CHOSEN

[dash=white]Saniya

It was hard to tell if Saniya was even listening to him since all she seemed to be doing was panting. In fact it took all of her will power and all of her dignity to not just collapse onto the ground right then and there. Something must have been getting through to her though because her fascial features kept twitching as Jasper spoke, even if she wasn't looking directly at him.

Finally she straightened and looked at him, then passed him. There was Thea. Saniya had not realized they had been so close. The dark eyed woman took a deep breath and really looked at Jasper. "I can't tell if you'd prefer just that, Captain," she finally said in a quiet voice before she started to walk, ignoring the fatigue and the desire just to stay there. She walked passed Jasper and headed to the ship with her head held high. She might not have liked Jasper, but it didn't make everything he said wrong. Just over blown. Saniya would be glad to going again.

Though that did leave the little voice of doubt in her head the chance to finally speak as the cool air inside of Thea fell upon her. Where were they going, and where did she want to go? She had no clues really how to contact Genisis, and Jasper wanted no part of them. How was she going to help anyone else, if she couldn't even do this much. It was like she just chose her own prison. Saniya glanced over her shoulder back outside. Would it have been better to take the risk?[/dash]
 
CHAPTER TWO: A CREW FOR THEA

AJAX BAR, PLANET HELSPAR OF AMBE SYSTEM - 1200HOUR

No longer on Belpir, Thea made dock on the second planet in the Ambe Solar System. Helspar. Just as irrefutable and lawless as Belpir, Helspar was less about gaining new cargo and more about gaining new crew.

Personally, Jasper hated the place. All the scum of the galaxy gathered in this system. People that he would prefer to see shot or behind a prison cell. But his misunderstanding with Terradyne put him in an awkward position. He hated to admit it, but Thea needed additional crew. The ship was too large to run with himself and Karamchand alone. Should they run in to trouble, a larger crew would make it easier to defend themselves.

Thus, he planted Thea on Helspar and put out an ad in the planet's information deck.

SEEKING CREW.
Wanted: Small Crew.
Several positions needed.
No background checks, or references needed.
But subject to ship's opinion.
An ambiguous set of morals preferred.
Come to Ajax Bar at 1200.
Ask for "J.K." at the bar.​

Now he was seated near the bar in Ajax. Warily watching the faces of the crowd and waiting to see who would take up his ad. Jasper didn't intend to wait long. Staying there too long was an invitation to trouble. Much like the female navigator, who was now across the room watching the nonsense this planet called entertainment.
 
[dash=white]Saniya

Saniya had never been to a bar before. She had been to clubs from time to time, and of course there were the lounges at restaurants, but in both cases these were much higher class then this place. Saniya was trying not to stand out too much. She was wearing the plainest clothing she had, which just meant they were not as brightly colored and most of her clothing, and was sitting down, watching the performers.

The entertainment was quite good in Saniya's opinion, but not what she was use to. Being out of her element was how she got into this bit of trouble. All Saniya wanted was a large glass of wine to sip while watching the show. Saniya enjoyed wine, and knew how much of it she could drink. She knew nothing about harder alcohol though. She wouldn't even have ordered it if given the opportunity since she knew it made people violent and stupid.

There was confussion with the bartender though. It wasn't even like they didn't have any wine. The problem came about when Saniya asked for some ice water and a glass of wine. She ended up with ice wine instead, and no water. Not knowing that the sweet wine was going to give her a buzz, nor wanting to bother the waiter for her glass of water, Saniya was quickly becoming more relaxed then she would have want to be out, even with the safety of her friends. [/dash]
 
Max felt uneasy as he stepped into the bar. Fearing he would stick out like a sore thumb among the bar's typical patrons, he did his best to keep his head down and not meet anyone else's eyes as he made his way through the crowd. He doubted this place attracted very many extraterrestrial biologists. It was much more likely that the people in the bar were of a less educated and more temperamental sort. He would be way out of his depth if he crossed any of them, so keeping a low profile would be the best plan of action.

