>>3592011
“I--- I guess. I mean, it don’t really matter to me,” you shrug, looking back to Coraline as the two of you stand up. It’s not like Coraline won’t eventually know about whatever Naomi has kept secret. In fact, you’re certain Coraline already knows.

She stands, hands still joined and close to her body, and nods. Wordlessly, she turns and, after checking to make sure you’re behind her, she walks into her room. The dim wall lights cast shadows that mimic blinds. Her blankets are tossed to one side and several articles of clothes lay scattered on the floor near it. As the two of you enter, she quickly apologizes and goes about picking up some of the clothes to try to straighten up the room, “I’m sorry, I didn’t have time to pick things up.”

“yeah, no…” you wave it off as you make your way back the seat you sat on a few days back. It was only two days ago but it feels like forever with everything that has already happened so far. You sit yourself on the half-seat cushion thing as Naomi continues to hastily clean the room.

Setting her clothes in a hamper, she turns back to you. She breathes in deeply before finally letting out two words, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, it ain’t like I’ve never seen clothes before,” you exhale sharply -- a scoffed laugh.

“No, I meant… I mean that I’m sorry I haven’t told you,” she says while sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from you, “I was going to… eventually, you know?”

“What? That Sumi volunteered instead of being hired?” You ask, “It doesn’t really make a difference one way or the other, just doesn’t make sense not telling me.”

“I know…” she replies softly.

“It honestly,” you pause and look off to the other side of the room, “It just flies in the face of any kind of sense. Look, I don’t really care, alright? But I just don’t understand why you’d keep it from me. I’m pretty sure that this is, I don’t know, kind of important to know. All of a sudden it goes from three to now, what, forty-eight? That’s a pretty big jump. I would like to just know the whole picture before jumping into anything…”

She’s quiet. She did this last time you caught her on something. Last time it was her name, now it’s the number of people Arcady stole away. You know that there’s probably a reason as to why she would have kept all this away from you. You know that it’s not as simple as just forgetting about telling you.

“My sister,” she starts in a near inaudible mumble before stopping again. She pauses and then flops backwards, covering her face with her hands. “I told Moreh…” her whispers are muffled by the splits of her fingers, “Sammy… ahh… alright.”

>>3592014
She moves her hands away and sits up, turning to you. Her jade eyes directly looking into yours, no longer avoiding them. A pained smile forms on her rose-colored lips.

“I’ll tell you, okay?” she starts again, making her way toward you, “I just… I don’t know, Sammy, I just didn’t want to… to tell you… before… I just—okay…” She stands up and sits directly across from you, “Montaway isn’t a good home. It’s not, I don’t know why anyone would choose to raise a family there. In fact…” she sighs, “in fact most people don’t. Drifters, refugees… drunks… most people don’t start families on Montaway. But… it doesn’t stop them from having kids there.”

“I uh…”

“No, let me finish,” she stops you, “Sumi works a lot. I told you this. Sumi is a kind and loving person; she’s always been there for me and she’s always helped. And… and—” she pauses and looks away, “We weren’t really a big family, but we weren’t able to really feed everyone or get everyone into school. Even with Sumi working double time at the clinic and the rest of us pitching in, we couldn’t come up with enough for rent and everything… Hana wasn’t around either. After meeting that guy from Victoria… I mean, no one really expected her to stay, that was her ticket out.

“Sumi,” she sighs, “Sumi got a call one day, the man on the other side told her about a new program. All she had to do was send in her information and take some tests and if she passed inspection, she’d get enough money to pay for three houses in Montaway. She was really happy, everyone was. Everything was fine, she got accepted and went off to Milo for the orientation… but after that we never heard from her again. Later… we got a paycheck of a hundred thousand standards,” She pauses and then looks back to you, “After a while I started to look into things. Found the reports for the other girls and then learned about the others.”

She goes quiet and the two of you sit in silence for a moment before you clear your throat, “So… why was being a volunteer any different from her going to work there?”

“I – “ she pauses and the two of you become silent again. A moment passes, then another one. The two of you sit in silence, you watch her while she avoids returning your gaze.

The AC kicks on, the reverberating sound of air pushing through vents carries over like a rainstorm. Metal clicks in the distance and the faintest ghosts of sound echoes in from the living room TV. It’s not like she can avoid talking with you forever, the two of you are basically locked in together.

Her hand softly brushes away strands of pink that had strayed away from the rest. Emerald green eyes slowly make their way back to you. A tired, ruby smile forms. You’ve not sure what she’s thinking. Hell, you can’t kid yourself, you’ve never known what she’s been thinking.

>>3592017
Naomi’s explanation of why she didn’t tell you seems, to you, like she didn’t want to say that she’s poor. If you had to guess, that’s probably not really why she didn’t tell you. “Look, Nao—”

“Sammy, you know I can’t answer every question you have…” she trails off, “Do you remember the question you asked me two nights ago? Do you remember when we…”

>” Yeah I remember.” She’s talking about when you kissed. She remembers.
>” Yes, I do, but that’s not what we’re talking about now. Why didn’t you tell me before about the others? Why is being volunteered different from being on a job?” Pry. That’s the only way get anywhere with Naomi.
>” If you’re just going to… Look, I don’t really care, alright? Just leave it here if you don’t want to talk about it. Why... don’t you tell me about something else? The guy with white hair, alright? What about him, why did you talk with him after Abigaille called?” you’re not getting anywhere with the question about volunteers so why not switch gears.
>[write-in]

____________________________________________________________________

Welcome back to For Hire. Episode 10 and we’re going to be kicking it off with a strong start. Hope everyone is excited for this next installment of For Hire as we start to dig into the mystery of Naomi and the rest of the setting. Hopefully there’s answers somewhere around here…

Twitter: Kov_QM
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=FHQ
Character Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z3WwwCvkilVxWx6uAuIThapoTypzZ_X9zP8OgdH3XMY/edit?usp=sharing
Discord: https://discord.gg/QznmEus

>>3592023

>” Yeah I remember.” She’s talking about when you kissed. She remembers.

Nice to see you back

>>3592023

>” Yeah I remember.” She’s talking about when you kissed. She remembers.

She's probably holding on a lot, and supporting her sister in going to such a thing must be hell on her mind, take it easy, let her say what she needs

>>3592023
>>” Yeah I remember.” She’s talking about when you kissed. She remembers.

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>>3592023
“I remember.” The words come quiet. You remember from two days ago. The two of you were drinking and she asked a question. The question. It seems she caught you off guard as much as you did her. The barely lit bar casted deep shadows while the spotted light outlined what was important.

You’re not sure why she’s bringing it up now but--

“I didn’t have an… an answer for you then,” her eyes shift as she speaks softly. Pausing for a moment, her chest rises as she takes a deep breath. Pause. Exhale. She starts again, “I think I have an answer now.”

Dark, slow, like a pause in time itself. Shadows grow darker as she stares directly into yours. Eyes of pure jade. Magnificent. It’s as if the previous weighted feeling, the anxiety, the pressure, is lifted. Naomi has always had this calming effect on you. The way she speaks, the way she laughs. She controls the mood.

In just one instant, it’s changed.

Two days and it feels like two years. A month feels like eternity. That’s how long you’ve known her. Miniscule relatively but absolutely magnitudes larger.

“You…” she starts, snapping you back into reality, “I… I didn’t know what to say, you know. I- I never really expected…” her voice goes soft. She blinks, like the beating of wings her eyelashes flutter and her eyes go wide, “And then… and then when you…”

She remembered… of course she did, who got us home?

“I mean, I have to give you an answer,” she places a hand over her opposite shoulder, she holds herself and sighs, “but… I don’t think… I… that I’m ready. Not right now. I know... I know that I should say something, you know?”

“It ain’t like…” you start but she quickly stops you, placing a finger over your lips. Across her own lips forms a smile, though it’s not like her usual cheerful smile. It’s a quiet smile, one that doesn’t want to say much. Her eyes look between you and the door before she moves closer.

“I,” she starts quietly, her hand goes from you to her opposite arm before slowly revealing a bare shoulder. She leans into you, her warmth softly presses against you, “I’ll tell you later but… right now I just… I just want to… I want to keep it as it is. Just for now, I don’t want to think. I want to… feel”

>” What did you have in mind?” Of course, she means that. You know what she means. ((fade to black. No, I’m not about to write smut, don’t get your hopes up at least for now. ))
>” No… we shouldn’t do this.” This will get complicated, fast. Too fast. You’re not in the right mind and… neither is she.
>” Wait, no, Naomi, we should wait.” You like her, and you want to show you do but this isn’t the time.
>[write-in]

>>3594562

>[write-in]

Say nothing
Kiss her and Hold her tight, let her pour everything she has bottled up, if she wants to say anything she can.

>>3594562

>” What did you have in mind?” Of course, she means that. You know what she means. ((fade to black. No, I’m not about to write smut, don’t get your hopes up at least for now. ))

>>3594720
I could go with this too, saying something or not we end up in the same place.

>>3594562

>” What did you have in mind?” Of course, she means that. You know what she means. ((fade to black. No, I’m not about to write smut, don’t get your hopes up at least for now. ))

>>3594720
This

>>3594720
if we were to make her talk we could say something along the lines of saying we won't make her regret telling us, I can't shake the feeling that this thing is related to Adam or Sam since she told something to Coraline already, and she was pretty paranoid about Sam from the beggining.

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>>3594720
>>3594803
>>3594884
>four for Sex with the emotionally compromised girl falling in your arms.

Alright! Writing!

>>3596251
oh right, I didn't link you here

>>3598232
bingo bongo, this is the number 4

>>3598232
My vote >>3594720 was not for sex.

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>>3598316
my b, what exactly did you have in mind for that vote then? I read it as not saying anything stupid and just going in for it.

>>3598241
My vote of supporting >>3598316 's vote, was also not for sex.

>>3598343
I was voting to kiss her and confort her because she is stressed and trying to make her say what was bothering her somehow.

I'm not against sex, it can happen, it's just that I wanted to see if she had anything to say before that.

