Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Rotochron on 25-08-2015, 02:57:18</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>25-08-2015, 02:57:18</strong>
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				Somewhere very high up in the Coalition, there was a man who had never had to endure this sort of thing. That thought was primarily what drove crewman Raymond Weaver despite incredibly bad odds, worse food rations and even more terrible circumstance. It didn't drive him because it was a comfort, that some stuffed-shirt politician would never have to experience the trials and tribulations of deep space voyages such as this one, no, it drove Ray because perhaps somewhere in his future he'd get to punch the guy responsible for sending him and his crewmates along the way to some unknown planet that had only just received notice because of its weird moons.<br><br>Of course, in the official report he'd be required to use different, more technical language, but how else did you describe that sort of thing in layman's terms? The surface of the planet was constantly marred by hurricanes, electrical storms, gale-force winds, tsunamis... pretty much everything you'd expect from a planet that had two moons in an oddly anarchic orbit around their planet. For whatever reason, Raymond didn't know the specifics, these moons were constantly in motion to keep one of them in the light of Archimedes at all times while the other remained shrouded in darkness. By all accounts that would explain the winds and tides as well as the infrequent cycle of day and night on the planet, but all of those things were only on Raymond's mind because the white moon was -hot-. Hot, dry, craterfaced and utterly not all that helpful for what had befallen them.<br><br>At some point in their travels they (or rather, the ship's engineer) had neglected to take into account some sort of particles that surrounded the system and, when their engines had brought them in through the intake manifold, they had changed in some way that had completely seized up their warp drives, among other things. Sure, they still had shuttles and impulse engines, but they were essentially stranded in the system since the third planet from Archimedes was the only one that could even possibly support them without a serious overhaul to their capabilities. Damaged, the Intrepid was stranded on the white moon, but they were in the midst of making plans to go planetside.<br><br>Their sensors had picked up several things that had given them hope of finding a civilization on the planet.. roads and canals, points of visible light that would suggest clusters of people. Well, people was a long shot, but clusters of something or someone capable of producing light. Chances were though nothing had noticed their entry into the system, nor their not-quite-crash landing on the moon.. <br><br>"So, what's the plan anyway?" many of the people were going to stay behind, but Raymond figured what the hell, he could volunteer for planet duty. It'd look good on his service record, might even amount to a promotion in the works if he helped find something great. He glanced over to the small assembled group of engineers and other scientist types.. His specialty was more in, well, personnel suppression. "Any idea if the things we find there are even gonna be friendly or is this more a.. show up and make sure things go our way kinda job?" Raymond grinned around a bit but only found answering grins from his other infantry buddies. He was a well built fellow, not too bad on the eyes except for a few shrapnel and burn scars along his neck and down one arm. His skin was an olive tone, lending him a certain duskiness that had never betrayed him when he was bar hopping back in the Coalition rim. His fatigues fit snugly, though were obscured in places by the standard body armour he and his were required to wear. The man's helmet was tucked under one arm though, the better to show off his cocksure grin, "Any word from the sawboneses about what to expect down there? Is there even air?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>25-08-2015, 04:29:41</strong>
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				A flash of lightning lit the sky yet again as Selekni looked up into the heavens. He was aware of the approaching storm, of course, but then again when wasn't there a storm approaching? This one was not as fierce as the one preceding it and there was even a glimpse of the Holy Face of Lunara peeking from the clouds. The view was not clear of course, it seldom was. <br><br>Premonition sparked within him and he frowned. His long green hair flowed down his scaled back, golden eyes studied the face of the Goddess. Was it his imagination or did she just wink at him? He shook his head and drops of water flew from locks of green. He dove down into the water again to secure the shelter. His wife Louin and his daughter the fair Celiar made ready to wait out the storm. Briefly he told them of his uneasy vision. "The Eye of Lunara winked at me. Is it a sign or good or bad things to come?" <br><br>But his wife laughed at him. "You and your visions! Why didn't you warn us of the earthquake that split the walls of our last cave?"<br><br>Celiar only smiled. "Perhaps it is good news father. A new adventure or a story waiting to be told?"<br><br>His people, the Marem, formed the Clan of the White Wyrm. They lived in the water, sometimes in caves or in underwater shelters scattered along the coast of the rocky beach. Underwater caves were safe from the wind and lightning storms, but not from the shifting of the earth when the Gods fought above them. The dark face of Helio, the god of the night wind ruled the world between dusk and dawn. He chased the Goddess Lunara, the face of the White Moon, she stayed ever in the day and sometimes blocked the face of Archon, the God of Gods. <br><br>The Clan had large community caves that had room to expand. The miners dug into the hard rocks and sometimes found gems of superior quality. These they traded with the land bound Eliki, those who had given up their watery ties and kept above the level of the sea. They had lost the ability to breath the water over many generations of roaming the deserts and forests of the land.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>The two tribes were in an uneasy truce. They needed things from each other, and in spite of their differences, kept the peace. At one time they warred incessantly. But dwindling numbers led to the insistence of Elders to stop the insanity. If they were not careful they would wipe each other out of existence. Then where would they be? Unable to trade vital gems and food from each other. <br><br>More tribes of the same type were in the world. Though they were not well known to each other. Few bothered to explore, unless their homes were so storm or earthquake damaged they were forced to move. All were uniquely suited to their environment. <br><br>Marem were water dwellers, able to breath for a short time with primitive gills along their necks. They needed the air above the water however, or strength would fail. They were fast and efficient swimmers, with webbed feet and fingers. Long legs and lightly scaled skin to withstand the near constant touch of water. They ate almost any kind of water creature from shrimp to whales. Seaweed and shore growing berries completed their diets.<br><br>Eliki lived on the land, having found more shelter in above sea level caves and even building shelters from the trees and rocks, cementing them with clay to seal them from the rain and wind. They were the builders and the inventors, making machines to do some of the harder chores. A few even went so far as to contain water and create steam to run them. Wood proved inefficient, but there were coal deposits that offered up a way to burn slowly and hotter temperatures. Eventually they learned to smelt iron and even silver and gold.<br><br>The land was a rich deposit of minerals, not all of them cataloged or researched. It was a rich and varied world of new beginnings. Little did they know of the winking eye of Lunara even now staring down at them. And the aliens soon to descend on their world.<br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>25-08-2015, 20:45:49</strong>
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				"Oh shut up Bardoch and get in the transport with the rest of your buddies," a weedy man named Jones Fabine, ostensibly some manner of scientist, groused, "You lot are scheduled to set up a ground base down there so we can work on getting our rears off this rock, complaining about it isn't helpful. Of course there's air, there's life down there. Perhaps a little high in sulphur and nitrogen content, but nothing your filtration systems can't handle, nothing to worry about."<br><br>Raymond pulled a face at Jones and sighed, "Yes -Dad-, I'll be sure to eat my vegetables and do your bidding." he clambered aboard the shuttle with three other mobile infantry, all of whom were part of his squad. Besides himself, Raymond "Fitzy" Bardoch, there was Harold "Cuedee" Malone who was his second in command. Cuedee had saved his life more times than Raymond cared to admit and really, the man was a good friend. The nickname was meant to stand in for the letters Q.D., for Quickdraw, on account of a tall tale about how Harold had once shot down four incoming hostiles in less than two seconds, on a gut instinct reaction. No-one knew if that was true or not. Next was Rebecca "Razorgirl" Shione, named for the chrome she sported in evidence of her service. Rather than retire after losing most of a leg in an explosion and several fingers besides, she'd had them replaced with shiny new bleeding edge tech in order to continue her career; no-one messed with a gal that tough. Last up was Samantha "Trapper" Holstein, a rather skilled survivalist who'd provided those assembled with food and shelter on occassions when they should all have died of exposure and starvation. Didn't like to talk about her past or why she knew what she did and none of the marines cared to bother her about it; she did her job and did it well and they didn't need more than that.<br><br>The four of them settled in to be shot off with their gear and supplies along with one pilot to handle the entry to the planet, not to mention to bring the precious lifeboat back to the Intrepid. As it was, the first group down and mobile infantry at that, the four had to admit that it felt a bit like they were expendable. "Eh," Cuedee waved off the talk and smirked cockily, "We're mobile infantry, doin' this is our job. Lettin' folks lackin' the guts stay at home where they belong." he thumbed his nose and winked, bringing laughter from the four, loud enough that their pilot called for quiet so that he could focus.<br><br>The shuttle wove its way through the storms and other problems presented by the planet, skimming a rough and chaotic trade wind for some time before finally settling for a relatively flat patch of land for their destination. They landed almost entirely without incident, almost overshooting the landing zone but coming up fine. The site that the sensors had indicated was a patch of land that was only open to air on one side, the rest enclosed by some manner of intensely durable and dense stone that seemed to have held up nicely despite the weather being as bad as it was. An outcropping rose overhead and provided lots of cover above, though it was quite close to the water, which could present a problem later.<br><br>As they all unloaded, the pilot gave them their last instructions, "You're to take samples of everything and if you happen to find something alive down here while you're settin' up, for God's sake talk to it before shooting. That means you Malone." Cuedee opened his mouth to reply but was shot down by the pilot, "I ain't here to listen to yer bitchin'. You have your orders, now go set up the base camp and figure out why we even bothered coming to this rock!"<br><br>The shuttle hatch slammed shut and the craft took off with little preamble, obviously piloted by someone keen to be out of there. "Yeah yeah and a big fuck you to you too, 'sir'," Cuedee mock saluted and then spat to the side, "Welp, c'mon then, you heard Major Stick Up His Ass, let's set up so we can get back outta here."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>26-08-2015, 01:32:31</strong>
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				The rotund form of Yolan bounced on the back of his bleating goat as the scared Eliki scout sent it scrambling up the path to the little settlement of Noshum. His long beard flying in the wind as he held onto his floppy hat. His spear was secure under the strap on the saddle, and the quiver of arrow and bow were across his back. <br><br>The strange monster that spouted fire and landed on the Orwin Flats had nearly scared poor Yolan out of five years of his life! He was not about to stick around to see what it was going to do, he just wanted to warn the chief and see what he would do about it. <br><br>Yolan looked behind him as the creature roared again and lifted off into the cloudy sky. He stopped the goat at the chief's hut and yelled loudly until the old Eliki came out of the hut. Yolan pointed excitedly at the rapidly disappearing flame as the monster winked out of sight.<br><br>"What is it!!? Yolan, slow down and tell me, stop babbling!!" the old chief Zulak tried to get something coherent out of the frightened scout. <br><br>"It's a dragon or something like it! It landed on Orwin Flats and scattered my herd of goats to the far winds. I will never find them now, it probably ate them!!" he was still nearly hysterical.<br><br>----------<br><br>Meanwhile at the landing site.<br><br>The crew found the air to be suitable not to need filtration. It was rich in oxygen and nitrogen, very close to earth standards, before the ozone layer had been decimated. There was grass growing along the ground near the landing, most of it scorched by the flames of the shuttle. Beyond that the scenery was quite pretty. Trees in the distance seemed to be a distinct blue green in leaf color, though there were some that looked more brown, as if they were a different species. <br><br>The samples of water in the open sea were saline in composition, but not quite as salty as the earthen sea. It was also very cold. Clearly in the water they could see large shapes swimming beneath the surface. A whale like creature broke the surface about a hundred yards out. Waves washed up on the beach in a regular pattern, driven by the brisk wind. It was a constant thing, never still, the breeze changed directions at times, but it never stopped.<br><br>Along the beach in the grey white sand small spouts of water popped up occasionally, suggesting clams or some kind of underground creature left by the tide. The small tidal pools were alive with&nbsp; smaller fish. Colorful and active they appeared curious to a hand dipped in the water, but made no effort to attack. None were larger than five inches and some appeared to be newly hatched.<br><br>Further inland along the cliff were bushes that appeared to have flowers and berries on them. The leaves were of an emerald color and pointed with sharp thorns. The silence was broken once or twice by the bleating of some animal in distress. It was quickly silenced, suggesting a predator had acted. If any of them looked up to the top of the cliff they might see a furry black head peer over the edge and then quickly disappear. It might remind them of a cat with tufted ears. If they could see it that far away it was likely to be a very large cat.<br><br>It was not until several hours later that the mounted Eliki party appeared on a path heading towards the landing site. The were a motley group of short and hairy humanlike men who wore skins of some animals and carried bows and spears.&nbsp; They were riding what looked like goats with long curving horns that were in a corkscrew shape. They stopped to stare at the intruders with wide dark eyes rimmed in white.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>27-08-2015, 03:11:07</strong>
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				Plenty about the landing site had changed since the Eliki man had spotted the shuttlecraft arriving and departing. The marines had unpacked and cordoned off a large swath of the sheltered land in short order, having been trained to do this many times before. One kept point guard, that'd be Cuedee, but the others had all been engaged either setting up the hardtents or planting the filtration systems. The water, being cold and saline, was being pumped in small amounts through a state of the art purifier and further through into a squat, fat tank that seemed somewhat malleable as it was expanding to a point the more water was being added. Beyond that there was a solar generator which didn't seem to be functioning very well in the constant incliment weather of the planet they'd arrived on, but it was collecting what solar radiation it could to produce some electricity.<br><br>"Hmph, gonna have to send back for a steam dynamo or somethin'," Razorgirl's comment was made offhandedly as she gave the little chugging machine a soft kick, shaking her head softly, "Or hell, a wind generator'd be a mint. Who the hell decided on sendin' us down to Stormworld with a fuggin' sunbox anyway?" she was a rather surly sort, but had a good head on her shoulders, in Fitzy's opinion. He was off checking out the shoreline, having been the one who'd set up the water pump, keeping an eye on the distance especially after that weirdly huge whale thing had breached, but also he was interested in the tide pools.<br><br>Since the comms were on he'd heard Razorgirl's comment and replied casually, "The guys in charge, ain't our job to ask about why they do what they do. Prob'ly some kinda funding issue, if that makes any sense right now heh." he jerked his head up at the suddenly silenced bleating and peered at some weird animal, grimacing as it slunk back behind the outcropping, "And to top off this big ol' pile of crap, we've got predatory life. Who knows what's in the water besides these little fish but I think I heard some kinda sheep out there before that animal got 'em. Could be useful to scout out."<br><br>Trapper rolled her eyes while she continued setting up the shelters, packing things away and listening to the comms. "How long were we out here again? A week? Our time or planetside time? How long's a day around here anyway?" all valid questions, Fitzy'd have to admit, but he shrugged as he replied, "A week our time, which if you'd been payin' attention Trap, you'd know that the infofeed on your arm's keepin' track of how long 'till we're relieved." Fitzy stood and adjusted his service rifle, the classic AR-Falchion combination firearm and suppressant, capable of delivering either a deadly charged-lead payload or a blast of compressed air powerful enough to strip skin and blow a man off his feet at close range. The recoil on that last part was so intense that even after training and use his hands still ached after holding the rifle in place. Besides that they each carried a small but powerful pistol as a sidearm and a wickedly sharp knife that would serve as both melee weapon and tool for them. Of course each of them had their own little bits of personal kit, Fitzy was carrying a standard issue multitool that was less an old world Swiss Army Knife and more an amalgam of molecularly unstable metalloids and, for lack of a better explanation, atomically encoded configurations. It could be a shovel, a chisel, hammer; basically any common hand tool someone might need; very handy.<br><br>The Eliki arrived just as they were settling in for what seemed to be the evening. Cuedee noticed them first, still on point as he was, though he calmly reacted by speaking into the comm, "Yo guys, we've got locals. Dunno if they're hostile yet, not takin' chances just yet." the man had moved into a more defensible location, though rather than aim his rifle at the locals just now, raising a hand to signal them in a common manner, offering the group a wave. If they managed to establish peaceful relations with these, well, people, things would just be that much easier in the long run!
