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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1560412" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;Space Tomb&quot; - Part 8Inside the elevator, Xinthon presses his palm against an apparently ordinary metal panel, which slides aside to reveal a second console, with a large red button.&quot;I did not want anyone to stumble across my vessel by accident.&quot; He explains, thumbing the button as he does so.&nbsp; The elevator descends smoothly for several seconds, taking them below the levels marked on the main console.The doors open onto a smooth stone tunnel.&nbsp; The tunnel is a perfect cylinder, the stone almost glass-like in its finish.&nbsp; A grille-like metal walkway provides solid footing, and there are fluorescent strips on each side of the walkway for illumination.Xinthon escorts S'Ondra along the tunnel and into a large cavern, most of which is filled by the bulk of a winged, silver spaceship.&nbsp; Rather than the rocket-like design of the Pathfinder, the body of this vessel is somewhere between a crescent and a half-moon in shape.&quot;My.&quot; S'Ondra looks at it approvingly, &quot;It's much bigger than yours, isn't it, Captain?&quot;&quot;It's not the size of the ship that counts, Princess, it's what you do with it.&quot;&quot;The Star Drive is in this area here.&quot; Xinthon indicates a bulbous section at the rear of the vessel. &quot;The builder-bots have repaired the hull, so you can't see the damage from here, but the systems inside are all destroyed.&quot;&quot;So big as she is, you can't get her up?&quot;&quot;Not at all, Captain.&nbsp; The ship is fully capable of flight within a star system ... it is only the interstellar Star Drive which no longer functions.&nbsp; The planetary drive is Xenon-based.&nbsp; I imagine your ship uses something similar?&quot;&quot;That information is classified -&quot; Fury begins.&quot;Oh yes, it sounds much like our own engines.&quot; Gustav babbles absently, his attention focussed on the vessel's hull, &quot;Of course, we are currently very low on Xenon supplies, but zis will be fixed as soon as we go to Jupiter to refuel.&quot;&quot;And what of your interplanetary capabilities?&quot;&quot;Vell, we have ze Q-Drive of course.&quot; Gustav beams for a moment, then looks crestfallen, &quot;Though zere are a few bugs to be worked out -&quot;&quot;Perhaps the D'Bari Alliance will be able to assist you in resolving the problems.&quot; Xinthon offers graciously, &quot;I would certainly be willing to ask them for their aid, in exchange for the help of your government in repairing my vessel.&nbsp; When do you think we would be able to contact your leaders to discuss this?&quot;Gustav opens his mouth to answer, then yelps as Fury stands on his foot.&quot;Contact with the government is restricted.&quot; The Captain answers sternly, &quot;In any case, we have full authority to negotiate on behalf of the people of Earth.&quot;&quot;Very well.&quot; Xinthon does not seem offended by the answer, &quot;Please, come aboard.&nbsp; I will give you a tour of the vessel.&nbsp; Would you like refreshments?&quot;&quot;No thank you.&quot; From the expression on Fury's face, it is clear he regards this offer as a poisoned apple.&quot;Do you have any of zose sandwiches with ze crusts cut off?&quot;Xinthon shakes his head,&quot;I am not familiar with your Earth foods.&nbsp; However, biochemical analysis shows that you should find D'Bari cuisine both palatable and nutritious.&nbsp; Are you sure you won't join us, Captain?&quot;&quot;I am.&quot;&quot;Very well.&quot; Xinthon shrugs, then whispers sotto voce to S'Ondra, &quot;Is he always like this?&quot;Once they are aboard the vessel, the D'Bari scientist passes around a plate of slightly crumbly yellow cubes, which S'Ondra and the Doctor consume with evident relish.&quot;Come, Doctor.&quot; Xinthon beckons, &quot;I will show you the engineering section of the vessel.&nbsp; Perhaps you would like to look at the Star Drive immediately.&quot;&quot;Indeed I would.&quot; The Doctor replies enthusiastically, yellow crumbs still sticking to the corner of his mouth.&nbsp; S'Ondra makes a tsking noise and cleans them off with a piece of cloth.The four begin to make their way through the corridors of the vessel.&nbsp; As they walk, Fury deliberately drops to the rear of the group, waits for the others to round a corner, then turns on his heel and heads back the way they came, with a look of suspicion written across his face.Apparently unaware of the Captain's actions, Xinthon leads the Doctor and S'Ondra into a room which is filled with computer banks.