<a class="proll" href="https://shop.Writing.Com/main/campfires/item_id/1746677-Journey-for-Truth">Journey for Truth

Necrea was a small planet. It was mostly water with a large island along with several smaller islands that made up its’ only land to dot the purple surface of the ocean. Because of its’ size, the ominous shadow of the recruiter ship made an obvious presence in the sky. Most of the residents eyed the ship warily. Necreans were a peaceful race, while they’d defend their planet if attacked, they didn’t seek out any conflict that was wasn’t theirs. It would just be matter of time before the Council gave the order to again repel the invaders of their peace.
The Council was currently meeting and discussing just that. They already knew that the recruiter wouldn’t be allowed to land; it was simply a matter of what message to send with the request to leave in hopes that they will get the hint and stay away.
“I move to allow the recruiters to land.” The Elders that made up the Council turned toward the doorway to see who had spoken. There stood a small, young woman. She was about 20 tree-cycles old and had chestnut hair that tumbled in waves over her shoulders. Her hazel eyes shone with deeply restrained passion.
“How did you find out about this meeting?” Most meetings were public knowledge to the older Necreans, but none of the younglings, or Necreans who hadn’t passed into adulthood, weren’t informed.
“Keela told me.” As her name was mentioned, a sleek, athletic cat appeared into view and sat down by the girl’s feet.
“You’re Emerald Birch.” Emerald inclined her head in a slight nod. “And Keela is your companion.” Another nod. “Why did you come here today?”
“A dove told me in a dream.” On other planets, this statement might hint that the speaker wasn’t entirely sane. To the Necreans, a dove in a dream was a message to be listened to.
“Have you had your Journey yet?” The Journey was the rite of passage that all young Necreans went through in order to be considered an adult. It was tailored for the youth, a journey of self-discovery. “Is this to be it?”
“I was told to go with the recruiters.” The Council looked at each other, there was no arguing with a dove. A new Elders, this one a man, was the one to speak next.
“Then go home and pack. Because of the dove, we will let them land so you may board. If Keela wishes to go with you then we won’t stop her, but no one else.”
“Thank you, Council.” She bowed respectfully.
“Good luck on your Journey, youngling Emerald. Take care and return to us with new stories to share.” The Head Elder concluded with a smile. Turning, Emerald and Keela disappeared from the doorway as they started for home.

Her booted feet pounded out a steady rhythm as she ran along the main road of the island. She’d grown up among these trees, playing with her friends beneath the lush, green canopy that covered nearly the whole of the lands of Necrea, racing over the black sand of the beaches and swimming amongst the purple waves. Now she would soon be leaving it all behind to visit worlds that Necreans only dreamed about.
Her home, like most of the residents, sat in the upper limbs of a tree, hers being a mottled brown Creel. The tree’s large green leaves turned a rosy pink during the winter months, making it one of the most picturesque sights on the whole island. A Creel tree only grew on Necrea as well.
“Can you believe it, Keela? I’m leaving.” There wasn’t a ladder, but Emerald easily scaled the smooth trunk with bare hands and her spiked boots. The pantherlike cat soon joined her, curling up on the floor to wait. She didn’t have many belongings to pack, mostly clothes and a few herbs useful for healing. She added a Creel leaf from last winter and several potted flowers. What she left would be planted into the soil around the tree. As she was about to close the last bag, Keela added her sleeping pad. Emerald smiled. “Shall we go?” With a nod of her majestic black head, Keela led the way to the docks.

Once the ship had landed, the Captain and a few others walked off it to meet the Council of Elders. He opened his mouth to explain his presence on the planet, but closed it when the Head Elder raised her hand.
“Wait.” With a sigh, he turned to see what the Council was looking at. The Captain blinked in surprise what he saw someone top the hill. It was a little slip of a girl walking towards them. Her companion surprised him the most; the large cat’s head was level with the girl’s hip!

((The Captain is the captain of the recruiter ship, after he recruits the people he doesn't have anything to do with them. We do need a captain of our ship))

A Non-Existent User

Name: Renge(Most know him as Raymond, those close to him call him Ray) De’Ve Wilder (De’Ve is the last name of the family that had taught Renge to live in a more “modern” environment

Age: 21

Appearance: Renge’s Pitch black hair falls to the base of his neck. His hair is very wild but almost looks like he did it that way on purpose( he doesn’t) His hair is long enough that his hair just barely stays out of his dark green eyes. Renge overall has a very wild dangerous aura about him. Even in a suit with hair combed back and mirrored glasses on his face. Its easy to sense this man is a predator, unless of course hes hunting you or someone near you or your one of the select few people who respects and trusts immensely ( this is no simple task). Renge despite the enormous strength he possesses doesn’t look like a body builder, he has a very lean muscular build. His skin is lightly tanned, and he stands just below six feet at about 5’11.

Typical Dress: When on the ship Renge typically wears loose board/cargo shorts and sometimes a shirt. Though when he does wear a shirt if it has buttons or a zipper its more often then not unzipped and in the case of buttons if not completely unbuttoned then one button in the very middle will be buttoned. This is not to show off his tattoos(tribal one big on on his back that reaches around to his ribs, on on his left arm resembles a tribal cross, and a tribal paw print over his heart with the designs making some sort of animal resembling a wolf) or scars. This is just because by nature he is not a big fan of clothes. Though for the most part when not on the ship he wears either, a suit, a tight button up shirt and snug pants, or on rare non business occasions, a mix of snug pants/loose shorts and a half undone shirt or all the way undone jacket(without the shirt of his choosing)

Home Planet: Fhurey

Abilities: Heightened physical abilities (All of them), He has the abilitie to make most people and animals submit with an overpowering look, and for the most part can understand animals and vise versa( not talk to them but there is a mutual understanding on what the other wants or needs going on, through the strange way animals communicate that we’ll never fully understand as people.

