Categories > Original > Sci-Fi > Endless Ocean
Kail slept in his pilot chair as usual, feet propped up on the console and reclined back. His arms fell to his sides and his mouth hung open. Grig watched this and contemplated dropping a bit of spice down his throat for humor. A loud, rapid beeping sound jolted Kail from his slumber, his feet flailing high in the air as he almost rolled from the chair. He regained his balance and looked to the screen before him, rubbing his eyes. "Incoming Transmission" said a computerized voice and sure enough the words blinked on the screen. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and yawned as he flipped a switch. A holographic screen blinked into existence in mid-air before Kail's face. A moment later the screen brightened, showing a young man with unremarkable features and short brown hair. Kail would almost have called him a boy. "What do ya want?" he asked. He wasn't much of a 'rise-and-shine' person. The young man was taken aback by his tone but relaxed a moment later. "Well, that was a rude greeting. Nevermind that. I have a job for you Kail Veilwarren" the boy responded in a somewhat regal, upper-class voice. Kail watched him for a moment, already starting to dislike the man. He had a real problem with upper-class people because they always thought themselves better than everyone else. And they approached people like himself like he were scum. "Better not ask me to kill someone, we don't do that" Kail said with a little annoyance in his tone. The man looked at him oddly. "Why would I do that? No this is a simple salvage mission. I want you to go to the Lyam system. A derelict ship was seen there and I want it. Bring it to the port of the nearest station and contact me on this frequency. I will pay you two million Sylph when I aquire the ship" the man continued. At the some of currency stated, Kail suddenly sat much more at attention. "Hah, two million?! Are you serious?! We're there!" he said, laughing happily. That amount of money could buy alot of upgrades for the ship, drinks and women all at the same time with still enough left over to live like upper-class for a month or two at least. The man in the screen smiled and nodded. "Glad to hear it. Until we next meet" the man said before cutting the transmission. The screen blinked out of existence shortly after.
"Holy shit! Did you hear that?! Two MILLION" Kail shouted with joy as he leapt up from the chair. He stayed standing as he punched in the coordinates for the Lyam system. He recieved a data file containing the specs of the ship he was to find. The ship was fairly large, massive in fact. Not a dreadnaught class but matching the simple size of one. "Wow...how the hell're we gonna get that thing anywhere?" he asked himself. Grig sighed next to him heavily. "Cap'n, you didn' even ask who he was or why he was willing to pay so much" the Korian pointed out. Kail grinned to him. "I wouldn't have cared, for two million" the red-headed pirate answered simply. Grig sighed once more and stood, heading for the back of the ship. "I smell trouble...s'all I'm sayin'" he iterated just before he left. Kail's eyes gleamed at the monitor as the Lyam system displayed itself. A thought crossed his mind and he grinned. "Hey Grig, we're gonna head to a station first and hire a new crewman, at least temporarily! We need an onboard mechanic anyway! We could fix up whatever is wrong with the ship and pilot it back!" he called to the back of the ship. A grumble was the only reply he got. Grig's grumpy mood didn't dampen Kail's in the least. The ship auto-piloted towards their destination as Kail went to his bunk and crashed onto his bed, sprawled out. "Arrived At Destination" said a disembodied voice, waking Kail from his slumber. Kail leaped out of bed faster than he had in months. "Finally!" he shouted as he ran to the bridge. Grig shook his head slowly, already sitting in his chair. "You're like a child" he said simply. Kail shrugged, not arguing. "At Christmas my good man" he responded as he flipped a few switches and requested docking permission. When he was cleared he brought the ship into the docking bay of the space station orbiting the ocean planet Lyra. It looked much similar to the last station they were on. And just like the one before that. Exactly what Kail hated about space stations. No imagination did these people have. Only the specialty stations had any sort of pizazz. Docking arms reached out and latched onto Kail's ship and held it in place. "Now let's find us a new guy" he said excitedly.
