Futuristic Transsolar

[InsanEleven]

Saami wondered what in the world it could be that Saundary was planning for. She had sounded so differently from how she had reacted in the mesh hall, and he knew she was hiding something, but couldn't put his finger on what it was. Before he could even notify her that he had understood her order she had already hung up, leaving him muttering the final words of his sentence in thin air. Two to five minutes to reach the companionway, that was about equally long as he would take to walk there. So before really thinking it through he grabbed his jacket, and without even looking at it the screen behind him got dark again as he gave the mental command to it.


There was only one staircase that identified as a real companionway, going into the inner workings of the ship. The engineering tunnels and hidden secrets in the belly of the beast, the access to every other deck was just a decently sized staircase. Despite the ship being relatively small, the design was incorporated in such a way that it didn't feel claustrophobic, with decently spaced halls and rooms. Everything had been carefully designed to allow the maximum comfort and efficiency yields, and as he was practically raised in planes and spaceships he couldn't help but notice how well crafted the Lullaby was. Yet today he didn't quite have the time to do so, still buttoning up his jacket on the go.


On the way there quite a few people watched him carefully, having heard of their companions about what had happened earlier. They didn't seem to dare ask him questions about it though, and usually they already avoided him unless they had a definite need for his help. Usually he just kind of did his thing, and they let him do that knowing it was fairly important seeing he actually was the one in control of the ship. Of course there was the usual comment about how he was 'The auto-pilot' or 'System Saami', strewn around behind his back, but by now he was used to nicknames and being made fun of. As long as they didn't get physical and took his orders he couldn't quite care, not even for the worse insults.


After three minutes and twenty-three seconds he stood on top of the companionway, wondering where Saundary was. Quietly he stood and fixed his collar and sleeves to fall even more straight than they already did, wondering if perhaps she had gotten lost again. It was an odd place to meet too, and he knew he'd have to bend his head a bit not to hit it against the ceiling struts of the lowest hallways. But they'd be alone, except for the occasional loose engineer, and he could definitely appreciate that enough to deal with low ceilings.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince smiled as Adira typed in the orders on her tablet. He couldn't help but admire her even now. "You know, you look nice with your hair pulled back." Before she could say anything though Vince continued, "Meet me in front of Marshall's room in ten." He leaned down and kissed Adira's cheek before quickly heading off down the hall towards his room. When he arrived he quickly grabbed his tablet and alerted the security team, save for Marshall, about the situation. He even made a caveat that Marshall's command position was temporarily revoked. If anyone encounters Marshall he is to be treated as armed and a threat to the safety of the crew.





Within a matter of minutes Vince was dressed in his baselayer and running towards the team room. The team was already outfitted and were arming up by the time he arrived. "Non-lethals primarily. We're not hunting him down, but don't take that as an excuse to get your ass whipped. If he seems like he is going to fight, take him down. Nerve blockers should do the trick perfectly."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira blushed when Vince kissed her cheek. Had he just shown her affection... in the hall? Nobody had been around to see, but.... After a few moments she had regained her self-control and checked her tablet again before setting off for her room to change into clean shirt and pants before waiting in front of Marshall's room casually. When she aw the crew coming, she had to hold back the urge to roll her eyes. This was not what she had planned at all when she had agreed to let Vince bring the crew. She quietly said to him, "It's just one room, and it's just Marshall. You could have taken him hand-to-hand. I was intending to keep this more... private. If the whole crew is working against him it'll be hard for him to get any better. I didn't think you had meant the whole squadron was coming just for his tiny room." She had had honest, high hopes for Marshall becoming... better. In a way as his leader it was her obligation to help him be better however she could, if it wasn't an inconvenience to the rest of the ship. Adira sighed quietly and said, "We'll work with it." She knocked on Marshall's door, hoping to make a peaceful entrance but hoping even more that he was just not there. After a moment she pulled the master key card out of her pocket and unlocked his door.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince had kept his helmet off, though the rest of the security team had fully kitted up. He gave Adira and apologetic look. "Regs. This is an official security sweep and seizure, so it was required." Vince and the team had left their primaries for the non-lethal nerve blockers, but they kept their secondaries in case they needed to go hot. When Adira finally got the door opened Vince laid a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back as the team filled into the room to secure it. He took the moment alone to apologize. "Sorry about the mess but, Regs are Regs."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Regs also say last night shouldn't have happened." They technically hadn't crossed too many lines, but still, it was enough. She knew the team couldn't hear her. She wanted to see what his response was to that, though. She still didn't know what she thought abotu what had happened last night... or even earlier when he had kissed her cheek. "Regs say he should be in the brig. Regs say Marshall's a merc and technically shouldn't even be on this ship. Regs say a lot of things. I like to think of them more as guidelines. I didn't mean for this to be an official sweep and seizure, just... getting rid of the alcohol. But we'll work with it."

