It was another normal day on the Othermoons colony, and Blip was in the lab, looking at yet another cave crystal under a microscope. With the colony larger and busier, she was finding that she was much more content. Perhaps a lot of her earlier anxiety had to do with feeling lonesome, or with concerns about raw survival without a community in this somewhat hostile and inhospitable part of the planet. These days, their relative isolation wasn't so bad. There were helping hands now, the facilities were being slowly expanded and improved, and of course, with so many young ones the Vicham's tendencies to mother hen everyone in sight were getting a healthier outlet. Rashi had even gone out with Soey and installed some strategic handles and bars onto the rock walls of gnarlier trails they regularly traversed, making it a lot more comfortable and a measure less dangerous.

They'd expanded their base into the caves, so their facility was now largely built into the mountain, taking advantage of natural caves wherever possible, and with several outlets directly to the shore and the sea itself, giving them easier access to the waters for research and so Gwendolyn was more comfortable. Blip was in one of these deeper ocean-adjacent caverns with Gwendolyn, Rashi, Taiah, Mateo, and Davus, doing some pH and other readings on the water to plan for the day's tasks, when suddenly, Taiah startled and then sat hard onto the sand, holding her head in her hands. Those who saw this were already approaching to check on her, but when she burst into frantic tears everyone in the group hastily surrounded her in alarm. Blip grabbed her vital scanner and started checking her health signals immediately. Taiah was balled up, crying, and not responding to anybody.

Mateo thought quickly. "Davus, you're the fastest, go get Temar!" His brother nodded and dashed away to grab their third brother, who was Taiah's best friend. In roughly five minutes Davus returned with Temar in tow, and Temar pushed right through the ring of fussing onlookers and gently but firmly pried open the ball that was Taiah. He more or less sat on her, squirming his way across her chest so he could hug her front tightly. The adults were a little surprised, having never seen this before, but Taiah and the boys, and particularly just Taiah and Temar, had done a lot of "solo camping missions" which were essentially backyard sleepovers, and the belemoid was used to his friend's night terrors. Today, she was having one during the day.

Everyone else backed off a bit, waiting tensely, but less panicked than before now that the reader showed her vitals were fine and Temar seemed to know what was happening. Within a minute or two, the choking and gasping subsided and Taiah was sitting up, still clutching tight to Temar, who had neither loosened his own grip nor spoken while she cried. They rested there a moment, seeming to synch their breathing, with Taiah's respiration slowing until it matched her friend's. At last, she opened her eyes.

"Temar," she said in a voice that was eerily subdued, haunted. "Temar… I remember."

"The dreams?" he asked gently, in a voice much more sober than the adults had ever heard him use. She nodded.

"They're not just dreams," she said. "It's memories. It's where I come from. It's bad… OH GLEEBLES I GOTTA GO, I FORGOT, I LEFT THEM THERE-!" Scrambling up, Taiah frantically turned, about to dash into the cave system, when Rashi firmly grasped her by the shoulder.

"Hey Sport, easy there," Rashi said jovially, and Blip was impressed at her ability to retain normalcy toward the youngster with the latter so visibly distressed. "What have I said about rushing in blind? You gotta plan first, hm?"

Taiah paused, but then nodded, losing her wild look, but not at all her haunted look. "You gotta help me Rashi, you just gotta, they're in there, they-"

"Hey." The adult tsabhua took the youngster by both shoulders, looking directly into her face. "We're going to help. I promise. You're not alone. Okay? Now why don't you sit with us, right here and now, so you don't fall down again, and tell me what you know. Yeah?"

Rashi and Blip sat down with Taiah and the boys, when Gwendolyn came up with Soey. Nobody had noticed her rush to go get her, but Rashi nodded at them and gestured with her head that they should also come have a seat. They did this in silence, and everybody listened as Taiah told her tale.

"When you found me in the hole," Taiah started, nodding toward Rashi, "I didn't remember anymore. I got there from the water. I swam and I swam… I think I fell further under the water. I thought I was going to drown, but instead I woke up in the cave. I don't know why it made me forget what happened, forget all my friends-"

"It was probably from shock," said Blip gently. "You didn't do it on purpose. Just tell us what happened."

The little tsabhua gulped and continued. "I didn't come from no other colony like you thought. I escaped. It wasn't just me, there was lots of us, all kids, in a cage together. I think there were lots of other cages in other rooms and stuff. But there was us in a cage together and they said we were group 9XT-2, it was on our cage and everything." She started to tremble, just a little. Blip reached out a hand, but Rashi stopped her, with a small shake of her head.

