Hello newcomer! Not that I'm not happy to see you, but Serik RPG isn't here anymore. You can find us over at http://www.rprepository.com/g/serik
Have fun!
Have fun!
Name:Connor
Gender:Male
Species:Human
Age:30
Home Planet:Earth
Physical description: He is strong... With his Armour without that he can over power weaker aliens and some of his own kind, But otherwise he cannot really do much without it, His Armour also makes him look T taller than he actually is (He is 5.9 but is 6.2 in his Armour) he has red hair and freckles on his cheeks
Personality:He likes to joke alot (even in a war zone) now... he claims their is reasoning for this. To taunt is enemies so they dont think straight and do crazy things in a blind fit of rage so they are easier to kill, But he is not the Always be happy kind of types, Unless said other wise by his superior officers he will always tell his men and friends realistic odds rather than comforting ones
Abilities:Due to the fact he only uses his left arm it is very strong and makes it so he can carry a rifle with one hand (Granted not as accurate than using both hands) this also makes his Melee more powerful in his left hand, However his right arm was critically damaged in a fight and is next to useless, He cannot hold anything very heavy in it and can not move it well, Now due to his hatred to the idea of cloning a new arm or robotics he wont get a new one
Character Bio:He was born on Earth, He was born to a nice family and got very well education. But when he was encouraged by his dying grand father to help Earth's military survive (Seeing as most humans had left earth) and granted his request and joined the Military, Rising through the ranks he is now a Commander. He fought mainly the small amount of humans who still wanted to keep fighting, In one fight he was stabbed a few times by a knife, The knife had a type of chemical on it that disintegrated Nerves and mussels, It left his right arm almost unusable, when the military insisted he leave he turned them down and is now working on an Earth Exploration vessel as chief of Security
Misc stuff (Job, interests, etc) : His main weaponry is Kinetic (His Magnum and Rifle) but he does have a powerful Laser Cannon, Granted it may be powerful but not the most useful on infantry (It takes a five second charge, And then fires its laser and then a three second cool down)
Gender:Male
Species:Human
Age:30
Home Planet:Earth
Physical description: He is strong... With his Armour without that he can over power weaker aliens and some of his own kind, But otherwise he cannot really do much without it, His Armour also makes him look T taller than he actually is (He is 5.9 but is 6.2 in his Armour) he has red hair and freckles on his cheeks
Personality:He likes to joke alot (even in a war zone) now... he claims their is reasoning for this. To taunt is enemies so they dont think straight and do crazy things in a blind fit of rage so they are easier to kill, But he is not the Always be happy kind of types, Unless said other wise by his superior officers he will always tell his men and friends realistic odds rather than comforting ones
Abilities:Due to the fact he only uses his left arm it is very strong and makes it so he can carry a rifle with one hand (Granted not as accurate than using both hands) this also makes his Melee more powerful in his left hand, However his right arm was critically damaged in a fight and is next to useless, He cannot hold anything very heavy in it and can not move it well, Now due to his hatred to the idea of cloning a new arm or robotics he wont get a new one
Character Bio:He was born on Earth, He was born to a nice family and got very well education. But when he was encouraged by his dying grand father to help Earth's military survive (Seeing as most humans had left earth) and granted his request and joined the Military, Rising through the ranks he is now a Commander. He fought mainly the small amount of humans who still wanted to keep fighting, In one fight he was stabbed a few times by a knife, The knife had a type of chemical on it that disintegrated Nerves and mussels, It left his right arm almost unusable, when the military insisted he leave he turned them down and is now working on an Earth Exploration vessel as chief of Security
Misc stuff (Job, interests, etc) : His main weaponry is Kinetic (His Magnum and Rifle) but he does have a powerful Laser Cannon, Granted it may be powerful but not the most useful on infantry (It takes a five second charge, And then fires its laser and then a three second cool down)
((Before we begin, I'd like to know your personal RP preferences; would you like it better if we had an OOC thread for chatter and discussion, or if we did that over PMs instead? Either way, I'm going to get the Rp rolling.))
Connor sat in the lounge of the Darasis-Ali, reflecting on his career; or rather, the path it had followed. He was a commander, after all. What the hell was he doing on a tiny transport ship at the ass-end of Whittouch's fourth moon, anyway? When he had received the curious communication from upstairs, it had been exciting. A mysterious assignment on a mysterious ship ferrying a mysterious cargo? It had piqued his interest. But now, after two days of uneventful travel, and with their mission hours from completion, he couldn't help but feel that this had been a waste of his time.
"We need someone secure," the message had vaguely insisted. "Someone who we can trust." Yet somehow, it had not been worth the GMPF's while to inform the supposedly trustworthy Connor of exactly what he was doing on this ship. Instead, they had just relocated him to this mission without a word of explanation.
Well, at least this would be over soon. The Darasis-Ali had just passed through the last Gate, and was in orbit over the small moon. They could land, unload the cargo that had been worth stationing him onboard to protect but not worth telling him a thing about, and he could get back to his life.
Kiri Tadis smiled. The ship had arrived just on time. And from the scan readout, Scio Kio's information had been spot on. The only weapon onboard was a small mining laser for clearing debris.
"Greks!" Kiri called across the cockpit. "You got the railguns online? I can split the Kinshield with a quick laser slice, and you can cut in to disable it."
"Sounds good." The Farbian replied. "Ready on your mark."
"One." The anticipation before a battle. "Two." The thrill of taking a well-organized mark. "Three." Kiri pulled the trigger, the Kinshield went down for a split second, and the railguns flashed just in time, putting it out commission.
Within seconds, the small cargo ship was completely disabled, save for comms and life support, and the bounty hunters swooped in to hail them.
Connor sat in the lounge of the Darasis-Ali, reflecting on his career; or rather, the path it had followed. He was a commander, after all. What the hell was he doing on a tiny transport ship at the ass-end of Whittouch's fourth moon, anyway? When he had received the curious communication from upstairs, it had been exciting. A mysterious assignment on a mysterious ship ferrying a mysterious cargo? It had piqued his interest. But now, after two days of uneventful travel, and with their mission hours from completion, he couldn't help but feel that this had been a waste of his time.
"We need someone secure," the message had vaguely insisted. "Someone who we can trust." Yet somehow, it had not been worth the GMPF's while to inform the supposedly trustworthy Connor of exactly what he was doing on this ship. Instead, they had just relocated him to this mission without a word of explanation.
Well, at least this would be over soon. The Darasis-Ali had just passed through the last Gate, and was in orbit over the small moon. They could land, unload the cargo that had been worth stationing him onboard to protect but not worth telling him a thing about, and he could get back to his life.
--==++==--
Kiri Tadis smiled. The ship had arrived just on time. And from the scan readout, Scio Kio's information had been spot on. The only weapon onboard was a small mining laser for clearing debris.
"Greks!" Kiri called across the cockpit. "You got the railguns online? I can split the Kinshield with a quick laser slice, and you can cut in to disable it."
"Sounds good." The Farbian replied. "Ready on your mark."
"One." The anticipation before a battle. "Two." The thrill of taking a well-organized mark. "Three." Kiri pulled the trigger, the Kinshield went down for a split second, and the railguns flashed just in time, putting it out commission.
Within seconds, the small cargo ship was completely disabled, save for comms and life support, and the bounty hunters swooped in to hail them.
Feeling the ship getting hit he grabbed onto the table, the force of the ship getting hit plus the fact he was gripping the table so hard it came out of the floor and he stumbled back, He dropped the table and he began to float, Until he activated his magnetized boots "Alright men in formation lets move!" he says and runs to the bridge, A com message went through the ship "All hands this is Captain Yamato Fireteams Alpha, Beta and Victor prepare at the Left docking to repel any boarders, Fireteams Charlie gamma and Zulu head to the reactor room and guard it, Fire team Delta and Whisky head to the right docking port, Fire team Infinity report to the Cargo bays! and Fire team omega report to the bridge!" The message ended and Connor turned around "Infinity...Alright men thats us lets head to that Cargo bay!!"
Sure there were no real fire teams... Considering this was a merchant ship, But his team was deployed to guard this cargo and he would do so with his life, They were the strongest here and were the last line of defence for the Cargo. Then hid in areas where they would not be seen so when the borders got on they would think the cargo was not being guard
Captain Yamato hailed the Raiders "So, You cowardly folk who cannot handle a simple frigate decide to prey on my ship?" he says with a smug tone "I 'm just going to make this brief, I dont know what this cargo is, I dont care if its a new weapon, some new type of medication or some anti-son-of-a-bitch machine! You will not get it till everyone on this ship is dead!" he says cutting the com
Sure there were no real fire teams... Considering this was a merchant ship, But his team was deployed to guard this cargo and he would do so with his life, They were the strongest here and were the last line of defence for the Cargo. Then hid in areas where they would not be seen so when the borders got on they would think the cargo was not being guard
Captain Yamato hailed the Raiders "So, You cowardly folk who cannot handle a simple frigate decide to prey on my ship?" he says with a smug tone "I 'm just going to make this brief, I dont know what this cargo is, I dont care if its a new weapon, some new type of medication or some anti-son-of-a-bitch machine! You will not get it till everyone on this ship is dead!" he says cutting the com
Kiri rolled her eyes - or she would have, if she didn't have compound eyes without pupils.
