Futuristic Into the Dark

[iTrinity]

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This bring us to our ship. It wasn’t anything special, nor was it something to be laughed at. It was named “Last Dawn”, able to hold around ten, maybe more if you start sending people to sleep in the smaller cargo hold. Its twin Solitaire Engines, though not top of their class, were able to propel her crew away from the many threats that the new frontier hold. She had a very miniscule defense system. A hardened, Nano-carbon exterior, a small shield generator, and four very outdated turrets. Most were in less than stellar condition and commonly malfunctioned. It has a very small surgery room, clearly not intended for intensive use. It also has a rather extensive food supply that Sebastian had gathered before they left on The Last Day.

Sebastian had found this ship at the bottom of The Pacific Crater. Its owners had been killed by disease and starvation, leaving the ship open for the taking. This is when Sebastian took it and soared off toward his home town of Traverese Baye. That's where he picked up the lot of you.

Every other crew that escaped Earth had fallen off the radar of The Last Dawn long ago. Now it was up to her crew to survive, no matter what the cost. Both from the threat of pirating humans, and the never ending darkness that lies in the deepest reaches of space.

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[iTrinity]

9:00 AM. February 2nd, 2910. On board of The New Dawn.


Sebastian's all too familiar voice crackles into existence over the intercom that broadcasts to the ship. "Good morning Survivors of Earth. MRE's will be served in the Cargo-hold once again today. A small note, we will be eating in smaller portions. We're simply.." He sighs over the intercom, "Running a bit low on.. Everything. Have a good morning, Sebastian, signing off,". The young man then steps out of the control room, stopping in the windowed hallway that connects the cockpit to the rest of the ship. It was beautiful. The stars glimmered around them, thousands zipping away in the distance as The New Dawn raced through space. He sighed. Deep down, he knew how low rations were. The MRE's he had packed were simply not enough for the amount of people he allowed on board. He only intended four, maybe five, but the generous part of him got the better of him.


The doors to the Cargo-hold slide open with a slight hiss. Sebastian and his tall, 6'3 self wanders inside, nodding to a few of the survivors who had arrived early. He was ashamed to even look at them. The people he desperately wanted to save, but simply couldn't. He walks over to a pot that bubbles with the contents of an MRE. It was Spaghetti again. Spaghetti for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He takes a single scoop of the rather delicious looking meal, making sure not to take more than his share. With this he carries his tray to the corner of the room, watching those who enter it solemnly.





@Alite @Gaia112233 @Mine
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[Maki]

Caitlyn sat back in her chair as she listened to Sebastian announce that their food was ready, but running low. She always always left to eat 10 minutes after his announcement to let the others get their food first, but it seemed that so on she wouldn't be going to eat at all. "Hmm. I don't think we will make it that much longer." She said quietly to herself, speaking her mind, doing her habit again. Luckily this habit of hers hasn't caused any troubles in the New Dawn, but who knew how long that would last?


After what seemed like 10 minutes, Caitlyn finally decided to get her food. She made her way down to the Cargo-hold, and got the smell of the same ol' spaghetti. "Yippe, my favorite!" She said jokingly, and stood at the back of the line.

 

[Lenchan]

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The familiar white noise of the intercom crackled sharply through the silence of the small nook she’d made her quarters, signaling the official start of the day. Islia remained perfectly still; her hands held a pair of tweezers carefully balancing a gear atop another, but her eyes darted over to the clock: nine am. Her gaze returned to the task before her, securing the gear in place before tossing the tweezers aside on the desk and leaning back. She sighed heavily and took a fistful of hair into her hand, listening intently to the daily announcement. The gracious commander of their sad vessel sounded more somber than ever. Appropriately so, considering the message he had to deliver. Islia let her head fall to the side and her eyes gazed out at the void peering in through her tiny port window, waiting patiently to consume them all. Something smelled foul and she suspected it was her body. By the sound of things, she’d be going a while longer without the luxury of hygiene. How long had she been working this time? It seemed like hours, days, and minutes all at once, and still she didn't feel any closer to success. Desperation was enveloping her resolve in a dark blanket of weakness, but she couldn’t let the ebb steal away her determination. She would figure out a way to help save this ship, and she was sure this irrigator would, at the very least, rekindle hope. Of course, this was all contingent on her getting the damn thing to work. Her chest rose and fell sharply in a huff and she shoved herself away from the desk, standing and grabbing a few things from her makeshift closet before heading out into hull of the ship.

