The notion of towing the Dark Horse behind the Dainty Mauler via cables did not survive Captain Rushfighter's review. "Nu-uh," he said. "Hammership go nuts if do that. Inertial disaster. We grab it instead." And so with a bit of maneuvering, the ancient, alien ship of unknown origin was clasped by the starboard manipulator (and auxiliary lift off thruster) pod. This made for a relatively smooth ride for Tasha, who insisted on staying inside. Right up until they entered the Star Sea, and all inertial dampening was put on hold. With gravity, the interior of the Dark Horse seemed a bit more formidable, and the magnetic boots didn't help as much.
Also not helping was that the airlocks were underwater most of the time. Finding a dorsal doorway was becoming a necessity.
Due to her extended stay in overseeing -- a particularly accurate word given her attempt at calming the ship and looking the entirety of its interior over -- Tasha has brought a number of new supplies on board, including several additional resupply air tanks, liquified meals, some tools, a source of heat, tools, and other things besides. It feels a lot like a camping trip, except it's her alone in a dark, alien ship deep under equally dark, alien water. It might be unnerving for the lone cadet except for one point: It's her ship now. For better or worse, the peculiar vessel and its eerie interior is her home now.
A home she is itching to explore. She's spent most of her time just helping get the ship where it is, then standing-by in case something unusual happened. With the Dainty Mauler set for days of travel in the Sea of Stars she finally has the time to settle down and explore her ship. With her preperations made, equipment unpacked, and oxygen refilled it's time to move.
Hokay ship, it's just you and me now. Time to look around and get to work. Shouldering her halitool, though not expecting to need it, Tasha activates her suit's head lamp and switches off the light unit she set up on the deck. She's made the bridge her basecamp, and so now she sets out from the fore section in to the bowels of the ship. Top on her list: A dorsal airlock so she can resupply easier.
The tactical display is just a blob of glowing gas at the moment, as whatever drives it can't cope with the Star Sea. On the other hand, it still displays something, meaning the ship's system aren't dependant on solid-state technology. It's either analog or some other non-quantum-mechanical system. Now that there's an up and down, the search becomes a bit more difficult due to the hollow nature of the vessel, and a distinct lack of anything airlock-looking (or at least similar to the side airlocks). There are areas of slightly different looking hull material though, including a very large area at the very back end of the ship that comprising much of the 'roof' there. More telling is the lack of any bulges or other details on the surface.
Without any source of answers, Tasha is left to rely on trial and error. Awkwardly making her way aftward, she finds progres slow-going her bulky environmental armored suit and the uneven deck work complicate walking. Eventually she makes it to the aft test area, walking up to the massive, peculiar bit of hull and staring at it in consideration. Now, what are you? She wonders. If you're an airlock like the other, then I'll may need to walk in a particular way. But will my boots hold me? And the current ...
"Hrrm," goes Tasha inside her suit. She turns around, looking for something she can tie her length of rope too. If she's going to try walking out of the ship, she wants a lifeline.
The only things that look like a line can be wrapped around them are the crystal 'spines' connecting the horse's 'stable' to the rest of the ship. They're slightly further forward, but not by much. The bare patch of roof begins only a few meters back from them at its highest point.. but it extends all the way to the ship's equator at the back from there.
What a strange ship design, Tasha thinks as she walks up to the crystal assembly, looking up at it. She then points to the rope and says, "This is a rope. I'm going to tie it to these crystals so I don't fall off the ship. Don't worry!" She isn't sure the Horse understands her, or even is aware she's communicating with it. All she knows is that the heart of her ship is alive -- an animal according to Bumper's analogy -- and that she felt something touching its enclosure. That something, along with her training with pteras, amkes her feel that talking to it is the right thing to do -- not that she wouldn't be talking to her ship anyway. Once the line is tied, she makes her way towards the aftmost region, face to face with the lowest portion of the strange surface, then, hesitantly, she reaches out to it.
It feels solid at first, until a bit of pressure is applied. And then her gauntlet sinks through. The material seems thicker than with the personnel airlocks, but it's probably meant for passing smaller craft through.
/I thought so./ Tasha tests her hand's ability to move in multiple directions, then begins easing more of herself through as she walks through the oddly permiable hull material. If she recalls right, there should be a lip she can stand on at the far aft of the ship. She keeps her walking slow, steady. /So the design isn't /that/ alien. It many ways it seems to mirror the design of the /Fenris/ and /Bellerophon, so maybe my ship was meant for atmospheric travel as well as space travel. The emptiness makes me think that it either wasn't complete or was under construction of some sort, or testing. Or, maybe the owners didn't need interior walls at all ..?/
Once enough of Tasha is inside the wall.. it pulls her through. She soon finds herself in the water, her tether holding her against the current. Even underwater, the Dark Horse has and eerie beauty, like it belongs in the water. The rear end of the ship glows green, and several other patches glow as well, including on the stator-like extrusions of the hull. Anchored at the glowing wing-tips, a slowly rotating ring of glowing plasma turns, or flows.. since it's elliptical. And further ahead, poking over the curve of the back, is the dorsal fin.
While self-preservation would normally incline the young woman to head back inside as quickly as possible after finding what she needed to find, the sight of her ship glowing beautifully in the murky dark is too much to pass up. And so she stops to take it all in, feeling an immense pride and appreciation for the beauty of her ship, its artistry. She decides that whomever made it must have put a lot of their heart in to making it, and so she offers a silent prayer of thanks to its maker, along with the promise that she'll take good care of it. Its minutes before she decides she'd best not test her line too longer, and turns to head back inside. Before she does, though, she stops one more time before passing through the mysterious hull element. It really is a beautiful ship. How lucky I am, to have you with me. As water begins to flow inside her suit as well -- this from her eyes -- she sucks in a breath and pushs herself to get back in and back to work.
Once again, the 'door' helps her through once it's clear which direction she's going in. Her suit appears to be completely dry as well once she's back inside. The membrane seems smart enough to know to allow through, since there's obvious tons of water pressure on the outer surface.