>>3598372
>>3598343
Sorry for being vague QM, I was just not sure what to write.

>>3598372
>>3598380
no, it's okay, I just don't know how to read. The big issue is just the whole part about her being how she is right now. It's not really a crying mood. It's less extreme, more of a slow burn kind of sadness if you get what I'm saying.

anyways, I'll start writing now that I understand

>>3598380
I think I can help with a write-in, she said she doesn't want to think but to feel, let's try something

"don't think then, stop worrying, I know you feel you can trust me, just tell me what's bothering you, don't think about it."

>>3598410
I was hoping to make her talk.

Coraline...

>>3598578
"Hey Coraline that's an... interesting show. Why don't you turn the volume up while Naomi and me... talk about something"

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>>3594562
You open your arms up and pull her into them, wrapping them around her closely. A gasp of surprise yet she doesn’t attempt to escape. Her warmth bleeds into you as the two of you sit motionless for a moment. You say nothing but neither does she.

The two of you sit silently for a few moments, wrapped up within each other’s arms. She’s stiff, as if she doesn’t know what to do with herself but she soon relaxes. She quietly exhales before resting her head on your chest. Her pink hair rubs against your chin as you put it atop of her head. A cocoon.

“Look,” you whisper softly after waiting a while longer, “I’m here for you.”

She doesn’t respond, instead she squishes herself closer you to. You let yourself soak in this silence for another moment as the two of you hold each other.

“You…” you start again, “you said you didn’t want to think then you don’t have to. I’m here for you. You don’t have to carry all that weight. You can trust me, alright?” you pause, “I’m here for you… alright? Look, I didn’t expect anything like this, hell I’m a fish out of water here but if you don’t tell me anything then I can’t help. I don’t want you to do this alone, you ain’t gotta shoulder it alone.”

You’re here for her. You’ve been on her team since she told first told you. Naomi Bordeleaux. She’s a package of a whole hell of a lot. You can’t imagine what she’s thinking or what’s been going through her head for this last month. There had been a moment that you might have thought that you understood her, at some level. But now? You’re not too sure.

Family is important to you. It’s been true since the day you were born. The ones you hold dear and the ones you love… they’re the most important thing in existence. But then… something changed, Naomi became one of those few. She slipped in there somehow and you’ll be damned if she slips out. If all you can do is be here for her and if that’s what it takes, then that’s what you’ll do.

Naomi became important.

You pick your head up and look down, her pink hair clinging to your chin. There’s not much that would change your mind now. Not much at all.

“Naomi,” you start again, pushing her off you to look at her in the eyes, “I—”

Instead of sitting still, she pulls you toward her by the collar of your shirt. The two of you tumble forward, landing on the bed. Her jade eyes stare back up at you as you look down from above her. “Sammy…” she whispers, “I…”

“You trust me, right?” you ask, staring into her eyes, “If you trust me then don’t worry.”

A small smile appears across her face, “Don’t worry,” she repeats.

>>3598631
“Alright?” your brows furrow.

“Alright… alright…” she says, “I just…” she pauses and stares at you for a moment before wrapping her arms around your neck, “I trust you.”

>” Well, if you trust me then tell me what’s bothering you.”
>Stay quiet and enjoy the moment longer.
>[write-in] ((please I don’t know what to fucking say right now. I was just going to skip to morning but if you guys have anything that you want to say then do a write-in. If not, then there will be a timeskip to the morning. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen.))

>>3598633
"I'll keep trying, whenever you are ready..."

and

kiss the girl you fool before

>Stay quiet and enjoy the moment longer.

.

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>>3598633
Yeah, sure, morning skip. Fade to black. No problem. Yeah. Don't worry.

>>3598633

>Stay quiet and enjoy the moment longer

>>3598648
>>3598678
>>3598690
not sure if I'm reading this right, you guys are all basically voting for skipping, correct?

>>3598861
skipping with affection ;)
is Sam sleeping there like that after the draining day?
we won't get anything more from her I think right now.

>>3598861
By skipping you say drifting off to sleep like this?
Just enjoy the moment

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>>3598631
She hugs you closer to her, and the two of you lie there for a while longer. Embracing her feels as if you could stay there forever. Just the two of you, in that very moment. She’s warm, warmer than you would have imagined. She’s soft and tender, a feeling that you could sink into… “Sammy can you uh… you’re smothering me.”

“Oh sorry, I should…” You push yourself up and look at Naomi, trying to dislodge yourself from her hug.

“No…” she whispers, “I mean…”

“Yeah, no I should… it’s getting late and, uh, getting a bit tired…” you trail off, while watching her push herself up with her arms.

“No, Sammy, can you…” she trails off before starting back up, “You can sleep here tonight. I mean, it… it gets dark and… I’d…”

“Yeah,” you answer, “yeah I can do that.”

She moves the sheets over and slides into the bed while you turn off the lights. It really does get dark. You leave the bathroom light on and crawl into bed after her. It’s as if you were already a married couple. Sleeping in the same bed together. It’s not like it’s the first time the two of you slept in the same bed, either.

You’re not sure what she’s thinking, but you’re not sure that you really mind not knowing. Naomi is Naomi. That’s what you told Coraline and that’s what you’ll stand by. Even if Coraline was right – that Naomi was lying about something – it’s nothing you can’t handle.

“Hey… Sammy, are you still awake?” she whispers as you stare at the ceiling. It’s been an hour since you’ve crawled into bed. Of course, you’re not able to sleep. All you’ve been able to do was think. About Adam, about the girls, but more importantly – about Naomi. She turned around and faced the opposite direction the moment you got in, you thought she went to sleep at that moment, but it seems that she hasn’t.

“How could I sleep…” you mumble to yourself, turning your head to face her. “Yeah… I’m up.”

“I…” she starts, quietly. Her jade eyes glitter like gems under the dim bathroom light. “I want to— to apologize. I haven’t really been, you know, the best… partner. I mean, like, the whole thing with not telling you and… and everything. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t trust me…”

“huh?” your brows turn to a scowl, “of course I trust you… You just gotta, I don’t know, trust me enough to trust you, I guess.”

Half-awake wisdom.

“Oh…” she says quietly, and a moment passes before she moves closer. Her arm wraps around you and hugs you closer, laying her head across your chest. You’re shocked but it only lasts for a moment before you reciprocate and hug her back. The two of you stay there for what feels like another hour before you feel her grip loosen. She’s fallen asleep in your arms.

>>3600554
You’re soon to follow after her, your breathing becomes slow and steady. Rise and Fall. Your eyes close and you drift into blissful nothingness. Warmth surrounds your entirety. Drifting deeper and deeper… you return to a familiar place.


It’s Black.


Dark, like a starless night that stretches endlessly before you. Motionless, empty black. Except for Her. Her skin glows with a deep crimson, and calls to you with a familiar voice. She no longer has the black script dashing across her red skin, no, the script on her enchanting form glows a rose gold.

She stands as motionless as the empty space around her. Like a star hanging in the black void, she is the sole source of light. You approach. As you take your first step, it is as if the world around you reacts to your very presence. Everything moves like a ribbon of black sheets. Shifting, squirming, smothering.

“Ah…” the melodic voice answers your arrival. Her eyes open -- those pure golden orbs spew forth that same light. She opens her arms wide, while watching you approach. “Son. I. Welcome.”

“Who…” your voice croaks out but soon it feels like your throat is dry. Not just dry, it’s on fire. It’s like you’ve never used your voice before. Your hands find their way to your throat and you keel over, bending your knee and holding yourself up with your hand. Sand. You open your mouth and sand pours out with your violent coughing.

“I. Know,” You’re at her bare feet as she calls out to you. Your eyes slowly follow her bare form and stop when they meet her own golden, glowing orbs. “Marked. One.”

You see now. Your eyes have been open completely. She is not just the light, but the endless shadows too. She is.

Your eyes open wide and sheets stick to your wet body. You’re sweating, heavily. You look around the room. It’s Naomi’s still. The bed sheets look moved and the bathroom door is closed. She woke up before you did and decide to take a shower.

You close your eyes and sigh as you sink back into the bed. Your breathing is uneven, and your heart feels heavy. Your dreams have become strangely more vivid than how you remember your dreams. In fact, you don’t really remember dreaming.

Shaking your head, you stare at the ceiling while listening to the water splash and run as Naomi showers. Faintly, like whispering, you can hear a voice sing.

>>3600557
[O P T I O N S]

> It is now morning.

> Time to get up, you should make breakfast. You remember there’s eggs and some other ingredients to make omelets or pancakes… maybe waffles too… You’re hungry and you didn’t eat last night.

> Stay here a little while longer. Wait for Naomi to get out of the shower and then take one after her. You’ll just wear the same thing.

> Go back to sleep. You’re tired. It’s been strange dream after strange dream every night since you started your journey. Plus, it’s really early and this bed is really comfy. It smells nice too.

> You need to make a few calls. [This will be an option of either Moreh, Prince, Abigaille, Benjamin( your brother ), or any of the stores. ((you still need to pay off the suit and armor))]

> You’re awake. You also realize you’ve never really had the time to take care of your ship. That damage on the underside has been bothering you for some time. You want to get to working on the ship today, you have to tools to do it too.

>[write-in]

>>3600559

> Stay here a little while longer. Wait for Naomi to get out of the shower and then take one after her. You’ll just wear the same thing.

Bath is our thinking time.

>>3600559

> Stay here a little while longer. Wait for Naomi to get out of the shower and then take one after her. You’ll just wear the same thing.

Start slow, I plan to see Adam's house today so we better take it slow

>>3600559
> Stay here a little while longer. Wait for Naomi to get out of the shower and then take one after her. You’ll just wear the same thing.


I don't wanna look at Coraline in the eye right now

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>>3600559
You look around the room, the bed’s covers are pushed off to your side. Tilting your head up slightly, you look at either door before letting yourself fall back into the bed. You sink into it as if you’re laying on top of a mass of dough. It’s as if the bed itself is begging you to stay. It’s a drastic improvement on anything you’ve slept in for the past few months.

