Elite roleplay: Off station

OFF STATION

Your ship, deep space, anything that is not happening inside the Citi Gateway or Ingaba...

General Roleplay Etiquette:

1. Control only the actions of your own character(s). (AKA: God Mode)
This doesn't matter how small the action is, even if it is as simple as scratching their nose or a direct reaction to something else that just happened. This applies to everything from casual conversation to full blown fight scenes. If you'd like someone to do something specific, PM that person, however keep in mind they are completely within their rights to say no. Especially if said action is inappropriate to their character and/or circumstance.

2. Don't brute force your way into another persons RP.
Approaching with a conversation starter is fine, or indeed some other small action. However charging in, guns blazing and disrupting the flow of another person/pair/groups conversation/arc is about as rude as doing so in real life. If something is going on that you'd like to participate in, be subtle about it. Put out a gentle hook for someone to take, but again, be aware that said hook may not be taken. If you fear it was simply unnoticed, PM the person or people it concerns. Or even leave a message in the OOC forums.

3. Good grammar and spelling is preferred.
We're not asking you to be perfect, but please at least demonstrate willingness. no1 iz gna tak u srsly usng txt spk. There's a wide variety of people here, many who speak English as a second, or even third language. There are even some with varying degrees of dyslexia and/or likely other issues that affect spelling/grammar. We accept them all here. However, people who aren't accepted, are those unwilling to accept polite correction. Remember that even a small thing like the placement of a comma, or the wrong use of there/their/they're can completely change the definition of an entire sentence.

4. Accept constructive criticism gracefully and politely.
If someone spots an issue with your writings, they may wish to help you improve that writing. They may do this through PM or even publicly air their thoughts on the OOC forum. If they have taken the time to be polite and explain what is wrong with your writing, the best way to behave is to respond in kind, using the same manner they have approached you with. It means they have taken an active interest in what you have written and wish to see more. Basically, you have a fan!

5. Don't take the actions or opinions of things done IN RP, to be directly relevant to the writers thoughts or opinions.
Basically, if some ones character calls your character a jackass, it doesn't mean the writer thinks you are a jackass. It's a ROLE they are PLAYING. Watch a movie. The argument between the characters isn't an argument between the actors involved. The same applies here.

6. It's not a popularity contest.
Your RP might be bustling with participants. You have 3 people off station in a fire fight, while another 2 are infiltrating the darkest areas of the station, meanwhile a group of 4 others are tracking your movements in an effort to stop you. Good for you, I'm sure it will be a thrilling read! But you know what? Sometimes the absolute BEST work, comes from two RP characters having a simple heart to heart. Both are valid, both are great, but NEITHER is categorically better than the other. Period.


Inara RP Etiquette:

1. Respect the setting and rules of the universe.
Inara is an Elite: Dangerous 3rd Party Tool. The RP Forums are set in the Elite: Dangerous universe. Elite: Dangerous has rules, as any fictional universe does from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, or Game of Thrones to Star Trek. If you intend to RP within the Elite: Dangerous universe you are bound by the history and rules of that universe. Simply put, this RP forum is bound by the same rules as the game, so if it can't be done in the game, it is not permitted here. This applies to things from a 50Ly Jump Range on a normal, unmodified Sidewinder, to the destruction of entire stations.

2. Respect the characters created by others.
We have a wide variety of characters already here. It's expected that some will be similar, just as it's expected that two characters will be vastly different. Opinions of each persons character will naturally be varied, but all are valid provided they follow the rules of the universe. You are allowed to interact with, or avoid interaction with, any character in the RP forums. But you have no right to belittle others for their creation. You are not an authority figure on writing, nor are you directly affected by another persons imagination. You might not like it, but you MUST respect it.

3. Be caught up on current events before joining in.
You need basic things like character descriptions in order to interact with them. You also need to know what's going on in the surrounding areas. This is simply because the people you are hoping to RP with, might be gearing up to something that you might not want to be part of. Or simply that the most recent post, out of context, could leave a different impression on the goings on than if you gather that context. We don't expect you to read every single post from the beginning of the forums, just enough to get that basic understanding.

4. Either subscribe to, or frequently check, the Roleplay: Q&A and OOC forum.
People may be discussing something relevant to you there, or even discussing you directly. Perhaps someone asked what the general consensus on the existence or non-existence of a certain object. Or we're just chatting about random gibberish. Either way, be aware of it and use it. If you're unsure about something, such as how guns would look and or behave, or even the music selection, use the OOC forum to ask. We don't have all of the answers, but the collective knowledge and logic usually allows us to overcome an issue and come to a decision on what should be allowed. Frontier Developments, and even David Braben himself, don't have the answers to every possible question that can be asked.

5. Large Scale events exploding out of nowhere are a complete no go.
We get it. Everyone wants their character to be noticed and for people to be tripping over themselves to interact with them. In some audiences, an introduction involving you blasting in for landing in a fiery wreckage of a ship, before cart wheeling out and sword fighting 35 Ninjas before whisking off with the local celebrity for a glorious night of passion, is in fact, cool. This is not one of those audiences. It is generally considered better to build your character up slowly over time. Eventually, you might even have a legitimate excuse to fight those Ninjas. Maybe even with other RP participants by your side.

6. Perfect characters are boring.
The point of a character arc, is that it is in fact, an arc shape. One who is morally unquestionable, fully kitted out and an infinite fountain of knowledge, cannot go through an arc. Give your character flaws. Be it a tendency towards befriending the wrong people, or a bad knee that frequently gives out at inopportune moments. It gives readers something to latch onto and empathise with. You can give your character exceptional capabilities at something, but it requires balance. She's a damn good pilot with no equal, but can't drive an SRV for peanuts. It can lead to some very interesting moments between characters, be it heartfelt or comedic.


