[IC] Fantasy Space Quest

[Blue2]

The streets of downtown Strow, a small city on a planet called Pletarion, were buzzing with people this late afternoon. People finishing their after-work shopping hurried about as to return home in time to prepare dinner. Those looking for a pleasant evening eating out joined the busy streets on their way to the dining establishent of their choice.

The ball floating around Pria buzzed gently, indicating an update to the quest board. Would there be something interesting for her? She might want to find a quieter place to check the board rather than stopping in the middle of the busy street though.

[deadpixel101]

Pria's head tilted up in response to the notification ding from her device. The little ball let her know that there was something to investigate. Hopefully there was finally a job posting she could feel confident in, it was pretty much the only thing she had set her AI to notify her about. She wandered off to the side of the street after finding a lonely bench. The street was busy, but not so busy that she couldn't focus on reading. The little ball lit up, displaying a hard-light screen with a keyboard. Sure enough it looked like something new had come up in terms of work.

Pria had been looking for work for a while now, wanting to finally get her hands on some decent money. The amount of credits she needed to buy her own ship and hire a crew was enormous, and her savings wouldn't even scratch the surface. She wasn't exactly a savant when it came to a fight but she knew just enough to be dangerous. That mixed with her piloting licence gave her a few opportunists around these parts.

As she flicked through the job-board a few new ones came up, as well as a few old ones she had taken note of. She couldn't keep sitting on her hands like this, she was anxious to start.

[Blue2]

Indeed new jobs had been posted. Three of them even! Perhaps this time one of them would help Pria along.

-LOOKING FOR PILOT

Hey there! I want to go to this comic convention on Veridian. Dad says I can borrow his shuttle, but I'd need someone to fly it since our regular pilot is on his honeymoon. I was thinking 1000 credits for whoever wants to fly me, but we leave tomorrow morning. Contact me.

Veridian was a planet in this star system, which meant that, depending on the shuttle, it would take anywhere between two and four hours to get there.

-BABYSITTER NEEDED

My husband and I have tickers to a game show but the babysitter bailed on us. Who wants to watch our twins for the night? They're adorable, no trouble at all! 50 credits.

-CANDOR EGGS

On squall III the Candor breeding season has started. I need those Candor eggs for my recipies. Please bring me eggs. I'll pay 1 credit per whole egg.

Squall III was an island group on this planet. Candor were crocodile like creatures, who lay up to 100 eggs per female. The eggs were often used by fancy restaurants as they were tricky to come by and their recipies were considered a delicassy for the richer people. To get to the eggs you had to first find a breeding mother. You had to chase the often fierce mother away from her nest. Magic was the best way to go for this. Then you had to carefully gather the eggs and carry them using protected cans, for the eggs were brittle and broke easily.

Each job post had contact details below them you could use to ring up the poster. Most of these jobs were on a fist come- first serve basis though, so one should not take too long trying to decide yes or no.

[deadpixel101]

They weren't exactly dazzling jobs but Pria wasn't looking for the adventure of her life time. The most obvious bang for her buck would be the piloting job. It didn't take as long and was worth the cash. She knew she couldn't keep waiting around so she bit the bullet and sent a message to job poster.

Everyone starts somewhere, and if Pria wanted to end up a captain among the stars, she would have to start off as the chauffeur of the skies. She sent her information and credentials to the convention goer, and awaited for a response. She sighed heavily, a little disappointed but also satisfied with the turn of events. She stood up and stretched out her arms, it's been a hot minute since she's actually flown, so honestly getting the practice in would be great.

After closing the screen on her little bot, she started walking back towards the apartment her and her mom resided in. She decided to pick up a few cookies from her favorite bakery, so that her and her mom could share. Hopefully by now mum wasn't as sour about Pria's ambition.

[Blue2]

It wasn't long before the little ball buzzed again, this time it was obviously a call.

[Blue2]

When Pria answered the call, on the viewscreen appeared the face of a Sumarion male, a bald, blue-ish pink race with high cheekbones and a small ridge on the forehead. The Sumarion smiled not unpleasantly. "Hello." HE said, obviously a little taken aback by your young appearance. "Did you just send your application to pilot me to Veridian? I'm sorry, but you seem so young."

