Brave New Tomorrow[IC/Sci-Fi/Invite Only]

[Doughertania]

OOC/Theme Song

---

Brave New Tomorrow

Five years from this very day, the CoC and the Khugons were locked in a pitched conflict lasting nearly a decade. The situation initially looked dire, with a surprise attack by the Khugons decimating border fortification and the CoC fleet stationed there. This was soon followed with further incursions, marking a slow but steady advance towards Cordovia. This could have marked the end of the CoC, if it weren't for the action of a small band of covert operatives which were able to plant an AI aboard the Khugon flagship. The AI began sending back the coordinates of the Khugon fleet, as well as their next objectives. Thanks to this, the CoC staged an ambush against the Khugons as they used the hyperspace lanes on Valinor Prime. Using the Immobilizer Defense System, the enemy fleet was ripped out of space, directly into a field of EMP mines. This, combined with the full might of the CoC navy left the Khugon fleet absolutes decimated. Knowing what the cost of a counter assault would be grievous on the CoC's resources, Grand Magistrate Orum offered a peace treaty with the Overempress, who reluctantly agreed, having no fleet in the area to press the assault.

Seeing how close the CoC came to destruction, Grand Magistrate Orum has redoubled his efforts on colonization, a program he had started long before the Khugon conflict. Currently, Orum faces criticism about the initiative, with some arguing that the money would be better spent elsewhere. In an attempt to help boost public support, he has authorized the creation of the Trailblazer, the greatest capital ship ever created in the history of the CoC. It's mission is to help protect the colonies, as well as discover the great unknown in the name of the CoC. Because so much is riding on this mission, Orum picked the captain personally, and allowed only the best and brightest to make up the officer corps. Now, outfitted with the best the CoC has to offer, the Trailblazer boldly sets forth to uncharted start systems in search of new worlds, new civilizations, and hopefully new resources.

We join our heroes after roughly a month of their journey has begun. They have performed a few missions thus far, however these have only been basic patrols and supply drops on some nearby colonies. The Trailblazer is presently orbiting Vortan, a planet of the Magnetar system. This planet contains the only CoC colony in the system, with the other four worlds left undiscovered by the CoC. Currently, an away team has been sent to deliver a satellite uplink to the fledgling territory. Once this mission is complete, the Trailblazer will be underway once more.

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Medical Bay, Director-Surgeon's Office

Dah-tuk.

Dah-tuk.

Dah-tuk.

A blue, rubber ball bounced on the floor, hit the wall, and then flew back to the red hand that threw it. The stress reliever made the rotation a few more times, each with its distinctive sound ringing dully through the office of the Director-Surgeon. The Trailblazer was a great ship, but it was obvious that it was meant more for civilian exploration than military exercises. Carpet was in the halls, the walls were painted creamy and soothing colors, useful computers were embedded in the walls to help people find their way around the massive ship; all in all, it was smooth, relaxing, and it created a peaceful atmosphere that was completely wrong for the vessel. It should have been dark, cramped, stuffed with weaponry, and constantly prepared to battle something should it come out of the deep darkness of space with the intent to do harm. Of course, the only reason the Director-Surgeon didn't like was because everything seemed to be circular, and circles were not conducive to his OCD.

Temujin caught the blue ball one last time and then set it neatly and precisely on his desk. The khugon then sighed and stood up, stretching upwards with his arms out. Alright then, time to go to my quarters, and get some relaxi-

"Mister... Mr. Director-Surgeon, sir?" a male nurse said, the sound of rushing wind from the opening doors behind him almost drowning him out. He spoke quietly around Temujin, mostly because the nurse was scared of the red-skinned devil... Or at least, that was what he called his boss behind his back.

Khan looked over at the nurse with a bored, raised eyebrow. "Yes, Mr. Nagoya?" he asked turning to face him.

"Ah, well, sir, Mrs. Tresia came by just now with her son, complaining about her son's cough and runny nose, but when we told her it was nothing but a cold, she refused to accept the diagnosis and demanded to see, well, you sir..."

"I assume she's new on board, Mr. Nagoya?" Khan replied, picking up his white lab coat and throwing it over his uniform.

Nagoya nodded, backing out the door to let Temujin out. "Yes, sir... She doesn't know that you're a, ah, well..."

"A khugon?"

"Yes, sir."

Temujin sighed in derision and shook his head. "Thank you, Mr. Nagoya. You may leave and go do whatever you do after work now." he said to the mad, brushing past him with the coat swishing. Mrs. Tresia was sitting in a room with an open door, constantly swiping at her son's nose worriedly, while her son seemed resigned to his annoying fate. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Tresia. I am Dr. Khan, yes, I'm a khugon, and yes, I'm a better doctor than everyone else on this ship."

Mrs. Tresia stopped mid breath to scream, overwhelmed for a second by how calm and slightly annoyed Temujin seemed to be. A doctor acting annoyed with a patient was so strange that it almost overrode her surprise and fear at seeing a khugon. Temujin took the opportunity to sit on the rolling stool in the room, took out a tongue compressor, offered it to the son, who opened his mouth willingly, and looked in it. "Absolutely nothing, wrong there. Any pain in your ears, Mr. Tresia?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Scratchy eyes, sneeze a lot, runny nose, and tickley throat?"

"Yes, sir."

"You have allergies. Must be the some plants in the hydroponics section. I'll get you some allergy medication, you can go back to your room, play with your friends, and the only difference is that you have to take a pill in the morning so you stop looking like a mess. That sound do-able to you, Mr. Tresia?" Temujin asked, tilting his head and looking at the boy with an emotionless expression.

The boy nodded his acceptance, prompting Khan to stand up and attempt to leave.

"Excuse me, Mr. Alien Doctor, sir?"

"Yes, Mr. Tresia?"

"Are you a robot?"

Khan sighed and stood in the doorway, frowning at the boy. "No, Mr. Tresia, I am not a robot. I'm just slightly annoyed at your mother for requesting me specifically when another doctor that wasn't Mr. Nagoya would have done just fine."

"My mom annoys you, Mr. Alien?"

"She does."

"It's okay, she annoys me too!" the boy said, smiling and stopping his mother talking again. "Is there medication for that?"

"Sadly, no, Mr. Tresia. Now, have a good day."

With that, Khan was finally able to leave the room, go back to his office, put his coat on the chair, and then leave med bay. He sighed and stretched outside the door, closing his eyes with a groan happily. Oblivious to anyone else coming toward him.

[Castle Crashers]

For the past few hours, Sylvia had been spending most if not all of her time in comms, sending and receiving data and information from the CoC. This was standard and consisted of most of her days, which could honestly grow boring, especially to someone with a short attention span like she did. Regardless, she still worked her hardest and her best, and now she was released from her duties for the evening unless told otherwise. If they needed her, they had plenty of ways to reach her. For the time being, she was spending her time wandering, seeing as she rarely had time to explore the ship in its entirety. Today, though, she decided was an exception.

With no real goal destination, the neko simply drifted from hall to hall, observing all the different areas of both recreation and non-recreation with newfound interest. Her cabin was not very far from where she did her duties, which meant she only really circulated around the one area rather than scrambling across the whole ship to get from place to place. The thought of seeing and meeting all kinds of new people really did excite her.

As she continued on, she noticed that quite a number of the individuals she passed drifted to the opposite side of the hallway as she passed. They didn't exactly smile for her as they passed, either. Weird, I don't recall them ever doing that before... She thought, but it soon crossed her mind that she'd also never really been in this area before, either. Oh...that's right...

As she got lost in her troubled thoughts, though, she paid very little attention as to where she was wandering. As such, she veered a little off course and ran smack into someone. Of course this snapped her from her thoughts, her eyes widening in panic as she realized she hadn't just run into a plant or something, but an actual person. "Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I guess I got a little sidetracked...oh, I'm so sorry...are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? Oh, I really should be more careful...I'm so sorry..." She rattled off, knowing well that many would have a very negative reaction to such an event.

