Futuristic [IC] Sail the Stars : Mission Log

[Nero_Cardia]

As the silhouette in front of her got closer, she was able to hear it as it replied in a male voice. It still sounded as if the speaker was miles away, but she could understand it this time. Normally, she wouldn't mind not hearing a voice other than her own but this was an exception, as it meant she was not alone. Or dead.

What the voice had said perplexed her, however, as what she heard meant that she was not speaking to one of the colonists. Or maybe they had amnesia. Did something happen with the ship? At any rate, she felt like she should pick her next words carefully.

-Kepler... 62... - she paused to take a deeper breath and stabilize her breathing. - That's where we were headed... Right?

If the person in front of her was indeed not one of the colonists, maybe that would confuse them and buy her time to regain her senses. And if she was wrong, she would just sound as if her brain is still warming up.

-It should be about a century since they put us to sleep, don't you remember?

She then stretched out her prosthetic arm towards the figure, as it can't be injured like her other arm.

-Could you help me up, please?

 

[SpazTheButcher]

When she finished singing, Ray smiled. She was doing what she loved, and she was much better than last time. When she finished the bar erupted into applause and she stepped down from the stage. Another band went onstage and began some New Finnish polka. She began walking over to Ray. His face twisted with a crack as she slapped him. "What the hell?" Ray said to her.

"That is for missing Dad's funeral." Ray's sister, Alexis, said.

"I was fucking deployed! I come all the way out here to see you, and not even a thank you?"

"You could've called in!" He knew he couldn't win. After all, he did deliberately miss the funeral. He couldn't stand to see his family after his mom and dad were killed in a home invasion. The part that makes him pissed is that he couldn't avenge them. No justice. No leads. Nothing.

While Ray and his sister were arguing, a group of three PDF men noticed them. They were already angry that this stranger was sitting on their side of the bar, but making a lady upset, that was intolerable. The obvious ringleader spoke loudly and smugly to Alexis, "Hey miss, this asshole bothering you? Me and my boys can take care of him real quick."

Alexis,didn't even make eye contact with him, "Fuck off."

The PDF, obviously not used to being told no by women, said "Excuse me? Do I need to teach you some manners?"

Alexis, now facing him, "I said Fuck, Off. This is a private conversation."

The PDF men were fuming. And now the only four marines in the bar took notice and stood up. They walked over to Ray's side, the group made up of a Cpl, a Sgt, a Lance Cpl, and a Private First Class. To Ray's surprise, the Lance Cpl spoke to him, "Captain Ray Person?"

"That's me," Ray said with a hint of suspicion. He was worried STARCOM was still pissed about his discharge.

The Lance Corporal grinned and stuck out his hand, "Lance Corporal Chris Murphy, 1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, Bravo Company. My DI(Drill Instructor) was Walter Hassner." Ray did not recognize the kid, but he recognized the unit and the kid's DI. The Unit was Ray's own, and the DI was at one point in time Ray's squad gunner. He had personally pulled Walter out of two crashed Sampson's. Murphy continued, "I see these puddle pirates are bothering you sir, want me and my boys to rough 'em up?"

The PDF, now realizing they were three to six, decided to make a hasty retreat. Their ringleader spoke, "Y'know what? I think me and my boys are tired, we will be on our way now." They turned and walked, the guy to the left of the ringleader said, "Man, those army animals always travel in packs, don't they."

Ray had not bothered to try and fight them. He had already seen enough violence this week. But the Lance Corporal had not, and shouted "Hey Assholes!" The ringleader's head spun around to see, only to be sent back the way it came by a well delivered punch from Murphy. Murphy yelled in the man's face, "Espirt De Corps, you PDF Pussy! Remember that the next time you cuss out the Colonial Marines!" Chris held him by the collar and punched again, as his three marine buddies and the two remaining PDF began punching each other. The band decided a change of tune was due for the situation. More PDF began to stand up and join the fray, as the outnumbered Marines held their own against the PDF. The Navy guys eventually came to the support of the Marines as civilians filed out of the bar. The Bartender watched quietly, looked over to Ray, and said, "You might want to leave. It isn't very safe in here." Ray took the hint and ducked out the door. The last he saw, Alexis was holding two PDF guys in a headlock, and gave Ray a big smile and said something he couldn't hear over the music and yells. He then began walking down the street as Military Police and Local Police ran towards the bar fight, which spilled into the street as a PDF man was thrown out a window.

 

[Clan Ize]

Arisu Ize
Arisu stared at the new woman for a bit, studying her arm, body, and facial features. According to a scan she currently seemed weak and her body was adjusting, it didn’t take any calculations at all to determine that as of this moment this lady was in no condition to fight much less attack her. Carefully Arisu walked in front of her and pulled her up, making sure to keep her other hand on her pistols grip which was currently put away. Arisu decided that if she even tried to question her now she might not get anything worth recording and it would be better if she waited a bit. Still cautious of the woman Arisu brought her over to a crate and sat her down hoping to at least get a name

“Hi, are you feeling alright? What’s your name?”

She spoke in a feminine voice and slowly removed her hand from her pistol grip

​

Interactions: Verena Nero_Cardia
Location: Cargo Hold

 

[Nero_Cardia]

Karah heard another voice. Feminine. It appeared as though the group that woke her was not immediately hostile. Perhaps she could rest easy. Then again, they could just be assessing whether she was a threat. In any case, Karah was in no shape to fight, so she decided to go with the flow and hope for the best. She thought about lying, however, there was no way for her to know if they were using some kind of lie-detecting tech. She decided to simply give as little information as possible, until she was sure she could trust them.

