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Post by aardvarklord on Apr 3, 2015 23:26:00 GMT -5
It had been a restless night for Lieutenant Commander Rena Thorne. Nightmares both of the past and of getting blown out of the sky wracked her the whole time... in the end she probably only had about four hours. Eventually, all too early, her alarm clock went off, jostling her awake and forcing her to rise. She postponed the agony of actually going down to her ship for a while, heading to the public showers, grabbing a quick breakfast, checking the "traffic reports" as some of the other navigators had come to call the combat density reports. However, even with her habit of rising early and prayers that her stomach would stop trying to lose its contents, it was time to meet the people she'd be spending the next several months of her life with, or maybe even the rest of it if luck wasn't on her side. After flagging down a small electric shuttle, she headed off to the docks. She'd always loved the sight of space stations, it was always so scenic, the sort of thing that made her want to grab a brush and start painting. The nebula in the background, the way the lights and shadows worked off of the massive shipyard, the occasional individual looking out the window at it all. It was always so beautiful. Of course, as her shuttle passed a group of rebel prisoners being ushered onto a transport ship, she reminded herself that not everything about space was beautiful. Shaking the firmly repressed memories back into repression, she brought her eyes back up as they approached her darling ship.
The Horizon was an absolutely gorgeous piece of machinery, even if people were assuring her that it was just a cheap machine made out of desperation. That may have been true, but it was her cheap act of desperation. Well, technically she supposed it was the Federation Navy's, but as far as she was concerned this craft might as well have belonged to her. Once let off, she began going on a walk-around of the ship. Innumerable things were being loaded on in preparation for its arrival, from fuel cells to warheads to a couple drone parts for trading, a healthy supply of scrap. Even though credits were still the official currency amongst the Galactic Federation and its allies, with the worlds in a state of disrepair scrap was still the most common method of exchange. Guess she'd have to figure something out in that regard. As she began supervising everything and making sure that they were getting all that they were supposed to, she noticed that none of the people going about this were actually members of her crew. Despite her diddling about, she still managed to get here before everyone. Then again, she always woke up early so... well, c'est la vie. Still, it gave her time to admire her glimmering ship with the big bold name HORIZON on the side and make sure that her baby would be up to snuff. Oh, how she couldn't wait to see her in action.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23 
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Post by Jackie on Apr 4, 2015 0:38:00 GMT -5
A non-Zoltan wouldn't have been able to tell Lily was nervous, save for if they took notice of her subtle fidgeting. Lacking a face made you awfully hard to read, and in this instant Lily was thankful for that particular quality of her people, she didn't want her shipmates first impressions of her to be that of a scared little girl with no stomach for fighting, or someone that would snap under pressure. The Zoltan was fresh from medic training, no prior battlefield experience, and here she was already being assigned to a ship. The Federation's dire need for bodies in their ships was no secret however, it just didn't really hit Lily hard until she'd been given her ship assignment and shipped out. Couple this with the subtle encouragement to write a will and suffice to say Lily wasn't exactly overflowing with confidence about what was to come in the coming months. She was however, excited for the adventure to come, which helped alleviate the dread and fear threatening to overwhelm her. One thing Lily was confident in was her medical experience. She'd already been working for a few years as a nurse in the civilian sector before joining up with the Federation, and had experienced the carnage first hand of what this war was doing to people. Only time would tell if she would be able to operate effectively when the lasers and missiles started flying though, till then Lily was left with a mind full of doubts and a non-existent stomach jammed with butterflies. And so the faintly glowing Zoltan would continue to ride along the turbo lift amongst the other Federation crewmen in silence, her mind preoccupied with dozens more concerns as she waited to reach her destination.
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A few minutes later Lily would disembark the elevator, suitcase rolling behind her as she made off to find the dock that held the ship she was to be living on for the next several months. It was one of those new destroyers the Federation had designed, not the most advanced piece of equipment in the fleet, rather meh actually from what she understood, but still a solid craft. Frankly, as long as it didn't crumple like it was made of paper and had a decent medbay on board, Lily was a happy lady. What will my shipmates be like though? Besides the nagging thought that they could be dead tomorrow, what the people she'd be serving with were like was one of the top concerns on her mind at that particular time. She was a professional, one prepared to do her job regardless of how salty or crass the crew was, but it would help immensely if they were people Lily could get along with. If they weren't... well, it was going to be a long few months...
After a bit more walking, Lily would eventually find the ship in question, her gaze coming to rest on the metal monstrosity that she'd be calling home for awhile. She had to admit, it was pretty impressive, maybe not as nice as some of her people's designs (in her opinion), but not shabby at all. Hopefully the inside was as nice as the outside, more so actually, as far as Lily was concerned the outside could look like complete shit if it kept them from dying horrible deaths. As she approached it, Lily became aware that the ship hadn't yet finished it's final preparations, the dock crew still loading the last of their supplies. It was then that the young Zoltan would spot the human woman she believed to be the Captain, her Captain..., or at least the woman matched the description in the file. Slowly Lily would make her way over, stopping a few feet short of the woman. If/when she turned to face Lily proper, the Zoltan would catch sight of her name badge, promptly saluting her before introducing herself. "Ensign Xeron reporting for duty ma'am." The woman would have likely noticed the area around the Zoltan's face seemed to brighten lightly any time she spoke, and that despite lacking a mouth, Lily's voice seemed to still resonate from her head. The Captain could also probably feel a very faint energy radiating off of her, nothing particularly strong and it wasn't even an unpleasant feeling, but it was noticeable none-the-less.