 

[BookWyrm]

Adira was right, and knowing that he had made a foul play irked Vince. To a degree he had mobilized the team to make a point. If they had found Marshall he would have arrested him on sight, but now that they hadn't it seemed like overkill. "Alright, fine, I admit that I made a bad call on mobilizing the team. Old habits fucking die hard." He wasn't sure what Adira's angle was, but he was miffed enough at the moment as is. "But I refuse to believe last night was a mistake." Vince looked away from Adira and felt a slight shift and sighed as he shook his head. One of the team members came back out and reported that, if it wasn't obvious enough, Marshall was not anywhere in the room. "Sweep the room and take any alcohol, synthehol, or weapons you find and secure them back at station." When the team member was back in the room Vince turned back to Adira and crossed his arms. "Before anything else gets fucked up, what do you have planned next?" His tone was definitely straight forward and carried a slightly harsh tone to it, but his mood had soured a bit.

 

[Spazzycat101]

After seeing Adira and Woods retreat into plotting some kind of punishment doubtlessly for Marshall if Saami's recollection of the event was anything to go on, Lydia more or less tried to avert her attention. Not a situation that would have any out-of-the-ordinary conclusion, instead it seemed pretty simple to her. In fact, the most intriguing thing about the whole affair was Saami's 'battle mode.' She decided she'd have to ask about that. She lingered where she was awkwardly, scanning the thin crowd of other people among the mesh-hall who were averting their attention from the occurrence and back to the breakfast preceding a day off. She decided to join them for a no longer than it took to snag an apple, specifically honeycrisp, and be off again.


Before half the fruit was gone, Lydia had arrived back at where she wanted to be-- her room. Ah, her room! A glorious retreat, one into which it would be extremely difficult for another person to intrude with a very good excuse. Before she she make her way back down to the biologists' lab to retrieve whatever equipment she deemed necessary, she took time to finish her apple. This would probably be her only meal until a long while later, too often when she was working she forgot to eat, too lost in what she was doing to easily notice she was hungry. Perhaps she should set an alarm of some kind to remind her about lunch...


Almost as soon as the core of the Apple fell into a plastic waste bin with a small thud, Lydia was on her way to the lab for what equipment could be moved. After somewhat clumsily managing to haul an armful of various tools while wondering the whole way if she could be allowed just to keep them in her room permanently, Lydia delicately arranged all of what was there in a large semicircle that spanned almost the entire floor space of her quarters. She absolutely refused to make use of surfaces made actually for holding things. And with that, she set to work and finally unearthed the sample of spiderweb that she had hidden. In fact, she had hidden it so well that it took almost ten minutes for her to find it again.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira looked at Vince for few moment, a knowing smile playing on her face. She had made similar mistakes before, and he was right in that it was better to play safe than sorry, but she was pretty sure that Marshall wouldn't have hurt them. It did greatly lighten her heart to know that he didn't think they had made a mistake, but at the same time.... She knew she couldn't tell him certain things. But she wanted to. But it would hurt him. And... that wasn't fair. But whenever he was around, she couldn't stop herself. After a moment, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, knowing nobody could see them. She gently said, "I think we should go to his Tin-Can work area, get any alcohol and weaponry we can from there, then just let him be. Eventually one of us can find him and confiscate the weaponry on him - but not this moment. Let him simmer down. I'm pretty sure he acts on emotion - and he feels bad for that, once he calms down." Adira slowly reached out and took his right hand in both of hers, slowly running her thumbs over his palm. "Vince, I know this is an odd concept for you, but sometimes the rules have to be broken because we're not machines. People are worth saving whenever possible - even someone like Marshall. Sometimes even when there's nothing there, there's still hope to save someone. You just have to watch for when the glimmers break through the rough, and I've seen some of that in him. I'm hoping his self-pity and self-loathing, if the alcohol is removed, might result in his cleaning up, and eventually maybe his temper and manners will follow. We may have to prod him here or there, but... I really think, deep down, he's not a bad guy."

