Volf Darus's Story

Volf was in the engine room, with his visor shaded to counter the light from the energized plasma reactors that powered the ship. He was in constant commune with the ships inboard automated damage analysis systems, trying to track down and list every problem with the ship, before going through and fixing them in order of urgency. Thankfully, the life support systems were virtually untouched by all that had happened during, and after, the invasion.

There were three problems that had to be fixed ASAP:
A leak in the charged plasma feed to the weapons,
One damaged propulsion engine and its stalled equal on the opposite side of the ship,
And re-aligning the arrays for the shield generator.

At this time Volf knew he needed rest, but those three repairs where what was needed most, and could not be put on hold. He then looked at his tool belt and saw that he was running low on duct tape and sealant foam. "Just enough to get the important stuff fixed." He thought to himself. However, he did not have enough to fix up after even one more engagement if the shields were to go down. "Engine room to pilot, engine room to pilot. Will we be stopping by any planets where I could get some more repair materials, sir?" Volf hailed over the ship's internal comms.

After a couple of minutes and getting the shield generator's arrays realigned, Volf decided to hail the cockpit again. "Engine Room to Cockpit, Engine Room to Cockpit. When are we going to be passing by a planet where I can get some repair supplies. Over."

Volf knew from the analysis systems that the ship was on auto-pilot, so a good conclusion was that whoever was piloting was sleeping. This worried Volf though, because if they were going to pass by a planet where he could get some repair materials it would be vital that they stop there. Volf then turned to his next task, the plasma feed for the weapons. With the shields up, the ship could get hit a few times before any damage were to be caused. Another reason that the weapons should be fixed first was the fact that, even if they they had engines at full power, this was not the worlds fastest ship and a persistent attacker could easily out run the Middleman. However, seeing that without the engines they needed the weapons to fend off any threats. Also, sealing the plasma feed was easier then to fix then the problems reported by the damage analysis systems. "Well, I guess this is the excitement that every little kid sees in the military." Volf said near silently to himself.

After having finished all three of the major repairs, Volf began to pick up all the scrap that he could. A couple of broken plasma tubes, some old soda cans, a block of plastic, and a damaged engine control board. He now began to melt everything but the engine control board and block of plastic. He made 1lb cubes of materials, so that they could be sold easier. Volf then checked every pocket he had and found only lint. Withing the next moment he called up his credit balance on his suits HUD. "6,832.12 Credits" it showed. This was enough to get some duct tape, but sealant foam was very expensive. The fact that he would have to buy it on a mining rig made things worse, because on mining rigs and ship worlds the retailers sell sealant foam at ungodly prices. '6 thousand 8 hundred thirty-two and twelve hundredths credits. That would get me what, an ounce of foam?"

Indie felt slightly embarrassed for reacting the way she did, but she didn't let it show. Maybe she was just on edge for what happened. They were just a bunch of rookies and they were the only ones left. He seemed to feel when she reached out mentally. She made a note to never try that again to him, she couldn't risk him figuring out exactly what she was able to do. Compared to his telekinesis, her's seemed like nothing, but she knew deep down her ability was nothing to scoff at. She could make a man crumble if she wanted to. Her thoughts were pushed away when Kanro began speaking to her.

She glanced up when her mentions her "lovely chocolate browns". If she could remember correctly, that was the first time she had gotten a compliment on her true form, or at least the one she she felt most comfortable in. Then again, it wasn't something she really looked for or paid attention to. She snorted at the spy part. Of course she wasn't a spy. When he finished she addressed a few things he said.

"Kanro, I can only change my hair and eyes. I can hardly change my skin, I mean enough to be useful, but not enough to be a spy. And yeah, people skills are definitely important," she said and yawned. She rubbed her face trying to make the exhaustion go away. He walked over to one of the two cots in the room, so Indiela knew that he would be going to bed, and that would free her from his emotions.

"Now, personal issues aside… We're counting on you to navigate through these asteroids and into the station…" he said to her as he sat down. The young girl stood up and tucked her black hair behind her ears. The next thing she heard was all too familiar, but even though they were close in age, he still had the right to say it to her. "…That's an Order, Indiela."

Indie nodded as she took his seat. "Yes sir," was her verbal response. It wasn't completely sarcastic but it did sound a bit awkward.

---

After an hour or so of navigating and stressing, Indie finally made it in the clear. Behind her was a complicated maze of debris and astroids. She's never done this in real life, only in simulations. She hoped Kanro didn't know she almost always hit something during those. It didn't matter now, because she knew she could do it if it was absolutely necessary. She felt confident that she could do this by herself now. She had 10 more clicks to go, but they were moving fast, and it was all clear in front of her.

She did the same thing that Kanro did earlier when he made his announcement. "Hello everyone, we're coming up quickly on the station, so get ready to land," she sounded awkward and she worried they might not have been able to hear her. She pushed the thoughts aside and began to take the ship down. She pulled The Middleman starship into the hangar and got up from her seat. She glanced over at a sleeping Kanro and fought the urge to look into his dreams. Instead, she waked over and shook his shoulder. "I did it," she said. "I mean, we're here, and we made it with little to no problems."

Volf walked out of engine rooms after feeling the slight bump of landing. He then made his way to the briefing room of the ship with his scrap that he had collected, expecting Kanro, or whoever he chose to be copilot, to be giving everyone a breifing on how operations are going to be handled on the mining station. Volf had reached the breifing room to find noone there. "Well, the engine room is the closest to the briefing room." Adion said to himself.

