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[Vorthon]

"50 million years is plenty of time to colonize the galaxy, even with STL technologies. And We've at for only about 150 years. Helps that we torikan breed like rabbits, to borrow a human phrase, though. And that we've managed to stretch life almost indefinetly with nanotech augmentations and mind backups. And yeah, let's just head downtown."

[Taricus]

*gets into the tank*

"hop in, It'll be faster than walking"

[Vorthon]

*Hops in*

"You sure driving a tank in the middle of a settlement is the best way to make contact with the CSE at large?"

((Dropping Nysa until I find a way to re-intergrate her.))

[Taricus]

"I'll just drive it to the outskirts then we'll walk"

[Vorthon]

"Oh, okay then."
-Fast-forward to them arriving at the outskirts of the settlement.-

*Clambers out.*

"This is gonna be awesome!"

[Taricus]

*Gets out*

"I agree"

[Vorthon]

*Starts walking into the settlement.*

*Passes by a shop with a sign in something some bizzare alien language, as well as a smaller sign which cycles through various alien languages as well as terrestrial ones. When it gets to english, it says 'Zera Nak Nuaexip Folkart'*

"Heh, I've always been a sucker for Nuaexip^ stuff. And Zera Nak's their homeworld, so all Nuaexip cultures can be traced back there. Let's go inside."

*The interior is dimly lit, and a number of alien creatures can be seen wandering about. The apparent owner of the shop is a hexapodal furred thing with two pairs of eyes, one set large and complex and the other small and simple. It uses its front feet as hands to use a computer terminal. It repeatedly dislocates its jaw, popping it in and out of its sockets without causing itself obvious discomfort; it appears to be a nervous behaviour, similiar to finger drumming or leg-shaking in humans.*

*Walks up to the Nuaexip and starts talking to it in a language of rapid click and grunts and sliding notes and whistles.*

^((Pronounced "Nu'ae'xzip" with a descending tone on the Nu and pronouncing the xzip as short, quick sound.))

[Taricus]

*Looks at a painting*

"well this looks interesting"

[Vorthon]

*Walks back over to Taricus*

"Huh Looks like a depiction of the floodplains on Zera Nak. The Nuaexip evolved on scavengers on those floodplains, so they've got, as you've seen, dislocatable jaws, so they could eat-and-run, so to speak. Also: If you see any Nuaexip foodstuffs for sale, don't buy it unless you enjoy arsenic poisoning."

*Wanders over to a collection of three large spheres, sitting in stainless steel holders, with the largest sphere more than twice the size of the others, which are roughly even in size. The largest is carved from a unusually chunk of green jade, with an ocean of lapis lazuli, and  polar caps made of moonstone. The larger of the two smaller spheres is made from carnelian, and is covered in craters and ridges. The smallest spheres is made from sodalite, also covered in craters in ridges. The largest sphere is roughly three feet seven across; the middle-sized one is one foot six inches across; and the smallest sphere is one foot five inches across*

"Hey, Taricus!" Vorthon calls, "Come check this out! It's a gemstone representation of Zera Nak and its two moons!"

[Taricus]

*Checks out the spheres*

"Wow, look at the craftsmanship on those, It's absolutely amazing"

[Vorthon]

*Starts talking to the shopkeeper again.*

*Hands over a card, which the shopkeeper takes over to the computer terminal and holds it up to a scanner. The shopkeeper then brings the card back and hands it to me.*

*Turns to Taricus.*

"Couldn't helping buying 'em. I've rented a hover-pallet to take them back to the... transporation. Give me a hand getting them onto it.."

*The shopkeeper brings over a floating platform, and I lug the largest of the spheres onto it and take hold of the handlebar.*

[Taricus]

*Carefully Places the smaller Spheres on the pallet*

"Alright, thats done"

[Vorthon]

*Hurries to the tank and puts the sphere inside.*

*Hurries back.*

"Okay, let's go see if we can find a Torikan food market..."

[Taricus]

"Ooohh, this should be good"

[Vorthon]

"You bet."

*Heads down the street a bit.*

"Here's one!"

*Ducks inside.*

*The market is fairly open, with tall, wide windows to let in lots of natural light. There are open crates of strange fruits and vegetables in rows on low tables, and at the back can be seen something like a deli in a terrestrial supermarket. There a baskets in a stick near the front, and a male torikan, ferret variety, standing behind the cash.*

"Y'see, Taricus, even though we Torikan were originally artificial, we adopted and adapted portions of human cultures, and we love fresh produce. Proccessed algae and mineral supplements may be enough to keep you alive, but it's bland. And since our adopted homeworld is terraformed, everything here is genetically engineered from some form of earth life."

*Heads to the deli at the back.*

"Here's an example of where we took the genetic engineering beyond what was neccessary." *Holds up a piece of what looks like pale-green beef jerky.* "This is from a species which we engineered to blend animal and plant traits. When food becomes scarce, it switches to photosynthesis. It's a flier, and if I'm right, this is most likely a piece of wing membrane."

*Gets about a pound of the plantimal^ jerky. Heads over to the produce section and gets half a pound of pale yellow-brown leaves.*

"Pavannon. Full of caffeine. Doesn't taste bitter, though. It actually tastes like honey and lemon."

^((Just a place-holder name))