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Rediscovery, Chapter Four: Conjugation
Posted By: Smackblasta<Natemeep@aol.com>
Date: 24 February 2006, 6:35 am
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The digging effort had slowed to almost a complete halt. After finding the Golo, Arla' had issued orders that all personnel go out in groups of no less than ten, and that only the digsite closest to camp would remain active.
There was a thundering rumble as Goro'tesh and Raso'tesh teamed their efforts to drag away the debris blocking a building entrance. The mass of rubble had to weigh nearly a full Mx-unit, and Arla' couldn't help but hope that her precautions had been enough.
She glanced over her shoulder, hearing footsteps behind her, and nodded to the armed Sangheili there. Tase' Krazelee was in charge of the security detail, and she was glad to see him taking the job seriously. He nodded in return, sparing a glance at the bond pair. "We've finished setting up the defensive perimeters. Non-lethal, as you requested."
She let out a breath in relief. "That was faster than I expected."
"Contrary to popular belief, my security teams can work well when the situation is serious," Tase' replied, "and there isn't much I can think of that's more serious than the possibility of rampaging Lek'Golo."
Arla' shuddered, despite the fact that the noonday temperature was well over thirty units. Despite their seemingly calm facade, the Lek'Golo that actively participated in the affairs of the Consolidation worked very hard to keep their instincts in check. They tended to react violently to things that upset them, and one of the things that definately upset Lek'Golo was the unfamiliar. But then, it wasn't their Lek'Golo she was worried about.
Kihkil was more than happy with the reports in front of him. A full week's work and the derelict vessel had been completely explored, and the crew of the Tekkil's Edge was enthusiastically working through the ship's innards. His communicator beeped, and he tapped it immediately. "Supervisor Kihkil."
The Sangheili on the other side sounded quite pleased. "Supervisor, we've completed documentation of the alien ship's crew. The data will be coming over shortly, it will complement what was in the previous report."
"Excellent news, Monitor. Tell your teams that they're to shuttle back over for some recreation, they've been working almost non-stop for the past four days."
There was a pause as the exploration monitor conferred with his assistants. "We appreciate the thought, Director, but the general consensus is that we don't need the time off. They'd like to continue working."
Kihkil chuckled. "I'm glad to hear they're keen to finish, but do remind them that the ship has been orbiting this planet for thousands of years, at least. A night's relaxation won't make a difference. But, I'll leave the decision to you. Kikhil out."
He looked back down to his datapad, opening the new file. The vessel was populated by three different species. Of the smaller creatures, there were two kinds: the bird-like bipedals, standing under 3 D-units tall, and six-legged insectoids, measuring around 2 D-units tall. The larger simian creatures measure 4 D-units on average.
The majority of the bodies had been found in the communal chambers of the vessel. The bridge was mainly occupied by the simian creatures, while the smaller creatures were mainly in the other rooms. Judging by the layout of the bodies, they had apparently been massed together for some form of meeting when whatever killed them all happened. In each room, the creatures were found in ranks, and from the positioning of the bodies it is assumed that they were practicing some form of prayer ritual, for to be in the positions we found them, they would have needed to be kneeling when they died.
Kikhil tapped his mask in thought. There was the possibility that it was a ritualistic mass suicide, but that didn't explain the creatures that had been found in the hallways. They had obviously been on patrol, and guards wouldn't be needed if they had meant to die. He hopped off his stool, planning on stopping by the galley before continuing his reading.
The main camp was in chaos. A Tg-unit ago, the motion sensors had detected something closing in, and before anyone reacted, the feral Lek'Golo had barrelled through the perimeter, breaking through the hastily erected barriers like they were made of glass.
Arla' hopped out of the hover-transport, signaling the driver to open the loading door. She took a quick look around, seeing that all the noncombat personnel had taken cover. Her eyes fell on the rampaging Lek'Golo and her face went pale. The creature was gigantic, its sand-covered body nearly twice as massive as any other Lek'Golo she'd ever seen. Two of the more athletic Sangheili in the security detail were keeping it distracted in a dangerous parody of a game of tag while two more were dragging a fifth away from the scene.
She heard a series of heavy thumps behind her, and she whirled around to see Goro'tesh charging across the sands, his heavy robes spreading out behind him in the wind. Without hesitation he barrelled into the other Lek'Golo, driving it back several steps before it was able to regain its balance.
For a moment the creature seemed taken aback, staring down at the hooded and cloaked figure that had managed to push it backwards, then it wrapped both arms around the interloper. Arla' gasped as the thing picked Goro'tesh up off the ground like a child before throwing him to the side. Goro'tesh landed in a heap a dozen D-units away, and the raging beast focused on the next thing in it's line of sight.
It was looking at her.
Work on the alien ship had continued with the same fervor as before. EVA teams had secured docking clamps onto the ship's purple hull, and the Tekkil's Edge was maneuvering to dock with the ancient craft. The ship, found to be named the Pious Templar, was over three times the mass of the Tekkil's Edge, but Cras' wasn't worried. His ship was well designed, and he was confident that the engines would be able to handle the extra mass.
He turned as Kihkil waddled into the bridge, and nodded in greeting. "Supervisor, maneuvers are under way, we should be hard-docked with the Pious Templar by the end of the Tx."
"Excellent news, Captain. Once we're secure, we set course for Sangheilus Secundus, yes?" The old scientist's voice was higher than usual in his excitement.
