Futuristic [IC] Sail the Stars : Mission Log

[Arai]

Alyx watched as her new captain immediately began striding away from her towards the...cool aid? Judging from the jargon, he was certainly a military type, or at least formerly. The thought made her a little uneasy. Army folk tended to be a little more tense than Alyx's own attitude, which could lead to unfortunate head butting. He seemed pretty keen on Alyx getting involved. As he began to leave earshot, Alyx turned to Sarah as they made their way through bulkheads, corridors and doorways.

"Hell of a character," she said you to Sarah. "Is he usually so...brash?" she winced at the word. Bad idea to get off on a bad foot with people, but Sarah probably had more insight into the sergeant/colonel/lieutenant's personality.

 

[Clan Ize]

Arisu Ize
When Sara along with Alyx entered the ships premises Arisu immediately detected an unknown being near Sarah and pulled out her AK, running out of the cargo bay at full speed and busting into the captains office pointing the barrel at the woman who she had detected inside she ship with Sarah. She had never seen this woman before and despite the fact Sarah trusted her it was still good to make sure that she wasn’t a hostage. Upon a scan of her it appeared she was a cyborg and had far more machinery than Arisu had immediately suspected upon seeing her. Quickly analyzing and matching the scan to a pioneer frame she adjusted her gun to instead aim at where the units power source would be stored.

“UNKNOWN BEING, YOU HAVE 20 SECONDS TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR HAVE A CREW MEMBER CLEAR YOU BEFORE FURTHER ACTIONS ARE TAKEN. ANY MOVEMENT TO DRAW A WEAPON OR RETALIATE WILL RESULT WITH YOUR IMMEDIATE DEATH”

Her voice had gone back to being distorted as she trained her sights on the woman. Since Sarah was close she would have to make sure that if she only got one shot before this new woman attempted to hurt Sarah she would have to make it count.

​

Interactions: Arai Vagabond Spectre
Location: Cargo Hold

 

[Soviet Panda]

Connor strode to the ship he was apparently going to be serving on, Bub draped lazily across the massive shoulders of the Bastion Mk IV suit, but keenly observing his surroundings. Up until he had gotten planetside, he had been working on one of the multitude of tourist ships that plied the local solar system called the Victoria. It hadn't been a hard job, the hardest part was keeping hands who saw Bub as a harmless, if rather exotic, pet. It was because of that constant worrying about whether he could prevent someone from losing a hand or arm that caused him to not extend his contract. It was a lot easier to have everyone on board be professionals and know not to touch the trained killer space cat.

While the vessel was not as large as the colossal oxeyfreighters, or imposing as more combat oriented vessels, it certainly made for an impressive sight in the hanger area. But something seemed off. Oh, he knew what it was, there was nobody there to at least check in with to make sure they knew he was on board, and there didn't look to be a way to open the boarding ramp so he could at least knock.

"Bub, I think they might have forgotten about us." he said quietly, reaching up one hand to scratch behind one of the feline's large ears. "Well, not that I care to much, contract's been signed. I get paid whether I'm on board or not."

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Sarah Mackenzie​

Rather short introduction from him. The last time she checked, he is not shy or anything close. Nothing she can do about it. It’s now time to advance to the Hangar to check on the pod and he chose all of them to come at once. Before she could say any thing else, Ray quickly began to make his down Hangar the moment he checks for Ammo on his revolver. Instructed to carry his rifle for some reason, she had little to no hesitation receiving it. Just like that, she followed her captain along with the new gal on board. Both of them were able to catch up to the captain before slowing down to answer a question.

“No.”​

Looking back into Alyx’s face. Refusing no following explanation to the unsatisfying answer. Just a cold hard, no. Temporarily lost sight of Ray, she motioned Alyx to move on. Stopped by hearing another footsteps coming in fast. At the end of the other hall is the security bot Ray hired. It’s gun pointed directly at Alyx.

“Weapon down, current Tango is non-hostile, i’ll repeat non-hostile. She is Alyx, our new pilot. I hired her today, she’ll be working with us from now on. Her records have been updated on Inaros’s database. Return to Hangar, i know their presence may have come unexpected to you. Please return to your current position, we came here to see the cryopod.”​

Giving a small wave to the armed unit as if letting their sensors detect her presence more. She calmly introduced Alyx to them and went on to the site as their was no time to waste. Reaching the captain speaking to an awakened confused woman. Sarah raised an eyebrow with the tension in the air. Alot of the crew is present here just like before. Carrying Ray’s rifle like a suitcase instead of the usual rifle hold. She watch Ray basically raise his voice to show that he’s the real deal, she could almost tell him to chill out, deciding not to as she sees it as necessary.

SpazTheButcher Arai Clan Ize

 

[Arai]

"No" Sarah had replied. Hell's Maw, it was like trying to get blood from a stone. Still, maybe the woman just wasn't a conversationalist. Or maybe everyone on this ship was just a little tense. The reactions of "the pod" opening were incredibly concerned and ready for battle, so maybe this crew had seen more than their fair share of problems and danger. As for weaponry, Alyx was running a little light, having thought maybe bringing her gear to an interview would've sent the wrong message. Still, she could always just keep her shield up. The woman opened her mouth to ask Sarah another question before she was assaulted by a...robot woman.

