Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by The Man Emperor
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Doruva Il'Kays Ao'shen




The shuttle from the Blackfang soon came into view of the Xuangzang. Just like the Blackfang itself, the shuttle was painted with shifting blue hues, with the symbol of the House of Aoshen straddled on the either side of the hull. The cockpit had dark filtering combined with a psychedelic shimmer pattern, making it difficult to look at the pilot's seat without getting feeling a little woozy after a little while. The shuttle quickly hailed the Xuangzang, with the deceptively human voice of Doruva himself requesting boarding clearance.

The locking mechanisms of the airlock clicked, indicating that the humble little vessel had docked with the freighter. White smoke hissed like a hundred serpents, heralding the arrival of the liaison within the freighter's hallowed corridors.

Thus he stepped in, taking on the form of a humanoid lizardman. He wore a black outfit with the seal of the House on his chest, and had a clean and professional look on him. Weirdly enough, Doruva had a shock of raven black hair on his head, though this was probably just by choice. He was flanked by a human bodyguard, which might come to a shock to some if they are not knowledgeable about those humans that the Aoshen Kanarusii had been so graceful to rescue from the hands of filthy pirates.

"Ah, right." Doruva gazed upon whoever was the first to greet him. "I am Doruva Il'Kays Aoshen, liaison representative of the Federation for this merry hand of rebels."

Flexing his gauntleted hands, Doruva shrugged. "You might feel the temptation to be very formal, but no need! I think we should all be friends. Right, Gabriel?"

Doruva, a scion of House Aoshen, addressed his bodyguard by the first name. It was quite obvious that this liaison is going to be a bubbly presence in the ship...

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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by vietmyke
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Gabriel Rivera


Gabriel wasn't entirely what to expect as the shuttle landed. He'd been given scant information on what exactly it was he was doing. Not that he needed much instruction- The Second Fangs acted largely independently. Their Aoshen Lords trusted that all of the Second Fangs' actions were taken to further the safety and prosperity of the House, and the Second Fangs never gave House Aoshen any reason to doubt their loyalty. Their exhange was a simple one, House Aoshen protected and provided for the village of Vera, ensured that all of its members were given proper education and a peaceful life, free from the stress of galactic conflict. In return, the humans of Vera trained the warriors of the Second Fangs to return the favor, ready to give their lives in the defense of House Aoshen, just as House Aoshen had done for them generations ago.

Gabriel had long distanced himself from the term 'human' ages ago. He might not have been a dragon, but he considered himself Kanarusii before he considered himself human. Humans were destructive, callous supremacists- or at least the Ascendancy was. Interesting, almost ironic, that if Gabriel had completed his training just a few years earlier, he might've been fighting these 'Star Marines', not helping them. More than one Second Fang had died when Master Doruva's team had been ambushed during the war. Though Gabriel's personal feelings towards them were not the lightest, Master Doruva had reminded Gabriel more than once that the children were victims of the Ascendancy as well. They were deadly, dangerous tools of war, but ultimately, they were just unfortunate tools- it was the Ascendancy that was pulling the trigger.

Still, Gabriel couldn't help but feel some measure of apprehension, unease, as they prepared to board a freighter that contained what would've been a ship full of deadly enemies a few years prior. Master Doruva didn't seem to share any such misgivings though, no, he seemed as cheerful as could be, as he almost always was. Exuberance was a perk of the Kanarusii's longevity, he recalled another Aoshen Lord telling him, unlike humans, Kanarusii lifespans exceeded theirs practically threefold. They literally had time to 'stop and smell the roses', as the human idiom went.

Gabriel perked up immediately as the shuttle shuddered to a stop. They'd landed. He snapped himself out of his thoughts immediately and stood. Time to meet these 'Star Marines' he'd heard so much about. Master Doruva stepped out of the airlock and onboard the Xuangzang, Gabriel trailing little more than a few feet behind him, an ash gray head of hair bobbing slightly, quickly stepping out from behind Doruva and taking a position a few feet off to his left and ahead of him. Even as Master Doruva met with the Xuangzang's representatives and introduced himself, Gabriel was scanning that area of the ship for potential threats, hidden corners that might hide a blade or rifle scope. Technically, everyone on board that ship was a potential threat- he had little knowledge on any of them save for their names and faces. Not everyone on the ship was a Star Marine, there were several older folk as well, likely crew of the freighter itself.

No one jumped at them, weapon in hand, no shots were fired, obvious attempts noted, so Gabriel reluctantly shifted to a more casual stance, allowing himself to stand up to his full height, and loosened his grip on the sheath of his weapon, allowing his hand to return to its resting place at his side. He didn't relax fully, but if this was all an elaborate trap, it hadn't been sprung.

"You might feel the temptation to be very formal, but no need! I think we should all be friends. Right, Gabriel?" Master Doruva said, finishing up his greeting- seemingly already aware of what Gabriel was doing as he called out to him. Gabriel grimaced slightly.

"Yes milord." Gabriel replied curtly, bowing his head slightly in Doruva's direction before turning to the rest of the welcoming party. He offered them a shorter, marginally less stiff bow."My name is Gabriel Rivera Aoshen. Thank you for welcoming us onto your ship."

Gabriel spoke with a thick Kanarusii accent, thicker than even Doruva's who at least had experience travelling to different cultures and observing different languages. Gabriel had no such luxury, and spent most of his life until this point well within Kanarusii space. His eyes flitted from one face to another constantly, his face was blank, but his eyes conveyed a combination of curiosity and suspicion at his surroundings.

"((I detect no immediate threats, Master Doruva.))" Gabriel reported quietly in Kanarusii, it seemed they were, for the moment, safe.

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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by jdh97
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Laurey Karlin and Jude Styles
Laurey wandered the halls, nose tingling and brain bathing in a bubble bath of Bliss. Getting high seemed an all too appropriate response to the earlier meeting. She had seen friends’ pain, Narvia’s tears, Aveyln’s outburst, and wanted to reach out to them, offer support, sympathy, an ear, a shoulder, even just a word. What had she done? Nothing.

Bliss it was then. There it was harder to think, harder to hate herself for what she did, or didn’t, for being different, useless, a robot.

Perhaps that last thought was portentous, for she ran into Jude not a second later.

Jude too, was wandering the halls seemingly aimlessly in response to the day's meeting. Instead of flooding their mind with drugs, Jude simply pumped music into them, but the cause was all the same-- guilt over not helping people in need. Jude was an outsider at best, not even really a part of the team. It wouldn't be appropriate to try and be a shoulder to cry on, or worse, an even bigger emotional burden. So, like always, they slinked off to listen to their old-timey music and be sad on their own time.

Or at least, that was the plan. But Jude, literally, ran into Laurey. The cyborg's sound processors were too full of music and self pity to notice the girl, it seemed. "Oh, s-sorry…" Jude's metallic voice croaked.

Laurey’s eyes went wide, then, after her brain caught up, her smile followed, “Nothing to be sorry about Judey. In fact, you’re just who I want to see. I needed to ask you something about,” she clinked her cybernetics with a nail, “how much do you have in your head?”

"Judey?" Jude asked, a bit caught up on suddenly being given a nickname. Even more shocking however, was Laurey's question to them. It was… very personal and invasive. But, then, Laurey was definitely the 'closest' to Jude, in terms of experience. She was a cyborg too. Obviously not as much of one, and Jude wasn't sure if it wasn't consensual… but whatever, questions like these were common. Jude answered plainly.

"Most of my brain is still intact. Around 70%, I think was what the surgeons said. No hormones or anything like that, though, which is probably not healthy, brain-wise. But I don't think they cared much about that… bastards." Jude said, scoffing and kicking at the ground a little with that last bit. "Did you… choose, to get your implants? Or, are you, like me?"

