Project - Prometheus Ch. 17

"Please Inari, we've been intimate in some ways, so call me Alex when it's just us or the others around," he told her.

"Ok... Alex," she said with a happy smile.

"There are still a few goodies that have to come into play when completing this ship, but that is where both Nats and Talon come into play," he said.

"Alex, if you don't mind, I have a question to ask of you," she told him.

"Go ahead."

"Why a frigate? I mean, I'm grateful for you rebuilding the ship to be bigger than what we had it as. But why something this sizeable? Could you have gone bigger? Like a destroyer or a cruiser?" she asked.

"The answer to that is simple. It's the happy medium between what we need and what we want. A freighter is too small to get everything we need and anything as large as a destroyer attracts too much attention. If anything, we need to be able to get what we need out there and be gone without anyone giving us a second thought. It's a big galaxy out there, with plenty of opportunists," he started.

"Cruising about in the Perseus is all well and good, but it paints a bullseye on all of our backs. I don't want anyone from my crew getting hurt or taken. The Perseus is too important and too valuable to be stolen or stripped by scavengers. Besides, with something as small as the Darkstrider flying around, no one is likely to give us a second glance. For now, stealth is the game we have to play," he finished.

"Makes sense. At least until the Alliance and the fleet is rebuilt, with the colonists settled," Inari commented.

"Exactly so. Finding a system that is unclaimed and has at least one Gaia class planet is essential if we're going to get the Perseus moving again. Don't want to take any unnecessary risks with those people. They are my responsibility after all," the large Croat said.

"Besides, it's not like I'm rendering the ship toothless or not making accommodations for you and your crew. It's the main reason why I decided to let you in on the construction of it. If you have any ideas you wish to integrate into the design, here you go," he said, handing her the progress and design tablet he held.

Inari squeed in delight and was running through the various aspects of the ship's construction. Priya skipped up to the woman and was looking over the interface, adding her two bits in here and there as Inari looked through the design.

"Alex, you mentioned that both Natalya and Taal'ani would have to weigh in on the construction. Talon, I get, because we need her to put everything together for the ship's controls and interface. Natalya is an engineer, but everything here seems to be well in hand," she said.

"The stealth drive she designed would require her attention. While an inspired piece of technology, it seems more like it was cobbled together from what scrap was available. I'd have her rebuild the whole thing from the ground up. Plus, any improvements she could make to it would also make things easier on us," he explained.

Inari made an 'Oh' face, before busying herself with the tablet once more. Alex was standing over them as Korsa approached from around the ship, with both Shazza and Kasumi in tow.

"Alex, I think that you have created something amazing here! I'm really looking forward to seeing how this ship comes together," she told him.

"As am I!"

"If you don't mind, I'm going to drag these two down to Medical and run the same battery of tests on them that I did on you," Korsa said.

"Hopefully glean some answers as to why this is happening and the like?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she chirped.

"All right then. Here's hoping that you can find something that explains all of this that's happening right now," he told her, before dismissing her, the Captain and the Sergeant.

Both women smiled at him, before following Korsa down to the monorail station. Alex went back to where Inari and Priya were yammering. He could only hope that Korsa would find some answers to all of this, as there was a lot that wasn't making sense to him. If there was anything that Alex needed, it was answers as to why this energy had all suddenly manifested like it had.

******************************

Natalya and Taal'ani were going over the readings in the reactor room and had prepped everything they needed for the jettison. The energy levels of the primary reactor were starting to peter out and it needed to be removed from the ship and soon. Though logic dictated to try running the reactor dry, to squeeze every watt of power out of it, it was far too dangerous to even attempt it.

The Solaris reactor would soon have no more hydrogen to burn, sending it to its Red Giant phase. Nats was certain that the hydrogen in the miniature sun was nearly gone, if not already fully burned out. Though the power levels would dip to below sixty percent, it would be enough to keep the ship going. More importantly, the remaining power would keep the colonists alive in their cryo pods.

