Futuristic The Ghost Shell Task Force [IC]

[Berries]

The HSC Prisal Advance was docked at departure terminal #2, gate 7A in the Terran External Affairs Airport. Departure time was set for 6:55am, and looking down at his watch now, Jann Reade noted that it was currently 6:15am. He had given word to his crew to all arrive by 6:30am at the latest, but none of them had shown up yet aside from his second in command and the comms officer Jeanie Callum. If this crew took much longer to arrive, he would have to have words with them. It was a well-known fact that one should arrive at least ten minutes early to a departure call, and while there were still a few minutes left he was beginning to grow impatient.

The captain was sitting in the starship's conference room, having seated himself at the head of the table. Also included in his instructions to the crew was their designated meeting place, which would be in this room, and it shouldn't be that hard to find. All official starhips more or less had the same layout, so anybody who had been aboard a ship before should be able to find it with ease. At the moment, Lieutenant Markov was helping ready the systems for launch below deck. He should be reporting back up to the conference room shortly to meet the crew. Leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped in front of him, Jann continued to observe the doorway in await of his crew members before briefly glancing down at the list he had before him.

Second in Command- Dorian Markov
Engineer- Luciel Graeham Cross
Medic- Gub'rath
Navigator- Lilith Scarlex
Gunner- Korvak

The list of his main crew members made the man stare for awhile. Of course, he had received their bios weeks in advance, but he had yet to meet any of them aside from the lieutenant. They all seemed remarkably qualified, at the very least. His second in command, the Lieutenant Markov, had an extensive history of law enforcement - though Jann did have some misgivings about his previous accomplishments. The engineer, Cross, had some heavy letters of recommendation behind him. Gub'rath, the medic, was a Kroev'uhm - a fact that had surprised Jann considerably but the creature seemed to have decent qualifications.

Meanwhile, the navigator Scarlex was apparently a prodigy fighter with a knack for navigation, and the drawusk gunner was competent. On the other hand, he had qualms about both his comms Officer and his on-board EHE. The Comms lady was a renowned hacker with a past that didn't please him, and the ghost... Well, that information was locked up in the highest security safe on the vessel. Sighing heavily, Jann cracked his head to one side - hearing the satisfying sound of metal gears clicking underneath his synthetic skin.

6:16am. These people were trying his patience.

 

[Jon]

"I know we only have 30 minutes, but I want another full system check done. I'm not letting those hacks in orbit touch this ship..." Dorian ordered the maintenance crew before stepping aside to answer a call. A blond woman around his age appearing before him as the lieutenant let out a heavy sigh.

"Not the blonde you were expecting?" Asked the woman in full military uniform, a Colonel with the UEF Army by the looks of it.

"Love at first sight, just like the very first time..." Dorian mumbled sarcastically as the colonel audibly gagged. "...doubt you're calling to see me off safely, what do you want?" Dorian then asked, his tone heavy with suspicion.

"I do worry about you, every time they would send you out there." The colonel then started, clearly insulted as Dorian gagged now in response.

"Well, you're the one sending good men out there now right? Even made full bird, the rank suits you Liz, so what do you want?"

"That's Colonel Markov...and I'm calling to see if Rebecca arrived safely. She has a personal guard, but I just wanted to check."

"You kept my last name? Wait what? I don't have visitation until next month? What about school, and I still live on TASE, send her there."

"We are well known, and I know, but I was given command of operations on Mars, I can't take her with me. Plus she has finished all of her schooling, she had only the best tutors."

"I'm part of an active response force, send her to another school?"

"This was her request Lieutenant Markov, and you can consider this an order," Elizabeth responded, her tone growing more formal and terse. "You can expect a UEF drop ship to arrive momentarily if it has not already, I expect daily updates and have Rebecca call me. If there is nothing else..."

"Liz, you're being ri..." Dorian started before sighing heavily once again as the call was ended.

"Continue with the check and then clear the ship, send me your final reports." Dorian then shouted to the crew as he hurried to the elevator. Reaching the loading bay doors, Dorian could already spot the armed guards escorting the 8-year-old to the ship.

"Dad!!!" Exclaimed Rebecca as she rushed him.

"There's my girl..." Dorian laughed as he crouched to hug her before picking her up. "...did you have a fun trip?"

"Yeah, mommy let me take a drop ship with soldiers, they let me wear the command module, the new model, Aries Mk V!!!"

"Oh really!!!" Dorian feigned excitement as he turned to the guard who were carrying her bags.

"Lieutenant Markov? We were ordered to deliver the Colonel' daughter to you." The guard explained before pausing for further orders.

"Yeah, umm..." Dorian paused pondering his options as he stood in the middle of a docking bay with his daughter.

"...take her bags to my cabin, inform Colonel Markov that she has arrived safely when you return." Dorian then ordered as he led the three of them to his cabin.

"I brought you a kit for your arm dad. I know you like the old model but you should consider some upgrades. I can do them for you if you want, look I brought my kit..." Rebecca continued during their walk before immediately starting to unpack.

"That's great Becca, but we're still preparing for launch. Did you eat?" Dorian then asked as Rebecca simply nodded, clearly elated just to be there. "Well just unpack I guess and rest for a bit, I'll be back and maybe we can do a tour of the ship." Dorian continued to explain, making it up as he went before he was surprised by another hug. "I'll see you in a bit, looks like you've brought plenty to keep you occupied though..." Dorian sighed as he glanced at all her bags. Leaving his room Dorian glanced over the reports sighed finally with relief as it appeared the ship had the green light. Reaching the conference room at 06:31, "sorry I'm late, the ship has the green light whenever we're ready.

 

[FabulousTrash]

Among the crowds of people moving about in the airport , there was a girl with bright pink hair and a massive sniper rifle strapped to her back.

Lilith stood in the middle of the lobby, looking down at a tablet that displayed instructions given to her from the captain of the ship she was assigned to. From what she had heard, the captain was a cyborg. All her previous commanding officers were flesh and blood, so this would be a new experience for her.

Terminal 2, gate 7A...conference room...


The female looked up and around and saw a sign that pointed down a hallway, the sign saying "Terminal 2". Putting the tablet away, Lilith reached down and picked up her duffel bag and slung that over her shoulder and walked off. As she walked, she noticed some EHE guard personnel up ahead, carrying bags. She couldnt see who they were following, but she didnt concern herself with it. Lilith looked up to one of the many wall clocks. It was 6:16am. Yawning a bit, she rubbed her eyes. This was too early for her. Sure, she was willing to get up early for certain circumstances, but for a simple departure as well as a briefing, this was too much.

As she continued on her way, she passed by a small coffee bar. Her ADHD kicked in. Coffee equaled energy, but she was instructed to arrive at the ship and be in the conference room by 6:30. Lilith stopped walking for a moment, thinking about what she should do. Ever so slowly, she found herself stepping towards the bar.

