Dark Void: Dawn of Eternity

[An Enemy Spy]

Blaine
"I think I can. Blaine, there's something I need to tell you. It's about..."
Suddenly a hidden speaker turns on.
"And I think our touching moment has gone on long enough, don't you Mr. Pitchfork. And by the way, the bug wasn't in her hair. It was in the kitchen the whole time."

Evicia
You speed along, without meeting too much resistance. A few choppers fly over you but they pay no attention. After a while, you reach an Allutian looking chopper hidden in a small grove of scraggly trees.

[whoiam]

Evicia

Well, they've worked this far...

Quickly (since she's the one dressed up as a prisoner and wants to be out of sight of any of the other craft in the area), Evicia slips off the hoverbike and into the helicopter. Sensibly, she takes a seat in the back instead of the front - partly so she's easier to hide, partly so her 'guards' are less likely to mistake it for an attempt to ditch them, and react by shooting her.

You can never be too careful with your nefarious rescuers...

[mrpitchfork]

Blaine whispers to Noelani one last time, "Think of something else if they're not bluffing. I'll figure it out."

Blaine gently leads Noelani back to the front room and motions for her to take a seat. He grabs the papers the mysterious stranger gave to him and skims over the important details of his new identity before asking when it's time to leave.

[An Enemy Spy]

Evicia
The pilots are already inside the chopper when you arrive. Your rescuers all pile into the aircraft. Though it is called a chopper, that is actually an antiquated name. Repulsor technology has long rendered the need for spinning blades obselete.
The chopper lifts up into the air and flies up and away over the brown craggy wasteland. Distant explosions light the sky over in the east. The chopper flies for a while until you see a much larger aircraft bearing down on your position. It is a Freyan assault shuttle, one of the few ships capable of both air and space flight. The chopper flies into the shuttle's open hanger and lands. Behind you, the hanger doors shut.

Blaine
"This moment, Mr. Pitchfork. Sif is a long ways away and you must be on that ship. We have a skimmer waiting outside."

[mrpitchfork]

Blaine

"Alright." He replaces the papers in their original order and looks at the door out, then back to his love.

"Noelani. See you later."

[whoiam]

Evicia

Calmly, Evicia removes her harness and steps out of the Helicopter-ish-craft. While looking around, she announces to the room in general "Nice, nice ship you've got here. Got any of the shipwright's blueprints lying around?"

I still don't know who or why I was rescued... So I'm not going to be grateful just yet. While whatever they've got in store is likely to be more fun than being gang-raped by prison guards, it's also more likely to kill me.

Wait a minute... it could *be* gang-rape. Better head that off for a start.

Evicia turns back to her 'rescuers' as they presumeably leave their little craft as well. "If you've just freed me to add me to some kind of interplanetary brothel, I am initiating a reactor core overload, however long it takes me. Just so you know where we stand."

[An Enemy Spy]

Evicia
Dess laughs at that. "As if we risk our lives to get a prostitute. There's much easier places to kidnap women than a prison camp."

Blaine
The door closes. Two men lead into a blue skimmer outside. They sit on either side of you in the dim interior as it begins to move.

[mrpitchfork]

Dropping his guilt from dropping his concern for Noelani, Blaine clears his mind and then fills it right back up again.

How long is the whole trip? Will I have time to read all of this identity? It's hot in here and I can't take off my robe; that would be impolite and immodest. They haven't noticed my knife yet. Should I reveal that I've been hiding it? If I act too impressively or out-of-line they might treat me worse instead of better. I never got breakfast. These guys are jerks. I want an icewater with lime in it. Crap, I can't think. I can't concentrate. Calm.

Blaine looks to the guy to the left of him. "'Scuse me, how long 'till I get to the starport, and how long does the flight last?"

[An Enemy Spy]

Dropping his guilt from dropping his concern for Noelani, Blaine clears his mind and then fills it right back up again.

How long is the flight? Will I have time to read all of this identity? It's hot in here and I can't take off my robe; that would be impolite and immodest. They haven't noticed my knife yet. Should I reveal that I've been hiding it? If I act too impressively or out-of-line they might treat me worse instead of better. I never got breakfast. These guys are jerks. I want an icewater with lime in it. Crap, I can't think. I can't concentrate. Calm.

Blaine looks to the guy to the left of him. "'Scuse me, how long does this flight last?"

Spoiler

Show

fyi. I probably should have been more clear on this. Skimmers are kinda like cars, rather than planes. They're just driving you to the starport.

[whoiam]

Evicia

"But where else would you get one with the authentic 'abused' look to them? People love that sort of thing, I hear. But I heard it from the people who beat me, so they may be suspect."

The depressing thought is that whatever they wanted me for is likely more dangerous than the life I just escaped. Yay.

"So, can you tell me who wanted me and why yet? Or, failing that, point me to someone who can?"

