Several hours have passed after your interview with the recruitment panel. Suddenly, your commlink buzzes. "Application Successful. Please proceed to Conference Room 272Zb for briefing." You made it!
When you report for your briefing, the conference room is much smaller than the one where you did your interviews. A podium stands next to an impressive holo-image generator (though nothing is displayed at the moment), and there are five comfortable chairs arranged in a semi-circle around it. A table at the side of the room is lined with the best array of breakfast foods an academic institution's budget can provide. It doesn't look like your mission briefer has arrived yet, so you've got a few minutes to grab a hyper-caffeinated energy beverage or a quick bite while you get to know your fellow members of the research team.
Zharis is famished, and moves over to the refreshments table, loading up a plate. She sits down in a seat with a good view of the entrance, if possible, and eats steadily until someone else arrives, at which point she is finished since she needs to get back to work, and she gets up to recycle the plate and meet the new person.
Vilo steps into the conference room and brightens up as soon as she sees the food. Heading over, she picks her way through it, settling on a few energy bars and a bottle of water. She spots Zharis as she turns around to head to her seat, and juggles everything into one hand, holding the other out.
"Vilo Berusi, Security specialist," she offers. "Fresh off Daimalko and ready to see what this galaxy has to offer. And you are?"
Zharis shakes Vilo's hand and responds
My name is Zharis, from Pulonis, which may be known to you as Vesk-6. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I have been added to the team as the cultural liaison. I look forward to working with you.
as Shujae moves into the room she looks around briefly taking note of Vilo and Zharis talking and looks down as she passes them moving over to the table with food and drink where she looks for tea. Finding a blend farmed in the forests on Pulonis she starts the tea steeping as she turns around to find Staim ...
Having taken the seat at the close end of the table and talking to Zharis "Pleased to meet you, I'm Staim and that's Shujae. She was chosen as the Lead Engineer and I'm her escort. She always gets a bit nervous around new people but she'll warm up to you guys I'm sure." ...
Looking every bit as nervous as Staim said she was Shujae moves over to the table and stands next to where Staim is sitting. She nods before looking at Staim saying in a voice that is just a bit more than a whisper "Staim, don't poison their minds on me." Slightly but not much louder "As Staim said I'm Shujae. Pleased to be working with you. she finishes and pulls a cloth out of her pocket and places it on her hand before extending it to shake Zharis and Vilos before clarifying "Sorry, A lot of non-Osharu have salt in their sweat and such, Just wanna make sure I don't get any on me."
Pleased to meet you Staim. Shujae looks like quite a competent engineer; I am certain that we will all get along well.
When Shujae approaches, Zharis smiles and shakes her hand with the cloth between them.
Pleased to be working with you as well, Shujae.
...If you like, when we meet others I can use a simple spell to clean off any residual salt before it touches you, so that you don't have to use the cloth. Any time you want that, just glance over and give me a nod and I'll take care of it for you.
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Vilo shakes Zharis hand and smiles. "Likewise." Glancing around as Shujae and Staim enter the room, she turns back to her companion. "From acting to academics," she comments, "That's almost a galactic leap in career. It must have been a difficult choice to leave the cameras behind."
At Shujae's comment regarding salt, Vilo extends her arm out for an elbow bump after Shujae welcomes her and her drone. Vilo then pulls out a small notepad and a pencil and begins writing. "No salt...is this an allergy or similar condition, or a preference?" she asks, looking attentively between Shujae and Staim.
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”due to our thin skin all osharu have a salt intolerance, it’s kind of like an allergy but more just like dehydrating the body.” she starts and then will look to Zharis ”thank you, I just may take you up on that offer”
Zharis smiles and says
Oh, you never really leave the stage. All of life is playing a part. I'm actually looking forward to being away from the cameras. Are you looking forward to this trip for personal reasons as well, or just looking forward to the paycheck?
Zharis nods and smiles.
Happy to help in any way I can.
"...and remember to drink lots of water and get as much sleep as your body needs and draw pretty pictures whenever you want to!" Cabizo tells another interviewer as he closes the door behind him. Cracking it back open, he hollers, "Or try the fingerpainting - I highly recommend it!" before shutting it once more.
"Oh! Hihihihi, you must be the other members of the team!" The skittermander spreads his six arms wide and grins almost as broadly. "I'm your Nufriend Cabizo, and I'm here to help you feel your best and work together as a team real good. Would you mind writing your names out for me in your favorite color?" One hand quickly digs out a ream of paper while the other five each grab several small brightly-colored pots of pigment and hold them out for the other researchers to choose from. Conspicuously absent are any writing tools.
