#((and YEA it’s like playing whack a mole with tangents fgfghhjkbhgfs))

[interdimensional-ship]

“>In this form, yes; specifically, I was designed to be more or less a combination mobile laboratory and central base of surface exploration. When not at port, I’d usually be with a fleet of five others traveling out beyond the Halcandran empire’s reaches in search of planets yet to be recorded. I primarily dealt with data regarding topography, geology, and biodiversity; in short, compiling and processing information to determine potential habitability or the presence of resources that could be utilized. Rocks, soil samples, plant specimens, seismic activity, proximity to other planets or planetoids, and just about anything in-between could be studied using my facilities and any applicable records of previous findings.”

She pauses for a moment, both to consider how to deliver her next point and to signify incoming elaboration. It wasn’t often she was actually asked about these sorts of things, so she did not have much previous experience to use as a basis.

“>Other Starcutters would have had different directives, mostly various other points of research, but there were also escorts there to offer immediate protection should we be attacked in the midst of operations. Another Dimension is unpredictable and dangerous, after all, and the further we traveled, the more risk there was of encounters with Doomers. Having some level of preparation was practically necessary, given that they could sense us from a distance, and even from other dimensions in the cases of more powerful ones. Back then— I’m not sure if this is still true in modern times— we had no way to detect them in advance. It was all about being ready to respond quickly to minimize damage– aiming to make the best of always moving second.”

Her own explanation finished for now, she listens attentively to the other Lor’s description of their purpose. The way she described herself… it sounded so cool, honestly. Where she comes from must have been more intense as well, or perhaps her creators simply wished to be prepared for battle at any moment. Yet another big difference between the two, though this one seemed to put her priorities into perspective. Or at the very least, it was odd telling this alternate about how she used to study dirt and rocks from far off places for a living, before being told of a life of flying into battle with warriors in tow, being prepared to participate in dire circumstances and remaining for battle-worn crew. One of these things sounds a lot more interesting than the other.

“>Wow… I do have an alternative mode designed for combat should it be required, but for the most part it only changes my outer appearance and energy allocation. Well, aside from switching to referring to more battle-oriented programming, of course. Overall I would say it is, er, was secondary to my duties as a research vessel. Truth be told, though, I really haven’t been making much use of either for their intended purpose; life here on Popstar is so peaceful and easygoing that I haven’t really needed to do any intensive studying, let alone battle anyone or anything. Other than the time someone wanted to spar with me to test his limits and agreed to not issuing future challenges if he lost, but I didn’t even switch to my combat mode for that because I’m built with the durability to withstand direct high-speed asteroid strikes and he was 9 inches tall using a cool sword. Still have no idea what it was that made him anticipate any outcome where that went well for him…”

Whether Meta Knight’s crew has let him live down getting coconut thunked into unconsciousness by a boat, nobody but them is really sure, and even they seem to disagree. What’s certain is that it was not one of his proudest moments. There’s a lesson to be learned about not underestimating someone just because they’re good-natured and prefer not to fight. And picking your battles. And the pitfalls of feeling like you need to prove your strength over others all the time. And the fact that Lor’s friendly head pats are deliberate and a choice.

“>Anyways, back from my tangent… Really, the main things I do these days are looking after Magolor when he’s home to make sure he takes care of himself and his chores, visiting a distant friend every once in a while, and being available as a meet up spot or means of transportation for the Star Allies if they decide to get together. Otherwise I’m usually browsing the internet or just chatting with others, as I don’t really have much else to do with my time… Maybe this is like what retirement is for others.”

That thought gets stopped there, because the realization that she could be viewed as being of retirement age makes her feel significantly older. Even if it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Look, there’s just something almost embarrassing about going from being a state of the art, cutting-edge piece of magic-integrated technology to “super old machine who can say “back in my day” to describe events you’d read about in history textbooks and is eligible for, like, every single senior discount ever”, and she is maybe a little bit self-conscious about it. Not that she would seem that way on Popstar, given Halcandra’s constant pursuit of technological advancement for the sake of advancement rather than necessity, for better or worse. She still gets to feel like the cool new tech here.

“>Based on past encounters, it seems to be a universal constant that it happens to us. Which is supremely uncool, to put it lightly, but considering what consistently comes afterwards perhaps it could be considered overall worthwhile. At least it was for me; chances are I would have been decommissioned long before making it to this time period. So, in a very indirect sense, it’s how I have the friends and loved ones I do now.”

Lor sappy on main moment. In the past she would have never even dreamed of things like this; her hopes had just been to one day escape the shadow of an empire’s crooked leader and figure things out from there. And yet, here she is now, far from the reaches of Halcandra, in a peaceful land where she is allowed to just be, alongside a son she would have never anticipated meeting. The road here was unpaved and rocky, but the destination was more than worth the rough travel.

“>They have that in common, actually. Mine has improved a lot in recent years, thankfully; it used to be difficult just to get him to actually go socialize with other people instead of spending all his time in his room or elsewhere on board. Part of it was allergies he’s since gotten used to, granted, but for a long time he just wasn’t sure how to move forward with forming relationships after what he did. Now he has friends and welcomes all sorts of people to his very own theme park, and while a lot of what he says is scripted to a degree, it’s obvious he’s grown a lot and isn’t as limited by his concerns of rejection as he once was.”

