World of Darkness: The Darkness of Space - First, Second and Last Impressions

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Go to the space port, find the ship in the attached image, and help the owner sort out his mechanical issues.

It was an easy enough task, what the engineers called a ‘good-will milk run’. The station lent out its crews to private citizens, usually for a fee but sometimes just to make friends. The staff never knew which was which; they got paid the same regardless.

There it is, Tejah thought to herself and angled toward the ship. As she approached, she slowed down to take a long look at the outside of the ship. She liked what she saw – all sleek lines and angles. Nodding, she walked up to the hatch of Twilight’s End and knocked on the door.

[Wesely]

A panel comes to life above the young engineer, or at least it tries to, the screen blinking out after immense static. Following the failed panel a gruff voice comes over an intercom,"Damnit, hold on a sec and stand back five feet and I'll get this hatch open."

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Tejah's eyes widened in a touch of alarm. Never a good sign, she told herself as she scurried backwards. Just to be safe, she stood back ten feet and stepped behind a convenient crate. She didn't actually hide, but she could quickly duck behind it when needed.

At least this answered one question. These people actually needed help with their ship; this was no five-minute correction.

[Wesely]

The hatch opens slowly, sticking halfway open. "For crying out loud...whoever wired this damn thing....*mumbled obscenities*", Anthony says as his large hands grip the doors and push them aside, a long boarding platform about as wide as the door slides to the ground from the ship.

The burly man sighs, "you the engineer?"

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Rather than answering him, the woman turned to her forearm and quickly typed something into the keyboard strapped there. When she was done, the small (yet powerful) speakers on her shoulders said, "Yes, I'm Tejah Ebadi. I'm here to help. Aside from the entrance, what is your problem?"

The goggles partially obscured her eyes, much as the jumpsuit she wore to work concealed her form. But her smile was friendly and her assessing gaze as she glanced at the ship's hatch was professional.

[Wesely]

He shrugs and rubs his hand on his neck, "Lina can tell you more about it than I can, near as I can tell, everything electrical or touching that damn computer is on the fritz, c'mon I'll take you to the load center."

He waves Tejah on board, "feel free to let me know if you need anything while on board."

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

"Thank you," Tejah's speakers told him as she started forward. Silently, she followed the big man deeper into the ship, her eyes open for all the obvious issues. While it was good that this 'Lina' could tell her something about the computer that was apparently the source of all the problems, Tej had learned long ago that her own instincts were just as valid as another's statements.

"Are you involved with engineering on this ship?" Tejah asked the guy, who hadn't even given her a name yet.

[Wesely]

Tejah feels uplifted and rejuvenated upon entering the ship, the air seems sweet and clear, nothing like recycled air on normal ships. Passing through the corridor there are many closed doors, metal, metal, metal, wood, metal.

He stops at your comment, "nah, I'm just the pilot and security, names Reed, Anthony Reed, a pleasure, we're almost there."

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Tejah smiled at the big man, enjoying the little pleasantries. "Thank you," she replied, nodding. It was a little weird that she could speak without her mouth moving.

She found herself relaxing as she walked, lulled into a sense of comfort by the clean air and the more relaxed atmosphere of the ship. She wanted to bring Bradan here, to share this interesting sensation. Part of her wanted to ask more but she remained quiet. Better to wait and see what developed.

[Wesely]

He turns and leads, Tejah further, more doors, metal, metal, large double gilded wooden door, the hallway had been about 7 feet high, but this door is 15 feet tall, and 8 feet wide, the door is slightly ajar, some music is playing, a light cheerful tone filled with life.

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

After the somewhat stark nature of life on the Base, it was easy to forget that people lived like this. There was a slight smile on her face as she walked - until she realized that by now, they should be to the back of the ship. Also, the hallways are all out of proportion. Magic she thought uneasily. It wasn't that magic was bad, but it was something that Tejah didn't understand and it always made her feel unbalanced and unsure. It was a Force of nature that didn't answer to science.

"How many people live here?" she asked, glancing into the room quickly as they passed the ajar door.

[Wesely]

Inside the room you catch glimpses of ivory pillars and a grand marble floor, but no sign of the melody.

Anthony keeps walking and chatting. "Just the three of us, me Lima and the Captain"

He stops at an open hatch with many wires strewn about and a hefty tool box open and messy next to it.

