Wildtide

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

Thanks for all of the effort you put into this, it's a real shame it wasn't to be :(

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

Tide scooped up the books on the bench, and sat down in the newly cleared space, putting the books down on the floor in a neat stack. He watched Caelum as she prepped the ship for launch, her hands flitting over the controls with a practiced ease that suggested she knew what she was doing. Tide's new-found confidence was only slightly shaken when the ship started to emit some very strange noises, and began shaking and rattling. "Erm, is it supposed..." he began, before deciding that keeping quiet was probably a good idea right now.

The ship's controls seemed to be a strange combination of glowing touchscreens, and analogue dials and gauges that reminded him of the heavy lifters he'd piloted briefly back on Arkadia. He began to wonder if there was a chance he'd be able to fly this thing if the controls were similar enough, but then noticed that Caelum wasn't actually using any of the older controls, and the screens were displaying a strange and unreadable script. Probably not, then.

He relaxed slightly. The ship seemed to have quietened down now that the various systems had started up, and no longer felt like it was about to shake itself to pieces. Then it lurched. A metallic groaning sound echoed through the ship, and it creaked ominously as the craft began to push itself away from the surface. He gritted his teeth, and gripped the edges of the bench tightly with both hands as the ship accelerated. He could hear air rushing past outside - was that right? Should he be able to hear that? Maybe there was a breach in the hull or something... He closed his eyes, held his breath, and wondered how quick and painless the end would be if the ship did tear itself into a million pieces over Sycamore.

Then everything stopped. He opened his eyes, and stared to breathe again. Outside the ship, the mud and rain had gone, replaced by the deep silent serenity of space. Sycamore itself hung at the top of the viewscreen, vibrant and blue against a vivid black backdrop. He relaxed his grip on the bench, and watched Caelum calmly running her fingers across the touchscreens. What was that she'd asked him? Had he flown in one of these before? "No, not one of these. I've only ever flown in shuttles, and some heavy freighters. I've not had the pleasure of anything quite so... intense... as this before."

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

Tide's still on board. Sorry to hear about your grandfather Dipper.

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

Gotta admit, I'm finding conversations tricky with this form... Tide seems to keep starting conversations, and then just wandering off before hearing replies etc. I'll have to work out how to write in a style that's a bit less "back-n-forth" interactive (or I can imagine a single conversation taking about a month to finish).

PS. Stitches - feel free to develop a deep hatred of Tide; I was enjoying the "1000 ways to die" mental tirade :)

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

D'oh, I wrote my post before I saw yours... but I think it still works - Scott'll just have to be disappointed for a bit :)

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

Tide picked up his cards with a sigh, and dropped them onto the deck of cards in the middle of the crate. "Looks like we'll have to finish this another time," he said, "Our pilot seems keen to get going." Grabbing the straps of his pack in one hand, he stood up from the deck chair and walked over to the security door. Through the door, a ladder reached up into the rest of the ship. He swung his pack and threw it up through the hatch at the top, quickly following it up, climbing the metal rungs with practiced ease.

He made his way to the men's quarters, and poked his head through the open doorway. Erik was already laid on one of the bunks in the far corner, apparently asleep. Tide threw his pack onto the bunk closest to the door, and then ducked back out of the room, wanting to get a feel for the layout of the ship before they left. He worked his way forward, until he found himself outside the ship's bridge.

He stepped through into the bridge, which also apparently doubled as Caelum's living quarters. "Hey," he said, calling over to the harassed looking pilot. "Mind if I grab a seat in here until we're off world? Never did enjoy lying on a bunk while a ship's taking off."

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

I was just about to post, but I'll wait for any conversations around the card table (crate) to happen first :)

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

Tide stifled a look of amusement as Pascal took the cards from him, though he couldn't hide the look of dismay as he watched him expertly deal. It looked like there was at least one member of the crew he wouldn't be winning a pile of credits from on this trip.

He lifted one edge of his cards from the crate, glanced quickly at them, before laying them flat again. A mediocre hand at best, probably best not to push this one until he knew a bit more about the other men at the table. He turned to Pascal, straining to hear the quietly spoken man over the humming noise that seemed to be a feature of all ships.

"I'm from a complete crap-hole, out beyond the edge of space," he said, idly scratching his chin while trying to decide how badly he should play. He didn't want to give the impression he knew what he was doing; not until there was real money at stake, anyway. "A first gen mining colony it was, called Merlon's Halt. I never did find out why." Picking up his half empty cup, he leaned back in his chair and gulped down the remaining coffee. "Not a lifestyle I'd recommend, especially when you're not on the company payroll so you can't afford to get out."

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

Tide stayed quiet, enjoying his breakfast leaning against one of the heavy struts that supported the cargo ramp, watching the latest arrival with interest. He finished his sandwich, and then picked up his coffee from where he'd balanced it on a railing, just in time to nearly have it knocked out of his hand by Scott. "Whoa, easy fella!" he exclaimed, snatching his cup out of the way. Sipping steaming hot coffee, he made his way up the ramp and into the cargo bay, keeping an eye on Scott, who seemed determined to start a fight with half the crew within minutes of arriving.

He glanced around the large, almost empty room. There was no cargo to speak of, other than three small crates in one corner, so it looked like this wasn't going to be a delivery mission. That had to be a good thing - no cargo meant there shouldn't be anyone trying to take if off them as soon as they broke orbit. Hidden away in the corner near the crates, he noticed a stack of deck chairs. He made his way over, set his coffee down on one of the crates, dropped his pack onto the floor, and pulled out a chair. He kicked it open, set it down in the corner where it faced out into the cargo bay, and sat down to drink his coffee.

Sitting there watching the crew, Tide's eye was caught by the silent, brooding figure of Pascal Souchon. While the rest of the crew were getting along in their own way, this man seemed distracted and distant. On some shelving behind the crates were a few games, including some packs of cards. He took one of the packs from a shelf, and cracked it open. "Hey, Pascal," he shouted across the room, holding up the cards, "Don't suppose you know any good games do you?"

He leant back in his hair, sipping his coffee and watching the crew. He wasn't entirely convinced there wasn't about to be bloodshed, and he wanted to be ready if there was. Possibly ready to get the hell out of there if the psyches were involved... but ready none-the-less.

[High Casual] Frontier: The Great Space Rebellion

McHaggis said
Also jobs in IT sound like heaven.

I work as a software dev... gets kinda dull sometimes, but there are definitely worse jobs in the world :)