Katie Brighton's Story

Katie glanced to Farai, and withdrew his hand from his face to look down to his armor. "Not much packed for a war. Not unless I would like to get shot. I do hope your people come through this war safely then, and you as well. A shame such a..." He glanced to the window and the street again. The streets were rank and dirty, the buildings worn. "...nice place, has to go through war. It happens everywhere."

"Yeah, that's the word for it." He said, giving a quick nod to the word 'mercenary'.

And he lifted his hand as Alix stood up. "Is okay. Stay safe, and do not die. Perhaps Misrana would be a way to escape your suitors, yeah?" With it, he waved. A string of words came after, obviously foreign, and a goodbye in his foreign tongue.

Katie grinned at Farai, for perhaps the first time. Not before his concentrated stare at the radio was broken to do so, however. "I am alien to Terra, this does not mean I am not human. My skin is very much real." He moved his hand to his opposite arm and pinched the skin there, to further his point.

"We are in Wing City. Do you have any..." The man twirled his hand around, as if he were sifting for the correct word. After he couldn't find it, he imitated the same strange gesture as Farai had. Language barriers made people do the strangest things.

"And my planet is all human, for smart animals anyway." He paused. "Sentient? Your animal-animals are different than ours. Very strict there too, most Tetans will not allow a six-armed trans... lu... cent, large-eyed monster on their planet. Or anyone with pointy ears, unless they have a work permit."

It could only imply how fun a time he had in coming to Wing City. Speaking of which, the ground shook and a large explosion had sounded off in the distance. It cut the man's talking quite short, as he held onto his seat with one hand and looked to, as if he were ready to run.

Katie looked a little distraight at 'couldn't speak the language correctly', but Farai had given him no room to protest. As the explosions shook the city, he stood up along with Farai, and nodded.

"Okay. Maybe I will see you there, then?" He said. "I will keep 'tuned in'." With that, he smiled, and waved as Faarai had sped off to wherever they were going to. The ground rumbled again, and it was soon figured that waving and standing still wasn't too good an idea during a terrorist attack.

Soon after, he took off down the street.

Much like the other Terrans and outsiders who came to view the landing of the Misrana spaceship, the Lalitia, Katie Brighton was there just as well. It was quite a sight to be had, only accentuated by the various reactions from the people around him; wonder, amazement, engagement. And he joined in, his expectations having been exceeded with the landing of the ship. A grin spread on his face, he pushed to the front linings of the crowd.

His hands vacantly clapped along with the beat of the drums, and just as much, he stepped aside to let the performers through; much like the other patrons of the landing festival had done.

After a moment, however, Katie's hands seemed to slack at his side as he looked around, past the crowd and performers, to the ship. Perhaps they would permiss people on board after the mock festival had been over with.

For then, he waved a hand to the performers and took in the sight of the ship.

Katie disregarded his confusement at that time to join in the festivities. As it might've been strange for a man of his demeanor to get too excited for the pseudo festival. He did, however, wave quite excitedly and holler at the cat-riders and dancers.

And there was nothing but temporary disappointment when the dancers whisked themselves away, and nothing but enthusiasm when he'd been graced with their presence. Anything of a wary eye toward the colorful assortment of characters had been completely dissolved by the merry festivities.

Just as much, though, he could only wonder when they would open their gates. A thought abrogated by the impressive (but concerning) carapace spaceship, foreign jungle cats, and exotic dancers beforehand, but it arose again.

When the tail of the parade poured out from the ship, all but silence followed. Whispers along the receding crowd of amazed Terrans could be heard all around, and the chatter followed the parade out into the streets of Wing City.

Few people were left behind, many of which were Zanzarian guards.

Something broke the silence after the storm. One last thunder cloud, tumbling from the belly. "Hey, wait! You can't lea- ugh!"

A woman wearing black armor, riding a creature similar to the ones Katie had seen previously, but with much more squat, flexible legs. It paraded around madly, eyes wide at all of the new terrain. Everything it spotted, it pounced. Katie was no exception. The second the creature laid its eyes onto the archer, it began to bound toward him, its rider fighting for control. "Watch out!"

Katie's eyes were fixated on the parade; when it's numbers began to dwindle and people began to return to their commonplace activities, it wasn't something that he'd had the attention to take notice to. Only when it began to grow more quiet did he look around, his own smile receding a little when it showed that it hadn't been as well recieved to the Terrans as it was to him.

Still, it furthered his cause. The ship was undoubtedly going back to Misrana, no matter how many Terrans had obliged it's cause. The archer picked a guard out of the crowd with his eyes, and began to walk toward him, unaware of the events that were transpiring with the wild creature.

And although he wasn't the most reactive, when the creature bounded at him, there was nothing he could do that didn't involve taking notice. The sound alone brought his attention around, though perhaps it was a little late in doing so. Katie whipped about, and froze in place.

Just a moment later, he tripped over his feet in some sort of mock attempt to run forward, and landed smack dab under the underbelly of the beast. Covering his head, at that.

For someone who looked so combat-ready, there was nothing about his demeanor that screamed anything about bravery.

When the man suddenly disappeared from sight, the cat looked around, bewildered and confused. He had just been there! Did the beings upon this planet have the ability to cloak themselves? Amazing.

"Kaslane, sit!" the girl ordered the animal. With a low groan that any child would utter when they knew they'd been caught and had no choice, the biovehicle sat.

And immediately stood back up with a yelp.

