Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

[Welsh Halfwit]

In the time Kolt had vanished, Jenny headed into her room and shucked off the armour to reveal the light clothing she'd put on this morning. She checked and, whatever Hive had made the armour out of, it had had some effect on perspiration. She didn't smell nearly as bad as she should have. Not being able to read the writing on the toiletries, she decided to improve her basic knowledge of the language sooner rather than later and declined to spray herself in case it was 'Eau de prey' or something. She stepped back out, making sure to pocket the key and feeling the breeze for the first time today. "We can but ask," she said in response to his question. "A game you just beat, eh? Thought you were a long time getting changed." She smiled at him, then took a slurp of her milkshake.
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Jaken returned to finishing off his Chicken, leaving a bit just in case June wanted to try it.
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Corp looked at Liz with an almost comical look of exasperation on his face. "Lewis and I both know that our universe stopped trying to tell you what you can't do a long time ago, Captain. Time for this one to learn." His tone indicated it was a statement, not a suggestion.
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"Don't fret, Dan," Keeva said, leaning over so he could see the top of her head looking back at him, "Rutherford and Asimov. Both Geniuses but you wouldn't ask Asimov to explain Nuclear physics if Rutherford's there, eh?"

[Deske]

Chris pointed at a name on the food board, "This'n just says Tentacles, so I'll probably just start with that."

------

Denver shrugged, "I dunno. I've never really had too many smooth first dates. Usually we're both pretty awkward but somehow we make it through it in the end. I guess we both just kinda ended up going 'Why not, lets give it another shot.' Second one usually goes much smoother. First ones have always been pretty fun though." He grinned, "I guess we'll just wing it and see what happens." He flipped to the page of the menu that had the Hawaiian burger on it and looked at the ingredients, "So I think it's got a special kind of bread and some kinda special sauce on it. Maybe they put pineapples on it?"

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Colorado gave Cherry a kiss back on top of her head, "So I've got a question..."

[Welsh Halfwit]

Sana brightened up, her long ears pricking back up as she beamed a smile. "Excellent! I've always wanted to try a fruit!" She pulled out a chair carefully and hopped up into it before noisily bouncing it back under the table. "I sometimes want longer legs," she confessed.
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Cherry enjoyed the moment for.. at least fifteen seconds. It felt like a minute. "What's the question, Col," she asked happily.

[Buster]

"Nope." Nocturl shook his head. "It was a guess. For one, you're here and not resting like you should be with those kinds of injuries, and you've got enough bags under your body's eyes to go grocery shopping with."

"Uh..." she comments looking sheepish. while the other her has shuffled off to hide in a corner. "Okay, so i kinda suck at not constantly making other me do random things... But i'd like to see you do any... better... what the heck?" Her words start off strong, but fall apart the moment she goes to poke the lieutenant in the chest for emphasis and her finger doesn't sink into him. then giving him two or three more pokes to make sure she's not imagining that.

"...i usually have to concentrate for things to feel solid..." she states sounding more than a little confused.

- - - - -

having cooled off some and dug the non-suit-bound Flashlight-looking-tube-thing version of her translator out of a belt pouch and clipped it to what little she's wearing, kol heads back outside to get some food... Apparently not caring in the slightest about her apparel.

"Hive!" she calls out as she starts walking over, barely dressed "Got anything in there for me?"

- - - - -

Rika pouts a little, but then shrugs and smiles. "I can do that. You're your own person after all.." She replies. "..So! Can we be friends? No hard feelings?" She adds, picking up her drink again.

"Fine" june states. then remembering about the desert things jaken mentioned, and the twenty she ordered, chomps down on the remainder of her... fried... tasty thing...

maybe remembering what the name on the menu was would have been a good idea.

whatever it is, in one bite.

"Desert?" she asks, after extracting the now clean plate from her maw.

[CyberDragon]

"Well, right now I'd like to get situated in here and check out this ship a bit more...but if you want you can come help me get my gear and stuff out of my ship and move it up here. It'll probably just be a couple bags and a few bits of gear, nothing more." Hawk replies as he removes his jacket he had on and places it on the bed along with his hat. "Actually there is one question I have and it's a bit of a lighthearted one: Your file on us...did it, by chance, happen to mention a 'bar-incident' on Charione Station two years ago?"

Hivemind nodded. "I would be happy to help bring your things up to your room." he said. "And you should be able to go to bars around here. You don't have any bounties, OR their twin brothers, on this ship."

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Tatiana chuckled happily, a little glad to have beaten Diligitis at the game. "If the area was tighter I wouldn't have been able to alter its direction in time. A sudden stop isn't a good thing in most cases." She gently caught the disk in her hand and tilted her head upon being informed of Kolt's eating speed. "That sounds like him. Considering his abilities he probably has adapted to eating as quickly as possible. Perhaps his metabolism has even accelerated to utilize the calories as soon as he can. Thank you for the information... I wasn't paying too close attention to the wheres and the whos, and Hivemind distracted me a fair bit." At Diligitis saying thanks her head lights came on with happy eyes to complete the smile. "You are a being of the universe. Ancient, powerful, but still one of us and deserving all the same. And... thank you as well, for giving me a new perspective on my thoughts, and such. I doubt I would have sought out someone else's thoughts on the matter."

The eye lights on the possessed shell also lit up with happy eyes, and the demigod nodded. "Any time, Tatiana. If you ever need something, even if it's just someone to talk to, you can contact me again. I will be happy to help. For now though, you should get some food. Also, Kolt is planning on setting up a movie night. That might be something to look into. For now though, I'll be going. It would cause quite a bit of chaos if someone of my... species... wandered into a crowded area. Talk to you soon, Tatiana."

With those last words, the golden glow left the shell, and it was once again completely under Tatiana's control.

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Conall types in his password and then hands over the unlocked computer.

Cailean is disappointed at the news but tries, somewhat unsuccessfully, not to show it too much.

"Ah think if anyone cuid manage tae beat themselves up it's a cat. Ah've seen th' youtube videos." Aggie teases with a grin, leaning into the hug and putting her own arm around Dabry in return.
"All it takes is a red dot or a ball o' yarn and ye ferget yerselves. An' dinnae get me started on catnip!"