"As we decided, Supervisor. Considering the extra load, the slipspace trip will probably take seven days, less than that if the Slipflow our sensors detected merges with one leading home. Even adding in the time to finish securing the hard-dock, we'll be back at Sangheilus Secundus by the end of the week. Ten days, Supervisor." Cras' watched as Kihkil shuffled from one foot to the other in his impatience to be off, and smiled at the diminutive Unggoy. "Once the docking maneuvers are completed, I'll join you in your quarters and we can toast to our success."
Kihkil bobbed his head in agreement. "I've a special brew I've been saving for something like this. It was bottled the year I recieved my first Mastery. It should have aged quite nicely these past fifty years."
She took a step back as the creature started moving for her. It built up speed with frightening alacrity, and Arla' could feel the ground jump with each footstep. As it closed in, raising one of it's massive fists, a memory flashed before her eyes.
Her parents had let her stay with Arne's family while they were away on a business trip. The two children were playing in the yard while Arne's mother prepared lunch. He was sputtering as he climbed out of the pool, she having just pushed him in. She backed away laughing, as he stood up dripping wet. He charged toward her, intent on grabbing her and tossing her in. She had a flash of insight, and just as he was too close to change direction, she...
...dived between it's legs, rolling onto her feet and running in a single smooth move. The creature broke stride, staring at it's feet in confusion. After a few moments, she glanced over her shoulder to see the thing finally look around and spot her. She kept backpedalling away from it when suddenly a giant hand clamped down on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was tossed lightly to the side, skidding several D-units across the sand. When she looked up, she saw Goro'tesh, his hood down to expose his head, staring down the other Lek'Golo from ten paces away. She saw the larger one tense up and stand perfectly still. There was no sound in the camp as all eyes were on the pair of creatures.
After what seemed like ages, the other Lek'Golo relaxed, cocking its head to the side. It promptly sat down on the sand, seeming to fold in on itself, and Goro'tesh walked over to her as he pulled his hood back over his head. He pulled out his translator. "We were able to explain our presence here well enough to satisfy him for the moment. His mind is full of rage, instinct, as the Lek'Golo here never have had to learn to interact with other races. He wants to know more of us, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. Why we are all here, what we are doing, what you are. In return, he will tell us of his history."
She took a moment to let her thoughts catch up with her. "How long will that take? That's a lot of things to explain."
Goro'tesh didn't respond for a moment, but something about the way he stood there made Arla' think he was laughing. "It will not take very much time at all, Supervisor Arla' Selethas. He demands that we Conjugate so that nothing is left out, either intentionally or by accident."
The two Lek'Golo stood five units apart outside of the camp, Goro'tesh in his brown robes, the other one covered in the sands of the desert. Arla' stood at the edge of camp, watching, and remembering the things she had learned of the Lek'Golo in her biology classes. The Lek'Golo are an aggregate being, made of a colony of individual worm-like creatures called 'Golo'. A Lek'Golo forms when enough Golo are present in an area to meet a requirement number, which actually changes depending on the individual worms in the area. The creatures bind themselves together, superficially linking their physical structures and nervous systems. The innate telepathic affinity that Golo have for each other allows the Golo that form an entire colony to merge their thoughts, forming a single mind-pattern that governs the actions of the Lek'Golo itself. More than anything else, the Lek'Golo are aware of their many-as-one form, and each Lek'Golo refers to himself in the plural form.
All Lek'Golo refer to themselves as male, while research has shown that each individual Golo is a hermaphrodite. Lek'Golo reproduce internally, as their individual Golo each have their own variant DNA structure, as much as any other species will. The individual Golo that make up a Lek'Golo undergo sexual reproduction with each other, and the resulting offspring are either included into the Lek'Golo or dropped off to survive on their own, depending on the circumstances.
In a way that stands out completely from any other species discovered, the Lek'Golo structure allows for the exchange of DNA between two mature Lek'Golo as well. The Lek'Golo refer to this procedure as Conjugation, named as such because of the resemblence to Bacterial Conjugation, the exchange of non-chromosomal DNA between bacteria. To perform Conjugation, each Lek'Golo selects one of its internal Golo, and releases it from the colony, trading the Golo with the other Lek'Golo. The received Golo are then incorporated into the Lek'Golo, providing fresh DNA from an outside source. Because of the fact that each Golo does have a complete, if rudimentary, nervous system, information in the form of memories can also be exchanged.
As she watched, the larger Lek'Golo stretched forth an arm, and a D-unit long worm detached itself from the arm, dropping off to land heavily on the sand. Goro'tesh did the same, a slightly smaller Golo crawling out of the sleeve of his robe and flopping to the ground. Each worm crawled forward for its new 'host', and the two Lek'Golo bent down to retrieve them. The worms merged flawlessly into their bodies, and the two Lek'Golo bowed once at the waist. They paused for a moment, and then Goro'tesh walked toward the camp, while the other Lek'Golo turned and left for the untamed desert sands.
Goro'tesh stopped in front of her. "Supervisor Arla' Selethas, Tono'fass sends his greetings and farewell, and hopes that we find what we came here to look for." He paused for a moment. "His memories seem to point to several of the buildings in the city being important. The memories are old, passed down from many generations. He is no longer the same Lek'Golo that witnessed those things, but he still knows where they are. If you will show us a map of the city, we will tell you where to concentrate your efforts." Goro'tesh bowed and went further into camp.
Arla' watched him as he moved, noticing that his gait seemed more sure-footed in the shifting desert sands.
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