Nebula Lobby 1F [Carlotta, Ray, Winky]

Ray gave a short chuckle. "No kinda ink. It's a touchscreen, it just reads input and renders it digitally. Same as this." He tapped the smaller device affixed to his chest. "And that's about right, on both counts. Physics is more my area. I like it better, on account of it being real. Useful for an engineer. And the Pride of Rust is a shipbreaker. Plenty of honest work in that kinda job." Ray smiled, as if at a private joke. "So, is there something you're lookin' for?"

Club Bizarre - [Kiran, Ethoya, Discoverer of Subversions]

Kiran, as ever, lacked any even remote reference point with which to make sense of the Discoverer of Subversion's exposition. But, something about him, or the way he spoke, made her increasingly certain that the Discoverer of Subversions was both a pretentious ass, and also probably some combination of stupid and insane.

However, despite also being some kind of otherworldly entity- which evidently was the reason this stranger sought conversation with her- Ethoya did not. This was good. Kiran had been half afraid that the two of them would shoot off into a tangent about some incomprehensible something-or-other and leave her awkwardly holding her drink with nothing to say. Instead, Ethoya seemed to find this alien interloper as frustrating and irritating as she did. It was clear that she had avoided becoming jaded and aloof in the manner of this Discoverer, which grew her estimation of Ethoya quite a bit.

Not wanting to miss such an obvious hook, Kiran leaned in and said, "Really? Well, fortunately, being a ship captain, I happen to be well able to satisfy your curiosity. The Pride of Rust is a salvage vessel. A working ship, not a free-floating day spa like this huge thing. If that sort of thing interests you, I'd be more than happy to show you around."

edited 26th Mar '17 5:47:26 PM by Gault

Deck 1 - Arboretum

Once again Joshua pulled a pipe out of nowhere and there didn't seem to be any way for him to have done so - short of real magic or a small portal similar to that which Pearl and Aubrey had used to travel between Capital City and the ship. Given that Joshua had already demonstrated the ability to use small localised portals at will, Pearl did not find this particularly surprising.

Aubrey gave a quirky smile when Joshua explained where werewolves were located, remembering one of the songs in Wolfe's collection of M P3s. "So there's not likely to be any in London, then. Wolfe and Teri would be most disappointed." The song had been played quite often on the Long Walk and both Teri and Wolfe were enthusiastic when singing along with it.

Joshua's comment about other people being the worst enemy and question about conflicts on Terra Nova caused Aubrey to fall silent for a moment, remembering the dangers he had faced in his time there. "I'm not sure that I'd call them interesting, per se," he said after a while. "There haven't been any major problems since the Reformation period but not everyone who turns up on Terra Nova is content to quietly settle down and work with others for the common good. We've had our share of malcontents and downright villains who seek to harm others but we have rather permanent ways of dealing with the worst infractors."

"The environment itself is often more of a danger than the people," Pearl said.

Aubrey nodded, remembering the corpses he had seen on the Long Walk. Unfortunate people who, like himself, had appeared in the midst of the wilderness without the equipment or skills to survive and had perished due to cold or hunger or, according to Wolfe, possibly just gave in to despair and waited to die.

Lift —> Deck 2

Wolfe stood aside to let Gwion and Ulf precede him into the lift then followed them in.

He grinned at what Ulf had to say about some of the "Earths" - his own would fall into the "so mundane they vehemently believe werewolves and vampires don't exist" category - and noted the subtle inference that Ulf was familiar with rather "less mundane" worlds.

He thought on what Ulf had said about there always seeming to be a worldwide conflict in the 1900s. On his Earth there had been two "World Wars" and their far reaching consequences - he had lived through more than half of the "Cold War". So presumably Ulf's Earth had had similar conflicts and, if the timing was similar to Wolfe's Earth, Ulf would be the right age to have served in at least one war. Come to think of it, some aspects of Ulf did strike Wolfe as being similar to both his uncle - who had served in both the "Malayan Emergency" and Vietnam - and James - a former Grenadier in King George's War - so he probably was a former soldier.

Then Ulf asked if his and Teri's Earth had interstellar travel and Wolfe shook his head. "Yeah, nah. Our Earth hasn't officially got to the stars - even in Kris' time they're still fucking about in our own back yard, so to speak. A whole bunch of unwitting, unwilling and mostly unprepared people have become de facto colonists of Terra Nova but that certainly wasn't due to any Earth-based agency. Frankly, I doubt any agency is behind it - the people, their skills and equpment and where they end up appearing, all seem to be completely random. It looks more like a natural phenomenon than anything with even the most basic planning."

Teri nodded. "If anyone'd asked me, I'd'a' packed better and would've asked to be dropped off close to an 'otel."

Gwion chuckled. "So you're saying you still would've gone?"

Teri grinned. "Not if they'd told me I'd 'ave t' put up with 'im." She jerked a thumb at Wolfe.

Sophia let the conversation flow around her, noting what Ulf had said without saying about his own world. Even if she hadn't heard of Ulf from Gwion's recounting of his first visit to "Capital City", she would have made the necessary connections.

"We haven't got interstellar travel, either," she said, "but we do have artificial habitats on the moon and at the fourth and fifth Lagrange points. How far have those on your world got towards travelling to the stars?"

The lift came to a halt and the doors opened onto Deck 2.

Sickbay (Rolph; Max and Cecilia)

Rolph glanced down at his arm, still not feeling particularly reassured. "About four millimeters or so," he answered before stepping through the doors of the sickbay. He looked over at a group of Humans - one of whom had some kind of strange bony protrusions on his body - gathered around a hospital bed, and made a sympathetic nod in their direction, before heading off to an alcove at the other end of the room, where various types of medical scanners and research equipment had been placed on a desk along the wall.

"Just a moment," Rolph said, and placed his metallic backpack on the desk, pulling out a wound sealer - a small device with a pistol-like grip on the bottom and two cylindrical canisters on the top - from one of it's compartments. "Figured I should use something I know will work."

He placed his right arm on the desk. He still wasn't quite sure what to think of Cecilia and her so-called 'abilities', but whatever she tried to do, the nerve dampening implants could probably handle the worst of it. "I think I'm ready. How exactly are you gonna go about it?"

