Futuristic Starpath: Burning Sails [IC] [CLOSED]

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"None, if we're luckyYY-" Typhon coughs in fits before he's able to finish his mocking remark.

 

[Infab]

"Yeah, you can clean up back at the barracks. One of us probably has something you can wear." said Lauren, motioning towards where the concrete buildings and the Mordred were sitting. "You're lucky you crashed on a pirate world. Just a couple of thousand lightyears south, and you would've came out in Yscom territory."

Drav looked the man over from where she sat, arms folded, before glancing back out over the water. It was a nice day to go fishing. Meanwhile, Zadra watched the transport continue to sink. She had placed the explosives perfectly, so soon enough the transport would be at the bottom on the ocean floor.

The boat continued along, eventually arriving back at the beach after a few more minutes. Karina stood from where she was standing, rifle in hand as she quietly walked down the beach towards the group. Aesha took another look from where she lay, sitting up a bit and lifting her shades yet again. "Just one guy?" she said aloud. Karina glanced back. "Apparently so." she replied, glancing to Typhon then Vance as he walked up. The group climbed out of the boat and onto the soft white sand, Lauren turning to the convict. "Welcome to Sielia, and say hello to some of the other members of Blackwell's Reavers. I'm Lauren Blackwell, captain of the Mordred over there and that big ass battleship being rebuilt over there." she said, motioning to the Mordred then the Guillotine.

She then motioned to two of the others that had been in the boat with them. "Zadra, Drav." she added. Zadra gave him a thumbs-up, while Drav grunted. "The rest can introduce themselves."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jericho smiled and let out a small chuckle as Francisco praised his attire. "A man of good taste, I see!" He then looked at Lauren as she spoke to him, then added. "I'm sure some of the cuties around the base can give you new clothes." Once back on the beach, he waved at everyone whom was waiting there. "This lucky guy just bought a freedom pass." He crossed his arms while looking back to Francisco. "Enjoy your stay."

 

[Dmaster]

Shun stood in the same spot as he had been when the group departed to find any survivors, rather surprised to see them not come back empty-handed. It is certainly fortuitous that he had survived such a harrowing experience, though there was no telling just what kind of man this was. "Greetings." was all he said upon Lauren suggesting that the others will introduce themselves, his featureless mask staring through Francisco.

 

[Breadman]

"Petar Vulkov. First mate." The former merc finally broke his silence to the convict while taking off his helmet. "Interesting resume, most would just show up and would have to ask, but like it or not, the boss might have made her mind up about you. Look like you've been recruited."

 

[Frankafurter]

Yolandi spent most of the weeks to herself, the only exception being the moments where she was with Karina working on the new battle suit or refitting the Kanad's mech. Other than that, her time was purely devoted to the study of the technical documents for the mech and the battle suit so that she could properly maintain them. She also took what little time she had outside that to get Zou back up to fighting shape. She managed to convince some of the Ironblood hull techs working on the Guillotine to skim some of the armor plating for repairs off the manifest and divert it her way. She spent about a week reshaping and forming the hull plates into usable armor panels for Zou. Given her estimates, despite the panels being thinner to compensate for the heavier weight, they're overall much tougher than the old panels she had on him.

Today, she was busy finishing up some paintwork on Zou's chassis post refit. The shoulder plates had white and black checkerboard stenciled onto them with a hazard striping around the protective collar. She painted the rest of the suit red with yellow highlights and black accents. She had to repaint her inscriptions, deciding to give them an update. The right arm's autocannon housing had an arrow with "HEADTAKER" painted next to it. The left forearm had "FIRM HANDSHAKE" written on it. The left shin plate had "MIGHTY FOOT" written on it with the right shin plate saying "FIELD GOAL." The chest had a smaller and more lengthy inscription on it, "Real Time Documentary on Undertaking - Filming in Progress!" Finally, the faceplate of Zou was painted to look like an Oni of Japanese mythology, figuring it appropriate given his origins of manufacture.

Once she was done with her crude Raider-chic paintjob, she headed outside to investigate the explosion that nearly made her mess up the lettering on the chest plate. She sees a boat head out there and eventually start returning with an extra passenger. She walks down to the beach and stands next to Karina, smelling of acetone, acrylamide, myomer packing grease, and hot metal, "So that's what that bang was, who survived?"

 

[Infab]

Lauren chuckled at Petar's statement. "Well, its either recruit him or kill him. And since he hijacked a prison transport by himself and warped himself out here, he's more than earned a good shot at recruitment." she said with a grin, before looking back to Francisco. "So what are you good at? Killing shit, driving shit, fixing shit..." Her voice trailed off, as she waited on Francisco's response.

-------

"So that's what that bang was, who survived?"

