Futuristic [IC] Sail the Stars : Mission Log

[Jackson123]

Sigrun
Essex's Navigator​

As Essex was accelerating, Sigrun kept an eye on datas showed on the HUD displayed on the bridge window. Planetary orbital parameters, mass parameters, speed parameters, orbital eccentricity in the system are all shown in a visual ways. The spaceship is maneuvering according to the route the flight computer had calculated, to consume the minimum amount of fuel while gaining maximum amount of acceleration. The thrusters for sub-lightspeed travel are extremely powerful, while Essex was orbiting around Kepler-62f, she was travelling at a speed of 25km/s, after Essex performed the slingshot she gained the initial speed to escape Kepler 62 (the star)'s gravity, at 432km/s. After engaging autopilot, in the next 30 minutes the ship gradually approach the speed of 20% lightspeed, around 60000km/s. At this speed collision with a single dust would cause an explosion comparable to tactical nuclear weapons, that's why switching on deflector shield is in the after take off checklist before turning off your landing lights.

It's an acceleration of around 3396G. If it wasn't for the Inertia Negation System installed on all starships, everyone will be crushed by a force 3396 times their own weight--aka being thrown to the bulkhead at the back and became a pile of bolognese.

At this speed the Relativistic Doppler effect became visible, caused by the change in frequency and wavelength of light caused by the relative motion of the source and the observer. Outside the bridge window, Sigrun could see the mild blueshift of all the stars in front of her, caused by movement of the observer towards the source and vice versa, and the stars astern of the ship had redshift, including Kepler-62e the other habitable planet in the system, as they are leaving.

This scene often time reminds Sigrun of an ancient song from the now distant Earth...the stars look very different today.

It would take some times before Essex could engage her warp drive to exceed lightspeed, since warp technology involves spacecraft traverse distances by contracting space in front of it and expanding space behind it, and spacetime can also be warped and curved by astronomical object, most obviously being the black hole, it's strongly discouraged to use warp drive too close to gravitational source like stars, to avoid spacetime disaster. Kepler 62 is still relatively close to them.

So...for now, there's nothing left to do.

(I keep worrying about messing up something major in writing these science fantasy stuff, so feel free to point it out.)

 

[Verena]

As Alanus mentioned the remaining crew members, Keiran shrugged. Aside from the fellow gunner and pilot, he hadn’t seen or heard anything from the others. His first thought was that the aroma of food probably hadn’t reached them yet. Unless you were a machine with an electronic sensing device, steamy food was usually a great attractor.

“Since apparently there’s nothing better for us to do until a briefing, I was thinking the same. The living quarters are this way, right?”, he asked and pointed towards where he believed their rooms were. “I’ll just grab a snack of my own from the storage and see you later.”

When the music started playing, Keiran couldn’t suppress a small giggle. Paint it Black was among his favourites and he knew the song by heart. As he headed for the cargo bay, he hummed quietly, the tip of his tail swinging joyfully in tune, while at the same time keeping his balance during the takeoff.

Once Keiran reached the storage area and noticed the synthetic human standing there though, he immediately piped down. Looking at her maid outfit from head to toe, the Gehennian concluded that this must be the new cook Mr Person was talking about earlier. A curious piece of engineering for sure. Due to its fleshy parts, at first glance, it almost looked alive. “Hello, there. You must be our cook. Don’t mind me, I’m just going to retrieve something from my luggage.”, he explained and walked over to his basket, reached in and took out a small linen-wrapped parcel that quickly disappeared into an inside pocket of his coat.

AI10100 milo-ren

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

As the Essex's crew milled about, one of the large boxes in the storage room began to move about as if something inside it had fallen and thudded. It wasn't particularly notable amidst the generic buzz and hum of the starfaring vessel. Ships were busy things, almost living organisms in terms of all the complex interconnected functions that comprised them. Artificial but it mimicked the same processes of living, breathing, pulsing life with cold steel and cold fusion.

The sound which wasn't notable at first repeated. A series of thuds too random and sudden to have been entirely accidental given how tightly everything was bolted down and otherwise secured. Almost as if someone or something was intentionally moving it about.

The source could be traced to a large wooden crate, at least ten feet tall and somewhat out of place with the rest of the cargo. Obviously it was made of a weaker material than the plasteel and metal of the rest of the rates. Audibly the wood scraped and chipped, dust spitting out from the thin black gaps between the individual planks. The sound began as something like an animal scraping away at a door but its pitch began to lower and the tone grew harder and rougher. Like a saw buzzing, more and more bits of wood splintered and spat out as a spout of dust travelled alongside the ridges of its surface, cutting upwards and to the side in a deliberate, tidy motion.

With his makeshift door opened, the front of the crate fell forth with a hollow thump. Creaking and cracking followed like old tape peeling off of. The first signs of limbs emerged - long and spindly protrusions jointed multiple times as a smooth, semi-triangular head emerged and with its dome-like compound eyes, peered through the chamber, swivelling left and right. Mandibles mulched on something frothy and semi-liquid, a pasty dairy-white vanishing behind the multiple layers of complex mouthparts mulching it into increasingly indefinine shapes before vanishing the food into its body. The complex array of surgical tools it called a hand emerged alongside a massive arm, gripping onto a nearby crate and pulling it forth in a hefty lurch as it cleared the box and rest of its powerful, segmented body and a flexible tail that coiled and retracted in and out of its body, its own smaller feeler limbs twisting and stretching.