Deck 9 -> Holodecks (Glitch, Robin)

"Perhaps 'sapients', or just 'people' would have sounded better?" Glitch suggested, before hovering out of the elevator. "Simulated experiences are a popular form of entertainment back home, and I was wondering how universal that is. I expect that Rolph wants me to gather as much information as possible while we're here. I was originally designed to be a scout drone, after all."

edited 27th Mar '17 6:32:46 AM by Corvidae

Sickbay (Rolph; Max and Cecilia)

Max, standing behind the healer with his arms crossed, says, eyeing the wound sealer: "Wise choice."

Cecilia, taking a seat at the desk, smiles smugly at the Mroothan.

"I'll just use my hands." She puts her right hand on Rolph's lower arm, placing her fingers so that there is a gap between her thumb and index ones. "Like this."

She looks at her hand with focused expression. Suddenly, there is a red light coming from beneath her blouse where her medallion should be, and the carapace in the gap between her fingers starts to grow a lump. Bergmann's right eyebrow goes upwards, as the lump continues to grow. Once it is the length of her pinky, she removes her hand.

"Hmm..."

Then, she wipes the lump off Rolph's arm with her index finger, not leaving a trace, as promised. For a minute, she's squeezing the tissue sample between her fingers. The piece of chitin-based carapace, changing its structure under the touch of the adherent of Sophia, is as pliable as clay. Finally, throwing the sample, now in she shape of a very angry amoeba, on the desk, Cecilia exclaims with a hint of irritation in her voice:

"This makes no sense, Rolph. I shouldn't be able to do this."

The tissue sample is now solid again. I wanted to show it by describing the sound with which it hit the desk, but I wasn't sure what sound chitin makes when it collides with whatever the desk is made of.

Holodecks(Glitch; Robin)

"'People' sounds more natural," says Robin, heading towards the holodecks. "But 'sapients' sounds more scientific, which, for you, would be more appropriate, I think. People could freak out if you'll sound too natural. I've had my share of talking equipment, believe me." Thinking for a moment, she adds: "No offense."

Stopping in front of the nearest holodeck, she says:

"Well, there's only one way to find out how universal it is. But I think I'll need your help with that. I don't, exactly, know what to do."

edited 27th Mar '17 8:07:28 AM by Millership

Club Bizarre

"Information, not knowledge. All that is received, stored, transmited, true or not. But it is good you aknowledge the difference.", Horizons said to Magistralis, their voice betraying no hint of the still present uneasiness while they manipulated the battery with their arm, trying to guess its workings but unable to properly see.

"Pardon for being unclear. I was just wondering... I am not the only artistist among my kind, and others are said to have used planets as their canvas and life and light as their ink.", they said to Nemaforte, and after a series of chirps they added "I am not implying I know the truth of this matter. I am only curious." out of a sense of etiquette, as organics were easily distressed by the unexpected and unknow. But then, how could one judge creatures so imprisioned in space and time?

[Deck 1 ~ Nebula Lobby] (Kokoro, Rebecca, Sinistrina, Ryya,)

Kokoro gave a polite bow in response to Rebecca's greeting, "The same here."

As Winky thanked her for her help and tottered off to find Carlotta, the girl uncomfortably fidgeted in place. She wasn't necessarily disgruntled about the comment about her arms; she didn't notice any intentional rudeness on the doll's part, and one gets used to people noticing that one is an amputee. No, she felt uncomfortable about sending such a polite little individual off on a wild goose chase.

Meanwhile, their group now had another new arrival. Kokoro turned around to face her, noting that she very much looked like a traditional witch, with her pointed hat, fancy black dress, and carrying a cobwebbed staff. After chastising her little familiar(?) crawling on Rebecca, the witch introduced herself as Sinistrina.

Between the attire and the name, one would assume that this newcomer was at the very least a fiendish villain who was absolutely up to no good; someone whom Kokoro would transform and beat into the ground, as per her job description of magical girl. However, having lived with a group of relatively nice, nontraditional magical girls whose color schemes primarily included the color black (herself included), not to mention the werewolf... Kokoro wasn't one to assume that. Besides, she didn't want to hassle the staff with cleaning up the mess.

So, for the third time since arriving, the amputee girl politely bowed and introduced herself to Sinistrina, "I'm Kokoro."

She glanced over at Ryya, "I'm from Japan. Kyoto to be precise. My friends found out last minute that a few of our associates from Tokyo were going on a cruise, and since I didn't have any prior engagements... they kinda tossed me aboard." Kokoro took a moment to pout before carrying on, "This seems like a really nice place though, so I shouldn't be too mad at them."

"So, where are you all from, anyway?" she asked, glancing around at the group.

edited 28th Mar '17 4:34:32 AM by WillDeRegio

Sickbay (Rolph; Max and Cecilia)

Rolph could only stare at his arm as all signs of anxiety left his face and were replaced with an equal mix of confusion and curiosity.

"How did you...?" he began to say, mandibles trembling as he leaned in closer. "Growth stimulants? Medical nanites?" Given what he'd heard about their home world, and their mechanic's fascination with Glitch's engines, he had not expected this kind of tech level.

Based on Cecilia's reaction however, it didn't seem like she was entirely sure either. Rolph quickly tapped a few buttons on the holograph bracer on his left arm, telling it to run some quick bio-scans, before looking up at the Human woman again.

"I am... impressed," he said. "Like, really impressed. How did you do it?"

Holodeck 2 (Glitch, Robin)

Glitch let out a soft mechanical chuckle. "I have noticed. Few people expect a drone to be programmed for social interaction in the first place. That's usually reserved for..." It made a brief pause, processing how much it would be appropriate to reveal, "...the more Mroothanoid looking units."

The doors to the holodeck slid open, and Glitch hovered inside. The room had currently taken on the form of a featureless white void, with some large floating letters in the center spelling out the text "Carpe Noctem Holodeck 2, normal gravity. Please select scenario."

Glitch spun around towards Robin. "According to the brochures in the lobby, the system is mostly voice operated. Try describing a place you'd like to visit, and let's see what happens."

Sickbay (Tigris, Gabriel, Anna, Minerva)

Gabriel looking up at the second woman, his head raised a bit lazily, a little smile forms on his face as she spoke. Though he couldn't tell how she felt, it was comparatively noticeable that what she said cheered him up some. The moment she mentioned being a sorceress and elaborating on that... Well, Gabriel's expression basically said 'wait what, seriously?'

