Project Black IC

Shin rolled his eyes a bit towards Dj's comment about danger and the races. He waited till the man was done with his 'touching story' before getting up from his seat. He looked down at the end of the table directly at Dj. He shook his head a bit at the man. "Maybe you should do some more research before speaking on the topic of Racers. Because as far as I see it.. Your comment, just pissed on all the Racer's graves." Shin narrowed his eyes at the man. "Don't talk about shit you don't understand."


Shin picked up his tablet and started to walk away from the table.


This left Ross, Val and Raven in a bit of loss for words. Shin had been touchy about certain subjects, but he had never really shown that much when talking about Edison or the Racers before.


Ross looked to his plate and noticed the navigator had barley touched his food. But the feeling he left at the table made her a bit concerned. Ross whipped her lips with her napkin before getting up herself and following Shin towards the bridge. She caught him down the hall away from the mess hall and right by the door to the bridge. "What the hell was that?" She asked looking him over. She could tell he was worst for wear, and could clearly see the fever written on his face.


"Nothing." Shin turned to her but kept his eyes on his tablet.


Ross took the tablet from his hands making Shin give her a tiered yet warning look. With her free hand she placed it upon his forehead. Shin showed no sign of protest, but the warning look became clearer. "Shin you're burning up... You need rest."


Shin brushed her hand away and shook his head. "I'll be fine.." He reached for his tablet which Ross only pulled away out of his reach. "Fine is not good..." She studied his face a bit more. Something was bothering him and it wasn't just the fever. "What's going on with you?" Shin would always push himself but never this hard.


Shin reached for his tablet again and once more Ross moved it out of reach. "Look, I'll get some rest after I finish...... I only have a few more things to do."


"What are they?" Ross demanded.


"Inspect the rails, go over the cargo, check the coils and then double check the auto pilot to make sure we are staying on course." Shin reached out for his tablet once more and Ross let him take it.


"If you do anything else besides that list...." Ross shook her head. "If you go down, this ship is dead in the water..... I know you know this." Ross crossed her arms over her check as Shin casually leaned his back against the wall. His eyes and hands were back to his tablet. "Understood...." Shin uttered.


Ever since she meet Shin, she noticed the navigator never really spoke about his past. She never did either, but they had an understanding. Past history sometimes conflicts trust, and what one person thinks of the other. She would never really ask him about it, but she had a feeling like she needed to very soon. Something was bothering him..... Maybe because they were so close to Edison.. Closer then they have ever been.
 
SleepyBuddha said:
Adrian had a gentle smile spread across his face as he listened to the talk about racing and Edison vs Beck. Most of the Crew and Passengers seemed to have some sort of an opinion on the matter, but Adrian never really got into it. With his religious vows and running several sectors of the universe for the Catholic Church, Advising the Pope, and making decisions that would affect the whole of the Catholic church he didn't really have time to get into such things. Though to its credit the racing did seem interesting considering how... for lack of a better term Devout they were to this Edison. Adrian carefully watched as the conversation quickly went to stories, Adrian had quietly finished his very modest serving of food while the others had gone on about racing and so had just been listening.
Thinking about some stories he still had plenty to that he hadn't already used while the others were cleaning the rails. Particularly the story of how he had decided to become a Clergyman in the first place. And what had happened to his arm and leg. He rarely told that story because it would bring back flashbacks for him, but he would be traveling with the Crew for quite some time as he went through his pilgrimage.


Adrian's eyes slowly wandered towards Aeva. He had been meaning to ask the False angel a few questions on their culture. The Vatican has taken it upon itself to act like a vault of all the cultures it comes into contact with since it began expanding. This way the Clergy could better understand the cultures of the many different aliens and their planets as they went on their business in foreign worlds. " So Aeva, if it's not too much trouble tell me a little about yourself and your culture. I must admit I'm curious how your people view the vast universe and their place in it." Adrian said basically asking him for their religion.


@NovaNovass @Lokipi @Khaz @VeydSahvoz @shadowz1995
Aeva had spent his time at the table quietly listening to everyone debate about the famous space races he had heard so much about. Considering most of his life he spent on Orthlin and after that in combat after his experiments. A lot of the people in the ship seemed passionate about the races and even went to the point of getting into heated debates over it. The Avalon merely watched everyone and laughed when some funny insults when thrown back and forth.


It had come to his attention that it was viewed as disrespectful to eat before the captain had arrived. DJ had even kicked him under the table a few times and one of the bigger crew members even formally apologized. Normally, Aeva would as well but two things stood out in his mind. One was the captain should always be the first one there so as not to keep her crew waiting. The second was he was literally suffering from several days of starvation. Captain be damned, he wasn't going to spend another second starving.


As the priest's question hung in the air, a set of Crimson eyes turned to Adrian and met his gaze. The Catholic people he heard about. The people he had heard were trying to convert people to their religion. The people who supposedly accepted all types of life forms. The people....who treated his race as if their were fake creations. Mistakes that should have never existed in the first place. The Avalon's first meeting with the Catholic Church ended in that Avalon's execution. There was several things he wanted to say but he would hold his tongue for now. "We are naturally gifted intellects and have a strong thirst for knowledge. Everything we can understand and research is what mainly dominates Orthlin. Because of that, we never really needed to believe in any God or diety because we don't like relying on things that aren't concrete. Blind faith isn't something Avalons are very good at. You may be able to convince certain individuals but don't get your hopes up with the general Avalon populace." Aeva began to watch every detail in the priest's face for any signs of hostility or discomfort. He knew that he was going to be able to get a word in soon but now wasn't it. He had to bide his time.
 
