[IC] A World Away

[Dredigan]

The Stone-Turner hums endlessly as it glides through the sky over Vlana. The city below is bustling with energy as small flight craft buzz around and the citizens in the streets go about their business. The ship is setting off to make a trip to Trozzk and allow the new members a chance to leave their mark. The ship itself is in great shape now as well, following a collision with a large airborne creature in Lyduros recently. Jibb and the other engineers barely managed to get her back to Vlana but now that she is in top shape once more Captain Brovik has ordered an immediate departure.

"Man the forward engines!" Brovik calls out and shortly thereafter the furnace operators manage to get the Drinnium heated and the engines blaring. In front of the stone turner the sky begins to slowly warp before spreading apart and melting like ice cream on a hot day. Much of the crew gathers around the front of the ship to watch the spectacle; primarily the newer members.

Virum is sitting in the crows nest atop the main mast with his spyglass already open, staring down the hole in the sky. As the ship rumbles onward toward the tear the captain yells out again. "Hold on to... Something or other!" and the ship begins to make its way through the hole. There is a lot of turbulence, a rumbling and the sound of gears cranking as the ship manages to pass through. As it does so the engines begin to die down to a much lower, less intrusive hum and the ship begins to coast quietly down the banks of a dark sky, looking out a massive red star encompassing a large portion of the horizon.

Virum looks through his spyglass, accidentally looking right into the star he falls backward and drops it. He sits up and squints his eyes as he takes in the sight.

"That thing is huge!" he exclaims to any of the crew below who might be listening.

[Protoman]

Just this quick stop before we set off...I do need to replenish basic supplies for the medical bay before we go. Just because I can heal doesn't mean I should unless it's absolutely needed. Anything that can work without personal interference should be first. Now, let's see, what were we missing in the cabinets...pretty much anything I might need.

Lanestol started running through a mental checklist on what he needed to pick up while the Stone-Turner docked for repairs on Vlana. He tried playing this whole interplanar travel thing off and to keep his cool, though being off of Krasnolar and around salespeople who sought him rather than the other way around was quite a disorienting experience. He had only read about these sorts of markets from one book he exchanged with a neighborhood keeper in exchange for some of his personal research on the extent of clover's usefulness as a potions ingredient. Getting lost in a good book was quite common on Krasnolar, though being in the moment was something no book could ever have prepared him for or simulated.

This reflected in some rather poor negotiation skills. He ran out of funds before he could pick up everything he thought to pick up. What he bought would have to do and his power could supplement the rest. For now, he didn't want to be the reason for the Stone-Turner's delay. He hurried back to board and set up his supplies in the medical bay before joining the rest of the crew outside as the airship's engines revved up. The spectacle of what seemed like space and time taking on physical form and flowing around them had yet to stop amazing him. Nothing in the books he encountered had ever mentioned this form of interplanar travel, and how much less would they have been able to capture the moment.

Upon warning to brace, Lanestol knelt down, bracing his staff against a rail to keep his body relatively motionless. Once it stopped feeling like he was being forced by the ship's acceleration, he stood and observed the space around the ship. Many fantastic colors from flares, fusions and other phenomena also filled their views around them. The lookout appeared unaffected until using his implement to magnify the source of the brilliance - the last star in the universe.

"That thing is huge!" he could hear the lookout cry.

Didn't take a lookout to see that. The star was only massive and the planet they were traveling to was just in the right orbit path so it didn't go hurtling inward.

[OrkytheOrc]

Orky didn't bother going off the ship to Vlana, because he was fully stocked on cleaning supplies. He was mopping up a mess made by a drunken crewmember when he heard the engines rumbling and knew the ship was about to start sailing. After thoroughly cleaning up the mess he picked up his mop and bucket, he made his way to the deck to join the other newbies in watching the ship take off.

Orky didn't make it in time to hear the captain say "Hold on to something," so he fell on his butt with some of the dirty water spilling.

"Looks like I got to clean something else up," Orky said exhausted.

When the ship went got through the turbulance and the hole, he took some time to witness the beautiful sight in front of him. The mixture of colors and shapes he had never seen before left him in awe. He stood there gazing for a short few until he heard Virum talking about a huge star. Then he continued to clean up the but of water that was spilt.