Those colonists were going to have one hell of a wake up call, when they learned about everything that happened. Natalya could only hope that some of them wouldn't give into despair when they learned of how the galaxy had changed. She knew that there likely would be some who could not handle the change, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Banishing those morose thoughts, she put her focus back to her job. So far, all the release couplings looked good and everything was operating normally. Talon was going over the procedures and so far, had cleaned up several glitches that would have seen the reactor stuck. Nats was really glad that Taal'ani was there helping her, though Jaesa was also invaluable in her assistance as well.

"Jaesa, how's the repositioning of the Perseus coming along?" Natalya asked.

"We are maybe sixty seconds from the angle needed to have a correct trajectory. You are certain that the star charts are accurate Talon?" the AI asked.

"Absolutely! Charybdis' Maw is in that direction and it's the best place to send an errant Red Giant. How are all the protocols looking?" the catgirl asked.

"Everything is green and ready for launch. Thirty seconds!" Jaesa warned.

"Standing by. Ready on your mark!" Natalya informed her as the doors beneath the reactor opened. They waited through the countdown, ready to time the jettison correctly.

"Four... three... two... one... launch!" the AI called out.

Natalya punched the button and the cradle containing the Solaris reactor was launched. The room became much duller and the doors closed right behind the reactor, sealing the room shut once again. A few minutes later, the sensors displayed all green, and by video, Natalya was able to tell that the reactor had cleared the ship.

"The reactor has reached optimal velocity and is on its way out of the system. I calculate at least three weeks before it clears the outer planets. From there, it should be a straight shot to Charybdis' Maw," Jaesa informed the ladies.

"Excellent news! Are we clear to begin righting the ship?" Natalya asked.

"I have already begun doing so. Engines and retro thrusters are on full and we should be upright within a few minutes," the AI told them.

"Fantastic! Initiate the procedure for the replacement structure for the Solaris reactor," Natalya commanded.

"Procedure commencing. Estimated time to completion; seventy-two hours," Jaesa informed them.

"Thank you Jaesa! Could you let mama know that Talon and I are on the way to Medical?" she asked.

"Done! I will monitor the progress of the Solaris cradle and keep you appraised of any changes."

"Thank you!" Natalya said as she and Taal'ani left, heading down to the monorail station. Nats was in a jolly mood, humming along, happy as a clam, which Taal'ani noticed and asked about.

"You're in an awful chipper mood. What's got you dancing on cloud nine?" she wondered.

"He loves me!" she said simply.

"Wait, what??"

"And I love him!"

"Wait, what?!? You two love each other??" Taal'ani gasped.

"All three of us love each other! It's an amazing feeling, to have this much love washing over you," Nats gushed, her face one of perfect happiness.

"I...I..." Talon started, speechless for the first time in years. She looked at her friend and could tell that this wasn't the high of some fling. This wasn't just hormones taking over her rational mind either. This was real and it was true.

"Nats, I'm so happy for you!" Taal'ani squeed as she hugged her friend. "You're really deep in, you know that?"

"Oh, I know. Trust me, I know how deep in I am right now," Natalya told her friend.

"So... how does it... work?" Talon wondered tenuously.

"Well, there is a lot that we all talk about and we keep the lines of communication open. For instance, if he wants some time, or the night with Kas, I know about it. If he wants some time with me, Kas knows about it. Or if Kas and I want some 'girls only' time, he knows. Communication between everyone is key in triad relationships," Natalya explained.

"Hmm. Didn't think about it that way," Talon admitted.

"When it comes to triads, polycules and so on, keeping an open mind and communicating is key. There is also the fact that love isn't a finite thing, like some people tend to believe. Love, as an emotion, is infinite because there is no end to how much you love someone, or in my case, two someones," Natalya told her.

"What kinds of things happen in such relationships? I mean, the sex is obvious, but I'm wondering about the little things that most people gloss over. How does it all come together?" Talon asked, genuinely interested.

Nats went into full explanation mode, telling Taal'ani the ins and outs of such relationships. Having been in one or two such relationships before this one, Natalya knew what she was talking about. Taal'ani listened intently as they traveled via the monorail, to the hospital wing, digesting the info as they went. She found the whole concept of it fascinating, kicking the idea of it around in her head.

"Hmm. That's a lot of stuff to remember and do! It almost sounds exhausting in some ways," Talon replied pensively as they got off the monorail cart.

