Shore Leave: Arrival

[cityship]

After the briefing, the Orbs Deck disconnected from Stacy, making it's way down to the planet and landing on the top of what looked like...a mall.

Outside, a mismatch of buildings stretched as far as the eye could see on a backdrop of a sunny green sky, a few golden clouds lazily floating across it. Here there was a mall, there there was a endless parade of street shops, and over there was a bazaar. And everywhere you looked there was advertising, selling everything from kitchen knives to starship engines to pet cosmetic surgery.

And populating this world was a practically endless number of species's, all of them brought together by one thing: trading. Credit was being exchanged everywhere you looked, from the shiny exclusive stores to the the dark and dangerous spaces in-between.

As the crew stood around, a peculiar looking alien with a mustache approached them, his oddly-shaped legs and knees making it looks as if he was walking backwards even though he was coming forwards. And as he moved, his accordian-like midsection made moved, making a weird, wheezing noise that might remind some of the crew native to Earth of the sound of Fran Dresser's voice.

<Welcome to XaXing, strangers!> he said to them in thought-speak, eagerly rushing towards everyone. <I am Guide! Your ship has already arranged accommodation for you, and I have been employed to guide you there and answer your questions! But if you would just sell me your memories then I can also guide you to all of the best stores and markets...>

[[ooc: After this post, everyone is free to make their own posts on the planet! Just tag all logs for Shore Leave with !plot: shore leave.

Also, if you have any questions you can ask Guide! ...just be prepared for him to also try to buy your kidney.]]

Comments

[powervacuum.livejournal.com]

Shore Leave was fine. Gert was perfectly happy to get off that ship and onto some nice, normal land. But on a planet like this? It was like everything that was wrong with America, all condensed into one nice little package.

She stared at the bizarre alien creature as it rushed toward them, one eyebrow lifted in suspicion. She wasn't too bothered by how unusual it looked; it was an alien, it made sense for it to look so weird. (Frankly, it was weirder for Karolina and Xavin to look so similar to humans.) It was the creature's words that were bothering Gertrude.

"You have got to be kidding me."

[livingontheweb.livejournal.com]

"...did I hear him right?" Peter said, after he'd backed the Spider-Mobile out.

[supersonicracer.livejournal.com]

"Woah, woah, woah - sell you my memories?" Sonic said, hands flailing. Already off the boat and he wants to get back on. "Sorry, bub, how about you tell us where everything is instead."

[cityship]

<But your memories would be highly valuable!< Guide whined. <And the location of 'everything' would take some time and is not covered by the price paid by your ship's AI. I am only employed to answer specific questions of a general nature. What about some of your quills? I am sure they would fetch an excellent price! For them, I would be happy to spend many hours telling you the location of all things on XaXing.>

[futureisclear.livejournal.com]

Ildraniath eyed Guide coldly. She'd worn her armor down, helmet and all, and the sight was rather intimidating.

"Attempt to remove anything from my mind and I will ensure you regret it, local authority or not."

[cityship]

Guide shrank back, intimidated by the threat. <I will only remove memories in an agreed upon trade!> he squeaked. <...But if you are not willing to sell memories, perhaps your armour?>

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"Sorry, buddy. I like my memories where they are..." Tony grinned, "Just point me in the right direction."

[cityship]

<Maybe a kidney?> Guide suggested hopefully. <Do you wish to go to your hotel? I can accompany you there! I know a very beautiful scenic route there with many fascinating sights...>

[j-y-d.livejournal.com]

Chase sticks with people he knows, particularly Kang for part of this. There's a couple things he needs to try and find while he's here. Life will not be complete much longer without his own stereo, some AC/DC, Megadeth, Joan Jett... or lacking Earth tunes, some kind of rock & roll like noise. But those shouldn't be bad... he just needs someone else to handle the haggling once he has a chance to concentrate on 'Find the Prize' to hunt down some music.

Meanwhile though, he's offered his help to Kang as soon as the Draconian is ready, offering to donate most of his money, his dufflebag of holding, and his services as a pack mule in order to get lots and lots of meat and booze on the ship. If some of that booze happens to be SoCo, so much the better.