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>27-08-2015, 05:06:10</strong>
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				The whole group of Eliki had stopped to stare, including the goats, who snorted in their way as they took in the strange scent of something alien to them. Zulak leaned slightly towards Yolan and mumbled. "I don't see no dragon. But those look like intruders. What are they?" Of course his words would be nothing intelligible to the landing crew.<br><br>Yolan was just as perplexed as the chief and shook his head. "How you expect me to know? You are chief, not me. I am just a scout. And a goatherder. They are making noises, but I can't understand them. Where is priest?"<br><br>Zulak craned his head around and motioned for the priest, a red haired man with a conical blue hat. "Get up here, Vork, are they Gods or Demons? Can you talk to them?"<br><br>The priest urged his reluctant goat a few steps closer. He was not too keen on getting closer to the strange beings. "I don't know what they are. Hard to tell, they don't look hostile. On the other hand a bristleback(wild hog like creature) will stand perfectly still and not even look at you until he thinks you want to eat it, then it will rip your heart out in a second. Best to be cautious."<br><br>Yolan was watching the landing party very closely and he did not see any of his goats there. He did note the man wave however. "Look!! It is signalling its allies!! It's a trap!!" He turned his goat around and hightailed it back to the village. He was certain that the narrow trail and the steep cliffs beside it were hiding more of the strange creatures. His goat was not in disagreement and ran as fast as it could.<br><br>The rest of them panicked as well and all but Zulak and Vork turned to follow Yolan. "Stop it Yolan!! Don't panic the goats!!" But it was too late and his and Vork's goats became helplessly tangled and soon fell to the ground in a heap of legs and fur. By the time that Zulak had gotten to his feet, Vork's goat had fainted and lay quivering on it's side. Zulak's goat took off for the village after regaining it's feet and Vork was stuck under his unconscious goat.<br><br>"Get it off me!! I can't move!! I can't breathe! Help!" Poor Vork was trying to struggle to get out from under the goat. <br><br>Zulak was torn between helping the priest and keeping an eye on the strangers. "Hold on and stop yelling, just lay still...I will try and move the goat. He will come to in a second or two, but will just faint again if you keep panicking!" He glanced nervously at the strangers. He hoped they would not attack, he was fairly helpless, his bow and spear on his goat headed back to the village. He pulled the priest's staff free and looked at it's broken shaft. No help there.<br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>29-08-2015, 21:03:17</strong>
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				Cuedee didn't know whether to laugh or just stare in shock as the whole assembly of locals broke formation, all but ran into one another like an olden-times Three Stooges act and tore ass back toward wherever the hell they'd come from. They didn't even look all that problematic either.. short and squat, riding what looked like nervous mountain goat.. things, with what? Spears and bows? He and his team had the latest and greatest in polymeric alloy combat armour and weaponry suited for anything the squinty-types in the command room of the Intrepid thought they'd need. Two of them stuck around when a goat fell over on one and the man rolled his eyes slightly.<br><br>"Yo, you guys wanna send Trapper or Fitzy up here to keep an eye on things? One of the locals is stuck under his animal, I'mma try and get him loose, maybe foster some good will." he took his hand away from the commfeed and started up the hill, reaching back to press his rifle to the magnetic strip that ran across his back, anchoring it in place. His sidearm would be enough if there was trouble, he wagered. The man approached the two and made sure not to be too threatening, keeping his hands away from his weapons and within sight, frowning a bit as he considered a course of action. <br><br>As he approached Vork and Zulak he was aware of Trapper headed up the ridge behind him, but he signalled her to remain back a ways while he tried to help. The man tried to catch their attention and, thinking back to his days going through boot camp and then more advanced training, recalled that they had had to learn plenty of ways to communicate, in case talking wasn't an option. Wrenching and cudgeling the information from his recalcitrant brain was another matter, though after a time he did signal in heavily simplified sign language, <em>'Safe, here to help, keep still.'</em> it wasn't the best, he knew someone else could probably do it better, but if nothing else it might keep the two men mystified until he got closer.<br><br>As it was, when Cuedee got close enough he saw the problem. The goats had collided head on and the stress, combined with the shock of the impact, seemed to have knocked one right out. Instead of worrying about what they'd think though, the marine hunkered down and slipped his hands beneath the furry animal, groaning under his breath at the stench of the thing before gritting his teeth and heaving. All at once, the servos in his armour's greaves and hauberk came to life with a soft <em>whirr</em>, just long enough to give that initial boost he needed, allowing the man to roll the goat off of Vork, though he had no idea that was the man's name. <br><br>"Uh.. you alright there buddy?" his tone was a bit awkward, not quite sure what to make of the men, though Trapper did finally come up on them and sighed, shaking her head.<br><br>"Probly your fault to begin with, ya big galoot. Goin' 'round all scowly with yer gun out, no wonder you freaked these guys out." she was a soft-spoken type, but opinionated and quite streetwise, "Doesn't look like he's any worse for wear though.. but I dunno what they're like on the inside, so Iono what t'tell ya about how he's really doin'. Mighta cracked a rib or rolled an ankle."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>29-08-2015, 21:49:37</strong>
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				The sight of the creature approaching almost panicked Zulak. The stranger walked on two legs and did some gestures that looked oddly familiar. Vork was close to fainting himself as he fought to breathe. He could not move at all, his leg trapped under the goat. <br><br>But the stranger did not seem hostile, in fact seemed willing to help. Zulak pulled on the goat to move it as the stranger lifted it. What strength the creature had! Zulak was very impressed. Vork struggled to his feet and backed away, mumbling something about the Gods. He then bowed down in humble obeisance. His hoarse whisper to Zulak. "Bow down!! It's a God of some kind! I don't know what his name is..."<br><br>Zulak looked up as the other creature approached and started speaking. Of course he had no idea what she was saying. But she sounded almost friendly. He choked as Vork told him they were Gods.&nbsp; Immediately he fell to his stomach and lay flat, trembling in awe at the thought he and Vork were being visited by Gods! He lay there with his head down and spoke humbly. "Do not harm us oh mighty Gods! We are just humble Eliki."<br><br>Both Vork and Zulak trembled in fear and wonder. They did not try to run, figuring that the Gods would cut them down with lightning or something. The goat finally came to and struggled to it's feet. Still groggy from having fainted from shock and pain, it stood and trembled as well. The sight of the strangers did not register as much as the scent. But it was also curious, and since the strangers had not harmed it, the goat stood and eyed them and sniffed loudly. It did not appear to be hurt, as it stood on all four legs without limping. <br><br>Vork was unhurt as well, outside of his dignity and pride. He was both thrilled and fearful of the strangers. He looked up cautiously and peered at them through bushy eyebrows and tried to think of something to say. Zulak had said his piece and now it was his turn. "This humble priest would serve you, Mighty Gods. I am Vork!" he put his hand on his chest and then turned to Zulak. "This is the Chief of the Eliki, Zulak!" He patted Zulak's shoulder and pulled him up to his feet.<br><br>Neither had any clue if their words would be understood. The words the Gods spoke did not make sense to either of them. But they appeared to be willing to help. Maybe they would offer some kind of wisdom to the Eliki? They stared at the Gods with awe and expectations.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>29-08-2015, 22:17:50</strong>
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				Trapper and Cuedee exhanged looks before the former reached up and flipped her comm to an open channel so that she wouldn't have to worry about holding it to make herself heard, "Okaaaaay.. well let's see, we don't know the language, but I think they're working it the same way we do. Blah blah air pressure yadda yadda sounds, lips, tongues, normal stuff there. This one's Vork?" she pointed at the priest, then gestured to Zulak and said, "I think this one's.. uh.. Eliki-Zulak?" obviously the language barrier was there, but they'd figure things out eventually. It was a shame they didn't live in the Distant Future described in so many books and videogames, where universal translators were a thing that made communication with people so very easy. At least these natives weren't hostile.<br><br>The woman looked between them and knelt down to their level, well aware of the height disparity, "Well, uhh.. Vork, Eliki-Zulak, I'm called Trapper and this," she tapped her chest for her name, then poked her squadmate's arm, "This is Cuedee." she repeated that several times, wondering if the pair would get the hint and know that they could go as far as names, but would need to figure things out from there.<br><br>Meanwhile Cuedee took the time to examine that goat a little more closely, squatting down and reaching around its impressively curled horns to scratch at its ears, "Wonder if they eat these things too.. Could be a full-fledged economy around these goats.. food, travel, clothes." he looked thoughtful before he stood up fully and looked around, squinting, "Yo Trap, storm's gettin' worse. We gotta get back to basecamp. Dunno about our friendlies here but sittin' out in a storm planetside didn't look too good from atmo, it ain't lookin' any better from the ground." he looked to the two smaller men and frowned thoughtfully, "They're prolly not gonna be a threat and if we convince 'em to hang around a bit, we could prolly pick up the language. That or have our datamine runnin' near 'em, it could pick up the dialect and maybe the guys back on the Intrepid could figure somethin' out for us."<br><br>Fitzy chimed in through the comms as well, "If they're fine to go along with it, invite 'em back. We can see about learning a thing or two about this place. Looks like you guys made a good impression already and if the weather's as bad there as it looks from here you gotta come back anyway."<br><br>Trapper nodded to herself and gestured back toward the landing site with its scorched grasses and pop up housing, "Let's see.. uhh..." she signalled more fluently than Cuedee that they needed to take shelter, pointing to the encroaching weather, "We have food and water, we can wait it out together."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>29-08-2015, 23:33:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Gods spoke! They had names, though the names seemed odd to Vork. He looked from one to the other and nodded as he pointed to Trapper and slowly intoned, "Trapa." Then he turned to the other and squinted his eyes as he intoned, "Kewdee"<br><br>Zulak listened intently and mouthed the names to himself as he watched, letting the priest handle the Gods wisdom. He was glad they had names, it would make things easier. He bowed deeply to them in turn and spoke their names reverently. "Trapa." And then "Kewdee."<br><br>They seemed to want them to follow them to their curious structures. The storm was only a mild one and they nodded, curious to see how the Gods lived. <br><br>The goat was not too keen on the stranger touching it, but sniffed at him and nibbled on the material of his suit. The taste was not to his liking and he only shook his head and resumed sniffing. He much preferred the tough blue green grasses. He followed Vork without needing a lead, it seemed to be quite fond of it's master. Bumping the short man affectionately. Of course the horns were curled inward and not doing any harm, but the bump was strong enough to irritate Vork. "Stop that!! Ya flea bitten Ninny! Ya nearly crushed me and now ya want ta be friendly? I outta fry yer gizzards fer desert!" but he was not serious and found himself petting the animal like a dog.<br><br>Zulak frowned as he looked at the clouds roiling overhead. "Storm be comin', will be rough. But not as bad as it usually is. We can come and see yer digs." He nodded as they moved out towards the shelters. The words might not be understood, but the intent was clear enough.<br><br>Thankfully the water in the now raging wind tossed sea did not quite reach the shelters. They were somewhat on higher ground than the tide could reach. But they did come up considerably higher than when the craft had landed. The once sandy beach was now completely covered by waves crashing into the shore. The wind was roaring and blowing the structures with malicious intent. <br><br>Vork looked at the structures and laughed. "Ya won't have them shelters long, the wind will take them. Ye need a cave, up away from the water. Maybe we can help ya find one." he then turned to Zulak. "Where is that cave ya found earlier this year? Isn't it close to here?"<br><br>The chief scratched his head and looked around. "It's up that way! Big cave, but I think the Marem use it. But not recently when I looked. It might be something drove them out. It has underwater access though. Lots of flat area and it is dry for the most part. Tell the Gods I can take them there. It's not far."<br><br>Vork nodded and turned to Trapa, she seemed the most friendly and vocal. "You need cave! Zulak lead you there. Take all your things, water and wind will tear them apart! Come!!" he urged them to grab their things. He had no idea what the machines were and was afraid to touch them.<br><br>Zulak started climbing the path that wound around the side of the cliff face, gesturing the Gods to follow him. "Up here!! Dry cave, some water access at high tide. Hurry, wind getting bad!" He struggled against the increasingly rough gusts of wind. The cave was just over the edge of the cliff face and facing away from the wind. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>30-08-2015, 00:53:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Thankfully Fitzy and Razorgirl were bright enough to notice the rising tide and moved their things back toward the hardwall structures they'd planted, along with the samples they'd taken. They'd been given a small transport in case they had to move the basecamp and that was off to one side, a powerlift-type device that basically consisted of a flat skid with a place for a person to stand and control it. It had caterpillar treads and would move slowly, but if need be they could go over just about anything that wasn't too steep for gravity to keep them stuck to the ground.<br><br>They noticed the group approaching and waved, sharing a look between the entire group when Vork laughed and gabbled something in his strange language. Fitzy set up a link to the Intrepid so that they could hear the language and maybe work on a way to synthesize communications back and forth with them. "Don't worry guys, we found some natives, they're friendly if a bit skittish. Seems like they know more about the area than we do, obviously, so we're gonna see what we can learn from 'em."