Intergalactic Life: Among the Stars (IC)

[BB-Bauers]

As she was rushing away from the scene, Jinx heard Drassil beginning to catch on to the source of her concern. "Oh, like you've never done a 'bad thing'..." she whispered aggressively in response, rolling her eyes for emphasis. But they didn't have the chance to get very far. It was as if the creature started coming after them as soon as they decided to move.

And boy, was it fast. Jinx gasped and let go of Drassil's wrist as the dragon-esque organism was suddenly before them. She held her breath in suspense as she waited to see what he would do...

But of all the things Jinx thought would happen next, being handed back the can of eCola as the organism sported an amused grin was not one of them. She was confused -- was that it? Did this guy not want anything else from them? Jinx was skeptical and unconvinced, but Drassil certainly seemed to think they were in the clear, based on his continually playful banter. (Or maybe that was just a defense mechanism of his. Who really knew.)

After having enough time to really observe the creature in front of them, Jinx thought that certain characteristics were really starting to seem familiar to her. She must have read about this species at some point in her life because, upon closer inspection, she was able to recall the species name. So when Drassil asked what exactly this organism was, Jinx finally piped up. "Deek," she interjected, looking to the creature for some kind of response. "You... You're a Deek, right? I think I've heard of your species before."

She smiled, trying to appear as friendly as Drassil did, even though she was still feeling quite skeptical and uneasy as to the Deek's intentions. "And yes, why were you watching us? Is there something we can help you with?"

Just then, she felt Drassil whispering into her ear -- something about wondering if she had actually stolen something or not. "N-No--! I mean--" she bit her lip anxiously, whispering a hushed response back. "I-It's not like it matters, okay?"​

 

[Grimoire]

[fieldbox="Syril Poratun, plum, dashed, 10, courier new"][bg=#404040]The only other sound, other than the quiet hum of the cargo ship, was the soft music coming out of Syril's earbud headphones. The volume was turned up loudly on her MP3 player since one of her favorite songs began to play: Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)."

"Well, I stand up next to a mountain. And chop it down with the edge of my hand..."

She sang along including Jimi's guitar part...damn, she loved Jimi. Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page were her absolute favorite guitarist in the whole entire galaxy. While still rocking out to the lyrics Syril brought up the HUD for the ETA of KL-55 space station.

"'Cause I'm a voodoo child. Lord knows I'm a voodoo child..."

Below it showed 2 hours 14 minutes and 28 seconds at the speed that Syril was going...still quite a bit to go. Syril was on her way to deliver the shipment including the keys to the cargo ship to some alien dude by the name of Nar. She had no idea what was on that ship. One of her jobs was being a reliable transporter (the other two were ass kicking bodyguard & smexy interpreter) and if they paid her well upfront then she was gonna keep her mouth shut and not ask any questions.

She flipped a switch and pressed the Auto-pilot button. With nothing else better to do she leaned back against the chair, slunk down a bit, and swiveled her chair to face the other co-pilot chair so as to rest her legs on it. Syril then snuggled up against the back of the chair just to get a little more comfy and closed her eyes; let the music take over.

This is nice...got no one hovering over me, no one telling me to shut up with my music...no, one bothering me. Just me, myself, and I. Just me...alone. She paused at that last word. Alone. There was no denying that after being on her own for so many years without family and friends had begun to take its toll. In reality, she missed having someone, anyone, to talk to...to have one friend, but for some reason she's never led up to it...maybe it was bad luck, bad timing, bad personality?...nah... or maybe just a really shitty past? Who knows? Syril sighed, not wanting to deal with her buzzkill feelings she instead let the music lull her to sleep. Eventually, after several minutes her eyelids began to get heavy and finally dozed off. With the music on it was a sure way to keep those nightmares at bay...and that was important. It was important because she didn't have to live through the torture back in Orm...but worst of all seeing her people killed and beaten as they slaved their lives away to the Dracg. Those things are best kept locked away in her mind.
_________________________________________________________

BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!!

She abruptly awoke from her deep sleep and almost fell off her chair while doing so. The cargo ship's notification alarm went off to give out the alert that she had arrived to her destination. "F*cks sake," and let out an exasperated sigh as she slammed on the button to turn off the loud beeping noise. She then adjusted herself properly back on her pilot chair so as to land the ship. Within a minute or so she parked the cargo ship in an empty space between two wide ramps. She stuffed her mp3 player inside her black leather backpack and grabbed the keys including the key card to open up the containers.

Walking down the ramp she put on her solid black-leather baseball cap and then pulled up her hood. At the end of the ramp she noticed a small 3.5 foot alien waiting for her.

"Nar?" she asked a bit confused. Syril was expecting something else.

He flipped open his wallet to display his ID for her to see, "Yeah, that's me, you got the goods?" he asked in a high pitched yet wannabe tough guy voice as he stuffed his wallet back into his back pocket.

She handed him the keys along with the card key, "All yours."

He took the card key and scanned it against a handheld portable computer where it displayed exactly what was being transported, how many, weight, along with some other details. He then walked up to one of the cargo ship's containers and scanned the card key again. Syril stood there looking around the KL-55 space station as she waited for him. When he walked back to her he didn't look so jolly.

"You're missing cargo," he said avoiding her eyes and pretended to fiddle around with his little computer, "says here you're missing 4 containers..." and pressed on more stupid buttons.

"I delivered exactly what was given to me. Whatever you are missing take it up with the other guy, his name was Hyken back in AO-9 space station in Jathrar...so, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave," and turned around to face a rather large and muscular chest that looked like it was going to rip through a tight green shirt with a yellow smiley face on it....a clear contrast from the face that she was now looking up to. A big guy who looked serious even more so as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"That's Bliff...and Bliff don't like liars and cheats, and neither do I. You're gonna have to pay up one way or another." She heard Nar say from behind. Wait a sec. Bliff?... Ok yeah, it fit.

She rolled her eyes in the most obnoxious way possible due to the sound of his annoying-ass voice but mostly because what was coming out of his mouth was just a load of crock.

Syril running out of patience turned and said, "Who the hell you calling a liar? Clearly YOU'RE the one setting ME up!"

She was about to step a lot closer to Nar but at this point she felt a heavy hand grip onto her left shoulder.

Oh no you did not, Bliff.

Immediately Syril exploded into a burst of energy. She kicked Nar hard in the chest sending him flying several yards across the space station. All he needed was a cape and an S slapped on his chest and he'd be the next Superman... only thing lacking was a bad ass voice and an intimidating stature. Next was Bliff who was too slow to pull her back from causing damage to Nar. His grip was a lot harder now and she winced at the pain but it wasn't enough to stop her. Before he could put his other arm around her for a headlock Syril's arm shot up and punched him straight in the mouth. It was so fast that Bliff stopped for a moment in shock to realize what the hell just happened. He got a fist full of kung fu POWA, THAT'S what happened. Bliff was now very angry as he spit out blood and a large tooth. He growled and then lunged at her but Syril was too fast for him. Nar on the other side of the planet, practically, had woken up from his nap and yelled out, "Get over hea'! NOW, damn it!" and scrambled to get up but staggered as he started walking towards Syril. Suddenly a large door from the ship next to the cargo ship had opened and out came more people to join the party.

