No Place Like Home [2430-1-3-Tue-8:00 am]

[Grace Forjacks]

It was a wonderful thing to see Glacies come back into view, the gorgeous ball of ice and snow, the dark crevices where something else lurked down near the core of the planet, where the base of rock was that kept the sphere together. The way back to the Kugelblitz was easy enough, and Grace could have fallen it in her sleep if required.

Against the never ending landscape of white, the Kugelblitz stood out, tall and dark and waiting for her. The rest of the ship was still sleeping, even Quillan whom she had informed had the morning off. Holo would have plenty of food ready for them when they came in, and Grace was really ready for some of his pancakes.

The saucer came down over the Kugelblitz and the rooftop opened up, revealing the inside of the shop and the great hooks the saucer rested on. Grace lowered the ship into the waiting hole, taking care not to go down too fast or move too far one way or another, as well as to have the saucer turned the proper way. It came to a slow stop, hooks sagging gently as it did. Above the ship, the roof came sliding back together. Grace lowered the ramp and shut off the engines.

She didn't bother waking the others. They'd be up soon enough. Instead she headed down the stairs and out the ramp, onto the cement platform where the ramp rested. She took the stairs down, shivering a little from the cold. The heaters were on full blast, filling the shop with hot air. In fifteen minutes or so, the place would be toasty warm.

At the bottom of the stairs, she found Holo holding two cups of coffee. She took the opportunity to hug him, knowing no one was watching and that Holo couldn't stop her. "Hey old man."

[Jenos Holo]

Holo heard the doors opening as he finished the last of his flapjacks. He nodded contently to himself, knowing that they'd had no problems travelling and had arrived just on time. Holo set the plate on the table, and poured two cups of coffee. They were both black, just the way he and Grace both liked it.

She was coming down the steps by the time he moseyed out to see her. Grace got that look on her face, and before he could stop her, she was giving him a tight hug. Holo growled, but inside he loved every second of it. Grace really was the daughter he'd always wanted, and he appreciated that she humoured him, even if he didn't want her too sometimes. "Morning Gracie."

Holo handed her one mug and got to work on the other, leading her into the kitchen. She took her usual seat, and he took his. The two of them sat in a quiet and peaceful silence. They'd talk later, but right now, it was just nice having the quiet.

Once the coffee was finished, Holo rinsed out the mugs as Grace helped herself to the food. Holo took a little food of his own, some flapjacks and a couple strips of bacon, and got to work appeasing his mild appetite. "How's your crew working out?"

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace filled her plate, dumping syrup all over her pancakes and her bacon before taking a bite. "Crew's good. I think we're starting to gel. Klove hired a Dwarf on Nox to work on our engines, and she's been itching to talk to you. And Klove got outted in front of Castle and the dwarf, and I told Enan, so they know he's a were. I'm going to pull Quillan aside and tell him at some point. They seem to be handling it well, though apparently Castle still has major issues with weres."

She spotted a thing of milk and poured herself a glass. It was wondeful, cool and creamy. She had no idea how the Dwarves on Glacies managed to milk the great ancient boars that roamed the surface, but the milk was great. "I'm thinking about hitting the Underworld with a load of mammoth meat, and then looking for some contracts."

[Jenos Holo]

Holo growled at the mention of Weres. He was fine with Klove. Klove was a good kid, and he couldn't help being born with a monster under that skin, but Holo didn't blame Castle for his hate. Holo had never bothered to get over his xenophobia and he was too damn old to be bothering with it now. Klove was, and always would be, an exception to the rule. Now the Dwarf, he'd be okay with. They all had thick skins and gave as good as they got. He didn't mind them, though he'd sure as hell never serve with them on a ship.

He never understood how Gracie managed to be so alright with so many species. The girl worked with anything, sold to anything, bought from anything, even species that everybody understood to be nothing but trash like the vamps and gobs. Holo couldn't do that. His crew had been all-human, and he'd stuck to the inner solar system, selling to other humans and maybe the occasional Dwarf or Elf. He didn't know if Grace had slept with anything outside the species, but he had a feeling she wouldn't be too opposed to it.

