EliteCommander

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

If she were to be completely practical about it, Kareet would reason that J’eon should be the first one inside in case of any potential dangers. Shirik was the more interesting of her two companions to her, and if this new Tekeri was a Life mage, as he claimed, then his skillset would be more useful to them than a second Heat mage. Regardless, Kareet would not say any of this aloud. She would rather just get inside as soon as she could, so having the Tekeri go in first was sufficient.

Kareet was not entirely sure if she could trust the new arrival. If he was coming from the north, that meant he was coming from Mythadia. The nearest village in their lands was farther away than Ertiseda, though she also recognized that a Tekeri would be able to cover that distance faster than she had with Shirik and J’eon in tow. If he was a Life mage, his justification did make sense, but Kareet would be cautious regardless.

It was an easy climb up to the breach, after which Kareet stepped inside just after the other Tekeri. Somehow, as she could see on approach, it was quite bright inside. Her eyes would take some time to adjust, but what she could see was something entirely alien to her. The room that the breach led into was huge and made almost entirely from metal. Perhaps that should not have been surprising, looking at it from the outside, but she could still hardly imagine the craftsmanship required to create something like this. Just the materials alone would cost more to build than all of Arcaeda, and that was not even considering the skill required to make it. Ignoring damaged sections, the walls and floor were so…precise. Every metal panel fit so precisely with every other that it was hard to tell where the separations were. Kareet had seen that kind of precision before, but never on such a scale.

Unfortunately, it was hard to see some of the details with how cluttered the room was. There was debris everywhere. It seemed like the crash had thrown and scattered about anything that had been in the room. Some of it was metal debris, probably from the damaged wall, but most of it was just objects that had been thrown around, hardly any of which she could actually identify, aside from broken glass. Though, she could only guess at what they might have been before they were broken. Just at a glance, some of the objects looked like they could have been tools, but she could only guess at their purpose. This might have been a storage room of some sort, given the number of boxes and crates scattered around. Even the crates themselves were metal, or…maybe not. Upon closer inspection of one of the crates, she found it was made of something solid and smooth, yet clearly not metallic.

Of course, what drew Kareet’s eye most readily was what looked, to her, like a suit of armor. If it was, then it was the most intricate and robustly crafted armor she had ever seen. However, she could not imagine how any being could actually wear it, purely for its size and weight. It was the height of a S’tor, but it was too massive for even a S’tor to move in. Not to mention, its shape was entirely wrong for their anatomy. A particularly large Tekeri could potentially fit inside, but again, the shape was wrong for them. An Iriad would have the right shape, but it was far, far too large for any of their kind. The sheer physical might required for one to don this armor actually made her worried to meet whatever sort of being it was that had built this machine.

Kareet had not heard the whisper, but eventually, her eyes adjusted to the light enough to see the movement off to her left. She turned to see a being. Something new, something she did not have a word for. She could see hairless skin, except on top of the head, and strange clothing. It held something she did not recognize. It was also much…smaller than her mind had imagined.

There were many things that Kareet could, or perhaps should have done first, but when faced with something like this, she simply could not help herself. Her first reaction was to flip to a new page in her notebook to sketch what she saw.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Kareet immediately seemed to go on guard as soon as they were approached. It was a Tekeri man. Her first thought was that he might be a local villager, but the accent was not right, nor did his feathers bear any of the expected tribal markings. He was more likely a traveler of some variety. The closest road was in the same direction they had come from, though as she had indicated to the others, it was not surprising to her that a Tekeri would be able to outpace their group. More pertinent than where he had come from, though, was why he was here? The average peasant would not go chasing down a fireball from the sky. Even without considering the potential risks of the object that crashed, travel itself was dangerous. There were few types of people who would feel comfortable traveling alone, so Kareet could reason that he was either not alone, or was something more than average.

“We are far from the road. Where did you come from?” Kareet asked. She was not going to show any aggression unprovoked, but she would be cautious. Still, she could not tear her attention away from this machine for too long. Something so exceptional and unusual, she would not waste a moment in studying it. Who knew how long she would have to make these notes? She could imagine many ways she might be interrupted. For now, she started to walk around the outside while observing and making her sketches.