Other Notes:
It should be noted that there can be exceptions to these points. For example, good grammar when a character is speaking is actually rare. Few people in real life actually speak with perfect eloquence after all. Or previously arranged actions during a fight scene, such as someone stumbling back after a punch. What's key to remember is context.

All in all, remember this is purely for fun. We have some seriously talented writers here, and others whose writing history starts and ends at high school. But many are willing to help out in whatever way they can. All it takes is that you ask nicely.

Also keep in mind that many people who RP here, also have logbook stories related to the character, or characters, they portray. If it looks like there's an "in joke" going on that you're unsure of, it's probably in those.

In fact, some users have even gone to the trouble of creating "alts" to RP with. If you read back far enough, it's usually pretty clear who has and hasn't, and which ones are the "alts". It's therefore not unheard of to see the apparent seizing of control of other characters. If you do spot one, point it out in the OOC section. If intervention is needed, it will be sorted quickly and (hopefully) politely.

Most, if not all RP participants here have Logbook stories pertaining to their character(s). These are for the reading pleasure of anyone who wishes to do so. While it can be useful to read them in order to gain a bit of backstory on a character you wish to interact with, it should not be assumed that your character shares that knowledge. Within the E:D Universe, these Logbooks either don't exist, or are private diaries kept by the characters. Either way, without explicit statements to say otherwise from the writer, your interactions should reflect that your character is in the dark about any information you, the writer/reader, have gained from reading the stories.
Amata Lirein
08 Oct 2020, 10:21am
Amata nods. "Sounds like a plan. I'll send a message to my father to make sure he prepares one of our private hangars and personally selects the technicians for the job."
Nerys Nymei
08 Oct 2020, 1:21pm
"Gerhard, can you please record a voice message in reply to the one just received from Creamy Goodness? Maximum encryption."

"Of course, Ma'am. I am listening".

"To Creamy from Nerys Nymei. I have received your message and I am glad to hear that you are safe and sound on your ship. I have escaped with Amata and Jason, and we are ok, but we have lost contact with Ao. I am worried about the transponder you can possibly have onboard: if it indeed exists, it must be found and destroyed as soon as possible. Please head to the Stephens Enterprise station in the Burojinura system: you will be guided to a private dock and your ship will be cleaned of all parasites. I'm looking forward to meet you soon. Nerys."
Aeryn Airstryder
09 Oct 2020, 8:30am
BWSF STAR-WOLF - Marrallang - 19 Hours After leaving Citi Gateway

Gingerly, Ao placed weight on his ankle and winced, the rapid advancement of medical technology over the last few years had done wonders, but alas some things still took time, his shattered ankle had been reconstructed and a cast fitted during lengthy surgery once the Yamato had docked with the Star-Wolf, and the burns that now covered most of his body had been treated and dressed, but the events of those few hours would be with him for life, the prototype armour he had been wearing had malfunctioned under the heavy usage and the mobility thrusters had over heated, boiling the inner gel layer, and with it, Ao's body, only his face, hands, feet and few other 'out of the way' parts of his body had escaped irreparable scarring from the burns.

With a sigh he gave up, and for once decided to follow the doctors orders, clipped to the wall by his desk was a carved wooden cane, the grip in the shape of a running wolf, it felt odd in his hand.

"Didn't expect to need a damn walking stick at my age" he grumbled.

Today...Today was not going to be a good day...he and Rose had some very difficult house calls to make, and would shortly be headed planetside to A1, a stunning earthlike world covered with vast metropolis' towering mountains, rolling plains and vast oceans, but, it would mean passing through Coggia Terminal.

Coggia, was controlled by 'The Marrallang Empire Pact' The largest faction in the system, with the BWSF close on their heels, tensions had always been high between the two factions, but recent events, and evidence brought before Ao and the other heads of the BWSF that 'The Pact' had been involved in what had been dubbed 'The Nymei Incident' Providing ships, weapons, and political support to the large scale force that had boarded the station in an attempt to capture the young doctor.

It was no longer a matter of if the Pact and the Black Wolves were going to war, but when, the question was, who would go down in the history books as the aggressor who fired the first shot?

A squeaking noise from under Ao's bed followed by a scratching of claws on the deckplates told Ao Uzume was awake.
Sure enough, Uzume came scuttling out from under the bed, and began to scale Ao's coat, perching himself upon Ao's right shoulder.
Uzume was a ferret, white as snow, as playful as a kitten and as mischievous as a toddler.

"Hello boy, I was wondering what time you would wake up" Ao cooed scratching the ferret's chin

Ao looked around the room, it was small, even as the founder of the BWSF, space on a starship, even the Yamato-II, an Anaconda was tight when you had 150 crew...well...had, 150 crew...

Standing with the door to his back facing into the room, the foreward decks of the Yamato would be to Ao's left, the aft decks such as bridge and engine room to the right.
On the left hand side of the room was a metal desk and chair, both magnetically attached to the floor so that once they left the planets S.O.I and gravity began to fall off they wouldn't begin to float around his cabin.

On the desk was a small terminal, turned off at the moment, and a framed picture of Rose from back when he had first met her.
Next to Rose's picture was another picture, this one landscape style, and showed a brand new, half painted Anaconda, with 150 crew in four rows, with Ao, Mr. Yamamoto, Rose's father, and the man Ao had thought was his best friend, the traitor Tiberius.
Rose was in this picture as well, at the back with the engineering crew, this was the crew of I-401 Yamato, the current Yamato-II's predecessor, that had been destroyed in the Colonia region a few years before, only three people survived the crash landing, Ao, Rose, and Tiberius.

