Ship's Interface Ch. 002

When she saw Will and Interface finally stirring, June stretched her arms above her head, yawned, and said, "Now that it's clear we're going to be living here for some time, with no worry of starving to death, I think it's high time for a grand tour and see the rest of the ship, don't you agree?" She asked her two naked lovers on the cart.

Will propped himself up on his elbow, tracing small circles on Interface's belly, "I think that's a great idea. I'd like to see the Nestia's power core and related subsystems so we can start planning the integration of our salvaged equipment."

"Well then," Interface said, sitting up, "There's no time like the present". June marveled at Interface's command of English, idioms included, even though she just started speaking it a couple of days ago. Interface gave Will a quick kiss on the forehead and hopped off the floating cart and walked over to June, pulling her tight against her silvery body. "And when I've finished giving you the grand tour of the ship, I expect a grand tour of my own." she said, low and breathy as her hands stroked June's back, then descended to grab two handfuls of ass cheeks.

Will was getting dressed by this point and shook his head and chuckled, "Insatiable." he muttered under his breath, buttoning his shirt.

"You know it." Interface replied and gave June a passionate kiss.

Will finished dressing. "So where do we start?"

"We start at the beginning, then continue until we reach the end." Interface joked sarcastically. "You two have some really strange phrases bouncing around in your heads." indicating where she picked up the line, smiling wide. "A survey vessel, like Nestia, was usually crewed by two hundred and fifty six members." a little sadness crept into her eyes, so June placed a hand on her silvery arm for comfort. Glancing between June and Will, seeing the care and concern on their faces, brightened her attitude again. "So there's a couple of cafeterias, ten sleeping lounges, or as I like to call them, fuck pits." She said with a lear and a twinkle in her eye.

They followed the silver girl out into the hallway, and headed down to the next level using one of the temporary ramps Interface setup.

"There's a cargo bay and a hanger on the lower decks, which still has the spare shuttle parked, and a couple of the one person pods." The continued down the next ramp to deck six, and followed Interface further to the rear of the ship. Making a quick mental map, Will figured they were deep beneath the side of the valley wall by now.

The hallway ended at a flat white door that looked like every other door on the ship. "This is the main engineering compartment, home to the power core." With a flourish, she waved her arm and the door melted open, and Interface led them in.

They were standing on a mezzanine over a large dark space, as Interface was still saving power by illuminating their immediate surroundings. Walking over to the railing looked back at Will and June, with eager anticipation on her face, ready to impress them with her next revelation.

"This is the ship's power core, the Dark Matter generator." she said with another flourish, as the high bay lights turned on, illuminating the cavernous space. The wide open space in the engineering compartment was four decks deep, spanning thirty meters.

The mezzanine they stood on, as well as the two below, ringed the space, and at the center of the chamber was a flat white sphere that occupied most of the volume. Leaning over the railing, Will could see a ring of consoles surrounding the sphere, with cables of a wide variety sizes attached to it, routed away on cable trays to various ports located all over the exterior wall at several levels.

"At max output, this power plant puts out the equivalent energy of a dozen quasar stars." Will stared at her, mouth agape, not quite believing what she just told them.

"Quasars. Really?" Will asked, incredulous.

"Yup." She responded blithely. "Working in six dimensions and manipulating four takes big time energy. And we have it in spades. Or we will, once we figure it out." She shrugged her shoulders. The high bay lights turned off and Interface led them back into the corridor, the door melting closed behind them.

As they walked down the hallway, Interface was practically bouncing with excitement. "The last thing I wanted to show you is the 'piece de resistance', the pinnacle of my people's achievements," the door slid open revealing a room bathed in the same blue glow as Interface's eyes, "Me!"

They entered the room and in front of them was an enormous, crystal snowflake. It stood two stories, with thousands of crystal offshoots, running off through protective conduits, presumably throughout the ship. A transparent barrier separated them from being able to touch it directly.

Most of the crystalline structure was dark and inactive, but there were small bolts of blue lightning pinging back and forth throughout the massive crystal, creating a hypnotic display. Aside from the small crackle of energy zipping back and forth through the crystal, it was entirely dark.