Kareet was cautious while moving around to the opposite side, downhill from the crash. The fires were gone, but there was still an abundance of metal debris scattered across the landscape. Tekeri did have tough feet, but she still did not want to invite any injuries this far from town. There was plenty of surface damage all across the machine, but one scar in particular could possibly be useful to them. There was a large hole, like a gash that had been violently cut across the metal, which had been blocked by fire before Shirik arrived. Her first thought was that it might have been damaged by the impact, but it did not look quite right for that. The jagged edges of the metal looked more like it had been torn apart by something. Regardless, it would not be difficult to climb up to, and it looked big enough to fit through. “I think I see a way in over here!” Kareet shouted.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

“Well, in all fairness, I am still dead.” Meesei chuckled for a moment. “My home is the Hunting Grounds now. I suppose I just did not want to leave you worrying about my soul. After all we have accomplished, all of my service to him, Hircine has been willing to grant me his favor. The beast spirit in you connects you to his realm and can let him visit your dreams. I have been…allowed to do the same through his power.”

Meesei leaned back, supporting herself on her hands as she looked up to the sky. “I will miss this world. I will miss all of you. But, I do not regret anything. It had to be done, for all of you to have a chance at the lives you deserve. I spent most of my life leading us through a time of war. You will be responsible for ruling through a time of peace.” Tilting her head, she smiled. She had ample reasons to join Fendros in tears, but she did not seem intent on dwelling on what was lost. “Between you and me, I think I had it easier. You will have to deal with all of the politics without the war there to unite you. You have my sympathies.”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

“So much for stealth…” Kareet muttered once she and J’eon had crested the hill to see Shirik extinguishing flames very much out in the open. Regardless, the sight of this…machine pulled her attention away from anything else rather swiftly and completely. She had been speculating on what she had seen since the moment they left Ertiseda, but this…this defied anything she could have expected. Its size was unbelievable, its design entirely unrecognizable, and its source was even more mysterious. “This doesn’t look like anything from any place I am familiar with. Where could it have come from? Another continent, maybe, but…who could have built it? The kind of industry required, and the metalworking…it is in amazingly good condition for having fallen from the sky, I think. We…we need to be careful. Whoever created built this has considerable power, and we know nothing about them. We do not know if anyone aboard is dangerous, if they are still alive.”

Again, there was a pause from Kareet as she fell back into her own thoughts. She was, of course, greatly interested in the machine itself. Whatever it was, it represented a wealth of new discoveries. However, she was also just as interested in its creators. Looking at this thing now, she genuinely believed that no nation she knew of on Kanth-Aremek could possibly have created it. This was, at the very least, from someone beyond the continent. If there were still any alive on board, it would be perhaps of even more benefit to her to learn from them. Of course, as she had said to J’eon, she knew nothing about them. It could be dangerous to approach them, but she could not simply ignore this. The potential gain was too great. Given the severity of the crash, she could imagine that those on board would be in need of help. They could be in need of supplies, a guide, or of medical aid. Providing such aid could potentially ingratiate them with these outsiders, and make it more likely that she would be able to learn what she wanted from them.

“But…if there is anyone alive, they might be in desperate need of help. We should still try to do what we can, just…be careful.” Kareet added.

---

It took about twenty minutes for Kareet and J’eon to make their way down from their spot on the mountainside to the crash site. As she approached, Kareet already had her notebook in hand, furiously sketching everything in sight. At the very least, Shirik had made sure it was safe to approach. She did not stop for a moment, even after they rejoined Shirik. “We should look for some way inside. If there is anyone remaining, they could need our help.”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

While Kareet might have disliked climbing, traveling with the others was illuminating on exactly how much easier it was for Tekeri. Their strength coupled with their lightweight bodies made navigating uneven or steep terrain comparatively effortless. Watching her companions, though, they just felt…heavy, with every step they took. On flat ground, Glen could easily move faster than any of the other species, either in a sprint or over time. Back when they were fighting Kolodon, one of the major advantages they held was with how well their armies could outmaneuver the S’tor. Up here in the mountains, though, Kareet had to avoid letting on to any irritation on how much they were slowing her down. They could still be useful. It had been a while since she had seen signs of the fires that the impact had certainly sparked, but that did not mean she would not need a heat mage.

