The Blue Star Shines Brightest

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Just for that, @justletmetakeasips, I’ll have Xephos irradiate a jug of blood and bring it to the party. :(

[justletmetakeasips]

#And you call ME the bully.

/FUCKING BRING IT SIPS’LL CHUG THAT SHIT HE DRINKS EVERYTHING

[sidera-caerula-blog]

... Everything? 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Just for that, @justletmetakeasips, I’ll have Xephos irradiate a jug of blood and bring it to the party. :(

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Ditched

[justletmetakeasips]

“Uhhh I know a bunch’a Strifes who could probably help you. They’re all weirdly good with tech. My AI might know some shit too, considering he’s been building himself a fuckin’ body recently. He’s installed back at the factory though. I guess I could introduce you if you want.” 

Sips wasn’t too hot on the idea of bringing some rando back to the factory but it wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before. Besides, the biggest risk of bringing Xephos to SipsCo was him maybe stealing a few handfuls of dirt. And considering how muddy he was already, Sips doubted that was on the cards. 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“You have an AI? I would like to meet it!” Xephos could barely keep the excitement out of his voice. AIs were commonplace in his fleet, and if there was one thing they could do well, it was track down and communicate with others like them. Perhaps this one could send a signal to the mothership, and then the invasion could begin at last...

Xephos chose to drop the thought before he got too caught up in a daydream. He graced Sips with his most recent attempt at a smile. 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Ditched

[justletmetakeasips]

Sips pouted. “Wow. That hurts. But I guess I can cut you some slack. So where you headed? Not much to explore and learn round here. This area’s kinda deserted—because of me probably. Back in the day I was pretty big on hunting live prey for the whole vampire thing. Scared people away, you know? Oh, but you got nothing to worry about. No offence, but your blood smells a bit funky.” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“No offense taken,” he replied. The vampire finding his blood unappealing could only be a good thing.

 “I do not know where I am going. To find an engineer, perhaps. My ship is destroyed and I cannot fix it myself. Do you know of one?” It was a long shot, but if this man was the “local celebrity” he claimed to be then there was a good chance he’d have the contacts Xephos needed. 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Dirt Trek

[apricktoremember]

Sips was never really surprised by people coming to call anymore, not since he had finished reconstruction of the factory buildings and installed a few little cameras to peep choice locations around the compound. One such location was the factory’s main doors, and as he looked up from the paperwork he had been scribbling on to check the wall of video monitors across his office, he furrowed his brow at who had come knocking. Xephos? That was odd. Why would he knock instead of just barging in, as per usual?

Not thinking on it too long, the businessman hopped out of his chair and jogged down the stairs to the main entrance to greet the spaceman, stopping for a moment to make sure his sky blue tie was straight and his hair messed up just so before swinging open the door.

“Hey Xeph, what’s up with the knocking? You look kinda weir– wait,” he said, stopping himself and squinting at the thinner man. “Waaait, are you a new Xeph around here? Have we met? You look a little…I dunno, overwhelmed.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

As Xephos waited for the approaching footsteps to reach the door, he tried to remember how Minecraftians generally greeted each other. Did they smile, or was that too familiar? He’d seen some offer handshakes, though how exactly you were supposed to initiate one eluded him. 

Whichever option he gave thought to at the time proved to be useless as the building’s presumed owner opened up conversation with a question. It took Xephos a moment to speak, as this stranger bore a striking resemblance to one he’d already met. Was grey skin common here?

“We have not met, no,” he eventually replied. “I am new, I arrived a day ago. My ship crashed and I cannot repair it.” He stopped there, a little unsure of how to ask for help. Instead he made a face of despair and hoped the other man would pick up on his awkward hints. 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Dirt Trek

Minecraftia was technically one of the smallest planets Xephos had been stationed on, but that did not make walking from place to place any less time-consuming or arduous. Along his travels he’d met a handful of people, each one less useful than the last. It could safely be said that he was at his wits end.

With his ship obliterated he needed an engineer or fifty, preferably more of the spacefarers he knew had to be somewhere around here. So when the looming outline of SipsCo appeared on the skyline, Xephos at last thought he had struck gold. 

Really it should have been obvious that this was not the place for him, but unable to read Minecraftian all the signs that clearly advertised dirt might as well have been deep and profound poetry, 

Blindly he ventured onward, coming up to the door and knocking lightly. 

