Live Alone and Like It [Tethis]

[Natasi Fortan]

Brooklyn couldn't help but break into a self-conscious smile at Tethis' reaction, and her voice went up an octave as she exclaimed: "What!? It is on the up-and-up. Or perhaps you've been frozen for so long that you haven't kept up with the galactic salvagers' laws." She smirked and keyed her datapad; the map disappeared and was replaced by an official-looking document. "As you can see, Section 1138 of the Travel and Trade Code, paragraph R, sub-section 19, sub-paragraph j: any vessel which the salvager reasonably believes is abandoned is fair game. And I reasonably believed that your vessel was abandoned. At least until this one started talking back," she said, hooking her thumb towards where the voice was coming from.

She frowned for a moment, glancing up towards the disembodied voice. It was unusual that a droid was that capable, wasn't it? She was dealing with some serious hardware here, but she knew she hadn't a chance of taking it. Even if she managed to get the drop on Tethis, she doubted sincerely whether she'd be able to turn the ship to her purposes. Still, she couldn't resist asking, "What the hell kind of ship is this? Were you on one of those Outbound Flight projects that were big back in the day?" The ship looked like it was probably equipped for the job. Plenty of fuel, indeed.

 

[Tethis Aresis]

"See, when I come from, salvage required the ship to be actually abandoned as opposed to 'hey I see it'," Tethis shot back, knowing full well that there was no real argument here. Who cared. Sera would've vaporised their vessel, or keyed the SLAM, or any number of active defences if they tried boarding without permission. It wouldn't be the first time - and it was how they got all this way, too.

"Me? Outbound Flight? Oh, no. Master C'Baoth was decades before my time - a century or two, in fact," the Master said. "This was a project undertaken by myself. Designed to be a bit of a mobile home and a lot of a gamble on time. I've yet to see if it works out."
Only one question remained. "Well. Now that you're here and I'm out of the icebox, what now? What do you intend to do?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Brooklyn hooked her thumb into her belt and looked around the area. "Well, I don't have any particular plans," she told him idly, chewing her bottom lip afterwards for several moments before she cleared her throat. "I suppose now that you're alive and awake, I should be going. There's no real reason for me to stay, except..." Her voice trailed off and she glanced at Tethis again before she took a deep breath and decided to proceed.

"I don't suppose you'd be interested in showing me around your vessel?" Brooklyn paused and then crossed her arms behind her back. "I have sort of an interest in unique vessels, you see. Mine is custom, but not quite unique. I'd be happy to show you mine if you'll show me yours." She smiled across the hold at him, then glanced back towards the airlock. "What do you say?"