| abstract
| - Sandrim turns and glares up at the ship. "You!" He calls to the Lotorians atop the ship. "Off of there, now! And put that back, don't think I'm not seeing it. Security! Cait Sidhe!" "Its system that can not really be claimed to be anyone's. It just is. And while you can make some money off it, you probably can't make money off just the straight creation of the network." Anya shakes her head. "And this is going to be a lot more complex then just PDAs. Have a good computer system da? We need to work a little code after first and get a mainframe and just create node zero." Akazar is for his part just walking around the ship, occasionally poking his head into the openings that the landing struts stick out of. He's innocent, despite the chaos going on atop the ship. The pair working on unscrewing the antennae get a rather nasty suprise as an electrical shock stops their work. They speak to eachother rapidly and then start on a second antenna, only to get zapped again. It would seem at this point they give up to simply look over the devices very closely. A couple of the beings in the engine ducts also come out from where they have dissapeared, rubbing their hands in pain and chittering back and forth. Tharsis shimmers into view a few feet in front of his bridge. "Missus. Don' ya misunderstand m'. Ah ain't -sayin'- it's s'simple as a PDA, but that don' mean I ain't able t'modify what silly thing ah done. I' took five minutes, -'course- i' ain't gonna be near 'nuff." Tia shrugs lightly, smirking just faintly, "Nah, while ah don' work for no one but m'crew f'free, assumin' ah were meanin' t'make money offa i' is silly, an' kinda rude, Missus. I were sayin', there best not be no one takin' credit f'mah work, money makin' or not." And out of the ship storms one tired, rumpled, severely pissed off engineer, with a Demarian cub no bigger than a Lotorian in tow. Except that Lotorians probably don't growl, hiss and spit. Or sport five six-inch steel claws on each paw. "THE NEXT BASTARD THAT TOUCHES MY SHIP GOES ON THE GODDAMNED GRILL, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Tamila's not looking up to observe the chittering Lotorian mass. Hey, her coffee's good and she's got something interesting on her scanner. Sandrim turns to look at Akazar now. "Get out from under there!" he yells at the head honcho. "The innocent game doesn't work-" He stops as Ruin bursts out of the ship, blinking. "Oh, good." The cub climbs up the ship as nimble as any cat or monkey, the ears flat against the skull and the claws waved in the direction of Lotorians attempting to unscrew, unfsasten, or unbolt any part of it. Though not attempting to wound, the display makes clear that it's certainly a bladed option if the ship is not left in peace. Anya shakes her head. "If I was looking to make money off this, I think I would have gone about trying to get people to help. Its the Infomatrix. Big wonderful tech.. isn't that reward in itself? I just want my playground back. Unless you open a IM Store or business.. the actual system isn't the type you make cash off. Just use and enjoy." Akazar looks supremely unconcerned as he saunters around beneath the ship, even as Ruin starts bellowing and the cat thing hops up on the ship. Some of his fellows start to get off the ship, but others just continue with their mischeif. One with a screw driver gets shocked for attempting to unscrew a panel labelled 'NOT A STEP'. Akazar turns slowly towards the owner of the vessel and then asks in a cloying tone, "Youz going to murder a family of Lotorianz? Wez letz youz build refugee camp on our home, and youz going to murder uz for looking at our new neighborz thingz? Zzameful." He steps out from underneath the ship and then claps his hands together again. The Lotorians on the Iuppiter all start to climb off and out of it. Tharsis' eyes widen as he sees the gang of Lotorians nearby crawling over the ship and pratically attempting to dismantle it. "Oh shit.. oh shit.. oh shit.. oh shit.." he mutters as his image vanishes, and his docking ramp begins to retract. Sandrim snorts at Akazar. "Give me a break, Comorro let us on, not a bunch of Lotorians. And we're running you off, for trying to steal our ship's parts." "Cait," growls Ruin, in a clearly audible tone, "If one more - just ONE MORE - piece of my ship is touched, claw that one's fur off." And he points at Akazar, staring right at him. "And shock the rest until they drop off." He stalks up to the little fellow, glaring murder. "Looking is done with eyeballs. Among friends it's done after a request. My ship is not your property. Keep treating it like it is, and the fur hides of your family are MINE. I have done no harm to you or to yours, nor has any member of my crew, but that is going to change VERY quickly and at YOUR behest." The Cait Sidhe - the little demarian cub - hops lightly from the top of the hull, landing with a solid thunk on the ground. Ears flat, fangs bared, fur ruffled, the little cub stalks toward Akazar with all ten hand-claws bared to rend. "Wez zee how youz treat