"If the people you're with have no love or attraction beyond sex, it can be a shit ton of work. That second one I was with those two guys, James and Zane, it was too damn much. They bickered constantly and I was often having to play referee, which was no fun," Nats admitted as they walked into the hospital wing.

"Which is why I'm glad that you seem to have found something more with Alex and Kasumi," Taal'ani grinned.

"Yup!"

"There you are! I was just about to ask Jaesa to go looking for you!" Korsa said, interrupting the conversation.

"Hey mama! The whole process was textbook, so it didn't take as long as I feared. It did take longer than I had hoped though," Natalya said, walking up and giving Korsa a hug.

"Hmph. Well, you know the drill young lady. Onto the table you go," Korsa gestured.

"If no one needs me, I'll be getting down to the workshop. Inari put in a call for me to get my ass down there for something that requires my expertise," she informed the group.

"Go on Talon. I'm sure you're going to have fun with what's waiting for you," Kasumi informed the catgirl.

"Ooooohhhh! Can't wait!" Taal'ani giggled, rubbing her hands together as she departed.

Natalya had already stripped down to her skivvies and clambered onto the observation table. Various floating probes assembled around her, taking tissue and fluid samples, while several beams scanned the young woman. The entire procedure took a little over thirty minutes to complete and Nats got dressed after it was done.

"Your turn then mama?" Natalya asked.

"Yup. You know how to run most of the scans and procedures and Jaesa will assist you with any you don't know," the Khontaran woman told her.

Nodding, Nats took her position where Korsa was, while the big woman disrobed and hopped onto the examination table. The same exact process was repeated, as Korsa wanted every possibility covered. Though there were less tedious scans that could have produced results, Korsa didn't leave anything to chance. She wanted and needed to be sure of what was happening to their bodies, if anything was.

"Done mama. The scan has finished it's run and now, according to this, we just have to wait on the results," Natalya told her.

"Jaesa, can you confirm?" Korsa called out as she got dressed.

"Yes doctor. I can confirm that the scans and biopsies were completed to the letter. Just awaiting the results of the tests now," the AI chirped.

"So, do you need us for anything further Korsa?" Kas asked.

"Nope. Unless you have pressing matters elsewhere, go and do what you wish for now. You're all just underfoot here," the Khontaran woman told them.

"Nats, gym?" she asked.

"Sure. Shazza, you want to come with?"

"Gym? As in what exactly?" the Xuul'khani woman asked. After a brief explanation, her face lit up with a smile. "I love places where I can test myself! Yes, I'm coming!"

The girls chuckled as they placed their arms around the black-skinned woman and the walked along to the lower decks. Korsa shook her head at the sight of it, never thinking she'd ever see a Xuul'khan act with compassion and understanding. Though the war was very real, at least there was now an answer as to why they did what they did. She sighed happily, believing that if Shazza could be freed, then so could everyone else.

******************************

Alex stood on the bridge, going over the reports that the exploratory Sentries had provided him. Stanley and Jaesa had commandeered several in the deep caverns and progressed further, mapping out the unexplored depths. Though urged to be cautious, they had encountered no other Omegas as they explored.

Sohlkris' intel on that had been correct, that it appeared that there was only one Omega. The additional piles of bones and rotting flesh, some which were sizable Tashkuuns, further reinforced that point. Most of these were located in side caverns, but tucked well out of sight of the main one.

Alex shook his head as he was sure that the Omega possessed some level of intelligence. Malicious intelligence to be sure, if how it smiled at everyone's plight was any indication. He was just glad that... what ever they did, was enough to stop that monster.

"Jaesa, Stanley, report please," he called out, not having heard from them in over an hour.

"Jaesa here, sir. Stanley and I are approaching the Dead Snows right now," she replied.

"How can you tell?"

"We can see crashed ships encased in ice, sir. Many of which look old," Stanley responded.

"How old do you figure they are?" Alex wondered, wishing he could see what they were seeing, but the depth that they were at in the ice jammed any visual transmissions.

"From what I can tell of the design and the shape of them, they are definitely alien in design and predate humankind's spaceflight era," Jaesa reported.

