Delta Base 0956 [FT RP]

This is an FT character RP. Create your soldier, his appearance, skillset, and personality. Marcus will be a wild card until we find what skill we are lacking.

-I will reveal the story of this RP once I have players.

-Use OOC as little as possible. It gets annoying when there are pages of //.

-Passages MUST be in-depth. You will three warnings for poor effort before you are removed from the RP.

-Do not control other player's characters, unless you receive permission.

-If you need help, in any way shape or form, refer to East Ibsenia or El Fiji Grande. If you need help with writing, contact East Ibsenia, or Hockesin.

-Express thoughts in italics.


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Delta Base 0956,

Captain Marcus Caroc looked out the view hole into deep space. He had been stationed on this rock for 4 months now. He had been part of the construction crew to build this base. It was part of an Ibsenian initiative called ISW, International Space Watch. The idea was for several nations to band together, to watch the outer rim of the galaxy for threats. For 4 months, no one committed to the plan. But now a cruiser was arriving. Marcus hoped it contained some more soldiers. The plan was for each nation to commit one soldier to each base, and all of the soldiers to work together to watch the outer rim.

Delta Base 0956 was the 956th base of 1000 to be built, obviously. But these bases were the prototypes. Ibsenian contractors had plans for 19,000 more to be built, if other nations joined in the initiative.

The Halberd Corvette came to a halt, and dispatched a shuttle. Marcus was stood in the tiny hangar, ready to receive the rookies, if there were any.

Please, let there be people, and not just more supplies.

//Start out inside the shuttle, looking around at the other recruits.//

Character traits:

//I'm assuming this will be referenced for ship types?//

East Ibsenia wrote://Start out inside the shuttle, looking around at the other recruits.//

-- haha -- that's exactly what I was planning to do!

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Karl sat on a bench running long the small shuttle's wall, bracing for the acceleration of the craft as it swiveled away from the corvette and towards the Delta Base. The shuttle wasn't too crowded, and he wondered about each of their pasts and how they would fare at the base. Who came up with this idea anyway? Outer rim outposts were said to drive men to death from boredom alone. What have I done to deserve this punishment? If aliens were to arrive, no doubt they would be more advanced, so what's the point? Surely there are more useful things for us to do. Another man nudged him in the side, awakening him from his brooding silence. Karl looked up. The rest of the men in the shuttle were dead silent, standing to await their destination. "What?"

Character Description:

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Standing in the destroyed carcass of what used to be his home, he looked in terror as he saw his mother and father outside on their knees in front of three armed men. "Run Solomon!" yelled his crying mother. He found a hole where a window once was and sprinted towards it, diving out of it and landing on his side breaking his arm. As he corrected himself, that is when he heard the gunshots. He found a hiding spot inside some thick brush and closed his eyes tightly. The whirling wind had stopped and the air was filled with several voices of men, possibly soldiers, yelling orders and firing their weapons. Solomon opened his eyes and found himself at a formal ceremony where he was sitting at a table with important heads of government and a few fashion models. Solomon was dressed elegantly in a red and yellow military attire, decorated in various medals. He didn't talk much at the table. A model to his right was flirting with him as she would occasionally make eye contact and put her hand on her shoulder. Just before he became too uncomfortable, a man walked up to a podium at the back of the large room and announced that the award ceremony is to begin. Solomon turned back towards the table only to find it gone and a woman in an elegant red dress standing across from him. He knew who she was and tried to say her name, but it couldn't come out. She began walking towards him and speaking to him. "Solomon!", she said with a slight smile, "Why must you go? What do you mean you won't ever see me again?". The mood had changed and the woman appeared to by crying as she continued "Why would you want this?". The woman turned around and slowly disappeared with only her footsteps echoing through his head. "Goodbye Solomon...", she faded into the air with. The steps got louder and louder, turning from light steps from heels to heavy steps from boots on metal. He couldn't handle the noise and awoke from his daydream to see himself in a hall lined with men sitting on benches. It only took him a moment to recognize he was on the transport ship. He observed one man by the name of Karl Spencer sitting across from him being nudged by another man. Karl then proceeded to say "What" which seemed loud in the dead silent room. All the men looked at Karl...

