Ismeria Valizar's Story

Wes looked over to Xavi as he inserted himself into the conversation. Any annoyance he might have felt was subsided by gratitude for not having to indulge Nym’s question. It was rare that his kind left their planet, duty often kept them bound to one another. He hadn’t come across his own for so long and while he did find comfort in it, there was a sour taste in his mouth whenever he tried to talk about it.

“I’m going to get some shut eye, keep up ‘till I come back.” Wes looked over to Nym sternly, “I need your eyes on me kitchen. Make sure no one tries to break the locks or nun’.”

He didn’t really think a wispy thing like her would be able to keep anyone out if they were determined enough, but he thought she’d like sometime a little closer to her age mentally. If she were to become a leader among their people, maybe if she learned the outside world wasn’t so bad she’d make their world more open to it. Plus he enjoyed seeing that glint in her eye at the hint of adventure, reminding him what it was like to be young and traveling through the cosmos for the first time.

The others were still drinking in full volume, but Wes had long mastered sleeping through the cacophony of the crew. Besides, the storm was still raging outside long enough that when he closed his eyes and focused on it’s sound the rest of the noise sort of melted away.

Zanzibar was the last major port on their path for weeks. This ultimate destination had been kept under wraps, though they knew they’d be going through the 36th quadrant. As they approached the floating city the clouds cleared. The current of passages in and out of the city kept the city surrounded in winds that kept it clear from the clouds.

It was one of the oldest cities in the galaxy, though it’s original structure laid in ruins below where the city now remained suspended by the giant large hot air balloons that were built around the entire structure keeping it afloat. It was massive enough from a distance but as the ship drew closer you could make out the depth of the passages that wound through the core of the city.

Regulus had acquired some minor injuries during the night, nothing they couldn’t fix up at port. Zae was one of the last to surface onto deck, having checked the machine room to make sure nothing busted during the storm. Her forehead already dripping with sweat, she wiped at it with the back of her hand as she walked up beside Vex.

“Reckon you already have some business on port?” Zae asked. She’d been trying to drag the cyborg to one of the brothels when they went into port. He had yet to have taken the bait, somehow always evading her efforts.

Wes had less give in his plans, every visit in port was a list of errands to stock up the Regulus and this one was more important than any other. They would be going past the reach, though there’d be some smaller ports along they way where they could pick up some essentials - but he preferred not to risk it. They were barely able to live on top of each other whilst drunk and well fed, take those away and it’d be carnage.

“Alright - you stay here. I need you to get that kitchen sparkling, I’ll be coming in with barrows of shit so I need every bit of space we have.” Wes directed Nym. He could’ve taken her along, he’d prefer to keep an eye on her - but he didn’t want her getting lost.

The sound of the door leading to the quarters captains flung open, Yael walking out with a stoic expression. Half of those on the deck just glanced over briefly. He never interacted much with the crew anyhow, better off leaving that to Dieter. He was much better at dealing with others than Yael ever was. He walked to port, eyes on the city as they approached. Signaling from the dock the workers guided them into an empty spot.

As they pulled in a ladder smacked along the side of the ship, two people pulling themselves on board. Yael handed over some paperwork, the three exchanging words briefly before stamping Yael’s paperwork and heading back to the dock. Nodding to Dieter to give him the go ahead that they were all processed, he turned his back to the crew returning to his quarters.

Zae had already morphed her shape into a rope like shape, throwing herself overboard before reforming back on the dock. She looked back to Vex, using her hand to block the sun from her eyes. Her nose crinkled, eyes squinting.

“Well if you get tired of your scheduled lay, I’ll be at the Red Fox.” Zae hollered up, making no attempt of discretion and giving him a big goofy smile before jogging off.

“Alright - here’s a list of all the shit I need done.” Wes handed Nym a piece of parchment, pulling a bag over his shoulder.

