There were quite a lot of things that had to be procured for the Dark Horse. Virtualized matter could only do so much - they needed air, water, food, medicine, clothes and beddings as well. Some areas of the ship had been left a bit raw as well, as Tasha discovered on her exploration. The Captain's Quarters, Wardroom and one of the Executive Office cabins were complete, and made with Karnors in mind. The remaining cabins were blank spaces, quite literally. The floors and walls and ceilings were flat, white surfaces. Until someone was actually assigned to one of them, the Niss hadn't bothered to do more than allocate the space.
Similarly, the large medbay had undefined areas as well, aside from the familiar (if millennia out of date) systems that were aboard Bellerophon. The galley was complete, but then it seemed to be a pretty basic layout. There are only so many ways food can be prepared, after all. One of the storage compartments was left blank, however. The design of the ship became new from that point aftward: the corridor ended at a T-junction with a large elevator in the center, and ramps angled slightly downward that led to the personnel airlocks and the side corridors that led back to the hangar, and also passed through the horse stable. That particular area seemed untouched, save for the walkways.
The lower cargo deck was partitioned off but also 'blank' for now. The elevator also accessed un upper deck, with a large executive suite just below the matter projection systems. This was only residential area where one of the crystal power spines passed through. It had a cabin similar to the Captain's, and some other undefined areas. It stretched quite a distance, ending with a large window-wall looking down into the hangar, and another elevator.
It was eerie to see all of the finished (and almost finished) spaces while still being confined to an environment suit. But until Gabriel and Eli returned from their shopping trips that was unlikely to change. This meant the ship was quiet, with the only sounds coming from within Tasha's own suit and helmet.
As the ship's crew assigned to maintain watch, Tasha tried to keep herself near the bridge in case of an emergency. There now, she reclines in the captain's chair staring at the tactical display with her arms folded behind her head, watching the various ships come and go, and for signs of trouble. She thinks on everything she's seen, too. So far, her ship has been a wonder of engineering and utility -- she certainly couldn't have asked for better! So much of a wonder it is, that there's still much she doesn't know, and much she knows that she doesn't understand.
Thoughts of what to do with all the remaining space flits through her mind, as does the memory of her space aboard ship -- the owner's deck. Large, roomy, and with a great view, it's more living space than she's ever had before. Normally this would strike her as excessive, awkward; But not this time. Something about it being her's -- the ship being her's -- has allowed her to accept it in to her heart. More so, to see it as her home within her home. Her refuge, like the /Melchior
's/ cockpit. For once since she left /The Rake,/ she feels at home. At peace. She supposes that only a ship could replace what she lost, and as the /Bellerophon/ became more distant, a replacement was needed. Here, now, she's finally home. At last!
It's all a big stress relief for the young woman, despite all that has to be done and all the other concerns. The future may be daunting, and the dangers many, but at least now she has a place to return to. A place to rest, and wander. Her place. She's even put aside the desire to be captain, slowly settling in to her role as owner. Having her own deck helped, there. She's content to step back, to oversee. It will give her time to grow in other ways, without feeling like her ship is being taken from her, she decides.
Time passes, and the tactical display shifts. She never imagined there could be so many people, or so many traveling wonders in the starry night. But there they are, and here she is, somehow amongst them in a world that was never her's. This brave new world is aluring, though. It calls to her. An endless sky of sailors in the inky black. She could learn to love this place, and suspects she already has.
The Niss had not been idle during their stay on Caltrop. They had absorbed quite a lot of information from the Library, although their focus had been on navigation and a catalog of the known ships in service. So, as they come and go or take up station-keeping orbits nearby, Tasha can at least see their names. There are quite a few Silent-Ones trading vessels in the area, along with a few Confederate ships and a smattering of Terrans. Personal ownership of starships isn't allowed in the Celestial Empire, but there are still Naga-crewed 'boats' and gas-miners, incapable of faster-than-light travel without hitching a ride - or using the Silent-Ones gate at the edge of the system.
And while the outpost has a large Khattan population, there aren't any actual Khattan ships in port. Although the vendors must receive their wares from somewhere.
Glancing back over her shoulder, Tasha takes a moment to regard the Niss: A brain-sized sphere, and brain-like to boot. And an empire, older than Progenitors. An entire people -- peoples! -- resting on a console. They often make her head hurt, just trying to comprehend them. She wonders what their existence must be like, within their multitudal collective. She wonders if they're happy. If they understand happiness -- she thinks they do. Her time speaking with them seemed to imply it, and for all their ability, they're still familiar on that level. She knows that they know sadness, mourning the loss of their world. It saddens her to consider, and she wonders how the collective is doing. So she asks, "Hey, Niss? How are you doing?"
"We are entertained," the alien replies, using the suit radio. "Systems integration is quite pleasant, and this body feels comfortable to us."
"I'm glad," Tasha says with a smile. Their presence worried her, but she's growing accustomed to what they can do, and what they mean, as time progresses and she talks to them more often. "Would you like your own quarters? This interior design would normally include avionics, but, you are avionics, so that space could be yours if you want it. If you need privacy or workspace."
