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_ Chapter 24 -Of Escapes and Obsessions _

_ <Unnamed UEDF Capital Class ship> _

_ {Deck 1: Single Officer's Residence Deck} _

[August 12, 2087]

The final few months of the project proved to be almost anti-climatic. After seeing the ship begin as nuts, bolts, and plates, the reality of the completed ship was staggering. The ship was an even 575 meters long, and 270 wide. Clocking in at 20 decks, it brought the height of the ship to 115 meters. The warp tunnel drive was installed in the nacelles the protruded from the sides of the ship, while the massive sub-light engine that propelled the ship was nestled right in the middle. Due to it's size, the counterpoint to the WT drive was not feasible, as the size difference in a ship's much smaller tunnel signature compared to the new capital ship's was just too great to reap any benefits.

Canith took to roaming the halls of the ship as it neared completion, complementing the workers on a job well done, praising their workmanship on various frills and design choices, and in overcoming all the issues that were bound to creep up in a project this large. All the while, he was talking with Aura, ensuring that everything was ready.

:I believe that should about do it. All the military tech had finally been installed, but none of it calibrated. The drones, at least, should be usable right off the bat, and the shields once we get underway.11: Canith sent to Aura, while passing through the officer residence area.

:It is. I am reading full operational status from the mainframe for all critical life support systems, and both sub-light and warp tunnel drives are both on standby. The more we delay now, the more likely something happens that jeopardizes the whole operation.: Aura responded.

Canith stopped at the captain's quarters and palmed open the door, as it had not been locked to a hand print yet. The area was more spacious that he had imagined, taking up fully two floors in height, utilizing a series of bedroom, office, ready room, kitchen, bathroom, and spacious living area. The quarters had two entrances, one on the upper floor balcony, nestled between the two bedrooms, office, and bathroom, and one on the lower floor. The lower floor was where the living area, kitchen, and office was.

Spread out along the front section of the ship was a gorgeous view of space, and currently the space dock. Jupiter's ruddy bulk took up nearly half of the view, but did not detract from the view. :Kai will be awfully pleased with these quarters.: Canith sent to Aura, just taking in the scene. :Is everyone ready?:

Aura took a few minutes to reply to this, giving Canith time to just relax. :I am receiving tentative affirmatives across the board. Davis want's to schedule the drill during normal operating times though, to mask the intent. The couple have apparently already moved most of their equipment to one of the officer family rooms, and tell me to relay to you that they want that one permanently. As for Bethany, she simply claims that she has nothing of worth to take with her, preferring a fresh start. Give the word, and I will give Davis the green light.:

A small shudder of anticipation crawled down his spine at this. All this waiting, this masquerade, would be over soon. :Consider the word given. The sooner, the better.:

After only a short wait this time, Aura simply gave him an affirmative, and he turned and strolled out of the luxurious quarters. He had a heist to prepare for.

[August 13]

Nothing about the demeanor of anyone on the day of the heist actually gave away the plans. The couple, who were running energy production tests with the core, held their normal banter.

“Margaret dear, how is the numbers looking on delta quadrant receivers? We don't want the arrays to be out of balance, after all."

His wife, at another console, let out a short bark of laughter. “We checked them yesterday, Dewayne. Today is the echo quadrant. And they are all showing nominal fluctuation. Energy draw is stable."

Dewayne moves over to the dedicated terminal in the corner that they used to communicate with the director's AI. “Aura, do we have clearance to spin up to full power for a few minutes, to ensure that the full array is stable under full load?"

There was a beep, and Aura's voice came through as well. “Checking in with the director and head of security. Shall we initiate a clearance of the ship and a lock down to prevent any potential issues?"

The couple looked at each other, then at the group of scientists around them. “Yes Aura, that might be best. We wouldn't want anyone else to suffer exotic particle radiation. We already have been, so just the two of us in the area should suffice I think. Anyone else feel the need to stay?"

The group looked around, but there were no volunteers. Given the go ahead, the remainder of the group filed out of the area to an early lunch, followed by the nervous guards. As the scientists were on the 'trusted' list, they were flagged as not needing to have guards stationed with them at all times while on the ship. And this was always a good thing during times like this.

