Nature's Show...

Showered and dressed in more comfortable clothes, Aashe slipped back into the cockpit for a few moments. Her hair was still wet, but no longer dripping. She brought a comb with her, with the intention of running it through her hair to remove the tangles as she took a deep breath, and tried to relax.

She forgot what it was like to have people on board. Though she had named the ship after the Goddess of Discord and Chaos, it was usually very peaceful. She forgot that there was an equation that could be mapped out for the number of passengers on board, and the speed of the decline into social entropy.

Still...

The Eris seemed to fly differently when there were people on board. Not that there was some grand shift in weight, but she seemed happier with the little dramas, the sounds, and even the little dings and bruises she sustained from unwary passengers. Perhaps a little entropy was to her liking.

Aashe took a seat in the front pilot seat, her favorite chair. She pulled her legs up, and hooked her boot heels around the console, careful not to hit anything as she did. With the heel part on the underside of the console, and her toes pointed over the top, she could relax, feet up, and drop her head back to look out the gloriously large cockpit window into space beyond.

They were still in the Serpent Nebula, well out of the way of the usual trade lines, so they wouldn't get hit by any Relay jumpers, but it gave her a nice place to look back and observe the purple and white glow that surrounded the Citadel. Her favorite part about sitting in the cockpit was looking out at all the beautiful artwork nature gave her. It never got old.

She pulled her hair up and over one shoulder, and began to comb it gently, not speaking or otherwise moving, just watching the silence of space.

Her mind was invariably brought back to her guests on the ship. When she'd read the information from Corwin, she was expecting a small crew - perhaps similar to the crew that used to live on the ship full time. Four people, all friends... those were the days.

The memory made her take in a small breath, the closest she would get to an outright sob. She hadn't thought about them for awhile. They'd made the ship fun, and interesting. It felt like an eternity ago since she'd had breakfast with them, an eternity since the last time they all gathered in the cockpit, looking out the window at the score to end all scores...

She hadn't had the heart to replace them. She'd been alone... save Jarvis... since that day...

Her thoughts went quiet for a moment, the only sound in her mind was the sound of the comb through her hair. Even once the tangles were free, she ran her comb through her hair with slow, deliberate strokes. Her attention was distracted, as her mind fought alternately to let her thoughts to the surface, and suppress them.

"Ma'am?" Jarvis asked, shaking her from her revelry. She jumped, dropping the comb. "I apologize, it was not my intention to startle you."

"Sorry, I was in my own world." She said in reply. "What do you need?"

"I have completed my diagnostic. Would you like the full report?"

"No..." Aashe said, releasing a sigh. "Is there anything I should know on there?"

"It appears Master Krieger did some work on the engines. I believe the engines will hold, though it would be advisable to have a better look at them the next time we are docked." Jarvis said. "And the Life Support Systems cycle that Ms. West performed caused a minimal delay in optimization. I will have the systems back to full function within a day. It should not effect your crew."

"My guests, Jarvis. They're not crew." She said in a low voice.

"Of course, Ma'am." He said.

"Will that be all?" Aashe's voice became more robotic than Jarvis's, he was programmed better than to ask her what was wrong - if he even noticed the change in her demeanor at all. She was never sure.

"Yes, Ma'am. I will notify you if there are any changes." He said.

"Thank you." She replied, getting up from the chair to head back to her cabin. Speaking of her guests, it was time she tended to them. She needed to do her makeup and hair first, however. It would not do for her to appear any less than her best.