---

xxxxxxx



It had been three weeks since she hopped ship and set foot on Zanzibar. Leaving her last crewmates to be afterthoughts in her mind. They had been different from the usual types she travelled with, and it hadn't helped that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't wrap her mind around the very basics of their language. She was usually far better at that, but this time she had spent most of her time onboard struggling to understand even the basic gestures. They'd been somewhat understanding, or she thought they had been understanding. Perhaps she had misread them altogether? It was certainly a possibility. The amount of issues that delayed them along the way to Zanzibar certainly hadn't been her fault, but she knew tensions were high, continuing to travel with them would have been a mistake and sooner or later they would have likely stranded her anyways. Ismeria refused to make that mistake again.

Ismeria didn't mind puttering around Zanzibar till the next viable ship came along anyways. Mostly spending her time hunched over glasses of amber liquid, biding her time with relaxation rather than work. She had the skills to barter and trade for what she needed - that had gotten her quite far already. But she knew her time was ticking away, day by day, she would need to get out of here soon. Before she went crazy. The stillness had already crept beneath her skin, an undeniable itch that begged her to get moving. She never knew where it came from, what wild energy had been instilled in her upon leaving her home planet, but she knew to listen to it.

Sometimes she imagined that it was her brothers spirit, his sense of adventure guiding her every step.

She missed him.

"My favorite customer! Welcome!" Cried the barkeep. Ismeria smiled - every customer was his favorite customer. His greeting had been the same for every patron that walked through the door. Even if it wasn't sincere it was endearing.

Ismeria slid into a seat, "The usual please," She spoke, folding up her glasses and setting them aside. It was easier to take them off indoors, where the brightness didn't pierce so deeply. She rubbed at the bridge of her nose, where the glasses usually sat heavily, digging into her skin. She should really find a better solution, but it always seemed like an afterthought.

"Going to the port today?" He asked as he slid the drink her way, the liquid sloshing over the side and onto the tabletop. She wondered briefly if it would be rude to ignore him - then decided yes, of course it would be asshole, and nodded before downing the drink in one go. She needed the warmth that the alcohol would bring. She had spent much of her time on Zanzibar freezing her ass off, unable to regulate her internal temperature with the atmospheric change. Even her cloak had been of little help - not to mention that her clothes beneath were the same rags she had been wearing thin for ages. She could definitely do for an overhaul. She hoped the next place she landed wasn't suspended in the air, she just wasn't built for places like this.

"Something interesting might finally come along," She told him, though the annoyance in her tone belied the message. Fingernails picking at the grooves in the wood grain. She was usually naturally chatty but the extended period of time stuck here had sucked the social pleasantries right out of her. She'd spent the last three days loitering around the port, scoping out the ships that came in and out. So far anything that caught her eye hadn't panned out. Either the ships wound up being less than ideal or the crews would have no need for her.

"Well, I wish you the best luck," the barkeep seemed to finally sense that she wasn't in the mood. Ismeria didn't like to come off as rude - she was a rather nice person by nature. But she also didn't mind having a little silence while she drank. He refilled her cup before he left, and she set about the task of drinking that one down as well.

But she would take his wishes of luck. She could certainly do with a little extra on her side.

She left a few coins on the table as she went, feeling the buzz of the alcohol in her system as she began the trek towards the port. She was there quite early, but there wasn't exactly a timeframe for when ships were coming and going. Sometimes the more interesting ones arrived in the dead of night, swatched in shadows, and sometimes it would be in the early creepings of dawn, riding the same winds that kept the cloud cover at bay. But being out and about in the open while it was so bright out was an issue. She pulled her cloak tighter, making sure that the hood was securely fashioned.

Usually she stayed well out of sight, though the workers had seen her there enough times that they didn't seem bothered by her presence anyhow. She simply chose a spot to get comfortable, and waited patiently. One eye on her surroundings, as she quietly picked through a book detailing the history of the city. She liked to pick-up as much information as she could on the places she had been. Books were the best tools by far to do so.

