Starside

[Mee]

In Transit
When Yone (along with anyone else who wants to) goes down into the engineering section, she'll find that it is a tight space dominated by humming machinery. The two REACH crewmen are looking into a storage compartment, at a huge, multicolored snake. They are discussing, in hushed tones, so as to not alarm any passengers, how such a creature could have snuck into the ship.

In Transit
Cadet Friin pulls out his commlink and calls his colleague, cadet Hansen, the xenobiologist. The room isn big enough for both of them and the snake, so Friin will wait just outside while Hansen examines the snake.

Cadet Hansen is only a newbie, and can't successfully recognize every alien species. Moreover if the snake is magical, he can't recognize it at all.

In Transit

Speaking of the snek!
The real question, is how close is the sacrificial Cadet getting to the snake? It's definitely magical in origin, and large enough that it could potentially be really terrifying if it woke up. It is, fortunately, sound asleep, curled in up on itself.

If he gets close enough to touch, he'll find the scales are remarkably small for a creature of that size, dry, and quite warm. The warmth at least, likely due to where the snake chose to nap. Waaaarm rooms~
But touching the snake is likely quite the daunting task.

Also, Reinholdt miiight just recognize the fairly distinct patterning . . .

[SleepyMoony]

In Transit

Woah. Hang on. That weird pyroar just made a lemonade appear out of nowhere. This changes everything. Sylveon jaw went slack as it watched Yone conjure the drink, before regaining it's cool. Gotta stick close to this one, it thought to itself. Just imagine... a limitless supply of lemonade. Sylveon would never need to visit a pokemon centre again!

Deciding that it wanted to impress Yone and keep close to her, Sylveon hopped down off it's seat and followed it into the back. It lets out an alarmed squeak when it sees the giant snake, recoiling a step or two back.

[bc56]

In Transit
When the cadets see that the snake isn't going anywhere (or damaging the ship) their only worry is that it might be dangerous to the passengers. Cadet Friin gets two tools off the trolley they brought with them. The first is a scanner module, a black plastic box with a silver wand wired to it. The second is a device designed to capture alien creatures. It's a metal claw on the end of a 3ft pole. Cadet Friin then scans the snake, looking for brainwave patters and general physiology, while Cadet Hansen attempts to use the claw to grab the snake on the back of the head.

The claw has a weak electric shock intended to knock small animals out, but judging by the snake's size, it will probably accidentally wake it up instead.
Cadet Hansen is too inexperienced to realize this, and probably won't be able to keep hold of the snake should it choose to move.

[Reinholdt]

[In Transit]

"Magical luck shouldn't be underestimated. Then again, neither should magical lemonade I suppose." Rein doesn't seem to fully grasp the value of Yone's Limitless Lemonade. More for Sylveon then.

The kitty follows along until they arrive at the storage unit that's getting rather crowded. He peers past the numerous legs at the vibrant colours marking 'Danger! Snake!' Why this didn't have anything to do with starship repairs at all. There were no buttons here to press at random in an attempt to solve the problem. Sure the snake looked vaguely familiar. But the last time he saw that pattern, it involved more of a snake girl than pure snake. Like a naga. At least he thinks it was like that. It was all of one time many years ago. Must be of a similar species.

[Recaiden]

An important thing is that it's not only lemonade.

"Maybe not." Yone considers saying more in retort, but Reinholdt's is an expert opinion. There are ways to magically produce luck, and it may have been hasty to discount them. Probably luck is the sort of thing a treasure hunter needs, and less important for an honest craftsman. Possibly not.

Where the Sylveon jumps back, she leans in, peeking around a corner. Then she too draws back suddenly. It's quite a sizable snake.
Then she takes a bit of magic from her toolbelt, a little folding mirror, and uses it to peer at the snake. This should show her not the snake that is there, but a little bit into the past - perhaps 'how did this snake get here'?

[Mee]

[In Transit]

"Magical luck shouldn't be underestimated. Then again, neither should magical lemonade I suppose." Rein doesn't seem to fully grasp the value of Yone's Limitless Lemonade. More for Sylveon then.

