Futuristic Transsolar

[BookWyrm]

"When you have twenty genetically and cybernetically enhanced weapons that all are developed for the soul purpose of fighting and killing without question or remorse then you have to make sure they don't turn on each other. In fighting within military units is normal, but if Outliners or SIAD operatives got into with each other the cost of losing just one of us would be detrimental. They treated us like investments, like high dollar smart weapons actually. If you're not using them then you should probably store them so they don't suddenly go boom."





Vince realized now, at least partially, why he had been decommissioned from the team. He was probably the most human out of them all. Despite his occasional socially awkward moments he seemed to be just another person. He did perk up slightly when Adira mentioned doing things. "Okay, I guess? I'm not really sure what you mean by that though."

 

[Dragongal]

"Well, I mean, you just have to try new things I guess. Find some things you like." Adira sighed, then admitted, "I remember on my first ship, the crew was amazed I didn't know how to play cards, or really do any leisure activities. It was all new to me." She knew what it was like to be used as a thing instead of a person. Suddenly tossed into life she was expected to pick up quickly without help. She'd just burrowed her head into books and study: mechanics, navigation, medicine, fighting techniques, and that was before she'd even hitch-hiked. She smiled to switch the subject a bit and said, "Come on, let's do a few runs in the simulation chamber. Hand-to-hand or with weapons?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods gave a sly smile and a quiet chuckle. He liked her spirit. "Both if you don't care. I'd like to get back in the habit of training regularly."

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami woke up a few hours later, still slightly influenced by the sedatives he stood up from the pod and sat down on a nearby bench. The bruises had been lessened, now mostly a yellow hue on his skin except for a few lightly purple spots on his shoulders. It was still sore, but it didn't hurt anymore. Now while he waited for the sedatives to get out of his system he put his clothes back on. Even while half sedated he still looked spotless, and except for being slightly shaky there was little that revealed what he had actually been through.


When he walked back to navigation he saw the holodeck being used, and figured the captain had been training. It was a little odd that she had let out Woods too though, which he saw when he walked into the department, but he didn't question it. It was her decision and he was in no position to doubt any of it. So instead he just focussed on making sure they would reach the intended solar system and not fly right past it because his calculations were off by a slight margin. It would still take about seven days before they were there, a moon called Othid orbiting the gas giant Odian in the Beterian-XVI solar system.

 

[Dragongal]

3487/12/04 10:00:00


Five days after launch, Adira put the command through to release everyone from stasis. They'd be to Othid in about a day and a half. Then of course, they could just stay in orbit for a while. Adira wanted everyone to get comfortable on the ship before they went down to Othid. She'd have to give them a run-down of everything first. Of course, before anything, she wanted to let her new crew understand how she worked. She sent a message to her whole crew over an intercom system while she sat on the bridge.


"Unlike most Captains, I'm what you may call informal. Way I see it, we've taken up a very dangerous job, being strict all of the time when it's not needed, that doesn't seem quite fair. Let's face the truth, you're here for a while, and if we keep it strict all the time, our doctors will have a lot of heart attacks to deal with. You're expected to do your jobs, and do them well. You're also expected to take your leisure time; hours are logged and eventually reviewed, overworking is not allowed. Personally, I don't care what relations you form in your free time, as long as it doesn't interfere with your work. On this ship, everyone's job is essential, and must be done properly. We're all dependent on each other. If anything comes up, feel free to message me any time."

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods had enjoyed his short respite. During his usual working hours he logged some time at the range and gym as well as keeping his martial skills in shape. He spent a decent amount of his free time around Adira, mostly listening to music and finding a book or two that proved interesting, though he had to admit that some of this was uncomfortable to him. He was still having to get used to how people normally acted around each other, and so far it was....interesting.


Now that everyone had had time to wake up and get into their stations Woods had relayed a message to the Doc. Despite being in good condition his body was off. His arm had spells where it stopped working for thirty minutes at a time, and he'd been having some strange fluctuations concerning his enhancements. His cybernetics needed calibration for sure, but he also wanted to make sure his genetic enhancements were not mutating. They were viruses originally, developed from alien genetic material as well. Back in the team they were under constant watch to keep their enhancements in check, but now Woods was concerned about the possibility that something might occur. He arrived at the infirmary and knocked before placing his arms behind his back as he waited.

