As one of the first space stations to have been constructed by the Earth Federation, Space Station Solus (Or "Triple S") is still an impressive space station to behold. It has a cool retro 2050s style, consisting of many sleek curvatures and elegant archways, with a romantic touch of fantasy added in. Already being active for a good 30 years or so, it's famously known as a major trading pub for the Earth Federation, as well as an entrance way into the vast networks of different solar systems in the Perseus and Orion-Cygnaus Arms. In return, it services as the last major stop until you hyperspace to the Federation's homeworld of Earth. This system is also known for the Ivirnius species, who have been the Federation's first and closest closest ally since their arrival.

Within Station Level 34b, just a little distance from Hangar K, lies the central Headquarters of the Galactic Adventure Hunting Lodge, also known as GAHL. Founded and directed by Richard M. Malkovich, the name basically speaks for itself. It's a legal hunting lodge that makes money off various deals, sunny or shady, by exploring new uncharted worlds and hunting for creatures desired by their clients. Of course, not many support their job hunting these creatures, but they're legal as long as they keep to several guidelines and restrictions. Regardless they aren't all about hunting as previously stated, it's just that its simply based around it.

Now having just hyperspaced on the west side of Solus, GAHL's personal transport ship, SC Sirius, has arrived right on schedule. It's coming back with a wide variety of hunter, both old and new, yet all unique in their own right. Onboard, is Commander Phoebe Quinn, a human female who is one of the older members of GAHL. She has been tasked in collecting these (mostly) new recruits and is finally returning back to home base to meet up with the CEO. Traveling to the cockpit of the ship, she presses a button that directly contacts Mr. Malkovich on the station.

"Malkovich, this is Quinn aboard the SC Sirius," she announces in a rough voice, "I've just returned with our new hunter recruits. Permission to land in Hangar K, over."

There was a short pause before their was a response.

"Roger, this is Malkovich. Permission granted to land in Hangar K. Welcome Back Commander Quinn." a friendly hipster-esque voice came on the speakers.

Slowly, the Sirius gets into position as it slowly lands in the Hangar Bay dedicated for them, with a low hum emitting throughout the ship as it lands softly in the hangar bay.

"I'm currently in the main office," Malkovich says on the speaker to Quinn, "So so just take them there. I'll give you all your assignment there."

"Roger." the Commander responds, "We will be there shortly, over."

With that, she stands back up and heads to the passenger room, where he can see all the faces of the new hunters, all looking ready for their first missions. Quinn simply smiles as he claps his hands, getting their attention.

"Alright everyone," she says, "Here we are. Triple S station. Gather your belongings and follow me to the Headquarters. You'll get a brief intro first, followed by your first assignment there. All of your questions will be answered there if you have any, so let's go, on the double!"

She turns and exits the ship, waiting for everyone to gather their stuff and to follow her.

Arra had been kind of ignorant to how the land walking aliens had done hunting initially and as a result had initially gone out on her own to the closest planet to Aquaria that wasn’t populated and just started seeing if she could hunt things. It had turned out there was a very good reason as to why people did not live there and she had lost a hand to a horde of vengeful giant ant-like wildlife. It was the doctor who had replaced it that told her about the GAHL and, after getting her hands on some slightly more modern equipment, she had wasted no time in signing up. Looking back on it, it was lucky she was not in space jail for poaching or dead. She had done a lot of reading while she had been getting used to that new hand, and was confident she knew what she was doing now.

Now she was rather awkwardly laying across a couple of the seats in the passenger room like one of those french girls, as her body did not take well to biped designed chairs. They gave her cramp and she would sometimes fall out of them. Still, she was excited to be here and was looking forwards to working with this motley crew of landwalkers.

She activated her 4 waist mounted robotic tentacle limbs and sued them to stand, carrying her body in such a way that her tail was just above the ground. It wasn’t the fastest angle for getting around, but she found bipeds appreciated her being orientated the same was as they were. Looking like you were laying on your back or belly while talking to them seemed to come off as rude.

She had most of her possessions with her on the Fauld she wore around her waist, her supply kit was round the back and the harpoon and dart guns were on either side in holsters. Her only other possessions where the glaive she had strapped to her back (its blade carefully covered by a plastic sheath to avoid accidents) and a small suitcase containing all the things an Aquarian would need to make landlocked accommodation more comfortable. This primarily consisted of an inflatable swimming pool and a load of salt. She also had a couple of pills that would let her use a swimming pool without being poisoned by the chlorine and freshwater, if they had one that was. She hoped so, she relay didn't want to suffer from muscle atrophy in her tail as a result of lack of use.

With her things all gathered she made her way out of the craft after Quinn, the undulating stride of her mobility harness carrying her effortlessly along the corridors of the station.

The Terror Bird swooped down like some sort of demon from hell itself. Pete could feel the wind on his face even though he knew that it was a dream. He could feel the sting of the cold air on his face as his tiny feet ran towards the caves. Pete could hear the screams of those that were grabbed as if he was six years old again. The Birds had attacked like they always did but this time had been different. It had been thought that the Birds were capable of making plots and now they had proof. The Hunters had been "drawn away" from the settlement using different tactics when the main group attacked. The Birds had started to pick off the lightly defended colonists as they ran towards the safety that the caves promised. The nightmare ended just like it always did, with an ear piercing scream and a shadow.

