Black Rock Drifter

[WolfyWetFurr]

-Prologue-

In the dark expanse of space, a solitary ship rumbles on. Lost and abandoned, the ship has managed to hold a course that keeps it out of harms way. With no one laying claim to it, it's automated defenses are all that stave off petty pirates, scrap farmers, and smaller bits of space debris. There have been no on board lights. No communications chatter. No sign of life from this all but dead behemoth ship. So why would it be any different now? What caused it's distress beacon to activate and who would care to find out? You are armed with weapons deactivation codes and sent to discover if the ship was salvageable.

- - - - -

"Destination Reached." Sounded the captain's helm Ai. Infinite opened one eye and then another as they adjusted to the soft glow of his console. Soft blues lit several black switches, keys, and other user interfaces. "Doesn't look like anythings here.' he muttered, sitting up in his tall chair to lean forward and peer out the window. His eyes saw nothing but the black of space with it's billions of distanced stars. But as a proximity alert sounded, Infinite looked to his monitors to find that a massive vessel was drifting directly in front of his own ship's drift path. After slipping his hands around the control sticks, he used very subtle motions to ease his ship back and away. The ship there was not cloaked so why Infinite could not see it puzzled him for a moment until he recalled an encounter with a black rock asteroid cluster half a year back. "Are you really covered in stone all about? Heavy and useless that is..." he pondered aloud as he steered his ship about the larger vessel using his navigational displays, looking for a docking port, which a ship that large should have for shuttles at least.

Either the codes he was given to get in under the larger ships guns worked, or were just not needed as he came along side to dock with it. After anchoring his ship the larger ship started what seemed to be an automated docking procedure and used magnetized arms to help further secure his ship. "Well aren't we gentlemen." said the captain as he stood from his seat and walked out of the cab and into the hall that lead into the rest of the ship with a few doors leading to separate rooms on either side before opening into the Rec room with attached kitchen. The latex sergal headed through the large room and down a short set of stairs to the under level. The back half of the ship was just storage and engines, with the front half having everything else.

Infinite stepped into the sleeping chambers and flicked on a light. The crew assigned to this mission were all fast asleep in uniform plug suits with in a tank that kept them snoozing soundly. Walking by each tank, he checked on the members of the team. The plug suits were snug and form fitting. The uniform color theme was mostly gray with blue racing stripes down the left side of the body and ID Numbers along the chest and shoulders, the one on the chest having the members first name and last initial right over it.


[ Each of you can now make a post about yourself, asleep in your tank. Your asleep until I wake you. Those that are new, please see the out of character thread named simular to this one. See OOC chat for suggestions if needed.]

[Arratra]

Za'rak Arra'tan, a Bladed Sea Dragon, electro-mechanical engineer and code breaker. Expert with computers.

Za'rak was raised on the homeworld of his species, like most of his kind, and had not seen the galaxy at large until he grew up. He graduated from school with a degree in computer engineering, and in computer programming. He became a professional code-breaker, testing the latest defensive software freelance. He also helped build and repair computers, but soon found himself in a number of rescue operations where he had to learn how to repair and/or bypass more physical defenses and machines. Afterwards, the company he was working for shut down, and he was shunted to a small salvage operation based off his homeworld. Again, to his misfortune, this company also shut down, and he was set adrift, working freelance as a code-breaker and engineer. It wasn't too long, however, before his talent would draw the attention of a larger salvage crew.
This crew.

Za'rak's bladed body was almost too big for the tank; Bladed Sea Dragons were physically rather large, since body heat was lost less quickly with a larger body (and thus less relative surface area), and they were adapted to handle long periods underwater. His wings didn't help either, even though they were wrapped tightly around his torso.

Za'rak's suit, of course, had to be custom-tailored to fit; off the homeworld of his species, there weren't many mass-produced garments that accomodated wings, blades, and armoured forearms. On the chest was "Za'rak A" followed by the usual string of nonsense numbers and letters. The suit had additional guards over his blades, to avoid him damaging the interior of the tank, and the blue stripes made the grey seem even more dull compared to Za'rak's sky-blue scales. Draped near the tank was his favourite fur-lined jacket, which he had insisted he'd needed to help regulate his body temperature when away from his homeworld. Certainly none of the crew had ever seen him without it or a heavy blanket, except inside the stasis tank.

[Buzzwolf]

0171355
Rhodey, J

The indentification strip read on the tigers chest, bisecting the vibrant blue line running down the left side of the greu, form-fitting uniform. his start black fur floating freely in the fluid of tank starting at the edge of the uniform. a metal hose jutting from just behind the felines shoulder gave off an faint humming, as did all the other metal fibers connecting to the felines body, each of the multiple ports connecting along his spine, the larger ports on the back side of his shoulders connecting with a set of clear tubes, wires within running along the core as it served it's dual purpose. smaller of the connections running along the felines arms, slipping through his rich black fur to the silver ports hidden against his skin.

