SandwichesAndSalutationsSandwiches and SalutationsDagny enters the familiar wardroom to find Brandeigh sitting at the table, which is covered by a Stellar Map of some kind. Seated next to her, Brandeigh recognizes Percy. Nearby are two men whom Dagny does not recognize, although they are dressed in a vaguely familiar manner. "Good." Brandeigh nods to the Ensign, a nod of departure for the officer who escorted her here. The officer departs, and Brandeigh gestures to Dagny to a seat on the one hand, and in a sweeping motion, to the sideboard which once again contains a tea pot, as well as a plate of sandwiches. "Hello Dagny." Percy says with a smile. "It's been too long. For us, anyway." "Hello, Percy," she says. "Good to see you." "Now we're all gathered and we can get to the new business at hand." Brandeigh says, gesturing to one of the men. "Dagny, this is our son, Kieran Douglas. Kieran, this is Dagny Thorsonne, daughter of King Rinaldo of Kashfa. He is still King, yes?" Brandeigh looks enquiringly at Dagny. Dagny's mouth quirks. "As far as I am aware." Brandeigh nods at Dagny's answer. Kieran nods his head; "Pleased to meet you, Dagny." He gazes at her in curiosity. "This is my friend;" he points to the other man present. "Paril Destine." Paril is of average height and build, dark haired (though going grey) with brown eyes currently wearing a slightly rumpled flightsuit. Paril nods his head in Dagny's direction. Kieran then points to a short, cylindrical droid. "This is Gate, my astromech." The droid (an R2 unit) has a blue body and a copper dome. Gate whistles something that sounds something like a greeting. Dagny stands only a little shorter than Kieran, with shoulder-length straight brown hair and eyes of a color I was initially too exhausted to remember, but later discovered were brown when I did a search for my original description. She's well built, and is dressed simply in a cotton blouse and dark-wash trouser jeans; she appears to be unarmed. Her face more pretty and clever-looking than beautiful. "Hello. Hello. Hello!" she says to each in turn, and then to Kieran adds, "Apparently your parents and I go farther back than I realized. It is good to meet you." "Excellent." Percy says. He looks at Dagny. "Sit down, both of you." He gives a glance to Brandeigh and busies himself for the next minute or so putting out the small finger sandwiches, and pouring cups of tea. Kieran sits down with a plate of the sandwiches and a cup of tea. He stares at the tea for a moment, then shrugs his shoulders and sips from the cup. "Dagny's arrival here is a fortunate one." Brandeigh says. "The world outside of our sliver of shadow has, as far as we can tell, not existed for the last couple of decades. However, events even before Dagny's trump call suggests that has changed." "And like a good Kelt, its time you were fostered with some relatives, Kieran, and learned about them." Brandeigh says. "Dagny came here asking for our help with a serious problem, and we can catch all of these birds in a single net." "It's time. son." Percy picks up the thread of conversation smoothly "that you, in Dagny's company and chaperonship, travel to Amber." "I know what you two have told me about my Amber relatives;" he says, giving his father a look. "So it's not like I'm going in blind you know." He considers things for a few moments. "So in return for Dagny escorting me to Amber, I have to agree to helping her out?" He holds up his right with two fingers extended. "Ok, but first; Dad you and Paril still owe me a ship. You're not getting out of that." Kieran smiles at Percy. "Blowing it up to take out the enemy is something I'd have done in the same situation, but you still owe me." "And second; just what kind of serious problem are we talking about, Dagny?" Kieran focuses his attention on his newly revealed cousin. "From what I've been told, the destruction of the universe and Shadow as we know it," Dagny replies. "There is this race called the Omphalos..." she stops and looks to Brandeigh and Percy. "Has he already been filled in on all of this? I'd hate to be repetitive." Kieran sits up at this. He looks over at his parents. "We've told Kieran somewhat of the world outside of this slice of shadow." Brandeigh says. "However, for decades, the Omphalos have really been only a word, a story." "And, it must be admitted." Percy adds "they were a speculation as to the reason why most of the universe was cut off from us for so long." "As far as your ship, son." Percy continues, turning toward Kieran. "Your mother and I had been planning on giving you an improved version of your ship for some time. One capable of a couple of additional forms to allow you to travel in more than just space. Unless your guide has a preference for her manner of traveling shadow." Percy smiles to Dagny. "it will serve as a method of getting to Amber." I knew there was a reason you gave in so easily about the upgrades I wanted after the damage we took on the way here;" Kieran says. "Perhaps." Brandeigh says, looking at Dagny. "Kieran should hear about the Omphalos from Dagny. I for