At an indeterminate time of day in the mining station's large arboretum.... well...day-cycle, anyway, with its timed period of sunlight for the plants... a single predator moves quietly through the trees and brush, nose close to the ground, ears perked and swiveling. Careful to avoid bothering the areas where the now-familiar Chirr'T'Thar are enjoying recreational activities, he crouches, motionless...then POUNCES after his prey, scrabbling through the underbrush, only to lose it a moment later as it vanishes into a row of low shrubbery. Undaunted, he lowers his nose and tracks after it again...This is, after all, part of the hunt.
Jenora pads through the arboretum slowly... she liked Andromeda, but in the felitaur's current state, it was like taking care of a half-ton manic-depressive eight-year-old. Arriving on the mining station, she'd discovered not much was up, so she took a stroll through the arboretum to clear her mind before journeying out again.
Zephyr, still on the trail of the rodent like little animal he's been tracking, pauses, losing its scent entirely in a small ornamental stream. He moves a bit further, ears perked, tracking for any sounds, then crouches, almost flattening himself out against the ground, every muscle tense.
Zephyr sniffs quickly. o O {No 'taurs around here, so it must be it...didn't leave a trail, but I think it's...right beyond those bushes near the path. One pounce, and lunchtime...Come on...} He creeps closer, eyes narrowed...
Jenora peers around, and kicks a small stone into one of the bushes, as she looks around...
Zephyr grins to himself, his tail lashing slowly, silently back and forth... o O {Got'cha!} He tenses further, then POUNCES! in a hard arc through the bushes, muzzle open, arms curved in front of him to grab and pin his prey...
Jenora yeeks!
Zephyr's eyes widen in panic as what was supposed to be a small, tasty rodent turns out to be...much larger?! Luckily he doesn't hit Jenora too hard, being at he's at the wrong angle of his pounce, but it's still enough to bring his arms together behind her as he tumbles.
Jenora lands almost flat on her back... there's a reflexive slapping of the ground as she's about to hit, using her arms to break her fall, and pulling her shoulders back to take the worst of the impact.
Zephyr, with a startled yelp of pure and total confusion, just...stares at Jenora for a moment, muzzle open in surprise, nose-to-nose with her. "Um..."
Jenora blinks up at Zephyr. "Hi."
Zephyr's ears, normally pink inside under the white guardfur, turn an amazingly deep shade of crimson. His muzzle opens, then closes again, and he blinks back..."Er..."
Jenora blinks again, looking you over with a more appraising gaze. "Zephyr?"
Zephyr stares back more, only more confused. "Uh...Yes? Do I know y.." He suddenly focuses and scrabbles to roll off, then tries to help Jenora sit up. "I mean, are you okay?" His ears stay bright red. "I was after a rodent, I thought...ah..I'm sorry.."
Jenora brushes herself off as she stands up... "Yes, I'm fine, thanks... only real damage was to my dignity."
Zephyr stands slowly, obviously mortified. "Good. I mean...not good, just good that you're not hurt. I..er..I didn't know there were any others besides the Chirr'T'Thar here. And I thought I had a rodent, there, I didn't mean to pounce you.."
Jenora chuckles softly. "Don't worry about it. I was lost in my own little world too, or I'd have heard you coming."
Zephyr helps Jenora brush off, then self-consciously smoothes his own fur. He has a few leaves in it, from his hunting and tracking..."Erf. I apologize, though. Should have scented you." He tilts his head and looks quickly over Jenora, politely, then meets her gaze again. "I..um..sort of wish they had warned me, too. They told you my name, but didn't warn you I might be hunting?"
Jenora shakes her head. "No, I don't think anyone mentioned your name... things were a little confused when I left a few days ago." She tilts her head, looking you over. "Time loop, so you haven't met me yet? You don't look any younger..."
Zephyr continues brushing leaves out of his fur. Clothed only in his fur but no longer crouching to hunt, he subtly transitions from stalking predator to more refined and dignified...but the other nature is all still there, quietly visible. "No-one mentioned me? Then how.." He blinks. "Time loop? No, I haven't met you yet either." His brow furrows a bit between his eyes. "You're saying I'm supposed to sometime in the future? Does that kind of thing happen here?"
Jenora says, "Not here, but it's happened to me... unless you're not the Zephyr I knew at all. Remarkable coincidence, though."
Zephyr waves a paw in the general direction of the docking areas. "I'd guess..you left when I arrived, I just got in not too long ago. The Chirr'T'Thar revived me, my ship's stasis couldn't. I'm still trying to figure out why. But no...I haven't met you. I'm from somewhere..." He halfsmiles. "Somewhere far away. About half a century away, at what speed I have no idea."
