trans_9 | Exploring

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Exploring

Nothing here was as Sparhawk expected. Mind you, since he hadn't expected to wake up naked and covered in slime, his expectations were already shattered.

Meeting his fellow podmates had also been an unsettling experience for the hard bitten knight. This Stacey seemed to have more power than Bhelliom, if it could pluck people from distant worlds to do her bidding. Aiding a cause was not a new idea to Sparhawk, but he vaguely resented the fact that others with more pressing concerns (i.e Zuko), could be snatched away.

Having had enough of socialising and not talking about the weather, Sparhawk had left the main room and gone off on his own. He had it in mind to try and find his armour, since the jumpsuit was making his skin crawl.

Which is why Sparhawk could be found in a corridor, working his way down it, and poking the wall with one finger as he goes. There's got to be wood around here somewhere, hasn't there?

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"Careful," a voice calls idly from nearby. "There's a release mechanism over there which opens a section of the ship that's best to avoid."

The figure looks over at Sparhawk before returning to his examination of a computer panel. He's not touching it -- merely observing it closely.

To Sparhawk, release mechanism sounds like a fancy way of saying doorknob, so he ceases his poking to study the wall.

"Did you learn that the hard way, neighbour?" the broken nosed knight asked as he gave up his search for the elusive knob, and moved towards the other occupant of the corridor.

He looks up at the warrior and nods. "There are several areas of the ship with opponents that cannot be defeated. At least... not with the resources we have at this time." He fully turns and begins to approach. "If you wish to help me locate resources, I have yet to fully explore down this way."

"What sort of opponents?" Sparhawk inquires curiously, staring at the wall as if expecting armoured forms to emerge. A fight would at least be something that he would understand.

The invitation to help explore is met with a nod of assent. "You seem to know your way around here neighbour. Have you been here long?"

"Too long," he explains. "And the opponents are indestructible statuary." He turns to head away. "I've been learning what I can of this location for as long as I have been here."

Most people would probably describe time spent here as 'too long'. Sparhawk looks slightly disappointed to learn that any opponents are just statues.

"Found anything interesting?" Sparhawk asks, as he moves to follow. Always take advice from those who have more experience than you.

He raises his brow at that question. "A great many things. Making sense of it all remains elusive, but there have been many things I have discovered."

Great, More cryptic answers. Is Scorpius related to Stacey? But, don't alienate the podmates.

"Anything you'd care to share, neighbour?" he asks politely. "Or are you trying to tie everything together before presenting it?"

"At this point," he replies, "I'm not sure which information is pertinent and which is not. To share everything I have learned would be time-consuming and likely tedious." He pauses and looks Sparhawk over. "However, I will note that you are yet another human here... which seems to be a unifying factor in the individuals who have awakened here: a close tie to Earth."

Realising that his fit of pique probably isn't the best reaction, Sparhawk has a rethink.

"Sound strategy," he comments, and it is. Better to have all information before going in, sword at the ready.

The comment about being tied to the Earth confuses him slightly though, for several reasons.

"Are you human?"

Poor Sparhawk. Social nicety's are lost on him.

He snarls. "Hardly. I am half-Sebacean," he replies.

Obviously, Sparhawk touched an unknown nerve there. "I meant no insult," he responds, unsure how a challenge to honour might be issued here.

"Sebeaceans and humans are very similar," Scorpius nods, apparently already forgetting the insult. "I am Scorpius," he adds, apparently deciding that it is time for introductions.

Challenge averted, Sparhawk is not adverse to exchanging names. "Sir Sparhawk, of the Pandion Order," he replies.

"A warrior?" Scorpius asks. "What does the Pandion Order stand for?"

Sparhawk nods in response. "The Pandions are part of the military arm of our church. We defend the faith." And save the world.

He nods. "Religious warriors." He begins walking down the hall, apparently expecting Sparhawk to follow. "I serve the Peacekeepers... a military group that is paid by other governments to enforce the peace in their territory." Whether or not they wish the Peacekeepers there, of course... but that's not an important detail.

Sparhawk has no objection to following. The more he can learn about this place, the better, and Scorpius seems to have a far better grasp on things.

"We Knights serve much the same function in our kingdom. Many people prefer to keep the peace rather than face us," and his tone is wry. "Is it the same for yourselves?"

He smiles. "Most. Some, unfortunately, do not feel that way."

"Dedicated to their cause, or just stupid?" Sparhawk asks, curious. Its interesting to see how another military man deals with these situations.

"A bit of both." His eyes narrow. "And then there are those who are neither. But are instead extremely dangerous."

Ah. "And those are the ones who must be dealt with the harshest. Fail to punish them severely enough, and they'll come back."

Yes, he's talking from personal experience, could you tell?