Job(s) on ship: Negotiator, Scout, Guide/Guardian

Lifestyle quote: “I only respect strength, But true strength comes from within.”
******************************************************************************

Renge was the first to step off of the recruiters ship immediately followed by the captain and several others who Renge had no interest in, they were not a threat, and they were not honorable people and thus Renge didn’t trust them. They didn’t care about any of the people on the ship, nor did they care about the people they recruited or the planets they recruited form. All they cared about was the number of people they could persuade to add to their commission. Though these men and woman were very convincing and had fooled the captain and many of the members of the ship next to nothing escaped Renge’s notice. Underhanded Recruiters included. Renge’s eyes were the first to adjust to the small island before him. He did not cringe at the glare of sunlight off the crystal clear water all around so he was the only one to notice the young woman accompanied by some four legged creature disappear at a sprint over a nearby hill. Renge mentally prepared himself for the possibility of an attack. Though from what he could see and hear, there was no cause for alarm just yet. From just a quick visual sweep of the island Renge could see that these people loved and cared for the land and in return it provided for them as well. It was a paradise, and from the tiny footprints spread across the beach Renge could see the people were thriving as well.
“Captain I don’t want to stay here too long, these people aren’t accustom to strangers, and I can guarantee they wont want us hanging around for long. To be honest I’ve been places like this before and I’ve never seen them welcome strangers under these circumstances before.” Renge said in a hushed tone so only the Captain could hear him.
“Alright Mr. Wilder I trust your judgment but we owe it to these people to at least inform them of the threat of the Defiers, and give those who want to make a difference a chance to do so.” Renge answered with a silent nod and the small group headed towards the council members assembled a few yards away. These people most certainly meant no harm but judging by their posture and body language most were less than pleased to find strangers on their island. A little more relaxed Renge allowed himself to take in the scents of the island. It was soothing and helped to calm the beast within himself. He would been to be calm or he could easily spook the councilmembers ruining any chance of sitting down and speaking with the council. However it didn’t look like they wanted to do much talking anyway. When the group finally reached the council members it was the Capitan who spoke, or rather attempted to speak first was cut off by the only person from the island who hadn’t displayed any negative signals. The woman smiled upon the group but silenced the captain with a hand as the young woman Renge had noticed earlier made her way up the hill. Renge had noticed her but he could feel the subtle sense of surprise form the others. Standing next to the young woman was what Renge remembered to be a panther, however it didn’t seem to be any ordinary panther. Its eyes were much too wise to be that of an ordinary feline. Renge looked back to the woman who met his gaze and nodded a smile on her face, before her and the council silently slipped away unnoticed by the rest of the group. Renge understood without words what the woman wanted, and she somehow knew he understood.
“Where did the council go?!” One of the Recruiters exclaimed
“They were there a moment ago!” another shouted.
“Calm down, I’m sure this young lady can explain everything…” the Captain interrupted as the Young woman approached.

Name: Innocent

Appearance: Innocent's appearance is that of an Anthropomorphic Rat with long black hair that falls to her shoulders (She calls it head fur)

Typical Dress:She normally wears overalls and a yellow T shirt

Home Planet: Serkis

Species:Rat-Human Hybrid (She is very embarrassed about being a product of genetic engineering, she'd rather not talk about her origins)

Abilities: Rat like senses (Smell sight and hearing) Animal like strength and speed...She can't understand what normal non anthropomorphic rats say but she does feel a special bond with them, Because of her animal origins she also has a weakness, chocolate, she can't eat chocolate one bite would kill her and even smelling it makes her sick

Job on Ship: Cook

Lifestyle Quote: The secret to my success is...I don't over think

Innocent was in the kitchen making lunch for herself, she had declined to go with the recruiters because she was embarrassed by her rat like appearance
As she made herself a nice thick apricot soup (A delicacy to any half human hybrid) She wondered how it was she managed to fall in with this crew...Her memories were fuzzy...She only barely remembered her childhood in a research lab, being created in a test tube...Innocent shook her furry head

"Don't think about it Innocent!" She said "Remember your motto don't over think!"

She stirred the orange yellow soup and took a taste of it, it had that sweet apricot flavor mixed with milk and cream...she sighed

"I wonder why they called me Innocent?" She mused to herself "Am I really that innocent or am I just dense?"

Billmania

Name: Bixby Rall

Age: 30

Appearance: He has brown hair of shoulder length pulled back into a small ponytail. Emerald green eyes placed deep under his brow. A small line of a scar goes from his nose towards his left ear in a crescent shape under his eye. He is somewhat tall and slim for his race at 6 foot 5 inches but he is in excellent shape.
Typical Dress: He wears normal pants that tuck into boots that reach his knees. He wears dress shirts without pockets and a short snug fitting jacket that ends at the top of his pants. His clothes are always immaculate, tailored, and clean. People always make comments that he looks like a butler. All of the colors he wears are of a dark blue, black, or dark brown.

Home Planet: Oppelt

Abilities: He has the nature ability of physics and deductive reasoning. He seems to be able to predict how a situation will play out and be able to select the best option quickly. Because of his natural talent he is an expert at hand to hand combat; normally see the next few moves ahead. He has a very strong grasp of all things mathematical and views life a very logical way.