youz neighborz." Akazar says. He still seems very unconcerned, especially as his entourage close in around him again, effectively shielding him from the demarian cub's stalking. He leads the group off towards the exit to the docking hub. "Are ya listenin' proper, Missus? Ah said ah don' mean t'make money offa t'-infomatrix-, but ya gotta understand, ya ain't family, ya ain't crew, an' i' ain't m'policy t'work for strangers f'nothin'." Tia shakes her head lightly, "Ain't no money t'give, ain't no food t'spare, but ya got stuff ah'd love t'tinker wit', like t'techscanner Miss Alexandra let m'borrow. An- T'answer ya question, ah got t'Fox's computer system, an' m'own t'work wit'." Tamila makes her way back up the ramp, places her cup inside of the airlock before closing it and locking it from the outside. The scanner is then slipped back into her jacket. She taps a small earbud in her ear and says something quietly and almost under her breath before she starts in the direction of the Kamikaze with the look of someone who is just about to go back to work, after a two hour lunch break. "I can let you take a look at my old computer and let you look at the inside." Anya sighs and shrugs. "But you are going to learn a whole lot from this. Thats all I can really offer. You can do this in your free time for fun but yeah.. I don't have anything to pay and I only have my two systems and my Misha doll if you into robotics." Tharsis re-composites his image as the Lotorians begin to move off, peering at them from behind his cargo bay, daring to step out into full view only after he's assured they're far enough away to not see him. Sandrim glances aside to Ruin as he comes out from under the ship. "The wolf is complaining that we aren't calling him a sheep," he says dryly to the man, before looking around the bay. "Well... Helpful bunch of citizens." Ruin just watches, glaring, jaw clenched as Akazar and his troop retreat. When he turns back to the Iuppiter, the dark eyes are bright with tears. Without a word said, the engineer goes to retrieve his tools, absently patting he hull of his ship as he goes. Perhaps in apology, perhaps in reassurance. A little way behind him, Cait's ears perk up again. He sneezes disdainfully in the Lotorian's direction, then turns around, tail waving, and scuffs with his hind paws - very much the cat kicking litter over a pile of dung. "An' ye can stay oot, ye thievin' sons o' ferrretmonkeys," it says as the claws retract. Good cheer somehow immediately restored, it bounds over toward Tharsis, raising a snow white paw as if to tug the hologram out of hiding. "Tis okay, serr, me claws'rre rrreal enou'." "Ya assumin' ah will." Tia replies with a faint chuckle, "Anyway, lemme borrow Misha? Miss Alexandra 'as Mistah Mistofelees, an' 'es real neato, too. Lots different than t'Ariels, eh?" Sandrim turns to follow Ruin onto the ship, murmuring something to him as he opens the hatch. Tharsis steps further out at Cait's prodding. "I'm next.. I swear they're coming for me.." he says in a voice that is just laced with terror. "She warned me when I landed they were coming... they're gonna strip my parts and sell them on the black market, I swear!" he says, getting a bit more agitated. Ruin doesn't take too long, heading into the Iuppiter and returning with an engineer's workbelt around his waist. With the grace of familiarity, the engineer starts climbing up the hull. Heading for those parts the Lotorians tried to remove, and tightening them back down again. Little Cait nods. "Aye, weel, frrae what we've seen th' wee bastarrds'll take whate'err they can, nailed doon orr no'," he says, apparently oblivious to the fact that Lotorians are about his own size. "Do ye no' hae securrrity, serr? We have, but th' captain's asleep an' the lady's inna rrrefrresherr, so t'was doon tae me, rrreally. An' me fatherr." He nods. "We hae no' made new frrriends t'day, tho." Tharsis shakes his head. "I might be able to electrify my hull, but that hurts me just as much as it would them..." he says, his eyes still wide with fear. "I have perhaps a couple of Union Fleet officers that came with me, but even they don't have much in the way of armament." he says, putting his face in his hands. "I'm a sitting duck.... just waiting for them to sneak in here at night and dig in." Ruin keeps working on the Iuppiter. One damaged point at a time, it would seem, methodical and careful, an expression cast in stone. His creation, by contrast, seems concerned and sympathetic. "Well...we can trry tae help ye?" he asks. "As't seems therre's none else that might." The green-eyed cub gives a somewhat disdainful look at the other ships. "Aye, they see how we trreat oorr neighborrs, aye. We watch 'em get fed tae th' ferretmonkeys, so we do." He shakes his head. "But *we*," and one white paw indicates himself, "We do no'. Ye call forr me, serr. Me earrs an' eyes, they arre on th' hull, therre," and he indicates the Iuppiter. "Ye hae but tae call oot, serr. I will hearr, an' even if me crrewmates'rre unable tae come, me an' me claws'll come