Dead Star Dockyards

Diana stared at the ceiling of her bedroom with both trepidation and anticipation. Many thoughts and emotions swirled through her mind, both about the future and the events of yesterday, while she stroked the back of a snoozing Mercedes. In a few hours they would be leaving the Sanctum, everything except her pajamas (lingerie), clothing for the day, and a few personal effects had already been packed away. The only things she couldn't take with her were the staff and this bed.

That made her a little sad. She finally had some friends, and she was already leaving them. She would be back, of course, the next academic year would start in three to four months - 106 days to be exact - but that was already far longer than she had been here for. That was 106 days of work, which could either be incredibly interesting or incredibly dull. Her money was on interesting though.

How could it not be? A new planet, a new people, an untainted environment, and plenty of administration, instruction, interpretation, negotiation, diplomacy . . . her work looked to be unending and it hadn't even started yet. That came with its own set of problems though, namely that what she had ahead of her seemed trivial in comparison to Donovan, not even looking at his duties upon arrival.

Donovan had pledged himself to the Pilot Room for the maiden voyage of the Pegasus, with limited exceptions while travelling in formation with the Holifanian fleet, to ensure that he could handle anything going wrong. This meant last night would be the only night with an appreciable amount of skinship for quite a while, something she took advantage of. Mercedes had even been given a little bit of sedative in her meal so that she wouldn't interrupt their activities.

No chance of baby, at least there shouldn't be. Disappointing, but now wasn't the time. If she was to go through with her plan to expedite a family, she would have to time the birth to the Academy's break, a roughly two-month window. That could be as short as a single month if she wanted to recover though.

"Not up yet?" Donovan slipped into the room with a glass of water in hand. Given the damp hair and glistening torso, he had probably just finished bathing. Now that she thought about it, that bathroom would probably be the thing she missed most about the Sanctum. Donovan seemed unlikely to prioritize constructing an amenity of equal luxury in the foreseeable future.

"Just loving the doggy. I think she's a bit confused about her lethargy." Diana could see Mercedes' ears perk up when Donovan entered, however she made no move to greet him. "And recuperating, of course."

"You requested I be more aggressive in my service."

"And you did an amazing job." Diana hugged Donovan as he leaned in for a kiss, allowing him to drag her up into an upright position as he pulled away. Once up she let go, allowing him to sit down on the edge of the bed before she reengaged. "Is everything ready?"

"Kayes and Cayzi are moving their stuff in while Titanyana and Petunia are in the process of familiarizing themselves with the Pegasus and its facilities. Aside from that, we are waiting for a Holifanian galley to guide us to the rally point. Petunia has displayed an interest in the kitchen, by the way."

"Guess I'll have to teach her, then." Diana kissed Donovan on the neck, earning a firm squeeze on her thigh in response. Her eyes drifted towards the article of clothing draped over the chair. The thing invoked a modicum of distaste in her as she recalled the state Donovan was in when last he wore it. "Do you have to wear your flight suit?"

"No." Donovan sighed. He probably thought the subject was annoying to talk about. "I just haven't worn it in so long. It's kinda making me nervous, you know? Sort of like I'm forgetting my roots?"

"I don't think your little demonstration yesterday supported that idea."

"Maybe not, but . . . I guess it would be hard for you to know what I mean. It's hard to describe with words. It's like," Donovan paused, clearly thinking about how to say it. "Piloting has always felt like the thing I was best at, even though I know I'm pretty good at other things. Ever since, you know, the incident, I haven't had the opportunity to feel like it, and that suit has always been part of that feeling."

"Is it sort of like the idea that one should dress the way they want to be, not the way they are?"

"Maybe." Diana adjusted herself, extricating herself from the covers to a grumbling Mercedes in order to wrap her arms and legs around Donovan's torso, a full body hug from behind. He rarely expressed emotions indicative of distress or loss, if she could even recall him doing so, and so it was incredibly important for her to provide support. "I could also be concerned it doesn't fit though."

"True." Diana giggled, taking in his warmth. "I didn't have the opportunity to gauge your figure until I woke, but I think you've put on more muscle compared to how you were before."

"Swordplay and incessant conditioning make more muscle mass than piloting and counter-attritional physical therapy. Shocker."

"So long as you don't turn into one of those hulks called bodybuilders or a fatty, I'll love you all the same." The comment earned her a chuckle. "Well, maybe I'll still love you, just not as much as I do now."

"Yeah . . . I don't think you'll have to worry about a bodybuilder." Donovan stood up with Diana still hanging from his back like a monkey.

"Did something happen?" Diana didn't get the implication behind his words, though she understood he had made one given his tone.

"Maybe." Diana was pulled around to Donovan's front as he gently peeled her off. Instead of putting her down though, he held her beneath the armpits and slowly extended her out in front of him. By the time his arms were fully extended and perpendicular he had to lean back to provide enough counterweight, and Diana felt as if she was being handled like a kitten. Regardless, she got the point. "Arc says the strength and endurance I exhibit far exceed the mass and volume of muscle I possess, at least according to prior data."

"And we are only finding out about this now?"

"I had some suspicions. After losing my reference point, my old physique, in the aftermath of the flight to the Oberlux so I couldn't be a hundred percent sure of the real weight or force of anything regardless of what my instincts told me. As far as I was concerned, Split could have been in play somehow." Donovan put her down, ogling her a little as she stretched. "When I went to the gym on the Pegasus this morning-"

"You were lifting more than should be possible?"

"At least for the amount of muscle I have. An 850 pound deadlift isn't even close to the unassisted world record, but I certainly haven't been following a regime to increase my strength to that level. My grip strength on the other hand . . ."

"Strongest on Earth?"