Job(s) on ship: Pilot, navigator, engineer

Lifestyle quote: “You look but you don’t see.”
****************

Bixby looked out the front viewfinder with a bored expression. Another world and more passengers, when would they finally be done? He thought. He turned and saw the other passengers as they milled about with nothing to do. The new passenger they just picked up had a panther with her. What a rabble.

He walked back towards his cabin with his hands clenched behind his back as he thought. He walked by the mess hall, saw a rat human enjoying a cup of soup, and continued down the hall. He started to map out all the worlds they had been to in his head hoping to find out where their ultimate destination would be but the options were as endless as space.

He enter his cabin and pulled out a book, vis screen and paper to continue his research into binary star clusters.

NAME: Steve

AGE: Unknown but estimated to be over 10,000 years.

APPEARANCE: Humanoid with pseudometallic skin that shimmers in colors of blue and green and purple (because of light diffraction off his skin, similar to certain insects on earth).

TYPICAL DRESS: None. Although he does wear a utility belt with pockets.

HOME PLANET: Unknown.

SPECIES: N/A. Steve is an engineered lifeform created by an advanced extraterrestrial civilization that is now extinct. Steve was discovered by archaeologists. At first it was thought he was a living being who evolved naturally, but then it was determined that he was a constructed being. After that determination he spent years being examined by scientific laboratories before finally winning his personal liberty through the legal system.

ABILITIES: A gigantic but quirky memory. Although he remembers millions of things, Steve also randomly forgets them. No one has ever figured out exactly why the extinct advanced civilization built Steve. Probably for purposes of their own that are unlikely to ever be known.

JOB ON SHIP: Steve is traveling as an observer and consultant. He has no regular duties but is always happy to help out.

LIFESTYLE QUOTE: Whatever can exist, does exist.

* * * * * * * * * *

Steve sat in his cabin with his eyes closed replaying the information he had collected so far about Bixby, Innocent, Renge, and Emerald. Wait a minute, was he forgetting a crew member?

He walked back out into the corridor and looked around.

After Innocent had finished her lunch she sat in her favorite chair, pulled out a magazine and began to read. Looking at the pictures of animals and people

"The crew has always treated me like the baby of the ship." She mused to herself "Because I'm 13 years old...But they don't understand I age differently because of my rat genes."

She heard Steve's footsteps in the hallway behind her. Innocent liked Steve he was a genetically engineered being like her...most people believed he was crossed with an insect.

Than she heard Steve's voice "Hey! Who left this giant sponge cake here?"

Innocent remembered the cake she had baked for Bixby as thanks for rescuing her all those years ago and Serkis.

"W--wait!" She said "Steve don't eat that cake!"

((OT: Please keep in mind folks that none of the characters have met all of the others yet, they may have seen each other around the ship and some of the longer recruited may have been introduced to the others but each character is their own, it's a bit like god-modding to have some characters know all about the others without having it sketched out here. None of them have met Emerald and shouldn't know too much about her, she's a private person and will keep to herself to begin with. If they know her name and some rumors that the others have made up about her based on her appearance that's okay. Just please keep this in mind. And we haven't gotten our ship yet so we won't all be clumped together right off. Any questions about plotlines check out the forum attached in the beginning, this should prevent confusion. Thanks, most of all, HAVE FUN!))

Emerald sighed inwardly as the council faded into the trees. Inconsiderate, but it made sense. If she were to truly start out on her Journey it was important for her every step to be on her own. When the Captain looked at her for an answer she was quiet for a moment, composing her thoughts for what she wanted to say.
"It was their choice to go." Her face was in it's properly schooled neutral expression, nervousness only visible in the deepest regions of color in her eyes. "I'm to go with you. My friend Keela," she reached down to rub her companion's head, making the feline purr. "Will be accompanying me."
"But we have yet to speak with them!" One of the strangers exclaimed.
"Unless a dove has spoken to you I wouldn't try to find them." All the recruiters looked confused by this so she turned to the man who seemed to be the leader. "Excuse me, but where do I go to join?" The Captain smiled down at the small, young woman, she reminded him of his youngest daughter.
"Come with me, Miss..."
"Birch, Emerald Birch." Emerald replied, taking his offered arm. The Captain glanced at one of the members of his group, signaling him to get the bags. Kella will go with my things" The panther stepped forward to give her hand a reassuring lick, a single wave seeming to pass through her coat and leaving it with a purplish hue that hadn't been there before. Emerald smiled at her friend before they walked off towards the ship.
~~~~~~~
Emerald eyed the interior of the ship with interest. There was so much going on, so many people who looked so different. Some people had scales or fur and others had extra limbs. There were also many different skin tones.
"Here's the medical wing. Doctor Frin will look you over to make sure you're healthy and take down your information, then we'll see about finding you some weapons and a ship." The Doctor, a woman with scaly skin of a dusty green, saw them and hurried over.
"Sir?"
"Yes, Miss Birch?"
"I don't fight, my people are peaceful." There was a hint of worry in her tone as she looked at him. He smiled reassuringly at her.
"Don't worry, my dear. They will find something for you to do." Emerald nodded before being bustled off to an examination room by the Doctor.
~~~~~~~
Once the two women were back amongst the other medical personnel Dr. Frin torn the topmost sheet off her clipboard and handed it to the younger woman. "Take this to the supplier, just follow the signs, and he'll get you outfitted with the things you'll need for your travels when you're assigned your ship."

