Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Main Sim - Alien Planet - Landing Party 2 Inside Valiki

Posted by Ensign Kovan ch’Sirhc (Engineering & Communications Officer) in Main Sim - Alien Planet - Landing Party 2 Inside Valiki

Posted by Ensign Kajhel (Security Officer) in Main Sim - Alien Planet - Landing Party 2 Inside Valiki
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
[snip]

The two were making a little progress and trying to force themselves through the crack in the trunk and wall to get in, had they done it one at a time they might have gotten away but because they had panicked and gone in together they only ended up stuck.......the back of their legs and lower torso’s flailing helpless and arguing amongst the two. “..I’m stuck!” Both argued to the other, “..Well its your fault for going first! I had the goods!” Another said, “..Well it’s your fault for picking them!” Another replied.

GM CockRoach

Rand grabbed Kajhel’s arm suddenly and tucked his hand into her elbow and she covered it with his. She leaned in whispering quietly. She knew of course he was telepathic but she didn’t know how that worked or how to make him hear what she was thinking, which would be GREAT right now. But oh well. “Forgive me Kajhel, but maybe we can appeal to their sympathy if they realize you are blind.”

“That is absolutely fine, it is imperative we recover it at all costs…” he whispered back.

Rand nodded to him, not sure if he could see it or tell so she patted his hand briefly.

Roman pulled the kids out of the crack they’d gotten themselves stuck in, keeping a tight grip on their arms. He… wasn’t very good with children and he wasn’t particularly sure what to say to them, so he turned and shot a look at Rand.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

The first girl seemed to try to get out of Alden’s grip but so far was not having any such luck. “..Hey come on let us go you big oof!” She spat.

Once Roman got a hold of the two kids, Kovan pulled the trunk back over the hidden passage and moved to block the way they came, effectively preventing any escapes should the kids wiggle free of the XO’s hold. All while glaring at the two kids to intimidate them because he was also terrible with children.

Ensign ch’Sirhc

The second girl that had the more vibrant green eyes, looked around as if also trying to plot another escape said nothing for the moment.

Rand made of show of telling Kajhel to stand where he was and she’d be right back. She stepped forward about halfway to the kids and knelt down to get eye level with them. She pushed the hood of her cloak back so they could see her face clearly, but kept it on to cover her hair. “Hey, we aren’t going to hurt you, or turn you in.” Rand reached down to her waist and fumbled with her sash. “We aren’t mad, you’re welcome to the money, but you took a little box. About this big.” Rand held her hands up to show the size and shape of the communicator. “See my friend there,” she pointed back at Kajhel, “He’s blind and that little box, it helps him find his way around strange places. I would really like to get it back for him. I’ll trade you for it.” She tied a knot in her sash and then held her hand out. In it was a palm sized broach of her clan crest. It was made of gold and had a ruby and emerald set into it. “Would you be willing to do that? Trade me my friends box for this broach?”

It felt odd being used an example of someone who was visually impaired, pitied. Of course, Kajhel understood why it was done, he had consented to it too, but it was just weird… He’s never seen himself as pitiful or poor because he cannot see. It’s just one sense that he does not have, and he has senses other species might now have. Evolution is like that, some people are good at some stuff, some people are bad at some stuff… If someone back on the Aenar compound was telepathically impaired – that would have caused huge troubles. So… everything is relative. In the world of the seeing, being blind is pitiful, and it seemed similar on this strange Earth-like planet.

Rand felt strange pointing out Kajhel’s blindness because he did so well on board, found his way immediately and was in security for goodness sakes. It certainly hadn’t impaired him from doing anything he wanted to do, but she knew in a less advanced society it would be seen as a disability rather than simply a difference of uniqueness.

Yeoman Rand

When Rand approached, both girls stopped their escape plotting, and had a more consistent look of anxiety and maybe a bit of fear. But when Rand said and seemed genuine to them not wanting to hurt them, they relaxed a little but still seemed unsure of her and the others.

The first girl wrinkled her nose at the mention of someone being blind, “..Well why’s he still around then? He’s just a burden then, anyone smart would have....ya know..” she made a slit motion on her neck, “..when he got birthed..” she said coldly.

