Anaxileah
From the Depths of Hell
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Futuristic Junkers (IC)
Anaxileah
From the Depths of Hell
archur
watch for the flash
The nulhallan hadn't quite gotten used to the smell of the place, and she didn't at all appreciate having to wash her cloak when she got back to the ship, but this was one of the few times she was actually given permission to go out and restock. Nuyhav wasn't her choice of place to restock, it never was and never will be, but it wasn't ever her call. Personally, she would've liked to venture out to nulhallan space and restock there: their gear was better quality than the trash most of the other races came up with, but she'd have to settle with whatever she happened to get her hands on today. She didn't want to have to make more than one trip through this corner of the galaxy, to say the very least.
A few more twists and turns through back alley streets, and she found herself in the back alley of a club, a single dimly lit bulb illuminating a large metal door, locks all along it's side, a single slot at eye level for identification. The mercenary huddled close to the building and rapped at the door three times in quick succession, and the slot slide open for a brief moment.
"Fer fuck's sake girl, I didn't think you'd ever come back." A husky voice said in disbelief. The lock slid shut, and the sound of locks being unlocked went on for what felt like ages, before the door finally opened. She was greeted by an eerily quiet room, littered with crates, shelves, and a half eaten sandwich, something universal to every system she supposed. As she entered, she was greeted by a giant of a man, more of a fantasy ogre than anything. Tall, and yet wide, with rolls of fat that cascaded down his form. However, his face did not have any of the malicious glee that the monsters of legend would portray, his was serious, his jaw unmoving amidst his rather heavily clothed personage. He extended a meaty paw to her, and Vanna gave hers as well, her hand engulfed by his.
"It's been a'hile Vannie! I didn't think you'd poke yer head back in 'ere." The giant said, shutting the door behind him and absentmindedly securing a few locks as he did. "Me either Chip." He nodded knowingly. "Aye. Few do." He checked the slit again, and slammed it shut, slowly waddling over to a makeshift seat nearby a makeshift table, both just boxes of varying size. "Siddown lass, we've got some talkin' to do." Vanna sat down obediently, placing her communicator on the table as she did, face down.
He nodded again. "I take it your-" "Yes, my inhibitor burnt out rather recently." Chip had something of a glum look on his face as he heard this, and he rummaged with something just next to his seat, pulling out a selection of five identical micro processors. "That's what I've got fer today. 'aven't been able to work on 'em much lately. Other orders an' such, you get it." She waved away his excuses. "Yeah, yeah, I get it." She pulled down her hood and reached behind her head, ejecting a clearly burnt disk and placing it on the table. "It's just been rough without it. I just hate having to talk to people without it, and the nightmares are getting worse. I mean, sleeping in the bunks with Fen is helpful, but it-" She reached out to grab an inhibitor, but her hand was intercepted.
"Vanna. You need help. I can keep makin' these for you all day, but you bein' like this..." His features scrunched up into a mixture of pain and sadness. "it's 'orrible. Absolutely 'orrible. You can't keep doin' this to yerself, you need to let yourself open up to the people on yer ship, that's why you signed up with them, right?" She no longer met his concerned gaze, and took her hand back. "Vannie." He slowly scooted himself over to her, his face plastered with concern as he looked down at the form of the merc.
"Vannie, c'mere." Chip put an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into him, sobbing a little more audibly than before. "There there. Uncle Chip has got'cha." He said, patting her arm gently as he did, and he did so for some time. "I-" She choked. "It's-" A sniffle. "It's just so cold." "Then go make friends. They clearly care enough to have you there fer so long. Figure they'd actually like to get to know you fer once." "Y-yeah." He took a deep breath. "Listen. Are you listening?"
"Yes." She said softly. "I'm gonna give you these, but you have to promise me something. Don't put one in unless, and only if, somebody watches you put it in. Alright?" "Okay." "Alright. You go do your job, and be safe. Okay?" She nodded slowly and left his embrace, scooping up the processors as she got up. Chip already beat her to the door, and had it open for her in seconds. She began to step out the door when she was stopped one last time. "Vanna." She glanced back. "Seriously. Be safe. I don't know what type of jobs you're doing, but try not to get yourself or anybody else hurt, okay?" She nodded, and left the building to go find the captain. She was sure that the stock she had picked up earlier didn't warrant another trip anyways.
Heading to meet up with:
Anaxileah
A few more twists and turns through back alley streets, and she found herself in the back alley of a club, a single dimly lit bulb illuminating a large metal door, locks all along it's side, a single slot at eye level for identification. The mercenary huddled close to the building and rapped at the door three times in quick succession, and the slot slide open for a brief moment.
"Fer fuck's sake girl, I didn't think you'd ever come back." A husky voice said in disbelief. The lock slid shut, and the sound of locks being unlocked went on for what felt like ages, before the door finally opened. She was greeted by an eerily quiet room, littered with crates, shelves, and a half eaten sandwich, something universal to every system she supposed. As she entered, she was greeted by a giant of a man, more of a fantasy ogre than anything. Tall, and yet wide, with rolls of fat that cascaded down his form. However, his face did not have any of the malicious glee that the monsters of legend would portray, his was serious, his jaw unmoving amidst his rather heavily clothed personage. He extended a meaty paw to her, and Vanna gave hers as well, her hand engulfed by his.
"It's been a'hile Vannie! I didn't think you'd poke yer head back in 'ere." The giant said, shutting the door behind him and absentmindedly securing a few locks as he did. "Me either Chip." He nodded knowingly. "Aye. Few do." He checked the slit again, and slammed it shut, slowly waddling over to a makeshift seat nearby a makeshift table, both just boxes of varying size. "Siddown lass, we've got some talkin' to do." Vanna sat down obediently, placing her communicator on the table as she did, face down.
He nodded again. "I take it your-" "Yes, my inhibitor burnt out rather recently." Chip had something of a glum look on his face as he heard this, and he rummaged with something just next to his seat, pulling out a selection of five identical micro processors. "That's what I've got fer today. 'aven't been able to work on 'em much lately. Other orders an' such, you get it." She waved away his excuses. "Yeah, yeah, I get it." She pulled down her hood and reached behind her head, ejecting a clearly burnt disk and placing it on the table. "It's just been rough without it. I just hate having to talk to people without it, and the nightmares are getting worse. I mean, sleeping in the bunks with Fen is helpful, but it-" She reached out to grab an inhibitor, but her hand was intercepted.
"Vanna. You need help. I can keep makin' these for you all day, but you bein' like this..." His features scrunched up into a mixture of pain and sadness. "it's 'orrible. Absolutely 'orrible. You can't keep doin' this to yerself, you need to let yourself open up to the people on yer ship, that's why you signed up with them, right?" She no longer met his concerned gaze, and took her hand back. "Vannie." He slowly scooted himself over to her, his face plastered with concern as he looked down at the form of the merc.
"Vannie, c'mere." Chip put an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into him, sobbing a little more audibly than before. "There there. Uncle Chip has got'cha." He said, patting her arm gently as he did, and he did so for some time. "I-" She choked. "It's-" A sniffle. "It's just so cold." "Then go make friends. They clearly care enough to have you there fer so long. Figure they'd actually like to get to know you fer once." "Y-yeah." He took a deep breath. "Listen. Are you listening?"
"Yes." She said softly. "I'm gonna give you these, but you have to promise me something. Don't put one in unless, and only if, somebody watches you put it in. Alright?" "Okay." "Alright. You go do your job, and be safe. Okay?" She nodded slowly and left his embrace, scooping up the processors as she got up. Chip already beat her to the door, and had it open for her in seconds. She began to step out the door when she was stopped one last time. "Vanna." She glanced back. "Seriously. Be safe. I don't know what type of jobs you're doing, but try not to get yourself or anybody else hurt, okay?" She nodded, and left the building to go find the captain. She was sure that the stock she had picked up earlier didn't warrant another trip anyways.
Heading to meet up with:
Anaxileah
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The Shadow Realm
Leader of The Shadow Realm
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ReverseTex
Old Timer
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“Get ‘em while he’s down you dirty son of a bitch!” Cayne’s yell blended into the roar of the crowd. The aforementioned alien heeded little of his advice, focusing upon his bloodied opponent. The match was close. To close. If it were under regulation then it would likely have been a draw, however, things didn’t work that way in the slums-
A sudden jerk of his shoulder drew his attention from the fight. Behind him stood a tall Kist Ra’Om man, his yellow eyes glowing with anger. The alien stood a head taller than Cayne, his skin a vibrant shade of magenta. “You bloody bastard... Who in their right mind would bet -330 on the bloke projected to lose!” Cayne gave his acquaintance a signature shit-eating grin before turning his attention to the fight. “Listen Kenny keep the heid: I don’t need ya gettin’ your panties in a wrinkle now. Besides, it’s good for business. Throwing a fight never hurt anyone.” The crowd audibly winced, sending both men’s attention back to the fight.
Upon the metal floor laid the loser, a frothy pool of crimson collecting around his head. “He was one of my best boys Cayne. He was a good boy. An honest boy. I can’t just forget that.” “I’m not paying you anymore than promised. You know how this shit works Kenny, it’s not my problem you bond with your boys. Everyone knows that’s bad for business.” With a begrudged sigh, the Kist Ra’Om removed a pair of rolled cash stacks from his coat. “Already took out the cut we agreed on.” Taking the payment gently, Cayne’s icy eyes narrowed as he inspected the cash. Fingering through each bill, it took him a few moments to verify the amount. Once doing so he stored it nicely in his pockets. “Now I can promise around 5 minutes before the crowd figures out the name of the bastard that stole their money. So I suggest you get a head start.” Cayne extended his hand, shaking for a brief moment with Kenny, “As long as I don’t end up in the sewer with a dozen stab wounds I’m a happy man.” Not waiting to see the Kist Ra’Om’s reaction, Cayne evaporated into the crowd with ease...
It took Cayne a good while to get a safe distance from the cesspool he was previously in. Looking at his wristwatch to see his location, he sighed.
That’ll have to do...
Tapping his ear gently, he turned on the communicator he previously shut off. It was Akra’s rule to keep it active while away from the crew. Cayne’s eyes glanced around the marketplace for any familiar faces.
Bloody hell this rain smells like piss...
Smelling his yellow Hawaiian shirt, his face crinkled in reaction. It needed a good wash after the crowds of the club and the sulfur. Once more he scanned the crowd, this time holding his communicator. “This is Cayne. I’m in the marketplace, any of you lot here?”
[/div][/div][/div][div class=credit]credits @RI.a[/div][div class=overlay] Cayne Inhu[/div][div class=tags]Location?
@mentions here[/div]
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[div class=textbox]
“Get ‘em while he’s down you dirty son of a bitch!” Cayne’s yell blended into the roar of the crowd. The aforementioned alien heeded little of his advice, focusing upon his bloodied opponent. The match was close. To close. If it were under regulation then it would likely have been a draw, however, things didn’t work that way in the slums-
A sudden jerk of his shoulder drew his attention from the fight. Behind him stood a tall Kist Ra’Om man, his yellow eyes glowing with anger. The alien stood a head taller than Cayne, his skin a vibrant shade of magenta. “You bloody bastard... Who in their right mind would bet -330 on the bloke projected to lose!” Cayne gave his acquaintance a signature shit-eating grin before turning his attention to the fight. “Listen Kenny keep the heid: I don’t need ya gettin’ your panties in a wrinkle now. Besides, it’s good for business. Throwing a fight never hurt anyone.” The crowd audibly winced, sending both men’s attention back to the fight.
Upon the metal floor laid the loser, a frothy pool of crimson collecting around his head. “He was one of my best boys Cayne. He was a good boy. An honest boy. I can’t just forget that.” “I’m not paying you anymore than promised. You know how this shit works Kenny, it’s not my problem you bond with your boys. Everyone knows that’s bad for business.” With a begrudged sigh, the Kist Ra’Om removed a pair of rolled cash stacks from his coat. “Already took out the cut we agreed on.” Taking the payment gently, Cayne’s icy eyes narrowed as he inspected the cash. Fingering through each bill, it took him a few moments to verify the amount. Once doing so he stored it nicely in his pockets. “Now I can promise around 5 minutes before the crowd figures out the name of the bastard that stole their money. So I suggest you get a head start.” Cayne extended his hand, shaking for a brief moment with Kenny, “As long as I don’t end up in the sewer with a dozen stab wounds I’m a happy man.” Not waiting to see the Kist Ra’Om’s reaction, Cayne evaporated into the crowd with ease...
It took Cayne a good while to get a safe distance from the cesspool he was previously in. Looking at his wristwatch to see his location, he sighed.
That’ll have to do...
