Futuristic A Journey Offworld

[0135Kelly]

WELCOME


Fueled by the idea of adventure, rag-tag group of mercenaries acquire a mid-sized FTL capable Corvette class ship in order to do whatever they can to save the injured Galaxy.


Your role is whatever you choose to be, but try to keep it realistic.


The galaxy is wounded, whimpering like an injured dog. Its inhabitants are scared and lost, still cowering from the threat of destruction. An ancient race more commonly known as 'The Composed' still threaten to end life in the galaxy as they know it and there isn't much time to fix it.


You are joined by 0135-Kelly, Captain of the Corvette class ship by the name of 'Quick Strides'. An ex-Military Super Soldier designed to combat 'The Composed' but dishonorably discharged for the failure of a level 5 Classified Assignment.


There are 10 slots available, 8 Crew Slots, 2 Extras.


0135-Kelly, Standing by..

 

[0135Kelly]

"This is Watchtower-502B, Quick Strides you are clear for docking, I repeat, you are clear for docking Quick Strides." The intercom thundered and blared in the Quick Strides quiet Bridge.


"Watchtower-502B, this is Quick Strides. I am activating auto-dock now. Thank you for your time." With a quick flick of the wrist, the Comms screen flashed and disappeared from the console without a trace. Kelly leaned back into her chair and sighed, silently reminding herself to adjust the volume on the intercom system. The bridge was always so quiet, she had grown quite accustom to the lack of bustle in her life since leaving the Military, but there was always a piece of her mind that missed being told what to do. In one swift motion, she launched herself out of the Captains Chair and sped off towards the living quarters to get changed. She had many things to do before she could leave this station and one of them was to find someone else to drive her beloved hunk of junk.

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

A fuzzy sound interrupted the music blaring from her headphones, Verona pried open her eyes and lifted her head off the pillow whilst tapping the side of her device to put a stop to the music. The Captain's voice scraped against her ear's as it resounded through the Spaceship, she flinched, as anyone would after being abruptly dragged from a moment of tranquility. The living quarters came into view as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she regained her composure. Well what's left of it anyways, once residing in the Ship for some time now she no longer fretted over her appearance. The young woman's hair was bedraggled and hanging limply down the sides of her face, and she was quite sure that she hadn't brushed her teeth in.. a while. Her clothes were creased and baggy, not something you would expect from a woman brought up by a prosperous family. To add to that, Verona rarely put on makeup, there was simply no one to impress. Footsteps reverberated towards the quarters and she glanced toward the entryway expectantly.

 

[0135Kelly]

With a short hiss, the door to the quarters slid open and Kelly stomped through, quickly glancing at her crewmate.


"Good-morning Miss Verona, you look...." Kelly stopped for a moment, hanging on to her own words. "-like you've just woken up, my apologies." Kelly walked over to her own bunk and gathered her essential possessions.

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

"Not to worry, 'always been a light sleeper.." Verona dismissed the apology with a wave of her hand, "Miss hm?..Fancy." she let out a chuckle and grabbed her black polyester coat that was strewn across her bed, and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Where 'ya off to now Captain?" she inquired, taking note of the belongings that Kelly was gathering, it seemed like she was heading out. Verona assumed that she'd be left to tend to the craft, yet again. She scratched her head and spread her hand across the rumpled bed sheet in an attempt to straighten it out, Verona had never been the most orderly person. Whereas, the captain of the ship struck her as a perfectionist, all the military sort had that type of air about them. Kelly had not brought up her past in the duration that they'd been acquainted, and naturally, she was curious.

 

[0135Kelly]

"We're off to recruit a Pilot." Kelly opened her top drawer and retrieved a Standard Issue Pistol Sidearm, she ran her fingers alone the cold metal slide before she checked its cartridge and chambered a round. "I assumed you wanted to come with me?" The Pistol snapped against the MagHolster strapped to her thigh. "You've been cooped up here some time." She walked over to the mirror hanging next to her bed, her own tussled reflection greeting her with messy hair and tired eyes. It had been a long night, the Strides auto-pilot system was damaged and required a replacement so the ship needed to be manually guided to every dock before the Auto-dock subroutines could be activated. After fixing her hair and straightening out her shirt, she turned to the sleepy Verona. "So unless you would rather stay, I suggest getting dressed, Double Time."

 

[tommo020]

Tommo wasn't quite sure why he had taken the job on the 'quick strides' he wasn't sure how much it would pay, to be honest he wasn't sure about much to do with this crew, but work had dried up and he was getting bored just sitting around. Sitting in his compartment with the lights off he practiced his favorite drill which consisted of taking apart his trusty sniper and putting it together as quickly as possible.


Once he was satisfied with the number of time he had completed the drill (a precise 101 times) he laced up his boots and left the room. He decided it was about time he caught up with the people he would be spending a lot of time with in the coming months and found two women one of whom he knew to be the captain getting ready to leave the vessel.