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Post by Stelpher on Apr 4, 2015 2:58:56 GMT -5
It was hard not to notice the large shifting form walking through the port. In fact, it was impossible not to notice it. It stood nearly 8 feet tall, a large shell of metallic substance. Lazerus did not care for the attention, but he had to wear the suit. If not then the people around him would start dropping like flies and he would surely be killed. That could not be allowed to happen. He did not hibernate for so many generations just to die here by these humans.
Lazerus had awoken from his slumber near the closing of the war, attracted to the large amounts of debris floating throughout space. However when he awoke, the galaxy was not like it once was. The humans had spread everywhere, and now he had to follow their rules to survive. Which mean't he couldn't just walk up to any old ship, strip it bare and eat it - he had to work to get his food now.
Now Lazerus was searching for a ship. He had been informed he could find work aboard it. Hopefully he would be paid in straight up scrap, although if he was paid in credits he could just trade them in for scrap. He had also been informed not to eat the ship or anything on-board which, while annoying, was not an entirely unreasonable request. Lazerus finally reached an intersection, but could not remember where to go next. He withdrew a smooth clear slate from his suit and placed his hand on it, carefully tapping a passerby with his spare arm. The look on the mans face was one of utter terror, as he made all manor of assumptions about Lazerus. Lazerus did not care, simply holding the clear slate as words began to appear on it.
"The ship known as HORIZON. Do you know where it is located?"
The man fumbled with his words for a moment, then pointed to the right.
"I-I think a ship by that name was down that way." He said, and then abruptly continued walking, likely uncomfortable in Lazerus' presence.
"Thanks is given." He wrote on his slate, before depositing it back into his suit and moving on.
The ship was finally visible to him, a somewhat large vessel at that. It wasn't anything amazing, but it was a decent craft and looked dependable. Lazerus slowly made his way towards it, his bulky form making it no easier for him. By the time he had reached the front, he noticed two individuals nearby. A human, possibly the captain, and a glowing green creature. Zoltan. That was the name that he withdrew from his memory. As he approached them, it would have been hard for them not to notice his hulking figure. Upon reaching them, he silently waited until the two had finished communicating, before withdrawing his slate once more.
"I am Lazerus. I seek work aboard your ship."
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Post by Sabess on Apr 4, 2015 7:03:33 GMT -5
A shiver shot through Terra, quickly followed by a fatigued yawn. Sleep was for the weak, she always said. This didn't prove to be the most healthy of beliefs, but regardless, she subscribed to it near religiously. Unfortunately, being collapsed face down onto a desk stripped down to your underwear has a way of being less than comfortable. Lifting her cute, bruised face from the hard metal, she took in her surroundings slowly, desperately trying to avoid passing out once again.
A comfortable, almost untouched bed lay proudly in her room, fit with various decorations and silk sheets, heavenly pillows and the like. Unfortunately, she'd owned the goddamn thing for a year and only ever used it for a few one night stands. All kinds of clothes were strewn about, clean and dirty alike. Magnificent paintings were skewed, royal furniture broken. Yet, in this expensive shit hole of a home, there was a few things kept tidy. The metal behemoth of a table in-front of her was lined with various weapons, armours and scrap, all organised into various piles. Half built pistols, a rifle missing it's stock, a greasy cloth lying atop it in one pile, whilst a masterfully forged over-sized machine gun sat in another and so on.
The bathroom behind her was carefully lined with various cosmetics, though many of them seemed unused. A grand shower, fit with beautiful curtains and water that always seemed like a perfect temperature. The recent war had made Terra quite wealthy, even if most of it did go to waste.
Feeling a lot less ready to pass out, she turned her thoughts to the day ahead. New crew, new ship, new adventure. She had been informed days before that she was to take on a role operating the shield systems as well as dealing with any pesky little intruders. She knew a lot more about the latter than the former, but hey, she could still do it without too much trouble.
Rising to her feet only punished her, the cold apartment floor unforgiving against her bare soles. Hurrying over to her luxurious shower, she was soon disrobed, cleaned, dried and dressed once more, in rather formal, professional attire. This look was completely ruined by her soon donning an over-sized deep brown winter coat, with matching boots and gloves. Returning to her mirror, she retrieved her regal makeup and promptly slapped it on, clearly half-assed. Refusing to go through the annoyance of covering her fresh bruises and visible cuts, she simply slapped on a few band-aids and shrugged it off.
Glancing at the clock, a wave of embarrassment flew through the young soldier, realising there was no goddamn way in hell that she was making it in time.
She hurried back to her desk, snatching up a utility belt fit with a holster before slipping a rather simple sidearm into it. Crouching down, she fiddled with something for but a moment, before pulling two gigantic jet black cases out from under her workstation, flipping them both open. She carefully took her more prized possession - a goddamn ballistic light machine gun- and cradled it for a moment before fitting it inside one of the containers, ammo soon following. The other didn't have room for a ridiculously big weapon, instead housing a stupid amount of weapons. Throwing a few more sidearms and various knives into it, she soon had both the boxes locked and ready to go, unable to bring her hands past her waist as she carried them. She turned to head out, before remembering that being tackled by the authorities wasn't particularly enjoyable, adorning a distinctive badge hanging from a chain, showing that she was allowed to transport the stupid amount of weaponry she had.