Laurey blinked, refocusing on Jude, or, perhaps, seeing them for the first time as a person with lived experience and not just a tool to be used to further her own understanding.

“Like you? Maybe I am,” she shrugged, “I didn’t get much choice, no, or, the choices you had weren’t ones you could live with. I couldn’t, at least. By that time they had so much over me… what’s a little flesh for metal for the ones you love, eh?

“That enough like you?”

Jude paused. If Laurey listened closely, she might have been able to hear the slight whir of a fan and processor. Jude took in her words and mulled them over. Such a particular focus was placed on the word 'love' Jude couldn't help but say it aloud. But then it stopped. There was no way to tell what was 'close enough' to a lived experience. They shrugged.

"I don't know. To others, we must be. I'm just you, but worse. Worse off, I guess. But you did it for others. Maybe I did too? I can't remember." Jude reasoned. There was another pause, as Jude tried once more in vain to remember. It was a forgone conclusion, as those neurons were dead. But they tried, and failed, once more. "I hope my parents are okay." They sighed. "Were those the people you did it for? A family?"

Laurey nodded, “Yes, my family. That might be the best word for them. I sometimes wonder if the other choice might have been kinder.” She blew out an explosive breath, “But that’s for the gods to know.”

And, somehow, it had come round to what Laurey had wanted to ask in the first place, mere minutes ago. It seemed so much longer. She felt almost guilty now, asking this, taking it for herself. Not enough to stop. “Do you ever lose time? Blanks in your day where you find yourself at C from A, and B is nowhere to be found, just... well... blank? Or is it just your past they took?” Or is it just me?

"Just the past. All of the chips and processors they put in help pick up the slack from what they took from my brain I think." Jude responded, matter-of-factly. "But I guess that isn't how it works for you. Just more proof that everyone's different, huh?" Jude shrugged again, a little more wistfully. It had been a long time since they talked this frankly about what had happened to them. Having someone else in a similar state seemed to help, even if they were still definitely uncomfortable with what the two were talking about.

“You guess correctly,” she mulled in the silence, “Sometimes I feel like I’m two separate people.”

An intercom message informed them that the envoys from the Kanarusian Federation would shortly be boarding. At this Laurey’s face perked up once more.

“I’ve never seen a Kanarusian in the flesh, shall we go then, Judey? Is Judey all right? I can always think of something better. Or maybe just, Jude?”

"Um, whatever you want to call me is fine as long as it has 'Jude' in it. That's probably not my full name, it could be Judie, or Judas, or Judith so… maybe people calling me different stuff will jog my memory?" Jude lied. They knew that wasn't how it worked… but something about having a nickname seemed nice. Like they were being accepted.

"A-anyways, yeah, let's head out and stuff."

“You got it Judey my man or maybe woman,” Laurey grinned. And thank you.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Conscripts
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Conscripts An Atom Trying to Understand Itself

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Alexander Kherol

The Last Ascendancy Commander


The Applause



People sometimes wondered how Alexander could keep such emotionless calm amidst danger and chaos. In response, the Grand Admiral would crack a joke or two with that same face they described. But it was uncomforting sometimes, especially being at the top, with all eyes on him looking to see what the genius would do next.

His first brush with that sort of expectation is the moment he stepped on the playing hall of the exhibition match with grandmaster Babir. The 11-year-old emerged from backstage with the pair of opaque glasses given to him by the organizer's CEO. Prompted to look intimidating and mysterious, the young Kherol crushed his contender in his first 17 games with the unpredictability of a creature beyond their comprehension. Now he walked into game 18 with the star of the event, the chess grandmaster from Korta; the two facing off in good old fashion classical chess: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves then 30 minutes for the remainder of the game, and 30 seconds addition for each move. It would be a very tiring experience for Alexander, who rarely had to go through the format before. But he was prepared regardless. He had his night's sleep, a good run through of the grandmaster's old games, and now as he approached his opponents, shook his tusk sat down readjusting his pieces, he kept his nerves under control and flow with the ticking clock besides him. And the game began with a loud clatter as the Babir started Alexander's clock.

Without hesitation, Alexander played the bishop and queen's pawn, otherwise legendarily recognized as the Queen's Gambit. This sudden deviation from his normal aggressive style of king's pawn openings went completely against Babir's expectations as all he had prepared from the first 17 games were thrown out the windows. He still had a huge reservoir of reply from years of studies, and he picked one to test the young prodigy. Alexander took little time with his openings, having already visualized the positions hundreds of times in his head. A few moves in and both sides emerged into the middlegame with no clear advantages.

However, the grandmaster already felt the unease on his shoulders, as he saw his own reflection in the motionless, emotionless Alexander. It was as if the boy's breathe disappeared the moment he put his palm on his cheek. He also took his time with his ingenuity. It was cold, unnerving and terrifying even, looking this kid in the eye, wondering if he was actually an android who probably had more emotions than he does, wondering if he's actually looking back, if he's actually calculating the game, or he's actually planning to strangle his opponents. He did all of them.

What followed was immediate suppression on Babir positions. Due to the nature of Babir's reply, one of his bishop's movements will be really negated, and in response, Alexander's innovation is to create an peculiar and innovative pawn structure to suppress other bishop as well. Babir gradually realized the significance of his opponent's intentions. Alexander was aware of Babir's flexibility with open attacks, so he forced the aging chess player into not only an extremely confined middle-game. He'd even do what was unthinkable - throwing away castling right and walked the king up out of possible bishop breakout checks, or even nonchalantly sacrificing minor pieces - to continue the movement suppression. Babir could feel the strangle tightening his noose, his pieces couldn't move anywhere meaningfully. Despite being superior in material, none of those were significant. He had no decent pawn break left; the other ones completely shatter his fortress. There were few good moves for the grandmaster.

Casually, as the noose was tightened, Alexander took his time improving his own pieces, getting them into positions. He was a lot more mobile, he had plenty of time on the clock, and his opponent couldn't meaningfully respond. The death blow did not come from any dramatic immortal sacrifices, or aggressive quick maneuvers across the board, but a gentle and stone-cold pawn push. Regardless of that pawn being taken or not, the queen would infiltrate and he's dead. He lost, there were no convincing otherwise. Babir slowly reached his hands for the clock. A loud clatter echoed the playing hall once again. It was move 56, Alexander's time sat at 50 minutes, while Babir at merely 10. He was annihilated by an 11-year-old, whose inhuman calculation and genius innovation crafted a masterpiece.

It was at this moment, that the Kortan grandmaster Babir Anchovisch, having beaten much more experienced opponents than Alexander, stood up from his chair, weakly smiled to the boy sitting across the table and gave him a round of applause. The claps was followed by hundreds others in the hall, complete in awe to the spectacular performance of this genius from Alexandria, who had just now reeled back to reality. He realized what he created, and to the thunderous applause of everyone including even his adversary, whom he had only viewed as such until now, he could only give one final handshake before hurrying off stage.

It was too much for him.

He walked to a hallway full of journalist ecstatic for a snapshot or a shameless question thrown his way. He didn't have the energy or charisma left to answer any of the 'how do you feel?' or 'did you calculate all of those moves?'. He desperately squeezed his ways into the bathroom nearby. Hunched over the sink, Alexander let out a nauseating pant. In front of this mirror, he was cold and frightening. His stomach churned; he ripped off his glasses and wiped the sweat off his brows in front of this incomprehensible creature. He did all of that. Those merciless play, the slow strangulation, the emotionless disconnect into the unearthly reality in his head.