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

For the past few hours, Sylvia had been spending most if not all of her time in comms, sending and receiving data and information from the CoC. This was standard and consisted of most of her days, which could honestly grow boring, especially to someone with a short attention span like she did. Regardless, she still worked her hardest and her best, and now she was released from her duties for the evening unless told otherwise. If they needed her, they had plenty of ways to reach her. For the time being, she was spending her time wandering, seeing as she rarely had time to explore the ship in its entirety. Today, though, she decided was an exception.

With no real goal destination, the neko simply drifted from hall to hall, observing all the different areas of both recreation and non-recreation with newfound interest. Her cabin was not very far from where she did her duties, which meant she only really circulated around the one area rather than scrambling across the whole ship to get from place to place. The thought of seeing and meeting all kinds of new people really did excite her.

As she continued on, she noticed that quite a number of the individuals she passed drifted to the opposite side of the hallway as she passed. They didn't exactly smile for her as they passed, either. Weird, I don't recall them ever doing that before... She thought, but it soon crossed her mind that she'd also never really been in this area before, either. Oh...that's right...

As she got lost in her troubled thoughts, though, she paid very little attention as to where she was wandering. As such, she veered a little off course and ran smack into someone. Of course this snapped her from her thoughts, her eyes widening in panic as she realized she hadn't just run into a plant or something, but an actual person. "Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I guess I got a little sidetracked...oh, I'm so sorry...are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? Oh, I really should be more careful...I'm so sorry..." She rattled off, knowing well that many would have a very negative reaction to such an event.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Khan blinked when someone suddenly ran into him, and moved to catch their shoulders so that they wouldn't fall. He also moved his feet apart so that he himself wouldn't come off balance. When the interesting animal-human mix started speaking, the khugon tilted his head and simply took a few looks over her body. It wasn't in a sexual way, in fact, it was far from it. He was examining her in a biological way, and as soon as Sylvia was done apologizing, Khan said "Yes, yes, I'm fine... What race are you from?"

He quickly measured her ears with a finger and then moved to look at her behind for a tail that he could possibly measure as well.

[Castle Crashers]

For the past few hours, Sylvia had been spending most if not all of her time in comms, sending and receiving data and information from the CoC. This was standard and consisted of most of her days, which could honestly grow boring, especially to someone with a short attention span like she did. Regardless, she still worked her hardest and her best, and now she was released from her duties for the evening unless told otherwise. If they needed her, they had plenty of ways to reach her. For the time being, she was spending her time wandering, seeing as she rarely had time to explore the ship in its entirety. Today, though, she decided was an exception.

With no real goal destination, the neko simply drifted from hall to hall, observing all the different areas of both recreation and non-recreation with newfound interest. Her cabin was not very far from where she did her duties, which meant she only really circulated around the one area rather than scrambling across the whole ship to get from place to place. The thought of seeing and meeting all kinds of new people really did excite her.

As she continued on, she noticed that quite a number of the individuals she passed drifted to the opposite side of the hallway as she passed. They didn't exactly smile for her as they passed, either. Weird, I don't recall them ever doing that before... She thought, but it soon crossed her mind that she'd also never really been in this area before, either. Oh...that's right...

As she got lost in her troubled thoughts, though, she paid very little attention as to where she was wandering. As such, she veered a little off course and ran smack into someone. Of course this snapped her from her thoughts, her eyes widening in panic as she realized she hadn't just run into a plant or something, but an actual person. "Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I guess I got a little sidetracked...oh, I'm so sorry...are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? Oh, I really should be more careful...I'm so sorry..." She rattled off, knowing well that many would have a very negative reaction to such an event.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Khan blinked when someone suddenly ran into him, and moved to catch their shoulders so that they wouldn't fall. He also moved his feet apart so that he himself wouldn't come off balance. When the interesting animal-human mix started speaking, the khugon tilted his head and simply took a few looks over her body. It wasn't in a sexual way, in fact, it was far from it. He was examining her in a biological way, and as soon as Sylvia was done apologizing, Khan said "Yes, yes, I'm fine... What race are you from?"

He quickly measured her ears with a finger and then moved to look at her behind for a tail that he could possibly measure as well.

She blinked, a bit confused as he examined her. "I'm from the Commonwealth, but my race is a breed between human and feline...I don't think it has a name yet...besides an identification number or something, I guess..." She answered, a bit unsure as to why he'd taken such an interest in her species. Most people already recognized her kind seeing as their released had been televised across the Commonwealth, she would've imagined a lot of people had watched...seeing as most avoided her or treated her oddly. With her confusion, her tail flicked around slightly as he observed her unusual features. "...might I ask why you've taken such an interest in my species? Most people kind of hate my kind, after all...I guess you can understand why I'm surprised..."

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Khan blinked when someone suddenly ran into him, and moved to catch their shoulders so that they wouldn't fall. He also moved his feet apart so that he himself wouldn't come off balance. When the interesting animal-human mix started speaking, the khugon tilted his head and simply took a few looks over her body. It wasn't in a sexual way, in fact, it was far from it. He was examining her in a biological way, and as soon as Sylvia was done apologizing, Khan said "Yes, yes, I'm fine... What race are you from?"

He quickly measured her ears with a finger and then moved to look at her behind for a tail that he could possibly measure as well.

She blinked, a bit confused as he examined her. "I'm from the Commonwealth, but my race is a breed between human and feline...I don't think it has a name yet...besides an identification number or something, I guess..." She answered, a bit unsure as to why he'd taken such an interest in her species. Most people already recognized her kind seeing as their released had been televised across the Commonwealth, she would've imagined a lot of people had watched...seeing as most avoided her or treated her oddly. With her confusion, her tail flicked around slightly as he observed her unusual features. "...might I ask why you've taken such an interest in my species? Most people kind of hate my kind, after all...I guess you can understand why I'm surprised..."

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

"Yes, well, that's true for my species as well." the khugon replied, moving to her behind and touching her tail lightly. "I seemed to have missed your kinds debut on to the scene then... so much to do, so little time to do it, you know? Not a lot of time to watch television or listen to gossip... though the fact that I missed such a massive xenobiological advancement is a shame to admit. Though, that's probably because it was the source of some political turmoil, or some such nonsense, yes?"

Temujin stood up and moved back to face her, sticking out a hand and coughing lightly into the other one. "I am Doctor Temujin Khan, the Director-Surgeon of this ship. It's a pleasure to meet you... member of the... hmm, Homo Sapien Felinicus?"

[Castle Crashers]

She blinked, a bit confused as he examined her. "I'm from the Commonwealth, but my race is a breed between human and feline...I don't think it has a name yet...besides an identification number or something, I guess..." She answered, a bit unsure as to why he'd taken such an interest in her species. Most people already recognized her kind seeing as their released had been televised across the Commonwealth, she would've imagined a lot of people had watched...seeing as most avoided her or treated her oddly. With her confusion, her tail flicked around slightly as he observed her unusual features. "...might I ask why you've taken such an interest in my species? Most people kind of hate my kind, after all...I guess you can understand why I'm surprised..."

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

"Yes, well, that's true for my species as well." the khugon replied, moving to her behind and touching her tail lightly. "I seemed to have missed your kinds debut on to the scene then... so much to do, so little time to do it, you know? Not a lot of time to watch television or listen to gossip... though the fact that I missed such a massive xenobiological advancement is a shame to admit. Though, that's probably because it was the source of some political turmoil, or some such nonsense, yes?"

Temujin stood up and moved back to face her, sticking out a hand and coughing lightly into the other one. "I am Doctor Temujin Khan, the Director-Surgeon of this ship. It's a pleasure to meet you... member of the... hmm, Homo Sapien Felinicus?"

"Well--I suppose...they never really told the reason..." She answered as he stood and stuck out his hand, which she waited not but a moment to shake with a smile. "I'm Sylvia Campbell, Head of Communications on the Trailblazer." Her smile broadened as she continued to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you too!" She said cheerily, her happy demeanor finally showing through in full colors. And, honestly, she forgot to stop shaking his hand, as surprising as that might be. She almost didn't seem to notice, either.

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

"Yes, well, that's true for my species as well." the khugon replied, moving to her behind and touching her tail lightly. "I seemed to have missed your kinds debut on to the scene then... so much to do, so little time to do it, you know? Not a lot of time to watch television or listen to gossip... though the fact that I missed such a massive xenobiological advancement is a shame to admit. Though, that's probably because it was the source of some political turmoil, or some such nonsense, yes?"