The strange old man takes the computer in one hand and puts the other reassuringly on Cailean's shoulder. "Don't worry, Cailean. If anyone can get you back, it would be Hivemind. You'll see your grandmother again, within your lifetime and hers. This much is a promise. Now." He let go of Cailean's shoulder and took a step back in order to get all of the family in the shot. "Now, say hello to the folks back home! Anything you want to say to them, best do it now."

- - - - -

Hivemind was keeping close watch over Conall, Cailean, and Sarah's bodies when he noticed Conall's computer turn on and start recording something. He tilted his head, feeling confused.

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Keeva stood behind Dan, her hands on his shoulders, squeezing reassuringly (and carefully with the one) as she waited on his answer.

Dan shifted his shoulders stiffly a little as Keeva placed her hands on them, but he did seem to relax a bit due to the attention. "W-well, I'm much more into transport technology and space travel really.." Dan stated, still looking down at the floor. "..I don't think much of other technologies. T-they're still valid and have their uses, of course, b-but I'm just not interested in them at all. I try to find interest in some, like cyber-prosthetics or computing, but the rest.. I-I'm sorry, I'm rambling." Dan adds, hunching over a little more.

The Predator paused for a moment. "...How are you ever bored on this ship?" he said. "It has it's own weather system. You're in a metropolitan city with a sky on the inside of a ship. I'd show you the exterior, but I can't leave this spot at the moment."

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The attendant, after looking over to Hannabelle - who 'clicked' her teeth together playfully - tried to draw on his experiences in the local Am-Dram society to put on a performance of coolness in front of an audience of two who were one of the people he most kinda sorta respected on the ship and someone who could, apparently, eat him for dinner. He imagined his knees were knocking and put his tail between them - metaphorically, at least - to stop them. "Of...of course," he said, reminding himself of where the nearest toilet was. "S...Sir, if you and your, um, da... uh, lady friend can't quiet down, I, er, would ask you to leave? But I'd much rather you enjoy the, uh, film you have, after all, paid to see. Sir."

Gear sighed. "Still no confidence, but I guess it'll do. When yer a sniper, these kindsa movies're only fun 'cause their fun to mock. We kinda figured this'd happen." He turned to Hannabelle. "What ya think, Hannabelle? Should we head a little early, get ya some dinner that isn't him?" he joked, pointing a thumb at the attendant. "Or would ya rather stay a bit and watch quietly?"

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"You are looking a little run down," Corp admitted. "On the HAVEN, I would already be making an appointment for the Doctor for you but, here... How can we help? As for the 'going back' part, I think that's something to discuss when it's possible, hmm?" He'd already given some thought to this. With no obvious route back available, people were going to make connections over here that they may not want to leave months or years down the line. Many would follow their duty but some would follow their hearts.

"I agree." Mrs Nocturl said. "Until it becomes possible, we should make the best of things here for now."

Liz’ expression became much more dour after the prospect of going home was brought up. ”...I’d like to go back, if only to see my family again. My dad’s been getting up there in years, and I promised him we’d see each other at least one more time before he dies, but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep that promise now.” She went silent for a moment, before speaking up again. ”But that just means I have something to strive for, something to try to achieve. Something to keep me going.”

Mrs. Nocturl sighed. "I understand. I would love to see my mother and father once again. We just have to hold on to hope. We managed to get here in one piece. Perhaps it's possible to get back."

----------------------------------

Saffy led the Hivebot through the reception, past the closed little restaurant and the Linen room to a locked door at the back. She stepped through into another corridor and took the third door on the right into a teenaged bedroom. A couple of ripped posters on the wall, a small laptop computer, a TeeVee facing an unmade bed, four identical outfits in an open small wardrobe and a number of more revealing ones beside them and a slightly glowing 'paperweight' of rock crystal on the computer table, weighing down some paper. "My room," she said, sitting on the badly sprung bed, "and my chief suspect," she added, turning the light on to aid what was coming through the window.

"I am definitely picking up a faint ionizing radioactive signature coming from that stone." Hivemind said. "Radiation can result in glitches. The radiation from this stone would not do anything from short-term exposure, but long term exposure by having it in your room is what likely resulted in your tactile mimic glitch." He walked over and picked up the crystal. "I am going to have to remove this. I will study it back on the Beacon tonight, and if I determine it's harmless, I will return it. Alright?"

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The deputy tried not to look TOO obviously at the nearby vehicle as he said the location WAS about a half hours' walk from here...

Gadgeteer looked over at the truck before giving a "you've got to be kidding me" look to the deputy. He walked over to the vehicle, showing he was nearly twice as tall as the clown car, and definitely wouldn't fit. "We're going on foot. Or I am at least." He reached for the deputy and lifted him onto his shoulders with one hand. With the deputy holding on, he started running. He was surprisingly fast, at nearly 50 kmph. Mostly due to his long stride.

(For Americans, he's moving at about 30 mph)

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"You DO remember that i had working R7-L jacks on each wrist, right?" talya asks, her tone conveying what almost sounds like concern. "IO ports aren't that hard to recreate."

"The IO port has to have a connection to the nervous system. I was concerned that interface of a cerebral port might be mistakenly targeted or damaged by the colony during it's feeding frenzy. However, you did give me an idea. I was able to download memories and data through your wrist port. The wrist would have significantly less feeding activity. An IO port there in the host bodies would likely survive." Hivemind suggested.

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Traci just laughed and rushed right after her, arriving at the truck a couple seconds after Recon. "Wow, big truck! You can order first if you want, Recon. Oh! Maybe we should get the same things! I don't mind having whatever.." She said as she arrived, looking up at the truck. "..Might be better if I try something new anyway, been too long since I have!"

Recon stepped up to the food truck and was impressed by it's selection. She decided to order something heavy. She ordered Tuto Mare with extra white wine and garlic sauce with a bowl of Lobster Bisque. She also ordered a side of fries, a bit of cake, a doughnut, some cookies and cream bites, and what looked like fried butter on a stick.

