Scott was unimpressed as he walked out of the landing craft and into the ship proper. It looked like any of the dozen or so other ships he'd been on, except maybe a little more dingy or grimy. There were a lot of drag marks on the floor as if a lot of stuff had been pulled out toward the airlock and presumably jettisoned. That would explain the mostly empty feeling of the hallways.

Eventually, they were led to a couple of rooms. The first was largely empty. There was a desk without a chair and what could only be charitably called an extra large bean bag, one of the few human-based furniture types Alice could still use in her current form.

Lacy opened one of the desk drawers to reveal what looked like a bunch of art supplies. "It seems like one of the pirates onboard considered himself quite the artist! Though his particular take on art was...less than appropriate for kids your age. Still, I figured you might be able to make use of the supplies he left behind."

Alice walked up to Lacy and embraced her. "Thank you, Mom!"

To her credit, Lacy only hesitated a fraction of a second before returning the embrace. There were definitely still some issues between the two, but it was clear they were both trying to make it work despite that. Though Scott couldn't help but wonder why Alice was so mature about it and if that was Charlotte's influence or if she'd just matured that much in such a short time. The girl had undoubtedly been through more than any other six-year-old he knew of. Who knew what kind of effect that would have on her?

Still, it saddened Scott to know Alice was so mature at such a young age. She should still be carefree, running around and playing silly games, but instead, she was learning to accept that her own mother was having trouble accepting her new physical form, though at least Lacy was trying.

Moving onto his room, Scott was surprised to note that it was filled with many of his tools from back on the planet. As he reached for his improvised hoe, he wondered if this was a way to bring back memories from some of the better times he'd spent on the planet, when he was still learning to accept and trust Charlotte, but before pirates entered the equation. If so, it was a nice enough thought, and it's not like he had a lot of personal effects on hand to fill the room, so he appreciated the gesture.

Lacy smiled. "Those aren't just for decoration, though you might not want to store them in your room once you start using them."

That made Scott stop and look at his mom in confusion. "What do you mean use them? We're onboard a spaceship. I doubt I'll need a hoe any time soon."

Lacy shrugged. "Well, let's just continue the tour for now."

The following few rooms looked about like he'd expected. There was a general storage, a kitchen and dining room, a rec room, and even the bridge. Honestly, he couldn't really see Charlotte's influence anywhere. Though everything was notably spartan, and he suspected he knew why, it's not too likely the previous tenants had traditional decorative tastes, and most of their stuff had probably been disposed of. There were even a few places where it was apparent something had been scoured off the walls. He decided it was probably best not to dwell too long on what had been removed.

Scott shrugged. "Well, it's not much, but I suppose it'll be better than being hunted by pirates. But how are we going to keep up supplies? It's not like we can just stop somewhere and stock up."

Lacy smiled. "Well, the tour is not over yet. Let's head back toward your rooms."

That confused Scott. There hadn't been much else there that he could think of. Had they passed by a room he hadn't noticed?

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Eventually, his mom came to a halt in front of an airlock. That definitely got Scot's attention. Remembering the asteroids attached to the ship, he had some idea, but it still made him nervous. "Ummm, are we entirely sure this is safe? Like, has it been tested already?"

For the first time in a while, Charlotte spoke up. "Yes. Your mother insisted on repeated testing of the following area for safety, and as we speak, I have several appendages throughout the room and can attest the structure is both sound and stable."

Lacy grinned. "Honestly, I had doubts, too, but wait till you see it!"

Once the inner door opened, they all stepped inside. The airlock was large enough to fit several people in battle suits, so it was able to handle their group, though admittedly, Alice and Charlotte had to squeeze their legs together into a somewhat humorous, if slightly uncomfortable-looking position for everyone to fit simultaneously.

When the outer door cycled, it opened into what Scott could only think of as a meadow. The room was large, a little over an acre if Scott was to guess. The ground was covered in grass, and cutting diagonally across the area was a stream with a small pond in the center. Looking up, it was like some sort of glass was overhead, and beyond it were the stars, though it looked a little odd, as though they were being filtered through some kind of water. As he watched, the ship began to rotate, causing the stars to glide across the surface until the system's star came into view, though it was a little more milky than usual, as if it was filtered.

It was beautiful, though Scott was still concerned. "Is that safe? What happens if some debris hits the surface? Will it shatter like glass?"

Charlotte shook her head. "That is a crystalline structure created to allow photo radiation into my food supply to encourage growth. I have established sufficiently dense growth to restrict various forms of radiation down to similar levels of that which you would experience on a planet, within tolerable levels for human safety so long as you don't spend more than twelve hours a day exposed to it, though I can adjust that as needed. The crystalline structure is strong yet flexible, with a semi-gelatinous surface that I will clean regularly, enabling the outer layer to negate most debris impacts without issue. My people have used this structure in our space exploration for many centuries of your time, and I'm unaware of any instance of it failing short of an impact with a high mass, high-velocity impact such as a comet."

Scott raised his eyebrows at that. He wasn't aware of too many things that could survive an asteroid impact, so if that was the basis of comparison Charlotte was using, it was probably pretty durable.

This time, it was Lacy who interrupted his thoughts. "We figure this would be a good way to augment our supplies. Charlotte says she can grow enough nutrients for us all to live off, but from what little I've tried, I'm not sure I'm all that eager to eat that stuff day and night. However, we brought up various seeds, sprouts, and roots you can manage like before!"

Scott looked at her with suspicion. "You want me to grow a garden...in space. Is this just your way of keeping us busy while you go out and take all the risks?"

Lacy shrugged, though she had the decency to look a little ashamed at using such transparent tactics rather than being more straightforward. "Well, yes...and no. It's not like I'm just trying to deceive you or anything. You know what I'm going to go out and do isn't going to be particularly easy or safe. I just want you and Alice to be safe while I do it. This place will enable Charlotte to be close enough to assist me while keeping you at a safe enough distance to avoid any trouble without attracting much attention."

Scott wasn't particularly pleased with the idea of being hidden away and protected like some damsel in some fairy tale. On the other hand, the moment he thought about fighting pirates, he was instantly pulled back to the moment when he'd shot his father. He could still hear his mom screaming and see his sister's tiny, lifeless body. A moment later, he felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him out of the past. Looking up, he could see it was Alice, still alive and smiling encouragingly at him. Scott patted the hand on his shoulder and smiled back before turning back to his mom with a defeated sigh. "Fair enough, I suppose. I'm not happy about it, but I guess this is better than any other alternatives I can think of. But how are you going to go about doing that? Saving John, I mean."

Lacy looked out the "glass" ceiling into the stars beyond, and Scott followed her gaze, noting the faintly luminescent ripples that appeared in the night sky as she spoke. "Well, I'm going to have to make it up as I go. But I've got some ideas. They'll require me to renew some old acquaintances first..."