[BizarreLolli]

Artemis stands in the engine room studying over the engines, waiting for the walk through with Jibbs later on so she can on how it runs and what each part does. She kneels down looking over the engines, sketching out a rough drawing of the engines so she can be able to tell when something is off; stretching as she stands up hearing the Captain tell everyone to hold on to something and moves closer to the wall.

She glances up at the ceiling as the ship slows down, tucking her notebook into her bag before moving out into the hallway curious to see where they are now, it taking her several minutes to reach the front of the ship; leaning against the doorway she crosses her arms staring at the gaint red star.

Meili stands against the wall studying the room and all the new members, it's only been a couple of months since they joined up with the ship; some days she misses the beauty of their Homeland but other days she is amazed at the beauty of other places. She turns her head towards the Captain as he speaks and turning back towards the front waiting to see where they come out at.

Taking a step forward she stares at the red star and smiles finding the color beautiful, watching it for a few more seconds she takes her spot at the map and glances over it determining where they came out at

[RoccanIronclad]

Vincent Ventri

---

---

Vincent took hold of the main controls as the captain began to set them to course, the stone turner was the largest vessel that the old blackwing had ever flown, however he was confident in his skills as a pilot. Vincent began to run his hands over the dials and switches to get the massive ship moving, the captain called out his warning for the crew to grab hold, the jump was a new experience, something that he had never had to deal with in the smaller fighters he was accustomed to, though upon arrival, he was not disappointed.

Vincent looked out over the red star, he had to shield his sensitive eyes but once he got a pair of sunglasses on he could look out over the majesty of the light, "This jumper truly is a marvel, never thought I would be so close to a star." Vincent sat back a bit as he looked it over, "Captain, Trozzk, is it known for anything important?"

[catmint]

The dark-haired male picked his way through the small crowd of the crew members. Marcus was one of the new recruits as well, and Everytime they hopped to a new plane, a surge if adrenaline shot through him. He thought he would never grow tired of watching the spectacle.

Marcus held tightly to the railing, watching intensely with a wide grin as they took off. He heard the exclamation from the lookout, which he joined as well, which came out more like a whooping sound. After the initial wonder wore off Marcus glanced around him, scanning the crowd. He definitely saw some interesting figures.

But he was shaken from his thoughts once he noticed some muddied water by his boot. He followed the trail to see the janitor, cleaning up a mess. Honestly he had forgotten the guys name, but he seemed nice enough. Marcus approached, a bit cautiously and knelt down next to the orc.

"Hey bud, need some help there?" He tilted his head and flashed his award winning smile. "You a newbie too?" He asked, hoping to connect on some level. Truly, Marcus was still not quite used to all the different races of humans. He tried to keep an open mind, he definitely didn't have a right to judge.

[Dredigan]

Captain Brovik grunts and smiles, looking out over the healing wound in the sky as Vincent asks his question.

"Aye," he says is a gruff, gravely voice. "Trozzk is a place most of us old folk visited back in the old days. It's a rare occurrence in time, being able to watch the last star in a plane burn out. Afterward, Trozzk will be dark and nothing will be left." He steps up from his seat and begins to step down to the side. "The young ones come out here to mark the start of their journeys. I still like to make routine trips here for all the recruits we pick up."

Brovik heads around the control panel to the front of the command deck. he looks out a large window at the Star burning off in the distance and then he grabs hold of a magnifying horn. He speaks into the horn, causing his voice to echo across all rooms in the ship. "Get yourselves ready, children. You'll be heading down onto the surface in ten minutes, Sir Gorchek will be your guide." He turns back to his seat and re-adjusts himself to a comfortable position. "Will you be going with them, Vincent? It's a tradition to leave something here. We all did it once."
--

Virum is climbing down from the crows nest along rigging that holds the sails up. He's very cautious, not wanting a repeat of last week when he fell and sprained his ankle. It's good to have Lanestol around, he thinks, but lets not give him anymore work than we have to, aye?. He casts a glance at the janitor cleaning up his water but makes a point to head to the very front of the ship, squeezing through as much of the crowd as he can. He spots the girls, he can't remember where they are from but he knows their names.

"Artemis!" he calls, "Isn't this crazy?" he says, shouting over the rumble of the ship.

[BizarreLolli]

Artemis

She looks up from her spot and smiles at Virum pushing off the doorway to moves towards him, not wanting to shout "Its beyond crazy," she stops by him and leans against the railing staring back at the star opening her mouth to speak but shutting it as the Captain gives directions for them to get ready to head down. "We get to head down there too, this is amazing," excited to be seeing new lands or in this case a star, she glances towards the front looking for her sister knowing she was never one to travel and wonders how she is holding up.