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted as a man bumped into Lilith. She quickly looked around and saw the man that bumped into her, hastily picking up some items that he dropped as well as apologizing to the female at the same time. Lilith shook her head and smiled, bending down to help the man

Dont worry about it love. Its my mistake for getting so distracted.

The man thanked Lilith for her help and ran off. Lilith looked up at the time. 6.25.

Shit

Lilith made sure she had her things before walking away from the bar, her pace a rather fast walk. She soon came up to terminal 2 and followed the signs for gate 7A. Through the windows, she looked at the beast of a ship she would be soon be piloting. It was massive, bigger than some of the other aircraft she had piloted. Getting distracted again, she took a few more minutes to just observe the ship. Looking down, she noticed the same guards that she saw earlier as well as a new person. She immediately noticed the robotic hand, but her attention was stolen from the sight of a girl running over to the robot man and hugging him. Confused, Lilith just stored what she saw in her memory as she made her way down to the ship. She saw the man, the girl and the guards enter the ship, so Lilith followed suite, going through the same entrance as the party before.

Upon stepping into the ship, she couldnt help but recognize the layout. The only other time she had been in a large cruiser was assist a fleet in a rescue situation. Other than that, this was her second time in a large ship like this. Seeing that the layout was the same, she made her way to the conference room but was oblivious to the time again. When she entered, it was 6:33.

Lilith saw the man from before as well as a new person. They were sitting at the head of the table. Most likely the captain. He had features that were commonly associated with cyborgs. What was his name? Oh right, Jann Reade. She saw all the names of the crew members on her tablet from before. Setting her bag down in a corner, she also dumped her sniper rifle beside it before speaking up

Lilith's the name. Lilith Scarlex. A bit late sadly, sorry about that.

She shifted over to one of the chairs around the table, quickly taking a seat.

 

[Tex.Y]

Korvak, it is 6:34:27 AM. Departure time is scheduled shortly. According to my logs, the arrival time dictated by Captain Reade has already passed, are you not concerned?.. Caution advised, sir. Your suit's integrity is approaching its limit. Maintaining your current position will result in catastrophic failure at your center of gravity. Most likely result: Permanent paralysis, possible death due to crush syndrome. Advised action: Releasing this support beam.

"Quiet Please," Korvak grunted, maintaining his stance despite Dida's warnings. His hands were lifted up, above his head, and his legs pushed into the ground viciously, turning his body into a make-shift support for the damaged support that had fallen in the way of several escapees. His skin was soaked in sweat, and the inside of his suit only became stickier as time went by. The flames licked at Dida's backside as several fire-safety personnel rushed out of the opening that his suit created.

The suits internal temperature has just reached 92° Celsius. At this rate, even if the pelvic plates do not snaSpIoLrEbNeCnEd tCoOoMmMuS-

On command, Dida's communications were silenced. Korvak's body began to tremble moments after Dida was silenced. He already felt dehydrated, but if the temperature rose enough higher, neither his suit or natural resistances would keep him conscious. Thankfully, a loud clank on the side of his armour signalled what he'd been waiting for. He heard the phrase faintly alongside it, 'building's clear' just as he'd hoped. "Overcharge joints please," Korvak commanded, suddenly thrust his armed upwards with a great deal of heft. The beam above him only move a few inches, but in the same moment, the suit thrust itself forwards, barely escaping the excessive weight that fell from above. Korvak scrambled to his feet and looked over his arm-plates. "Reactivate comms. Status report."

Multiple injuries to your skeletal structure. Micro fractures up your left leg, two sprains in your-

"Of the suit."

Apologies. No significant damage sustained. Energy supply at 94%, all weapons systems fully operational. Communications undamaged. Strain placed on central joints may require maintenance, but pose no immediate problems. You are currently suffering from mild dehydration. Blood pressure-

"Thank you." Korvak turned towards the men and women in charge of the situation briefly and nodded. Jumping under that pillar probably wasn't the best idea. The man he'd rescued was a cyborg, likely the fire captain, at that. But with his assistance, evacuation of the building proceeded quicker than it would've if they were forced to prop up the pillar manually. A few civilians looked the man's armour over carefully as Korvak rubbed the center of his bottom-left palm with the opposite thumb, pushing into the malleable metal carefully. "How long will it take to-"

Approximately 3 minutes. Current time is 6:35:2-

"I can read my HUD," Korvak groaned, making his way past the gathered crowd as the wreckage behind him was addressed by more appropriate personnel. As he passed by the people that had been watching his heroic feat, several offered his a friendly smile, and brushed the side of his armour gratefully. Korvak smiled underneath his helmet and lowered his arms.

Threat detected. Alien object stuck to lower right calf.

Korvak instinctively spun his head down towards his calf, and paused in place. Fortunately, it was just a little girl, who'd peeled a single sticker from a sheet of plastic, and stuck it to Korvak's armour. It was a little bumblebee, with a cartoonish smile. "Dida..."

I am just joking, Korvak.

The little girl smiled and scuttled away, back towards her parents, where she meticulously examined the her remaining stickers with a vacant expression. Her mother pulled her close and gave Korvak a reluctant smile.

6:36:00.

Korvak turned away from the woman, and began to jog towards the airport, keeping clear of the nearby civilians.

Estimated arrival time: Approximately 6:39:30. Remember to have a drink, Korvak.

 

[LocKeii]

Luciel Cross || Terminal #2 || Mentions: No one yet

Three sharp knocks, each rapid and impatient wrang like warning bells through the open corridor. A minute passed, then two before the action was once again repeated with enough vehemence to rattle the hanging ‘Trust me, I’m an engineer’ hologram sign.

“At this rate you’re not going be late for your first day but watching as the ship takes off without you!” Adam shouted. Even at the age of twenty six with enough bachelor degrees to makes a paper hat his older brother was still an insufferable insomniac.”If his captain doesn’t fire him first I’ll do it myself...” Adam muttered, ready to resume knocking when the automated door slid open with a silent hiss.

“Oh come on, you wouldn’t throw your older brother out on the streets would you?”

Adam could only blink in response. Gone was the unruly head of sideswept bangs but was instead slicked back into one uniform mass. The clothing he wore was a far cry from the usual thrown on ensemble of black shirts, tight pants, and unnecessary amounts of unusable zippers.

Instead he was dawning a slick new vest; faded blue with black buttons and enough pockets to conceal an array of hidden knick knacks. The white dress shirt underneath was tucked into dark grey trousers which was in turn stuffed into a pair of black gravity boots.

“It’d...it’d be less of a hassle in the long run.” Adam managed to say. The initial shock seemed to lessen the more he continued to look on. Underneath all the polished veneer he could still see Lu in the few strands of unkempt hair, the unceremoniously rolled up cuff sleeves, and haphazardly laced tie. Sighing, he moved in to fix the bundled mess of striped gold and light beige. “So what’s all this?”