It wasn't him pretending to be someone else he wasn't. It was him all along.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Sylvan
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Melinae Vandris




The Kanarusians... Her short time among them on this leg of her journey had taught her more about them than the, admittedly rather bare, dossier on them present in the Ascendancy of Mans files. After the journey she'd had over the past year, having disappeared once the Treaty was signed and certified, this was only a small blip on her radar. She'd spent the lions share of the favors and debts she'd garnered in her yeas of work just to get her there safely, and she'd had the unfortunate necessity of leaving a trail of bodies to get to this point as well, what with the Ascendancies love of assassination as a solution, and her guards, admittedly well-paid, loyalty to her. Eventually, though, she split ways with the last of her people and joined the kanarusian liaison on his ship for the last leg of her journey.

As her host for the most recent leg of her journey made his entrance and introduction, along with his bodyguard, Melinae went over her plan in her head. It was far too late to get cold feet, but she was also sick with nerves about meeting honest-to-god revolutionaries. She'd gotten into contact with Moonstrike One, and she knew she was officially allowed to be here, but... what if the crew didn't accept her presence? The Diplomatic Corps was, after all, the soft hand of the Ascendancy of Mans power, resting opposite the hardened fist that was the military, and could oppress just as, well, handily. Shaking off the nervous energy she was surrounding herself with, Melinae stood up, adjusted her jacket, and picked up her luggage before walking into the light of the ships hangar bay.

Keeping her gait confident and controlled, Melinae strode forwards, halting once she was standing abreast to the Federation Liaison. Adopting a respectful stance towards whoever had been sent as the greeting party, and waiting a moment to ensure Doruva and his guardian had finished their own, Melinae made her own introduction. "I am Melinae Vandris, formerly Diplomatic Envoy of the Ascendancy of Man to the Rau've Empire and author of the peace treaty. I hope to be of assistance to this crew and its mission, both with my skills and my knowledge."

Her statement made, Melinae stood, projecting an air of confidence and trustworthiness, awaiting the greeters response.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Letter Bee
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Natasha Zhang

From: A. Vernal
To: Cpt. N. Zheng
Subject: Something you should be aware of.
I’ve got a little personal problem that could potentially affect the crew as a whole in a pretty significant and unpleasant way. Meet me when you have a few minutes once the new guy is settled in. Bring Klein if you want to have him scanned, might as well get everything out of the way at once.


Natasha would have responded to this message with enthusiasm, if not for the fact that right now, she had less confidence in herself after how Joey, her 'part-time first mate', had called her out on her failures both past and present and the collateral damage she had handed out like candy. Once her rage at her friend's words had faded, her mood had plummeted to depression, though not to the point where she was tempted to deliberately ignore her duties. No, the temptation to just abandon her duties was there, but like heck she was going to abandon the crew which still had confidence in her despite her actions.

She will reward loyalty with loyalty, and so after a few seconds, she sent a message back to Avelyn:

From: Cpt. N. Zh*a*ng
To: A. Vernal
Re: Something you should be aware of.
Roger that. I'll meet you once I've greeted the new crew. Meet me in two to four hours, depending on how long it takes them to settle in.


The rendezvous was sooner than what she would have wanted, but no time to mope now - She had to see what her new crewmembers were like and what they brought into the table, not just skills-wise, but also to the 'team dynamic' which she realized she had taken advantage of more than she had fostered it. Yet another mistake which she could remedy once she had restored her confidence.




"Never knew a Kanarusian could be so charming - Guess Ascendancy propaganda was wrong in that regard too," Natasha said as she offered a hand to Doruva, saying, "Captain Natasha Zhang of the Xuanzang at your service. And yes, we are a 'merry band of rebels' - Although due to recent events, let's just say that the merriment is less merited than usual."

Noticing the young man walking beside Doruva - Gabriel Rivera Aoshen, right? - the Captain's next words were, "So, you adopted a Human into your House? That sounds like an interesting story - Can you tell me more about him?"

She looked at Gabriel and smiled a little, noticing that while he was too young for her - Barely legal in Ascendancy territory - He had a look of resolute determination in his handsome features that would have drawn her in if he were just a few years older. But right now, her feelings about that kid were merely curiosity: What sort of service and personal quality would have earned adoption into an Alien Noble House?

As for the Diplomat, Natasha suppressed a twinge of resentment towards what she felt was the ambassador's privileged position and said, "That treaty was a masterstroke if your goal was to drive an embedded needle of discontent inside the Ascendancy while breaking the Alien Coalition which could have crushed it. Now it falls to Moonstrike to make sure the needle actually does its job and the Ascendancy falls before the Coalition finds a reason to get back together and finish the job."

She then continued, "Either way, if you're willing to take the same risks the rest of this crew does and live the way we do, then then you're as much a part of our band as any other member - Including me."

Ashton and Flame

It was rare for them to see Kanarusians outside of the field of battle, much less to see a Noble and his adopted human bodyguard actually trying to be their friend. Okay, scratch that - Only the Noble wanted to be their friend, the adopted human bodyguard looked indifferent at best. It was Ashton who found the words to speak first, bowing to Doruva and Gabriel and saying as he rose, "Thank you, but, well, we don't deserve such courtesy. Not after what we've done."

Flame then stepped up to speak, "Mr. Doruva, Mr. Gabriel, it is best we get this out of the way - We participated in the Kanarusian Worlds Campaign. We were there for the bombardment of House Salakar's homeworld. We won't make any excuses for that, not when said excuses will insult the dead. All we ask is that we are allowed to redeem ourselves in this campaign, to make things right even in some small way."

He then looked at Gabriel and said, "Sorry for burning any prospective bridges between us, by the way. But far better for us to be plain with each other. Either way, yes, we're Star Marines - Ashton deals in infiltration and dueling enemy champions while I am a ranged specialist with a Perfected Electrum Bow which can amplify my magical shots to immensely lethal damage."

Then he finally addressed the ambassador, well, ex-ambassador, and said, "Did you ever address the Star Marines' plight when negotiating the more secret provisions of the treaty? We didn't see any repatriation officers trying to take us back from the Rau've when the latter decided to treat us with actual decency. What a shame, we would have given them a big 'F- You' if they had arrived..."

@Letter Bee@Th3King0fChaos@The Man Emperor@Landaus Five-One@FalloutJack@Conscripts@dragonpiece@Starlance@jdh97@Sylvan[@KafkaKomedy]@Vietmyke
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Th3King0fChaos
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Th3King0fChaos The Weird

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The Doctor & Nurse


In collaboration with: @dragonpiece



---After the conference---








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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by The Jest
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The Jest Professional Nice Guy

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@Letter Bee @Th3King0fChaos @The Man Emperor @Landaus Five-One @FalloutJack @Conscripts @dragonpiece @Starlance @jdh97 @Sylvan @Kafka Komedy @Vietmyke
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Conscripts
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Alexander Kherol

The Last Ascendancy Commander


Raising a Genius



“Mr. and Mrs. Kherol, I know the promise is a 15 years of service. 5 years in the Dragon’s Brigade, and 10 years in the home reserve army.” Said the man Kherol and Kotaro would call father, and for Kherol his second father. In front of him were his first father and mother, whom were obvious they didn’t want to have this conversation to begin with. “But from his time with us, we can say with complete candor that he is not only needed, but wanted, in our army. A man with a good heart and talent to back him up. Alexander already agreed to it, but I want to ask your permission as well, as his official guardian.”

“Look, I don’t want my child to mingle with those kind of people. I don’t care where you send him, just not up there.” Alexander’s father raised his voice for the first time since they came. He was alright with his trust on the governor as long as it was to keep him safe. But now the deal was not that anymore.