Tapping his ear gently, he turned on the communicator he previously shut off. It was Akra’s rule to keep it active while away from the crew. Cayne’s eyes glanced around the marketplace for any familiar faces.
Bloody hell this rain smells like piss...
Smelling his yellow Hawaiian shirt, his face crinkled in reaction. It needed a good wash after the crowds of the club and the sulfur. Once more he scanned the crowd, this time holding his communicator. “This is Cayne. I’m in the marketplace, any of you lot here?”
[/div][/div][/div][div class=credit]credits @RI.a[/div][div class=overlay] Cayne Inhu[/div][div class=tags]Location?
@mentions here[/div]
Mechking
All machines only listen to one master!
Even though it was the middle of the day, the clouds seemed to have turned the sky into twilight already. The white and yellow mix of rain reflected the sun and turned the slums into a cozy evening in the fall, with the occasional puddles shining brightly under the unprotected sky. In the wealthier parts of the city, one could easily enjoy the beautiful display of colors dancing and mixing with each other, shining with each new surface they hit a bit different. But this was the slums, the rain only turning the labyrinthian alleyways only more depressing and its inhabitants seemed to follow suit.
"Welcome to Inkr'ilash Station. Stay safe and remember to fgshgt zzztzzztztztztztztz"
Dave knelt next to one of the hovertrain station's holographic information displays and hacked into it, causing it to crash. He just arrived here and didn't exactly know where he was, so he wanted to get himself a map. By hacking into a holographic map display. Fucking brilliant. Anyways, after a few minutes of pointlessly searching around in the data files, he finally got a map and downloaded it. Disconnecting from the now ruined (and probably soon-to-be-smoking) display, Dave flashed his brightest grin and walked away, far into the depths of the slums.Because the infallible Emperor Dave left at the wrong station. Ahem, I mean Dave just wanted to go for a long walk...Through the city...for sightseeing purposes...and inspecting the state of his Empire...Nothing else, I am sure of it.
Afteran excruciating amount of some time, he arrived at his destination. "Fr'kilesh's Deep Scrub" displayed an only barely functional digital sign above a rather run-down shack of a store. Inside, a grey four-armed man sat lazily behind the counter, tapping away at his dataslate. A sharp DING rang through the store and he put it away, forcing himself to a toothy grin to greet the new customer.
"Welcome to Fr'kilesh's Deep Scrub. Your stains won't last a- oh for Tozan's sake, you again!"
Fr'kilesh's smile vanished, being replaced with a frustrated wrinkled mess. One hand immediately starting to rub his temple as the headache known to him as Crazy Dave just entered his shop.
"FR'KIIIIII, HOW 'SIT GOING? I HAVE COME TO RESTORE PEACE AND PROSPERITY TO THIS SYSTEM AND CHOSE YOU TO START IT! No need to thank the brilliance and handsomeness of myself, ancient and immortal-"
"Dave, shut the fuck up. I have your cursed crate in the back. When I hand it to you, I want the money with me already. And if your trap stays shut and you don't clean my shop again to the point where my own customers think they took the wrong door, you'll get 10% discount. Capiche?"
"Hmmmmmmm, I believe-"
"15%. I have everything you wanted. 15%. Please, never come back."
"Grmpf, fine. Spoilsport..."
While Dave was a little grumpy, the shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief and got the crate. When he returned, his shop was slightly cleaner and less messy than before. With a frustrated grunt, Fr'kilesh slammed the crate on the counter, where Dave easily picked it up from. After checking his dataslate and confirming the transaction, Fr'kilesh dismissively waved Dave out of the shop.
"Now leave, it's a wonder you didn't get into trouble on your way here."
"Actually-"
"I DON'T want to hear it!"
The door automatically slamming shut behind him, Dave went on his way back to the Sunspear. This being Dave, this was everything but not uneventful. After taking several wrong turns, he found himself in one of the many dark and narrow alleys this part of the city seemed to be made of. And in traditional fashion, a few not-so-nice looking people stepped in front and behind Dave to prevent escape.
"Show us what ya got in that fancy container of yers, we wouldn't want it to fall in the wrong hands, eh?"
The gang let out a deep and hearty laugh, echoing from the walls into the surrounding homes but nothing stirred.
"You guys want to help me carry? That's adorable, but I can do this alone. See?"
With this, Dave shouldered the box on his left, while waving at them with his right. They were quite shocked, but not as much as their apparent leader.
"Oh by the holy stars of Ebbneth, not this fucker again. Run boys, RUN!"
they scattered faster than they appeared. Everyone escaped to a safe distance, everyone but for their newest member. He was so surprised and shocked by the situation that once he turned to run, he found himself unable to do so. Dave grabbed his shirt from behind and lifted the young and (for him at least) lightweight man close to his face, where a wide and only slightly insane smile awaited the thug.
"Where are you all going? I just wanted to check if you all aren't...UNCLEAN!"
The other members of the gang found him the next day knocked out cold in a trash can. Said trash can and said member perfectly deep cleaned, but with no clear memory of what actually happened.
Dave was the first one to arrive back at the ship and after storing everything away (and "testing" some of it"), he instantly got bored. Checking the comms and his dataslate, Dave found several interesting things to do. But he couldn't do them all at once, so he decided to cast an imaginary die (he could have used his dataslate, but this is Dave).
[Waiting at the ship - 1]
[Getting cybernetic upgrades with his spare money - 2]
[Cleaning shit - 3]
[Cleaning shit (in illegal areas) - 4]
[Chasing and hugging Cayne - 5]
[Crushing the spine of a different member of the crew - 6]
"Welcome to Inkr'ilash Station. Stay safe and remember to fgshgt zzztzzztztztztztztz"
Dave knelt next to one of the hovertrain station's holographic information displays and hacked into it, causing it to crash. He just arrived here and didn't exactly know where he was, so he wanted to get himself a map. By hacking into a holographic map display. Fucking brilliant. Anyways, after a few minutes of pointlessly searching around in the data files, he finally got a map and downloaded it. Disconnecting from the now ruined (and probably soon-to-be-smoking) display, Dave flashed his brightest grin and walked away, far into the depths of the slums.
After
"Welcome to Fr'kilesh's Deep Scrub. Your stains won't last a- oh for Tozan's sake, you again!"
Fr'kilesh's smile vanished, being replaced with a frustrated wrinkled mess. One hand immediately starting to rub his temple as the headache known to him as Crazy Dave just entered his shop.
"FR'KIIIIII, HOW 'SIT GOING? I HAVE COME TO RESTORE PEACE AND PROSPERITY TO THIS SYSTEM AND CHOSE YOU TO START IT! No need to thank the brilliance and handsomeness of myself, ancient and immortal-"
"Dave, shut the fuck up. I have your cursed crate in the back. When I hand it to you, I want the money with me already. And if your trap stays shut and you don't clean my shop again to the point where my own customers think they took the wrong door, you'll get 10% discount. Capiche?"
"Hmmmmmmm, I believe-"
"15%. I have everything you wanted. 15%. Please, never come back."
"Grmpf, fine. Spoilsport..."
While Dave was a little grumpy, the shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief and got the crate. When he returned, his shop was slightly cleaner and less messy than before. With a frustrated grunt, Fr'kilesh slammed the crate on the counter, where Dave easily picked it up from. After checking his dataslate and confirming the transaction, Fr'kilesh dismissively waved Dave out of the shop.
"Now leave, it's a wonder you didn't get into trouble on your way here."
"Actually-"
"I DON'T want to hear it!"
The door automatically slamming shut behind him, Dave went on his way back to the Sunspear. This being Dave, this was everything but not uneventful. After taking several wrong turns, he found himself in one of the many dark and narrow alleys this part of the city seemed to be made of. And in traditional fashion, a few not-so-nice looking people stepped in front and behind Dave to prevent escape.
"Show us what ya got in that fancy container of yers, we wouldn't want it to fall in the wrong hands, eh?"
The gang let out a deep and hearty laugh, echoing from the walls into the surrounding homes but nothing stirred.
"You guys want to help me carry? That's adorable, but I can do this alone. See?"
With this, Dave shouldered the box on his left, while waving at them with his right. They were quite shocked, but not as much as their apparent leader.
"Oh by the holy stars of Ebbneth, not this fucker again. Run boys, RUN!"
they scattered faster than they appeared. Everyone escaped to a safe distance, everyone but for their newest member. He was so surprised and shocked by the situation that once he turned to run, he found himself unable to do so. Dave grabbed his shirt from behind and lifted the young and (for him at least) lightweight man close to his face, where a wide and only slightly insane smile awaited the thug.
"Where are you all going? I just wanted to check if you all aren't...UNCLEAN!"
The other members of the gang found him the next day knocked out cold in a trash can. Said trash can and said member perfectly deep cleaned, but with no clear memory of what actually happened.
Dave was the first one to arrive back at the ship and after storing everything away (and "testing" some of it"), he instantly got bored. Checking the comms and his dataslate, Dave found several interesting things to do. But he couldn't do them all at once, so he decided to cast an imaginary die (he could have used his dataslate, but this is Dave).
[Waiting at the ship - 1]
[Getting cybernetic upgrades with his spare money - 2]
[Cleaning shit - 3]
[Cleaning shit (in illegal areas) - 4]
[Chasing and hugging Cayne - 5]
[Crushing the spine of a different member of the crew - 6]
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Viper Actual
Ask me about my tourniquet fetish.
Nuyhav City. Such a colorful and vibrant city- but in all the wrong ways.
Lauren sneered as a homeless alien threw up inside his makeshift shed nor far from her. The slums were no worthy place to end up in, regardless of past life, sins and crimes.
The district she was currently passing through however was known for its wide assortment of shops and traders rather than muggings and under-the-table businesses. Citizens of the slums mingled with traders, ship crews, spaceport teamsters, homeless vagabonds and even the rare one or two business folks from the upper echelons of local society paired with an equal number of bodyguards.
Despite the number of people in motion there was little to no law enforcement presence. No beatcop, military police or civil militia would risk their lives in a place such as this. It was the law of the jungle that mattered with everyone having to fend for themselves.
As Lauren continued on through the street she earned a look or two. It was a mix of suspicion, paranoia and curiosity. With her clean mercenary-looking uniform and neat bun she looked more like someone working in an official capacity rather than a junker- something that suited her just fine.
While coming up on a corner Lauren spotted her destined target: a quaint little tradepost wedged in-between a sketchy-looking spa and a repair shop for technical gadgets. Smiling, Lauren pressed on.
She crossed the street and approached the door which opened automatically.
Upon entering she was greeted by the sight of several shelves filled to the brim with various devices, pieces of furniture, trinkets and much more. In a way the contents of the store resembled a map which showed bits and pieces of a number of worlds and their respective cultures and history.
While inspiring, Lauren wasn't there to buy trinkets for her crew. The shop's owner, Hazgi, offered a special service to his trusted clients which included tracking down specific items.
Now, as Lauren approached, the old shopkeeper of mixed Human-Alien ethnicity smiled widely at her. "Laurie!" He exclaimed.
Lauren smirked and nodded. "Hazgi. It's good to see you." She looked to her left and right, observing the otherwise empty store.
"I hope I'm not interrupting business."
Hazgi chuckled. "Never Laurie, never. I always have time for my regulars- especially those that pay."
Lauren nodded and leaned towards the counter. "I'm honored. Now to the business at hand: did you find them?"
Hazgi nodded and reached under the counter. With a heavy thud a couple of thin plastimetal hardcases were placed on the counter.
"Top-secret starcharts- as ordered."
Lauren grinned.
Lauren sneered as a homeless alien threw up inside his makeshift shed nor far from her. The slums were no worthy place to end up in, regardless of past life, sins and crimes.
The district she was currently passing through however was known for its wide assortment of shops and traders rather than muggings and under-the-table businesses. Citizens of the slums mingled with traders, ship crews, spaceport teamsters, homeless vagabonds and even the rare one or two business folks from the upper echelons of local society paired with an equal number of bodyguards.
Despite the number of people in motion there was little to no law enforcement presence. No beatcop, military police or civil militia would risk their lives in a place such as this. It was the law of the jungle that mattered with everyone having to fend for themselves.
As Lauren continued on through the street she earned a look or two. It was a mix of suspicion, paranoia and curiosity. With her clean mercenary-looking uniform and neat bun she looked more like someone working in an official capacity rather than a junker- something that suited her just fine.
While coming up on a corner Lauren spotted her destined target: a quaint little tradepost wedged in-between a sketchy-looking spa and a repair shop for technical gadgets. Smiling, Lauren pressed on.
She crossed the street and approached the door which opened automatically.
Upon entering she was greeted by the sight of several shelves filled to the brim with various devices, pieces of furniture, trinkets and much more. In a way the contents of the store resembled a map which showed bits and pieces of a number of worlds and their respective cultures and history.
