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Challenge #03139-H230: Pour Encourager l'Artistes

It took them a long time to get to the planet the Archivaas called home. But there was a reason they went there. Many, many generations of their family had been avid photographers, or as they jokingly called themselves, a whole family of "shutter-bugs". Photos and drawings from earth before the time of the shattering, before the first humans even went to the moon, albeit, very rough photos, all the way through the generations to digital media, saved in a large crate filled to bursting with photo albums and carefully preserved digital images is what they were escorting. And why were they giving this to the Archivaas? Because they wanted to share these works of art with the universe, and wasn't interested in money for it. They had a good job, took time off to do this, it was more the exquisite satisfaction of knowing how many more would be able to enjoy the artwork that tied their family together and had so much joy to their own life as well. -- Anon Guest

It's not every day that an entire family history gets shipped to the Archivaas. Not in physical form. One might expect a crate or two, but this family made lifetimes out of capturing moments. From quick-sketch artists to impressionists to the first photographers to entire families with Box Brownies[1]. If it made an image, this family used it to capture elements of their lives. The sublime. The rare. The mundane. All the way through the digital age and beyond.

It was more than one crate. The crate was a sample of the eras. Somewhere between a summary and an index, for generations and even deep time. The rest of it was in a fleet of cargo vessels waiting for the word and the co-ordinates. Because the Lumiere family were searching for the Archivaas homeworld. A quest with the primary difficulty that there was no such thing.

The Archivaas didn't make homeworlds. They weren't one colony, though there were branches of them that went down deep-time wormholes with other objectives. Namely to be there with enough technology to pick up old or formerly lost transmissions, usually from Earth. What the Archivaas do is build libraries. Depending on the sect, some are wont to use the resources of entire solar systems just to keep records in assorted physical formats[2]. Those are not the ones the Lumiere family seeks.

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Challenge #03138-H229: The Opening Volley

Poor Wraithvine, the trauma of trying to train, and protect, a young chosen one by the name of Kevin, and his strong-headed mother while Kevin was training, still fresh in his mind, and now yet another young one, this time even stronger, and even MORE reluctant, to leave his home. Destiny isn't kind though, not by a long shot. If it was, then why are those rather pissed off looking purists trying to raid the village and get rid of "monsters"? And

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Challenge #03137-H228: Medicinal Herb Misuse

Despite being Deathworlders themselves, they hired a human who was an expert at debugging computer systems, at engineering, and at improvising fast solutions when things went south. They looked like large, bipedal, cats, including claws that could pull in or be exposed when needed. They made sure they hired a human who was not allergic to fur, or felines. However, when the human started growing catnip, using it to sooth himself when they had trouble sleeping at night, the beings realized it

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Challenge #03136-H227: By the Gods

“He has to know. He'll never be whole without the truth. Look, I get it. You hate the gods. All gods. It’s no accident that includes yourself. And it includes your boy. Don’t you see that? He feels that! He can’t help what he is. He can’t begin to help it, because you haven’t even told him. It’s all connected man.” -- Anon Guest

Picture what it would be like for gods and deities to roam

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Challenge #03135-H226: Incitement to Heroism

Amatu is reluctant to leave his home, the farm, the village he grew up in. A place where he is loved and accepted despite his odd appearance. The immortal mage decides to stick around for a while, since things about this young man are more than a little interesting, but thanks to one form of magic showing in the bell, the next starts to show in his abilities growing stronger. He yells at a crooked trader from another land to tell the

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Challenge #03134-H225: Caution - Humans Running

It doesn’t matter what species you are. If the ship’s engineer start running you better follow -- Anon Guest

Only Humans ever invented running as a recreational activity. Which is why places with a jogging track also have large volumes of warning labels. Before Humans joined the Alliance, even possessing something that could pass as a jogging track was never a priority. When one cogniscent was running, it was generally a good idea to run with them. They obviously knew

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Challenge #03133-H224: Learn From Mistakes