Pete woke up with a start not knowing where he was for a second. Everything appeared to be upside down and he wasn't able to move. It looked like he was inside the cargo hold of a ship. The nightmare always made him a little groggy. The panic subsided as a giant spider came ambling up towards him. Most people would start screaming if they woke up to see a gigantic spider looking down at him but this was normal for Pete. Charlotte would occasionally wrap Pete up and place him in the strangest places. One time, he had woken up staring down at a 1,000 foot chasm attached to a cliff wall. The biologists back home theorized that the Creepy Crawlies thought that the two legged spiders just needed some help with the whole web thing. Someone had to keep them safe from the ground. A gigantic spider staring down at him with the closest thing to worry that a giant arachnid could pull of.

"Good morning, Charlotte. How about you get me down? " Pete asked as his partner started to dance around him as she pulled off the web. The spider dances were complex movements that got different messages across. It was surreal to see the massive spider dancing around the still webbed human. This dance usually conveyed friendship and bonding. The biologists also theorized that the spider just could not contain themselves when they saw their partners. So they just started dancing to deal with the emotions. After ten minutes of the dance, Pete was finally free of the web. He fell to the floor with a thump as Charlotte landed next to him with odd grace for something so large. She released another string of webs which Pete spun around his fingers. It was a leash of sorts and it allowed Pete to have Charlotte move without him saying anything.

"Let's not do that again, missy." Pete said as he grabbed his rifle walking out the door with Charlotte at his feet. The spider seemed to be in a good mood as she followed after Pete towards the exit. Pete walked outside the ship and waited to go where he was told. He was not new at this whole thing but his eyes betrayed his attempt to be professional. It was clear that he was enchanted by the station around him. There was nothing like this back home.

Zamuri was drunk. Well, technically he as hung over but he was drinking to dull the pain. He didn't particularly remember the events of last night. Thinking about it, there was alot of booze and some blurry guys talking to him about a hunting job. Taking a huge swig from his flask, he looked around the place he had woken up. It was some human techy building. He could tell because the short bastards made everything too gods damned short.

A human came to get him, so he got up and followed them. After only banging his head ten times, he managed to get out of the room. Swaying slightly from either the alcohol or the slight concussion. Looking out a window, it appeared he was in space. Well shit.

---

"Oh please," Onyeka said in response to some unheard voice, "You know how irritated Miranda gonna be when I get back?" During the entire flight to Triple S, Onyeka was deeply involved in a conversation with a contact back on Earth. See, the thing was, she could have muted her voice-- contained it within the opaque confines of her helmet-- but where was the fun in that? No... she spoke and laughed loudly during the entire length of the flight, all the while looking from one person to the next, checking for signs of annoyance or irritation. Upon catching the odd glance here or there, she cracked a self satisfied smile, obscured by the misty purple display on the outside of her helmet.

"Miranda is always irritated," responded the person on the other end of the line, their voice clear to Onyeka's ears only.
"Oh I know, but at least she has you to keep her company-- don't forget to cook her special meals."
Outraged, they responded, "Cook?!"
"Special treats for only the most special cat on all of Earth-- Duh, Rubio. I left you recipes and everything. Don't mess this up-- ah, hang on, the Viking is back. Oh wait, shit."
"What? And why you keep calling them a viking?"
"I ain't even feel us dock. Also? Holy shit I hope I get a team transfer or somethin', man--" Onyeka then imitated Pheobe's voice, "--Let's go on the double?"

Rubio's laughter filled Onyeka's ears.
"They make me feel like I'mma puke, man. Oh and by the way--" Onyeka stood up then interacted with her virtual interface. She sifted through a few files, one of a few pictures she silently snapped of everyone aboard the ship but, it was the picture of Pheobe she sent to Rubio. "Check this shit out," she laughed. "Ho-Ly Shit-- she really is a Viking," Rubio replied with a laugh. "Too bad she's like freakin'--" Onyeka sifted through her pictures again as she disembarked the ship, practically shoving past or around a few of the others "--one of four or five of us aboard the ship." Onyeka said this piece loudly, clearly wanting the others to hear it.

"You didn't expect that to happen?"
"I mean I did, but not in these numbers-- I'm with the freakin' monster crew. Gonna be hard to know who's the one gettin' hunted in this piece, I swear to God my guy," Onyeka replied, loudly once again.
"Yeah but nothin' catches you off guard like that," Rubio snickered, "You must be gettin' old."
"Says the man with gray hairs n'shit."
"Hey-- I was stressed out."
"She likes strawberries too, by the way," Onyeka replied.
"Who-- what, wait-- Miranda?"
"Yeah, give her strawberries when she been a good princess. End of month..." Onyeka continued her conversation as she followed the group, clearly with no intention to mute her voice input or interact with the rest of them, anytime soon.

---

//:LOCATION - SC SIRIUS, SPACE STATION SOLUS AIRSPACE
//:OBJECTIVE - RECEIVE HUNTING CONTRACT
//:STATUS - NOMINAL, IDLE

---

Nova had stayed almost silent for the entire journey since being picked up on the SC Sirius. He operated on a "Don't talk unless spoken to" policy. Although, even then, Nova would sometimes reply with a short, curt nod. Sure, some would see it as rude, but a nod was way more efficient than using words sometimes and that's what Nova's about- efficiency. Everything had to be precise, even down to the timing. Fortunately, Nova was relieved at the fact they were right on schedule and he could proceed to the planning phase of the mission accordingly. Sometimes Nova would find the planning of a contract more fun the actual task itself, if it was particularly mundane. The next mission certainly wasn't going to be that if this crew was anything to go by. Commander Quinn really outdid herself on this one.

What a joke...