The girl slid from Kaslane to inspect the damage. "What's wrong? What happe- ah...ahhhhh...haha." She pursed her lip at the sight before her, hand coming to rub the back of her neck. "Kaslane, I think we're in trouble. 'We should run from here,' kind of trouble, you know? I think you killed him..." Her eyes suddenly shot open, and she knelt next to the man, grasping for his collar. "Hey! Heeey! You aren't dead, right? Come on, I'll be in really big trouble if you're dead!"

A high pitched yelp came from underneath the creature as it's instructor had ordered it to sit. Katie didn't want to die, not under a large animal from outer space at a parade donned by a cruise ship to another planet. What would they put on his epitaph?

Just when the pressure had set on his back, it was released just as fast as the creature stood up. He dared peek past his arm, but it quickly covered his head once the girl slid from the creature. Finding that a few moments after, she had been speaking to get his attention, he looked up.

No, no, not dead at all.

He batted away the girl's hand from his collar and slid out from underneath the animal. Down he looked, almost in disbelief. He sat for a second with his calves sitting horizontally under his thighs before he pushed himself up and looked back to the girl.

After a few seconds of somewhat awkward staring, the archer spoke up.

"Not dead, am Katie. How to sign up for the ship?" He asked, and pointed a thumb toward the vessel. A wary eye was kept on the animal.

The girl blinked, looking up at him with a rather surprised expression. "Not...dead...is Katie a term for not doing quite alright? Maybe it's the term for a head injury on this planet..." she mumbled, standing up. It was there that she was able to get a good look at him. Her eyes wormed over his face, the tubes plunging into his throat, the armor, his weapons...

"So...this is the kind of soldier Terra has, huh?" she breathed, tone filled with shock and admiration. She circled him, trying to ogle at every inch she could lay her eyes on. Finally, she brought her eyes to his. "Sign up for the ship? Ah...ah...in what way? What are you looking to...ah...do?" she asked. The large robo-cat sneaked around her, looking Katie over just the same.

Any normal person might have felt like a garrotted slab of meat in a shark tank with how the two were scrutinizing him, but Katie didn't see it as anything but a way to get on the ship. "No," He said, "Katie is a term for my name." And although he'd almost been crushed or trampled just moments earlier, he smirked.

"I am not Terran, and not soldier anymore. I would like to go to your planet; Misrana. If it is too high of cost, I work good stow security. Would you allow me on your ship?" With that, Katie's eyes had moved past the girl and Kaslane, to the bug-like spaceship that still stood imposingly behind them.

"If it is not too much trouble, of course?"

The woman shook her head. "Oh! No, no! We just have to make sure you aren't trying to escape from the Aschen people! Of course..." She took another gander at him, "I don't think that would be too much of a problem if you'd really like my help..."

The cat smacked the woman in the shoulder with a paw, eyes still on Katie. The girl stumbled a ways, then ran her fingers through her hair. "Um...right! I'm one of the security leaders, Sich Karis! This is my ATW and partner, Kaslane!" She put her hands flat on her thighs, then gave a slight bow. "An honor to come in contact with another race, regardless of whether you're Terran or not! Here, if you come with me, we can sign you right up for sexu- I mean...security! If that's what you want to do! We'll love to have you!" She reached out to take his wrist, then drag him toward the ship. "Come on! The sooner the better, and after this you can show me around this place!"

Any hints toward hidden motivation on Sich's part had flown over Katie's head like a high-speed jet plane. Instead, he nodded as she talked, and grinned all the while. "I am not infracting rules by the Aschen. Only here on family business."

"Good to meet you, Sich," He said, with a nod and a confused look toward the cat which had pawed at the woman. Regardless, he returned the girl's gesture with a slight nod in her direction, which seemed to be his lackluster way of a greeting.

And it was a little surprising how willingly Sich agreed to his offer, but it wasn't something he was going to make a note of. He gave a quick, "Okay," Before following right along after the woman as she grabbed his wrist.

"Your culture is very assertive."

"We have to be! How else did you think we made it through the Aschen? I heard that doesn't happen much!" she laughed, dragging him into the ship. Of course, Kaslane was not far behind. Once Katie came into the ship, a sweet, heavy scent would hit his nose. Candles were lit all around the hallway, with its white, carved corridors and smooth floors.

The entrance would give way to a wide, round elevator cased by glass. Once boarded, it would reach an interior balcony, which overlooked quite a full and magnificent lobby.

Spiral stairs twisted around beams in a way that resembled strands of DNA, and lights streamed from the ceiling, pouring into small pools at the bottom. Sich dialed for an elevator by placing her fingers within a small hole in the wall and dragging at a small lever within it.

The elevator slowly descended, and as it did so, Sich turned to glare at the cat that had followed them. "You can't fit! Go climb one of the beams on the other side!" she scowled. The cat lowered its head, and, with a groan, began to bound off in the other direction.

The elevator doors opened. Something stared back at them from within it. It was a strange, grey-skinned alien. One of which Katie had heard about on the radio just the night before, with six limbs, two of which were small, delicate arms curled against its chest. The others were much larger arms that clung to the rails within the elevator, keeping itself up. It stared back at Katie and Sich with eyes that nearly took up half its massive head.

"Have you brought a Terran in already, Sich?" the alien replied, its head tilting to one side. "They look so very human."

Katie looked almost overwhelmed by the ship's interior; it wasn't anything he had expected. Not upon entering a giant legged arthropod cetacean insectoid spaceship. It was pleasant, though, and any look of awe had quickly subsided as fast as it had come. His legs worked in automatic mode as his eyes shot from place to place and the foreign architecture captured his attention.