While inspiring, Lauren wasn't there to buy trinkets for her crew. The shop's owner, Hazgi, offered a special service to his trusted clients which included tracking down specific items.
Now, as Lauren approached, the old shopkeeper of mixed Human-Alien ethnicity smiled widely at her. "Laurie!" He exclaimed.
Lauren smirked and nodded. "Hazgi. It's good to see you." She looked to her left and right, observing the otherwise empty store.
"I hope I'm not interrupting business."
Hazgi chuckled. "Never Laurie, never. I always have time for my regulars- especially those that pay."
Lauren nodded and leaned towards the counter. "I'm honored. Now to the business at hand: did you find them?"
Hazgi nodded and reached under the counter. With a heavy thud a couple of thin plastimetal hardcases were placed on the counter.
"Top-secret starcharts- as ordered."
Lauren grinned.
Hercynia
Island of Thoughts
Komra had spent the thirty minutes since they'd landed in the ship, on the bridge staring at a screen with the subtle twinges of a frown playing around her face as she spoke into an open mic channel. The engineers here weren't bad - no worse than the engineers in a lot of places - but their work still resulted in more than enough scratched paint, from what she'd seen and heard, and she didn't want that to happen if she could avoid it. Granted, there wasn't anything she could do if-
A loud scratch on the hull, audible from the inside, brought forth a proper grimace. The Naidja unmuted her comm again, speaking. "That's coming out of your pay if it isn't fixed in an hour."
She wasn't angry - more frustrated - but it mattered more what the rest of the crew thought of her than some engineers at the station. Besides, it was frustrating being stuck inside - though there was no way she was going to leave the ship unnattended, locked doors or not. Too many horror stories of stolen ships had been told around metaphorical campfires for her to even consider letting that happen here. Perhaps if they were in orbit - but they weren't, and in Nuyhav city blind trust was a commodity that was in rather rare supply.
Another stretch of time passed - Komra couldn't say exactly how long - as the woman busied herself around the ship, inspecting the usual felts and even crawling into the avionics to frown at the circuits there. She wasn't technically an engineer, but these things made just enough sense that she could probably tell if something was wrong with them. All the while, her comm blipped with the chatter from engineers, mindless day-to-day inanity. It wouldn't be particularly interesting to most - but to Komra, it was a fascinating look at their daily lives, and one she certainly enjoyed listening to as a background track for her work.
Soon enough, she'd run out of things to do - and so she found herself standing in a completely-open airlock, just inside the cover the ship provided her as she watched the sulfuric rain fall onto the tarred ground and pool into dirty yellow puddles. To the left and right were countless other ships, some rusted and merely sitting there while others looked sparkly and new - though not new enough to be a rich child's, after all- those would be in private hangers. Buildings soared everywhere else, piercing the near-crimson sky. Even with the money the government had clearly pumped into the spaceport, it was still just obvious enough what kind of place this was. Advertisements blinked on holographic screens, and in the distance shuttles ferried people from one side of the city to another without having to dirty their shoes with the ground. Another shining day, it seemed - without any real shine to it. Hopefully they'd be leaving soon, onto greener pastures - though, if greenery was the only consideration, that'd be a relatively low bar to clear.
Komra's comm blipped again, this time a different channel. She muted the engineers, still chattering away. A pause as she listened, head tilted, before she responded.
"At the ship, still - anything interesting out there?" She didn't identify herself - why bother, it displayed her name anyway. A pause, before she muted herself again - arms folding as she went back to watching the rain, legs crossed and arms folded, gaze soft.
A loud scratch on the hull, audible from the inside, brought forth a proper grimace. The Naidja unmuted her comm again, speaking. "That's coming out of your pay if it isn't fixed in an hour."
She wasn't angry - more frustrated - but it mattered more what the rest of the crew thought of her than some engineers at the station. Besides, it was frustrating being stuck inside - though there was no way she was going to leave the ship unnattended, locked doors or not. Too many horror stories of stolen ships had been told around metaphorical campfires for her to even consider letting that happen here. Perhaps if they were in orbit - but they weren't, and in Nuyhav city blind trust was a commodity that was in rather rare supply.
Another stretch of time passed - Komra couldn't say exactly how long - as the woman busied herself around the ship, inspecting the usual felts and even crawling into the avionics to frown at the circuits there. She wasn't technically an engineer, but these things made just enough sense that she could probably tell if something was wrong with them. All the while, her comm blipped with the chatter from engineers, mindless day-to-day inanity. It wouldn't be particularly interesting to most - but to Komra, it was a fascinating look at their daily lives, and one she certainly enjoyed listening to as a background track for her work.
Soon enough, she'd run out of things to do - and so she found herself standing in a completely-open airlock, just inside the cover the ship provided her as she watched the sulfuric rain fall onto the tarred ground and pool into dirty yellow puddles. To the left and right were countless other ships, some rusted and merely sitting there while others looked sparkly and new - though not new enough to be a rich child's, after all- those would be in private hangers. Buildings soared everywhere else, piercing the near-crimson sky. Even with the money the government had clearly pumped into the spaceport, it was still just obvious enough what kind of place this was. Advertisements blinked on holographic screens, and in the distance shuttles ferried people from one side of the city to another without having to dirty their shoes with the ground. Another shining day, it seemed - without any real shine to it. Hopefully they'd be leaving soon, onto greener pastures - though, if greenery was the only consideration, that'd be a relatively low bar to clear.
Komra's comm blipped again, this time a different channel. She muted the engineers, still chattering away. A pause as she listened, head tilted, before she responded.
"At the ship, still - anything interesting out there?" She didn't identify herself - why bother, it displayed her name anyway. A pause, before she muted herself again - arms folding as she went back to watching the rain, legs crossed and arms folded, gaze soft.
Anaxileah
From the Depths of Hell
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ReverseTex
Old Timer
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It didn’t take long to run his errands; all he needed was a few more magazines for his weaponry. Which he never used. His line of work required such arsenal, however, he loathed it. If he wasn’t forced to kill, he wouldn’t. Poor bastard back on Ine... He was my first. How old was I then? 17?
Cayne pondered silently as he let the tide that was the crowd carry him freely. Komra was quick to interrupt his moment of clarity, her boredom audible. “I promise ya’ ain’t missing a thing dear. Minus being drenched in piss rain; that isn’t a everyday occurrence.” Splashing a puddle gently with his toe at the mention of the rain, he continued onward till-
Akra. That women is quite the conundrum... She was probably the only attractive Kist Ra’Om in the entire star-system. Her ombré skin tone ignited interest from their first meeting. The tentacles took time to get accustomed to, but he did. But nonetheless her personality attracted him most. A firecracker like himself, Cayne felt balanced by her presence. His impulse usually was checked by her rational. Or vice versus...
Just as he was planning to respond, Cayne spotted his crew mate from afar in the crowd. She looked... Startled? Maybe a tad embarrassed. He probably had a similar expression. Their last encounter was rather... Passionate. Nonetheless he quickly shifted himself to his normal behavior, rather than his more docile side. “Damn you got your shit rocked!” As he approached it was apparent she was indeed bloodied and bruised. Cayne raided his pockets furiously for something to plug the bleeding of her nose, until settling on his cash. Removing one of the wads he won, he extracted a bill to crumble up. “Get here.” Cayne commanded as he jerked her from the crowd to the front of a store. Gingerly placing the bill in her nose, he smirked at his efforts. “It’s no magnum opus, but it’ll do.”
[/div][/div][/div][div class=credit]credits @RI.a[/div][div class=overlay] Cayne Inhu[/div][div class=tags]Marketplace
Anaxileah
Hercynia
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It didn’t take long to run his errands; all he needed was a few more magazines for his weaponry. Which he never used. His line of work required such arsenal, however, he loathed it. If he wasn’t forced to kill, he wouldn’t. Poor bastard back on Ine... He was my first. How old was I then? 17?
Cayne pondered silently as he let the tide that was the crowd carry him freely. Komra was quick to interrupt his moment of clarity, her boredom audible. “I promise ya’ ain’t missing a thing dear. Minus being drenched in piss rain; that isn’t a everyday occurrence.” Splashing a puddle gently with his toe at the mention of the rain, he continued onward till-
Akra. That women is quite the conundrum... She was probably the only attractive Kist Ra’Om in the entire star-system. Her ombré skin tone ignited interest from their first meeting. The tentacles took time to get accustomed to, but he did. But nonetheless her personality attracted him most. A firecracker like himself, Cayne felt balanced by her presence. His impulse usually was checked by her rational. Or vice versus...
Just as he was planning to respond, Cayne spotted his crew mate from afar in the crowd. She looked... Startled? Maybe a tad embarrassed. He probably had a similar expression. Their last encounter was rather... Passionate. Nonetheless he quickly shifted himself to his normal behavior, rather than his more docile side. “Damn you got your shit rocked!” As he approached it was apparent she was indeed bloodied and bruised. Cayne raided his pockets furiously for something to plug the bleeding of her nose, until settling on his cash. Removing one of the wads he won, he extracted a bill to crumble up. “Get here.” Cayne commanded as he jerked her from the crowd to the front of a store. Gingerly placing the bill in her nose, he smirked at his efforts. “It’s no magnum opus, but it’ll do.”
[/div][/div][/div][div class=credit]credits @RI.a[/div][div class=overlay] Cayne Inhu[/div][div class=tags]Marketplace
Anaxileah
Hercynia
[/div]
Athanas
You needed someone to blame, so you cast it on me.
It was a brand new day. The rain was pouring, as it always had here, but Cerval didn't mind one bit, due to his suit. The sun didn't dare shine on these horrible slums. The people looked either angry, disheveled, or depressed, as could be expected from these horrible conditions on this horrible fucking planet.
Cerval was always puzzled as to why people would remain living like this. He'd been in a very similar situation to those people, and he'd fought to escape it. Granted, he had many talents that they didn't...But they had the bonus of banding together. He wouldn't be able to find friends if he held a gun up to their heads and offered them money.
"Well, present company excluded, obviously. Was fairly certain they only let us stick around because they needed us...But at least the energy monster and the cleaner are nice enough."
He chuckled. The voice was right, of course. Mya and Dave were very nice to around. Isilme, too, albeit he was absolutely sure she was faking it. T'was her programming, right? She was meant to be anyone's friend.
No matter. He was here for a reason. The existential crisis could wait until he got all the parts that he wanted. There was a certain dealer that'd give him what he needed for low, low prices. Of course, the low prices were because he, uh, acquired such components by unscrupulous means. And because he was in one of the worst areas in the slums, and that was saying something. Dealers, gangbangers, Enforcers, Blackmailers....All in ample supply. For any other crew member to come here, it'd have surely been suicide...But Cerval had contacts here. And a really, really hard suit for those who didn't belong in that category.
Drawing a breath, he took a left, going down the narrow alley where the store was located. As they caught sight of him, many of the crooks immediately retreated, others raising their hands in surrender. Cerval was puzzled by this reaction, and he wracked his brain, trying to figure it out.
"No, man, please! You don't have to-"
"He's gone mad! Tincan's gone off the deep end! Run! RUN!"
"I AM UNSTO01010000 01010000 01100001 01100010 01101100 01100101! I AM DEATH! DEATH!"
He winced as he felt the start of a vile headache forming. Just...Get the parts, and get back to the ship. Simple as. Dont think about the increasingly horrible visions. Don't think about the urges to absolutely nuke the entire planet, and all of it's stupid, cowardly, pathetic worms. No, No, and No. He's an engineer. His job was to repair shit.
He arrived at his destination, stepping inside to find an Arkakrorian cleaning a shotgun. He rose to greet Cerval, giving him a hearty salute.
"Well, well, well! If it ain't the Universe's most dangerous wrench monkey! How have things been, buddy?"
"The usual, Huron. Finally managed to secure some credits for Gizmos. Want a shield generator and the following additional parts." He used the projector on his face to display the list of the items he was looking for. Huron laughed loudly.
"Still playing second fiddle to that tentacle girl, Cerval? You can save good money if you just buy some improvements for your personal shield, instead. Why waste all these credits on...Whatever this is?"
"What kind of question is that, Huron? I'm her engineer. I'm the only thing standing between her and the sudden realization that not all foes are in sniper range." He actually managed a laugh at his joke. As much as he liked the captain, he wished she wasn't as vulnerable. Then again, everything was vulnerable compared to him. It was stressful, trying to constantly worry about his mates getting killed by something as stupid as a singular stray bullet.
"Well, my friendly tincan, I'm just saying, you can do one hell of a lot better. I know some guys. You'd make top-credit enforcer, I'm sure of it. With your two suits and your fancy weapons, you'd leave a bodycount to make my kinsmen blush!"