Reaching the bar, where strangely not very many people were sitting at the moment, Max pulled up a seat and started looking for the bartender. If anyone would know about the strange ad that had been posted concerning this place, it would probably be them. He was beginning to wonder if it was even safe to ask directly about the ad, as strange and secretive as it had been. The only reason it had caught his attention was the strange bit about the ship's opinion. While some peoPle might not have been alarmed by that detail or even have considered it a joke, Max knew of only one kind of ship that could form its own opinions. The kind he had been searching for for years. A sentient ship.

A swarthy- looking middle-aged man appeared behind the bar and walked over to where Max was sitting. Assuming he was going to ask him what he wanted to drink, Max looked at the man expectantly. When he received nothing but a cold gaze in return, he feared he might have made the wrong move. Stammering nervously and glancing down at the bar to avoid the bartender's gaze, Max spoke up softly, praying he could be heard over the loud, garish music that was being played, and said, "D-Do you know anyone by the initials J.K., b-by any chance?"
 
A shadow fell over Max and behind him the floorboards creaked, first with the weight of feet and second with the thud of steel.

Eles'Wain Nuldris came to a perfect halt behind the biologist and stood straight with his spear. At seven foot tall, the Rasitan was able to look over the human and directly at the bartender as he gave his answer. It was rude to listen in of course, but having walked across the desert of Kurn and sold his possessions whilst hopping between the outer worlds of Ambe, he had forgotten some of his etiquette.

But at least he was queuing correctly for the bar.

The barman eyed the reptilian then looked back at Max. "That your Rasitan?"

Nuldris did not understand this question. But then again, it wasn't addressed to him. So Nuldris would let the human correct the misunderstanding. Meanwhile, he had someone poking him in the back. Turning, Nuldris looked down at the hairy dock worker who had been spurred on by his friends to make an approach. "Hey, Raisin! What ya queuing for?" he slurred loudly.

"The bar."

"You gonna buy me a drink, Raisin?!"

"That is not my intention."

The docker's friends guffawed over their drinks and the man attempted to look sad. "Awww, am I not good enough for ya?" He poked the alien as hard as he could in the shoulder.

Nuldris frowned. "I don't understand."

"BUY ME A DRINK, BITCH!" The docker got as close as he could and jumped up to yell in Nuldris's face.

"I have no money."

"Why don't ya pawn yer spear, huh? Pawn that big 'ol spear, huh? Huh?!" The docker started tugging on Nuldris's spear, which remained clamped in his iron grip. "Me an' the boys'll take it off yer hands. We'll pay good money. Let's do a deal, Raisin!"

"If you have money, why are you not able to buy yourself a drink? Would you like my place in the queue?"

There was an explosion of laughter from the nearby table. The docker looked at his friends then grinned even wider. Jumping up and down again, he yelled, "YOU DON'T QUEUE FOR A BAR, NUMB-NUTS!"

Nuldris glanced at his genitals, checking they were okay, before looking back at the man. "I see. Thank you." Turning again, he moved to the side of Max and carefully selected a bar stool, even as the dockers threw ice cubes and bits of paper at his head.

Nuldris was happy. He had learned something about bars.
 
The stage was set, but Heather was backstage putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Tonight was promising to be a night like any other, just getting up on stage and lip-synching with a simple dance routine. She sighed and looked at her face one last time, satisfied with the illusion.

The lights in the bar around the stage dimmed and a spotlight opened up on the curtain in the center, that was Heather's cue. She stepped out just as the music started, a wide smile on her face before pulling the "microphone" up to her lips and starting to sing the words softly to make sure her mouth movements matched the words. She moved about the stage, dancing a bit here, making grand movements with her arms to show the strength behind the words. Finally the music died down and the lights around the bar went back up and Heather made her way backstage once again, making way for another performer to take the stage. Well I guess I'd better go mingle and see if people liked my performance. She thought to herself as she opened the door to the main bar floor and stepped out, her heels clicking on the wooden floor.

Shaking her head she stepped over to a woman she had seen in the audience earlier with a glass of wine. She seemed to be the type that could appreciate her performance. With a wide smile she sauntered up to the woman and leaned on the unoccupied chair nearby.

"Why hello there! Did you like my performance? What brings you here?" She wasn't sure if she wanted to be bothered however but she guessed the response would be her answer.
 