Temujin stood up and moved back to face her, sticking out a hand and coughing lightly into the other one. "I am Doctor Temujin Khan, the Director-Surgeon of this ship. It's a pleasure to meet you... member of the... hmm, Homo Sapien Felinicus?"

"Well--I suppose...they never really told the reason..." She answered as he stood and stuck out his hand, which she waited not but a moment to shake with a smile. "I'm Sylvia Campbell, Head of Communications on the Trailblazer." Her smile broadened as she continued to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you too!" She said cheerily, her happy demeanor finally showing through in full colors. And, honestly, she forgot to stop shaking his hand, as surprising as that might be. She almost didn't seem to notice, either.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

"Head of Communications? Sylvia Campbell... Homo Sapien-Catus... Yes, nice to meet you." Temujin responded, letting her shake his hand as much as she wanted. While she did that, he stared into her eyes very long and hard, and then seemed to make a mental note. "Interesting. A mixture between feline eyes and human eyes. You probably have eyesight equal to that of a khugon... Though, that would take a test to find out, or maybe a dissection... Would you be interested?"

[Doughertania]

Ryker Celtigar, Surface of Vortan
Gamaran Colony, Control Center, Several Hours Ago
This was his favorite part of the job.

Sure, he got Khan's fascination with the creatures they stumbled upon at every new planet. And Sanya's interest in meeting and understanding new civilizations made sense too. But nothing came close to the feeling of coming into a colony at first light, when most people hadn't even thought of waking up, and finding yourself face to face with the entire colony, waiting breathlessly for your dropship to arrive. The wide-eyed stares of the little ones as they catch a glimpse of the CoC's finest descend in a flurry of noise and wind. The relieved faces of their parents as the crew unloads the cargo that will make their existence infinitely easier. The smile he got as he checked in on them weeks later, finding that their lives had already improved thanks to the Trailblazer's direct efforts. Helping people in a meaningful way was why he stayed with ship instead of leaving at the nearest space port.

Today, that meant installing a satellite uplink station.

Ryker stepped back from the console, wiping sweat from his brow. He had already done the easy part, lifting the 2 ton piece of delicate machinery through the tight corridors of the colony's prefabricated control center while wearing his Chthonic armor. The harder part was calibrating the electronics to match those of the existing systems, as well as ensure that all parts survived the landing from orbit. With power cut to the area so that he could install the machines, the air had become stagnant. Every time he went down to fix something, a tool always seemed to be missing or juuust out of reach. And it didn't help when an insesent voice continued to tell him what to do.

I believe that Ms. Pierce told us to connect the red wires first, Agent Wraith. The blue nebulous cloud chided, floating above his prone master. It pulsed as it spoke, as if the sound waves helped it change its form.

Ryker rolled his eyes. "Aw, quit your whining Doc. I've listened to Pierce run through this a dozen time." Ryker retorted, fiddling with a handful of green wires. "Besides, Triss was my sister. Engineering's in my blood!" Ryker pushed the green wires into place, causing the internal power core to send energy coursing through his arms. Ryker involuntarily let go, giving a grunt in pain.

Perhaps…not. Didn't she always point out your lack of technical skill?

"Can it, buzzkill."

But despite the conditions, Ryker never seemed to get frustrated. Working with his hands helped remind him of simpler times. When it was just him and his sister, working together to make the galaxy a safer place. It wasn't easier, not by a long shot. But at least then he knew that whatever threat came their way, they could deal with it together. Now, he's on the edges of the known galaxy and she's the servant of some Contractor out there, both of them apart and wrestling their own demons. Despite this, when he worked with machines, he could simply escape to a better time.

As he completed the final touches, he slid out and sealed the external panel. With a twirl of his finger, he pressed down, giving life to the computer. A quick glance at the monitored confirm that the uplink was online. The colony could now communicate with any colony on the planet, as well as incoming space craft. "See, Doc? Told ya I could handle it." he grinned, thinking more of his sister's jabs than his AI's.

The faint sound of footsteps brought him back to reality. Ryker turned back around and leaned on the console, arms folded, as the a bearded man in his late thirties entered the room. Gently, Doc whispered Agent Wraith, you have company. CoC records identify him as Sylvester Rothsford, Town Sheriff. In response, Ryker smiled and extended a hand. "Well Sheriff, the uplink is online. You can tell your boys to turn the power back on here."

The Sheriff looked over sullenly, as if it were his wind orbiting the planet instead of the satellite. But as he stepped closer to the panel, his eyes seemed to steel themselves. Giving Ryker a sideways glance, he asked about the surveillance capabilities of the uplink station. Ryker cocked an eyebrow. "Well, you should be getting images sent to you at regular intervals. The techs thought it'd help with exploration and scouting. Why, is there a problem?"

The Sheriff looked down, clenching his fist a little at Ryker's question. "Bandits raided the settlement." Ryker frowned. It may be the policy of the CoC to allow colonies to police themselves, however it was a rule he personally hated. The Sheriff's next words ensured that Ryker would be breaking that rule.

"They took my sister. I need to get her back."

Ryker clasped the Sheriff on the shoulders. "Sir, look at me." Ryker stared into the Sheriff's eyes, all traces of humor gone. "You will not loose your family. I swear it."

"I will get your sister back."

---

Ryker Celtigar, C.S.S. Trailblazer
Security Room, Disciplinary Office, Now
As soon as Ryker had arrived at the Trailblazer, he knew where he'd be sent. After all, he disobeyed one of the CoC's main rules about domestic colony concerns. On top of that, it was pretty clear that the bandits he had brought in would never be whole again. While he knew the captain agreed with his actions, Adele'we still had to go through the motions. So once more the Away Team Specialist found himself entering a Disciplinary officer. Once inside, Ryker sighed. "Great. My least favorite member of the Disciplines Office, Jerry Spangel."

A portly man gave a little sigh in return as Ryker sat in front of his desk. "Ah, Mr. Celtigar. A pleasure as always." Jerry always said that to him before he started his tirade. Maybe it was his attempt at a joke, or maybe it was meant to keep his spirits up. "So, why do you think you've been called in here, Mr. Celtigar?"

Ryker waved his hand dismissively. "Because of some garbage rule made to make others feel justified for leaving people to fend for themselves. A rule that, if I had followed, would have resulted in the death of the Sheriff's sister and left the colony vulnerable to attack."

Jerry sighed his annoying sigh, causing Ryker to grit his teeth. "Mr. Celtigar, have you stopped and considered, that due to your efforts Gamaran colony will be at risk from retaliation?"

Ryker put his hands over his heart. "Please, Jerry, you wound me. This isn't my first mission. Trust me, I ensured that the bandits will never break up another family again." As he spoke that last part, Ryker's words gained an edge to them. Jerry look at him with quiet unease. "What-what did you do?" The disciplines officer heard that the bandits were delivered to the colony in a bloody and battered state, which coupled with Ryker's reputation as a Tartarus agent left Jerry with a morbid sense of curiosity.

Ryker stood up and rolled his eyes. "You really want to know? Read my debriefing. I did what needed to be done for the good of all. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some armor that need repairing and some samples to deliver." Not waiting to get an official dismissal, Ryker left into the hallway, heading off into the bowels of the ship.

[Castle Crashers]

"Well--I suppose...they never really told the reason..." She answered as he stood and stuck out his hand, which she waited not but a moment to shake with a smile. "I'm Sylvia Campbell, Head of Communications on the Trailblazer." Her smile broadened as she continued to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you too!" She said cheerily, her happy demeanor finally showing through in full colors. And, honestly, she forgot to stop shaking his hand, as surprising as that might be. She almost didn't seem to notice, either.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

"Head of Communications? Sylvia Campbell... Homo Sapien-Catus... Yes, nice to meet you." Temujin responded, letting her shake his hand as much as she wanted. While she did that, he stared into her eyes very long and hard, and then seemed to make a mental note. "Interesting. A mixture between feline eyes and human eyes. You probably have eyesight equal to that of a khugon... Though, that would take a test to find out, or maybe a dissection... Would you be interested?"