Tasha takes a moment to inspect herself after entering, checking for leaks or other damage to her suit, and blinking away emotions. Noticing there's no water on the surface, she raises her brows. Is that so..? Is the material smart, or the ship? She wishes she knew; So many mysteries yet to solve.
Head shaking in wonder at it all, Tasha turns to her next task: Finding all the other ways off the ship. As they'll be doing a lot of transit in and out when they begin equipping it in earnest, she knows that locating them all will be vital for efficency. With purpose in mind, she heads off to test the other likely regions after fetching her rope.
There are several more areas, the next largest being along the belly, almost opposite the hangar panel. These might be suitable for cargo to pass through. There are some smaller access panels in the neck, but they seem too small for someone of Tasha's height - the builders must have been significantly smaller.
The flat area above the 'tactical display', which is in the sunken 'face' part of the head is different from the other permeable surfaces. It lacks the tight designs engraved in the others, and seems more flat and smooth.
After making a note of each of these, then affixing some easily removed stickers near them so that there's a visual marker as well, Tasha proceeds onward. Once she's on the bridge, shhe's examine the peculiar flat area for yet another airlock. So the builders were probably smaller than we are. The controls emit plasma, so maybe they could interact with plasma fields, or conduct energy through them. She pauses in her thoughts to test the section, then, after tying her rope again, proceeds to try and get through it.
For a moment, it seems like the surface vanishes.. but Tasha isn't being sucked out. There are three large panels that have become transparent, giving a forward (and upward) view. The bulk of the Mauler takes up most of it to one side, but the oddness of the Star Sea takes up the rest. There's no view down, but there are hints of light in the deeper darkness - stars and galaxies and who knows what else. The whole universe, maybe. A large eel-like biggun is being drawn up via lines towards the waterline, its flanks glowing in a rainbow of colors.
Aaron says, "Mildly sinus-headachy but okay otherwise :}"
The hybrid woman pauses, taking a half-step back as it looks like she might be about to test her rope's strength. Instead, she blinks, then leans forward to blink-peer out the fore of her vessel, staring in to the endless watery gloom of the Sea of Stars. The view is astonishing, but so is finding a frontal viewing port. With the ship's sensors far from understood, Tasha realizes this viewing port may be her primary means by which to navigate -- if they figure out how to move the ship at all!
Still, she decides the discovery is worth enjoying. And so she sits herself down nearby, reaches over to fish out one of her liquid meals, and has a pleasant hour of just watching the water flow and the Dainty Mauler go about its fishing. She wonders if Gabriel's up on deck. Of course he is, she decides while slurping up her meal. He wouldn't miss it. He's probably worrying, though. I'm lucky to have him, too, right ship? Time flows ever onward.
It isn't all solitude, however. On the second day, Eli braves the current (by way of being attached to a mechanical crane-arm that does all the maneuvering for him) to enter through one of the side airlocks. "How are you holding up in here?" he asks of Tasha. "I thought I'd come and poke around a bit."
Eli finds Tasha on the bridge, sitting crosslegged against a wall, reviewing what appears to be a diagram of the ship she worked up. In addition, his trek to the for revealed numerous stickers each with numbers, letters, a brief area designation, and notes on ship's functionality. She smiles at the man's concern, lifting the diagram so he can look at it while they talk. "Oh, I'm fine! I love it here! I mean, it my ship, Eli! I know it's alien, and we don't understand much of it, but it's mine -- and it's my home. I'm happy to be here."
The diagram corresponds to the stickers, Eli sees. Port side uses odd numeration, while starboard uses even, while fore uses F and aft A. Each section has its own number combination, making it easy to find your location, even in near darkness. Given the ship is hollow, however, the rest of the numbers in the designations are just 0s. "It's not much, but I figured it was better than nothing."
"You've been busy at least," the scientist notes, and pats Tasha on the shoulder. "I wanted to check out some of the structures in the neck. They seem to be the thickest there, since the passage through it is so narrow. I've got some theories.. no way to test them yet of course, but a closer look will help me refine them."
"As captain of this ship, I will allow it." Tasha winks, then rises. "I managed to locate what I think is all the airlocks, as well. Whomeven built this ship was probably smaller than us, so a few of them aren't usable by us, but maybe we can use them for taking on supplies, or, deployable equipment we add. Anyway, this way." She leads the man aft, in to the neck area and gestures around. "I haven't done much here. I'm hesitant to interact with any of the hull bulges, in case they react. Largely I've been workign with what we know and adding a map."
Eli looks up, and seems to be following the path of the visible crystal conduits. One of them vanishes into a brain-bulge on the ceiling that should correspond to the base of the dorsal fin. "I've been wondering about the fins," he explains. "I think this area is the heart of the FTL drive system. If it makes use of the entire hull.. well, that's unprecedented. It could allow for a conforming gravity warp."
"A conforming gravity warp? You mean ... Like Overspace travel? The Celestial drives?" Tasha inquires, turning to crane her neck and peer up at the increasingly interesting brain-like mass. "But he space warp follows the ship's contour?"
Tasha's eyes then widen and she bounces a little on her hooves. "My ship has a FTL drive!" She suddenly exclaims once the science has passed and the awe kicked in.
"Yes, which wouldn't make sense except for one case," Eli notes. "You see, the overspace drives create nested gravity fields that manipulate space around the ship. The bubble of space is able to move faster than light, taking the ship with it. What it cannot do is create a static warp bubble. Warp drives are motive, and motive only. Only stators can create static gravity fields - and you've seen the implications of that with Harmonia. It can make a ship invisible, at great power expenditures and with a lot of stators. But a conforming warp field would do that as well. I think this ship was a prototype - the materials would be too expensive to make more, or a bigger one. This could be an actual dimensional-slipstream drive ship, if it works. It would use the 'maelstrom' as the Titanians call it.. the interstices between dimensional layers."