 

[Dragongal]

Chrice Jones

​

Doc was sorting through a medical cabinet and mumbling about lazy assistants when she got Woods' message. A few minutes later he was there at the infirmary doors, and she was prepared, thanks to his warning. She opened the doors and said, "Infirmary's a public space, you don't have to knock. Anyone in bad condition, we put them in a different room." She walked back into the room without bothering to look back and see if he's followed. "Sit in that bed there," she said with a nod to an empty bed. The moment he sat down, she took his right arm and plugged the needle into it, reading the diagnosis off of her tablet. She didn't need to ask her where to put the needle, she knew already; this was her job. "Alright, just needs a tune-up. Other than that, you seem fine. I have to thank you," she said as she pulled the wire out of his arm and put her tablet aside, "I have to thank you for reminding me, Cap didn't mention anything about the mandatory medical inspections for all personnel." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device, plugging that into his arm and waiting a few seconds. "Should be all nice now."

 

[Spazzycat101]

As soon as she was released from stasis, Lydia gave a quick and quiet gasp of air, but tried to keep from jumping too much at sudden consciouness. The sudden rush of thoughts that often followed her waking from any sleep blurred out most of the message that had been broadcasted by their Captain, but the girl heard the last bit of what Adira had said. When, a moment later, she tried to recall what the artificial slumber had actually been like, she was confronted with... Almost blankness. Not the blotchy feeling of forgetting, but that she had never been given something to remember in the first place. Trying to go back to what images she might have seen, she only could draw to mind what was like a creamy nothingness, but one that occurred at the same time as a blackness. Not that the two were stirred together, or they flickered back and forth, it was just the kind of dreamlike understanding that what she had been seeing somehow existed in the same moment, always.


The color of butter wasn't the only thing that came from the stasis. In fact, the unnerved feeling she had didn't even stem from that. Though it had felt almost instant, being put out like a light and then switched on again, there was the briefest of moments in which the sleep took place. It had felt like a fall from a high place. Peaceful, almost like being suspended in air while at the same time knowing ground is coming, but time inching by until suddenly the plummet is broken. As soon as it ends, the whole thing felt like it lasted less than a mere moment.


Though it was not that still that kept Lydia from leaping out of her pod instantly, ready for a new planet. It was the most prominent of the murky understandings of what she could not be sure was a dream. The whole time of instant eternity, one of the most impossible-to-stand feelings was horribly present, like the smell of sulfur hanging in a room.


The feeling of being watched.


The only variant was that it was very obvious to the biochemist that she was not the one being watched, but the one who was to do the watching. There was one issue she found with that, one that caused her increasing anxiety when she was released from stasis.


It was the fact that there was absolutely nothing to watch.


The whole mental cycle of pedaling through her thoughts can take far longer to explain than it does to actually happen, and within seconds Lydia rose warily from the pod. She couldn't shake that indescribeably... Well, that feeling of anxiety and being unsure of what to do as she simply stood, spreading her gaze about the room. After a few moments' thought, she took a few steps to retrieve her suit from the corner it had miraculously not moved far from, then continued on her way to the small collection of bedrooms that were associated with that corner of the place. After depositing her suit (which was just about the little luggage she might have wanted to bring) and reentering the biochemistry laboratory, she wrinkled her nose a bit and wondered about any other places in which it would be publicly acceptable to do little more than loiter. After finding no real place in which she would neither be bothered or asked what in the worlds she was doing there, she settled for one of the less... Typical places. She seated herself diligently in the corner of one of the corridors of the ship, crossing her legs casually. Lydia, even though she hadn't totally tucked herself away in the corner, still took up a significantly small amount of space as she balanced her tablet that she had carried with her across her knees and began to record with flying fingers all she could recall about her experience in stasis. It was quite intriguing, and though she had had plenty of peculiar dreams before, she had never once had one that was blank yet had feeling, like nothing was happening at the same time as something...

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods was a bit off put by the Doc's sudden and very accurate knowledge of his arm. Then again, she was a professional at this. Adira had said she was the best. She had seemed a little, what was the word, fast maybe? Her manner of speech seemed very direct. Oh well, just another tick to note. "The Captain said you had my full medical file. If it isn't a bother would it be possible to check the genetic enhancements? I know this was probably already in the file and all, but I'd like to keep up to date on any possible mutations if they occur." God only knew what would happen if those viruses decided to mutate. They had before, that was part of the reason sedatives didn't work on him any more. "That, and I have been having a recurring case of insomnia from stasis."

