Chương 49: 031 – Outguard Park

It looked like a haunted forest. That was the first thing that came to Loren's mind. Beyond the stairwell, past the walkway that Rain was setting down their elevator platform, there was a lawn—no, a field. Instead of the familiar green plastic that was more common, or the lush little spikes that were the providence of the wealthy, the grass was the color of pale moonlight. There were trees spread at seemingly random, in little groups of three or more with a lot of open ground between them.

Most of them were massive, and were probably decades old at minimum, possibly centuries given how Rain had mentioned the dome had been launched with trees planted on it. The leaves on the trees were similarly pale, with unfamiliar shapes, and seemed to glitter in the light. Benches lay along paved paths, under trees, or seemingly at random, as were little sheds of some sort. Tall light posts were spread across the field, on top of which powerful lights were mounted.

They illuminated the space below, providing the illusion of a sunny day. And spread all over that field were Kaedekin. There were Kaedekin crowded around tripods that held the recognizable shapes of telescopes. There were Kaedekin sitting down on top of sheets as they ate food, talked, or simply napped with their head on some kind of cushion.

There were Kaedekin who seemed in the middle of punching and kicking each other to death, their movements far too energetic for sparring as their friends sat around them and seemed to cheer them on. She heard the faint sounds of music, and saw at least three different groups of Kaedekin—all far from each other—playing instruments. There was even one Kaedekin holding an obvious microphone singing to a small group.

Loren thought there might be thousands of Kaedekin on the field, but the field was so wide there was plenty of space between them. And above all this was a massive transparent dome. It was absolutely clear, visible only by the reflections of light sources shining on its surface. Beyond it, one of the planet's moons—the watery one with visible islands on its surface—shone against a background of sharp, untwinkling stars.

Fortunately, the sun—no, the Dancer—wasn't in sight, because Loren didn't feel like getting a firsthand view of how effective their light-mitigation measures were. And with how insulated her suit was, she wouldn't have even been able to appreciate the star's heat.

"Welcome to Outguard Park," Rain said as the last vestiges of the blue platform she had been maintaining vanished.

"The oldest and still fully operational part of Stargazer Fortress. With our current oxygen generation systems and food production infrastructure, and established understanding of astronomy and orbital mechanics, it's no longer needed for its original use, so we turned it into a recreational area." She seemed to genuinely have no idea of how absurd that sounded.

"Now, I understand it's a bit too bright for our pajhadin guests, so for everyone's convenience we will be switching the lighting to nocturnal," Rain said as she looked down at the device on her—at Princess, but not actually touching anything on the screen. It was another bit of circumstantial evidence that they used some kind of neural interface.

Loren had personally never seen the point of essentially having a computer interface under one's skin, and apparently most of humanity didn't either, but a few bought into it. The practice was far more prevalent and advanced among Changers, but that was because they could integrate and eject it as easily as anything else they ate. Though if the Kaedekin— Loren shook her head. No, no, stop trying to assume some kind of technological solution. The more likely answer was that it was probably a facet of their magic.

She was still putting the 'neural interface' stuff in whatever report she had to write down, but best to not actually believe it. A few seconds later, the lights started to dim, and Loren had to admit to surprise when they were no cries of surprise or distress among the Kaedekin. It wasn't complete darkness—some of the lights continued to glow, if at a much lower magnitude, and the light reflecting off the moon was plenty to see by—but any loss of light would normally immediately create a reaction among humans.

And the humans—and rakido and Changers—of the away team were more than willing to make up for the lack of reaction with enthusiasm. Yet despite the lack of outcry, the Kaedekin didn't just sit there. A second or two after the lights shifted, smaller lights came to life among the Kaedekin out in the park. What surprised Loren was that instead of the lights being an even white, they came in a variety of colors. And they seemed to remain strangely stationary… Loren blinked as a dim blue light suddenly came into being.

She looked towards its source, expecting to see a flashlight pointed at the ground, and instead saw glowing blue anklets around Paladin Rain's legs. They weren't all that bright, and for some reason most of their illumination seemed to be directed downward. What she had noticed had been the glow reflecting off the deck. Despite the color, it was just enough for people to be able to see where they were walking without significantly impairing their vision with a bright light.