//I'm sorry, I really tried to find a way to maybe break this up into two paragraphs. Honestly. It's just the way it's all connected I guess.//

Character Traits:

Neo sat in the shuttle breathing heavily. Why were these things so small? He looked at the other, a few seemed very relaxed, others chatting happily, and others sleeping or staring into space. They were on their way to a colony set up by the Ibsenians. He had been "volunteered" by the Corp to stake some claims on the colony and to hold up the Falling Stars's vow to help fund and protect the investment. He had heard rumors of these types of colonies disappearing and upon investigation most of the colonists had gone insane and the survivors were beyond saving. Why am i thinking about this? It would just bring my fears up and jeopardize my chances of starting over.
Neo had been pulled directly into the military academy at the age of twelve, a perfect candidate as he had no past. When he was 4 his town was destroyed by terrorists and the government, in an attempt to save their secrets, deleted all the files. Neo was the only survivor being found by the Search and Rescue team that arrived that night. When he was in the academy he flew through his classes and was promoted to Senior Master Sergeant on his graduation. As his thoughts faded away he could see the asteroid they were heading to as he looked through the window, it was quite pretty for an asteroid. The other began standing up and Neo followed attempting as best he could to not be crowded by the others.

//Stars.....the shuttle is heading for an asteroid. Sorry that wasnt clear. http://www.nationstates.net/nation=east_ibsenia/detail=factbook/id=282666

Refer here for more info.//

Character Traits:

Ghost was a young man, but not inexperienced. He had been in a lot of combat before and kind of hoped this would be his last assignment before he bit the bullet. Ghost sat, observing the others on the shuttle. None could observe him through his closed helmet, he always kept it on, just in case. Across from him sat several soldiers, but one caught his eye. The man's name was Chambers, or so his ID tag said. He had the aura of someone that had seen combat, a feature that many of the others lacked. At least I'm not the only vet on this bucket. Ghost saw a man beside him, a pilot from the looks of him. He was staring into space, not noticing that the shuttle was coming into the bay of the Asteroid base. He nudged the man and stood up to join the rest, preparing to exit the shuttle.

Karl peered into the cold exterior of the darkened helmet, attempting to make out the man's eyes, or at least some sense of warmth. There was none. The man stood, gestured to the shuttle door, and continued his icy stare. Karl looked around, noticing then that everyone was staring at him. He got up, nodded, then - in a lowered voice - "Thanks." He turned to face the exit and gathered his thoughts. Jeez. Already one knock against me just for speaking one word. One word! Seriously, what do they expect? We've got to have something to do while we're stuck on the rock! Karl noticed not all of the men in the shuttle were human. It frightened him somewhat. He knew of the other nations of races in the galaxy, but they had all been either assimilated or generally worked in cooperation with the others. One towered above the rest of them, his head so high he had to bend beneath the ceiling of the shuttle. A Heliman. At least, I think that's what they're called. He'd only ever heard of their prowess during battle, and that being centuries ago from legends of the Helic Wars. Well then. I'm glad he's on my side! Karl swept his glance around the room again, noticing the way each man held his shoulders, the look in their faces of silent anticipation for the small asteroid, and he wondered what their arrival at the base would bring.

Marcus stepped out of the airlock and waved the shuttle in. Stepping back into the oxygenated base, he clambered out of the tight space suit. Dusting off his jacket, he observed the men walking down the ramp. First came the six soldier droids. They were a prototype project launched in hand with the ISW. Assigned to do menial labor and such. Deckhands. Then came the men. 4 in total. The races were all human, as far as he could tell, excluding the heliman. He called them to attention.

"ATTENTION. Welcom to Delta Base 0956. I assume all of you have been briefed on the mission here, so i will give you your assignment, and then dismiss you.

