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Author Topic: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]  (Read 914 times)

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Anonymous

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Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« on: December 04, 2009, 09:24:43 pm »
Manteca Interviews

(OOC: This is my first attempt at writing on RotE. My character is ignorant of the world, as am I. Please forgive any small slip-ups in the text as these are only a reflection of my newness on a board with a complex world and background. I welcome any other RPers to the story who are willing to contribute to my education ^_^)

[sound of static]

"So you're saying that the engines aren't even running, right now? We're just floating haphazardly through space with no control over our course whatsoever?"
"Yep. Well, no. Sort of. See, the course adjustment was made back when the engines were fired. When we get closer to the station the computer will correct the ship's course for accuracy and fire the engine again. Isaac Newton keeps us going in between."
"Isaac who?"
"Newton. Don't you know your history, boy? He was a physics dude, from way-back-when. On Earth. Invented the law of motion. Or something."
"I see. But wouldn't it be faster to keep the engines firing continuously? Add more thrust to increase our speed?"
"Faster? Sure, it'd be faster. But a lot more complicated. See, the computer makes a calculation every time it fires the engine to adjust the course of the ship. If it fired the engine the entire way, it would have to make continuous course corrections."
"So... it takes six weeks to get to space station Cancer because the ship's computer can't do calculus?"
"What? No.... no, don't be silly. Well, the ship's computer isn't programmed for that, but I suppose it could be. What were you asking? Oh, right. Fuel! Fuel's the answer. Fuel's expensive, we can't just fire the engine the whole way to Cancer or costs would skyrocket. Sorry, bad pun, I know. But there you have it. In order for passengers such as yourself to be able to afford the trip, we travel slower."
"So how long can the ship's engines fire for?"
"Hmm... a couple of minutes I guess. Not much more than that. Fuel's expensive, we don't carry much reserves. But don't worry, we've got more than enough to make it to the station."
"What happens if it screws up?"
"What's that?"
"If the ship's computer screws up the course and we miss the station and run out of fuel? What happens then?"
"Well, I don't really know. That's never happened before. I suppose it's like you said, at the beginning. How did you put it?"
"Floating haphazardly through space?"
"Yeah. That's it."

[sound of static]

"Sure, I've made the trip before. You get used to it; long travel times, between places. Gives a man time to think."
"About what?"
"You know. Life. Women. Work. Or I go down to the docking bay for the poker games, that helps pass the time. A couple of guys have a still; it's decent shit and it don't cost you as much as the ship's bar."
"Is that.... allowed? I thought distributing aboard ship without a license was-"
"Oh come on, kid, who the hell gives a shit? After six weeks stuck in a fucking tin can, anything to keep you from being bored out of your skull. Hell half of the crew are down there - I owe the first mate twenty bucks from last night."
"I'll... keep that in mind. So, what kind of work do you do?"
"What?"
"For a living? You're traveling for work, right?"
"Did I say I was? What the hell is it to you?"
"Um... well-"
"I'm a tradesman, same as most everyone else on board. Can't buy my own ship, so I take a transport. You got a problem with that?"
"No, I just-"
"Who the hell are you, anyway? I haven't met such a nosey bastard since I was in lockup last month and the cops were breathing down my neck."
"I'm Tristan, sir. I'm a sort of freelance journalist."
"Journalist? Shit. What the hell, are you writing this down or something? Fuck you, man."
"But, wait, I only-"

[sound of static]

"Wow. A mage? Really? A free mage? Wow. You must've boarded at the last stop and not back on Edanith, right? Ha, ha. Hey, does your hair do that naturally or is that, like, magic?"
"......."

[sound of static]

"It's just me an' the boys on a hauling run, right? Standard stuff, legit goods in the bay and a few things stashed here and there to make the run profitable. We're out in the black eight weeks and not a sign of another ship. Then we start getting close to Cancer... not much further than we are right now, and BAM! Something on the radar. We turn on the com and there's a distress signal, but the captain ain't no idiot. We turn and run for it."
"What? Why? You just left them there?"
"Wasn't nothing we could do. Passenger ship hit by pirates. Transport ships ain't got no weapons, just a whole lotta goods and passengers ripe for the taking."
"Pirates? No way. Pirates? But.... don't we have, like, interstellar police? To... you know, save people from the pirates?"
[laughter] "This your first trip across the system, kid? Hell yeah, there's pirates. And if you think some hero in a uniform is gonna stop 'em if they decide to come after us, you're deluding yourself."
"You think they'll come after the Manteca?"
"Could be. If we're spotted, and they think we're worth it. That's the risk everyone takes, on a standard transport."
"But, they'll just take our stuff, right? They don't, like, kill the passengers... do they?"
"Yeah, they'll kill the passengers, often as not. The dead don't rat to no one, after all. Some they'll sell to slavery, especially mages. Or they'll strip the ship and leave the crew for dead. You ok kid? You're looking a bit pale."