"Hey, going somewhere without me" he said in a boyish tone, he was always eager to break the ice as quickly as possible which usually gave him a mixture of results.

 

[0135Kelly]

"I was hoping to acquire a Pilot." Kelly's even tone echoed in the long hallway of the living quarters. She turned her head towards the Sniper quickly, her retinal augments scanned him over. "I was unaware that you were awake. You are dressed to disembark, you are welcome to join us."

 

[tommo020]

"Huh can't say my talents spread that far but I can sure help you find what your looking for, just let me grab my coat and I'll see you in the landing bay" Tommo walks back towards his room and begins to whistle.

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

"I reckon you ought to be more lively, what's there to be all serious about." She uttered, hiding the disapproval from her voice whilst slipping on a beanie. Verona swung her backpack over her shoulder and reached her hand over to unzip it, she grabbed a Mars bar and headed toward the landing bay.


"Let's go win us a sexy piece of pilot." Verona winked "-Did I mention I was starving." She declared in the midst of unwrapping the snack.

 

[0135Kelly]

A small smirk graced the Captains lips, as she followed the dark haired woman to the landing bay, her own hat now planted atop her chestnut crown. She liked Verona, she was an interesting contrast to her own cold, calm, even personality which kept Kelly guessing. Tommo was a recent addition to the crew, his boyish and playful nature both amused her and irritated her immensely, but she was really becoming attached to the rogue.


Her gaze followed Verona as she descended the ramp to the landing deck, the sounds of engines and the stench of all different kinds of spacial engine fuel filled the air.


"Sexy piece of pilot?" She muttered to Verona with an amused smirk. "You will have to educate me on what exactly a 'sexy piece of pilot' is."

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

"I'm sure you've got an idea in your mind on what that is." the corner of her lips turned upwards at the thought.


Their footfalls clanged on the metal flooring, the low humming of the craft's generator could be heard near the landing bridge. The fluorescent LED Light strips illuminated the entirety of the link with an unnatural blue glow. She fought the urge to cough as she caught a whiff of ship fuel mixed together in the fetid, stale air. "The boy seems to be taking his precious time." her voice was flat and she wasn't at all thrilled at the idea of remaining at the landing bridge for long, the atmosphere above was littered with vessels of all styles and sizes swarming toward the bridge. Creatures of various races bustled past them, the area was abuzz with activity.


Noise was everywhere, an evident contrast from life in the vessel. It set her on edge, and she could feel the beads of perspiration form at the base of her neck, partly from the body heat and also due to the change of ambiance. Verona produced a glass gadget from her pocket and it read '6:34pm' "Shall we go seize a bite after the interviews? It'll be rather late by the time we finish.." she scanned the surroundings for signs of Tommo, her shirt had starting sticking to her back and it was getting uncomfortable.

 

[0135Kelly]

Kelly cleared her throat loudly, the fumes from the bustling landing bay were heavy in the air and with a quick glance at Verona's discomfort she guessed that her companion was having a harder time with it than she was herself. She placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and nudged her along.


"We'll move out of here and find a place to start our operations, send a message to his COMM to meet us at the nearest bar in 45 minutes. I fancy a bite to eat also." With that said and done, she ushered Verona towards the exit to the platform double time, Kelly could feel her own head getting light, she could only imagine how it must be affecting her companion.

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

The pair ambled down the exuberant street illustrated with pulsating neon street lamps and signs, their figures were outlined with pink and blue and green. The kind of lights that made your eyes hurt after staring at them for a minute or so, the kind when you close your eyes still materialize behind your eyelids. She was glad they were out of the landing bay, and it was getting easier to breathe. They discovered a moderately discreet bar compressed into a little corner of the street with levitating tables that seemed to spill outside due to the little space in the interior. She wiped her palms on her jeans and picked up her communication device and tapped the glass producing a glow that lightened her face. 45 minutes, meet at 'The Singularity' a chime indicated that the message was sent. Verona stood outside the bar whilst Kelly attempted to score them a table

 

[0135Kelly]

Kelly pointed to a secluded table in the corner, gesturing for Verona to secure it. The atmosphere in the bar was loud and messy, but it was perfect for intel gathering, and she had her top Intel specialist with her to make it that much smoother. Kelly walked over to the bar, calling the barman to her before sliding a glowing blue Holo-tag over the counter, the barman gave a quick nod before walking to the terminal at the end of the bar.


Kelly quickly made her way to the table in the corner to join Verona, pushing a drunken alien back into his seat before he hurt someone or himself. She sat down next to her companion with a smirk and looked at her expectantly. "What do you think? Great for intel gathering correct?" Her tone was different, she suddenly had a twinkle of excitement in her eye, their outing had suddenly turned into a mission and oh how Kelly loved a good mission.