Karl Spencer, you will be working communications in the control room.
Solomon Chambers, you will be the cook, and work various other jobs.
Neo, you are head mechanic. You and Solomon will work hand in hand to keep this base running.
Paul Williams, you are head gunner and in charge of the hangar.
I am Marcus Caroc, I am your superior. Your rank before now is meaningless. I am in charge of keeping us alive and making sure no goddamned space monsters destroy our galaxy! Any questions?

Without waiting for an answer, he dismissed the men. "Good. You need to be in the barracks in one hour."

Marcus turned and marched off to contact the corvette and dismiss the shuttle. Once that corvette left, there was no turning back. They were all stranded there until the next supply drop in 3 months.

//I have one main plot point in store, but if you all have any other ideas let me know.//

"A cook? thought Solomon to himself, "Well, I guess there isn't anything I can do about that... I don't even know what a Heliman eats! Maybe that Karl guy will satisfy.... him?". Solomon was one of the first of the men to step into the base. He always had a quirk to map out an area. He needed to know the location of the kitchen, barracks, control room, and hangar (Which he already found as soon as he walked in). He also investigated where the choke points were and to find any hidden or possible escape passages within the base in case of.... well, Solomon didn't want to think of any horrible scenarios.

After further investigation, Solomon observed that this base was designed for function and not to "look pretty". The entire base was metal and the corners were solid 90 degree angles. Not a single curve anywhere. He looked behind him and watched the other men lumber in along with the 6 droids. "I really hope those droids don't malfunction..". His interest in the others soon faded away once he arrived in the barracks. To most, the beds here would seem uncomfortable and hard to sleep in. Solomon, however, thought these beds were the best thing ever made. For most of his life, he had slept on such things as dirt, rock, wood, and steel courtesy of the Cathavurian rebels.

Solomon took the bed in the far back of the room. Another quirk about Solomon. Maybe it was precautionary in case of an intruder. Or maybe it was to be away from the other men. For now, Solomon just had to sit down on his bed and wait for a little while for that Caroc guy to come back. His hand couldn't stop twitching. It began right before he left for this mission... A sound of footsteps suddenly rose from near the doorway...

"I'm the first Crumstainite to go into space and like hell am I going to be the first to die in space!" he thought.

Rank is meaningless? Excellent. I was in the lowest rank out of university anyway. Communications -- that's fair. It's where I'm best, anyway. But if worst comes to worst, I wonder if that will pay off if I don't know how to fire a gun.. He followed Solomon into the heart of the Delta Base, noting with interest that the older man had the same tendencies as himself, mapping the layout of the base to understand not only where things were but what to do if worst came to worst. Before long though, he left Solomon and headed for the barracks. Better be early than late!, he thought to himself. He stepped into the barracks, the first one there. Cold hard cots were arranged around the sealed room, each empty. I assume we just pick a spot then.. He knew the bottom bunk by the door sucked; not only would that be the first place an intruder would be, but the men usually saw the man in that spot as the leader of the group. I'm not a leader, nor could I handle a firefight. I really need to fix that. "Nah, whatever. I'll take the top bunk by the door." , he surprised himself by saying out loud. He climbed up and sat cross-legged on his bunk. Out of his small rucksack, he pulled a roll of paper, and - using a laser pen - etched into the paper the beginnings of a star map of the nearby space sector. This was always more fun to do the old-style way, rather than plotting the stars into a computer. He completely immersed himself in his work, only glancing up briefly when Solomon entered the barracks.

Rank is meaningless... The words echoed in Neo's ears as he stared at the stars. That was something the terrorists had said right before they executed his parents and one of their own. He shuddered. He couldn't help but feel a blanket of guilt fall on himself. Why hadn't I tried to save them? Sacrifice myself to save a few. Neo sighed. He knew the answer, he was just didn't want to admit it. He only went inside after his HUD warned him that his oxygen was low.