Ao hung his head in shame, he had vowed he would NEVER! lose another crewman under his watch, but now, a deck below him on the cargo deck, 58 of his crewmen were laying dead in coffins, killed by the Traitor Tiberius, better known as Trojan, and his mutineers 'The Huntsmen'
Between the mutiny and those who lost their lives, the normally 150 crew Yamato-II was down to just a skeleton crew of 62.

In the centre of the room sat a small coffee table, black metal framed with a glass top, and two small armchairs, and on the right of the room, a makeshift double bed, the room had originally had two single bunks, one on each wall, but Ao and Rose had made some adjustments, each side of the bed had a nightstand with a reading lamp, and mounted above the bed were Ao's swords, A Katana and a Tanto, the last gift his adoptive mother had left him.

Ao turned and walked out into the corridor, leaning heavily on the walking stick, the door opening and closing with a hiss.

The main corridor ran the length of the ship from bow to stern on the deck 2, the middle deck of the three deck vessel, with deck one being the bridge and CIC, deck three below him being the cargo deck and armoury.

Ao turned right and began to hobble his way towards the lift to the bridge, picking up the pace as he passed the doctor's office to avoid being sent back to bed.

It was so strange to see his ship, his home, that had always been so full of life, practically empty, most of the crew were taking much needed leave planetside, and the few that remained were preparing for...for the funeral.

Ao never made it to the bridge, Rose, who was currently in the Role of Acting Captain while Ao was still receiving treatment stepped out of the lift before he had made it there, and proceeded to scold him like a badly behaved child.

Rose was a few years younger than Ao, and had many of the features reminiscent of her Japanese ancestors, short, with raven hair tied up in a tail, she had proved herself to be quite the leader during a crisis over the last few days, and had since been promoted from the ranks of Lieutenant Commander, to Commander within the BWSF, and once the Yamato was back up to fully staffed, would be eligible for her own command as a captain of her own starship.

It always made Ao chuckle when people tried to figure that one out, the BWSF's ranking structure was loosely based on the old world British R.A.F, with the highest rank in the BWSF being 'Captain', which was himself, however the role of 'Captain' and the Rank of 'Captain' were two completely separate things.

"The coat looks good on you acting captain" said Ao with a playful wink, but giving Rose the salute she deserved as a ship captain.

Now Rose was in the big chair and no longer in the engine room, her coveralls and oily tank top had been swapped for formal military attire with an ankle length blue coat with a high collar, and a white and black peaked naval cap with the snarling wolf insignia of the Black Wolf Space Fleet, identical to Ao's own uniform.

Rose returned the salute, and then poked him hard in the chest.

"Thanks! But don't change the subject mister! What are you doing out of bed! you should be resting!"
"I can't...not today...I was those men and women's C.O, I'm the one who should tell their families"
Rose sighed...
"Fine, but I'm coming with you"

Last edit: 09 Oct 2020, 2:54pm
Aeryn Airstryder
09 Oct 2020, 8:32am
-Funeral Voices-

The little boy awoke to the sound of a vehicle coming to a halt on the street below his window.
He knew it was late, and that mummy would be mad at him for getting out of bed, but he liked cars, so he got up, and as quietly as a five year old could, tip toed over to the window.
He pulled back the curtain and clambered up onto his toy chest to get a view of the street below.
Outside was a big black boxy car with four doors, and big knobbly tyres that he knew were to make cars drive better on mud and stuff.

It was raining so it was kind of hard to see, but in the flickering light of the street lamp he could make out a pair of yellow eyes seemingly staring up at him from the door of the car.

There was a bright flash followed by a loud boom of thunder, the the car was briefly cast into light.
The eyes belonged to the big angry dog on a blue shield painted onto the car.
He of course recognised the dog, it was on his Daddy's uniform.
He didn't know much about his Daddy's job, just that he worked on a starship in the same room as the captain, and that his Daddy was in charge of making sure messages were sent and delivered to the right people.
But if there was a car with the dog on...DADDY WAS HOME!
He heared footsteps approaching the house, two people, one seemed to have a funny walk like they had something in their shoe, but he couldn't see them.

There was a knock at the door.
Mummy was in the living room, she hadn't been herself for a few hours before bed time, Daddy's ship had got back earlier that day but Daddy hadn't come home yet.

He could hear hushed voices, one was a man, one was Mummy, the other was another lady, but he couldn't hear Daddy's voice.
He tip toed over to his bedroom door, trying not to fall over in the low light from his night light and went out onto the landing.
At the top of the stairs was Mike, his big brother.
Mike was much older than him, Mike was a big boy, fifteen today!

He toddled over and tugged Mike's sleeve.
"Mikey, is daddy home yet? I saw the car with the big dog like daddy wears"

Mike turned around to look at his brother, knelt down and hugged him...mike was shaking...and muttered something;
"Those voices...they are funeral voices"

Almost the second mike finished speaking, downstairs the little boy heard his mother wail and a thump sound like someone had fallen over.

"Mikey...I...I can't breath!"
Mike was hugging him so tight it hurt.
He wiggled free and ignoring Mike's attempts to hush him and stop him going down the stairs, he took hold of the banister like a good boy, making sure to concentrate on one step at a time, went down the stairs calling out;
"Mummy Mummy! I saw a car with a big dog! Is daddy home?!"

He stopped halfway...Daddy wasn't there.
Mummy was kneeling on the floor holding onto the man in the doorway's long blue coat, crying.

Next to the man was a pretty lady, who was kneeling next to Mummy rubbing her back and whispering something to her.
The man looked up at him.
He was holding a walking stick like Nanny and Grandad's in his left hand, leaning on it heavily, and in the gap between his white gloves and sleeves, his skin looked all weird, it was all wrinkled and looked sore.

