A Man, a Table: Point Unity
Mercury seemed to be the bane of Tukantz's existence. While the inter-entity buildings usually offered a wide variety of foodstuffs, everywhere else seemed to offer nothing but fish. It made sense, considering the climate, but the ambassador couldn't stomach the idea of willingly ingesting a food with such high amounts of poison.Tukantz was in the mindset of wanting to explore the cultures of the planets he visited, so he insisted that one of his aides bring in a meal from a local place instead of just taking the usual luncheon. Of course, most of what he brought back was fish, and the rest was something kelp-like. It was entirely filling, but bland because he had eaten more kelp than anything else in his life.
Considering his plate was either empty or covered in toxic foodstuffs, the ambassador looked around the room to see if he could pass the time. There was the prospect of serious discussion with the head of the Alliance, but even a man of his importance would be scrutinized heavily for anything said. Besides, there wasn't anything to discuss that hadn't been sent through more official channels, and he had no idea about her personally so meager small-talk wasn't going to cut it.
...Then again, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
He uncoiled himself and gave a quick stretch, his tail's muscles already stiff from being in place all lunch. There was nothing better than winging it, so he made his way towards Koruuna's table. It would probably be like talking to a complete stranger, but this monotony needed to be broken.
Lark's Tongue in Space: A shuttlecraft, fast approaching the Hermes.
Monotony was not in the mind of Huthizki this day. Excitement wasn't necessarily in, either. Maybe the best way to describe it would be "light apprehension"?
Huthizki applied to this position knowing full well what he was getting into. He wasn't a fan of government jobs back in Holdfast territory, the Navy paying well but always being very prying into your social life, no matter how meager it would be for a deep-space patrol. He was working on a freight company's flagship hauler a few months ago, but now he was about to board the flagship of the entire galaxy, at least from his perspective.
Maybe he had picked off a bit more than he could chew, but this was far from the right time to be second guessing. His brief time in Point Unity the last week exposed him to quite a few species, most of which he had never seen in person, and that certainly got rid of his fears of culture shock pretty quick. They were just about the same as the Borentines, Aerisians and Humans he had known all his life. Wherever they were, the ate, talked to each other loudly, and generally had to use the restroom once in a while. He would probably get on someone's nerves sooner than later with some cultural faux pas that he couldn't of possibly heard of before hand, but at least he knew that aliens weren't so alien.
What got to him was the magnitude of this position. He had already assumed that everyone else aboard this craft had more experience than him, seen more and fixed more than he ever would. These were almost certainly the best of the best engineers available. Huthizki wasn't one to feel intimidated most of the time, especially just for seniority, but the importance of this seemed far above what he should be doing.
A chime came on through the speakers above him, followed by text rolling across the screens on the ceiling. "DOCKING IMMINENT" came up in multiple different languages, and he could spot a version familiar to him among the other symbols. He was as ready as he would ever be, he guessed.
Noticing the Ashkathi representative looking around the room, she spoke up. Grateful that she wasn't one of the species that relied on using their mouths to communicate, she continued to chew and enjoy her meal as she did so. "I certainly hope your day is progressing well, Chairwoman Koruuna," she said, her translated voice sounding tranquil enough that it was skirting the line between calm and matter-of-factly.
As the Aeresian shuttle docked with the Hermes and the airlock seals were busy at equalizing the pressure between the vessels, Daenemaeus's mouth moved into his culture's approximation of a smile. Today was the big day, after all, and as the door opened his smile couple only get wider.
"Don't worry about it, I've got it," he told one of the shuttle's crew members that was nearby, his head nodding towards the large cube-shaped crate that was behind him. Once he stepped through the threshold, he sent a signal to the crate, causing the object to slowly float towards him. "I'd prefer to go about getting my equipment unpacked myself. I'm going to be living here for the foreseeable future, I might as well set things up myself. Get nice and cozy wherever they put me."
edited 20th Feb '16 10:58:48 AM by nman
Meanwhile, in the Skies Above Tehlana....
"Tarlena-sha we are now on approach to the SAS Hermes, are your preparations ready?" Irona says currently speaking to Tarlena though her earpiece in Shyleran of-course.
"Rifle, blades, personal shielding, you... Yeah all good to go.." Tarlena replied back in a slightly low voice, after all Irona was literally attached to her arm. Talking loudly was not needed.
Meanwhile the Shyleran shuttle was drawing close to the Hermes, the few people aboard making the final preparations for docking. This was a unusual moment and they needed to be careful of the other shuttles trying to dock.
"Tarlena-sha are you sure that is all you will bring aboard?" Irona asked concerned.
"I see no reason to bring more with me." Tarlena responded casually, not really concerned in the slightest. Their people didn't need clothes and she had their combat gear with them. This was a military job just not under the Core. Luxuries were not a concern and their are not a lot of that stuff you could easily take aboard anyway.
"If you are sure Tarlena-sha. Docking ETA: two minutes."
"Got it." As they stood there, a multitude of ideas racing by of the things that could happen during the travels including a hopes to teach some intergalactic menaces a lesson. Maybe some of it was a bit of childish fantasies but still, Tarlena had reasons easily shown as their pointed tail animatedly sways with their thoughts.
Point Unity Cafeteria
Rhanta had gotten here rather early today. After all of their travels one food in particular from Earth infact stood out to "him", Ramen. "He" was not entirely sure what it was about it but still, it was one of the things "he" best remembered from "his" travels. Sitting at one of the tables near the center of the room, "his" posture straight and scales well shown. "His" bladed arms by "his" side and the remainder holding the bowl and eating away. "His" blue scales almost reflective against the lighting in here.