Emerald honestly tried to follow the pointing of the signs. She made it through a few hallways and entered what she thought was the Store room but she wasn't sure, it'd been so long since she'd read Common letters that it was hard to tell. The door shut behind her, leaving her staring at a humid room filled with plants of all types, many she'd never seen before. She gasped at the beauty of it, filling her lungs with the heavenly mixture of scents of musty earth and many different flowers.

A Non-Existent User

*Sorry about the character change everyone i just feel like Ace would be a better fit than Renge for the story and the ship.*
Name: Alex Xaindros (Ace)

Age: 21

Appearance: Although Alex was in the military for a short time he now sports a somewhat messy chocolate brown fo-hawk he also has his ears gauged with two metal studs the purpose of the studs are more than for show they are an invention of his made to act in place of a pilots Hemet linking to most communication devices in the vicinity Alex’s eyes are a light green speckled with gold, his skin is lightly tanned and he stands at about 5’11 he is lean and somewhat muscular.

Typical Dress: . Underneath his extremely tough pilots jacket (black and green) Alex wears tight solid color shirts (usually black), around his neck hangs a necklace a memento of his father and around the necklace a ring(has to do with a promise he made a long time ago.) Alex’s pants are made from the same material and are the same color as his jacket, he has plenty of pockets for tools hidden in these pants and tucked into his black boots are not only his pants but also a large survival knife. On the ship Alex will probably be in coveralls, because there comfortable and when hes not maintaining the ship he’s inventing… sometimes his inventions explode, hence the coveralls.

Home Planet: Zelox

Species: Human

Abilities: Alex is the only known survivor of a complex ideal to infuse nanomites into a persons body. The nanomites, help Alex heal quickly, toughen his body, and a small number of other minor physical enhancements. Alex can also turn his blood into different metal shapes for example a missing nut or screw, if he wanted to die of blood loss maybe something bigger. As far as he knows he cannot consciously control anything the nanomites do for him other than what he can do from his blood.

Job on ship: Engineer/ he occasionally relives the ships pilot or co pilot

Lifestye quote: Its not impossible, I just haven’t found a way yet.

As Alex floated not only in and out of consciousness but suspended in a special pre operation liquid, his mind shifted between shadows of consciousness to memories from long ago. Floating there in the viscous liquid Alex could see his life flash before his eyes every time his consciousness lost the battle for dominance of his mind…
“You’ll come find me won’t you?” Words that have haunted Alex’s dreams for ten whole years, a promise that was made when he was eleven to a girl he hadn’t known long. One day Alex’s dad showed up with two of the most beautiful people Alex had ever seen. A woman about his father’s age with the brigtest blond hair Alex had ever seen it seemed to glow with an inner light, when Alex took a closer look at the woman it wasn’t just her hair that seemed to glow it was all of her. Even her skin gave off a faint glow. The woman’s electric blue eyes showed kindness and when the woman smiled her eyes brightened in a way that filled Alex with a calming warmth. When she spoke it left Alexs body with a tingling pressure all around his body like her words had become a fuzzy blanket and wrapped themselves around him.
“What a handsome young man you’ve become. You are going to grow up to be a most strapping young man. Alex can you give me your hand for a moment?” It was almost like Alexs body moved on its own Alex haddent even had time to register the question before his arm raised up palm raised twords the lady who gently look his hand in hers bending down to examine his palm. Alexs dad seemed to lean forward a hint of anxiety flashing across his features before disappearing and returning to the calm smiling face that seemed Alexs fathers only expression. When Alex’s attention returned to the woman there were tears streaming form her face but she was smiling bigger and brighter than she was before. Before the woman could say more Alexs father put a hand on the womans shoulder and shook his head. The woman nodded in understanding. “Alex I want you to meet my daughter Seraphine”
Standing there clutching the woman’s long blue dress was a girl no older than Alex. She looked a lot like her mother with the exception that the girls blue eyes were mixed with swilling silver. When Alex looked at the girl his little heart stopped, when he looked upon the girl she didn’t seem unreal like her mother had, to Alex there had never been anything more real. In his chest Alex felt a small tug towards the girl. She must have felt it too because the little girls cheeks brightened and she put a hand on her chest. Both the woman and Alexs father laughed at this.
“I want you to show Seraphine around Alex, heres some money take her wherever you feel like she would have a good time.” Alexs dad said handing him some money and ushering him out the door. “Keep her safe!”….
**********
“Is he going to live?” To his dismay a voice Alex didn’t recognize broke through the fog of his memories temporarily bringing him back to semi consciousness.
“Of course, you’ve never had the pleasure of meeting this young man but even before the experiment he was impossible to kill. Ask anyone this kid once ejected without a parachute and managed to fall 50,000 feet without so much as a broken bone. The kids got some kinda super angel on his side. Trust me in this line of work its impossible to fly as many missions as him and not get shot down once or twice. He’ll be fine…” This voice Alex recognized but before he could detect the doubt in his favorite doctors voice he was plunged back into the world of dreams.
**********
“We can’t go beyond the wall because my teacher says it’s not safe. My dad flys over the wall to kill bad guys though, hes the best pilot in the world everyone says so.” Alex replied when asked about the large wall surrounding the city. It had to be about three miles high and encompassed the entire city. From there vantage point at the highest part of the city Alex and Seraphine could see the sun setting over the horizon, Jets and MECHs flew overhead off to fight a war Alex new nothing about.
“Mommie says that bad men are going to take me away tomorrow, and I wont be able to see her or anyone else for a long time. I don’t want to go away, you’ll come for me wont you?” The little girl asked. The look she gave Alex made his heart drop.
“When I get older ill be an even better pilot than dad so ill be able to find you wherever you are. I promise that if they take you I wont give up until I become the best pilot out there and I can find you…
**********
Alex was jerked back to consciousness and dumped out onto the cold now wet floor.
“What was that fo-“ Alex snapped to attention and saluted the General before him. “My apologies sir”
“Nonsense young man, id be pissed as hell if someone did that to me. Now get some clothes on we have an important mission for you I pulled some strings and I think you’re going to like this one.”
“Yes Sir, where am I headed?”
“Space son, your headed to space. Who knows maybe you’ll find that girl you’ve been searching for.” Alex could barely contain his excitement it took everything he had not to hug the general. He didn’t because not only would hugging a general be vastly inappropriate but hugging another man naked just isn’t something anyone should do…
Snapping to attention Alex closed out with a Salute and headed down the hall, catching a lot of attention on the way. To lost in his thoughts to care Alex continued his way down the hall.
“That boys heads always up in the clouds or working on some kind of crazy contraption that will ‘revolutionize military life as we know it’, but damn it if he isn’t one of the best at what he does. I honestly wish the boy the best. The higher ups are going to be pissed I let their little experiment go into space.”

