OffSideTech
The 4:00AM Roleplayer
[started on second post]
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Futuristic The Travelers
- Thread starter OffSideTech
- Start date
Smntha
Sol
Log.Entry_June 4, 3050.
The dim gray atmosphere within the remnants of Chicago perfectly reflected the attitude of its long suffering inhabitants. Not a color was to be seen for miles now - the highways of gray cutting through the seas of ghettos and skyscrapers like a river through a canyon. Once life would have thrived here. Chicago was a place full of museums, cinema, music. Yet now, it seemed as if it were the most desolate place on Earth. Out past the vast slabs of concrete armored within a shell of metal was an ocean of green never to be seen by the human race again. Like color, hope seemed to be lost for those left after the seemingly endless attacks of the Gods above them. At least, the extraterrestrials that attacked seemed godly enough.
Yet today sparked a slight glimmer of hope that slithered its way through the streets. The whispers of the Program at last reaching their seemingly impossible goal. A goal in which would secure the future for the human race. A goal that had given mothers and fathers hope for their children's future, even as they were rummaging through the disgusting alleyways of the Chicago Hub for food. The Program was a constant since the first attacks in 2030. It seemed like a coalition between both the largest brains and the heftiest brawn from around the world. As the world began collapsing around the its desperate citizens, a pillar of security remained standing within the heart of Chicago. This pillar was the Eternity Tower. It was home to those who were bold enough to call themselves Operators of the Program. Within this tower gathered people from all walks of life - some poor, rich, foreign or native. This melting pot of diversity not only brought enlightenment to those gathered within the confines of its gray walls, but hope to those who had been barred from the secrets within.
June fourth. The date had been discussed by xenologists, astrophysicists and generals alike. It had been predicted that this day would be least likely interrupted by an attack from the other worldly gods. The sky had been clear - opening up to reveal the slightest shade of blue. Citizens within Chicago desperately clambered up to rooftops, crawling like rats from a sewer to get the tiniest glimpse of light. It had been raining for as long as many could remember. That was, until today.
The executive of the Program had been sitting at his desk mid-way through the tower. His wrinkled complexion showed years of worry and strain upon his tiny, aching body. A pair of plastic glasses with scratches surrounding the lenses were nearly tipping over on the bridge of his nose. His shaky hand reached across the glass surface of the desk to gently wrap around the edges of a piece of glass framed in a matte gray plastic. The overlay upon the glass flickered into life. The dark red font scrolled across the screen - today instead of offering news upon other Hubs simply asking one question.
"R...e....a....d....y...?" The word spelled out across the screen and was encircled by a light gray frame. A slight pulsing effect emanated from the circle, simply awaiting his touch. With a sigh the C.E.O lowered his index finger upon the glass.
Within seconds, the phones of those bold enough to board the first interstellar mission were alerted that the time had come.
C.E.O_Centuri
Attention Program Operative. This message has been dispatched as of 07:30 hours on June Fourth, 3050. The time has come for you, brave member of The Program, to launch our kind into the stars beyond. Report for duty immediately in the briefing room. Launch is set for 14:00.
The launch site was buzzing atop the Eternity Tower. Scientists in dark lab coats dashed about, some on forklifts and golf-carts as they desperately began to load the ship with supplies. Others dangled from various locations about the ship, performing last minute diagnostics. The wind was blowing ever so softly, causing leaves to stir about in the Chicago Hub.
Each operative would be awoken or alerted by the loud alert that is played when the C.E.O had contacted them..
And thus, the story begun.
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Smntha
Sol
Log.Operator106_June Fourth, 3050.
The morning sunlight had just begun to creep its way through a set of old wooden shutters. Its faint beams slithered their way along a dark oak wood floor to a mess of gray blankets atop a rather large mattress. Within the confines of this space the Engineer had lain dormant for hours now. Abnormal from his usual self, Sebastian had pried away from his workbench that was tucked hastily in the corner to be well prepared for the day ahead. That damned workbench had been the reason he'd always lost copious hours of sleep. Blueprints and crude sketches lined the walls and floor surrounding it, the small metal chair sitting like a throne atop a mountain of food wrappers and paperwork.
A loud buzzing began to erupt from the mountain of blankets that entombed the young man. This, naturally, was followed by a long and extended groan of discord. With this, the giant began to rise. The blankets fell down off his bare shoulders like water seceding from the beach, the mess of chocolate brown hair sticking up wildly from the engineers head.
"Already?" His voice sounded hoarse and strained. The German accent that Sebastian had been raised with was already evident in the way he announced each letter carefully. Though the man was raised to speak both German and English, he always had loved how German tumbled off of his tongue like honey.
With a heaving breath he swung his legs out from the comfort of his bed; a comfort he would come to miss extensively in the years ahead. Sebastian rose to his prized possession, a coffee machine. This was, single-handedly, the piece of equipment that allowed this man to operate. He'd become so reliant on caffeine at this point, any day he'd miss it was sure to be filled with an agonizing headache and a bad temperament. As his gentle hands began to operate the machinery he gazed out the dusty window to the Eternity Tower that laid perfectly in front of his flat. Whilst gazing at the top he couldn't help but feel a slight nervousness arise in his stomach. Ground control had already begun to prepare the vessel for launch - there was certainly no turning back now.
A few minutes pass and Sebastian is next seen sitting at his workbench with a large mug with a German flag proudly painted across its side. With careful sips he began shuffling each paper and sketch into a binder, careful not to spill a single precious drop of his beverage onto the even more precious designs. Near the end of his collection Sebastian froze for a moment. He gingerly set down his mug and curled his fingers around a wilted and crumpled sheet of construction paper. Sebastian's coal eyes drifted over the image before him.
It was a drawing from his childhood. It was messy and disproportionate, though the childish artwork obviously depicted some kind of machine. Over this machine were the words, "Beleben-o-Matisch". Beside this machine appeared to be two tombstones marked "Mama" and "Papa". He raised one of his hands to his forehead, chuckling softly to himself. To believe such an intelligent man was once so naive as to think he could design a machine to bring back his parents seemed impossible. But there was the proof, trembling in his hands.
Sensing a wave of emotion curling up in his throat he shoved the paper away into the binder as well. Sebastian moved the binder into a large, military issue coyote bag in which he had already packed his standard attire. After this he raises his arms above his head, tilting his upper half back and forth slightly as he does so. This man was certainly not out of shape, despite the stereotype of engineers being so. In fact, a treadmill had been folded away and slid beneath his bed-frame just days earlier.
After dressing himself Sebastian turned to a metal briefcase that had been resting on his kitchen table. Atop it was the 106 helmet - a symbol to those surrounding him that he was not merely a normal Program employee. His hand brushed the helmet aside like dust from a shelf, the real prize that he was seeking sealed away within the case. With two gentle clicks he lifted the lid to reveal his 106 Uniform, a grim reminder of the burden he was to carry aboard the ship. Shortly after inspecting the uniform Sebastian locks it away once more, taking it beneath his arm. Casting one last glance at his apartment, he slings his back over his shoulder, holding the helmet in his free hand and the briefcase in the other. The German coffee mug had disappeared into his bag, Sebastian hoping to smuggle it aboard. The folded pair of HuffTec Glasses glowed a soft blue as they rested in the security of his flannel pocket. With a final nod and smile, Sebastian turned out of his door, throwing it shut behind him.
Roughly twenty minutes later Sebastian arrived at the looming Tower, his hands now actively trembling. He shook his head and swallowed the fear, burying it deep within his stomach. Not today. A gentle voice called within the abyss of his mind. Sebastian began to take his steps up toward the elevator, slithering inside nervously. He was surrounded by scientists and reporters, all of whom bombarded the famous 106 with questions.
Being his own, polite self Sebastian did his best to answer all of those who interrogated him. Yet he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief when the elevator slammed to a halt and the doors slid open, exposing a long hallway leading to the mission briefing room. Stepping outside, Sebastian looks back at the group and grins.
"Don't worry, we're coming back for this mess."
He thoroughly meant every word of what he said. Sebastian had every intention of returning to Earth with amazing tales and adventures, though he knew the chances of such were slim. His footsteps echoed in the empty hall and as he arrived at the double-doorway, he inhaled slowly.
You're ready. It's time.
Sebastian nudged the doors open, tilting his head in curiosity when he arrived inside of a nearly empty briefing room. It seemed as though he was the first to arrive. Even the Captain, the one who was supposed to be leading the damned mission hadn't seemed to arrive yet. With a low groan Sebastian shook his head and sat at one of the many seats surrounding a large rectangular table. He couldn't help but chuckle as he murmured, "This'll be one hell of a trip.."
Finally he folded his hands over one another on the table, gazing at the doorway expectantly.
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Lokipi
QT Pi
Freya Noone
The shrill alarm erupted into the velvet silence which had settled over the small apartment, shattering the serine scene as the message blinked up onto a small phone’s screen. In reply and raising to the shrieking chorus of her phone’s unwanted, and ludicrously early, demanded for attention, a low growl rumbled from below a mass of blankets atop a small bed. From within the folds, a small pale hand emerged and blindly fumbled across the bed side table, were the incriminating object hid, until the searching fingers curled around the communication device. Like a spider with its freshly caught prey, the hand withdrew back into its burrow, where within the swaddled darkness, Freya’s sleepy eyes regarded C.E.O’s message.
Due to the early hour, Fray reread the message three times to be sure, before slowly the heap of blankets began to unfold themselves, revealing Fray’s small form at its heart. Standing, the girl stretched, grinning at the sensation of taunt muscles being flexed, before running a hand through the wild, tumbling mess of curls she called hair. Blinking back sleep and sighing away last night’s dreams with a heavy heart, Freya turned to her window and allowed a solemn smile spread across her lips. From beyond the crack in her curtains, threadbare and moth eaten, patches of azure blue sky shone through the drab greys of her apartment.
Padding to the curtains, Fray unveiled the window and crack it open to let in the excited giggles of children from the roof tops flout into her world of senses. Today, of all days, the sky was shining and it was beautiful. The sensation of the sun’s first rays against her exposed skin was as gentle as a kiss and warm as an embrace.
“I wondered when you would show.” Freya grinned, as she realised this was the sweetest goodbye her old home could offer her, before she would leave and race towards the stars.
So despite the time limit on her day, Fray basked in it, allowing the light to brighten old memories of her childhood which had faded with war and worry. On days like this, her mother would hang up the washing then read under the apple trees at the bottom their garden, waiting for the children to wake up. Her dad would be singing in the shower, some terrible cover of meatloaf, while the sweet melody of bird song would fill the hedges and towering silver birches. Nick would be asleep next to her, as he had hated sleeping alone most nights, while Fray would listen to the world around her. Above her window, small crystals were hung to catch the light so that in the morning, her room would burst into dancing pools colour. It had been perfect back then. It was home.
However, after 10 minutes of basking, reality began to nip at her kneels as her phone buzzed again. Pulling away from her mind, Freya grabbed her phone and studied the screen before tapping in a reply to her younger brother, who had also been assigned a position. When she was done, Freya moved towards the bathroom and commenced her everyday routine, 20 minutes later, emerging from the rolling clouds of warm steam, looking fresh. Quickly, her standard uniform was pulled on, a green overall which she only ever wore half of properly. As she tied the arms of the suit around her hips, she then dragged on her standard vest top and hoodie, before stuffing what little else remained from after her packing the night before.
With that done, Freya pulled on her boots and headed for the door, her bag slung over her back, not once looking back. No, instead, with her one free hand, the girl pulled up her earphones and plugged in to her own music player. As she descending the creaking stairs of her home, the warm tune of ‘Like real people do’ Hoizer, strummed into being and steadying her pace.
On the streets, things were pretty quiet, most people choosing to camp up on the roof tops to look up at the bright sky. Yet regardless of the lack of people, the streets still felt alive with anticipation. At this point, Freya had assumed word had already gotten out about today being ‘the big day’. At last the Program had reached its goal, and marked the next step for their species. Of course, no one mentioned the reality of the mission, the fact that hundreds of people were about to leave the earth was the dream, but their return? That bit was ignored as no one wanted to worry. These days people needed hope. Heck, even Freya needed it, so for now she too ignore the unanswerable questions which lay around her future as slowly she navigated her way towards looming pillar which marked her destination.
When she at last arrive, her sleeked down hair had already began to disobey and coil around itself, so when she noticed the press slowly filing through the main doors, Freya made a last ditch effort to smoothen out the unruly mop. This however, was to little affect and after 5 minutes of achieving nothing, the girl shrugged walked on, hoping that perhaps today luck was on her side and she wouldn’t be noticed by the couple of 100 people now massing. But luck was never on her side. Ever.
Within the first five minutes of getting through the main doors, feeling pleased with her progress, the horror of realising that she then had to wait for one of the many lifts settled on her shoulder. While moving, she could avoid the prying eyes and needling questions, but while waiting, she was a sitting duck. Something which the reporters also realised as they descended onto their target.
