Dyelli Beybi

Empire of the Clouds

Zoe

There seemed to be a bit of a commotion as they departed. It wasn't clear exactly what it was, though one could guess... nobody, however, did anything to stop the launch. It seemed luck was in their favour... or perhaps it was Prince Maximilian rather than luck. As the ship began it's ascent, the Prince strode out onto the gangway of the mooring tower, offering the departing airship a salute.

Zoe smiled slightly, returning it, holding the pose until the figure of Prince Maximilian was just a spot below them before she relaxed, her posture seeming to deflate back into the Zoe that had been on the airship with them since Inbur.

She gave a smile to the bridge, before taking herself off towards the dining hall that they had once used for a party, pausing in the door to ask, "You coming?"

They hadn't removed the dining room furniture yet, apparently the Mittelanders had been more interested in removing the gold, and Zoe seated herself in an archair, folding her hands decorously in her lap, before looking up at whomever had followed her. She looked a little flushed, "So... question time I guess. I do hope Admiral Le Marinier has managed to find us something pleasant to drink."

Arkadios looked amongst the crew, "Your High-"

"Can we please go with something a little less formal on the ship? Miss Spy... err Miss Hasikos, is perfectly fine."

Arkadios looked surprised, but didn't protest, "Very well, Miss Hasikos," he said, trying out the unnatural feeling phrase, "This explains how you knew where the gold reserve was, though why the subterfuge as to who you are?"

"Captain, you are an honourable man," Zoe replied, glancing amongst the others, "So are you all, but I didn't know that when I got on the ship! And not everyone in our company has been. I was a little concerned that someone might decide to try to sell me to the Communalists, like a prize bull! Then, after a few days I figured if I announced who I was, everyone would think I was a lunatic. And, this might sound strange, but it was fun to be Zoe Spyrou for a little while. I have occasionally become her before for an evening," she said, confirming there was some grain of truth behind some of the semi-scandalous rumours that had circulated in the Inburian press about Philazoea, "though this was her longest outing to date."

"And what of your Royal Family? How did you escape?" Arkadios asked.

Zoe gave him a pensive look, pursing her lips for a moment before replying, "Well if you must know, Father had told his guard he wasn't leaving the city while it was under siege. He figured it would inspire the troops to defend the city more valiantly. I'm not sure if it was an inspiration, but they didn't seem to stand for very long at all. Father was rather surprised by the speed at which the Communalists seized most of the capital. The last I heard he was being told by a driver that the palace was cut off from friendly lines," Zoe gave an uncomfortable shrug as if acknowledging her actions hadn't been entirely noble, "I did suggest I had a plan, but nobody was listening so I thought some uncharitable thoughts, went back to my room, got changed, then climbed out a window and made a dash for it. I think I rather looked like a poor civilian fleeing the fighting - nobody gave me another glance."

Graveyard Orbit

Chapter Two: High Noon Knockout

Theme Music

The town looked mostly deserted in the midday heat. Even the dhasath had taken themselves to the shade. The odd person could be seen sitting out the front of a shop, eyeing the group suspiciously from under the brim of wide-brimmed hats. A lot of them were openly carrying weapons on their hips, blasters or smaller ragon guns.

There sounded like there was some life at the saloon. The sound of a stereo and the rise and fall of animated conversation. Apparently that was where people congregated during the day.

Neri pushed open the doors, stepping through into the interior of the wooden building, her new boots clumping on the floorboards. A few people looked up curiously - she wasn't recognised, but there was no overt hostility.

There was slight rise in suspicion as Castleton and Dusk entered. A few muttered comments. Something wasn't right, but it was Kim who seemed to seal the deal. There was a hiss of angry muttered conversation that seemed to pass around the room with her entry. The barman looked up at that, his eyes flicking between members of the group, "You lot aren't welcome here!" he growled, pointing to the door, though apparently the option of a rapid retreat was not available to them as in the intervening space two large men had moved to block that route.

One cracked his knuckles menacingly.

Neri did a quick head count. Including the barman there were a dozen people here who seemed ready for a fight, dhasath and a few kiellar, a few others were skulking off. But why? "I think there's been a misunder-" she didn't get a chance to finish as someone yet out an enraged yell, hurling a bottle at her, which she swayed to avoid, feeling the brush of air over her nose. He gave a growl of rage and charged, fists balled as if ready to punch her.

The move seemed to encourage others and faster than one could have clicked one's fingers, the otherwise peaceful morning turned into a fist fight.