[governorkang]

Kang was happy. Oh, he remembered what had happened at Zokez II, but he knew that all they could do was make sure that they stayed on their guard while enjoying themselves. Unless the Ohm were following them for unknown reasons, it seemed a little unlikely that they'd show up during this shore leave, too.

He already knew exactly what most of his credits were going to be spent on: meat, alcohol, and other food items. He had very simple needs. The rest of it was likely to be spent on presents for the people he'd come to consider friends and family on the ship.

He was more than happy to have Chase accompany him, as well, for more reasons than another person to help carry things.

The... creature, whatever it was, that greeted them earned a quirked eyebrow ridge, "I'll keep my memories, thanks." Even the human set he'd received in Fairplay.

[mynameisax.livejournal.com]

Ax froze at the 'sound' of the XaXing's merchant's thought-speak, almost recoiling once he'd spotted him.

< Iskoort! > he said, his surprise clearly evident in his stance and 'voice'. Also clearly evident was that he definitely expected to be having a headache very soon.

[cityship]

<Yes, I am an Iskoort,> Guide agreed, nodding. <Welcome to XaXing! If you wish to have a more extensive your, then perhaps if you would sell me your eyestalks...>

[encourage]

"Sell you our memories?" Talk about one hell of a strange thing for someone to want to buy. Especially with how touchy a subject memory could be for the people who've been on Stacy. "HOw can you sell a memory to someone else?"

Wasn't that kind of intensely personal?

[cityship]

<We make a copy of your memories, and then others may view them through a small device which it attached to their head. It ties into their brain waves and allows you to view the memories as if you were experiencing them! Would you like to buy some? I can sell some to you, in exchange for your hair!>

[teethofneedles.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this was probably going to be a clusterfuck. Karis decided to ignore the thing that was trying to sell her something. Or buy something, really. Whatever.

[cityship]

<For your clothing, I can give you credit!> Guide said to her, apparently not turned off by her completely ignoring him.

[thewunderkind]

"No one's taking my memories." Lash answered back. She didn't care what these guys could do or if she'd be dragged screaming back home, but no one touched her brain.

[cityship]

<Then perhaps I could buy your hair?> Guide suggested. <Or maybe an organ?>

[brustriese.livejournal.com]

Signum looks around slightly...suspiciously. Clearly an interstellar trading hub was the perfect place to get supplies on a shore leave, but getting dumped out directly into a major market area like this was slightly jarring, especially after Signum just had gotten used to the relative quiet of Stacy.

This...Guide seemed particularly annoying, so she ignores it in favor of turning to Hayate. "So, what do we need to pick up first?"

[diabolic-ace.livejournal.com]

"Hold up, did it say we have to buy things with memories?"

"'cause that might be a problem..."

[bonnypiperlad]

"My what?" Jamie's eyebrows seem to have disappeared somewhere in the region of his bangs, but he tries to be polite about his refusal, at least.

"No thank ye. I'm not interested."

[cityship]

<Perhaps your clothing?> Guide suggested. <I can pay credit for your skirt with the interesting pattern!>

[hi_there_aliens]

This wasn't exactly what he expected. He expected something more distinctly alien, a different layout at least and different method of organization, but for some reason, it looked a lot like mall. A mall that was filled with more species than he'd ever seen in one place. Daniel's eyes flitted from one to another, drinking everything and everyone in.

So it was a mall, maybe that was a universal constant, like death and taxes, but he could be here for days or weeks just learning about the people here, not to mention history behind the market itself.

An alien separated itself from the crowd. Daniel found himself staring. It wasn't the fact that its limbs seemed unable to decide which way they were actually going. It wasn't the fact that watching it come towards them was an eye-crossing experience. It wasn't the accordion-like torso or the wheezing sound. It was the fact that it had a neat mustache, and that was the one thing, a spot of Earth familiarity amongst alien, that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Its voice seemed to come directly from within his skull. Daniel started in surprise. Could it hear them if they spoke out loud? How did they respond back? Maybe he should try both at the same time. He just wasn't sure how you thought very hard at someone.

...You could sell your memories?

"No, that'll be fine, thank you. I'd like to keep them," Daniel said. Good, if Stacy arranged a place to stay, that meant he had time to dig into this place. He should tread very carefully here though. Be very specific. Because chances were that if he wasn't, he 'd probably end up accidentally selling a memory or two off. Was this their equivalent of selling a kidney? "Can I ask questions without paying a memory?