 

[BookWyrm]

For all of his sudden frustration and anger Vince had not been expecting Adira to respond in the way she did. When she kissed his cheek Vince found himself taken back, his guard suddenly broken along with his pride. He had become defensive after Adira's reprimand, and in a way he had thrown up walls around himself - old walls that he hadn't seen since he left SIAD. His posture relaxed as he sighed quietly, letting the walls fall away again. He didn't resist her when Adira reached out and took his hand. The feeling of her thumbs running over his palm was soothing, and all at once he was thankful that he still had feeling in it. "I am sorry. I.....old habits die hard I guess. I'm not used to dealing with conflicting personalities. Kind of funny when you think about it, seeing as how in the end my personality conflicted with SIAD's. I guess I still have a lot to learn about being a person and not just a weapon."

 

[Dragongal]

"I understand." She continued running her thumbs along his palms slowly. She had been against having any of the team help them with this, but had decided to allow for some because she couldn't see it being detrimental, and because she wanted to let Woods see that this wasn't as big as he thought it was. "Please, don't look at this as a failure, or a fuck-up, it's just a chance to learn. We're all a crew; we're here to help each other, not throw each other in the brig. Alright?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince realized that his free hand was laying against Adira's hip and that his thumb had been rubbing over her side ever since she had taken his right hand. He cautiously looked around them, thankful that no one was around and that the team was busy at the moment. He finally turned his eyes back to Adira and smiled before nodding. "It's going to take some getting used to trusting people again. People other than you, anyway." Vince slowly pulled his hand away from Adira's side as he took her hands in his own, bringing them up to his lips before he let them go. He couldn't have been more timely, because the second they had returned to a non-compromising position the team filled out with several bottles of various alcohol as well as whatever munitions Marshall had in the room. "Alright. Take it to the evidence locker and store it all." Vince checked into the room as the team left. They had managed to keep everything in decent shape during the search. "How about you follow me back to the team room and let me dress down some before we head over to the Can?"

 

[Marianne]

The moment Saundary saw something equivalent to Saami's shadow, she hopped two steps and opened the door, yanking him inside the companionway before she could fall down the stairs. Luckily, she held the railing as she peered up at - thank goodness - Saami with a catlike grin stretching ear to ear. "Are you ready for an adventure?" Her brows wiggled in the dimly lit darkness, and she wasn't going to wait for any other response as she dragged the male down the metallic spiral stairs with a childish kick in her merriment. Of course, even if her behavior was a tad strange, and it was a normal for others, all she wanted to do when she was around Saami was smile a lot more than the usual. Even if, by the end of the day her cheeks had hurt, it was worth it because between the next couple of hours, to days on board, she discovered something interesting. She made a friend in her boss, and she introduced him to new things the same way he had with her, even if he hadn't known.

"So," she began the moment they reached the bottom; she didn't know what to say as she examined the door before them. They were officially near the bottom, the very bottom, of SS Lullaby. She was practically bouncing on her heels as she nudged Saami forward while holding his hand. "Unlock the door, please, Mister Saami." This level typically contained every specimen, or drastically endangered objective that the SS Lullaby contained for experiments above. Not only that, but certain engineer's are down this low; just to check on the engine. Little did anybody know, the bottom of SS Lullaby often felt larger because of how easy it was to get lost. Thus, to even get down there, one had to have a specific key. That's when Saami wounded up involved - kind of.​

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami heard footsteps behind him and smelt the distinct smell of Saundary, before being pulled inside by her. One moment he was standing there just minding his own business, and the next she was dragging him through the bowels of the ship as enthusiastic as ever. She seemed to be someone that lived in the present completely, free of worries from what had happened or what would happen. He wasn't going to be allowed to do anything that wasn't in her plan, it was obviously clear that as much as he disliked admitting it, he was property one way or another. And right now he was hers. "Yes, Miss Etrasmus." Without hesitation he typed in the codes, his fingers tapping fast and lightly on the keypad.