The droid obviously knew a bit about the base Pioneer model, aiming for a spot just below her sternum. The shot wouldn't kill, but it would really suck to repair. What was it? Obviously not another mechanica, she was, ironically, too robotic. The threat seemed real, but the fact that A) she was welcomed onto the ship by the first mate and B) with the first mate right now gave her little reason for concern, a fact she was all to happy to share with the droid with a cheeky wink as they continued on their journey. "Thanks Miss Mackenzie, I prefer to keep my bits on the interior," she said with a smile as the duo approached the pod.

There seemed to be a whole bunch of folks around some human looking woman, including the Averi she'd seen earlier, as well as in town. The rest of the crew looked like a hodgepodge of various species, some she could identify, and some she had no idea. Best to keep mouth shut for now and see how this played out.

Interaction: Clan Ize Vagabond Spectre
Location: Cargo Hold

 

[Nero_Cardia]

After what Keiran and Skrebi said, Karah was not sure if that was supposed to be a joke or not. She decided that, in either case, there was nothing much she could do and took a look around her:

A bird-person.
A minotaur.
A lizardman.
A giant cockroach.
Аn android.
A human.

She paused to think - they were all speaking a common language. And she understood them all. The human did not look like a colonist but was a welcome sight. The government told her it was possible to meet alien species but nothing they did could prepare her for this.

Okay, Karah, this is your first contact with aliens, try to calm down, they appear intelligent, I'm sure they'll explain everyth...

Her thought process was interrupted by a monologue from the ship's captain, stating her options. A human, accompanied by another human. And a woman at that. She couldn't resist rolling her eyes and released a loud sigh. At least people haven't changed much - they're still arseholes. And she knew exactly how to deal with people. If he was these creatures' captain, they shouldn't harm her without his command. Hopefully.

She lifted her hands up to signal she was surrendering and lowered her head while slowly making her way back to Skrebi without saying a word. She was now able to see what she was wearing.

I'd rather not die in my underwear. Not in this underwear, at least.

She sat back down on the crate and slowly placed her hands beside her. No point in them being held up the whole time, since she already surrendered. She threw a quick glance at her pod. She hoped that the storage under it would still contain her knife and clothes at least. Maybe its voice lock was secure enough.

She allowed the medic to continue her work and tried to ignore the fact that she was being treated by an alien, while several other aliens were watching her for sudden movements. Focusing entirely on the captain, she tried to squeeze some more context out of her situation:

-Could you at least tell me what year it is? - she spoke as calmly as she could. - ... In Earth years, I suppose...

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray was known for having two modes. The first one was the only one the crew knew, a bad ass, calm, and slightly exaggerated Texan/Australian/Scottish Captain. The second one, is the young New Nebraskan marine, whose goofball attitude is renown for a genius level of exploits.

Ray didn't even look at her, he turned to Sarah instead. "This motherfucker. Earth this, earth that. Everything is in relation to Terra to these colonists craps. Always in years since Jesus was born. Nobody asks how many years it has been since we took off for space. Even after that ball of rock was turned to molten fucking slag, it all fucking revolves around Earth." Ray shook his head disgusted. Then Ray realized he might be a little bit of an asshole. Especially since this chick on just woke up from probably a thousand year nap. He took a deep breath, recollected himself, and let out a long sigh. He finally turned and faced her. "My apologies miss, the current year is 4030. Welcome to the future, where Big Business still runs the galaxy, and kids still line up to go fight in foreign wars."

 

[0stinato]

Being a Homo Taurus came with what other species might consider a major flaw. Rage. The Captain was beginning to piss Brohdish off. He’d given the order to have the pod unsealed, but was now acting like it shouldn’t have happened. He was close to snapping, his big hands becoming fists despite the delicate instrument of tech he was using. Eventually he couldn’t hold it in anymore, and frankly didn’t care what happened to him. He threw down his scanner and stood, shoulders rolling with the muscle beneath. It didn’t matter to him that Ray had calmed down a bit; he didn’t even notice.

“You’re way outta line, Cap’n, back off!” Brohdish was trying to supress the yell that was building up in his throat, not wanting to stress Karah out. But the result was still a growl, deep and fuelled with nothing but anger. “We were doin’ a damn good fuckin’ job before you came in here and you’ve set us way back now. Ye really think callin’ a disorientated, confused girl just come outta crysleep a motherfucker’s gonna help anything?! Not only that, just fuckin’ spouting off what happened to Earth like it’s nothing to you! Get outta here! Unless yer qualified in medicine or science, ye should be nowhere near her!”

Brohdish’s kinesphere was getting hotter by the moment as his anger seemed to be heating up the area, almost like steam rising like musk from his shoulders. His tusks were fully on display, his lips pulled apart. He wasn’t about to attack, but it was clear he was no stranger to it.

Watching on the cameras he’d pulled up on the terminal near the boarding door, Del realised his lips had gone dry from concern and fear. Had the ship not seen enough violence for one day? His state meant he jumped as soon as he saw movement on one of the outside cameras. He took a breath, and opened the other camera’s feed, though kept the cargo bay in frame too. He wasn’t about to lose track of what was going on in there. He thought he only had to worry about Arisu and Riezlav when it came to violence but Brohdish’s behaviour was quickly overtaking Riezlav in his mind; Riezlav was disciplined at least.