The kitty follows along until they arrive at the storage unit that's getting rather crowded. He peers past the numerous legs at the vibrant colours marking 'Danger! Snake!' Why this didn't have anything to do with starship repairs at all. There were no buttons here to press at random in an attempt to solve the problem. Sure the snake looked vaguely familiar. But the last time he saw that pattern, it involved more of a snake girl than pure snake. Like a naga. At least he thinks it was like that. It was all of one time many years ago. Must be of a similar species.

Well, funny thing about that. Said snake is all curled up on itself for warmth, so it might actually possibly be the same snake girl, just curled up around the latter half for warmth.
If only there were someone here with some sort of scanner, or perhaps poke-y stick.

In Transit
When the cadets see that the snake isn't going anywhere (or damaging the ship) their only worry is that it might be dangerous to the passengers. Cadet Friin gets two tools off the trolley they brought with them. The first is a scanner module, a black plastic box with a silver wand wired to it. The second is a device designed to capture alien creatures. It's a metal claw on the end of a 3ft pole. Cadet Friin then scans the snake, looking for brainwave patters and general physiology, while Cadet Hansen attempts to use the claw to grab the snake on the back of the head.

The claw has a weak electric shock intended to knock small animals out, but judging by the snake's size, it will probably accidentally wake it up instead.
Cadet Hansen is too inexperienced to realize this, and probably won't be able to keep hold of the snake should it choose to move.

Why look! Two someones! With a scanner and a pokey stick!
The scanner Cadet Friin is using quickly picks up that, wait a moment, this is definitely not just a snake. The scanner probably beeps some sort of warning, and displays some info on its screen as Hansen tries to grab the snake, which reveals that same information to everyone.
The moment Hansen touches the snake, it -- she, really, as is displayed mere moments later --, explodes into motion, startled awake finally.
The snake's coils rapidly unwind around her very much human-half (half?). In what seems to be a single, fluid motion, she moves so her back is to the wall, and a very obviously unloaded handgun is drawn from a shoulder harness, aimed out past her coils out towards the people that startled her.

Description time! From about the hips up, she appears to just be a regular human. Most striking by far though, is her hair, which is mostly electric blue with some darker red highlights, but with a single patch of purple above her left eye. She was just asleep, so her hair is rather a mess, but it doesn't hide that her eyes -- well, eye, really -- is also electric blue, and with a vertically slit pupil. Her other eye, though, is covered in a fairly plain eye-patch.
Other than that, she's just wearing a loose t-shirt, and a simple skirt that would have been about knee length on a regular human with legs.

"Uhhh. This isn't my flat."

Where the Sylveon jumps back, she leans in, peeking around a corner. Then she too draws back suddenly. It's quite a sizable snake.
Then she takes a bit of magic from her toolbelt, a little folding mirror, and uses it to peer at the snake. This should show her not the snake that is there, but a little bit into the past - perhaps 'how did this snake get here'?

In the moments before the lamia naga snakey lady explodes into movement, Yone's mirror shows her what appears to be a scene of some burglar trying to break into her room and using some sort of scroll or other magical device to just send her away.

[bc56]

In Transit
The cadets seem to be as startled as the naga, but they try to appear professional. "No, I don't believe this is your flat. Who are you, and how did you get aboard this ship?" Cadet Hansen bravely speaks up.

[SleepyMoony]

In Transit

Oh wow, okay, this situation was going the opposite way Sylveon expected it to. It had cried out to try and warn the humans that maybe poking the giant snake with a stick was a bad idea, but they hadn't listened. Humans were so silly sometimes. At least it hadn't resulted in them getting bitten in half by an angry arbok.

Being a veteran of many encounters with upset humans, Sylveon knew exactly what was neccesary in this situation. Something cute, warm and fluffy. Fortunately, there were at least two of those on this shuttle! With a friendly, non-threatening cry that was somewhere between a squeal and a purr, Sylveon bounded into the room between the snake-human and the human-humans. It gave another friendly cry, tilting it's head and blinking slowly.

[Reinholdt]

[In Transit]

Sylveon knew what they were doing with an adorable diplomatic approach. So did Yone. The mirror around the corner is an essential survival classic. She mentioned being a treasure maker, but it's possible she's been on an expedition once or twice. Rein didn't get a chance to get that clarified.

