Futuristic Transsolar

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia was still contemplating the potential uses of the toxin that had nearly put down their pilot, and now she was tapping out a list on her tablet, hunched over the machine in an unintentionally secretive way. She had them separated into medical and weaponized uses.


Sedative-both


Anesthetic?-m


Non/lethal poison-w


Stasis-ish (in case of injury)?-m...


Various other things, even somewhat off-the-wall ideas filled the screen, and there was a small idea nagging the back of her head that if someone saw her ideas that they would deem her insane.


Of course, there was the possibility that the rest of the crew already thought her so.


But that wasn't very likely, after all, there was bound to be at least one person who could at least understand her reasoning with the spider incident, right? To know how to prevent future casualties, analyze the issues causing the casualties. And she would have needed an actual specimen of the spiders to help accelerate that dead project.


At least they had real, actual samples this time. If the smaller crawlers were anything like their more massive counterpart, then they had a very sufficient amount of materials to study. Lydia had learned the lesson of studying something before attempting to engineer it, and was reminded when she nudged her glasses up onto her nose.


Unfortunately, there was another reminder of that lesson that her now wandering mind wanted to bring up, her first pet. With memories she'd rather forget at the forefront of her mind, Lydia nodded off where she was.


An eight-year-old girl was cradling the body of a brown tabby cat, sobbing almost uncontrollably. The feline's fur had turned brittle and scratchy in patches, and in some was thin and nearly bald. A few of the bald spots revealed skin that had turned rough and scaly, almost reptilian. Its paws were twisted and mangled-looking, like there were more joints than there should have been, but the girl couldn't be torn from her dead friend by anything. She was crying words between hiccups,


'It wasn't s-supposed to do this! It shouldn't have hurt him! This wasn't supposed to h-happen!'


Earlier that year, two xyvir decided to attack the suburbs of a city placed on a colonial-like planet, a few million in population. Among the casualties were one of the girl's two older sisters and her father. Then seven, the girl took everything she could find. A few shards of xyvir bone that littered a street after the offending beasts were killed, or blood left behind on her sister's spoiled clothing. With the mediocre tools her parents had indulged in when she showed an interest in biology, within a year the girl had created something that the authorities unfortunately never caught.


'I wanted to m-make a good xyvir... to help fight the bad ones.'


Her tone of voice sounded as if she were asking 'isn't it obvious? Wouldn't you?'





With a jolt, Lydia woke back up in the mess hall. Her arms were folded between the table and her head, and her hands turned to fists for a moment as she was startled to find herself where she was. She recalled the dreamful of memories bitterly, but after only a moment of trying to regain her composure by scrolling back to her list, she let her head fall back onto her hands in emotional defeat.

 

[Marianne]

Saundary visibly jumped; hearing someone's voice right about now was not expected. In fact, she wasn't aware of someone being in the very same room as her. Cocking her head to the side her ruby flecked ambers glistened silver in alert, her eyes narrowed at the person who chose to address her before they softened. Tucking a lazuline strand of hair behind her ear she stared at Saami's body for a bit and sighed. "Alright," but she made no attempt to move. Instead, she asked him, "What's your name?" Saunary had wanted to ask him what happened instead, but she wasn't going to head straight into the details. She wasn't particularly ready; and as she waited for a response she lifted Saami's sheet and pulled it up closer, just beneath his chin before she allowed her hands to fall back down to her lap.

​

 

[SSgt Goodrich]

Watching her tuck Saami into the infirmary bed sparked something within Jericho's chest. Whatever it was, it rolled over, it froze, it sunk and it made his chest beat out in retaliation. From his perspective, Saami was just another injured soul, and Saunary was the tender of the delicate flame. A flame all living things carry, yet, how could he see it so clearly on Saami? A source to Saami's aura, which had now began to burn in full.