You’re on cloud nine.

The pillows themselves feel nothing like the old Frontyr stuff that gets imported to all the colonies. Your mind drifts from thought to thought as you wonder how Ryo got his hands on such luxuries. Then it shifts back.

Back to your dream last night. Back to the preacher from yesterday. Back to your talk with Prince. Back to Naomi. You linger there. You’re in her room, this comfortable palace of a bed, these clothes strewn across the room, the faint whispering scent of something that reminds you of strawberries. Everything here is Naomi’s. In a way, this is her personal oasis.

It’s a most sacred thing for a girl to let a man into her room. And you’re here, within this place. You’re not even sure how it ended up like this but you’re not one to complain. Naomi is someone precious to you. It may be only a month of knowing her, but the entire month was spent being around her from sun rise to sun set. If it could be called anything, it would be called being intimately close with her.

You close your eyes and listen in on this little world of hers. The rhythmic sound of raindrops and the melodious voice that carries softly through the metal door. You didn’t know Naomi was much of a singer, but apparently, she is. It reminds you, funnily enough, of when your mom would do chores around the house.

Your mom would always sing. She had a wonderful voice and you had admired that since the day you were born. That voice of hers would carry you into your dreams or wake you out of them. In a lot of ways, Naomi is like your mother. She’s very caring, strong willed, and almost always would have a smile on her face.

The squeak of metal turns your attention back to the bathroom door. Out comes Naomi while wrapping towel wraps around her head. She’s wearing a simple hoodie and a pair of shorts

“Oh hey, I didn’t know you were awake” She speaks softly as she makes her way to the edge of the bed. She starts putting on shoes as she speaks up again, “Th…” she stops, “Thank you for… for staying last night.”

“I…” you stare at her, “I, uh, yeah… no, uh you know I’m jealous. This bed is really comfy.”

“Huh?” she turns back to look at you, but you just lay back, “Pfft, Sammy, how do you think I felt trying to sleep in that chair?”

“I kinda did warn you about that,” you retort, “Ain’t like you can go back now.”

“Not like I’d…” she mumbles and returns to putting her shoes on.

“Plus,” you add, “it’s not like my bed can exactly fit two people. One-person ship after all.”

>>3601567
“Oh…” you stare at her for a moment. The conversation dies and she quickly turns back to finishing her shoes.

“I…” she says, standing up and placing her hands on her hips, “How do I look?”

“Good… you going somewhere?” you ask.

“Yeah,” she answers, “I have a few things I want to take care of. Plus, I need to go grocery shopping, the whole take out every night isn’t really sitting well with me…”

“What kinda things?”

“Oh, like eggs, bread, some milk too,” she starts to list off her groceries.

“No, no, I meant, uh, what kind of things are you going to do?”

“Ohh…” she thinks for a moment, “Well, I’m going to go see if I can’t get us some tickets to, like, the auction house. Plus, I should make a call with a few people about some things. Oh, and there’s the one thing about the CV guys I needed to check out. They actually have, like, a headquarters or something on station that I’m going to, like, look around in. Yeah, that and the job interview tomorrow… Oh, and, uh, I should be done around noon if you want to go get lunch or something… I mean, uh…”

“Yeah, sure, yeah, yeah,” you answer quickly after seeing her trail off, “Yeah, totally, uh, anywhere is fine.”

“Okay, then… around noon?” she asks, taking off the towel and letting her semi-wet hair drop down.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then. At noon…” you answer, “Oh hey, are you going to take Coraline with you?”

“Sur— wah, what? I mean…” she pauses and looks away quickly, “She uh… she doesn’t really…”

“Ah, right…” Right. You close your eyes in pained embarrassment. You probably shouldn’t have said that, though you weren’t really thinking. Coraline doesn’t trust Naomi, for whatever reason. Hell, with what happened last night you’re not even sure you could look Coraline in the eyes. Honestly, you’re dreading walking out that door and into the kitchen. “Well… yeah, uhm, take care. I’ll see you at noon.”

She nods, “see you, Sammy.”

Door opens; door closes.

You plop down and sink into the bed. What about Coraline? you repeat in your mind, Yeah… what about her? How am I even… That’s the question. How will you even look her in the eyes. You like Naomi, hell… well, anyways, you never really thought of Coraline like that, but, still. It feels like you kind of went behind someone’s back.

You feel… guilty for some reason. Not like you wanted to be with Coraline or anything, and it’s not even like anything happened. You just slept in Naomi’s bed. But to Coraline… maybe she’ll distrust you too. You don’t really want to alienate Coraline or anything. It’s just how things happened.

You pick yourself up and push off the covers. Well, it’s not like you can stay in bed all day anyways. You have a few things you want to do today. First and foremost… getting clean.

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>>3601572
Dragging your feet across the floor, you make your way to the bathroom. Climbing up to the sink, you stare at yourself in the mirror before washing your face. You’re fine. If anything, everything went better than you had expected last night. She didn’t really close herself off last night either.

You feel like you’re actually making ground with Naomi.

Stripping off your clothes, you toss them to the side and enter the shower. Naomi said something about an auction house. That auction house. Of course, the place that sells splicers. There’s a connection between that place and Baker, you’re sure of it. From what you can tell, it stinks to high heaven.

You wonder if Adam knew. If he knew about the girls, or if he knew about any of the splicers. If he did, did he ever plan to even tell you? What if Naomi was right, what if Adam was a part of this. Or maybe, what if Adam wanted you to find all this out. What if he left you to do what he couldn’t…

You sigh, the water trickles down the side of your face as you stand directly under the showerhead. Adam left you the job, John Colby, that guy you learned about from Abigaille, stole it. Why would Adam leave you the job if he knew about it? Why didn’t he just pass the job down to some other of Ryen’s or Baker’s lackies.

Adam most likely knew about this.

That’s what probably got him killed. He knew something that the others didn’t want people finding out. Something that you can’t figure out just from here.

The metal faucet handle squeaks as you turn it off. You stand motionless in the center of the shower, letting the water drip off you. There’s a lot that you would like to know. There’s a lot of questions out there that needs answers. There’s a lot of things out there that would probably stop you from finding any of it. You sigh.

Towel to dry yourself and clothes to put on.

Well, it seems like you’re going to eat lunch with Naomi and it also seems like you’re going to the auction house on the next sale date. The image of that splicer girl appears in your head again. She looked frightened, afraid of something… something sinister.

The door creaks as metal grinds against cracked rubber. You push into the kitchen and Coraline is sitting at the table staring at you.


> Make breakfast, she’s at the table anyways.

>” Hey… you’re up early…” Honestly, you remember Coraline to be the one to sleep most of the day back on the ship.

>” So, uh, you were right, Naomi was lying, uhh…” You’re not sure what to say to her right now. Coraline was right that Naomi was lying about something.

> Best to not address the problem now. Hell, she probably doesn’t even know. If you just go into the garage and prepare for the day, you can avoid it entirely. You’re going to eat at noon so it’s not like you need to eat now.

>[write-in]

>>3601574

> Make breakfast, she’s at the table anyways.

No need to worry, let's just carry on with the day.

>>3601574

>[write-in]

Greet her and ask her how she slept, then move to the kitchen and make some coffee, offer her some too.
With our mug in hand let's try to fix our ship until lunch time, we will probably use it to get away from the chip trade with the mercs.

>>3601715
as general mood, Sam is just overthinking things, there is no reason to be embarrassed, we already talked with her about what we think of Naomi, of course, we are not gonna discuss it what we did but there's no reason to be embarrassed about it

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>>3601574
CORALAAAAAAAAAAAAIN
>ask her if she has had breakfast yet
>make food
>present food

>>3601715
Supporting.

>>3601648
>>3601715
>>3601819
>>3601919
>>3602062
Alright the general consensus seems to be...

>four for Breakfast, coffee, and small talk. After which is garage time

writing!

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>>3601574
“Samuel,” she calls. Her hand holding up her head as she leans on the table.

“Oh… uh, good morning,” you say half wanting to turn back around.

“Is it?” she questions.

“Is it what?” you ask.

“A good morning,” she clarifies.

“Um… yeah?” you answer.

“Oh,” she nods before turning away.

“Well, uh,” you start. Taking a step into the room, you begin making your way to the kitchen, “Are you hungry?”

“Yes,” she says without turning back to you.

“Alright, well I’m going to be cooking some eggs and…” you walk into the kitchen and begin looking for something, when you find it, you start back up again, “and some waffles. I don’t know about you but I’m starving. I haven’t had waffles in forever. Honestly, just thinking about it makes me hungry. Oh hey, you want a cup of Cal?”

You’ve never actually seen her drink Cal. But… “You are in a good mood.”

“Am I?” you stop for a moment to look back at Coraline. She’s staring at you and looking half-awake, she leans forward. Crossing her arms and placing her head on top, she watches you from the table.

“Yes,” she answers.

“Oh, well, I should be, I guess,” you reply, pressing the button on the cal maker and bringing down the waffle press. Taking the box mix, you gather your ingredients and put them in front of you. With a mug of cal in hand, you pour your ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir before letting the press do the work.

“Dig in,” You say and place four waffles, eggs, and a syrup bowl in front of Coraline. You take one of the waffles by hand and dip it in the syrup, “I’ll be in the garage for a while so just knock on the door,” you say between bites.

She nods and pokes the eggs with a fork before you turn away. She seems about as normal as any other day. It’s okay, everything is fine. It’s not like anything really even happened last night so worrying about it isn’t really productive. One thing you should be worrying about is—

“Samuel,” Coraline says, stopping you as you were about to push open the door to the garage.

“Uh, yeah?” you turn your head back to her.

She looks at you for a moment before shaking her head, “Nothing.”

Alright. you think as you push into the garage. Maybe not everything is all good, maybe she has something to say about it. She obviously wants to say something but just doesn’t know what to say, at least that’s what you think. After hearing what Naomi said last night, it’s something that you’d wouldn’t really want to tell people the first time you meet them either.