one would like some more details on just what has been going on from beyond the Pale all this time." Dagny frowns. "Keep in mind, though, for me it's only been a few days since I left you, so not much else has happened. I'm also hardly the local expert on the Omphalos...I believe you and Percy were part of the original reconnaissance mission into their home universe. But from what I gather," she turns to Kieran, "the Omphalos are intent on destroying the universe as we know it. To that end they seem to be conquering individual Shadows that have some nexus of power. If you recall, when I left you two," she gestures to Percy and Brandeigh, "I was heading back to Shadow Versailles to see if they had captured that Broken Pattern of Corwin's. When I got there I found they'd taken it over and a 'wizard' had set up some sort of 'generator' at the site, for what purpose I don't know, but I made sure it was destroyed before I left. That was a day ago by my reckoning." "What sort of 'wizard' and 'generator'?;" Kieran asks. "Could you tell? Was the generator actually tapping the power of this... broken Pattern?" Dagny frowns. "Keep in mind, though, for me it's only been a few days since I left you, so not much else has happened. I'm also hardly the local expert on the Omphalos...I believe you and Percy were part of the original reconnaissance mission into their home universe. But from what I gather," she turns to Kieran, "the Omphalos are intent on destroying the universe as we know it. To that end they seem to be conquering individual Shadows that have some nexus of power. If you recall, when I left you two," she gestures to Percy and Brandeigh, "I was heading back to Shadow Versailles to see if they had captured that Broken Pattern of Corwin's. When I got there I found they'd taken it over and a 'wizard' had set up some sort of 'generator' at the site, for what purpose I don't know, but I made sure it was destroyed before I left. That was a day ago by my reckoning." "And its been decades since our mission." Brandeigh says with a smile. "Your memories are fresher even if your experience is not as broad." "What sort of 'wizard' and 'generator'?;" Kieran asks. "Could you tell? Was the generator actually tapping the power of this... broken Pattern?" Dagny shakes her head. "I never saw it in person. It was kept in a walled-off garden, where the Broken Pattern was. We lobbed explosive projectiles over the barrier. The Omphalos had at least one neuromancer of which I am aware, but I don't know if the neuromancer and the wizard were the same person." "We?" Percy says. "Who was with you?" "By concidence--or not--I ran into a Chaosian, Keane of House Sawall. I believe he was on that excursion into Omphalosland with you." Brandeigh looks warily at Dagny and shakes her head in disagreement. Dagny raises an eyebrow at Brandeigh, but says nothing. Kieran nods his head. "Internal combustion engines and gunpowder;" he repeats Dagny's words. "Primitive, by my standards anyroad. But, gunpowder, when it works, is useful no matter the tech level." Percy nods in agreement to his son. Dagny shrugs. "For all I know, the tech level is actually much higher, but the inhabitants hadn't evolved to that point yet." Kieran nods his head. "Even better. I'll have to run a few tests once we get there to see what type of equipment we can use." "What else can you tell us about this shadow with the broken Pattern?" Brandeigh then asks Dagny. "Uncle Corwin never mentioned that his Pattern ever cast reflections like that." "I don't think he was aware of it, until I told him I'd found it," she replies. Brandeigh looks at Percy. "*You're* the expert on Corwin's Pattern, love." Percy nods, sighs, and looks to Dagny. "As far as I was aware, there were no shadows of Corwin's Pattern besides the one that was in Paris. But that was not a broken one, that was the one set in his own universe. It sounds to me, though, since you were able to get in and out, that you weren't *there*, Dagny. You were in a shadow in *this* universe. Right?" "You didn't happen to meet a ghost of your father there, did you?" Percy continues to ask Dagny. "or of Jurt, or Jayson, or anyone else?" "Or even me?" Percy adds. "I only met one ghost I am aware of, and it wasn't anywhere near that Broken Pattern," Dagny says. "As for all that metaphysical universe crap, I got nothin'. I guess I didn't see what I thought I saw." She folds her lips tightly and leans back in her chair. "So there is no equivalent of Rebma or Tir Na Goth there?;" Kieran asks. "Or are they just undiscovered and therefore still potential incursion points?" "Not as I understand it." Percy says to Kieran. "There is only point of entry, and that is Corwin's Primal Pattern, at the Manor House." "However." Percy continues, and turns toward Dagny. "Apparently neither he, nor I understood this as much as we thought, if you found a shadow of that Pattern. I'm sure Uncle Corwin would have told me about them if he knew about them. And as you said, he seemed surprised." "Not as surprised as I was," Dagny murmurs. "It may have only been a few