Flying out the door, she piled into a cramped shuttle, thoroughly intimidating the poor civilians. Stepping off at the docks, it wasn't long until she saw the metallic behemoth standing proud next to the two much smaller women. She was anything but nervous, an air of sickening confidence ready to follow her wherever she may go. Approaching slowly, she waited patiently until they were done chatting about anything they may be, before unceremoniously releasing her grip on the two cases, radiating a loud *thud* and leaving an almost noticeable dent on the station flooring. "Hi! I'm Terra!" She cheered, eyes shimmering with excitement.
((I can understand the issues with having a goddamn lmg and that many weapons, and I will make her conveniently lose some of it at some point, and "some of it" can include the LMG if requested. In addition, about half of this post is a rewrite seeing as I accidentally deleted it, so it's probably fucking shit and that annoys me more than it annoys you.))
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Post by aardvarklord on Apr 4, 2015 18:56:27 GMT -5
Everything was looking to be in order. Above all they had an abundance of fuel coming aboard, a healthy number of missiles, a bit of scrap likely intended for fuel money, and someone had even sent them some drone parts. She'd questioned that, but hey--worst came to worst they could just sell it for scrap. The numbers were all lining up on her PDA, so she supposed all was well. She'd probably need to test the weapon systems a little though, and the shields just to make sure that they were functional, but that was something that everyone needed to do. So, yeah, they would be set to fly shortly... assuming her crew arrived. She was still sweating a little, but otherwise she'd managed to keep the nervousness out of her expressions--thank goodness, she didn't want her crew to think that she was some fresh-faced newcomer to combat. She'd seen her share, though never at the helm, nor even as XO now that she thought about it.
As her thoughts were roaming back to where her crew might be, she felt her hair prickling a little and the area around her glowing. That had to be a zoltan. Turning towards the source of the light, she would see to her delight a clearly military-trained female of that race, or at least based on her mannerisms. While Rena kept her expression flat, she was pleased with the decorum, and promptly saluted back, "You're the medical officer I was told I'd be getting, right?" Assuming the response was positive, she'd then continue with a thin smile, "Well, welcome aboard, I'm Lieutenant Commander Thorne. Look forward to working with you, Miss Xeron." Truth be told, Rena always liked the zoltans, their lack of facial features was a little distracting, but as people they seemed to be decent sorts. She wasn't a xenophobe like some people, though she certainly had issues with some races just due to their tendencies--but so long as the individual was fine.
That said, at about that moment she saw the next of her crew members enter and it actually made her eyes open up in shock. When she'd originally seen the roster, she had to do a double-take and ask the personnel officer if it was some kind of joke. But indeed, here in the hallway was one of the legendary lanius, calmly waiting for her to get around to him... her... it. Regaining her composure, she turned to the zoltan and said calmly, "Go ahead and start getting yourself situated aboard, ensign. We'll probably all have a nice talk before taking off but until then just stay on or near the ship." With that, she then headed to meet with the creature... machine... she'd need to talk with this thing about how it wanted to be addressed. It was prompt and polite, if nothing else, immediately providing a slate showing its orders and stating that it desired to come aboard the ship. "Yes, so I've been told... Lazerus is it?" she asked as she gave the slate a good once over. To be honest, she probably looked a little off-put by him, she'd heard of all the rumors about what they could do and how they ate metal. That said, she was still trying to keep herself calm and business-like, and she thought she succeeded well enough. Eventually she looked back at him and handed the slate back. "Well, everything checks out. I'll admit, I've never met one of your kind before, but I look forward to working with you. We'll discuss finer details once everyone and everything's aboard."
Once the machine was done speaking, whether or not he actually had anything more to say afterwards (in which case she'd give him her undivided attention), she'd look up just in time to see probably the most grimy sailor she'd seen since capturing that pirate vessel. Well, guess the Horizon's mercenary had arrived... and judging by the size of those bags she was either a combat specialist or a mechanic... or both. After bidding the lanius farewell, she would be somewhat taken off-guard by the sudden enthusiasm, actually jumping a little at the sound of the cases slamming to the floor. Wow... this girl was happy to be in this mission. Well, she was either brave, stupid, experienced, or a combination of the previous... hopefully the last one. Saluting to her, Rena responded as normally as she could manage, "You seem excited. I take it this isn't your first rodeo?" After her response, she'd respond with a barely repressed smile, "Well, go ahead and bring yourself and your stuff on board. Once everyone situated we'll all sit down to get to know one another."