an' gi' ye time, serr." "I'm going to have my sensors on 24/7 now... " Tharsis says. "If they come within so much as 100 yards, this bay will be filled with every possible noise my sound banks can bring up." he says, his hands lowering from his face. "I thank you for the offer.. and I'll keep it in mind. Something tells me we're going to have to have a community ship meeting... because if we don't watch our for each other, we'll find ourselves in pieces headed for some far off bazaar." he says, his voice still tremoring with fear. "I'm too young to die!" he suddenly blurts, shaking a fist at the tradeport hatch. Tharsis' image is displaying a few feet from his bridge, with Cait Sidhe standing beside him. Ruin is on top of his vessel making repairs. Ruin is on the hull of the Iuppiter, moving methodically here and there, repairing the minor damages done by the group of Lotorians. The attentive might notice tears, now and then, when he looks toward the next task. His little Demarian cub, referred to as 'Cait' or 'Snowpaws', is talking to a very upset Tharsis. The cub reaches up to 'pat' at the hologram reassuringly. "Noise is a guid idea," he says brightly. "Ye can trry many frrrequencies, find one th' Lotorrrians dinnae like, aye? I may trry that one meself. Nice loud noise, alarrrm an' all, an' rrright by theirrr pesky wee earrrs until they get off me damn hull, aye." He nods. "Tis a verra guid idea, serr. Verra worrkable." Resi reappears from goodness knows where by way of the tradeport many unusual sights vying for her attention Will it be the holographic man? The Demarian with the Sividian accent. In the end, it's the newly damaged ship that draws attention "What happened there?" Anya blinks a few times as she seems to come out of something and look over at Tia. "Borrow... Misha? She is sort of my only friend around da? I don't want anything happening to her. Given parts I can perhaps build one for you." The woman offers. "Her AI programming isn't as complex as the Ariels yet. She can not control a ship or anything. Just take notes, move around and have a personality." "Oh! That'd be neat, Missus. Weren't nothin' gonna happen t'er, nah, in any case." Tia replies, leaning back to rest her weight on her hands, "Ah ain't seen any ah t'Ariels 'round, yet. Ah 'ope Beta's okay." Tharsis nods to Cait, his expression calming a bit, and a grin starting to form. "Yes... that's it... find the frequency that'll give those furry bastards a headache they'll never forget!" he says. "I'll hunt day in and day out until I find it... I'll be DAMNED if I'm going down with out a fight." he says, looking towards the tradeport once more. "YOU HEAR ME YOU DAMN FURBALLS!?!? I'M NOT GOING DOWN THAT EASY!!!" Ruin doesn't look up from his work, but just moves to another location - setting right what was set amiss. "Lotorians tried to dismantle my ship," he says in a flat, emotionless tone. Cait's jaw drops, a little gleaming-fanged kitten smile showing. "Tha's th' spirrrit, serr. Me fatherr says I'm tae intrriduce meself as Tuxedo Snowpaws, serr, but he calls me 'Cait', an' I think yerrself can too, if ye like. But I'm kinda fond o' me furr, serr, it took a lot o' worrk tae get it." "Well... What did you want her for?" Anya asks as she tries to make a few diagrams in her head. "A small engine.. hardrive, motherboard, frame... fabric. Would not be too hard to make a new pet really. Just a matter of getting me all the parts and I can teach you how to make them as well." At Tharsis outburst the tradeport hatch opens and three Lotrians make their way through. The first two gray furred one with faint black striping along its back. They both look to be on the larger side of Lotorian size. The third is much smaller, brown furred and holding tightly to the black striped ones paw. Soft chittering sounds pass between them as they move along, the smaller one with a sad look to its beady dark eyes. Resi hms and puts two and two together between Ruin's comment and Tharsis speech and looking with new interest as some of the aformentioned furballs make reappearence Snowstreak makes his way quietly off the Fox, his paws dipped deep into his pockets while his tail weaves its way back and forth behind him at a steady, sharp paced patch of swish-swish, whisk-whiff. Talking about Lotorians, here comes another gaggle of them. Okay, it's not really a gaggle, but rather two Lotorians with what could be a sound boom and a camera, with the one in front leading them out of the tradeport hatch. The one in the front pauses, with his beady eyes looking over the landing pad, and one of his ears press flat against his head. They appear to be trying to remain low profile. Tharsis' 'eyes' look to the tradeport hatch as the trio of Lotorians emerge... and he practically goes berserk. "Here they come again! Full alert!" he shouts as his image disappears once again. Immediately, his forward navigation deflector array begins to generate a sonic tone in the low range, and quickly begins to increase in frequency. "Eat sonics, you furry bastards!!" he shouts, his