An odd alien language echoes from the compartment, obviously female. "That.....would be Lina," Anthony shakes his head.

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

The shaking of the pilot cum security officer had Tejah's pink eyebrows rising above the goggles. People only shook their heads like that in certain interpersonal situations. None of them were things that Teej wanted to become involved in - nor should she.

Leaning into the opening, Tejah types, "Hello. I'm Tejah Ebadi, base engineer. I was told you could use another set of hands." Tejah was careful to put herself in the role of helper, rather than an intruder or usurper. Tejah was here to aid, not cause irritation and she knew how easy it would be for one to slip into the other.

[Wesely]

A slightly dirty, yet beautiful purple woman pops halfway out of the hole, her hair is a mess and she holds a large wrench, which she flings at Anthony as she offers her hand towards you with a big grin, "Hi! My names Myliena, but most everyone calls me Lina, pleasure to have you here, I hope you're ready for troubleshooting, last time we let a shipyard do the work solo they cut corners, it's a mess, oooh pink hair, is it natural?"

Anthony just catches the wrench, "I'll just put this over here and leave you two to it." He sets the wrench down and dismisses himself.

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

"It is and yes, all of my body hair is now pink," Tejah typed, keeping it simple rather than explain that there had been a magical flux when she'd been an intern. "My eyes are natural too - you can't see them, but they change colors."

"Oooo!" Lina chirped. "Can I see?"

"They change slowly, so it may take time, and I need to leave the goggles on. Maybe on a break or something." Tejah felt naked without AVIS; over the years, she had come to depend on the machine to 'hear' for her. Without it, she was totally deaf again. "So what can I do to help?"

[Wesely]

Lina pouted, but cheered up quickly, "yes, a break, at some point yes, uhm, well there seems to be some issues with the wiring, and some of the programs that the technicians touched in the last port, are being unresponsive, I tried a wipe, and it just won't budge..."

She moved some hair out of her face, "anything else you need before you look at it?"

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

"I'll know that after I look at it," Tejah typed. She was smiling as she stooped to follow Lina into the opening. The slightly smaller woman led her through the bowels of the ship, to a tangle of wires. "I assume the techs did this?" the pink-haired engineered asked, now sober as she surveyed the damage. Carefully, she connected the wiring to a reader and measured the amperage, wattage and other factors.

"Yeah, they sucked," Lina sighed.

"So how magical is the ship?" Tejah asked after a moment. "I've seen the lack of internal spacial relationships to external. How much of that messes with the wiring? Because if the answer is a lot, we need to get a mage in here."

[Wesely]

Lina shakes her head, "only thing that's really magic is the gate that we use to transport, it'd be hard to explain the anomaly that the ship goes through when it is stopped, it's just that this ship is tied to the Captain, it molds to his whims when he wants them to...I don't really understand it well myself, but I know that it's never affected the wiring before..."

She sighs and starts messing with a tablet that was already plugged into a data port, "uhm, this is kind of the odd things going on with the programming...I haven't found any blown cards either."

She holds the tablet out to Tejah.

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

"Unblown cards is good," Tejah assured, taking the tablet with one hand and typing with the other. "I mean, it will make tracking the source of the problem down a bit harder, but those things are a pain to replace."

For a moment, Tejah was quiet, studying the tablet and thinking. "Let's try running a feedback signal through the system. Diagnostics equipment should be able to trace the disruption." She gazed at Lina speculatively. "What do you think?"

[Wesely]

She stares blankly back, "I'm such an idiot...why didn't I do that before! That's an excellent idea!"

She gets the diagnostics machine up and running, "ready when you are.'

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Tejah nodded, a tremor of excitement moving through her gut. This was what she loved: being presented with a problem and having to overcome it. She shared a smile with Lina and started the signal.

And nothing happened.

~Fuck!~ Tejah signed.

"Maybe we're not doing it right?" Lina suggested, a pout on her face.

"Yeah, lemme check something." A moment later, Tejah removed the wire, slipping it out of the reader with care. Shaking the wire slightly to get the conductive lubricant off the exposed tip, she carefully set it aside and selected another. Biting her lip, she angled it into the hole on the reader. When it was fully settled in place, she let out a soft sigh. "Ready?" she asked Lina, a slight flush settling over her cheeks.

Soundlessly, Lina nodded, their gazes locking for a second. They were sharing the mutual enjoyment of their adventure. Then Tejah flipped the switch and Lina jumped a little, gasping. "It's working!" she shouted, exchanging another glance with Tejah.