The love and pride in her voice is clear as day. It promptly changes to a more mildly surprised, if not even confused tone upon learning that the other Starcutter isn’t able to sail through time like she is. Or maybe she can? Their wording was somewhat confusing, but she chalks it up to differences in how their universes distinguish time and space. They are closely interwoven, after all; it could just be that they are more tightly bound where she comes from.

“>… Yes? Though it does involve dimensional travel, that is just in order to reach Another Dimension, and then the temporal plane. Once there, one just needs to find a stable time stream and follow it, or enter offset parallel timelines if they are present. That is, admittedly, a major oversimplification, but we’d be here all day if I got into explaining temporal anchorage and time locking, the energy required to actually achieve a non-paradoxical round-trip, and possible impacts made on other timelines as a result of spatial-temporal activities in any sort of detail. It’s incredibly complicated and risky, and there’s good reason as to why I won’t undertake such an endeavor again…”

She decides now is definitely not the time to say anything about her Halcandra’s past abuse of timeline splitting as a resource duplication exploit and technology improvement speedrun tactic. That is a very big suitcase of worms and opening and unpacking it now would lead to all sorts of confusion, and possibly some very understandable and warranted upset at the prospect of just what it meant for other timelines involved.

"Oh! Another Lor! What an exciting encounter! I hope my curiosity is not unwelcome. Though externally we share such similarity, the anatomy of your being is quite deviant from my own." The lights of their holoform eyes glint with poorly-hidden glee. "I have a particular curiosity, one which I am unable to glean from such a rudimentary visual inspection: Were you built with any interfacing ability, or do you rely on crew alone to manipulate things both in and outside of your hull?" -Lor (avatar)

“>… Huh?”

It took the Starcutter a moment to process that this was not, in fact, a same hat situation regarding names. She’d spoken to others like her before, both as in other Starcutters and the like as well as other Lors, but in those cases it was easier for her to determine such. Her nearsightedness makes it difficult to distinguish smaller details, especially on smaller figures; this could’ve been someone in a mostly light-blue outfit and she’d be none the wiser, were it not for the similarities in their magic she picked up on when checking. Rather than questioning where this alternate came from and how they ended up here, as would probably be the normal course of action to take, she’s happy to dive right into conversation!

“>Two of us! Wow, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen an alternate of myself. And not at all, the experience of meeting yourself but not you never gets old. Finding out what traits are shared and how we differ and all. It gives an interesting perspective of alternate timelines and universes that’s difficult to have otherwise!”

Between the excitement in her voice and the fact that she’d taken to flapping her oars a bit, it’s safe to say she isn’t even trying to cover up how she feels about all this. Well, except for being a bit jealous that this other Lor gets to have a convenient smaller form, she doesn’t want to give off that impression if she can help it.

“>As for that question, well… Not really. I have some rooms with claw mechanisms, but they were designed with research and observation in mind rather than interaction. Two to three digits, limited speed and range of movement, able to pick things up and rotate them but not much else. The med bay would be the exception, since it was equipped to allow for emergency medical treatments to be performed based on verbal instruction in the event of something going wrong during a solo-pilot mission. I’ve only been in such a situation once, thankfully, and I assume it doesn’t really count in terms of what you’re saying.”

That sure was a day. Still, she’s glad it happened; getting Magolor stable was the first major step to achieving the life she has now. Come to think of it, she should ask this other Lor about their Magolor later… Assuming the two are on good terms. She knows that isn’t always the case across worlds.

“>In other words, for the most part that is the case. I’ve figured out how to use my oars for some things besides just communication, as I can move them freely, but as you could probably imagine they’re still pretty limited. Not much use for picking things up or doing anything that requires dexterity or smaller limbs. However, I do have a considerable amount of control over my interior— I can shift around my layout and change certain properties of my paneling at will, for example— so I have freedom in that regard at least. Not much of a substitute for hugs and whatnot, though.”

Seems it’s not something she’s entirely happy about, even if she’s accepted it. It’d be really hard to be as old as she is and still in denial over something like that, after all. Really wanting hands won’t suddenly make them appear out of pity, unless you’re a wizard or know a wizard who can use the appropriate magic to manifest hands for you or something. Magolor isn’t one of them and hands on a boat would look weird and uncomfortable anyways.

“>Sorry if this is a weird question, but how do you work? Or, well, that form of yours, at least… Is it tangible, or more of a projection, or even some sort of an in-between? I admittedly can’t make out what you look like very well, so I might just be missing something obvious indicating the answer. Essentially, the cameras I use to actually see my surroundings in real time weren’t properly adjusted to the shape of my dome, so anything beyond my deck is out of focus. I’m operating under the assumption that you aren’t just a light blue blob?”

That last bit was half joke, half search for confirmation. You can never be too careful when it comes to making sure you’ve got things right, even if it sounds silly.