“What, I can’t look good on the first day on the job?” Lu countered, raising an eyebrow up at his not so little brother. Sometimes he wondered if he got the shorter stick of the gene pool but with the height of 6’3, Adam would tower above just about anyone.

“The efforts noted.”

“With this amount of synthesized hair gel it goddamn better be.”

Adam snorted, a twitch of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he positioned the tie in place. With the length perfectly adjusted he stepped back and glanced at the corner of his neurolinker interface. The hologram display flashed a bright 09:09. “Aren’t you cutting it a bit close?”

“If I wanted to cut it close I’d still be three dreams deep into Loira Mikelson’s huge pair of-”

“I don’t need any recaps.”

Laughing, Lu reached up and tousled his brothers mess of brown curls. “I’m kidding.” He chuckled, “Mostly.”

Adam frowned in mock disapproval. Before he could form a rebuttal heavy footsteps tracked up the glass paned staircase. Both siblings turned just as the smiling face of their uncle emerged from the top landing. As always he had on his signature leather jacket but even he had apparently made an effort with a freshly ironed black tee and clean shaven chin.

“Am I interrupting some quality brotherly bonding?”

“We’ve got room for another heartfelt goodbye.” Lu joked.

“How about a present?” As he approached Caelan brought his hidden right hand forward and produced a black utility belt. Despite the collage of newly installed customizations Lu recognized the piece of equipment immediately. From the first moment he had seen his uncle at work the same leather belt was strapped to his waist.

“You’re giving me Lucy?” Lu asked in awe.

“Borrow.” Caelan corrected before breaking into a grin, “Figured she’d need time to adjust before I hand over the reig-”

He was interrupted by a sudden hug. For a second Caelan was taken aback before moving in to return the sentiment.

“I’ll take good care of her.” Lu reaffirmed, pulling back. The small smile that formed as Adam watched the exchanged all but melted when he glanced back at his time display.

“You’ve got twelve minutes Luciel and a twenty minute drive down to the airport.”

“Who said anything about driving?” The latter stated as he began jogging down the stairs, “Thanks Uncle Caelan and familia ante omnia, little bro!”

“Per aspera ad astra!” Adam yelled back just as the sound of the automated front door shut with a soft beep. Meanwhile Lu continued out into the polished streets of Noceur with it’s glass domed buildings and geographical monoliths that towered high above the skies. Streams of people were already making their way through the packed avenue as the young man managed to squeeze his way into a semi secluded alleyway.

“Map sequence 2471 activate”

Bright blue letters popped into his line of sight: Eye in the Sky Map Initiated before an eagle’s eye view of the city materialized into view. Looking over the hologram he could just about make it on time by the use of a minor shortcut.

Swiping the Map aside he tapped both the toes of his boots against the concrete ground. For a brief second they emitted a light golden hue before fading back to black. Lu approached the white bricked wall in front of him and placed a single sole against the flat surface before proceeding to walk upwards. Unfortunately he couldn’t take the usual leisurely pace and spent the next eleven minutes and half sprinting from building to building until finally he was pulling up right in front of the terminal #2’s loading bay.

Unfortunately even an entire bottle of gel couldn’t spare his hair from gravity trip it just endured. Glancing at the reflective surface of the ship he cringed at the group of rogue strands exploding from the winded mess. Running his hand through the nest of spikes he managed to flatten it back down into a vague semblance of order. The rest of his attire thankfully appeared only somewhat rumpled.

Twelve minutes and on the dot, Lu was strolling up the docking platform with nothing to show for his recent escapade except for slightly flushed skin and scuffed knees from abrupt landings. It was by sheer luck at he managed to bypass the regular security check up with his designated personal chip and a bit of exaggerated ad-lib.

 

[Berries]

Jann, to put it simply, was livid. Aside from the comms officer and engineer, none of the crew had arrived on time. In fact, their medic had decided not to show up at all. At 6:30, Jann had already been angry. It didn't help that even his second in command had sauntered up to the conference room a minute late, the navigator had arrived three minutes after the appointed time, and the gunner had strolled in an entire ten minutes behind schedule. All that was bearable, however - admittedly the ten minutes had been pushing it but it was bearable - but then Jann had been informed that not only did they now have a child on board on the orders of some colonel chick but they also were out a medic.

While glaring daggers at Korvak's bumblebee sticker, Jann had tersely put in a call to headquarters. However, seeing that they were so close to departure time, they had not had the time to be provided another medic. Running his hands through his synthetic hair in aggravation, Jann calmed himself down with a small sigh. Here they were, five minutes until departure, with a missing crew member and a bunch of tardies. Shaking his head, the captain looked down at the assembled crew members. "I don't know how any of you passed field training if you aren't even competent enough to arrive on time." He stated coolly, standing up out of his chair so that he gained extra height for the intimidation factor.

"However, it seems we are all assembled now. Our briefing will begin. I will only be saying this information once, so make sure that you retain it all.

Our destination is Vospora. Recent intelligence suggests that there is an organization built off of human and kroev cooperation that is selling illegal ghost shells. The said organization is called Griffin Systems: their cover is as a normal electronics shop which primarily markets top of the line holograms. We have been primarily tasked with finding out how they are managing to export ghosts from earth to Vospora. Therefore, our role is mostly reconnaissance and we will await further information or backup before attempting to challenge the organization.

We will be arriving at Vospora in approximately 122 hours. Until then, I advise that you make yourselves at home. I don't anticipate any interruption during the flight." Jann continued to talk for a few minutes more before releasing the crew to their quarters.

--

86 hours later.

Well into their third day of travel, life on board the HSC Prisal Advance had been pretty tame. The crew had seemed to adjust well to the ship, and even the child had begun to show some worth in the fact that she was surprisingly well-informed about mechanics. Meanwhile, the comms officer had emerged as their designated medic for she was versed in first aid on humans and had basic medical knowledge. The crew had yet to socialize much aside from brief interactions during meals seeing that the primary concern was getting adjusted to the ship as well as making use of the ship's holographic combat center.

That was where all combative members of the crew were located now. Jann had called them all there to assess their fighting abilities; he had even sentenced Cross to a fight against a few Curoppers to see how the engineer fared in basic combat. Meanwhile, Markov was in battle against a small pod of Aughys, Scarlex in combat against a large Greorb, and Korvak matched up against a large Dracking specimen.

Jann was sitting back monitoring their progress through the simulations, and thus far he was rather impressed. Of course, Markov was an excellent soldier, but Scarlex impressed him as well. Korvak's suit also had a lot of qualities that Jann deemed quite useful.

