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Author Topic: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]  (Read 6259 times)

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Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #20 on: August 14, 2016, 07:35:07 am »
Rhevi noted the Feylini's more relaxed posture with limited optimism. The true test still lay ahead, but, for the moment, it was reassuring to see that she was, indeed, able to be reasoned into calm in otherwise frightening scenarios.  <You, specifically? You were lucky. However, my sister did ask that her intermediary look for Feylini with skills that would be useful for a guide, as well as survival and possibly combat skills. Ideally, a member of the resistance, but there was really no way to determine that without endangering lives and tipping my sister's hand, so that was up to chance.>, he answered, <In short, you, as I understand, were the only one readily available with the right skills. As it was, I'm told a rival or two had to be encouraged to look elsewhere, though that could also have been the intermediary looking to increase his finder's fee.>, he continued. <I wouldn't dwell on it too long. Survivor's guilt can devour you from within if you're not careful. Best to keep moving forward and do what you can for your friends.>, Rhevi added, the last sentence carrying a slight note of sadness in his 'tone' as he remembered buddies who'd died over the centuries in battles he himself had sometimes been one wrong step, a few centimeters, or one second slower/faster from dying in.
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #21 on: August 14, 2016, 10:24:43 am »
Sitara couldn't quite repress the shudder that went through her at his words. So there'd been others interested in buying her? She could only imagine they were other Rivideans. To think she had been that close from an entirely different fate was...unnerving, to say the least.

And even as she thought that, another pang of guilt struck her, making her insides twist sickeningly. It felt wrong to feel so relieved, so happy to have been saved, when her friends could be dying or worse as she spoke. She didn't deserve this any more than they did--less, actually! Jyoti was so kind and sweet, and Frey was so brave, and and and...

She snapped out of her thoughts when he spoke of survivor's guilt, and had to bark a dry laugh at that. Wow. Read her like a book.

"Yeah, easier said than done," she muttered, tugging at an ear. "I couldn't do shit. Sarah's gonna be really disappointed, I'm not a fighter, I'm a runner, I couldn't help anyone. They came for us and I just...I ran. Got caught anyway, hah."

It wasn't entirely true. She'd run, true, after she'd run out of bullets and they just kept coming. She hadn't stopped to try to help any of the others grabbed; she knew she couldn't help them at that point. So she'd run, and she hadn't gotten very far, and they'd taken her kicking and biting and screaming.

Her shoulders slumped. "What happens if I fail?"
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Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #22 on: August 14, 2016, 10:47:48 am »
Rhevi nodded slightly, lower jaw plate sliding down slightly. <Says the Feylini who came in here pretty much kicking and screaming, determined to fight me tooth and nail.>, he remarked with a slightly amused 'tone', <Granted, a lot of that was meant to distract me, and possibly yourself, from your fear, but there are many who, in your situation, would have been frozen with fear, too afraid to so much as speak out of turn. I highly doubt your first reaction was to run. Even now, you cooperate out of practicality, rather than meekness or desire.>, he continued, his 'tone' more reassuring.

<I've seen a lot of slaves in my time. By human reckoning, I'm just over a millennium and a half old. I've seen everything from mindless beasts like the valari hesta, barely fit to serve, to willful beings that, in a fair universe, would never know the bonds of slavery. If there's a personality type I've never seen, it doesn't exist in any known part of the universe.>, Rhevi explained, <Unless I'm slipping in my age, you are not the type to simply turn tail at the first hint of trouble, pardon the expression. That's just the guilt talking.>

<You won't.>, Rhevi stated, <You might stumble, but you have the skills. It's your confidence that needs work.>
« Last Edit: August 14, 2016, 12:37:32 pm by GIR »
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #23 on: August 14, 2016, 03:05:27 pm »
"Whoa, shit, did you just psychoanalyze me? Are you psychoanalyzing me?" Sitara said, staring at him. Because, uh, he had hit the nail on the head in an unnerving way, summed her up better than she could sum up herself. The acting likea fierce big shot to hide her fear and distract her captor, yeah, that resonated with her, though she would never admut it. "'Cause I'll have you know I--wait. Millenium? You're a fucking MILLENIUM old?"

She sputtered in surprise, nearly choking on her own words, and felt...suddenly rather like a baby in his presence. She'd really started to feel all adult and shit at eighteen. Now she felt like a child.