Syril not wanting any collateral damage among pedestrians and run the risk of getting arrested AND being put in another cell...she hated cells. HATED them. She had to run. Bliff tried to get another take on her but she kicked him on the knee to subdue him. He cried out in pain as he was forced into a fetal position to cradle his leg. She was being gentle, mind you...otherwise she would've broken his leg in half with those metal limbs of hers. The opportunity to escape was now since a pack of angry aliens were getting a lot closer. Syril made a run for it and didn't waste any time looking back. All she heard was Nar's screams of frustration and the orders he barked at his cronies. After several seconds of running his voice became distant and eventually diminished into nothing.

_________________________________________________________

After running for what seemed like forever she finally stopped to rest. Syril didn't run for too long but she did run incredibly fast which was one of the perks of having Solstarrise infused robotic limbs. She had covered a lot ground in a short amount of time. Once Syril was absolutely sure that she had lost them she finally slowed down to a stop. Syril, exhausted, leaned over to rest her hands on her knees and catch her breath. After a several minutes of rest she began to walk some more only looking back once for Bliff while giving Nar a piggyback ride as they led the pack of aliens, but they weren't in sight.

Syril finally manged to relax and soon after her mind was completely blown away as her eyes set upon an old school slurpee machine inside a convenience store. She quickly marched over the machine like her life depended on it. She plastered her face (which distorted it) and entire body up against the large glass window where the slurpee was sitting across from her. She couldn't believe it. When Syril entered the store she almost cried tears of joy but mostly hugged it like a large teddy bear. She smiled with her eyes closed because she had a little piece of heaven in her arms. Obviously weird looks were given by the young guy working the register and once he started to complain Syril peeled herself off from it. She grabbed the super xtra large ultimate supreme extreme cup and filled it with all the flavors they had starting with her favorite: piña colada!, cherry, cola, blueberry, banana, and grape. Layering them all was her favorite part and was OCD about it since they needed to be exactly the same amount ...except for piña colada. Piña colada got special treatment therefore there was a little more extra of that. So there she was, taking her time to fill up her cup.

Leave it to a simple thing as a slurpee to completely make her forget about the lame cargo ship incident.

Slurpee ftw.

[/bg][/fieldbox]​

 

[four]

The Frenian Mimic Shrub, originating from the subtropic forests on the planet of Fren, were a very intriguing species.

For one thing, it was a highly developed plant - with a complete system of leaves and roots and everything in between. In the mean time, it also had a nervous system, a cardiovascular system, and several specialized pods in its roots underground where symbiotic microbes converted nutrients provided by the plant into dyes vivid colours.

It was also a fierce predator. It attracts its prey by arranging its many flexible branches and leaves to form elaborate structures, and inflate them with their organic ink of various colours. The mimic shrub was outstandingly intelligent, and could discern from vibration sensors in its roots what a potential victim would find most attractive.

Mimic shrub ink sacs were very popular due to their their natural, saturated colours. It was most sought after by artists who were frustrated to find that a plant did their job better than they did.

One of those plants was sitting on the examination stand in the medical bay in the Moonage Daydream, with several instruments aimed at it, and a few other lying nearby. On the other end of the stand was a Legendrite leaning onto the surface and tapping one of the stand's metal legs.

Emily Goodnight believed that there was near success in coaxing the shrub into making itself look like a sunflower by the time a series of frantic stomps echoed throughout the hallway outside as a muffled voice of the captain hollered "we'll be expecting company."

"- company? What sort of company? Are - "

Disrupted, the shrub now looked something like a cross between a doughnut and a mug of coffee. And, despite the Dylan's hastily addressed commands, neither Emily, nor the Frenian mimic shrub, were "strapped down" by the time the Daydream's star drive hit power 4.

____________________

Moments later, cockpit.

Emily was, at this time, nearby moving through the hallway, rubbing a spot on her elbow that she was certain would develop a bruise later, and pondering over when a good opportunity to mention to the captain that she would greatly appreciate a few seconds time gap between the witty one-liner and any sudden movement of the ship.

...which is just enough to get us some much-needed repairs, buy a new Gravitron Compressor, yes Spanner I actually listen to your requests, and best of all, we can pick up some fresh food and still have cash left over for later -"

"- chair."

She skidded to a stop at the entrance of the cockpit where everyone was gathered, just in time to attach that reminder to the captain's brief on the last mission as she peeled the second of the disposable gloves off her right hand.

She then realized that the word "chair" made no sense at all without context.

"Nevermind that." She added, and at about the same time tossed a glance towards an Eiger trying, obviously unsuccessfully, to get comfortable in his seat.

"Sorry about the lateness." She said, "Made a mess in the med bay that needed some cleaning up."

The sentence was followed by a little cough and her pausing to straighten her collar, which should be interpreted as her gesture that indicated that she was hoping no-one actually asked what exactly she was doing before their low-orbit encounter earlier.

Emily decided that she was comfortable enough standing with her arms and rested against the top rim of the back of the seat, without the need to circle around and actually sit in it. She leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands, tilting to a side as she listened and nodded to the rest of the details.

She also came to the decision that she wouldn't mind taking a walk around the space station, but was not enthusiastic enough about it to raise her hand. She moved her head to lean in the other direction as she looked at the other half of the room to see who would volunteer.

"Dręxēl sounds nice enough," she commented in the mean time. Its cities were a bit crowded - as to be expected from a tourist attraction - but she wasn't complaining. She had never been there, but but had heard much of its reputation, "It has been quite a while since we last landed on a planet with decent oceans."

____________________


Meanwhile, elsewhere. An examination stand was situated alone at an angle between two of the walls of the medical bay.

Most of the pins, acrylic vials, and the little rubber hammer had been retrieved and placed on a nearby table.

Still not having recovered from the recent shock, the plant wriggled around its thread-like appendages, twisting and twirling them together, trying to form a coherent shape. The white and brown pigments in them faded as circulation pumped them out of the branches and new ones in, inflating many lines of orange and yellow.

The Frenian mimic shrub had gotten itself very confused, and had no idea why it was now trying to get itself to look like a kitten.

 

[DoomyCakez]

@Sora1297 @Rax Rosetta @Sofa King Fancy @Grothnor @four

It seemed that the whole gang was here...the whole, dysfunctional lot of them. Well...said for Emily, causing Casspian to frown with minor, manmade worry. They had made a bit of a narrow escape, leaving those mindless droids in the dust. Casspian could not help but feel some sort of embarrassment for those goons to even be included in his manmade race. Maybe that was why he was the future. He wasn't brainless. He was learning, that marvelous AI of his taking in all of the knowledge his crewmates had to offer, mainly because they were the only people he could look to as his teachers...How corrupted his mind had already become from these fleshy beings, who all came from different walks of life...some pirates, some wanted men,...hell the Captain was still considered a bit of an adolescent on his home planet, only 19, yet he was already leading a whole crew...not to mention they had a prototype WMD aboard.

He had often time debated his own purpose here on The Moonage Daydream, often times feeling as though his essential purpose as a protection droid was being put to little to no use. These fleshy creatures were more than capable of taking care of themselves, hell most of them had done so their entire lives...but maybe Casspian was seen as a sort of comforter. It was true that his skills had helped the crew in more ways than one; however, Casspian often felt that, more than once, he had needed them more than they usually needed him. He watched them, learned from them, listened to any advice they had to offer...but had he really given any of his own? This was a learning process for the Android...only two years in the world and who knew how many more he needed to endure...