 

[Dragongal]

Doc looked at him for a few seconds, giving that look that seemed to see through any veil anyone could ever put up. She wasn't one who people could hide things from. After a moment, she nodded. She took another small instrument out of the pocket of her lab coat, tapped in a few numbers, then took Woods' left arm and stuck a needle in his vein quickly before taking it out, only requiring a smidge of blood. A few seconds later the device beeped, and she looked at it. "No mutations from the last recording time. You're fine in that area." She leaned against the empty bed next to him, thinking as she looked him over. After taking out her communicator, typing a quick message, then putting it away, she said, "As for the insomnia, I can prescribe a mild sedative. Might not technically work because of your enhancements, but, it should still encourage your body to sleep. What do you think of that?"

Adira Rik


"Oh, shit. I knew I forgot something." Adira sighed as she looked at her communicator, replying to Doc with a simple thanks. She made another announcement over intercom, "Before anyone can go down to the planet surface, they have to have a medical check. All personnel over the next few days will be having a medical examination; those who are going on planet have a priority. You will be messaged when you are expected to be there, so keep your communicators on you."
​

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods sighed, absentmindedly scratching the back of his head. Sedatives always made the nightmares worse, besides the fact that they didn't work. "I don't have much luck with them. Unless you've got something new that I haven't used before I'll probably be immune." He sighed, visibly upset about the situation. "For all the good they do for me they are hell when it comes to sleep aids. I haven't had a good nights sleep in years. Its always been sedatives..." He realized he'd been rambling some. "Sorry Doc.", he said with a shrug before continuing, "If you think it'll work I'll try it." I'd try anything for a decent nap, let alone a full nights sleep.

 

[Dragongal]

Chrice listened to the announcement with a slight smile on her face. Good Captain. When Vince explained his situation further, she had to think for a few moments. "I don't have any new sedative types...." Doc shrugged. "There's really nothing I have that would help, besides a sedative. I trust you enough with your experience though. The only other thing I could recommend is therapy, but Hell, I don't see you going for that." Did they even have a therapist on board? Doc had no clue. But she knew there were therapy tricks to help figure out why someone couldn't sleep. That wasn't her line of work though.

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince gave a half hearted chuckle. Right now he'd probably even give therapy a shot. "Well, it won't hurt to try the sedative anyway. If I'm immune, oh well. If I'm not it might actually work." Was this him confessing to an addiction, or was it a cry for help? Vince couldn't really tell the difference right now. After getting the sedatives he thanked the doc and told her he'd let her know he they worked before walking out, heading towards his room. He had told Adira about seeing the Doc earlier, he'd even taken the day off just encase there'd been an issue. Of course if he was needed or there was an emergency he was available, but his plan now was to try and sleep for once.


As he walked to his room he realized he'd been holding the sedatives in his hand the whole time and finally decided to stow them in his cargo pocket. Last thing I need is everyone knowing I'm taking sedatives. He managed to get to his room without disturbance and closed the door behind him before stripping out of his shirt and taking the prescribed dose of the sedatives as he laid down on his bed. "Please, just for once, let these damn things work."

 

[Anaxial]

A Brief Respite

From the moment Marshall had stepped into that pod, he was feeling the same feeling of dread from the thought of being trapped with your thoughts. However, as he lie awake, panicking at the thought of being forced to treatise with the faces of the dead. For a moment, before the stasis took hold, he saw outstretched arm, holding a gun, aimed at a man who had nothing to live for. Then suddenly it was gone.


There was no memory of when the stasis hit, or even waking up from the cold storage, only that one minute the fetid ghosts of his past had disturbed his mind, then the next his pod was opening. He felt refreshed almost, like he'd entered a deep sleep but not at all at the same time. He lay there, in the open pod, almost refusing to move, afraid the specters would find him once again. It never worked. With his moment of respite over he sat up from his pod and grimaced at the foul taste in his mouth, he'd woken up before with dry mouth and the taste of day old moonshine in his mouth before but this... this was a whole new level.


Throwing his feet outside the pod, he rubbed his red, bloodshot eyes and massaged his unshaven face. Finally when the hangover nausea had subsided enough for him to concentrate, he walked barefoot to pull on a pair of ragged old cargo pants and retrieved the cigar from his shirt pocket without actually putting the shirt on. Popping the cigar into his mouth he searched his pockets for a lighter, grumbling in frustration when no such lighter could be found. So, now he was forced to leave the security office, barefoot and shirtless he trudged through the ship with the smell of Arid Harbor moonshine as fresh as it was the day they left. He didn't make s spectacle of it, he minded his own business, casually nodding at anyone he may have met in the hall on his way the cargo bay. When he arrived, he stretched out his arms and adjusted the cigar in his lips with his tongue while he shimmied through to his power armor suit, a thin collection of dust had gathered in the suit in the five days it waited for its master's return.


