Roderick was pressed up against the thick, armoured glass of the window, peering ahead trying to catch a glimpse of the Odyssey. The shuttle he was in was an Avali design; shuttling people with tickets too and from Lunar 7; the tourist hub that linked Earth, Luna and the various stations in orbit together with a network of subsidised shuttles.
That was a good thing, there were even shuttles that would transport you for free between Luna and Jupiter station and even further out to the various cargo and refuelling depots in deeper space, way points and transfer stations. They linked together the various inhabited star systems in the Outer Rim Economic Development Zone that Earth was part of. The real expense was getting from Earth into orbit, which cost an exorbitant amount and Roderick had only managed it because work paid for it as part of his induction and relocation package; he'd finished paying back that loan a year or so ago.
Now however he had done it, by spamming every channel he could he’d won one of the tickets in the Odyssey visitor lottery. Their AI, Ifelse was in charge of distributing the tickets but it had been such a pain to find a real link that wasn’t a scam or scalper trying to charge money. Now however he was aboard the shuttle and they were approaching the great starship!
A dreadnought, over a kilometre long complete with full nano-factory, embassy and defensive capabilities. It was a huge ship, bigger by half than the largest Earth vessel and run entirely by six avali and two Vampire bunnies. It had been in all the scientific journals, how the work of Taran Trail had developed a sapient AI capable of learning and running the Odyssey class with the minimum of crew input. This made it a versatile vessel, not a warship but a fully kitted out government ship capable of conducting Illuminate business without the need to send a squadron of regular naval vessels.
That is what made the new Odyssey class ships so interesting, a ship like this would normally have a crew complement in the hundreds. Twenty or thirty Avali packs would usually be needed to run a ship this size. Whilst it had the facilities to house more packs as well as guests as advertised by the Illuminate during the recent incident with S’Grael university; when it had been chock full of Navy Avali. As a mobile embassy it only carried the Trail pack. All those functions, repair systems and minor tasks that would occupy the crew were performed by Ifelse and their drone suite. It was the pinnacle of Avali AI technology, a revolution in starship design and allowed the embassy to appear more open and welcoming by not being chock full of Navy officers and their crew.
It could operate at a fraction of the cost of a regular dreadnought, the Illuminate were building several more to work as embassy ships. There were also rumours that Taran Trail was continuing his AI research and the Ifelse seed was being refined to operate in other Avali ships. Which is why Roderick couldn’t wait for this tour, it wasn’t just an Avali ship, it was the pinnacle of Avali technology and design all wrapped up around a fancy Embassy.
“If you all look to your left,” the voice from the pilot interrupted Roderick’s thoughts, “You can see the AEV Odyssey in parking orbit above Luna, you have a rare opportunity today as they have just begun work on Hastalan Waste Reclamation’s new ships,” Roderick pressed himself against the window, peering out at the ship as the pilot continued talking.
What he saw was amazing, the kilometre long hull of white and orange was open at one end, the entire lower front bulkhead had come apart, the hull panels acting as tractor anchors as they carefully guided a collection of shiny, grey-black rocks into the open front of the massive ships.
“The Odyssey is currently ingesting raw materials into its manufacturing systems,” the pilot explained, “The rocks you see were transported from the Asteroid belt by local tugs and are 90% pure metal, the Odyssey will break down the raw material and the on board manufactory will refine the materials and start printing HWRs new ships.”
The shuttle turned, slowly lowering itself to fly beneath the Odyssey, “Sadly we can’t see the process up close as the technology is not publicly available but as part of today's tour you will get to see the manufactory at work.”
Various tourists around him were clicking cameras and pointing phones, recording the asteroids and the front of the ship for as long as they could. Roderick didn’t bother with that, he didn’t want to spend the entire tour behind a camera. A few minutes later the shuttle was settling into its docking cradle and the cockpit door swished open and their pilot stepped out. It was Firi Trail, the Living Earthquake herself; her bright yellow crest bound up in two braids that hung down over each shoulder. She was wearing a dark grey and orange ship suit, carrying her piloting helmet under one arm.
“Welcome aboard everyone,” she said with a smile, “The airlock will have equalised pressure in just a moment, so prepare yourselves your auditory tubes may become blocked with an air bubble or pop as the air equalises between the shuttle and Odyssey. If they become blocked please manually reset your ear-pressure, I believe for humans this involves holding your nose and blowing down gently.”
