Moving from the berths felt strange.

Aleph had not expected to do this until they arrived at the colony. And even then the expectation was unsaid that they might just end up having to attach the Berths to whatever infrastructure was already set up at the Colony to add much needed space and resources to the effort.

But they were going to arrive almost a century late...

The colony would probably have traders or ‘charities’ all its own by the time they arrived.

And then there was the fact many of the colony ships were going to arrive sporadically and out of order if the other traders were anything like Pylo.

Which Aleph was starting to suspect was a stroke of luck on their part.

Pylo was so nice.

Aleph wondered if she would be there to greet people who left Terra before she was born.

She had never expected to be moving out of the Berths at all, let alone so soon.

But here they were not even a year into the journey and they were moving clear out of the berths she had half expected would be her home for the rest of this life.

Funny how that worked out.

It all started to go a lot quicker once pylo got another sheet of whatever miracles the Bubble was made of and fitted it over the open airlock so that they only had to worry about one door opening and closing while they shuffled bulky equipment and delicate farming stacks into their conveyance.

Then it slowed down again as the easily moved personal items were replaced with the bulkier/less portable equipment.

Pylo offered to take anything that was vacuum rated. But in the end it turned out there was surprisingly little that could safely be taken out of the ‘soup of nitrogen jelly’ that they as fragile ‘tooths-slime-filthy-rot-seed-people’ needed to survive.

After the second ferrying trip she showed them how to use the control sticks to direct the bubble to push the spinning air seal of their new ‘home’ on their own and then went off to attend to her other ‘duties’.

Whatever those might be.

Then it was Aleph, Quarti and Omega working to pack up equipment as comfortable into the bubble and then direct along.

Halfway through emptying out the second berth’s farming stack Quarti had said she needed to do a ‘shift’ and hopped into the meditation pod to do some kind of check up on the crystal cargo of the souls.

Which left Aleph and Omega to work on carefully unhooking the racks of piping and lamps themselves.

Aleph found herself filling the gap now that Quarti was not randomly laughing or offering ‘encouragement’ and Pylo was gone off to do alien spacer things.

[https://i.imgur.com/8zAq6lU.png]

“So... Twenty Plus years? That’s not bad... Uh... it could have been worse”

Omega sighed and nodded.

“Yeah. It could have been worse, it fits within the letter of the journey requirements in the contract. And given how much she is... losing on shipping us at all I can’t really blame her... It’s really very nice of her”

Aleph grabbed a screw that had been undone and scooped it into the cloth bag they were keeping to make sure they didn't lose them in the move.

“I uh, I just think we shouldn't be so hard on her about it. We knew we were getting into a one way trip anyway. And it’s not like either of us will be too old to actually live some of our lives by the time we arrive either. The colony will be okay with a few less of us till we arrive”

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Omega sighed and went back to unscrewing.

“I know! I know she is doing her best and she is super nice and I guess she probably CAN help us without mucking it all up since she built a bloody paradise room of sky for us! But she’s still an Alien Aleph! She’s ... She’s good natured, she wants to help and yet she’s also different enough I feel like she might just impregnate one of us with some kind of horrible alien parasite baby because she thought one of us was mopey or something! It’s not that she means any harm Aleph She would mean the best by it but it won’t change that she would do it!”

Aleph grabbed another screw, and for good measure rested her hand on the screwdriver too. Omega was shaking from how hard she was gripping it.

But she didn't say anything. She had never seen her mentor have a panic attack before, but she thought she recognized one anyway.

“It’s just... Aleph I was not just sharing her skills, It was like I WAS her, And I swear I could practically feel how she is leering at us and everything around us when I was ‘riding’ her... When I was BEING her. I could feel her WANTING to... She’s perfectly nice but she could strangle each of our brains till we forgot how to do anything but laugh and scream in joy if she thought she needed to MAKE us HAPPY Aleph... She’s not talking to us Aleph, She’s practically performing light touch brain surgery to communicate... She doesn't listen, she reads our brains and guesses what we mean...”

Aleph grabbed omega and squeezed her close, the two of them just floating there against the mostly dismantled farming stack and the detritus of the stripped berth. Aleph was worried, Omega had never been this frightened. And Aleph could intellectually understand her fears, she could imagine how horrifying all of this should be. And yet she couldn't bring herself to worry.

But she knew her friend needed support and comfort.

And she knew Omega was honestly afraid.

And right now Aleph could be strong for both of them.

So she held her mentor and let her cry into her chest and shudder in terror.

Until Quarti came out of the meditation pod and just silently started taking up the work to dismantle and move the farming stacks into the bubble.

The prophet gave Aleph a pained smile with eyes far wiser then they had any right to be.

Voice whispering soft.

“Bout time for that... been watching her wind herself up twist wise... too much pressure and no release is no good... Good on you tiny-cup-a-cute... be the friend... she needs one”

Aleph shook her head a bit and just ran her fingers through Omega’s hair and murmured meaningless words until she was calm.

This trip was not turning out how she thought it would at all.

Omega buckling under the strain?

Invincible and unassailable always prepared Omega?

The Mad Prophet turning out to be the most level headed and ready of all of them?

Just what did this mean for the future of their trip?

Aleph didn't know.