Fantasy Starborne - Open

[gaY jail]

Lauren

Sparing herself from any judgement, she instinctively went to help Amiecia, trying to lure the raven close to her instead with a couple of crumbs of bread before the announcement was made, and her gaze accompanied the fortune teller until the door closed behind him, then it shifted back to the raven when she cawed at them.

She was swift to choose her next move, and even more quick to take the food she ordered in first place without forgetting to leave a few coins behind, giving then Amiecia the look “You don’t need to pay for this one” soon followed by a much more apologetic one.

Outside the entrance she stood still to adjust her hat, taking a moment to listen to the voices who assembled in the near distance, before walked forward in the sun.
She looked around a few times, appearing nervous to the realization her dog was no longer in sight, but soon exhaled a sign of relief when she felt its head pressing against her back. With its tail between the legs and essentially hiding behind the redhead, the sighthound was clearly afraid of the group who had assembled near, but it didn’t take long for Lauren to guess exactly who had instilled such fear upon her all-look-and-no-bite companion.

“Oh, you’ve returned. Did you suddenly remember how to catch prey?”
Lauren whispered a sassy remark under her breath and moved on alone after she gave affection to the dog to calm its disquiet a little. Next, she shyly started moving closer to where Shen and the others were, but after hearing the noblewoman’s footsteps behind her she stopped to face her and spoke again.

“Will you come?”

It was a short question, void of any hopes or expectations, that Lauren made purely for the sake of knowing.


Lekiel SilverFlight (In doubt (?) Hazmat44 Spoiled Bread TheSpeck andujarprime Lioness075 deer Saturn_moon skittyTail )

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Larassa Sovna	Nickname: The Raven
Race: Khoelian	Home Planet: Khoeli
Occupation: Bounty Huntress	Equipment: Knapsack, Bow, Quiver of Arrows (20/20 Normal, 1/1 Grappling), Twin Daggers

At the mention of commandeering the nearby ship, that even Larassa knew was a beauty to behold, she scoffed and then rolled her eyes while Alaric got overly excited. The mention of the amount of gold being offered made her eyes widen a bit, though. Her jaw went slack briefly and she quickly shut it while trying to retain a neutral expression. Unfortunately, Alaric readily accepted before Larassa could even attempt any negotiations.
Raising an eyebrow at her friend while he nudged her, Larassa muttered, "And this is why ye never join me fer negotiations."

Even without the option of negotiating for more, Larassa knew this man was offering far more than the average bounty would give her. With Alaric already agreeing to the offer, Larassa also knew she needed to go simply because she knew how compulsive Alaric could be. He would definitely need someone to watch his back on a job like this.

Sighing, Larassa looked back at the mystery man and said gruffly, "My hearin's just fine. I'll help knucklehead here commandeer that ship you want. That's more up my alley than sneakin' around."
Refusing to offer a hand to shake, Larassa merely waited for whoever else around them was going to join in this bizarre and undoubtedly soon-to-be chaotic job.

Hearing Alaric introduce himself as Reaper, Larassa added, "I'm Raven."
Pausing, she then looked at the mystery man and nodded her head, "Got a name fer yerself?"

SilverFlight andujarprime

 

[Saturn_moon]

Peeking over the roofs of the buildings that lined the harbor was a magnificent set of blue solar sails fluttering in the gentle midday breeze. It stood out amongst the sea of imperial red like a... what was it the people always said? A sore thumb? How odd. If this was what a sore thumb looked like, she didn't see why people minded them so much. "Your ship is very beautiful." She said in a matter-of-fact tone to the fortune teller. "And how nice of you to trust a group of strangers with it."

At the mention of gold, the gears in Rhea's head started turning. Suddenly, she sprung up, nearly smacking the unconscious boy on the ground in the face, and declared "I would like to join, but I will need to make a pit stop before we leave. Preferably with the money promised." When the beastwoman introduced herself, Rhea grew embarrassed upon realizing she probably should have done the same beforehand. Amidst the confusion and chaos she had completely forgotten her manners!

Quickly, she worked through the steps stored in her memory of what she needed do when meeting people for the first time.

Step 1: Eye contact
Easy enough to do. Rhea straightened up and looked the fortune teller in the eye, her own dark eyes wide and unblinking.

Step 2: Introduce your name
"My name is Rhea." She said loudly to ensure everyone around could hear it clearly.

Step 3: Offer a firm handshake
She extended a hand out towards the fortune teller then paused, concern washing over her face. She glanced around at the rest present and did a quick head count. Eight others. This was certainly a problem when she only had two hands. She turned to the man standing next to beastwoman and for the first time, noticed his additional limbs. "Oh! Do I need to shake those too?" She asked, cocking her head curiously to one side. Then she remembered the centipede-like creature. This was going to take awhile.

andujarprime gaY jail Hazmat44 Lekiel Lioness075 Naberius Spoiled Bread TheSpeck

 

[Lekiel]

"Shoo!" Amiecia swatted at the raven bird that had somehow found its way into the bustling tavern. Her brows frowned in disgust at the clatter of talons ruining what was left of her meal. There was no way she was going to eat anything, who knew what those wretched bird legs had grasped. A dead rat perhaps. To her credit, Lauren immediately sprang to her aid attempting to lure the avian away with some breadcrumbs.

Distracted momentarily from the orb, it wasn't long before the peculiar orb once again caught her attention. The noblewoman was in the process of swatting the bird away when a sudden familiar voice teased at the vestiges of her hearing. It was unmistakable, given her social standing. She heard it everywhere. An officious voice that led the entirety of Imperialis often in carefully articulated speech

The Empress.

The shock of the revelation snapped her focus away as her eyes frantically sought out the origin of the sound, finally realizing that it came from the fortune-teller's orb. The noblewoman listened riveted, mouth slightly agape in disbelief as the situation unfolded. Before too long, the clandestine repartee ended and Amiecia was left with a sudden weight on her heart. An unseen but keenly felt force pressed down on her shoulders and she felt her hands grow cold despite her immaculate leather gloves. She didn't know it then, but this was the hand of fate calling to her. The answer to her question all those years ago.

