In Game

[Flutterby]

Nu looked on as the others trailed back into the lounge, her face decidedly blank. She gave Rosalyn a glance, and mumbled back, "Cael's smuggling holds on the upper deck, where I found this thing."


Nu took note of what Cael said, and one of her primary ears twitched. She refrained from making a comment on what he said about the being from Avalon, who the Kryx believed to be holy rather than technologically-advanced. Now was not the time for a debate on that particular subject. She gave Cael a small smile and a nod as he left with a parting joke, but she had a hard time finding humor in it. Her response to the stranger's joke was much less friendly; she glared up at him and let the tips of her sharp teeth show. She would take it from her pilot that she agreed to be with, but not from the stowaway that wasn't part of her original crew.


Her eyes returned to Rosalyn as she asked her question. "Um.. no, I don't think so. I t'hink this is more of a symbiotic relationship; I might have some control like I did just now, but it also has a mind of its own.. I don't know where we are, but it wants us to be here.." Her ears flattened again, and she glanced at Lara. "The device can teleport me. Cael used the word blink. I blinked away on accident, and blinked back on purpose." She ignored the last question, as she didn't have any idea. The day had just gotten so much more confusing.

 

[Bolts]

Glo'cer watched as Cael placed the numbers in the navigation computer. Though a little outdated, it worked all the same. With the small thottle, The Solidus jiggled a little before the acceleration steadied. 


allow me to calibrate the scanners. That way, we can bypass all the unneeded information and get right to some semblance of civilization... if this planet has any. I'll just look for common needs of lifeforms and possible creations of sentient beings. Without a second word, Glo'cer began fiddling with the scanner. Taking out a needle, he applied his liquid to the circuits with ease. A model like this was fairly basic. A few sounds of hissing and a spark came before he rose once again. That should do it. Once we get into reach, it should find some points of interest. He sat down and viewed the expanse of darkness. Stars encircling them, millions upon millions of light years away. In the back of his mind, he wondered how Nu's new neck brace brought them here. What kind of energy output did it take for such a feat to happen? He would have to study it soon before things get too out of hand. 


Is there anything else you require of me, Cael? Do you wish for me to stay or shall I find my presence with the others for the time being?


 


 @zCrookedz

 

[Dominaiscna]

Though she was glad to see that everything seemed to have righted itself and was under control, Artemis felt like she was forgetting something. It took her a few silent moments to remember what it was that was clawing at the edges of her mind while the others either went to help Cael in the cockpit, decided to question Nu on what had happened to her or threw dirty looks Shadow's way. When she could, Artemis slipped away from the group without a word and, on quiet feet, made her way back in the direction of her cabin. Outside of the First Mate's room lay a box now tipped on its side from the jostling earlier that resulted in them blinking across the galaxy. It'd been the one Cael had brought in, the one they'd forgotten in the panic. Some of its contents, the little commlinks carefully packed in foam, had slid out of the box in the mayhem and were now spread out across the metal floor. 


Sinking down to her knees beside the box, Artemis carefully packed the little devices back in to their places, making sure that none were damaged. Though she doubted that the group would need the devices just yet, the cyborg felt that what better a time to hand them out than when they were all grouped back together again.... or all in the same general area. Who knew where everyone would split off to when they arrived at the new planet. Picking it up, Artemis carried the box back towards where everyone was gathered. As she walked, the Gwathian wondered at all of the things she could try do with the commlinks. Perhaps if they could program the devices so that they could have access to private and group signals... communication would be so much easier then! She'd have to fiddle with it later. 


Passing the general group of people, Artemis stepped in to the Cockpit, making sure she wasn't disturbing the Solidus and the Dorogan while they worked. It seemed they had everything handled so the cyborg piped up. [COLOR= rgb(238, 130, 238)]"Cael?" [/COLOR]she called softly to get his attention, [COLOR= rgb(238, 130, 238)]"Would you like me to hand these out to everyone? The commlinks that Glak gave." [/COLOR]


@zCrookedz @Bolts

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Technology always interested Rosalyn for this particularly reason. They had only some idea on how this object worked but not the specifics. It reminded her of a more advance for of light speed. If they could harness its power they would be able to go anywhere in a b link of an eye.  Very useful.  Rosalyn decided she was done questioning Nu for now. She seemed nervous enough about the thing and even more so on the fact that she didn't actually know how to control it.


Rosalyn then, like Lara, went to one of the nearest windows to look out and see where they where. It was vast empty space for the most part which wasn't unusual. From here she couldn't see the planet but the lack of other spaceship worried her a little. She hoped there was some advance life on the planet otherwise it will be hard to find out where they were.


@Flutterby@Lioness075 + Anyone else.

 

[zCrookedz]

Cael continued to pull back and forth on the controls of The Odyssey as they zipped along towards the planet on the scanner. Taking a second every now and then to glance at the scanner, the planet continued to get closer and closer. Before to much longer, a small blue speck could be seen in the distance, and Cael relaxed a little bit as the planet began to come into view.


Glo'cers confirmations of his fiddling with the scanners became evident after he was finished. Cael glanced at the scanner and began to notice new readings had begun to appear now that they were within reach of the planet. Cael did not give any other indication to Glo'cer, as he began to study the readings from the planet. He barely even registered when Artimus poked her head through the door and mentioned the com links from earlier. He had completely forgotten them in the excitement of the ship being jetted off into deep space. He turned his head and eyed Artemis from the side and gave her a wave.


"Huh? Oh yea, those. Yea you can pass them out to anyone who needs one."


Cael turned back to the scanner and began to concentrate on the readings. Something was off about what was coming back. At first, Cael suspected that the Slimes liquid had interfered with the readings. But the more Cael thought about it, the more he realised that wasn't possible. The readings that were coming from the scanner were reading.....water, and lots of it. 90% H2O to be exact. Cael looked up from the monitor and up at the small planet that had begun to become a bit more clear as they approached. Cael slowly stood from his seat and walked a bit closer to the front panes of glass as he gagged the planet he saw before him.


The planet wasn't very big, might have been classified as a large moon if it was in the Imperial systems, and if it had a planet to orbit. What Cael could make out was a swirling blue ball under a thick canopy of white to greyish storm clouds. The cloud cover moved pretty quickly, signifying that they were pretty heavy storms. Cael couldn't see any signs of life under the clouds, just lots and lots of water.

​

Cael's observation was broken when a small signal began to squeal from the console. Cael made his way back to his chair and found the source of the noise was coming from a hail beacon being sent out to The Odyssey. Cael hit the com, and a strange gurgling noise came over the intercom system. It sounded organic, possibly something trying to speak to them, but Cael couldn't make heads or tails of it. Once the gurgling stopped, Cael hit the relay button to respond.


"This is Captain Hunter Cael of The Odyssey, responding to whoever hailed us. If you're on the planet, can you transmit coordinates for a safe LZ?"