The huge creature did not seem to notice anyone else at first and it looked more at home creeping across the floor than the eerily humanoid bipedal stand with which it loomed alongside the stacks of supplies in the room. The sound of its entrance could be heard from the hallway outside the storage room, echoing out from the metal insides of the ship but fading as it began to fully awaken, its steps growing more confident and oddly quieter; not the hefty stomps you would expect of such a creatre but a light clack-clack. On board security cameras would also notice in one of its over-complicated, many-digit'd hands was a piece of paper, one that it was raising up to one of the cameras even if its head was facing towards the doorway.

It was an application; a printed one in neat coloured ink. A name was visible upon it: Riezlav Kreszauleck and beneath it, carefully ordered, compact paragraphs. Qualifications, experience, service history... a couple of references even. Bounty hunting, security, wilderness exploration - the tidiness and professionalism of the resume as he slowly flipped the pages with one of his long, spindly spider-like claw-limbs was uncannily delicate and the paper itself was clean and devoid of crumpling or scratches. Flipping the last few pages, he began to move into the hallway. A pair of retractable antennae peaked through followed by his long, sectioned-up arms slowly pulling him into full view of Arisu and Tria.

Its fleshless face turned towards them and whatever manner of alien cybernetics and sensory organs within watched them very carefully.

A small minute passed as it finally spoke.

"This music on your audio-system..." A sound like a deep, sonorous buzzing from inside a ventaliation shaft grated and scraped out of its body, buzzing as if a very large, angry hornet was stuck inside its lungs (if it even had those). "It is impressively poor in taste."

----------

Location: Hallway, just outside of the Storage Area
Interaction: Clan Ize , Idea and SpazTheButcher 's taste in dad rock.

 

[Jackson123]

Sigrun
Essex’s Navigator​

When the sensor picked up motion of an unauthorised object, the security alarm went off, again, and the bridge crew are immediately notified.

“I’m going to write a formal complaint to the LoGov authority in Kepler-62, this is getting ridiculous...” Sigrun murmured to herself as she went over to look at the security camera.

In a split of a second she subconsciously slammed the button to close all automatic airtight doors to the area near storage compartment. Normally used for damage control when the ship got a breach in hull.

“We got something in den Frachtraum Herr Kapitän.” She said before realising her brain haven’t entirely been switched to English channel, and she quickly corrected “i mean, cargo hold, in the cargo hold. I have sealed the airtight compartments.”

To be fair the creature haven’t attacked anyone yet, and it looks like it’s holding some kind of paper. But in dealing with stowaway alien creature, one can’t be too careful.

She calculated in her mind all escape route for her two shipmates in the cargo hold and ready to briefly reopen those airtight doors if need be.

“Arisu, Tria, I’ve sealed all the hallways that leads to your area, but if you two needs to hightail it out of there, run for it and I’ll open the ways for you.” She said over the PA.

“Attention all crew, we have an intruder on board in the hallway near cargo area.”

Interaction: SpazTheButcher Clan Ize Idea

 

[Idea]

• Coded
• Semi-Coded

• 
  

  Tria

  
  
  It would appear this Arisu Ize was a new android on the ship, though her exact duties remained unclear to me. It wasn't difficult to tell she was a combat-oriented model, but the fully military types wouldn't go out of their way to have a regular human shape, that would be too inefficient. Furthermore, she adapted to my form of speech. At the very least, even if she wans't built of that, she had socialization, perhaps infiltration, capabilities. Still, at the very least she didn't seem to be actively trying to sabotage me.
  
  "Proof of identification request, not met. However, unit Arisu Ize will no longer impede unit Tria's duties. Proof of identification, no longer required." It wasn't as though I had the combat capabilities anyway. Perhaps I would simply inform the passengers of the presence of this other android once I saw someone, and maybe they would know what to do about it, if anything was necessary. "Unit Tria currently under ownership of master Pout, thus present in Essex as his assistant. Alternative identification: "Brohdish of the Grrouht Clan"; "Big Bro". Last identification, exclusive to updater. Updater already repaired unit Tria. Software errors, mostly fixed. Mechanical errors mostly fixed. Further errors deemed irrelevant to unit Tria's functions. Therefore: Unit Arisu Ize's request- denied, Deemed unnecessary. Furthermore identity of unit Arisu Ize, not yet confirmed. Permitting access to unit Tria's systems - 99.857% probably of compromise or damage to -"
  
  Our discussion was promptly interrupted by the public announcement system, where the navigator explained they sealed the hallways, but if we needed to raise our tails she would open the way if we ran. Naturally, I tilted my head, then raised my voice in hopes of being heard by the navigator.
  
  "Instructions unclear! Unit Tria does not possess a tail! Unit Arisu Ize does not appear to contain one in her anatomy either! Request: Explain! Question: Is this a game? Question: How may unit Tria assist?" Come to think of it, though, the navigator just mentioned Arisu's name. They were aware of her. I lowered my head. "Processing. Conclusion- Unit Arisu Ize identified as a member of the Essex crew as well. Previous suspicions of infiltration- proven incorrect. Danger probability: 69.349% percent reduction. Processing. Protocol: Apologize. Initiating protocol."
  