"Well, I am certainly not off to a good start with that one, huh?" DJ laughed as Shin and the captain exited in a hurry. Clearly the man was more into racing than he had previously let on, but his angry reaction didn't faze Daniel. He was used to having people reject and disagree with his attitudes on living life on the edge as well as his upbeat personality. Shin was far from the first one to lash out at him, although his emotion on the subject went from zero to one hundred very quickly leading him to think that something else was going on.


All in all, DJ did end up feeling badly about the whole situation, as always. It was never his intention to annoy or make someone feel angry, nor did he enjoy it, however he always managed to encounter this sort of predicament on every vessel he had ever been on. He of course would try to make amends with Shin in the future so as not to have bad blood between them, but he felt that now was not the time. He figured he would let the other cool off before he would make his apology speech. Although for some reason he felt that no matter what he said Shin might end up hating him even more, which meant that he was just going to have to live with those consequences when the time came.


He turned to Braxtes, "Sorry, man, I don't think that I'm the best for informing you on the races. in fact I guess i have to learn a thing or to as well." He chuckled and brushed his hair back. "But I think I'll be turning in for the night, I've had a long day and sleep sounds really good right about now. Thanks for the meal, Charlie, it was fantastic!" He gave the girl a thumbs up and a smile and grabbed his empty plate before washing and drying it quickly. He started down the hallway that he believed led back to his room. Fingers crossed.


@Lokipi @Veyd Sahvoz @NovaNovass
 
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" I see...." were the only words out of Adrian's mouth for a moment while he thought on how to respond to Aeva. He knows that there are tensions between the two of them because of how the church views their species, but They were God's creations, his children same as all beings within this universe. There are some a little.... slow to accept that line of thinking within the church but Adrian's classification of Aeva's species was quickly gaining ground within the church. " While I personally need Faith in my life I can also see how others wouldn't want Faith in their lives because of how fanatic some within religions can be. As for forcing anyone to convert that is not the mission of the church. The mission of the church is to spread the love and word of Jesus Christ to all corners of the universe. Most of the time through hearing about Jesus and how he suffered for our sins people will convert. If not that is also your choice and we, as a church, should stop there. Now does that happen, unfortunately not all the time." Adrian explained calmly and carefully picking and choosing his words to best get his point across.


@shadowz1995
 
Emma

Ever since Val had helped with her quarters Emma had pretty much stuck to them. After unpacking her things she decided to take a nap for a while, get some actual peaceful rest that she hadn't been able to do in a really long time due to worrying about getting captured or otherwise. Soon though dinner was announced, waking her from her well welcomed slumber. With a sigh she hopped out of her bed and made her way to the dining room. She figured this was a good way for her to meet the rest of the crew she'd be working with, not to mention she was fairly hungry. A quick walk later she made it to the afforementioned room, looking around at everyone somewhat nervously.



Rather than find anyone to talk to, she opted to sit down in a rather secluded space for a bit. She didn't do well with a bunch of new people at once, and this room was practically filled with them.



@Anyone
 
Sarah dropped back down in her seat after Shin's words on racing and looked up at Isaac worriedly. He put a hand on her shoulder for reassurance and looked over to Shin and nodded in acknowledgement and gratitude but the younger man was already getting up and leaving, with some sharp words to one of the others too. The captain got up and followed and Isaac couldn't help but watch the two of them till they were gone.


He moved some food around with his fork as he looked back to the table. "A little bit of tension at the dinner table tonight," He commented, vaguely towards Dax, before taking a large bite.
 
Stunned into silence Charlie's watched as first Shin left, then Ross, followed by DJ. The pilot had taken Shin's rage with a smile, thanking her for the cooking before excusing himself , however, Charlie didn't take scene in quite the same way, instead simply choosing to gape. Mouth open like a fish out of water.


"What the heck was that?" The lead rider said, glancing at the equally stunned Raven.


Dax shrugged, before clearing his throat and looking over the rest of the table. Things had been going well, but he should have guessed something like this would happen. The navigator was over worked and there were now strangers in his and Ross' ship. It was a recipe for social disaster, but not something which was irreversible.


"Ah well, I am stuffed." The first mate grinned as he nodded to Isaac's comment, picking up his own plate before eyeing Raven and Charlie. If anyone could diffuse this, it would be them, but they had other duties.


"You still have a lot of hours on Ship duty left. Next up is dishes." He beamed this before looking down the table at everyone. "It was a pleasure to share this meal with you all. I look forward to flying with you." He nodded to each person in turn, before looking back at Val, Raven and Charlie one last time before striding after his captain.


Charlie remind silent. Dish duty wasn't new and it was better than the rails or any other chore Shin would probably lay on them, so Charlie didn't bat an eyelash. She did choose to take control a little though. Smoothing her features, the girl looked back around the time with a warm smile.


"Well, you all know Shin now." She chuckled. "Grand master of first impressions. But he'll grow on you a little. With a lot of time and copious amounts of patience." Standing the woman collected her plate and placed it on top of Dax's.


"So where are people traveling to? Or rather, where are people from?"


Any conversation was better than none. Although, if she was honest, the lead rider wanted to both check up on DJ and Shin. The latter had acted even more angsty than usual and that was an amazig feat.


Dax on the other hands, placed his focused back on the red haired at her and daughter. Setting a smile on his lips the man shrugged.


"I hope this won't leave a lasting impression. The man is ill, and whilst usually being a required taste, he's became a tad more bitter tonight." He chuckled this before looking at Sarah.


"Any time you want another adventure, don't hesitate to ask." He grinned before with that he took off after Ross and Shin, finding them not far from the mess hall.


