[Through space and time, the vision of stars warp and shift until something tears through, and the Nebula Prowler finds itself by the side of the Zealand.]
[I check to make sure the ship took the warp well, in which it did. I make sure @resi-remains-unmoniterred is okay. For the first time, I look at the ship with the Affini I’ve been dealing with for months now.]
Hooooly shit…no way we thought we could beat that…
[I scoff, and in silence, am allured to the designs in the exterior of the ship. Just the sheer scale of it…but then I catch myself, and direct the ship to the Zealand’s hangar bay. Resi is beside me. @somepuppygrrl is behind me now, a bit too eager to take the reins, but I don’t mind.]
Alright, Resi…I’m worried, you’re worried, but…we can do this. Aphid needs us.
[I find the Zealand’s massive hangar bay, and float in space beside it. I pull out my datapad.]
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: @cuscutatenko?
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: Remember what I said about coming to visit Aphid?
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: We’re by your ship. By what I think is the loading dock or whatever. How do I get in?
>>Linguae-Intortor: Oh just come in, the tractors are going to land you safely ::)
[Pets @adriftfighterpilot, smiling]
Darling, your friends are here!
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: Got it. Alright…
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: Oh wow this is easier than I thought.
[I float into the entrance, where I meet the tractors that connect to the ship’s bottom, and start to drag it into the hangar bay. After a moment, I find myself in a massive space with warm light. Other ships, mainly Affini vessels, surround me. The Prowler is likely the smallest non-fighter in the place. I feel small.]
[After a Moment, the ship is placed and whatever robots and tractors were at work now disconnect, and me and @resi-remains-unmoniterred remain in silence. I get out from my cockpit seat.]
Ahem…alright. Exit hatch is back in the ship, so…follow me.
[I brush myself off and stand up, walking and motioning for Resi to follow. I look to @somepuppygrrl.]
Abigail. Contact @sappy-red-algae if you need any help getting out of here and back to our past coordinates. I’m sure it will be happy to oblige. Treat the place well, alright? I’ll be back, or rather you’ll be back to pick me up.
[Sends you the location of my hab]
>>Linguae-Intortor: You can come by whenever you want, if you have any trouble doing so, just ask any affini around ::)
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: Alright
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: For the scale of your ship, it isn’t too far away
>>SNAGTOOTHSAV: I’ll be there soon. Thanks to Stylone’s additions to the ship I don’t need any gravity adjustment process, so maybe in a couple of hours?
[I turn off the datapad and, taking a long breath, open the exit hatch.]
Alright, @resi-remains-unmoniterred… would you like to go on foot or would you like me to carry you?
[I wave goodbye to Abigail and get out into the warm light. I was expecting it to hurt my eyes, but it was comforting. I paid it no mind and beckon Resi to follow.]
..y-you uhm. youdon’tneed to. carry resi, she uhm… she’s got this!!! and and resi’s all heavy anyhow!! …..ready. resi’s ready.
this place is ….. can’t see everything too well, but. surely it’s not that big???
Alright, alright…
[As Abigail flies off, I salute the ship and watch. When it’s out of sight, we head towards a random, albeit very tall door…it won’t open. Beside it lay a more human-sized one, which slides up to light, a lot of light.]
[I squint my eyes, slowly walking in. It’s a little warmer…almost 80 degrees Fahrenheit, maybe. Resi follows closely, and the door slides back down when we pass fully.]
[The environment feels fully like if you were on a planet. Around us was a quiet forest, with the wind inside the ship blowing leaves of the trees. It was weird seeing them not be…alive for once.]
[A small stream trickles, and a rocky path leads a few hundred feet through the forest, until slowly it clears, and I’m met with a view of…a lot of the Zealand. There are many areas with Habs, many travel pods quietly zooming around, and town centers, but the nature is so integrated that the yellows and browns of civil life don’t feel invasive to the greens and blues of plant life. The view is from this ledge, a high ledge that comes before a drop off by the side, with guardrails for safety.]
[After a good moment taking in the view and registering how this is possible, the amount of people that are in here, the vague shapes of Affini sprawling and their sophonts following…I turn back to Resi.]
…there’s a lot to take in. Wow…just…
[I scoff, probably the fifth time now.]
Let’s…hope they’re friendly, but not too friendly, yeah?…
Alright, c’mon, the more time we waste here is the more time one of the weeds can mess with us or whatever, right?
{resi is shaking like hell. her eyes stuck pinned on a random point on the horizon, she doesn't even look up at the captain as he speaks. the khet's bristly tail just wraps around its body as it fidgets with its jumpsuit's pockets and backpack straps. the comically oversized pack is one you haven't seen before; its stitching screams resi's handiwork. she grips onto it like the body of a fallen comrade.}
..n not toofriendly... hehah,,y yeah....
ll l l let's go. resi's brave resi is BRAVE. Let's Go.
{your craftskhet puffs up her chest and begins leading the way, with her head held high and no real sense of where she's going. it still peaks back at you often to make sure you're still there. what a brave face.}
h-Heh, that’s the spirit…we’ll show them damned weeds who can love Aphid better…
[I mumble to myself, and follow down.]
[A large descent from the top of the ledge to the bottom of the mountain follows. The trees fade above us and we walk through a grass plain before suddenly meeting a more paved pathway…]
[We can see the town area, and approach it. I try to look as if I’ve always been here, but I know undoubtedly that my body language is scared and reserved. Resi shared that too.]