"As you can see, I am nowhere near the levels of power I'm capable of. But, in just a few day's, with your lovely help, I've increased my capacity by 0.6 percent! I am no longer on a downward spiral and I have you, my Lovelies, to thank for it." Interface embraced them warmly and they returned it in kind.

June walked over and placed a hand on the transparent barrier, tone sober. "You were really close, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I had just about given up. Now that you're here, I'll be good as new soon."

"Yup, first things first though, we've got to get all of that equipment out of the 'Saturn's Heart and over here. Then figure out how to use it to control the power core." Will said, listing out their to-do's.

"And then we find your people." June added, hugging Interface tight. Will joined the embrace and Interface beamed.

********

For the next couple of weeks, Will and June would get an early start and head back to the 'Saturn's Heart', pulling the empty sled behind them, returning with the sled heaped with equipment before dusk. They would have a quick meal of 'banana yogurt' from the nutrition dispenser, while Will and Interface discussed several paths they could try to jump start and control the power core.

Inevitably, the conversation would get derailed by Interface's omnipresent 'Fuck Me-Field', as Will put it; and although it derailed their progress while someone was getting railed, it gave them all a boost of energy to work late into the night. They would then retire to their lounge, go for another round, and then fall asleep in a comfortable tangle of arms and legs.

It was a lovely few weeks; they made great progress while growing closer as lovers and friends.

*******

"The circuits look good, all the point to point checks on everything are finished." Will said as the three lovers returned to the lounge from working on the integration of the power core.

"We still need you to program the core control algorithm in our main computer bank, but if you're as much of a wiz at programming as you are everything else, it should go smoothly." It was tough to see, but her silver cheeks flushed with the vote of confidence. "June, do you think we'll be able to get the rest of the gear back to the Nestia, tomorrow?"

"I think so," June said looking through the inventory list for the last items to bring over. "According to this, there's two more rad-battery to bring over and a handful of odds and ends. Lugging two batteries on the cart instead of one like the rest of the loads will be a slight challenge; though we won't have hardly any other equipment. We should be good."

"I'm all for one less day of hiking back and forth between the two ships." Will said.

"And I'm looking forward to not spending the entire day alone while you are gone." Interface chimed in, looking at them longingly.

"Well, I'm beat, so let's get some shut eye and get this salvage operation done with." Will said with a yawn. Interface rubbed his chest and June's thigh, then he amended his statement. "Maybe a nitecap first, then some shut eye." He said smiling, climbing into bed where June and Interface were already making out.

********

They woke early, and they were so eager to be done with the trekking back and forth between the ships, they only had a quick makeout session, instead of a full romp. They dressed, had their breakfast quickly and headed to the airlock, anti grav cart in tow. Will and June both gave Interface a hug and a kiss before departing, and Interface stood in the airlock door until they had become small in the distance, as had become her custom.

Sealing the airlock, Interface didn't have much she needed to do until they returned so she proceeded with what had also become her custom and went to the bridge and to watch the distant glimmer of their former ship. With June and Will's arrival, the Nestia, after so long, finally began feeling like a home again, filled with love, laughter and hope. They did say so out loud, but it seemed clear to Interface that Will and June felt the same way too.

Her heart ached with fullness as she thought about them, and continued to monitor the comm traffic as she watched them from a distance.

The early morning hike across the valley was uneventful with the exception of crossing paths with a grazing herd of Munchers. When they arrived, they searched the ship for danger with well practiced efficiency, had a quick snack, then got to work. June gathered up the last odds and ends they were planning to bring back with them, piling them up in the hallway next to the cart that sat just inside the makeshift door. At the same time, Will worked to free the remaining two rad batteries from their storage rack.

The batteries themselves were in good condition, but the rack had been twisted and damaged at the end where the last two batteries sat, pinching and holding them fast. Will cursed and pry at the rack; they were stuck and stuck good.

