Meat n' Greet

[cityship]

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. They are also told they must read information about their current situation and a survival guide with their new omnicom. New crew-mates might see a tall dragonish guy with wings (but don't call him that) and purple girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

Comments

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Sore winner much, Erhart? Zouichi raised an eyebrow at him.

"'Witches'?" Man, this guy talked like someone from the dark ages.

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"Warp-users. Psykers. Sorcerers. We suffer them not, except for the sanctioned astropaths who guide our warships through the Empyrean."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"Is there something wrong with psykers?" On his world, psychics were just... psychics. Some people might fear them for their supernatural powers, but they were still human. And certainly not regarded as 'sorcerers'.

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"They are beacons to the warp, and liable to be possessed or corrupted by daemons, thus becoming a portal between the horros of the Empyrean and this world. When properly trained and soul-bound to the Throne, they are far less dangerous to themselves and others."

Erhart seems disgusted with the subject matter.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Okay, there weren't any evil demons possessing the psychics on Earth. Bizarre.

"Well, I should probably let you know that I consider Farseer Ildraniath a friend. And she doesn't seem particularly possessed to me." No vomiting or crawling on walls or anything.

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"She will betray you. The Eldar always do."

He looks down at Zouichi, his expression hidden behind his helm, but there is a sadness to his voice, even washed through the harsh augmitters of his helm.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"Are we talking from personal experience here?" Out of all Erhart's possible reactions, this was probably one Zouichi least expected. It caught him completely off guard, to be honest.

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

The Black Templar doesn't respond, just staring off for a long moment, looking over at Kang. He points a black armored finger at the immense draconic critter.

"That one... is he a Kroot?"

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Oookay.

Zouichi glanced at Kang, then back at Erhart. "No, he's a Draconian. And he likes to hear himself talk. So, you know. If you ever wanted to bother someone from the Council."

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

He nods his head, taking in the data with interest. "And what is the Council?" He suspects he already knows the answer, something like the Administratum or the planetary governors.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Oh, how to explain. In the end, Zouichi decided to keep his personal feelings out of his answer. Erhart would develop his own opinions if he decided to deal with them, anyway. "They're the civilian government on the ship, separate from the military government. They take care of things like sentencing and authorizing civilian investigations. Battle decisions basically come down to what the captain decides, though."

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"Civilians. I see. Hardly worth bothering with, then. I am a warrior, and as such, I will simply wait until I am called to war."

His enormous shoulders describe a massive shrug, dismissing the council from consideration entirely.

"Tell me of the Captain, and the other battle-leaders."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

A solid conclusion, Erhart. Zouichi tended to agree.

"I've seen the Captain in action a few times. He's a baseline human, but he's got courage and a strong will. And he's not afraid to go out there and fight himself if he has to. As for the people under him... I don't know much about Petrelli, his second-in-command. I think I've only seen him around once, but maybe he does work behind the scenes. I've been on a mission with one of the Lt. Commanders, Nightwing, but..."

He gave Erhart a brief shrug. "He believes pretty strongly in not killing his enemies. I don't think that extends to the Ohm, but during that mission, we ended up stranded on a hostile planet working under a no-kill order. An idealist, I guess you'd call it."

Zouichi tended to be an idealist about certain things, but going out of his way to spare enemy combatants' lives wasn't one of them.

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"Foolish. We give no mercy, and no respite to our foes. Mercy is something that we cannot afford, if we are to preserve what is left of our worlds."

He glowers generally at the world for a moment, then nods to himself. "I will avoid undertaking missions under his command, if I can."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"There's a time for mercy and idealism," said Zouichi. "But that time doesn't generally tend to be when someone's trying to assassinate you and steal your DNA."

He crossed his arms. "You might not have a choice about the matter, though. Missions tend to start with the ship ordering a set group of people somewhere, without much choice about who goes along."

