The entire hull of the Shade Skipper shuddered, Nessa was slowly slipping in an out of consciousness.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck, She thought to herself, her deep amber orange eyes trying to focus on the skies around her. She felt surrounded, she knew the Council Guard ships were surrounding her. Her flight helmet seemed to fog up slightly, she steadied her flighter before she managed to get away from the guard.

The Shade Skipper shuddered after the last blast from one of the guard ships. Ness knew something was wrong, the ship started to drop from the sky, plummeting slowly towards the dusty planet below her. Ness closed her eyes as she breathed out silently, she moved to press a button before her ship slammed into the dusted sand of the planet.

It took a moment before Ness woke up, she slipped out of her ship, coughing at the dust before she pulled off her helmet, her red hair dropping down to her shoulders. She moved quickly back inside her ship, rummaging around to find some things.
She stepped around her ship, luckily there wasn't much inside to get messed up.
She stepped over a sparking wire, grabbing a large cage with one hand as she holstered her bag onto her side. She grabbed what seemed to be a belt with a a couple small disks attached to it. "Good." She said out loud, "Scoutbots are still in tact." She said, checking over her things as the cage rattled wildly. "Hey! Hey, it's okay darling. Keep calm my prince." She said as she hooked the cage to the side of her body, opposite from her bag.

She felt the ship groan under everything it's been through, she moved to grab a few pouches before she leaped from the hull before she landed against the sandy ground.
The sun trickled against her deep lilac skin, her white freckles glistening like stars against a purple sky. The Star-Born sighed, looking to her faithful ship; sure it was a bit old and run down, and definitely centuries behind anything used today, but she had it for forever, This would be a sad goodbye.

Telaerins was only a ruin of what it used to be.

Even as Kennedy looked out the window of her apartment in the city, she couldn’t help but see the ghosts of what things used to be. She could see the giant cetaceans that used to frolic in the waves, waves that were now almost inky black. The white shore birds that picked around the shells and the sand, sand that was now permanently dyed grey. Even out towards the horizon, she remembered how it should have been a straight line as opposed to the wavy line it had become. Too many floating cities had been built.

She couldn’t help but feel remorse, even guilt when she bought her first apartment in the capital. It shouldn’t have ever been built, even on an island that had formed naturally. However, there were many things that happened that shouldn’t have happened around that time period. Her parents shouldn’t have died in the mines. She shouldn’t have forged those documents. She shouldn’t have joined the Universal Guard.

This was one of her exclusively rare days off from work. This was one of the days that she would not spend burdened by the past. This was one of the few days she actually had time to tend to her own hobbies, such as her houseplants. The small one with the flat leaves and the tiny yellow flowers was one of her favorites.
“What’s wrong?” She asked another one with long, trailing tendrils and spade shaped leaves, running her hands through it as she noticed browning around the edges of its leaves. She always talked to her plants. She had heard somewhere that it was supposed to help them, but couldn’t remember where. “What do you-”

WHUMP!

Something outside had hit the sand. Something big, probably traveling at an immense speed. She tentatively peaked over the windowsill. There was a ship crashed on the sand outside her apartment. A ship. A crashed ship. Outside her apartment. Her training hadn’t covered this.

Ness coughed as her lungs adjusted to the air; something her long-lost breed was known for- Adaptive Survival.
She waved her hand across her face before she moved a strand of bright red hair from her face. Thank the stars she had landed safely, and thank the stars that she landed in a place with a sun.
She shuddered to think what could have happened if she landed somewhere without a sun.

She took a moment; closing her eyes to gain a bearing as bright white runes etched down her arms. She was relatively safe, For now. She thought as she scanned the skies, the ships hadn't followed her. Gotta have been too busy. She continued to herself. She stepped away from her ship some more; taking a look around as she tried to figure out where she was.
"A city." She started, "Not the worst place." She continued to herself before she checked the area around her, "No Guard flags, no posters... nothing to show the Council's control..." she trailed off.

Her horns glistened in the sun, slowly starting to glow as they pulled power from the star glowing down on the planet.
She breathed before the cage rattle again, "Hey hey hey." She uttered, moving her hand down and slipped it into the cage quietly, attempting to sooth whatever was inside. "I'm here darling, you don't have to be afraid Ra."
Whatever Ra was, seemed to calm instinctively at his handlers touch, giving a snort-like sigh as he grabbed her hands.
"I'll let you out soon. First we need to get somewhere safe." She said, moving her free hand up to her ruby red necklace. I will forfil my promise...

