Chapter Two: A Whole Old World

[Akirapryde]

Alice smiled at Eric and nodded, “it sounds like a plan to me.” She wanted to say more but with the doctor in earshot she chose to keep her thoughts to herself. Alice watched Suki move a few short feet before smashing in to the small metal table again. Suki was trying so hard to be ‘normal’ but it was clear to Alice that this was going to be a hard transition for the teenager. And right now, Suki was in denial that her missing eyesight had just transformed her life.

Alice didn’t want to say anything. But as Jake wondered out the door without saying a word to Suki, her heart went out to the teenager. Alice slid off of her bed and was able to find her footing. She moved up alongside of Suki and gently took Suki’s arm, “come on honey, come with Eric and I.” Alice looked at Eric for some verbal approval to reassure the teenager.

As Eric searched the room, he couldn’t detect any listening or video devices that were ‘covertly’ placed. However, there was a very basic black half-ball with a camera within it. A small mic on device told Eric that the audio was being recorded as well. To Eric the device was common on dropship for internal security and were woven across the ship. This kind of system was normally linked in to a large security networked used to monitor the entire ship. The camera could easily be disabled.

There was a computer terminal on a table near the door. The wires behind the computer indicated that it was tied in to a larger network. A printer alongside the computer could be used to print out news feeds and other bits of information. Eric could easily assume that the computer network was sectioned off in to non-secured and secured areas. Currently the computer was turned off, but in the right hands that computer could help the party.

As Jake left the medical bay, Eric noticed that there were no locks on the thick air tight door. However, there were long handles on the door that could be secured with some kind of strap or rope. This could effectively ensure that the party was left alone during times of conversation. But there was something else that got Eric thinking. As the conversation was ending, Eric watched the doctor and nurse going over some paperwork. The second nurse was never mentioned during the Doctor’s recap of the events of when they were found. Nor was she here when the Captain slipped back in to a coma.

It didn’t take Eric long to deduce that the other nurse was not a nurse. He thought about her questions to Jake and how she had earned his trust. It became clear that she was a covert agent questioning the party. While it was clear that this was some kind of military dropship, it was uncommon for it to have a covert agent aboard. Unless there was something or someone important aboard. Eric knew that he had to warn Jake as the pilot worked his way out the door.

As Jake stepped beyond the thick metal door, he was the corridor of the dropship. Jake had been on a number of dropships during his short time as a pilot. He could tell by the passageway that this was a Spheroid style dropship. True to his words, Eric saw that the doctor was right. There were no more guards within the long curved corridor. However, Eric saw a guard located at the doors to a lift. These men were armed with melee style weapons. No other crew members were armed.

As Jake moved down the corridor, he saw a door held open. The opened up to a connecting corridor with doors on either side of it. Jake could hear the sounds and see the members of the crew moving between doors. This told him that the connecting corridor led to crew quarters. Based on crew members moving from one of the rooms with toiletries Jake could deduce that that room was a large communal bathroom for the crew.

Jake could tell the members of the crew based on their Kuritan uniforms. Japanese was the common language that was spoke among the crew, despite their ethnic background. As Jake continued to explore the level, he saw a room with three people in it. The room had three double bunk-beds within it. The three people all looked at Jake with distrust in their eyes. But what caught Jake’s attention was four important clues that stood out to Jake. The first was that the only woman in the room wore a black hijab or head scarf. The second clue was that the six in use lockers held uniforms that were not Kuritan. The uniforms were of shades of black.

The two men in the room wore military berets with a patch on it, with the letters NEAT across it. The woman’s hijab had similar letters on it. Each of the military BDU top had a flag on the left shoulder. The flag was designed from top to bottom with the colors Black, red yellow. There was a large black eagle in the center of the flag. Each Top had some kind of military unit insignia on its right shoulder that matched the other uniforms in the room. The last clue was that each of these three were armed with side arms and there were three sub machine guns in the room.

[Akirapryde]

(OOC: please note that if you have any questions regarding the details that have been issued. Please PM them to me and I will reply with the answers. You can include your inquiry and the answers within your post.

Jake: the three individuals were in the middle of some kind of prayer prior to you walking up to their door. While the female did say something, she was not speaking Japanese or English.

The rest of the Party: the Doctor and Nurse appear to be finishing up their work and will be departing shortly if no one else speaks with them.

END OOC)

[Aria Blackthorn]

Suki turned her head to look in the direction of Alice, “thanks for the helping hand, but I am sure I can guide myself.” There is was a bit of resentment in her voice as Suki pulled away from Alice. It wasn’t that she didn’t want the help. Suki hated the idea that she needed the help. Suki started to move and stand up only to bump in to Eric. She turned as her face turned flush with embarrassment. She lowered her eyes and face, “I think a bite to eat will be nice.” She sighed as continued to look downwards, “can I join you two?”

[Ice Hellion]

Waking up all of a sudden, Adrian Libby looks all around with a panicked face.
He tries to move and seems relieved to find out that his arms and legs are free.