"There have been 10,732 attempts at external access via electromagnetic and resonance communication," the Niss report. "We do not require space of our own. This vessel is our space. Our body. Do you require us to be out of sight?"
"Not really," Tasha replies, turning the command chair until she's facing the mass. "I just thought you might need more, but you seem to be fine where you are. I may ask to move you later, though, to somewhere respectful where you can rest your physical mass. It seems appropriate that you have a nice place to set your core upon. It may not mean anything to you, but you're all a valuable member of this crew, so, just as we respect the captain, you should receive respect and a proper place. And, what did you mean by external access? Are others trying to probe us? Access the ship's systems?"
"Yes, there have been many scan and data access attempts," the Niss replies. "The majority come from the Library, using quantum resonance. We have been blocking them."
'Hrmp,' goes Tasha, who rolls her eyes as she turns her seat, then eyes the outpost. "I guess I can't be surprised," she admits, head now shaking. "The Khattans are /nosy./ I think I'd be more surprised if they /didn't take any interest. It is worrying, though. Eventually they might try something else, and they clearly know we're here now -- maybe quite a /lot/ of them." She turns her head towards the moring spire, wondering if Gabriel is on his way. "Well, not much we can do, though I hope to be gone sooner rather than later. have you noticed anything else of interest?"
"We have been observing the Aldersen Transfer Point," the Niss note. "Since the primary of this system is a white dwarf, the point orbits with the secondary red dwarf. We were not aware of this mode of travel in our time. We are still integrating all ship functions, and trying to determine what the capabilities of the horse are. We are uncertain yet if this vessel will function as it was designed to. It is possible it was abandoned as a failure."
"Don't listen to that, Horse. You'll never be a failure to me!" Tasha insists, patting the arm of the captain's chair. She then turns said chair, glancing back towards the Niss. "Even so ... What do you mean by 'failure'? Do you think the drive won't function as intended? The matter projector is clearly working, after all, and as far as I can tell the more mundane systems are too."
"We are only speculating," the Niss report. "This ship is made of valuable materials. If the project failed, it should have been recycled. It is unclear why it was abandoned. It is also possible that it succeeded, but the initial test brought it to its resting point and the crew did not survive."
"That's, um, ominous." Tasha grimaces, leaning forward. "If that's the case, though, or even if you suspect it, then we should try our initial FTL access with a minimum crew. I don't want to risk Gabriel and Eli's livs for nothing. This is my ship, so I should be here. I know you'll want to be here too." The young woman considers for a moment, then asks, "Do you think any of us are unsuitable to the attempt? I know my biology is different, and some part of me is touched by Harrowers, will that be a problem? What about you? And Gabriel and Eli?"
"You have all traversed the Maelstrom with the Titanians," the Niss points out. "If there was a fault, it would have been in the biology of the Tnuctipin. Also, they relied on manual control, whereas you do not."
"That's good. Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Tasha kicks off the floor, sending the command chair spinning in circles as she leans back again. "At least, I'd want to die here. On my ship." Round and round she goes. "Did you see my 'travel body,' in the hangar?"
"Yes, it does not look very much like you however," Niss says of Melchior. "Was it supposed to?"
"It looks like Horus, Progenitor of Vartans, or so I was told. I'm not the original pilot; I found the Titan in the Primus System aboard one of the Fleet vessels stranded on the moon, Sheol. The Khattans built him, probably for first contact with the Progenitors," Tasha explains to her billions of tiny crew members. "The outter hull is fake. Just a disguise to hide what it really looks like."
"I did not realize you had more than one body," the Niss says. "There is a message from Captain Akkers," it says next, and Gabriel's voice says, "Tasha, remember those smaller permeable areas you found? I need you and Niss to use them for our air and water delivery. Can you do that and wait on the hull next to them?"
Tasha listens, then stops her spinning by catching a foot on the deck, and rises. "It looks like we have a job, we'd better get to that then. I'll probably need your help, so lets keep in contact. Tell Gabriel that I'm on my way to the port side airlock, unless he'd prefer starboard."
As she walks off the bridge and in to the ship, she asks, "So, you didn't realize I had a travel body? It just sort of happened one day, when I found him. I have neural studs that let me interface with him, and pilot him as if her were my body. Are you familiar with that technology?"
"We are that technology, if one were being general," Niss says. "We can control anything we come in contact with."
The airlock looks a bit different. Aside from having an inner door (which may or may not be superfluous) there is a universal docking ring mechanism just inside the permeable membrane. "We are creating the necessary plumbing for the transfer now." Of course, that would be using couplings that thousands of years old in design.. but that sort of thing can't change much, really.
"Oh, do you think you could replicate the interface, then? It'd be nice if I could use my neural studs to interface with the ship, like you do. They interface is a lot more robust than staring at consoles." Down the gangway and in to the ship, Tasha's soon at the first area. Naturally, it's too small for her to fit through -- she's only there to examine it before she's off again. "And if you don't mind, when you have the time, could you analyze my Titan?"
