His sleep passed quickly, Cedric didn't even recall dreaming that night. The mental and emotional turmoil of recent events did little to relax him. Once his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. In fact, he had slept so long that it was already almost halftime into wake time - the middle of the day. In other words, lunch. He tried his best to spruce himself up in the small shower. Its soap dispenser did well enough to clean his body and shampoo his hair and beard. He noticed that his uniform was beginning to smell, and made a note of doing laundry sometime that day. He may indeed have to wrap himself in a sheet - as Faring never dropped himself off any clothing - probably because she couldn't find anything that'd fit.

He stared at himself in a body length mirror after the wash, admiring his body. His hair had grown long, and he had an admirable beard if a bit unkempt. He flexed his muscles, admiring his rock solid musculature that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. If he had gained weight, he couldn't tell. The results of his body adjusting to a high gravity environment, and the nutrient substance being unchanged during his time - causing him to lose a lot of weight. Most surprisingly, was the even distribution of muscle. Being in the same position during however long he was frozen for should mean that mostly his lower body should've gained muscle. It seemed though, that didn't happen. Maybe it was a stroke of luck or something to do with his genes, but he appreciated the result. If he didn't work out regularly to maintain his new form though, he'd surely lose it. He recalled the exercises that Tern had taught him. Remembering her was painful, but he'd make damn sure to make use of what she taught him. He decided that from here on out, he'd work out for at the very least an hour a day before bed, or when he woke up - so that he could shower before bed or before the day began. The last thing he wanted was smelly sheets, his tight fitting jumpsuit was smelly enough already.

Cedric had it about halfway on and up before he finally heard something akin to a doorbell. Finally! Faring decided to use the door bell this time. He opened the door.

"One moment Faring, I'm almost - oh."

It wasn't Faring, but one of her officers from the bridge. A lioness anthromorph. She eyed him up and down, then ushered him to follow her. She spoke a few words in low Korellei, but he couldn't place them outside of connecting words akin to 'The' and 'And'. He followed her, and finished zipping and buttoning up his black and silver multicam jumpsuit. His only belonging, the UCSC logo adorning the left upper part of the sleeve his only remaining connection to the past.

It didn't take long to arrive at her cabin. Cedric rubbed his shackles and adjusted his breathing mask. He wasn't sure how much oxygen was actually in the micro tank that rested on the back of his waist. He wondered if this was what it felt like to have to wear a cpap machine at all times. Actually, it was convenient that the tank wasn't pure oxygen. They must've mixed it with nitrogen, meaning that Faring was intently listening when he mentioned oxygen being poisonous in only high concentrations. The rest was probably nitrogen. She was a smart girl, and her careful consideration of Cedric's needs brought a smile to his face. If it was a different time, and she was a human - he wondered if they'd go quite far in their relationship. They arrived at her door, the lioness escort ensuring that prying eyes from the rest of the crew remained where they should be - straight forward.

Inside, Faring was sitting on her bed - a lunch tray in her lap, and another on her desk. Seemed it was his turn to sit at the desk for the ensuing conversation. She dismissed the officer, and Cedric closed the door behind him.

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't wake me up this morning, for our lessons."

"Oh. Sorry. With everything going on I kinda forgot."

"I figured."

In reality, he hadn't even thought about it either. Cedric more or less retroactively confirmed his suspicions, if he had thought about them.

"Well, Straight to business I guess?"

"Uh, sure. What's so critical that I could start a war?"

"You're a human."

"No shit."

"Language!"

"Right. Sorry."

"What I mean is, you're a human. I thought about what you said the other day, about the ancients possibly being humans."

"Yeah, what of it?"

Lunch was standard fare it seemed today. Salad, eggs, and salt with pepper packets. It was the most common meal they had on the ship, sometimes even twice a day. Cedric was careful when sitting down on her relatively small desk chair, worried about breaking it. As he gently sat his buttocks down on its cushion - it groaned in response. It didn't break or crack though, so it seems for now the chair would live to see another day.

"Well, a lot of the Ancients' ruins in Empire territory won't work. From what I understand, it's because it needs an actual living, breathing Ancient to interface with it. Maybe it's some weird genetic locking magic, but the point is that they won't work."

