Page 202 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

trip. Some ships could be seen in the deep scans, skirting the edge of the falls, the Kryst Captain
assured her that the ships were equipped with levitators just in case.

The meeting with the Kryst High Council went pretty much as expected. The usual pomp and
circumstance; followed by an in depth study of Kryst culture etc. The Kryst Archive was a revelation.
Krysta fended off the diplomats while the others found out all they could about the origins of the
Kryst, what they knew of the Curators and Hubris made a surprise discovery about the puzzle box
and the colonists that left it on that remote outpost. It would not be known then; but later the
findings would spark yet another journey, this time to the depths of intergalactic space to the edge
of the third galaxy. During the time spent with the Kryst on Kandahar; Vidal grew close to one of the
Kryst Biologists. Veena Turus was unusual among the Kryst; since birth and being a child, she had
been marked as a sufferer of a hereditary disease. Though not harmful; it left the victim easily
identifiable. Its outward sign was paleness to areas of the skin around the head; midriff and lower
limbs. The sufferer also had eyes of different colours. The Kryst eyes appeared to be compound ones
like insects, but that was down to the multiple lensed corneas. Nictitating membranes did a similar
job to eyelids and were similar to those found on the Flutvarn. She also had a vestigial set of wings;
long ago in the past the Kryst ancestral form must have had them. They hung useless from her
shoulders. Her kind was rare and usually only occurred once in a thousand generations. She on her
part had taken a remarkable interest in the Shardvolk anatomy. The Kryst had only ever seen history
files left by some other races of Marsupials. The Shardvolk were similar in many respects and she
was curious as to their reproduction methods.

Vidal like most Shardvolk; was open and honest about all aspects of his species. Unlike most
other races that have taboos about nakedness; the Shardvolk often went unclothed in public, usually
to the embarrassment of visiting races that were more reticent. During a physical examination
Veena had brushed some sensitive hairs by Vidal’s vestigial tail and had triggered an arousal
response. He thought nothing of it but she had reacted with a mixture of shock; surprise and
embarrassment. He managed to reassure her that it was not uncommon among males of his kind to
have such sensitive spots on their bodies. But it had led to a fascination on her part that later
resulted in them getting intimate. Others had noticed how close they were becoming and were
worried it could lead to some scandal.

“You are mistaken Krysta” Hivlar said to her “We are a tolerant society, species interrelations do
happen and our society has overcome the dogmas and inhibitions of the past. It’s extremely unlikely
that any union would result in offspring if that is what you’re worried about” she assured Krysta. The
Veklaar was preparing to rendezvous with a Terran sloop of the Royal House of Thelexis. The prince
regent was to be the principal Unity Council member to accept Kandahar and the Kryst into the
Unity, The Voodon also. The Sloop Jean Bee; was to depart for another dignitary from Unthar and
return to the meeting with them. The two dignitaries would also depart on the vessel with the
signed documents of inclusion.

“I have talked with the Keterian Council and they would very much like a delegation of the Kryst to
visit them as soon as it is feasible. Apparently some interesting discoveries on Shust have shed some

new light on the origins of the Kryst and the Voodon. Atlantis
it appears was home to a colony of a race descended from
your races joint ancestor. It is hoped your people could shed
some light on some of the discoveries” Krysta told Hivlar and
Jovhar. Fenrir squealed and said “Why don’t you two head an
expedition?” he said as he played with some Kryst currency.
One of the coins rolled to Krysta’s foot. She picked it up and
examined the strange light metal coin. It was pale greyish
silver with symbols on one side and some image of a vista on