Odysseus: Sailing Embers. (IC Open)

[Orangi]

ODYSSEUS COMMAND TOWER ROOM 20-A

"And that's all the recording shows, sir."

"Is it?"

"Yes. Just this image."

"So what do we make of this... spire?"

The spire sat there, gleaming, pulsing above a graveyard of buildings, a single golden light pulsing above as though it were watching.

"Don't know. Estimates put it at twice the mass of our ship."

"Given we know how big it is. Which we don't."

"We could send a scouting party."

"Belay that. We do need to find out what in god's name this thing is, and how it's involved in the destruction of Cereis... At the same time, we have over twenty thousand civilians to placate."

"You think today's events will do that?"

"Yes. For some time, I think. In the mean time, we need to get to the bottom of the occurrence yesterday."

"Right. I'll get in contact with him."

"See to it."

[Ceffyltir]

Hash browns, buttered toast, and coffee. For the first time, it almost seemed like a normal breakfast. She couldn't count the number of times she ate this back home. The smell brought a small, nostalgic smile to her face as she picked up the tray and left the line.

Silver sat herself at the table, nodding toward Jonathan, Bentu, and Marran. The strong, greasy, conflicting scent of bacon and sausage hit her almost instantaneously, causing her to wrinkle her muzzle. She still hadn't become fully accustomed to cooked meats, but if that was what other creatures liked to eat, she couldn't judge.

[Orangi]

"Looks good." Marran said, finishing off the biscuit he was eating. "Gotta' ask, Silver. With that leg of yours. You alright for track or other athletic stuff? No offense, just concerned." Marran said, a memory flashing back to an old friend for a brief moment. He'd run into leg rehab before, some of its trials. Not personally, but he'd observed them. Cybernetic ones were hard enough to deal with at first. He couldn't imagine the issues with one that was clearly a prosthetic only.

[Ceffyltir]

"This old thing?" Silver responded, lifting her metallic leg from under the table. "I rarely have any trouble with it. It isn't quite as strong as the leg it was meant to replace, but it's just as quick and can take enough punishment to do its job. It's much more capable than it looks."

Memories of the trials and hardships she and her friends endured shortly after losing the leg to begin with briefly flashed in her mind, making her give the limb a second glance.

Much more.

[Orangi]

Marran nodded. "Alright. I'll be honest. I'm interested in seeing how that works out."

Marran noticed the time in his retinal display. 0720. "Just about time to head on over to Hangar 3. Apparently that's where they're holding the fitness stuff."

[The Floor Kippers]

Jonathan finished his breakfast and lay down his cutlery.

"I have the aweful feeling that we're going to spend today walking between metal boxes in a variety of different sizes," He said, rising from his seat.

[Quidomne]

Rivette wandered into the mess hall, eyes half closed, in a sleepy stupor. She got her breakfast of toast, hash browns, coffee (the lifeblood of a late-night worker such as herself), and some water to rehydrate.

She walked towards the tables, levitating tray half a hoof from her chest, and saw the Cat, the talky guy, the ambassador...and Silver.

Her face began to grow hot, but she cut herself off mid-blush, which is apparently possible.

"No," she thought. "I don't need this right now. I need a break from her for while. I can do it. I'll survive."

She sat two tables behind them, Silver in clear view.

Close enough.

"Heh heh..." she muttered. "Swishy tail..."

She slurped her much-needed coffee.

[Cevalo Nacio]

Hathor found her way into the mess hall, having spent the past several days primarily hidden in her room, emerging only for meals. This time however, she would make an attempt at socialization.

Still, this was going to be horribly difficult.Why had all of this happened? For years, her people with the guidance of the gods had survived hardship, after hardship, the confederated tribes always united by thir love and always persevering. Her great culture was responsible for the finest temples on the planet, and an army that held off even the most ravenous imperialists. Her's was a people who filled her heart with pride to be High Priestess and the gods emisarry for, and now they had all ascended to the spiritual plane...

But why not her? This question confounded her further. The gods allowed the entire world to be swallowed into the abyss, and all of their children to die but she was to be alive, a woman without a country, trapped in the hollow body of the godless ones beast. Had she been too materialistic and selfish, indulging herself in purple corn gathered from the mountains and failing to pay the gods enough mind, angering them so? She had never been so confused.

She gathered her coffee and buttered toast. The food seemed near exotic to her, very, very different from Taurian cuisine and grabbed a seat next to Silver and attempted to start a conversation. "Hello there, what brings you here?" she said, her speaking Silvers language came out clear but not natural sounding

[Ceffyltir]

Silver turned toward the strange woman mid-bite and nearly fell over upon making eye contact, her pupils the size of pinheads.