Kail and Grig exited the ship. They left most of their usual weaponry behind. This station very rarely ever had any real problems as it was mostly a tourist destination. People like to stay here on vacation and fly to the artificial beaches on the beautiful ocean planet. The dock master, AKA Warden of the Dock, came to him and spoke quickly in chinese. Grig scouted the area with his eyes as always while Kail responded in the same language. Kail smacked him on the shoulder. "Come on big guy, we're parking cheap so let's take some time to find someone" he told him. Grig grunted slightly and nodded his head, heading off down the ramp. They headed for the best place to start looking for help, the bar. After asking for around for a good place for a drink, they were directed to a tavern called The Crooked Hull. The pair headed for their destination, told they couldn't miss it. Sure enough, they turned a corner and a massive neon sign depicting a ship with a star cruiser with a crooked hull and the place's name lit up brightly stared them in the face. It flashed different colors constantly, touching every bit of the light spectrum. It interested many how despite all the technology some places remained barely changed by time. Kail was grinning while Grig sighed heavily at his side. The Korian seemed to think things would not end well. The two made their way through the entrance and took in their surroundings. The Crooked Hull was dimly lit, the main source of light being black-lights hanging from the ceiling. The center was a large slab of raised floor, for dancing Kail assumed. Tables littered the area around the dance floor. The entire back wall was the bar, almost all the stools occupied at this time. Booths lined the remaining wallspace. All in all Kail thought the place was quite nice. I slow, heavily bassed techno song filled the air loudly. Though not loud enough to effect hearing too much. Kail smiled and headed for the bar, ordering a couple of drinks and taking a seat. At first he began small talk with everyone he met, chatting and acting friendly. Every now and then he would ask about mechanics or other space-faring types that would want a job.
Kail found himself a starting to get a little wobbly a few hours later, and still had no new crew members. He sighed, taking a long drink from his mug. A commotion off to the side, near the end of the bar, caught his shaky attention. He stood to see what the yelling was about. A small girl, maybe a woman he couldn't tell from this far, sat alone while a pair of men seemed to be hassling her. The girl sat there, paying the two no attention and just simply drank her alcohol silently. Kail couldn't make out her expression through the darkness but he could practically feel her anger at the two morons. One of the men suddenly reached for her wrist and yanked her up from the stool. It was clear they were both drunk. Kail was out of his seat and on his way to stop them when the girl suddenly ducked under the man's arm, moving to his back and taking the hand that gripped her with. She grabbed his wrist and pressed up. "Have a drink!" she shouted as she jumped and grabbed the back of his hand and slammed his face straight down on top of her glass mug she had just been drinking from. The glass shattered and the man jumped away and fell to the floor, clutching his face with both hands. Blood seeped through his fingers as the shards of glass cut his skin painfully. The man's friend suddenly swung at the girl in anger. She ducked and leapt, kicking out at his face. The large man caught her leg easily and intended on pulling her to him for a better grip. She, however, used the momentum of his yanking her and planted her heel under his nose with a cartilidge crunching kick. His grip loosened on her ankle and she used the force of her kick to propel her body around in a backflip to land neatly on her feet. The man stumbled, blinded by splattered blood from his nose and from pain. "Oooo...I like her" Kail said, grinning as he straightened himself and made his way to her. "Hey, I love your handy work" he said as he approached the girl. At closer inspection he got a clearer look at the young woman. She had short, bright red hair that reached just to her jawline that didn't appear to be used to much special attention. He couldn't tell the color of her eyes but they were fairly large, innocent looking eyes. She had a type of gaze that meant she wouldn't be taking any more shit from anyone tonight. She wore a baggy, white long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows and a pair of baggy black pants with overall straps handing down around her legs. She stood about five inches shorter than Kail himself.
At his words, the girl turned to glare at Kail. Grig stood to go retrieve Kail before he got himself into trouble. "Whoa whoa, don't kill me or anything haha. I love how you kicked the shit out of those guys. I've been looking for someone just like you. Come have a drink with me, I'd like to discuss a future together" he said quickly. It wasn't until after he said those words that he realized what they sounded like. He tilted his head to the side to dodge a quick punch she launched at his face. "Whoa! Sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" he shouted as he jumped back. "Gah, I'm tired of all you drunks always bothering me!! I'm not interested in getting picked up by some loser drowning your problems in a drink!!" She shouted in anger as she launched another assault on the pirate. The red-headed rogue jumped back, bobbing and weaving away from punches and kicks. "Hey, you got it all wrong! You're a mechanic aren't you? You're dressed like one and if you are, I wanna hire you!" he shouted over the music and the crowd chanting for them to fight. He saw her hesiation but the punch was already thrown. Just then, Kail backed into another person and turned to see who it was. Unfortunately he turned into the punch and found out that for someone so small, she hit harder than most guys he's fought. His head reeled and he headed for the floor. He was wobbly enough with the drinking, but that punch made standing too much of a chore. He landed on his hands and knees. "Ow...what the hell was that?! I just said I wasn't hitting on you!! Trust me, I wanted to and if I was going to you'd know it, WOMAN!" he shouted as he jumped up. The eyes he met however weren't the firey ones from a moment before but ones of apology. Talk about bipolar. "Oh my, I'm so sorry! I assumed you were with those other two! Are you ok? Can I help?" she asked him quickly, helping him back to Grig, who seemed to be motioning for the two of them. "Once again, do ya ever go somewhere w'out making people want to kill ya" Grig asked. The girl looked to the large Korian and bobbed her head in a quick 'hello'. Grig returned the favor and looked to Kail who still seemed a bit dazed. "Well, I'm Kira. What's this job you wanted to talk about?" she asked. Kail gripped his head tightly and shook his head for a moment. "Please wait until my brain STOPS rattling" he said sarcastically before sitting up, grinning. "Ok well basically we want another crew member aboard my ship. A mechanic sounded like a good idea. Grig here and myself are good with machines but we're no specialists. Just so you know, we're basically a pirate vessel. So what do ya say?" Kail asked over the music. The girl smiled and nodded. "I'll do it. Always wanted to be a space pirate. And your name is?" she responded. "Kail Veilwarren, and welcome aboard"
To Be Continued...