When the metal door slid open it revealed a surprisingly bright, artificial white light that tapered a ultramarine violet. This part of the ship contained the automatic farms, and under thick translucent plastic covers hung metal racks filled with plants. Condensation ran down metal bars and the walls into containment areas, where it would be fully reused. All the excess heat from the engines made the area uncomfortably hot, with the humidity near a hundred percent and the faint smell of dirt, plants and rust in the air it wasn't the ship's most flattering place. At the far, opposite side was another door, leading into the maze like pattern of maintenance crawlspaces surrounding the engines. Halfway the room at both sides were two more doors, one of which he knew led to the storage room for experimental material, the other had a small room behind it that hadn't been given a name. More or less a space stuck in the walls between the farm and the server room, too small to have obtained a name as a room. "If there is no specific space you want to go to Miss Etrasmus, I suggest the door on the left. I have no idea what is behind it, and it would be detrimental to my image as the head pilot to admit I don't know everything about the machine I am piloting." As he looked at her a little bit of eagerness and curiosity found their way through his mental walls, seeping into those mechanical eyes.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira smiled and nodded, slowing her heartrate when the others came out. That was a bit of a close call. "Alright, that sounds like a good plan. And I think just us should be enough." She straightened her jacket slightly, just to keep her hands busy. She tried not to ponder over what had just happened between them, knowing it might be a distraction or something of the sort. Something to sort out later, like the rest of her emotions.

 

[BookWyrm]

With Vince having changed out of his armor and equipment and just wearing his base layer clothing and combat pants he and Adira both headed out towards the area where Marshall kept the Tin Can. Vince had left everything in his cage except normal duty items. Flex cuffs, a baton, his karambit, and a few other items used for apprehending and non lethal takedowns. "I figure it won't be an issue. Besides, these on my person normally, so it's not that big of a deal." When they arrived at the area Vince started rummaging through the equipment scattered about the area. It wasn't long before he found more beer. "How much beer can one guy have?"

 

[Dragongal]

"It's a four-month run, approximately. He stocked up." Adira looked around for weapons, putting anything she found into her jacket pockets. Marshall was going to have a fun time whenever he woke up. She walked over to Vince's side, gently laying her hand over his as she gently said, 'Let me handle him when we find him, okay?" She didn't want this getting off to a bad start in the very beginning.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince looked down at Adira's hand for a few moments. Even such simple, minor physical contact felt good. "No problem. I wasn't planning on thrashing him when we found him anyway. Can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind, but public beatings do little to raise morale." Vince stood up and looked Adira in the eyes for a few moments. He couldn't help but think over questions he wanted to ask, but he figured it was probably smart to save the questions for when they were alone. "Well, I've managed to clean this space of it's beer. Unless he has some stored in that suit of his I'd say we are pretty well done here."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira smiled and gently squeezed his hand. "I wouldn't put it past him to hide some in the Tin-Can." She laughed a bit, but she could tell that he waned to say something. Not about Marshall, though. About them. Their relationship - if that was what it could be called. She was scared, deep down, that he would push her away, leave her alone again. She had enjoyed having someone to trust, and that sense of safety last night. Without even registering what she was doing, she closed her eyes and gave him a kiss. For a few moments, there was no Marshall, no Lullaby, nothing but them, safe and secure in silence. When she regained her senses, she slowly pulled back and smiled to him, blushing a bit. Idiot, you're trying to find a way to tell him to stay away from you, so you kiss him? Despite her thoughts, though, she couldn't override the good feelings left from the kiss. She cleared her throat and nodded to the Tin-Can. "Do you know how to open this thing up...?"

 

[Marianne]

Hearing Saami address her with her maiden name caused Saundary's mood to dampen, only a little, as her guilt from before had bounced back. She never apologized to him, and knowing that had made her anxious with worry. She wanted to get it off of her chest. She needed to get moving.