Sylvia's ears flattened a little at the mention of a dissection, somewhat disturbed at the thought of what that would include. She knew he meant her eyes, but still... "Well, as long as I get to keep both of my eyes I don't see why not..." She answered, finally releasing his hand after shaking it for so long. She really hoped he didn't actually want to do a dissection...she couldn't imagine that being a pleasant experience in any way.

[Facepunchian States]

Chief Gunnery Officer's Quarters, CSS Trailblazer
0500 Hours

The unsmiling face of Chief Gunnery Officer MacInnan stared out from the mirror, his expression borderline vehement at being conscious at such an ungodly hour. A mechanical limb lifted with the soft whirring of servos, scratching at the unshaven stubble on his chin. Eyes drifted down to a vintage straight razor, before dismissing the notion with a grunt. Fenshaw cupped his hands under the water, splashing his face and shutting off the tap. The mirror deactivated with a low electronic tone as he towelled off, a holographic display lighting up in front of his face as he shuffled over to the coffee maker.

"Good Morning Lieutenant~! As you requested to be informed, shipboard life support systems are all reported to be at maximum operational requirements."

"Gah, sweet christ..." Fenshaw blinked a few times, squinting with disdain at the cheerfulness of the female electronic voice. He gave a grunt in response, glancing down at the coffee machine. "Oh sure, for now they are. 'Till someone forgets a zero and a safeguard fails and our eyeballs are all liquefied."

"Gunner Singh reports that preventative maintenance on the forward battery is proceeding as scheduled, and Bombardier Parskins has requested to see you at 0900 hours to discuss-"

MacInnan groaned, attempting to wave away the holographic display but succeeding only in making the image shudder for a few moments before it corrected itself. "Parskins was down on Vortan wasn't he? Don't you know that's a goddamn good way to get a Vosskromian intestinal infestation, mucking about on dustbowl colony worlds? Tell him to take a bowel cleanser if he wants to see me, I don't want any filthy worms mooching off food I went to the trouble of chewing myself."

"...of course Lieutenant MacInnan, will there be anything else I can help you with on this wonderful morning~?"

Fenshaw stared at the hologram. Was it giving him sarcasm? That's the day society starts to disintegrate in mass chaos, when the damn appliances start giving you backsass- his concentration was broken as the coffee maker stirred, dispensing a stream of pitch-black liquid into a white mug proclaiming "#1 Dad". He muttered under his breath as he waited for it to finish. "Well for one, you can stop saying lootenant - who the hell says lootenant? I'm chief officer of the weapons systems, not the bloody toilet... - it's pronounced leftenant." He snatched the mug away from the machine like it was about to sneak in a few drops of poison and shot the cheerful hologram a frown, pausing on his way to the door. "How do I make you stop bothering me in the mornings?"

"Ah, very simple Lieutenant MacInnan, just press this icon he-" The hologram disappeared with a blip as Fenshaw jabbed a mechanical finger at it, letting the digit hang in empty air for a few moments as he let out a low sigh of relief. He stalked out into the hallway, hunched over the warmth of his coffee as he did his best to ignore those who saluted him as he shuffled past.

[Charlia]

Anthea was currently wandering the ship, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity while at the same time mentally briefing herself on the latest aberrations. Apparently Ryker was at it again, which caused her to let out a sigh. He never seemed to want to follow the rules, which she didn't understand.

Human emotions were so confusing to her. As one of the more emotional Nuvitor, she was capable of feeling in her own strange, limited way, but was still unable to fully comprehend the vast scale available to mankind. For example, whatever made Ryker disobey rules he was meant to live by? Was it compassion? Concern? Or perhaps something more. She sighed again, feeling a twinge of annoyance, although she couldn't really identify it as itself.

Ah, well. Life went on, and security duties wouldn't do themselves. She kept walking, waiting for something, anything, that required her attention.

[Saleon]

Sanya Stradt
The Devil's Diplomat

---

On the Planet, 0500 hours

---

"I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence: / Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." — Robert Frost

The trees swooped back and forth. The air was green and fresh; rabid and violent. These colonies were always a terrible mess of details. You had the harsh environment, the building materials, the other people. Some people took colonies as an opportunity for a new life, others took it as a corporate investment, others want to further themselves from direct government control: it was the fact of so many interests that, in and of itself, lead to a mess of details. How does one reach compromise between everyone at once? Some would just demand an action and force it; a diplomat's job was never to be an authoritarian force. They are meant to be a democratic force—there were key things that made diplomats both authoritative and democratic: first is making sure to have leverage, second is to always know what everyone wants so as to use it against them.

The soul of a diplomat is a contradiction: can one hope to move to some overarching goal—such as peace on a planet; while being divided by the ties one has to their connection to some government or organization—The Commonwealth of Constellations. You can usually meet this contradiction, or at least how they solve this contradiction, by how they decide between the two. One diplomat will never move beyond the interests of the CoC; the second is willing to put personal interests to the others side.

The Vishnari Uthu

The trees were old and strong at this point. There was a small central clearing. The ground had been ground out by a small native population that made home. They were a nature-loving population, if not isolated. This group, along with many other humanoid groups, had made this planet home. They looked at the CoC as this strange, alien environment; the new groups making home were both kind, in a strange aspect, but they were also irremediably strange and foreboding. The CoC looked at these species, species that had become so situated and strong, looked foreboding and menacing. It was as if the nature to be harrowing, as if they were uninvited. Each species seemed to be a disgusting "invader". They were peaceful, but new and odd. They were also powerful on this planet. They know the land, and the CoC don't.

And you ask a diplomat to fix this? Each group hated each other. Each group would rather live without. Very few people were trying to make friendships with each other.

Sanya was stuck under the throttle of this immense inter-tangling of raw emotions, self interests, and political ties. "He" had taken a good time during all of this to get to know the people, and to find peoples willing to meet and negotiate. One of these peoples was the Vishnari Uthu. They were a tall tribal species with hind legs designed for long distance running; more like a dog or . They were akin to a deer-deer-based humanoid group. Their mouths less opened up as vibrated through airholes. It was a different tongue and dialect.

It was actually a sticking point, for the longest time, to not let them meet the xenobiologist, who they didn't know was a "xenobiologist," as they were frightful of his odd obsession with the species. They were afraid of his needles and technology. It was the line between doctor and stalker that drew a divide.

You can imagine how Temujin, the doctor, felt about the agreement including a passage stating no involvement with any group wanting to "examine" them. Even taking samples were against the agreement. Quite a sticking point.

Sanya sat down within a larger rudimentary wooden building that worked as the Vishnari Uthunian chief's house. The species gave special precedent towards the female having a leadership role. Similar to the female being the alpha in family relations. When the children weren't being handled by the families, the men may have a caretaker role. The chieftain sat with her legs crossed and her hands on each knee. Her back was straight, her focus was forward and directly at Sanya. The Vishnari looked a little upward, as it was custom to look straight, even if the other person was larger or smaller; perfectly 90 degrees. To the side of Sanya was another Uthunian, this one having more experience as a translator.

While Sanya had spent much of her time learning the culture and species, the language had many eccentricities and diction. It was easier to learn to speak Manthu, the vishnari native tongue, to English, than to learn English to Manthu. Sanya had picked up some of the language, but to her regret, she still required a translator, someone who had picked up English within the tribe.

"She thanks you for your cordiality and your willingness to enter without your 'armed' assistance," the translator warbled.

Sanya merely beat her chest with her right hand, before moving it upwards and holding out three fingers. This was a formal greeting and sign of respect. The Uthunian chieftain and translator both showed the same respect. The chieftain then continued to speak in their native tongue. Sanya had little understanding of how they were able to speak, but it was something she would not investigate as, again, it would not be proper.

