Katheeri

[Renardfrost]

"hmmmn...." 

the Axian let out a slow breath as he let the temperature in the room chill a few more degrees.. His skill with his magic of choice causing it to take as little effort as focusing a bit.. he was going to sneak in some training once he had some alone time.. but it needed to be cold. it delayed his reaction times, taught him patience, how to make his moves more efficient. The Foxdog slowly stood as the customary layer of frost seemed to encroach onto the floor.. he didn't want to make it too cold, lest he damage the ship. he was merely a guest here after all.. to be honest, 12 below zero felt a tad to warm for him  even in just his summer clothes, but it would have to do. Now... For a training partner.... What should he try to manifest today? or perhaps a shipmate would be willing to help out?

He'd have to think on this for a few minutes.

[Sylono]

Shepherd found herself in the hanger of the Szabla, finishing up an inspection of the mechanics holding her personal starfighter, with the amount of credits she poured into the Small Order the blue furred woman wasn't going to take any chances. It was also a good bet that the owner(s) of the Szabla wouldn't appreciate the damage that would be caused by something not properly tied down. After confirming that the fighter wasn't going anywhere, the clone stood up from under the Small Order's wing, grabbed a toolkit that was sitting on the wing and tucked it under her arm; her free hand clutching Zefran's holo-disguise device.

With the intention of finding a more comfortable place to get started on the piece of tech's repairs, the vixen made her way out of the hanger and into the hallway, pulling up a mental map of the ship as she navigated the halls. Shepherd was almost envious of Bohdan's group, what Lylatian outlaw wouldn't be? The Szable was a fine ship, very sizable, it wasn't often you'd see a small group with a ship big enough to have a hanger. She had to wonder what sort of connections they had; perhaps she could convince them to share that information in the future.

Shepherd continued through the hallways, lost in thought, some idle, while others more relevant to her current situation.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Zefran picked up the fork to examine the eggs, but Korben's intense stare was a bit unnerving. He was sure he was just doing his job.

"Um..." he stared back uncertainly, "Yeah, I think so. Thank you." He picked through his food, "So...that guy's interesting."

----

"Yeah, I think she's gonna make a full comeback with some bed rest." Antoine smiled proudly as he looked over his recovering machine, "You ain't kidding. What a ride. Too bad Macbeth's not going to be much better."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Yup," said Korben frankly. He walked towards Zefran, pulling up a wheeled chair and placing beside the bed. Korben sat down in the chair. "He's crazy. I'm serious." Korben leaned back in the chair, and it made several squeaking noises. "But... deep down... he's scared. Of what..." Korben shrugged his shoulders, silently saying "I don't know" to Zefran. Korben then examined Zefran's wings, his DNA, his horns, with his sunglasses. They worked wonders for him. Korben, however, sensed that the sunglasses made Zefran feel uneasy. Of course, Korben blankly staring behind them exacerbated the situation. He elected to do something that he has not done for someone in a long time: remove his sunglasses.

"You're worried that p-p-p-people will j-j-judge you b-b-because of how you l-l-l-look, right?" asked Korben, his distinct and almost unshakable stutter shattering his words like a jackhammer breaking apart concrete.

 

Sandor, meanwhile, prowled the ship, looking for the guests they brought aboard. He passed by the Cerinian clone, who was wandering around near the mess hall. "Stay sauerkraut," Sandor said as he passed by her. He winked at her, and continued onward to the cargo bay. When he reached it, Sandor opened the door and found Antoine and Tom, examining the former's motorbike. "There is no way to pizza, pizza is the way," commented Sandor cryptically before leaving. As Sandor headed for the bridge, he passed by a room that was unusually cold, and a frozen mist seeped from the room inside. Sandor opened it, and saw Renard, the Pagan Magician, freeze the room solid. He walked in, barely phased by the cold, and slapped Renard's behind. "What's up, Meat Popsicle?" he asked. "Wow, all this food talk is making me hungry." Sandor examined the ice-cold room, his sneakers crunching on the frost developing on the floor.