Steve smiled at the young rat girl. "I wasn't going to eat the cake, silly. I was just curious why there was such a big cake sitting here."

"I think it's a trap," the girl said.

"A trap? I don't follow you."

"You know," she said. "To catch something, like bait. You bait the trap."

"But what can you catch with sponge cake? You're not trying to catch me, are you?"

The girl laughed. "No! I'm just teasing you. The cake is for a friend of mine."

"Oh, I see. You made a funny. Ha ha ha! What's your name anyway?"

"Innocent," she said. "What's yours? Are you a robot?"

"I am Steve. No, I am not a robot. I know I might look like one, but I am an independent lifeform just like you. However, you don't look like an Earth-type human. What's your home planet?"

"Serkis. I'm a rat-human hybrid and I am the cook. What's your job?"

"Uh... technically a passenger, I guess," Steve said. "But I'll help you any time you need help. Just ask."

Innocent flicked her wormy tail...she was a bit confused by the turn of events

"Uh...Gotta go!" She said "Their is going to be a big assembly on the ship and I'm supposed to be there!"

She ran to the assembly room as fast as she could, but her big pants kept tripping her up.

A Non-Existent User

********By the way Renge is a character for everyone to use, if you have any questions about him go ahead and ask me but since hes technically not my character anymore you can do with him what you will.***********

“Welcome aboard Lt, I’ve heard quite a lot about you and am happy to have you aboard. It’s a shame we can’t take anyone else aboard. If your world wasn’t in the middle of such a large war we would love to stick around. Sadly we must depart as soon as possible.” The captain continued his introduction while ushering Alex aboard the ship. The ship was massive far larger than anything he had ever flown before, Alex couldn’t hold back a smirk as thoughts of seeing just how hard he could push this old bird. As if sensing his thoughts the captain hastily added. “We have two very capable pilots on board, but I hear you’re quite the engineer we could use you a big ship like this takes a lot to maintain.” Before Alex could respond, the ships intercom buzzed to life.

Captain your needed on the bridge, its urgent.

“Sorry Lt Xaindros, a captain’s job is never done. I’ll find someone to give you a quick tour wait here.” Alex nodded in response, he had a feeling he wouldn’t be seeing much of the captain for the duration of the trip so asking him to call him Ace seemed like a waste of time. The captain jogged away to a nearby elevator which hummed to life at the pressure of the captain’s feet. At the press of a button the captain was off. Already Alex’s mind raced on way to improve the elevator system.
Minutes later Alex could feel eyes on him, and at first the feeling gave him the urge to run away as if his life was in danger. However Alex was never one to run away no matter the circumstances. Turning his head Alex noticed a young man about his age and height leaning agents a wall watching him. The young man seemed both dignified and wild at the same time. Everything about the young man screamed predator, it triggered something in the back of Alex’s mind that said to run, to escape before it was too late. So naturally Alex smiled and approached the young man.
“That’s a wicked stare you got going, you should teach me some time.” Alex tested standing across the young man. Who smiled in response revealing some sharper than average teeth and a predatorial gleam in his eye like a cat playing with a mouse. Although his actions seemed somewhat frightening, Alex couldn’t sense any malicious intent form the young man. Alex had been around enough people who have wanted to kill him to have almost a sixth sense for these kinds of things. “I’m sure you’re a riot at daycares.” Alex added. The young man pushed himself off the wall and stood up looking Alex up and down as if sizing him up. Then from out of nowhere he swung wide at Alex, who caught the first surprised. This caused the young man to break out into a far less threatening smile.
“You pass” The young man chuckled
“Great what do I win?” Alex replied, the assault on him long forgotten.
“My respect, I’m Renege. Who are you Boy Scout?”
“Alex Xaindros friends call me Ace” Alex said holding out his hand for a handshake. Renege clasped his hand onto Alex’s forearm and shook twice then let go.
“Alright Boy Scout let’s start your tour then. Whats your job?”

Steve followed Alex and Renege on their tour, always staying far enough behind that he wasn't noticed. "It's my job to notice others," Steve thought, "not for them to notice me." His ancient brain wasn't as sharp as it once had been and he found it helpful to repeat his jobs over and over to himself.