Swallowing a large lump of doubt which swelled in her throat in fear of answering the questions wrong, Freya instead plastered her most friendly smile onto her full lips and shook as many hands as she could. After all, she understood their excitement, she felt it too and despite her hopes for a rest in the lift up being denied, Freya couldn’t help but join in with her company’s enthusiasm. By the time she made it to her floor, she step out with a huge grin and saluted back to those still in the lift.
“It’s the perfect day to make history.” She almost giggled in goodbye to her new found friends. When the doors closed though, all other signs of life within the corridor were gone, leaving Freya to walk towards the huge conference doors in silence. It was only when she rested her hand on the handle that Freya stopped and took in a deep breath and allowed a grin to stretch across her lips. A spark of her old personality kicking into being, as she quickly imagine what the other side of the door would reveal. A sea of people, no. Crew mates would be waiting on the other side of this door, all grinning at her. Perhaps some would salute?
“This is going to be amazing.” The grin grew bigger.
Her fingers tightened around the handle and opened the door. Beyond however, was a sore disappoint to what she built in her head. Instead of a sea of people, the room was empty, or at least on first appearances it was, until Fray stepped into the room and spotted single figure. A man, tall looking and dark haired.
“Oh. Well. This is awkward.” Fray managed, as behind her, the door swung close, with a gentle click.
The shrill alarm erupted into the velvet silence which had settled over the small apartment, shattering the serine scene as the message blinked up onto a small phone’s screen. In reply and raising to the shrieking chorus of her phone’s unwanted, and ludicrously early, demanded for attention, a low growl rumbled from below a mass of blankets atop a small bed. From within the folds, a small pale hand emerged and blindly fumbled across the bed side table, were the incriminating object hid, until the searching fingers curled around the communication device. Like a spider with its freshly caught prey, the hand withdrew back into its burrow, where within the swaddled darkness, Freya’s sleepy eyes regarded C.E.O’s message.
Due to the early hour, Fray reread the message three times to be sure, before slowly the heap of blankets began to unfold themselves, revealing Fray’s small form at its heart. Standing, the girl stretched, grinning at the sensation of taunt muscles being flexed, before running a hand through the wild, tumbling mess of curls she called hair. Blinking back sleep and sighing away last night’s dreams with a heavy heart, Freya turned to her window and allowed a solemn smile spread across her lips. From beyond the crack in her curtains, threadbare and moth eaten, patches of azure blue sky shone through the drab greys of her apartment.
Padding to the curtains, Fray unveiled the window and crack it open to let in the excited giggles of children from the roof tops flout into her world of senses. Today, of all days, the sky was shining and it was beautiful. The sensation of the sun’s first rays against her exposed skin was as gentle as a kiss and warm as an embrace.
“I wondered when you would show.” Freya grinned, as she realised this was the sweetest goodbye her old home could offer her, before she would leave and race towards the stars.
So despite the time limit on her day, Fray basked in it, allowing the light to brighten old memories of her childhood which had faded with war and worry. On days like this, her mother would hang up the washing then read under the apple trees at the bottom their garden, waiting for the children to wake up. Her dad would be singing in the shower, some terrible cover of meatloaf, while the sweet melody of bird song would fill the hedges and towering silver birches. Nick would be asleep next to her, as he had hated sleeping alone most nights, while Fray would listen to the world around her. Above her window, small crystals were hung to catch the light so that in the morning, her room would burst into dancing pools colour. It had been perfect back then. It was home.
However, after 10 minutes of basking, reality began to nip at her kneels as her phone buzzed again. Pulling away from her mind, Freya grabbed her phone and studied the screen before tapping in a reply to her younger brother, who had also been assigned a position. When she was done, Freya moved towards the bathroom and commenced her everyday routine, 20 minutes later, emerging from the rolling clouds of warm steam, looking fresh. Quickly, her standard uniform was pulled on, a green overall which she only ever wore half of properly. As she tied the arms of the suit around her hips, she then dragged on her standard vest top and hoodie, before stuffing what little else remained from after her packing the night before.
With that done, Freya pulled on her boots and headed for the door, her bag slung over her back, not once looking back. No, instead, with her one free hand, the girl pulled up her earphones and plugged in to her own music player. As she descending the creaking stairs of her home, the warm tune of ‘Like real people do’ Hoizer, strummed into being and steadying her pace.
On the streets, things were pretty quiet, most people choosing to camp up on the roof tops to look up at the bright sky. Yet regardless of the lack of people, the streets still felt alive with anticipation. At this point, Freya had assumed word had already gotten out about today being ‘the big day’. At last the Program had reached its goal, and marked the next step for their species. Of course, no one mentioned the reality of the mission, the fact that hundreds of people were about to leave the earth was the dream, but their return? That bit was ignored as no one wanted to worry. These days people needed hope. Heck, even Freya needed it, so for now she too ignore the unanswerable questions which lay around her future as slowly she navigated her way towards looming pillar which marked her destination.
When she at last arrive, her sleeked down hair had already began to disobey and coil around itself, so when she noticed the press slowly filing through the main doors, Freya made a last ditch effort to smoothen out the unruly mop. This however, was to little affect and after 5 minutes of achieving nothing, the girl shrugged walked on, hoping that perhaps today luck was on her side and she wouldn’t be noticed by the couple of 100 people now massing. But luck was never on her side. Ever.
Within the first five minutes of getting through the main doors, feeling pleased with her progress, the horror of realising that she then had to wait for one of the many lifts settled on her shoulder. While moving, she could avoid the prying eyes and needling questions, but while waiting, she was a sitting duck. Something which the reporters also realised as they descended onto their target.
Swallowing a large lump of doubt which swelled in her throat in fear of answering the questions wrong, Freya instead plastered her most friendly smile onto her full lips and shook as many hands as she could. After all, she understood their excitement, she felt it too and despite her hopes for a rest in the lift up being denied, Freya couldn’t help but join in with her company’s enthusiasm. By the time she made it to her floor, she step out with a huge grin and saluted back to those still in the lift.
“It’s the perfect day to make history.” She almost giggled in goodbye to her new found friends. When the doors closed though, all other signs of life within the corridor were gone, leaving Freya to walk towards the huge conference doors in silence. It was only when she rested her hand on the handle that Freya stopped and took in a deep breath and allowed a grin to stretch across her lips. A spark of her old personality kicking into being, as she quickly imagine what the other side of the door would reveal. A sea of people, no. Crew mates would be waiting on the other side of this door, all grinning at her. Perhaps some would salute?
“This is going to be amazing.” The grin grew bigger.
Her fingers tightened around the handle and opened the door. Beyond however, was a sore disappoint to what she built in her head. Instead of a sea of people, the room was empty, or at least on first appearances it was, until Fray stepped into the room and spotted single figure. A man, tall looking and dark haired.
“Oh. Well. This is awkward.” Fray managed, as behind her, the door swung close, with a gentle click.
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notasci
Hello darkness my old friend...
07:35
A driveway was as good as anywhere to change oil; your own driveway would be preferable, of course, but when one did not have that luxury one made compromises. It was such a compromise that had led Daniel to borrowing a bit of space at the mechanic shop she was passing time helping out at until the Program was ready to go. She only spent a bit of time there, spending most her time learning the systems that she would be working with so that she could be of maximum usefulness, but the owner had given her permission to work on her car there if she needed to. He had found it weird how she was determined to do the maintenance on her own vehicle herself, especially with the launch coming soon. It was a decent point, Daniel supposed, though regular maintenance was important, and whoever was going to be using her car after she left would appreciate having one that was guaranteed to work she was sure.
This early in the morning the shop was not even open yet. The garage door was open, letting in the morning rays as they peeked through the clouds from time to time. Barrels lined the wall, with various tools set on them and the rickety shelves that she had insisted time and time again to be repaired. It seemed entirely counter-intuitive to her to let the shelves that held screws and bolts lean more and more, but apparently no one had gotten the time to repair that. Which, well... she didn't technically have obligation to do so, but if it wasn't fixed by tonight she was going to have to do it herself anyway.
Beneath her the white of her coveralls and shirt stood out against the dust-coated red of the creeper's faux-leather seat. It was soft beneath her shoulders as she grabbed onto the cold steel of the car's undercarriage, pulling herself deeper beneath it with her right hand. Her left dragged a small oil tray along with her. Soon enough she had positioned herself and the tray beneath the oil pan of the engine. She removed from her belt a wrench that, after a few moments, she had adjusted to fit the bolt that, while on, prevented oil from simply pouring out of it. Once it was wrapped around it as snug as she could manage she turned.
Gulugguluggulugg.
Engine oil sloshed out of the small hole on the bottom of the car, coating the floor as well as Daniel's face. The taste and smell flooded her senses as the so-called Texas tea splattered onto her. The bolt fell into the pan as the spray became a steady stream into the tray. At once Daniel had pushed herself away, the wheels beneath the creeper screeching as they hit a few small pebbles atop the concrete. Her lips pursed a bit as she spat hard, spraying tiny droplets of oil out and onto the floor. At least her aim had been right, the stream was filling the tray and not spilling all over now. But she must have turned her wrench just a bit wrong for it to spray in her direction at first.
She rolled out of beneath the car as her oil tray filled up, drops of that black liquid coming off her chin. Further she could feel that it was in her hair too, at least she had not wasted a shower this morning. With a sigh Daniel sat up, only to continue her momentum upwards as she stood above the creeper and slid her wrench back into her belt. At least she had waited for the oil to cool.
A beep came from the rolled down window of the car, though for now she ignored it. Walking towards the nearest work bench she pulled out a few sheets of paper towel, the baby blue a familiar color to her by this point, and wiped her face clean. The beep repeated itself. It would be a good idea to give it a look while the oil pan drained, and once she got a bit of oil off her fingers she returned to the side of her car. She leaned in through the window to grab the phone, its screen lighting up in response. Her eyes scanned the message.
She cursed.
It'd be a half hour to get the oil pan empty. Refilling it would be less time consuming. She would still need almost an hour to arrive at the rate of things, and, well... immediately and an hour were not synonymous. But there was little time for her to do much about that now, she supposed, given the situation. Had she seen the message earlier she would have asked the owner of the shop to do it for her, but alas...
She shrugged. They could wait an hour. Launch wasn't for a while anyway.
08:40
At least the oil she had put in was good, she thought to herself as she walked towards the towering steel. A marvel of engineering, as anything that went into space was. She had been looking forward to the launch for quite a while, and the crowd surrounding the pathway towards the entrance was, while a bit aggravating, kind of flattering. She had little interest in answering things in specific as she reached into her oil-stained shirt and pulled out the pocket watch she had kept on her, wrapping her fingers around its cool, gilded frame. Her old man would have been proud, she thought, though in reality there was no way of her knowing that for sure. Aware of that as she was she still choose to believe he would feel something positive about it, and smiled a bit.
Truth was, she did not have as many answers as she would have liked for the questions. How did she feel? What was she hoping to accomplish? There were a lot of answers but nothing that spoke to her in particular. She felt... impressed? That seemed like a less than heroic answer, and while she had no interest in playing hero she knew that was what the people wanted to hear.
As she got the doors she turned back towards the reporters for only a moment, though did not stop her walking. She kept her straight face on, her mind closing itself off to the questions. There was some nervousness perhaps, but nothing she would have admitted to being such. When the elevator finally arrived she stepped onto it rather calmly, and her ascension was as quiet as the rest of her walk into the place.
At least her car would go to a good cause. Maybe some family that needed one to help them get to work would get it. Or maybe it would become a taxi.
She opened her eyes when the elevator reached its floor, and walked along the corridor apart from the world. It was time for work. For a mechanic this was an opportunity that could not be passed up; to work on the systems of a ship that was going to go where none other had gone before? Yet she had done nothing for it yet, and while pride was an understandable reaction to this she did not focus on it.
One hand reached forward, straight as it could, and she pushed the doors to the conference room open with a fluid turn of her wrist around the door handle. Daniel entered without a word, closing the door behind her, as she glanced between those who had arrived before her... which she assumed would be most people, given that she had taken an hour to arrive. She grabbed the back of the nearest open seat and pulled it out, and took a seat. It was now that she spoke.
"I apologize for my lateness."
A driveway was as good as anywhere to change oil; your own driveway would be preferable, of course, but when one did not have that luxury one made compromises. It was such a compromise that had led Daniel to borrowing a bit of space at the mechanic shop she was passing time helping out at until the Program was ready to go. She only spent a bit of time there, spending most her time learning the systems that she would be working with so that she could be of maximum usefulness, but the owner had given her permission to work on her car there if she needed to. He had found it weird how she was determined to do the maintenance on her own vehicle herself, especially with the launch coming soon. It was a decent point, Daniel supposed, though regular maintenance was important, and whoever was going to be using her car after she left would appreciate having one that was guaranteed to work she was sure.
This early in the morning the shop was not even open yet. The garage door was open, letting in the morning rays as they peeked through the clouds from time to time. Barrels lined the wall, with various tools set on them and the rickety shelves that she had insisted time and time again to be repaired. It seemed entirely counter-intuitive to her to let the shelves that held screws and bolts lean more and more, but apparently no one had gotten the time to repair that. Which, well... she didn't technically have obligation to do so, but if it wasn't fixed by tonight she was going to have to do it herself anyway.