"Well that is one way to say hello" Dax offered as he approach the two other controlling authorities on the ship. "I've left the kids to diffuse some of the tension."
 
Isaac waved off the apology "All is well and no harm done. Being sick can make anyone prickly." He smiled down at Sarah who was beaming at the giant. "Thank you again,"


"Thank you!" Sarah called after Dakarai as he left.


Isaac was on the last portion of his plate when Charlie posed her question to the group. He rested his arm on the table and scratched his beard as he replied. "Honestly, Sarah and I are going wherever's hiring. Couldn't quite make it on that moon back there. "
 
"Indeed there is." Said Braxtes, randomly responding to what Isaac had said without paying attention to anything that was going on. Just then he looked up and a few of the members at the table got up and left for some odd reason. Maybe there had been some conflict he ignored while steadily eating his meal, trying to decide whether to stay and get seconds or leave and go rest but either way it didn't really matter to him as long as he wasn't bothered. At least he got a meal and a damn good one at that, if only he knew the name of the one who had created it then he might be able to thank them. It was then that DJ got up and thanked one of the ladies at the table by the name of 'Charlie' and took his leave back to his own room, Braxtes had already been finished his meal by then and got up himself. "My thanks to you Charlie for making such a fantastic meal, it has been ages since I actually ate food." Stated the cyborg briefly then proceeded to head back to his room, #13 near the end of the hall he had remembered.


What a crowd, perhaps there will be more to this trip than I had thought. He mused to himself as he wandered down the halls looking for the right way back to his room. The ship was like a maze, unexpected and too big to remember where you were. His motion sensor started to buzz indicating there was someone nearby and only one person came to mind, DJ who was probably looking for his room too. Hell, maybe he would know a thing or too that would interest him. "I see you are heading back to you quarters, yes?"


@Khaz
 
SleepyBuddha said:
" I see...." were the only words out of Adrian's mouth for a moment while he thought on how to respond to Aeva. He knows that there are tensions between the two of them because of how the church views their species, but They were God's creations, his children same as all beings within this universe. There are some a little.... slow to accept that line of thinking within the church but Adrian's classification of Aeva's species was quickly gaining ground within the church. " While I personally need Faith in my life I can also see how others wouldn't want Faith in their lives because of how fanatic some within religions can be. As for forcing anyone to convert that is not the mission of the church. The mission of the church is to spread the love and word of Jesus Christ to all corners of the universe. Most of the time through hearing about Jesus and how he suffered for our sins people will convert. If not that is also your choice and we, as a church, should stop there. Now does that happen, unfortunately not all the time." Adrian explained calmly and carefully picking and choosing his words to best get his point across.
@shadowz1995
"For the sins of humanity." Aeva corrected. "I did read through the bible, both versions, and It is quite explicit on that point. Species from other worlds were never included in it and there was never any revision that I'm aware of." He watched the priest increasingly closers as he spoke and he could see that Adrian did not seem like the other priests Aeva had met. He seemed...more rational but then again they all did to begin with. It was a few moments before Aeva gave a sigh and regarded the priest with less intensity, "It's nothing personal Adrian. My race nor myself, have had good experiences with the Catholic Church . A large percentage of people either think we are these creatures of divine creation...Angels I believe they are called. The other percentage believe we are false beings. Something that should never exist. It's kind of hard to get along with an entire faction of people that either think you are divine or a fake that deserves to die for simply existing." The last few sentences he said them hushed so as to speak specifically to Adrian rather than having the whole table hear their entire conversation.
 
"Christ was accepting of all types of humans and died for them, but I am sure he would save any race that needed him. That is the policy of my faith as it stands now. About our standing on your race Aeva. There are two factions within the church one for each representation you just mentioned. I represent a different faction. One that recognizes that you are your own race and not the divine angels within the bible. That you should not be persecuted just because of how you look. My faction is currently gaining support. Given enough time I'm sure I can convince the holy father." Adrian assured taking his own volume down to match Aeva's


@shadowz1995
 
Isaac eventually finished off his plate. While Sarah was still working on hers, he briefly chatted with the rest of the party there. He asked easy questions about where a few of the others had come from and answered any that came his way.


After Sarah was done Isaac took Sarah back to the room, who waved to everyone before leaving. Sarah propped herself up on the bed with her book and Isaac dug around their bag, retrieving a folded up newspaper.


"Stay here, I'm going to sit up in the mess hall for a bit." He pointed at her book, "Be sure to tell me later what happens this chapter"


She nodded and he made his way back to the hall. He waved to Charlie. "Thank you for the meal! Let me know if you need any help with dishes,"


He sat down a few seats away from the rest and flipped through the news he had brought. It was from a larger newsgroup that reported on the larger stories happening in the Verse. He liked to pick one up whenever he left for a new world.
 
SleepyBuddha said:
"Christ was accepting of all types of humans and died for them, but I am sure he would save any race that needed him. That is the policy of my faith as it stands now. About our standing on your race Aeva. There are two factions within the church one for each representation you just mentioned. I represent a different faction. One that recognizes that you are your own race and not the divine angels within the bible. That you should not be persecuted just because of how you look. My faction is currently gaining support. Given enough time I'm sure I can convince the holy father." Adrian assured taking his own volume down to match Aeva's
@shadowz1995
"That's quite the endeavor Adrian. While I don't entirely believe you, I do hope you succeed....For both of our sakes because a people can only be pushed so hard before they lash out. I'd rather it not become a war. I think I've had enough of those." He added a chuckle at the end but the pseudo-angel's eyes held no humor to them. While the tone was light, he was very serious. Aeva could tell that the priest had been through his fair share of scrapes in his life and yet he was taking quite the positive approach through his life.