-Karah. - she said, as she felt two colds hand helping her up and sat her down on something metallic.

-Has something happened? Where am I? - she said and attempted to stand up just to test out her strength. This unfortunately led her to fall to her knees. She had overestimated herself.

 

[Clan Ize]

Arisu Ize
When Kara fell Arisu immediately rushed to her side and lifted her up, then proceeding to set her down on the box. She was in no state to do anything much less walk and it would be a shame if Kara hurt herself before she herself could finish questioning her and Arisu wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Kara, you are in no condition to walk. Please remain seated”

when Kara spoke and asked questions she was mildly surprised how naive this girl was to have the audacity to ask questions in such a state when she couldn’t even walk.

“Kara, you are onboard the ship Essex you were onboard a pirate ship. Can you please tell me about your history and why you’re here?”​

Interactions: Verena Nero_Cardia
Location: Cargo Hold

 

[Nero_Cardia]

Although Karah did not normally appreciate being carried around like an infant, at this point she preferred sitting down instead of struggling to stand up.

The woman that helped her up not only had cold arms, she appeared to be strong. Prosthetics alone don't mean a person would be to able to lift someone like that. Not that easily, at least.

After being reminded of her obvious weakened state, she was told she was on a pirate's vessel, then moved onto a ship called the Essex, and asked to reveal more about her.

So, something did happen.

Karah then had questions of her own in regards to these "pirates" but she felt like asking them at this time would not grant her any answers, as answers were expected of her before that.

They obviously did not want to shoot her. If they did, they'd get nothing out of her. She decided to use that.

-Agh... - she groaned as convincingly as she could while placing the palm of her right hand on her forehead. - You could be correct... I may be of need of medical attention.

She wasn't entirely deceitful though, as her vision had still not recovered.

-I need to rest...

 

[Arai]

Striding her way through the streets, Alyxandra Rousopoulos finally came to rest her eyes upon the Essex, an...older looking corvette vessel, probably used for some war, skirmish or conflict for some back alley mining planet in the who-cares quadrant. But now, it was opportunity. A freelancing board in town happened to have postings for the ship, which was apparently desperately in need of staff, especially if they were looking to take on folk as quickly as the job suggested. Though eager to project confidence, especially to a future employer, Alyx was equally nervous. The ad was within her wheelhouse, a light craft pilot with willingness to work in stressful scavenging and bounty environments. "...Not to mention that I've got Bishop as well" She thought to her self as she made her way towards the ports. "That's something,"

Bishop was a decent enough ship to be sure, a former cargo freighter refitted for general purpose, but sleeping, eating, working and engaging in offtime activities had stressed Alyx out more than she realised. New scenery was required, and new scenery required a better class of ship. Her eyes finally passed over thee corvette, information being fed to her mind through her cybernetic implants, all public information readily available, but it was happy to tell her that the Essex would be here for a little while, enough time at least for her to hang around to chat to any onboard crew. The public data didn't extend far enough to mention existing crew, but surely some of them will be still onboard.

Alyx made her way up towards the ship's airlock door, engaging the intercom as she stepped up to it. Hopefully someone would be able to respond, or at least the ship's AI. "Scuse me, anybody on board? I'm here about the shuttle craft job," She called out into the intercom.

Interactions: Anyone on the ship / Verena (Skrebi)
Location: Essex Exterior

 

[Verena]

“I completely understand” Skrebi nodded, acknowledging that as captain, there was probably a neverending number of tasks to be attended to. Almost as if he had read her thoughts, Ray sent a list of all the crew members along with some basic information about them to her own tablet. “You took the words out of my mouth. Thank you again!”

Once the captain was out of her sight, Skrebi looked over the report again, then took one of her many hardcover diaries out of a drawer. “My, this is quite the crew.”, she muttered, then began taking notes of all the necessary equipment and medicine for each. Skrebi had to rummage through her older books to find everything. Many of them had belonged to her parents and were even older than her, which also meant they contained outdated or simply false information. She had stricken through many old methods and descriptions throughout the years, constantly adding and editing the more she learnt about different alien species. The medic wanted to one day write a book of her own, to share her experiences and techniques, even find a protégé to succeed her. Perhaps this was the first step.

When Skrebi was done, she packed everything back inside the right drawers, folded the roof of her cart down, took it off its breaks and began pushing it towards the dock. The Averi couldn’t help but whistle happily as she walked down the cobblestone street, her tail feathers wagging from side to side in tune.

Skrebi gasped in awe as she finally lay eyes on the Essex. All she wanted to do is fly up and admire the spaceship from high in the air but she still couldn’t just leave her cart behind. Her attention shifted to a woman trying to enter as well. Skrebi didn’t recall reading a description about her earlier and thus thought that this must be another new crew member.

“Hi!”, she called out to her and waved. “Are you new too? Let me give it a try.” Skrebi stood next to the intercom and pressed the talk button. “Hello? This is Skrebi, your new medic. You must have received a message from captain Ray. Could you please open the door?”

Arai SpazTheButcher and everyone else inside the ship

 

[0stinato]

Watching as Arisu picked Karah up, Del began trying to scrutinise her condition visually. He wasn't a medic primarily, but his almost obsessive interest in keeping himself alive had brought with it some awareness of medicine. All in all, it seemed like she was correct: she needed to rest.

Arisu had answered some of Karah’s questions, but Del thought he could add some context. That might help the girl understand a bit more about what was going on.

He stood, drawing closer to Arisu.