Amiecia sat frozen in her seat even as several other bar patrons answered the clarion call to adventure. Her heart thumped and her mind was abuzz in confusion. She'd never felt a pull so strong as before. Duty and responsibility kept her rooted, but something tugged on her reigns, nudged her from the back. She surreptitiously glanced in the direction of Caleb, finding the guardsman thoroughly distracted by a buxom barmaid. Her eyes went back to the tavern doors, swinging in the wake of the Lauren as she too walked out in pursuit of the long-haired man.

Stay- She silenced the shackling voice in her head and did what Amiecia de'Valliere had longed to do so long ago, but never found the courage. Taking the long and twisted winding road.

The Apothecarist stood and made her way out the door bursting into the open. There was a small gathering and Lauren had turned to ask a question.

"Will you come?"

"I'm not sure-?" Before Amiecia could reply in full, something else demanded her attention.

"-and I need a second team to..."commandeer", that ship." Amiecia looked in the direction the man was pointing and her mouth fell open. A couple of the others even chipped in with an almost casual remark or two about taking over the starship.

"My hearin's just fine. I'll help knucklehead here commandeer that ship you want. That's more up my alley than sneakin' around." A kind of winged wolflady was speaking. Amiecia couldn't take this outrageousness anymore. The young woman quickly interjected, her clear alto voice carrying easily over the general noise of the plaza.

"That ship? That ship!? That is not just any ship," pale azure eyes stared incredulously at Shen, "that is the Frederick Arrlesia the finest Arrlesian Caravel and the best ship in all Imperialist and my brother made it as a gift for the Empress." Amiecia's brows furrowed, already starting to doubt her decision to consider Shen's offer. By the Empress, she wasn't even sure of the legitimacy of his scrying orb. What if it was just an elaborate ploy for mischief? Or worse, terrorism? But she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. She'd seen such scrying orbs before. They weren't easy to come by. Still, the plan was crazy. Of all the ships they would think to take, they would try the most well-guarded of them all?

"Even if you made it past the guards, don't you guys realize that all Arrlesian Caravels have a failsafe? Only an inducted pilot could activate the Solean Crystal. . . or one of the same blood as its maker-" Amecia's eyes widened as her hands immediately went to cover her mouth as if she had only just realized how much information she had given out. About who she was and the ship.

SilverFlight Lioness075 gaY jail

 

[Hazmat44]

Killerie was trying to stay out of the young human boy's sight while watching the group of people who had left the bar she'd been kicked from. They all looked fascinating, but she had a feeling that they wouldn't be quite so kind as Anna or Zark.

That was before the fancy woman came out.

Killerie's black eyes widened. She walked with power and precision, and even though she only had two legs, she made her stride seem as stable as any shedling's. Even though Killerie knew nothing about clothes, she could tell that this human knew how to dress well.

This was a person who knew how to make people like her, who knew how to stay inside a bar whether or not someone wanted her there, someone... Maybe someone who could teach Killerie how to be liked.

Well... The young human seemed okay for the time being, and Killerie wasn't doing anything...

Making a decision, she briefly cleaned her mandibles, made sure there wasn't any saliva dripping from her teeth, polished her head, and then skittered over to the group.

She didn't catch the tail end of what the woman had been talking about, but she came right up behind her as she stopped talking.

No misunderstanding, no garbled words, no screaming. This was the first time Killerie had ever been concerned with a first impression, but she really wanted this woman to like her.

Clearing her throat, Killerie pleasantly said, "Hello! I'm Killerie. What's your name?"

Lioness075 SilverFlight andujarprime Lekiel (mostly Lekiel)

 

[andujarprime]

Alaric’s attention was called upon soon after him and Larassa spoke. He smirked at the young woman before him. He nodded and outstretched one hand “Nice to meetcha Rhea!” He shook her hand then with his smirk in place he shook with the other 3 hands “Why yes, yes you do. It is only polite when shaking hands you shake all equally so as not to insult someone else’s anatomy for being different!” With a chuckle he shook her hands enthusiastically, nearly shaking the poor woman entirely. While this was going on a loud clear voice rung up behind him. He turned to see who the voice belonged to. Turning back as he initially brushed her off he had to do a double take. He hadn’t expected to see someone like this in this part of town. This new speaker oozed nobility, and her voice was dripping with aristocratic elitism. He managed a shudder as she finished speaking. “THAT IS A HORRIBLE NAME FOR A SHIP!” He exclaimed as she continued. By the time she finished speaking however he was smiling. He looked at Larassa as something clicked. The noble had just given them a piece of their puzzle. Before he could speak up however, the large centipede came upon the party introducing itself. He watched as it came up beside the noble and with a bark of excitement he clapped his hands. “HELLOOOO KILLERIE!! Let’s be partners!” He gave Larassa another look of mischief “Quick friend! She’s comin with us too give her a hug! Real tight and just bring her along!” He exclaimed pointing to the noble who was now covering her mouth. Alaric felt the chaotic energy building around them and he was enjoying it. He once more locked eyes with Larassa and just gave her a shrug and a smile, as an apology for the chaos that would ensue. He knew she didn’t like it very much. But it was so engrained in his nature. “Rhea! Coming with?! We’re friends now yes?!”

Lioness075 SilverFlight Lekiel Saturn_moon Hazmat44

 

[SilverFlight]

Shen smiled at Charlie when he asked. "You are very welcome to come along, I get the sense you are good with machines? I would ask you to go on the team that will retrieve the ship."
To Alaric he tossed a pouch of coins and a communicator.
"I'll tell you where, a gut feeling of mine tells me that you should run point on this. Keep the others in line would you? I'll radio you when we have what we need."

He offered coins to Charlie and Larassa as well.
"As promised, and five times that again once the cargo is safely delivered to my dear patron."
He looked at the group he had amassed and nodded, pleased. "You may call me Captain Shen."