[An Enemy Spy]

Blaine
The man only grunts at you. Obviously he was chosen more for brawn than brains. The skimmer reaches the starport eventually. After going through the routine security checkpoints, you arrive at a ship leaving for Sif.
"Get on the ship." one of your escorts instruct. "Any luggage you'll need is already on board."

Evicia
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. Look out the window."
The shuttle has already reached Loki's upper atmosphere. Through the window you can see an enormous black shadow standing against the starry background. You can just make out its shape. The ship is a Freyan battlecruiser, one the largest ships in existance. You have never seen this vessel before, but any Allutian would be able to recognize it. The Pale Horse, terror of the Freyan military machine. Easily capable of destroying entire fleets of Allutian ships as the stories go. The black vessel is over four miles in length. It's long sharklike shape gives it a look to match its reputation.
"The man who wants you is the captain of that bohemoth."

[whoiam]

Evicia

"...That just raises more questions. Initially, why would the captain of a Freyan ship require force to have me released from a Freyan prison?"

Actually, it raises the question of how the Freyans found out about the project that created me. I *know* they didn't get it from scans the guards took of my body. Not unless Freyans are in the habit of installing orgasm-activated scanning equipment in their prison guard's genitalia.

No, this isn't the right time to invent genitalia-mounted scanning equipment.

"I suppose a second question would be: Why would a Freyan allow an Allutian, whether or not you believe me to be a defector, on board your largest ship?"

[An Enemy Spy]

"Beats me, honey. I'm just here for the silver."

[whoiam]

Evicia

A light shrug, and Evicia lapses into silence. There didn't seem much to say - so she went into the closest equivalent she had to a snooze mode to wait out the docking procedure.

[mrpitchfork]

Blaine

Blaine reads the identity given to him in full. Alaric Caesar. Exiled from his home due to unfortunate circumstances. Lived in a slums until he was old enough to join the Freyan military. Enjoys boardgames. This is pretty impressively detailed. Not everything I would cover is covered, but the craftsmanship here is very nice and there are many production techniques here I'd never thought of using. Should I make friends with this organization or should I conquer it? I'll think about this later.

He reads the identity and memorizes it completely, practices speech patterns in his head, and becomes comfortable being Alaric. Afterwards he conceals the papers, goes to the ship's restroom, and destroys the identity with tearing and wetting the shreds. When he gets back he asks for a meal and prepares himself more for being Alaric. After getting bored and impatient, he puts himself in stasis for the rest of the flight.

[An Enemy Spy]

Evicia
"Morning, sunshine!" You wake up to the sight of Dess standing over you. "We're here."
You get off the shuttle and step into the expansive hangar bay. The place is filled with other shuttles of various designs and even a few heavy bombers.
"Come on, we're going to the interrogation chamber."
Dess leads you out of the hangar and into the corridors of the ship. This is you're first time onboard a Freyan starship and it looks nothing like the ones you are used to.
The corridor, though of normal size, feels claustrophobic, as if the walls were pressing down around you. Everything is painted black, and the only illumination comes from small lights shining dimly in the ceiling. Air rushes through the corridor around you, making a weak whooshing noise. The whole place has a malovent air, like a hallway out of some dark dream rather than a military starship.
Dess eventually leads you to a large iron set of doors. On the sides of the doorway, two gargoyles leer at you.
The inside of the room is a stark grey. A small metal table sits in between two chairs, a small uncomfortable looking metal chair that had had the back taken off of it and a large guilded thing that would be more at home in an ancient king's throneroom than in a cramped interrogation chamber. The entire thing is covered in gold, covered in ornate images of people dying in horrible fashions with a large winged figure watching over. Dess directs you toward the first chair.
Not long after you have taken a seat, a young man wearing the grey uniform of a Freyan ship commander walks in. He looks distastefully at the golden throne and remains standing beside it rather than on it.
"Greetings. I am Commander Torres of the I.F.S. Pale Horse. I will be in charge of informing you as to why you have been brought here."
He looks at Dess, as if noticing her for the first time.
"You are free to leave, mercenary."
Dess walks out of the room.
"Answer me these simple questions. Is your name Evicia and if so, is that your full name? And have you at any time in your life been augmented by the addition of drone parts?"

[whoiam]

Evicia

"Yes, Unknown, Yes. Next?"

After all, what reason do I have to lie to him? About as little reason as I have to put actual effort into the answers. It's not as though I care enough about the Allutians to carry their secrets to the grave if there's an alternative available...