Is that... a Tauran? Living and breathing? I've only read about them in books about war or the early history of Cereis... How fascinating! They're even larger than I thought...

"Um... Hello." she said. She paused, caught off guard for a multitude of reasons - one of which being question she was confronted with. "Oh, you know, the deaths of my home and family, like everyone else. I can't imagine why anyone would live on this piece of space junk by choice."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Well... That certainly sounded much darker than intended...

[Orangi]

"Well geez Silver. Don't lay it on thick or anything." Marran said, finishing off his meal. He'd taken notice to the new individual who sat at the table. He had absolutely no idea what to think of it yet. At a loss of what to do he simply waved, hoping it would illicit a decent response.

And that it didn't just so happen to be a rude gesture, or something.

[Cevalo Nacio]

"Apologies, Cierian is not my first tongue" she started, a bit embarassed. She had failed miserably in her first attempt at conversation and was troubled, realizing just how much there was to grasp. None of these strangers would be able to discuss how the weeks scarifices had gone, would be incapable of appreciating a session of smoking Qeert (Mildly stimulating plant that gros in the Taurian valley, essentially like smokable coffee) and most of the passengers would be unaware of the stories of her people, the only outsiders that ever came to her lands were archaeologists, occasional traders and other empires making futile attempts at imperial agression.

Once this woman had an entire race of people bowing before her, but now she was a complete outsider.

However, the frustrating aspect of the situation was a universal and after recoiling from the awkwardness, she smiled a bit at her frustration finally being expressed by somebody else. She said "and the food is awful here too, I would not give this coffee to a captured imperialist!" with a chuckle

[The Floor Kippers]

"If I had the supplies I'd rustle you up some traditional Taurian Cuisine," Jonathan chimed in, "But, as mentioned I lack the supplies, and the kitchenware to carry out that task."

He held out a hand for Hathor to shake.

"Jonathan Smedley," He said, trying to take a more friendly approach than Silver had taken, "Graduated Artisan of the Culinary Arts, but outside the fancy title on my degree, I'm a catering assistant. I also share your sentiments on the food."

[Slorch]

"Apologies, Cierian is not my first tongue" she started, a bit embarassed. She had failed miserably in her first attempt at conversation and was troubled, realizing just how much there was to grasp. None of these strangers would be able to discuss how the weeks scarifices had gone, would be incapable of appreciating a session of smoking Qeert (Mildly stimulating plant that gros in the Taurian valley, essentially like smokable coffee) and most of the passengers would be unaware of the stories of her people, the only outsiders that ever came to her lands were archaeologists, occasional traders and other empires making futile attempts at imperial agression.

Once this woman had an entire race of people bowing before her, but now she was a complete outsider.

However, the frustrating aspect of the situation was a universal and after recoiling from the awkwardness, she smiled a bit at her frustration finally being expressed by somebody else. She said "and the food is awful here too, I would not give this coffee to a captured imperialist!" with a chuckle

Bentu chuckled at the comment about the coffee. She was right the normal ship board coffee was awful. Looking down at his own he thought 'Some times it's good to be higher up on the hierarchy.' "No real need for apologies. The nuances of different languages can be confusing sometimes. I am Por'O Dal'yth Shovah Bentu Ko'vash. Rather long name I know, so most just call me Ambassador Bentu." replied Bentu. Now asking a question of his own, "So, what brings you to our little corner of the cafeteria?"

[Orangi]

"The food is awful? What are you talking about- this bacon stuff is the food of gods..!" Marran said, a clawed hand hovering over his plate, only realizing after his enthusiastic outburst that none was left. "Maybe too good." He resigned with a frown, wishing he had more of the sweet, sweet pork strips. Whatever pork was. Curious, he searched what it was on his tablet.

'Oh GODS.' Marran thought, eyes glancing towards the Taurian and back to his blank screen. And they continued to shift back and forth, until he closed the window on his screen.

'I'll grant that this Taurian looks better than what it might be related to, as does Silver to the Horse, and myself to cats. But why do these horrible four legged bastardizations of ourselves exist? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS REALITY!?' he thought, panicking internally. He then remembered searching about humans and reading their relation time pry mates, or something else. He questioned why the less sophisticated variants of these creatures, from horse to monkey, looked so wrong.

"So, what brings you to our little corner of the cafeteria?"

Marran couldn't help but wonder the same thing. This individual was definitely more on the status of Bentu, but decided- much like him oddly, to come see the common rabble. Though he couldn't make many assumptions. He didn't really know why this individual was here or really what they actually were.