Something like that eats someone from the inside out. You’re no psychologist but you’re fairly certain that Naomi is having a lot going through her mind. Maybe she feels guilty for pushing her own sister into volunteering or agreeing to it. Now that Sumi might be in trouble, there’s no real way in knowing what she would be thinking.

>>3602828
You shake your head and place your mug on one of the boxes laying atop your bed. Time to decompress, figuratively speaking, of course. You stare at the ship you built with your own hands. A backyard ship you slaved over since you were twelve. You and your father’s pet project.

PD Lakka, second model in the line of the Paxos-Class series. It’s a magnificent ship, born from the need to have a compact living quarters and all essentials stuffed into a small little package. It carries a Mark eight version three missive drive, two pivoting main thrusters, and ten maneuvering thrusters. It’s the smallest ship of the class.

Lovingly, you call it a space closet.

When you found it scrapped near a recycling yard back when you were twelve, the ship itself was already nearly a quarter century old. The work you had to do was pretty much replace every part. From twelve to sixteen, you worked on this ship. From twelve to sixteen, you became intimately familiar with everything about this ship. From twelve to sixteen, you found something you loved doing.

Working on ships have been something that helped you keep your mind clear. Lets you think things through. Everything is so… simple when it’s just connecting things and putting things together.

You fish a flashlight from one of your bags before making your way over to your ship. It’s far easier to do inspections when the ship is strung up like this. Rather than crawling around on the ground, having it suspended helps a lot.

It’s almost been reflexive at this point. Each pipe, hose, belt, bracket, and motor get a look-over. Each piece of metal is checked, each component is looked at. The two side-mounted engines have always been problem children. The “PD s-Series Thud” were designed more as reusable thrusters rather than actual main engines. But… the boys in Polyhedral Dynamics decided to put them to use in other ways.

They’re inefficient is the biggest problem… lots of energy and lost of heat generated. That’s why the coolers put in are made from a different company. You had to actually replace the original one with a Scyth3-100-55 from Newbase.

You exhale laughingly as you remember the small little details of the ship. Each part, each component has its own little quirk. You run your hands over the metal exterior of the ship. Like a paper-shell the ship’s armor is more or less just to hold the components securely. So… the thing that gets you the most nervous is the underbelly.

A large warping deformation on the bottom of the ship holds your attention. It looks as if it had started to grow. Red. It looks red-tinted. Kind of like rust but not something that sticks to the metal… more like… You touch the metal underside. Despite the ship being powered-off, it’s warm to the touch. Not something that is entirely strange but…

>>3602833
The red is a sludge-like liquid. It looks viscous, slimy, a strange fluid leaking out. Your thoughts drift almost immediately to those red seas on Demascus. It looks eerily similar but otherwise, you’ve never encountered this.

> Open it up. Look inside and investigate further. Beneath this should be the Missive Drive, something you’re not too well-versed in.
> Leave it and call Ryo. See if he knows of what it is.
> Touch the red liquid.
> [write-in]

>>3602840

> Open it up. Look inside and investigate further. Beneath this should be the Missive Drive, something you’re not too well-versed in.

>>3602840

> Open it up. Look inside and investigate further. Beneath this should be the Missive Drive, something you’re not too well-versed in.

Set a timer so we don't lose track of time
Use gloves to not touch the liquid

>>3602840
>> Open it up. Look inside and investigate further. Beneath this should be the Missive Drive, something you’re not too well-versed in.

>>3602970
>>3603003
>>3603074
>three for opening up a can of worms

give me three 1d100s. Roll under.

>DC Medium = 70
>Engineering Certificate +10
>Skilled Engineer +/-0
>Superior Quality Tools +10
>?▲a▲ -10
>Out of your Expertise -10
>No Saved Crits
>DC = 70

0 - You're able to get the plating off of the bottom but in doing so, you break something and the red stuff covers you.
1 - You're able to get the plating off, but some red stuff gets on you.
2 - The plating comes off cleanly.
3 - The plating gets off cleanly and you're able to understand the issue entirely.

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>3603473

>>3603473
Red goop?

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>3603482

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>3603473

>>3603499
STORE THAT CRIT FOR WHEN WE TALK TO CORALINE MADAFAKAARGGGHHGGHG

>>3603502
Crits are not used to talk jando, lets use it and increase our mechanic skill

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>>3603511

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>>3603481 57
>>3603489 51
>>3603499 1 CRIT !

Four Degrees of success.

0 - You're able to get the plating off of the bottom but in doing so, you break something and the red stuff covers you.
>1 - You're able to get the plating off, but some red stuff gets on you.
>2 - The plating comes off cleanly.
>3 - The plating gets off cleanly and you're able to understand the issue entirely.

>4 - The plate comes off easily and you identify and understand the issue entirely. Something >?▲*Xa▲# happens. Increasing your Mechanical Engineering to Talented.

Would you like to Save the critical for later? This can be used to save a failing roll or boost a roll later.

>>3603532
use it right naw

>>3603532
Use the crit

>>3603532
Use it

>>3603545
>>3603547
>>3603560
>three for something >?▲*Xa▲# happening

The character sheet has been updated: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z3WwwCvkilVxWx6uAuIThapoTypzZ_X9zP8OgdH3XMY/edit?usp=sharing

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>>3602840
You run your hand along the edge of the plate that’s leaking the strange red liquid. It feels like the warped metal are waves bent into form. You’ve never seen anything that would cause something so… violent. No story from father or article from the web had said anything about this. It looks as if the metal was a still of water after a rock was tossed into it. Ripples of little waves, the origin being… the missive drive.

Your hand stops. Finding the small cap that covers the screw, you press into it and let it release. The cap folds into the plating and you take a step back and turn. You need a screwdriver to unscrew it so… your eyes scan the garage.

Several tools lay around on workbenches or on display racks. PD Lakka uses standard sized small screws so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one. As you think that, you spot the tool you’re looking for. Grabbing it and returning back to the underbelly, you stare at the plating.

The red goop isn’t dripping onto the floor or anything, but it does look as if it formed a clump near the epicenter of the… whatever this is. Despite your endless hours of pouring over polyhedral dynamic manuals or even your engineering textbooks, you’ve never seen this specific malfunction. It’s like treading new ground for you. It’s somewhat exciting, if you had to put it in words. You set an alarm and get to work.

Curiosity gets the better of you and you immediately take out the first screw, then the second, then the third and forth and… soon, the plate comes loose.

Red.

Red glowing light pours out from the now vacant slot of plating. It’s like a harsh lamp that’s trying to mimic the sun. It’s warm, but not unbearable. It feels like a summer breeze, in fact.

Your assumption was correct, the Missive Drive is at fault for this, yet you’re not sure what this is exactly. The wires, cables, tubing, plating, and everything else looks as exactly as it should be. Perfectly clean and safe. In fact, it looks cleaner than the day you installed it. One might say it’s in perfect condition.

Except for the part about it glowing ominously red.

That part’s unexpected, for sure. The red sludge seems to be some sort of product of it, though… you lean forward and, using a tool to push it around, you examine it. The sludge itself looks like a gelatinous slime, sticking to the core of the Missive drive.

The missive drive itself is something you’re not very familiar with. History tells you it was invented, discovered or whatever, during the very very early era of space travel. Directly after the war with the Concord.

The math, physics, and engineering that goes into these things is almost incomprehensible. Despite that, all space-worthy vessels have one. From what you know, the drive and the technology that goes into it is held by only three different

>>3603744
(seems I cut off a sentence here. I also cut off a sentence in >>3601567 to >>3601572
where Naomi says " “Well,” she smiles as she turns back to you, “Sammy, this bed can. ” " )

corporations. Just maintenance itself requires a specialist from one of those companies on board.

Even then… it’s rare for these things to even malfunction let alone require repairs. You sigh as you poke the liquid again. From what you can tell, it’s not really leaking from anywhere specific. It seems to just… ooze from the core. And upon further inspection…

The soft glow turns to a sharp red light before dimming down again. A pulse, it does it again. You close your eyes. The red light feels familiar, like a warmth in the summer, it feels comforting. It’s strange, saying that something like this feels comforting, but it does. As you stand there, motionless and with the tool poking into the sludge, a shadow moves across your vision.

It’s not a shadow as a shadow would normally be, not it is as if something moved in front of the light that you’re looking it. You open your eyes and look into the red light, before you lie a familiar symbol.

You’re sure you’ve never seen it before. It looks like a black squiggly line hidden inside the red light. But it’s not really hidden, it looks like it, itself, is glowing… black. A sort of black light, ribbons of shadows woven within the red light itself.

You step back, releasing the tool. The screw driver does not fall, however, instead it is sucked into the goop, staying there as if the red sludge itself had become solid. You don’t know what this is but… somewhere in you… somewhere, somehow, it feels like you know something.

It’s not something you heard about in a textbook or article, no it’s not something you were taught. This specific event feels… eerily familiar to something you’ve heard, still. A story. Told to you from your father, and to him from a strange man he happened to meet.

It’s a ghost story. A man trapped in amber. It’s not a very common ghost story, but you heard of it. Just once. There was a malfunction on this ship, a jump that went sideways in three different kind of ways. They were pirates, not good men, and they just ran into the worst luck of their life.

On the run from the security of a local system, they caught a few stray rounds in the side of their hull. Busted them and their cargo pretty good. From what you know, the pirates were being chased because they stole a great number of medicines. Expensive stuff. So, when the captain of the ship fell out of FTL, they immediately went to work on their ship. Three men to the hull damages, two to the engines.

>>3603749
Three men reported back an hour later, damages were fixed. Four hours later, still no check in from the two in the engines. Captain told the boys to check on them but what they saw was a mass of liquid that had consumed them. Both of the crewmen had been encased in an amber liquid.

The liquid wasn’t solid, it wasn’t liquid either, but it kept growing and growing. Soon, the captain put a distress beacon on. It took twelve days for them to be found.

They were found encased in amber, the whole ship. Everything.

You take two steps backwards while staring at the ship. The screw moves, and the goo begins to glow again. A deeper crimson red. Like a fire. Burning brightly. Deep within the sludge of moving red mass, you see something shake. A growing dot of black begins to form at the center.