She stepped back, holding a tray with a mountain of food on it. "Oof... I think I may have ordered too much this time. I always get really hungry after a major mission like this. I probably burned almost as many calories today as is in all of this food."

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Chris pointed at a name on the food board, "This'n just says Tentacles, so I'll probably just start with that."

The person behind the counter nodded and started getting to work, pulling out and seasoning what looked like octopus tentacles, but they were short and thick and didn't quite look like they were from Earth. He covered them in a sort of dough-like breading and stuck them in the fryer, pulling them out a short time later. When they were done, they looked surprisingly similar to long, fat, crispy chicken tenders. He handed the basket of fried tentacles to Chris.

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"Uh..." she comments looking sheepish. while the other her has shuffled off to hide in a corner. "Okay, so i kinda suck at not constantly making other me do random things... But i'd like to see you do any... better... what the heck?" Her words start off strong, but fall apart the moment she goes to poke the lieutenant in the chest for emphasis and her finger doesn't sink into him. then giving him two or three more pokes to make sure she's not imagining that.

"...i usually have to concentrate for things to feel solid..." she states sounding more than a little confused.

"I... uh..." Nocturl found himself momentarily distracted by the fact that Ruby was somehow able to touch him. "I... am pretty sure my mushy pancake of a body isn't going to be doing a bunch of random things. That's kind of what happens when you have about ten tons of junk fall on your head."

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having cooled off some and dug the non-suit-bound Flashlight-looking-tube-thing version of her translator out of a belt pouch and clipped it to what little she's wearing, kol heads back outside to get some food... Apparently not caring in the slightest about her apparel.

"Hive!" she calls out as she starts walking over, barely dressed "Got anything in there for me?"

"Indeed I do, Kol!" Hivemind called from inside the trailer. "I followed your advice too. I hope you like it!" Hivemind stepped up to the window and handed Kol her food.

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"Desert?" she asks, after extracting the now clean plate from her maw.

The waiter, who had been listening for his cue, nodded at June and stepped through some double doors. He returned pushing a cart with just about every dessert the restaurant had available right up to the table. One by one, he started placing the plates of sweets in front of June.

[SeanWolf]

Hawk laughs as they headed towards his ship in the docking bay: The Orion's Whisper. On board, Hawk pointed to two of the cases and told Hivemind "Be careful with those, they are a bit on the heavy side...mostly clothing and tools" while he went for the remaining cases he had, including a long flat one. "Ok, other then the two you'll have and these four, that's pretty much it for my stuff. I can use that replicator for other stuff..." his voice trailed off as he didn't want to say anything more so he quickly switched to asking "You may have already answered but when do I meet the rest of the team? I would very much like to meet them once I'm settled in."

[Buster]

Hawk might notice, thanks to the large clear window separating the two, the bay next to his houses what looks like an escape pod suspended by scaffolding welded roughly into a flyable shape and about two hundred tons of charred wreckage somone has been trying to put back together. there's also a sofa with a TV, game console and laptop next to it, blue pajamas with a wide tail hole and odd slits in the limbs lying discarded over the back of it, a makeshift kitchen assembled out of field survival kits a camp stove and a tool cart, and a charging dock with spare crab-shaped power armor bits lying on it.

[furrygamer793]

"Hmm... okay." Brad replied, then asked "Who am I training with, exactly?"

The Lycan and the Ice Wolf looked at each other, then grinned, before speaking at the same time.

"Titan."
"Titan"

"Good Luck"