"Holy shit! Did you hear that?! Two MILLION" Kail shouted with joy as he leapt up from the chair. He stayed standing as he punched in the coordinates for the Lyam system. He recieved a data file containing the specs of the ship he was to find. The ship was fairly large, massive in fact. Not a dreadnaught class but matching the simple size of one. "Wow...how the hell're we gonna get that thing anywhere?" he asked himself. Grig sighed next to him heavily. "Cap'n, you didn' even ask who he was or why he was willing to pay so much" the Korian pointed out. Kail grinned to him. "I wouldn't have cared, for two million" the red-headed pirate answered simply. Grig sighed once more and stood, heading for the back of the ship. "I smell trouble...s'all I'm sayin'" he iterated just before he left. Kail's eyes gleamed at the monitor as the Lyam system displayed itself. A thought crossed his mind and he grinned. "Hey Grig, we're gonna head to a station first and hire a new crewman, at least temporarily! We need an onboard mechanic anyway! We could fix up whatever is wrong with the ship and pilot it back!" he called to the back of the ship. A grumble was the only reply he got. Grig's grumpy mood didn't dampen Kail's in the least. The ship auto-piloted towards their destination as Kail went to his bunk and crashed onto his bed, sprawled out. "Arrived At Destination" said a disembodied voice, waking Kail from his slumber. Kail leaped out of bed faster than he had in months. "Finally!" he shouted as he ran to the bridge. Grig shook his head slowly, already sitting in his chair. "You're like a child" he said simply. Kail shrugged, not arguing. "At Christmas my good man" he responded as he flipped a few switches and requested docking permission. When he was cleared he brought the ship into the docking bay of the space station orbiting the ocean planet Lyra. It looked much similar to the last station they were on. And just like the one before that. Exactly what Kail hated about space stations. No imagination did these people have. Only the specialty stations had any sort of pizazz. Docking arms reached out and latched onto Kail's ship and held it in place. "Now let's find us a new guy" he said excitedly.
Kail and Grig exited the ship. They left most of their usual weaponry behind. This station very rarely ever had any real problems as it was mostly a tourist destination. People like to stay here on vacation and fly to the artificial beaches on the beautiful ocean planet. The dock master, AKA Warden of the Dock, came to him and spoke quickly in chinese. Grig scouted the area with his eyes as always while Kail responded in the same language. Kail smacked him on the shoulder. "Come on big guy, we're parking cheap so let's take some time to find someone" he told him. Grig grunted slightly and nodded his head, heading off down the ramp. They headed for the best place to start looking for help, the bar. After asking for around for a good place for a drink, they were directed to a tavern called The Crooked Hull. The pair headed for their destination, told they couldn't miss it. Sure enough, they turned a corner and a massive neon sign depicting a ship with a star cruiser with a crooked hull and the place's name lit up brightly stared them in the face. It flashed different colors constantly, touching every bit of the light spectrum. It interested many how despite all the technology some places remained barely changed by time. Kail was grinning while Grig sighed heavily at his side. The Korian seemed to think things would not end well. The two made their way through the entrance and took in their surroundings. The Crooked Hull was dimly lit, the main source of light being black-lights hanging from the ceiling. The center was a large slab of raised floor, for dancing Kail assumed. Tables littered the area around the dance floor. The entire back wall was the bar, almost all the stools occupied at this time. Booths lined the remaining wallspace. All in all Kail thought the place was quite nice. I slow, heavily bassed techno song filled the air loudly. Though not loud enough to effect hearing too much. Kail smiled and headed for the bar, ordering a couple of drinks and taking a seat. At first he began small talk with everyone he met, chatting and acting friendly. Every now and then he would ask about mechanics or other space-faring types that would want a job.