He seemed delighted with Rhea, and shook her hand happily, inspecting it afterward like a fine watch.
"Interesting. I am afraid I cannot allow you to simply run off in the wrong direction with the money, there's no promise you will come back you see, but agree to come with me to find our princess, or Alaric to get our ship and you can carry the coin with you. Once we have what we need, you are free to leave, but if you want the rest of the money, you have to see the job through to completion."

The iconic tone of noble authority cut through the din. Shen would know that tone anywhere. He turned to see the odd noblewoman who had been in the tavern. She cut a commanding figure, Shen admired that, but she was clearly not used to dealing with people of this, er...sort.

Once Alaric had ribbed her a bit Shen politely held up one hand to speak. He drew in close, his voice low, but audible.
"My dear lady, it brings me little joy to tell you this...but everything you know is about to change. History will be made today, and whether you're on the right or wrong side of it will be entirely up to you. I will say this: If the end of the festival is allowed to continue as our beloved Empress plans, an innocent young girl will be dead before twilight. So, what will you choose?"

He turned to Alaric. "Treat her well, but keep an eye on her. If she's telling the truth, things will be a lot simpler with her cooperation."
Lekiel andujarprime Lioness075 Hazmat44 Saturn_moon TheSpeck gaY jail

*~*~*

"My house is...not an option." Anna admitted to Rico, it being a very honest statement, as she had just run away from it. Movement in her arms made her look down.
Anna watched as the boy began to stir.
"Ah! You're awake! Good. Take it slow now, try to sit up."
Zark sidled closer, attempting to get a look at the boy, but Anna shooed him away.
"You looked like you were in a spot of trouble...before you fainted that is." She tried not to sound like she was hurrying him, but she had to see what this peculiar group of people were up to.
"Are you lost?"

Listening in to the group she almost couldn't believe some of it. The empress? Murder? It couldn't be true. But as the man called Shen spoke to the Arrlesian, she could see in his eyes that he believed what he was saying. Anna suddenly felt cold. Everything you know is about to change...
When Alaric spoke to Killerie he seemed all to happy to invite the Shedling on their strange mission.
"Hey!" Anna stood up and strode over. "You are not stealing my aid. Killerie already agreed to work for me." Anna thought for a moment. "But...with all considered...I was going to ask her to help me sneak onto that ship you were speaking of...so, shall we work together? Killerie can take the job you offered, provided I get on that ship too."

Naberius Hazmat44 Spoiled Bread andujarprime

 

[Naberius]

Elnaril Arcadus
Male
Nevvathi

Elnaril tried his best to sit but fell again against her shoulder the first time before managing to right himself, using the wall of the bar for support as he stood on legs that were more jelly than muscle and sinew at that particular moment.

"You could..say that.." The memories flooded back and he found himself frowning, the miasma of hopelessness settling back in as he remembered exactly how far from anywhere familiar he truly was. "I guess I was sort of..abandoned here..I thought they were friends but now I'm here..on a world I've never been to in a city I've never seen with barely enough money to buy lunch for the day." He was almost on the verge of tears by the end of his words, the tips of his pointed ears drooping in despair. Then, he heard something. Someone mentioned a ship, and a spark of hope lit within his eyes. It didn't sound quite above board, but he had to do whatever he could to make it back home, no matter how shady it might seem. On his shaky legs he walked over as best he could, still obviously very shy and timid even as he spoke about trying to get back home.

"E-excuse me..I would also like to request permission to board the ship...I was..abandoned by people I thought were friends and left here. I'm not really good at much, just a student of archaeology. But I can cook really well! And if I can get back home, my family would be willing to pay you a lot of money!" That was his only gamble. The only card he had to play, and hope against hope that they wouldn't just kidnap him and hold him for ransom to get more money from his family. He didn't know whether or not this was going to be worth the risk, but it was a chance he had to be willing to take. If he didn't, he would most certainly be stranded here forever. He would even endure the colossal centipede entity nearby if it meant he could go home, even though he kept flicking scared glances over at the creature.

@ SilverFlight Hazmat44 @ Spoiled Bread @ TheSpeck @ Lioness075 @ Saturn_moon @ andujarprime @ Lekiel @ gaY jail

 

[TheSpeck]

Charlie accepted the bag shen offered to him, nodding in agreement to the plan of him stealing the ship with others. He took a peek into the bag and saw a surprisingly large amount of coins. Money? This guy is giving out money to people who want to come on the ship? That was nice of him. He was surprised at how much money was in the small bag. Someone here must need it more then him. He was wealthy enough, accepting a whole 500 coins would be too much for him. He plucked 20 coins out of the bag to save for fun items he might come across later. He looked at all of the strange people around him. The four armed person seemed to like money.

In the middle of the havoc Alaric had caused Charlie approached him and poured 250 coins into his hand. "Do you want some of my money? I don't need it." He said and held out the money to Alaric. He looked around for the person he would give the rest of the money to.

Having been listening in on all of the conversations without even realizing, he recalled the kid who had passed out talking about having barely enough money to even buy lunch. He tossed the bag with the rest of his money to the kid and it landed in front of him. If they came with they would be payed anyway, but why not give the kid a little extra money? He knew how much fun it was to buy things that weren't important.

After he had given all of his money away he looked out into the festival. It was amazing here. He loved it on this planet.... More people had been kind to him then he expected... He felt warm. Was the sun getting too hot for him..? No, the breeze was nice... He was happy? Happy without trying to be? He smiled... He hadn't felt that way in a long time.

Direct mentions:
andujarprime Naberius SilverFlight

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Ricotta

Still in her blood hound form, Rico was just finished her meal when she heard Anna talking about joining the job the fancy man was talking about. Ohh??? Did this mean she wouldnbe able to partake in it and get the money too? Rico immediaty scuttered towards the crowd.

"Rico wants to join too." She glanced at the ship they're supposed to sail. As much as she had been inside an airship, she had never learn how to handle it, or fix it, or do anything about it really. The best she could do inside would probably going through the pipes as a rat, but she still thought she wouldn't do much there.

"Rico is better at tracking people." Her head looked left and right at both Shen and Anna. She then transformed into a horned white owl, just to demonstrate her capability and willingness to work. Can't let the fancy man thinking she was a talking dog, right.

