forum Mechanists: Attempt Two

Started July 25, 2019 by @Mr.Misfit

tune

Zav sighed softly as he walked through the stations corridors. Damn it. He was stuck here. His ride had left, and now he was stuck on a small station. Not even a planet! He swore under his breath, the fact that people gave him a wide berth not escaping his notice. Today his eyes were a brilliant green, but with the telltale golden ring that all the Sha'liss had. That was why people didn't like to even look at him. Murderer. Thief. Liar. Criminal. Those were the names people called his kind. They were the reasons he couldn't stay in one place too long.

Brella looked out the port window. The usual hustle and bustle went by. Traders, officials, sightseers, and ship crews all went back and forth, back and forth with obvious pattern.

Until suddenly there was an exception. People began to create space. One lonesome-looking sap was getting all sorts of hard looks from the passerby on-station, and the same amount of berth. She watched with curiosity. “Robin,” she called, waving her crew member over, “Take a look at that.”

Robin was hanging upside down from the ceiling when Brella called "hmm, I think he is Sha'liss. She said

Zav stopped, looking around to take stock of his surroundings. He just needed a ride, was all. Just a ride. He could work, too. Problem was, he would have to be on his very best behavior, if they even gave him a second look. Most just saw "Sha'liss" and turned him down. "We don't need a stinking thief on our ship." Was what he was usually told. He shook his head slightly. A child nearby stared at him curiously, and he stuck his tongue out at it, smirking. The child started crying, and the mother gave him a dark look, hurrying the other way.

Brella gave Robin a curious look, “Yeah. My thoughts exactly.”

She wasn’t about to mention she had no idea what a Sha-whatzit was. She was more interested in the guy himself. He had a reputation, it seemed. That could earn her some valuable skill on the ship, so long as he was looking for honest pay. All she needed to do was convince him she was as good as a professional gig.

Gathering her Mechanist jacket and laser pistol, she slid down the pole leading from the cockpit to the ship’s workshop and walked out onto the dry dock, looking for the stranger.

Robin wasnt too far behind Brella and flew just above her head.

Zav kept walking, adjusting his jacket slightly so the collar was up by his chin. His eyes darted around, and he sighed softly. What was the odds anyone would be looking for someone to work, and wouldn't care that he was Sha'liss? The odds were very small. Liar, murderer, thief, heartbreaker, kidnapper… The list of accusations. He sighed softly.

There

He was out of the main crowd now, just crew and souvenir shops blocking her view from him. She closed the gap and waved as she approached. “Howdy, stranger,” she called, lowering her voice as she got closer, “You looking for work?”

Zav's eyes flashed to her, that telltale golden ring bright and obvious. "Yes." He replied calmly. "If you're looking to hire." And if you don't care I'm Sha'liss. He added in his mind. He studied this strange woman carefully, ready for a fight if need be.

Brella smiles and waved for him to follow, “‘Course! Mechanists need some good people to do good work. We’re deliverin’ supplies to a research outpost, and I need a crew with me for the long haul. You don’t have to, but if you’re willing, you can stick around long as you keep thinkin’ the pay’s good.”

She tallied up her moves in her head and smiled. He knew what she wanted, and she was only guessing at what he could do, or what he wanted. Mentally, she cursed her lack of foresight.

What’s so special about this guy? What can I get at to get him talking?

She smiled and casted a backwards glance at him, noticing the golden ring on his finger right away. Bingo.

“Not often you see a taken man so far from his family, looking for work,” Brella remarked, “You must come from somewhere tough.”

Zav followed her, then stopped, raising an eyebrow. "What? No! No this is…was my mothers. Not mine. I'm not…married. No." He said hurriedly. He glanced at the ring on his finger. Why was he even wearing it? Sentiment? He sighed softly, taking it off and putting it in his pocket before she could see the design. The design was really just the whole make of the ring, of two slim golden rings intertwined. It was meant to be a symbol of marriage. Only the Sha'liss used it. It was symbolic of the golden circles in their eyes, mirrored on their fingers. Stupid stupid stupid. He berated himself. Not my ring. Damn it. Knew I shouldn't have worn it.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway…if you're still offering the job, of course I'd accept it."

Struck a cord. Now, how can you sing?

Brella gave him an awkward smile, “Ya’ll right? You look a little flustered.” She chuckled and turned to face him fully, “Nothing wrong with being a momma’s boy. I was the same way, till she let me go. Now about that job, I need someone to handle some data management on the ship. Virus detection and removal, networking with other ships, that sorta thing. I reckon’ you’re from Yalerti or something close, yeah? I hear their very sentimental, and I also hear they make some of the best software techs in the world.”

Robin came down and looked at him a little distrustfully. "Where are you headed? Why dont you have a ship of your own? How did you get to this rock in the first place?" She asked, trying to know his past to decided how close of an eye she should keep on him.