The ship itself was pretty standard on the inside, not much in the way of luxuries, though at least a little was done to alleviate such things. Besides the vital rooms such as shields, weapons, engines, etc. there was a small lounge room which seemed intended to double as a cafeteria and general recreation room with assorted entertainment for the long journey. The washroom and shower placed off to the side of that, complete with two sizes of shower to accommodate both human-sized creatures and things like rockmen. Lazerus might feel a little claustrophobic in the smaller halls, but it was all at least made to accommodate races of larger persusasions. There was also a bunk room for everyone to share, which had a fair amount of space and was designed to turn two bunks into one large one, again for the bigger things, and had under-bunk drawers for personal effects. Rena had her own room, but before anyone got too up in arms, her space was actually smaller than that provided by the already cramped bunkroom--she just needed a space for a desk; she might as well have been in a submarine. Actually, the whole ship seemed rather submarine-like, the luxury rooms appropriately large but the other bits actually somewhat compact, though still with space enough to move without tripping over oneself. This was largely a defensive design, both in terms of boarders and actual ship integrity. This thing was a brick, more armor than one would have ever guessed from looking at it. There were also some other rooms left empty in case they wanted to upgrade the ship--in fact Rena had been encouraged to do so. She was thinking a cloak would be high on the list of priorities; those were always nice, though a cloning room was right up there too.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Apr 4, 2015 22:33:30 GMT -5
Liala would clasp her hands together behind her back when Lieutenant Commander Thorne returned her salute with one of her own before replying. "You're the medical officer I was told I'd be getting, right?" The human would ask, promptly getting a nod from the young Zoltan. "Yes ma'am. Liala Xeron is my full name, but I often go by Lily, you can refer to me however you please of course." Lily was aware that not everyone ran their ship the same, some officers were very 'by the book' while others were surprisingly mild as far as recognition of rank and general formalities went, Liala was prepared for either of course, she had no problems with either style, but just to be on the safe side she would show the Lieutenant Commander all the respect she was due in a formal manner until told she could do otherwise. "Well, welcome aboard, I'm Lieutenant Commander Thorne. Look forward to working with you, Miss Xeron." If Liala had a mouth, it would have been curved into a smile by the polite response, at least their CO seemed the courteous sort. "And I you ma'am. Hopefully my skills won't be needed to often though." This would be followed by a light hearted giggle, though in all seriousness Liala sincerely hoped her skills wouldn't need to be put to the test too often, she was confident in her training but was dreading the time when it would actually need to be put to use. Hopefully Lieutenant Commander Thorne would be as good at keeping them out of harms way as Lily hoped, but even she could only do so much if Command decided to send them into the lion's den.
Before anymore pleasantries could be exchanged however, Liala noticed the Lieutenant Commander's eyes widen in shock as they fell on something behind her, and upon turning a bit, the Zoltan would see why... A Lanius?!?! The sight of the creature was enough to make the young woman take a few steps back, hurriedly grabbing her suitcase as she did so. Certainly this creature wasn't intended to be a part of the crew was it? Not that the Zoltan had anything against them personally but... well... they were just so... odd, creepy even, and the presence of this one so close, suited or not, was a bit unnerving, fortunately one wouldn't have been really able to tell given her lack of a face. Lily had absolutely no clue how to tend to a Lanius, she'd had extensive practice/knowledge on her own people and the Engi already, and her medic training had covered Humans, Mantis, Rockmen, and even a little on the Crystal, but she knew nothing about Lanius biology, in fact this was the first time she'd ever seen one in person, though it was wearing a special suit of some kind, no doubt to stop itself from sucking all the oxygen from the immediate area, something the Zoltan was thankful for. Before Lily could gawk much more however, Lieutenant Commander Thorne had addressed her once more. "Go ahead and start getting yourself situated aboard, ensign. We'll probably all have a nice talk before taking off but until then just stay on or near the ship." Liala's head would turn to face her before going back to the Lanius briefly, then back to her. "Uhh, y-yes ma'am, understood." With that, the young Zoltan would take hold of the handle of her suitcase and head for the ship, glancing over her shoulder back at the Lanius as she did so. This was going to be an interesting few months...
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After boarding the Horizon Liala would make her way to the crew quarters, a process made easy by the many signs leading the way to the many rooms and facilities aboard the ship. After finding a bed in the corner, Lily would set her suitcase down upon it before having a seat on the mattress. Pretty soft really, or at least more so than what she'd had to get used to at the Academy, plenty of space for her rather small frame too. After sitting for several minutes and just getting a feel for her new bed, Liala would eventually get to her feet and leave the crew quarters, intent on exploring the rest of the ship and finding the medbay. As her little self guided tour got underway, the young woman would be rather impressed by what all was present, then again she'd had rather low expectations given how fast these ships were meant to be built. A cozy little lounge which seemed to double as the cafeteria, an adjacent washroom and communal shower, fortunately Lily had already had to get used to bathing in the presence of others at the Academy, modesty wasn't something you could cling to in the military... Besides, she was the medical officer, sooner or later she'd likely end up seeing most everyone on board naked anyways, if only for the regularly scheduled physicals the Federation required them to take.
After departing the cleaning facilities, Liala would stop by a few of the main system rooms before eventually concluding her little tour at the medbay. As the doors slid open and the Zoltan entered, she'd be met with a freshly cleaned lab and state of the art equipment, some of which made her want to squeal with delight. Wasting no time, the girl would go forth to examine what all she had to work with, which admittedly was much better than the equipment they'd had to use back at the Academy. A few stasis chambers and standard hospital style beds, electromicroscope, a full surgery and quarantine suite, monitoring/bio-sensor equipment, the list went on and on, not to mention the storage areas were full with all sorts of medical supplies. "I can definitely work with this." Liala would mutter to herself as she examined all of her new toys and started to familiarize herself with her new medbay.
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Post by Stelpher on Apr 5, 2015 5:37:04 GMT -5
"Well, everything checks out. I'll admit, I've never met one of your kind before, but I look forward to working with you. We'll discuss finer details once everyone and everything's aboard."
Lazerus let out a low thrumming noise, before changing the text on his data slate.
"Shock. Fear. Suspicion. Smaller creatures do not understand and so fear us. Misjudged. Confused..."
The message may have been odd to most, but if the commander understood the feelings behind it, that would be good enough. Before Lazerus could enter the ship, another individual turned up - a short female human. She carried to comically large metal cases, dropping them at her feet with a heavy thud. More than the woman herself, the cases caught his interest. However he didn't stick around for their conversation, instead heading inside the ship.
Following the signs when possible, Lazerus soon found himself in the Armaments Control room. After manually sealing and locking each door, he disengaged his suit. Releasing a high pitched wine of relief, he rolled his shoulders. His spines felt much more relaxed, free of the immense weight. He quickly made his way over to the main computer, interfacing with it.
