[Edel PRP] Escaping the Inevitable (Bazyli, Ashanti, Hosts)

[SkieBorne]

"Thank-you." Avalin replied, a sudden smile flashing across his face. Now the Captain would be safe. She was a tough person, they both knew that, but everybody on the ship also knew how much she'd relied on Merkesh... and now... now that he was gone, she needed a new friend to watch out for her.

It wasn't a sentiment that Viira exactly shared with the boy, but she appreciated his concern for her and so she hadn't reprimanded him. A friend or two after their ordeal, and dealing with Neva, was a much appreciated reprieve. Even if it was with Famine. And Desert.

Viira nodded and moved to walk alongside him, gaze ahead as if trying to discern the bumps that denoted the Pantheon from this far away. "What is it like, this Pantheon? And you'll have to describe your home to me, I've never heard of helmets that allow breathing underwater or space ships. Seems far more complex then the Storm Seed." It was an offer to trade information and give reason for future conversations... a friend would be nice - someone other then Ashanti to speak to (thankfully he was quiet now).

Avalin had chosen to flank Arden, walking on his other side and just behind as if he fancied himself a guard to the Captain and her new ally. He kept looking at his armor, wondering how it worked and what it was made of and if, maybe, he didn't happen to have more.

[Tsunake]

The genuine smile made to warm his heart a little, and the marine felt his lips woodenly curling to try and return the gesture. There was still some good in this world, despite the cruelty of the gods that tried to rule it. So it seemed, anyway. There had been a few he'd met that had been kind, true, but... Compared to creatures like Phaedra had been, they almost seemed powerless in comparison.

His eyes slid to their corners in order to better evaluate the woman, and the man tilted his chin up with a barely discernible sigh. How to best describe the place... He'd never been a very elaborate man, as far as details went. "Filled with gardens," He finally said, remembering. "Tea houses, too. Very green... Life's returned there. It's peaceful." If one stayed outside, true. "Raised platform structures, as well, all open to the air. Columns and statues... places for the gods and their hosts to stay, as well." He tried not to shift uncomfortably at the thought of that fanged door, and her question about home was much easier to focus on.

"For the majority of my life, I was raised on a space station." Arden struggled to put it into words. "Like an enormous base, all the way up in the stars. One of many. From there, the Federation keeps an eye on the planets in its jurisdiction, and its respected sectors. It's very cold in space, and since there's no oxygen, we're required to wear these suits for protection." His knuckles thunked dully against the front of his scarred armor. "I'm apart of the military, now. It's our duty to go wherever we're needed, and keep threats at bay."

He was thoughtful for a moment, then caught himself, and shook his head. "What's... this Storm Seed of yours like?"

[SkieBorne]

"So it was a city ship among the stars? I wonder what it was like to sail the stars... how do you navigate then?" She murmured thoughtfully, setting a hand on Avalin's shoulder as the boy perked up at the mention of sailing stars and having to wear special suits and the like. This man was fascinating for the boy, and a figure he could focus on... something he desperately needed. With only Viira, he'd figured he had to play tough and protect his Captain like Merkesh had done... with Arden here, maybe he didn't have to do that so much? Maybe he focus on something other then their painful, desperate trip here?

Maybe.

"At sea, the law is set by the ship's Captain. There are rites and privileges shared among the Korinthians, but for the large part each city ship has it own rule." She replied in kind, "The Storm Seed was a wonderful vessel. She'd seen centuries of sailing, passed from one Captain to the next. She boasted an Oracle and a Shaper and prospered until the continents cracked and the Seas drained. A city ship is a floating city. There were small, contained gardens and individual cabins for families... a handful of communal messhalls... she was a beautiful ship. She didn't deserve the end she met, though she was dependable to the very end." There was sad fondness in the Captain's voice as she spoke, moving alongside the soldier, "I have no drawings or I would show you. There's nothing like a city ship and the Storm Seed was among the largest of them. I so loved captaining her. Good, dependable crew."

Avalin smiled as he, too, remembered the Storm Seed, "I never got to see the shore. We stayed with the ship for all our lives - the Landbound people didn't like us." His addition made Viira chuckle.

"Yes. There was enmity between the Korinthians and the kingdoms of the continent - those of my people who took up pirating were unparalleled and wealthy." She shook her head, "I never stood by piracy but I must admit racing circles around royal schooners would have been entertaining. Arrogant folk, the Landbound were. Still, no one deserved the end they met."