[click]

Tristan sat in the far corner of the ship's mess, draped across the table and staring out into the black with the earpiece from his recorder wedged in his right ear. His lunch tray, covered in crumbs and sandwich crusts, sat unbussed on the table beside him, and a blank new document was open on his electronic reporter's pad; the cursor flashing hypnotically and mocking his lack of inspiration. He nudged his pen up the slanted dining table and watched it roll back to his hand repeatedly, trying each time to get it as close to the edge as possible without letting it roll off.

Another week of this... assuming they didn't get captured by pirates. He sighed.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2009, 10:39:20 pm »
The ship's mess hall was, well, a mess.

That was at least part of what Harvey gleaned when he first walked into the large room. people were everywhere on this "floating pile of rust" as he once called some of these spaceships. They were dirty, dark, dank, rusty...mankind certainly had come a long way since he was born, but they also had a tremendous amount of work to do.

That, and Harvey was bored and broke, two things he hated more then anything else, other then being out of a relationship. what he would give to have a good woman with him right now, to spend the empty hours talking, loving, and sharing opinions on how bad the ship's food was. Considering his rather unusual and unique set of abilities and powers, though, finding stable long-term relationships tended to be a difficult task for the sharply-dressed, green-haired "entrepreneur".

As Harvey slowly began pacing around the mess hall, he mused on his bad luck and decisions of late. part of him was wishing he had not lost that bet with one of the guys back home before he left the trip...Harvey hated his bad luck, and now he would have to pay for it all the way to cancer. At least once he got there he would be able to get back what he lost.

However, he did not realize that he was about to meet a new aquaintance that might just make this trip a bit more interesting. Looking across the mess hall, Harvey saw a man with an electronic pad of some sort. He looked like he was bored. Walking over to the thin, brown-haired man, he decided he would just give the man a little bit of a bother, if anything to just kill a few minutes.

"Wow, someone on this station acctually doing something interesting and useful with their time. I'm shocked. Shouldn't you be sitting around with your thumb up your ass like most of the crew?" Harvey stated sarcastically, his tone attempting to be humorous instead of confrontational. Harvey sat down on the table next to the unbussed tray of sandwich crusts the writer left behind while awaiting a possible response.
« Last Edit: December 06, 2009, 01:11:33 pm by Anonymous »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2009, 06:24:28 pm »
Tristan started at the other man's unexpected arrival, loudly jarring the plate and cutlery that lay on the table. He looked up at the lanky, green-haired, yellow-eyed man and felt like a tiny mouse caught underneath a massive, hungry falcon. One that had green feathers. The hackles on the back of his neck rose, and Tristan sat straight up in his chair, his eyes shifting nervously from one object to the next in an attempt to discern what the stranger could be doing at his table. Tristan knew he hadn't seen this man before in the five weeks he'd been on board the ship; then again, what was it his journalism teacher had said?

"Routine exposes you to the same things over and over again. It makes for boring stories. Change your routine, and you'll find a new perspective that you haven't encountered before."

Right, thought Tristan. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already 1400, he'd never remained in the mess hall this late after lunch. That explains that. But Tristan wondered if his journalism teacher had considered that a change of routine in a place like the Manteca might result in meeting someone who could detach his vertebrae using only the power of his yellow-eyed stare? The stranger sat down, and Tristan gulped. A vivid imagination and overwhelming paranoia were really a terrible concoction to have swimming around in one's head.

"Wow, someone on this station actually doing something interesting and useful with their time. I'm shocked. Shouldn't you be sitting around with your thumb up your ass like most of the crew?"

Tristan blinked slowly, and look down at the reporting pad on the table. The blank one. The stranger was... making conversation? With him? Most everyone else Tristan encountered on the ship told him to go stuff his head out an airlock as soon as he walked into the room. But how did staring at a blank page for two hours constitute being interesting or useful? Tristan was confused.

"Uhhh..." Tristan began, rather dumbly. Hang on, he thought to himself. This is an opportunity for another interview! Finally! He pulled out his recorder and plopped it down between them on the table, grinning broadly and (oddly) no longer intimidated. "I don't know about that," he replied, "'Most of the crew' doesn't like me very much. I'm actually taking interviews for a possible journal article, would you mind if I interview you?" Eagerly, he switched the recorder on. "Tell me about what you do, and why you're stuck aboard this floating tuna can with broke passengers like me."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2009, 08:06:08 pm »
The man reacted to Harvey's somewhat sarcastic introduction with surprise. Harvey had not actually intended to surprise the man, and yet the middle-aged man was so surprised by Harvey's enterence that the green-haired man was unsure if his new friend had not been scared to death.

"Uhhh..."