emotions quickly getting in the way of his reasoning center as all hope of logic goes on an extended vacation in his sub-processors. "Oh, ah jus' wanted to see what she's like an' stuff, Missus. Weren't gonna mess wit' 'er or nothin', 'less she don' mind 'avin' jokes played on 'er." Yes, Tia talks as though Misha were a real person, just the same as she treated the Ariels. The girl's attention wavers, as she catches sight of Volidana approaching the Fox. Her eyes widen, her skin pales, and the girl visibly begins to get anxious. "Well Misha might mind if you get anything on her kimono and her ears. That is all the clothes she has.. and her fur is really sensitive." Anya muses as she tilts her head. "What sort of jokes? Not mean ones I hope." Cait looks quite startled as Tharsis goes to red alert - but turns nonetheless. Not toward the Lotorians, which he seems to be aware of, but to Ruin. "Fatherr, I think t'is yerr call, now." Ruin does turn, and sees the approaching Lotorians...and starts climbing down his ship to face them, tools in hand. "Cait, defend," he says, in that quiet, emotionless tone, not bothering to wipe away the tear-tracks. The little cub's head bobs, and it bounds toward the boarding ramp. No claws, no fangs, just...watching. Waiting. Tiana begins to shake subtly as the Vollistan dissapears onto the Fox, the girl distracted enough by what surely is a mundane event, that Anya's reply comes only after an extended pause, "Wh-.. Oh.. Ah-, Ah won' be mean, n-nah." Resi blinks at Tharsis holding her ears "Have you lost your positronic mind" she asks annoyed Snowstreak sits down quietly on the ramp of the Fox. His tail moves slowly behind him, its rate of flicker maintaining a fair pace. The Demarian does his impression of Sylar and watches...... The trio don't stick around, in fact they start to quickly scamper towards the end of the Docking Hub, away from Tharsis at the high pitched noises he makes. They're squeeling like little girls at the high pitched barrage, and going as fast as their legs will carry them. Though they do stick together. "I hope youz filming, Yisti. Thiz izzz will make grrreat footage!" the lead one calls out, despite the pain being inflicted to his sensitive ears. "We call thizzz one, when Q-monzzz Attack." Anya just facepalms as the noise starts. She might have been about to reply to Tia but now... now she is typing quickly on her computer. The group of three Lotorians stops for a moment, looking around...the littlest one taking in the landing bay in a sort of awe. It's with the entrance of the other group that they look back, the largest one giving the equivalent of Lotorian rolled eyes at the camera crew. When Tharsis goes into defensive mode though, the little one starts screeeching, paw covering sensitve ears as the larger one huddles them all tightly together, his teeth bared and he hisses in the direction of the ships, "We izz do nothing to youz," he shrieks, his beady eyes wincing in pain. Tharsis activates another emitter array, and begins a playback of the Lotorians pouring over the Iuppiter and trying to tear it apart. His hologram points to the image playing beside him. "You call this nothing!? I'm not going to be torn apart and sold for profit! EVER! I was warned this was going to happen, but I had no idea you would start so soon! You want to keep your eardrums intact, then stay the hell away from me! Got it!?" he says, as the tone begins to back off a bit. Ruin turns around as Tharsis' reaction starts getting a little too extreme. "STOP IT!" he shouts over the rising din. "YOU DEFEND. YOU DO NOT ATTACK, UNLESS YOU WANT TO ATTACK ALONE!" Tiana cringes and trembles, the noise bothering her somehow less than a Vollistan waltzing onto Uncle Cathy's ship. A muttered word of departure is offered to Anya, before the girl rises and begins to quickly slip towards the Fox, and inevitably, Snowstreak. "Good bye.." Anya murmurs as she keeps on typing away. "Oh this is going to be trouble." She murmurs to herself. The camera crew take a few moments to steady themselves, before the one not carrying any equipment points towards Tharsis and Ruin, and then motioning towards where he wants the camera set up. The process is professional and quick, and it doesn't take long for the boom operator to move into position, too. Lisostapa -the one without equipment- kneels beside the camera and motions for operator to start filming. He pulls out the Lotorian version of a pen and some paper, and starts jotting notes down. The other group of Lotorians don't seem to be acknowledged. Tharsis looks over towards Ruin. "I *AM* defending!" he says, as the noise completely dies out. "So long as they stay away, then they won't have to listen to it!" he says. "If they try to cut anything off of my hull, the pain will be indescribable! Imagine having one of your hands cut off with a welding torch and you'll have an idea!" Snowstreak mews kindly to Tiana, his ears going forward as he looks to her. His tail flickers lightly behind him as he looks to Tiana then mews? before he points questioningly