days." Brandeigh puts in, looking thoughful. "However, it seems that things *have* been upset out there. Besides this Pattern, Dagny, did you run into anything unusual? Especially anything that might complicate the journey to Amber, and then to this shadow?" "Besides the freestanding Door and the army of Omphalos looking to kill me? No, nothing of note," she replies, deadpan. "Were they specifically out to get you, Dagny, or just anyone who happened across their area of operations?" Kieran asks. Dagny smiles a little. "They were casting a pretty wide net. I'm a little sneakier than the average bear, so there was very little direct contact, which I won, hands down. Had they found me, I think things would have gotten a little messier. I think they were especially interested in finding and intercepting foreign magic users." "That corresponds with our experiences." Brandeigh agrees. "Did they have, or appear to have, the means to detect magic users?;" Kieran asks. "Were they looking for specific types of magic or just anyone who could use magic?" She turns back to Brandeigh and Percy. "Now, I just want to clarify a point regarding Corwin's Primal Pattern and the Broken one. Originally when I had been traveling through Shadow, I'd started off in the area around Amber, bummed around for a while, and eventually found myself in the Shadow Versailles with the Broken Pattern. I didn't realize what I'd found at first, and decided to trace it back to the Primal Pattern, which is where I met you two. At Corwin's Primal Pattern. When we--you, me, and Corwin--discussed it, we were unable to come up with a hypothesis that expalained how I managed to jump universes without knowing it. But it was certain, the Broken Pattern was one of Corwin's, and so was the Shadow." Kieran listens intently to this. "When I first encountered the Omphalos, they either recognized or detected the use of magic, because leader ordered 'enemy spellcasters' in the area to surrender or she would lay waste to the city and its inhabitants," she replies. "Later, their neuromancer was actively scanning the area. I made sure they could not find me." "It was then!" Brandeigh looks thunderstruck. Percy blinks his eyes. "Gods" Brandeigh says. "Its been decades. You were mentioning the Omphalos but I never guessed that..." she shoots a look at Percy. Percy turns toward Dagny. "You must have thought that we were addlepated. It was all so long ago that I think both of us figured." he looks at Brandeigh, who gives a nod "that you were talking about another, subsequent incident. Not the very last time we met together." Dagny raises an eyebrow and her mouth quirks, but she says nothing. "Random will want to know about this." Brandeigh says, looking at Kieran and Dagny. "Although I suspect that just the story of the Omphalos by themselves will be enough to spur him into action." "He doesn't know anything about the Omphalos?" Dagny asks, frowning. "I thought this was an ongoing issue." "Oh, he knows about the Omphalos." Brandeigh says. "After all, he sent Percy and myself to meet Merlin and go into their world, as you remembered. I don't think that he knows about this latest incursion. Not if it just happened. And doubly so that it took place in a shadow that has a broken Pattern of Corwin's Pattern. I'll wager that unless Corwin has already gone and told him, he doesn't know. And he'll still want to hear from you anyway about it. You were there." "Whenever you're ready." Percy says to Kieran. "We'll go show you your new ship and talk about kitting you out for your journey with Dagny." Kieran nods his head. "I'd like to hear what you observed about the Omphalos while you were there, and what you think of them; tactics they use and ones that could be used against them, and so on;" he says to his parents." He then turns to his father; "I'm ready now. If there's nothing else we need to discuss here?" Dagny shrugs. "I'm ready to go whenever you are." Percy looks at Brandeigh and says something low to her. Brandeigh nods, and Percy turns to Kieran, Paril and Dagny. "Right. I'll take the three of you to the new ship. Brandeigh in the meantime..." Brandeigh smiles. "I'll prepare some inflight entertainment. Your father and I prepared a few files on what happened with the Omphalos years ago. Just have to dig them out of the network so that the three of you will have them for the trip." "Sounds good to me," Dagny agrees. Gate beeps, irritated. "The Four of you of course." Percy fills in. Kieran smiles. "It wouldn't do to forget Gate;" he says. He stands up and heads for the door. "Ready when you all are. Mom, once you get the files, comm me and I'll download them into my HTD." He holds up and indicates the piece of armor on his left forearm. "Certainly." Mother says. "I'll come down shortly afterwards, before you all depart." Percy stands. "All right, follow me." Paril stands, and waits for Kieran and Dagny to fall into line behind Percy. Quickly, the quartet can follow Percy out of the conference room, and onto the decks of the ship. The hangar that Percy leads Kieran to is the same one that he