[Prologue] Downrider

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Deimos didn't even realize he hadn't eaten until he came down to join the rest of the party, immediately smelling dishes being served to various patrons including the likes of Lilli and Arbitrated. But, at the same time, he had accidentally placed all of the money he had in his pocket on the bartop when paying for his beer by mistake (a pretty hefty tip, at that). His stomach growled, and his smile widened to a very sheepish smile of regret. At least there'll be some food on the ship... hopefully.

The thought went across his mind to maybe eat some of the scraps from one of the patrons' plates as they left. This was followed by the thought of somebody noticing, pointing him out, and then immediately attributing it to his mother's side's blood. Not a very pleasant thought. Plus, it may not be the best first impression with the rest of the crew. Can't start off this adventure with something dangled over his head. "Well, I could maybe see about getting something in return... or maybe try to get that tip back that I left by mistake..."

He imagined doing just so. Approaching the bar and asking about the money he had left. Maybe someone would think he's shaking down the old man in charge? Yea, that would be great. He sighed and opted to stand by the doorway, waiting for Dahlia to give the thumbs-up for everyone to get moving.
 
Miko had been leaning over the table with his butt sticking out. His 6th sense immediately picked up an incoming force as Marie walked by. Instead of trying to deflect or evade the attack he decided to take the current. The jolt was good and strong causing his muscles to tense up. The pain came and went.

In a grand display he tossed his arms up in the air acting as if Marie had just touched his butt. "Waaaahhh there." He yelled as he turned to look to her. "Locals are friendly tonight." He said with a laugh. He was leaning over the table and standing upright. At this moment Lilli had a new chicken leg pop up on the menu.
 
Lilli made an expression that appeared like she regretted drawing attention to herself with the sigh. However, she could not help but to let a feeling of vanity permeate through her emotions. After all, she had just won an informal beauty contest. For Lilli, the feeling was enough to put her in a good mood for the rest of the week. Just as quickly as the expression of regret had crossed over her features, a smile washed over her face as well.

"Oh, please do..." She spoke softly, batting her lashes with a naive enthusiasm that spoke of passion and elation.

Suddenly, Miko's attention seemed to be pulled to something else, as he stood straight up and tossed his arms in the air. Apparently, the white-haired girl had slapped him on the butt, or had done something else to elicit the sort of reaction that he gave. Only when the man stood up did Lilli see the effects of the girl's actions on Miko.

Quite simply, Lilli covered her mouth with both hands and let out a high-pitched gasp.
 
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Downrider Inn
Bar

Churchill stood and slowly thudded down the stairs, his stomach empty and his spirits high. In his order, it was tradition to forego sustenance throughout the day, for food could make one lazy and still. At most, the Knights of Terra would have a meager breakfast consisting of some fruits and grains, but in the evening the feasting halls of The Citadel would be filled with massive quantities of roasted animals, vegetables, and figurative oceans of ale and wine. The air would be filled with boisterous laughter, and toasts to knights who had bravely died on the fields of battle.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs and watching everyone go their separate ways, Churchill's spirits fell just slightly. He had wanted to order a feast for his new comrades.

"Fuck it. Turn down for what!" he mused, reciting a very old phrase from his childhood. He moved swiftly to the counter.

Several Minutes Later...

The knight hefted a large plate laden with turkey legs- chicken legs were for heretics!- and several large mugs of dark beer. He set them down with a hearty clank next to Marie's seat and sat.

"Come! Let us dine in celebration of our new venture!" he called out to the others.
 
Downrider Inn
Bar

Given that Juryrig had actually yet to eat, he finally realized that this was a tavern, and taverns have bars. Which generally meant they had food, too.

He suddenly popped up by that table that happened to have a good variety of food and drink... Well, one type of food and drink, but Juryrig still would call it a variety anyway. "Well you can call lil' ol' me a sausage man, but like hell I'd pass on this!" Juryrig exclaimed, grabbing three whole turkey legs for himself and a whole mug of fine beer.

The madman began to tear through those succulent turkey wings, which were all localized in one hand, and would drink from dark beer on occasion to wash the stuff down.

Juryrig could also mention that he is a bit of a lightweight, but naturally, this was something he forgot. He forgot that really, really, really easily.

