some final arrangements with the President. For now, please proceed down to the viewing area." He lifts a wing and presses a square on the holographic menu still following him around. The ground lights up, almost like a trail, leading in the direction Tah-Kuell and Sarah must go. "We'll be joining you shortly. In the meanwhile, we ask that you not go into any other rooms, even if they're unlocked. We have many researchers and scientists working here. It is privacy concerns, you understand."

"Okay. We won't," Sarah says and, with Tah-Kuell following behind, turns to head down the hallway in the direction the trail of light leads.

Nal'rook and the President disappear from view as they head down a different corridor, one that is much more narrow than the rest, and hidden behind several storage boxes. A single nondescript metal door at the end of the corridor glows with a blue outline indicative of shielding technology.

"So, you're really into this sciency stuff, huh, T.K?" says Sarah as they both walk toward their destination down the hall.

"Oh, yes, I've always been interested in technology. It's what my people do. We study. We learn. Then we share. Over the several hundred years I've been alive so far, the collective knowledge of my species has been incredibly useful in this part of the galaxy," Tah-Kuell smiles, continuing to walk alongside Sarah. "I must say, it's a relief to know that I'll have one of my friends with me for this new journey. I'd have much preferred you all to stay with me, but I can certainly understand the strong desire to return to one's home."

Sarah swallows, turning her eyes downward. Without much of a response, she gets quiet again.

"Have I said something to upset you?" Tah-Kuell frowns slightly, turning his attention back to her.

"No, it's not that, I just..." She sighs. "It's fine. I'm just wondering what I'll be doing from now on, where I'll be staying. I forgot to ask them before everything was finalized, mostly because I didn't want our last night together as a group to be depressing." Sarah reaches a hand up to scratch her neck, realizing how little Tah-Kuell could answer. "Maybe I can wait for Gene and Nal'rook to ask them. I hope they can at least give me a room to sleep for the night."

Tah-Kuell looks back over at Sarah, his spindly fingers scratching his chin. "Why wait? I'm certain Gene or Nal'rook would be eager to answer a question like that." He motions for Sarah to follow the line back. "You should go and ask them. I believe we are not too far away. I can tell that these questions will eat at you until you receive the answers you're looking for, so I will wait here until you return."

Deciding this as the best course of action, primarily because Tah-Kuell had hit the nail right on the head with his observation, Sarah turns around and jogs off in the direction of the light trail leading back to the entrance of the building.