He entered the base; his O2 tank, sensing the pressure returned to normal, refilled and began refilling. He pulled up the map on his wrist utility and made his way to the barracks. He arrived seeing the one named Solomon and the other Karl, already there. He didn't exchange words just glancing at them before moving to his bunk. Solomon doesn't look the cook type Neo thought as he passed, More like the "I'm going to fill your face with bullets and not give a crap". Neo continued walking, moving towards the back. Knowing from experience the back was the most secluded from the others. He began to think about the others. What was their past like? Who are they really? Especially Solomon. I will have to work with him on keeping the base systems operational and help him if he doesn't know anything on the subject. What if he didn't? Oh gods... One thing I hate is when I get put with people that don't know what their doing... He took his helmet off and laid it down on his bunk, staring at the two silent men. His days at the military academy coming back, the day that he was put in a squad and the leader knew nothing. Getting them 'killed' every time. He sighed knowing that he would probably have to teach the poor guy how to help him with these advanced things. At least it would keep him and Solomon occupied for a good amount of time.

Ghost clenched his teeth at the word 'heliman'. There had been peace for centuries, but he had fought his fair share of them. Setting his mission clock for an hour he began his routine. A quick survey of the hangar told him all he needed to know. Quite a bit of clutter, but still enough room for small ships to land. At least there's good cover. A glance at the cargo droids around him affirmed his suspicion. Old mark fives, rusty, but effective.  Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his shoulder that caused a small gasp. He started slowly towards the barracks. He couldnt stop thinking about the heliman, he looked familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Then again, they all look alike don't they. Ghost strolled into the barracks, noticing that the rest had already settled in. He moved to the bunk nearest the door and sat down on it. He quickly removed his shoulder plate and unsealed his sleeve and let it fall to the floor, revealing a servo-arm where flesh should have been. He rotated and stretched the servo arm and winced again in pain. Damn phantom limb pains. Out of his bag he pulled a syringe filled with a bluish liquid. Inserting the syringe into a slot on his arm he released the fluid into his system. relief flooded him, and the pain was gone.

//Shoot. Dernland pointed out a flaw in my assignments. There isnt a doctor. I guess we will have a medic droid. Can you edit your post Dernland? There arent supposed to be any other humans on board.//

After unloading the supplies from the shittle, Marcus walked back, looking over the base as he went. Everything seemed to be in order. He had dispatched the new state of the art soldier droids to do a maintenance sweep. What a waste of money. These droids don't need to be here.

The Corvette has delivered several fuel cells. HQ was still working on making the bases self-sufficient. The solar panels were capable of it, but the lack of a sun near most asteroids, 0956 included, rendered them useless. For now the bases ran on fuel cells. Marcus has scrutinized all of the supplies carefully. One blown fuel cell could kill everyone on the base.

Paul Williams, or Ghost, as he was listed in his file, brushed by Marcus. Marcus acknowledged him but received no response. Rude.
He stepped into the doorway of the barracks. The men had arranged themselves in a way that was very characteristic. There were six bunk beds in the room. Spencer was on top right, obviously leaving bottom right for his XO. Ghost was at bottom left. Solomon and Neo has both moved to the back, leaving a row of empty bunks. Quite comically, they had both sought solitude, which only moved them closer to one another. Solomon was bottom left, and Neo was bottom right.

Marcus called them to attention. They all rose, and then Marcus told them to relax.
"Okay boys, now that the shuttle is gone, we can act normally. Like I said before, rank in meaningless, including my rank. We are all brothers here. We will all be on this station for God knows how long. Our only outside contact will come in the form of supply drops every three months, and the occasional long range message to HQ. In order to stay sane, we need a comfortable work environment. Now, I don't know what you did to deserve this assignment, but it doesnt matter now. It is clear we all come from different walks of life, and that may be our downfall if we dont overcome that. From this point forward, you may call me Mark, or Marcus. Whichever you like. We all need to survey our assignments soon, but before that, does anyone have anything to say?"

Marcus sat down on the bunk, waiting.

