@Entropsy @ladyanglaise @MonsieurShade @eemmtt


It was an early morning like every day, everyone doing their normal every day activities, Kilik station was in full activity. The crime families working on the back streets, The galactic forces trying to keep everything under control. While the mercenary groups going in and out of the station constantly doing various jobs. From bounty hunting, to defending convoys and much more, what ever can bring in the money.

Charles would be leading the research team, testing plants they had requested from the planet. The team would believe they was just trying to find possible uses, while Charles was specifically looking for anything that could affect the virus, even possibly cure it.

Kabiri looked out the observation windows not far from where the researchers were testing alien flora from the planet below. She hadn't been on Vazoon yet, as she wasn't part of the research team, not formally, but she was a skilled medic and hoped to hear of the results of the expedition the team had on the surface.
Luka was not far away, leaning against a wall and sharpening her glaive. She found all the talk of research to be dreadfully boring, and wasn't very enthusiastic about waiting around to hear more of it.

Rocky gave a massive yawn as he sat just outside of the docking tube and watched people pass by. Despite the day just having started the Skälen was bored, not to mention tired from a night of moving cargo. His actions at the time had been unnecessary, as the machinery that the rest of the staff used for heavier items were more than capable of doing the job without him, however he helped all the same. It made him feel helpful, and the others appreciated his assistance. At least he thought that they did any way, he didn't really know as they barely spoke to him the entire time. Not that it really mattered at the moment. After having been assigned a morning shift for security inspection all that mattered to Rocky right now was making his presence known so that people submitted to the random searches while the true officers looked for contraband. Most folks went along with the process without a fuss, the ones that didn't want to comply were given the choice of being inspected by Rocky instead. That option had yet to be chosen.

Rocky wasn't quite sure how he should have felt about being payed mostly just to sit there and look scary, mostly because Rocky didn't fully realize that he was being paid to sit there and look scary. All he knew was that he was supposed to get people to do what they were told, and that he was bored. There had been rumors floating around about another trip to Vazoon happening soon. Some had said it was to gather more samples, others claimed it was just to run some tests. In the end the reasons didn't matter to him; all that mattered is that he wanted in.

Jim sat, reclined on his rocking chair on the front porch. His hands lazily danced across the instrument in his hand, an old, beat up string instrument. The contact of his fingers on the key creates a light strum, adding together to make a slow musical piece. He often wakes early, to sit on the front porch and watch the runners go by. For some reason, this somehow reminded him of his home. His home city, in his home continent, in his home planet. That is where he should be, laughing with his friends at a cozy bar, playing cards while chatting about current events, not exiled to wander the depths of the beyond.

Luka impatiently tapped her glaive against the metal floor, getting Kabiri's attention. She grimaced at the Almyst, who rolled her eyes. "Why do I have to wait around here with you? It's not like you're going to get attacked here; the crime families are in a totally different part of the ship, everyone around here is a huge nerd." Luka said, annoyed.
Kabiri turned back to the window. "You're getting paid to do nothing, Luka. Isn't that enough to keep you quiet?"
"No!" Luka snapped. "I'm all for lazing around, but this is just boring! I'm completely useless here, and you know that."
The Almyst sighed, tapping her long talons against the window. "Fine. If you want to go, then go. Meet me back at the apartment when you're done wasting time and money."
Luka's eyes lit up as she tossed her glaive in the air, catching it with a playful twirl. "Enjoy your geek nonsense!" she said cheekily as she started walking away, heading to the bars of the residential area.

Charles would rub his head looking at the results on the computer and shakes his head "nothing useful" he mumbles which would cause one of the other researchers to look at him weird sense the plants they got had great healing properties. "We need a wild life specimen... alive as well" he states "call for a team to assemble in the Delta hanger bay in two hours" he states before getting up and leaves the lab room taking a rag and rubbing his hands "need to hurry.." he says to himself.