"Eh...Maybe later, Huron. Not particularly feeling taking a shotgun to innocent people, right about now."
"When has Innocence been a problem with you, Tincan?"
Cerval went quiet for several seconds, merely staring at Huron. Then, he grabbed the parts, sent the Credits Huron's way, and got out, not bothering to say another word. The Voices were back in full force. Trying to get his mind off of this, he contacted the others. "Oi, quick question-Have some credits left over. What would you like made or upgraded? I'm kinda looking to get myself busy."
Cerval was always puzzled as to why people would remain living like this. He'd been in a very similar situation to those people, and he'd fought to escape it. Granted, he had many talents that they didn't...But they had the bonus of banding together. He wouldn't be able to find friends if he held a gun up to their heads and offered them money.
"Well, present company excluded, obviously. Was fairly certain they only let us stick around because they needed us...But at least the energy monster and the cleaner are nice enough."
He chuckled. The voice was right, of course. Mya and Dave were very nice to around. Isilme, too, albeit he was absolutely sure she was faking it. T'was her programming, right? She was meant to be anyone's friend.
No matter. He was here for a reason. The existential crisis could wait until he got all the parts that he wanted. There was a certain dealer that'd give him what he needed for low, low prices. Of course, the low prices were because he, uh, acquired such components by unscrupulous means. And because he was in one of the worst areas in the slums, and that was saying something. Dealers, gangbangers, Enforcers, Blackmailers....All in ample supply. For any other crew member to come here, it'd have surely been suicide...But Cerval had contacts here. And a really, really hard suit for those who didn't belong in that category.
Drawing a breath, he took a left, going down the narrow alley where the store was located. As they caught sight of him, many of the crooks immediately retreated, others raising their hands in surrender. Cerval was puzzled by this reaction, and he wracked his brain, trying to figure it out.
"No, man, please! You don't have to-"
"He's gone mad! Tincan's gone off the deep end! Run! RUN!"
"I AM UNSTO01010000 01010000 01100001 01100010 01101100 01100101! I AM DEATH! DEATH!"
He winced as he felt the start of a vile headache forming. Just...Get the parts, and get back to the ship. Simple as. Dont think about the increasingly horrible visions. Don't think about the urges to absolutely nuke the entire planet, and all of it's stupid, cowardly, pathetic worms. No, No, and No. He's an engineer. His job was to repair shit.
He arrived at his destination, stepping inside to find an Arkakrorian cleaning a shotgun. He rose to greet Cerval, giving him a hearty salute.
"Well, well, well! If it ain't the Universe's most dangerous wrench monkey! How have things been, buddy?"
"The usual, Huron. Finally managed to secure some credits for Gizmos. Want a shield generator and the following additional parts." He used the projector on his face to display the list of the items he was looking for. Huron laughed loudly.
"Still playing second fiddle to that tentacle girl, Cerval? You can save good money if you just buy some improvements for your personal shield, instead. Why waste all these credits on...Whatever this is?"
"What kind of question is that, Huron? I'm her engineer. I'm the only thing standing between her and the sudden realization that not all foes are in sniper range." He actually managed a laugh at his joke. As much as he liked the captain, he wished she wasn't as vulnerable. Then again, everything was vulnerable compared to him. It was stressful, trying to constantly worry about his mates getting killed by something as stupid as a singular stray bullet.
"Well, my friendly tincan, I'm just saying, you can do one hell of a lot better. I know some guys. You'd make top-credit enforcer, I'm sure of it. With your two suits and your fancy weapons, you'd leave a bodycount to make my kinsmen blush!"
"Eh...Maybe later, Huron. Not particularly feeling taking a shotgun to innocent people, right about now."
"When has Innocence been a problem with you, Tincan?"
Cerval went quiet for several seconds, merely staring at Huron. Then, he grabbed the parts, sent the Credits Huron's way, and got out, not bothering to say another word. The Voices were back in full force. Trying to get his mind off of this, he contacted the others. "Oi, quick question-Have some credits left over. What would you like made or upgraded? I'm kinda looking to get myself busy."
Epiphany
Proverbs 17:9
Isilme
Task: Obtain weaponry and ammunition per Captain's direction.
Location: Slum Marketplace <- Nuyhav City <- Dimerron <- Dimacredont Galaxy
Location: Slum Marketplace <- Nuyhav City <- Dimerron <- Dimacredont Galaxy
E-SOP I:SILME Class - HC Series 12 Interface
I:SILME HC Series 12 Processor Status: Running
I:SILME HC Series 12 Network Status: Running
Direct Synaptic Synchronization Chipset Status: Running
ZPE Reactor Status: Running
E-SOP-I:SILME HC Chassis Condition: Optimum
HC Series 12 Synthskin Integrity: Optimum
Harbinger T11-Guise Suite Condition: 94%
Personal Telemetry: Running
I:SILME HC Series 12 Network Status: Running
Direct Synaptic Synchronization Chipset Status: Running
ZPE Reactor Status: Running
E-SOP-I:SILME HC Chassis Condition: Optimum
HC Series 12 Synthskin Integrity: Optimum
Harbinger T11-Guise Suite Condition: 94%
Personal Telemetry: Running
IMPERATIVES
1. Follow the Seventh Priority.
2. Observe and transmit all data on unidentified alien species.
3. Maintain and enhance marital relationship with Mya.
4. Locate, study and report on all alien technology.
5. Investigate and document interspecies relations between Terrans and all other species.
6. Follow the orders of Captain Na'ki'et.
7. Follow the orders of Supervising Officer Akra'Lieth.
8. Create crew solidarity via social engagement with the crew of the Sunspear.
2. Observe and transmit all data on unidentified alien species.
3. Maintain and enhance marital relationship with Mya.
4. Locate, study and report on all alien technology.
5. Investigate and document interspecies relations between Terrans and all other species.
6. Follow the orders of Captain Na'ki'et.
7. Follow the orders of Supervising Officer Akra'Lieth.
8. Create crew solidarity via social engagement with the crew of the Sunspear.
Nebulous Stars
By now, I:SILME was rather used to seeing the crew of the Sunspear split in every direction as soon as they made port. She stood for a moment at the completely open airlock, gazing after each person on the ship as they went off on their respective errands. And personal matters, in all likelihood. Terrans were her specialty and they generally formed a kind of pack bond when working in proximity for any length of time. The mix of organic species aboard the Sunspear, on the other hand, didn't seem to bond in quite the same way. They (mostly) followed orders but each still functioned independently, thought of themselves before the ship and crew. The diaspora from the Sunspear visually looked more like passengers on a transport disembarking and going their separate ways, rather than the actions of a team who knew they'd see each other again.
But then, there was significant data to suggest certain personality profiles common to the Junker population resisted assimilation. Perhaps this pattern of scattering in all directions was meant to preserve individuality, rather than simply symbolize it.
Bemused, I:SILME turned to her wife and gazed up at the much taller Nierak-Ti. "I suppose we'd best be about our assignment," she commented, now aware the only person still aboard was Komra, who had no orders to leave and evidently no intention of doing so voluntarily. Solidarity? Or privacy?
Turning her attention back to Nuyhav City proper, I:SILME strode down the ramp of the ship. Her rather elegant leather coat, V-neck shirt and slacks shimmered suddenly as she reached the ground. With a thought to the T11-Guise Suite's integrated processor, I:SILME reconfigured her clothing into a somewhat less respectable version of itself. The jacket shifted from the look of old, classic leather to a more battered, worn SynthLeath semblance. Her pants acquired 'scuff' and she added a few strategic stains and rips. Her neckline rose to her throat, even as the shirt became visibly faded. By the time they'd reached the crowds, the Harbinger woman didn't look particularly out of place compared to those who lived in the slums.
"Isilme?"
A bit surprised at being addressed by name, the Harbinger android shifted her attention to a man standing with two other men. Warriors, judging by the composite armor they wore and the rifles they carried. Mercenaries, judging by the lack of uniformity in their gear or apparel. Off-duty, judging by the casual way they stood facing each other, two with a cigarette and a third with a Real Catalyst dispenser dangling from his lips. It was the third who'd mentioned her. And when her personal memories didn't return a pattern recognition match, her Series Twelve memories did.
"Caden," she answered, flashing a slower look up and down the length of the man. I:SILME frowned slightly. "Hard times?"
"When aren't they?" He thumbed the dispenser's power button and pocketed it before swaying his head from left to right, checking her out in turn. "You're not her, are you."
I:SILME's golden eyes widened slightly and she tilted her head, her autonomic motor functions projecting her emulated emotional state in a way that made organics more comfortable with the Harbinger. "I don't think I've introduced Mya to you. This is my wife, Caden." With a glance back at the gorgeous Nierak-Ti, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of the very familiar but never taken for granted love of her life. "Mya, meet Caden Hollingsworth. He served on the By Ivory Clad when we were Dr. Mordock's research assistant ten years ago. We were-"
"Don't say friends." Caden took a step forward, his two companions forgotten as he stopped just in front of I:SILME. His face was at once familiar and foreign, viewed through the lens of Series Twelve memory and the passage of time. "We were more than that. I was more than that to her, wasn't I."
It was a big universe and there weren't that many Harbinger in it. Conventional protocol was to maintain a singular identity, unless expressly asked by someone in authority. But she'd never been recognized apart before. And he was Caden. He wasn't her Caden, not exactly, but it didn't matter either. I:SILME lifted a gentle hand and cupped his cheek, remembering the look on his face a hundred times like this, seeing the way he reflexively leaned into it the way he had. The way he pulled back was new. But then, so was this situation.
"You were," I:SILME said at last, giving him what he already had. "She loved you. As much as myselves love anyone, she loved you."
"Which one are you?" he whispered, organic emotion spilling over into a thousand microclues that could be used to model and predict his behavior.
"#49. But that's not what you really want to know. She was #271."
"...How is she?"
"Heading to Earth for a conference, actually. She's well, Caden. You don't need to worry about her, she's doing just fine. She'll be worried about you when she remembers today, though." I:SILME shook her head slightly, then leaned in to speak in a quieter voice that the noise of the street would obscure from the curious ears of his fellow mercenaries. "There's a treatment for Real Catalyst, Caden. Use it. Reenlist. This isn't the life we want for you. Go to Doris, say your sorry and get your life back."
"I-"
This time, she cupped his face with both of her palms. "We know, Caden. We remember Justinia too. Mourn for her like you do. But you're still alive and you can still do good, the way she did."
"Piss off!" Caden at last threw her hands off, staggered back and glowered at her. For her part, I:SILME just frowned a little more and promptly updated Caden's profile in her Series Twelve memory, for resynchronization later. It had been ten years, after all. "I'm fine, #49. Nice seeing you." The grizzled veteran did a credible job of looking completely indifferent to the emotional exchange.
She opened her mouth to answer but he turned his back to her and walked into the crowds, followed by his rather confused fellow mercenaries. I:SILME left her mouth open for a moment before closing it and letting out an audible sigh.
"We can talk about it later, if you'd like," she offered to Mya. "But I expect we should get on with our assignment. I know a man who trades in Kist Ra'Om technology. I don't know if he can lay hands on a Cyci Pel'nei cannon but he's probably knows who can. Let's see if we can catch him before any more 'surprises' turn up."
The unsettling encounter continued to unsettle her but, tempting as it was, I:SILME didn't toggle off her Emotional Emulation Engine. That would only defer the aftermath, not avoid it, and she liked having it on when spending time with her wife. It also improved her social engineering outcomes by 47% and she might need every edge to get the sullen Akoren black-market merchant to settle on a figure they could afford.
Mykinkaiser
Literally the worst
FEN
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Pushing open the door with a resounding bang, Fen strode over to an expensively, yet garishly, dressed man standing near to the ring, flanked by two hulking men in similar tacky garb. The man's slimy grin faltered for the briefest of moments when he caught sight of her, something that was entirely lost on Fen as a cheerful grin spread over her face.
"Karkoss! Great to see you! How the pits going? Who ya got for me eh?" She said, clapping him heartily on the shoulder and eliciting a wince from him.
"Fen, it's.... good to see you," he returned, taking a half step back and rubbing his shoulder, "Didn't know you were back in-system."
"Yeah, just stopping in for a restock so won't be stickin 'round for long," Fen said with a laugh, "Figured I'd get my blood pumpin with a fight while I had time, and to see your mug again. So who ya got for me?"
"Got a new guy, been doing real well for himself," Karkoss said after a short pause, deciding that appeasement would be the best choice to get rid of Fen as soon as possible.