"With all due respect, Captain, you're an idiot if you think you're going to lie your way around us. We're bounty hunters, not raiders, and we have a warrant for your arrest. Now, either order your security team to stand down, or we will disable your life support; Keep in mind that our orders are to get your cargo. Bringing you back alive is just a bonus."
"What are you talking about? We're a GMPF vessel!" The Chipi at the helm protested. "Captain Antero Beaky, Galactic Military Police Force."
"That's not what our contract says," Kiri replied. She was unconvinced by the captain's claim. "'Rogue cargo ship, Id number 6X00431, Darasis-Ali, wanted for carrying cargo stolen from Scio Kio Emergent Technologies.' You're a idiot if you think you can bluff me, Captain, I've heard every excuse in the book." She glanced over at her scan readout and smiled.
"By the way, you left your shipwide comm panel on. So while I have the liberty of addressing your small crew, I'd like to inform them that the warrant only extends to their captain, not them. If they were to turn him in, they would be released, and possibly rewarded by the GMPF for aiding in the capture of a dangerous criminal."
"They won't betray me," Beaky snapped. "They just heard you threaten to kill us all by disabling our life support."
"And I hope such an expedient won't be necessary. Let your men decide for themselves if they trust me, or a ruthless criminal accused of grand theft, two counts of murder, and unbecoming conduct."
"With all due respect, Captain, you're an idiot if you think you're going to lie your way around us. We're bounty hunters, not raiders, and we have a warrant for your arrest. Now, either order your security team to stand down, or we will disable your life support; Keep in mind that our orders are to get your cargo. Bringing you back alive is just a bonus."
"What are you talking about? We're a GMPF vessel!" The Chipi at the helm protested. "Captain Antero Beaky, Galactic Military Police Force."
"That's not what our contract says," Kiri replied. She was unconvinced by the captain's claim. "'Rogue cargo ship, Id number 6X00431, Darasis-Ali, wanted for carrying cargo stolen from Scio Kio Emergent Technologies.' You're a idiot if you think you can bluff me, Captain, I've heard every excuse in the book." She glanced over at her scan readout and smiled.
"By the way, you left your shipwide comm panel on. So while I have the liberty of addressing your small crew, I'd like to inform them that the warrant only extends to their captain, not them. If they were to turn him in, they would be released, and possibly rewarded by the GMPF for aiding in the capture of a dangerous criminal."
"They won't betray me," Beaky snapped. "They just heard you threaten to kill us all by disabling our life support."
"And I hope such an expedient won't be necessary. Let your men decide for themselves if they trust me, or a ruthless criminal accused of grand theft, two counts of murder, and unbecoming conduct."
Okay, apparently Connor is dead. Great.
I would appreciate it if people tell me when they want to quit a story instead of just leaving and ruining it, but okay.
I would appreciate it if people tell me when they want to quit a story instead of just leaving and ruining it, but okay.
The aching was getting worse. A bad sign - considering that the current pain was enough to throw her off the rations. Saka'kah had been laying lopsided within the cockpit of her downed fighter for the past four hours. This greasy, black, sleek knife in the dark was quite literally shaped like a knife! The stealth fighter had a narrow, edge-like design to it, with thin, barely angled wings and two impulse engines within slotted compartments at the back of the fighter.
It's jet black painted body was marked with a few teal lines at jagged angles representing the microcircuit systems that spread all through the fighter. It's advanced nature would make it an immensely expensive set of technology. This reason alone made her hesitant to send out a distress beacon, but something had to be done. If she didn't, then by all likelyhood she was going to die of her injuries on some forsaken moon with the life-support systems likely taking her with them. It would make a fine bartering tool...of course she would likely have to detonate it later.
It was Sans'Karian military technology. She couldn't let someone have it in it's completed state. Her eyes adjusted as she looked straight out of her cockpit canopy, the glass untainted and revealing the wondrous stars above. Just outside of the sector containing Tara II and I. Two primitive little worlds constantly warring over the local factions...the squabbles of the unenlightened races rarely brought any interest to the Sans'kerian's ears...which was not biting her firmly on the ass. Seperated from her own kind she now would have to get used to things..the way the governments worked, ways the local races worked. Her database had some information on them but she was too injured to access it. Her body was clad in the usual tight red stealth suit that her division wore.
To most other species, it looked like a glorified shiney wetsuit with golden patterns across it. Beneath the slick, almost rubbery weave - was a layer of microfibre circuits that gave it a built-in phasing system (cloaking software) and a variety of different mechanisms including a built in visored helmet, oxygen intake apparatus and so on. It's lack of power meant she was running on bare minimums, so for once...she really was wearing a glorified wetsuit. A ring-like device clung to her upper wrist, a scalloped blade-like appendage reaching down to behind her scaled hand. It beeped rhythmically. It was the source of the distress signal. It had automatically activated the moment she had sustained critical damage. The reason why was clear when one noticed the gaping gash across her left arm, trickling metallic, almost golden blood. Another gash cut across her chest, upwards across her bosom and leaving a noticeable crack along the bottom of her beak. A talon raked against the console, ready to accept any hails she received. AT this point - with the emergency anaesthetic fluid pumping into her - she was utterly at their mercy.
It's jet black painted body was marked with a few teal lines at jagged angles representing the microcircuit systems that spread all through the fighter. It's advanced nature would make it an immensely expensive set of technology. This reason alone made her hesitant to send out a distress beacon, but something had to be done. If she didn't, then by all likelyhood she was going to die of her injuries on some forsaken moon with the life-support systems likely taking her with them. It would make a fine bartering tool...of course she would likely have to detonate it later.
It was Sans'Karian military technology. She couldn't let someone have it in it's completed state. Her eyes adjusted as she looked straight out of her cockpit canopy, the glass untainted and revealing the wondrous stars above. Just outside of the sector containing Tara II and I. Two primitive little worlds constantly warring over the local factions...the squabbles of the unenlightened races rarely brought any interest to the Sans'kerian's ears...which was not biting her firmly on the ass. Seperated from her own kind she now would have to get used to things..the way the governments worked, ways the local races worked. Her database had some information on them but she was too injured to access it. Her body was clad in the usual tight red stealth suit that her division wore.
To most other species, it looked like a glorified shiney wetsuit with golden patterns across it. Beneath the slick, almost rubbery weave - was a layer of microfibre circuits that gave it a built-in phasing system (cloaking software) and a variety of different mechanisms including a built in visored helmet, oxygen intake apparatus and so on. It's lack of power meant she was running on bare minimums, so for once...she really was wearing a glorified wetsuit. A ring-like device clung to her upper wrist, a scalloped blade-like appendage reaching down to behind her scaled hand. It beeped rhythmically. It was the source of the distress signal. It had automatically activated the moment she had sustained critical damage. The reason why was clear when one noticed the gaping gash across her left arm, trickling metallic, almost golden blood. Another gash cut across her chest, upwards across her bosom and leaving a noticeable crack along the bottom of her beak. A talon raked against the console, ready to accept any hails she received. AT this point - with the emergency anaesthetic fluid pumping into her - she was utterly at their mercy.
((Because the current story with the now-gone Connor isn't really working, I'm retconning a few things to work better with the RP you're setting up, reusing the characters. Hope you don't mind. Anyway, long post ahead. Bear with me.))
A soft buzz. The comm panel blinked as the Darasis-Ali pulled through the Serik Gate, the hull still glowing slightly from the jump. Antero's first instinct was panic, his thoughts immediately leaping to the police who were chasing him. They've found me. His head began to buzz as he watched the "Comm. Receive" light flash on and off. No, don't be ridiculous, Antero, how would Scio Kio track you? You're untracable He had taken a low traffic gate through the very outskirts of the Tara system. There was no way anybody could have followed him out here. No, this was someone else. He checked the source of the signal.
A distress signal! He breathed a slight sigh of relief. No cops, just a starbound Mabi in the middle of nowhere. Faint, but still there, located a few hour's flight out. The odd part, though, was that it seemed to be coming from the wrong direction. There was nothing in that direction. Both Tara planets sat in front of him. Behind lay only empty space, save for a gas giant, three uninhabited moons, and a small asteroid belt. Why would anybody be so far away from any Serik Gates? What were they doing there? And that wasn't the only odd part; There were no specifications of the signal. Whatever ship was hailing for help, their ship design wasn't in the Serik Network Codex.