Which was only brought back when they began to enter the elevator. By the time the archer looked back down to it, the gray alien inside was staring back at them. Katie flinched in macabre surprise, the appearence of... whatever the thing had been obviously surprising him.

He glanced to Sich, almost baring a questioning glance that said 'Should I run away?' or 'Should I be surprised?', or perhaps, 'Should I shoot it?'.

When it had spoken up, he glanced back to it. "Am not a Terran, I am human. A, um... Pleasure?"

His eyes widened, and blinked far less than normal as he spoke.

The grey, multiarmed alien, who went by the name of Urian, lead them down the balcony, past the lobby, and into another set of white, pearly hallways. Intricate carvings decorated the walls, and liquid light ran through veins on the ceiling.

They came to a pair of black doors at the end of the hall. Where there should have been a doorknob, there was a hole. Urian, who had been climbing down the hallway using the silvery rails that clung to every wall and ceiling, extended one of her tiny hands and let it disappear within the dark hole in the door. There was a click, then a wail as the doors quite suddenly and violently slid open, disappearing within the walls.

Inside, there was a rather grey room. It was rather dull compared to the rest of the ship that Katie had seen. It had one black desk in the middle, two chairs in front, and one behind. The carpet was grey. The walls were grey. Even the liquid light ceiling seemed to be emanating a rather uninteresting glow upon the scene. Were it not for the medals and pictures upon the desk, coupled with a dozen papers, it would have looked very much like a jail cell.

Sich and Urian walked in, looking back at Katie. "Well, come on. We can put up a notification here. Of course, Vliyain isn't here, and head of Security went with him, so we'll have to wait until anything is set in stone." said Sich.

Katie followed near-to-close behind, his eyes tracing the various adornments and wonders that seemed to line the ship from deck to stow. It was much unlike anything he had ever seen, which kept his interest flickering from place to place.

When they had stopped, he almost bumped into the gray-skinned alien, as his eyes had been glued to the ceiling at that time. He caught himself, though, and flinched when his attention shot forward, and the doors ahead of him slid open. For a moment, he stood in silence, before speaking up. "The Vliyan does not seem like a very colorful fellow."

He walked into the room, glancing around it as he did, thinking that perhaps all the offices were like that. It was a cruise ship, after all. For all he knew, the Misranians lived their day-to-day lives in dreary jail-like abodes. The train of thought quickly dismissed itself, and soon enough, his eyes wandered back down to Sich and Urian.

"All your rooms look like this?"

"Oh, hardly! Vliyain is a nunki, though. Most of them like pretty dull things. If the design of the ship was up to them, it wouldn't be much of a cruise ship! Only this room was specified to be like this because it's his office. Isn't it dreadful?" she laughed. Urian sifled through a few papers, took a moment to stare at them, then picked out the one he had been looking for.

Turning back to Katie, the alien poked the paper in his direction. "Please fill the proper fields out. They are translated into the Terran language, English, so I hope you might not have any difficulty." he said, voice flat.

Sich's hands grasped together. "I'll have you join my squad! That means you'll have to learn how to drive an ATW! Or fly a Kamakina!"

As to what those were, Katie would be finding out soon.

Katie took the paper in hand, and glanced it over. He had a better time writing in English than he did speaking it, that was certain. He paced over to the desk and grabbed a pen, and began to fill it out over the desk as Sich talked.

"ATW?" He asked, half distracted. "Is like Terran car?"

"Oh, not at all," Sich responded. "You've already seen them! Don't you remember?"

The scrawlings that the man made were near illegible, reminiscent of handwriting harbored by doctors and cats. It was obvious that he wasn't used to writing in the language, but it wasn't as if they were going to have Tetan papers. After a moment, he finished, and handed off the paper to Urian again.

"Fly? I take very few plane classes when I was younger, before I crash and stop."

Oh, yes. He was hopeful.

Urian took the paper and placed it atop all the others. He brought two fingers of the smaller arms to his mouth, whistling three quick, high notes. From the little hole in the wall, something crawled out.

It looked like a smaller model of the entire ship. A small, white bug with a plated shell and a good amount of more legs than the Lalitia. Several sentacles hung off its sides. Urian tapped the paper that Katie had completed, then spoke, very clearly, "You must tell Captain Khoy that this is important. This is his first priority as soon as he returns to his office. Understood?"

The creature seemed to nodd, then crawl atop the paper and withdrew both legs and tentacles. It looked very much like an inanimate paperweight. Sich nodded, then leaned over to whisper to Katie, "That's a Flea. We use it for quick messages on the other side of the crew and little reminders like these. News travels pretty quick through them!" she explained.

"Flea," Katie repeated. "We have fleas on Terra and Teta IV. They are not nearly as useful as these fleas." He said, and prodded the small creature with a finger before withdrawing his hand rather quickly. "Do Misran have e-mail?"

In a change of subject, Katie cleared his throat and continued. "Thank you for having me on board your ship. You have been very kind," His gaze shot toward Sich. "And very enthusiastic."

Urian touched his fingertips together. "Any planetary foreigner is welcome, so long as they don't mean harm," he replied. "To us, that is." It was so slight, one could almost not have been able to properly tell if the gesture was purposeful or not, however...it seemed as though Urian had a smile upon those tiny, thin lips.

"Is there anything else aboard the ship you would like to see?" Sich asked. "Perhaps show you the...ah...I guess you'd call it a barn here. Or an armory. It's a little hard to categorize things when they're several things all at one time, y'know?"