[deadpixel101]

Pria smiled politely in response to the greeting, she simply nodded her head when he question if he had the right person or not. "Yes, that's me. My name as you saw is Pria, I grew up in space and I went in for my license as early as possible. The digital version I sent you is valid, as you'll see." She kept her tone calm and made sure not to seem offended. She had explained this before quite a number of times, but she hardly let her age get in her way. The was glad she had met with some friends before she started heading home. It meant she was well dressed enough for this impromptu interview.

"I won't lie to tell you I've been to Veridian, but I have certainly made longer flights." She paused for a moment. "And more dangerous ones." She'l always remember the dare ride through the comet field. She was lucky to not be floating around as a corpse right now. She fixed the strap for her bag and made sure she was standing with good posture. Despite this being a pretty lax mission it was still a job, and if she wanted to make sure her age didn't get in her way, then she'd have to at least act professional.

[Blue2]

"Ah, right." If you'd been around Sumarions -and since a large group of them lived among these regions that was quite possible- you'd notice by his voice that the young man was still an adolescent. And if you hadn't gathered it from the add that said his pilot was on honeymoon or the fact that he could spend 1000 credits on a piloting job, you could see by his clothes that he was of rich descent.

"Well, you were quick to reply, so I guess you can have the job. I'm so glad I found someone on such short notice! That board works neat! So I want to leave here early tomorrow morning. I was thinking 7am since the convention starts at 10. You'll take me there and at the end of the day you'll take me back. The convention is two days, but dad won't let me miss my tutor tomorrow so I can only stay a day." He sounded quite didappointed about that. "I'll send you the address where you'll be expected."

[deadpixel101]

Pria just nodded along as he detailed the job a little. "Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow morning then." She gave a little bow with her head and said her goodbyes with a pleasant smile. It was simple enough to be sure, one day of work for 1000 credits was certainly worth it. She was lucky a rich kid found that same board she was one. If things went well she might make a good contact and it gave her reason to explore a new planet; while she waited to drive her client home. She simply waited a little for him to send over the information. She knew the area pretty well, so getting to where she needed to go wouldn't be a problem. It was in a subdivision she wasn't all too familiar with but she just needed to punch in the address to her glasses and it would set up a map regardless.

She was excited to finally get some headway towards her own ship. She hoped whatever model he had set up for her wasn't too foreign. Naturally there a level of standardization across the board but who knew with those rich folk. They could have some really exotic vehicles.

[Blue2]

She'd just have to wait and see. In the meantime it was nearing dinnertime. What would she tell her mother? How did her mother usually react to Pria going off on her own to make money for buying a ship?

[deadpixel101]

Hopefully the cookies would smooth things over. Mom liked the colorful cream filled ones, and Pria made sure to get more of those than anything. She sucked in sharp breath and exhaled, preparing for the different ways this conversation could go. She had spoken with her mom a few times about her goals, and when she finally took it seriously it wasn't exactly the best response. It wasn't like she out-right shot her down or anything, but Pria couldn't always help but feel like she was doing something against her mom's wishes. Disappointing her was way worse then making her mad, but this is who Pria was.

With that somewhat reassuring thought, she nodded to herself and opened the door, box of treats in her free hand. The warm smell of food wafted from the kitchen, and so did the sounds of movement. Pria made her way in, as casually as possible. Not wanting to seem like there was anything amiss. Her ideal plan was to mention offhanded and let it play out in much the same way. Nothing serious.

As she turned the corner into the kitchen she greeted with a simple. "Hey mum."

[Blue2]

"Hey hun." Her mom glaced up from the food she was spicing. "Set the table, please. Dinner is about ready. Had a good day?" She had not yet noticed the cooking.