[Cevalo Nacio]

Pleased by the genial behavior of Smedley and Bentu, Hathor eased up a bit and chuckled. "Nothing in particular, just a desire to understand who I am going to be spending the rest of my life with." she said, looking around the cafeteria. Hathor was a bit disgusted by the way the bacon was consumed so quickly but hid it under a well meaning smile. There was a big cultural gap to worry about, she had only heard of other races that consumed animals but had never actually seen it done

[Ceffyltir]

Pleased by the genial behavior of Smedley and Bentu, Hathor eased up a bit and chuckled. "Nothing in particular, just a desire to understand who I am going to be spending the rest of my life with."

Those words echoed through Silver's mind, causing her to momentarily stop eating once more.

The rest of my life...

Until now, she hadn't really considered that she may be on the Odysseus until she met with death. Not that she didn't know it was a possibility - she had simply refused to acknowledge it as such because, frankly, it was a terrifying prospect. To know that she could spend every waking hour left staring at these artificial lights and colorless walls made her feel like she had committed the ultimate crime and had been sentenced to life in prison, not rescued from certain destruction. In some ways, the Odysseus was worse than death.

Realistically speaking, though, there had to be other civilized planets out there that would be willing to accept a shipload of homeless souls. Cereis was a hub world - a sort of mixed bag of races and cultures from all over the galaxy; and almost all of them were from different solar systems. There had to be more within the ship's reach.

At least, she hoped so. Maybe she could help, in some small way...

"Maybe you won't have to."

[Orangi]

"Much as I like ships,

"Nothing in particular, just a desire to understand who I am going to be spending the rest of my life with."

"Well. That's one way to look at it for sure. I hope we're not stuck on this thing for the rest of our lives. But if we are, you're right. In which case, Marran Varri- former Chief Engineer aboard a gunship." He said, giving a lazy salute to show casual respect. He'd hoped what he said next would be true- it was a leap of faith for sure. "These are my friends, Silver, Bentu, Jonathan..." Marran said, leaning over and eyeing the rather stressed out looking pony. "And I think that one, Rivette? Could qualify too. Second time we've run into each other, so I guess we're a group of sorts. I'd be happy to see someone else join us." Marran said, leaning back a bit and sighing.

"I think it's a good idea to consider us a group anyway. Out of all of us, Bentu's the only one who's got any clue what we can expect to see in this ship, people-wise. Best to stick together with people you know, right?"

[Quidomne]

"Oh," she thought. "Bull lady. Cool."

Rivette continued to munch on her moderate provisions. They were talking about something. Probably just introductions. Trivial formalities. Boring. Toast is good.

The catman glanced at her, and looked back. She stopped chewing, her pink eyes widening.

"Shit! They must be talking about me!"

She panicked. What should she do? Go over there? Stay put? Yes?! No?!

"GAAAH!"

She stewed in nervous indecision as they continued.

[The Floor Kippers]

"Weren't we all about to go and get some exercise?" Jonathan asked the group, looking around as he did so, "I'm raring to go, and I must admit a slight curiosity in seeing just how you move Marran. No doubt it'll be somewhat more refined than the bumbling motion of we ascended apes, but then felines are always more...graceful than humans."

[Orangi]

Marran raised an eyebrow at Jonathan. He glanced at Smedley's leg structure, and then his own briefly. He then remembered how Tarassi were essentially the fastest-running race in the United Republic.

"I suppose it'd be interesting to watch. Might be a Chief Engineer but damn if I didn't run like the wind." Marran said, the clock in his optics clicking as the hour turned.

"Jonathan's right. It's time, and..." He glanced to the guards strewn about the cafeteria "...I get the feeling we should get moving or we'll get moved." He said as he took the remains of his dish and put it in the garbage chute. He took his tablet out of his pocket and checked the map. "Hangar 2. You guys ready to go?" He said, limbering up his neck in preparation for any potential physical activity. He was curious about what was in store for such a wide variety of aliens.

He was also curious about Jonathan's directed interest.

[Slorch]

Marran raised an eyebrow at Jonathan. He glanced at Smedley's leg structure, and then his own briefly. He then remembered how Tarassi were essentially the fastest-running race in the United Republic.

"I suppose it'd be interesting to watch. Might be a Chief Engineer but damn if I didn't run like the wind." Marran said, the clock in his optics clicking as the hour turned.

"Jonathan's right. It's time, and..." He glanced to the guards strewn about the cafeteria "...I get the feeling we should get moving or we'll get moved." He said as he took the remains of his dish and put it in the garbage chute. He took his tablet out of his pocket and checked the map. "Hangar 2. You guys ready to go?" He said, limbering up his neck in preparation for any potential physical activity. He was curious about what was in store for such a wide variety of aliens.