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

Erhart's sudden belligerent silence seems to indicate all Zouichi needs to know about his opinion on THAT. It continues for a minute or two before he asks,

"What can you tell me about the nature of the undertaking you mentioned earlier... the one with the assassins?"

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi shrugged. "About thirty of us were sent to an unfamiliar planet to 'negotiate for some vital medical technology'. It turned out the people we were supposed to be negotiating with were a bunch of tyrants using a clone undercaste to prop up their regime. They wanted our DNA to construct an invincible clone army, and so did the rebels opposing them. And either side had the technology to render pretty much any of our abilities useless. So long story short, the ship threw us in a meat grinder with no warning and no inkling of what we were getting into."

He smiled a little cynically. "But we did steal some of the medical technology. So mission accomplished, right?"

Zouichi was simplifying things a little, but the bottom line was that he didn't trust the ship or the Daligig as far as he could throw them. Okay, bad example in the case of the Daligig.

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"Sounds almost as foolish as the way some of the Imperial Guard operates. The Black Templars hold ourselves to a higher standard. But we must. There are only 6,000 of us to defend and cleanse an entire galaxy, so our blood, the blood of Dorn, is precious. We must die for a purpose, not for vainglory or to support a foolish ideal."

He shrugs, "Was the medical technology of any real use long-term?"

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

He frowned. "I'd say. Our allies apparently don't trust us with the information we need to complete our missions. What kind of way to operate is that?"

"It was..." Zouichi paused. "If we'd succeeded in negotiating for it, supposedly it would have helped regrow limbs and regenerate from severe injury. But it looks like that won't be in use for some time since we have to reverse-engineer it from stolen equipment."

He didn't think it would have been worth it even if the technology had done exactly what it said on the packaging, though. Worse, there were other ways they could have accomplished the exact same thing.

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"In truth, it sounds hardly worth the effort and difficulties of the undertaking. As for your.... 'Allies', that seems rather dishonorable of them." He glowers randomly, as if expecting more dishonorable fellows to come out of the bulkheads at any moment, then continues. "I suppose we do as needs must, but this hardly fills me with confidence.... You do seem a man of sensible opinions, though. That is valuable. What is your position and specialization?"

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi crossed his arms. A question with potentially more than one answer. "On the ship? I'm a Variable Fighter pilot. I'm also part of Security; we protect against onboard threats and maintain the peace.

"...but on Earth, things were a little less defined. So I guess you could say combat is my specialty."

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

Erhart grins behind his helmet, and sets a hand on the smaller fellow's shoulders, the cold gauntlet massive.

"I think we shall be friends then. Tell me more of these variable fighters."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Well. That was an awful big hand. Zouichi was more or less used to being around giant, hulking mountains of muscle, though.

"They're transformable fighters of Earth origin, designed to accommodate fighting in multiple environments. There's a Battroid form for ground engagements and one-on-one duels, a fighter form for air and space dogfights, and a hybrid form for maneuverability in tight quarters. There are a number of them in the Hangar, but they're not for everyone."

He hesitated for a moment. "It's probably easier to demonstrate it than explain, honestly."

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

"At this point, after talking to the Grand Master, I see no further reason to tarry here. Show me, if you are permitted to do so. I find war machines intriguing, though I am no techmarine."

He sheathes his sword for the first time since anyone has seen him leave Armory, with the sound of steel on steel, and his stance is... almost cheerful?

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"Actually... maybe the Sensoriums would be a better idea. Engineering is probably in the middle of repairs on the Quarter anyway." Zouichi motioned to Erhart to follow him as he started down one of the ship's corridors. It wasn't long before they reached an empty Sensorium, in which appeared to be a replica of the Hangar with its large and varied array of spacefaring vessels (and a few nonspacefaring vessels, in the case of the Impala).

Once there, Zouichi pointed out the Nightmare (http://www.macross2.net/m3/macrossf/vf-171ex.htm), still in fighter form.

"These are the Sensoriums, if no one's explained them to you before. It's possible to imagine up just about anything here. A lot of people use them for training purposes." Himself included.