"Thank you," she replied softly, seeing as there was no need for her to be loud in spite of her happiness going beyond captivity's limits, and the guilt that kept it in check. As she stepped out of the companionway with a careful step, her eyes spent three point seven seconds adjusting to the change of light.

It was as if all thoughts of a common responsibility, a simple, heart felt apology, fluttered away the moment those mythical red eyes landed on the beauty before its very optics. It was darker below deck, the automatic farms pulling at Saundary's heart strings as she stepped forward, practically leaning forward in bewilderment as a sharp gasp was the only humane thing audible as of yet. The sound of an engine running, mechanics ticking, quiet whistles, and faint clinks drifting in and out of existence. The white-violet light clashing with some sort of black light, whilst casting an ethereal glow over the winsor blue darkness contrasted the ultramarine violet lights whom which flickered in the background like terrestrial fireflies in an extra terrestrial environment. This scenery somewhat reminding Saundary of the home her mother often reminisced about. The vibrant colors, how everything was like Mars and Earth combined, yet equally as advanced, as burgundy was a relatively popular color, and the water was still blue - a clear blue.

The flora within this moment causing Saundary to feel as though she was on a different planet, like she had hoped for. Hopefully, a place she may come back to often, although highly unlikely. Some where, if Saundary listened closely, she could almost hear the lingering murmurs of fauna in containment.

"If there is no specific space you want to go to Miss Etrasmus, I suggest the door on the left. I have no idea what is behind it, and it would be detrimental to my image as the head pilot to admit I don't know everything about the machine I am piloting."




That's right, the surprise!

Returning from her daze, Sandy blinked thrice before nodding her head in the direction of the door Saami had mentioned. She pulled him forward, gently, while looking down to make sure she hadn't stepped on anything important. On the floor below were chords, thick enough to be a growing tree's roots as iridescent cobalt blue transferred to and fro from one container to another. The energy noticeable through the chords as they danced in angular patterns. Surprisingly, she needn't need to worry about stepping on those, they were protected by a mat designed to ensure its protection when civilians were around, or involved. When she had looked forward, she almost forgot her objective, if not for the differences in doors. One looked important with the angular, tinted window while the other had no window and seemed untouched. Curiously, the half alien woman tried the door and it wasted no time in opening. The lights were off, so she had assumed there was a motion censor.​

And indeed there was, for upon entering, with Saami in tow, the perimeter of the walls glowed a cobalt blue and a gentle lime green. The walls were designed to work as one way windows, so only those within the room could see outside, whilst the outside remained unable to see inside. A table resting centered in the middle of the room with it's circular presence, with a counter, plus petite kitchen, resting on the back walls. Two ways out, another door waiting on the opposite side of the other. Once the door shut behind Saami, Sandy let go of his hand and slid her sack off of her back. Rummaging through it for a few quick seconds, she pulled out a piece of paper and pen. She bent the pen in half as it sparked to life as a vibrant royal blue, shaking it before using it. Sandy wrote: May you please join me for breakfast, in lovely script like handwriting. Once she had, she spent one minute making quick adorable doodles around this message before she folded the paper in half and gave it to Saami.

"Don't read it, not yet. Um," she turned to face him directly as she began to speak. Her hands clasped in front of her, as her large eyes appeared to be a soft color of lime and forestry green. She wasn't aware that her night vision ability was in affect, probably because the color was soft, so it was just assisting her normal red rubies in seeing better for a small while. "I would like to apologize, for abandoning you at breakfast. I was just upset because it was ruined before it had even begun, so I wanted to make it up somehow. . . now you can open the paper." Her voice was small, and she held eye contact with this tall young man named Saami, all the way until he opened it for himself.

Was that a proper apology, should she have said it a different way? "Will you forgive me?"
​

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami just let himself be dragged by Saundary, having decided that right there and then he could just as well go with whatever it was she had planned. Carefully he avoided the racks and the cords strewn about, his feet nimble enough to never touch them. He was ever so slightly surprised to see there was some sort of small break room behind the door, as he had expected it to be a storage for cleaning supplies or the like. It was very probably the engineers made their retreat here, but now, on a leisure day there would be none to bother them.