Beneath her the white of her coveralls and shirt stood out against the dust-coated red of the creeper's faux-leather seat. It was soft beneath her shoulders as she grabbed onto the cold steel of the car's undercarriage, pulling herself deeper beneath it with her right hand. Her left dragged a small oil tray along with her. Soon enough she had positioned herself and the tray beneath the oil pan of the engine. She removed from her belt a wrench that, after a few moments, she had adjusted to fit the bolt that, while on, prevented oil from simply pouring out of it. Once it was wrapped around it as snug as she could manage she turned.
Gulugguluggulugg.
Engine oil sloshed out of the small hole on the bottom of the car, coating the floor as well as Daniel's face. The taste and smell flooded her senses as the so-called Texas tea splattered onto her. The bolt fell into the pan as the spray became a steady stream into the tray. At once Daniel had pushed herself away, the wheels beneath the creeper screeching as they hit a few small pebbles atop the concrete. Her lips pursed a bit as she spat hard, spraying tiny droplets of oil out and onto the floor. At least her aim had been right, the stream was filling the tray and not spilling all over now. But she must have turned her wrench just a bit wrong for it to spray in her direction at first.
She rolled out of beneath the car as her oil tray filled up, drops of that black liquid coming off her chin. Further she could feel that it was in her hair too, at least she had not wasted a shower this morning. With a sigh Daniel sat up, only to continue her momentum upwards as she stood above the creeper and slid her wrench back into her belt. At least she had waited for the oil to cool.
A beep came from the rolled down window of the car, though for now she ignored it. Walking towards the nearest work bench she pulled out a few sheets of paper towel, the baby blue a familiar color to her by this point, and wiped her face clean. The beep repeated itself. It would be a good idea to give it a look while the oil pan drained, and once she got a bit of oil off her fingers she returned to the side of her car. She leaned in through the window to grab the phone, its screen lighting up in response. Her eyes scanned the message.
She cursed.
It'd be a half hour to get the oil pan empty. Refilling it would be less time consuming. She would still need almost an hour to arrive at the rate of things, and, well... immediately and an hour were not synonymous. But there was little time for her to do much about that now, she supposed, given the situation. Had she seen the message earlier she would have asked the owner of the shop to do it for her, but alas...
She shrugged. They could wait an hour. Launch wasn't for a while anyway.
08:40
At least the oil she had put in was good, she thought to herself as she walked towards the towering steel. A marvel of engineering, as anything that went into space was. She had been looking forward to the launch for quite a while, and the crowd surrounding the pathway towards the entrance was, while a bit aggravating, kind of flattering. She had little interest in answering things in specific as she reached into her oil-stained shirt and pulled out the pocket watch she had kept on her, wrapping her fingers around its cool, gilded frame. Her old man would have been proud, she thought, though in reality there was no way of her knowing that for sure. Aware of that as she was she still choose to believe he would feel something positive about it, and smiled a bit.
Truth was, she did not have as many answers as she would have liked for the questions. How did she feel? What was she hoping to accomplish? There were a lot of answers but nothing that spoke to her in particular. She felt... impressed? That seemed like a less than heroic answer, and while she had no interest in playing hero she knew that was what the people wanted to hear.
As she got the doors she turned back towards the reporters for only a moment, though did not stop her walking. She kept her straight face on, her mind closing itself off to the questions. There was some nervousness perhaps, but nothing she would have admitted to being such. When the elevator finally arrived she stepped onto it rather calmly, and her ascension was as quiet as the rest of her walk into the place.
At least her car would go to a good cause. Maybe some family that needed one to help them get to work would get it. Or maybe it would become a taxi.
She opened her eyes when the elevator reached its floor, and walked along the corridor apart from the world. It was time for work. For a mechanic this was an opportunity that could not be passed up; to work on the systems of a ship that was going to go where none other had gone before? Yet she had done nothing for it yet, and while pride was an understandable reaction to this she did not focus on it.
One hand reached forward, straight as it could, and she pushed the doors to the conference room open with a fluid turn of her wrist around the door handle. Daniel entered without a word, closing the door behind her, as she glanced between those who had arrived before her... which she assumed would be most people, given that she had taken an hour to arrive. She grabbed the back of the nearest open seat and pulled it out, and took a seat. It was now that she spoke.
"I apologize for my lateness."
Shireling
A Servant of King and Country
Eduard Abellard
The air of Eduard's flat was still and quiet at 0729 hours, save for the incessant and rhythmic tapping of Mr. Abellard's foot against the linoleum floor as he sat at the table and read the newspaper and the low drone of the radio as he took in the two simultaneously.
The man sitting at the table was not young, but did not look his age. It was rare in a place such as the Chicago Hub for vitality to survive someone into their thirties, but Eduard did not suffer from the stress and gloom of the place as his fellow citizens did. He was one of those unceasingly energetic, and unapologetically positive people that had been in short supply for a century. And although age played on his features, carewornness was battled away with youthful enthusiasm.
The phone rang, easily the loudest sound in the room. Eduard neatly folded his paper, sat up in his chair, and fished his phone out of his pocket, scanning over the contents.
"I thought today." He murmured, then sprang to the very small bedroom and opened a suitcase. He packed lightly, because he owned little. Four sets of clothes. His medical fatigues, which he was wearing, a light blue suit, a creme suit, and an emergency pair of glasses. With these necessities secured, he practically ran for the door and didn't bother to lock it behind him as he made his way downstairs to the street and the subway.
After taking a wrong train, however, and having to run a few blocks, Eduard arrived at the Tower shortly before 0830. The most annoying part of the journey lay ahead, waiting in line.
The fidgety Mr. Abellard could be seen plainly constantly checking his phone for the time and making exasperated overtures for the line to progress. After what seemed like a century, Eduard managed getting to the lift and stepped into the conference room, the fourth to arrive, almost directly after the third.
"Pardón," he muttered as he entered, "I took a wrong train."
He grinned sheepishly and stood against the wall with his suitcase in hand.
The air of Eduard's flat was still and quiet at 0729 hours, save for the incessant and rhythmic tapping of Mr. Abellard's foot against the linoleum floor as he sat at the table and read the newspaper and the low drone of the radio as he took in the two simultaneously.
The man sitting at the table was not young, but did not look his age. It was rare in a place such as the Chicago Hub for vitality to survive someone into their thirties, but Eduard did not suffer from the stress and gloom of the place as his fellow citizens did. He was one of those unceasingly energetic, and unapologetically positive people that had been in short supply for a century. And although age played on his features, carewornness was battled away with youthful enthusiasm.
The phone rang, easily the loudest sound in the room. Eduard neatly folded his paper, sat up in his chair, and fished his phone out of his pocket, scanning over the contents.
"I thought today." He murmured, then sprang to the very small bedroom and opened a suitcase. He packed lightly, because he owned little. Four sets of clothes. His medical fatigues, which he was wearing, a light blue suit, a creme suit, and an emergency pair of glasses. With these necessities secured, he practically ran for the door and didn't bother to lock it behind him as he made his way downstairs to the street and the subway.
After taking a wrong train, however, and having to run a few blocks, Eduard arrived at the Tower shortly before 0830. The most annoying part of the journey lay ahead, waiting in line.
The fidgety Mr. Abellard could be seen plainly constantly checking his phone for the time and making exasperated overtures for the line to progress. After what seemed like a century, Eduard managed getting to the lift and stepped into the conference room, the fourth to arrive, almost directly after the third.
"Pardón," he muttered as he entered, "I took a wrong train."
He grinned sheepishly and stood against the wall with his suitcase in hand.
Soviet Panda
Red Panda Commanda.
Connor was already awake and doing his chores. 7:30 in the morning was nothing to him, he had gotten up earlier in the past and once went two days without sleeping. He may have slept a full day after that, but he still stayed up for two days. He had graduated as a Gunner and was awaiting the day that they needed him. If they ever needed him, and if you'd have asked him when he first joined he would have told you they didn't. But as he got older, he saw the technology advance rapidly and the ship constructed before his eyes. The threat of extinction does that to the human race, it makes them dig deep and come up with things that were previously thought to be impossible and never to happen. And as the ship was built, an idea of what it meant to be a Gunner came to him.
It meant protecting those that could not protect themselves. It was simple, he couldn't do anything with the ship, he wasn't smart like that. But he knew how guns work, and he knew where to shoot the alien ships in case he had to during launch. The others didn't know how to do that, and they couldn't do that. He wasn't just giving his family the hope of living a better life anymore, he was giving many more people that opportunity.
So, when he got the message, he woke his father up. When his father opened his eyes, all Connor said was, "It's time" and left for the meeting. If he had stayed a moment longer, he would have seen the whirlwind that his family could make when they were all in a hurry. But, he wasn't able to see that because he had a meeting to go to.
It meant protecting those that could not protect themselves. It was simple, he couldn't do anything with the ship, he wasn't smart like that. But he knew how guns work, and he knew where to shoot the alien ships in case he had to during launch. The others didn't know how to do that, and they couldn't do that. He wasn't just giving his family the hope of living a better life anymore, he was giving many more people that opportunity.
So, when he got the message, he woke his father up. When his father opened his eyes, all Connor said was, "It's time" and left for the meeting. If he had stayed a moment longer, he would have seen the whirlwind that his family could make when they were all in a hurry. But, he wasn't able to see that because he had a meeting to go to.
Smntha
Sol
Log.Operator106_June Fourth, 3050.
. . .
Click.. Wooshh. Click..
The soft sound of the pair of heavy doors opening snapped Sebastian back from his momentary state of daydreaming. His lips curled into a smile as Fray came into view. His legs immediately engaged and set him into a confident stand before he paced toward the woman. Sebastian's full height was evident now as he towered just below the door-frame, some strands of his hair daring to touch the aluminum structure.
"Oh. Well. This is awkward."
A chuckle gurgled up from his throat and he bowed his head to her. "Only if you make it so, Miss." He pulled the glass-like device from his pocket and gestured it into life. With a few taps he's brought to a Program interface, displaying the faces of those he'd be working with. His finger dragged across the panel past Connor's face, Eduard's, Dany's and at last he comes to Fray's. "And you must be Freya Noone. A pleasure," He would shake her hand and offer an accommodating grin. "My name is Sebastian Huffman. Welcome, I apologize if your hopes were higher than the valley of disappointment this is." He swung his arm out to gesture to the empty room surrounding them. His goal was to quickly neutralize any tension that the crew felt toward one another, especially if one of them could feel uncomfortable in an empty room with him.
Something about Sebastian seemed.. Genuine. Within the few words he'd already spoken it was evident that he didn't seem to care so much for traditional greetings. The patriotism she'd been hoping for wasn't to be found in Sebastian, though hopefully his light spirits and smile would compensate for that.
"Please, take a seat," His palm rested on her shoulder as he lightly pointed to one of the chairs surrounding the massive briefing area.
Upon the remaining crew entering Sebastian smiles with glee. "Welcome, each and every one of you. Thank you for coming, and your lateness is to be expected. After all," He grimaced slightly before brightening once more, "It must be hard leaving everything behind, but we thank you for that." His voice had assumed a gentle, yet commanding tone to it that could only be described as corporate. It would be easy to assume he was of a high rank of.. Some kind.
"Now, let's wait for our rather tardy leader." Curling his fingers around the back of a chair he yanks it out from beneath the table, sitting down with a contented sigh. The true emotions of anxiousness that had burrowed deep within his stomach had been easily buried by the false mask of casualty. If one were to look close enough, however, his fingers trembled as they messed with a pencil he had tucked away in his pocket. That of course could just be the ridiculous amount of caffeine he throws into his system.
...
The moments that pass while the group awaits seem like hours. The sun had begun to be clouded once more by the gray and mundane skies. Rain had begun to pelt the building rapidly. Commenting with an irritated tone Sebastian jerks up from his chair. "Well, we're useless just sitting here. I will conduct the briefing our..." He bites his lower lip and raises his fingers into the air to fake quotation marks, "Captain, should have done."
Oddly enough Sebastian's feet carried him up upon the table. He strolled to the center as if this were a normal occurrence, stroking his chin lightly. As he gazes at each crew member he puts on a theatrical gaze of skepticism. Sporadically he knelt down in front of Dany, squinting one eye and widening the other as he leaned close to her. "You think yourself an adventurer, eh?" He paused a moment and stuck out his jaw. The goofy facial expression made him out to look a pirate. With a fake grunt and suppressed grin he jogs across the table and places his hands on Eduard's shoulders. "And you lad, eh?! Think yourself to be the voyager of our kind? The one who will save all of humanity? A modern day Columbus?" He wrapped his right arm around Eduard's shoulder and leaned back to face the same way. Sebastian's chin tilted up toward the ceiling of the building. "Well don't be so naive, laddie. Up there are uncharted waters.. For all we know, the beast of the depths could come bursting-" Sebastian leaps upward on the table, his arms high above his head before he lowers them again and hugs himself, shaking back and forth to emulate a struggle. "-and pull us under!" He falls dramatically back onto the table. Soon after he twitches his fingers and sticks out his tongue slightly.