A single hose connected to an artificial tip on the end of the felines long tail, a split port beneath the fur hidden by a artificial joint when not connected. but the most prominent, was the large port at the base of the felines neck. The outter design seeming almost like a gear embedded in his skin, scar tissue and discolored fur surrounding the gear, the heavy cable connecting deep into the felines nervous system, the main port for the neural connection to his suit.

Months of augments, treatments, and nearly a year of recovery it had taken for him to be qualified to work with the powerful machines, learning the trade, for the years of work he would later preform. building the powerful war machines of the empire, destroying the old to make way for the new.

Scars all up and down his powerful arms reminded him daily of his work, injuries that would have normally taken digits, limbs, or even lives for one unequipped with the augments he'd been given.

A fluxuation wavered the sensors attached to the feline, a oddity in the brain activity and a momentary elevated heartbeat, the felines head shifted slightly sightly side to side in the water, the short white hair waving in the current, the tall ears shifting and twitching as the fluxuations stabilized on the monitors.

no tubes or mask was seated over the felines mouth or dark black nose, for there was no need, not when he was in stasis. when he was asleep, his augments took care of him, they fed him, supplied his blood the oxygen he needed, the neutrients he needed, even kept a positive current to keep his muscles from atrophying while in stasis. even his dreams were supplied by the computer he was connected to, a type of drugged sleep that kept the users brain active and happy...for the most part. as if living a real life situation, drama and action, love and loss, all up to the imagination of the attached being in stasis.

And Jack, seemed to be having one hell of a dream.



Laying strewn across the top of the tank, was an unusual creature, the sleek gloss black fur blending in with the shadows of the wiring, a pair of long lean paws hanging off the side of the tank like a cat snoozing on a window sill, his long tail falling over the side to the floor far below, curling to keep anyone walking by from tripping on the long extremity.


A small glint of light from the shadow would draw the attention of anyone looking his way to the large teardrop eyes, hidden away in the shadows, the sensation of an annoyed yawn passed around the room with a telepathic ripple before the feline levered himself up on his forelegs, and rolled with a thump, putting his back to the being who disturbed his nap, his tail tip flicking about, showing his annoyance at being disturbed

[Terrapun]

Anabiosis tank emits a soft hum as it circulates the liquid that secures its occupant. Inside, rests a tall and slender, lizardlike creature. Light illuminates his dark blue scales and grey plug suit. Rows of numbers written on the suit identify him as Herman G., medical technician. Currently packed as tightly as a sardine in a can, with his four arms folded against his chest and his long tail pretzeled in the back of the tank in such a way that even looking at it is painful. Oddly enough, his face is almost... happy. Probably because this method of transportation reminded him of home, and countless months spent in anabiosis as his family chased after some ore rich asteroid. He waits for a time when he will be needed, with a patience found only in those put into suspended animation or deceased.

[BIos_Reaper]

Bio-stasis pod technology. Less enduring than cryonic pod storage during long voyages, but very useful for those with a disdain for being frozen near solid. Inside this particular bio-stasis pod floats the unmistakable silhouette of an Altinian. Relatively stretched out, his plug-suit covers absolutely everything from head to toe, and he even had a special fitting helmet installed, specifically to alleviate the Altinians high need for a slightly specialized nitrogen-oxygen air mixture which he required in almost double dosage compared to other carbon-compatible races. The suit-numbers carefully inscribed onto the suit identified him as Savi Reneé, On-Site Remote Operations Technician. The middle-aged Altinian barely even twitched, having given in to a lucid "dream" he had installed on his cerebral memory discs before the journey began and as such was at peace.

His biological readouts would be peaceful aside from the frantic but faint electrical impulses going off in his head, indications of his implants internal reality being at work. Personally he would have preferred a nice, solid and very heavily protected cryonic module to this comparably less protected unit. His two tails cleverly wrapped mildly around each leg, his legs slightly bent at the knees. In his mind he visited far off worlds, saved empires and lead entire fleets to battle, internal video-gaming was a grand way to pass the time, especially with internal relativity in play, he could set a game session for six hours and wake up six months later having experienced none of the actual journey's length.

Technology, it was a wonderful thing indeed.

[WolfyWetFurr]

[had to reformat my comp tonight, but said I would post before sleep so, here it is heh.]

Stopping at the last two tanks, Infinite took in a deep breath and sighed. The last of the tanks were for himself and Aran Summers, both of which were empty. He had to stay up to keep control over the ship and Aran kept him company among other things as she maintained a regular sleeping cycle opposed to the others that were to be kept asleep until arrival.