It seemed though that perhaps the barkeeps luck truly was on her side today. It wasn't long before she noticed the workers scurrying to get into their positions. A ship coming in to land. She set the book aside, watching the proceedings with interest. She had seen many ships of all shapes, sizes, and materials in her life. This one though. There was something about it that piqued her interest - that might have simply been the desperation to leave Zanzibar speaking to her though. She didn't know, but she did know that whatever else, she had to get onto that ship.

xxx.x

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Let's get mischievous
And polyamorous
Wine and women and wonderful vices
Welcome to the cult of Dionysus
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xxxxxxxxxx║ Hex: #722F37 ║


The rest of the trip to their next destination was relatively calm and typical for the ship of the Regulus.

Dieter was out on the deck of the ship for a few hours now and Xavi and their helmsman approached Zanzibar. Dieter was excited to make another stop before heading into the 36th, and knowing he had to take care of some personal things as well. The crew got to their roles prepping to make port as a young woman announced a visual of the city from the crows nest. Dieter watched on, most of the crew knew what to do already at this leg of their journey, but he liked to keep an eye on them for Yael.

As they pulled in, the sound of the captain's door flung open and Dieter let out a whistle to let it be known that Yael was on deck. Captain Yael personally didn’t want his crew to stop working when he was out, but Dieter kept a small reminder to the crew as respect to him. He leaned against the rail as he watched the exchange between the so-called port authorities and the captain, quickly catching the nod. “Port approved! You know the drill, get us anchored, get us docked. Xavi, Eladrin, pick a skeleton crew to stay behind.” He announced, walking down the steps and exchanging a glance with Yael.

Dieter flipped through the ledger he had gotten from Wes a few days ago going over their rations, knowing he could possibly hire some more help before leaving Zanzibar and making sure they wouldn’t have to go into their reserves. He made some last minute notes and comments to the crew that would be staying on the ship before finally walking onto the dock and taking in the air of some land. Even though Zanzibar itself was floating itself.

Much like he made himself through the brawl of his ship, Dieter effortlessly flowed through the crowd on Zanzibar, knowing he had an appointment to keep before more than likely going by the hotspots and seeing if any possible crew additions catch his eye. But as he continued to make his way through the city, heading away from the city center, he felt a presence on his trail. He was more curious than worried about whoever or whatever was following him, and started to take a small detour to confirm his suspicions. And his suspicions were correct as he entered a side alleyway.

The alleyway was long and narrow before coming to a dead end, Dieter was leaning against the back wall when the cloaked figure came around the corner and faced Dieter and his pistol on his hip. “Well hello ma’am. May I help you?”

xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDieter Baros
xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxHex = #722F37xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxIsmeria Valizar
xxxxxxxxxxxHex = #708090





Ismeria always found it strange how a person could stand so easily in a crowd without being noticed. She didn’t know how long she had been standing there, watching the arrival of the ship and the movements of its inhabitants as they began to pour out. She had moved closer, within a better eye and earshot of the goings on in order to scope out who exactly was in charge. There were a variety of ways that ships would run but generally, she could pinpoint those in leadership positions quite easily.

This time was truly no different. Now it was a matter of how to approach said person. There were times in the past, long ago when her brother was still around that they would simply stroll up and advertise themselves as boldly as possible. ”Ship in need of hard workers? There's four hands between us!” It worked nine times out of ten. But travelling alone had tanked that success rate quite considerably. A lot of the crews that had turned her down in the past had simply been unimpressed with her physical stature - a shallow gauge of her true abilities.

No, these days she tends to try and impress. Whether it's a good impression or not usually didn’t matter - she had to stick in their minds. She had skill, she could work, and she would contribute to whatever cause - at least until she grew bored of the atmosphere.