 

[Sir Horace]

A quiet alleyway, two men stand between the cold grey walls.


"Come on Devon, all you need is a Flux Stabilizer and this baby will power any engine for months! It's not every day you come across a brand new Hydonium Fuel Cell"


A soft green glow emanates from the cylinder in his palm


"You're right Horace, it's not every day. In fact just yesterday I was looking at some Exfluoric Fuel cells for half the price you want, and I didn't need a damn Stabilizer. 20 Credits"


"Yeah, that'll get me a meal for tonight, take me seriously Devon."


"Theres nothing serious about you Horace" He slips the pilot a 30 credit card and takes the fuel cell. "This is more than anyone else would give you and you know it. Now don't bother me again, I don't need your scrap. He walks off leaving the pilot alone in the alleyway, 30 credits richer.


Defeatedly, Horace departs the alley, finding a room for the night would come later, finding a job to get him off this rock might not come at all. For now he needed a drink.

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

"It's perfect! Only if you exclude the drunken folk galumphin' all over the place." she replied teasingly, fiddling with the ring around her index finger by twirling it back and forth and back again. Verona regarded the enthusiasm in Kelly's voice and she prayed nothing would go awry, and that at least a dozen individuals would show up at the least. First impressions were hardly a concern to the woman but she did make an effort for their Captain. The clink of glass and occasional roar of laughter accompanied the soft jazz emitting through the built in speakers along the alloy walls. That were bordered with hexagonal shelves lined with luminescent fairy lights, they changed colors every few minutes, and were rather hypnotizing to Verona. It certainly was a decent venue for their task. She nodded in the direction of the counter "Did'ya order anything tasty? we'll split the bill later shall we."

 

[Sir Horace]

A soft neon glow reveals The Singularity, Horace has been here a couple times before. A little higher than his price range right now but not a bad place to find work, being close to the docks and all. A handful ships came in today "Maybe one needs a pilot" he thinks to himself. The same thought thats kept him coming back to places like that every week for the past two months.


The glass doors slide away to allow him in, no one looks up at his entry. Dragging his feet slowly to the bar, he collapses into a stool and flags down the barman. The look on his face must have said enough, something cheap and strong.


He looks away from his drink, to fixate his gaze through the smudged window across the room. Part of him came here for a drink, part of him came here for a job. But he can't lie to himself, most of him came to watch the ships come and go. He watches an Emerald Dragon 2F complete it's undocking and lazily drift into the air. "An elegant ship", he thought to himself, "wouldn't be my choice. The 2F series is known for their faulty thrusters and I wouldn't trust the artificial gravity to hold my lunch down."


Without even touching his drink it didn't take Horace long to loose himself in a world of ships, a dream of flight.


The Emerald Dragon shoots off, a rouge blast of energy flying from the left thruster. He grinned to himself, and waited for the next one.

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

The silver liquid swirled in it's glass and spilled over the rim as Verona lifted it from the table a little too forcefully. Damn. She placed it back down, carefully this time and twisted the front of her shirt in an attempt to expel it of the absorbed alcohol. The soft 'shhh' of the sliding doors opening announced a new arrival to the bar, she hadn't had time to look up and afford a brief look to whoever it was that had happened to come in. Perhaps Kelly had caught a sighting. Verona wanted to get their job done and as efficiently as possible so that they could take flight by midnight at the latest and they'd been sitting here for a half hour or so, she could sense the impatience tickling at her sides.


She should've just declined the captain's invitation to join her, she could be back in 'Quick Strides' doing something far more productive. A sigh escaped her lips and Verona checked the time on her phone for the umpteenth time, it read '7:25pm'. She slipped her stained coat off her shoulders and stashed it into her backpack before downing the remainder of the brightly colored alcohol. Shouldn't be drinking on the job she chided herself.


The seductive alien waitress was hovering nearby in a matter of seconds and swept up the empty glasses before heading on to the next table, where a man sat gazing out the window at the ships passing by.

 

[Sir Horace]

He almost laughed at the sight of a corroded old Hanasho model, he respects people who dare to take the old ones out and nothing spells a skilled pilot like someone who can keep that junker in the sky, but personal taste, the Hanasho has no style.


"Can't do this forever Horace, those ships will come and go all day and the longer you sit here, the more leave without you." He thought to himself.


Somewhat cheered up, he takes a swig of the dull grey liquid, the drink bitter and heavy in his mouth.


He turns his head towards the rest of the bar. Years of experience at this gives one an eye for spotting the captains, spotting the unusual ones, the interesting ones.


Three men playing a card game all wearing dark visors. The tall ones a captain but the one in red is a pilot, the wiring down his arm and ports in his hand and neck tell enough.


A tall woman in a long coat drinking at the bar, she's got a ship, her uniforms also to clean for this place. Likely tied in with the law somehow, my background check ain't getting me on her ship.