"Is there something specific you wish us to look for?" Niss asks. The docking area is a bit crowded, but that's not unusual. There is a tender approaching them, not much more than a cluster of spherical tanks scaffolded together and controlled by maneuvering jets. Eli is riding on it, along with two other suited figures. From the looks of them, they are probably human.
Tasha waves across the void to the approaching figures, having exited the ship through the larger airlock further down the ship. Dressed asa a Titanian, she hopes the wave didn't seem too friendly -- it was a reflex on seeing her Eli. "You set up there?" She sends via com to the man, then simply talks in to her helmet for the Niss. "See if you can find anything that might endanger the pilot, such as external overrides, control mechanisims, malicious memory editing, that sort of thing. Also, see if there's any overides that allow external control of the AI. It's all supposed to be Khattan, so, expect Khattan safeguards and access codes."
"We've got our volatiles," Eli replies. "I'm hoping we can just stick the feedlines through the ports and Niss can link them from the inside."
"Infrastructure is being assembled now to support them," Tasha sends back, stepping aside along the hull of her ship to provide linkage room. "The Niss reported a number of intrusion attempts, by the way. We're drawing a lot of interest."
"It's gotten us a discount," Eli notes. "We've been denying that we are a new sub-breed of Titanians. Therefore that is the rumor everyone is believing now." The tender puffs gas, and slows to a stop next to the hull. Eli and one of the humans jump the distance to the hull, and the human begins unspooling a thick, insulated hose with a complicated looking valve. "Point us to the oxygen intake," Eli tells Tasha.
After consulting with the Niss, Tasha directs the two men to the appropriate port. "New sub-species of Titanians huh? Tashanians?" Eli can her her laugh loud and clear.
"Who knows?" Eli says. The technician comes over.. and seems to stare at the unbroken hull. He points to the spot, and Eli gestures for him to go ahead. With a shrug the human feeds the hose towards the hull, and through it, until it finally 'stop' as the Niss grabs onto it. Liquid oxygen begins flowing soon after.
With nothing to do other than wait, Tasha walks around Eli to examine how the tender crew goes about their work. As she does, she asks, "Anything else interesting happen? Its been quiet on the ship."
"We've found the junkyard," Eli notes. "Sorry.. I mean Slight Used Vehicle Depot. Found an old Terran shuttle that we should be able to fly, and a Vartan.. not sure what the term is. Palanquin I suppose. Shuttle for a single VIP passenger."
"I'm looking forward to seeing them! Not one, but three new ships. You can't see it, but I'm grinning a lot right now." Tasha walks around the hose, then cranes her neck to examine the minder in more detail. "Isn't all this really expensive, though? I don't want to bankrupt Gabriel."
"The one thing Caltrop has in abundance is air and water.. and most other gasses," Eli explains. "All from the nebula and local gas giants. The shuttles were repossessions, so we got a good price since it's either sell to us or.. not sell them. Not much call for shuttles. I'll be going back for other supplies too. Medical stuff is at a premium, more than anything else."
"I'll be here then! Just let me know if you need anything." Time passes, and one tube is exchanged for another. The young woman is keen to observe the process, so that she might be able to replicate it if need-be.
Five hours later, and Dark Horse has air pressure and warmth. It's not all just oxygen.. there were further fill-ups of other necessary gasses. But the time has come when Tasha can finally take off her helmet inside the ship.
Releasing the seals, Tasha pulls off her helmet and exhales a sigh of relief. While she's gotten used to wearing her space suits, she decides there's nothing quite like getting out of them after a long day. She settles back in the command chair, having long since returned to watch duty. Its been a busy but peaceful, affair. Relaxing, even.
The ship smells.. odd. Sterile. At least until her own pent-up odors begin to disperse. There's no smell of grease or electricity or any of the other 'lived in' scents she's used to from the Titanians or even Bellerophon. At least it doesn't feel like stale air. And there's also sound now, as the air cycling system keeps things flowing.
Wondering if she'll need to do something about the smell -- or lack there of -- Tasha leans over to examine the captain's console and enters a few commands. Sure enough, ship's stores are projected, showing her dear ship slowly reaching livability. Maybe some wood paneling? She considers as she sorts through various gasses, water, and oxygen.
After that's done, she switches to external communication and sends to Gabriel, "Not much left to do, is there? Did you manage to get the relay Treachery wanted? Could you pick up a gadget, too? It might help us get Katie, and, she'd like a souvineer."
"This place is 50% tacky souvenirs," Gabriel replies. "And surprisingly, highly regulated hypernode relays are not available here. I have a lead on one though. It comes with a doctor."
"Did you say a doctor?" Tasha asks, glancing at the console with a touch of disbelief.
"Yes," Gabriel says. "Human. Knows Karnors, Vartan, Pans, Phins and the rest. Also comes with his own medicine, which is a plus."
"What's the catch?" Is Tasha inevitable questions, her brows going up. "There must be something special about him? I can't believe you'd just take anybody."
