Colin Seartjik's Story

Colin grinned happily with ihs tongue hanging out as she turned to him. He was in the form of a common family pet. He had small black paws and short, furry white legs. It had a stout black body and a small fringe of a tail. His face was reminiscent of a snout. He was sporting short sharp teeth and pointy black ears, as well as a row of spikes along his back and legs. He had kindly named this form "Sparky" He enjoyed this form when in a city. Citizens enjoyed petting him, and he was often given free food, despite it being leftovers, or just bread. He didnt care. It was interesting how people treated creatures they had never seen before. He was, as some would say, cute.

He transformed to speak with Regina. His bones twisted and quietly snapped as he quickly changed from Sparky into his human form. He grinned. "Regina, ifyou could you would" he grinned and took a sip of her alcohol. He put the drink down and sighed. "So hows the search going?" He turned, leaned on the counter and watched the bar. Typical shantytown bar. Roughnecks and slutty females. He grinned. "Find anyone coool?" he ecsentuated the last word childishly.

Despite her comment, she loved that version of him. She had a weakness for dogs, and although Sparky wasn't a typical dog form Earth, she found him just as adorable. The animals that she studied in her Earth History classes had each taken a special place in her heart. Dogs especially. They loved you unconditionally, and how could you hate something that looked so cute?!

Colin changed to his human form, although not his true form, he was often in it when speaking with her. "Regina, if you could you would."

She glared at him. She had known Colin since her time in the Defense. They were both discharged after many years of service. He was stuck to her like glue, enjoying her love of knowledge. He was older than he looked, which she strongly hated him for. "You don't know me," She mocked.

He grabbed her glass of alcohol and took a sip, much to Reggie's protests. "So, how's the search going? Find anyone cool?"

She sighed, glancing at the piece of paper she had just set down. "A couple of people have come in, but...they weren't too good." She said as she cross their names off the list. "They were..." She glanced at Colin. "Really bad...like super bad." She leaned back in her seat, kicking her feet back up. She was tired.

If more people didn't start to show up, she would have to hire the crappy people, who barely knew what they were doing. She needed experience on her crew if they were going to do this. And she wanted badly to do this.

Crew Needed!!

Captain of the Nightwing is looking for eight able body members to join the crew.
Will be traveling across the galaxy to an undiscovered planet in the Shivani System.

Captain Oris will be at Pashani Inn on the planet Phenz in the system Coriv on the 18th to accept applications and hire crew.
If you wish to be hired, you must show up on the day or your application will be null and void.

"Hmmm?"

Eddie was reading through the ad once more, with feeling. He felt he needed a break from piloting, but in the end, he longed for it. Seeing this as an opportunity to fly without AS MUCH restriction as in the force, he gladly walked up to the Pashani Inn and opened the door. He did not however, decide to get on the floor and walk the dinosaur, thinking it'd be better to save that for later.

A quick scan of the place told him who he was looking for, a woman who was with another man-dog thing. He changed from a man to a dog, so he could only assume that the person was a Metamorphite. The only one Eddie ever met was... hostile. Needless to say, it was kill or be killed and Eddie wasn't exactly sure how he wasn't the dead one in the situation. But, they weren't normally aggressive, so he had no worry. He walked up to the two, hoping it wasn't just a girl and her date and smiled.

"Captain Oris?" he asked with the previous thought in his mind. "I'm here for your position for a pilot..."

While normally, he'd feel uncomfortable being 'eye raped' as he called it, she was recruiting him and he was used to this treatment from his superiors. So, he stood still, as if he was being scanned by a machine until he felt she was done.

"Eddie Ackers?"

"In the flesh." he spoke. He didn't commit himself to watching the whole process of her propping herself back. She seemed much less laidback than any of the other recruiters, but then again, she wasn't in a military.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself."

He sat down across from the two, his eyes dragging on the un-named man next to her before resting on her gray eyes. He decided against mimicking her because he figured she might think he was doing it to mock her.

"Well, I've passed NGPC with exception skill, or so I was told. Once I finished there, I was offered a good spot in the IDA where I stayed in service for eight years, approximately before ending up here." he informed, then throwing a bulky folder on the table. "If you want specifics, here they are. I've not only proven myself as a pilot, but I am pretty qualified to shoot stuff too."

Food....

Colin grinned and looked over the girl who had approached. Reg was busy with the pilot kid, so Colin figured he would take care of this new girl. She looked human, but her bright green eyes told a different tale. He smiled at her as he scooted over to where she was standing. He eyes the contasiner on the counter...