He thought for a moment. It was probably a Gorrah ship - Yes, that was the only thing that made sense. The backward-compatible tech from Gorrah wouldn't be in the Codex. Antero had never trusted that planet, or its "products." So, this was likely just some trader who had a stroke of bad luck with Gorrah's notoriously unreliable vessels and found themselves out in the middle of nowhere.
"Have you considered pirates?"
"Tarrak!" Antero swore and jumped in his seat. He spun around to face the speaker. "I told you not to sneak up on me like that!"
"Well, have you?" The girl watched him, leaning casually against the door to the bridge. Intelligent eyes burned into his, making him feel uncomfortable. "You must concede that this is nothing if not conspicuous. An unregistered ship, floating just on the edge of the map, luring in-"
"Yes, yes, I know." he snapped. He didn't mean to be short with Kaya, but she frightened him. She was too smart, too aware, too... Well, whatever she was, she wasn't his daughter. His daughter was the nine-year-old who played in the cargo hold, and spoke with love about everything, even the little things Antero didn't notice, and who ate too much candy. The girl who had left three months ago with a grin on her face and hope in her heart. She was not the cunning Chipi who now watched him with a hawk's eye as he held back tears.
"No need to be abrasive, Father." she said, taking a few steps towards him and sitting down in the chair to his left. "I'm simply asking if you've considered the possibility of entrapment."
"I have," Antero paused a moment to think. "But what if it isn't? Someone could be in trouble."
"That is of little concern to us. We have more severe problems. Anyone we rescue will be sharing our problems, and we don't want to implicate any others."
"They could be dying!"
"Arguably better than being captured by Scio Kio, Father."
"I don't care," Antero turned back to the console in front of him. "I'm a GMPF captain. It's my duty to-"
"You were a captain." Antero felt irritation burning inside him at the comment, but said nothing. He simply hailed the mysterious ship, charged the weapons, and prayed.
A soft buzz. The comm panel blinked as the Darasis-Ali pulled through the Serik Gate, the hull still glowing slightly from the jump. Antero's first instinct was panic, his thoughts immediately leaping to the police who were chasing him. They've found me. His head began to buzz as he watched the "Comm. Receive" light flash on and off. No, don't be ridiculous, Antero, how would Scio Kio track you? You're untracable He had taken a low traffic gate through the very outskirts of the Tara system. There was no way anybody could have followed him out here. No, this was someone else. He checked the source of the signal.
A distress signal! He breathed a slight sigh of relief. No cops, just a starbound Mabi in the middle of nowhere. Faint, but still there, located a few hour's flight out. The odd part, though, was that it seemed to be coming from the wrong direction. There was nothing in that direction. Both Tara planets sat in front of him. Behind lay only empty space, save for a gas giant, three uninhabited moons, and a small asteroid belt. Why would anybody be so far away from any Serik Gates? What were they doing there? And that wasn't the only odd part; There were no specifications of the signal. Whatever ship was hailing for help, their ship design wasn't in the Serik Network Codex.
He thought for a moment. It was probably a Gorrah ship - Yes, that was the only thing that made sense. The backward-compatible tech from Gorrah wouldn't be in the Codex. Antero had never trusted that planet, or its "products." So, this was likely just some trader who had a stroke of bad luck with Gorrah's notoriously unreliable vessels and found themselves out in the middle of nowhere.
"Have you considered pirates?"
"Tarrak!" Antero swore and jumped in his seat. He spun around to face the speaker. "I told you not to sneak up on me like that!"
"Well, have you?" The girl watched him, leaning casually against the door to the bridge. Intelligent eyes burned into his, making him feel uncomfortable. "You must concede that this is nothing if not conspicuous. An unregistered ship, floating just on the edge of the map, luring in-"
"Yes, yes, I know." he snapped. He didn't mean to be short with Kaya, but she frightened him. She was too smart, too aware, too... Well, whatever she was, she wasn't his daughter. His daughter was the nine-year-old who played in the cargo hold, and spoke with love about everything, even the little things Antero didn't notice, and who ate too much candy. The girl who had left three months ago with a grin on her face and hope in her heart. She was not the cunning Chipi who now watched him with a hawk's eye as he held back tears.
"No need to be abrasive, Father." she said, taking a few steps towards him and sitting down in the chair to his left. "I'm simply asking if you've considered the possibility of entrapment."
"I have," Antero paused a moment to think. "But what if it isn't? Someone could be in trouble."
"That is of little concern to us. We have more severe problems. Anyone we rescue will be sharing our problems, and we don't want to implicate any others."
"They could be dying!"
"Arguably better than being captured by Scio Kio, Father."
"I don't care," Antero turned back to the console in front of him. "I'm a GMPF captain. It's my duty to-"
"You were a captain." Antero felt irritation burning inside him at the comment, but said nothing. He simply hailed the mysterious ship, charged the weapons, and prayed.
At last. She heard the tone indicating that someone had been trying to hail her. A whirring bleep that travelled across the cockpit and reached her audits...oh how it sounded beautiful. Within moments the ship hailing them would be greeted by nearly no visual feed save for the symbol of the Sans'Karian Vanguard...which would either be completely and utterly foreign to them, or something to be feared.
"Do you read me?" a voice spoke out. The signal was unfortunately quite distorted due to the damaged apparatus and the moon's rocks causing interference. But it was a clearly feminine voice, crisp and a bit hissy, even choked...most likely due to the injuries.
"I am Saka'kah Kreein the S.V.V Megalith. Attention unidentified alien vessel Darasis-Ali : I have been stranded on this moon due to my ship being damaged by unknown assailants...I am making a formal request for asylum aboard your vessel and access to your medical facilities. I will be willing to allow you to salvage payment from my ship and my own supplies if need be." the voice called out, the hope of rescue actually causing her to stir enough to pull her head up, almost as if she wanted to peer up at the sky harder and see them out there.
"I am badly injured...life support will not last longer then four standard hours...I was a security officer. I would be more then willing to...offer my assistance to running your vessel if need be." Diplomacy. That was all she knew when it came to these strange beings.
Part of her was still stuck in the past...she could not shake the truth of what might happen. They could easily either ignore her and leave her to her doom or take what they want and leave her to die. With her kind, that was the most likely outcome. One thing she left far out of her plea was something she became aware of when her tongue shifted, trying to soak her mouth up. She was dehydrated, hardly any saliva left within her mouth, hot breath leaving the nose slits of her beak and her head was feeling as light as can be.
The aches also spread to her belly, the sensitive alien's stomach having been ravaged. Dehydration and starvation. Not a fun fate for a being who's species was used to gorging on food and drinking like kings. A scaled finger reached out to try initializing the visual feed recalibrater but hesitated. Anxiety was new to her. Back home she could do her duty, kill people, commit bloody acts and all with a sense of playfulness. But now she could feel her breath quicken and heart swell. She was scared. If they saw whom she was, they might know what she was, or even fear her for her appearance. She chose to wait. She hoped a kind voice might persuade them.
"Do you read me?" a voice spoke out. The signal was unfortunately quite distorted due to the damaged apparatus and the moon's rocks causing interference. But it was a clearly feminine voice, crisp and a bit hissy, even choked...most likely due to the injuries.
"I am Saka'kah Kreein the S.V.V Megalith. Attention unidentified alien vessel Darasis-Ali : I have been stranded on this moon due to my ship being damaged by unknown assailants...I am making a formal request for asylum aboard your vessel and access to your medical facilities. I will be willing to allow you to salvage payment from my ship and my own supplies if need be." the voice called out, the hope of rescue actually causing her to stir enough to pull her head up, almost as if she wanted to peer up at the sky harder and see them out there.
"I am badly injured...life support will not last longer then four standard hours...I was a security officer. I would be more then willing to...offer my assistance to running your vessel if need be." Diplomacy. That was all she knew when it came to these strange beings.
Part of her was still stuck in the past...she could not shake the truth of what might happen. They could easily either ignore her and leave her to her doom or take what they want and leave her to die. With her kind, that was the most likely outcome. One thing she left far out of her plea was something she became aware of when her tongue shifted, trying to soak her mouth up. She was dehydrated, hardly any saliva left within her mouth, hot breath leaving the nose slits of her beak and her head was feeling as light as can be.
The aches also spread to her belly, the sensitive alien's stomach having been ravaged. Dehydration and starvation. Not a fun fate for a being who's species was used to gorging on food and drinking like kings. A scaled finger reached out to try initializing the visual feed recalibrater but hesitated. Anxiety was new to her. Back home she could do her duty, kill people, commit bloody acts and all with a sense of playfulness. But now she could feel her breath quicken and heart swell. She was scared. If they saw whom she was, they might know what she was, or even fear her for her appearance. She chose to wait. She hoped a kind voice might persuade them.