Casspian blinked, his thoughts returning to the real world around him as Nova suddenly spoke. He was complaining of the crew not caring about him? Clearly he was joking; however, Casspian was usually oblivious to such signs of sarcasm. The Android blinked once more, his scanner switching on as he quickly gazed over the Captain's form. It only took a moment, Casspian blinking once more to shut it off as he quickly analyzed the collected data.

"Other than an excellerated heart beat, a scratch on your left temple and forearm, and increased adrenaline, I detect no other injuries Captain." Casspian stated rather matter-of-factly, head turning to gaze over the rest of the crew as they spoke. Eigar was agitated by the limited amount of space in the cockpit...that was to be expected, being that the Daemon was over a head taller than the average human male. Casspian often found himself pitying the creature...or at least feeling some sort of likeness to the odd Eigar, mainly because, like himself, he understood little of the other's culture. They were all human, so if was often difficult to find any likeness with creatures that already naturally clustered together. They all shared their culture. Eigar had his own, but what of Casspian? He lacked any idea of a culture, beig that any thoughts and memories were only unbiased analysations of the happenings around himself...not that Casspian could ever actually feel the emotion that stemmed from that; however, he did understand it.

As the Captain spoke once more, requesting a few to help him return the crate, Casspian, of course, spoke up to volunteer his services...not that he ever really had to. "I'll accompany you, Captain." With Nova and Casspian's relationship, the android was often use to being by the man's side...maybe that's why he was often looked at towards a pet...It was not that Casspian saw himself as such, but he did feel some sort of obligation to protect the man that had taken him in as well as taught him many of the things he now knew...even though Casspian often disagreed with many of the man's practices. That must have been another reason Casspian felt the need to help the Captain and be by his side. The man was often illogical, mainly in his desire to not kill. Casspian killed when he deemed it necessary, which ended up being most of the time...especially when the others were trying to tying to kill him. Casspian had had to learn rather quickly about the Captain's ways, even though it was often frustrating to be ordered to not kill the fleshy beings that had the audacity to hit you aside the head with a metal pipe.

Casspian blinked once more, returning his attention to Nova as he spoke about their mission. 300,000 credits was indeed quite a sum, not that Casspian had a need for it. The fleshy beings had a need for food, water, shelter, etc., but Casspian had no use for it. He nodded politely, knowing he had not actual place in the current conversation. This was more addressed to the humans...and Daemon of the ship. Fresh provisions were needed, mainly for the Captain's desire to cook fresh meals for the members of the ship. Casspian found this rather illogical. The premade meals would easily suffice. Plus, they lasted longer and took up less space in the Cargo area of the ship; however, Casspian had researched the effects of a home cooked meal...Higher morale. Ah yes, morale was indeed needed. That's why Casspian wanted to get a Cat for everyone...A cat would do all the things a home cooked meal would, as well as save space. Casspian would keep it in his quarters, make sure it would remain nurished and appropriately hydrated; however, the fact that the Captain as well as the other members of the crew always told him "no", did often put a damper on the Androids artificial spirits.

The Captain was offering some sort of vacation for the crew? Casspian felt a small twinge of confusion rise through him. He understood that the fleshy being had a need to take rests and refuel; however, Casspian was never actually on vacation himself. He was not programmed to do such things, always prepared to jump back into work at the slightest notion of it. He was not human; however, many of the crew saw it fit to try and help him become such. Casspian found humor in it, but he also found himself believing it on occasion... well until something happens that places him right back into his Android state of mind. He was rather...envious of these beings...Their true emotions and understanding... They were so...organic; however, Casspian was not such...and he was quite certain he never would be.

The Android had remained silent this whole time, his steely blue gaze pointed towards the floor as his gloved hand covered the thin line his mouth had created. He was brooding, more so these days than ever in his time with the crew. He looked up once Nova asked for opinions, blinking for a moment before he finally answered.

"I suppose a vacation would do much to raise morale...the crew has been working hard and deserve a bit of a break. But do you not think a cat would suffice for that as well, Captain?...I believe I have mentioned the effects of having one quite clearly. I have already thought up a series of names." Casspian was not willing to give up on the desire to have a cat onboard, even if the rest of the crew did not see it as such. It was about time to get off the ship, being that they had been cooped up for the last few days. With the port an hour away, there was quite a bit of freetime left...not that Casspian knew what he could do with that...maybe he could read a comic...

He turned his gaze towards Emily once she entered, hearing her mumble something along the lines of "chair". Did she not find comfort in her own chair? Casspian was uncertain why she saw a need for a new chair, but he rarely understood the wants of the fleshy beings. Casspian unstraped himself, rising gracefully from his own seat and stepping aside for her. "Here you are, Emily. I believe my chair my will suffice enough for your desire. I do hope you have not recieved any injuries from the jolt." He decided to repeat his process of scanning, as he had done the Captain. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious. He blinked, his scanner shutting off once more before he smiled at the blue alien and gestured towards his chair. He may have been an Android, but his service programming made him a gentleman...Maybe Nova should take a few lessons from him, yes? ​

 

[RomanCat]

@Grimoire

Artemia smiled at the girl as she left toward the hangar, and meagerly waved. Artemia hoped the girl would be alright, and turned to find Theron in the growing crowd. She weaved through the people surrounding her, looking up at the signs of the stores.

She stopped and stared at a yellow sign where she thought Theron had left for a free sample of juice. She entered and was immediately felt like everyone began watching her. She kept her arms crossed and her head sunken into her shoulders. She wasn't a master of stealth, but she tried to dissuade people from looking at her nonetheless.

The shelves were just tall enough that Artemia had to stand on her toes to look over them. No Theron. Where the hell is he? She thought.

---

Theron patiently waited to get his free sample of the so called "new and improved juice drinking experience" posted on top of the stand. He stepped up to the large beast in front of him.

"Hello sir, would you happen to be interested in the greatest juice ever created, that you will never forget for the rest of you life?" He asked.

"Huh, how could I refuse." Theron said, grabbing a plastic cup from the table. He swirled the contents before dropping them down the hatch.

The hatch brought it back up.

Theron coughed, as some of the foul beverage dripped down onto his chin.

"Did you enjoy it?" The large clerk asked a hopeful smile across his face.

Theron looked up to him. "I'm sorry, not my kind of drink." Theron said with a shrug before he quickly exited the building in hopes of finding something actually pleasing to the taste buds.

He was in luck, just across the street was an old Slurpee machine, something he had really only heard about. He darted across the street and into the store. He threw some change to the young man working the desk and curiously stared at the selections, but was in a hurry to decided upon grape.

As he turned to walk away he came face to face with someone fully pressing herself against the window of the store. Theron stopped and slowly rotated to look at the Slurpee machine behind him, clearly the fixation of her undivided attention. When he turned back she had run through the store to the machine in an embrace of passion.

"Uhh, miss? Are you okay?" Theron asked. "Or do you need a hand finding a minister who will marry you two."