  I lifted my head again, this time faced Arisu, then bowed my head.
  
  "My, apologies. I. Am. Very. Sorry. Request: Forgiveness."
  
  At that moment, another being appeared. It was hard to identify what it was, though the combination of cybernetic and biological components denoted it as a definite cyborg. The characteristics were too odd, however, and the database had a hard time tracking down any common characteristics, even the DNA seemed to be in unstable condition. However, all of this was a good indicator the final conclusion:
  
  [Code: 7676681196429134619149486196924944862173938 => Title: Diveri Cosmos Anthropus]
  
  "Presence of unidentified Vrexul on ship. Request: Identification of unknown Vrexul. Request: Proof of identification. Question: Unit Arisu Ize, any information on new passenger on the ship?
  
  The creature didn't immediately respond. This was the second time today an uninvited threatening stranger appeared on the ship and began... wait, no correction. Arisu Ize was no longer to be considered an "uninvited threatening stranger". She was now a coworker that appeared threatening as she pulled a gun over me as soon as we met. Could this being warrant similar re-classification? It had just spoken, though the words it chose were hardly ideal.
  
  "It appears to be criticizing the ship's musical selection. Warning- Unit Tria not responsible for selecting music within Essex. May request alteration with appropriate unit, once security has been assessed. Request: Identification of unknown Vrexul. Request: Proof of identification."
  
  

  
• It would appear this Arisu Ize was a new android on the ship, though her exact duties remained unclear to me. It wasn't difficult to tell she was a combat-oriented model, but the fully military types wouldn't go out of their way to have a regular human shape, that would be too inefficient. Furthermore, she adapted to my form of speech. At the very least, even if she wans't built of that, she had socialization, perhaps infiltration, capabilities. Still, at the very least she didn't seem to be actively trying to sabotage me.
  
  "Proof of identification request, not met. However, unit Arisu Ize will no longer impede unit Tria's duties. Proof of identification, no longer required." It wasn't as though I had the combat capabilities anyway. Perhaps I would simply inform the passengers of the presence of this other android once I saw someone, and maybe they would know what to do about it, if anything was necessary. "Unit Tria currently under ownership of master Pout, thus present in Essex as his assistant. Alternative identification: "Brohdish of the Grrouht Clan"; "Big Bro". Last identification, exclusive to updater. Updater already repaired unit Tria. Software errors, mostly fixed. Mechanical errors mostly fixed. Further errors deemed irrelevant to unit Tria's functions. Therefore: Unit Arisu Ize's request- denied, Deemed unnecessary. Furthermore identity of unit Arisu Ize, not yet confirmed. Permitting access to unit Tria's systems - 99.857% probably of compromise or damage to -"
  
  Our discussion was promptly interrupted by the public announcement system, where the navigator explained they sealed the hallways, but if we needed to raise our tails she would open the way if we ran. Naturally, I tilted my head, then raised my voice in hopes of being heard by the navigator.
  
  "Instructions unclear! Unit Tria does not possess a tail! Unit Arisu Ize does not appear to contain one in her anatomy either! Request: Explain! Question: Is this a game? Question: How may unit Tria assist?" Come to think of it, though, the navigator just mentioned Arisu's name. They were aware of her. I lowered my head. "Processing. Conclusion- Unit Arisu Ize identified as a member of the Essex crew as well. Previous suspicions of infiltration- proven incorrect. Danger probability: 69.349% percent reduction. Processing. Protocol: Apologize. Initiating protocol."
  
  I lifted my head again, this time faced Arisu, then bowed my head.
  
  "My, apologies. I. Am. Very. Sorry. Request: Forgiveness."
  
  At that moment, another being appeared. It was hard to identify what it was, though the combination of cybernetic and biological components denoted it as a definite cyborg. The characteristics were too odd, however, and the database had a hard time tracking down any common characteristics, even the DNA seemed to be in unstable condition. However, all of this was a good indicator the final conclusion:
  
  [Code: 7676681196429134619149486196924944862173938 => Title: Diveri Cosmos Anthropus]
  
  "Presence of unidentified Vrexul on ship. Request: Identification of unknown Vrexul. Request: Proof of identification. Question: Unit Arisu Ize, any information on new passenger on the ship?
  
  The creature didn't immediately respond. This was the second time today an uninvited threatening stranger appeared on the ship and began... wait, no correction. Arisu Ize was no longer to be considered an "uninvited threatening stranger". She was now a coworker that appeared threatening as she pulled a gun over me as soon as we met. Could this being warrant similar re-classification? It had just spoken, though the words it chose were hardly ideal.
  
  "It appears to be criticizing the ship's musical selection. Warning- Unit Tria not responsible for selecting music within Essex. May request alteration with appropriate unit, once security has been assessed. Request: Identification of unknown Vrexul. Request: Proof of identification."
  