Once everyone was out of earshot, the couple turned to the terminal. “Core section cleared. Lock it down till departure Aura. Then, once the drills start, we will meet up with Bethany and Davis en route to the bridge."

Aura responded almost immediately to this. “Affirmative. Path confirmed. Awaiting final checks, then drills shall begin."

The scientists, then turned to the core, initializing the 'test' that would bring the core fully online.

Bethany was walking down a hallway near the general family quarters when her terminal gave a beep. Looking down, it had a message from Aura. “Final prep underway. Be ready."

She had been planning this since she had heard what was planned. Turning to her escort, she made an apologetic face. “I'm sorry, but something I ate this morning just decided to pay me a second appearance. Could you possibly run and grab me something to wash my mouth out with?" As she said this, she quickened her pace towards one of the bathroom areas. As her escort was male, he simply paled a bit and agreed, running off to get a glass of water.

Once he was out of sight, she palmed a door seemingly at random, and stepped into the empty room. Letting the door hiss shut behind her, she settled herself down, waiting for the fireworks to start.

Davis received confirmation on his tablet that all the pieces were in place. Looking over at his list of drills, he debated the one to use. Each had advantages, but none he could think of could completely clear the ship. Eventually, he decided on a pair of them. Hull breech on the forward section, and core containment failure on the rear. As the latter was undergoing a test, only Margaret and Dewayne should be back there anyways.

He checked on his data pad with Aura, then set both drills to a delayed start, so that he could be on board doing a surprise inspection. He figured if he took the rear, he could lock them out quickest.

Canith was once more in the Captain's quarters, relaxing on a couch that looked out into the depths of space. It reminded him, if only slightly, of his time in Dragon's Rest. It had been over two years ago that he started his journey that brought him to this place. “Mother, Father," he whispered quietly into the silence of the room, “This ship, I take as my inheritance. You stripped everything else from me, save what I built with my own hands. Now, I return the favor." He knew that the loss of this ship would probably spell the end of Sygon Industries. They had too much placed into it, and the military had yet to take ownership, and thus pay them, for the ship.

His comm unit beeped, but he didn't bother looking at it. A moment later the holographic form of Aura appeared before him, thanks to his uplink. :Everyone is in position, and the drills are primed. Davis is making his way on board, while everyone else is already on board. I took the liberty of timing this as close as possible to lunch time, to facilitate clearing the ship easier. However, I do have a concern. Several groups of UEDF marines are stationed near the bridge, and have seemed to ignore most drills so far. As they are probably under orders from the brass in the military, there is no way to clear them out bloodlessly.:

Canith let out a slow sigh. :And here I hoped to avoid bloodshed if possible. Any prediction on how our 'crew' will handle it?:

Aura cocked their head sideways, as if to consider it for a moment. :The only one who might be adverse to it would be Bethany, but if you time it right, probability swings towards gratefulness instead.:

Canith recognized the angle Aura was playing this time, and gave them a hard look. :Out with it.:

Aura's ears drooped a bit, and they looked bashful. :I have full faith in your reflexes and abilities. My suggestion is act like you are going to try to talk them down. One is likely under orders to shoot anyone who acts the least aggressive. The second they go to fire, shift and deploy an EC deflection field. That will stop the laser rifles cold. As they have not been officially equipped with anything else, they will likely continue firing. Take that opportunity to phase forward and disable any who are hesitant to fire, while cutting down the rest. Give the survivors the option to join or die. It will sound callus at first, but then explain that they have seen too much and are liabilities now if they stay human. Bethany will see through the violence of the situation to the fact you tried to talk first, and spared even after they attacked. Davis will probably take over that group, and the scientists will be unfazed.:

The way Aura phrased the whole encounter, at least to Canith, sounded almost choreographed. Then again, the plan was simple, pulling it off in the heat of the moment would be more difficult. :You said 'officially' equipped. What might they have that is not official?:

Aura once more cocked their head sideways slightly, taking on a quizzical expression. :Well, they could have gunpowder weaponry as well. It could be as simple as handguns, or as extreme as assault rifles. It is highly unlikely they have anything of high caliber, as would be used with sniper rifles or anti-material rifles. Also, as it's a small group, I doubt they have any entrenched weapons as well.:

Canith tipped his head back, recalling his brief stint in the moon base. Aura followed his thought processes, and tried to reassure him. :As similar as it first appears to that incident, this is completely different. Also, we hold the advantage this time. There, we were walking into a relatively unknown situation. Here, we know their numbers, what they likely have, and how to effectively handle them. You combat shifted for the first time there. Here, you will likely not even have to truly exert yourself. And if things get too far out of hand, remember what Snow taught you about fear triggers. Manage that, and you could cause a mass faint.:

Canith chuckled at this last suggestion. :I could, or I could miss slightly and cause panic fire instead. No, we go with your original plan. We have coordinates for the escape?:

Aura broke into a lupine grin. :Of course. Use the bulk of Jupiter to preform a slingshot maneuver, and initiate a WT jump towards set 'A', followed by several re directions." Aura pulled up star charts, filling Canith's vision with the plotted course. :As an added bonus, due to the nature of this ship, it doesn't rely on using relays to astro-navigate warp tunnels. The onboard systems can take care of that internally. The only time relays will leave a footprint is when we need to redirect a 'tunnel away from us, but that won't show up as a ship logged passage.:

Canith had been unaware of this design, but grinned at the possibilities. :So we are good to go?:

Aura nodded. :If you head toward the bridge, you should get there about the same time as the others, while the drills should start about . . .: On Aura's queue, the alarm for a hull breech began to wail from the intercom, followed immediately by a containment breech alarm. Canith stood slowly, getting limber for his next bit of exercise, and made his way out the door, Aura fading from view as he did. They were already tethered to the ship's mainframe, so had no need to move.

Canith met up with Margaret and Dewayne first, as they had left the engineering section and headed straight to where they knew he had been. Bethany showed up just after, followed finally by Davis. Their meetup point was on the 4th floor, which housed the bridge, as well as the main systems for the ship and the processing core. The bridge was in the forward section, and they met in the midpoint of the deck.

Everyone took a moment to look at the others. This was technically the first time, aside from Canith, that they had met each other under the context of the mission. Bethany had passing acquaintances with the other three, and they with her, but Davis had almost no contact with the scientists personally. As they all looked at each other, Canith spoke up.

“Thank you all for helping me. Some have your own reasons for helping, others might feel they were strong-armed into helping. Either way, I count you all friends, and will attempt to ensure your safety should anything happen." He slowly gazed at each one of them in turn, nodding in return to their looks of understanding. “With that said, lets go pull of the largest case of grand theft star ship the universe has ever known." He got a round of chuckles from this, and then he took the lead, heading down the center of the ship to the bridge.

:All personnel are off the ship, except for your team and the security forces on the bridge. I believe they are aware, as predicted, that something is going on.: Canith nodded, seemingly to himself, and began to generate a low level EM field. With a bit more power, which he could add to it with a thought, it would be able to deflect most energy based weapons. As long as they truly did not have gunpowder weapons, it should suffice.

Finally, after several minutes of walking down the hall, they reached the bridge. Designed to be able to be sealed off in case of a boarding action, or mutiny, the blast doors in this section of the ship were very imposing. Stepping up to them, he waved a hand over the sensor, but the door didn't budge.

Davis and Bethany looked at each other, then at the others. The scientist couple rolled their eyes at this, while Canith just chuckled. “Oh, it just occurred to me. I know Margaret and Dewayne know who I was before, but I think real quick I should give you a heads up. I used to be the son of the CEO's of Sygon Industries. My name was Darion Sygon." Davis's eyes went wide at this, while Bethany looked a bit confused.

“You say used to be, and I have seen pictures of him from the time he disappeared. You don't look the same. Also, why now." This time Margaret snorted a bit, and Dewayne elbowed her to stop her from bursting into laughter at the shared joke.

“Valid question. Davis has already pieced it together, and they," He said, gesturing to the scientists, “approached me about their suspicions. Sorry Davis, but I was slightly dishonest with you due to a very classified secret. I am an anthro, and if this encounter on the other side of the door happens like I think it will, you might see that secret in action. That's why I felt you needed a bit of a head's up."

