Futuristic Space: The Forgotten Frontier (IC) Part 1

[Gears]

The Wizard turned to the pair after a second, staring into their faces for a moment before speaking in strange accent.

“Lilith of the Green- uh daughter of Doran and Gale.”

There was a hint of nervousness in her voice as she repeatedly stared at the machines around the room, clearly not used to them.

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar took notice, taking care to pull the sleeve of her coat over her Vitals cusp and tucking her non-lethal tazer gun out of sight, to try and make the woman comfortable as possible.
"That's a lovely name Ms. Lilith. Tell me, I haven't been fortunate enough to visit Green before, what's it like there? And you too Mr. Gurgle, what's it like on Grolar?" She questioned glancing between her two new crewmates, trying to create a distraction for Lilith in hopes to make her feel more welcome among the technology.

 

[Gears]

Lilith's eyes light up at the question- shifting to a forest green, just thinking of her homeland destroys her nervous demeaner caused by the proximity to such advanced, and forbidden tech.

"The Green is the one of... No- the most beautiful planet in the sea of stars, Thralesh himself blessed the land, protecting us from the evils of Maraiah."

She proceeds to speak for a while, her eye color changing rapidly, though some could distinguish the meaning of each change- when speaking of the land itself, her eyes return to the forest green, when speaking of Thralesh the eyes become gold- but occasionally if she mentions Maraiah, they become a crimson red- akin to blood. Although the speed of which she speaks makes it difficult to understand some words, along with her accent and relative inexperience to speaking anything other than "High-speak", language of mages, such as the ones from her village. She speaks of dragons and demons, cultists who worship the Dolan- but none dare worship Maraiah, and the group can't help but feel a chill at hearing the name- even if none of them have heard of the name.

The Brilan, when faced with the question is silent for a moment, but the grip on his helmet intensifies. "My home... It was beautiful once." Anyone can see pain fills his face as he walks away.

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar tilted her head the dim grays of her eyes focusing on Lilith a small smile spreading across her lips at the success of her inquiry of distracting her from the unfamiliarity of the new environment as she listened intently to the words of the wizard of The Green. She kept track of the changing eye color as they went making mental notes to add to her patient files later, while still trying to listen and make out what she was saying to the best of their ability. She paused forehead creasing together at the part where she began to speak of the Dolan cultists, but her smile otherwise stayed intact.
"...There are cultists who worship the Dolan? Why even them but not this...Maraiah?" she questioned tapping her pointer finger against their left forearm twice. Just above where her caduceus tattoo rest hidden to the others by the white cloth of her physician garb.

They trailed off glancing over to the Brilan, guilt spreading across her face as they registered the pained expression in Gurgle's. She opened her mouth to apologize as he began to walk away and to go follow him before stopping herself mid standing up and sitting straight back down next to Lilith, the words dying on her tongue. She decided that perhaps it might better to giver her new companion some space for now, and to apologize later. She smoothed out her features a moment rubbing at their heavy dark circles before glancing in the direction that she had seen Grabes bring the coffee from.
"I'm going to get myself some coffee, would you care to join me Ms. Lilith?" she inquired glancing to the woman that sat beside them as she stood up.

 

[Gears]

Lilith's eyes became a deep blue, as her face fell. "The Dolan worshipers see them as fallen gods who with enough sacrifice will return to their holy forms, though they are mad- there were a few in my village, but they were... Dealt with." She stops for a moment, clearly lost in thought- or memories. "Mariah is a different story, even the darkest mage or violent barbarian fears Maraiah, a god that seeks to destroy everything and everyone and leave only a void- She is impossible to negotiate with, no one even speaks her true name." She says before her eyes grow yellow at the mention of coffee. "Co-Fee? Is that some Tea?" she asked, reaching into her bag and pulling out a teapot.

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

A frown managed to worm it's way across Skylar's face as they mulled over what Lilith had said.
"I see that's an...interesting way to view them...this Mariah....out of curiosity, is it a common belief that the god's of your planet exist beyond the Green? Is that why the Dolan are treated such a way to some?" She inquired eyeing the teapot and the bag she pulled it from.
"And not quite...although it's very similar. Coffee is a drink that originates from Terra that like tea comes from a plant. It's well known for it's high caffiene content, I personally relied on it and other forms of legal stimulants heavily through medschool." she commented looking away from the pot and back to the wizard.
"It's a bit bitter, but can be sweetened...I saw some of our companions with it, so I'm hoping that there might be some for communal use somewhere around here." She explained, giving the woman a small smile, as her eyes wandered once more around the ship.

 

[Gears]

"Mariah was trapped in the old world before the first war, by another god- the forgotten God. Some say the Dolan are demons that escaped the old world." She said, putting the tea away. She was about to say something more when she fell backward, surprised by the sudden appearance of a certain energetic and erratic engineer.

