Futuristic Cosmic Deep (open)

[obscured_light]

Mari took a few moments to answer, staring at Hector with some scrutiny.

"Mermaids swim in your seas, do they not? Although I suppose space is much like an ocean," Mari finally answered, picking up one of the more flashy samples within her grasp. It was a glowing green fragment "And these stones like the shells."

She gave him a small smile as she put the glittering stone down.

"The rock sacks are a little light at the moment," she said as she pointed at the empty containers that awaited future samples. "But I imagine things will be picking up once we get going. Same as you I think since I haven't noticed anything malfunctioning yet. Though it would be a great concern if we had started with something wrong off the bat."

 

[egglover]

The elevator stopped one floor down and when Tish stepped out she was met with the open, large recreation room. The entire back wall was one big window that viewed out into the great expanse of space with comfortable armchairs facing toward it, and on a slight level higher were various tables and chairs scattered around the room to create a dining area. On the right was a small, fancy bar area with a few stools and on the left was the kitchen where the Captain could hear a great commotion of pots, pans, sizzling and yelling. A tantalizing smell wafted toward her.

Captain Suleiman stepped toward the kitchen and nudged the door slightly open, not quite wanting to disturb those at work, but as she peered through the crack she had created a curious sight beheld her. The silver and white walls, bench tops and floors were splattered with blood-like paste, and in the middle of the kitchen stood a green gelatinous mass scolding three robots holding various cooking instruments. Tish cleared her throat and spoke with amusement, "This is quite a scene."

 

[obscured_light]

"My cannaPA-"

Capriole quickly slapped a gelatinous metal hand over Chef B.R.D's voice circuits as Pr0g8zo and Boosches zoomed to either side of her. The drones made small salutes in recognition of the captain. Capriole straightened up as she kept B.R.D restrained by pulling him into her, green slime covering the parts that would limit his movement.

"Captain Suleiman," Capriole said as her robotic eyes snapped to the captain's face. The high part of the head chef's voice seemed to be higher than usual and warbled a bit. "I was simply getting to know the crew. A bond forming exercise."

Chef B.R.D. struggled as his muffled shouts of " cannapasta" fell on deaf ears.

"I can assure you that dinner will not be delayed however. I was thinking a selection of different meals in one. Signature dishes to remind everyone of their worlds but a dessert that all would recognize. Although I struggle on the dessert I must admit."

Capriole paused, seemingly to think as the muffled screams subsided. They turned to quiet mutterings of "cannapizza" and " cannaoili".

 

[egglover]

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" The Captain smiled as she fully entered the kitchen, her eyes darting to the Italian Andriod that fought in Capriole's grasp, "Is uh...is everything okay however, Chef? I hope you're not having any trouble here."

 

[FireMaiden]

Naomi Hart
Location: Fourth Deck Hangar Bay
Interaction: Pacificus (Daytona)
Mentioned: Wing06 (Tristan)
"A stowaway?" Naomi mumbled, brows furrowing. Stowaways could be one of a few types. People looking for a ride, looking for something to steal, a hidden prisoner. There was an ancient show that had some girl in a freezer in the cargo hold of a ship. But given what the Android said about it suddenly disappearing could mean it was just an animal. Like a rat, but this was a brand new ship and usually they were too small to be picked up by the handhelds. So a stowaway seemed likely. "If there's any vents running through here they could have slipped into one of them," Namoi suggested, walking closer to the Android in order to view the device in it's hand. Sure and shit, there was only one life sign, and it was hers. "Cloaking technology is another possibility, but that's a bit pricey for your average stowaway." Her fingers drummed against the grip of her sidearm, the familiar weight in her hand was a comfort; especially standing next to Daytona. She really felt guilty that his presence alone made her nervous...she just hoped he couldn't tell. As an attempted distraction, Naomi looked around the hangar for possibly areas to hide in. The many crates were an obvious, so were the vehicles. It would be easy to slip inside or in-between them and stay out of view. Easy enough for anyone to do but the signal dissapering...that didn't make a lot of sense. This ship was decked out with the latest and greatest tech the government had to offer. It didn't seem likely this would shit itself the first time it got used.