Still, before he could really process the legitimacy and what to say, Gabriel turned to Minerva as she spoke- An air of quiet uncertainty to his expression. Yet as she abruptly hugged Gabriel, pass the front plate of bone she could feel, it would be telling that he's more slender than overly muscular.

Upon properly registering the fact he was just hugged as Minerva pulled away, Gabriel looks incredibly embarrassed as he looks down at his feet. Noticeably shifting and twitching in his spot, its almost like he's never been touched by a woman before. If anyone could detect it though, he definitely seems confused and somewhat proud.

Anna, on the other hand, seems to frown in agreement with Minerva as she mentions Alice. The mention of this girl definitely seems to cause Anna to become thoughtful. Gabriel, however, looks up with curiosity- A phrase practically twinkling in his eyes 'Normal? Who cares about that?' It is when Minerva summons her weapon does Gabriel become very excited.

Standing up to his feet, Gabriel begins to anxiously run his left hand over his exposed right arm, his face clearly proving he wants to say a lot of things now. Looking like he wants to speak to Minerva first, something seems to cross his mind as he rather unconvincingly turns towards the sorceress like he was already gonna to her first.

Tapping his right foot nervously and biting his lower lip like he has no idea what to say, a look of realization crosses his face as he clicks his left fingers together- His tone noticeably more calm & friendly. "It must be so awesome having a half-sister! My dad, half of his siblings are half-siblings too. Think my grandmother had a thing for chocolate, if you know what I mean..."

Rubbing at the back of his head with his right hand, Gabriel somewhat nervously shoots Anna a glance, with the young girl squeaking out the word sorceress. Gabriel managing to pick up such quietness, the young man coughs to clear his throat. Eyes focused in the sorceress' direction, bit of his calm & friendly tone fades though not significantly so.

"Look, we didn't exactly have magic where we're from. Sure we acknowledged it and had stories, yet the best we could do was sufficiently advanced technology or biology. I could tell you a lot of things, like Fullmetal Alchemist or Cardcaptor Sakura, yet... Being perfectly honest, can you prove what you have is magic? Defying reality sounds like a useful skill for me and Anna going forward..."

Faint hope sparkling in his eyes that she truly has magic, Gabriel finally turns to Minerva again. Crossing his arms behind his back, Gabriel seems to struggle to keep his eyes on her rather than look away. Calming and straightening his body, Gabriel tries to speak a bit more casually. "That is a pretty cool weapon, but you ever seen a Melter Knife before?"

Bringing his arms in front of him, Gabriel prominently holds out his watch as a hologram is projected- Of an admittedly rather mundane looking knife, aside from the pressure grip. Flicking the hologram with his right hand, the knife spins as Gabriel speaks with some personal excitement.

"So, seeing as resource usage is a serious problem when it comes to Mechanical Armors, there's a lot of otherwise useless scrap left. However, then recall all those glorious idiots trying to make DIY fire swords. That shit just makes them crappy Iron Fist knockoffs who think his name is literal. But, that's the brilliant thing of Melter Knives- Gets to make use of useless scrap, and give your enemies a nice injection of molten metal."

Clearly sounding like he had positive experiences with these weapons, Gabriel rather loudly fake coughs as if realizing he sounded a bit crazy. Turning off the hologram and holding his right arm with his left hand, Gabriel once again looks over to Anna. The young girl still looking rather uncomfortable sitting down, Gabriel sighs. Nonetheless, his tone doesn't become depressed or freaked out like earlier.

"As for me, I'm basically just an animu gamer boy who got lucky to get superpowers. I'm not a blooming idiot though, as I take serious situations for what they are. Someone getting mugged? Bone shield and turn my head to display my right, before Captain America'ing that bastard. Still..."

Picking up his bifurcated mask, Gabriel holds it in his left and gazes at it, before speaking again. "I am getting a bit uncomfortable being here. How difficult is it for a doctor here to treat Anna? Back home, you could get freaking third degree burns and just slapping some neato medical cloth would restore you in about two weeks. Hell, we could grow babies in test tubes and properly developed too! Ain't pretty looking at an unborn baby though..."

Club Bizarre- Yet another failed lead...

Sighing disappointedly at Ethoya's response, more in himself than anyone, even with his armor on it wasn't hard to deduce he believes there's nothing left for him there. Yet... The moment Ethoya questioned why they don't just magically distort their own wills, Discoverer's armored fists clench so abruptly there's a notable 'clang' sound.

Turning 90 degrees to the side, the Discoverer grabs at the air with his right hand like he was grabbing a door knob. His left fist still clenched, the Discoverer speaks coolly, a kind of essence that could only be called determination. "Subverting the wills of others is the one true sin, and if that's the only way to save my people... Then we're better off dead instead."

With that the Discoverer pulls back his right hand, and a 'door' so to speaks is formed in reality. Looking into the door would show a... Well, place that's nowhere on the ship. To Discoverer at least, he would see a vast white plain of just... Nothing else. Unfolding his left hand, the Discoverer sticks his left arm in there and from inside motions to the door with it.

Then, with a perfectly calm voice, the Discoverer calls out rather notably "Alright you two, are you able to get through the door I made? I'm not fully sure the existential plane you're on, so if this doorway won't suffice I'll have to call in assistance to extract you. The very least, are you able to see my arm there?"

edited 27th Mar '17 2:18:49 PM by Kkutwar

[Deck 1, Aboretum - Joshua. Aubrey, Pearl]

Joshua gave a small laugh at Aubrey's comment, "Well, the only instance I ever heard about a werewolf in London was that he was an American one who was actually very tame," They puffed their pipe a bit, "Actually, there are a few supernatural creatures in my slice of London, though they're mostly fairies or permanently buried underneath the city in the ruined Roman structures that dug too deep. They're also mostly relegated to the less exposed market area, where average people are less likely to wander toward. I go their occasionally, because there's a stand that sells really good tacos."

Joshua took a few more puffs on their pipe, "They're a certain perspective you don't develop when you don't have to spend the majority of your life dealing with the elements. I guess the modern world lets me count my blessings that I can sleep in a bed and not have to deal with polio."

Joshua laughed at that last part, "Although, my field work has let me see stuff that no vaccine will ever be able to stop," Joshua had a grim look on their face, "But the world is gonna end, so what really can be done?"