With a long sigh he pushes himself back into a stand on top of the table. "But in all seriousness, even after my excellent performance," He grumbles, "Thanks for the applause by the way.." Sebastian reaches to a small drawer located over the ledge of the oaken surface and reveals a larger glass framed device with a small remote control accompanying it. He tossed the device carelessly to the center of the table, then clicking one of the buttons embedded on the controller. "The beast of the depths we face is our lack of knowledge. Once we get outside of our atmosphere we aren't entirely sure if we'll be captured, killed, et cetera." A massive, three dimensional image of Earth arises in the center of the table, a small blip seen escaping from their location.
"Now... Let's begin."
...
Sebastian finishes the briefing roughly two hours after he'd begun with the rediculous introduction. His arms remain crossed over his chest as he gazes around at them. He'd written a list down on a spare piece of paper he held which described the mission in the most basic terms.
- Take off. Don't die exiting atmosphere.
- Don't be captured by extra's.
- After escaping Earth's atmosphere, engage over-drive.
- Prepare crew for going really fast.
- Go really fast.
- Go really fast toward the nearest habitable planet.
- Land.
- Refuel with what resources are found on planet.
- Take off.
- Rinse and repeat until a planet with suitable conditions to sustain human life are found.
"Any questions?" He gazed around the room before nodding. Disregarding questions if there were any, for he believed his presentation to be flawless (which aside from the beginning portion it was). "Good! Get suited up, meet within the ship."
With this Sebastian ran off toward the lift to the roof where their precious vessel was kept. After entering he mashed the button to seal himself away inside the elevator alone, wanting this time to get himself under control. His breath was erratic now as the anxiety wretched within him. He scrambled to pull his uniform on over his clothes, coming to some difficulty when he got to tying various strings and wires. Nonetheless, when the doors opened to the rain soaked roof he was ready. His bag remained slung over his shoulder, which he soon passed off to a busied member of the program who was tasked with loading their personal belongings aboard the ship.
...
Within the hull of the ESEP were rooms for each of the specialized crew members. Upon enlisting to be a part of this mission they were given a space to make requests for their quarters, which Sebastian used to its fullest extent. His boots sounded on the metal lightly as he was the first of the crew to board the spacecraft, an echo heard through the ship. Sebastian had been told his room was on one of the lower decks, as well as where Dany and Fray would be. This was of course due to the fact that many of the ship's critical systems were located on these decks, making an emergency trip from their rooms to a malfunctioning or damaged piece of equipment shorter. Eduard was to be on his own level where the medical bay was kept. Connor's room was located on the main deck where most weapons were kept, along with a quick route to the cockpit if necessary. It should be noted that Fray's room is a relatively short distance from the cockpit too, seeing as she's the secondary pilot.
Sebastian reached a door with his name inscribed into it. With a sigh he shakes his head from side to side, swinging it open. "Home sweet ho-..." Upon entering Sebastian was surprised to see precisely what he asked for. A drawing table was tucked into the corner, a bed with gray sheets in the other. A massive bookshelf was towering on the remaining wall with a small speaker atop it which played a recording of a German soccer game. The spectators seemed to be wholeheartedly invested in whatever they were yelling about.
He grinned and tossed his bag aside. "This'll do.." With this he turned and shut the door behind him as he exited to the cockpit.
...
Shireling
A Servant of King and Country
Eduard entered his cabin, still slightly confused as to where the Captain was. Was something going wrong? Had he died or something? The questions burned in his mind and signaled bad omens.
As he had requested, it was a minimal affair. He didn't spend much time in his room at home anyways and he didn't intend to do so now. But, it did have one of those simulated windows, a little screen made up to look like a window, and that was a nice homey touch. He gingerly unpacked all his suits, lamenting the wrinkles that had been put into them while packing. He would have to iron them.
Across the hall, the medbay was more to his liking, a larger room with several beds, a small pharmacy, a large computer and complicated diagnostic equipment. He would spend most of his time here, but for now he was more interested in finding his crewmates and getting to know them.
It was a short walk down the stairs to the lower levels, where he wasn't sure who he would run into. He thought perhaps the ship would have a lounge or commons of some sort, but he didn't feel like hunting for one. When he reached the hall where Sebastian, Dany, and Fray's rooms were located. There was no one about and the silence was growing uncomfortable for the impetuous Dr. Abellard, who stuck his hands in his pockets and walked up to the cockpit to poke around, certainly not to touch any of the sensitive instrumentation.
As he had requested, it was a minimal affair. He didn't spend much time in his room at home anyways and he didn't intend to do so now. But, it did have one of those simulated windows, a little screen made up to look like a window, and that was a nice homey touch. He gingerly unpacked all his suits, lamenting the wrinkles that had been put into them while packing. He would have to iron them.
Across the hall, the medbay was more to his liking, a larger room with several beds, a small pharmacy, a large computer and complicated diagnostic equipment. He would spend most of his time here, but for now he was more interested in finding his crewmates and getting to know them.
It was a short walk down the stairs to the lower levels, where he wasn't sure who he would run into. He thought perhaps the ship would have a lounge or commons of some sort, but he didn't feel like hunting for one. When he reached the hall where Sebastian, Dany, and Fray's rooms were located. There was no one about and the silence was growing uncomfortable for the impetuous Dr. Abellard, who stuck his hands in his pockets and walked up to the cockpit to poke around, certainly not to touch any of the sensitive instrumentation.
Lokipi
QT Pi
Fray watched in bemused silence as the newly introduced Sebastian put on the performance of a life time. To be honest, at first, Fray had been taken aback by man’s confidence, walking straight up to her and offering his hand in greeting. Of course, Freya accepted, but only after she almost managed break her neck craning to maintain eye contact with man. Wow is he tall. However, regardless of his size, something about the guy instantly put Fray at ease. Perhaps it was his big doe eyes, or the fact that he spoke with such enthusiasm? Maybe both factors played a role. Yet regardless, he made a good first impression. Pirate act and all.
All he had needed was an eye patch and bottle rum to make the picture complete and from the looks of her fellow crew mates, the impression had worked wonders for them too. By the end of the briefing, Fray cast her eyes across the room, noting the relaxed feel which had settled across the table between each member. Sebastian had done a good job. Although this beg to ask as to why he had been the one to step up and not the captain.
Sucking in her lower lip, Freya began to chew thoughtfully over the where about of the captain. Was he sick? Had something gone wrong with his communication device? No. Not possible. Instead, Freya settled on the idea that the captain of their mission was probably off prepping the ship for launch, which, given her own training was something which she should also be doing. Kicking back her chair, Freya stood and began her way up towards her new home, catching the next lift up. When the doors slid open to reveal the sodden roof top however, Freya couldn’t help but sigh a little inside. The sun was gone. Her goodbye present was finished.
Boarding the ship, Fray made her way down to her quarters. As requested, a desk had been added into the back corner, along with simulated window which showed earth from orbit. In addition to her room, single shelf made with indent in the wall, ran alongside a double bed.
“Score.” Freya grinned, as she stepped in and threw her bag onto the bed. From within, the weighty muffled clank of tools, books, and nic naks wrapped in clothes sounded as the bag bounced heavily on the mattress. Flinching at the sound, worried she had accidently broken something, Freya instantly regretting her decision and swallowing her eagerness to get into position and meet the others, Freya rushed to her bag and quickly unpacked her clothes.
Well, unpack is the wrong choice of words to describe what Fray did. Instead the woman had simply tipped the contents of her bag out onto her bed and riffled through the pile which now represented her life, quickly checking things off as she went. When, at last she was satisfied that nothing had actually been broken however, Freya submitted to her excitement. With a soft ‘woosh’ of air, her door slid closed and Fray sprang through the narrow passages leading to the cockpit, where Sebastian and Eduard were already waiting.
On arrival, Fray stumbled to a rather ungraceful stop, catching herself on the doorway as she offered both men an excited grin in greeting. “She’s a beauty, don’t you think?” Fray offered in reference to the ship, as she entered and moved towards Eduard with her hand extended, blissfully unaware that her hair had now decided to spring out at odd angles giving her a rather scruffy look thanks to the rain, which had caused the natural loose curls to tighten.
“I don’t believe we have been introduced.” Freya began, “I’m Freya. Co-pilot and Technician, but please, call me Fray.” At this last part, Fray beamed and looked over at Sebastian. “You left too quickly for me to shout encore. But truly a brilliant performance, might I say. Although next time I expect a beard and an eye patch. But you were right. Most definitely not awkward.” She winked this last bit with a bit of a giggle. “It is a pleasure to meet both of you.”
All he had needed was an eye patch and bottle rum to make the picture complete and from the looks of her fellow crew mates, the impression had worked wonders for them too. By the end of the briefing, Fray cast her eyes across the room, noting the relaxed feel which had settled across the table between each member. Sebastian had done a good job. Although this beg to ask as to why he had been the one to step up and not the captain.
Sucking in her lower lip, Freya began to chew thoughtfully over the where about of the captain. Was he sick? Had something gone wrong with his communication device? No. Not possible. Instead, Freya settled on the idea that the captain of their mission was probably off prepping the ship for launch, which, given her own training was something which she should also be doing. Kicking back her chair, Freya stood and began her way up towards her new home, catching the next lift up. When the doors slid open to reveal the sodden roof top however, Freya couldn’t help but sigh a little inside. The sun was gone. Her goodbye present was finished.
Boarding the ship, Fray made her way down to her quarters. As requested, a desk had been added into the back corner, along with simulated window which showed earth from orbit. In addition to her room, single shelf made with indent in the wall, ran alongside a double bed.
“Score.” Freya grinned, as she stepped in and threw her bag onto the bed. From within, the weighty muffled clank of tools, books, and nic naks wrapped in clothes sounded as the bag bounced heavily on the mattress. Flinching at the sound, worried she had accidently broken something, Freya instantly regretting her decision and swallowing her eagerness to get into position and meet the others, Freya rushed to her bag and quickly unpacked her clothes.
Well, unpack is the wrong choice of words to describe what Fray did. Instead the woman had simply tipped the contents of her bag out onto her bed and riffled through the pile which now represented her life, quickly checking things off as she went. When, at last she was satisfied that nothing had actually been broken however, Freya submitted to her excitement. With a soft ‘woosh’ of air, her door slid closed and Fray sprang through the narrow passages leading to the cockpit, where Sebastian and Eduard were already waiting.
On arrival, Fray stumbled to a rather ungraceful stop, catching herself on the doorway as she offered both men an excited grin in greeting. “She’s a beauty, don’t you think?” Fray offered in reference to the ship, as she entered and moved towards Eduard with her hand extended, blissfully unaware that her hair had now decided to spring out at odd angles giving her a rather scruffy look thanks to the rain, which had caused the natural loose curls to tighten.
“I don’t believe we have been introduced.” Freya began, “I’m Freya. Co-pilot and Technician, but please, call me Fray.” At this last part, Fray beamed and looked over at Sebastian. “You left too quickly for me to shout encore. But truly a brilliant performance, might I say. Although next time I expect a beard and an eye patch. But you were right. Most definitely not awkward.” She winked this last bit with a bit of a giggle. “It is a pleasure to meet both of you.”
Shireling
A Servant of King and Country
"Ah, oui, quite an interestin' err... performance." Eduard grinned sheepishly at Sebastian. He then turned to Freya.
"Enchante, ma'amoiselle." He said to her, taking her hand and kissing it instead of the customary handshake. "I'm Dr. Eduard Abellard, MD."
Eduard raised up to his full height again, not being that much taller than Freya. "Say, they give you a window too? Maybe I'm the only one? Is there a lounge or a commons?" These questions he rattled off in quick succession.
"Enchante, ma'amoiselle." He said to her, taking her hand and kissing it instead of the customary handshake. "I'm Dr. Eduard Abellard, MD."
Eduard raised up to his full height again, not being that much taller than Freya. "Say, they give you a window too? Maybe I'm the only one? Is there a lounge or a commons?" These questions he rattled off in quick succession.
Lokipi
QT Pi
Fray could not help but blush slightly, as Eduard introduced himself with a flourish. Well, a kiss to the hand to be more precise. Blinking back surprise, Fray continued to grin awkwardly, not even daring to cast a questioning glance at Sebastian in case he was laughing or something. For Fray’s back ground, a customary slap to the back or handshake was normal enough, but if any of the guys from her class kissed the back of her end? Well that would result in months’ worth of jokes to his expense. But then again, Fray was no longer in class with all the guys as so she tried to adjust her behaviour accordingly. “Thank you, Doctor.” Fray grinned, resisting the sudden urge to curtsy, before cocking an eye brow at Eduard’s questions. “A window? Oh the hallogram screens? Yeah, but I requested one prior to arrival. Figured I might not see home for a while, so wanted some reminding shots of her for our travels.” She smiled at this, before then turning to Sebastian and nodding in queue with Eduard’s other questions regarding a common room.
“I know you gave us a brief run down. But do we have a common room within the ship?”