[An Enemy Spy]

"Excellent. I'm glad we've come to an understanding. Now, I'm sure you are wondering-"
The doors open and a man strides into the room wearing the uniform of a captain. His chest is brimming with medals, several of which look purely for decoration. On his head is a high peaked cap, and although such a thing is not part of any uniform you have ever seen, he wears a long cape around his shoulders. He is followed by a woman wearing a rather innocuous light grey uniform with no markings on it save for the symbol of a lieutenant. Her hair is long, well beyond military regulations. Commander Torres rolls his eyes and curses inaudibly.
"Ah, hello Michael. Fancy meeting you down here." The captain says in voice of false cheerfulness. He looks at you as if he didn't notice you there before."Oh. Greetings," He looks at his hand. "Evicia. What a pleasure it is to have you aboard our fine vessel." He looks at Torres. "Are you still here?"
"You did order me to interrogate the prisoner sir."
"Your orders have been changed. Get to the command deck and do whatever it is you do when I'm not up there."
Torres gives a very reluctant salute. "Yes sir."
Torres leaves the room. As he walks out, his eyes linger on the woman.
The captain takes a seat in the gaudy throne. The woman jumps into his lap and puts her arms around his neck.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is Desmond and I am the skipper of this little battlecruiser. And this is Celine. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask them. Don't be shy now."

[whoiam]

What makes him think I would be shy? Amnesiac, yes, weird, definitely. Shy? I'm pretty certain I'm not shy.

I just have a lot of thoughts that aren't intended for public consumption.

Still... he did ask for questions...

"Do you wish me to look away while you complete your mating ritual?"

...Noone ever said I couldn't mock him with them

For all the difference it makes, Evicia had slipped her eyes down into the infra-red setting. For the sake of modesty.

[An Enemy Spy]

Celine laughs out loud at this. She and Desmond then engage in a long, drawn out, and extremely passionate kiss.
"Is that what you meant?" She says.

[whoiam]

Evicia
A light shrug was offered in reply. "I do not know - I would assume so, however, based on the fact that the two of you appear to be the experts on the subject."

I've made insults that worked better, I'll admit. Possibly they don't think playing with each other in front of me is a bad thing.

Shame they're out of welding laser range. Plus the whole 'killed by their crew in revenge' thing I'd face if I managed it.

[An Enemy Spy]

"Tell me Evicia. You're a drone(robot, cyborg, android, whatever) right? What exactly are your capabilities?"

[whoiam]

Evicia

"I cannot gun down a room of enemy soldiers while striking a fancy pose and tossing off one-liners, if this is what you were expecting? I suppose the science team responsible thought that giving a potentially unstable prototype combat skills would be a bad idea. You have to admit, it was a sensible choice from the point of view of anyone other than myself."

So, do they want to hear about the stuff I actually *can* do? I suppose so. They did ask.

"I was equipped and outfitted for more technical endeavors. Computer interfaces. Wireless antenna. Computer assisted memory. Supercomputer-level processing capability. Expanded senses. Some engineering tools. Nothing that a competent staff and a well-equipped laboratory could not do."

[An Enemy Spy]

"Perfect. You've passed the interrogation. Celine, shake her hand."
She does.
Desmond pulls a flask out of his pocket and takes a long drink. "Whiskey? You can drink, right?" He tosses it to you. It's empty.

[whoiam]

Evicia
A couple of moments pass as she examines the bottle, before replying "Why would I want to drink it?"

Evicia, with no childhood and severely reduced cultural contexts to draw on, only knows the facts about alcohol, not the image or the ritual or the taste. And the facts make it sound rather unappealing.

[An Enemy Spy]

Desmond ingores the question and states. "I'm going to need a full report on any special needs you may have. To be honest, you are the first hybrid I've ever encountered. Do you eat, sleep and breathe? Are there any special mantainance requirements? Things like that."

[whoiam]

Evicia
"Yes, Yes, Yes, Only if damaged."

Yay, more easy questions!

"Was there anything else?"

Actually, this raises an interesting question. How bad must the average piece of Freyan Military Technology be that their immediately response to meeting a new piece of Allutian tech is 'How many hoops must we jump through to keep you running?'? That certainly speaks of a lack of faith in the products of their own scientists. Or possibly a bias against their Allutian counterparts.

[An Enemy Spy]

Evicia
"Yes, Yes, Yes, Only if damaged."

Yay, more easy questions!

"Was there anything else?"

Actually, this raises an interesting question. How bad must the average piece of Freyan Military Technology be that their immediately response to meeting a new piece of Allutian tech is 'How many hoops must we jump through to keep you running?'? That certainly speaks of a lack of faith in the products of their own scientists. Or possibly a bias against their Allutian counterparts.

Was that OOC or thinking?

[whoiam]

Was that OOC or thinking?

OOC: It was Evicia's thoughts. Considering the relative speeds of her mind and her mouth, she should normally be thinking several times more than she's saying.

My Key:
Post Title
"Speech"
Thought
Scene/Action
OOC: Out of Character Information

[An Enemy Spy]

"Yes. Do you enjoy roasted boghen?"