&nbsp; There are dozens of screens set into the numerous consoles, as well as many kinds of robotic machinery.&nbsp; At the centre of the room, under a large hydraulic arm, is a comfortable chair, surrounded by consoles.&quot;This is the main technical station.&quot; Xinthin explains, activating the screens.&nbsp; Pages of strange symbols scroll past, but then the D'Bari presses a few buttons and the text changes to English. &quot;The computer has analysed your language and compiled a translation routine.&nbsp; I have instructed it to display all data after first processing it with this routine.&quot;&quot;Most ingenious.&quot; Gustav eagerly takes a seat, and begins poring over the records.&nbsp; Within moments, he is entirely oblivious to the others, scribbling comments in his battered notebook.&quot;Oh dear.&quot; Xinthon glances around without any evident sign of dismay, &quot;We seem to have lost the Captain.&nbsp; Still, he cannot come to any harm aboard the ship, and I am sure he will find us eventually.&quot; The tall, handsome alien offers S'Ondra his arm, &quot;In the mean time, perhaps you would like a personal tour of the vessel?&quot;&quot;That would be very pleasant.&quot; S'Ondra takes the offered arm and the two leave the Doctor to his work.&nbsp; As they walk, Xinthon continues to speak,&quot;Tell me, what is your role aboard your own vessel?&nbsp; Perhaps we could start with that area of this ship.&quot;&quot;Well, actually ...&quot; S'Ondra looks a little bashful, then tosses her hair, almost visibly reminding herself that she is a princess, &quot;I was aboard the Pathfinder so that the Doctor could study the effects of the Q-Drive on my physiology.&nbsp; I'm not human you know -&quot;&quot;Indeed.&quot; Xinthon nods, &quot;I had noticed the difference between your physiology and their own, already.&nbsp; Yours is obviously considerably more advanced, in evolutionary terms.&quot; He reaches up and strokes her feather-like hair.S'Ondra blushes.&quot;Perhaps in that case, we should begin with the laboratory.&quot; Xinthon smiles warmly, &quot;If you would allow me to take a sample of your hair, I could show you how my instruments analyse your physiology.&quot;&quot;Yes ... that sounds good.&quot; S'Ondra manages to reply through sudden bashfulness.&quot;Come, it is this way.&quot; Xinthon sweeps his arm, and the pair turn down a nearby corridor.As he walks beside the Princess, the D'Bari smiles again.&nbsp; And this time there is no warmth there; only predatory anticipation.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1560412, member: 6294"] [b]"Space Tomb" - Part 8[/b] Inside the elevator, Xinthon presses his palm against an apparently ordinary metal panel, which slides aside to reveal a second console, with a large red button. "I did not want anyone to stumble across my vessel by accident." He explains, thumbing the button as he does so. The elevator descends smoothly for several seconds, taking them below the levels marked on the main console. The doors open onto a smooth stone tunnel. The tunnel is a perfect cylinder, the stone almost glass-like in its finish. A grille-like metal walkway provides solid footing, and there are fluorescent strips on each side of the walkway for illumination. Xinthon escorts S'Ondra along the tunnel and into a large cavern, most of which is filled by the bulk of a winged, silver spaceship. Rather than the rocket-like design of the [I]Pathfinder[/I], the body of this vessel is somewhere between a crescent and a half-moon in shape. "My." S'Ondra looks at it approvingly, "It's much bigger than yours, isn't it, Captain?" "It's not the size of the ship that counts, Princess, it's what you do with it." "The Star Drive is in this area here." Xinthon indicates a bulbous section at the rear of the vessel. "The builder-bots have repaired the hull, so you can't see the damage from here, but the systems inside are all destroyed." "So big as she is, you can't get her up?" "Not at all, Captain. The ship is fully capable of flight within a star system ... it is only the interstellar Star Drive which no longer functions. The planetary drive is Xenon-based. I imagine your ship uses something similar?" "That information is classified -" Fury begins. "Oh yes, it sounds much like our own engines." Gustav babbles absently, his attention focussed on the vessel's hull, "Of course, we are currently very low on Xenon supplies, but zis will be fixed as soon as we go to Jupiter to refuel." "And what of your interplanetary capabilities?" "Vell, we