"Chances are good he's a Terragens Agent," Gabriel notes. "Normally, I'd give them a wide berth, but we may want specialized information, and we don't have anything worth stealing, from a government perspective. The Dark Horse is nice, but none of its technology can be replicated.. so it's worthless in that sense."
"We've got the Markers and me as well, too," Tasha reminds Gabriel, quite serious. She isn't sure what the Galactics would think of her unique biology, but given what she knows of Clients, the answer worries her. "But other than that, I'd like to meet him before we let him on for long. If you're sure about him."
"Were do you want to meet him?" Gabriel asks. "I'm not sure about anything, and I still have stuff to get."
"Tell him to come on board. I'll meet him inside the airlock. Tell him to come alone, okay? I'm curious what he'll do and how he'll do it. Besides, I feel like I need something to do," Tsha answers. She sits up, turning in her chair and facing the exit hatch. "if he's going to be with us, he'll see what I am sooner or later. I don't want to have to hide in my own ship. Oh: Don't tell him who I am or that he's meeting anyone, except the owner. I think I'll play Titanian to see how he acts, and let the Niss scan him a bit. It'll be fun!"
"You'll need to guide him in," Gabriel says. "Unless you extend one of the docking rings through the airlock wall to show where it is."
"/I'll go meet him. Talk to you soon./" Tasha rises, then grabs her helmet, putting it on. /So much for that./ She begins out, but before she does she says, "Niss, I'm sure you heard that, but if you didn't: A man will be coming on board. I'd like you to use the ship's scanners to see if he's using any special equipment, or, has any body modifications. Anything of interest, really. I'm going to go talk to him. Oh, and be ready -- just in case./"
"Be ready for what?" the Niss asks.
"Danger. Hostilitis? Just ... Be ready." And with that, Tasha is off.
It takes some time, so Tasha gets to people-watch for a bit. The gravity field of Caltrop means that people can walk normally on the main platform, but if they can jump up hard enough they'll be in freefall. Most of the people are actually doing things, like trying to sell things to the Titanians. Others are clear there to watch the new alien ship - easy to spot since they aren't wearing space suits, and tend to head back inside after a bit. Only one figure actually approaches the ship, wearing a skinsuit painted to look like a colorful starfield and a small helmet. He's also carrying a large case with him.
This person, Tasha approaches. Walking directly towarsd him, she shoulders her halitool, and upon reaching him thumbs back towards the ship. "You doctor man?" She asks, head tilting and trying to sound friendly. "Owner say meet you, so meet you! Come, we go on ship now. Fun fun!"
The man looks up to the ship, and asks, "How do we get inside?"
The 'Titanian cub' laughs, pointing. "Ha, stupid man, is easy. Use permeable surface airlock! You follow, I show. Is good." Leaping off, the young woman rotates in frefall, turning until she lands feet first on her vessel -- something she got a lot of practice with during her time aboard the ship. She waits for the man to follow, then makes her way towards the port side personnel airlock, stepping in that peculiar motion, and walking inside.
Her hand slides right back out again, apparently from the solid surface. It beckons!
The man doesn't seem to have any trouble following - he definitely has his space-legs. Once inside the airlock, he also pauses to stick his hand through the wall again. "Convenient.. but you can't see what's waiting for you on the other side," he notes. "You should add a window."
"Yeah, mebbe. Lots to do." The cub pulls off her helmet, then puts it aside. "Owner busy, so, got to wait. Boring. Mebbe talk. Dunno." She then steps forward, leaning in and well in to the man's personal space to peer in to his helmet. "Human huh. No fur. Kind of weird?" She squints to see more, wondering how he'll react.
The man takes off his helmet. Tasha is used to Abaddonian humans, with their often colorful hair.. so she isn't quite prepared for a bald man. His skin is dark, but the dark of a Belter. "Did you injure your eye?" he asks.. and leans forward to be nearly nose-to-nose with Tasha. He sniffs her.
Tasha doesn't move, knowing it wouldn't be very Titanian. She sniffs back. "Yeah. Battery sad, melty melty! Had to kill demon god." Inwardly, she begins to worry about herself as she realizes how increasingly easily she blurt out Titanian-sounding replies. "Skin all dark. You burn mebbe? Melty melty?"
"Space-tan," the man says, pulling back now. He's taller than Tasha, nearly as tall as Gabriel. He extends his right hand, and introduces himself. "Jonas Knight, Doctor to the Stars," he says, smirking a bit. "That title is a joke, I'm just a doctor who works in space."
The hand gets eyed, then it gets sniffed. "Rustpuppy," she introduces herself. "Build, fight, uh, Titans. Gods. Demons. Pet head?"
Jonas shrugs, and tries to pet the top of Tasha's head. "Are you the owner's.. daughter?" he asks.
Tasha lets her head be petted, making a mental note of the response. "I lots of things." One the petting is complete, she leans back and wags her tail, then asks, "You Turra ... uh ... Ter-ah-geen? Oh. Agent?"
