Flatcaps
Dreamer
The Titular "Big Brother" who is indeed Watching
Posts: 13 
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Post by Flatcaps on Jan 22, 2016 7:30:43 GMT
Come to have been known as "No-Man's Land" due to the lack of government the natives share, the world of Hyttrium is a battered, brutal planet that is only a husk of its former glory, lost to the tale of time. Ever since war had swept over its regions, the planet's surface is littered with debris and wreckage from the countless wars it had suffered, sterilizing the soil and littering the landscape with remains of tanks, airships, artificial trenches, and other relics of the various great wars that the planet had suffered. Dastardly villains and marauders roam rise to prominence, as they patrol the landscape in search of a target. Raiders are not the only threat to local life; the atmosphere itself is flooded with a thick fog that could incapacitate or kill any biologically unprepared species. Though common ventilation practices such as a simple gas-mask can still offer protection from less-potent concentrations, the highly potent concentrations found in some forbidden regions can pose serious health threats to even the natives of this planet. In spite of such hostilities, development of spaceports throughout the planet's vast regions has begun. Some factions are allured by the promise of loot from Imperial catacombs, while others are impressed by the possibility of tourism prospects. It's not every day that you come across a planet that's completely ravaged by a war.
Kordun Spaceport is one such place. Considered the first to have been built, the compound is based out of an ancient military airstrip, and refurbished to include proper ventilation to accommodate to the anticipated visitors from other planets. Echoing throughout the main barracks is the sound of music and public speeches coming from the AM radio behind the bar. In the first three months, the spaceport's clientele has mostly been made up of the native Hyttrian population itself, while denizens live in the housing, and jobless rakes or aspiring adventurers sit at the bar waiting to be picked up by passing ship captains. When the beacon was first set up, the locals were filled with hope; as time marches on, however, the promises of alien encounters and cultural diffusion are sounding empty. All they can hope to do is wait for business to pick up.
In the nearby traffic tower, a young Warden named Michaus Ritzen sits half-asleep at the control terminal. On the land radar, he watches lazily as the small dots on the screen appear from passing caravans and marauder tribes. It was never his business to stop them, and he didn't plan on starting anything, neither. As long as they didn't set foot on the compound, he wasn't obliged to shoot them on sight. For him, the soul-crushing loneliness and the boring work hours are just apart of an average day on the job. As he did most of the time, he stared blankly at the terminal screen to see of any incoming or outgoing ship transmissions. All he could think to himself is that if a ship was to come by, now would be an ideal time to show up. |
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Post by Acruan on Jan 23, 2016 6:46:42 GMT
Eventually, a jagged black ship appeared in the system which soon enough began moving towards the planet.
"Sir, we are almost there," said the ship's operator, a young light Loroi with their usual pointy ears, platinum hair and pale skin sitting in front of the holographic map of the system.
Answering her, a dark Loroi with raven black hair and dark skin sitting on the captain's chair said, "Yes, yes. I know. And I should enjoy this forced vacation as well, correct?"
"Yes... sir..." replied the operator.
Other than them, there seemed to be a few other people moving to and from the bridge of the small ship, certainly big enough for a few dozen residents.
The Captain said, "Open a channel with a spaceport, let get this done with. For fun and so forth."
Meekly the operator answered, "Done... sir."
After clearing his throat, the dark Loroi spoke, "This is Captain Sh'sto Katai of the Acruani-Loroi Ship Haereon asking permission to land. We are... on a vacation trip." He couldn't help but sigh immediately after as he waited for any answer from the planet.
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Flatcaps
Dreamer
The Titular "Big Brother" who is indeed Watching
Posts: 13
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Post by Flatcaps on Jan 23, 2016 10:41:47 GMT
In the control tower, the old and worn equipment began to buzz at the indication of an incoming ship. Warden Ritzen, half asleep, snapped at attention to the incoming transmission. If asked, he wouldn't lie; He was pretty excited, as this was the first incoming ship while he was on the job. He rubbed his eyes in both tiredness and disbelief, and held down a button on an archaic-looking microphone. "This is Kordun Spaceport... Uh, Please stand by for, uh, evaluation." As with many first-time activities, Ritzen was fairly bashful, and his ineptitude regarding common starship protocol didn't help very much. He quickly took out a small paperback handbook from a small drawer in the control tower desk; such books were recent since the recent development of spaceports, and he hadn't taken the time to thoroughly look through it during his billet.
