trans_9 | Cranston For Hire [Open!]

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Cranston For Hire [Open!]

It was once again time for Billy to assess the progress being made in this seemingly endless war with tasks and deadlines. So far, reorganization of the Engineering department was about 25% complete. Not terrible for a day's work, but he could certainly do better. Several projects were stalled pending discussion from the involved parties. His social time and interactions with the Rangers had taken a hit due to all of this.

Though he was following his orders to take more resting time during the day and having fun with Ronnae on many of the nights, nothing stopped him from taking on more than enough work to fill the compressed schedule.

Today's work: Supervising the new structure and performing odd jobs around the ship. Repairs were going well in the hangar, Neuropathy needed to be left alone, infrastructure was busy in the City. He visited wherever he could and lent a hand to each, struggling to find time for what he wanted to do in secret: move his personal belongings to his girlfriend's house.

As Billy wandered back and forth throughout the day, a stuffed backpack always accompanied him. Throughout the day, the loaded-down teenager made trips between a number of places on the upper levels and a particular house in the City. Distracted as he was with the constant juggling of omnicom, comm ring, tools, and items, he eventually wore himself out.

Where he ended up shouldn't be a surprise: in the city park, fast asleep, sprawled across an assortment of odd items. Somehow, he'd note when he woke up, he doubted this was what had been meant by the recommendation for 'personal time'.

((ooc: The two location tags basically mean you can catch him anywhere: asleep with shiny stuff to steal or rushing back and forth between the different areas of the ship. Just make a note of where you found him.))

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"Oh!" He straightened up and smiled with recognition. "I guess I do understand where you're coming from! I was ostracized when I was younger, too. Well, my family kind of was, but it was because of me. Once they removed me it wasn't really a problem anymore," he explained, cheerily. At least he'd found some common ground, despite the heavy words that seemingly didn't bother him at all.

"I suppose I was luckier than you, though. You had to sit there and take it, no? It's okay; I want to talk to you, now. As easy as I can just say 'don't feel bad about it', it's sometimes very hard not to, though."

His mind lingered on his previous words. He'd been told that the suits translated others' speech, which is why it was so difficult for people to understand those like Nehaalista. He was almost tempted to test it...but then again, he was sure that it would probably be a bad idea to strip down in the middle of the park to talk to his friend's boyfriend. If anything, he figured the man would probably recoil in embarrassment and horror.

Oh well, another day, perhaps.

So they had something else in common. Billy finally started to relax, the death grip on his knees loosening to a light hold.

"Thanks, Nokosi. That really means a lot," he said earnestly, starting to feel a little better. "Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"You're welcome!" he exclaimed, patting Billy on the knee. "I already know you're a 'super amazing engineer who can even make cars fly'," He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Whatever a car is." In truth, he'd seen one before. Beast Boy hadn't really explained what the vehicle was, so he was under the assumption that it was called a 'ride'.

Now that Fontaine had calmed down a bit, he stuck his hand in the wolf's fur and begin scratching down his back. He watched him slowly close his eyes, a light rumbling coming from his throat.

"Oh, yes. Is there anything else you're good at? And something that you're bad at but you enjoy doing regardless?" He hoped Billy had no where to go because this was probably going to devolve into a round of '20 questions: Elf who won't shut the hell up, edition'.

Billy smiled just a little, imagining Ronnie explaining that breathlessly. He spared a quick glance for the content Fontaine, knowing that the peace could be broken at any second with a reckless decision. Best to be cooperative.

"I'm a hopeless cook, an average dancer, and still a fighter in training. I was the worst of my friends in combat when I started, but I've been focusing on getting stronger. I'm at the point where I can defend myself and lead my team in combat if I have to, but there's a lot of room for improvement. I'll never be as strong as Ronnie, even with the Power."

"I wish cooking was even useful, here. I miss hunting," he whined, with Fontaine huffing in agreement. "Though I suppose the herbs growing would probably make a tasty meal. Without meat," he added, frowning.

"Oh well! ...You have a team? What team? Honestly I don't think you should be too worried; I won't ever be as physically strong as her, either. It's to be expected with her being an Orc and all. But that's fine, she can do a really good job protecting you."

Billy made a note of that. "I'd be interested in trying it. Oh, are you a vegetarian? Not that we really have a choice to eat meat anymore, but I'm interested."

Moving back to the questions about him, Billy nodded. "The Power Rangers. We activate suits of armor for combat and operate large mecha known as Zords. I'm the only one of us from my team, but there's someone from in my world's future and another team I selected. We're doing well so far."