"Well, Mabi Kreein," Antero said, glancing at Kaya, a teasing, told you so, in his eyes. "We'd be happy to have you aboard." Kaya sighed and rolled her eyes.
He checked his navigation console readout. "We can be at your position in about an hour, but if we burn tetrafuel instead of using the solar drives, we'll be there in fifteen minutes." Tetrafuel was expensive, and they had a limited supply, but if this "Kreein" lady was injured, they needed to be there soon.
"Father," Kaya said. "We may need the fuel if we are... placed in a situation in which an expedient escape might be required." The odd wording was to prevent informing the Mabi on the other end from finding out that they were on the run.
"We can spare the fuel," Antero replied. "And time is of the essence." His daughter's uncharitable behavior bothered him. He had raised her to lend a hand wherever she could, but this new person aboard the Darasis-Ali didn't share his philosophy. It made him wonder, with a sick feeling in his stomach, what else she had lost in Scio Kio's care.
He heaved a ragged sigh. Antero had too much on his mind. He was on the run from both the police he had diligently served, and the most powerful corporation in the galaxy. It was clear which he'd rather be captured by. He'd made Kaya a promise the day he rescued her that he would never let Scio Kio touch her again.
And then there was the matter of Kaya's new... self. This strange personality that addressed him as "Father" instead of "Dad" and was intelligent, sophisticated, and... deadly. Deadly doesn't serve her justice, Antero thought while he waited for a reply from Kreein. She killed two armed, trained guards with a medical scalpel without blinking an eye. This alternate persona would switch in and out, too; That was the strange part. In the middle of a conversation she could go from Kaya to Not-Kaya. It was both jarring and frightening.
But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't worry about Kaya at the moment. The being inside her mind could take care of her for him, at least for the moment. Now, he had this "Kreein" person to help out.
He checked his navigation console readout. "We can be at your position in about an hour, but if we burn tetrafuel instead of using the solar drives, we'll be there in fifteen minutes." Tetrafuel was expensive, and they had a limited supply, but if this "Kreein" lady was injured, they needed to be there soon.
"Father," Kaya said. "We may need the fuel if we are... placed in a situation in which an expedient escape might be required." The odd wording was to prevent informing the Mabi on the other end from finding out that they were on the run.
"We can spare the fuel," Antero replied. "And time is of the essence." His daughter's uncharitable behavior bothered him. He had raised her to lend a hand wherever she could, but this new person aboard the Darasis-Ali didn't share his philosophy. It made him wonder, with a sick feeling in his stomach, what else she had lost in Scio Kio's care.
He heaved a ragged sigh. Antero had too much on his mind. He was on the run from both the police he had diligently served, and the most powerful corporation in the galaxy. It was clear which he'd rather be captured by. He'd made Kaya a promise the day he rescued her that he would never let Scio Kio touch her again.
And then there was the matter of Kaya's new... self. This strange personality that addressed him as "Father" instead of "Dad" and was intelligent, sophisticated, and... deadly. Deadly doesn't serve her justice, Antero thought while he waited for a reply from Kreein. She killed two armed, trained guards with a medical scalpel without blinking an eye. This alternate persona would switch in and out, too; That was the strange part. In the middle of a conversation she could go from Kaya to Not-Kaya. It was both jarring and frightening.
But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't worry about Kaya at the moment. The being inside her mind could take care of her for him, at least for the moment. Now, he had this "Kreein" person to help out.
"Thank you, Darasis-Ali...I will be...awaiting your extraction. As patiently as my bleeding carcass can be." the woman quipped, leaning her head back as she listened in on them whilst she focused on helping herself.
Escape? A queer word to use, that was for sure. A keen observer of behavior, she noticed the way they were both acting. Even miniute sounds such as their sighing and breathing patterns were being noted. What was she getting herself into? Criminals? Convicts? Fleeing refugees? She was now becoming curious about these mysterious saviors of hers.
Part of her couldn't help but feel a little bit on the worried side. After all - last thing she wanted was to be around a bunch of loud criminals with a price on their head. That would draw out her more violent tendencies. Her injured arm twitched briefly, a slight movement that caused her to release an odd yelping squeak. It hurt. BADLY. It was likely she shattered the bones in that arm, hollow little things that they were. Heck, she was surprised she didn't break every bone in her body with the impact she had. Raising her free hand, she peered down at it from where she lay , glancing down at the restraining straps of the seat.
A clenching fist lead to her arm-mounted device suddenly sparking to life. From the blade-like device along her arm, a whirring preceeded the formation of an energy blade that ran alongside the edges of the device and ended in a very narrow point a very inches away. Raising it up, she rather easily cut herself loose, a simple matter of slipping it against the restraints. Even unarmed she was quite a significant threat. The Disciples were well known for operating in small numbers, and it was clear why. Of course, her cloak was damaged...and her broken arm meant serious restrictions. So perhaps now she was significantly less so.
She breathed a sigh of relief, the relief of being free and unrestrained. Those things were biting into her chest more then she'd hoped for. Her blade fizzled out of existence and powered down, leaving her free to run a hand over her sore chest...her claws tracing the bloody wound that was left there, raking them up to her neck and tapping her beak. It was like tapping a sore tooth. It HURT. Her gaze turned back to the stars, waiting patiently for these strange beings to burn through their primitive fuel sources and reach her. Then she'd choose what to do to them...who knows? Their cause might just strike the right cord with her.
Mabi...it was like something her brother would call her, when he used to beat her senseless and hold her beak closed. Oh, she did miss his bullying. The pain in her heart was becoming stronger. Not a wound. No. It was heartache. She missed her family. Her Host, the people she ended up having wiped out due to her zeal. Now she was starting to remember a little more clearly as to why she came out there. She'd come out there to run or die. But which could she stand to do now?
Escape? A queer word to use, that was for sure. A keen observer of behavior, she noticed the way they were both acting. Even miniute sounds such as their sighing and breathing patterns were being noted. What was she getting herself into? Criminals? Convicts? Fleeing refugees? She was now becoming curious about these mysterious saviors of hers.
Part of her couldn't help but feel a little bit on the worried side. After all - last thing she wanted was to be around a bunch of loud criminals with a price on their head. That would draw out her more violent tendencies. Her injured arm twitched briefly, a slight movement that caused her to release an odd yelping squeak. It hurt. BADLY. It was likely she shattered the bones in that arm, hollow little things that they were. Heck, she was surprised she didn't break every bone in her body with the impact she had. Raising her free hand, she peered down at it from where she lay , glancing down at the restraining straps of the seat.
A clenching fist lead to her arm-mounted device suddenly sparking to life. From the blade-like device along her arm, a whirring preceeded the formation of an energy blade that ran alongside the edges of the device and ended in a very narrow point a very inches away. Raising it up, she rather easily cut herself loose, a simple matter of slipping it against the restraints. Even unarmed she was quite a significant threat. The Disciples were well known for operating in small numbers, and it was clear why. Of course, her cloak was damaged...and her broken arm meant serious restrictions. So perhaps now she was significantly less so.
She breathed a sigh of relief, the relief of being free and unrestrained. Those things were biting into her chest more then she'd hoped for. Her blade fizzled out of existence and powered down, leaving her free to run a hand over her sore chest...her claws tracing the bloody wound that was left there, raking them up to her neck and tapping her beak. It was like tapping a sore tooth. It HURT. Her gaze turned back to the stars, waiting patiently for these strange beings to burn through their primitive fuel sources and reach her. Then she'd choose what to do to them...who knows? Their cause might just strike the right cord with her.
Mabi...it was like something her brother would call her, when he used to beat her senseless and hold her beak closed. Oh, she did miss his bullying. The pain in her heart was becoming stronger. Not a wound. No. It was heartache. She missed her family. Her Host, the people she ended up having wiped out due to her zeal. Now she was starting to remember a little more clearly as to why she came out there. She'd come out there to run or die. But which could she stand to do now?
They were only a few minutes from the mysterious ship when Kaya spoke. "With all due respect, Father, I don't think we should completely rule out the possibility of a trap." He glanced over at her to see she had her hand over the mute button on the console.
Antero sighed. "Kaya, someone's hurt on that ship, possibly dying." He wished he could talk to his daughter instead of this... thing. She would have jumped at the opportunity to help the stranded traveler. This creature in from of him was cautious, suspicious, and cynical.
"Yes, or they're pretending so that they can lure in people with an overly active conscience. I'm not confident we can take such a risk." She paused a moment. "And we've discussed this on multiple occasions; Calling me Kaya when I am not is inaccurate and confusing."