“Nice and easy,” She whispered to herself. Watching the man that she had pinpointed as most likely to be the first mate as he descended the ship and began heading into Zanzibar. Her first instinct was to follow at a steady pace, but preservation kept her sedate. She would watch, and follow, and hopefully not lose sight of him in the crowds. Was he going about some sort of business? She could perhaps interject herself into the situation if that were the case. Though it would be easier if he were headed towards a bar or something, she’d be able to talk to him casually, without the barrier of a man on a mission in the way.

Her thoughts were almost overwhelming, a slow anxiousness creeping beneath her skin as she thought about what she would say. It almost escaped her notice as he headed into a side alleyway, and she cursed herself as she thought about the implications - did he notice her following him? She was usually very careful, but she wasn’t exactly trained in stealth. She braced herself for the possibility that he was around the corner, weapon or fists ready, but as she rounded she saw him leaning against the back wall of the alleyway.

Her anxiety fled her almost at once, relaxing the tension in her muscles as she had braced herself for a fight. For a moment she wondered if this was going to be that easy. The alleyway was shaded particularly well, with the light fading downwards into shadows at the ground. Still, she didn’t feel particularly comfortable lifting her hood.

For a moment she hadn’t registered that he had spoken to her, before she finally replied.

“Yes,” she struggled a moment. “I won’t waste too much of your time here. I need off Zanzibar. I want on that ship you pulled into port on. I can't pay to be a passenger but I can work for it. Hard labor, maintenance, cleaning, what have you. I learn fast and I work hard, and I keep my complaints to the minimum.”

She took a breath, realizing that she was rambling on.

“I’ll do anything.” She said finally, peering at him through her glasses. Hoping that she wasn’t coming on too hard.

“Hmph.” Dieter let out a light murmur as the girl in front of him, a glow appearing under the hood she kept over her head and under her cloak, catching most of his attention rather than her words. She sputtered out information in a fast manner, Dieter mostly just paid attention to her request off of Zanzibar and willing to do anything. This made him a bit wary, people who were willing to do anything to get away often had reasons, and they were already harbingering one person as their current cabin boy.

“Maybe. My ship has rations we have to keep, so just bringing on anyone anytime isn’t always the base course of action, deary.” Dieter pushed himself off the wall and strolled closer to the woman, curious about her. “Why must you leave so badly? Especially with no credit to offer?” He asked, glancing down at his wrist and seeing the time, he had some to spare before his meeting. “You also don’t seem to care about where we’re going after this, I’ll let you know, it’s not an easy trip.”


“I didn’t ask for easy.” Ismeria dithered on the former question quite a bit. It wasn’t that she had to get off the planet, it was just that she needed it. If the answer was no, she’d resume her waiting game until the next ship, but she would rather convince him than just give up that easily. He was right of course, she would be taking up rations - and without credits in turn...she had some tucked away. She’d wasted much of it in her early days but what she did have was practically burning a hole in her pockets. But those credits tended to be the thing that saved her ass if she wound up in trouble.

“I’m not running from anything or anyone, if that's what you are worried about,” That wasn’t particularly true. But she felt the need to stress that out. She was running. Constantly attempting to move away from the stagnating feeling of being overwhelmingly alone so far from anything she’s truly ever been sure of. But that wasn’t any of his business. She saw him glance at his watch - so he was either busy or this conversation was going particularly awful, she couldn’t be sure which. Either way…

“Give me a chance, let me show you I can be useful.” She pleaded.

“We’ll see.” Was all Dieter said as he went to walk past her, much like any deal, he wanted it to be known he held all the cards. But as he got next to her, she grabbed his arm to stop him. “Hey wait!” She cried out. But Dieter ignored her plea and took this opportunity to quickly yank her hood down and see who she truly was, or what she was more so. What was hidden under the hood that was giving off the glow was revealed, her skin. “Ah. Lumina.” He said out loud, as the girl shoved him back.