As the ship docked smoothly into the space station, Nova checked over his gear. Everything was in order and he probably wouldn't have to restock at the station. He wouldn't even have to lug much around. All his equipment had a place to be discreetly kept, even the SMG's fitted snugly into their holsters on his upper legs. The only thing he had to properly pack was his katana, which slid into it's metal scabbard, grinding against the inside. As Quinn gave her orders, Nova replied and spoke for the first time in at least an hour, his robotic voice modulator echoing in the transport hull.

"Affirmative, Commander. We should get en route promptly..."

With that, he stepped off of the ship and stepped onto the hangar bay of Space Station Solus. Promptly striding to the front of the group, Nova wasted little time loitering about and let the commander lead the way to the mission briefing, even if it meant leaving the hung over barbaric buffoon Oni warrior or the second rate hunter with a damn spider on a leash. As long as the freaks don't get in his way, Nova would complete the mission with them. However, if they became too much of a burden and caused more trouble than it was worth, then the logical decision would be to cut off the dead weight. Being logical should always prevail...

---

Zavid was quiet throughout the trip. He noted all of the others silently, using his implants on his suit and helmet to keep himself busy. His arms lay in hos lap, and he sat as still as a statue. Even when the ship jostled and shook during the flight, he seemed unaffected. In fact, most of the time, his eyes were closed as he started thinking about the place they were going to.

A soft ping, inaudible to the others alert him to a message from Brandt. Opening his eyes he reads it, letting out a sigh. Brandt was on assignment and would be off soon, but Zavid had this thing with the GAHL, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to see him anytime soon. Shame, since Brandt wanted to meet up again, since he's been out of contact for the past six months.

He keeps himself calm, for the rest of the trip. He notes that the Centepede wasn't meant for long trips. And that the suit needed to be able to retract better. For now, he's got it on since he doesn't feel like carrying fifty pounds of metal and hardlight tech. Sure, no one can even use it wothout the right implants, and it's keyed to his biometrics, but he's not risking anything. As they near the station, he moves silently as he grabs his gear, the suit is eerily silent, even his steps are silent. As if his boots never even touch the ground. He stands where he is told to, eyes scanning the space station. He was brought here, once, after he was discharged from the military. That was years ago, and it looks like things have changed. The place is bigger, busier and louder. He looks rather odd, being taller and bigger in build here than most of the humans. He can spot a few of the Giantis around, who stick out like a sore thumb with their immense builds. It reminds him of his own lover, and how much he misses him.

Aboard a ship flying through space. It was a familiar environment for the woman. She'd made plenty of trips in the galaxy and this should be like home by now. But it wasn't and it didn't feel like it. This was the conflicting signals between her mind and body.

Mentally she knew that this was all normal and that they were headed to a station like it was any other day. Nothing odd was about this process. Her body on the other hand was taking issue with the artificial environment. It craved real ground beneath her feet, the gravitational pull of a planet, and the breathing of other vegetation. Being in a room with nothing but CO2 breathers was messing with her own respiration. Perhaps it was all in her head but she could swear that her body was working overtime to compensate for those around her. Which was odd because as far as she could understand planets usually produced less oxygen when in presence of CO2 was higher.

Confusing physiology aside the trip was not that eventful. It was still interesting though, there were many different species that she'd never seen before. Probably one of the more curious to her was the fish woman. Not that she was surprised that one existed, but more that one would be on a ship walking around with mechanical limbs.

There was also the annoyingly loud human woman that was leaving her comm open for all to hear. Though to be honest it didn't compare to the numbing conversations with the scientists that would talk to her about things that were way over her head. That and spending two years alone Harriet was almost glad to be hearing another human talk about something as normal as a pet, she presumed it was a pet. To be fair she hadn'd been paying 100% attention to the conversation.

Oh yeah and there was a giant spider on board that had someone wrapped up. No one else seemed to be worried about that and when they were told to get off the man was taken down and strode off like it was just another day so she figured it wasn't big deal. The universe was weird and she was a perfect example. Falling in line she proceeded with the others following Quinn.

The young woman had spent the majority of the trip fiddling with her equipment-- examining a magazine, sharpening her knife on her armor, calibrating the sensitivity of the radiation detector in her helmet. Perhaps it would be worth the time to try and install an e-reader in the computer... Izumi mused quietly. It might not work, but at least trying to figure everything out would keep me occupied. She'd stayed in full armor for the trip, partly for convenience, and partly because the reflective, gold visor kept people guessing about who and what she was. The last thing she wanted right now was some hotshot young hunter trying to get into her pants before even arriving at their destination.

Once they arrived, she did as ordered, hefting the two large duffel bags she'd brought. One had her personal effects-- clothing and the like-- while the other had several cases containing her weapons and ammunition. She kept her pistol holstered at her waist, but all of her heavier weaponry were nice and snug in their custom cases. Looking around now she could see the variety of races represented in their small group. However she would keep to herself unless talked to... and only respectfully to anyone of, say, Quinn's standing.

As soon as everyone got out of the ship, they walked towards the southern entrance at the end of the hangar bay. A few rooms down the hallway and they turn to an elevator shaft. Quinn presses the call button from the holographic projector, and after a few minutes of waiting, the elevator finally shows up. As everyone piles into the elevator, the Commander presses button 33 as they fly up to level 33 from level 12. Within the large elevator, it became very clear to her how many hunters she had with her. And what an assortment of faces as well! While she had a few human faces, she also sees a few alien types around her as well. From a large red Ogaris yokai (Oni) who still seemed a little out of it, a Syreni chondrichthyes (Aquarian) who took up almost half of the entire elevator, and surprisingly a being that was made up of various little microscopic creatures. This new team is going to be pretty interesting, or at least she thinks.

It would be a rather longish elevator trip, but eventually they reach the designated floor after a minute or two waiting. Quinn would have the rest of the recruits follow her down the hall to his right, curving towards their left...