Meili

Moving away from the map, she pulls her hair back into a bun listening to the Captain ordering them to get ready to get off the ship. She nods to the others and moves off down the hall towards her bunk to grab her daggers, pausing she sits down on her hammock having put it up giving her sister the actual bed, never one to be comfortable in a bed. She swings herself back and forth for a few minutes enjoying the peace you can get just being by yourself; standing up she heads back out joining the others on the deck and smiles greeting Orky, as she makes her way towards her sister and Virum.

[Protoman]

Once most of the other noise had died down and the captain could be heard clearly over what was left, Lanestol focused in on him. Since he didn't have a good enough grasp on things, especially if there might be those...moments...where he might ramble with no relation, he found it good practice to just listen in to everything now. Even the captain, who had visited this place before, still found wonder in a place to watch the end times of the last star. A plane of darkness once it went out. He shuddered to think if such a fate were to befall his home.

The captain eventually ordered them to prepare to disembark as the airship descended to the planet's surface. He braced for its landing, which wouldn't throw them quite as much as take-off, though he still took due diligence so he didn't have to treat himself for injuries before attending to those here and there who might have fallen from the sudden momentum shift. Not very useful to have a doctor on board who constantly has to treat himself on limited powers and resources.

Did he say that correct? We're going to leave something here? What should I leave, though...almost everything I brought with me, I or the crew needs it with us. Hang on...right, my necklace. I was tempted to use this to try to cover some of the deficit on my shopping list back on Vlana, though I didn't have time to make that move, either...might be the only thing I can afford to leave.

He started feeling a bit strange as he pulled it off, like something in the back of his mind was trying to urge him to leave it on. He pocketed it to have it ready to put down once they reached a good site on the planet surface, still feeling a sense of dread he couldn't pin down.

[OrkytheOrc]

Orky is on the ground making sure to clean up all the water when he notices Marcus approaching him. Orky thinks to himself, "Looks like it's time to have a conversation. This is the moment you've been preparing for Orky. All those sleepless nights preparing for conversation with someone will pay off!." Marcus approaches Orky and said something along the lines of helping and being a newbie. But Orky was to busy trying to think of the perfect thing to say to make him a friend. Orky didn't even notice Meili greeting him.

After a few awkward seconds of not saying anything Orky knew what say. He was going to the tell the joke about how the drunken orc manages fit a whole elf and human in his mouth, that always got him laughs back at his tribe. Before he could say his terrible joke, The Captain made the announcement of how they were ducking in 10 minutes. So he knew he had to go prepare.

Orky stood up, towering over most of the people of the ship, and said, "I have to go get ready," while also grabbing his mop and bucket. He then head down stairs to go put his armor on.

While in his room Orky remember the Captain said something about bringing something to leave. He thought a bit and looked at the talisman the shaman of his village gave him before he left. It was a crude stone with many bones, from all kinds of creatures, wrapped around with a string with the tribes name written on in Orcish. Orky said to himself,"This'll be pretty cool to being." So Orky grabbed the talisman, put on his Orcish armor from his raiding days, while grabbing his war hammer, then went up to the deck to join the others.

[catmint]

Marcus started to grow uncomfortable as the first few seconds of silence passed. Instead of a response, he was met with an intense stare as if the orc was deep in thought. Finally the awkward moment was cut off abruptly when the orc stood up and walked away, mumbling something Marcus couldn't make out over the rumbling engine. Marcus wasn't sure what to make of the encounter, deciding to laugh and shrug it off.

The male straightened up and went to the front of the deck as the Stone Turner pulled down to the planet. Holding onto the railing, he peered over the edge to try and make out what he could. Marcus was vaguely aware of the tradition for Trozzk, hearing other recruits discuss it, though he wasn't sure what he wanted to leave behind. The young man was nearly vibrating with excitement to get down to Trozzk. Besides double checking to make sure he had his revolver, Marcus was ready to descend with the rest of the crew.

[RoccanIronclad]

Vincent Ventri

---

---

Vincent looked out at the star as the captain spoke, he was a military man himself and knew how important tradition was to different crews, his own team had had a tradition as well, a sort of initiation of sorts that they all had to complete before they would be allowed to fly on a mission. Vincent looked back to the captain.

"Yes sir, not one to shirk tradition 'specially not so soon."

