Caveship

8 || Moods

"That was the craziest thing I've ever seen," Sophia says, finally settling into one of the unclaimed bedrolls laid inside the ship's bridge. She looks over at Nicholas, who is entering the room holding a metal crate. "How did you even do that?"

"Honestly? No idea. I just knew I needed to buy you guys some time. Next thing I knew, I had a cannon." Nicholas puts the metal crate down and holds up the arm equipped with the silver bracelet. He pokes and squeezes at it, but the only reaction from it is to reform back into its original shape once the pressure is removed. "It felt like my hand was burning. Thought I was going to lose it at one point. But it just built whatever that thing was." His hand doesn't seem to have taken any damage in spite of his claim.

Overhearing the conversation from the hallway, Tah-Kuell enters the bridge room, hands clutching one of the boxes they'd brought with them from the planet. "I know exactly what it is."

Nicholas and Sophia both look at him with eyebrows raised. "You do?"

"Yes. Those things are actually quite common in the galaxy." Tah-Kuell sets the box down and turns to them. "They're called omnitools. But the kind you have, I've never seen one quite like it. Where did you find it?"

Right behind him, Ava begrudgingly carries another box, larger and clearly heavier, just by the heavy *thud* it makes when she carelessly drops it near their bedroll setup. Sophia chuckles when she sees her struggle a bit, clearly amused.

"In a metal container aboard the ship," Nicholas says. "There might be more, but we sort of had a panic attack after we realized we couldn't remove them."

"Well, omnitools are normally very expensive, and even then, they don't usually create weaponry." Tah-Kuell says, reaching out to gently take Nicholas's arm to press and prod at the bracelet on his wrist. "This is different. Looks like very, very ancient technology."

"Our bracelet things?" Sarah inquires, stepping into the room with another metal crate, watching as the alien experiments with the bracelet. Though it's clear that in spite of his various attempts, Tah-Kuell can't figure out how to get it to activate.

Tah-Kuell offers a quick nod, slowly moving to sit down, pulling the box he'd carried inside closer so he can press two buttons on each of its sides. The top of the box opens with a soft hiss, revealing the bounty inside: several gently pulsating green fruit.

"From time to time, people out in the galaxy discover ancient artifacts. Some of them are so extraordinary in comparison to the things we already have, that they help jumpstart the technological level of a species by many generations."

Darius's approaching footsteps causes Tah-Kuell to pause his excited explanation, and the teenager appears, carrying the largest box yet. He sets it down near the door and reaches an arm up to wipe the sweat from his brow. "What're we talking about?"

"Your omnitools are very advanced." Tah-Kuell responds. "From how it formed that weapon on Nicholas's arm, it must be made of some living nanotech metal. If we had a laboratory, I would study them some more."

All four of the teens look down at their wrists, but only Ava lingers. The rest return their eyes back to Tah-Kuell. "They also seem to activate only when you're in danger." He pulls one of the fruit from his metal box, then takes a bite out of it. "Even to the point where it can create sonic weaponry. No one's figured out how to do that sort of thing yet."

"And here I thought they just looked pretty," Ava says, folding her arms beneath her breasts. Just judging by the look on her face, she seems annoyed, maybe even a little bit bored. "How do we get them off?"

"I'm not sure you can," Tah-Kuell responds. "They seem to be attached to your wrists very tightly. Like some sort of biometric seal. The only way to sever the connection would be to... amputate."