SilverFlight

 

[Saturn_moon]

When Alaric began shaking her hand with all four of his, Rhea simply nodded and quietly input this new knowledge into her database. Shake ALL hands. With vigor. Then she turned to Shen who was now studying her other hand. "Why would I not come back?" Rhea asked with a deep, contemplative frown. Was it normal for people to not do the things they said they would do? If that was the case, how was she going to tell who was going to do what they said they would and who wouldn't? As concerning as it was, it would seem that they were operating on a rather tight schedule so she would have to find a shelf to put this discussion on as the people said. A small smile crossed her lips, proud that she had managed to use a metaphor.

"I need to go there." She said, pointing towards the recycling plant whose roof was just barely visible from where they were. "You're free to come along if you wish and seeing as it is away from the harbor, I guess I will join you to find this princess." Glancing worriedly over at Alaric she added "I hope you don't take this to mean that we are not friends!" No one had ever been Rhea's friend before and she would very much like to keep the first one she made.

Direct Mentions: SilverFlight andujarprime
Present: Lioness075 Naberius TheSpeck Spoiled Bread Lekiel Hazmat44 gaY jail

 

[gaY jail]

Lauren


Taken aback by the loud enthusiasm from Alaric she remained silent, the feeling of being out of place creeping over her as she found herself struggling to find a better moment. That, before the young man she saw briefly walked closer.

"E-excuse me..I would also like to request permission to board the ship...I was..abandoned by people I thought were friends and left here. I'm not really good at much, just a student of archaeology. But I can cook really well! And if I can get back home, my family would be willing to pay you a lot of money!"

Right. Hearing the boy making his introduction was enough to cut through her thoughts and push to make her own. Lauren blinked, not wanting to speak right after him, she waited enough time for Elnaril to receive an answer, time in which she as well rearranged her thoughts.
"I'm sorry to jump in.. If I can join, I feel I would be of more use looking for people. I.. don't see myself on a ship."
As she looked at Shen, Anna and Ricotta, the redhead didn’t add anything else after, as she wanted to be known the fact that she too wasn’t really good at being helpful beside healing, but in a more subtle way. She barely remembered the last time she had the chance to cook for someone, be it a complete stranger or a friend, and because of that reason it was natural for her to believe her skill had faded over time. She had no business bringing up something buried into her past when in the present, when such thing wasn't needed from her.



Mentions;
SilverFlight Spoiled Bread Naberius

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Larassa Sovna	Nickname: The Raven
Race: Khoelian	Home Planet: Khoeli
Occupation: Bounty Huntress	Equipment: Knapsack, Bow, Quiver of Arrows (20/20 Normal, 1/1 Grappling), Twin Daggers

Listening to the odd person who had offered to shake all four of Alaric's hands, Larassa raised an eyebrow and sighed. The oddball went on to talk about the ship as if it belonged to Shen, which only made Larassa roll her eyes. This was going to be a long job.

Putting a name to the oddball, Larassa was mindful that this Rhea would likely be a headache in due time. She acted as if socializing was a new concept to her.

Still, when the rich woman from earlier joined their group and flaunted her knowledge of the ship, Larassa casually moved closer to the woman and then crossed her arms over her chest before giving her a toothy grin when she trailed off.
"Well, it's mighty convenient that we have you he'e to help us commandeer this ship, yeah?"

Larassa mindfully stayed close to Amiecia's side, not allowing her to try and walk away from this situation now.

Just then, the centipede being walked up to their group and Larassa yet again raised her eyebrow, as it seemed like they were attracting every oddball in the area. So long as this Killerie knew what they were doing, Larassa could honestly care less who tagged along.

Giving Alaric a deadpan look as his chaotic energy only built from here, Larassa rolled her eyes again and merely took Amieca by the upper arm and gave her a look that said, 'Try me.'
"Lead the way, ma'am."

Only then did Shen decide that Alaric, of all people, should be the one in charge. She gave Shen a pointed look, but held her tongue. No point in making a big deal out of it. Alaric would be the best person to take charge of the ship once they had it secured anyways.

Collecting her coin, Larassa swiftly pocketed it and merely growled, "This woman is coming with us to ensure her brother's lovely ship is not damaged while we commandee' it, yes?" She heavily emphasized this with her grip tightening on the woman's arm. And with that, Larassa took the lead, forcing the woman to walk alongside her towards the ship.

Anyone who was going to assist with this part of the job had to make their choice now to join the pair. Larassa was heavily leaning on the fact that this woman would gain them entrance to this ship and then they could take it over from within.

SilverFlight andujarprime Hazmat44 Lekiel Saturn_moon TheSpeck gaY jail

 

[Lekiel]

The pressure at the back of her head continued to build up, creeping over her skull like the talons of some monster ready to crush its prey. All sorts of alarm bells were going off in her head as the Arrlesian noblewoman found herself going deeper into a vastly unknown situation. She'd slipped her guardsman every now and then, but it was always to become some sort of passive observer of the hidden world of common-things and never to become so actively embroiled in them. If what the man had said was true, shouldn't they inform the authorities that the princess was in danger? She brushed that idea away the moment it surfaced, she'd heard it herself. The Empress was on the Princess' tail. That very idea that the leader of Imperialis would do such a thing made her head spin. Amiecia was out of her depth. . . but if there was one thing she knew best, it was to retain her composure. She heard one of the automatons (whom she later found out was called Alaric) make a comment on the ship's naming.

"Well, it's mighty convenient that we have you he'e to help us commandeer this ship, yeah?"

Amiecia narrowed her eyes at the winged wolf-headed bioman who'd spoken up, uncomfortable with the way she seemed to be edging closer to her. "If the princess is indeed in mortal danger, then yes, it stands to reason that her Royal Highness would need a ship worthy of taking her to safety." Amiecia, chose her response carefully. Would she let them take it? It would mean that she'd be in a hell of trouble. She was always careful to toe the line. She could just imagine the disappointment on her mother's face should she be caught; and her father's too. The thought killed her. Mused in her temporary reverie, she almost didn't hear the polite introduction.