As he sat in thought, Jann nearly missed the sound of a loud siren going off. Jerking up, Jann's head snapped towards the sound. "Alistar, what's this?" He barked at Prisal's ghost, knowing the man was probably within hearing. Immediately, Alistar popped up on Jann's screen.

"I'm not sure yet, but it seems like we have been attacked." The ghost reported, quite unhelpfully. Frowning deeply, Jann cancelled the crew's simulations with a flick of his hands.

"Attention all crew members, we may be being attacked. Assume battle positions." He said sharply over the comms systems.

 

[Jon]

Dorian sighed as the Aughys materialized before him. While not very intelligent, their incredible leaping ability made them difficult targets to pin down, the reason why his team would normally just gas them. The creatures heavy reliance on oxygen, and various mucous membranes making them highly susceptible to CS gas. Tossing a smoke grenade forward, Dorian used the cover to take quick shots at the joints of their legs. Crippled, the Aughys were basically helpless as Dorian stepped out to finish each of them with a head shot.

Surprised to hear how realistic their cries were, Dorian could only think back to such training with UEF security forces, though those commanders preferred the real thing. Laughing to himself, the new commanders would always want to test the teams just like this to "to assess their fighting abilities" even when the teams had been working together for years, and even here, no one selected was an amateur. Except for maybe the captain, while he certainly appeared skilled, he did appear to lack experience for such a command position. Of course, good leadership was rare in the EHE and they did love their cyborgs, the reason why Dorian had been so hesitant to sign on. Still, a good team and a fast ship were all he had ever really needed.

Hearing the simulation end, the doors immediately flew open as Rebecca rushed him. Crouching to grab her, Dorian fell back as she struck him in the shoulder with a large drill. "Hey, easy, what the hell are you doing?!?!?" Dorian asked as he sat up, his robotic arm now limp. "You have an old model dad, if you put so much stress on your arm it'll fry your nerve endings!" Rebecca scolded him as Dorian simply shook his head. "switching to a low power mode is more than enough, it has worked for years."

"This is why your shoulder and back always hurt..." Rebecca explained as she looked at his arm, Dorian simply nodding as he did have chronic pain though he always thought it from years of abuse. "How do you know all of this?" Dorian then asked, before grabbing her as they both fell over. Hearing Jann's announcement, Dorian ripped the drill from his arm before handing it back to Rebecca. "Go back to our room now, lock the door," Dorian ordered as his daughter simply nodded before running off.

Attempting to move his arm, it remained limp as Dorian could not help but laugh, it always took 20 minutes for his arm to reset, why he never like to power it off. Making his way quickly out of the room, there was no way anyone would be dumb enough to attack a clearly marked EHE ship. However, they were also simply cruising outside of warp, in deep space, on a known trade route, with no one at the helm. An amateur mistake, but Dorian was too preoccupied with Rebecca to have noticed.

Meeting up with Jann, "get Scarlex on the helm, we need to get out of here now." Dorian said as he pulled up the radar scans. "We are in Vospora space, only ones that would attack us out here are raiders. They normally target large transports, we can't afford to be breached..." Dorian explained as he could see nothing on the rader yet as he switched it to deep scan.

 

[FabulousTrash]

Lilith sprinted towards the trench in the ground, sliding down the slope as she looked back behind her, the Greorb hot on her tail. Raising up a small remote, she looked away as she pressed the button. Multiple stun ordinances on the ground detonated infront of the large creature, who was now blinded. Lilith had thrown them down as she was running towards the trench.

She popped out of cover, raising her left pistol up, looking through the scope attached. Firing two shots, they found their marks in the Greorb's eyes. Blinded and in pain, the large creature began running around like it didnt have a head. Lilith holstered her pistol, raising her left arm again and fired her grappling hook from the device on her left wrist. The hook unfolded as it raced towards the Gerorb's neck, impaling itself in its skin and finding a hold. The device began to reel the wire in, pulling Lilith up into the air. With her right hand, she reached for her stun baton, activating it. She whipped herself around to the back of the creature and landing on the back of its neck, climbing up to the base of its skull. It felt her and tried to throw Lilith off, but she hold on tightly. Taking her baton, she jabbed it where the creatures skull and neck met. It was that point where most nerves connected. The electricity ran through the creature's body as it fried some of its inner organs. The Greorb fell to the ground as Lilith jumped off, panting slightly. The greorb was immobile now. Walking around and to its head, Lilith just sighed as she deactivated her baton and clipped it back to her side. She was just about to give the final blow when she watched as the simulation faded and shut down, followed by a loud siren and Jann's voice informing that an attack was imminent.

Compared to last time, Lilith wasted no time getting to the bridge, immediately taking a seat at her station. So many controls, but she understood it all. Back at basic training, it was a requirement to know how to learn how to fly different ships on the spot.

She shut off the autopilot, taking manual control of the ship. Her control console changed, giving her different controls to better pilot the ship manually. Currently, the ship was in cruising speed, slow for a ship this size. She reached over to the throttle, increasing speed gradually

I can try to outrun them if they're behind us. Where are they?

 

[LocKeii]

Luciel Cross || HSC Prisal Advance

While their initial meeting had gotten off on a rocky start with a no-show medic and about half the team showing up late they had all fairly quickly adapted to their new life on board. Lu himself found that while his occupation was required it hadn’t yet proven to be necessary what with the ships freshly executed maintenance. The most he’s had to do for the past three days was run daily diagnostics and repair one jammed doorway after he himself had broken it. The lack of incentives would have quickly bored him out of his mind but thankfully he had a likewise mind on board to ease the daily drone.

Initially he had been thrown to find that there was a kid on board an EHE task force ship. In fact the first time he’d seen the little eight year old in his work station he nearly thought that she was a Ghost. Suffice to say they had gotten along fairly well after he discovered her interest and even budding talent for mechanics. Since then he’d given her free range to enter the Mechanic Station upon promising to at the very least wait for him before touching any of the less than child-friendly tools. He had no doubt that she could handle herself but Lu would rather not have a confrontation with her father despite her insistence that he wouldn’t do anything that awful.

Apart from Rebecca he surprisingly hadn’t had much contact with the rest of the crew. Unlike him their jobs perhaps required a more demanding routine as the only times he’s managed to catch one or two in one place was in the ship’s mess hall. Even then he could just barely initiate a less than stimulating conversation before said person would need to go gallivanting off to their own station. Then there was the Comms person or Janie Callum if he remembered correctly. He had recognized her the moment he’d gotten on board as one of his colleagues back in Central Police Academy. She had been the only one that managed to bypass his sequenced security program. Lu having had prior credentials had been tasked with developing many of the student’s training courses and being aware of her abilities he took it upon himself to accommodate them. After that there’d been a bit of a little one sided rivalry; Lu increasing the difficulty and Janie meeting the challenges head-on.