Reinholdt steps forward just enough to make his presence known without getting between anyone. Clearing his throat, he flashes the lamia a knowing smile and states, "Let me be the fir- the second to welcome you to space."

[Mee]

In Transit
The cadets seem to be as startled as the naga, but they try to appear professional. "No, I don't believe this is your flat. Who are you, and how did you get aboard this ship?" Cadet Hansen bravely speaks up.

Technically lamia, but it doesn't terribly matter either way at the moment. She might be defensive about it if someone actually brought it up though.
"Kin." She says quickly, pronounced more like the edge of a blade, 'keen', than the person related to you 'kin', though. "And where is here?" She asks, looking side to side at the people in front of her. Though she does put the pistol away, feeling somewhat foolish about it.
It's not even loaded.
What was she doing going to sleep without it loaded? Gosh.

[In Transit]

Sylveon knew what they were doing with an adorable diplomatic approach. So did Yone. The mirror around the corner is an essential survival classic. She mentioned being a treasure maker, but it's possible she's been on an expedition once or twice. Rein didn't get a chance to get that clarified.

Reinholdt steps forward just enough to make his presence known without getting between anyone. Clearing his throat, he flashes the lamia a knowing smile and states, "Let me be the fir- the second to welcome you to space."

"Ohmygoshkitty~" Kin says, looking down at Reinholdt, a smile starting to form. "Well thank you! So we're in space?"

In Transit

Oh wow, okay, this situation was going the opposite way Sylveon expected it to. It had cried out to try and warn the humans that maybe poking the giant snake with a stick was a bad idea, but they hadn't listened. Humans were so silly sometimes. At least it hadn't resulted in them getting bitten in half by an angry arbok.

Being a veteran of many encounters with upset humans, Sylveon knew exactly what was neccesary in this situation. Something cute, warm and fluffy. Fortunately, there were at least two of those on this shuttle! With a friendly, non-threatening cry that was somewhere between a squeal and a purr, Sylveon bounded into the room between the snake-human and the human-humans. It gave another friendly cry, tilting it's head and blinking slowly.

And then Kin sees the Sylveon and OH MY GOSH THE CUTE.
Kin's one pupil does that anime thing where it turns into a heart and hands up to her face because eeeeee it's so cuuuuuuteeee.

[Recaiden]

Yone lets the smaller passengers step in and do their adorable thing. She puts the mirror back where it belongs and carefully steps out behind them.
"This is a REACH vessel on the way to Quietus. Someone used magic to banish you here; I think they wanted you out of the way, and didn't care where you ended up."
She carefully waves a tentacle 'hello' to Kin.
"Do you wanna join our expedition?"
The snake-person seems cheery, probably the best thing to do is be extra-friendly.

[bc56]

In Transit
Thanks to Reinholdt and Sylveon, the situation seems to be defused. The cadets lead the way to the main cabin. "Come this way. I think the main cabin will be more comfortable than this storage compartment." Cadet Hansen says. "You are aboard the REACH Technologies starship ED-7118, en route to the Quietus Dyson Sphere for an exploratory mission. There will be a briefing soon." He's trying really hard to not stare at Kin's snake half.

[Mee]

Yone lets the smaller passengers step in and do their adorable thing. She puts the mirror back where it belongs and carefully steps out behind them.
"This is a REACH vessel on the way to Quietus. Someone used magic to banish you here; I think they wanted you out of the way, and didn't care where you ended up."
She carefully waves a tentacle 'hello' to Kin.
"Do you wanna join our expedition?"
The snake-person seems cheery, probably the best thing to do is be extra-friendly.

In Transit

Kin shrugs slightly, and waves back.
"Well, really, if I got just simply banished somewhere, and ended up in space, I guess I'm absurdly fortunate that I landed in a vessel full of an atmosphere I can breathe, and not, say, anywhere else.
Is the expedition likely to be dangerous?" She asks, more curious than anything else.

In Transit
Thanks to Reinholdt and Sylveon, the situation seems to be defused. The cadets lead the way to the main cabin. "Come this way. I think the main cabin will be more comfortable than this storage compartment." Cadet Hansen says. "You are aboard the REACH Technologies starship ED-7118, en route to the Quietus Dyson Sphere for an exploratory mission. There will be a briefing soon." He's trying really hard to not stare at Kin's snake half.