"I've got plenty in the storage downstairs. There's a sabertooth hanging around here, scaring off the mammoths. I figured I'd take Klove and your merc and go kill it." Holo helped himself to a glass of milk as well.

[Grace Forjacks]

"Knock yourself out. Just bring back the fangs if you get him." They'd go for a lot on the Underworld, depending which crowd wanted them most. There were the men who wanted trophies, and the ones who wanted to use them as decoration in their bodies, and the ones who believed you could grind them up and eat them for a charge in the bedroom. And Grace was all too happy to part a fool and his money, so long as the fool though he'd gotten the better end of the bargain.

They lapsed back into silence as Grace filled herself. She'd have to take an inventory of the meat, and the rest of what was downstairs, then take care of business contacts she hadn't talked to in a while. And call her parents and check in on them. And after that, she was going to go sleep in her bed.

[Klove Makem]

Klove woke up when the cold air came into the ship. He shivered, fur-covered flanks twitching, and opened his eyes. He sniffed the air. Cold. Snow. Mammoth. Holo. Glacies. Home sweet home. He could feel the tug of the moon on him, big and full and heavy, and he didn't feel like fighting the change to be human.

The cougar slide out of his bunk, underneath the hanging curtain, and padded across the floor silently. He let his nose guide him out into the hall, and down the storage bay's ramp. The cement was cold on the bottom of his paws and he moved quickly, running down the stairs. In the storage bay, the ATT sat silent and tall, tracks clean and cabin empty. He headed to the door and bumped his head into the button set low to the ground. The doors swung open and Klove headed inside.

Grace and Holo were sitting at the table. Klove stretched out, spine making wonderful cracking noises as he did, then bumped up against Grace's legs and finally came to a stop at his stool, hopping up to sit beside Grace. He waited for her to fill his plate for him, and maybe give his ears a scratch.

[Grace Forjacks]

It had been a while since she'd seen Klove in cougar form. She happily scratched his head and under his chin, listening to the rough sounds as he tried to purr. If he was starting out the day as a cat, he probably wouldn't be changing anytime soon.

She put bacon and ham onto his plate, watching the cat happily eat up. "Don't freak anybody out." Grace told him, getting back to her own food. "I've got better shit to do than mediate a spat between you and someone else." The cat just licked his lips, scarfing down the meat.

For good measure, she picked up a bowl and poured some of the fresh milk into it, setting it beside the meat. Klove happily switched over to it, lapping at the treat. She gave him a few more pets, marvelling a little at how big he'd gotten in the past few years. If he wasn't full grown, then he would been soon.

[Jared Castle]

Castle had been tossing and turning the past few nights. Partly questioning his opinion he had about Weres for the past ten years, and partly keeping an eye open in fear of Klove attacking him in his sleep. The old opinion hadn't gone away yet. He needed more time to think and get used to the idea that the monsters he had hated for years weren't monsters at all.

He didn't get much sleep so he was already awake. The only reason he got out of bed was because he heard someone else get out of their bunk and leave the room. Jared hated being the only one up in a place he wasn't extremely familiar with yet. It was awkward. He assumed they were at Glacies already so it would be another new place he'd have to get used to.

He waited a couple of minutes after who he assumed was Klove exited the bunks, then he got out of bed. There was nobody in the kitchen so Jared exited the ship. He walked down the ramp and started to smell coffee. He walked into the kitchen and Saw Grace, a man he assumed as Holo, and a cougar. His hand went for his gun but then he remembered that it was Klove. He'd definitely have to get used to that. This was the first time he had seen Klove in this form so it just startled him as all.

"Good morning." He said, embarassed.

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace's own hand hovered over her gun as Castle came in. Maybe he'd get the first shot off, but she'd kill with her shot, bullet straight through the brain. But he didn't shoot, and she brought her hand back up pick up the fork she'd dropped on her plate.

"Morning." She said far more casually than she had any right to. The cougar raised his head, then lowered it again to keep lapping at his milk. Grace made the introductions. "Holo, this is Jared Castle, Castle, this is Jenos Holo. Grab a seat and help yourself to some food. There's coffee over on the counter if you want a cup."