Silence was the only thing Cael received from the intercom before another system began to beep. This time it was an incoming transmission. Cael opened up the data link and coordinates on the planet began to appear in the navigation system. Cael punched in the coordinates and the ship began to head up towards the northern part of the planet. As soon as the ship broke atmosphere, it began to shake violently. Cael reached up and strapped himself in as he hit the coms for the ship.


"Everyone hold onto your asses, this is gonna be a bumpy landing!!"


The ship tossed and turned as if they had been in the storms themselve until it finally descended into the clouds around the planet. Cael couldn't see anything except dark wispy clouds outside. Just as soon as he was beginning to think they had just been suckered into crashing the ship into a water grave, the clouds parted and the ship was able to regain its proper flying stability. Cael blinked a few times as the sky opened up and the light from the distant star casted shadows of much smaller clouds down onto calmer waters. Miles in diameter wide, the opening was centralized around one object floating in the water. A massive island that seemed to float along without any kind of problem in the world. Cael could just make out small objects zipping around the island, probably some sort of personal transport vehicles.

​

Once again, the hailing frequency opened up, and the strange gurgling noise came through as the ship headed for the island below. Jostling this way and that, Cael let the nav computer take them down into the center landing platform of the island as he stood back up and began briskly walking towards the lounge of the Odyssey. Once he was standing there amongst the others he peered outside the windows of the lounge as the ship came to a landing halt on the platform. Cael pulled at his beard and then scratched at his head under his hat, obviously confused and a bit nervous.


"Alright, I ain't got a damned clue where Nu's little trinket spit us out at, but this was our only landing spot. Whatever hailed us over the com links, didn't sound like anything I ever heard of, so everyone be ready for whatever we find outside."


With the last part of his statement, Cale brandished his large Revolver Blaster and walked over towards the ramp to open up.


@Bolts @Darkeina @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Flutterby @Dominaiscna @Lioness075

 

[Bolts]

As they neared the planet, Glo'cer had some internal feeling that he didn't want to be anywhere near it. Plenty of elements and compounds had a natural blue color to them, but nothing truly compared to the most common compound for life, H2O. His Wariness was only given more fuel as they homed in on the planetoid. He could see the swirling clouds and sparks of light that surrounded it. Lastly he checked the data from the scanner and sure enough... Di-hydrogen Monoxide... He muttered as if defeated. He took a calm seat as they broke the atmosphere and started getting thrashed from side to side. If the ship were to bust now, either way he was dead. He clutched the sides of the co-pilots seat as his own body shook violently. Each passing moment just made him relive his time in the cell back in his home planet. Of all the experiments, he couldn't help but remember the water based ones. As the rain splattered against the visor, he thought back to the slow "shower" he had undergone. Each drop of pure H2O sizzled on his skin as it dissolved his outer body. The pain was harsh. Like his whole person was on fire... but he managed to make it through. In time his body fixed itself back up like any healing process. 


Once they broke free from the never ending storm, Glo'cer finally came to. His grip relaxed and his eyes finally closed. He was glad that Cael was too transfixed on the Nav Computer to notice what was going on. As much as he wanted to throw up, he had nothing to do that with. He set his mind back on the task of watched the tech work and fix things if they need be. It took him a moment to stand up and follow the captain out of the cockpit but he had to push himself. In time, the crew would learn of his kind's innate weakness, but right now was not the time to draw attention to that. It was true that they were in uncharted territory with an unknown civilization for the time being. They needed to be prepared.  Rushing to his room, he retrieved his small bag with needles and his own energy pistol as well as the trackers. Should he find an opening to plant some on the others, he would. Might I recommend our sharp shooting archer and our.... stow away hide towards the back and pick off someone should things get messy right away? That will most likely guarantee a surprise attack, giving us the upper hand. He said with a hint of hesitation. He knew they were in the eye of the storm, but he didn't know if the droplets would land near them at this distance. 


 @zCrookedz @Darkeina @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Flutterby @Dominaiscna @Lioness075

 

[Lioness075]

Larassa crinkled her nose at the rather vague explanation of what Nu had done. She wasn't even certain what blinking meant in this context, but it seemed things had briefly calmed down with Nu's reappearance.


Sighing to herself at how odd this mission of theirs already was, Larassa moved to a window and absentmindedly stared at the black abyss beyond their little ship. It was quiet moments like these when her mind wandered to her home planet and her people. Always wondering what they were up to now or if she would recognize anyone if she were to ever return. Not that anyone would be overly welcoming of her. As far as everyone was concerned, she'd killed one of her own out of cold blood. Despite knowing the truth and that she'd been set up by an overly jealous tribe member, there was nothing Larassa could do about it now. No matter how much she wished she could go back in time to fix it.


Since she was half blind and couldn't see out of her right eye, and had poorly placed herself looking out of a window on the left side of the ship, Larassa completely missed the blue planet they were approaching until the ship began violently shaking.


Letting out a startled yelp, Larassa stumbled sideways and onto the ground before unsheathing her claws to get a grip, except she was in a ship made of metal so it did her no good. Sliding to the the side, Larassa cursed under her breath when Cael's untimely warning came over the ship's coms. 


"Bit late for zat, don't ye sink?"


She muttered this under her breath just after her curse. As if this mission didn't have enough backfires thus far.


Scrambling along the ground on all fours, mindfully keeping her best balance as she could, Larassa sheathed her claws before she began slipping and sliding all over the lobby. Moving to the nearest seat, Larassa all but threw herself into it before tightly clenching either side of it. She felt incredibly grateful that the seats in this ship were attached to the floor. Else, the chairs likely would've been attacking everyone in here and arriving to a new planet with injuries was not the best course of action here.


As the ship finally settled in the new atmosphere, Larassa let out an audible sigh of relief, slumping back in her seat. The only upside to all of this was that she'd hurled earlier and had nothing left to offer.


Poor ship. Even Larassa knew how much it sucked to damage one's ship or dirty it. She'd treated hers as best as possible, even with her limited knowledge of ships or their required maintenance.


Having missed the views while flying in, Larassa glanced up briefly when Cael rejoined the group outside of the cockpit. Hearing that he couldn't understand the people here, Larassa's eyes narrowed and her mind seemed to spew Cael's own thoughts in that she wanted to arm herself as soon as possible. If they couldn't communicate, it was highly likely that they could meet hostiles outside of their ship.


Leaving the group briefly, albeit stumbling slightly when she first stood up, Larassa went back to her shared room and collected her things, wanting to be prepared for anything here. Heck, if she was lucky, she could get permission to collect some water or soil here for her future garden on Cael's ship. It'd only help in the long run, and she'd already found a vacant room anyways.


Once Larassa rejoined the group, she had her belt back on with her daggers handy, her quiver and bow both slung over her back, and her knapsack underneath both of them.


