MSNPC Kiro - That was not supposed to happen
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Ryden Kel
May 25, 2026, 5:46:10 PM (6 days ago) May 25
to sb11...@googlegroups.com
The weight of the discussion didn’t leave the room.
It settled instead—into Kiro’s chest, into the space behind his eyes,
into the careful balance he had spent cycles maintaining between duty
and doubt.
Voss: ::softly:: This room is evidence enough. And I don’t think you
would have brought us here if you didn’t believe we could help.
Kiro kept his gaze on the containment field a moment longer than
necessary. Evidence. A dangerous word. Not because it was wrong... but
because it assumed clarity where he only had patterns, fragments, and
a growing sense of fracture between what he had been told and what he
had measured himself.
Kiro: Oo You are already past the point of pretending this is simple.
Oo Help assumes direction.
He finally looked at her. Not challenging. Measuring.
Kiro: I am still determining whether direction exists.
A’Mayri: ::an agreeable nod:: We know they pose a great danger due to
their instability and factors my colleagues and I do not know of yet.
So yes, we only know part of it. Mr. Ross has the funding necessary to
complete the trade.
Funding.
Ross nodded, stepping forward with the practiced ease of someone used
to negotiations.
Ross: If this is about payment, we have the resources. But in addition
to the product we'd be open to invest in some of your... expertise.
Kiro’s ears angled slightly. Investment. That was always how outsiders
framed access. As if understanding could be purchased alongside goods.
Voss: We can do this together, Kiro. You’ve studied these cores for
longer than we have, and we need your help. If we can figure out a way
to stabilize them, your clan will have a technology the rest of the
quadrant would sell an arm and a leg for. And even if we can’t… you
know this isn’t sustainable. Clan Gespara is the face of these cores.
When the rest of the sector realizes how dangerous they are, who are
they going to come for? Certainly not your mysterious backers. They’ve
shielded themselves. They’ll come for you.
That landed differently. Not because it was new. Because it was
already something he had thought... quietly, repeatedly, and then
pushed away.
Oo No. That is not their burden. That is not their place. Oo
But the thought didn’t dissolve as easily as it should have.
Kiro’s fingers curled slightly at his sides before he forced them still.
Kiro: You speak as though I control what happens beyond this room.
Voss: ::nodding:: Enough of a sample size to put them through their
paces, but few enough that we have containment space for them all if
anything were to go wrong.
Kiro: And if something does go wrong?
Not accusation. Calculation.
Ross: It wouldn't make any sense to take them back to our
headquarters. The journey alone would be a waste of resources.
::beat:: We all want the same thing. Figure out what's going on with
these things - and optimise for safety. Why not work together?
Oo We all want the same thing. Oo
That assumption echoed uncomfortably.
Kiro studied him more closely now.
Not just words.
Pattern.
Intent.
Voss: We can sweeten the deal if that’s what it takes.
A’Mayri: ?
Ross continued, filling the space before hesitation could settle.
Ross: We brought some high level-equipment that might be of help. We
can pay a bonus. Let's say as... rent for your lab and your expertise
in this matter. Let's run some experiments. If nothing turns up -
great, we have ourselves a deal. If something does turn up - no need
to upset the apple cart. No pointing fingers. We'll figure a way out
to fix this. Together.
Together. The word should have been simple. It wasn’t. Because Kiro
could already feel the fracture point forming. Between loyalty and
exposure. Between what he knew. And what he was no longer able to
ignore.
Voss: We’ll show you our lab too - compare notes. See if there’s
anything we’ve discovered that you haven’t and vice versa.
A’Mayri: ?
Ross: Believe me, either way it's the better deal for you than sending
us on our way with a danger neither of us understand. God knows, we
might be selling these things to a primary school next week.
That earned the faintest flicker of tension in Kiro’s jaw. Humor
layered over truth. Or truth disguised as humor. Hard to tell which
was worse.
Then Voss spoke again... and the room changed.
Voss: I know you love Leda, but you don’t trust her anymore. And you
shouldn’t. How closely is she working with the Orions? How much is she
keeping from you?
The air went still. Not metaphorically. Kiro felt it. A shift in
pressure. Exposure.
Kiro: oO So it is already known. Or guessed. Or seen. Oo
He did not answer immediately. Because answering would mean admitting
the question had already taken root inside him.