  

  

Interacting With: Clan Ize ChasmOfOrganicMatter Jackson123
Mentions: 0stinato (Snout)
May Also Want to Read: N/A

 

[0stinato]

The high hum of the engine as it cranked to the limits was a sensation Brohdish wouldn’t get used to. Most humanoids had fleshy feet which absorbed the vibrations before they got to their ankles, but Brohdish had hooves, so the vibrations got much higher up. He’d be able to ignore it after a while, but each time the engine fired up it was that strange experience all over again. Surely if his people did manage to cobble together some ship, that would be rectified. It was something most of his species would surely take into consideration.

Or maybe he was just sensitive.

He’d finished re-laying out all his essentials in his room, and was trying his optimistic best to get used to the fact the sheets on his a-size-larger-than-most bed were fresh and new. Overall, he didn’t like it. Scent was a big deal. His musk was a reminder of home and comfort. Certainty. Strength. A fortress. If new experiences overwhelmed him, he could be safe in the knowledge that he would always be able to return to the little room with the familiar odour.

Most humans felt the same way about smells. Here and there, nostalgia was found when a breeze hit the nostrils. So why couldn’t they understand that Brohdish needed that too? He knew humans would be complaining about his musk all throughout his interaction with their species, and each time he’d apologised for it.

He sighed. Maybe tonight he’d rest his head on some of his old kilts. Maybe they would see him off to sleep easier.

He was digging through one of his drawers when the PA went off. He heard a couple of names first and his mind began to ignore the announcement, but then the phrase ‘run for it’ came along. His ears went from droopy to a little less droopy as he listened to the second announcement. He was unfamiliar with Arisu, but Tria…

In the moment, his mind blocked a lot of his worries out. The engine hum was discarded from his working mind, along with his anxiety about the new bedsheets and unhappy thought that he just didn’t fit in as he burst from his room and thundered down the hall towards the cargo bay.

So blind was he to everything but his goal that he would have flattened the ship’s engineer if the smaller man didn’t have the reflexes he did. He too was emerging from his room with the intention of finding out what was going on, but he flattened himself against his door as Brohdish ran past, almost dropping the handful of tech he had.

“Wh- Geez! Calm down, the hallway isn’t going anywhere!”

Brohdish caught himself and stopped, not expecting a voice. “Ah’m sorry, ah need tae get tae the hallway. Ah didnae see ye.”

“Alright then, that’s where I’m going too,” Del nodded at him. “Let’s go.”

“Ah… aye, alright.”

“We’ve barely left the station and there’s an intruder… Considering the station has protocols and identity validation, it’s either someone who’s meant to be on the station, and not come along, or some incredibly dangerous creature that got past all the station’s defences. I suppose it’s best case scenario that it’s locked in with two androids, right?”

Brohdish snorted. “What makes ye say that?”

“Biological specimens can’t be put back together so easily.”

“Aye, ah suppose.”

Brohdish couldn’t get a read on the kid. He was speaking so easily and confidently, but where his loyalties lay with droids was very unclear. There had always been, and would always be, a moral debate about humanity, sentience and what constitutes a ‘life’ among androids, cyborgs and AI, but, since he’d interacted with them, Brohdish had felt they did have lives, and that loss of life was as equal a tragedy as a death of a ‘biological specimen.’

Then again, why did he say ‘biological specimen?’

They eventually came to a door that wouldn’t open for them. Definitely one of the ones Sigrun had locked.

Brohdish cursed and began looking around for a panel to override the lock, though he suspected that, since his ship credentials were of lower rank than Sigrun’s, it wouldn’t be possible anyway.

“Eh, kid, you any good at hacking or?”

Del raised his eyebrows, “I’m… no way am I going in there. It’s fine, we don’t have to. Take this and stick it to the thinnest part of the door.”

He handed Brohdish a little conical device which was reminiscent of a stethoscope drum. Brohdish gave different parts of the door a tap, then planted it where he reckoned it would be thinnest. He turned to Del, who was giving a tablet a series of taps. Del didn’t seem to be about to explain, so Brohdish sidled up behind him to peer over his head.

The screen held a few points that Del was rotating around. As the second ticked past, a few more details got filled in.

“So…” Del said, “that little thing you put on the door detects vibration through objects. It’s by far the most accurate way of picking up sound, since sound travels best through solid objects… Wait, you’re the ship scientist aren’t you? Sorry, I didn’t think, I’m used to explaining stuff. I imagine you know that. Anyway, uh… I’m getting a feed of where the device is estimating the sound-creating things are. These two are us, you can ignore them. Those two are probably Arisu and Tria, given their non-hostile proximity, which means… that one’s the intruder.”

“How the hell does that help us?”

“I can put a track on it locally as long as it stays in the vicinity of that device. If necessary, I think I have the details to send information to Arisu and Tria. You never know if that thing has invis, if it’s super fast, and if they do have to fight it, they wouldn’t have to see it to dodge or attack. That’s the wonderful think about synthetic life.”

Brohdish wasn’t willing to stand around anymore and listen to this kid whitter on about hypothetical tactics. Besides, those tactics weren’t useful to him. Instead, he pounded his fist on the door and roared.

“Whoever the hell ye are, ya stowaway bastard, ah’ve got a pair o’ horns wit’ yer name on ‘em!”