Listening to C-Virus' advice, Larassa merely gave a devilish grin before looking right at Lizard.


"S'ure, sounds like a plan to me. Just stick to my left side, Lizard, and vee von't hafe any problems."


She'd managed to keep her half-blindness hidden from the group thus far, so she could only hope nobody would question her seemingly odd request. She could always just say she sees slightly better with her left eye, which was almost a given since she always aimed with it.

 

[Verena]

Tiberius’ attempts at brightening up the situation and picking up a conversation that could eventually result in the rest of the crew, aside from Artemis, becoming less hostile towards him, were all in vain. Some ignored him, while the Kryx he had attempted to speak to had bared her teeth at him in a clearly warning manner. Understandably, they were all considerably more troubled about their current position and the blinking collar than him, so for the time being, he assumed to be in the safe zone.


He leaned against a wall next to the nearest window, crossed his arms and looked out. The ship had turned towards their potentially new destination and so the star was out of sight from this angle but he was mostly trying to avoid eye contact with any of the crewmembers.


Iron Fist’s sudden warning came just as late for him as for everybody else. As the ship was caught by the strong winds, the whole craft suddenly swung to one side and everything that wasn’t bolted down flew across the place as well, including themselves. The deafening drumming of rain outside mixed with the sound of loose crates tumbling over in the storage room nearby.


The blurry view through the windows would remind Tiberius of his crash landing on Cardaleon 6 if he had the chance to look out at all. He was about just as helplessly stumbling and slipping over the metal flooring as the Siklaid. His tail that would have been able to keep his balance even when walking over a narrow metal railing was now rendered completely useless. Another blow to the side of the ship tossed him to the ground and he decided against attempting to stand up and possibly injure himself. Instead, he curled up into a flat ball and waited the storm out, which, surprisingly, was over in a couple more lashes.


Tiberius looked up and after determining that the ground beneath him wasn’t shaking any longer, he stood up and looked out of the window he had curled up underneath. At first, he could only see an endless ocean and the very edges of a large island but as they kept descending, it became clear that this island was, in reality, a huge, oddly shaped pontoon. He couldn’t make out the living organisms that inhabited it but the fact that they had soon landed successfully was enough of a clue that the ones in charge didn’t exactly mean them any harm for the time being at least.


When their captain and navigator returned, Tiberius stepped away from the window and looked up at the two, expecting some sort of explanation. Unfortunately, they were just as clueless as the rest of them. He restrained himself from commenting on the fact that since they were allowed to land, their best bet was to respond peacefully as well. Provoking a species they knew nothing about on their ground was beyond unreasonable, but then again, letting him live and now entrusting him to watch their backs was just as much.


He gave the Siklaid archer a nod and waited for the rest to move out towards the exit for them to follow. “Wouldn’t you prefer me watching your injured side?” he offered. Since he had removed one of his eye lenses, his heat vision could barely but still see the inflammation in her right shoulder even under her bandage and clothing.


@zCrookedz @Lioness075 @Flutterby @Bolts @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Dominaiscna

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Eventually the blue planet came into view and Rosalyn's face was covered in a amazement. She had never seen so much blue on a planet before. There was almost no blue on her desert like planet and the others she have been too had no where near the amount of water they did. As they got closer to the planet she wondered where they were going to land on this planet. From what she could see there was no place to land. When the ship broke the atmosphere the ship started to shake, which wasn't uncommon but when it got worse Rosalyn crystalized herself and grabbed ahold of the nearest object that was nailed to the ship. Hearing Cael over the speakers Rosalyn rolled her eyes. "A little late for that." She mumbled. Rosalyn held onto, what she later realized was a table. She didn't pay attention to where they were in the atmosphere for she was doing her hardest to not fall all over the place.


When they broke through the clouds the ship stopped shaking and Rosalyn released her grip on the able once she had balanced her self. Looking down at said table she brought her hands quickly down to her side for there was an imprint of her hand in it along with some cracks. Rosalyn de-crystalized herself before backing away from the table and towards the window. She peeked out to see that they were now below the clouds. The water on the surface looked so calm, which was something she wasn't expecting. As they got closer she spotted something in the water and eventually she could tell that it was a floating city. I guess there are still planets out there that will amaze me. 


Cael had rejoined them along with Glo'cer. Walking over to the two she listened to what they had to say. A language they can't recognize? That was strange. Rosalyn watched as Cael grabbed his blaster and Glo'cer leave the room to come back with his own gun. The others seemed to be gathering their weapons as well. "Are you sure this is the best thing to be doing? Coming out with our weapons blazing isn't going to look good. Who knows what kind of weapons they may have and also they may be a peaceful race." Rosalyn may be a mercenary but that didn't mean she went around guns blazing. She understood why they wanted their weapons. Rosalyn genetically had a good defense with her crystalized body. It was hard to penetrate. The others didn't particularly have that. The closest one was Tiberius with his scales. "By leaving this ship with our weapons arms we are making ourselves a threat to them and we don't know what will happen then."


@zCrookedz@Lioness075@Dominaiscna@Darkeina@Bolts@Flutterby

 

[Dominaiscna]

Upon hearing Cael's approval, Artemis made to return back to the lobby where hte majority of their crew was, not before standing behind the two driving members of their team as the planet came into view before them. It was absolutely breathtaking, but she couldn't help share their captain's concern about there being no safe place to land in sight. As a radio message came in and Cael sent one out, she stayed to listen for a while before turning to go out, but just as she set foot outside of the cockpit, she heard the Dorogan shout his warning for them all to hold on as he prepared to land on the new planet.


Describing the next few moments as chaotic was probably an under statement. The majority of the crew were scrambling on the floor as the ship rocked from side to side and jostled as they broke the atmosphere, Artemis no exception. As the Odyssey lurched, she stumbled forward just barely balancing herself with the box of commlinks protectively in her arms. Another jolt sent her scrambling backwards and almost through the door to the cockpit but her shoulder blade slammed into the frame of the door as she tried to turn and keep the box from tipping. Luckily, the next lurch sent her straight into a chair which was bolted to the ship and there the cyborg stayed until the ship steadied, anchoring herself down as pain radiated from her right shoulder. Well, at least the commlinks seemed to be in good shape. 


Once they'd landed and were safely on hard ground.... or as close to hard ground as they could get, Artemis slowly got back up and rejoined the others as they readied to descend but quickly passed through their group of still recovering members, passing out the commlinks first to Cael who stood at the head of the group and made her way to the back. As she handed out the last of the devices to Larassa, Rosalyn commented on some of the actions the others were taking and the cyborg couldn't help agreeing with her slightly. 


"We could always keep our weapons at the ready but not as openly obviously if that helps with negotiating with the natives?" As she asked, Artemis snuck a commlink into Tiberius's hands while everyone elses's attentions seemed to be else where, mouthing a "Just in case" with a finger to her lips as she turned back to their captain. 