[Jenos Holo]

Holo gave Castle a once-over. Looked like a merc alright. Holo had worked with dozens over the years, and they were all the same, trustworthy or one degree or another. Grace hadn't been bitching about him, so he must have been doing his job well enough. He seemed her type, but it wasn't wise to make assumptions. She always managed to surprise Holo when he least expected it.

He nodded and growled at Castle, typical Holo greeting, stabbing a pancake with his fork and taking a bite. Klove's plate and bowl empty, the cougar started eyeing up the still mostly-full bowl of bacon. Holo growled at him too, grabbing a few extra strips out of spite. Grace snorted and just gave the cat more milk.

[Jared Castle]

Castle had heard about Holo from Klove. He wasn't exactly what he was expecting, and he didn't seem to want to even know him. Jared didn't care.

He walked over to the counter. He hadn't had coffee in a while so he thought, what the hell? Jared poured himself a cup and sat down at the table. He took some food and started eating. It was good bacon. Klove was still freaking him out being in that form. When he wasn't used to seeing cats that big, Jared was wary. Did he even have the same consciousness when a cat?

[Grace Forjacks]

Castle kept sneaking looks at Klove, as if the kid was about to go crazy and start chewing on him. Klove had said he'd work out his problems with Castle on his own, and she did respect his willingness to solve his problems. But at the same time, she didn't like knowing Castle was a wildcard. He was more dangerous than the cougar ever could be.

She shrugged off her jacket and held it out to Klove, "Go hang this up."

The cougar gave her a look only described as wtf before doing as told. He gripped the collar lightly in his teeth, hopped down and headed to Grace's room. With Klove out of the room, she raised her eyebrows at Castle, an invitation to say his piece without the cougar staring at him.

[Jared Castle]

Jared was confused at the look Grace gave him. Did she want to talk? He couldn't exactly figure it out so he just asked, "What?"

The look had to mean something, especially when it was given after she sent Klove out of the room. Maybe she wanted him to explain himself. What was there to say? He had a hate for Were-creatures since he was 25 and now he was being forced to live with one. It was just a little unnerving and hard to get used to.

Obviously Klove was a good kid and not a monster but it was the idea that just messed with his mind. He took a sip of his coffee and ate another strip of bacon waiting for Grace to explain the look she gave.

[Grace Forjacks]

Looked like Castle wasn't about to spill his guts. She didn't know what his problem was, but she could probably guess. He'd lost someone to a Were at some point, maybe a friend or lover. Either way, he was carrying a chip about it, and was having trouble deciding if he wanted to hold that chip against Klove.

"His parents were murdered by humans. Terran Military, to be exact. First contact went all pear shaped and he ended up an orphan." She told him, using the side of her fork to slice her pancakes up into bite-sized pieces. "That's why he's with me. I've had him for five years, and I've never had a problem with him. Ever."

"I don't know what your problem is, and honestly, I don't care. You've earned your pay, Mr. Castle, and I'd like to keep you in my employ. So whatever you issue with Weres is, I'm going to trust that you're enough of a professional to deal with it without bloodshed." The threat was left unuttered, but was heavily implied. If he hurt Klove, she would blow his brains all over the wall.

Grace stabbed a slice of pancake with her fork and smiled at him. "Feel free to look around the place. We've got a fishing hole in the ice downstairs if you feel like trying your hand at it, and Holo says there's a sabertooth tiger hanging around the place that he'd like to do away with. If you feel up to it, I'm sure he'd appreciate your help."

[Jared Castle]

Castles head raised up as Grace began to tell him about Klove. She thought he wanted to hurt Klove? Gods no. He was as pretty much Jared's only friend right now. "I just had a bad experience dealing with them a while back and it's hard getting over that. I'm sure it would have been hard for Klove to get used to Humans at first."

"Klove is a friend, so if you think I want to do any harm to him, you're mistaken. I don't mean to be a problem, I just need time to accept that the closest friend I have whom I recently thought was a human is actually the very species that I hated. But now I know that Weres are not the terrible creatures I made them out to be before. This new mind set is weird to me. So, I apologize for making you think anything bad would happen between us."

If Holo needed help doing any work, Jared would be happy to help. He would love to get to know a man like him. "Sure, I'd like to give it myself."