[deadpixel101]

Pria placed the cookies on the counter and went about doing as she was asked. "Yeah, a pretty good day overall." She responded as she laid out the two plates and sets of silverware. She wasn't sure what they were having, as she found herself avoiding looking at her mom, but it smelled great. "I got some of those cookies we love from that bakery a few blocks down. Thought they'd be nice for dessert." She folded some napkins in the lazy way she was used to doing, and sat down in what was usually her spot at the kitchen table. "How about you? Was your day alright?" It was a school day so her mum was at work until not terribly long ago. She taught kids that were pretty young, so things could get kind of hectic. Hopefully though she was in a good mood.

[Blue2]

"Sure, cookies are a nice desert." Mom answered, gathering the pasta pan to romove the water. "Oh my day was fine. The kids are preparing their end-of-year song to perform for the parents. That's always fun to do."

[deadpixel101]

"Oh nice." Pria didn't really have much to add to that. She just waited for dinner to be served, said her customary "thank you" when she got her plate and made a little bit of small talk as things went along. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until they started eating. She decided to have a second plate, which wasn't what she usually did. As she sat picking at it, she could feel the need to talk about her plans for tomorrow rising. "So, mom..." She started; "You know how I've been talking about doing some work. To save up for a ship?" She paused for a bit, hoping the air in between sentences might cushion her words. "Well I've actually got a little flying job tomorrow morning." She rushed the last statement and punctuated it with a faux toothy smile up to her mother.

[Blue2]

Her mother pursed her lips and said nothing for a moment. The she sighed. "So, you're moving ahead with that foolish plan of yours then." She spunded surprisingly neutral. At least she was trying not to get angry.

[deadpixel101]

Pria sighed inwardly. "foolish" was a very strong word she thought. "I can't just do nothing all day. Piloting is a good job, just hard to start off with." She rebutted as she stared into her pasta. What was left of her appetite was quickly leaving, this was sort of what she was afraid of. Like she thought at least she wasn't angry.

Pria braved a look up to her mother. She didn't want to meet her eyes but she did want to see the face she was making.

[Blue2]

I just don't get why you can't just find a regular job like Hannah did and stay closer to home?." Hannah was the neighbouring kid, a few years older than you. She finihed her studies and now has a perfectly good job in sales and marketing.

Your mother was not pleased, but could you blame her? She'd spent the past two decsdes jist taking care of you. She'd given up nearly everything just for you. You were her life and now you were leaving her. She didn't sound angry though, just sad.

"Well, I guess you're too much like your father for that." There was definitely a hint of... Annoyance in that comment. Strange, for she never apoke of your father with anything otger than respect. At least not to you.

[deadpixel101]

Pria winced at the mention of Hannah. Her mom might not have noticed, and Pria she didn't mean anything by it but this wasn't the first time the two had been compared. The sad tone in her voice destroyed Pria. She loved her mom more then anything, they were all each other really had for most of her youth and even as a child she appreciated how hard she worked fro Pria's sake. But Pria also couldn't deny what and who she wanted to be. As she was about to explain that thought her mother followed up with a comment about Pria's father. It wasn't like they avoided talking about him, but he didn't come up often. A brow went up at the tone he was mentioned in here though. For as long as she could remember he was looked at with reverence, so this was odd to hear.

"Mom...Are you worried I'll end up like my dad?"

The thought hadn't even crossed her mind. Sure, in some place deep down Pria looked up to her father. She wasn't exactly a pro-war type of person but she respected what he had done. Not only that but her mother always spoke well of him, and that instilled a very strong image of him in her head. But the idea that her mom wouldn't want her to be anything like him was surprising. Not because he ended up dead, of course her mom didn't want that, but because he left. Pria was confused inside now. She felt, guilty? Maybe a little mad too. She didn't think it was fair for her to think this way, but hearing her father slandered even a little set something off in her. But she wasn't about to say anything like that.

[Blue2]

Mom looked at you with sadness in her eyes. "I guess you're old enough to know the truth now." She said with a heavy sigh. "Your dad left to fight in the war. I told you that much. But Pria... When he left, the war hadn't reached us yet. It had nothing to do with us and at that time there was no reason to believe we would get involved. He went off to fight a war still halfway across the planet..." You could see there was more to the story, but your mother didn't seem very willing to elaborate.