About fifteen minutes had passed, and Ritzen could feel the knowledge seep into his head once he got a good idea of what was going to happen. "Haereon, descend to 1200 meters over landing pad 2. Proceed to land once you've done so." Ritzen understood that the spaceport protocol assigned to him was much more complicated than that, but he saw no harm in it. With the lack of any established pay-grade or a sufficient work force, It's no wonder he didn't pay much mind to it; he had one of the lowest paychecks second to the floor guard, and the training was sub-par and short due to the lack of resources. To him, he only cut out the middleman.
In the Barracks' bar in the main building, a small monitor in the corner of the room lit up with a small list of "Arrivals" and "Departures". As the name of the Haereon appeared on the ship, the small crowd gathered inside each lifted their glasses, while some let off a small cheer. It was, after all, the first ship in weeks.
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Post by Acruan on Jan 24, 2016 18:07:41 GMT
"They are... being slightly slow, aren't they?" Said the Captain letting out a sigh.
"Sir, with a sincerity, you should have known that things would proceed this fast. It is already a wonder that they have some proper spaceport being manned down there."
"Yes, it is... I was hoping for some mayhem or something to make this little vacation end faster. The ideal would be a 'the planet was too hostile to xenos, so we had to come back.' And for them to reply 'tough luck' finish our ships and let me move us to the front."
As soon as instructions were given, the Haereon proceeded to land where directed. After landing, the ship's hatch opening followed by an escalator stretching to the ground.
Slowly a group of around a dozen Loroi, both light and dark ones, went down the escalators. All of them were wearing pretty plain white plants and long relatively long shirts.
They small group looked about whispering to each other possible plans for the following week. They only had a short-while there after all.
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Flatcaps
Dreamer
The Titular "Big Brother" who is indeed Watching
Posts: 13
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Post by Flatcaps on Jan 28, 2016 8:31:50 GMT
As the Aliens made themselves apparent to the locals, most of the Hyttrians on the ground floor of the spaceport stood in mild awe of varying kinds, mostly along the lines of the impressive attraction to be expected of their kind upon meeting a new species. Nearly the whole floor had eyes on the E.T tourists; Once in a while, you can hear a little girl tell her mother "This is just like the radio shows!", or a grizzled veteran enthuse about the contrast between the seemingly-advanced technology of their ship, and the mechanized unites utilized during the latest Hyttrian war.
On the main floor itself, its obvious that some aspects of this spaceport are hardly optimized for extra-planetary traffic. A variety of low-tech vacuum-tube monitors sit on the corners of the main atrium, while a neon sign behind a window reads "Drinks, 24/7" in the native language, but well enough that it gives off the impression that the room behind it is a watering hole of some kind or another. Across from the terminal, a small stand with a taller-than-average Hyttrian in a gas mask stands behind a counter with a painted sign that says "Souvenirs!" in big, white lettering.
Suddenly, a burly figure in a button down coat and black breeches approaches the group. On his lapel, a small vertical nametag printed with "Lystir" sits unmoving, and a long, slim pistol sits on his hip while his eyes are covered by a black cadet's hat. With an open palm, he attempts to stop the group in order to welcome them personally. "Greetings. On behalf of the Hyttrian population at Kordun, we would like to welcome you. I am Officer Lystir, please direct any questions you may have to me." |
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Post by Acruan on Jan 31, 2016 7:31:14 GMT
As soon as they reached the ground, the members of the grouped looked around. Whispers went in between them mostly saying, 'Not as bad as I expected.' 'Well, it is still just some planet in the middle of nowhere though.' 'Who cares, have fun, and enjoy life while we have it.' Or comments to the same effect. The Captain and the Operator remained mostly quiet.