“I am not so sure about that.” Kareet remarked. They had stopped momentarily in a clear space of relatively flat ground on a mountainside. Another rest. She stood atop a nearby boulder so she could observe the area from the highest point in the vicinity; granted, visibility was rather good regardless. This part of the mountain was not forested, so it had a clear view of the valley below them. There was no sign of the impact on this side of the mountain, but with how far they had traveled, they had to be getting close. By Kareet’s estimation, the impact site would likely be on the other side of either this mountain range, or the next beyond it. “Ertiseda is the closest settlement to here. I don’t think anyone else from that village would take the risk to come out here. Though, I’ll admit, a purely Tekeri group could easily outpace us. There could also be some small Tekeri tribes up in these mountains, but I doubt they would pose any threat to us.”

After a moment, Kareet tilted her head towards Shirik. “Still, I agree with your conclusion. If possible, we should observe from stealth when we find it. Best gather as much information as possible before making any decisions. Perhaps you should stay back and allow me to do so? You are…” She paused, giving a look up and down Shirik’s smoldering body. “…luminous.”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Kareet, for a moment, looked out over the horizon, though the mountains around them were limiting to her view. Now that the fireball had reached the ground, the darkness of night had settled back over the land. Although, even from where they were, a faint orange glow seemed to be visible from behind the mountain. Either the object itself was still ablaze, or it had sparked a forest fire. Either way, a heat mage would be useful to her. Fortunately, Shirik had already expressed their desire to investigate this event as well. For now, it seemed they would be sticking together.

“That was not a mere fireball, it was…artificial. A foreign weapon…or some other machine? But who would be able to create a thing of such size?” Kareet muttered, mostly to herself. “We must hurry. Who knows what those fires may be destroying? There is no point in wasting time here.” She remarked. Admittedly, if this object was truly in danger from the flames, it would be wishful thinking that they would be able to reach it in time to do anything about it. Depending on where it fell, it could be a day or two before they even reached it. Nevertheless, Kareet was intent on setting out immediately.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

<Snipped quote by Catharyn>

Thanks! I would just like to wait a bit so that my character comes in about a day or two after the crash, if that's alright?

@Ranvena

If that is how you want to do it, that is fine.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Hi all! Tossing my hat in for the ship’s crew, let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Dr. Ibarra

Name: Dr. Itxaro Ibarra

Species: Human

Age: 35

Appearance: Dr. Ibarra stands at 6'1 and weighs 165 pounds; tall for a woman, but not unusual in the 23rd century. Itxaro begrudgingly exercises, the motto "A corpo worked out today, did you?" still burned into her brain from primary school. As such, she is in good shape, but by no means an amazing athlete. Itxaro's left arm and shoulder are noticeably more toned than the other from lugging around the weighty prosthetic; which begins at a stump just after the elbow. Her hair, which had been going prematurely grey at 25, has since been dyed a muted white. Dr. Ibarra's wardrobe is decidedly less college professor, more college student, a mixture of loose casual clothes and form-fitting athletic wear. However, when on duty in the engineering bay, she wears the typical jumpsuit and ties her hair back to avoid getting caught in any machinery.

Augmentations: It can hardly be called an augmentation, but Itxaro's dominant hand and forearm have been replaced with a bionic metal prosthetic. Though significantly stronger than her organic limb, the replacement is heavier than modern, cutting-edge augments, and suffers from the occasional breakdown. These glitches can be easily resolved by Dr. Ibarra, which is part of why she keeps the older model. That, and being grafted with expensive prosthetics is something of a cultural faux-pas in the USASR.

