The Ganoltir Project Forum

Hikaru finally relaxes as the last fighter explodes and Cass manages to conceal them from the larger foe's scanners. "Fuck, that was.... an experience," the pop star says, breathing a deep sigh of relief as they seem closer and closer to being in the clear. He runs his fingers through his hair, grimacing at its sweat-induced dampness. A shower sounds great right about now...

As Marko describes their options within the system, Hikaru raises an eyebrow. "How would a bunch of pirates and smugglers react to an Idarete ship showing up? Even if they know the navy's toast by now." He crosses his arms, looking over his companions, his crew. "But I guess someplace discreet is better."

"If we get to the station I... think I could find us someone who'll be able to help us hide. Maybe even change the ship's transponder signal so we can throw up a different ID." Creed says over the comms, finally letting himself relax for a moment. "Painting the ship I'll leave up to Hikaru and Tess. I think they've got a better idea of what looks nice than I do. Maybe we could vote on a ship name -- That could be a nice team-building exercise!" He says with some genuine excitement in his voice. "Hey Cass, do you think you could do something about our transponder signal for now?"

Cass slumps back in his CIC chair, the heavy frigate's sensors passing over them, undetected. "What a fucking day," he mutters, popping his visor open for a passing moment to rub his temples. What are we even up to now? Three bodies? One League spy, two Diktat jarheads — and their fighters. He decides to shelf that thought for now, listening to his companions discuss future plans.

"Honestly, I'd give pirates and smugglers the 'least of all to give a fuck' award for our Idaretian colors. But yeah, Creed, a bullshit transponder's probably our best bet for now. I've re-assigned a few when I was with the League. This tub's got a similar system." He considers that a moment longer. "My work wouldn't hold up to anybody examining our manifest and flight logs closely, but it's the best I can try until we can find a real fixer."

Hikaru considers their options for a moment, pondering on Cass's words. He's right, isn't he? Pirates wouldn't give a damn. Hell, they might be impressed if they find out what we did. He lets out a long, exaggerated sigh. "I guess set a course for Asteria Station then. And do whatever it is you can do, Cass." He sinks into his chair, somewhat exhausted from the day's events. "We can think of a name on the way. But I dunno about you, but I think we've earned a breather, yeah?"

Tess is immediately proven wrong about her safety of assumption, as the ship is scanned by the searching Diktat frigate. She holds her breath for a moment as Cass works his magic, letting out a deep sigh of relief as it becomes clear that his plan worked and they were now - finally - seemingly in the clear. A breather is right, she thinks, as the group speaks. Many of those, please.

"I'm pretty sure my trip back from Idarete was meant to involve stopping in Asteria, so I'd bet it will be easy to blend in with other outlaws," Tess says to her friends. Outlaws. That's what we are now. Not that I was ever a law abiding citizen to begin with, she thinks, chuckling lightly to herself.

"I'd be more concerned about them trying to steal this new tub than actually attacking us for being in it. If we stop there we should make sure we keep a few on the ship at all times to prevent that. Last thing we need to be is stuck on a pirate station with no way off." Though I'm sure stealing another ship from them would be a lot easier than the one we got.

With your destination decided, Creed lays in a course for Asteria Station and the Furious Mignight begins burning towards the Verilia Belt. The ship's autopilot kicks in, showing you should arrive in about two days time, leaving you all free to spend the time as you wish settling into what will presumably be your new home for the foreseeable future at least.

Creed slowly relaxes as the ship's autopilot takes over. Finally, he slumps down to the floor, running his hands through his hair and letting his heartbeat return to normal. "That was... oh that was intense." He mumbled to himself. He sighs and shuts his eyes tightly as he tries to ward off the panic he felt. "I'll be... I'll be okay. This is fine. This is something I have to get used to. We made it out, with barely a scratch."

Eventually, he stands again and makes his way out of the bridge, and tries to find the others.

"Two days," Cass reads aloud from his screen. "Hope somebody brought a pack of cards."

He turns as Creed steps out of the bridge and into the CIC. "Hey, that was some good fucking flying back there. Can't believe Ivare had you just running shuttles. You gonna miss it all?" he asks. "Idarete, I mean."