Jenora grins, shaking her head. "Weird. Anyway, sorry to have disrupted your hunt, I was just gathering a few thoughts."
Zephyr pauses, one ear flicking. "Did you know the same Zephyr that the one named Copernicus did? Because if so, no, that wasn't me.
Jenora blinks. "Yes, that would be him..."
Zephyr chuckles softly. "My ancestor. Or..._should_ be ancestor. But he seems to have been tossed around in time a bit, from what Copernicus said. It sounds like he's doing all right, met a nice female wolf, I've heard. Coper only left him..less then a year ago, it sounded like." He grins ruefully. "Time can do funny things. Maybe I'll meet him someday."
Jenora says, "Stranger things have happened, trust me..."
Zephyr nods and grins, relaxing now as he sees no harm done. His eyes sparkle. "I know. I've run muzzle-first into quite a few. Oh, and no worries about the hunt. I've...ah..lost what I was chasing, I think. That'll make next time the revenge." He grins again, tail swishing slowly. "So...You're from here, or.."
Jenora shakes her head, and grins. "I am the cat who walks by herself, and all places are alike to me."
Zephyr says, "Could you be a little more cryptic?" He winks, then grins.. "I seem to walk by myself a lot too, but I don't find places alike." He looks around at the arboretum's dome. "This place is different than any I've been in before. That room over there is different than this one. New sounds, new smells...All different, everywhere. At least..that's how I am." "
Jenora chuckles. "Sorry. It's a very old quote from a poet whose work I ran into many years ago. No, I'm not from around here... I came by to see how Copernicus was doing, and have stayed to help out a bit."
Zephyr thinks. "In fact, there's only one thing I've found to be the same everywhere in the universe, and that's bureaucrats. Universal evil." He peers at Jenora intently. "You're not one, are you?" He can only hold the serious look for a second before grinning though. "Poetry. If you're interested in poetry, I can give you a tablet from my ship's computer, of quite a bit...spanning quite a few centuries and cultures. One of the benefits of travel."
Zephyr smiles. "And as for staying...I don't seem to have anywhere else to go. My ship's being repaired, and I'm...just planning to help out a bit, I suppose."
Jenora smiles, nodding. "Indeed. That's part of why I travel... not just poetry, but seeing new things, and new ways of looking at things."
Jenora says, "And no, I'm not a bureaucrat. My mind is actually capable of holding two thoughts at once."
Zephyr nods, his eyes sparkling more. "That's why I travel, too. Though in my case, it's often been _non_planned travel, but..."
Zephyr laughs!
Jenora chortles.
Zephyr grins. "No, you're not a bureaucrat. That's the best way of testing." His tail keeps swishing happily. "This race here doesn't seem to be, either, the Chirr'T'Thar. They seem to appreciate life. It's refreshing. And...they've been very nice to me, rescued me and all."
Jenora nods. "The Chirr'T'Thar are a very friendly people in general. A little too friendly for the mores of some other races." She grins.
Zephyr tilts his head? and swivels his ears curiously. "How so? I mean...I've been pounced a bit by a few, but I'm used to pounce-and-tumble play..."
Jenora says, "Well, they have a rather open attitude towards sexuality, including inter-species, that disturbs a number of people."
Zephyr blinks? then chuckles softly and smiles, tail swishing again. "I had wondered about that, actually. I didn't want to ask about a subject that might be taboo...I've had too many soma-courses in trade diplomacy, I think." He chuckles. "And no, I'm not disturbed in the least, was just...curious." He grins.
Jenora shrugs. "I'm not usually as exuberant as they are, but I've seen so many different attitudes and approaches that I can take most things in stride now."
Zephyr nods and smiles knowingly. "As have I. Which is why I'd rather see a race be open-minded and free than stuffy and restrictive. The latter is the one that usually leads to conflicts and wars, the former, usually peace. I've seen both."
Jenora nods. "Unfortunately, get the two together and you're even more likely to get wars."
Zephyr winces. "Also true. Hopefully that won't happen here. Although I've heard rumors of some kind of conflict somewhere, which I why I want to get my ship back on the line. I owe these people for saving my life."
Jenora nods, thinking... "Speaking of your ship, mind if I take a look around? How about a guided tour?"
Zephyr shakes his head and smiles, unable to keep his chestruff from puffing just a _little_ bit. "Of course not! I can give you a tour, and you're free to wander around anytime, the computer can answer questions. She's the one with the buildup on the hull that makes her look like she's been a derelict for centuries. It's because she's been a derelict for centuries." He grins, and chuckles.