A large Osolipod in the back corner, if I spoke a word of their language I'm sure that'd be an opportunity.


Just one glance at the thugs over by the windows tells me they'd want me for crime I'm not ready to commit.


And then, two women. One seems to command such a presence while at the same time remaining nearly unnoticeable. You can tell a lot about a person by their eyes, but Horace doesn't know what to make of her twin glowing blue eyes.


The other, short, pale, beanie and a nice coat. He also didn't know what to make of her.


It's unusual to be able to tell so little about a pair, I don't recognizes the tech on Blue Eyes but it ain't pilot, and theres not a wire on the one in the hat, nor does she have the look of a pilot. Horace grins internally, "And what just is the look of a pilot my friend?" He thinks to himself. He also thinks to himself, I may be staring.

 

[tommo020]

As tommo pressed the red button on his COMM device ending a call, he realised he was very late and just before he could call the captain he noticed an unread message. "So we're to meet at the local watering hole I see" he thought to himself. He grabbed his long knitted coat and left to catch up.


Walking into the bar he noticed a lot of faces all of which were new to him, he had been to many places like this but never this one, in fact he could barely remember if he had been on this planet before. He never liked to go searching so he decided to stand at the bar and order a drink. His eyes did the searching and mouth did the drinking until he saw them, the two opposite women one super soldier and other who looked like she'd never seen a fight. He decided to down his drink and walk over.

 

[ladyaliciaaa]

"Tommo." she acknowledged the crew member with a nod of her head and motioned for him to sit "Drink's getting stale by the minute," she signaled to the untouched glass of clear alcohol that had only recently been delivered by the waitress. She hadn't noticed that he had already downed a drink beforehand, and passed it to him. Verona decided to fill him in on what he'd missed "No one's approached us yet, although, the man over there seems ta'be gawking at us right now." she shifted her eyes to indicate the man she was currently divulging to the Captain and Tommo. "Seems like a standard fella, Kelly should probably run a few tests over, see if he'd be a decent investment--Recruitment wise." her own hands were pressed around another drink, she'd probably had to go to the bathroom in a few minutes. But she didn't want to miss anything valuable.


The temperature on the planet had dropped immensely since it's suns had set, Verona dug through her rucksack to recover her coat. Putting it on once again and buttoning it up for extra measure, that's the thing about the galaxy and it's planets, you never know what to pack because the forecasts are always changing. The bar had gotten rather congested since their arrival, the fairy lights traversing around the room had dimmed and fizzed, and the lounge was blanketed in an eerie flush of warm yellow light. Customers spoke in hushed voices, whispered and unheard. Given that it was a bar, this took Verona by surprise, this was the type of environment where she felt entirely at peace, she'd be sound asleep anytime now except that the urge to relieve herself was becoming increasingly stronger.


Verona turned to Kelly "Don't do anything until I get back." she hissed before swiftly getting to her feet and heading toward the Red dot which indicated the ladies room from the Purple and Blue one.

 

[Sir Horace]

"Did they see me? They definitely saw me, play it cool Horace, this could be a big opportunity."


Leaving his drink, Horace got up and sauntered over to the table just as one of the women got up to leave. He grinned charismatically at the remaining individual and bowed his head slightly, a common courtesy from where he grew up (He did not do these actions at the same time mind, that would have wasted the smile).


"Hi there! You an offworlder? One traveler to another allow me to welcome you to Veneir."


People trust people they like, he thought to himself, be charismatic and they'll like you. The like you they trust you, they trust you they hire you. They hire you, you're free. And besides, if they're not looking for work, they'll at least be looking for a chat, he thought cheerfully. Although upset from the earlier deal and nervous as to the pressure to make a good impression on this potential employer, relaxing and watching the ships really put his mind at ease. And he was feeling unusually optimistic about this one.

 

[tommo020]

Tommo sat down next to Verona and put his hand around the drink, "Hey Verona, thanks for the drink" He glanced at the man staring at the table, Tommo could tell he was a pilot from a mile away but that scar was very unique, this could get interesting.


Verona stood up and walked to the toilet, Tommo adjusted how he was sitting to get more comfortable and took a big sip of his drink. all of a sudden he noticed the pilot was walking towards the table, he knew he should wait for the captain to say something but Tommo was never good at holding his tongue.


"Don't come any closer, or you'll regret it!" Tommo said in jest yet again trying to break the ice. There was something about an awkward silence that he could never stand.

 

[0135Kelly]

"Hello sir, is there something you're looking for?" Kelly took a long sip of her drink, scanning the approaching form. He was quite the handsome man and everything about him screamed pilot. 'Sexy piece of pilot' Kelly internally chuckled, taking another long drag from her drink, wincing at the taste, it was truly foul. "You look like you're on a mission." Kelly smirked at her own words, finding the right words however was not her strong suit.