to Ruin and the whole fanfare going on down below. Resi turns to the lotorian camera crew watching intently as they make their way into position putting on her best wide eyed expression she asks of the group "are we going to be on TV? The big grey Lotorian hisses at Tharsis one more time, seemingly for good measure, but he does ease his protective hold on the other two. The middle sized one brings digits to ears apparently trying to get the ringing out of them as the noise level lowers once again. It's the small brown furred one that makes a move first though, scampering over toward Anya, bright beady eyes looking over her shiny computer for a moment before paws start pushing at random keys excitedly. Tiana shakes her head quickly at Snowstreak, the girl holding an almost frantic air. There's worry and fear marked on her features. She tries to push past the Demarian doctor and on towards the Airlock. Anya blinks a few times and pulls her hands from the board. A small smile starts to grow on her lips. "Privet, I am Anya. This is my computer. I use if for work da? What is your name and did the bad man hurt your little ears?" The woman says in bubbly little voice. "All Lotorians are not thieves," says Ruin in a far more normal tone. "And the ones that are, we will deal with. I will defend my ship and my crew with my life, and I will defend you as well if you want it, but indiscriminate defense just gives them more reason to fear you as much as you fear them. You must *know* that already." He turns toward the camera crew, eyeing them with a tired, dead stare. "They rioted and burned his body in effigy," he says, quite softly. "And you're going to start it all up again, aren't you. Cait, stand down." Without another word, the engineer returns to his repairs. Behind him, the Demarian cub relaxes, and bounds off the ramp, heading back over to Tharsis. Lisostapa just stares at Resi, before giving the signal to stop recording. "Q-monz, we are filming documentrrry. Not show," he tells her bluntly and quietly. He makes his way around in front of the camera, fixing it with his eyes. Both of his ears come up, before he looks back towards her. "If Q-monz is quiet, then Q-monz male might appear in documentrrry." His gaze then goes back towards the camera, and he gives a nod this time for filming to start. "Q-monz," he says. "Zentient or juzzz zzzupid? Thizzz izzz the quezzzion being asked, from Comorro herzzzelf to the deepezzzt parts of zzzace." Snowstreak mrrrirps? and looks after Tiana, his ears flitting forward before he looks after her. His tail flicks quickly behind him before he turns to look after her. "T-t-there's a V-vollis-s-stan on t-'tFox." Tia mutters to herself, her tone rife with tense fear. Thinking straight is probably not what the girl is doing right now, as she reaches a trembling hand up to punch in the airlock code. Tharsis nods, his image fading from view. His voice echoes from his audio emitters instead. "My apologies." is all he says before his lights dim out. The little Lotorian at Anya's side looks to her with bright eyes and reaches up paws to pat at her cheeks, squishing them together just slightly, like a kid trying to make faces. This only lasts a moment before he's right back to pushing random keys on the keyboard. It's the bigger one that gets more adventerous, padding his way toward Ruin and the Iuppiter, "Iz very zziny," he says, eyes wide as he takes in the rather large ship, "You haz other zziniezz?" The third one seems to have cleared it's ears out, eyes looking around the pad, shining with curiosity before heading toward the Fox and the two standing there. Anya giggles and tries to give the little Lotorian a little squeeze. "You are a nice little one. Can't talk or is my computer just shiny?" Snowstreak head-tilts though he follows, the Demarian turning to head after and inside with her. He is unsure what hte big deal is though he is unsure what to make of it all. Ruin doesn't notice at first, being shoulder-deep in a vent one of Akazar's kin got zapped in, but blinks a few times and regards the one addressing him. "Yes. But it's not a good idea to touch my ship without permission. It will hurt you." No aggression, no regret. Just fact. He finishes an adjustment, then fishes in his pocket and takes out...a small statuette of what is probably a dog. At least, it's dog-shaped, but it's made out of small spare parts - bits of twisted wire, little nuts and screws and diodes. "Your people trade?" Cait watches, tail drooping a bit, as Tharsis fades out. The little cat reaches out to tentatively pat Tharsis' hull. "Nae harrd feelin's, serr," he says gently. "We underrstand why ye did it. Ye dinnae have tae hide. 