Eli can see Tasha's brows slowly rise as he explains the ship, followed by her eyes widening, ears perking, and there's more bouncing as well. "You think so?" She asks in a hushed voice, unable to quite believe her luck. "All of that? If it works, I mean?" She then cocks her head to the side and admits, "I barely know anything about the maelstrom that the Titanians use. I know a bit about the Sea of Stars drive, but nothing about what allows the Dainty Mauler to enter the maelstrom. ome to think of it, what is the ... the interstice between dimensional layers? Are those like the space between universes?"
"Sort of.. like boundary zones. Hmmm," Eli goes, and pauses to come up with a useful metaphor. He looks forward, into the sea seen through the forward windows. "Okay, that's it. Image space is an ocean. Most ships travel on the surface. Others can fly 'over' it through the air. And some can punch through to dive below the surface, into hyperspace. All of those methods are quantum locked. That is, you can only travel in one state or another, not between them. A hypership can't just stay submerged, it't either on the surface or underwater. An overspace ship can't 'stop' either, without transitioning to the surface, which is normal space. Now imagine a different sort of ship, a submarine. It can travel on the surface, or just below the surface.. but part of it can extend up to the surface to see what's happening. This would be a ship that is effectively invisible to the others. It can stop underwater. Loiter just below the surface and pop up when it needs to. That's what I suspect this ship is."
If her face wasn't already alive with incredulous excitement, it would be by now. Tasha gasps at the news, then clutches her hands to hr chest and bounces several more times. It's as excited as Eli's ever seen her, in a new flavor he's never seen before. "Really? So it can use its conforming gravity gravity warp to essentially 'cover' itself up in the other dimensional space, placing parts of itself in to normal space to observe, or hiding altogether? The possibilities are endless! This will help us so much! I'd been worried about how we were going to get around the Galactics and their fleets, but if they can't detect us, we can slip by and avoid trouble. And, we can use it to reach out destinations as well. This is the best ship ever!" And then she squeels.
"There is a caveat though," Eli points out. "We don't know how fast it is. The Titanians don't talk about their Maelstrom drive, but we know they only use it for relatively 'short' distances, or to transition into and out of the Star Sea. Without the ability to enter and navigate the Star Sea, this ship is still isolated from the Primus System."
"Well ... I guess that's true. Even if it is slow, I'll still love it. I love you ship!" Here Tasha leans over to pat her ship, letting it know it's okay to be a bit slower. Then she leans back, continuing on. "But, if they use the maelstrom drive to reach the Star Sea, then should we be able to, too? And even if it is isolated, well ... I think I knew I'd be leaving sooner or later. After what happened on Sinai, I'm okay with being away for a while. The JEF will probably do better without me making things complicated, too."
"I assume the Star Sea transition drive works from within the Maelstrom.. so the Maelstrom drive alone isn't enough," Eli says. "I'm not sure the Titanians would let you take this ship at all if they suspected it could reach the Star Sea. Now, there's still the problem of navigation and control. We have no idea how to navigate the Maelstrom, and I'm afraid to ask the Titanians. If the Nisss are as clever as they sound, they might be able to figure it out - they're used to dimensional drive systems, and I suspect the Maelstrom is the starting point for a wormhole drive system anyway, if it consists of macro-quantum foam."
"Macro ... Quantum ... Foam ..?" Tasha's ears go askew, her excitement replace with the wrinkled muzzle of confusion, but she presses on. "Well, the Niss used a stasis-3 pylon worm drive, so, maybe they do know. If not, then maybe they're at least familiar with it. That's if they'll help us. And, we can ask the Titanians, too, but I can't guarantee the answer will make any sense -- trust me I know from experience. Other than that, well, maybe I can ask a Harrower?"
"Oh, and, uh ... I think they partially let me take it because they can find me. Anywhere, apparently. I can't really betray them or ... " Here, Tasha runs a finger along her suit's throat.
"The Harrowers don't seem all that technologically savvy, from what you've told me of them," Eli notes. "Dark matter and energy don't follow the same rules as we do. As for the Titanians - they might be willing to share data with us, but at what price? They wanted you deal with a 'god' for them in order to get this far.. and only then because you'd already helped them with another one. They could have you running around dealing with dangerous entities again."
"Well, dangerous entities might lead me closer to the Progenitors -- they walked that path too after all. But, well, I guess we can make that a last resort. The Titanians trust me, but I think you may be right, and they sort of use me too. Well, at least I worked for it." The young woman shakes her head, then turns and peers at the hull. "It's good to have them on my side, anyway. I don't want to lose them as allies, or worse, make them mad. It's not like they deal with gods purely for fun, either. They're cleaning up the universe. making is safer, I guess. Just like Vulcan told them too. Maybe if I do their work, I'll find him waiting?"
"Or they could be waiting to see if you can figure it all out on your own," Eli suggests. "Isn't that a big deal for them? Knowing your tool, not using things you can't control and so on?"
"It is. I'm fine with that, too. It's actually why I made my halitool, and have been pushing myself so much, to do things myself and not rely on Mel, or other technologies that do it for me. People, too. I realized it was making me weaker. Well, I can be a Titanian just fine. I'll figure it out!" Then the young woman grins, patting her ship all over again. "Right ship? Right." She turns back and says, "But who knows what they think. They're a lot more clever than most assume, after all. Bumper picked this ship for me for a reason though, and I think it's because it can sense me. I resonate with it, both with the Dark Horse and the ship itself. That's why I could wake it up. Really, though, I'm more worried about the Galactics, and if they come at us while we're docked and unprepared."
"They'd need to know about us first," Eli claims. "But.. this ship is worth a fortune just for the hull material. I doubt anymore of it could be salvaged. And that's if it doesn't work. If it does, it would be the target of every major military. Too big of a threat, just like the original submarines back on Terra in the pre-spaceflight era. I can already think of weapons that could be effective against it when it's submerged. And I doubt it has any weapons systems of its own."
"Then again.. it really isn't that different from a Titanian ship, tactically," Eli points out. "If it is seen, it may be mistaken for one. Besides that we'll be carried into port at Outpost Caltrop as part of a Titanian cruiser.."