The sergal curled his tail behind himself, raising it up into an 'S' shape with a flick as he looked over the others that slept. "Hope you all had decent dreams, if any." he thought aloud, glancing up to the feline like creature above one of the tanks. This was hardly a first class flight, but the creature seemed to have tolorated the long trip well enough. With a shrug, Infinite streached his fingers a bit and began to start the wake up procedures. The tanks would let out their water and slowly fill the tanks with an oxigen mix to aclimate the passengers before delivering weak stimulants to help them wake before opening.

[Terrapun]

Mild stimulants, administered by the tank, started to take effect on Geist, his long ears begun to twitch, as life and warmth returned to his body. Consciousness followed shortly. He stayed almost motionless for a while, his eyes closed and ears moving constantly, trying to catch any sounds from his surroundings. “The revival procedure seems normal, nobody wants me out of this thing in a hurry...” he thought, “there are no sounds indicating an emergency, no whizzing air or soundless vacuum. That must mean that we've reached our destination without any surprises.” He relaxed a little, this meant that he had enough time to be revived properly, instead of dashing out of his tank, half blind in a mad rush to get to his bags and, consequently, his would-be patients. “Maybe there'll be no need for medics on this job.” He wondered, while removing the various wires and hoses that provided him with oxygen-rich liquids and nutrition during his stay in the tank. He coughed madly when his lungs expelled remaining liquid. “I shouldn’t even think such thoughts” he reminded himself “that's practically asking Murphy to enact his laws.” He stabilised his breathing and waited for his tank to open “No use bothering about it now. We'll see what we'll see... I guess. I only hope that my co-workers will be decent and, preferably, injury-proof, folks.”

[Arratra]

Za'rak's body started twitching and shifting in the tank even before the tank was fully drained; it was the stimulus of the water pressure leaving the upper body and thesubsequent metabolic shift, if only slight. As the stimulants started to work, the Bladed Sea Dragon groaned and shifted his wings from around him so that they rested on his back.
Engine noise is normal, so there's no problems with the drive, he throught, flicking a bit of wet hair out of his eye, Life support seems nominal, and Infinite knows not to wake me unless it's an emergency or we've reached out destination. My guess would have to be the latter; looks like we've reached our drifter.
Za'rak grimaced as he rubbed at the white circle on his forehead; a pounding pain was building beneath it, a negative reaction that Bladed Sea Dragons often had to wake-up stims that weren't specifically formulated for them.
"A'krah, Infinite, I thought you'd switched this tank to a stim that's friendly to my kind," he groaned, "My head is killing me!"

[Buzzwolf]

The small panel set into the side of Jacks tank lit up with a soft light as Infinite keyed in the wake up sequences. small lines of code beginning to run across the screen as the fluid began to drain from the tank, the system running it's pre wake checks on it's occupant. A flutter in the heartbeat, another in the EKG as the system ran it's check.


The Felines fur shone soft as the fluid drained, leaving it shiny and wet, the soft material of the standard uniform draining of fluid as the water resistant material shed the weight. The Feline slowly setting foot on the bottom of the tank as his bouyancy was taken from him.


A white line of flashing code appeared on the small screen after a long series of checks as the fluid vanished entirely from the tank. The felines nose suddenly flared as his chest rose, his eyes snapping open and his heart racing a moment before settling as a normal breathing rate was established. a ripple along his muscles triggered by a mild neural shock, set into action the removal of the life support as the muscles flexed in response, the tubes and hoses snapping and popping free of their connectors as the feline came back to life.


The black feline creature laying atop the tanks gave of the sense of another yawn before rolling it's head back to look backwards over the edge of the tank at Infinite, his long ears flipping about to hang limp over the side of the tank before the creature rolled, and hopped nimbly to the floor, circling once before stretching much like a housecat, all four of it's fore legs stretched as his toes spread, and thin claws slipped out, dragging lightly on the floor as the feline sat up, relaxing and looking around. Giving the sergal a polite nod as his big black eyes fell on their employer, suddenly flinching as feline waking in from his drugged sleep toppled with a heavy, tank rattling thud onto the floor, his head landing just a foot from the felines forepaws with a groan "neyah...five mer minutes..." he muttered, the wiring connected to the port at the base of his neck popping free with an audible click and retracting into the tank, making him flinch and shift. Gyros shook his head and motioned as if rolling his eyes before nosing against the felines head, nudging him awake. Come on you, time to get up he groaned and swatted uselessly at the nudging "...alright alright...I'm up..." he yawned as he got his arms under him, getting himself to his feet and yawning as he stretched


He grimaced and rubbed his ears as the dragon started off going on about his tank "ugh...Come on mate, it's too early for that...sides...last I checked, it was your job to prep your tank, not his..." he looked sleepily toward the sergal "Hey, there..coffee or something on this crate?" drugged sleep always hung heavy the longer he was in stasis, and an applied stim while waking always had a habit of having some nasty side effects, some caffeine when he woke however, was like a fresh breath of air. Gyros just shook his head with a chuckle.