Hikaru stares ahead for a moment as the autopilot engages, almost unable to believe everything that had happened the past few days. Who's the bad boy of the band now? Fuck, this is gonna be a lot to explain to the label. He lets out a sigh. "Can we get out of these goddamn suits now? Can't say I wanna spend two days in this."

"We're in the clear for now, thanks to..." he hesitates. "Everyone's really good work. So uh, let's unwind a bit."

"Idarete? I mean... well, I guess. It was my home after all." He says, putting particular emphasis on 'was' as if he had to remind himself it wasn't home anymore. He gave a shrug. "Shuttles were simple, it got my mind off stuff." There was a moment where the childlike excitement of flying in space showed on his face.
"I ... guess I just got lucky." Creed said with a shrug. "If it wasn't for Tess' shooting we'd have never gotten out." He said, trying to quickly shove the light off of himself.

"Yeah," Cass sighs in reply. His lizard brain no longer engaged, he begins to feel the gravity of their actions. Those pilots are vapor. I know we did what we had to, but... damn.

He sighs again, spinning in his chair to take a proper look at the others as he slides his suit helm off. They seem to look just as stressed and disheveled as he feels. "I don't really know how we managed to pull that off, but well done. Well fucking done."

"It was all of us," Tess says, as Creed mentions her marksmanship during the fight. "We work surprisingly well together, despite only knowing each for a few days," she continues, before turning to her friend. "Well, most of us."

Standing from her seat, she stretches and begins to remove the vacc suit. Once it is off she holds it in her arms and looks to the others. "Unwinding is definitely something we could all use. I'm going upstairs, taking a shower, then taking a nap. Anyone who wants to join me is free to," she adds with a wink, before turning and walking away. She leaves the vacc suit in a locker in the room the first entered from before taking the stairs up to the officer's chambers and heading to one of the restroom/shower rooms.

"A shower, yeah," Hikaru says, sighing in slight exhaustion as he removes his own vacc suit. "Guess we've got time to figure out who's sleeping where too." He rolls his shoulder, stretching out the suit-induced stiffness. Hope the water can get hot.

He follows behind Tess a moment after, leaving his own suit in one of the lockers near the airlock. He glances at the airlock, knowing there's nothing but dead space beyond the steel hull now. Just cold space for awhile. Guess I gotta get used to it. He sighs, heading up the stairs and peeking into the captain's quarters, listening for the sound of a shower. Guess I may as well try this one out. I mean, it is the closest one after all.

Cass and Creed

[SHOW]

Tess and Hikaru leave the bridge, heading to the upper deck, leaving you alone with Marko and Pia.

"I'm going to see about grabbing a shower as well," Marko says after a brief moment of silence. "I think we've all earned a rest," he says, taking his his helmet off and trying to fix his helmet hair despite being about to shower.

"Me too," Pia says taking her helmet off as well and standing up from her gunnery station. Your two new crewman then make their way off the bridge, leaving the two of you alone in the Ops Room.

Tess

[SHOW]

You head upstairs and make your way into one of the officer's shower/bathrooms. Stepping inside, you find a compartment with a sliding door built into the wall, inside you find a place to store your clothes as well as several clean towels.

Turning the shower on once you've undressed, you are immediately hit with a blast of icy cold water. A few moments pass though and as the shock wears off the water begins to warm up as the water that had been sat in the pipes for nearly a year is flushed out and replaced by fresh heated water.

After your trek across the surface and the past hour of space combat all while wearing a vacc suit, the shower is a welcome respite.

Hikaru

[SHOW]

You head upstairs, not far behind Tess, peeling off in oppose directions once you reach the Mess. Stepping into the Captain's Quarters, you made you way over to the bathroom and shower unit to inspect it.

Lacking any towels, you spend a minute or so going through the drawers around the room. Next to the bed, in one of the drawers, something catches your eye. Moving aside an Idaretian uniform you find an ornate gunpowder based revolver - something of an oddity on a space ship - along with a box of ammunition.