<br><br>After a minor delay, they got the okay to continue interacting with the locals and a bit of conversation back and forth told them that they'd be able to work something out with the other communications algorythms they had on file so that they'd be able to not only hear the right words, but their comms could broadcast the words in the native language. Trapper continued to chat with the two, trying to sound things out between them while everyone got the base in order.. not exactly because they understood what Eliki-Zulak and Vork were getting at but because that and the weather, their actions, it all added up to them needing to, for lack of a better term, get the hell outta Dodge.<br><br>Everything was packed on the surprisingly quiet transport in short order and the three marines led the thing out of the gulch, following the native chieftan and priest to find whatever it was they were showing them. "A cave, huh..?" Fitzy breathed the words to himself when they finally saw it and wondered why they'd listened to the Word From Above about where to set up. The wind was picking up fiercely and it would have sucked -royally- to spend the night in that gulch with it, "Ugh, I don't think those bloody squints knew a damn thing they were talkin' about. This ain't any Earth wind we're dealin' with." <br><br>Everyone nodded their assent, though Razorgirl grinned when she saw the cave, "Heh, haven't gone cavin' since that time when we were kids eh Cuedee?" the other man chuckled and shook his head, "I mean, you never went in, but I sure did. You still 'fraid of caves?"<br><br>"Ptsh, only the one you call yer junk, R.G." the man smirked, thinking he had the upper hand.<br><br>"Mhmm, yeah, I guess the unknown is a wide, vast space to a jarhead like you eh?" they all shared a laugh at that though, all good-natured.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>30-08-2015, 02:47:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The trail, though a little steep was wide enough to accommodate the transport. The cave was large enough once inside, though the opening was a bit on the narrow side. The wind on this side of the cliff was not so fierce, though it did whip around over the top and whistle like crazy. Some of the gusts were close to fifty to sixty miles an hour.<br><br>Inside the cave was a deep hole off to the side that bordered on the sea. Water was rising in the hole as the tide crept in. The floor of the cave was lower by the hole and higher near the entrance. There were some primitive torches set in the walls and a fire pit in the center. Up above the firepit an opening in the ceiling let in some light from the sky. Off to the side were some shelves that had been hacked into the walls. Near the back it was very dark and the floor was covered there with a dark brown moss. It was soft and spongy to the touch, but dry. <br><br>Vork led his goat Ninny into the cave and it immediately started eating the moss. "Hey, stop that! Moss makes good bed to lie down. Not for goats to eat!" Poor Ninny cried at having to leave the food. <br><br>Zulak was proud of the cave discovery and smiled as he led them in. He thought of warning them about the Marem, but thought maybe they had abandoned it anyway. "This better shelter. Wind whistle outside, not come in. Sometimes rain from hole, but not bad. Water come up from sea. Fish too sometimes." he frowned as he thought of the possibility of something bigger coming up. "Maybe sometimes bigger things too, but they stay in water. You watch for fish." That was all the warning he would give them on the Marem.<br><br>Vork looked at the other two marines and questioned Trapa. "More Gods? How many you have?" he was curious and no longer afraid.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>31-08-2015, 05:03:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Thankfully for everyone involved the ship's computers aboard the Intrepid hadn't suffered overly from their forced landing and were thus able to be easily utilized for the production of a decyphering program which would, if the science officer reporting to Fitzy was to be believed, be available within a few hours' time, adjusting for the difference in gravitational spectrum and inverse weather-related phenomena.. whatever that meant. The marine didn't know why they all insisted on using fancy Old Earth syfy mumbojumbo in their speeches when they could have just said something like.. "They said they'll get it to us when they can. Best we got is Trap's signin' and anythin' that you guys might pick up from these little dudes' charades." he found the aliens not altogether unpleasant, at least as much as they were friendly and humanoid.. nothing too weird. Sort of reminded him of wrestlers, all wide but squat, well put together would be a way Fitzy decribed them, even if they weren't altogether familiar.<br><br>The group couldn't help but chuckle at the interplay between the goat and the local... was he in charge? He seemed to defer to Zulak-Eliki after all, so maybe Vork was some kind of subordinate? But an important one, judging by his attire and altogether more grandiose communications. <br><br>Fitzy grasped the concepts that Zulak was trying to get across and swiftly set his team about setting their basecamp up in the cave out of the winds. In the interim he paged back a report to the Intrepid explaining the change in locale and their reasoning, adding in that the sooner they got those programs the better. He caught the last bit about fish, or he thought it was about fish.. Zulak-Eliki had been waving at the water, indicating small ones, then a bigger one which seemed to have him anxious. Well, at least there'd be food.. Better than the MREs anyway.<br><br>"So.." he looked to the man and mimed casting a fishing rod, then reeling something in. To further explain it, he made a hook with one finger and put it in his cheek, miming reeling in a fish before rubbing at his belly. All the while he felt silly, but how else was he supposed to thank the man for pointing out the shelter and possibility of fresh fish?<br><br>Meanwhile, Trapper had squatted down beside Vork and was doing her best to get the gist of what he was saying. She got some of it, the intent if not the words. He was curious about their numbers, given the way he waved at the group to indicate all of them while questioning her. She tapped her chin, knowing better than to flat out lie but also knowing better than to give away potentially valuable information, "We're here. Four." she pointed at each of them, lifting one finger, "One, two, three," then at her, "Four." then, Trapper wiggled the fingers she'd raised and grinned, before opening and closing her hands a number of times and shrugging, "More somewhere else, not here. Maybe coming here if friendly."<br><br>Razorgirl had secured the mouth of the cave in the interim and sauntered back, the wan light glinting off of her prosthetics while she took in the scene, "Why ain't this altogether wholesome. The four of us, our new buddies and their goat." her laughter was high and lilting, hinting at a more posh upbringing than her demeanor might suggest, "But what's the plan, boss man? Did HQ tell us what to do 'bout these natives and this fleabag?" she nodded at them each in turn.<br><br>"Hey now, back it up R.G., these guys aren't hostile that we've seen." Fitzy glanced over, his voice obviously somewhat tired and tight, having dealt with her before.<br><br>"Yeah but-"<br><br>"No, no buts. Until we get the word otherwise, these little guys are our guests. Or we're theirs I guess. Let's just get along, marine." the last bit was bitten off, pulling rank as it were; they were all the same up on the Intrepid, but down here Fitzy was in charge, "D'you get me, Shione?" at that, the other two looked between the two, well aware of the sudden tense mood.<br><br>Thankfully, Razorgirl backed off as ordered, "Yes sir, Bardoch, heard loud and clear."<br><br>"Good. Now let's make the most of this and see what we can learn, yeah?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>31-08-2015, 06:36:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Zulak tried to understand the human about the water. He seemed to be saying he wanted to eat fish? Or catch fish, something like that. Zulak went to the water and peered in and saw a few fish swimming in the encroaching waters of the cave. The water was ebbing and rising with a decided flow upwards. He pointed to the fish and nodded. "Good food...need net?" <br><br>Vork was a little confused. He looked at one of the humans and noted the strange appendages and then at the others. They seemed to be having some kind of discussion and he thought he noted some tension. He got the part about four of them. He had been asking for an introduction. Maybe the one with metal arms was a servant? Not allowed to speak with them?<br><br>He brightened up a bit when Zulak started talking about food. "Net? I have a net on my saddle. I use it to catch things. Fish, nibblers, or hoppers, all good eating." He waddled to the goat and dug around in his bag. He pulled out a two foot length of stick which had a net wrapped around it. The string used to weave the net was from a plant they harvested near the water. He strolled to the pool and unwound his net. Laying flat on the floor he leaned over the water and dangled his fingers in it and the fish seemed to be curious. He held the net ready until he had three or four good sized fish investigating his hand. <br><br>With a swift movement of his other hand he scooped the net into the water and brought it up with three of the four fish. All were at least six inches long and one was a bit bigger. He chuckled as he tossed the net up on the floor and tried to keep the fish from jumping back into the water. "Good eats!! Need fire, you have fire?" <br><br>Zulak clapped his hands and helped Vork corral the fish. "We need more fish, Vork. Keep going. Maybe they can get the idea and make a net with some of their materials, or we can show then how to strip down the julo tree and use the bark. You can show them how to weave net."<br><br>He turned to Fitzy and pointed to the fire pit. "You have fire? Need wood, there." He pointed to a stack of broken branches in the corner. After Vork had knocked out the fish and laid them on the floor he went back to his position and repeated his coaxing of the fish. For their part the fish were very gullible and curious. He caught several more the same way. None were very big. <br><br>Zulak went to the branches and pulled over a few of them and laid them in a classic pattern, putting some of the moss on the bottom and looking to Fitzy to see if he knew how to make fire. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>01-09-2015, 03:49:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Fitzy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose after the exchange. If Razorgirl'd had her way they'd likely have just shot these guys and called it a day. Of course he couldn't really blame her, she'd been through worse shit than the others and himself put together, but it kind of gave her an edge sharper than her name implied. Everyone tended to be treated like a potential liability, at best, or outright hostile at worst, with her.<br><br>He did come around a bit when the pair showed off a net, tilting his head while he watched Eliki-Zulak dangled his fingers into the water to coax the fish up. Either the man was silly, or braver than their introduction would imply, because hadn't he mentioned huge fish living in those waters too, or something like that? The man gave an unconscious shudder at the thought of some sort of weird alien shark monster rising up and swallowing him down, but how likely was that to happen, really?<br><br>He blinked a bit at the word 'fire', startled by how close it was to their own word. It couldn't be.. but it -had- to be, what else would these excited little dudes be jabbering about after nailing some fish? Sure, it sounded weird to his ears, rougher, like they were saying 'fai-yah' or something like that, but he got the jist, "Oh man, you guys probly don't have it this easy eh? Check it out."<br><br>Fitzy went and gathered a few of the broken branches, breaking them down further into kindling and bringing back a bigger one to serve as the primary fuel once the fire was started, grinning as he arranged them in a sort of inverted funnel, or tentlike formation. That done, he popped out a small tube from a pouch on his side and separated it into a shining metal rod with ridges along one side and a darker stick of some kind of rough looking stone. Sqatting down by the pile, he struck the flint and steel against one another (though it was far more advanced than the name implied), striking a hot, fat spark that sizzled on the wood for a moment before being joined by a shower of others. A few puffs of air and careful feeding and the fire went from a small spark to a flare of light and warmth in the cave.<br><br>The other three marines grinned and whooped a bit, excited as well about the food. Cuedee had repurposed some polycarbon lattice and flexible hard-tent rods to form hoops to make into nets similar to the ones the locals had, if different enough to be obviously not what was originally intended. "Alright! Let's get some food goin'!" the man was hungrier than he let on and fresh fish would be way better than MREs, even if they had a fire to heat the latter.<br><br>He and Razorgirl made for the pool that the fish had come from, laying down and making the same motions that Eliki-Zulak had to coax the fish, bringing up more and more of the little guys for a bit, until he paused, "Hey, uh, think we should leave some? I mean, don't wanna mess up the ecosystem by eatin' all these lil guys right?"<br><br>Fitzy chuckled to himself, almost paternally pleased with the group getting along and working together, "So these new guys," he was talking to both of the locals, "They're our friends. Cuedee there, queue-deee," he sounded it out, "And that's Razorgirl, but maybe call her R.G., are-jee." he didn't know whether or not they would do well with the latter's longer name, since they seemed disinclined to pronounce certain combinations of vowels and consonants.<br><br>Afterward though the man settled in to help clean the fish so that they could cook them properly, figuring that heads, bones, fins guts and skin wouldn't be all that appetizing to any of them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>01-09-2015, 10:31:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The fish was a welcome addition to the diet and Zulak and Vork were happy to show them how to catch the fish. They were impressed by the ingenuity of the crew. The fire starter was especially interesting.<br><br>Vork was happy to meet the other two, and bowed in respect to Cuedee and Argee. He was very intrigued by the woman's metal appendages. As they all sat down to cook and eat the fish, Vork turned his head slightly and glanced at the hole in the roof. It was very dark and he could see a single star overhead. He frowned slightly and cocked his head as if listening. <br><br>"The wind is lessening...the storm has passed. Now you see Dark One in sky. Be up soon." he shuddered as he thought of the sometimes evil portents he had seen on the face of the Dark Moon. His voice was quiet and a little strained.<br><br>Zulak shook his head in warning. "Don't ask for trouble, Vork. Your predictions are not always right. You just have odd dreams!"