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The hall was empty of anything else capable of feeling emotion, yet it somehow communicated the deep feelings of despair floating around the ship. Perhaps it was just her own mood rubbing off on the old beast. She patted the metal hull affectionately before continuing to the cargo-hold where she expected most of the others to be. All the churning away of her brain had driven her hunger to the point of starvation, so it was out of necessity rather than desire that she joined their ranks. She laughed pathetically at her own dark thoughts, “It’s no wonder everyone here calls you Ice…”
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She trailed off as she approached the hold, just in time to see the gloomy commander nodding and dodging away from other survivors. It’s not that I don’t want to interact with these people, but… She expelled the air in her lungs in a puff of her cheeks, shaking away the thought, before rustling the short mess of sandy bangs she’d butchered into existence weeks before. They were finally gaining some length but were still too short to be tamed back into the despondent ponytail struggling to contain her matted strands. Quietly, she slipped in line behind Caitlyn, a fellow crew member whose sparky attitude Islia didn’t mind at all. She seemed the type to breathe life back into this rotting shell… eventually.
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[Vii]

Her eyes opened violently, a muffled gasp escaping her throat. It took her a few seconds to grow used to being awakened for once, while few beads of sweat dripping down her skin, drawing her breath in quick intervals as Sebastian's voice on the intercom grew clearer. Had she really fallen asleep overher desk again? Ridiculous. It was laughable to contemplate. She wasn't even that tired!...But it seemed that the circumstances really were against her on this one. And with a nightmare too, at least from what she could gather from analysing his current condition. Sweating, panting, trapped in a state of loss and confusion. But...what kind of nightmare? She couldn't even remotely say what he had dreamed these past few...


Wait, how much time had it passed since she had fell asleep? Minutes, hours? She still remembered what she had been doing these past few days, but after that it was if her memory had completely gone blank. Should she be worried? Was there any reason for her to be concerned about her current mind state? As a navigator, she had to cleanse herself of anything that would compromise her performance or else she would risk the lives of many in that ship. But really, could this be a sign of alarm or just a temporary thing? Ahh, she was reading too much into it! She was fine. No need in further questioning this uncanny issue, if you could actually call it that.


Focus, focus, Adele told herself before standing up rather abruptly from her chair. Was that blanket always there? Had she put it there? Or someone else? Even this made her head boil in doubt and confusion. She sighed, rubbing her face with her palms. She needed to clear her head post-haste and the announcement of the ship's doctor and leader was the perfect opportunity to do so. She could not make much of the words hse heard but she had recognize enough to comprehend the gist of it. Food. Food for the crew. Nothing seemed to be requesting her presence at the moment, as well as no fellow crew member. She simply needed to find a good place to take a deep breath and let her thoughts wander off about something else entirely.


She entered the cargo ship as discreetly as she could, walking in quiet steps as she made her way into the line of people waiting for their turn to receive a small yet wonderworking meal for the day. The navigator did not feel her stomach particularly rumbling to her in pleas but she knew well that skipping meals was a no-no. She could take a smaller portion this time and give the chance for the famished men and women to eat just a bit more. Perhaps it would not make much difference but the last thing she wanted was to waste precious meals such as this one. Seeing one female ahead trying to keep her high spirits, or at least that was what she seemed to be doing, left a light smile in the eighteen-year-old girl, even if she could not understand her words.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian sighs as he sees the more vital crew line up for their meals. He looks at each of them with a solemn glare, before he calls out in a low tone, "Navigator. Kommen zu mir, bitte,". If the others couldn't understand Deutsch, they would at least be able to discern that this sentence was directed at Adele, one of the ship's navigators. "Islia,Caitlyn. You come too,". The young man nibbles on his meal as he awaits the group to come to his small table that rested beneath a window of the cargo-hold.


Through this window, planets and moons are visible going by as The Last Dawn slows its journey. In a way, the ship was dying. Fuel supplies were low and the generators aboard the ship were falling behind in terms of energy production. It wouldn't be noticeable to many people, save Islia and Sebastian. This slowing allowed them to get a better glimpse of the things they passed, planets coming and going within minutes instead of seconds.



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[Maki]

Caitlyn turned her attention towards Sebastion when She heard him call for her and the others. She quickly grabbed her small rations of spaghetti and went over to his table, taking a seat next to Sebastion. Since she waited for the others to get their food first, hers was a bit cold. "Good morning Sebastion, how're you today?" She asked, taking a bit of


Her bland, lukewarm meal.

