Designated Survivor 2

Diana was slightly irritated over the fact that Donovan didn't have any 'nice' clothes.

He had a dress uniform, sure, but it wasn't something she could justify having him wear. It was TOO formal. Right now his shirt and pants were the best options in his wardrobe, on the sole condition that the colors matched.

Diana seriously had no idea how NONE of his other clothes at least gave him a presentable appearance. Apparently, the military academy preferred he wore his flight suit.

For some reason he brought sunglasses with him. Into space. Where he would be living in a metal box with mild lighting, away from the sun. She wasn't going to ask or complain on this matter though, they would help lessen the blow to his eyes. Concussions were not to be trifled with.

"Wwwooooowww." Donovan was finally able to see the Oberlux with clarity.

It was beautiful.

The images he had seen from a distance did not do it justice in any way.

It was huge, the branches spanning off into the distance where the ends of the offshoots disappeared into the black void of space.

Below the elevator, a flat, polished wood floor spanned out as far as he could see. The rings exposed by the cut gave the illusion of infinitely long planks.

The sky beyond the twigs was a rainbow of colored lines on a dark background, the occasional impact making vibrant white sparkles.

Those hazards he had only seen as a danger before were quite beautiful when they didn't pose a threat.

The purple geometry he had borne witness too before was now the same shade of Diana's eyes with its edges being a bit less defined. Don wanted to take a picture of it all, but that would violate one of the rules Diana set.

"My previous vantage didn't do this ship justice, this is amazing. Am I still dreaming?"

"I understand your awe but please keep a modicum of composure." Diana tugged his arm to get him off the elevator. "Now where might I find a crew member. Will they understand who I'm looking for?"

Diana scanned the deck for someone to help them while Don kept his eyes on the light show, careful to keep his jaw from dropping.

The deck was, to Diana's dismay, ridiculously long. ARC estimated the volume enclosed by the branches to be close to that of the moon, translating to lengthy span of trunk that the deck was carved from.

The occasional branch protruded from the deck, blocking her line of sight in some areas, but she saw no reason for someone to be placed in those blind spots.

Given the fact they were in combat, there was likely no reason for them to be away from their station. The problem was that she had no clue where these stations were.

"Let's head inside Donovan, back to the ward. I don't see anyone out here."

This was Don's first time walking through the halls of luxury, and Diana was praying that he wouldn't be overwhelmed by the sights. Contrary to expectations, he was not nearly as responsive to this sight as the limited grandeur outside.

"What do you think this thing is made of? It looks kinda funky."

'Funky' is not a descriptor Diana expected to ever hear about something as expensive as wood. He clearly had no eye for luxury, though her previous experience with his wardrobe should have warned her of this.

It wasn't a bad trait, it would prevent him from being bribed to a degree, but his blunt and uninformed analysis might lead to some indignation. A description of the Great Csillacra that could be construed as disrespectful was unacceptable.

"It's made of wood. I understand it is a branch of a super massive, sentient tree known as the Great Csillacra. It is something of a religious icon to these people, so I beg you to be careful when talking about it."

"A massive tree? How fucking big would it have to be to have a branch this big."

"Don, respect. Did you hear that part?"

"Yeah but I'm still wondering how big that tree is."

"Don't call it a tree. It has a name. I really don't want to draw their ire." She felt lucky there was nobody nearby. The majority of them might not be able to understand them, but they might get an idea. "I'd think somewhere around the size of a planet." Diana decided to answer his question to prevent further inquiries.

The ward was empty, but the bed Don was confined to was made neat. On top of the pillow lay a piece of paper, one side having a crudely written message. The Scholar had yet to learn the proper stroke order for the written alphabet, but the shapes were similar.

'Diana, it brings joy to me that your Dahnovan has recovered to be able to move. You are encouraged to join us on BRIDGE. On the back of this is a rough map. Follow the line to reach us.'

The grammar wasn't great by any metric, but it was passable enough to get the point across.

Sure enough, the back of the sheet had a crudely drawn map. A set of directions on when to turn were included referencing 'notable works of art' as landmarks to turn around. They mostly consisted of the object's noun and what color it was. For example, the first turn to the left by a turquoise amulet.

Donovan found himself more annoyed by these hallways than amazed. Beyond that initial entrance and turn to the ward, they were not straight. Slight curves left and right, as well as intersections at odd angles, ran contrary to his learnings of ship design. Trying to follow Diana's advice, he rationalized this as being a peculiarity of carving a ship from a tree.

He didn't know much about how trees formed or grew, but since they were not intended for use as weapons they probably had irregularities and the like that would make it difficult to carve through certain sections.

The directions led them to a staircase going up, obviously they would have to climb.

The question was how far.

Neither Diana nor Donovan had been diligent in their cardio as of late...