Eddie, having quietly approached the group after finishing his communication with the AI had snuck up on the pair- he didn't try to creep around the ship, he had been given a few lectures after nearly giving the crew heart attacks, but his early silence and tendency to go unnoticed occasionally was almost natural to him. His eyes flashed a neon green, almost glowing as he spoke.

"Coffee is in the mess hall, but cook banned me from anything caffeinated after i blew up his kitchen a year ago- I can take you there if you sneak me a mug."

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar tilted their head as she took in the information about Mariah and this Old World a pensive look coming across their face as she closed her eyes in consideration of what was said, completely unaware of the approach of Eddie until he spoke.
They let out a startled gasp herself also taken off guard by the sudden appearance of the engineer. Her gray eyes quickly found the source of the voice as they moved to offer the fallen wizard a hand up, quickly scanning her to ensure that she was not injured before turning their attention to the new member of the group offering him a warm smile.

"Ah apologies, your appearance took my by surprise sir. I don't..." she paused looking at him carefully just to ensure that they hadn't met and she had forgotten it before continuing "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Doctor Skylar Hummington, although Skylar is just fine. And you are?" she asked politely not moving to offer him a handshake until she was certain Lilith was up and alright.

She paused however, a hesitant look coming to her face as she mulled over his offer.
"The assistance would be absolutely appreciated...but if you don't mind me asking...how exactly did you blow up the kitchen...and is this coffee thing a rule or more so the unrelated retaliation to an accident? I apologize for asking, I just need a little more information I'm afraid. I'm sorry." She said sounding uncertain and all together not to thrilled at the prospect of potentially breaking a rule. Although she tried to avoid aiming any sort of rudeness of tone or vitriole towards him.

 

[Gears]

Eddie smiled back, quickly shaking her hand as he scanned the room. "Another Doc? Well as long as your not as crazy as our resident medic it should be fine- she even makes me look perfectly sane, Names Eddie Gears- Ship Mechanic/Engineer/Comic-Relief.; and the explosion was due to a mistake I made when I was trying to modify the coffee machines, I had tried it for the first time after the crew found me- kept me up for three days straight, thought if I added more caffeine it would help, ended up blowing up the kitchen but I fixed it all that night- It should be fine, and the few times I have sampled some I have far more efficient. Minus the few explosions, but that's common.

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar let out a small laugh shaking her head.
"I would personally hardly consider myself crazy, but very few people tend to view themselves that way. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Eddie." She smiled before frowning slightly dropping the handshake to fiddle with the crystal hanging from her neck.
"Although I must admit, that is slightly worrisome...how exactly is this resident doctor crazy if I might ask?" She questioned before closing her eyes thinking and nodding.
"Very well, if it's not a rule, and...there's no explosions as a result I could get you a cup I suppose." She said after a moment of mulling it over before fixing her eyes on him.
"Only, if that's the case however... I would really rather not anybody get hurt from an explosion."

 

[Gears]

"Mostly her obsession with cybernetics going a bit far, when the crew found me I had injured my hand, she volunteered to replace it with a prosthetic, I wake up from surgery and my full arm is gone- It's a handy gadget but I would have preferred to have kept most of the limb." Eddie said as he revealed the cybernetic arm, usually covered by his Mechanic jacket. "Anyway, the captain forced me to reinforce any of my labs when tinkering, so everyone should be fine if I blow myself up again." Eddie said as he hid the arm again.

"Has this one's background been vetted?" A cold voice said, clearly the businessman Moore, leaning back in his own chair, the well pressed suit pristine, his thug still glaring at the group. "I personally wanted a group of actual professionals to carry out this mission- an insane mechanic with no background information feels like a security risk to me."

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar frowned examining the arm thoughtfully.
"That's...highly...questionable of her. Especially to do so without your consent. My apologies, cybernetics have absolutely opened up whole new realms of medicine, but she took it too far. Oh... and please do be careful, you're included in the 'I'd rather people not get injured through explosions statement.'" She said looking away from the arm and back around the room before letting out a small sigh at the business man's words. They frowned before glancing back at Moore her gray eyes narrowing ever so imperceptably before flashing him a smile.
"Well Mr. Moore Sir, it seems to me that our companion Mr. Eddie here has been a member of this ships crew for a while, as I see it. That means his captain and crew vouches for him, otherwise he wouldn't be here. If you're questioning the decision making of the captain and crew that much, then perhaps you should question if you really want to be aboard this ship. Let's not be too judgemental of one another right from the start alright?" She said in a warm even tone with a smile as they spoke her hands folding over each other in front of them.

 

[Gears]

"Doc's planet believes cybernetics are a blessing and all should enjoy them, and as for explosions I am very durable." He said, about to add a joke before Moore cut in, the cold tone immediately making Eddie hate the man.

