Allia hops down the stairs to the research level, where J and her team have set up shop. The gutted remnants of luxury are visible under the various tables and benches filled with rune covered devices. She immediately spots J in the corner, working on a large geodesic dome made out of thick metal panels that she’s in the middle of fastening together.

  “Hey, wanted to let you know we’re almost at Kelfest,” Allia says, looking down at the professor as she lies on her back with her head stuck in an open compartment.

  J slides out of the compartment and smiles. “Thank you, Allia. I will be up shortly.”

  “Right… so um…” Allia mutters, clearly hesitant to ask, but decides to anyways. “What is all this anyways?”

  J scrunches up her eye and glances away. “It is a um… you could say containment chamber for the item we will be picking.”

  “Containment. That sounds ominous… it looks ominous,” she says, pointing to the dark matte metal and tubing running along the surface.”

  “It is nothing to be worried about. Really more of a convenience than anything.”

  “…Right… We’ll also be picking up the last researcher at the same time, right?”

  “…Correct… now I really must finish this before we arrive,” J says, glancing at the dome.

  “Of course… is that a bed in there?” Allia asks, peering through a hole in the dome, but relents when J gives her a look. “Anyways… see you later,” she says and spins, bounding back up the stairs.

  She goes to the main deck where she spots Sarrah leaning forlornly on the railings. She immediately speeds up and pounces on her from behind, enveloping her in a hug. “Hey! Sorry I was so moody earlier. Don’t know what got over me. Feeling way better now.”

  Sarrah side-eyes and softly chuckles at her friend’s resumed enthusiasm. “No worries. Discreteness can do that. It’s fine so long as you don’t let it get to you.”

  “Yeah,” Allia smiles, then glances to where Sarrah was looking. “So, can we see the port yet?”

  “Yeah, you can just make out some specks of colour.” Sarrah points to the distance to a spot just poking up over the horizon. The bright, near-setting sun illuminates them from the west, causing glints of light to sparkle as it reflects from random pieces of glass and metal.

  “Nice,” Allia says, staring into the distance.

  They pass a much larger passenger ship heading to the island. On deck, they spot a group of youths near their age, who all shout and wave upon spotting the yacht that still looks ridiculously luxurious on the outside despite having so many of its amenities stripped from it. Well, not all of the luxury is gone. Perhaps they’re right to desire switching vessels.

  Allia smiles excitedly and waves back at the rowdy group of youths, while Sarrah only half waves out of instinctual politeness.

  “It’s nice to see people going about their lives even with all of this going on; isn’t it?” Allia says, wistfully staring at them as they pass.

  Sarrah says nothing, but just shoulder bumps her friend in acknowledgement of what she said.

  The intercom buzzes to life, followed by an announcement that they’ll be lifting off until they reach the port, so the girls head inside to the enclosed observation space where they’re joined by Allex, Emil and others.

  Kelfest quickly resolves into details as they quickly zoom towards it. The city is bustling, as expected. Tall buildings of steel and glass jut a hundred feet out of the island, with thousands of boats festooned with colourful flags tied to the docks.

  “Pity that we don’t have time to take a look around,” Allia mutters, then smiles reassuringly when Allex and Sarrah turn to her, having heard her utterance. “But I’m certain it won’t be my last chance to see it.”

  “It is something,” Allex nods, “the nightlife is the best in the chain. We’ll be sure to take you when we come back.”

  Allia grins at the thought. “Thanks. I’m looking forward to it… I always wanted to go.” She places an annoying emphasis on the word ‘I,' though it's too slight for them to notice.

  Rather than head to the dock, the boat flies quickly overhead to a metal tower of bare scaffolding with an exposed cargo elevator in the middle, which they quickly berth themselves to. The four friends quickly make their way to the boarding tether – an extending tube coming from the tower made from telescoping wood, metal and cloth to prevent accidental falls.

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  Emerging from the tube are several porters carrying cases, which J immediately examines the contents of after placing them on the deck.

  “Is everything in order, J?” Allex asks, looming over her.

  “Almost. I was hoping for one…” She’s interrupted by a loud HISSSS, coming from the loading tube, which she turns to with a broad, mischievous smile. “Yes, now it is.”

  Everyone looks to the tube, where they squint their eyes to see into the darkened chamber… Odd, it wasn’t dark a moment ago. The light may be dying, but it was still enough to see the porters carrying their cases through the tube only a moment ago.

  KLANK, KLANK, KLANK, HISSSSS, KLANK… Everyone tenses as the darkness emerges from the tube, collapsed into a light defying blob that towers over them. Everyone but J and Allia steps back as they peer into the void, making out a concealed figure, at least nine feet tall and covered in coppery metal plates with tubes and valves running over them. Where the head should be is a disproportionately small domed helmet with a foggy plate of glass through which the occupant presumably sees.