Room 661... Room 663... 665...

Finally they reached GAHL's Office Room. Room 671. Quinn then activates a holopad from the entrance and enters the passcode to open the door in an effortless manner. The pad blinks twice in a flash of green as the doors slide open automatically to reveal the entrance.

The waiting room of the office was relatively large compared to the room they were in, yet it was also rather cozy. Instead of the traditional white boring walls of the rest of the offices, it simulated dark glossy wooden walls of an mid-2010s Earthling Log-cabin, with the floors also covered in the same material. Of course, this wasn't actually wood, as it would cost too much money to replace the white floors, but the holopads made a very convincing image of actual wood, both in looks and even the design and feel. Even the counters and tables were mostly made of wood, but also had nice stone-carvings within them. The seats were mostly sitting and lounging sofas, with a rugs looking rather generic but still had its purpose. A stone fire place is even seen to the far right, with a Holo-TV above the warm fire, along with several trophy-skulls of some creatures. Dangling lights illuminated the room and bookcases flanked each other farther inwards.

The room did indeed stimulate the feeling of a modern hunting lodge, which seemed quite fitting. As they continued walking in however, the President of GAHL, Richard Malkovich, finally stepped forward from behind the front desk with a friendly smile.

"Ah! Welcome fellow hunters. I'm Richard Malkovich, president of the Galactic Adventure Hunting Lodge. I'll be ready to debrief you on your first mission in a bit... just setting things up in the Meeting Room. For the meantime, please, just relax and get comfy. I'll let one of my security droids let you in once I'm ready. Give me, eh... 3 minutes please."

With that, Malkovich quickly heads back to the meeting room to make the last preparations before everyone can enter. Quinn simply drops her bag on top of a hangar near the bar, filled with a whole collection of different alcohol and wines from various planets, as they wait for Malkovich to finally call them in.

The main hunter, the lead entity, Phoebe Quinn, lead the 'group' to where they would be 'debriefed'. It was a fascinating experience. So was this how other races formed 'groups'? It seemed that at this size they weren't capable of properly linking up, and instead moved around in these makeshift unions. A single lead entity who gave orders, which would then be processed on a more detailed level by each individual entity. He would call it sad, but perhaps there was some merit in this system. After all, they were capable of passing on these orders at a distance, and had even invented this technology to vastly increase that distance. For entities on different sides of the planet to form a single group, even if it was such a rudimentary group, was an astounding concept.

Despite all their disadvantages and inabilities these strange beings, who existed like small planets isolated from one another, had managed to test and understand the laws of the universe itself. Bending such great and powerful forces to their will and using their immense physical strength and communication abilities, it seemed they had managed to conquer even the stars, while the Loqi had remained on their own world. In that way it was the Loqi who formed an isolated entity, when all these other races had met up. And in their own strange way they had formed their own 'group', a group composed of billions of smaller groups interlocking with one another. A system that spanned the stars, far more complex than the individual entity and yet defined by the complexity of each individual entity. In his time here he had already managed to learn so much about these strange creatures, this strange way of living, that he could scarcely believe. But now he would learn another fascinating thing: how they treated those who were excluded from the group. Entities incapable of communication were not allowed to exist within the group, and instead were purged from the system using these 'hunters'. Elimination of competition on such a macro scale.... the colony known as Bob could not contain it's excitement.

Of course he was having some trouble keeping up with the situation. Movement through this macro space, the concept of an elevator... these things in and of itself were astounding new ideas. To propagate by manipulating the surface that supported you, that was the sort of thinking that only made sense at such a macro level. When you ignored the mundane and looked at the total, the big picture formed by hundreds of thousands of cells... and yet the others were also speaking. At the best of days it took Bob a little bit to keep up with the speech of these creatures, translating it to chemical signals he understood. And not just the medium but the execution also differed, the idea of communicating such complex ideas in such a manner.... it was all very hard to understand. But from what he could tell they were about to be given their orders from a unit higher in the hierarchy. Seemingly all of the various entities within this room were all variations on the same basic template, and yet many came from different 'species'. Altered versions of that template, designed with far different capabilities in mind. Adapted limbs for different situations. And yet it seemed as if these different 'species' also had their own hierarchy, which was somehow connected to the other hierarchies, and yet some were more important than others. And even two entities of the same 'species' are not the same, as they have attached different objects to themselves. Specialised 'technology' that allows them to act in different physics-defying ways, to bend the laws of nature to their will.

Waiting for the president to return to the room Bob vibrated lightly, making a sound slightly too high for human hearing. Waiting was more of a breather for him, as he did his best to process everything that had happened, the concepts he was being asked to swallow. Even in theory the Loqi had never considered such fascinating things!