Del unsealed the boarding door and slid it open. He peeked out, one part relieved to see the person beyond being so sensitive and caring to a domestic animal but, mostly because of the ruckus in the cargo hold, was still intimidated by Connor. The man was bigger than him (which he really thought he should be used to by now) but not that much older than him judging by his looks.

“Hello. Um. You mentioned a contract so I assume you’re working aboard the Essex?” he said, forcing a clearly wobbly smile. “I’m Moscur Del, Head Engineer. Can I enquire your… ah, I suppose your name and position, and such?”

As he finished speaking he glanced over his shoulder at the terminal again. It looked like Brohdish had calmed down a bit: his posture wasn’t nearly as up as it was before.

---
Interactions: SpazTheButcher Soviet Panda
Mentions: ChasmOfOrganicMatter Clan Ize Nero_Cardia
Location: Boarding door - Del | Cargo Bay - Brohdish

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

"My talents are not needed here. I shall be handing in the bodies... and collecting our reward." Riezlav nodded to the others, his head almost bobbing in an exaggerated, mechanistic manner. It was not a motion he was unfamiliar to but not one that was used in his culture. The closest analogue to it was a form of signalling; the sort used for hunting.

Of course, they didn't need to know that and their recently awakened guest didn't need to know what he was doing next.

Exiting the little commotion, he made his way back to the cold storage. A few minutes later, he was exiting with something like a dolly trailer, hovering above the ground on underslung anti-grave projectors with a bunch of black crinkling bags and the stiff bodies frozen solid within them. He was punching something in on one of the com devices; the relevant authorities would be visiting their cargo bay entrance soon, looking for the sight of an enormous creature with its grotesque bounty in hand. No weapons needed; the mere sight of him alone made it clear they meant business and weren't here to be trifled with.

He wondered how much such minor jobs usually ran for.

 

[RandomBlobMan]

Spoiler: OFFICER MULLIGAN

...
The Marshal was out dealing with more... interesting matters. Meaning the local criminals were at the mercy of a U-Gov Law Enforcement officer that just so happened to be there. From the looks of it, he wasn't the most humane person the government had available. While the local force walked back and forth minding their own business, the man in a suit of armor sat on a visitor's chair staring onto the screen of a wide screen tablet on his hand. The dome visor was coated so that whoever inside could see the outside crystal clear, in contrast to the outside viewer having zero vision through the sky blue coating of the visor. No sound escaped the helmet.

A red dot appeared on the corner of his tablet's screen. A message from a civilian crew, notifying the delivery of wanted criminals. A finger tapped on the screen a few times, popping up two windows. One had a collection of photographs of the wanted pirates. Spotted on Kepler-62f scarcely, they were petty thieves too quick for the ground police force to quickly arrest and too much of a waste for a law enforcement spacecraft to start moving. The planet's Lo-Gov was quite annoyed by the situation, which ended up with them putting these pirates on a bounty. He remembered a call with the planet's marshal. He was to deal with them personally if nobody was to take on the bounty. Luckily, someone was kind enough to do the deeds.

The man pulled himself off the seat. The tablet's screen turned off as he tucked it underneath his arm. Metallic footsteps made its way among the countless sneakers and boots to the table of the deputy's table.
"A gang of criminals wanted by the Local Government of Kepler-62f has been apprehended by civilians. They are requesting the payment of the bounty. Please contact the Law Enforcement of Kepler-62f, start working on the paperwork. I will be checking on the status of the said criminals."
The deputy adjusted her glasses after giving him a nod.
"Alone, officer? Have some of our men accompany you."
"It's a simple test, no caution required. Unless you are concerned of the liability of this civilian crew."

---

The Essex came to sight as officer Mulligan made his way to the docks. An ex-military spacecraft armed with only the basic armaments of what it had. Beside the man were two local officers, with a vehicle capable of holding five criminals in place parked close. The men maintained complete, awkward silence next to the fully armored officer. Mulligan compared the ship's location to the one sent on the message one last time. This was the ship.
"Essex, this is officer Mulligan of the United Government of Humanity Law Enforcement. I am here to inspect the apprehended criminals on behalf of the Local Government's Marshal, who is occupied with another case at the moment."
The message was delivered to the crew's open comm device, specifically the one Riezlav used to contact the authorities.


ChasmOfOrganicMatter

 

[Nero_Cardia]

Karah's eyes widened as her jaw dropped slightly.

-The Earth turned into what? - she barely whispered, mostly to herself.

Then the captain suddenly apologized for being so rude and told her what year it was.

4030...

She rested her head on the palm of her hand. According to these people, she had been in cryosleep for about 1100 years. Were the pods even designed to last this long? And what of Earth? Was it really gone?

Karah had stopped listening when the Taurus jumped in to berrate the captain. She didn't even pay mind to what the large insectoid said about dealing with bodies. She needed to be alone.

-I... Need to be alone right now. - she uttered with difficulty. - Can I please retrieve my clothes from the pod's storage? Then lock me up if you have to, I just... Need some time to think.