"So what if they are a pirate?" Antero checked their heading. The ship was decelerating to bring them to Kreein's position. "Remember the part where you're an assassin? You can just kill them."
"Scio Kio's pet project with your daughter's brain was a failure, Mabi Beaky, remember? Hence; why I'm here at all. We can't depend on me retaining control over Kaya's body if something goes wrong. If Kreein turns on us, we might be stuck with your combat-useless daughter instead of me - No offense."
Kreein's ship was now visible to the naked eye. Mildly impressive. Antero thought. It was unlike anything he'd seen. Definitely Gorrah tech, or something more obscure. The important thing about it, however, was that it was small. Its size meant that they could pull it into the Darasis-Ali's small hanger and meet whoever was inside instead of boarding the other ship to retrieve its passenger. That meant less of a chance for an ambush.
“See? They really are hurt.” Antero pointed out the marks on the ship's black hull. Kreein's ship was beat to hell.
“That doesn't mean they're not dangerous.” Not-Kaya said. “Arguably, it makes them more so; An injured, cornered animal is much more likely to attack if it perceives us as a threat.”
“Just shut up, Kaya - er, Not-Kaya.”Antero groaned. “Grab a gun and get ready. I'm pulling the ship aboard.”
As Not-Kaya left for the ship's armory, Antero breathed a soft sigh of relief. It was getting more and more difficult to get along with that... thing. She was dangerous, and seemed to have a contesting opinion on everything. He had some suspicion that it was only his daughter's own connection to him that kept Not-Kaya from killing him out of mere convenience.
And who would stop her? A week ago, he had left his crew behind on Quann in an attempt to throw Scio Kio off his trail, so there was nobody to help him maintain control over Not-Kaya. He was at her mercy.
He doesn't trust you. Dad doesn't like you.
He shouldn't, Kaya. I'm the monster that's stolen his child from him.
Maybe you should let me talk to him more. The thought from Kaya smelled of an ulterior motive. It wasn't about earning Father's trust, she just wanted to talk to him. But Not-Kaya didn't mind. Let the girl talk to her father, for once.
That sounds like a good idea, Kaya. After we bring in Kreein, you can talk to him as much as you want.
A deep thud that marked the arrival of a spacecraft in the hanger. Time to go.
Antero sighed. "Kaya, someone's hurt on that ship, possibly dying." He wished he could talk to his daughter instead of this... thing. She would have jumped at the opportunity to help the stranded traveler. This creature in from of him was cautious, suspicious, and cynical.
"Yes, or they're pretending so that they can lure in people with an overly active conscience. I'm not confident we can take such a risk." She paused a moment. "And we've discussed this on multiple occasions; Calling me Kaya when I am not is inaccurate and confusing."
"So what if they are a pirate?" Antero checked their heading. The ship was decelerating to bring them to Kreein's position. "Remember the part where you're an assassin? You can just kill them."
"Scio Kio's pet project with your daughter's brain was a failure, Mabi Beaky, remember? Hence; why I'm here at all. We can't depend on me retaining control over Kaya's body if something goes wrong. If Kreein turns on us, we might be stuck with your combat-useless daughter instead of me - No offense."
Kreein's ship was now visible to the naked eye. Mildly impressive. Antero thought. It was unlike anything he'd seen. Definitely Gorrah tech, or something more obscure. The important thing about it, however, was that it was small. Its size meant that they could pull it into the Darasis-Ali's small hanger and meet whoever was inside instead of boarding the other ship to retrieve its passenger. That meant less of a chance for an ambush.
“See? They really are hurt.” Antero pointed out the marks on the ship's black hull. Kreein's ship was beat to hell.
“That doesn't mean they're not dangerous.” Not-Kaya said. “Arguably, it makes them more so; An injured, cornered animal is much more likely to attack if it perceives us as a threat.”
“Just shut up, Kaya - er, Not-Kaya.”Antero groaned. “Grab a gun and get ready. I'm pulling the ship aboard.”
As Not-Kaya left for the ship's armory, Antero breathed a soft sigh of relief. It was getting more and more difficult to get along with that... thing. She was dangerous, and seemed to have a contesting opinion on everything. He had some suspicion that it was only his daughter's own connection to him that kept Not-Kaya from killing him out of mere convenience.
And who would stop her? A week ago, he had left his crew behind on Quann in an attempt to throw Scio Kio off his trail, so there was nobody to help him maintain control over Not-Kaya. He was at her mercy.
--==[||]==--
He doesn't trust you. Dad doesn't like you.
He shouldn't, Kaya. I'm the monster that's stolen his child from him.
Maybe you should let me talk to him more. The thought from Kaya smelled of an ulterior motive. It wasn't about earning Father's trust, she just wanted to talk to him. But Not-Kaya didn't mind. Let the girl talk to her father, for once.
That sounds like a good idea, Kaya. After we bring in Kreein, you can talk to him as much as you want.
A deep thud that marked the arrival of a spacecraft in the hanger. Time to go.
Fresh air. Strange lights, metal lining. Her short moment of distant thought was cut off by the visions of the larger ship taking in her own. A momenterially jolt as the ship was loaded aboard the other automatically and then...that air. Her ship's damaged life support meant the air was growing thin and tainted. Now she was aboard a new vessel, with a new configuration. Athmosphere not adapted for her kind, temperature that was off, air density and artificial gravity that was alien to her.
She counted at least twenty times - the amount of times she'd been taken aboard alien ships either on her missions or to assassinate a 'threat' to Sans'karian society. But this time it felt different, like she'd been brought into a new home. She felt relatively safer since - as far as she knew - these clueless aliens weren't trying to murder her on sight. She hoped that would last beyond their initial glances to her. As a soldier, she didn't know exactly how far word of her species had travelled. The others who knew of the Sans'Karah and their vast empire of warring colonies and trading posts also knew they were quick to turn on anything they disliked and that their soldiers were ruthless murderers that would no sooner cut the head off a child as a mockery to their race then they would kick over an anthill.
Not the Chipi, though. They and the Farbians were two of the few races they even acknowledge let alone do business with. Maybe she was in luck? Without taking too long to question her luck, she soon prepped herself to get off of the ruined husk of her ship. A brushing talon manipulated the touch-sensitive computer in front of her, an alien array of words and readings were visible upon the GUI. After accessing the manual commands, the computer let loose a series of low pitched bleeps before a masculine frighteningly metallic voice spoke out from the cockpit.
"System shutdown activated. Powering down in...one skorr two gakka." it uttered, giving Saka enough time to raise her uninjured arm and speak into the device.
"Computer." she began, her voice mixed with hoarse exaustion and relief "Extend forward docking ramp Naka One...and then delete all records on the data core. Access Code - Saka'kah, Zar-Ro-Thokka-Kara."
Her final words were punctuated by a confirming buzz, before the ship had begun the boarding - or in this case, departing - sequence. The front of the ship seemed to silently spread appart like parting waters, revealing that it was actually a complicated and well hidden set of segmented metal plates. Each pulled away around the cockpit as the equipment seemed to neatly tuck into each plate, a long and grey metal ramp extending in front of her chair, the computer having folded away with the rest of the equipment. She shifted her weight forward, pushing it onto her legs.
Pain surged through her as her normally strong legs wobbled, a rather dreadful screech of pain leaving her as she struggled onto her feet. Her muscles were badly damaged and bruised from the impact. Walking would usually be ill-advised but - by the Shadow - she was not going to meet these aliens as a weak little cripple who could hardly walk. No. Impressions were everything.
Straining to keep herself from falling over, free hand gripping her injured arm and holding it close to herself, she started to make her way down the ramp, desperately trying to stop from falling over as she made her way off her ship. The sides of her beak twisted slightly into a little smirk. A laugh held at the back of her throat. She was getting blood all over her poor host's floors. She would have to clean that up.
She counted at least twenty times - the amount of times she'd been taken aboard alien ships either on her missions or to assassinate a 'threat' to Sans'karian society. But this time it felt different, like she'd been brought into a new home. She felt relatively safer since - as far as she knew - these clueless aliens weren't trying to murder her on sight. She hoped that would last beyond their initial glances to her. As a soldier, she didn't know exactly how far word of her species had travelled. The others who knew of the Sans'Karah and their vast empire of warring colonies and trading posts also knew they were quick to turn on anything they disliked and that their soldiers were ruthless murderers that would no sooner cut the head off a child as a mockery to their race then they would kick over an anthill.