---

Onyeka made a disgusted noise, still connected with her call, "Rubio, I wish you coulda just heard what this guy said..."
"Huh?"
"Three minutes-- get comfy? Really? Why the hell would I get comfortable in three minutes?"
Rubio laughed loudly on the other end of the line, "I dunno, I know some guys who only need three seconds."
"What? A breeze?"
As Rubio started laughing again, Onyeka shook her head, then looked around the room. Immediately, she was unimpressed with her surroundings. "What a freakin' dump-- it ain't even real," Onyeka mumbled into her comm, "Wait. Gimmie a sec." As she walked toward the fireplace, Onyeka made a few hand gestures in the air, as she controlled her virtual interface. She muted her comms, finally satisfied with potentially annoying the others, then began taking a few pictures. "Rubio," she started, completely and eerily silent as far as the others could percieve, "This place is trash-- how's my next assignment going?"
Rubio made a noise conveying his surprise then replied, "How are you ready to leave that quick? What did they even do?"
"Ain't nothin' they did man," Onyeka replied as she walked over to the nearest bookcase, "It's more of the fact I'm with a bunch of aliens-- I thought I'd be mostly with humans but no-- and I ain't comfortable with these things man, you should see some of 'em-- freakin' hideous."
"Aw man-- you know how hard it is to find a replacement with your skillset--"
"--Joy, Ygrette, Arturo, Michael-- Flemmings not Charles-- uhhh..." Onyeka sucked her teeth.
"Okay, Okay, I get it, but ain't nobody willing to test that shield in the field like you."
Onyeka pulled a book off of the case with irritation, "Like I give a shit-- start workin' on it. Byeee. You have work to do. Byeee."
"C'mon, don't be that way-- just try to work with them?"
"Until you find me a replacement," Onyeka said tossing the book over her shoulder. It probably hit something or someone, she didn't care, "But not past that point-- ugh. They're going to try and talk to me. I feel it." She took another book out of the case, dropped it at her feet, did the same to a few more.
Rubio sighed in exasperation, "But bossssssss."
"Who's the best assistant on Earth?" Onyeka asked as if she were talking to a pet, "You are! You are."
Rubio chuckled, "I hate when you do that-- look, I'll keep you posted."
"And you keep Miranda happy."
Miserably, Rubio asked, "Why does she keep coming up?"
"You know why," Onyeka replied ominously, then immediately disconnected the call.

Turning to the room, a pile of books scattered about around her, it seemed Onyeka was looking for the next thing to toss around and certainly hadn't heard anyone if thy had protested her book tossing-- now, however, it seemed she would be more receptive to... interaction. Possibly.

@Lmpkio

They weren't the most talkative bunch it seemed, well, apart from the one human who seemed to be rather fond of pink and talking loudly to someone on the phone. Arra was glad when they finally quit their yapping but after (presumably) being called a monster she wanted little to do with the woman. What she did have interest in was the bar, Arra was going to take any opportunity to sample alien cuisine and now seemed as good a time as any to have a wee sample.

Resting against the bar on her elbows she began to use the two front mecha tendrils to examine the various bottles and wines on display, looking for any that sounded good and wouldn’t leave her as drunk as the big guy during the meeting.

While doing this she turned to Quinn, and in an attempt to initiate conversation now that the noisy phone lady hat shut up, asked

”Don’t suppose you know what's good among all these?”

She brought up two of the tendrils bearing random bottles to show in-order to punctuate her question. Her voice itself came from two speakers mounted on her helm rather than directly from her mouth and had a quite literal bubbly tone to it, filled with genuine curiosity, a little excitement with all the new things she was experiencing and literal bubbles.

She smiled at the woman with a friendly grin made slightly disconcerting by the multiple rows of shark teeth it contained.

@DracoLunaris

So they had a little time to mingle. Three minutes didn't sound like a lot of time but it was something she supposed. There was such an assortment of people to interact with she really wasn't sure where to start. Speaking of the number of people coming in was rather large. Surely they would be split up into smaller squads, which would make getting to know one another easier in a group.

The loud and obnoxious one made a jab at all the non-humans in the room. Harriet was pretty sure she fell into that category now despite still being mentally human. So she didn't seem to be someone she wanted to talk to to start. Moving away toward the bar she glanced over the various options. Since her transformation things she used to enjoy her body cleaned up a lot. Things like liquor didn't have the same punch it once did because her body filtered a ton of it out before the buzz even had the chance to impact her. She'd probably throw up before she ever got drunk again. Still it was a good conversation piece and it seemed the fish woman took interest in what was there.

The question posed was rather open ended about which was better. Glancing over the labels none of them seemed to jump out at her. Though that was likely because of the above mentioned making them not enticing. The woman knew that she would have loved some of these. Either way she tried to remember what was good to her. "Good? Hm, the Talorian Rum is good. They use a sort of cane equivalent that's local to that planet. Gives it a unique flavor from your typical human rum." She reached out and grabbed the bottle in question and poured a couple glasses. Though it wouldn't have the same effect anymore at least it was a way to break the ice.

Zavid stayed quiet during the trip to the room. When he got in, he took note of the simulated floors and walls, and the bar. After setting his gear down, heheaded over to it and looked through it, staying out of Harriet's way. "I myself prefer something stronger... It takes a lot for my subspecies to get wasted..." He spotted a clear bottle with a bluish purple liquid in it. "Ahh... Serrice Ice Brandy. Thatssome good stuff. Hint of blueberry, blackberry and rasperry, with just enough kick to remind you that its not something to drink casually."

He poured himself a tall glass, pressing a button to detach his helmet. As it comes off, the entire suit retracts, showing him in a leather jacket and dark pants. He placed his helmet next to him as he took a swig, reminiscing of when he first tried this stuff back on Earth with Shinzo, years ago.

Now this was nice. In a way it reminded Izumi of the few times that she and her mother had vacationed on FH-K4, a planetoid that had been cultivated by some back-to-nature hippy cult for their own purposes. Granted, a cult with members from multiple solar systems, but a hippy cult nonetheless. Of course, like most cults, the moment that authorities threatened their way of life after the leader had slept with too many minors, they had, as her mother had put it, "Drank the Kool-Aid." Apparently it was some kind of euphemism from Earth's late 20th century for suicide by mass poisoning. That aside, Izumi had loved the little cabin that they'd rented, and playing in the conifer forest around it and the lake; then again, the entire planetoid was covered in coniferous forests, so it might not have mattered if it had been the same cabin or not.