"He" looked over to both the Ashkathi Chairwoman and Aeresian Ambassador with the equivalent of a smile. They had been "his" peoples allies for as long as "he" knew. These treaties signed centuries earlier. Finishing "his" mouthful and looking over and speaking to the two of them. "Equally to you Ambassador Cliomone and of course to you Chairwoman Koruuna. I hope everything is well?" "He" says in a polite and wisened tone. Taking his bowl of Ramen and continuing.
edited 20th Feb '16 7:05:14 AM by darkdestinysoul
"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."
Attitude is prohibited
[Point Unity] (Cafeteria)
"Thank you." She said, picking up her tray after paying the cashier.
"Of course. And... You're sure you're going to need that much sauce? It's quite potent."
Mnhiri just smiled and said "I know."
And with that, the Izeran ambassador to the GA turned and headed for a table, careful not to bump into anyone, lest she spill the contents of any of the three small, complementary bottles of hot sauce on anyone. She set down at an empty table, making sure there was an empty seat opposite her. She was expecting someone to meet her for lunch, after all.
She wasn't quite sure when he'd arrive, though, so she decided that, in the meantime, she would start her meal. She was quite hungry, after all, and she'd been looking forward to lunchtime all day. The Sirian restaurant she'd bought her meal from was an unusual little place, largely due to that fact that it also served a variety of meat-based Terran dishes on certain days of the week. Today was one of those days, and she'd bought herself a steaming plate of what the menu had referred to as "BBQ Chicken Wings."
Mnhiri had not exactly spent a lot of time around chickens - or any livestock animals, for that matter - but their wings seemed bigger than the little chunks of meat restaurants seemed to serve... It didn't really matter to her, though. Regardless what the actual dimensions of chickens were, they were delicious creatures. She popped open the cap of one of the hot sauce bottles, and proceeded to empty it over her plate.
[Tehlana Orbit] (Izeran/Elas Strategic Alliance Treaty (ESAT) Shuttle, approaching the Hermes)
She looked out the cockpit viewscreen and grinned at the sight of the sight of the sleek, black ship they were approaching. "Beautiful!" She said, under her breath. "I bet she's just as pretty on the inside..."
Linda Kesyk had worked on a lot of ships during her time in the Royal Izeran Space Force. She'd worked on everything from dreadnoughts and battleships to fighters and escape pods. Once, she'd even tinkered with a true-to-life recreation of an ancient Terran land vehicle known as a "motorized bicycle." During her time in the Royal Izeran Engineering Corps, she'd designed, built and repaired all kinds of exciting and unusual structures and machines.
Even so, there was something uniquely fascinating about a cutting-edge, top-secret project like the Hermes. "This is gonna be great!" She said to herself. Then she turned to the sirian woman who was travelling with her in the shuttle, and slapped her on the back with a deliberate overabundance of enthusiasm. "Don't you think so too, New Best Friend???"
Not entirely dead.
Dreams of Revenge
Tehlana Orbit, ESAT Shuttlecraft — Erruan
For her part, Erruan was watching the craft filling the viewscreen with a mixture of fascination and anticipation. Though she was under strict orders only to watch and listen, and avoid doing anything that would endanger the mission, she had been discreetly informed by her superiors that they were very interested in learning more about the technologies that the Hermes possessed. It promised a revolution in military operations in space, or so she had heard.
Now that she could see it with her own two eyes, she was inclined to agree - although the blank, featureless faceplate of her X-1 Tisafirr armour made her a rather indifferent looking conversational partner. As a gesture of solidarity, the Izeran and Sirian team members had elected to take a joint ESAT shuttle rather than individual craft. Linda's backslap snapped her out of it with a jerk. Whirling in her seat to face Linda, she made her faceplate transparent for politeness' sake.
"Er... yeah." Suddenly she realised that she didn't know Linda's name. Well, as long as we're waiting to dock, I suppose... "I'm Kiarrokir Erruanuzua Irrek, by the way. Technically just Kiarrokir Irrek. What's your name?"
Two weeks ago, Tehlana Orbit to Atmosphere
There was a slight bump as the white shuttle emblazoned with "UABARRI SIARRAN" in bold black Eqiti script made the transition from space to atmosphere. A slight delay had been necessary whilst the GA security checked that there was nothing untoward about the vessel. If the white furred ambassador in elegant clothing inside the shuttle had to hazard a guess, the crew wanted to make up lost time. Although it was a converted military shuttle, the interior was anything but spartan - the cabin contained a surplus of expensive technology and materials. As he sank back slightly in the zatru leather seat, Secei Azunn Berreil reflected that it at least meant his government was taking this all very seriously.
He was surrounded on several sides by "Critical Asset Protection officers" as part of a "Critical Asset Protection Team", as some Sirian bureaucrat had so coyly put it when he was first assigned them. No euphemisms could disguise the fact that they were in fact bodyguards. He had only limited contact with the women who made up the team, having spoken mostly to the team leader. Even if their presence made him somewhat uncomfortable, he accepted the necessity of their presence. He would do his nation no good if someone were to kidnap or assassinate him, and that was leaving aside the particular cultural baggage anything happening to a man of his position would carry. He overheard the flight crew speaking to traffic control about an "expedited tactical descent".
Speaking of which, things abruptly became very uncomfortable as the shuttle nosed forward until it was almost vertical, then pulled into a turn so tight that Azunn half-expected his organs to attempt an evacuation through his mouth in protest, even with inertial compensation kicking in. "Excuse me," he began, all sweetness and light despite the stomach churning g-forces the spiral dive was exerting. "Why are we executing a tactical descent over an ostensibly friendly planet?"