Karl spoke first. "I really do have to ask -- if the others come - that is, aliens - what can we really do about it? What will we plan on doing about it? If they come bent on the destruction of our galaxy, we'll be hopelessly outnumbered, and most probably, far behind whatever technology they have. Let's say it's just a small scouting mission. Do we reveal our presence? Do we have Eagles, Foxes, or Razors stationed on base to make a rendezvous with them should we feel that is a good idea? And how long does it take to deliver a message from here to HQ, which is practically on the other side of the galaxy?! If it takes a while, which I assume it does, who do we take our orders from? 'Cause right now it seems like our mission is to sit on this desolate rock as we slowly creep towards insanity, on the off-chance that something does actually happen, in which case we send off a desperate message to HQ and get killed instants later. I didn't see any of those birds in the hangar. I know how to pilot 'em, but not much else, - but that's no use if we ain't got any!"

Karl took a second to calm down, slightly. He noticed he was red in the face and everyone was looking at him a bit in shock. But he could see a hint of recognition in each of their faces as to his concerns. He looked directly into Mr. Marcus' eyes, though perhaps with a slight trace of embarrassment.

"And someone had better god damn teach me how to fire a fuckin gun, 'cause otherwise we're all gonna be fucked no matter what!"

Marcus burst out laughing. "Hahahahahahahaha. Oh wow. I knew there would be an explosion, but i never would have bet it would happen so early. We have several goals here. The International space watch is a warning system for the entire galaxy. Liza Stark looked into an automated system, but none of the systems worked. They kept being tripped by comets and other spacial bodies. It was decided that a manne system was necessary. This entire program was set up because of a radio message received by East Ibsenia a few years ago. I can show you the message, but we need to head to the control room to do so. In terms of space craft, the only thing we have is 2 escape pods. But we are not completely undefended. We have a large cache of weapons, 4 ion cannons, and a state of the art shield. Even if they breach our shield, most of the base is built into the asteroid. We should be rather capable of defense. Communications to HQ generally take about 2 days. The Outer Rim is a large place. And dont worry about the gun business, i am sure one of the vets here are willing to teach you."

That bloody figures. I'm practically useless. Besides communications, I have no skills to keep myself busy, and no way of staying in practice piloting. Ech. Communications is fun anyway. But still.

Why did I have to mess this all up? My mum told me not to, but I needed a future so bad. And now I have no future. And really no way of living either. Karl nodded, before being reabsorbed into his thoughts. His eyes seemed to partially glaze over, dreamlike.

A terrible night. The night after my father died. Alcohol over-dosage. My mum's wails in the kitchen. Thunder shook the house. Rain poured in sheets through the open windows, drenching the carpet. The sound of an aerocar overhead. A flash. Lighting ignited the sky and sent shivers down my spine. I sat outside on the ceaselessly creaking wooden rocking chair, looking out over raging bay. The rain and my tears mixed together while the rain beat on my back. I was defeated. With my father gone, we would have to move again. A shatter. A plate went through a window, landing fragmented beneath my feet. Story of my life. The cracked plate brought him into the future, looking down. "WHAT HAPPENED?! Oh there y'are, m'boy. That's your college money right there, Karl!" The tears on his face from before became reality again. College money. Money in general. That's what life boiled down to. And he didn't have any. Which meant he wouldn't have a life, nor a future. The small apartment seemed claustrophobic to him now. He peered over the edge. Straight down 220 stories lay the base of El Fiji Grande City. Strange how such a small thing as dropping a late could make him consider it. IT didn't seem so bad. The wind in his face, the drone of transport ships in his ears. The rising sun. But he had to prove, to himself and everyone, that he was better than the hopeless drunk his father was. He didn't do it. One step back. Then another. Safely away from the edge. Then another scene. Filling out paperwork. He had to. It was the only way. My mum told me not to, but I have to. ROTC it is. A good college education and a good career.

Which brought him back to the present. The room was silent. He wondered what he had missed. Strangely, he was still nodding.

