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The Ship was more wondrous than Aleph could have ever imagined. Even when they just barely got out of the terran-made berth and wandered a few spidery steps in their weird robotic bubble carriage there were sights to behold.

Strange worms flipping over themselves in weird walking gaits. Running over every surface in meandering rivers of writhing pink flesh.

Like disembodied tongues, or some other ruder things.

But fleshy columns of tongue that were as big around as Aleph’s torso.

Listening to their guide Pylo made it rather unnerving and did not help with the initial impression.

Seriously could they have been any more suggestive?

These supple shafts of flesh carry in turgid ripe cavities?

the juicy nectar of our beautiful conveyance?

She who sings the gentle currents and dances skyclad embraced in stars and reef?

Supple feathers brushing space like sweet droplets of seed and spore, brushing lips and inner depths bent and unfolded outwards?

Aleph had learned not to actually ask any overly broad questions about the ship. It seemed to set Pylo off on particularly vulgar but also beautiful rants/love poems.

She did not even know there could be so many different ways to lovingly describe a vessel as the first time she had asked about the Ship in general.

And certainly the thing was a marvel, one of the strangely feathered ‘living’ varieties that had seemed to be by the slimmest count the majority amongst visitors to Terra. And the further they went the more she wanted to know. It was literally a wonder and a delight around every corner.

But she didn't want to think about it the way that Pylo seemed too.

There was plenty of other wonders to ask about anyway.

Organic polymers which could seal in arbitrary environments and last for centuries!

The very thing they were being conveyed in which had some kind of selective permeability that boggled both her and Omega’s grasp of the material sciences.

It was as easy to pierce as water when the gases were within safety margins on either side. But as soon as there was a discrepancy the stuff was stronger and tougher than any material Aleph had ever handled.

And it was customizable and programmable too!

At least that is what Aleph thinks was meant according to the blush inducing explanation that Pylo gave.

And then there were the airlocks!

Apparently most of the Ship usually was carrying nothing but vacuum (less cargo mass, It made sense to Aleph though it was fascinating to consider how their host/courier survived naked in it).

But every hold still had marvelous rotating chambers that allowed Pylo and their conveyance passage.

It was amazingly simple, a single moving part, balanced perfectly to form a seal and ensuring that no chamber was ever directly connected to any other in case of breeches or an area needed to stay pressurised.

Pylo’s ship accomplished with a precision single piece what the best terran engineers needed one-thousand two-hundred and sixty-nine parts to barely manage. Aleph had memorized every spare bolt for the airlock mechanism during her drills and seeing the simplicity of the alien method made her ashamed for how complicated their solution was.

And there were thousands of these ‘locks’ riddling every single hold. The weird little wormy ‘meat-tubes’ slipped into much smaller ones all the time.

“How did you make MAKE those?”

Pylo says to what is it you stroke and fondle with your lusts?

“The airlocks, how did you make those?! The precision to get them to fit together so perfectly!”

Pylo says that is simple, The ship makes them. She who sings delightful rhythms and gyrates across the heavens does birth them into herself as her loins require her many sliding tendrils bring what is needed to ensure the passages are firm and tense, holding against whatever turgid flows break and press against the-

“Can you please give us a shorter version of these little love songs to your ship!? It’s giving me a bit of a headache to feel you practically eyefucking every bulkhead... Just short and direct and simple PLEASE!”

Omega had a lot less patience for Pylo’s peculiar manner of ‘speaking’. Aleph didn't really mind although it was occasionally overwhelming or disturbing.

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Pylo says She will abide your command oh sweet taskmistress... Shall she turn herself over and ask for another lashing to her delicate and supple pores as well?

Which of course prompted a groan from Omega and an exasperated yell.

“Can’t you make it at least sound like you are a voice? If you can do that then you can drop the whole ‘Pylo says’ thing I promise-”

Aleph was not so sure if that was a good idea but suddenly it washed over her and oh my that was both worse and better.

“Oh Yesss, Am I managing to brush your thinking-meats just right? Is this better for you? Did I manage to do you good little sweet seedlets who slip over the bicuspid like dollops of rancid jelly left to fester and fruit into egglets on the tongue?”

Aleph was wondering if her cheeks might ignite if this keeps up, or maybe she would suffer some kind of anemia from incorrectly balanced blood flow.

She was not sure if she would ever stop blushing during this trip if that is what their courier was going to sound like.

Omega sighed and shouted out the bubble. Arms open in exasperation to the bulkheads.

“I GUESS? Sure whatever! Better then having to puzzle out if it’s you or us thinking in the gutter”

Quarti who had been quiet this whole time chose that moment to bark laughter like an animal then spew confusing drivel into everyone’s ears.

By which Aleph meant she was talking in her usual manner.

“You zog-slim-skin-slickers full a prude, I thoughts very-un of ya was loving freely open mindly and legly lasses in this far future-like... Meet first quirky slinky voice little outer star space babe-eeinie and watch ya all clam up dry as a rock... Woz jipped saleswise me! Lyre buggahs lot of em... Hipsalicious is very prim proper nice wise like... Ya vogerongers”

Aleph just stared at Quarti

“You’re just making up half those words aren't you?”

Quarti grinned.

“Eh mostleh noht Swears I! be surprised lass? Buht using farthest twix outah-ways speeching I am. Most all use old dust tongues all and only half remembered rightly in these new ears and fresh tongue of mine. SO by that it fictionally all then? But what word is reals and unfictioned anywise?”

Aleph looked at Omega who just shrugged, no help there for deciphering that bit.

“Oh the Twenty five hundredths-of-single- as singly sighing sweet teases is speaking to speech so sweet softly? Yet not does her graces tingle and delight the flesh and the meats of thought in Aleph first of daughters and youngest and freshest of my guests? It is such pleasures stroking and flowing betwixt and through me to hear Quartile’s nuance and subtlety. Loss denied and left barren the hearts and orifices of air surging bereft of knowledge”

That brought a confused or maybe contemplative stillness to everyone as Aleph at least tried to decipher what was just said. But when she was finally about to speak Quarti barreled over her in response.

“Is younguns rightwise not be knowing all old speeches loosing all the sweet pun-e-memes Ole Quarti plays them! So sad, so bemoaned, so unloved and unslicked is I Quarti, Singer of songs and writer of minds”

Pylo’s voice sounded like how chocolate tasted and the hottest most muscle pummeling massage felt.

“Barren, longing, denial edges to unsatisfied their loss”

This could be a problem. Quarti was something Aleph was able to handle, mostly from exposure and practice over the course of the mission so far.

Pylo was fresh and new and just so foreign and terrifyingly other.

But the two of them talking to each other.

That was too much.

“Right What’s That? Explain to me!”

Aleph didn't even really care what she pointed at, she figured some wonder would present itself wherever she was pointing. Anything to stop a philosophical debate or whatever between the thing that sounded like what Aleph imagined a whore would and the incomprehensible gutter mouthed pervert.

Pylo dutifully began explaining. Three layers deep in innuendo and carnal suggestiveness. But at least Aleph was pretty sure it was at least not actually anything particularly carnal being said.

She hoped.

Really.