"Uhhhh...whoa. Um. Wow, that's...huh." She cleared her throat, bouncing her leg anxiously still, feeling a little awkward. Probably like an ant in the face of a god. Or something like that.

But she did have another question still.

She shook her head, shaking away the shock, and cleared her throat again. "Um...so...what the hell. Why are you being all NICE and stuff? Like with the advice and shit? Like...aren't you a slaver or something? Like that's your slave over there right?"
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Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #24 on: August 14, 2016, 03:48:22 pm »
<You don't get to be my age as a soldier of a race actively at war without having at least a little skill in reading people. Granted, being able to sense your body temperature helps. >, Rhevi explained, <And, yes. 1,522 human years old, to be precise. Sarah's 516, though she acts much younger sometimes. As far as Hestari go, though, I'm about what you'd be at 50 or 60. Granted, I'm in excellent health, and probably won't retire for another six or seven centuries yet, but you get the picture.  My eldest sister, Kelly, was around 2400 when she died.>, he continued, tempted to add a crack about him truly being ancient.

<Believe it or not, not all slavers are inherently cruel. Many take it as their duty to care for what they consider to be 'lesser races', and genuinely do care about their well being, even if they go about preserving it in the wrong way. As for my slave, she's a Sevarik. Her species are subservient and lack any will other than to serve their masters by design. They were originally much like the insects found on human worlds known as bees, with the Sevarik-Hesta serving as their queens. Thousands of years before even I was born, their subspecies was altered to be able to have their masters imprinted on them as their new 'queens'. It's, in my opinion, a very dark period of Hestari history best remembered for the lessons it teaches and little else.>, he explained, <As for me, any being desiring freedom and willing to work for it is, to me, not meant to be enslaved. As a ranking officer, I'm not as free as Ranah and Kelly to act on that belief, but I'm willing to help where I can, and I don't really see any point in mistreating slaves, anyway. If they do good work, they should be rewarded, not beaten or raped for amusement. Speaking of the latter, that's another thing I'll never fully understand. All raping a slave says to me is that the rapist is too cowardly and too weak to find a proper mate or assert dominance in a proper manner.>
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #25 on: August 14, 2016, 05:14:02 pm »
Oh man, he could read her body temperature? What about her heartbeat? No wonder he could read her like a book. Hard to hide much when your body was betraying you--and when you were in the presence of a strange creature who had done it all and talked about centuries like they were years.

Kind of intimidating!

She shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably, shifting where she sat. "The Rivideans don't even give a fuck about being seen as weak or whatever, they don't care. They see us the same way some folks see cattle--creatures of convenience, there to be used for whatever they fucking want. Which is, y'know, fucking or killing, which is about all those bastards know how to do."

She shuddered. She'd seen the aftermath of what they could do to a person, and the memory made her blanch, made her breathing quicken. Made her feel like prey, reminded her of how vulnerable she still was and would be when she went back--and how selfish she was, thinking that when her friends were gone, when they were going through hell. She shook her head, hands clenching, and closed her eyes tight.

"Look, I...I don't really wanna talk about that. About what they do. I just...this whole thing is fucked up." And she was trying really, really hard not to freak out here. Gods she didn't want to go back.
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Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #26 on: August 14, 2016, 05:34:18 pm »
<Yes. Enough on that subject.>, Rhevi stated, his 'tone' angry. Were it not for the situation with the Ulthane and the recent tensions with the Maraki, both enough to sideline the Alliance as far as concerns went, Rhevi was almost certain the Rivideans would be being put in their place. Races such as theirs were rarely tolerated by the Hestari, as their ilk tended to cause other races to be less willing to associate with the Hestari, and had, in the past, even driven worlds to ally with their enemies. As the Feylini closed her eyes, the temperature of her face fell from the blood draining in fear, and her breathing began to quicken, Rhevi resisted the urge to put a hand on her shoulder, knowing that being touched by an alien hand at that moment would make her fear even worse.

<Do you have any other questions?>, he asked, <Once we surface and make the transfer, there won't be any other opportunities to ask for a while.>
« Last Edit: August 14, 2016, 05:37:21 pm by GIR »
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #27 on: August 14, 2016, 10:46:36 pm »
Did she have more questions? Honestly, she probably had a million--and she'd probably think of a million more when it was too late. But this was frankly overwhelming and confusing and it was hard to think of any good ones when she was put on the spot like this and stressing herself ill. They were on a time limit here. No pressure! Ask them all now or forever hold your peace!