---
Mentions: Jackson123 Idea Clan Ize
Interactions: ChasmOfOrganicMatter

 

[milo-ren]

Honey stood there for a moment of time. She wasn't liking the start of her new time. She had seen her owner, the pink haired one, but she didn't know her name or even if she was aboard the ship that Honey had been loaded on. Who was her owner? Where could she be? What was her purpose for purchasing her? She wanted to explore and possibly find her owner, but she had a slight fear of leaving the storage area in the case that she might get threatened again.

That's when Keiran, a dark, spiny man entered the room. He mentioned she was to cook for him! She must be a cook for the ship crew! Well, if he was a crew member. Maybe this was a traveler aboard a passenger ship. Maybe that was her role. She was confused, be he was a lot more polite than her last encounter. She bowed. "Hi, I'm Honey! Can I assist you?" she followed behind him as he reached into his basket.

Suddenly a large box about double her height began to move. A large creature emerged from it. "Hi, I'm Honey!" she bowed to it as it passed by and left into the hall.

Interactions: ChasmOfOrganicMatter Verena
Location: Storage Area

 

[Verena]

“Nah, I don’t need anything from you right now. Maybe check with the…”, Keiran’s words were cut short when he sensed movement from one of the larger cargo boxes. He hadn’t paid attention to how it differed from the rest of the containers up until now. “What the hell?”, he exclaimed as wood chips and dust began spewing out from the cracking sides of the casket. Something was coming out, something big. The Gehennian didn’t wait around to see what it was. He darted behind the nearest crate and out of sight before whatever this creature was managed to emerge from its confinement. Only when the spine-chilling clacks of many feet were no longer near did Keiran dare to peek behind his cover. He pressed an ear to the ground to sense the creature’s movements and quickly located it somewhere in the hallway leading out of the cargo bay. The announcement that soon followed confirmed his suspicion.

Keiran stood and turned briefly to their robot cook. “Honey, hide. In your pod or behind a crate as I. Whatever you do, don’t engage the creature.”, he instructed her in a hushed voice and followed silently after the forementioned alien in a crouch, his pulse rifle in hand.

When he finally lay eyes on the creature, it took him a moment to register everything he saw. The menacing-looking monstrous arthropod was unlike anything he had ever encountered. The Gehennian most definitely expected something big but not this gigantic. Thankfully, he believed he was currently facing its back, which gave him at least some advantage. The sheets of paper that the alien creature was holding also gave him an indication that perhaps it possessed some form of intelligence.

Keiran could suddenly hear the Taurus pounding and roaring through one of the airtight doors. Hopefully, Alanus was with him and the doors would be opened soon. He most definitely needed some backup. It seemed as if he was alone in this for the time being though. Might as well look intimidating then. His body tensed up, ready to dodge, run or stand his ground. The larger scales running from the top of his head down to the tip of his tail stood up, turning into sharp spikes. The majority of them were hidden underneath his tattered coat but could puncture through and impale flesh at the slightest touch. Keiran pointed the rifle towards the centre of mass before him, a claw at the trigger, then a deep animalistic growl escaped his throat. “Identify yourself, intruder.”

milo-ren ChasmOfOrganicMatter

 

[AI10100]

Alanus "Aurum" Farechild​

Alanus raised a hand to wave goodbye to Keiran as he idled in the lobby. He, too, wanted to meet everyone aboard the ship but he wanted to steal a few more minutes for himself. He leaned back, closing his eyes and listening to the music the captain had chosen for their voyage. Alanus wasn't big on listening music. He didn't exactly grow up hearing anything other than the elevator music inside one of their training facilities played on loop. Still, he wasn't sure if the captain's taste in music would be considered good overall, he didn't mind hearing it too. He idly wondered what the others thought about music and what their preferred genres are.

He was about to nod off when the speakers blared to life, signaling an intruder.

Alanus was up on his feet the moment he heard the alarm. Grabbing his sidearm to cause less destruction to the ship - the last thing he wanted was getting berated for having collateral damage - he hurried off toward the storage area. A stowaway on their ship huh? This early into the voyage too. Alanus idly wondered to himself what kind of intruder he would find. As much as he liked fighing as something he excelled at, he wasn't exactly too keen on pulling the trigger all the time. He navigated around the corriders and found himself last on the scene with everyone else gathered around. It would seem that they had the situation under control already - between their securty, Keiran and Snout. What stood before them was something he couldn't say he had ever seen before. Like some sort of insect hybrid of who knows what. Underneath his armor, he winced, finding little area in the intruder particularly pleasant to focus on.

Instead of speaking, however, Alanus stood at the back of the group like a sentinel - arm raised and gun poised to shoot at the smallest movement of aggression. He wasn't sure what they were up against but, well, being able to plan on the fly was part of their training.

 

[milo-ren]

Preoccupied with the new acquaintance, Honey didn’t hear Keiran’s order to hide. She greeted the massive creature no matter it’s appearance until it passed. She stayed in the open.

