[Open] Arda Space Mall Vist

[navi_no]

Who: All of you!
What: Space Mall time!
Where: Arda Space Mall; OOC info post
When: Day Ten and Day Eleven

Warnings: None?

The morning of Day Ten sees the Noanga drift within range of a space mall. Finally, a chance to get off ship... Even if they have to disguise themselves? Huh?

Navi-No helpfully supplies some disguise tech; it's not the best, but it will hide the fact that some of you are human (and or mechanical). The AI also points towards what seems to be a rather small hanger bay that has seen better days. Inside are several small shuttles known as 'Jumpers'. Characters can take them to visit to the mall, and will find they have 1000 Federation Credits to spend.

Interesting, neither kittens nor goose follow characters into a Jumper, and characters will find they are snubbed for an hour or so after returning.


The Arda Space Mall itself is a small but bustling space mall located within the Arda Asteroid Belt, around a red dwarf star also known as Arda. The belt itself is home to a thriving mining community, all employed by the GeniaMining Corporation. The Arda itself is located on an largeish asteroid and combines a space station's practical aesthetic with the local community mall’s comforts: food court, clothing outlets, hobby stores, some recreation, and a few other shops to round things out.

The average species within the community range from a human sized 6ft to roughly 15ft tall, and the mall's ceiling height is 20 feet to accommodate this.

Station security is handled by a team of Tardi-kin, but even so, the mall is full of drama - mostly from local teens wagging school, and at least one couple deciding the mall is the perfect place for a fight and the airing of dirty laundry.

But all of that is easy enough to ignore while you relax and enjoy somewhere that is not a run down spaceship.

 

Note: Humans and Mechanicals must disguise themselves as an alien species or risk detention by the Tardigrade Security Forces who'll assume them Terrans, and treat them as such.

Comments

Æn'Kae | OTA

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae was not one to just go shopping. Particularly alone. But the thing was, he'd had a growing itch since arriving here. They needed a med-bay, or rather to get the run down existing one fuctional, which meant he was on the look out for parts and medical supplies. He wasn't exactly an engineer, but he'd worked on a run down ship before, he could dabble if it meant getting the job done. And he wouldn't mind warmer clothes for himself. That was secondary though. So he'd left Roj behind to check out the mall. (Mostly because when the kitten refused to follow to the hangar bay, she had sat down on her haunches stubbornly. She hadn't terrorized anything yet and seemed to actually like the kitten's company, so after a moment's debate he'd opted to trust her. For now.

Once there he almost turned on his heel to go back to the odd shaped shuttle. He could feel the creeping start of the sort of headache that usually accompanied too many people in too small of a space, and the sensory overload on top of it overwhelmed him. But he reminded himself of his purpose and pushed forward anyway. Even if this didn't seem to be the sort of place he would be able to find medical supplies, he might be able to find usable parts and definitely could find warmer clothes. Did he look as lost as he felt, though? Oh absolutely.

[burstingstars]

Day had mostly chosen to get off the ship because it was a space free of cats and the chaos that followed them. And somewhere outside, somewhere different, for all it was just going from one big enclosed space to another. He was still trying to not let the claustrophobia get out of control. But also he needed warmer clothes if the weather in the ship kept like that and he wanted to see if there were any parts to get more of the kitchen functional.

Though he wasn’t happy about having to disguise himself. As far as he was concerned he wasn’t human, but he knew that all that made him Warden wasn’t visible enough. Turquoise eyes might be unusual, but they didn’t scream ‘other’. Disguises then. He’d taken some branches from the forest and fashioned himself antlers, strip of cloth woven into a turban around his head to hide they weren’t real, leaves braided into his hair for good measure. Some pattern of spots drawn onto his skin and it should hopefully be enough.

Noting Æn'kae a bit ahead and how lost the other looked made it an easy decision to come over and join the other youth. “Not a fan of crowds?” he asked quietly, smiled. For all that Day would prefer the forest over a city any time, he had grown up in one, knew how to blend in with crowds, to handle markets of the less reputable kind.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae gave a tight lipped smile. "I think Nukhar would have my hide for being so obvious," he replied with a small chuckle. "But ie. It's just a lot to take in all at once. You know?" He shrugged then. "It'll be worth it if I can find some medical supplies, or uh, at least warmer clothing." He considered a moment, recalling that Day like him, hadn't been handling the cold that well. "You here for something warmer too?"

[burstingstars]

“Ah, don’t worry too much. I’m very good at spotting such things.” He remembers abandoning a meeting with a source because the fellow had his shoelaces tied in a military-style knot and took a fraction too long to answer how he knew it. “A jacket at least. Some tools and bits to fix more of the kitchen appliance, I think half of them only got loose wires.” Faespace and here he was dragging all his mechanic knowledge out like it was Republics slums again. “Perhaps seeds, I’d rather have some foodsource that isn’t from a machine.” Still not trusting those.