He picked it up. He inspected it as he pulled off the top. They werent nearly infamous enough to run the risk of bing poisoned, but you never know. He selected a pastry from inside and calmly took a bite. His eyes widened and he put the pastry down on a napkin. Chocolate. He swallowed and gave a satisfied sigh. "That... was delicious." He wasnt a fan of the earthly creation. but he was sure they would be well enjoyed by the people of the ship. He made eye contact wth her and held his hand out.

He was extremely fond of handshakes. It gave him a reason to touch someone and add a new species to his repitoire. "My name is Colin Seartjik, Second in Command of the Nightwing." He wasnt quite sure what role this woman planned to play. but as long as she continued to bake things like this she was good in his eyes. "You are?" Hopefully the cook, he answered inside his head.

"Well, Eddie," Reggie said flipping through the files. "You have some very good credentials," She flipped the folder closed, setting it back down on the table. She smiled at Eddie, wanting to feel a little less nervous.

He had gotten the job, there was no doubt about that. She looked over at Colin, he was flipped through the files now. "He looks pretty good, huh?" Reggie asked. Colin nodded his head in approval. "And another IDA graduate. He's perfect for our little misfit crew." She smiled looking back over at Eddie.

"Well, Eddie. Welcome to the Nightwing." She said holding out her hand for him to take. They were interrupted when Colin suddenly stood and ran over to the bar, where a young woman was standing.

Judging by her red hair, red skin, and bright green eyes, she was most likely a Shar. But given her humanistic apperance, she was a Shariva. Colin immediately sniffed a green container on the bar and took a pastry out from it. So, the woman brought food. No wonder Colin had moved so quickly. Reggie rolled her eyes. "We've rented rooms for anyone who is hired, so you may go upstairs and relax if you want. Food is on the house if you're hungry." She said to Eddie as her chair slammed back down onto all four legs of her chair.

She kicked the chair back as she stood before moving to the other side of the Shariva, who was talking animatedly about food. Reggie grabbed one of the pastries, eyeing the small round concoction. She knew the smell anywhere. Chocolate. She shoved it into her mouth, relishing in the delicious flavor. It was like eating pure happiness.

Regina grabbed the Shariva's attention, wiping her hands on her legs. "Please tell me you're here for the cook position."

"...do I have the job?"

Reggie smiled. "You keep making food like this, then yeah, you've got the job." She said grabbing another pastry and popping it into her mouth. "Regarding your other questions, the kitchen on board isn't extremely fancy, but it has all the things you'll need. And we will be sure to stock up on all the things you'll need. There's not much in the system we are going to, so we'll have to stock up before we set sail."

Minn smiled, her excitement was entirely too refreshing. Reggie informed her of the hotel rooms that she could sleep in, and that food and drinks were on the house. "Do whatever you would like, just make sure to be back here tomorrow morning."

Reggie grabbed the green tin of pastries and moved back to the table. "C'mon Colin," She cooed using the pastries as bait. "C'mon boy," She walked back to the table, not bothering to check of her second in command was following. She knew he would follow at some point, especially if he wanted more pastries.

And she knew he did. She popped another one her mouth, kicking her legs up on the table. She grabbed her sheet of names, and put a check mark by Eddie's and Minn's names. There were still several people who they had to interview. And they day was almost over. Granted most of them probably lived in galaxies several light years away, but ideally there was a teleporter by them that could shoot them forward a couple of light years.

Oh the teleporters. They were a glorious invention. With so many alien species working together, it was important that we were spending 12 million light years just getting to neighboring galaxies. They teleporters were invented to shoot a ship forward to the next galaxy. Saving an uncanny amount of time. Unfortunately, the system they were traveling to, went beyond the last teleporter.

They would have to spend a good majority in hyper sleep once they got past the limits of Intergalactic Control. Reggie hated hyper sleep, especially the after effects of it. Your body would reject almost anything for the first 3 hours of being awoken, you would spend a majority of that time puking your brains out, and then after that you could finally eat, but your body doesn't want to move much. So after eating, you have to spend the rest of the day building the strength back up in your body.

It was time consuming. And annoying.

She popped another pastry in her mouth, washing it down with alcohol.

"Well, Eddie. Welcome to the Nightwing."

Before he could give his captain a shake of the hand, her Lietenant, as Eddie believe, had distracted her. With the handshake being interrupted, he spoke up. "I have a feeling I was probably the only one that sounded trustworthy with a ship." he spoke with a grin. "Nevertheless, I am glad to be a part of this crew."

A yawn before a stretch took place before he pushed himself back and stood up from the chair, pushing it back in. With the day almost over and his room being provided from him, he had no reason to leave the inn. He wasn't tired yet, so he decided to take a seat in a nearby table as they seemed to hire a cook. Convenient... he was actually pretty famished from the trip over here and his inability to eat without emptying his stomach all over the place. Traveling lightyears in mere hours is fun.