Good thing we were all in stasis. He thought, brushing the dust off its front. Otherwise I might not have recognized you.


Marshall popped open the suit and climbed inside, gently feeling the inside levers and switches. Though to him it hadn't been long, this armor had been alone for five days and when he flicked on the power, the lights flickered to life, the hydraulics and pneumatic systems creaked add the suit came to life once again.


Alright... seems nothing was busted loose. Marshall put his arms into the suit and with the torso portion still open, activated the weapon systems.


A small ignition flame sputtered at the end of the fingers and Marshall wrenched his arms free, hoping out of the suit and putting the cigar against the flame, taking in a few light breaths and puffing out a few thick clouds of smoke. A smile crept across Marshall's lips and he patted the suit's arm.


"Good job, buddy." He said quietly, reaching inside the suit and deactivating the armor. Marshall leaned against the wall, next his armor and enjoyed a Cigar that was worth more than half of this ship. For the first time in a long time, Garrett felt content, if but a bit somber for smoking the last of his Earth brand cigar, the last of its kind.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami had been working tireless the last few days, and when he wasn't controlling the ship or doing calculations he was training on the holodeck. There wasn't really any reason for him to have leisure, even if the captain said she'd be checking for overwork. Honestly he wouldn't know what he'd be doing during leisure, naturally he fell back into doing mathematics of some sort even when he was trying to do nothing or to do other things. Closest he got was playing chess against himself, except he analysed all the moves beforehand so he could never lose or win from himself and that had gotten boring very quickly.


For now he'd make do with getting to medical for the monthly screening. He was fairly sure that his systems were still in order and that his body wasn't in any bad condition, despite the usual bruises here and there he had gotten during training. It wasn't like he was looking forward to it, getting poked around in by the doctors, especially not if they all had a similar morbid curiosity to them like Lydia had. Yet, it had to be done, it wasn't exactly like he could say no anyway, or yes, or even form an opinion of his own.

 

[Dragongal]

Chrice Jones

​

Doc popped her head up when Saami walked in. Seriously, I need to teach my new assistants how to put the fucking drugs away properly. She sighed and stood up. "You're called Saami, right? Let me get the equipment, take a seat over on that bed there. I've yet to teach the assistants where to put things, so. You caught me at a bit of a bad moment." She didn't wait to see how he responded, moving to her desk and opening drawers.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami stood still for a little bit and looked at the doctor, answering her questions even if she didn't much seem to care for it. "Correct ma'am. Order understood." Then he walked over to the bed and sat on it, waiting for her. He wondered if she would just do the screening, or take the chance to do a few tests while she was at it too. Lots of doctors that had been taken by their curiosity over the years, and it wouldn't be the first one to try and get just a little bit more information from him. He didn't see the biochemist though, so at least that eased his nerves a little bit.

 

[Dragongal]

Doc's head popped up after a few seconds, holding a device that looked somewhat like a camera. "New assistants. When I say put it on my desk, I mean, on my desk. Not in it. Okay, hold still." Doc pointed the device at him and waited a few moments, then read the results. "Besides some bruising, you seem fine. Nothing that warrants a deep scan, that's for sure. Far as I'm concerned, you're fine. I don't need a blood sample from you, or any more of an examination. You're good."

 

[InsanEleven]

Well, that was easy, not a single needle or poke involved. "Understood ma'am, in case you require me a at a later time I will be in the navigational department." He didn't expect her to need much from him, but in case she somehow did find something bad in a later screening she'd know where to find him. This did mean there was at least one doctor who didn't want to get every last bit of medical information out of him, which gave him a little bit of hope that he wouldn't be abused too badly. Of course he wasn't sure how invasive the rest of the medical team would be, but this was promising enough to send him back to the bridge with a slightly less worried state of mind.

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods finally woke up. He felt...fine. Actually to be truthful he felt rested. The sedatives still worked. He slowly sat up in his bed, cracking his neck before rolling his right shoulder around. He chalked up another day that the sedatives had still worked. After the first night he had sent the Doc a message stating their effectiveness, making a note that he would chart down how long the single dose would last before it finally stopped working correctly. He slid off his bed and stretched before getting in his normal reps of push ups, sit ups, squats, and pull ups. He'd managed to have a pull up bar installed in his room just for the simple reason of needing to have it. When he put it that way most people didn't bother to ask why.