Here Fray then stopped herself, as her curiosity began to burn as she spotted the consoles set behind Sebastian. Edging around the man, Charlie gazed down at the array of buttons, panels, switches and screens with the delighted look of a child. Although she had been trained as an technician, she had also studied as a pilot, resulting in her earning the co-pilot position on the first ship out of here. However, part of her, until this exact moment, had never truly believed she would be stood in front of the control systems for the ESEP.
From the large, plush chair infront of her, fray would take control of the ship and fly into the skies to worlds unknown and hopefully a new future. As this realisation slowly dawned on the girl, her mouth began to open. Her lips silently forming the letter ‘o’ as she reached forward and gently brushed off a little bit of dust from one of the console screens.
Without realising, so caught up in her be wonderment, the girl spoke out loud. “I cannot believe I am actually stood here. In just a few hours, I’m gonna have this baby up in the air and with a little luck…well no, a lot, we’ll be out in the stars…”
“I know you gave us a brief run down. But do we have a common room within the ship?”
Here Fray then stopped herself, as her curiosity began to burn as she spotted the consoles set behind Sebastian. Edging around the man, Charlie gazed down at the array of buttons, panels, switches and screens with the delighted look of a child. Although she had been trained as an technician, she had also studied as a pilot, resulting in her earning the co-pilot position on the first ship out of here. However, part of her, until this exact moment, had never truly believed she would be stood in front of the control systems for the ESEP.
From the large, plush chair infront of her, fray would take control of the ship and fly into the skies to worlds unknown and hopefully a new future. As this realisation slowly dawned on the girl, her mouth began to open. Her lips silently forming the letter ‘o’ as she reached forward and gently brushed off a little bit of dust from one of the console screens.
Without realising, so caught up in her be wonderment, the girl spoke out loud. “I cannot believe I am actually stood here. In just a few hours, I’m gonna have this baby up in the air and with a little luck…well no, a lot, we’ll be out in the stars…”
Smntha
Sol
Sebastian had held back a grin as Fray glanced back to him. His bemused expression was unable to be stifled even when he draped a hand over his mouth. As a chortle welled up in his throat he bit his lower lip. The fact that Eduard had kissed her hand wasn't what had caused him to get into such a devious state, but it was the fact she'd begun to blush. Seemingly she hadn't been exposed to the customs of man who stuck true to his French heritage.
Within the seconds she edged around him he regained his composure. His arms folded over his sternum and his gaze had locked over to the panels she put her hands upon. With a tone of slight self-degradation he mumbled, "I helped build this.." He reached up to one of the displays that began to hum into life, seeming to frown at the seemingly flawless work. Sebastian's coal eyes drifted to the other displays that begun to shine down on the trio. "The brightness is off," Sebastian's old, silly self seemed to fade as he locked into his working state.
With suspecting glare he lowered his fingers into the front pocket of his flannel to inevitably reveal the pair of glasses he'd invented. He flicks them open in one fluid motion of his wrist before slipping them over his ears. It was noticeable that a small display was shining over the lenses, seeming to lock over the faulty wiring that was causing the minuscule lack of brightness. A chuckle escaped him as he raised up his hands to fiddle with the wiring behind the panel and within mere seconds, it flickered to a linear state with the other displays.
"My apologies," His fingers gently pinched the frames and tucked them away once more. "It appears I missed that during my final inspection. Everything else should be in order, if my crew prepared the vessel properly."
His gaze returned to Fray as he leaned up against the wall of the cockpit. His lips curled back up into a charming grin and he sighed. "The common room is on the deck above us. It comes fully equipped with tables, chess, fitness equipment, along with a small amount of books. A couch should be in there as well, though no guarantees on how that holds up during launch." He grinned and started moving around the cockpit.
The engineer's fingers seemed to drift over the consoles as if this were all muscle memory for him. Yet it wasn't and his mind had just become incredibly efficient at performing these vastly complex commands and tasks. "I'm going to start our core systems, engines will be ready to engage in about.." His eyes held a solid gaze with the panel in front of him, an incredibly detailed layout of the engine room being displayed. Slowly each socket, pipe and piece of tubing began to illuminate from a dark gray to vibrant green. "Just about now.. Wait for tower command to confirm us for launch, please." He stepped back from the consoles, rolling his shoulders. Sebastian proceeded to casually walk away from the wall of panels and gently bumped Fray's arm with his fist. "Try not to kill all of us, huh? No pressure but..." He realized he was beginning to doubt her abilities, though such was far from necessary.
The familiar, vibrant smile spread over his lips as he gazed down at her. "I'm sure you'll be ausgezeichnet, Captain."
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notasci
Hello darkness my old friend...
When Sebastian briefed them, his performance had little impact on Daniel. Even when he had gotten rather... in her face, she had remained with a cold expression, watching him through her steely eyes. Not even a crack of a smile crossed her face, though it seemed she was the least impressed. He seemed to be a strange man, given his behavior, yet... well, she was here for business. Not to judge. There was little time or worth in doing so. At any rate the rest of the briefing seemed to be much more informational than his initial impression.
Yet a part of her still had a bit of skepticism.
Daniel took her time following Sebastian's briefing to board the ship. She had not packed before she had left, though she had requested little in amenities for her room; in fact, the only thing she had asked for beyond necessity was a few pairs of work clothes and two pairs of casual clothes. After all, what need for frivolous things did she have while the group would be in space? Never before had she been big on needing entertainment.
As she walked onto the ship proper she was rather awed by the machinery of it, even though the inner workings were hidden by the metal walls, outside and in. Space travel had always felt like it ought to be a lifetime away, even with the presence of extraterrestrial threats. Amazed as she was, though, Daniel did not show it. Instead she ran her fingers along the cold walls as she entered, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she inhaled. Her heart pounded away in her chest, the pocket watch on her necklace bouncing ever so lightly all the while. A hand reached for the chain, pulling it out as she grasped it. By the time her eyes opened again she was aboard the ship, Earth behind her as far as she was concerned.
Her walk down to the deck her room was in was quiet, her eyes and ears open. Curiosity was filling her, though more at the engineering and design layout of this ship than anything else. Wandering through it alone sometime soon rose on her checklist of things to do; the alone part emphasized. So far she had not had much reason to be very impressed by any of her crew, not to talk bad of them. They all seemed decent enough, it was just the simple matter of her not being much of a people person.
If it were not for her direct route she would have cut through the common room on her way down; instead though she passed it by unaware. Soon enough the doors to the deck that her room, along with Fray and Sebastian's, was on. Perhaps on her way through the hall she would run into one of her compatriots, considering that so many of them seemed to be on this floor. Though she hoped that would not be the case. She wanted to see her room first, after all, and-
Her name's engraving caught her eyes before she even realized she was looking for it. Daniel at once opened the door, revealing a rather... sparse room. It was a warm pink color like she had requested, though she may have worded her request a bit... off. Not only were the walls the soft color, but so was the floor and ceiling. And the bed and desk, and dresser. It was as if someone had simply set a pink filter over everything beyond the doorway. Daniel stood still, her eyes wide as her jaw hung open just a bit. A soft flush crossed her face. It was mortifying, her room looked like a little girl had asked for it. She may have liked the color pink, especially in the morning, because of the color being just warm enough to make her feel cozy. But she had not intended the room to be pink everything. Even the workbench opposite the bed was pink, and she was fearful that the tools inside its drawers would be too.
"Great," she muttered as she stood in her doorway, hand on the wall. "Well... I guess it isn't a big deal," she relented after a few moments, shaking her head as she closed her eyes. It would hardly get in the way of her work, even if it looked rather silly. And it provided a nice contrast from the rest of the ship's colors, so there was that. When she got the chance she'd have to ask about what part of her request had caused everything to be pink. For now, well... she was sure it was too late to fix. Though she was starting to wish she had requested a screen and computer in the room, at least then she'd be able to look at something other than pink all day.
"Hopefully my clothes aren't pink too."
She really hoped that no one was near enough to look into her room at this point, and would hope that no one saw inside of it for... quite a while.
Yet a part of her still had a bit of skepticism.
Daniel took her time following Sebastian's briefing to board the ship. She had not packed before she had left, though she had requested little in amenities for her room; in fact, the only thing she had asked for beyond necessity was a few pairs of work clothes and two pairs of casual clothes. After all, what need for frivolous things did she have while the group would be in space? Never before had she been big on needing entertainment.
As she walked onto the ship proper she was rather awed by the machinery of it, even though the inner workings were hidden by the metal walls, outside and in. Space travel had always felt like it ought to be a lifetime away, even with the presence of extraterrestrial threats. Amazed as she was, though, Daniel did not show it. Instead she ran her fingers along the cold walls as she entered, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she inhaled. Her heart pounded away in her chest, the pocket watch on her necklace bouncing ever so lightly all the while. A hand reached for the chain, pulling it out as she grasped it. By the time her eyes opened again she was aboard the ship, Earth behind her as far as she was concerned.
Her walk down to the deck her room was in was quiet, her eyes and ears open. Curiosity was filling her, though more at the engineering and design layout of this ship than anything else. Wandering through it alone sometime soon rose on her checklist of things to do; the alone part emphasized. So far she had not had much reason to be very impressed by any of her crew, not to talk bad of them. They all seemed decent enough, it was just the simple matter of her not being much of a people person.
If it were not for her direct route she would have cut through the common room on her way down; instead though she passed it by unaware. Soon enough the doors to the deck that her room, along with Fray and Sebastian's, was on. Perhaps on her way through the hall she would run into one of her compatriots, considering that so many of them seemed to be on this floor. Though she hoped that would not be the case. She wanted to see her room first, after all, and-
Her name's engraving caught her eyes before she even realized she was looking for it. Daniel at once opened the door, revealing a rather... sparse room. It was a warm pink color like she had requested, though she may have worded her request a bit... off. Not only were the walls the soft color, but so was the floor and ceiling. And the bed and desk, and dresser. It was as if someone had simply set a pink filter over everything beyond the doorway. Daniel stood still, her eyes wide as her jaw hung open just a bit. A soft flush crossed her face. It was mortifying, her room looked like a little girl had asked for it. She may have liked the color pink, especially in the morning, because of the color being just warm enough to make her feel cozy. But she had not intended the room to be pink everything. Even the workbench opposite the bed was pink, and she was fearful that the tools inside its drawers would be too.
"Great," she muttered as she stood in her doorway, hand on the wall. "Well... I guess it isn't a big deal," she relented after a few moments, shaking her head as she closed her eyes. It would hardly get in the way of her work, even if it looked rather silly. And it provided a nice contrast from the rest of the ship's colors, so there was that. When she got the chance she'd have to ask about what part of her request had caused everything to be pink. For now, well... she was sure it was too late to fix. Though she was starting to wish she had requested a screen and computer in the room, at least then she'd be able to look at something other than pink all day.
"Hopefully my clothes aren't pink too."
She really hoped that no one was near enough to look into her room at this point, and would hope that no one saw inside of it for... quite a while.
Soviet Panda
Red Panda Commanda.
Connor's apartments were as expected, simplistic and crammed with several other beds for his family. He wouldn't have it any other way, no matter what kind of troubles it had given the engineers and logistics team. The added weight would mean they would need more fuel or more powerful engines. The former added more weight and the latter wasn't as efficient. That's what he gathered any way, he was just here to work the guns. Speaking of, he had a turret to get comfortable with. As he walked out of his room, having claimed a bed near the door way, he bumped into his family. They all had their most prized possessions and clothing with them, and a look of determination were on all of their faces. They were leaving everything and everyone they knew behind, and instead were looking for a better future for their children's and their children's children's generation.
Giving his mom a quick kiss on the head as he passed, he entered the turret. There wasn't much room, as expected, but he could see everything around him. He could even see the particle chargers resting right next to him. Bullets packed more of an umf to most things, but they could not support making more of their own ammo currently. There was always the option to switch over, but lasers would have to do for now.
Giving his mom a quick kiss on the head as he passed, he entered the turret. There wasn't much room, as expected, but he could see everything around him. He could even see the particle chargers resting right next to him. Bullets packed more of an umf to most things, but they could not support making more of their own ammo currently. There was always the option to switch over, but lasers would have to do for now.
Lokipi
QT Pi
Fray looked up at Sebastian, as well…with their height difference she would always have to look ‘up’, but grinned as she nodded to him. “No pressure.” She repeated with a lopsided smile before shrugging away any tension she felt build in her shoulders. “Only have the whole world watching us today. So if we mess up, no one’s going to notice.” A wink flashed across her features here as she slipped down into her seat. “Besides, if it does go wrong, we’ll just have to fake it till we make it.”
Saying this, Fray’s delicate fingers raced over a few of the panels set out before her, the gentle blue glow flickering to life from the monitors to illuminate her small features. Everything seemed in order fuel wise, as Sebastian had said, so now all that was needed to make it to the next page in history was for the command to come through. However, as to when that happened, largely depended on when the rest of the crew had assembled.
Sucking in her lower lip, Fray looked up at the now darkening sky through the display glass with a furrowed brow. Rain splattered against the port above her head, growing heavier by the minute as the swollen bellied clouds swallowed up the blue sky before. Back down in the streets, Fray knew however, that people were still out on their roofs. Family clustered in huddles beneath leaky umbrella with every eye trained on the ivory tower, where she now sat, hating the fact that she had to make them wait to see their hope take off into the sky.