Voss: You suspected me already. Cards on the table. And we’re not
bleeding heart altruists either - these cores are a hop, skip, and a
jump away from being tiny Romulan singularity drives. If we can help
you figure out a way to get them to work safely, we’ll be sitting on a
latinum mine so big, whatever profit-share we work out will hardly
even matter. Lurtz has the resources, we have the manpower, and we
aren’t here to hold anyone’s feet to the fire, which is a damn sight
more than you can say about the Orions. We want to be partners. It’s
worth a shot, isn’t it?
Kiro: oO Orions. Oo
The name struck a sharper chord than expected. Kiro’s gaze tightened
slightly, but his voice remained controlled.
Kiro: You are asking for trust in a situation built on instability. A pause.
Long enough for meaning to settle.
Kiro: That is… not a small request.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?
Voss: ::trying to hold back a tiny bit of her palpable relief:: That’s
a reasonable condition. Anything else you’d like us to consider?
Kiro looked between them. Three offworlders. Three sets of intent he
could not fully map yet. And himself... standing at the edge of
something that had been building for cycles without him fully
admitting it.
Kiro: I want containment data shared immediately if anomalies increase.
Simple. Practical. A shield, if nothing else.
Kiro: And no core leaves this system without my authorization.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?
The agreement settled. Not cleanly. But enough.
They moved quickly after that, assembling containment units,
transferring cores, organizing equipment with practiced efficiency
that Kiro noted but did not comment on. Too practiced for simple
traders. Not quite military. Something in between.
That detail remained filed away. Unspoken.
The journey back through the corridors felt longer than before, as
though the settlement itself had begun to shift around their decision.
Cold air hit them again as they emerged onto the surface of the
asteroid.
And then... Stillness.
The docking bay came into view. Then the empty space where their ship
should have been. Kiro stopped. For the first time since they had
arrived, something like genuine uncertainty crossed his expression.
Voss: Um… where the hell is our ship?
Kiro looked at the empty bay longer than necessary.
Then slowly... carefully... he turned toward the others.
Kiro: ::quietly:: That… is not supposed to happen.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?
-----
MSNPC Kiro
Trader - Clan Gaspara
as simmed by
-----
Lieutenant Ryden Sylvax
Chief Medical Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240109RK1
It settled instead—into Kiro’s chest, into the space behind his eyes,
into the careful balance he had spent cycles maintaining between duty
and doubt.
Voss: ::softly:: This room is evidence enough. And I don’t think you
would have brought us here if you didn’t believe we could help.
Kiro kept his gaze on the containment field a moment longer than
necessary. Evidence. A dangerous word. Not because it was wrong... but
because it assumed clarity where he only had patterns, fragments, and
a growing sense of fracture between what he had been told and what he
had measured himself.
Kiro: Oo You are already past the point of pretending this is simple.
Oo Help assumes direction.
He finally looked at her. Not challenging. Measuring.
Kiro: I am still determining whether direction exists.
A’Mayri: ::an agreeable nod:: We know they pose a great danger due to
their instability and factors my colleagues and I do not know of yet.
So yes, we only know part of it. Mr. Ross has the funding necessary to
complete the trade.
Funding.
Ross nodded, stepping forward with the practiced ease of someone used
to negotiations.
Ross: If this is about payment, we have the resources. But in addition
to the product we'd be open to invest in some of your... expertise.
Kiro’s ears angled slightly. Investment. That was always how outsiders
framed access. As if understanding could be purchased alongside goods.
Voss: We can do this together, Kiro. You’ve studied these cores for
longer than we have, and we need your help. If we can figure out a way
to stabilize them, your clan will have a technology the rest of the
quadrant would sell an arm and a leg for. And even if we can’t… you
know this isn’t sustainable. Clan Gespara is the face of these cores.
When the rest of the sector realizes how dangerous they are, who are
they going to come for? Certainly not your mysterious backers. They’ve
shielded themselves. They’ll come for you.
That landed differently. Not because it was new. Because it was
already something he had thought... quietly, repeatedly, and then
pushed away.
Oo No. That is not their burden. That is not their place. Oo
But the thought didn’t dissolve as easily as it should have.
Kiro’s fingers curled slightly at his sides before he forced them still.
Kiro: You speak as though I control what happens beyond this room.