"Barn... Armory? You keep your weapons where your animals are?" Asked Katie, though he was far less surprised, having seen the theme of the ship as of then. "Yes, I would like that very much," He said, with a smile and a nod. After he'd done so, he looked to Urian, and gave the same nod to him.

"Thank you again," He said. Any smile the alien might've worn was largely unnoticed by the archer.

"Lead the way, then." A few deft steps, and Katie was idle near the door from which they'd come from, waiting for Sich and Urian to pass through again.

Sich nodded, letting Urian climb on ahead. The alien went off down the hallway, in the opposite direction of where they needed to be going. Sich blinked. "Ah, I suppose he has other things to do. Ustelu expect people to read their minds, sometimes. Which...happens...sometimes, I suppose. But not that often." she said, as though it were the most common thing in the world. Mind reading. That was normal!

"Alright, this way to the, ah...just this way." she contined, leading him down the hallway to the right. The hall gradually became larger, and the texture of the floor changed from a smooth marble to a much softer substance. If one were to guess, it would seem as though they were walking upon the gigantuan organs of the ship itself. It certainly sunk beneath each step, even squelching at odd spots.

They came to yet another set of doors, these much taller, wider, and heavier than any they had seen before. An interesting locking device spanned the length of the door, with the engravings of two dog heads on either side, mouths closed over a bar that kept the door closed. Sich reached out, taking it within her hands. She closed her eyes and inhaled.

Veins that had previously been invisible to their eyes lit up along the bar, spereading along the faces of the metal hound heads. With a growl, their mouths opened, and the bar was easily pulled free in Sich's hand. She slid it over to a pocket in the wall to the left, then pushed the doors opened.

"I don't know much about this planet, but from what I hear...you guys have nothing like this." she told him, an undeniably satisfied grin spreading across her cheeks. What lay before them as the doors opened would make most jaws drop.

Thousands of machines lay inside, walking around lazily to get to their destinations. They all resembled Sich's animal from earlier, every one fused with machine and glowing tubes that ran from capsules on their sides to the back of their heads. Some were very much like cats, others wolves, and many were other recognisable animals.

The room was so large, it almost had a sky, and flying above were dragons. Green lizards with spines running along their backs. Sick spread her arms wide.

"This is the...ah..garage?"

Katie stopped when Urian headed the opposite direction, then becoming a little confused in his pursuits. He looked to Sich, and then to the departing alien, before hearing out her explanation and giving a curt nod. "There are people in Tetan culture who expect you to read their minds too, but we call them idiots," He said, "The only difference that it never happens."

When the masonry turned from marble to squishy organ-like material, Katie's steps became inexplicably faster. Perhaps it was due to disgust that he hurried, it only becoming more evident as his pointed gaze watched his feet shuffle in front of eachother, and grimaced at the first squelch sound he'd heard. It was beginning to make sense, though. Their animals were their vehicles.

And they were inside of one.

Regardless, when they came to the door, he pulled his eyes away from the unfortunate flooring to the door. He jumped when the doorknockers seemed to growl, but quickly composed himself.

"We do not have much of anything you do," He said, before entering the 'garage'. Accordingly, his brow raised as his gaze shot from place to place, animal to machine. "No," He said, "We do not have anything like this."

For a full few minutes, he took in the sight of all. When he went to open his mouth, it was hard to form words, though when he did, it was foreign and meek. Another clear of the throat, and Katie spoke up.

"Your garage is far larger than the one I have," He said. "No, I have never seen anything like. Think I can excuse the poor carpetries for this."

He looked to Sich again, for if there was direction beforehand, he had lost it.

She reached her hand out to grasp his wrist. "Well, I thought...y'know. Since you're signing up for security, you have to learn to get along with everything and everyone at some level." She pursed her lips. "Does this unnerve you, Katie? You...look really surprised." the girl noted.

Sich looked up, watching as one of the large catlike vehicles approached them. It was Kaslane, greeting Katie with a nodd of her head.

"No," Katie said. "Well," He hesitated, before giving a half shrug. "Anyone would be surprised at this. Unnerved a little, but your animals seem nice when they are not trying to kill me."

Speaking of which, he looked back down. Upon seeing Kaslane, Katie jumped. After gaining his composure, he nodded to the beast.

"Well, they're only part of everything we do. But I guess that really doesn't go for here, huh? Weird." responded Sich. She lead Katie on. "So, what do you think? You'll get to ride one, if you really want! Well, you might even have to. Especially if you come to Misrana. It'll be how you get from one place to another. We have some yet-to-be-activated ATW's in the back. Vliyain encouraged us sharing our technology, so no one will mind!"

She began to climb Kaslane, sitting comfortably in the cusioned seat all the way atop the beasts back. She extended a hand to the archer. "C'mon. It's a bit of a walk."

"I have noticed this. You fly around space in giant whale-beetle," replied Katie, with a nod. "I suppose it could not hurt, learning early, anyway."

He looked at Kaslane as Sich extended her hand, a little unnerved. This was the beast that almost crushed him. It was obviously a very opinionated vehicle. He gave a nod of acknowledgement to the animal before warily grasping Sich's hand, and pulling himself up. The worst that could happen would be he'd be reared off.

That said, Katie clutched onto Sich's shoulder like a scared feline.

"Okay. Am ready."