The air in the small office was heavy with smoke as Lyco flipped through some paperwork he was given to do earlier. Taking another drag of his cigarette he took a look out the small window to the planet below. The ex-imperial solider was hopping the rumors about the expedition to Vazoon by a bunch of eggheads for whatever reasons they have to stare at planets. Lyco hoped that said expedition had some water in it would generate some income for the company. Speaking of which he needed to call his brother to see if he had any work for Talon.

Kabiri moved closer to the door. Being an Almyst with a religious background, she had quite powerful telepathic abilities. Truth be told, she'd been listening in on the other room this whole time. She couldn't quite tell who was saying what, and she felt as though she was missing chunks of information. It was as if she was trying to listen to the radio but couldn't quite tune it and get rid of the static. She leaned back against the wall beside the door, closing her eyes and trying to listen closer.

Luka wandered up to the residential area, grinning at the stares she got from others. She stood out quite a bit here, and she loved it. Being a hulking, visibly armed alien warrior woman on a station primarily populated by humans certainly had it's advantages. She heard a twangy but melodic sound while she headed to the bar, and saw that it was coming from an instrument in the lap of an aged human. Fascinated, Luka leaned leisurely against her glaive and listened.

@ladyanglaise
Kabiri would suddenly hear a voice seeming directed to her "What do you think your doing?" it says to her mind, "if I was you I'd start prepping, the next expedition is in two hours" the voice states. It being Charles who was talking though sometimes hard to tell.

@olcharlieboi

Kabiri flinched and quickly stood up, looking behind her as if she expected to see him through the wall. She had only met Charles a few times, and forgot that he was a Psionic. She was used to being the only one with mental abilities. "Understood, sir." she said silently as she started towards the Residential area to get Luka. She smiled to herself as she walked away, pleased that she would be going on the next expedition.

Jim finished his tune, then looked up. There was a very large woman there, with a pretty horrifying weapon in her hands. She seemed to be admiring either him or his guitar. Likely his guitar. Hell, if someone liked his playing, they can stay all they want. It would be discourteous to just chase them away. He decided to just smile and wave. "Hullo," he called out to the woman. "I don't get many listeners around this time. And how are you this fine day?"

Luka grinned, showing off her uneven sharp teeth. "You play that thing really well." she remarked, completely ignoring his question. Luka sheathed her glaive behind her back and took a few steps toward Jim. "You from Earth? Never seen a space-born Terran with one of those... things." She pointed at his guitar.

As his shift neared its end, Rocky had begun nodding off in his seat, and would have likely completely succumbed to the sweet sirens of slumber were it not for the buzzing of the communicator clipped to his belt. He awoke with a start, gaining him a strained look from one of the inspection officers that only intensified as he clumsily fumbled for the device. After a few false starts and growls of annoyance Rocky was finally able to get the device into a massive clawed hand and thumb the correct button to bring up it's holographic screen, "Go for Jakarta." he grunted in his unmistakably rough voice. On the other end was a human female, one that Rocky quickly recognized as being assigned to the research division due to the lab jacket and I.D. card pinned to it.

The human at first seemed a bit taken aback by the sound of Rocky's voice, something he'd long since grown accustomed to. He waited patiently for a few seconds before the human cleared her throat to speak, "Rakans'mei Jakarta, you've been assigned to security detail for the next planetary expedition. Please gather any equipment you may require and report to Hangar Delta in approximately two hours.". If Rocky had lips he'd have likely given the Cheshire Cat a run for it's money with the grin he'd be sporting right about now, "I understand. Be there shortly.". With only five minutes remaining to his shift, Rocky had little trouble convincing the inspection officers to allow him to leave a bit early to allow him a chance to gather the necessary supplies. For Rocky, this of course meant that it was time to grab lunch from that little deli shop he liked in the residential district.

"Yes," Jim answered, lazily plucking the strings. "Yes I am. Born and raised in old town 'Frisco. I haven't been back since I was a little sap, even younger than you. That was, twenty? Twenty-five years ago? Ah, twenty seven. I still remember home, though. It was cool in summer, warm in winter. Always sunny, except in early morn and late noon, when a light mist covered the streets . . ." His eyes sparkled and a slow grin formed on his face as he thought back to his home.