[BIos_Reaper]

The V.I. routines of the advanced bio-stasis pod, build specifically to accommodate Altinians initiated the awakening procedure, a series of green colored holographic lighting indicating the process was engaging, a series of binary, biological readouts, cybernetic maintenance reports. The systems were powering up one by one, getting ready to drain and re-vitalize their user. As the revitalization process commenced the fluid drained and cables disconnected the helmet which kept the middle-aged Altinians head covered pulled back, dividing in two as the thick, tubular cabling withdrew into the pod.

The helmet was actually an advanced nerve interface connecting directly to his extensive neural implans for stimulated and controlled dreaming. Dreamscaping it was called, or "Dream-induced Escaping" if you wanted to get technical. Altinians hated the boring waiting period of bio-suspension, preferring cryonic suspension as it was sleep, then waking up, with no perceived amount of time passing in between. His body gradually sunk to the bottom of the chamber until the last drop of liquid oxygen was withdrawn from the pod.

Coughing, expelling the liquid o2 from his lungs, his nostrils flaring, ears twitching and his eyes opening, glowing briefly as the advanced optics took in their surroundings. The cybernetic part of him awake long before his brain caught up, rebooting and gradually waking his body up slowly but surely as the A.I. sub-routines took note of the environment and his circumstances for awakening. Inhaling deeply, he spread his toes and fingers, his two tails starting to swish as the LED's on his plug-suit switched from green to red to indicate it was no longer supporting his biology as he was now operating using his own system.

Gradually aligning himself he sat up in the tank, leaning up against it, shaking his head to clear the liquid from his ears as they twitched for every noise in the room, which was a lot of times. "No accelerated awakening procedure, body functions nominal, cerebral activity reaching optimal levels, cardio levels nominal, blood pressure stable." Savi giggled, stretching as the last of the fluid left his lungs and he noticed the others who appeared as fresh from the pods as he was. "Anybody else... *he coughs* despise... *deep breath* bio-stasis liquid o2? It always tastes... like... like stale seawater."

[WolfyWetFurr]

Infinite perked his pointy ears as the passengers began to come around. Geist's chamber began to open once he was alert and standing on his own. When Za'rak complained, the latex sergal glanced down at his display for a moment before hearing Jack reply for him. "Can't say I share your sentiment Savi." Replied Infinite, "I enjoy sleeping in it. As for you Jack, this is not a fancy cruise and there are many luxuries that are beyond my means to provide." he smirked, "Fortunately, coffee is not beyond me. Neither is real food. But being that real food is best fresh, and any of you could be feeling sick enough to puke, barf bags are provided and food comes a little later." he concluded, having spoke loudly to make sure the rest heard him as well.

After deactivating the console that monitored the tanks, Infinite strode on past each sleeper to give them a brief and impersonal looking over before he was to leave the room, "I will get started on the cooking. We are docked with the drifter and the rest of the details can be said after you eat. I imagine you will want to do so soon, so come on to the dining room when you're ready."

As he finished seeking the sergal left. The 'dining room' was merely a table in a room that was attached to the small kitchen. After several minutes, the smells related to a breakfast restaurant would surprise their noses. Their captain could cook more than warmed up rations...

[Terrapun]

Geist slowly exited his tank, he was still a bit weak and cold after the revival procedure. He stopped after making the first step as his stomach communicated to him its intention to secede from his body. He fought a brief yet epic battle to keep it in check, while maintaining a relaxed look, as befitted a seasoned spacer. When he was sure that he won't make a fool of himself in front of his co-workers he finally left his tank for good. His long tail snapped unpleasantly as it unfurled behind him.

He looked around the compartment getting his bearings, his long ears moved curiously trying to catch even the faintest of sounds. He stopped, a little perplexed, at the sight of the black, six legged, feline, wondering who would bring his pet on such a mission. Then his brain kicked in and informed him that this, in fact, may be one of his co-workers. He gave a feline a polite nod, hoping that his confusion wasn't apparent. “Sweet Murphy! I don’t even know what species it is” he thought to himself “how am I supposed to treat... him? Her? It? Goddamnit!”
The others were also up and about, they were even well enough to complain and demand coffee. He smiled, for it was a good sign. “Now that's something I am familiar with. When your patient has no strength to complain, then you need to worry.” His brain was still a bit sluggish without its caffeine fix, so before he had a chance to greet the captain he was off, making breakfast.