[Club Bizarre]

Ethoya shrugged at the Discoverer's response as if to say, suit yourself. Subverting others' will, yes, that was a crime. One of her sisters had a nasty punishment in store for such. And any Uelane would sooner commit suicide than have their will thus subverted. But subverting one's own will? Didn't mortals do that, to a small extent, every time they let whiskey or something stronger take them? But no matter; the Discoverer and her clearly had nothing more to say to one another. Indeed, he now seemed more interested in the door he had opened up in reality. Sort of like the portals of the Dead Gods, but not quite the same? She knew a trick or two about moving between planes of existence herself, and had never doubted the Discoverer's raw power, per se, but that was neither here nor there. Despite everything, she did hope that whatever was on the other side, it would help him find the answers he sought. (Or, Ethoya suspected, recognize the answers he'd known all along.)

So she said to Kiran, "oh, I was just about to ask!" She cleared her throat. "I admit, I don't know what to expect; all I've heard about this sort of thing comes from Kykvelsha stories." She leaned forwards and explained, "the sort involving worlds populated with fearsome beasts, steamy jungles, and lost civilizations." She paused. Anything missing? Yes, there was. "Oh, and — to the delight of many boys — buxom blue-skinned women who don't understand the concept of 'clothing'," here, given her own troubles with modern nudity taboos, she couldn't suppress a self-effacing grin, "and are all too happy to reward their strapping rescuers... as generously as the Kykvelsha censor will allow." She then stood, waiting for Kiran to lead on. "I imagine working as a salvage vessel doesn't see you uncovering lost precursor ruins every time you kick a rock, but I'm sure you've got a tale or two of your own to tell."

edited 28th Mar '17 5:09:22 PM by KillerClowns

Deck 1 - Arboretum

Aubrey's brow furrowed. He had heard Wolfe make some mention of an American werewolf in London but he wasn't sure if it was a song, movie or book. He did, however, remember quite a few of the lyrics to Werewolves of London and considered asking Joshua if this "tame" werewolf had ever been to Trader Vic's and what his hair was like but he got distracted by what Joshua said about fairies and the world going to end.

Aubrey took a couple of puffs on his vapouriser as he mulled over Joshua's final question - it may possibly have been rhetorical, but then again, it was a valid question for which an answer needed to be found. "What's the nature of the threat to your world? I'm guessing that it must be more than just infestations of supernatural creatures."

Pearl quietly wondered whether or not the people of Joshua's world could use their ability to travel through portals to escape to some other world.

[Club Bizarre]

"Huh?" Sakura looked between the two of them. "Oh, didn't I say? Kagos is my country." She smiled. "It's not perfect, by any means, but it's home!"

[Dark Matter Lounge]

"Monkeys, huh? That's new." He sipped his drink before continuing. "Call me Kiryu. Nice to meet you, Mari. Can't say I've ever met a oni before, much less one who appreciates a strong drink," he chuckled. "For what it's worth, you're better looking than any of those old painting I've seen. Not that there are many around, these days..." He finished off his drink, then signalled for a refill. "Japan, though? Hasn't been called that for a long time, so far as I know. But I suppose what the living call it doesn't really matter in the land of fire and monkeys, huh?"

[Deck 3-Theater/Henry and Lauren]

"Eh we'll just tell them that I was taking a diplomat to the theater but no one told me it was abandoned. I still do diplomat work every once and awhile." Henry reassured Sii before looking to the darkness. "Nice. Lauren did you remember you multitool Augustus told you to leave home?"

"Yes." Lauren admitted as she begrudgingly gave the small metal cylinder to him.

"Thank you." Henry said taking the device and turning on its illumination function.

The illumination function sent out a small ball of light to the center of the ceiling of the entire theater lighting it up. With light in the room everyone was able to get a good look at it.

The theater was very dilapidated from what appeared to be about a decade of not being used. The seats were worn out with springs sticking out of some. There were some sizeable holes in some of the higher decks, the curtains and rugs looked moth hole infested, several of the lights were either damaged or completely destroyed, and there was dust covering everything. One thing however caught Henry's attention. Down in the orchestra pit were still a bunch of instruments that still looked playable.

Henry walked over the edge of the deck to get a good look at the pit. "Oh sweet look at that. There's still a piano down there."

Lauren was looking around paranoid about being caught and kicked out. A feeling that was only strengthened by what sounded like faint voices being sounded out. "Henry are you sure we should be doing this?"

Henry shrugged her off. "We'll be fine." He told the two before using the multi tool to realise a holorope. He secured the rope to a column and used it to repeal down to the bottom floor. "Besides I want to know if the piano still works." He called out to them.

Deck 1 ~ Nebula Lobby

Off from the ground, a portal forms in reality- And out comes flying a young man. Screaming mostly startled by the suddenness, from out of nowhere a woman(?) successfully manages to catch him. Blurting out the air from his lungs, the young man is clearly dazed. His savior, however... Her body seems too still, though the fact her silver suit is all enveloping makes it hard to determine anything.

Though the young man slowly begins to compose himself, the fact he isn't soaring through the air makes identifying him easier: Possessed of brown skin that leaves his exact ethnicity to question, the spiky red hair & almost deer-like red antlers stands out. The fact he also has a red, scaly reptilian tail would probably note the most attention.

Still, the portal doesn't seem to close- In fact, looking up at it would reveal a third figure seemingly trying to spot someone. The figure in question looks like a fourteen year old boy, with predominantly blue hair and a black streak. Though his blue outfit at first seems oriental in design, subtle differences and an almost French touch would become apparent from observation.

Finally the young boy spots the suited woman and red-haired dragon(?) boy. Pointing dramatically at the two of them, the boy proclaims rather heroically "Don't return to The Midnight Palace, or I'll send you to Somber himself!" Though almost immediately after that declaration, the boy smiles in a friendly way and waves, his tone apologetic yet cheerful.

"I'm sorry about dropping him there, I couldn't find his home! I'll come back later, some stuff is seriously going down here!" If one looked past the boy, it almost seems like he's in space- Until one notices how it curves there, like he's standing in a hallway. The boy holding out his left hand, an oddly shaped sword forms before promptly pulling it to the side- Closing the portal like it was a curtain.