"Then we need to get it operational as soon as possible, and then disappear with it. Run somewhere, and see if we're followed." Tasha then nods. "I've already been seen in the company of Titanians, at least on Encante. My Titanian disguise works, too, but I'm concerned about using it long-term. After all, I look like a child. And while that's useful, no one will take me seriously for anything unless it's fearing I'll blow them up. But not as a ship owner. And, in addition, it'll make associating with me harder for people who might want to. Dealing with Titanians is aillegal after all, and Titanian artifacts more so. I guess that can't be helped, considering, but I'll need to think how to get around it. And about who to be. I wonder, do you think I could claim to be an alien? The aliens that made this ship?"
"Claiming to be a new alien race is unlikely," Eli says after a moment to consider it. "That, more than anything else, will get the attention of every Galactic government. I think we'd be safer going where you're already known, and Titanians are a known quantity: Encante. We know this ship doesn't have trouble being underwater if it needs to."
"That works for a little while, at least. There's a man there, Kaa, I'd like as my pilot if we can figure out how the ship can be navigated -- I'm sure he'll be just as excited as I am. I'll need to think of what to do about my appearance, though. I can't pretend to be a Titanian forever. Or, I guess I could, but I'd need modifications to keep doing it -- and my face fixed. Hrrm." Tasha's head shakes, then she begins pacing. "Lots to worry about. I could try to be Vartan? And a crew ... and we'll need money more than anything, to fill the ship with supplies ... if we have to I could contact Terra and offer to work behind the scenes for them ... Hmm ... Hmm ... "
"Leave any contact with Terra to me and Gabriel," Eli advises. "And don't worry too far ahead. Making the ship usable is the first step. Once that's done, you can focus on the next step."
"Easy to say," Tasha notes, pausing to eye the man thoughtfully. "People always tell me not to overthink, or that I worry too much, but sometimes what I worry about turns out to be the real danger. Like Abaddon. But, I guess I could do to just take it easy for now and focus on getting the ship running. Was there anything else you wanted to look at?"
"Just keep this in mind when planning: there's no such thing as multitasking," Eli advises. "The more your attention is divided, the worse your performance. So it does pay to focus on one thing at a time. Also, I'm to bring you back for dinner and a shower. Gabriel's orders."
"I guess a commodore does outrank a captain, so I'd better get going. Well, let me go turn off the generators and we can head out." Tasha gives the man a quick, if anxious, smile and then she's off.
It takes all of five minutes after entering the main plaza of the spire before Gabriel starts to take off his helmet. "We're drawing more attention by covering our faces," he notes. "Plus, I want to get a good smell of this place."
"Yah, smell good," goes Tasha, who pulls off her own helmet. She knows a Titanian child walking with may-be-Karnor or may-be-Titanian men will draw even more looks, but there's little she can't do about it for now. This is, after all, the best plan they could arrange with limited resources. "Mmm, smell like hoggie and people." When someone walks by and gives her a particularly surprised look, she waves at them in a cheery manner.
Eli also removes his helmet, and takes a whiff. "Smells.. like old Zanzibar Station, out in L5," the man says with a bit of nostalgia. "Where's your friend the artist, and the Library?"
"Artist by main area, not far from where we dock first time. Library deep in core. Artist closer, but Library less baggage. Hi kittty!" Tasha waves to a Khattan merchant who stares at her, then points towards the elevator shaft ahead. "Down. That way."
They still manage to attract some attention. Mainly from any Karnors or Humans they pass. Some of them begin to follow.. at a distance. It might be the attitude of Eli and Gabriel. Even though they've never been here before, they walk like they own the place. "I think we may cause some distraction at the Library," Gabriel admits. "That would be the best time for you to sneak away and meet your friend."
"Humm, yeah. You be okay though? I scare them off if not, it easy?" Tasha asks, shooting the two men a worried look. This is a lot more attention than she hoped, and if they're to be here a while, then she'd rather head off trouble early by putting her tiny Titanian foot down. "If not, I go. But I worry."
"Stick with us for now," Gabriel says. "I have no idea if what we're going to try will work, so we may need to improvise if it doesn't." They ride the elevator/tram down towards the core, but a few of the followers managed to get on as well. They keep to the back and.. stare.
The staring gnaws at Tasha like a bore to the head. She's used to being stared at, but having Gabriel and Eli be subject to it riles her in ways she never expected. The fear for her mate, and for Eli, her dear friend, is part of it; But also there's some level of jealous, and the anxiety of wondering when and if something bad will happen. Eventually, she decides to act. Turning, she plows right across the elevator floor and walks right up to the staring crowd.
"HI!" She declares, hands wide. "You stare lots, maybe want say hi? So I hi. I- ... Oh. Sorry. Um wait ... Hold on ... " She then reaches down and picks up the Titanian pistol she's been allowed to borror, pushing random, harmless areas on it. "No buzz. I hear you. no buzz. No no ... You melt face already. I talking, no melt. No asplode." Then she starts smacking it with a hand.
This seems to break the spell the others were under. "What? Who.. ah.." the first Karnor babbles, blinking his eyes rapidly. "You're with.. them?" he asks.
Tasha pauses. She thought they were curious, but not mezmerized. It's something she's never seen before, even on Abaddon. It catches her off-guard, so she stares at the Karnor with what she hopes is a blank expression, then quicly decides to play dumb. "What with who-ha? I with whoever. You okay? You being dumb. No dumb. Need smack, fix brain?"
"No.. I.. who are they?" the man whispers, looking over Tasha's shoulder. "The Alphas."
"Huh?" Tasha turns around, acting as if she just saw the men she was with for the first time. "Al-fas? No al-fas. Uh. Oh. This doggy speak, okay, uh ... Leadery ... You like them? Seem nice, so I follow. Need directions. Maybe go talk? Talk talk, go, go ... " Then she tries to push the man towards Gabriel, in the hopes he can explain this strange, new power to control Karnors.
