#10 First One, Then Two, Then Three

Posted on Fri Jun 14th, 2024 @ 10:40pm by Lieutenant JG Marcus Resch {Meji} & Lieutenant JG Sheyla {Meji} & Lieutenant JG Ainkara "Kara" {Meji}

Mission: Shakedown II
Location: Meji Sea, Danvers
Timeline: current

ON:

Resch, after leaving the main courtyard for the temple and getting away from all the construction, had descended the steps to the pier after changing into some swim trunks, a tank top, and a tropical over shirt. With sandals on his feet, Marcus went down to the pier and found a spot in the shade of some of the local palm trees. Here, he was directly out of the sunlight, could still feel and smell the ocean breezes, and found relaxation by listening to the water lap at the pier, rocks and shoreline. He had brought a couple bottles of water with him so he opened one and began to swig from it as he set the other aside. As his gaze went out to the sea he noticed a trail of bubbles at one point, denoting that something was moving just below the surface and coming straight at him as he sat on the pier. The bubbles were about two football field lengths away and getting closer by the second. ~Please, don't be Godzilla~ He thought to himself.

As he watched he reached out to sense what it may be and that was when his eyes were caught with the sight of whales breaking the surface to take a breath. His sense had detected them just as they did so, but the bigger surprise was feeling Sheyla's presence among them. And, when the whales broke the surface, there she was riding the back of one of the Orca-looking beasts. She saw him from a distance and waved to him just before they went under again. Sheyla had something on her face and he could not tell what it was from this distance. Resch followed where they were beneath the waves by sense, and knew they could swim right up beneath the pier since it was placed in a deeper inlet.

Sheyla, having been riding the whales for hours now, had finally spotted the island of Praxeum. As they got closer she began to feel another presence and as she focused on it she sensed Marcus Resch as he sat on the pier. Reaching down she closed down her fins and sat up on her knees on Seamother's back. As they broke the surface for an air intake she spotted Resch and gave him a wave as she smiled behind her starfish rebreather. Then, Sheyla was plunged back into the water as the whales went beneath. Communing with Seamother, Sheyla asked her to swim right under the pier so she could hop off and she could swim under to turn herself around.

As Resch saw them approach after a couple more breaths, he then realized they were headed straight for the pier. He stood up with a bit of concern, hoping that Sheyla was not going to cause the animal to slam face first into the rocks beneath the pier. With that thought passing through his mind his fear of such was assuaged as the whale passed under the temporary pier even as Sheyla hopped off its back with a touch of telekinesis to land perfectly in a short jog form her forward progress, closing down to a walk to approach him.

As Sheyla's feet landed on the pier deck she took a few quick steps forward until she slowed the momentum to walk forward. Reaching up she grasped the starfish gently but firmly and removed it from her face. Having nowhere to put it currently she stuck it to her right side as she came to stop. The starfish produced from within itself a gelatinous substance to protect its exposed flesh from the open air so it did not dry out. Sheyla did not notice that part as she looked at Resch.

"Boo," Sheyla said with a big smile. "Miss me?"

Resch looked at her with amazement, seeing how she had arrived and then watching her peel the starfish from herself and attach it to her side. He saw the clear gelatinous substance form over it to keep it moist. "That was amazing. The whales, that thing," he chinned toward the starfish. "You've been busy, I see."

"I have." Sheyla said. "This little guy," she turned her right side to face Resch better, showing off her athletic physique and the curves she had while talking about the starfish. But, when she saw what it looked like now she almost panicked. "Oh no. I hope I didn't kill it."

Marcus, as she said that, focused his sense on the critter and found it to be perfectly fine and in a state of hibernation. "It's fine, Sheyla. Hibernating. I watched it form that bubble of gel as you approached."

"Oh, thank the Creator!" Sheyla responded with gladness. She straightened her body to face him. "Anyway, now that its okay. This little guy is an organic rebreather. I am going to take some back to Amandora and study them. Find out how they work and if there are any other marvels they can perform."

As interesting as Marcus found the starfish to be, and the information about it, he was still wanting to hear about the whales and how she ended up riding them. "What about the whales? What's their story?"

"That's the most amazing part, Marcus!" Her excitement came through Sheyla's voice to match her wide-eyed amazement. "They approached me last night while I went night swimming. They were curious about me and we ended up determining that neither of us were a threat, and then we formed a bond. "The Matriarch of the pod I named Seamother. She found it complimentary and pleasing."

"Wait, wait." Resch said, waving his hands to get her to slow down. "You spoke to them?"

"Yes, I just said that." Sheyla giggled. "Are your ears plugged up? I can check them for you." She said in a teasing tone.

"Ha-ha." Marcus replied. "How did you speak with them?"

"At first, a mind meld through the Core. But, then, as we kept going, Seamother instructed me through her mind on how to interpret whale song." Sheyla explained. "Once the octopus introduced me to the starfish and I could breath underwater..."

"Whoa! Whoa! Octopus?" That was a new addition to the tale and Resch wanted to make sure he stayed caught up. "It gave you the starfish?"