Empire of the Clouds

@InfamousGuy101@PrinceAlexus@Terrans

"Alright, Itzi, welcome aboard and please take the helm for now. I would like to be airborne as quickly as possible." Zoe declared. She moved to stand on the bridge in position to look down from the gondola, her arms folded behind her back.

While taking the ship wasn't illegal as far as she was aware, it wouldn't be something the Government would have agreed to. There would be complaints, opposition, conflicting instructions. Much better to get the ship up and away before anyone had a chance to react.

"Admiral Le Marinier, would you care to check to see if there is anything to drink in the lounge?" she suggested to Hamerlin, "I feel we will probably deserve one once we are back in the sky... plus I'm sure you have a few questions for me and I would rather that be in a more convivial atmosphere." she added, maybe a little sheepishly.

"Mister Robinson," she turned, finally to Aden, "Would you please check if we have all the ordinance aboard?"

While the gold had been removed from the ship, it had been replaced with belts of machinegun ammunition and rank on rank of artillery shells modified to be dropped out of an airship. The modification included stabilising fins and sensitive impact fuses. It would not be a good idea to drop one in the gondola...

Graveyard Orbit

Not particularly, I'm hoping to give a bit of time for characters to 'bed in' :)

In The Black (A Clean-Up Crew RP)

Fabio

Fabio stepped carefully to the hole in the floor, peering over, while acutely aware that this might have caused some structural instability in the building.

For a moment he imagined how he must look from below, posed heroically like Hercules over the fallen Nemean lion. Such a tragedy that the people down below weren't taking photo, "Looks like he just got downgraded," he remarked gruffly,. Great line, Fabio.

He turned to face the woman who had led the creature in here, stepping away from the hole as he did... toppling backwards down it would probably be fatal. It would definitely be fatally embarrassing. There were no more zombies that he could see. Good work, Fabio.

"My lady," he said, sweeping off his sunglasses and offering his most potent blue steel gaze, "You are safe now."

Paradise Lost

"It'll be fine!" Velia declared, "If they lock onto us or start shooting we'll just fly back."

She glanced between John and the others in the crew, "I think it's worth the risk anyway. We're not desperate for food right now, but I don't know when we'll next find a habitable planet and I'd rather have some spare supplies aboard."

She looked between them again, inwardly thinking they probably needed to agree on a leadership structure, "So who's in for a trip to the surface?" she proposed.

Graveyard Orbit

Without a hitch... yet.

Cowritten with @Lugubrious, @Awesomoman64, @Terrans, @El Gato Naranja

Neri jumped slightly at the robot's approach, apparently having been lost in thought. However, the look of surprise was quickly transformed into an easy, friendly smile as she turned to face Bandit, "You gave me a fright," she confessed, "We found some clothes," she motioned at herself, at the too-big shirt worn open over a singlet and the burgundy skirt she was now wearing, "So I don't look like I just escaped from a prison ship. People should be a bit friendlier I reckon. What did you see of the locals? Someone had said there's a lot of dhasath on this planet."

"Uh..." Bandit froze for a moment while scratching her neck, then clasped her hands behind her back, beneath her tarpaulin cloak. "If I'm bein' honest, I didn't get all that close. They don't look friendly though, that's for dang sure. S'why I high-tailed it back to y'all lickety-split. Gonna have to play this real careful-like."

The android leaned forward a little to get a better view of the clothes Neri had procured. Even decapitated, Bandit stood four inches taller than the dhasath sanitation worker, so it probably didn't feel great for Neri to have the machine in her personal space. Of course, the realization that Bandit might just be a bit nearsighted might complicate the matter. "Yer clothes ain't half bad," she admitted with what might have been an approving nod if she had a head. "You reckon I could make a skirt work? Most folks ain't keen on me in clothes, no matter what I try..."

“As much as I would love to talk about fashion,” Larce interjected as he stepped between Nari and Bandit. “I think we have a bigger issue right about here.” Larce gestured to the gaping void on the android where normally a head would go. ”There's not a skirt in this system that would distract someone enough to not notice that. We’re gonna need something to at least give the illusion of a head on your shoulders. Then we can work out which bottoms compliment your figure best.”

"Nah," Neri shook her head in disagreement, "I reckon keep the clothes off for now. We don't want to freak anyone out and they're more likely to if they see a headless person than if they see a robot tragically damaged in the crash," she shrugged, "Or at least that's how I'd react."