Mummy turned around and looked at him rubbing her eyes.
"Hey baby, you should be in bed"
She came over, picked him up and rested his head on her shoulder before turning back to the man and the woman;

"Did He suffer?"
The lady shook her head;
"It was quick, his actions in his last few moments saved alot of lives, mine included...I'm...I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything to help him...

The man spoke this time;
"He was a good officer, a good man...and a good friend, if there is anything you need, anything at all, please just ask."

Mummy shook her head.
"Thank you Captain, Commander. But...but we'll be ok...I know you'll need my permission for BWSF ceremony, he loved what he did, and we always joked that one day the job would get him but...but...You have my permission, he loved the BWSF, helping people, it's what he would have wanted...can we please continue this conversation tomorrow via a vid? I...I need to see to the children"

The man nodded, and with great difficulty, the lady holding his right arm to help him balance, went back out into the storm...
Creamy Goodness III
09 Oct 2020, 12:38pm
Ninette logged the message and started unpacking the cipher. As her charge had not equipped the new ship with any advanced systems, Ninette was going to have to devote quite a lot of her runtime to unpacking the message. Her program told her to check on her charge, again the advanced bio-feedback monitors were missing from her systems, so Ninette consulted her complicated algorithms and concluded that Creamy was asleep.

He was secured in his zero-G bed, so Ninette stopped the ship to conserve the limited supply of fuel. With no contacts showing on the subpar stock scanners the new ship was armed with, Ninette was free to work on the message. The standard COVAS Ninette was being forced to work on made the decryption take nine minutes and eleven seconds. If the Personal Assistant Program was capable of pride, it would have been wounded by that pathetic return.

Ninette played the message to the empty cockpit. It was from the woman Creamy had talked about. . . A lot. Ninette calculated that Creamy would want to hear this message at once, but her programmer was very familiar with Creamy and knew that “Burning The Candle at Both Ends” was a poor description for the young lord. The candle that would suit Creamy for that analogy would look like the spokes of a wheel burning at every available end.

Ninettes’ programming overruled Creamys’ wishes, and Ninette left him asleep. She did play the message on repeat softly over the bedroom speakers. A smile found its way to Creamys’ lips as he slept on dreaming dreams of the distant doctor.

Last edit: 09 Oct 2020, 1:03pm
A C Ender
09 Oct 2020, 8:39pm
He had been rushing it. What good would it do if he entered the station now. There must have been a good reason he got the "Abort" message. Yet despite this, he couldn't completely shake the feeling. The good thing of being so far from the station, is that it had given him some time to think as he plotted the trajectory back and set up the intercept. Initially, he had been wanting to make it there as fast as possible, to make up for the time he had been blacked out. The ship was creaking from the strain of external panels expanding on the sunny side, and contracting in the shadow, joined by the low hum of the fans circulating the air through the ships cockpit. The sounds were so familiar to him that he almost didn't think about them, but his mind had been racing.

The tiny light marking the location of Citi Gateway hadn't notably changed size in the first five minutes. His left hand moved for the keypad, hesitated, and then activated the retrothrusters. The power of the engines vibrated through the hull while the belt kept him from floating into the cockpit window and make a leave a perfect print of his face on the inside. That particular mistake had only happened once, when early on in his piloting career he had forgot the belt in a hurry. Flying in zero-g without a belt works fine until you start to engage downward or reverse thrusters... He rubbed his nose over the slight lump left where it had broken. Had he seen a medic to have the nose properly seen to, he wouldn't have heard the end of it. Who forgets the belt in a spaceship?!

He had entered an orbit 15 km below Citi Gateway. It wasn't perfectly stable, so over time he would drift a bit, but he shouldn't spend the days there for it to matter anyway. A bit of cold water had somewhat cleared his head of the effect of the alcohol, but he was still feeling the effects of it. "If nothing else, I'll sober up waiting for something to happen" he thought to himself. He wasn't sure exactly what he was waiting for, but he kept his eyes on the station, watching the ships come and go. Everything seemed normal, until a series of bright blue flashes came from a krait leaving the station. It took a few more moments for Ender to make out what was happening from the distance, as he watched the ambush unfold. A quick command and his long range sensors started to scan the target of the ambush,

"Creamy Goodness...?" he said into the empty cockpit. The name seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. "Well, it's not Viscera at least" he said, as he started to scan the attacker. As the attack intensified, he engaged he had to give a quick boost to prevent the two new ships from leaving his scanning range. He wasn't sure who it was, or what had caused this ambush, but it might be related to the aborted mission.

As soon as A knight of Goodness jumped out of the system, he engaged his frame shift drive and entered supercruise. It wasn't far to the closest rings, so he made it there and dropped into the belt. Boosting away in the belt, he kept his eyes on the scanners. After drifting past countless asteroids he felt certain that had anyone followed him, they would have lost him by now. To make things even harder, he slowed himself down and positioned the ship right next to an asteroid and picked an escape system in an empty vector. Would anyone come, he would see them long before they could see him, and he would be gone before they had any chance to stop him.

All things prepared, he could relax in his chair and think. "Creamy Goodness... Such a weird name... I'm sure I've heard it before, somewhere..." it took him a long hour and more glances at the whiskey bottle than he'd care to admit before he finally remembered.

"Ellen!" She had told him of a run-in with a certain Creamy Goodness in the bar. He chuckled a bit to himself, remembering the story as he went back through scanned ships and opened up the contact to A Knight of Goodness and started writing the message.