Kail found himself a starting to get a little wobbly a few hours later, and still had no new crew members. He sighed, taking a long drink from his mug. A commotion off to the side, near the end of the bar, caught his shaky attention. He stood to see what the yelling was about. A small girl, maybe a woman he couldn't tell from this far, sat alone while a pair of men seemed to be hassling her. The girl sat there, paying the two no attention and just simply drank her alcohol silently. Kail couldn't make out her expression through the darkness but he could practically feel her anger at the two morons. One of the men suddenly reached for her wrist and yanked her up from the stool. It was clear they were both drunk. Kail was out of his seat and on his way to stop them when the girl suddenly ducked under the man's arm, moving to his back and taking the hand that gripped her with. She grabbed his wrist and pressed up. "Have a drink!" she shouted as she jumped and grabbed the back of his hand and slammed his face straight down on top of her glass mug she had just been drinking from. The glass shattered and the man jumped away and fell to the floor, clutching his face with both hands. Blood seeped through his fingers as the shards of glass cut his skin painfully. The man's friend suddenly swung at the girl in anger. She ducked and leapt, kicking out at his face. The large man caught her leg easily and intended on pulling her to him for a better grip. She, however, used the momentum of his yanking her and planted her heel under his nose with a cartilidge crunching kick. His grip loosened on her ankle and she used the force of her kick to propel her body around in a backflip to land neatly on her feet. The man stumbled, blinded by splattered blood from his nose and from pain. "Oooo...I like her" Kail said, grinning as he straightened himself and made his way to her. "Hey, I love your handy work" he said as he approached the girl. At closer inspection he got a clearer look at the young woman. She had short, bright red hair that reached just to her jawline that didn't appear to be used to much special attention. He couldn't tell the color of her eyes but they were fairly large, innocent looking eyes. She had a type of gaze that meant she wouldn't be taking any more shit from anyone tonight. She wore a baggy, white long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows and a pair of baggy black pants with overall straps handing down around her legs. She stood about five inches shorter than Kail himself.
At his words, the girl turned to glare at Kail. Grig stood to go retrieve Kail before he got himself into trouble. "Whoa whoa, don't kill me or anything haha. I love how you kicked the shit out of those guys. I've been looking for someone just like you. Come have a drink with me, I'd like to discuss a future together" he said quickly. It wasn't until after he said those words that he realized what they sounded like. He tilted his head to the side to dodge a quick punch she launched at his face. "Whoa! Sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" he shouted as he jumped back. "Gah, I'm tired of all you drunks always bothering me!! I'm not interested in getting picked up by some loser drowning your problems in a drink!!" She shouted in anger as she launched another assault on the pirate. The red-headed rogue jumped back, bobbing and weaving away from punches and kicks. "Hey, you got it all wrong! You're a mechanic aren't you? You're dressed like one and if you are, I wanna hire you!" he shouted over the music and the crowd chanting for them to fight. He saw her hesiation but the punch was already thrown. Just then, Kail backed into another person and turned to see who it was. Unfortunately he turned into the punch and found out that for someone so small, she hit harder than most guys he's fought. His head reeled and he headed for the floor. He was wobbly enough with the drinking, but that punch made standing too much of a chore. He landed on his hands and knees. "Ow...what the hell was that?! I just said I wasn't hitting on you!! Trust me, I wanted to and if I was going to you'd know it, WOMAN!" he shouted as he jumped up. The eyes he met however weren't the firey ones from a moment before but ones of apology. Talk about bipolar. "Oh my, I'm so sorry! I assumed you were with those other two! Are you ok? Can I help?" she asked him quickly, helping him back to Grig, who seemed to be motioning for the two of them. "Once again, do ya ever go somewhere w'out making people want to kill ya" Grig asked. The girl looked to the large Korian and bobbed her head in a quick 'hello'. Grig returned the favor and looked to Kail who still seemed a bit dazed. "Well, I'm Kira. What's this job you wanted to talk about?" she asked. Kail gripped his head tightly and shook his head for a moment. "Please wait until my brain STOPS rattling" he said sarcastically before sitting up, grinning. "Ok well basically we want another crew member aboard my ship. A mechanic sounded like a good idea. Grig here and myself are good with machines but we're no specialists. Just so you know, we're basically a pirate vessel. So what do ya say?" Kail asked over the music. The girl smiled and nodded. "I'll do it. Always wanted to be a space pirate. And your name is?" she responded. "Kail Veilwarren, and welcome aboard"
To Be Continued...
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