Forums » Looking for RP » Life Beyond Duty (Space Sci-fi Adventure) (closed)

It was said that elves aged gracefully. But they still aged. In all his time as a star-naval captain, Xá’Taren had picked up on the signs and subtleties. Hair growing silver, fringe potentially receding into a widow’s peak for the males; increasingly gaunt-looking cheek bones; slight sagging to the chest and abdomen; a less lithe and energetic posture… the signs were all there. With all of his accumulated knowledge, Xá guessed that the Silver Star's black-haired quartermaster – Daraeus Fleiyr – was about middle-aged, likely half-way toward reaching the big 1000, which was a typical elven life expectancy. For now, such an age seemed ancient to Captain Xá’Taren. But one day, he would look back at his time serving with Master Fleiyr and see the elf as a mere child; at least if his occupation permitted it. Whilst it was true that Xá neither aged nor was expected to expire from such degradation, his job was such that it was a coin toss whether he would even reach Fleiyr’s age.

Taking position in his comfortable command chair, Xá brushed a furry hand over the armrest controls, getting a feel for the newly-crafted command console. It wasn’t hugely different from those he was used to from the past, but as expected from a state-of-the-art prototype vessel, there were some changes and updates. For the time being, he continued waiting for the bridge crew to assemble, so that this interesting new spaceship could finally uncouple from the stardock.

As expected, Fleiyr followed Xá’s lead and joined the fluffy Resurrected, sitting down upon the first officer’s chair. Though that seat was reserved for Commander Auraeus Prathelien’s use, as quartermaster, Fleiyr pretty much had the run of the ship. He was the one who was really in charge, after all. Xá was simply there to maintain order and co-ordinate tactical situations.

“I want to get one thing clear, Captain,” Quartermaster Fleiyr said sternly. “I will have no insubordination from you. This is my ship, and we will do things my way. Understood?”

“Yes Master,” Xá replied. He paused for a moment to stare at the starscape outside of the huge cockpit window that spanned much of the bridge’s walls. “Have you ever served with a Resurrected before, Master Fleiyr?” He followed up with after a few seconds.

A Resurrected was a member of a long-extinct species who was lab-grown by High Elven scientists from fossilised DNA. An element of genetic engineering was involved, primarily to erase reproductive capabilities and create compatibility for mandatory cybernetic implants that monitored the Resurrected and strengthened their internal organs to drastically reduce the chance of illness, as well as speed up injury recovery and provide regeneration. Xá’Taren was… well… a Xá’Taren. As the test subject for his species, he wasn’t given a particularly imaginative name. His species was chosen for the fact that it didn’t physically age, though Xá was pretty sure that the High Elves would determine it not worth creating more Xá’Taren Resurrected. Being ageless was well and good, but when the primary purpose of Resurrected was to serve in the military and provide an advantage in battle against the various other elven sub-races, the likelihood of dying of injuries was such that it made the ability rather useless.

“You are my first,” Fleiyr replied. “The last Captain I served with was a good friend of mine. He went down with my last ship – the Winged Glaive – when it was destroyed. We served together for fifty years. As such, I have very high standards.”

Though Resurrected had become commonplace in High Elf fleets, the majority of ships were still captained by elves. It was a simple fact that the cost of the process of creating a Resurrected outweighed the benefit of having too many of them. They mostly served specialised roles in problem sectors and conflict areas. Xá previously served in various defence fleets – most of which contained at least one Resurrected-led ship – before landing this position. To think he would be exploring distant stars never before visited by elvenkind… still he had to survive Fleiyr’s scrutiny first. Elven captains had a completely different relationship with their quartermasters than Resurrected. They worked together in harmony, the captain having a mild edge in superiority. Some quartermasters from such a background typically treated Resurrected captains as if they had the same authority. Others relished the opportunity to take command and treated the Resurrected as servants. The latter case was far more common, unfortunately; and just like all the other quartermasters Xá had served with, Fleiyr seemed to fit that category.

“Don’t worry Master, I won’t disappoint you,” Xá said with a beaming smile, trying to build a positive image for himself. That, and generally he was generally a cheerful furball regardless.

“Wipe that smile off your face,” Flaiyr chastised as he stood once more, vacating the seat to allow for Commander Prathelien’s approach. “This is a serious job. I’ve instructed Commander Prathelien to report any negligence to me, so I will know if you’ve not been performing your duties.”

And on that note, Flaiyr left the bridge.

Giving his first officer a nod as the brunet elven man took his seat, Xá stood and stepped forward, surveying the room. All of the seats were now taken. The Silver Star was ready to launch. Pointing forward with a heroic gesture, Xá cracked a confident roguish smile of determination. Now was the fun part. “Alright, Lieutenant Aestyr, undock us from the station, get us to a safe distance and engage the Surf Drive!” He ordered, pacing closer to the helm and leaning on the back of the pilot’s chair. “Let’s ride the Webstream to the frontier!” He then skipped back to his seat and sat down like an eager child. “We got an adventure ahead of us, Commander,” he told his first officer as the helmsman began initiating the first stages of the instructions.

“Uh… we sure do, Captain,” Commander Prathelien said anxiously, taken aback by Xá’s eccentricity. No doubt he would be reporting this to Flaiyr, given he was essentially Xá’s handler and there to advise and steer the captain toward the quartermaster’s will. Still, Xá technically had rank superiority, and he honestly didn’t care about how Flaiyr would react to stories of his flamboyancy. That’s for future Xá to worry about.

Once the Silver Star was ready to jump, Xá crossed his legs and pointed forwards. “Let’s do this!”

And with that, The Silver Star blasted off into FTL.