Despite their close quarters he still hasn’t gotten a chance to speak to her as she seemed just as elusive as their captain. As expected she was also absent for the combat assessment which he himself had been called to attend. Seeing as even mechanics were required to at least know basic combat it didn’t come as much of a surprise that he would be tested. As he looked on at the shambling figures of the computer generated Curoppers he wished that they made them less aesthetically accurate. The nearest shambling mass of coagulated flesh lunged forward with lethal accuracy.

Lu in response ducked under the meaty limb, swinging his leg forward and bringing two of the creatures crashing down. He shot both through the chest and the remaining parasite in its one massive eye. Within minutes all three targets were eliminated. He had about five seconds to appreciate his own handiwork when twelve more equally fatty and grotesque Curoppers materialized in bursts of neon pixels. Sighing, he began to stand when suddenly the soot covered ground lurched beneath him. The last thing he saw were the crumbling buildings as he fell before being forcely ejected from the simulation.

Mild disorientation flooded his senses made worse by the flashes of red emergency lights and a blaring siren. It took a second to discern what the voice through the comms was saying. In the end he could only catch ‘crew members’ and ‘battle’ before unceremoniously ripping the dive gear off his head. As he exited the simulation chamber he could just about catch Scarlex hastily turn a corner into where he recalled the bridge was located. The door next to him opened capturing his attention just as a small, familiar figure stepped out and began running the opposite direction.

Before Rebecca could get far Lu called after her. “Any idea what’s going on?”

The little girl immediately whirled around with one of his power drills clutched tightly to her chest. Before he could even ask she was already yelling back a response. “We’re being attacked!”

As if on cue the ship gave another lurch but thankfully wasn’t powerful enough to throw anyone off their feet. “I’ve got to go! Look after my dad, Lu!”

“I will, stay safe!”

Even if he was pretty sure that the Lieutenant didn’t need any sort of ‘looking after’ he indulged the kids worries. Just as he was about to head off to his own designated station the subject in question exited a second later. Lu instinctively moved out of the way just as Dorian quickly passed him. ‘Yep, the lieutenant was doing just fine.’

As Lu began to turn however something caught his eye. Looking back he noticed the unnatural limpness of the man’s bioelectronic arm. Without much thought he shifted gear and began lightly jogging towards the departing figure.

“Hey!” Inwardly he cursed at the unintentional breach in conduct, “Sir, do you need any help?”

Mentions @Berry FabulousTrash [briefly] Jon

 

[Berries]

As the crew left their simulations to assume their battle positions, Jann was scowling deeply at the image of Alistar on his screen. "I left you to pilot the ship," he told the ghost in irritation, "the very least you can do is tell me what went wrong." The captain scolded, but the ghost only kicked one foot to the side and made an unbearably innocent face.

"Pardon, captain, but I got too caught up in cyberspace to pay attention to what was happening in real space." The ghost said with a giggle and a shrug. Jann's eyebrows had folded down in deep displeasure. There were many things about this scenario that bothered him; the first being that despite appointing the ghost with piloting the man had elected to mess around, and the second being that he giggled despite having been a 52 year old man at the time of his death.

Deciding to cast his anger aside for the moment in favor of more pressing issues, Jann nodded in approval as Scarlex's voice came through on the comms. It was good that the crew had finally shaped up and at least learned to get places on time. Jann himself had been on the way to the helm to figure out what was going on when he noticed a red flashing button on the screen outside of the simulators; apparently Korvak's suit had reacted badly when abruptly pulled out of the simulation and was now stalled. Sighing, Jann made a flicking gesture to Alistar. "Get Korvak out of the simulation." He said shortly before jogging up to the deck.

As he walked, Jann pulled up the ship's surveillance cameras on his screen. Searching the space to figure out the source of the attack, the captain quickly realized that they had somehow flown into a pod of Dracking. The pod was seventeen creatures large, with the biggest being around the size of the HSC Prisal Advance itself.

Relieved that it wasn't a group of mercenaries, Jann quickly determined the angles and momentum of the pod. "We have encountered a medium size Dracking pod." He informed the crew. "Scarlex, focus on navigating us out of the pod without hitting anything. Cross, earlier we were hit near the secondary engine. Make sure that there wasn't significant damage."

Turning to Markov, Jann gestured for the man to head up to the gunner's station. "Korvak is stuck in simulation, cover the guns for us." He ordered, figuring that he wouldn't need to give the man anymore instructions than that. Jann's intention wasn't to open up fire at the pod, but just to hit anything that came too close to the ship for comfort.

 

[Jon]

"No, Scarlex maintain course and speed..." Dorian ordered before collecting himself as he pulled away from the scanner display. "...I mean sir..." Dorian corrected himself as he turned to Jann. "...yes it's a medium size pod but it contains an adult queen." Dorian pointed out as he motioned to the large mass on the scanner. "The creatures are attracted to electromagnetic energy. If the queen is preparing to breed she may be hungry and the pod will swarm at anything. Increasing our speed or arming the cannons could increase our discharge and attract unwanted attention." Dorian explained before nodding somewhat apologetically before turning to Scarlex.

"You will take the helm for the remainder of the trip. Just navigate through and away from the pod until we are several parsec away then set course and warp. We'll rotate shifts, but do what you have to do to stay awake for now." Dorian explained before pausing for a moment to see if she understood as he then returned to Jann.

Tapping on a few screens in front of Jann, "...it seems our ghost failed to monitor the situation. I'm disconnecting him from the ships main systems and I will monitor them directly until we arrive. We can see about having him serviced or replaced once we arrive?" Dorian asked, waiting for Jann's answer before he hit the button to finalize his input.

 

[Tex.Y]

Threat level: Minimal

Dida's review went unacknowledged as Korvak jogged around the pathetically slow glob of stupid flesh.

Dracking flesh does not provide an adequate defence against my Tier 3 Plasma weaponry. Light fire will not be able to inflict substantial damage.

"Thank you, Dida," Korvak grunted. The large saucer-like Dracking made its way towards him repeatedly like a semi-sentient Frisbee. Korvak sighed and hopped aboard its back as it made yet another dive towards him, and dug into its fleshy carapace with all four hands. As a simulation, this Dracking likely didn't possess the complex inner-workings of a live model. There were no nodules to target, or implicit weak points to take into account. Slicing into pieces would suffice. How exactly was Jann going to judge his abilities with such a sluggish creature as fodder, though? Korvak prepped one of his PAINS, allowing it to dig slightly into the back of the Dracking. It began to flail in an attempt to dismount him, but with Dida's balance, it wouldn't be enough. Korvak ran forwards, leaving his spire half-dug into the Dracking's back. His body angled itself at roughly 45 degrees as he continued forwards, across the entire breadth of the beast's back. As he reached its edge, Dida spun him around with a forced shift in weight, and directed his readied Spire at the now half-defeated Dracking. Before he fell, Dida ejected her Spire, launching it through the center of the Dracking. It tore through it, from one end to the other, wreaking havoc through its interior. Severe burns decimated its interior, sending it into the ground. Of course, before Korvak could celebrate, or even look for a way out of the room, Dida's Comms flashed with a familiar noise.