"Mr Goodness. I just witnessed you getting attacked by three ships, and escape, outside of Citi Gateway. If they are a concern to you, it would be in your best interest to meet me in an anarchy system of your choice. I'm sure we could arrange a mutually beneficial transaction.

I know you don't know me, but I believe you are familiar with one of my close associate of mine, Ellen. If you don't remember her, you might remember the pain your nose felt after your brawl in the bar.

- Ender"

Once he was satisfied with the message, he sent it while releasing himself from the seat. "Leo, alert me immediately if I hear back from any associates or the recipient of the last sent message" he said while drifting to his simple cabin. He should probably stay sober for a few days, and he could definitely use a shower. But those thoughts were for a later Ender. Now, he needed sleep.
A C Ender
11 Oct 2020, 3:23pm
Creamy Goodness IIICreamy tackled the dreaded Inbox


He knew of a fair few pilots which liked nothing more than to get to a station so they could get a so called "proper night sleep" under the effect of the centripetal force, making it appear as if you were sleeping on a plenet. Personally? He loved the weightlessness. Whenever given the choice, he would sleep alone in his ship, gently restrained by the harness to stop him floating away in the micro-gravity. This "night" he had slept particularly good, as one often do after having one too many drinks.

He had been in a dream. As usual he was flying, but he wasn't a pilot this time, he was a space ship. He gracefully floated through the asteroid field at ridiculous speeds, his powerful thrusters responding to every thought perfectly. However, there had seemed to be a problem. As the dream progressed, the pressure of his thrusters seemed to get higher and higher, and soon alarm lights were flashing in the ship. That's when he woke up. All was silent, with just the faintest red glow of the emergency lighting on to allow navigation of the ship without activating the interior lighting. He had to hurry. He quickly unbuckled the harness and pushed himself over to the opposite wall, grabbing hold of a rail with one hand to change his trajectory, making the rest of his body start to rotate behind him until his knees hit against the padded wall on each side of the rail. He tensed his body by pushed his lower legs firmly against the wall and pulling at the rail with his hand, while he unzipped the flight suit. He took the hose from the wall and put it over his crotch, and the next second, let out a sigh of relief as he relieved himself. Sure, he knew the flight suit was made to allow urinating with it on, but he didn't -like- it. It didn't feel right.

His bodily functions seen to, he zipped the suit back up and made his way to the cargo bay. He knew that there was no incoming messages, so no point in going to the cockpit yet. He had configured LEO to alert him of any messages, and the computer never failed to do so.

The cargo bay was the biggest volume available on his ship, and the most sturdy. He could have done some of this in the cockpit, but there was a risk that he hit something important. And smudge the window... He hated smudged windows. In the cargo bay, he proceeded to launch himself from the hatch towards the ceiling as hard as he could. He twirled his arms around to to start the rotation, then curled into a ball to speed up the turn. Once his feet almost faced the ceiling, he extended his body to slow the rotation, and absorb the impact with his feet, and then launch himself going along the ceiling. He grabbed a rail and absorbed some of the energy, redirecting his motion away from the ceiling and towards a wall and pushed of with his arms again. He knew there was gyms you could install, but why bother? This was way more fun, helped develop practical skill if you ever needed to push yourself to the limit in a low-gee environment, and maybe most importantly, saved on module space. He thought he had been there for an hour, or maybe even more, by the time LEO activated the intercom.

"Message recieved from A Knight of Goodness" was all that it said.

Ender took the next leap towards the cockpit, and while drifting over he undid the arms of his flight suit from his waist. He pushed grabbed hold of the collar with one hand and pushed the other arm through, pulling the suit onto the one shoulder. He grabbed onto the rail beside the airlock with his dressed arm, his boots giving a light thump as they hit the bulkhead and he came to a stop. He briefly let go of the rail to pull the other arm on and then zipped up the flight suit. The suit quickly absorbed what sweat which had collected on his upper body during the workout, collecting it with that already absorbed from his legs. Smell? Sure, but he considered it a luxuary only afforded at a station to completely remove the suit. You didn't want to be caught in a shower without the suit on when someone dropped on your location.

Once he was secured in his seat, he read through the message:

As if I would forget the enchanting Ellen. That fine woman sheared wisdom as well as a memorable embrace. I just so happen to be in an uninhabited system currently. If you would care to come along, I would gladly evaluate your offer.

Regards LCG

A grin briefly showed on Enders face as he nodded to himself. Good, this might turn out worth his time after all. He opened up the galaxy map and input the system provided by LCG.

"COL 285 SECTOR LJ-N B8-2... 139.17 light years from here..." he thought, and started to plot a route. His current fuel reserves would just barely make that at max jump range, but there was plenty of stars for a more economical route. After a quick mental calculation he made his decision. Going the first 4 jumps at max range and then switching to short range jumps seemed like a good compromise between speed and economy. That should leave him with enough fuel left to make it to an anarchy station before running out.

He checked the route again to make sure he wouldn't run out, and then prepared the message:

"You should expect me within the hour. I believe this meeting will benefit us both.
A word of caution: Should there be any other presence in the system, I will assume you, and any other ship, are hostile, and reserve my right to take preemptive action.

Ender"

Once the message was sent, he started the journey. After several different ships, he had settled on the Diamondback Scout as his favourite. It was a great ship to fly, agile and cold, allowing minimal delay from one jump to the next, able to engage the next jump as soon as the vector to the next system was clear of the star. It was also very sturdy when outfit properly, with a nice convergence on the hardpoints. Not that convergence was a matter with his current loadout: The scatter of the Cytoscramblers meant he would hit any ship close, quickly stripping their shields, while the Pack-hounds would make short work of the drives afterwards. It was meant to cripple, not kill.