Voss: ::nodding:: Enough of a sample size to put them through their
paces, but few enough that we have containment space for them all if
anything were to go wrong.
Kiro: And if something does go wrong?
Not accusation. Calculation.
Ross: It wouldn't make any sense to take them back to our
headquarters. The journey alone would be a waste of resources.
::beat:: We all want the same thing. Figure out what's going on with
these things - and optimise for safety. Why not work together?
Oo We all want the same thing. Oo
That assumption echoed uncomfortably.
Kiro studied him more closely now.
Not just words.
Pattern.
Intent.
Voss: We can sweeten the deal if that’s what it takes.
A’Mayri: ?
Ross continued, filling the space before hesitation could settle.
Ross: We brought some high level-equipment that might be of help. We
can pay a bonus. Let's say as... rent for your lab and your expertise
in this matter. Let's run some experiments. If nothing turns up -
great, we have ourselves a deal. If something does turn up - no need
to upset the apple cart. No pointing fingers. We'll figure a way out
to fix this. Together.
Together. The word should have been simple. It wasn’t. Because Kiro
could already feel the fracture point forming. Between loyalty and
exposure. Between what he knew. And what he was no longer able to
ignore.
Voss: We’ll show you our lab too - compare notes. See if there’s
anything we’ve discovered that you haven’t and vice versa.
A’Mayri: ?
Ross: Believe me, either way it's the better deal for you than sending
us on our way with a danger neither of us understand. God knows, we
might be selling these things to a primary school next week.
That earned the faintest flicker of tension in Kiro’s jaw. Humor
layered over truth. Or truth disguised as humor. Hard to tell which
was worse.
Then Voss spoke again... and the room changed.
Voss: I know you love Leda, but you don’t trust her anymore. And you
shouldn’t. How closely is she working with the Orions? How much is she
keeping from you?
The air went still. Not metaphorically. Kiro felt it. A shift in
pressure. Exposure.
Kiro: oO So it is already known. Or guessed. Or seen. Oo
He did not answer immediately. Because answering would mean admitting
the question had already taken root inside him.
Voss: You suspected me already. Cards on the table. And we’re not
bleeding heart altruists either - these cores are a hop, skip, and a
jump away from being tiny Romulan singularity drives. If we can help
you figure out a way to get them to work safely, we’ll be sitting on a
latinum mine so big, whatever profit-share we work out will hardly
even matter. Lurtz has the resources, we have the manpower, and we
aren’t here to hold anyone’s feet to the fire, which is a damn sight
more than you can say about the Orions. We want to be partners. It’s
worth a shot, isn’t it?
Kiro: oO Orions. Oo
The name struck a sharper chord than expected. Kiro’s gaze tightened
slightly, but his voice remained controlled.
Kiro: You are asking for trust in a situation built on instability. A pause.
Long enough for meaning to settle.
Kiro: That is… not a small request.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?
Voss: ::trying to hold back a tiny bit of her palpable relief:: That’s
a reasonable condition. Anything else you’d like us to consider?
Kiro looked between them. Three offworlders. Three sets of intent he
could not fully map yet. And himself... standing at the edge of
something that had been building for cycles without him fully
admitting it.
Kiro: I want containment data shared immediately if anomalies increase.
Simple. Practical. A shield, if nothing else.
Kiro: And no core leaves this system without my authorization.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?
The agreement settled. Not cleanly. But enough.
They moved quickly after that, assembling containment units,
transferring cores, organizing equipment with practiced efficiency
that Kiro noted but did not comment on. Too practiced for simple
traders. Not quite military. Something in between.
That detail remained filed away. Unspoken.
The journey back through the corridors felt longer than before, as
though the settlement itself had begun to shift around their decision.
Cold air hit them again as they emerged onto the surface of the
asteroid.
And then... Stillness.
The docking bay came into view. Then the empty space where their ship
should have been. Kiro stopped. For the first time since they had
arrived, something like genuine uncertainty crossed his expression.
Voss: Um… where the hell is our ship?
Kiro looked at the empty bay longer than necessary.
Then slowly... carefully... he turned toward the others.
Kiro: ::quietly:: That… is not supposed to happen.
A’Mayri/Ross: ?
-----
MSNPC Kiro
Trader - Clan Gaspara
as simmed by
-----
Lieutenant Ryden Sylvax
Chief Medical Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240109RK1
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