trans_9 | Shore Leave!

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Shore Leave!

Suddenly, the usual relative peace of the ship is disrupted by a rather loud announcement from Stacy.

||Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention, all personnel...||

It's entirely likely that she won't stop repeating the announcement until, well, everyone reports to Obs Deck. The mouth in the huge statue on the wall opens, revealing a screen. On it, the dossier for the mission flickers into display, understandable to every person there. Smaller copies of the dossier appear in holographic form in front of everyone.

The planet's stats, right next to a rotating picture of it, blue with thousands of small islands just barely visible, are as follows:

Planet Designation: Zokez II
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: Various species of intelligent life, including Homo Sapiens.
Water: 96% of the planet's surface.

Climate: Similar to Earth's tropical island regions. [Click here for cultural equivalents for non-Earth cultures.]
Landscape: All land is in the form of tropical islands. A large portion of this land is highly developed for commercial use by resorts and other entertainment industries.
Air: Normoxic concentration: 28% oxygen, 62% nitrogen, 5% xenon, 5% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon.

Air Pressure: 14.543 pounds per square inch.
Sky: Blue with silver-white clouds.
Sun: A class F2V, yellow star.

Warnings: Deep water areas can be hazardous to those with limited skill in swimming.

Mission: None. Shore leave is now initiated.

--

...Waitaminute. That's no mission.

It's a goddamn vacation.

[ooc: SHORE LEAVE IS GO.]

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And how ridiculous would this look?

||...It is your prerogative to stay aboard the ship if you'd prefer. It is your choice.||

Answer: pretty ridiculous.

Nanashi groaned. "Will the crew be there for any part of the night?"

||A few hours, at least.||

"Can I just sleep in a box until then?"

||If you'd like.||

"I would much rather this. Thank you."

Sam slips up near Nanashi. "You won't be alone." He offered her a tight-lipped smile. "I suppose planets in perpetual night aren't popular tourist destinations." He'd sniffed her out, and let her ask the question first.

She needed to ask no questions. She was rather good at putting two and two together. "You are a vampire as well." This was very much an observation rather than a question.

"Do you already know who I am?" That was a question. She was not terribly fond of being approached by someone who already knew about her in this situation. That was her job.

He smiled a bit, and swept a hand over his head. At this point in the day, his ponytail was starting to get a bit sloppy. "Sorry, the scent made it a bit obvious. I kind of make a point of at least introducing myself to the vampires on the ship." He stuck out a hand. "Dr. Samuel Henderson, but you can just call me Sam."

Nanashi sized up the new comer. So, he relied heavily on scent. Vampires of her world had no personal scent, only smelled of blood, and if you were really careful, dirt, though it was usually impossible to smell over the scent of blood. She could smell his differences from the humans in the room, though that had not been what gave him away. Her sense of smell, while sharper than a humans, was not apparently as acute as Sam's.

She reached out and grasped his hand in a firm handshake. "Very good," she said with a smile, "I have been meaning to do the same. I am Queen Nanashi of Kuninoryu." Nanashi had no intention of offering a nickname, even if she had one. She fully expected to be called 'your majesty' or 'your highness'. People on this ship tended to not do this anyway.

A queen? While he had heard nothing of this woman, he wasn't expressly surprised. For him, individuals each had their own scent, laced with something related to their species. Humans, of course their own, vampires another-- though the scent of your average vampire was much more subtle than a human's active physiology-- and all of the other sundry species on this ship each had their own unique essence. He was still learning to associate smells to the person they belonged to. And of course the scent of blood would be most prominent over it all.

After the handshake, he retained a light grip on her hand and bent down to kiss the back of it. He knew how to conduct himself in a proper court, though the need of it was rare. "I apologize, I had no idea."

Nanashi smiled brightly. This boy had just earned himself major brownie points. Leaving her hand in his loose grip, she said, "You are forgiven. Please, stand. I am glad to see that there are people on this ship who still know manners."