"Hello! I'm Killerie. What's your name?"

The platinum-haired Arrlesian turned on her heal, a carefully poised cordial smile already playing on her lips, "Pleasure to meet you, I am Amiecia de'Vall-," her words stumbled, then faded into nothingness. For a moment, confusion flashed across her smooth features as she wasn't sure what to make of the sight before her. Then,

"EEEEEEKKK!" A sharp shrill pitch escaped her slim alabaster throat as she came face to face with a giant... bug thing. The hairs on her nape stood at attention and a crawling sensation snaked it's way under her skin causing the young woman to involuntarily shiver. "What in the Dominion's name!?" a grimace marred Amiecia's fine features as she took a few steps back from Killerie.

Was it(?) she(?) him(?) they(?) a bioman?? Somehow, in the span of a second, the noble had managed to feel both disgusted and intrigued at the same time. She calmed down after her initial outburst, though she maintained her distance, observing the backpack on the back of Killerie. It looked really strange to see something so. . . naturally human on the back of something so... different. She let out another involuntary shiver, unsure of how to respond that was until Shen approached her.

"My dear lady, it brings me little joy to tell you this...but everything you know is about to change. History will be made today, and whether you're on the right or wrong side of it will be entirely up to you. I will say this: If the end of the festival is allowed to continue as our beloved Empress plans, an innocent young girl will be dead before twilight. So, what will you choose?"

Shen didn't seem to bat an eye at the giant bug-thing and it was with some great effort that she tore her eyes away from Killerie to meet the Captain in his dark eyes. They were soft, but they carried a certain hardened steel look of seriousness that belied their amicable appearance. "I will help, if it is to keep the Princess safe, Captain Shen. . ." she replied solemnly. That part was true. She didn't know where she got the courage to say it, considering how her life had taken an abrupt ninety-degree turn off the bright, cobbled and paved highway and down into the rocks and bushes, but deep down, something in her gut told her there was more than some elaborate scam and that being a part of this was what she was meant to do, "and the name's Amiecia, Arrlesian of House de'Valliere." She introduced herself again, for everyone's benefit.

"This woman is coming with us to ensure her brother's lovely ship is not damaged while we commandee' it, yes?"
Amiecia felt a vice-like grip on her arm as she was whisked away in the direction of the docks not a moment later by the Khoeli.

"Ow-! I am going alright, let go-," She wiggled herself free and stumbled away slightly from the bioman, rubbing her arm gingerly and giving the Khoeli a dirty look.
"Rude."

Oh dear, what had she gotten herself into.

andujarprime Lioness075 Hazmat44 SilverFlight
wew, tried my best to reply everyone in some sort of coherent order, hope it's alright!

 

[Hazmat44]

Killerie's antennae twitched as the woman turned around to face her, already introducing herself. "Pleasure to meet you, I am Amiecia de'Vall-"

Amiecia! Killerie cheered inwardly. It was such a fancy name!

...Why had she stopped talking?

Pulling back to reality, Killerie looked down at Amiecia to find the woman's face in a stutter, frozen as she took Killerie in. It was a bit of a strange reaction, standing still and not saying anything for such a long period of-

"EEEEEEKKK!"

Amiecia drew back with an expression of nigh-absolute disgust, physically recoiling from Killerie. "What in the Dominion's name!?"

Killerie wilted, suddenly realizing that simply screaming wasn't so bad a reaction compared to this. Backpedaling, she hastily added, "I'm a shedling, not a bug! I promise I'm..."

Amiecia had already turned away before she could finish, talking to the fancy man who Killerie hadn't yet noticed. Killerie's antennae drooped further than they already were, and she inwardly berated herself.

Shedlings were not people, that much was clear. Everything about Killerie's mannerisms was based around trying to overcome that divide, from the way she lifted her front two-thirds to act as though it was normal to walk upright, the way she spoke, even the backpack she'd purchased were designed to make her seem more person-like.

It seemed as though nothing would be enough to improve shedlings in the eyes of the universe to a person from, well...

A bug.

Shaking the fugue away, she focused on the people who weren't freaking out or disgusted by her existence. The four-armed man who had offered her a job - he seemed a bit crazy, but otherwise alright. The small human boy, who seemed to have recovered somewhat, was tentatively watching her from a distance. A bird-fox-human hybrid grabbed Amiecia by the arm, directing her away from the group with a toothy smile.

...Perhaps it was best if she didn't try to introduce herself to anyone else. Just to be safe.

You hate not talking to people, a voice whispered to her.

She stepped on it.

"Hey!"

Killerie looked up to find Anna striding towards them. "You are not stealing my aid. Killerie already agreed to work for me."

Killerie blinked. Anna wanted Killerie to stick with her?

"But...with all considered...I was going to ask her to help me sneak onto that ship you were speaking of...so, shall we work together? Killerie can take the job you offered, provided I get on that ship too."

Looking from the four-armed man to Anna and back again, Killerie laughed to herself, dismissing the dark cloud that had settled. Sure, there were going to be people who didn't like her on the first meeting. She was bigger than them and (usually) had sharper teeth. If she met something that much larger than her, she would be a little cautious too! But that didn't mean they'd dislike her forever.

It was only a matter of time.

Naberius andujarprime Lekiel SilverFlight Lioness075

 

[Zazz]

After collecting her winnings from her latest match, Calliope put on her cloak and left the arena. She headed for a particular chocolate stand in the market. That was her ritual, win or lose. Fight, chocolate, find a place to heal and rest. Today, she had come out with an uncomfortably bruised cheekbone, a sore set of ribs, and a few scratched up knuckles on her right hand. She held her hand over her left side protectively, eating chocolate as she made her way through the alleys of the city.

The blonde stopped short when she saw a giant, backpack-wearing, nine foot long, purple centipede about the width of a very, very thick man. Maybe two men. It was a large bug. Calliope had heard snippets of the conversation as she had neared, but she was definitely not prepared to see that.

Calliope listened - eavesdropped - from around the corner. It seemed they were more or less strangers, plotting to steal a very, very nice ship. Something about the Empress. The princess? What in the world.. She had heard plenty of drunken plans to do stupid shit, but this... This was interesting.