“Karah, Kepler-62 is currently a habitable planet, and many people, mostly humans, live there currently. Can you tell us more about why you were headed there, if you remember? It might help us work out the best way to help you. Does the pod have any storage and, if so, are there any personal items we can get for you?”

He glanced over his shoulder at Brohdish, who seemed to understand the unspoken request. The Taurus got up, keeping away from Arisu and Karah so as not to frighten her by his appearance. She had been out for a century and, while a lot of time had passed since Bestla XII had made contact with other species and interstellar corporations, she may very well not know about the Homo Taurus species. It would be best not to stress her by suddenly putting himself in front of her.

Instead, as quietly as he could given his size and clumsy nature, began searching the pod for any other compartments that it might feature.

He flinched when the intercom went off. There was one voice, then another, respectively identifying themselves as a shuttle pilot and a medic. Del had been listening too and perked up.

“Ah, perfect timing,” he said, mostly to himself. Then he looked at Riezlav, Keiran and Arisu. “I’ll run and let the medic in, and hopefully they’ll be able to help. I’ll be as quick as I can be.”

He darted from the room, equal parts relieved to get out of the vicinity of the security members and their weapons, but also concerned that he’d left their vulnerable new visitor with the security team too. But, he might be judging them too harshly. Keiran seemed like an intelligent guy, though quiet and unassuming. Arisu had been gentle and Riezlav hadn’t make a move against Karah yet. Perhaps he’d judged too quickly.

Still, there wasn’t time to consider the morality of his wary prejudices as he got to the boarding door. “This is Head Engineer Moscur Del of the Essex. I’m sorry, I wasn’t quite aware that we would be receiving more crew, but I’ll let you both in.”

The door hissed open, and his eyes darted between the two: one seemed human, though something deep in Del could tell that wasn’t all. There was some sort of frequency about her, something he felt picked up at the base of his skull, resonating somewhere. There was something more than the skin was showing. Still, he couldn’t dwell. The other was more unusual: some sort of bird creature. He had never seen anything like this in person before, but attempted to not let it bother him.

“Sorry to be incredibly unprofessional, but whichever one of you is Skrebi the medic, could you come with me please? Consider this… your first ship assignment, I guess?”

He gave the two a bashful smile, aware that he wasn’t exactly the commanding type. There was no, “go here, do this” with Del. Instead, he’d asked politely if the medic wouldn’t mind coming with him, as if the new visitor – stowaway? – on the ship wasn’t potentially suffering medical issues.

“We have a bit of a situation that medical assistance is really important in. Someone aboard has awoken from cryo-sleep, and we need to do a preliminary examination to determine her state. Whoever isn’t the medic, I can buzz you our second-in-command, who’s our current ship pilot.”

So, Del did just that. He buzzed through to Sarah, beginning to get dizzy from all this conversational busy-work, “Ma’am, this is Moscur Del. At the boarding door is a woman about the shuttle craft job, who you should meet. My apologies if I am interrupting anything.”

----
Interactions (order of) : Nero_Cardia Clan Ize Verena (Skrebi) Arai Vagabond Spectre
Mentions: Verena (Keiran), ChasmOfOrganicMatter
Location:
Del - Cargo Hold -> Boarding Door
Brohdish: Cargo Hold

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray Person​

Ray checked his watch as the bar left his vision. He walked up to a vendor and bought a New Australian Slouch Hat, a reminder of his days in the Corps. He took off his poorly made cowboy hat and threw it into and ally, replacing its spot on his head with the Slouch. He then made his way to the warehouse district, determined to pick up some things from an old friend who owed him a favor. As he arrived, various seedy looking figures were eyeing him, and every time he would adjust his coat in a way that showed them the Big Iron on his hip. He regretted not having his M41A, but it was un-necessary for shore leave. His Single Action was suitable for now.

He continued walking, and noticed how the sun was blocked out by smoke in the sky from the foundries. It brought him back to the Chendaki War...

Spoiler: Flashback

He looked about him, and continued walking. He finally arrived at a supply warehouse owned by Pur-N-Kleen, a small time ice hauling company that brought ice to asteroids. The whole place was run by robots, none of whom were intelligent and therefore couldn't ask questions. He found the familiar face in the long term storage department. Ray grinned as he held out his hand, "Trombley, long time no see."

Spoiler: Trombley

Trombley just smiled, "Nice to see you too you crazy bastard." Trombley grabbed Ray's hand and pulled him into a hug.

Ray squirmed and kicked, "What the hell happened to you?"

Trombley let him go and blushed, "Sorry, the VA hooked me up man. After the war they got me a therapist, and since then I learned to forgive everyone."

Ray just shook his head, "Do you have those things?"

"Hell yeah, I may be nicer but I am still 'your psychopath.'" Trombley said, grinning. He led Ray over to a crate and opened it. The crate was marked "Cadian Ice", but inside was a large amount of weapons and ammo.

 

[Verena]

“Ah, so friendly. Thank you, young man.”, Skrebi looked up at the youthful engineer standing at the entrance and welcoming them in. Considering her age, the Averi oftentimes felt like a mother or grandmother figure to her patients and even colleagues. This didn’t bother her in the slightest though. “That’s me.”, she raised her hand and followed Del inside, wondering what this first assignment involved.

