"Where are we?" Shipmaster Nilu stared up at the Guidesphere, trying to find The Bridger's silhouette. The foggy nutrient and oxygenated protein liquids sloshed about, sparkling like emerald glass from the lights within. 

"You [i]feel[/i] my answer, yet you still ask." It was hard to tell whether The Bridger's voice came from the Guidesphere or his mind. The neural link that bonded everyone to the ship was still something he had to get used to.

"Because it does not make sense," The dark orange cracks on Nilu's brow deepened. "How is our fixed point no longer within the known void?"

Another female voice, Ideen, pinged into his brain; this one was more gruff and to the point, but still as highly intrusive as The Bridger's. "The ship's hyperdrive, or whatever the hell its equivalent is, wasn't given set coordinates." 

Nilu was about to ask for an explanation, but Ideen wasted no time. Through the neural connection tethered by The Bridger, Ideen's thought process fed into his. He quickly learned that when him and his crew of lab rats fled onto The Wayward Step, it created a big rift between the Bridger and the Ship's consciousness. One mind became eighty-seven. Among the smorgasbord of panic and fear, the consensual need to leave their galaxy became powerful enough for The Bridger and the ship to register. 

"I believe the exact coordinates The Bridger and the ship managed to decipher from the chaos were: Anywhere but here." Ideen made a frustrated sigh, but not because of what she said. With some concentration Nilu could pinpoint that she was in what could be best described as the ship's stomach. The designated Chief Engineer, along with a handful of other clueless saps, were scoping the area trying to make sense of things. Nilu gathered their collective thoughts and surmised that the stomach was the ship's secondary power source - the first being the neural core, his current destination. Rather than ask Ideen what was specifically wrong, he peered into her thoughts. He felt wrong and guilty for do so without her consent. He also was afraid, scared of how long it would take before he no longer had those feelings. When sharing themselves completely without keeping secrets, will their original identities stay intact, or will their collective consciousness meld together into a uniform hive mind?  

"Well?" Ideen said, her irritable tone transferring into the neural stream. She sensed Nilu's hesitation to respond and groaned. "Do you see the problem we're having? How unqualified any of us are to maintain...whatever this is?" 

"Yes." Nilu stared up at the Guidesphere. "Bridger..." 

[b][color=green]...You are all afraid. I understand. We, understand. Before the interstitial quantum displacement, you were fleeing for your lives from the sullied hands of my makers. From the implosion of our galaxy. Now you stand within a living vessel, an unconventional anomaly compared to the standard starships you've grown accustomed to. You have escaped trauma within trauma, and now you are subjugated into sharing your thoughts, pain, and fears with people whom you barely know, without consent or discretion. 

If you are wondering why you haven't been driven to insanity yet, it is because I have maintained a level of calm by tapping into your physiology to increase your Oxytocin levels. I have also been feeding you all a knowledge stream with regards to the ship and its functions. Forgive me for..leaving you in the dark, so to speak. You each have a unique alien body habitus and it requires a more concentrated effort on my end. In approximately 60 minutes and 20.4 seconds counting, you will know all you need to know in order to keep this ship running. In the meantime, I will assume all ship duties...[/color][/b]

If there was one thing Nilu hated more than being in the dark, it was having no control. The overwhelming feeling of vulnerability saturated the neural stream like clogged pipes. Rather than agitate it further, he quietly exhaled and stepped forward. 

"I know what you're all feeling." Nilu closed his eyes, concentrating so that he could peer into everyone on board. A sea of alien faces rushed into his mind. He generated an open field, a geographical landmark from his homeworld on Anari, simulating a sunny day cast down from paired suns drifting overhead. The entire crew looked around in awe. Nilu himself was surprised that he was capable of such a feat. What other things could be accomplished while on board The Wayward Step? "That saying has a whole new meaning now, given our current circumstance. It is an uncomfortable revelation that we've been exposed to, but it is nothing compared to the trials we've faced in the past. We've survived the torture camps of the Exalted Hand, we've survived the decimation of our known galaxy, and we will survive this. You heard The Bridger. We now have less than an hour until we gain all the information needed to run this ship, and I intend to lead you all the best way I can. Until then, let us enjoy this moment of freedom that has been kept from us for so long." 

The realm that Shipmaster Nilu created within the neural stream became an open canvas. People began experimenting with their own thoughts, projecting them into tangible moments. Some shot up into the air in full flight, while others rode on all sorts of beasts either inhabited from their homeworlds or their own imaginations. Others crafted images of loved ones they'll never hope to see again, reliving old memories. Nilu sat down and crossed his legs. He closed his eyes and took in the soft winds of Anari before looking up at a newer manifestation of his mind. A dark red capital class ship hovered in the sky, its alien graffiti decals translated to the word: Wargiver. Each letter was designed after a traditional war blade of his people. His shimmering blue eyes gazed at it longingly as it disappeared into the sky above. [i]Madrafala-ungazi-na[/i]... A sudden jolt grabbed everyone's attention as a cloister of words and sentences rained into the neural stream. 


 [center][b][i]Intrepid....Pale...Quiver...Romanova...Spirit...
...Be swift, we must know what they're saying...
...We are the true loyalists of the Valinosian Pact...
...and we hear your messages of peace...
...Prove yourself hostile, and we will bury you...[/i][/b] [/center]

"What-" The Anari sky was soon filled with ships of all sizes and designs, swirling about with impractical flight patterns. 


[color=green][b]My apologies[/b] [/color] The Bridger's voice hailed down like a god. [color=green][b]I've picked up a cluster of heat signatures and wave forms from various unidentifiable objects. What you are seeing is a psychic projection of what is currently outside of the ship, within the field of my thought radius.[/b][/color] 

"They don't sound too damn friendly." Ideen said. Her worrisome tone echoed throughout the neural stream. 

[color=green][b]Unable to decipher intent. Currently deviated by initiated protocol.[/b][/color]

Nilu clicked his tongue. The Bridger was still preoccupied with downloading information into the crew. Between that and single handedly running the ship, he wasn't sure if she'd be able to access weapons and defense systems - if in fact there were any. 

"Bridger, ETA on your information download."

[color=green][b]10 minutes and 14.2 seconds counting...[/b][/color]

"Maintain relative distance from the UFOs until the download is complete." Nilu turned his attention to the crew. "Everyone, standby at your stations and be ready to take action by my command." At an instant, the cluster of people within the manifested terrain vanished in a giant puff of smoke. He could feel his crew clambering throughout The Wayward Step like tiny insects now, getting into their positions (or what felt like where they belonged) and awaited orders. The next course of action weighed heavily on the success of The Bridger's download.