The man seems hesitant at first, and his tail goes down between his legs. He even slouches. Unlike the early generations, this one is spotted, with lots of big dark patches over light colored fur. Finally Gabriel turns around and gestures for the man to come forward. He's clearly trying to resist kneeling or bowing, but does duck his head down. Gabriel pats him on the shoulder, and the Karnor's tail wags. The others seem emboldened to approach then. Except for the one human woman who managed to get aboard. She stays back with Tasha.
Tasha, just as lost as everyone else now, turns to the human woman for answers -- lacking anyone else. "Uh, what they doing? Doggies all acting weird. It mind-beams mebbe?"
"Instinct," the woman claims, also staring at the two ancient Karnors. "Look at them.. they're like gods. I bet they could even kill a human if they wanted to. Where did they come from?"
"Human dur-a-ble? Not know so strong. Maybe wrestle later." Tasha peers at the woman in a exageratedly assessive way, then turns to watch Gabriel and Eli. Inwardly, she's worried. She didn't expect this level of reaction; Standing out, yes, but not followers. "Gods huh? Maye they come from heaven, or maybe hell? Maybe angel-demon lady bring them from firey abyss, to say 'hello.' Dunno." There's little she can do about it now, though. Even her 'my Titanian thingie is going to explode!' ruse failed! "Kind of creepy. Mind-beams. Maybe I get off when elevator stop."
"Pheremones too," the woman says. "Those two were bred for leadership. Even I'd follow them. I guess it's true that the Terragens hid some of the Karnors away before the Galactics ruined them.."
"Ruined?" Tasha asks, for the moment leaving out the Titanianisims to get a clear answer, turning to look at the woman again, ears perked.
Finally the human turns to look at Tasha. "You're they're chaperone?" she asks. "There's a shop near the Terran tavern.. it sells soaps and perfumes. Get something minty. It will mask the 'follow me' scents."
"I, uh, yeah chaperone. Minty. Got it. Thanks nice lady!" Tasha gives the human a big grin, inwardly relieved, and turns to barge through Gabriel's mass of followers. "Hokay no more doggie worship, you two with me now or bonk happen. You, git!" The hybrid uses her halitool to butt-push away another Karnor in her way, then starts poking the others back as she slams the control button for the Terran tavern deck. Once the door opens, she grabs Gabriel and pulls him out, then Eli, then holds off the mass of groupies at butt-point noting, "I poke more! No follow! Git, shoo!" Until the door closes.
There's a lot of yipping and whining, but the other Karnors stay back - either cowed by Tasha or more likely still in submissive mode. "That was unexpected," Gabriel admits. "The Karnors on Sinai and Abaddon don't react like that. Nor did the Gallahs."
"I suspect it's in their DNA," Eli notes. "An override to the domestication, maybe, in case they need to be militarized again?"
"The human woman said the Galactics 'ruined' Karnors. That they can't attack Humans. I think something terrible happened to Karnors since you were away. I don't like it one bit. But, lets get you two to the perfume shop before the whole outpost of Karnors follows you!" Tasha leads the way, prepared to fend off new Karnors as she goes. "Maybe you're right? But this complicates things. People will know."
"Not if the perfume works," Gabriel notes. "Besides, it only affects Karnors, not everyone."
The bath shop is reached without incident - for some reason Karnors aren't fond of it. The only ones inside are human.
Realizing a Titanian in a bath shop is going to stand out, Tasha lets the Karnors go in first. "Huh, why smelly store?" She asks with mock-naivette. "Ugh. Bath? You trick me! Stupid Karnor!" She hestitates inside the doorway, looks around, then drops her voice and says, "I'll head for the Artist, meet you at the Library?"
"Alright, we shouldn't be long here," Gabriel says, while Eli goes tot he salesgirl and asks about masking scents.
"Good luck, and be careful!" Tasha backs away, then eyes some bath salts like they were aout to kill her. "Ugghh, no no ... you ... I ... you win this time! I be back!" She then turns, hurries off, then pauses to eye some soaps before uttering, "Ugggggghhhh!" And running off!
It takes some time for the scents to work their way out of Tasha's nose, and by then she's at Kem's studio, which isn't too far away anyway, being across from the tavern.
Tasha didn't mind the scents, but she figured any Titanian child worth her hammer isn't about to love a shop filled with bathing impliments. It's all a ruse, and one she hopes she's doing well. She learned the role from watching Titanian children, and from listening to, and reemmbering her own, expectations and reactions to other Titanians.
By the time she walks in, she's a little worn from all the excitability and fending off of Karnors. "Hi birdy," she says as she steps inside. "Hi fishy! I back!"
Lielani blows a raspberry from the waterway next to the entrance. "Not a fissssshy!" she complains. "Eat fisshies!"
Kem pokes his head out of the studio room, and blinks. "You came back," he says in surprise.
"Yah yah, squeaky fishy! Nice to see you too!" Tasha pats Lielani's head as she walks past, hunching over to do it, then heads straight for Kem. "Lots of people say that, all surprised! Had god to deal with, kitty, big adventure, bla bla bla ... Hi! How you? How friend?"
The Vartan gestures for Tasha to come into the studio.. possibly so she doesn't have to act the Titanian anymore. "Ah, Lielani and I are doing well. As for your friend.." he gestures to a piece of modern art sitting on a pedestal in the corner. "It.. they.. however you refer to it, hacked into my network and charged a lot of Library services to my account."
"Well that is very rude," Tasha notes, turning to split off and walk over to look down at the Niss, hand-on-hip. "Niss, have you been abusing the nice Vartan's hospitality by breaking his computer and stealing his money?"
"We have compensated," the Niss reply. "The account shows no use of funds." This isn't the same as paying him back, of course, merely tricking the bank, or the Library, into refunding the money.
"I had no idea your civilization was made up of such accomplished thieves," Tasha remarks, brows raising. "Well! You've bothered poor Kem long enough, it's time for you to go. I have a ship I need you to figure out, and so it looks like we'll be sharing our paths after all." The young woman picks the orb up, but doesn't put it away immediately. Instead she walks over to Kem and smiles. "As for you, I'm very sorry they were this much of a hassle. You'd think a whole empire would be a bit better at diplomacy. Anyway, my mate is on the station and my ship is docked. We'll be here for a bit, getting it fixed up. Maybe we can help you, too."