In the drawers at the foot of the bed you find what you were looking for, a stack of clean towels. Making your way back over to the shower, you spot a hook on the wall for your towel and step into the shower.

Turning the shower on once you've undressed, you are immediately hit with a blast of icy cold water. A few moments pass though and as the shock wears off the water begins to warm up as the water that had been sat in the pipes for nearly a year is flushed out and replaced by fresh heated water.

After your trek across the surface and the past hour of space combat all while wearing a vacc suit, the shower is a welcome respite.

Tess shivers for a moment as the cold water hits her skin, annoyed but not exactly surprised that the lines did not immediately have warm water for her. She spends 20 minutes or so in the shower, a lot of the time simply soaking up the warmth and letting her worries about everything recently wash away as much as possible.

When the shower is finished she steps out and grabs a towel, tying up her hair with it and leaving that to dry. She then grabs a second towel to dry the rest of her off, before hanging the towel back up to dry. She then grabs her clothes and heads out, walking through both sets of doors to the hallway. From there she enters the officer's room right across from the showers, tosses her clothes on the nearest surface, and plops herself down on the bed. It's cramped. Hopefully no one has issues with me stealing the captain's quarters later.

Rifling through the drawer, Hikaru's eyes widen as he catches sight of the revolver, surprised and a little frightened. The fuck? He grasps it into his hand, clutching it nervously as he looks at its detail. Surprised this got left behind. Looks important. He shrugs, putting the revolver back into the drawer and concealing it under the uniform.

Finding a clean towel, he makes his way towards the bathroom. The initial blast of cold water makes him grit his teeth, but he eases as the water slowly heats until he's engulfed in steam. He hums to himself, washing his hair and feeling relaxed for the first time in days.

Once he's finished, he dries off and puts his clothes back on. Well, now what? He steps back into the bedroom, looking around for anything to spend the time with.

OOC

[SHOW]

Is that thing on the wall on the map a TV? Or just some kind of console screen?

Sweet, the pop star thinks, realizing he can get the monitor set up for movies from the bed. He sits down at the main terminal, navigating through its interface. I wonder if they left anything behind on here, otherwise I guess I'll have to transfer whatever's on my compad.

"A shower and a nap," Cass says with a sigh, running his gloved hands through his matted hair. "I could go for that."

When the others file out of the CIC, Cass stays behind for a moment longer with Creed. "If it's on autopilot, don't feel like you gotta stay shackled to the bridge, beratna. Get some grub and some rest, yeah?" With a smile, he heads to the upper deck. Throwing his backpack in one of the spare officer's rooms, Cass looks for the unoccupied shower.

Gone are water credits and trying to get soaped up before. As long as I keep our water recyclers going strong, I can take a hot shower whenever the fuck I want now. He smiles, finding it strange but not surprising that his quality of life has increased after stealing a military spaceship.

Creed nodded lightly in response to Cass as everyone left. "Yeah, a shower and sleep. That's probably for the best." He gave a soft sigh. "I'll be sure not to stay up here too much." He said with a soft smile. "Thanks for ---..." He paused. "Thanks." He said with a bit of finality, heading out to find the bunks.

Creed

[SHOW]

You head upstairs and find the first quarters, opposite the head, locked. You make your way a little further down the corridor, finding one of the next two quarters vacant. After dropping off your belongings you head back to the showers. Stepping inside, you find a compartment with a sliding door built into the wall, inside which you find a place to store your clothes as well as several clean towels.

Turning the shower on once you've undressed, you are immediately hit with a blast of icy cold water. A few moments pass though and as the shock wears off the water begins to warm up as the water that had been sat in the pipes for nearly a year is flushed out and replaced by fresh heated water.

After your trek across the surface and the past hour of space combat all while wearing a vacc suit, the shower is a welcome respite.

Hikaru

[SHOW]

Browsing through the system's files, you find a large folder of media content saved on the ship's main computer. It contains a variety of movies, shows, and other vid feeds. Most of them appear to be from Strocho or Alldis, with Idarete lacking a sizeable entertainment industry.

After you have showered and settled into your chosen room. It isn't too long before you are far enough away from Idarete and the Diktat's comm filters, that broadcasts and transmissions from the other parts of the sector begin to get through to the ship via the other comm relays scattered around the system.