@zCrookedz @Darkeina @Lioness075 @Bolts @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Flutterby

 

[Lioness075]

While she continued to wait for everyone to gather up and get ready to depart, Larassa raised an eyebrow at Lizard's question of her injury.


Technically, it had mostly healed by now and was merely sore if exerted too much. As far as she was concerned, she could probably remove the bandaging by now, as it wasn't going to be bleeding again...unless she got stabbed in that precise location or perhaps slammed into it hard enough. Given they were uncertain of the peacefulness of this new race, it was safe to leave the bandages on for now.


Blinking when she realized she'd zoned out temporarily, Larassa let out a low growl at Lizard before responding, "I said to vatch my lef' side, Lizard. Simple instructions, best ye follow zem unless ye vant us to question yer prezence h'ere."


A bit unnerved by his quick observation of her injury, especially since it was entirely covered by her light armor and clothing, Larassa warily eyed him.


"Say, how did ye know abou' my injury? Ye veren't z'ere ven I got injured...or v'ere ye? Hafe ye been following us since our capture?"


Her suspicion gave away some of the group's story to the Lizard, but Larassa wanted to know if he knew more about the group than he was letting on. She already was suspicious enough after he aimed a gun at her pilot's face.


Before Lizard really had a chance to respond to her sudden questioning, Sparkles joined the party. While Larassa did listen to Sparkles' advice and it did make a tiny bit of sense, she also was itching to shoot someone after having spent so long on this damned ship. She always hated it when it took too long to travel to her destination. She had a hard enough time sitting still for so long. She normally didn't even sleep for more than six hours a night, if she slept at all. If Larassa recalled correctly, it had something to do with her mixed genes. Apparently, her mammal genes had a bit of hyperactivity mixed in them and so did her bird genes so it was just a mess of needing to keep moving always in the back of her mind.


Regardless of how much she wanted to see combat, though, Larassa knew better than to start off any mission with guns a blazing. While she needed to keep moving to keep herself calm, she also knew how to dig in and watch from afar in order to gather intel first. Larassa was renown for her skills at taking down her targets efficiently.


Flinching when Artemis suddenly was very close to her, as Larassa had been too distracted to notice her approach, she narrowed her eyes at the cyborg before she was handed a com-link. Blinking at the small device, and having never used one before, she merely nodded at Artemis before pocketing it. It was certainly too embarrassing to ask someone to show her how, so she'd simply wait to see someone else set theirs up before following suit. Easy enough.


Hearing Artemis' advice, Larassa immediately nodded and then voiced her approval.


"I agree vith ze cyborg. Vee should approach vith caution and not shoot ze fi'st pe'son vee see. If zey a'e friendly, zen vee vill find it eazier to travel about vizout hafing to constantly vatch our backs. Vee can't gazer much intel if vee'e too busy trying to zurvive."


@zCrookedz @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Dominaiscna @Bolts @Darkeina

 

[Verena]

As the Siklaid growled at him, Tiberius looked away and muttered a simple “As you wish.” to avoid arousing her suspicion any further. He was very much tempted to explain that there was no reason for him to try and stab them in the back but decided against it, seeing as the conversation partner wasn’t one to see reason in the words of a stowaway. He was clearly confused at the mention of capture soon after and looked back at her, his face revealing his feelings about it. Could this apparent capture be the reason they were stuck together going after a fairy tale? They didn’t seem to know too much about each other and they definitely didn’t look like a merry band of adventurers. There was something very odd about all of this.


His line of thoughts was interrupted as Artemis rejoined the group and secretly handed him out a piece of technological equipment he didn’t really have the chance of examining. Seeing her sign to keep this information to himself, he was quick to pocket the device underneath his coat.


When the cyborg passed him by and their furry companion was done opining on the matter of coming out of the ship with weapons drawn, he faced her once again, wanting to clear this matter of mistrust up once and for all. “I don’t know anything of a capture, archer. And my species are born with thermal vision. Your wound looks still fresh and therefore inflamed. I can see the heat radiating from your shoulder.” He explained the best of his abilities and pointed to her shoulder as he did so. “I doubt you’ll be willing to tell me anything about this apparent capture so I won’t ask either but let me tell you that whatever bad stuff you think of me is probably wrong. We’re all in the same shit here, trying to figure out what is going on, so the last thing going through my mind right now is backstabbing any of you. I hope you get it out of your wooden head and have one thing less to worry about.” He finished, feeling even more nervous about her reaction to his comment than before, being one to rather talk or act first and think later, and headed for the exit to prepare for their meeting with the unknown alien species. He rolled his shoulders, checked the mechanisms locking and releasing his cold weapons from their sheaths, as well as the charge of his blaster and the sharpness of the claws on his hands, concluding that everything was in good condition.


@zCrookedz @Lioness075 @Flutterby @Bolts @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Dominaiscna

 

[Flutterby]

Nu remained sitting for the landing, as her knees still felt a little wobbly from the traveling she had just done. The Kryx was trying very hard not to think about the fact that the thing around her neck had transported an entire ship on its own volition, and could probably do the same to her. All it would take is dropping her in empty space, and she would be dead, killed by a piece of metal that she couldn't take off. Panic was not a good thing in any situation, but least of all when a panicked Kryx is often violent (it was the only time a normal Kryx was violent, in fact) and they were in the process of landing on possibly the only planet for lightyears and needed to make nice with the natives.


It had failed to cross her mind again that she might be arriving on Vihalla right this second, with everything else going on.


She took a comlink, with a small grimace, and used the time it took to go back up to her quarters to decide which ear to put it in. Secondary, so that it was at the forefront of her mind, but not blocking the surroundings. She put her belt back on, and her goggles on her head, and returned to the others. She walked back in just in time to see Larassa place her comlink in her pocket instead of readying it for use, which made no sense. She approached to her side, scuffing her feet softly, and whispered, "Push the button on the side and clip it to the inside of your ear, facing inward. Should sync up to everyone else's with no problem." The fierce being might not appreciate Nu butting in to her business, but she had noticed Larassa's lack of tech and got the feeling her people were tribal, not unlike hers. Her voice was so low that she doubted anyone else would hear even standing next to them; she knew that Larassa's hearing was as sensitive as possible without adding ears.


She gave a twitch of her largest ears as the talk of whether or not to attack bounced around, and she gave a soft half-sigh, half-growl. She was hanging out with the wrong group to keep up her habit of avoiding violence. Hopefully, if fighting did break out, it wouldn't be too nauseating this time. The image of their escape from the Imperial ship flashed in her mind, and she shuddered a little. Nu had pointedly left the blaster given to her in her quarters; the only weapons on her now were her teeth and tail.

 

[Lioness075]

Witnessing Lizard's perplexed expression, Larassa realized too late her mistake. If he knew so little of the group and what they were really up to, then why had he been so determined to tag along with them? With this question remaining unanswered for now, Larassa merely narrowed her eyes at him and continued to be wary of him.