"Help me?" Kem asks. "I didn't know I needed any help. "I'm sure I will see you though."
"You deserve something for taking care of the Niss." Tasha turns to Keilani and asks, "Is he being modest? Do you two need any help with anything?" She looks back. "No painting my mate though, or my ship. You understand."
"He snores sometimes," Lielani claims.
The Vartan snorts. "You can treat us to dinner at the Surf 'n Turf," he suggests.
"Remy could have helped there, unfortunately he's not with me. Eli, welll ... " Tasha scratches her notes, then peers at the orb in her hand. "Well I tried, right?" Turning back, she says. "That I can do. Once I have money. I think Gabriel is up to something, that way. Assuming I can take him inside without the mob happening again." She rolls her eyes, then shakes her head. "Subtle. Anyway, we'll be about. Lots to do. Maybe later? I need to make sure the two of them aren't being harassed, and, see if they made it to the Library."
"Take care," Kem says. "Be wary of suppliers here too. They will try to gouge you."
"I'll use my amazing Titanian charm," Tasha promises, grinning. She carefully tucks the Niss away, then smiles at the two of them and says, "See you soon. And, thanks again. Some day I'll make it up to you beyond a dinner." And then she's off to find Gabriel and Eli.
The Library is crowded, but that isn't much of a surprise. It takes a moment for Tasha to locate her men, since they aren't at the Library desk itself, but off at a completely different station. A Karnor woman with very long, lush fur is at the desk.
Tasha walks in, but not having anything to request and having no money, she heads directly for Gabriel and Eli. "Hi mans, having fun with Library?" She asks as she walks up, immediately pushing her way between the men and peering at the terminal in a space-absorbing sort of way.
The terminal in question is indicating that it is trying to connect. The woman behind the desk is plugging in some sort of machine, which is little more than a cube with an indentation in the top. She barks slightly at Tasha's arrival, going wide eyed. "She's with us," Eli says, trying to sound reassuring.
"Yah with them. Big friends, hugs-and-kisses. Nice nice." Seeing the terminal isn't showing anything, she leans back, then puts her elbow on the rim of the terminal's console and watches everyone else. "Fancy cube fix everything? Kind of boring now. Smell minty."
"I'm never boring," Gabriel claims. The terminal then begins spewing a lot of text about hypernode connections and encryption protocols.. and a price, just for connecting. This is soon replaced by the logo of the Terragens Military Bank, which is a blue planet framed by laurel leaves. The lens on the terminal blinks, and Gabriel puts his eye to it for a retinal scan.
"Huh. Want hypernode. Find later mebbe." Tasha turns her attention to the screen now, ears perking and head, well, resting in a slightly less bored looking manner.
Next comes the cube, which Gabriel presses a finger to. Tasha can smell the brief scent of blood, so it must be taking a sample. After that there is a lot of entering complicated nonsensical codes via the keyboard.
"Is getting boring again," Tasha complains, finding the Titanian part of her just speaks whenever it wants to. She decides that maybe Aaron was right, and she's only some wings and feathers from being a Titanian after all. He'd laugh, she thinks, if he could see her now. "Get better soon?"
"Identity Confirmed: Akkers, Gabriel. SVC-A-845797K1. Retired," the terminal reports. This is followed by a menu of banking options, and a very large number of credits. Old Tasha would not have known that numbers went that high. Gabriel makes a withdrawal.
"Ooo, numbers!" Tasha's ears perk, then flatten a second later. "Huh. Many numbers. Zeroes. Bored again. This more math?" She shifts and tilts Gabriel-ward. "Pet head." And again, she's astounded by how easily Titanianess comes to her. She's even more amazed by the gigantic number infront of Gabriel, akthough she doesn't know what it means in terms of real spending power -- she hasn't had to deal much with credits yet. Titanians do not have very good credit, she decides.
Gabriel pets Tasha's head. The girl behind the desk has another startled reaction to the funds being transferred, and has to work at her own console for a few moments. Eventually she takes several data strip crystals as they are extruded by her console. Each of them has a band of gold. There area a lot of them as well. "I've.. never handled this much before," she says apologetically. Several wallets are also produced, to put the chips into. Each has a security tag on it, and wording in various languages about the futility of stealing it or trying to break through its data barriers.
Although not able to add anything constructive to maintain the ruse, at least Tasha finds herself comforted by the head petting. Generally when they're out and about she has to maintain some level of decorum, especially back on Abaddon which has much higher expectations for how women should act, and how much affection should be shown. That they're far apart in age doesn't help. As a Titanian, though, she finds all expectations are off. She decides it's a nice change of pace.
As the credits roll, she eventually has reason to comment. "That a lot? Kitty money? Is good mebbe?"
"Terran money, nearly as good," Gabriel claims. "Exchange rate isn't bad right now." He takes the wallets, and says, "Thank you," to the clerk, who smiles and wags her tail. Then he's trying not to hurry as they leave. "Did you get your friend?" he asks Tasha.
Tasha follows along, but keeps back a bit to watch for any pursuers or other excessively interested individuals. "Yah, friend all taken care of. Have dinner-date with birdy and fishy, for later, if work." As they move beyond the crowd, she whispers, "That was more than what you'd normally expect from the account, wasn't it? A lot more?"
Gabriel whispers, "I didn't stop to calculate the compound interest. It looks like some of the investments paid off though. It's just been accumulating for a few thousand years is all.."
They head for the tram-evator, to head back up the spine to the docks. "I've no idea if any flags went off when I accessed the account though," Gabriel notes.
"I was wondering about that, too. It seems too good to be true that no one noticed your return. I think we shouldn't stay at Caltrop too long. Between you two and the ship, I wouldn't be surprised if investigators start popping up," Tasha notes, leaning heavily on her halitool as the elevator rises. She eyed some people to ensure they were alone this ride. "If you had to guess, what do you think would happen if someone did notice? A 'flag' went up?"