It grows and grows. Like a condensed ball of black and red, it appears miniscule. But before you could stare for too long, it begins to shift. To struggle rapidly. Violently. It seizers and thrashes, growing and growing into a black mass of dripping red sludge.

Your footing fails you as you stumble backwards, trying to escape this black sludge. A booming sound of deep and dark vibrations. Like an earthquake shuffling the very floor beneath you. The black mass trembles.

Around this black mass, things are being pulled into it. Like a being that eats away the very fabric of time itself, it chews into the surrounding structures and continues to grow. And grow. And grow…

It’s Black.

Dark, like a starless night that stretches endlessly before you. Motionless, empty black. Except for Her. Her skin glows with a deep crimson, and calls to you with a familiar voice. She no longer has the black script dashing across her red skin, no, the script on her enchanting form glows a rose gold.

She turns to you, her golden eyes pierce into your very soul. As if they could. She is a star in this black void. A red, golden sun. But you know she too is the black that surrounds you.

“Ah…” the melodic voice answers your arrival. She opens her arms wide, while watching you approach. “My son, I welcome you.”

“Wait…” you hold your hands in front of you, to stop her from getting closer. This is strange… you—you’ve been here before. This. You know this. This is something that you’ve experienced before. Somehow… somewhere… you take a guess, “Marked one?”

“It seems you know,” she says and waves her hands in a sort of somber. As she does so, you kneel down. Not because you wish to, no, it is because of the intense pain. The burning sensation across your body forces you to your knees. It’s as if a thousand knives were carving into your skin.

Millions of black words are etched into your skin, like a flow of water they come.

You try to look up, but it feels as if a weight is pressed into your back. A million bricks press you flat. The pain of your skin, the black lines, the weight…

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>>3603751
Your eyes open wide and sheets stick to your wet body. You’re sweating, heavily. Quickly, your mind jumps to something. You check yourself immediately, looking over your sweat-drenched body to find miniscule lines of black slowly fading away. You look up and scan around the room. It’s Naomi’s. The bed sheets look moved and the bathroom door is closed.

Your breathing is uneven, and your heart feels heavy. This is the strangest version of déjà vu you have ever experienced. Everything felt so… vivid. Everything felt so real it was almost like—

You stop. Your eyes strain as you stare at the bathroom door, listening to the water splash and run as Naomi showers. Faintly, like whispering, you can hear a voice sing. A moment passes, another one, another longer.

The squeak of metal from the bathroom door keeps you glued to it. If you remember correctly… Out comes Naomi while wrapping a towel around her head. She’s wearing the same simple hoodie and that pair of shorts.

“Oh hey, I didn’t know you were awake” She speaks softly as she makes her way to the edge of the bed. You stare at her as she starts putting on her shoes.

“Th… Thank you for… for staying last night,” she stops and stares at you too, “Uh… Sammy? Are you…”

“Huh?” you mindlessly give voice to your own confusion. “Uh… No, I’m… I’m good. I- I think. Um… uh you know I’m jealous? The bed’s really comfy?”

“Huh?” her eyebrow raises, “Pfft, Sammy, how do you think I felt trying to sleep in that chair?”

“I kinda did warn you about that,” you repeat the words you said last time. Trying to remember what you said, “Ain’t like you can go back now. It- It’s not like my bed can exactly fit two people. One-person ship after all.”

“Well,” she smiles then she turns back to her shoes, “Sammy… this bed can. ”

“I…” You pause yourself. This is the same. It wasn’t déjà vu, what was it? What just happened? How… “Hey, Naomi, you look great, uhm, are you… going somewhere?”

“Yeah,” she answers, “I have a few things I want to take care of. Plus, I need to go grocery shopping, the whole take out every night isn’t really sitting well with me…”

The exact same.

>” Hey… have you ever had a weird dream before? I can’t shake the feeling of already talking about this…” you’re, most importantly, confused.
>” What kind of things?” you’re just going to follow your script. You’re going to get up, take a shower, talk to Coraline and make some food, directly after that is… the ship.
>” Hey, if you’re going somewhere, Can I come? I’ll just need to take a shower and I’ll be right out.” Whatever just happened… you’re not sure. Your dreams are just getting stranger and stranger. Ignore it, and go have a day out with Naomi.
>[write-in]

>>3603756
>>” Hey… have you ever had a weird dream before? I can’t shake the feeling of already talking about this…” you’re, most importantly, confused.

and then get back to script if she starts thinking we are crazy

>” What kind of things?” you’re just going to follow your script. You’re going to get up, take a shower, talk to Coraline and make some food, directly after that is… the ship.

>>3603756
>[write-in]

DO THE EXCACT FUGGEN THING
'till we face the anomaly againnn. Plus another coraline breakfast is a; plus

>>3603756

>” Hey… have you ever had a weird dream before? I can’t shake the feeling of already talking about this…” you’re, most importantly, confused.

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>>3603756
It’s a strange feeling, repeating something that’s happened before. Usually when you had déjà vu, it would be gone after a few moments. But this? This is a play by play exact recreation of what you remember. “What kind of things? Not the groceries.”

“Oh, ha ha… very funny Sammy. Of course, I knew you weren’t talking about the groceries…”

“So uh,” you pause, “what kind of things are you going to do?”

“Ohh… right,” she thinks for a moment, “Well, I’m going to go see if I can’t get us some tickets to, like, the auction house. Plus, I should make a call with a few people about some things. Oh, and there’s the one thing about the CV guys I needed to check out. They actually have, like, a headquarters or something on station that I’m going to, like, look around in. Yeah, that and the job interview tomorrow… Oh, and, uh, I should be done around noon if you want to go get lunch or something… I mean, uh…”

“Of course,” you answer, “just name the place and I’ll be there.”

“Okay, then… see you around noon?” she asks, taking off the towel and letting her semi-wet hair drop down.

“Hey uh,” you start, “You ever get those weird dreams? Like uh… like you’re repeating something?”

“Hmm…” she pauses before smiling widely, “Is that why you’re acting all weird?”

“Ah… yeah, kinda. Just been having some really strange dreams lately…”

“Oh, well, I don’t actually remember any of my dreams,” she answers, “so, no, not really. Anyways… Go take a shower. I read somewhere that if you take a cold shower right after a nightmare that the nightmares would go away. Oh and there’s some stuff in the kitchen for some eggs and pancakes if you want. I wasn’t able to cook anything this morning so you’re just going to have to fend for yourself… anyways, uh, see you, Sammy.”

She waves. Door opens; door closes.

You plop down and sink into the bed. You feel exhausted all of a sudden. Cold rather than warm. Tired rather than rested. The bed itself is far too comfortable for you to want to get out of it but you still do. Your thoughts are a mess, you feel like a mess, and most likely you look like a mess too.

Even if it was just a dream, you couldn’t have been really able to know what Naomi was able to say just based on something you had in a dream. That’s just nonsense. The odds are impossible. Entirely too… vivid to just be a dream. Maybe you finally done it.

Maybe you finally went and gone insane.

Maybe not. Even though, the stress is killing you. You sigh as you shuffle your way into the bathroom. Sink, strip, shower. You decide to take Naomi’s advice this time. A cold shower just like old times.

Even if you prepare yourself, you know what’s coming. A blast of winter’s fury feels like ice itself piercing your skin. In one word, the water is frozen. You hate that you decided to do this. Quickly, you turn it to heat and sigh as the feeling of your hands come back.

>>3604105
Finish, dry, put on clothes. You follow what you did from your dream-self. The same steps. You push open the door and see Coraline staring back at you.

“Samuel,” she says in that monotonous voice. She’s in the same position as you remember her to be. Her hand holding up her head as she leans on the table.

“Good morning,” you say, making your way into the kitchen.

“Is it?” she questions, again.

“Is it what?” you ask, again.

“A good morning,” she clarifies, again.

“I think so,” you answer.

“Hm,” she nods before turning away.

“I’m going to make some waffles and eggs, you don’t want a cup of Cal, right?” you turn back from the kitchen counter to look at her. “Ah, yeah, anyways, waffles and eggs. Haven’t had waffles in forever….”

That was a bit out of order, you think as you pull out your ingredients and begin before she answers. I hope she doesn’t— “You are in a good mood.”

“Ah, perfect,” you say out loud, “I mean uhh, yeah Of course I’ll be in a good mood. It’s a great day, uhh…”

She doesn’t reply so you finish following the steps of your previous self. Waffles, eggs, cup of cal. All completed in the same way you made them before. You place them in front of Coraline and nod, “dig in.”

With a mug in one hand and a waffle in the other, you stop by the door to the garage. You pause for a moment before turning around, “Oh right, uh, I’ll be in the garage for a while so just knock on the door. You can ask me anything.”

She nods and pokes the eggs with a fork before you turn away. You stay there for a second longer than you should and wait for the—“Samuel?”

“Yeah?” you turn your head back to her.

She looks at you for a moment before shaking her head, “Nothing, later.”

Alright. you think as you push into the garage. Maybe you changed something on accident… you scarf down the waffle as you quickly make your way down into the garage. Placing the mug on top of the boxes, you turn and face the ship.

Justifiably, you’re nervous. It’s not every day that you remember everything from the moment you wake up to the moment you… might have died. You’re not sure what exactly happened. The red sludge and then… some black hole is what you ad imagined. Then… then that dream. But, from what you know that dream wasn’t the same… at least, not the same as the time… before?
It’s confusing. Far more confusing that trying to just…

You approach the ship, eyes narrowing at the underside of the ship. You blink a few moments. Once, twice. You then place a hand on the underside, feeling it. It’s cold. More importantly… it’s smooth. It’s as if…

Something had changed.

>>3604107
[ O P T I O N S ]

> Continue your inspection of the ship. Strip the bottom and look for that red sludge.
> Maybe at times like these, it’s best to step away from the problem. You’re going to go ahead and do something else. Take a walk? Read a book? Honestly, you’d rather leave the garage in general.
> You’re going to go ahead and talk with Coraline. Get your mind off of the ship and that dream. Honestly, maybe you should cut back on the Cal.
>[write-in]

>>3604109

> Continue your inspection of the ship. Strip the bottom and look for that red sludge.