Glancing back down at the monitors, Fray quickly opened up the settings for the flight sensors and studied them with a critical eye, just to be sure that things had been adjusted to her requests. However, once more, as Sebastian had said. Everything seemed to be on task. Sure, one sensor was a little more off to the left than she would have preferred but this wouldn’t make outrunning the enemy any more difficult than it already was, and besides, it wasn’t anything Fray could not fix later.
Tearing her gaze away from the controls at last, Fray returned Sebastian’s warm grin with her own, finally smoothing her features. “Your team seem to have done a wonderful job. I am proud to have the opportunity to fly this beauty.” She remarked, as with a gentle flick of her wrist, the panels beneath her hand faded. However, it was now that Fray took the opportunity gesture towards Sebastian’s glasses which had now returned to his shirt pocket. Until today, she had seen nothing like them which made the technician side of her training begin to bubble with glee.
“They look amazing by the way. What do they do? And more to the point, what are they made of?” The questions tumbled off her tongue quickly, as her eyes remained focused on the small device which sat innocently within the tech’s pocket.
Saying this, Fray’s delicate fingers raced over a few of the panels set out before her, the gentle blue glow flickering to life from the monitors to illuminate her small features. Everything seemed in order fuel wise, as Sebastian had said, so now all that was needed to make it to the next page in history was for the command to come through. However, as to when that happened, largely depended on when the rest of the crew had assembled.
Sucking in her lower lip, Fray looked up at the now darkening sky through the display glass with a furrowed brow. Rain splattered against the port above her head, growing heavier by the minute as the swollen bellied clouds swallowed up the blue sky before. Back down in the streets, Fray knew however, that people were still out on their roofs. Family clustered in huddles beneath leaky umbrella with every eye trained on the ivory tower, where she now sat, hating the fact that she had to make them wait to see their hope take off into the sky.
Glancing back down at the monitors, Fray quickly opened up the settings for the flight sensors and studied them with a critical eye, just to be sure that things had been adjusted to her requests. However, once more, as Sebastian had said. Everything seemed to be on task. Sure, one sensor was a little more off to the left than she would have preferred but this wouldn’t make outrunning the enemy any more difficult than it already was, and besides, it wasn’t anything Fray could not fix later.
Tearing her gaze away from the controls at last, Fray returned Sebastian’s warm grin with her own, finally smoothing her features. “Your team seem to have done a wonderful job. I am proud to have the opportunity to fly this beauty.” She remarked, as with a gentle flick of her wrist, the panels beneath her hand faded. However, it was now that Fray took the opportunity gesture towards Sebastian’s glasses which had now returned to his shirt pocket. Until today, she had seen nothing like them which made the technician side of her training begin to bubble with glee.
“They look amazing by the way. What do they do? And more to the point, what are they made of?” The questions tumbled off her tongue quickly, as her eyes remained focused on the small device which sat innocently within the tech’s pocket.
Shireling
A Servant of King and Country
Eduard looked out from the windows. The Earth appeared gray and sad to him, which wore on his bubbly demeanor. He sat, for the first time thinking about what he was doing. He was leaving Earth, possibly for good.
Earth, the cradle of Human civilization, scarred beyond all imagining. Eduard had never seen greenery, forests, savannahs, tundras, and jungles, but he could vividly picture them. And cities, without walls or weapons. And small country towns and farms. Then, more familiarly, the sound of a street car. The brassy tones of a jazz band, the cry of the drunken revelers at Mardi Gras. The Gregorian chants emanating from the spatious cathedral. The sounds of Louisiana, his home.
Remembering the sounds and sights he would never see or hear again caused one tear, then another to streak down his cheeks. He quickly removed his spectacles and wiped at them, his eyes bleary with sorrow. He began to rock back and forth slightly as he said a prayer for the Earth, all in unintelligible Creole French.
Earth, the cradle of Human civilization, scarred beyond all imagining. Eduard had never seen greenery, forests, savannahs, tundras, and jungles, but he could vividly picture them. And cities, without walls or weapons. And small country towns and farms. Then, more familiarly, the sound of a street car. The brassy tones of a jazz band, the cry of the drunken revelers at Mardi Gras. The Gregorian chants emanating from the spatious cathedral. The sounds of Louisiana, his home.
Remembering the sounds and sights he would never see or hear again caused one tear, then another to streak down his cheeks. He quickly removed his spectacles and wiped at them, his eyes bleary with sorrow. He began to rock back and forth slightly as he said a prayer for the Earth, all in unintelligible Creole French.
Smntha
Sol
Sebastian chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. A soft crackle came from them as he did so. His eyes drifted over the panels as she operated each piece of complex machinery and he couldn't help but display a beaming smile. The Engineer was happy to see someone enjoying and utilizing his work to its fullest potential. A hopeful bubble came to mind; perhaps Fray could even exceed his potential. Even before launch he was more than confident in her abilities to command the ship, making him hopeful he'd have to make improvements while flying past the speed of light in space.
First Engineer to make active repairs to the engines while they're engaged in over-drive.. I like it. The title was long and ridiculous, but deep down Sebastian had really cherished the titles he had earned over the years. Valedictorian, Engineer, Operator 106, etc. They all made him feel as if he'd successfully accomplished something in his life. For someone to revoke a title or spit on them would surely devastate him.
His attention snapped back to Fray. She had begun to stare at his pocket, though why had alluded him. It was clear he had drifted off into random thought, yet he was able to make a wild guess as to what she was asking. "Perhaps an activity for another time," He winked softly at her and rested a hand on the back of her chair. "I'll even show you how they're made." Turning away he patted her arm and raised a brow at Eduard.
Another pet peeve of his - religion. He'd always found it to be nonsensical and naive, the urge to grill Eduard on the logic behind his faith growing in his stomach. No.. Don't segregate. Ignore it. With a slow sight through his nose he allowed Eduard to finish his prayer, gently commenting. "Thank you, Eduard. We'll need all the help we can get today.."
With a gentle clearing of his throat the tall boy looked back at Fray. "Would you like me to remain stationed here during launch, or would you rather fly solo?" He crossed his arms over his chest and wobbled from heel to toe. Secretly he desired to see her in action - his ship that is. Seeing Freya pilot could be entertainment enough as well. "I'm an inept pilot, though I could be of some use." Sebastian had let out a discreet, relaxed yawn. "If not, I'll be going to strap in."
First Engineer to make active repairs to the engines while they're engaged in over-drive.. I like it. The title was long and ridiculous, but deep down Sebastian had really cherished the titles he had earned over the years. Valedictorian, Engineer, Operator 106, etc. They all made him feel as if he'd successfully accomplished something in his life. For someone to revoke a title or spit on them would surely devastate him.
His attention snapped back to Fray. She had begun to stare at his pocket, though why had alluded him. It was clear he had drifted off into random thought, yet he was able to make a wild guess as to what she was asking. "Perhaps an activity for another time," He winked softly at her and rested a hand on the back of her chair. "I'll even show you how they're made." Turning away he patted her arm and raised a brow at Eduard.
Another pet peeve of his - religion. He'd always found it to be nonsensical and naive, the urge to grill Eduard on the logic behind his faith growing in his stomach. No.. Don't segregate. Ignore it. With a slow sight through his nose he allowed Eduard to finish his prayer, gently commenting. "Thank you, Eduard. We'll need all the help we can get today.."
With a gentle clearing of his throat the tall boy looked back at Fray. "Would you like me to remain stationed here during launch, or would you rather fly solo?" He crossed his arms over his chest and wobbled from heel to toe. Secretly he desired to see her in action - his ship that is. Seeing Freya pilot could be entertainment enough as well. "I'm an inept pilot, though I could be of some use." Sebastian had let out a discreet, relaxed yawn. "If not, I'll be going to strap in."
Paranoid Android
Subterranean Homesick Alien (INFP)
LAZARUS
(Thomas Robert)
"Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you're facing a contradiction, check your premises. You'll find that one of them is wrong." - Ayn Rand
June 4th, 3:43 am.
Lazarus couldn't sleep. The day of departure was here. He stared at the television, watching an old movie about two hitmen, their boss, their boss's wife, and a boxer, which he found in good condition, under the debris of a house. Watching the movie and learning about the old world's culture and how there was a strong dilemma whether foot massages was considered intimate or not made Lazarus think about how greatly people lived back then, but...
"The fucking ETs took it all. THEY TOOK IT ALL!"
Laz, enraged, threw the whiskey glass he was drinking at an ugly modern art masterpiece he kept on a table in the exact center of his apartment, shattering it in pieces.
"No! The Sensitive Cannibalism! Such an ancient masterpiece, and I just broke it down!"
The drunk man slowly walked to the broken statue, and fell on his knees, sobbing.
"That was the only somewhat intact piece of art I could find in that destroyed museum! It... it actually had a meaning. But the ETs didn't care about that, they just... they just attack our world without compassion!"
Lazarus fell on his back, hurting it a little with the broken statue pieces, and he looked at his dog tags reading "Thomas Robert" on his chest, next to "'s" tags, with blood stains that probably would never be cleaned off. He picked up a medal of honour from his pocket given to him for success in managing to be the only one to make it out alive from a failed operation and killing almost every opponent soldier on the base.
He rested the medal on his chest, and grabbed a cigarette, lighting it up and falling asleep.
As Laz slowly woke up, he saw his phone on his couch's arm. He immediately remembered about the mission, and he couldn't feel his hangout over all the tension in a pinch. Tom quickly got up, and runned in the direction of the couch, grabbing his phone and looking at the C.E.O.'s message.
"Ground Control is calling Major Tom."
He grabbed his already organized bags as fast as he could, only needing to quickly wear a shirt, jeans pants and boots, without caring about showering. He checked his armor and weapons, and decided to keep his Makarov inside its sheath, on his waist.
Before leaving, Lazarus went to the bathroom, and stared at his mirrored self. He could feel the rage against the alien threat inside himself, growing larger and larger as time passed. His little sister died because of them, but not only that. Entire populations were murdered by the aliens, and the only thing Thomas could do was run away and hide. But the day of vengeance had finally come, and the results of all his work as a soldier would be proven when he killed the extraterrestrials who shattered so many people's lives. Lazarus couldn't stop thinking of that, it was an obsession. All his thoughts at this moment sparked from one neurone to another, but what he said to himself while making a hand gesture to the mirror exactly at 9:11 of June 4th was as calm as it could for his standards.
"You're pretty good."
Lazarus' revenge-obsessed eyes glazed at Thomas' eyes inside the mirror. All of a sudden, he drew his handgun and shot the head seen in the glass, and walked away.
Opening the door, he was ready to leave into the unknown. But before he could even step out of his old flat, he felt the mirror wasn't enough. His hand almost involuntarily opened the zipper of one of the bags, and he found his M249 in his hands. Lazarus readied his gun, and started shooting around his whole house. Bullet holes frenetically popped around the peeled off walls, and his couch turned into a new modern art masterpiece. The TV stopped working properly upon being shot by two bullets, freezing the screen at the credits roll, while the background song still played after being replayed along the entire movie twice or so. Lazarus continued pressing the trigger even after the weapon was already empty, and after a few seconds he tossed it to the side, grabbed the TV and threw it from the window, falling on the sidewalk and minimally exploding. The man then runned to the broken window and rested his arms on it while yelling, the glass pieces bleeding them, and as he slowly began to get back to normal, he jumped behing with the pain, falling on his back.
Thomas' breath calmed down. His mind was clearer, and he could focus on the mission. Had his not flushed all his fury out, Lazarus' nature would greatly affect his perfomance in the operation, but the episode managed to get his mind off the obsession.
Robert grabbed his bags, and lit a cigar, leaving ten for the trip. He ran across the building's hallways while people stared at him confused. He didn't have to time to wait for an elevator, so he just dashed through the stairs. Before Laz could leave through the main gate, a seemingly about 50 years old bald man, with tiny rounds glasses being sustended by a pointy nose, stopped him.
"Mr... Mr. Rob? What was that? What is happening?!"
Mr. Rob answered in a hurry, but with his mind already clear from his obsession for revenge from before.
"Please, Mr. Webster, don't ask. I have no time. Consider the apartment yours to sell again. Here are the keys and money to repair it. In exchange, I never did any of this."
Thomas gave all the money he had and his house keys to Webster, as he wouldn't need them anymore. Tom rushed to his parked car, wrapped his beloved bandana around his head, and departed to the tower. He drove fast, although still being careful to not get into any accidents. As he turned on the car's radio for some music, his cigar flew off his mouth, and while he quickly looked back at the now lost tobacco roll, a truck horned. Laz saw himself heading towards a truck, and his immediate instinct was to turn right.
After a long drift, the car stopped, and Lazarus opened his eyes. He saw it. The tower. No other cars were on the road, except for two coming from the opposite direction, and fairly distant. He stepped on the accelerator without mercy, and in a few seconds he was in front of his destination. Tom left he car, leaving the door open and the keys in the same place, and he ran across the tower, faster than he ever did, doing whatever he had to, and arrived on the ship's room, entering it shortly before departure.