Feeling his humanities begin to resurface, and still remembering his place in the crew, he took to the ashes of his soul and buried it in the embers of a flame long burnt out. Whether or not anyone on the ship could see his aura, or his inner flame—a lack thereof for that matter—he knew that his composure had to remain professional and free of connections. For someone who has lost so much, Jericho feared other losses more than his own. Even though his heart beat human, and was proof of his origins as such, he couldn't help but feel slightly kin to the injured boy. A robot with purpose. Purpose being something Jericho lost somewhere in the rubble of his mental sanctuary—an estate now settling on cold, dead ground.


Remaining silent for the rest of her ritual, he began to speak a response when her hands retracted from the hospital sheets.


"My name is Jericho. Like the city. It is etiquette to ask for yours, but I think you already know that."

 

[InsanEleven]

Rebooting core systems... ...


> Controlled breathing: failed


> Heart functions: overridden


> Motor functions: failed


> Primary sense data: partially restored


> Higher brain functions: partially restored


2/5 systems rebooted... reattempt in t-30 minutes.


Finally something trickled through into this dimension of eternal nothing Saami had found himself in. Little droplets of hearing, smelling and feeling, not enough to warrant any true consciousness, but it drove away complete darkness. Odd dreams and sights made out of the limited data, things he recognised and things he vaguely remembered.


Fear. Mostly primal. Of something there, something he couldn't see but was confining him. Constraining. And it terrified him. Whatever it was he had to fight it. To try and break free. Flashes of what happened when he didn't and couldn't tormenting him. The feeling of writhing and destroying in his mind. Of forced growth. Of the metal and wiring inside him conjoining with his flesh.


Yet even when he fought his hardest, there was nothing on the outside that showed beyond a few twitches. Once he tried to take a breath himself, but failed not even halfway in. It was around then the other sounds and smells finally registered. Familiar and warm, vaguely connected to peace. To happiness. To safety. Whether this was a creation from his subconscious to keep him calm, or something true, it worked. A peculiar acceptance and thus calm washing over him again. The bright and dark finally joining into a soothing grey.

 

[Marianne]

Naturally, Saundary felt a laugh bubble up as she agreed naturally. "Yes, my name is Saundary, but i've many nicknames upon occasion. The common one is Sandy," she replied. Although there was nothing to laugh about Saundary laughed anyways; a small part of her half wanting Saami to wake up, but she knew he needed his rest. Her nose scrunched unpleasantly because she felt like an impatient child before she relaxed. Angling her head to the male named Jericho, she tossed a smile his way as she said, "It's very nice to meet you, Jericho." Angling herself in the stool, she stuck her hand out to shake his hand in a friendly, almost familiar, manner. It was a manner to which she had wanted to use in order to distract herself, but she couldn't help it. The question regarding what had happened to Saami was itching at her, but she didn't want to ask. It was better if she didn't know.

​

 

[SSgt Goodrich]

Hearing the name, he only nodded slowly, recognizing it from the crew manifest and inventory he had to sort every time the Lullaby made a stop. When she stuck out her hand however, he froze for a moment as he recognized the greeting continue. Most people would have taken his flat, emotionless response as a cue to refrain from such formalities, but he figured if she would be so foolish as to act pleasant with another crew member, he could indulge her attempt at humanity. For someone in the Navigation department, which he deduced from her style of uniform, he silently understood how she could deal so easily with the emotionless and empty. She was a colleague of Saami after all.


"Pleasures, granted, are rare on this ship. I'll have you know that the pleasure is mine, Sandy. It is nice to meet you also."

 

[Hellkite]

"You think? I don't want to get on the Captain's bad side..." Halley pondered Nadanya's suggestion. "Maybe she's got enough on her plate already." She finished her coffee in a long but thoughtful swig. On the one hand Halley was desperate to live a little; walking on alien soil, drinking the sights, knowing that the rest of the Solar Empire would always have to walk in her footsteps. The added chance of a discovery that would make the name 'Nevada Halley' go down in science went without saying. Halley set her mug to one side and frowned. Even so, she doubted that Captain Rik would want to risk any more crew than absolutely necessary on her expeditions. Especially after the last trip, and especially not some geologist who'd barely held a gun before. If the Captain was getting cautious after the casualties the Lullaby had already sustained, then Halley knew that her chances of going down to a planet were dwindling fast.