Bringing up one of the top feeds you find a quick video of some of the key headlines. A well dressed woman sits behind a news desk with the skyline of Strocho City in the background.

"I'm Caitlan Voight and these are the latest headlines brought to you by LNN - The League News Network.

President Hisahsi has once again reiterated that the majority of the Coalition Navy will remain in a defensive posture despite the current conflict on Antheus. Her opponents say that she is failing to support the League forces already engaged on the planet when in particular the VLCN Eleanor Clarke - the flagship of the Coalition Fleet and the only carrier in either the League or the Escriosian Navies - would provide League forces with a unparalleled advantage against the invasion force, while her proponents agree that such a move would lead to a further escalation of the conflict which could easily spill over into other systems if both sides commit more of their forces to the conflict.

The Escios Diktat is still yet to come to the table for proposed peace talks as the conflict enters its sixth month, despite having been almost entirely pushed out of the planet's habitable polar regions.

League Intelligence operatives along with local security forces on Alldis successfully foiled a deadly plot by a group of anti-alien extremists. The extremists planned to deploy a lethal aerosolised neurotoxin at several key government installations in protest of the increasingly prominent role the Aascein have been taking in League politics in recent years. Despite Suchhan Mallina being a founding world of the League, the Aascein have been historically absent from League politics. It is only in the last five years that Suchhan Mallina has begun electing Aascein to prominent positions in their government and as their representatives in the League Assembly.

Also in the Mona system - on Berez, the Laclede Dome was evacuated this week after the dome's support structures succumbed to planet's worsening atmospheric conditions. The Laclede Dome - which was home to around fifty thousand people - is believed to have failed due to delays on a series of critical improvement works which have already been completed on most of the planet's other Domes.

Caitlan Voight for LNN," as she finishes the picture cuts to the LNN logo before the feed ends.

OOC

[SHOW]

Now you are on your way to Asteria Station we will skip forward shortly, but you should post to describe what your character gets up to in the next 48 hours or so and also rping out a scene with one or more of the other party/crew members. This will be the case with every journey as travel time will probably end up constituting the majority of the time the PCs spend together and it will probably be some of the only downtime they get for non-plot related character moments.

Cass sighs heavily as he lets the hot water pour down his face, ignoring the ache in his wounded arm. I need a fucking haircut, he considers, fussing futilely with his dripping tangles of hair.

Reluctantly turning the water off, he exits the shower after a quarter hour. Drying himself off, he stares in the mirror for a moment, a ritual unfamiliar to him — a moment of physical introspection. He sees the chemjacks in his neck and abdomen, blocky and foreign; the scars already forming on his arm, a web of discolored pigment snaking across the skin; the pale, waning figure standing before him.

He frowns, the image of himself at odds with what he remembers of himself: a bright-eyed, clean-cut kid, fresh out of officer's school.

Cass shelves the thoughts, accepting the reality for now that he is one runaway on a ship full of other runaways. It's not so bad. There's hot water. I bet there's even coffee. And vids. Those Idarete soldiers gotta have rec, right? Otherwise they'd go fucking crazy in these tubs.

Laying on his cot and enjoying the peace and quiet, he decides to ruin it by turning on a feed of the local news. More posturing from the League while they try to play the bigger person. Fucking joke, that. If they wanted to, they could wipe the Diktat off the charts. I know the League, what they do behind closed doors. There must be more here if they're using words and not gunships.

After who knows how much time, Tess awakens from her slumber, feeling as groggy as she does every morning. She hadn't set an alarm, but she feels like she had slept an entire night's worth, maybe even more. Getting out of bed, she walks to the door and is about to open it before she remember she is not at home and is not wearing any clothes. I doubt Cass would mind, but no need to start the day making the newcomers uncomfortable, she thinks. Not wanting to squeeze into her under armor, she instead grabs her sheet off her bed and drapes it haphazardly over herself.