"The local Terragens agent would track us down and ask some questions," Gabriel says. "Let's get your friend installed before that happens."
"Lets. I have a feeling they won't be put off by my Titanian act, as fun as it is." The elevator ride continues in relative silence, and the trip back to the Dainty Mauker made quickly. They're nearing the airlock when Tasha turns to ask, "You don't think the agents would be a real problem, do you?"
"They're good at keeping secrets," Gabriel says. "I imagine that, assuming there hasn't been a radical power shift in Galactic politics, they'd help keep us hidden."
It's several more minutes of traversing the dock before they can jump to the Dark Horse. Once inside, the Niss seems to become more active. "A new body for us?" it asks Tasha.
"It's nice to see that maybe Terra is on our side, in one way or another. Miss Riddle seemed to reveal herself to me for a reason, and I'm wondering what that is, but I don't think she's out to get us either." Once inside her ship, Tasha pulls the Niss out and holds them aloft, uncertain if it helps any. "This is my ship, Niss. The Dark Horse. You could say it's my body, or at least my home. We need your help in getting it to work. Are you interested in it?"
"Yes," the Niss reply.
"Riddle wants something, that's why," Eli notes. "A Hypernet relay node, wasn't it?"
"I see. Well, I don't mind if you inhabit it, but remember that the ship is mine. You'll get your own body, in time. Instead, you'll be part of the crew aboard this vessel, and comes with us on our missions and explorations." Tasha then turns to Eli and nods. "That's what she said, but I have a feeling it's a bit more than that -- Or maybe I'm being paranoid? Oh well, Miss Riddle said that's a good thing."
A few moments later, and they're in the bridge section, with the glowing holographic tactical display and the odd control panels.
"I suppose you just put the.. Niss.. on the panel?" Eli asks. "It's talking to you, right?"
Tasha nods to this, looking around for a place to put the spherical empire. "I forget that you can't hear them. Yes, they're talking to me. They're interested in this ship, and I've been working out how that will go. It was important to explain that it's not a new body, but my ship, a home we'll share." Deciding nowhere is really good -- after all they have no idea how any of the consoles function -- the hybrid simply places the Niss on the closest one. "How's that?" She asks. "Can you interact with the ship's systems? Do you know this language? Who built it?"
"Investigating," the Niss reply. All of the panels begin to light up, and plasma arcs between all of the controls at once for a moment.
The young woman steps away from the control panels, moving her halitool off as well. "It's kind of exciting when they do that, isn't it?" She asks no one in particular, sounding a little anxious. "Uh, let me know if you have any questions, Niss."
"Exciting, yes," Gabriel says, moving back from the colorful display as well.
"Information required," the Niss tells Tasha. "Technical specifications for life support and user interface systems."
"I wonder if tehy're supposed to do that?" Tasha asks as she watches the flashing. "I-" he pauses as she hears the Niss's voice, then turns to Eli and says, "I need the technical specifications for life support and interface systems," while digging out her own datapad as an example if Eli has none.
Eli produces a data crystal. "This has the specs for the Fenris and Bellerophon on it," he explains. "Can they read it?"
"That and more," Tasha answers, shrugging a little in a 'I don't really understand it' manner. She carries the crystal over to the Niss and lays it beside them, careful to avoid the plasma arcs. Then she lays her datapd next to it as well, explaining, "The datacrystal has the information for the two Terran ships we're familiar with and have used. The Bellerophon was designed for a diverse crew, and is the best choice to base things on. I also have my datapad here, so you can learn Vartan interface and language and add that as well." She always did find Vartan to be easier to use. It is, after all, her first language.
The Niss is quiet for several minutes - which could be years of subjective time for the collective. More lights come on inside the ship, as the brain-bulges begin to glow an almost ultraviolet pink. "Matter projection systems activating. Please move to the center of the control platform." A big blinking arrow appears over the center of the dais, with 'Stand Here' shining above it. The rest of the tactical display has vanished.
"Hokay, this is a bit more than I was expecting," notes Tasha, who hurries along towards the glowing postion. Standing under a blinking arrow maks her feel a little silly, but she'd rather feel silly than be in the way of something called a 'matter projection system.' Together with the others, she turns to Gabriel and Eli and asks, "Do you know what's going on?"
The other two join Tasha on the platform and shrug. "Only you can hear the Niss," Eli points out.
"Oh. Well, something about matter projection. I think I know what's going to happen, but, I'm not sure I can quite believe it's going to happen. I do think we'd best stay put though!" Tasha watches on from the safety of the arrow, though she's not quite sure where to look. So, she looks everywhere.
Ghostly outlines begin to appear in the bridge space. Wires, conduits, support beams.. and then surfaces. A platform floats in the middle of the chamber, then links up to walls and monitors and consoles. It looks like the Bellerophon bridge, slightly modified. The odd alien walls are also covered in more Karnor friendly materials. Ceramic, metal, plastic.. and wood. There's a lot of mahogany wood trim to everything. And then the various systems begin to light up. The rest of the ship is hidden beyond the bridge airlock, which fills the available space of the ship's neck.
"Projection complete," the Niss reports, and this time everyone hears it because it's coming over the suit radios. "Consumables requirements have been transferred to your data device. Life support requires real matter for consumables."
Stunned, Tasha slowly turns in place, taking a look around at the newly formed bridge. "This ... This is going to save a lot on construction materials ..," she stammers, a little too dazed to think of anything more profound. She then blinks at the announcement, stepping forward and retrieving her datapad to check for the new information.
It seems that most of what's needed is 'air' and 'water'. Food is left to the crew to decide on. There's no mention of fuel, so presumably the horse is power it all.
Eli is already poking at the underside of the command-deck where it extends overhead into the head space. The only thing left untouched by the makeover is the alien command dais itself. "Hmmm, fascinating," Eli notes. "Probably massless. This ship.. or the Niss.. has complete control over the internal spacetime, including the spatial ray-tracing."