Halley hummed idly to herself, glancing back to Nadanya. "Guys, mojitos and the beach? Sounds like a pretty good incentive." She took a moment longer, then made up her mind. Her voice became more determined. "Besides, if I want to do my job on this ship then I need decent samples, and to get those I have to be boots-on-the-ground. I'm going to ask the captain. Worst she can do is say no, and at best... Well Nadanya, then we can go looking for that island."





Halley smirked at the thought.


"I'd better go find her then. Thanks, I'll see you later."





Halley passed Lydia on her way out, but opted not to disturb her. The other scientist seemed stressed. Instead she stepped out into the ship's corridors with a purposeful stride, heading back to her lab. Halley wanted to stop off there for a moment, to collect herself and prepare what she was going to say to the Captain.


Halley turned the next corner and came face to face with Adira Rik herself. The geologist stepped back sharply, eyes widening.





"Oh, ah, Captain Rik. What brings you down to the science wing?"

 

[Dragongal]

Almost running into Halley was a bit of a surprise, but by Halley's reaction, the scientist was more than just surprised. Adira chuckled a bit. Am I that initimidating? I hope not. "Well, it most certainly wasn't to scare you, though I am sorry if that was the result." So, what was she doing in the science wing, besides just keeping her mind occupied? No need to keep the startled girl waiting, after all. "I like to personally check in on all the departments every once in a while, especially after we just collected a number of samples. So, here I am."


Mentally Adira was trying to remember Halley's files. Geologist, right? Yeah, that was it. Important father too, or something of the like. Not that that mattered, not as far from the rest of humanity as they were. Old connections had little to no impact when stuck on a ship where contact to "civilized space" took a week one way. I really need to get a new tablet, too... there's no way I can remember all of these files from people. Not to mention, with the whole court issue, it might be best to stay in the loop... No, no, I don't want to even think about that bullshit. Adira blinked a few times and refocused on Halley. Without meaning to, she'd begun to mentally drift off a bit. But, she could still remember her manners - and the reason she had come to the science wing in the first place. "Speaking of, how are the samples you were brought back? I hope they're sufficient. I know we couldn't get too much, but the rainstorms coming so suddenly made certain materials impossible to gather."

 

[BookWyrm]

Vince tested his balance only to smile when he was standing on his feet. "I told you, I'm feeling better now."


The nurse checked off the final boxes on her list before finally releasing the defense commander back to active duty. Or well, active duty in a day. He was room bound until the morrow, but he was released all the same. Remember, painkillers are inhibit my ability to heal you. Don't take the risk. Vince was done taking risks. No more sticking his neck out for people who would never do the same for him. Well, never taking another idiotic risk for a situation gone FUBAR anyway.


The walk back to his room was quiet and without interruption. The security team would salute and say things such as, "Good to see you back in action sir.", but other than that no one seemed to bat an eye at him being up and moving again. You are SIAD. Most of them probably think you aren't human anyway. As his door shut and locked behind him Vince took a deep breath as he walked over and laid out on his bed. "It is good to be home."

 

[Hellkite]

"Actually captain, I wanted to talk to you about the samples too."





Halley shifted her weight from foot to foot, noticing as she did so that the other woman seemed distracted. She was hardly surprised. The trials and tribulations of the Lullaby's voyage were ultimately accountable to Captain Rik, and recently the Captain had been faced with all too many of those trials for apparently little reward. Halley moderated her response accordingly.





"The rocks that the ground team brought back are fine, I guess..." Halley shrugged her shoulders. "Although I suspect that they don't really know what to look for - not that I'd expect them to, of course. I'm worried that valuable samples might be overlooked, so I was going to ask whether it might be possible for me to tag along next time you send teams down to a planet."





Halley watched Captain Rik's expression, gauging her reaction.





"I mean, what I have is okay... good, actually." She hurried on. "I just think that I'd have been able to gather better samples had I been there in person."