“I understand your concern, that’s why we’ll arrange a mentor for him.” Saxon gave the parent the profile of the man who would be giving Alexander pretty much all the guidance he needed for the next 2 years of his life. Faro Weinheber. A ‘retired’ Chief of Defense, now served as an instructor for young officers. A man almost with great grandkids already, but had a pretty impressive service record as well as respect (at least from the previous officer generation) and was still going. “The man has an impeccable character, I’m sure he will make sure young Kherol here would become a stellar officer.”

His father sighed, his breathe that he mustered so heavy Alexander could feel it from across the table. And he felt for him too. Accepting this would mean a lifetime of serious dedication in an extremely hostile environment. And it’s very possible that he’d also be forced to make difficult decisions, ones that could affect hundreds if not thousands of lives. Alexander was more than uncertain if he could handle such pressure, but here was his chance to change the world. He wasn’t ready to stop there. But for a parent, who wouldn’t want to be with their children, to see them safe, sound, happy, and successful.

“I don’t know, I still don’t think he should…” He sighed again before turning to his wife, Olivia, sitting right next to him. “Honey, what do you think?”

Olivia sat silent for a long moment. She wasn’t looking anywhere else but at her precious child in the eyes, or rather where she thought his eyes are behind the glasses. “Alexander said yes to this, yes?” She said softly. Both Alexander and Saxon nodded. “Then I don’t think I have much to say on the matter, do I? He knows what’s best for himself.”

Alexander was a bit perplexed. He wasn’t going to object to it, but he was surprised she’d greenlight it that easily. She wasn’t so keen on it the first time around, and it took an attempted kidnap and almost his entire hand for her to finally let him go. Perhaps she took something from that traumatizing incident.

“Great, then it’s settled.” Saxon closed the conversation and quickly packed up to leave. “I’ll be arranging some meetings with Faro, I’ll let you all know when it is time. You can stay with your family for a few days for a break.”




Those few days flew by like the breezing autumn wind. Not before long, the governor had the meeting date, time and location set, and that he’d have shuttles come over to escort him to it. Alexander enjoyed all what he could from those short days, but he didn’t know what else to be had other than just catching up with the years or have some meals together. Nobody had the mood to really do anything more than that.

Alexander already had his stuffs packed up, or rather he didn’t have much to unpack to begin with. He was wide awake before the sun got out of the comfort of its horizon, well-drilled by the military life. Like the fainting fog outside the windows, he could hear a distant sound of the piano being played from the living room. Olivia was the first person in mind. She liked calm piano music, and often put them on speakers as lullabies when he was a kid or just to make the house a lot like a home. But this time, the tune was noticeably heavier, something he never heard before.

Having nothing else to do, he left the comfort of his bed, got dressed for the trip and went out to the living room. And there was the white-haired woman, sitting there by a small electric piano that he never knew she had. Her hands floated through the keys, her fingers caressed them gently as they were her own children. Noticing her son around the corner, she turned her amethyst eyes over, but her melody continued like the voice of nature.

“It’s a little early dear. You don’t need to be up for another hour.” Olivia said.

“It’s just a routine.” Alexander replied, as she chuckled. She still hadn’t forgotten her Alex, one where she had to constantly remind to go to sleep at 3 AM, lest it affects his school performance, but never really stopped him. Once he got into the Prodigy Supplementary Program, it was never her concern anymore.

Alexander walked up to her by the piano and grabbed a chair nearby. “I never knew we have a piano.”

“I bought it last month. It’s just a cheap one from down the street. A big one would just crowd our apartment, and I wouldn’t play it that often anyway.” She said.

“Why didn’t you get one earlier?”

“I didn’t have time I guess?” She shrugged. “Only when you’re gone do I realize how boring life is. So I picked the piano up.”

“You’re very good though.” Alexander glanced over his mother’s hand movement. He knew nothing of music, but it was hard to believe that this was someone who learned the piano just a month ago.

“Well, I picked the piano up again actually.” Olivia continued to play. “I was in the school orchestra.”

“Did you have any solos?”

“I did, yeah.” Her voice picked up a little. “I think I have a copy somewhere on the bookshelf in my room. You can take them with you to the academy if you want.”

Alexander wasn’t interested in that yet though. “Why didn’t you play?” He asked.

The melody continued, but Olivia stayed silent. Her lips perched slightly, as her bright amethyst eyes stared blankly onto the piano.

“Grandmother didn’t let me.” She blurted out. “She didn’t think it was a viable career.”

“I guess…” Alexander said, unsure what else to say.

“I initially tried to go on, just to prove a point. But she forced me to go to university, and then…get married.” She continued. “When I have you, it’s pretty much over. Work began to flood my schedule, while you demand my lap like a little dog. So naturally I just forgot about the piano.”

Alexander was quite surprised to hear. He had met his grandmother a couple of times, and she did come off as an assertive person, but not to this extent. He wondered how much of the ‘get married’ part was forced on her, but he didn’t want to pry. He probably didn’t want to know either. But there was something else he wanted to know.

“…Is that why you’re ok with me doing this?”

Olivia looked up and at him in the eyes, this time directly with no cold layer of glass to quell his desire to know. The question came at her so unexpectedly, but it was not as intimidating as she would have imagined. Like mother, like son, his eyes were boundless, yet lively like the ever-expanding galaxy that surround and wrapped her into a warm embrace.

She expected nothing less from her little baby though. Barely a few notes were played and he already figured out the entire song.

“Mhm.” She only nodded, so slight he almost didn’t notice. “I wanted you to become the best of who you want to be,” Her voice trailed off weakly. “But you’re…just so beyond me, at such a young age even, that I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. That’s why I just let you fly free.”

Everything that happened. From grade skipping, the scholarships, the supplementary program, the academic competition, the chess tournaments and now his decision to go into officer training. Not only that, but even his times around the group of friends who had now all but dissolved into the river of life with only Melinae he could keep contact with, he was allowed the autonomy that normal parents would hesitate to give to their children. It was for that reason.

Normally, Alexander wouldn’t have much to say except praises for Olivia for her progressive thoughts to not become the parent his grandmother was. But at the same time, they were given a warning when he was eight about his preceding popularity. They were aware that the Ascendancy knew, but not only chose to not let him go initially, but also still let himself be himself. And now he’s on a path that they both didn’t want.

But then again, Olivia wasn’t prepared to be a mother either, especially to a once in a lifetime genius. Above the burdens and anxiety she inadvertently caused, above the dangers she neglected because she was scared it would impede him, she still tried her hardest to be better for him and because of him. He couldn’t have asked for more than that.

Gently, Alexander leaned in towards Olivia, and gave her a kiss on her forehead. That was much he could do for now.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Starlance
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Starlance

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The envoy as advertised, a bodyguard as expected, and a diplomat. With some measure of luck, at least two of the three would bring some thinking brains into the group. Avelyn wasted no time letting her mind wander, or rather letting their minds wander into hers, trying to gauge their new compatriots. But where was the complaining coming from? She turned toward the sound of an opening door, catching sight of one crew member who had recently climbed a few rungs on her shit list entering the room before turning back to face the delegates so her crewmates couldn’t see her rolling her eyes. When the self-professed first mate - one of three no less - mentioned a private talk with the two lovebirds, she couldn’t help but shoot them a look that screamed ‘I’m sorry for you two.’, made a bit worse by knowing he was right on that one: Mentioning that could’ve waited until they sat down or something.