[dash=white]Saniya

Saniya really was enjoying this glass of wine and had signaled the waiter back over so that she could get another glass. As the waiter walked away after getting her order another person walked up to her table.

Saniya lifted her head and looked up. "You're the pretty performer," Saniya smiled at the woman. "You sing nicely," she then giggled. Saniya couldn't recall the last time she giggled, but she was finding herself very joyful at the moment.

"You should sit!" Saniya then declared in a burst of inspiration. She hadn't had a chance to talk to another woman in ages. Well there was Thea, but the ship had been too busy with Jasper later. Jasper, that man really got under her skin. Worse yet she still hadn't thanked him for saving her from that man. He seemed to have brushed it off. Or at least she couldn't tell that his behavior to her was any different then when he first board the ship.

Saniya took another sip of her wine. She wasn't going to let him ruin her good time! "Please," she held out her hand to the chair that woman was leaning on. "I'm Saniya by the way."[/dash]
 
Max peered over his shoulder and was surprised to see the towering alien standing behind him. He instantly recognized it as a Rasitan bioform, even though he had only seen or heard about them in books up until this point. He had always considered them one of the more intriguing species in the known universe.

"No, he's not mine," Max replied, annoyed, to the bartender's question. As if one sentient being could belong to another.'It then occurred to him that the man might've been talking about some kind of slavery. Max was disgusted at the thought. Surely that kind of thing didn't happen here, no matter how far it was from regulated space. If that turned out not to be true, Max would begin to wonder just how far he had come in his quest for the Titans.

When the group of drunken louts began taunting the Rasitan, Max glared angrily in their direction, but dared not do anything else less their attention turn to him. This kind of behavior is what made it difficult for people in his field to study other sentient species. It was simple ignorance at work, and he was always disappointed when he saw it in his fellow humans.

Turning to the bartender in hopes he would do something, Max was met with just another blank stare. With an exasperated roll of his eyes, the bartender spoke up. "Jasper Killian is probably the one you're looking for. You can find him in the back at his usual spot. Take the Rasitan with you, if you don't mind."

Max stared up at the alien seated next to him and gave a nervous smile. " So, I don't suppose you're looking for this Killian fellow, too. Still, feel free to come along." He swiftly got up from the barstool and made his way towards the back of the bar. He didn't check to see if the Rasitan was following him, but if he was he hoped the trouble he had attracted wouldn't follow them as well.
 
He doesn't suppose that I am looking for Jasper Killian. And yet he says I am free to follow him. Why would a human who assumes I do not share his business then invite me to partake in his business? Should he not have offered all the others in the bar to follow, whose indifferences to the business are equally supposable?...

Nuldris scowled away the thoughts. He didn't like getting confused, even though he was on a quest to learn about chaos. But there was nothing academic in analyzing a passing statement to death. Scratching beneath the carapace at the back of his skull, the Rasitan remained for a moment before getting up to follow Max. He didn't like the bar stool anyway - it was hard to know who was supposed to go first when they had all the bar stools next to each other.

"Hey, don't follow him, Raisin. It's against the law."

Nuldris found himself looking down at the docker again, who seemed to have grown twice as much stubble since their last exchange. "The law?"

"Yeah, new ruling: you're not allowed to follow that guy."

"I read the colonial charter at the space port. It did not mention..."

"Oh yeah, that was Charter A. You didn't read Charter B. It says all newcomers need to dance for--"

"SHUT UP THE HELL UP!" the barman yelled. The docker laughed and staggered back to his table, whilst Nuldris turned to question the barman. But the Rasitan received only a glare and an angry gesture pointing him after Max. He clearly did not want the alien at his bar any longer.

Hefting his spear, Nuldris strode after Max, boots clonking on the floor as he mulled over the new developments. Was it really against the law to follow this human? And why had the barman overridden that directive? Was he above the law? Music and lights filled the lounge area to the right, where a woman had just finished singing. It brought a smile to Nuldris's face. He loved spotlights - the way they focussed all that brightness to one perfect place. It was truly a thing of beauty.

A glass shattered on the back of his head and there was another ripple of laughter.

Humans were clumsy creatures.

