The Vella Crean Excursion

Chapter1: A Mission
Laedrys Trix had returned after the disastrous hatching that had spawned a war and was rightly shaken. The events had rang too close to home. After all it had hardly been two years since Lantessama had dealt with it's own messy shadow situation. Some people whispered behind her back that she was a nosy person who liked to stick her nose into matters that didn't relate to her. And at times they were right. But this situation had her spooked. Someone needed to keep an eye on this situation and she knew just who that person could be.
Scarcely an hour later, the Laedrys approached the man and woman she'd picked for this mission. Ghita was tough as nails and wily as a fox. She had the brains to understand Shy's research. But she would lose herself in the research and forgot the hidden part of the mission. Which was why Trix also wanted to send Brigg. The man was younger than Ghita and maybe not as advanced but he was Lantessaman born and knew more about the fear that niggled in the back of her mind. And he was currently studying ethics, a truly serendipitous choice.
Trix greeted the two scientists and they greeted her back but also looked a bit puzzled as to why they'd been summoned. 
"I'll cut to the chase." Trix said, "I'd like you two to travel to the Vella Crean and study in it's labs."
Ghita's eyes lighted for she had heard talk of the magnitude of research being done in it's vast labs. Brigg looked a bit taken aback.
"Will I be able to continue my classes on earth?" he asked.
"I met two humans when I last went there. They both impressed dragons and will no doubt be able to help both of you travel to and from earth to keep you from having to abandon your lives there. Also, I'd like to promise you that while you're at the Vella Crean I don't expect you to have to keep up with any duties you have here. You're free to visit of course."
"Is there a specific field of study you'd like us to focus on?" Ghita asked.
"You can study what you want. I'd like you to keep an eye on as much as is happening there as you can. Especially things that have to do with the Death Court and any dangerous things Shy might be working on. I'm sending you two because I believe that Ghita will be able to understand most of what's being researched and Brigg because he will know what dangers I'm talking about."
Brigg nodded, indicated he knew full well what she meant. He'd experienced just how bad a war among different dragons could be. Lantessama had been virtually cut off from the rest of the universe for a decade. After communications with the rest of the Nexus had been restored, Brigg had picked up his studies and it had been on one of those runs that Ghita had stumbled upon him being picked up by Saranna. 
"I don't mind moving my studies to the Vella Crean." Ghita responded.
"As long as I can continue studying that works for me." Brigg added.
"I'll see to your introductions and necessary items." Trix nodded, relieved that her first choice people had agreed to take the job.  

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Chapter2: Arrival at The Vella Crean
So it came to be that barely a week later Brigg and Ghita arrived at the Vella Crean. They portaled in over a single large landmass that had been carefully landscaped to have room for housing, entertainment, labs and workplaces. Parks provided green dots in between the buildings and small waterways irrigated them. But what drew the eye are the huge, fortified hatching sands and Shy's labs. Both structures rivalling each other in size and dwarfing everything else. 
"It's amazing!" Brigg yelled at Ghita, only knowing the sky over Lantessama and the small university town.
"I've seen bigger." Ghita boasted but had to admit to herself that it did rival some of the metropolises she visited when she was younger.
The careful planning and crisp outlines told her that this city was planned. Someplace this tidy was certain to have a lot of rules. She wasn't adverse to rules. So much of science was based on rules. But leaving a project to run free always produced interesting results too. 
They landed and were left to their own devices when Draca and Ryuen lifted off again and winked away. But somewhere in those few seconds in the air, Draca must have asked Ryuen to alert someone because a young woman approached them.
"It's my pleasure to meet you." she said with a small curtsy, "My name is Eeny and the Laedrys has asked me to show you around."
"Are you the acquaintance she mentioned?" Brigg asked.
"I guess I am." she answered, "I'll be happy to help you though I must admit I've never been to earth."
"Will you be able to take us there? And at the right time?" Ghita asked, hinting at that magical ability dragons had to deliver them where and when they needed to be.
"I've been told that some of the dragons here can give Salamasinath and Saaliath an idea of where they need to be."
"You have two dragons?" Brigg asked.
"Salamasinath was my first dragon, Saaliath decided to join us at the next hatching when I was a spectator. I believe Salamasinath treats Saaliath as a younger sister or maybe sometimes a little gofer but they get along great." Eeny smiled.
"I didn't know that could happen." Ghita said.
"It's not common but it has happened at Lantessama too. Though mostly with smaller dragons."
Salamasinath certainly isn't small." Eeny laughed, "But she's very pretty."
"I'd like to meet her." Ghita said.
"You will, but not right now. First I'll take you to your quarters and then show you around the labs. I don't know much of what happens there but I at least know the layout a bit and someone there will take over."
"I can't wait." Ghita confessed.
"Thank you." Brigg added.