But she did have at least one more. The most important one, as far as she was concerned.

She bit her lip, chewing it worriedly for a moment, before she looked up again. It was still so weird, looking at him. His mandibles alone would probably never stop being creepy, and she felt a little bad thinking it, since he had turned out to be...actually surprisingly decent, despite the rough start.

"Do you...do you think I could negotiate a deal with Sarah? Maybe?" she said, sitting up a little straighter. "That if I agree to do this--" Not that she had a choice! "--we find my friends first?"
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Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #28 on: August 15, 2016, 04:22:46 am »
<Whether you could or not is irrelevant. I have the authority to add to your contract, and can put it in as one of the terms, if you'd like. For what it's worth, though, I doubt she'd refuse. Especially if they have useful skills.>, Rhevi answered, pulling up the contract from the card in one of the slots of his wrist terminal, <Just remember, if and when you find them, if you intend to rescue them, they'll need somewhere to go, even if it's with you. That means resources, a place to hide, food and drinkable water, weapons to defend themselves with, medical supplies and those with the skills to use them, and other considerations.>, he added as a reminder, <I'm not trying to discourage you. Just make sure you have plans in place before you go looking for them, and make sure to have multiple backup plans. In any situation, combat in particular, the plan is often the first casualty, and having something to fall back on could mean the difference in your rescue being a long-term success or a long-term failure.>, he continued.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2016, 09:11:21 am by GIR »
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #29 on: August 15, 2016, 06:20:50 pm »
"Finding them is priority one, everything else is secondary," Sitara said firmly, looking up at him. "Every second wasted is a second too late. Food, water, shelter, whatever, we can figure that out later, but we can't do jack shit for them if they're already dead 'cause we were trying to figure out how to feed 'em. Starving free is way fucking better than starving under THEIR care."

She gave her ears another nervous tug. "I just...at the very least I wanna check on 'em. Know they're...okay. I'm not saying we should be idiots about this but if we're gonna do this, we gotta do this like NOW 'cause they're fucking dying while we speak and--!"

She stopped, took a deep breath, and rested her fists on her knees. "Do YOU got any bright ideas?"
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AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #30 on: August 15, 2016, 08:21:21 pm »
Rhevi shook his head as he listened. <Letting your emotions dictate your plans is the surest way to get one or more of your friends killed. You as well, and then there's no telling when your other friends will be rescued. You also fail to consider that, without making sure you've at least got somewhere secure with room enough to take them, they may end up right back in Rividean hands, and you along with them, and the Rivideans, if they've even an inkling of intelligence, will move you all elsewhere. Somewhere Sarah won't have someone with tracking skills specific to your world to help her find and scout. No sense keeping slaves in a camp that has already been raided once.>, he pointed out when she'd finished speaking, adding in a clause that Sarah was to help her rescue her friends as he spoke. <Not only that, but, when you let your enemies dictate your timetable, it's that much easier to back yourself into a corner and be forced to tip your hand much sooner than you want to, and make it all the harder to get rid of them. They'll be on their guard at other places, and may even be able to figure out what they face. Every choice, every non-choice, has consequences, and rebellion and war are rarely forgiving in that department. I understand the urgency fully, but, to be blunt, dead is dead, and you help no one by trying to rush things.>

<Ideas? Hmmm... Keep in mind I say this with only secondhand knowledge of Jeth and the situation there, so take this as a starting point, not an end-all be-all. First step is to find allies. Having allies means having access to whatever supplies, information, weapons, and shelter they can spare. It also means more manpower, and possibly skills you and Sarah don't have. For instance, someone's going to have to learn to read and speak Rividean, assuming they don't speak and write a similar language to common, and Sarah is completely illiterate in any language other than a few Hestari written languages and a couple Draconian written languages. I understand there is a resistance in place? My first move would be to try to establish contact with them. With luck, as hesitant as I am to rely on it, they may know where your friends are being held, which will save you the trouble of tracking them down. Even if they don't, they should at least know where some of the camps are. If the Rivideans organise their camps anything like the Hestari do, hitting the camps could lead you to others. Slaves on Hesta are usually moved to where their skills are most valuable soon after processing. Even if that isn't the specific way the Rivideans do it, they ought to keep logs of who they sell to and where they move any they can use for more than just food and torture. What order you hit them in, if you have to go that route, is up to your judgement. If you know how long it's been since they were captured and can find out what type of vehicles they use to move slaves around, you can figure out how far they could have been taken in the time that's passed, which may narrow down the list considerably. One of the main problems you'll face finding them is that you can't just put up wanted posters and ask everyone you meet if they've seen them. Even on Hesta, slaves aren't encouraged to go asking after family or poking around for information, and nothing's more out of place than a slave tying to find out where other camps are. Discretion is the better part of valor here, and you'll do your friends no good if you end up caught in a trap.>, Rhevi answered, scratching his lower jaw thoughtfully.