"I'm sitting at a solid 160 kilos." Diana whistled, not sure what the relevant standard was. "Arc and I agree that Split is definitely a factor here, but our conclusions are a bit different. Arc thinks that the muscle itself has grown more efficient now that the fundamental 'nutrient' it was missing is present."

"That seems logical. What's your theory?"

"I . . . this is going to sound crazy."

"Crazy wouldn't surprise me at this point, Donny. We've already seen things that are clear violations of our fundamental understanding of physics."

"I get the feeling that multiple fibers occupy a single point in space, and I can't explain why." Donovan turned around as Diana stripped, replacing the underwear with a bathrobe. The disconnect between his nighttime disposition and how he acted in the morning could be kinda cute.

"In that case, I recommend not thinking about it too much. We have enough on our plate as is, so there's no use in stressing over something that seems beneficial." Diana gathered her change of clothes for the day in one arm and plucked her laundry from the floor. Returning after her shower would be too much of a hassle. "What's the worst case scenario? You are just a bit more stronger than you should be?"

"I suppose there's the possibility of overexerting that strength . . ."

"When might that happen?" Donovan could only frown. He had cultivated a great deal of control over both his emotions and body. He shouldn't ever run into a situation where he used too much strength against her on accident. "You'll have plenty of time to ponder these mysteries later. Weren't you the one who said we might need to completely re-evaluate our understanding of natural laws?"

"I did, but this feels a bit more urgent. Should I make a quick trip to-"

"No." Diana hadn't expected that an unknown as minor as this to stress him out this much. Perhaps he had developed an insecurity about his inability to meaningfully compete with others? Given his fear that a sufficiently powerful enemy would be able to defeat him before he could incapacitate them with a pistol, could he be more concerned about a failure to take full advantage of something? Diana didn't want to think about it too much, but there was every possibility that Donovan would have Arc cut him up and sow him back together in order to figure it out. He'd probably just wave her concerns about the practice off citing the unwillingness to test his theories on her or their children should the native races not possess similar characteristics - something they knew was a possibility. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my bath."

- - - - -

"Hmmm." A content smile sprawled across Diana's face as she lowered herself into the bath. Sad that she was to be leaving it soon, but content all the same. "I'm going to miss these baths."

"I will too." Titanyana, who had been soaking before Diana arrived, expressed her agreement.

"Showers are nice and all, but baths are so relaxing."

"They're quieter too."

"Are they now?" Diana hadn't really considered it, but a consistent stream of water droplets hitting those thin ears of hers would probably be annoying. "Will the facilities on the Pegasus be suitable for you?"

"I'll be fine. I tried out the showers in the gym after our workout."

"Oh? I thought you would have taken the day off."

"I thought about it, but then I remembered your advice about trying to get on his good side and get close to him so I . . ." Titanyana's eyes were closed, but Diana could envisage them slowly gazing listlessly off into the distance. She probably got quite a bit 'up close' time as Donovan showed her how to use the equipment, including eye-candy as he lifted weight of his own. Diana thought it a shame she didn't have proper gym wear though - the girl would look amazing in tight yoga pants, a sports bra, and a baggy T-shirt. "Anyways, it felt nice to have it beat against my back."

"Shame I couldn't convince Donovan to put even one bathtub in there."

"It probably have been underwhelming in comparison." Titanyana's ears flicked off a bit of condensation from the steam. "Besides, being able to clean yourself in transit like that is probably an incredible luxury. I've only been on void vessels a few times in my life, my voyage here, and the ration of water I had been provided barely covered drinking, though I hadn't exactly paid the amount of money a noble would to charter such a trip."

Diana nodded in solidarity with Titanyana's past struggles. Stinky men were one thing, such was the result of their jobs on most occasions, but being stinky as a woman was a sin.

"Now that I bring it up, I can't help but feel that my sense of 'normal' is gradually being eaten away at."

"I take it Arc's been educating you on our history?"

"Occasionally. Knowing now what you probably considered to be relatively easy and quick feats of construction and transportation, stuff like this just doesn't feel as impressive." Diana smiled. Perhaps it was due to a barrier of knowledge being torn down, but Titanyana was noticeably less reserved in conversation than even a week ago. "And yet I've never seen it for myself."

"You will in time. I mean, you've already been inside of the Pegasus." Diana stretched her arms, letting the tension subside as she slowly lowered them back into the water. "The first order of business will be the establishment of agriculture and housing, the opening phases of which will both be supervised by Donovan."

"Mmm." Titanyana shuffled closer. "How are we going to handle the, um, language barrier? Without you or Donovan there the number of people who can understand Arc will be very limited."

"We invited Bishop Kayes along for a reason."

"Will he be the one to lead the construction efforts in Donovan's absence?"

"No, that isn't why. The Holifanian Theocracy possesses their own written and spoken language - much like English. We plan to have Arc learn that language and communicate with them directly, with the Holifanians acting as the intermediary between Donovan's orders and the construction efforts taken by your people."

"I didn't know that." Titanyana blew some bubbles as she settled down next to Diana. "I know it is a bit too early to think about, but what if something happens while we aren't there? Won't we have to wait for a ship to bring a message back?"

"If what Donovan has told me is to be believed, we will be able to communicate from here. That would have to be a big emergency though, Arc can handle most things."

"But . . . won't Arc be coming back with us? He's on the Pegasus, isn't he?"

"Arc is hard to explain, so just imagine that he can exist in multiple places at the same time."

"Huh? Like, he has multiple bodies?"

"In a manner of speaking, though it might be more accurate to say he can control multiple bodies at the same time. I don't really get how it works."

"Oh. Maybe I should ask Donovan then."

"Or Arc. He would understand it far better than Donovan."

"Yeah." Titanyana's ears drooped. Evidently she thought herself silly for defaulting to Donovan.