Once he'd finished his morning reps he'd gotten dressed; his under layer was a body suit designed by the Outliners to adapt to environment and activity output. Over that he worse his cargos and a long sleeve top bearing his rank on the arms. Comfortable and functional. He walked out of room and made way to the mess hall. Breakfast was in order, and he had enough time on his schedule before having to start his morning routine off. "Better be a spotless report this time. If I here about another drunken brawl I'm throwing them in the brig for a week."

 

[Dragongal]

Chrice Jones

​

Doc sat in the chair at her desk in the infirmary, her chair tilted back and her feet up on the top of her desk. She frowned at her communicator and tablet. The past two days, she had told Cap to get in for her medical examination. She'd gotten a variety of replies, Adira even coming in for part of the examination at one point, then running out on an "emergency". But she needed her blood test and a scan among other things. She sighed and sent a message to Woods. "Please come to the infirmary. Now." She knew that both Adira and Woods were off duty, so there was no harm.

Adira Rik

​

Adira sat in her room, ;plucking her banjo. She couldn't even properly play the thing. She knew a few songs, but that was from memorization; she was unable to do more than pluck notes. Notes didn't make music, she'd discovered to much confusion. After a heavy sigh, she glanced at her communicator. She'd been avoiding the infirmary for two days, how much longer could she get away with it?

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods looked up from his breakfast, silently cursing under his breath as he saw the message. He wasn't expecting the Doc though. He'd been expecting another drunken brawl or some culture clash between aliens, but the Doc requesting his presence in the infirmary, urgently at that, forced a sigh out of him even if it did intrigue him. He wolfed down the rest of his breakfast before replying. "On my way."


It was a quick trip from the mess hall to the infirmary, especially when most of the crew tended to avoid getting on the bad side of the Officer of Defense. Most Space Division personal gave a curt nod and parted ways, while his security staff saluted and stood at attention until he had passed. It was still strange the way people treated him. He'd heard conversation and rumors spurned on by his old position with the Outliners. Most wondered if he was human at all. He liked it to a degree.


Finally he passed through the door and into the infirmary. "What seems to be the matter?"

 

[InsanEleven]

Chrice had been looking over some results from the crew members that were in less than perfect condition, who somehow always managed to form either in engineering or chemistry. When Woods came in she looked up with a smile that definitely wanted something from him.


"Ah yes, mr Woods, I'm afraid this concerns our dear captain more than you. I've been trying to get her in for her medical screening, but I can't seem to persuade her. I figured that as you were someone she could relate to better you could perhaps persuade her." She smiled a bit devilishly as she took a bottle from her desk and handed it to Woods. "Now in case pretty words don't work I'm afraid sedating will be more effective. It says in her medical records that the captain had such a severe aversion to medical tests she had to be sedated before. In any case, try not to hurt the Captain. It could skew the readings. Oh, and don't get caught dragging her away all drugged up, that might not work well for you."

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia was finishing the last of her note-taking, trying to recall even the most discreet details if she could, that portion after the initial recording where one spends more time wondering if something was missed that one does actually typing. It was then that the Captain's message regarding medical examination appeared on her tablet, the unmoving block of text almost dancing in her face, disturbing her and causing her to startle a bit. Huh. Well, she herself had determined nothing that, in almost any given situation, could threaten the life of herself or of others, though what could she, a biochemist, know about that? She gave a small smirk at the amusing thought, then decided that she'd just... Wait until she was specifically sought out. No use in potentially interrupting anything or anyone, that would probably be a difficult first or second impression. Lydia remained comfortably in her corner, leaning back against the two walls with her tablet still balanced over her knees, occasionally switching it on to further add to her notes, only to turn it back off after having forgotten what she had intended to record.

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods took the sedatives and stowed them in his cargo pocket. "Understood." He left without another word. Why is the Captain avoiding medical screenings? Not only that, what is with the aversion to the exams? Hell, if anyone should be terrified of medical exams it should be me. Woods shuddered slightly, the memories of countless procedures and experiments to get his body to adapt to the enhancements had rendered him extremely nervous around medical stations for months afterwards. Hell, he still had problems with needles. And if someone decided to pull out a scalpel he would probably end up killing them.


Woods cut the corner and came up at the Captain's room. He reached out and knocked with his right arm. His arm made a very distinct sound when rapped against things, so in a way it was his form of silently communicating that it was him at the door.