Just to make sure.

>>3604109
>> Continue your inspection of the ship. Strip the bottom and look for that red sludge.

I bet everything will look in order, maybe a little more red.
It's strange sure, but we don't have time to worry about this, there are so many other things right now, Adam, the kidnappings and such.
After we check it, continue working on our ship, it's been some time we have done any maintenance so let's take our time and check what we can until noon, it's an activity we like and it will help us calm down and take our mind off of things

>>3604109

> Continue your inspection of the ship. Strip the bottom and look for that red sludge.

>>3604125
>>3604143
>>3604460
>three for the curious case of the red sludge

writing!

>>3608114
Nice

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>>3604109
For a moment, you believe that your eyes are playing tricks on you. The smoothness of the underside is just the light hitting it at an angle. It only appears to be flat. If you just get closer and feel it for yourself…

No. It’s completely smooth.

You step back. That ain’t right. You were convinced it was warped just the other day ago. It isn’t like the ship fixed itself, nor were you wrong when you originally looked at it. No… you step back again.

You pause. Maybe you’re just overthinking it. The whole deal with the dream probably shook you up more than you could imagine. It’s not the first time that you experienced something like this though. One of those waking dreams.

You wake up and do something then, suddenly, things get weird and so you just wake up. It’s not an unusual experience, but it feels as if your world is turned upside down. Articles and reports have similar incidents where someone was convinced, they went through their whole day only to go to bed that night to wake up the same morning they just experienced.

You take a breath, breathing in a clearing air before exhaling. It’s just déjà vu or some weird dream that makes you think you had already experienced it. Like when someone has déjà vu mid conversation and starts to feel like they’ve already heard what someone is saying.

Only thing that blows a hole through that theory is the underside of your ship.

It’s smooth. Too smooth. It doesn’t make much sense for it to be smooth if it wasn’t smooth before. That is, unless you had imagined it before and only convinced yourself that the ship had to be fixed. Or, something equally possible, is that you just simply imagined the entire thing. Like when someone wakes up from a dream and have ideas and thoughts from a past they never had.

Something like that, right?

Whatever it is, standing at the sidelines will only feed your curiosity. If it was just something you imagined, then that would be a problem. If it really did fix itself, then that would also be a problem. If it had been something that you only thought was due to the weird dream, then that would be…

You sigh and look around the garage. What you need to do is to just take a look for yourself. There’s nothing really to worry about, it’s just some weird dream. Just some… weird… your thoughts trail off as you eye a useable tool. Making your way you take a hold of it and give it a look-over.

It looks a bit different from what you remember from your dream. Honestly… the dream itself is starting to become fuzzy. Hazy. Unrecognizable. Just like how a dream should be.

>>3608215
Right. Just a dream. you bring the tool to the underbelly of your ship. Honestly, it would be just like you to imagine something weird going on when working on your ship. You can’t count how many times you actually dreamt about your ship. Hell, you worked on this ship for the better parts of your academic life. The entire thing is ingrained within your subconscious mind.

You nod to yourself, agreeing with your own explanation as you behind to take apart the bottom of the ship. Nice and clean. It’s a smooth job, just like every other time. You know pretty much everything about this ship after all.

Lo and behold, you find nothing.

Everything is in the same condition as you remember it to be before you left. Honestly, it looks clean. You would have thought that the month long trip would have at the very least gunk up something. But… nothing.

It looks pristine. Clean. Nice and exactly as you left it and -- most importantly – no red sludge. Just like how it should be.

Your phone rings. Right. The alarm.

> It is now Noon.

[ Some Rapid Fire options, just to get things cleared up. ]

> Call Naomi and ask where she’s at and ask what she’ll want for lunch.
> Surprise her and show up wherever her marker is at.

> Bring Coraline
> Don’t Bring Coraline

> Fancy Clothes
> Normal Clothes

>[write-in] (for any option)

>>3608222

> Call Naomi and ask where she’s at and ask what she’ll want for lunch.

> Don’t Bring Coraline
If she wanted her around she would have accepted our suggestion to bring Coraline along with her.
>clothes: our new suit? We hardly have a chance to wear it, but only use it depending on where she invites us to meet, if its a normal place just wear normal clothes.

>>3608257
+1

>>3608222

> Surprise her and show up wherever her marker is at.


> Don’t Bring Coraline

> Normal Clothes

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>>3608257
>>3608310
>Two for Clean Clothes and Calling

Sorry about the whole not posting for a day as well as posting so late today. I felt like shit for an entire day and today I had to do something important before starting to write. Now I'm done with all that so, without further ado... Writing!

>>3613856
Nice to see you back, I hope things work out for you.

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>>3608222
You jump, pulling your hand, and attention, away from the ship and back to your display. It’s a little bit before noon, just the same time that Naomi said she’ll be finished by. Pocketing the entire series of strange events that just happened, you come back to what’s needed now.

Honestly you didn’t really notice how fast time flew by. Once you get to working on your ship, it just feels like you could sit there for an eternity. You just lose yourself in your work.

Taking your display, you scroll through it and turn off the alarm. Naomi should be done, at least that’s what she told you. Right now, you’re kind of just wondering where she’ll take you to.

Talking about going places… you think while inspecting yourself. Your hands are not as dirty as you’d expect from working on the ship so you’re clean on that end. Your clothes, however, wearing the same clothes for two days is a bit… especially if you’ve been sweating or working.

You look to your ship’s inventory laying atop your bed. Bags and boxes, crates and cases, everything that you had brought with you. You’re not sure exactly what all your father packed, but the big items are the EVA suit, his old business suit, and those crates of produce you sold back in Milo. Most of your clothes aren’t really…

You eventually land on the suit you had bought a few days prior. It’s not something you had been able to wear for very long, but it really is something you like. It’s clean, sleek, very modern. Makes you feel like someone important. It’s an obvious choice, even though it might be a bit over dressed for some lunch. Plus, Naomi helped you pick it out. Feels just right.

Last night has been stuck in your head for a while. Not just because of the whole volunteer nonsense or the strange dream, but because of just being with Naomi. Your thoughts drift from there and when they return you had already put on your suit.

Naomi… You think while scrolling through your display. The clock at the top of your display says [12:03], Just about time… You press the contact and let the display ring.

“Sammy? --Oh wow, don’t you just look fancy…” She answers nearly immediately, “I was just heading back, but if you want, we could just meet up somewhere.”

“Ah, right, I thought that’s what you meant,” you reply, “didn’t know you’d be coming back.”

“Oh, yeah alright, well that’s just fine,” she says with a nod, “I’ll send you where we’re going. It’s not too far from Ryo’s house,” you watch as she taps the screen and a moment later a blip appears on your own, “It’s a little place called ‘Rio’s Rasta Pasta’ and from what I know, it’s a pretty nice place. Has some spicy seafood and pasta and stuff, you might like it.”

>>3614013
“Sounds kinda good, honestly.”

“Doesn’t it? I’ll meet you there then. Say… twenty minutes or so? Probably sooner.”

“Wait a sec, how far are you? Thought you’d be just right around the corner, no?”

“Yeah, well… I’m about halfway across the station so I’ll have to catch a train on my way over, plus the whole lunch hour… anyways, can you get us a table? I’ll be right there so you can order before me if you want.”

“Alright…” you say, looking around the garage for a moment before returning to the display, “Rio’s Rasta Pasta, right?”

“Right.”

“Meet you there then,” you say and then the call ends just like that. Simple. You nod to yourself, right, well… time to get going I guess. Rio’s Rasta Pasta looks like a five-minute walk from where you are so it’s not too bad. It’s in the same market square as the diner that preacher took you to.

Pocketing the display, you push open the door. Coraline’s sitting on the couch and the plate from breakfast sits empty on the table—right by the three black cases.

>Bring your gun. (optionally you can also bring Naomi’s)
>Don’t bring your gun.

>” Hey, going out for a bit. Call me if you need anything.” You’re not dragging Coraline along with you anyways. She should be fine here alone.
>” Getting lunch with Naomi. I can bring you back something if you’re hungry.” Might as well be polite and ask if she wanted something. It would be rude to forget about her entirely.
>” Call Ryo while I’m out and ask him to take a look at my ship. I’ll pay him, just feel like I need a second pair of eyes on that.” Might as well task Coraline on something while you’re out. She seems bored most of the time.
>Say nothing and just continue on your merry little way.
>[write in]

>>3614016
Oh yeah, and to clarify.

The GH91 comes with a harness you can put on your person to carry it. You're not going to just walk around with two black cases.

>>3614016

>Bring your gun. (optionally you can also bring Naomi’s)
Only ours.

>” Hey, going out for a bit. Call me if you need anything.” You’re not dragging Coraline along with you anyways. She should be fine here alone.

>>3614016
>>Bring your gun.
>” Getting lunch with Naomi. I can bring you back something if you’re hungry.” Might as well be polite and ask if she wanted something. It would be rude to forget about her entirely.

I'm not planning to come back after lunch but we can ask Naomi to bring her something, or we can ask them to deliver here if she is not coming back either, no reason not to offer

>>3614084
That can work too, I wanted to give her some vote of confidence and see if she would not starve herself but I'm not sure if she can handle ordering food or cooking.

>>3614084
>>3614241
>two for guns and golden shrimp

writing!

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>>3614016
Eyes dot between the table and Coraline. She’s just about as she always is. She doesn’t turn either, too invested in whatever show she’s watching. Approaching the table, you see the remains of what you served for breakfast as well as the mess below it.

Off-yellow colored folders act as a tablecloth while three black cases sit atop. You had bought them yesterday. Everything from yesterday felt… well it feels about as real as the dream you woke from – Fuzzy, hazy, distant.

Almost as if it had never happened at all.