Halley paused, processing what she had just said. A slow burning embarrassment started to rise in her stomach.





"Wow, that sounded arrogant, especially after what happened down on the surface. Of course the samples aren't going to be ideal, all things considered I doubt that I could've done any better, assuming that I even survived. Sorry, captain."

 

[Dragongal]

Well, that was a rather surprising request. But Adira had to feel bad for the girl because of how much she backtracked. Was she scared, or just embarrassed? This needed a few moments of thought. Adira looked the girl over, then said, "I'm sure you heard about what happened today. Woods had to save Saami. Saami is highly trained in combat. Woods was almost killed, and he's highly trained to. But you seem to acknowledge the risks." She wasn't going to mention anything about how she had killed the bug. Woods was the hero, here, not her. She had never been a hero. If asked, she would explain that she made an order and Woods just followed it, she would take the blame for any injuries, but she didn't want anything she didn't feel she deserved. Vince had saved Saami. Not her.


Adira looked the young geologist over for a few moments, contemplating. Well, the girl seemed smart. It would be useful to have a geologist, who might be able to tell the history of a planet in a way they might not be able to from a sample. Not to mention that a geologist could tell the stability of a location as well as perhaps being able to tell what kind of mineral resources were nearby. But what of the risk? This girl was not combat ready at all. After a few moments of consideration, Adira said, "Log twenty hours a week of combat training for two weeks, then ten for the rest of the time. Pass a battle and shooting test as well. Then you're on board. I think it would be very useful to have a geologist, however, all people who go onto the ground and into the actual field need to know how to fight to some extent."

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia was still sitting at that particular table in the mess hall, struggling to keep from dozing off again. Although she was half-asleep, she had to wonder why she was suddenly so exhausted and why she couldn't manage tear her mind from the subject of her cat. She wasn't very aware of who was nearby, or even if there were people around. Her mind was focused entirely on itself at the moment, assuming that the exhaustion came delayed from the events earlier that day and that the memories arose simply because she had let her mind wander too far in one particular direction.


Somewhat satisfied with this conclusion, Lydia let her thoughts go floating around again, tired and with little urgent purpose. Slowly, the lighting in the mess hall seemed to brighten and a headache began its development, while the shadows decided to darken the point of being pitch-black, like a photograph badly edited. The biologist's tired mind tried to investigate while at the same time silently complaining, wanting to simply give back into sleep. Eventually, over about ten minutes of mental debate, the former side finally won and Lydia stood, albeit slightly unsteadily, to make her way to the medbay.


Upon her arrival, Lydia felt a little... unsure of what to do next, it seemed. Her gaze wandered around the room while her muddled thoughts did the same, wondering what would be useful to figure out why she was so dizzy and why things were as blurred as they were. One of her fellow medical staff eventually approached and asked if she was alright. Lydia wanted to say that something was likely a mild hallucinogen (although she wasn't sure how or what that something had gotten to her), but the word didnt want to be spoken and all she managed was a muddled, confused answer that prompted Lydia's coworker to sit her down in the ICU.


After a little bit of investigation (in which Lydia was not allowed to take part), it was determined that she had fallen victim to a mildly venomous plant. Lydia herself thought it was likely that it was of the carnivorous nature, probably having evolved to bypass an insect's chitinous armour. She seemed almost childishly set on this idea, that it made prey out of the creatures from which the ground team had fled on the planet's surface, despite the very likely possibility that most of those creatures had not seen that planet's sun for a long while and the fact that she hadn't even noticed the plant or what it looked like.

 

[InsanEleven]

A MESSAGE TO ALL PEOPLE INVOLVED VISIBLY OR NOT:


I have declared this RP dead, we lost a few people and couldn't continue in the current style anymore. However, this doesn't mean the definite end of TS. A sequel is being made, that is set a year later in the timeframe.


You can find it ->here<-, and I will finish it in the upcoming week. Some of the old characters will be taken over, at the very least Saami, Adira and Doc, but the setting has changed drastically.