 

[SpazTheButcher]

"Aye Aye Nav," Ray stood up immediately. He tapped his display to lock his consol, and realizing tensions were high, he thought the best decision was to throw on a flak jacket from a nearby storage compartment labelled: "Might be Bad", which was right next to "Boarding Actions". He put on his hat that was hanging by the bridge door, and after thinking for a second, he put on his ancient silver wired aviators. Ray tapped a code into the door and casually strolled through the ship. When he arrived at the Cargo bay, he noticed a few angry crew members and as he old Gunny would say, "A damn bugger".
"Well, this looks like a shit show." The way he put it sounded like he was addressing a friend who's car tire was flat, not two security people and a crew presence hell bent on fighting each other. "S.C.," he called to the bug, "Mind introducing yourself. And don't insult my music this time."

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

"I might as well be your new security expert. You are in dire need of such. That is where this applications comes in."

One of his many limbs extended like some gruesome tree branch, slowing as it neared the ground to slide the same paper as he'd previously shown towards the cameras. It stopped just a few inches short of the captain's feet.

"After all if I could get in by hiding in a large wooden crate with no internal lining to prevent scanning and nobody at any point decided something was off, then I'm afraid you do need me. The best kind of security is the sort that knows exactly how to get past you in plain sight."

He had ignored the rest of the crew for now at least, that's how it had seemed as he simply awkwardly stood in the hallway, unresponsive to their words. In reality, he had been scanning each one - dog-soldier of his corporate masters (well armoured but no lesser a person to him), an amusingly naive servant-automaton, a rogueish gehennian looking as tense as a minefield, but most fascinating to him was the blue-haired humanoid machine made of some sort of cryptic technology he could not fully decipher. There was a homo taurus as well - he seemed angry. That door wasn't very thick - perhaps his rifle c-

No, this wasn't like then. Shock and surprise was normal. There was no need for that level of caution.

"You are lucky I am not from the *Graven Passage. Did you know that their traditional modus operandi was to stow themselves away in freight containers on corporate luxury vessels? Ugov was smart enough to learn how they did that and the attacks stopped. It appears much will need to change."

At no point had he revealed his weapons but anyone capable of scanning his frame would notice them hidden beneath his armour along with a monstrous plethora of augmentations, limbs, implants, and even parasites. As if nothing had happened, he simply walked off towards the direction of the crew quarters, passing Tria as he did so.

"I believe I had sent that paper as digital mail... but I received no response. Regardless, I would like to see the lodgings."

Spoiler: Additional

*A hardline militant group of vrexul and their allies infamous for high level assassinations, bombings, and guerilla attacks on Ugov and its corporations. They are classified as a terrorist group and originally were comprised of some of the most bloodthirsty and violent rejects from older vrexul nomad fleets. Their most infamous incident was the capture and public execution of a corporate CEO on their private luxury liner, followed by a bloody battle with private security forces that caused many to question the security procedures on these vessel. They have been quiet in recent years presumably due to power struggles within their command chain but some suspect that they may being used as hidden proxies by Ugov intelligence against other vrexul groups.

 

[SpazTheButcher]

At this point Ray gives up. In less than 2 minutes of leaving port his ship has almost had a brawl break out amongst the clankers, a roach had smuggled itself aboard, and he hasn't even started drinking yet. He facepalms, then says "You know what? Sure, why not. Join the crew, run security for all I care. Just don't kill anyone." In a strong need of a drink he wen't to his office and closed the door, not wanting anyone to interrupt. He pulled a bottle of homemade hooch from a drawer in his ancient wooden desk, and doesn't even touch the glasses. He take a big swig and removes his hat, ruffling up his hair, trying to make sense of this. He runs his hands through his hair and takes another swig, then he realizes he hasn't even told them their job. He immediately dispatches the details of their mission via the ship's internal network, not even wanting to try and brief them, guessing it would be best to have a last minute pep talk, marine style. He looks at his desk ornament, a miniature US Vietnam steel pot helmet, written on it "Born To Kill". He then walks over to the wall display, taps the screen, and "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys floods the room as he drowns his anger with moonshine.

 

[Jackson123]

Sigrun
Essex's Navigator
​

Seeing the situation is under control, Sigrun lifted the lockdown and the airtight doors in the hallways are opened with the push of a button.

"What a mess" she sighed and called the Kepler 62 Planetary Defence Forces to inform them of the latest development of the situation on board. When the security alarm of intruder sounded, the PDF was automatically notified by the ship system and the squawk code was changed to 7500 all in a whim. Somehow they're accepting the stowaways as a crew now, and somebody in the port authority is going to have a lot of reports written about that.

“Attention all crew, this is your Third Officer. The intruder alarm is no longer in effect. The captain have decided to recruit our guest into one of us, additional information can be found in our internal network.” She said over the PA.

The captain then send the entire crew a new mission he had taken for the ship. Apparently they're going to hunt for the pirates somewhere inside Kepler 62 system for bounty. The ship is currently at a course directly outwards of the solar system. The ship need to revert course.

"Ms Mackenzie, change course for 094-mark-342...follow the new plotted course in the ECDIS. Maintain 20% lightspeed. Seems like this location is at the other side of the sun, we'll fly around it." Sigrun said while controlling the navigation system from terminals at her station.

"ETA....3 hours 44 minutes." Sigrun said, the elven lady quickly ran her fingers through her pink hair before let out a long, deep, audible breath.