  Allex curses, snapping his attention back to J. “A gnome?! You didn’t mention this!”

  J shrugs. “You gave me leave to procure any team member or equipment that I deemed necessary.”

  “And which is this?” Sarrah asks, a sceptical eyebrow raised.

  Instead of answering, J stands and makes a polite head nod. “I’m so glad you accepted my invitation. If you would…”

  “BZZZ HISSSS CLICK, RRRRRZ. PINNRRRR VRRRR. DMMMMDD.”

  J is interrupted by a series of hissing, buzzing, clicking sounds from which she instinctively recoils. Allia, in contrast, steps forward with a smiling head tilt.

  “Sure, I guess it would make sense to show you the orb. Though we’ll have to do it below deck and only for a brief moment. Okay?” More clicking, hissing, buzzing sounds, and Alla laughs. “Great! This way, please.”

  She makes to lead it to the below decks, but pauses as she sees everyone staring at her in bewilderment.

  “You speak gnome?” Emil asks in a voice of stunned amusement.

  “What?” Allia asks, head tilting in confusion. “I thought they were speaking…” she trails off with a blush.

  “Thalassic?” J finishes for her, prompting an embarrassed nod. “Fascinating,” J says with an upturned eyebrow. “I suppose that’s likely another clue as to the nature of your power. The gnome was speaking Thalassic, just spoken in a way that the rest of us can’t understand. You see, gnomes bring with them a sort… well, the exact nature of it isn’t important. Pressure would be a good enough metaphor. What is important is that there’s always a period of acclimation to them during which they cannot be understood. Not even by written communication. It’s also why they seem shrouded in darkness… do you see that phenomenon?”

  “Um… no?” Allia says, peering at the 9ft tall armoured figure. “They seem to be in a shiny brass suit. Or is that another acclimation?”

  “No,” J shakes her head, a hint of amused smile upturning her mouth. “The suit is real. It protects them from our environment. The same with the dome you saw me build. It’s meant to be a sort of home where they can live without the suit.” She turns to the gnome. “We just finished building it to your specifications. Though you should of course examine it yourself.”

  A series of hiss-clicks emits from the gnome, making J flinch and turn questioning to Allia.

  “They said they need to see the orb before deciding if they’re coming with us,” Allia helpfully translates.

  “Oh… yes, of course. Right this way.”

  “So!” Allia says, bubbly as they go inside. “What’s your name?”

  The gnome emits a series of screeches.

  “Haha, I don’t think I can pronounce that.”

  Clicks and hisses.

  “All right, I’ll call you Vivinar then,” Allia says, her smile not slipping for a moment.

  Behind them as they go down the stairs, Allex hangs back with J to speak in whispered asides.

  “Why didn’t you tell us that you’d be bringing a Gnome aboard?” Allex asks, clearly not happy about the surprise.

  J shrugs. “You gave me discretion to bring in any expert of my choosing. ‘Vivinar’ is my choosing.”

  “You may have been granted the discretion, but you should still have mentioned something this big. This sort of stuff is exactly what made people distrust you in the first place.”

  J chuckles. “Why noble Allex, surely you’re not saying that this is a cause for alarm. You’re not superstitious, are you?”

  Allex scowls. “What superstition? They were a part of the cause for our exile, and know much about it that they refuse to share with us. Those are just facts that they themselves have confirmed. It’s not superstitious to be mistrustful of those who deliberately hide things.”

  “Oh?” J says with an amused eyebrow raised. “You must forgive me then. I assumed you were of the lot who blamed maladies on their mere presence. Or at least let that sentiment colour your rebuke of me. You must forgive me. I had no idea your paranoia was so rational.”

  “Para… listen,”

  But she does not listen, for Allia reaches the research cabin.

  “All right, best to do it here. It seems to be unstable, so it’s better to get more measurements while we’re showing you.” Several researchers rush about frantically with instruments, and she waves her hand – filling the room with light and an empty space with the orb.

  The gnome goes still for several seconds, hunches over to get a good look at a sequence of symbols, then jolts backwards – staring at the ceiling and filling the room with the loudest hissing and screeching yet. Everyone recoils; some even go for weapons. The only one unbothered by the sound is Allia.

  “They’re… laughing?” She says, head tilted.

  “Laughing?” Emil asks, covering his ears. “I’d hate to hear them when they’re upset.”

  Ignoring him, Allia turns to Vivinar. “So, what’s funny?” Vivinar answers with a short sequence of hisses. “Oh,” Allia says, shoulders slumping in disappointment.

  “What did they say?” J asks, eagerly.

  “They said, ‘that information is forbidden,” Allia says.

  J just sighs, facepalming and pointedly ignoring an annoyingly smug look from Allex.