[snip]

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.

The second of the girls who seemed more and more obviously the leader of the two spoke, “..Well I guess we can show you where Marzo is usually setup with his boat..” who was still unknown in name to the group.

The first girl, Catherine as they had learned, decided to speak up, “..Sure sure, but what do we get out of it?” she said.

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 fantasyland 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.

While the girls were clearly in range to hear and understand what Kajhel said, they seemed to just prefer to ignore him likely as being ‘crazy’. The locals here obviously did not like people who weren’t local to their own living area, and so outsiders of any kind, especially with those who were not ‘normal’ were just overlooked or ignored for one reason or another. But when he went off to the side to ‘throw up’, the first girl named Catherine spoke, “..Your blind friend there does not look so good. First he is talking all funny about his stories. Then he is all mopey in attitude. You sure he does not have a few nails missing from his fence post?” she inquired to the group in general.

OOC: I’m also going to assume past this point the girls and you all did/said something from above to get them to agree to take you to the docks just to keep this moving ahead.

Rand didn’t know what to say, but she knew what to do. That was stay in character. Never ever break character while the audience was watching. So Rand walked with Kajhel, she was his guide in this cast after all. She knelt down next to him, a hand on his arm. She understood the panic and anxiety and sickness that came when you felt you had really ‘messed up’. She was sympathetic to his feelings having dealt with them all her life. “Breathe slowly Kajhel. In through your nose and out through your mouth. Don’t drop your head it constricts the air way.” She reached into her bag and then placed something in his hand, a little rough, but small and oval. “Ginger candy. It helps my stomach maybe it will help yours. But you can tell me what you think of the taste.” There was a rustling sound as she bent a flower closer to him. Roman was going to lecture her about touching native plant life before clearing it, but she figured if it was dangerous it wouldn’t be allowed to live inside the village. “I am going to hold a flower up to your nose. I have no idea what it smells like, but we are going to find out. You are going to tell me what it smells like, feels like, what the plant sounds like when I move it.” It was a grounding technique Randy had taught her, to engage the physical senses to allow the mind to focus rather than panic. It also had the added benefit of giving a reason why she and Kajhel walked away.

It did not take empathy for Roman to know that Kajhel was deeply remorseful. That he’d recognized he’d made a giant mistake. And that was all that mattered to Roman, that it wouldn’t happen again. When he excused himself from the party, Roman could tell it was not going to happen again. The emotions that Kajhel could sense from Roman shifted greatly, from shocked disbelief to sympathy and understanding. And respect, for simply owning up and saying it won’t happen again instead of trying to excuse and explain. He was still worried and stressed for the team, watching the two children intently for their reaction to what must have seemed like an absolutely bizarre conversation.

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.”

The second still unnamed girl turned to a nearby alley in a defensive stance, Catherine a second later did the same. “..Wait something or someone is coming!” the second said just as a crash was heard.

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

Both girls looked at each other as if quietly exchanging some kind of question and answer. Both then made to brush their hair back behind their hoods, and the second then scratched her left arm casually before returning their attention to the group.

“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.

”..If we are finished with you stumbling blind outlanders, can we keep moving please?” Catherine asked.

Once they got going the group trudged through the nearby market area. It was quite bustling different wares being called out from fruits, vegetables, ropes, and other general goods, there were even two stalls which had a bored looking old woman and an equally bored looking old man occasionally calling out about offering information, knowledge, or rumors for the right price.

The second girl as they passed those two rolled her eyes, “..Pish half the time those two when they give out information on ‘rumors’ just make stuff up, no way to verify it till you get there and then when you get back here they are so entangled as ‘friends’ with the local militia they overlook it. Bunch of con artists if you ask me, but they do still give out enough good reliable information to folks and the militia especially that they get away with the bad stuff for idiots..” she said, again brushing her right ear as she spoke. The first girl chuckled nodding a bit and rubbed her nose, but said nothing else.

Passing the market the group took a side path which lead into a residential area, this seemed a district for the middle class folks, as well as businesses not suited for the market or elsewhere. It was evident here that the district was more ‘homely’ in scope. But they had hardly any time to take it in then they were through it and into the docks.

Entering this area the wafting smell of fish, and unwashed bodies hit them like a punch to the gut. The girls though seemed unphased by it. Mixed in with the stench was also a few nice smelling scents that were likely of someone running a stall or the like grilling, smoking, or such with fish and bread. Ahead passing through another gate the guarded by a pair of bored militiamen in leather armor and armed with spears, they emerged from the city unto the lakeside docks themselves. Along the dock 12 piers were set up all host to a variety of sized fishing vessels. All 12 were occupied at the moment, all showing them empty of their crews, or only having a few idle hands moping about the decks. Pointing to the 11th ship in the line and the largest of the 12 the second girl spoke, “..Down there is Marzo’s ship. Can we go now?” she asked.

GM CockRoach