This faux pas made Geist realise that it is high time that he should open his mouth and introduce himself. He positioned himself so he could see everyone, put on his “confident and reassuring” smile and started his introduction “Hello, I am Herman Geist and I will be your medic for the duration of this assignment. I'm sure that none of you has the stomach for long introductions so I'll be as brief as possible. During our breakfast, so generously provided by our employer (hopefully, free of charge), I would like to take some time to calibrate my equipment and check if everything is in working order, it is also a good time for a quick medical check up before boarding the derelict. It is completely voluntary but it would be advisable, especially if you have any pains or feel ill after our revival.”
He made his “this is serious” face. “Also if you are outfitted with some kind of augmentations, especially those that govern your health, please let me know. Most augs have safeguards that prevent tampering with them and this can be quite... troublesome sometimes. It is very hard to hack your patient and stabilise him at the same time. Therefore it would help me greatly if those of you that posses such augmentations could provide me with medical access to them. I must assure you that all information shared between me and my patients is confidential, additionally any access codes are purged from the paramedics bag perishable memory once they are not needed. Again, all this is completely voluntary, however it would help me a great deal.”
He smiled again and sighed, his ears set in “relaxed” position. “Thank you for listening, I won't take any more of your time, see you at breakfast. Unless any of you have some questions for me?” His ears perked curiously.

[Arratra]

Za'rak was less reserved than the medic, but, aside from the headache, he was pretty much good-to-go. And the headache was already fading.
Putting his jacket on was, as always, a tricky endeavour; it always was for Bladed Sea Dragons, given their blades and wings. However, Za'rak was so used to off-world travel by now, that the movements were simple muscle memory.
Once he had the garment seated comfortably, he turned to the medic.
"I am Za'rak Arra'tan," he introduced, "Electro-mechanical engineer and code breaker."
Those around him might have been surprised to hear this; Za'rak was 2.25 metres of sleek muscle and sharp blades (the usual impression one gets from a Bladed Sea Dragon), and looked little like a stereotypical hacker or engineer.
"I believe it would be best to add that I'm a Bladed Sea Dragon," he continued, "and my species is known to have adverse reactions to certain types of normally trans-species medicines."

[Buzzwolf]

A pleased grin crosses the tigers face as their employer makes mention of possibly having some coffee, he tossed off an offhanded salute as the Sergal left the room, almost immediately his ears shifting and tossing a curious glance toward the creature that made himself known as the ships Doc.

A warm smile slowly slipped across his muzzle as the doc spoke, chuckling as he made mention of a routine 'check up' to calibrate his instruments. His heavy foot falls resounded around the room at the few soft steps he took back toward his tank as the Doc went on to ask about any augments or medical conditions his to be patients might have.

He reached in, tapping his fingers along one wall of the internal side of the tube, a beep-click following the motion before a pad released from the inside of the pod. he stood, holding the slim pad between his fingers, his other hand dancing over the screen at unseen buttons on it's touch surface "The ships Doc...best friend, and worst enemy of any Orion Soldier" he paused as he smirked "Thankfully, not the profession I've chosen" he laughs and holds the tablet out, offering it to the Doc "Names Jack Doc, This contains all the relevant medical data you may need in the event I'm injured, dealing with anything from my muscular enhancers, to the reinforced skeltal structure required for my normal work, though you'll find few things that won't work, most just don't tend to be enough for an Orion frame" he pats the mans shoulder after handing it off "I trust you'll destroy that when this mission is complete though" he drops his voice a bit as he speaks, a serious tone entering the low voice "There's information in there that, if it nevers sees outsiders of the Orions, it'll be too soon, mkay?" he chuckles, the broad grin returning as he pats his shoulder once more before turning toward the door emanating the smell of a delicious breakfast

"As for Gyros...well..." he looks over at the feline, raising an eyebrow and getting a similar expression in return from the felinoid "...hell...I don't even know that much about his physiology...If you can figure him out doc, you should get a medal or something..."


The giant pure black eyes of gyros turned and settled on the Doc, the black orbs unblinking, seeming even unmoving as if staring through the reptillian I apologise for the intrusion His voice suddenly rising in the docs head I caught a sense of confusion when you first looked at me...don't worry, you hid it rather well from the others, You have an excellent poker face Herman Geist He paused a moment, as if gauging if speaking in the reptiles head was disconcerting or not, his four ears each lifting, one at a time, then laying back down, the smaller, lower pair staying down as the larger upper set lifted in a causal position My name, or dubbed name I should say, is Gyros. I have no last name, nor a first. I am a fully functioning telepath and dimensional walker. if you find yourself in need to repair myself, you have much more to be worried about than my physical well being...You may speak in mind or person, I will hear either. I do have the capibility, but it is against my purpose to probe uninvited into ones mind. If you should speak out in mind to me, I will know if it is intended for myself. He looked up as Jack, headed out, rubbing the felinoids head like a large dog as he followed the smell of sizzling food. The black six legged creature looked back to the Reptillian I do not eat, for I have no mouth, nor nose. If you wish to join the delightful smelling meal, we may continue speaking at a later time?
______

The soft, hurried click of toe nails hurried along the hall outside the stasis room, bypassing it entirely as the owner went right for the 'mess'. The golden furred vulpine slipped in to the kitchen with a smile "infinite! why didn't you say you were making breakfast! Real food too no less!" she wore a rather revealing sports bra and pair of short gym shorts, showing off her beautiful golden and white fur and the elaborate white 'dye' pattern tattoo on her shoulder, a pair of padded fingerless gloves still on her hands, her practically signature yellow tinted glasses sitting in the same spot as always on her nose. her lit augments circulating between various colors of 'happiness', obvious that she'd just hurried from the improvised workout room to the smell of real food as her luscious tail swished slowly back and forth behind her. "Need a hand?"