"You think..." Naomi was about to ask if the Android believed the stowaway. Could have been dangerous. But as she started, another blip showed up on the hand helds screen. "Hey! It's back!" Naomi spoke, perhaps a little louder than necessary, her side arm immediately raised to give chase when fate decided to drop in kick her and Daytona in the heads. A sudden series of thinks turned her attention from the direction of the stowaway to above her and the Android. She had a few second to react as barrels that no doubt weighed a considerable amount came tumbling down from above. "Shit!" The woman jumped back, scrambling a little bit to avoid being knocked over by a barrel, diving to save her duffle bag from getting crushed as well before finally climbing up and over one of the work benches to avoid more barrels as they continued to roll around hunting for toes. "I'm pretty sure that's an OSHA violation," Naomi joked a little bit, dropping the duffle bag as her attention turned back to the direction of the stowaway's blip. "Should we deal with the barrels or the uninvited guest?"

 

[obscured_light]

Capriole's eyes darted down to the restrained sous chef who was now just muttering and had stopped struggling as much.

"It was my mistake, Captain," Capriole admitted as her green hue suddenly seemed to grow a brighter green. "I did not realize pulling out a can of your green beans would incite such a reaction in Chef B.R.D. The next thing I knew he had canned pasta in his hands and violence in his circuits."

Chef B.R.D. seemed to vibrate in the goo at the mention of cans.

"But this is all new to us and I'm sure Chef B.R.D. and I will come to an agreement. Before this, I was already noting reasons as to why you chose this crew for the kitchen. Thank you once again for the opportunity."

Pr0g8zo and Boosches seemed to chirp in agreement.

 

[PiePillager]

Mari took a few moments to answer, staring at Hector with some scrutiny.

"Mermaids swim in your seas, do they not? Although I suppose space is much like an ocean," Mari finally answered, picking up one of the more flashy samples within her grasp. It was a glowing green fragment "And these stones like the shells."

She gave him a small smile as she put the glittering stone down.

"The rock sacks are a little light at the moment," she said as she pointed at the empty containers that awaited future samples. "But I imagine things will be picking up once we get going. Same as you I think since I haven't noticed anything malfunctioning yet. Though it would be a great concern if we had started with something wrong off the bat."

"Well, not everything's perfect..." Hector trailed off, thinking back to the odd markings he spotted along the walls of the Hangar. "But we sure damn close. This ship's a beautiful thing, you feel me? We all gotta do our part to keep it in top condition, you feel me? " he asked, letting the statement linger for a moment before changing the subject. "But lemme ask you something, you...people say that...Look, I never studied Rcokology, right? Shit seemed complicated to me, and I love complicated shit, you feel me? But...okay, Rockology...what exactly does it cover, is it like geology? Y'all archaeologists? Love me some ancient alien civilizations, I read about that shit all the time as a kid...but Rockology?" he shook his head. Enlighten me."

 

[egglover]

"Ah, well, I was told he has some....quirks. Perhaps our resident engineers can have a look at him, like maybe there is a wire loose, eh? If you have any serious concerns please let me know, Chef Capriole," Tish walked around the bench, her fingers trailing against the top, "As for dessert, hmm, what is your favorite?"

 

[druidquest]

Porcelain figures clinked silently as Dr. Haliday placed them along the edge of her desk. An array of intricately sculpted, stylized insects, forming a defensive line marching to war. She paused at the sound of a knock, a six-winged Ahnba Degotan beetle hovering over the surface of the desk as the door of the medbay hissed open. The Cry’s Deimosian soldier stepped lightly into the room, his eyes sweeping like spotlights over his surroundings before landing on her.

“Mr. Vanderdrecht,” she greeted, the beetle finding its place next to a Vleebolain trap spider. “Of course. Please have a seat on one of the beds, and we can get started.”

 

[PiePillager]

Across another end of the Science Wing, a large presence had finally finished unpacking his things. A shelf had been assembled, filled to the brim with a holotapes on various civilizations and their histories, Galactic and Pre-Galactic. He would have to speak to their linguist to see if he was fluent in tribal dialects, something he was certainly keen on uncovering. Of course, nothing was set in stone. His entire role on this voyage, may be reduced to something completely pointless but he wouldn't let that stop him from playing even a fleeting role in such a historical project.