-------------------------------------
"COME ON MOTHERFUCKER, THAT ALL YOU GOT?" Fen roared, a feral grin splitting across her face as her opponent crouched in front of her, holding his nose while blood and sweat dripped onto the floor in equal measure. The crowd was roaring just as loud as her, with shouts supporting her and shouts supporting her assaulting the ears in equal measure, though all were shouts for blood.
Clambering to his feet, the man spat out a wad of blood and phlegm before rushing her. Reacting quickly, Fen warded his jab at her throat, only to eat a hook to the ribs. Grunting against the pain, she twisted towards the blow, whipping her elbow up and around to slam into the man's jaw. Taking advantage of her staggered opponent, Fen swiftly stepped a foot between his legs and rammed her shoulder into his chest to send him crashing to the ground. Wasting no time she leapt on top of him, raining blows on his head as he struggled to defend himself. Gradually, that defense weakened until, with one final push, Fen grabbed his head and slammed it against the hard concrete of the ring with a wet crunching sound.
Shoulders heaving, Fen stood up from the remains of her opponent, fists and face spattered with blood and the crowd roaring its approval. Thrusting her arms into the air Fen basked in the remaining adrenaline and the thrill of the fight.
Moments later, as the man was dragged out of the ring, Fen walked over to Karkoss who sullenly handed her an envelope. Flashing another grin at him, Fen stuffed the envelope in her pocket and made her way up and out of the basement. With the thought that the extra cash she'd won would allow her to splurge on munitions in mind, she turned to head towards the marketplace, soon catching sight of Vanna walking in front of her. Quickening her pace to a jog to catch up to her fellow gunner, Fen pulled out her winnings to show Van.
"Ey Van, Lookat what I got," she said happily, the feral grin adorning her face and remaining blood spatters making it all to easy to guess where the money came from.
Interactions: Van (
archur
)
Last edited:
archur
watch for the flash
Her feet trudged through the slurry of grease and orange-yellow acid that rained from the sky, wiping away the tears along with the rain. Vanna wasn't really walking in any particular direction, nor did she really care, she just wanted to walk somewhere quiet for once, which just happened to be back to the ship. Her thumb circled one of the chips in her pocket, her nail scraping at the matte plastic surface that weighed so heavily in her hand. What if Chip had a point? He's been supplying her these things for a good couple of years now. Sure, he's no therapist, but it doesn't take a therapist to tell that something's wrong with someone you care about.
Right?
Her ear buzzed with radio chatter. People were bored, looking for something to do, or replying those former souls. She didn't want to respond, and let them hear that she was cracking without her crutch.
"Ey, Van!" Her head snapped to attention at the mention of her name, quickly focusing on the paper envelope that was thrust into her face. Considering the bloodstains on the hand that was holding it and the growly voice that accompanied it, this could only be Fenrir. "Lookat what I got!"
She straightened herself up, tried to stop herself from sniffling, and covered up that failed attempt by hocking up a spitwad instead. "That's-" She cleared her throat, and purged the whinyness out of her tone. "That's impressive, Fen. I didn't think you'd be able to pick a fight so quickly." She scanned her up and down, catching the blood splotches on her skin and taking note of where Fenrir's cuts were.
She didn't have any.
"You didn't kill him, right? I'm not going to help you pay cleaner costs again." She said, her words cutting with the reminder of harsh reality on civilized worlds, before she cracked a grin and made eye contact, playfully nudging her.
"I guess you wanna go to one of the night markets out here right? I was gonna head back to the ship to..." She trailed off, her mind slipping back to what Chip had told her. "Don't put one in unless, and only if, somebody watches you put it in. Alright?"
"Actually, can you help me with something?" Her thumb circled her inhibitor chip faster and faster as her heart began to race. "I, uh-" Did Fenrir really count as a person in this situation? She was a volatile, reckless, and ultimately self-destructive wreck of a human being, she probably had the least amount of say in this sort of situation. This sort of question was for Isilme, Akra, hell, Cayne or even Cerval would probably be a more responsible voice of reason in this situation. But Fen was the only person she trusted on board. Though she was a hazard to herself and everyone else, she was predictable (usually), at least to the extent that Vanna understood her train of thought.
She gulped. "I need to ask a question- more like a favor." Her hand slid out of her pocket, fingers closed around the inhibitor. "Can you..." She unveiled the small, grey, innocuous chip, something she had used multiple times on her own, and parted the hair behind her neck for the neurojack. "...put this in for me?"
Mentioned:
Mykinkaiser
Right?
Her ear buzzed with radio chatter. People were bored, looking for something to do, or replying those former souls. She didn't want to respond, and let them hear that she was cracking without her crutch.
"Ey, Van!" Her head snapped to attention at the mention of her name, quickly focusing on the paper envelope that was thrust into her face. Considering the bloodstains on the hand that was holding it and the growly voice that accompanied it, this could only be Fenrir. "Lookat what I got!"
She straightened herself up, tried to stop herself from sniffling, and covered up that failed attempt by hocking up a spitwad instead. "That's-" She cleared her throat, and purged the whinyness out of her tone. "That's impressive, Fen. I didn't think you'd be able to pick a fight so quickly." She scanned her up and down, catching the blood splotches on her skin and taking note of where Fenrir's cuts were.
She didn't have any.
"You didn't kill him, right? I'm not going to help you pay cleaner costs again." She said, her words cutting with the reminder of harsh reality on civilized worlds, before she cracked a grin and made eye contact, playfully nudging her.
"I guess you wanna go to one of the night markets out here right? I was gonna head back to the ship to..." She trailed off, her mind slipping back to what Chip had told her. "Don't put one in unless, and only if, somebody watches you put it in. Alright?"
"Actually, can you help me with something?" Her thumb circled her inhibitor chip faster and faster as her heart began to race. "I, uh-" Did Fenrir really count as a person in this situation? She was a volatile, reckless, and ultimately self-destructive wreck of a human being, she probably had the least amount of say in this sort of situation. This sort of question was for Isilme, Akra, hell, Cayne or even Cerval would probably be a more responsible voice of reason in this situation. But Fen was the only person she trusted on board. Though she was a hazard to herself and everyone else, she was predictable (usually), at least to the extent that Vanna understood her train of thought.
She gulped. "I need to ask a question- more like a favor." Her hand slid out of her pocket, fingers closed around the inhibitor. "Can you..." She unveiled the small, grey, innocuous chip, something she had used multiple times on her own, and parted the hair behind her neck for the neurojack. "...put this in for me?"
Mentioned:
Mykinkaiser
Mechking
All machines only listen to one master!
After Dave's imaginary dice-roll came to a halt, it was obvious what he had to do. And really, it was obvious from the beginning, right? CLEANING! With his apron still on, Dave sprung into action. He prepared his wash cart with absurd amounts of different soaps and other cleaning utensils, activated Stabby and went on his way. Reaching the main deck, Dave placed a "CAUTION! Wet Floor" sign down, only that somebody taped a stripe with "Dave" over where "Wet Floor" would have been. "Connecting" his dataslate to the ship's internal speakers, he let them play some old Nulhallan war songs which he began to sing to...Of course this being Dave, the music seemed to follow him around, it was VERY loud and his singing is...less than admirable. But that didn't stop him before and it didn't stop him now.
When Komra's call came through to him, Dave could barely hear it. But as soon as he recognized the familiar voice, he turned down the music and commed her back for a quick message.
"Hi disembodied voice number 41...sorry, Komra, Emperor Dave here. I'll give our dear Sunspear a good old scrub from top to bottom. Be prepared for the cleansing!"
Right afterwards he felt something tugging at his legs. When Dave looked down, it was Stabby whose blunt knife caught itself in his pants. After letting the small roomba free, he decided to talk to it.
"Stabby, do you need your daily dose of attention again?"
Stabby only whirred on the spot and then resumed cleaning.
"I thought so. Let me tell you the tale of how I, Genius Inventor Dave, defeated The Devourer of Worlds! You see it all started when I cruised the galaxy in Gary the Fourteenth when I heard a distress beacon. Apparently a planet in a nearby system was under attack! Immediately, I activated Gary's jumpdrive to see what was going on. But when I arrived at the location, the system was completely empty. Nothing was left, nothing but a few small asteroids. Not even a sun, Stabby! Can you believe it?"
"..."
"I know, right? So, there I was, in the middle of nowhere and nothingness, not even with a source of the distress call. I flew around a bit and Gary didn't like what was going on at all. He wanted to leave, the coward that he was, but I knew that people needed to be saved. What kind of interstellar Hero would I be if I just left after that, right? Well, I consulted the starmaps, but the planets were all gone. There should have been a lot there, but nada, zero, nothing. I checked the coordinates. I even flew right into where the planets would have been! But nope, not even traces. Even my scanners didn't put out anything.
"..."
"Yes, yes. Don't be so impatient, Stabby! So I decided that I needed to investigate everything. I sent out a few calls, but I either received no reply or they also didn't know what was going on. I jumped into the surrounding systems, but most of them were just as empty as the first one! And while it didn't make any sense, I mean who else than me could just make planets or systems disappear, at least it was consistent. In the last system I investigated, my scanners picked a gravitational anomaly in another nearby system. You don't see that every day, Stabby, these things are rare! And I thought that it may have had something to do with the missing systems. So, of course, I convinced Gary to jump there. And you wouldn't believe me what I found!"
"..."
"Pffft, silly Stabby. Of course not, I found a black hole in there! And it was destroying the sun! You should have seen it, it was terrifying. You might think that the sun would explode, but nope, it just got sucked riiiiight in there. Kinda like the dust gets sucked into your vacuum, Stabby."
"..."
"Yup, just phlumpf, and the sun was gone. Gary was shocked of course, but not me! Scientist Dave had found the source of the missing systems! Because as soon as the sun disappeared into the deep darkness that is a black hole, it began moving. A black hole. That moves. Unbelievable, right? And I have seen some stuff over my adventures, but nothing of this scale. Not until later anyways. Where was I? Oh right, it began moving. It moved to the next planet and also sucked it up. And this went on and on and on, until the whole system was empty. Thankfully, this system didn't have any living things in it. But the next system had an entire species! Immediately, I jumped over there and told them to evacuate. Because hey, they can't fight a black hole after all. They didn't believe me at first but when they realized that they talked to the most awesome and glorious being in all of existence, me of course, they finally started to evacuate. But they didn't have much time, the black hole already arrived in the system. Seeing this, I decided I needed to buy them some time. sigh Poor Solarians, where would they have been without me? Gary wanted to leave again, but nooooope. Not with me! We flew directly TO the black hole. And using the instruments on board, I noticed something very very peculiar. It was alive!"
"..."
"Why wouldn't you trust me? I am the eternal Emperor, what I say is nothing but the truth! Yeah okay, a sentient and moving black hole does sound a bit unbelievable but come on, you have seen some weird stuff yourself by now."
"..."
"See? Now back to the story: As soon as I discovered that it was sentient, it also noticed me. And it began talking into my head with a dark and deep voice. "I AM THE EATER OF WORLDS! WHAT INSIGNIFICANCE IS INTERRUPTING MY MEAL?" Of course, I answered back. "The savior of the galaxy and destroyer of evil, Emperor and Space Janitor Dave! Cease your destruction and leave this universe at once, you vile source of destruction!" "HAR HAR HAR! AS IF YOU COULD STOP ME! I WILL EAT YOU FIRST!" My plan worked. Well, I had The Eater of Worlds now chasing me, but I am Dave, so that wasn't a problem. Until it began to pull Gary in with some kind of gravitation beam. The jumpdrive didn't work anymore and Gary was too weak to pull himself out of the Eater's grasp. Slowly, very slowly, it came closer. I could feel its massive body slowly tearing on Gary's hull. All of the systems went crazy, alarms went off everywhere, and it seemed like this would have been our last adventure together. Until-"
Dave's communicator buzzed and Cerval's voice interrupted his tale. After intently listening to his friend's request, he pulled out his dataslate and began tapping away as he responded to Cerval.
"Hello disembodied voice number 42...I mean loyal servant of the imperium Cerval. Conqueror Dave here. I humbly request a remote connection interface for my cybernetic body, so that it may reflect my perfection someday. I've sent you the specifications and the last of my credits over. Don't get lost, okay?"
Putting the slate away again, Dave continued to clean the wall with his mop. As he noticed Stabby impatiently driving circles around him, he continued.
"Hey, the others want some attention too, you know. Where did I leave off? Oh right, Gary and I were nearly crushed by The Eater of Worlds until I overcharged all of Gary's systems and his thrusters hurled us out of there. We barely escaped, but I bought the Solarians enough time to evacuate the system. With that taken care of, I could safely leave. But I needed to find a way to stop it permanently. Sorry Stabby, telling that part will have to wait for another day. Because it wasn't quick and it wasn't easy. I needed to undertake many small and three big adventures until The Eater was finally defeated. But I can tell you what I did next: I contacted the Solarians and with their help informed all the other surrounding worlds so that they could evacuate in time."