[WolfyWetFurr]

The ship made little noise as it rested in the dock aside from the flicker of lights as power was shifted into lighting through out the ship. Air circulation and filtration hummed softly about the place as it worked to extend the value of the life support and the occasional clatter from the kitchen.


The sergal's ears flicked up then back to hone in on the sciter scatter of claws on the cool metallic floor before a familiar chimed in behind him, "In a hurry. Just woke the others. Relied on that lil snout of yours to inform you and it seems to have worked. You would'a heard the call if anything." he glances away from the several skillets on the flat top stove to look at the bright fox, "But since your here and asked, sure! Most the meats are near done if not fully here so you could start the pancakes." His thick tailed swayed in delight. Having Aran with her bright fur and equally bright mind and personality made the long voyages through space more than bearable.

[Terrapun]

“Ah, nice to meet you Mister Arra'tan.” Geist smiled. “I believe I could help you with your head ache. I will only have to get my equipment, and some more appropriate garments first.” He reached to his locker and quickly donned a pair of grey trousers and a white shirt, which made him look more presentable. Then he procured a large, black paramedic's bag with the Far Reach Medical Corps logo on it. At least I covered the plug suit and with any luck, I'll look like a real physician now. He sighed quietly at that thought. “These trans-species... medicines, rarely work as advertised, you should avoid them whenever possible.” He took out a small PDA and tapped the screen, quickly finding what he was looking for. He reached into his bag and produced two large pills, then he handed them to Za'rak. “Incitomax can cause adverse reactions in your species, yes. Nothing serious or life threatening but it is best to be on the safe side and remove it from your system at once. This chem-scrubbers will bond with the stims molecules and transport them to your kidney analogue. You must remember to keep yourself well hydrated while the scrubbers do their work. If the headaches continue please come see me immediately. Well, I will not take any more of your time as you must be starving after this trip. Have a pleasant meal.”


Geist gave the dragon a polite nod and then started to adjust the carrier straps on his bag hoping that this mundane task will mask his nervousness. For the first time he was not a part of a team of medics, he was the team. And this realisation, slowly started to sink in. He was still a little absent minded, thinking about things that could go wrong, when he realised that the large tiger was addressing him. He stood up, and straightened his shirt a little with his lower pair of hands while extending the upper pair in a greeting. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” He smiled and then, almost immediately, lowered his ears in embarrassment. “I'm not sure I deserve to be titled “Doc” as I am only a medtech. By the Silesian classification I am certified to provide first aid and such, but preforming a brain surgery would be frowned upon. It is widely believed that we could sew your hand to your forehead, or something, if left unsupervised.” He smiled weakly, then made one of his serious faces. “I can assure you however, that I am more than capable of taking care of my patients, and of course doctor-patient confidentiality still stays in effect, I would void my warranty if it didn't. So I would first eat this pad raw rather then letting it fall in to the wrong hands.” He ended on a lighter note, smile slowly returning. Albeit uncertain one, as Jack's warning was a bit... unsettling.


He, then focused his attention on the six legged feline, and to his surprise his “on-board narrator” the voice in his head that read various things to him since he could remember, started speaking to him on his own. After the initial surprise he focused more on this new sensation and noticed that while it was, indeed, similar to his own thoughts, there was some subtle differences identifying it as an alien influence. His ears resembled semaphores as they went from “surprised” to “confused” to, finally, settle for “curious” moving slightly in an subconscious effort to mimic his “speakers” behaviourisms, and, of course, failing as he lacked the sufficient number of ears. When Gyros finished speaking Geist, immediately, tried communicating in his mind, curious of the effects. "Hello? Testing... Hope I'm broadcasting clearly. I'm terribly sorry Mister Gyros, I was a bit confused by your appearance, in my defence I was still recovering from the anabiosis. I must confess though, I have spent many hours in Albert-Ludwigs-Medizinische-Universität library and I don't recall reading about your species. This is a bit of a problem if I am to properly treat any injuries and not make them worse. In addition you were... saying that I should worry not only for your “physical well being”, is this connected to the fact that you are a telepath? Am I to assume that your physical body is more strongly connected to your mind than... mine for example? And if worst comes to worst I will have to possibly treat both? And the question of nutrients, you are alive so you must gather your energy from somewhere. Your Metabolism must be radically different from mine or anybody else for that matter. Currently I could only resort to guesswork. I know I should not be saying this but I guess it's no use pretending in front of someone who can read my emotions. I don’t even know if I have proper tools to help you if the need arises, and frankly this scares me more than anything. At this point a good poker face is a nice thing to have, don't you agree?" Geist sighed, then shook his head angrily "Great Murphy I follow your teachings too well! I'm sorry. This is my first real job outside the safety of my home system, and I'm a bit shaken up. Mister Gyros? Can I ask you not to tell anyone about this? I will do my best to keep everyone in one piece, but, as it turns out, in some cases I will need some help. Can I count on it? But I'm talking your mind's ear off, I should be going to the mess hall soon or else there will be nothing left for me. But I hope we can converse later, and hopefully when I fill my belly I won't be in such a mopey state." The blue reptile fastened the paramedic's bag to his back and was ready to leave the room.