Everything had gone well so far, and there was only one jump left to the system now. This is where a novice would usually go wrong, and perform the last jump. Shaking his head a bit, he once again plotted a route. It took a couple of tries before he found one which jumped through his actual target and continued with another few stars. This would let him quickly jump out if anything turned for the worse. He wasn't worried, but the difference between a cautious outlaw and a brave one, was that the brave never lived very long.

As the yellow T Tauri star grew to massive proportions in front of his ship, he made a quick turn and made for deep space while looking at his scanner. The black Diamondback Scout "Locust" had entered the designated system, and looked for A Knight of Goodness.

Last edit: 11 Oct 2020, 6:27pm
Creamy Goodness III
11 Oct 2020, 6:22pm
Ao!"Is it possible that you mean Captain Ao sir? Large scar on his face? Smokes...A lot...? If so how can I assist you tod..."

He stopped after glancing at the sender I.D

"Lord Goodness! My apologies sir, The Captain said that you may attempt to make contact, unfortunately he is resting right now, but I have standing instructions to transmit a BWCS encryption key to yourself and assist in any way I can, oh, sorry one moment please I just need to place you on hold..."


Creamy had no idea what a BWCS encryption key was and hoped Ninette would know what to do with it.

“Oh goooood, so happy to know he’s not still trapped on Citi Gateway. I’d have hated to had to.. “

The line buzzed for a second before Ravel's Bolero began to play in the background.

“Oh, I’m talking to the Bolero. The slow bit at the beginning. Do you think they are too polite to tell me to bugger off and are hoping I’ll just fall asleep?” asked Creamy rhetorically.

A thought occurred to Creamy while he waited.

“How did they know who I was Ninette? I forgot to introduce myself. Didn’t we have some sort of ID protection?”

“Les systèmes et logiciels nécessaires ne sont pas installés sur ce navire”
“The necessary systems and software are not installed on this vessel” Recited Creamy and Ninette together.

“I am sorry I neglected you on this build Ninette, I was in a hurry to get back to the Doctor. Look, I’ll buy you some .. unnecessary upgrades for your core systems to make up for it”

The Bolero was cut off way before it was in any danger of becoming interesting and a pleasingly feminine voice perked Creamys’ interest instantly.

Ao!"Lord Goodness? Acting captain Yamamoto speaking, the captain will be glad to hear you got away ok, he has asked me to let you know that Dr.Nymei, Jason and Amata got away clean if you have not already been contacted by themselves.
Listen, I would like to make a request, if at all possible can you please visit the carrier? We have some questions about the recent incident aboard the Gateway, and the serious implications involved in evidence we have dug up in regards to the incident, any information you have, even if you are not aware you have it could save lives or potentially avert a war, would you be willing to visit?"


Creamys’ voice changed tone. It was the audio equivalent of slipping on a velvet glove and his words oozed like warm honey when he answered.

“Naturally I am at your disposal acting Captain Yamamoto. As soon as I have seen to the mess Citi Gateway security made of my ship, I’ll come along to meet you. I am confident you and I will be able to keep things civil if we work together. I will expedite my work so as not to keep you waiting too long Captain. Good day to you M’lady”

Creamy didn’t mean to flirt; to him, it was an involuntary response. Just as a doctor would apply a little hammer under the kneecap to illicit a kick if Creamy detected attractive women he dropped into playful mode. Usually he didn’t even know he was doing it.

While Creamy was imagining what Captain Yamamoto may look like, he remembered the state of the kitchen, and that he may be getting a visit form the possibly gorgeous Ender at any moment. One of his academy friends had an auntie Ender and she was quite the looker. Creamy stopped the ship and turned it to point at the primary star. He activated the magnetic systems in his advanced flight suit and got up out of the pilot's seat.

“I got a lot of housework to do Ninette, let me know if anyone approaches us. I want to get this place ship shape and Bristol fashion before I welcome company”

The easy work was simply vacuuming up and disposing of the loose food that security had scattered all over the kitchen, or galley. Creamy called it a kitchen. The nutri-paste reclaimer was going to have some high grade pasted on offer this week.

“Ninette, send a copy of my weekday, and weekend menu to five of the best chefs at our next station please. I need to audition them to replace my stocks” sighed Creamy as he dropped another frozen meal into the recycler.

“Oui monsieur”

“Right, no putting it off. Looks like I have to wash everything from my smalls to my towels… Actually, I’ll go tidy the lounge. I’ll bet they broke my instruments to the unsavoury bliters”

After a bit of work, everything was back where it should be, and finely Creamy had to tackle the washing. It was the one job he still wished he had servants for. Creamy liked an extensive collection of clothes and shoes that took a lot of time to maintain. His bedclothes, towels, and gowns doubled the workload. Before he was done with his first sock draw, Ninette interrupted him; she stopped the music to relay a message.  

“Je reçois un message d'Ender. Voulez-vous que je vous le lise?”

Yes please Ninette. English with a female federal accent if you would be so kind. Thank you.

Ninette read the message out to her charge.

A C Ender"You should expect me within the hour. I believe this meeting will benefit us both.
A word of caution. Should there be any other presence in the system, I will assume you, and any other ship, are hostile, and reserve my right to take pre-emptive action.

Ender"


Creamy smiled as he put another pair of socks back together.

“She sounds just as spicy and Ellen don’ch think? I do hope she doesn’t say hello with a broken glass, I’ve had just about enough of being randomly attacked for the month”

Creamy looked at the mountain of laundry he still had to tackle.

“Hope she doesn’t mind if I entertain while I work. Still, at least all my glasses are plastic so that’s one less worry what?” he said with a chuckle.