<br><br>Vork was about to argue with Zulak when there was a sudden surge in the water of the pool. He jumped up and stared. Zulak stood up too and faced the water. It was bubbling and splashing as if something was riling it up below the surface. "That might be bad news. Or it could be Marem. Which is not always good news. This might be their refuge cave. But they have not used it in a long time!" He sounded very nervous.<br><br>Vork backed up and made sure that all the rest of them were between him and the pool of water. He was not prepared to do any battle. He would leave that to the rest of them.<br><br>The surface of the water was broken briefly by a smooth rounded shape about the size of a watermelon. It was mottled brown and grey and had a long bottlenose. It made a squealing noise and then ducked down below again. <br><br>"Longnose!" Vork exclaimed. "No hurt!! Good omen!! Friendly fish, no good to eat." he hoped the others could understand him.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>01-09-2015, 22:06:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Whatever the two aliens (or were they aliens? Fitzy usually got that confused because he was a bit of a sap like that) were chatting about, one of them seemed a little bit perturbed and anxious, maybe something to do with the weather? It had been awhile since they'd first met and awhile since that since arriving at the cave, but even so he was a bit surprised at the <em>-chirp!-</em> that sounded in his earpiece along with the automated voice that came with it, right as Vork was waving his arms around and shouting something about.. the water?<br><br><em>'This is the best we've got. It'll refine itself as you keep using it, but it's been delivered to the four of you. HQ says keep up the good work; making friends with the locals is a good idea.</em><br><br>He tilted his head to one side, wondering what had been sent with the message before wincing at a sudden shrill shrieking over his earpiece that had the four of them muttering curses. "Ugh, fuckers coulda shut it off the the two seconds it'd take to update.. Jesus. Gonna hear that in my goddamn dreams." the sentiment was echoed by the others.<br><br>Then the creature broke the surface and they all turned from what they'd been doing, blinking with dawning comprehension as they all spoke at once.<br><br>"Did he just say 'long nose' or something?"<br><br>"Wait, was that the update?"<br><br>"Fuck! Was that a dolphin!?"<br><br>The last bit was lost in the cacophonic chaos of everyone speaking at the same time, but Fitzy waved them down. The curious part was that the inbuilt speaker on their comms also went off when they spoke, broadcasting their voices at the same volume as their speech but garbled by the translator program to be understood by Vork and Eliki-Zulak. Of course there would be words that hadn't been said, things that hadn't been sussed out and translated, but the program was designed to be self-expanding; eventually they'd have a complete dictionary of the language and how it worked translated to Earth's languages and back. Some of them spoke English, others Russian and Mandarin, but most of the crew spoke a pidgin tongue of many languages that had just sort of evolved with the rise of space travel. <br><br>Fitzy cleared his throat and looked to where the longnose had been, then to the two little guys, "So. Err, that should make this whole talking thing easier, yeah?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>01-09-2015, 23:14:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The chaotic responses had both Eliki covering their ears in confusion. The loud squealing of the speakers com units was heard even by them. The voices all came out garbled and strange. Zulak was finally able to understand some of what they were saying. <br><br>"You speak Eliki now? Good job! Longnose good, they swim in sea, stay in water, catch fish. Sometimes they warn swimmers away from sharks. We Eliki do not swim. But get close to water to catch fish." he was smiling.<br><br>Vork was amazed, "How you do that? Speak like us now? Must be magic. See Zulak!! I told you they Gods!" he bowed down to the crew. He was convinced the Longnose had been a sign that these Gods were to be trusted and revered.<br><br>The water broke again and this time it was a strange looking, pale blue face. Almost Elven in it's beauty, with long sea green hair in elaborate braids coiled on its head. It was a Marem scout. Very humanoid in appearance with a long face with elegant planes and deep blue lips. What was seen of her arms was also pale blue with a slight indication of scales.<br><br>She looked at the strange crew members and her bright green eyes widened in shock. She was frozen for a moment or two and then ducked back down in sheer fright. In her mind the two Eliki had brought these strange creatures to the cave and were planning something bad. When she dove, her body undulated in the water and her legs appeared with a splash. In all likelihood she would appear to be a mermaid, her two feet together to form a tail like fan.<br><br>Vork nearly fainted as he gasped in shock. "MAREM!! That was a scout. We may get more, I don't know. She looked surprised. I think you are right, Zulak. This is probably one of their caves."<br><br>The nervousness was very clear on Zulak's face. "We can explain! Just tell them we are helping the Gods. Surely they will understand? Vork! You speak Marem tongue! Tell them not to attack!" He suddenly glanced at the Gods and paled. <br><br>"Sorry...I not think they come back. This their cave. We might have more come soon. You not attack them...they are good neighbors, we trade all the time. But they not like intruders in their caves. Vork will explain! Won't you Vork?" He roughly shoved Vork forward to the water's edge.<br><br>The priest was wide eyed and scared. "I try...they not always understand." he replied sheepishly.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>05-09-2015, 04:42:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Huh.. Well, not really. I mean.." Fitzy sighed and shrugged, deciding to just roll with it. It was close enough, right? "Yeah.. Where we come from we call those 'dolphins', or at least ours are similar. Friendly little guys, curious, they don't like sharks either heh." he wondered if the sharks here were creepy alien ones or more like the ones back on Earth. Of course, given how similar life was here compared to the terrestrial life he was used to, the man had to wonder if maybe there was something more there.<br><br>Everyone paused, startled as the Marem had been when she broke the surface, though almost as soon as she'd arrived she vanished. Razorgirl was quick to speak up, "A.. what? Marem, he said? Didn't translate.." she tapped at her helmet thoughtfully, then shrugged, "Whatever. If they come back itchin' for a fight about it I'm sure we can give 'em one." as she spoke the woman almost lovingly caressed her sidearm, a smirk curling her lip, "She didn't look so tough, heh."<br><br>"Negative R.G., we're not here to hurt anyone. In case you forgot, our or... that is, we're supposed to figure out what's going on down here, who lives here and if they're a.. well, a viable trading partner." Cuedee wanted to keep his words at least a little vague in the hopes of keeping up this 'gods' thing the little guys they were with were so keen on. <br><br>Trapper chuckled a bit when Vork was pushed forward and stepped up to him, "Don't worry Vork. I'm sure between you and me we can explain to these, uhhh, Marem was it? These Marem, why we're here. You speak the language, maybe you can be a translator for us." it would do well to talk to the other species, to learn their language the same way they'd learned the Eliki tongue. Of course, this may only be a dialect, or perhaps they spoke a number of differing languages? They'd figure it out eventually.<br><br>"She's right." Fitzy looked up and nodded resolutely, "We're gonna try to do this peacefully. Even if we're attacked, try for subduing rather than the alternative." he obviously wasn't asking, "If Vork and Eliki-Zulak say that they're normally good neighbours it wouldn't do to put them at odds with us, or the Eliki."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>05-09-2015, 07:43:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It was inevitable, the Marem only used the cave for occasional storage, after all. This one was supposed to be empty. Rusalla dove deep, her flippers working furiously as if a shark were after her. Even the fastest of Marem could not outswim the grey sharks. The only escape would be a distraction. <br><br>Rusalla surfaced in the underground cave far below, the air possible from a Aeritoa plant which grew fast and with little light. It dispersed an oxygen and nitrogen gas into the cave, depending on how many plants were tended lovingly by the Marem. The Marem in turn kept the plants roots free of the voracious Ichni parasite plants which siphoned the sap from the Aeritoa and eventually killed it.<br><br>"Master Selekni!! There are intruders in the Sacred Cave! The burn the wood and sacrifice fish on the flames! I only got a brief glimpse, but it looked like they were eating the sacrifices!" Rusalla was shocked and disgusted. Fish were to be eaten raw.&nbsp; She climbed out of the water and bowed low to the Chief Selekni. <br><br>There was much blinking and clearing of throats as Selekni looked from his wife and daughter to the scout bowing before him. "Rusalla, stay calm. What did you see? Did they speak? You know the Eliki do this fire treatment to their food. Unlike us they cannot abide the raw flesh." he tried to remain calm, but he was very curious.<br><br>Rusalla paled. she had forgotten this fact and was now shamed in front of her chief. "Forgive me, Mighty Selekni. There were others. The two Eliki we know as Zulak and Vork. And four others. Taller and with shiny coverings and appendages. They had faces much like ours, longer and with different color. Brown and pink, like the octopi. Very strange looking, I have never seen their like. What will you do?"<br><br>Louin frowned, "They are in the cave with the Eliki? Do they hold them prisoner?" she was frightened now.<br><br>Celiar looked at Rusalla thoughtfully. "How long did you stay? Did you talk to them?" she was not sure there was a problem. Rusalla was known to be skittish and paranoid. <br><br>The scout paled. She had not been there more than a few seconds. "I...I only stayed to glance at them and then I dove. They frightened me!" she was now defensive.<br><br>Selekni glanced at his daughter, proud of her intuitive skills. He turned back to Rusalla. "Call for my escort. We will go and see. I only need two. I am sure there is a logical explanation. Next time, try and get a bit more information." he admonished the scout and dismissed her.<br><br>She stammered and turned to dive out into the sea summoning the escorts by pounding on an underground bell which resonated through the water. <br><br>The escorts came quickly and surfaced in the underground chamber. They were burly and tall, Holko and Fruz looked excited. "You summoned us?" each held a long pole with hooked harpoon tips on the ends. These could be shot out of the end of the poles if necessary. They used them to catch fish and they were very effective weapons. Normally the harpoons were attached to the poles with a strap. When hunting they were attached through the hollow tube with a tough fibrous filament of whale gut. The spool of which was embedded in the shaft at the far end. The line could be reeled in with the handle that flipped out of the spool when needed. The line was several hundred feet long, though the hunters seldom if ever let it play out that far. They could swim fast enough to keep up with most prey fish and were strong enough to handle even a four foot shark with ease. <br><br>Selenki nodded and grabbed his own harpoon, an ornate affair encrusted with pearls and with a long silver barbed tip. He had never used his ceremonial harpoon, but it was functional. "I will investigate. I want all of you to stay calm. I will return shortly."<br><br>"I am coming with you. I am curious and Rusalla is likely exaggerating things." Celiar would not stay behind. <br><br>Selekni glared at her in alarm. "I did not give you permission to go. You might get hurt! Stay here and protect your mother!" But Celiar had already grabbed her smaller harpoon launcher and dove in the water. <br><br>The guards grinned as they took off after her. "We will catch her!"<br><br>"Wait for me!!" Selekni dove in and chased after them.<br><br>Five minutes later the water in the cave broke and first Holko surfaced and moved aside to let Fruz come up beside him. They had dark green hair and well muscled pale green arms, their chests glittered with hardened scales. The dark blue eyes of the Marem stared without fear at the aliens. They looked around with almost a predatory air. <br><br>Vork gasped in astonishment. "Hello!! Nice to see you again Holko and Fruz! We have visitors, they are Gods. We are showing them the cave. You are not using it now...it's all right...we can leave if you wish..." his brave words trailing off as the stares of the Marem&nbsp; bored into him.<br><br>"Gods?" Holko looked from one to the other of the aliens. They did not look that formidable. Holko and Fruz were both a good two feet taller if they came out on the floor of the cave. But they waited until Selekni surfaced in a shower of water between them. <br><br>Vork did faint. He did not have the nerves to stand up to the Marem chief. <br><br>Selekni's broad shoulders covered in pale blue scales were impressive. He was easily identified as a warrior and a leader. He carried an ornate spear with a barbed end that shown in the firelight with a definite sparkle. His long dark blue hair hung down to his waist, it was decorated with small shells and pearls. His deep blue eyes studied the strangers and alighted on Vork with a hint of surprise. He frowned and looked at Zulak. "Are you held prisoner?" his deep voice echoed in the cave.<br><br>"No!! I am fine, Vork is nervous. He is more scared of you than the Gods." Zulak edged forward and leaned down to pull Vork up and slapped his face lightly. "Wake up!" he whispered hoarsely to Vork.<br><br>There was a lot of tension in the room. Holko and Fruz gripped their spears and watched the aliens closely. Ready to use their weapons instantly if needed. Selekni was about to comment when the water bubbled behind him and a smaller head of pale blue green hair and bright turquoise eyes peered around his broad torso. Selekni frowned at her and hissed. "Stay back."<br><br>Celiar moved back, but stayed on the surface long enough to peer at each of the aliens and linger for a moment on Fitzy. She smiled and stayed put, looking with interest at all the equipment and the fire. She could smell the burning fish and she wrinkled her nose at the stench. "Something is burning." <br><br>All of the Marem were speaking the Eliki language, as they knew the Eliki as traders.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>06-09-2015, 00:57:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				If anyone had had the knowledge to ask the four 'gods' visiting the planet, they could have easily found out that this wasn't the first rodeo of any of the team. Fitzy, Cuedee, Razorgirl and Trapper had all been running these sorts of missions together for just about as long as they'd been in active duty. Sure, they all had stories from before, from Fitzy's having lost a number of troopers to an unforseen ambush of alien metallo-arachnids to Trapper's somewhat equally traumatic tales of being forgotten planetside for quite some time before rescue had come. Razorgirl was all war stories all the time and had a healthy knowledge of explosives even before she'd lost an arm and leg to one such device and Cuedee, well, no-one knew just how deep his wounds ran but the man was the fastest draw of all of them, but also the least likely to cause a situation by shooting first before asking questions.