"Our mission is to seek out and sway other planets to ally with the Allegiance in order to stave off the attacks from the Defiers," Steve repeated to himself. He scanned his memory for images of the Defiers and came up empty. "That's odd," he thought. "I don't even know what the Defiers look like. I wonder if I have forgotten? I better ask the next crew member I meet for a description. Or maybe the ship's computer has some images."

Innocent was running her big pants kept tripping her up, all off a sudden BANG, she knocked her head against a pipe and fell unconscious on the floor

Past Member 'leonightfire'

Name: Akane Amaterasu
Age: 18
Appearance: Blue eyes; staight, dark red hair that goes to about her shoulderblades; pale skin with pale freckles around her nose and arms. Akane is about 5'4", and while she's strong she's also slim.
Typical Dress: Akane usually wears silver gauntlets that go almost to her elbows, but otherwise she usually wears a long, sheer, short-sleeved black robe over blue jeans and varying t-shirts. She likes royal colors (purple, red, blue, gold, etc). The only piece of jewelry she'll ever wear is a small earring she inherited from her father- a small gold hoop with a small red feather attatched.
Home Planet: Xandria
Species: Xandrian, human
Abilities: Has limited firestarter abilities- she can set fire to anything flammable as long as she's touching it, such as paper or candles.
Can summon a magical sword named Xae, who is a wind spirit.
Jobs on Ship: Supplies, combat
Quote: "Choose a path and stick with it."

She took a deep breath, wandering through the halls of the large ship as she went to go drop her stuff off in her assigned cabin. She was doing this for a reason, she reminded herself. She was betraying her whole family by joining the Allegience, but even though the blood of warriors ran through her veins she couldn't bear the thought of siding with the Defiers. They'd taken her brother, Khane, and her father had died fighting them. Her mother didn't care about sides- if anything, she sided with the Defiers. She'd never liked the idea of peace, unlike her husband.
Unlocking the door of her cabin and setting her box of stuff down, she began surveying the room. It was small, but had a desk and a bed that didn't look uncomfortable. She decided to leave unpacking for later- she'd have plenty of time for that. She left her cabin and found the nearest sign, scanning it for anything that sounded interesting.
"Akane?"
She turned to find another Xandrian behind her. "Um..."
"Kaze," he laughed, and came to stand next to her, "I came aboard today as well. Looking for anything?"
She nodded. "Library. I think I passed it earlier but my memory had never been great."
He pointed to the middle of the list and said, "I'm pretty sure it's at the end of the hall and to the left over there, but why don't we go and find out?"
"Sure," she replied, and followed the blue-haired boy to find the library.

-

<open character for all to use.>
Name: Ana Lysis
Age: 22
Appearance: Ice blue eyes, straight, shiny black hair. About 6’3” and built like an “amazon,” really pale skin
Typical Dress: Form fitting suits of blues, whites and grays with high boots of the same color. Wears a knife strapped to her thigh.
Home Planet: Brio
Species: Brisien
Abilities:
Ice manipulation- can alter the shape of ice slightly
Body heat fluctuation- can alter the temperature of her body and through touch can do the same to others.
Ice sight- can see variations in shades of white, helpful in seeing though a blinding snow or ice storm
Job(s) on Ship: Captain
Lifestyle Quote: “I know what I’m doing, leave me be.”

Ana tapped her tow on the floor as she flipped though the architectural plans for the Whisper ships. It was her dream to be able to one day head one of these ships herself. They were the pride of the fleet, useful for the quick touchdowns and pickups, a sort of spy vehicle small enough to be run by one person rather than having a head Captain and a few assistant Captains. She sighed over them once more before rolling them up and returning them to their place in the library wall. Closed storage meant that nothing went flying if the ship needed to go through a complex jerky maneuver.

The role of leader was one that she’d been born and raised to fill. It chafed her to no end that she’d come so clost to fulfilling her potential in that she’d been given an assistant’s assistant role here on this recruiter but it felt like they were just teasing her. She smiled at the pair of Xandrians as she exited the library. If faced with a crisis, she would become icy, a level-headed thinker capable of taking charge. Otherwise she was a friendly person, an extreme opposite of the typical Brioan residents, who were known for their icy demeanor at all times, but she would listen to other and could converse with the “laypeople” rather than always holding herself aloof. She would come off as a little bossy at times too.

On her way to her room she came upon a tiny young woman. Most people were small compared to her own 6’3” frame but this girl seemed more delicate. She was seated by one of the viewing portals with a large cat sitting by her side. Ana had never seen a feline so large, the cats from her home planet were small enough to fit in your lap and were a light gray.
“Hello,” she greeted. The girl looked away from the portal in with a steady gaze. “What planet are you from?”
“Necrea, if you don’t mind me asking, but what are you?” Ana looked down, just noticing the frosty coating that covered her skin.
“Oops, I’m showing my race again. I’m a Brio, my planet’s really cold so we’re able to stand it well, I sometimes miss it and I get this going on.