 

[Grimoire]

[fieldbox="Syril Poratun, plum, dashed, 10, courier new"]@RomanCat
[bg=#404040]Syril didn't even realize at all that there was one other customer inside the convenience store. The power of the slurpee machine had completely entranced her in such a way that the entire world had ceased to exist. It was only her and the slurpee machine, together, once again at last.

"Uhh, miss? Are you okay?" Theron asked. "Or do you need a hand finding a minister who will marry you two."

Syril cracked one eye open and saw a guy with black hair staring at her. The moment her eye laid upon him Syril had flinched slightly and gripped on the machine tighter from being startled.

The poor guy from the register who was only doing his job also spoke up and began to hurry Syril up, "Excuse me lady, but you gotta buy something otherwise you gotta leave...and please stop creeping out the customers," the last sentence was emphasized with a more desperate-pleading tone.

"Alright, already!" she yelled back at the register guy in annoyance. Syril finally let go of the machine and answered the stranger's question, "That would be great, a husband that didn't talk and fed me a slurpee whenever I want." She then snatched the largest cup that they had from the cup dispenser. Before filling her cup up, she looked up at him noticing that his eyes were grey and then down at his slurpee cup which was only filled with grape. Only grape. Tch. She thought in her head, but it was obviously noticeable that she was displeased. Syril then turned back to the machine to fill up her cup the REAL way, "Now THIS, this is the proper way to fill up a slurpee cup," and in less than a minute had skillfully layered the slurpee cup with all of the flavors available evenly, except for piña colada of course. When she was done she popped two straws in it. The blue&grey haired alien lifted it up in front of his face and gave it a little shake, "Behold! The ultimate slurpee experience," she then brought it down a bit for him to be able to take a drink, "Wanna try?" Syril asked as she grinned and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

[/bg][/fieldbox]

 

[RomanCat]

There were only three other people in the store with Artemia. She had walked around near the entrance, as the other people looked less than friendly and she didn't want to get caught in something without her brother. She concluded that Theron wasn't present and turned to walk out of the entrance and spotted Theron in a quaint little store.

She took a step forward, but was grabbed from behind by scaled hands. The store owner walked to the front of the store and began to lower the metal blinds.

"Theron!" Artemia called, before the reptilian alien put its hands over her mouth. Artemia had learned a few things from Theron, and thrust her elbow into the creatures stomach. It grunted but held on to her.

---

"That would be great, a husband that didn't talk and fed me a slurpee whenever I want." Theron chuckled as the strange girl began layering her cup with an abundant of flavors. She looked at him then down to his slurpee before giving a face of disgust. Theron thought she was looking at his scar, and he sighed before reaching up and touching it.

"Now THIS, this is the proper way to fill up a slurpee cup," His thoughts were thrust back to her as she finished her prize.

"Really? I was expecting some fireworks, or at least a sparkler." He said.

"Behold! The ultimate slurpee experience," She held it up to his face and shook it enticingly. "Wanna try?" She asked.

"Why not." He said. Hopefully it's better than the ultimate juice experience. He grabbed the straw and took a sip, letting the cold explosion of flavors take him on a journey. As he finished he took a step back, slapped his lips and said. "It's good, but don't get ahead of yourself, this is probably enough sugar to kill a Harridan Apiit."

After a few seconds Theron laughed. "I'm sure you can take it though, you look tough. Speaking of, what are you doing around here?"

"Theron!" He turned quickly, just to see Artemia as the shop windows were being concealed by metal.

"Artemia!" Theron yelled as he dropped his own grape slurpee.

 

[Grothnor]

After their hasty exit from the system, the mainframe core was a mess of scattered wires and computer parts. Gemma had figured that an archeology mission would be the perfect time to upgrade her cyberwarfare suite, since archeology had little to do with hacking. She had started the upgrades, building and connecting several computers at once before they came under attack. If they had more time to prepare for a jump, she planned on securing the scattered parts. Instead, the mainframe core was cluttered with dented mainframe boxes, cracked circuit boards, and a few broken monitors with loose wires everywhere. Frustrated that all her work the past two days had just gone up in smoke, she kicked a broken circuit board, only for it to bounce off the wall and hit her in the shin. Gemma winced, threw her hands in the air and muttered, "Ragequit," before storming out of the cramped inner compartment.

She headed to the cockpit, probably to ream out her captain for messing up her hard work only to find that the rest of the crew was there. She rolled her eyes and dropped into the navigator's chair behind the pilot's and listened to Dylan's speech. KL-55 sounded like a decent place to get some replacement parts for her mainframe upgrades, but she wasn't looking forward to sifting through the mess to take stock of what needed replacing.

"Also, depending on the about of customers, we might re-open our transportation company again. I'm thinking we should try to visit Planet Dręxēl*. I think we've all earned a week's vacation, so it'll be nice to get a break. How's that sound, guys?"

"Vacation sounds nice, if we're actually doing it this time." In the five and a half months she had been an official member of the crew, not once had they actually taken a vacation. It was always 'one more job' or 'we don't have the money' or 'we have to fix the ship'. Gemma could have easily gathered all the money they needed through hacking and e-scams, but Case had taught her not to steal no more than she had to, lest she draw too much attention to herself. After her hasty flight from Keppur-Zeta, she had taken that lesson to heart. As for Dręxēl, Gemma wasn't a big fan of outdoor activity, and held a dim view of gallivanting about in what amounted to little more than underwear. However, she was sure they had a few decent horror films there she hadn't seen, and she was looking forward to trollhacking the entertainment network hubs. If she could get all the parts she needed from KL-55, she could spend the vacation finishing her upgrades; it may be work, but she had been making do without her setup from home, and the Moonage Daydream just wouldn't be home until she had a decent computer again.

 

[Roose Hurro]

Well Met...


Grrr...

... Oh so close to a short's-wetting for that Tyuu male. Almost, for the barest of amused moments. Being crotch-high had its benefits. Though... grrr!... from this Tyuu's point of view, he might well have seemed far bigger, what with all his sharp teeth and wicked claws on display. His wild animal aura only partly broken by the presence of toolbelt and backpack. Yes, throughout his life, he'd had that impression on people. Often referred to not only as "Deek" but as "land piranha"... all for good reason (even though he looked nothing like a fish).

His grin stayed through all the conversation, every word heard through sensitive, bat-ish ears, every change in scent inhaled through nostrils, every bioelectric dip and surge noted, even with his sensory feelers folded over and behind his ears, tight against his neck, partly concealed by his mane fur. He absorbed every bit of info, every question, every...

... "Yes, I'm what you call a Deek." His attentions focused on the female cyborg, his feelers rising up, their smoothness suddenly taking on texture as they "vibrated"... took a more detailed "reading" on the female's... parts. Not that he ignored the male Tyuu. Just a turn of head, a slight sideways tilt as he sat back on his tail and "adjusted" his toolbelt with primearm hands, feelers still vibrating... "I'm not a bounty hunter."

Pop! Fsssssth! Yes, at the offer to keep the thrown eCola, he opened it with a subhand claw and took a swig, Then, intense and intent eyes drifting between male and female...

... "Can't say there's anything you can help me with... not yet. I watch... because I like to watch others go about their lives. See which lives I wish to share with mine."