The envoy was not what she expected. He might’ve been like that, or it might’ve been all a big show. She didn’t know and couldn’t readily verify. His thoughts were still alien to her and their language unknown to her, concealing their full meaning from her prying neurons. That feeling of uncertainty reminded her of her first interaction with an alien mind. A restrained Rau’Ve prisoner. First there was disbelief. Then terror. She shook her head to banish the uncomfortable past. Then the Gabriel guy whispered something in the language she didn’t understand. And while that might have been foreign to her, thoughts were a universal language. Alien ones could be a little confusing the first few times, but same-species brains always spoke the same dialect. She still didn’t know what he said, but at least his thoughts made it seem like he wouldn’t start stabbing people. “It’s widely considered impolite to whisper among yourselves in a language not all of your hosts might understand.” she joked with a friendly wave. “Sounds lovely though, you’ll have to teach me later.”

Then she had an idea. 50:50 good and absolutely idiotic, but to Hell with it, that wasn’t out of character for this crew. Avelyn turned to Melinae wearing a warm smile. “‘All you can eat’ he says. That’s coming from our rations after he cut them down ship-wide because one of us made a mistake. If you take care not to go overboard and leave some for the rest of us, you might win some hearts and minds. K-rats are terrible.” she spoke a slightly slurred Rau’Ve, watching for Joey’s reaction and hoping he didn’t speak that one, but not holding out much hope.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by FalloutJack
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NERO KAYAKOS


It was time for the gathering, but Nero hadn't been there, at first. He'd been running late, aaand it was entirely due to him being generally up to no good, specifically to the benefit of what he now viewed as his friends, the Star Marines who were a part of the crew.



He'd made an offer to several of them - in total secrecy and complete deniability - to hide the stuff they didn't wanna give up because of Joey's unfair edict. And with the help of Laurey's advice on getting around the vents of the ship, he had located several places that you would practically have to take apart ship sections to even find...or be generally gifted in teleportation. Good luck there. Finn was on HIS side about this, which meant anybody looking for contraband would be shit outta' luck. Nero had done this out of general dishonesty and sheer irritation for some dickhead telling him what for, when he had nothing to do with anything going on here with the money OR the station. The various snacks and stuff that he didn't want their uninvited authority getting their hands on were all in sealed cases, every one of them containing a note saying that 'If this isn't your shit, leave it alone. And if this is Joey, you take any of what ain't yours, and I'll gut you and space you in your sleep.'. He smiled at that one, half-tempted to just do it, anyway, especially if the bastard pissed him off later.

All that having been done - and it still DID take a while, despite his abilities - he would appear (late) for the arrival of Doruva. It'd be hard to tell when he'd appeared, given the fact that he did so under stealth. One minute, he hadn't been gathered, and in the next, there's Nero with his arms behind his head and a smirk on his face. He even began to whistle, 'cause he was bored after all that now. Gabriel wasn't gonna detect any hostility off of him, no. Some general sneakiness and flippancy, perhaps, but he had nothing against the old lizard. He just wouldn't be doing the guy any favors. Speaking of which, when Melinae came on board and introduced herself as a former diplomat for the Ascendancy, Nero was at first angry, but then a cheeky smile erupted and she heard thus from his direction.

"Good! We've got a fuckwit here that thinks we're still in the service! Why don't you get started with him?"

Jonny Albion would get no mercy from him. Nero gave no shits, and flashed the guy a savage grin if the guy looked his way. A joke at his expense would actually chill things out here. Of course, once the immediate pleasantries were over and he'd gone for public humiliation, Nero went to wandering, where he'd make sure that the lizardman and his bodyguard were on the up-and-up themselves before heading on over to overhear Avelyn talking with the diplomat lady. When she complained about Joey's edicts, Nero would slide in on Ave's line of sight while out of Melinae's and give off a smirk while giving off a 'Mission Accomplished' sign to indicate that actually...things were taken care of. He'd also stolen into a couple of places to make sure that there was something from everybody's stashes held back Joey Killjoy. From there, he joined in on the conversation with their new diplomat friend.

"Yeah, this guy waltzes in, declares himself first mate, and proceeds to bust all of our chops. Word to the wise: Ya don't piss off an elite group of magic soldiers. That's just fucking dumb."
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by vietmyke
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Gabriel Rivera



First impressions were everything: Gabriel was once told during his childhood, as he trained and was molded for his current station. Though it occurred to Gabriel just now that when he was told that, he didn't realize at the time that first impressions were a two way street. His first impressions of the humans aboard the Xuanzang were... less than stellar to say the least. The ship was a mess- unlike the clean and regulated corridors of the Confederacy's vessels. The Captain was polite and pandering on one hand and passive aggressive in the other, neither quality Gabriel was too fond of, better to be decisive and direct when in a position of leadership.

The two star marines- Ashton and Flame however, were the worst by far. Without so much as even telling him their names, they let him know that they were participated in the destruction and bombing of House Salakar. While Gabriel's face remained ever calm and impassive, he felt a twinge in a vein on his head, and his eyes narrowed. The ship's first mate tried to smooth things out as best he could, apologizing for their lack of tact. Gabriel looked at Doruva, muttering a pre-emptive apology in Kanasurii before turned back to them, and merely shrugged.

"I speak for myself in this:" He clarified coldly, his thick accent clouding his words slightly, "There is no need to apologize to me, for the burning of bridges that were never there in the first place. I'm sure your 'redemption' will do nothing for the billions of innocent lives lost on Salakar."

Gabe turned to a taller Star Marine- she was older than the other two, closer to his age. She had made a joke about it being rude to whisper in foreign languages. She at the very least seemed more mature and collected. While Gabriel wasn't too fond of the other two 'first mates', he forced himself to reconcile with the fact that the Star Marines weren't really given a choice in what they did, and that they all probably weren't that bad. He offered the red-headed Star Marine a small, wry smile.

"Its also considered impolite to eavesdrop on personal conversations." He countered, though the hard edge his voice had taken when talking to the other two had softened and was replaced with a more even tone. Gabriel raised an interested eyebrow as the redhead then went to explain why they- the diplomat, Master Doruva and himself were allowed access to the ship's kitchen, thanks to the Captain and her other two 'first mates'. The entire ship's rations were being cut due to the actions of a few of them apparently.

Another Star Marine appeared seemingly out of the woodwork to complain as well. Gabriel's face remained even and still, hiding some measure of surprise- one moment there was nothing, and then he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. At the very least an impressive display of smoke and mirror. It merely reinforced that the Star Marines were dangerous. At least some of them seemed to have their head on straight. Though the new Marine's comments on the first mate also brought some concerns to light as well.

"Correct me if I am misunderstanding the language," Gabriel murmured, "A member of leadership committed a mistake, and as a result the crew at large is punished?" Gabriel shot a look at the shuttle and sighed- it was already leaving and returning to its Kanasurii mothership. Too late for them to jump ship now. Gabriel resisted an urge to scoff. Such a thing would've never happened in a House Aoshen unit. House Aoshen knew how to inspire loyalty in their subordinates, the Second Fangs- inspiring loyalty was a basic lesson in leadership, and somehow it wasn't present on the Xuanzang. The crew were arguing, disrespecting authority, and contradicting each other all within the first 30 minutes they'd even boarded the ship.

"A failure in leadership weakens the organization as a whole. To punish the subordinate for the failings of their superior only inspires a lack of trust and loyalty." Gabriel stated bluntly before walking back over to Master Doruva.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by The Man Emperor
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Doruva Il'Kays Ao'shen




Flame then stepped up to speak, "Mr. Doruva, Mr. Gabriel, it is best we get this out of the way - We participated in the Kanarusian Worlds Campaign. We were there for the bombardment of House Salakar's homeworld. We won't make any excuses for that, not when said excuses will insult the dead. All we ask is that we are allowed to redeem ourselves in this campaign, to make things right even in some small way."


