SURPRISE!!!!
Guess who's back!!!! If that's ok with you guys of course
Guess who's back!!!! If that's ok with you guys of course
Arsinova started typing into his wrist on a miniature keyboard that popped up on a holo panel "If there is going to be a fight I want a part in it, the progenitors must return in brute strength" he said as bravo stood in front of Arsinova and spoke "I wish to join you, after this is over and done with" and Arsinova looked down on his creation "You would blend in pretty easily, no one would question your nature. But only if you would let him join you, if not he stays with me" After a moment Arsinova returned to typing away at his holopad on his wrist as if he was making a note to summon something or someone.
Royanna gave a knowing, almost urbane little grin. “Neat trick, huh? Learned that one in flight school.” In reality, the woman did not know exactly where she had learned the trick – it was relatively well known, especially among spacers – but she couldn’t help picking up on Christofer’s gradually mounting respect and perhaps saw fit to lean into it…Just a little. A little ego never hurt anyone.
“Now, hold on until you get your balance….Better?” Without letting him know, the Intergalactic Master Woman slowly took her arm from the boy’s shoulders, hovering it a few inches away, just in case. Most likely the boy would not realize he had been released, yet he would still feel relatively steady – by this point one would begin to notice that there was, in fact, no sensation of movement beneath their feet.
One way or another, he would realize that he had been uncoupled when a minute chirp, not unlike an old digital watch, unobtrusively called out from the high-tech looking wrist…computer…watch…communicator…thing requisitioned her attention, and both hands were required to manipulate the little screen. If Christofer did seem about to fall again – though unlikely – Roya made sure to keep aware enough that she would be able to react and steady him once more.
Whatever had happened with her wrist-thing was evidently displeasing. The woman gave a frustrated little huff, tapped rapidly for some seconds as though typing, and finally held down what was presumably a small button on the side and began to speak – or rather, bark – into it.
“Yes, this is D.E.U. Special Agent Royanna Kallenger clearance A-3, and yes I am requisitioning the s-lander for planetfall at Ardella, yes I am ordering it delivered to the auxiliary entrance on the observation deck, and yes I’ll roll heads if I have to. I want it here before orbital port, I need to be the first person off this boat by direct orders from A-3 Administration, got it?"
With only a tense couple of seconds staring hard at the watch as though it might make the response come faster, there was a second chirp, eyes flicked and Roya defused, relaxing visibly.
When she turned back to her companion, the Intergalactic Master Woman was once again as mild as she could manage to be – she wanted it obvious to the boy that she was not upset with him, no matter how difficult it was for someone usually so intense.
The next challenge was to be keeping him calm for the skip. Again, while nothing to an experienced spacer, the visual distortion witnessed during the lightning-fast process of a skip was drastically disorienting, and that was the last thing that her oversensitive little friend needed right now. Luckily it would last for less than half a second – but it would be a crucial half-second.
Again, the soft, overly pleasant and computerized – if convincing – voice came over some hidden intercom speaker somewhere in the single, back wall which harbored the entrance to the chamber and some other doors.
“Attention passengers and staff. Skip will commence in thirty seconds. Please move into a skip-safe location if you have not already done so. Skip in 5, 4, 3, 2-“ “Yahhghdammit~!!””
Caught off-guard by how quickly the time had seemed to pass, Royanna froze mentally and completely failed to come up with any smooth transmission to keep the boy’s eyes locked on the floor or wall – or anywhere but that great, domed window – for that half-second skip.
So taking advantage of her position slightly behind him – their backs to the walled side of the deck – Roya did the only thing she knew how to do in these kinds of situations and suddenly slammed a palm into the injured shoulder, gripping it tightly and not needing to fake the outcry of pain…Though she might have upped the volume just a twinge. Assuming the split-second solution worked, the boy would have turned to face her and thus missed the disorienting view of the skip through the great window. Roya would give an almost sheepish expression and half-laugh. “Heh~ Damn shoulder tensed up on me.” she’d say, rather unconvincingly but likely not awkward enough to totally fabricate it.
If, for some reason he did not spin around, the boy would very suddenly feel like he was simultaneously falling at an incredible speed and being pushed back with an incredible force – the result of a planet appearing almost from nothing and then rapidly growing larger as it seemingly came into existence.
The planet was, of course, there either way – but if Roya’s impromptu distraction had worked then she’d give no indication as to the appearance of the inconceivably large, white and slate-grey marble which now hung motionless and weightless before them, suspended in nothingness and surrounded by the unmistakable blackness of space.
There would be no mistaking this for some generated image. There was something about the view of a planet from far orbit that was undeniably real.
Hopefully she’d have a moment to prepare him for the sight.
Things were different now.
The past two days had been a chaotic torrent of emotions, memories, tempers and intolerable stress. Things had spiraled out of control, and he had been caught up in the mess which tried to sort itself out and was only more violent for it. That had been his world, a time of change and confusion…
But time had already begun to dull the pain as those events slipped into the past. His mind had begun to sort itself out, get his interlaced thoughts straightened out to something almost coherent, and his ever-present denial was already hard at work, burying it all beneath a thick, sopping layer of cheerfulness.
But things were different now, and he could feel it. Little had been resolved, but there was the vague, barely perceptible feeling in the back of his mind that maybe this time not everything would need to be buried.
Opinions had changed, viewpoints had shifted so that many would see from a fresh perspective, enlightened in the wake of madness. Miscommunications had worked against them all, intertwining and compounding until every word was a lie and every lie retained traces of truth beneath the endless layers upon layers of social interaction.
But things were different now – and though Kete could not put his finger on precisely why, things seemed better now.
In the wake of crisis, the following morning was always a bright, bittersweet sensation – the lingering doubts and regrets, but also the feeling of escape, of past versus present – it felt like a fresh start, and it was invigorating. It lifted the boy’s spirits and set him on the path back to his rapidly returning usual self. Before long there was a little sway in his step and a new spark in his eye.
None of it mattered, as long as he existed in the present.
The minds around him were ever strange in their organic-inorganic complexity, but he had come to understand them vaguely as though a complex, vintage wine with layers of flavor, merely tapping the surface. He had no desire to further his immersion with the organic robots, however. The debate of their humanity was one to be pondered on some other cloudy day.
For now, it seemed that everything had gone back to normal. The prior evening seemed a foggy mile away, left quarantined in the dust to gradually settle back into the subconscious. There was not the slightest thought of Duros Aller in his mind – that was the important part.
That, and the fact that he was once again quite certain that it had not, in fact, been he who had been behind the Adrusade massacre – not that it had been mentioned by name. All that had really been said was that he had hurt some people, right?.....Right? Right. That was easy to bear upon the conscience and easier still to push beneath the waves. Did Nirix know now what his eye was capable of? He couldn’t recall. As usual, there was only a blurry, theoretical line between memories and conscious – and memories were strictly off limits. If he was going to find out what Nirix knew – it was all so misty! He would need to spend some time poking and prodding harmlessly, carefully working his way around memories which remained too sacred for his prying eyes.
Or, of course, she might tell him.
The night before, he had implied that his assumption was of their sticking together. He recalled with a swell of euphoric relief how she had told him that everything would be okay. Those precious words which he so craved and so rarely had the privilege of hearing in earnest. The idea that someone else really was looking out for him, really was going to make everything okay – and with no realistic possibility of subversive motives as might still have been hiding deep within Glades’ mind. Unlikely, but he would never be truly open with someone like Glades, someone who knew so much.
Everyone always wanted – or was obligated – to follow him around. No matter how many people he pestered and annoyed it seemed that they always ended up as the trailing companion and he as the protagonist. It was tiring being the protagonist, always having to work everything out with minimal support. Respectively it was liberating to feel no such obligations – or very few, at least, since his objectives were still only loosely formed half-ideas in an already cluttered and scatterbrained head.
It was not a conscious thought of course, but Ketin was not going to follow the Eoclu assassin out of some sense of duty or obligation, out of desperation or a means to an end. He was going to follow her because she had told him that everything would be okay, and he intended not to forget it.
It was at that moment he rounded a corner and found himself standing in the expansive hangar, having been entirely unaware of how long he had been walking or even in what direction – it was a bad habit of his, getting lost in thought like that, allowing the subconscious awareness of other eyes guide him as he daydreamed and let his own thoughts wander aimlessly about and intermingle with the thoughts of others.
Although it was not so much a mere starship hangar as it was a fully functioning starport. It was jarring and pleasant – the kind of big, cluttered place where Kete could get lost for hours and mingle with minds and hide in peace among the bustle. It was not his goal currently of course, but still busy operations such as this were soothing to some extent – second only to smoky barrooms and seedy dives.
Across a veritable sea of shipping crates and other starport-related-detritus he could see them – Kampfer, looking fresh and renewed, and Nirix who now wore some different clothing which Kete altogether approved of to a much greater extent to that strange getup she had been wearing before.
They were far from his meager fifty-foot range, but every camera and electronic device was connected, and an idle connection to one often gave access to the majority in that vicinity, available if he wanted to look and unobtrusive if he didn’t. It was a subconscious deftness of the minds’ eye which brought his actual eyes to them so quickly. Subconsciously he glanced through the cameras, consciously he just happened to triangulate their position.
Breaking into a trot, Kete weaved through the bustle of the starport, occasionally diving out of the way of some ship’s reactor exhaust or similar peril. When at last he was within eyeshot of them the boy would start to cause a ruckus.
He waved his arms, flailing as he ran, looking as cheerful and carefree as ever.
“Heeeey! Hey Ny’, over here~!” he called, suddenly feeling a deep surge of anxiety that she might very well be planning on leaving without him – in fact she could have been boarding her private vessel right now, for all he knew! Just because he knew where they were didn’t mean he had been paying attention to what they were doing. “Heey, wait up!”
As for if there was any legitimate need for the big hurry…?