For a moment Bandit had been puzzled by both how she could possibly falsify having a head, and why she needed to. Did people on this planet hate robots or something? Sure, robots could cause an awful lot of indiscriminate death and destruction, but that was hardly the robots' fault; that was on the people who programmed them if anything. At least, Bandit thought so, and not being culpable for any of her wrongdoings was pretty liberating.

When Neri offered a different spin on the situation, Bandit gave a thumbs-up. Her three flat fingers, one opposing the others, weren't all that dextrous, but this was one gesture they could make recognizably. "Yeah, damaged in the crash!" she repeated. "That's me, ol' damaged goods. All busted up, barely trottin' along. I mean, it's ain't even a lie. I been like this about as long as I can remember. Everythin' from my early years is mighty fuzzy...ugh, whenever I try an' access them ol' memories, I get a headache somethin' fierce..." She raised a hand as if to press her palm to her brow, only for it to go through where her head would be. (edited)Sunday, 26 April 2026 02:25

“Alright.” Larce tossed his hands up and shook his head. “But we gotta be careful. Some people view robots as commodities; self aware or not. These people see us with a functional bot, something that can provide cheap labor or be a convenient source of spare parts, and what would have been a charitable donation could turn into a barter like that.” He punctuated his final statement with a crisp snap of his fingers.

Larce shot a glance at the two, seeing if his words had any impact, when he noticed the oversized shirt Nari had on. He quickly looked down at his own tight fitting shirt then back again before shrugging and moving on.

It wasn't lost on Neri though, she focussed on his shirt, then looked down then down at herself, "Want to swap?" she suggested, motioning at the two garments.

“I don’t know. This shirt really highlights my frame.” Larce placed his hands on his hips and pulled his shoulders back as if he were modeling his outfit before dropping right back into his normal pose. “But if it helps sell our story, I guess I can take the plaid.”

"Well if you like it, keep it on," Neri gave a dry laugh, "I can't see anyone complaining."

"Barter? Psh!" Bandit scoffed, crossing her arms as she brought them back to the irritating prior topic. "Ya can't trade what ya don't own, partner. I ain't anyone's bargainin' chip! And nobody's gettin' their hands on my parts neither, least without buyin' me dinner first, hehheh."

“And if we pull this off, dinner might actually be a possibility.” Larce smirked. “But that's precisely my point: I’m not looking to sell anyone, but the locals might not see it that way. If they think we have the system’s most advanced farmhand with us, they’ll be less likely to give us free scraps and instead try to make a trade. And when we turn them down, it’ll give the impression we aren’t as desperate as we claimed.”

As the drifter's meaning sank in, Bandit's indignant posture turned more embarrassed. "Oh, uh...well... guess we'll just have to convince 'em I ain't good for much, huh? Hehheh..." She chuckled nervously, imagining a bunch of greedy bumpkins pulling her limb from limb. "Maybe I oughta keep quiet and let y'all do the talkin'."

“What? And deprive us of that exotic accent of yours? Not a chance.” Larce chuckled and gave Bandit a friendly jab in the arm. “We just gotta come up with a good cover… Is it too late to pretend we’re a traveling circus? Would have explained the matching jumpsuits.”

"Well, I think between the three of us, we should be able to convince them to give us just about anything," Neri declared, nodding towards James, who was standing some distance away, peering at something on the horizon, "So could he for that matter."

Neri's statement sounded pretty optimistic to Bandit. Sweet-talking wasn't really her strong suit, unlike Larce. Speaking of, the man seemed fond of the android's voice, which tickled her pink even though she couldn't really express it. "Aw, you like it?" If she could smile, Bandit might have been beaming. "I was hopin' folks would like it! Made it myself, figured it suited this dusty ol' countryside we're in." She liked this guy already; hopefully he hadn't hurt his fist with that little jab of his, it did make a pretty solid clonk sound. As for the matter of swapping clothes, Bandit didn't pay it much mind.

“Well countryside or not, it suits you.” Larce gave the android a wink, then turned away as he let out a silent ow and rubbed his knuckles.

"Anyway..." Neri began to walk in the direction of town, waiting a beat for the others to join her before continuing, "Our story is 'oh woe is us, our ship crashed. The survivors need food, clothes, first aid etc. We get what we can then hurry back to feed the Ragon before it eats someone, dish out the clothes then head back into town... hmm... anyone got a good name for our imaginary ship? We should probably do a bit of work to make sure our stories line up."