"Good," Tejah replied, sliding over to peer at the screen. "Wow, we have a lot of trouble spots," she said, catching Lina's eyes again. "We should get right to work on those."

[Wesely]

Lina nodded vigorously, "yes indeed! Lets stick together and knock these out right!" she scurries up to the hatch and is back almost instantly with her toolbox.

"This is going to be great!", she grabs Tejah's hand and leads her down the corridor, and into some subtunnels to one of the problem areas, a great ball of wiring before them, "Ew..thats a mess, no problem." she pulls out a pair of sunglasses and small lights illuminate behind the lenses, "lets rock."

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Tejah grinned but didn't laugh. She'd learned long ago that because she'd never heard the noises, her sounds were strange and off-putting. She didn't make any noises, if she could help it.

The two women settled into the work. Hours passed as they unwove the Gordian knot of wiring. Their conversation was on the job; they talked about what they were doing or how badly the jerks at the last base had screwed up the wiring.

Hours later, Tejah started rubbing her temples. "Time to break!" Lina said eagerly, leaning toward the other woman. She led the pink-haired engineer back to the hallway, then to a small room with tables, chairs and a cooling device. Lina opened up the hatch on it and pulled out some bottles. They frosted over immediately upon contact with the air. Lina put one in front of Tejah and said, "Now you've seen my ship, your turn to show and tell."

Tejah nodded but her expression was hesitant. But she pulled her goggles up and set them on the table. In a moment, the pulses of color that marked sounds were gone, leaving her deaf again. That hesitation was in her eyes, not just in their expression but in the uneasy yellow color they were showing right now. She typed, "It may take a bit. My mood influences the color. And I can't hear you anymore, so unless you know Universal Sign Language, you'll have to write it down for me."

[Wesely]

Lina grinned and signed, "I know some, still adapting from my homes language," she pauses between some words to think, some of her words are close so wisdom and experience helped translate for Tejah.

She leans close her white orbs peering into the odd yellow ones looking back, suddenly putting on a goofy face, she giggles and takes a pull of her drink.

The door to the room slides open, and a long haired individual walks in, his face obscured from Lina's shenanigans he walks to the fridge and pulls out a frosty bottle and takes a long swig, "Make a note Lina, we are taking logs on all the random things I....acquire."

Lina sighs and rolls her eyes, "we will talk later about it...we have a guest to help fix all the crap the shipyard messed up, her eyes change like your hair!"

Wesely turns around and leans on the fridge, "you got my attention."

(of course it's just lip movements for Teej)

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Tejah looked confused as Lina started to talk, then she realized someone had come into the room. Startled, she turned, just as Wesely started his lounge on the fridge. There was simply the most attractive man she'd ever seen, making a simple lean seem like the cover of a fashion magazine - or Playgirl. And to see him naked...

Tejah's eyes widened, giving both people a clear show of her eyes going from yellow to the turquoise of surprise and then to red. It was a similar red to the flush that was blossoming over her dusky cheeks. The young woman had never had such an instant reaction to someone and she wasn't sure how to handle it. She was cognizant enough to know that she shouldn't say, "I want to lick your ears."

Especially since she totally wanted to lick more than his ears.

[Wesely]

Lina peers at her eyes, "wow they do change quickly, and such amazing colors..." she looks between them, seeing the nearly drooling look on her face, "Captain...."

Wesely sighs, "I know, this happens everywhere except your home planet, uh miss..?"

"Her name is Tejah, and she can't hear you right now..." Lina picks up the goggles and tries to get to get her to put them back on, "just a minute...can't you turn that off Wes...seriously...?"

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Tejah fumbled her goggles back on, blushing from her attraction at Wesely and from her own awkwardness. She wasn't a child; she was a grown woman, a professional and a mother, for Zurvan's sake! Acting like a smitten teen was ridiculous!

Drawing a deep breath - and privately glad that she could look down at her keyboard instead of up at the super-hot man - she typed, "Hi, I'm Tejah Ebadi, here to work on your shin." Grumbling, she corrected, "Ship. Work on your ship."

I am not interested in licking your ears, your sexy, sexy pointed ears. I am not. And perhaps if she said that often enough, she'd believe it.

She still wasn't looking at him.