[Arratra]

Za'rak dry-swallowed the pills without hesitation as he walked over to his own locker, pulling out a pair of cargo pants, his utility belt (with gauntlets still attached), his boots, and his red bandanna. He also pulled out a large bottle of water, which he opened and downed several large gulps before doing anything else.
He pulled on the pants first, right over the top of the plug suit, just like his jacket. He slipped on the utility belt next, right over the waistband of the pants, the currently empty holster resting on his right hip. He then pulled on the boots, then tied the bandanna around his forehead, removing the white circle from view. Once this was done, he reached back into his locker before removing a handgun-shaped weapon of Bladed Sea Dragon manufacture. Given this, it was so large that most other races would have difficulty wielding it properly.

Za'rak had selected this weapon himself, albeit not specifically for this mission; it was a directed energy weapon, a Blaster that could work equally well above or below water due to how it was made. It was rather average among Blasters of its time, despite its size (and discounting its rather unusual ability to fire underwater), but it also had a charged-shot capability, which most non-military blasters lacked. The weapon required a special license to get, given its nature (energy weapons being restricted on the homeworld of the Bladed Sea Dragons), and it had taken Za'rak months of tedious paperwork and psycological exams beyond his gun lisence to acquire the lisence for it and the gun itself, which had been with him since he'd joined the other salvage crew.
The one that had gone under.
It wasn't as powerful as a cutting-edge, new blaster, but Za'rak had always favoured it, mainly because of its simple reliability and good accuracy. There was also the sentimental value, and the plain difficulty and expense in acquiring a newer-model weapon. And there was also the custom-made power pack that was slotted into it; a micro-fusion unit that would last ten years of military-grade use between recharges, meaning he didn't have to worry about running out of shots in the middle of a firefight... something that could well save his life, he'd been quick to realise.

Za'rak spent a minute examining the weapon in detail, before holstering it and reaching into the locker again, this time retrieving a combat knife in its sheath. This, he strapped to his right thigh, just above the pouch-shaped pocket. He paused at this point, glancing at the photo attached to the locker door. It was held in place by old-fashioned, waterproof, temporary gum adhesive (essentially blu-tac).
Za'rak sighed, and shut the locker, then stepped back. He paused, turning to look at the six-legged feline creature, and tilted his head slightly.

[BIos_Reaper]

"I doubt there is anything there most of our species intelligence departments do not already know my good sir." Savi replied as the Orion finished asking the doc to keep his augments off the record. "You really need to learn not to speak of classified data around those with extensively augmented hearing!" He stuck his tongue teasingly out at the Orion, friendly banter, but still... damn that Orion had one fine physique, he'd have loved to have a few hours alone with that...

Chuckling as the Orion headed off in the direction of sustenance, Savi thought it was high-time he introduced himself. Peeking past the brim of the pod where he had been leaning back in, a temporary cat-nap, he spied the doctor, a rather good looking extraterrestrial... Savi couldn't help but grin, the middle aged Altinian was a connoisseur of fine bodies, no matter which gender they belonged to. The Altinian species natural bisexuality often bothered people, especially with how casual they were, given how they had nothing against outright asking someone out rather than dancing around the subject for months, as was common for most species during courtship behavioral periods.

"Savi Reneé! Altinian, Nasseri colony! As shown by my rather plain coat of fur! I´m you sorry lots on-site remote operations specialist, that is I deal with mechanical and electrical engineering both mission and non-mission critical electrical as well as Artificial Intelligence programming and robotics of any sort. They're my life, my bread and butter, have any issues with them, you come see me. I guess, I'm sort of the resident psychologist for machines!"