A little bit calmer now, he focuses on his surroundings, trying to see where he is and who are those people that woke him up.

[Akirapryde]

(OOC: This is an NPC Post for Jake while the player is away. This will be the only NPC post for the character.)

As Jake continued to move through the crew quarters, he started to take account of what he is seeing. More importantly, he noted what he wasn’t seeing. He could easily identify the crew of the dropship as well as the pilots of the support craft. Their combat uniforms did reflect the same style worn by Battlemech pilots, but they did have neural-helmets. This told him that they were aerospace pilots. Judging by the number of ‘pilot’ quarters he saw, Jake was able to discern that there were eighteen aerospace pilots.

Knowing how many pilots told Jake how many fighters were stationed on board. There were a couple of dropships that came to mind. The Gorgon and the Titan class dropships. However, those were Aerodyne style dropships and the one he was walking was clearly a Spheroid style. It was possible that the ship wasn’t carrying its full fighter compliment, but that was unlikely. This left only one class dropship that fit the situation. The ship he was on, is an Okinawa class dropship. But that did convince him that what he was being told was true.

After all, how could he have possibly woken up a hundred years in the past. It wasn’t like such thing was even possible. Jake had remembered reading something in a book by some really big named author stating how impossible time travel was. Which meant that everything that Jake was seeing right now was a very clever and elaborate deception. However, this deception was so thorough that Jake couldn’t find a weakness to prove the deception. Just because he couldn't find the weakness, doesn't mean he bought it. He started to work his way back towards the rest of the party.

[Ice Hellion]

Putting his feet on the ground, Adrian feels the same old pain as always.
Not trusting the people around him, he keeps on looking, hoping to find something for the pain.

[aipsylon]

Eric took hold of Suki as she bumped into him, holding her shoulder just enough to stop her from rebounding into something else. "Here." Eric said as he guided Suki's hand to Alice's arm. "I did have a question for you, Suki, You said that you had been on the rim, but were surprised to find where we were," His eyes glanced toward Alice as he finished asking the question, giving a very slight nod as he did still, "Can you possibly think how you might have ended up here?"

[Akirapryde]

Alice took hold of Suki’s hand with her own. From the corner of her eye she noticed another member of the merc outfit waking up. The look of pain on his face was clear for Alice. “Eric” she said as she motioned towards Adrian. “It appears that one more of your crew has awoken.”

She then addressed Adrian, "I know you might be confused, please remain calm." Alice tried to sound calming for the new comer.

[Aria Blackthorn]

Suki looked around and tried to think about what Eric asked her. She made a point to continue to hide her weapon behind her leg. After all, she still didn't completely trust them. “All I remember is that I was in the lounge of our Jumpship. I was talking with Kat. I mean Adept Katya Johns, she was my roommate and sponsor. We were talking about my upcoming trials. I had been nervous and I had talked about just going home.” Suki looked down as sadness came over her. “It was a big deal for me. I was only supposed to be with Comstar for a few months. All I was suppose to do was help as a translator between local communities and the Comstar personal. I mean I loved seeing the stars but I was starting to miss my homeworld. I told Kat…..Adept Johns, that I was ready to take my trials.”

“I had ask to be alone, so Adept Johns left me alone in the lounge.” A tear slipped from Suki as she remembered the events that changed her life. “I remember seeing Vela Pulsar as its waves of energy illuminated the Gum Nebula. It was so beautiful. I had never in my life seen something so beautiful. Being with Comstar, it was my first time being off world. Living among the stars was so wonderful. I never dreamed of seeing something so beautiful in my life."

"As I stood there watched the Nebula. I remember thinking of how many more wondrous sights that laid before me.” She dropped her head in to her hands and fell silent for a moment. After taking a deep breath she continued, “when the sirens went off I ran for the Prince of Wales. I was so scared, there had been rumors of pirates in the area. I ran as hard as I could. But I couldn’t reach the dropship in time. Someone yelled that the K-F drive had activated on its own. There were still people outside of the jumpship. I recalled hearing the sirens. I tried to reach the Prince of Wales, but I couldn’t. It was if the corridor wouldn't end! When I saw the other ship, your ship, I thought we were under attack. Then our ship started to break up. I thought this was the end of me. I turned and leaped for the nearest escape pod."

"I had never been so scared in my life." She lifted her head and looked towards Eric once more, “I don’t know if that answered your question, but it’s all I remember.”

[aipsylon]

Eric nodded toward the mess. "Go Ahead and help Suki, I'll make sure he's alright." Eric said before turning to look at Adrian. "Hey there, you looking for something in particular? I've been up for a bit might have seen it laying around somewhere." He headed over toward where his clothin was, deciding that this would be a good a time as any to retrieve it. His steps silent as they had been on the dropship. Many knew him as Ghost there, and it had become his call sign though none aboard had ever seen him pilot a Mech. Often he would approach behind someone startling them without really meaning to. Nodding his head in the direction that he had been headed. "If you want a bit to eat we were all going to mess. Not really sure what to expect, but you are more than welcome to join us if you choose."