After a few seconds of tense silence, Harvey felt the man's surprised and fearful aura subside, and saw the writer grin widely. Apparently he had piqued the writers interest. If his new acquaintance was even a writer, or something more altogether. His answer would come rather quickly as the man quickly pulled out a recorder. So the man was likely a reporter. Interesting. Perhaps Harvey might actually might have something to kill his excess time.

"I don't know about that, 'Most of the crew' doesn't like me very much. I'm actually taking interviews for a possible journal article, would you mind if I interview you?"

The man switched the recorder on. Looks like Harvey really didn't have much of a way to say no. Oh well, looks like he would just have to make up a good, believable reason for why he was here, And if the man asked, how he got on the ship in the first place, because he had not been on the ship when it had first left.

"Tell me about what you do, and why you're stuck aboard this floating tuna can with broke passengers like me."

Harvey smiled, and responded rather nonchalantly.

"Well, I'm just a sort of "Entrepreneur/drifter" type. I'm traveling on this "floating tuna can" because I lost a bet and, well, here I am. As for the other reason why I'm doing this, well...

Harvey leaned foreward, and looked the man in the eyes with his own.

"That's a secret."

He leaned back, resting his back against the table while sitting on the bench next to it.

"So, what exactly are you doing here? If you don't mind me asking. Usually, journalists are in somewhat more interesting places. Who did you piss off to get flying tuna can duty? also, care to fill me in on your name?"
« Last Edit: December 06, 2009, 01:25:56 pm by Anonymous »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2009, 12:43:18 pm »
It was lunch time and Alice was hungry. The pink haired pixie was feeling a little but lost. She hadn't been on board long and was still getting used to it. She blinked up at a sign on the wall, brow furrowing slightly in concentration, the wheels in her brain slowly struggling along.

After a moment, her face brightened and she headed down the hallway. Watching Alice walk was a bit like watching Jell-O on a spring. Everything bounced and jiggled as she walked, even her thick pink hair bounced.

Managing to reach the lunch room with out further incident, Alice found it was rather empty. Wandering over to get some food, she was rewarded by what she was pretty sure was yesterday's reprocessed food. It certainly looked like it could be. She sighed, turning to survey where she wanted to sit. She missed real food and nice things. Being poor sucked. But her had gotten dumped by her last boyfriend, and also fired from her job as he was the captain of the ship. So she was flat broke.

Oooh! People! And cute boys at that! Alice perked up, bouncing over to the table and sitting down next to the brown haired one. Beaming up at them, Alice picked up her fork, "Hi! What are you guys doing?" Her eyes fell on the recorder, a look of puzzlement sliding over her pretty features, "What's that? Is your radio broken?"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2009, 09:08:47 pm »
Tristan sighed, and switched off the recorder. So much for that. "Sorry man," he said, leaning back and placing his feet on the empty chair next to him. "My name's Tristan. Truth is, I haven't done jack shit with my time since I got on board this ship. Interstellar journalism was supposed to be exciting, but in reality I'm the odd kid from planet-side and no one will give me the time of day. I've spent most of my time over the past five weeks counting tiles on the ceiling and reading bad mystery novels. I don't think there's any reason to call me interesting or useful."

He placed his hands behind his head, leaning back to stretch the muscles in his shoulders. "I didn't piss anyone off to end up here. That's the sad thing. I thought it would be interesting to visit Cancer. Sort of a melting pot of cultures between Earth and Mars that no one really understands. There ought to be great stories there, right? Or, a bunch of tight-lipped, cranky guys involved in illegal occupations who aren't about to tell me shit about their life. Looks like this might've been a bad idea."

A large, pink, bobbling entity chittered over suddenly to sit down at their table. Tristan turned, gazing upon the surreal woman with a blatant look of "what the fuck?". She was vivacious, jiggly, and extremely proximate. Tristan hesitated, not immediately certain how to react. But before he could produce a confused and embarrassing non-sensical greeting, the young woman began eating her lunch and spoke to them enthusiastically.

"Hi! What are you guys doing? What's that? Is your radio broken?"

Tristan's imagination immediately replaced this woman's strange appearance with that of a perfectly ordinary teenage friend of his younger sister's who liked to stay to dinner at his parents' house a little more often than was polite, and who always arranged to sit next to him at the dinner table. Ah, he thought to himself. One of those. He felt an odd and sudden wave of gratitude at the young woman and smiled charmingly. Space-faring people really were quite ordinary under their strange appearances; at least in character. "Hi," he said charmingly. "I haven't seen you before, have I? My name's Tristan. And this," he indicated the 'radio' on the table, "is a recorder and a writing pad," he explained. "Reporters use them on assignments. I've been interviewing some of the people on the ship. This fellow," he indicated the green-haired man, "was just about to tell me the story about the bet he lost." He grinned mischievously at the green-haired stranger.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #6 on: December 07, 2009, 10:51:04 pm »
Harvey intently listened to his friends woes: so Tristan was indeed a journalist. A greenhorn space journalist, but a journalist nonetheless. His attitude was definitely what Harvey expected of someone floating in space for so long without fun or without getting laid. Though from what Harvey could tell, the somewhat geeky journalist had some difficulty in that department.