A cold chill went through Kajhel’s body, he could not fathom how any one could say such a thing. It hurt him, and he was not sure as to why he took it so personally. She was just a girl, a child, and she knew nothing.

Rand controlled the frown that wanted to come out. Signs of anger or distaste could set the girls off. “I know some people might feel that way, but then we would have been denied his music and his stories and his friendship. And that would be very sad. He might be different, but we seem very different to him, don’t you think? We are all worthy and we can all learn from each other.”

The comment had angered Roman as well, though he didn’t dare comment on it himself. No one deserved that said about them just because they lacked a sense others had.

Kovan made no outward reaction about the comment. Kajhel wasn’t actually “blind” as these girls knew it. As the people of this world knew it. A truly blind person could not contribute to their society and community the way a seeing person could. They were a liability to themselves and a burden on their family. A blind person would have no quality of life and was destined for a miserable life. Better to spare them the suffering and save the resources for someone else. His crew mates may call him cold but that was the practical truth of it.

”..Hush Catherine!” The second girl said stomping on her left foot which made the first girl squeak a bit in surprise and a little pain, she cast a glance of annoyance and anger at her ‘friend’ but said nothing, “..Forgive her, we all have had a hard life um....miss. We are sorry we took your friends magical box..” she added, wiggling about a bit she rummaged through the small loot bag and while doing so Rand and Alden could see that most of the other items inside, were other small pouches of coin, a few somewhat valuable looking rings or necklaces etc. The two girls obviously knew their way at picking pockets for better or worse. Finally though, the girl pulled out the communicator, sighing as if the golden sheen on the top probably implied great wealth more then even everything else in the bag, the green eyed girl handed it back slowly, “..Here I guess, if it helps your friend see, that means its magical, and magical things don’t always sell good in the ‘market’ down below. Probably only would have got us in trouble..” She said.

If they pushed the magic thing Rand had an explanation ready, but decided not to give too much information at the moment.

”..Bah, Vor would have taken it! He takes anything you know that, we could have finally gotten out of this damn rotten town and paid passage to that fisherman who could have taken us up north along Lake Zarovich to fishing lodge! Now we’ll never leave!” the first girl whined and pouting.

The second green eyed girl glared at the first, “..Catherine I swear to anyone who cares to listen, if you don’t shut up I’m going to cut you loose like we did Benz last week, and then where would you be huh? Nowhere that’s where! Besides you know even if we did get the coin for the trip, Marzo who owned that boat wouldn’t have gone out since every boat owner is practically scared stupid since that weird light show stuff showed up north and to the east down the Slavich Road..” She said.

Humphing again, the first girl shut up again crossing her small arms about her chest. Turning back to Rand the second girl just shrugged, “..If you’re really not going to turn us over to the guards, and are letting us keep everything else, fine here’s your box back lady. Can uh we go now?” She inquired.

“Thank you.” Rand took the communicator back and handed her the broach in exchange. Then she very carefully tucked it into the bottom of her shoulder bag and tied it firmly shut.

The group would have picked up one clue though it seems unexpectedly from this whole thing. From the sound of it the flash of what seemed a warp bubble had been seen from the village here in Valiki. Presumably in a north easterly direction, which had spooked the locals and fishermen here. They might be able to use this to follow up further with the fishermen in the docks if they could get someone to listen to them and share. Maybe one or both of these girls could introduce them to this ‘Marzo’ character?

GM CockRoach

Roman was still holding their arms. Personally, he’d rather say yes, shoo. And no more pickpocketing! But unfortunately, there was still a reason to keep them here. That ‘weird light stuff’… That sounded like the warp bubble they were looking for, and it seemed like these kids knew someone who might be able to tell them about it. “Can you show us who Marzo is?” Roman asked, shooting Rand another look.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Would you take us to speak to this Marzo? We will pay you if you promise not to take anything else from us.” She couldn’t stop them from their livelihood among the rest of the village but maybe she could limit them from trying it on them again.

At this point, Kajhel thought he might use telepathy to read the minds of the kids to figure out who Marzo was; however, he quickly realized that it would not be feasible. Children would often think in imagery, and that input was extremely difficult for Kajhel to interpret, having never seen anything… He sighed with himself for having pushed Alden to accept his telepathy as a vital skill, when he now realized how utterly useless it would have been at this point.