[Wesely]

Wesely sighed, "I apologize, my kind....has a propensity towards being aesthetically pleasing, in an unfortunately distracting manner, it sometimes prevents us from actually meeting someone nice and them actually enjoying our personality rather than..ahem anyway, I appreciate you being here to aid us in this time of need, you will be well compensated for your time and efforts, Lina probably has already let you know that you're welcome to any refreshments on the ship, if you'd like there are a few spare rooms where you could rest if you'd like..." he trailed off watching her continued aversion of her eyes, I don't want to just leave...

Lina pips up, "he's a really nice Captain, uhm, and he's not a bad man either, so don't let the looks get to you."

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

I don't want to use those rooms alone, Tejah thought, then quickly chided herself, Be a professional! Or at least a functional adult!

She looked up at him for a moment before she dropped her eyes so she could type. Lina had seen her type without looking before so knew that Tejah didn't need to see the keys. It didn't seem to help her typos, either. "We were just taking a breathy from our work. Taking a breather. Jump us for a moment." Her face flushed brighter and she corrected, "Join us." She struggled with the last sentence and produced a typo-free, "Get to know each other."

[Wesely]

"I would like that, Tejah," he said genuinely, "it's a marvel the things that you engineers are capable of, where are you from?" He takes a seat in a chair, his hair shifting from a red to a bluish hue.

Lina pats Tejah on the back, "either of you want a snack, I managed to save some sweets from that last planet we were on." she begins rifling through pouches on her belt producing the candies and tosses one at Wesely, which bounces off his forehead and into his hand.

"Really Lina?" he pops the sweet in his mouth.

Lina just sticks her tongue out at him and offers a sweet to Tejah.

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Smiling and watching Lina, the engineer took the sweet from her. "I come from Texla IX," Tejah said, her sweet melting on her tongue unimpeded by the necessity of speech. "It's a small planet, Earth-like and without too many toxic creatures. It's an odd place. We are technologically advanced but most of the inhabitants are either devout Muslims or followers of the old Persian deities. Computer tech companies are next to old-style pyramids. Its a strange mix of old and new."

Talking about herself allowed her to get through that without a typo - though she still wasn't looking at Wes. Now, her eyes flickered up to him as she asked, "What about you guys? Lina, you implied your people are used to the Captain's apples?" She made a face. "Appearance..."

[Wesely]

Lina laughs, "well I'm from T'ralsa, its a pretty little planet, the sky is purple there, and well as for his appearance, it helps being around him a lot, being different species, and well, I've seen prettier on my planet, sure they're celebrities, or people I'd never get to talk to."

"Gee, thanks Lina," he rolls his eyes, "as for myself, I come from a station in the Pixla system, I've met others of my kind, who apparently subdue these looks for something more human, but I've been mostly separate from them my whole life, which is fine by me, I enjoy being able to live without such responsibilities as being a noble to some fairy society.."

He takes a long swig from his drink, "are you not a fairy yourself, the vibrant hair, the rapid eye color changes," he says whimsically and pauses catching himself, "ahem."

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

"I'm not. I was born human." Tejah paused then started typing. "When I was still in school, I was interning on a planet called Deffon. It's a single-planet system in the ass-end of space. We were establishing a colony. While I was there, an energy surge of some kind rolled over the colony and mutated pretty much everyone. I and my son were lucky; some died."

"Your son?" Lina asked, looking a little surprised.

Tejah's smile was real; not that her smile hadn't been genuine before but now it was full of pleasure. "Bradan. He's two. I was pregnant at the time, but he wasn't hurt. My hair and eyes were affected, but that was all."

Her smile managed to remain sincere as she looked at Wesely. "You are a fairy? What exactly is that?" She was actually talking to him, somehow. Maybe she was getting used to his overwhelming beauty. Nope, still want to do X-rated things to him. But at least I can talk to him... and all that without a typo.

[Wesely]

Wesely quirks an eyebrow, "quite fortuitous that you made it out of there, glad to hear that," he takes a drink,"I wouldn't have met such an interesting individual, and well Lina would have been working on this problem for years if you hadn't come along."

"Hey!" Lina exclaims and tosses a random bolt at him, "maybe a few months." she mumbles and sips on her drink.

"Oh, and uh, well I'm a Sidhe, and in the past of earth, I guess those are kind of the things we've been called, elves, fairies, yknow anything really of that nature, some bad versions are considered banshees..so I guess if defined by humanity....yes I'm a fairy.." he chuckles at the novel concept, his hair changing to a shade of pink for a moment before returning to a soft blue.