Karina glanced over to Yolandi, stopping a few yards from the group talking to the convict. "Yeah. Sol prison transport crashed, apparently he's the only survivor. They blew the transport up after getting him off it." she said, motioning towards them with the rifle in her hands. She switched the rifle off, before slinging it onto her back. "I'm heading back to the gym...are we still going to run diagnostics on the battle suit later?"

Aesha spoke up from where she lay. "Loosen up, Red! We ain't in the Fed Navy anymore!" Karina cut her a look, before looking back to Yolandi.

 

[SniperComZero]

For the past couple weeks, Olivia had, generally, kept mostly to herself. Sure, she talked to the others and interacted with them, but, for one reason or another, she generally seemed to stay solitary. It was mostly incidental whenever she talked with someone, really: she'd never go out of her way, or anything. She was most comfortable talking with Shelby and Aesha-- one being someone she'd kinda made a sort-of friendship with already, and the other being her wingman, so, it seemed kinda poignant to form a bond. Everyone else... well. Eh. Vance seemed nice, she supposed. Kind of a weirdo with how he talked, but hey. Petar, he kinda came off as a loud asshole, but truth be told, Olivia didn't mind him that much. Nothing like Jackson. Eugh. One she made an active effort to avoid. Anyone else? Hadn't spoken to, really. Whether it was, as in most cases, her just not really seeing them (or more likely, taking note of them). Or, people like... say... Lucy? Typhon? Shun? Fuckin' creeps. Or Nat, who she still didn't quite trust. That Navy/OID divide runs deep. For the most part, she'd busied herself with training herself, either with flight hours, her gun, or her body. If she wasn't doing that, then it was either her guitar, or the news from back in the old country she wanted to catch up on. All accompanied with a none-too-healthy amount of beer.

Right now, she was in the gym, on the treadmill for her daily cardio. Felt kinda refreshing to have her cardio not consist of running through some shithouse backwater place with a half-dozen goons up her ass. She had, as at least a couple people would have noticed, gotten much paler over the course of the couple weeks that she'd been with the crew. With the novelty of cleanish running water planetside, showers and the much less novel memories she had of a lot of people telling her she stank like shit, a lot of the grime that had accumulated on the woman was washed off. Over the course of a week or so, at least. It's kinda hard to get the amalgamation of at least a good couple month's worth of 'I have more important things to worry about and also I'm in space in this cramped-ass cockpit most of the time' off in one sitting. Anyways. She was mostly situated in there since she didn't really want to get sunburn. Then, the crash made the woman flinch, and the ground shook. She to some, unfortunately, didn't fall off in spectacular fashion, but came damn close to it.

Both her and Karina went to the door to see what the hell had happened. Oh. Something crashed. That ain't good. At least it didn't fall on top of them, so there's that. Whilst Karina went away to the beach where the most of the rest of the crew was stationed, Olivia decided to stay in the gym. Maybe take a little break while she's at it. After all, unless it's really, really bad, then she wouldn't have to sortie, right? They parted ways without even saying a word to eachother. Karina wasn't quite creepy like a lot of the others she hadn't spoken with, just... distant. Cold. Very 'shoot first, don't ask questions' kind of girl. Kind of like a lot of the buzzcuts that she saw in her time in the Navy.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Over the passing weeks, Shelby found everything to be more like an adventure camp than before. Lots of outdoor activities. Exercising. Enjoying the weather and environment. Training with weapons and gear. She had gotten pretty decent at using her pistol and the SMG, and had even tried out a shotgun, though found the latter a little too much for her. The SMG was what she was best with. A fair spread with decent recoil control. She wasn't a marksman, but she didn't need to be.

She talked a lot with many people, especially Jericho and Olivia. The others were alright, though not quite people she would count as friends unlike the assassin and pilot who she felt fairly close to by now.

When the ship crashed down into the ocean, Shelby hurried down to the beach in he sundress. She typically wore a sweater under it for warmth and bulk, but out in the tropical environment there was no need. Her form might have looked a little too androgynous for a dress, but with how long she had been around by now, her identity shouldn't have been suspect in the least. While the boat returned with what appeared one prisoner, she was relieved there weren't more. A prisoner was already... distasteful enough.

---

Lucy was resting in her room, looking over her flock. Adam was tucked into the sole bed in the room, resting on a fluffed up pillow with a bedsheet swaddled around the toaster like it was a newborn babe and required protection and warmth. The newest edition to her creations was Eve. Eve was... a strange device. It was made from the pilfered remains of a blender, using the rotational torque of the spinning mechanism to make a miniature helicopter. The bottom of which happened to still have the blender blade. Only a little piece of shaped metal acted as a tail or wing for stabilization, and it zipped about quickly and with a high-pitched buzz where ever it went. Like Adam, Eve was carefully resting by the pillow and slightly under the blanket.