“Was that really necessary? You could have just asked...” She had quickly surpassed her frustration back into the territory of annoyance. She made no attempt to pull the hood back up, trying to temper the sudden spike of anger. But she was on guard now, pulling back to stand a few extra inches away.

“Yes. I don’t ask. Now, let’s get going Lumina.” Dieter replied, and headed out of the alleyway back onto the street. He never said out loud he would take her with him, but assumed she would now follow him to his next location, would also prove to see how worthy and if she held any benefits of allowing her.

At this rate Ismeria was going to become a nervous wreck before she even got onto the ship. She hastened to match his pace, trying her best to ignore the discomfort she was feeling. “It’s Ismeria, by the way.” She told him. Not that he has asked. But she couldn’t very well keep letting him call her Lumina.

Dieter stayed quiet as the two of them walked for a bit longer, before turning down another alley way, but this time coming to a door that had a holographic lock keeping it from being opened. “Here we are.” Dieter said, mostly out loud rather than to his new companion. He did an intricate knock on the door before the lock disappeared and opened up, he gave Ismeria a gentle push to indicate her to go first.

He wanted her to go first? Was this a trap? The fluster and panic had caused her to briefly brighten, the chemical flood of stress hormones an alarm blaring her distress at the unknown. But she had to show her worth, she couldn’t let her fears overwhelm her this early in the game. He had said it wouldn’t be easy after all - and she suspected very little was easy when it came to this man anyways.

Carefully she stepped past the door and into the looming unknown.

As the two of them entered, Dieter stayed behind Ismeria, lightly guiding her with a pat on her left or right side, until they came into an open room. As they went by the door, two men with weapons quickly flanked them, one with what seemed like a modified shotgun, and another with just two knives. “Dieter.” A voice came from the center, and a man stood up from the table. He had an eyepatch covering one eye, and a cybernetic lens covering the other. “You said you would be alone.” He followed, standing up and walking around the table, walking towards Dieter and Ismeria.

The man was a few feet away from them when all of the sudden he dropped the serious act and a smile came over his face. “Just pulling your leg le old bastard. Good to see you.” The two other men in the room tucked their weapons away and stepped back.

All of the alarm bells were going off in her mind but she adopted a casual stance as best she could. Seeming the picture of relaxed, while still internally wondering what sort of mess she had gotten herself into. They were outnumbered by one. Ismeria could fight - if she had to - but she wasn’t trained in combat specifically. Her brother had taught her to hold her own in a chaotic sort of way, but it was chaotic desperation that usually fueled her. The two at the door were worrisome, even with their weapons dropped. They were blocking the most immediate visible exit after all, and Ismeria hated feeling trapped. Their backs were practically to a literal wall.

Was she supposed to introduce herself? She kept quiet, even so.

“Good to see you too Sirche. Had to make a quick stop.” Dieter spoke, walking around Ismeria as the eyepatched man, Sirche, guided him over to the table and the two sitting down. On the table was a wrapped white box and a knife, which Dieter grabbed and cut into the box, a blue powder substance poofing out a bit. He scooped a bit up onto the blade and brought it up to his eye level. “High quality there son, just as asked.” Sirche spoke, Dieter practically ignoring him as he analyzed the powder, then bringing it to his nose and snorting it. He let out a deep breathe and rubbed his nose after putting the knife down. “Blue dust.” Sirche spoke again, holding out a knife to Ismeria.

She blinked.

After a moment she realized she had been staring for a moment too long before coming carefully closer to the table. She couldn’t deny that her curiosity was piqued. She wasn’t a stranger to substances per se but she hadn’t had much experience either, she’d certainly never snorted anything before. She glanced briefly at Dieter, searching for approval before hesitantly grabbing the knife.

She could practically hear her brother rolling in his grave, cursing at her stupidity in the moments before she brought the blue dust to her nose and copied Dieter's actions. Holy gods, she nearly dropped the knife at the initial shock. She hadn’t expected the way it would burn through her sinuses, hot and heavy. Her eyes watered, and she tried to rub away the pain to no avail. It was clear she was inexperienced, but she was almost helpless to the need to gain the room's approval - she couldn’t show weakness, not now.