"'We will work with you,' she says, 'under oath only if you maintain your boundaries within the reef for five years. Your tribe may travel the area, but may not harvest any creatures unless within your boundaries. If it is necessary, if in small numbers, we may be willing to allow it, but this is the general rule. In those five years t is necessary to gain a cultural understanding of tribal laws and guidelines. In those periods, we will protect your groups from radical tribes and members acting outside of tribal law protecting your group. We will give certain redress past incidents as well, as we have previously agreed. The final part of our treaty is that any colonists that go against our agreement will be tried fairly by a special court of Uthunians and colonists, with more colonists than uthunians in the court. If they are found guilty by this court, they will be punished by tribal law," the tribal translator said.

"I thank you for this agreement," Sanya remarked, "we have talked to the Colonists, along with the trailblazer, and all sides agree to the terms." The translator told the Chieftain of the proceedings. What Sanya downplayed, of course, was how difficult it was to get the colonists to come to terms. It was not a fun day at the beach.

The chieftain bowed slightly, followed by everyone in the room bowing. Her eyes lightened up a little. The chieftain stood up and moved to the back of the room. She removed a special necklace from the back of the room, one given by chieftains to only special members from beyond the tribe to be considered honorary members. They only gave out a handful, but considering the event and the large agreements and people, it seemed fitting. The chief sat back down and held out the necklace. Sanya received it gracefully and said, "Mbuktanye." It was the Manthu thanking of highest regard.

Sanya stood up, her tan trench coat lifting up and pounded her chest before placing the necklace around her neck. The trench coat draped behind her, spiraling around like a shadow. As she left the office, a number of tribal officers returned her weapons and belt. As she left, they held her of higher honor She left the village and made her way to the edge of the village. She got off the city-gates, it far behind her, and turned on her transponder.

"Sylvia," she said, "ready for transport, if you may."

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

"Head of Communications? Sylvia Campbell... Homo Sapien-Catus... Yes, nice to meet you." Temujin responded, letting her shake his hand as much as she wanted. While she did that, he stared into her eyes very long and hard, and then seemed to make a mental note. "Interesting. A mixture between feline eyes and human eyes. You probably have eyesight equal to that of a khugon... Though, that would take a test to find out, or maybe a dissection... Would you be interested?"

Sylvia's ears flattened a little at the mention of a dissection, somewhat disturbed at the thought of what that would include. She knew he meant her eyes, but still... "Well, as long as I get to keep both of my eyes I don't see why not..." She answered, finally releasing his hand after shaking it for so long. She really hoped he didn't actually want to do a dissection...she couldn't imagine that being a pleasant experience in any way.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Temujin frowned, tilting his head slightly and watching her ears for moment. He reached up to her head and messed with them a little, looking at them in depth. "Hmm...? Keep your eyes? Why would testing take your eyes?" he asked, confused slightly, but then he shrugged in surrender. "Anyway, I was about to go get some lunch... would you like to come with me? I'd like to observe how you eat and take a few notes..."

[Castle Crashers]

Sylvia's ears flattened a little at the mention of a dissection, somewhat disturbed at the thought of what that would include. She knew he meant her eyes, but still... "Well, as long as I get to keep both of my eyes I don't see why not..." She answered, finally releasing his hand after shaking it for so long. She really hoped he didn't actually want to do a dissection...she couldn't imagine that being a pleasant experience in any way.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Temujin frowned, tilting his head slightly and watching her ears for moment. He reached up to her head and messed with them a little, looking at them in depth. "Hmm...? Keep your eyes? Why would testing take your eyes?" he asked, confused slightly, but then he shrugged in surrender. "Anyway, I was about to go get some lunch... would you like to come with me? I'd like to observe how you eat and take a few notes..."

"Ah...I meant the dissection part, not the testing..." She clarified with a giggle as he messed with her ears. They twitched and flicked about a little from his touch, but eventually, as she grew a little more used to him touching them, they stopped. At the mention of lunch, she smiled brightly. "I don't see why not, I haven't eaten in a while..." She was reminded of this as her stomach growled, drawing her attention. "So yes, I'd love to get some food!" Not but a moment after saying this, the headset that had been hanging around her neck chirped, snapping her attention to it.
The chirp wasn't on most standardized headsets, but she'd had it added for her short attention span issue. She slipped them on over her ears. "Yes?" She asked, curious as to why they'd called her attention when she was off-duty.

"Sanya Stradt is ready for transport, ma'am, we're awaiting authorization from you."

"Well of course I'll authorize it, go ahead and bring Sanya in." She answered, and after a moment she brought the headset back down to her neck with a smile. "Sorry for interrupting." She apologized. "It is my job, though...not interrupting, I mean, I meant what the call was for..."

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Temujin frowned, tilting his head slightly and watching her ears for moment. He reached up to her head and messed with them a little, looking at them in depth. "Hmm...? Keep your eyes? Why would testing take your eyes?" he asked, confused slightly, but then he shrugged in surrender. "Anyway, I was about to go get some lunch... would you like to come with me? I'd like to observe how you eat and take a few notes..."

"Ah...I meant the dissection part, not the testing..." She clarified with a giggle as he messed with her ears. They twitched and flicked about a little from his touch, but eventually, as she grew a little more used to him touching them, they stopped. At the mention of lunch, she smiled brightly. "I don't see why not, I haven't eaten in a while..." She was reminded of this as her stomach growled, drawing her attention. "So yes, I'd love to get some food!" Not but a moment after saying this, the headset that had been hanging around her neck chirped, snapping her attention to it.
The chirp wasn't on most standardized headsets, but she'd had it added for her short attention span issue. She slipped them on over her ears. "Yes?" She asked, curious as to why they'd called her attention when she was off-duty.

"Sanya Stradt is ready for transport, ma'am, we're awaiting authorization from you."

"Well of course I'll authorize it, go ahead and bring Sanya in." She answered, and after a moment she brought the headset back down to her neck with a smile. "Sorry for interrupting." She apologized. "It is my job, though...not interrupting, I mean, I meant what the call was for..."

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Temujin actually chuckled and smiled slightly, the first time he had done so in long while. "Yes, well, dissection is for posthumous individuals, not living, healthy people like you." he explained, moving as if to take the lead and offer her an arm to take Sylvia to the cafeteria. The head set went off at that point, causing Temujin to stop and watch Sylvia for a second. His eyes watched her mouth, her hands, her hips, and legs and arms and basically how she held herself. A casual stance, a little wide in the base, and very feline in nature. Of course, being a hot-blooded male of the khugon race, who shared many similarities to the human race, he also noticed her beauty and exotic appeal, though he didn't factor that in after that. The physical proportions of a person were not as important as the personality. That was his one belief that made him such a good doctor despite being so strange.

"Yes, well, our jobs are indeed what keep us up in the day and productive, so it makes since that they demand time from us... though, I wish I was with Sanya. She just completed, I assume, a mission making contact and negotiating with a sentient race down on the plant. Tribals, but from the pictures I've seen, they have some very, very interested biology." Khan said, taking a few steps and expecting his new acquaintance to keep up. "Are you interested in new races, Miss Campbell?"

[Castle Crashers]

"Ah...I meant the dissection part, not the testing..." She clarified with a giggle as he messed with her ears. They twitched and flicked about a little from his touch, but eventually, as she grew a little more used to him touching them, they stopped. At the mention of lunch, she smiled brightly. "I don't see why not, I haven't eaten in a while..." She was reminded of this as her stomach growled, drawing her attention. "So yes, I'd love to get some food!" Not but a moment after saying this, the headset that had been hanging around her neck chirped, snapping her attention to it.
The chirp wasn't on most standardized headsets, but she'd had it added for her short attention span issue. She slipped them on over her ears. "Yes?" She asked, curious as to why they'd called her attention when she was off-duty.

"Sanya Stradt is ready for transport, ma'am, we're awaiting authorization from you."

"Well of course I'll authorize it, go ahead and bring Sanya in." She answered, and after a moment she brought the headset back down to her neck with a smile. "Sorry for interrupting." She apologized. "It is my job, though...not interrupting, I mean, I meant what the call was for..."