At the image of Ronnie keeping him safe, he ducked his head. "I just don't want to be a burden to her out there."

"No, not at all. I think it would be very hard for me to, actually." He positioned his elbow on his leg and propped his head up by a hand. "Despite my connection with animals, being a hunter and all, most of them understand it as a way of life. Some have even willingly sacrificed themselves for my benefit."

Using suits of armor...for combat. What, was that like the Goblin mechanical suits? Zords? How odd. But fun, considering the team effort!

"I doubt you'd be a burden, it's not like she's invincible. The amount you contribute as far as combat goes doesn't have to be equal. That's why people are good at different things. But...speaking of combat, is that what your glowy thing was that you whipped out when Fontaine howled in your face is for?" He could hardly hear the ringing, now, which he was more than thankful for. That echoing sound was one of the few he'd found pleasant.

That made sense to him. Billy nodded seriously, smiling a little at Fontaine. Strange how much of a difference contentment made.

"Affirmative," Billy answered proudly, unhooking the device from his belt and bringing it forward. "It's called a power morpher. It works by tapping into an invisible energy field known as the Morphin Grid, drawing from it to give our bodies surges of adrenaline. While that happens, a nanofield energizes and replaces our clothing with the armor. It's not quite as flimsy as it looks."

Which was a nice way of saying that it looked exactly like spandex.

Most of the things Billy had just spoke of flew right past his head and were filed into the 'I understood 0% of that' department of his attention span. Nevertheless, whatever his power morpher nanogridthing was, it looked interesting in the least. He leaned forward quickly, ears wobbling and charms and piercing jingling in protest.

"So...what happens to your clothes with the man-a-fuel replaces it with armor?" he asked slowly as a long, pallid finger poked at the center of the glowing device.

Billy clutched it protectively, but he allowed Kosi to prod. Lightly. If a small blue shock came out at him, well...usually it didn't, but it was possible.

"They're converted into an energy code and stored in the morpher, returned when we deactivate the device."

Energy...code? How did that even work? He opted on not thinking about it, instead; if he did he still wouldn't quite grasp how the thing worked an even worse, he'd want repeated examples of its use.

"I see," No, he really didn't. "Was this type of thing common where you're from? Beast Boy mentioned that there were a lot of masked heroes in his home. I don't see why you would need a mask, but that's beside the point, I suppose."

Billy settled in for the long haul with this explanation process. "As far as we knew, the six of us were the only Rangers on the planet. Apparently there were others after us, but the number was always kept small."

He smiled then. "We had helmets instead of masks, but they served the same purpose. We were ordered to keep our identities secret to avoid unwanted fame and to prevent us from using our powers to improve our social standing."

Strange. Usually people didn't hide their appearances so they could either be revered or feared. Perhaps there was something in having no one recognize you, considering how few of them there were.

"I'm sure you have a million stories to tell," the elf nodded. Now it was he who was wasting all of someone else's time. "Which I'm sure I can hear all about later," he grinned, volunteering Billy, "But I do wonder what your planet was like, now that I am aware of the role you played on it."

"My planet was called Earth in my language," Billy started, a picture of the little blue marble as it appeared from space appearing in his mind. "You'll find that many of the inhabitants on the ship are from Earth at one time period or another---it was apparently an important site in history."

He closed his eyes, remembering all he could about the planet from his school lessons. "It was the only planet in quite a distance that could support life. About 70 percent of the surface was oceans, the rest was a variety of climates. We had cold regions covered in ice, tropical areas with trees and sand, grasses, forests, mountains..."

The more he spoke, the more he missed it. "Culturally, we were separated by those oceans. Different groups gained power over areas and developed technology at different rates. I lived in a country called the United States, one of the most technologically advanced of my era. Within that area I lived near the coast of Southern California, a sunny and warm area. We never saw snow," he laughed. Well, except for the time the Bookala created it.

"We lived peaceful lives. Children went to school and learned until they were ready to begin careers. There were wars overseas, but only a small number of volunteers participated. The event that caused my friends and I to be recruited as Power Rangers was the first of its kind: an alien invasion. My city wasn't prepared to deal with it because it was such a novel threat."

"Your world sounds...very serene." In comparison to his own, it was a paradise. Living in Ashenvale, it was easy to avoid the wars that the Humans, Orcs, Scourge and Burning Legion were waging. Of course it was only a matter of time before that, too came at an end, he thought, wistfully.

"No snow? How depressing! I loved snow when I was younger...I begged my father for the better part of two years to let me see it. Though...I can't ever say where I lived had snow, either. We were basked in eternal twilight."