Sich certainly was not complaining. She bit her lower lip, then reached to take one of several wires that were bunched into a pocket right ahead of the bars she was meant to hold. She flipped her wrist over, then inserted the wire into a small port inside of her gauntlet. There was a tiny spark before they began to rush off.

Kaslane began to buckle and shrink below them. If Katie looked over the side, he would see the most unusual thing. Wheels extended from Kaslane's chest and abdominals, paws grasping their middles and acting as track forks to steady them. Her neck shrunk, and a metal plate was lifted over her head, curving over the front wheel.

If Katie did not know any better, he would think he was on an almost perfectly normal, if large, motorcycle.

"Alright, hold on!" Sich cried, revving the accelerator. The wheels screeched before they were sent shooting forward, dodging any animal, alien, machine, and person in their way.

Katie did know better, however, and the grotesque transformation of the animal caught him by surprise, and by the expression on his face, he'd found it quite macabre. "Do all your animals do this?" He asked loudly, over the whipping air, the grip on Sich's shoulders tightening a little bit as they'd gone faster. He could only wonder if turning animals into vehicles was morally sound at all.

But that train of thought was soon lost as Sich revved the accelerator, and they speedily shot through the garage.

"Only ATW's!" replied Sich. "And, well, a few of the amphib units. But not the Kamakina! You'll learn what these are soon!"

They neared the opposite wall, she began to break. As she did, Kaslane's paws hit the ground, her neck extended, and the wheels disappeared into her body. They skidded right in front of a massive line of ATW's held up by hooks. They had the same amount of variance as everything Katie had already witnessed, but without the glowing lights and...well, life. As Sich slid from Kaslane's back, she held out a hand, like she had done before, to help Katie down. "We're here."

By the time they stopped, Katie was white-knuckled. He was happy to stumble off the vehicle and regain his balance once his feet touched the ground, clumsily, at that. He took a moment to lean on Kaslane with a hand to regain his composure, before looking ack up at where Sich had directed them. He glanced toward her for a split second before approaching one of the ATWs.

"Do all turn into cats?"

He ran his hand over the bike for a moment, inspecting its' parts, before backing off and turning to look back at Kaslane and his raven-haired tour guide.

"No. The Callandaline are popular, but they're not the only ones! We have a lot of different ones. What you want might depend on how heavy or quick you want your ATW to be. Callandaline ATW's can scale buildings easy, but they can't handle heavy attacks, nor are they the best with stamina. Walkers that are more like...ah...I guess you call them wolves! They're good at stamina, can't climb, and...so on! It depends on what kind of features you want."

"Will take wolf," Katie started off, "Is not my intention to climb buildings, and I prefer dog." He said.

For a quick moment, he glanced them over again, before looking to Sich. "How do you tell which are wolf and which are cat?" He asked.

Before Sich would have a chance to answer, a seam formed in the wall the pair stood near. The oddly illuminated veins split as a steadily growing crack of light formed, an unseen doorway swinging open to reveal a third figure, slight in stature, with a pair of massive, ebony wings folded firmly against her shoulders.

Out of her traditional Misranan attire, the girl wore little more than a pair of loose slacks, and a thin, sleeveless blouse that left her middriff bare. The veins beneath her skin were unusually dark, and glittered faintly in different shades of blue when the light struck it. The tips of her wings glittered with a fibre-optic effect, even as she stood there observing the others.

Her eyes, a strange, cobalt blue, seemed to glow in the darkness.

She seemed surprised that someone was there, and, self-conscious of the fact that she wasn't well-covered, ducked her head, muttering an apology before slipping towards the dead ATW's.

"Sorry Sich," she said again, rolling her eyes at her own informality before ducking back to search for something.

"Waiiiit! Jessica!" cried Sich. "What're you doing? We've got a...um...foreigner on board! He's not Terran, but I don't know. He seems like a right good soldier to me. Or, ah. Security, right?" She reached up to pat him on the shoulder.

"Katie! This is Jessica, and Jessica....Katie! She's the keeper of a rather destructive force on this ship. Her name is Shadow. Beware." she informed the man. "He's looking for an ATW since he's joining. Isn't that exciting? Do you remember your first Walker?"

Katie quickly looked to the seam in the wall as it split and grew, forming a doorway for the newly entering woman. She was strange, sure, but she was no four-plus limbed alien, for sure. For a moment, Katie glanced between Sich and the new arrival, Jessica, looking for a hint of surprise. But even then, it seemed that people with wings opening walls and trotting through happened on a day-to-day basis.

Foreigners were weird, but rarely were they ever that weird.

When Sich cried out and introduced him, he nodded to the woman, a slight smirk played on his face. "Hello," He said, "Am Katie."

Regardless of whether the winged woman was facing him at the time, out shot a hand for her to shake. "And I am from Teta IV," He continued, glancing toward Sich as he had done so. "Am not soldier."

The very moment that Sich called out her name, Jessica froze, glancing back over her shoulder to give the other a withering look. She disliked how perpetually excited everyone was, how no one seemed to be able to leave her alone. It was driving Shadow up the wall, which in turn drove her up the wall.

But, she wasn't going to be rude. She turned back to the pair, walking over to take Katie's hand. She had a firm grasp, but didn't let her hand linger in his for too long.

"Hi." she replied, delivering a slight, shy smile. "I'm Jessica Rose, and I'm neither a soldier, nor a fan of Walkers."

He hasn't the faintest idea of what he's getting himself into, does he?