Moore gave a low chuckle at the doctors defense of the mechanic, clearly amused. "Unfortunately, I have to insure my company's property and interests are protected- I tolerate most of you because you have been confirmed to be professionals, but according to my own research your friend here has no proof of education despite his history, refuses to join any guild or provide any sort of identification- he was just found on a rock by the crew for heavens sake, only giving a name and claims of being a mechanic."

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar frowned not being able to respond further to what Eddie had said due to Moore's interruption. She glanced over to Eddie hesitantly unsure if he wanted to say something to the man, before taking a breath and turning back to Moore.

"Then perhaps if you have suspicions it's unwise to reveal them infront of the person you have suspicions of, since when has it been wise to reveal your cards to potential enemies. It's understandable to have some degree of distrust of those around us considering what we're about to get into the danger of Dolans, however for that exact same reason we should try to get along without making any quick judgements of one another. Pitting ourselves against each other is just unwise, we'll likely all need to rely on each other at some point or another, and some degree of trust is needed for that. Going around and questioning the quality or trustworthiness of others to their face will also hardly change the circumstances."

 

[Gears]

Eddie's fists clenched as he listened to the "Suit" talk, his teeth gritted as he responded. "My past is none of your business, The captain knows I can do my Job and I don't start trouble- If you knew him you would trust his judge of character." Eddie said, taking a step toward the punk before he saw Graves reach for his weapon- the mountain of a man shaking his head, his face betraying nothing. "Let's just get out of here." Eddie said as he stepped back, rubbing his head as he walked toward the doors.

Moore only smirked, comfortable with his bodyguard ready to deal with anything- he was practically untouchable, if any of these morons tried anything he could have their lives ruined with just a call. "The speak of Dolan's is bullshit, my company has maintained a flawless security system that will never allow their return. Once we get to this backwater planet we'll probably only find some insurgents to deal with." He said, not noticing Eddies fists clench at the mention of the Dolan Defense Grid, one of the projects that had allowed the Shu Corporation to thrive.

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar moved quickly about to try and step inbetween the two of them trying to avoid any sort of physical confrontation, letting out a relieved sigh as Eddie stopped. She still eyed Grave's gun warily, giving the weapon a disgusted look.
"Then if you have such confidence in your company's security, I don't see the matter here for you." they said calmly before turning to follow Eddie away from the room, pinching their forehead once she was out the door, before glancing back over to Eddie having taken notice of the fist clench.
"...Are you alright?...I'm sorry that he was so...unpleasant towards you." She said apologetically dropping her hand from their forehead once she was sure they were out of ear shot. As she followed after him, her eyes darted around the new location as they tried to form a mental map of the ship before turning back towards him.

 

[Gears]

As they walked through the halls, Jerry's and Soldiers carried supplies to distribute across the ship, before they reached the mess hall. The mess hall was bare, only holding some tables- any off duty crewmembers deep in conversation, a few calling out to Eddie, while Lilith shied away from the group, having raised her hood, her hands drumming on her spell book. "It's fine, Shu Corporation drones are not known for caring for nothing but cash. I know that the captain and crew trusts me and that's enough."

Eddie pushed the door to the kitchen as a frying pan sailed towards him. Eddie, clearly expecting this ducked aside while also moving the others aside. "I guess Cooky's not in a good mood- I'll wait out here." Eddie said as he stepped back, just as a loud voice shouted: "Out with you Mechanic, I have the cabin boy send you your meals for a reason- I'll throw something sharper next time you enter my kitchen."

Inside the kitchen was a group of cabin boy's, each hurrying around the kitchen as the Chef yelled orders while stirring a pot of stew, tasting it before calling for one of his assistants to serve it to the men outside. "Did he send you to sneak him some coffee? We have been kicked out of several ports because of his caffeine fueled rampages." He said, not looking in their direction as he diced some vegetables, his technique quick and precise.

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar followed quietly, glancing back to Lilith and then to Eddie, with a nod. "That is true...I suppose I've merely forgotten how callous some of them can be." she chose not to press further and not bring up his reaction to the Dolan Defence Grid considering that they hardly knew each other, and they doubted such prying would be welcome. Instead she glanced back over to Lilith furrowing their brows ever slightly. "And you, Mrs. Lilith, are you alright?" She asked noticing the woman's skittishness and wishing they could do more for her. They momentarily stopped as the group reached the Mess hall, making sure to note the location only to flinch at the flying frying pan with alarm.
"Goodness..." She muttered under her breath with a quick thanks to the engineer for moving them out of the way as well. Hesitantly they stepped in looking around for the coffee before freezing at the Cook's words.