Reality, however, is different. It’s not as quiet as memories are, nor is it as distant as anyone would wish it to be. Those mat black cases carry tools – instruments – for what will come. A line of protection between you and the unknown. Between you and those like the preacher.

Unlocking the case to your gun returns you with a crisp plastic click. You lift the top. It’s sitting there, watching you with those dead, black letters. GH91. It lies in the bed of black foam but as you pick it up, the cold metal smiles brightly under the light. A black mat coats the surface of the—of your gun.

Underneath the foam is a product manual as well as some additional accessories. A Harness. It’s supposed to be worn around your hip, like in those western films or police dramas you used to admire -- Bloodhounds in Noir. You tuck away the idea of watching some for later as you remove your suit jacket and put the harness on.

Surprisingly, it’s comfortable.

You had always thought that something like this would dig into your side but… you guess that the discomfort when wearing something like this isn’t a physical one. The jacket fits right over it, sticks out about as much as a strapping a knife to your chest but it’s not like that matters much.

You’ve seen a few others carry a weapon with them, you shouldn’t stick out too much. Running your hands through your hair, you sigh and make your way to the door. “Samuel.”

“Yeah?” you call back half-mindedly, “Oh right, hey Coraline I’m gunna be out for a while. Getting lunch. So, if you want anything, I can order it for you. I’m not sure if I’ll be coming back right after but I’d see if—”

You mumble. Your mind is off somewhere else but Coraline calls you back, “Samuel.”

“Yeah?”

“Not hungry,” she says, turning away.

“Right, uhh, well,” you reply, pushing the door open, “See you later. Oh, and uh, don’t touch the ship. Anyways, I’ll be back later.”

The door closes behind you as you step out onto the street. The station corridors wind endlessly in a maze of metallic tunnels. Ryo’s front door leads out to a community area, a small garden and courtyard that attaches itself to a larger corridor. You pull out your display and wave away the idle cigarette smoke from nearby tenants.

>>3616280
Rio’s Rasta Pasta, a mile and a half off in the direction towards where the dinner preacher took you to. Though your thoughts drift to darker territory, it returns to reality after realizing you’ve been staring at the screen for a solid minute. You sigh and tuck away the display. Shouldn’t worry too much.

Stepping off, you make your way through the noon rush hour crowd. Slipping through a few crowds, you stop by a small stand in the corner of a crossroads. The red robed cultists are not to be seen around. Preacher said it was his job. Guess he’s getting paid then and off the station he goes.

In a day? Sounds like a professional.

You sigh and look towards a bright green neon sign in the distance. Rio’s Rasta Pasta. What a mix of cuisine if you had ever known one. Pushing past a talkative wife on the phone and a noisy child, you enter the restaurant.

“Welcome,” a girl dressed in black greets you from behind a podium.

“Table for two,” you reply with raised fingers.

“Missus running late or is it a business event,” she laughs quietly before taking out two menus and waving you to follow her, “right this way. Booth? Table? …Bar?”

“Booth, please.”

“Booth it is,” she says, making her way past a few empty tables and chairs. It’s less… lively as you had imagined a place Naomi would recommend. Almost feels as if the place is a bit dead. She leaves and a busboy replaces her soon after. Two glasses of water occupy the table while you look through the menu.

“My name is Billy and I’ll be your server for today,” he says while taking out a notepad from his black apron, “what can I start you off with?”

“I’ll…” your eyes glaze over as you stare at the menu. Most of it looks to be spicy or a mixture of strange words you’ve never heard of, “On second thought, I’ll wait till my friend gets here.”

“Alright, no worries,” he says, putting away the notepad, “just call for me when you’re ready.”

He leaves and soon… Naomi replaces him. Her, now dry, pink hair is tied up at the back but everything else seems to be the same as when she left. “Hey Sammy,” she calls.

“Hey,” you answer. She sits down and immediately opens the menu.

“Did you order? I read the online reviews on my way here. Thought it seemed nice—oh, that looks good… what’s that, uhhh, chicken alfredo with shrimp. It says it’s spicy too,” she rambles off what she reads, “I think I might get that. It looks so good. Honestly, I’m starving… oh my god I’m starving. Did you have breakfast or anything? I went to a small little café and had a muffin. It wasn’t that good, if I say so myself… oh, look at this—”

>>3616282
She puts down her menu and pushes it toward you. Seafood platter. Her finger sits on the name while she reads it off to you. “Catfish, lobster, shrimp, hushpuppies, oh and look at this, it comes with some pasta too. You know what, let’s get this and split it. It serves like a family of four. Honestly, I could eat the whole thing,” she pauses and looks up to you, “what?”

“Oh, uh, nothing,” you say, “that looks good. Let’s get that.”

Her hand immediately shoots into the air before she turns back to you and whispers, “what’s the waiter’s name?”

“Billy.”

“Billy!” she calls out across the floor while waving her hand in the air before looking back to you, “oh and you look nice. You like the suit? It looks really good on you.”

“Thanks,” you say and then lean into a whisper, “didn’t happen to have any cal by any chance, right?”

“What? Why?” she questions.

“Oh nothing, just seem uhh…”

“Whaaat?”

“Just seem a bit all over the place,” you answer.

“Nope, just hungry,” she says before turning away to see Billy standing beside the table. “Oh! You scared me!”

“Uh, sorry,” he says, “uhm, you called? Are… you ready to order?”

“Seafood platter please!” she says while handing the menus off with both hands.

“Alright, no problem,” he pens it down before taking the menus away, “We’ll get that right out to you.”

“Thanks, Billy,” Naomi says with a smile. He just nods before taking his leave.

>” So… what all did you do this morning? Said you got tickets?” Ask her how her days been going.
>” You know, always eating out isn’t healthy. Thought you said you’ll get some groceries?” small talk. Nothing heavy. Besides, it’s just lunch.
>” Been having the weirdest day today. Like, I don’t know, an extended déjà vu or something.” Bring up your dreams. Might as well since it’s kind of strange day.
>” About the girls…” straight to business. “We’ll find them. I’ll talk to Prince and we’ll set something up. The whole Sumi volunteering… it’s not your fault.”
>” You know, one of the last lunches we had together was uh… oh what ever happened to the guy with white hair?” bring up the other day. Talk about the white-haired guy and Abigaille. Might as well try to get something about them. You’re kind of worried about Abigaille too.
>[write-in]

>>3616288
>” Been having the weirdest day today. Like, I don’t know, an extended déjà vu or something.” Bring up your dreams. Might as well since it’s kind of strange day.

>>3616288
ok
let's start with our day
>” Been having the weirdest day today. Like, I don’t know, an extended déjà vu or something.” Bring up your dreams. Might as well since it’s kind of strange day.

that will lead to asking about hers

>” So… what all did you do this morning? Said you got tickets?” Ask her how her days been going.

and with luck we can push some info out

>” You know, one of the last lunches we had together was uh… oh what ever happened to the guy with white hair?” bring up the other day. Talk about the white-haired guy and Abigaille. Might as well try to get something about them. You’re kind of worried about Abigaille too.

>>3616353
This but with

>” About the girls…” straight to business. “We’ll find them. I’ll talk to Prince and we’ll set something up. The whole Sumi volunteering… it’s not your fault.”
At the end instead.

>>3616311
>>3616353
>>3616423
>three for starting the show

Writing!

>>3616469
I wonder if she has strange dreams too since she was in the ship with us when the weird thing happened

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>>3616288
She turns back to you with a beaming smile and closed eyes. You wonder what put her in such a mood as the two of you sit for a second longer than necessary. “So,” you start, “Yeah… my day’s been weird. Whole day.”

“Oh really?” she asks, “My day’s been great. Think Tuesday will be great and then on it’s just smooth sailing. But, uh, before that… what happened to you? Weird day? How?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Woke up weird, really. Just kind of déjà vu for most of the morning,” you answer.

“Really?” she repeats again, “Déjà vu? Yeah, I get that sometimes. You know, one time I had it and it was like I had a whole conversation with someone. I even guessed what they’d say before they said it, pretty creepy.”

“You did? What did they say?”

“Well they laughed.”

“Wait, why?”

“I guessed the wrong thing.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…” she trails off, looking to the waiter as he brings the food. Billy, the waiter, has both his arms full as he carries a bucket sized thing filled to the brim with, well, seafood. “Oh, that looks good!”

“And here you are…” Billy says as he places the metal bowl thing on top of the table. Lobster, shrimp, crab, various fish, and several different sides fill the bucket. No wonder why Billy looked to be struggling while trying to hoist this monster to your table. Though, it does look good. Some of the food is fried, and there’s several dipping sauces to try. It looks more like a sampler of everything in the kitchen. “Would you like anything else?”

“Oh no—”

“Yeah, actually, can I have your dessert menu?” she cuts you off without looking away from the platter.

“Of course,” Billy says and walks off only to return seconds later with another menu. “Anything else?”

“Oh no, I think this is plenty. Thank you so much!” Naomi says while in the middle of grabbing a crab leg and rice. Billy bows out and leaves the two of you alone again. “So, weird day?”

“Oh, yeah,” you answer, taking a plate full of fried catfish, “right right. Been having weird dreams then the day just kind of bled into it. You know? Just like uhh…” you trail off, “like a uh, waking dream, I guess. Ever have one of those? Where you wake up in a dream but you’re still in a dream?”

“Uhh,” she thinks while taking in a mouthful of crab meat. Chews. Swallows, “Like a lucid dream?”

“Lucid? Ah, no, ehhh, not really,” you answer, “Ain’t like I knew I was in a dream or nothing.”

“Ah…” she mumbles, “So? Oh, a uh… hm… I don’t know. I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I dreamt. Hmm, well, I think I had a nightmare a few weeks ago but that was it.”

“A nightmare?” you question, half busy burring yourself into the pile of catfish.

“Yeah,,,” she trails off, “I don’t remember it though. Just kind of woke up…”

>>3616609
“Ah,” you say, “You know, I didn’t know I was this hungry. Man, completely forgot about dinner last night.”

“Oh me too,” she replies while half-listening. The conversation dies down as the two of you start putting away some more food. Already you finished a catfish and a hushpuppy while Naomi has been trying to finish the two crab legs she picked out.