That one threw Bandit for a loop for a few seconds. "Uh, I reckon I ain't exactly the imaginin' type. But lemme see if I can think of anythin'." Tensing up, she redirect more power to her CPU momentarily, scanning her banks for any traces of old data that might be usable for the outlaws' purposes. With most of her core logic and database lost along with her head, Bandit's efforts were akin to lifting up couch cushions to look for loose change, with no idea when or how those coins got there in the first place. After a few seconds of desperate recollection, though, she managed to dredge something up from the depths of her fractured psyche: a meaningless remnant, like a muscle memory, something she didn't even know she knew, "Ti...Tien...Tiongedol? Dunno if it means anythin', but it sure sounds Kiellar, don't it?" Although a little dazed by her efforts, Bandit attempted to cross her arms in a confident pose, proud of her suggestion.

Neri considered the name, then shrugged, "Sound's good to me! Tiongedol it is. Well unless there's anything else, I suggest we make our way into town. Best not to keep the Ragon waiting."

“As good a story as any I suppose.” James chimed in as he fell in alongside them, adjusting his hat based off his shadow. Flexing his shoulders to settle the duster just so.

"It's a rather distasteful story, truth be told," Charnud suddenly spoke up, having spent the last few minutes simply catching his breath from all that walking previously. Gravity was quite the oppressive mistress. "Because... Tiongedol means something close to... 'Golden Bitch.'" He paused for a moment to let that sink in. "I've seen worse names, though. I once saw a smuggler ship called No Contraband. It is quite fitting, really. We can just change it later if the others don't like it." Seeing the others' confused looks, he threw up his arms and shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. I'm the Kiellar here, so when it comes to words that sound Kiellar, I'm a valid source. Your nanites must be broken if you don't get that." (edited)Friday, 1 May 2026 22:43

Larce’s blank stare of disbelief slowly morphed into a wide childish grin. “I was on board when it was Kiellar gibberish, but now we absolutely have to use it. Now come on, Golden Bitches.” With a heel turn and a two finger point in the town’s direction, Larce began walking toward their destination. “We got a job to do.”

"Yeah," Neri agreed, "I kinda like it... though I'll need further proof my translators are busted. Though if anyone calls me a golden bitch," she puffed herself up as if about to make a threat, before deflating again, "I'll politely point out they're blind. My hair is, in fact , quite dark."

...

Cinder Ridge was mostly populated by dhasath. They didn't exactly seem thrilled to see newcomers, but the presence of two of their own species (and one maybe - James got some VERY suspicious looks) was enough to get them to begrudgingly hand over some food and clothes and a small selection of medical supplies. Enough that they could get the others out of their prison jumpsuits. Apart from the ragon. Nobody donated anything in ragon size and nobody was silly enough to ask.

As morning gave way to early afternoon, Neri and the others reappeared with the rest of the group, "I come bearing gifts!" she declared, nodding towards the bundle of clothing and food she was carrying, "Once you're changed I reckon our best bet is to head into town and look for odd jobs to do. I imagine we'll need to start buying our food soon enough."

Empire of the Clouds

Chapter 4: The Empire of the Clouds

Theme Music

Some days earlier...

"So you think it's a bad plan?" Zoe asked her cousin from where she was slumped in the plush chair by the fire in the drawing room.

Max stood leaning against the lintel, a cigarillo clamped pensively in his mouth. He took it out, "I said I think it's insanity... different things."

Zoe raised an eyebrow, "You might need to explain that one to me, Max."

"It's our job, cousin to inspire the people. To create a legend that becomes a part of the national myth and inspires our people to both look up to us and strive to be better than what they are," he shrugged as if to acknowledge this might be a uniquely Mittelandische outlook, "We must lead decisively and from the front. This is the right we have to wear a crown... so yes, your plan is insanity. Your Ministers who voted you Princess Regent would be horrified... but it might be what your country needs at this moment. The Empire of the Clouds could become a new Hasikos legend in a time when Inbur needs to be inspired... or you could end up dead. That is the gamble."

"That's a very long-winded way of saying you'd do what I'm proposing," Zoe remarked, stretching her back in the chair. It was very comfortable.

"Try not to die cousin," Max replied as he took a drag from the cigarillo, "You'll also need to look the part," he paused for a heartbeat, "I have some ideas."

---

Present day...

There had been little information given to anyone since the 'Carter incident'. Somewhat unbelievably for some, Zoe Spirou, it turned out was actually 'Princess Philazoea Hasikos', the youngest of the Emperor's children. Even though she hadn't trusted anyone with the information, the fact that the crew had been involved in securing the safety of the only one of the Emperor's children not in Calarian custody had assured that the crew were treated as heroes. Zoe hadn't been around to answer any questions though and the group had been left cooling their heels in a hotel...