A Non-Existent User

“Well I’m a Pilot by trade, but for now I’m a mechanic.” Alex replied following Renge down the hallway.
“So you were smart enough to learn how to fix the things that you fly.” Renge said to himself under his breath. “Well better start on the tour it’s a pretty big ship Ill take you to the kitchen first since its where I spend a lot of time.” Renge continued loud enough this time for Alex to hear him.
“Actually I don’t really need a tour.” Alex replied putting particular emphasis on the word need. “But the kitchen sounds great I’m starving!” Alex exclaimed rubbing his stomach with a frown.
“Of course you need a tour this is a huge ship do you know how many times I got lost when I first got here?!” Renge shouted.
“YOU didn’t have one of these bad boys.” Alex said with a grin, reaching into his pocket pulling out a small ball no larger than a marble. Renge didn’t say a word just eyed the ball suspiciously. “I call him Rodney.” Alex said scratching the ball with the pointer finger of his free hand. At Alexs touch the ball instantly sprang into action. It was as if the surface of the sphere had come to life pulsing, rippling, and growing to the size of a grapefruit. “He is my only successful project when working with metal that can be solid or liquid instantaneously. He doesn’t HAVE to have a defined shape but for some reason prefers to be a floating sphere. I don’t know how or where but he has developed a personality of his own and also has evolved into something slightly more than just a machine.” Alex explained as Rodney floated around Renge’s and Alex’s head before disappearing down the hall and around a corner. Renge made a move to follow but Alex put out a hand and shook his head. “He either found something interesting or is going to find an input to talk to the ship and get maps, blueprints for the ship….and probably some security codes.”
“That’s one handy robot.” Renge whistled “What does Rodney stand for?”
“What does it stand for?” Alex repeated confused.
“Yeah what does it stand for we have a Robot on this ship named SANDI and that stands for Subhuman Analytical Navigation Deduction Intelligence. So what does Rodney stand for?” Renge persisted. Alex laughed at this.
“It doesn’t stand for anything that’s what I named him, he seems to like it in fact las-” Alex stopped mid-sentence and listened, then nodded. Did you know we were being followed? Alex asked Renge with a laugh.
“I had a feeling but this is a pretty busy ship so it’s hard to tell.” Renge replied
“Well lets to find out who it was, Rodney sounded excited.” Alex was gone Jogging down the hallway before Renge had a chance to ask what Alex meant.
When Alex rounded the first corner he spotted Rodney floating around what looked to be another robot. Rodney was beeping, buzzing, and clicking up a storm.
“I’m sorry but I don’t know what you want.” The robot was saying holding his arms up to protect himself from the spastic robot floating above his head changing shapes and consistency at random.
“He says, That it’s a pleasure to meet you, and something about wanting to know how you became human?” Alex said almost to the scene.
“Im not a human!” The man said as Alex snatched the little robot out of the air.
“I’ll let you go if you promise to be good” Alex said sternly to the now blob beginning to drip though his fingers. “Alright I’m going to trust you.” Alex said opening his hand, the blob in his hand changing into a small six legged machine climbing up Alex’s arm onto his shoulder. “I’m sorry about that hes normally way better behaved than that.” Alex said stretching out his hand to shake the man’s hand. “I’m Alex but my friends call me Ace, and this little guy is Rodney.” At the sound of his name Rodney gave a little bow. “I am a little confused though, I thought you were a Robot but according to Rodney your not?”

"No," the man said. "I am not a robot. I am an engineered lifeform and my name is Steve."

"Isn't that kind of a po-tay-to po-tah-to distinction?" Alex said. "Robots Are engineered lifeforms, aren't they?"

"Well," Steve said. "Perhaps you could say that living things are biological robots then? I just know I am not human and I didn't evolve but I did grow from an initial cell so I consider myself a lifeform. It's just that the initial cell was constructed in a laboratory."

"I didn't think our science had quite reached that point yet."

"It probably hasn't. The people who created me lived over 10,000 years ago. No one knows exactly who they were. And this Rodney creature? It is a robot?"

"Yes," Alex said. "Did you say you are over 10,000 years old?"

"That's what they tell me. Apparently there have been periods of either unconsciousness or loss of memory because it doesn't seem like 10,000 years to me, more like a thousand or so."

Renege laughed. "That's still a long time. What's your job on the ship?"

"I'm just along for the ride - an observer -- but if I can help you in any way, just ask."

Innocent felt a cold washcloth dab her forehead, She muttered "I'll be up in a minute." Then she opened her eyes and saw was not her 'mother'

"Oh UM uh Hi!" Was all Innocent could say "Who are you?"

"I'm Emerald Birch." The Girl said "Hold still you've got a nasty bump on your head."

"Are you the new team doctor?" Emerald asked

Emerald did not say anything but she continued to dab the wound

Past Member 'leonightfire'

"Akane. It means red," Kaze said, startling her out of her peoplewatching. They'd been in the library for an hour, killing time. She wasn't sure if they ought to be doing something else, and she felt nervous about sitting around doing nothing.
"Yeah," she replied, fidgeting, "and yours means wind, right?"
He grinned. "Yup."
She leaned forward onto the desk and grumbled, "So you're looking through name books?"
"Yeah. You know, I thought we'd begin combat the moment we boarded. Life would be full of adventure from the get-go. But so far nothing's happened."
"It's better that way," she muttered, slightly miffed that he'd ignored her question, "and besides, unless the Defiers jump out of the woodwork and attack this ship, we're not going to fight. We're only on the recruiting ship. Once we make it back to the Mothership we'll probably be assigned somewhere."
His mouth quirked up into a half-smile. "Mothership?"
She felt her face burn, as if someone as thrown hot water at her. "Uh...forget I said that, alright?"
He was still grinning when he said, "Sure. Want to go check out something else?"
"Like the mess hall?" She asked, and he humored her with a nod and a barely concealed chuckle. Scowling, she flicked him in the arm and stood.
"Boo." Something sharp poked her in the small of her back and she let forth a small shriek. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she hoped no one had heard, but a few odd glances that came her way told her that she hadn't quite escaped.
Laughter made her turn and glare at Kaze, but the blue-haired boy was still on the other side of the table.
"Honestly, Akane, you need some more training if you can't detect my great presence," an arrogant voice told her. Turning to her left, she paused to find a little silver spirit behind her and backed up.
"Xae? What are you doing here?"