They paused glancing to Lilith chewing uncertainly at the chefs question.
"I um...I'll just...grab some tea then..." She said, not quite certain about grabbing coffee now, neither for herself or the others, and moved to try and grab some tea instead, not wanting to lie nor break the rules, nor neccesarily return empty handed with only something for herself and a broken promise.

 

[Gears]

Lilith quietly grabbed her own tea, avoiding eye contact anyone as she quickly left the room, clearly afraid of the loud noises. After she rushed out the door, the Cook sighed, putting his knife aside for a moment. "Go ahead, but get a lower caffeine for Mr. Gears, then get the hell out of my kitchen," He said, not looking at Skylar as he directed a few cabin boys to prepare the coffee, before getting back to yelling orders and preparing the food.

Eddie had been drumming his hand on the desk when Lilith quickly entered, rushing toward her- oblivious to her fear of him with even his slight cybernetic and use of tech. "So was Cooky in a bad mood today? He was only slightly joking about the knife thing- last time he got mad enough to throw one he hit me, so he just went back to random pots and pans. Eddie looked at the strange book she held, about to ask a question when The Mercenary approached, the body-encasing armor betraying no emotion. "Where is the doctor?"

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar nodded quickly moving to do as ordered grabbing two mugs and filling them with hot water and grabbing tea bags to add in, moving to follow Lilith out as soon as she was done, being careful to stay out of the way of the kitchen Crew at work before ducking out, and looking around for the other two. Stopping to add the teabags to the water, she moved to join the two just as The Mercenary started to ask the question, coming into hearing range just soon enough to hear the tail end of the question. She smiled passing one of the two mugs over to Eddie, making sure that it was the one with the lesser caffiene content, based of the packaging.
"I was unable to get you Coffee, apologies, I hope tea can suffice...Did I hear correctly that you're looking for a doctor?" She questioned turning her attention to the mercenary as soon as she had done that, ready to abandon the tea incase she was needed. "Is someone injured or in need of assitance?"

 

[Gears]

Eddie shrugged and quickly drank it, not caring about the heat of the beverage as he drank, eyes scanning the room and watching the conversation- he hadn't met the mercenary yet, but he could tell he was expensive, with that set of Briolanian- he had seen a few headlines about his exploits, not all of them being very "virtuous", almost as much of an enigma as the Mist Assassin. Eddie pretended to not listen as he tinkered with his wrist computer, constantly scanning the room.

"The captain wanted to see you on the bridge, he sent me." The mercenary said, hand at his weapon, something clearly making him uneasy in this strange ship. "He also wanted your report on the transmission engineer." He said, looking to Eddie

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar let out a quiet relieved sigh that nobody was hurt before giving the mercenary a nod. Knowing absolutely nothing about him herself, she took a small sip of her tea to avoid burning herself, and frowned deciding to let it cool down a little bit.
"I see, I suppose I will be on my way then, thank you for informing us." She said with a nod a grateful smile to the mercenary. She glanced over to Lilith uncertain about how she would feel being left alone.
"Would you like to come with us?" She offered the wizard, with a warm smile before glancing over to Eddie raising one of her eyebrow's slightly at the rate he was drinking the hot beverage. "If, that wouldn't be a problem with the captain that is..." she trailed of uncertainly, deferring to the opinions of those that had been there longer.

 

[Gears]

The mercenary didn't respond, walking away after his message was delivered, disappearing into the twisting hallways of the ship, the distant sounds of his metallic footfalls slowly fading away.
"So what did tall masked and mysterious want from you? I wasn't listening by the way, was working on every important engineer business."
Eddie responded, lowering his wrist computer- and Captain might want my help with the AI- was getting her to talk but for a bit there's only been radio silence."

 

[Keeperoftheghosts]

Skylar glanced over to Eddie once the Mercenary left, shaking her head ever so slightly.
"It seems the captain wishes to speak with me, you as well it sounds. Seems he wants your report on transmission. In the Bridge." They explained rotating her cup in their hands slightly still waiting for the beverage inside to cool down to a safe temperature.
"I take it they're not a typical crew-member? Another person brought on for this mission?" They questioned glancing at the direction the mercenary had gone curiously, tapping their finger quietly against the edge of the mug, thoughtfully. She glanced over to the Engineer.
"Bridge would be in the standard location correct?"

 

[Gears]

"I got a strange message from around the area we are heading too- It wasn't good- and that's Lockdown, I've hear a lot of stories about him at ports." Eddie said, the usual manic grin dropping on his face, replaced with a grim and silent demeaner, fear tinging his voice. As the trio walked through the halls, activity increased as they approached the bridge, it's structure being quickly modified by the jovial UEDF Engineers and their colder counterparts sent by the Shu Corporation, Graves overseeing their work. He let out an annoyed sigh when the trio entered, glaring at them as Eddie lead them to the helm, where the captain waited.