"I'll be in my cabin if anyone needs me." she said to the pilot before she left the bridge.

The Third Officer Cabin is just outside at the corridor to the port side of the ship behind the bridge, Sigrun had put in a bit of her pocket money to decorate the room, in the style of the RMS Titanic's first class Parlour Suite in B-deck, but only comprised of one large bedroom, a walk-in wardrobes, a private bathroom, lavatory, and a spacious sitting room, featured a faux fireplace, large card table, plush sofas and chairs, sideboards, and writing desks, every piece of furniture, light fixture, upholstery, and woodwork was recreated with an obsessive care for accuracy by designers and master craftsmen.

"I feel like I forgot something...oh right, the cook I bought." Sigrun took out her personal terminal and saw the cook robot is still in the cargo hold. She then gave her a call "Honey, can you get me a 6 pack of Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier? I believe there are some in the Kühlschrank of the ship's galley...ach, wait, Kühlschrank, cool cabinet...what's that English word....oh yes, refrigerator. I think there are some Weissbier in there."

(The Third Officer Cabin in Essex)



Interaction Vagabond Spectre milo-ren

 

[Clan Ize]

Arisu Ize​

Arisu decided she liked Tria, she seemed innocent enough and not a threat. Plus she had good technology in her and that made her all the more valuable. She waited for her to finish before nodding and slinging her gun back over her shoulder. As she prepared to walk away back down the hallway a lumbering disgusting being emerged which very quickly appeared to be a Vrexul. But upon further scans appeared to be a cyberneticly enhanced one as well. This day just kept getting better, first two androids and know a Vrexul. Sadly however her fun was ruined when he started speaking, despite scanning her and the rest of the crew he appeared to be friendly enough and there was a Vrexul logged in the crew log. A bit annoyed she turned to Tria

"Request Accepted: You are forgiven, Requisite: Permission to do repairs?. Answer to query: No"

Interactions: Idea ChasmOfOrganicMatter
Location: Hallway

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

"You seem disappointed android; what a surprise, my kind are capable of the same speech as yours. Perhaps you should spend more time outside of whatever corporate murder squadrons you are used to and experience the cosmos outside of fighting for faceless execs."

It didn't take the enormous arthropod much to notice the way the android looked his way. He did not need to be a wandering troublemaker and insurgent for hire to know that her kind of gear and technology was not some generic ugov unit gone rogue. Nobody who dressed like that, even on an independent vessel like this, was just doing it for fashion.

His head had craned her way abruptly as he stopped before one of the unoccupied rooms. He didn't need to do that; his field of view was far wider than that of a standard humanoid's. He could feel her presence, hear the little tinkering electronics, and knew that beneath her perfect skin was hardware that did not casually end up on a freelancer market.

He kept an eye on the other android; far more arcane in whatever strange capabilities she possessed, abilities safer in her own body than this black ops devil.

"You are awfully eager to stick your hands in someone else's business. Not a shred of subtlety either; maybe this is why you are slumming it out with us rather than in a stealth drop ship."

+++

Location: Hallway
Interactions: Idea Clan Ize

 

[Clan Ize]

Arisu Ize​

Arisu turned around and looked at the Vrexul who had just insulted her. She already knew cyborgs and bugs were dumb but it turns out both of them together were far worse than she could've ever imagined. In no way going to participate in this barbaric insult fest and much less stoop down to his disgusting sad level and respond back, she was too nice to do that, too nice to break this poor little bugs sense of self confidence. So instead of responding she just shrugged at him and walked away silently to her room.

Interactions: Idea ChasmOfOrganicMatter
Location: Hallway

 

[Verena]

Keiran noticed Alanus and Mr Person enter the hallway but remained focused on the alien intruder. His eyes narrowed with suspicion as it began to speak, its buzzing voice sounding almost unnatural to his ears. Although he had to admit that its skills at remaining undetected in its box were impressive, the Gehennian certainly didn’t think sneaking in was the best way to make a good first impression. The fact that the cargo on board, especially an unusual container such as its wooden box, hadn’t been checked before loading was much more concerning.

As the captain allowed the intruder to stay, granting it access to the remaining facility, disbelief was written on Keiran’s face. Then again, Mr Person had also accepted him, probably without much investigation into his background either. Keiran switched the safety back on his rifle and returned the weapon to its holster. He then rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, forcing all protruding scales back into their usual flat state. His tail swung around him, striking the floor violently like a whip and betraying his unsatisfaction from the outcome of the encounter.

Keiran listened in on the one-sided conversation between their newest crew member and Arisu and decided against intervening. Instead, the Gehennian gave Alanus a silent nod, then headed back towards the cargo area to check on Honey, as well as the remains of the container this alien was being transported in. All the while, he fished out the small parcel from inside on his coat, opening it to reveal the carcass of a brown rat-like creature, its jaws stuffed with vitamins. The previous encounter had not only left him annoyed but also hungry. Keiran crushed the larger bones and skull with his teeth, then swallowed it whole without a care in the world. He usually preferred eating in a more secluded area or at least away from humans but, seeing their reaction to the arthropod-looking alien, it seemed like this particular crew wasn’t as easily disgusted.