"You don't look like Bumper, but I don't know if Titanians pass traits like others do," Jonas says. "If you were anyone's daughter, I'd bet on her's. And if I were a Terragens Agent, I'd be trained in how to subdue you in unarmed combat, among other things. So yes, I could be, if that helps?"
"Bumper!" Tasha wags her tail again, smiling a big, friendly smile. "Yah Bumper." She then tilts her head, invading the man's space again and leaning in to examine his suitcase. "What that? Snack? Toy? Snack-toy? Bring me stuff? We wrestle for it, Turra-geen?"
"That is everything I own, which consists of a change of underwear and my medical supplies," Jonas claims. "Are you going to take me to meet the owner, or can I have a look at your medical facilities first?"
"Sure, we go look. Come, come." Tasha turns, snatching up her helmet and walking in to the ship. "This way, turn, walk steps, down corridor, turn, here we are!" She gestures expansively at the rather ancient, empty medbay. "Exciting yeah?"
"Interesting," Jonas notes, and glances at the 'unfinished' area before going to the first of the medical beds. "Very interesting. You get this from an old Terran military ship?"
"Sure, mebbe. Lots of junk in space! Exciting." Tasha follows the man around, giving him a bit more room this time. "You impash ... impashunt ... uh ... not want to play? No like Titanians mebbe?"
"I haven't met many," Jonas replies, still examining the systems. Then he turns and gives Tasha a critical look.
Tasha's ears go up, brows raised. "Yeah, doctor-guy-knight?
"There is a lot of junk in space," the man agrees. "However this is the first time I've seen brand new old junk. I can work with it, though. It isn't to current spec, but I can probably retrofit some of my own equipment to work with it."
"You mebbe fix it up? I help, mebbe. Bonk-tink-scree. Hammer and wrench. Fun fun!" Tasha walks over, then walks around the man. "So you doctor before? Lots of uh ... patience? Man you talk to say work on birdies, dogs, bla bla bla. Been on station long?"
"I've been on Caltrop for about a solar year now," Jonas claims. "My previous employer.. failed to turn a profit. I'm ready to move on. And yes, I've worked on just about every type of spacer."
"That neat! I fight lots of stuff, uh, not build all the stuff but fight it. Sometimes. Not very good repair thing fight, wrench not work on or ... or-gun-is-im." The cadet stops circling the doctor, then asks, "Like ship huh? Going to stay with us? Not scared? Big guys con-veen-sss you?"
"I approached them, actually, when I saw them asking about medical supplies," Jonas notes. "I haven't decided how scared to be yet. I know you're also looking for a hyperwave node. I'd like to meet the person I'd actually be employed by first of course."
"Huh. Guess want to meet owner." The 'young Titanian' walks up to the man again, at a respectful distance, then looks him over once more before grinning lopsidedly.
She extends her hand for a handshake.
"It's nice to meet you, Jonas Knight. My name is Tasha. I am the owner of this vessel," she greets the Belter anew.
Nonexistent eyebrows rise up, since the man is really bald. He takes Tasha's hand and shakes. "Are you as young as you look?" the man asks cautiously.
"I'm young-ish!" She shakes the man's hand firmly, like she was taught, then gestures to the ship around them with her free hand. "The Captain told me you were interested, so I thought I'd meet you personally. See how you react, that sort of thing. What sort of man you are. That he let you on board is in your favor, but the rest is on you. Are you really just looking for a new position, or are you interested in us, as an Agent?"
"Everyone on Caltrop is interested in you," Jonas says. "So I would be lying if I claimed I wasn't as well. But I'm also tired of patching up people after bar fights and moving accidents. It's not easy getting off of Caltrop once you've been there awhile. If I were to join your crew, would I actually be filled in on what's really going on here? You obviously are not Titanians."
"I don't know, I do have a Titanian name. That wasn't a lie." Tasha winks, then walks over and hops up on the counter, sitting herself down on it. Her feet sway as she talks. She turns to watch the man a moment, and then says, "I'd prefer if we got to know you a bit better before informing you of our intentions. You'll probably get to patch up more than bar room brawls, but I can't write those off, either. I will say that by joining us you'll be joining a very special crew, with a very special mission, and that it's a long-term assignment. I'd like to think you'd want to stay, after a while., but I also need people I can rely on, just as I'd expect you to rely on us, in time. Not everyone will know all of what's going on, though, so don't feel too left out. I will say this: We'll be leaving soon, and it's unlikely we'll be exactly legal, in the Galactic sense. But, we're not pirates, anyway."
"Is anyone going to be coming after us due to this mission of yours?" Jonas asks.
"They very well could. We may have enemies. Or not. It's hard to say right now, but if I had my way, I'd prefer to avoid fighting," is the owner's answer, as honst as she can make it.
"I suppose that just leaves two questions," Jonas says. "First, how much does it pay? Second.. are you working with Dr. Moreau?"
"The Captain and I will work out your pay when he returns. As for Moraeu ... Now why would you ask that?" Tasha inquires, leaning forward with her ears perked in curiosity.
