You can easily navigate your shuttle to Tabantria using the copaxis’ coordinates. The city is not the largest or most central of the planet’s floating cities, but it is by far the most intact. Though its gravity is the most stable of the cities, landing presents a challenge, and the surrounding gravity shifts when you are on their final approach.
The landing platform occupies most of a small field about 100 feet from the research base. Beyond the landing platform, the jagged edge of the floating landmass is completely open to the sky—the view of the smog-shrouded cities below is staggering. The encampment contains four small structures arrayed around a single larger structure, all temporary but fully enclosed. The copaxis wait outside this structure. Behind them, the dilapidated stone buildings of Tabantria stand in eerie silence.
None of the copaxis carry weapons or wear armor; they seem to be dressed for a day of research and social interaction. They approach you as you exit your ship with their arms angled slightly out to the side, empty palms facing forward. When they approach within about 30 feet of you all, each of them spins in a slow circle. Then they just stand there looking at you. The formerly talkative copaxis are completely silent.
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Integrity, now clad in her armor, steps forward with a bit of a swagger. Her arms are out and her palms are open, and she follows their lead with a slow spin. Unable to help herself, she adds just the slightest dramatic flair to it.
"It's a pleasure to be here." she says, with restrained excitement.
Therseis, the one with tall, symmetrical antlers steps forward and, in Common says formally, ”Thank you for your respect. Please join us in the research office for a brief meeting." They lead you into a nearby large building and into a semblance of a conference room. Already in there are the three other copaxi you’ve seen before.
"As I mentioned previously, I am Thersis. This,” they gesture to the jagged-antlered copaxi to their left, ”is Bryanisis our biologist.” Bryanisis shifts their head to the left at their mention. Thersis then gestures to another coapxi with antlers curled like a ram’s horns, ”This is Gnaucara is our physicist and pilot.” Thersis finally gestures to a spiky-antlered copaxi, ”And finally, this is Panacula. They are our archaeologist and geologist.” Part of the last copaxi's chest exoskeleton resembles the Pact Worlds’ insignia. Thersis continues, ”I believed it would be beneficial to you to speak to our leading copaxi scientists to begin with to get an understanding of our planet and species and vice versa.” The three copal aside from Thersis move to other parts of the room, seemingly to facilitate individual and efficient conversation.
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Jeen heads over to Panacula
"you are the archaeologist and geologist right? he asks, already knowing. and then continues.
"I am Jeen Scott, I am a mechanic, I work with machines and computers, and I can make sure a structure is stable. he says, more as an introduction of what he does.
"I do wonder what mathematical system do you use, particularly those used for construction and such?
Thersis speaks up awkwardly, ”Please forgive me, I forgot to mention that I am the historian.”
”What is your homeward like?”
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Rahm, a creature of his word through and through, replies "I am a complex arrangement of sythetic organs and semi-biological fluids that combine to power this body and the electrical network that forms the nervous system and center of thought. That one is similar, but has instead naturally grown tissues and organs created through cell division and a process known as 'mating'..." And he continues in that vein, going into as much detail as he can.
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"And I'm Integrity." the envoy smiles, giving a playful salute. "Musician, military enthusiast, and chemical connoisseur."
She purses her lips and touches her fingers to her chin in a thoughtful expression. "You guys had a lot of magic, hmm? You know, we have some magic around our parts as well. We kind of go for a mix of that and normal technology. Me? I'm a fan of the classics."
She draws her pistol and gives it a little twirl, pointing up at an imaginary target and making a little bang noise with her mouth before she puts it away.
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Jeen tries to move the Mathematics along by giving estimation of the lengths of inches, feet, yard, Meter, Centimeter, and stuff he has on hand to show lengths.
he would pull out a ruler or measuring stick if he had one (he might I suppose).
He does this to help get a better idea of the lengths and system of measure of one compared to another.
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"Ah. Interesting. Well, obviously we traveled by space ship, using a standard drift engine. I don't know if your species has any experience with that as of yet. It work son the principle of..." He goes on a possibly a little too long explanation of the theory and science behind drift travel."...and I think that about covers the basics. So, Divergent Copaxis? Please explain this to me. Was, or is, that a different species of your race?"
Elwin will try to see if he can get some idea of the beings honesty...
Gnaucara listens very carefully to Elwin’s long explanation. pauses, possibly thinking, then speaks, ”Yes and no. Biological classification is not my area of study, that would be Bryansis. Before the Signal, our people used magic a lot. They even built floating cities which still remain to this day. But they were foolish and the divine punished them. That is unimportant now. So how do you maintain gravity while in space on your ship?”
Bryansis still regards Rahm with consistent hesitancy and seemingly slight discomfort. ”interesting, interesting. Why does that one look similar to that one?” they point to Elwin and Jeen respectively.
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"Ah, divine punishment. I'm not a religious expert myself but i've heard stories on it. Now, as for gravity, we use a system to make an artificial gravity field. It works by..." Elwin gives another lecture, this time on the current subject. ...And then you have nominal gravity throughout the ship! See, easy! So, you say you used to use magic a lot, do you not now? If not, is that due to this divine punishment? I apologize if discussing religion is something you do not like or want to do. My people are relatively open about it."
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Jeen tries his best to describe the measurement system bases, maybe along with some conversions, like 12 inches is a foot and 3 feet is a yard.
and then he goes on to try to describe where he was born, or lived.