Once the big boss had made his introduction and told the group to get comfy, Dare found herself drifting off into a corner by herself. She wasn't thirsty (least of all for alcohol; the first-- and last-- time she'd had booze she'd wound up sleeping with her roommate. Leave it to a girl to know how to make a girl feel good. So she merely examined the group through her visor, committing their faces to memory. She'd never been good with names, so she'd figure those out later. The lady who had led them here had looked so Viking-ish it was scary. In all honesty, if she wouldn't have been so chesty, Dare would have sworn she was a man.

The next thing she noted was a very curious sight: a droid/robot and a (very literal) fairy. She'd seen plenty of the former in her life, but the latter she'd only seen in books and movies. Then again, we live in a damn big universe, thought Dare. Fairies running around with robot bodyguards isn't as far-fetched as talking space cats, robot vacuum cleaners, or gorillas piloting spaceships shaped like Lady Liberty's head.

Izumi shifted her gaze to the left... and nearly shit bricks. Admittedly the guy she was looking at was sort of handsome, but what got her attention most was the giant freaking spider following him like a pet dog. Her first instinct was to bust out her shotgun and blow the bug away, like that Klendathan Arachnid she'd run into on a cargo ship. However, she kept her cool. But if that bug came anywhere near her, there would be trouble.

There was much excitement and conversation from within the lobby as both new and old hunters began to interact with one another. Quinn was rather happy and satisfied with the crew she collected. The assortment of multiple species from across the nearby galaxy are at ease with one another. No signs of any conflict from anyone yet, or any speciesist outlooks. The lobby was a great big melting pot of different individuals, all going on the same agenda.

Just then, the left door to the meeting room opens, revealing a Secruity Droid who walks out up to the lobby desk. It raises its hand as he gathers everyones' attention.

"The President of GAHL is now ready for you all to come." it replies in a friendly tone, "You may now enter the Meeting Room."

Quinn looks at the others, signaling them to come in as well. As they all entered the sliding doors, they will be greeted with a still lodge-like environment, but also looking very much like your usual meeting room. It was a rather fancy one at that, with metal-wood hybrid chairs and table. A warm light illuminates from above the table. Sitting at the farthest seat in the back was the CEO Mr. Malkovich, waiting patiently for them with his hands clasped together and politely on the table. Quinn takes the seat left of the President as he sits down comfortably.

As soon as everyone sat down, Malkovich clears his throat, announcing his presence, and begins speaking.

"Welcome everyone," he speaks in a cheerful upright voice, "For everyone returning, I welcome you all back. For those who are new here, allow me to reintroduce myself more properly. My name is Richard M. Malkovich, I'm the head of the Galactic Adventure Hunting Lodge facility. I am most certainly delighted to see everyone here, both new and old. You are all here because you have demonstrated the capabilities in becoming a valued hunter. Everyone here has come from different backgrounds and different histories, some good... some not so good. You may have came here to seek adventure, maybe for redemption, for survival, or simply as a job that suites your forte. Regardless, you all have what it takes to be in this facility as both hunters and explorers, traveling across the vast cosmos to seek new worlds to explore and to hunt the bounties for a nice steady profit, as long as its regulated. Like I said, this is a hunting lodge, but a lodge that also respects nature in its entirely. We do not hunt in sport or attempt in wiping out an entire species, unless said species is an invading pest or a non-benefit for the respected environment. It may come out as ironic, yes, but that's the one major reason why this facility is legal in the first place, approved by the Galactic Environmental Organization (GEO). We do it simply to explore, for good profits, and in some cases for science."

"But enough preaching. You're here for the action, not the politics."

Malkovich then presses a button on his seat, revealing a green hologram of a planet.

"This is your first assignment." he continues, "We'll be taking it easy for this one, but the Federation Government provided us with the license to explore this planet. It goes by K2B-894, or more commonly as "Aurorias" a jungle planet found only one month ago in the Perseus Arm sector."

Several facts about the planet can be seen being typed in holographic lettering mentions facts such as:

• Entire landmass is composed of only one supercontinent called Tultamia
• Has two giant inland seas being Vhalori to the north and Kalivess to the south.
• Largest river system has a width of over two miles and is 400 miles long.

"While several military squads had scanned the entire planet from space," the president continues, "There's been yet for the ground excursion. We have been given the opportunity to explore this location here, not too far from the Sea of Vhalori. We are simply to explore this region and report back our findings to the government. We've been given also permission to CAPTURE various animals for scientific research, but we're also ordered not to kill them unless the situation demands it. So if a predator is going to kill you, well then yes you'll be forced to kill it."

"But yes, that's basically the mission. No hunting for a specific creature yet, but I have a feeling you may get one next mission. Communication equipment, additional weaponry, capture equipment, and dossier downloads are available in the next room to your left, as well as a rough GPS map of the surface of that sector. Are there any questions you want answered before you guys are dismissed?"

---

SSS - Cafeteria "Beanadiction"

A large metal construction stood in front of the double glass doors of the cafeteria. It was looking up at the sign above the entrance with a blank expression. Of course, it's not like it could express anything, as it didn't have a face to speak of. It took a step back from the door to let one of the customers out, and then went back to his previous position to observe the plastic sign hanging from the ceiling of the hallway. Large black letters on a white plate, much like the other signs in the station. Clearly, at one point someone must have thought that the name was funny enough to attract customers. Now it was hanging sadly from the ceiling, covered in dust and some kind of a frozen liquid that only god knows the origin of. These signs all pointed towards that the owner probably had second thoughts about the name since they installed the sign. The construct seemingly got bored of staring at the bland and uninteresting sign, and focused his attention on the inside of teh cafeteria. The furniture and architecture were all amde in a retro 2050s feeling, like everything else on the sation. A few customers drank coffees inside, and some of the more daring ate from the suspicious looking dough that the owners dared call a "cookie". A line of moderate size was standing in front of the cashier desk, waiting to be served their beverages. A long electronic sigh broke the stillness of the construct as it opened a door leading into the installement.

