OOC: This is the collab post between me and
@SilverPaw---
Loria was minding her own business during the mostly silent trek, which was only occasionally interrupted by glances in her direction and what she assumed was some senseless gossip about her, when she was approached and greeted by one of the Rangers. Surprised, she looked him over, but other than the fact that he was a tall thin male, she couldn’t determine any other of his features, cloaked and hooded as he was.
“Well met, Renin,” she had been aiming for polite, but thought it might have come across as too formal, so continued a bit more casually “I’m Loria. Did you volunteer too?”
Loria's demeanor was measured, with none of the aggression or rough tones one might expect from a convict. Perhaps she hadn't even done anything particularly violent to get locked away, though it was hard for Renin to imagine what that might be. The other rangers gave him a bit of distance as he stepped alongside Loria to speak with her, and some of their mutterings were now about him as well. He hardly cared--after today, it was entirely possible that he would never see any of them again.
"That I did, though I confess it was not out of any sense of duty or sacrifice. In truth, it is my wish to leave this world. I would ask if your reasons are the same, but.... the question seems rhetorical. I'd rather know: Why do you think the Keepers have selected you for the mission? I apologize if I seem direct, but given where we'll be going and what we'll be doing together, we'll need to become quite highly acquainted, I think."
Curious about the strange Ranger – though they were now technically acquaintances, Loria reminded herself – being so polite, if inquisitive, she chose to answer in kind. “I do want to leave, yes. As for the selection,” she gave a small shrug “They just accepted when I volunteered. I doubt there are many who want to leave the safety of the mountain communities.”
After a brief pause, Loria gave the male a small but polite smile and added slightly sarcastically “I also like to think I ingratiated myself enough to the community where they no longer suspect me of intending foul play.” Loria hoped she hadn’t revealed too much about herself, but then again if Renin hadn’t been intimidated by her being a prisoner, he probably didn’t care that much for her crime.
The line about ingratiating herself was interesting. Did prisoners go out to perform supervised community service in Jul'ritarzi? Renin did not live in this region of the mountains himself, and he was not sure if this practice existed even in his home range.... he'd spent too much time outside its walls to fully familiarize himself with its customs.
"To walk the Path of the Void is a great honor.... You must have been a model prisoner indeed," Renin replied, matching her sarcasm in turn. While it could be considered a great honor to go off into the stars, just as often, it was actually a discreet to way to rid society of its undesirables, as he and Loria themselves demonstrated. If one managed to actually return, that was a different story. "I trust you. I imagine we will have little cause to betray each other once we're in space, given that any one of us may hold the lives of the others in his or her hands, at one time or another. That, and if there is foul play, well. On a voidcraft, there is nowhere to run afterwards."
Once again Renin's tone was not threatening, simply blunt.
"Any body able and willing is a boon to such an undertaking, but I would imagine you have some set of skills or another that will be of use to the mission?"
Loria smirked at Renin's sarcasm and although bemused when he professed his supposed trust in her and warned her in the same breath, the way he worded the warning started a chuckle out of her. "Nowhere to run, that's for sure," she smiled wryly. "But I agree - I think we'll get along."
Loria had a feeling that his last question had most likely been Renin's true purpose in talking to her. But that was only understandable. The mission depended on the capabilities of the involved people. "I can combat fairly well, though probably not as much as a Ranger," she indicated him. "I also have some basic knowledge in other skills. Foraging, cooking, repairing...Those might come in handy." She gave him a brief look. "And while we're on this topic, why don't you share some of your experiences?"
"You can operate and aim a rifle, then? Good, though with any luck, we'll have no need for that particular skillset. But if we do, it'll be nice to have someone who can do it besides just myself. Cooking will be most important to have when we're out there eating freeze-dried rations three times a day.... I imagine our crewmates will get past your history right quick if you can break up that monotony for them," Renin said. The faint smile was probably not visible, but it came through in his voice all the same.
"As for me, well, as you've already alluded. If we need something dead, I'll shoot it. We're not primarily a combat expedition, though. I hope to use our weapons for hunting if we can find edible fauna, and nothing more. If we encounters any serious threats, retreat should be the first course of action, and confrontation the last. In that respect, the void will be the same as the wastes. I've returned from them as many times as I have because I have these," he said, gesturing to his long legs. "More so than because of my prowess with a weapon."
"A rifle...Maybe not so much that," she showed him the knife and dagger she carried. "But you're right. We have to worry about finding a hospitable planet first and foremost." Loria nodded politely at the rest of what Renin said. She was glad that there would be at least one crewmate who didn't care about her history, but she wasn't about to admit to Renin that she enjoyed his company anymore than she already had. "I can see how being a swift runner is an advantage in your line of work," she commented but also thought that was one of those things good to keep in mind.
"Close quarters, eh?"
Renin imagined prison had its fair share of scrapes and brawls.
"That's good, we'll complement each other then."
The ranger had little else to say, having already spoken more to Loria in this brief exchange than he had to anyone else combined so far today. Though he would not say that he trusted her already, his intuition told him that he had met a kindred spirit, and he did trust his intuition. A couple of other rangers branched off from their group to look for the biologist while they continued the trek to the mountain's summit, heading for the Hall of the Void, where Renin presumed they would meet their other crewmembers and perhaps even the voidcraft itself (he did not know where it was kept or where it would launch from).
Around them, the townspeople of the Jul'ritarzi settlement went about their business, heedless of the group. Just a few rangers transporting a prisoner for some reason or another, likely to trial, best as the average man would guess--if he even bothered to spare the group a glance. Most didn't, having some craft or task to focus on instead. Renin spied more than one junkshop where greased men in overalls and masks tinkered with scrap hauled in from the waste, but few foodstalls or taverns. In his home community, the last saloon had been boarded up years ago, the food supply simply having grown too tight for such luxuries. It seemed that Jul'ritarzi was no different. At a couple of street corners, haggard figures begged, looking malnourished and too-thin. Renin tossed a piece of dried fruit to one of them as he passed, assuming he had no further need for it himself.
Even if they found somewhere new to settle, what would be left when they came back?