[Eventually we find ourselves in a walkway, shops on both sides. There are habs, there are parks, and there are…sophonts that are hard to comprehend. Some were so altered that they could’ve never been recognized as a Terran. And the Affini… I found myself needing to be close to Resi for familiarity, but don’t want to pick her up and scare her.]
A-alright…
[We head to a park, finding an empty bench and sitting down. I needed a moment to process this. Luckily nobody had seemed to notice us being out of place…but this ship was massive. I couldn’t conceive it.]
[I pull out my datapad once more.]
We’re…just half a kilometer away, actually. Back to the main road, or…well, cars don’t exist, but the main passageway in this town has her Hab not far away.
Resi…I’m having a hard time taking this all in. How are you feeling?
it’s all so strange.. resi hasn’t been to a climate of this kind in forever, let alone aboard a ship?? this infrastructure, this flora… never seen this many terrans in one place before… or this many terrans at all. wonder if… no, surely not..
…it all looks so. nice, but… resi can feel their gaze… their manymany gazes… it’s… scary-NOTSCARY. not scary at all, resi’s big. s,super tough!!
{she’s putting on a strong smile, closing her eyes and placing paws on her hips. resi’s ears betray her however, sticking straight out in frequently changing directions, scanning its surroundings like a sonar. she suddenly puts a stop to it, holding the large khet ears to the side of her head. whether this is to protect her mind or her pride, is unclear.}
t-think we should lay low…. don’t wanna get,, distracted…
can hear,,, e ,e everythingg,,
In the park, attempting to climb a tree that looks particularly difficult to climb, and failing, is someone familiar
wh- uhm,, captain, doesn’t that pink caracal look a lot like…
…no way.
no way nowaynowaynowaynoway NO WAY- ROSIE?????!!
{resi scitters off toward the tree, dragging herself up in chase of her plushiefriend. resi’s relative weakness from her recent incident combined with the giant pack on her back, causes the khreature to struggle a lot more than expected. resi nearly falls several times before holding herself in place below you by digging her claws into the bark below you.}
r ROSIE!!! ROSIE IS THAT YOU???
Mrauww?
I look below me and then promptly leap down from the tree
Resiii!!!! Oh my goshhh!!! I've missed you!!!! Are you here to see Aphid? Mrauww?
I nuzzle against you
UWA- R R ROSIEROSIE OHMY- youreallydo smell just like the plushiebot,,,
{she snuggles in close to you, like she's done so many times before. she clings on like its been years, but truly only a couple days at most.}
BB B BUT YEAH!!! MISSEDYOU TOO!!! didn't... thought the zealand would be much too big to meet Rosie, especially by happeningstances,... resi's glad to see Rosie,, to finally meetyou in person!! even softer than imagined,,,
oldfart captain and resi are here to meet Aphid and see her and hopefully uhm, well... we're here to do whatever we can. ..don't want puppy to be alone, at the very least.. ,captain should do the explaining,
@snaggletoothsavior !!! ITS ROSIE!!! LOOKLOOK ITS ROSIE!!!!
Mrrppp
I cling tightly too, enjoying the sensation
Aphid's been doing very very well under Miss Tenko's care, and she'd be super super happy to see you!!! Mrauww!!!
Aphid was talking about not really knowing how to decorate her room in her hab, I remember you helped out with that on the Prowler right? Maybe you two could decorate her room together, that sounds like it could be fun!!! Mrauww!!! Um, i-id like to join too if y'all's are good with that hehe :3
blueAphid… has a room here ? she’s.. really staying… isn’t she?
{resi looks down at herself with an expression that’s hard to place. her ears droop lower for a moment, before they twitch in response to something nearby. resi quickly stumbles to recollect herself and maintain a cheery look, though the dizziness in her eyes remains.}
b b b BUT!! yY YeaH!! resi will help!! r,,resi had a lot of fun designing a room for bluepuppy the first time,,
Rosie c,can come along too, i. consider you a dear friend, so. …got her something.
{the craftskhet pulls out her handiwork from inside her large backpack, revealing homemade felt plushies of Rosemary and Thyme, both about the size of resi’s torso and stitched together a little shoddily, but very lovingly. there’s even a sliding plastic panel on the plushThyme’s face that allows it to display pink instead of its usual cyan. attached along is yet another palm-sized resi, a signature addition to any new gift recipient of hers. she beams at you smiling and proud, if a little nervous in her surroundings.}
..h HOPEYA LIKE EM!! bothofyou,
Oh my gosh!!! Resi this is... This is wonderful!!!!
I hold the plushies tightly
We love them oh my gosh!!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you so so so so much!!!!
Um and um, about Aphid, she is staying here but you're always welcome to visit you know :3 mrauww
eheh,, glad yous likeit!!
uhm.. y, yes.. it uhm. gets real lonely, in the blue dog’s cabin…. so!! resi’s here!! ..yeah.
this place.. makes resi dizzy… can,, can hear..much too much,. does Rosie have this problem,? what with her ears and all the.. affini around,,
Mrauww um, my implant helps me process all the inputs so I don't have that issue, but um, mrauww, if it's too noisy out here we should make our way to Tenko's hab, where Aphid is, it'll be nice and quiet inside :3
[I nod. Talking with Stylone had taught me to respect the present moment, and I had also learned about how nice it was to listen from Resi, although I’d never admit that.]
Agreed. Don’t want to attract too much attention…but if you want, come with. I have the directions attached from Tenko, but you probably could lead the way there anyhow.
Nice to meet you in person, Rosemary.
[I reach out to shake your paw.]
Now, let’s go find Aphid.