Soon, it would be time to let them free around the ship again. Under her supervision, naturally.

 

[Infab]

As Shelby arrived in her sundress, Aesha glanced over. "Cute dress, Shell!" she said, throwing a compliment her way before laying back down to continue tanning. Aesha wasn't one for dresses, really. She still wore one every once in a while for formal stuff, but those days were kind of behind her after she was banned from racing back in the Federation.

Roku looked on from up near the barracks, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket and a look of unease on his face. It wasn't due to the crash, or the convict being brought ashore. It was because of the bomb collar strapped around his neck. Out of all the things they could have done to him, they decided to strap an explosive to him? Hell, he would have rather had Shun break his joints. After watching for a few moments, he shook his head and walked out to where everyone was. He stopped next to Vance, remaining quiet as he stood next to the odd All-American.

 

[Frankafurter]

Yolandi nods to Karina, "Yeah, we'll run diagnostics in a bit unless something comes up. I've been studying the tech manuals for the suit though. They really neutered it for general purpose use, the chassis itself on paper has the capability of being more powerful than Zou, and he's a two tonne behemoth that's already had extra work done to him. So when we get the final shakedown out of the way to make sure it's put together correctly and working as intended, we can talk about maybe juicing it up a bit to give you that extra edge. I mean, studying the book and the layout of the chassis, it's designed with modification in mind. So I can only assume Fedrats-- Federation pilots were given the option of pumping the suit for all it's got with field modifications." She wipes some of the grease on her hands onto her worksuit's knees, "All up to you if you wanna stay stock or go hot rodding, though. Right now we need to make sure there isn't any defects or quirks with it that we'd have to either iron out or work around."

She looks down at Aesha, "Nice tan, the medium rare look suits you. Watch out for unflattering tan lines though, don't want your tits lookin' like a pair of angry eyes." Yolandi snorts and looks back to Karina, "If you want to start shaking your suit down, say something, I gotta wait for Zou's paint job to dry so I can clearcoat him and be done. If you're busy, then I'm gonna go hop in the shower and get cleaned up. After that, I'll be in the lounge if you wanna join me for a drink or something. Maybe swap stories or just shoot the shit, up to you."

 

[joshuadim]

Vance took the time to observe the newcomer who had survived the crash. He noted that he was wearing an orange jumpsuit, similar to what a prisoner would wear. This made him somewhat wary, but who was he to judge? He had broken whatever laws exist out here with what had happened on the raid. He noticed that Roku stood next to him and opted for a chat. "What do you think of the new feller?" he asked with a grin.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

As Francisco is introduced to the rest of the crew, Jericho walked towards Shelby as she was being complimented by Aesha. "Oh, I know right? She's adorable in that dress." he giggles, while standing next to Shelby. He then looked back to Aesha. "That bikini looks good on you, girl!" But before Jericho could talk to Aesha some more, that elderly android known as Yolandi made comments on Aesha's tanning. He rolled his eyes and glanced back to Aesha. "Ain't she charming?" He looked back to Shelby. "Wanna do somethin', sugar? I'm starting to get bored of sitting my cute ass on this beach every day, waiting for the next assignment."

 

[Infab]

"Nice tan, the medium rare look suits you. Watch out for unflattering tan lines though, don't want your tits lookin' like a pair of angry eyes."

Aesha chuckled. "I'd tan naked, but fuck that. Not with guys like Jackson around." she said, wearing a grin. She gave Jericho a thumbs-up in regards to his compliments, before resuming her tanning. Karina nodded in response to Yolandi. "Yeah, I'll likely kit it out when we get the needed parts and weapons. For now, we have to run it bare." she said, before glancing to Jericho and Shelby. After a moment, she looked back to Yolandi. "...Yeah, a drink would be fine. I have a workout to finish, and I'll need a shower as well. I'll meet you at the bar."

------

"What do you think of the new feller?"

Roku glanced to Vance. "...He's a convict." he said simply. "That should say a lot. But then again, this is a colorful crew...he'll be right at home. If he joins us, that is." I wish I hadn't. He reached up and tugged at his collar, making it emit a beep. He twitched, quickly pulling his hand away and shoving it back into his pocket.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Typhon slowly rises from the rock, understanding he’s probably not needed as Francisco insisted he was fine. It never hurts to make sure at least, and like always, it’d make him look stupid if he let this go under his nose.

“Anything done to him that requires me?” he asks.

———————

Dejected but not defeated, Shuren pushes further into the engineering bay, still eager for a chance to show off what he’s learned.

“Misses Zadra?! Here?!” he shouts.