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Temujin actually chuckled and smiled slightly, the first time he had done so in long while. "Yes, well, dissection is for posthumous individuals, not living, healthy people like you." he explained, moving as if to take the lead and offer her an arm to take Sylvia to the cafeteria. The head set went off at that point, causing Temujin to stop and watch Sylvia for a second. His eyes watched her mouth, her hands, her hips, and legs and arms and basically how she held herself. A casual stance, a little wide in the base, and very feline in nature. Of course, being a hot-blooded male of the khugon race, who shared many similarities to the human race, he also noticed her beauty and exotic appeal, though he didn't factor that in after that. The physical proportions of a person were not as important as the personality. That was his one belief that made him such a good doctor despite being so strange.

"Yes, well, our jobs are indeed what keep us up in the day and productive, so it makes since that they demand time from us... though, I wish I was with Sanya. She just completed, I assume, a mission making contact and negotiating with a sentient race down on the plant. Tribals, but from the pictures I've seen, they have some very, very interested biology." Khan said, taking a few steps and expecting his new acquaintance to keep up. "Are you interested in new races, Miss Campbell?"

"Ah, of course!" Sylvia answered, picking up her pace to reach his side again. "I've always found the discovery of other races, new or old, to be fascinating." She found it a little funny that he continued to analyze and study her as she did normal, casual things, seeing as the only time such a thing had happened had been when she was still under testing as an experiment. But, somehow, this was different. Perhaps it was because she wasn't being studied as an experiment, but instead as a species in its entirety. It was a nice change, for someone to finally be interested in who and what she was instead of avoiding her and discriminating her. It also made her wonder if he studied everyone like he studied her, or if she was just special because he'd never seen her kind before. She assumed she'd figure it out eventually.

[Doughertania]

Ryker Celtigar, CoC Dropship
Personnel Bay, Earlier
As Ryker drove into town on the borrowed hovercraft, he was greeted with open arms by the colonists. The Sheriff embraced his sister, thanking the soldier profusely as the deputies took the bandits into cells on stretchers, wanting to offer him a reward. The only thing Ryker would accept is a batch of edible fruits native to the land and some healing salves to the bleeding wounds on his shoulder and arm. He thanked the villagers for their hospitality, then suited up and flew to the dropship, almost able to forget what would happen next.

Almost.

As soon as he landed, he stepped out of his suit and allowed Doc to take it to the cargo hold. Meanwhile, two security cadets stepped forward, one holding a clipboard and another a sack. The one with the clipboard stepped in front of him, looking a little cross. "Colonel Ryker, I'm going to have to ask you to hand over your gun and gauntlet."

Ryker gestured openly. "Come on guys, really? It wasn't like I was out pillaging the native inhabitants. I just took out an entire bandit camp with no collateral damage, and this is what I get?"

The cadet with the sack wavered a little, but the one with the clipboard held firm. "Gun and gauntlet Ryker. Don't be difficult."

Ryker thought about refusing, but decided not to make a scene. With a few quick actions, he had deposited his pistol and grapple hook in the bag. "There. Happy now?" The man with the clipboard silently handed him a pink slip of paper and left, while the one with the bag mouth a quick apology before following suit. Ryker sat himself down, feeling a little naked without his ever-present gear. He knew why they had to do it, as it was their only leverage to getting him to show up to the security office. He just wish they didn't have too.

"Welcome back, Sanya." He waved over at his comrade, gesturing to a seat nearby. "Sorry I couldn't come with you, my errands in Gamaran took a little…longer than expected. How'd your talk with the tree people go?" His tone was friendly, easily hiding the unease he felt about magic and those who use it. It was another gift courteous of the Contractor, and as such was something he was trying to get over. He figured the best way to do that was interact with magic users where he could. Despite this deliberately effort, he still fiddled with his necklace as he spoke to her, running the metal pendant between his fingers. He normally tried to keep the ritual hidden, but with his safety blanket gone he found himself doing it unconscious. The necklace was a reminder of a particularly difficult mission, he first ever actually. He felt lucky to have survived, and hoped that the memento would still have enough luck left in it to keep himself in case supernatural forces began to go awry.

His feelings towards the ship's diplomat were fairly positive. He respected her constant pursuit of the diplomatic option, even when he would've found it easier to go in and crack some skulls. She did her job very well, always able to help further the CoC's aims with her words. His interactions with her were friendly, though it was rare that she really bantered with him.

However, it wasn't not as close as he would wish. Part of that stemmed from his own distrust with magic, seeing it as a force just waiting to spin out of control, and part of that came from the way she acted. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had a feeling that she was hiding something, something big. But as a member of a notorious black ops group, he couldn't really judge too much. Besides, it probably just had to do with his paranoia about magic, so he did his best to prevent it from tainting his view of her. After all, he needed to be able to work well with all his team, and that meant putting aside anything that could make him hesitate in a crisis.

---

Ryker Celtigar, C.S.S. Trailblazer
Security Impound, Now
Ryker smacked forehead with his hand in disbelief. "What do you mean, you can't give me my stuff? It's my stuff! Who else do you know has a wraith engraved on their gear?"

The impound lady looked up at him from her magazine, 50 years old and unimpressed at his outburst. "With all do respect sir, I don't care if your the the Grand Magistrate himself. No voucher, no property. Those are the rules. Are you sure you don't have it on you?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Ryker made a show of checking his pockets, then sighed at the absurdity of it all. "Look, why does it matter? You know those are my items, I'm not gonna tattle, and even if they found out, what are they going to do? It's not like the CoC's going to maroon you for expediting this here process."

The widened old woman only turned back to her reading material, his pleas falling on deaf ears. "Well, some of us aren't protected by our rank, sir."

Ryker narrowed his eyes, his tempter rising. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Agent Wraith! He turned, about to snap at his companion, when he noticed a pink slip of paper floating above the blue cloud of nanobots. Your voucher. You left it in the office of Jerry, so I took the liberty of retrieving it. Wordlessly, Ryker handed the slip of paper, causing the woman behind the counter to give smug smile. "Here you go, Colonel Ryker. One plasma pistol, modified, and one, er, 'grapple gauntlet.'" Ryker snatched them out of her hands and left, feeling better already for having left the security terminal behind.

Pistol holstered, Ryker had just finished securing the straps on the gauntlet when he spied a familiar face rounding the corner. Grinning, he raised his hands in greeting. "Ah, Fenshaw! How are you, ya crotchety ol' bastard?" Ryker had come to know the ill-tempered gunnery officer first before any of his other fellow head officers. When he recently arrived aboard the Trailblazer, he found Fenshaw staring intently at his Chthonic armor. Hoping to impress the officer, Ryker starting tell Fenshaw about the armor's capabilities, only to have his explanation cut short and finished by the officer.

From that point on, Ryker respected Fenshaw's expertise. They've often discussed the armor at great length, with Ryker hoping to cram more weapons on it and Fenshaw suggesting which ones to add and what possible counter-measures could be included. Ryker also found comfort in Fenshaw's constant paranoia, finding that slightly akin to his own insistence that sometimes the CoC didn't always know best. Between his knowledge and his temperament, Ryker found himself appreciating the Gunnery Officer's company.

After the two had exchanged greeting, Ryker gestured down at his holster. "So, turns out you were right. By having Pierce tweak the focusing crystal and the power pack, the range on the pistol has basically doubled. Thanks for the tip." As the two of the them spoke, he noticed a familiar brown haired android make her way through the hallway. Trying not to be seen, he nonchalantly moved himself so that Fenshaw was standing between him and the oncoming Head of Security, hoping she wasn't there to talk to him.

Agent Wraith, you don't honestly expect this to work, do you?

"It might if a certain blue pest didn't insist on buzzing." Ryker mumbled quietly, trying his best to focus on Fenshaw instead of Anthea.

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Outside the Medbay, Hallway

Temujin actually chuckled and smiled slightly, the first time he had done so in long while. "Yes, well, dissection is for posthumous individuals, not living, healthy people like you." he explained, moving as if to take the lead and offer her an arm to take Sylvia to the cafeteria. The head set went off at that point, causing Temujin to stop and watch Sylvia for a second. His eyes watched her mouth, her hands, her hips, and legs and arms and basically how she held herself. A casual stance, a little wide in the base, and very feline in nature. Of course, being a hot-blooded male of the khugon race, who shared many similarities to the human race, he also noticed her beauty and exotic appeal, though he didn't factor that in after that. The physical proportions of a person were not as important as the personality. That was his one belief that made him such a good doctor despite being so strange.