"If you'll all follow me, we can continue the tour," Rain said, beginning to walk down a nearby path. Everyone quickly began to follow, a few choosing to turn on their suit's helmet lights.

"Don't worry about walking on the grass, that's what it's there for. Outguard Park's original purpose was as the primary food growing area and oxygen processing when Stargazer Dome was first launched into space. At the time, it wasn't mean to support more than forty people with oxygen, and the grain produced farming it was never meant to be completely self-supporting. Once Stargazer was expanded with additional levels, farming was stopped, although a few small vegetable plots were retained."

The Ranger pointed off in a direction to her right.

"There's actually still a small vegetable patch over there. Mostly potatoes, tomatoes, haharoot, garlic and beans. However, the rest was converted into what you see here. Flower-watering stations, drinking fountains and benches were set up, and it became Outguard Park." One barely visible arm pointed towards the nearest trees.

"There were originally about two-hundred trees planted in the dome, chosen for variety, good oxygen conversion rates, and their maximum growth being well below the dome's ceiling. Those are alumbarks and patinatrees, by the way. Their tissues have a high metal content, so limiting the amount of heavy metals in the soil helps control their growth." Loren saw the rakido perk up in interest at that.

"What kind of metals?" one of them asked.

"It depends on the soil and the tree. While some trees integrate specific metals into their makeup, all of them absorb the metals present in the ground and accumulate it in various parts of their structures. Leaves, the shells of its nuts and seeds, in the wood itself… but you're probably asking if there are fruits that have high concentrations of a specific metal in it, right? There was a brief awkward pause, followed by some embarrassed shuffling.

"…yes."

"Well, leadberries are full of lead and very sweet, rustgnuts are full of iron and… well, to be honest, we don't really eat those, we throw them into the smelter to make steel—""You have fruit here that naturally has lead in it?" another of the rakido interrupted.

"Yes? Once we get the lead out, they're still pretty tasty. Do you want some? I can't offer you the fresh fruit since they might be carrying bacteria, but if you want we can dry them so it's safe to bring aboard the Venture for you to eat?"

"W-we wouldn't want to put you through any trouble…" the first rakido said in the tone of someone who wanted you to go through the trouble. Rain waved a hand in a gesture that seemed dismissive.

"It's no trouble at all. We're happy to do it. I'm glad someone might be able to finally enjoy natural leadberries without having to worry about lethal lead poisoning. Anyway, once the dome became a public park, there was a debate as to what to call it. There were those who wanted to make it a memorial, to commemorate all the Kaedekin who died in our journey to become a space-faring species.

Others wanted the park to be named after the station's purpose as a first response line of defense against extrasurceasetrial invasion, acknowledging the group that we were trying to emulate. Once it became clear these two purposes were the most popular options, naturally it was decided to combine them both, which satisfied everybody." Loren couldn't see anyone else's faces, but she knew everyone—even the aliens—were thinking ' bullshit'. Compromises like that never satisfied everyone!

Or even anyone but the idiot who suggested it! Given how Rain seemed absolutely certain about it though, it seemed likely that any dissenting opinions were covered up or forgotten. Also, did she really just say 'extrasurceasetrial'?

"We're being stalked," one of the pajhadin said on the open channel, where the Kaedekin wouldn't hear.

"Packs of their young are moving towards us, using the adults and trees as cover. They're moving to try to surround us." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Confirmed," Falling Stillness said immediately from inside her powered armor.

"I have them on my scopes. They're keeping a low profile, and a bunch of them are crawling along the grass and are using some kind of tarp as camouflage. It would be cute if a third of them weren't armed with some kind of gun." Loren became tense, immediately drawing heat from the Flame inside her and bringing it to her left eye. The Flame became Light and Change, and the world brightened from the twilit gloom into something more like late afternoon. She immediately saw what the two aliens were talking about.

Kaedekin children were crawling on the grass to stay below their eye level, using the benches and little upright structures as cover, hiding in the branches of the trees and yes, even actively crouching behind amused-looking adults, who did their best to go about their business when there were at least three juveniles in a line moving near their feet. Commander Bronze took this all in, then turned towards Paladin Rain.