Zav looked at Brella, crossing his arms. "Where I'm from doesn't matter. All due respect, miss whatever your name is, but I'm not handing out personal information like that. Second, yeah I can handle tech stuff." His gaze flicked to Robin. "One, I'm headed wherever the winds take me. Two, not everyone has the money for one, sweetheart. Three, that's none of your business." He wasn't about to tell these two girls everything about him. If they hadn't yet clued in on his Sha'liss blood…he wasn't going to point it out.

Brella nearly jumped when Robin spoke. She’d been following them the whole time?

Jeez… frickin’ mag-lev wings…

“Robin, relax. You’re gonna spook our man out of a good paying job. Speaking of which, congrats,” She said to the man, “You’ve nearly passed me. If I might question one last thing…” she paused, choosing her words carefully. He was suspicious, but there was something about him that just seemed too good to pass up. Even if he was dirt poor and snarky… he had grit under fire.

“If it were me—your captain— or a little girl under the barrel of your gun and you had to pull the trigger on one of us, who would it be?”

"You." Zav replied without hesitation. "No offense. Hope that hasn't lost me my job." He shrugged slightly, appearing completely uncaring. In reality, if he didn't get this job, he wasn't sure what exactly he'd do, but…he watched Brella carefully. He knew what it was like to be a little kid and have a gun pointed in his face, for no reason. Or sometimes because, starving and skinny and hungry, he had stolen a little food. In return…well. He still bore a scar from that day.

“Well, well, well,” Brella said, her smile going wide, “Big guy has a heart after all. I’m Brella, and you’re working for the Mechanists now. Charity is more important to me than undying loyalty, but I’ll take them both. Now c’mon.”

She turned towards the Scarlet and began walking, keeping her new crew mate by her side. They entered through the workshop level, and Brella beamed, “This is my pride and joy. Scarlet’s workshop. If it can be broke, I can fix it here. Electrical, wooden, metal, you name it. Feel free to use it if you need to, just leave it the way you found it, and I do inventory at the end of each solar day, so don’t think about takin’ anything with you.”

Zav nodded, a corner of his mouth twitching slightly as she told him not to take anything. When she paused, he said, "You know, typically you shouldn't hire people whose names you don't know. I'm Zavace Cylor. You can call me Zav or Cylor, whatever propels your ship." He shrugged slightly. "And…if I may be so frank…why did you hire me?" Most people with a ship like this didn't look at a Sha'liss twice. Nobody did. They certainly didn't walk up to them on the street and hire them without knowing a thing about them.

(By the way, I forgot to mention this on the template, but all Sha'liss have two golden circles, one in each eye, in the middle of their iris. It's the sign of the Sha'liss, and they all have them. Sorry if I caused any confusion!)

She turned and smiled, “Cuz you looked like trouble. Lotta things you can see from the high cockpit of a ship in dry dock. Figured out the rest in conversation,” she narrowed her eyes and continued, “If you’d rather not have the job, I could always leave you here, without a ship and a way home to your mum, or your darlin’ or whatever. From what I know about you here I’m already sold, and I don’t need to know any different. We both know it’s hard to double cross an entire ship and get away without scars.”

"I'm not saying I don't want the job." Zav told her, raking a hand through his hair. "I just…most people don't hire my kind this easily. 'specially not…so quick." He said with a slight shrug, looking around the ship. It's a nice ship. He thought. Maybe I shouldn't have pointed out the whole…Sha'liss thing. He sighed softly, stretching. As he stretched, his hands flickered for a moment, almost seeming to blur as he allowed them to Shift just a little, then went back to normal as he lowered his arms back to his side.

Zav stretched as Brella turned back and pressed her hand to a lone cabinet in the back of the room, “So long as you can do the job, I don’t care what you are or where you’re from. Mechanists aren’t picky. We’ve done business with a lot of people. Some of them unkind allies. Some great.” The cabinet beeped and opened, revealing five laser pistols. Brella took two and gave them to her crew mates, “And we aren’t afraid to take the risk. It’s a pleasure to meet ya, Zav,” she said shaking his hand with her free hand whilst handing him his gun, “I’m Brethelledonna, but you’re gonna call me Brella. And so long as you do right by me, I’ll do right by you.”

Zav took the pistol, tucking it in his belt carefully. He'd fashion up a holster later. For now, he just made sure the safety was on so that he wouldn't literally shoot himself in the leg. "Alright then." He agreed, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Brella." He gave a small smile, eyes flickering to the other two crewmen, then back to Brella. He tucked his hand in his pocket, feeling his mother's ring. What am I getting myself into? He asked himself, pulling his hand from his pocket.

Brella nodded, and with a small nod to herself climbed the ladder back into the cockpit. An alert message flashed on the controls dashboard, and she pulled down the headphones to answer.

“This is Brella Arazael, Captain of the Scarlet.”

From the other side came a gruff, simple reply, “Dock chief. The loading’s done. Fuel has been put in, as paid for. Ready to go.”

“Thank you, James,” Brella answered. She let the headphones retract back up and smiled to her crew. “Everyone ready?”