Listening to Lizard explain himself a bit, Larassa crossed her arms and gave him a blank look. While it was nice to know of his racial capabilities now, Larassa still found his explanation to be lacking. If he was as clueless as they were, even though they had some more clues than he did, then it still did not explain why he'd been so desperate to join the party.


At the mention of her having a wooden head, though, Larassa blinked and hesitated a moment before suddenly bursting out laughing. Shaking her head in amusement, Larassa then replied, "Vooden 'ead? I've nefer hea'd zat one before."


Sighing, Larassa relented a bit as she added, "Look, I just don't unde'stand vhy ye'd go z'ough so much trouble to join ou' 'pa'ty' if ye don't eefen know vat vee're doin'."


As it were, Tiberius' attempt to jab at her instead was humorous to the bounty huntress, who had spent most of her recent years hanging out with the 'tough crowd'. As it were, most of their jokes would be considered harsh and rude to one another, but it was their style of humor.


Shrugging when Lizard wandered off, Larassa was about to follow suit when Scales appeared at her side. Thankfully, she'd seemingly been purposeful in making some noise, which meant Larassa didn't get a sudden heart attack from Scales' sudden appearance. It'd been a while since the two had interacted and Larassa still knew little of the Kryx.


Hearing the directions given to her, Larassa mutely blinked in response to avoid giving it away to anyone nearby that she'd needed help with a device that seemed to be commonly used by those around her. Pulling her com-link back out, Larassa quickly, and slightly clumsily, followed Scales' directions with her com-link now properly set up. Wary that someone might hear her speaking to Scales, Larassa decided to give her a subtle huff, which was to suffice as a 'thanks'.


@Darkeina @Flutterby @anyone else nearby

 

[zCrookedz]

Cael stood there, waiting to hit the open button to lower the ramp and listening to the others discuss leaving the ship. After Artimis made the suggestion about not leaving with weapons drawn, it seemed to send some of the others into a tizzy of approaching the unidentified planet with more tact. Cael, a pretty unamused expression on his face, hit the button on the wall and the ramp began to lower itself. He didn't say a word, just walked down the ramp with his weapon still drawn and held at his side, to meet a  small group of figures that had obviously been standing there waiting for the.

The figures at the bottom of the ramp, were unlike anything Cael had ever seen before. There humanoid figures stood at the exact bottom of the ramp as it touched down on the ground. None of which so much as flinched at the ramp or the sight of Cael and the others. The two to the left and right where the most notable to Cael. Large fish like creatures with long whiskers hanging from a flattened mouth the very much resembled a fish. They had a single pectoral fin that ran front he tops of their heads to their backs, and fin on each of their scaly arms. Their scaly and muscular arms and legs ended with webbed claw like appendages, which currently had elongated spears held tight in the hands. They were obviously warriors of some type, as they were dressed in a rather rudimentary looking armor. 


The figure in the middle of the two fish people, was much different looking. /monthly_2017_01/imageproxy.jpg.09bdd54d9479c30c986902bb8afb0f20.jpg


This figure has a much more human look, while also looking very much out of place. A large bulbous head with two equally large black eyes starred unblinkingly up at Cael and the others. It did not have any noticeable fins, but its skin did look to be a bit rough like very tiny scales. Its hands and feet were also webbed, but not clawed like the others. Its attire was much more casual, a simple robe of white and gold that seemed to signify some sort of importance. This one did not hold any sort of weapon, merely stood with what appeared to be a silver platter in its hands. 


Cael, still holding his gun at his hip, looked at the fish people, and then to the others. The never made any moves towards them, just simply watched until Cael turned back to them and cleared his throat. 


"Ahem, uh, hi there. Uhm...do you all speak basic?"


The middle creature tilted its head a bit before lifting the lid of the platter to reveal seven small white snails that were slowly making their way around the platter leaving behind little trails of slime. The creature then smiled slightly and began speaking in the same gurgling speech that Cael had heard over the com system. Without the com to interfere with the voice, it now held a slightly high pitched noise to it. Cael winced a bit at the noise and sighed once it was finished. He raised his free hand up to his ear and began making movements within the ear to pop it as he looked to the others. 


"Imma take that as a no. Any of you get that?"


@Bolts @Darkeina @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Flutterby @Dominaiscna @Lioness075

 

[Flutterby]

Nu took note of Lara's huff, and gave her the smallest of nods before stepping past her. She followed Cael as soon as she could, eager to be on the planet. It looked clean and fresh, completely different from the scummy planets she usually was stuck on. She hoped it smelled even the faintest bit like home.


Her excitement dwindled at the sight of the figures at the end of the ramp. The way that they stood exactly where it would touch down, much closer than the average being would, reminded her of C-Virus's cold calculations. The simplistic construction of their clothing and the animal quality to their appearance was strongly connected (in her mind) to societies like hers and Larassa's. The combination brought up an uncomfortable mix of admiration and contempt; the thought of the Krasic brushed her mind briefly as she came to a stop behind Cael and he spoke.


The middle figure, the one she identified as some kind of female leader, opened her mouth to speak. What came out was one of the most kind voices she had ever heard. Nu immediately relaxed, suddenly feeling horribly silly for being uncomfortable in the presence of this being. The way the words fell warmly into her mind reminded her of a lullaby. Her eyes stayed on the strange being, trying to get a better sense of her. That is, until Cael gruffly addressed them again.


She looked at him sharply, confused. It took Nu a long moment to realize that the words she had understood were not the words she had heard; she actually had no idea where the understanding had come from. The language had a similar cadence as her native tongue, the pitch rising and falling randomly, emphasis almost never in the same place, but that was no explanation for the clear understanding she had. Nu's eyes widened, and she looked back at the being.


"She says.. ' Fear not strange ones, you are welcome on Ic'tra. Please take t'hese so that we may speak with you.' She did not say what to do with t'hem." Nu indicated the snails on the tray vaguely, their understanding the least of her concerns in that moment, and then stepped forward past Cael. "How is it t'hat I understand you now?"


A pit of excitement was building in her stomach. What if.. what if this had to do with the Krasic?

 

[Bolts]

Glo'cer finished placing the com link he was given as the others bickered in the background. He had given his thoughts on the approach and it was up to the others to follow them. He knew he wasn't the most reliable shot around so he had to reluctantly trust other criminals to take care of things. He was more of a situational help than anything and he understood that. He watched as Cael made no other comments before opening the door. The air pressure created a thin layer of steam before his eyes as the bright light of the sun beamed in. Once his eyes readjusted, he could see, now, the strange creatures. Two aquatic like humanoids and then a stranger being, out of place from the rest. He had no recollection of a race like these. They were off the directory for known beings. With a hint of hesitant, he walked down with Cael. 


