"I'm sorry. I did not mean to suggest that at all."

   "Good."

Deskyl relaxes slightly, and turns away: conversation over.

Conversation over.

Devika has been listening intently to this whole exchange.

And it's jarring for her, because there ought to be a particular side of the argument she agrees with wholeheartedly and another side that she would passionately argue against, but when she reaches for her old certainty in... anything? It's all gone.

Without trusting the story of her past, she has no reason to cherish the values she's been brought up with.

Without trusting the story of her past, she has no reason to hate her enemies.

Without trusting the story of her past, she Has No Mission.

Well, there's not much she can do about that from here. At least not that she isn't already doing. She holds her, and sleeps.

Many degree pass.

Dysofrags drift by Dheto's SLAYER, occasionally requiring minor course corrections, but for the most part the biomech can drift carelessly in this relatively open stretch of space. Her instructions did not mention a particular destination. Saru simply told her to:

(1) Collect the three outsiders

(2) Depart in her SLAYER with them

(3) Remain within [designated X/Y/Z coordinates]

(4) Await Further Orders

And so she waits.

And then a fusion torch shines in the distance.

And then the drifting SLAYER is no longer alone.

DZ wakes Deskyl, and informs Devika which dragon this is.

(Devika assumes this is supposed to mean something to her, but for the former colonial pilot all dragons still look approximately the same amount of terrifying.)

Culamine opens a comm channel.

"I hope this degree finds you better than the ones that came before."

    "Thank you, Ma'am. We hope that as well."

"I was on the far side of the Draco Territories when word of Procyon Station's fate reached me."

There is a tremor of sorrow in Culamine's voice.

Which is, of course, a calculated measure. A dragon has no vocal cords, its voice is an act of willful artifice.

(She sometimes envies humans their ease of authenticity.)

Deskyl nods.

    "It was quite a tragedy."

"I thank you for the role you played in mitigating it."

Culamine flaps her wings once, giving the smaller thrusters on her wingtips a chance to flare at exactly the right vectors. Her movement, relative to the SLAYER, ceases. It is as though the two titanic beings are sitting across from each other in open space.

"Still. Dozens of my vassals died. Hundreds were taken. It will take me some time to decide how best to respond to this loss."

Culamine drifts more than a dozen meters away from the SLAYER's main sensor array, and so the dragon's pupils can't really be said to point at anyone in particular.

Nonetheless, when speaking that bit about lost lives Devika can't help but feel like Culamine is staring straight at her.

    "Yes, Ma'am. We have some information about the colonials that you might find helpful in making that decision: The colonial team Deskyl brought back genuinely believed that they were rescuing your vassals from captivity; they were misinformed, obviously, but they meant well. The spy who originally reported us is being held with them - her name is Anila Kaur - and she did admit that she knew that your vassals didn't need to be saved; Deskyl considers her much more culpable."

"Then I will speak to this Anila at length."

Culamine glanced off in the direction of Saru's core habitat. Her whole body sways as she does this, and then sways back when she returns her attention to Dheto's SLAYER.

"But I did not come out here to discuss spies."

    "Yes Ma'am."

"Are you alright?"

    "She's - coping, Ma'am. She's never killed anyone by accident before."

"I will do what I can to facilitate her recovery. Does she feel capable of articulating her present preferences in that regard, or should I take my best guess based on my observations of her past preferences?"

"I expect that making that offer would do more harm than good, Ma'am."

Culamine nods. A lack of an answer, here, is just as informative as an answer would be.

"- it's an insult, to a Sith, to suggest that she can't take care of herself."

Culamine transmits a soft laugh (and moves her body, slightly, in a manner that suggests bemusement).

"It is perhaps an insult to a dragon to suggest she can't help a self-sufficient individual at least a little? But dragons--with the possible exception of Saru--bear insults quite well so you shouldn't worry overmuch about offending us."