What was I thinking, a 'good career'?! I guess it would have been, had I not managed to ef it all up. Sure, I may have shot a hole in the side of a Cyro with my Eagle craft after having been under direct orders not to arm the craft. I didn't even know they could do that. Yeah it was deliberate, but it was only out of spite, and I hadn't thought it would cause any damage, let alone kill anyone. A slight shudder with the memory. Yeah, and I may have slept with the Admiral's daughter, but COME ON! Way out to a fuggin delta base for that? No one - and when I say no one, I mean NO ONE - deserves that kind of punishment!

Why was Marcus looking at me with a smile? I'm sure I don't look funny. Does it have to do with this damn Heliman who took the bed right next to me? Why next to me? There were several beds elsewhere and it had to take the one next to me?.

Solomon was hoping that he would at least find some solitude in this small base. The Heliman taking the bed next to him bothered him for a bit but he could at least appreciate the fact it was silent like him. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for us to be assigned together" he thought.

Solomon hadn't always been this quiet in his life. Before the terrorist uprising in his country, he was a star athlete for his academy in many sports. The only problem was he didn't like school. Eventually he dropped out for having bad grades and a lackluster attendance record. In Crumstain, however, this was considered an alright thing for a teenager to do. Most of the country was farmland anyway and farmers needed all the help they could for the grand harvest which results in children dropping out of school to work on the farm. The farming community was closely connected. All farms were co-ops, where multiple farming families shared one large farm. Solomon still remembers the one day when a new family moved into the co-op farmhouse that shared the farm with his family.

Solomon was walking the crop field when he spotted what appeared to be a young person working the crop as well. He walked up next to the person and began helping out. When he glanced up again, so did the person. She had bright green eyes and dark hair that was bundled up to stay out of her face. They were kneeling in the field looking at each others eyes. She extended her hand and said "hi my name is..."--

Solomon snapped out of his thought just as Karl was finishing up his explosive rant. Solomon appeared startled at the mans anger and he noticed he wasn't the only one. Neo looked at Karl with similar expressions as Solomon, ghost had his helmet on so you couln't really identify his emotion, Karl was turning into a unseen shade of purple, and Marcus was sitting there with a smirk on his face.

"My god, we're gonna kill each other before the aliens do..." Solomon mused.

That one is a wee bit paranoid. Neo thought as he listened to Karl melt down. Less then a few hours and one has already gone. I hope that no one else is like this pilot... How does someone in the military NOT know how to use a gun? One down now time to learn about the others. Solomon was looking at me strangely. Why was he looking at me like that? He was a little red in the face now that I look at him. Was that nervousness? Marcus was looking at him a little longer that the rest us us, besides Karl of course. The others seemed surprised at Karl's out burst. Although, Marcus reacted well; shoving it like a joke no doubt taking a note on how Karl snapped so easily. Note to self, Karl is a little on edge. Neo stood again looking at Marcus. "So, we all have our assignments. I have a few question Marcus. One, when do our assignments start? What is everyone's qualifications, if you don't mind sharing. Finally, when is dinner?" Neo asked intending for the final question to seem a little comical, might help lighten the mood a bit. He regretted it soon after though as the nerves of talking to 'strangers' hit him like a blunt weapon. Neo sat down as quickly as he finished the questions. He returned his helmet to his head and looked away.

The young pilot's outburst was comical, but he had raised several points that had been weighing on Ghost's mind. It was the five of us, a handful of droids, and a station that had the firepower of a small cruiser. You volunteered for this because it was a suicide mission remember. Yeah, a suicide mission, just like Karrion. The battle of Karrion was a secret known only to him and the upper echelons of the Dernland military. Karrion itself was a colony, suddenly attacked by extremists. His battalion was sent there to stop them and... No, thoughts like that would set off a flashback and he wouldn't want an incident. He needed to occupy himself or he would slip again. He pulled out his R-55 silenced smg and began cleaning it, his hands rejoicing in removing the familiar parts. He barely noticed anything after he started.