"Yes and yes, actually," Vilo responds to Zharis as she makes a few more notes on her notepad. "When you find something you love doing, you might as well get paid for it." Vilo smiled as she tapped the paper, then tucked the notepad away again.
"The Guardians actually require some work to be done off planet for further advancement. I haven't actually been anywhere but for a short stint on that Gladiator show, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity."
When Cabizo brings out the pigments, Vilo leans in to take a closer look. "You certainly go all in on the finger paints, don't you?". Vilo shrugs and picks up a piece of paper, dipping her finger in the blue pigment and tracing her name out.
Gladiator, eh? says Zharis in response to Vilo's name dropping. Impressive.
And I agree that careers should be based on something you enjoy. Very wise.
____
When the Skittermander offered colors to them to write their names, she realized that she didn't actually know if she had a favorite color. Perhaps something conservative like black would be safest.
She extended her claws, planning on going with that choice, but then decided that maybe she should think about it, since after all, that was part of the reason she was here... to get away from the image and find her way to who she really was. She studied the pigments, trying to decide which one was most appealing to her, apart from any other considerations. She spent more time thinking than she likely should have for this activity, but then she reached for the pot of green, pulling it closer and then daintily dipping a claw in it and inscribing her famous signature onto the paper in front of her.
Staim will go up to the skittermander and dip his finger in a purple pigment if he has one. he will then trace out Staim-Mk3 before looking up to Cabizo and asking "What is the chemical makeup of these?"
As he says that shujae will look to Zharis and gesture towards Cabizo well whispering"Can you check his hand." as she moves towards Cabizo.
Zharis casts her token spell, cleaning any salt from Cabizo's appendages so that Shujae can touch him.
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”Oh, these pigments are made of brightness and colors and happiness and sorrow and... probably some other stuff too,” Cabizo answers Staim. ”But I made sure to get the most hippo-allergenic ones I could find, and the nice osharu man who sold them to me said they were the same ones he let his own children use, so they’re probably safe for ingestion as well - though I wouldn’t really recommend that.”
He laughs as Zharis casts her spell, his tan fur wriggling as if in a sudden breeze. ”Hahahahaha, that tickles!”
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Vilo writes her name on the paper she was offered, then looks for a napkin to wipe her hand on. Standing back from the group, she pulls her notebook out again and jots a few more notes.
Staim: Shujae's Escort. More talkative than Shujae. Intentional programming?
Zharis: Straightforward. Don't mention show business around her. Seems capable.
Cabizo: Seems easily distracted. Will have to pay special attention to make sure he stays out of trouble.
Tucking the notebook away, she returns to the group to give her paper back to Cabizo.
"Out of curiosity," she asks everyone, "what fields of academics are you all from? Higher education of this type isn't as easily available on Daimalko, and I'm curious as to what types of knowledge are out there."
Shujae moves to Cabizo before the pigments and offers her hand quickly saying "I'm Shujae, I think I overheard yours in the interview waiting room Cabizo right?"
After that she moves on to the pigments, she stops short of the same purple Staim used before shifting over to a deep orange. She artfully signs Shujae Caldimarin adding the dots over the i's a little hastily so it comes out as a line over the full last name.
As she is doing that Staim ...
Has turned to Vilo and is saying "Shujae graduated head of her class in a number of programs here on Pabaq. She studied philosophy Bioengineering, Mechanical engineering, and toyed with adding computer science to her program before dropping it.
After listening to Staim, Zharis says Impressive.
Turning to Vilo she says
As for me, I don't know that I am associated with any one field. All of my formal education was through tutors rather than a more traditional degree program, though of course I have the requisite certifications. I suppose that doesn't answer your question though. If it helps, perhaps my greatest talent is improvisation, not of course just in acting, but in finding solutions to problems with some creativity and insight where others might see the problem as unsolvable.
For instance, a friend of mine at a past job was thinking of quitting because he just didn't enjoy what he was doing. While that was an option of course, I offered to be a mediator in that situation, and we found a way for him to continue in the same job, but with greatly increased enjoyment. The solution happened to be a major plot change for the show, but in the end everyone was happy, and the show's ratings even went up. ... And although you obviously can't just throw a fictional brain surgery in to solve most real-life situations, I do think it is that ability to imagine what is possible that helps me find solutions where there often seem to be none.