 

[Vii]

Adele was caught by surprise as the voice of the leader of The Last Dawn reached her quietly, having not notice the gaze he had directed towards her. She felt grateful for him to speak in her mother language when addressing her. Did he even know her name though…? Bah, no matter. It was not as if he was obliged to do so. There were many women among the ship, some with far more important positions than her. “Navigator” was fine. She was just being petty about it. Plus, he had asked politely!


The young woman nodded her head ever so slightly before gesturing to the person handing the portions, as if saying “This is enough, thank you”. It granted her somewhat confused looks from the audience surrounding her but she paid them no matter and soon they would join her. In a quick pace, she approached the small table where Caitlyn and Sebastian were already sitting on. Joining them, she remained in silence, picking her food slowly with her fork and tasting the mass of nutrients now induced in her system.

 

[Lenchan]

Islia, so unaccustomed to hearing her full name, jolted at Sebastian’s voice. She took a breath to collect herself and turned to face him in time to receive his light command. She considered her position briefly then stepped out of line to follow behind him. If there was food remaining, she’d come back for it after. Surely this summoning was related to the announcement made this morning and the waning condition of their vessel. It made her strangely anxious. Just what could he be thinking as resolution to their situation? She fanned her bangs off to the side, a recent habit she’d developed since hacking off the front of her hair; it’d become oddly meditative, grinding her ever-churning thoughts to a halt.


The two other women he'd addressed had already taken respective seats alongside Sebastian. Islia nodded in short greeting to them all, trying to piece together the necessity of the navigator, the resident nurse, and a haphazard mechanic. Characteristically silent, she took the seat directly across from Sebastian and studied his face in her stoic, inquisitive way. Its youth had been sunken with worry and strife, but it still held some sense of hope. She was satisfied with their leader, young as he may be, and felt her chest tug further down, reminded of her constant failure with the irrigator. She inhaled breathily then immediately released the air in a slow, controlled stream to bring her spiking emotions back under control, awaiting further directive.


Edit in bold ((sorry, I didn't even address Caitlyn and Adele! My mistake! @Kayzo )).

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian smiles half-heartedly at Caitlyn. His fingers tap nervously along the table as he gives a shaky response, "Well, Caitlyn. Thank you for asking,'. The young man nods his head in respect to Islia. He knew she was quiet and rather enjoyed being so. Sebastian tried to give her the space she needed to feel comfortable, so he didn't address her directly. Turning his chin to the final member of the crew that relaxed into her chair, Adel, he murmurs a small phrase of Deutsch to her, "Guten Morgen Adel. Du siehst strahlend,". He lets out a slow breath as he gazes around the cargo-hold, which now filled to the brim with passengers. "Where's Adalric.." He murmurs, then shrugging off the concern.


Sebastian's mood plummets from its normal happy, soothing aura to a darkened, rather defeated one. "We are... Critically low on fuel and rations. The three of you are some of the most talented that I know aboard this ship, so I hoped you could provide council as to what actions we need to take,". The young man takes off his glasses, putting his face into his palms. "We have five days until we're clean out of food and water. Six until we're stuck floating uselessly in space," He speaks slowly, "We can continue to go the course we are in right now, toward the blip of communication that NASA found right before everything went to shit. But we won't make it that far. Alternatively, we can hope that Adele finds... Some place of refuge for us. Somewhere we can at least find an alternative source of fuel and rations,". He removes his hands from his face, looking up at them.


"But I wouldn't have asked for your council if I were able to make the decision on my own. What do you think is the best course of action? Or, if you have a better plan, now would be the time to speak,". He looks at Adele, repeating the entirety of what he said in Deutsch.

Spoiler

"Wir sind auf Kraftstoff und Rationen kritisch niedrig . Die drei von Ihnen sind einige der talentiertesten , dass ich weiß, an Bord dieses Schiffes , so dass ich hoffte, Sie könnten Rat , was Maßnahmen, die wir ergreifen müssen, bereitzustellen. Wir haben fünf Tage, bis wir sind sauber aus der Nahrung und Wasser. Sechs bis wir stecken schwimm nutzlos im Raum. Wir können weiterhin die natürlich sind wir in diesem Augenblick zu gehen, in Richtung der Blip der Kommunikation, die der NASA fanden rechten bevor alles Scheiße . Aber wir werden es nicht so weit. Alternativ können wir für uns hoffen, dass Adele findet ... einige Zufluchtsort . Irgendwo können wir zumindest finden eine alternative Quelle von Brennstoff und Rationen."