Creamy cracked his knuckles and stretched.

“Let her know we’re sort of halfway towards the systems secondary star please Ninette and activate the beacon once ya satisfied there’s just one ship. She’s welcome to dock if she likes. I best crack on or this’ll never be done”
A C Ender
11 Oct 2020, 9:59pm
It was a binary system with no planets. The secondary star was over 100 ls away. If there was multiple ships there, they could easily be out of range of his scanner. What he could say for sure, is that there was none close to the primary star. He let the Locust speed of away from the orbit plane at first, making a large parabolic trajectory. Creamy had said he was about halfway between the star, so his aim were to come in from deep space at high speed, almost perpendicular to the orbital plane. This would give him more speed to play with, would he need to abort the intercept and try to shake someone attempting an interdiction.

It would take a few minutes to reach a rough midway point even with this path, and there wasn't much to do at this point for him. He had set the control to very slowly arc towards the secondary star by itself, with small corrections from time to time. Once in deep space and far from any large mass, it didn't matter much though. The frame shift drive would be able to quickly move him back on course. He took a deep breath, then unclasped the harness and drifted over to a small storage console in the side of the cockpit. He activated the iris scanner by inputting a 9 digit code, and then the console opened. Inside was an object which looked like a bracelet. The bracelet had a wide but thin strap woven from crimson and black synthetic fibres. Each end had a half of a golden metal Yin-and-Yan symbol. He grabbed the bracelet in his left hand and pushed the console shut with his right, then sent himself drifting back to the seat. Still holding the bracelet in his left hand, he caught the chair and swung himself around it, grabbing the harness and pulled himself back into it. The straps easily wrapped around around him as he fastened it back on.

He didn't like using this, but it was a precaution when he was operating alone. With a sigh he broke the seal of his right flight suit glove and pulled the arm of the suit halfway to the elbow. Wrapping the bracelet around his wrist, the two magnetic halves of the metal easily came together and bond together strongly. He pushed his left thumb against the metal, and felt the light tingle of the biometric sensor activating.

"LEO - Engage protocol MAD" he said with a dull voice. He had been enslaved once, and anything was better than risking that again. The computer responded with the same emotion as usual: "Mutually Assured Destruction protocol engaged."

Everything now prepared for the eventuality where he was disabled, he looked again at his sensors. He was close to the intercept, but still didn't see the ship. Then, a beacon activated, a bit to his right. 14 kLs away. He would be there in no time.

Moments later, the Diamondback Scout dropped at the beacon. She was in all black, with ENDER in large white letters on the ID, and the familiar decals of the Kumo Crew in several places on the ship. All exterior and interior lighting had been turned of. He saw the Krait up close for the first time, did a quick correction, and then killed his thrusters. He was drifting a bit further than 1000 m away, with his eyes darting around for any additional ships, on the scanner cold around him. He had activated Night Vision to make any possible enemy stand out against the backdrop of the stars, and his finger were ready to deploy the hardpoints.

"LEO - Send text message: I am on your location. Confirm approach" he said, and barely heard the response of the computer that the message had been sent.
Creamy Goodness III
11 Oct 2020, 10:32pm
“Monsieur, Ender est arrivé. Un autre message a été envoyé. Voulez-vous que je vous le lise?” intoned Ninette with the same deadpan calm as usual.

“Jolly good, yes please Ninette; same vocal settings as last time if you please sweetness” Creamy didn’t break his stride. He was ironing shirts like an expert right now.

A C Ender
"I am on your location. Confirm approach"


“Good heavens. Twitchy one isn’t she? Project an image of her ship to the window please”

Creamy glanced up at the dark ship and squinted for a while until he worked out what it was.

“Oh, it’s one of them Diamondback jobs. Listen Ninette, extend the umbilical and relay this message”

What ho Ender, welcome to nowhere interesting.
I’m neck-deep in laundry so I don’t really want to do the texting thing. We can use direct coms or ya welcome on board. I got a customised first-class cabin and a steam room with Jacuzzi. Needs quite a bit of gravity for the Jacuzzi though. Oh, and a wet bar I only looked at once.

Your choice, I’m going nowhere until the ties are back on their hangers.
A C Ender
12 Oct 2020, 1:20pm
Ender took a moment to think as he watched the umbilical extend. Wherever possible, he preferred to communicate eye to eye. Especially if it's a new "business". Besides, he had to admit he had become curious of this person. Laundry? First class cabin? This sounded like a person of substantial wealth. Seeing how he acts and react would allow him to push for a higher profit, in CR or other valuable means.

The ship responded easily to his touch, slowly drifting over towards the umbilical. With low "thunk" the ships connected together. Before he left the left the command chair, he gave his final order: "LEO - If you are disconnected without my presence within the ship or direct order, initiate MAD. Repeat back your full orders for MAD." It took the computer a second before he started to respond. "Protocol Mutually Assured Destruction; To be initiated if any combination of the following criteria return true: Loss of Biometric data relay of individual logged as A. C. Ender, loss of vital signs from individual logged as A. C. Ender, Loss of umbilical connection without presence OR direct permission of individual logged as A. C. Ender.".

The safety precautions seen to, he disconnected the harness and pushed himself up from the chair, twisted around in mid-air, and used the back of it to pull himself towards the cockpit bulkhead. While drifting through the ship, he spoke to the computer. "LEO - inform A Knight of Goodness that I will meter through the umbilical within the minute". A moment later, the computer confirmed that the message had been sent. On his way to the airlock connecting him to the other ship, he grabbed his weapon harness and clasped it onto the flight suit. The harness consisted of a shoulder strap with a pocket for long slender scabbard for a long slender blade attached hilt down on the right side of his chest. The handle had a finger ring at the end, and a spider inlaid into the handle in red.