"June," Will call on the comms, "the batteries are going to take me a bit longer than planned. I'm going to have to cut them out of the rack with a torch."

"Understood. I'm almost done with the other stuff. I'll come down and help when I'm finished." June replied. "Interface, we're going to be a little bit longer than we anticipated." She radioed, knowing that Interface was monitoring comms.

"Don't take too long, I believe you have an appointment this evening." Interface teased.

June smiled. "Wouldn't miss it. See you shortly."

********

It was a little past noon but Will and June had only managed to free one battery. They continued to cut away the twisted metal of the racking, and soon the second battery was free. Elated, June pumped her fist in the air with a, "Yes!" and hurried to help Will load it on the cart with the other.

They slid the bolt on the makeshift door, opening it wide and pulled the cart down to level ground, preparing for the march back to the Nestia. It was a little past four and they at least an hour and a half before dusk began settling over the valley.

"Well, everything of value is out of the old girl; do you still want to button her up?" June asked.

"Seems only right." Will replied. "She's served us well and deserves a peaceful rest. I'll stand watch, you go ahead and close her up."

June climbed in through the makeshift door one last time, closed it and slid the bar bracing it shut. She walked to the ladder, and before climbing out for the last time, paused. Laying her hand on a bulkhead, "Thanks so much, Saturn honey. You've earned your rest." With a small tear in her eye, June climbed the ladder and sealed the latch behind her.

Climbing down, June met Will at the hovering cart as he finished double checking the bindings holding everything in place. "Ready to go?" She asked.

"Ready, willing and..." before he could finish his sentence, the small power pack energizing the jerry-rig cart shot out sparks and burnt out. The cart landed in the dirt with a heavy thud, startling the two, almost crushing Will's right foot. "For fuck's sake." He cursed, as he looked over the small power pack.

He examined and poked at it for a few minutes before declaring, "Yup. It's dead. Call Interface and let her know we're going to be delayed a bit. I'll swap out the connectors and use one of the rad batteries to power the cart. Shouldn't take me more than twenty to thirty minutes, tops." He looked at his watch, it would be dusk soon. They needed to get going soon or they'd have to spend the night here, not willing to risk a hike in the dark.

"Interface, we're going to be delayed heading back, the cart's power shorted out, but Will's fixing it now. We'll be on our way shortly." June informed Interface.

"Hurry home, I'm missing you already." Interface replied with sincere longing in her voice.

Will unhooked the dead power cell, wrestled it off the grounded cart, and rolled it a couple of feet away so he could work. Ten minutes later he had everything hooked up to one of the radio-isotope batteries, and threw the switch to start it up. "It'll take about five minutes for the rad batteries to get up to power, then we can be on our way." He said to June.

Sunlight was failing and dusk was right on its heels. The battery chimed letting them know it was ready. As Will was about to engage the power to the cart, he paused, listening intently "Do you hear that?" Will asked June.

June paused to listen too. At first she wasn't sure what she was listening for, but then she heard it. It was a low rumbling in the distance, that seemed to be getting louder as it got closer.

"Stampede." Will said with a serious tone, as he unslung and checked his auto rifle. "Check your side arm." He ordered. June did so and while they waited, Will checked in with Interface. "Interface, sounds like a herd of Munchers are stampeding nearby. Can you see anything from where you are?"

Interface, standing by the window on the bridge, looked out and replied. "Nothing visually. I don't think I can power up the sensor array until the power core is reactivated." Remembering the binoculars Will left her, "Give me a minute, I'll get the binoculars." Interface ran down to the airlock where she had left them and returned to the bridge. Setting them to max range, she spotted Will and June by the cart, weapons ready. "Checking the surroundings now." She broadcasted as she scanned the horizon.

A moment later, she thought she saw something but couldn't make it out, so she switched to thermals. She spotted the normally docile herd as faint heat signatures about a kilometer from June and Will's position. "It's a herd, moving fast, about a click from your position. They don't seem to be heading in your direction, looks like they'll pass by a half a click in front of you."