( @apricktoremember )

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Ditched

[justletmetakeasips]

Sips clapped sarcastically. “Got it in one, good job pal. So what’s your deal, then?” He hovered over to Xephos, striking an exaggerated thinking pose. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say “alien”, right? Gotta be a newbie too. Heh, how funny would it fuckin’ be if you were here on, like, an invasion mission or somethin’! Haha!” he gave Xephos a friendly slap on the back and floated a bit higher. “That’d be funny. Oh—I’m Sips by the way. The real guy, the best guy, kind of a local celebrity.” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Xephos felt the blood drain from his face, briefly terrified that the vampire had read his mind. By some miracle, though, he had been joking. 

“Yes, I am an alien. I am just here to explore and learn,” he replied uncomfortably. Lying quite so directly did not always come very easily to him. Nor, apparently, did enduring these friendly backslaps the Minecraftians seemed so fond of. He lurched forward, steadying himself before face-planting on the ground yet again. 

“Sips... hm. I cannot say I have heard of you.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

Remington hummed watching Xephos watch the sunrise, “Not really, I normally stay by myself. Seems to be silly making friends when eventually they will die and I will still be living alone. I have my home in the trees but even that…its just a bed and chest.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“I suppose that is sensible,” Xephos replied, though he wasn’t too sure about why experiencing others die was such a bad thing. He put it down to one of the many cultural differences he had yet to comprehend. “The sun is rising, I assume that means the Minecraftians will be waking. I am going to set out to find others and gather supplies. You can accompany if you wish.” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Ditched

[justletmetakeasips]

Sips rolled his eyes. “What does it fuckin’ look like? I thought Xephs were all s’posed to be smart. Guess I found a rotten one.” 

Apparently this incarnation of Xephos was a bit new to these concepts, and Sips felt a little bad for being so impatient with him. Clearly this guy had no idea how anything on this planet worked—and perhaps more surprisingly, he hadn’t heard of this area’s glamorous resident vampire. Maybe he didn’t spot the billboards Sips had paid for. 

He hopped into the air and hovered there for a bit, equal parts showing off and getting ready to explain himself. “Ok so do you know what a vampire is? ‘Cause if you do that’ll make my job a whole lot easier.” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

The alien could already predict the direction this conversation was going in. So this Minecraftian was a vampire, was he? That shed some light on the situation. But much like other creatures of myth and legend, he’d observed countless other “vampires” which exhibited very unique characteristics. Already this grey one was a far reach from the majority, since he had not attempted to attack him yet. Some sort of peaceful variant?

“I know of vampires,” he replied. “Blood-drinkers, yes?” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

“Hmm, I met a man named Will who seemed to be good with technology, but he lives a few hundred miles away from here…” she hummed in thought, wincing as the sun got into her eyes as it began to rise, “I’m sure I could help you with it myself.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“I will keep an eye out for others with a technical mind. It will take much more than two people to rebuild a ship like that,” Xephos said, thinking of the sheer wreckage it had become. Many sets of hands would be necessary, though he did not relish the thought of having to explain the specifics of how his ship worked to so many people. But such things would likely be necessary. 

Xephos watched the sun peek over the horizon, turning the morning clouds pink. Minecraftia’s sun was such an odd one to him. It would take a while to get used to it’s color. So very different from the one at home. 

Speaking of home, he looked back to the other alien. “Do you have a place to be?” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

“Let me hang with you, just until you get your barings of the world, then I will leave you to do as you please. Wait…you are stranded? You said before you were exploring,” Remington was now confused and didn’t want to leave him on his own but took her book back anyways.

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“Yes. I came here to explore and learn, but my ship was destroyed on landing. I have no way to get back to or communicate with my home.” It wouldn’t hurt to reveal that information. Perhaps she’d know some engineers or other spacefarers. If there were truly that many aliens on Minecraftia, some of them must know how to repair or rebuild a ship. 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

He couldn’t read her own words, she raised an eyebrow and grinned, “Your stuck with me then,” once she started speaking English she had no issues with confidently saying words, “You need me, you have made that clear.”  She made a whiny sound as he held the book the wrong way round, “Here,” she turned the book around and looked at him, “Maybe I should be the map keeper.”

She frowned at the thought of someone else picking when they could die, “That isn’t right, doesn’t that scare you? Knowing you aren’t in control of when you live and die?” it felt like a strange thing to be concerned about, coming from a demi-god, “Death is something you should be in control of.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“I think I should give this back to you,” Xephos said, closing the book and holding it out for her to take. “You made a generous offer, but I believe it would be best for me to continue alone. Though if our paths meet more I do not mind speaking with you. So far you are the most reasonable of my encounters.” 

