It had been an eventful couple of shifts for Aleph.

She had discovered what it was like to hate literally everything. Revulsion piling onto disgust. Feeling her skin hang on her like putrescent bags of oil and puss. Aches and stings and pains and little annoyances that made her gag on her own spit.

She had looked at things she loved and wanted to smash them. She had felt bile rise in her throat at the stink of her companions.

She’d felt crawling in her spine and behind her eyes. The tremble of something in her lungs.

And then...

Miraculously she had come back from that abyss.

Omega and Pylo had worked together to save her. And after that the world started to make sense again. Things no longer seemed wrenched into horribleness.

Just the taste of water after that had left her crying and snotty in relief.

But perhaps the biggest wonder for her. Besides discovering her very preferences were apparently fragile enough to be blown away by their courier trying a new tone of ‘voice’ was that Quarti was...

She was Actually really good at telling stories!

Aleph was a bit confused and in some ways it was as much about the Resonance and the song and the dance as the words. But it was so much more engaging and incredible when presented by the author herself then trying to drag comprehension out of the old retellings.

But the tale she told had touched something for Aleph. The triumph and pain!

The loss and the rise!

It was something else entirely.

Aleph had never seen a story telling quite like how Quarti did, and even though some of the words seemed odd they flowed together in a way she would never had expected.

And then...

Their host had told a story too.

It was something as well.

Still rather filthy in all the suggestions, but in spite of that gentle and innocent all the same. Disturbing actually considering what she THOUGHT the context was.

But fumbling and young.

And it didn't really seem to wrap up or have an ending, but then again they had all been required to return for routine maintenance in the berth.

So Aleph supposed that had been a necessity to cut everything short.

“Do we really need to stop our outings on the schedule like this?”

“You want to keep eating and breathing right Aleph? Then we gotta get back here to do our rounds, Not to mention me and Quarti need to make sure nothing is taking root in the crystals... This is our responsibility Aleph. And I’m sure Pylo has her own responsibilities it’s not like the ship runs itself”

Quarti was currently taking her ‘shift’ on ‘watch’ for the colonist stores.

But aleph could almost feel an interjection.

So she decided to voice it herself.

“Actually I think it does Omega... The ship is alive, She grows, She builds herself and she sings and she thinks and I’m pretty sure Pylo and Her are friends... at least”

Omega considered before nodding and spritzing some more water onto one of the plants that had seemed to have gotten less moisture then it required. Then went to check the valves for signs of blockages or leaks.

“Huh... You’re probably right. But either way Pylo still has SOMETHING she is supposed to be doing, she’s not just taking us on tours for entertainment. She has work she does, if you look you can tell she is looking over things just like you or I with the farm stacks... Possibly more important, we wouldn't want to distract her from something vital”

Aleph huffs and pushed another filter back into place after confirming it was good.

“I know that, but she spun up a robot in less then a shift that has better air quality then our entire berth... maybe she has something that can fix all our farms and filters and power stuff too?”

Omega sighed and pushed another stack into place.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea Aleph... Pylo is not the best at being careful”

“Oh come on how was she supposed to know talking to me would do that much damage! And it’s all fine now!”

“Yes, and you want to risk her overlooking something like the fact we can’t drink battery acid? You remember how many things can go wrong with farming”

Aleph grumbled.

“You just don’t like her, what did she ever do to you?”

Omega closed up the farm stack and turned to look back at aleph with a pained expression.

“Aleph she talks by reaching into our brains and FORCING signals... she’s not just speaking loudly, she reads our brains to figure out what words we want to say in real time... This thing... She...”

“She’s trying to take care of us! She’s been nothing but cooperative! She did a skill share with you to help me! You sang with her in a CHOIR to do it!”

Omega shuddered.

“That was not a skill share and it was not a choir... that was like she cored out her mind and shoved me into the hole left over... there was nothing else but me and the meat of her body there... I... I didn't know she was going to do that... I didn't... There was nothing stopping me from doing anything I wanted with her after she did that... If I didn't need her to save you I could have killed her...”