parked his fighter. However, when Dagny, Kieran, Paril and Gate arrive, a large area has been cleared out of the center of the flight decks. Parked there, shining brand and new is a gleaming version of the Long Distance Voyager, brand spanking new. Percy walks forward, beckoning the group to come and look at the large ship which has taken up most of the space within the cruiser's spacious hangar. To Dagny, although she has never seen one in person, looking at the long luxury yacht, it tickles her memory. Yes, she remembers reading about this sort of ship. The design is unmistakable. She's read about this sort of thing before. In a novel. A Star Wars novel. Just as Gate is clearly a droid, this ship is clearly derived from the same sort of universe. "Just let the Baroness try and catch us in that!" Paril says in admiration. Kieran stops and stares at his new/old ship. He glances suspiciously at his father and Paril for a moment, deciding that neither are quite good enough to get away with lying to him about blowing the original Voyager and goes back to staring at his ship. "No;" he says after another few moments; "I would prefer to not have to deal with her on our way to Amber. She already knows too much about me." Gate whistles inquiringly. Kieran nods. "Yes, let's go check her out. Maybe her holds will have the parts we need to get the fighter fully repaired and rearmed as well." He then heads for the boarding ramp. Dagny regards her companions, then the ship, then turns to Percy. "See ya....and may the Force be with you...I guess." Then she follows Kieran up the ramp. "One last thing." Percy says as Dagny and Kieran reach the middle of the ramp. "The major additional modification, which will be most useful in your journey is an additional form, which will be useful on your journey to Amber. You will find the specifications and transformation in the ship's computer." "Good journey. To all of you." Percy says. "Brandeigh and I will be here before you finish final preparations for departure." "Oh, wait, before I forget," Dagny turns back to Percy, "Those letters of introduction you promised me?" "Hold on a second." He walks to a panel, and speaks into it. Brandeigh's voice, low, is somewhat inaudible on the other end. Percy nods, and turns. "Brandeigh will compose them and put our seal on it." Percy says. "Well,hers, technically." he amends with a smile. "Ok, thanks Dad;" Kieran replies. Once up the ramp, he keys open the hatch, walks in, >and heads for his quarters. "Paril, show Dagny around would you? I want to get out of >this armor. Meet you all on the bridge in a few." With that, Kieran heads off. And so Kieran is off to troop through the corridors of the new Voyager, ahead of Paril and Dagny. With a whistle, Gate follows Kieran, and then turns and heads for the bridge as Kieran enters his new quarters. It's a perfect replica. Nearly every item Kieran had on the original Voyager is here, in the position that he had it when he last saw the ship, when he left it in the fighter. However, even the pen on the desk is polished, and the cup for caf are new and immaculate. There is one additional thing, though, that wasn't here before. Sitting on Kieran's desk is a scale replica of some sort of trimaran yacht. Single masted, it looks remarkably like the Voyager, except far less technological in nature, and intended for water, not space. It, too, is called The Long Distance Voyager. Kieran quickly enters his cabin with the intent of shedding armor and donning new clothing. He's still not sure how to take the new ship. He, Paril, Gate, and Harmony put a lot of work into getting Voyager into the shape she was. It will take some time on their parts to fine tune everything he realizes, but its no big problem. As he enters, he stops as he spots the ship model. He walks over to it, picks it up and studies it carefully for a few moments. "That might just work;" he says. He quickly changes out of the armor and stows the pieces he no longer needs away. He dons fresh clothing, noting to himself that not only is it all new, but it is also clean. He re-equips himself, picks up the model once again, and heads for the bridge. And then stops. He glances up at the ceiling reflexively. "Harmony?;" he asks, unsure of the answer he'll get. If indeed, he gets an answer. The voice that comes is Harmony. And it isn't. The tones, accent and output are not quite the same as the Harmony but the AI, or a close clone of the one Kieran is familiar with, is in place. "Yes, Kieran?" There is a pause. "Welcome to the new Long Distance Voyager. For ease of transition, your father and mother simply christened the ship with the same name." "Orders?" Harmony asks after a moment. Kieran makes a note to work on Harmony's voice when he gets the chance. "Yes;" he says. "We'll be having a passenger on this trip. Her name is Dagny Thorsonne; she's a cousin. She should be with Paril at the moment. Get a sampling of her voice and set her up with VIP level access to the ship for now. Not sure if she knows how to pilot a starship yet. Then, get with Gate the docking bay personnel