A Pulse Laser. An age-old but incredibly efficient weapon, and a standard issue missile launcher. While nothing impressive, these would suit Lazerus fine. After running a few quick diagnostics, he withdrew his arm from the terminal and moved back to the suit. It was time to have a look around the rest of the ship.
Lazerus only quickly examined the living quarters, as they were unnecessary for him. All other sections of the ship were empty with the exception of the Medbay.
Zoltan...
He entered, mainly ignoring the green creature and instead looking at the equipment. The creature seemed to dull a bit in colour at his presence, likely in shock or fear. It did not matter to him. The equipment itself was not suited to his body, but it could be modified to heal him a decent amount. Not as efficient as one on a Lanius ship, but if they ever encountered a hostile Lanius vessel he could simply take equipment from it. Until then this would have to do. He withdrew his slate again, turning to the Zoltan.
"'Engi' and 'Rockmen' share some biological similarities with my own people. If able to treat them, you may also be able to treat me."
If she inquired about anything else, he would answer accordingly then swiftly depart. He returned to the crew quarters, where he then sat immobile, waiting for the others to assemble. Then they would all be able to commune before their departure. With one last thrumming sound, Lazerus thought to himself.
'Hunger.'
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Post by Sabess on Apr 5, 2015 10:22:15 GMT -5
Not receiving her expected friendly shake, Terra switched to an awkward salute, surely unpracticed. She stopped herself from dwelling on the immediate worry of her new captain being as a hard-ass, shrugging it off with a stupid grin. Returning to her cases, she gave a cocksure nod at the query, "This'll be my... fifth major voyage!" she gleefully informed, heaving her cases off of the marred flooring. "Sounds good to me!" she declared upon hearing her new commander out, shuffling into her new home without any hint of hesitation, giving a final glance behind her, silly smirk still plastered over her face.
Quickly marching through the considerably tall halls, Terra found the size excessive, or, at least for her. After all, she only stood at a rough 5'8. Before long she found herself at the, unsurprisingly, cramped quarters of the crew. Sliding open a drawer, she swiftly discovered that fitting even a few of her possessions inside would be less than ideal. She set her cases down upon the least comfortable looking mattress she could find. Sure enough, she had no intention to actually use it, unless she somehow got some private time and a willing partner. She made a mental note to snatch up a spare room if the captain allowed it, not particularly fond of cleaning her assortment of 'tools' on a cheap bunker bed, nor was she fond of storing them there. Fiddling with the lock on one of her containers, she didn't hesitate to find a packet of cheap cigarettes and a lighter stashed away, hoping to 'commandeer' somewhere on the ship to make use of the items, pocketing them. Impatiently spinning around, she embarked on a self-service tour of the vessel.
It wasn't long before she passed what seemed to be a sort of common room, popping her head in curiously, scanning the area. Admiring the substantial level of quality for a moment, her interest rapidly dwindled, giving a short shrug. Discovering the shield room, she waltzed inside, grinning at the equipment in-front of her. Working shield systems may not of been her strongest talent, but she knew a sterling setup when she saw one. Strolling beside it, her fingertips glided along the various monitors and controls, coaxing a satisfied sigh from the girl. Plopping down upon the chair provided, she begun tinkering with various switches and sliders, taking great care not to actually power up the bloody things. They weren't pricey, but nevertheless, they were impressive.
Content with how things appeared to be, the appeased mercenary set out anew, thrilled to discover what secrets the ship held. Immediately remembering she didn't really care, she promptly made her way back to her quarters, flashing a cheerful smile to the hulking mass of metal that now rested there. "Heeey there big guy!" She exclaimed, hands placing themselves upon her hips. The creature took out some kind of transparent slate, words slowly scrawling across it's length.
"Greetings Human."
"Sooo, what's your name?" She inquired.
"Lazerus." It read, the text wiped and replaced.
"Cool! Name's Terra, pleased to meet'cha." She responded, extending an open hand enthusiastically.
"Terra. Noted." Lazerus mirrored the gesture, hand outstretch, palm facing towards Terra's
Raising an eyebrow and repressing an amused giggle, Terra met the lanius's hand, shaking it awkwardly.
"Sooo, what's your role here?" She questioned, releasing the alien's hand. Lazerus made no attempt to return the gesture, the text changing once more.
"I use to control a Lanius ships weapon systems. I shall now do the same here."
It stated simply.
"Nice! I'm here to throw out any unwanted visitors and make sure the shields don't implode!" She giggled, giving a friendly wave as she inched closer to the door. "I'm gonna check one last thing, be back later, probably." She estimated, spinning on her heel and venturing out into the spacious halls.
Terra wondered about for a few minutes before finding precisely what she was looking for; a relatively small, but spacious room. Picturing a metal desk lined with weapons here, a simple yet comfortable chair there. "Perrrrfect." She whispered, making yet another mental note to beg Rena about her storage issues. Swiftly returning to the common area, Terra fell into a seat and kicked her feet up on the closest table, leaning back with a content sigh. Eyes fluttering, consciousness slipping, her thoughts turned to things she'd rather... not remind herself about, prompting the quick deployment of a cigarette, lighting it with haste. The room was soon lined with a thin layer of smoke, any newcomers surely able to notice it.