Jenora grins. "Good, I'll remember that. A useful method of distinction."
Zephyr hmphs. "Hopefully not for long, if I can get the maintenance 'bot back to enough sentience to get out there with a lasercleaner." He grins. "She's at docking port 4, and the inside looks considerably better, trust me."
Jenora says, "Of course. Micrometeorites shouldn't have got in that far."
Zephyr raises an eyewhisker. "Ohh...the hull's just fine, underneath. Micrometeorites and ice have just accreted on the surface, her hull is and always will be at one hundred percent. It's rather...unique." He grins mysteriously. "She's a special ship, I think you'll like her. After you? And no...I won't pounce you again, I promise." He grins, eyes sparkling playfully.
Jenora grins, and bows. "Thank you." She pads towards the exit from the arboretum.
At the docking port's hatch, now coupled to Eidolon's ventral docking adapter, Zephyr gives his access code and is let aboard...though he walks around the side of the docking tube first, to compensate for the 90-degree shift in gravity fields. "Watch your step, it's a _really_ hard right." He climbs up onto the ship's C deck, then reaches a paw down to help Jenora up. The air is cool and dry, and though panels are open and tools scattered about the grey metal decking, more status lights glow green on touch panels than before. "Good evening, Zeph.", the computer echoes. "All repaired systems functional. Food synthesis system reports 1 percent power fluctuation. Scanning check of singularity containment chamber completed, no faults in chamber walls greater than .000001 micron found, all field coils intact."
Jenora chuckles, and grabs on to the handholds, pulling herself around, then grabs your hand to finish the job.
Zephyr makes sure Jenora's up, then grins and tabs a few status reports on a small hand held touchpad he scoops up. "Good news. Okay, now I just need a replacement for that conduit, and she'll be alive again." He turns to Jenora. "Welcome aboard Eidolon, my pride and joy. She's not her best right now, but...she will be soon. I hope." He glances at a bulkhead monitor. "Say hello, computer." After a short pause, the computer responds. "Good evening, Jenora. Welcome aboard."
Jenora nods. "Good evening. Glad to be aboard."
Zephyr smiles and points around. "This is...where I put all my stuff for going outside, pretty much. Spacesuits, equipment, some small cargo in the bay to port, teleport over there, some weapons...never know what you're going to run into. The bulkhead aft goes to the support equipment maintenance...air, water, food, recycling. I need to get in there later and get my fur all messed up trying to find that spike in the food synthesizer's grid. You can also get back to the ramscoop intakes, fractionators, and the cryopumps if you really squeeze. But...It's open to vacuum right now 'cause I pulled a lot of components from outside, and _I_ don't feel like suiting up." He grins. "So up a deck, I'd guess?"
Jenora says, "Sure."
Jenora hmmms. "The computer mentioned 'singularity'... as in a massive gravitational singularity, or a 'black hole' in the vernacular?"
Zephyr's ears perk? "Hm? Oh...Singularity. There's a contained artificial one aft. This ship gets its power by letting a spiral of hydrogen plasma fall into it, and capturing the released energy as the atoms are compressed to infinity. Ion stream from that power for low sublight, pure superdense 'event horizon' plasma venting for high sublight, and pure energy, and a good fraction of it, for the continuum-distortion field.
Zephyr thinks..."The continuum-distortion field is what some people call a 'hyperdrive'. Cuts a wormhole, pretty much.
Jenora says, "Ah, not bad. Picking up the X-rays from the accretion disk, or drawing off the angular momentum of the disk itself?"
Zephyr's ears droop a little. "I think I'd have to let you take a look at her design specs for that one. I don't think they say other than in equations..."
Zephyr chuckles. "And while I can fly her and can understand a bit of engineering theory...I don't do four-dimensional quantum physics."
Jenora grins. "Not a problem. Very few people do. I've done some study of the matter in amongst my travels."
Zephyr grins. "Some? I'd say more than some...I'll give you the equations and simulations, _you_ can tell _me_ if you're curious." He winks, then grins again and pads softly the stairway to B deck.
Jenora smiles innocently. "I'm a cat. Of course I'm curious."
Jenora follows up the stairway.
The stairway emerges into a wide, grey-carpeted corridor, softly lit by pools of white light cast down on the floor and washes on the grey-padded walls. Bluegreen-lit black touch panels recessed into the padding in a few locations display what looks like system status reports. It somehow looks functional, yet almost luxurious at the same time...and spotlessly clean. It's also quiet, just a muted rumble filtering from somewhere aft, the air cool and crisp. Touching pads on the three doors along the sides of the corridor, he displays their contents. A brightly lit guest cabin with a nice, large bed, the station visible beyond its viewport. A small medbay, with a medunit bed/stasis unit. And a large refresher, with grooming facilities, a large bath, sonic shower, and everything else for getting clean and neat. "The medbay's where I was, for 357 years. In that little bed thing, frozen."
