Knowledge of the ancient Teetaci stasis ship had proven to be a strong bargaining point. Vital in fact. Promising to show the Treecuu the location of the "Freak Show", Mogul Uilodova had secured the release of her fleet and a deal to sell information about other star nations and civilisations. The ordeal had turned out to be quite lucrative. Now she and 20 fellow Zeltrex where what the Treecuu had called "guests" onboard the cruiser RFS Acteel. In reality they felt like hostages. The Treecuu were fair hosts, but they they couldn't move about as they liked on the boringly military ship. And of course there was the threat to be executed if the information about the stasis ship was false.

The Treecuu seemed extraordinarily uninterested in romance and the more tender forms of pleasure. And they were likely immune to her species' seductive hormone aerosol. They had a manners that reminded her of elderly people. Polite, calm, but somewhat lacking in display of emotion. Then there was that confidence of theirs. They always seemed to have an answer for everything. But Uilodova knew how to play that role too.

During 36 day long voyage to the outskirts of the Great Expanse she had spent most of her time in the mess hall, engaging in conversation with the crew, occasionally showing them native Zeltrex drinks. Especially the more bland and water-based varieties seemed to appeal to the mammalian Treecuu. Those insectoids she were still not sure about. But the Treecuu in general were genuinely interested in her and her civilisation, beyond the typical small talk questions. Another oddity was that they seemed unbothered by rank, or at least it wasn't such a big deal as elsewhere in the sector. Officers and the enlisted sometimes shared a table for food and drinks. The Mogul hadn't noted any significant differences between the males and females either.

She was about to observe an even more notable example of odd Treecuu behaviour. There was an announcement from the helmsman of the ship that they were coming to a full stop shortly. This prompted all Treecuu to rush to the big panorama windows along one side of the mess hall. They seemed uncharacteristically excited. As the ship dropped out of warp she saw why. The display of colours as an effect of collapsing the warp field was dreamlike. Some Treecuu even cheered as they noted subtle changes in the patterns they saw, commenting on how the helmsman must have manoeuvred the ship to achieved them.

A curious end to a strange voyage. Or a strange beginning of their mission to locate the "Freak Show", she thought.