He nods. "Of course," he agrees. "However, some are rival governments. The Scarren, for example... or the Nebari."

Sparhawk listens to the foreign words, trying to commit the inflections to memory. "Does your Church not intervene?" he asks. "Our Holy Mother seems to like stability."

"Each world has its own church," he replies. "And the Peacekeepers themselves have no faith to speak of. Besides, we have no authority over sovereign nations -- save the authority to defend ourselves from them."

The Scarren and the Peacekeepers may have recently developed a peace treaty... but Scorpius does not trust that it will remain. And there are always the ever-mysterious Nebari. They are certain to attack again.

"Each...world? That must be complicated," And that puts a different spin on things. There is a new respect in Sparhawk's eyes as he looks at Scorpius.

And he thought trying to organise the Pandions was bad.

"Some worlds," he admits, "have multiple religions. And some religions reach multiple worlds." His fingers brush a wall that looks fleshier than others. "But it is not so difficult to handle." Their tenants are merely ignored when inconvenient.

"Its one thing to know of the existence of other worlds, and believe me, that was hard enough, but to meet people from these worlds..." and Sparhawk's sentence trails off as he stares at the wall for a second.

"It makes you feel rather small."

Having admitted that, Sparhawk promptly shelves his feelings, and returns to the business at hand. "Why is there no wood here?"

"Because most starships do not require wood." Some scavenger ships... you never knew how they were built to run. It was impossible to be sure that no ship required it.

"What would you use the wood for?"

"Unfortunately, starship building was neglected in the teaching on being a knight," Sparhawk responds amiably with a half smile on his face. "I assumed that it was just a different type of ship. What is it made out of then?"

"It depends on the type of vessel. Various metals in most cases, though sometimes the metals are organic in origin," he replies. "I take it that you come from a time without any sort of spacetravel?"

"Khalad would love this," Sparhawk notes quickly as he stares at the wall for a moment, before turning his attention back to Scorpius. "No space travel at all, no. I doubt even the Styrics have considered it."

He pauses. "Is space travel common with your time? Or is it restricted to your Peacekeepers?"

"Most worlds have access to spacetravel, though Earth remains woefully underdeveloped. The Peacekeeper Navy, however, remains one of the greatest forces in known space."

True enough, though the Nebari or the Scarren could crush them utterly. It's best not to make that too well-known.

"And who is Khalad?"

"Maybe someday we'll look to the heavens," Sparhawk says, a touch wistfully. "I suspect not in my lifetime though."

He's not entirely sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing.

"Khalad is my squire. He's fascinated by how things work."

"That is the basis of a strong scientific mind," Scorpius nods. "As is... recognizing the reality of how small one is in the face of the universe." He gives a small nod to Sparhawk at that.

"In a place like this, its hard not to feel small," Sparhawk notes, gesturing towards the fleshy wall. "I'm starting to realise just how small my home is."

He thinks he may be starting to understand why Bhelliom was tetchy.

"We all have small homes in the vastness of the universe. The point is not how small your home is... but how powerfully you can protect it."

“And not just for yourself, but for the others who look to you for protection,” Sparhawk replied. The big knights hand drifted almost to where his broadsword should have hung, but then he caught himself.

“Do you think that Stacey expects us to consider this place our home?”

"I think that Stacey expects us to serve some purpose, and that it is specifically keeping us in the dark about that subject. Which means that the purpose could not be one that we would volunteer for." His eyes narrow. "And thus, we must learn as much as possible before the time for that purpose arrives, so we may be better prepared to battle it -- and, likely, Stacey."

"Maybe she believes that to warn us in advance would just worry us too much," Yes, Sparhawk playing devils advocate and being the voice of reason. Will wonders never cease.

"But your explanation is the more likely one. Although she did assure me that she didn't want to kill me."

"Her goal isn't to kill us, no," he replies. "But neither is her goal to keep us alive." He narrows his eyes. "You'll notice that she has not assured us that we are not expendable."

"She has not," Sparhawk agrees, but his face is stern. "If she thinks that we are, she will learn differently,"

He sounds very certain of himself as he speaks. Scorpius has opened his eyes to another way of looking at being here, and he's doesn't like the suspicions.

"Should we talk so openly though?"

He smiles. "Stacey cannot be aware of all things at all times. If she wishes to dedicate her resources to following me, then she will be prevented from using those resources for preparing for whatever she needs us for." He smiles cruelly.

"You're setting yourself up as a decoy then," Sparhawk surmises. "Or she will start to think of you as a threat. Either way, you will be finding out information. "

And if she tackles Scorpius as a threat, she exposes herself to the rest of the crew.

He smiles enigmatically, but says nothing.

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Exploring

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