Dave beamed with pride and a huge lovely smile spread across his clean face. Stabby, on the other hand, whirred angrily and drove at full speed down the hallway and around the corner.
"Stabby! Stabby, no! Hey, come back! Don't get huffy just because I won't tell you everything just yet!"
Dave let out a deep sigh. Having finished most of the main deck, he decided to instead clean the outside of the ship. Humming and singing along to the music now only coming out of his dataslate, Dave climbed on top of the ship with his mop and began scrubbing away. Him having nothing to secure himself with and, well, being Dave, earned him a few weird and worried glances. Alas, he still didn't care and peacefully cleaned away everything that is UNCLEAN.
(
Athanas
Hercynia
)
When Komra's call came through to him, Dave could barely hear it. But as soon as he recognized the familiar voice, he turned down the music and commed her back for a quick message.
"Hi disembodied voice number 41...sorry, Komra, Emperor Dave here. I'll give our dear Sunspear a good old scrub from top to bottom. Be prepared for the cleansing!"
Right afterwards he felt something tugging at his legs. When Dave looked down, it was Stabby whose blunt knife caught itself in his pants. After letting the small roomba free, he decided to talk to it.
"Stabby, do you need your daily dose of attention again?"
Stabby only whirred on the spot and then resumed cleaning.
"I thought so. Let me tell you the tale of how I, Genius Inventor Dave, defeated The Devourer of Worlds! You see it all started when I cruised the galaxy in Gary the Fourteenth when I heard a distress beacon. Apparently a planet in a nearby system was under attack! Immediately, I activated Gary's jumpdrive to see what was going on. But when I arrived at the location, the system was completely empty. Nothing was left, nothing but a few small asteroids. Not even a sun, Stabby! Can you believe it?"
"..."
"I know, right? So, there I was, in the middle of nowhere and nothingness, not even with a source of the distress call. I flew around a bit and Gary didn't like what was going on at all. He wanted to leave, the coward that he was, but I knew that people needed to be saved. What kind of interstellar Hero would I be if I just left after that, right? Well, I consulted the starmaps, but the planets were all gone. There should have been a lot there, but nada, zero, nothing. I checked the coordinates. I even flew right into where the planets would have been! But nope, not even traces. Even my scanners didn't put out anything.
"..."
"Yes, yes. Don't be so impatient, Stabby! So I decided that I needed to investigate everything. I sent out a few calls, but I either received no reply or they also didn't know what was going on. I jumped into the surrounding systems, but most of them were just as empty as the first one! And while it didn't make any sense, I mean who else than me could just make planets or systems disappear, at least it was consistent. In the last system I investigated, my scanners picked a gravitational anomaly in another nearby system. You don't see that every day, Stabby, these things are rare! And I thought that it may have had something to do with the missing systems. So, of course, I convinced Gary to jump there. And you wouldn't believe me what I found!"
"..."
"Pffft, silly Stabby. Of course not, I found a black hole in there! And it was destroying the sun! You should have seen it, it was terrifying. You might think that the sun would explode, but nope, it just got sucked riiiiight in there. Kinda like the dust gets sucked into your vacuum, Stabby."
"..."
"Yup, just phlumpf, and the sun was gone. Gary was shocked of course, but not me! Scientist Dave had found the source of the missing systems! Because as soon as the sun disappeared into the deep darkness that is a black hole, it began moving. A black hole. That moves. Unbelievable, right? And I have seen some stuff over my adventures, but nothing of this scale. Not until later anyways. Where was I? Oh right, it began moving. It moved to the next planet and also sucked it up. And this went on and on and on, until the whole system was empty. Thankfully, this system didn't have any living things in it. But the next system had an entire species! Immediately, I jumped over there and told them to evacuate. Because hey, they can't fight a black hole after all. They didn't believe me at first but when they realized that they talked to the most awesome and glorious being in all of existence, me of course, they finally started to evacuate. But they didn't have much time, the black hole already arrived in the system. Seeing this, I decided I needed to buy them some time. sigh Poor Solarians, where would they have been without me? Gary wanted to leave again, but nooooope. Not with me! We flew directly TO the black hole. And using the instruments on board, I noticed something very very peculiar. It was alive!"
"..."
"Why wouldn't you trust me? I am the eternal Emperor, what I say is nothing but the truth! Yeah okay, a sentient and moving black hole does sound a bit unbelievable but come on, you have seen some weird stuff yourself by now."
"..."
"See? Now back to the story: As soon as I discovered that it was sentient, it also noticed me. And it began talking into my head with a dark and deep voice. "I AM THE EATER OF WORLDS! WHAT INSIGNIFICANCE IS INTERRUPTING MY MEAL?" Of course, I answered back. "The savior of the galaxy and destroyer of evil, Emperor and Space Janitor Dave! Cease your destruction and leave this universe at once, you vile source of destruction!" "HAR HAR HAR! AS IF YOU COULD STOP ME! I WILL EAT YOU FIRST!" My plan worked. Well, I had The Eater of Worlds now chasing me, but I am Dave, so that wasn't a problem. Until it began to pull Gary in with some kind of gravitation beam. The jumpdrive didn't work anymore and Gary was too weak to pull himself out of the Eater's grasp. Slowly, very slowly, it came closer. I could feel its massive body slowly tearing on Gary's hull. All of the systems went crazy, alarms went off everywhere, and it seemed like this would have been our last adventure together. Until-"
Dave's communicator buzzed and Cerval's voice interrupted his tale. After intently listening to his friend's request, he pulled out his dataslate and began tapping away as he responded to Cerval.
"Hello disembodied voice number 42...I mean loyal servant of the imperium Cerval. Conqueror Dave here. I humbly request a remote connection interface for my cybernetic body, so that it may reflect my perfection someday. I've sent you the specifications and the last of my credits over. Don't get lost, okay?"
Putting the slate away again, Dave continued to clean the wall with his mop. As he noticed Stabby impatiently driving circles around him, he continued.
"Hey, the others want some attention too, you know. Where did I leave off? Oh right, Gary and I were nearly crushed by The Eater of Worlds until I overcharged all of Gary's systems and his thrusters hurled us out of there. We barely escaped, but I bought the Solarians enough time to evacuate the system. With that taken care of, I could safely leave. But I needed to find a way to stop it permanently. Sorry Stabby, telling that part will have to wait for another day. Because it wasn't quick and it wasn't easy. I needed to undertake many small and three big adventures until The Eater was finally defeated. But I can tell you what I did next: I contacted the Solarians and with their help informed all the other surrounding worlds so that they could evacuate in time."
Dave beamed with pride and a huge lovely smile spread across his clean face. Stabby, on the other hand, whirred angrily and drove at full speed down the hallway and around the corner.
"Stabby! Stabby, no! Hey, come back! Don't get huffy just because I won't tell you everything just yet!"
Dave let out a deep sigh. Having finished most of the main deck, he decided to instead clean the outside of the ship. Humming and singing along to the music now only coming out of his dataslate, Dave climbed on top of the ship with his mop and began scrubbing away. Him having nothing to secure himself with and, well, being Dave, earned him a few weird and worried glances. Alas, he still didn't care and peacefully cleaned away everything that is UNCLEAN.
(
Athanas
Hercynia
)
Mykinkaiser
Literally the worst
FEN
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
"Sure as fuck did, splattered the bastard's head against the ground. How'd ya think I got so much? Don't worry bout the cleaners though, they got that covered at the ring."
Fen didn't miss the playful grin on her fellow gunner's face, but still made sure to reassure Van that things would be taken care of. She'd learned through previous experience that Van was touchy about those things, and it was easier to just reassure her that things were alright upfront, rather than deal with the questioning that followed.
"I guess you wanna go to one of the night markets out here right? I was gonna head back to the ship to..."
Fen cocked an eyebrow inquisitively as Van trailed off, wondering what caused her to do so. That confusion wasn't abated when the other woman pulled out a small chip and asked for her help with something. The merc hadn't seen that sort of chip before, though to be entirely fair that sort of thing was neither among her interests nor was it in her wheelhouse. Still, her squadmate was asking for a favor, and it wasn't a hard one to fulfill so Fen decided she didn't really need to know what the thing was really for. She just needed to jack the thing into Van's neck.
"Sure, d'you wanna do it here? Cuz if we needta head back to the ship I wanna hit up the night markets first like you said. Gotta restock n shit else Akra's gonna yell at me."
Interactions: Van (
archur
)
Anaxileah
From the Depths of Hell
Last edited:
Nebulous Stars
A Convincing Mirage
There was a steady slithering down alleyways that were considered shady even by the standards of Nuyhav city. You could tell by the odd emptiness and near cleanness. This wasn’t a place to be anything but peaceful and leaving. The few people that stood around were very carefully unobtrusive. They also stood and positioned like soldiers, carefully placed with their backs to solid walls and good views up and down the streets around them. Down these streets an immense black snake tail moved, attached to an odd alien. Her race was perplexingly unfamiliar to most, but to the people whose eyes were on her here she was a known face.
She gave a few of the people she passed a nod, but for the most part she was intent on her destination. She wasn’t headed to any of the more important places anyway. Her destination was a small, seemingly oddly shabby house, tucked next to one of the larger lots. As she approached the door it slid open on it’s own, and she slithered on through without hesitation.
The room she entered was dark and ominous, filled with strange lights and odd items. Besides the serpent’s own presence the room was largely still. That stillness was broken when something came around a shadowed corner. At first they were only visible as a wide phosphorescent shark-toothed grin, accompanied by dual rows of three brightly glowing red eyes. They stayed largely in the shadows, but after they took their seat behind a table they drew their scaled hands together, lightly clicking their claws.
Mya steadily slithered over to the table and then dramatically flopped her upper body sideways across the table. Her hair was a smooth ocean blue, undercut by yellow highlights. Her lower right arm flopped too, whiler her lower left arm vaguely gestured. Her voice was oceanically deep and smooth when she spoke, “Soooooooo. Finally got that thing in?”
The other figure spoke with an odd gravelly sibilance, “C38-N67-333-Mark 9, yes? A cutting edge reactor designed to output maximal power with minimal volume. Discontinued now. Manufactured in the Mutters Walk system. Illegal there. No one has replicated it. Powerful, but tends to overload its capacitors. Then explode." The grin widened, something that denoted predatory threat among most organic species. Species that had predators, anyway. "Yet you want it. You. Why?"
The places where Mya’s eye was open closed as an orangeish red bled through her hair. She gestured towards the box as she spoke, “There are a few reasons. My current favorite is the simple flavor. I had to go toe to toe with someone using one of those, and frankly I remember the sheer wild flavor of the energy more than I do the fight. Whatever they did to compact that much energy generation created fascinating complexity.”
Those shark teeth glistened as the edges of its smile turned down. Not quite a frown but a show of caution at least. "Fascinating complexity. The Mark 9 is large, yes. The containment coffin is big enough to fit an average human. You will take it with you? Have you a place to keep it? What terms delivery?"
Mya drew herself up off the table and seemed to sit back into more business-like posture. Her hair shifted being mostly a very particular steel-blue. When she spoke her voice bore the same businesslike shift, moving to a more precise, professional mode, “I can transport it myself. My upper arms are rated to transport full cargo containers in a pinch. I won’t be keeping it in it’s current form. A friend has plans for it.”
The shopkeep’s response was overall a shrug. There was only so much responsibility they cared to bear for the items that they sold. They gestured towards a side door. It’s in a bay over there. Open the external door and you should have plenty of room to move it. The door will close behind you. Don’t breach the containment coffin while on our grounds.”
Their business done, Mya graced them with a simple nod. She moved fast enough to the indicated door to inadvertently demonstrate the precision with which she moved. Despite moving at well past the serpentine equivalent of a run, she didn’t so much as brush the items she moved through. When she reached her destination the item before her was an imposing black mass, shaped roughly similar to a coffin. She found the button to open the external door and pushed it, swiftly turning to what she intended to transport.
She smoothly brought her upper arms to play, and after a moment of consideration simply moved past her target and used her upper arms to lift it into place over her tail. She slithered out the door, carrying her load without strain. She passed out of the shadier areas she came from largely without incident. She approached the ship and waved vaguely towards those present, while keeping an eye out for Cerval, who she would likely be quite interested in her cargo.
She gave a few of the people she passed a nod, but for the most part she was intent on her destination. She wasn’t headed to any of the more important places anyway. Her destination was a small, seemingly oddly shabby house, tucked next to one of the larger lots. As she approached the door it slid open on it’s own, and she slithered on through without hesitation.