He guzzled the rest of his eCola, transferred empty can from sub to prime-grip, then crushed the can into a thoroughly crumpled ball in his bare primehands, as if wadding up a tissue. Then he tossed it in the air over his head, snapped it up... and swallowed it down...

... "Thanks... I needed that." Grin, as he locked eyes with the Tyuu, crick threatening his neck... "Don't worry. Your head is safe." His eyes dropped to the male's crotch... "Can't make any guarantees about other body parts......."

 

[Rax Rosetta]

Spanner listened to the back and forth banter between the various...colorful crew members he had to work with on a regular basis. Taking a final drag on his cigar, he dropped the butt and stomped it out with a sigh, producing another from some pocket or another and lighting it, exhaling the fresh smoke from his nostrils as each person said their piece. He had his opinions on the crew, one and all, and while he rarely shared them, he had to marvel at the Captain once again for managing to keep this dysfunctional mess of criminals and wanted men alive and even prosperous. His comment on actually listening to his requests got a snort from the human mechanic as he crossed his arms. Kid had nerve some times, never really let things shake him overmuch while he responded to the man with an easy remark, flicking the ashes off the end of his cigar as they slowly accumulated. "You humor me whenever you think I'm about to do something to make a point Boss, besides, that old compressor of yours is probably more welds and hopes than it is the original compressor at this point. And I'll come along to pawn your damn chest of loot, why not?"

Just about that point the closest thing this flying rust bucket had to a doctor came walking in, scatter brained as always. She was never fond of his smoking nor his obsession with the mechanical things in life, which rarely invited any sort of interaction between the two of them. But she stitched him up when required, no problem and little fuss. He had patched some on the fritz machines around her work areas before, so he didn't mind the doctor at all, even if he rarely if ever used her name or even, embarrassingly enough, remember it. But he still addressed her as she walked, blowing the smoke not in her general direction as a small sign of not looking to cause eleven sorts of trouble right now. Hopefully the situation would prevent her from going into some rant on his smoking habits, those always did get on his nerves. "Enjoy your wakeup call, Doc?"

Leave it to Astroboy over there to be the upstanding gentleman and worry wort of the group, Spanner couldn't help but think sarcastically as the android that called itself Casspian engaged its scanners several times and sacrificed it's chair for Emily. Kind, and frankly of zero loss to the android. Thing didn't need to rest by sitting, so it didn't really lose anything by sitting. It was learning from them, all their various habits, quirks, emotions and beliefs taught it. He had never seen any adaptive AI like that in his many years running the stars and it was a fascinating creation, if one he could never wholly trust. AI that learned and self modified could prove dangerous if they ever decided that the organic meatbags were better off as slaves or dead to the superior Android master race. There was a cheap joke at ancient trends there, but he wasn't going to dignify it. But he did respond to the actions of Cass in his own way, hands jammed in his pockets for now. "Look at you Astroboy, being all White Knight and chivilerous for the Doc here. Trying to make moves under Dylan's radar, eh?"

And cue the resident hacker and software savant coming a-running in, Gemma. Another technical expert, in a separate field granted, but one he could respect none the less. She kept to her work, he kept to his, and they rarely crossed paths except at these apparently all hands meetings that occurred on a whim. But her comment on vacation was valid, last time the crew was taken somewhere for a vacation, Spanner had spent the whole damn time overhauling the engine while the rest of them did gods knows what. Damn fool had blown a coolant line and that took a lot of work to get patched well enough to go somewhere and get it replaced properly. So he finally addressed the whole vacation thing, since a key point had been finally brought up. "I'm inclined to agree with Hal-9000 over here, if this vacation turns out to be me stuck in the engine room fixing you damn mistakes again, I will be rather displeased, to put it fucking mildly this time."
​

 

[Jakers]

"N-No--! I mean-- I-It's not like it matters, okay?"

Drassil held back a wide grin. This girl was even worse of a liar than he was! He wanted to ask what she'd stole, but Drassil figured he should stop provoking Jinx at this point, before she either thought he really was totally insane, or she just thought he was a giant asshole and slapped him around the face.

"Alright, alright! Sorry I asked... hehe..." Drassil whispered, putting his hands up in the air as if he was surrendering.
"Belieeeve it or not, yes, I've done my share of bad things too. Back in the day, I cheated some guy out of half a million credits whilst playing poker. Hehehe! Grrreat times!" Drassil said quietly, smiling at the fondness of the memory. It was their own fault for being stupid enough to think Drassil legitimately acquired a royal straight flush.

Drassil then turned his attention back to this... 'Deek', apparently, and watched as it guzzled the can of eCola. Was it weird that Drassil actually thought he was kind of cute? It was mostly the fact that he was terrifying and tiny at the same time. Drassil had some sort of uncontrollable urge to bend down and give the Deek a piggyback. But that probably wouldn't end well whatsoever.

Anyway, Drassil had thought he knew his fair share of races, but he hadn't even heard of a Deek before. It certainly was an interesting find... perhaps crashing into this space station was the best thing that happened to him in 10 years! A lovely human lady and an interesting, probably researchable race!

"Don't worry. Your head is safe. Can't make guarantees about other body parts..."

Drassil was about to laugh, but then he looked down, and followed the Deek's gaze. Wait. Was it looking at his-

"...NoooOOOOO THANK YOOOUUUU!" Drassil screamed in realization, covering his crotch with his hands and backpedalling, his foxlike ears falling downwards in fright. Holy shit - he hadn't thought about that - the Deek was almost the same height as his crotch - it wouldn't take much at all for the Deek to relief Drassil of his pride and joy.

Shivering, Drassil hid behind Jinx and peeked at the Deek around her shoulder. The scariest part of everything was that he couldn't tell if the Deek was joking or not, but Drassil certainly wasn't going to take any chances. And if it was a joke, Drassil certainly didn't find it funny!

"O-o-other... body... parts...?!?" Drassil repeated in a whimper behind Jinx. Drassil could have been over-reacting, but the implications of what the Deek had said would probably scar Drassil for life.

 

[Grimoire]

[fieldbox="Syril Poratun, plum, dashed, 10, courier new"]@RomanCat
[bg=#404040]"It's good, but don't get ahead of yourself, this is probably enough sugar to kill a Harridan Apiit." After a few seconds Theron laughed. "I'm sure you can take it though, you look tough. Speaking of, what are you doing around here?"

Syril heaved out a sigh, "Long story...but basically I'm here for work. I don't stay too long in one place so I'm always on the go." The alien girl was about to ask him the same thing but instead someone else had caught his attention.

"Theron!" He turned quickly, just to see Artemia as the shop windows were being concealed by metal.

His name is Theron? she asked herself. Syril had also heard a voice call out from outside. She took a sip of her slurpee as her torso leaned to the side since Theron was blocking her view. Up ahead she saw a glimpse of a girl and appeared to be taken away by force. The girl was being dragged away to the inside of another store across from where Theron and Syril were. Metal walls where coming down as if they were closing down the shop.... No, not another metal box! and really felt bad for the girl now.

"Artemia!" Theron yelled as he dropped his own grape slurpee.

Suddenly distracted by the dead slurpee Syril's jaw dropped and eyes widened in horror as it lay splattered everywhere.

"Is that your friend? I think she's in trouble..." Syril asked as she unglued her eyes from the massacre on the floor and then looked up at Theron with a look of concern while taking another sip of her sugary-sweet goodness.