 
Oh dear, somebody's tipsy if she thought I was actually singing. Or maybe I'm just that good...maybe I'll make it! Heather stopped short of making some random gesture of assumed grandeur. The invitation to sit was well received however, and Heather slid the chair out and sat down in the seat, making sure to cross her legs like a lady.

"Well I hope you wear more sensible shoes than I do, I tell you these heels can be murder on the feet!" Heather chuckled. "And it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Saniya. I'm Heather. You never did say what brings you to my little patch of the bar, unless of course you're on some secret escort mission for a celebrity?" Heather leaned in a little closer and raised an eyebrow playfully. She smiled and leaned back in the chair, waving her hand the waiter to bring her whatever it was Saniya was drinking, it did look good.
 
Jasper was quite deep in thought, periodically checking the time when the motions of someone approaching caught his attention. He did a double-take, looking over his shoulder and to the side to see if the boy (barely a man!) was actually approaching his table. Then he almost assumed it might have been a waiter, but the assumption quickly tossed aside when he remembered the place he was in.

His eyebrow raised as the man stopped just a few paces shy of the table. Jasper leaned forward on an elbow, waiting for him to speak first. The kid barely looked brave enough to spit out two sentences. From the look of his clothes, he didn't have any business being in a bar, let alone on a scum-bucket planet like Helspa.

This was not going to be a good day for crew, it seemed.

"If you're answering the ad, have a seat." Jasper finally said, motioning towards a chair at the table.

To his surprise, the boy wasn't alone. Jasper was then giving a dubious look at the Rasitan trailing after him. The creature didn't crack a grimace or snarl at the glass crashing against the back of his head. Several of the local goons howling in laughter were now snatching up some new things to throw. Jasper leaned to the side, pulling his weapon out of his. With a sharp whistle and a scowl he waved it slightly. There was no mistaking his meaning.

Ceasing with a sulk, the band of drunks went back to slapping each other around, leaving the Rasitan be for the moment. Bar brawls were well and good, but no one wanted to taunt a gunner. All it took was one gun going off in a seedy establishment, then suddenly the entire place was lit up.

"You. Have a seat there." Jasper directed the Rasitan. Whether he was with the boy, there to answer his ad, or simply in the wrong bar at the wrong time, Jasper figured the alien could at least use a place to sit without being used a dart board.

"I need a crew." he continued, not wasting any time with introductions. "Pay can debated if you are allowed to stay on the ship. As it stands I have a navigator and nothing else. I need a gunner, cook, mechanic and medic. I expect you to know how to use a weapon." Jasper paused, eying Max in particular. "And if not, learn how to use one."

"I cannot claim that all business with this ship will be entirely legal, however I won't tolerate disloyalty, thievery, or murder. ...Do you find this acceptable, gentlemen?"
 
[dash=white]Saniya

Saniya giggled again when Heather asked why she was out there. "Something like that," she admitted. It was a secret why she was out here, but there were no celebrities involved of course. "Not as fun as it sounds though."

The waiter returned with Saniya's second drink and one for Heather as well. "Ice wine," the waiter said to warn the performer. It wasn't good for his tips, nor for the stress level of the owner to have any performers drunk early in the evening, and since shit ran down hit, the waiter was going to be sure it wasn't his fault that the queen was drunk.

Saniya seemed to not mind giving generous tips and even paid for Heather's drink before the waiter left. The woman then turned to the performer. "You a local?"[/dash]
 
He expects us to use weapons, but will not tolerate murder. He expects his activities will not be legal, but will not tolerate thievery or disloyalty.

The chair creaked as Nuldris accepted the order to sit down. Luckily, Mr Killian's table was slightly rectangular, placing the human at the head and establishing a clear and helpful hierarchy. It was a pity his words were so contradictory. If he was expected to use a weapon, was there to be fighting? Surely not against the Federation, for that would entail disloyalty. Then again, he was not a pirate, for that would involve thievery. Perhaps a ship of war... and yet that would involve murder.

Perhaps this was the nature of the ambiguous morals mentioned in the advert. A code undefined and internally flawed. What else was that but the essence of chaos - to hold to nothing and be bound by contradiction?