Her question thoroughly perplexed the alien. “Why should I be scared? I am much better off with my life in their hands than having it in mine. However, if I am truly stranded here perhaps I will find out how long I would live naturally. Hm. Either way, it does not scare me.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

“If you want…you can look at my book some more. Maybe it would help you,” she mumbled, she wasn’t so keen on sharing her book but clearly he needed all the help he could get, “What is your name? I’m Remington,” she bowed slightly as she introduced herself, she held her book out to him and waited for him to take it.

“If you don’t mind the question, How do you not know the life span of your species?” she asked.

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“I’m not sure I could read it,” he admitted, scratching his neck rather sheepishly. Literacy was yet another subject he flunked, and if this person wrote in the same tongue she spoke he doubted he stood a chance. “My name is Xephos.” 

After a moment’s hesitance he took the book, holding it upside down as he opened the cover, muttering as he squinted at the contents. “Our superiors choose when we die. I have never seen one of my kind die of old age. Sickness and injury, yes.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

“Everyone gets lost, so do I during day times. I follow the stars and they tell me where to go,” Remington looked up at the sky to watch the sun start to rise, “Lifespan, say lupus; wolf they die elderly when they become 14, equus; horse they go to be 20-25. So do you understand now?” She closed her book and hugged it in her arms, clearly something important to her.

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“I will have to get used to these new stars,” Xephos muttered, casting a doleful look at the sky. This place was so inconceivably far from home. It hadn’t really hit him until now. 

He nodded along with her explanation, beginning to understand. Other species would die once their bodies deteriorated to a point that could no longer sustain life. Surely his race did too, but there was no way to tell how long their natural lifespan should be. “I understand, but I do not know my lifespan.” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

“It’s Latin, semideum is a demi-god. Immortal and all mighty power, that type of thing?” Remington hummed. “Exploring and learning, I could help if you want. I have a good memory and I could give you a book to write things down,” she didn’t know what it was that made her want to trust the alien, maybe it was because he knew things about space that she wanted to know, “I help you and you teach me of the stars, but first…what is your life span?”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“Ah, demigod, I understand.” Xephos had met a few demigods in his times, each one wildly different from the last. Many worlds seemed to have their own variants, and prior to starting the mission he’d been notified that demigods were known to exist on Minecraftia. 

Xephos frowned as he considered her offer. “I am sure there is much I could learn from you, though I prefer to do my work alone. It makes it less awkward when I lose my way.” Again, not really a lie. He was an appallingly bad navigator. “But that is not a definite no.”

“I... do not understand the question?” The concept of a life span was frankly alien to him. Birth and death he knew of, but each of his race simply expired when they were no longer useful to the cause. No one knew how or why. One day they simply turn in their last mission and are walked into a back room from which they never return. No one questioned this. 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

“It doesn’t exist anymore, this is the closest to where it was,” she pointed to a small star system, “I have been here for 230 years my parents and myself came here when I was a child, why did you come here? This planet isn’t really appealing; I am only here as it was the closest habitable planet in my rush to escape.” A small laugh left her lips, “Funny, a different planet has granted this planet a semideum.”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

“I see. Me? Oh, I like to explore and learn about many places.” It wasn’t wholly a lie. Scouting tasks involved a considerable amount of exploring and documenting any facts that were relevant to the mission at hand. Although Xephos had lost all of his equipment for said mission and was relying on memory alone. 

He raised a brow. “Semideum? My Minecraftian is not good.” 

[sidera-caerula-blog]

"Amico et inimico?" {Friend or foe?} blue eyes poked out of the shadows. Remington was curious about this man who just seemed lost for the most part. {I hope this is alright, I can't navigate through your theme as it doesn't seem to work right on Microsoft edge.}

(Ah, there may be a problem with the code, I will look into it.)

Xephos turned to the source of the voice, cocking his head. The speaker’s words had not been in the standard Minecraftian tongue he’d been told to use. This worried him somewhat; good communication was essential for survival, and if he could not speak they might perceive him as a threat.  

“Excuse me?”

[remingtxn-deactivated20170428]

“I’m happy you asked,” a small glimmer entered her eyes. From threatening the man minutes before to putting trust in him now, “This is my libro, my book. In the book is all the things I have mapped from the stars and planets,” she sat down so she could carefully open the book on the grass, “C-can you show me? Domum tuam, your home?”

[sidera-caerula-blog]

Xephos was taken aback by the change in the other’s demeanour, but confident that she meant him no harm he supposed he could entertain her for a while. Kneeling down, he peered at the stars in search of his own. Not that he had much intention of revealing that information to a complete stranger. Instead he drew a circle with his finger around an area of space that had been conquered for his people millennia ago. It was a reasonably uninteresting place, mostly residential and without a sizeable military force. It was very different from the more contested territories his race held tenuous dominion over.  

“These,” he said. “And others. Which one is yours?”