<Use Sarah for recon as much as she'll let you. As you'll soon find out, she's quite suited to it. And try to get her to take at least a few ranking slavers alive, for interrogation. Use my name if you need to. As for your role, when not directly helping Sarah, I would suggest you being the intermediary with any Feylini groups, and Sarah be the face of your group when dealing with Rividean sympathisers. As you yourself can attest, other Feylini will be understandably reluctant to trust her, and fear a trap, and you would do well to be wary of any Rivideans offering aid, and not take the risk of meeting them face-to-face until they can be properly vetted. Working quickly is a necessity here, but you need to be cautious, too. When on a hunt, following too quickly can destroy the very tracks you seek.

Once you find your friends, determine if they can be moved, and spend at least a day observing the patterns of the guards, if feasible, paying special attention to shift changes, patrol routes, check-in times, bad habits, even meals and how often and for how long they relieve themselves. It will be painful to wait, but knowing where and when you are most likely to encounter resistance will better prepare you to overcome or avoid it, and could mean the difference between life and death for any friends who are too injured or too sick to move quickly. Even if they are in perfect health, not studying the guards is an excellent way to get ambushed, so don't go in right away unless you absolutely must, and be ready to face stiff opposition if you do. Either way, you'll have to make the call when you get to that point. As I said before, I'm working off of much less information than I'd normally make sure to have.>, he continued.

<One more thing: Keep them simple. the fewer the steps and the fewer the number of things left to chance or requiring things to be just so, the less likely the plan is to fall apart, but always be prepared for the Lieutenant to spill his breakfast. Ask Sarah how that one came about, if you're curious, but it's basically a catch-all for those little things that no one sees coming that can completely shatter any plan.>
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #31 on: August 25, 2016, 09:56:37 am »
Ask and you shall receive, it seemed! Sitara listened to it all without interrupting, her floppy ears lifted as high as she could get them as though that would better help her retain that outpouring of information.

It was...a lot to take in.

And a lot to remember.

She really wished she had something to take notes! But when he spelled it out like that, she could see how her impatience was dangerous, and how, well, maybe he was right. She would have to take it slow. Even though she really, really didn't want to, even though she felt that each extra minute of planning was an extra minute where someone might die or be maimed beyond saving.

When he was done, Sitara was quiet for a long moment as she let it all sink in--and hopefully stay there. Her hands curled against her knees, eyes closed as though that would help her memorize everything, and finally she let out a breath and looked back up at her...crabby companion, who had, indeed, turned out not so bad after all.

In fact, shit...now she didn't really want to leave him.

"You sure you can't come with us?" she said after a long pause, looking up at him hopefully. "I mean, ya like...you know all this shit, you seem to have a handle on it, so like...why don'tcha help us kick ass and stuff, yeah?"
OPEN THREADS! JOIN FOR ADVENTUROUS FUN TIMES!
Plots for an Edani mage? 8D

AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #32 on: August 25, 2016, 04:39:00 pm »
<I'd love to, personally. The Rivideans should not be permitted to carry on as they do, and there are few in the higher packs who would not take the first opportunity to put them in their place.>, Rhevi answered, choosing his words carefully, <But I have other pressing matters to attend to. There are...>, Rhevi continued, pausing to find the best way to indicate there were other, more pressing threats without giving away classified information, <...situations that require my immediate attention. Opening a new front would be... detrimental to handling those situations. Therefore, it cannot appear as though any Hestari are involved in the freeing of your world. Not until the other situations are resolved. Also, as a military officer, I have my orders.>. As he spoke of his orders, Rhevi's hands edged toward his back. He'd been briefed on the Ulthane abominations, and to say he did not look forward to facing them was an understatement. Personally, he would have been happy to go to Jeth if it meant not having to send troops to die in the hopes of pushing back an enemy uniquely suited to countering the main advantages of Hestari naval strategy, but orders were orders, and him not getting the short straw, as the human expression went, would have meant someone else would. The only consolation was that he would be on a command ship, but even those had been breached, infected, and converted before. <To be perfectly honest, you will be far safer where you're going than I will be where I'm going. You don't want to know what I'll be up against.>