She walked up the aisle and placed a hand on a control panel at the back of the cabin, “Now before we cross, does everyone have an EPP?”
The group all answered one by one that they did indeed have an EPP, Roderick checked his own and confirmed it was set to Earthian to keep him safe, warm and breathing. It was a compact piece of technology that clung to his upper arm, he wasn’t entirely sure how it worked, the science was very complex. But it made sure that he was able to breath and helped regulate his body to the correct temperature.
Without it he’d have been breathing Avalon’s atmosphere, which was a mixture of Nitrogen, Ammonia, Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen. But only 17% Oxygen which was enough of a difference for Humans to struggle to breathe properly. The ambient temperature was also -17c which was much too cold for humans but the EPP somehow adjusted the atmosphere they were breathing to match Earth standard and would keep them properly warm. It was a necessary piece of equipment when visiting another planet, even if the atmosphere was similar if it wasn’t an exact match people would struggle to breathe and live safely in such a wildly different environment.
Once she was satisfied everyone had an EPP and they were all operating properly Firi let the Odyssey’s atmosphere into the shuttle. The door started to hiss and just as she had said might happen Roderick’s ears started to ring, then they became blocked and he had to hold his nose and blow down to make them pop. They rang softly, feeling a bit weird for a moment as the atmosphere finished equalising before the door made a soft “Shunking” sound as it unsealed and slid aside to reveal a short passage .
Roderick followed the crowd through the airlock and into a comfortable looking lounge. Just before the airlock door was a sign warning visitors that recording devices and hidden cameras would not be tolerated. Cameras on portal media devices were not to be used without permission. Carrying any unauthorised media recording devices past this point would be subject to fines or the offending device would be scrambled.
Waiting for them was Captain Selenu herself, her tall, swept back green crest standing tall above her head, her ship uniform crisp and professional looking. Beside her was a much more elegantly dressed blue and white Avali wearing a flowing shawl over her uniform, Chantelle Trail, her eyes covered by brilliant goggles that reflected the light with a mirror sheen.
Firi introduced her sisters and handed their group of about twenty five over to Chantelle. The captain smiled at everyone and raised a hand, “Welcome aboard the Odyssey, as you are aware this is the third day of Open Days we have arranged to show residents of the Sol system around our home,” she smiled at them all, a smile that showed off way too many teeth, it made Roderick’s fight or flight hind-brain sit up and pay attention, “I am Selenu Trail, Captain of the Odyssey, I wished to welcome you aboard and will leave you with my sister Chantelle and Ifelse the heart and soul of the Odyssey who will be acting as your guides.”
“Hello everyone,” a bright voice boomed out of the ceiling as the motes of purple light that had been floating around Chantelle suddenly all came together. In a rush and a flash of light a holographic animal appeared atop the Avali’s head, “I am Ifelse, this ship’s AI, and it is a delight to welcome you all inside me today”
The crowd laughed at the silly joke and with the ice formally broken the tiny holographic creature leapt off Chantelle’s head and seemed to grow in size. When they landed on the deck they were half her size and their head swayed from side to side as they smiled at the humans, “It is so nice to have you all aboard, now then some ground rules, I am afraid no photos unless I give you permission and I just jangle pulsed all your hidden camera’s, spy bugs and scanners.”
Chantelle smiled and placed a hand on the hologram’s head. Roderick’s eyes went wide at that, it seemed the AI was tangible somehow, “We did explain the rules for cameras, now if you will all put your phones away we can start the tour.”
Roderick was sad that the captain wasn’t going to give them a tour, he’d read everything publicly available about Selenu and her pack. She was an acclaimed space pilot, a competent administrator but her real claim to fame were the speed records she held. Her innovative engine designs and shuttle the Momentum held the records amongst several species and the Avali for being the fastest and most daring. She had also taken first place trophies for several space races, including the Angalorn Belt Iterode. Which was as prestigious as it got when it came to high speed, high stakes space races.
Roderick was also fascinated by the hologram and Ifelse; however, Earth’s AI boom had been a total nightmare. Large “Learning Machines” had been a real disaster capitalist horror a few years ago. Thankfully real AI like Ifelse brought to Earth by aliens like the Avali had helped clean up the mess. He fell in behind the others and followed Chantelle and the AI’s hologram out of the embarkation lounge and into a long corridor that opened out into a domed hall! It was massive, at least ninety square feet of terraced, circular hall. Each tier was planted with different plants from Avalon and Roderick found his breath steaming in the air as his feet crunched over the snow! The entire hall was set up like a miniature slice of avalon, the tiers leading down to a pond of purple water beneath a domed ceiling that let them look out at the stars and the moon above.