She waits for Cabizo to answer the question, and then adds
Tell us about your background as well, Vilo. I'm interested. You seem to be very organized and competent--a natural leader. Where did you gain that skill?
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"Well, I got a medical license, and a therapist license, and that really nice recommendation from Vishie, and..." Cabizo starts to count on his fingers with two arms while another pair puts the paper and paints away and a third pair carefully accept each person's brightly-colored autograph. "I didn't go to school - well, I did go once, but the teacher was very frustrated and didn't want to talk about it and he threw a desk at me and while I suppose physical activity can be a healthy way to release stress, I don't think that really helped him in a long-lasting way." One paw taps skittermander's chin thoughtfully. "Don't think it helped the student sitting in that desk either, now that I think on it."
Xylian Xuuvats finally enters the conference room, wishing an unseen party well as he slips through the door. "Apologies for my tardiness, I ran into a former professor of mine and - ah!" Seeing that he is the last to arrive, he begins to apologize but is almost immediately distracted by Staim-Mk3 as his gaze passes over the robot. He approaches Staim-Mk3 and takes a knee in front of the drone, the others already forgotten. He looks the drone up and down, trying to determine its origin. His exocorex -an AI that acted much like a second brain- fed information to Xylian as it scanned Staim-MK3. It mostly came up blank, unable to determine much about the drone aside from some guesses about construction materials. "You're not like any production model I've ever seen. Where were you manufactured?" He asks, a smile pulling at his lips while his exocortex pushes him to let it interface with the new mechanical creature.
"I lived in the Refuge on Daimalko," Vilo answers, watching Xylian examine Staim. "Myself and a company of others would act ferry people and supplies through the caves of the Refuge and occasionally on the surface between colonies. Above ground, relentless colossi rampage and battle, while below ground skinless, eyeless creatures attack mercilessly." Vilo pulls out her notebook and scribbles a little while she continues to talk very matter of factly. "There isn't much forgiveness in a life like that, and it was all too common that the expedition leader would die on the journey if someone else didn't. Not everyone is bred for battle, and on Daimalko we feel a close bond with our people so the losses would hit hard. Folks would break down and refuse to finish the journey, and someone had to get them moving. Normally that responsibility would fall to me."
Vilo finishes her writing and tucks her notebook away again. "One of the Guardians took an interest in me, and began training me to be her eventual successor. She decided I needed to experience the galaxy before I could continue my training, and managed to get me passage on a ship. From there, I earned some cash doing menial labor at Absalom Station, took my chance on a game show, and decided to come here and see something new while getting paid for it."
Other notes contain information about the aforementioned areas of expertise.
Seeing that Xylian was not interested in conversation, Zharis focuses on Vilo, and after she relates her story she asks
So, you plan to return, then, to continue your training? Have you considered the possibility that your mentor was actually sending you away to save you from that life?
Replying to Xylian's question Staim says "Initially about two blocks south of here three stories up. building 5c, floor 7, room 17992 of the university's engineering campus. Though Shujae has done maintenance and occasionally updated my model elsewhere. Do you wish to know of those locations as well?" he continues as he allows any prodding or requests for movement that Xylian makes.
In the middle of your conversation, a lanky young humanoid jogs into the room. He looks like a human, but is almost eight feet tall. ”Sorry, sorry everyone!” he says, wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead. ”Sorry I’m late. Professor Dorruman has come down with crimson influenza, and won’t be able to brief you as planned. I’m Patrig, his graduate assistant and I guess I’m going to fill you in. Now, let’s see . . .” He begins puttering around with the holo-projector and inserts a data crystal. Instantly, an image of a nearly nude female vesk climbing languidly out of a swimming pool appears in the air. ”Oh! That’s not . . . um, maybe a hacker got in . . .” says Patrig feebly, as he hurriedly selects a different file. A rocky moon appears in the air. ”Okay, so you’re the deep tunnel mining crew that’s going to explore the fourth moon of . . .” Seeing your puzzled brows, Patrig stops. ”I mean—the solar mission! Yes, just give me a second.”