"Sounds big, and strong." Brad said, then, growing just an inch, he added with a grin, "But easy." Ken eventually started barking, and Brad bent down, petting Ken, saying "Hey, Kenny boy, you hungry?"

~~~~~~~~~

"I... don't really know. I guess all my time as a chimaera." Nat said, he was clearly uncomfortable about the question. "How long has this ship been around?"

"Four-thousand five hundred and sixty two years." Hivemind said, not being serious. "Built by the ancient yugotta people from planet Beikiding."

He waited for a reaction, then gave the true answer. "Nah, I was just trying to see if I could make up something crazy enough it wouldn't be believed. Then I realized that the truth is already so crazy that nothing won't be believed. Anyway, the ship is about thirty years old. I built it myself using materials I gathered from my trade across thousands of star systems."

"That's cool!" Nat said. Looking around at the restaurant, he noticed just how many different creatures there were, he saw a human talking to a friend through a Holowatch (Just a smart watch with a holographic screen) "How many planets have you been to?" Nat asked

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Fair enough," Saffy said, sighing. "Feel like I'm at a red carpet event," she said wistfully. "So many stars close by and I'm banned from touching any of them." She was trying to sound flippant but there were still touches of the fear there in her eyes and manner as she gripped the bed a little TOO tightly with her claws. "Can this day get ANY weirder," she asked, not knowing that was possibly tempting fate.
--------------
The Deputy held on for dear life as Gadgeteer ran underneath him and pointed directions as they went towards the mountain, thinking to direct them to the reception area that had a working latrine.
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"If it helps," Corp said, "everyone from the HAVEN here is in much the same boat. And maybe we can get the Lieutenant involved in other ways," he added thoughtfully.
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Hannabelle pretended to think for a moment. "Ach," she said eventually, "I suppose we'd better be quiet. We might want to bring the GrandCubs here sometime. Hard if we're banned." Somewhat mollified, the attendant moved off and Hannabelle just about kept a straight face until after he'd gone. "Reckon he'll have fun with that thought, eh? So what's it like, getting all this respect?"
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Jaken, having seen the dessert cart, made the remaining piece disappear and asked if he could have some tart with Strawberry sauce kind of 'drizzled' over it.

[Buster]

"I... uh..." Nocturl found himself momentarily distracted by the fact that Ruby was somehow able to touch him. "I... am pretty sure my mushy pancake of a body isn't going to be doing a bunch of random things. That's kind of what happens when you have about ten tons of junk fall on your head."

Ruby's is more than a little embarrassed at her own carelessness for turning the conversation that direction and seems to be struggling to think up a response.

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"Indeed I do, Kol!" Hivemind called from inside the trailer. "I followed your advice too. I hope you like it!" Hivemind stepped up to the window and handed Kol her food.

Taking the basket with a quick thanks and a nod, kol heads back to her chilly room, not much a fan of the weather outdoors today.

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The waiter, who had been listening for his cue, nodded at June and stepped through some double doors. He returned pushing a cart with just about every dessert the restaurant had available right up to the table. One by one, he started placing the plates of sweets in front of June.

Jaken, having seen the dessert cart, made the remaining piece disappear and asked if he could have some tart with Strawberry sauce kind of 'drizzled' over it.

"I dunno which one that would be..." june comments looking at the display in front of her, no idea what ANY of these are, but looking forward to trying them. deciding to start with the two-tone wedge-like one that's shaped like it used to be part of a circle. (desert menus always seem to have at least one cake or pie based item, seemed like a safe bet)

[Legotron123]

Kolt let out a quick laugh. ”No, I finished it last night. I took so long because I had to put Quint in his stasis tube for the night.” He said, before holding up a glass tube with metal bits on each end. In the tube, suspended in some kind of purple liquid, was a reddish-pink slug creature, with two small flipper like protrusions coming off the front in a v-shaped pattern. ”Normally I’d put him in hammerspace for the night, but there’s apparently monsters in there, so I’m keeping him out here where it’s safe.”
—
”Hopefully we won’t have to use the same method to go back. We lost almost a fifth of the crew coming here.” Liz replied morbidly, clearly not optimistic about them getting home. ”Well,” she said as she stood up, ”if there’s nothing you need help with, we’ll be off to check on some of the others. Maybe get some more shapeshifter clothes too. I’m getting tired of wearing this dress.”

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana let her helmet's smile speak for itself as she regained control of her second shell. Figuring she should get moving, she flew along to the big Motel sign Diligitis pointed to, and quickly found herself in the Motel's parking lot. She walked up to the food truck, looking it over. "I was told I could order from here."

[Welsh Halfwit]

"I suppose it's reassuring that even Quint has bad dreams," Jenny said before noting Tatiana's arrival. She waved. "Hey, Tat! Wondered where you'd got to."

[Legotron123]

”No, I mean he’s saying there’s actual monsters in the pocket. Apparently he put some in there while I was out.” Kolt said, absentmindedly waving to Tat as he spoke. ”He says he doesn’t dream at all while he’s in there. Thing’s just go black for a second and then everything’s back.”

[Deske]

"I dunno, I think you're the perfect height. It'd probably look pretty weird if you had super long legs. Like what if you were 2 meters tall and it was just legs?"

------

"If we adopt a pup or kit from this world, does that make us parents or owners?"

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Chris took the bowl and gave the fried tentacles a once over,"These look pretty good," he gave them a sniff before picking one up and putting it in his mouth with a satisfying crunch, "Am tha tasse even bette'!" Happy with his choice he headed to one of the nearby tables to finish off his meal and to maybe decide if he wanted to order seconds.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Cherry had to laugh. She'd almost thought the question would be a more serious one - in some respects - so it was kind of a relief. "I... don't know," she said eventually, "we'd have to ask a Hive to find out. So," she almost purred, "you want more than one pup in the long term, hmm?"
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"That is true," Sana mused, "all legs and ears would look weird. Kinda like you'd look odd without the black fur down your sides. Does it go all the way down," she asked, trying not to show that she realised exactly how that sounded some fifteen seconds after she said it and fidgeting.

[Deske]

Colorado thought for a few seconds, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something before frowning and closing it again. It took him a couple repititions of that before he finally found what he wanted to say. "I think? I mean, we're both technically pack animals aren't we? Could be a good time letting them grow up then ushering them off into the world."
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Denver almost snorted with laughter. He took a deep breath to steady himself before leaning forward on his elbows, "It's a bit half and half actually."

[Welsh Halfwit]

Sounds like a plan," Cherry said before looking away quickly and sneezing several times. "and so the sneezing begins,"
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"Maybe you'll show me some..." this time she DID show she'd worked out what she was saying. "I'm not going to need the food," she chuckled, "with the amount of foot I'm eating."

[Deske]

Colorado sighed, "It's like what 4 months?" He paused, "I should have read up interspecies gestation periods... Does that have an effect? What if it's just some weird length of time."
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"I dunno, I thought it was kinda cute to be honest. But do tell, how tasty is your foot? I find that mine occasionally tastes like regret with a hint of embarrassment."

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana turned and waved to Jenny and Kolt, pleasantly surprised to run into them so quickly. "Oh, hi Jenny, Kolt. I woulda been here sooner but Hive dragged me aside and gave me things to think about, so I asked Diligits about it, and then he wanted to play telekinetic frisbee catch so that delayed me even more." She almost turned back to the truck before remembering something and turning back to Kolt instead. "Oh, and Kolt? Diligits said I should find a hobby. He said you could help me with that. He said I spent too much time fighting for my life and not living."

[Buster]

"The IO port has to have a connection to the nervous system. I was concerned that interface of a cerebral port might be mistakenly targeted or damaged by the colony during it's feeding frenzy. However, you did give me an idea. I was able to download memories and data through your wrist port. The wrist would have significantly less feeding activity. An IO port there in the host bodies would likely survive." Hivemind suggested.

Talya just gives a noncommittal shrug at that.

[Hlaoroo]

"'angin' round isn't gonna be all tha' bad, sure, me Muckle Marras*" Sarah said, dropping further into dialect.

"Aye, well if'n it's wi' ye then it's sure tae be bearable, hen." Cailean supposes.

The strange old man takes the computer in one hand and puts the other reassuringly on Cailean's shoulder. "Don't worry, Cailean. If anyone can get you back, it would be Hivemind. You'll see your grandmother again, within your lifetime and hers. This much is a promise. Now." He let go of Cailean's shoulder and took a step back in order to get all of the family in the shot. "Now, say hello to the folks back home! Anything you want to say to them, best do it now."

Cailean licks his nose and swallows, thinking rapidly before speaking.
"Er, hi, er, everyone! Er, Conall an' I survived th' blast an' somehow found oor way intae another universe an' frae there tae Heaven. We're okay, we're nae deid, just visitin'. But we are trapped in th' other universe fer naow. We've found someone tae help us get back though but it's just gonna tak' time. We love ye all an' we'll be back before ye ken it! Oh, an' this is Sarah, mah girlfriend. Ah cannae wait tae introduce ye all tae her! Fair warnin', she's a Geordie!"

Conall offers a few greetings of his own in sign language and then the boys sign off.
"Well. Haow was tha'?" he asks both Sarah and Mr. C.