And it paid well.

Calliope winced as she took in a deep breath, and lowered her hand as she rounded the corner. "Say... I don't suppose you'd be looking to hire a pretty face."

 

[SilverFlight]

Anna looked sadly at the boy, she pulled out a little handkerchief and held it our for him.
"That sounds awful. What a hurtful thing to do." Despite his predicament and obvious distress the boy bravely stood and made an offer to the well-dressed but somewhat shady would-be pirate captain.

Shen considered the boy. "Do I look like I'll be running a passenger service?" He began, but he had heard the boy's story, and seen his distress. He tried to harden his heart...unsuccessfully.
"They'd better have a lot of money. You." He poked a finger at Anna. "He is your responsibility until we are airborne." Anna gave the captain a determined smile.
"Yes sir."
Shen sighed audibly. He hated being so nice all the time.

He saw the ship team off with a wave and the following words. "If I find any of you have skipped out with the coin I'll hunt you down!" His sing-song voice breached the din of the street. And Raven? Treat the nobility gently. She isn't used to our sort of company."
Anna started to follow Alaric and the others, she couldn't help but grin with anticipation. Her mother wouldn't let her anywhere near the harbour, let alone on an actual ship. She couldn't wait to explore it.

andujarprime Lioness075 Naberius Hazmat44 Lekiel gaY jail TheSpeck Saturn_moon Spoiled Bread

*~*~*

Shen surveyed his new princess-finding team, feeling less-than confident. Less because of them, and more because he had no idea what the princess looked like. Practically no one did. The empress kept her hidden from most of the outside world. The poor thing wasn't even allowed to leave the palace, it was no wonder she had slipped away. He admitted as much to the team. "I am not going to lie, this will be challenging, but, I may have something that could help us..."
It was then a voice brought his attention around to a young woman who had just asked him a question. She looked a little worse for wear, but Shen appreciated the strong, fierce gaze.

"No." He replied. "But I am looking for some muscle, if that's on your list of qualities. I was just explaining to my associates that we have a rather special person to fetch, and we will need to go see an acquaintance of mine to find her."
Shen pulled out a small bag and counted another portion of gold. The same one he had given to everyone who had agreed to help him., He offered that to the woman, 500 gold pieces.
"And there's twenty-fold of that again if you see the job through."
He gestured to the group as he began to lead the way. "So then! Step lively! Off we go."

Saturn_moon Spoiled Bread Zazz

*~*~*

The docks were much less crowded, though still enough that the guards posted by the gangplank on the starboard side, did not give anyone a second glance.
The ship was moored between two solid platforms of metal and wood, The top deck floating a good twenty feet above them. The engines were still, but the anti-grav stabilizers were engaged, keeping the ship afloat in the air. So the ship had enough power to get airborne quickly, but it wouldn't be fast until the sails could be dropped, and that would take at least four people, and at least five minutes.

There were guards on the deck of the ship, six of them, all looking bored, and like they would very much rather be at the festival. They paced bow to stern slowly.
Though the gun ports were shut up tight both on the gun deck and the half deck, a porthole into the captain's quarters was left slightly ajar on the port side, out of view of the guards, but the distance from the dock to the porthole was a good fifteen feet up and ten reaching over a dramatic plummet into the canyon on which the space harbour was built.

Anna had a walk around the ship and reported as much to those who wanted to listen.
"So, do we have a plan? I am definitely open to ideas."
"Zaaark." The chimera groaned. He didn't want to get in trouble.

andujarprime Lioness075 Naberius Hazmat44 Lekiel gaY jail TheSpeck

((Feel free to control the guards, but no more than 2 per person, and don't take them all out too fast There miiight also be guards below deck too.

The porthole is human-sized and no bigger, the guards are armed with blasters and beam sabers and wear helmets without visors. The ship is moored to the docks by two rope lines, fore and aft on the starboard side (the side with the dock guards) ))

*~*~*

Shen brought his team down a narrow alley, past shops that looked like they dealt in less-than legal goods. One stall had meat on hooks, and Shen could not quite place the beat they had come from...or even what part of the body it might have been.
"Keep walking." Shen advised. "And try not to make eye-contact."

They stopped at a little shop that, at first glance looked like it sold everything: small statues, pottery, jeweled ornaments. There was a mobile made of Dekarian crystals that projected little darting birds into the air around them. The door was open, but they had to step around piles of stone tablets, and avoid upsetting precariously stacked flasks just to get over the threshold.

"Wait here." Shen told the group. "You can look around, but for Centauri's sake do not touch anything."

((You can totally make up cool stuff you find in this shop, maybe even get some tools or weapons that could help your character.))

Saturn_moon Spoiled Bread Zazz

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Ricotta

"Rico take money after job finished." The boggleman said as she transformed back to her default form and watched Shen gave a pouch coins to the new woman. If she carries the money now it would just hinder her magic and beside she didn't feels like she deserve it yet. She then followed the fancy man silently as they entered the more shady side of the city, though Rico didn't seems concerned with Shen's warning and kept glancing enthusiastly at various stalls on the side.

"Chimera meat. Tasty."

"Dodobo's embryo. Best deep fried."

"Firebull's balls?? Strong."

Rico muttered the names of dubious meats displayed based on its scent. Some even let out smells that she never knows before. If she wasn't in a mission she would definitely had a little chat with the seller.

When they finally arrived at a small shop, the fancy man decided to went in first and left the others in the room. Rico glanced at the other two, now that there's not much people she was curious about who she would be working with. Doing a little circling around them as she usualy do, Rico found that one of them was quite a muscular one. Solid body, fighter? The other one however, was not even human. Some automatons looks indistinguishable from human but Rico still can spot them based on smell alone. She bobbed her head up and down as a greeting to her new workmates before she got distracted by a bunch of mirrors that seemed to twist her reflections in strange ways. This one made her looks bigger, that one made her looks taller and this one made her looks like she just got flattened by a troll.