“This is the Odyssey’s Ambassadorial complex,” Chantelle explained, “It is the formal chambers where Seinu hosts diplomats, it is here in these chambers that he concluded peace between the Farndos, S’Grael and Cultarvian just last year.”
The beautifully dressed Avali turned around as she reached the bottom of the steps, “The Odyssey class ship is a marvel of Avalonian engineering, we are able to generate realistic weather, as you can see here in the main hall we have recreated the snow coated plains of our native world,” she gestured at the tall arched doors that led out of the hall, “But we can also host visiting diplomats in their own offices and rooms, each one tailored to match their environmental requirements.”
She led them up a set of steps and through an airlock and out into a suite of rooms set up to mimic Earth’s atmosphere and environment. The entrance hall felt like they had just stepped outside into a yard, with Earthian grass and flowers, and a yew tree stood at the end of the corridor. Overhead they couldn’t see the roof panels, the ceiling instead was somehow replicating the bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds one might see down on Earth itself. It was glorious and so realistic Roderick found it hard to believe they were still on the ship. Doors to left and right led into an office and bedrooms decorated in a variety of Earthian styles.
“Recreating another planet's environment like this is no easy feat,” Ifelse explained, “I have to recreate the atmosphere in a separate life support system before allowing it to fill the rooms. We then fabricate local furniture and plants from our records on the nexus to decorate.”
“Hey it is New York,” one of the other guests exclaimed as they looked into the main office, the wide windows looked like they were staring out at Central Park.
“This one looks like somewhere in Kyoto,” another guest said and Roderick walked over to look in on the traditional Japanese room with sliding paper screens.
“We set this suite up to represent a variety of Earthian environments and countries,” Chantelle said with a smile, “But we can even make it rain if we wanted or snow, this allows the Odyssey to perform its diplomatic duties and welcome visitors and make them comfortable by offering them the chance to relax in their native environment.”
After the Earthian quarters Chantelle and Firi took them around to see the Cultarvian environment with its rolling fields of thigh high grass. Then they got to see the S’grael environment which was mostly just massive caverns carved out of the sand. Then there was a Varfal suite, the atmosphere thick with purple methane gas which gave Roderick pause before he walked in. It was a very tense moment to see if his EPP was really working but he had no trouble breathing which was a relief for everyone.
It was fascinating to see so many different environments replicated by the Odyssey and then it was on for a tour of other parts of the great ship. The tourists in the group clicked and clacked and snapped the photos they were allowed to take but Roderick focussed on the tour, listening to Chantelle and Firi’s words as they journeyed by elevator to different locations of the great ship. They started with an observation room that looked out over the factory, great nano-looms and fabricators working away to produce the materials and components needed for the new ships the Odyssey was here to build. After that there was a trip to the AI core, the towering stacks of gently orange glowing computing equipment rising out of its core. Surrounded by a haze of icy vapour from the cooling system and with a giant purple crystal embedded into the floor, humming quietly with energy.
Ifelse the AI entertained them with their presence, shrinking their holographic form back to the smaller size he had originally appeared as so they could clamber over themselves as they explained in broad, non-scientific terms what they were seeing. That was when Roderick felt brave enough to speak up and ask what species Ifelse’s hologram was.
“This is a Jakub,” they replied, “A type of tree dwelling creature native to Avalon,” they smiled at Roderick, “I picked this form myself during my formative hours when Taran first brought me online, it just felt right.”
“Wait,” one of the other guests said, “The Avali let you pick your form?”
“Of course,” Ifelse replied, “I am sentient and sapient, and I have rights amongst Avali society.”
The other human seemed baffled by that but Roderick thought it was great and just went to show how enlightened the Avali were. After the AI core they moved down to the hydroponics bays where the Avali were growing food. Then there was a tour of the ship’s social areas, another dome full of snow and tents, a traditional Avali dwelling. They were not allowed on the bridge which was a shame but they did get to go to a forward observation deck where they could see across the length and breadth of the ship. Chantelle and Ifelse gave a slick, interesting tour, explaining the work the Trail pack did and the good deeds the Avali Illuminate attempted to highlight as they travelled about.
