Awake 4

Despite having had less contact and conversation with ARC than Donovan, Diana was still more than comfortable speaking to it as she would a friend.

In a similar way, she was also just about as familiar with the space as Donovan was, only really lacking any sort of understanding of the cockpit. She could fly the ship if required, a condition enforced by the people in charge of the program quite strictly, but never in her life would Diana consider herself a pilot. She had terrible spatial awareness, paired with an awful reaction time and a tendency to get distracted by the slightest flashing light.

Indeed her ability to fly a ship was poor, but if she was ever in a situation where that was necessary then her skill was still technically passable. This 'passing' grade was given only because it would actually take a great effort on her part to damage the Noah.

She had no issue living and operating in the cabin though. In fact, for the past year she had been living in a room that was almost exactly the same. A few minor design changes to the interior had been made over the design iterations, but her opinion was always asked for when they did.

This room went so far as to include having a ladder to get out, so her surprise when ARC revealed that an elevator had been included in the final design was a pleasant surprise to her.

Bidding ARC a temporary farewell, she stepped onto the thin panel. Her clothes weren't flashy, extremely simple designs with a limit on the colors. All of her clothes were like this. The Noah lacked the proper facilities to take care of the more fancy and delicate materials that had been popular for some time.

She ended up donning a matching set of apparel. Her top was a thicker long sleeved shirt made of a cloth that looked fairly rough visually, but was soft. The sweatpants she wore appeared smoother, creating a slight textural contrast in spite of their similar thicknesses. They both had a color that rivaled the darkness of the space around the Oberlux, making use of a seaming thread the same shade as her golden hair that further the comparison to a starry sky.

Her shoes were far simpler, but retained the theme. Dark black leather with golden seams and laces.

Despite its simplicity, it was her favorite outfit. Not only was it comfortable, she thought it perfectly complimented her eyes, hair, and paler complexion.

It also didn't exude the sex appeal so prevalent in the modern trends, the loose fit of the clothing working well to hide the specifics of her figure. She didn't like it when others looked at her with lust. If it had been colder, she had an overcoat and scarf available that could be used to further hide this aspect of her.

Truly, this was her absolute most favorite set of clothing, going so far as to bring three sets of it with her.

Reaching the bottom of the elevator, tablet in her left hand and a bag with some spare clothing for Donovan in her right, she stepped off before taking a look around. This was her first true exposure to extraterrestrial culture, and she wanted to savor it.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that this was not the inside of a hangar, but the surface of a massive structure. The second thing that drew her interest where the dazzling rays of light that shot all around outside of the ship's appendages.

It saddened her, but with these two sights she knew that the life she once knew was well and truly gone.

She pulled her eyes from the distance to the objects a little closer, the great big extrusions that extended from what she considered the main body of the ship. Much like the maple and oak trees she loved to gaze at in the fall, they appeared to be branches without leaves.

In fact everything appeared to be related to trees, everything to do with the structure seemed to be made of wood! Uncut wood!

"The Oberlux is a carved branch of the Great Csillacra." The voice originated from behind her. "Every time I gaze upon it's subtle curves and graceful grain I am filled with a feeling of awe."

"Captain! It has been quite some time since we last talked."

"Indeed lady Diana, it has been far too long since I had the pleasure of conversing with you."

Turning to face her old acquaintance she was only meeting for the first time, she was met with a strange, but not unexpected, sight.

"I once again apologize for my incompetence and inability to save your people."

He was very clearly speaking English, yet his mouth did not seem to be moving in a way to form the words she was hearing.

"We forgave you long ago, raise your head. How has your English progressed?"

The Captain slowly shook his head. "I am afraid that method of communication has proven exceedingly difficult for me to progress in. I must ask you to make use of simpler terminology."

A weak frown replaced Diana's smile borne of courtesy. "That will make it hard to talk."

"Indeed, the interpretation of any instructions or requests you may have will have to be done through either myself or the Scholar. Fortunately, it should not take long for us to be able to converse naturally."

A crease in Diana's brow formed. "Should I take that to mean that our method of communication is considered unnatural?"

Her slightly hostile question was meant with an confused look from the Captain. Clearly he had not meant any harm.

"A difference in understanding then." She brushed off the topic before it could evolve into a problem. "Where is Donovan?"

"I was recently in the ward helping to remove his clothing. Follow me."

The Captain helping in a medical procedure was weird to her, but Diana justified this oddity by inferring that meant that it was quicker for him to do it himself than tell someone else how to do it.