The four humans, on leave from the ships they work aboard, are sitting around a table with four boxes that simply read Dangerous Nuts High Scoville. Once known to humans as "The Death Nut Challenge". Grinning, and razzing each other, they're about to each see how much spiciness they can handle when a level 3 Deathworlder, full of arrogance, pulls up a chair and demands to join them. After all, these squishy, weak-looking, apes are eating what is just five little nuts,

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Challenge #03132-H223: The Temple of Love

They were a large temple with many followers, Humans, Elven, Dwarves, Faerie, etc.. They carefully watered the blooming cherry trees and tended the gardens, and they were seen always aiding others with food and medical aid. And, oddly enough, the temple was very wealthy. But then again it should not be so odd. For the women of the temple, for all every single one of them was of immense beauty, refused all suitors unless that suitor was a Tiefling. The men of

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Challenge #03131-H222: Artisinal Friend

They sat alone, quietly eating their meal. Their shoulders were slumped, their head was down, they had the forlorn look of a lonely, bereft, individual who'd completely given up on life itself. When a kind cogniscent tried to sit with them, they softly mumbled something apologetic and, quietly, obviously reluctantly, moved away to an even more distant, emptier, corner. The person went back to their friends, their eyes sad, filled with compassion.

"What did they say?"

"They said bad-luckers who cause their

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Challenge #03130-H221: But We Love Them...

The crew ends up getting stuck on a Level 2 Deathworld and the Humans tame a few of the large omnivores and train them to be ridden. At least until rescue arrives.

"No you CAN'T bring it with, Humans!" -- Anon Guest

Over half of the plantlife was generically toxic. The other half had to be processed in order to be edible more than once[1]. The wildlife was neither shy nor retiring. So, of course, the Ships' Humans flakking loved it,

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Challenge #03129-H220: Not the Intended Use

They'd been using the juices from a bright yellow fruit brought from the Terrans so long ago. They used it to eat away grease from engines and as an industrial-strength solvent, and to remove adhesives from various surfaces. Mixed another way, as a cleaning material that left a fairly pleasant scent. So imagine their surprise when humans were found to be plucking the fruit from the trees, mixing the juice with water and a little sugar, and drinking it! -- Anon Guest

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Challenge #03128-H219: It's Not Just a Cold

A Deregger escapee has an unusual quirk that makes them, of all things, immune to the immunoflu. Unfortunately, that means they're apt to contract the illnesses the immunoflu is meant to prevent, and catches a cold. -- Anon Guest

They told Pel he was lucky to survive. Once they discovered his truly peculiar genetic abnormality, those tellings doubled. The immunoflu was one of Humanity's Greatest Hits[1], since humanity could not contain or cure the common cold, they tamed it. Using the

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Challenge #03127-H218: Close Encounters of the Telegenic Kind

People of the Alliance go to the deadliest country on the planet Earth, Australia, and meet the happiest animal on the continent. The quokka.

https://bestlifeonline.com/quokka/ -- Lessons

This was odd for a Havenworlder tour of a Deathworld. They expected to visit the safer areas of Earth and thereby toughen up their genes via epigenetics. They were understandably alarmed to learn that they were visiting Australia. The one part of Earth that was almost at level five[1]. After the

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Challenge #03126-H217: War By Other Means

Two warring factions on a planet that had often been ravaged. The people were begging for help. The humans came and taught them a way to continue to fight in their war without bloodshed. Now, the battlefields were silent, all of the soldiers as grim as death, were in a large building where none were allowed to speak, other than neutral judges. The battles were as fierce and as aggressive as any war could be, pawns being captured, knights rushing to save

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Challenge #03125-H216: Save Your Gluthorpian Dollars...

So y’all are fine with killing other Xenos, but then some Humans do the same thing to other Humans and it’s suddenly immoral? At least we’re consistent with our genocidal policies. -- Anon Guest

[AN: I do not condone genocide of any kind btw]

The war was over, for certain. Not because any side had won, but because there was little fight with, or even over. Most of the contested territory was radioactive, no longer fertile, and, in fact,

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