The room was oddly quiet after Marcus responded. Eventually, Neo spoke up from the back. Marcus responded curtly, "Assignmets begin after dinner, which will be after dinner. Dinner begins in an hour. We need to give time solomon time to get a feel for the kitchen." Marcus turned to Solomon, "Solomon, it can be a simple meal tonight." Turning back to the group, "In terms of qualifications, you may all speak for yourselves."

"Perfect timing thought Solomon as he began to leave the room. He wasn't a big fan of being in a room with the air being filled with the tension from Karl and his explosion of anger and confusion. But Karl seemed like a guy with some potential if he had some help.

Solomon quickly made his way to the kitchen and tried to identify where everything was. "Make something simple for tonight Solomon" Solomon said out loud. He froze for a bit hoping nobody was around to hear him. Cooking was something Solomon rarely did. The last time he had to cook, he was 30 miles deep within Crumstain's largest forest cut off from all forms of communication. He had to settle for smoked squirrel and grub worms. "Suppose they wouldn't have squirrels or grub worms here now would they? Solomon said. He then began to grab random ingredients from the shelves. "Cheese, chili beans, jalapenos, habanero peppers, onions, ground beef, hmm... what else do we have here? Ah, garlic and ghost peppers. Wait, ghost peppers? Well, I guess the bathrooms will be busy tonight." What wasn't on the field report for Solomon was the fact that, even though he has an introvert personality, he did enjoy being witty and pulling subtle pranks on others. It was time to call in everybody for dinner. Solomon would have to keep his poker face strong through tonight.

"The masterpiece is complete!", thought Solomon as he was prepping the meal from hell to be served, "I now present to you.... Solomon Chambers Colon Cleanser!"

"I'm a communications officer and pilot. Which means that I'm a communications officer because we don't have space craft here besides the pods. I was educated at a university in El Fiji Grande, but everything I learned there was put to the test in my time as a space port traffic controller and nav officer at one of the busiest space ports in the galaxy, before I went into the military. It's tough stuff. I guess I'll be in charge of messaging HQ and and figuring out how to communicate with aliens, should they come." Karl left. On his way out the door, he said "You know where to find me."

Karl went down a flight of stairs, down a hallway, past the kitchen spicy, hmmm, and into the near center of the small asteroid. This was what would normally be called the bridge. The chamber was spherical in nature, the walls, ceiling, and floor area covered in projected views of space around the asteroid. To one side shown distant stars, to the other, a few, but mostly the dark of space; the edge of the galaxy. Perfect stargazing. There lay a clear platform through the center of the room, on which lay an illuminated table as well as several screens hanging from the ceiling monitoring the surrounding space with radar as well as one screen with a summary of the vitals of the station. Around the rim of the room was circular desk crammed with equipment. Home. Karl thought. I wonder how the others will manage things to do, when I have all this?! Normally monitoring the station and the surrounding space would take more than one person, but he was more than competent and had all day to keep a standard level of maintenance. All this time he spent observing his assignment room. Now, he moved to the rim, sat in a swivel chair, and ran his hands along the desk. Synthesized metallic wood. Fitting. He got up, examining the equipment. Searching the wall. There! He found a small speaker. Being a communications wasn't half bad in here after all, he decided. An illuminated smoothed rectangular screen appeared. A light tablet. He inserted his forefinger into the light and found what he was looking for. Music. It reminded him of the stars. The light tablet disappeared when he moved away. With the music playing, he carefully examined the rest of the equipment, satisfied with his work, and content with the technology.

keeping all the systems up and running behind the scenes. If you have anything that is down call me. Now seeing Solomon bolted, before I could ask him if he knew anything about mechanics I will need to find him. Please fill me in at dinner your all stories." Neo said nervously.

Strangers... for now at least. He put on his helmet and he left the room, heading to the kitchen to find Solomon and see if he knew anything of mechanics. A room caught his eye on the way though. 'Mechanical' it read. Neo approached it looking at the scanner near the door. He scanned his hand and it opened. It was so much bigger than he thought. It had a terminal that monitored all the systems aboard the station. He could see the O2 in the reserve tanks and the amount energy used by each and every system. Something caught his eye. The solar panels. They were operating at 50%. Accessing the past few weeks the solar panels had only been operating at a whooping 15%. This was a good thing for as long as it lasted. How long would it last...? Neo thought to himself. It must have been a solar flare or something, oh well I'll check it again tomorrow Neo actually shrugged. Looking around more he saw some cool things. The entire place reminded him a bit like his old workshop back in Lunar City.