 

Meanwhile, on the bridge, the conversation between Bohdan and Elizabeth now deteriorated into a shouting match, both uttering indistinct nonsense at each other. Roy tuned himself out of the ruckus, as he was listening to music on his earbuds, bopping his head to the beat. It was at this time that Jacob Massamo, a Katinan rhino, entered the bridge via the elevator. However, he was taken aback by the argument between Bohdan and Elizabeth. Not wanting to get involved, Jacob tiptoed around them, and glanced at Roy, who was oblivious to the shouting. Jacob rolled his eyes at this chaos, and sat down at a console, where he monitored the ship's communications, sensors, and central computer.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Renardfrost]

he jumped a bit and turned around. " Whoa! Hey there, Sandor!"

He smiled a little bit. " I was actually thinking of getting some sparring in.. If you're willing to help me out, You could save me the trouble of Making a snow golem." He said, rubbing his shoulders to get off a bit of snow that had formed while he had been sitting there.

He was a tad embarrassed.. He knew the most folk didn't like the sight of magic.. especially in a place as technologically advanced as the lylat system. Not only that, Sandor called it "pagan"... whatever that means. but he felt it wasn't exactly positive.

 

[Zaphyr Stone]

Zefran regarded the beaver's unique eyes curiously but said nothing about them. He was unable to stop a small quirk of the lips at his stutter. At least he wasn't the only one hiding.

"My appearance has always attracted trouble." he sighed, munching on a strip of bacon, "You saw for yourself today. I wish I didn't have to hide, but people can't handle what I am. When I'm disguised I can talk to whoever I want, even make friends. I can walk around as I please. People change when they see what I really am. It never fails."

----

Antoine watched Sandor flash in and out of the room, his strange words still clinging to the air he left behind. He scratched behind his ear and shrugged.

"That kid's not firing on all thrusters, but at least he's consistent."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Oh, sparring?" questioned Sandor. "I can help with that. So, with our fists, or melee weapons?"

 

Korben not only sympathized, but connected, with Zefran as he was told details of the latter's struggle. Finally, someone who knows what it is like to be called a "freak".

"A few years b-b-back," Korben began, "I didn't w-w-wear sungl-glasses. People stared. Called me names. Asked if I f-f-fell into a n-n-nuclear reactor. And my stutter..." Korben shook his head. "I decided to hi-hi-hide myself. Liz says it's k-k-killing me. Hm. Perhaps..." He looked at his shoes in shame, and after a few moments of deep thought, he stared into Zefran's eyes, his own glowing ones casting their rays onto the Katheeri's face. "Just want you t-t-to know, you're n-n-n-not alone." Korben smiled ever so slightly.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Sylono]

Giving Sandor a questioning gaze as he passed, then paused as she mouthed the word "sauerkraut" to herself in confusion. Being almost clueless on foodstuffs of other civilizations, Shepherd shrugged it off as non-sense; In her mind, the bird-canine was likely to toss more of it around in future. With a mental note to prepare for any future verbal exchange with crazies, she stepped into the mess hall and made for the closest table.

Shepherd took a seat and set what she was carrying on the table, then brought a hand to her chin as she tried to determine what tools she'd need for the job: If some parts were crucial, How much jury rigging would be needed? Was the chip inside damaged and needed to be replaced?

"May as well get started..." The vixen said under her breath as she reached for the collar device with one hand, while opening the toolkit and retrieving what she figured she'd need with her other.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Sylono

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

After a solid minute of nothing but shouting, both Bohdan and Elizabeth recognized the futility of their argument.

"Hey, hey, hey,!" said Elizabeth. "Let's just calm the f--k down, huh?"

"Agreed," replied Bohdan, his voice weak from yelling. The two of them backed away from each other.

"You know," started Elizabeth, "Alex shouldn't have done that."

"I personally would have asked for the Katheeri's permission to do that," said Bohdan. "Sandor does not see things like your or I do. He is a man of action."