“Cryo-sleep?”, Skrebi repeated excitedly, then it quickly dawned on her what this meant. “Oh my, cryo-sleep!” She could see the crew gathered inside the pirate’s ship and rushed towards it, almost ramming her medical cart into a few crates. Soon, Skrebi also lay eyes on Karah, her eyes widening upon seeing her pale skin and weak state. “Everyone, please, out! You may be exposing her and yourselves to dormant viruses and bacteria. You could start an epidemic.”, she commanded, pushing past Riezlav and Arisu. “Del, close the ramp and don’t let anyone leave the ship.”, the medic recalled from the crew list that the Taurus was the ship’s scientist. “Dr Brohdish, please help me with the scans.”

Skrebi quickly put on a new pair of rubber gloves, rummaged through a few drawers and returned with a multi-purpose pulse oximeter, clipping it on Karah’s fingertip to check her oxygen saturation levels, temperature and heart rate. “Weak pulse, lack of coordination, shivering, confusion, drowsiness, dehydration...”, she listed the symptoms both to herself and Brohdish, then concluded. “Hypothermia.”

Skrebi proceeded to take a blood sample and handed the small vial to Brohdish. “Perform an immunoassay, quickly now. Someone, bring blankets, lots of them, and warm water.” The medic gently lifted Karah from the cold crate and sat her down on her lap, laying the other's head against her soft plumage and enveloping her body with her wings. This was meant to transfer her own warmth to her, not unlike how Averi incubated their young.

Nero_Cardia 0stinato and everyone else in the vicinity

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Sarah Mackenzie​

The search for an android was easier said than done. Passing through room, sectors and bays in focus of finding the android. The more she searchs the more irritated she became. The ship almost felt like a maze at one point. She can’t really call out to the android since she can’t really shout a name that would call their attention, to save from the embarrassment, she refrained from opening her mouth. While she may have no important specific tasks to perform by the bot, it was just out concerned monitoring, just to know where the crew members are as the captain left the ship for who knows what

Almost convincing that the Android went with the captain without her knowing. Impatience grew on her rapidly. Planning to return to the Hangar to check on the crew’s current update on the mysterious pod on the ship. Giving up on the search, she made her way to the gathered crew, only to be stopped in of the halls with the intercomm announcement directed to her.

It was the chief engineer calling her to the entry to meet a potential new member boarding the ship. To Sarah’s surprise, this caught them off guard, the captain didn’t tell her anything about arriving crew. Travel path changed. Head down to meet unexpected newcomer.

Minutes later. A blonde stoic woman enters the boarding door of the ship, her blank blue eyes stared into the Engineer before slowly locking onto the new potential crew waiting along with them. Both appear to be feminine in appearance, One is an aviary specie and one human looking woman. Nothing too out of the ordinary for Sarah.

“Are they the aforementioned individuals you mentioned into the intercomms?”​

Reassuring the engineer in regards of these new faces. Her eyes slowly looked away from her crew mate as he escorted the bird inside ship, in a hurry too as if she came in right on time. Trusting the engineer to that newcomer, she didn’t have to ask them what was happening nor bother to chase after. She was called upon this woman before her.

“Good day. I was informed that you wanted to join the ship, as a...?”​

The woman’s words were monotonous as expected, fitting to her already blank facial expression. The question she asked delayed into a fill-in-the-blank question. The tied back bun on her hair she readjusted out of habit. She followed up with more questions.

“Who are you?”

“Where have you previously worked?”

“Did anyone send you here?”

“The one my crew mate escorted. Do you know them in anyway?”​

Arai

 

[RandomBlobMan]

Ray Person​

Ray checked his watch as the bar left his vision. He walked up to a vendor and bought a New Australian Slouch Hat, a reminder of his days in the Corps. He took off his poorly made cowboy hat and threw it into and ally, replacing its spot on his head with the Slouch. He then made his way to the warehouse district, determined to pick up some things from an old friend who owed him a favor. As he arrived, various seedy looking figures were eyeing him, and every time he would adjust his coat in a way that showed them the Big Iron on his hip. He regretted not having his M41A, but it was un-necessary for shore leave. His Single Action was suitable for now.

He continued walking, and noticed how the sun was blocked out by smoke in the sky from the foundries. It brought him back to the Chendaki War...

Spoiler: Flashback

He looked about him, and continued walking. He finally arrived at a supply warehouse owned by Pur-N-Kleen, a small time ice hauling company that brought ice to asteroids. The whole place was run by robots, none of whom were intelligent and therefore couldn't ask questions. He found the familiar face in the long term storage department. Ray grinned as he held out his hand, "Trombley, long time no see."

Spoiler: Trombley

View attachment 874208

Trombley just smiled, "Nice to see you too you crazy bastard." Trombley grabbed Ray's hand and pulled him into a hug.

Ray squirmed and kicked, "What the hell happened to you?"

Trombley let him go and blushed, "Sorry, the VA hooked me up man. After the war they got me a therapist, and since then I learned to forgive everyone."

Ray just shook his head, "Do you have those things?"

"Hell yeah, I may be nicer but I am still 'your psychopath.'" Trombley said, grinning. He led Ray over to a crate and opened it. The crate was marked "Cadian Ice", but inside was a large amount of weapons and ammo.

Not everything came in joyful colors.

Corporations, unless stated otherwise, are groups looking to make profit. Anything handed out for "free" is an investment-there may secretly be a price, one way or another. No matter what favor Ray's buddy had to return to the ex-marine, grabbing the listed goods away from the eyes lf his higher ups was nigh impossible. Especially when some of those were quite expensive armaments popular among PMC's and some of the Government forces.
A Waltz replica of the ancient Owen Gun rested in the crate. Most of the original design was kept, minus some upgrade to the materials and a change of the magaxines so that it would fit the universal mags that most SMG's with 9x19mm parabellum used.
A hand-made slouch hat sat next to the Owen Gun.
A Mosin, which looked like someone dug it up from a potato farm, sat in the far corner of the crate. It had no scope.
A backup battery pack for M41A pulse rifle sat on the crate.
A single magazine for M1911 sobbed in the other corner.
A Riverton-Clairvoiyance Cataclysm M221 Night Vision 3x scope was included.