Orders from the Captain, Korvak. The ship is under siege. Source of the attack-Bw$#@

Korvak fell from his usual stature in an instant, with his body hunched forwards awkwardly, like he'd just run a 100 yard dash. Thankfully, it wasn't his fatigue at work. Unfortunately, the cause might've been far more problematic. Korvak took a few steps forwards, sluggishly, when he realised that his comms were completely offline. Even worse, Dida's AI had gone into hibernation. "What's going on?" He shouted from inside of his suit. His voice was muffled, inaudible without Dida's Comms. Already, he'd been gimped by some kind of interference. Korvak pushed himself forwards, looking around in a brief panic. The simulation was beginning to flicker in and out. The corpse of his Dracking opponent looked as if it had gone through seven blenders with a combination of wood chippings, and an assortment of gore. the glitches in his simulation's matrix was beginning to make things a little clearer, even if he didn't understand the situation at all. It had to be a glitch. Something was screwing with Dida's operations, turning her into nothing more than a useless suit of armour that he was forced to lug around like a homeless vagrant. Korvak grunted as he continued towards the Simulation bay's door, which flickered in an out of view in the distance. "Sir! Somebody!" He shouted. Oh, of course! He wasn't all the bright, but he finally realised that nobody would be able to hear him from inside of Dida. He reached up and searched the neck of his suit for the manual release switch. It took a while, but he was able to open his armour's face plate with minimal struggle.

"Hello!" He shouted. With one hand, he began to bang on the door helplessly. "Open the door!"

 

[FabulousTrash]

Lilith nodded at the instructions she was given. reaching and placing a finger on the manual control. It was a simple holographic thumbstick. Most ships had simple interfaces in the case someone not as proficient in flying as normal pilots had to take the helm.

The ship had drifted too far into the pod that backing up wasnt an option, and the captain had realized that too. The only way out was forward and through the pod itself. In her past experiences, she had encountered a pod unintentionally. It was an engagement with pirates, unexpected at that as well. In order to shake those that were tailing her, she had to fly through a pod that was nearby. Long story short, the pirates didnt really survive.

She still wasnt familiar with the inner layouts of the pod, so she reached over to the throttle control, bringing the Prisal's speed down. From there, she kept a careful eye out for any other tunnels. One appeared on the left side. Having no other option, she turned the ship to the left, taking it down the new path

You dont suppose we could scan the innards of this beast? I'm flying blind here

It was getting darker and darker as they went. Lilith reached over to a switch on her console and flicked it. Outside, floodlights illuminated the dark tunnel, giving Lilith better vision. Most of her focus was now on just getting out of the pod. She could only assume they were near the front of it so going left and forward seemed like the quickest way out.

When Dorian instructed Lilith about rotation and staying away, she only nodded. At the moment, she wasnt tired, and she had her own little tricks up her sleeve to keep herself away. As the Prisal continued its way forward, she looked back down at her console and began to plot a location for warping. A small trick she learned back in training. Plotting a warp course ahead of time provided tons of information such as how to position the ship to make the jump, as well as what speed you should approach the jump point if you dont want to stop completely.

When she finalized the warp course, her heart sank slightly. The jump point was outside of the pod and in the direction it was going, it would be impossible to jump from inside the pod.

I have a warp course laid out, though we need to get out of the pod first before we can jump.

Berries Jon

 

[Berries]

Turning to raise an eyebrow at Markov, Jann conceded the second point about the cannons but disagreed with his lieutenant's order to Scarlex to maintain course. Maintaining their course, at the moment, would probably crash them into something, but Jann didn't raise the concern seeing that their navigator seemed to have gotten the point. Meanwhile, he didn't disagree with Markov's command for the woman to take control of the helm until further notice. "Very well. No cannons." Jann repeated, turning his attention back to surveying the cameras before looking up as Markov addressed him again on the topic of their ghost.

About to nod and allow the lieutenant to disconnect the ghost, Jann had to take a second to reconsider. He'd probably get a lot of hell from command if he were to interfere with that particular ghost. "No, leave him online. He isn't malicious, just incompetent." He objected, giving a wave as if to imply he'd explain the situation to the lieutenant later. "It would likely do us well if you kept an eye on the main systems regardless, however." He added without any particular interest before processing Scarlex's request for a scan.

"For radar we'd have to use electromagnetic pulse." He commented, brooding over the dilemma for a moment. "Lieutenant, I'll leave it in your jurisdiction whether or not we send out a radar pulse." He decided in the end, handing the task over to Markov.

"Seeing as this was only a medium size Dracking we should only be stuck for a few more minutes, unless we've already taken a wrong turn." Jann reflected, trying to trace their path so far. "If that is the case, then we will be forced to use radar unless we want to break our way out." He said, continuing to scroll through data. "Could you transmit the warp point to me?"

--

Dancing around on the simulation room's monitor, Alistar spun in between the small glowing letters on the screen. As the man moved, the display around him changed, bringing up a projection of Korvak's simulation cell. The alien was banging on the door, apparently. Chuckling to himself, Alistar dredged up the Open Door command and was about to tap on it when he heard the Dorian fellow talk about disconnecting him through the comms system. Freezing in displeasure, the ghost waited to hear the result of the suggestion. A smirk appeared on his features as Jann ordered him to be left alone and started humming as he turned back to the Open Door button.

Unfortunately for Korvak, it seemed the ghost was now a little bit pissed so he elected not to release the alien immediately. Instead, a screen in front of the door of the simulation room lit up and projected Alistar's face in front of Korvak. "Why, are you stuck?" The ghost asked in entirely fake surprise. "What a shame! What happened to that suit of yours?" He continued in his peppy voice, leaning into the screen's surface to enlarge his face.

For this entire trip Alistar had felt rather threatened by this alien's suit. It seemed to have pretty high intelligence and he was dying to know its inner workings. Here seemed to be a pretty good opportunity. "Here, I can fix it for you if you just plug in to this port." The ghost offered helpfully, the wall of the simulation room opening up a tad to reveal a charging port.

--

As soon as the alarm was raised, Janie had plugged into the main frame to figure out what was going on. Even before their captain had figured out the situation she had already assessed their entire surroundings and even determined what path they would most likely need to be taking in order to reach the warp point. She had tapped into the comms system the entire time but had yet to offer any of her input, figuring that in the slim chance that she was wrong she shouldn't speak up. In Janie's world, unless she had over a 99% accuracy threshold. Her calculations so far were coming up at 94%, which was far from optimal.