Occupation: FTL Specialist

Key skills:

• Mechanical Savant: Dr. Ibarra is a titan in her field, one of the leading engineers in the entire USASR. Her knowledge of all things mechanical is vast and deep, and Itxaro is able to quickly pick up on abstract concepts she has never encountered, which is largely why she was chosen as the previous FTL specialist’s replacement. Itxaro specializes in theoretical FTL drives, and was pretty pissed when the Yenge blew up her spot with their vastly-superior tech. Dr. Ibarra thought she was damn close to a breakthrough. While she has spent much of her career as a researcher and designer, Itxaro is still comfortable wrenching on a ship's drive deep in a crawlspace or in an EVA suit. Still, she finds the entire field of engineering horribly boring.
• Medieval Enthusiast: While Dr. Ibarra is a genius when it comes to anything mechanical, her true passion is medieval European history, with a specific focus on how common peasants lived in their day-to-day life. In her spare time, Dr. Ibarra reads massive tomes on ancient blacksmithing techniques, cooking methods, architectural plans, and any other literature she is able to obtain from that distant time and place. Itxaro also joined a medieval European martial arts club in school, dueling with a variety of weapons, and even now occasionally competes in local amateur tournaments when her schedule allows. She placed 5th in the last one, and was pretty happy about it.
• Socialist Philosopher: Like all Cubans in the 23rd century, Dr. Ibarra is extremely knowledgeable concerning Marxian economics, eco-socialism, Ziotiomatian interplanetary class dynamics, Falcónist markets, and so on. This is a useful skill in space, right?

Personality:

Backstory: Dr. Itxaro Ibarra was born in Havana, Cuba, the heart of the 150-year old Union of South American Socialist Republics (USASR). The federal union was formed after the People's Republic of China capitulated to the United States in 2113 after a 30-year cold war between the two superpowers went hot. The proxy wars were largely fought in resource-rich Africa, with both countries redirecting most of their economies toward the conflicts; their allies made only a token contribution, instead opting to watch the superpowers burn themselves out. The war came to a conclusion after a brief but brutal direct confrontation between both countries in Alaska, followed by a decisive cyber-attack by the United States, which paralyzed the Chinese military and the country's infrastructure. China was balkanized into a variety of smaller puppet states controlled by corporations and European countries, while the US was forced to privatize most of its economy to private enterprise. The end of US hegemony gave way to the age of the megacorporation, which saw the hyper-exploitation of most of the global south. Cuba, one of the last countries without a megacorp presence, was able to back a series of revolutions over the next 30 years in South America to expunge the megacorporations, leading to the creation of the USASR.

Dr. Ibarra grew up in Cuba's countryside, the daughter of an agricultural worker and a philosophy professor, surrounded by siblings in their modest home. At a young age, it became apparent that Itxaro was a mechanical genius. Both of her mothers gently encouraged her to advance her education in engineering, but it was Itxaro who made the decision to study engineering at the Universidad de la Habana. While her interests lay practically anything else, Itxaro knew she was given a gift, and to instead spend her life writing awful poetry or studying picked-over ruins somewhere in Europe would be a total waste. She had the chance to help her country, and she took it without regret or hesitation.

Itxaro quickly became Dr. Ibarra, flying through university at a pace rarely seen. Itxaro chose to specialize in faster-than-light travel, the Holy Grail of technology, but also developed a deep familiarity with multiple ship systems, since an FTL drive would work in tandem with many. Since the 22nd century, Cuba had been a leading innovator in space travel, more out of necessity than anything since the tiny island nation was isolated from the corporate world and had few natural resources available; the only way for them to access the raw materials they needed was to go up. The USASR had established a variety of colonies throughout the solar system, but their ships were beginning to lag behind, so the government began subsidizing further breakthroughs in space travel. Dr. Ibarra left the university with a PhD in theoretical engineering and FTL physics, joining the USASR's robust space program.

Because so many of their space-faring resources are off-planet, Itxaro was immediately shipped to a shipyard hidden in Saturn's rings, far from prying corpo eyes. She spent the next several years with a team of engineers, scientists, and pilots testing, testing, and failing. It seemed like there was a missing piece to the puzzle, but the collective wisdom of the human race couldn't find it. Dr. Ibarra advanced to the head of the team, and after what seemed like a lifetime in cold space, they were on the verge of a breakthrough. The moment of truth was cut short when breaching pods shattered the thin skin of their habitat, sending in squad after squad of corporate mercenaries who grabbed whatever crew they could and executed those they couldn't. Dr. Ibarra and a few others managed to reach an escape shuttle, but the mercenaries had rigged the shipyard to blow; just before they cleared the blast zone, Itxaro's former home exploded, disabling their shuttle with shrapnel and sending it hurtling into deep space.