Truly, this was the start of the Rasitan's journey.

"I was Beta-Custodian to the Fourth Krua-Ambassador," spoke his deep yet somehow soft voice. "My duties included the preparation of nutrition, laundering and supply provision."

He leant back, the chair creaking dangerously, then decided to sweeten the deal. With an expression halfway between a grin and a snarl, he added, "And I have ambiguous morals. I have broken the Charter B law of this planet by following this man to the table and refusing to dance."

He gestured at Max with his spear.

 
Heather leaned back when the drinks arrived and was about to speak up about Saniya paying but the waiter was there and gone so quickly she barely had a chance to offer to pay with her reduced rate instead. "Oh dear, Ice Wine? I must be drinking with the classiest woman in the entire establishment! Other than yours truly of course!" Heather tapped the table and laughed boisterously before stopping short of sounding insane. This was a dance that Heather had gone through many a time, having to talk with patrons, make them feel special, however this time she was being genuine. Something about Saniya seemed very classy and something told Heather that she was far more interesting than most of the other patrons.

"Oh a local? Goodness no, I'm just here until I can find a better paying job. I usually just hop any transport shuttle I can find and take my show on the road. It's nice here but I've been to nicer places." Heather smiled, taking a sip from the wine, "I'm a Sagittarius which means I just love to travel! And how about you Miss Saniya? Are you a local, at least originally?" Heather smiled, taking another sip, feeling the warming sensation the alcohol was bringing.
 
Max settled into the seat across from the Rasitan, even though he himself hadn't been invited to sit down. This Jasper Killian seemed like a pretty gruff individual. The way he was looking at Max didn't suggest a favorable attitude, as if he had already formed the opinion that Max didn't belong on the ship.

"I can be your medic." Max asserted confidently. "I have some, uh... expertise in biology." The truth was that Max was probably more qualified to be a veterinarian than to operate on people, but he wasn't about to say that out loud. If it helped his chances of getting on the ship, he would claim to have a PhD in medicine. The less they knew about him the better, as far as he was concerned. He didn't even want to begin thinking about what would happen if they found out he worked for Terradyne.

"About this ship," he began to ask Jasper,"is there anything we should know about it before getting any deeper? Anything... special?" He raised his eyebrows on the last bit to drive his point home. Hopefully, he could bait the captain into giving out a little more information about the ship while they were still here. He didn't expect Jasper to just come out and say that it was a Titan, but maybe he would get the message and decide to drop a few more hints like those he had put in the ad.

"Guns? Well, I can't say I have much experience with them, but I'm more than willing to learn." He hoped that would be a satisfactory answer to the insinuation that he might have problems with the nature of their business on the ship. He would say whatever might help his chances of getting on board. "Whatever it takes," he added determinedly.
 
"You are a terrible liar." Jasper muttered in Max's direction, with an expression that managed his faintly accusing tone. The way the boy shifted in his seat when he answered the question and gave his 'resume'. Jasper was sure this one was no more accustomed to being out in the world than Karamchand.

However, he couldn't be picky about his crew right now. And if he were honest with himself, Jasper would much rather deal with someone green than one of the shitbags that seemed to make their living out in this system.

The Rasitan was a curious figure himself. Jasper rubbed his chin, not yet replying to the alien as he stared him down. With no more knowledge than a kid, a clueless Rasitan was just as bad as the other two. Jasper chocked it up to fate. If you were going to get the shit kicked out of you by destiny, you might as well have the worst help you can get.

"Alright then. I'll take the two of you to meet the ship in a moment. We've a few more minutes to wait." Jasper deliberately didn't answer Max's question. Though it irked him a bit that the questions hit a little too close to home, Jasper felt safer in with-holding the details until last minute. At least then he could get rid of the pair inconspicuously if he had to.

"Welcome to my crew, Rasitan." he held out his hand to the alien. At the alien's confused expression, Jasper smirked. "You clasp hands and shake. Human tradition for sealing deals."
 