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Chapter3: Meeting New People
The short commute from the living quarters to the labs once more showed them how much people were around and working. Eeny at times pointed someone out that she knew but just as many times she had to confess to not knowing the people they saw. One time however, she did mention:
"Oh, that's one of the projects."
Ghita and Brigg looked puzzled at the young girl who'd yet to tell them she'd once been a princess. 
"You see how he has golden eyes? That means he's a creation from Shy. They're called "projects" and are usually very good at what they do."
"He makes people?" Brigg asked.
"People make other people all the time." Eeny answered plainly, "Though his way is admittedly a bit different."
"To say the least." Ghita acknowledged, "But very interesting."
"Do you think we could talk to them?" Brigg asked.
"Sure, why not? They're just like people. But if they're busy they won't have time."
"Peculiar." Brigg noticed.
"Culture shock all over." Ghita added, remembering her first days on Lantessama Isle, far away from modern technology.
Eeny stopped in front of a large building and said: "This is the entrance to the labs. I'll lead you to the reception and wait until someone comes for you. It won't take long."
It did take slightly longer than Eeny had hoped and she was a bit fidgety when finally a young man with shaggy blond hair and a lab coat appeared.
"Finally!" she said, "Thank you for coming to give these guests a tour."
The young man seemed to want to protest but then relented. Tegrid, as the young man introduced himself, was not a very important man in the hierarchy of the labs, but he did get around. No-one would miss him if he gave a tour and the work would certainly be more pleasant then other errands people might give him.
So Tegrid started a tour and efficiently told them how the building and labs were divided, where they needed to go to find certain people and which scientists they would need to humour and which to avoid. Shy was on top of both lists though Tegrid didn't blatantly state it. He was a young scientists but had worked at these lab for 5 years, listening and watching what was going on around him. He wasn't allowed to do much but that just gave him time to see what went wrong and what went right. 
"My field of study is chemistry though I'm very interested in the Biology of dragons too."
"I'm currently studying philosophy and ethics." Brigg added.
Tegrid gave the man a puzzled look, "I don't think we have a lab here for that. Chemistry and Biology labs there are aplenty."
"I don't need a lab, I'll just be talking to people, thought exercises, you know."
"Oh, like an inspirational meeting." Tegrid concluded.
"Something similar I reckon."
"We have plenty of smaller rooms for meetings and planning. Those would probably where you'd like to be."
Tegrid concluded the tour and felt happy that he had been able to help the two new arrivals. And who knew, maybe if he saw them in the future he'd be able to talk some more about their world and some of their impressions and inspiration. 

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Chapter4: A Proposition
Several weeks later, Tegrid bumped back into Ghita and Brigg. In the time since they'd started working, Ghita had found a few scientists that had allowed her to help in their labs and she'd picked up several new techniques that would baffle the scientists on earth, but at the same time she'd added a few to the present scientists and felt confident that she'd been a help. At the same time, Brigg had talked to over two thirds of the scientists and though most seemed to be decent humans, some of them had questionable practices to say the least. He was wondering how to approach the projects and other artificial entities. Would they get human rights or was their inherent origin something that barred them from such treatment? It wasn't an easy matter and something he'd loved to talk about with others. But turning to human scientists from earth was not a possibility, they'd think he was talking science fiction. Which left talking to scientists here but they didn't seem to be all that inclined to humour him. 
"Oh Tegrid!" Brigg said as he rounded the corner and bumped into the young scientist, "Maybe you can help me!"
Several hours of talking later they both hadn't gotten much further on the matter when Ghita joined them after a long day over a microscope.
"I'd like to get a closer look at dragons." she sighed, "But they always seem to be busy."
"They are fighting a war." Tegrid noted.
But the young scientist was someone who wanted to please, who wanted to solve problems. So he quickly arranged his thoughts and looked at likely scenarios until he found one that seemed perfect.
"How about you attend a hatching? There's one coming up and they're free to go see. Afterwards there's a celebration and everyone can get close to the new dragons. I reckon you could observe them. And who knows, maybe some would not mind parting with a little sample?"
"Can we?" Ghita asked.
"I don't think we should take samples from babies...." Brigg cautioned.
"As long as they agree it should be fine. I'm not going to hurt them!" Ghita insisted.
"It might be easier if I come with you." Tegrid added. 

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[STORY] _-°-_ [GHITA] _._ [BRIGG] _._ [TEGRID]

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Lantessama Isle
Background found at Eos Backgrounds