Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence.
- C.S. Lewis
"Money and muscle, that’s what I want; to be able to do any damned thing I want and get away with it. Money won’t do that altogether, because if a man is a weakling, all the money in the world won’t enable him to soak an enemy himself; on the other hand, unless he has money he may not be able to get away with it."
Robert E. Howard
Zaofan looks out as the ship blazes through the clouds; landmasses completely unfamiliar to him, a skyline unlike any he's ever seen, mountains that look almost as hostile as the robots they had just faced. Eventually the skies begin to fade, overcome by blackness, and he excitedly shifts back and forth in his seat, trying to see more and more behind him as the they depart the planet's atmosphere. For all his travels, he never once thought about leaving the Earth until he met a number of this lot -- and not only is he already off of Earth, he's one of the few humans, as far as he knows, to come to and successfully depart this foreign, hostile planet.
As much of a student of Earth's time-honored traditions and knowledge that Zaofan would like to think himself, despite his eagerness to listen to various locals regale him with tales of the past, and no matter how much some of the others may take this for granted, this is a monumental and personal step for the vagabond chef, something that could only be experienced first hand. When he was cruelly stolen from the Earth, he was deprived of such an experience, unconscious and clearly unable to give consent. But here, with Zaofan thinking of himself a somewhat mystical and increasingly spiritual person, on a trip that could only be made possible through science, he finds himself in a sense a man in respect of two powers, trying to take it all in the mind and living the utter thrill of this new journey. There would be no time for regrets and nothing to be taken for granted as the team heads off to their next objective.
"P-Sta, Adam -- what do you think is our ETA?"
The ship takes off with all aboard (save Jinzi and the children), and P-sta follows the cooordinates Adam salvaged from the Junjo ship.
The old GP Cutlass ship will take about an hour to reach the coordinates.
———————
An hour passes, a little cramped, and the planet comes into focus.
Or, more accurately, the remains. Little more than a massive debris and asteroid field, the Junjo slavers have a mined out base in the biggest asteroid. Breathable air inside, livable habitat, but hidden against nearly all scans.
The GP ship, using codes Adam filched from the Jungo computers before the pod was sent to crash, they manage to sneak in and land inside without alerting anyone suspicious. In fact, they pass themselves off as buyers for the next sale going down in one hour.
Where they land inside the asteroid is littered with dozens of ships, each marking a buyer, and from many different races.
Before hand P-sta and Adam did send out a hidden request to any GP Officer for help, but no reply came in.
Black Knight of SO
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Before they exit the ship, Meagan cautions them, "If you can, try to find a way to look inconspicuous. Don't draw attention to yourselves. Until we know more about what is going on, we best not go in guns blazing. Innocents might get hurt. If we are recognized, then that could be a problem as well." She then pulled her hood over her head, and her cloak expanded in size to cover nearly her whole body.
"Adam, I think you'd make for a good disguise for someone if they needed it."
Last edited by Tami; 05-21-2018 at 01:51 PM.
Original join date: 11/23/2004
Eclectic Connoisseur of all things written, drawn, or imaginatively created.
OT: Any races that would be familiar to Ishtar?
IC:
Ishtar remains quiet, after the bet with Sarada has been made; choosing instead to focus on what all she had learned of the Coven of the Grey Thorn's magic and it's myriad uses.
When time came to disembark, the golden-eyed Oni then placed a hand on Sarada's shoulder, and offered a small smile and nod; before making ready to disembark.
Yeah, but if you... man, we're getting into weird analogy territory, like if you disintegrated Superman's arms he wouldn't be able to go "fool! Little did you know that my arms and I are one and can be remade from me!" and will his arms back into being from pure nothingness. - Pendaran
Arx Inosaan
The asteroid was a place unfamiliar to Sarada, but not Vocado. Previous dealing with the slavers made the Saiyans very well-acquainted with this place. Races of every size, shape, and color crowded through the rock corridors, herding to the same place.
To think that her people were often the main ones buying and selling slaves and planets here sickened her to no end. In the past, she would have been thrilled to be in a place like this; now, she hoped she'd have the chance to destroy it.
The small hand on her shoulder did much to put her nerves at ease. It was amazing how the smallest gestures did the most good. Sarada returned to smile and disembarked beside her.
Being inconspicuous was the aim. She was sure that being a Saiyan would draw immediate attention to her, so she spent some time coming up with a convincing cover story for why she was defying Mato's decree. Saiyans being so straightforward was a sure blessing right now. Any lie she'd come up with would likely be believed.
Ochazuke surveyed the marketplace, casting his view over this corner of the galactic black-market in this corner of deviant space. The abducted races for chattel would soon be put on display for the highest bidder, and he could not help but wonder what lengths had transpired to leave the Junjo open for such a thing.
Such a broad untamed frontier. Who knows what hell is wrought in the dark unseen spaces like this one?
An expanse that stretched out beyond sight and reckoning, and this maleficent cranny is where they had fallen to. Pulled from Earth and cast out to rescue the hostages from a proud warrior race, it was a fight he still had little stake in. Yet the knowledge that these slavers had of Earth was a forboding thing indeed. The question, then, was what their small band could do from here?
"Given the eclectic mix of spacefaring races out there and the common shape many hold in common, I doubt that will be a problem."
The limited acquaintance he had with the peoples outside of earth that Ochazuke had given him some confidence in this presupposition; seeing those with four limbs barter with those with radial symmetry and without faces was a small comfort.
"We would all be hiding in plain sight," he said, "perhaps with the exception of this law-enforcement vessel, P-Sta, Sarada and Enoki. I'd wager the Patrol and the Saiyans have quite the reputation."
"How fortunate, then, that we're not on Earth."
Despite the glibness of this statement, Ochazuke's tone was flat and dispassionate as ever, curtly conveying the disgust he had for this entire situation.
Exiting the ship, he went off searching for information in this twisted cosmic bazaar.
"Ugh....Inconspicuous? Have you seen this group?" Etrina felt like smothering herself with her palm. "Assuming we can all play our parts accordingly, we should be able to blend in among the filth. As a lady of noble blood and birth, I'm sure I can pull of an exceptional caricature of a regal slave owner....all the better to gather information when they think me willing to buy."Before they exit the ship, Meagan cautions them, "If you can, try to find a way to look inconspicuous. Don't draw attention to yourselves. Until we know more about what is going on, we best not go in guns blazing. Innocents might get hurt. If we are recognized, then that could be a problem as well." She then pulled her hood over her head, and her cloak expanded in size to cover nearly her whole body.
"Adam, I think you'd make for a good disguise for someone if they needed it."
Putting on airs, Etrina gave a sharp snap of her finger. "Zaofan, your with me. Just....act as you normally would with me."
"And I'll sneak around in the shadows....If anyone needs help just send a thought gao." Erosa added.
A raised eyebrow and a glance at Ochazuke and Sarada signal Zaofan's curiosity before he steps aside to follow Etrina's command. "I might as well go with you. We found a wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
Looking around, examining the goods, vendors, and crowds from the vessel before separating from the group, he asks, "...I wonder what food here is like. Maybe this black market has an intergalactic farmer's market."