"I was born and raised on a station. People don't bother you much because almost everyone knows everyone else. it was a nice quiet place."
he tries to go into the prose and cons about station life.
like the artificial gravity vs natural gravity that you would find on other worlds, and the social aspect of station life and the confinement that some might feel not being on a wide planet to explore for one's self.
and then, thinking like a bit of an engineer to another, he starts to describe the structure of a station and standard materials to use to make one and the systems on might normally have on one, and how to deal with problems of station hazards like hull breaches or system failures and some backup systems or procedures to deal with them.
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Rahm replies to the scientist "In truth, many of the biological based lifeforms have very similar forms. In this instance I believe both share some or all the genetic makeup of a race known as 'Elves'. Extremely long lived humanoids, though they can't match an android such as myself for longevity. Apparently they are close enough biologically to intermingle with a race known as 'humans', which must have a very welcoming genetic structure, as they seem to possess the singular ability to mate with a shocking number of other species. I am continually surprised by it."
He counters "But what of the copaxis. Are you the only sentient species on the planet? What can you tell me about your people?"
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Integrity purses her lips at Thersis's inquiry. "Yeah, that's the thing. The history of my people, uhm..."
She smiles and shrugs. "We kinda don't have one. Like... imagine going on a huuuuuge bender. Like, you've got your vacation pay early and the whole week off and you just want to get absolutely destroyed and no one's there to stop you. And things get so crazy you wake up later with a headache the size of a small moon and you have no idea what even happened."
She nods. "It's kinda like that. Except we don't even remember what happened before this metaphorical binge. Also our entire planet's gone. Like, poof." She articulates by raising her hands and wiggling her fingers. "I mean, we had this war wick these guys called the Vesk, and they're total harcore badasses. I could tell you about that!"
Integrity sighs wistfully and reaches into her pack, producing a rolled up wad of paper about as long and thick as her pinky finger, pressing the tapered tip to her lips.
"Hey, any of you guys got a laser pistol I can borrow?"
Thersis listens very carefully to Integrity’s lackadaisical explanation. pauses, possibly thinking, then speaks, ”Yu do not seem to know much of your history. Which one of you is the historian?”
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Rahm, oblivious to Bryansis's discomfort, replies "It's a descriptive term, describing a general body shape - upright standing with a few legs, some arms with hands, and a head equivalent. Both you and I would be humanoid. Not that a creature has to be shaped that way to be sentient, there are many members of the Pact Worlds who look nothing like that. Barathu, for instance, are semi-amorphous floating colonies of cells able to change their DNA to adapt to any situation." He continues to describe various races of the Pact Worlds, not noticing the lack of reciprocity.
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Jeen Rubs the back of his head
"well... I don't know. I think we at least had a hand in it."[b] is his response.
[b]"I think it was made pre-gap" he says it was just there when everyone came too. there are other smaller station that where made, but they where not made by humans of elves alone.
you see, I'm half elf, I am the decedent of a human and an elf." he shakes his head a little. "that part isn't important. the thing is, most stations have several different races working on it. It takes all kinds, mechanics, engineers, programmers, pilots, Elves, Dwarves, humans, you name it, you might fin them working on just one station.
at this point Jeen was almost beaming with where he comes from knowing that it was a little closed so everyone had more respect for everyone else, and that he could live with the other races how he does now with almost as much familiarity as one human to another.
Thersis holds their coral-y hands up and the other copaxi go silent and look at Thersis.
"Before we continue whatever other conversations are happening it is important that address a few things. One, you should be receiving a map of Tabantria. We, together, have compiled 7 locations that you should find that will give you the information that you will need. Locations one through three are guaranteed safe locations. Locations 4 through seven are very mostly unexplored locations, we cannot guarantee safety there. As you go to each of these locations I would ask that either you allow me to join you, as I would like to see you do your work. Or, you report your findings after visiting a location. Gnaucara has been able to make out communications devices compatible to your own so there will be no problems there."
"Also, we appreciate that you duplicated our greeting when we first met. We do not know a great deal about your greetings, but ours have specific meaning. Bowing is considered aggressive due to copaxi antlers. Speaking before performing the spinning gesture is a taboo sign of malicious magic. We would also inform you that physical contact with any copaxi is not recommended unless it has been specifically invited. You may touch my antlers, if they wish, to understand why."
"What I have said does not mean that conversations cannot continue to happen. You may also converse with us at any point along the way. Lastly, we have set up locations for you to rest should you desire it. I specifically and to a lesser degree, the others, are at your disposal as you are here."
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Integrity most definitely touches the antlers. She looks over them with awe as she tests their texture. "Ohh. These are pretty dense. I bet you could wreck somebody with this!"
She leans back, rubbing at the back of her right hand. "I'm jealous. I had to buy mine on the market and have it installed."
Then, she glances at the group and grins. Her fingers rise up to shoe a 'four' count towards them, and she nods in excitement. Clearly, she wants to visit the more dangerous locations.
You take a pretty neat looking open-air flying vehicle over the city to the destination denoted by a 1 on your map.
This open area contains scattered debris and abandoned market stalls. Scorch marks, ash, and burnt-out structures reveal that a fire devastated the area long ago. Anything of value seems to have been ruined or looted long ago, but you do discover a few objects depicting copaxis flying, summoning fire, and performing other magical feats. You also find a few metal coins scattered about this area. Each coin has a floating city on one side and a copaxi face on the other, with unknown symbols below the face.