<br><br>As two rather statuesque, well, <em>merfolk</em> rose from the depths, followed by a third who was somehow even more impressive, the team closed ranks around their two newer friends. Sure, the Eliki weren't longtime buddies and certainly Razorgirl didn't trust them but Fitzy knew he could count on her and everyone else to follow his lead. So it was that they formed a decent barrier between the more helpless pair of Eliki and these strange, casually threatening Marem merfolk people.<br><br>Everyone had a weapon, it seemed, from the spears of the newcomers to the sidearms and rifles of the marines, though Fitzy did meet the turquoise gaze of the female and held it for a moment before she spoke. They were speaking the Eliki language, which was convenient, though he did shift his attention for a moment to the fish, "Oh.. <em>sugar</em>," he grunted the word out after a pause, not wanting to swear up a storm the first time they met a new, potentially friendly, potentially hostile race.<br><br>Fitzy waved a hand a bit to Razorgirl, "Get those away from the fire, if they're burning they're more than done." he sounded terse, but was a bit amused at the deflation of the tension in the room.<br><br>She complied easily, and Fitzy took a step forward. He had insignias of rank that placed him above his friends, but their uniforms were pretty much the same as was their build, nothing so dramatically different as the difference between warrior males and that female Marem, "Uhm.. well hello, er, Marem was it?" he swallowed hard and tilted his head, "Please, accept our apologies if we've made a mistake in judgment in sheltering here. We're not from, well, not from around here you see and didn't know the weather was so rough. Our friends here," he indicated Vork and Eliki-Zulak, "Told us about this cave and we didn't see the harm in waiting out the storm."<br><br>Somewhere in his speech he'd given the right signals and commands though and the others all opened the commlinks to the Intrepid, feeding back audio and video of what was happening from each perspective. Whatever happened, it would be best if the others knew so that even if everyone died in this cave because of some slip up, or if they had to shoot some fishy alien people, it would show that they weren't unprovoked.<br><br>"We're really very interested in making contacts with both of your people however, so if you would like.." he paused, unsure of the etiquette, "That is if it is not an insult, or something worse, we would be happy to make room for you and share our food, such as it is." they had the MREs as well and could provide a decent amount of interesting exotic food, dried and spiced as it was to make it portable.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>06-09-2015, 02:15:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The towering presence of the Marem chief grew as he stepped from the pool. He was a good eight feet tall from the top of his tangled mass of dark curls, to the webbed feet at the end of muscled legs. He wore a sort of ceremonial covering over his loins, consisting of shells and woven seaweed. His scaled chest was bare, as were his legs. They were not together as one would expect of a merfolk. Evidently they had adapted to walk on land. It was also clear they breathed air as mammals. <br><br>The two guards flanked him, and warily continued watching the four aliens. They paid no attention to the Eliki. Celiar however, was not shy. "Father, it might be prudent to introduce yourself, or I can do it. " she paused to look at him as if he were a child.<br><br>Selekni frowned, "I was about to, daughter." he turned to the aliens and looked Fitzy in the eyes. "I am Selekni, chief of the Clan of the White Wyrm. This is Celiar, my outspoken daughter. My guards are Holko and Fruz." he pointed casually to each in turn.<br><br>"A storm that did not even cause the seaweed fronds to do more than wave a little? I hope you can prepare for a real storm. This cave is not in use by us at the moment. If you are not of hostile intent, you may use it. Where are you from? You say you are not familiar with the storms here? Further inland perhaps? The Marem never go far from the sea." he spoke calmly. He did not see them as a threat, as Zulak seemed well. Vork was skittish anyway and Senekni chuckled as the small priest came to. "Why do you fear me? Have I ever threatened you or your kind? I am a peaceful Marem." he shrugged a little. "The Blue Lobster Clan is to be feared. They even war with the Orca and their kind. Foolish and deadly they are. But if they are here we would strive to protect you, my friend."<br><br>Vork had come to and stared with helpless fascination at the Marem chief. He straightened up and blinked. "I am honored, Selekni! I have never thought to be a friend to a Marem." he actually smiled.<br><br>Zulak sighed in relief. "Yes, we are among friends. No need to be brandishing those pointy things, right?" He knew how deadly the harpoons were. He had seen a small group of Marem take down a kraken that threatened a coastal fishing town. It was that very event that had triggered the talks to open trade with the Marem.<br><br>Celiar came from the pool as they spoke and her figure dripped liquid gold as the water flowed from her. She was tall for a female Marem, standing at just shy of six feet. Her shapely legs and light blue torso were covered in a thin gown of silky sheer spider web. It was one of the things the Marem traded for from the Eliki. She was very obviously a female, the only differences from a normal human were her webbed feet and the presence of scales over her blue skin. If touched she would feel much as a snake, soft and silky and slightly moist. Her face was oval and exotic, with large expressive eyes. Her ears hidden beneath the cascade of long blue green hair.<br><br>"Why do you sacrifice the fish? Is it some religious practice?" she was very curious. Her gaze went from one to the other of the aliens and lingered on Fitzy. He seemed to be the one in charge. Her voice was almost musical in tone.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>08-09-2015, 05:31:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The group seemed at once both apprehensive and curious about the Marem, somewhat moreso than they had been with the Eliki, likely because of the latter's more comical introduction. While none of the four marines doubted that the Eliki were a noble and interesting people with a rich cultural history and blah blah science yadda yadda book stuff, the Marem were not only much cooler (freakin' mermaid people!) in their opinions but also somewhat more physically interesting. Of course humans tended to be one of the more perverse species around and nearly everything came to mind as a question of what they'd be like in bed at one point or another for humans. The marines would leave the mumbo-jumbo to the eggheads upstairs, figuring more on a practical approach when it came to things like these. Not that they were by any means stupid or foolish.. just that their career choices and experience lent themselves more toward pragmatic hands-on efforts rather than brain bending puzzles of the intellectual variety.<br><br>Razorgirl nudged Trapper with a lecherous grin, displaying that little bit of humanity right then as she cut her comm to lean in and whisper with her friend about just what sort of strapping aliens they were dealing with. She elaborated to say that if every encounter was close with ones like those, she'd be fiiiiiiine with it. Trapper bit her lip to hold back a chuckle and shook her head a little at her friend, barely audible as she spoke without the comm, "Yeah, they're pretty I'll give 'em that. Seem a little high strung though, but in a different way than these little guys." to be honest, if she were pressed her favour would go more in the direction of the Eliki, who seemed more dependable in her opinion.<br><br>Of course Cuedee and Fitzy would likely be having thoughts of their own but they weren't the types to share with one another. Instead Cuedee continued to try to beat one of the Marem guards in what appeared to be a one-sided staring contest, rather distrusting of the whole affair, his hand straying near his sidearm as long as the others held their harpoons.<br><br>Fitzy though caught Celiar's gaze for a moment and held it, transfixed in the thought of how different, how exotic she was, but also how unlikely it was that she was so very human even as she wasn't. There was something there, a familiarity he couldn't peg that didn't come with other creatures. It had influenced him a bit as well with how he'd treated the Eliki, like there was common ground between them all, or at the least the feeling of comfort that came with being around people you might have known.<br><br>After a moment Fitzy realized she'd been talking to him and he chuckled hoarsely, clearing his throat afterward and mentally cursing, "Uhh, no no, it's just that we don't really know what kind of fish these are.. I don't think Vork or Eliki-Zulak here would let us eat anything unsafe, but it never hurts to cook your food a little if it's unfamiliar. Our diet isn't usually raw seafish from an alien world, so there could be things about it that don't... ah.. agree with us." he didn't want to say 'parasites' or 'bacteria', unsure of how to explain those if these people didn't grasp the concept, "As tasty as sushi can be, well, none of us are prepared to whip up a meal like that with what we have on hand."<br><br>Since they seemed to be at an impass, or at least a semi-comfortable stalemate, Fitzy moved over to where R.G. and Trapper were talking, snagging a fish on a stick that had been skinned and opened up. He sniffed it before plucking a steaming bit of flaky flesh from the creature, popping it in his mouth and chewing experimentally. Fitzy grimaced a bit at the heat, though it wasn't too terrible, before swallowing after a time, "Huh.. s'not all that bad really. Could use some pepper, but what're ya gonna do?" he gestured casually with the stuck, cooked fish, "I think we have plenty here between this food and our rations.. Since you don't seem to mind us being here, why don't you join us for a meal? We'd all love to learn more about your cultures and people."<br><br>Fitzy paused before looking a bit rueful, "Though.." he looked to Vork and Zulak, "What of your sheep and the other people? I know we gave them a fright on the ridge. Is everyone going to be alright?" a glance outside to the howling winds and rain left him looking worried, not wanting to be the one responsible for the loss of another person unless the misson called for such. Fitzy was willing to take a life, but unlike many in his position he never enjoyed it, "I'd hate to be stuck out there.. I can only imagine someone used to such weather wouldn't like it either."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>08-09-2015, 06:29:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The mood seemed to relax a bit as Zulak hurried to Fitzy and murmured softly. "The Marem eat their fish raw. The treaty we have with them allows us to catch as many fish as we need as long as we are careful not to harm the Longnose or the whales. They also like squid and crab, clams and shrimp. Lots of those around. You won't starve." <br><br>Selekni walked further into the cave, followed by the guards. He glanced at the nervous Cuedee and gave him a smile. "My guards are highly trained to watch my back. As long as you make no move to harm me or my daughter, you should relax."<br><br>Celiar grinned and poked Holko and Fruz. "Relax, you are making them nervous and jumpy. Put your spears away. They mean us no harm." <br><br>Holko frowned slightly and then placed his spear on a holder across his back. He could reach it and use it within a few seconds, so he was not exactly helpless. Fruz shrugged and did the same. They followed Selekni and peered over his shoulder at Cuedee. Their unspoken look was serious. In the language of all warriors it was plain, 'I will be watching you'.<br><br>"You have not answered my curiosity, Fitzy. Where are you from? Your appearance is very unusual. I heard you say to Celiar you are from an alien world? Explain this to me." Selekni towered over Fitzy. Yet he seemed more curious than threatening. This close to the crew it became apparent that the Marem were more closely related to the longnose than they were to a large fish. Their scent was something akin to coconut, a pleasant fragrance to some.<br><br>Celiar moved closer as well, her blue green eyes shining with intelligence. None of these creatures were dumb, they were of a higher intelligence than might be expected.<br><br>Zulak had moved back to the pool and thrown his net again, bringing up a few more raw fish. These he brought to Selekni and bowed as he presented them. Celiar smiled as she took the fish for her father. She borrowed Zulak's knife and expertly gutted and cleaned the fish, slicing the long filets off and handing the first one to her father. "Fresh fish is always a treat to share with friends. You have so many burned ones, we will eat the fresh ones." she smiled as she delicately tore off a piece of the raw filet with her sharp teeth. All of her teeth had sharp serrated edges, they had to be for the diet they ate.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>08-09-2015, 07:16:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh.. oh! Heh," he chuckled a little and set the fish down, figuring it best if he didn't offer it to them again. Sure, humans could definitely eat fish that way, but all things being equal they'd rather not right then. The man looked up at the towering figure of the chief of these Marem people as the man approached him and all but demanded an answer to his question. Fitzy's lips twisted briefly in a grimace before he replied in a carefully worded manner, "Well.. you see, we four come from a place far, far away from this one. Further than the furthest place any of you has likely been, and further still. Past the sky." that was a vague and not altogether untrue way of putting it.<br><br>"Our vessel, that is the method by which we arrived.. Was damaged, so we came to your lands in the hopes of finding a way to repair it. Fortunately it seems as if we've made two groups of friends with whom we might be able to exchange information and possibly goods." the Intrepid had a number of things they could trade, from tools to raw materials if need be, as long as they didn't break any laws in doing so.<br><br>R.G. and Trapper were still chatting while they ate, content to keep an eye unobtrusively on things, one of them for reasons that were quite different from her friend's. Fitzy watched as Celiar easily, almost casually skinned and gutted a fish.. He was well aware that a knife could be a tool as well as a weapon, but he'd only ever seen Trapper look so skilled with one. "Well.. these are more cooked than burned.. but I know what you mean. Where we're from, there are entire professions devoted to combining and cooking foods into new, interesting ones." he somehow doubted that the Marem had chefs but he thought perhaps the Eliki might, "Though we also have people more skilled in the preparation of raw foods."