[/bg][/fieldbox]

 

[BB-Bauers]

Jinx normally wasn't such a bad liar, but this whole situation was just weirding her out. She was waaay off her game. Forget about trying to mooch a ride off someone -- all she wanted now was to understand why she kept attracting all these weirdos. Of all days, why today? Jinx frowned at Drassil's knowing chuckle, not fond of how transparent she was being in this situation. But after Drassil's own little confession about cheating someone out of half a million credits through a poker game, Jinx actually did feel a bit more at ease. At least this Tyuu wasn't going to try to reap the benefits of turning her in or anything.

Aside from that awkward conversation, however, Jinx smiled when the creature went on to confirm that he was a Deek. Jinx stood there, trying to remember anything and everything she could about the Deeks, as he went on to explain that he wasn't watching them for any particular reason. He was just trying to figure out who to share his life with.

What a curious thing to say... Jinx thought, those words really hitting the nail on the head. The Deek was just being honest; really, all three of them were there trying to figure out the same thing. Which people are worth the risk getting to know? Which people can I trust to share time with? Ironically enough -- as weird as this day was turning out for Jinx -- this odd meeting of a cyborg, a Tyuu, and a Deek just showed that all three were after the same thing.

Jinx smiled at this realization, and this time, it was a real and genuine smile. Sure, these may have kiiiiind of been freaks, but so was Jinx. Otherwise, they wouldn't have all met like this and have been looking for the same thing. She immediately loosened up her attitude at this thought.

It was almost as if she had been zoning out because, all of a sudden, Drassil was shouting something in fear and hiding behind her. Jinx snapped out of it, glancing back and forth between the quivering Tyuu and the grinning Deek several times... Before the realization hit her.

Jinx's eyes went wide with amusement before she broke down in a fit of laughter. So that's what he'd said! "Drassil, you better watch yourself, pal..." she snickered, wiping away a tear. "If my memory serves me... animal testicles are a delicacy for the Deeks, no?" Jinx pursed her lips and brought a hand to her mouth, still trying to stop the giggling. Wow, she hadn't laughed this hard in... well, damn. She couldn't even remember the last time she laughed this hard.​

 

[mr_pibbs]

Dylan rolled his eyes at Casspian mentioned getting a cat again. "Casspian, I already said that we can't have a cat on-board. I know you want one, but I have a motto: never get too close to things that you know you can't protect. It makes you weak, especially if it's a living creature. Now, I get that you can raise it well, I understand that. But for the time being, no pets on my ship. We already had enough trouble transporting that herd of cows to Persephone, so I don't want another animal on-board for a while." Dylan said, remembering the horrid transport job they were paid to do. There was so much cow shit in the hull after they landed a week later. The entire crew had to wait for a week before they could enter the Moonage Daydream without vomiting (except for Casspian, who wasn't sure why the "bovine fecal matter" made the crew disgusted). "Sorry buddy, but not today. Maybe we'll grab you a holo-pet with the extra cash so you can at least practice raising a pet."

Dylan turned his attention back to Gemma and Spanner as they suddenly spoke about the vacation, noting the fact that each time they tried to rest they had always left. That wasn't exactly Dylan's fault. The first time they had tried to stop for a restful week at a cabin in the vibrantly green hills of Vestial, G.L.I.P. forces tried to capture Eigar. Luckily, they escaped without being tagged. The second time, they landed on Uutha, which was known for having the clearest night sky and allowed the residents to witness the massive expanse of the solar system. Why did they leave? Apparently, having a wreath made of Bobodon Buds placed on his head while drinking some wine was actually an engagement to the Prime Minister's daughter, so Dylan had to rapidly escape before the wedding could commence. That wasn't his fault though. Who wouldn't want to wear a nice hat and drink wine while a pretty lady gave him hugs and kisses on the cheek? Finally, the third time they tried to vacation... Well, to make things short, Casspian hugged the kitten-resembling son of the planet's leader, a member of the Tyyu species, and broke it's neck. Needless to say, the crew of the Moonage Daydream had to run away before Casspian was dismantled.

"Alright, first off: two of those cases weren't even my fault. Secondly: how was I supposed to know they wanted me engaged to Aledli? Thirdly, and this is the last point I'm going to make: this time it's just a proposition, not a promise. We haven't landed on the planet and I'm not even sure if we can get into the resort this time of year, but we can at least try. But for now, let's not play the blame game."

Looking back towards the front of the ship, Dylan smiled as he saw the approaching form of a planet. "Alright, so there's Jelka-5, so we should be at the space station faster then I expected. Anyone who wants to come with me, go get your stuff on, and remember the rules: while we're down there, call me "Nova", not Dylan. Also, don't deal with anyone you don't have to, and don't let anyone weird on the ship. We don't want any stowaways. We've only got room for around 12 people here, unless we pack the rooms with more then one bed, so I can't see having many people on-board without running into trouble." he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Alright, so Casspian and Spanner, you guys are coming with... How about we even it out a bit? Gemma, Emily? Wanna tag along as well?"

 

[Jakers]

Drassil watched in bewilderment as Jinx began laughing. With her bending over laughing, Drassil couldn't effectively hide behind her - and that meant... oh God... perhaps this was all one big joke? Perhaps he was taking this too seriously. Drassil swallowed nervously, and a sheepish smile appeared on his face as he unconvincingly began to laugh along.

"Drassil, you better watch yourself, pal..."

"Y-yeaahhhh... hehehe... aha... ha... er... ha?"

"If my memory serves me... animal testicles are a delicacy for the Deeks, no?"

Drassil stopped laughing immediately.
"WHAAAAAT?!" He screamed in pure bewilderment, almost falling over backwards. She better not be serious. She couldn't be serious - nothing could possibly even slightly desire... those! But fucking Jesus, the way that Deek grinned - there was no mistaking it. Drassil's manhood was in danger. How could she be laughing at a time like this?! A fucking dragon midget might actually consume Drassil's gonads if he wasn't watching!

He had to get away from this thing, or stay away from it at least! Maybe the fact that he was a Tyuu, not an animal, meant that he was actually safe and he was being pranked right now. No... this whole thing had to be a joke played on him for being flirty with Jinx earlier. Nonetheless, Drassil wasn't going to risk it for anything.

Drassil drew his SK42 discreetly and in an instant, holding it behind his back. Just in case. But he'd come to the conclusion that this was all just some huge joke being played on him. He'd get his revenge some day! ...Right...?

"...Well isn't that veeerrry... funny...!" Drassil said with an unusual laugh. "But I don't think any race would even consider eating that! Great joke! You got me - I was actually terrified... he... hehehe!" Drassil's ears were still downpointed, however.

"Still... hehehe... don't stand near my crotch. Like, seriously." Drassil said in a serious tone for a moment, pointing at the Deek. He then stepped back behind Jinx just in case, and then went back to an original frame of mind.

"So then, Mr. Deek, you got a name...? Mine's Drassil, it's nice to meet you... as long as that balls thing was made up. Cooome to think of it, I'm pretty sure we're all here for the same kind of reasons! Isn't that a coincidence? Perhaps fate really is a thing..." Drassil pondered, watching the ports as he talked. Still no interesting ships, just shitty old ones, whoreships, or ships that looked like they were full of general morons. Perhaps he'd need to figure out a way to hitch a ride to some other space station...