Most of the ship was from earth, hm? That explained why there were so many Humans or people who looked a lot like them. It occurred to him that maybe Humans were the most plentiful race on most planets. With their short lifespan and ability to procreate so quickly, it certainly made sense.

"...What is your career?"

"It's not all serene, and definitely not all the time. It's just my segment of the world in that moment in history that's doing so well," Billy muttered.

"I was actually still in school, though I planned to become an inventor someday, though I could have been a chemist or a researcher also---I wasn't sure. People in more advanced fields don't complete their training until their mid twenties. I've been directing those skills toward our war efforts ever since I became a Ranger."

And it had only become a more dire situation since then, Billy thought, a light frown crossing his face.

Always with so many changes of emotions. Nokosi's eyebrows furrowed and he pursed his lips, "You don't seem very happy about it," he simply said. Then again, he had only met one person who didn't get moody or emotional when talking about their world. He found he could rarely compliment those worlds without being told it was something otherwise; what with all the heroes they all had.

"No...I wouldn't think it would be. But for the people who could live their lives normally because of the work you and your friends put in; they would certainly appreciate it if they knew."

A chemist, though, was certainly something he could relate to. "Chemistry is widely regarded as the same as Alchemy for Azerothians; the only difference being the use of magical herbs and items in some of the craft but the principals are the same."

"I wasn't as accustomed to loss as many of the people here," was Billy's explanation. "Despite the war taking up our time, we were still able to lead normal lives. We kept our parents and townspeople safe. There were close calls, but as far as we knew no one ever died. Then the Ohm came, mowing down all life on the planet within minutes. We tried, but we couldn't do a thing to stop them. It doesn't hurt as much as it used to, though."

He felt foolish admitting this to someone who had likely experienced far worse on a daily basis for many years, but that was how he felt.

"Yeah. We worked on all sorts of substances, but I largely focused on antidotes to the ailments inflicted on us in battle."

He waited a beat. "So are you starting to feel that you know me?"

Loss. One of the many reason he failed to truly relate to others on this ship. The things he was without would never quantify to those that others were without.

He could only really miss the idea of having parents there all along; the memory of his childhood was still there and that wasn't going anywhere. As much as he was welcomed into the Oliviera household, he hardly had the connection that some of the others had, or the actual family members had for one another. And his 'pets'...No one would ever consider that much of a loss, would they?

"...I did the same for alchemy. Though most of it was to account or prevent other issues for me, alone."

His hand slid from his chin to fall into his lap and he straightened up, turning his head to the sky. It was getting late; not that he minded. He knew, though, that Billy was supposed to visit Ronnae today. Best not to leave her waiting and thinking unsavory things, he concluded.

"I think...that I'm glad I know you as more than just 'engineering boss'," he said, smiling gently.

Billy would take that memory to heart. He smiled lightly, glad to know a little more about the man Ronnie called her good friend.

"I'm just Billy," he insisted, shaking his head with an amused expression. "Though if there's a title you'd prefer instead of Nokosi, I can arrange for that too."

"No, Nokosi is fine. The only title I obtained back in Azeroth was that of a Brewmaster. I was interested mainly because the methods to creating a great ale were similar to that of brewing potions or elixirs."

Long arms went up in the air in a stretch and he begin lifting himself off the ground slowly, with Fontaine following suit. "Was never any good at holding it. Shame, that."

Billy clambered up beside him, still slightly wary of Fontaine but more relaxed than before. "That's one motivation to master the craft," he said with a smile. "It's a good talent to have."

Fontaine huffed but made no other ill action towards the man as he walked over.

"I suppose if I saw fit to drink myself silly and never suffer the ill effects. It's pretty terrible, but I hear it makes for a funny story, according to Ronnae."

Nokosi tugged on Fontaine's ear playfully and turned back to Billy. "I'll be on my way back 'home' now, but if you're heading in the same direction, I surely wouldn't be opposed to company."

Billy hid a smile behind his hand. "I hope I don't have to witness it in person someday.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and waved. "I'm actually running off to check on a few more things first. I don't want to have to leave once I get to Ronnie's."

"Me either. I'm not very picky in that state," the elf admitted, laughing. "I suppose I'll see you later tonight."

He glanced at the sky again, then tapped his side in thought. Given how Ronnae was..."Well, tomorrow," he corrected.

A wave of his hand and a nudge in Fontaine's side and they began strolling off, as lazily and leisurely as they had arrived.

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Cranston For Hire [Open!]

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