Her stomach produced a noticable growl but she did not feel hunger. She just felt empty and her blank expression could not hide it.

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray sat there silently, and stared forward as Snout walked away. Have I really become an asshat?, Ray thought to himself. After hearing the lass talk, he spoke "Well shit. I fucked that one up." He shook his head and went after Brohdish. He pulled Brohdish out of earshot into the hall in front of the reactor. The two spoke to each other, and Ray returned to the situation at hand. "Skreb, Snout here is boss man until I get back. Get her some clothes and give her a bed in the medbay. Also, remember, you are not a prisoner here. Feel free to leave when you want." Ray said to the 1100 year old ice pop. "Mac, let's roll. I gotta get drunk before the day gets worse." He made a "rally up" hand motion(one finger pointing up and moving in a clockwise direction twice.)
Interactions: Vagabond Spectre Nero_Cardia Verena 0stinato

 

[Verena]

Skrebi held a hand to her mouth, shocked by the sudden outburst of rudeness from Ray. She had only seen the kind side of the captain and was unpleasantly surprised by his change of character. At the same time, she was glad that she wasn’t the only one unhappy with his behaviour. Brohdish stepped in and her attention switched again to Karah. She didn’t pay attention to Riezlav carrying the bodies out. In fact, she barely noticed him. Her main concern was the woman’s health and the stress the scene might have caused her.

“No one is going to lock you up, Karah.”, Skrebi repeated the captain’s less rude words to her in a kind, calming voice. “Please, take what you need and come with me.”

Contrary to Skrebi’s shock, Keiran remained unimpressed. He never expected kindness from humans and was proven time and time again of their coldheartedness. The gunner thought of going with Riezlav to retrieve the bodies, then remembered the alien’s strength. His help would not be needed. Besides, Keiran didn’t want to show his face to the local authorities that were going to collect them. Even though he hadn’t been responsible for any mischief on New Finland, news had a bad tendency to spread quickly across the galaxies. This tourist trap wasn’t particularly far away from Kepler either, a place he visited from time to time to carry out deeds that for some reason agreed with human rights but didn’t agree with human laws.

One of his elongated ears twitched as the sound of the opening of one of the boarding doors reached it. Weren’t they supposed to be sealed? Keiran glanced in the direction of the sound and caught sight of Connor and Bub. Looking past the curious duo, however, the Gehennian could also spot the three officers approaching the Essex. He didn’t want to be anywhere near them but exiting the ship unnoticed at this point was impossible too. Instead, Keiran headed for the medical bay at a brisk pace. “I’ll go tidy up the medbay.”, he told Skrebi and whoever cared to listen. He could only hope them officers wouldn’t go searching the ship.

SpazTheButcher Nero_Cardia Soviet Panda and others

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Sarah Mackenzie​

Sarah can totally read the air that she is currently under. It's only a matter of time before steam is blown out of the crew's heads. The Captain's temper was nothing new to the pilot, but when the Taurus decided to raise his voice against him. What they said really puts the captain to silence. The thawed out woman is someone she could not identify, she is rather confused at to where she is. Hopefully, the rest of the crew will fill in the blanks for her. The captain walked out to speak to the crew member but she did not follow him.

"Apologies, that you have to see the crew like this. I do not know what has happened to the Captain. I'm going to have to speak to him. As he suggested they are in charge for now. If you have any questions you can ask them. I believe you know how the ship's control works already but if you have any questions, Inaros, the ship's built-in AI would guide you. Your quarters is over here. (Just say that she gave away the location) Again, I'm sorry if this isn't the best time."​

While the blonde's message was directed to Alyx herself, she can still be heard by the others. Her tone sounds very meek. She looked at the new pilot again with her ever stoic face. Giving the hangar a bit of silence before leaving the scene.

No time wasted when Sarah followed her Captain on his way out. It seems that he is trying to leave the ship. Before he could attempt to leave, a hand lays itself onto his shoulder. It was Sarah’s left freehand, simply relaxed to his shoulder. A more assertive approach to those who knew her very well.

“May I speak to you in private? Follow me to your office.” ​

Her hand slid from the shoulder down to his bicep. Grabbing him gently, noticing the injury on his bandaged arms. Holding and guiding him to his office.

Only releasing him upon entry on the bridge. She awaits next to the door of his office, her free hand resting on her hip and his rifle being lugged around like a travel bag. Whether or not there is still something to drink or not for him is something she will not bother to think about.

Arai
SpazTheButcher

 

[Arai]

The hierarchy of this ship seemed a little all over the place Alyx noted. While the captain was in charge, he didn't seem to demand unyielding respect from his officers, and Sarah seemed...upset at the whole exchange? Still, the best thing the remaining crew needed now was a new task. She turned to Brohdish.

"Ahem, Sarah mentioned you guys might be able to help clear the hanger with me? I got a shuttle in town that should fit in here but I'd need some stuff moved," She said to the larger creature. Granted, Sarah hadn't said anything of the sort, but these guys needed to blow some steam off, the cargo hold needed to be cleared and she needed to get Bishop on board before the Essex left for Maw knew where.