"Fleet Hunter. We've arrived at the surface point. Nahlirha probes have been deployed, report negative contacts. Time is T-10 minutes to rendezvous, assuming the recipient is on time.", a voice, the digitized copy of the XO's telepathic 'voice', reported from Rhevi's wrist terminal, speaking in the Hestari Northern Sea dialect.

<Remain submerged until the recipient's ship arrives, then surface parallel 50 meters starboard mirror, request docking, and roll ship 90 degrees to port. ETA T-20 SHM. Repeat common.>, Rhevi ordered, holding up his hand for Sitara to wait.

"Remain submerged until the recipient's ship arrives, then surface parallel to, 50 meters starboard of, and oriented bow forward relative to recipient, request docking, and roll ship 90 degrees to port. Estimated time of arrival is T minus 20 Human Standard Minutes. Aye, Fleet Hunter.", the XO repeated, understanding full well the information was for the Feylini's benefit as well as to confirm his orders.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two small ripples, like tiny splashes in the vastness of space, spread to just under a meter diameter before shrimp-shaped probes burst forth, the rifts closing in a fashion that looked like the splash of objects jumping out of water. As the Valari Hesta scout ship waited for the Sassy Juice to arrive, the probes continuously scanned the area and sent the data to their parent ship.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2016, 06:00:56 pm by GIR »
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #33 on: August 25, 2016, 06:35:47 pm »
"Uhm..." Sitara stared blankly at Rhevi, because she didn't understand a word that disembodied voice from his wrist terminal said. It was a lot of jargon, a lot of official speak that sounded really important and like it was meant to mean something--important enough he had made sure it spoke in her language so she could understand! Unfortunately, though she recognized the words individually, she didn't understand what they meant collectively.

So she just wound up staring at Rhevi with huge, wide, blank eyes.

"Uh...yes? Sounds good?" she said weakly, with a smile and a little laugh.

She didn't want to admit she didn't understand and look stupid.



It was around that time that, like clockwork, the Sassy Juice pulled into view, and Ari couldn't help but let out a whistle at the sight of that ship.

Massive, would be putting it mildly.

In any case, it was showtime, and time to find out whatever the hell it was he was picking up. Maybe he should have asked Sarah for deets earlier, but it had sounded like their window was tiny and urgent--and besides, knowing Sarah, it was some sweet new technology. Of course he'd leaped onto the chance to pick up whatever her buddies were dropping off.

With a flip of a switch, he turned on his comlink. "Valari Hesta, this is Captain Maxwell of the Sassy Juice. Do ya read me? Over."
« Last Edit: August 25, 2016, 10:20:41 pm by Rhi-Rhi »
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The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

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Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #34 on: August 25, 2016, 11:15:11 pm »
<We're at the spot we're going to be at for the meeting, but we're not going to go back into realspace until the ship we're meeting shows up. It's a measure to lessen the chances of being found by any unwanted third parties by spending as little time in realspace as possible.>, Rhevi explained in response to Sitara's confusion, <We're going to enter realspace 50 meters to the right of the ship we're meeting, facing the same direction, ask them to dock with us, and then flip the ship lengthwise to the left so that our upper docking port is facing them. We're meeting them in about twenty of your minutes.>, he continued, <Port and starboard are left and right, respectively, and Human Standard is the term we use for time based on the orbital and rotational period of the human homeworlds. Hesta has a longer orbital and rotational period, so our timekeeping is different in relation to most species.  The habitable zone of our home star is further out than most, and our homeworld spins more slowly.>.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Captain Maxwell, Schoolmaster Vahri Sehnah, acting XO.  Reading you five.", Schoolmaster Sehnah answered, the comms sending a digitized copy of his 'voice' through the audio line, "Please initiate docking with our upper docking port. I say again, please initiate docking with our upper docking port. How copy, over?", he continued, signalling for the helmsman to begin rolling the ship to port.