It seemed as smart as any other idea to get himself aquiented with the other crewmembers as soon as possible, and the cheerful Shariva didn't seem to intimidating. The fact that she was so up and happy about life was a surprise given her race's history and the fact she was in fact as she. He had no doubt that her family didn't really take well to the fact that they had a female and the new pilot of the Nightwing did happen to feel some pity towards the beautiful creature.

He soon noticed that his eyes might have been drilling holes into her and decided to greet her. Walking up, he wore a smile and took in her features before introducing himself.

"Hello there." he said. "I'm Eddie, the pilot."

He proposed a handshake.

The bar, inn, hospitality establishment wasn't a very upbeat sight, nor were the surroundings. It seemed most human ship owners, who were hiring at least, preferred such an locale for their meetings. Val partially understood the attraction, such a place was homely and comfortable in a way. The best situation to test a crew if there is going to be a manner of social interaction desired. The Tourain didn't mind, the quality of the meeting place did not correlate directly with the quality of the vessel. It was irrelevant as to the quality of the craft, as long as the trip was reasonable and the crew bearable. The young adult had long ago lost any pretense that space travel was glamorous. So he allowed himself to step inside the inn. At first the place appeared rather empty. Evidently it was mostly empty, as these places often seemed to be. A few aged humans and the inn's attendee, with a few others accumulated together. By common sense it seemed that these were the party that was to be the crew.

He didn't expect them to be surprised that he was here, after all a Tourain was not the rarest of species to be seen in human company. Although he found their quirks a little irritating at times, Val Salah could deal with the other race. Having plenty of experience with those that could be labelled as the worst of their species. Taller then them, the alien made little effort to hide his form. Instead approaching what seemed the most likely target for . He tilted his head sideways, bringing each member of the group into his narrow vision before addressing them. The sound that emanated from his skull was hollow, deep and resounding. While he attempted to lower the volume, the unusual noise still caught the attention of the older gentleman. The pair glanced up from their conversation, pausing for a moment. The slight silence and the motion of their heads through the sound waves reflecting off every surface revealed as much. Yet it was irrelevant, his attention was centered on his potential employer.

"Captain Oris?" He queried in general, unsure which one was the captain. "Formally I am named Val Salah As Tallan." His name, while pronounceable by humans, had an entirely different inflection when amplified by his voice chambers, reaching multiple levels of resonance. "I understand I am here to apply for the position of mechanic aboard your craft?" He waited for a response, whoever was the captain may have already claimed a mechanic, in that case he would have to find another job. Although he wasn't low on assets, he preferred a comfortable living.

Colin touched the womans hand and felt the familliar shiver roll through his body. The shiver of new DNA. He grinned. "Thank you" he had never copied a Shar before. Should be good times. Reg left with the pastries. She attempted to draw him over with them. Demeaning him like a pet, guess he deserved that. He grumbled. He turned back to Minn. He shrugged. "I'll see ya."

He decided to test out his new "Skin." He shifted as he stood and his Morphsuit shifted with him. He stood equal height with Minn. The only differene between the two was gender. Colin could copy every single aspect of the subject except gender. He winked and walked away as a Shar. He arrived at Reg's side just as the Tourain arrived. He smiled. A mechanic? Thats exciting. He changed once more and became a Tourain. His Tourain was just a little shorter than Val. He took a seat next to Reg and tried to smile. He then remembered that he was a Tourain. It wouldnt have the same affect.

Inqueta was watching everyone as they came in for their interviews. She watched the failures, and felt Captain Oris's annoyance and disappointment. She understood that this had to have been extremely frustrating. She opened up her ears to listen to the conversations between Oris and Colin. It wasn't that she didn't like Colin, but she was already wary of him. He was a metamorphite, and undoubtedly, he would try to touch her, to be able to mimic her capabilities. She also listened to the conversations Oris had with everyone that was interviewed. A man named Eddie was to be their pilot. Captain Oris seemed to liked him well enough, and his files looked good. Inque nodded, satisfied with who was going to be flying the ship. Next came the cook. She was a beautiful girl with a look of determination on her face. Her red hair matched her gorgeous rosey skin. The food Minn had prepared looked delicious, and Inque's mouth watered enviously as she watched Oris eat them. The girl was a Shar, and seemed pretty harmless. The blue girl's suspicions of Colin proved to be right when he shook the cute girl's hand. His skin turned the same shade of red as hers was when he turned into a Shar. Inqueta watched him walk back over to the Captain.