With her makeshift dress/toga made of sheets, Tess first steps across the hallway to the same restroom stall she had showered in before bed. She takes a seat to relieve herself while still barely awake, and when finished she stands in front of the mirror for a few - maybe more - minutes. She washes her hands finally after some time has passed and after she has begun to feel a little more awake, and she slowly trudges back into the officer quarters hallway to the kitchen and lounge area.

Once there, she turns on one of the comm screens, only to be bored to death by a news broadcast. More warring, more politics, yadda yadda, does it ever change? While the woman on the screen drones on, Tess digs through the cupboards, looking to find a coffee mug and some coffee, and ideally a coffee maker. Sailors gotta have something to keep them awake, right? There's bound to be some in here somewhere.

Tess

[SHOW]

Examining the mess, you find a small button on the counter that has a small symbol of a cup of coffee on it. Pushing it, a panel opens and a coffee machine slides on onto the counter.

Rummaging around the cupboards and drawers you find the drawer by the machine contains several pods of coffee. While it clearly needs to be restocked there is more than enough to last your two day journey. You find several stainless steel mugs in the cupboard below the drawer, all emblazed with IDS Furious Midnight in the same font as the painted name on the ship's exterior.

You take one of the pods and place it in the machine along with a mug. The machine is fairly intuitive and you are able to figure it out pretty quickly. While you're waiting for the coffee to brew you hear the door slide open behind you.

Cass

[SHOW]

After watching the news feed you flick through some of the other feeds and the vids stored on the ship's server before eventually falling asleep, exhausted from the excitement of the day.

You wake up the next morning, around 9am Idarete time according to your compad. After getting up and going about your morning routine, you head into the mess. As the door opens you spot Tess - scantily dressed in nothing but her bed sheets - working a coffee machine on one of the counters with her back to you.

"Morning," Cass says, rubbing his eyes with his palm as he steps into the mess hall. He doubletakes at Tess' choice of leisure apparel, but doesn't tease her considering he slept in his street clothes.

Taking one of the seats, he yawns, squinting at the coffee machine she is working on. "Think this tub's got spare jumpsuits? I'm not hot on the idea of looking like an Idarete jarhead, but I don't have any other clothes."

Eridas takes some time to enjoy the shower -- surprisingly even the icy cold shock feels refreshing after the stress of the last couple of days. The anxiety of recent events seemingly washes away as he cleans himself, scrubbing thoroughly. He took some time during this to contemplate the situation he found himself in, the people he's with now, and where they're going to go.

He lets out a soft sigh, and unable to stop himself, now finally lets himself cry. Thankful for the relative solace and privacy of the shower, he let his tears get washed away, his breathing a little ragged for a moment as he tries to calm himself down. Eventually, Eridas finds the strength within himself to pull away from the shower. He towels himself off and after a moment glances at himself in the mirror, before quickly thinking better of it. He pulls his clothes back on and retreats to the privacy of his bunk and makes sure the door closes behind him. After a quick -- yet, decidedly thorough -- look through his room to calm his anxious mind... he finally locks the door and relaxes, laying down on the cot. He curls up in a small ball and turns on the news feed, watching it intently.

"At least it's not my face up there on the feed. The thought of the war getting worse doesn't help calm my worries, though." He gives himself a bit of a hug as he lays there, eventually turning off the feed and laying there in the quiet darkness of his room.

Hikaru grins, diving into the media folder and recognizing familiar classics from home. Damn, haven't seen some of these in forever. Wonder if the others have ever seen them. As he's about to switch the input over to stored media, a news broadcast pops up.

He breathes out a slight sigh. Guess having good news is too much to ask for. He frowns, watching the familiar logo fade away at broadcast's end. Mood slightly soured, the pop star puts on the first lighthearted movie he finds and lies on the bed, gradually drifting off to sleep. Halfway through the night, he awakens, grimacing as the discomfort of reasonably-tight pants becomes apparent. "Oh, fuck me," he grumbles with annoyance, the immense soreness from the prior day's physical exertion setting in. I don't think I've walked that much in ages...

Eventually, the battle is victorious and he once more falls asleep. Hours later, he awakens again, smelling coffee. Why do hotels always smell like coffee? Fucking free breakfasts... He sighs, opening his eyes and stretching before remembering he's not in a hotel. He's in a stolen naval ship and a Diktat criminal. Oh. Right.

