Once again, She was trapped in a world of fire and chaos. Though at least this time, it was by choice. Charlotte was also surrounded by a protective layer of metal this time, even if it was too thin for comfort.

Charlotte looked over at Scott with her 'diplomatic' appendage. He'd opted to stay in the back with Alice and Charlotte since neither could fit into the cockpit. "Are you certain this metallic skin will suffice? Given the intense forces of thermal-based combustion you use for propellent, I worry about the possibility of a rupture."

Scott looked up at Charlotte and grinned. "What are you worried about all of a sudden? Didn't you make this trip with Mom a dozen times over?"

Looking back into space through the "viewport," Charlotte nodded. "Yes, but those were with my expendable appendages. You and Alice are not expendable."

For her part, Alice was pressed up against another viewport, twisting and twirling her head to get a better look at everything going on around them. Despite her new body, the girl had only been alive a few years, and watching a ship fly through space was still as fascinating to her as the first time. Strong emotions were emanating from the girl. It was something Scott had once described as "Childlike wonder." Even secondhand, the jumble of chaotic feelings and energy could almost be described as intoxicating.

Unable to sense his sister's feelings like Charlotte could, Scott continued uninterrupted. "Oh, and what about my mom? Is she expendable?"

Charlotte was reasonably sure Scott was just teasing her but decided to answer seriously to avoid the risk of a potential miscommunication. "Your mother is quite experienced in space travel and knows what she is doing. She is capable of deciding for herself if the risk is worth taking. I worry you lack the proper context of what exposure to vacuum can do to your fragile human bodies."

Scott rolled his eyes. It was a human gesture that implied ridicule for Charlotte's concerns, though the grin he had suggested it was a bit more friendly than the gesture would typically indicate. "This is far safer than staying on the planet below, even before a bunch of pirates showed up and tried to kidnap us. Also, you know I was studying to be an explorer, right? As is someone who travels to new and strange planets through, you know, space? In just a few months, I'll turn eighteen, almost old enough to be considered an adult, even legally."

Charlotte nodded. "The word 'almost' indicates you are still not an adult and thus still in need of protection until you are judged able to make decisions for yourself."

This time, when Scott rolled his eyes, he frowned slightly. He did not appreciate being reminded he was still an adolescent. That still confused Charlotte. It was not an assessment of his character, merely a statement of fact.

Though Charlotte did agree in one regard, it was odd that humans used an arbitrary amount of time based on how long it took a specific planet to revolve around its star to determine adulthood. It seemed like a basic competency test would yield better results. Given the difference in skill and knowledge between Alice and Scott, then Scott and Lacy, it would seem Scott was much closer to being an adult than a child. Unless the ability to kill was an important part of human adulthood, it was clear Lacy was much more experienced in that regard.

Scott was about to retort when Alice skittered between them, looking at Charlotte and speaking excitedly. "Where's the ship you and mom have been working on?"

Over the last few weeks, Charlotte and Lacy had been converting the human Ship Cooper had brought with him. There had still been a handful of pirates onboard, but using some voice-modulating software she apparently had stored on her laptop, it had been a simple matter to gain access to the ship, and then Charlotte had taken care of the rest. When Scott asked why his mom had voice-modulating software, she merely shrugged and answered, "Just in case."

The human ship had been fascinating, comprised of purified elements twined together in what Scott referred to as alloys, allowing for greater tensile and yield strength while reducing overall mass significantly. Through the whole ship had run currents of energy similar to what naturally existed in any organic system. However, it was much more condensed to the point it was eerily similar to certain atmospheric phenomena, though at a lower but more consistent level. Apparently, this was more or less the "lifeblood" of much of modern human technology.

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Now, the ship formed the core of a new She home. One which Charlotte had created by nabbing a few nearby asteroids and dragging them over to the vessel, then hollowing them out and connecting them using her more traditional bio-organic methods.

When Charlotte pointed out the new ship to Alice, she felt a slight pang of disappointment from the girl. "But, it just looks like a rock..."

That got Scott's attention, who got up and crowded his sister near the viewport, which was complicated by all the additional legs the girl now had. But after a bit of fidgeting, they both sat side by side, gazing through the viewport.

Scott had come to accept Alice's new body without the reluctance and confusion their mother still felt. The older human did her best to hide her misgivings well enough that Charlotte may never have been aware of them on her own. But Alice was all too aware, and it weighed heavily on the young girl. Thankfully, she had Scott, who still seemed to accept her as his little sister and looked after and teased her just as he always had, even if she was no longer any smaller than himself. It was a source of comfort and strength for Alice, along with her new connection with Charlotte.

Alice sent a tendril of thought toward Charlotte behind her. It was the mental equivalent of a light touch, more to confirm the She's presence rather than convey any thought or emotion. In return, Charlotte responded with a slight mental nudge, all invisible to the humans around them.

Where Alice had felt disappointment at the new ship, Scott expressed amazement, though with the limitation of vibration-based communication, Charlotte was never sure how deep the emotion ran or if he was just "being nice," as Alice explained it. "Wow, that looks nothing like a normal ship. How does it even move?"

Lacy had asked the same question but seemed frustrated by Charlotte's inability to explain. But perhaps, with his different experiences, Scott could grasp the concepts despite the limitations of vibration communication. "Our interstellar propulsion is based on a similar concept as our communication. Between all of a She's appendages is a connection that allows information exchange. This connection is formed at a sub-molecular level between what I believe you once described as particles. If properly formed, no matter what distance you separate these particles by, the information exchanged between them is instant, though the more dense 'cords' of connections we use to control our appendages can be disrupted by enough interference from other connections over enough distance. While I lack the specific words to explain, if you can find substantial naturally formed strands connecting two physical points, it can be used as a tether, allowing pulling and pushing actions to overcome otherwise consistent states of momentum. Combined with the continual expansion of matter, this can be used to achieve speeds even in excess of what you refer to as the 'speed of light,' although then you have to overcome the instability of matter at those speeds. This is achieved by..."

Scott held up both hands. "Okay, that's all a bit above my head. I'm guessing you'd need a physicist to understand half of what you're saying. Let me ask you this: have you at least tested it on the new ship to make sure you can move it around safely with us inside?"

Charlotte nodded. "Your mother and I took it out for a 'test flight.' For safety, Lacy insists that you remain seated in the human-made ship at the structure's core during acceleration or deceleration transitions. I have installed a station specifically to secure Alice during such transitions."

Scott sighed. "I'm guessing we won't see much since all the sensors are covered by asteroids now..."

Charlotte shook her head in a way to indicate that his assumption was incorrect. "With Lacy's help, we have extended the sensors to the outside of the structure, allowing for some essential inputs, including visual. As your mother explained, it should hide us well enough from any casual scanning, but if anyone hit us with a targeted scan, they would know something was off pretty quickly. However, that would have held true with or without the sensors in place."

They were approaching the "tricky part." To hide the docking ports from scanners, Lacy and Charlotte had designed the interior so the landing craft had to fly around a curved portion of the asteroid, though Lacy had made sure to leave enough room so it wasn't too risky to fly. Still, Scott had to strap back into his seat so the changes in momentum wouldn't buck him around too much. Alice merely splayed her legs out slightly for stability and held onto a handrail, as did Charlott's diplomatic appendage.

Soon enough, they docked. Lacy opened the door to the cabin and walked back to the passenger area, triggering the exterior door, so it opened up, revealing the much larger ship. "Well, we're here! Come check out our new home for the foreseeable future!"