Dallen Armston was about to mouth off something that would have gotten them all slaughtered in a heartbeat, when by some miracle she was interrupted by the pressing, if somewhat unsteady voice of Harlan Ducote. A small part of the woman was frustrated with him for it – her temper was driving her to find any excuse to start shooting and damned if he didn’t seem so cowardly…
But then, ‘cowardice’ had saved her life and the lives of her comrades on numerous occasions, and even the hotheaded Armston knew when to back down.
That is, until someone else made a sound.
It was a very small sound, not exactly a breath, but rather the ambient sort of noise one produced simply from being there.
Armston’s eyes went ablaze when she finally realized what she was looking at, and she lowered her rifle only to start toward the ‘Ice Queen’ at a hasty and determined gait. Admittedly, it was something of a long walk, given that they had so great an expanse between them in the cavernous bay – but she seemed to close the distance quickly without actually running or sprinting.
Standing behind the pale, oddly dressed woman was a young man with close-cropped, sandy colored hair and wide eyes. His uniform bore the insignia and initials of an organization which no longer existed.
Shanston Reltakov stood with his back to the stairs on one of the lower tiers. He stood stone-still, paralyzed with terror and seemingly only half aware of what was actually happening – vaguely realizing that he had almost died a quick and violent death at the hands of a vicious shard of ice which lay scattered at his feet. When Dallen had been unaware that there was actually anyone behind the woman.
On a still lower tier stood the thin, round-faced Hi’tzen named Leng Tze, who had once Captained a small insurgency – only to find his nation collapsed and his previous enemies now his only allies.
His rifle-grip weapon was drawn, but held idle at hips – doubtless the safety was off, but he had yet to show outward aggression or intent to actually use it.
Once she was close enough for her growled words to be heard through clenched teeth, Dallen said with venom “Listen you ****, if you ever take a shot at one of my men like that again I’ll ****in’ tear you t-“
This was outward aggression, and though Leng Tze was too far down the staircase to see the storming Armston, he was able to hear her just fine.
”Wait!” he called with some intensity, and his was a commanding voice which demanded attention – that which any great leader should know well.
Having halted Armston in her tracks before the ‘Ice Queen’ would get a chance to attack preemptively, Leng Tze allowed his voice to soften while still retaining the essence of resolution in command. “We need to talk. In the wake of the enemy who has brought us together we can afford to turn away no potential ally.” Shifting his gaze to look more directly at the strange woman, he continued by addressing her “I beg your pardon of my friend – she means only to protect her own, and any social prejudices she may have are irrelevant to you.”
It was the most that Leng Tze had spoken since their original meeting atop the ruined building in Earth City – and even then he had kept it short and sweet. The round, friendly face did not seem one what would act the part of eloquence and simultaneous commanding reason, but there he had proven himself in – hopefully – defusing the situation.
On Dallen’s end anyway, it worked – looking vaguely ashamed of her outburst and somewhat irritated by her having been called out on it, she took a deep breath and stepped back in a universal gesture of surrender – or at least admission of her uncalled-for behavior. Footfalls echoed through the great landing bay, and through them Leng Tze was able to determine without seeing her that Armston had been sated.
He continued after a moment, slowly stepping up the stairs as he spoke until he was beside the still traumatized Reltakov. “We are soldiers-gone-refugees of the war across the southern continents.” he explained, speaking clearly while taking care not to sound belittling. “You and we are a very different people, as I’m sure you can see. We are unfamiliar with the clothing you wear and he weapon you use. Please do not take offense when I ask if I am to assume you are part of a small community that lives in isolation on this island?”
“Now, hold on until you get your balance….Better?” Without letting him know, the Intergalactic Master Woman slowly took her arm from the boy’s shoulders, hovering it a few inches away, just in case. Most likely the boy would not realize he had been released, yet he would still feel relatively steady – by this point one would begin to notice that there was, in fact, no sensation of movement beneath their feet.
One way or another, he would realize that he had been uncoupled when a minute chirp, not unlike an old digital watch, unobtrusively called out from the high-tech looking wrist…computer…watch…communicator…thing requisitioned her attention, and both hands were required to manipulate the little screen. If Christofer did seem about to fall again – though unlikely – Roya made sure to keep aware enough that she would be able to react and steady him once more.
Whatever had happened with her wrist-thing was evidently displeasing. The woman gave a frustrated little huff, tapped rapidly for some seconds as though typing, and finally held down what was presumably a small button on the side and began to speak – or rather, bark – into it.
“Yes, this is D.E.U. Special Agent Royanna Kallenger clearance A-3, and yes I am requisitioning the s-lander for planetfall at Ardella, yes I am ordering it delivered to the auxiliary entrance on the observation deck, and yes I’ll roll heads if I have to. I want it here before orbital port, I need to be the first person off this boat by direct orders from A-3 Administration, got it?"
With only a tense couple of seconds staring hard at the watch as though it might make the response come faster, there was a second chirp, eyes flicked and Roya defused, relaxing visibly.
When she turned back to her companion, the Intergalactic Master Woman was once again as mild as she could manage to be – she wanted it obvious to the boy that she was not upset with him, no matter how difficult it was for someone usually so intense.
The next challenge was to be keeping him calm for the skip. Again, while nothing to an experienced spacer, the visual distortion witnessed during the lightning-fast process of a skip was drastically disorienting, and that was the last thing that her oversensitive little friend needed right now. Luckily it would last for less than half a second – but it would be a crucial half-second.
Again, the soft, overly pleasant and computerized – if convincing – voice came over some hidden intercom speaker somewhere in the single, back wall which harbored the entrance to the chamber and some other doors.
“Attention passengers and staff. Skip will commence in thirty seconds. Please move into a skip-safe location if you have not already done so. Skip in 5, 4, 3, 2-“ “Yahhghdammit~!!””
Caught off-guard by how quickly the time had seemed to pass, Royanna froze mentally and completely failed to come up with any smooth transmission to keep the boy’s eyes locked on the floor or wall – or anywhere but that great, domed window – for that half-second skip.
So taking advantage of her position slightly behind him – their backs to the walled side of the deck – Roya did the only thing she knew how to do in these kinds of situations and suddenly slammed a palm into the injured shoulder, gripping it tightly and not needing to fake the outcry of pain…Though she might have upped the volume just a twinge. Assuming the split-second solution worked, the boy would have turned to face her and thus missed the disorienting view of the skip through the great window. Roya would give an almost sheepish expression and half-laugh. “Heh~ Damn shoulder tensed up on me.” she’d say, rather unconvincingly but likely not awkward enough to totally fabricate it.
If, for some reason he did not spin around, the boy would very suddenly feel like he was simultaneously falling at an incredible speed and being pushed back with an incredible force – the result of a planet appearing almost from nothing and then rapidly growing larger as it seemingly came into existence.
The planet was, of course, there either way – but if Roya’s impromptu distraction had worked then she’d give no indication as to the appearance of the inconceivably large, white and slate-grey marble which now hung motionless and weightless before them, suspended in nothingness and surrounded by the unmistakable blackness of space.
There would be no mistaking this for some generated image. There was something about the view of a planet from far orbit that was undeniably real.
Hopefully she’d have a moment to prepare him for the sight.
Things were different now.
The past two days had been a chaotic torrent of emotions, memories, tempers and intolerable stress. Things had spiraled out of control, and he had been caught up in the mess which tried to sort itself out and was only more violent for it. That had been his world, a time of change and confusion…
But time had already begun to dull the pain as those events slipped into the past. His mind had begun to sort itself out, get his interlaced thoughts straightened out to something almost coherent, and his ever-present denial was already hard at work, burying it all beneath a thick, sopping layer of cheerfulness.
But things were different now, and he could feel it. Little had been resolved, but there was the vague, barely perceptible feeling in the back of his mind that maybe this time not everything would need to be buried.
Opinions had changed, viewpoints had shifted so that many would see from a fresh perspective, enlightened in the wake of madness. Miscommunications had worked against them all, intertwining and compounding until every word was a lie and every lie retained traces of truth beneath the endless layers upon layers of social interaction.
But things were different now – and though Kete could not put his finger on precisely why, things seemed better now.
In the wake of crisis, the following morning was always a bright, bittersweet sensation – the lingering doubts and regrets, but also the feeling of escape, of past versus present – it felt like a fresh start, and it was invigorating. It lifted the boy’s spirits and set him on the path back to his rapidly returning usual self. Before long there was a little sway in his step and a new spark in his eye.
None of it mattered, as long as he existed in the present.
The minds around him were ever strange in their organic-inorganic complexity, but he had come to understand them vaguely as though a complex, vintage wine with layers of flavor, merely tapping the surface. He had no desire to further his immersion with the organic robots, however. The debate of their humanity was one to be pondered on some other cloudy day.
For now, it seemed that everything had gone back to normal. The prior evening seemed a foggy mile away, left quarantined in the dust to gradually settle back into the subconscious. There was not the slightest thought of Duros Aller in his mind – that was the important part.
That, and the fact that he was once again quite certain that it had not, in fact, been he who had been behind the Adrusade massacre – not that it had been mentioned by name. All that had really been said was that he had hurt some people, right?.....Right? Right. That was easy to bear upon the conscience and easier still to push beneath the waves. Did Nirix know now what his eye was capable of? He couldn’t recall. As usual, there was only a blurry, theoretical line between memories and conscious – and memories were strictly off limits. If he was going to find out what Nirix knew – it was all so misty! He would need to spend some time poking and prodding harmlessly, carefully working his way around memories which remained too sacred for his prying eyes.
Or, of course, she might tell him.
The night before, he had implied that his assumption was of their sticking together. He recalled with a swell of euphoric relief how she had told him that everything would be okay. Those precious words which he so craved and so rarely had the privilege of hearing in earnest. The idea that someone else really was looking out for him, really was going to make everything okay – and with no realistic possibility of subversive motives as might still have been hiding deep within Glades’ mind. Unlikely, but he would never be truly open with someone like Glades, someone who knew so much.