After lying in bed for a time, he winces and pulls himself up and steps out in the kitchen, still dressed in just a t-shirt and boxers. "Morning," he says with a yawn.

Tess whistles at Hikaru as he steps into the kitchen after Cass, turning to face both men while her coffee brews. If Marco wasn't already into him, he will be now, she thinks to herself with a smirk. Turning to Cass specifically, she says, "There might be spares lying around somewhere, though they probably aren't too comfy. I can't imagine the navy - let alone one as small as Idarete - pays more than the bare minimum for their fatigues."

After a moment the coffee machine beeps to indicate it is ready and she turns to grab her mug, before facing the others once more. She leans against the counter and does her best to hold her dress of sheets to herself while gripping the mug with both hands to warm them up. She blows on it twice before taking a slow sip, and exhales in satisfaction. This isn't so bad, she thinks, stepping over to the couch and sitting cross-legged on it, cupping her mug in her lap. "The coffee's decent, at least. Better than I would have expected."

Cass' mouth wrinkles at the smell of coffee, and watching Tess sip it gets the better of him. Caffeine won't break the code, he compromises, getting up to pour himself a cup.

With a deep sigh, he lifts the navy-issue mug to his lips and gingerly slurps a scorching mouthful. He closes his eyes, swearing he can taste the stimulant even before his circulatory system does. "Yeah," Cass says. "Yeah, not bad."

The engineer looks over his half-dressed companions, nodding slowly. "Finding jumps is my duty this morning. Any spares and I'll let you guys know," he offers. "I know they don't pass the fashion test, but I don't think we're gonna see any department stores out in the far reaches anytime soon."

"I may just keep this," Tess chuckles, glancing down at her makeshift dress. "It's certainly comfy, and airy. Perfect for lounging around, which is hopefully all we have to do til we get to port."

A lump forms in Cass' throat, trying hard not to stare. She... serious? I mean, I wouldn't hate it, but... does she not know how dirty these mil-tubs are? Feel like every time I walk past a bulkhead I get a smudge of oil or I stub a toe.

Ultimately, he clears his throat and shrugs, doing his best to act casual. "Whatever the Captain says, goes," Cass says, looking to Hikaru — a safe place for his eyes. "Somehow I doubt Glitter here's one to issue a dress code."

"Oh, are we gonna call him captain now? That's cute! I wonder what is record label would think," Tess says, turning to face Hikaru and letting out another chuckle. Switching to a mocking voice meant to sound like a news anchor - like the one on the screen - she says, "Hikaru Tsukiakari, famed member of the pop group NTER5TELLAR, has returned to Strocho today with an unlikely tale of adventure and intrigue. He relates to us how he became captain of a pirate crew in the backwater planet of Idarete. More tonight at 5." She finishes her speech with an even more hearty laugh, almost spilling her coffee in her lap as she does.

Hikaru rolls his eyes as Tess's whistling, stretching and leaning against the counter. He smells the freshly-brewed coffee, eyeing the machine and gritting his teeth. Nope. I can't. Coffee stains teeth and caffeine is bad for people. He sighs. Or so they always reminded me...

As the discussion turns towards the manner of dress expected onboard, Hikaru raises an eyebrow, giving Tess and her sheet-dress a quick once-over. "I don't know. Looks like something off the clearance rack. Should've sprung for sheets with the floral pattern," he says with a smirk, noticing his friend having to constantly keep it up. "But you might want something where you can actually, ya know, use your arms. And won't make you trip on the stairs." He shrugs.

He rolls his eyes and feigns a pout at Tess's faux-news story, his cheeks flushing ever-so-slightly red. "Probably somewhere between astonished and pissed. Or they'd figure out how to turn this into a music video... with Kaze as the captain in it. And merch. Lots of merch." He crosses his arms and flashes a cheeky grin, switching to a similar commercial-esque voice. "Use coupon code 5TARPIRATE for 15% off all orders, while supplies last."

Cass sighs, sipping his coffee after having fanned it off a bit. "Are you two always this... much in the morning?"