[Tsunake]

"Yes." That was the most simple description that could be applied to the station, and Arden seemed quite content with answering questions. It had been a long while since he'd met anyone who didn't know anything about the technology of spacecraft--or the Federation, for that matter, and it was a relief that someone was still curious enough to learn. "Engines power it, mostly, keep it from drifting. It's a stationary unit mostly, but it can move itself when necessary. I'm not sure if you'd have heard of the fuel sources for it--phazon is dangerous, but has the most potential."

He wouldn't mention the scars hidden by his armor, nor point them out to demonstrate just how deadly the neon blue could be to human flesh. There was no phazon on this planet, so he prayed, and his own dislike of the stuff did not need to be voiced in this particular conversation.

It was the marine's turn to listen now, and he did so stoically, paying careful attention to detail. A ship on the water... "Like our ships, then. We have smaller ones that are sent out, but they're all ruled by the Federation. Was there... a head of command, that all your ships would obey?" The names she listed sounded like ranks, to him, though her ship sounded more... well, like a city, as she described, than the sleek, machine-based vessels he had grown up on. “I’m sorry, for the loss.” The man would attempt, glancing at her for a moment. He himself would have never become a pilot of a ship, no matter how much he climbed in rank; he was a fighter, not a supporter. His specialty was on the ground, in physical combat rather than in aerial dogfights.

“Everyone onboard is part of the crew, or do people live there simply to live?” That was another question he found he had. “There’s no sets of idle hands onboard our ships.” Then the boy spoke up, talking about how he never saw the shore. Arden could only nod ruefully. “It was the same, with some in the Federation. As a soldier, it was my duty. I got to see more than most.”

So there was disunity between those that ruled the lands and those on the waters. The soldier listened silently, absorbing it all, and he might have seemed quiet with his lack of response. Finally though, he would speak. “I was only told of what happened to the rest of the Federation. I doubt I’ll get to see them. With luck, they’ll rebuild.”

For the sake of the galaxies, he hoped so, at any rate. All he could do was keep his gaze on the horizon now, trained on the faint, if massive structures of the Pantheon in the distance.

[SkieBorne]

"Phazon? No. But it sounds like some sort of explosive. Those are unreliable." She wrinkled her nose at that.

"The Captains were a sort of... Council, I guess you could say. We speak for our people and we lead our people. A single commanding captain would not have been able to manage our far ranging ships." Communication was not as easy for Viira as it was for Arden, with mirrors and smoke and birds as the primary means of long-range messaging causing time delays in delivery.

"Hm? Oh. Yes, every man, woman, and child is a member of the crew and the ship as a whole is maintained by its population. If you don't contribute you don't get to partake. The Elders, however, have earned their rest and while they might not man the sails or decks as they used to, they still taught the youths." She smiled. Everyone had a place and everyone was included. It wasn't as perfect or workable as it sounded - there had been issues - but for the most part each vessel prospered.

The boy blinked then frowned, "We weren't allowed to go on shore. Only the special traders. You're lucky. Did you get attacked lots, being a soldier? What kind of soldier were you?"

Viira filled in the blanks then, sighing, "Our culture was so at odds with the land's letting the normal crew off shore often resulted in trouble. It was a tricky, fine line to walk when in port. I hope they do as well. It doesn't seem your Federation experienced such a final end as my world did, so with luck and determination they'll pull through." She knew first hand, that sometimes things really did only come down to luck and determination.

She turned her gaze to the horizon when she noticed him looking that way and squinted as she spotted the silhouette of the Pantheon, "Is that where we're going?"

[Tsunake]

Unreliable--if only they knew how much. The soldier dipped his head in curt acknowledgment, and listened quietly to the explanations he was offered. Though not a man of many words, he enjoyed listening and learning.

Questions and answered were passed back and forth between the odd trio, with Arden answering as best he could. Though it was difficult to speak, it was refreshing in an odd sense, and he was guilty for it. Though communicating with other, normal people after so long had helped ground him once more, the cost weighed heavily on his shoulders. This woman would die, too.

He told her as much as he knew of the Pantheon, and warned her of some of the inhabitants that lurked in the shadows, claiming to call the place "home". Though Viira might be able to care for herself, surely they would see Avalin as easy prey, and the thought chilled the marine to the bone.

The answer then, was simple. He would watch over them as best he could and protect them, perhaps direct unwanted attention onto himself instead. After all, there was nothing more for him to do with himself, save for inevitably trying to influence a god that cared little for anything save his own self-indulgence.

They would pause when night fell, and though the man did what he could to sleep, morning arrived and left him as drained and tired as the last. Still, the end was in sight now, and it would not be long before the Pantheon was reached.

There was never a question as to where the woman and boy would stay; Arden would merely take them to the horrible, toothy door and told them they could stay for as long as they liked.

((And a wrap, me thinks~!))