Caveship

15 || The Mowaii

"So let me get this straight," Darius says with his arms crossed. "You figured out that Gene was planning to steal the Caveship, so you went and sabotaged his tractor beam, almost dying in the process, and then jumped off a building several miles high in the air?"

"Yeah, pretty much," replies Sarah, still holding her gloved hand.

"Tractor beam technology requires a high-level of radioactive energy to function," says Tah-Kuell. "I'm concerned that Sarah could have taken large doses of radiation while in that compartment. If I had better equipment, I would be able to check. Again, I have to say, a very brave thing to do for one's friends."

"I feel fine," says Sarah, who is now a little concerned after what Tah-Kuell just said. "I'm just glad that we didn't fall into that maniac's ploy."

"So Gene turned out to be crazy, huh?" Nicholas shakes his head.

"Yes, and not only that, he wanted our omnitools for some reason," Sarah says, looking at her omnitool. "He said it would help with controlling the caveship. That it's a power we don't fully understand."

"Well, that's a given," Darius remarks. "We don't really understand them. We just sort of found them trying to look for food, remember?"

Nicholas appears pensive as he stares at his own omnitool. "I wonder if anything that guy said was true..."

"Who knows?" replies Sophia. "He was all kinds of weird. Maybe he didn't really have a way for us to go home after all..."

"Yeah... but we didn't even get to ask him where he was from. He was Human. Was he from Earth? How'd he get over to that part of space?" Nicholas sighs, smirking. "Guess we'll never find out now."

"Honestly, guys, I'm starving..." Sophia sighs, leaning back in her chair. "Can we eat?" She perks up, looking around at everyone else. "C'mon. I can't be the only one."

Tah-Kuell and Darius continue to play a holographic puzzle game by the piloting terminal, though it's more like Tah-Kuell advising Darius as he physically moves around the light-pieces to try to create a picture. Sarah, laying down on her bedroll, idly messes around with her new glove-like omnitool until Sophia speaks up. She nods lightly. "I could eat."

Ava, dozing off in her own chair, raises a hand lazily waving her interest in food. Nicholas, also settled into a chair near Darius and Tah-Kuell, feet propped up on one of the ship's consoles, watches in quiet interest. "I mean, I guess I can go grab one of the supply crates we brought from the red planet." He stretches both arms and legs, before sliding out of his chair. "How are we even doing on supplies? We didn't have a chance to get anything on Torith..."

"Our next destination isn't far. We should be able to get some supplies while we're there," Tah-Kuell assumes, looking away from the puzzle for a moment. "There's only one habitable planet in the entire system the ship is directing us to as our next stopping point. I suspect the ship is trying to deposit us there next, undoubtedly to keep us alive, so I sincerely doubt it will deposit us somewhere barren or too dangerous."

"Yeah, that's another thing," says Nicholas, stretching and yawning. "Why is the ship trying to keep us alive? Why'd it save you and Sarah when you jumped off that landing dock?"

"I can only assume that it wants us with it on its journey. It might need us or is interested in us in some way," Tah-Kuell responds. "Perhaps we are nothing but a live sample of each of our species. It might be taking us somewhere to be studied. That's what my people do sometimes."

"Well, that's not frightening at all," says Darius in a sarcastic tone. "Your people sound great, T.K."

With another stretch, this time just his legs, Nicholas pushes forward toward the back of the bridge, where the main door leading into the hallway remains closed. "All right, I'll be back in a bit."