SilverFlight Saturn_moon Zazz

 

[gaY jail]

Lauren

Once Lauren called the dog close to her, she removed the string from its neck and swiftly hid the ultramarine crystal attached to it under her scarf for not a soul to see. She figured the group did not need the extra attention that could come from it, and besides who knew if among the people of the city someone wasn't scared to take the risk of approaching a tall hound they didn’t know if it meant successfully snatching the necklace.

Soon enough the ginger caught up behind the group, and stayed there. The feel of being an intruder by simply breathing was real, and she didn’t dare do nothing but listen and walk when their attention was turned elsewhere, until they stopped in front of a shop. Quietly, she looked at Ricotta staring at her funny reflections in the mirrors, but before she could avert her gaze to avoid staring, Lauren’s curiosity shifted to a word the young man said that vividly stood out to her.
Acquaintance...
Keeping in the meanwhile an ear out for Shen’s return, she gazed half-heartedly at a finely made tea set, and that simple sight roused a distant memory of a night with stars, rocks, and the white hair of a girl floating underwater.

SilverFlight Spoiled Bread Zazz Saturn_moon

 

[Zazz]

"No." He replied. "But I am looking for some muscle, if that's on your list of qualities. I was just explaining to my associates that we have a rather special person to fetch, and we will need to go see an acquaintance of mine to find her."
Shen pulled out a small bag and counted another portion of gold. The same one he had given to everyone who had agreed to help him., He offered that to the woman, 500 gold pieces.
"And there's twenty-fold of that again if you see the job through."

"Muscle is definitely on my list of qualities," Calliope answered, counting the gold with a sharp eye as he did. Accepting the coin, the blonde tucked most of it away in the bag at her hip. A few coins were slipped into a pocket pouch for more immediate use. With a glance around at the others, Calliope fell in after Shen and she followed close after him.

Along the way, the boggleman, Rico, as she had overheard, commented on the strange meats hanging at one of the shops. "Fried dodobo embryo is surprisingly delicious," she agreed.

In the shop, after being told not to touch things, Calliope went and touched things. She supposed, as she passed some strange darts, that if she were going on a dangerous, illegal adventure, she should likely invest in some armor for herself. She picked up a pair of red gloves; they were half-fingered, and sported metal knuckles. While waiting for Shen to speak to his "acquaintance," Calliope browsed the shop's goods, finding odd toys and such. She found one such item that, when its button was pressed, a small red light appeared on the floor where it was pointing.

 

[TheSpeck]

Charlie followed the group he was assigned. He looked up at the ship, inspecting every inch of it in curiosity. The ship seemed to be floating. Must be some sort of gravity stabilizer or something like that. He couldn't wait to get on the ship so he could look at the mechanics inside. He looked over at the guards... They probably had blasters of some sort, he wasn't going to be safe in this fight. Maybe there was a way inside through the walls?

"Maybe we can-" he was about to say 'ask nicely' but he knew it was a stupid idea. "bribe them or something." He says slowly.

He looked at the side of the ship. There were small cracks in the metal he could probably fit through, but none of the others would be able to. He looked at some of the guards. He didn't particularly like hurting people... But he did have a knife. He stuck his arm into his chest and pulled the knife out which usually stayed there.

"Or we can... Uh..." He trailed off and made a stabbing motion with the knife.


andujarprime Lioness075 Naberius Hazmat44 Lekiel gaY jail
SilverFlight

 

[Lekiel]

"Ohhhh no you don't," the platinum-haired Elysian almost immediately reprimanded the shamrock-hued slime alien humanoid at his blatant suggestion of murder. Amiecia stood with arms akimbo as if she were chastising a little child for attempting a callow prank. Her pale blue eyes then shifted to address the rest of her troupe.

"If I'm going to be a part of this farce, we're going to do this my way. . . and my way means no going around murdering people just because they were standing in the way of something you want to steal." Amiecia crossed her arms and assumed her signature straight-backed posture to show that she meant business. It was bad enough that they were appropriating something illegally, worse still that she was going to be a part of it. At the very least, they would be doing this with as minimal damage as possible; hopefully, with no casualties. She shuddered to think of the consequences of that in court.

Amiecia eyed the ship, eyes narrowing as she sought to remember its layout and the number of guards they would be expecting. She was no sailor but she was the daughter of a nation of starship builders. She knew what it took to get it moving; being the sister of this particular ship's chief architect helped as well.

"There are six guards on deck, one of them holds the key to the lower decks-" the noblewoman voiced her thoughts aloud. She could literally just walk aboard unobstructed of course, but it would be nigh impossible to get it moving in time on her own. Lucky for them, an idiot had left a porthole to the Captain's quarters slightly ajar; she'd have to speak to whoever was in charge of security. This was incredibly sloppy.

"I can distract the guards, while one or a couple of you could find a way through that porthole there. Find some ropes or whatever and get everyone in, hopefully, there isn't anyone waiting in the Captain's quarters." She couldn't quite believe the words she was saying as she spoke. She. The Amiecia de'Valliere. Plotting to steal her own family's revered gift to the Empress.

"Five minutes... five minutes to get in and set up and ambush. Then I'll lead the guard captain into the quarters and you lot can-," her voice trailed off as a frown marred her smooth forehead, "take the keys from him- but no killing!" Amiecia warned again. If they were going to go with the first part of her plan, she would immediately set off and begin walking towards the gangplank.