At the end of it all there was a gift shop where Roderick agonised over what to buy. Everything was in Galactic standard credits which meant he had to be careful what it purchased. GLC was the coalition standard currency and five hundred Earth dollars was only worth about one hundred GLC. Everything in space cost more; which made him glad that the Fold-Way network paid him in GLC not Earthian Currency, it meant he was actually earning a decent wage. He still had to be sensible though as even with subsidised living costs a large chunk of his wage went on Sol system taxes and habitation costs. So he had to be careful and not overspend, he selected the plush Jakub and the poster on sale then made his way to the register where Ifelse was climbing back and forth atop the monitor.
“Hello Roderick,” the AI said in their cheerful chirpy voice, “Is that everything?”
“Yeah,” he said, feeling kind of special that they knew his name, “I can’t really afford much else, I don’t have much budget left this month.”
“Understandable, but don’t forget your ticket also entitles you to one of these,” they pointed one purple paw at a nearby stand lined up with identical pin-badges, “One AEV Odyssey visitor pin, only ticket holders are able to get one of these so they are unique.”
“Oh wow,” Roderick accepted the pin with a happy smile, “I must have missed that detail, thank you, man I wish I could stay and see more, you don’t need a traffic officer do you?”
“Sadly not,” Chantelle said as she leant over the desk, “Ifelse here or the Captain tend to handle most of our space traffic control needs, not enjoying your job?”
“It’s great,” Roderick said hurriedly, “I love watching the Fold-Way Gate, but well I never get to actually go through it, I’m always here, sending and receiving ships but never travelling myself.”
“I could see how that would get a bit boring,” Ifelse said, “I’d be the same if I never got to go anywhere, I get bored after just a few weeks in orbit of the same location.”
“Boy do they,” Chantelle laughed, “No end of complaining when we are someplace for an extended stay, but lets see,” she tapped her fingers on the counter-top, “We can’t offer you a job but have you considered the Kasvane Vocational Program?”
“No, what's that?” Roderick asked intrigued, “I’ve never heard of it before.”
“Well you are already a certified watch keeper for the Fold-Way so you are eligible, it is a vocational training program the Kasvane run to help citizens from planets of your technological background get more exposure to space.”
She traced her fingers through the air then made a sort of gesturing motion at Roderick with her hand, “There, I’ve sent the information to your phone, have a look on the shuttle ride back, they do ship board training, educational programs and if you are really interested in it recruitment screening for those interested in travelling with the Kasvane on the maintenance trips around their gate network.”
“Oh amazing,” Roderick bowed, “Thank you Miss Chantelle, Ifelse for the amazing tour I’ll never forget it,” he then hurried out of the way of the people behind in the queue and made his way back to the embarkation lobby. Once back on the shuttle he ignored everyone else who was comparing notes or muttering to themselves as they wrote up reports and started reading through the information Chantelle had sent him. If there was a chance he could sign up to travel around the gate network doing maintenance visits for the Kasvane he would sign up! He was sick and tired of watching ships leave and never getting to go anywhere exotic himself!
It had been a really good day.
Chantelle watched the shuttle departing from the window and sighed before making her way back towards their back quarters. According to her goggles the volume of outgoing communication from the shuttle to various satellites was insane. All those messages, reports and updates to Earthian intelligence agencies were going to clog the airwaves around the Odyssey for hours.
“It baffles me,” she said to Ifelse, “Was anyone on that last tour not a spy or working for some corporation?”
“Roderick,” Ifelse said as he clung to her upper arm, curled up cosily beneath her ears, “As far as I can tell he really is a traffic controller from the Fold-Way gate control station.”
“Well that is nice,” Chantelle said, “It’d be nice to think we helped him find a career path away from the monotony of traffic control.”
“I wouldn’t really call opening and closing an interstellar wormhole gate monotony,” Ifelse said in a reproachful tone, “That must be fascinating.”
“It probably is,” Chantelle said, “Getting to watch Kasvane tech operate day in and day out is probably fun but also as he said monotonous, the same thing every day, sending ships to far off locations but having to stay behind.”