Doruva, at first, fell silent at the confession of the ginger boy. His cheerful disposition fell off, if only for but a moment, but
his mouth slowly creased into a smirk that could be interpreted in a hundred different ways. Was he silently fuming at them? Or
was he just taking it better than one might think? The latter seemed to be the case, if his expression was to be believed. Kanarusians were guileful shapeshifters, though, so they would still have a reputation of saying one thing while totally thinking of the opposite.

At least, he wasn't overtly furious.

"Such utter honesty from the get go... Doruva chuckled. "Oh, friends, no use in dwelling in the past, eh? Salakar is gone, its handful of survivors taken in by the Nine Houses. It is indeed their annihilation that spurred the rest of us to engage in that terrible, horrifying war, but as said before, it is all in the past and is a lesson to all of us. Kanarus may forgive, but we can never forget."

"Doruva and...Gabriel was it? Nice name. -Ahem- [It is with great honor that we welcome Doruva of Noble House Ao'shen, and his loyal guardian to this vessel. In honor of this occasion, we offer all of the non-ration food on this ship to you and to Ms. Vandris. We expect great things from you, and have hope that we meet what expectations you may have of us.]" Joey said, at first in English then after clearing his throat, the rest of what he said was in an alien language - Kanarusian's native tongue. In fact, it was so smooth in the tone, he almost sounded like someone completely from the sarcastic loud mouth he's been known for. He then made a cough and looked at Melinae one more time.


"Why, thank you my dear sir. I appreciate the welcome, Joey Albion. And don't worry about your Kanarusian. I would have thought that you were from House
Vulcaria if I were not gazing upon you at this very moment."
Doruva nodded at Joey. Truth be told, he wasn't expecting a highly disciplined force, so one could say that his expectations were met one way or another. He had been informed that these were still children, after all. One could guess how hard it is to control teenagers with post-traumatic disorders, missing memories, and violent magic that shouldn't even be in them to begin with.

"A failure in leadership weakens the organization as a whole. To punish the subordinate for the failings of their superior only inspires a lack of trust and loyalty." Gabriel stated bluntly before walking back over to Master Doruva.


Now, now. His bodyguard may be blunt... but he was right. Doruva had only realized how difficult would this assignment be. Infiltrating high society was one thing... getting kids in line was a whole other beast. One child had been a massive drain upon him. But... ten? That is a nightmare.

"I still have my hopes... and my feedback." Doruva said once his bodyguard returned to his side. "Let's all do our best, shall we?"
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Senhara
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Senhara No Thoughts, Head Empty / (she/they)

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Nirrti




Nirrti's reactor spins to life, as the machine takes in it's surroundings, inside of the shuttle of that Doruva person. She doesn't care whether you're human or not, she only cares about which side you're on. She references her time to timekeeping servers, she's a little late to wake up. Her internal systems soon spin to life, motor control is fine, personality database? As good as it'll ever be. Her metal hands bring her up to a low crouch, as the ten foot tall monstrosity crouch walks through the airlock into the destination ship, her equipment on her back.

Mission parameters... Link up with Natasha Zhang's ship, await further instructions. The objective has already been reached, just more waiting. She runs through her databases while shuffling towards an area of the ship she can actually stand in, preparing a combat capability dossier for Natasha Zhang, alongside several other useful data points.

Finding the cafeteria, the machine walks to a corner with thudding footsteps, ignoring any looks given to the dark gray and black war machine. She was designed for conflict, and shows it. Setting down her repair kit and weapon box, the machine stretches up to her maximum height, towering over the beings of flesh on this ship. A soft, echoy chuckle eminates from her vocal systems, revelling in the thought of how glad these living creatures should be to have her on their side. Not even bothering to try and connect to the ship's networking, the movement from Nirrti ceases, standing as still as a statue, albeit an incredibly violent statue. Her sensors examine the cafeteria in the meantime, waiting for her new commanding officer to appear.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Smike
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Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne's Revenge




Part of Ki'Tlex wondered if they should perform the rite of Social Death and simply move on. They had spent a good deal of time in their current identity, centuries of searching for wealth in the deserts of Kel and the holds of blasted open spaceships. They had traveled far and experienced much, outlived plenty of friends and enemies and had now reached a point where they could move on to a new life without feeling as if they were missing out. In recent years they had taken a mild interest in acting, toying with the thought of making their name upon the stage or the screen. Ki could already imagine it, a hardscrabble start as a desperate actor before finding some big break then a series of tabloid worthy scandals. Cliché perhaps but it sounded fun!

"Kiiiiiii! You can't go yet, I'd miss you!"

Queen Anne cut into their thoughts with their own, the message as grating as a klaxon call. Curiously even the AI's telepathic speech sounded as if it was being blared at maximum volume with a tone designed to make the enemy shrivel in fear.

"I'm not leaving you little droid, nor am I leaving Kottle. They were simply idle musings."

Saying goodbye to Queen Anne would be cruel considering the nature of their linked minds. Dumping Kottle off at an orphanage or something would be much simpler but didn't sit well with their pride. The infant's parents had called in the favor they had with their dying breaths so Ki was stuck with the little bastard until they could fend for themselves.

"Hmmm..."

The noise slipped through their shared mindspace but whatever came after Ki couldn't catch, the robot closing off their side so that the barely coherent mess of thought wouldn't leak through. Ki 'knocked', pilot curious as to what their mech would want to hide. "Queen Anne? Did you wish to say something?"

"What? Oh no, I'm fine."

Ki'Tlex wanted to pry more, formulating their own storm of consciousness into concrete language before losing the train of thought as the dusty-skinned goblin on their back screamed directly into their ear.

"Oh no! Something's wrong with Kottle!"

Many somethings were in fact wrong with the little shit but sadly none that could be fixed by anything but the passing of time. Every time this happened Queen Anne got all worked up in concern but Kottle's cries were mostly made because the baby couldn comprehend existing in silence. One of the arms folded behind Ki's back reached into their bag to deftly unscrew the little mason jar they had readied for just such an occasion.

The smell of cooking grease filled the air as Ki brought out the leftover fat from the previous night's meal, slathering it over a pair of fingers and putting them in the baby's reach. Kottle took it from there, a mouth full of sharp teeth closing around the digits to gnaw at the treat. Ki was down to three hands for the moment and would probably have bite marks by the end of the feeding but at least the brat had shut up.

What a strange trio they made strolling onboard! A twelve foot tall robot and a hooded figure with a baby carried in a basket on their back, looking like they belonged in the setup for a joke as opposed to being onboard a ship full of would-be freedom fighters. The two adults were at least armed with a giant shotgun and a rifle (not mention the weapons concealed under their robes) respectively but they were still certainly an odd grouping.

They needed to find the captain or a first mate or some sort of authority but didn't know where to begin. They walked without purpose while Queen Anne followed behind, ending up in the cafeteria only by happenstance.

A good enough place to wait. If Zhang didn't show up then they'd just bother one of the crew in order to report in.

There was another robot there as well, smaller than Queen Anne and with a less humanoid appearance but still with the general shape. Ki'Tlex paid it little mind while Queen Anne waved, no doubt feeling some kinship with the thing she had never met due to their shared state of existence.

She was adorably stupid like that.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Letter Bee
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Natasha Zhang

Dangit, she made a bad impression, and now the Captain didn't know how to respond due to her new awareness as to how her passive-aggression had been, well, passive-aggression. At the sight of the Small Mech making its way towards the cafeteria, Natasha's eyes bulged a little, but she tried to cover up her surprise and said, "Is that Mech sapient or something, or just very well-programed? Said Mech also reminded me that we should be making our way to the cafeteria so that we can give Lord Doruva of House Aoshen his 'all you can eat'..."