He fumbles some more with the holo-projector, and finally the image of the Pact Worlds’ sun appears. Patrig clears his throat and reads from some notes. ”Now, at first glance, this appears to be an ordinary Class 4-H star. But!” he says, raising a surprisingly-long finger in the air with pride over the drama he’s about to reveal. ”It’s far from ordinary. Observe closely.” The screen zooms in to a closer look at the sun, revealing on its outer surface what can only be described as bubbles of pure, translucent force connected to each other by tethers of energy. Inside the bubbles are floating island-cities. Patrig continues, ”No one knows who built these spheres of energy, or how, or why. The natives of the Pact Worlds discovered them about a century ago, and now several small settlements lie within what's called the 'Burning Archipelago'. Our records are incomplete, but apparently many of the residents are a race called lash-oontas and they have powerful telepathic powers!”
Patrig seems relieved that he’s gotten so far into the presentation. ”So, uh, I guess you’ll be travelling to their sun to study it. They call it ‘Mataras,’ which our universal translator indicates is lash-oonta for ‘Burning Mother.’ We spent months trying to establish a shared research arrangement with some of their local academic institutions, but they kinda gave us the brush off. You shoulda seen Prof Dorruman, his tentacles almost turned pink!” Patrig laughs to himself and then remembers you probably don’t know who Professor Dorruman is. ”Anyway, we have made one local contact. Her name’s Taeress Suloro and she’s apparently a lash-oonta who specializes in magnetospheric monitoring and solar weather prediction. I’ve seen some of the correspondence we exchanged with her, and she seems nice enough. She’s agreed to help show you around. She’s based out of an orbiting space station called Far Portal.”
”I’ve got some role-specific briefing docs for each of you. Oh! Umm . . . do any of you know how to pilot a ship? During the interviews, I think they forgot to ask. When we filed for the grant, there was a line-item for a research vessel and a pilot, but we only got funding for the ship. So . . .” He looks around the room awkwardly.
Listening to Patrig, Zharis notes the name of the lash-oonta contact in her personal comm unit, but remains silent when he asks for a pilot, unsure about the piloting skills in the group.
Shujae follows along with Patrig after the second mishap she can help but to chuckle softly and then immediately stifle it. Once he has finished she will look around the room hooding someone will pipe up regarding piloting which she has no experience in.
Vilo pulls out her notepad and jots down the names that Patrig mentions. As he asks his question, she purses her lips and answers. "I can fly it and land it, but if we're going to be heading into a star, we'll likely need someone who's more comfortable at dealing with such unique circumstances."
Xylian stands and faces the tall man as he enters the room, but misses his opening mistakes as his attention is still on Staim-Mk3. "So Shujae built you? Impressive. Are you an AI?" He attempts to tip the drone over with one foot, testing its dexterity and balance orientation sensors. "Interesting..."
Xylian's attention turns to Patrig once he seems to be getting to the point. He had intended to ask the man what exactly it was that they were going to study, 'the sun' seeming a bit to broad of a topic for such a small team, but promise of specific documentation quells the question. "I can pilot a ship, though my stellar coronal navigation ability is only... theoretical." He volunteers, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the man may not be quite human.
It will be interesting to meet the telepathic lash-oontas. Fascinating.
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Patrig nods happily at Vilo. "Okay, great. Don't worry! I hear these newer ships pretty much fly themselves!" He then starts tapping away at a datapad. "Now, those files I was supposed to send you are here somewhere . . ."
”Okay, I think I found them! Now these dossiers were prepared by Prof Dorruman’s previous research assistant, but she took a teaching position off-world last month. That’s why I’m here! Anyway, they should help you get started. Oh, one of them’s written for a xeno-archaeologist, which the selection panel ended up not choosing. I guess I’ll send that to you, Cabizo, since there’s not one for a medic.” With the tap of a screen, each of you find a file transmitted to your personal datapads.
”Your ship’s in . . . let’s see . . . Hangar X472 in the spaceport. It's called the Sun Runner. He shrugs. "Not the most original name, but I guess it works. There's a thousand credit fund for any requisitions of equipment or supplies you need before you set off. And your pay-packets will be waiting here once you get back. I guess until Prof Dorruman gets better, I’ll be your contact here on Pabaq if you need anything—just remember there’ll be a time-lag. It’s quite a ways! Patrig looks at his chronometer. ”Oh! I’m going to be late for Ultimate Buzzball in the quad. Anything else?”
Zharis has no additional questions for Patrig, but notes his address so that she can send questions later if needed. She reads her file and notes many places where more research is needed.
She also knows that cross-functional knowledge is important, so she sends a copy of her briefing to each of the others, asking that they send her a copy as well.