Jenora nods. "Ah." She looks over the 'bed'. "Not exactly the most comfortable of facilities."
Zephyr looks at the bed a long moment himself, then shivers slightly. "No kidding." He looks back up, smiling weakly. "Like I said, I own the Chirr'T'Thar. I could have been in that thing till the universe ended.
Jenora says, "Yes, but imagine the view!"
Zephyr looks oddly at Jenora for a second...then giggles and splays his ears. "True, true..."
Jenora says, "So, what else is here?"
Zephyr keeps looking at Jenora for a second, playfully, then coughs and points forward. "The lounge is that way...Yes, the lounge, I did a lot of high-profile business where I had to entertain clients before shipping their goods." He grins. "That might get changed a bit to be more functional, we'll see. Aft is the cargo bay, there's still a lot back there...I need to check the manifests. There's also a hatch down to a bay holding a small floater-type lander, and then aft to the main engine room....diagnostic consoles, access panels, and the singularity chamber itself. I've also got that open to vacuum right now because the plasma conduit's off. I don't want dust in the fittings. You'll be able to see it when that part's back in."
Jenora grins. "Cargo that's three hundred and fifty years past due... I hope you don't have to pay delay charges based on the time it took."
Zephyr pads forward into the lounge...and tabs on the lights. "Ack! I hope not. I _don't_ think my insurance covers that..." He chuckles. The lounge itself is open and comfortable-looking...a dining/conference table for six to one side, a library of antique volumes to another, and comfortable couches following the curve of the hulls' fore under viewports. Holoprojector pedestal, floor pillows, soft carpeting, all in warm grays and smoke colors. Artifacts are scattered widely spaced from each other. Seemingly...expensive, but very tasteful and subtle. "My place to deal with clients."
Jenora peers around, then walks over to where you would probably sit when dealing with the clients. "Not bad... nice, relaxing, well done. Professional-looking."
Zephyr smiles. "Thank you. I...rr..don't go for gaudy sort of things. I like relaxing." He picks up a small black base and sets in on a low table. On the base, in tiny bins, are small quantities of what looks like colored dust. Rust, white, and black. He touches a small pad on the base's side and sits back...as the dust flies up in tiny, silent streams, coalescing into the form of a female vulpine, perfect patterns of fur composed of the three colors. The tiny figure performs a graceful, sweeping dance evocative of a hunt...the stalk, the chase, the pounce...and then it fades, the dust streaming just as silently back into its bins. "But I also like art. That's from my homeworld."
Jenora whistles. "Nice."
Jenora looks it over. "What's it using to control the dust like that? Magnetics or gravitics?"
Zephyr says, "Magnetics. Just a little field, holding charged dust particles...but it's not based on a recording, it's by the paw of the sculptor who created it with a field-sphere...I just see it for the beauty. He smiles again. "If the food synthesizer wasn't still questionable, I'd offer you a drink or a snack...I haven't had time to provision fresh food yet...I _do_ have fresh, cold water, that part's all right." "
Jenora says, "Pure water is relatively easy, yes... could synthesize that from the hydrogen fuel and the oxygen in life support, if you were desperate enough."
Zephyr chuckles. "That I can. I almost _was_, if it hadn't been for the stasis unit." He points to his library. "Oh...you're welcome to board and read anytime, if you like poetry and can translate. There's a lot on the computer as well, though some things might be species-specific, like the scent performances. It misses a lot unless you can feel the raw base power of the scents coursing through you, the scent of calm, panic, fear, the scent of the prey, of familiar and strange...So...that's up to you.
Jenora hmmms, nodding. "Would need to know more about the actual biochemistry of the species in order to really get the most out of that."
Zephyr grins and nods. "Exactly. I've had people of other races who've tried it say that all they can smell is fox. I might be able to get the computer to tailor it to other species, but...hm. That's an idea." He looks around. "Anyway, with the ship...forward of here, now, is the bridge, usually just me, but stations for three crew. Above us is A deck, with my quarters and some other things.
Jenora nods. "Fairly simple layout. Something that could be run by one person, as you demonstrate just by being out here."
Zephyr shrugs, and smiles. "Foxes tend to hunt alone. We seem to have a lot in common with felines, sometimes."
Jenora says, "Yes, I've heard that before."
Jenora grins. "Thanks for the tour..."