Aeva had to admit that he slightly admired that. The Orthlinian himself was only able to pick up the broken pieces of himself because of his family. Aeva couldn't tell if the priest held anyone to him like that or if he was even allowed to.
 
"Its an endeavor that seems more and more plausible with each passing day. If you'll excuse me I have a call waiting for me." Adrian said thanking Charlie once again for the meal before leaving. An audible beeping could be heard from a communication device somewhere on his person.


Adrian took the shortest path he could to his room before taking the call. It was a holographic call that connected him with all the other cardinals and even the holy father himself.


Adrian and the cardinals discussed the current issues plaguing the Catholic Church and eventually the topic of discussion changed to the treatment of the false angels. Adrian had at this point managed to convince half of the cardinals that the false angels were a species all of their own and while they appear to be the holy messengers they do not know the word of God. But God must have had a reason in crafting them this way. They argued for about an hour before the Pope interjected, " I have heard both sides on this matter and will pray that God will guide me to the righteous choice choice." With that the call ended.
 
DJ's head swivelled around at the sound of a voice behind him. He hadn't heard the cyborg's footsteps as he walked up behind him which DJ accredited to the fact that he was lost in his own thoughts, as per usual. He never understood how he could be such an excellent pilot yet have the attention span of a puppy and the imagination of a six-year-old, but somehow he made it work.


"Braxtes, right?" He smiled at the man and fell in stride beside him, "Yeah, its been a long day so I figured I'd go get some sleep. I also ate a lot so that doesn't really help with the sleepiness." DJ pushed his hair back and nodded, it had been a while since he had a meal that good and he couldn't help but indulge himself. Of course he wished that he had eaten more and maybe brought a plate back with him as a midnight snack, but hindsight is 20/20.


"What about you, are you headed back to... uhherrr.... Charge? Or do you sleep? Forgive me I don't really know." He said hesitantly as he looked at the mans robotic features.


@Veyd Sahvoz
 
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When silence met Charlie’s ears, however, the girl nodded. Perhaps words wouldn’t be able to bridge over the troubled water yet. Gathering the plates of those who left, she swept a look over to her friend, Raven.


“Dishes it is then, but I’ll cover this if you want to go check out the bikes. Not worked on my baby, mind giving him a once over for me?” Charlie asked. Sure, the chore was technically given to them both, but the cook and dish-washer jobs went hand in hand. Plus, it was true, she hadn’t checked in on her bike yet and even though Raven was the only other person who could check up on her bike in the crew, Charlie would never trust her bike in anyone else’s hand with the single exception of Alex Crow.


Waiting for the reply, the girl then started to collect a few dishes before, at long last, noticing the silver haired girl from the med bay. Their meeting had been a rushed one, but if Charlie’s memory served her correctly, the girl’s name was Emma, and she was a new crew member. Sporting her usual grin, Charlie approached the girl, arms still laden with plates and pots.


“Sorry about the mess, but I’ll leave things out for you if you are peckish.” Charlie offered to the late comer, quickly grabbing a clean plate and placing it in front of Emma. “Glad you joined, though I’m afraid you missed the show.” Pointing to the now empty seats with her chin, Charlie’s silly attempt to poke fun at Shin’s rather sudden display of emotion.


Dumping her collection down next to the girl, Charlie then crossed her arms surveying Emma with a curious expression; head cocked at the slightest of angles.


“So, what position did Ross hire you as?” the lead rider asked, realising that their quick, but short exchange in the med bay had skipped over the obvious questions. The Gallion was a big ship of Emma could fill any of those positions although for some reason mechanic didn’t seem to fit right in Charlie’s mind. Furthermore, Charlie wanted to know how Emma had gotten on Ross’ side so quickly. Usually, their captain was one tough cookie to crack.


Jack, sat back in his chair with a look of pure happiness. The past had come knocking, and the results had just cleared a path for the nurse which made life all that bit sweeter. Plus, he felt pretty happy about Shin’s explosive reaction to DJ, who wasn’t just filled with stories but was useful! Such a surprise. After all, if it wasn’t for him then perhaps Jack’s memory might not have been jogged.


“So Raven was it?” Jack suddenly asked, as his animated features turned to the dark beauty opposite him. She had remained quiet since the navigator and passenger had parted ways. “How long have you been working on the ship?” It was an innocent question. No double edge to his words and was offered in an attempt to break the awkward tension between the passengers and the crew.


@Mitchs98, @NovaNovass
 
Giving a small chuckle Braxtes deactivated his anti-gravity boots and proceeded to walk the rest of the way instead of hover. "I sleep like any human, it's not like I'm a battery operated drone." He replied, hiding his facial expression under his respirator and mask. Not like there was anything to hide since he rarely displayed any form of emotion and if he did nobody would see it. His lack of emotion didn't stop him from trying to make up a chat with random passengers though. "What is your line of work DJ?" Asked the cyborg, tapping away at the device on his arm and setting the time- Would he even need to know time? It was space so it wouldn't matter if it were night or day, no one would know which anyway so really there wasn't any point.


"If you don't mind me asking that is, I'm just curious and I like to have some inclination of the skills of people I meet." Stated Braxtes, trying not to come off as a creep and he hoped that wasn't the impression he was giving off. Walking along the halls of the Gallion reminded him of the many times he was required to make repairs on large ships and with the amount of ships that came by the place he worked he was surprised that he hadn't recalled seeing such a model like the Gallion, and that was saying something because his own memory was impeccable. It was perfectly intact and so he browsed through his memory trying to recall anything that he might have looked like the Gallion but surprisingly he could recall nothing about any such model.