After looking though the file and making notes about what she needs to learn next, she gathers her things, sends an update to her parents from a public terminal (not wanting them to have a direct link to her new personal comm unit before she was able to leave the planet), and then proceeds to Hangar X472 to check out the ship.
Thinking about the thousand-credit fund, she checks over the supplies on the ship, primarily focusing on food/entertainment and crew comfort since she assumed the others would find any holes in the security or scientific instrumentation. Unless there is a shortage or lack, she lists out some suggested requisitions for additional food or entertainment packages, tags them as "morale-boosting, optional" and sends them to Vilo, assuming that Vilo would be taking the leadership role on this journey.
If she is lucky enough to have a private berth, she then holes up there and starts reading up on the religions mentioned in the briefing so that she can understand the motivations behind those groups. If not though, she studies in whatever public area where there is room.
Shujae will quickly cross-check the details on their ship's model and see if there are any glaring lackings. Assuming there are not Shujae will look to the Engineering bay and stock up on some of the most critical materials in there (Ship parts, batteries, a fund towards a Tech Workshop etc.).
After Zharis mentions it she will quickly send her briefing out to everyone as well "I suppose extra copies can't hurt." She will then head into Hanger X472 and go directly into the core chamber of the ship and began familiarizing herself with their core as well as the satellites.
After all that she will download some schematics of heat shielding units and probes figuring she can at least learn from the mistakes of others.
Vilo comments without looking up from her data pad. "If no one objects, I'd like to request appropriate funds to purchase one personal comm unit and one spare one for each member of the expedition in case we are separated, as well as an appropriate backpack to carry research in." Vilo will look around for approval before making arrangements for the purchases.
Later, Vilo grabs her gear and stows in her assigned berth in the ship. Her datapad flashes, indicating a message received, and she reviews the message from Zharis. Looks good, she thinks, and forwards the e-mail to Shujae and Zharis for approval.
When Vilo glances at her for approval for extra comm units, she nods. Couldn't hurt to have back-ups.
When Zharis gets the briefing from Shujae she looks over it, finding the information valuable so that she knows what they will be negotiating for.
Later she also notes the forwarded email from Vilo addressed to herself and Shujae, smiles, and replies indicating approval.
Then she gets back to reading up about the religions of the area. She hasn't had a lot of exposure to religion before, except as an abstract concept, and she finds the reading interesting.
A little while later, Vilo goes through her communications and realizes an error. She ponders a moment, then types out a quick follow-up to Zharis and Shujae.
"Please disregard, meant to send this to Shujae and Xylian."
A bit embarrassed, Vilo updates and forwards Zharis' request to Xylian and Shujae.
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"My exocortex acts as a comm unit, among other things. If you can't reach me on it, I am likely dead." Xylian replies to Vilo in a monotone, also not looking away from his datapad, unaware of the morbidity of the statement. While shield technology is not his expertise, per se, the technology protecting the "bubble cities" is undeniably fascinating and his mind sets to racing about the possibilities. The ability to hold back the might of the sun! Such power! They must be drawing power from the star itself, but how? How do they exchange heat? A spell? But how could a spell last for centuries or millennia under such conditions? There were spells to protect from extreme temperatures, of course, but the damai had never heard of any spell that could hold back the sun. He lingers in the room till the others were all gone, lost in thought.
Xylian heads for the university's library to download a collection of textbooks on stellar physics, then makes his way towards their new ship. On the train to the spaceport he finally notices that the others had forwarded their dossiers to him and he does the same for the sake of collegiality. Wouldn't be much of a team if we didn't know what we we're doing here, after all.
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When you get to the designated hangar bay, an impressive site is waiting for you. The Sun Runner is a brand-new, right off the line, SC Farseer. Everyone in Near Space has heard of the Szandite Collective—a pacifistic group of seven worlds that have devoted themselves to peaceful coexistence and scientific research. The Szandite Collective was once isolationist, but in recent years they’ve reached out to other Near Space worlds and have generously doled out technology and information. It must have been quite a coup for this expedition to land a Szandite Collective ship--they’re known for being packed to the rafters with advanced sensors and scientific research equipment.
When you get on board the explorer-class vessel, you see its expansion bays have been outfitted with an engineer’s dream of a laboratory, its cargo hold include satellites and probes ready for deployment (along with more mundane supplies like food and water), and its sensor array is second to none. Designed for a maximum complement of six, you’ll each have your own small cabin.