Kin blinks a few times. These two are remarkably calm for having a very large, potentially person-devouring snake just startle into motion in front of them, and then having a gun drawn on them.
Ice water through those veins, Kin decides, shaking her head slightly in bemusement.
She does follow along though, her method of propulsion remarkably quiet and, well, unique, since she doesn't have legs. If she notices any glances her snek-half is getting, she's either politely ignoring them, or just isn't noticing them in the first place.
Kin would correct him, that it would be 'come this way, please', but figured that the two might actually be pretty shaken, and doesn't terribly want to accidentally come across as a jerk.

[Recaiden]

"You would have had to be very lucky. Probably the spell has to send you somewhere you can survive."
Yone follows Kin and the cadet back to the main passenger space. She's not too worried about the lamia. The gun obviously wasn't even loaded. She might want people to be afraid, but she isn't really scary.
"Probably it will be dangerous, yes. Otherwise they wouldn't have hired us."

[SleepyMoony]

((Sorry for the late reply, I'm not always feeling well.))

In Transit

Sylveon trots along next to Kin as the group heads back to the passenger area. With the lamia here, things are much more crowded. After a moment of consideration, Sylveon decides to deal with the space issue by settling into Kin's lap. Or... what you could call a lap when it's a giant snake tail that goes on forever. On her coils? Something like that. Either way, Sylveon is cute and warm and entirely petable.

[Reinholdt]

((Feel better soon and often. ))

In Transit

It's good to have crew members that don't immediately panic at the first sign of possibly hostilities. Reinholdt ponders the circumstances as they head back. "A banishing spell is really useful, but it also backfires frequently. You buy it from a mage cheap and banish your foe only to find them at most a few feet behind you. Maybe this one was worded so you would be sent to the person you know who was furthest away from you at the time." Props to the caster of that one.

"Anyways, yes. The expedition! Do you know what a Dyson Sphere is?" That seems like a good place to start.

[bc56]

In Transit
Once everyone is settled in the main cabin, there will be a little while of a break, then the briefing will begin.

"At 0400 hours, four days ago, an unmanned survey probe encountered a gravitational anomaly in a seemingly empty region of space. The event was logged, and when the probe arrived at its destination, a scout ship was dispatched to investigate. The ship discovered a dyson sphere in a system with twelve planets, each of which appeared to have been strip-mined for resources. The ship investigated the sphere and docked with it, releasing 18 probes into the structure via 6 different maintenance airlocks. The probes lost connection almost immediately, and would continue their last command: to explore the area and document the information into the device memory. Your mission is to enter through one of the airlocks and attempt to find the three probes that entered through it. We do not know what sorts of hazards may lie inside the sphere. There is an armory in the back of the ship where you may stock up on gear if you need it. Any questions?

When the briefing begins, the ship displays a hologram of the sphere, and the planet the Nexus is on, for scale. (The sphere could fit thousands of those planets inside it) It is accompanied by a diagram of one of the probes that need to be found.

If anyone visits the armory, they will find scanners like what Cadet Friin has, and also a number of alien carbines

[Mee]

"You would have had to be very lucky. Probably the spell has to send you somewhere you can survive."
Yone follows Kin and the cadet back to the main passenger space. She's not too worried about the lamia. The gun obviously wasn't even loaded. She might want people to be afraid, but she isn't really scary.
"Probably it will be dangerous, yes. Otherwise they wouldn't have hired us."

"Proooobably. But let's just chalk it up to luck, huh?" Kin asks with a grin that displays that she, being a snake-lady, does actually have fangs.
"Cool. Then I'm going to need more bullets."

((Sorry for the late reply, I'm not always feeling well.))

In Transit

Sylveon trots along next to Kin as the group heads back to the passenger area. With the lamia here, things are much more crowded. After a moment of consideration, Sylveon decides to deal with the space issue by settling into Kin's lap. Or... what you could call a lap when it's a giant snake tail that goes on forever. On her coils? Something like that. Either way, Sylveon is cute and warm and entirely petable.