Not the Chipi, though. They and the Farbians were two of the few races they even acknowledge let alone do business with. Maybe she was in luck? Without taking too long to question her luck, she soon prepped herself to get off of the ruined husk of her ship. A brushing talon manipulated the touch-sensitive computer in front of her, an alien array of words and readings were visible upon the GUI. After accessing the manual commands, the computer let loose a series of low pitched bleeps before a masculine frighteningly metallic voice spoke out from the cockpit.
"System shutdown activated. Powering down in...one skorr two gakka." it uttered, giving Saka enough time to raise her uninjured arm and speak into the device.
"Computer." she began, her voice mixed with hoarse exaustion and relief "Extend forward docking ramp Naka One...and then delete all records on the data core. Access Code - Saka'kah, Zar-Ro-Thokka-Kara."
Her final words were punctuated by a confirming buzz, before the ship had begun the boarding - or in this case, departing - sequence. The front of the ship seemed to silently spread appart like parting waters, revealing that it was actually a complicated and well hidden set of segmented metal plates. Each pulled away around the cockpit as the equipment seemed to neatly tuck into each plate, a long and grey metal ramp extending in front of her chair, the computer having folded away with the rest of the equipment. She shifted her weight forward, pushing it onto her legs.
Pain surged through her as her normally strong legs wobbled, a rather dreadful screech of pain leaving her as she struggled onto her feet. Her muscles were badly damaged and bruised from the impact. Walking would usually be ill-advised but - by the Shadow - she was not going to meet these aliens as a weak little cripple who could hardly walk. No. Impressions were everything.
Straining to keep herself from falling over, free hand gripping her injured arm and holding it close to herself, she started to make her way down the ramp, desperately trying to stop from falling over as she made her way off her ship. The sides of her beak twisted slightly into a little smirk. A laugh held at the back of her throat. She was getting blood all over her poor host's floors. She would have to clean that up.
"Back, Father." Antero heard her voice before she turned the corner, and swiveled his chair around to look. Kaya had put on some light body armor and a grenade pouch, and she had a kinetic assault rifle slung around her shoulder.
"Tarrak, Kaya," he said, examining the gun. "You can't use the Clarus on this ship; Kinetic shots will punch right through our hull from the inside if you miss a single shot."
"I don't miss, Father." Her eyes cut into his, and he shivered slightly. "You do, however; I brought you this." She pulled a medium-intensity laser out of the holster around her waist and handed it to him.
"Thanks." he said insincerely, glancing cautiously at Kaya's weapon. "May I ask why you chose the Clarus?"
"High powered assault rifle with sharpened rounds designed for penetration rather than impact." She pulled the weapon off her back to examine it. "That means shots will pass through the target, minimizing damage from hydrostatic shock, but without enough energy left to punch through the hull. If Kreein turns out to be dangerous, I'd rather incapacitate her than kill her."
"I hope that's not necessary." He checked the battery on the laser gun and stood up, straightening his clothes. Since he had left his crew behind, he had not needed to wear his GMPF uniform. Now, he was dressed in his disheveled, casual clothes. He didn't look like a captain. It wasn't the image he wanted to project.
"Let's meet our company." They stepped into the hall and onto the lift. It was a short ride down, and a short walk to the hanger. Right in the center sat the burned, damaged ship. A door he hadn't noticed before extended a boarding ramp to the ground, where the newcomer stood, waving unsteadily. Slick blood dripped onto the floor.
"Sans'Karah," Kaya remarked. "You can see she's injured, but she's trying not to show it. An interesting species."
"How do you read people like that?" Antero muttered. "Well, What do you recommend we do?"
"Be polite. Offer help. Maintain an advantage. It's that simple."
Antero raised his voice to address Kreein across the hanger. "Hello, Mabi Kreein. It's a pleasure to have some company aboard the Darasis-Ali. Do you need immediate medical attention?"
It was obvious that she did, but he didn't want to impose help on her.
"Tarrak, Kaya," he said, examining the gun. "You can't use the Clarus on this ship; Kinetic shots will punch right through our hull from the inside if you miss a single shot."
"I don't miss, Father." Her eyes cut into his, and he shivered slightly. "You do, however; I brought you this." She pulled a medium-intensity laser out of the holster around her waist and handed it to him.
"Thanks." he said insincerely, glancing cautiously at Kaya's weapon. "May I ask why you chose the Clarus?"
"High powered assault rifle with sharpened rounds designed for penetration rather than impact." She pulled the weapon off her back to examine it. "That means shots will pass through the target, minimizing damage from hydrostatic shock, but without enough energy left to punch through the hull. If Kreein turns out to be dangerous, I'd rather incapacitate her than kill her."
"I hope that's not necessary." He checked the battery on the laser gun and stood up, straightening his clothes. Since he had left his crew behind, he had not needed to wear his GMPF uniform. Now, he was dressed in his disheveled, casual clothes. He didn't look like a captain. It wasn't the image he wanted to project.
"Let's meet our company." They stepped into the hall and onto the lift. It was a short ride down, and a short walk to the hanger. Right in the center sat the burned, damaged ship. A door he hadn't noticed before extended a boarding ramp to the ground, where the newcomer stood, waving unsteadily. Slick blood dripped onto the floor.
"Sans'Karah," Kaya remarked. "You can see she's injured, but she's trying not to show it. An interesting species."
"How do you read people like that?" Antero muttered. "Well, What do you recommend we do?"
"Be polite. Offer help. Maintain an advantage. It's that simple."
Antero raised his voice to address Kreein across the hanger. "Hello, Mabi Kreein. It's a pleasure to have some company aboard the Darasis-Ali. Do you need immediate medical attention?"
It was obvious that she did, but he didn't want to impose help on her.
Saka'kah's eyes rose to the voices coming down the hallway, it was there that she saw them. Chipi. One adult male, one young female. IF these were the crew, she was in luck. The Chipi were their occasional allies, after all. So they tended to want them to think, at least.
As they approached, her instinct kicked in. How hard could it be? The young girl wouldn't provide much of a fight and the male could be dead before he could even raise his weapon. Even in her injured state she might be able to take the ship for herself. After all - they could have been informed by her people about her. They could be trying to collect a bounty.
Pride soon perished with the hollow truth. It was unlikely she could take the two of them on in her current state. She could hardly move and - much to her pleasant surprise - they were both armed. The female had a high powered kinetic rifle. Perfect for blasting her right through. She must have been a good shot to risk carrying that, if that male was her father it was doubtful he would give his daughter a potentially dangerous weapon without reassurance. Not even in their society would they risk that, the young were too precious to them. The male...he was armed with the lesser equipment. And he seemed to be dressed rather casually. No fight was to be put up - the Chipi were considered allies for a good reason...fine hunters, just like the Sans'Karah.
"If you don't mind, I would rather not bleed to death in a cargo hold. I am told beds make a more comfortable surface to die on." she replied, doing her best to seem jovial.
At this point she was beginning to take an interest in them. Clearly civilian but heavily armed...strangely organized and smart. An attractive prospect to her. Her gaze switched between them, hard to tell when her eyes lacked any pupils, those eerie blue gazers like a pair of deadlights in her eyes.
"I hope I haven't thrown you and your..." she paused, seeking the right words "...companion off course by much, the Darasis-Ali seems like a ship that's had quite a ride. I do not intend to make myself a problem. Just give me a place to sit and some help with these wounds and I can pay you back."
The questions would have to wait. For now her priority should be trying to get better. Then she can engage in the social banter. That child...her eyes were sticking to her in particular. She reminded her much of herself when she was a young chickling. There was a latent fury in her eyes, cold and calculating. Like a killer ready to pounce. Part of her almost found it adorable, that a species they had considered similar yet lesser could produce such fine children. On the other hand, child...father.
She held her hands up, releasing her wounds for a moment to show her lack of equipment off.
"I have no weapons on me. And I do not intend on taking your ship. You may call me Saka'kah...Saka will suffice. Kreein is my Host name, and my Host is..."
Dead...
"Far away."
As they approached, her instinct kicked in. How hard could it be? The young girl wouldn't provide much of a fight and the male could be dead before he could even raise his weapon. Even in her injured state she might be able to take the ship for herself. After all - they could have been informed by her people about her. They could be trying to collect a bounty.
Pride soon perished with the hollow truth. It was unlikely she could take the two of them on in her current state. She could hardly move and - much to her pleasant surprise - they were both armed. The female had a high powered kinetic rifle. Perfect for blasting her right through. She must have been a good shot to risk carrying that, if that male was her father it was doubtful he would give his daughter a potentially dangerous weapon without reassurance. Not even in their society would they risk that, the young were too precious to them. The male...he was armed with the lesser equipment. And he seemed to be dressed rather casually. No fight was to be put up - the Chipi were considered allies for a good reason...fine hunters, just like the Sans'Karah.
"If you don't mind, I would rather not bleed to death in a cargo hold. I am told beds make a more comfortable surface to die on." she replied, doing her best to seem jovial.