Nevertheless, she paused so that the ambassador whom she had passively-aggressively insulted can speak for herself - Natasha was interested in how she could assert herself while remaining polite. Not as interested as she was in the Small Mech, which she could have sworn was chuckling, but she can have Laurey look into it once they all meet and she gets herself used to MREs again. Either way, once the ambassador said her piece, Natasha Zhang led the way to the cafeteria, where another unknown alien from that 'Immortal' species and her baby were already eating.

Waving hi to this 'Immortal', Natasha said, "Greetings, I'm the Captain of the Ship, Natasha Zhang. What might your name be, and I presume you're here to join our fight against the Ascendancy?"

Ashton and Flame

Well... That went as well as expected, which was not very well at all. Flame and Ashton were realistic enough (okay, that was more Flame) to know that 'removing the band-aid' was necessary, but that didn't mean they had to like it though it had to be done. Or did it? The two had been so sure of their intelligence that they didn't actually think their actions through, and now they were suffering the consequences. So after lingering a few seconds longer to hear what their diplomat had to say, they went to the cafeteria where they got themselves used to MREs again.

Kherol had no problem eating these, Ashton thought. Neither should I.

I and Ashton might have been too arrogant and rash, Flame said. Scratch that, we were. No thinking about consequences, believing that our talents alone were enough. He took a bite out of an MRE. Somehow, failing makes MREs taste even blander...

He then looked at Natasha, then at Laurey, Avelyn, and perhaps Joey if he was there, and said, "We should begin pursuit of the pirates who took our - I mean Moonstrike's - cash as soon as possible. Who knows what they can do with it..."

@Letter Bee@Th3King0fChaos@The Man Emperor@Landaus Five-One@FalloutJack@Conscripts@dragonpiece@Starlance@jdh97@Vietmyke@Sylvan@Kafka Komedy@Smike
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Senhara
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Senhara No Thoughts, Head Empty / (she/they)

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Nirrti



Those attentive enough would hear subtle clicking and whirring from the machine, despite it's almost statue-like behavior. It waits some time for the Immortal to respond, though Nirrti doesn't know it's called such. Satisfied, the robot takes a thudding step forward, an echoy doomlike feminine voice ringing out from the machine. It doesn't just grab someone's attention, it demands it. "You have been logged as my commanding officer, Captain Natasha Zhang." With a quick movement of the arm, a salute is offered to her. "I am Battle AI Nirrti. I command this Heavy Mechanized Infantry unit, which was originally constructed by Wetware Defenses. Despite that," the machine drops the salute, the almost claw like fingers clasping into a fist and opening again. "I am a completely independent machine, free from control."

The AI takes a moment to process it's surroundings, taking in reactions from Natasha Zhang and the surrounding crew. "Your word is my command, Captain. I will fight by your side, and I will defend you and this crew with my life, that is my purpose." Nirrti's torso twists to face Ashton and Flame, though it would be unclear who she was looking at, the barren light-less surface of the machine making it seem that much more lifeless. "This group was recently robbed? An unfortunate encounter, it puts a hamper to my plans and my combat effectiveness rating. I hope to see a rectification to this problem." The twelve hundred pound machine takes a step back, torso returning straight forward. "I will remain here unless anyone needs me. Additionally, I would appreciate authentication into this vessel's internal network."

With the machine's statements concluded, it returns to cosplaying as a statue, though quite active under the hood. If Queen Anne was still paying attention to Nirrti, her own sensor suite would probably pick up on Nirrti's, and it seems that the machine is taking quite an interest in Anne. Silently logging the appearance of the other machine, and just from visuals alone she begins to estimate the movement capabilities of Queen Anne.

Nirrti quickly thinks over the actions of Anne. It at least has some form of VI, why else would it wave at her? She hopes it is not the case, VI are a shocking misrepresentation of what AI are capable of. She'll have to keep an eye on this other machine. Her cameras focus on the individuals Anne seems to be protecting... A curious decision, why not use a powerful machine to make up for the weakness of living bone! Even though this is not the case, Nirrti knows no better, but at least they made their way to "actually knows what they're doing" in Nirrti's mind, even if the group are unaware of it.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by jdh97
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Laurey Karlin
Laurey should have never doubted the Great Machine. Now, when she had been expecting only aliens, it had sent two vessels unto her. The meat puppets
Her crew, her family
They were talking about… something? Maybe it was important, but…

Everyone was moving. Another window of time, gone, but from zoning out or that other-something. Impossible to say.

Laurey trailed after the crowd, footsteps lost in the thunder.

There had been a school of architecture known as brutalism; it had enjoyed a brief resurgence on J-Heim B, but now only limped along in the mining colonies and the truly musty history books. And, apparently, in Nirrti’s manufacturer. The battle AI (blessed be) was beautiful in its raw being. Whether the same rang true for the internal was another matter.

Flame was looking at her. And eating? Had he said something? She replayed the last few seconds. Ah.

“Pirates. What do they matter? More anarchy in the system for the Ascendancy to deal with,” her eyes slipped from Flame back to Nirrti, “And uhh…” What could she and Avelyn copy? It almost put their effort to shame, but all things for the Great Machine.
Was that right?

Laurey flipped, stars fell, cyberspace spread itself before her. The AI was a sphere of ICE so thick it was black. Strands flowed from it, but none passed through the network’s Wall. Were they just being polite in waiting for access, or was breaching truly beyond them?

Another sphere of ICE caught her attention. The other vessel, surely. Another AI, not just a slave machine. Praise be.

Flip. Stars. Meat. Metal divinity.

“Access should be no problem,” Laurey spoke up to Nirrti’s camera. She walked to its other side, between it and the strange trio, making a triangle on the fringes of the meeting, “you’ll just have to submit to some security checks.” Come to that, everyone still had to. Nirrti might even be the most pointless to check; they might be the most capable of hiding things from Laurey. Better try than not though, if just to be close in that space with Something.

“And you,” she pointed at Ki, and the mech-that-was-more, “uh, whoever you are. Security uh, procedure after,” she gestured vaguely at everyone, “this.”
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Smike
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Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne's Revenge



They had expected to have to ask someone, single out the most knowledgeable looking person in the cafeteria and request directions to the captain's bunk. Thankfully fate decided to make Ki'Tlex's life a little easier by bringing the boss to them. The three hands not occupied by Kottle waved back in response before folding themselves back under their robes. "You are correct, Captain Zhang. I am Ki'Tlex or simply Ki if you'd prefer. The infant is Kottle while the machine is-"

"Hi! I'm Queen Anne's Revenge but everyone just calls me Queen Anne."

"-yes, that. Myself and them are indeed here to join your war. I am a skilled mechanic and programmer capable of working with all manner of machinery and code. In combat I and Anne complement each other through neural linkage to serve as assaulters whether on the ground or operating in the void. We are experienced pirates and thus have an innate understanding asymmetrical warfare."

One of their past iterations had served as a mounted skirmisher as well but that was in the past and thus not worth mentioning.

Kottle pulled away from the oh-so-tasty finger to babble incoherently, proving that their vocal cords still worked by making a high pitched whistling screech. No longer interested in dealing with the little brat Ki conveyed all the necessary instructions telepathically, they and Queen Anne moving in perfect unison. Kottle was removed from their guardian's back as the robot's hardened chest plating cracked open to reveal the passenger space inside. With the basket strap placed on a hook Ki had installed for just that purpose Anne closed Kottle inside herself, muffling any more obnoxious noises.

"Our apologies!"