Seeing that her assessment was done for the moment, Janie decided that she might as well see what the damage had been to their secondary engine. The specimen that they had encountered hadn't been too big, but there was potential for some damage. Hearing that Cross had been sent down to assess the damage there, she shrugged. She had recalled his name from her days spent at the police academy, though she hadn't remembered his significance at first. That fact had been quickly solved by a few database searches which had revealed he had been the engineer of a good few of the training programs she had been put through.

That fact had pleased her, for from what she recalled he was a pretty competent engineer. Arriving on scene at the second engine room, Janie raised her eyes to see a visible indent in the ship's exterior. The Dracking hadn't broken through, but it had been mighty close.

 

[Jon]

A bit annoyed, Dorian stood up to protest but was stumped by the issue of the scan. Normally he would simply do the scan and they would rush the warp point, fighting anything that got in the way. However, that was with a trained security team, one who would have never drifted into a pod, let alone inside an adult queen. This crew was certainly lacking for such a maneuver to even be considered.

"We're blind, I'll take the drop ship and conduct a scan with a probe. I'll send the layout back to Scarlex to find a course out. The energy generated from the drop ship and probe would be low enough to go undetected. If this ship or even my scan does cause a swarm, I should be able to draw it away from the ship and rejoin you before the exit. Worse case, I abandon the drop ship to the swarm and Korvak can get us back...or he can just come pick me up...again worse case scenario." Dorian explained his plan, adjusting it slightly seeing as he would probably have to head out alone first given Korvak's situation.

Dorian wasn't happy with his plan, especially its reliance on a crew he had never met and didn't choose but this was their best option. They were inside a queen, a swarm would eventually find them and this would be their fasted way out, there was no way they could fend off a swarm.

"Unless you have a better plan, Captain?" Dorian asked, still clearly annoyed that Jann didn't appear to be taking the ghosts mistake seriously.

Berries

 

[LocKeii]

Luciel Cross || HSC Prisal Advance

Unfortunately Lu’s words were drowned out from the abrupt blaring siren and what could only sound like a small explosion going off at the side of the ship. With a hissed curse he quickly pulled up the system’s exterior network and found to his relief that no punctures were made and the ship’s equilibrium remained stable. The attack however was alarmingly close to the secondary engine and god knows what would have happened if they managed to breach that radioactive power plant. From what he could discern the damage was thankfully minimal and shouldn’t be any cause of alarm unless of course they were rammed in the same exact location. He would still need to do some manual diagnostics and make quick repairs to avoid any adverse effects.

After giving the scan one more once over he returned his attentions back to the lieutenant. What greeted him however was an already deserted corridor. For a second he considered chasing after Dorian but decided against it. If the man had survived worse than this then he could survive a bit of a handicap. On the other hand If the engine ‘gave out’ they’d be stranded in hostile ground. Making his decision, Lu activated his gravity boots and began sprinting towards the lower decks.

In less than a minute he arrived at the designated engine room. A tiny beep sounded as the system confirmed his identity and the industrial door promptly opened. For a second he was slightly taken aback by the familiar sight of auburn hair. This wasn’t exactly how he pictured their reunion taking place but then again it was probably more eventful than over a cup of overheated coffee and synthesized cup noodles.

“That doesn’t look good...” He muttered, attention diverting to the oddly shaped indent pressing right against the engine’s thick, tempered glass. A hairline fracture which he assumed was the ‘minimal damage’ formed a perfect circle around the contained nuclear core. All it needed was a quick, temporary fix but the casing would need to be replaced as soon as they reached the next outpost.

Mentions: @Berry Jon [briefly]

 

[FabulousTrash]

Lilith continued to guide the ship through the pod, taking it slow since they didnt want to run the ship into anything. She made small adjustments on the thumbstick as she watched her console display. They were getting closer to the jump point and hopefully out of the pod that swallowed them. Lilith still found it slightly amusing as to how the ship ended up inside one of the beasts. Perhaps a fault in the ghost that was on board, but that wasnt her problem.

There were some moments where Lilith stopped the ship completely, just to give her time to regain her bearings. Hopefully the captain didnt mind, but if they were all the same page, Juann would rather have Lilith get them out alive rather than dead. Ahead of them, there was light. Going with her instincts, Lilith brought the ship back up to speed and headed for the light

I dont think the shuttle will be necessary Lieutenant. I think I found our way out.

As the light got brighter, Lilith could see the familiar sight of stars. Perhaps the pod wasnt as big as it was thought to be. Or she got extremely lucky. Either way, the Prisal managed to escape the pod. Once the end of the ship was clear, Lilith immediately made headway for the jump point.

Jump point coming up, 6 minutes.

By the time the pod was a good distance away from the ship, Lilith immediately began a check on the engines to see if they were good to go in terms of jumping. If the ship were to jump with damaged engines, it could lead to disaster. On her console, it noted that one of the engines was minimally damaged. Curious, Lilith opened up a live feed of the engine room and noticed Lu and the comms officer, Janie, inside. If something was going on, Lilith couldnt make the jump. She slowed the ship down and turned to look over at Juann

Lu and Janie are down in the engine room. If they're in there, I wont be able to make the jump safely

Berries Jon

 

[Berries]

Raising his eyebrows as Markov suggested a risky plan to use a drop pod to scan their vicinity, Jann assessed their options. It would be dangerous for the lieutenant to go without backup, and seeing that Krovak seemed to be incapacitated at the moment didn't lend to the odds. Jann wasn't all that aware of the dangers of electromagnetic pulses attracting swarms, but if Markov was willing to go to such extents to avoid a radar pulse he figured that it was a threat worth heeding. The captain's eyes narrowed a little bit at Markov's annoyed tone towards him but before he could speak up Scarlex announced she had located an exit.

Taking a step forward to clap the navigator on the back approvingly, Jann pulled up his monitor to prepare the ship to jump. It seemed that their secondary engine had sustained 4.78% damage; presumably from the dracking hit they had taken earlier. It was not enough damage to warrant a delay in the jump, so Jann was surprised when Scarlex voiced concern about making the jump while Cross and Callum were below deck.

"As long as they strap in we'll be able to jump fine." Jann said with a small shake of his head, switching his comm link to address the two in the engine room.

"We are approaching the warp point, please find a secure location to strap in." The captain voiced over the second engine room before turning to Scarlex.

"That sound take care of it. Jump when ready." He instructed, though he cast a side glance in at Markov to see if the lieutenant had any more objections.

--

Turning her head slightly to look at Luciel as he walked in, Janie offered the man a small nod of acknowledgement before looking back towards the area where the dracking fragment was shoved against their ship's wall. Her curiosity had been sated, as she no longer wanted to know what had caused the damage to the engine, so she was about to walk out when their captain's voice rang out over the comms system to look for a place to strap in for their impending warp.