Atuk'Kuta pulled out a small holographic disk, displaying his home planet. He would prove to them how short sighted they were. The Ensindijee would no longer hide from the great tapestry that was the history of the cosmos. He and the few others of his kind would ensure that the history books of the eons ahead....would never forget the moundlings that undertook this great journey.

 

[Pacificus]

When the blip reappeared, Daytona immedately pivoted on his heel. Before he could fully turn around, a stack of barrels came crashing down on him. He reacted quickly, throwing up one arm and deflecting the first metal cylinder. His rugged frame absorbed the punishment without issue. He was not so lucky on the second, which struck his head and knocked him to the ground. The scanner was crushed. For a few seconds his sensors were scrambled, but they returned and he righted himself.

He was glad to see the human, Naomi, and been able to dodge. Her fleshy construction would not likely have fared well.

"Should we deal with the barrels or the uninvited guest?"

"The stowaway is of greater-" Daytona started but was interrupted by a message from the First Officer, informing him that an arms locker had been compromised. Now THAT was a high priority. Daytona growled "Aye." in acknowledgement. They weren't even an hour into this journey. Daytona briefed the Officer. "Sir, I have detected an unknown stowaway in the vicinity of the hangar. Combined with the arms locker, I assess this to be a moderate-to-high threat to internal security. I require the use of the ships tactical team to secure this potential threat. Request you inform the Captain."

Daytona looked to the CPO across a work bench. "A small-arms locker has been compromised." He had seen her holding a pistol previously. He patted a charge-pack in one of his pouches. "Do you require ammunition?" He asked.

 

[Lord Saethos]

Eichkern nodded somewhat hesitantly before making his way over to one of the medical beds. So this was the Doctor? And she already knew his name? He supposed it wasn't exactly a massive ship, but it did strike him as interesting that she already had some awareness of the crew, likely from documentation shared by the Captain. That meant that, outside of the Captain, officers, and security, Dr. Haliday likely knew more about the crew than most anyone else.

He noted the figures the Chalcidian was placing along her desk, porcelain statues of insects. A thought occurred to Eichkern for a moment, recalling hearing about small porcelain dolls that humans (specifically young girls) used to collect, intricately designed with flowing, colorful dresses, sometimes in the midst of dancing. Perhaps it was just a hobby, collecting objects of curiosity, but he couldn't help but believe there was some other thought process behind it.

"That's quite the collection you have doctor. Are they Venusian made?" He undid his sword belt, and leaned the weapon against the wall before taking his seat on the bed.

 

[DarKnight36]

"Very well," Matias confirmed with Daytona as he walked from the bridge to the elevator. "You have clearance for a level 2 sweep. Let me know what turns up. I'll handle the weapons locker myself." Matias attempted to raise Suleiman but he got no response. This didn't bother him. He didn't find it likely that the Captain had taken the time to connect their comm to their suit, or was even wearing it. That was what he was here for anyway.

Matias stepped out of the elevator onto the second floor, and turned to the Security Office, stepping inside. He quickly glanced around but there was no one to be seen. The weapons locker was shut, the lock functioning. Matias inspected the door - no signs of forced entry. But the keypad... Matias plucked a small hair that had been left stuck there, and held it up to the light. He sighed, then plugged in the code.

The doors popped open, and Matias did a quick inventory check. Two guns were missing, a pistol and a rifle.

Matias shut the weapons locker, and considered his options before paging Daytona. "Weapons locker is clear. At the moment, the stowaway is a separate incident. Keep me posted."

***

Haul breathed a sigh of relief as Matias left the Security Office, having hid himself in the vents rather quickly. He hadn't meant to take the pistol and rifle necessarily - he'd been inspecting them all out of interest but the First Officer would undoubtedly not have taken kindly to him doing so. After all, it wasn't on his resume to be a weaponsmith; it was something he'd kept on the downlow. Just a hobby. But now he was a bit stuck.

Haul scratched his head. Well, now that he was in the vents, he might as well inspect them. He'd probably be spending plenty of time crawling through them anyway. Carrying the oversized rifle with his tail and tucking the pistol onto his back, Haul scurried forward.

