The elevator opens.

”Well. I’m sure even partially explaining it will get a lot of people’s attention. But, uh...”

Pala is aware she is out of her depth.

She is going to probably be quiet on the elevator ride back down.

"Deskyl might be able to, once she's more recovered; it's not her specialty, but she's fairly well-read."

Pala nods.

"That would be very good. Probably worth bring up when you visit Culamine."

She nods. "I'll suggest it, Ma'am."

And then they are back on the hall where Deskyl and DZ are staying.

DZ pauses before going in. "I'm available most of the time, if you'd like me to explain anything else, Ma'am."

"...I might take you up on that. Thanks."

And in she goes.

Deskyl opts to gather her strength for the meeting with Culamine, and doesn't venture out again until summoned for it.

They don't so much get summoned as given a selection of appointment slots and asked to pick one of them.

The draconic master of these lands, evidently, is not too terribly impatient about the comings and goings of her guests.

She passes on the first day - she doesn't want to give the impression of being too recovered - but doesn't ask Culamine to wait much longer than that.

DZ spends some time in the days leading up to the meeting in the upper portion of the station, practicing her low-gravity maneuvering.

Yup. No artificial gravity here to speak of, good skillset to brush up on.

The day of their Audience With The Dragon arrives.

They're there promptly, Deskyl in her best new outfit, utilitarian black with a swirl of embroidered starscape on the shoulders, DZ trailing along politely behind; they help each other into their suits and head to the airlock.

The airlock cycles.

Beyond it, the cavern awaits.

And in that cavern roosts a dragon.

"Hello."

Helmet radios convey a singsong greeting.

Culamine watches them intently.

Deskyl gives a deep, sweeping bow, of the sort that should be flagrantly impossible in these conditions.

    "I hope this degree finds you well, Ma'am."

The dragon smiles.

    "And you as well."

"What can we do for you today, Ma'am?"

"If you would like to relate more information about yourselves and your realm of origin, I would very much enjoy that." Culamine's head rocks from side to side slightly, almost as though humming. Notably, neither her lips nor tongue nor any equivalent of vocal cords seem to move when she speaks. "Shreya and Pala have both passed along interesting tidbits in that regard, and I am of course absolutely fascinated."

"However, my first priority this degree is discussing with you your preferences and intentions for your stay here in the Draco Territories. You are of course welcome to maintain your present living arrangement for the foreseeable future, but if--now that you've recovered your strength--you'd like to consider visiting the unpledged holdings or staying with one of my sisters I can provide information, recommendation or transportation."

"Perhaps a relevant starting point for this conversation would be better establishing the ways in which the two of you differ from the human individuals I am used to dealing with. That would both satisfy some of my curiosity, and better inform my advice towards you."

DZ nods. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Deskyl is a Sith, which is a type of person who can do various sorts of magic. You've seen the telekinesis; she can also read emotions and, with effort, thoughts, manipulate the emotions of people around her, and generate electricity, as well as having improved health, strength, and senses, and reduced physical needs. Those are abilities that all trained Sith have; she's specialized beyond that in sensory powers, most notably an extra vision-like sense that isn't limited by line of sight and a diagnostic health sense. She's also an engineer by trade; she specialized in designing weapons that take advantage of Sith's special abilities, but she's fairly well-read and may be able to reinvent other technology from our home, including faster-than-light spacecraft, if you have the industrial base to support it."

"We have macrofabricators and access to a wide variety of elements, including rare metals and reactor-grade fissile materials. You would perhaps be best suited speaking to one of my more technologically inclined sisters, Ysolt or Artha, if you wished to undertake such a project."

"The range of powers you describe are quite extensive, and quite perplexing. If it would be possible, I would like to see the rest of Deskyl's powers demonstrated in a controlled context. For the powers related to invading and influencing minds, I will of course need to source informed volunteers beforehand."

"What about you, DZ? You are clearly not a human yourself. Some of my vassals have mistaken your appearance for that of a woman in armor or with extensive mechanical prostheses, but you self describe as a 'robot' and I can see with my own eyes that this is closer to the mark. However, there is still much about you I do not yet understand, and would like to."

She nods. "Deskyl has already read Shreya's mind, Ma'am, when we first arrived and needed translations of what she was saying, if that will do as an example."

"I'm a robot, yes," she continues. "I'm not sure what you'd like to know, Ma'am. We aren't biological; we're made and programmed rather than being born and trained, and we're generally not considered people, or especially worth taking an interest in, though Deskyl disagrees."

Deskyl chimes in at this point, signing, still just a few words.

    "Deskyl says that it doesn't matter very much what most robots are like, Ma'am, since she can't make any here; she could replicate my body, but she doesn't know enough about robot programming to make a new mind, or to learn how to given the resources she has. So-" Deskyl interrupts, with a single sign. "You could think of me as her daughter, she says."

Culamine nods her massive head.

"I will, then."

Deskyl nods back.

    "Thank you, Ma'am."

    "As to our plans - Deskyl is still recovering; we only have a guess as to how long that will take. She appreciates the atmosphere here, though; she'd prefer to stay, if you don't mind continuing to host us. Except that she's heard that raising children is not allowed here, and she's not sure if that applies to me." DZ sounds mildly confused at this last bit. "She'd like to know the reasoning behind the rule."

“We dragons think that servitude to a higher power is something that should be aspired to and carefully chosen, rather than something people should be yoked with from birth. All of our children grow up in the Unpledged Holdings so that they meaningfully understand that self-sovereignty is an option for them, and so that they are not unduly prejudiced towards serving any particular master if they do elect to give that sovereignty up.”