He smirked as he stood and stretched his back, it had been a few years since he had least flown but you would had never seen the rust. Vincent made his way on to the main deck in order to head down with the remaining recruits, the others had assembled there and were already waiting, Vincent threw on his flight jacket and sunglasses before getting all the way up.

"I hope I haven't missed the party."

[Dredigan]

As the crew is gathering on the deck Sir Gorchek is standing in front of them, half his body flat on the ground whilst th e other half is raised upright like a human. If you didn't know him you'd think he was a monster due to his centipede like appearance and the large pincers on his face. Thankfully everybody on the ship has had some form of interaction with Gorchek and most of them know he's a really nice guy. On top of being the ship's quartermaster Gorchek is also like the resident dad. He watches over everybody and treats the crew like his own.

"Hello everyone and welcome to Trozzk!" He throws up 20 or so arms, the giant star burning in the distance behind him. "I know you're all really excited to get down there but there's some stuff we need to cover first! Safety and all... Hello Vincent thank you for joining us!"

Gorchek leans his body grotesquely over the railing of the ship. "If you'll all look down you will see our landing zone. Trozzk is pretty barren for the most part, not much lives here, but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous! If you wander off too far, you'll die." Gorchek now points four of his arms toward the back of the ship. "The Stone-Turner processes Drinnium fast enough that, by burning through about a thousand pounds an hour we can produce a limited atmosphere! You'll be able to breathe and move around just fine as long as you're within a mile of the Ship. Now keep that in mind because I can't bear another funeral this year!"

Gorchek turns back to the crowd and begins to take a head count. "Alright... Looks like we're all here! We'll be keeping the Stone-Turner in air while in Trozzk, that way it can better provide the oxygen we need to a larger area. So everybody get to a shuttle! Shuttle one is going to be... Virum, Lanestol, Orky, Artemis, Meili, Marcus, and myself. Vincent, would you care to be our pilot?"

[RoccanIronclad]

Vincent Ventri

---

---

Vincent stood facing the very odd quartermaster, the first interactions the two had had were, less than pleasant, however the two had reconciled the differences once the idea of interplanar travel sunk in, the idea of so many other kinds of people in the multiverse was confounding but the promise of flying under the light of new stars was too enticing. Vincent stepped forward and gave a small salute, two fingers cross body pressed to the shoulder and a slight bow.

"Would be a pleasure."

Vincent had not spent a lot of time around the others as of yet, most of his time was spent undergoing the needed training that was required to pilot the stone-turner and its shuttles, the controls were entirely new and not very intuitive compared to the Blackwing fighters, he had contemplated talking with the captain about trying to accuire one the next time they flew through Razka, though it would behoove him to just learn to fly the ships they have, likely they were made that way for a reason.

[OrkytheOrc]

Orky was gathered up with everybody when he saw Vincent come down and make his flashy appearance. He couldn't help but let a little giggle out. Other than that he didnt know much about him other than him being a dark elf. Orky remembered raiding a dark elf tribe once, he doesn't like the memory so he decides to block it out.

Gorchek began to speak about the specifics of Trozzk. Most of it went in the ear and out the other, especially the science stuff. While Gorcheck was talking Orky remembered how he was very thankful to Gorcheck. He was thankful for how he let him on to the ship and taught him some civility in order to live with people other than orcs.

After Gorcheck finished speaking he made his way to Artemis and Meili to ask them a question he has been dying to know ever since he met them.

Orky makes his way over to them and blurts out, "So how come you guys are like 5 foot when all the Pixies I ever heard of they were like this small." He gives an example of it by making a gap between his index finger and thumb about six inches apart.

[Protoman]

Lanestol followed the shuttle group he was named to, containing Sir Gorcheck along with others he had seen either during his recent boarding or as they boarded the Stone-Turner. He took some comfort in Vincent taking on pilot duties as he had learned the drow elf was a pilot in his own right prior to joining. He took a seat in the shuttle headed for the planet's surface.

"Please do heed the atmosphere zone warning," he spoke up once they had boarded the vessel. "I haven't ever had to test my abilities on saving someone who was suffocating, freezing, depressurizing and irradiating at the same time. That's something I don't think anyone wants to know. That comes with the standard 'ounce of prevention' deal as well."