Before he could open his mouth, Cael had taken the introduction. A few moments went by before a platter of snails came up only to be followed up by a painful shriek of noise. The dialect of the creature was impossible to decode like this. A simple word translation wasn't going to happen. Instead, Glo'cer looked at the creatures as a whole. He had dealt with beings that use the mind to communicate. Some that use body movement. Some that could only talk through smell... He felt there was an obvious path to talk with them. Soon after, Nu spoke up. He looked at her with a quizzical look though, she had a few surprises about her. ...Alright, I felt there was something about these snails. He stated bluntly as he walked up. He looked at the plate of snails that crawled around. Wincing at the look of them, he picked one up. He lowly whined before holding it up to his ear like orifice. He hopped his calculation was correct. He really wanted this to be the method to speak with them. So he allowed the snail like creature to crawl in his ear. If not, the second method was to eat it. He honestly didn't care if the rest of the group looked at him weird. It's not like they were going to do something. 

 

[zCrookedz]

Cael was about to turn back to the new creatures and try talking slower to see if they could establish some form of communication that didn't involve shrieking. But was stopped by Nu's words of understanding. Cael looked from the creatures to the plate of snails that seemed perfectly content to sit on the silver platter. He raised his arm and scratched at the underside of his hat as Glo'cer stepped up as the first to inspect the snails. 


As the tiny white snail came into contact with Glo'cer it almost seemed to liven up a little more. As soon as its slimy surface met his membrane like skin, the little snail began to move, rather quickly for a snail, towards the ear like orifice of the Solidus. It stopped only a few centimeters from the orifice and and pulled itself back into its shell, leaving a small white shell stuck to the side of his head. It didn't seem to effect Glo'cer in any way, other than the fact that when the figure in the middle turned to Nu, there was no shrieking, but a motherly toned voice addressing Nu with calm and kind words. 


The figure looked to Nu as she approached, and for a moment its eyes seemed to widen even more than they alright were. Her face held a smile as she bowed to Nu, and slowly held her free hand towards Nu, gesturing at her new piece of jewelry. 


"Why, you are an ambassador of the Tumal. You bear their sigil upon your neck, which has always allowed us to communicate. "


The figure turned back to the rest of the group, and once they had all affixed their own snail to them, addressed them all. 


"Welcome all, to Ic'tra. I am H'ma, Chief of the Koiple. We do hope the storm's of Ic'tra did not cause to much damage to you or your ship. Within Orcolia, you will be safe from the storm.  We will be happy to help restore your ship as soon as possible, but for now, please join us for a celebration feast in your honor."


As Cael rubbed at the little white snail now nestled right be hind his ear, he glanced around at the others and his ship before looking back towards H'ma. 


"That's mighty kind of ya ma'am. I got's a lot of questions though, think we might be able to ask a few over something ta drink?"


H'ma's smile never wavered and she bowed her head towards Cael and the others before turning towards the bridge of the central platform they had landed on. The two guards she had brought with her waited for the group to follow and then fell in line behind them as they walked. 


@Bolts @Darkeina @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Flutterby @Dominaiscna @Lioness075

 

[Lioness075]

Lagging in the back end of the group, Larassa would've missed the exchange if it weren't for her sensitive hearing. Flickering her ears forward, Larassa immediately folded them against her head when she heard the odd language. She wasn't used to having trouble understanding another race, as they all generally knew two languages. One for their own racial communications and another for communicating universally. 


Frowning and looking at those around her, Larassa hoped someone understood these people before they very well upset them with their lack of understanding. She'd seen it happen before to know such things never ended well. 


Luckily, Scales was the one to help out the team, and Larassa was left wondering what to do with said snail after claiming one. Walking up to the front to claim hers, she blankly stared at C-Virus when he tried to shove one in is ear. For someone so obsessed with numbers, he was not the brightest right about now.


Shaking her head, Larassa moved to the back again before simply placing hers on her shoulder. If it needed to get closer then it could climb up her neck, but she wasn't too keen on the slime mixing with her fur. That'd be a nuisance to clean later.


Hearing Scales' slave-like choker announced to be a sigil, Larassa immediately frowned. First off, that sounded faintly religious and she knew few religious zealots who didn't hurt someone along the way of purity or whatever else. Secondly, that thing had forced them here against their will. That was not something that was considered a good thing in Larassa's mind.


Trying to memorize the odd name of the planet, Ic'tra, Larassa almost missed the mention of the storms, which all but knocked them out of the sky. Was it the planet's natural defenses against invaders, perhaps? It was certainly effective. 


Blinking when a feast was mentioned and her stomach immediately responded with growling, Larassa glanced about the group to see their reactions. Despite the oddity of these people, not to mention their fish-like appearance, which only made Larassa's stomach growl louder, she still gleaned at the idea of free food. It couldn't hurt to take a break before continuing their journey, right?


"I velcome ze idea ov a feast. Vee hafen't eaten in a while...or eaten anyzing vorth eating."

 

[Dominaiscna]

When Cael seemed to ignore her previous suggestions and preceded to lower the ramp with weapons drawn, Artemis remained silent with only a slightly raised eyebrow to show her skeptism as she hurried to store the box of spare commlinks safely in the closest room. Soon, she was returning back to their little band of misfits where she took her place somewhere in the middle of the group, before Tiberius and Larassa and behind everyone else just as the ramp touched down on the ground beneath them. 


As Cael started down the ramp towards the group of people who seemed to be strangely welcoming them, Artemis did a quick raincheck of everything she had. Her sword was still safely in its sheath while the commlink was safely attached to her ear. Though she doubted that their crew would blend in with the population, especially with the welcoming of the strange creatures that definitely would've drawn more attention to them, the cyborg found herself pulling her cloak closer around her body but left the hood down. After all, in some traditions, obscuring ones facial features was deemed disrespectful. 


When presented with the platter of snails, Artemis was as confused as the others. Once Nu's words and Glocer's actions confirmed that the snails were safe, one by one, they took up the little creatures who were their supposed means of communication with the strange species that inhabited the planet. Gingerly pinking up one snail and turning it over in her fingers, the cyborg examined it with obvious curiosity and suspicon on her face. After a moment of hesitation, she gently pushed back some of her hair and placed the little creature behind her pointed ear, near the commlink where it nestled. Letting the curtain of pink strands fall back into place, Artemis shivered as she felt the creature move on her skin while the strange sounds uttered by the fish-like people turned into words. 


The snail translated just as the village chief explained who she was and the strange place they had been directed to land in. Though the one known as H'ma with her kind words seemed to have only good intentions, the cyborg couldn't help feel suspicious towards her. Perhaps she was just too much on edge at the bizzarity of their situation, but Artemis found the creatures offers to be way too nice. There was something rather fishy about the situation, and it wasn't their appearances. 