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The line was long that day. 30 minutes he was waiting in that blasted line. Neo clutched him 20 Flashends, just enough to buy the newest sonic hammer. His old one broke the other day while he was working on his hover bike. The market was loud, so many conversations going on. After another 30 minutes Neo finally made it to the front of the line. "Ah Neo, good to see you again!" The man behind the counter said smiling, "What can I help you with my boy?"

"I just need a new Sonic Hammer, Holton." Neo responded.

"Ahh yes! A new T-64 I'm guessing?" Holton said winking and pulling the box from under the counter.

"yes, that is correct." Neo said placing the 20 Flashends on the counter.

"Are you ready for the Academy?" Holton said, placing the money in the register to his left.

"One can never be fully prepared to take on such a task as putting their life on the line for Falling Stars." Neo said placing the box under his arm.

"That your right Neo," Holton said as his smile slowly disappeared.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was... Nevermind" Holton respond.
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No... not that day again. Neo thought a single tear sliding down his face. It was soon followed by another. Why the hell was it him? Those bastards.... An anger fell in behind the sadness. Neo left the room, removing his helmet and wiping the streaks of water from his face. only returning his helmet to his face when he heard the music from the comms room. Karl likes music? Strange. He kept walking the sound of Karl's music still echoing quietly thought the corridors. Then something hit his nose. Spicy... He could feel his nose burning. Very Spicy.... As he neared the kitchen it just got stronger. He opened the door and removed his helmet, finding Solomon cooking something.

"What are you making Solomon?" Neo asked.

"Saul, do you believe in life out there? Out there in space?" she asked pointing her finger towards the sky. Solomon looked up and thought for a moment. "There has to be" Solomon responded, "The percentage of life being able to exist is low, but if the universe is infinite, there is an infinite chance of life existing.". She turned her head slowly towards Solomon with a slightly shocked look on her face. "I didn't.... I didn't think you could sound that intelligent" she then realized that she sounded rude and tried to apologize but noticed Solomon smiling after that comment.

There they lay, out in the farm fields late at night. Their parents would punish them greatly if they knew they were hanging out at this time of night. The sky was clear and it was new moon. The stars covered the sky. Hundreds of billions of stars. This was the first time he had ever been with someone else when looking out towards the nightly sky. He was the only child of his family and there were not a whole lot of kids his age around the community. "Hey Solomon, have you ever had a girlfriend?" she looked over at him and he did not expect that question to come from her. "Um... no, no I haven't. Why do you ask?" asked Solomon, who was grateful that the darkness of the night hid his face turning red. She didn't respond to the question. She then began to move towards Solomon and lay her head onto his chest. Solomon lay there stiff. He didn't know what to do. "Solomon relax she said, "You don't have to be awkward with me". She then looked at him with a look of happiness. Her face got closer, and closer....

Solomon was slowly stirring the spicy concoction that would make the devil proud. His head slowly fading back to the reality of being on a rock out in deep space. That is also when the spicy aroma hit him and he began to cough and his eyes watering up. He backed away and saw Neo walk into the kitchen. Neo looked at Solomon, possibly nervous about what he was doing.

"What are you making Solomon?" Neo asked.

"Food." Replied Solomon in a deep calm tone of voice. He realized the witty answer had little effect on Neo. Possibly because he was worried about what Solomon was making. "It's... a  old Crumstainite recipe. A little spicy but very delicious!" Solomon played the poker face hard and succeeded at it. He then saw the opportunity to converse with someone. Thankfully someone he would be working with in the future here on this base.

"It will be done shortly. I apologize for the spicy aroma, I can see it is making your eyes a little red." Solomon said.