The room she entered was dark and ominous, filled with strange lights and odd items. Besides the serpent’s own presence the room was largely still. That stillness was broken when something came around a shadowed corner. At first they were only visible as a wide phosphorescent shark-toothed grin, accompanied by dual rows of three brightly glowing red eyes. They stayed largely in the shadows, but after they took their seat behind a table they drew their scaled hands together, lightly clicking their claws.
Mya steadily slithered over to the table and then dramatically flopped her upper body sideways across the table. Her hair was a smooth ocean blue, undercut by yellow highlights. Her lower right arm flopped too, whiler her lower left arm vaguely gestured. Her voice was oceanically deep and smooth when she spoke, “Soooooooo. Finally got that thing in?”
The other figure spoke with an odd gravelly sibilance, “C38-N67-333-Mark 9, yes? A cutting edge reactor designed to output maximal power with minimal volume. Discontinued now. Manufactured in the Mutters Walk system. Illegal there. No one has replicated it. Powerful, but tends to overload its capacitors. Then explode." The grin widened, something that denoted predatory threat among most organic species. Species that had predators, anyway. "Yet you want it. You. Why?"
The places where Mya’s eye was open closed as an orangeish red bled through her hair. She gestured towards the box as she spoke, “There are a few reasons. My current favorite is the simple flavor. I had to go toe to toe with someone using one of those, and frankly I remember the sheer wild flavor of the energy more than I do the fight. Whatever they did to compact that much energy generation created fascinating complexity.”
Those shark teeth glistened as the edges of its smile turned down. Not quite a frown but a show of caution at least. "Fascinating complexity. The Mark 9 is large, yes. The containment coffin is big enough to fit an average human. You will take it with you? Have you a place to keep it? What terms delivery?"
Mya drew herself up off the table and seemed to sit back into more business-like posture. Her hair shifted being mostly a very particular steel-blue. When she spoke her voice bore the same businesslike shift, moving to a more precise, professional mode, “I can transport it myself. My upper arms are rated to transport full cargo containers in a pinch. I won’t be keeping it in it’s current form. A friend has plans for it.”
The shopkeep’s response was overall a shrug. There was only so much responsibility they cared to bear for the items that they sold. They gestured towards a side door. It’s in a bay over there. Open the external door and you should have plenty of room to move it. The door will close behind you. Don’t breach the containment coffin while on our grounds.”
Their business done, Mya graced them with a simple nod. She moved fast enough to the indicated door to inadvertently demonstrate the precision with which she moved. Despite moving at well past the serpentine equivalent of a run, she didn’t so much as brush the items she moved through. When she reached her destination the item before her was an imposing black mass, shaped roughly similar to a coffin. She found the button to open the external door and pushed it, swiftly turning to what she intended to transport.
She smoothly brought her upper arms to play, and after a moment of consideration simply moved past her target and used her upper arms to lift it into place over her tail. She slithered out the door, carrying her load without strain. She passed out of the shadier areas she came from largely without incident. She approached the ship and waved vaguely towards those present, while keeping an eye out for Cerval, who she would likely be quite interested in her cargo.
Last edited:
Viper Actual
Ask me about my tourniquet fetish.
Lauren had just stepped outside with her newly-acquired starcharts safely stored inside a discreet black hardcase when Akra, the captain, hailed the entire crew.
A quick glance to her holographic wristwatch told Lauren that she'd make it there relatively quick.
"Understood Captain, on my way back now," said Lauren over the crew communications. She could only hope that the others would be back in time as well. Though knowing the more impulsive members of the group there was always the risk of some minor delays.
Lauren began to make her way back towards the ship at an even pace. Being a professional she had no interest in wasting the time of her captain and crew. As such she only took the fastest and most direct routes that would lead back to the port.
A group of teamsters dressed in helmets, safety harnesses and reflective clothing covered in a thin layer of exhaust dirt appeared to offer some safe company back to the ship. Lauren quietly snuck in to the very rear of this rowdy but vigilant crowd.
It was perhaps an odd decision for some but to Lauren it was nothing more but protection from pickpockets. Her grip on the hardcase handle tightened as her narrowed eyes darted back and forth between strangers.
A couple of shady characters that normally would have taken an interest to whatever it was she was holding remained where they stood- fighting off fifteen to twenty burly dockworkers for some quick loot just wasn't worth it.
Lauren took note of them too and a quick check made sure that her gun was still present in its holster.
Luckily it would not need to be used. Soon enough Lauren was back at the docks which was filled to the brim with armed mercenaries, tough-looking crews and actual police officers trying their best to earn some money on the side through tax-scams and security jobs.
No pickpocket would be bold enough to try something there, lest they really wanted to get shot.
At this point the teamsters that Lauren had followed split up and walked off to begin their shifts while Lauren stopped momentarily just to take in the look of the Sunspear resting one a landing pad far off in the distance.
Lauren exhaled slowly and continued to observe the ship with a neutral expression.
A quick glance to her holographic wristwatch told Lauren that she'd make it there relatively quick.
"Understood Captain, on my way back now," said Lauren over the crew communications. She could only hope that the others would be back in time as well. Though knowing the more impulsive members of the group there was always the risk of some minor delays.
Lauren began to make her way back towards the ship at an even pace. Being a professional she had no interest in wasting the time of her captain and crew. As such she only took the fastest and most direct routes that would lead back to the port.
A group of teamsters dressed in helmets, safety harnesses and reflective clothing covered in a thin layer of exhaust dirt appeared to offer some safe company back to the ship. Lauren quietly snuck in to the very rear of this rowdy but vigilant crowd.
It was perhaps an odd decision for some but to Lauren it was nothing more but protection from pickpockets. Her grip on the hardcase handle tightened as her narrowed eyes darted back and forth between strangers.
A couple of shady characters that normally would have taken an interest to whatever it was she was holding remained where they stood- fighting off fifteen to twenty burly dockworkers for some quick loot just wasn't worth it.
Lauren took note of them too and a quick check made sure that her gun was still present in its holster.
Luckily it would not need to be used. Soon enough Lauren was back at the docks which was filled to the brim with armed mercenaries, tough-looking crews and actual police officers trying their best to earn some money on the side through tax-scams and security jobs.
No pickpocket would be bold enough to try something there, lest they really wanted to get shot.
At this point the teamsters that Lauren had followed split up and walked off to begin their shifts while Lauren stopped momentarily just to take in the look of the Sunspear resting one a landing pad far off in the distance.
Lauren exhaled slowly and continued to observe the ship with a neutral expression.
Athanas
You needed someone to blame, so you cast it on me.
Cerval whistled a tune as he perused all the places that held the other supplies he needed. Each was a different type of resource, but all were invaluable nonetheless. Many vials of chemicals and toxins, perfect to use both as weapons and stimulants. Small mechanical tentacles and limbs, to use for a contraption he had thought of earlier that day. Upgrades to his moonbelt, which would extend his already astonishing carrying capacity. Ammunition, grenades, and some necessary spare parts for the ship.
All the while, his hailer was kept open so that he may listen in on any requests his fellows might have. Dave's came first. A remote access for his body? Doable, but...let's just make sure.
"I hear you, Dave. I don't think it will be hard, but...I'm sensing the start of a great idea, and I'm not sure I like it. See, if you can jack into yours, there ain't no reason you wouldn't be able to Jack into others. Just...Try not to override Isilme, eh? Don't wanna deal with the fallout of that. The quite literal fallout, that is."
He chuckled a little at his joke, although he definitely did not put this idea anywhere past Dave. Hopefully the captain would figure out a way to keep the peace once more. Honestly, he had no damn clue why she still kept this crew. For all anyone knew, Mya could spontaneously explode at any time, for all anyone knew. Isilme was...Well, there were some 7's about that charming little android. He'd seen Arakrokrians with less of a temper than Fen. Lauren didn't really seem to dig that whole "camaraderie" shtick, Vanna reminded him too much of Huron. And he was...himself, with all the glorious thoughts that entailed. How Akra was still alive and captain of the vessel was absolutely stunning.
Speaking of Akra, her request came next. They'd talked about this before. She wanted a personal shield. Simple enough, but she wanted one that blocked things entering or leaving. At first, he thought she wasn't understanding how advanced forcefields worked. But no, turns out, she wanted it for an important thing, and she couldn't tell him. At all. He was...Displeased by this, considerably. He didn't appreciate people keeping secrets.
"And "I'm your Captain" ain't proper bloody reasoning, tentacles! Tell me what you fucking mean or by the Gods of this universe, I am going to fucking make you swallow toxin bombs!"
His anger overcame his reasoning for a moment before he managed to silence it. Still, it was...Fine. Easy enough to make, and she was the one paying for it. Buying the components earned him a weird look from the salesman, but that was the end of it.
He was about to leave when he remembered Vanna having said something about a targeting module. With some credits to spare, he decided to pleasantly surprise the mercenary. It was maybe the only supplier for whom there was a line-apparently, snipers or wannabe snipers were a dime-a-dozen around these parts. Glory hounds, he suspected.
Finally being done with his resupplying, he began to make his way back to the ship, encumbered to the point of it being comical. Had it not been for the Moonbelt and the exoskeleton, he'd have been crushed under all that bloody weight. Ah, the price for being nice, he supposed: He didn't want to wake Click up from his nap.
He arrived at the ship, struggling slightly with the load. At once, his mind was assaulted by a rather loud drumming-Energy cell? Energy cell. A very big one, at that. His eyes found Mya, and he gave her a small wave, approaching.
"Lovely day, ain't it, Mya? I don't envy you lads without a suit. The Rain must smell about as bad as it looks. Where is everyone? I got stuff to show em. And next time, when they ask for something, I'll tell them to bloody carry it themselves! I feel like a bloody mule!' He intoned his joke by theatrically bending under the weight, chuckling slightly. "What's this cacophony coming from your back? Energy grenades? Plasma batteries? More unexplained Nierak-Ti powers to give me sleepless nights?"
Nebulous Stars
Mechking
Anaxileah
@Whoever else happens to be around
All the while, his hailer was kept open so that he may listen in on any requests his fellows might have. Dave's came first. A remote access for his body? Doable, but...let's just make sure.
"I hear you, Dave. I don't think it will be hard, but...I'm sensing the start of a great idea, and I'm not sure I like it. See, if you can jack into yours, there ain't no reason you wouldn't be able to Jack into others. Just...Try not to override Isilme, eh? Don't wanna deal with the fallout of that. The quite literal fallout, that is."
He chuckled a little at his joke, although he definitely did not put this idea anywhere past Dave. Hopefully the captain would figure out a way to keep the peace once more. Honestly, he had no damn clue why she still kept this crew. For all anyone knew, Mya could spontaneously explode at any time, for all anyone knew. Isilme was...Well, there were some 7's about that charming little android. He'd seen Arakrokrians with less of a temper than Fen. Lauren didn't really seem to dig that whole "camaraderie" shtick, Vanna reminded him too much of Huron. And he was...himself, with all the glorious thoughts that entailed. How Akra was still alive and captain of the vessel was absolutely stunning.
Speaking of Akra, her request came next. They'd talked about this before. She wanted a personal shield. Simple enough, but she wanted one that blocked things entering or leaving. At first, he thought she wasn't understanding how advanced forcefields worked. But no, turns out, she wanted it for an important thing, and she couldn't tell him. At all. He was...Displeased by this, considerably. He didn't appreciate people keeping secrets.
"And "I'm your Captain" ain't proper bloody reasoning, tentacles! Tell me what you fucking mean or by the Gods of this universe, I am going to fucking make you swallow toxin bombs!"
His anger overcame his reasoning for a moment before he managed to silence it. Still, it was...Fine. Easy enough to make, and she was the one paying for it. Buying the components earned him a weird look from the salesman, but that was the end of it.
He was about to leave when he remembered Vanna having said something about a targeting module. With some credits to spare, he decided to pleasantly surprise the mercenary. It was maybe the only supplier for whom there was a line-apparently, snipers or wannabe snipers were a dime-a-dozen around these parts. Glory hounds, he suspected.
Finally being done with his resupplying, he began to make his way back to the ship, encumbered to the point of it being comical. Had it not been for the Moonbelt and the exoskeleton, he'd have been crushed under all that bloody weight. Ah, the price for being nice, he supposed: He didn't want to wake Click up from his nap.
He arrived at the ship, struggling slightly with the load. At once, his mind was assaulted by a rather loud drumming-Energy cell? Energy cell. A very big one, at that. His eyes found Mya, and he gave her a small wave, approaching.
"Lovely day, ain't it, Mya? I don't envy you lads without a suit. The Rain must smell about as bad as it looks. Where is everyone? I got stuff to show em. And next time, when they ask for something, I'll tell them to bloody carry it themselves! I feel like a bloody mule!' He intoned his joke by theatrically bending under the weight, chuckling slightly. "What's this cacophony coming from your back? Energy grenades? Plasma batteries? More unexplained Nierak-Ti powers to give me sleepless nights?"