"You aren't Titanians," Jonas points out. "That leaves Karnors. But not any that have been seen in ages. Moreau wanted to bring back the original strain. He isn't big on buckling under to the Galactics. Original strain Karnors, to me, suggests Moreau."
"He sounds like quite a guy. Someone I'd like to meet." The young woman smiles, looking off in no particular direction. "What makes you think we're not Titanians?"
"You're too.. familiar," Jonas says. "The disguises are nice and all, but.. there's no sense of kinship between humans and Titanians. But humans and Karnors.. it's just a feeling."
"The Captain and the other man are easy to like, aren't they?" Tasha turns back, smiling a little more. "But I bothered you, didn't I?"
"You're less familiar than they are, true," Jonas says, then gestures around the room. "The circumstances and mystery may have something to do with that, however."
"You think so?" Asks the faux-Titanian, ears going up again.
"I've met people from.. all over," Jonas says. "You have a different vibe. Wherever you're from, you're the first person I've met from there."
Tasha's muzzle splits in to a big grin. "If you come with me, you might have to get used to that feeling. Well then!" She slides off the counter, then walks over to the man and tilts her head, arms folded behind her back. "I'm a strange alien on a strange alien ship, crewed by not-Titanians. It seems like a risky choice to sign on with me. I could be going anywhere, and I'm clearly up to something. Sooooo ... " Her head cocks the other way. "The wise choice would be to leave. The nice, safe choice. What choice will you make, I wonder?"
The man takes another look around the medbay, and lingers on the empty areas still. "Curiosity is the curse of my kind," he says. "Is there more to the tour, or do I need to give my answer now?"
"Curiosity says that you've already decided," tasha replies, brows raising. "Showing you the rest would just be a formality. We can do that, though. After. You have decided, haven't you?"
"So long as the next stop on the tour is my private cabin," Jonas counters.
"Easy enough. This way ... You'll want to be near the med-bay, I bet." And so the two exit. The strange alien ship owner, Tasha, leads the human out and not too far away. The bulkhead slides open, and in they go.
In to a blank, white, empty room.
"It needs some decorating, I admit. You may want to think about that," she explains, waving a hand at the ... blankness.
"Are they all like this?" Jonas asks. "It explains why your medbay is mostly empty though, I suppose.."
"Not all. We don't assign them designs until we need to use them. Niss?" Tasha looks up, ears perking. "Would you mind talking to this nice Human man, and working with him to detail his quarters?" She then drops her head and glances at the man, adding, "We should exit now," before leading him back out again.
Jonas follows, and then looks up at the ceiling. "Who or what is Niss? That sounds like a Celestial name."
"It does, doesn't it?" Tasha walks over to a nearby wall, leaning back and resting against it. "The Niss is, well, I suppose you'd say the Niss is the ship's computer. If you need anything from the ship, you should ask the Niss. The- ... It may or may not allow it, but if not, you can ask one of the command staff to permit it. Oh, and Niss, what did you find out about our friend here?"
"He has a cybernetic interface in his skull," the Niss reply.
"That's interesting. Could you ask the station about him too, please? And he'll need to work out his quarters with you, too. Please assign him this room." Tasha glances back towards Jonas, and asks, "Medical control link of some sort?"
"Allows me access to my medical database," Jonas says. "Easier than trying to remember every procedure for every species. Also gives me remote access to my medical fabber."
"That's convienent. Well! Why don't you and Niss work out your quarters. I'll be here if you have any questions, unless I'm needed elsewhere. Oh:" Tasha raises her brows. "You can do medical operations, but what about cybernetic enchancements?"
"Depends on the enhancements, and if they come with instructions," Jonas claims. "I've made repairs on implants."
"That's fine. I just wanted to know what you are capable of. Anyway, get situated. I'm not needed anywhere for now, so I'll just wait here," says the owner. The rest is between the Niss and Jonas, leaving Tasha some time to observe him more. Mostly, though, she waits. With Gabriel and Eli busy, she's left with watch and with seeing to Jonas.
Its a good few minutes later, when she thinks to ask. "Getting everything worked out? By the way, what about the relay?"
"I know of an abandoned mining station," Jonas says. "It was pretty remote, so had its own relay. It might still be there, since hardly anyone knew about it."
"That sounds like a wonderful way to make sure we're ready. Once everything is on board, we'll be leaving. I'd prefer not to remain docked here more than necessary. Like you said, we're drawing a lot of attention. Now," she glances down the corridor, off towards the fore, "I'm going to return to the bridge to help oversee our supplies. You're welcome to remain in the med-bay, your quarters, or come join me after you're done working out your quarters design." She pushes off the wall, then begins to walk, but pauses.
Looking back, she smiles broadly and says, "Oh, and by the way? Welcome aboard, Jonas Knight."
The rest of the supplies came with the two smaller spacecraft. Jonas was curious about the Vartan ship, but quipped, "Well, you've got Terran interiors, a Khattan AI with programmable matter, Titanian buddies.. I suppose you're trying to get something from every Galactic civilization to round things out." And then came the carrying of heavy things.