 

[egglover]

Haul continued onward, the hair on his head barely grazing the top of the vent, and found his way to a sort of crossroads. After a moment of careful deliberation he would hear a strange thundering sound, as if a creature were charging toward him. Looking left and right he couldn't see anything in particular that would be making the sound but...wait, was that shadow getting closer? In a surprising and sudden moment Haul felt the wind against his face as a large, hulking shadow flashed past him. If he peered toward the darkness where the black mass had traveled he would see nothing but small indents in the metal and a few small black hairs left in it's wake...

 

[DarKnight36]

Haul's stomach growled fiercely, and he licked his lips. Time for dinner! Without a moment's hesitation, Haul followed the black shape into the labyrinth.

 

[FireMaiden]

Naomi Hart
Location: Fourth Deck Hangar Bay
Interaction: Pacificus (Daytona)
Mentioned: Wing06 (Tristan)
As much as he made her nervous, Naomi was a bit concerned seeing the damage to the Android. She had to wonder what caused the barrels to fall, they were heavy and while obviously not tied down properly, they shouldn't have moved without help. Maybe it was the stowaway? In that case, they really were dangerous, and should take top priority. As she continued to watch the Android however, waiting for a response, his comm seemed to have activated. That reminded Naomi she needed to get her own set up, but that could wait until later. Her attention would shift to the crates that the other blip had appeared in as the Android briefed whoever he was talking to on the situation. Her eyes narrowed, trying to spot anything from the cracks in the crates until the Android spoke to her again. "So safe to assume the stowaway is also armed," The woman mumbled to herself, fingers drumming lightly against her side arm again. Grabbing her rifle seemed like over kill still, the stowaway couldnstikl just be some scared kid who wanted off their planet, or snuck aboard for a look around and unintentionally got stuck. But the barrels still gave her doubts.

"No, I'm good. Human military issued weapons use universal thermal clips," She explained. Naomi was unsure of the science behind how they worked, but they did. Basically, so long as your gun didn't overheat, you could fire continuously. Some firearms had a hight rate of fire while others, like heavy rifles, could only be shot three or four times before overheating. Then you had to wait for the gun to cool off completely, which normally didn't take long thanks to the clips themselves. But if you weren't smart, those precious seconds you wasted almost guaranteed you were getting hurt. Naomi did however, approach her locker again, and from it pulled out a knife. Which she would then bend over and attach to her boot. "That might come in handy," The woman mumbled before finally turning to make her way to the crates in question. "I don't think you've introduced yourself yet," Naomi spoke as she walked, her eyes glued on the crates for any kind of strange movement.

 

[obscured_light]

~Capriole Halve~​

Capriole paused as Chef B.R.D. was slowly overtaken by her slime form, caught off guard by the captain's question.

"My favorite?"

Bringing up a mechanical arm, she tapped herself below the steel jaws, seemingly lost in thought. In her file, there had been mentions of how well traveled Capriole had been along with a rather long list of the different cuisines she was experienced in. The universe was vast however and while there was still much to learn, the slime had come to known that a favorite dish was more or less universal. She had just never stopped to think of what was her own, much less a dessert that was a strange concept to many of the planets she had visited.

"I have to say, I don't think I have much of one," she finally admitted, the bright green hue returning to her gelatinous form again. "There is much left to experience and taste and all together, judge. To pick one seems rather unfair but justifiable."

The slime tilted her head.

"Do you have one, captain?"

egglover

~*~
~Mari~
​

Mari's eyes lit up, delighted by Hector's line of questioning. She clapped her hands together, mouth open to answer... When she realized just exactly what Hector had just asked. It made her falter slightly and her confident grin became sheepish, shoulders drooping slightly as she debated on how to explain.

"It's... everything," Mari began before seeing Hector's expression, quickly adding, "But! But, but, I mean it in the sense that, rockology covers a lot of ground. Pun not intended."

She made a face, seemingly disgusted with herself, before moving on.