As you get your gear on board and stowed away, you realise that the ship isn’t exactly designed for comfort, however. There’s no recreational suite, no library of entertainment holo-vids, and only a very basic mess for meals. This clearly won’t be a pleasure cruise!
Tier 3 Medium explorer
Speed 8; Maneuverability good (turn 1); Drift 1
AC 15; TL 17
HP 55; DT —; CT 11
Shields medium 90 (forward 23, port 22, starboard 22, aft 23)
Attack (Forward) light laser cannon (2d4; 5 hexes)
Attack (Port) light laser cannon (2d4; 5 hexes)
Attack (Starboard) light laser cannon (2d4; 5 hexes)
Attack (Turret) coilgun (4d4; 20 hexes)
Power Core Pulse Green (150 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic; Systems advanced long-range sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 2 armor, mk 2 mononode computer, mk 4 defenses; Expansion Bays cargo hold, science lab (life), science lab (physical), sealed environment chamber; Modifiers +2 to any one check per round, +4 Computers (sensors only), +1 Piloting; Complement 6 (minimum 1, maximum 6)
Zharis is impressed with the ship, but notes that it is seriously lacking in the food and entertainment department, so she lists some suggested additions.
She leaves off any of the seasons of As the Black Hole Turns though... no need to drag her old life in when she was just trying to explore a new one.
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Every expedition member's personal computer indicates a new email message simultaneously.
To: Mataras Research Team (group)
From: cabizoallsixveryprofessionalemail@spacemail.net
Subject: Where did everyone go?
Sorry, I was reading the nice man's message and I had to look up a few words and by the time I was finished everyone else had left and suddenly I had four more things to read and I had to look up even more words (especially for the physicist one) and then I tried calling you but we haven't linked our comm units yet and I tried asking the receptionist if he'd seen any of you and I showed him your signatures and then I realized I didn't have a signature for Xylian so we're going to have to fix that right away. But eventually that nice vesk lady from the interview came by and asked me why I wasn't at the hanger bay and I told her I didn't know we needed to report to a hanger bay and which one was it and she didn't know but she did know that all our emails were linked to a group now so I'm asking you where you are. Could you send directions? Or come to the reception desk?
PS. If they ask about supplies, don't forget that we'll need some more finger paints. Oh, and maybe some of that sculpting putty! I love the one with the sparkles in it!
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When she receives the e-mail, Vilo gets up and walks to the reception desk to escort Cabizo back to the ship. As she walks, she pulls out her notepad and jots a few things down.
Vilo made a mental checklist of everything she had brought and needed. She didn't have much in either area, but that was alright. Maybe she should have remembered her chin-up bar, but there would be somewhere on the ship that she could do her workout. Maybe the cargo hold.
Upon arriving at the reception desk, Vilo will do her best to spot Cabizo, or else listen for the sound of someone trying to deliver therapy via finger painting, and then escort the energetic skittermander back to the ship.
Upon getting the email from Cabizo, Zharis opens the door to her cabin to go after the skittermander, but sees Vilo already leaving the ship, so assumes she is on top of it. She sends a quick message back
To: cabizoallsixveryprofessionalemail@spacemail.net
Cc: Mataras Research Team (group)
From: zharis@zharis.org
Subject: RE: Where did everyone go?
Cabizo,
Our ship is docked at Hangar X-472, but please stay where you are, Vilo is on the way.
Z
then she goes back to researching.
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About 70 minutes after Cabizo's message is delivered and 65 minutes after the last correspondence Shujae pulls her head out of the satellites for long enough to notice a notification on her datapad. After checking the responses she turns to Staim and hands him the datapad saying "You don't have the same trouble I do in getting absorbed into something with a one-track mind. Let me know if this gets any notifications." before going back to work looking through the mechanisms of the satellites and the ship itself a bit later she looks back and says as a bit of an afterthought "Oh would you mind seeing if you can find Vilo and Cabizo, Thank you Staim, I'd be nothing without you."
After some miscommunication and a few minor complications, everyone makes it aboard the Sun Runner. With the last of the gear stowed and the final farewell messages sent to friends and relatives, the time has come to set off in search of discovery.
Vilo manages to get the vessel into the air without much difficulty, and before long you're safely on an exit velocity away from Pabaq. With the course laid in for the Pact Worlds' sun, you get a final look at the familiar stars of your home system before the Drift engine cuts in and shunts the vessel into the shimmering, unreal void between. Fortune (or Triune) smiles on you, as the countdown clock on the console indicates your journey will only take five days!