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray gave an angry look to Trombley, "What the hell is this? A battery pack for my pulse rifle? And the hell is with the M221? I thought you were nuts, not a fucking hippy!"

Trombley replied calmly, "I think you need to acknowledge your problem Ray. You seem to have a lot of pent up anger."

"The hell I have a problem! Thanks for nothing!" Ray shouted as he grabbed the crate and left. He was fuming, but thought about what Trombley said. Maybe he was angry, but Marine culture dictated that he did not become a Peace-loving Communist Dick-suck. But maybe the culture was wrong. Ray didn't know what to think, but he was determined to change, but at what cost would that come? Would he have to abandon his combat principles, in return gain some traits focused on peace? Would he have to stop being a marine, and think more like a civilian? Ray pondered this as he made his way to the Essex, and when he finally arrived he punched in a code and pushed his crate into the hold. There was some commotion over an "Outbreak", but Ray ignored everyone. He grabbed his Owen gun, slung the Mosin over his shoulder, and walked about. When he found Keiran, he quickly said, "Think fast", and threw the Mosin to him. He then went to his office. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and poured a vodka shot.

 

[Verena]

For the most part, Keiran stood on the sidelines where he wouldn’t be in anyone’s way and listened to everything that was happening around him. Although he had no doubts that Del and Brohdish knew what they were doing, the gunner still had a hard time believing the occupant of the cryo-pod was almost a century old. He didn’t quite understand how a container like this could not only preserve a human’s life but also youth for hundreds of years.

As the woman was awakened, Keiran noticed her confusion, weakened state, apparent blindness and deafness. He thought about the stories that the elders of his community had told him and other kids about humans. He remembered hearing tales of the first humans that arrived on their homeworld hundreds of years ago. How they were unable to handle the harsh conditions and how quickly they named the planet Gehenna – a destination of the wicked, Hell itself. Of course, Gehennians didn’t call their own beloved home a hellhole. Most humans had little interest in learning their language though and thus Gehenna stuck.

Keiran thought how Karah had most likely never even heard of any of the non-human species present in the room around her. He felt an unexpected curiosity to see her reaction when her vision finally recovered. Would she be terrified or equally curious? The Gehennian recalled a human children’s fairytale telling about some fantastical creatures called dragons – winged, scaly, horned, fire-breathing monsters that burned villages and stole maidens. He couldn’t help but imagine Karah seeing in him the same menacing monster that had to be slain by some heroic knight.

Upon the medic’s arrival, Keiran quickly stepped out of her way and left the pirate ship altogether, still watching from afar. He suddenly felt mesmerized by the Averi’s elegant and efficient movements, pure white plumage with black and red accents. Although most Gehennians knew that albinism was nothing more than a genetic disorder, many of the older generations still worshipped creatures born with the rare mutation, believing them to be personifications of stars. Keiran, too, knew this to be false. However, he also had to admit that these uncommon individuals looked stunning.

Ray’s sudden words caught the gunner off guard and he was barely able to turn in time. Luckily, he managed to catch the rifle flying in his direction moments before the thing bonked him on the head and thus saved himself from an embarrassing situation. Keiran looked over the outdated, dirty and mistreated weapon that had clearly seen better days. Despite its appearance, it was a pretty good bolt action sniper rifle and also one that had a story. He believed that after a thorough cleaning and oiling, the weapon would be as good as new.

For the time being, however, Keiran left it on the nearest crate, then went to another. He had checked the contents of some of the crates earlier and remembered seeing one containing spare sheets, pillows and blankets. The gunner grabbed an armful of the latter and handed them to Skrebi, who immediately threw them over Karah, tucking her in tightly. The medic could already feel the frozen body of the woman warming up and she had no doubts that, soon, her senses would also restore. "Did you catch her name by any chance?", Skrebi asked, glancing up at the gunner for a split second, then focusing back on her patient. "Karah.", he replied simply. "Really? Karah, Keiran. Both your names sound quite familiar, don't you think? I digress. Karah, can you understand me? How are you feeling?"

Nero_Cardia SpazTheButcher and everyone in the vicinity

 

[Arai]

As the first figure to let them in dashed off with the..."Averi"...Alyx thought the species was called, she turned her attention to the ships seemingly second-in-command. Her outfit was unfamiliar, but obviously designed for flight duty. The other pilot, presumably. By the time Alyx had finished looking the other woman up and down, she was already on to her 3rd or 4th question. She grinned. "Big into questions, huh?" She replied with a Cheshire grin, and shrugged. "It's no problem, you want to know the kind of person I am right?" She tapped her own helmet, a Valkyrie model not too different from Sarah's own.

"Your job advertised for a light craft pilot, but I've got some heavy carrier experience as well," A white lie. The experience may have involved blowing up said carrier by piloting it onto a course with a nearby sun, but that was by the by. "I've got a ship in a nearby dock too," She added. At the same time, she instructed her own systems to send a copy of her most recent jobs to Sarah, as well as some of her personal highlights. "I've seen the Averi around the port, but don't know her that well. She's a medic I guess - and it's Alyxandra Rousopoulos, but you can call me Alyx," She added at the end. Always important to actually tell your employer your name.