"It is mostly involving earth sciences, not just the planet either, but it also involves life and physical sciences. Physical for sure," Mari continued, waving her hands around in emphasis as she seemed to sit back on her coiled up tails. "So obviously you have your earth stuff, rocks, fossils, gems, all that. But if you take for example, the fossils, then you're dealing with physical in that the fossils can involve chemistry and thermodynamics. But that also leads to life sciences such as anatomy and paleontology. Paleontology leads back to the rocks and the layers and where was this and how did the environment change so we' re back to rockology and it just goes on and on and on. It just all kind of weaves together and the string running throughout all of it is Rockology so while it is heavily interdisciplinary, it is also very much singularly Rockolgy."

Mari took a breath, realizing she was really starting to get carried away for a second.

"So does that answer your question at all?"

PiePillager

 

[egglover]

The Captain's eyes lit up and she gave Capriole a playful grin, "Absolutely anything chocolate."

 

[Pacificus]

"Aye." Daytona replied to Matias. He was glad the First Officer was taking the initiative. Now Daytona could focus on the stowaway. Which he now lacked the ability to track.

He looked towards the crates where the last blip was seen. He rested his right hand on his pistol, but didn't draw it. Naomi was right. They didn't know if their suspect was armed or even dangerous. Though, Daytona remained cautious.

"I don't think you've introduced yourself yet,"

Daytona paused suddenly. He was so caught up in the task. Where were his manners? Dr. Feld'gud at Altis had programmed him better.

"Apologies. I am Daytona, Ships Security Chief." He said, "I am not sure how to proceed. My sensors do not detect any movement. What do your human eyes see?"

Daytona had never dealt with active camouflage before. He HAD dealt with deadly Cutfang spiders on New Amarillo, which could seemlessly blend in with their environment. That had been a very stressful event. One that still induced RAM errors occasionally.

 

[Wing06]

As the barrels fell, Tristan dove into the vent, he'd overlooked. He didn't need another invitation from fate to put some space between himself and the two crewmates in the hangar. The vent was wide enough to crawl through arm over arm with just enough clearance for his head. In terms of ventilation systems, this one seemed top-notch.

"Okay, one problem avoided, on to the next..." He muttered, pulling himself along, scanning for any opportune exits.

 

[druidquest]

Dr. Haliday’s wings flittered for a brief moment as she gazed at Eichkern before looking back down at her row of various alien bugs. “These two are,” she answered slowly, pointing to a green Venutian isopod and Terran dragonfly. From there, she went back and forth across the line, pointing at different figures as she remarked where they were from. “This one is Europan, this and this are Marienti. These three are Sol Sostassi, this is Bulmonng, Javalian, Herdeshian, Vorsti, and these six are Hephasian. They did an extended run with that artist.”

Dr. Haliday paused for a long moment, admiring her collection in silence before her attention returned to the present. She walked around to the other side of her desk, her hand coming to rest on a small stack of papers before selecting a few pages off the top. She flipped through them, double checking that they were all present, before looking back at the stack and adding another sheet to the ones in her hand. She tapped them on the desk to organize them, stapled the stack together, then stepped around the desk to offer the packet to Eichkern. It appeared to be part questionnaire and part checklist, with “Review of Systems” printed in slightly larger font at the top of the first page.

“Please look over this for now,” Dr. Haliday instructed, a pen appearing from somewhere in her body. “You only need to look at the first two pages. I will go over the rest with you when you’re done.”

 

[PiePillager]

Mari's eyes lit up, delighted by Hector's line of questioning. She clapped her hands together, mouth open to answer... When she realized just exactly what Hector had just asked. It made her falter slightly and her confident grin became sheepish, shoulders drooping slightly as she debated on how to explain.

"It's... everything," Mari began before seeing Hector's expression, quickly adding, "But! But, but, I mean it in the sense that, rockology covers a lot of ground. Pun not intended."

She made a face, seemingly disgusted with herself, before moving on.

"..."

"It is mostly involving earth sciences, not just the planet either, but it also involves life and physical sciences. Physical for sure," Mari continued, waving her hands around in emphasis as she seemed to sit back on her coiled up tails. "So obviously you have your earth stuff, rocks, fossils, gems, all that. But if you take for example, the fossils, then you're dealing with physical in that the fossils can involve chemistry and thermodynamics. But that also leads to life sciences such as anatomy and paleontology. Paleontology leads back to the rocks and the layers and where was this and how did the environment change so we' re back to rockology and it just goes on and on and on. It just all kind of weaves together and the string running throughout all of it is Rockology so while it is heavily interdisciplinary, it is also very much singularly Rockolgy."