He was also curious about Jonathan's directed interest.

Bentu looked at his own time keeping device and saw that it was indeed time too go. So he got up with his tray and followed Marran to dump his trash. "You're right about getting moved out of here." He replied to Marran. Bentu stretched his back a bit and said "Yes, I'm ready."

[Orangi]

The group followed Marran's lead to the hangar. They walked on, seeing men and women of various races and roles going about their business. Military, police, civilians, everything shuffling to and fro. To the point it needed appointed Sapient-traffic directors. Following the traffic, passing by the tramlines and stopping at the gates, the group saw in front of them, a massive hangar- far more monitored and organized than where they lived. Tracks, gyms, everything. Instructors were floating by on small platforms to their destinations, directing flocks of people to particular areas.

"You, group A-6! To the track, double time!" A bright voice bellowed from above. Marran glanced up to see a slim figure with hair obscuring her face as it hung past her shoulders.

But there was more to this hangar. There were walled off zones, people guarding them. "Reserved" zones.

Marran had never seen anything quite like it. It was half frightening, half amazing. Yet there was also some odd beauty to it. That the organization of military and civilian life could come together fairly well. At least to him that's how it seemed. Things flying around, people doing their appointed duties and tasks, there was a rhythm to it, it was clockwork.

It was things like this, that made him sign up for The Orranian Navy.

Yet oddly enough there was no uniformity among the people. They were all so vastly different. It put a tone on the things he was used to in this situation.

A tone he found himself oddly fond of.

"Helen Phillips, Odysseus PT instructor. You'll be running for ten minutes. Not straight, if you can't. After that you're lifting weights, and after that, basic PT. Thirty minutes. Row one, take your places! You there, hold up your ID!" She shouted, pointing at Marran. He did so, and his face came up on her screen.

"Marran Varri. Take row one- those beside you, and get to your places." She said as she lowered her platform to ground level. It locked down onto the ground, opened up and she stepped out- finally allowing a look at her. She had grey hair, probably dyed, was light skinned, looked to be in her 30s and wore a grey jumpsuit. She stepped onto the closest row, and readied herself.

"We lead by example here. I'll be running with you all. Run until you're tired. Ready?"

Marran nodded, finding this all very reminiscent to his time in basic.

"Go!"

[The Floor Kippers]

Marran would hear Jonathan's footsteps not too far behind him as he ran, controlling his breathing as he did.
Jonathan let himself go back to his carefree university days, running along the beautiful shores of Phaelaf, Jalbraxia's main continent.
He thought back to the golden sand beneath his feet and the deep purple sky lit up as the twin suns, Varanis and Omega mysteria, set over the dark blue oceans as strange birds wheeled in the skies above him, crying out to each other.
A sly smile crossed his face as he remembered some of the things he had got up to besides running on those shores with some of the locals, who were more appreciative of the attention of an offworlder.

[Slorch]

Bentu was some where near the end of the pack. He was considered relatively fit by Tau standards due to having work as a military corespondent in his earlier years. But Tau physiology was relatively weaker then the average human; which led to them being somewhat slower. Running around like this reminded him of the time when he had been working as an embedded journalist. It also gave him way too much time to think.

[Orangi]

Marran took off from the line at a fairly brisk pace. He knew not to waste all of his energy right off the bat. Even so, it was almost natural for him to try and do so. He looked to his right and saw Smedley keeping up with him fairly well.

"Not bad..! Didn't expect a civilian cook to be able to run ten seconds without dying!" He said, giving Jonathan a playful shove, though not one large enough to knock him off course. "So how about talking?" he continued, having no issue moving and speaking at the same time. Feeling somewhat cocky, unable to see behind him, he changed his gait to rotate and move backwards to see where everyone else was. In the brief period he ran backwards, saw most keeping pace, much to his surprise, even Silver- something that with her prosthetic leg, he didn't expect in the slightest. Before turning, he saw bentu lagging behind everyone else he knew. He openly chuckled and turned back around to face forward.

"Damn impressive back there Silver- you holdin' up alright?" He bellowed back to his short compatriot.

'How in the depths is she doing that? What in the world is that leg made of and how is it working?' Marran thought, puzzled. He would want to get a closer look at that thing later, as it absolutely baffled him. Surely she knew?

"So you're seeing me run now Jon, is it everything you expected?" Marran said with a half joking, half cocky grin. "Because if I didn't know any better..." Marran stated with an implicative eyebrow raised.