"It did, yep." Sheyla said, smiling big again. "It snagged my leg as I was treading water and pulled me under. Thank the Core for Control as I was able to extend my held breath while it did charades to show me how to wear it. It was quite the experience. It seems that some creatures within the Meji Sea are intelligent and symbiotic with one another. The octopus even tore clams from the reefs and peeled them open to feed the young whale pups as the pod introduced them to it. The octopus, by the way, is big. I mean BIG. Not a small thing like on Earth."

"Meji Sea? Is that what we're calling it now?" Resch's curiosity was now on high.

"I do." Stated Sheyla. "The reason the waters are so clear here in the archipelago is that there is a natural under water sea wall that prevents the main ocean currents from blazing within and stirring things up. It's a giant lagoon where all within can grow and prosper. Yes, they hunt each other as is natural, but overall it is a paradise for sea life. I trust my feelings as a Meji. They tell me that all of this was designed and grown by the lost civilization, to provide them a place of safety against the deeper ocean beasts. And, that they came to discover themselves how intelligent and helpful some creatures were over others. That octopus had obviously aided others, or been taught to do so. Now, it was just what it did for gangly things like me." She laughed.

Resch had used control to make sure he caught all of that and committed it to memory. "Hell of a story, Sheyla. Awesome that you found all this out in what, twenty-four hours?"

"I am a Meji Acolyte Champion," Sheyla said, revealing that she had received her official title. "Ainkara is my Master. And, Master Ro gave me this to borrow." She patted the saber on her hip. "Through the Core I was able to commune with life, to understand it and how it works, and to live alongside it without incident."

"Damn, you've come a long way since serum night." Marcus was not jealous of her success, or that she had a saber before he did. The saber was still something he did not really find much interest with, instead finding using the Core far more appealing. There were many weapons out there he could choose from. He did not need a plasma driven can opener to make himself feel Meji-like. "Kara told me that the crystals are ready. Perhaps Kara will instruct you on how to build your own."

Sheyla gave a nod to that. "When she feels I am ready she will teach me. Until then I will bide my time patiently. As the Code says: Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Core. I am as much a part of the Code as the Code is a part of me."

Resch felt himself become calm as he listened to her. She was absolutely dedicated to the Meji way of life, the Code, and the Order. She was a beacon of what it meant to step into that world and become something greater than oneself. Peace, knowledge, harmony, serenity. With all of it being accomplished through their connection to the Core. "You have really stepped into your place, Acolyte Sheyla. Congratulations. I only wish I was as expedient. I keep questioning things in my mind and rehashing all I've been taught so far."

"Master Ro says we are to unlearn what we have learned. To cast off what our lives have taught us about everything we know. There is far more to know, and knowledge never ends." Sheyla instructed.

Being a man of philosophy and academia himself, Resch could not disagree with what was just said. "It seems I have been approaching this the wrong way, then. I should find Master Ro, or Master Kara, and ask for further instruction."

Having masked her presence through the Core, Ainkara had come down the steps and then went off to the side into the cover of trees and undergrowth. She did not specifically hide, but instead chose to stand a distance away and listen to the Acolytes as they chatted. Everything Sheyla said was spot on, and her dedication to who she was now was impressive. Her instructions to Marcus were not her own, as she kept saying to him, but those of the more experienced among them. She took no credit for the words of others. When Resch responded the way he did to Sheyla, that was when Kara decided to step out like she had been on a hike in the jungle. "Yes, Marcus, you should." When they both looked her way she went on as she came up and stopped. "Hello, you two. Acolyte, you have a growth," she said to Sheyla as she pointed to the blob covered starfish attached to her side. But, before Sheyla could say anything about it she calmly raised a hand up to signal that she did not need an explanation. "I heard. I've been standing there for some time."

"Spying?" Resch asked with a grin.

"Listening," Kara shot back matter-of-fact. "I was interested in how my apprentice was coming along and now I know. Good instruction, Acolyte Sheyla. You've taken to your new position well. As for you, Acolyte Marcus, we are always around for instruction. But, seeing as I already have an apprentice I would ask that you refer to Master Ro more often than myself. Sheyla's training must be my main focus."

When Kara called him acolyte, Resch grinned. Was he official now? "You said Acolyte. Does that mean I've been accepted to the Order?"

"Yes," Kara said. "Everyone who comes for Core training is an acolyte. However, unless we agree to train you that is all you are, an acolyte. Sheyla is official. Her complete title is Acolyte Champion. Once she passes her trials she then loses the acolyte portion of the title and becomes Champion Sheyla."

"I see." Resch said.

"My suggestion, Marcus, is for you to go to Master Ro and see what she says." Kara instructed. "If you want to train, feel you are ready, then let her know that. I'm sure she will be open to it."

Marcus thanked her, then the three of them talked for a while longer. Kara suggested that Sheyla should find people like Herculoid or Sabbath, even Doctor Long, and pass on her knowledge to them about the Meji Sea. Sheyla was not a Science officer by title, but she was a science officer merely by being in the medical sciences. All her learned sciences were applicable to all life and she knew how to study and research like any other science officer. Sheyla said she would do just that. And, while talking to Tara, maybe work out something else she had been thinking on sporadically.

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