At this point she was beginning to take an interest in them. Clearly civilian but heavily armed...strangely organized and smart. An attractive prospect to her. Her gaze switched between them, hard to tell when her eyes lacked any pupils, those eerie blue gazers like a pair of deadlights in her eyes.
"I hope I haven't thrown you and your..." she paused, seeking the right words "...companion off course by much, the Darasis-Ali seems like a ship that's had quite a ride. I do not intend to make myself a problem. Just give me a place to sit and some help with these wounds and I can pay you back."
The questions would have to wait. For now her priority should be trying to get better. Then she can engage in the social banter. That child...her eyes were sticking to her in particular. She reminded her much of herself when she was a young chickling. There was a latent fury in her eyes, cold and calculating. Like a killer ready to pounce. Part of her almost found it adorable, that a species they had considered similar yet lesser could produce such fine children. On the other hand, child...father.
She held her hands up, releasing her wounds for a moment to show her lack of equipment off.
"I have no weapons on me. And I do not intend on taking your ship. You may call me Saka'kah...Saka will suffice. Kreein is my Host name, and my Host is..."
Dead...
"Far away."
Not-Kaya saw what Father didn't; Saka'kah was sizing them up, and she seemed satisfied by what she found. This was someone like Not-Kaya. Clever, alert, intelligent. She could respect that. But this alien could also be dangerous. There wasn't an overabundance of information on her species, but they did have a somewhat poor reputation. No worries, reputations weren't everything...
"No payment necessary. If you can walk, we'll show you to the medical bay." Father said, holstering his laser gun. Kaya suppressed a sigh. No payment? We need every cent we can get if we're going to make it to IPSF territory without being found. She didnt' speak up, however. For the sake of caution, it'd be best if she talked as little as possible. If Saka caught on to just how intelligent Kaya was, not only would they lose an element of surprise, but she might also deduce that the two Chipi were the ones described in the bounty alert that had pinged every combat ship in a six gate radius.
Father stepped forward to gently offer an arm to the Sans'Karah woman. The medical bay was just down the hallway, and the ship was designed to comfortably accommodate 10 soldiers, so they had plenty of supplies.
While Father offered help, Not-Kaya turned her mind to Saka's purpose here. How had she ended up in the middle of space like this? Maybe she was like them; A criminal on the run. If so, Not-Kaya couldn't count on their guest being as well-intentioned as themselves. She seemed sincere, but a good liar always did.
For now, all Not-Kaya could do was wait. If Saka had an agenda or a hand to play, it would bear its hand eventually. For now, Not-Kaya could afford to allow the injured woman some slack while she waited.
"No payment necessary. If you can walk, we'll show you to the medical bay." Father said, holstering his laser gun. Kaya suppressed a sigh. No payment? We need every cent we can get if we're going to make it to IPSF territory without being found. She didnt' speak up, however. For the sake of caution, it'd be best if she talked as little as possible. If Saka caught on to just how intelligent Kaya was, not only would they lose an element of surprise, but she might also deduce that the two Chipi were the ones described in the bounty alert that had pinged every combat ship in a six gate radius.
Father stepped forward to gently offer an arm to the Sans'Karah woman. The medical bay was just down the hallway, and the ship was designed to comfortably accommodate 10 soldiers, so they had plenty of supplies.
While Father offered help, Not-Kaya turned her mind to Saka's purpose here. How had she ended up in the middle of space like this? Maybe she was like them; A criminal on the run. If so, Not-Kaya couldn't count on their guest being as well-intentioned as themselves. She seemed sincere, but a good liar always did.
For now, all Not-Kaya could do was wait. If Saka had an agenda or a hand to play, it would bear its hand eventually. For now, Not-Kaya could afford to allow the injured woman some slack while she waited.
No payment? Now they were either lying or she was dead. And the pain felt too real for the latter. But regardless, she seemed to smile and accept the man's offer, taking his arm and gripping onto it as she would shift her weight against him and let him lead her to the medical bay. She was surprisingly light for her weight, as he would find out. Not being in thick armour and wearing a light skin-tight suit tended to help with that, but as with all of her kind she was naturally light.
A second suspicious act - they refused to give her their names. Why? If they were just a daughter and her father travelling across the stars on some trading job they would have given her their name and chatted her head in with talk about home.
These two were hiding something, they didn't want her to know whom they were. Her suspicions only furthered when she noticed how large their ship really was. It had accommodations for a decent crew compliment and they were occupying it all by themselves. Surely they would be using a smaller ship for their operations? And that child...she was watching her carefully. Saka returned no glances, gave no signs that she was watching but she knew she was suspicious. She would have to stop treating her as a child from now on.
As they reached the medical bay, she found herself stopping at the doorway, a thought having occurred to her. An idea coming to mind.
"I may have to remove my suit for this operation, the circuitry could react negatively to medical apparatus. I understand some species have a strict code of modesty. " She peered about between them.
"And I have no clothing." This could lead to a multitude of scenarios. If left alone with the male she might be able to probe him for information whilst he gave her something to put on and tended to her wounds. If they remained with her, she would have the opportunity to at least seem like a decent person.
Deception was always her species' best trait. And now she needed it more then ever. These people might be her ticket out of there. But what then? She had no home to return to, she needed a job of some kind and if her kind found her...she was a political criminal. No mercy would be shown.
A second suspicious act - they refused to give her their names. Why? If they were just a daughter and her father travelling across the stars on some trading job they would have given her their name and chatted her head in with talk about home.
These two were hiding something, they didn't want her to know whom they were. Her suspicions only furthered when she noticed how large their ship really was. It had accommodations for a decent crew compliment and they were occupying it all by themselves. Surely they would be using a smaller ship for their operations? And that child...she was watching her carefully. Saka returned no glances, gave no signs that she was watching but she knew she was suspicious. She would have to stop treating her as a child from now on.
As they reached the medical bay, she found herself stopping at the doorway, a thought having occurred to her. An idea coming to mind.
"I may have to remove my suit for this operation, the circuitry could react negatively to medical apparatus. I understand some species have a strict code of modesty. " She peered about between them.
"And I have no clothing." This could lead to a multitude of scenarios. If left alone with the male she might be able to probe him for information whilst he gave her something to put on and tended to her wounds. If they remained with her, she would have the opportunity to at least seem like a decent person.
Deception was always her species' best trait. And now she needed it more then ever. These people might be her ticket out of there. But what then? She had no home to return to, she needed a job of some kind and if her kind found her...she was a political criminal. No mercy would be shown.
Antero considered this for a moment before crossing the room to a small panel under a counter behind Saka. He tapped in a code, and the door opened with a hiss. Reaching in, he stood up with a few sets of clothing in hand.
"We don't have anything for your species, but..." He held up one of the shirts and looked back and forth between Saka and the clothes. "These Chipi clothes should fit you. I hope this is alright."
Standing behind their guest, Not-Kaya shot Antero a significant glance. Don't forget our names, the look seemed to say. He dismissed a momentary flash of irritation. Not-Kaya seemed to think he was an idiot. Of course he wasn't going to give his real name to Saka. Honestly.
"Oh, where are my manners?" he said, pretending to be suddenly flustered. "I'm Captain Carn Boler, and this is my niece, Arkhew. Say hello, Arkhew."
Not-Kaya's expression changed as Saka turned to face her, changing to the innocent look of a child. "Hi, Mabi Kreein - er - Saka." Though her expression was a child's, her eyes kept their intensity, however.
"Arkew, why don't you watch over our guest while she dresses herself. I'll wait outside." He didn't want to leave her in the room alone, but he was confident she could handle herself. His concern was that Saka might not know that, and try to make a move anyway.
There was no telling for sure. He stepped out around the corner to allow the woman some privacy, continuing to walk for a short while until he felt sure he was out of earshot. Then, using every bit of the grace his thin form allowed him, Antero slowly crept back over, listening in on the guest. Sure, it was rude, but it was also necessary.
"Mabi Kreein, can I ask you a question?" Not-Kaya's voice became audible around the corner. "What were you doing so far out? Uncle Carn says it's weird for anybody to be out here. He says you might be a pirate." Antero cringed. Not-Kaya was playing a risky game here, carefully revealing information under the guise of transparency in an attempt to earn something back.
"Do you think I'm a pirate?"
"I think Uncle Carn is just scared of you. He says he once got chased by a pirate." A decent lie. It explained away their suspicion quite well, and cast Kaya herself as an ally to Saka. Earning this mysterious person's trust would be important, whether she turned out to be an ally or an enemy.
"We don't have anything for your species, but..." He held up one of the shirts and looked back and forth between Saka and the clothes. "These Chipi clothes should fit you. I hope this is alright."