<br><br>The man couldn't help but notice Celiar's teeth, raising a brow a bit as she tore some of the fish off. The teeth didn't look suited to chewing, but she might have had molars, he didn't know for certain. "So.. what do your people know about how you all got here?" there was still a heavy debate about how humans had come to be; science just couldn't agree on that sort of thing. <br><br>As they spoke though, Cuedee moved away to sit with his back against the cave wall, watching everyone with that nervous sort of anxiety. He wasn't threatened by them, per se, but the man didn't know what to make of everyone. Everyone was new, his friends were getting along fine with them, but he'd been expecting somewhat of a hostile reaction. Not getting it sort of threw him, to the point where he knew if he stuck it out with the group he'd screw something up by snapping off the wrong words or worse. Better to withdraw and sort himself out, for now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>08-09-2015, 07:50:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Marem chief seemed to think about that answer for a bit. He scratched his dark curls and chuckled. "You seek trade? Marem like to trade. What you got? Have shiny crystals? Metal weapons? What you need to fix vessel? Is it a big vessel in the sky?" he was chuckling like he was making a joke. It might occur to Fitzy that Selekni did not exactly think the crew had a way to fly. He probably thought they were trying to fool the Maren.<br><br>Celiar, however, was fascinated. She glanced at her father and frowned. "Father, he probably has a ship on the water, I have seen those. Where is your ship Fitzy? I did not see it in the sea, did you crash it on the rocks?" she was concerned. <br><br>"The Eliki like to build ships. They make all kinds of machina. Not in little village though. You have to go to big city of Eliki called Barston. Many, many Eliki. Some even taller. None so tall as Marem though." Zulak was proud of his people. "There is a great Forge there, they melt down the metals like iron, copper and tin. Some even make glass jars and fired clay dishes. They have big machina to harvest grain for the goats and fowl. There are mills to make the fleece from the goats into cloth."<br><br>Vork chipped in too. "They use steam and magic to power their machina. There are herbalists and alchemists too. Eliki are very smart! Have big schools for young Eliki to learn and grow."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>10-09-2015, 05:27:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The marine's eyes narrowed a bit at the chief's almost moking tone of voice, unwilling to be taken lightly just because the man couldn't possibly understand what he had meant. With effort, Fitzy bit back the sharper reply that had been dancing at the tip of his tongue and instead spoke in a measured way, one smoothing over the simmering embers of his temper, trying to shove them back down to be nursed at a later date, "You are both misunderstanding me, but then I can understand your confusion."<br><br>The rest of the marines had finished their assorted tasks and were beginning to wander about somewhat, more at ease now that there weren't any real threats happening. Razorgirl smirked confidently as she approached the pair of somewhat more burly, predatory-looking Marem guards, looking first up at Holko and then to Fruz, nodding to herself. "So are you two the best hunters in your village, or the chief's guardians, or what?" she planted her fists on her hips out of habit, the metal of her artificial arm glinting in the firelight. She could have had the prosthetics covered in a synthetic skin that was supposed to look and feel like the real thing, but in her opinion it was too plastic-y anyway and if she had to deal with having metal limbs, why not rock out with her (metaphorical) cock out?<br><br>Trapper had begun to set the cooked fish aside, pushing a few closer to the fire on rocks to dry out more fully, since it appeared as though they weren't going to eat it all. She was listening to everyone at once, or trying to, noting what Zulak was saying about their technology and education.. A large city, Barston it was called. That was the sort of information they'd been sent to come across and it was thrilling to have it so easily. Maybe one of her squadmates would tease out an actual location for it, though she supposed that the Intrepid's scanner suite would be able to pinpoint a large gathering of seismic and thermal energy such as that. Though she did perk up a bit at Vork's assertion, "Excuse me, but.. magic? What sorts of magic, Vork?"<br><br>Fitzy though continued to speak with Celiar and Selekni, "Our ship is.." he gestured helplessly up, "Well, it's stranded right now, so we're looking for materials to repair it. We were set down by a smaller shuttle craft, which Vork and Zulak here definitely saw flying away." he shrugged a little helplessly, "Can't do much about it in this storm though." honestly he didn't know just how much to hold back but at least he knew better than to tell the dangerous natives 'hey there, we are aliens here to survey and possibly do stuff to your planet'. After all, he didn't think that they'd react all that favourably to that kind of announcement anyway.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>10-09-2015, 06:10:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				While Selekni thought about Fitzy's answer, Celiar grew wide eyed. "Your ship flies in the sky? How high does it go?" <br><br>Selekni was not convinced. In fact he was starting to think these aliens were just plain crazy. The only things that could fly in the sky over this planet were the winged lizards, and even they were limited in their flight to short hops of maybe a hundred meters and then they only glided, not true flight. More like they had flaps of skin between front legs and hind legs that allowed them to leap off cliffs and float to earth. Sometimes they had flights of several miles, if they caught a good updraft.<br><br>"I believe this when I see it. Show me this flying ship." he almost seemed like he was calling Fitzy's bluff. He did not for a minute believe him.<br><br>There were no birds, which might be because of the constant wind. Never did the wind go less than twenty miles per hour, and that might be late at night when the temperatures had stabilized, or early in the morning before the sun warmed the surfaces. <br><br>The Marem guards watched the approach of the female alien. Her questions confused them. Not to mention they were fascinated with her metallic limbs. Holko answered her as best he could. "We are loyal guards, sworn to protect the King Selekni and his daughter. Of course we can hunt if needed for food. We do not hunt for sport as some do in the Northern seas." His voice was deep and gravelly. <br><br>Fruz looked curiously at her metallic limb and pointed to it. "You have a weapon instead of an arm? What do you use it for? Fight or tool? Why you do this?" His voice a bit lighter than Holko's.<br><br>Vork nodded gravely. "We have some who can call the element spirits to use their power. Not always successfully. I can do a little bit of fire magic. Nothing strong or dangerous. I can make light." he grinned as he demonstrated by holding his hands together and chanting quietly as a small yellow glowing ball appeared in his hands. He lifted his hands in the air and released the ball, where it floated in the air, glowing with a bright golden light. It lit the cavern and did not give off much heat, but it seemed to be a ball of sparks chasing each other. Staring at the ball would give a person after images like staring at the fire. Vork directed the ball by waving his hand and sending it to the top of the ceiling, where it stayed for a long time. "It will last for an hour or two. As long as I keep renewing it. It does drain my energy though a little."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>11-09-2015, 20:18:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The leader of the little group of marines couldn't help but smirk confidently at Celiar's interest, nodding a bit at the exotic young woman, "Our ship? Higher than high. It's hard to explain without the scientific mumbo jumbo but I'd say it goes higher and further than anything you've got going on around here." there wasn't really a standard proceedure for interacting with a friendly alien race. Still, Fitzy was annoyed that Selekni figured him for a tall tale telling liar so the woman's interest in his story rather than disbelief about it left him rather well chuffed.<br><br>"Well, you'll see it if you're paying attention when it comes time for us to go. Another shuttle will be around once we're through sampling the water and plants around here to make sure it's safe for the others." Fitzy offered an apologetic, rueful sort of smile though inwardly he'd pay good money to see Selekni crapping his Aquaman shorts at the sight of the shuttle, let alone the majestically-designed Intrepid, "That is, if it's alright with your two groups that we establish a camp in this cave. I don't really want to impose, but the more we can rely on resources here, the easier it will be for us to establish good relations."<br><br>R.G. though had an entirely different sort of smirk curling her lips, her eyes glittering in that dangerous, flinty sort of way that they had when someone mentioned her prosthetics. Perhaps on some level she felt she had more to prove, though she wouldn't admit to it, projecting the air of a confident woman who embraced and flat out owned her body, whether it was naturally occuring or had been machined and custom fit to the ragged stumps that had been left. "Heh, not just the arm big guy, the leg on the same side," she deftly worked the buttons on her fatigued jacket, popping it open to reveal a snugly fit tank top tucked into her slacks but more imporantly the sharply defined break from muscular tanned flesh to shining chromed surgical steel rivets and clamps that held the prosthetic in place. Horrific scarring traced away from her shoulder, silver and deep purple with age, an old burn and worse having left their mark in her flesh. "See there? Buncha medical whatsits lemme feel it enough to move it around as well as you use yours," she shrugged the coat back and buttoned it up.<br><br>"It's not just a weapon though, it's a tool and a way for me to use my arm even though I lost it." she held up her metallic palm and flexed the fingers, wiggling them in a weird way until the tips swept up and together into five small points with slightly hooked tips for tearing and gripping, "See? Better in just about every way than what I lost, but way better than just havin' nothin'." she liked to freak people out a little bit with the mechanical limbs, using the discomfort of people she messed with to bolster her swaggering attitude, "Why? Well.. Fitzy up there pulled me out of a wreck on another gig, I was tore up pretty damn bad, see?" she tapped the scarred section of her torso hidden by the coat, "Dude saved my ass, took me back, made 'em put me back together when I told 'im I wasn't fuckin' done yet." she clenched her fist, fingers reverting to smooth, tapered human ones before taking a deep breath to calm herself a little.<br><br>"So you only hunt for food and spend your time protecting the Big Guy over there and his little girl.. what d'you do for fun?" she wrinkled her nose a bit, not shy at all about leaning in to inspect the pair approvingly, "I imagine it's more than just stand around and flex."<br><br>When Vork conjured the little ball of sparks though, Trapper's gasp cut through the cave, her eyes wide with delight, "Oh <em>wow</em>! That's so cool Vork!" she grinned broadly and squatted down beside the priest, looking up at the ball and squinting, "Huh.. that's really fire right? Not just lights." she'd felt the warmth, but it wasn't every day you saw magic! "Is it something you can teach? Or is it just something you're born with?" if she had the opportunity she'd definitely leap at being able to do real, actual, God's-honest magic.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>12-09-2015, 01:27:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The tall Marem frowned slightly. "There are others? How many others?" He began to worry that there was some kind of invasion imminent. He glanced at Celiar and shook his head slightly. This was no place for his daughter to be involved. The land people like the Eliki were sparse except in the bigger cities. They would more likely be affected than the Marem. <br><br>"What kind of resources are you needing, Fitzy? Food and water, there is plenty for the four of you. On land there are herd beasts and predators. The Eliki raise some for food. In the sea there is a rich abundance of fish and seaweed. But you have to be able to get it, or trade for it. You do not look to be made for swimming. Can you breathe underwater as the Marem do? We can also breathe the air on land." he was proud of his people. He did not understand what these aliens wanted.<br><br>Holko was not paying much attention to the mechanical arm and leg of the female alien, but he did perk up on his chief's tone of voice. If there was trouble brewing he needed to be near Selekni. His hand was itching to reach for his spear. Only a warning hand on his arm from Fruz stopped him.<br><br>"Look at this, Holko! This one is part metal and part flesh. It is very strange. Is it magic that makes it work?"&nbsp; He was intent on inspecting the woman closer. The markings on her flesh did not appear so bad to him. He was covered in scales and shadings of color himself. The patterns on his arms and legs were symmetrical and in varying shades of blue and green. <br><br>Vork was pleased he could show off for Trapper. He grinned happily at her surprise and delight. "The Eliki are born with some magic in them. They train many years to become better. Not all have the talent to do Greater Magic. Sadly, I am only able to do lesser. I do not know how your people are made, Trapper. You are not familiar with magic at all? You know the word, something tells me you have magic too if you can speak of it."<br><br>Zulak had been listening to Fitzy speak and he picked up right away about the more part. He grew worried too, as territorial fights could get very bad between clans. If there were a lot of these aliens, there could be problems. He stroked his chin and thought hard about the significance. "There are places the Eliki do not go, but the land is not kind. Volcanos, earthquakes and torrential rains on top of the thunderstorms and wind. Sometimes I think it is safer under the sea."<br><br>Celiar chuckled, "Safer from what? Great Sharks, Orca and Kraken? Many creatures under the sea grow very large. Mostly the big ones eat the smaller ones. It is the way of life in the sea. That is why the Marem have colonies and underwater caves to gather and keep safe."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>15-09-2015, 04:57:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, let's see.." the marine tapped his chin thoughtfully, mentally ticking off the numbers in his head. Accounting for the population of the planet he'd come from, that'd be in the billions, but certainly the numbers would be culled by the time humanity got around to moving away from their resource-starved world. "Enough for a small settlement, maybe more?" Fitzy lifted his shoulders and then dropped them in a shrug. As far as he'd been briefed they'd only been brought to survey the area to see if it was habitable by a more scientifically-inclined group, to see what sorts of challenges might be faced planetside, that sort of thing. <br><br>"Huh? Oh, heh, well we might not be able to swim like you can or breathe water, but we've got tech for that kind of thing. All kinds of stuff from easy flippers and snorkels to submarines and pressure suits." the man gave a confident smile, "Can't say I've ever met anyone else who's like we are when it comes to adapting. Whether it's cold or hot, dry or wet, we can find a way to live. That's probably what will be offered in trade.. things to make life better for everyone involved, that sort of thing." of course he didn't know for sure and certainly wasn't at liberty to try securing such an arrangement with the chiefs of either tribe. Fitzy knew enough to know that even if he tried, his choices would be overridden by someone with fancier crests on his shoulders. <br><br>Fitzy eyed the tall Marem and spread his hands slightly in an open gesture, welcoming any other questions by his body language, "'Course I know you don't believe me yet, but you'll see that we're not lying to you about this." his gaze moved to Celiar again, meeting the tall woman's eyes, "We might have all kinds of tall tales and stories, but I haven't even started tellin' those."