"Why are we being followed by children?" he asked. There was a fond sigh.

"Oh, those little sisters are probably here on a school field trip. Stargazer already gets a lot of school field trips under normal circumstances, but ever since you arrived… well, they've been coming up here hoping to get a glimpse of your ship, or at least your drones. And ever since we informed everyone that you accepted our invitation to come visit, but didn't inform them when… well, we've been getting little sisters up here every day hoping that was when you'd all finally visit.

I suppose these little sisters are the lucky ones who were right." Bronze was nodding.

"All right, that sounds logical… but why are they stalking us?"

"Oh, they probably didn't want to be rude and bother you," Rain said.

"Either that, or they're worried you're the advanced scouts of an invasion force here to acquire actionable intelligence about our defensive capabilities and want to be ready when you go hot. You know how little sisters can be." Loren wasn't sure how to feel about that. After all, technically they were here exactly for actionable intelligence…

"Don't worry," Rain assured them cheerfully.

"It's not like you are advanced scouts of an invasion force here to acquire actionable intelligence about our defensive capabilities, so you have nothing to worry about!" The Pyrotheurgist was very glad for her helmet and how dark it was, otherwise the look of guilt on her face might have given them away. The path they were following eventually led them to the center of the park, under the apex of the transparent dome.

Spread around the space seemingly at random were seven life-sized statues as well as a tall stone slab, each underlit by a soft glow that cast shadows on their features and allowed the names on the slab to be read. Unlike many statues Loren had seen that weren't meant to be some sort of public art exhibit, the plinths they stood on were low to the ground, raising them only by the height of a comfortable step up. There was only one exception: one of the statues stood on a plinth twice as high.

The statues had all been painted in either bright or glossy colors that now helped to make them more visible in the current lighting conditions.

There was a short-haired woman of average height, a masculine figure attired in full-body stylized fantasy black plate armor, a feminine figure wearing a black hooded coat with some kind of blindfold or mask over her eyes, a woman in something like Victorian men's clothing wielding a pair of swords with a cloth scarf or bandanna concealing the lower part of her face, a figure armored in a mix of what seemed to be ancient ballistic armor and steel plates, an androgynous youth wearing a cap and another mouth-obscuring scarf, and a child wearing a dress with a rather poofy skirt.

Instead of being posed in stances of solemn dignity, heroic resolve or looking vaguely upwards like most statues Loren was familiar with, they stood with a casual relaxation, as if they were waiting meet someone who would arrive at any moment.

"This is the Memoriam," Rain said, saying the word in that special way that let people know capitalization was involved as she gestured at the slab. The woman's normally cheerfully voice was subdued, almost solemn as she gestured towards the stone slab, which rose three meters high and two wide.

"On it are the names of all the Kaedekin who have died as part of the Kaedekin Space Program, and its successor the space service, over the past three-and-a-half centuries. Whether from accidents while trying to maintain escape velocity, impacts by rogue micro-meteorites, explosive decompression accidents, loss of air due to carelessness with refilling the air canisters, lost in orbit around the Dancer, lost in interplanetary space… they are remembered here."

About a quarter of the slab was carved with names, which were written just large enough to be legible without needing a stepladder. In addition to the names, there was also some kind of number—likely a serial number—as well as a short phrase. Peering up at it, Loren realized it was the cause of death.

'Asphyxiation.'

'Violent decompression.'

'Lost at sea.'

'Lethal micrometeorite impact.'

'Lost in space.' The short, understated phrases were absolutely horrible ways to die. Although…

"Why are some of the names covered up by metal plates?" Cooper's voice asked.

"Oh, those are happy errors," Rain said, regaining some of her usual cheer.

"It turned out that the sisters and buddies in question were listed dead prematurely, but they were eventually found alive and recovered. When that happens, their name is repealed from the Memoriam."

"How often does that happen?" someone else asked.

"Well, in one case, they were presumed dead when they descended back down from space and ended up in a storm that no one was aware was there," Rain said.

"This was before we had begun placing weather-detection satellites up here. Robin was thrown wildly off course by the winds and all communications were lost with her and her buddy Holiday. Search parties were sent, but nothing was found, and they were thought dead. However, five years later a Sky Ranger mecha picked up their signal somewhere in the middle of the We're Gonna Die Sea and was able to bring them home. Robin was in terrible shape from heavy metal poisoning, but was saved with treatment."