'E's no' mad at ye, serr. E's just always like that these days." "When we arrrrived in Docking Hub," Lisostapia says still looking into the camera. "We wazzz attacked by zzzhinging female Q-monz for no reazzzons or explanation. Thizzz wazzz mozzzt likely an alertive rezzzponzzze to being zzztartled. It came in the forrrm of a high pitched zzzcream. It could have even been a mating call." The Lotorian starts to walk backwards, giving a discreet hand signal for the Lotorian film crew to follow him and stop filming. The documentry maker looks towards Anya and the younger Lotorian, and then towards Ruin and the larger Lotorian, almost as if deciding which would make the best footage. Tharsis remains mostly silent for several minutes, until his voice speaks low enough to be heard only by Cait. "I am seriously and truly afraid for my life.." he says. "Comorro warned me, quitely strongly, that many would be after me. Seeing them crawling over that ship... tearing into it.. it's just too much.." Little paws try to pull the small Lotorian from Anya's grasp, screeching coming from the little guy as he struggles to break free. This could be kin to a child throwing a tantrum. The grey furred Lotorian heading for the Fox stops, turning back toward the squeeling hurrying to help. The larger one swivels his ears toward the sound, beady eyes looking in the small ones direction, but turning back to Ruin as it seems handled already. "May Iz...?" he asks, his ears setting back on his scalp and he leans forward with wide eyed curiosity, one paw stretching out toward the engineer. Anya blinks a few times and lets go. "Da sorry... Is friendly thing were I come from." She woman says sheepishly as she looks around. Snowstreak steps quietly off of the fox again, his tail twinging slowly as he stuffs his paws back into his pockets as if he were hiding the strangling of mice from the view of the public. Ruin considers, then sits down. "Others of your kind touched my ship and got hurt," he says calmly. "I have to fix it first. But this, you can have, if you want, until I've finished my repair." He holds out the little bolt-and-wire statuette. Cait, meantime, just pats Tharsis' hull. "I ken it, aye," he says sympathetically. "Serr...tha' ship therre, it is me, serr. Fatherr didnae ha'e the drrive space tae fit me memorry intae this wee body, serr. Tis all therre. I ken yerr fearrs, serr, but Fatherr takes 'is prromises verra serriously, serr. We will prrotect ye, aye, an' help ye prrotect yerrself." Lisostapia seems to consider Tharsis, before shaking his head to his film crew. There's then a disgusted look sent towards Anya, by the announcer and the film crew themselves. "We goezzz look at Q-monz place elzzzewherrrre," he tells the group, before he starts towards the exit. Like before, the two other Lotorians follow him. "I thank you." Tharsis voice replies. "My father had laser cannons built in for defense.. I'm just a plain cargo freighter. I'm not as strong as him.... and I don't think I ever will be. I'm just scared... very scared." he says, with a voice that echoes it strongly. The little one scampers out of Anya's lap, one paw straightening wrinkles from his clothes. He turns back, eyes narrowing at Anya as he chitters, a digit from his other paw shaken at her as if scolding. The gray furred Lotorian catches up to the one telling Anya off, stopping beside him. One paw pats at his head lightly as she addresses the Ungstiri, "He izz zmall," is all she says, as if this explains everything. "Thiz izz good buzinezz," the striped Lotorian says, taking the offered bit of wires and bolts, "Izz good trade," he says, turning the creation this way and that in his paws. "He is a cute little one. I am sure he will be quite the man someday da?" Anya replies as she offers the little one a byebye wave then starts to stand. "I probably shouldn't bother him anymore today." "I make them in my spare time," says Ruin. "From whatever's around. I've heard there's a scrapyard here. Would it be safe to find parts there?" Cait...well, the little cat looks almost rueful. "Nae need forr that, serr. We ken it's no' fun, tae have tae be defended. We've been defended a fair bit oorselves, tho' it seems nae longer. We'll see what we can get ye, aye? Perrhaps some light arrmaments, a bit o' deterrent? Like that." One paw waves to the Iuppiter's cannons. "Mind ye, the electrifiable hull shell, I like. Hurrts 'em less, if I want tae warrn." "I have that ability, but my entire body is wired with neuro-sensors that pick up sensation. If I zap my hull, I'm zapping myself.." Tharsis says. "It's possible to disconnect them, but it leaves me disoriented which is worse than just taking the pain." The little one stops with the chittering when it seems that Anya's leaving and he rushes to her side, hopping up and down, paws clasping and unclasping, a grunt of effort escaping it. The striped Lotorian nods to the explanation, his eyes seemingly riveted on the shiny bit in his paw. This beady eyes do turn toward Cait and Tharsis though, one ear swiveling in their direction and he starts to move off toward them, all be it slowly, cautiously, "Izz you be nize now?" he asks in low tones, his voice full of wariness, and his form actually hunches down almost defensively. Anya looks down at the little guy and rubs the back of her head for a moment as she looks him over. "Ummm.. I need to go inside and sleep but if you comeby tomorrow we can