He turned back to the door. At a mental prompt to Aura, the door clicked once, then opened smoothly. On the other side, true to predictions, was a dozen armed marines. All of them had laser rifles aimed at the door that had just opened. “Halt!" the one that looked like a leader, even though he had only a mid tier NCO's rank on his lapel, barked at them.

“Beg your pardon, but drills must be observed by everyone, both military and civilian. Those drills are for safety, after all. Why have you not evacuated the ship?" Canith had his hands raised, assuming a non threatening posture. The rest of his team stood behind and to his sides."

The NCO looked at him, then smirked. “I could say the same to you and your little band, 'Director'. You should be evacuated, yet here you are. In the middle of a drill. Suspicious, if you ask me."

Canith just smiled. “Yes, here with the head of security, the lead scientists who happen to be running a test on said core, and the coordinator, who spotted the fact that four security teams were not following established procedure and abiding by their orders to follow the drills, same as the civilians. That constitutes disobeying an order, does it not?" He said, tilting his head slightly to Davis.

“It does indeed. And as you have rifles trained on us at the moment, I believe that your best option would be to surrender your weapons and come quietly, else the consequences will likely be severe." Davis said, stepping almost even with Canith so that they could see he outranked everyone else in the room.

“Dammit," another NCO in the room, on the far right, shouted. “I knew it was right strange that he got bumped up as fast as he did. Should have known he was in cahoots with them!" What happened next, had Canith not been prepared for it in advanced, would have ended badly. As it was, Aura's predictions were right on.

The NCO on the right opened fire, aimed at Davis. At the same time, a grunt on the left flank also opened fire, aimed at Canith. This triggered the rest a moment later to let loose a volley of laser fire, filling the air with the scent of ozone and scorched metal. As the second the NCO had shouted, Canith had pumped power into his field that he had on standby, and extended it slightly to cover Davis as well. When the shots met the field, they veered off course, some slightly, others violently, causing all of them to pepper the walls around the door with laser burns. Superficial damage, but decidedly deadly if they had hit a person.

As the volley finished, there were several shocked stares from the gathered marines, while several prepped to fire again. This would only take a moment, but Canith was already in motion. In a blur of crimson and steel colored fur and a shock of white from his mane, along with a low growl, he phased across the distance, shedding his human form and pulling out his K-blades. Going traditional, in the right was his katana, and the left his wakizashi. He spun, slicing at barrels and battery packs, aiming to only disable. Some, however, would have to die.

Those were chosen differently than what Aura suggested. He passed a feather light mental touch across each marine's mind as he disarmed them, and here and there spotted the deep-seated disgust that he had encountered in the purist faction's devotee's. These he cut down, making sure that he spilt as little actual blood as possible by heating the edge of the blade to extreme temperatures as it passed through them, cauterizing the wounds. In only a couple seconds the entire security force, caught off guard by the director's survival and subsequent shift, were completely disarmed and several dead. He left the lead NCO alive as well, and ended with his sword pointed at the man's throat.

“Now, let us start again. Who ordered you to guard the bridge?" Margaret was supporting Bethany, who had fainted at the violent scene. Dewayne was studying the burn marks, ensuring nothing major was hit while also analyzing the dispersal pattern in scientific appreciation due to the fields efficiency. Davis, however, was simply staring at Canith's back, the outline almost perfectly mimicking the aura reading he had inadvertently taken at the Luna relay.

“High command." The man swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so, barely missing the razor edge of the blade. “They wanted us to keep the ship as secure as possible, with their orders superseding all others. They knew that this ship was too good to be true. If they could have it, great. But if someone managed to get into position to take it, we were to stop them by any means necessary. But it looks like we failed." He slowly moved his head to the left and to the right, taking in the sight of over half the squad still being alive.

Canith picked up on his thoughts easily enough. “Some of you had deep-seated grudges against anthros. Had I spared them, they would have tried to kill me anyways. I just prevented the attempt by preventative execution." He gestured with his off hand, his wakizashi easily dismissed with a moment's thought. The rest of you have a choice, as I see it."

He took a step back, and dismissed the katana as well. He stood before them, apparently unarmed, with his hands spread out to his sides. “You all have seen something that I cannot have you revealing to UEDF High Command. And before you go claiming ignorance, I refer to the fact I just appeared human a minute ago. As a result, you have two options."