Glancing at the security with a weariness suggesting bad past encounters he asked: “Want company? Pool resources? I’ve brought some things to barter, if that credits stop working.” Money that only existed as numbers and not a physical thing was something he never could get used to, so he’d packed a backpack with some balls from the ballpit, yarn, saplings from the forest. Whatever could be found aboard that others might be interested in.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

He appreciated the efforts to ease his self esteem, but he knew full well how obvious he was being. Still. His smile softened slightly. "Ie. Even as small as the T'Rikhei was, they made space for a hydroponics bay for edible plants. And it's not like this ship is lacking space for it." Even picking one of the smallest rooms he'd found with a bed long enough for him to not end up curled up perpetually, the room was still far closer in size to that hydroponics bay than his old bunk.

He nodded then, relaxing a bit more at having company and something to focus on beyond the sensory overload. "Company sounds good. Thank you." He wasn't sure if this place looked to be setup for bartering in any capacity, but that would only come up if funds became an issue. Hopefully it wouldn't.

[burstingstars]

“And that forest inside is proof enough that things can grow there.” Just had to clear a little of space or relocate some of the soil into a better suited location. Though he planned to try and connect with the trees already there, do his best they wouldn’t be harmed. Or upset.

“Let’s see what they got here then.” He’d keep close to Æn'kae, make sure the other boy was never far from reach, should there be trouble. But a market was a market, regardless of where it was located or what wares it peddled. Easy enough for him to figure out the lay of it, steer their path towards a clothing retailer – one with what looked like the poorer clientele, since he had no idea what these credits were worth.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"My thoughts exactly. Wouldn't even need to set up extra equipment for it since the ship's environmentals emulate weather." Æn'kae replied, skirting them around a group that seemed to have rising tension between them, but still following the direction Day had picked. He'd rather not get any closer to that, thanks.

The fashion in the clothing store seemed to fall in line closer to what some of the younger groups they'd passed wore. He didn't care about fashion so much as warmth, however. While he did tend to veer to clothes in less vibrant shades, his main goal was checking to see what would fit the best, whatever the color or cut.

[burstingstars]

Daniel enjoyed colors, but for now function was more important. Warm, ideally waterproof too, sturdy enough to be mendable or not fall apart in the first place. And neither black nor white. He'd rather be cold than wear Republic colors. This here... he couldn't quite put words to it, but the clothes didn't seem made to last. "Are you finding anything? This seems all rather... cheap" Baffled him somewhat, Republic not having such things. The affordable things there had been reused ones, things with faults you had to fix yourself, simple basics.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae shook his head no, wrinkling his nose. "I. Think I agree with you." The idea of flimsy clothing was absurd to him, yet that's what this seemed to be. "I um. I think we may need to see what else there is." Even if this was the only option, he'd rather put funds to something everyone could use than apparel that would only even briefly benefit him.

[burstingstars]

Day sighs. "Should've asked Jack for economics lessons, he'd know why." The small town they'd lived in only had a second-hand store and even that had better quality. Not that he minded, he felt bad enough they had to buy him clothes when he arrived without anything. "There is a second one at the other end of the mall, I just hope it won't be the opposite of this." Too specialized or expensive wouldn't help them either. "If it's between clothes and medical things, I rather you get what you need to help. My wires can wait, I can always start cannibalizing the other defunct stuff for spares."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae shrugged and started the direction Day had indicated. "I think we'll just have to see what there is. It's sort of looking like we'll have more luck finding tech related items than medical supplies. So that'd be a step in the right direction at least." And if they were really lucky, once they were working correctly, it was possible the replicators could be programmed to handle medicines. Not that he was counting on that unless it happened.

Maya - OTA

[iobairt]

I only have how much?
Maya stares at the allowance given to her like she has something foul under her nose.

"1000 credits. Is that all?" The words are bitter and the dark elf's dark eyes cold. Then again, she is a Princess, and she's used to having far more to her name than this mere pittance of money. "Once, I could have bought half this asteroid with a glance."

She turns to the nearest person. "What would you do, if all your power was reduced to this?"

'This' being the credits in her hands and the derelict spaceship they call home.

At least the shuttles -Jumpers- are functional, though Maya doesn't trust one not to fall in some fashion.

Stellar Threads
There is desire in her eyes as fingers the cloak of shifting silk, and she will not deny she is tempted to charm everyone in the store into turning a blind eye to the fact she didn't pay for anything. That it would be easy then to make off with everything on the racks. It is tempting - the iridescence of the cloak alone is perfect for her, and the weave is tolerable enough. Nowhere near as fine as she'd like, of course, but beggars can't be choosers.

Her gaze cuts towards the poor soul she dragged into shopping. It's not Cayde - and more than ever she wishes he were here. "Do you ever wonder how much of what we wear is armour and how much is simply another mask?"

Not what's on her mind, of course. But... Maybe she should steal everything. At least then she'd have a decent wardrobe again!