Nanashi had allowed many an insult against her since she arrived on the ship. After all, she could not go around punishing people for not treating her properly any more. The most she could do was try to correct them.

"I may be young, but I've been raised well," he replied. He, of course referred to his training as a vampire. "I'll be using the time after sunset to try to get some actual blood. Do you have any particular preference?" He could at least give her first dibs to make sure he was starting on the right foot.

Brownie points. Sam was getting major brownie points. Indeed he had been raised well, and had the same plan as she for after dark. "Honestly, it has been a long time sink I have gotten drunk, so I will be taking some of the... less responsible patrons of these resorts." Nanashi was of course, referring to the drunk men.

The only way for her to get drunk or high or anything of the sort was to drink blood with a high blood alcohol content. Her body would process it much faster than a humans body could, but she would get to enjoy the drunk feeling for at least an hour.
"Though I actually would rather someone on some mild euphoric. Would you care to join me?" Getting a human high to get high yourself was not an uncommon practice in her kingdom, and in fact one of her favourite bits. She always had available a human who was willing to take one drug or another just for the euphoric effect of her bite.

"I just have one rule: Children are off the menu."Though she was smiling slightly throughout the rest of her response, her face fell dead serious with this.

He looked a bit uncertain. "I'm looking for donor blood. I'm not sure how it is in your world, but in mine, if I bite a human and not kill them, I'll make them one of us. And I'm not interested in either result." He considered a moment. "Though I suppose if you got the blood flowing, there wouldn't a problem. I know the process you speak of. Though I'm not sure about drinking from someone on drugs." He had a rough history with that sort of thing. And that was a period of his life he didn't want to revisit.

But at her rule, he waved a hand. "Of course, I had no intention."

Nanashi smiled, "No, in my world the transformation of a vampire requires an exchange of blood. I can safely take blood directly from a human, and my bite creates a euphoric feeling."

When Sam seemed concerned about the drugs she went on to explain, "It is as common in my world for a vampire to enjoy drugged blood as it is for them to enjoy alcoholic blood. Our physiology makes it so that we are incapable of developing addictions. If it is not what suits you, very well. I do not approve of the heavier drugs that completely distort your perception. I mainly seek out those addicted to opiates. Since I doubt I will have a chance to enjoy such a high any time soon after this, I will take my leave of you for a short time. Of course, after this, I will be more than willing to hunt with you."

Placing her hand on his shoulder, she smiled, "I am glad you have no intention of harming children. There is no excuse for such a horror, be the child human or vampire."

"It seems I'll have to follow your lead, then," he said, with a bow of his head. At her comment about addictions, he simply nodded, with a rueful smile on his face. "I'll be looking forward to it. While you hunt for your opium den, I'll see what I can get for a ship stockpile." He meant it in a kind of affectionate teasing way. He held up his hand to indicate the comm ring. "Assuming they work on the surface, let me know if you need anything ."

She nodded with a smile. She was not so strict that she could not appreciate a joke, "I shall aid you afterwards then. I too would greatly appreciate a ship stockpile. The... what ever that might be that they give us is not nearly appropriate for vamparic consumption.

"Did you notice ours is pinker than others'?" He smirked a bit. "While it keeps hunger away, it really just isn't the same."

Nanashi laughed, "Yes, I have noticed! I have gotten some inquiries over it. No, it is not the same. It is really lack lustre."

He laughed with her. He was glad to have found one of his kind with more of an even temper than Spike or that girl. He never did get her name. "Until later, your highness." He bowed, and took his leave. He was rather proud of himself. That had gone well.

Nanashi was slightly more even tempered, true, but her temper was likely fiercer when it came out, since she often did a lot of holding her tongue for the sake of PR. Aside from that, she was quite a bit more insane. Like she did now, as Sam walked away without asking for her leave. Still, it was a slight offence, and was still outshone by his otherwise respect. She rather looked forward to working with him later.

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Shore Leave!

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