He raised a hand in front of him, holding up his index finger. “First option. Join me. I won't be able to trust you off the start, but once some time passes you will understand why I am doing what I am. As an aside to this, you will have to be changed into anthros yourselves, but we will take care of that as well." There was some grumbling about this, but not the outright hatred and denial that would have occurred if he had not killed the ones he had.

Next, he held up his middle finger as well. “The other option, as I am sure your are aware, is to join your comrades in arms on the floor there. I can make it painless, but dead is dead." There were several winces at this, and several shifted slightly away from the bodies.

“Why the 'join or die' ultimatum? You could just lock us up and turn us anyways, or just kill us all." The NCO did not appear to be attempting to buy time, but was legitimately curious.

“Several reasons. Easiest is the fact that you all know the ship pretty well. Once turned and trusted, you would still be security, only for a different team. As you probably noticed, while armed, this is not quite what you would expect from a purely military ship. It was designed, point of fact, as a flagship first, military base second. Another reason is I would prefer not to kill you. Being originally human myself, I can tell you the benefits of having an improved form far far outweigh any detriments. Plus, as you saw, I essentially operate at a level much higher than a pure human could aspire to." He gave the man an easy grin. “Besides all that, there is the simple fact that the young lady over there had never seen this level of violence before, and fainted. I would prefer you refer to me being kind as opposed to having to tell her I killed everyone. Sounds better, right."

The NCO, realizing that the dragon before him was not just out for blood, relaxed a bit. “Fine, I can only speak for myself, but I guess I accept your offer. I guess I am your prisoner for now?" Everyone else followed their leader's example, preventing Canith from having to kill anyone else. He did, however, run a quick scan over all of them, ensuring they were being sincere. They were.

“Davis?" Canith said, motioning him forward. He was still dazed, but he was shaking it off quickly.

“Yes sir, what do you need?" He looked at the NCO's and grunts, then back to Canith.

“Aura informs me the brig is ready for them. They have a protocol in place that has all the corridors on the way locked down unless they see you place your hand on the door with no interference. Please take them down there for now." He turned to the group of 8 individuals. “Gentlemen, please follow your guide to your quarters. Remember, we are attempting to build trust. Follow instructions, and that will be gained faster."

They all nodded somberly, and filed out after Davis. Canith had Aura tail them as well digitally, with the stipulations he had laid out. That done, he turned to Dewayne. “Everything alright?"

He turned, smile upon his face. “Excellently done with that field. I had heard from my wife and from your AI that you could do phenomenon manipulation, but that was simply superb. Every bolt angled away, and managing to avoid all critical and secondary systems as well." He looked Canith over with a appreciative eye. “My my, she was right. That color of fur definitely suits you well." He looked past Canith to the bodies on the floor. “We might need to dispose of this quickly. Especially before the young lady wakes up."

Canith sighed, then pulled the four he had cut down together. He looked at them for a moment, before turning to the scientist couple. “Brace yourselves. This might be a bit brighter than is strictly comfortable." He then kinetically lifted them off the floor. He took a breath, and began layering various energy crafted shields around the bodies. Glowing circles of various sizes and complexity swirled in orbit around both Canith and the bodies.

“Oh, that is pretty, but what are you . . “ Margaret said, looking up in awe, just as he finished his bubble of shielding and ignited the circle in the middle. The bodies were engulfed in a fireball that was contained in every way possible by the various shields, creating what appeared to be a small sun in the middle of the bridge, but without the heat. It only lasted a few moments, then the fuel and o2 in the shielded area was consumed, and the shields condensed what little was left down till it was a tiny ball that clinked down to the deck when he released both his mental grip and the shields. It glowed white hot for a second, before cooling rapidly.

“There we go, 4 bodies disposed of. I don't ever want to do something like that again." Canith said, as he waved his hands in the air like he had burnt them. “I didn't think I would 'feel' the heat of the fire through my kinetics. Learn something new everyday."