As Taiah continued, her speech started to get more rough, similar to when she first joined them. "We didn't see them a lot, the Bads. They usually just talked through a radio on the wall, or had robots, or if they had to do something themselves they were wearing a lots of safety stuff and we couldn't see them very good, it was like they weren't real, sort of. We wished they weren't real. They didn't never let us do anything, and they weren't ever nice, and we was hungry a lot, and mostly by ourselves, and they would give us a lot and a lot of shots and the shots sometimes hurt and sometimes made us really sick. One of my friends got a shot and got so sick they took her away, and we didn't never see her again after that, and I don't know-" she whimpered, and this time Rashi squeezed Blip's hand VERY firmly.

Taiah didn't seem to notice. She was back in the caves. "We thought maybe we could get out. That if just one of us did, we could find a way to open the cages and maybe get away from the Bads and live somewhere else and not get shots and not get yelled at, and do what we want and stuff. I guess not everybody was born there? I'm not sure. But sometimes one of us would talk about a time when they got nicer stuff to eat, or didn't get no shots, or someone was nice to them and didn't wear stuff to touch you. Usually someone with a name. We didn't all have one. Some of us made up our own, though. Anyway! Yeah. We dug a hole. It was really hard because there was cameras and stuff, but we managed it, because they didn't watch us so much in the waste corner you know? But, but only one of us could get out. I was the smallest one with paws or hands, so it was me what had to do it. Burn coulda got through the hole because he was long and skinny but he didn't have any hands, we was scared he wouldn't be able to get the doors open maybe, without them. We were gonna have him come with me, so we'd both be out and could help each other, but before he could get in the hole the alarm started going and I had to run. I don't know if he made it out too."

"I ran and there was a lot of sounds, and I didn't know where I was s'posed to go. They only ever took us out of the cage to do lots of tests, we had to solve puzzles and run in mazes and stuff. It wasn't even fun ones. It was pretty boring. I think probably one of the Bads or a robot woulda got me, but I wasn't looking where I was running and I fell in a hole. I think it was where the trash goes? I dunno but I fell and it landed me in a tunnel. And I ran, and I found another little hole and I got in, and dug until I got out, and I did that a bunch of times until there wasn't no more noises and I couldn't smell anything bad and there wasn't any words on the wall or places where there was blood-" this time it was Soey who gasped audibly. The other children, remarkably, took in the story in stoic silence. It seems the trio of brothers had known for a while that Taiah was afraid of something big she couldn't name, but apparently, she'd sworn them to secrecy. The feisty tsabhua's reluctance to trust strange adults was making a lot more sense now.

"The last hole I went in went into a tunnel where there was a lot of water. I followed it. I wanted to get out of where it was a hole and find somewhere where there was light- Foggy told me that if you follow water it goes outside, to a place where there's light without having a lamp or a fire. Then I found somewhere the water was too deep to walk in, but… I saw a light, and I thought maybe I could swim until I got there. I tried a couple times and had to swim back again so I could breathe, but I was always closer. So I took the biggest breath of all time, and then I went one more time. And I swam and I swam. And then I don't remember. And then I woke up in the cave. And I was lost. I couldn't remember where I was supposed to go or how I got there. And then Rashi pulled me out of the hole."

For the first time since she began her tale, Taiah looked up, directly into Blip's face. "I don't know if they're even still down in there. I don't know if we'll maybe all die if we go there. But Mama, I promised I'd find a way to get them out, and I gotta go try!"

Blip got to her feet, at eye level with Taiah as she sat up. Trembling in every limb, the Vicham hugged Taiah as hard as she could. The enormity of her trust, of what she had just asked, of everything she'd been through…

"I promise you, that from now until we have rescued all your friends, this colony has got NO other priorities." Blip said.

Total Wordcount: 1867
1 to 200
It was another normal day on the Othermoons colony, and Blip was in the lab, looking at yet another cave crystal under a microscope. With the colony larger and busier, she was finding that she was much more content. Perhaps a lot of her earlier anxiety had to do with feeling lonesome, or with concerns about raw survival without a community in this somewhat hostile and inhospitable part of the planet. These days, their relative isolation wasn't so bad. There were helping hands now, the facilities were being slowly expanded and improved, and of course, with so many young ones the Vicham's tendencies to mother hen everyone in sight were getting a healthier outlet. Rashi had even gone out with Soey and installed some strategic handles and bars onto the rock walls of gnarlier trails they regularly traversed, making it a lot more comfortable and a measure less dangerous. They'd expanded their base into the caves, so their facility was now largely built into the mountain, taking advantage of natural caves wherever possible, and with several outlets directly to the shore and the sea itself, giving them easier access to the waters for research and so Gwendolyn was more comfortable.
Mention Counter
Rashi: 1 mentions
Gwendolyn: 1 mentions
Soey: 1 mentions