Everyone always wanted – or was obligated – to follow him around. No matter how many people he pestered and annoyed it seemed that they always ended up as the trailing companion and he as the protagonist. It was tiring being the protagonist, always having to work everything out with minimal support. Respectively it was liberating to feel no such obligations – or very few, at least, since his objectives were still only loosely formed half-ideas in an already cluttered and scatterbrained head.
It was not a conscious thought of course, but Ketin was not going to follow the Eoclu assassin out of some sense of duty or obligation, out of desperation or a means to an end. He was going to follow her because she had told him that everything would be okay, and he intended not to forget it.
It was at that moment he rounded a corner and found himself standing in the expansive hangar, having been entirely unaware of how long he had been walking or even in what direction – it was a bad habit of his, getting lost in thought like that, allowing the subconscious awareness of other eyes guide him as he daydreamed and let his own thoughts wander aimlessly about and intermingle with the thoughts of others.
Although it was not so much a mere starship hangar as it was a fully functioning starport. It was jarring and pleasant – the kind of big, cluttered place where Kete could get lost for hours and mingle with minds and hide in peace among the bustle. It was not his goal currently of course, but still busy operations such as this were soothing to some extent – second only to smoky barrooms and seedy dives.
Across a veritable sea of shipping crates and other starport-related-detritus he could see them – Kampfer, looking fresh and renewed, and Nirix who now wore some different clothing which Kete altogether approved of to a much greater extent to that strange getup she had been wearing before.
They were far from his meager fifty-foot range, but every camera and electronic device was connected, and an idle connection to one often gave access to the majority in that vicinity, available if he wanted to look and unobtrusive if he didn’t. It was a subconscious deftness of the minds’ eye which brought his actual eyes to them so quickly. Subconsciously he glanced through the cameras, consciously he just happened to triangulate their position.
Breaking into a trot, Kete weaved through the bustle of the starport, occasionally diving out of the way of some ship’s reactor exhaust or similar peril. When at last he was within eyeshot of them the boy would start to cause a ruckus.
He waved his arms, flailing as he ran, looking as cheerful and carefree as ever.
“Heeeey! Hey Ny’, over here~!” he called, suddenly feeling a deep surge of anxiety that she might very well be planning on leaving without him – in fact she could have been boarding her private vessel right now, for all he knew! Just because he knew where they were didn’t mean he had been paying attention to what they were doing. “Heey, wait up!”
As for if there was any legitimate need for the big hurry…?
Dallen Armston was about to mouth off something that would have gotten them all slaughtered in a heartbeat, when by some miracle she was interrupted by the pressing, if somewhat unsteady voice of Harlan Ducote. A small part of the woman was frustrated with him for it – her temper was driving her to find any excuse to start shooting and damned if he didn’t seem so cowardly…
But then, ‘cowardice’ had saved her life and the lives of her comrades on numerous occasions, and even the hotheaded Armston knew when to back down.
That is, until someone else made a sound.
It was a very small sound, not exactly a breath, but rather the ambient sort of noise one produced simply from being there.
Armston’s eyes went ablaze when she finally realized what she was looking at, and she lowered her rifle only to start toward the ‘Ice Queen’ at a hasty and determined gait. Admittedly, it was something of a long walk, given that they had so great an expanse between them in the cavernous bay – but she seemed to close the distance quickly without actually running or sprinting.
Standing behind the pale, oddly dressed woman was a young man with close-cropped, sandy colored hair and wide eyes. His uniform bore the insignia and initials of an organization which no longer existed.
Shanston Reltakov stood with his back to the stairs on one of the lower tiers. He stood stone-still, paralyzed with terror and seemingly only half aware of what was actually happening – vaguely realizing that he had almost died a quick and violent death at the hands of a vicious shard of ice which lay scattered at his feet. When Dallen had been unaware that there was actually anyone behind the woman.
On a still lower tier stood the thin, round-faced Hi’tzen named Leng Tze, who had once Captained a small insurgency – only to find his nation collapsed and his previous enemies now his only allies.
His rifle-grip weapon was drawn, but held idle at hips – doubtless the safety was off, but he had yet to show outward aggression or intent to actually use it.
Once she was close enough for her growled words to be heard through clenched teeth, Dallen said with venom “Listen you ****, if you ever take a shot at one of my men like that again I’ll ****in’ tear you t-“
This was outward aggression, and though Leng Tze was too far down the staircase to see the storming Armston, he was able to hear her just fine.
”Wait!” he called with some intensity, and his was a commanding voice which demanded attention – that which any great leader should know well.
Having halted Armston in her tracks before the ‘Ice Queen’ would get a chance to attack preemptively, Leng Tze allowed his voice to soften while still retaining the essence of resolution in command. “We need to talk. In the wake of the enemy who has brought us together we can afford to turn away no potential ally.” Shifting his gaze to look more directly at the strange woman, he continued by addressing her “I beg your pardon of my friend – she means only to protect her own, and any social prejudices she may have are irrelevant to you.”
It was the most that Leng Tze had spoken since their original meeting atop the ruined building in Earth City – and even then he had kept it short and sweet. The round, friendly face did not seem one what would act the part of eloquence and simultaneous commanding reason, but there he had proven himself in – hopefully – defusing the situation.
On Dallen’s end anyway, it worked – looking vaguely ashamed of her outburst and somewhat irritated by her having been called out on it, she took a deep breath and stepped back in a universal gesture of surrender – or at least admission of her uncalled-for behavior. Footfalls echoed through the great landing bay, and through them Leng Tze was able to determine without seeing her that Armston had been sated.
He continued after a moment, slowly stepping up the stairs as he spoke until he was beside the still traumatized Reltakov. “We are soldiers-gone-refugees of the war across the southern continents.” he explained, speaking clearly while taking care not to sound belittling. “You and we are a very different people, as I’m sure you can see. We are unfamiliar with the clothing you wear and he weapon you use. Please do not take offense when I ask if I am to assume you are part of a small community that lives in isolation on this island?”
Kamfper hadn't notice Ketin yet since he was busy tuning the ship a little bit. But before Ketin can get any closer to Kampfer, a voice can be heard on Ketin's right saying "Oh so the fur coat finally shows up" as the voice crackles into laughter. Soon Loki comes into few, out of his invisibility. He pulls out three combat knives and starts to juggle them into the air and starts circling Ketin like a shark. "So, you the infamous dog-boy that everyone in the universe who's talking about. I seen the wanted posters and the propaganda in really as I see the infamous Devil Eyes in front me, I think your just a punk b**** with daddy issues" he states as giggles a bit as he keeps his juggling of the knives. "Ah man, the doggy who kills for shits and giggles at innocent people and with in for tradition, his fostered father took out your eye and in turn you took out his" he says as he stops in front of him and stops juggling catching the two knives in both hands and letting the third one hit the ground between them. He leans towards him and says "I guess one can you did the literal...eye for an eye!" as he states to laugh loudly at Ketin. "Now here you are, hanging around the most advance starport ever, with a half brain tribal who's a sorry excuse for an a assassin" he leans back into his original position. "Oh where are my manners! I am Sir Loki of the Asgardian Knights, a pleasure my p****friend" he said as he gave a bow to him as he chuckles even more at Ketin.
Catherine's face became red with anger with all of them. For her it wasn't a surprise that she is dealing with a bunch of grunts and so they were completely unaware of who she is. She turns and looks at Leng and the frighten soldier and looked at him angerily and said "How dare you assume I lived in an isolated community here" her voice was one of mocking. "My empire spaned throughout the galaxy compete ting against the Sol empire" she says as she still looks at them. She glances at the frighten soldier and threaten "Get any closer and you'll get impaled next time" she then turns her attention Armstrong. Her face this time became even more furious at her. "Alright wrench, hold her tongue before I rip it out of your mouth and shove an ice spike so far up your ass, you'll be spitting out ice cubes, so go on...make my day" she then goes ahead and looks at Ducote. "And you, I won't out of this base not wanting to stay, and I'll be taking that ship over there to the continent and then you can to take it to god no's where" she explains to him slightly calmly as she points to the old ship.
Neylan soon spotted the small ship but allowed it to land as her son readies his gun.She stares at the ship as it lands ....curios as to its origin obviously being of empire origin but being so different from one of kampfers normal ships
"State your name rank and intention" she states pointing her wepon to the small ship before her with a glare
"State your name rank and intention" she states pointing her wepon to the small ship before her with a glare
He noticed the strange, spindly armored automaton just in time – had he stumbled tiredly to a stop any later there may have been a collision, which would doubtless have been more than a little unpleasant. Quick to regain his breath, Kete shoved one hand into a coat pocket and scratched at the back of his head with the other. He did not appear in the least perturbed or otherwise bothered by the menacing thing with its’ juggling knives. The most sensitive scanners would detect not the faintest trace of fear, but the contrary.
For all intents and purposes he seemed genuinely oblivious to whatever danger he may have been in. If this disturbing newcomer had not personally seen the boy’s outburst the night before it would be hard-pressed to see anything but absolute idiocy in him.
Blinking curiously, he watched as the metal ghoul circled him like a vicious aquatic predator.
Against all odds of logic and reason, and without the slightest hint that he was trying to play the part of smartass, he said with a casual but slightly perplexed glance downward; “Huh? Oh, no it’s Argonian Starwhale leather, not fur~” not bothering to hint at whether or not such a material actually existed.
But his idiot comment went ignored as the dangerous new android continued to circle him. The curiousness in his expression shifted to a low, but genuine little smile. “Yeah, that’s what all the stories say~ Personally I think the tabloids can get a little out of hand with their exaggerations, but some of those journalists could be great science fiction writers if they really put their minds to it.”
Casual conversation?
Sure enough, following the parodied quote Kete joined in with the wild laughter, seeming every bit as entertained by it as the knife-juggler was. Gradually it faded and was once again replaced, this time with something akin to doubtful skepticism. He scratched at his temple this time, looking thoughtful. “Well now, I wouldn’t say that.” he disagreed, with all the politeness of a casual debate on some triviality. “She is standing behind you with a suuuuper sharp monomolecuwhatever sword.”