That said, he had precognitive skills which would allow him to sense things occurring before they occur… to a degree. But this planet was so busy, so difficult to interpret…

– Ensign Kajhel (Security)

Rand stood back up and moved back to Kajhel and offered her arm again. “Kajhel maybe you could tell us one of your tales while we walk?” Rand imagined that along with the music he shared he had wonderful stories to tell, that would be vibrant with sensory details, minus visual of course, but with sound, touch, and smell.

“Did I tell you of that time that my uncle, cousin and I went to the surface of the planet the first time?

Rand would feel to Kajhel very fascinated and interested in his story. Enjoying what he had to say and what fantastical make believe story he might create.

And that made Kajhel feel good about himself. He had not been in the crew for long, but Rand’s feelings at this very moment helped him cement an identity as being part of this ship.

“So in the northern wastelands of Andoria, it’s awfully cold. We use thermal heating in our compounds, but it’s still below 0 most of the time. But the surface, Rand! The surface! It’s so damn cold. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

“For some reason, I don’t even remember why, my uncle took his son and me on a trek to the surface. We were ten years old, my cousin and I, and I don’t understand how anyone could bring kids along on such a place –––”

Suddenly Kajhel stopped. Were there locals in the vicinity? Could they hear him? Should he be saying this?

Rand was momentarily speechless as she listened. What?? Catching herself, Rand laughed lightly. “Kajhel, you tell the most fantastical tales. You should write a book of fairy tales.”

Yeoman Rand

Roman went icy cold inside. His emotions wouldn’t show externally, but inside he felt the same as Rand: What is he saying?? When she laughed, he began to chuckle as well. “Your tales of the fantasy land Andoria are fit for children. Like an icy Narnia.” He hoped Kajhel would take the hint.

Before Kajhel got a chance to process what Rand had said and the feelings she conveyed, Kajhel was taken aback by the strong iciness oozing out of Roman. And connected to the iciness was the apparent fake-ness of everything Roman’s demeanour conveyed. It made it uncomfortable for Kajhel to be in the vicinity of the commanding officer. But Kajhel had to obey the away-mission orders, even when everyone was pretending they were not a crew.

Kajhel had read Narnia in school, but found it uncomfortable. The Queen seemed like the perfect Andorian queen – travelling through the cold ice-covered world, keeping peace and order. She would bring Turkish delight and warmth to citizens requiring comfort. Yet, she was construed, as was her kingdom, as being a representation of evil.

Was that what Roman wanted to convey? That Andoria was entrapped by evil? And that Kajhel – as a representative from Andoria, even if one of the lesser known species (like perhaps Narnia’s fauns…) – his stories would be like the Queen’s? That whenever Kajhel would offer something – like a tail to Rand – it would be to Roman as if the Queen had offered Rand Turkish delight, seeking to entrap Rand, and steal her off from Roman’s guard?

It was nothing of the sort. It was a different emotion to what Kajhel had felt in Alden’s lab before the mission. Alden was worried he’d broken the Prime Directive. They were in town! People were around! Alden needed him to shut it! To tell a tale that didn’t have alien worlds and space ships in it. Roman had in fact, never read Narnia, but he knew it was a fantasy world and had meant to convey to Kajhel that he needed to pretend Andoria was fake! Just the same as if they brought up Earth. They’d have to pretend it didn’t exist.

It seemed logical, but Kajhel could not quite feel it… He so wanted to confirm that hypothesis by probing the annoying pink-skin commander’s brain....

… but not even Aenar ethics would allow for that, despite the humiliation and anger from the other…

Kajhel took a deep breath, and decided to ignore Roman’s comment.

He scanned the environment with his precognitive echolocation, and was confident no one would be able to hear him, as he continued on his story.

“Perhaps I will write a book in my spare time!” Kajhel said with a big smile. “Now… as we climbed upwards through air vents, we could feel the air pressure almost carrying us up through the tunnels, and I felt lighter and lighter the closer to the surface we got. I suppose there’s an element of suction involved, with the air pressure being higher downwards – I’ve never really reflected on that – but do you know that feeling of when you’re in a shuttle, flying not too far from the surface, and suddenly the shuttle drops a bit, and you feel lighter for that one second it happens before the shuttle stabilizes? It’s like that! Only instead of going down, we were going up, being lifted… It made my tummy go all wobbly, and I felt light, like a feather. It was an amazing feeling, and gave me a sense of optimism of what we would find when we reached the surface.