((No worries at all! I hope you feel better soon! :D ))

And oh my gosh Kin freaks out about that more than a little bit due to Sylveon's adorable warm petableness and aaaaaaa. Should Sylveon wish, even on the way to get to wherever-it-is they're all going, Kin's tail itself offered a comfortable, easy mode of transportation. Especially since at least some of the crew potentially might be trying to give the scary snake lady some space.
Though that particular transport offer likely only extends to Sylveon and the other small fluffy kitty, should either want it.

Though once they arrive, Sylveon definitely gets all kinds of patpat scritchies and coo-ing over from Kin.

((Feel better soon and often. ))

In Transit

It's good to have crew members that don't immediately panic at the first sign of possibly hostilities. Reinholdt ponders the circumstances as they head back. "A banishing spell is really useful, but it also backfires frequently. You buy it from a mage cheap and banish your foe only to find them at most a few feet behind you. Maybe this one was worded so you would be sent to the person you know who was furthest away from you at the time." Props to the caster of that one.

"Anyways, yes. The expedition! Do you know what a Dyson Sphere is?" That seems like a good place to start.

"That-that could do.
I-wait. Dooo I know you?" Kin asks, blinking a few times. It's been a while since she was around last, and she wasn't here long. Kin isn't the best with names, and did have to concede that she does strike quite the distinct image, so it was very, very possible she knew this kitty, but she simply cannot for the life of her remember.

"I have no idea what a Die Sun Sphere is." Kin admits, before realizing that the question might not even have been aimed at her, and blushes ever so slightly. She's just been caught so horribly off guard by the rapid change in locations.

In Transit
Once everyone is settled in the main cabin, there will be a little while of a break, then the briefing will begin.

"At 0400 hours, four days ago, an unmanned survey probe encountered a gravitational anomaly in a seemingly empty region of space. The event was logged, and when the probe arrived at its destination, a scout ship was dispatched to investigate. The ship discovered a dyson sphere in a system with twelve planets, each of which appeared to have been strip-mined for resources. The ship investigated the sphere and docked with it, releasing 18 probes into the structure via 6 different maintenance airlocks. The probes lost connection almost immediately, and would continue their last command: to explore the area and document the information into the device memory. Your mission is to enter through one of the airlocks and attempt to find the three probes that entered through it. We do not know what sorts of hazards may lie inside the sphere. There is an armory in the back of the ship where you may stock up on gear if you need it. Any questions?

When the briefing begins, the ship displays a hologram of the sphere, and the planet the Nexus is on, for scale. (The sphere could fit thousands of those planets inside it) It is accompanied by a diagram of one of the probes that need to be found.

If anyone visits the armory, they will find scanners like what Cadet Friin has, and also a number of alien carbines

And then is the meeting with the Sylveon pets and the listening.

Kin nods a few times, listening, and pretending that any of the words she just heard make any sense.
She isn't sure what strip-mining means when the words are put together like that, nor the dying sun sphere, but she does understand hazards, armory, and gear.
Kin definitely, definitely wants to go visit the armory.

[Recaiden]

"It's a shell that goes around a whole star, to collect the sunlight." Yone says to start the explanation, glancing curiously at Reinholdt. He knows this person? And she doesn't remember him (pretending?) What's the connection?

She pays close attention to the probe schematics, how big it is, how fast it would move, in what sort of patterns. After all, whatever else might be in there, the drones are the goal. She looks disdainfully at most of the mass-produced looking gear in the armory, but that doesn't stop her taking a weapon and scanner. Just in case.

[Reinholdt]

[In Transit]

"It's possible." Rein says to Kin. There were about as many talking snakes as there were talking cats that Rein knew of. Then again, he's entered alien territory now.

Rein's question about the Dyson Sphere was aimed at Kin, though its purpose was not. Thankfully someone explained it in the end or he'd have looked... Ohhh, weapons! "Now this I can get behind." Reinholdt says, taking a pair of carbines and making them disappear. And one scanner while he's at it.

"I have questions. What should we do with the probes once we find them and what should we do if they're destroyed?" Reinholdt asks Cadet Hansen.

[bc56]

I refuse to let this plot die so easily. It's been over a week since sleepy posted, and I messaged them with no response, so I doubt they'll respond anytime soon. Until further notice, I would just assume they're not going to reply until they do.

