Echo-1 The Whale

22: Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

We walked back to the golden ship, which took off for orbit the minute we came aboard. We didn't leave the hangar bay this time and in it were two diamond spacecraft. Scout ships, crystalline in appearance and shaped like perfect isosceles triangles. They had seats for four and a small living space/cargo hold. They were about the size of a Winnebago, nearly transparent, and it was unclear how one entered. X was impressed. 

"These babies look like they can really move. You know diamonds are a girl's best friend." She elbowed Mox in the stomach and walked over and touched the smooth solid surface. 

"I'm going to upload the specs and give you interlink access for both ships. Hands, this one is yours and Sunshine why don't you take the other." 

Slam, the lightning went off in my head and I knew it all. I was able to comprehend the ship's functions and could rebuild the engine if I wanted to. I noticed Sunshine looking a little disoriented. 

"I prefer to learn things the old-fashioned way, daddy-o," She said rubbing her head. 

X stood there looking neglected and miffed. A snarl across her lips, her arms folded across her chest, she rolled her toes in a tapping fashion on the floor. 

She had toes! and very agile ones at that, no toenails mind you, but still, toes! I was jealous. 

Mox grinned like a trickster lizard Santa. He opened the side of Sunshine's scout ship and pushed out a diamond cube the size of a washing machine. X immediately changed her tone to that of a little girl on Christmas morning. She would've peed her pants if she was wearing any. She squealed and jumped up and down. She ran over to Mox and nearly knocked him over hugging him with her arms and her legs. 

Mox opened up the diamond-a-gogo. X leapt in a single bound off of Mox and into the bike. She configured the manual controls and reset the diamond Robo-a-gogo to be ridden head first. The top slide over her and she was encased in diamond. 

"I do." 

She hovered the bike and took one short lap around the hangar before driving it back into the scout ship, smiling the whole time. She did her standard somersault out of the bike suit, ran up to Mox, and kissed him on the snout. 

Charlie commented that he'd never seen one made of such material. The Varan were skilled at adapting others' designs with their homeworld materials. 

"We're great at copying. It's probably why we travel all over the galaxy looking for great ideas to steal. Well, why don't the ladies ride back in this one and Charlie and I will ride back with Hands." 

X punched him in the arm and went with Sunshine. I tested my connection with my new ship. It worked perfectly, I was able to engage the engine, open the side panel, interact with the sensor array, and even fly it remotely from outside if needed. 

I walked inside. The aft compartment was a simple empty square space. The cockpit had four seats with room to stand behind them; a place for droids or extra passengers I guessed?

The humanoid rust robot was sitting in one of the back seats. 

"Klagstrom Gloz Styx." 

"Um, Hi, I'm Hands."

"Styx Stantagz."

"Alright Styx, I think I'm starting to get it." 

I sat down in the Varan style barcalounger pilot seat and put my hands on the steering controls. It was right out of a video game. The dashboard around me had full manual controls for the entire ship. I could do everything mentally, sure, but I admit it was cool to have the hands-on option as well.