Cedric immediately caught on - this was the vital piece of information he was missing. If that was indeed the case, and the Ancients were indeed humans, then...

"Everyone will be forcing me to get them to work again..."

"Yeah."

"Fuuuck me."

Faring blushed, and recoiled in horror.

"Cedric I don't think-"

He interposed before she had a chance to finish her sentence.

"It's a turn of phrase, derogatory to myself."

"Oh, I see. Your language can be so confusing sometimes."

"This is... Bad, really bad. You don't think they know I'm a human do you?"

"I don't... think they do? Even if they did, I don't think they'd think you might be an Ancient."

"You don't give people enough credit, you said yourself that the Korellei don't actually know for sure what the Ancients looked like. If my speculation is correct, and the humans are the ancients your people speak of, then all it'd take is a tiny test to confirm their suspicions, if they had any."

"I guess... You're right. I really hate agreeing with you."

"What, why?"

"Because it's like... You're figuring out all these crazy things on your own with just a speck of information, and here I am wondering whether not we're going to have eggs again for dinner."

"That's what you're worried about?"

"See, that's what I mean! You make me feel like an idiot. For once, I feel like you should be the one to say 'I guess you're right' or something - and mean it!"

"It's just a different way of thinking, different strengths and weaknesses vary from person to person. If we were in a political discussion, you'd probably blow me out of the water."

"Would I though?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest. You command an entire capital class vessel though, I can't do that."

"That's just because you haven't figured out how to yet."

"See?"

Farings ears perked up.

"I guess you're- Ugh, GODDESS you are so annoying sometimes."

Cedric chuckled, a comedic break in conversation was always welcome. Especially a conversation orbiting such dire circumstances.

"Anyways, if what we're considering is true then..."

"There could very well be an all out war just to get to you."

"Any House in possession of something, or someone that could reactivate dormant factories would-"

Faring finished his thought excitedly, albeit with concern.

"-would become the strongest House in the Empire almost overnight."

"Yeah, and that would be a direct threat to the imperial family - House Von Strauss."

"Yes, and if that's the case then..."

Cedric's eyes widened in horror.

"Faring, oh my God. We could be talking about an entire galactic war here!"

"Yeah..."

"All because I survived that stupid fucking cryo freeze."

Cedric finished his lunch quickly, some food left behind - he no longer had an appetite. He moved to the bed and sat next to Faring, his head resting in his hands - and his foot tapping rapidly, another symptom of his ADHD.

"Fuuuuuck me... Okay, but that would be an insane circumstance. No way the houses would threaten galactic peace for such a reason, right?"

"Honestly, there have been some pretty bad stuff in the past for less."

"Christ... Okay, so. What now?"

"I... Don't know. Ugh. I HATE saying that! I'm a Lady of House Kilik! I'm supposed to be smart."

"You're smart, just in different categories."

"Well I'm smart at being dumb I guess!"

"Wait, maybe you aren't wrong."

"Are you serious? NOW you agree with me?"

"No. Well, yes in a way. We've been overanalyzing our circumstances. What if... The leaders of the houses just... Aren't smart? Or rather, what if something of this scale doesn't justify them taking any action? It would endanger everybody, themselves included. It would ruin the stability of the Empire."

"You think they won't go crazy because they just... Want to go about their day?"

"I suppose so, yeah."

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Faring pursed her chops in thought.

"It's a good thought but, I don't think that'll be case."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's like you said. Earlier I was underestimating people, but now it sounds like you think we're overestimating them."

"Hm, you're not wrong."

"I wish I had better sense about this stuff. I think you're right about what you said earlier, about my parents putting themselves in a win-win position. It really seems that way."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I just can't figure out what's going to happen when we actually get to Saint Amelion."

"No idea at all?"

"Well, some idea but I don't know if it's related to what we're worried about or not."

"Well, we've still got time before lunch is over - so shoot."

"What?"

"You know, shoot. Go for it, express your thoughts."

"Oh, got it. Well let's see here. We have a couple weeks or so until we arrive, news of the deal going public should circulate by a few days or so - especially something as crazy as this. So for a couple days at least we should be fine."