Mari took a breath, realizing she was really starting to get carried away for a second.

"So does that answer your question at all?"

"'Lil bit," Hector admitted, not expecting to get a detailed a summary as he did. He was glad he asked, however. Rockology proved more interesting than he thought, even if the name continued to sound dumb as hell. "'Preciate the lesson. Respect the passion for the work, you feel me. Good shit," he said, nodding appreciatively as her enthusiasm for her work did really seem genuine. Always a positive vibe when people love what they do. "Anyway, I'mma head out. You know where to find me, if you need m," he stated, placing his data pad beneath his armpit and his hand underneath his pocket as he exited the room.

Now finished with his rounds on the technical deck, Hector made his way up to the second floor in the elevator to inspect the rest of the ship.

 

[Lord Saethos]

Eichkern quirked his eyebrow at the sheet, but accepted it, along with the pen, though admittedly, he felt a little strange about it appearing from her body. Something he'd get used to in time perhaps.

He gazed down at the paper, taking brief glances at each of the descriptions of what he was there, presumably a questionable to get info on his medical history.

"Six from Hephas hey? I suppose that explains some of those design details. I never got to visit the planet sadly, only ever went to Andromeda a few times, very short tours each time. Perhaps I'll go back one day though, would like to see those blue trees in person." He smiled softly.

Most of the Review of Systems was ticked 'No Problems' boxes, though he did pause with a little smirk at the sections on skin and hair, and neurology. "Not really sure if I should go over all my skin, hair color, and eye color features here doctor. Don't know if you consider a multi-generational trait to be a medical issues or not. Recurring bad thoughts also seems a bit of a loaded question. How frequent does a recurrence have to be for it to be a problem?" There was a slight chuckle before he finished up checking boxes.

"Perhaps there's more in depth details I can pass onto you Dr. Haliday, but as far as my immediate health is concerned, I think everything should be good."

He handed the papers and pen back to her and sat patiently for her to go over them. "So, what else would you like to know?"

 

[FireMaiden]

Naomi Hart
Location: Fourth Deck Hangar Bay
Interaction: Pacificus (Daytona)
Mentioned: Wing06 (Tristan)
"Daytona huh? Like the beach?" Naomi asked, more to fill the silence than actual curiosity. She had noticed such a trend with ships of all variety, being named after locations. The Kilimanjaro for example. It made things pretty simple, but she liked the flair the Avian Expedition had, pretty original names here. Daytona, after introducing himself then asked what she saw. "A bunch of crates?" Naomi replied, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from chuckling at such a smart assed response. She sighed a little bit, marching forward toward the crates in question, her pistol being slipped into the back of her pants right against the small of her back. The crates from this angle seemed like a tight squeeze, but after circling a little bit Namoi found a spot large enough to wiggle through. Taking a deep breath to suck her gut in, Naomi turned to her side and shimmied into the the space behind the crates. For a few moments, the woman didn't notice much. But her gaze finally settled on a vent. Large enough for a person to squeeze through, but Naomi thought it would be pretty uncomfortable. "Do you have like...a map or something of the vent system?" Naomi called out to Daytona as she approached the vent, taking a cautious look inside. Her brows furrowed a little bit. This could get complicated. Really complicated, but Naomi really tried not to assume the worst. "You know, the longer you hide, the more dangerous we'll assume you are," The woman called out into the vents. She wanted to follow, to explore and try to find the stowaway in question. But didn't want to without a map, or in the very least, some assurance she wouldn't get lost or stuck. "Hope they heard me. This could get pretty ugly if they don't show up soon."

 

[druidquest]

“I’ve never been,” Dr. Haliday stated, returning to setting up her sculptures while Eichkern filled out the form. “Travel restrictions in Alfen space bar passage to the diseased.”

She looked over at his crack about his health. “Unmanaged skin disease is one of the primary forms of illness among Deimosians,” she said, moving to take the finished form from him. “You joke, but medical prudence demands a visual inspection and skin biopsy of all Deimosian crewmen upon initial boarding. Remove your shirt, please.”