 

[milo-ren]

Honey held her ear to the doors to the hallway trying to hear what was going on during the lockdown. Unfortunately the well reinforced ship hardly let through a muffle. She tried to peak through the peep hole, but even in her heel and on her tip toes she could hardly see through it. She tried to pry the doors open with her fingers unsuccessfully, the went back to listening.

“Honey, can you get me a 6 pack of Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier?”

The door swung open and she fell forward onto Keiran as he reentered the storage area. She caught herself on his chest and then looked up to him with an embarrassed smile. “Do you know where the kitchen is?”

mention: Jackson123 Verena

 

[Verena]

The Gehennian let out a hiss when the cook stumbled towards him, unable to step out of her reach in time. As the robot began straightening itself, instead of answering her question, he quickly grabbed hold of her wrist and gently twisted it around to look over her hand. Seeing no damage to the skin, Keiran heaved a sigh of relief and released her.

Considering these robots had to operate sharp kitchen utensils like knives, shears, picks, skewers and others on a daily basis, it wasn't surprising that their skin was manufactured to be somewhat tougher than that of a human. “Do your balance controls need recalibrating, Honey?”, he asked, then remembered her question. “Ah, I believe the kitchen should be somewhere around the lounge.”, he answered and pointed her in what he believed was the right direction, not without a small unsuppressed chuckle. Keiran found the notion of a cooking robot not knowing where the kitchen was quite amusing. “Make sure to walk around and map the ship’s interior.”

milo-ren

 

[Clan Ize]

Arisu Ize​

As Arisu she walked through the halls she turned to see the Honey leaning on the Gehennian 's chest while he held her hand. It appeared the Gehennian wanted to mate with Honey, Arisu stared at them disgusted. How could Honey and the Gehennian be so unprofessional, she ran a system scan to make sure she wasn't malfunctioning but when the scan finished nothing seemed wrong. Honey and the Gehennian were really doing that, and if definitely couldn't be allowed, at least not on the ship she was stationed on. Quickly she pulled out her gun and pointed it at the Gehennian , Honey wasn't at fault she was just property but the Gehennian on the other hand should've known better than to abuse her.

"Get your hands off her”

her voice was back to being distorted and deep



Interactions: milo-ren Verena
Location: Hallway

 

[milo-ren]

“Huh?” Honey turned her head to see a familiar barrel pointed in her general direction, not realizing it wasn’t actually for her. She already had her hand hovering over the knife at her hip in response to Keiran’s actions, but it quickly fled from it as soon as she saw Arisu. She was weary of why she was grabbed but Arisu completely trumped that fear. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean anything! I promise I’ll be good! I will begin looking for the kitchen.” She took a step back to bow and curtsy to them both and took one step in the direction that Keiran had gestured her towards as if asking for permission to move on. “I will become familiar with the mapping of the ship.”

interaction: Clan Ize Verena
Location: hallway

 

[Clan Ize]

Arisu Ize​

Arisu looked at Honey and tilted her head a bit. Why was Honey scared? The gun wasn’t for her, did she think it was? Arisu looked at Honey than at Keiran, Honey most certainly seemed afraid. It must just her slow system trying to figure out what’s going on, she should probably explain it to her before she ran off. Arisu walked over to Honey and put the gun down now that she had moved away from Keiran and he was no longer near her. Almost treating Honey like a small puppy dog, Arisu stroked Honey’s hair and lightly tapped her key port. She saw now reason in making Honey scared of her at this point, she had her key and since she had that there was no reason in using force.

“Aww you poor thing, why don’t you come with me and we can find the kitchen. How does that sound? You’re not in trouble by any means”

she has turned her voice changer off and sounded like a girl again as she spoke to Honey. The unit clearly needed help and was clearly confused and she herself wasn’t doing anything besides polishing her gun so it might be good to just help out a less advanced unit.
Interactions: milo-ren
Location: Hallway

 

[RandomBlobMan]

======
"Destination reached, Essex."
Inaros's voice rang through the ship's halls as the Essex reached the set destination. They were far away from Kepler-62f, the sun behind them... and space pirates nearby. The ship's engine decelerated to a near halt once it hit the exact coordinates Sigrun had directed the ship to. The view in front of the ship was the usual pitch black void of the space they drifted in. Stars decorated the darkness here and there, their lights shining like distant lighthouses. Their target, the pirate ship, was not visible. Not yet, at least.
"Target vessel is known to have no Faster Than Light travel available. Whether it possesses technology for stealth, however, is unknown. What's your call, captain?"

Clan Ize Vagabond Spectre Jackson123 AI10100 Verena milo-ren 0stinato SpazTheButcher ChasmOfOrganicMatter

 

[SpazTheButcher]

"Turn off our transmitter, and call the crew to general quarters" Anticipating the ship's arrival, Ray entered the bridge in his Colonial Marine Dress Uniform, the notable difference being his rank was Captain. "Sig, Sky, go change and prepare me for transmitting to all open channels." Ray took a deep breath, and combed back is hair with his hands. He knew this was a long shot, but worst comes to worst, he could die. Not the most horrible fate he had seen and knew about. He readied himself with a prepared speech he was hoping would work, rehearsing it in his head. He also took a swig from his flask, to steady himself.