A Tourain stood by the captain, and no sooner than Inque saw him, Colin had changed into his own form of one. She didn't have to open her ears more to listen to him speak. In fact, she closed a few of the micro-slits, because his voice was booming. Captain Oris seemed impressed with him, so Inqueta didn't feel the need to pay attention anymore. She directed her focus to a red-headed girl and a man who had just introduced himself as Dr. Weiss. She assumed he was there for the position of doctor, but she wasn't sure if the girl was there to apply or not. She assumed, once again, that she was, just because the bar was pretty much empty of anyone else. She made a small clicking noise with her tongue and slid from the booth she had been hiding in. She silently made her way up to the Captain's table, knowing no one could hear her. If they weren't too engaged with the Tourain, named Val Salah As Tallan, they might have seen her, considering she made her skin blue as she walked over there. She intended to stay a few steps away, close enough to make her presence known, but far enough to give them space and not be rude, interrupting Val's interview. She practiced what she would say in her head.

Val assumed that the one who gave the most response was the captain and the other probably a member of the crew. He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement and respect. He found it curious that she spoke out loud to repeat his race. There was no cause for it, other to reaffirm her thoughts if she had doubts. That would make no sense, Tourain were as recognizable as almost any race. Yet another curious human trait, it did not matter to him.
"So, tell me Val Salah, how do you feel about working under a female human?"
Yet another curious comment, one that Val could understand this time. He did not turn his head to keep the employer in view, he knew her every step regardless. Instead his sick green eyes focused on the details of Colin. A Metamorhpite, quite unexpected. It had also taken on a the shape of his kind. Although Val could not help but wonder how it would feel adorning such an alien body. Most likely the alien was used to it, although an attempt to replicate a smile indicated otherwise. It was next to impossible for their features to produce expressions. The circular, tooth-lined mouth wasn't particularly mobile.

"I have no concern with acting under your command Captain." The tall beast's attention once again turned to the female. "I have served within the Human Naval Forces as well as a large number of private employers, both male and female. I would be content to serve under anyone with competence of leadership. Do you require credentials? He was even content to serve under someone not so competent, as long as there was some sort of respect and not a disability to command. It seemed that this woman had the ability.

Colin's eyes shifted to the blue creature who approached from the bar. A large, blue, thin, humanoid creature apporaced silently, without making contact with anyone. Colin had not encountered a creature like this before. How exciting. He assumed she was there to apply for some position, and while Reg was otherwise occupied, he would take care of this one. He stood and headed or the creature. He had changed from the Tourain form back into his human form.

Her eyes were... interesting. They were flat gray. Pupiless, fascinating. 'I wonder if shes colorblind?' He dropped the thought.

He arrived and held out a hand. "Good evening, I am Colin Seartjik, Second in command of the Nightwing. Are you here to apply?

"I have no concern with acting under your command Captain. I have served within the Human Naval Forces as well as a large number of private employers, both male and female. I would be content to serve under anyone with competence of leadership. Do you require credentials?"

"That is alright Val," Reggie said leaning back in her seat. She smiled. "I know that Tourians can do whatever job they apply for. Have a seat. Or if you would like, we rented out rooms. Do whatever you like, just be back here tomorrow morning."

Val nodded and walked off away from the table. Reggie checked his name off the list. They still had several people to see and several of them had shown up. She could see them all, crowded around tables and the bar. So many alien races in a human Inn. They had to be there for her crew. She smiled noticing Minn laughing at something Eddie said.

She liked Minn. The Shariva was bright and bubbly, which is what Reggie needed to balance out the seriousness of the rest of her crew. Especially that Tourian. Reggie looked over at Colin ready to say something, when she noticed him talking to someone.

A Schael. How fascinating. Reggie could tell by the light blue skin and pupil-less eyes. Her sensory glands were a big give away as well. Regina leaned on her elbow and watched the two. She signaled for another glass of alcohol and continued to watch. It was nice to take a small break and watch her Second handle all the questioning.

Inqueta looked at Colin as he turned his attention to her. As he made his way over, he seemed to be inspecting her. This may be the first time he has seen a Schaelan in person. She thought to herself. She blinked a few times, adjusting her focus to Colin's eyes. He shifted into his human form, and this again sent off triggers in her brain of his abilities. He put his hand out for a shake and she ignored it as he said "Good evening, I am Colin Seartjik, Second in command of the Nightwing. Are you here to apply?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Inqueta To'avuor." Wondering how she could avoid touching him without seeming rude, she decided to show him the way the Schalaens greeted one another. She touched her first two fingers to her forehead, then grabbed her other forearm. She made a slight bowing movement and slid her hand down to her wrist. She raised her body and let her hands fall to her sides. "Yes, I am here because I would like to be a scout. I can assure you that I would be a great addition to this ship, Din Seartjik." She preferred not using his first name, so she just added the male title used on her planet in front of his last. In her culture it is a very intimate thing to call someone by their first name, and only done so by friends. Din for males, Da for females, and Chu for children, or anyone clearly younger than the person addressing them.