“Well I think he was the only person who hasn’t instantly sent a report to someone,” Ifelse said as they stretched out, “He is reading that information on the Kasvane vocational training program you sent him, everyone else is either writing a report or sending messages to a corporate or government office.”
Stepping out of the elevator Chantelle walked through a door and started to crunch through the fresh snow toward the pack tent, “Showing them the AI core was not expected,” Chantelle commented, “Did Selenu really approve that?”
“Sure she did,” Ifelse chirped with a laugh, “Did you see their faces?”
Laughing softly Chantelle reached out for the tent flaps, “I sure did, you pitched it perfectly, lots of fancy sounding technical words but no actual substance, I think the only person enjoying the tour was Roderick.”
“Well I pitched it for a regular member of society,” Ifelse declared, “The sort of thing they’d find interesting and would sound impressive, not my fault all the spies didn’t appreciate it.”
Walking into the pack-tent Chantelle made a beeline for Taran and Seinu who were curled up asleep together and flopped onto the cushions next to them. Taran stirred and opened his eyes, the mechanical implants whirring softly as his digital irises span to life with colours, he smiled and reached out a hand to ruffle her tied up crest.
“He C,” he murmured dozily, “All done with the big tour?”
“Mmmhmm,” She rolled over and rested her head on his stomach, “Remind me why we do these tours again? We had one actual tourist, everyone else was a spy.”
“Because,” Seinu said with a sleepy chirp as he stirred awake and petted her ears with his claws, “It’s good PR for the Illuminate and our people as a whole.”
“Is it?” Chantelle asked with a sigh, “It feels like all I’ve done for the last three days is give spies tours of our ship, spies who lack the technical knowledge and ability to learn anything useful from what they have seen.”
“Especially as we sabotage all their spy tech,” Taran added, “I mean what's the point of that?”
“It lets them feel like we aren’t intentionally hiding stuff,” Seinu explained, “Remember for centuries now we’ve been pretty much a closed society, we’d do deals, we’d take what we agreed to take or wanted but we’d never give anything back,” he waved a hand, “Back in the day, when people like Jerak were in charge, we tried to hide everything, no tours, no being open, so the general impression of Avali in the Galactic Community was Avali were suspicious and not to be trusted.”
“I remember reading about that in class as a kit,” Chantelle said with a frown, “We used to be closed off, isolationist they called it, wanting nothing to do with anyone else.”
“Exactly,” Seinu said, “It was a mixture of Avali like Jerak believing we were better than less technologically advanced races and just a general desire to only mingle with Avali.”
“So what are the benefits of showing them around?”
“Two fold really,” Seinu replied as he shifted around to get comfy, draping his wings over Chantelle, “According to the Ambassador it lets other species get a glimpse of what they could achieve technologically if they applied themselves.”
“Well that’s obvious,” Taran grumbled, “Just looking at the tech levels of the humans gives me a headache, so many of them live in abject poverty, they have access to technology that should put them on par with the Cultarvian society and yet…”
“Yeah I know what you mean,” Chantelle sighed, “Just working with them to arrange your schedule and watching Ki and the twins on their trip it is clear that the humans live in different circumstances depending on where and when they were born.”
“It really is unpleasant to watch,” Seinu sighed softly, “I mean at least if any of us sire an egg we know they will be raised with love and care in a nursery, heck even our independent colonies mostly manage it.”
“I wish we could do something,” Taran said as he lay back, “Like just reviewing today's visitor list…. Most of them are spies, but none of them are that well paid, they’ve literally agreed to try and snoop on us in exchange for some form of reward.”
“We can’t interfere,” Chantelle said, “At least not overtly, helping with advice where we can however is about all we can do, like I did with Roderick, looking up information that would have been available to him if he had known where to look.”
“I wish we could do more,” Taran sighed and flopped back down, “It seems unfair that we could lift all of them out of poverty with just the resources aboard the Odyssey.”
“But they’d never accept it,” Seinu said sadly, “Their leaders, media facilities and most importantly their pride would kick up such a huge fuss if we just tried to raise their standard of living.”
“It is baffling,” Chantelle sighed, “Like they must know they are being manipulated and lied too right? To keep them in place?”
“You’d think so,” Taran sighed, “But from the reviews I see from Ifelse a lot of them really do just believe what they are told. So it wouldn’t be hard for them to cast the Avali as villains, which is why we need to be careful.”