Was she?
The Eoclu’s talents had already proven to be capable of outwitting some of Kampfer’s most advanced machines, and it was not impossible that she may have snuck up from behind and managed to go unseen by the gossamer droid’s 360* field scanners.
Whether or not the assassin was in fact standing behind the haughty thing with blade unsheathed, it would go on to introduce itself with a grotesque little bow and more than a hint of ‘passive agression’.
Ketin didn’t buy into it for a second – only brightening right back up with a wide, cheery smile and returning the gesture – if a bit more subtly. “Good to meet you, Sir Loki of the Asgardian Knights!” he said in earnest before standing straight once more and adding “I’d introduce myself but I guess you’ve heard of me.” with a healthy serving of cheeky deadpan humor.
Once again he was displaying one of his most incredible – and absolutely infuriating – talents; the ability to totally disregard any attempts at coercion or sobering or intimidation. And it was, of course, infuriating to have the person one’s trying to threaten be too stupid to understand that they were in any trace of danger.
The kid was stupid almost beyond belief – and it wasn’t even an act!
Leng Tze didn’t miss a beat. He listened to the woman’s childish tirade with patience across his face and replied without hesitation with words no sharper than they had been before, yet all the more pertinent for what they said; “Well, considering that the Sol Empire has not existed for approximately three and a half centuries, I would venture that your ‘empire’ is long gone as well, which renders your position as ‘Queen’ into redundancy. That said, I would also like to point out that if you were to initiate an assault on any one of us, the others would open fire immediately. Considering that our two other comrades are just now at the base of this staircase, that gives you – mathematically speaking – a one to six survival ratio.
In a strictly advisory capacity, I might suggest that you refrain from spouting off childish threats and pompous declarations of unwarranted entitlement, and instead prove to us that you are, in fact, a reasonable individual capable of logic, reason, and civilized discussion. If you don’t want to be viewed as a primitive, it is in your best interest to not act like one.”
The whole spiel had been spoken so calmly, so assertively, that even the most obstinate of rage would be hard-pressed to compel an interruption. Though the words had been harsh, the tone had been easy – implications that his intent was to make clear to her that she too was acting out of turn for her given position.
He was right, too – Hdz’ra Sané and Fellerton Sands were just now mounting the lowermost steps, both with weapons in hand. Even if they had been armed with naught but muskets she would be forced to realize the disadvantage in numbers and the slim chance of survival following an attack. Even if she could take out a number of them, there was little what moved faster than bullets, and someone’s gun would doubtless aim true.
Silence. Leng Tze kept steady, firm eyes locked on the woman as if inviting her to make her move and silently suggesting that she choose her reaction wisely.
He had spoken to her - this self-proclaimed 'Queen' - as if she were no more royalty than anyone else present. It was unthinkably heretic, but also very telling. What kind of man would so boldly speak up to someone of her 'highness'? There were only two options - either the man was a bumbling fool (And Leng Tze had already proven himself to be, without a doubt, anything but a fool) or the man had a legitimate reason behind his arrogance. In this scenario that reason manifested in the ratio of precision-automatic weaponry to 'ice magic' wielding hands.
For all intents and purposes he seemed genuinely oblivious to whatever danger he may have been in. If this disturbing newcomer had not personally seen the boy’s outburst the night before it would be hard-pressed to see anything but absolute idiocy in him.
Blinking curiously, he watched as the metal ghoul circled him like a vicious aquatic predator.
Against all odds of logic and reason, and without the slightest hint that he was trying to play the part of smartass, he said with a casual but slightly perplexed glance downward; “Huh? Oh, no it’s Argonian Starwhale leather, not fur~” not bothering to hint at whether or not such a material actually existed.
But his idiot comment went ignored as the dangerous new android continued to circle him. The curiousness in his expression shifted to a low, but genuine little smile. “Yeah, that’s what all the stories say~ Personally I think the tabloids can get a little out of hand with their exaggerations, but some of those journalists could be great science fiction writers if they really put their minds to it.”
Casual conversation?
Sure enough, following the parodied quote Kete joined in with the wild laughter, seeming every bit as entertained by it as the knife-juggler was. Gradually it faded and was once again replaced, this time with something akin to doubtful skepticism. He scratched at his temple this time, looking thoughtful. “Well now, I wouldn’t say that.” he disagreed, with all the politeness of a casual debate on some triviality. “She is standing behind you with a suuuuper sharp monomolecuwhatever sword.”
Was she?
The Eoclu’s talents had already proven to be capable of outwitting some of Kampfer’s most advanced machines, and it was not impossible that she may have snuck up from behind and managed to go unseen by the gossamer droid’s 360* field scanners.
Whether or not the assassin was in fact standing behind the haughty thing with blade unsheathed, it would go on to introduce itself with a grotesque little bow and more than a hint of ‘passive agression’.
Ketin didn’t buy into it for a second – only brightening right back up with a wide, cheery smile and returning the gesture – if a bit more subtly. “Good to meet you, Sir Loki of the Asgardian Knights!” he said in earnest before standing straight once more and adding “I’d introduce myself but I guess you’ve heard of me.” with a healthy serving of cheeky deadpan humor.
Once again he was displaying one of his most incredible – and absolutely infuriating – talents; the ability to totally disregard any attempts at coercion or sobering or intimidation. And it was, of course, infuriating to have the person one’s trying to threaten be too stupid to understand that they were in any trace of danger.
The kid was stupid almost beyond belief – and it wasn’t even an act!
Leng Tze didn’t miss a beat. He listened to the woman’s childish tirade with patience across his face and replied without hesitation with words no sharper than they had been before, yet all the more pertinent for what they said; “Well, considering that the Sol Empire has not existed for approximately three and a half centuries, I would venture that your ‘empire’ is long gone as well, which renders your position as ‘Queen’ into redundancy. That said, I would also like to point out that if you were to initiate an assault on any one of us, the others would open fire immediately. Considering that our two other comrades are just now at the base of this staircase, that gives you – mathematically speaking – a one to six survival ratio.
In a strictly advisory capacity, I might suggest that you refrain from spouting off childish threats and pompous declarations of unwarranted entitlement, and instead prove to us that you are, in fact, a reasonable individual capable of logic, reason, and civilized discussion. If you don’t want to be viewed as a primitive, it is in your best interest to not act like one.”
The whole spiel had been spoken so calmly, so assertively, that even the most obstinate of rage would be hard-pressed to compel an interruption. Though the words had been harsh, the tone had been easy – implications that his intent was to make clear to her that she too was acting out of turn for her given position.
He was right, too – Hdz’ra Sané and Fellerton Sands were just now mounting the lowermost steps, both with weapons in hand. Even if they had been armed with naught but muskets she would be forced to realize the disadvantage in numbers and the slim chance of survival following an attack. Even if she could take out a number of them, there was little what moved faster than bullets, and someone’s gun would doubtless aim true.
Silence. Leng Tze kept steady, firm eyes locked on the woman as if inviting her to make her move and silently suggesting that she choose her reaction wisely.
He had spoken to her - this self-proclaimed 'Queen' - as if she were no more royalty than anyone else present. It was unthinkably heretic, but also very telling. What kind of man would so boldly speak up to someone of her 'highness'? There were only two options - either the man was a bumbling fool (And Leng Tze had already proven himself to be, without a doubt, anything but a fool) or the man had a legitimate reason behind his arrogance. In this scenario that reason manifested in the ratio of precision-automatic weaponry to 'ice magic' wielding hands.
The Frost Queen, just face palm at Lemg as he gave his explanation. "Oh thanks Sherlock Mao, I didn't realize my empire wasn't around anymore, that explains why I'm here" she says to Leng very sarcastically. Her use of a racial slur was one that she would not use normally but because of her agitation it just came out. "And technically it's a 4 against 1 since one of them is close enough to be a meat shield and the other one is scared shit list so he'll quite possibly miss and even likely hit one of his comrades" she explains to him. "But yes I don't wish to fight, but I want off this base and just to one of the continents here on this planet and then you all can just go off on your merry way" she says to not only Leng but to the rest as she looks around at the other soldiers.
As the ship lands in the hanger of the mom and son ship, the landing ship is quiet small, a small fighter craft that can barely hold one person. As the pink craft lands, it transformed from a fighter to an android that is the same model as the Asguardian Knights. The pink android looked at the mom and son and kneeled and greeted "I am Asguardain knight Juno, please don't shoot me" it's voice being very feminine as it begged towards them.
Kampfer wrote:
As the ship lands in the hanger of the mom and son ship, the landing ship is quiet small, a small fighter craft that can barely hold one person. As the pink craft lands, it transformed from a fighter to an android that is the same model as the Asguardian Knights. The pink android looked at the mom and son and kneeled and greeted "I am Asguardain knight Juno, please don't shoot me" it's voice being very feminine as it begged towards them.
"why would a knight seek us of all creatures and why now to theives of such low caliber?"
"Oh? What... Uh..." The boy would struggle a bit with his words. "What kind of flight school? You know... Since you have all these... Space things now..." The boy still wasn't used to the idea of space traveling or anything else. It was beyond him. Why didn't he know about this? Surely it was a big invention and would have been all over the news the day it went through no matter what. Yet he didn't know about it. The German didn't have the slightest idea of what was actually going on with it
The boy would keep holding onto Kallenger's clothes for a while, not feeling all that sure on what he was supposed to do when he was in such a strange place. Of all the places he could have been at, he was in... Space? How? His head just couldn't process that thought, and so it would take a moment longer for his body to even start to get focused on standing up on his own.
When he'd eventually manage to stand up without leaning on the lady, Christofer's attention was pulled to Kallenger's... very strange tablet... as it made some sounds. He was more focused on it than the fact that Kallenger wouldn't be aiding him on standing up.
