Rivers of Orion

this thing.”
His branches shifted rapidly, as if caught in a driving wind.
[Don’t laugh at the poor thing,] said Sheyesh. [He’s young and meant only to help.]
[Any one of our saplings could expertly pilot a vessel this crude,] said Sacas.
Returning his attention to the sudasau, he ordered, “Lomomu, you will immediately disembark. I am more than qualified to pilot this sad excuse for a shuttle.”
“I’m sure you are,” said Lomomu. “Safe travels.” He hopped out and onto the hangar deck, where he made his way to a far door. “What an asshole.” The door opened to reveal an interior airlock, and he stepped through.
Sacas prepared the vessel for departure. Alarms blared, and red warning lights turned. Claxons fell quiet as the chamber depressurized, and the hangar doors yawned open. A silky spiral of gleaming stars greeting them, concentric rivers of liquid platinum stirred into the inky vastness of deep space.
[Now that is something to share with the saplings,] said Sheyesh.
Sacas stood, awestruck. [Indeed…] After a moment, he shook it off and pushed a button on the dash. Docking clamps released the shuttle with a reverberant boom. [Sheyesh, please double-check the crate to ensure our equipment is in order. I would hate to arrive and realize we don’t have what we need.]
[Right away,] she said and stooped over to open the crate. Clasps clicked open, and she set aside the lid. Inside, she found a thick metal case. For a moment, she pondered how to open it. [Ah,] she said to herself and pushed a release on the side. It hissed and lingered silently before finally popping open, but she looked puzzled. [That’s not our gear.]
The trees gathered round.
A rack of glowing green rods stood inside the case. After a moment, the case closed itself, and gallons of hydroxy gas vented into the shuttle. Leaves and blooms drifted downward, back and forth on a fading breeze—only a few at first—before falling like rain.
The trees cracked and splintered.
One by one, they toppled to the deck.
◆◆◆
Ellylle strode to the console. “Move,” s said, and she nudged Zella aside.
“Get tae!” Zella puffed up.
“Careful,” said Reggie. “Zella’s not just the first mate; she’s a Scot.”
Ignoring them both, Ellylle tapped her way through several menus. With a slight smile, she found the hangar controls.
“Whit are ye doin?” asked Zella.
“I’m re-engaging the docking clamps,” said Ellylle.
“They hannae even left the hangar, ye daft weed,” said Zella.
Ellylle growled, and her flowers bloomed red. “Mind your tone.”
“Ye’re naw ma cap’n, an fir as long as ye’re on this ship—”
Reggie stood between them. “Okay you two, that’s enough. Ellylle, I’m sure you have an excellent reason for leashing your own people.”
“I do.” Gently, she swayed and creaked. “But now you’ll have to wait to find out.”
“Whit the devil’s goin on?” asked Zella, and she crossed her arms.
“Wait for it,” said Ellylle.
The lift arrived, drawing their attention. Lomomu stepped into view, pale and shaking. He stumbled toward his captain. “It was horrible,” he whispered. “Somethin’ went wrong. Somethin’ went terribly wrong! I ran over as soon as it was safe, but I was…” He gulped and whispered, “…too late.”
“Too late for what?” asked Reggie.
Still trembling, Lomomu reached into his pockets and produced clumps of brittle bark. “To… to save them. The labels must’ve gotten switched, because all I found in the shuttle was a box of reactor rods!”
“E… Excuse me?” stammered Reggie.
“It’s not your fault, Lomomu,” said Ellylle. “It’s mine. I switched the labels.”
Zella regarded her, agape. “Ye murdered yer own?”
“I had to,” said Ellylle.
Reggie swallowed visibly. “Why?”
“As Eternal Vanam of my people, I have absolute executive authority, but they saw fit to subject every decision I made to a council of review. I don’t have time for that, so there’s been a change of plans.” Ellylle tapped through a few more menus before initiating a full transfer of data to the starship’s archives. “Reggie, it’s all yours, everything you can get your hands on. I made some changes to Big Huey’s plasma shield generator. It now uses a frequency that penetrates eldritch steel. You’ll be able glide right through it.”
It took a moment for Reggie to process the information, but only a moment. His eyes widened. “Oh…! Good riddance, I suppose.”
Ellylle curved low, getting in his face. “Sheyesh was my friend centuries before you were born. When I let you speak of her, you will do it respectfully. Or you’ll be joining her, get me?”
He swallowed. “I get you.”
Zella marched up to the tree. “Ye forget yer place, lass. Ye’re our guest. Yer water flows because of a timer Ah rigged for ye. The UV lamps glow because Ah maintain the things.” Her expression darkened. “Ye threaten my cap’n again, an ye’ll have the pleasure of findin out how well ye thrive in the vacuum of space.”
“No, Zella, it’s all right,” said Reggie. “She’s got a point.” He rested a firm hand on Zella’s shoulder. “Bad form on my part to speak ill of the dead.” He bowed politely toward Ellylle. “Apologies.”
“Accepted.” Ellylle glared at Zella. “Let’s go.”
They journeyed down to the shuttle hangar and soon lifted off.
With Lomomu at the helm, Big Huey drifted out from her dock toward the distant huddle of crystals. As they drew closer, lightning revealed more detail: silhouettes of a thousand city skylines, each roughly pyramidal in form, each frozen within an eldritch steel prison. As they drew closer still, the shuttle appeared as little more than a mote of sunlit dust against the expanse of even the smallest dark metropolis.
Ellylle stooped into the cockpit and swiped through the scanner data. With a nod, she tapped the readout. “That one,” she announced. “That’s the one. Activate the shields.”
Lomomu nodded. “On it.”
She translated the scanner data into a crudely modeled blueprint and studied it a moment. Looking to Lomomu, she jammed a finger against one of the lower levels. “Let’s approach from here.”
Reggie leaned close to Zella and whispered, “You feel like she’s up to something, or is it just me?”
“Ah dinnae trust the clatty minger.”
As