Interface continued to watch the herd with the binoculars, when they suddenly turned left, heading straight for their position. "They just turned inbound to your position. Contact in five minutes." Interface said, now worried. Something must have made them turn, she thought, and scanned the area behind and to the flank of the thundering herd.

Then she saw it, or rather a lack of something on the thermals. There were large groups of pitch black shadows on the thermal scope that seemed to be steering the herd. She suddenly recognized it as a pack hunting technique, one group to drive prey and other groups to steer them into an ambush. She quickly checked up the valley on the opposite side of Will and June's position and saw another group of absent thermal signatures. She then scanned back to the other ship and saw that her two lovers were radiating like bright beacons compared to the low level heat signature of the Muncher herd.

It all clicked in an instant. "It's a hunting ambush!" Interface called, beginning to panic. "Something is hunting the Munchers using their thermal radiation. They're closing on your position; take cover, hide!"

Hearing Interface's warning, several puzzle pieces fell into place in Will's mind. The piles of Muncher quills they found, the weird feelings at dusk that first night. They were in danger.

Not wasting a moment, he grabbed June and shouted, "Inside, Now!" They ran up the dirt piled alongside the ship and ran to the hatch. Opening it, he rushed June inside and scanned the surroundings once more before making his descent. The herd was almost upon them, running from some predator. Just before he closed the hatch he could make out dark shapes closing in on the herd from all sides.

Joining June at the bottom of the ladder, he gestured for June to stand behind him in the center of the ship, just around the corner of the makeshift door. The sounds of the herd grew loud as they stampeded around the cart they had abandoned just moments before. The sound of the stomping beasts grew more frantic as they ran out of room to run, being hemmed in by whatever it was that was corralling them.

Suddenly the frantic huffing and stamping of the Munchers just outside the door turned into panicked screaming, as the herd was attacked. More ominously, all sounds of the distressed herd ceased, no stomping, no bleating, nothing.

Quietly, Will called on the comm. "Interface what do you see?"

Interface, not able to remove the scope from her eyes, had been fixed, laser focused on the ship and its surroundings.

"They caught them all, but they haven't moved anywhere, yet. The ship is still completely surrounded." She continued to watch and report as suddenly one by one, the low heat signatures of the Munchers became almost as bright as Will and June's had been. "I'm not sure what's happening now. The herd seems to be glowing brighter on the thermals."

Will listened intently to the activity just outside. He suddenly recognized the sound of tearing fabric all around the area surrounding the ship, then he understood. "They're being stripped of their quills, just like the piles we keep finding." He said quietly into the comm while looking at June.

A tense few minutes passed, and Will gripped his rifle tight, thumb on the safety latch, ready to fire.

"They're beginning to carry them away." Interface called over the comm, watching as suddenly bright Muncher signatures moved away south down the valley, paired with a companion shadow.

The sounds filtering into the ship quieted and went silent. No other sound was being made outside, no sound hooves stamping, no sound of predators dragging their quarry away, just eerie silence.

Interface called out again. "All of the Muncher signatures are gone, but there are still dozens of dark signatures all around the ship."

Will and June held their breath and position. Through the half buried cockpit window, dusk had begun to transition into the starless night of this planet. Soon complete darkness would fall, and they would have a very difficult time making out any attackers.

They huddled in the small hallway as the darkness grew thicker outside, they began to hear a sound of rubbing on the hull of the ship. It started in one spot on the outer hull, but soon the sounds of more exploratory rubbing could be heard all over the ship.

June jumped slightly and swung around when she heard that same kind of sound rubbing on the cockpit forward view port. She caught sight of the maker of the sound for only a moment and it sent chills down her spine. A dark flexible arm or appendage pressed against the surface of the glass and stroked down, as if looking for purchase.

Will's eyes widened in concern when he heard the sound at the makeshift door. As the presence outside explored the crude seams, the simply fashioned hinges and bar on the door, squeaked and groaned as the door began to be shifted back and forth.

"They found our new door." Will quietly reported to Interface over the comm. She was beside herself with impotent worry, being too far away to help.