Should she go out and investigate this? Should she stay indoors? What could possibly be in that ship? Or, more importantly, who could be in that ship? Could they be dangerous? Could they be a criminal? A murderer? A- no, none of this wondering was going to get her anywhere. There was really only one way to find out.

She stood up, slowly, tucking a pistol into her waistband as she headed out the back door. The hot, humid, sticky air quickly rose up to meet her, enveloping her. She knew that in the beginning it had not been so hot, but the mining had changed the whole atmosphere of the planet, causing crops to die off and the entire farming industry to die. Everywhere she went on this planet, she was met with some ghost of how things should have been, while she wanted nothing more than to leave.

She tentatively walked towards the crashed ship, not seeing anyone near the ship. It wouldn’t be empty, would it?

Ness heard footsteps from behind the ship. She froze up at the sound and closed her eyes, channeling the energy down her body- hoping she didn't need it.
She moved around the ship quietly, moving her hands so they were visible to anyone.
"It's alright." She called out, "I mean no harm."

She stepped around the ship, she stopped at the sight of the woman in front of her. She was taken back for once in her life, Star-Born are said to be extinct, but humans in space was a different matter.
Humans tended to stray from their planet when and if they could, especially if they could find new places, especially since Terra- Or, Earth, as they called it, was damaged beyond repair at this point.
"Holy shit.." She uttered out loud, "A human."

The cage on her hip shook again, one of the bars moving as the sight of green fur slid into the light; raccoon like paws stretching through the bars and seemed to shake them angrily. A chattered Hiss-bark echoed from inside the cage, and Ness's hand instinctively went down to sooth the darker green muzzle that poked through the bars of the cage.

A woman stepped out from behind the ship and Kennedy was immediately in shock. A Star-Born?! They were supposed to be extinct, like something that existed only in old photos in text books, they had long died out. The ship was smoking around the both of them. It occurred to Kennedy that the ship might have fallen out of time, but no, that was impossible.

The creature in the cage that the Star-Born carried suddenly lashed out and Kennedy jumped back in fear. She knew full well it was caged and couldn’t harm her, but she was still relatively tense and jumpy. It wasn’t everyday she had a ship crash in her backyard.

“Who are you?” She asked in a shaky voice, almost taking comfort in the knowledge that she had a pistol tucked in her waistband.

Nessa bit her tongue as she was asked about who she was, she had to choose her next words wisely- Either this human would attack her, or she'd show kindness.. Or, as humans were rather sporadic, something else.

"My name is Ness." She started, moving her hand away from the cage- accidentally unlocking it. "I mean you no harm, I promise. My ship just crashed, It's dead." She spoke calmly, her lilac skin sparkling in the sunlight.

The cage swung open after Nessa stopped speaking, a creature quickly darting out of the cage and moving to climb up her back and sat on Ness' shoulder.
The creature was a weird cross between a Raccoon and a German shepherd pup; it's ears stuck upwards listening to sounds, It's soft green fur laced with darker green patterns, much like on a Raccoon. It's body shape was a weird mix of both, it was about the size of a raccoon; if not a bit bigger. It had puppy like hind legs and paws, but it had raccoon like hands; capable of carrying things much like any sentient race.
Nessa tried to grab the creature as it climbed up to sit on her shoulder, stopping as it seemed to settle over its owners shoulders with a sway of a long, striped tail. "Ra!" Nessa hissed towards her companion, who gave a chirrup in response.

“I-nice to meet you.” Kennedy replied, feeling slightly unsettled by the creature. She had never seen anything like it before, and while it wasn’t generally scary, it gave her a weird feeling. It might have been something about its eyes, or maybe it was the hands that made her think it was untrustworthy.

“I’m Kennedy.” She was still distracted by the movement of the creature. “I can probably help you fix your ship if you need help.”

Nessa looked back at the Shade Skipper for a moment, when offered help she smiled and bowed her head.
"Thank you for the offer," She said before she heard a loud CLUNK behind her, causing her to flinch. "I doubt the Shade Skipper can really be fixed at this point."