have ze Q-Drive of course." Gustav beams for a moment, then looks crestfallen, "Though zere are a few bugs to be worked out -" "Perhaps the D'Bari Alliance will be able to assist you in resolving the problems." Xinthon offers graciously, "I would certainly be willing to ask them for their aid, in exchange for the help of your government in repairing my vessel. When do you think we would be able to contact your leaders to discuss this?" Gustav opens his mouth to answer, then yelps as Fury stands on his foot. "Contact with the government is restricted." The Captain answers sternly, "In any case, we have full authority to negotiate on behalf of the people of Earth." "Very well." Xinthon does not seem offended by the answer, "Please, come aboard. I will give you a tour of the vessel. Would you like refreshments?" "No thank you." From the expression on Fury's face, it is clear he regards this offer as a poisoned apple. "Do you have any of zose sandwiches with ze crusts cut off?" Xinthon shakes his head, "I am not familiar with your Earth foods. However, biochemical analysis shows that you should find D'Bari cuisine both palatable and nutritious. Are you sure you won't join us, Captain?" "I am." "Very well." Xinthon shrugs, then whispers [I]sotto voce[/I] to S'Ondra, "Is he always like this?" Once they are aboard the vessel, the D'Bari scientist passes around a plate of slightly crumbly yellow cubes, which S'Ondra and the Doctor consume with evident relish. "Come, Doctor." Xinthon beckons, "I will show you the engineering section of the vessel. Perhaps you would like to look at the Star Drive immediately." "Indeed I would." The Doctor replies enthusiastically, yellow crumbs still sticking to the corner of his mouth. S'Ondra makes a [I]tsk[/I]ing noise and cleans them off with a piece of cloth. The four begin to make their way through the corridors of the vessel. As they walk, Fury deliberately drops to the rear of the group, waits for the others to round a corner, then turns on his heel and heads back the way they came, with a look of suspicion written across his face. Apparently unaware of the Captain's actions, Xinthon leads the Doctor and S'Ondra into a room which is filled with computer banks. There are dozens of screens set into the numerous consoles, as well as many kinds of robotic machinery. At the centre of the room, under a large hydraulic arm, is a comfortable chair, surrounded by consoles. "This is the main technical station." Xinthin explains, activating the screens. Pages of strange symbols scroll past, but then the D'Bari presses a few buttons and the text changes to English. "The computer has analysed your language and compiled a translation routine. I have instructed it to display all data after first processing it with this routine." "Most ingenious." Gustav eagerly takes a seat, and begins poring over the records. Within moments, he is entirely oblivious to the others, scribbling comments in his battered notebook. "Oh dear." Xinthon glances around without any evident sign of dismay, "We seem to have lost the Captain. Still, he cannot come to any harm aboard the ship, and I am sure he will find us eventually." The tall, handsome alien offers S'Ondra his arm, "In the mean time, perhaps you would like a personal tour of the vessel?" "That would be very pleasant." S'Ondra takes the offered arm and the two leave the Doctor to his work. As they walk, Xinthon continues to speak, "Tell me, what is your role aboard your own vessel? Perhaps we could start with that area of this ship." "Well, actually ..." S'Ondra looks a little bashful, then tosses her hair, almost visibly reminding herself that she is a princess, "I was aboard the [I]Pathfinder[/I] so that the Doctor could study the effects of the Q-Drive on my physiology. I'm not human you know -" "Indeed." Xinthon nods, "I had noticed the difference between your physiology and their own, already. Yours is obviously considerably more advanced, in evolutionary terms." He reaches up and strokes her feather-like hair. S'Ondra blushes. "Perhaps in that case, we should begin with the laboratory." Xinthon smiles warmly, "If you would allow me to take a sample of your hair, I could show you how my instruments analyse your physiology." "Yes ... that sounds good." S'Ondra manages to reply through sudden bashfulness. "Come, it is this way." Xinthon sweeps his arm, and the pair turn down a nearby corridor. As he walks beside the Princess, the D'Bari smiles again. And this time there is no warmth there; only predatory anticipation. [/QUOTE]

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