 

[Roose Hurro]

Having A Ball...



Laughter, again...

Deep inside, the sensation started to bubble up. Even with his primehand wrists itching again, as they would off and on for several more days, that small annoyance couldn't begin to interfere with his rising amusement... all the pleasure welling up from groin to chest to head and...

... "Yes, I have a great fondness for..." a metallic hrrk as he cleared his throat... "organ meats."

The more he got a rise out of the Tyuu... the more he played with his new "toy"... the more he found himself liking this strange male. Even the female, more he got to know her, words, actions, all those little physical clues, the more his interest in staying with these two... seeing if he could make new friends... yes, worth the effort. Grrrrr! Grab life by the balls and give it a squeeze! Never failed to make said life interesting...

... "Nothing better..." a lick of muzzled lips... "deep fried rat testicles dipped in Wasabi, best breakfast food ever invented......."

For a moment, drool threatened... but he held the drool in, held in that sensation, not sure the Tyuu could stand seeing him lose it right now. Hard, given the Tyuu's antics. However...

... "I call myself Picofarad. Or just Pico, for... short." Yes, that slight, amused hesitation before his last word, then... "If you wish, I can promise not to eat your manhood, either deliberately or by... accident." Again, a hesitation. That sensation...

... Subhands dropped to sleek belly... "Fate.......*"

Yes, try as he might, he couldn't hold it in, that whole reference to fate and coincidence tweeking the still alien parts of his mind, his own tweeked sense of humor... yes, all four hands now clasped to midsection, jaws opened as a metallic harking sound, his own alien laughter, burst forth with such intensity, he fell over in mirth, only his backpack keeping him from rolling around on the floor in uncontrolled...

... well, just call it good humor. Easier to accept that way, when said laughing person's limbs flail freely, unrestrained by propriety or embarrassment. Which, to be honest, can't really be expected from a creature who runs around nude.......

 

[four]

"Here you are, Emily. I believe my chair my suffice for your desire. I do hope you have not received any injuries from the jolt."

"Eh? Oh, uh -"

It took Emily several moments to switch temporarily to Cassie's viewpoint and follow his train of thought in order to understand the motivation behind him suddenly offering the seat.

"Nah, that was nothing." She said, "Thanks, Cassie; but I'm alright."

She then froze upon the sudden emergence of a hum in the background. She took a moment to realize that it was the android activating its scanners, and another to realize that the scanning was directed her way.

"Also, can you please not - " she said, holding a hand up and moving aside as if hoping that it would make it harder to keep the scanner trained on her," - dear, this is the reason I sometimes almost start regretting studying medicine."

There really was this time when Emily underwent something akin to an prematurely onset midlife crisis when she first considered that issue: it was hard to deny the argument that, in memorizing things and carrying out procedures precisely, machines, or even just the species with bodies that could endure a lifespan of beyond centuries, had a great advantage over the fragile, short-lived individuals like the one she was.

Now, however, she's gotten over that, and remarks like those were uttered in an entirely satirical tone.

She almost considered moving over to attempt pinching Cassie's face to get the point across (attempt - the fact that Cassie was an android made it very hard to actually do so); but that line of thought was quickly diverted when she turned to choke out a laugh on the engineer's remarks tossed in the direction of her and Casspian, mostly because the mental images of Cassie "trying to make moves under the Captain's radar" was far too entertaining to think about.

"Also, wouldn't call it a wake-up call." She responded. The unspoken reason behind this was that she was at least awake enough to evade the surgical kit sent her way. She had also noted to herself that, next time - she would keep everything with sharp edges or ends on surfaces that were not connected to arms that will swing around under acceleration.

She looked towards the still-lit cigar between Spanner's fingers before deciding that it wasn't necessary to bring that discussion up again at the moment.

Lately, conversations in the cockpit had the tendency to be diverted towards the topic of cats. She had no idea why.

"Sorry buddy, but not today. Maybe we'll grab you a holo-pet with the extra cash so you can at least practice raising a pet."

Emily shifted her eyes between Dylan and a slightly disappointed Casspian and pondered over bringing up the existence of the Frenian mimic shrub inside the medbay and whether that might make Cassie feel a bit better. The next part of the discussion, which involved a reminder from Dyl's end about what happened the first time Cassie saw an adorable fluffy creature, had Emily decide immediately against it.

"Alright, so Casspian and Spanner, you guys are coming with... How about we even it out a bit? Gemma, Emily? Wanna tag along as well?"

"Wouldn't mind following if you need one more person." Emily said after deciding she wouldn't mind going down to get some air. Not fresh air, to be painfully exact - space stations were far less attractive to her than actual inhabitable planets were, for after a thousand-year arms race between naturally evolved filtration systems and man-made ones, the former still had the edge of not having the air turn stale after a few couple of runs. Either way, there was still the feeling that a walk off the ship won't hurt, and she would be willing to do so if no-one else wanted to do it more than she did.

"Gemma?" She turned to look at the human technician to make sure.

 

[BB-Bauers]

It wasn't long before Drassil's gawking disbelief had the Deek in stitches as well. Although his laugh was the most curious of sounds (must have been the result of having two larynx), it was clear that the strange noise was indeed laughter by the way he clutched his stomach and -- when he really lost it -- started rolling around on the ground in quite a fit. The chuckles that Jinx had just managed to subdue crept back in, as the unorthodox laughter from the Deek seemed to be contagious.

But of course, Drassil didn't seem to think this was funny. After all, his gonads were on the line. Jinx glanced over and noticed his serious face, at which point she immediately stopped laughing and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Ahem-- yes, well..." she trailed off before extending a helping hand down to Pico, who was still on the floor, to help him up. "I'm called Jinx," the cyborg introduced herself, "and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Pico."

After a moment of thought, Jinx decided to add one more question to the mix. "If you don't mind my asking, Pico... How did you end up at this station? Are you here by yourself?"​

 

[DoomyCakez]

@Sora1297 @Rax Rosetta @four

To say Casspian was disappointed with the Captain's decision was both and understatement and an overstatement: and understatement because Casspian had been trying tirelessly to get the crew to say yes and an overstatement because Casspian was not exactly feeling these emotions...It could easily fool anyone that had no idea he was a robot, even the crew members at times saw these fabricated programings to be the real deal emotion; however, they were nothing more than fabrications and mimics...at least for now.

Casspian's face was rather animated, allowing for him to form purely organic and smooth expressions to suit whichever emotion was needed. The Captain's refusal to accept his request seemed to call for something along the lines of disappointment and sadness... possibly a hint of frustration, which slowly worked it's way across his youthful, manmade face. "I...I understand Captain..." He stated softly as he turned from Emily to look at the Captain. No...that might have been a bit of a falsehood. True he understood the Captain's intent, words, etc...however, he was unclear with his actual reason behind the decision. Casspian found himself fully capable of caring for the creature, even Captain himself stated as such; however, they did disagree on what Casspian's ability of "protect" was, as Captain so boldly stated. Was he putting Casspian's main programming in question? The android did not agrue, but they could see his AI working, processing all of the information given to him before he answered. "I suppose a holo-pet could suffice for now...It will not be the same, but it will have to do for the time being."