Volf lazily walked out of the ship, with his pistol out. He then stood at the top of the exit ramp. Looking at the crowd he spoke in a very monotone voice. "I don't like having to kill. I don't like having to cause trouble. However, if I see a single one of you try to harm one of my associates, then I will personally hang you by your own intestines." Volf had figured that Kanro saying 'advance' meant either intimidate or attack. Since the crowd had not yet attacked Volf had gone with intimidation. He now began to pull out his scrap, looking for someone to trade it too.

Among the landing procedure, there wasn't really much going on that required Artyom's immediate attention. When Ninari attempted to greet him and ended up forgetting her translator was off, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards a little upon noticing what passed for a blush among her kind. Nodding in response to her greeting, he went to join the away party.

Why Kanro and Volf expressed, or at least implied, hostile intentions to the crowds was something of a mystery, especially when self-preservation was a big part of their mission. Excess testosterone, he figured. Although bio-androids did have hormones, there wasn't as much when compared to a fully organic life-form, hence the subdued emotions, which in turn provided capacity for more logical thought patterns. Sighing inwardly at their actions, he disembarked and stood outside the ship. As ever, it seemed like he was awaiting further instructions.

"Yes, but if you don't want hostility from me, you may not want to say advance. It was something I have been taught over my lifetime, that when a leader says to advance, it means move forward with guns ready." Volf said in an explanatory tone, but quietly enough that the crowd could not hear him. "Just thought that might have been the confusion, and when you have confusion, it is best to get both sides to understand the others actions." Volf then walked down into the crowd, and as a man began to walk towards Volf with his fists up, Volf pulled out his knife. "How bad do you want to test someone on the brink of insanity. Someone who lost everything they knew to what they knew. It is not a good idea to test those who never make a promise they won't follow through with." At this the man began to back up as his pants became a darker color. "Good." Volf said as he put his knife back in its sheath. Volf then sent Kanro a message on his tac-pad. 'Too late to change my image. You might as well keep a good one.'

Indie stretched and followed Kanro off of the ship. She was pretty proud of herself, but kept a straight face. Seeing the rest of the crew put a daze on her. There was Volf, who was surrounded by an orangey-yellow color. Artyom had an extremely faint blue-ish grey hue. It was strange, she had never seen someone with such a translucent aura before. She considered this a moment before letting her eyes land on Ninari. Her coloring was beautiful. Indiela hadn't seen many beings that didn't look like humans most of the time. The other girl was sporting a light lilac aura.

They each advanced in their own separate ways. Kanro let Volf know that they were the good guys, and intimidation wasn't necessary at this point. Indie could feel the anger and fear coming from the people that occupied this planet. One approached Volf and he threatened him, in a very.. subtle way. Indie folded her arms and approached one of the people. She casually took off a glove and shoved it in her back pocket. If she needed to use her gifts it would be less obvious this way. If she took off her glove, then immediately touched someone, only for them to get a sudden change of heart, things would be obvious. She started a conversation and asked where she might be able to find spare parts or weapons. Not getting any useful information she walked over to Kanro. He had given him orders to do.. something. She hadn't paid enough attention. "Any thing specific, Captain?" she asked, wondering what she should do. "Want me to just sit around and make nice with them?" she ventured, tilting her head slightly in the direction of the crowd. Most of them had dispersed, but were still milling around in the area. Indie thought she might be able to get a few pointers on where to find things if she asked a few more people, but she wanted to make sure Kanro didn't have anything specific in mind her for. Being so exhausted and very slight miscommunication with Volf seemed to put him more on edge. She didn't know him that well, though, and it still could have been his dreariness. She stretched her arms out, brushing his hand with her fingers. She pulled back immediately, feigning embarrassment. Really, she just wanted to give him a calm nerve. Nothing too drastic, but just enough to where he felt a bit better.

By now, it was obvious to Volf that he needed to give Kanro some time to cool off. Even if it was with good reason, the leader would need to keep a cool head. Thus, Volf went off to look for a recycling place or a maintenance shop, as both are always willing to buy scraps, the maintenance shop would pay more for it though. "I will give you some time to get a clear head before we discuss this matter further." Volf sent over the WristComm. He did, however, put his badge into one of his pockets. 'It might be a good idea to put that away for now.' Was the thought that was racing through Volf's mind.

After about an hour of searching Volf found "Big Edie's Mining and Ship Repair." Volf walked in to find the man who had previously tried to attack him. "Watch this one Edd. He's dangerous." Spoke the prior attacker. "Don't give me a reason to be and I can be as reasonable as any other calm person." With the intent of looking like he was more like the Hulk than like a berserker, Volf pulled out the scrap. "How much sealant foam can I get with this and 3,000 credits." Volf asked the fat man that his prior attacker referred to as Edd. "1 bottle." Edd replied. "Aww, now your just being nice, so I will accept." Volf said to Edd taking the full bottle and handing him the scrap. Volf then transpired the credits, got duct tape from the market, and then headed to the bar. After two drinks, which cost 10 credits, Volf began his hobbling, semi-drunk journey back to the ship.

Volf had managed to get to the ship after his trip out to the market. His visit to the bar, after buying the parts, had led him to have a few shots. Once Volf had managed to put the stuff he bought away, he had an odd feeling. Taking this as a need to go, Volf walked to the main men's bathroom before passing out directly in front of its door.