He couldn't make out much of what Royanna was replying to the device. It was all some strange stuff to him, and upon wondering what was going on with it, he remembered Royanna having told him to keep looking at what was going outside. Being somewhat afraid of what she was going to do to him if he'd misbehave, the boy would try forgetting about the strange device and turned around somewhat wobbly to get a better look at the windows...
When the announcement sounded, Christofer's ears twitched, trying to locate where the sounds were coming from. Trying to focus on what the announcer had to say, the German assumed that Kallenger would have already figured the nesessary things out - this was all normal and a part of everyday life to her afterall pretty much - so he shouldn't be worrying his head over it.
Upon hearing Kallenger's pained voice, the canid would spin around rather rapidly, getting worried over her conditin instantly due to not having expected anything along the lines of where the situation was going towards. He'd let out some sound resembling that of a dog yelping as he losed his balance and tripped himself on the fluffy mass that was to be seen as his tail. This would probably not help the situation at all as he now fell hard onto the floor and hit is own shoulder. During his fall, he could feel some strange sencation hitting his body, but the feeling was gone almos as soon as it had come, and then replaced with the shock that came from the impact, followed by pain.
Pained, he'd curl up momentually - tail and all - before getting on the support of his arms to look at how Kallenger was doing and tried to not cringe too much because of his own shoulder.
"A-Are... Are you ok..?" He asked, sounding worried even if the woman had a grin on her face. Even with her seemingly not being in any danger, the boy couldn't help holding around her in a comforting way, practically clinging onto the other person - an embrace in which Kallenger would soon realize even the tail being wrapped around her.
It was only then after the situation had calmed down that he'd remember Kallenger wanting to show him something cool again. He felt so guilty. That strange sencation from only moments ago must have been what she was meaning to show him - and now he had missed it. What a stupid stupid boy he was. Disobedient and bad boy. Christofer felt too guilty to look at the windows again, hiding his face by leaning it against the woman instead.
"I'm sorry... I won't do it again... I'll look next time..."
The boy would keep holding onto Kallenger's clothes for a while, not feeling all that sure on what he was supposed to do when he was in such a strange place. Of all the places he could have been at, he was in... Space? How? His head just couldn't process that thought, and so it would take a moment longer for his body to even start to get focused on standing up on his own.
When he'd eventually manage to stand up without leaning on the lady, Christofer's attention was pulled to Kallenger's... very strange tablet... as it made some sounds. He was more focused on it than the fact that Kallenger wouldn't be aiding him on standing up.
He couldn't make out much of what Royanna was replying to the device. It was all some strange stuff to him, and upon wondering what was going on with it, he remembered Royanna having told him to keep looking at what was going outside. Being somewhat afraid of what she was going to do to him if he'd misbehave, the boy would try forgetting about the strange device and turned around somewhat wobbly to get a better look at the windows...
When the announcement sounded, Christofer's ears twitched, trying to locate where the sounds were coming from. Trying to focus on what the announcer had to say, the German assumed that Kallenger would have already figured the nesessary things out - this was all normal and a part of everyday life to her afterall pretty much - so he shouldn't be worrying his head over it.
Upon hearing Kallenger's pained voice, the canid would spin around rather rapidly, getting worried over her conditin instantly due to not having expected anything along the lines of where the situation was going towards. He'd let out some sound resembling that of a dog yelping as he losed his balance and tripped himself on the fluffy mass that was to be seen as his tail. This would probably not help the situation at all as he now fell hard onto the floor and hit is own shoulder. During his fall, he could feel some strange sencation hitting his body, but the feeling was gone almos as soon as it had come, and then replaced with the shock that came from the impact, followed by pain.
Pained, he'd curl up momentually - tail and all - before getting on the support of his arms to look at how Kallenger was doing and tried to not cringe too much because of his own shoulder.
"A-Are... Are you ok..?" He asked, sounding worried even if the woman had a grin on her face. Even with her seemingly not being in any danger, the boy couldn't help holding around her in a comforting way, practically clinging onto the other person - an embrace in which Kallenger would soon realize even the tail being wrapped around her.
It was only then after the situation had calmed down that he'd remember Kallenger wanting to show him something cool again. He felt so guilty. That strange sencation from only moments ago must have been what she was meaning to show him - and now he had missed it. What a stupid stupid boy he was. Disobedient and bad boy. Christofer felt too guilty to look at the windows again, hiding his face by leaning it against the woman instead.
"I'm sorry... I won't do it again... I'll look next time..."
Leng Tze gave the strange woman a doubtful, disapproving look accompanied by a thin frown. Incredulously, he said nothing. Clearly her impudence – ironically – was proving irritating even to him, but given the lack of hostility on his side there would be little she could do without seeming openly aggressive.
It was E’tzu Tsuan’s turn to speak now, loudly so as to cover the distance between them. He took some steps forward as he did so, ending up eventually at Armston’s side. “Don’t get me wrong Miss, but something tells me that piloting a small crew transport en-atmosphere is not in your royal skillset.”
Dallen couldn’t resist a snicker, glancing appreciatively to the man as he approached. There had been more than a hint of snide in his comment – the two of them made an excellently abrasive and otherwise intolerable pair, it seemed. Still, the words were too polite to call him out on it, either.
Frustratingly, the point that the asinine Tsuan made had been very pertinent. It was better known among pilots and soldiers that flying a spacecraft ‘en-atmos’ was vastly more difficult than doing so ‘en-void’. Really they were two entirely different techniques, considering that ‘en-atmos’ there were things such as wind currents and weather conditions to deal with, while ‘en-void’ such challenges were not present.
Piloting en-void was a skill that took years of training in itself, and considering how vastly more useful it was than its’ counterpart, very few people bothered to also learn en-atmos flight. After all, who needs to fly around one planet when you can fly around the Galaxy?
It was very likely that, if this ‘Ice Queen’ was capable of spaceflight, she was not also trained in en-atmos flight.
Not definite, but likely.
Leng Tze caught on immediately that Tsuan’s politely snide comment would likely result in another outburst from the woman, so he spoke up quickly before she would get the chance to. “Your name – You said your name is ‘Cathorine’, yes? You should know ours too if we’re to board any kind of flight-craft together. My name is Leng Tze, and these are-“ he gestured to those within his sight as he listed their names off, not bothering with any of the ranks they had previously held. “Hdz’ra Sané, Fellerton Sands, and Shanston Reltakov. The woman up there is Dallen Armston, the man beside her is E’tzu Tsuan, and the one in the far back is Harlan Ducote.” it was verging on incredible that he had managed to remember all their names while having been told only once – or perhaps twice – but it was one of the qualities which had made him so capable a leader of his troops. Even now his words had been carefully calculated – he was silently offering Cathorine another chance at civility. It would mean, of course, on the other end that she would seem only that much more revolting if she were to brush off his politeness.
Sané interjected, the shorter, darker man adding softly and with a vastly more genuine politeness than Tsuan had used “And, with all due respect, given that you have no qualifying credentials on your person, I wouldn’t go expecting that anyone is going to call you ‘Queen’.” That, he had realized, had been the reason why Tze had omitted ranks from all of their names. They were no longer members of a military institution, just as she – like it or not – was no longer a queen since her entire dominion was apparently long gone.
Absently, Leng Tze couldn’t help but wonder what in Great Space a ‘Sherlock Mao’ was.
Royanna laughed quietly – just a little – through still-gritted teeth as the white-hot, secretly self-inflicted pain began to slowly, slowly dull back into general achiness. A concerned embrace from the boy was just about the last thing she expected, it caught her slightly off guard but there was little to show for that. She just let him cling there for a moment, unable to keep from appreciating his worry for her just a little bit. The woman couldn’t recall a time when someone had been so very concerned with her wellbeing – her wellbeing, not the wellbeing of the DEU Captain. It was an unusual, alien feeling but difficult to turn away.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” she assured him, sorely “Just a little ache, I’ve had worse.
This was, in reality, a lie – this had been the first serious wound Royanna Kallenger had ever been inflicted with since she took over the role of DEU Captain. Usually her operations were conducted in a manner that nobody else had time to attack – her overwhelming show of force with twenty black-uniformed soldiers usually took care of that. This time had been different.
But he didn’t need to know that. As far as Christofer knew, she was some variety of seasoned combatant and this was nothing.
Granted, it was a pretty obvious lie, and there was a very real possibility that he would see right through it to her false reassurance and the intention of keeping him from worrying too much.
And then he was leaning into her, hiding his face, burying it in the white t shirt that made her look so uncharacteristically casual. Roya rolled her eyes and gave a huff, said “What in the absolute flying **** are you apologizing for now?” she said with irritation – though making sure to come across as well-intended as possible.
A reassuring pat on his back, then the woman would disconnect herself and put a hand on his shoulder, making eye contact and smiling just a little.
“Now, remember I said I wanted to show you something neat? You didn’t miss anything, it’s not going anywhere – but before you look I want to reassure you of something.” Her words toned down slightly and became as reassuring and comforting as she could make them – which was, again, not very much – but she was definitely trying.
“The world that you know…Isn’t all that there is. I know it seems like it, I know you’ve never had any reason to believe otherwise, and you have every reason to feel like space travel is totally unheard of but…Well the most important thing is that I want to promise you that nothing about the world you know has changed. It isn’t gone forever, nothing like that – you’re just…somewhere else now okay?”
Royanna waited a moment for his affirmation, then – still smiling with something between reassurement and an almost kiddish sense of anticipation, she gestured for him to turn around. “I’d like to introduce you to the planet Ardella, third planet from the star Signum Spei, and my homeworld.”
There was little in the Universe that could compare to the sensation of seeing a planet in space for the first time. Galaxies were beautiful, but far away and impersonal. Moons were ever-present and small. The great gas clouds were a sight to behold, but unrelatable in their inability to harbor life as was known.
But a planet – a world – was a place where people lived and worked, where entire civilizations sprouted and decayed, where cultures flourished and wars raged. A world, even an alien one, was one of the most relatable sights in the ‘Verse, and there were few that could adequately prepare themelves for the overwhelming grandeur and presence that a world could hold from space.