As the officer appeared, the Operator kept looking skittishly at her Captain, who soon looked at Lystir up and down. The Operator briefly glanced back mouthing something to a plain silver watch that was in her wrist, soon followed by the escalator retreating into the ship and its door closing. Finally the Captain let out a sigh and said, rather politely even with half a frown on his face, "Thank you for the warm welcome, Officer Lystir." He nodded at Lystir, "For this brief week, I'm just Captain Ka'al Kosh, we are Loroi from The Collective looking for an interesting vacation in this lovely planet. Would you have suggestions on how we should spent our days here, Officer?"
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Flatcaps
Dreamer
The Titular "Big Brother" who is indeed Watching
Posts: 13
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Post by Flatcaps on Feb 1, 2016 0:18:21 GMT
Officer Lystir smiled warmly at Captain Kosh, unnoticing toward the flare in his voice. "Well, Captine, I believe that you may find a plethora of activities fitting for your layover. The man in the souvenir kiosk over to my left offers tours and scavenging expeditions to Grand Hyttrium's historical battlefronts and landmarks. Gasmasks are available for rent." He pointed his finger towards the neon sign in the window of the bar near the back of the terminal. "If you wish not to leave the atmospheric shielding of the spaceport, the lunchroom behind me offers a handful of gaming options you may find to your liking, not to mention the social aspect of drinking alcohol." In the distance, the loud revving of crude combustion engines echoes throughout the nearby valley. Some of the people in the spaceport give notice, with their face betraying no expression of slight fear. Among the muttering of the crowd, a gruff-looking Hyttrian's voice barely stands out saying "Hmph, must be time for the daily grudge." Lystir takes out a large radio-operated walkie-talkie and tunes to an undisclosed frequency. "Ritzen, what's the commotion?
Who are they?
...Ah, if that is the case, I bid half my paycheck on the Fritzics."He diverts his attention back to the visitors. "Apologies, usually at this time, local raider clans begin their contest for territory. It makes a fine pastime to watch, and the gambling market is growing impressively. Anyway, if none of these interest you, there may be sport available from the fellow in the kiosk or the lunchroom bartender may know more." And with a nod, Lystir gives a small open-palmed wave and disappears around a corner. |
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Post by Acruan on Feb 1, 2016 6:17:30 GMT
The Captain seemed to listen attentively to every single word said before nodding only talking to his operator before Lystir leaves the group in peace. "We should get gas-masks, considering that... it will be a waste of resources to not use some... Primarily, we will reserve spots on tours and get gas masks. If there is enough time between now and the tour, we will find a proper spot to watch these 'costests for territory'. It should be better than the Academy's battle simulations." Some of the dark Loroi cheered at his brief directions, probably because of the mention of the battle simulations.
Soon enough they started walking towards the souvenir kiosk rather leisurely, the Loroi mostly talking among themselves while others seemed to just look at the locals and the spaceport itself.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 1, 2016 7:57:19 GMT
Tucks sighed as a timer rang and he rose from beneath Wirret's ship. He couldn't tell just yet what was wrong. The ship design was very unique, and quite different from the layout on most Confederate ships. For most of the time since he had begun working on the ship, the pilot had been translating the owner's manual into Universal Standard. It was hard work, and slow going. He had said little during the assessment, and hoped that Wirret had had better luck. For now, there was contact to make.
Tycks made his way to the bridge quickly, strapped himself in, and said over an intercom, "All crew, grab something, secure restraints, and brace for real space! Real space in two minutes! Point of exit, Hyttrium System, Andromeda."
The exit to real space came, and Tycks prepared a message. He said in a message over all known holo channels, "Spaceport below, this is the starship Renegade. Freelance ship, crewed mostly by citizens of the Dothvalian Confederacy in Triangulum. Respectfully requesting permission to land."
Tycks hoped the spaceport authorities spoke Universal Standard. If not, there was always the translation device.