"You're concerned about pirates too, right?"

"Not really."

"What, why not? I'm the score of a lifetime."

"Yeah, but we're also in the core systems. Piracy like that just doesn't happen in this part of the Empire, it hasn't for years. The last big heist attempt was by the Red Fleet, and that ended horrifically for them. They got destroyed. It wasn't even that well defended of a target - it was a transport from a minor house carrying valuable material for an extended travel time, like a couple months."

"You guys don't stay in space that long?"

"Not really, no. About a month is usually the longest any larger vessels or transports will be moving for."

"I see. That makes it difficult for pirates to intercept anything this deep into the core worlds. I assume at least, that we're deep in the core territory."

"We are, yeah. Only the desperate or houseless regularly move along the border between the core and the outer worlds, that's where all the piracy happens."

"Okay, so we can rely on local security to get us where we need to go in the meantime."

"We can, yes."

"I have my doubts, to be honest."

"Why? Piracy is not a thing here. We're fine."

"Right, but that's on a normal trip. This time you're carrying one of the single most valuable pieces of cargo in the entire galaxy. You don't think that the larger pirate gangs would cooperate and sacrifice a lot of resources for such a huge score? Especially on an unarmed industrial vessel like this one."

"We're not exactly unarmed, but I get what you're saying. The problem is getting them to cooperate in the first place. Even if they did, they wouldn't have time to make it out here to intercept before we arrive at Saint Amelìon. I know what you're about to say, 'You sure they don't have any hidden bases nearby?' - the answer to that is no, I'm positive there aren't. If there were - or if it was speculated that there were - we wouldn't be traveling this way in the first place."

She was absolutely correct, and she caught Cedric off guard - it was as if she read his mind.

"Hm, I suppose you're right."

Faring's tail began to wag in response, but her muzzle met his face with a scrutinizing glare.

"Wait, did you actually mean that?"

"Genuinely, yes. You read my mind."

"Yes, FINALLY."

She flopped back onto her bed in relief, after handing her tray back to Cedric for him to place it on the desk. His long arms made it a trivial task that required no thought. He turned to her, as they had a small amount of time left and their conversation wasn't quite finished yet.

"So, what now?"

"Well, we just do what we were doing before I guess? Just for a couple more weeks. It's not like there's anything else we can do in the meantime except wait to arrive and go from there."

"Wanna make lunch a regular thing?"

Faring's tail wagged quicker in response, her ears perking at the suggestion.

"For real?"

"Sure, got nothing else better to do."

"Oh. Yes. Of course! Oh uh, you should probably wash your clothes first though."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Yeah, it kind of is."

"Well. Damn. That's embarrassing."

Cedric flushed from embarrassment. Personal hygiene was something he took very seriously, and he hadn't even considered that because of how the Korellei were, they'd have a stronger sense of smell than he did. Even if they didn't, he highly doubted they were used to his scent.

"The shampoo smells good though."

"You can smell both?"

"Yes?"

He wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that he smelled, or the fact he smelled both clean and dirty at the same time. Maybe there was some understanding to be had of the random Korellei hurrying about in that case? He tried not to think too hard about it - it'd only stress him out in the long run.

"Oh my gosh I totally forgot, I told you I'd get you some clothes didn't I? Oh, no wonder you're still wearing that. Guess it wasn't realistic to have you walk around the ship in a sheet huh? I'll have one of my officers deliver some clothes to your cabin in a bit. Sorry, this is my fault."

"No no, you're good. I figured you weren't able to find any clothing in my size."

"Well, you're not wrong. One of my staff wears some oversized clothes that will fit you, but it'll still be a tight fit because you know."

Faring turned away from him.

"You're kinda big..."

He took a gander at himself, his jumpsuit was a bit loose due to him getting shorter while in the cryo pod, but it was comfortable. Maybe he'd find some better fitting clothes planetside - he wondered though, who could be big enough that they'd be able to donate him some fitting clothing?

"I suppose so. Believe it or not, I shrunk while in that pod for however long it was."

"You used to be even bigger?!"

"Well, taller. The muscle is new."