It was a great, matte marble that hung among the stars without the slightest movement. It was surreal how it just hung there, suspended by nothing, a stationary object in nothingness, impossible and yet true.
Ivory white clouds swirled and danced, frozen in time, hovering high above the surface, moving endlessly and unpredictably, and yet still as if time itself had stopped.
The majority of the surface consisted of sharp, jagged mountains of steely grey stone and alabaster mountains, great, expansive deserts of ashy sand and oceans that seemed all the more shimmering blue for their contrast with the soft whites and greys that the landmasses were composed of.
The cities could be seen as well, clustered along the surface of the world, clinging there as it spun and spun, and yet did not move.
Half of the great globe was just beginning to grow dark – a sharp gradient from light to shadow as night descended upon the speckled islands of the midnight sea.
Though it was an arid and rocky place, from so far in the heavens it seemed as if every detail were visible, every sprouting mountain and jagged cliff, every tree in the forest of blueish firs that coated some of the southern hemisphere, every crystal in that sea of lapis jewels, every hill and slope of the almost iridescent ice caps at the northern and southern poles. It was as if one could walk up to that great, domed window, reach through it and run their finger down the spine of the Crescent Mountains just to experience the texture.
From the corner of that window could be seen the equally still orbital station at which the cataloguer had docked. Already there were smaller, single-pilot vessels beginning to move silently around, gliding through the blackness with ease, gently setting down on the long, protruding docks, lifting off as though weightless. A small cargo transport moved surreally across the field of vision, looking simultaneously massive, and infinitesimally dwarfed by the inconceivable mass of the world that hung before them.
A second orbital station could be seen just peering around from behind the world – a cylindrical pivot surrounded by many slowly rotating rings – toy-sized from current vantage but larger in reality than the most massive freighter. Specks of iron grey and white moved slowly, busily around that one as well. Orbit around Ardella was a busy place. Bustling life high above a world and still hardly a speck in the Galaxy.
It was E’tzu Tsuan’s turn to speak now, loudly so as to cover the distance between them. He took some steps forward as he did so, ending up eventually at Armston’s side. “Don’t get me wrong Miss, but something tells me that piloting a small crew transport en-atmosphere is not in your royal skillset.”
Dallen couldn’t resist a snicker, glancing appreciatively to the man as he approached. There had been more than a hint of snide in his comment – the two of them made an excellently abrasive and otherwise intolerable pair, it seemed. Still, the words were too polite to call him out on it, either.
Frustratingly, the point that the asinine Tsuan made had been very pertinent. It was better known among pilots and soldiers that flying a spacecraft ‘en-atmos’ was vastly more difficult than doing so ‘en-void’. Really they were two entirely different techniques, considering that ‘en-atmos’ there were things such as wind currents and weather conditions to deal with, while ‘en-void’ such challenges were not present.
Piloting en-void was a skill that took years of training in itself, and considering how vastly more useful it was than its’ counterpart, very few people bothered to also learn en-atmos flight. After all, who needs to fly around one planet when you can fly around the Galaxy?
It was very likely that, if this ‘Ice Queen’ was capable of spaceflight, she was not also trained in en-atmos flight.
Not definite, but likely.
Leng Tze caught on immediately that Tsuan’s politely snide comment would likely result in another outburst from the woman, so he spoke up quickly before she would get the chance to. “Your name – You said your name is ‘Cathorine’, yes? You should know ours too if we’re to board any kind of flight-craft together. My name is Leng Tze, and these are-“ he gestured to those within his sight as he listed their names off, not bothering with any of the ranks they had previously held. “Hdz’ra Sané, Fellerton Sands, and Shanston Reltakov. The woman up there is Dallen Armston, the man beside her is E’tzu Tsuan, and the one in the far back is Harlan Ducote.” it was verging on incredible that he had managed to remember all their names while having been told only once – or perhaps twice – but it was one of the qualities which had made him so capable a leader of his troops. Even now his words had been carefully calculated – he was silently offering Cathorine another chance at civility. It would mean, of course, on the other end that she would seem only that much more revolting if she were to brush off his politeness.
Sané interjected, the shorter, darker man adding softly and with a vastly more genuine politeness than Tsuan had used “And, with all due respect, given that you have no qualifying credentials on your person, I wouldn’t go expecting that anyone is going to call you ‘Queen’.” That, he had realized, had been the reason why Tze had omitted ranks from all of their names. They were no longer members of a military institution, just as she – like it or not – was no longer a queen since her entire dominion was apparently long gone.
Absently, Leng Tze couldn’t help but wonder what in Great Space a ‘Sherlock Mao’ was.
Royanna laughed quietly – just a little – through still-gritted teeth as the white-hot, secretly self-inflicted pain began to slowly, slowly dull back into general achiness. A concerned embrace from the boy was just about the last thing she expected, it caught her slightly off guard but there was little to show for that. She just let him cling there for a moment, unable to keep from appreciating his worry for her just a little bit. The woman couldn’t recall a time when someone had been so very concerned with her wellbeing – her wellbeing, not the wellbeing of the DEU Captain. It was an unusual, alien feeling but difficult to turn away.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” she assured him, sorely “Just a little ache, I’ve had worse.
This was, in reality, a lie – this had been the first serious wound Royanna Kallenger had ever been inflicted with since she took over the role of DEU Captain. Usually her operations were conducted in a manner that nobody else had time to attack – her overwhelming show of force with twenty black-uniformed soldiers usually took care of that. This time had been different.
But he didn’t need to know that. As far as Christofer knew, she was some variety of seasoned combatant and this was nothing.
Granted, it was a pretty obvious lie, and there was a very real possibility that he would see right through it to her false reassurance and the intention of keeping him from worrying too much.
And then he was leaning into her, hiding his face, burying it in the white t shirt that made her look so uncharacteristically casual. Roya rolled her eyes and gave a huff, said “What in the absolute flying **** are you apologizing for now?” she said with irritation – though making sure to come across as well-intended as possible.
A reassuring pat on his back, then the woman would disconnect herself and put a hand on his shoulder, making eye contact and smiling just a little.
“Now, remember I said I wanted to show you something neat? You didn’t miss anything, it’s not going anywhere – but before you look I want to reassure you of something.” Her words toned down slightly and became as reassuring and comforting as she could make them – which was, again, not very much – but she was definitely trying.
“The world that you know…Isn’t all that there is. I know it seems like it, I know you’ve never had any reason to believe otherwise, and you have every reason to feel like space travel is totally unheard of but…Well the most important thing is that I want to promise you that nothing about the world you know has changed. It isn’t gone forever, nothing like that – you’re just…somewhere else now okay?”
Royanna waited a moment for his affirmation, then – still smiling with something between reassurement and an almost kiddish sense of anticipation, she gestured for him to turn around. “I’d like to introduce you to the planet Ardella, third planet from the star Signum Spei, and my homeworld.”
There was little in the Universe that could compare to the sensation of seeing a planet in space for the first time. Galaxies were beautiful, but far away and impersonal. Moons were ever-present and small. The great gas clouds were a sight to behold, but unrelatable in their inability to harbor life as was known.
But a planet – a world – was a place where people lived and worked, where entire civilizations sprouted and decayed, where cultures flourished and wars raged. A world, even an alien one, was one of the most relatable sights in the ‘Verse, and there were few that could adequately prepare themelves for the overwhelming grandeur and presence that a world could hold from space.
It was a great, matte marble that hung among the stars without the slightest movement. It was surreal how it just hung there, suspended by nothing, a stationary object in nothingness, impossible and yet true.
Ivory white clouds swirled and danced, frozen in time, hovering high above the surface, moving endlessly and unpredictably, and yet still as if time itself had stopped.
The majority of the surface consisted of sharp, jagged mountains of steely grey stone and alabaster mountains, great, expansive deserts of ashy sand and oceans that seemed all the more shimmering blue for their contrast with the soft whites and greys that the landmasses were composed of.
The cities could be seen as well, clustered along the surface of the world, clinging there as it spun and spun, and yet did not move.
Half of the great globe was just beginning to grow dark – a sharp gradient from light to shadow as night descended upon the speckled islands of the midnight sea.
Though it was an arid and rocky place, from so far in the heavens it seemed as if every detail were visible, every sprouting mountain and jagged cliff, every tree in the forest of blueish firs that coated some of the southern hemisphere, every crystal in that sea of lapis jewels, every hill and slope of the almost iridescent ice caps at the northern and southern poles. It was as if one could walk up to that great, domed window, reach through it and run their finger down the spine of the Crescent Mountains just to experience the texture.
From the corner of that window could be seen the equally still orbital station at which the cataloguer had docked. Already there were smaller, single-pilot vessels beginning to move silently around, gliding through the blackness with ease, gently setting down on the long, protruding docks, lifting off as though weightless. A small cargo transport moved surreally across the field of vision, looking simultaneously massive, and infinitesimally dwarfed by the inconceivable mass of the world that hung before them.
A second orbital station could be seen just peering around from behind the world – a cylindrical pivot surrounded by many slowly rotating rings – toy-sized from current vantage but larger in reality than the most massive freighter. Specks of iron grey and white moved slowly, busily around that one as well. Orbit around Ardella was a busy place. Bustling life high above a world and still hardly a speck in the Galaxy.
The spaceport was loud, causing the Eoclu Assassin sensitive ears to twitch at every sudden sound. A roar of jets there, the fainting beeping of a console here, so many sounds and interactions, yet nothing interest her…
Footfalls. She recognized him just by his footfalls, light yet still audible to her ears. He was running, slowly but he would catch up with her soon. Nirix tried breathing; however she found it most difficult, like she was suddenly being smothered by an invisible hand. Her breaths were erratic, deep, and then shallow. She hadn’t expected this, hadn’t taken in to consideration that he would still follow her. He wanted nothing else to do with her, wished to be utterly and completely alone but now…
Why did he come back? Nirix just couldn’t wrap her head around the half breed’s logic. Was he trying to tear her heart out? Trying to tear her down to take some kind of sick enjoyment out of it?