Colin raised an eyebrow at the greeting he was given instead of the handshake. Its just as well. This was as good as anything, He was a bit bummed he wouldnt be able to copy her though. Whatever. He commited the greeting to memory in case he felt the need to use it in the future. He withdrew his hand, embarrased.

Inequeta To'avuor. A new scout. He beamed. Scouting was his specialty and he loved it when he had others with the same talent with him. Becoming nearyl any species was extremely usefull when trying to gain information. He could shrink to the size of a pea for insertion purposes, or change into a hulking monster to intimidate. couting also gave hm a chance to copy other life forms.

'Din?' this couldnt have abeen a mispronunciation. Must be a prefix used in her culture. She didnt use his first name, so he assumed he'd better do the same when adressig her.

He looked her over. Her slender body, it looked like she wuld be very quick on her feet. She was on the balls of her feet. 'Ready to spring at a moments notice.' He finished his inspection and thought back to Reg's sheet. Only two more candidates for the scout position, but she looked extremely fit for the job.

He looked back into Inqueta's flat eyes. The next question Reg would ask came to mind. 'Does my being a human woman affect your ability to be part of my crew?' or someting along those lines. He had introduced himself as second in command, so she must have deduced that Reg was captain. She wasnt leaving, so she must be fine. He hghly doubted they would get another as qualified as this. She was in.

"Well, Miss To'avuor," he hoped he pronounced it correctly. "Welcome" He attempted the greeting he was given earlier. He probably screwed it up a bit. He wasnt nearly as good at copying actions as he was faces. "We have rented out rooms for all of you, so if youd like to stay, be my guest." He grinned. "We ship off tomorrow morning. I look forward to working with you" He gave a small bow and turned on his heels, heading back to Reg to let her know about their new scout.

(Ignore this.)

Reggie watched the conversation with Colin and the Schael. He seemed to like her. Which was a good sign. She watched as the woman denied the handshake; she most likely knew that Colin was a Metamorphite. Either that or she just didn't want to touch him. She could understand the latter.

She couldn't help but smile at her own joke as she watched Colin come back to their table. She smiled at him. "So? How was she?" Colin relayed to her the information as Regina checked off the woman's name on the list. They just needed one more scout, and there were still three people who needed to show up for the position.

"We're almost done." Reggie said actually excited. She was tired, and she could feel the alcohol starting to affect her mind. Maybe she should refrain from the amber liquid. She stared at her empty glass and raised her hand for another one. She would be fine. She's done far more important things with more alcohol in her system.

Maybe something to eat would help. She grabbed another pasty from the green tin and popped in her mouth. They were almost gone. She may have the barkeep fix her up something to eat as well as bring her drinks.

She glanced around the room, excited to see what the other interviewees had in store. "Who's next?" She asked to no one in particular.

Inqueta saw that he felt embarrassed and felt badly about this. Nevertheless, she pushed the though aside. "Well, Miss To'avuor," Her name, though pronounced correctly, sounded weird coming off of his tongue, in English without her own accent. "Welcome." He copied what she had done to greet him and she was pleased. "We have rented out rooms for all of you, so if you'd like to stay, be my guest." He smiled and it was infectious. She liked his smile, and it made her lips twitch upward slightly. It was something most likely unnoticeable to others. He made another bow after saying "We ship off tomorrow morning. I look forward to working with you." Then he turned and walked away.

"And I, you." She said and strode away, towards the bar. She ordered a nonalcoholic drink and downed it quickly. She asked for a refill before taking a seat near Minerva and Eddie. "Eddie. Minn, I am Inqueta. I am on of the Nightwing's scouts." She gave the same greeting to them as she gave Colin." She filtered her ears to only sounds made near her, and so she could hear Colin and Reggie.

Colin sat at her side and relayed the information. He dropped his head behind the back of his chair lazily. He wanted to become something more flexible, so he could just let loose and stretch out. but he had to save face here with the new crew. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he began staring at the ceiling.

He rolled his head back up. "This is taking too long" he groaned. They were nearly done, but they had been there all day. He could only imagine how Reg felt. She had given him a chance to leave earlier on to get food, but shed been stuck in that dank bar all day. At least she got to eat Minn's pastrys.

He dropped his head once more. Wonder what the crew thinks of their second mate being this unprofessional.