You know who'd let me enjoy my coffee in peace and quiet? Creed, he considers. Guess he's still asleep.

Creed rolls his way out of bed slowly. He listens as the others walk past his room and head downstairs. He could have rushed out to see them, but he needed a few moments to himself.

His sleep was troubled, he woke up at odd hours, panicking about one thing or the next... He cried for part of the night, too, scared of what could happen to them all out here. He sat curled up on the floor of his room, wearing only his boxers as he mentally prepared himself for the day. After he heard the last of his companions move by ((OOC: Probably a minute or two after Hikaru)) he pulls on his clothes and heads downstairs, putting back on the fancy outfit Hikaru and Tess bought him -- Literally the only outfit he's ever enjoyed in his entire life, and his walk showed it.

As Creed walks down the hallway he hears Tess and Hikaru's chatter, rolling his eyes subtly and giving the faintest laugh. He gives a small wave as he walks into the kitchen, not really feeling up to vocalizing his greeting yet. He pours himself a cup of coffee. He gives a soft smile to Cass, specifically, even if he doesn't catch his gaze.

"We're on a rusty tub in the void of space, inches from lifelessness," Tess says to Cass as she turns to face him again, a hint of insecurity at their situation seeping into her voice. "It's either joke around about it, or sit around thinking about it all day. And besides," she continues, her more upbeat tone returning once more. "How could I pass up an opportunity to tease my best friend?"

Cass shrugs, agreeing with the sentiment. "Weird feeling, huh? Nothing but the bulkheads and hull shielding us from vacuum. If you're anything like me, you sorta forget about it, but never entirely." He takes another sip. "Anyways, don't keep me from your antics. We're stuck on this rusty tub together until we're not."

As Creed enters and pours himself a cup of coffee, Cass pats the chair next to him. "Morning, flyboy. You sleep off that dogfight alright?"

Hikaru offers Cass a shrug. "I've had a lot of early starts in my world. You get used to it." He rests his hands back on the counter, leaning against it. "Can't be a gremlin in the morning when you've got fans and paparazzi always watching."

He raises an eyebrow as Creed silently waltzes in. "Not a morning person either, hm? Guess that makes two of you."

Listening to Tess's bleak description of their situation, the pop star can't help but chuckle. "I can think of worse things than the lifeless void. Award show dinners come to mind."

Creed gives a sheepish smile as he walks over and takes a seat. He shrugs at Sparkles' question. "Yeah, I don't do mornings. Who really does?" He laughs a bit. "Yeah... yeah I slept, I think." He said hesitantly, then takes a long sip of his coffee. "Maybe not as much as I thought." He says with a laugh

Your morning routine is abruptly interrupted by the sound of an alarm. The screens in the mess hall change from the rotating slideshow of serene landscapes they had previously been showing to the ship's tactical and sensor displays. It's quickly apparent that the alarm is sounding in response to the ship falling once more into the area the EDN Ascalon - yet to give up their search for you - is actively scanning.

Cass

[SHOW]

If you wish to try to avoid the detection lock, you can make an opposed Prog/Int check (with +2 for being a frigate) against the EDN Ascalon.

Fully awake now by both caffeine and klaxon alike, Cass straightens in his chair. "Fuck. For a moment there, I forgot we were being chased. Pashang jarhead. They just don't know when they're beat, hm?"

He takes another quick sip before dumping the contents in a thermos or portable mug. "I've got it," he promises dryly. Making his way back toward the CIC, he plops down in one of the seats and brings up their systems panels. Flicking through them, he taps his foot idly as he works. Alright, as long as we keep our sensors dimmed and our drive consistent, we've got a chance.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Program / Int: 3d6k2+2 10+2=12

Cass is able to reduce the Midnight's sensor profile and use the ship's ECM to deflect and scramble much of the pursuing Heavy Frigate's scans. A few minutes pass and the Ascalon remains on its current course, rather than changing course to intercept you, suggesting Cass' efforts were successful. The Midnight's calculations show that you should be out of range by the next time the Ascalon scans in your direction, letting you breath a sigh of relief.