play some more with the computer da?" She smiles. Ruin mms, turning back to his work as the Lotorian moves away. Cait, however, chatters away pleasantly. "Weel. Ye hae' yer sonic boom therre, serr. An' a few guns wouldnae come amiss, aye?" He turns toward the approaching Lotorian, green eyes blinking. "Ye may call me Snowpaws, lad," he says pleasantly. "Orr Tux, if ye prreferr. This herre's Tharrsis, an' he'll be nice sae long as ye dinnae touch 'im, aye? The ships, they dinnae like bein' touched." "Yes... my apologies for earlier." Tharsis replies. "Just... don't touch.. please..." Limping somewhat heavily but without her cane, Evanae meanders into the docking bay. She's clad in very normal clothing for once, just a tanktop and jeans. Yawning tiredly, the Timonae makes her gradual way towards the Devil May Care quite slowly. Taking steps backward, the little Lotorian seems to understand. His paws clutched to his chest and a sad look in his black eyes, he nods then turns away. It's the new comer that catches his attention then. It could be the soft silvery hair that's caught his eye, and he scampers off in her direction. "But youz izz zziny," the bigger Lotorian says, his head tilting in confusion, ears twitching with his curiosity. He takes a few tentative steps forward, paw reaching toward Cait, "Znowpawzz?" he asks curiously, "May I touch Znowpawzz?" Anya gives a small wave then starts to make her way up the ramp. The little cub nods. "Ye may touch me, aye," he says. "Ye may no' touch the ship, but ye may touch me." He holds out, yes, snow-white-furred paws for examination, ears flicking. "An' Tharrsis, weeell...ye could walk rrright *thrrough* him, ye ken, an' maybe tha'd be shiny?" Tharsis re-activates his holo-emitters, and his image re-composites beside Cait. "Why hello," Eva laughs in soft surprise at the sight of the small Lotorian, very carefully sinking down into a seated position on the docking bay floor so she's closer to eyelevel. "I'm Eva, what's your name?" The little brown furred Lotorian climbs into Eva's lap, seems he's not shy or anything. Clawed digits reach up and run carefully through her silver hair, black eyes looking at the silver strands with wonder and awe. "He izz Lodrin," the grey furred Lotorian replies to Eva's question. She too moves a little closer to the Timonae, her beady eyes on the little one. The bigger of the Lotorians looks the holographic over, and then Cait, eyes scrutinizing, before he makes his way over to Tharsis, the image, paw poking tenatively, passing through the image. His eyes go wide and he backs up, "What whatwhat iz youz?" he demands. Hess meanders out into the docking hub. He looks around, and then starts for the Artemis, looking to have some purpose in mind. "New," is Cait's laughing summary. "But he willnae hurrt ye, lad, so long as ye dinnae touch the ship. T'is a...sacrred thing, aye, verra imporrtant." The cat reaches out to lightly tap the Lotorian's arm, demonstrating his own solidity. "But I am solid, aye." Tharsis grins a bit, encouraged that this is diverting the Lotorians attention, at least somewhat. "Hologram.." he explains. "Cohesive light rays." The silvery curls the little Lotorian touches are unnaturally soft, Eva smiling at the tiny creature with unabashed sentimentality. "Lodrin. It's a pretty name," she murmurs up at the grey-furred Lotorian. "He's very curious, hmm?" Snowstreak makes his way down the ramp of the Fox, starting for the hub. His head is held low and his whiskers forward as he heads across the landing bay. The little Lotorian nuzzles up to Eva, rubbing his little cheeks against her soft hair. "He izz curiouz about all of youz," the grey furred Lotorian replies, her paws wringing together as she watches the two warily. The big Lotorin watches Cait poke at him, and he pokes back curiously, eyes looking the little Demarian looking kit over. Satisfied he reaches toward Tharsis again, eyes widening as his paw passes completely through him, digits wiggling on the other side when that paw pokes through. Cait stays nearby, perhaps as much to reassure Tharsis as the Lotorian, but the furred jaw is dropped in a small kitten-fanged smile. Tharsis grins a bit, watching as the Lotorian puts his paw through him. For now, he just watches.. "I promise not to hurt him," Eva assures the grey-furred Lotorian, offering her a warm and gentle smile. "I absolutely love children, furry or otherwise. And I'm a doctor- I don't hurt *anyone* if I can help it." A helpless giggle escapes her, and the Timonae can't resist the urge to hug the child in her lap. The little Lotorian lifts its head, looking up at Eva for a moment before it starts pawing carefully at the pockets of her pants, little body squinching over as it does. It peers curiously at these pockets, possibly trying to figur out what might be in them. The Grey colored Lotorian nods, and eyes start to roam the landing bay again. Those beady eyes land on Snowstreak, and she takes off in his direction. "Hologram?" the big Lotorian asks, his arm pulling back and he scoots back, head