"I'd hate to be cold all the time." Emerald mused, absentmindedly stroking her companion's head. "Necrea never got too chilly, it just got really wet." Keela growled making the girl smile. "Of course Keela hated it." She paused, seeming to remember her manners. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Emerald, but most people call me Emmie and this is my best friend Keela."

"Have you been on the ship long?"

"Just a few days. I feel lost though, do you know if there's anything we should be doing?"

"I think they want us just to get acquainted with all the other people and get used to seeing so many different types of people."

"I don't know that I'll ever get used to it." Emerald laughed.

"It's probably because you're only meeting one person at a time as they come along, I know somewhere you can meet a whole lot of them at once." Ana offered the other girl a hand and helped her stand. "You might want to send your friend elsewhere so she won't frighten anyone off." Emerald Birch silently signaled and the panther stalked off.

"Where are we headed?"

"The mess hall."

A Non-Existent User

Alex felt his stomach grumble and judging by the look on Renges face he must have heard it, Alex had to admit Renge had some sharp senses it reminded him of how animals in the wild took in every sound no matter how subtle. The nanomites in Alexs body only sometimes heightened his hearing but he had no conscious control over it like Renge.
“Lugnuts am I hungry, lets go get some food!” Alex stated loudly throwing his arms behind his head and following Rodney who now had a full map of the ship displayed on his floating round body complete with a red dot representing destination and a moving blue dot representing himself.
“Well that’s handy” Alex heard Steve say as Rodney beeped calling the elevator down.
“Oh didn’t I tell you now that he’s connected to the ship he can communicate to it form anywhere, so can I just not as easily.” Alex gestured to a class ring looking device on each of his middle fingers. “These can make any form of virtual interface I choose, and these…” Alex pointed to the metal bars in his ears. “… these can either connect directly to my vision for a private screen (he can still see things when he uses the private screen kind of like how you can see your reflection in a window if your relax your eyes but if you focus again you can see through it, but Ace tends to forget to look when he’s using the private screen) or project a 2-3d image 360 degrees around me up to 20 feet 40 if Rodney’s helping me.”
“Those are some interesting gizmos there buddy did you make them all on your own?” Renge asked poking the bar in Alex’s ear. Well my dad used to be an inventor he invented the mechs and ships we pilot back home. I sometimes have moments when I will try to invent something but it often end in an explosion, I just got lucky with these things. I’m better suited for fixing and operating machinery. Just wait until you see me pilot something, it doesn’t matter how complicated or if ive never driven before something about machines just speaks to me and I can figure it out almost instantly, its almost like a superpower” Alex laughed, feeling confidence in the one trait he shared with his father.
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Renge noticed a small twinge of pain in Ace’s eyes when he mentioned his father. He wanted to ask but would wait another time to find out what had really happened he liked Ace he was a funny guy, and seemed to always be smiling it was somewhat infectious. Even if Renge did hate smileing… Up ahead Renge could smell cat, a very big cat. He could also hear the sound of claws scraping the floor. He knew who was coming before they had even turned the corner. Renge had trouble respecting and making friends with people, but there was no animal in the cold dark regions of space that Renge could not befriend.
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Alex was surprised to see Rodney spaz out and yet again disappear behind a corner. Rolling his eyes Alex followed only to stop comeing face to face with a big…he wasn’t sure what it was but it was bigger than any cat he had ever seen though there were some obvious similarities only on a much larger scale. Rodney ever the joker had mirrored the shape of the creature(though on a much smaller scale) and gave a small metallic roar, causing the creature to cock its head and sniff him in interest.
“Easy there kitty, you don’t want to eat him… I hear too much iron in your diet isn’t a good thing.” Alex said picking up Rodney and hiding him behind his back.
“You don’t have to worry about Keela she’s very well behaved, that is unless you keep calling her a kitty…” The woman standing behind the big cat said finally alerting Alex to her presence. To his relief, people and machines he was fine with but when it came to animals Alex never had a whole lot of luck with those…
“You said her name was Keela?” Renge asked crouching in front of the big cat. “Hello Keela you are such a pretty girl aren’t you?! Alex couldn’t believe the complete 360 in Renge’s demeanor. Or that he was scratching the beast behind the ears without his arm getting chomped off or his face scratched into shredded cheese.
“Well it looks like hes having fun, I’m Alex but friends call me Ace. You can call me Ace too if you’d like” Ace said ignoring Renge and the monsters love fest was the thing actually purring?!
“Well hello Ace my name is Emerald friends call me Emmie I guess.” Emerald responded shaking Alex’s hand. “Who is your little friend?”
“Oh this is Steve” Alex said gesturing to the man standing next to him.
“Pleasure”
“and down there is Renge… hes usually much more intimidating than that.” Alex laughed
“No I mean the little metallic shape shifter behind your back.” Emerald said gesturing with a nod of her head.
“Oh you mean Rodney? He’s one of my only successful inventions and my best friend.” Alex said letting Rodney go.
“Pleasure to meet you Rodney” Emerald laughed as Rodney took the form of a small man in a top hat and kissed her hand.
“Quite the gentlebot” Steve remarked with a laugh.
Alex couldn’t help but laugh seeing Emerald playing with Rodney… or was it Rodney playing with Emerald? Alex couldn’t tell and seeing Renge playing with… the creature. Alex made sure to give the large cat an even larger berth. As he turned to Steve to ask him a little more about the residents of the ship.