~~~~~~~~

Dabry laughed, a sound that could probably be heard by the others. "I believe the correct rejoiner to that is... Bacon treats? Or is it Haggis treats up here?"

"Touche!" Aggie laughs. "Haow dare ye, insultin' a lady, an' one yer courtin' tae boot! Ah can see Ah've work tae dae before we're wed!"

[~\Rook/~]

"Fine" June states.

Rika smiles and nods. "Good, good! I'm glad!" She replies, relaxing in her seat to wait for the kids to finish their foods.

------

Recon stepped up to the food truck and was impressed by it's selection. She decided to order something heavy. She ordered Tuto Mare with extra white wine and garlic sauce with a bowl of Lobster Bisque. She also ordered a side of fries, a bit of cake, a doughnut, some cookies and cream bites, and what looked like fried butter on a stick.

She stepped back, holding a tray with a mountain of food on it. "Oof... I think I may have ordered too much this time. I always get really hungry after a major mission like this. I probably burned almost as many calories today as is in all of this food."

"It certainly looks that way.. I'll try it!" Traci replied, then walked up to the truck and ordered exactly the same as Recon but with an addition of a case of energy drinks for later use.

------

"Don't fret, Dan," Keeva said, leaning over so he could see the top of her head looking back at him, "Rutherford and Asimov. Both Geniuses but you wouldn't ask Asimov to explain Nuclear physics if Rutherford's there, eh?"

"Mm.. You have a point, I guess.." He replied simply, not looking up.

The Predator paused for a moment. "...How are you ever bored on this ship?" he said. "It has it's own weather system. You're in a metropolitan city with a sky on the inside of a ship. I'd show you the exterior, but I can't leave this spot at the moment."

Dan looked up suddenly, almost hitting Keeva in the face as he did. "I.. Didn't really think about that until now. Honestly, I just kind of thought we were on a Citadel-class ship with a holographic sky and backdrop or something. You're telling me there's simulated weather and all of this city is real too? Just how big is this ship!?" He asked, looking around out of the Predator's veiwscreen.

[CyberDragon]

Hawk laughs as they headed towards his ship in the docking bay: The Orion's Whisper. On board, Hawk pointed to two of the cases and told Hivemind "Be careful with those, they are a bit on the heavy side...mostly clothing and tools" while he went for the remaining cases he had, including a long flat one. "Ok, other then the two you'll have and these four, that's pretty much it for my stuff. I can use that replicator for other stuff..." his voice trailed off as he didn't want to say anything more so he quickly switched to asking "You may have already answered but when do I meet the rest of the team? I would very much like to meet them once I'm settled in."

"Currently the rest of the recruit team, or at least the majority of it, is down on the planet's surface. You will meet them tomorrow." Hivemind explained. "A few are on the Beacon, and I believe they aren't too busy right now. I'll have to ask them in a little bit to see if they would like to meet."

-------------------------------------

"Sounds big, and strong." Brad said, then, growing just an inch, he added with a grin, "But easy." Ken eventually started barking, and Brad bent down, petting Ken, saying "Hey, Kenny boy, you hungry?"

Eira lifted an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Your funeral." she said before giving Ken a couple more ear scratches.

The Lycan frowned. "Overconfidence will lead you to an early grave in this business. Never assume your enemy will be easy or weak, especially if all you know is a name."

-------------------------------------

"That's cool!" Nat said. Looking around at the restaurant, he noticed just how many different creatures there were, he saw a human talking to a friend through a Holowatch (Just a smart watch with a holographic screen) "How many planets have you been to?" Nat asked

"A few hundred. Getting close to a thousand. We do some degree of exploration as well as responding to distress signals, but usually the Beacon sticks on it's trade routes. We deviate from that route in emergency situations or to establish new branches on the trade route." Hivemind explained.

-------------------------------------

"Fair enough," Saffy said, sighing. "Feel like I'm at a red carpet event," she said wistfully. "So many stars close by and I'm banned from touching any of them." She was trying to sound flippant but there were still touches of the fear there in her eyes and manner as she gripped the bed a little TOO tightly with her claws. "Can this day get ANY weirder," she asked, not knowing that was possibly tempting fate.

"This is the least weird thing that's happened to us today." Hivemind said, picking up the stone and sticking it into a storage pocket on his hip, which sealed itself shut. "I'll spare you the details though. Some things are best unsaid."

-------------------------------------

The Deputy held on for dear life as Gadgeteer ran underneath him and pointed directions as they went towards the mountain, thinking to direct them to the reception area that had a working latrine.

Gadgeteer continued to follow the Deputy's instructions until they reached the cave. It helped that he was strong enough to knock down small trees that got in his way, letting him take a more direct path. When they got to the cave, Gadgeteer let the deputy down. "So. This is it? Where was the hunter found in relation to this cave?"

-------------------------------------

"If it helps," Corp said, "everyone from the HAVEN here is in much the same boat. And maybe we can get the Lieutenant involved in other ways," he added thoughtfully.

Mrs. Nocturl waved a hand dismissively. "He actually has been trying to get involved. He's been trying to figure out how to pick things up and touch things all day. The last time he possessed our computer, I saw it was writing resumes and sending them out. He's looking for a job. Even after dying, he's still trying to find work. You'd think he would take a week off." She smiled and shook her head. "As much as he acts like he doesn't take anything seriously, I know my son. He'd hate to spend his afterlife sitting... floating... around doing nothing."

”Hopefully we won’t have to use the same method to go back. We lost almost a fifth of the crew coming here.” Liz replied morbidly, clearly not optimistic about them getting home. ”Well,” she said as she stood up, ”if there’s nothing you need help with, we’ll be off to check on some of the others. Maybe get some more shapeshifter clothes too. I’m getting tired of wearing this dress.”