Kajhel paused, allowing for his walking partners to come with feedback. He wanted to gauge their interest in his continuing the story, and also allow them to ask any questions about the story. He hoped Rand would engage with him, and Roman simply ignore the conversation. That would have been the best.

Roman was not ignoring the conversation at all. Instead, Kajhel felt utter shock and disbelief from the Commander. Not anger at all, nor dislike or anything like that, but disbelief that he had entirely missed what Alden was trying to say and possibly broken the Directive entirely in front of these children! And worry. Worry and concern for the crew, including Kajhel himself. Still exteriorly, he maintained a calm look, though his voice was now a bit tight as he responded, “What an interesting imagination, my friend. I’ve always loved the thrill of your tales. To think! Flying! In a…” Roman looked at Kajhel, pretending not to know what a shuttle craft was. And DESPERATELY hoping Kajhel could feel that, that he was PRETENDING to not know, that he needed Kajhel to NOT start talking about what shuttles were.

Finally Kajhel got it. He felt extremely embarrassed that he had somehow missed the children. Why had he not sensed that they were there? Was there something inhibiting his sensation of them now? Was it the anger toward Roman, his feelings for Roman, that made him precognitively blind as well? It was deeply concerning.

“I understand, it won’t happen again,” he whispered to Roman.

“The CHILDREN you [unknown word not understood by their universal translators, but it didn’t sound nice]” Kovan snapped while pointing towards the two little girls with their group, who were to be their guides to Marzo. It would be readily apparent to Kajhel that Kovan was incredibly annoyed by how dense Kajhel was acting. The children of a pre-warp civilization were with them and they need to pretend as though they are apart of that civilization. And not violate the prime directive by talking about their real lives!

Kajhel felt sick to his core, dizzy. He had messed up badly. He had broken the holiest of laws. He got it now.

Kajhel excused himself from the party, and went to the side of the path, crouched, and brought out his bag from his back. He needed to throw up, but he felt he could not contaminate the planet by throwing up on it. The smell of the vomit would be different, possibly the colour (he would not know), and its effects on the environment was unknown.

He had to sit there for a while. He just wanted to disappear.

Roman was still… Unsure of Kajhel’s telepathy, it weirded him out for lack of a better phrase. But despite pushing Roman to allow him to use it, Kajhel had not mentioned it the entire mission. Roman wasn’t sure he preferred it that way or if he’d rather the extra information. He let go of the girls, figuring they’d be more likely to want to help if he wasn’t holding their arms like they were prisoners or something.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Kovan moved beside Roman, figuring the two of them could cover the rear of their group while the others walked up front with the two girls. “Sounds like there’s a black market in this town and those markets don’t spring up just because they’re in fashion.” It was deeply fascinating to Kovan, who spent a good chunk of his life among traders and merchants. “The docks would be an ideal spot for gathering information. Local workers who know the area well and travelers from all over moving through. And this Marzo character might be inclined to give us insights into the local culture that could help us going forward.”

Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGR

– Ensign Kajhel (Security)

Yeoman Rand

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

– Ensign Kajhel (Security)

Ensign ch’Sirhc COMMO/ENGER

As the group walks, a crash was heard from a back alley, and from it emerged Alwyn, falling down along with some broken crates. The group could hear the doctor mumbling about some merchant while he stood up, putting back his cloak before he noticed his comrades and took a better composure.

“Oh, there you are ! Sorry I, um… I lost track of you when you ran after those girls, and a lot of things happened…” He then realized the group was led by the said thieves and added : “Were you taking them to the authorities ?”

Doctor Alwyn Yarwood - Ensign

OOC: Fixing the split!

IC:

“Not at all,” Roman said to Yarwood, shaking his head. “Hopefully, they are introducing someone to us who can help us with our… problem.” By problem, he of course meant their mission, the search for the warp trail. The fisherman the girls were supposed to be introducing them to had seen lights in the sky that sounded an awful lot like a warp bubble.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

– Ensign Kajhel (Security)