Vagabond Spectre

 

[0stinato]

The avian medic took control almost instantly. She shouted warnings first, prompting both Del and Brohdish to look at Karah. Brohdish’s scan hadn’t picked up on anything, but there was always that risk. They both knew it, but hearing it said was something else. Still, from what she’d said, Del was willing to make the connection that she was likely put into cryosleep in a secure area, without any abnormal pathogens. She hadn’t been put in to prevent her death, nor for quarantine, but instead to travel.

But it didn’t hurt to be careful.

“Yes ma’am,” Del said, and quickly left the room to do what she asked. He’d close the ramp and set the alarms. No one who had been in contact with the pod, or indeed the room, had left the ship, so it would likely be fine.

In the meantime, Brohdish responded to Skrebi’s instruction too. He was relieved she knew his name, since it told him she’d come prepared to join the crew. She’d done her research. She was organised. Or, at least, he hoped so. Knowing his name shouldn’t correlate to organisation: even in himself it didn’t. Still, he was allowed to have a bias.

He stood, trying not to bump into anything with his massive shoulders, and drew carefully up to the patient. “Is hypothermia to be expected after cryosleep or should be look for any reason why she might’a developed it?” he asked while deftly preparing the swabs. He was equally gentle when taking further swabs, still nervous she would regain her eyesight and freak out at the sight of him.

“A few of us,” he said to Karah, toning down the rough edges of his accent, “might look a bit weird, but we’re all here for you.”

He slotted the swabs into his scanner and initiated both a quick scan and a deep scan. Quick would determine the likely course of action now, and deep would either confirm it in a few minutes or require further testing.

“Are ye not afraid that, if she has incubated somethin’, it’ll pass to you?” Brohdish asked Skrebi as she settled down with Karah. “Ah mean, ah respect the dedication, but if the medic gets ill what do we do then? Ah can take her if ye like? I’m much more expendable in this situation.”



After securing the doors, Del made another announcement on the ship-wide comms: “Due to the awakening of the individual from the cryosleep pod found in the pirates’ ship, all exits from the ship have been locked and alarmed. This is merely a precaution. Please go about your duties.”



“Ah, alright, good stuff,” Brohdish said, a big grin parting his lips. “Well, actually no, not that good, but… alright, so she’s carrying no dormant or ancient viruses, and the only unnatural traces are of cleaning substances which are non-toxic. She isn’t carrying anything that could infect us, but we could very well do that to her: her antibodies are super low, so her ability tae fight off our viruses and bacteria is compromised. Not sure whether it’s linked to the cryosleep yet or not, ah’m still waitin’ on th’ deep scan. She’s likely in need of a general vaccine as well as a prepared and clean environment. Ah can go prepare somethin’ in the medibay: ah’m a Chemist and Biologist, I know how tae do that stuff.”

---
Interactions: Verena (Skrebi) Nero_Cardia
Mentions: Ship-wide comms
Location: Boarding door (Del) - Cargo Hold (Brohdish)

 

[Verena]

“Don’t worry about me, Brohdish, and please don’t talk like that. No one is expendable.”, Skrebi scolded the scientist and shrugged off his warning. “I’m constantly exposing myself to sick patients and have developed a bit of an immunity over the years. Besides, if we discover something, we will thoroughly disinfect the whole area surrounding the cryo-pod and place the crew under quarantine, myself included. As for what caused the hypothermia, I’m guessing it was simply the prolonged exposure to the low temperatures of the cryo-pod. It’s pleasantly surprising she didn’t suffer frostbite, at least. The anti-freeze compounds did their job well.”

The medic switched her attention to Keiran, who at the moment looked like someone without much of a job. “Be a dear and fetch some warm water too.” The gunner gave her a swift nod and ran off to the mess to heat up some water.

When Brohdish was done with the immunoassay and summarized the results, Skrebi’s eyes lit up and she let out a sigh of relief. “That’s pretty good news actually. You are right, she will need a combination vaccine, a human normal immunoglobulin will be required too to boost those defences. There are some in that drawer over there, each in a small box. Prepare one dose, if you will.”, she said and pointed to the far left, upper drawer of her medical cart. Mothers with young children requiring their first vaccinations oftentimes visited her due to her low prices and reliable service. Thus, Skrebi always had basic combination vaccines ready that offered protection against the most common human-borne diseases of the current century.

After this procedure, however, the medic would most definitely need to restock. Her medical cart had a small bit of almost everything in it but after a full day of patients on the street, Ray’s injuries and now this, her supplies were slowly but surely reaching their end. Skrebi couldn't wait and see the medbay with her own eyes. There, she could store much more without needing to worry about something missing. It would also be her first own office, lab and surgery.

"I will call upon your services and knowledge soon. There's actually quite a list of things I'll need for the crew." Making all the required medicine from scratch would be significantly cheaper than buying it from distributors. Since she was unable to contribute financially after the robbing, Skrebi felt positively guilty asking for money from the captain to purchase the supplies. Even though they would be used for the crew, the medic couldn't ask for any more favours from the man that had given her a job.

0stinato Nero_Cardia

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Sarah Mackenzie​

She licked her cherry red lips as it begins to dry, a facial movement noted after standing so still as if at ease. Her blue eyes were almost drifting away from the eyes of the new pilot. The blonde woman’s space suit appears older and more used as if this suit is all she wears. The design of the suit was a little more larger, like the astronaut suits from long ago. It was quite rare to see the suit brand worn commonly by other pilots due to how hard it is to find one, it’s no better than any other suit but having a constellation walker like Sarah’s is sure to grabbed an eye or two.