Ra's ears pricked up and he slapped at Nessa's face as she mentioned her ships name. Nessa moved to pull out a bit of meat and offered it to her companion- who took it quickly before it started to chew it.
Nessa gave a soft sigh, swaying on her feet. She showed signs of obvious exhaustion; she had been running for so long now, she hadn't managed to stop for food or sleep for a few days now- Not that sleep was needed, but food of course was.

“Well, if the ship is beyond repair, is there any other kind of assistance I can offer?” I asked, watching the creature tear up the meat. “Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of animal is that?” I pointed at her companion.

Nessa looked to Ra before she smiled, "This is Ra, he's a Phantor. They're native to one of the moons of the planet Setus." She said before she paused at the idea of help, "I... wouldn't mind having somewhere to rest and regain some strength? I've been flying for a while now and I'm pretty exhausted."

She kicked herself for asking; but she was desperate. Going into the city would mean potential of finding posters of herself, or worse bounty hunters...

“That’s pretty cool, also, I’ve got a small a-a-apartment if it’s up to your standards, I-I mean, it’s not much, r-really, don’t expect a lot, it-it’s tiny but it’s all I can really afford and…” She trailed off, already regretting elaborating so much. She had already given up where she lived and her financial situation. Besides, the stuttering was embarrassing.

Nessa waved her arm gently, as a sign she didn't mind.
"The size of the place won't matter." She said quietly, "I am more than comfortable to sleep on the floor if needed. Don't worry yourself too much." She said with a weak laugh before Ra let out a bark and looked to Nessa.

Ness looked at her companion before she smiled, "No Ra, you'll be safe from a bath." She said with a laugh, "unless you want one?"
With the question Ra jumped from Ness's head and ran over to Kennedy, climbing up her side and sat on her shoulder, trying to hide behind her hair. Ness laughed again, before her laughter turned to coughing.

Kennedy hadn’t exactly gotten used to the-the creature...what had she called it? A Phantor? Kennedy shoved her anxiety back down when it clawed its way up her. The way it sat on her shoulder made her feel oddly unbalanced, but both of these things were just things she’d have to adjust to it since this ‘Ness’ woman had accepted her offer. Kennedy was always happy to open her doors to anyone, despite the size of the house. She enjoyed cooking and often had a fridge stocked to brimming with left-overs because she lived alone.

“Are you okay?” Kennedy asked in concern when Ness started to cough.

Ness nodded, "Yeah I'm fine. Exhausted." She started before she straightened herself up. She looked at Ra on Kennedy's shoulder. "Awh, he likes you!" She said with a weak laugh before she stepped towards Kennedy.

"Shall we?" She asked, with a small smile, "I'm very thankful for this. I wish I could pay you for this." She said with a bit of a sway on her feet.

Kennedy felt a pang of something between guilt and opportunity ring through her when Ness said something about paying her for it. Yes, she needed the money, but she couldn’t ask her to pay. Her doors were open, she didn’t want to put a box out for fees. Besides, that would almost be begging, and that was something her parents had greatly discouraged.

“Don’t worry about it, trust me.” She replied with a smile, starting to lead her towards the back door of her apartment.

Nessa smiled as Kennedy started to lead along. Her ears flexed slightly as she looked backwards, she tried to focus on the area behind her ship, but the heat from the dying motor caused the air above it to become wavered.

She looked back to Kennedy and Ra, smirking at her companion.
"He likes you." She commented with a laugh, "He normally doesn't like others."
Ra gave a chirrup before flicking his tail towards his owner, moving to settle down on Kennedy's shoulders.

“I suppose that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Kennedy asked, holding the back door to my apartment open for her.

Nessa gave a laugh, "It definitely is." She said as she walked towards the door. Something caught her eyesight; something she hoped not to see here.
A wanted poster, she had hoped Kennedy hadn't seen it as she stepped to enter the house, grabbing the poster with a single almost lightspeed reaction, crumpling it to put it in her pocket.

Kennedy heard her grab something and crumple it up, and, in hindsight, she realized probably should have paid more attention to that, but she decided to let it slide. Besides, Ness seemed nice enough.

“I apologize for the mess.” Kennedy said, bowing her head as she opened the door to her tiny apartment.