@Khaz
 
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"Well, you learn something new everyday." He smiled genuinely at the man before letting out a small chuckle, "Although I think I've just about reached my quota for learning new things today, so far I've learned roughly how to get to the kitchen from my room, that cyborgs sleep, and to sleep with one eye open because that Shin guy might blast me of the airlock." He counted each point on his fingers and shrugged his shoulders on the last one.


"It is what it is, I guess, someone was bound to not like me." DJ paused and reflected back on the confrontation he had earlier. His comment couldn't be the only reason the other man blew up, so there was a chance the outburst wasn't personal. There had to be a history behind his reaction and his sensitivity to the topic, which only made Danny's curiosity grow. Outlandish theories started to race around and form in his head as his excitement grew. Maybe he was a gambler who lost a lot of money on a hot headed racer who perished in an accident. Maybe he had a friend who had died from the sport. Or maybe... He pieced a farfetched theory together out of thin air, but as he thought about it more it seemed like it could be possible...


DJ snapped back to reality and lost his train of thought as he realized that Braxtes had asked him a question.


"Pardon?" His mind backtracked as he tried to remember what Braxtes had asked him.


"If you don't mind me asking that is, I'm just curious and I like to have some inclination of the skills of people I meet." He only could recall the last part of the sentence but managed to figure out what he was asking.


"Oh, it's no trouble. Well I'm a pilot, I don't really belong to any one ship I just find a crew in need of a pilot and stay with them temporarily until I find a new ship or until I get paid enough. I guess you could say that I'm a free agent." He mimicked dusting off his shoulders and put on a smug look before breaking character and laughing at himself.


He looked at the cyborg, "What about you, Braxtes, what are your talents?"


@Veyd Sahvoz Mentioned @NovaNovass
 
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With the conference of the cardinals ended all he could do is wait on the holy father's word and wait until they landed on another planet. He would have to get with the Navigator Shin and see about getting him to steer the ship towards the next planet in his pilgrimage at least. So once he put up the Papal communication device Adrian walked out of his room and began wandering again in the hopes of finding Shin. Though he knew that task was practically Sisyphian in nature there wasn't much else he was capable of doing as a passenger. Wandering through this massive ship was something of an anxiety attack waiting to happen for Adrian. Though he hadn't been in the military for quite some time he hadn't lost an ounce of skill... or his healthy respect of maze like corridors. It just made him lose his sense of direction and when that happened he felt vulnerable like his life could be snuffed out at any moment. Adrian tried to calm this anxiety by mutter a Hymn to himself as he walked. Though he would never think so he was actually a pretty good singer after years of singing Hymns.


@NovaNovass and anyone else who wants to run into him
 
After the so called outburst, Shin and Ross now found themselves in the company of Dax as well. Shin frowned at the First Mate's comment. He let out a deep sigh before turning to his tablet. This was like his safety net.. And he used it quit often. "Next time I'll just eat on the bridge..." Shin uttered. You could tell by the tone of his voice he was serious about his statement. Shin wasn't much of a people's person.... Well he could be... When he wanted to... But at this point in time he was just bitter, ill and over worked. The best combination for Shin's striking sarcasm.


Raven had a very similar expression on her face like Charlie's when Shin made his comments and then left. She too had never really seen the navigator bark at someone so easily. It normally took a bit more then just a comment to make Shin explode like that on someone... Especially on someone he didn't know.


Her eyes narrowed a bit as a small grumble pasted her lips when Dax mentioned dishes. She had gotten up and started to collect what dishes were left on the table. When she started to bring them into the kitchen Charlie mentioned that she would take the dishes... And Raven could go back to tinkering with their bikes.


She placed the dishes down and her shoulders dropped. This is why she loved her lead rider. Charlie always knew what would make her happy, and she loved to tinker with the bikes. She wanted to give the lead rider a hug but was pulled away from her thoughts when Jack spoke up. She looked back over to the table to see the new medic. She blinked at his question.... It was a good question...


"A few years I think?" She shrugged while glancing back to Charlie. She had joined the ship sometime after Charlie did. Back then she could recall things being a lot brighter and the crew was a lot friendlier then too. The rough waters started about two or more years ago. That's when things started to get tight. Money, parts, work.... Ross had become a lot more quieter and Shin started to snap and us his sarcasm like a kid eating candy.


Rem and his brothers had been quiet for most of the meal it seemed... Once the outburst they kept to themselves. But while everything was going on... Rem couldn't help but notice the four other strangers wandering away from the table one by one... And ever so quietly. They moved like cats in the night.
 
Dax gave Shin a disdained look, watching as the man hid behind his tablet’s screen. It was like a reflex for that guy. Something difficult appeared, out came the tablet. Glancing to Ross, Dax sighed and folded his arms. He knew Charlie would have come out with something sarcastic like ‘and deprive us of your excellent company?’ but the lead rider was not here and Dax could never carry the tone correctly. Sarcasm did not come naturally to his people.


“Don’t be childish Shin, you are just over-worked. Charlie works hard on her food, the least you can do is show up and eat it.” Dax shrugged as he eyed Ross. He had a feeling the captain would not take to the idea their navigator isolating himself even more than he usually did. “But what is done is done. Water continues to flow and you seem ok. I won’t lecture you.” He looked up to Ross again, straightening his stance before nodding to the pair. He had only come to check on their angsty navigator and he had completed that task. He had other duties to sort now.


“Is there anything you need me to do?” he asked in general, if not he would turn to the passenger’s confiscated guns. They had been placed into their correct crates, but had not yet been taken to the armoury. Better to move them sooner, rather than later.