"O-Oh. I see. Well, anyways I need to head back to the bridge! I'll take care of the trays."

"Don't bother, I got it. I'm a slave remember?"

"Why must you say it like that? But if you insist, that's okay."

Cedric nodded in response, and Faring left the room. His friendship with her was nice, even if it was currently short lived. He didn't want to think about what would happen after they reached Saint Amelìon. He was property of House Kilik, allegedly he belonged to Faring. The thing was though, he wasn't sure how easy it would be for someone with higher authority than her to simply... Acquire him. That would be just within the House itself too, not including the fact that House Rax was trying to purchase him. He had no doubt that it was the official from House Varkon they encountered a little over a week ago that spilled the beans as it were, about his discovery. It was a possibility that if say, her parents or a more influential sibling wanted to take him - they could.

Cedric honestly didn't want to be separated from Faring, she was honest and kind. Of all the people for him to encounter when he woke, he couldn't really have found anyone better. She was still just a teenager, a bit jaded - but she was smart - she just needed more life experience. He couldn't ignore the fact that she was obviously interested in him in a romantic way, but he believed it to be an ironic case of 'puppy love'. Just a crush. He was sure that once he became too much of problem, or once he lost his mystery, she'd get over him. For now, he was a new shiny toy from the superstore. After a month or so of play, he'd be forgotten. So for now, he'd treasure what down time he did have with her - while she was still interested in him.

With that, even if the relationship did go further he found it hard to accept. He noted her short height, her slender frame, and her modest bust. More pressing, her parti black and white fur. She was essentially a walking, talking humanoid dog. The parallels between her and a dog you'd keep as a pet rescued from a shelter were hard to ignore. They wouldn't be genetically compatible, not to mention how awkward the relationship would be. What would her House think of being with a giant, hairless ape? What would the public think? No matter how you sliced it, it just wouldn't work. Appearance wise, he was close to twenty-five or twenty-seven, and she was basically a teenager. He didn't know the culture surrounding age difference in the Empire, they may be more lenient - he assumed that being an Empire ruled by noble houses, arranged marriage must be a thing. He knew full well what that would imply in the medieval ages, and the thought made him uneasy.

He scooped up the trays while lost in thought, gingerly exiting her cabin and making his way to the cafeteria on the first deck. He mulled the intricacies of a cross-species relationship in his head, while still being mindful of the much smaller Korellei below him. He wouldn't step on them like a bug exactly, but should his bulk step on a tail or two - that could be a problem. Come to think of it, would there be marriages between species of Korellei? He selfishly snickered at the thought of an Ursidae and say, a Muridae* in a relationship. How would that even work? The United Empire was a matriarchal society, so maybe it was like dog breeding. The males were often smaller than the females for... Compatability purposes. Cedric considered that if he actually had this conversation with someone, they'd see him as a disgusting psychopath - despite the relativity of the topic. Intelligently, he concluded to best keep that observation to himself. Mature, understanding people were far and few in between, if the social media he remembered was anything to go by.

Though, he couldn't ignore the fact that if he survived in this new world of his - he may genuinely fall for someone, and that someone would most likely be a Korellei. Judgements and expectations of past culture no longer mattered here. Slavery, which is seen as a disgusting example of humanity's past failure to treat people with respect and well, humanity, was normal here. The cultural implications of requiring heirs meant that slaves would sometimes be used as breeding stock, a normally appalling subject that was normal life here. Hell, Faring even supported it. In fact if it wasn't for those policies, he may not still be alive. He didn't agree with it, but it saved his life - and it'd be an everpresent fact of reality that he would have to get used to. So whether he liked it or not, it was to be a regular occurrence. He hoped that if someone, somehow, could read his thoughts - they wouldn't think him a strange person - and would simply appreciate the creative fantasy that it would seem to be to a casual observer from his time. That was probably too much to ask for though, people were people, after all.