"Why exaclty did we stop here?" Elektro exclaimed as they took their place in the short line leading to the cashier. "What do you think dummy? I'm hungry!" Pisq sounded very upset as they advanced forward in the line, and no one could really blame her for it. For a good 20 minutes now, the two has been exploring the station to find any kind of information regarding the layout of the place. They were late for the shuttle that would've taken them to GAHL directly, so they had to improvise by taking a commercial space liner. Turns out that they arrived way before the briefing was supposed to begin. But as luck would have it, they had absolutely zero clue where the shuttle dropped them off, or where they were supposed to go to, so they had to figure something out. After a
couple dozen of failed attempts at asking for directions from other aliens, they had to turn to the good old method of "find it yourself".

As the line disappeared from front of them and they advanced to the cashier, a human in his early 20s gretted them. For a second he was surprised to see the EXO standing in line, and stood there without any ideas on what to do next. But the training kicked in, and he greeted the two like any other person. "Hello, what do you want to order?" A moment of silence as Pisq and Elektro discussed the details of the order in silence, and then the cheery female voice emerged from the voice synthetizer of the helmet. "I want a single donut, of the smallest size possible!" The cashier looked behind his back at his manager with a confused look, but after a silent gesture that could've meant anything he followed the order. He took the smallest donut possible from the display case, and then put it into a small paper bag. On his cash register the cost of the donut popped up, and then an incoming transaction quickly payed for it. "Anything else, um, miss?". Elektro grabbed the bag in his hand and shaked his head as a response. Pisq spoke up again just so she could have the last word. "That's all! Thanks!" They quickly left the cafeteria and left behind the confused cashier and patrons of the cafeteria.

---

44 minutes later, 2 minutes since debriefing began
SSS - Some corridor near GAHL

The sight of a Combat EXO carrying an adorably small paper bag as it is running through corridors is something most people won't forget for a lifetime. The comedic effect of such a scenraio can easely overwhelm even those with steel nerves and no sense of humour. Thankfully, the aliens on the sation mostly smiled at the sight, and only a few of them started laughing. However wherever they passed by, phones appeared from out of pockets, and the cameras in helmets started recording. In a few days they would be internet sensations. However Elektro had better things to do than to worry about keeping up a decent image of themselves. After they left the cafeteriea, Pisq wanted to eat the donut that they bought, but he locked the cockpit door and told her that she can only eat it after they arrive at the briefing. That was about 40 minutes ago, and Pisq refused to help him ever since, giving him the silent treatment. He could feel for Pisq being hungry, but if she mucnhed down on the donut then they would have to stop somewhere, and they were already late. So the best he could do was to hold the bag in his hand as he ran through teh corridors to find the place where they were supposed to arrive at 2 minutes ago.

The discovery came as a complete suprise to Elektro. After passing by a few doors with nothing more than numbers above them, he stopped to check on Pisq, and to see if she was still mad at him anymore. "If you helped me find the place, we could already be there, and you could've already eaten your donut. But if you refuse to assist me for any longer, I am never going to give it to you.". Pisq who was pretending to be sleeping all this time looked around the cockpit with an angry face and smahsed her hands on the terminal inside. "That's not fair! I just wanted to eat a donut, and now you are threatening me to deny me of a single wish. You are such a meanie!" She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, silently observing the outside through the widescreen on the inside. She was clearly sulking, and Elektro had no idea what to do with her anymore. He figured that he'll just let her be for the time being, and then apologise when they find the GAHL place. Pisq's voice interrupted his thoughts as she spoke up, focusing on something shown on the screen. "You big dummy! Isn't this door the place?". The door next to them looked just like any other room that they passed by, the number above the door and a holopad on the side. On the screen the four letters, G A H L, could be read clearly, and the company logo was spinning in the background. "Well, that was certainly easier than I imagined.". With a statisfied look on her face, Pisq leaned back in the chair, and Elektro knocked on the door with his empty hand.

A droid opened the door after a short wait. It was a commercial Security Droid, with the name "Bishop" painted over the white pnales of it's legs. "Mister Malkovich is currently busy. What is the manner of your business?". Pisq didn't think before rushing an answer, the sweet dreams of munching on a donut floating in her mind. "Step away rustbucket! We are here for a meeting and we need to get in yesterday!". thought the face of the security droid didn't, and couldn't change, the lack of reaction made it clear that it was not impressed by the answer it received. Pisq softened on her tone and asked again, as she saw her chances of tasting a donut fleeting away rapidly, and it was a risk she wasn't willing to take. "Pretty, please? We have an ID! Show him Elektro!".

"Ah yes, the grunt's work is mine as usual. Here is our ID. Apologies for the late arrival but we missed the shuttle, and then got lost in the station. I am sure you can understand." He transmitted their ID codes to the security droid, and then waited silently for the answer. The light in the eye of the droid seemed to flicker for a second, and then it lit up in green twice as it identified the IDs. "Miss Pisq, and Mister Elektro. You are late to the appointement, Mister Malkovich has already begun the presentation in the metting room." The droid walked out of the way, and let the two latecomers in. He closed the door and then began walking towards the door on the other side of the room. Pisq bent so close to the screen as she could, her nose touching the display as she observed the view. She never saw so much wood in a space station before. Or anywhere that wasn't a nature reserve or a park as a matter of fact. The cheap trick of composites and holo displays was good enough to fool her, but Elektro wasn't so breathtaken by the sight. He was quick to note that it was all facade, a pretty good one at that, but still nothing more than a simple show. Still, he didn't tell it to Pisq, as she seemed happier looking at the fake wood, than she was all day, and especially since they came to the station.