"We're not taking chances, Secei Berreil." Sitting opposite was the CAPT team leader. If she was at all bothered by the manoeuvre she did a masterful job of keeping a poker face. "It would be a shame if your time here was to end before it even began because we got careless."
"Yes. Quite." Azunn forced a smile, which the team leader did not reciprocate. With the nausea that was starting to set in, Azunn would almost have been relieved if the shuttle had been blasted out of the sky, or at least someone took a potshot. At least then this could have been justified, considering the flight crew were doing everything short of a full combat drop.
The vertigo inducing ride came to a short, sharp stop as the shuttle suddenly slammed on reverse thrust and pitched up sharply to aerobrake, pushing Azunn so hard into his seat that he half-expected to be fired out of the back of it and out the shuttle entirely. The ship sedately descended the last few metres to touch gently down on its assigned landing pad.
"Well, let's go meet our colleagues, shall we?" asked Azunn, looking and sounding far more at ease than he felt.
Two weeks later, Point Unity Cafeteria — Azunn
For his part, Azunn Berreil had settled for a sandwich. Normally his stomach was cast iron, but recalling the unnecessarily rough descent had somewhat ruined his appetite. Rather than joining Koruuna and the others - he had no intention of being a tag along or otherwise rude - he decided to join Mnhiri at her table, contemplating the day ahead as he ate. Or rather, that's what he would have done if the genuinely impressive amount of Amunn's Genuine Hrondfor Hot Sauce she was liberally applying to her meal didn't seize his attention.
No wonder you're smiling, thought Azunn as he beheld the grinning namesake of the brand, whimsically dressed in traditional Hrondforian garb. She must be your best friend.
"Apologies, I'm not late, am I?" said Azunn, eventually unable to take it any more. He then frowned slightly. "And if you don't mind my mentioning, although I love Amunn's Genuine Hrondfor Hot Sauce as much as anyone, you're sure that isn't too much... is it?"
edited 20th Feb '16 4:55:47 PM by Flanker66
Locking you up on radar since '09
(Avatar by Coffee)
Ydyffan slimship Wetware, in orbit above Tehlana
Yadda Onnat tapped her cradle's release mechanism with her smallfoot's talon, causing the restraints holding her in place to open and retract to the cradle's sides. She stretched her wings and took off, flapping her way to the slimship's airlock. A hovering crate — some of her tools and supplies; the rest, she assumed, was already on-board the Hermes — was waiting for her, as was the the slimship's pilot.
"I'm sorry to see you go," he said, beak clicking.
Yadda tapped two talons against each other, shaking her head. "I had to take the post, buddy," she replied, "orders from above, basically. I don't want to leave you guys hanging. The next thing you'd know, you'd get a hangover and the replacement will actually medicate you."
"Hey, it only happened once!" the pilot protested, waving a warfoot while tapping the airlock controls with a smallfoot. "And I was drunk!"
"Y'know, I think I'll actually miss you," Yadda said, touching her smallfoot to one of his. "What with the idiocy and saving my life. I hope they're not going to be catbrains, out there." She gestured at the airlock.
The complicated dance of matching orbits and velocities done, the slimship's airlock opened, letting Yadda jump ships; she did so, dragging the crate behind her.
Point Unity Cafeteria
Navigating a cafeteria can be a challenging mission if your mode of locomotion is somewhat unusual, as Ambassador Akk Rryphal was finding out, to his chagrin. Knowing that Ydyffan talons and regular plates did not mix well, he was instead holding a basket-like Ydyffan talakhats with two of his legs, having filled it with various seeds and vegetables a few moments prior. With a resigned chirp, he made his way to Chairwoman Koruuna's table. He put the talakhats on the table, then alighted on his chair — a glorified perch — and nodded at the assembled ambassadors. "Good day," he said with another chirp.
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
29079818241656 planted her palm up against the automated Ummat commissary; a slender collection of delicate tubes and nozzles rising up behind the counter of the Ummat food court. There was a brief pause as the machine scanned her palm implant; then, after a second, it whirred to itself, carefully belching 29079818241656's allocated portion of nutrient paste. The greyish-green mixture of fungal proteins, fortified with meat slurry and extra vitamins, jiggled in a way that would make most humans queasy to the stomach. Athena- for that was her name now, when she wasn't dealing with her own race, grabbed her bowl and headed over to the table. Most Ummat would simply plop down with no regards for personal space or social niceties, although several years amongst the humans had taught Athena otherwise.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked politely, gesturing to the nearest chair as she procured a metallic straw from a fold in her clothes. Anyone looking around the cafeteria would also probably see a pair of much larger Ummat- adorned with various precious metals and wielding a sort of ceremonial polearm, staring at Athena and watching her every move with rapt attention. Their expression, although Ummat faces were fairly rigid, had that same try something, I dare you look common to guards all across the known universe.
For the Horde!
Koruuna turned towards the group of individuals that approached her table, stood and bowed her head gently. "Greetings to all of you, she told the group. "May you all unite within the Songstream. My day is going wonderfully, thank you for asking, Miss Cliomone and Mr. Rhanta." She nodded at Akk as he perched on his specialized chair. "I trust all of your accommodations are in order? On behalf of the Ashkathi Union and the Galactic Alliance, I hope we can make your stay here on Tehlana as comfortable as it can possibly be." She took another kull from her plate, swallowing it whole (since she lacked teeth). She noticed that Tukantz, the Borentinian ambassador, did not look like he was enjoying himself too much.
"Mr. Tukantz, is everything all right? You look rather uncomfortable. I remember reading that mercury is toxic to Borentinians. We can provide some foods that are not toxic to your species. We only wish to make your stay pleasant, sir," Koruuna assured him.
Callahan received the notification that shuttles were arriving on the docking bay. He stood, then walked out of the bridge and down the hall. The docking bay was near the center of the ship, a large empty-looking room. It wouldn't be nearly as empty once ships started to fly up. Soon, shuttles of near every nation were beginning to dock and their passengers were unloading. Callahan stood at ease, watching the shuttles' occupants board the Hermes, saying nothing but keeping a sharp eye on them for now.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Man, he gets up and suddenly it seems like every single person in the room starts gravitating towards this woman. If he had still worked on security details, this small herd wouldn't of gotten within ten feet of the chairwoman, no matter how high up on the scale they were.
At this point, Tukantz was sure that trying to abort would only make him look like a buffoon in front of one of the most powerful people in the entire galaxy. He came here to talk, and no matter how many seemed to have crowded around them, talk was to be had!
"Oh, no, no, no, no," he said emphatically. "It was merely a minor gaffe on part of one of my staffers. I am doing well, so no worrying for you." He gave the usual physical greeting, the ''iuto", a simple bow with all arms raised in the air. More like a curtsy, but the distinction didn't matter. With this large group, maybe just shooting the breeze wouldn't cut it (not that he had any particular topics in mind anyway). He was going to have to make this a group chat.
"Ah, I was fine for mere talk, but I trust we all have our reasons for seeing Her Excellency Koruuna?"
The small group coming out of Huthizki's shuttle were probably going to be the only Borentines he would see for a long while, but he didn't know any of them in the first place. The already small group got smaller as a few broke off, some heading towards groups of other species while others started inspecting the myriad of shuttles. He ended up with just a few of them plinking away at their computers while awkwardly standing around.
He wasn't content with this, so maybe it was time to ingratiate himself with a stranger. Chances are they wouldn't regularly meet anyway, the ship being as big as it is, so it couldn't hurt to bother someone at random.
He slithered up to an Aerisian, one of the species he recognized on sight. He had a fancy little hovering box following him off the shuttle, and the engineer noted the rarity back home for hover engines to be mounted on something so inconsequential. He immediately offered out his hand for a shake, and said, "Engineer Huthizki, Crisis Division. Thought I might meet a shipmate while we wait. What do you call yourself?"
THE SLORG!
"I want real meat understand? None of that tube grown stuff!" Welerate nearly yelled at one of the employees at the barbecue restaurant while waiting for her food with her sister.
"They taste exactly the same" Feonxi muttered, standing next to Welerate. Her gaze was sweeping over the other ambassadors among the cafeteria, seeing who was sitting with who.
"It's the principle of the thing, you know that" Welerate said, her ears turning back as she looked towards her sister. "A real, proud nisi warrior wants to know that something actually died for her meal" she continued as she glanced back at where the meat was being cooked.
"We haven't been warriors for five years" Feonxi pointed out, looking at Welerate.
"Don't remind me..." Welerate growled, folding her arms angrily and closing her eyes.
Once they'd gotten their food, the two nisi women headed back to the big table where most of the other ambassadors were, meeting up with a yellow gleep who'd gone to a different place to get some fruits. Deacon climbed up one of the chairs and then from there onto the table itself, as Welerate set down the tray of meat dishes next to him and sat with her sister. "I hope we are not intruding" Feonxi said politely, in contrast to her sister who paid no attention to the other ambassadors and instead started biting into a steak with her bare hands. Deacon grabbed his datapad off his back sling and set it down on the table next to him in case he needed to 'speak', and prepared to start peeling a Jotunian fruit that was similar to an orange.
Csang was silent inside the shuttle, doing one last check of her firearms. She looked over them meticulously, with a calculating gaze, and spun them around to feel their weight. Satisfied, she holstered them and began doing some stretches and practicing of fighting moves, incorporating drawing moves of her guns, swinging them around as if to hit unseen opponents with the blades on the front of them. The moves were almost dance like, and were as beautiful to watch as they were deadly; were she going all out in a fight, she would also be firing the guns to get opponents out of reach or frontload more damage into the personal shields of an enemy already in melee range, but right now just for practice, that would simply be a waste of ammo. She continued until a quiet chime sounded and a few alert lights flipped on, signaling that the actual docking and attaching was happening momentarily.
...
Soon as the doors were open, Csang practically burst out of the shuttle, soaring right past a startled deck hand to where she landed on her hands and somersaulted back into a standing position. A big, toothy, and happy grin was plastered on her face as nisi dance club music could be heard coming from her headphones that had come ajar from the move. "Csang is here, reporting for action!" Csang yelled loudly and playfully, putting just a bit of singing tone into it as she raised her hands into the air. "Csang can't wait- where Csang's room?" she asked, her tail swishing back and forth as her head darted around to look at everyone else in the docking bay.
You are reading this.
Point Unity Cafeteria
Sigma had sat down and was going over a manifest of the other ambassadors he would eventually be meeting, Yul always felt it prudent to remain focused even if down time was allowed. Though he recalled his crew and sighed, Hayon might want something later. He'd see if he could afford something to him but none-the-less, Yul's time was full.
Though that didn't prevent him from noticing some of the others he'd have to converse with soon, best to make contact, and with that and stepped over.
Orbit of Tehlana
Hayon stretched as he stepped out of the shuttle and into the Hermes, his TN-15 AM Rifle slung over his shoulder as he stepped in. Best to meet the rest of the crew now and see what they were like, a few of his "tentacles" extended from the pack a short distance and began to observe the room through their optics.
Hayon brushed the metallic bristles and his antenna back, he felt nervous, he was without his team and Sigma was down on the planet. He was in this by himself... well not for long but still!
The Le'Ka took note of the slowly growing group and stepped over, a "smile" appeared on his face and he bowed and proceeded to generate several mandible clicking noises with electronic beeps and impediments, roughly translating to "Hello, I am pleased to meet you all".
"Hayon Biot, Designated Marksman reporting for duty."
edited 21st Feb '16 3:12:05 PM by EchoingSilence
Attitude is prohibited
[Point Unity] (Cafeteria) (Azunn and Mnhiri's Table)
"Ah, there you are! Good to see you again, as always." Mnhiri stood to greet Azunn as he approached the table. "No, no, you're right on time. I was just about to start."
Once they had both sat down, she popped open the second bottle and started drizzling its spicy contents evenly across the already-soaked pile of wings on her plate. She was about halfway through the bottle when Azunn voiced his concerns. "Too much?" She chuckled lightly, and continued to empty the contents of the bottle. "I practically grew up on spicy foods. When I was a girl, my father had a saying: 'it's not good until your eyes are watering.'" She smiled at fond memories as she emptied out the final drops of the hot sauce. "As you might imagine, over the years this led me to build up quite a high tolerance for..." She glances at the bottle's label. " Intense 'n Fiery flavours."
She placed the second empty bottle aside, next to the first one, but left the third bottle alone. For now, at least. She picks up her first chicken wing, dripping with an intimidating amount of the hottest hot sauce readily available in the Point Unity cafeteria, and takes a big bite out of it. The expression on her face is one of immense satisfaction, and she eats peacefully, without any apparent urge to rush to the nearest vat of cold dairy products for relief.
One ultra-spicy chicken wing later, she spoke up again. "Ah, refreshing!" She said. "Anyway, how was your time off? Good, I hope?"
[Tehlana Orbit/ESAT Shuttlecraft >>> Hermes Docking Bay]
Her seemingly-surly sirian companion had taken the whole 'new best friend' joke a lot better than she'd been expecting. Linda grinned broadly, and replied. "'Kiarrokir Irrek,' huh? Well, in that case, I'm 'Lieutantant Commander Linda Kesyk.' You could call me 'Commander Kesyk...'" She reached up and patted the sirian's shoulder. "But seeing as we're best friends and all, just call me 'Linda', okay? And I'll call you 'Erruan!'"
Moments later, the pilot informed them that they would be docking imminently, and that's exactly what they did. The doors opened, and Linda took her first steps into the belly of the GA's most advanced spacecraft. Boarding a new ship for the first time was always exhilarating, but this was something truly special. She smiled and looked all around, not so much interested in the crew as she was in the ship. "I was right," she said to herself. "Pretty inside and out!"
Not entirely dead.
(Avatar by Coffee)
The Hermes
Yadda alighted on her hover-crate, looking to and fro. Csang's decidedly noisy arrival caused her to flick her wings and caw. "Great, a catbrain," she mumbled to herself. "Just what I needed."
Hayon's introduction was met with a stare. Just what was that thing? It looked more like a machine than anything else. How in the wastelands' name was she supposed to care for something like that? Might as well proceed with the introductions.
"Medic Yadda Onnat of the Longhall-class I Am Legend," she cawed in the group's general direction. That was her old rank, before the dirty ops team. "I'll be your medical officer. Oh-so-pleased to meet you all," she added dryly.
Point Unity cafeteria
If Akk could've glared, he would've glared at Tukantz. "I am," he said slowly, "eating breakfast. This is no meeting." He gestured at the gathered ambassadors with a smallfoot. "Protocol must be observed."
Tilting his head, he pecked at the seeds in his basket. He clicked his beak before looking at Koruuna. "My accommodations border on the lavish, Chairwoman. I want for nothing."
"For the moment, I am here simply to enjoy the company of others and to eat my curry," Cliomone said, swallowing the latest ladle's worth of her lunch.
"And for a glass of tea, of course," she added, picking up her pitcher to drink from it.
"What do I call myself?" Daenemaeus said as he shook the offered hand, then pulled his hand back and gave a double-thumbs-up followed by tapping of said thumbs - a customary gesture of friendship and goodwill. "That's a pretty interesting question. I don't know if the terms translate exactly, but usually I call myself either You Handsome, Charming, Gift to Creation You, or, if I'm trying to think in a hurry, I just shorten it to you."
"My name's Daenemaeus," he added. "But most people call me Daene. The more creative types have called me D-money, Danny Boy, Domino, Doctor D, Mace, Get Back Here You Horsey Bastard, or Hey You. In any case, it's a pleasure to meet you Engineer Huthizki. I'll be the Chief Science Officer here, so I imagine we'll have many opportunities to work together."
The Hermes
Walking off of the shuttle with quite a stride, crimson scales taking in the surrounding light. Tarlena looked around the docking bay. A prideful look at Callahan, Csang, Hayon, Linda, Yadda and Daenemaeus from Tarlena. "Tarlena Parla'mora, Commune lieutenant pilot and flight officer at your service." Said with the equivalent of a bow. Their tail curling up around their body as it happens.
A bleep is heard as a holographic sphere appears besides Tarlena and speaks aloud in a digital and clearly artificial tone. "Assistant AI pilot to Tarlena-sha; Irona reporting for duty!" Said in a exceptionally polite tone, the sphere rotating in like a bowing motion towards the crew.
Point Unity cafeteria
Rhanta smiled and nodded to the Chairwoman. "The accommodation for both me and my family are more the sufficient. I hope once they recover from a minor bit of illness; the change in environment that I can show them around further." Rhanta said with a polite tone, smiling. Raising how bowl of Ramen and continuing to eat giving a polite nod and smile to the other ambassadors as he ate his lunch.
edited 21st Feb '16 6:33:44 PM by darkdestinysoul
"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."
For the Horde!
Koruuna nodded, her facial expression not changing as she looked at the ambassadors (though that was normal for Ashkathi). It was at this point that the Ummat ambassador and the nisi family arrived at the table. Koruuna threw a hand to her chin, tilting her head slightly. "You are not intruding at all. Please sit down, all of you," Koruuna responded, sounding amused. She looked directly at the Nisi first. "You must be the Jotunian ambassadors. Welcome to Tehlana. I trust your stay so far has been pleasant?"
She looked at Akk. "That is wonderful!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I do hope that you enjoy your time here, we work very hard to make all of our guests feel at home," she explained. She then looked over at Rhanta.
"Mr. Rhanta, I also wish for the health of your family. May the spirits of health grace them and may they be one within the Songstream," she said, sounding concerned for them.
Callahan stood stoically as the crew members began to pile out, and he assessed them one by one as they entered:
The nisi's bombastic arrival nearly caught him off guard, and it worried him, considering that none of his security personnel were aboard the Hermes yet. Regardless, he kept his stance and he simply looked at the Nisi. "Csang Whiteripper," Callahan acknowledged. "Welcome aboard the Hermes. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but for now you must be patient. Once the rest of the crew is aboard, you will be briefed and the mission can go underway," he told her.
The Le'Ka soon moved out of his own shuttle. Having one of the security personnel on the ship made him feel more safe with Csang. "Hayon Biot," he acknowledged. "Welcome aboard the Hermes," he greeted with a simple nod.
The Yddyff medic soon exited her own shuttle and landed in front of him. Captain Callahan nodded as acknowledgement. "Yadda Onnat. I would advise you to leave your attitude in the shuttle. That said, welcome aboard the Hermes, and do try to behave yourselves. That goes for all of you as well!" Callahan sharply stated.
Next was a human. From what he could tell, Izeran, though he was mostly expecting a Theran. She seemed more interested in the ship itself than the captain, which made sense given that she was the engineer, but she had to show some more respect. "Attention, Linda Kesyk!" Callahan exclaimed. "Welcome aboard the Hermes. You can become more acquainted with her after the briefing."
Finally, the Shyleran exited her shuttle with her AI companion. Seeing it as a common courtesy, the captain did his own short bow. "Tarlena Parla'mora. Welcome aboard the Hermes," Callahan replied to her.
edited 21st Feb '16 11:21:59 PM by AllHailThrall
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Point Unity
Rhanta did a animate smile, "his" tail moving to the side in a flicker. "He" had become a lot more animated after "his" travels to other worlds. "I thank you for your concern. They will recover soon; they were not as accustomed with travel as I have been. It is nothing major." "He" says in a reassuring tone to the Councilwoman as "he" finished the last of the Ramen and put the bowl on the table. Letting it settle for a moment, taking a drink of cool water in the meanwhile.
The Hermes
Tarlena nodding at Callahan at his greeting. With a curious eye looking around at the future crew and considering the small sharp comment Callahan the presumed captain gave to the Yddyff as they were docking; trying to structure order already. The crew certainly seemed excited which at least was something. Tarlena looked at the human captain smiling a little as their tail unrwaps itself from around their torso and instead freely sits behind them.
"By the Storms of Halcyon and of that of the Galactic Sea we are ready and able to serve. May our Goddess and any of yours bring us strength." Tarlena said with a confidence and minor faithful fervor, though the main purpose was judging the crews reactions towards their faith. Tarlena knew the other races were not always so unified in their faith or were otherwise against it. Irona just hovering and giving what you can assume is a nod from the sphere.
edited 22nd Feb '16 3:52:47 AM by darkdestinysoul
"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."
Dreams of Revenge
ESAT shuttle - Hermes — Erruan
Erruan wasn't quite used to the degree of casualness in superior officers that Linda was displaying. To be sure, it was far from unheard of, but a combination of unlucky assignments and the culture of the Sirian military in general still made it somewhat novel. Not wishing to push the issue, she simply replied, "If you say so."
She was saved from any more awkward conversation as the shuttle finally docked with the Hermes. Immediately, she got up from her seat and collected a single duffel bag from a nearby storage space - she had seen no point in trying to take too much with her. She left the shuttle only a moment after Linda, and upon seeing Captain Callahan, she immediately snapped to attention, clenching her right hand into a fist and thumping it against the small gap between her left armpit and her chest. With remarkable dexterity, she disconnected her helmet from the rest of her suit, holding it in her left hand."Sir, Kiarrokir Irrek reporting!"
She stood perfectly still, as if she had been carved of marble. Despite the various distractions, she kept her attention focused solely on the captain as she awaited either an order or an indication to stand at ease. The sight might have seemed somewhat peculiar, as she towered over the captain by a not insignificant margin, forcing her to crane her neck to look down at him properly.
Azunn 'n' Mnhiri's Table — Azunn
Azunn smiled pleasantly and nodded, even if he could almost feel his taste buds writhing in sympathetic agony with the punishment Mnhiri was inflicting on her own. By now he was three quarters of the way through his first sandwich, his suppressed appetite not helped any by the truly heroic amount of hot sauce slathered on the chicken wings. So distracted was he, in fact, that he almost missed Mnhiri's question. Acting as though he hadn't just been spending the past minute or two watching in silent awe, he said, "Well, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. Aside from trying to avoid any accidents with my model collection when my office was being refurnished, I've just been playing catch up from day one."