Once everything was stowed away and secured, it was decision time: "Do we try to leave the station under our own power, or ask the Titanians to tow us to a safe distance?" Gabriel asked.
Tasha is seated in the navigation officer's chair, and like the others, busily looking over the controls in anticipation of departure. "I think we've relied on the Titanians for help long enough. It's time to go under our own power. This will be a good test, and if it fails, we'll at least have support nearby and be close to a dock." She eyes the distance between their position and the abandond mining facility in particular. "And we'll need to decide if we warp or not. That would be a good test, too."
"I'll send them the signal to release us then," Eli says from the engineering station further back, while Gabriel sits in the chair next to Tasha, also going over the controls. "We've got something that serves as maneuvering thrusters.. they're just virtual reactionless ones. It's like maneuvering with stators," he notes.
"Try not to break my ship, Gabe." Tasha glances over and grins at her maye, reaching over and patting his arm before she begins inputting her own console's necessary commands. Mostly, this is a flight plan away from the station using the station's own guide signals, beacons, and traffic with other ships -- fairly easy for the cadet to work with as much of it is automated. The rest will be warp travel, a completely new set of problems. "Signal the Mauler, inform control, Captain." And there's one more thing. She touches off another control, and says, "Jonas? We're departing. I repeat: We're undocking and attemptig to leave the station's airspace. There will likely be a warp attempt within the hour."
"I'm getting Medbay in order," Jonas replies over the intercom. "Try not to suffer any major injuries in the meantime."
"I thought you wanted more interesting medical situations?" Tasha laughs, then adds, "Tasha out," and cuts the signal. She then turns to nod to Gabriel. "Whenever you're ready, Captain."
There's a thunk as the magnetic grapples of the Dainty Mauler release the Dark Horse. "Pay close attention, Niss," Gabriel mutters. Although the Niss could control almost every aspect of the ship, they didn't understand piloting. The captain sets the maneuvering mode, and eases the joystick controls on the arms of his chair. There's no sense of movement, unsurprisingly, but the view through the bridge windows shows them slowly backing up. There's a lot of traffic to contend with - and some of it seems to be there just to watch. Flight control being fairly lax at Caltrop, they tend to move across Tasha's projected flight path often.
Tasha feels something else as well - a sort of tingle. It's the horse. Now that it's moving the ship, it seems eager.
Inwardly and outwardly, Tasha smiles as she feels her ship stir to life -- really live. Excited are well, Horse? Me, too. This is our first real journey together, and teh first step in that journey. Lets show the universe what we can do, and be proud of it. Together. Subconciously she runs her hand across her chair's arm rest, as she might have done with a ptera's tail.
Even as she does so, she says, "A lot of traffic, they're coming from all directions to get a look of us -- and some of them are getting in the way! Watch out for those, I'll try and plot around them. There's a lot to deal with."
"Eli, how far out do we need to be to actual use the drive?" Gabriel asks.
"Technically.. it can be engaged at any time, even without a destination," Zerachiel notes. "We'd just submerge into subspace."
"Then we'd have to deal with their stator fields though," Gabriel mutters, and tries to follow Tasha's updates.
It takes time to weave through the traffic. At least they're moving forwards though, and also up and down. The smaller craft drop back, not able to operate too far from the outpost itself, while only two Silent-Ones try to keep pace, but at least they do it at a distance.
"That's good to know," Tasha remarks. Now that she's got the flight path in -- there's little she can do about much of the encroachment -- she turns her attention to the FTL warp. "That's the best I can do. You'll just have to manuver around the reckless ones as best you can. I need to work this warp out."
This, she's never done before. The screen is completely new, even if it is a Terran screen with Vartan lettering. Even so, there's a common theme along side navigation. There's a very, very large map of the known universe, which she quickly manuvers away from by setting the system to bring up their current location. The display is similiar to local plotting, but theres a lot of extra readouts, indicators, and field displays as well as several othr area maps displaying what she thinks she udnerstands -- the one that displays gravitic displacement she catches quickly. One, though, is alien: She can only suspect it's some sort of map or impression of the Maelstrom.
But she doens't need to mess with those, only needing to input a destination now, for the Niss. She enters the mining facility's coordinates, then compares them to local maps based on time, date, and predicted change. She plots a course a distance from the station, far from the asteroid field in open space. "There. I hope this works."
"Alright, prepare to dive," Gabriel says, and switches controls. The space outside the window begins to glow.. and foam. And then.. it seems like the ship is underwater. But it's just the way that space is here, like a fluid. The Dainty Mauler tended to the ride the 'surface' of this space, which was rather rough, but it seems much calmer here. The tactical display also changes, becoming a white sphere with black points in it. Looking at it causes one's brain to itch.. if anything can be used to describe the sensation.
"I hate psionics," Gabriel says. "I'll have a headache after this." He begins using the joysticks again, using the odd sphere as a guide.