Savi grinned, a rather predatory grin, revealing a single sharp fang. For a middle-aged Altinian he hadn't lost any of the spur of youth, nor did he ever intend to, though he did at times act more his age. "While I remember, how do you handle extensive augments, handsome?" Savi replied from his rather comfortably reclined position still somewhat inside the bio-stasis tank, addressing the doc directly. With his thumb he was rubbing the now naked sole of his right foot, getting sensation back into his lower extremities, wiggling his toes, unsheathing and re-sheathing his sharp but short climbing claws, making sure everything was all right.

Altinians were known for excessive use of cybernetics and physical improvements. From true trans-species medicine based on neutral synthetic protein chains and nanotechnology to sophisticated linguistics analysis packages and even extensive, real extensive, cerebral augmentation far beyond what most would consider "safe for ones soul". Altinians however did not believe in any particular interior repository akin to a soul, a spirit due to their relatively spiritual nature, but a soul? Superstitious nonsense as far as most were concerned.

Satisfied that his feet were awake, stepping down with the pins and needles feeling was like getting tickled to Altinians, an unbearable sensation due to the raw sensitivity of the nerve endings, hence why Savi had taken to making sure his nerves weren't numb when exiting stasis. Getting up he dusted himself off a little, unzipping the suit partially, revealing a snow white tuft of fur on his near perfect chest and several black spots like those on his cheeks and ears below the black tips of his ears. His red banks covering one eye, which when he turned to face the doctor, shone through with a dim green light. After a moment of light stretching he approached the doctor, slipping a thin pencil-looking object from the sleeve of his plug-suit which contained a small sphere at it's center, and handing it to him.

"Here you go, gorgeous. I hope it provides what you need, if not, inquire and I'll declassify the data further." He placed the data-schtick into the Docs large hand. "Be mindful however that this info-schtick is non-networked and cannot be accessed without first going through five distinct security protocols and it will re-seal itself in one hour." Savi winked at the doc as the information the doctor would need displayed itself from a screen portrayed at ergonomic access and height for the doctors eye-line, indicating it was somehow able to compensate for differing species points of view.

The information revealed, what might be to some, more than somewhat troubling. Savi's cerebrum was nearly 70% augmentation-based as well as all of his senses having been extensively replaced, his lightly glowing emerald green eyes were prosthetic in nature, and advanced ones for at first glance they looked completely natural. He also had a health-implant utilizing synthetic protein therapy regeneration and nanotechnology based cellular repair technology installed, as well as having had his central nervous system enhanced with a bacterium placed hybrid alloy akin to gold, sheathing his nerves in it, again sheathed in a bio-synthetic compound akin to polymer fiber and insulating plastic and silicon, connecting to sensors placed at the tips of his skins nerve endings.

He could quite literally give the atomic number of Iridium by running his hand over it and even access computer systems via the interfaces in his suit. He was almost literally, a walking computer terminal. Stretching he shook his two tails left and right, and yawned massively as he completed his awakening. "Now, I do not drink that muddy thing you people call "coffee" but if you have any other assorted beverages containing decent levels of purified caffeine and or this wonderful substance sugar... then I'll be glad to relieve you of them".

Savi smiled, giving a civil and polite nod and another wink before heading off towards the mess hall to literally raid whatever pantry they had, the scent of meat catching his sensitive nose as he made a veritable b-line straight for the kitchen, catching sight of the rather voluptuous female in the rather revealing clothing and their esteemed commander up ahead. The creaking of bulkheads, the hum of the life-support and engines, the slight taste of ozone from the electrical systems and the slightly, just slightly stale scent of recycled air, not to mention the heavy scent of delicious, fresh cooked food! Savi loved traveling on spaceships, life planet side was simply too static, too boring and regular.

Taking a seat next to the female he leaned forward on the table, ears perked in her direction. "So, who might you be? The engineer or the eye-candy meant to remind people they have good things waiting for them back home? Or are you the rare hybrid of both?" He was only joking of course and he could be heard in the tone of his voice, Savi was not one to generalize men and or women, he'd been with both so he knew the only real difference was that females had more entryways and large flesh-balloons and men... well they always for some reason smoked afterwards. Him? He preferred a nice cherry flavored sugar-condensate.

[WolfyWetFurr]

Infinite splayed his ears back for a moment and, after receiving help from his head of security, he perked his ears forward and began to deliver the assortment of foods to the table. Serving dishes were piled high with easy to prepare foods that were seasoned to avoid their usual bland tastes. Some meats were more well cooked and others less so, "Enjoy, as you can." stated the latex sergal before he took a seat. Food did not serve the same purpose for him that it did others, but it still served a purpose. He began to eat, using utensils that he had set at the table prior to cooking. Each place had been set in a similar fashion.

"Welcome, Savi. I'd encourage you to eat what you can. Allot of work to be done getting that drifter online I'm sure." He stated before the first scoop of food passed his lips to be mulled about in his mouth before being swallowed, which was before the vixen had much time to deliver her own reply. Not that he expected to prevent her from doing so.