Charlie, grinned as she watched Raven’s mood brighten, continuing to collect plates and bowls before beginning the trip back to the kitchen. She deliberately blanked the fact that Jack was now talking to Raven. The guy gave her a weird vibe, but if anyone could handle him, it would be Alex, which Jack would discover himself soon enough.


Nodding in response, Jack nodded to Raven’s reply. She seemed unsure about it, glancing at Charlie as the girl flitted up and down the table before her small form disappeared into the kitchen area with the clattering sound of plates being dumped into a sink.


“Ah, it must be amazing to stay on a single ship for so long.” Jack offered, as he stood and stretched his legs a little. “I’ve always been on the move myself, ever since I graduated, it’s been difficult to put down roots. “ He grinned this, before eyeing up the Rem brothers and nodding to them. “You must know your own crew like the back of your hand after so long. Just like the brothers. Family is always underrated to the general population.”


He shook his head slowly at this, with an almost sad air before he picked up his cup and took a swig, noting out the corner of his eye, the four nameless passengers slink away from the table. He knew that look which a few of them held, but he prayed he was wrong. Something going down now, so soon, could put a serious kink in his game.


"Ah well. Perhaps I can find my place in your family and stay awhile." He grinned, nodding to Val. "But with that, I'm going to return to the medical bay. I haven't finished unpacking my equipment." He nodded to the remaining few who were still seated at the table. "It was wonderful to meet you all."


With that, the man then departed retracing his steps towards the med bay. He would leave Charlie for now. He was approaching the girl the wrong way, and he would have to consider his next actions carefully. He wanted her to like him, and his usual tricks weren't going to work.
 
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Ross smiled a bit when Dax started to speak. She would make eye contact with Dax from time to time but her attention did focus on their navigator. She smirked a bit as Dax clearly was trying to help make Shin feel a little less agitated over moments ago.


Shine on the other hand gave Dax a dull look as he spoke. His eyes would slowly blink from time to time. "You lecture me.... Never." Shin's sarcasm was yet again very much present. "But next time you want to corner me into an intervention... Get me drunk first." Shin gave a nod with a pretty confident look as he turned on his heels and started to head down to the rails.


Shin could feel their eyes on him as he walked but he let his attention and focus get sucked back up into his work.


Ross watched Shin walk off before turning to Dax, "He has a point.. Next time we should just get him drunk." She couldn't help her small smile, it was greatly needed for her. She too was stressed out over a lot of things. Shin's cold and him working himself to death was just on the top of her list.


Ross turned to Dax and started to walk down the halls, heading towards the docking bay where all the guns from the passengers were. "I'll help you..." She told him. She needed to get her mind off things and working seemed to be the go to on the ship.


Raven was really starting to get a strange vibe coming from Jack. The medic's words and how he held himself was starting to bother her. When he spoke of family and ships.... She wasn't sure if this guy knew what he was talking about. To her his words seemed empty or maybe even cold. "I think the term is 'dysfunctional family'. Or in Shin's words, 'People I'd like to murder.'" Raven stated. She could recall the first time she heard Shin use those words. She had to hold back a laugh as the memory was indeed funny. Raven had recently joined the crew and the first thing her and Charlie got into trouble for was for racing their bikes all over the Gallion. To try and break the ice or Shin's anger. Raven said they were family now and he shouldn't get all mad.


Raven cleared her throat and mind as she had to drop her memory before she would laugh out loud. She watched as Jack left the chow hall and looked back to Val and the others still in the room.


Val blinked. She had gone quiet for most of the evening, but she didn't really talk much when a lot of people were around or all together in one room. "I think I will help Charlie." Val got up from her seat and heading over to the kitchen with her dishes and then some.


Rem, Andrew and Micheal all pretty much just watched everything unfold. But for Andrew and Micheal they decided to slip away back towards their rooms as the excitement started to dull down now.


Rem on the other hand watched Jack leave and noticed Raven walk away too. He wasn't sure as to what to say or do next but as the room cleared out he did notice another face.... Issac. The man that had the daughter from earlier. The man seemed to be flipping through a magazine. Rem looked over at the book before making eye contact. "Anything interesting?" Rem asked the other as he took his few last bites from his meal. Rem whipped his mouth with a napkin before leaning back in his chair. Waiting and hoping for a response from the other.
 
Isaac jerked as Rem's question snapped his thoughts back to the real world. He was already planning out hypothetical scenarios on his and Sarah's next steps upon touching down on a new world. Those first steps more often than not determined how well you managed in a new place. Isaac took a quick second to look Rem over, noting some degree of discipline in the way the man held himself. He looked as if he was more than capable of handling himself in a rough situation- but otherwise friendly enough.


Isaac grinned and shook his head, thinking back to what he had been only half reading.


"Ah, just some advances in engine technology. I swear a pair of some of today's newer fighter engines could push along a medium sized cargo barges fairly well, if you really needed them to. " He laughed at the thought.


"Otherwise, I keep seeing news about Pirates and Reavers. I'm glad to be heading closer towards the Verse' center. It's a scary universe out there."


@NovaNovass
 
Lately things had been considered rough upon the Gallion and her crew. This was no easy task nor great for a topic of conversation. Ross looked down the hall where Shin had long gone disappeared. Her eyes shifted over to Dax for a brief moment as she thought about moments from not too long ago. She could tell Dax wanted to be apart of the conversations and decisions just by how quickly he joined the two after Shin's little outburst. She had known the man for a long time now, longer than knowing Shin or ever being apart of the Gallion. He didn't show it often, but he would show interest about the Gallion topics when worried.