0stinato and anyone else left in the cargo hold

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

"Hope you don't mind the smell. Just took them out of cold storage." Replied a buzzing, grating voice over the coms. With his gravitational trolley, he made his way to the loading bay, ignoring any looks he'd get from the fact he was transporting a pile of human-sized garbage bags. A grotesque task but also their payday.

A short minute later and the loading ramp lowered, revealing the ominous shape of the enormous arthropod and by his side, the comparatively small dolly trailer, sagging slightly with its miniature anti-grav thrusters truggling with the weight.

"Here are your criminals in question. I would have preferred them alive but you know how these things go." He walked down the ramp, the grim stack of deceased cargo tailing behind him. "I'll slide it over if you want to inspect."

He crouched to press his hand against the side of the trailer, pushing it over to the lawmen.

Interactions: RandomBlobMan

 

[RandomBlobMan]

The local officers almost wet their pants at the sight of the towering armored shrimp. Hardly was his kind seen around these lands. They slowly backed up behind Mulligan even further, visibly relieved that they didn't run into the being in a combat situation. Mulligan, on the other hand, approached further to inspect the bodies the crew has gathered.
"Inspection is a mandatory step in cases that allow the use of deadly force."
The officer's voice rang from the speakers of his helmet. His hands, covered in dark grey carbon hybrid armor, reached over and placed the tablet on the corner of the trailer. The mugshots of five wanted criminals were on display. Then from the hip pouch came a pair of latex gloves. The appliance of ivory latex gloves over the armored hands seemed rather comical in fashion, though the man proceeded without a word. Bags were opened, and the man took quick looks around each and every one of the corpses. After a minute or so of staring into the dead, Mulligan turned to the local officers.
The two yelped and carefully approached the trailer. As the armored officer made way, they inspected the bodies themselves(with gloves borrowed from the man) for another minute or two until they gave a nod. Mulligan reached for the tablet once he made it clear that they all agreed on these five being the wanted criminals. The bags were zipped up again. While his hands started working on the tablet's screen, the U-Gov officer started talking again.
"It appears that the bodies are of the wanted criminals upon quick inspection. While your bounty reward will be received now, the bodies will be taken to the local law enforcement for further inspection. Should we have any questions for you regarding the identities of these bodies, or in other words, believe that you may have used other bodies to pass as the criminals, you will be contacted by a United Government of Humanity officer. Otherwise, there will be no further contacts. Do you mind if we use this trailer to deliver the bodies to our vehicle? It will be returned immediately."
1000 credit was transferred into Ray Person's account as Mulligan spoke.

ChasmOfOrganicMatter
SpazTheButcher

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray was pushed up the stairs and onto the bridge. He was slightly disappointed that he could not drink the day away, but he knew that crime came with punishment, and this was one of those.

Ray enters his office and sits down into his chair. He avoids her eye contact, already guessing why she brought him up here. "Go ahead, spit it out. Tell me I have been fucked up. Tell me this crew deserves a better captain." He says, finally looking her in the eye. "Tell me that I should step down. Tell me to take the stress off my shoulders." He says, trying to scan her emotionless face.

Entering the room right after him, watching him sit down defeated and tired. The sound of frustration in his voice is what she kept note of. He wouldn't even look at her into her eyes, she could only watch them telling her to berate him and his position as a Captain. Looking down down to him as he looks back into her soul's window.

"No."

A cold reply... The silence in the room is as blank as the pilot herself.

"I do not see it that way. I've had my observations on you."

Her stiff posture softened as she begins to walk around the room. Her eyes laying on displayed items that hold some personal worth to him. Completely disobeying the request of throwing sharp words against her captain.

"It's obvious. And I want to know why."

"I know it's not easy, but you can't hide it forever. Ease down, just at this moment."

Circling around Ray's desk to go around on his back. Giving him a few gentle hand strokes on the back before returning to the front. Sarah looked back to him with a small hint of mercy in her eyes.

"Tell me, what can I help you with?"

"Not a damn thing." He said her. "I just don't know what to do with myself anymore. I have lived a fucked up life. You know that right?" he said, glancing up at the lass as she patted his back. "I used to wake up every morning, hoping to kill someone. It took me 8 years. Eight fucking years, to realize that mindset was bad. So I try to be peaceful, only to sent into a black ops group darker than the blackest part of the galaxy. After that, I swore, I would never kill again. So I tried to capture some pirates. Y'know what they do? They fucking shoot at us, and call me an Army man."

He was venting, trying to be calm, but obviously on the verge of the edge. "Y'know why I chose this planet? My sister was here." Ray opened up his locked drawer on his desk. In it was a Frag grenade, various files, and a photo gragh. He pulled it out and showed it to Sarah. The people in it were two older people, a woman and a man, a boy who was no older than 15, a young girl who was probobally older than the boy, and what looked to be a younger Ray, dressed in un-decorated(not a lot of medals or pins) Marine blues, with a white peak hat sitting firmly on his head. He looked younger, and everyone in the photo was smiling. "That there is Mom, Dad, Danny, and Alexis. Alexis and Danny both signed up after me. Alexis went Mobile Infantry, Danny went into the Navy, as a corpsmen." He said, reminiscing. "Mom and Dad died in a home invasion during my 6th deployment. Danny died in a bombing. He was trying to pull injured marines out of an MRAP from an initial IED, when a secondary explosion killed him. Alexis is all I have left. But even she can see who I have become." Ray looked down now, his eyes closed and his head bowed. If he wasn't so broken, he might've cried.