"MmmmmmmmmmHM! Now this what I call real meat! THANK THY LORDS FOR FREE FOOD and all that!" He cheered, spilling a third of his drink in his further uplifted spirit, however not even caring about it because there's still plenty more drink anyway. Heck, who needs to drink when you can just eat turkey legs, spill your drink all over the place, and act as if you are rowdy drunk when you're... Well, Juryrig.

In short, that moment of calm was just kicked out the door.
 
The push to shoo Finnegan away hadn’t moved the armoured man an inch, but the gesture still ticked him off, along with everything else about this guy... not a man, a guy, and a bit of arse by the looks of it.

Finn could have swung a powerful fist, he could have started something right here, but that would most likely get him thrown off the team, if the womaniser kept messing around then it seemed that half the bloody crew would end up being against him.

Regardless, Fin opened up his helmet just enough to slam back the Mojito, before giving a decent tip to the person behind the bar and picking up the plate that was piled high with food, wobbling slightly as be tried to make sure none of it fell off as he Make his way over to the knight and the lady, plonking himself down across from them.

“Don’t worry about the prick” Finn said to Marie, his chin really being the only viewable part of his face as he gestured over to Miko. “That kind of person, they usually tend to get just what they deserve”

He extended an armoured hand forward to them in a polite gesture, he knew not to crush somebody’s hand when he shook it, but his handshakes were still nice and firm.

“The name’s Finnegan by the way, but I usually just get called Finn”
 
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Study
12:30

After the meeting had concluded and the motley crew had left the upper room, Cognis turned to Dahlia, speaking up for the first time since the meeting had started.

"Miss Morgan?"

Dahlia had already packed up Bert into his bag again, and was nearing completion. She turned her head away from the bag of goodies and books that she was packing up, having almost forgotten Cognis was present for the meeting. "Yes?"

"I would like to say..." The android said as it stepped forward, extending it's arms outwards. "This is going to be amazing!" He wrapped his arms around Dahlia, hoisting her out of her chair and lifting her up bodily in a constricting bear hug. "It'll be such an adventure, and all these people! They're all. So. INTERESTING!" Squeeze. "Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!"

Dahlia let out a loud grunt that was a mix between a cough and a squeal as she was hoisted off the ground. She struggled in the robotic grip for a few moments as the air started working it's way back into her lungs as she tried to smile. "Yo- You're welcome, Cog." She took another gasp. "But please, put me down."

"Yes ma'am." Cog said as he gently set Dahlia back down into her chair. If he had a mouth, he'd probably be grinning.

After a moment's pause, his head tilted slightly to the right in a way that nearly always preceded a question. Or, frequently, many questions. "Miss Morgan, when are we going to see the ship?"

It took Dahlia a moment laid back in the chair to recover from the bodyguard bear hug. Exhaling, she answered. "Here in a few minutes, once everything's packed up."

"Fantastic!" The android enthusiastically replied. "I'll help you pack, then we're off to adventure!" The two rounded the room, making sure every stray note was back in place where it needed to be. After a few minutes of absence, the two emerged from the narrow stairwell and walked into the lobby.

Dahlia looked around at the many people already beginning to have celebratory meals and conversations. While she felt it was a little early for that, she didn't mind. The short blue-haired woman called out to the remaining people in the bar as she rolled her luggage towards the door. "Meeting outside in ten!"
 
Oliver standing outside already listened to the commotion coming from within the Inn and shook his head, eating and drinking he understood to survive and occasionally as a celebratory action. "Except you're supposed to accomplish something before you spend all your money on booze." he muttered hearing the high pitched gasp which he assumed was nothing good.

The street con took a swig of his recently filled flask to warm himself but minding the intake, Oliver liked a strong drink as much as the next man but he also preferred to remain sober even more so around these folks. Among the chaos of the Tavern sounds he noticed Dahlia's voice and moved back to the door pushing it open to listen in, by chance she happened to be coming towards the door herself after announcing the meeting.

"Not going to enjoy those 10 minutes with this wonderfully civilised crew captain?" Oliver gave her a slight grin as the sarcasm dripped off his words, stepping back out he leaned on the open door holding it open as she rolled her luggage towards it. Although a relatively friendly gesture which could be taken the wrong way, Oliver simply held it and said nothing more dismissing the behavior some others were showing as a little unprofessional.

On a side not he called back to the captain again, "So I know you're the captain and the short one is the pilot, but I can't be the only one who is wondering if we have a chef or cook on board as well. Long voyages are no fun eating out of ration packs."
 