Daniel snapped his mouth shut too late. A stupid question to ask, and now the big question was he going to be a memory short now? And could he read his mind outside of what he thought at him? because that was another question.

Great, that was three. Good going, Jackson.

[cityship]

<If you could not ask the question without paying first, how could we agree on a price?> Guide said, as if it were obvious. <Your ships AI has already paid for the answers to any general questions, as well as directions to your accommodation. But if you would like to know where all of the best stores are, if you do not want to sell memories then perhaps your clothing or spare organs...>

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

Hiccup had come prepared. As in, he had a gun, since he know how to use those well enough, as well as plenty of ammo and a good sturdy knife. He wasn't the only one, given how his blond companion was armed and ready for the mission to go awry as well.

"Hey, hey, your attention please." He dangled an amulet in the alien's face, ornately etched in a design of knots crawling all over one another, swinging it back and forth gently. "See the shiny thing? This is one of a rare few made in the Berk Viking style of blacksmithing, fine craftsmanship from a village that no longer exists in a world that isn't even there anymore. It's one of a rare few in all of existence. I'm sure someone might be interested in that, right?"

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Astrid joined next to Hiccup, tossing her bangs out of her eyes then folding her arms. "You heard him - so dish out everything you know."

[makeherblue]

This time the Doctor was ready for the Observation Deck detaching.

And yes, it was still just as fun as last time.

The sky he rather liked, this brilliant green stopping just short of hurting his eyes and those clouds certainly looked like a kind of cotton candy, if cotton candy had a habit of being acid yellow. Gold. Probably meant gold, it sounded nicer. Of course he'd been on planets before that had been over populated, over-developed and while this one wasn't quite as far along, it was much different than visiting Orongo. He was about to head off on his own for a good look around when the very definition of fascinating came walking at him...and he used the word "walking" loosely, because that was the most brilliant way to walk he ever saw in his lives.

If only he had legs like those!

The mustache wasn't half bad either. If you went for that sort of thing and enjoyed picking food off it like a baleen whale and the mustache was just big enough to be impressive but not big enough to outshine those gorgeous, glorious backward-forward legs.

It was those legs the Doctor wanted to sigh in envy over, watching the fella teetering and knobbling toward him on legs you had to be absolutely the luckiest lifeform in the universe to have. Legs like those, you could wear any kilt ever made. Or ever would be made, even. The Doctor had time to wonder if Jamie would be jealous if he saw legs like those before the alien came right up to him. The Doctor didn't blink as the alien introduced himself psychically. Good strong voice in his head, clearly a confident bloke, and he was always interested in a good tour. See what they thought acceptable to show and then make his own observations.

"Ah, well, see, I'd like to have a special tour, if you don't mind. Here," the Doctor produced the psychic paper with a flourish, holding it out to Guide and letting him have a good long look at a real Official Stuff Inspector. "There you go!"

It wasn't quite a lie. He really did inspect stuff and things and doodads quite thoroughly, so maybe it was more like the truth with a few areas fudged around. The Doctor beamed at his alien and then, on second thought, beamed at his legs.

[cityship]

Guide's eyed widened as he saw the identification. Not a Stuff Inspector! <But the Special Tour is worth three months income!> Guide cried.

[curiousredsoul]

Celena had taken to the Obs deck in her usual form when the call had gone out. Now, down on the planet she stepped out under that green sky, her curious gaze sweeping over all the various mismatched buildings about before settling on the creature approaching, a most interesting creature indeed.

Not concerned in the least by this 'Guide's' telepathic manner of communication, though the mention of the sale of memories caught her attention, "You purchase and barter in memories? That is quite interesting indeed," she asked and commented. Indeed she was not unfamiliar with the possibility of storing memories in such a way that others could view them. That there seemed to be a trade based on memories was of great interest.

[cityship]

<Of course! Many people enjoy the experience of viewing memories, and therefore unique and special memories will fetch a high price!> Guide explained. <Would you like to sell you memories? I will pay top credit? Or perhaps your scales, or talons...?>

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Wait. When you say 'sell', are we talking actual removal or just licensing?"

One didn't become an Overlord without knowing a few things about material law, even if possession was nine-tenths of those things.