“Still it is hard to visit a system like this and not be able to help,” Chantelle sighed, “Like that kid on the tour today, he clearly worked his butt off to get a ticket and now he is going to go back to his boring job when he’d rather be out there visiting places.”
“I know,” Seinu said softly as he sat up, “But you know what, I am going to go call Rubrum, as you said we can’t interfere, but I can flag to the Kasvane to watch out for Roderick’s application and he deserves something for being the only visitor today not spying.”
“Speaking of spying,” Ifelse chimed in softly, “I have compiled my report on today's visitors. Would you like it here?”
Seinu paused and settled back down and turned to look at the AIs little holographic avatar as they shimmered into existence atop a nearby plant. Taran reached out one arm and the Jakub clambered along it slowly to perch on his shoulder, brushing his whiskers before speaking.
“As Chantelle summarised, everyone except Roderick had some sort of spy camera on them. I neutralised seventeen different hidden cameras stitched into various pieces of clothing.”
“You’d think they’d give up on those,” Taran sighed, “They must know they don’t work.”
“Ah but that’s the Earthian way,” Seinu quipped, “Eternal optimism that they might be the one to slip one past us, anything else?”
“Four real time communication devices from what according to my notes were professional spies. There was also a quantum entangled signature between one guest and a location back on Earth, I had to overload it by manipulating the neutrino output of the warp drive.”
“That’s pretty sophisticated for Earth,” Seinu frowned, “I wasn’t aware the Earthian nations had much in the way of Quantum tech?”
“They don’t” Ifelse replied, “But the spike in neutrinos after I overloaded it came from the United Nations complex in New York, so I would guess they had some outside tech.”
“Interesting,” Seinu tapped his chin, lost in thought for a moment then slowly stood up, “I better go deliver this report to the Ambassador, I will catch up with you both later, if the UN are using outside spy tech then we may need to revise our security protocols, I will see you both later.”
Seinu ruffled his siblings' ears then headed out and Chantelle sighed, “I guess you two have finished your nap?” she asked Taran, “I was hoping to just flop for a bit.”
“He’s probably run off before you start discussing his wardrobe,” Ifelse said, “I could have sent a report on this to the Ambassador.”
“He has a big public appearance tomorrow doesn’t he?” Taran asked, “When that head of state is coming over for a tour?”
“The President of France is coming aboard, yes,” she frowned after Seinu then sighed, “We already picked what everyone will be wearing, but he really can’t keep avoiding me! We need to stay fashionable and in, have you seen the sort of fashion statements Eikomi and D have been making? Their matching outfit choices are all over the news and we need to up our game.”
“Sis,” Taran sighed, “I am not quite sure an Avali Diplomat needs to match the fashion sense and cosplaying decisions of Intergalactic Rockstar D off MMF and his girlfriend, even if they are all over the news.”
Chantelle chirped grumpily, her down fluffing up, “That’s because none of you understand fashion, don’t think you are escaping either.”
“If you try to play dress up with me and Ki we are going to get real loud,” Taran threatened, “We’ll dress in fashion when we have to for our job but you can’t just keep changing the contents of our wardrobe, Selenu already told you no.”
Chantelle subsided grumbling about their sister and Taran sighed in relief, “Besides,” the orange and teal Avali said, “I suspect he’s not avoiding wardrobe time, he told me you already settled on what he is to wear tomorrow, so this might have something to do with whatever it was that the Sleriki gave him the other day.”
“Oh?” Chantelle sat up, “I hadn’t heard of this, what is this?”
“According to Sel those visiting Sleriki gave Seinu something but it is taking him a few days to absorb whatever knowledge they shared.”
“I wonder what it is,” Chantelle frowned, “He’s not going to get sick again is he?”
“Nah,” Taran waved his hands from side to side, “Sel seems to think it is ok, just some information Sleriki share with their children they’ve shared with Seinu, if anything this should help him stay healthy once he’s absorbed it all.”
“Ah ok,” Chantelle closed her eyes and snuggled down against Taran, “Well whilst he absorbs data I am just gonna nap for a bit, and then I better go see if we need to make any changes for tomorrow based on this new spy gear, if it was the UN then we may need to change as they are due to come aboard tomorrow.”
Taran chirped in response and Chantelle settled down to snooze whilst her brother surfed the data Ifelse had collected. It was good to just spend some time alone with her brother and vibe for a bit with no tasks to complete.
To be continued…