Artifacts & Oddities
Maya ignores the goose stones - she doesn't want to think about the ship's unwelcome visitor that reminds her too much of the thing that once roamed the R2. Instead, she focuses on the ones that gleam with charm-runes. Some are etched poorly, some almost convincing, but none true charms. Her laugh is low, quiet, edged with bitterness as she counts out a few for herself. A small rebellion, but-

"Mother would have dismissed these as trinkets for children. Toys for those who could never wield the real thing." She turns, holding it up for the other person to see. "Yet toys can be far sharper than they appear. What do you think? Harmless bauble, or something more?"

I only have how much?

[burstingstars]

Daniel has not expected any allowance in the first place, came with a backpack of collected tidbits to barter with. A thousand seems like an incomprehensible big sum, more than he ever got from Jack at the Gas Station. And while he likes Maya, her words remind him too much of June, the argument they had before he got taken.

"A 1000 notes is the price Republic puts on the life of a child that fails the Trial." he replies quietly, eyes distant. "It's what they send my mother, along with a note telling her I'd be shipped to a 'labor camp' to still serve the state in some capacity." Lies, followed by notes of unfortunate deaths in the camps. He'll look at Maya, bright blue eyes showing a rare hardness. "It'd been more than the household earned in 3 months. I've known families who rely on some of their kids failing to keep the others fed."

[iobairt]

Day might as well be speaking another language to Maya as she blinks blankly at him. Was he a slave? Poor thing, but slavery was a fact of life back in her universe. Not something mentioned in polite company, but everyone knew it existed.

And, near as Maya knew, lives are worth as much as a person was willing to pay for it.

She fails to see how that relates to her question. "I am sorry to hear that, yet I fail to see how it relates to my question?"

[burstingstars]

"You asked what I'd do. Well, I don't know. This is as much as the worth put onto my life. It's certainly more than Jack gave me as an allowance each month." He isn't angry with Maya, she just seems to be one more privileged rich kid. And Day is well aware that money matters, that a lot of problems could be fixed if you only had it. It's just that he had to go without for so long it's silly to him to be upset about the amount given. "I never had that sort of 'power', only what I could earn on my own. Given the circumstances we should probably be glad to be given any at all."

Brian "Hoody" Thomas | OTA

[0thingsonmymind]

Brian can't remember the last time he went to a mall. Literally. He knows what they are, and when a chance to go Somewhere Else popped up he jumped at it. He peers at the disguise tech some but decides its unneeded right now (he may try to steal some later) since with his mask and hood (and other clothes) he's covered every single inch of his body. Who knows if he even thinks of himself as human anymore, he certainly doesn't act like a normal one.

He's got his tablet out, filming the mall around him, but for now he's staying plastered against a wall. There are lots of people or things or whatever here and maybe it wasn't the best idea to come after all.

[burstingstars]

Day had returned here after the trip with Aen'kae, wanting to take a closer look around without having the other boy suffer from the crowds. Same disguise still, some branches as antlers, headscarf to hide they weren't real. And wasn't that a familiar not-face? Brian didn't look much better than Aen'kae had, hiding against the wall like that, so he smiled and ambled over. "Looking for anything specific, cousin?"

[0thingsonmymind]

He notes the "antlers" first, peering at them while the other approaches. The voice is familiar but he's pretty sure he would have remembered those. He'd paid little attention to the warning to disguise themselves so he's not really sure why Day has them. But it also doesn't matter.

He shakes his head.

[burstingstars]

"Do you want company? Take a look around at what they have here, from a bit closer?" Last time Brian had insisted on not needing help, so he was avoiding phrasing it like that. But well, it couldn't be all that fun to just stand here and watch. "Could be a while before we got a chance like this again."

[0thingsonmymind]

He shakes his head; he never wants company. Despite that he shifts a bit closer to Day, fiddling with his tablet before turning to show it to the other man.

chance
like
this
?

He doesn't really understand what this place is. Somewhere with shops? And too many people.

[burstingstars]

"Somewhere to get supplies that can't be found on the ship. Or just ones in a better state." He hadn't found much beyond a nice cloak, but it still was worth taking a look around. "The one clothing store got a bit of everything and some with really odd qualities, like being vacuum-proof. Not much of useful tech or parts to be found here though."

[0thingsonmymind]

The variety of things available on the ship do seem to be kind of limited, so he guesses its good to go somewhere else to get things. He hasn't really felt the need to collect much, though, since it seemed they had no problem getting around the ship. Not sure if that applies to this place, but he's not sure he sees anything he needs or cares about.

vacuum proof?

He's thinking of the cleaning tool.

[burstingstars]

"Something keeping you safe even in very harsh environments. Not armor, more for places that lack air or warmth." He shrugged a bit. "I needed a normal coat more than that. And it was a good bit more expensive."

[0thingsonmymind]

What.

He flips the tablet around, draws a little sketch of a vacuum cleaner with a big question mark next to it and turns it back around.

[burstingstars]

Day shakes his head. "No, not that sort of vacuum. It's... do you know about space? Out, beyond the atmosphere, where the moon and the stars are? That's what we are travelling through. There's no air there."