[dash=white]Saniya

Shaking her head to the last question, Saniya took another drink of her wine. She was a bit disappointed to have not gotten any water and had to even look at her glass at one point wondering why it was so sweet. Perhaps it was a local vintage. She wasn't going to inquirer too closely, Jasper would give her hell if she caused trouble. Besides the singer seemed to recognize it. Though for a second she did have to wonder if it had been watered down, maybe they added sweeteners? That would be bizarre indeed.

Saniya thought Heather seemed energetic and good natured. A pleasant combination to say the least. "I bet Thea would like you," she finally said with a grin. Yes she was sure the ship would enjoy talking to the entertainer. It was better then always talking to Jasper. Saniya leaned in closer to Heather. "Would you like to meet her? Though you'll have to promise not to tell anyone."

What a wonderful afternoon this would turn out to be, Saniya thought as she took another long drink of her too sweet of wine. [/dash]
 
Heather smiled warmly as Saniya seemed to study her wine. Heather simply took her glass and took another sip, it was oddly sweet but Heather payed no mind to it. Heather, didn't have much knowledge on wines, she just liked drinks for drinking. She kept her gaze on Saniya, tilting her glass slightly with her finger.

It was then that Saniya offered a visit to someone named Thea. "I would love to meet any friend of yours, especially if she has access to travel." She chuckled, "I'm just teasing of course, any friend of yours must be good stock, you seem like a quite lovely person, and lovely people have lovely friends." Was she babbling? Was it the wine or was she just excited to be talking to someone a bit more genuinely, even if Saniya thought that she was a fellow woman.

She shook her head for a moment and then nodded. "I would love to meet your friend, let me just go grab my stage case, it has a few...essentials, for someone in my trade and I'll be right back!" She nodded, quickly getting up and running backstage and plucking up a small shoulder-bag filled with her makeup, a back up wig and a colorful robe before returning to Saniya's table. "Ready!"
 
[dash=white]Saniya

Seeing Heather return, Saniya stood up and was surprised by the bit of dizziness that followed. She blinked and it passed. That was odd. Shrugging it off she walked over to the taller woman. Not that many women were taller then here, not that Saniya minded in the least. "One things for sure, if you like travel, Thea is the one to know," she told Heather with a grin before leading the way out of the bar.

As she was leaving, Saniya had the feeling she was forgetting something. She considered what it could possibly be as they went from the bar and out to the docks where the interstellar ships were located. As they walked along Saniya asked Heather the very opened ended question, "So where have you been?"

Saniya was of course interested, she wanted to see if she could picture which stars and systems that the performer had been to. Later she'd have to check with the navigation system on board Thea. It was a delightful game and the best part was that it got Heather a chance to open up and Saniya to enjoy herself on multiple levels. Everything was delightful.

It did not take too long for them to reach the ship. Thea of course recognized Saniya and there was no need to hail the ship or in any way try to get in, the door opened for her as soon as she reached it. "Welcome aboard Heather." [/dash]
 
Heather reached for Saniya as she stood seeing the wobble but stopped short when the woman seemed to steady herself. She must've had more to drink than I had thought! She giggled as she followed Saniya closely, swinging her bag a bit as she walked. "Oh well that's wonderful, it seems Thea and I will get along famously."

It didn't take long for Heather to notice which way they were heading, she had come from this direction not too long ago when she made it to the planet. "Been? Oh all sorts of places, I was born in the Castalia System, and I've kind of hopped planets outwards until I found my way here. It's been a journey all right! I particularly enjoyed the Shindo planet in the Yamato system, such pretty trees there." Heather nodded, wishing that she knew where Thea was before they left the bar, she might've brought her luggage and tried to bargain passage on the ship. From everything she knew so far she was assuming that Thea was a ship's captain and if her guess was right she would be able to escape this planet. It was nice enough but she'd already spent a month working the same crowds at the same bar and she needed to get out.

When they came upon the ship Heather's eyes lit up, it was a craft like no other she had seen before. It was beautiful, and the gasped cry of delight might've been a bit louder than she had intended. When the door opened without entering a key-code or anything Heather knew it was a special ship, but how she wasn't quite sure. "So is Thea the captain of this extraordinary ship? She has exquisite tastes in ships if that's the case!" Heather gasped as she stepped past the door and examined what she had assumed to be craftsmanship.
 
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