The voice at the back of her mind startled her for a moment. She dropped Katie's hand, and reached to scratch the back of her neck. "I trashed my first one not a week after having it. They frighten Shadow, too, so I tend to avoid them." She gestured to the walkers at their side. "But, they're meant for some and not for others. What made you decide to come to Misrana?"

What? Or who?

Caldor, really. Be quiet.

"You're a real spoilsport. That's what they call those here!" said Sich, looking upon Jessica disaprovingly. Walkers were Sich's life. "After all, it's not like they're just lifeless vehicles. Unlike all the cars here, that is." she sniffed, scratching the side of her nose. She beckoned to her own Walker, Kaslane, who walked over and sat next to Sich.

"A pleasure to see you again, Jessica." she said, the speakers behind her ears letting fluid sound form into words that would be understandable to both the women and Katie.

Which might have come as a surprise to the Tetan man. She had not yet spoken since meeting him.

Katie smiled and shook Jessica's hand; his handshake was light and surprisingly curt, and he protested none to the quickness of which she withdrew her hand. "Perhaps I should pick cat then, since you have such negative review?" He asked, albeit a little more than playfully. Being subject to the quip of Jessica (albeit to Sich) wasn't entirely in his nature.

He let his hand slack to his side, and raised a brow when the name 'Shadow' had been brought up again. He was almost ready to question the name, before Jessica had asked about Misrana. An obvious look of confusion subsided, and developed into a grin. "Well, the question is why not, I am sure? I come to travel. Most people of my culture do not leave Teta IV, until their ashes are scattered into space."

"I come to Terra on family business, I find they are in process of war. Not very good vacation spot, all things considered. Your parades and ship and people are fantastically different, though, and I am not to pass up an opportunity when one arises," He said, before looking to the source of the new voice.

It had visibly surprised Katie when the creature seemed to talk, and he soon looked between the ATWs and the creature.

"In retrospect, I pick cat."

She'd forgotten that the walkers could speak. Jessica flinched, looking over at Kaslane before offering the walker a hesitant smile. "It...isn't so much a negative review. I just tend to cling to old habits, and Walkers don't fit into that category."

But her eyes came back to Katie, the cobalt irises flashing as the man talked about his desires to travel. There was something hidden there, something like regret, but she masked it well with a carefully arranged, apathetic expression. "I suppose traveling appeals to some. I thought about doing a little bit of my own when I was...younger."

The chuckling in the back of her mind, that only she could hear, served to irritate her. "But you're right about 'different'. Terra is remarkably...uneventful, compared to where we come from. There's certainly surprises around every corner."

And before she could be questioned further, the woman lifted a hand, excusing herself briefly to disappear between the deactivated ATW's. A moment later, she returned, with what looked like a robotic spine slung over one shoulder.

"It's mine." she reassured Sich. "Shadow likes to step on it, so I hide it when I have to walk around with her." She looked to Katie once again, shrugging her shoulders, as though the situation was a common one.

"Good choice," Kaslane purred to Katie, a semblance of a smile on her features as her lips curled behind her reinforced teeth. Sich searched the mechanic tail almost suspiciously. "Ah. Right. Alulan tech. Every race likes to build something in their own image, right? That's why Ustelu caster units have six appendages, not four."

She reached up on the conveyer belt to drag the line of ATW's hanging from the metal claws over. "Cats...cats...so, you like climbing? Speed? Silence? There's variance in every line. Oh! Also, there's male, female, some that are neither. Sometimes the gender really does make a difference, but it all depends on their programming."

She sifled through them, every type with different deisigns, build, and statistics written down on a holographic pad on the wall to the side.

"If I did not throw old habits, I would not be here, yes?" asked Katie, before moving to the ATW belt with Sich. He still continued to talk to Jessica, however. "We are not allowed to move from planet until twenty years of Terran age, and until we serve years in military. Terran is far more interest than Teta, even though we adapt some of their concepts. Misrana does seem more so," His eyes were too busy looking to the different options to notice that Jessica had disappeared and reappeared again.

"...Silence would be better. I do not mind gender. I also like color brown," the archer said, as he moved to the holographic pad on the wall. His face was cupped in his hand as he viewed the options. "Er... And smaller breed?" Katie uneasily looked to Kaslane.

Soon enough, he looked to Sich, and then to Jessica. "Is good?"

The woman thought about what he'd said. It certainly would be nice to move on from old habits, wouldn't it? But could she realistically do that? Was there a possibility for her to just...make a name and a new life for herself beyond what had already been laid out for her?

You feel indebted. It's why you never leave, and its why you babysit that wraith of a being twenty-four-seven.

"I guess traveling here is somewhat out of my comfort zone." she admitted, looking towards the conveyor belt before suppressing a frown. The one he'd picked, or at least the options he favored, seemed reasonable.

The fiber-optics in her feathers glittered faintly as her wings shifted, and she turned to look at the door. "I'm on the second deck, Katie, if you want company. I gotta head back though. Things to do."

She glanced down at her tail, and then back to the soldier. "Welcome to Misrana, I suppose." She looked to Sich.

"See you around."

And then, without a backwards glance, Jessica moved back to the same spot through which she'd entered, and disappeared through the doorway in a brief flash of light.

Sich stared at Jessica before she walked out, her brows pinched. Her attitude always rubbed Sich the wrong way...

"Um. Well. Alright." she said, typing in a few specifics for Katie in the interface. She shook her head slightly. She should not linger on her attitude. She didn't even work with her most times. It would be alright.

"Well, Katie, you'll meet your new ATW tomorrow. The download process for the spirit into the unit takes a day or so. I'm sure he...or...she...or it! Will be happy to see you, however. So, whaddya say about showing me around Wing City?"