He took a seat amid the other passengers and pulled out the necklace he planned to leave on the planet's surface. He checked it out again, trying to deduce what was compelling him to keep it instead of leaving it as traditional tribute. He recalled being told it was an heirloom, though he could still justify leaving it. It would be something to identify him and mark proof of his pursuit of knowledge, especially pertaining to his home's epidemic. Everything else was consumable and necessary to help prolong their adventure, and for him, his time to search for a cure. He seemed entranced as he continued to stare into it.

Maybe it has some of the blight on it or in it and putting it down would leave it in open space to spread...or it's a ward to keep me from getting blight...except I've cleaned it and what else I have and I'm off that world, so that can't be it...

[catmint]

Marcus stood by the group, barely listening to what the captain had to say as he was looking him up and down. The centipede-like body may have repulsed others, but for Marcus he couldn't help but be fascinated. So he shamelessly gawked half the time, though it was not out of disgust.

Pulling loose strands of dark hair out of his eyes, Marcus scanned the group of shuttle one. None of them he had much interaction, and barely remembered anybody's name. Marcus had been quite the extrovert with many of the crew members, joking and sharing drinks. Yet there was still a distance between Marcus and the rest.

He pulled himself into the vessel, right behind the medic. He was grinning from ear to ear, as he took his seat. Though he did notice the medic staring creepily intensely at a trinket in his hand. "Hey fella," Marcus greeted, a slight drawl to his voice. "You leaving that here?"

[Dredigan]

Virum listens to Gorchek intently, picking apart every word mentally to ensure he followed directions to a T, no need to make a fool of himself on one his first landings. He followed Gorchek and the rest to the shuttle as the remainder of the crew splintered off into their units. As he passes Vincent he nudges his shoulder.

"Hey just remember to slow down before we hit the ground, eh?" He chuckles and keeps moving, obviously quite proud of his morbid quip. As he reaches the shuttle he gets inside and takes a seat, letting the other passengers go about their business in private. As he buckles in he reaches to his belt and slides out an ornamented dagger forged from a see-through material. He looks it over, turning it in his hand. He had never used it before and didn't even know how, but he thought it would be good to have some kind of protection. That being said he had decided to leave it behind. A representation of his dedication to a life of exploration and learning as opposed to violence.

[BizarreLolli]

Artemis

She looks up as Gorchek gives his speech, suddenly wondering if she wants to down there now with such a limited area to explore, hearing her name she looks up forgetting her worries as they're told to board the first shuttle; turning towards her sister grabbing her arm and squeezing in her excitement "Isn't this awesome? We are finally seeing other worlds." She pauses seeing Orky come towards them giving a small smile, unlike her sister she hasn't actually gotten to talk to him yet "Hey there Orky" upon hearing his question she smiles just holding out her hand. "We get to chose our size, but being small is tiresome and we can only do it for a short amount of time"

Meili

Staring around the room at everyone she wonders what they all could be thinking, turning her attention to Gorchek, her first friend on this ship, smiling as she pulls out a notebook jolting down the key words from his speech knowing how her sister going to get to excited once they touch down that she will have to remind her to be cautious. She sighs having her pen fall to the ground as her sister yanks on her arm, she rolls her eyes awkwardly picking up the pen about to lecture her sister when Orky comes over asking about their sizes. She laughs holding a finger to her lips for him to be quiet as pixie dust shimmers around her body, easily shifting her size to 5 inches and lands on her sister's hand.

[Dredigan]

The shuttle sticks around for about 5 minutes, giving everyone time to settle in and finish their conversations. After all it isn't a military vessel and there aren't any strict deployment codes. The ships don't all leave at the same time and by the time Vincent gets into the cockpit and Gorchek is ready there are two shuttles on their way down. The windows on the shuttle allow for a view of your descent. On the way down Gorchek is standing up, many hands positioned on the guard rails and other random fixed items in the shuttle to keep himself steady.

"Hope you're all as excited as I am! It's gonna be great, just don't get your head popped by the pressure as the doctor ordered!" He laughs, his pincers flexing in and out. As you near the ground and the shuttle slows Gorchek shakes. "Oooh! I've always hated this feeling, like being in a really fast moving elevator!" He spares a few extra hands to hold on. Before too long you reach the bottom and a whistling can be heard throughout the hold as a noisy exhaust port vents steam through the top of the ship. Eventually the gears stop cranking and the engine dies down, then the back of the shuttle drops open and hits the dirt below with a thud. "Go crazy kids!" Gorchek yells.