While Ki'Tlex silently filed away the knowledge that Moonstrike struggled against other pirates Anne was busy staring at the other machine. They were another war bot definitely but unarmed and smaller. An earlier model maybe? Or just one designed for combat lighter than full scale void assaults. Nirrti was scanning her which meant that interest had been taken which was nice. Anne simply gave a thumbs up, happy to stand there and get analyzed.

"I imagine I and you all will have to move quickly if we wish to recover these credits. Pirates tend to spend money as quickly as they can so they can get use out of it before their likely violent death. At least that had been how the Razor's Edge treated its group funds. "Although having other vermin flitting about might help cover my and your tracks and killing a whole bunch of them might make their friends mad. How much money did you guys lose?"

The other human female told them to submit to some sort of security procedure once the impromptu war council was finished and there was no reason to question the command. "As you wish. I also request access to the vessel's network as it would make my job easier but that can be done after I have been walked through all the steps required of I and them."
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Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Landaus Five-One
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Landaus Five-One The Sadist Insaneous One

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Location: Infirmary
Interaction: Maria @The Jest and Tarak @Th3King0fChaos
Mention:




Narvia enjoyed being around her friends in the Star Marines, specifically Maria, since her abilities are helpful. Everyone else had their specific quarks, but she felt she might have rolled her eyes if Maria had a concept of emotions. Maria spoke in her usual monotone voice, which also had instructions to sit at a chair, which Narvia did sit down. "Y-Yeah, I am ready, Maria. You can begin whenever." Narvia said cutely. She always had more towards her emotions than anyone else in the group. They are called the Star Marines since it's the only thing keeping her towards her goals.

Narvia saw Tarak walk in and was a bit more shocked that he was here than her. She thought too highly of Tarak to get a scan, but orders are orders from the Captain. It's better to know everyone's intentions on the Xuanxang besides the usual. "How are you doing, Tarak?" Narvia asked a simple question him. She usually tries to ask these questions to get her mind off the shock of her life from her Godfather, Nikolas R. Zaharin, in that last mission he gave her. Her thoughts were all over the place about her Godfather Nikolas, her father Conner L. Hadley, etc.

Narvia didn't feel anything from Maria, which was odd. She never usually hesitates during scans, it must mean something is up, or she wants help from the other two. It was primarily because of the optimal standard it because of Avelyn and Amy. Narvia was one of the most considerate people on the ship, so she decided not to ask why it took so long for Maria to start the scan.

Maria spoke up about it not taking too long to scan. Nariva felt her mind being probed by Maria's mind. Her thoughts were a bit cluttered but not so much to hide anything vital since she's pretty much doesn't keep a hold of much in her head and wants to blurt it out so everyone can hear. She blushes again by her failure, but she wouldn't be here if she blurts things out like she usually does. It's embarrassing, Narvia so much it hurts somewhat, but it's nice that she has someone to care for like Finbarr.

Maria spoke up again after the scan, saying that Tarak and her were clean as a whistle. Specifically, what Maria said made Narvia confused at what Maria implied about Finbarr cheating on her with Nero, which caused her to blush. "U-Umm, Finbarr is a sweetie. T-Thank you, Maria, I should do that." Narvia said, heavily blushing after saying what she said. She waves Maria and Tarak goodbye and leaves the Infirmary before Maria talks to Tarak. Narvia does take a bit to get what's going on, but she was too embarrassed to get anything but wanted to cool down from Maria, implying something.




-=[ Finbarr Checkup ]=-


It took a while, but Narvia was much further away since she took a slight detour to her room but stopped in front of it. Narvia was slightly deep in thought, but she realized she should see how Finbarr was doing. She did call Finbarr a sweetie. Therefore, she knew her new destination was in the Kitchen, where Maria told her that he was there. Something popped in her head, which was why Maria did that exactly, but it wasn't to worry or question it.

Narvia was slightly less embarrassed than she was earlier at the infirmary, which was a relief. 'I hope everything is alright in the infirmary. Though, I do wonder what Finbarr is doing in the Kitchen.' Narvia thought to herself, slightly worried. She continued to the Kitchen, which she passed some others along the way and waved at them. Nonetheless, it didn't take too long for her to reach the Kitchen, and she saw it was a mess as if Finbarr and Nero had made a disaster in the Kitchen. Narvia was too much distracted with that scan and everything else, so she must have missed them.

'Guess that's what Maria meant. He was cooking something without me. I hope whatever it was, and it was delicious.' Narvia thought to herself. She smiled happily and decided to walk back to her room afterward. One thing, dating is something new to her, and she doesn't get all the concepts of that or this, but she enjoys being with Finbarr nonetheless. Narvia reaches her room and enters it, which she sits on her bed deep in thought. She thinks about everything that has happened to her up to this point, and it is depressing, but the few bright spots were everyone that protected her.




-= [ Loss Track of Time ] =-


Narvia lost track of time as everything went on as usual, which meant she missed the introduction of the guests coming from the Kanarusians. It made her check her omnitool and freak out about how long she was in her room, to which she sighed. Narvia gets up from her seat from her bed, which she will have to apologize profusely to Mr. Meanie's pants or Joey. 'I should probably not call him that to his face, though. B-But he was a bit mean to everyone.' Narvia thought to herself. She stretches a bit and tries to think about where they would be after an introduction, or in her case, a late one. They might be hungry, so the Cafeteria would be the best bet to look for the guests from those dragons.

Narvia then reaches the Cafeteria, which she was correct in seeing guests are indeed here, which were fantastic and neat at the same time. "U-Um, sorry for missing the guests' arrival. I-I lost track of time, Natasha and Joey." Narvia said. She had a smile on her face. Though the guests were varied, she knows much about how the Kanarusians use honor guards from a colony of humans, which she could see standing by the Kanarusian in question. It was all because Nikolas talked about the Kanarusians sometimes since it reminded him of the dragons of Draken'vina but much more humanoid-Esque than entirely draconic.

Before Narvia wanted to introduce herself, a Self-Efficient robot and a family of aliens introduced themselves. She was grateful to meet new people, including a specifically famous diplomat from the Ascendancy, who stayed on the Rau've homeworld. Narvia did wave at her, but she wanted to introduce herself properly instead of being a bit of a clutz involving herself in such a person.

Narvia gently bowed in front of all the people from the Kanarusian Shuttle or were already there. She didn't know the human boy who is the Kararusian guard, but she knows of their culture enough from Nikolas. "Um, Hello everyone, and welcome to the Xuanxang! My name is Narvia Folspear Steven-Zahrin. I wish I weren't here and with my mother and older sisters, but my father decided to put me in the life of the Star Marines. If it wasn't for my Godfather Nikolas R. Zahirn the Dragon, I feel I would have had a much worse life than I do." Narvia said. She glared directly at Joey for a second, only because she felt as if Joey said something about her before she met them. Everyone must know the military exploits of the Dragon, her godfather, since he's a bit of a legend in the Ascendancy Military. Narvia was happy to see another human with diplomatic clothes from the Ascendancy Diplomatic Core. "N-Nice to meet you, Diplomat Lady!" Narvia exclaimed with a smile.

Narvia showed how kind she was, but if her godfather was no other than Nikolas R. Zahrin, everyone could quickly tell her biological father, no different from Conner L. Hadley. Who were explicitly from the Ascendancy themselves or knew the exploits of the Gravia Military Company. Narvia wants to talk to her father about why he did that to her, but she wants to find the people who pirated their money away to make the rest of the crew eat rations. She had no idea how Rations had tasted since she primarily stayed in the Dragon's Brigade Fleet.

@Letter Bee @vietmyke @The Man Emperor @Senhara @Smike
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