Mrs. Nocturl nodded. "Thank you, Captain, but there's nothing I need. My son is currently talking with Miss Tailor, so he should be fine for now. I might actually be able to do some funeral planning now."

-------------------------------------

Hannabelle pretended to think for a moment. "Ach," she said eventually, "I suppose we'd better be quiet. We might want to bring the GrandCubs here sometime. Hard if we're banned." Somewhat mollified, the attendant moved off and Hannabelle just about kept a straight face until after he'd gone. "Reckon he'll have fun with that thought, eh? So what's it like, getting all this respect?"

"Has it's ups an' downs." Gear shrugged, turning to face the movie screen. "Yeah, the respect is nice. The retirement... heck, I own a tropical resort. But I have to hide my face there so I don't draw too much attention. It's why I pretend to just be the Janitor. Hard to enjoy retirement when yer bein' hounded by paparazzi. Then ya get guys like the attendant who just turn to a sloppy puddle'a goo when they see who they're talkin' to."

Gear sighed. "Ah well. Hardly looks good for a multi-billionaire former celebrity to complain about how gosh dang hard all'a the love an' attention he receives is." he chuckled. "I know I got a good life. I don't deserve it, but I got it. Might as well make the most of it."

Gear reached his arm back around Hannabelle's shoulder and smiled. "Anyway, enough a' my ramblin'. What about you? What's life like for an ex-huntress? Past few days excluded, a'course."

-------------------------------------

Ruby's is more than a little embarrassed at her own carelessness for turning the conversation that direction and seems to be struggling to think up a response.

Noticing Ruby's silence, Nocturl smiled, deciding to try to lighten things up. "Well, it's not so bad. I get to make sure people aren't sobbing their eyes out at my funeral. I'd rather be buried to the sounds of laughter, honestly. And I don't have to worry about sleeping, so I get to stay up all night and troll my brother. Last night, at midnight, I turned on the TV in his room and played "The Ring" and then crawled out of his TV to scare him." He laughed.

-------------------------------------

Tatiana let her helmet's smile speak for itself as she regained control of her second shell. Figuring she should get moving, she flew along to the big Motel sign Diligitis pointed to, and quickly found herself in the Motel's parking lot. She walked up to the food truck, looking it over. "I was told I could order from here."

"Sure thing." the man behind the counter said. "What'll you have?"

Chris took the bowl and gave the fried tentacles a once over,"These look pretty good," he gave them a sniff before picking one up and putting it in his mouth with a satisfying crunch, "Am tha tasse even bette'!" Happy with his choice he headed to one of the nearby tables to finish off his meal and to maybe decide if he wanted to order seconds.

MT was hanging out by Chris and observing people eating around him. "The social structures in my artificial neural patterns typically encourage me to engage in the same behaviors as those around me. I cannot eat, but these social structures are causing me to be curious about what it's like."

-------------------------------------

Talya just gives a noncommittal shrug at that.

"Right. We'll give the wrist ports a try." Hivemind said. At that moment, the replicator dinged. Two immobile creatures, one a massive insect-like thing, which looked to be some sort of cross between a mantis and a Hercules beetle with arms, easily big enough to hold Talya's core. The other a large Eagle Ray, plenty big enough for Kobor. Both of them had IO ports already attached to them. The beetle had it on one of it's "arms", while the ray had it attached to one of the fins.

"The hosts are ready. Head back to Predator so he can link you back with your bodies and upload you into the physical world. Then we can get your cores into the new hosts."

-------------------------------------

Cailean licks his nose and swallows, thinking rapidly before speaking.
"Er, hi, er, everyone! Er, Conall an' I survived th' blast an' somehow found oor way intae another universe an' frae there tae Heaven. We're okay, we're nae deid, just visitin'. But we are trapped in th' other universe fer naow. We've found someone tae help us get back though but it's just gonna tak' time. We love ye all an' we'll be back before ye ken it! Oh, an' this is Sarah, mah girlfriend. Ah cannae wait tae introduce ye all tae her! Fair warnin', she's a Geordie!"

Conall offers a few greetings of his own in sign language and then the boys sign off.
"Well. Haow was tha'?" he asks both Sarah and Mr. C.

"Hmm..." Mr. C said. "You signed off pretty early. Didn't even give a chance for your parents or Aggie to say anything."

"Touche!" Aggie laughs. "Haow dare ye, insultin' a lady, an' one yer courtin' tae boot! Ah can see Ah've work tae dae before we're wed!"

"Sorry for interrupting, you two. Aggie, would you like to say anything to any friends back home?" the Hobomancer asked, holding up the computer.

-------------------------------------

"It certainly looks that way.. I'll try it!" Traci replied, then walked up to the truck and ordered exactly the same as Recon but with an addition of a case of energy drinks for later use.

The people in the truck got to work fixing up Traci's meal, handing it to her through the window.

Recon walked over and sat on the curb to start eating her food. She started with the soup...

Tatiana turned and waved to Jenny and Kolt, pleasantly surprised to run into them so quickly. "Oh, hi Jenny, Kolt. I woulda been here sooner but Hive dragged me aside and gave me things to think about, so I asked Diligits about it, and then he wanted to play telekinetic frisbee catch so that delayed me even more." She almost turned back to the truck before remembering something and turning back to Kolt instead. "Oh, and Kolt? Diligits said I should find a hobby. He said you could help me with that. He said I spent too much time fighting for my life and not living."

...which proved to be something of a mistake, as she immediately choked on it and hot soup came flying out of her nose. "OW! OW! AH!" She said, gripping the bridge of her nose.

-------------------------------------

Dan looked up suddenly, almost hitting Keeva in the face as he did. "I.. Didn't really think about that until now. Honestly, I just kind of thought we were on a Citadel-class ship with a holographic sky and backdrop or something. You're telling me there's simulated weather and all of this city is real too? Just how big is this ship!?" He asked, looking around out of the Predator's veiwscreen.