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Post by aardvarklord on Apr 5, 2015 17:30:36 GMT -5
Even if it was just basic interactions, Rena could already tell she was going to like Liala, though the girlish way that she acted told her just how young that this woman was. Granted, Rena wasn't exactly a wizened old woman either, but this girl couldn't have been much older than the minimum requirements to join the military. That, or she was just generally just a girly girl. Strange in that case that she would join the navy in such a time, but so long as she did her job and didn't cause problems Rena would have no issue. Not that she expected that to be the case; zoltans were many things, but natural troublemakers wasn't on the list, at least in her experience. She bid the girl a farewell and forced a thin smile, hoping that she wasn't too spooked by the lanius... though honestly she wouldn't be shocked.
Rena was definitely concerned about that thing--again she didn't know enough about them to really feel truly comfortable having one on her ship. That said, when it began explaining itself somewhat cryptically through the tablet, particularly through the phrase "Smaller creatures do not understand and so fear us," she at least understood where it was coming from, or at least claiming to. Likely this was just an individual trying to take care of its needs just like any other person and was trying to do what it could. She could respect that--so long as it respected the rules of the ship and did its job well, she'd probably warm up to him... hopefully. At least he wasn't a mantis. "Well, hopefully we'll come to an understanding." Before she could say anything else, the creature was gone... well, manners weren't perfect, but then again what could she expect?
And then came Terra... oh it was embarrassing. Truthfully, this wasn't Rena's first outing, she'd gone on a few other excursions before, always as an engine control officer but at least she had some combat under her belt. But... for someone so clearly informal and irreverent to have more experience than her was undoubtedly going to cause issues. The lanius she was giving a pass on such things since it was probably brand new to the society, but this woman likely had time to at least practice a halfway decent salute. But instead she seemed more interested in having a jolly good time and being generally silly. Oh, this could definitely be a problem. Still, she was being nice now, so Rena returned the favor with a polite, "See you on board."
After her core crew members were aboard, she let out a long sigh and wiped her hand down her face with exasperation. Ugh, she was coming off like a humorless, emotionless bitch. Why couldn't she have been given more time to train or prepare for this? She wasn't ready! She didn't know how to lead a ship, she was just going off of what her last captain had been like, and he wasn't exactly war hero material. She could give orders, sure, but any damn fool could give orders. Didn't mean they knew what they were doing. Letting out another sigh, she shook her head and returned to overseeing the loading of the ship. There were no other crew members scheduled to join, but the brass had warned her they might slap her with someone last moment, even showed her the proper papers if such a thing would happen. Hopefully that wouldn't, this would be a colorful crew anyways, and part of her suspected that they might wind up just hiring people on at some point if they found themselves lacking.
Eventually the ship would be loaded save for the fuel cells, which could be done by automation rather than any crew, so she went ahead and boarded the Horizon. Initially she just went to her little broom closet of a cabin and quickly wrote up a simple paragraph long report... more of a journal entry actually. It was something she'd gotten into the habit of in her previous ships, and she'd found it therapeutic, especially when she was stressed out. She'd probably be making a lot of these. Eventually though, she decided that it was probably time to talk with her crew, get things nice and properly organized. Reaching over to the intercom, which came on with a soft *ding ding,* she calmly stated, "All hands to the crew lounge for briefing." Well, that would have to work. After taking a deep breath and using a rag in her pocket to wipe the growing layer of sweat off her brow, she went ahead and joined everyone in the lounge.
She had to admit, she liked the place. It seemed nice, even with the bizarrely out of place lanius taking up a bit of her attention. Actually, it looked like Terra and Lazerus were already here, maybe they were getting to know one another. Good, that'd be... good. God, she was sweating again--she'd been hoping that she'd be able to keep composed around her crew, but this was her chance to make a proper first impression, greetings aside. She probably arrived after Liala, but if the zoltan was held up she'd wait for her before getting started, pulling up a chair of her own to sit down in. Once everyone was present though, she'd go ahead and get the meeting started. How to begin... "So, I just wanted to lay down the situation, so that we're all on the same page,[/color]" she stated slowly, still trying to seem composed and dignified, but leaning back in her chair to at least attempt to seem relaxed (even though she felt as high-strung as a cat), "I know we all met outside, but we'll have to live with each other for a while, so we best get used to each other. Proper introductions first I suppose, since I don't know how well everyone met. I'll go first. I'm Rena Thorne, and when we're not working I don't particularly care what you call me. Rena, Commander, Skipper, I'm not picky." Truthfully, she actually took pride in being called a commander or captain, even if she wasn't comfortable with her skills it brought pride to know that was her position. However, she wanted to be able to socialize with everyone, so she knew that it would be best to just keep things at least a little informal. She wanted to be respected as the boss, but she knew that people could only stand being around their boss for so long. After that she'd gesture to the person to her left to introduce themselves again, just to make sure that everyone knew each other.
After that, she straightened up in her chair and leaned forward a bit, folding her hands in front of her as she looked to everyone. "Thank you," she said to whoever spoke last before looking towards them all, looking out on them all. "So... I'll be honest with you folks, I've never commanded a ship," she began, speaking with as much calmness and dignity as she could manage, which was a fair bit actually, "I oversaw some defensive emplacements on a colony during the Rebel blitz and I served as an engine officer on the cruisers Calliope and Janoušek, but this is my first time actually captaining a vessel. I intend to do my best, but uh... I ask that you be patient with me. When nothing needs doing, I'm not going to ride your asses or anything. I might ask you to remain in your station at times, but I'm not going to demand your stern attention. Also, don't worry about saluting me when I enter a room--I think we're few enough that I don't think the brass is going to peg us for lack of decorum." However, at that point she got serious, a little bit of confidence worked up as she approached the more important topics. "Now, that all said, when things get down to business, I expect my orders to be obeyed without question. When we have time, I'll be more than interested in listening to criticism and complaints, in fact I want them, but if we're in a pressure situation, my word is law. Also, I expect you all to obey the usual laws while aboard. No violence against crew members, sabotage, excessive noise unrelated to work, sleeping on the job, stealing, or any of that other nonsense. I'm not expecting you to do those, but it needs saying nonetheless and I expect you to be on good behavior. Am I understood?"