Dr. Ibarra spent the next countless days clutching her crudely bandaged bloody stump of an arm, watching helplessly as her friends slowly succumbed to similar wounds. They didn't send out a distress signal until a week had passed, knowing the mercenaries would come to finish them off. By then the shuttle had traveled so far that it took the nearest USASR patrol ship another three days to recover them. Out of the nine survivors, just two had survived.

After recovering, Dr. Ibarra returned to Havanna just in time to learn that their efforts were wasted; a spacefaring species called the Yenge had beaten them to it, crashing into their solar system and promising to share their secret of faster-than-light travel in exchange for a safe harbor. Somewhat disillusioned, but not dissuaded, Dr. Ibarra returned to the Universidad de la Habana as a professor now, sharing her successes and failures with the next batch of scientists, as well as researching whatever scraps of Yenge technology the USASR's spy network could gather.

Just as Dr. Ibarra became content with her position, she was contacted by an agent of the USASR's space program; a corporation, Tamerlane, had fused Yenge and human tech to create the first drive capable of faster-than-light travel. The previous FTL specialist had vanished, either picked up by a competing corporation or disappeared of their own accord to sell the secrets, and Tamerlane was desperate to fill the FTL specialist slot before their deadline. So desperate that they were willing to accept a USASR citizen.

@Regime Goon

I could see how things could be interesting for this character, landing in a place like Kanth-Aremek. I wonder how her background with Medieval history might shape her expectations of the natives?

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Kareet could have possibly believed this was some form of magic, until it started drawing closer. It started to slow noticeably as it drew nearer to the mountains, and the flames dimmed, at least slightly. It was still bright, but a Tekeri’s eyes could just make out…something within. Something more than flame, and it did not look to be stone either. Though, she had few guesses on what this could be, aside from a new mystery.

The fireball disappeared behind the mountains to the northeast. While it had been in the sky, the night had lit up almost like day, though darkness fell once again as soon as it went out of sight. Among the townsfolk, shock had seemingly kept a blanket of silence over the town around them for a few, brief moments. Once it seemed to become clear that the fireball was not going to bring an imminent death, though, that silence broke quickly. Everything from awe and amazement, to fear, to relief, could be heard in the chattering of the villagers around them. Kareet heard them talk of everything from magic to divine omens, but she did not concern herself with the speculations of the peasants, nor was she going to make baseless claims of her own. There would be only one way to find the truth here.

Kareet gave a quick look over to Shirik. She felt sure that had been no product of Heat magic. It was something solid, even if it had been covered in flames. Prior to this moment, she would have felt that there would have been little that could pry her away from her investigation into the strange Iriad…but it seemed she had just found it. Whatever this was, it was most certainly a mystery more interesting than anything Shirik could offer. She did not even want to waste time talking or speculating; depending on exactly where and across what terrain it had come down, it could take a day or two in order to make the hike out to it. She hoped it would not be that far. “The coin was sufficient, yes? If there is nothing more that anyone needs of me, I will be going. Whatever that thing was, I must reach it.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

“How? Did you really think a mage like me would be so…limited, even in death?” Meesei responded, lightly smiling. Though, her expression took on a bit more of a serious appearance after a moment. “Or perhaps you are wondering how I have continued to exist at all, given what I…learned before from the Psijics. What I did that night, on the eve of the battle, did strengthen my soul, as I had hoped.” She explained, though it might have been a strange statement to Fendros. Despite all of the work they had done to try to solve Meesei’s problem, they had not settled on any approach that they believed would work. At least, that was what she and Sabine had told the rest of the pack.

Pausing a moment, Meesei found a clear spot in the soft grass nearby to take a seat. “I suppose it might be true to say that I am not Meesei. But I am not…not her, either. Being there in the Hunting grounds, with my unique soul, gave me a unique option. In simple terms, I was able to merge my own soul with that of my beast spirit. Not just to connect them, like with the average lycan, but to make both of them one. Honestly, I am surprised that it agreed; I could not force it upon it. Once it was done both of them became me. I have the memories of both lives.”