Standing behind their guest, Not-Kaya shot Antero a significant glance. Don't forget our names, the look seemed to say. He dismissed a momentary flash of irritation. Not-Kaya seemed to think he was an idiot. Of course he wasn't going to give his real name to Saka. Honestly.
"Oh, where are my manners?" he said, pretending to be suddenly flustered. "I'm Captain Carn Boler, and this is my niece, Arkhew. Say hello, Arkhew."
Not-Kaya's expression changed as Saka turned to face her, changing to the innocent look of a child. "Hi, Mabi Kreein - er - Saka." Though her expression was a child's, her eyes kept their intensity, however.
"Arkew, why don't you watch over our guest while she dresses herself. I'll wait outside." He didn't want to leave her in the room alone, but he was confident she could handle herself. His concern was that Saka might not know that, and try to make a move anyway.
There was no telling for sure. He stepped out around the corner to allow the woman some privacy, continuing to walk for a short while until he felt sure he was out of earshot. Then, using every bit of the grace his thin form allowed him, Antero slowly crept back over, listening in on the guest. Sure, it was rude, but it was also necessary.
"Mabi Kreein, can I ask you a question?" Not-Kaya's voice became audible around the corner. "What were you doing so far out? Uncle Carn says it's weird for anybody to be out here. He says you might be a pirate." Antero cringed. Not-Kaya was playing a risky game here, carefully revealing information under the guise of transparency in an attempt to earn something back.
"Do you think I'm a pirate?"
"I think Uncle Carn is just scared of you. He says he once got chased by a pirate." A decent lie. It explained away their suspicion quite well, and cast Kaya herself as an ally to Saka. Earning this mysterious person's trust would be important, whether she turned out to be an ally or an enemy.
Saka could not help but doubletake for a moment as she peered between them. Interesting set of names. True or not, at least she had something to call them now.
"Very well, Captain Boler...Arkew." she nodded to each of them, placing her fist upon her chest as she would give a low, stiff bow .
"You have my thanks. I'm sure your clothing will fit nicely, I have a tendancy to slip into things easily. It comes with the feathers...a-and the shape." Admittedly, if anything could be said about their lanky bodyshapes, they were dead useful for slipping into things.
But that was a thought for another time...that girl. 'Arkew' as he called her. She saw the way her face looked now. The way she looked, that glow in her eyes was being suppressed. She wore a mask so easily she almost made the woman want to adopt her! Oh the sneaky devil...but that was not going to get passed her. She took a moment to slip out of her suit, grunting in pain as she had to pull it off her flesh at one point, the blood having caused it to stick "
A-ahh...A pirate? Ahaha...have you ever met a pirate, little chirp? They tend to be accompanied by far more of their kind and quicker to simply kill an innocent man and his neice then me..." she murmured aloud to her, gazing down at her bare naked body before taking the clothing. Definitely a fit. She wasted no time before fitting them on, speaking all the while.
"You both live. That should be a good enough sign as to what I am." she was not going to sugar coat things. In her culture little girls were not sheltered from the horrors of reality.
"AS you aren't in slavery yet, you may rule out a pirate...I am...was a soldier." she paused briefly. Revealing too much, they might start piecing things together.
"...But I was banished due to some...political mumbo-jumbo. Along the way I was ambushed by some brigands. Of course my ship was vastly superior to theirs, and I annihilated their entire attack force...but not before taking heavy damage." She tried to avoid the truth that it was in fact one other of her own that had shot her down. Great amounts of shame there.
"What about you two, little chirp? You and your uncle seem to own a rather large ship for a duo of...what were you again?" she pondered, bone brow perking as she stared right at her, the sides of her jagged mouth twisting up. That beak of hers made her look like she was wearing a death mask, it was hard to tell if she was asking or accusing...
"Very well, Captain Boler...Arkew." she nodded to each of them, placing her fist upon her chest as she would give a low, stiff bow .
"You have my thanks. I'm sure your clothing will fit nicely, I have a tendancy to slip into things easily. It comes with the feathers...a-and the shape." Admittedly, if anything could be said about their lanky bodyshapes, they were dead useful for slipping into things.
But that was a thought for another time...that girl. 'Arkew' as he called her. She saw the way her face looked now. The way she looked, that glow in her eyes was being suppressed. She wore a mask so easily she almost made the woman want to adopt her! Oh the sneaky devil...but that was not going to get passed her. She took a moment to slip out of her suit, grunting in pain as she had to pull it off her flesh at one point, the blood having caused it to stick "
A-ahh...A pirate? Ahaha...have you ever met a pirate, little chirp? They tend to be accompanied by far more of their kind and quicker to simply kill an innocent man and his neice then me..." she murmured aloud to her, gazing down at her bare naked body before taking the clothing. Definitely a fit. She wasted no time before fitting them on, speaking all the while.
"You both live. That should be a good enough sign as to what I am." she was not going to sugar coat things. In her culture little girls were not sheltered from the horrors of reality.
"AS you aren't in slavery yet, you may rule out a pirate...I am...was a soldier." she paused briefly. Revealing too much, they might start piecing things together.
"...But I was banished due to some...political mumbo-jumbo. Along the way I was ambushed by some brigands. Of course my ship was vastly superior to theirs, and I annihilated their entire attack force...but not before taking heavy damage." She tried to avoid the truth that it was in fact one other of her own that had shot her down. Great amounts of shame there.
"What about you two, little chirp? You and your uncle seem to own a rather large ship for a duo of...what were you again?" she pondered, bone brow perking as she stared right at her, the sides of her jagged mouth twisting up. That beak of hers made her look like she was wearing a death mask, it was hard to tell if she was asking or accusing...
This question was bound to come up eventually, Not-Kaya thought with a mental sigh. After all, there was hardly a chance that the astute Saka would miss the inconsistency between the size of their party and the size of their ship. Luckily, she had prepared an answer.
"Oh, this is Uncle Carn's transport ship. I think he got it from a military surplus shipyard or somethin'." Not-Kaya hopped up on the counter and crossed her legs under her, tilting her head curiously. Playing the little girl's body language was easy; The real Kaya had as much influence over her mannerisms as Not-Kaya herself allowed, so picking up the girl's traits was easy. " He usually ferries people between the two Tara systems, but the people there don't like to visit each other anymore, so he's been taking passengers through the gates to other planets. Anyway, that sucks about your banishment or whatever." Tactless, she thought sourly, but it seems like something Kaya would say.
Saka was badly injured. They hadn't spotted any debris near her ship, from her alleged attackers, so she must have drifted for quite a while before they had picked her up - This would be a hell of a patch job.
"As for piracy, well..." Not-Kaya allowed herself to flash a grin of bared, feline fangs. "Uncle Carn's a hell of a fighter. You're lucky you ain't a pirate." Distracting attention from herself onto Father would be useful to make herself appear as less of a threat. She felt a pang of guilt - probably influence from the real Kaya - about setting him up as a target, but odds are she could protect him if it came to a fight.
"My dad taught me some doctor stuff, do you want me to help you with your cuts?" She made the offer innocently, but there was a little bit of genuine concern. Antero was not a medic. If Saka was to live, it was entirely possible that Not-Kaya might have to show off her abilities as, well, a genius. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. With Scio Kio hunting her, a conspicuous display was her nemesis.
"Oh, this is Uncle Carn's transport ship. I think he got it from a military surplus shipyard or somethin'." Not-Kaya hopped up on the counter and crossed her legs under her, tilting her head curiously. Playing the little girl's body language was easy; The real Kaya had as much influence over her mannerisms as Not-Kaya herself allowed, so picking up the girl's traits was easy. " He usually ferries people between the two Tara systems, but the people there don't like to visit each other anymore, so he's been taking passengers through the gates to other planets. Anyway, that sucks about your banishment or whatever." Tactless, she thought sourly, but it seems like something Kaya would say.
Saka was badly injured. They hadn't spotted any debris near her ship, from her alleged attackers, so she must have drifted for quite a while before they had picked her up - This would be a hell of a patch job.
"As for piracy, well..." Not-Kaya allowed herself to flash a grin of bared, feline fangs. "Uncle Carn's a hell of a fighter. You're lucky you ain't a pirate." Distracting attention from herself onto Father would be useful to make herself appear as less of a threat. She felt a pang of guilt - probably influence from the real Kaya - about setting him up as a target, but odds are she could protect him if it came to a fight.
"My dad taught me some doctor stuff, do you want me to help you with your cuts?" She made the offer innocently, but there was a little bit of genuine concern. Antero was not a medic. If Saka was to live, it was entirely possible that Not-Kaya might have to show off her abilities as, well, a genius. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. With Scio Kio hunting her, a conspicuous display was her nemesis.
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