"Exterior dimensions are five hundred miles by two hundred miles by two hundred miles, or Twenty-million cubic miles." Predator stated, carefully navigating back to the genemod lab to pick up Kobor and Talya.

[SeanWolf]

"Sounds good," Hawk replied as they re-entered the room, placing the cases he was carrying on the bed, "Oh, you can place those on the floor, I'll attend to them later."

[Welsh Halfwit]

"They'd've prob'ly nevv'r bought tha' as real, sir," Sarah explained, "an' I liked th' little thing Conall add'd. 'Elps prove y'were th' real thing."
-------------------
Dabry laughed lightly. before we're wed. Those words might have once scared him into a heart attack but now? Up here and from Aggie? They sounded sweet and honest. "I do accept, my lady," he said solemnly before glancing to make sure the others weren't looking. "Permission to celebrate by kissing you?"
------------------
Keeva stepped back slightly. "Now THERE'S the Dan I love most!"
-----------------
"What would you do," Saffy asked, "with a boring day? I mean, around here, this is the first big thing to happen in years - I know there's an invasion happened most everywhere else but they didn't even come near here - which I'm thankful for, of course. But, for you, it's another day. I heard you run everything on a giant space city cruiser and I get that the name means there's a lot of you but - I can really talk at ties when I'm nervous as people have said - but what would you do on a day where everyone just, like, slept in for 24 hours or whatever a day is there? Sorry, you probably get asked that every day. Um, to be more original... Is there any place you've not been you want to go? Is that any better?"
-----------------
"It's about a mile that way," the deputy said, not looking into the cave as those rocks were weird and would probably give him a third arm or something. He pointed to the south east and led the way to where it looked as though nothing had happened bar someone sticking a little flag in the ground to mark the spot for future use. "Chief's idea," he said, "in case documentary crews ever needed to find the place for filming." He sniffed the air and crouched to follow the tang of recently shed blood to its source, a wounded little creature some hundred yards distant. It was almost missing a leg as it struggled towards it's hole in the ground, looking like a cross between a Rabbit and a Feline. Overcoming his natural instincts with the opinion that there was a very large Champion who might not appreciate the mercy killing, the Deputy tracked the blood trail back to the rest of the leg. "Reckon that confirms it," he said, indicating the glistening red spike of ice. on the ground.
----------------
"Hmm," Hannabelle mused, "to be honest it's a little disconcerting. There are places you can't go, of course. Because they've got a termination warrant on you for one reason or another but that's not half as annoying as the places you can go." She leaned against Gear slightly without really knowing she was doing it. "You get treated like a hero in the places you have been before because most of them have people in power who owe their being in power to you and you find out they're just as bad as the one's you executed to put them in power in the first place! So you're just left with the boring, insular, places... like Earth," she finished, grinning slightly.
--------------
"I'll see if I can put a word in for him with the guy running the shop," Corp offered. "I imagine he has a thousand uses for a ghost who can type. It was nice to meet you properly," he said, actually offering a hand to shake.
--------------
"About {choo!} five months for my lot," Cherry sneezed. "Not sure for yours. Still, we'll manage until he wants to leave this little home," she added, patting her womb area.
--------------
Jaken quickly ordered one of the desserts with strawberry sauce that doesn't look at all like blood' for dessert.

[Legotron123]

Kolt scratched his forehead as he thought for a minute. ”Well, if he told you to talk to me, he probably thinks at least one of my hobbies would interest you. So uh, you ever wanted to try out video games? Or maybe you’re more of a tv show person?” Kolt asked, sounding a bit put on the spot and confused.
—
”Very well. I hope you have a wonderful evening.“ Liz said, as she and the others walked outside. Once outside, she looked up to the sky expectantly. ”Have any other Steelhaven passengers requested to see me?” She asked, fully expecting Hivemind to be listening.

[Welsh Halfwit]

" Lieutenant Walker," Corp said, automatically shifting back into professional mode, "could you remain with Ensign Taylor and assist her to a medical station when she comes out? They may be able to assist a... unique case better there."

[Buster]

the twins find spots far enough to the side that they wont trip over 'themselves' on the way back in, and lie down.
the small controller on the back of each's neck displaying a list of short messages.

Code: Select all

[Shutting down interface...]
[Transmitting logs to Remote Drone operator...]
[Drone offline.]

Back aboard predator, what had previously appeared to be an inanimate entirely silent decoration in the corner of the bridge, uncurls and stretches, letting out a yawn. shaking his limbs a bit as they revert from camouflaged metallic grey back to their natural pink. meanwhile a mass of floating code in a vaguely crab-ish shape condenses.

"I think hive forgets 'remote piloted' means we're not actually in the thing."
"Yeah, why waste the hardw... wait, when did we get company?"

"Huh? oh! Hi!" the giant cephalopod says while waving at the steelhaven duo...

- - - - -

June is on desert number four, and seems to be enjoying herself.
she makes it about half way through that one before pausing, and holding whats left out to jaken, seeing as he's stuck waiting.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Jaken gave June a bright, genuine smile as he accepted the offering from her. "Thanks, June," he said happily, before beginning to eat the (insert dessert name here)

[Buster]

June isnt sure what it is either but it's apparently made from some kind dark green of banana like fruit.

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana spoke to the man behind the counter first. "Hmm. I suppose a soup and sandwich would be nice." It sounded nice at the moment, if the sounds of pain were any indication. She turned back to Kolt and tilted her head. "I am aware of TV programs, but never really tried 'em out before. Too busy and usually not really available before. Video games I haven't heard of, though. He said you would enjoy talking about your interests, culture, a super squadron thing and that I should introduce you to Telekinetic Frisbee. It's quite fun. I beat Diligitis at it."

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Well, that's a humble brag," Jenny said with amusement, "dropping in a game you beat one of the really big names at. Sounds like you'd be great at Badminton or Volleyball!" She chuckled. "There's any number of things you can do for a hobby, Tat. Even just reading or biking like I do."
----------------
Sana grinned a fully meant grin now. "As I recall," she said, "it's kinda sand flavour. With hints of Beetle."