<br><br>Razorgirl chuckled softly at the man's question, raising her brows, "Nah, we don't have any kinda magic. Might as well be though if ya can't understand it right? Like.. I don't know the ins and outs as well as the doctor who bolted it on but from what's been explained the wiring's connected to the remaining nerves in my shoulder. Since it's directly hooked to my body like that I can control it like I would my old arm, and then some. The changes are done by tiny little machines that reconfigure the metals to suit what I think I need.. it's sort of linked to my imagination, but also to inner schematics that the machines are programmed to be able to replicate." she demonstrated again, changing her fingers into claws, then into tiny tools for working on things, then back again. While she was explaining, the woman was examining the Marem guard's markings, a question on her mind, "So what do yours mean? I mean, my scars are because of what happened, but you have patterns to your scales. Are they normal and natural, or do they represent something about you, like a tattoo?"<br><br>The woman squatting near Vork shook her head sadly, "No.. I mean, we have stories and legends about magics of all kinds, all sorts of things, but no-one's ever been able to prove that we ever we able to do that sort of thing. Maybe someone dreamed it up one day for a story and it just kind of stuck in our collective consciousness, the abilities to do things no-one ever thought possible." she sighed and shrugged a little bit, "Instead we have science for that sort of thing. Our people can make machines that do all sorts of things and give us abilities. Razorgirl over there has a mechanical arm and leg; she lost hers in an.. accident." their life was dangerous and all of them had scars, but the group tended to keep an eye on their brash, cocky R.G., feeling perhaps that she was their most vulnerable at times.<br><br>"So even if I was born with some kind of magic in me I'd never know, y'know? I guess the idea sort of fell by the wayside somewhere in our history and we just never picked it up again?"<br><br>Zulak's words were interesting though.. "Well like I said, we can adapt to pretty much anything the world can throw our way. If there're places where the Eliki and the Marem don't like to be, maybe they'll be a good fit for us, so that no-one has to feel like we're in the way." Fitzy certainly wasn't much for diplomacy, but then he didn't want to instigate some sort of conflict.. If there was going to be one, let that be on someone else's head. He wasn't going to go down in the archives as the butcher of two whole civilizations.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>03-10-2015, 23:26:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Tall Marem Chief decided it was too early to tell if these alien creatures were good or bad. The fact they were adaptive was interesting to him, however. "I see, so you come to this place to see if it is a good place to live? There is much danger here. Creatures of the sea are bad enough for us to deal with. I can tell you about them. Some are very large and aggressive. Best to stay away from them or find a place to hide. There are underwater caves where the Marem congregate. We have spears and harpoons, some have a little magic, but not offensive. More defensive, like the ink from the squid. It will send the sharks away, they do not like the taste. We collect it and use it on our bodies to paint sacred markings. Once it is applied and dried by the sun, it is permanent." <br><br>His body had several such markings on it. Spirals and shapes of various sea creatures as well as a depiction of the Trident, which was the symbol of Selekni's royalty. Celiar had similar markings, but not as many. <br><br>Celiar smiled, her sharp teeth in contrast to the flatter and more squared off of the humans. "The Sacred markings are difficult to attain. One must remain out of the water and in full view of the sun for many hours to set the ink, or it washes off. That is hard on the Marem, we need to keep our skin moist or it becomes painful."<br><br>Holko was totally confused by Razorgirl's explanation. Tiny machines? Looked like magic to him. He looked with pride at the markings on his body, pointing them out with a grin. "The Trident on my chest means I am a Royal guard in charge of defending Selekni and his family. The many smaller marks of the shark's tooth are my kill count. I have over one hundred and fifty so far. Fruz is catching up to me, though he is less likely to be at the head of a battle. The small marks on my arms are wounds that have healed. They are a badge of honor to me."<br><br>Vork was pleased to see the interest in magic. "Not all have it in them. But perhaps I can test you? Even a glimmer of inner talent can be trained to glory. Here, let me see your hand. If I put this small&nbsp; crystal in your hand, you might feel a warmth from it. If you see it start to glow, do not be alarmed, it is the hidden spirit of a djin. It reacts to magic talent. See it glows in my hand. Take it and hold it for awhile and tell me what you feel." He placed the small slightly milky stone in her hand.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>22-10-2015, 07:47:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We more came to see if it was a place -to- live. I mean, we're used to danger, that's never stopped us before.. The problem lies more in the scientific things. Is the air good for us, long term? What's the EM field gonna do to our tech? How're the locals gonna take it? Do we need to worry about them or can they be reasoned with? What about the food, is it high in toxic compounds for us but suitable for the local species? All that kinda stuff needs to be asked." the man shrugged and offered a bit of a smile, "I mean, I'm a pretty well informed kinda guy, hafta be in my position, but even I don't know the full length and breadth of what's being tested about the samples we sent back." he spread his hands slightly in an apologetic motion, unconsciously opening his core to view as humans tended to do when trying to be trutworthy, exposing their underbellies.<br><br>"Oh yeah, I bet.. Looks like you have to stay damp or else you'd, uhh.. flake? Well, maybe your scales would crack, I dunno.. sounds unpleasant either way though." he smiled to Celiar, only a bit taken aback by her teeth, as he'd noticed the sharpness earlier.. fish eaters would need sharp teeth right? His own were suited to a varied plant and animal based diet, but he gathered that the Marem didn't really deal much in plantlife in their cuisine. "For us, we have needles that pierce the skin hundreds of times to plant the ink inside it, to make our markings. Though our people get them less because of what they'd done and more.. ah.. for fun? Some mean something, others mean 'Too much tequila'."<br><br>"Wow! That's some pretty crazy stuff there.. a hundred and fifty and then some? So what do you kill, if you don't mind me asking?" she doubted that he did, since he so openly flaunted how many lives he'd taken. She had to admit it was a pretty interesting system, like marking on your armour how many enemies you took down on a sortie, but she'd only done that a few times.. R.G. didn't need to flaunt her killcounts to get free drinks, she had the looks and the attitude to get what she wanted when she wanted it. "Makes sense that the royal guard would be here if the chief came to check things out.." she looked over to where they were talking with their mission CO, nodding to herself, "Must be his daughter then right? She looks a bit young to be a wife." Razorgirl returned her attention to Holko's markings, "So do you have to get your kill markings each time or do you just save up a dozen or so and get those all at once?"<br><br>The woman noded gravely and took the little crystal, willing it to light up. After a few moments though, she made a bit of a face and looked from the stone to Vork and back down, "It feels.. well, a little warm? I'm not sure if it's from the crystal or because it was warm and glowing a second ago for you." Trapper looked a bit upset despite herself, having been hoping for a dramatic reaction, because who didn't secretly want to have magic powers of their very own? Trapper pursed her lips and sighed a little bit, "What do you think?"<br><br>Fitzy paused in his conversation with the chief and his daughter, glancing up at the storm above them through the holes in the ceiling, "So.. the wind's always so strong here huh? What's it like when the seasons change? They uh.. they do change here don't they?" they'd come across some -weird- planets in their time, like one where it was always a good minus twenty outside and the water was toxically high in heavy metals, which were stirred into a lacerating mist that shredded everything but rocks on the planet's surface by winds worse than these ones.. This was their first with actual living, breathing, sentient life forms however!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>22-10-2015, 10:12:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Marem Chief was a little skeptical still. But he found the words of the human interesting. Some of the words did not translate well. "You have much magic in your vessels then? If you are from the Stars then you must be magic! Or Spirits?" his eyes widened suddenly. "Are you Gods then? You can travel the stars and move in the sky with ease?" he was visibly shaken.<br><br>Celiar tilted her head and thought about it. She was not sure they were Gods, but they could be agents of the Gods. "You mean to bring more of the same kind of people here? To live? Why do you do this? Is the place where they are now bad for them? War, maybe, or disease?" She was very curious. <br><br>Selekni tried to understand. He had to think about it as well as Celiar's words. She was smart for a female and she had good sense. The chief nodded briefly at the mention of the tattoos. "We never mark our bodies without reason. The ink stings and leaves a painful itch for a long time before it is healed. It is a matter of honor and pride. Not as bad as the sting of the jellyfish though. That can be fatal to a Marem. There are many things in the sea that can harm your people if they do not have protection."<br><br>Holku was grinning at RG. "I have them put on after a battle, by a trusted friend who agrees with my count. Usually someone who fights beside you. Like Fruz here. We fight alongside each other as a team. Things we kill for food do not count. Enemies of the clan do. Like other Marem clans, some of the Eliki who do not agree to leave the sacred caves alone. Others who we see as enemies if they attack us."<br><br>Fruz piped up then as he settled next to Holku "The Marem are not an aggressive people. We do protect our own and the ones who are in Treaty with us. I have heard it said there are others in the Great forest. But if they are there, Marem will never see them. We cannot go far from the sea."<br><br>Vork looked at the crystal in Trapper's hand. "It is not glowing at all. Warmth could mean only that your hand is warm. Unless it feels hot to you?" but he took it back and shook his head. "I am sorry I don't think you have any talent in you."<br><br>He did catch the last of Fitzy's comment though. "The summer is on us now and it is the warm season. It will soon get very cold and the water may freeze on the surface. That is the time of the year we gather in the long houses and play games and drink and dance. Winter is long and cold. We do a lot of things underground. The wind then is very harsh and will freeze a living being in its tracks. We gather food and supplies all summer and then relax and work on other projects. Crafting, mining and...other things." He blushed faintly. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>23-10-2015, 01:24:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Huh? Oh, nothing like that. Magic ain't somethin' we do anymore. Or ever, I'm not sure really. I mean we have stories, Merlin and uhh.. well, we have fantastic stories about make believe wizards and such, legends and tales that we can't prove happened. It's generally accepted that magic ain't a thing we do." Fitzy shrugged and glanced up again, wondering if he was looking up at their ship or if it had drifted in orbit away from them.. "With the right equipment we can do anything. That's how I'd describe us. Give us time, let us work and we can build wonders that others never even dreamed of." Fitzy might dislike a lot of things about his people, the bureaucracy, the bullcrap he had to endure, but he was proud of their ability. <br><br>The ship they had come on was a shining beacon, a testament, the gleaming jewel of humanity's ingenuity reaching into and beyond the stars in search for whatever they were looking for.<br><br>"Well.. we are looking for a place that will help us understand what happened to our own home," he didn't mention that years and generations and millenia of abuse had left their homeworld a wasted world that would probably recover on its own, but they were hoping to aid in that.. "Once we understand that, we can work to reverse what happened." of course humanity had a host of other problems and people who had more say than him might flock to the idea of colonizing a new world rather than returning to a broken one. "But huh.. we have jellyfish where we come from, pretty much the same thing. They have a poisoned sting, it hurts like crazy and can definitely kill us. But no.. we pretty well kicked the heck out of most of our diseases.. well except for a few. There's always another problem to solve. That's what we aim to do." <em>'Shame we cause so damn many, heh.'</em> he did make note of the seas having dangerous creatures, but that seemed to be par for the course. The place was pretty Earthlike really..<br><br>"Oh, nice! So you two are pretty much a good analogue to what we are.. We're a unit, a single team of people sent out to handle dangerous situations for people we're beholden to." she knew she didn't have the same respect that they probably got, though R.G. had to admit that the pair did seem very capable, "So what if you kill something that's attacking you that could also be used as food? Does that count?" she was genuinely curious and seemed to have no trouble chatting the pair of Marem guards up about their jobs.<br><br>R.G. caught a part of the chief's words though and raised her brows, "You guys have never really been inland then? I guess you don't have to with such a huge ocean.. But once H.Q. okays the envirosuits we'll be clear to handle this wind." they never got sent out in full on personal powered suits, that'd be a waste of resources, but with the right gear they could navigate the land, the sea, even the sky with enough ease to claim any place that lay unused as theirs. <br><br>Trapper wilted a bit and sighed, passing the crystal back to Vork, "Well," she tried to sound cheery about it, "It was worth a shot right? Heheh, can't all be secret wizard princesses right?" there was a raw edge to her voice, that of a dream unfulfilled that'd never really come to pass. "So uh.. you basically work when it's warm and party all winter huh?" she caught the man's flushed cheeks and snickered a bit, flushing herself, "Looking forward to winter huh Vork?" she couldn't help but tease him a little bit, though she herself was a bit embarrassed. It took her mind off of her very mundane, non-magical existence.