As they reached the door on the opposite side of the room, the droid stopped and spoke up. "Mister Malkovich and the other hunters are beyond this door, in the briefing room. Now if you excuse me." Then it left them in front of the door, and went back to whatever it was doing before they arrived. "Well, what are we waiting for? I'm getting really hungry!".

Elektro pushed the door in, and it loudly swung open as they entered the room. It was a spacious space with a circular table in the middle with chairs around them, most of which were occupied by alien hunters. They seemed to have interrupted someone from speaking up, and a newfound silence befell the room as most of the people inside turned their heads to observe the source of distraction. Whatever kind of briefing was going on, nothing was shown on the holo, and Elektro guessed that they were late for the presentation. Pisq could only see the paper bag that they were carrying, and taste the donut in her mouth. "Heyo, nice to meet you! Sorry for the late arrival!". Elektro shook his head and formally introduced themselves, seeing how Pisq was unable to do it. "My deepest apologies for being late. I am Elektro, and the gal you heard before is Pisq. We are pleased to make your acquaintance."

Pisq giggled inside the cockpit and whispered to Elektro with a grin on her face: "When can I get my donut?"

Though Phoebe seemed to be to busy to answer her query some others seemed to be willing to give recommendations, namely the green woman and the giant of a human. She graciously accepted the woman’s drink suggestion, taking the glass in her hand.

”I won’t be able to compare it to human rum, but cheers for the suggestion”

Then, perhaps to the confusion of the others, she retrieved a small salt grinder and added a few turns of salt to the drink, after which a straw extended from her helmet. While she mixed the drink with the straw she replied to the giant of a man.

”If it that makes a big man like yourself drunk it might be a bit much for someone my size to be drinking before a meeting. I’ll keep it in mind for when it comes to celebrating with after our first hunt together though.”

Satisfied that the rum was suitably salinated to prevent overhydration the other end of the straw extended inside her helmet to her lips, whereupon she began daintily sipping at the drink. In hindsight maybe she shouldn’t be drinking raw rum before a meeting either, but it was still pretty tasty even taken slowly. She gave the woman a grin and a thumbs up to her suggestion.

At that point they were all called inside for the briefing. Rather than try and use the biped shaped chairs she simply found somewhere around the table to stand, lowering herself down so she could rest her drink and elbows on the table, resting her hands on the bottom of her domed helm. This did mean her tail was kind of sticking out of the ring of chairs, something she did not realize might be a little inconvenient for the others.

After the briefing she was, she had to admit, a little disappointed that they weren't going to be specifically hunting anything this time but she was looking forward to the prospect of exploring and the capturing of samples would give her practice with her newly acquired dart gun.

She was thinking about what else she might want to get from the armory and how to pick a fight with a predator so he would atleast get some meat out of this expedition when a combat droid and a small creature who was hungrily eyeing a small paper bag the robot was carrying. The pair introduced themselves as Elektro and Pisq.

”Nice to meet you both, I’m Arra”

She waved as she gave them, and everyone else, her name.

---

"Welcome everyone. For everyone returning, I welcome you all back. For those who are new here... blah blah blah-- Precisely what Forgettable-face Generic-Name began to ramble about was immediately ignored from that point forward. As she was seated next to Quinn, Onyeka used her vantage point to stare more around at the others in the room. Eventually the results on what these creatures called themselves would come back from Rubio's research but for now, Onyeka needed to give them all some sort of nickname. Most would be easy. Spiderman, Shark Girl, Mr. Satan, Lawncare-- easy names-- extremely original too. Smirking within the confines of her helmet, Onyeka's attention was only caught when the hologram appeared.

Why was he going over this again?

Had no one else decided it important to get a bit of preliminary research done before the meeting? This was already reading as a sketchy situation if so. Sure most weren't professionals and hunting didn't require such a mindset but Onyeka seriously hoped that none of them were seeing this stuff for the first time. By the time Onyeka thoroughly drove her hopes for the team down into the depths of the abyss, the floor was opened for questions. She was just about to speak up when the door swung open loudly.

"My deepest apologies for being late. I am Elektro, and the gal you heard before is Pisq. We are pleased to make your acquaintance."

Onyeka glared at Pisq as they-- he?-- made introductions. And then another one introduced themselves. Throwing her hands up, Onyeka turned to face Malkovitch. "More importantly and getting back to the meeting currently in progress," Onyeka spoke up firmly, "The floor was open regarding questions about the expedition. Seeing as the awkward silence has passed--" leaning back into her chair, Onyeka curtly asked Malkovitch "-- will I be filling my traditional reconnaissance role or am I forced to walk alongside the grunts?"

Here was a question that held Onyeka's mood entirely within it's answer. Normally she would be sent forward, to penetrate closer to the objective, one to two hours earlier than the "grunts" in order to obtain real-time information about the mission, terrain, personnel occupying the space, etc., and she wasn't generally involved in the pressing forward by the ground troops afterward. Sure, Onyeka was ordered to press forward with the infantry or whatever sometimes but she absolutely hated it and saw it as extremely not her job. She got in, gathered intelligence or set up an observation post, then either got out or acted as an installation for constant real-time information feeds.

That was her job. She wanted to do her job. Simply that.