[Buster]

Noticing Ruby's silence, Nocturl smiled, deciding to try to lighten things up. "Well, it's not so bad. I get to make sure people aren't sobbing their eyes out at my funeral. I'd rather be buried to the sounds of laughter, honestly. And I don't have to worry about sleeping, so I get to stay up all night and troll my brother. Last night, at midnight, I turned on the TV in his room and played "The Ring" and then crawled out of his TV to scare him." He laughed.

"Thats just evil." she points out after hearing about the prank.

[Deske]

"Hmm..." Chris thought as he bit into another tentacle, "That's a tough one. Imagine if you enjoyed recharging. Not because it simply provided you with power or whatever else it does for you, but because each and every time it could be different. Different ports gave you different feelings, different sensations and practically no two were alike, even if they followed the same build schematic. It's not something to look forward to just because you have to do it, but because each time you do it there's a chance it'll be different." He bit off another piece of tentacle and followed it with what passed for a soft drink. "Sometimes you find you have a favorite station because it has just the right frequency, it's just a bit faster, just a bit cleaner. It's just perfect. Or you might find you like another station at other times because it's a little slower, a little dirtier, maybe the 3 phase inverter is just slightly out of phase and that makes it special. You could find a power station in a remote corner of a station that few people use so it's quiet with the background noise of the station itself and that makes it special. You find one that gives you the best feeling most of the time and you try to replicate it, but it's just different, so you give it your own spin. Now it's not just different, it's yours." Chris paused to wipe his mouth with a napkin, "I may have delved into a bit of cooking near the end, but I think I got the gist of it."

------

"Hrrmm..." Colorado worked his claws into the top of his muzzle before exhaling rather forcefully, "5 months. Is it possible to be too excited about this? Because I can't help but think I'm getting there." He reached behind himself to stop his tail for slapping the couch so forcefully.

[Legotron123]

”I mean, I am fond of talking about those subjects.” Kolt said, still a little confused. ”So uh, if you have any questions you wanna ask, I’d be glad t.. wait, what’s frisbee?”
—
Lewis gave a silent nod to Corp before heading back inside, walking in on the two discussing pranks. ”Eh, 7/10.” He said, alerting them to his presence. ”The truly great pranks are the ones where the prankee does half the work for you.”

[Welsh Halfwit]

If it had of been possible, Keeva would have jumped out of her skin at the sudden speech. As a feline, she merely hopped a few feet upwards and twisted around to face them before signing in relief. "Sorry," she said, putting her real hand to her chest, "I didn't see you there!". She looked a little confused at the newcomers. "I...I'm Keeva."

[Hlaoroo]

"Er, sorry, Mr. C. Ah wasnae ready an' Ah panicked a bit... Ye mean they can see th' others?"

"Accept what?" Aggie asks before answering Dabry's question by initiating the kiss. It's a sweet moment... Until Mr. C butts in.

"Oh, er, *ahem* Sure, there's things Ah'd hae loved tae hae said. Tae late naow though, isn't it?"

[~\Rook/~]

Recon walked over and sat on the curb to start eating her food. She started with the soup...

Tatiana turned and waved to Jenny and Kolt, pleasantly surprised to run into them so quickly. "Oh, hi Jenny, Kolt. I woulda been here sooner but Hive dragged me aside and gave me things to think about, so I asked Diligits about it, and then he wanted to play telekinetic frisbee catch so that delayed me even more." She almost turned back to the truck before remembering something and turning back to Kolt instead. "Oh, and Kolt? Diligits said I should find a hobby. He said you could help me with that. He said I spent too much time fighting for my life and not living."

...which proved to be something of a mistake, as she immediately choked on it and hot soup came flying out of her nose. "OW! OW! AH!" She said, gripping the bridge of her nose.

After taking her tray of food from the truck, Traci headed over to Recon just as she spluttered soup out her nose. "Whoa, easy there Recon! The food is supposed to go in your mouth, not out your nose!" She said jokingly as she hurried over and sat beside her. "..But seriously, you okay? That looked, and sounded, like it hurt.." She added, putting a hand on her shoulder.

------

"Exterior dimensions are five hundred miles by two hundred miles by two hundred miles, or Twenty-million cubic miles." Predator stated.

"For real!? That's crazy!! No wonder Hivemind has so many of himself!" Dan exclaimed. "What's the propultion? Is it Ion thrusters or something more powerful? What's the power-load like? It has to be in the Jules or something to power an entire city and a ship of that magnitude.." He added, thinking hard.

"Now THERE'S the Dan I love most!"

Dan leaned his head back to look at Keeva. "What? Who, Me?" He replied jokingly.

Back aboard predator, what had previously appeared to be an inanimate entirely silent decoration in the corner of the bridge, uncurls and stretches, letting out a yawn. shaking his limbs a bit as they revert from camouflaged metallic grey back to their natural pink. meanwhile a mass of floating code in a vaguely crab-ish shape condenses.

"I think hive forgets 'remote piloted' means we're not actually in the thing."
"Yeah, why waste the hardw... wait, when did we get company?"

"Huh? oh! Hi!" the giant cephalopod says while waving at the steelhaven duo..

If it had of been possible, Keeva would have jumped out of her skin at the sudden speech. As a feline, she merely hopped a few feet upwards and twisted around to face them before sighing in relief. "Sorry," she said, putting her real hand to her chest, "I didn't see you there!". She looked a little confused at the newcomers. "I...I'm Keeva."

Dan looked over to the newcomers after seeing Keeva jump. "Oh, uh, hey there.. I'm Dan." He added flatly after Keeva spoke.

[Buster]

"Ah, no, that's my fault. Trying to coordinate moving and piloting a remote drone simultaneously is really disorienting, so I took a nap. I probably looked like a rock just sitting there." the cephalopod explained, as the floating mass of code seemed to laugh. "I'm Kobor, the disembodied one is my sister Talya."

"i can answer the engine bit. the schematics didn't seem to have any conventional engines last I looked at em. Apparently someone on this side came up with a variation of the Alcubierre drive that solves the power usage problem. pretty sure it jut uses that for everything." Talya chimed in over hearing the discussion.