201 to 400
Blip was in one of these deeper ocean-adjacent caverns with Gwendolyn, Rashi, Taiah, Mateo, and Davus, doing some pH and other readings on the water to plan for the day's tasks, when suddenly, Taiah startled and then sat hard onto the sand, holding her head in her hands. Those who saw this were already approaching to check on her, but when she burst into frantic tears everyone in the group hastily surrounded her in alarm. Blip grabbed her vital scanner and started checking her health signals immediately. Taiah was balled up, crying, and not responding to anybody. Mateo thought quickly. "Davus, you're the fastest, go get Temar!" His brother nodded and dashed away to grab their third brother, who was Taiah's best friend. In roughly five minutes Davus returned with Temar in tow, and Temar pushed right through the ring of fussing onlookers and gently but firmly pried open the ball that was Taiah. He more or less sat on her, squirming his way across her chest so he could hug her front tightly. The adults were a little surprised, having never seen this before, but Taiah and the boys, and particularly just Taiah and Temar, had done a lot
Mention Counter
Taiah: 7 mentions
Rashi: 1 mentions
Gwendolyn: 1 mentions
Mateo: 2 mentions
Davus: 3 mentions
Temar: 4 mentions

401 to 600
of "solo camping missions" which were essentially backyard sleepovers, and the belemoid was used to his friend's night terrors. Today, she was having one during the day. Everyone else backed off a bit, waiting tensely, but less panicked than before now that the reader showed her vitals were fine and Temar seemed to know what was happening. Within a minute or two, the choking and gasping subsided and Taiah was sitting up, still clutching tight to Temar, who had neither loosened his own grip nor spoken while she cried. They rested there a moment, seeming to synch their breathing, with Taiah's respiration slowing until it matched her friend's. At last, she opened her eyes. "Temar," she said in a voice that was eerily subdued, haunted. "Temar… I remember." "The dreams?" he asked gently, in a voice much more sober than the adults had ever heard him use. She nodded. "They're not just dreams," she said. "It's memories. It's where I come from. It's bad… OH GLEEBLES I GOTTA GO, I FORGOT, I LEFT THEM THERE-!" Scrambling up, Taiah frantically turned, about to dash into the cave system, when Rashi firmly grasped her by the shoulder. "Hey Sport, easy there," Rashi
Mention Counter
Taiah: 3 mentions
Rashi: 2 mentions
Temar: 4 mentions

601 to 800
said jovially, and Blip was impressed at her ability to retain normalcy toward the youngster with the latter so visibly distressed. "What have I said about rushing in blind? You gotta plan first, hm?" Taiah paused, but then nodded, losing her wild look, but not at all her haunted look. "You gotta help me Rashi, you just gotta, they're in there, they-" "Hey." The adult tsabhua took the youngster by both shoulders, looking directly into her face. "We're going to help. I promise. You're not alone. Okay? Now why don't you sit with us, right here and now, so you don't fall down again, and tell me what you know. Yeah?" Rashi and Blip sat down with Taiah and the boys, when Gwendolyn came up with Soey. Nobody had noticed her rush to go get her, but Rashi nodded at them and gestured with her head that they should also come have a seat. They did this in silence, and everybody listened as Taiah told her tale. "When you found me in the hole," Taiah started, nodding toward Rashi, "I didn't remember anymore. I got there from the water. I swam and I swam… I think I fell further under
Mention Counter
Taiah: 4 mentions
Rashi: 4 mentions
Gwendolyn: 1 mentions
Soey: 1 mentions

801 to 1000
the water. I thought I was going to drown, but instead I woke up in the cave. I don't know why it made me forget what happened, forget all my friends-" "It was probably from shock," said Blip gently. "You didn't do it on purpose. Just tell us what happened." The little tsabhua gulped and continued. "I didn't come from no other colony like you thought. I escaped. It wasn't just me, there was lots of us, all kids, in a cage together. I think there were lots of other cages in other rooms and stuff. But there was us in a cage together and they said we were group 9XT-2, it was on our cage and everything." She started to tremble, just a little. Blip reached out a hand, but Rashi stopped her, with a small shake of her head. As Taiah continued, her speech started to get more rough, similar to when she first joined them. "We didn't see them a lot, the Bads. They usually just talked through a radio on the wall, or had robots, or if they had to do something themselves they were wearing a lots of safety stuff and we couldn't see them
Mention Counter
Taiah: 1 mentions
Rashi: 1 mentions