Taking a more calming breath, the Eoclu willed herself to turn around. She needed to face him, calmly and stoically. Slowly, almost too slow to be considered normal, Nirix found herself turned around but only to see that Ketin was once again caught in what some form of trouble. She knew she should not interfere, that she could and should have left Ketin to deal with it himself but…
Old habits were hard to break, it seemed for the Eoclu. Before she knew it, her feet had taken her towards him and within seconds she was standing next to him and now facing a rather unusual…creature? Tilting her head, Nirix quickly studied the thing in front of her. It was green; the hue of the color difficult to determine but the obvious insignia on the shield that it carried was indicated it was from Kampfer. Another one of his Z-bots maybe?
Footfalls. She recognized him just by his footfalls, light yet still audible to her ears. He was running, slowly but he would catch up with her soon. Nirix tried breathing; however she found it most difficult, like she was suddenly being smothered by an invisible hand. Her breaths were erratic, deep, and then shallow. She hadn’t expected this, hadn’t taken in to consideration that he would still follow her. He wanted nothing else to do with her, wished to be utterly and completely alone but now…
Why did he come back? Nirix just couldn’t wrap her head around the half breed’s logic. Was he trying to tear her heart out? Trying to tear her down to take some kind of sick enjoyment out of it?
Taking a more calming breath, the Eoclu willed herself to turn around. She needed to face him, calmly and stoically. Slowly, almost too slow to be considered normal, Nirix found herself turned around but only to see that Ketin was once again caught in what some form of trouble. She knew she should not interfere, that she could and should have left Ketin to deal with it himself but…
Old habits were hard to break, it seemed for the Eoclu. Before she knew it, her feet had taken her towards him and within seconds she was standing next to him and now facing a rather unusual…creature? Tilting her head, Nirix quickly studied the thing in front of her. It was green; the hue of the color difficult to determine but the obvious insignia on the shield that it carried was indicated it was from Kampfer. Another one of his Z-bots maybe?
With each of Ketin's replies Loki just giggled like a school girl enjoying his responses. "Of course I know about the eye stabbing Ketin Clark or should I say Kaitlin Clark" he says to Ketin as he laughs some more at his own horrible joke. Little did Ketin know that with Loki, logic, emotion and reason are all out the window and the only thing left is his own insanity and so there won't be any possibility for Ketin to use his talent of making others irritated on this bot. "Oh hello there, our half brain native, sorry excuse of an assassin woman" he greeted her with a slight bow. "Now that Kaitlin and Styx are here, I might as well sing a little song" he says as he starts jumping in place like a jester. "Kaitlin and Styx sitten on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love then comes marriage and then one stabs the other in the back!" he sings and laughs as he jumps around them, clapping his hands. Once he finishes he leans towards Nirix and says "So you an assassin, but answer me this have you ever killed a man with a sock?!" as he pulls out a regular white sock from one of his internal compartments, almost as if he pulled it out of no where. "Its not so hard, just, HA!-Yea!-OOAA!!" he exclaims as he swings the sock in the air and in stabbing motions towards them as the sock itself just waves through the motions harmlessly. "I understand if your simpleton minds can't understand this ability, its only for masters" he says as starts doing Kun-Fu moves with the sock.
Juno stood up at the mom and son and said "I am only here because I am lost, I have been wondering around the galaxy for...I dunno a very long time" she looks at them her body language showing that she is desperate. "I don't wish any harm...I just wanna know where am I and where can I go now?" she says as she looks at mom and son with her own hands together pleading to them. "Please just tell me where I am in the galaxy because my navigation is knocked out" she begs as the android drops to its knees
Juno stood up at the mom and son and said "I am only here because I am lost, I have been wondering around the galaxy for...I dunno a very long time" she looks at them her body language showing that she is desperate. "I don't wish any harm...I just wanna know where am I and where can I go now?" she says as she looks at mom and son with her own hands together pleading to them. "Please just tell me where I am in the galaxy because my navigation is knocked out" she begs as the android drops to its knees
Cathorine just looked at the man who was by the woman and looked at him unamused. "For your information I can fly this thing in the atmosphere and in space, when I had free time on my hand I would have done extensive yachting, in which you were suppose to go into a single man ship and launch from the ground out to the outer most layer of the atmosphere and then use the plant's gravitational pull as you slowly descend from the space into the atmosphere and down to the ground...it was quite nice seeing the planet I rule from a personal ship and not from my capital ship" she explains as her face turned to pleasure as she enjoyed the past memories. "I don't expect you all to call me Queen, but I definitely know the ones who occupy this planet will" she adds as she smiles at them. "I forgot to say its a pleasure in meeting you all" she says as she looks at each and every one of them with a sincere smile and nod.
The boy kept on clinging onto her, waiting for the situation to ease up. He lifted his head to look up at Kallenger and nodded as she was trying to tell him that he didn't miss anything; but still kept holding onto her. He was starting to feel a bit more at ease, still not comfortable but at least a bit less stressed.
Christofer looked at her for a while as she had started to talk about all the space related things, again. He lowered his head, didn't want to think about it. Felt lost... Why was there a need for them to talk about such matters? Why?
His head was clouded with space dust. All this talk about the universe was messing with his head. What was going on? What was he? Was all and everything he ever knew a lie? What was she trying to tell him?
Space travel wasn't an all alien subject to him. It wasn't unheard of. It wasn't.
People had been to the moon and were all about moving to live on the surface of Mars eventually, but that was still just a thought far away reserved for the future. It just didn't seem like it was going to happen in the means of future that would touch Christofer himself, not a thing to be seen happening by his own eyes.
So technically it was unheard of, but not totally unheard of.
Somewhere else might have been accurate, but at the same time it was just as pin-pointingly accurate as it was a total and complete lie, all wrong and hit so hard at a miss they simply couldn't have had any idea of it...
The German lifted his head again upon being introduced to Ardella, but despite Kallenger having told him about it, he was still in no way prepared for the sight that was now before his eyes. No matter what kinds of words were offered to him, he still jumped back with a yelp, distancing himself from Royanna and the windows. He wouldn't hide this time though, but if approached he might just have bit the hand that reached out to him.
Slowly, Christofer stood up with the support of a nearby wall but pushed himself away from it as soon as he was up and able to, leaving himself to be supported by the weight of the tail. His ears would be twitching lightly, trying to make up what he thought he was hearing bur they were still mostly glued to the back of his head. He made his way to the window, reaching out for it in need of some support, but he couldn't bring himself to touch it. It was not safe, the idea of it all was just so strange...
His eyes wide from roaring and mixed feelings, the boy eventually managed to get a question out
"W-Wha... What is going on..?" Christofer asked, his voice shaking with the confusion and fear he was feeling. The boy flinched and yelped quietly when he accidentally touched the window. Fear was slowly taking over as the main emotion he was feeling...
Christofer looked at her for a while as she had started to talk about all the space related things, again. He lowered his head, didn't want to think about it. Felt lost... Why was there a need for them to talk about such matters? Why?
His head was clouded with space dust. All this talk about the universe was messing with his head. What was going on? What was he? Was all and everything he ever knew a lie? What was she trying to tell him?
Space travel wasn't an all alien subject to him. It wasn't unheard of. It wasn't.
People had been to the moon and were all about moving to live on the surface of Mars eventually, but that was still just a thought far away reserved for the future. It just didn't seem like it was going to happen in the means of future that would touch Christofer himself, not a thing to be seen happening by his own eyes.
So technically it was unheard of, but not totally unheard of.
Somewhere else might have been accurate, but at the same time it was just as pin-pointingly accurate as it was a total and complete lie, all wrong and hit so hard at a miss they simply couldn't have had any idea of it...
The German lifted his head again upon being introduced to Ardella, but despite Kallenger having told him about it, he was still in no way prepared for the sight that was now before his eyes. No matter what kinds of words were offered to him, he still jumped back with a yelp, distancing himself from Royanna and the windows. He wouldn't hide this time though, but if approached he might just have bit the hand that reached out to him.
Slowly, Christofer stood up with the support of a nearby wall but pushed himself away from it as soon as he was up and able to, leaving himself to be supported by the weight of the tail. His ears would be twitching lightly, trying to make up what he thought he was hearing bur they were still mostly glued to the back of his head. He made his way to the window, reaching out for it in need of some support, but he couldn't bring himself to touch it. It was not safe, the idea of it all was just so strange...
His eyes wide from roaring and mixed feelings, the boy eventually managed to get a question out
"W-Wha... What is going on..?" Christofer asked, his voice shaking with the confusion and fear he was feeling. The boy flinched and yelped quietly when he accidentally touched the window. Fear was slowly taking over as the main emotion he was feeling...
Ketin Clarke was making an expression that had been forced upon him only a very select few times in his life. It was complete and total bafflement. The robot before him had been so utterly perplexing, so illogical, so bloody strange that it had actually managed to deflect all of Kete’s attempts to manipulate it – he was not frightened of the thing, but still - he wondered what in creation he was dealing with now, and just gave that look for a long few moments."Uh, y-yeah, must be a pretty advanced technique." he said, voice wavering slightly. He squirmed uncomfortably where he stood and then, taking some comfort from the presence of Nirix behind him - and silently thanking the powers that be for having let her come bounding over in the first place - he said, without looking back at her "W-well, uh, Ny' and I had better get going, we're pretty busy, y'know? Got, uh...got...stuff t'do. Save-the-Spacewhales rally on Floorintine 8 and then it's over to Delmarre to see about that...uh...that thing." he had actually been mostly disarmed - it was an incredible feat of social engineering.
Or just a depth of mechanical madness that seemed to transcend time and space, and all possible strings of logic and reason.
He wanted very much to be aboard that ship he could see some distance behind the mad robot - the one that Kampfer as they spoke was making the final adjustments to. He wanted to have just a minute or two to talk to Nirix - that more than anything, at the moment.