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Wesely's compliment created a resurgence in her waning blush. That someone who looked like him thought her interesting was enough to make her stomach twist with delight. It made her libido do more complex maneuvers in its happiness.

She collected her wits with effort. "Only a few weeks, tops," Tejah assured Lina, smiling at the pretty engineer. She looked sideways at Wesely, unsure what to say. Grilling him about the kind of visits his ancestors had done to earth to create the legends of the fairies seemed impolite.

Tejah turned her focus to Lina. "What about your people? I think that I should have heard about a race of super-hot people with purple skies. Sounds like a place to go on vacation to."

[Wesely]

Wesely nodded, and listened, she had been coming out of her shell, but he didn't want her to relapse.

Lina nodded, "well, were kind of isolated, I met him on station, I had been hitch hiking around, I'm kind of an anomaly on my world, not so isolationist, takes a bit of red tape for visitors to get there, I'm sure in a few years maybe you could go there for a vacation if you'd like, I'll show you my favorite places."

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

"I'll definitely have to see that - and Bradan," Tejah added, smiling.

"I'm going to be a little nosy," Lina said, almost stopping herself when she saw the look on Tejah's face. "You haven't mentioned Bradan's father..."

"In name only," Tejah told them, biting her lip. "He liked being a boyfriend but didn't like being a father."

"Jerk!" Lina exclaimed angrily.

"Yes. He's gone now," Tejah said as she smiled sadly. "His family isn't completely, but they're not here, so it's alright. Bradan's with me and they can't have him." She took a long pull on her drink to try to calm herself.

[Wesely]

Lina's eyes almost flare, "well you got me and the Captain and the ships power to keep them from taking him if they get too ambitious, right Wes?"

Wesely's hair seems to be moving, his eyes shifting, before calming to its normal falling place, "yes, of course, noone has that right, can't have something like that happen while I.. we're around, you can count on us should you need anything, least we could do for the best engineer we've found in 5 systems."

Lina giggles, "how noble Captain, you're such a softy."

"I have my reasons, leave it at that for now Lina," he turns and grabs another drink from the fridge, and sits back down, everything about him calm again, "so how did you manage to get the job out here, this is quite the distance from your home and your last job?"

[z-Tejah Ebadi]

Originally Posted By: Wesely

Lina's eyes almost flare, "well you got me and the Captain and the ships power to keep them from taking him if they get too ambitious, right Wes?"

Wesely's hair seems to be moving, his eyes shifting, before calming to its normal falling place, "yes, of course, noone has that right, can't have something like that happen while I.. we're around, you can count on us should you need anything, least we could do for the best engineer we've found in 5 systems."

Lina giggles, "how noble Captain, you're such a softy."

Tejah flushed at Wes's concern, even if it was more for her son than her. Oh, Peris, why is he so beautiful? "Well, I think we're safe here," Tejah replied, her fingers a little shaky from her emotions. "I do have legal custody, and the Fianna haven't disobeyed it."

"Is that the family name?" Lina asked curiously - and because she wanted to keep an eye out for them.

"No. They're. Werewolves." Tejah typed it so hesitantly that AVIS treated each word as its own sentence. "A specific tribe. They're all kinda mad at me because they think Bradan is something special. They wanted me to come and live with them, raise Bradan in their culture."

Originally Posted By: Wesely

"I have my reasons, leave it at that for now Lina," he turns and grabs another drink from the fridge, and sits back down, everything about him calm again, "so how did you manage to get the job out here, this is quite the distance from your home and your last job?"

"I was hired by the Head Engineer, right out of school." She smiled shyly as she admitted, "This is my first job. It's been... amazing. This has been incredible. I think Bradan will benefit from growing up here." She paused, a question on her face. "Are you guys planning to stay? Given your ship, I thought you'd be on to the next place."

[Wesely]

"Werewolves...why is it always werewolves?" he sighed, "well, you seem to have Lina impressed, so you're quite good at your job."

He looked her in her goggled eyes, offering a comforting smile, he wasn't going to push the subject farther.

"As for us staying, well, we don't have a next destination in mind yet, our last haul has lined our cred chips quite satisfactorily, perhaps we can find work in system for a time, and if we find need to leave, well, we could always use another talented crew member."