and get my fighter brought on board. He knows what's needed to get the fighter up to specs; send him a list of our stores onboard. Requisition whatever raw materials and other stores we need from the Griffon." "Dagny is in conversation with Paril at the moment." Harmony replies. "Capturing a voice sample of her voice is already in process. Access privileges will be processed along with the remainder of your commands." Kieran, model in hand, continues on his way to the bridge. "I'll be on the bridge in a few moments." "Affirmative." Harmony confirms. The Bridge of the ship looks much the same as the old Voyager, although its all polished, new, and nearly gleaming with that newness. The accents and colors, Kieran will notice, are all in his personal colors: Black. Blue. Green. Electrum. Kieran sighs under his breath. He and Paril are going to have a lot of work to do in order to get the Voyager back into 'Looks like she's seen better days' worn in/out look. "Transfer of the fighter will begin shortly." Harmony announces. "The crew of the Griffin wish to effect last minute repairs they have been commanded to perform by the Mistress of Scots." "What repairs?;" Kieran asks as he sits down in the Pilot's chair and keys in a preflight and systems check along with requests to see the stores list and the complete readout of the ship's capabilities. "The repairs are mostly cosmetic in nature. Ablative damage from the exposure to space and the combat you have been engaged in." Harmony responds. "The Mistress of Scots commanded your fighter to be in as a high quality of condition as possible." "That's Mom all right;" Kieran replies with a smile. As Harmony explains this, the familiar controls come quickly and easy. The preflight and system check starts checking down system by system. On another part of the screen, an overview of the ship comes to mind. The new Long Distance Voyager is, at its core, very much the same yacht-based ship that the original was. There are small differences that jump out to a Captain who is familiar with every weld and bolt on his ship. The power capability of the engines is a little higher, and so the sublight speed is significantly higher. The wattage of the weaponry is a little higher as well. Kieran whistles softly in appreciation. Among the stores available on the ship, in addition to a wealth of spare parts, there are also stores of a more mundane nature, in much more mundane containers. Barrels of food, water, and drink, as well as some choice exports from Scota. In other words, Mom and Dad have provided Kieran on his ship with a suite of Keltic trade goods. Kieran's eyes light up as he reads through the list of goods. Plenty of alcohol and food for a while to come. "Okay, Harmony;" Kieran says while closing out the inventory lists. "I need to know when were you... 'imprinted' I guess for lack of a better term from the original Voyager and Harmony. And then get with Gate and have him bring you up to speed on recent events." "I was cloned from the original Long Distance Voyager upon your previous visit to Scota." Harmony replies. "I will coordinate with Gate to gain knowledge of recent events." "And now, show me the files on how this conversion operation is supposed to work?" Kieran says while glancing at the model of the trimaran. "Files coming up now, Kieran." Harmony chirps. The files detail the conversion itself more than the actual procedure. There are diagrams that show schematics of the ship-as-trimaran, as well as diagrams that suggest that the speeder bike and fighter will convert as well. As far as the procedure, instead of controls of any kind, the file suggests that it is an act of will and focused mind that converts the ship from one form to the other. "A test conversion would be possible here in the hangar." Harmony suggests. "The ship is constructed to be able to stand under its own weight." A pause. "Assimilation from Gate ongoing, 38% of data downloaded. In addition, the fighter is being transported here now." "That will not be necessary;" Kieran replies quickly. "I'm quite sure the conversion will function as expected when needed." Kieran goes back to studying the schematics. "Let me know when Dagny and Paril are done exploring and also when Mom and Dad show up outside." "Based on their conversations." Harmony replies "I expect that Dagny and Paril will arrive on the bridge within a few minutes." The schematics of the wooden ship are as detailed as Kieran could hope for. Theoretically, given these schematics, Kieran could have someone skilled in woodcraft create a mundane version of the wooden ship that Voyager converts to, at need. ~~ Dagny narrows her eyes at Kieran as he leaves. She then says dryly, "Thank you, Paril. I think directing me to a place where I can put my stuff will be sufficient for now. I wouldn't want to take you away from your regular duties for too long." Paril snorts. "Kieran and I haven't even seen the new ship yet, Dagny." he says. "At the moment, until Kieran tells me to start the pre-launch sequence, I don't precisely have any regular duties. I was hoping to take