He half-hoped that the assassin would simply grow weary of the robot's antics and cut him down - Kete still had difficulty seeing even the most sentient robots as actually sentient and did value their existence much less than the life of a human or organic humanoid.
But then, he also got the feeling that however mad or malfunctioning this thing before him was, it probably had a couple tricks up its' sleeve.
"So we're, uh...We're gonna' get moving now - b-but it was nice t'meet you, Loki~" He attempted a goodbye, inching slowly to the side as if the gradual movement might somehow fool the robot into believing that he was standing still - which was obviously not the case. More realistically however, the slight movement would indicate to his Eoclu guardian that in his professional opinion it was time to get away from this particular social interaction.
This had gone on for far too long for the Eoclu's liking. Her sword had been half-way out of her sheath before Kete had even mentioned anything about leaving. Which reminded her that it wasn't just she that was dealing with this high level of insanity that this...thing possessed. What was up with Kampfer creations that made them utterly and completely strange ?
Re-sheathing her sword, Nirix merely stared at the thing Ketin had deemed "Lookeey" with little hint of care and gladly took the hint that Kete was not-so-subtlety displaying. Turning away from the nonsense-spewing thing, the Eoclu sit her mind upon more pressing matters. Now that she had entangled herself with Ketin again, she knew it would be harder to get rid of him. Nirix didn't know what was more upsetting; the fact that he seemed blissful unaware of what had happened between them or that she had allowed herself to become involved with him again.
The Da'l-no, he was Ketin, was becoming something of a weakness. Nirix wasn't sure that was such a good thing to have.
Re-sheathing her sword, Nirix merely stared at the thing Ketin had deemed "Lookeey" with little hint of care and gladly took the hint that Kete was not-so-subtlety displaying. Turning away from the nonsense-spewing thing, the Eoclu sit her mind upon more pressing matters. Now that she had entangled herself with Ketin again, she knew it would be harder to get rid of him. Nirix didn't know what was more upsetting; the fact that he seemed blissful unaware of what had happened between them or that she had allowed herself to become involved with him again.
The Da'l-no, he was Ketin, was becoming something of a weakness. Nirix wasn't sure that was such a good thing to have.
Loki laughs at Ketin's response. "Ah yes, the majestic space whale, but you know whats more important than space whales?" he says as he rushes towards Ketin and leans right up against not letting him move and then pulls out a piece of cheese out of no where similar to his sock trick and says "Space cheese, is really nice, espically when toasted upon a neutron star, it is delicious" he swings the hunk of yellow cheese in front of Ketin. He then leans into his ear and says "I am joining you on this journey to the rally for space cheese" he then giggles. Soon his eyes catches Nirix half wave unsheathing her blade. He giggled seeing her actions as she re-sheaths it and says "Awww I was wanting a good sparring match between two assassins, it would have been fun" as now goes ahead grabs Ketin shoulders as he stands behind the boy. "I guess I'll take ol'little Ketin with me and go fall in love and marry" he declares as he sways side to side still holding onto his shoulders. "He can even have my children, if he wanted too" he adds as he goes ahead starts scratching underneath Ketin's ear.
By now, Kampfer was finish with his final adjustments and was just sitting on top of the ship with his feat dangling off the engine outtakes enjoying the show between Loki and the others. Kampfer's face showed he was enjoying himself seeing Loki interact with others. For him it was a nice show before the trip.
By now, Kampfer was finish with his final adjustments and was just sitting on top of the ship with his feat dangling off the engine outtakes enjoying the show between Loki and the others. Kampfer's face showed he was enjoying himself seeing Loki interact with others. For him it was a nice show before the trip.
Looking more and more desperately uncomfortable with the situation, Kete gradually began to put more effort into getting away and less into making it subtle. He could not remember the last time he had been thoroughly, plainly creeped out such as now – the kind of disturbed where a shiver ran down the spine and the mind debated whether or not some drastic measures might need to be taken. The kind of electric buzz that felt like a swarm of gnats – just creeped.
He might have been melting, actually – for at least a moment it might have appeared to the casual observer that the robot had defied the laws of physics and was gradually turning the halfie into something of a sentient puddle whos’ will to go slither under some protective rock was its primary driving factor.
Puddle-theories were dashed however when he instead went stiff as a board upon being taken by the shoulders from behind. At that point he might have descended into the floor itself like a blade through a memory foam mattress if he could, again with the sole intention of getting away from this insanity.
Most conventional robots were remarkably easy for Kete to simply shut down – positronic brains were entirely at his mercy and could be overloaded, fried and otherwise completely nullified in seconds with little to no effort. This was no conventional robot, but still he wondered if maybe there would be some way for his electronic tampering to at least provide him with the precious seconds he would need to just make a break for it.
There was serious doubt that the robot would actually hurt him, but now that it had him by the shoulders there would be little stopping it from snapping his little halfie neck if he wanted to.
The scratching at his ear was the last straw, particularly since it was typically such a disarmingly pleasant sensation. It was juxtaposed and parodied now and had quite the opposite effect.
One thing that all the science in the ‘verse had failed to change was – generally speaking – the laws of physics, which in all but the most extreme cases , had stayed relatively consistent. One of the consistencies was that there were many metals which were magnetic, and magnetic attraction was more or less absolute.
Kete did not know what kind of metal this robot was made of, but when he noticed a pair of eyes looking casually down at him from a hovering cargo skiff he took the opportunity.
“I, heheheh~ I really need to get going now, don’t wanna’ be late, y’know? Time is money after all~” he said awkwardly, giving no indication as to what he was working on in his mind and, proportionally in the surrounding electromagnetic field.
Seizing control of the floating equivalent to a pallet-jack, the operator seemed only slightly confused as he was slowly, slowly diverted off course until finally being lowered to the point where the powerful under-mounted magnet – usually used for moving huge shipping crates – could be turned on and the metallic treasures beneath scooped up and away.
IF it worked, it would mean the insane robot suddenly rocketing up some ten or twelve feet to become inseparably stuck on the skiff’s magnet, at which point it the controls would freeze and the driver would begin jiggling at the controls to get it going again – in vain.
If it didn’t work, then the skiff would just casually float by overhead with nobody the wiser to what might have been. There wouldn’t even be a reason to look up at it – just another moving thing in the busy shipyard starport – at which point he would swallow nervously, illogically worrying that everyone had known what he’d tried and failed at (Which would not be the case, but still.) and half-whimper in a discomforted, vaguely pleading voice “Niiirix~?” while still staring off in the opposite direction in which he was being held.
Under all the general awkwardness of this most unusual of encounters, Kete noticed in the back of his mind that a sudden sense of urgency was beginning to bubble up within him - and it was his own feeling. While the feelings and thoughts of others manifested in the back of his mind as if they were his own, he had a good sense of which ones actually were.
He needed to...needed to what? What was the urgency about?
He wanted to talk to Nirix, if only for a moment - he knew that - was that all? Or was the sense of urgency merely a byproduct of this incredibly uncomfortable position?
He might have been melting, actually – for at least a moment it might have appeared to the casual observer that the robot had defied the laws of physics and was gradually turning the halfie into something of a sentient puddle whos’ will to go slither under some protective rock was its primary driving factor.
Puddle-theories were dashed however when he instead went stiff as a board upon being taken by the shoulders from behind. At that point he might have descended into the floor itself like a blade through a memory foam mattress if he could, again with the sole intention of getting away from this insanity.
Most conventional robots were remarkably easy for Kete to simply shut down – positronic brains were entirely at his mercy and could be overloaded, fried and otherwise completely nullified in seconds with little to no effort. This was no conventional robot, but still he wondered if maybe there would be some way for his electronic tampering to at least provide him with the precious seconds he would need to just make a break for it.
There was serious doubt that the robot would actually hurt him, but now that it had him by the shoulders there would be little stopping it from snapping his little halfie neck if he wanted to.
The scratching at his ear was the last straw, particularly since it was typically such a disarmingly pleasant sensation. It was juxtaposed and parodied now and had quite the opposite effect.
One thing that all the science in the ‘verse had failed to change was – generally speaking – the laws of physics, which in all but the most extreme cases , had stayed relatively consistent. One of the consistencies was that there were many metals which were magnetic, and magnetic attraction was more or less absolute.
Kete did not know what kind of metal this robot was made of, but when he noticed a pair of eyes looking casually down at him from a hovering cargo skiff he took the opportunity.
“I, heheheh~ I really need to get going now, don’t wanna’ be late, y’know? Time is money after all~” he said awkwardly, giving no indication as to what he was working on in his mind and, proportionally in the surrounding electromagnetic field.
Seizing control of the floating equivalent to a pallet-jack, the operator seemed only slightly confused as he was slowly, slowly diverted off course until finally being lowered to the point where the powerful under-mounted magnet – usually used for moving huge shipping crates – could be turned on and the metallic treasures beneath scooped up and away.
IF it worked, it would mean the insane robot suddenly rocketing up some ten or twelve feet to become inseparably stuck on the skiff’s magnet, at which point it the controls would freeze and the driver would begin jiggling at the controls to get it going again – in vain.
If it didn’t work, then the skiff would just casually float by overhead with nobody the wiser to what might have been. There wouldn’t even be a reason to look up at it – just another moving thing in the busy shipyard starport – at which point he would swallow nervously, illogically worrying that everyone had known what he’d tried and failed at (Which would not be the case, but still.) and half-whimper in a discomforted, vaguely pleading voice “Niiirix~?” while still staring off in the opposite direction in which he was being held.
Under all the general awkwardness of this most unusual of encounters, Kete noticed in the back of his mind that a sudden sense of urgency was beginning to bubble up within him - and it was his own feeling. While the feelings and thoughts of others manifested in the back of his mind as if they were his own, he had a good sense of which ones actually were.
He needed to...needed to what? What was the urgency about?
He wanted to talk to Nirix, if only for a moment - he knew that - was that all? Or was the sense of urgency merely a byproduct of this incredibly uncomfortable position?
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