Dewayne chuckled at this, while Margaret took Bethany over to a chair to slowly attempt to revive her. A few minutes later, Davis returned as Bethany was starting to rouse. Once there, Canith turned to the dedicated Holo-terminal for AI's in the center of the bridge, just to the right of the captain's chair. “Aura, begin boot-up sequence for the ship please. Soft check all systems, save weapons, and prepare for departure."

Aura, now that the time for deception was well and truly over, appeared in the tank. “Already begun. ETA till launch actual should be about 15 minutes."

Margaret smiled at Aura. “It never ceases to amaze me that your AI is so good at so many things, even being unbound as it is to any system."

Beth came fully awake then, first spotting Margaret and Aura, then Davis, before finally settling her eyes on Canith. She got up unsteadily, and slowly walked over to him, grabbing his arm and hugging it. A moment later, she buried her head into the fur and muttered just quiet enough for Canith to barely catch “I could pet your fur for hours. Thank you for protecting us, like you said you would."

Canith smiled at her as well, and gave her a hug. After standing there for a moment, he pulled back slightly, and guided her back over to where she had been sitting. Once she was seated once more (with his hand in hers, and fur being stroked), he began his explanation.

“Margaret, Dewayne, you already know most of this. Davis, you came in about halfway into the story. Bethany, you are probably least in the loop, but I know you can be trusted with this. As I stated before, I was once called Darion Sygon. However, when it was discovered I not only had no hatred towards anthros, but even sympathized with them, I was chased off Earth. All I took with me was Aura, and thus I began searching for a place to call home."

He quickly outlined his trip through space, gathering information on the arc-ships that the anthros had made off with, along with the technology involved with it. He recounted his contact, and subsequent joining of the Tiamat's crew, as well as his eventual change into an anthro himself. He glossed over his sexual escapades with multiple crew members, but talked instead of how welcoming they were, and his growth into his abilities.

Finally, he talked of the moon base, his combat shift, and how he was told of level 3 shifting, and the rare variant of it that allowed genetic level duplication of an individual, including appearing as human. Lastly, he told them of the plan to build a bigger, better ship for that crew, and his adventure doing so. All the while, they listened in rapt fascination at all he had gone through, while Bethany continued stroking his fur.

Once finished, the couple walked a bit away to discuss various aspects of the story. From what little he overheard, it was all good things, such as species discussion and potential abilities. Davis was quiet for a few minutes, and Bethany continued to just stroke his fur.

“I think I get it. Why you did the whole thing." Davis said at last. “I understand why you misled me about your anthro status, and why you were so willing to help me. I mean, I got that part from our last major conversation, but this just puts the whole thing in perspective. If I was hesitant before, now I'm certain. If I need to change to keep helping, so be it. I assume we are all in the same boat as those marines?" He looked a bit pale as he suggested that last bit.

“Heavens no. If you wished to remain human, on board an almost fully anthro ship, you could. That option was given to me, so I will give it to you as well. I made that ultimatum to them to ensure they would not be able to report back to their superiors. “

Davis let out a breath, relaxing visibly. “Great. I will probably 'take the dive' as you phrased it in your story, and go with a change as well. Maybe a wolf, like that Will guy." Canith grinned at this, and the potential for those two to hook up afterwards. But he dropped the grin and looked down at Bethany. She was sleepily rubbing his fur still.

“What about you? Do you want to stay human, or will you join everyone else in becoming an anthro?" She looked up at him and smiled warmly.

Of course I'll change. I even know what I would want to be. Just promise me you will let me pet you sometimes. Heck, I might even take classes on massage to to have my hands on you more!"

This drew a laugh from all four of the others, and after a quick blush she joined them.

After the ship was ready to go, Canith moved to a chair in the front of the bridge, isolated from any terminals. There had been several individuals question what this chair was for, but he had been able to dodge those questions just fine. He walked behind it, and Aura immediately activated a small pillar to rise up from the floor. Once waist high, the top unfolded to reveal what looked like a visor with no wires or controls attached.

This got the attention of both the scientists, as they knew that he had set up a way to fly the ship, but other than the hard-light display he had shown, they did not know the details. He took the visor, placed it on his head, then sat down in the lone chair.

“All controls being routed to Command Visor. Stand by for Data Stream Link-up."