Her barrage of questions stopped at the fourth one. Each one carefully spoken as if listening to an android speak, despite being her flesh and blood, through and through. That’s what she observed to the new recruit. Something about their appearance made her think. It was vague but the woman appears more mechanical. As if an android like the one they have on board as security.

A hint of curiosity was present in her face the moment the pilot introduced a familiar model that she also uses. A valkerye model, although it appears a little newer, if not more up to date than what she has. Sarah looked slightly content as if convinced by the possession of a familiar helmet is all she needed to validate the credibility of the pilot.

The PDA in her left hand vibrates a notification to her. It was the records of the new pilot. She reviewed the PDA display for almost 2 minutes, carefully reading through while edging the tablet closer to her face. After a few minutes she looked back up to Alyx to speak.

“I see... The Averi wasn’t with you. The Captain must have sent them. “

“I’ve read your records. Admirable to say the least.”​

At some parts she sounded unimpressed, closing her PDA she saw a glimpse of Ray passing by the entrance with a gun in hand, he was blur when he appeared in her peripheral vision. She turned back to the ship’s entrance to lose sight of him.

“Let’s get you inside, Alyx. We’ll continue on there. ”​

Ushering the pilot inside. Her voice sounded more friendlier compared to her last one. Accepting the the newcomer into the ship. Guiding the second pilot to the bridge, skipping the Hangar area. Upon reaching the bridge she turned around to face Alyx to break the awkward silence during the walk.

“Alyxandra Rousopoulos... I would like to express that i find you qualified for the work. So far, I have been the only ship pilot for Essex under Captain Ray Person’s crew. I am Sarah Mackenzie, licensed interstellar pilot from Kepler 62. “​

After her monotonous introduction she lends out right hand to Alyx to be at least more more formal especially after luring them into the bridge.

Arai

 

[Arai]

There was a definite notice by some of the people a Alyx had already spoken to that they could tell something was off about her. People used to call it the uncanny valley, a being that looked human but just not quite human enough. "No worries," she thought to herself, "Give it time, they'll catch on,"

The ship they explored was a decent time, and Alyx was pleased to see that the hanger was large and wide enough to accommodate a ship of Bishop's size, going by the banged up freighter that currently sat in the dock. The bridge itself was nice as well, clearly designed for a larger crew but the majority of the design looked to be focused around two positions, the captain's chair and the pilots. Sarah must've known what she was doing to fly it solo.

"Alyx is fine Miss Mackenzie," she replied, slapping a hand into Sarah's that awkwardly evolved into a more formal handshake. "Suppose I'll meet the captain whenever he's free. How are the rest of the crew, they alright?"

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray Person​

Ray finished up the bottle, not even buzzed. He looked down at his gut and pulled up his shirt, seeing the metal patch that his skin was trying to grow over. He remembered the story behind it, but was not in the mood to think about it. Ray stood up and decided that maybe someone would like to go out with him, after all drinking with a pal is better than drinking alone. Then he heard the ship's intercom bark something about a plague, but Ray didn't give a shit. If he was going to die, it wasn't going to be here. He has already seen his death, and this is not it. He pulled off his faded green shirt and decided to dress better, instead putting on an equally faded white tee, and he threw a blue button up over it, not even bothering to button it up. He decided to keep his jeans on, and also deemed that business came first, so he put on the very loose leather belt with his Single Action's holster over his jeans. He grabbed his blue stetson with it's gold cavalry cords off his coat stand(one of the only things in his office), and placed it on his head. He also grabbed his silver wire aviators off his desk, flicked them open and fitted them over his eyes.

He stepped out onto the bridge, and saw Mac. He smiled, but the smile left when he saw the thing that was certainly not human. Just by looking at it he could tell that is was more machine than man, but not an android. He hadn't seen anything like this in several years, and even then he was running Black Ops, and what was known as a "Homo-Mechanicus", was in a purely combat role. Still, he had a bug working for him, so it was not the weirdest thing he had seen. He watched them shake hands, and decided to make his presence know. "Who's the FNG?(Fuckin' New Guy)" Ray said, not in a hostile or derogatory manner, but as a genuine question, as his swearing was not meant to be hurtful, or hateful.

 

[Nero_Cardia]

-Kepler is... Inhabited? What do you mean mostly...

Her question was interrupted by a loud voice, which boomed in her head as if two people held up loudspeakers a foot away from her ears and shouted. She placed her palms on her ears hoping to prevent a headache and possibly eardrum damage. She was hoping her ears were just a bit too sensitive, due to them not being used for a while. When she could no longer hear the booming voice, she let down her hands and heard what sounded like a doctor frantically talking about viruses and bacteria.

Seconds later, something clipped her finger and the new voice continued: “Weak pulse, lack of coordination, shivering, confusion, drowsiness, dehydration... Hypothermia.”

Tell me something I don't know...

Just as that thought crossed her mind, something pinched her, though she barely felt it. What were they doing?

“Perform an immunoassay, quickly now. Someone, bring blankets, lots of them, and warm water."

She was then lifted up and sat onto something... Soft?... Afterwhich she felt a warm embrace upon her entire body.

-Woah, woah, what...Are you... Doing...

The warmth she was receiving was comforting and instantly made her sleepy.

At least it's warm... Whatever this is...

-A few of us might look a bit weird, but we’re all here for you.

What was that supposed to mean?!

Wanted to open her eyes and try to see what was going on around her but she was still too weak. She was drifting off because of the warmth.