Downrider Inn

"Eh?" The madman looked over from the table with the fine selection of exactly one variety of turkey leg, once the words of the blueberry employer reached his ears. "Alright, gimme.... Five minutes. Because these turkey legs are too good to pass up. Granted, I love me a good sausage, but I don't turn down food like this!"

"Seriously, can't thank ya enough, Churchie!" Juryrig looked at Churchill with a wide smile on his face, appreciating such a jolly presence from someone who could be easily interpreted as stoic and boring, like a rock. If he had a free hand, the engineer would have pat him in the back.

Huh, perhaps I should look into a new appendage, Juryrig thought to himself.

"We're bringin' this stuff with us, right?" He asked, gesturing the plethora of cups and turkey wings with a wave of a turkey bone. "Please tell me we are, it would be insanity to just leave this all behind."
 
Damn. Well...that sucks.

"I can...sort of make food?" Marie answered to Finn. Seems like he was much more trustworthy than the self-proclaimed knight, even though he had that look in his eyes that said I will steal everything you own. Well, at the moment all Finn could nab would be a bunch of clothes, a computer like anyone else's, and a bunch of electronic parts and tools. Oh, and a lot of turkey because Marie was grabbing those turkey legs while munching on one in her hand.

"I mean...I can't guarantee how healthy it'll be. It tends to be high-calorie stuff that most people shouldn't ever eat." Marie stated, through a few mouthfuls of bird flesh. Most Sage diets, contrary to what their name may entail, were loaded with fried junk, calorie-rich butter, oil, and roux, and although jam-packed with flavor, were terrible for a sedentary lifestyle.

Or yes, you could carry around a snack pack like Arbitrated was.
 
Finn had begun to dig in to his pile of food, deciding to grab a prawn skewer and almost expertly freeing the small crustaceans with his mouth, in one fluid motion.

He could be seen swallowing before he started speaking, “well I’m damn sure that your food will be better tasting than the food we’ll be getting served on the ship”

Finn picked up a large chicken drumstick in each hand and prepared to chow down “I only really eat this much food before a long job like this one, because you’d be surprised what gets passed as adequate food by some folks” he finishied and began digging into the drumsticks, thinking back to the time he was working for an Elf whom tried to feed them the same grey nutrient paste every day.

It may have only been two weeks but by god, he praised the vending machine in the station he was dropped off at for reminding him he had tastebuds.
 
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Miko heard the call for a meeting outside. "Welp, guess its time to get the show on the road and continue the party on the ship." He gave a quick smile and wink to Lilli as he turned and walked to the front door of the place. He had dropped his duffel bag by the front which was a very large bag of stuff. It was clear there was a large gun stashed in it but everything else was any ones guess.

He paused yet again and walked to the bar, asking for another beer. He took the beer and in 3 large gulps cleared the glass. "Ahhh yeah, that hits the spot real good." He said followed by a loud belch. He could not help but giggle like a kid.

Now looking half drunk he swayed side to side as he headed for the door and back outside.
 
A crimson hue appeared on Lilli's cheeks when the man winked at her before he turned to leave, although not before ordering another bottle of beer and emptying the glass in a few large gulps. Like the others around her, Lilli resumed in eating her plate of food, savoring the sweet honey mustard dip and the fresh, cold water. She ate slowly, but kept an eye on the time as she did.

When she was done eating, she gave the dishes and utensils back to the bartender, before flashing them a grateful smile. "Thank you for the meal. I apologize for the noise." She spoke softly. "Have a good night!" Lilli finished politely.

With short, but fast strides, Lilli walked out of the tavern and towards the outdoor meeting area...
 
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Outside

Dahlia nodded to Oliver as he held open the door for her train of luggage. Outside the Inn was a concrete landing that eroded into a grassy hill as it spread. "Oh don't worry, there'll be plenty of time to get to know everyone once we take off." She set her luggage at the edge of the landing facing a beaten gravel path that disappeared into the strip of trees surrounding the side of the Inn.

The Captain turned to face Oliver, grinning. "I plan we'll work that out with experience."
 
Oliver nodded and went to let go of the door and noticed more members of the crew were filing towards it however he didn't feel like holding the door the whole time and ending up at the back of the pack, he noticed Miko and Lilli approaching first and contemplated letting the door swing shut on his drunk face. taking off one boot he jammed it under the door to act as a door stop, happy with his work he turned back to Dahlia and waited for the rest of the crew.