An immediate feeling of shutdown smacked Sarah in the face, there was nothing she can do as he claims. Looking onto the cold steel flooring, he went on. Expressing and releasing what he is currently bottling up for a while or so long even. This filled Sarah’s observation with more clarity on a trip on the planet side. It must have something the pirates have said to snap him. The captain gets angry but almost never this much. The unlucky good-for-nothing scallywags struck the wrong nerve.

She could only look down on them perspectively. This gave her thought earlier to where he was going. Assuming that they came here for his sister.

“Your sister? Did you meet her?”

Her tone that of a concerned woman, it is subtle. The sound of rummaging objects was heard, she began to be curious on what he wanted to show. Of all things. A family photograph. The woman froze in place as if time itself stopped. Becoming more noticeable if Ray decides to answer her question. Returning back to reality for almost a minute. She was displayed a man, a man whom she calls her captain.

Placing the photo back on the table. Her stare never left him, placing Ray’s rifle into the magnet mount wall to display. There was no point on carrying it around in the first place. A sound a chair being dragged was heard and her voice clear enough to understand.

“Look at me, look at me.”

“Captain.”

Calling him.

“I am deeply sorry for your family, I have nothing but respect for them. Now look at me... Right now, you can only go forward. I know you are tired, Captain. I suggest you rest for a while if you are. I’ll stay on duty to see what’s the status of the ship.”

Sarah sits on a chair parallel to Ray’s. She seems to start to become more quiet than before.

Ray looked up at her. "I have no choice but to carry on. But I need some help. I haven't had anyone in my corner for years. Right now, I need you in my corner. I need you as my friend." He said, putting the photo away.

He opened another drawer, and in it pulled out a patch. It was a well worn patch, which had the bars of first mate. It wasn't special, or military. In fact it was a civilian patch, one that was used on ice haulers. But he nonetheless took it out, and placed it on the desk. "Everyone on this crew was temporary. Your seat included. I was scared that I couldn't connect to y'all. That I would lose more people..." Ray looked out, and quieted, his thought changing, but he soon returned, "But this crew is becoming my family. Even you, quiet, kick ass, piloting lass, mean more to me than I can ever say. And as such, I have gotten defensive, but I was afraid. I was afraid of telling them how I feel. I don't think I will ever tell them how I feel. But I need someone at my side. And I choose you. That patch there solidifies your position on this ship, should you choose to wear it. If not, it will self destruct in 30 seconds." He said, trying to put a funny spin on an otherwise heartfelt and emotional moment. But Ray never did "emotions" that well, and that is probably why he was such a good marine. But he knew that lacking emotions took away his humanity, something he know wants to fight for.

Predicting that Sarah’s attempt to leave him, her hands were on the table ready to elevate her up. Only to be stopped to listen closely to him again, it’s rude to walk out now. The woman’s undivided attention was locked on to what he is doing. Presenting some sort of patch of unknown ranking. She looked a bit curious. Is she getting promoted? Trying to figure what this all about.

She couldn’t say anything. It was obvious that she was listening in every word he said. She appeared as if she’s lost in her own thoughts. Snapping back to a mention of a 30 second self destruction commenced. Deceived by the captain’s humor as she exhaled by her nose enough to be heard. The first thing that moved was her thumb, searching for atleast a chip or component on the patch, only to find nothing.

Relieved and slightly annoyed of the out of the blue surprise. Sitting in silence, she stayed within the office’s walls. It was only minutes but one may feel like it’s been hours. It was only a matter of time before she went up to take her leave on the door. Before leaving the captain be, she leaned closer to him, telling him to sit still while adjusting his hat a bit upwards to shine a bit more light to his eyes and dusting off his shoulders with her hand.

“Be presentable, Captain.”

She sternly said. Turning towards the door.

“Apologies, I cannot prolong to stay here any further. There is still things left to do around the ship. Page me if you need assistance with anything. Thank you.”

The opening of the door fades the woman away from his view, holding onto the patch he gave her on the right hand.

The door remained open and Ray leaned back on his chair, his face pointed to the ceiling. He thought about their conversation, only to be alerted by a chime on his datapad. He looked at it, he just got paid. He opened up a drawer and pulled out a pair of accounting glasses*, several pieces of paper, and a lovely pen with a wooden body. He immediately began breaking up and calculating the payments to each crew member, as well as flight costs.

He took off the glasses and looked at the final total for those who hauled with them during their last flight: a measly 142 credits, for himself, Sarah, The Head Engi, Snout, Kei, The stowaway, and the Ize Corporation. He realized that the Corp would be pissed if he payed them that little, especially after they invested in his ship with and android, so he took his own cut and 216 credits from his personal account to pay them off. He also had to pay for ship fuel, which would be 500 credits. he was now 716 credits in the hole for 5 dead bodies. He swore to himself and made the necessary transactions, attaching a letter to the crew with reviews. All of them applauded them for their excellent work. Except for Arisu. Instead he wrote a letter to the Ize Corporation talking about the android's combat efficiency.