Some time passed before her eyes did actually open. She was greeted by the sight of... Feathers? It was as if a huge bird had embraced her with its wings.

What kind of nonsense is this?!

She pried herself out of whatever was holding her and took a few steps back. At first, she was happily surprised to learn that her strength was back, at least to some degree, but then her brain processed what her eye could finally see and her short-lived smile turned into an expression of confusion - an anthropomorphic bird-like creature and a... Minotaur?... Were standing in front of her. She'd ask who they were but she had a more fitting question on her mind.

-What the bloody Hell are you... And what have you done to the other colonists?!

Her prosthetic's fist was clenched. Perhaps she would've been even more intimidating if not for the fact that she was basically dressed in skin-tight boxers and t-shirt that barely kept her modesty protected, let alone anything else. She had not yet realized this, however, and was fuming.

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Sarah Mackenzie​

As expected, Alyx had mechanical elements present. Not that she has any problem with that. Simply letting go of their hand, her ears caught the sound of footsteps entering the bridge. As if right on cue, Ray entered just as Alyx mentioned him. He looked different than what she saw earlier today, now with bandaged arms and a face that looks like he just drank earlier. Nothing anything too new for the pilot herself. Her eyes became a little more lively upon the presence of her captain.

"Captain, this is Alyxandra Rousopoulos but please refer to her as Alyx. She's our new Co-pilot. A walk-in applicant, applying to fly with us on the ship. I've reviewed her records and if it does not lie, I think she is welcome to join us."

"Alyx, this is- _________"​

Letting Ray fill in the blanks to introduce himself as she points her hand towards him as a signal to finish her lines. She stood side by side with the new pilot, letting their appearances distinguish them from one another. Her thoughts returned back to the question of how is the rest of the crew. Remembering the pod on the Hangar bay, she has not receive an update from the site and grew a bit worried. After letting Ray speak she followed up the concern of the pod.

"I have not received an update regarding the Pod in the Hangar, shall I investigate or would you like to see it yourself?"​

Thinking that one of them will go, Sarah wanted to give the pilot a quick tour around the ship since there's now time on her hands unlike the other crew members where they have to leave for a mission quickly after hiring them, not even getting an orientation around. Besides, things like the Pod opening is something the Captain should know first hand.

SpazTheButcher Arai

 

[Verena]

Although the sudden rise of the woman startled Skrebi for a second, she let her push herself off and stand on her own two feet. The medic rose herself and was prepared to catch her again if she stumbled. Confusion was still written on her face and in her body movements, although Skrebi could see this was not caused by the hypothermia anymore. The Averi figured Karah might simply have never encountered many of the alien species present in the room at the moment. She imagined the colonists might have been mentally prepared for such an encounter. Experiencing it, however, was a whole lot different. Skrebi herself had read a lot about different nations, yet seeing them in person was always exciting.

Keiran entered the cargo hold with a thermos with warm water in hand, just in time to hear the human’s questions. “We ate them of course.”, he snickered without a single thought of the potential consequences. “Keiran, this is no time for jokes!”, Skrebi rebuked him, then quickly turned back to Karah. “Karah, sweetheart, please listen to me. My name is Skrebi, I’m a medic. This here is Brohdish, a scientist. The android behind you is Arisu and the gentleman beside her is Riezlav, both part of the security team. We’re not here to harm you.”, she explained calmly.

“Pff, don’t you think we would have done so already if we wanted to?”, Keiran handed the requested water to Skrebi, who took it but ignored his comment. “We don’t know what happened to the other colonists but I’m sure we can find them. Please, take a deep breath and try to calm down.”

Nero_Cardia

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray Person​

"Call me Mr Person." Ray said, parodying Moby Dick, but then realized that this Alyx might not be well versed in books dating back to the Nineteenth century. Nonetheless he turned to his First Mate, and upon mention of the pod, Ray spoke. "Let's move quickly. If it is taking them this long to crack open a can of Kool Aid*, then something must be a problem."
Ray pulled out his pistol and opened its cylinder. He spun the cylinder and with a flick of his wrist the cylinder returned into place. "Lets go Greenhorn, if they really did release an alien parasite then we may need all the help we can get. Sarah, grab my M41A. I would like to negotiate, but if shit hits the fan, you blow that fucker sky high." Ray began down the stairs towards the Cargo bay on the left side of the ship, which was dedicated to cargo, while the right side cargo bay was also meant to be a shuttle bay. He listened to the distinct sound of his steel toed cowboy boots echo off the ship's frame, and the airlock door slid open as he entered the Cargo bay. He approached the young women, maintaining his straight posture. He looked over at her, keeping a distance of 6 feet between her and himself, and let his right hand rise a bit, so if he needed to he could draw this kid down. "So, who the hell are you? Coming on my ship and making such a big goddamn fuss? And will you continue to cause problems for me and my crew, because right now way I see it is you got four options. A: You get the hell off my ship and go sue whomever the fuck put you in that pod. You can probably live comfortably afterwards, and live a long life. If you win. B: You do something with yourself, and get a job, and stop sulking about everyone you love being long dead and the planet you were sent to already colonized. C: You make a move and I shoot you. You wouldn't even have a second to react. I will splatter your brains on the floor, and our new friend Alyx will have to clean it up. D: You sit the fuck back down and let the doc take a look at you and take your meds like a good girl."

*(Marine slang for cryo pods, which were used by combat units in the late Twenty-second, and early twenty first century for transport aboard ships, as well as for medical reasons)