Dieter was surprised by Ismeria, and a bit impressed. Though it was obviously the girls first time, he was already feeling his high coming along just from the small amount. He quickly pulled out a small drive and slid it across the table. “As agreed on.” Dieter said as he stood up and grabbed the box. He took a step towards the door when one of the people from earlier stepped in front of him, blocking him from moving further. “Truth. Was agreed upon, But ye know the price a being from Lumina can fetch me? Leave the girl D.”

“You insane Sirche?” Dieter quickly spurted from his lips, back still the man he just paid. “Ye know the answer to that, she’s ain’t worth the trouble.” He turned around to face Sirche, and watched as one of the other men walked over to Ismeria. While he wasn’t exactly attached to the girl, he wasn’t about to let her be sold. “No deal. And you can keep the dust.” He slammed down the package and reached for the drive. The drive was snatched out of his reach and Dieter was pushed back, almost tripping over a chair. “Last chance. Is this Lumina worth fighting over?”

“She’s part of my crew.” Dieter said, walking forward, face to face with Sirche. “Give me the blue dust, or give me back my drive.” He wasn’t sure if it was the blue dust, or his adrenaline going, but he wasn’t in the mood for this.

The drug was more than beginning to work through her system. The flood of adrenaline. The stress. All of it was raging through her like a storm. The second that one of the men that had been blocking the exit came near enough to grab her She felt it all hit at once - this was going south faster than expected. She reeled back, jerking out of the man's grip with a surprising amount of strength - was that the drugs work too? She was hazy, the room spinning as she moved too fast. She had overbalanced and the next moment the crash of her knocking the table over was all she could hear.

The next moment was when things went a bit south. Ismeria had yanked away from the one man and knocked over the table. Dieter used this as a distraction as he shoved Sirche back and threw a punch at the man who was originally blocking his way out. As the man staggered and brought up the shotgun, Dieter hit it upwards, causing him to shoot into the ceiling. He swept his foot under him and grabbed the shotgun, pointing it at Sirche.

Ismeria was panicking. But she had wormed her way out of enough situations to know she couldn't freeze. She had to move. Her hands scrambled along the floor until she realized that the drugs, gone unnoticed, had spilled off the table with her tumble.

She wasted no time, grabbing the powder up, only for a moment later to feel the man from before grabbing ahold of her cloak. She whipped upwards without a thought. In her fist she held a small bit of the blue dust. She blew into it, shooting the powder into the man's eyes and blinding him - if the sting of her nose had been any earlier indication this had to of burned badly.

He cried out and she took the opportunity to knee him in the groin as hard as she could. Waiting for him to fall to his knees before she swung wildly with a fist to the temple. He went down, and Ismeria stumbled away to Dieters side.

“We’re done here.” Dieter said flatly as Ismeria got next to him. He shoved Ismeria towards the door as he picked up his drive and backed up until he was out of the room. He closed the door and blocked it using the shotgun as they left so they wouldn’t easily be followed as he and Ismeria left.

“Not bad Lumina.” Dieter commented. “Ismeria.” He corrected himself with a smirk.

"Thanksss," she slurred, trying not to throw up right then and there. This adventure had panned out to be more than she had first thought it would be. [color=#708090]"Meet you back at the ship." She needed to take a detour, get all her things from the dwelling she'd been holed up in until now. “We leave tomorrow, but you can spend the night onboard, just tell them you know Dieter. Oh, and you can have this.” Dieter said, tossing the drive to her and walking into the crowd, seeming to disappear among the people. Ismeria caught the drive, and headed her own way, she was pretty sure she needed to compose herself before meeting the crew. She had no clue how she was going to survive if this was the precedent for the coming days.

But hell.

It sure beat being stuck on Zanzibar.