"Yeah, I get that," replied Elizabeth. "It's just that sometimes his actions do more way more harm than good."

"Come on, the CDF suspected nothing."

"That's because Iolo showed up, and not some other B.J. (Blue Jacket, slang for a CDF police officer). If it was any other half-decent officer, we would've been in the s--t, my scalie friend." Bohdan stared at her, torn between defending Sandor and accepting reason.

"Sandor has his disadvantages," said Bohdan. "But he is a valuable team member, nonetheless."

"Oh yeah," said Elizabeth. "But what if he does something really crazy, something that gets one of us killed? Then, that's a f--king problem."

"I do crazy s--t that gets us in trouble," answered Bohdan.

"Yeah, but you have the hindsight to salvage a f--ked up situation."

"Do I?" Bohdan then sat down in his command chair, in the elevated platform where he and Elizabeth were standing. He looked at Elizabeth. "Sometimes, in battle, I feel that this is the end, and I throw caution to the wind. I charge head-first into the enemy, with no thought of teamwork or even self-preservation. And yet, you follow me. You watch my back." Elizabeth walked towards Bohdan, and sat down in the first officer's chair to the right of Bohdan. She looked at the dragon.

"We killed together. We bled together. We won fights together. In Gaul, that makes two people siblings by bond. So, I guess, in some f--ked up way, you're my brother. My 129-year-old, two meter tall, 158 kilogram, winged, scalie brother." The two of them shared a chuckle. "But ah.... keep an eye on Alex. If not for him, then for all of us."

"I shall. Sister."

Edited August 27, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Zaphyr Stone]

Zefran smiled gratefully and nodded in understanding. "Thanks."

With a sheepish grin, he set the tray of food aside and got to his feet. Steadying himself, he waited until he was sure he was fully in control of himself again before taking a step forward.

"I can go walk around, right? I kind of want to let Antoine know I'm up and okay."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Su-sure," stuttered Korben, yet comfortably. "Come on. H-he's in th-th-the cargo b-bay. I'll t-t-take you t-to him." Korben then walked to the door, where its sensors detected his presence, and opened for him. He gestured Zefran to follow him as he stepped out into the hallway.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Zefran followed, looking around at the corridor in bewilderment. "You're ship is so clean! I'm so used to stowing away in cargo holds."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Well," started Korben, turning his head back to Zefran, "now you h-have b-b-b-beds." The corridor itself dwarfed either of the duo, with the ship having been built to Ruthenian standards: a clearance of 10 feet, and a width of 12 feet. Indeed, it was a massive ship. Most Cornerians that walked inside the ship felt like children, since everything was larger than what they were accustomed to. However, this greater area also means more surfaces to clean, a task that Jacob is more than happy to undertake. That workaholic rhino is always looking for something to do.

Korben continued to the elevator until he reached it, and stopped, pressing the down button. He looked back, waiting for Zefran.

[Sylono]

After cracking the device open, Shepherd inspected the obvious damage with the a electronic multi-tool, most of which seemed to be with the emitters, with a few bits here and there knocked out of place. It was a quick fix, a simple soldering of the wires that gave the emitters power, while the emitters that were too extensively damaged were replaced with spare emitters that the Cerinian had in her kit (Even if they were a size to big, being that they were meant for an wrist mounted holo-computer); The whole process was a fifteen minute ordeal.

With her holo-computer Shepherd connected to the devices data chip, a quick scan let her know that everything was fine in the data compartment. Since just leaving it as is made her feel like the job was being left half done, the clone did a quick defrag of the information before finishing up.

With a quick check to see if it was working properly, the vixen look upon her handy work with a proud smile. Perhaps a little too proud for the amount of work she did, but no one was around to point that out to her.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Zefran caught up to the beaver, taking great pleasure in having the extra room in the hall to give his cramped wings a good stretch upward. The tips of feathers brushed against the ceiling briefly before they tucked back in again.