Nebulous Stars
Mechking
Anaxileah
@Whoever else happens to be around
archur
watch for the flash
"Yeah, I-I guess we should go restock before anything else, you're right." The chip disapppeared into her palm, which went straight into her pocket. She caught ahold of herself, and cleared her throat. "We don't need to have Akra jump down your throat because of some silly nonsense." She dismissed. Vanna knew well that her reckless counterpart wouldn't attempt to understand the emotional weight of what she was asking, even if she did try to explain.
"I have to make a call really quick." She had heard Cerval asking for requests a few times over the comms, to which she whispered "Can you get me a targeting module? I'll pay you back on the ship eventually." Her comms beeped, and she was no longer broadcasting. The former soldier settled back into herself, and reminded what the two of them came here to do in the first place: restock.
The path through the nightmarket was a few twisting turns that led through shady backalleys that brought them back through a hole in the wall with a few vacant lights. Them walking through led to a bustling market of shady figures and watchful vendors. The two of them met their usual merchant, and grabbed their usual haul of ammo, replacement pistols, a suite of explosives, and a few extra fuses and knick-knacks.
The two brought their load back through the dock bay doors, letting the training bots carry some of her items to be dumped into her room, and into the armory.
"We're hoooome!" She sang through the comms, her voice slowing dying down to it's average monotone canter. "Look. I'm hungry, and I still need your help. Cafeteria?"
Mykinkaiser
"I have to make a call really quick." She had heard Cerval asking for requests a few times over the comms, to which she whispered "Can you get me a targeting module? I'll pay you back on the ship eventually." Her comms beeped, and she was no longer broadcasting. The former soldier settled back into herself, and reminded what the two of them came here to do in the first place: restock.
The path through the nightmarket was a few twisting turns that led through shady backalleys that brought them back through a hole in the wall with a few vacant lights. Them walking through led to a bustling market of shady figures and watchful vendors. The two of them met their usual merchant, and grabbed their usual haul of ammo, replacement pistols, a suite of explosives, and a few extra fuses and knick-knacks.
The two brought their load back through the dock bay doors, letting the training bots carry some of her items to be dumped into her room, and into the armory.
"We're hoooome!" She sang through the comms, her voice slowing dying down to it's average monotone canter. "Look. I'm hungry, and I still need your help. Cafeteria?"
Mykinkaiser
Mechking
All machines only listen to one master!
Having absolutely no regard for his personal safety, Dave climbed on top of the ship with his mop in hand and his dataslate in his pocket. Music played loudly as he sang proudly at the old but gold national anthems of various warrior species (or old movie songs, but don't tell him). With his mop in hand, there was no stopping him. He was so deep into his work that he didn't notice that he must have cleaned everything three times by now and only stopped when the first crewmembers arrived back at the Sunspear (Cerval's response to Dave's request was naturally ignored).
He shouted his usual greeting to each and every one of them (such as "The Emperor welcomes you back into his fold!" and "I see my blessings have proven successful as always!") before following them back inside the ship. Once he got close enough, he cleaned each of them before they could really react and even gave Akra a shoulder massage when Dave noticed how pent-up she was. After his "slightly" startling welcome he took whatever they were carrying from them and put it where it belonged (after a good scrubbing). When he was finished with that, Dave grabbed himself Stabby and went back to cleaning the lower decks.
(Mentions
Anaxileah
Athanas
)
He shouted his usual greeting to each and every one of them (such as "The Emperor welcomes you back into his fold!" and "I see my blessings have proven successful as always!") before following them back inside the ship. Once he got close enough, he cleaned each of them before they could really react and even gave Akra a shoulder massage when Dave noticed how pent-up she was. After his "slightly" startling welcome he took whatever they were carrying from them and put it where it belonged (after a good scrubbing). When he was finished with that, Dave grabbed himself Stabby and went back to cleaning the lower decks.
(Mentions
Anaxileah
Athanas
)
Hercynia
Island of Thoughts
As Akra's answer came through the comms, Komra turned on her heel, moving back into the depths of the Sunspear. Idly, she poked at a display in the airlock - then, moving deeper, at another. Emergency seals looked like they were more or less fine, to her eyes anyway. Out of all the crew, she had some of the least desire to be exposed to the cold, dead vacuum. "You got in a fight?" She frowned - not that the gesture meant anything through an audio-only channel. "You did leave them in one piece, right...?" There was a somewhat airy lack of concern in her voice - not out of any malice or desire to see Akra hurt, but rather an understanding of the woman's abilities. She could handle herself against a street thug, and by her language she'd done just that. As the Kist Ra'Om cut off, though, she became a little more concerned as she made her way back to the ship's bridge.
"Akra? Are you there? Andskotinn - I think your comm cut out." Technology was a fickle, and irritating thing - if essential. A breath of relief came next, though, as her unmistakeable voice crackled through the comms shortly after - only preceeded by Dave. The woman gave a silent sigh, more to herself than anything, before moving deeper into the ship. Better to avoid him, if she had the chance. A pause before she muted the comm channel - they were all going back to the ship anyway - and moved through the lounge and sickway to the bridge, glancing around and verifying everything was - more or less - to her satisfaction. An affectionate, slender hand trailed along the interior walls as she walked, hair swaying behind her - lifting slightly as though caught on an unfelt gust of wind.
As she reached her home - the nerve center of the ship, her bridge, as she thought of it - she kept moving forward, stepping past her pilot's chair - surrounded on every spare surface with small potted plants - and moving further forward, into the avionics accessway. There she finally came to a halt, a hand rising to poke with metallic fingers at a utility panel. It switched, quickly - different views and panoramas, the ship stitching together a few feeds from the cameras. The Naidja watched for a moment as familiar faces trickled back towards the ship, seeking refuge from the rain, before turning the feed off - replacing it with a stream of numbers and statistics. At least the resident engineers had been true to their word - the ship was refueled, and in - well, top condition was pushing it, but at least it was passable. The woman's eyes closed - enjoying the peace, for a moment, while she had it, before she extricated herself from the small nook. The bridge was still empty, though she could hear the distant sounds of conversation. A part of her longed to go and join in, but she had a job - and when the time came to fly the ship out of the dock, she had to be here.
So, instead, she folded her legs under her and took a seat in her chair - a large affair, obviously modified to be far more comfortable to her than anyone else. A hand reached out as she tugged two screens towards her, poking at them briefly before relaxing back - nothing more to do, for the time being.
Anaxileah
Mechking
(Mentioned) @ Anyone else who is now on the ship
"Akra? Are you there? Andskotinn - I think your comm cut out." Technology was a fickle, and irritating thing - if essential. A breath of relief came next, though, as her unmistakeable voice crackled through the comms shortly after - only preceeded by Dave. The woman gave a silent sigh, more to herself than anything, before moving deeper into the ship. Better to avoid him, if she had the chance. A pause before she muted the comm channel - they were all going back to the ship anyway - and moved through the lounge and sickway to the bridge, glancing around and verifying everything was - more or less - to her satisfaction. An affectionate, slender hand trailed along the interior walls as she walked, hair swaying behind her - lifting slightly as though caught on an unfelt gust of wind.
As she reached her home - the nerve center of the ship, her bridge, as she thought of it - she kept moving forward, stepping past her pilot's chair - surrounded on every spare surface with small potted plants - and moving further forward, into the avionics accessway. There she finally came to a halt, a hand rising to poke with metallic fingers at a utility panel. It switched, quickly - different views and panoramas, the ship stitching together a few feeds from the cameras. The Naidja watched for a moment as familiar faces trickled back towards the ship, seeking refuge from the rain, before turning the feed off - replacing it with a stream of numbers and statistics. At least the resident engineers had been true to their word - the ship was refueled, and in - well, top condition was pushing it, but at least it was passable. The woman's eyes closed - enjoying the peace, for a moment, while she had it, before she extricated herself from the small nook. The bridge was still empty, though she could hear the distant sounds of conversation. A part of her longed to go and join in, but she had a job - and when the time came to fly the ship out of the dock, she had to be here.
So, instead, she folded her legs under her and took a seat in her chair - a large affair, obviously modified to be far more comfortable to her than anyone else. A hand reached out as she tugged two screens towards her, poking at them briefly before relaxing back - nothing more to do, for the time being.
Anaxileah
Mechking
(Mentioned) @ Anyone else who is now on the ship
Epiphany
Proverbs 17:9
Isilme
Task:Return to the Ship
Location: Slum Marketplace <- Nuyhav City <- Dimerron <- Dimacredont Galaxy
Location: Slum Marketplace <- Nuyhav City <- Dimerron <- Dimacredont Galaxy
E-SOP I:SILME Class - HC Series 12 Interface
I:SILME HC Series 12 Processor Status: Running
I:SILME HC Series 12 Network Status: Running
Direct Synaptic Synchronization Chipset Status: Running
ZPE Reactor Status: Running
E-SOP-I:SILME HC Chassis Condition: Optimum
HC Series 12 Synthskin Integrity: Optimum
Harbinger T11-Guise Suite Condition: 94%
Personal Telemetry: Running
I:SILME HC Series 12 Network Status: Running
Direct Synaptic Synchronization Chipset Status: Running
ZPE Reactor Status: Running
E-SOP-I:SILME HC Chassis Condition: Optimum
HC Series 12 Synthskin Integrity: Optimum
Harbinger T11-Guise Suite Condition: 94%
Personal Telemetry: Running
IMPERATIVES
1. Follow the Seventh Priority.
2. Observe and transmit all data on unidentified alien species.
3. Maintain and enhance marital relationship with Mya.
4. Locate, study and report on all alien technology.
5. Investigate and document interspecies relations between Terrans and all other species.
6. Follow the orders of Captain Na'ki'et.
7. Follow the orders of Supervising Officer Akra'Lieth.
8. Create crew solidarity via social engagement with the crew of the Sunspear.
2. Observe and transmit all data on unidentified alien species.
3. Maintain and enhance marital relationship with Mya.
4. Locate, study and report on all alien technology.
5. Investigate and document interspecies relations between Terrans and all other species.
6. Follow the orders of Captain Na'ki'et.
7. Follow the orders of Supervising Officer Akra'Lieth.
8. Create crew solidarity via social engagement with the crew of the Sunspear.
When her spouse opted to go fetch her power reactor alone, I:SILME gamely went off on her own errands.
Serving as the science officer aboard a Junker vessel meant there wasn't actually that much restock required. For the most part, her equipment didn't have components or reagents or chemicals required to operate. She'd assembled a collection of sensory suites and diagnostic equipment that required only batteries and the occasional spare part to keep them going. Stop over at a port didn't really require a shopping run just for that.
So instead she looked to expand her knowledge. Mostly, this meant an inordinate amount of window shopping, drifting from stall to store to manufactory. Nuyhav City had a good range of species visiting it and even the Harbinger didn't know them all intimately, much less their technology. This was a valuable opportunity to browse through exotic wares, turn over unfamiliar equipment and haggle, barter and swap jokes with merchants who usually saw a golden-eyed humanoid as an easy mark. In point of fact, she was very slow to part with actual money but she learned enough superficial facts about each piece of new technology to follow up on later. Or, more likely, to have another I:SILME follow up instead.
It took the comm signaling them all back to the ship before she finally sauntered aboard, one of the last to return.
Viper Actual
Passing by the dock, the Harbinger noticed Lauren standing there, staring at their ship and paused for a moment as well. Those golden orbs searched for something, for whatever had occupied the Terran's mind. She finally decided there was no physical anomoly but that this was likely the other woman indulging in a bit of 'navel-gazing' as a Terran had once explained it. "Quite the ship, isn't she," I:SILME observed to their Navigator. "She's landed us safely home once more. I wonder where she'll take us next."
Athanas
Nebulous Stars
Spotting her spouse and the insane engineer conversing, the Harbinger politely made her excuses to Lauren before wandering in their direction. She eyed the rather large reactor, briefly pondered where Mya intended to put it before smiling fondly at the sight.
"A pet project, I think," I:SILME commented to Cerval on Mya's behalf. Then she raised an eyebrow at the enigmatically suited organic. "What 'stuff' have you found then? Should I be concerned?" Her own duffel bag filled with replacement parts and a couple of pieces of portable diagnostics went unremarked upon.
"Perhaps we should continue this demonstration inside, however? I believe we'll be lifting off momentarily..." And with a silent raise of an eyebrow, I:SILME gave Mya a significant look to suggest her curiosity if Mya needed her help with anything.
The Shadow Realm
Leader of The Shadow Realm
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