((Excuse the poor Deustch, I'm not too developed in it.))

 

[Alite]

Adalric listened as the solemn captain made his daily morning wake up call. "I should check everything now while everyone is in the cargo-hold". One of the turrets showed the same error as before. An easy fix, but like every other time it takes quite a while. Luckily the other three seemed to be working well. The shield generator seemed to have issues with the wires tangling a lot. "Hmm, I might have accidentally bumped them again". As always he was thinking aloud. "I seriously need to get out of that habit sometime". It was also an easy fix though. A few wires were tangled, with some trying to pull each other out. "I should probably set counter measures for that, but now isn't the time". The twin engines seemed to be fine, though could use some upgrading, but what doesn't. The radar and navigation unit where both functioning perfectly, all things considered. "Well, I suppose I should get down there before people get worried".


The cargo-hold doors slide open with a quiet hissing sound. "Probably something I should get to fixing". He walks in and looks for Sebastian, and spots him under the window sitting at the table along with Adele, Islia, and Caitlyn. He walks over and gives a salute. "I apologize for being twenty-one minutes late, however I came to report that everything is currently fully functional".

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian gives a salute back to Adalric, letting his hand drop back onto the table. "Welcome Adalric. We're discussing how to resolve our issue with rations and fuel.. Take a seat, I value your input as well,". He gestures to the chair beside Adel.

 

[Alite]

Letting his hand fall to his side, he sits down in the designated seat. "With all due respect, if we continue going to our current destination we have a high chance of becoming deceased". He looks around at all the people eating. "We currently only have at most about five days worth of food, on top of that we don't know if we will find help at our destination. We also have to think about external threats, and I'm not just talking about humans. Our best bet would be to find the nearest safe stopping location that can provide us with supplies".

 

[Maki]

Caitlyn listened to what Sevastian was saying, and couldn't help but let out a sigh. "5 days isn't very long." She said with a worried tone to her voice. She spent a few moments of thinking before an idea came to her. "What if we took lunch rations away, to make them last a little longer." She suggested, not liking the idea very much. Less food wouldn't be good, but it would help. "And does this ship have some kind of distress beacon? Maybe we can set that off, and a ship could drop us off some of their extra supplies."

 

[Vii]

While Sebastian exchanged some words with Caitlyn, Adele seemed to focus her attention on the spaghetti in front of her, tangling it on her fork while taking small bits out of its lukwarm yet tasty texture. Her eyes wandered through the people sitting at the table, nodding her head every time she would lock eyes with someone, as if greeting them silently. Islia was one of these candidates. Though she was not sure if the stoic-ooking woman would care for her awkward interaction, it wouldn't hurt to be polite. Besides, Adele had no need to further show how poor English still was. It was shameful enough whenever she tried to explain the fellow navigators of the ship her ideas. She could not help but sigh at the prespective of more hours stuck inside that room. Not that she had a bad relationship with her colleages but the circumstances still had room for some improvement. Mainly on her part... Why was English so hard for her to learn?


So caught she was in her own thoughts that she was once again taken by surprise by non other than Sebastian himself. Except for this time, it were his words that drove her to stare wide-eyed at him for a brief moment. It was only a few seconds later that her senses kicked in, revealing to her what she was misunderstanding. He was simply being polite, there was no surprise to it. "Guten Morgen, Sebastian. U-Un danke..." Should she reply back with the same compliment? No, perhaps that would be too forced. Besides, he did not seem too radiant, even with his smile...and Adele was not the type to lie out of flattery. She simply gave him a shy smile while busing a lock of hair from her cheek.