Before he knew it, he was turning to face the archway that led into the cafeteria. He had to duck a bit underneath this one, and it occurred to him that he actually had no idea where to go. It was standard fare for a cafeteria, capable of seating forty-eight or so. That was enough to support almost the entire crew of the vessel he was on to eat at the same time. Some of the crew were beginning, in the middle, or ending their lunch. Seems that Faring preferred to eat sooner, rather than later. Unsurprisingly, he was met with many a look from the several anthromorphs going about their day. Imagine going on lunch break during a completely normal day, only to see a hulking sasquatch with a dumbfounded look on their face as they entered your cafeteria, clutching two trays that would seem quite tiny in its massive hands. His hands of course, were not as massive as a sasquatch's may be - but the similarity still remained.

Cedric glanced around, many anthromorphs making a distinct effort to avoid his relatively massive body. He wasn't sure if he should turn the trays into the staff, or set them near what he assumed was trashcans. Pneumatic in nature, they were very similar to what he was used to. You'd toss your trash in, and it filled over time. When at max capacity, they would automatically shut and use the force of air pressure to send its contents through the trash chutes. It was often joked in the UCSC that should you find yourself flushed down one of the trash cans, you'd find yourself in a whole new dimension. He recalled a story from his military time about a soldier that entered one of the chutes on a dare. The grinder at the end of the chute circuit certainly sent him to a whole new dimension. Because of that incident, grinders were no longer attached directly to the chute circuits - requiring manual filtering by personnel to avoid any more world-traveling incidents.

There appeared to be some sort of metal rolling cart near the trash cans. Cedric stared at it, wondering if it was okay to set the trays there. After a moment of observation, he noticed one of the Muridae quickly scurry to relieve himself of his tray, and sped out of the cafeteria. Bingo. Cedric followed suit, piling his trays onto the rodent's and leaving the area. Who knew that something as simple as figuring out where a damn tray goes could be so exhausting. The low voices of the cafeterias occupants made him uncomfortable. He didn't get out of his cabin much, sure - but he'd still been there a little over a week. Is this something he'd have to deal with for the rest of his life? However long or short it may turn out to be? Once he understood their language better, maybe he could change things. Until then though, he was on his own - relying entirely on Faring to help him survive. It would be a long next couple of weeks, but he'd have mornings and lunches with Faring to look forward to. At least he had some grain of hope in this dreary future that understanding would not be a rare commodity.

The walk back to his cabin was uneventful, he figured it would do him well to get used to the looks and whispers. They weren't going to end, at least not anytime soon. He relaxed in his bed and waited, wondering if maybe he shouldn't do his exercises now to start a trend - accomplish them sooner rather than later. It wasn't relaxing for more than fifteen minutes or so before he heard his doorbell ring. Must be the clothes delivery. He opened the door, and this time it was the Ursidae officer that met him - the same one that voiced concerns about him being on the ship before, and referred to him as a 'big, hairless ape.' In his paws was a couple sets of clothing. Cedric now realized who it was that would be big enough to let him borrow clothing - only because he preferred them oversized. He gently retrieved the clothing from his paws.

"Uh, thank you. Sorry for the trouble."

Shortly after acquiring the stack of clothing, the ursine chortled, some wetness from his nose heroically closing distance to meet with Cedric's face. He turned and left as quickly as he arrived. Cedric wiped the substance off, feeling anger well within him. He kept his emotions in check, anger would do him no good in his present situation. This was the kind of behavior he needed to get used to. Faring was a special case, but everyone else saw him with disdain. This meant that at least, his identity as a human and potentially a precursor to their ancients remained safe. Should he retaliate offensively with any of the crew, it would be Faring's head - not his. It was this fact that encouraged him to keep himself in check across the board. He could care less about himself, he'd be fine. This was to be the norm for him. Faring, though, didn't warrant being placed under such distress. It was bad enough that her identity as a renowned noble was in danger by proxy of trusting and spending time with the shackled ape rescued from a desolate planet. He didn't need to add 'aggressive' and 'out-of-control' to his list of adjectives that would no doubt grow over time. He prepared to relax for the rest of the day. Get his laundry done, try on his new clothes (after washing them, he didn't trust them as is), exercise, shower, and sleep. It was a nice routine, he hoped he could keep it going for a while. It was nice to live day to day life as if nothing had changed, despite the obvious. No doubt Faring would have more to say before they landed at Saint Amelìon, but until then he would relax for the time being.