After a good twenty minutes of walking from the space port and Misranan ship, Katie had led Sich to the heart of Wing City. It was then that he stopped, issuing a hand gesture behind him for Sich to do so as well, and turned around.

They were in the shopping district. Brilliant lights lined storefronts of large buildings, and though it was late evening, it certainly wasn't dead. Homeless begged for change on the corner in front of them, and degenerates slinked past the business men with their hands in their hoodies. Chatter erupted all around, and after they had walked past block after block and heard the melodial jingles that sounded out from behind glass panes, they were stopped in front of a clothing store. The place spoke for itself, for the most part, and Katie hadn't spoken much of any English words until they'd gotten to that point; his favorite.

Billboards lined the top of the hardly pristine buildings and war planes beamed overhead, though these vehicles were only harmless. In the distance was the square, a vendor or two had set up shop there. The voice of a chubby hotdog salesman rang out in the background, as well as the loud chatter of two arguing men outside an ambiguous bar.

And so Katie spread his hands out, with a small look of contempt on his face. It was no jungle but plastic, and the buildings that loomed over them were imposing and impressive, albeit dirty. "Is not that boring, yes? Not as much as your friend said, I hope. Teta IV cities are much like this as well."

He pointed to a man on the outer edge of the alley, who looked almost ready to drown in his own saliva. He was drunk, though by no means did he look homeless. "Terran people tell me these are 'scum'. I do not know what it means, but I assume is what they call lower city goers. This is shopping district, I am told. There is a famous bar on next street."

"Much of Teta IV is forest land. I enjoy big city like this, though. It is as if the buildings could step on you."

He grinned to

(cont)

He grinned to Sich, and looked for a sign of approval on her face.

"Terran has colorful place too. They are mostly forest. Terran culture is amazing. They allow drunk to sleep on street and vendor serve unsanitized food. Is truly amazing." He said, with a grin that spread from ear to ear. His hands fell to his side, just early enough for Sich to snatch his wrist and pull him to a food cart.

It was an ice cream truck, manned by a blonde-haired, slightly obese woman. When the two approached, she wore a smile that was quite obviously fake. A soft tune emanated from the top of it, and every so often, it would slow down, as if the device playing it were broken. "Er..." Katie fumbled with his pocket, the ungrabbed hand shooting into it to burrow for his wallet.

And so he pulled it out. A Terran $20 came out, and he showed it to Sich. "Terran pay with paper. I do not know why, as paper is everywhere. Is Terran bill," He said, before handing it over to the vendor.

Then, he pointed to the sign above. "Is where you order from. You see ice cream you like, you read name off and lady give to you. Is not as complicated as it seems." He pointed to the ice cream sandwich, and nodded to the woman behind the cart. "Would like ice cream squeezed by chocolate wafer."

Then, he looked to Sich. "You try?"

The vendor served both of them their ice-creams and Katie his change, and seemed more than upset when the two began to linger in front of the stand, but the woman didn't utter a word. She sat with her face in her palm, her long nails clicking dreadfully against the metal of the cart. Katie took his icecream in hand and chewed in-between pauses.

"No no no, the paper is the tree. They cut down trees, and then turn them into paper money. Is bad for trees," He said, before glancing from his sandwich to Sich when she talked about his English. It took a moment for him to swallow before speaking.

"I practice Terran English for two years. I start first year on Teta IV, and second year around and in Terra. My Terran English is not good. Your translator is most probably fine," He said, with a smirk.

Suddenly, he moved his hand to the back of his neck and pressed on something. It seemed to be a small metallic capsule, which ran to the ever-popular tubes on the side of his neck. A fairly quiet hissing occurred, as if compressed air were being released, and his hand fell to his side again as if nothing were strange.

"We do not have same technology, most obviously."

"Only for week was it painful. Far more painful to intake too much oxygen and die. Teta IV has lower oxygen count than Terra, and most human planets. Our lungs cannot take quite so much." Katie coughed. "Normally, it regulates good. I need mine adjusted. Intake too much oxygen. It would be easier to breathe without tubes, yes," He said, with a grin that implied that perhaps Sich's question was a little too obvious.

"All of Teta IV population get implant when born, also, on arm." He pulled up his sleeve. Under the skin of his upper arm seemed to lay a red dot. "You are given ID and citizen account once you get implant. Keep track of money allowances, identification if you are dead, and government to keep tab on you," He said, before letting his sleeve drop and raising a brow.

"Aqua ... tic unit driver implant?" He repeated, with a quirk of his head. Communication with the Misranans was tough, and he could only wonder if the words that Sich spoke were more that seemed to belong to her planet.

Katie's smile grew far more modest as it shrunk, but a scrap of it still remained on his face. "I do not know about that. It is troublesome - sometimes - but I think I am content without extra work." He seemed to shrug. "I appreciate offer. I also would not like to put myself indebt to your ship more than already is."

The smile seemed to perk back up as Sich bit into the ice cream and complained. He considered that, perhaps, they didn't have frozen food in Misranan culture. She quickly moved on, though, and so did he.

"Oh, this is to... Connect... With animal?"

The concept seemed to confuse Katie. More than he had already been, at least. "Is very interesting, for sure. Why would you want to see thoughts of vehicle? It is only for driving, no?"

"I learn Terran English normal Tetan way; by book and teacher. No translator," He said, "Our language and English very different. Terrans use so many not necessary words to get point across." Katie traveled with Sich as she walked, every so often taking a bite of his own ice cream.