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The look on Omega’s face scared Aleph a little bit, she looked scared and also haunted in a way Aleph had never seen before.

“See! She trusted you with THAT! So why don’t you trust her?! She only wants to HELP get us to Providence!”

Omega’s face fell, her head curling forward and knees coming up to her stomach. Her hands running up into her hair.

“I KNOW she just wants to help Aleph, I couldn't deny it if I wanted too! Not after what she and I DID. not after what we were! She literally has been doing her best to try help us. But don’t you see Aleph? Do you see what her best as gotten us?”

Aleph blinked a bit.

“What do you mean, we are still here right?”

[https://i.imgur.com/AFCPVOw.png]

“Aleph her utmost best to try and keep us safe nearly killed you twice... And on top of that while you were passed out when she tried to make it possible for us to travel around the ship she asked if she could pump oxygen DIRECTLY into our organs from industrial tubing! We had to talk her into actually building that impossible bubble with legs!”

Aleph stilled.

“Well that is something. And we should be careful around her. But that bubble is still impossibly incredible, And Pylo got it for us because we asked for help! it’s wondrous and isn't this exactly what we signed up for? See the unknown?”

Omega sighed and shivered.

“I came out here ready for monsters or gods, not for semi oblivious savants that apparently have ‘lewd’ as an accent with an unhealthy attraction to their starships”

Aleph laughed and shoved herself into a hug with Omega squeezing her tight.

“Ya big goof! If we found what we expected what would be the point of going? And stop being a silly head! You're the one that’s supposed be all wise and ancient”

Omega raised a brow and smirked.

“You mean like Quarti? Yeah no... wisdom is half laziness that sets in when your bones creak and it’s less painful to actually think through things the first time then just bumble through because you're young and feel invincible”

Aleph shoved off laughing before grabbing her momentum on one of the porthole frames.

“And what’s the other half oh reincarnated master?”

Omega considered a moment before shrugging.

“The other half is not forgetting to keep asking all the obvious questions from when you’re born... not much to do with experience on either end... not any that reliably carries over anyway”

Quarti was suddenly behind Aleph with a chortling laugh.

“Zomg! big blue and beautiful has strong pointahs! Such wisdom, much wow, very deep! So anyways the freeze dried souls-um are all still fresh and safe on the rocks! Boring and sleeping and dull as all get-out! Awful way to pass the time wise I say! But eh not everyone can be as best as me some”

Aleph was just starting to get her heart to lowered to a normal pace by the time Quarti finished talking.

In fact the timing was suspicious.

“Did you pick a monologue that long so that you coul-”

“Oh and hipsalicious sex-beast has a surprise for us-like nows! Ya’ll done wit all te grubby plant fondles?”

Indeed outside the portholes the sinuous dark figure of Pylo was waiting patiently for an opening. Or had just only sent word to Quarti out of respect for the more ‘frail’ amongst the trio.

Aleph had to remind herself to breath at the sight of their guide and courier.

Omega seemed to tense all over.

“I have prepared such things to show you, sights and wonders that will enthrall and then pierce and embedded into your eyes. Sweetly stroke your thoughts and quiver in your spines with comforts and soft pressures. Deftly twine into each ear and every limb, nesting and fertile places for your enjoyment to see and live and know and populate!”

Omega squinted and aleph was a bit dazed at all the undercurrents and suggestions.

Finally her friend spoke up.

“Uh did either of you get what she meant there?”

Quarti nodded happily

“Miss Heaving thighs and tail waggle has made us some lovely roomsies far us ta stay outa this stuffy stink can!”

Aleph ran her slightly more practiced inner translator of Quarti-Speak then gave a sharp nod and got started on suiting up.

Omega huffing heavily before following to join her.

Quarti laughing at the two of them until she barked back.

“You are putting one on too Quarti, It might not be safe”

“Oh bugrum!”

Quarti complained.

But in the end she listened and started to get suited up for their little surprise.

Although she stuck her tongue out at them a lot while doing so.