Pulling up a map of the ship in her glasses, Janie located the nearest safety cell with a few flicks of her eyes. Crossing her arms as she waited for Luciel to finish his examination of the damage, she stared at him steadily from the back. "The nearest safety area is twelve feet Northeast from our current location. It will take us approximately ten seconds to reach it." She began to inform her crew mate.

"According to our navigator, the jump point will be reached in six minutes. My calculations state we will be there in five minutes, forty-seven seconds. Going by my estimate, we will need to leave for the safety cell in five minutes, thirty seven seconds in order to be at a safe location while warping. Please finish your examination before then." Janie continued, her arms shifting in their position across her chest. "I will give you verbal warnings at one minute, thirty seconds and then again at fifteen seconds before we depart if needed." She offered, the tone of her voice raising a bit in her attempt to be helpful.

 

[Jon]

"Things appear to be under control now. I'll check on the rest of the ship..." Dorian responded dismissively as his shoulder rose and began to adjust itself. Movement returning to his arm, Dorian adjusted a few of the ship's systems before taking his leave. Stepping off of the bridge Dorian laughed to himself, more amused now than annoyed. They were a new crew, most with little time in space given the personnel records, but their inaction bothered him. There were no heroes in this crew, but that was for the best given the experience level. However, this sort of work was different and the crew, the captain didn't seem to understand that. Yes, reckless and impulsive actions normally cost lives, but out here where survival was a matter of luck, it was hopeless. Dorian shook his head interrupting his thoughts as he made his way back to his room.

Pulling a small can from a cabinet, Dorian pulled off his shirt before starting to spray over the holes in his skin that exposed his metal arm. A thick foam filling the rips and tears that quickly dried to look like wet skin. Jann wasn't a bad captain, Dorian didn't have enough to judge the man just yet, even if he could already barely stand him. Dorian wondered now if this really was just his lack of trust in cyborgs or jealousy talking.

Flexing his new arm to test the skin, Dorian then made his way over to his desk, pulling up the ship's systems that he told Jann he would now monitor. Reading over the data logs, Dorian paused for a moment as he glanced around the room, "Rebecca?"
____________________________________________________________

Making her way back to their room, Rebecca immediately pulled up the radar as she stared in awe of the dracking. Running to the window, she watched as the flesh and bone convulsed around them as Scarlex navigated through the beast. Suddenly breaking her from her trance was the loud banging of metal and apparent screams as she paused to listen. Believing it to be a call for help, Rebecca cautiously followed the sound that led her back to the simulation training rooms. Finding one door still locked, Rebecca stared at it for a moment, but the yelling had appeared to have stopped. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Rebecca called out timidly.

 

[Tex.Y]

Korvak's neck twisted uncomfortably through the resistance of his half-open face-plate, which grazed the edges of his face like jagged stoned against bark. "Plug..?" Korvak muttered, searching his suit for the piece Alistair spoke of. Of course Dida could interface with most technology, but he usually didn't have much say over it. The plug in question was four-fold, ending at each of his suit's limbs. He couldn't very well pry the hatches that hid Dida's functions wide open, especially not with her bulky design. "I can't do that without removing myself from the suit manually. It would take a few-" Korvak was cut off by a series of noises flashing across his comms, signalling Dida's startup. His suit's natural glow began to return, his face plate snapped shut, and several lines information quickly scrawled across his screen. Despite his under average intelligence, being inside Dida for so long had made Korvak quite a quick reader. She took full advantage of that, of course.

Boot complete. Hello Korvak. Relaying recent communications bank across your HUD now.

Korvak stopped talking, and scanned the speech-to-text results that Dida had pulled from the comm's archive. The situation became clear pretty quickly, and wasn't it just perfect! "We're inside of a Dracking?" Korvak said aloud, half alert to the situation. Again, without his attention, Dida took action and pulled one of his arms towards the socket that Alistair was kind enough to open. In a few moments, the door popped open, and Korvak manually pulled his arm away from the port before bolting down the hall, ignoring Alistair's presence entirely. But, as soon as his fully registered the situation, Dida was quick to link Korvak into the public comm channel.

"Am I late to-" Korvak's voice stopped short as he turned a corner in his sprint for the airlocks. Dida's boot slammed hard and forced his entire body to stop, carefully balancing his momentum as to avoid a sudden injury. Korvak looked down at a little girl, who'd gone and gotten herself lost during the little fiasco, apparently. He looked down at her with a tinge of worry. Wasn't this Dorian's kid? Korvak's eyes widened as his vision was flooded with another note from Dida, or more specifically, a message from the ship's pilot, Lilith.

We'll be jumping soon, Korvak. We should brace ourselves.

"I Just read your alert," Korvak snorted irritably. He looked back down at Rebecca, a little lost for words. But, before long, Dida took the helm of her own accord.

"Hello sweetheart. Shouldn't you be strapping yourself in for the jump?" Dida's voice hummed from the speakers in Korvak's neck, with a far gentler tone to it than the robotic choir of alerts and warnings that he'd typically been subject to. Korvak cringed. "Sweetheart?" They were inside of an ignorant fleshy space monster, and she was going for levity with something like sweetheart? He sighed inaudibly and knelt down to eye level with Rebecca. Hopefully Dida wasn't that imposing. The little sticker on her leg might've helped, but in Korvak's experience, when little girls were face to face with several feet of walking talking steel during intense situations, they didn't react all that positively. Hopefully she'd registered that he wasn't a bad guy.

 

[FabulousTrash]

The jump point was coming up quickly. The ship was only just a couple minutes away. As the ship moved through space, Lilith began to make final preparations, which included reminding everyone to strap in. It was necessary since the initial g-force of entering warp speed could cause anyone just standing around to be flung back and slammed against the wall as well as other problems like broken bones and such.

Lilith reached over to her left, taking hold of a small headset. It had a mic attached. Most EHE ships had headsets like these for the pilots. Lilith pressed and held down a button on the console, speaking into the mic

This is your friendly reminder to make sure you're all belted down somewhere loves. Jump is in less than a minute!

Lilith released the button and pulled the headset off her head, resting it around her neck. By now, the ship was right on the jump point. She reached over to the throttle, bringing it down so the ship floated idle. Putting her finger on the thumbstick, Lilith rotated the ship so it was pointed in the direction that they needed to go. On the view screen, lines appeared, shifting as Lilith turned the ship until the lines were completely straight. Lilith released the thumbstick and switched the engines to warp power. A hum could be heard throughout the ship and it was getting higher and higher in pitch as the engines built up power. The throttle disappeared and in replace, a lever to initiate warp appeared. Everything was set.

Lilith reached behind her seat, bringing forward her own belt and strapped herself in. Reaching over to the lever, her hand wrapped around it. However, regulations stated it was the captain's call when to engage warp. Looking back to Jann, Lilith waited for his acknowledgement \

Berries Tex.Y Jon