Thomas' breath echoed through the entire area. Sweat dripped down across his skin. His tired red eyes glanced at what seemed to be his mates, and he smirked.
"Am... I... Late?"
Lazarus couldn't sleep. The day of departure was here. He stared at the television, watching an old movie about two hitmen, their boss, their boss's wife, and a boxer, which he found in good condition, under the debris of a house. Watching the movie and learning about the old world's culture and how there was a strong dilemma whether foot massages was considered intimate or not made Lazarus think about how greatly people lived back then, but...
"The fucking ETs took it all. THEY TOOK IT ALL!"
Laz, enraged, threw the whiskey glass he was drinking at an ugly modern art masterpiece he kept on a table in the exact center of his apartment, shattering it in pieces.
"No! The Sensitive Cannibalism! Such an ancient masterpiece, and I just broke it down!"
The drunk man slowly walked to the broken statue, and fell on his knees, sobbing.
"That was the only somewhat intact piece of art I could find in that destroyed museum! It... it actually had a meaning. But the ETs didn't care about that, they just... they just attack our world without compassion!"
Lazarus fell on his back, hurting it a little with the broken statue pieces, and he looked at his dog tags reading "Thomas Robert" on his chest, next to "'s" tags, with blood stains that probably would never be cleaned off. He picked up a medal of honour from his pocket given to him for success in managing to be the only one to make it out alive from a failed operation and killing almost every opponent soldier on the base.
He rested the medal on his chest, and grabbed a cigarette, lighting it up and falling asleep.
June 4th, 9:04 am.
As Laz slowly woke up, he saw his phone on his couch's arm. He immediately remembered about the mission, and he couldn't feel his hangout over all the tension in a pinch. Tom quickly got up, and runned in the direction of the couch, grabbing his phone and looking at the C.E.O.'s message.
"Ground Control is calling Major Tom."
He grabbed his already organized bags as fast as he could, only needing to quickly wear a shirt, jeans pants and boots, without caring about showering. He checked his armor and weapons, and decided to keep his Makarov inside its sheath, on his waist.
Before leaving, Lazarus went to the bathroom, and stared at his mirrored self. He could feel the rage against the alien threat inside himself, growing larger and larger as time passed. His little sister died because of them, but not only that. Entire populations were murdered by the aliens, and the only thing Thomas could do was run away and hide. But the day of vengeance had finally come, and the results of all his work as a soldier would be proven when he killed the extraterrestrials who shattered so many people's lives. Lazarus couldn't stop thinking of that, it was an obsession. All his thoughts at this moment sparked from one neurone to another, but what he said to himself while making a hand gesture to the mirror exactly at 9:11 of June 4th was as calm as it could for his standards.
"You're pretty good."
Lazarus' revenge-obsessed eyes glazed at Thomas' eyes inside the mirror. All of a sudden, he drew his handgun and shot the head seen in the glass, and walked away.
Opening the door, he was ready to leave into the unknown. But before he could even step out of his old flat, he felt the mirror wasn't enough. His hand almost involuntarily opened the zipper of one of the bags, and he found his M249 in his hands. Lazarus readied his gun, and started shooting around his whole house. Bullet holes frenetically popped around the peeled off walls, and his couch turned into a new modern art masterpiece. The TV stopped working properly upon being shot by two bullets, freezing the screen at the credits roll, while the background song still played after being replayed along the entire movie twice or so. Lazarus continued pressing the trigger even after the weapon was already empty, and after a few seconds he tossed it to the side, grabbed the TV and threw it from the window, falling on the sidewalk and minimally exploding. The man then runned to the broken window and rested his arms on it while yelling, the glass pieces bleeding them, and as he slowly began to get back to normal, he jumped behing with the pain, falling on his back.
Thomas' breath calmed down. His mind was clearer, and he could focus on the mission. Had his not flushed all his fury out, Lazarus' nature would greatly affect his perfomance in the operation, but the episode managed to get his mind off the obsession.
Robert grabbed his bags, and lit a cigar, leaving ten for the trip. He ran across the building's hallways while people stared at him confused. He didn't have to time to wait for an elevator, so he just dashed through the stairs. Before Laz could leave through the main gate, a seemingly about 50 years old bald man, with tiny rounds glasses being sustended by a pointy nose, stopped him.
"Mr... Mr. Rob? What was that? What is happening?!"
Mr. Rob answered in a hurry, but with his mind already clear from his obsession for revenge from before.
"Please, Mr. Webster, don't ask. I have no time. Consider the apartment yours to sell again. Here are the keys and money to repair it. In exchange, I never did any of this."
Thomas gave all the money he had and his house keys to Webster, as he wouldn't need them anymore. Tom rushed to his parked car, wrapped his beloved bandana around his head, and departed to the tower. He drove fast, although still being careful to not get into any accidents. As he turned on the car's radio for some music, his cigar flew off his mouth, and while he quickly looked back at the now lost tobacco roll, a truck horned. Laz saw himself heading towards a truck, and his immediate instinct was to turn right.
After a long drift, the car stopped, and Lazarus opened his eyes. He saw it. The tower. No other cars were on the road, except for two coming from the opposite direction, and fairly distant. He stepped on the accelerator without mercy, and in a few seconds he was in front of his destination. Tom left he car, leaving the door open and the keys in the same place, and he ran across the tower, faster than he ever did, doing whatever he had to, and arrived on the ship's room, entering it shortly before departure.
Thomas' breath echoed through the entire area. Sweat dripped down across his skin. His tired red eyes glanced at what seemed to be his mates, and he smirked.
"Am... I... Late?"
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Carix
Tamer
A soft buzzing shook the dark wooden shelf. The communications device shook and turned on the wood, drifting ever so closely to the edge. Beneath it rested a girl with auburn hair - her shoulders cloaked in a thick, red blanket. The room around her was well kept and clean. A telescope rested near a small window, pointed upward toward the stars above. Aaren had been awake the previous night diligently studying the stars as she always had, making silly predictions in her head as to what would be surrounding them. Perhaps some would be bursting with life, new species to be documented. Others could be bursting with forms of rock and gasses that have never before been discovered - but she would. Her mind was bursting with ridiculous names for the materials she dreamt of uncovering. Idiotium, Dafterus, Unicornium. All were relatively unrelated to the actual properties that each element could hold, but Aaren rarely thought that formal names were great anyways. Einsteinium? Now, that was a name. Such a scientist was given an entire compound for his legacy - Aaren hoped for the same.
The device inevitably tumbled from the shelf and came clashing down with the girl’s skull. With a jolt she awoke, tearing the blankets from her lap. With a groan she raised a palm up to her now aching head. At first she was upset, rather irritated as she had forgotten what today truly marked. The memory soon dawned on her and a wide smile grew across her lips. She rolled from her slumber and jumped up to her feet, stretching her arms out widely. Aaren giggled happily and skipped over to her telescope, her hands quickly flying over the adjustments to point it directly to the roof of the eternity tower. For once, she was able to get a glimpse of something. Typically the sky was shrouded and gray, but today the Tower was illuminated by a patch of clear skies. She was able to make out the slightest detail of the crew jogging around the exterior of the ship, disappearing to the well protected interior. For a few minutes she simply stared through the telescope. Her mouth graped lightly in disbelief and curiosity. Was she truly to be the one honored enough to step on board? Was it her who deserved to be aboard? With a sigh she shook her head.
Out of all the other astronomers and biologists within her division, she had been the one to show the most effort and passion for their work. However, she was always the least well dressed or appealing. She often arrived to work late with sweat dripping down her face, due entirely to the fact she was new to the area of the Chicago Hub. It was also common for her to become lost in such an area of dense buildings.
Today was to be no different. Aaren had already been behind schedule from observing the roof of the Eternity Tower. She rapidly dashed around her home, doing her best to dress as quickly as possible. Inevitably she ended her scramble with mismatched socks and a sloppily buttoned flannel. She pulls her backpack up from the floor and pulls it over her leather jacket. The hood that was attached was soon pulled over its owner’s perfectly maintained head of hair.
This all was subject to change as she made a mad dash through the crowded and dirty streets of the Hub, vaulting her way over long abandoned cars and heaps of trash. Upon colliding with a citizen she yelled behind her, “Sorry!”. Of course, her own integrity wasn’t on her mind as she glanced down at her analog watch. Shit.. Shit..! The arm of the watch displayed 1:00 P.M.
With a loud grunt, Aaren had found herself colliding with a man of massive stature. He glared down at the girl for a moment, the blue bandana draped around his neck causing the girl’s eyes to widen. Aaren shook her head and slowly began backpedaling. “Wait.. I’m sorry, I’m in a rush today..” The man had begun to pull up his blue bandana as he reached around his back to grasp the grip of a small, black metal revolver. His composure remained quiet and professional as he raised the weapon up, tilting his head to the right as he focused the sights onto her chest. Aaren ground her teeth together and kept her hands up. Just moments before she expected her childhood dream to be killed, another male voice rang out.
“The fuck you doin’ man?” A loud gunshot rang, through Aaren found herself to be entirely in tact. Slowly opening the eyes she realized she had closed, she found that the man who had once been aiming the weapon at her was now lying face down on the sidewalk. The protagonist who had seemingly come to her rescue gave her a brief grin. “Good luck up there.”
Aaren hadn’t ever met this man. He appeared to be of the opposing gang, yet she had still nodded to him in thanks. It could be he used her as an excuse to execute the opposing member, but she had hoped it wasn’t.
And off she went again. Pushing her way through the swarm of reporters that had gathered beneath the Eternity tower she muttered “Sorry,” a grand total of fifty six times. Her wrist moved back up to her eye level. 1:30. Shit… Shit… She cursed herself internally, already beginning to feel embarrassment well up inside of her.
Reaching the roof, she hadn’t ceased sprinting as she ran toward the stairs so many crew before her had used to get within the hull of the ship. Her feet padded up the now sopping wet steps perhaps a little too quickly as she suddenly felt herself mid-air. Having slipped, a loud thunk is heard outside of the cockpit. For a moment Aaren lay prone, groaning as she held the side she fell on. The sharp edge of the stairs had dug slightly into her thigh, causing one hell of an instant bruise to form.
She did her best to pull herself back up. Aaren then limped rather quickly toward the cockpit, where she found another man in front of her panting. He too had arrived late. With a weak smile she held her thigh and murmured, “Apologies for my lateness!” Her hair dripped with rainwater. It was clear she was more than a little nervous to be surrounded by people of such high authority.
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notasci
Hello darkness my old friend...
Daniel was grateful that she was not around the others as she made a quick pass through her room, checking everything in her room to see what colors they were. Thankfully, as it turned out, only her furniture was pink; her clothing, as it were, was a proper color, and so were the tools that she'd be using. Working with nothing but pink instruments would have been maddening, after all. Now that she knew that was not a concern she would have to worry about she felt a lot more confident in her time to come aboard the ship.
With a sigh she headed to the doors; the slid open, and her heart stopped for just a moment. Leaving would risk people seeing her room's design too, and while she doubted anyone would say anything... she still hardly wanted people to see it. It was rather embarrassing, especially given how otherwise masculine she was. But oh well, it seemed she was safe for now.
"Better see where the engineering systems are, give 'em a look," she said with a short nod, starting down the hallway and following the signs marked for engineering. She hoped that someone who was already familiar with the systems was aboard; she had only studied them in theory so far, after all. Actually learning how they functioned in practice would take a while. If a need arose for a quick fix she could manage, but... well, she didn't feel as if she had perfected her knowledge of the systems quite yet. When she arrived the doors slid open, revealing it to her; the mechanical systems of the ship's engines, or at least the ones in this room, were as impressive as she had hoped.
"Hey, anyone in here?" she asked, her voice a bit louder than it usually was. Her eyes ran along pipes carrying water and fuel and probably air through the ship, before glancing further back towards where the stations to work on the engines from were. A low whistle escaped her lips as she walked forward and towards them, her eyes... rather wide with awe. "This is amazing!" she gasped out a bit, tempted to touch all the machinery and look even closer, but she withheld that urge for now. Hopefully she'd find one of her fellow engineers soon.
With a sigh she headed to the doors; the slid open, and her heart stopped for just a moment. Leaving would risk people seeing her room's design too, and while she doubted anyone would say anything... she still hardly wanted people to see it. It was rather embarrassing, especially given how otherwise masculine she was. But oh well, it seemed she was safe for now.
"Better see where the engineering systems are, give 'em a look," she said with a short nod, starting down the hallway and following the signs marked for engineering. She hoped that someone who was already familiar with the systems was aboard; she had only studied them in theory so far, after all. Actually learning how they functioned in practice would take a while. If a need arose for a quick fix she could manage, but... well, she didn't feel as if she had perfected her knowledge of the systems quite yet. When she arrived the doors slid open, revealing it to her; the mechanical systems of the ship's engines, or at least the ones in this room, were as impressive as she had hoped.