“So, what about you?” you begin.

“Oh yeah, this is delicious,” she answers, not looking up from her food.

“No, I meant the day, what’d you do?” you ask, grabbing her attention away from the plate, “Said you’d be getting a few things, yeah?”

“Oh, ha, yeah yeah,” she says, wiping her hands on a napkin, “So, the tickets,” she fishes in her hoodie’s pocket and brings out two pristine white tickets with gold detailing, “I was able to get them from a friend.”

“Really?” you ask, “for Tuesday, right?”

“Yeah,” she answers, “The auction on Tuesday. Like I said, after this, we’ll be smooth sailing. I heard of a few people showing up there… tomorrow, Monday, we’ll be going dress shopping so we can look all shiny when we go.”

“Dress shopping? Why not today?”

“Busy,” she answers plainly, “And,” she pauses and leans in to whisper, “CV, that headquarters I told you about, looks just like in the pictures. I found the camera Moreh took the pictures from too. Sumi was there.”

“Really, that’s where they were held? So, they got some kind of ship then, right? For transport, if we can find where they’re going then…” So that must be the reason why she’s in a good mood, you think. “Oh wait, how’d you get in?”

She puts a finger over her lips, “shhh… besides, a girls got her secrets, right?”

“Right…” you say, putting a mouthful of catfish in. “Oh,” you swallow, “ahem, right, so auction house…”

“What about it?”

“Well, last time we had lunch was like when we went to that auction, yeah?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know, just thought it was funny, you know?” you say half-eating your food.

“Yeah, now that you brought it up…” she pauses while looking up, “you’re right. That’s kind of a coincidence isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” you trail off before another thought hits you, “before that, though… what ever happened to that white-haired dude?”

“Who?”

“The one you met before we went to the auction house place.”

“Cyrus?” she asks.

“Cyrus?” you repeat.

“Yeah, no,” she waves it away as she drinks from her glass of water, “no, he’s a working friend of mine. Just uhh, had something to talk to him about.”

“With Abigaille calling before you ran off then the whole… you know I’m kinda worried about that girl. I haven’t heard from her in a while, even told me to not call.”

>>3616611
“Well…” she trails off before looking up at you again, narrowing her eyes, “oh, so you’re admitting you care for other girls in front of your own wife? Sammy, gosh, you know, I just can’t believe the nerve of you,” she gives a light laugh, “Well, I talked to him about her. Abigaille won’t be able to answer calls because she’s in hiding.”

“Hiding? Your friend—uh, Cyrus or whatever, he’s put her in hiding?”

“Yeah,” she answers before going quiet, “Well, anyway, nothing you need to worry about.”

“Right…” you say slowly. More secrets. The talk nears its end. The two of you had already filled your stomachs with plenty left over. At least enough to fill two more plates. It’s quiet again. The smell of good food and the soft sound of distant chatter makes its way over to your table. “About the girls…”

She’s buried in her display before jolting back to you, “Oh no, hey, Sammy, I’ll pay but I need to go. Talk to you later, okay?

“Ah, right…” you say, “oh wait,” you stop her from getting up, “can you bring this to the house?”

“The food?”

“Yeah. For Coraline.”

“That’s fine, sure,” she says, “I shouldn’t be gone for… wait, where are you going to go?”

“I wanted to do a few things today,” you answer.

“Is that why you…” she points down to the gun strapped to your hip.

“No… uh, well, not really,” you answer.

“Right, well, I’ll go get the rest for take out, see you Sammy,” with that Naomi, and the food, leaves. You stretch before standing up. Right, well, what to do next.

> Adam’s House. You’ve been planning to make a visit to there for a while. It’s about time you go and take a look for yourself.
> Go to the Bar that was described in your Job files. Might as well scout out the place.
> Call Prince, ask to make a meeting with him and hash things out.
>[write-in]

>>3616615

> Adam’s House. You’ve been planning to make a visit to there for a while. It’s about time you go and take a look for yourself.

>>3616615

> Adam’s House. You’ve been planning to make a visit to there for a while. It’s about time you go and take a look for yourself.

>>3616615

> Go to the Bar that was described in your Job files. Might as well scout out the place.

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>>3616615
Your thumb hovers over the display screen as information slides across. It’s only a little past noon so you still have most of the day at your expense. It feels longer than just one day, though. If anything, it feels as if the few days you’ve been on the Station here have bled together.

In any case, you’re probably still getting out of that morning haze. This one being strangely longer than most. The brass bells chime as you push past. Rasta Pasta, it’s certainly somewhere you’d like to come back to. The food there was good…

Ah… you do feel bad for forcing the delivery onto Naomi. It’s just that you’ve been putting something off for a while. Originally, you were following the advice of Abigaille. To stay away for some time, away from Adam’s house.

There are just too many questions and too many reasons to go, most of them outweigh the risk. You’re basically family, in fact, you were to inherit the place after he left. That was the plan.

The display glows under your palm as you flick through the map. It’s not too far, but you’re not going to be going back home for a while. Adam lived in a smaller place near an office quarter, some of the more expensive residential zones. The same offices you were to work at. That, too, was the plan, yet…

So many plans have been shattered.

The crowds have died down as you begin to snake your way through them. The train station isn’t too far ahead… but you do wonder. Adam and the girls. It would be strange if he was killed and he didn’t know anything. He must have known something, or they wouldn’t have done anything. You doubt anyone is so reckless as to kill someone just for an open position.

From that spawns more questions. Adam’s involvement, his level of knowledge, his reasoning for not saying anything… Even then…

Two train rides, three hours.

The offices aren’t visible like towers would be, yet this district still manages to remain menacing. Sculptures and impressive architecture form the bulk of what the pedestrians see. You suppose most of it has to do with trying to make it wide enough for the traffic too. It’s not like you’re certified for it, most of what you know remains with the smaller, more minute details. Nothing like this.

Men and women dressed in formal suits and dresses march on the streets. Each paired with a display pressed against their cheek or a transmitter in their ear. Except for the gun strapped to your hip, you might fit in. Naomi said she’ll get a job soon, but you wonder where. Some secretary position probably… somewhere like here.

You sigh. Most of what you’ve known about this… you suppose you can call it a case, comes from Naomi. The missing girls, Baker, Arcady… even the connection to Moreh is from her. It’s not like you don’t trust her but she obviously doesn’t… or… didn’t trust you. It’s…

>>3628239
The map stops blinking. The number, name, and information sit at the right side of the door. Tennent. It’s the place where he lived for years. There’s no yellow police tape and no obvious signs that bar entry… you press against the door. For a moment, it doesn’t budge but a second longer and you hear a metallic click. The lock.

Most houses have systems embedded in them to identify who is and isn’t allowed to enter. This is one of them. Adam must have added you before he left and whoever came after him never changed it. That’s what you had imagined would have happened, so it doesn’t surprise you when the rest of the door glides open.

You stand there in the doorway. The light of the walkway beams in, creating a harsh shadow in your form. The indoor lights flicker, once, twice, and then turns on. It feels old; much like Adam.

Your first step greets you with a smell of dust. The sort of smell that reminds you no one lives here. Abigaille said it was on sale. Seems like it still is. Brown cardboard boxes sit to the sides of the entrance but further in it looks to clear up. You close the door behind you and press forward.

Adam was a spartan man, but this is beyond what you had imagined. Seems like what Abigaille said about the security was true, the place looks picked clean. Though, clean wouldn’t be a word to describe it. More like it’s as if a burglar came in for anything valuable. The place is a mess.

A box lies on its side near the couch with its contents spilled. Mementos. Picture frames, awards, and other items spill onto the living room floor. Bending over, you pick up one of the awards, a small statue, “Forty years of service to Arcady Pharmaceuticals… yeah… a lotta good that did.”

You push the box back upright and begin filling it back up, replacing the contents. Old pictures of people you’ve never heard of, places you’ve never seen, things you’ve never witnessed. Your hands stop.

It’s an old military picture. You stare at the picture since you don’t recall any war stories from Adam. Five men stare back at you through the glass. You recognize the man off to the side as Adam, he looks the same, but the others aren’t people you know. A Medic, a rifleman, a man with a large communications array strapped to his back… Adam, however… he looks like he’s just barely twenty. Still trying to grow a beard.

You wonder what kind of things he did while in the military. These guys must have been his squad mates. You’re not too familiar with the structure so you would probably guess they were some kind of regular squad. Five men makes sense.

>>3628241
The man beside him, wait… he looks somewhat familiar. Fair hair and blue eyes along with strong features make him look like your father, but of course he couldn’t be. Looking closely, he’d have to be the same age as Adam so, really, it could only really be, well, your grandfather.

That makes sense. You never really knew how your dad met Adam since Adam has been around since you could talk. Adam has always been around. The three left… each of them look like interesting people. The one with the communications radio looks like a real lady killer with his fair hair while the man standing in the center looks about as imposing as a stone wall. Well, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have any pictures of Adam left with you and you’ve never met your grandfather.

You flip it around and unhook the latches. The back compartment slides off, revealing handwritten letters. Large letters scroll the top of the picture, announcing the rest of the signatures.

[[/bl] 575th Company HQ Unit
Cpt. Willard Ward
Lt. Adam Tennent
2Lt. Dr. Joshua Baker.
2Lt. Weston Ryen
1SG Ross Locke]

____________________________________________________________________

This is the end of Episode 10 for For Hire.

I hate these short threads. I also deeply apologize for the lack of activity on my end. No real excuse other than situational and just general bullshit. I do hope you all enjoyed it so far and stick with me once we get into Episode 11. I’m thinking of having it be a continuation, as in Episode 10 part 2 or Episode 11 – Walls of Jericho part 2. I’m unsure yet. Either way, thank you for reading.

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>>3628243
wow, that pic

No wonder the girl wouldn't trust us, our familly and uncle are directly involved with everyone that is a suspect on this, fuck.

also
>Company HQ
it's the paramilitary arm of Arcady, imagine the shit they did