2nd August
23:38 GMT
What would a spaceship made of plant matter look like? It turns out, pretty much like one made of anything else. The physics which makes a particular design sensible apply equally to whatever you make it of. Normal wood isn't a more sensible building material than bone or flesh, and the thaumically enhanced sort that they grow their hulls out of is still forced into shape by similar design priorities to the ships I've seen before.
"What do yeh think?"
The retired fleet officer next to me pats the hull affectionately. Once Queen Hyathis had an agreement in principle I became a good deal less interesting. Not unreasonable, she does have a planet to run and a war to orchestrate. Enneret is one of the people assigned to look after the Alstair's mothball shipyard as a sort of working retirement.
"I'm not really familiar enough with the magic involved to pass comment.
"
"Oh yeh? That Swamp Thing of yours not do a lot of shipbuilding, then?"
"No. As far as I know, if he wants to go somewhere through space he adjusts his own resonance frequency and connects to the plant life
there.
" Although… I.. don't think Swamp Thing 16 has experienced the events that led him to develop that ability Or at least use it in that fashion. Certainly he wasn't set on fire at the conclusion of his attack on Gotham. Would that have happened if I hadn't involved myself? I wonder if I can get him interested in this. Or Tefé?
"
Cor." He looks impressed. "That sorta thing takes some serious skill. What happens to his body?"
"He's a plant spirit more than a physical plant being like yourself. He only makes bodies so people have something to talk at, Or when he wants to hit someone.
"
He appears to take that in his stride. "We do something a bit similar for drones and weapon mounts. But ships like this always have a crew."
I take another look over the hull.
"No joins, seams or weld points. Is it grown as a single unit?
"
"No, but we graft the bits together and then smooth it all over. Every ship's a single living organism."
"How do you get in? I don't see a door anywhere.
"
He lays his right hand on the hull and rolls his eyes back in his head for a moment. In response a nearby section of hull creaks and
snaps out, connected to the interior by thick vines. "Magic."
"Just you coming with me?
"
"Usually have a crew of three or four in a real fight." He sighs. "Back when me and this one
got fights. Just me's fine for a milk run like this." He steps towards the hatch. "You coming?"
"I think I'll stay on the outside. Can I assume that the FTL system isn't Lantern-speed?
"
"I wouldn't want to try flying this across the system, if I'm honest. But I'm not going to be able to talk to you outside. I can't connect to your body's plants and the hull blocks every other form of communication."
I frown. Not giving this guy a
power ring…
"How do you talk to the Thanagarians?
"
"Symbiotic algae. How do you think the queen cured that plague? Same deal. Get enough of it in their body they can even control plants like we do. Some of them, anyway."
Oh,
that's worth knowing.
"Okay, well, once we get to minimum safe distance we're flying straight to wherever Medphyll-.
"
"
Medphyll? That's his name? Why didn't he just call himself 'Plant Man' and have done with it?"
"Um.
"
"You don't call yourself 'Meat Man', do you? Honestly, what sort of parent calls their child something like that?"
"I.. don't really know enough about J's naming traditions... Look, he's perfectly capable of connecting to other plant forms. He can talk to you when we meet him. We'll probably drop you off on J for a bit, if that's alright.
"
"Fine with me." He strides into the ship, the hatch closing behind him. For a moment I can see the join, and a few cracks where the hard outer layer was slightly chipped by the separation. Then there's a very slight movement along the edges of the join and it's gone. Then the ship sort of
wobbles a little before lifting off its berth and turning nose up. With a hum, it shoots upwards into the air.
I rise a little slower, looking around at this place as I do so. I remember an episode of Top Gear when they visited a place like this, a
place in the desert where the United States dumps planes it doesn't need at the moment. Here are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of plant-based spacecraft that survived the constant warring to reach obsolescence. Most are relatively small, though there are a few of cruiser size. As I gain height I can see small groups of military cadets clustering around one under the eyes of an instructor. A lesson? Maybe a class project?
It's all so wasteful. These ships might be past it by military standards but if the apparently unwinnable war was abandoned they could serve any number of civilian purposes. Or perhaps they could sell them to J? From what I saw coming in they didn't appear to have anything in the way of orbital infrastructure.
I accelerate, rapidly gaining on the plant ship. The Antares Conflict really isn't my problem, though as far as I can see I'd gain more by working with Alstair than any of the other three. I'll come back here once I've returned to Earth, see if I can get Euanthe something. I'm already plotting our return course as I leave the atmosphere, not really bothering to look at the planet below me. I saw it all on the way in and.. it's not like this is the first plant world I've seen.
The plant ship levels out as it turns in the general direction of J. It does
have an FTL drive, but since the Antares Conflict rarely moves beyond the boundaries of this system it isn't designed for more than brief hops. I extend my environmental shield around it and
warp.
…
P
fffff.
Yes, Prince Markov was definitely right about flying long distances. Maybe I should ask Hinon about getting a spaceship of my own? It wouldn't be faster than I can fly at peak motivation, but it would take some of the boredom away.
Sector 586 appears around us in a sudden dimming of the starscape. Ring, location of Lantern Komand'r?
Location set as waypoint.
Haven't gone far, then.
Warp
again, this time for a few seconds, and I appear in interstellar space. A short distance away I can see two orange glows and one green one, silhouetted against a large spaceship. Looks like… Bulk transportation?
"Orange Lantern Two Eight One Four to Koriand'r. Are you busy?
"
"No. The ship malfunctioned and called for aid. Is this what being a Lantern is?"
"A Sector Lantern, yes. Sometimes helping people means killing slavers, sometimes it means repairing things for them.
" The plant ship begins to move under its own power again so I retract my environmental shield.
"Are you nearly finished?
"
"Yes. Is that ship Psion? I had imagined them being more fearsome."
"No, just Alstairian. A proof of concept.
" I transition up to the ship, where Medphyll and Koriand'r are mending a gash in the outer hull. Looks like an internal explosion. Komand'r floats nearby with her arms folded across her chest, clearly disinterested.
"Landern Medphyll, is this something you can work with?
"
He holds out his ring in its general direction,
a frown appearing on his forehead. Then he nods. "Yes. I believe that it is."