"Yes, well, our jobs are indeed what keep us up in the day and productive, so it makes since that they demand time from us... though, I wish I was with Sanya. She just completed, I assume, a mission making contact and negotiating with a sentient race down on the plant. Tribals, but from the pictures I've seen, they have some very, very interested biology." Khan said, taking a few steps and expecting his new acquaintance to keep up. "Are you interested in new races, Miss Campbell?"

"Ah, of course!" Sylvia answered, picking up her pace to reach his side again. "I've always found the discovery of other races, new or old, to be fascinating." She found it a little funny that he continued to analyze and study her as she did normal, casual things, seeing as the only time such a thing had happened had been when she was still under testing as an experiment. But, somehow, this was different. Perhaps it was because she wasn't being studied as an experiment, but instead as a species in its entirety. It was a nice change, for someone to finally be interested in who and what she was instead of avoiding her and discriminating her. It also made her wonder if he studied everyone like he studied her, or if she was just special because he'd never seen her kind before. She assumed she'd figure it out eventually.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Nearing the Nearest Bar/Cantina/Restaurant/Cafeteria/Thing to Med Bay, Hallway

Khan tilted his head slightly at that and looked at her, ignoring her physical uniqueness for a moment as he considered the uniqueness of her personality. It was interesting that an experiment from the human race would be interested in finding things other than humans... though, in retrospect, perhaps it wasn't. She was created by humans, to be used by humans, for things humans needed. She wasn't considered human, she didn't even consider herself human because of it, and never once did humans think of anything she needed or wanted or her feeling. In fact, it made perfect sense for her not to give a single damn about humans... it made more for her to hate them. But, she kept an open mind about them, and she seemed to generally like individuals. She wasn't racist, though certainly her life would have given her enough reason to be...

This Homo Sapien-Catus was more alike to the khugon next to her than he or she even knew.

Khan grew up in the slums, with two khugon parents who were the first to immigrate to the CoC. They were the only khugons on the entire world, in fact. The first to set foot there, the first to die there, the first to live peacefully with humans... and especially the first to be oppressed and disrespected by humans. Khan's parents couldn't get jobs, couldn't get money, couldn't even stand on the street or even hurry down it without getting spit on or yelled at or physically assaulted. The two couldn't do anything about it. They'd have the cops called on them if they did and then the real horrible things would start happening.

Khugons weren't protected under the laws of the Confederation.

Just like how Sylvia's race hadn't been.

Khan sighed and dropped his head, moving slightly closer to Sylvia as he felt more of a... unique kinship to her. "That's very interesting, Miss Campbell. Most people see new species as threats rather than new opportunities for friends, as I'm sure you see them..." he said quietly, a small smile on his face. "Also... May I call you Sylvia? In exchange, you can call me Temu..."

[Charlia]

As the two of the them spoke, he noticed a familiar brown haired android make her way through the hallway. Trying not to be seen, he nonchalantly moved himself so that Fenshaw was standing between him and the oncoming Head of Security, hoping she wasn't there to talk to him.

Agent Wraith, you don't honestly expect this to work, do you?

"It might if a certain blue pest didn't insist on buzzing." Ryker mumbled quietly, trying his best to focus on Fenshaw instead of Anthea.

As Anthea continued to walk, she spotted Fenshaw and Ryker, who appeared to be attempting to hide. This confused her greatly. Why would he be trying to hide from her?

"Inquiry," she stated calmly as she arrived next to the two. "Why are you attempting to conceal yourself? I am aware of your recent... aberration, but that situation has been dealt with. Is there another reason for your actions? Have you been committing any crimes as of late?" she asked calmly, her modulated voice even. To someone else, her last question might have been seen as funny, but she didn't understand the humor.

It wouldn't be the first time she didn't understand the humor, nor would it be the last.

"I fail to understand what appears to be fear on your part," she finished. "Please explain at once."

[Castle Crashers]

"Ah, of course!" Sylvia answered, picking up her pace to reach his side again. "I've always found the discovery of other races, new or old, to be fascinating." She found it a little funny that he continued to analyze and study her as she did normal, casual things, seeing as the only time such a thing had happened had been when she was still under testing as an experiment. But, somehow, this was different. Perhaps it was because she wasn't being studied as an experiment, but instead as a species in its entirety. It was a nice change, for someone to finally be interested in who and what she was instead of avoiding her and discriminating her. It also made her wonder if he studied everyone like he studied her, or if she was just special because he'd never seen her kind before. She assumed she'd figure it out eventually.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Nearing the Nearest Bar/Cantina/Restaurant/Cafeteria/Thing to Med Bay, Hallway

Khan tilted his head slightly at that and looked at her, ignoring her physical uniqueness for a moment as he considered the uniqueness of her personality. It was interesting that an experiment from the human race would be interested in finding things other than humans... though, in retrospect, perhaps it wasn't. She was created by humans, to be used by humans, for things humans needed. She wasn't considered human, she didn't even consider herself human because of it, and never once did humans think of anything she needed or wanted or her feeling. In fact, it made perfect sense for her not to give a single damn about humans... it made more for her to hate them. But, she kept an open mind about them, and she seemed to generally like individuals. She wasn't racist, though certainly her life would have given her enough reason to be...

This Homo Sapien-Catus was more alike to the khugon next to her than he or she even knew.

Khan grew up in the slums, with two khugon parents who were the first to immigrate to the CoC. They were the only khugons on the entire world, in fact. The first to set foot there, the first to die there, the first to live peacefully with humans... and especially the first to be oppressed and disrespected by humans. Khan's parents couldn't get jobs, couldn't get money, couldn't even stand on the street or even hurry down it without getting spit on or yelled at or physically assaulted. The two couldn't do anything about it. They'd have the cops called on them if they did and then the real horrible things would start happening.

Khugons weren't protected under the laws of the Confederation.

Just like how Sylvia's race hadn't been.

Khan sighed and dropped his head, moving slightly closer to Sylvia as he felt more of a... unique kinship to her. "That's very interesting, Miss Campbell. Most people see new species as threats rather than new opportunities for friends, as I'm sure you see them..." he said quietly, a small smile on his face. "Also... May I call you Sylvia? In exchange, you can call me Temu..."

Sylvia smiled and nodded. "Of course I don't mind, it's my name for a reason!" She answered with a giggle. She noticed that he'd moved a little closer to her, but she decided it wasn't enough to point out. Besides, that would only divert the conversation and make things more awkward. "I like the nickname, by the way." She added. "Since I honestly don't know how to pronounce your full name..." She admitted with a bit of embarrassment. "That's not offensive or anything, is it? I'm not very good at being able to tell such things until after I say it...so sorry if it is..." She really hoped she hadn't managed to insult him or anything, as she really had begun to see him as a friend, and she really didn't have many of those.

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Nearing the Nearest Bar/Cantina/Restaurant/Cafeteria/Thing to Med Bay, Hallway

Khan tilted his head slightly at that and looked at her, ignoring her physical uniqueness for a moment as he considered the uniqueness of her personality. It was interesting that an experiment from the human race would be interested in finding things other than humans... though, in retrospect, perhaps it wasn't. She was created by humans, to be used by humans, for things humans needed. She wasn't considered human, she didn't even consider herself human because of it, and never once did humans think of anything she needed or wanted or her feeling. In fact, it made perfect sense for her not to give a single damn about humans... it made more for her to hate them. But, she kept an open mind about them, and she seemed to generally like individuals. She wasn't racist, though certainly her life would have given her enough reason to be...

This Homo Sapien-Catus was more alike to the khugon next to her than he or she even knew.

Khan grew up in the slums, with two khugon parents who were the first to immigrate to the CoC. They were the only khugons on the entire world, in fact. The first to set foot there, the first to die there, the first to live peacefully with humans... and especially the first to be oppressed and disrespected by humans. Khan's parents couldn't get jobs, couldn't get money, couldn't even stand on the street or even hurry down it without getting spit on or yelled at or physically assaulted. The two couldn't do anything about it. They'd have the cops called on them if they did and then the real horrible things would start happening.