Zephyr looks forward, then gestures to follow, grinning. "Need to see the best part of the ship while you're here..." He leads the way through the ship's 'neck' corridor, lined with storage compartments and access panels, then through a heavy door onto Eidolon's bridge.
Jenora grins. "Of course..." She follows along behind you.
The bridge, taking up most of the ship's bridge pod itself, is definitely not claustrophobic. It's roomy, comfortable, and thanks to three-dimensional image transmission, appears to have its entire upper forward hemisphere clear and open to space. It's a spectacular wraparound view, the tips of the ship's massive curved wings just visible at each side. Center front on the bridge is an oversized command seat of soft grey leather, the sort one would sink into...though this one also has a tail-hole in the back. Facing it is a curved, contoured wraparound console, its top lined with small tactical holos, its surface a sleek black in which three-dimensional displays glow soft green and blue. A complicated ergonomic flight-controlling yoke of some sort extends out to the seat, its surface itself lit in places with touchpads. Behind this console, two other crew stations wrap around in a curved u-shaped that includes each side's bulkhead. With more of the same sleek lighted touchpads, 3D monitors, and large, swiveling plush wraparound leather seats, these stations look as if they have nearly as much function as the main command console. The only lighting on the bridge comes from pools of white light cast on the aft deck, and from the console displays themselves. On a few, in-system video signals are being displayed, and local comm chatter can be heard softly.
Jenora swings herself around into one of the chairs, sitting down to look over the console. "Not bad at all..."
Zephyr vaults lightly (obviously practiced) into the command seat, looks back over his shoulder, and grins. "Thank you. Like I said, my pride and joy. Oh.. and you can go ahead and poke at things, the computer won't let you do anything dangerous." He turns back to the console, sinking into the soft seat and wrapping his paws around the command yoke's flight grips, then sighing. "I just wish she was all together again, I want to _fly_."
Jenora says, "What do you need to complete the repairs?"
Zephyr rrs. "Iridium. And some way to shape it. Plus superconducting materials, ceramics and the like. The conduit that transfers plasma from the pumps on the fusion preburners to the singularity chamber...that disintegrated. And that...was the ship's fuel supply pump, pretty much.
Jenora says, "Ah... iridium. I see. About how much?"
Zephyr scratches an ear. "Column is six feet high...rr...three feet wide, plus the connectors..." He tabs up ship's specs on his console, then transfers a rotating image with specifications to Jenora's. "That much."
Jenora says, "How solid is that?"
Zephyr sighs. "And yes, it has to be iridium. Plasma from two fusion toruses, plus it has to be able to take superdense plasma backflow without going nova."
Zephyr thinks. "I'm not sure. I never actually looked at it until it was wrecked. What's left is on the station..."
Jenora hmmms. "That's... going to be an amount measured in tonnes."
Zephyr gestures with his paws. "The inner shell was iridium, with magnetic constriction segments running up its outside. It's just that the magpulsing _can_ fail for a number of reasons, but the pressure vessel has to be able to withstand raw fusion plasma loose against its inner walls until it's vented. Iridium can do that."
Jenora nods. "And is one of the few things that could... Osmium perhaps. I see what you mean. We'd be talking asteroid mining to get this much."
Zephyr nods. "I know that. I might be able to salvage some from the old conduit, but I think most has become unusable."
Jenora hmms, nodding.
Jenora says, "Tell you what..."
Zephyr's ears perk up? He disengages the command yoke and touches an arm panel, rotating his seat to face Jenora. "What?"
Jenora says, "I was going outside to wander about for a bit anyway, I'll try a little prospecting if I come across anything useful."
Zephyr smiles! "Thank you! And..." He glances at the console. "Computer, give Jenora entry access, level 4 security access, and full library access." The computer responds, "Acknowledged. Access granted." He grins at Jenora. "Thank you."
Jenora smiles. "You're welcome." She stands up.
Zephyr stands, too, and smiles, tail waving slowly. "Could I...er...walk you back to your quarters? I'm glad to have met you, Jenora."
Jenora says, "Anyhow, I should get going... want to get a few things done before I head back to babysitting." She smiles. "Certainly you may. And thank you."
Zephyr's ears swivel at that. He grins. "Ahh...Kits can be a pawful. I'll have a datapad of poetry and literary selections dropped off for you, too." He escorts Jenora back to the hatch, subtly patting a deck bulkhead affectionately and smiling before he exits to walk her back to her quarters.
Jenora smiles. "Thank you. And hopefully I'll be seeing more of you around."
Zephyr's tail swishes quietly as he smiles. "Likewise."