"Misranan life sounds dangerous and exciting, but is lot to learn. Tetan life is very dull compared to Terran life, and Misranan life seems to put Terran to shame."

Katie looked ahead for a little while, before he looked around and seemed to recognize the buildings around him. He stopped for a quick second before his feet carried him to catch up with Sich.

"Oh," He said, "I have something to show. Is just down this street, actually."

"The Terrans in city do not seem to mind 'pollution', perhaps they do not know the effect on their lungs. Perhaps they do not care too much, as they also leave homeless on street corner. Not very attractive city," said Katie, as he shrugged once again. He seemed to have no words on Sich's tangent about the air of the city, but his attitude was pretty well conveyed with a nod.

Soon, only about five minutes later, Katie stopped and turned to face a building. It had a store front, much like any other building down that particular street. In the alley, another homeless sat, peacefully asleep. This building, however, seemed somewhat different. It was new, without the same dirty gradient that all the others seemed to harbor. Most noticeable, however, was the sign. It beamed brightly, in cursive font,

'Brighton'.

Katie thumbed to it with a grin. "Is one of many of family business stores."

Complicated weapons propped on wooden shelves lined what the two could see of the store. Bows, pistols, rifles. They were all there, and to any weapon enthusiast, hell if it didn't look enticing. "Is our recent building. Am Katie Brighton."

Luckily for both Sich and Katie, the door was not locked.

A seemingly bored receptionist sat in a chair behind the counter, reading a small blue pamphlet with foreign text on it. His bespectacled eyes immediately shot up as the woman bolted into the store. "No running," He apathetically murmured, before Katie joined the woman inside of the store.

Most of the weapons and armor were behind the counter or behind panes of glass. A catalogue sat erect on the counter, detailing the various products of the Brighton store. The store itself was warm, with wooden flooring and lightbulbs that seemed to cast a white-orange glow below them. Nothing was out of place. Behind the counter sat various warnings, such as 'Gun Permit Required', 'Aschen-Friendly', and 'Do not rob; our clerks are armed.'.

The weapons were the highlight, though. They were complex, and the weapons ranged from knives to expensive rifles. One thing remained consistent on them, however, and that was the small, delicate Brighton logo that seemed to take a place on every product. There were armors, just as well, but they sat on display stands in the back. Between the three, one had looked like a simple version of Katie's, and they had stands which bore notecards on them. 'Order only'.

"It does... Kind of. Belongs to father, brothers, I. We get armor and weapon free. Is why I wear what I wear; is custom to me. You do seem ... surprise? Excite?"

Katie seemed to empathically grin at Sich's newfound excitement upon entering the store. He leaned against the doorframe, his arms tucked behind him, and calmly watched as she glued herself from weapon to weapon. After her request, he moved to the storefront display, and seemed to unlock it with the implant he'd displayed earlier, on his arm. Soon, he slid the glass paning aside, and brought out one of the rifles.

"For rifle like this, is around... 8,000 credits. Does not rust or jam. Like Terran weapon, you shoot with pull trigger." He said, pointing to the trigger. "Can hold if you like. No gun is loaded." He offered the gun to Sich.

It was surprisingly heavy for a gun of it's size, which only showed the genuine nature of the object. The parts were slick and only varied in colors from gray to black, and much like any other weapon in the store, it bore the small Brighton emblem.

"We have other weapon too. Knife, sword, weapon that has no word in Terran English. We have armor, but armor is fit and tailored.

"And thank you. I like your people as well. Your ship more than interesting."

Katie was there as well, though he was minding his business outside the Misranan ship. A bad tune he whistled, as he stood near one of the ground posts and beholded the cetecean vehicle. He wasn't there on duty, most obviously, as his forms hadn't been sent through yet. It was to get a good look at Terra before they departed, such a thing he'd grown accustomed to after visiting so many planets under the guise of family business.

His eyes traveled downwards, from the huge ship to the person who'd exited it. They looked familiar, though at a distance, nothing rung quite too heavily. The person looked remarkably normal. As they walked from the ship to the exit, where Katie had been resting, it rung. He shot a hand up to wave at Jessica, before leisurely walking toward her.

"Hello... Jessica?" He asked, with a grin. Compared to his attire and Misranan, hers was remarkably simple. That, and her wings weren't attached to her body anymore. Katie found it strange, but what wasn't?

"You are in Terran garb," He noted, with a smirk. "I thought I was approaching wrong person at first."

"What are you doing?" He pried, instantly curious.

"I thought you look nice in previous garb!" Katie insisted, with a childlike grin. Oh, if he was anthing, it was most definitely persistent. By nature, he was only passive about things he was unsure about, such as alien vehicles and dark chocolate. However, those were few and far between. He almost immediately took to the side of Jessica, walking alongside her much like he hadn't had anything better to do.

"Yes, I understand. Tetan cloth is far more ..." His hand waved in a circle, as if he were trying to find the word. "Florid? I like Terran cloth. Is nice, dull change." He said, with a nod. It, of course, wasn't meant to insult Jessica. Any negative implications simply soared over the archer's head.

"Would very much like to accompany you on walk. Have you seen Wing City yet? Is very big, buildings very large. Many shops. Terrans tell me is populated with 'scum'. I do not know what that means, I assume is word for city-goers," He said, as his hands slipped into the pockets on his waist. "I, too, am very fond of walking."

Katie kept pace with the woman, curious, affable, and dim as ever.