<br><br>Fitzy cleared his throat and looked between the chief and his daughter, "So, uh.. these guys don't seem to have an issue with us," he indicated the smaller men who'd brought them there, "What about you guys? Think it'd be okay if we were around awhile?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>23-10-2015, 02:46:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Marem chief scratched his chin. "The four of you will not give us pause. If there are very many of your people and they seek to take a place of ours, it would be bad. But there may be places on land you can find to your liking. I think the Eliki will know more about the others. The creatures of the land do not often mix with creatures of the sea. Though there are those who can live in both. Like frogs and some snakes and maybe even the drakes. They can dive into the sea in search of food, but mostly live in the mountains. Some favor the volcanoes and hot springs of the Upper Plateau. I have heard of this place, but never seen it. Perhaps Vork can tell you."<br><br>The warrior guardians of the Marem were enjoying the talk with the human. Holku smiled, showing his sharp teeth. "There are many enemies of the Marem who are good to eat. But we do not eat our own. Shark is very tasty, as is the squid and the giant mollusks. Eliki are tough and too bitter for our tastes." he winked at the mage who squirmed with the teasing. <br><br>Fruz chuckled. "Not to worry, Vork you have magic and the Marem respect you. Do not let Holku tease you." <br><br>The short magic user gave Holku a smirk. "He knows that some Eliki like fish. He is lucky I prefer goat." He let a spark of electricity dance on his fingers. It was no more harmful than a static charge, but it looked impressive.<br><br>"As to accepting you, Fitzy, I am sure the majority of Eliki would be interested in meeting you, but not many would give up their homes or livelihoods to hundreds of your kind or more. They would likely fight or at least loudly protest. The ones you would have to convince if you are to take over a large piece of land would be the clans that are close. But in my travels there is not a lot of free land open and available. Most of the world is either sea or volcanoes making more islands. The Upper Plateau is the home of the drakes. They are very large and feed off the huge herds of grass eaters that live on the plains. If you try to settle there, you will have a very big fight on your hands."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>26-10-2015, 16:11:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Fitzy tapped at his chin and nodded softly, hoping that the higher ups would make the right choice and realize that these people were no fools, even if they were primative by their standards. Whoever was in charge up there, Lord General Somesuch graduating from Whatever Academy top of his class, Hero of a Dozen Battles that He Officiated and Took Credit For would definitely have a hell of a time convincing him and his crew to be hostile, though when it came down to it Fitzy knew that he could and would be replaced, especially if he went native. "Well, we're pretty good at taking something no-one else wants and makin' it worth havin', so chances are the one makin' that choice will pick the plateau, because who would contest them taking it if they cleared it off for use?" a lie, but one Fitzy told easily and well. Humanity to a tee tended to pick the easier option, but it wasn't his job to warn anyone about anything, it was his job to make sure that Razorgirl, Trapper and Cuedee got off of that rock alive and well. <br><br>It really didn't matter that they all found these people to be intriguing and charming. Their orders were to scout, secure samples of anything they came across to be collected and studied and then to await further deployment. Of course, that didn't mean that Fitzy had to like it.. He hated that someone with zero real combat experience or field training was going to be dictating what he would be doing anywhere, let alone during a first contact situation.<br><br>Trapper chuckled softly at the ribbing Vork had to endure, listening up when the two guards turned their attention away from the stunning badass that was their Razorgirl to address them. R.G. grinned and nodded, "Yeah, back home we'd hunt pretty much anything that had the possbility of killing us, just to show we could.. Of course there was the whole food angle, but eventually everyone became more a conservationist and didn't wanna use animals like we had been, then things changed plenty." she really didn't know the history very well, being a Spacer, but she had been privy to plenty of tall tales about Earth from people born there.<br><br>"I don't think that she's detailing the history correctly, but it's a very, very long story that I doubt anyone here knows entirely," Trapper smiled pleasantly and gasped a bit at Vork's display, impressed as much as she was reminded of her inability, "That's gotta be -so- useful."<br><br>"Oh I don't think you'd have to give up anything to us, really," he shrugged, hoping he was being at least that honest, "Seems like you have the economy to understand trade and a need for some things that'd be hard to get otherwise. That's more somethin' for diplomats to discuss though." he looked aside, perhaps ruefully, perhaps a little guilty, "I ain't one've those kinda guys." if they couldn't tell from the loadout they all carried they were soldiers, though the specifics might have eluded them. <br><br>Topside the scientists and social-shrinks, commanders and everyone else involved with the repairs and possible colonization were all ears, listening to the broadcast conversations and recording them, logging points of interest, refining the language adaptors. The ship was abuzz with activity and plans were being drawn even as the software pumped out maps and schematics, soil air and water analyses and more. Ultimately the ship still held the most important of their resources, Power, and so long as they could produce that the world, any world, was an oyster waiting to be pried open.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>26-10-2015, 18:51:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Although the thought of the Aliens moving up to the Plateau would relieve the Marem of having to deal with them, Selekni was skeptical. "You do not know what you would be getting yourself into. I suggest you go and look at the Plateau before you think of suggesting it to your people."<br><br>Celiar shrugged. "It would not work out well for your people, Fitzy. The drakes are very territorial. They would attack you and your ships. Sometimes there are some who dive into the sea to hunt. They are very large and have been known to take a whale. But the herds on the Plateau are said to be very large too. I think you should investigate there first." <br><br>It was Vork who actually started chuckling as he thought of the humans being chased by even a very young Drake. "If it were not so dangerous, I would like to see you try. The plains have long eluded the Eliki. Though there is plenty of food, grains and meat, none of the Eliki would be able to withstand a creature that size. Even a whole village of hunters would not have a chance. It is said their hide is too tough to penetrate with even a steel tipped spear. I agree with Selekni. You should go and see for yourself."<br><br>Holku and Fruz were chuckling as well. "If the weather don't get you, the beasts will." Holku commented. <br><br>Fruz shrugged and agreed. "There are many things here that will trouble you if you are not used to it. The weather can fluctuate. Summer can get warm, but only those on the Plateau could tell you if it is suitable to your people. I suggest you get together with your Eliki friends to explore. They can at least show you where to go to avoid the worst of the conditions. Violent storms often have winds so harsh they blow down trees. I have seen trees and even a drake end up dumped into the sea. We would not know of such creatures unless they fell into the sea or dived in."<br><br>Holku grinned. "There was a great battle once between a Drake and a giant shark. I do believe the Drake was young. Even so, he outweighed the shark. The battle raged for several hours as each tried to kill the other. It ended rather badly, though. All the blood in the water attracted more sharks and the Drake was killed. It was swarmed by a very large school of sharks. They feasted for several hours. Even the giant shark was killed. I am not sure if he died from his injuries or the other sharks killed him."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rotochron</strong> on <strong>29-10-2015, 20:35:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Fitzy shrugged softly and offered Selekni a small but unflappably confident smile, "Don't worry about it. We might not always be the best when it comes to far-reaching schools of thought but we're always able to make it up in spades." he wondered idly if the alien woman would know what he meant by that. "But you're right, we're gonna have to scout it out before we settle on it.. But the drakes sound like they could be a valuable resource, so if I know HQ they're gonna have us there by tomorrow."<br><br>Of course none of the two bands of aliens could know what humans were capable of, they couldn't know that time and again they threatened their entire race with annihilation just by pushing the boundaries of science. Did these people even believe that they were from beyond the sky? That they knew what was causing the weird weather on their planet even if they didn't quite get 'why' that was? Even the small arms that Fitzy and his crew were outfitted with would be more than enough in his estimation to deter a hungry predator, even a large and violent one such as the drakes they were descibing.. Though he made a mental note to requisition blazers for them all in the event that they were dropped to that plateau. It wouldn't do to try to take down such a beast with comparatively flimsy bullets and blasts of unimaginably compressed air when they had the option of flesh-melting, bone-searing beams of plasma. Such weapons weren't commonly given out to scout crews, but after some surveillance, if they found those drakes to be that violent and huge, chances were he'd get what he was after.<br><br>By the time everyone had said their piece and the larger conversations had died down to smaller, more private sorts, Fitzy noticed that the storm had passed them over. He went out to set up the signalling device to let the shuttle know of their position before heading back in to say his goodbyes to everyone. "We have to go back for now, to sort out what we've been told and take the time to make decisions about it. When we come back though," he nodded to Vork and the other Eliki man, "Maybe we could visit your village and see what life's like for you?" whatever his answer though, Fitzy, Trapper, Cuedee and R.G. were all content to remain there packing their samples away and awaiting the shuttle.<br><br>Eventually that shuttle came, by remote Fitzy noted with a slight sneer for those who'd made that choice. He loaded their things into it along with the others and settled into the pilot's seat easily, disengaging the AutoNav in favour of manual controls. Once he made sure the vessel was sealed up and ready to go he launched off, heading back toward the ship at a good clip, figuring that if the Eliki spotted them on their way home, the small folk would perhaps believe them a little more readily when they came back.<br><br>The debriefing was a prolonged affair, as was the medical examination in which all of them were stripped and quaranteened, scraped and cleansed and scrubbed raw. No pathogens that looked deadly, although they were quickly innoculated against several diseases native to the planet and several more that would likely arise. The whole affair took hours as official after official took their reports and cross checked them for interest, logging things into the databanks and ultimately releasing the four back into the 'wild', so it was, of the general population of the ship.<br><br>The next day Fitzy woke up to the holo by his bed flashing with a message labeled 'URGENT'. He got up with a sigh, ignoring it in favour of the 'fresher and its dulcet tones. Artificially generated sounds of running water were a soothing counterpoint to the cleansing scrape of the 'fresher's cleansing suite and he stayed in perhaps ten minutes more than he should have, coming out very pink indeed but also quite clean. Eventually, once he'd dressed and taken a long drag from a synthetic cigarette substitute, puffing the curling plume of mostly beneficial chems out his nose, he opened the file and read it once, twice, once more.<br><br>"Damn it all." his mantra on the way down to the armoury floor, where his other three team mates were to meet him. "Of course they want to check that damned plateau out, those drakes were too crazy sounding to resist compared to sharks and sheep and who knows what else Vork woulda had eh?" he was griping and bitching the whole time he got his things on.<br><br>"Well it's not all bad," Trapper offered with a smile, "We get to swing by the Eliki village first to see if they can send us a guide. Command says they want us figuring out overland paths as much as where we can be dropped by a shuttle.. Guess if we're stickin' around awhile it'll be good to know huh?"<br><br>"Or," Razorgirl groused, "They don't wanna be bothered with the fuel of sendin' shuttles out each time. Cheap jerks."<br><br>Cuedee smirked and shrugged, "Meh, figure this time we'll actually get to shoot somethin'. Says here you requested blazers in case of 'giant lizard attack'. Don't think they took ya seriously buddy, 'cause they ain't part of our kit. We got nervepulse charges though, so if we run into somethin' stupid big we could take it down with those." he rolled his eyes a bit. The mine-like devices had to be stuck onto a creature or person and would overload their nervous system with falsified information, fake sensations designed to elicit a paralytic effect. Mostly non-lethal, they were.<br><br>"Oh great. Send us up into dragon country and we don't even get our swords huh?" Trapped sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Well, hopefully it won't be so bad and we won't get eaten."<br><br>"Alright guys, finish suiting up so we can get back down there. It hasn't been too long, but I don't want Vork forgettin' we exist." as if the priest would, but Fitzy was indeed in a hurry to be away from there before he crammed his boot up someone's exhaust.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Would You Like to Know More? [Rotochron x Verasaille]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Verasaille</strong> on <strong>04-11-2015, 07:29:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Eliki and the Marem were all impressed by the shuttle and stood clear of it as it landed and took their new friends away. After they were gone, Zorak shook his head. "The dragons will eat them and they will be no more. Maybe it is better they don't bring a lot of new people here. The feuds will only get worse and they will have to take sides."<br><br>Celiar watched them fly off wistfully. "Just when we were starting to make some new friends. Guess we will have to hope they do not run into one of the big dragons. The little ones won't do much."<br><br>Vork was curious, "Maybe they will eliminate the dragons from the Plateau. Then the great herds will multiply unchecked. That might be bad, but maybe good too. We could hunt up there then and get lots of winter meat, and furs."
			</dd>
		</dl>
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