A brief pause, to allow Mnhiri to make any comments she may have wished. "So, what about you?"
edited 22nd Feb '16 2:41:11 PM by Flanker66
Locking you up on radar since '09
The Hermes
Hayon bowed once more before standing upright, "I will be ready to assist in any way possible. As the humans say, piece of pie."
Point Unity Cafeteria
Sigma approached the group and greeted himself, typical Le'Ka introduction, bowing and customary greeting in his native tongue before standing upright. "I am Sigma Yul, I assume you will be my new associates?"
Attitude is prohibited
[Hermes Docking Bay]
Linda jumped when the captain suddenly called out to her. "Ah?!" She turned on her heels, having had her back to Callahan as her gaze had wandered around, and snapped to a crisp, traditional salute. "Yes sir! Reporting for duty!"
She kept her mouth shut, and clenched her teeth. It was all she could do to stop herself from muttering "hard ass" under her breath.
[Point Unity] (Cafeteria, Azunn 'n' Mnhiri's Table)
"Sorry to hear that." Mnhiri says, casually finishing up another extra-spicy chicken wing. "But at least you'll have nice, new furniture, right?"
"As for me," she says, taking a moment to clean her fingers and then daintily dab the hot sauce from the corners of her mouth. "I went home for a little while and visited my family. My niece turns twelve in a few months and she's already excited about it." She chuckles. "She's not even a teenagers and she's got her hearts set on being a Starship Designer." She picks up another Hrondfor Hot Sauce-drenched wing and happily tucks into it, quickly adding "Kids, hm?" before doing so.
After a couple of moments, she speaks up again. "Say, I've been considering getting her a model starship of some kind. You're a bit of an expert in that regard, aren't you? Have you got any recommendations?"
A pause.
"Also... Have you ever gotten the feeling that you've done something before, even though you haven't? I believe the Terrans call it 'deja vu...'"
Not entirely dead.
Tukantz still had some work to do with reading foreign expressions, but the venom in this Ydyff's voice was readily apparent. "I do not mean to insult, fellow."
He then followed the chairwoman's instructions, and coiled back down to the table's level. At this point he probably could use a lap around the building if he didn't want to cramp all day, but for now he should just try and get to know his "co-workers" more. "I must've received a bout of some minor respiratory blight earlier this week, some common thing. I'm fine now, thanks to the doctors, but tell your kin I appreciate their situation," he said to Rhanta.
He then noted the oncoming of yet another ambassador to the table...Le'ka, right? He wasn't too familiar at all with them, the correspondence he received was very brief. "I believe we will be just that, fellow peacemaker."
With that flurry of ridiculous words coming out of his mouth, Huthizki certainly didn't want to have any more opportunities to work together. Considering their departments, the borentine believed that they wouldn't have to. "R-Right. Yeah. It's nice meeting ya. Hope to see you around." He gave a quick nod, and then made his way to anywhere but near that man.
In this case, the captain of the ship was certainly nowhere near, so he got next to him. Now, he'd been trying to read up on various things for his extended multi-cultural stay, but galactic naval ceremony wasn't one of the topics he had gotten to at that point. He offered what worked best, a simple human-style salute with his right arm, and said "Huthizki reporting for duty, sir."
edited 22nd Feb '16 6:21:54 PM by wikkit
THE SLORG!
With her sensitive hearing, Csang caught Yadda's comment and looked her way, ears pinning back and mouth curling into a snarl, but was brought back to attention by Callahan. "Sorry captain, Csang used to being captain of Csang's ship" Csang said, turning her music off and pulling the headphones down to be around her neck. She glanced around for something to sit on, and settled for a nearby crate. The end of her tail still flicking about, she looked towards the rest of the arriving crew, her eyes narrowing a bit and ears pinning back again as she spotted Erruan.
She'd certainly heard Tarlena's religious introduction, but gave no attention to it.
Welerate paused slightly after Koruuna's question, one of her ears pointing back as she avoided eye contact and tried not to sigh in irritation. "... It is as pleasant as it could be" Welerate settled on saying, as from a certain perspective she wasn't technically lying.
"Our accommodations have been quite comfortable" Feonxi added, hiding her worry that any of the other ambassadors might've caught what Welerate actually meant. Explaining that, 'my sister would probably be happier if she was killing someone right now', never seemed to cross the cultural boundaries from the nisi to other species well. Especially not the Ashkathi.
edited 22nd Feb '16 6:49:59 PM by FirockFinion
You are reading this.
Athena nodded gravely as she sat down, sticking her straw into the pile of fungal slush and gratefully slurping up the mixture. There was a certain ritual here that the other aliens, humans included, partook at mealtime; a complicated ceremony of knives and forks and spoons and less identifiable objects besides, all of them flashing and scraping against the food in a sort of complicated dance. The Ummat hunched over and picked at her bowl of nutrient paste with as much grace as she could muster. Home was orderly lines, orderly processions, rigidly timed meals. Maybe she'd been away too long... or maybe she'd spent too much time among the rest of the Galaxy to ever really fit back into the tightly wound social order of the main Ascendancy.
"My designation is 29079818241656, Garden 112, crèche 45-A. You may refer to me as Athena if you so choose." she added, after a moment's thought. "I look forward to working with each and every one of you, and extending the interests of the Ascendancy into the rest of the galaxy." Her speech was monotone, slightly halting, as though it had been rehearsed over and over again - or perhaps "programmed" was the better word.
There was a hiss as the Ummat stepped through. Her large eyes stared around at her surroundings; her rigid face seemed to hover somewhere between a mixture of awe and disdain. She swept past the other aliens currently admiring the view and stared out the window.