Despite that, when the young, pink-haired woman approached Tristan actually had a more gentlemanly and more obvious response then Harvey, whose response was to tilt the brim of his hat down to disguise his subtle and rather lecherous gaze.

The woman was rather bouncy and curvaceous, possessing a bit of extra weight then some women, yet having the weight in all the right places to accentuate her "assets", from what Harvey could tell. An obvious grin spread across his face as he continued to stare at all her features from below

Maybe being stuck on this ship wouldn't be so bad after all, especially If he could cozy up to that particular girl. Her statement regarding the recording pad also showed that she was somewhat ditsy. That was good as well, as it meant she wouldn't ask too many questions of him. Maybe he could get to know her, have some "fun", get her number, start dating...

Harvey's little daydream was broken by the sound of Tristen asking him a question.

"I've been interviewing some of the people on the ship. This fellow was just about to tell me the story about the bet he lost." Tristan said with a mischievous grin.

Clever. The man had some spine being so forward regarding questions.Harvey wondered if Tristen actually knew just how... unique he (Harvey) was if the journalist would be so aggressive in his questioning. Oh well. Harvey was in a curious and much more open mood since the entrance of their bouncy new lady-friend.

"My silly bet can wait for now, its really quite boring, and not worth wasting time telling. Would you grace me with your name, pretty lady?" Harvey said sweetly to the young, pink-haired woman. He was both weakly dodging the question of his bet and attempting to flirt with his new acquaintance.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2009, 11:30:43 pm »
Wow! Everyone was so friendly! And so interesting! Alice's large blue eyes got wider at Tristan's mention of being a journalist, her full lips parting slightly, "Really? You are interviewing someone? Like, for a magazine? That's so cool! So, um, like...does that make them famous?" Her expression turned puzzled for a moment, her perfect forehead wrinkling.

Shifting to look at Harvey, she smiled brightly at him, "You lost a bet?" She leaned closer to him, "Are you, like famous?" Famous people got written about in magazines! That was so cool! Alice always wanted to be famous. Rich and famous and with an amazing boyfriend and oodles of diamonds.

"I bet it's nice being famous." She paused then, frowning as her brain raced to catch up with events, "But...why are you on this ship? Shouldn't you....like have your own ship?"

Harvey's question had Alice flushing slightly, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm such a scatter brain!" Lightly twaping her head, Alice laughed, "I would lose my head if I didn't have it already! My name is Alice. It's nice to meet you!"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2009, 12:09:11 am »
Well, it appeared everyone had a stake in knowing what his bet was at the moment. There was no point in Hiding it, as the more he tried to move away from the subject the deeper these two might dig, and the harder it would be to keep inconspicuous.

So Harvey would simply bend the truth a bit with his answer (a tactic he was excessively good at.)

"Alice...lovely name for a lovely lady. The pleasure is all mine. Alright, since you asked, my dear, I guess I have no choice but to tell: I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I am also far from poor as well. Benefits for working as a freelance entrepreneur. The bet itself was me attempting to get back something I lost to someone long ago, but the end result was that I've been forced to take a trip to cancer without using any of my normal resources. Rather unfortunate, but its how the dice fell, I suppose."

Harvey knew It was a half-assed lie, but he figured it would be convincing enough. His earlier failure to disclose his true intentions had earned him this predicament, so he figured that by fessing up, even falsely, he could at least stop the prying questions about himself. Now was not the time to be bragging about his "resources".


"At any rate, what is a beautiful flower like yourself doing in a place like this?"
He said, utilizing his naturally deep and suave voice as he turned back to Alice.

Perhaps the risk would be worth the reward if he did indeed woo the young lass.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Anonymous

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Re: Manteca Interviews [open, mature]
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2009, 01:34:28 pm »
As Harvey spoke, Alice blinked up at him, his words mostly going over her head. But she nodded, bright pink curls bouncing as she did, her expression one of awe and puzzlement, "Is an aun-ter-pa-nure like....a mercenary?" Alice giggled, "You don't look very tough! Are you getting something valuable?" Alice liked rich men, and if he was only on this ship because of a bet, maybe he had money! "I bet it's like...diamonds or something like that! How cool!"

A reporter and a famous mercenary! This ship had a lot of interesting people! And at least one of them was rich! His question had her expression souring slightly and she jabbed her fork into her food, "Me? I'm here because it's cheap. I am hoping to find a job on Cancer."

No need to go into all the details. Alice gave another giggle, "It's so nice to talk to friendly people again. Everyone else on this ship is so grumpy!"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

 

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