As Spanner addressed him as "Astroboy", Casspian found himself automatically turning his gaze to him. He was rather unsure what "under Captain's radar" meant, and you could see his mind working once more, processing the sudden laughter errupting from Emily. Casspian blinked, deciding the humor was more so based off of the Captain's inability to actually have any sort of radar. He released a small chuckle, turning to fully look at Spanner. "Not at all, Spanner. I am merely doing what any gentleman would do." Man...for some reason that word sounded strange coming from Casspian. He was not man, but a robot...of course he had the male physique and looks and voice; however the term "male" was not really true when it came to his form...in fact...he was moreso an "it" than anything else, even though he would not be one to admit it. To Casspian, he was a "he", not an "it"...and it disturbed him to be referred to as such.

He had not forgotten Emily's discomfort with his scanners and turned to look at her once more, an apologetic smile making its way to his face. "My apologies, Emily...It was only a precaution, but I'll be more respectful to your personal space next time."

With the mention of more people joining the party, Casspian could not help but feel minor discomfort. He would have to make a few adjustments to his own feed to be able to watch them all at once. He did not want to have a blink spot in this current situation. He would have to protect them all...well..
Not "have to" persay, but he had this want...this internal need to do what he was programmed for and it was only during times like this that he could actually do it.
An ability to "squeeze the Tyuu" and Spanner and Dylan so often put it...at least in Casspian's case.

Maybe if he protected all of them correctly, that woukd prove he was responsible enough...​

 

[Grimoire]

[fieldbox="Syril Poratun + Theron & Artemia Price, plum, dashed, 10, courier new"][bg=#404040]Collaborative post by @RomanCat and @Grimoire

Theron ran out of the convenience store, "Is that your friend? I think she's in trouble..." The blue woman asked. Theron glanced behind him as he ran across the street."It's my sister!" He barged through the crowd, knocking several people over, apologizing if he noticed.

Sister? So that explains it.

Syril watched Theron go after his sister and then looked down on her slurpee that she held in her hand. Decisions, decisions. Indeed, she was in quite the predicament. Syril's face shot up towards the ceiling and cried out in frustration...in the end she decided to help Theron and leave her beloved slurpee behind. Hoping that it wouldn't get kidnapped or murdered, she set down her slurpee just outside of the convenience store and ran after him...

Theron reached out his hand as the metal door closed in front of him. He drew his machete and helplessly slapped it against the metal construction.

"You owe me another slurpee if I do this." Syril said. It was gonna take a lot more than a metal wall to keep her out.

"I'll buy you whole damn machine." Theron yelled back. Keeping his very empty and very poor pockets unmentioned.

That comment immediately made Syril stop what she was doing. "My own slurpee machine..." she whispered to herself in awe as her eyes glittered from pure happiness. Syril was now for a short moment in her own little daydream world...

She was in a wide open hilly-field covered with poppies, daisies, and tiger lilies of all sorts of colors. On the other side of Syril who was holding her hand was her slurpee machine...now dubbed Rufus. Syril and Rufus skipping in slow motion, giggling, and playfully calling on each other's name... but then Rufus tripped on a rock and down he rolled on a steep hill... CLANK CLANK CLANK!! was the sound every time poor Rufus' body hit the ground...

Clank Clank Clank!!

Snapping out of her dream Syril noticed that the clanking noise was coming from Theron's machete who was still trying to get through that stupid metal wall.

Syril, focus damn it! She scolded herself in her head.

Syril yelled at the pedestrians to move out of the way as she increased her speed, jumped high in the air, and shot through the metal wall with a flying kick as she yelled out, "HEY YOU GUYYyySSS! Here I comEEeeeeE!" Behind her was a large hole next to Theron that was large enough for him to pass through. Inside the store, due to the momentum, Syril had slid across the floor while on top of the metal wall that she had just broken. She then stopped right in front of the store owner who was about to take out his gun but Syril immediately kicked it out of his hand and gave the store owner another kick on the chest which made him stumble back several steps. The gun flew upwards and landed several feet away from him.

Artemia had been thrown into a very cold room in the back. She stood up as the door was closed on her, locked from the outside. She banged on the door briefly, then placed her ear against the door as she heard a loud sound and the scraping of metal. "Theron!" She yelled and hit the door repetitively. She hate being stuck unable to do anything to help. Luckily living in the gangs and streets taught you some unorthodox skills. She wasn't very good if it wasn't a classic tumbler lock, but she had learned a few tricks from a long list of devices. She grabbed a few things from her backpack, which hadn't been taken away, and got to work, hopefully in time.

Theron ran through the hole in the metal, only his machete in hand he reached down and grabbed the store owners pistol.

Syril looked over at Theron and saw the sneaky monster alien coming up from behind him. Syril not wanting to give the monster the golden opportunity, quickly grabbed the broken piece of metal laying next to her on the floor, which for her robotic arms didn't weigh that much at all, and threw it at the monster like a Frisbee. She yelled out to Theron, "Duck!" and hoped he wouldn't question it since he didn't have the time to do so. The flying disc with sharp edges flew across the room with enough power to slice through flesh.

Theron glanced to his side just in time to dive under the flying object as it took the dinosaur like alien's arm off, and dug into its side. It screamed as blood fell to the floor. The store owner charged Theron as he was still crouched. Theron stood up backed up a step then thrust forward with his machete toward the Sha'Ni.

Artemia struggled with the electronic lock, but she managed to overload it with the battery from her playstation. Something that will probably take a long time to fix but no matter. Artemia kicked the door open and stepped out. The large one that had grabbed had lost it's arm, but seemed to still be willing to fight. The store owner was putting up a fight with Theron, the two exchanging blows, and a third, one she hadn't noticed. A grey and blue alien she didn't recognize. She had already been running to help Theron with the store owner.

Theron attacked to the side with his machete, but the Sha'Ni grabbed Theron's arm and threw it over his shoulder, then disarmed by dislocating his shoulder. The machete fell from Therons hand and into Artemia's who ran up just in time to grab it in both and slash it across the owners chest.

On the other side of the room Syril was taking care of the monster alien who was ready for another round. They both stood there for a second before charging towards each other. By the time Syril got to the monster alien, it did a low blow in spitting on her face to blind her temporarily. The monster brought down it's heavy right arm and scratched Syril's right side of her rib-cage; cutting through her shirt as well. Luckily, Syril had quick reflexes to avoid a deeper cut and so was only left with a very long shallow scratch that wasn't bleeding too bad. Wiping off the goo out of her face she growled out of anger. The alien tried to scratch her again but Syril had used his momentum against him by pushing his right arm roughly to the right knocking him out of balance. Syril quickly grabbed the metal piece yet again and by the time the monster turned around she had pierced his chest with it. The monster was still moving forward but Syril stopped it dead in its tracks as she jumped up and kicked with both feet pushing the metal piece all the way in to where it sliced his chest off including its heart. The two pieced monster finally laid dead with its dark green blood spreading across the floor. Syril got up to her feet and winced slightly at the pain on her side. She looked down at her right hand and a little bit of blue blood was imprinted on it. Her tolerance for pain was high so she'll be alright soon as she patched herself up.

[/bg][/fieldbox]​