As the ship was rotating, Rhevi saved the contract,  removed the card containing it and put it into a special case, which he then tuned to Sitara's collar. <Be very careful not to lose this. This file card has your contract, as well as several other important pieces of information my sister was not able to send Sarah over email. The case is keyed to your collar, so you'll need to keep it within two meters of you at all times.>, he explained, tapping a button on the case and letting go. as soon as his hands released the case, it floated over to Sitara, though it lacked any apparent means of propulsion. <The case will do what it can to ensure that, but vigilance on your part wouldn't be wasted. Also, wear this.>, Rhevi added, taking a small, red, wooden medallion with a faint, slightly earthen smell from a pouch around his torso, <Sarah will know what it is. She'll also smell it before she sees it, which will be more important for her captain than for you. Trust me when I say you won't have time to put it on at the last minute, so take it off as rarely as possible, preferably never.>. As he handed her the medallion, Rhevi sent a telepathic command to his wrist terminal to disable the perimeter monitoring of the collar, allowing Sitara to go anywhere she wanted as long as she was within 2 meters of the card case.
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #35 on: August 25, 2016, 11:52:01 pm »
"Initiate dockin' with your upper dockin' port, roger that. Over!" Ari confirmed, and as the Velari Hesta began to initiate boarding procedures, Ari nudged the Sassy Juice on in. He set it to autopilot and let it take over from there, then spun in his chair to face his terminal and send off a quick email.

Yo, Sarah, I'm rendevousing with your guy, about to pick up your shit. You owe me, missy. ;)

xoxo Ari


Meanwhile, to say Sitara was overwhelmed was an understatement. Crab-face had briefed her pretty good, but now that everything was springing into motion, she found she wasn't ready! Her heart thumped wildly as she slipped the medallion over her head, and clung to the case, not understanding what any of it was or what any of it meant, except that it was apparently important. So important she couldn't let it out of her sight! She tucked the medallion under her shirt and hugged the case to her chest.

"What...what is it? The medallion? The case?" she said quickly, though now that time was running out, of course she had even more questions! How he'd floated the case was among them, but now she had to prioritize, and she was starting to grow panicky as she felt herself being rushed.

Oh man oh man oh man she didn't wanna go yet, she didn't wanna do this, she didn't wanna go on some crazy mission with a Rividean looking chick and a pervy dude!

"W-what happens if I lose it or it breaks or it gets stolen or something?!"
« Last Edit: August 25, 2016, 11:52:39 pm by Rhi-Rhi »
OPEN THREADS! JOIN FOR ADVENTUROUS FUN TIMES!
Plots for an Edani mage? 8D

AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #36 on: August 26, 2016, 05:33:42 am »
<The case is a filecard carrier. It's basically a briefcase for data cards. It will follow you as long as you're wearing that collar.>, Rhevi explained as he motioned for her to follow and headed for the docking port, <Unless you or someone else puts in a lot of effort to destroy it, it's not going to break. It's designed to survive a ship up to heavy frigate weight hitting the surface of a world at terminal velocity, and its designer made sure it would need as little maintenance as possible. It's next service date is well beyond your natural lifespan.>, he continued.

<As for the medallion, it's made from the wood of a tree native to Hesta. Sarah will know the scent, and will know whose it is. As for what happens if the case is lost or stolen... You were briefed on that before you came aboard. Captain Maxwell will work out that letting the latter happen would be suicide, and, so long as you aren't trying to lose it, the former isn't going to happen.>.

"Captain Maxwell, Schoolmaster Sehnah. Docking is now complete. Our instruments read all seals good. Permission for the Fleet Hunter and cargo to come aboard, over?", the XO sent as the docking completed without a hitch and the docking port sealed tot he Sassy Juice's. As he waited for a reply, Rhevi stood at the docking port, performing his own visual inspection as he waited for the all-clear to board the Sassy Juice. Now came the possible hard part. How would Maxwell react to learning what he was picking up, and what would he need to convince him that Sarah would understand.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2016, 05:35:42 am by GIR »
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #37 on: August 26, 2016, 08:40:27 am »
After a pause, reassured that the case was nigh indestructable, Sitara let the case go--and gasped lightly as, indeed, it floated along after her. That was...that was so weird! But also so cool! If there were more time, she would have loved to hear an explanation, but they were already approaching the docking port--

And she was pretty well out of time.

