It did not take long for Louise to dressed in her own bodysuit she was given, and just like Montmorency's it fit her body snugly and left little to the imagination. She seemed a little embarrassed about it but seemed to shake it off with a literal shake of her head. "Okay, where are we going to speak?"
"Come, I'll give you a simple tour of the Telicherry, and then we can speak in the canteen," Musashi said with a wave as he turned and headed for the door our of the medical room.
Louise and Montmorency followed him, and as they went down the hallways they encountered a myriad number of strange creatures, some easy to describe, and some nearly impossible, though Musashi gave his guarantee that each and every one was member of his crew, and perfectly trustworthy.
They visited the storage hanger that they first entered the ship through, the engineering area which was a place of loud metal contraptions and heat, the bridge, which supposedly controlled the whole ship fro, the single room, a recreation room that held a number of odd tables, and finally the canteen, which was a simple room of tables and benches where the crew could eat. Musashi then directed the girls to a table while he went over to a wall of metallic machines, and a minute later he came over with a large tray with three bowls upon it, each filled with some kind of soup.
"Alright, considering what the two of you have been through you need some food in you, not simply nutrient supplements, so eat up. These soups should be easy on your stomachs and we can speak while you eat to make sure you don't eat to fast."
"Okay. What was that awful thing you said those monsters put in us?" Louise asked instantly before even touching the soup.
"Ah, the Cortex translator," Musashi said with a nod as he took a thoughtful pose. "Hmm, without the knowledge base most of us have it would be difficult to explain it but . . . it is, in essence, a small metal object that was put inside your heads attached to your brains, that allows you to understand most, if not all, languages of sentient races, as if it was your own language. It is the reason you can understand everyone on the ship."
"That's inside our heads?" Montmorency asked in shock as her hands touched all over her head, but felt nothing amiss.
"Yes. Cortex translators are universally used, and nearly everyone has them to facilitate proper communication between peoples," Musashi said simply. "In some places children have them put in when they are eight or nine.
"So, its like a translation spell, that has been put inside of us?" Louise asked after a few seconds of silence.
"That is correct, though it only works for spoken languages, not written," Musashi confirmed, silently happy that the magic of their world at least had something to compare it to.
"I, expect such a thing is difficult to remove?" Montmorency asked warily as Louise, pleased by the answer to her question, began to taste the soup.
"I have never heard of them being removed honestly so I cannot say," Musashi said before seeing Montmorency's worried expression and realizing he would need to allay some fears. "Cortex translators become, bonded to the one they are put in and cannot be reconfigured after being installed, or after the person in question passes. I have also never heard of them having issues, as they are a very stable technology, even going so far as being totally unaffected by technologies that would normally mess with machines and electronics. They will not cause you harm or difficulty in life, and when we get you back to your world they will not be something that will cause you issue."
"I see," Montmorency simply said with a downcast expression before she tired the soup, and then lit up as she seemed to like it.
"I see the soup is to your likings,"Musashi said with a smile before he took out a small stick and placed it on the table, it creating a screen of light on either side of it. "You said before that you knew of no name your world had, but had the names of the continent you were from. Are there perhaps important historical figures you could tell me of? This is to help find your world when we get to Absolom Station."
"Well-" Louise began as she, and Montmorency, began telling Musashi as much as they could Recall about the founder. They ended up going into a bit of depth about the Founders religion, and the church as well untimely, but he seemed untroubled by such a thing as he tapped on the screen of light, making unintelligible shapes appear on it as he did.
"So this Founder Brimir, is your religions main figure, and his servants are the void mages, with the Familiars of his, I understand. Sounds sort of Nordic in terminology, so that may help shorten the list of potential worlds"
"How is this going to work?" Louise asked after a moment. "You explained a bit of it before we slept, but how will it actually work? What can we expect?"
"Hmm, well, it is not going to be fast," Musashi said with a sigh. "When we arrive at Absolom, I'll have to speak to some people, who will then come and pick us up and bring us to their building, where you will have to tell them much the same as what you have told me and answer further questions. There will be a lot of them, like, hours of questions. They may also insist yoy take a medical exam like the one we gave you in the pod. Ultimately, each questions will hopefully lead them closer to figuring out what planet you are from, and when that is discovered either we, or they, will bring you back to your world."
"You don't sound very positive," Montmorency said nervously as she paused from eating the soup before her.
"I will not lie to you both. The Galaxy, is a very, very big place. There are thousands upon thousands of planets and the space between them means often weeks of travel even with the most powerful drift engines, and there is the possibility that you planet may be from is not in any database, and if that ends up being the case it may be a, long time to find your planet."
"You, aren't meaning a long time like weeks or months, are you?" Louise asked quietly.
" I am not," Musashi admitted with a nod. "If your world is not in the Database of Primitive worlds, it could take many years to find it."
"But, but its likely there then, right?" Montmorency asked hopefully, now looking very worried.
"It likely is, yes. The database is expansive and has information on most places in the galaxy.
"Oh good," She said with a sigh of relief. "How long until we get to this, aboolum place?"
"Absalom station," Musashi corrected Montmorency with a smirk. "We will arrive there in about a day at our current pace."
"Is, there anything we should know for when we arrive?" Louise asked.
"Not explicitly. I will tell you if there is, but for now it would be best to learn a bit, and kee your strength up."
"But I feel fine," Montmorency stated instantly.
"You are not," Musashi said with a shake of his head. "Grays are known for feeding their captives nutrient supplements that make it so they do not die, and do not need to remove waste from their bodies. Once you are finished the soup you both will likely feel the need to use the lavatory, and afterword's will likely feel rather sleepy due to your body getting rid of some of the chemicals the grays put in the food they made you eat."
" I don't feel tired though?" Montmorency commented as she continued to eat the soup.
"Not yet, but your body will catch up to it normal rhythm now that you are eating proper food."
"So, will we have to go back in those tube things to sleep?" Louise asked.
"We have a room prepared for you both for when you get tired,"Musashi said simply. "I can show it to you when we are done eating if you would like?"
"Please, though, can we continue with questions?" Louise asked with obvious intent.
"Of course, let us continue," Musashi said with a smile.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Over an hour later Montmorency and Louie found themselves in the room they were being given to use. It was a small room, smaller than the rooms they had at the academy. The floor was metal, the beds were inset into the walls and also made of metal, and the only other things of note were small drawers under the beds, and a small door to the rooms left side that, when looked in, led to a small toilet and shower, the likes of which Musashi had given a brief overview of how to use.
"This, isn't much of a room," Montmorency muttered, only realizing after she spoke that it sounded terrible to be so demanding when they were being helped.
"It'll be fine for a night," Louise said as she walked into the room and looked over the one bed, finding the mattress very soft, and the blanket over it just as soft and smooth. "It will be nice to sleep in a bed."
"It will, though I . . ."
"What?" Montmorency asked as she realized Louise was not moving.
"Never mind, its nothing," Louise said with a shake of her head as she climbed onto the bed and laid down on it, going as far as to throw the blanket over herself and roll over to face the wall. "Good night Montmorency."
"G-good night," Montmorency said awkwardly as she sat on the bed, then laid down as well, hoping she could sleep soundly and without nightmares.
Only to be awoken mere three minutes later to the sound of Louise whimpering in her sleep.