The Outer Moon (A Sapphic Sci Fi Adventure)

Chapter 25

A/N - As the humans have now learned the Antuhsas language, all conversations are now held in that language so there will no longer be any [ ]

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Pepper stood in front of the rest of the team that had gone to meet the Antuhsas while they met in the main cabin of their ship. She still wasn't sure what everyone else would think, but she had an idea of what the best course would be. But at the same time, this wasn't just her decision, as she wasn't a dictator.

"So, obviously we need to talk about the Antuhsas, and our next step with them. Based on what we found and having talks with Ohavi and examining what they call the ancient texts, I can make a good guess as to what happened. It seems obvious that the colony ships that we found around Uranus were the primary method that the Antuhsas were using to continue their species, and this was the backup." Everyone was nodding along with them, either in agreement or understanding. "It looks like they kept two dozen young Antuhsas in some sort of a cryofreeze chambers, along with two older ones that were probably supposed to be their mentors when they woke up. Sometime after that was set up, there was damage to the facility that resulted in the older Antuhsas' capsules being damaged and them dying, and a loss of power to the computer. Is everyone on board with that?"

"That makes sense to me," Miles replied quickly. "Having a backup plan would be prudent when an entire race is at stake."

"Agreed," said Viv. "It probably would have worked perfectly if not for the damage."

Pepper breathed out a big gust, and Vanessa reached over, grabbing her hand. "So, the capsules opened about twenty generations ago according to Ohavi. With no access to the technology that was supposed to be there for them, they were on their own when it came to rebuilding their civilization. They've done pretty well for themselves, all things considered. We also got very lucky. I think the mosaic that was on the wall used to have more, warning the Antuhsas against the return of people in our ships. Instead, they were looking for us to bring them gifts."

"We have to take advantage of that," Emma suggested. "The Greeks, or whatever we call them, obviously screwed them over. We have a chance to help them and make sure that they understand that we're not the same."

"Agreed," Vanessa said. "That is what we were thinking. But we also have to be open about the past, so they don't think we're lying to them if that comes to light."

"I think that is what we do," agreed Pepper. "We have the memory sticks that their ancestors left for them to start their society over, plus we have thousands more that we've collected from their colony ship. I was originally thinking we might watch them, but I think it would be better off doing that with them, so we can experience it together."

Aubree, the social anthropologist stood up at that, and smiled. "The Antuhsas have no warrior tradition at the moment. They've never had a war and have no enemies other than a creature like an ocelot, but with bigger jaws and teeth. They have done nothing but live off the land since they came out of the capsules. Regardless of what their history shows, the fact that they were in a war with humans is going to be a shock to them. I do think that they'll trust us though, but we should be prepared for them to be upset. For the initial viewing, I would suggest limiting it to their council and perhaps twenty others so that we can get a feel for their reaction. Then they can prepare the others for a larger viewing"

Pepper nodded at the wisdom of that. "Excellent idea. We don't need to upset the entire tribe at once. A smaller release will allow them to support each other when the second viewing happens. Anyone else?"