At that point, she suddenly felt as if a fair bit of weight was off her chest--she didn't know why, but she just felt terrified of her first address to the crew. She hoped and prayed that it came off properly... otherwise things could get ugly fast. Still, assuming there was no immediate issue with what she had to say, she went ahead and added with a frank expression, "Alright. Well, now that that's out of the way, if there's anything vital that you all feel needs saying, now's your chance to say it." Then, just as it looked like she was opening the floor, she quickly added somewhat nervously, "Though, if you're uncomfortable saying any of it in front of your crew, my door is open." And with that, the floor was clear for the others to speak.[/font]
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Apr 6, 2015 18:36:34 GMT -5
Liala was still in the middle of exploring her new work environment when she heard the doors to the medbay slide open behind her. The Zoltan would casually glance over her shoulder, only to dim a bit at the sight of the Lanius checking out some of her equipment. Call her paranoid, but being alone in the same room with the creature made a knot form in her stomach. She didn't feel in danger per-say, but at the same time Lily didn't feel particularly safe either. Regardless of her feelings, the young woman would turn to face him fully, maintaining her composure as he went about...whatever it was he was doing. The aforementioned knot would tighten however, when his attention settled on her, again the Zoltan thankful she had no face to give away her overall demeanor. Next thing she knew, it had produced a little slate and was using it to communicate with her, promptly informing her of it's biological similarities to Rockmen and Engi. Liala would look rather dumbfounded upon the creature for a few moments before finally mustering a rather feeble reply. "Uhh, a-alright then." This would be followed by an awkward silence, as she really had no idea what else to say, still thoroughly intimidated by the Lanius, enough so to override her innate curiosity of him anyway. When he was satisfied and took his leave, Lily would breathe a sigh of relief, her usual glow returning pretty quickly, at which point she'd get back to what she was doing before hand.
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It was only maybe 5 or so minutes later when a familiar voice came over the intercom, that of their commander ordering everyone to assemble in the lounge. Lily would promptly cut short whatever organizational task she'd been doing and leave the medbay, making for the lounge at a moderate pace. The Zoltan would arrive before Rena, immediately spotting the Lanius and a woman she'd yet to meet. Certainly there would be more crew than just the four of them? Then again, could she really be all that surprised that the Federation was running ships with barebones crews? Just one more obstacle they'd have to deal with she surmised, regarding the woman with a small wave and a 'Hello.' before having a seat on a chair nearby, hands folded neatly on her lap. Within moments, the Lieutenant Commander had joined them as well. What she went on to speak of didn't much surprise Lily, though that didn't stop her from being very thankful the topic was being covered before they departed, it helped to put her at ease. What didn't put her at ease was the revelation that this was Lieutenant Commander Thorne's first time commanding a ship, though this was offset partially by the knowledge that she was no stranger to combat, given the way Rena carried herself, Lily felt she was in good hands, even if they weren't the most experienced hands. What followed next was a rundown of her expectations of them, none of which Liala would have any trouble complying with. She'd always been the obedient type, and had absolutely no issues with recognizing authority and complying with it, not to mention an utter lack of any illegal vices. The Zoltan would reply to the end of the short speech with a nod as well as a simple 'Yes ma'am.'. Personally she had no questions at the time being, but Lily wouldn't have been surprised if she thought up some sometime down the line, the girl would cross that bridge when she came to it though.
Liala would take the open floor for a moment however, might as well introduce herself here and now, provided no one else wished to go first. The Zoltan would stand and clasp her hands behind her back before addressing everyone present. "My name is Liala Xeron, but my friends often refer to me as 'Lily', you are welcome to address me in whichever way you please of course. I was a practicing nurse on my homeworld for over 2 years before joining the medic corps, I mostly only ever dealt with my people, the Engi, and occasionally humans, but I am trained to render aid to Rockmen, Mantis, and even a little towards the Crystal. If you have any medical issues or concerns, please don't hesitate to come see me." With that Lily would have a seat once more.
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Post by Stelpher on Apr 7, 2015 0:27:28 GMT -5
Eventually, the young woman Lazerus had seen earlier appeared, quickly initiating conversation with him.
"Heeey there big guy!"
He withdraw his slate, replying.
"Greetings Human."
"Sooo, what's your name?" The girl asked, a curious look on her face.
"Lazerus." He responded simply.
She introduced herself as Terra, and raised her hand in some strange gesture. Lazerus mirrored it, and she grabbed his and shook it slightly, before releasing it. He was somewhat puzzled by the action, but before he could reflect on it, Terra had already began talking again.
"Sooo, what's your role here?"
With a swell of what could only be described as pride from the usually blank machine, although it would be impossible to notice, he replied.
"I use to control a Lanius ships weapon systems. I shall now do the same here."
"Nice! I'm here to throw out any unwanted visitors and make sure the shields don't implode!" She began to depart, waving her hand through the air. "I'm gonna check one last thing, be back later, probably."
Lazerus raised his hand into the air in response, lowering it as she left.