Patiently he waited for Saundary to finish her apology, having to do his best not to raise the corners of his mouth in an adoring smile as he heard her speak. It didn't fully succeed, and by the end of her innocent, near childish concept of how to go at an apology, he wasn't sure whether or not to feel touched or guilty. If anything he was the one that would have to apologise to her; she had done absolutely nothing to ruin breakfast, a bystander and even having come to his defence, neither of which warranted an apology. The only wrongs done were that he had written her off so quickly, and done nothing to explain his cold mannerisms to her.


"What would I have to forgive you for Miss Saundary? You have done no wrong, if anything I acted too harshly, even if I had good reasons for it. I should not have let you go." As he spoke he had opened the paper and read it, the drawings surrounding it only adding to his belief that she had no wrongdoing bone in her body. Falling into quiet thought for a while he took her pen, then turned the piece of paper around and wrote something of his own.


Only if you may forgive a man for being machine.


His handwrite wasn't anything like hers, and though it wasn't ugly, it was static and rigid; consisting out of straight lines and angles, his characters so uniform it could as well have been a computer font. Though, when the last stroke of the sentence was done the pen hovered just above it, as if doubtful. Yet he knew that there would be no better way to make up for what he had done within the lines of protocols, than to break them. So in an impulse he drew a toy robot behind his sentence. Still silent he put the pen down again, and folded the paper back up in no apparent hurry.


"I won't forgive you, instead I am going to thank you for going through the effort of giving me a second chance." As he spoke he looked into her eyes, fascinated by the display of colours in them, perhaps even more fascinated than he was by his own eyes. He would do anything to make hers cheerful, simply because it was forbidden for his to be. Without breaking his gaze he took her hand in his and opened it, then put the piece of paper in her palm. When he closed her fingers around it again it was so gentle the paper didn't even crumple, and his fingers lingered on hers for a mere moment longer realising her touch made him somehow feel softly content.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince hadn't been expecting to be kissed, so when he found himself suddenly being kissed by Adira it took him a second before he kissed her back. She pulled away just as he had begun to enjoy himself. He wanted to frown but couldn't help but smile when he saw her blushing and smiling shyly. When she finally came back around and asked about the Tin Can Vince shook his head, a smile still on his face as he walked over to the suit. "I gave it the once over before the drop. If I recall correctly the release valve around here....here it is." Vince reached over and grabbed the valve. "Damn this thing is tight.", he groaned as he reached up with his right arm and gripped the valve and put his heft behind it. He the strain causing veins to bulge out along his skin under the body suit before the valve finally gave and released. "It was pressurized?" Vince looked over at Adira and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

 

[Marianne]

At first, Sandy was anxious, nervous even, but when she saw a glimmer of a smile kiss his face, she felt hopeful, especially when he read her note. He had her feeling a lot better when he had said, "What would I have to forgive you for Miss Saundary? You have done no wrong, if anything I acted too harshly, even if I had good reasons for it. I should not have let you go." She did nothing wrong, he had acted harshly; although she hadn't felt that way, she still felt forgiven even if the words hadn't come out of his mouth. She smiled, and there was nothing special about her smile. She was always happy, always smiling, always laughing, and definitely carefree. This smile? It felt different on her face, most of them were playful - full of youth, and this was no where near that.

She later watched as she noticed him take her pen and begin to write elsewhere on the piece of paper she gave him. He was taller, so of course seeing would be difficult judging on the position of his hand, so she decided to wait patiently. When he had finished writing, folding the paper back in place, the moment she was least expecting was when he slid the paper back in her hands, folding her fingers over the note to the point where a crinkle wasn't even possible. His hands were soft, and masculine, for just the smallest touch near the tips of his fingers were rough. It was like feeling who he was, a soft man in a rough predicament.

Taking the paper, her smile turned somewhat bashful as she said, "You were never in need of a second chance because you hadn't lost your first." Turning around, she tucked the note into a small pocket within her sack before began pulling out two sandwiches wrapped delicately in the cloth she brought from home, along with two apples and two containers of fresh cold water. "Good morning, Saami, and i'm glad you could join me for 'breakfast'," giggling, Sandy held the two containers in each hand and shook them a little before handing one to him.​

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami gladly took the bottle from her, putting it on the table in front of him. "Good morning, Miss Saundary. I think they call it a brunch." Returning her giggle with a raise of the corners of his mouth, which equalled to him being awfully cheery. They were alone here, and he doubted anyone would come in anytime soon, because the engineers were certainly hungover. "I assume you made these yourself?" He pointed at a sandwich, loaded with all sorts of condiments, some of which he wasn't entirely sure went together. It was possible to get sandwiches in the mesh hall too, but those looked significantly different.