The first young man seeming to have mostly stabilized, he looks up at his savior- And becomes notably embarrassed she's essentially holding him bridal carry style, if not for the fact he's pointed downward rather than up. Rolling out from her arms and falling on his rump, he pulls himself into a squat before trying to speak casually dismissive even as he's still embarrassed.

"Geez Mancipium, you couldn't have caught me with class? That frigging psycho Go would of been laughing, so try to make me look cool next time?" The woman, Mancipium apparently, doesn't seem to give any kind of reaction. Nonetheless, the boy only looks slightly annoyed as if this is unpleasantly normal for the two of them.

As the young man stands up, slipping his hands into his pockets, a new detail becomes apparent as he looks around: His utterly unusual eyes. Though indeed possessing slits, instead of any normal color like brown or green they're... Golden. Yet the fact his golden eyes seem to be spiderwebbing across the entirety... There's no way that's natural.

Nonetheless, the young man doesn't seem overly phased by the highly bizarre and varied collection of individuals. Even spotting the girl with sock arms and the undead looking woman doesn't seem to elicit more initial comment than a silent 'Neat'. Yet upon noticing a teenage girl similar to him, the young man looks incredibly surprised.

His tail flicking about rather lazily, he pulls out his right hand to gesture at his antlers. Though more composed than when he reacted to Mancipium, he's notably unsure what to say. Looking towards the armless teenage girl, the young man calls out surprisingly warmly if in a casual way.

"Is she a Homo Animalia? I'm getting the impression this isn't my home, so I don't want to presume. I really like the sock arm thing by the way, you wouldn't believe how many people fail to notice the tactical advantages. As for me, I'm Conrad Weiser and my bodyguard here is named Mancipium."

So all three of these characters got weird stuff going on: The mysterious blue-haired boy's soul is just... Wrong, like a facsimile of a real one that just... Seems to be missing something undefinable. Conrad's soul is unnaturally strong, being the reason he has golden eyes at all. Mancipium... Has the barest of scraps that she's technically a living creature, though it is undeniable her full soul was torn out long ago. Though, it would also be noticeable Conrad is completely unaware she lacks a soul.

(Starlight Restaurant- Phagora, Emile, Lucina, Shireen, Jake)

"A combination of resources and getting someone to listen, actually." Phagora chuckled at Jake's comment about how Gluttony was a... non-traditional choice to summon for a child. "Most people think that when you summon some entity, it has no choice but to come quietly. That's only one of three possibilities, however. Option two is that it ignores you completely, while option three is that it tries to separate your head from your body. Pride demons always go with the last, so that was out unless Mother wanted a tussle."

"As for why not Lust, she didn't have the resources on hand to call forth an incubus. Another problem with demon summoning is that ingredients for the ritual are often difficult to come by. In her case, she was out of unicorn blood, so she had to make do."

The girl noted that Emile was shaking like a leaf. "I didn't mean to frighten you, Emile. Sometimes, I forget how it looks when I do that." Last to be addressed was Shireen. "And who, pray tell, did I fail to best?" she asked, genuinely curious.

(Lobby- Rebecca, Kokoro, Sinistria, Ryya)

The newcomer had some fashion sense, Rebecca had to admit. Not that it would have flown in any court, but perhaps a costume ball. Her familiar, however, had much less common sense, crawling all over her like a Mahkalian monkey. "Oh, it's quite all right, Sinistria. It's not like I have a sense of touch anymore, anyways. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rebecca caught Sinistria's eyes heading straight for her crystal heart, like she knew exactly what to look for. Could she be a witch turned member of the Order? Stranger things had happened- less terrifying ones, too.

[Deck 1, Aboretum - Joshua, Aubrey, Pearl]

Joshua put down their pipe as they thought. It was hard to think of a proper description for something that could only be truly expressed to those who had shared a similar experience. Putting into words something so ancient and so evil was going to be tough.

"Imagine, if you will, a rising tide, made of oil and blacker than a starless night sky. A tide that doesn't just threaten to envelop a coast for a few hours, but to drag the whole world into an eternal, inky black abyss. A tide that corrupts everything it touches and with a voice that destroys all thought and leaves everyone it speaks to into gibbering shadows of themselves," Joshua tensed up, "And that is only one of the smallest parts of what's bringing the world to an end. It's the after effects of happenings in an age from before that no one remembers. It is terrifying and all we can do is delay what's probably the inevitable for so long before the tide wins."

Joshua breathed a deep sigh, "I've probably broken about fifty rules telling people from another world that mine is ending."

[Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge] (Mari, Kiryu)

Mari sat for a moment, stopped cold mid sip, "Land o'fire and... oh. OH." She grinned, before bursting into laughter, "Oh no, I was talkin' 'bout place that 'as an 'ot spring called Jigoku. I don't live in the actual Jigoku," she said, before placing her drink down for a moment, "I was jokin' 'bout that. Though, that 'ot spring does get frequented by snow monkeys..." Mari cheekily grinned as she finished off her sake, "No, I typically wander the world, though recently I've been stayin' in Tokyo. Roped into 'elpin' out this one group called AEGIS," she said.

Mari folded her arms under her bust, "Well, anyway, can't say that I've seen an oni who doesn't enjoy a good drink. Speakin' o'which..." She snapped her fingers, drawing a bartender back over, "More sake for me as well."

Cupping her hands at the nape of her neck, she glanced over at Kiryu as the bartender refilled her glass, "Y'know, for someone who noticed me 'orns first, I appreciate the complement. Though, if someone ticks me off enough, I might just very well look like one o'them paintin's," she said.

Relaxing, Mari began lightly drumming her fingers on the bar, "Say, the way you make it sound... I know this must be an odd question for me t'ask, but, when are y'from?" she asked, before taking a drink of her new glass of sake.

Club Bizarre -> Hangar Bay [Kiran, Ethoya]

Kiran took a final gulp of Ethoya's fine whiskey, then stood up with her and began walking towards the exit. She smirked and rolled her eyes at Ethoya's anecdote, saying, "I think I know the kinds of books you're talking about. There's a fair bit of that floating around all kinds of modification, naturally. Go figure, right? Genetic engineering finally becomes widespread, and the first thing people think to use it for is sex."