'Sanity is questionable. Easily excited. Interesting.' He thought to himself. before laying immobile once more.
Soon, the commanders voice could be heard over the ship-wide intercomm.
"All hands to the crew lounge for briefing."
The young woman, Terra, soon returned, lighting a cigarette and relaxing into a chair. Soon after, the Zoltan woman, who's name he could not remember, entered. Finally the commander entered. She gave a long speech about her past experiences in space, then spoke of the rules she expects to be followed. Then she opened up the conversation. When she was done, Lazerus jumped in. Unsure if using just a data slate would suffice for addressing multiple people, he interfaced with a nearby panel, connecting to the ships holographics system. Soon a small image of a woman appeared (sadly, he could not find any programs that would identify as male) in the center of the room, and began to speak.
"I am Lazerus. You may call me Lazerus. I have served on one ship previous to this, with my people very long ago, before you or your war. I went into hibernation when food became scarce. When i awoke, the galaxy belonged to people that weren't my own. No i must follow your rules. That is all, commander." He said, nodding to Rena, then moving back to his original position in the room.
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Post by Sabess on Apr 7, 2015 7:38:33 GMT -5
Terra released a troubled sigh as the announcement blared through the ship, slipping her feet off of the table in-front of her. Perking up but a moment later, she toked her cigarette deeply before smashing it into the table, glowing embers and ash pooling in a small heap. She flashed her usual ridiculous smile as her new crew shuffled in, giving them a cheerful wave each.
She was all ears to Rena, considering her words carefully. She had to... reconsider her initial impression. At any rate, she was a lot more friendly than expected... and also kind of cute, but Terra tried not to dwell on that too much. Particularly pleased with the line, . "Also, don't worry about saluting me when I enter a room--I think we're few enough that I don't think the brass is going to peg us for lack of decorum.", Terra presented her signature smile, suddenly content with her new commander, ignoring her lack of experience. First time for everything, right?
Shifting her attention over to the beast beside her, she was taken off guard by the sudden transparent entity in-front of her, completely failing to suppress a loud snicker at, "I am Lazerus. You may call me Lazerus.", noting the rest of his, or her, little introduction. The Lanius was bloody intimidating, but it seemed nice enough. Soon the realisation hit her that it was her turn to talk.
"Hey! I'm Terra!" She bellowed, ringing throughout the room. "I'm going to be your escort and your shield operator, god help you all. I shoot things that shouldn't be here, and I stop lasers from blowing us up. Simple enough!" She explained merrily. "I do have to talk to Rena in private foooor a little, won't take too much. Other than that, just don't jump in-front of my bullets and we'll be set!" She finished, beaming to the group.
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Post by aardvarklord on Apr 7, 2015 21:32:42 GMT -5
Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any obviously adverse reactions to her introduction and statements, if anything they were positive if Terra was anything to go off of. It was actually rather fascinating. She knew that she wasn't going to get much from Lilly other than the fact that there was a reaction, same went for the lanius, unless they decided to say something. In the end they didn't. Thankfully, they all were pretty thorough in their introductions, particularly Lily, though she had to admit that she had to try not to smile at the redundancy of Lazerus' introduction. And, as during their initial meeting, Rena had a pretty strong feeling the Terra was going to be a little trying, if only for her irreverence. Still, she was friendly enough, if all else failed she would make the boring times interesting. She just hoped that there wouldn't be conflicts thanks to her. Lily seemed like no issue, though Rena was worried about her lack of experience. As for Lazerus... well so long as they kept him fed it sounded like he'd be okay.
With that all said, it was interesting that Terra of all people would need to speak with her. Probably just about her equipment she supposed. Still, if that was all, then she had nothing to fear. "It's no issue. We'll chat when we're done here." With that she straightened up, a small smile as she felt a good chunk of the tension that had been eating her up melt away, taking in a deep breath of relief. "Well, beyond that... you probably know our mission. Patrol the sector, take care of any issues that crop up, and keep on the move. Not that you need warning, we'll probably wind up in combat, likely pirates for the most part since we won't be near the front. Still, we'll be careful. And who knows, if we're lucky we'll get out of this with a medal or two." With that, she patted her knees and got up with a grunt. Rolling her shoulders, she then looked to everyone before clapping her hands together with a thin smile. "Well everyone, that's all I wanted to say. You're dismissed. We'll be taking off within the hour. Terra, come with me to my cabin, we'll chat there." Assuming her shield operator obeyed, they'd go ahead to her tiny little broom closet of a 'cabin'.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Apr 8, 2015 16:56:18 GMT -5
Lily may have had a light laugh at the redundancy of the Lanius's introduction, had she still not been so put off by him. The blonde haired human didn't seem to share the Zoltan's concerns about the big creature, her own introduction rather flamboyant and upbeat, almost excessively so. Liala didn't much mind the woman's enthusiasm, so long as she knew when to keep herself under control all would be well she surmised. She was curious what the two humans needed to converse about, but seeing as it was none of her business, Lily would quickly forget about it. When everyone was dismissed, the Zoltan would raise from her seat and make for the crew quarters, wanting to take the little bit of time they had before take off to get her personal effects stored away, and perhaps head back to the medbay to reorganize the supplies within to fit her personal tastes.
(Sorry for lack of length, just trying to keep it moving.)
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Post by Stelpher on Apr 8, 2015 23:34:45 GMT -5
((Eh, ill just skip for now. Lazerus doesn't have anything to do or say at the moment, so ill just let you two get on to your conversation.))
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