"998849867356194, Garden 864, crèche 64-F. Or simply call me Anax." she said, tersely. As she spoke, she held up her palm; the small mass of computer tissue embedded inside flickered to life, displaying a rapidly scrolling feed of information. "I trust that the ship is in working order?"
edited 22nd Feb '16 7:41:52 PM by Locoman
For the Horde!
Koruuna clasped her hands together and nodded. "Welcome to Point Unity, Sigma Yul. I trust the last few weeks have been pleasant for you? We only wish to make your stay here comfortable for the duration of the proceedings taking place," she explained to her fellow ambassadors.
Captain Callahan nodded at Tarlena. When he heard he was getting a Shyleran crew member, he had started doing some research as he did with every other species that entered into his service. They were highly religious, it seemed, and in order to keep her loyalty he felt that it would help to respect her culture in this instance.
"And by yours and ours, may we serve thy ship and crew together," Callahan told Tarlena, raising his head up and looking at those who were now coming off of their shuttles.
He eyed the Sirian soldier who had arrived on board his ship. It made him even more comfortable to see that the Sirian was pretty much exactly as he had expected: strong and loyal to the captain. "Kiarrokir Irrek," Callahan acknowledged. "At ease. Welcome aboard the Hermes, soldier."
The edge of Callahan's lips twitched a bit at Hayon's statement. "Piece of cake, Hayon," Callahan corrected. "Good to see your eagerness to help."
He furrowed his brow, looking at Linda and nodding. "Very well, Commander. At ease," he told her, with not much a change in his facial expression.
His attention now turned to the Borenten that approached him. "Huthizki R., I presume. Welcome aboard the Hermes. You will be working alongside Miss Kesyk in Engineering," he told his new engineer.
Finally, an Ummat got out of her ship and began showing off information. "Anax. Welcome aboard the Hermes. She's working perfectly as of now. Linda and Huthizki should see to that. As it stands, it's good to have all of you aboard. We're expecting a couple more crew members so far, so be patient."
edited 23rd Feb '16 3:16:53 PM by AllHailThrall
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Signup thread
Discussion thread
Whirring machinery. The hiss of steam.
Five individuals watched as a platform rose from below. Three of these were human, while two were fessk.
"How is she, Mr. Callahan? Is she to your liking?" one of the fessk asked to the tallest human of the group. Mr. Callahan furrowed his brow, putting his hand to his chin.
"She's a beaut, Tassic," Callahan simply replied, nodded. The "beaut" in question was a ship that was rising up from the platform that the five were standing in front of. Sleek and black, with rounded curves and pointed fins, roughly sixty meters in length. It had no obvious windows, nor any obvious entry point, but soon the ship rose up slightly on jack-like legs, and a platform lowered from the craft to reveal an elevator entryway.
The shorter man of the two older adults whistled. "I tell you what, Rick, she's more than a beaut," he stated. Callahan just sighed.
"Rodger. This is serious," Callahan stated. Rodger just shrugged.
"Well I like it," the smallest human stated with a smile. Rick just patted his head, and the two other humans stepped aboard silently. Rick approached the ship, the other fessk handing Rick a bottle.
"I do not know why you requested a bottle of champagne, Mr. Callahan," the fessk told him. Rick smiled.
"It's an Earth custom, Rora," Rick simply replied, then ran his hand across the smooth front of the ship. "I christen this ship.... Hermes. For the ancient god of messengers. Let this send a message to those who mess with the Galactic Alliance, that we are not to be trifled with." Finally, he raised the champagne bottle and smashed it onto the ship, the two fessk wincing at the sudden sound.
Rick, satisfied, entered the Hermes, the elevator rising up with the three of them on board.
The Hermes came out of hyperspace and began to travel in the direction of the planet Tehlana. Strange, spindly-looking ships with bulbous cockpits filled with water approached the mysterious black ship as it traveled. Finally, a boxy ship with wide wings approached the craft.
"This is Fesquarium Spring-Son, of the Kingdom of Gaquen. You are now entering Galactic Alliance space. Identify yourself," the boxy-looking ship told the Hermes. Rick, at the helm of the Hermes for the time being, cleared his throat and started communications.
"This is Captain Richard Callahan of the Terran Republic, reporting for duty aboard the newly-commissioned SAS Hermes. Clearance code Callahan-five-two-one-epsilon." Upon giving the proper code, the Ashkathi and Quenosequan ships backed off from the Hermes, which flew towards the planet. It stopped in orbit.
"Welcome to Tehlana, captain," an officer from the surface greeted. "The new crew you requested should be coming aboard the shuttles as we speak. In a couple of minutes they will arrive aboard your vessel," she told Callahan. Callahan nodded. "Thank you, officer." Now it was only a matter of time to wait.
Point Unity was a building of hustle and bustle. Tourists traveled up and down the halls, snapping pictures of everything that looked interesting and then some as well as buying souvenirs of all kinds; citizens from every nation in the Known Galaxy chatted with each other, and nationals from each corner of the charted universe sat at the same tables and conferred.
One of the busiest places of Point Unity at this time, was, unsurprisingly, the cafeteria. The cafeteria was a huge room with a bunch of round tables surrounded by chairs. On the edge near the walls were a bunch of small restaurants (each representing a different nation in the Alliance) like what one would find in a mall's food court, and each one of them had fairly long lines. It was lunch break at Point Unity, and most of the nationals were eagerly enjoying their meals. Koruuna, the head of the Galactic Alliance, was at one of the center tables, happily eating some kull that were fished from outside. She glanced around to get a good look at the other ambassadors that were seated around.
edited 19th Feb '16 10:33:25 PM by AllHailThrall
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.