"This will really cut down on expenses," Tasha repeats, still not quite believing her ship just made its interior from, as far as she can tell, thin air. And according to the notes, not even air. "At least air and water should be easy to come by? And food ... We'll need to think about what we want to eat and stock up. We'll need medical supplies too, and, probably other things I'm forgetting." She then looks up, giving Eli a ears-askew look. "Ray-tracing?"
"It's the way that the universe renders reality," Eli notes. "The Sifras do it on a massive, interstellar scale. There isn't a single atom of actual matter involved, but the spacetime within in the ship is tricked into thinking there is, so everything behaves as if it were real."
"I can see why the Sifras targeted this species for extinction," Gabriel says. "Too close for comfort. Potential rivals."
"The Tnuctipin were Old Ones, like ourselves," the Niss explains. "They were very clever, but also very aggressive and predatory, with a taste for sentient meat. Gender-dimorphic sentients - only the males were sentient. Females were cattle."
"This is one of those things I'll need you to repeat several times, with exampls, isn't it?" Tasha asks, ears splaying. "Well, how about we focus on actual food, and you try to explain it again as we eat?" She then glances at Gabriel and nods. "I see what you mean." She blinks in surprise when the Niss become not just informative, but verbose. Turning, she watches the orb, listening, and then says with wide-eyes. "You were a Old One then? Well, I hate to say genocide is good, but I'm not sure I would have wanted to meet the Tnuctipin. I can tell Bumper she was right, at least. I can see why a predator-species would build a ship like this, though, but I'm not at all comforted by being on a ship whose makers had their 'females as cattle.'"
"There is no artificial mind installed," Niss reports. "They did not trust such things, preferring manual controls and bio-engineered brains."
"Air and water shouldn't be a problem," Gabriel says. "This is a mining supply outpost. Volatiles from the gas miners will be abundant."
Eli turns off his boots, and jumps up and down a bit. "We have gravity," he notes, and starts climbing the service ladder up to the actual command deck.
"Bio-engineered brains. Maybe I was better off not knowing who made my ship. No, wait ... I should, but ... " She just gives Gabriel a look, then tells the Niss. "Well, it's good to have answers, anyway. And progress. Does this ship have other systems we should be aware of, Niss? Exotic systems, defenses, weapons, drive, FTL other than the conforming gravity drive? Are the controls an exact match for the Bellerophon's"
"Some modifications have been made to the controls to account for the unique drive and sensor systems," Niss reports. "There are no distinct, built-in defense or offense systems, as this was a prototype ship. Such may be improvised though through selective channeling of gravitational energy."
"That sounds something like what Balthasar used," Tasha notes. She cranes her neck, wondering what Eli is up to as she asks, "Since the interior is based on an actual ship's design, does that mean the interior can be modified if I chose to do so? Like, if I wanted a different pattern on the woodwork, or different colors? A desk?"
"Encouragement to stay out of trouble," Gabriel says, as he looks over the command deck. Two stations protrude out into 'display' area above the real command console. "Pilot and navigation it looks like," he says. There's a command seat behind them, and two multi-use stations to the sides. Eli is already looking at a ship schematic on one of them.
"Small changes can be made," the Niss notes. "Reconfiguring spaces may require a complete rebuild of the projection."
"It does really resemble the Bellerophon, doesn't it? Eerily so. We may not even need everything the Bellerophon uses, as some of it is structural or serves functions we're not using. We'll have to take a look at what we really need." Tasha follows Gabriel, walking over to the lip of her usual command position. "If Kaa comes on board, we'll need to modify the ship to support Phin biology, too. He'll probably occupy my old command chair. Come to think of it, I might not be needed on the bridge as an officer." She turns to look around, then moves to join Eli. "How's it look?"
"It's a bit sparser than Fenris in overall utility, but we aren't going to be doing planetary surveys," Eli notes. "On the plus side, it is much more luxurious. Eight officer-equivalent cabins, a large galley with the medical bay across from it. Much larger hangar space, and cargo carriage in the lower deck. The horse has it's own mid-ship section as well, hangar behind it."
"Well, I like the layout. We may need to add additional scanning equipment, but that can wait. Plenty of cargo space, though -- that'll help a lot in supporting my Titan and any trade we take on. I'll need a medical officer, of course, and the rest of the crew now. Niss?" Tasha looks up and away, towards the collective. "Is this ship fully functional now, aside from needing life support supplies? Are we capable of departure and FTL travel?"
"All drive and navigation functions are available," Niss reports.
"Eli, I want the hangar layout and dimensions on my tablet when you get the chance," Gabriel says. "We'll need them for procuring a longboat or two. Once Melchior is transferred over, we can go shopping."
Tasha nods, then turns to Gabriel. "Aside from supplies, we can leave at any time then. That'll be good if we draw unwanted attention. Once we have our supplies, and we've said good-bye to Kem and Lielani, we should probably depart the station. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but it might be safer if we don't overstay our welcome. I'm also thinking that maybe I should remain in space, and that you and Eli could return to forward any crew choices we decide on, to me out here. That's if we can't hide the ship somewhere safe and if the Niss can't defend it easily," says Tasha.
The young woman then nods. "I'll begin transfering Mel over as soon as we're back on the Mauler. I want us ready to go as soon as possible -- with the minimum supplies -- just in case. We can then fill up on the rest if things look calm," the hybrid continues.
"It's a plan then," Gabriel says. "And minimum supplies are whatever we can carry. You never skimp on that, and it's not going to take that much more time anyway. Getting the boats will take the longest, and we still have Fred's shopping list as well. So long as we're tethered to the Mauler, nothing is going to come after us."
"Hokay, then we have a plan. Short of a disaster, we should at least have a little whle to get ready in peace. Well, relative peace if no agents pop up." Tasha turns away from the monitor, looking around a moment and then she nods. "Well, this is home now! Time to make it ours. Lets get going, the sooner we get the basics over here the sooner we can relax a bit and see to everything else."