In Transit
Yone finds that the drones are bullet-shaped metal affairs, with sensors in the nose and thrusters in the rear. They are slower than a human running, and move in semi-random patterns. The objects the group really wants are the black boxes, hideous neon orange cubes which hurt the eyes to look at.

Reinholdt quickly receives a reply, "Robotics are Friin's specialty, but I know that if we find probes, intact or not, we're supposed to dismantle them and remove the black boxes. An entire probe would be too big to drag around with us.

[Recaiden]

"The probes themselves are expendable, I think? Not even smart enough to find their ways home."
Yone nods.
"Do we have any way to control them? It doesn't seem like they're armed or dangerous, except if they ran you over." 'Slower than a running human' is still plenty of momentum for a giant metal bullet-craft.

"And in the obvious case where the black box has already been stolen by aliens - do we flag it and move on, or try to chase them down?"

[Reinholdt]

[In Transit]

"Us? Are you coming with then?" Reinholdt had a different impression previously. Not that it matters too much. Some alien life form was almost guaranteed to kill any actual ship personal first making it that much more difficult for the mercs to escape on the ship. Speaking of which, he should probably learn how to pilot this craft. Ah well. Plenty of time for that later.

[Mee]

[In Transit]

"It's possible." Rein says to Kin. There were about as many talking snakes as there were talking cats that Rein knew of. Then again, he's entered alien territory now.

Rein's question about the Dyson Sphere was aimed at Kin, though its purpose was not. Thankfully someone explained it in the end or he'd have looked... Ohhh, weapons! "Now this I can get behind." Reinholdt says, taking a pair of carbines and making them disappear. And one scanner while he's at it.

"I have questions. What should we do with the probes once we find them and what should we do if they're destroyed?" Reinholdt asks Cadet Hansen.

Kin blinks a few times. What had that been? Felt like . . . like she had just stopped for a bit.
Probably nothing. It's probably fine.

Anyway, Kin kind of just follows along, not yet having anything more to add, though she does keep peeeeering at Reinholdt.
His voice does sound familiar.

As far as weapons go, however, she stocks up on just about everything she can carry. No alien tech though, because she's just not familiar with it at all.

[bc56]

In Transit
After a short time, the intercom starts again."Attention everyone. We are approaching our destination. We will arrive in T-minus four minutes. If you look out the front window, you will be able to see the sphere shortly."

Indeed, anyone who looks out the window will see a massive metal object, a sphere appearing to grow rapidly larger as the ship approaches.

[Recaiden]

Presumably they're decelerating. Or whatever equivalent their hyperdrive uses since they can't be moving normally.
Yone suspects that this will make the view from the windshield as they crash into years and years of light in an instant...somewhat disorienting.
But she slinks up to look anyway. When else will she get to look at something like this?

"You're all ready?" She double-checks.
Hansen has told them his name, he might even make it back alive. So he in particular had better be prepared.

[Reinholdt]

[In Transit]

"Time to suit up and roll out! Only without rolling. More like walking. Maybe falling based on the delivery system. Why does anyone ever say roll out anyways?" It seems illogical to him. Shrugging, he just puts on his suit and goes to look out the window.

[Mee]

[In Transit]

"Time to suit up and roll out! Only without rolling. More like walking. Maybe falling based on the delivery system. Why does anyone ever say roll out anyways?" It seems illogical to him. Shrugging, he just puts on his suit and goes to look out the window.

In Transit

"I mean." Kin kind of wanted to object. After all, she didn't walk anywhere! "Though I don't roll. More like slither. Definitely not walking though." She mumbles to herself, holding her chin with her head tilted to the side slightly, contemplating the exact terminology.

[bc56]

In Transit -> Dyson Sphere

The ship lands on the surface of the sphere with a thud. A specially designed umbilical tube connects it to a small airlock on the sphere's surface. The two cadets move to the entrance, each laden with gear. Friin takes a device with complicated wires and a touch screen, and plugs it into a socket, then uses it to hack the door open. "Alright, everybody in the airlock."

It will be a very tight fit.

[Recaiden]

"'Roll out' comes from when they used cars to get everywhere." Yone comments, finding the conversation fairly ridiculous.
That done she slinks into the airlock, sitting down and trying to take up as little space as possible until they can get in.