TheSpeck andujarprime Lioness075 Naberius Hazmat44 SilverFlight

 

[andujarprime]

Alaric watched as his group began to form. He was a bit dismayed at first to see such a large group. Taking the ship might have been easier to sneak onto with a smaller group. But he wasn't entirely disheartened. This just meant it would be challenging. And boy did he love a challenge. As they all piped up he paid special attention to Charlie. It wasn't usual for him to be handed so much coin, for no reason. He simply smiled and pocketed it. "Well friend, come along then." He looked about to everyone else that was following. "Right, no babysitting here. Everyone needs to be able to contribute something, or at least stay out of the way." He eyed Amecia, sure that Larassa had that situation handled he lead everyone to the docks. As they neared the ship, his eyes just brightened. his face soured however as soon as Amecia started talking. "Five minutes, five min- yeah yeah yeah princess. Before you go off an make goo goo eyes at your big strong guards." He stopped her from going off then addressed the group. "We kinda need to figure out how everyone is getting on board. This ship ain't takin off unless everyone's on board." He looked to everyone else briefly. "She is right, there won't be any killin today. Hopefully, please put the knife away sir." He gave Charlie a sly grin before turning back to her. "This is supposed to be a new ship, ran very well, and on a tight schedule. Lotsa work went into it. Now, YOU may be able to get on board distracting the guards. But we got several others that wouldn't be so lucky. While some may be small enough to get in through the porthole. Others, not so much." With this he looked at Killerie, Zark, Anna with her jetpack, Larassa with her large wings, and he motioned to himself. "You're gonna have to do quite a bit of talkin an leg pullin for them not to notice us all. Why not suggest we're part of your retinue? Your brother needs last minute checks n adjustments. And you yourself have hired a security detail that would help you blend in with our lower crowd. That might be enough to get the rest of us onto the ship? Then of course ambushing the guards, cutting comms, and disembarking without raising suspicions would be fabulous. Not sayin your idea was horrid, just sayin it don't fit us all proper. Anyone else got any ideas? Could always use the input, and the backup plans." He turned to everyone and opened his arms wide inviting any input.

Lioness075 Lekiel Naberius Hazmat44 SilverFlight TheSpeck

 

[Hazmat44]

Killerie's antennae twitched, and she slid her legs across the cobbles with a grinding screech.

It was a faint smell drifting across the nearly invisible slits in the front of her head that served as a nose, but it was a smell she knew regardless. It was the distinct scent of carefully worked metal, interlocking pieces, and a battery of some kind concealed inside.

In other words, it was technology.

Engineer shedlings were designed by Zilian to seek out new designs and memorize them, adding them to the collective knowledge of the shedling telepath network. A side effect of that drive was a sort of itch, and Killerie could definitely feel it now. It was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that just sat there, buzzing insistently and demanding to be scratched. She knew from experience that it would only grow the longer the unidentified technology went unlearned.

Unobtrusively moving forward, Killerie loomed over the young human boy from earlier, trying not to be noticed by him, and took a deep breath through her nose with a hiss. It wasn't coming from him, although he did have some metal on his person.

Taking a few steps away from him (hopefully without his noticing), she sidled next to Anna. "Thank you for hiring me," She told the woman genuinely, taking another good sniff as she did. A plethora of scents barraged Killerie, and she took a moment to sort them all out. Grease, sweat, wool, cotton, things she couldn't put a name to. Still no technology, although Anna had definitely been in close proximity with some recently.

Not waiting for a reply, she edged over to the green slime... boy? She barely managed to breath in before an acid smell attacked her nostrils, and she retreated with eyes watering. She hadn't even known her eyes could do that. Even if he had tech on him, she wouldn't have been able to smell it through all of that.

She considered checking Amiecia, but recalled the woman's words and promptly backpedaled away.

Next was the slightly intimidating bird/fox/human that she hadn't spoken to yet. Killerie took a sniff and grinned in spite of herself, temporarily forgetting that her teeth were essentially bared. She was the one with the tech! The only unfortunate part was that the tech in question was located squarely in the middle of the lady's face, most specifically in her eye. Killerie was definitely still behind on what could be considered a social gaffe, but asking for someone's eyeball probably counted as one.

Granted, the feathered lady hadn't seemed all that into 'etiquette', as she'd heard it called, so it was worth a shot.

Summoning what little courage had survived Amiecia's reaction, she stepped more into the lady's view, smiling as nicely as she could. "Excuse me," She said politely, "But can I take your eyeball apart?"

It took a few seconds for the sentence she'd just uttered to fully filter through Killerie's brain, and she hastily added, "The mechanical one, not the - not your real one. The one made out of box parts. Bird barts. N-not the fleshy one!" She was beginning to feel more than a little flustered. She'd never mixed her words up that badly before. "Metal is real. Both of your eyes are real. Unless... you'd rather they... weren't?" She ended on a hopeful note, desperate not to make any more mistakes.

Naberius SilverFlight Lioness075 andujarprime Lekiel TheSpeck

(mostly Lioness)

 

[Saturn_moon]

As Shen led them through the city, the streets and alleys that Rhea had become so familiar with from her late-night wanderings suddenly felt strangely new and foreign. Her internal processor thrummed with excitement and nervousness as she tried to comprehend what she was about to do.

Stepping into the little shop, Rhea was greeted by the sight of strange knick-knacks, paraphernalia, and odds and ends taking up every inch of available space with the exception of a narrow walking aisle down the middle. It looked not unlike the piles of recyclables Rhea faced at the factory daily but with more interesting stuff. Oil paintings in elaborately carved frames hung on the walls, antique wood cabinets filled with dainty figurines, collectible plates, china cups, thimble collections amongst other things. Sunlight filtering in through the murky windows glittered off the crystal chandeliers, lamps, and mobiles dangling overhead giving the impression of starlight in the dusty room. Somewhere, amidst the madness and chaos, the soft ticking of a grandfather clock could be heard.

Rhea was examining a tray of what appeared to be nothing more than costume jewelry when she caught the faintest glint of real gold. Sifting through, she eventually found the source of the glint; A golden bracelet etched with strange carvings around. Rhea gingerly picked it up only to hear Shen say "You can look around, but for Centauri's sake do not touch anything." Startled, she immediately dropped the bracelet but as it hit the tray once more, a soft click could be heard and the bracelet popped open, transforming into a skeletal sphere of sorts formed by several intersecting rings. Her eyes widened with fascination and instinctively she reached out to pick up the golden sphere but froze in place upon remembering Shen's words.

Do not touch. Do not touch. DO. NOT. TOUCH.

She frowned, torn between her curiosity and following orders. In the end, she settled with pressing her nose right up to the sphere (careful to not touch it still), eyes crossing in the process, and inspected it further.

SilverFlight Zazz Spoiled Bread gaY jail