Heart in her throat, she sucked in a deep breath. "Thank you," she said quietly, looking up at Rhevi before turning her eyes back to the door. "For, uh...for saving me and stuff."



"Permission granted, come on aboard, over," Ari said as he rose from his chair with a stretch and finished the last swig of his instant coffee. He'd had the decency to put on a pair of cargo pants and NOT greet them in his boxers, but he didn't bother with a shirt. His ship was a shirt-free zone, after all, professionalism be damned.

He doubted Sarah's fish friends would mind.

He headed for the docking port, arriving just as the door slid open with the hiss of released air pressure.
OPEN THREADS! JOIN FOR ADVENTUROUS FUN TIMES!
Plots for an Edani mage? 8D

AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

Offline GIR

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Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #38 on: August 26, 2016, 10:40:21 am »
Sarah had just locked in the coordinates for the final warp when the HUD of her fighter alerted her to the new message. <What guy?>, she asked herself after reading the message, wondering if she'd ordered something and somehow forgot. It wasn't until several moments of mentally going over the last few days that it dawned on her that Ranah's email had had a post-script that she hadn't read. As soon as she rectified the mistake, Sarah sent back a reply.

Quote
No sex. Other than that, name it. And tell Rhevi to tell Ranah to put things like that in the main body next time. I wouldn't have even seen the post script if you hadn't sent a message. Coordinates for Jeth are in the attachment, stand by two days for LZ coords.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"XO Sehnah. Permission received. Valari Hesta out.", the XO replied, sending a text to Rhevi advising him of Ari's granting permission to board.

<I'll pass your thanks along to Ranah. It was her idea. I'm just happy to do what I can to help.>, Rhevi answered as an automated voice announced Rhevi's departure and XO Sehnah's resuming command pending Rhevi's return in Hestari. As the hatch slid open, Rhevi bared his lower teeth in a grin. <Expecting to catch some sun, Captain?>, Rhevi said, his 'tone' jovial, <Fleet Hunter Rhevi Varrah. I see you're every bit as unprofessional as I was lead to believe.>, he said as he detached the touchscreen from his wrist terminal and offered it to Ari, <Need your signature here saying you accept responsibility for the delivery from this point on. Sarah will tell you where to meet her, once she knows to expect me, but my guess is she didn't read the email all the way through before tearing off.>, he continued, <Do you have any questions?>.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2016, 10:54:01 am by GIR »
Please do not steal the waffle-flavor waffles or the bacon soap. Also, you gonna make buscuits?

-------------------------------------------------------

Imperial Knight Eva von Draconis
Pirate Captain Drake Morgan
Imperial Knight-Commander Heavy Wilhelm von Tartarus
Mechanic Sarah
Multi-Role AI Trotzige Schwert vonPunane Tolm [WIP]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They've got waffle in 'em!
I'm gonna sing the doom song!
Yes. Wait a minute... No.
It's got chicken legs!
I had a coupon!
But I neeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes...
best Tsundere ever

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Signed, Sealed, Not Quite Delivered [Rhi]
« Reply #39 on: August 26, 2016, 03:51:44 pm »
Ari may have been more shocked to meet Rhevi, if he hadn't met his share of interesting alien races in his (comparatively) short life. But for him, it was just another day on the job, and Rhevi's appearance illicited no more surprise than raised eyebrows and a curious, interested once over. Couldn't help it if he was a bit of a xenophile!

The little bunny-looking companion near him, though? Well, she was sure easier on the eyes. She saw him looking at her, though, and quickly scooted behind Rhevi, glaring at him.

What the fuck?

Whatever.

Ari beamed up at Rhevi and gave a casual shrug. "Gotta be comfy in my own home, eh?" he said as he took the touchscreen and swiped his finger over the screen, messily signing. "Besides, I don't work out not to show these abs off. Can't say ya don't like what ya see."

With a saucy wink at Rhevi, he passed the screen back to him and checked his wrist terminal when it blipped. "By the way, Sarah says somethin' 'bout puttin' important shit in the main body of emails, aaand..."

He looked around, brow furrowed, as though realizing only then that there were no packages, no boxes. Just Rhevi standing there.

...and the girl.

Uh.

"So, uh...where's this package I'm pickin' up?" And had signed for.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2016, 03:53:09 pm by Rhi-Rhi »
OPEN THREADS! JOIN FOR ADVENTUROUS FUN TIMES!
Plots for an Edani mage? 8D

AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

 

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