There was a pause as everyone processed the name of the 'We're Gonna Die Sea'. Loren had to wonder how dangerous it was that the Kaedekin would not only decide to name it that, but actually keep it into the modern day. It couldn't actually be that bad, could it?

"Anyway," Rain continued, solemnity returning to her voice, "each metal plate is a repealed named, someone who was thought dead but turned out not to be. While it would be nice if every name on there could be repealed…" She waved her hand at the many names carved into the slab, where the metal plates were but a miniscule fraction of the space on it. A respectful silence fell upon the away party as they all considered the slab.

Perhaps she was a terrible person for thinking of it, but Loren had to wonder what sort of safety measures the Kaedekin were using to have so few deaths that they could still afford to keep track of them even after centuries in space. There was an awkward and obviously fake cough.

"What is the significance of the other statues around us?" Commander Bronze asked. Rain shook her head, which seemed to clear her mood, because when she stopped she was smiling again.

"Ah, I said this park had two purposes, right? The statues depict the seven founding members of the Outguard. In the universe that the Mass Production Models came from, they were the first group to organize specifically to detect and repel extrasur—sorry, I mean extraterrestrial invasions. Stargazer Fortress, and eventually the Star Rangers, was established for the same purpose.

While they weren't the first to protect their Earth against invasion, they were the first ones who set out to do it specifically, and so we both honor and acknowledge them as the kind of people that we Star Rangers strive to be like." … Ah, right. The Kaedekin were clones who claimed to be from another universe where the Earth was regularly invaded at least once a year. Loren couldn't believe she'd forgotten that. Last she had heard, people were still torn about the concept.

Personally, she thought it was one of the more interesting mythologized origins. Absolutely none of it could be disproven by archaeological evidence, because any such evidence would be 'in another universe'. Much more convenient than having a planet-wide flood to wash away all evidence of the Greek Golden Age civilization and destroying all trace of Atlantis.

"We named the planets of the system after them," Rain continued.

"In fact, that's what this arrangement represents. There is the system's star, the Dancer." She pointed at the double-high plinth with the statue of a child on it.

"The inner-most planet, Poise." That was the knight-like figure in the plate armor.

"The Memoriam represents Surcease. Next is Nightmare." She indicated the figure in the strange combination of plates and ballistic armor, head covered by a helmet that had no visible eyes.

"Corona." Rain patted the shoulder of the androgynous statue wearing the cap and face-covering scarf.

"Bloody Mary." She nodded towards the one in seemingly Victorian garb.

"Mortal." That seemed to be the short-haired woman.

"Last but not least, Xynodob." She pointed towards the final statue of the hooded figure with their eyes covered.

"All the statues are in the relative positions the planets would have been on the day we crashed on Surcease."

"They sound very important to your people, for you to name planets after them," Bronze said politely. Rain nodded, not looking at him. Her eyes were on the statues.

"They are. If it weren't for the Outguard, we wouldn't exist…" There was silence for a moment, then the Kaedekin woman shook her head again.

"Anyway… ah, that concludes the organized part of the tour. According to the suit parameters that were shared with us, most of you should still have at least two hours of air left in your supply. If there's anyone below this, please speak up." Rain waited, but after a check of their HUDs—Loren's was good for about two and a half hours, not counting the emergency supply—no one spoke up.

"All right then. I've arranged for volunteers to accompany each of you and answer any questions you might have. For the next two hours, feel free to go and explore the station. Your companions will help guide you back to the landing bay when you reach the limits of your supply. You'll be allowed into most areas of the fortress, although some active work areas like traffic control will probably ask you to leave.

Ah, but they'll probably let you see inside and someone will answer any questions you might have, so if you're curious about anything, just ask. Are there any finally questions before I call the volunteers here?"

"Can we go and see the station's weapons systems?" Cooper asked immediately.

"Sure," Rain said cheerfully.

"Which ones? The station has a lot of them, and you might not have enough time to make your way between them." … The Kaedekin on station were supposed to be protecting the planet from invaders, right?