Ross frowned to herself, making sure Dax couldn't see her face as much. In the past few months Shin and Ross both had meetings about the Gallion and the things that need to be done to keep the large ship n the skies. All in which ended in a bad feel. The key thing was more money. Money is what bought the parts, the fuel, the food and paid the crew. The crew was the next big topic. They needed more help... But didn't have the funds to hire on new crew members.


Not to mention the fact that she felt like Shin was hiding something about the Gallion from her. They had found a few good mechanics along their travels and Ross wanted to hire them, but Shin "didn't play well" with them. This just lead to more work and less hands to help.


Ross turned on her heals and started to make er way to the docking bay in hopes to help Dax with stowing away all the weapons. She would leave her thoughts for later..... Maybe even jot them down in one of the books in her office. She had never really used it until today, but she did find a sense of clarity after writing today.


Meanwhile.......


Francis and Abigail were already on their hunt. Not long after they left the mess hall the four strange passengers stepped into motion to take over the Gallion. To them this was just like all the other ships they had taken over. Some were smaller with a much bigger crew, and others were big (not as big as the Gallion) with a decent sized crew.


But the Gallion herself seemed like a rare and much valued prize by herself. They got 'lucky' that they found such a ship with an almost ghost crew. At first they didn't even think about boarding the Gallion due to the low crew and passenger count. But Nick had mentioned that the ship was way old and could catch a pretty penny on the market near the Core planets. A lot of collectors lived on those planets and they collected just about anything.... And old things that worked was a sure win... If not the Gallion could go for a good price to others who wish for such a ship.


They would board ships with a larger head count on board. They worked within the black market... And their specialty was human blood. For some reason human blood had always been a money maker. It could be mixed with other species, but they would make more if it was just human.


Abigail and Francis made their way to the med bay making sure no one was around. They had noticed a lot of people head off to their rooms, or in other directions. A ship with a med bay was handy. Anyone who got a check up, the med bay would keep a documentation of their blood....


Abigail and Francis roamed around the med bay for sometime before Abigail let out a smirk and a slight chuckle. "Jack-pot" She turned to Francis and stepped away to show the cold case where Val had kept the blood samples of the crew and one passenger.


Francis walked over to the cold box and pulled out a tablet and a cord. He plugged the cord into the side panel and started to download the information of the blood samples.


Abigail kept an eye out making sure that they could sneak away if needed.


"Anything?" Abigail looked back to her so called team mate.


Francis nodded, "More than half of the crew has human blood in them." He stated. "But there are a few missing." Francis looked back inside the cold box to see that some slots were labeled, but had not blood tubes in the slots. He tilted his head a bit as he wanted to look around more..... But there wasn't much time. Abigail gave him the signal that they had to move. So what he had now would have to do.


The two slipped out of the med bay through another door in the room. So far they were off to a good start. The next step sat with Nick and Melody........ The layout and security of the ship was vital to get what they wanted done.


Melody and Nick wished they could say they were having the same luck... But when Melody dove into the ship's computer... She became lost in seconds. Every couple of minutes she was dumped out of the computer and dropped into space. When she had a few minutes to try and run through the system.... That was like sudoku on bitch hard, and on top of that...... She didn't know the first thing about sudoku. But she did know a lot about computers and a ship's system, which made this aggravating.


Her and Nick had wandered around a little to find a good spot to try and hack the ship... They found one, but had been there for sometime. Nick was starting to get a little worried as it never took Melody this long to break into a ship. "Still nothing?" he asked impatiently.


Melody rolled her eyes a little at the other. "Do you want to try?" She asked.


Nick's chest fell as he let a huff of air out through his nose. He went back to being the look out as she continued to try and hack the ship. Only moments later did she unplug her tablet from the panel on the wall and turn to Nick. "The next best thing is to get a hold of the main computer." She frowned.


"What about the tablet the navigator carries around?" Francis asked as Abigail and Francis found the two.


Melody nodded, "That would be great if we could find out where the navigator is." Melody's tone of voice already showed her frustration as clear as day.


Abigail smiled as she turned to Nick, "You and Melody can try to get a hold of the bridge while me and Francis try to find the navigator."


The group agreed on the solid change of plans. After getting the layout of the ship the four of them would one by one take out those upon the ship. Getting a hold of the main computer meant they could lock any and all doors if they wanted and could even cut off air supply to areas. But for this to work they would need control of the bridge and the navigator's tablet.


The group split with a quick pace, but kept their movement quiet. getting caught too early in the game would make or break their mission. And with a certain rider that was full blooded human on the ship... And her having a rare blood type... Her alone would be a great loss.


Their goal was to not kill their targets..... Human blood, even mixed, always sold better when the specimen was alive.


Rem nodded slowly to Issac's words. Between Reavers and Pirates.... Rem couldn't really relate. He had meet a few pirates, but not in the bad ways. Rem watched as Raven took her leave from the mess hall quietly. Charlie mentioned that she could go play with the bikes while she did the dishes, and he could tell the rider wasn't going to pass up such an opportunity.


Rem's eyes drifted across the room as the commotion died down and things started to go quiet. In the rough distance he could hear the purr of the engines, the heart of the ship that gave it life.... Melting into the background not truly being noticed by those on board. This was his first time in space.... His brother's too. He didn't know how peaceful and yet lively things could get out in the black. He found it soothing and very much worth the effort to actually find a ship worth traveling on.


There wasn't much of a topic running around. Everyone in the mess hall seemed ever so quiet... Possibly tiered.


...........The lights flickered for s second at this point.........