[cityship]

<Licensing!> Guide answered. <We simply make a copy of your memories and make it available for others to purchase and enjoy!>

[8wings.livejournal.com]

Pretty sky, Anwei thought. Not so interested in the rest of it.

This was just the sort of situation she was at a disadvantage in. She'd been trained to maneuver a team of purchasers through a market, with dedicated negotiators and porters; with the mercenaries, she'd worked with Horanckk covering her, performing analysis of every merchant's past sales, satisfaction ratings, criminal complaints, length of stay at current location, and so on.

She sighed inwardly, even while keeping a look of pert (and slightly stupid) interest on her face. There were things she needed here: information, more data storage, dehumidifiers, and a few other odds and ends.

"Guide, is there a dedicated section for military equipment?" If the Vizsnunishne had an open purchase order on this planet, things would be so much easier for her.

[cityship]

<There are many sellers of military equipment and weapons on XaXing!> Guide explained. <And there are several significant sectors for military goods.>

[coldhardfisting.livejournal.com]

Snow's initial reaction was a tilting of his head at the creature. It both was and wasn't like anything he'd seen before. Strange looking like the many monsters he fought on the outskirts of Bodhum and the creatures he saw on Pulse, but a weird lobster-worm thing with a mustache?

He shook his head when it spoke ... did he hear it right? "Hang on, you said you want to buy my memories?"

That was certainly an odd request.

[cityship]

<Yes!> Guide confirmed. <I will pay top credit!>

[theboywhowaits]

Rory paused, blinking a bit. It was strange to encounter a world that looked almost normal. Like it had escaped from a shopping network, yes. But normal.

His eyes skimmed, and he shifted his bag. So, why were they here? Even when the Doctor went somewhere for something specific, it always seemed to go left and become something completely different. Perhaps he was simply being paranoid, suspecting the worst of showing up on a planet.

The thought of something buying his memories was a little disconcerting, but so long as the alien didn't start insisting, he was sure they'd be fine.

At the moment, looking down at the size of the city, he merely feared for his feet, Amy was going to love this place, the Doctor was going to love this place. "Memories. What would you do with them, if we sold them?" Not that he was planning on it, but some of the other people on the ship might.

[cityship]

<Sell them to others who wish to view them, of course!> Guide answered.

[chosenlightchld.livejournal.com]

Hikari just stared at Guide for quite a few moments. "Sell... our memories? How is that supposed to work?" she asked.

Tailmon frowned from her location near Hikari's feet. "That doesn't sound like anything remotely decent."

[cityship]

<I would simply make a copy of your memories, and then sell them for others to experience!> Guide explained. <Or, if you do not wish to sell memories, I will also pay top credit for your strange talking creature!>

[saint-sami.livejournal.com]

"Sell our memories...?"

Well, this seemed like something that could help Sasami out in a big way. She still couldn't shake the memories she had earlier and if she could... hmmm...!

"You... think we could talk?"

[cityship]

<You wish to sell memories?> Guide said eagerly, rushing over to Sasami. <I can pay you top credit for them!>

[allnaturalseed.livejournal.com]

"I don't think so." Cagalli didn't seem too thrilled with Guide's offer, hoping to scare him off with a very pointed glare as she made her way to the stores. She wanted to buy her stuff and then not have to deal with being ripped off.

[cityship]

<But I would pay top credit!> Guide called after her as she walked off.

[notadamnangel.livejournal.com]

Dean gave the Guide an odd look. He looked weird enough with the eye stalk deal. But selling memories?

"What would we be getting for them, and we even gonna remember if you get them?"

[cityship]

<I will pay 100 credits for each standard memory, and more if they are unique!> Guide explained. <And of course, you will still retain your memories. We only make a copy of them.>

[shinkenryuu.livejournal.com]

Sell memories? While there were several that he wished never occurred, Ryuunosuke didn't want to just get rid of them, or... Some of the best stores... Perhaps clothing was included with this.

"Selling memories... Do you take copies of the memory or do you actually remove the memory from the mind of the person so that they never have it again?" the kabuki actor questioned. He wasn't sure just yet if he wanted to do this, so he thought he would ask first before he did anything. He also hadn't heard any of the others before him who had asked.

[cityship]

<We only make a copy of them,> Guide explained. <Would you like to sell some? I will pay good credit!>