Having made his way through the umbilical, all that remained was waiting for A Knight of Goodness airlock to cycle. He wiped his fingers briefly over his hair, tied back in a knot at the base of his skull. In a few moments, the airlock would be ready. He grabbed hold of the rails with both hands, ready to lunge through at maximum speed. Enemy territory? Friendly? He didn't know yet, but he was prepared. His flight suit was of a high quality but simple model, reinforced with synthetic fibres but lacking padding. He had gone for a model with maximum protection without restricting mobility. It could stop blunt kinetic impacts, but he would feel the full force of the blow against his body. The black suit almost felt like a second skin, and in a way, it was. The skin of a career pirate and outlaw.
Amata Lirein
12 Oct 2020, 6:49pm
Nerys Nymei"Gerhard, can you please record a voice message in reply to the one just received from Creamy Goodness? Maximum encryption."

"Of course, Ma'am. I am listening".

"To Creamy from Nerys Nymei. I have received your message and I am glad to hear that you are safe and sound on your ship. I have escaped with Amata and Jason, and we are ok, but we have lost contact with Ao. I am worried about the transponder you can possibly have onboard: if it indeed exists, it must be found and destroyed as soon as possible. Please head to the Stephens Enterprise station in the Burojinura system: you will be guided to a private dock and your ship will be cleaned of all parasites. I'm looking forward to meet you soon. Nerys."


In the meantime Gerhard, Amata's COVAS, chimed in. "Commander Lirein, Mister Frimantle wants me to relay this message to you. The text message we recieved earlier seems to be from Commander Ao and contains a com frequency as well as an encryption key for it. Do you wish me to establish said channel?"

Amata looked at Nerys. "Shall we or would you prefer reaching Stephens Enterprise first?"
Creamy Goodness III
12 Oct 2020, 9:44pm
A C Ender

Having made his way through the umbilical, all that remained was waiting for A Knight of Goodness airlock to cycle. He wiped his fingers briefly over his hair, tied back in a knot at the base of his skull. In a few moments, the airlock would be ready. He grabbed hold of the rails with both hands, ready to lunge through at maximum speed. Enemy territory? Friendly? He didn't know yet, but he was prepared. His flight suit was of a high quality but simple model, reinforced with synthetic fibres but lacking padding. He had gone for a model with maximum protection without restricting mobility. It could stop blunt kinetic impacts, but he would feel the full force of the blow against his body. The black suit almost felt like a second skin, and in a way, it was. The skin of a career pirate and outlaw.





The light bump made Creamy nudge his ironed pile but the magno-strip kept it from toppling over and floating off. Creamy straightened the pile and carried on working on the shirt in the press. He had a little while before the airlock would equalise and let Ender board. Ninette read Enders' message to him reminding Creamy about his computers' voice.

“Ninette, please use English while we have guests but keep your wonderful accent old girl”

“Yes sir. Shall I change to mood lighting and play your One More Drink mix?” asked Ninette in her French accent.

With his brow furrowed Creamy looked up from putting the latest shirt under the magno-strip. He was glad to be having company, but he was surprised to find he wasn’t getting ready to play the game.

“Yes, why ever not” he said absently and started making his way to the airlock.

Creamy stood in front of the heavy door trying not to glace through the little window at his guest. He naturally fell into a pose to show off his height and size stroking his hair to check it was tidy. The door hissed as the pressure equalised and the door opened.

“Enchantée Madaaaand you’re a chap”

Creamy stood there looking at Ender for the briefest of moments slightly disappointed before smoothly changing gear back into good host mode. Smiling like a Maître D’ Creamy stood aside extending a hand towards Ender and the other towards the lounge.

“Welcome to A Knight of Goodness sir” Creamy was a little unhappy he hadn’t had the opportunity to use that pun on Nerys first “If you would care to step this way I’ll guide you to the lounge. The ship has magno-grip throughout if like me, you prefer to walk, but you’re welcome to drift”

With a shallow bow Creamy walked back eager to get the ironing finished before the final load came out of the washing machine.

“I am Lord Creamy Goodness the Third of Cubeo Threes Northern Territories. This boat is brand new, you may be able to tell as the FSD hasn’t left that cooked smell in the air filtration system. Think I may have just about put a thousand light-years on it” said Creamy looking back over his shoulder for a moment with a grin.

“I would have put a little spread out, but security raided the kitchen looking for.. .. Well I don’t know what they were looking for, but they ruined most of my snacks. I did see a pack of Jammie Dodgers that survived. Your welcome to open them if you have a sweet tooth. I won’t be eating them”

Creamy paused for a moment looking left and right trying to remember where the lounge was.

“Ar! This way. Now, security didn’t find the bar because it was retracted. My custom cabin has made great use of the type of cabin model of ship can fit by having a few things retract or fold away much like the Jacuzzi that doubles as a steam room. Anyway back to the bar, I haven’t done more than look at it so I doubt any of the bottles have pressurised nozzles fitted, but I’m sure you know how to use them”

Walking into the lounge, Creamy went back to his makeshift work station.

“Please make yourself at home and help yourself to refreshments. I imagine the nozzles are with the pressurised glass tops, I really want to get this job done. Still got to check all my footwear for scuffs don'ch know?”

Looking at his guest, Creamy realised he had been a poor host.

“I do apologise sir, I’ve had a bit of a trying day and I am eager to get back to my friend the Doctor. That is no excuse for poor manners and I very sorry to have made a substandard first impression”

Creamy then noticed the mood lighting and accompanying music.

Last edit: 12 Oct 2020, 9:50pm

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