He waited somewhat awkwardly for the lift, unsure what else he could say.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Korben analyzed Zefran, who stood beside him. He touched one of Zefran's wings curiously. "Ooh," he said as its foreign texture graced his fingertips. "Ah, sorry. It's just... Wow..." Korben stood there, his hands gently feeling Zefran's wings.

[Zaphyr Stone]

"Ah, yeah." he laughed awkwardly, wings twitching as they were examined, "They're real; I promise."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Korben was like a toddler examining their rattle for the first time: he was mesmerized by them. However, the prodding beaver snapped back to reality when the elevator doors opened. Korben stepped inside and stated his destination clearly: Floor 3. He waited patiently for Zefran to step inside.

 

Meanwhile, Bohdan and Elizabeth sat in their chairs on the bridge. Roy and Jacob were working away at their consoles. The Szabla was now about an hour away from Macbeth. Bohdan sat up straight and patiently, while Elizabeth gently swayed her chair left and right. Bohdan turned to his "sister".

"Once we reach Aiolius," said Bohdan, "we let the others have what they want. Then, we take what we need before we destroy everything. Understood?"

"It still doesn't feel right, Theo," remarked Elizabeth. "I mean, the place could be inhabited. And even if it isn't, it's a treasure trove of knowledge and history. We can't just sack the place."

"We must," defended Bohdan. "Who knows what possible weapons lurk there, waiting for some crazed terrorist to use?"

"Or..." rebuffed Elizabeth. There could be nothing but ruins of great archaeological value."

"Well, we shall wait and see..." Bohdan announced.

"Uh-huh," replied Elizabeth cynically, almost anticipating Bohdan's choice to destroy Aiolius the moment they stumble upon it.

[Renardfrost]

"Alright.. Here goes.. Hand to hand... if Melee weapons come out, they remain in their sheaths or have their stun capabilities turned off." he stated, his tail beginning to sway as he stood and drew himself to his full height. " I'll try not to use magic... please understand that it's a bit of a reflex thing, sometimes."

He started bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, the frost beneath the fox-dog's feet crunching

 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor breathed deeply, bringing his hands up to his chest before lowering them as he slowly exhaled. He stretched his neck twice, and a cracking sound could be heard. "Let's start simple," said Sandor as he decided that he would make the first strike. He then threw a simple punch at Renard.

[Renardfrost]

Renard, dropped into a compact fighting stance, Hands up to guard his head, and a fluid stance, his legs always moving, he Had picked up a lot of fighting styles from his travels, but he figured he'd start with pugilism, it was the fastest stance to adopt. He darted left, , leaning a but forward to let momentum carry him a bit closer as he launched a counter of three punches, two body blows to punish the open guard and a glancing uppercut meant to daze, not hurt.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor was completely taken aback by Renard's unstoppable counter. The uppercut was nothing extreme to him, but those two body blows landed on very old bruises inflicted by what Sandor deemed to be a truly evil man. Sandor stumbled back, falling back-first onto the ice-cold floor. The frost crunched as he laid there, groaning, grasping his torso. He then picked himself back up, and shook his head. Sandor went back into his combat stance.

"Forgot about those," he stated. "Anyway, where were we? Ah yes..." Sandor then executed a roundhouse kick.

[Renardfrost]

Renard's tail bristled as the roundhouse kick made solid contact with his side before he could shift to a more appropriate stance. Letting out a slight weeze as he stepped back, having the wind momentarily knocked out of him.

"Guah...." he managed to force out as he staggered back and was able to form any word at all. He took a few more steps back, holding his stance firm.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Alright, Magic Man," said Sandor. "Come. Let's see what you've got." Sandor swayed back and forth, the pain radiating from his torso now a distant memory. He breathed shallowly and frequently, with the hot steam of his breath cascading from his snout.

[Renardfrost]

His stance shifted, arms up, forearms raised to protect the head, his dominant leg given a higher cant so he'll always have some momentum. He gingerly stepped forward a few paces before launching a heavy handed blow to Sandor's sternum, Hoping to get him to stagger so he can rush in for another barrage