Her suspicions were confirmed as she saw their leader and doctor's face darkened, making her stomach twist ever so lightly. She would not have a reason for it until she got an actual translation of his speech but from what she could gather, it was most likely a grim report. She would finally get her answer when he turned to her, explaining everything in detail of what he had just trasnmitted to the other crew members. Adele could only grip the hem of her shirt as he went on, even so much as biting her bottom lip. Were things really this bad...? She had noticed the scarce supply of food and had noticed a change on the ship's speed, one that she would only dismiss as paranoia in the moment, but this...? Of course, it was logical, it made sense. But still... The meremention of her name made her tremble slightly, much to her embarrassment. The pressure was undeniably strong on her. Even if she wasn't the only navigator of The Last Dawn, Sebastian had said her name. And that was enough to leave her nervous. Opening her mouth at last, she spoke in a hushed yet clear nonetheless. "Ich ... würde nicht auf meine Fähigkeiten vertrauen allein, Sebastian. Es gibt viele andere Navigatoren in hier, und sie tun, was sie können, werden Aber-" She paused, uncapable of looking at him in the eye. "Ich glaube, nur um sicher zu sein, sollten wir im Auge behalten, wie weite Raum ist." Ugh, she was being so vague. Her words would not be of any help...but she hoped Sebastian could undersstand what she meant to communicate to him.

Spoiler

"I...would not trust on my abilities alone, Sebastian. There are many other navigators in here and they are doing what they can but-"


"I think, just to be safe, we should keep in mind how vast space is."

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian nods softly. "Caitlyn, while that would be a solution, it'd give us a few days at best. Not to mention the fact that the other ships that may or may not be in our proximity, which there aren't any, are most likely in a similar situation,". He smiles softly at her, bowing his head to Caitlyn briefly, "Though I appreciate the thought, I'll make sure to consider it,". He looks to his old friend Adalric, sighing. "You're correct, I do believe that'd be the best shot we've got. Though escaping a planet's atmosphere may not be a possibility without fuel. The planet that we do land on, will have to be the right one,".


His solemn glare softens as he looks at Adele. He speaks firmly, yet in a low and soothing tone. "Du bist derjenige, habe ich gewählt. Allerdings, wenn die Aufgabe scheint entmutigend, werde ich zu verstehen,". He looks back to the rest of the crew after he says this, still staying locked in the silky smooth voice. "Adele is nervous, but I believe she is up to the task of leading us to our salvation,".


Lastly he looks to the woman who sits opposite of him. He almost looks slightly nervous as he gazes to her. It might be a fear out of respect, or he's simply intimidated by her rather silent demeanor. Regardless, he treats her equally as the rest, if not taking a bit of extra care in his wording, "And you, Islia? Your opinion weights my own. Heavily."

Spoiler

You're the one I've chosen. However if the task seems to daunting, I will understand.

 

[Alite]

"I already planned on taking out at least one of my meals to allow it to last longer, but even if everyone chooses to miss a meal a day that will only buy us two and a half days. I agree that we should to allow us more time, which will allow us a wider range of options".

 

[iTrinity]

"Two and a half days isn't a long time," Sebastian murmurs. "We'll cut lunch out of the menu, that's for certain. Thank you, Caitlyn."

 

[Maki]

Caitlyn nodded, finishing up her food. She would stay to see what everyone else had to say. "Is there a way we could cut back on fuel? Maybe slow the ship down?" She didn't even know if this was possible as she knew nothing about how the ship worked.

 

[Alite]

"We are currently moving at a slow rate, so slowing down more wouldn't help much. If anything, slowing down will cause us more issues. However, speeding up may cause us to be visable to unwanted guests, and could possibly make us run out of fuel to sooner". Adalric looks around everyone with his usual, expressionless face. "In theory it was a good idea though. My suggestion would be to go a little faster than required to give us a little leway".

 

[Lenchan]

Without hesitation, Islia held Sebastian’s gaze and cleared her throat, glancing tentatively First to Adele and then the other two. “It need not be said, the condition of the Dawn. Even without being directly involved with the mechanics of the ship up until now, I can see it’s on…” She cleared her throat again, trying to be as tactful as possible, despite its futility. “One good bump and we could lose what’s left of the ship’s stabilization. That said, we don’t realistically have the capacity to withstand atmospheric drag without at least a significant portion of the ship incinerating.” She looked to Adalric whose lazy expressions always struck her as curiously misleading considering how capable he’d proven himself to be. “I believe that technician Sturge and I could fortify the sick bay area to withstand descent, but reascension will be impossible on this vessel if we do not have resources for repair.” She returned her gaze to Sebastian. “It is as you’ve suggested: we have one opportunity to save ourselves, and the window is closing fast.”