Kiran shrugged. "Just the way of people, I suppose. And- well, it's not like I don't understand..." She paused, brought a hand up as if she was thinking of doing something, but it froze. To cover the motion, she folded it into her other hand. A moment later, she continued, "Y'know, it's a little funny that you happened to mention this, 'cause it's actually the reason I exist. My uh- my dad was a whore. It's where I got this look from, the whole thing. Apparently, a lot of people really think the ears and horns are exotic." Kiran shook her head, chagrined. "It always comes up every time I end up having to explain it. Figure I might as well get it out of the way now, right? Don't know how that makes you feel, but it's true."

She fell silent again. Just when the silence started to become awkward, Kiran suddenly turned and said, "Back there- this... This is gonna sound silly but I've gotta admit, I'm kinda glad that what that Discoverer guy had to say mystified you as much as it did me. After our conversation, I wasn’t sure how much we really had in common. I half expected the two of you to hit it off with some- look I don't know. But, it's kind of comforting to know that, at least, you understood me better than he understood me."

Kiran frowned, and her brow rumpled in confusion.

"Or- wait, me? No, you. Right. Whatever, I'm drunk. You get it." She huffed. "How can I-"

A light seemed to come on in her head and she said, "Spacers have this thing we call the four S-es." She listed off her fingers, "Safety, Sustenance, Satisfaction and Sex. Or, if you want to be informal, the four H-es: Healthy, Happy, Hungry and Horny." Kiran's mouth quirked up a bit, seeming to find the situation ironic, then continued. "It's a mnemonic device for all the things xenosociologists think an alien species has to have in common with Humans in order for there to be the possibility of meaningful interaction. Spacers have to know that sort of thing in case we run into new sentient species. Point is," she cocked a thumb over her shoulder, "-how many of them do you think that guy back there had relative to us?"

edited 29th Mar '17 12:01:49 PM by Gault

[Hangar Bay (Kiran, Ethoya)]

Ethoya shook her head. The previous entity seemed to have struck a chord in Kiran, even though the two had barely interacted. Was it just something abstract, or had some sort of entity like him been a thorn in Kiran's side before?

Ethoya tried to avoid being too vicious a gossip — she'd been entrusted with many a secret in her time, so she habitually kept them close. Still, she figured she could give an honest answer here. "From what I could tell? Satisfaction is what brought him here. I could sense a need for sustenance, easy as it might be for him. That body is actually mostly human. Safety drove him and his once, judging by his story; he'll remember it if nothing else. And sex?" She shrugged. "Plenty of humans with no interest in that either way. So that's three, and a question mark on the fourth." She stopped to emphasize her point, looking Kiran in the eyes when she did likewise. "What you saw was all too human. A man who believed the powers of science could solve all questions, and who followed that path to its cold end. No more, no less." Then she resumed her pace. "But enough about that," she said.

"Now as for your father?" She raised a politely dismissive hand. "My, I guess you could say my home town is a tourist hub. For casinos and brothels." She gave an ironic smirk, though it hinted at no shortage of stress. "It keeps me, uh, busy. You want to know another reason I'm so terrible at giving straight answers to questions? It's because," she took a breath and let it out in a gasp of exasperation, "most people don't want straight answers. Especially not in Oriyith..." she paused. Cleared her throat. Off-topic. "But anyways. Redfern aside, you aren't the first person with a pretty courtesan for a father I met. And not always a charming courtesan who could pay for their upkeep either..."

At this point, they'd finally made it to the hangars^note I won't worry about whether that makes the walk improbably long or short. Ethoya looked over at the various ships, trying to guess which one of them would be most wont to bear the name "Pride of Rust". She somehow suspected it wouldn't be ironic.

edited 29th Mar '17 4:34:03 PM by KillerClowns

Hangar Bay -> Pride of Rust [Kiran, Ethoya]

Kiran could only walk silently and listen, mulling Ethoya's words over. She seemed troubled. When the two of them finally stopped walking, she only said, "Oriyith sounds like my kinda place."

The two of them were now standing in front of a squat vessel of fair size. The Pride of Rust lived up to it's namesake- to call it a fixer-upper would be a generous assessment. The contrast between the rugged, utilitarian salvage vessel and the pristine interior of the Carpe Diem was very stark. A ramp on a pair of hydraulic arms led upwards into the belly of the vessel- the midsection that appeared to be comprised of a series of symmetrically arranged cargo boxes.

Kiran put her hands on her hips. "It might not look like it, but trust me- everything works. There's a lot that can go wrong in space, so for professionals like us, things tend to skew towards the no-frills. Well- that, and my crew and I have fallen on some hard times as of recent. Well? What d'you think?"

Club Bizarre - Herb Shop (Nemaforte, Horizons, Magistralis)

These otherworldly beings' words were becoming more and more interesting - in fact, when Nemaforte heard them, she thought she could feel a sensation akin to music. It was as if they were (quasi-)living versions of a famous instrument hailing from one of the twilight regions of Orenya, which produced this same elusive "music without sound".^note Said instrument is the latria, the same instrument played by Ferisen in Dream II. However, there was something of a stillness that came about with what the digital being said. The Will of Entropy... Nemaforte had to muster up every last ounce of her sense of logic that she had to understand that one.

And when she did, her ears drooped. "You are meaning you not understand magic? Even if you are a being of infoknowledge?" She smiled, briefly revealing the single fanged tooth exposed in her mouth. Infoknowledge. Use that word more often I must do. Then she looked briefly at the eldamor leaf she ahd levitated around Magistralis before speaking. "But you lately consecrated a leaf. You charged it with magic. I saw it in its aura. Know you not what an aura is either?" She paused, remembering its question. "What I want to know... only thing now is, do you have a name?"^note I believe Magistralis didn't actually introduce themself by name - correct me if I'm wrong.

Then she heard what the One Who Brings Horizons had to say about art. When she mentioned planets, a profound joy filled her mind, and before long she could actually see brief images of planets around her, a sensation of life springing forth from each. And she could feel this creation of life, as a warmth that touched her , like the soft caress of a baby. "When like that you say..." she told Horizons, gazing intently at them and cocking her head to the side, "...seeming you are or know a god. Gods create planets and give them meaning... in legend I heard. You want to create a world where beauty gathers and grows. A multi-worldal garden. It sounds amazing."