It was obvious that everyone looked forward to the celebration that was to be held in their honor as this meant that they would have the time snd the resources to reccuperate and Skeptical as she was, the Gwathian made no comment as she followed the rest of them with a placid expression on her face. She walked with ease while eyeing the guards subtly from under her eyelashes as they passed. 


....This ought to be fun...


@zCrookedz @Lioness075 @Bolts @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Flutterby @Darkeina

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Rosalyn had come to agree with what they were saying. She wasn't going to bring her weapons out, mainly because she didn't want to go running to go get them but also because her body could become a weapon. Listening to what the others were saying her eyes went from look at the lizard to her fur ball.  How does he know that she was injured?  Her eyes narrowed at Tiberius and clenched her crystalized hand. She was ignoring him before but now he was a little suspicious. As he gave his response on how he knew she relaxed a little.


As the Tiberius and Lara continued to talk she saw Cael start moving to the ramp from the corner of her eye. She saw the neutral expression on his face and his gun up and ready. "What are you doing?!"  Rosalyn called out but it did nothing as the ramp open and he headed down the ramp. Rosalyn crystalized her self before fallowing the rest of the group off the ramp. She was greeted by a race that she had never seen before. They looked like humanoid fish and were very non threatening.  She had to resist smirking at the fact that she was right about them not being a threat. Her body went back to normal at this thought. When one of them spoke she raised an eyebrow, a little confused for she could not understand a thing they were saying. Nu spoke up beside her translating what the fish people were saying. Rosalyn was curious to how she knew that and was going to ask but the Kyrx seemed confused herself.


Glo'cer was the first to walk up and take the snail from the platter and once her put the snail in his ear the rest followed. After Artemis grabbed hers Rosalyn walked up and took one. She had to pick up the snail with her non crystalized hand as to not squish it. She started it for a moment, not too happy that that thing had to go into her ear. With as strait as a face she could manage she put the snail up to her ear. Rosalyn had to make a concentrated effort not to look disgusted as the slimy creature slithered into her ear. Once the whole ordeal was over Rosalyn was surprised that she was finally able to understand what the creatures were saying.


When the female, well she assumed it was female by the sound of their voice, started talking again it amazed her. She knew many species had their own languages but there were always a few universal languages that practically everyone spoke. The woman pointed at Nu and started talking about how she was the ambassador of a place she had never heard of before. Rosalyn knew without even looking that they were pointing at the chocker on the Kryx's neck. It seemed liked everything that has happened has bene because of that damn necklace. As she continued to talk she mentioned something about a feast in their honor. Why are they celebrating us being here? How did they even know we were coming when we didn't?   Rosalyn was about to ask why they wanted to give them a feast but her stomach had started to growl, quite loudly at that, so she just shut up. When Cael mentioned drinks a smile formed on her face. It felt it had been forever since she had one. Rosalyn followed not even worried about the guards that followed them.


@zCrookedz@Lioness075@Dominaiscna@Darkeina@Bolts@Flutterby

 

[Bolts]

Glo'cer wasn't too happy with the snail predicament but it was better than not understanding the natives. Once he saw the leader of sorts beginning to speak, he locked up, preparing for the horrid shrieks. Instead he was met with a heavenly voice. It made his body feel relaxed after everything that had happened on the ship.  He soon found the communication snails could be placed anywhere for the communication abilities. Never the less, he continued to allow it closer to his ear. His mind theorized that the snail would have a better communication feed closer to the brain or brain like part of a creature. Even more, he thought of how the snail did so. Perhaps the Snail could sense the brain waves gathering information from the noise and a special enzyme came from the slime once the snail heard the natives speak. Perhaps it was only fashioned like a snail and was actually a robot! Even a biological tech far more advanced than most bio techs out there. Even if they were to be leaving this planet, he would keep the snail for testing... as long as it was deemed not alive. 


He watched as the rest took the snails after him. All but Nu who apparently had some form of badge for an ambassador like title that also acted like as a communicator. Whatever tech she now wielded, it was nothing Glo'cer had ever seen nor heard of. There was a small gleam in his eye as he thought of further capabilities the device may show later on. It was fortunate that he choose his rooming so that he could conduct tests. He wondered just what these Koiple knew of the device around her neck as well. If they deemed it important, they should know where it was from and what else it did. Looking at H'Ma, she seemed like an intellectual. Far more than he believed his "team". It was only further proven by the instant question of drinks. At least, in his eyes. 


He didn't know how much food consumption he would be able to do. His diet was not like most organic life. Rather than the terrible energy gain of consuming other cells, he gained his ATP production capabilities through minerals and metals. He concluded there would be an abundance of seafood on this current planet. His only hope was that the populous could not only reach the bottom of the sea bed, but also mine for minerals and ores. His last option was to find a mass of pearls. It would seem that most of us are rather exhausted by our travels. We thank you for your extended hospitality. We will be happy to accompany once the ambassador, here, gives us the word." He said walking up to the side of Nu. Should the Koiple see her as an ambassador, he was unsure what they saw the rest of the crew as. In an attempt to play it safe, he set most of the responsibility to Nu. Should things get out of hand, he always could track her if they got separated. 


@zCrookedz@Lioness075@Dominaiscna@Darkeina  @Flutterby @Ch3rryBlossom28

 

[Verena]

All their opinions at withdrawing their weapons as they were greeting these new species were clearly left unheard as their captain, seemingly even more stubborn than their archer, left with his blaster at the ready. Tiberius waited for everyone to walk down the ramp before following after the Siklaid, standing at her left side as she had requested. If she got hit in the injured shoulder and in the process exposed herself completely to the enemy, it wouldn’t be his fault, although he was sure he would be the one to blame for it.


Tiberius’ reaction after finally laying eyes on the inhabitants of this planet was very much similar to those of the other crewmembers. They were a sort of fish-folk, one he had never seen before, which didn’t surprise him as he imagined they would need a constant supply of water around them to keep themselves alive. One of the beings, looking nothing like the armed others behind it, stepped forward carrying a platter of some sort containing a handful of snails. A snack maybe? Made sense being presented on a platter. The vigilante wouldn’t touch them, though, until he was sure what they were for and the effects caused by them after contact.


When the creature spoke, the scales on his back spiked up and his tail lashed around in annoyance caused by the shrill noise that it emitted. He only knew Basic, the language of the Dorogan Empire, and the one of his own people. To his surprise, the Kryx stepped forward and translated the words, even though the two species didn’t look anything alike and their crewmember looked just as surprised by this as the rest of them. Turns out those snails were the complete opposite of what Tiberius had assumed they were for.


Slime boy was the first to take the small animal and place it in his ear, soon followed by Iron Fist, the Siklaid, Artemis and Crystal lady. Tiberius hesitated, feeling extremely uncomfortable to be placing an extraterrestrial organism anywhere near his brain, but he just couldn’t stand the shrieking noises any longer. Finally, he picked up one of the small white snails and carefully placed it on the edge of his ear, letting the thing crawl inside. The feeling of it moving around made his shiver and he was about to pull it back out but, realising that he was now surprisingly able to understand every single word this apparent female chief of the Koiple was saying, he resisted this urge.