*=These are glasses that scan what ever equation is in front of them and calculates it.

 

[Verena]

Joined post with Nero:

Karah nodded her head silently. She then approached her pod and knelt down to find the storage, just below the sleeping chamber. It was still locked tight, as she expected. Either no one ever found it, or they weren't able to open it. There was no sign of an attempt to break it open, so she assumed the former was true.

My things should still be here, at least.

She did remember the password, however, the words struggled to leave her mouth. Trying to stay calm in these circumstances was difficult for her. She took a deep breath to steady herself and spoke as she breathed out:

-Voiceprint ID, 0173.

She heard a clicking sound as soon as she spoke the last number of her password. The small door of the locker opened slightly, just enough for one to slide their finger in and open it. Once she did open it, she felt a cold breeze from within. Apparently, the pod had been designed to cool the footlocker as well, probably to better preserve the items inside. She found a small rucksack inside that contained her clothes, weapons, and some standard-issue survival items, like a breath mask, UV goggles, and a utility belt with some basic tools. She would've probably never needed the tools but the belt could be useful. She took the bag with her left hand and decided to open it later.

As she stood up, she saw the blankets near the Averi and took one to cover herself so she would feel like less of a science project exhibit.

-Okay, doctor, um.... Skrebi? - she tried to sound polite. - I'm ready.

Skrebi stood next to her medical cart and watched from the side as Karah retrieved her things from the pod. Once her young patient confirmed that she was finished, the medic gave her a nod and pushed her cart towards the medical bay. "You remembered my name? Good, your mind is recovering. Alright, follow me." She had taken out her datapad and was currently looking at the digital layout of the Essex Ray had sent her earlier. Else, she would have been utterly lost in the maze-like corridors of the spacecraft that by her standards was truly a giant.

When the two finally arrived at the medbay, Keiran was already finishing up with the cleanup. He had mopped the floor from some loose blood drops and had aired the cooler. The Gehennian had also removed his hooded long coat, scarf, as well as all his weapons, which were now nowhere to be seen. "Thank you, Keiran. This place is looking quite nice." Skrebi pushed her cart inside and looked around. The medbay itself was relatively small but still a lot bigger than Skrebi had worked with up until now. There were lots of cabinets and shelves for all her medications, a small station for tool disinfection, an automatic chemistry analyzer, a vital sign monitor, a collapsable operating table and a pair of med beds in the separate holding cell. Now, she could comfortably perform surgeries if needed. Skrebi hoped it would never come to that but it was good to be prepared for the worst.

"Cole." "What?" "Call me Cole, for the time being. I'm your assistant or nurse or whatever. There are officers at the entrance, who might want to search the ship. Can you manage it, doc?" Keiran returned the cleaning utensils to their designated cabinet. "Uhm, well, I don't know. I think so. I'll try." There was confusion and worry written on Skrebi's face. She didn't understand why she had to play pretend but she'd try and do her best. Maybe later, she'd speak with him in private to find out the reason behind this strange act.

As they arrived in the medbay, Karah witnessed the exchange between the Averi and the Gehennian and was momentarily distracted from her confused thoughts. Was that... Cloak and Dagger? Maybe these aliens aren't so alien after all. She decided it was best to not think about what the captain said earlier for the time being and try to gain these creature's trust. Or their respect, at the least.

She put on her best formal smile and extended her hand toward the Gehennian:

-Hello, Cole, nice to meet you.

Only after she said that did she realize the creature in front of her might not be accustomed to this greeting. Unfortunately, it was too late to back out.

Keiran, currently known as Cole, stared down at the extended hand for a solid few seconds, then burst out laughing, covering his mouth with a hand as to hide the sharp teeth inside. "More than a thousand years and you softskins haven't changed a bit.", he sputtered but soon collected himself. "Sure, nice to meet you too, even though we've already met and all. Anyway, you don't want to touch any part of me."

While the two were talking, Skrebi was preparing the vaccine she was supposed to give Karah. "Unfortunately, he's right. Gehennians, as their race is called, are covered in the sharp scales you see that can cut through skin like a hot knife through butter." The medic walked over to the girl, holding a filled syringe in hand. "These are nothing but vaccines and few immunostimulants. They will protect you from most common diseases of the current century.", she explained as she cleaned a spot on Karah's arm and injected the contents.

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray had remained in his office, and was scrolling through misc ads on his datapad. He was also watching the local pd at the entrance with a screen on his desk, until he saw it. It was outdated, yes, and the armor plating wouldn't stop an IED or RPG for shit. But it was beautiful. He hadn't seen one since his second tour, back when they were being phased out, but just the image got him excited in ways the average human couldn't fathom. Before he could even think, he bought it. The old truck would need some work, but it was going to be awesome.

Ray stared and scrolled through images of the Humvee. Maybe he could mail order a turret for it next, and fix Mack's M249 to it. But he would need to wait for it to arrive first, but he didn't care about that. He already remembered his first Humvee, back when he invaded Chendayuki-46/a, he and his buddy had to jurry rig their own armor plating, and his squad leader had bribed the engineers for some metal plates, which they had welded as a mine protector.