A few moments later Marko pops his head into the bridge, half dressed clearly just woken up by the alarm. "Hopefully they assume we're headed out of the system and don't come to Asteria looking for us," he says, checking the screens. "On that note we should probably change the ship's name," he adds.

"What's wrong with Furious Midnight?" Cass asks Marko with a smirk. "You don't like flying on a ship that sounds like a late-night, breakup-sex booty call?"

He sighs, standing up from the flight seat with a groan. Heading back toward the mess hall, he beckons the disheveled Marko to follow. "C'mon, let's go find out a new name."

From in the mess hall the alarms fade and a few minutes later the screens return to their terrestrial slideshow. Soon both Cass and a half dressed Marko emerge from the stairs up from the mid deck. Marko moves to join Hikaru by the counter, putting an arm around him.

Hikaru jumps for a moment as the alarm sounds, barely able to take stock of the situation before Cass has already committed himself to handling it. Damn, this ship runs itself. Easier captain gig than I thought.

After several moments pass and the alarms fade, he breathes a sigh of relief. "Nicely done, I think," he says to Cass as the engineer returns to the mess. Spotting Marko trailing behind, he grins meekly, noticing the half-dressed state of his boytoy. He leans against Marko and smiles. "Morning. You sleep okay?" Was he lonely? I could share my room...

He turns back towards to Cass and raises an eyebrow. "We lose 'em for good now, or...?"

"Yeah. We're ahead of their sensor range, as long as they don't send anything faster."

Cass smiles, their pursuit momentarily over. At least until we bump into another Idaretian tub out here on the seas.

"Marko here is right though, we still need a new name. Any ideas?"

Eridas jumps as the alarm klaxons sound, nearly sending his morning coffee flying. He starts to move, heading for the exit to the cockpit to begin for evasive maneuvers, but Cass's calm movements bring him sliding to a stop. He looks over at Cass wide-eyed, and, with a few heavy breaths escaping from his frail exterior.

As the alarms silence and the ship returns to normal, Eridas tries to calm himself down, manually reminding himself to slow down his breathing. "We're... alright? We're okay?" He asks shakily, looking at his abandoned cup of coffee on the table as he notices Marko enter the room. "I... kind of like the Furious Midnight." He says, stepping over to the chair he just abandoned as he feels strength returning to his legs and his body returning to his control. He intentionally chooses not to notice Marko go over to Hikaru as he focuses on taking another sip of his coffee, noting that he was definitely not ready for interpersonal interactions currently. "Mmn. Well, that certainly woke us all up, I guess." He says with a hesitant laugh.

The sound of the alarm causes Tess to spill her coffee in her lap, all on her sheets. It is fortunately cooled down enough that she doesn't burn herself, but it is only a small consolation. She sighs and downs the rest of her mug before shambling to her room again, with the stained sheets partially dragging on the floor. Well, guess that's all the break we're getting for now, she thinks as she goes to put on real clothing in preparation for the combat to come.

Returning to the kitchen a moment later, she watches as Marko and Cass enter, seemingly calmly. She steps in just as she is pulling up the center zipper of her body suit, the deep V closing up just before anyone gets a chance to peek. "So we're not fighting again? That's good. I'd have liked to stay in the sheets a bit longer, though," she says, with another sigh.

As conversation turns to that of renaming the ship, she plops herself down on the couch once more and leans way back into the cushion. "A new name would be good. This one is certainly too... conspicuous. We need something simple, something that gives off a 'simple merchants' vibe and not an 'edgy teenager with a gun' vibe."

"We lost them," Cass confirms to Tess, a rare smile on his face after feeling responsible for that. "And don't worry, you'll get your sheets again. Gonna be a lot of bunk hours and down time until we arrive."

He ponders for a moment, not having taken a serious thought at a new name until now. "Something with the wind? Tradewind? Golden Wind? I know there's hardly a single molecule of gas out there, beyond these," the engineer says, rapping a knuckle twice against the solid bulkhead. "But it's ironic. Nostalgic, even. Something a shriveled, old trader would name his shitty, second-rate tub. That's, ya know, if we're going for inconspicuous."