Shuttles are docked in a unique manner in Alliance ships. Instead sitting inside a large docking bay, they are docked like remoras on a shark, nestled along the bottom of their parent ship and accessed via port-holes in the floor of an access corridor. Due to their psychic nature, the shuttle's port-hole, usually covered by a shutter-like membrane, will only open in the presence of their designated pilot.
The structure of a shuttle is quite pliable, and it is able to grow new structures in real time to adapt to their passengers' needs. Normally, they can be accessed via the portholes in the floor of the access corridor, with a ladder available to climb down. In the case of a passenger with mobility issues, a temporary elevator-like structure can be manifested. When boarding is complete, the ladder and other boarding-aids can be retracted into the side wall of the shuttle, and the porthole in both parent ship and shuttle is closed. When docked, shuttles have no exterior display, but before launching from the parent vessel, a secondary membrane retracts from the front of the shuttle, revealing a 'windshield'. The rear end of the shuttle is equipped with a large hatch that opens up to form a ramp, making it easy for passengers to disembark on the surface of a planet or inside a larger docking bay.
The interior of a shuttle is almost organic, with rib-like struts on the walls, a mottled texture to the ceiling, and a smoothness to the shape of everything. Lighting is provided by living bioluminescent mushrooms. The material everything is made of is cool to the touch and feels like metal in some places, and more like coral in other places. Seating areas are made of the same smooth bio-metal as everything else, and can be grown in real time to the size and comfort specifications of the passengers.
The ship is piloted from the front section. The control area is usually an almost featureless, flat slab of material, but when approached with the intent to pilot, it will configure itself for use, reading the surface thoughts of anyone who intends to use it and adjusting its controls to match a layout the pilots will be familiar with. This allows it to be piloted by anyone who is not its designated pilot. Newcomers will watch these controls emerge and adjust. If they do not speak Alliance Standard, the symbology will even change from the alliance script into a more familiar alphabet and numeral system. When the control panel is adjusting itself like this, it creates an audible hum that pulses like a heartbeat. For the designated pilot, helming is a little different. A small dome will emerge from the floor, and the pilot will sit with their hands splayed out across the surface of the dome, linking their senses to the senses of the shuttle and allowing them to control all aspects of its helming psychically. Shuttles are capable of basic autonomous flight and automatic docking procedures, like any sufficiently advanced ships.
Living vessels can communicate with other vessels telepathically, almost like the Internet of Things. In atmosphere, this communication can be heard/felt as a low buzz.