Nothing outwardly appeared to happened with the others standing in the bridge. However, It felt as if he had preformed a Data Dive, yet still had full control of his surroundings. Consoles all over the bridge lit up and began final startup procedures at a though from him, and the massive engines slowly began thrumming to life. He reached out his hands, and the course from earlier appeared before him, and he quickly plotted out the coarse. He felt, more than heard, the engines begin to push them forward.

:This feels like I AM the ship, not so much like me piloting it.: He said to Aura, through the medium of the visor.

:While the system is active, you might as well be. Try not to scratch the paint too much in the process. It might be uncomfortable.: Canith thought that Aura was joking, until one of the crane arms that had not been moved out of the way impacted with the shields and was pushed aside. He felt the impact like it had hit his body, although it was weirdly distorted through the visor's influence. :That distortion is due to you trying to relate it to your body. Picture in your mind the ship, and when something like that happens it will show up on the mental image.:

They began the slingshot maneuver, and immediately was hailed by a nearby frigate that they were not authorized to launch and needed to turn back. The frigate, of course, could not stop them, as it was miniature compared to the capital ship. So they continued the slingshot, and then, as they aligned with the coordinates that he had entered, reality folded at their command and they entered a warp tunnel, leaving the frigate to flounder as a space quake from the large ship distorted the very fabric of space for a moment.

The frigate attempted to access a local relay to follow, but was stymied by the the fact that no Warp Tunnel coordinates had been registered by the escaping ship.

Once in the warp tunnel, He disengaged from the command visor, standing up and returning it to it's dais. He then walked over to the captain's chair, sat down, and rotated it to the holo-tank.

“That was incredible. You mentioned you would be able to control the ship by yourself, but seeing it in person is truly astounding." Margaret exclaimed as he sat down.

“Hold on for a second, need to make a call." Canith said, holding up a hand. Aura, knowing what he needed, quickly bridged the connection with their core on board the Tiamat, and buzzed the captain. He responded immediately.

“Good to see you as yourself. I assume everything is going according to plan?"

“Correct sir. One brand new capital class ship, en route to the meetup coordinates. Also, Aura mentioned it will be the next best thing to untraceable as well. Something about not normally needing to mess with relays."

This caused Kai's eye ridges to raise significantly. “Well then. That will prove to be quite handy soon, if I had a guess." He turned away for a minute, then turned back. “Our guests are still pursuing us, but whatever Aura did to them a while back set them on the back foot. They have not been as aggressive, and have instead just been following us. I will set it up to where our arrival will be delayed in the relays, but as they have seen this trick a couple times before, I doubt it will cause them issues."

Canith grinned. “Give me 5 minutes after you arrive to set up a surprise, and then the jaws will snap shut."

Kai returned the grin. “Sounds good to me. I can't wait to meet this relentless huntress myself."

Canith cut the connection, and started preparations for the next step of the plan.

[On board the Andromeda's Fortune, 5 minutes after communication from Canith to Kai]

“Captain, they are doing it again. I spotted it this time at least!" A human said, sitting at the astro-gation terminal.

“Good, follow them. No more mistakes. We almost have them."

“Uh, boss. I don't get it. They have static coordinates this time. Pulling them up." He did so, and she felt her blood run cold for a moment. Shown was the same coordinates that the entity named 'Aura' had shown her before. On a hunch, she grabbed her tablet and pulled up the first file. Sure enough, a time was listed, as well as the coordinates. Below it, a message had appeared.

It's finally time. We will see you there. Remember, Melody, that as long as you are amiable to it we can work together. ~Aura

She growled low in her throat. It still felt like a barb under her fur, seeing that despised name so casually thrown at her. She hated her parents for giving her such a happy sounding name, when unlike her name, she not only could not carry a tune in this rust bucket, but she had no desire to either.

“Looks like it's finally time to pull the tiger's tail." She said softly, before once more speaking in her commanding tone, “Good. Follow them. If they are finally going to stop, that gives up the opportunity we have desperately been wanting." She flashed a savage grin, while inside feeling horrible for essentially deceiving her crew about this.

In the back of the bridge, Sean watched the whole scene play out. With a 'tsk', he quickly turned and stalked out of the bridge. He knew she was acting strangely, but he had no clue as to what the issue could be.