That was until today. When a politely worded message arrived for everyone, asking them to join 'The Princess Regent' on 'The Empire of the Clouds'. Apparently she'd named the airship.

The ship seemed to be in the process of being retrofitted by the Mittelandische army when they arrived and they group were greeted with a degree of confusion by the officer in charge, a young Lieutenant, didn't seem in any mood to question the Royal Invitation.

They were left waiting for around 10 minutes. Long enough for things to begin to be a bit awkward before Zoe abruptly appeared on the deck.

She looked different.

Some time in the last couple of days she'd managed to have a khaki Inburian army uniform made in her size, complete with Marshall's rank insignia and a similar long brown leather jacket to the one Aden had seen her cousin in. On this occasion she was escorted by a half dozen Mittelandische troopers.

The Lieutenant snapped to attention, eyes going slightly wide, "Your Highness!" he replied, speaking in Mittelandische.

"At ease," she replied fluently in the same tongue, waving a hand casually, "Do you have all the gold off?"

"We do," the Lieutenant confirmed, "The ship is loaded for the next mission, we are just waiting on final inspections."

"Good," she nodded, "Disembark your crew, we will be taking off now."

"Your Highness, I have ord -"

Zoe held up a finger, enough to quiet the quailing Lieutenant, "And now you have new ones. This is an Inburian vessel and I am Inbur." He looked unconvinced, "You can't be blamed for this. But I am going to have to ask you, politely, to get off my ship." she turned to her guards, "Pass the word to release the lines."

She then turned to her companions, switching to Inburian, "Captain Arkadios, the bridge is yours. Mister Naesandoral, you have the helm. Set a course due East towards the Morktree." She spoke with the absolute certainty that people would do as she commanded... "I'll explain exactly what we're doing in a moment. For now, everyone to your stations."

In The Black (A Clean-Up Crew RP)

"Bella..." Fabio was just beginning his usual patter when the first burst through the door.

His weapon came up, flicking to automatic fire he paused for a moment, then decided to aim a half dozen shots at the monstrosity's groin on the general principle that it had been human once and that out to be a sensitive spot, before flicking up to open up on it's face. He backed up slowly as he did, ready to flee if it lumbered towards him, specifically. Most things died with enough bullets, but in case it was one of the things that did not, Fabio was a decent runner, probably not fast enough to outrun the monstrosity, but he reasoned he would, at the very least, be capable of outrunning some of his team members (which was what really mattered in the end).

Paradise Lost

Chapter Three: Signs of Life

Theme Music

They were well out of Edenite space by now. Outside of the space the Edenites had mapped. Food would last for a few more months but because the ship had never been designed to go more than a couple of weeks, the hydroponics bay was not producing any crops yet and even when it did it would barely suffice.

Which was why the ship jumping into a system with a habitable planet was so exciting. There was almost certainly something they could harvest down on the surface, even if it wasn't food in the way that any of them knew it.

Velia was at her communications station as the ship entered orbit, performing the usual scans. This wasn't usually a job for the Comms officer, but Velia had more knowledge of the ship systems than most, "The atmosphere looks... flammable. No wait, let me check the manual," she paused for a few moments, flicking through a datapad she had propped up on the desk by a coffee mug. The planet hung still, a green and blue jewel with swirling white clouds.

"I'm getting that number wrong... habitable," she corrected.

She paused, muttering under her breath as more numbers came in, "Looks to be an advanced civilisation on the surface. A few million humans... huh fancy that, some more of you guys managed to get off earth. Heavy industry, but no transmissions on or from the surface. That's weird right?"

"Also there aren't any satellites," she added, "But there's a single space port in the Southern Hemisphere."

She looked between the crew as if hoping someone would tell her what to do, then gave a small shrug, "Guess I'll hail on all frequencies and see what happens."

She clicked a button on her console, "Hello Aliens. We come in peace. This is the Edenite Colony ship..." she trailed off, they really needed to sort out a name. "Requesting permission to touch down at your space port with a shuttle."

Velia waited. She continued to wait for several minutes before giving an expansive shrug and an exasperated sigh, "Well they're not picking up. I'll try them again."

She did. Twice. There was no answer to the hail either from the space port or anywhere else on the planet.

"This seems weird to me. Our transmitter and receiver are not broken so the failure to communicate is on their end," she pursed her l, "I'm in favour of going down anyway and seeing if we can talk in person. If they shoot at the shuttle we'll know they aren't friendly."