"Hey, anyone in here?" she asked, her voice a bit louder than it usually was. Her eyes ran along pipes carrying water and fuel and probably air through the ship, before glancing further back towards where the stations to work on the engines from were. A low whistle escaped her lips as she walked forward and towards them, her eyes... rather wide with awe. "This is amazing!" she gasped out a bit, tempted to touch all the machinery and look even closer, but she withheld that urge for now. Hopefully she'd find one of her fellow engineers soon.
Lokipi
QT Pi
At first following Sebastian's eyes to Eduard, Fray arched her eye brows curiously at the man’s behavior before giving a tight smile. Although she was not religious, Fray had to agree with Sebastian on this one, they needed all the help they could get today. Flickering her gaze back to the technician however, the girl pointed her chin towards one of the seats.
“By all means stay, I’ll need someone up here for when we break atmo…” Finishing half way through her final word, Freya was distracted by the appearance of two very sodden looking team mates. The first to arrive was a man, ruggedly handsome and wildly out of breath, while the second was a woman. Taller than Fray, the sodden woman, exchanged looks with those in the cockpit with tight smile, all the while grasping her thigh. Right. Fray found herself thinking, as she turned the chair was in to face the two few faces in front of her. Putting on her best and brightest smile, Fray nodded to both in turn.
“It is quite alright. Better late than never.” She began, as with a free hand, the girl reached for a smaller tablet she had spied tucked down next to one of the main control units. Turning it on, the display flickered to life, displaying a few options. One of which, and very luckily for Fray, was details of the crew. On pressing this, the faces of her main commanding crew appeared, although of course there were details about the civilians on board too. Finding the two late arrivals, Fray looked back up at the pair and grinned. “It is lovely to meet you Aaren, Thomas. Please prepare yourself for launch, or as Sebastian said so aptly in the debriefing, ‘going really fast’.”
With this, Fray set her view onto Eduard. “Dr Abellard, I do believe Aaron might be in need of your expertise.” Fray motioned to woman, still holding her leg. “Everyone else, go strap in and wait for command to give a signal. We will don’t want to miss our shot.”
Despite the firm tone of her voice however, Fray’s core was shaken. Up till this day, she had been under the impression that she would be co-pilot. Not the official captain of next generation. In all her tests she had come out first, she knew she had the skills, but when it came to commanding people? Their lives were in her hands and if she messed up, made the wrong decision?
A shiver ran down her spin, but the girl covered the motion with a cough, as she swung back around to her console and tapped in a few commands, taking note of who should be present on the ship, before leaning forward and pressing down the intercom control.
“This pilot Freya Noone speaking. All personnel required on board please report via your communication systems. Those remaining, please return to your quarters, strap in and prepare of launch.”
“By all means stay, I’ll need someone up here for when we break atmo…” Finishing half way through her final word, Freya was distracted by the appearance of two very sodden looking team mates. The first to arrive was a man, ruggedly handsome and wildly out of breath, while the second was a woman. Taller than Fray, the sodden woman, exchanged looks with those in the cockpit with tight smile, all the while grasping her thigh. Right. Fray found herself thinking, as she turned the chair was in to face the two few faces in front of her. Putting on her best and brightest smile, Fray nodded to both in turn.
“It is quite alright. Better late than never.” She began, as with a free hand, the girl reached for a smaller tablet she had spied tucked down next to one of the main control units. Turning it on, the display flickered to life, displaying a few options. One of which, and very luckily for Fray, was details of the crew. On pressing this, the faces of her main commanding crew appeared, although of course there were details about the civilians on board too. Finding the two late arrivals, Fray looked back up at the pair and grinned. “It is lovely to meet you Aaren, Thomas. Please prepare yourself for launch, or as Sebastian said so aptly in the debriefing, ‘going really fast’.”
With this, Fray set her view onto Eduard. “Dr Abellard, I do believe Aaron might be in need of your expertise.” Fray motioned to woman, still holding her leg. “Everyone else, go strap in and wait for command to give a signal. We will don’t want to miss our shot.”
Despite the firm tone of her voice however, Fray’s core was shaken. Up till this day, she had been under the impression that she would be co-pilot. Not the official captain of next generation. In all her tests she had come out first, she knew she had the skills, but when it came to commanding people? Their lives were in her hands and if she messed up, made the wrong decision?
A shiver ran down her spin, but the girl covered the motion with a cough, as she swung back around to her console and tapped in a few commands, taking note of who should be present on the ship, before leaning forward and pressing down the intercom control.
“This pilot Freya Noone speaking. All personnel required on board please report via your communication systems. Those remaining, please return to your quarters, strap in and prepare of launch.”
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Paranoid Android
Subterranean Homesick Alien (INFP)
LAZARUS
(Thomas Robert)
Thomas walked over to his room, located near Connor's, on the main deck. He entered his quarters, a small room with roof, walls and floor made of a slightly rusty metal, without any windows. The most notable decoration was a large psychedelic painting in the exact center of the wall he faced upon opening the door.
The way the painting's bright colours contrasted with the ambient's dark aura provided a definitely peculiar and bizarre effect. The eye in the middle gave a little paranoia to Lazarus, but he knew the strangeness of his quarters' appearance would be nothing compared to the experience he was about to have. His personal belongings were in the corner of the room, carried by a member of the Program. He prepared to reload his LMG, and he saw a single, jammed, remaining bullet.
"This bullet... It didn't want to waste itself along with the others used to flush my anger out. It's destined to kill one of them." Laz picked up the last bullet, reloaded his M249 and turned the safety lock on, and grabbed his helmet. He strapped the projectile to its left side, pointing up. Tom carefully placed the helmet on a small round made of walnut wood. He climbed a stair next to it, and layed down on his bed, attached to the wall. He took off his shirt, and looked at his room. Besides the painting and now his helmet on the table, there was just a ceiling light.
“This is pilot Freya Noone speaking. All personnel required on board please report via your communication systems. Those remaining, please return to your quarters, strap in and prepare for launch.”
Thomas heard the message, and prepared to strap in and set off.
The way the painting's bright colours contrasted with the ambient's dark aura provided a definitely peculiar and bizarre effect. The eye in the middle gave a little paranoia to Lazarus, but he knew the strangeness of his quarters' appearance would be nothing compared to the experience he was about to have. His personal belongings were in the corner of the room, carried by a member of the Program. He prepared to reload his LMG, and he saw a single, jammed, remaining bullet.
"This bullet... It didn't want to waste itself along with the others used to flush my anger out. It's destined to kill one of them." Laz picked up the last bullet, reloaded his M249 and turned the safety lock on, and grabbed his helmet. He strapped the projectile to its left side, pointing up. Tom carefully placed the helmet on a small round made of walnut wood. He climbed a stair next to it, and layed down on his bed, attached to the wall. He took off his shirt, and looked at his room. Besides the painting and now his helmet on the table, there was just a ceiling light.
“This is pilot Freya Noone speaking. All personnel required on board please report via your communication systems. Those remaining, please return to your quarters, strap in and prepare for launch.”
Thomas heard the message, and prepared to strap in and set off.
Soviet Panda
Red Panda Commanda.
"This is Connor. Turret is fully functional. No impaired movement. Particle accelerators are warmed up and on stand by." he said as he swiveled the turret around before strapping himself in. This was where he would be spending the take off, in this little glass cage. But the protection of the mission relied on this turret doing it's job, and him being in it when needed. If any xenos thought they could just shoot them down, then they had another thing coming. He would not let this shuttle go down, not without taking one or two of them down with them. He just prayed that his parents and siblings were strapped in and preparing for take off.
Speaking of, Connor's mother, Patricia or Patty she didn't really mind which you called her, was making a couple quick rounds to get to know the immediate area and their neighbors when the call came out. "You heard her." she said, clapping her hands together and speaking to no one specifically. Except for the youngest McKinley, Sarah, who was doing her best to stay out of sight of her mother and thinking she was doing a good job of sneaking around. But as soon as she heard her mother say those words and clap her hands together, she knew the gig was up. "Yes mom." she said and scampered off back to their room, where the other McKinley's were already strapped in tight, with the exception being there father Henry who would then go about making she was in nice and tight. "Now you be a good girl, and stay strong for everyone." he whispered in her ear as he tightened the last strap and planted a kiss on her forehead. Shortly after, Patty came back, and the couple strapped themselves in.
Speaking of, Connor's mother, Patricia or Patty she didn't really mind which you called her, was making a couple quick rounds to get to know the immediate area and their neighbors when the call came out. "You heard her." she said, clapping her hands together and speaking to no one specifically. Except for the youngest McKinley, Sarah, who was doing her best to stay out of sight of her mother and thinking she was doing a good job of sneaking around. But as soon as she heard her mother say those words and clap her hands together, she knew the gig was up. "Yes mom." she said and scampered off back to their room, where the other McKinley's were already strapped in tight, with the exception being there father Henry who would then go about making she was in nice and tight. "Now you be a good girl, and stay strong for everyone." he whispered in her ear as he tightened the last strap and planted a kiss on her forehead. Shortly after, Patty came back, and the couple strapped themselves in.
Smntha
Sol
Oddly enough, Sebastian didn't seem as welcoming to the pair of late crew members. "You heard the Captain," He muttered coldly as he slipped into the chair that rested vacant beside Fray. The moment of cold, seemingly unnatural behavior for Sebastian soon faded and a smile crept upon his lips. "Honored to be flying with you today, Noore. As of now you've been promoted to the Pilot of this deathtrap." His hands began moving to the consoles that were nearest to his own seat, not bothering to strap in quite yet.
He pressed a small circular portion of the HUD to speak directly to the turret room, "Thanks for the heads-up Connor. Prepare for hell man, it could get hairy. We're going to need a few minutes once we're out of the atmosphere to rev up the engines on the lower decks." He paused and looked down at another HUD that displayed a security view of the engine room. He tilted his head upon a man? No, that was certainly a woman. Sebastian turned his head over his shoulder slightly, "Hey, Freya. You know who this is?" He expanded the image across his array of screens, gently pulling the image by its corners to zoom in on Daniel. "Let's see if she doesn't turn around.." He awaited patiently, an air of seriousness falling over him. His eyes glared at the woman with concern. The weather was worsening and that was only downing their already terrible odds of survival. Sebastian wanted to leave as soon as they could, and this distraction - Ah! The moment Daniel rounded the corner of one of the engines she was inspecting, a facial recognition system kicked in. A crew member file popped up almost instantly, causing him to grin. "Daniel Irons.. She's working in our department." He chuckled lightly and shrunk the image once more. Pressing his finger on a panel displaying the engine room he muttered with a chuckle, "Daniel, we're about to engage. Unless you want to be thrown into one of those, I'd recommend returning to your quarters and prepare for launch.
Though at last, Sebastian begun to correct his hypocrisy. His nervousness was now evident as he shakily pulled buckles and varying straps over his chest and shoulders. After he finished strapping in he glanced over at the Captain. "Let's make sure we at least make it out of this solar system, yeah?" He grinned nervously as he began to prepare all systems for launch. Unnecessary functions like plumbing and certain portions of lighting flickered off. For the most part, the ship went black. Only the gentle lights of the ship provided comfort for those below the cockpit, which was now a beacon of light in this dark. The blue and gray HUD stuck out vibrantly as to let the Pilots see clearly.
The engines began to hum loudly, the entire ship beginning to shake as Sebastian finally muttered, "Prepared for launch, Captain Noore. Let's do this."
He pressed a small circular portion of the HUD to speak directly to the turret room, "Thanks for the heads-up Connor. Prepare for hell man, it could get hairy. We're going to need a few minutes once we're out of the atmosphere to rev up the engines on the lower decks." He paused and looked down at another HUD that displayed a security view of the engine room. He tilted his head upon a man? No, that was certainly a woman. Sebastian turned his head over his shoulder slightly, "Hey, Freya. You know who this is?" He expanded the image across his array of screens, gently pulling the image by its corners to zoom in on Daniel. "Let's see if she doesn't turn around.." He awaited patiently, an air of seriousness falling over him. His eyes glared at the woman with concern. The weather was worsening and that was only downing their already terrible odds of survival. Sebastian wanted to leave as soon as they could, and this distraction - Ah! The moment Daniel rounded the corner of one of the engines she was inspecting, a facial recognition system kicked in. A crew member file popped up almost instantly, causing him to grin. "Daniel Irons.. She's working in our department." He chuckled lightly and shrunk the image once more. Pressing his finger on a panel displaying the engine room he muttered with a chuckle, "Daniel, we're about to engage. Unless you want to be thrown into one of those, I'd recommend returning to your quarters and prepare for launch.
Though at last, Sebastian begun to correct his hypocrisy. His nervousness was now evident as he shakily pulled buckles and varying straps over his chest and shoulders. After he finished strapping in he glanced over at the Captain. "Let's make sure we at least make it out of this solar system, yeah?" He grinned nervously as he began to prepare all systems for launch. Unnecessary functions like plumbing and certain portions of lighting flickered off. For the most part, the ship went black. Only the gentle lights of the ship provided comfort for those below the cockpit, which was now a beacon of light in this dark. The blue and gray HUD stuck out vibrantly as to let the Pilots see clearly.
The engines began to hum loudly, the entire ship beginning to shake as Sebastian finally muttered, "Prepared for launch, Captain Noore. Let's do this."