Then suddenly a realisation appeared to break his form, his eyes darting back and forth nearly confused, as if there was a piece of the puzzle missing somewhere. It felt nearly embarrassing to have to admit he didn't quite get it, knowing that he either shouldn't wonder about it at all, or that he should think nothing of the gesture. So for a little while he sat there trying to formulate his question correctly, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to figure it out himself first.


"Why would you do that?" The question would have perhaps been ridiculous or even insulting, but his eyes showed nothing but genuine confusion at the situation. The concept of someone caring enough to make him something, in the hopes that he would like it, so alien to him that it broke his head. It wasn't something he needed, something that would keep him alive, or make him perform better. There was no reason for her to go through the effort of it, she could have just grabbed something from the mesh hall, or simply left him to his own devices to eat as he wasn't broken and would sustain himself anyway. Though he knew about the concept of a selfless gift, he couldn't fathom him being the receiver of such a thing, as everything that ever had been done or given to him served a purpose. It would have been equally impossible for him to understand had she decided to knit a lantern post a scarf.

 

[Anaxial]

A restful sleep for a tired man, Marshall hadn't woke at the sound of folks rummaging around his area and even slept through Woods and Adira's attempts at opening the Tin-Can. It was only once the release valve finally gave way and the suit opened that Marshall was violently woken by the sound of sucking wind and the pain as his ears popped rapidly as he was recompressed to the outside atmosphere in a few moments. A painful shout split through his chapped lips as Marshall fell out of the Tin-Can, grasping the sides of his head and blinking his eyes rapidly.


Hitting the ground with a hard wet thump, Marshall truly looked his lowest at this point. His skin gleamed with sweat, his eyes sunken in and black around the sockets. His lips were flaking and his hair was very akin to a rapid possum rather than a heap of human hair, not to mention a scent so powerful it smelled as if he'd been drinking straight rubbing alcohol. Marshall groaned and writhed on the ground only for a moment until his eyes met with Woods' and a panic washed over him.


They HAVE come to kill me! I know too much! His mind flooded with more of his inane theories as he crab walked swiftly across the cargo bay until his back hit a cargo box and he immediately reached for the pistol on his side. Even intoxicated, his quick draw was legendary and the pistol was raised at Woods and Adira in an instant, wide, bloodshot eyes darted between the two as his chest heaved with heavy breaths and sweat trickled down his forehead. He was dead silent aside from his heavy breathing however his aim drifted all over the place as he tried to focus on all four of the people in front of him.


or was it two?

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince hadn't planned on finding Marshall in the Tin Can, so when the merc flopped out ungracefully and hit the floor the Commander winced at the sound. Vince backed up between Marshall and Adira when the man finally realized they were standing there, the thought to check the suit for beer suddenly forgotten. "Marshall, calm down we're not..." When the gun was leveled at him Vince felt himself suddenly slip, and all at once the drunken mercenary became a threat. It didn't take Vince long to realize from Marshall's erratic behavior that he was not completely coherent, which gave Vince the advantage despite the gun being in Marshall's hands. There wasn't too much ground between him and the merc. Add in the fact that his focus and aim were beyond impaired Vince knew he could make the move without much risk.


When Marshall's focus failed him Vince moved, crossing the ground and grabbing Marshall's gun hand within seconds. Vince twisted his wrist, pulling the gun free and trapping Marshall's trigger finger in the guard before wrenching the pistol, as well as the finger, back towards the wrist. With his free hand Vince pulled out his baton and placed it under Marshall's chin with just enough force to clack the merc's teeth together. "Move the arm and I'll break your finger. Move anything else and I'll crush your wind pipe. We're not here to cause a problem Marshall, we were here to talk, but now I think I'm going to let you sleep it off in the drunk tank." Vince looked over at Adira. "I've got some flex cuffs on my belt. Would you mind grabbing them?"