Taking out his assorted meats jerky Oliver took a seat to save effort and energy and began to munch on the strips of dried flesh slowly wondering which ship was theirs, if he would end up being the chef god forbid, and why he hadn't made any seasoning for the jerky. "Sometimes for a season cook, you easily forget the important details Oliver." He said to himself.
 
Deimos trotted into the open air, looking into the early morning sky still decorating all of the ships docked beneath it in the silvery hue of moonlight. "Leaving an expedition before daybreak. That's a tradition i'll never get tired of." A smile formed on his face. Odds are, most of his new crewmates will be asleep by sunrise. He couldn't blame them. Question is... what kind of ship will they be taking?

He raised his remaining hand to his chin, eyes slipping to the patch of grass at his feet interspersed with dry clay and the odd pebble. Dahlia never mentioned how much she's paying anyone, nor did she ever give the team an idea of how large her budget was. His heart sunk. his pupils shrunk. A sheepish smile curled on the fox boy's lips as the image of a run-down airship consisting of a raft strapped to a patched-up dirigible comes to mind. A couple balloons and maybe a basket. Something you'd be more inclined to being a fishing boat than a full-on expeditionary ship. Then comes the question of how many employees she was looking to bring along with her. Considering she made arrangements in preparation for more people to join them, they couldn't be too full already.

He shook his head. It was not the time to doubt or worry. He hadn't explored in so long, it felt like he was watching his runic arm rust away. "Now... what sort of Dinghy did you get arranged?" He hums. His gaze had returned to the line of ships not far off from the tavern.
 
With everyone leaving, Reman did the same. Having not consumed a bit of his food, he closed his elaborately crafted journal, and headed outside, making one last check of his belongings before leaving. The moment he went outside, he sat and rested, waiting to see what kind of vehicle he had to work with.

Outside
Daydreaming, he starts to go back through what he can remember previously between jobs, but all he can bring to mind is going to bed on a freighter ship, and then waking up submerged...

Before he could go too far back, he remembered that losing his work is too important, and quickly got back on track. "I'm less interested in the food, I'd like to see what kind of rig you've got going that could possibly contain this horde."
 
"I'm sure with the number of engineers we have, even a secondhand frigate can be made into a workable adventuring vessel," Marie replied to the two, pausing for a bit to rip a piece of turkey off the leg.

"But first I'm interested in getting a room where I can at least sleep until the morning..." Marie mumbled. Any bed would do, honestly. So long as she got somewhere to sleep. It was logically doubtful for Dahlia to have overbooked too much, even if two or three had to sleep in improvised areas.
 
Outside

Eventually, at its own turtle pace Grey meanders out of the inn to join with the gathering crowd outside preparing to board. Hardly interested in discussions of pay- what had really sold Grey was the idea of new innovative technologies to work with- practical or otherwise. Adding new ideas to the mix to work with was always a welcome prospect, and given the other inhabitants... There was already plenty to work with given enough digging.

Infact most of that time meandering was spent sizing up other individuals taking on this job as well. Though Grey doubted some of them, such as the knight had anything new and exciting to work with, most displayed either some amount of knowledge, or an anusual lack of outward traits that would deam them an asset for joining on. It would follow that their their minds or bodies, or even simply undisplayed gear held tricks up their sleeves.

"Hmm... Whatever happens on this expediton, even finding nothing it is clear it will be an... experience." Grey grined. An unsettling sight combined with those eternally bloodshot eyes.
 
Outside

"You and me both, sister." A voice that is heard close to Marie's right; the voice of Juryrig, whom is carrying a tray, stacked with turkey legs and mugs of ale. "But if any machine ain't touched by me, then it's automatically not good enough. Can be big or small, fast or slow, paper thin or hippo thick, it just needs to be upgraded by these magic fingers right here!"

He wiggled the fingers of his free hand for emphasis.

Juryrig munched on some rich turkey meat, enjoying the mouthwatering flavor of cooked bird flesh as he tore it off the bone. He looked at a bare bone with his own two eyes, and said aloud, "Ya know, these legs are thick and juicy, I really dunno why you people just leave them behind. Quality stuff!"

He put the bone on the tray, washed the taste with some drink, and then went to town on another succulent turkey leg. Whether or not Juryrig knows that he is technically stealing stuff is a mystery...
 
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