tilting curiously, ears perking up, "You izz here, and you izz there too?" he asks of Tharsis and Cait, one digit pointing from the holoTharsis to the ship Tharsis. Cait flicks an ear, looking up at Tharsis - evidently thinking this one's out of his jurisdiction. "He's no' a bad sorrt, I think," he says. "Bu' we've nae idea how they view such as we, aye? Orr yerrself." The Demarian is heading in-station so he isnt really paying attention, giving no mind really to the presence of Lotorians or non. His ears twinge though as it approaches, the Demarian turning as his ears sift forward, head tilting Tharsis nods. "Best way to think of it is that this.." he says, pointing back at his body. "...is me. This.." he says, pointing to the hologram, "...is my face. Does that make sense?" There's not much in Eva's pockets- a small beeper, most notably, and a bottle of pills. One of her hands descends over the pocket that holds the latter, firmly clapping it shut. "Now now, no thiefing," she tells the little Lotorian with a soft laugh. "I need my things, all right?" The little Lotorian looks up at Eva pleadingly, eyes wide and his snout trembles slightly. A soft chittering sound comes from him, almost as of pleading. One little clawed paw combs gently through her hair, and almost tentaive action. The Lotoran following Snow stops near him, head tilting to one side curiously, "What izz you?" she asks beady eyes blinking as she waits for an answer. Her hands clasp in front of her, wringing nervously. "Faze?" The big Lotorian asks, one paw going to his face for a moment, and then he looks back up to Ruin on top of the Iuppiter and he points, "He izz there, and he izz there also?" his claw pointing from Ruin to the ship. The landing pad seems to be an assortment of interaction tonight. Eva sitting on the pad with one small Lotorian in her lap, Ruin atop the Iuppiter, with Tharsis, Cait and another grey and black striped Lotorian near by. Snowstreak is near the tradeport hatch, a third Lotorian questioning him. "Nae, lad," says Cait, shaking his head. "That's th' Crruithearr...maker, ye'd say." He points toward the litle statuette in the big Lotorian's hand. "He makes things. I'm th' face, o' that one," and he points toward the Iuppiter. "Tharrsis is th' face o' this one," and he points toward Tharsis' hull. "We dinnae like bein' hurrt, an' yerr frriends have a harrd time tellin' a diferrence 'tween that," and he points to the Iuppiter, "an' that," and he points to the figurine in the Lotorian's palm. Snowstreak breaths out quietly while looking to the little Lotoran. He opens his muzzle and pauses before he sighs out and closes his muzzle. He reaches into his pocket quietly and then pulls out a small notepad. He writes for a moment before he hands the note to the Lotoran and turns again. Only one word on the note: 'Demarian.' Though... whether the station translates written language is unspecified. Tharsis nods. "I want to keep myself intact... and now I must retire for the evening." he says. "Here's to hoping I wake up in one piece.." With that, his image fades out. "I'm sorry, little darling," Eva murmurs affectionately to the Lotorian in her lap, "but I need them. Here we go, though..." From the medical kit slung over her shoulder, the Timonae withdraws a scalpel. She neatly shears off one of her ringlets, her hair hardly seeming to note the loss with its impossible fullness. Scalpel replaced, her deft gloved hands set about braiding the hair into a circle. "I'm going to make you a present..." Krezgick walks onto the docking hub from the deeper reaches of the living station. The Lotorian doctor is, unusual for his race, in no rush. He walks on his hind legs, paw-like hands clasped behind his back and tail swishing back and forth with at a slow pace, the occasional twitch betraying the well of nervous energy bundled within the small, racoon-like being. His calm is suddenly broken, his ears perking straight up as Tharsis' hologram vanishes. Familiar with holographics, Krezgick is still taken back for a moment to walk in and suddenly see a man vanish into thin air. The little Lotorian chitters excitedly, eyes brightening up at the mention of a present. One little paw extends, grasping and ungrasping greedily, but it doesn't try to grab just yet. Snowstreak's new little friend looks curiously to the paper, mouth trying to work the sounds of the letters, but seemingly unsuccessfully as she looks back up to him, paws extending upward, "Youz earzz..." she trails off, then pawing at her own ears, "You izz not humanzz?" "Youz izz.." This is cut off when Tharsis disappears, the large lotorian jumping back in surprise, ears laying back against his head. His eyes go wide in wonder and he crouches down warily. "Tis okay," says Cait, offering a reassuring paw. "He willnae hurrt ye, no matterr how strrange he looks, unless ye touch the ship. Long as ye do no' touch the ships, ye've only frrriends herre." Giving Tharsis a wave, visible or not, the little cat heads for the Iuppiter.
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