Khugons weren't protected under the laws of the Confederation.

Just like how Sylvia's race hadn't been.

Khan sighed and dropped his head, moving slightly closer to Sylvia as he felt more of a... unique kinship to her. "That's very interesting, Miss Campbell. Most people see new species as threats rather than new opportunities for friends, as I'm sure you see them..." he said quietly, a small smile on his face. "Also... May I call you Sylvia? In exchange, you can call me Temu..."

Sylvia smiled and nodded. "Of course I don't mind, it's my name for a reason!" She answered with a giggle. She noticed that he'd moved a little closer to her, but she decided it wasn't enough to point out. Besides, that would only divert the conversation and make things more awkward. "I like the nickname, by the way." She added. "Since I honestly don't know how to pronounce your full name..." She admitted with a bit of embarrassment. "That's not offensive or anything, is it? I'm not very good at being able to tell such things until after I say it...so sorry if it is..." She really hoped she hadn't managed to insult him or anything, as she really had begun to see him as a friend, and she really didn't have many of those.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Nearing the Nearest Bar/Cantina/Restaurant/Cafeteria/Thing to Med Bay, Hallway

"You don't know how to pronounce Temujin Khan?" Temu asked, tilting his head in a confused manner. "It's not that hard... In fact, it's one of the easier names to pronounce in the Mongolian culture. And one of the more well known..."

He shrugged in defeat though. "It does not offend me, though. Why would it? It's only a name."

With that, he opened the door to the place where food was prepared, and offered her the entrance like the human custom said to do.

[Castle Crashers]

Sylvia smiled and nodded. "Of course I don't mind, it's my name for a reason!" She answered with a giggle. She noticed that he'd moved a little closer to her, but she decided it wasn't enough to point out. Besides, that would only divert the conversation and make things more awkward. "I like the nickname, by the way." She added. "Since I honestly don't know how to pronounce your full name..." She admitted with a bit of embarrassment. "That's not offensive or anything, is it? I'm not very good at being able to tell such things until after I say it...so sorry if it is..." She really hoped she hadn't managed to insult him or anything, as she really had begun to see him as a friend, and she really didn't have many of those.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Nearing the Nearest Bar/Cantina/Restaurant/Cafeteria/Thing to Med Bay, Hallway

"You don't know how to pronounce Temujin Khan?" Temu asked, tilting his head in a confused manner. "It's not that hard... In fact, it's one of the easier names to pronounce in the Mongolian culture. And one of the more well known..."

He shrugged in defeat though. "It does not offend me, though. Why would it? It's only a name."

With that, he opened the door to the place where food was prepared, and offered her the entrance like the human custom said to do.

She blushed a little in embarrassment. "Well...I don't have much experience with such names...I guess it's not hard, I just never really tried to pronounce it before..." She said. "And, well, I've run into a lot of people who get really frustrated when having their names mispronounced...it usually doesn't end well, at least not for me..." She entered the cafeteria place thing as he held the door open for her, but she waited for him to enter himself before proceeding on. "What kind of food do you like?" She asked, the thought simpy crossing her mind as they entered the place.

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Nearing the Nearest Bar/Cantina/Restaurant/Cafeteria/Thing to Med Bay, Hallway

"You don't know how to pronounce Temujin Khan?" Temu asked, tilting his head in a confused manner. "It's not that hard... In fact, it's one of the easier names to pronounce in the Mongolian culture. And one of the more well known..."

He shrugged in defeat though. "It does not offend me, though. Why would it? It's only a name."

With that, he opened the door to the place where food was prepared, and offered her the entrance like the human custom said to do.

She blushed a little in embarrassment. "Well...I don't have much experience with such names...I guess it's not hard, I just never really tried to pronounce it before..." She said. "And, well, I've run into a lot of people who get really frustrated when having their names mispronounced...it usually doesn't end well, at least not for me..." She entered the cafeteria place thing as he held the door open for her, but she waited for him to enter himself before proceeding on. "What kind of food do you like?" She asked, the thought simply crossing her mind as they entered the place.

Temujin Khan, C.S.S. Trailblazer,
Cafeteria Place Thing

Temujin found them a seat and pulled out a chair for her to sit in, simply following the traditions that his parents instilled in him so that he would be able to flow quite easily in human society. "Well, you must have met a lot of rather easily offended people, Sylvia. They do not sound that interesting nor friendly..." he said, frowning slightly. "Which is quite the shame, in my opinion... You're one of those people that really deserve to only meet nice people..."

He looked around for a moment, then down at his watch, frowning even more at the time. "Hmm? Food? Oh... Italian, strangely."

[Saleon]

Sanya Stradt
The Devil's Diplomat

---

CoC Dropship, 0500 hours

---

"I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence: / Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." — Robert Frost

"Welcome back, Sanya." He waved over at his comrade, gesturing to a seat nearby. "Sorry I couldn't come with you, my errands in Gamaran took a little…longer than expected. How'd your talk with the tree people go?" His tone was friendly, easily hiding the unease he felt about magic and those who use it. It was another gift courteous of the Contractor, and as such was something he was trying to get over. He figured the best way to do that was interact with magic users where he could. Despite this deliberately effort, he still fiddled with his necklace as he spoke to her, running the metal pendant between his fingers. He normally tried to keep the ritual hidden, but with his safety blanket gone he found himself doing it unconscious. The necklace was a reminder of a particularly difficult mission, he first ever actually. He felt lucky to have survived, and hoped that the memento would still have enough luck left in it to keep himself in case supernatural forces began to go awry.

His feelings towards the ship's diplomat were fairly positive. He respected her constant pursuit of the diplomatic option, even when he would've found it easier to go in and crack some skulls. She did her job very well, always able to help further the CoC's aims with her words. His interactions with her were friendly, though it was rare that she really bantered with him.

However, it wasn't not as close as he would wish. Part of that stemmed from his own distrust with magic, seeing it as a force just waiting to spin out of control, and part of that came from the way she acted. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had a feeling that she was hiding something, something big. But as a member of a notorious black ops group, he couldn't really judge too much. Besides, it probably just had to do with his paranoia about magic, so he did his best to prevent it from tainting his view of her. After all, he needed to be able to work well with all his team, and that meant putting aside anything that could make him hesitate in a crisis.

"Thank you Sylvia, best feline in the whole CoC," she remarked. She felt a sense of relief to have completed what was a very, very difficult agreement. It took her weeks to iron out what had been years and years of discrimination and bad blood. Small groups from both sides ransacking and attacking. This was one of the only tribes that hadn't had incidents and even they heard about the bad blood, providing a tainted view on both sides.

She waited for the dropship to hail down. Took a little longer than normal.

As it opened she had a small fit in the back of her mind: Ryker. The shadowy guy who never knew how to get out of trouble. He was brute force, rather than logic. Sanya entered ship with a little apprehension, not enough to be seen. She entered slowly and sat adjacent to him. The two had a "complicated" relation. He hated her magic but respected her stubborn anti-violence stance; she hated his blunt use of violence but was semi-accepting of his own apprehension toward that violence. While he had a semi-positive outlook on her, she had a semi-negative outlook on him. It was enough to not fully hate or despise or vocally denote belligerence towards.

"Welcome back, Sanya." He waved over at his comrade, gesturing to a seat nearby. "Sorry I couldn't come with you, my errands in Gamaran took a little…longer than expected. How'd your talk with the tree people go?" His tone was friendly, easily hiding the unease he felt.

"Oh," she said cordially, "it is always a pleasure of mine to meet such new species. This one is interesting, culturally, having a legal system and vast network between other tribal groups in the area. I bet you would have loved to meet the many shamans, specialized healers with minute magical aspects. They use it for healing, of course." She liked taunting him with his more irrational fears.

"I also recommend not making those handcuffs a fashion statement on board. Might have a bad message," she jested. It was quite obvious that his delays seemed more extrajudicial than anything, "and please tell me this fashion statement is not due to any actions near the vishnari uthu? It would really be bad form to see you blow an entire agreement between one of the strongest tribes, and one of the only tribes to actually trust us."