a look at what Kieran's parents have cooked up in this new model." "But..." Paril adds. "If you just want to go and sit in what will be your quarters, I'm sure we can find something. The original Voyager has, had two guest cabins. This one looks about the same size, even if it looks much newer." I was a little affronted at what I perceived as Kieran's cavalier attitude. He should have asked me if I wanted a tour instead of assuming, and he should have offered to show me himself, instead of passing me off to some Shadowdweller as if I was in the way. I am a relative, after all. But anyway. "Well, as long as you were going to go over the ship anyway," I said to Paril, "I wouldn't mind tagging along." "I was going to go over the ship anyway." Paril confirms. "Come on." Over the next twenty minutes, Paril leads Dagny through the ship. The look and feel is, to Dagny, very much like a luxury yacht. Clean lines, beautifully new. It looks very much like a ship out of the Star Wars universe, from the designs of everything she sees. In one of the cargo bays that Paril looks into, gleaming and new, there is an honest-to-God speeder bike, just like from Endor. Well, now, slap my ass and call me a Sarlaac. Or not, since I didn't think Sarlaacs had asses to slap, even after George Lucas lost his mind and gave them Audrey II mouths. "You said to Kieran's father 'May the Force be with you'". Paril says, as they leave the cargo bay. "If I may ask, where and when did you visit the Republic?" I suppressed a laugh. "I haven't. I've heard tell of it though. You'd be surprised how word travels, even beyond the Outer Rim. Are you from this planet originally?" Paril shakes his head. "Naw. I met Captain Kieran back in the world of the Republic. In that Shadow, that's what Kieran calls these different worlds, although why I haven't a clue." He looks a little somber. "Kieran helped me out of a jam with Baroness Meanth, and in the process got me mostly out of the music business and into the cargo and shipping business. Technically, I am the master of the Long Distance Voyager, although I don't think that counts now that his parents have given him a new one." "Music business," I mused. "Player, singer, or producer?" I wondered idly if they had iPods on this world, and if so, has he ever heard Rush? "My family, a few friends and I had a group called Clan Destine." Paril says. "We toured planets, released music, did well. Until..." Paril stops. "I made the mistake of making a song that the Baroness considered less than flattering about her. She was not amused." "I am the only surviving member of Clan Destine." Paril sighs. "Let me change the subject. Anyway, Kieran and I have mostly stayed in the Galactic Republic, although now and again, we've taken trips back to this world. Piece of cake. We've never run into others who can make the journey." Paril says. "This last trip, though has been far too interesting on that score, for comfort." I raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh really. So this 'Baroness' you keep mentioning was able to make the trip? That's something. What happened?" Paril sighs. "We were making the run from the Galactic Republic to Keltia. There's a series of set shadows that Kieran uses for the purpose. A shadow path, is what his parents call it. "Well..." Paril continues. "It started on a relatively ordinary journey. We spotted an ion storm behind us, but we've handled that before. As we dealt with it, and ducked into a Jovian system and its family of moons, it became clear that the storm was being controlled, and indeed, was cloaking a ship." "The Baroness'." Paril says. "Somehow she had gotten out of the Republic shadow, and with a ship design we've never seen before, not there and not here. We tangled for a bit, but Kieran used some of his magic to throw a comet storm at the Baroness' ship, and we made our escape. Haven't seen her since, but we've thought that before. Like for example..." "Hum," I replied, "Do you know if she had anyone else with her?" "You might ask Kieran." Paril temporizes. "He projected himself onto her ship." A disembodied voice interrupts. "Dagny Thorsonne." comes the voice. "I am Harmony, the Artificial Intelligence on board the Long Distance Voyager. Captain Kieran sends his regards and wishes me to inform you that you have been granted VIP access to all areas of the ship. Your voiceprint has been captured for this purpose." "Thank you, Harmony." I looked to Paril. "Anywhere else you wanted to go?" "Nae. I've just got to get to the bridge and check things out before Kieran's parents arrive and we take off." Paril says. "Very well. I wouldn't mind exploring the bridge too. After you." "All right." Paril says amicably. Paril takes a direct route to the bridge, leading Dagny to the Bridge deck and strides along. Its doubly clear to Dagny that despite its gleam, this yacht is clearly meant as a working ship, rather than a pleasure craft. Memories of novels suggest salons, observation rooms, and relaxation rooms that have now been converted to storage or other purposes in this design. Backlinks |