 

[Viper Actual]

Daniel shook his head. "Negative. Scans were green. He's got some minor bruising, nothing else beyond that," said Daniel in response to Typhon.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Typhon grimaces heavily, not happy at having wasted his precious time. He breathes in deeply one more time before wheezing it out. He turns around and lumbers away towards the Mordred with his head bowed to keep the sunlight from hitting his eyes. However, before he walks, he pauses to stare at Aesha tanning for a brief second.

“...I’ll never understand the fascination with that.” he mutters to himself aloud as he resumes.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Shelby smiled at the compliments to herself on her dress. She grabbed the sides of it to show the clothing off to the people nearby better. "Thanks, guys," she said, glancing between Aesha and Jericho. Aesha was definitely one of the cooler people of the crew, and she was still amazed a celebrity of her status was with the crew. It was unfortunate she hadn't spoken too much with the racer, but perhaps later she would.

Her focus fell back on Jericho. "Sure, we can. I... don't know what we can go do right now. Probably the same we've been doing for the past couple weeks I guess." Things had been nice enough, though it was starting to get a little boring just hanging around day after day. She didn't look forward to more fighting and killing... but at least something along those lines meant they were doing something.

---

"You are a very strong boy. I am p-p-proud of you," Lucy said smoothly to Adam, watching the toaster steadily walk down one of the hallways on the Mordred. She had performed some more alterations to the design since she created it, improving on it a little so that it was sturdier and moved better.

Eve zipped along nearby, hovering in the hallway with a quiet buzzing sound as the miniature copter followed Lucy and Adam. The android looked at the flying machine and held at her hand for it to land on.

"And you are very polite."

She was proud of her children. They were simple minded and performed simple functions, but they were "independent" machines that in her divine status had granted free will and life.

The three of them were stopped just outside the medical bay. Lucy was adjusting Eve's rotating wings, while Adam crawled around like a turtle in the hallway.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

‘Just my luck..’ thinks Typhon on seeing Lucy hanging around the medical bay entrance again. She still unnerved him a little, but his rather... terminal illness helped him move past it as he knew he probably wouldn’t have to see her for long.

“Good day, Miss Lucy.” he says rather politely, though with a very faint hint of sarcasm buried within deeply. “Fancy seeing you roam again infront of an area you aren’t necessarily required to visit-“ A harsh cough punctuates his statement.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Lucy turns to Typhon as he appears, holding Eve in her hand like the bot was a small pet finch. Her gaze lingers on his face without hesitation.

"I roam all accessible areas onboard this v-v-vessel with my friends," she indicates, looking down at Adam, and then letting Eve go so the little thing could zip around the other side of the hallway by itself. Adam had crawled over around towards Lucy and Typhon, and it hesitated near the man's feet like it was a dog coming to sniff the man.

"Your pallor and cough suggest illness."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“...Sure! Let’s go with that.” he responds. As he thinks of what to say next, he notices some bizarre robotic construct trying to sense his feet. Putting his hands on his hips, he crouches down to get a better look at the thing. It looks like someone took the kitchen toaster and added extra components to it, allowing it to walk in its own.

After observing it thoroughly, he lifts his head to face Lucy. “Is this your doing?”

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Of course," she replies steadily. "This is Adam. The m-m-machine has been granted life and intelligence to live independently."

It indeed looked to be little more than a toaster that had been severely altered to have legs to walk. One of the heating elements had been added to the front of the rectangular device, looking somewhat like a large headlight, but given its positioning it seemed somewhat apparent that it could be used as a weapon. Adam need only step up to something and press the heating element against it to burn or ignite its target.

A little antenna rose up from the back from within, and Typhon could see a small internal battery and computer board showing its very rudimentary internals.

Eve also zipped by near Typhon, and the smaller flying bot buzzed like a little humming bird innocently beside him. "This one is Eve."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“Adam... and Eve...”

Typhon ponders her choice of names. Maybe she did finally look up religion as he suggested. Maybe this is metaphorical. Maybe she just likes the names. Maybe she’s trying to imitate God. For just a split second, Lucy could see his face barely become overtaken by a empty-eyed blank expression as he processes that last blasphemous thought.

“Why, I didn’t know you were an engineering genius, Lucy!” he says, getting back up. “So... where’s Cain? Off quarreling with his brother, I assume?”

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Lucy nods slightly at the compliment. "My engineering and technical capabilities, in addition to computational, administration, and b-b-biological alteration are elevated above the normative professional range." Had Typhon been sarcastic, it clearly was not detected by the android.

"Cain and Abel have not been c-c-constructed as of this time. Acclima, Azura, and S-S-Seth are also yet to be constructed. The children will soon be bestowed with life in due t-t-time."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“Children, huh? Your children, all these descended from you? Well... who’s the lucky man?” Typhon asks in jest, barely able to contain a smile.