Unable to resist, Tasha scratches at her forehead as she looks back and forth between her own console and the tactical readout. "Are we alright? Psionics?" Turning her attention from the display to Gabriel -- but still scratching at her head -- she asks, "Oh, like this Niss use?" And then she glances back and asks, "Is this itch your doing, Niss?"
"No, navigation in this space requires the use of a dimensional mass detector," Niss replies. "This system requires a sapient operator in order to work." There is some buffeting, heard more than felt. Even below the 'surface' the Maelstrom lives up to its name, with unexpected 'currents' to deal with.
"You know who to operate it then, Niss?" Tasha asks, then she turns to Gabriel. "Or are you doing it, Gabe?"
"I'm doing it," Gabriel says, concentrating.
"We cannot navigate ourselves, as the means required are not compatible with our mode of thought," Niss adds.
"No autopilot in the Maelstrom," Eli spells out.
"The sooner we get that Phin pilot the better," Gabriel says, trying to keep the ship on track.
"Oh. Um, I won't distract you then -- but teach me how later, please?" Tasha instead turns to her own console, trying to make sense of things. The departure and destination point are still shown, but there's nothing like a line or other distance indicator. She suspects there must be one, but doesn't know enough about the system to locate it, or even know if she's staring at it. "I can't even make out these controls. I just know we're on our way."
The points get fuzzy at times, expanding into spheres of probability. But the mining station is just on the far side of the nebula. It takes about two hours to arrive to where they can rise to periscope depth to get their bearings and make the final approach. Staying submerged, there 'periscopes' aren't picking up any activity in the area. The station itself is dug into an asteroid.
For the most part Tasha could only sit back and try and make sense of what she was seeing. She did learn a bit, but not as much as she'd have liked. When they touch real space, she at least knos what to do. "No detectable traffic. The area seems clear. The station is embedded in an asteroid. I'll see if I can detect any energy emissions." And so she gets to that.
There are power sources still active, as if the base was evacuated without shutting things down first.
Gabriel rubs his head, and decides, "This ship was abandoned because it's too hard on the pilot, I suspect. The feedback from the sticks just isn't enough to get a feel for what's going on."
"I'm detecting power emissions. The base was either deserted with the generators running or it's still in use. We should be careful. Eli? Can you sort through this EM and see if you can detect anything that seems like life?" Turning then to Gabriel, she asks, "Does what your doing require special training? Could I do it, now that we're close to the station?"
"It isn't anything special, so long as you know manual control," Gabriel says. "It's just more of a strain on some than others, depending on how they react to psionics. The mass detector saps energy from your brain while you use it."
"No emergency beacons, but no signs of life that I can pick up. Life support is on standby it seems, from the heat profile. It's cold in there. Did Jonas say what happened here?"
"Maybe the part of me that's connected to the Harrowers will make it easier? I can percieve D-Space, and the Harrower's Doorstep, and speak to the Niss." Tasha glances towards Eli and says, "Shift your scanning to my station? I'd like to give navigation a try."
Tasha then thinks a moment, and shakes her head. "No. But we'll find out." As she stands, Tasha touches the intercom off and says, "Jonas, to the bridge please."
A minute later the newest crew member joins them. "We're there already?" he asks.
Tasha is standing beside Gabriel, hand on his shoulder as she waits for him to be ready. When Jonas arrives, she glances back and says, "Yes. We're detecting power from the station, but no life. What's going on here, Jonas?"
"I wasn't sure what would happen to the station after I was let go. We all took the final shipment in, since it wasn't clear if we were going to be able to come back. What killed the operation, basically, was the fuel cost. We depended on a slingshot from Beta, the solar secondary, which limited our travel schedules as well. Thought the lithium would be worth it, but the backers pulled out and stranded us on Caltrop. Guess they figured the cost wasn't worth it to salvage the station, which I was counting on."
"That sounds like a benefit to us, then. There may be resources on board we can use, and if they've abandoned it, there's no reason not to see what we can gather. We'll have to decide on a landing part; One of us will need to remain here." Tasha glances at Gabriel, then lean down to ask. "Are you doing alright, Gabe? Maybe you'd like lead the party?"
"I'll need some time to recover first," Gabriel says. "Eli can stay on board. Jonas knows the base, and the two of us can carry out whatever is needed."
"That sounds fine to me. Just don't push yourself -- you'll show me how to use the mass detector when we get back. Anyway, bring us in to dock and meet Jonas and I at the port side airlock." Tasha pats Gabriel's arm again, then leans over to her own console to input the docking route in real space. Once she's done, she nods to Jonas and then exits the bridge.
"Best to stay suited the whole time," Jonas recommends. "Life support would have been on standby now for.. well over a year. Best not to depend on it."
"I planned on it. It never hurts to be careful, especially where we're going!" Tasha fetches her helmet, then stuffs it under her arm as the two walk deeper in to the ship. "If we're lucky, maybe we can find something useful aside from the hyperwave device. If not, well, I'm glad we have a medical officer." She winks over at the man, then dons her helmet. "Suit up. Once we're docked and Gabriel's ready, we'll head in."