She glanced downward at her herbs, the three she had shown Horizons in particular, wondering just how they would fit in such a garden. However, when she did, she saw the outlines of some of them grow fuzzy, while the pink ivy leaves she had shown seemed to float slightly out of their leaves as specters. Her, and no one else, especially if they were more sane and/or sober than she was.

Nebula Lobby 1F (Rebecca, Ryya, Kokoro, Sinistrina)

So Kokoro was from Japan. Sinistrina had certainly heard of Japan, but had never been there herself - in fact, she had mostly thought it to be a smaller, slightly different version of China. At any rate, this armless girl seemed to have been dragged here somehow. I can say the same of myself as well - I was dragged here by the mirror itself, it seems. An amusing thought, mildly so, especially after detecting some equally mild sense of apprehension in her.

Speaking of being dragged here, a boy, apparently of Ryya's species, just then appeared through some sort of portal appearing above them. This really got Sinistrina's attention, especially given the more human-looking boy who was still in the portal had... something off about his soul. She took a brief glance at Rebecca... no, her soul was at least intact, if tainted - his, on the other hand... Meanwhile, the woman carrying this dragon boy didn't seem to have a soul at all, and in fact her appearance looked somehow synthetic... not quite human, not quite mechanical either. And yet not a hybrid of them. As the dragon boy - Conrad - explained, she was apparently his bodyguard.

Sinistrina gave a light bow of her head, and was about to hold out a hand to shake, but retracted it when she remembered how the living usually reacted to the dead - especially if they moved. Suddenly she half-wished she had stopped by the spa first or at least found a pair of gloves. "And I am Sinistrina von Schwarzwald and my familiar here is Anima," she introduced, decidng to repeat the format of his greeting. When she introduced her pet spider, she extended the hand she was about to offer over towards Rebecca. As she did so, her arm cast a curiously conspicuous shadow upon the ground, where a little black tendril sprouted at its tip. The black widow spider who was just now inspecting the strange presence inside Rebecca's chest leapt right onto this tendril, which Sinistrina just now saw as it retracted towards her. Pulling her head back slightly in embarrassment, she retrieved Anima where she sat back in the middle of the web on her staff, falling suddenly lifeless.

Then she looked to Rebecca, who remarked about not having a sense of touch. Here she had to raise an eyebrow (or what was left of one) - especially since this woman as clearly sentient despite being dead, and had a soul, confined to her heart as she could now see. Then again, if she was rotting just like any old corpse would... "You mean you cannot heal yourself? That is unfortunate indeed, considering you had bothered to at least preserve your soul. If you like, I may be able to help you with that."

She pondered for a moment... and as if by coincidence, she caught something out of the corner of her eye... another familiar dark presence. And when she looked up at the source of it, she was even more surprised. Though a bit difficult to see in the crowd, such a fancily-dressed doll stood out quite well once spotted. "Carlotta?"

Unfortunately, the doll had her back turned, but that didn't deter Sinistrina. Moving her hand close to the skull on her staff, she summoned a tiny purple flame out of it, letting it fly out and weave between people's legs until it circled around the doll, turning a pale yellow as it did so. The doll turned around, and as soon as she spotted her, gasped in surprise. But then she shook her head, and as the little flame returned to Sinistrina and its default purple hue, she turned away.

Disheartened, Sinistrina put the flame away and looked over at Ryya and Kokoro, remembering how they asked where she was from. She paused before answering, as if considering how to word the response. "I am from Solevaille, a independent little town nestled in the Alps. Although I have not been there, or anywhere else in the world of the living, for a long while - thus making this place even more surreal to me." She gazed around a bit more, and finally spotted the info desk she was going to head for in the first place. "Have any of you checked at the info desk yet? Because if not, I propose we take care of matters there and then go someplace a bit less crowded."

Nebula Lobby 1F (Carlotta, Ray)

Because Carlotta's static face was incapable of scowling, she instead stared up at Ray. "Of course magic is real! Without it, I wouldn't exist! And neither would you, if a soul counts as magic. But isn't physics the study of how things move? Wouldn't the two go hand in hand, like fire and..."

Funny how she said "fire", for just then she felt a chill down her spineless back, and a second later, a tiny yellow flame moved in front of her. Thinking this rather odd, she followed the flame with her eyes, until she was looking back in the direction of the group she had said she was going to return to. By then, three new people had joined said group, but it was the witch who really grabbed her attention, and she clasped her hand over her mouth in shock at the sight of her. Sinistrina?! But... but how'd she get out of the Deathly Glade? Suddenly she felt very uneasy, prompting her to incredulously shake her head before turning back to face Ray, remembering how he was asking what she was looking for.

"I'm looking for a way out of here. Um..." She remembered when she had first arrived aboard this ship with the rest of the court of Solevaille and while everyone else was unpacking their things in their room, she was looking at an info booklet on places of interest aboard the ship. Now she tried to recall the places that interested her... not that that helped, as she couldn't decide yet. But then she remembered the part about Ray being an engineer. "Is the Pride of Rust a ship?" She snickered. "Unless you'd like to show me, perhaps one of the upper decks?"

Sickbay (Rolph; Max and Cecilia; Tigris; Gabriel and Anna; Minerva)

"Would you believe if I said that I willed it?" Cecilia begins to roll the tissue sample on the desk between her long fingers. "I told you earlier, my powers come from Sophia. Although now that she's not here, I don't really know where they come from. My knowledge of how the Universe works seems obsolete now."

Hearing Gabriel's cry for help, Bergmann turns her head in the direction of those four and smirks.

"Let's update it a little, shall we?" With Max shadowing her, she approaches Gabriel, and tells him: "Your friend seems to be in desperate need of medical help. I can provide it. But I'm not of the Liner's medical staff, so my services will come for a price."

Cecilia's pale eyes go wide as she notices Gabe's arm covered in something pitch black, that looks like a charred bone. She smiles smugly.

"In your case, the price would be a pound of your flesh. Or, rather, your bone."

"Not this again," says Max. "Bergmann, you take the fifth tenet too seriously."

Holodeck 2(Glitch; Robin)

"Um..." Robin hesitates for a moment. "Let's see... I want to visit a tropical beach."

"Scenario accepted," spell out the letters in the center of the room, and the room turns into a hot oceanic beach with white sand. Also completely empty, no people, and no infrastructure associated with public beaches. Van Segher looks around, shielding her eyes from the sun, her cocktail dress fluttering in the breeze.