 

[Verena]

The Sun was slowly setting over the snowy hills and plains of New Finland, painting the sky shades of dark purples, blues, reds and yellows. Lampposts lit up. Temperatures were quickly dropping. Kids playing in the streets and the small stream were disappearing into their homes, ushered in by their parents. Men were heading for the local bar, dressed in warm clothes and big, fluffy scarves. Merchants were gathering their wares and closing up their stores. It was a quiet daily routine all the people of Pioneer Station were used to.

However, this peaceful practice was interrupted abruptly by the rumbling of the ground, followed quickly by a blinding flash of light and the deafening sound of an explosion. The sound of a large structure crumbling together. The shattering of glass windows. It was a distant blast but a powerful one. A moment of silence. Then, the wailing of sirens filled the air.

“The factory! The factory!”, people cried out in a panic, some quickly taking shelter inside their homes, others running towards the pillar of hot smoke rising from what one could assume was the factory. The wind carried a complex cocktail of smells, a mixture of caramel and gunpowder. The business unit that went by the cute and easy-to-remember name Shuggrie, was one of the biggest and favourite confectionary producers on New Finland, a huge exporter to Kepler-62f and other nearby planets too. Despite the number of competitors being close to the number of fans of Shuggrie delights, few truly believed someone would attempt to crush it in such a heinous way.

SpazTheButcher Vagabond Spectre Arai 0stinato Soviet Panda Clan Ize ChasmOfOrganicMatter Nero_Cardia

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray felt the ground and the ship shake, and then he heard the crumbling of a building and the shock wave of a blast. His head spun to the north, and his head raced into emergency mode, explosion, possible cause: artillery(shell size: 240mm Howitzer), orbital bombardment, or an IED. One click away, north by northwest. Ray sat up and made sure his revolver was still in its holster. Still in his blue button up, he grabbed a wool jacket off the coat hanger as he raced through the door and onto the bridge. He ran down the stairs like a marine runs for boarding duty, and skipped the last two steps, his boots hitting the floor of the ship with a thud. He held his hat onto his head as he ran to the cargo bay. He didn't even speak to his crew as he ran past them, opting to exit via the starboard airlock. He sprinted through the port, which was in a commotion as people ran in all directions. Ray found himself as the only person in the crowd running towards the explosion, eventually clearing the horde of people and noticing other people running to it.

 

[RandomBlobMan]

---
"Running diagnostics. Shield systems functional. Fusion reactor stable. Hyper Velocity Drive active and ready for Faster Than Light Travel. Life support online. Momentum calibration active. All systems nominal. Ready for jump, captain."
Inaros announced through the intercoms as the humming of the engine rang throughout the interior of the Essex. The ship's destination was Stein-2, a habitable planet close to New Finland. Its moon, Stein-24, was another one of their destination- the crew had accepted the jobs that required their presence.

SpazTheButcher Vagabond Spectre Arai 0stinato Soviet Panda Clan Ize ChasmOfOrganicMatter Nero_Cardia

 

[SpazTheButcher]

"Send it." Ray said casually. He knew most of the crew was pissed at him, so he was happy that it was just him, Sarah, and the new chick on the bridge. What was her name? Arun? Ali? Aimee? He couldn't remember, but all that mattered now was getting more money. Ray needed to buy a dropship next, and preferably one that could be armed. After all, you never know when CAS could be useful. He began humming, and a tune came to mind, so he started singing. "I had a good friend in the Navy, He never called me by my name, just "Hillbilly". My grandpa taught me how to live off the land and his taught him to be a businessman. He used to send me pictures of the Milky Way nights and I'd send him some homemade wine. But he was killed by a man with a pulse rifle for our freedom, my friend lost his life. I'd love to spit some Beech-Nut in that dude's eyes and shoot him with my old .45. 'Cause a country boy can survive, Country folks can survive." His voice raised for, " 'Cause you can't starve us out and you can't make us run, 'Cause we're them old boys raised on shotguns, We say grace, and we say ma'am, If you ain't into that, we don't give a damn." Ray quieted, done singing.

 

[Verena]

Both Keiran and Skrebi heard Inaros’ announcement and felt the Essex prepare for liftoff. “Guess all that was for nothing.”, he muttered loud enough for the other two present in the medbay to hear, then proceeded to retrieve and reequip his coat and weapons from one of the many cabinets in the room. "Good thing too.", Skrebi let out a sigh of relief and began unpacking and sorting her cart.

The gunner turned to leave and let Karah have the peace and quiet she requested earlier, not before tossing one of his pulse pistols to her though. With the new rifle Ray had given him, this weapon would only be excessive weight. “Don’t stay here sulking too long. There’s always work to be done around the Essex.”

Keiran headed for his berth but stopped in his tracks upon the captain’s singing reaching his sound-sensitive ears. “Hmm, are we out of music already?” It wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t really to his taste either. This reminded him, however, that he had spotted a new pair of crew members before heading for the medbay. The gunner quickly changed direction and walked towards where he had seen the curious pair last – the cargo bay.

Nero_Cardia Soviet Panda