Sit in the cockpit and soak in the view

You stand in the hallway wondering what to do with yourself, and decide that Jacque and Viper probably both need to calm down or otherwise would want to be left alone, and with the flimsy pretence that he gave you while you were eating you turn and head towards the front of the ship and step down into the cockpit, trying your best to keep yourself from making too much noise as you place your body's weight on each metal plate, more out of habit than any practical reason as your footsteps were easily covered by the low throbbing of the ships propulsion systems now that you had acclimatised and were in your more usual frame of mind of trying to pass while making as little sound as possible.

You had briefly seen the cockpit before on a few requests for some odd parts while Jacque did maintenace on some of the systems over the last few days but with it being a tight squeeze with both Ant and Jacque you never really hung about long enough to take in the full sight. The first thing that assaults your senses in the various colored lights and reading flickering between screens as various vid screens and holo screens around the small bay flickered through various readouts, which made you wonder how anyone was supposed to make sense of it, the next that steals your attention is the odd sensation you feel as the air feels like it's bristling against your skin as the static charge being outputted by the various machines and consoles was beginning to make your hair stand on end in some places.

You look around as you try and focus on something you feel more familiar with and thankfully spy a large frame of the cockpit not obscured by the clutter of information being broadcasted on the various vid screens. You stare out in the vast empty space as small specs of brilliant vibrant lights twinkle as the sail past as the ship propels itself in it's own physics defying tunnel allowing you to travel faster than light. You had someone try and explain the whole thing to you once, but quite quickly you found that the explanation to be confusing and ultimately more work to understand than needed, which was glad you were thankful of the simplified explanation a fellow techie gave you.

Essentially you have a drive which take a crap load of energy and some other fuels to create a window or bubble around the ship which alters the space around the ship allowing them to bend the normal laws of physics to allow faster than light travel, don't worry so much about the hows, just know enough to be able to fix the drives otherwise you're in for a long wait for a pick up or to coast to the nearest planet or space station at full speed, a mentality you could get behind. More modern ships incorporate fancier technologies to allow a larger or more more focused tunnels for faster travel times and there are variations which utilize different fuels and consume different amounts of power, but the premise was more or less the same, and until someone can crack long range teleportation it would probably stay that way for a long time to come.

You continue to stare out into the space outside of the hyperspace tunnel, the fuel this ship used seemed to give it a odd purple hue, which was pleasant and almost hypnotic as you watched the star in the incalculable distance twinkle as you drifted by. You find the whole experience to be quite relaxing and let out a content sigh which makes Ant practically jump out of his seat.

"Oh crap you scared the hell out of me, I didn't even hear you come in." Ant says as he settles back into his chair and makes a few hand gestures to cycle through some of the holo terminals, in a manner you could tell was just for show and had no real meaning.

"Sorry about that, it kind of comes with the territory I guess." You say with a smile as you slide between the space next to Ant and into the empty chair that Jacque would occupy, and focus your attention on Ant, if nothing else to avoid the organised chaos of the panels of blinking lights and buttons on the main console infront of you.

"No worries, just cough or something next time will you, won't do no good if the pilot has a heart attack while were still a good few hours out from port." Ant replies with a nervous smile as he swivels the chair to face you more, although the lack of room means he has to suffice with a half turned chair and then shifting his body for the rest. "So what bring you down here anyhow?" Ant asks as he meets your blue eyes for a moment and quickly flicks his gaze over to some holo screens and pretend to analyse their readings.

"Well we got 8 hours to go, I slept too recently to pass the time that way, I've finished cracking open the containers, and well Viper and Jacque seemed like they could use some alone time after our meal. So I figured I'd come and sit with you and see what piloting is all about." You say with a tone you hoped would calm Ant's nerves as he continues to avoid direct eye contac with you.

"Well I'd be happy for the company, but sorry to tell you this, but most ships kinda fly themselves in hyperspace, all I really have to do is make sure nothing goes into the red and tries to blow up or fall off or anything in between." Ant says as he rubs his neck and itches at a small cluster of scales on his cheek, as he continues to avoid your gaze.

"Oh well, I guess maybe I can be a welcome distraction for us both." You say with a smile and try and make eye contact with Ant who returns the smile before looking away at some screens again.

"Sure that sounds good for....I mean to me." Ant says with a nervous laugh.

"You sure, because you look really nervous, I can leave if you'd prefer." You say as you wonder if maybe Ant might prefer some solitary time and was being too polite to say.

"It's fine really, It's like I said before I get nervous around women, especially the really pretty ones, and well I like having you here even if it makes me nervous." Ant replies quickly as he quickly stares intently into a screen to the point where you expected to see smouldering holes appear with the intensity of his staring.

"Awwww that's kind of sweet of you to say that." You begin hoping to try and help Ant be less nervous as the prospect of sitting alone in your room was only as unpleasant of catching up with Jacque or Viper with the mood of the last meal still in mind, or rather avoiding viper as she likely would try and make you play one of her crazy risky sex games to help her unwind.

"Really, well glad to hear you liked what I said." Ant replied with a nervous laugh as you smile at how hard he was trying to sound composed and not the bundle of nerves he was. You wonder if maybe you should help break the ice a bit, and wonder if you could think of anything that might help.