Rem jumped out of his peaceful thoughts and looked about at the others. He wondered if this was normal.....?


Before the lights flickered..... Elsewhere.


Shin's jaw dropped at the sight of the rails. This was down right impossible... They were all clean... The best he had ever seen them. Shin walked over to the large silver bars and looked down at their metallic surface. His reflection mocking his shocked look before looking up at the top rails... He blinked as he moved about while keeping his eyes on them. All the oil, grim and dirt seemed to have magically disappeared and left the rails looking like they just came out of the factory.


He ran a hand through his hair as he looked around the large bay. He would have to really give Charlie and Raven credit for this one.... As he left the bay he couldn't help but look back at the rails a few more times before leaving and heading over to the cargo bay. He wanted to double check on the cargo even if Ross went through it already.... Shin was just like that.


Upon entering the drop ship he noticed the crates and how they had recently been open. Placing down his tablet Shin moved over to one of the creates and reopened it. Shifted through the packaging grass and the small items inside... He continued about with a few more creates. But after the fourth or fifth one.. Shin paused. Something seemed off about the cargo.


He picked up a few pieces that looked like metal tubes with small hook ups on it along with a black box with strange dials and switches. Placing them back he opened up another create and searched through it finding more strange pieces. His heart began to race as he knew these parts.... He knew what they went to and what they were used for. Moving more creates he headed for the back larger creates. To an untrained eye..... This would just look like normal parts that could go to a ship. This was far from it.


Shin opened up a tall create and found large curved glass. These were human pods..... Not placed together just yet, but they were pods that would transport living humans. Shin stood there looking at the creates around him. There would be enough pieces to place together more than twelve pods. His chest froze when he noticed red crown printed in the corner of one of the bigger unopened creates.


The sound of metal lightly touching metal spun him around with a jolt. His eyes meet Abigail and Francis. Abigail had a wicked smirk across her lips while holding up his tablet.


"Funny how things work out?" She mocked as she pulled a gun from the back part of her pants and aimed it at Shin. Shin stumbled back as the gun went off.


Instead of getting hit with a bullet, a dart suck to his left shoulder. Shin kept his footing as best as he could, but what was done... Was done. He looked down to the small dart and pulled it from his shoulder. "Son of a bit....." His words failed just as he blacked out. Abigail and Francis watched as the navigator collapsed to the floor.


Abigail took a few steps forward as she handed the tablet over to Francis. Standing over Shin she looked down at him and smirked.


"That's one down......"
 
Charlie had offered a grin to Val as the woman appear, hands open and ready to help. Originally Charlie had not thought much of the dishes, use to small crowd she usually catered for but her routine didn't factor in the extra bodies which now dined with them.


Thankful for the help, however, Charlie found that her tongue and mind were weighed down for the polite small talk expected, so instead the girl sought another outlet to break the silence. A simple, but melodic tune tripped off the girl's tongue as she scrubbed dishes, the noted dipping pleasantly with the rhythmic nature of the waves back home. The song not un-similar to the Celtic music today, only with new alien languages woven into the tunes of old.


And so the two went, everything falling back into step with the usual beat of life on the Gallion. Until the lights flickered.


The tune on her lips faltered as Charlotte flicked a confused glance toward Val. Yeah, the ship had seen better days and most of Ross and Shin's concerns rotated around the remaining life in the Gallion, but until now, Shin had done a pretty stellar job at keeping the beast's electrical hiccups under control. In fact, Charlie wasn't aware of any electrical bumps until now.


"You think that's Shin working himself to death?" Charlie queried as she put down a freshly dried plate. "I mean... How bad is he, Val?"


Really Charlie knew Val couldn't answer in any great detail. Any health issues were between the patient and the doctor, but the rider simply couldn't help herself. She was worried. Really worried. Shin had been acting off since before they landed, and sure, he was usually a miserable sod when it came to making conversation with passengers, but to outwardly rage and storm off like some sulking teen? Even Shin's melodramatic levels didn't drop that far. Poor DJ


In fact, as Charlie questioned Val, Dax found himself pondering over the same subject. Straightening, the man turned, cast a half glance towards his captain. He knew in his heart that the captain and the navigator were keeping the ship's worries between themselves. That much Dax knew. He could see the stress written in Ross, from her expressions, actions and wording. He just didn't know how deep the troubles really ran. After all, the Gallion had been limping for awhile.


"Shin say anything about working on the electrics?" Dax asked, giving a thoughtful sniff towards the lights. He wanted to ask Ross directly, but she was stressed and if he needed to know, Ross would tell him. Of course, Dax would allow this rule to stand until he decided otherwise, which would be fairly soon if continues Ross avoid his gaze. They had been together for too long to let secrets mar their history.


Meanwhile Jack found himself back in medbay with the unnerved feeling that someone else had been here not minutes before. Glancing around the stark white and clinically clean area, his pale eyes traced every outline. He hadn't been here long, so he didn't actually know if anything else was out of place or not, but force of habit from his recent years lodging... Or at least it was pointless. Until Jack noted the cold box.


Now that had moved. In fact it was the one thing he had yet to work up the nerve to check out, and there it was, in plain sight with the lid missing. Slowly the man approach, hands outstretched so that his fingers could delicately trace the lip of the box as he peered down into it's contents. Blood like this was worth a pretty penny to the right seller, but it worked better if the blood was fresh when narcotics were mixed with it. But of course, they knew that didn't they?


Jack slowly bit his lip as his eyes turned towards the open door. So he had been right.


What to do? What to do?


Jack grinned that white smile of his as he replaced the lid onto the cold box and slid it back into place.
 

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