She looked friendly enough and the presence of guards around their high chief was entirely reasonable now, so he no longer doubted that they didn’t mean them any harm. If they did, they would have attacked them from the moment they stepped out of the ship or even earlier when they were attempting a landing. To be able to build a floating island like the one they were currently standing on, meant they were clearly capable of defeating them as well. Besides, he would need to recover his strength after the 'diet' he had endured the past couple of days, especially because his argument with the Odyssey crew and him becoming a part of them wasn’t nearly over, only delayed. Many of its members weren’t entirely convinced with the new race’s hospitality but since Iron Fist trusted them enough to accept the offer, then they’d all follow his command.


@zCrookedz @Lioness075 @Flutterby @Bolts @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Dominaiscna

 

[zCrookedz]

H'ma lead the way through the landing platform centralized in the floating city. There were no other ships on the platform, at least, none that looked like they were ment for deep space travel. The small personalized flight vehicles that had been seen on the approach were scattered here and there, but for the most part, the Koiple people walked everywhere. They were congregated in small groups here and there chit chatting to one another. One recurring theme of the idle chatter as the crew passed through was their arrival. Many were skeptical about them being here, others where speaking as if it was some sort of sign. But they all just kept to themselves as the group was lead into the entry way opposite the long landing pad. 

As the group entered into the atrium of the main hub of the city, they were greeted by an oppressive figure. Standing at nearly twenty stores tall, a large, pure white statue loomed over the group. It had no discernible facial features, no indications of gender, and no significant bodily characteristics what so ever. It was a simple, bipedal statue, that seemed to gaze down upon all who treed beneath it without any eyes at all. Cael stopped as he stepped inside and his eyes went wide at the site of the statue. 


"Good god, what in the galaxy is that thing."


H'ma slowed to a stop and gazed up at the statue as they approached it. Her expression was one of admiration, respect, and love as her black eyes swept over the statue.  


"This is the Tumal. They have been our guides, our protectors, and our suppliers for many generations.We live by their grace, and devote our lives to keeping their city thriving."


Cael looked back at the others, his expression obviously portraying his inner thoughts of how crazy this sounded. He could feel H'ma's gaze drift on to him and he turned back to find her smile had not wavered and she was simply waiting. Cael made a noise somewhere between an apologetic throat clearing, and surprise, before H'ma turned and began leading them once again. Cael kept his mouth shut the rest of the walk and simply kept his gaze fixed on the area around him. It felt so very out of place to see the Koiple within the walls of this island. Many of them were dressed in clothing that looked like it belonged, but most of the males where dressed in armor that looked much more hand made than the rest. While the females that looked much like H'ma were dressed in fine white garbs, they just seemed like they were the clothing one would see a race of fish people in. The same feeling was shared as his eye caught Nu's newest adornment; it too looked like it belonged here, but Nu was alien to such an article of clothing. Cael just couldn't help but feel as if the Koiple didn't belong here, and it began to raise some interesting questions within his thoughts. 


Before he dared voice his opinions, H'ma lead them to a pair of double doors located behind a wall behind the statue. Two guards stood on either sides of the doors and as they approached, the guard to the right touched a spot on the wall opening up the two sliding doors. H'ma headed in first, and as the group followed suit, they would notice that the small chamber they were in was made of glass. H'ma's guards entered in last, and touched the right side of the door way and the doors closed, allowing the room to begin lifting upwards. After only a few seconds of moving upwards, the glass walls revealed a view back into the open sea and the landing pad bellow. The Odyssey could be seen, still glistening with the slight layer of water from the storm they had come through. 


Finally the elevator stopped, and the doors behind the guards opened once more. As they stepped out, the revealed a decent sized room that was in the final stages of preparation. The room was starch white, with blue accents that seemed to be inlaid into the walls. They formed a slightly recognizable pattern to that which had enveloped the ship before blinking, but none of the accents where glowing. The walls were glass on all sides, opening up to a view of the entire island, and the surrounding seas. In the middle or the room sat a table, that had been laden with all manner of sea creatures that had been cooked or prepared  for the guests. There were decanters of various liquids, most a slightly neon color, along with the food for anyone to fill a cup with. As H'ma lead the group into the room, Cael walked in and felt very dirty in compared to the cleanliness of the room. He walked over to a spot at the table about half way between the two ends and looked down at the table of food. As his stomach began to growl slightly, he watched as H'ma took a seat at the far end and then gestured for everyone to join here. 


"This bounty was harvested from the seas that surrounds us only hours ago. Please, have as much as you like. If there is nothing here that will not satisfy your pallet, you have only to ask and we shall provide to the best of our abilities."


@Bolts @Darkeina @Ch3rryBlossom28 @Flutterby @Dominaiscna @Lioness075

 

[Flutterby]

Nu couldn't look away from the female figure, essentially ignoring Glo'cer as he drew close to take a snail. She felt compelled to bow back to the stranger, and even though her pride rebelled against it, she lowered her head respectfully. Nu's mind latched on to the word 'Tumal,' turning it over and over again in her mind. It took every bit of willpower in her to hold her tongue as H'ma spoke to the rest of the group, and lead them away. Nu noticed that the guards fell in behind them in a not-so-friendly sort of way, but she was too eager to think much on it. She gave C-Virus an odd look as he seemed to defer leadership to her, and hurried after H'ma.


As they walked, Nu's extraordinary hearing easily caught the chatter of the Koiple around. The suspicion seemed normal, but the talk of a sign was to be taken note of. It should have made her concerned; typically speaking, peoples believing in signs have strong mythical traditions, traditions that can be dangerous if not understood or challenged (as it was with the Kryx). But instead it thrilled her; if they were expecting a sign like her people were, maybe the Tumal and the Krasic were related, or even, one in the same.


She listened intently to what H'ma said about the Tumal, the imposing white figure in the center of the city. The city, apparently, belonged to the Tumal, and was only cared for by the Koiple. It made sense; the Koiple seemed like a much more primative race than what would possess the technology that seemed to fit in the city. They were the worker bees, working for the glory of the Tumal. It struck a chord with her Kryx beliefs, and her excitement only grew.


Upon entering the feast, Nu's eyes widened. The strange symbols she had seen before the ship blinked were written on these walls. Her sticky fingers absently brushed the technology on her neck. For the next few seconds, her focus was not on the food. It was on where H'ma was going. She sat directly to her right, taking only half a second to look at the food. One appeared to be what Basic language called a "salad" of sea plants, and she placed some of that on her plate before looking to H'ma. She shifted uncomfortably, then gained her courage and spoke.


"H'ma, we thank you for the beautiful feast. I ask this with all due respect. Can you tell me more of the Tumal?"