"Can you take high resolution images with the Sentries you are commandeering?" Alex asked.

"Yes sir, and we have full three-dimensional images, with full renders of each image," Jaesa told him.

"Excellent! Continue your explorations and report in anything of note," Alex commanded them.

"Aye aye, sir!"

Alex had to wait maybe all of three minutes, before the AI and VI chirped out a response.

"Sir, we have a slight problem," Stanley said over the comms.

"What kind of a problem?" Alex queried.

"The kind that is about one hundred feet wide and at least one thousand feet down, and counting," Jaesa reported in.

"A chasm?" the Commodore guessed.

"That's affirmative sir. Drones are still descending but nearing their distance limit before I have to call them back," Jaesa told him.

"Any sign of them hitting the bottom of it?" Alex wondered.

"Negative sir. The open space just keeps going down, so its probably a lot deeper than two thousand feet. We do have sufficient materials to construct a bridge and the vehicle required to carry it," she told him.

"Searching up the specs of it now," Alex said as his hands flew across the consoles. He activated a separate workshop and input the orders to start constructing it. Estimates put the time of completion in early hours of the morning. He looked over the specs and dimensions of the transport and winced. It was too big to fit down the tunnel to reach the ground level where the dome was.

"Luminia, come in please? Ambassador Luminia, come in please," Alex called into the comms. Moments later, Lumi responded, her image in a full three-dimensional render.

"Yes, Commodore? Was there something you needed?" the Artucian woman asked politely.

"As a matter of fact, there is. I need you to contact your mother, High Chieftaness Valessa and request that she enlarge the cavern that gives passage from the surface to the dome," Alex told her.

"It shouldn't be difficult, but why is it needed?" Luminia queried. Alex explained the situation, with the chasm and the need for the bridging vehicle to pass through. Understanding immediately, Lumi agreed to make the call right away, knowing that the bridge was required to reach the Ark.

"Also, let her know that I will retask all nearby Sentries to assist. The sooner we get that done, the sooner they can be reset to their original tasks," the big man stated.

"Very good, sir. I will let her know and with any luck, it should be ready before we get down there," she told him, before ending the transmission. Alex made good on his word, setting the Sentries that were working around the dome, to widening the tunnel. He also had them follow the order to return to their original duties once the job was done. They all chirped affirmative noises over the line, before heading off.

Though being stuck in orbit over an ice planet wasn't Alex's preference, they had little choice, until the Darkstrider was spaceworthy. Still, that didn't mean that the planet lacked anything interesting. There was a lot to do and discover down there and he prayed that they'd find answers concerning their powers, soon.

******************************

The ladies in the gym were busy enjoying their workout, hammering away at their muscles. Kasumi was working her abs that day and though she wasn't as defined as Inari, the outline of each one was clear. Natalya and Shazza were busy working their backs, the both of them powering through some deadlifts.

Shazza huffed in frustration as she lifted the barbell, which was at what she could do, but only just. She looked over at Nats, who was lifting at least eighty pounds more and she sighed. Shazza kept going though, not wanting to quit, despite her apparent weakness. She finished the set and placed the weight on the ground with a clank.

"Something wrong Shazza?" Nats asked, noting the frown on her face.

"I'm not as strong as I used to be. I've grown soft, weak," the Xuul'khani woman groused.

"Well, part of that is due to the fact that you haven't really done anything since you've woken up, have you?" Kasumi asked.

"I have, but its been all body weight exercises, things I can do on my own," she admitted.

"Most of your muscle weakness can be attributed to the cryo sleep. Did it take you a few minutes to get up after you woke up from the cryo tube," Kas continued.

"Yes, it did," Shazza replied.

"That's muscle atrophy, which happens while in cryo stasis. Because of this, your body reached into its energy reserves to get you going again. The first few days, you'll be noticeably weaker than usual, until you hit the gym and get yourself working again. It takes a few weeks before you get back there," Kasumi explained.

"Really? It takes that short of a time?" Shazza wondered.

"Well, yeah. Your musculature is still intact, so it will just need some hard work to kickstart it back to where it used to be," Kas finished.