“My council is to direct our efforts into this fortification and the skill of our navigations collective,” she nodded towards Adele, “with our main directive being salvaging another unlikely ship before descent into what will inexorably be our new home.” Nice delivery she somberly chucked inwardly, then added. “As for our food, I don’t have an immediately solution, but I could use an extra opinion on a system I’m trying to flesh out on drawing hydrogen particles from the atmosphere of passing planets, which we can use as a base for the construction of more complex compounds, such as water and oxygen. I have the resources necessary for nuclear fission, though it will obviously come at great risk. Unfortunately,” she did her best not to color her speech with the sinking disappointment in her heart. “Unfortunately, I don’t think the irrigator is viable in its current state.”


“Finally, I have to agree with our technician. Our best action with regards to fuel is to identify the best course for resource location and increase fuel output, at least to set us adrift in that destination’s direction. Again, our navigators will be crucial in the implication of this, and I will be as instrumental in aiding them as I can be.”

 

[iTrinity]

A sudden weight overcomes Sebastian. His gaze droops down to the center of the table, his fingers ceasing their rythm that they once drummed upon the cold metal. For a brief moment he looks not to the companions that surround him, but the passengers that are aboard The Last Dawn. Women cradle infants whom had clutched to life just as dearly as they had to their mothers now. An elderly man in the corner appears to be telling a tale of great knights once known as The Navy Seals. All of the people that surrounded him were survivors, but for how much longer? This decision was going to be one that was going to haunt him. The choice was an incredibly difficult one. Possibly crash the ship into an uninhabitable, or even worse, inhabited planet or condemn those around him to death row.


Abruptly, Sebastian rises, grasping his glasses firmly. "Excuse me," He says softly with a faked smile. He staggers past the table and back to the doors of the Cargo-hold, exiting without another word.


He goes to the observing deck of the ship. Well, it was an observing deck in his head at least. In truth, it was a broken down section of the control room, one that had an unknown function. He traces his fingertips along the dusty surface of the many buttons and screens that line this long abandoned section of the cockpit. He seats himself in an old, leather chair, sighing as he gazes out at a massive planet ahead of them. It appeared red, dusty and full of catastrophic weather.


He places his hands on his knees and began to take deep, solemn breaths.

 

[Maki]

Caitlyn looked to Sebastion as she watched him stand up and leave. Looking back to the other three members, she stood up and yawned. "It was great eating with you all, but I better get back to the med-bay. I'll see you all around." She said, walking off.

 

[Vii]

His words left her seemingly speechless for brief seconds, as she only stared back at him in silence. Her eyes travelled downwards, more precisely to her plate with still a few bites left to finish it. Somehow...she had lost her appetite a while ago. Nervousness had taken over her, along with a deep sense of uselessness towards all this. She felt no confidence neither in her language or her skills. But still, she couldn't just stand there and wait for things to go their way...take a stand was what she needed to do. Sebastian's voice really had this much affect on her, huh? Islia's also seemed to do the trick, given how much of a dazed look she had been staring at her with. It was not a matter of words but of speech, of how much confidence and frankness she showed on her own. When Adele was about to open her mouth to give the leader and doctor a more appropriate answer. But in the the moment she saw him stand up, ending up the conversation at hand. What could have happened...? Soon, the group would start dispersing at this palpable tension. She glanced over her meal, confirming her disclosure from the food, deciding to give it to perhaps one of the starving kids in the room. Giving everyone a silent nod, Adele rose from her chair, picking up her almost finished meal. After delivering it to a boy pleading his mother for more food, she began to head back to the navigator's quarters, slowly beginning to hum down the hallway...

 

[Lenchan]

Islia watched Sebastian’s face drop and darken in expression. True to the name, Ice… She’d been too blunt, after all. She reassured herself that he was strong willed, albeit strong will or not the truth needed to be evaluated for resolution. Still, watching the commander excuse himself from the group and leave without word soured her stomach. This decision was an impossible one to shoulder for anyone, no matter their resolve. She considered voicing this opinion to the trusted members encircling the void Sebastian left in his wake, but immediately the two other women excused themselves, silencing her again. She ran a hand down the right side of her face, a self-conscious habit she'd been careful not to display in front of others. Her fingers found the familiar angles of her scar and naturally traced its line down to her jaw. Realizing and recollecting herself, she lowered her hand casually and turned her gaze to Adalric Sturge. At least she could make this effort now.





“Mr. Sturge – Adalric – if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to go over the general logistics and layout of my irrigator. Hopefully we can pull our minds into brainstorming a way to make up in creativity what we lack in supply. The sooner the better.” She turned her gaze to the small huddles of fading souls. “Obviously…”