"It's more fun when there are people around. Now your turn, add something to this," says she to Glitch.

Club Bizarre (Discoverer of Subversions; Iragan)

Yes, we can!

So, I'll go in. See... uh... if it's safe.

Huh. I half expected you to say "Ladies first". Go ahead, and I'll sit here and... narrate, I guess...

So, our brave hero Iragan reaches towards the man who opened the door. There's a bright flash, the man's armor illuminates... and a skinny, stark naked old man erupts from the breastplate of the armor. The old man lands face-first on the floor. His long, disheveled hair and beard are completely white.

Now, why I'm not surprised that you took this form, huh, Iragan?

Iragan raises to his knees, and looks around, breathing frantically. When he sees the man who saved him, or, his armor, to be precise, he says:

"Fuuuuck, out of all things!"

Yes. Good job taking a piece of clothing as your soul anchor, Ira. I think I'll stay here for a while, good sir. I don't want to share an enclosed space with him again.

edited 30th Mar '17 9:03:29 AM by Millership

Club Bizarre- Well now, this is interesting...

Though his helmet doesn't incline downwards, the Discoverer does indeed notice the man before him. Slowly waving his right hand over the old man, golden threading spins to life as it knits into a robe for the man. Clicking his fingers together, a blue clock-like aesthetic weaves itself into the robe. With the hood really the only part not significantly altered just then, Discoverer holds out his right hand- Upwards and close to him, fingers curling as he telekinetically sets the man on his own feet.

Glancing back into the doorway in reality, the Discoverer pushed it rather lazily to close it. The 'door' nonetheless making an audible click, the Discoverer talks to both of the mysterious entities. "I can't let you use my armor indefinitely, so is there perhaps a preference you'll have for a soul anchor?"

Summoning a glass with his right and hovering it over to Iragan, a clear liquid fills the glass as it does so. The Discoverer of Subversions looking over in Nemaforte's direction, the armored man nonetheless speaks to Iragan. "Drink that, and it should deal with your body's immediate issues. Think of it as instantaneous peak performance in a cup, really."

His eyes calculating under that mask of his, the Discoverer thinks towards Iragan and his companion. "Are the two of you capable of omniscience, least in some form? I'm not entirely certain if that woman over there is from Orenya, so confirmation would be helpful. In addition, is there a girl named Ayako here somewhere? Looks ten, is actually fifteen, currently asleep? If you could locate anyone who knows her here, then that'll also be helpful."

Sickbay (Rolph; Max and Cecilia; Tigris; Gabriel and Anna; Minerva)

"She hasn't told you how your abilities work?" Rolph asked, even more intrigued than before. This would definitely warrant some further study. "Willed" it? He skimmed through the readings on his holograph, but couldn't make much sense of them. Everything looked suspiciously normal.

While following Cecilia towards the Humans at the other end of the sickbay, Rolph's eyes darted across the room, searching for any sign of the mysteriously absent medical staff.

"Shouldn't there be a doctor here? I've heard that parts of the ship are abandoned, but I wouldn't expect the sickbay to..." After nearly bumping into the Human with the strange bone plating, Rolph refocused on what was in front of him again. "Oh, sorry. I'm Rolph." He glanced down at the frail-looking, younger Human on the hospital bed. "Your... sister, perhaps?" he asked. Upon closer inspection, they didn't really look that similar to each other, but his knowledge of Human biology was still somewhat limited. "What happened to her, if you don't mind me asking?"

Holodeck 2 (Glitch; Robin)

Glitch set off on a quick flight around the beach, scanning the sand and water as it appeared, before returning to Robin.

"Let's see," the drone replied, before looking up at the "sky". "Holodeck, add some people. Perhaps the natives of the place this is based on?"

After a short delay, about fifty or so beings flickered into existence on the beach. Some kind of strangely humanoid amphibians judging by their appearance, with bright purple skin, flattened tentacle-like growths on their heads, and very long webbed fingers. Most were swimming in the ocean, relaxing on beach chairs, or roasting some kind of fish over a campfire. At least a few of them noticed Glitch and Robin and waved at them.

edited 30th Mar '17 10:53:56 AM by Corvidae

[[Sickbay: Tigris, Gabriel, Anna, Minerva, Max, Cecilia, Rolph]]

Tigris had opened her mouth several times to speak, and still her mind swam with both the answers to Gabriel’s questions and the apprehension at trying to decide how many of the specifics were necessary here – particularly those concerning Hashine. Why had she even mentioned her? Tigris hadn’t expected him to take off on something as mundane as that, and elaborating on why she no longer saw her half-sister would be all kinds of distressing for everyone.

And as for the rest of his questions – well, they would each take a fair amount of explanation, and she was not sure she could go through all of them without annoying everyone else, or without losing Gabriel's attention to Minerva. He'd seemed to enjoy that hug, hadn't he?

But before she could begin to elaborate, a few new figures approached Anna’s bed. Tigris brushed a few stray blonde hairs out of her face, examining the three who had just arrived.

The first was the most striking, and for half a second, she experienced a rush of adrenaline from the unusual sight. It was what appeared to be an overgrown praying mantis, its eyes enlarged and staring; its mandibles working with absent clicks and smacks. It wore a black bodysuit and a red tunic, and an advanced-looking band covered one of its arms. The insectoid collided with Gabriel, but once it apologized and showed concern for Anna, Tigris relaxed again, guilt creeping in at having been so paranoid.

The next was a tattooed, muscular man in a black shirt and white trousers, his face starting to show signs of age. His persistent scowl was off-putting, to say the least. Beside him was a somewhat cold, severe-looking middle-aged woman with glasses, her brown hair cut in a neat bob. She was slyly offering some sort of magical or arcane healing for Anna…at the price of Gabriel’s flesh?

Tigris was not a judgmental person – far from it, in fact – but to her, the two of them reeked of deceit and predation.

“There already is a doctor here,” Tigris said, eyeing the newcomers suspiciously. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

She turned back to Gabriel and Anna. “Unless their help is what you want,” she said cautiously. “But be careful. It’s a basic tenet of magic that you don’t interfere with any sentient biology that you don’t thoroughly understand, and we’re all from different universes.”

edited 31st Mar '17 8:35:40 AM by BrainSewage