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Flatcaps
Dreamer
The Titular "Big Brother" who is indeed Watching
Posts: 13
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Post by Flatcaps on Feb 2, 2016 9:53:23 GMT
As the company of Loroi approached the souvenir kiosk, its attendant sat attentively, although the gas-mask he was wearing left much to be desired for something to attest to his emotion. On the counter, an alcohol lamp burned brightly. Behind the desk, a rifle stood at his side, reaching almost four feet in length. He spoke with a bored tone of voice, and seemed disinterested in current events."Hello, Captine. I assume you're here for a memento of your travels. I offer tours for a price as well, but survival is not guaranteed. Firearms and environmental protection are offered at a fair rate."
Meanwhile, in the tower, Warden Ritzen was feeling like a kid in a candy store. "Oh, my... Uhh, Renegade, this is Kordun Spaceport. Descend to 1500 meters, fly over the terminal, and land on Pad 3." He was positively elated, and the terminal's bar was progressively more amused than anyone; people took to buying each other drinks, the Gerbich tables were full, and cans of meat were cracked open. Things couldn't be any better.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 2, 2016 19:17:52 GMT
Once he had clearance, Tycks seized an intercom and said, "We're landing everyone. Prepare to disembark."
After this announcement, the various crew members did so. Miller put away the rifle he had been cleaning, and began strapping several large pistols to the inside of his jacket, as well as placing a vibroknife in his belt. Nyla took one look at the temperature outside, and put on her refrigeration armour, keeping her two pistols hanging on her belt. Kate also prepared to disembark, loading common medicines she hoped to sell into a bag. The ship soon landed, and the crew members waited for Wirret at the cargo bay doors.
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Post by Cybernekit the Space Deity on Feb 2, 2016 19:56:14 GMT
Wirret is at the doors before any of them, having been in the cargo bay anyways working on her shuttle with Tycks. Amazingly, she had already made considerable progress on removing the cryo pod, having opened up the panelling above it, though hadn't removed it from the ship's wiring and fastenings yet. She headed to the doors, having her pistol on hand and keeping her leather coat on the ship, deciding she didn't need it on a station, showing off her frame fairly well.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 2, 2016 23:38:43 GMT
"Looking good, everyone," Tallahn said as she stepped out in her armour. There was a built in translation device as well as life support system, so she didn't expect much trouble from the planet. As for Kate and Miller, they had also removed their jackets. Tycks remained on the bridge, as he always did during planetary visits. If the others needed to leave quickly, he would be prepared.
Miller said to Wirret as the doors opened, "Hopefully you were able to figure out what was wrong with the ship. If so there are probably parts for it here in Andromeda."
"We're also hunting work," Tallahn said. "Maybe we can sell some of the cargo to legitimate security forces. Or any other buyers we don't flatly disagree with." When the cargo bay opened, Tallahn stepped out into the spaceport and said to the others, "Let's see what awaits us."
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Flatcaps
Dreamer
The Titular "Big Brother" who is indeed Watching
Posts: 13
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Post by Flatcaps on Feb 4, 2016 4:31:18 GMT
The people in the spaceport were welcoming to the newcomers, but they were much less well-received; Instead of chatting playfully about such aliens, they were more afraid than their first encounter today. The way that they insisted upon having their weapons so proudly ordained upon themselves made parents hide their children behind them, and the addition of their armored captain made even the hardiest of Hyttrian war veterans stand on-edge while they kept a hand or two free.
Suddenly, from around a corner, Officer Lystir appeared in front of the group with a sternly-opened palm-- a far cry from the original gestures of welcoming he issued the Loroi. This time, he was much more adamant in both stature and tone. "Excuse me, Madame Captine. First, I would like to bestow upon you and your... companions, a welcome to Kordun spaceport. Please keep in mind that we encourage courtesy and proper firearm discipline among you and your men. Please tell me that we have an understanding, and you may then continue to forward any concerns or questions to me."
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Post by Asriel Dreemurr on Feb 4, 2016 4:55:01 GMT
300 kilometers away from the Hyttrian spaceport, a single arkship warped in. Its holds were filled with solarite, presumably because like other arkships and many of the spare fleets of the Protectorate, it has been gathering solarite for weeks in preparation for war. The ship now needs a bit of rest after constantly moving around for 9 days, and this Hyttrian spaceport was the nearest place it can find.
"Request permission to land."
(The Eldari tend to wander around alot)
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