Cath

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Once he was sure the ship’s course was true and safe, Light turned his attention to the mammoth task of finding a dead ship in the vastness of space.

They’d had the good sense to ‘sniff’ the system ahead of them while travelling FTL. Light started by pulling up the dump of data and cross referencing it with what they were recording now. Eventually he made an intrigued noise, visualising a zoomed in vector around the pulsar through time on the cockpit’s holo. The accuracy of the data was questionable, but clearly enough he had isolated a sudden and massive burst of radiation at around the time their target would have been passing through.

“That’d be enough to put them in a bad way.” Light mused, looking at Jess and Senjen for validation.

“If my shield took that, I’d be looking to set down immediately.”

After a few hours of plugging and unplugging cables from interface ports, typing on various relief-keyboards and setting dials and gauges all over the place. Light shrieked.

“I’ve found something.” Spinning it up on the holo, it showed some kind of radiation trail deviating from the predicted path towards a barren rock. Light frantically navigated his astrogation systems.

“Its tidally locked…If it were me, i’d set down on the far side.” He gunned the engines and plotted a course to a position where they could ping the dark side.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Though he didn’t say anything, Light was dubious he’d last as long as seventeen years. That’d make him only a half-decade younger than any other QV he’d met. Yet his survival instinct was stronger than ever; he’d give it a damn good try. With enough money, it was certainly not impossible…

Light gently guided his ship out of light speed before scanning the system as best its systems could manage. The cobbled-together QV sensory adaptors painted a picture of the pulsar and other points of interest.

“Ok, that is pretty, i’ll admit.” he murmured before spurring them towards the path they were to follow.

It might have been disconcerting for anyone else in the cockpit to watch Light absently hum a tune while threading a path where the slightest misstep would’ve meant a painful death. But it was clear he was fully in control, deftly spinning up micro jumps in concert with the pulsar’s rotation while regularly scanning for clues as to their prize.

“Maybe we should get a pet with the money. What do we think? Do they sell pets that can tidy up around here?” He asked. This was a joke; Light had no concept of what ‘tidy’ would entail.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light’s eyes widened in confusion at Senjen’s distress. QV verged on time blind sometimes, but he suspected something may have gotten lost in translation as often they did between species. He patted the Utaysi’s head and made a soft shushing sound.

“It’s alright! I mean i’ll be here for a long time yet. I feel well, we eat good food and if we get rich I can try the ointments and unguents that are supposed to be magic for my kind’s longevity. You can’t get rid of me that easy, slick.”

There was a harsh beep from the cockpit. Light clucked. “Wiring is on the fritz again.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light sighed, spun a floating piece of rock debris round in the air. “I am…old. Not the oldest; medical science made sure of that centuries ago. But older than our bodies ever evolved to be. I am long past siring children, and in any normal shoal would either be the Thoughtweaver, a venerated elder or worst - outcast for no longer having anything to contribute.”

As he stared off into space, Light subtly tried to tuck the piece of rubble into Jess’ suit, as if it would help him think.

“As for how long I have left, who knows! Work keeps my mind active even if my body is jelly without this suit. I hope to see a good few years yet…How old are you both?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“The whole point of the Bangstick is to not require terrific accuracy, I think.” Light chortled, before going quiet and blushing more.

“No, I…I’m much too old to be mating. I’ll leave that to the youngsters, like Jess. I’d just like to be able to retire in peace.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light tutted. “And to think I hired you as my bodyguard. Sheesh!” He then blushed when Senjen mentioned Symphony. “That was a professional fact-finding mission! If we’re going to level up our operation I'm going to need a new suit eventually. Did you know that the Myrmidon gel can cushion your vitals, with me still inside? You’d be wearing me like a jacket and backpack - neat right?...Besides, she’s nice! And she knows people who might have tasks for us, so there.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“I long since gave up the idea of having muscles. My suit practically keeps me from falling to pieces.” Light warbled wistfully. “When I have to exercise, my suit just vibrates like crazy on the inside. Gets everything activated, and then I can feel exactly how old I am!” He turned it on again to demonstrate. The suit spasmed in all directions with a faint hum.

“It's particularly uncomfortable in this model. Reminds me of when that aid-stealing gangbanger tried to shake me down in that tavern on Gwurulch while you were off doing Abyss knows what.” He pointed to Senjen. “Her suit malfunctioned and it looked like she was dancing! Hilarious!” He enacted what might be the Human equivalent of bending double with laughter and slapping his ‘knees’. He then reached out and lightly felt for Jess’ face to see if she was laughing or not.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light was splayed out in the middle of the command deck, tentacles stretching to click buttons, plug cables into ports and adjust control consoles when Jess entered.

“Tower this is callsign FGC-Five-Two requesting permission to launch.” He turned to her. “What? Oh yeah, knock yourself out.” He turned his attention back to his preparation work.

“FGC-Five-Two you are clear, good hunting.” Came the response.

“Alright, lets get this show on the road.” Light purred, firing the engines. The familiar roar reverberated through the cave interior, accompanied by vibrations that dislodged items from their flimsy mounts in the cockpit.

Light deftly lifted them up and out into traffic, punching it for orbit. Once they were in the jump lanes, he checked Jess’ co-ordinates before dialling in a hyperspace jump.

“Lets see what riches we can find, eh?” He giggled, slapping Jess’s shoulder.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

It was strange to see a QV suit go so still. Normally, they rippled and bulged whether the occupant was asleep or awake, alive or dead. But Light’s desert red shell flattened to a near-perfect ellipsoid as he studied Jess.

“A game? Please don’t mistake my levity for frivolity. This ship survived its crew being infected by a flesh-eating bacteria and literally trying to dig their way out into space. It has debris from no less than three Revenue cutter wrecks embedded in the hull. It's a serious piece of machinery, for serious people. Now can we get set for launch?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light made a high pitched *weeeooooo* noise and took an appreciative look around the rockclad halls of his ship. “Who needs weapons and…lateral movement when you’ve got all this, huh? No offense, but my ship will work just fine.” He patted the closest wall.