1001 to 1200
very good, it was like they weren't real, sort of. We wished they weren't real. They didn't never let us do anything, and they weren't ever nice, and we was hungry a lot, and mostly by ourselves, and they would give us a lot and a lot of shots and the shots sometimes hurt and sometimes made us really sick. One of my friends got a shot and got so sick they took her away, and we didn't never see her again after that, and I don't know-" she whimpered, and this time Rashi squeezed Blip's hand VERY firmly. Taiah didn't seem to notice. She was back in the caves. "We thought maybe we could get out. That if just one of us did, we could find a way to open the cages and maybe get away from the Bads and live somewhere else and not get shots and not get yelled at, and do what we want and stuff. I guess not everybody was born there? I'm not sure. But sometimes one of us would talk about a time when they got nicer stuff to eat, or didn't get no shots, or someone was nice to them and didn't
Mention Counter
Taiah: 1 mentions
Rashi: 1 mentions

1201 to 1400
wear stuff to touch you. Usually someone with a name. We didn't all have one. Some of us made up our own, though. Anyway! Yeah. We dug a hole. It was really hard because there was cameras and stuff, but we managed it, because they didn't watch us so much in the waste corner you know? But, but only one of us could get out. I was the smallest one with paws or hands, so it was me what had to do it. Burn coulda got through the hole because he was long and skinny but he didn't have any hands, we was scared he wouldn't be able to get the doors open maybe, without them. We were gonna have him come with me, so we'd both be out and could help each other, but before he could get in the hole the alarm started going and I had to run. I don't know if he made it out too." "I ran and there was a lot of sounds, and I didn't know where I was s'posed to go. They only ever took us out of the cage to do lots of tests, we had to solve puzzles and run
Mention Counter
Burn: 1 mentions

1401 to 1600
in mazes and stuff. It wasn't even fun ones. It was pretty boring. I think probably one of the Bads or a robot woulda got me, but I wasn't looking where I was running and I fell in a hole. I think it was where the trash goes? I dunno but I fell and it landed me in a tunnel. And I ran, and I found another little hole and I got in, and dug until I got out, and I did that a bunch of times until there wasn't no more noises and I couldn't smell anything bad and there wasn't any words on the wall or places where there was blood-" this time it was Soey who gasped audibly. The other children, remarkably, took in the story in stoic silence. It seems the trio of brothers had known for a while that Taiah was afraid of something big she couldn't name, but apparently, she'd sworn them to secrecy. The feisty tsabhua's reluctance to trust strange adults was making a lot more sense now. "The last hole I went in went into a tunnel where there was a lot of water. I followed it. I wanted to get out
Mention Counter
Taiah: 1 mentions
Soey: 1 mentions

1601 to 1800
of where it was a hole and find somewhere where there was light- Foggy told me that if you follow water it goes outside, to a place where there's light without having a lamp or a fire. Then I found somewhere the water was too deep to walk in, but… I saw a light, and I thought maybe I could swim until I got there. I tried a couple times and had to swim back again so I could breathe, but I was always closer. So I took the biggest breath of all time, and then I went one more time. And I swam and I swam. And then I don't remember. And then I woke up in the cave. And I was lost. I couldn't remember where I was supposed to go or how I got there. And then Rashi pulled me out of the hole." For the first time since she began her tale, Taiah looked up, directly into Blip's face. "I don't know if they're even still down in there. I don't know if we'll maybe all die if we go there. But Mama, I promised I'd find a way to get them out, and I gotta
Mention Counter
Taiah: 1 mentions
Rashi: 1 mentions

1801 to 1867
go try!" Blip got to her feet, at eye level with Taiah as she sat up. Trembling in every limb, the Vicham hugged Taiah as hard as she could. The enormity of her trust, of what she had just asked, of everything she'd been through… "I promise you, that from now until we have rescued all your friends, this colony has got NO other priorities." Blip said.
Mention Counter
Taiah: 2 mentions
Taiah is in 8 chunks
Rashi is in 7 chunks
Gwendolyn is in 3 chunks
Soey is in 3 chunks
Mateo is in 1 chunks
Davus is in 1 chunks
Temar is in 2 chunks
Burn is in 1 chunks
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Othermoons Colony Part 5 (Rescue part 1) Taiah's Past

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Memories have returned and a rescue is launched... 


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