Luka leaned forward against the fence on his front porch, listening to the Terran wax nostalgic for his planet. "It sounds like a beautiful place." she remarked, wanting to hear more about the city called Frisco.
She thought about her own home on Vankila; the dim red giant Ibanuba provided little light or warmth to the planet, casting sharp shadows across the snowscape. Nights were beautiful; countless colorful stars dotted the night sky, and soft pinkish light was cast across the land as the white starlight mixed with the red reflected from Vankila's ring. It wasn't a great world; the only plant life consisted of fungi in caves, and it was so brutally cold that few other beings could survive there for even short periods of time... not to mention that it would all be gone in a few hundred years when Ibanuba went supernova. Still, it was where she was born and raised, and every day she was proud of that.

After making his way into the residential district Rocky had wasted little time marching straight for his favorite deli. To many the sight of something like Rocky moving with such purpose was a worrisome thing to behold. Everyone who knew of the Skälen understood that they were a race of hunters. Those whom had had the misfortune of meeting a Skälen pirate knew even better that Rocky and his kind weren't exactly discriminate about what sorts of meat they were willing to consume, sapient or otherwise. In spite of this, Rocky's entrance into the deli shop was met only with a pair of warm smiles from the elderly human couple that stood behind the counter, "Rocky, my boy! We haven't seen you in nearly three days. Me an' the misses here were starting to think you'd left already!" the old man said jovially. Seeing as he all but lived in the deli whenever he had the time, Rocky couldn't help but give a somewhat grating chuckle at the thought, "Been busy. You aren't rid of me yet though.".

The exchange that followed after the greeting was short and sweet. With Rocky being short on time today he didn't exactly have the opportunity to peruse the shop and try as many samples as he would have liked. After about three or four minutes worth of browsing Rocky came away with three half racks of terran pork ribs, and some sort of thin, blueish grey paste that the deli owners said was made by the Seluzu. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it tasted fairly good, especially when he dipped the ribs in it.

After purchasing his meal using his work issued credit chip Rocky managed to retain just enough self restraint to avoid unwrapping his first half rack until he was about five steps out of the shop. All too quickly did the meal disappear into his ravenous maw, being devoured bones and all in a flash of teeth and tongue. The second rack was devoured a bit slower as Rocky decided to take the time to properly peel apart the ribs before he dipped and ate them. The pressing matter to acquire sustenance having been settled, Rocky began to amble towards the direction of hangar Delta, all the while dipping a hand into his deli bag to produced a new rib to chew on as he worked his way through rack three.

On her way back up to the residential area, Kabiri happened to pass by Rocky. She vaguely recognized him, having seen him many times around the ship but never spoken to him. She was less than half his height, and felt every inch of difference as she approached him. She noticed that he was eating what was clearly some Terran meat and... jhekhe? Surely not. Kabiri decided to investigate.
"Excuse me, sir, but, do you know what you're eating right now?" she asked politely.

Rocky came to a halt at the sound of a feminine voice being directed in his direction. Almost instinctively he lowered his eyes to the height of an average human female's head, however, when he was met with an empty space he was forced to further crane his neck near to the point of him looming over the small woman. He vaguely recalled the Almyst as being a part of the science division, but he didn't dwell long on the thought. Instead he chose to ponder the question asked of him, cold reptilian eyes narrowing in thought before widening once more as he gave a shrug, "Dunno, tastes good though. What is it?".

Kabiri cleared her throat and looked up at the hulking reptilian. "It's called jhekhe. It's a Seluzu condiment made mostly from fermented fish intestines and, um, bottom feeders from Nuo's ocean floor." she paused slightly. "Typically only Seluzu can stomach it, so I suppose enjoying it gives you some real bragging rights." Kabiri grinned cheekily.

"But I ramble," Jim said, snapping out of his daydreaming. "I'm sure you have better things to do than listen to an old man talk about a place you've never seen." He slowly started up another tune, an old earth piece. He began singing softly to the song as he played. "It's nine o'clock, on a Saturday, the regular crowd shuffles in, there's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin . . ."