Terra Firma [2430-2-2 Sun 11:00 pm]

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace was all too happy to see Terra come into view. It had been a month and a half since she'd seen her home planet, and in a way, she had missed it. There was nothing like the megacity, just shallow imitations on each planet. It glittered and sparkled outside of the dark shadow, and even in the shadow, it twinkled with lights.

Her neck itched and she resisted scratching it. At least it was finally healing. Enan had done his best, but you couldn't make vampire bites look like anything but vampire bites. The spacing gave it away to anybody with an eye for them. She'd managed to stay hidden until they hit Antheia, and after that, she'd simply stopped bothering to hide them. Klove had predictably lost it, and she had the pleasure of ending another fight between the two of them before somebody ended up dead. Enan had gone off to get supplies, taking Kenna with him, and Castle drew the short straw and got stuck looking after the ship while Grace headed out with the rest to kill a unicorn.

The remains of that unicorn were sitting boxed up in the freezer. At least that had gone well. Grace had managed to lure the unicorn in, her old stand-by of pure glacier water mixed with lotus and lilac extract working wonders, and of course a virginal faun to seal the deal. By the time the unicorn realized there was something dark hiding underneath the sweet smelling water, she was close enough to slide that spear straight into the beast's heart. After that, it was simply a matter of letting Eli take care of the unicorn bait for her (and getting him fed before he was back on the ship) while the rest disassembled and packed up the unicorn. It was a fortune, and combined with the money Eli still had to give her, would keep the Queen in good shape.

Grace finished paying the wages out as the ship approached the city. Each of the men (and dwarf) aboard had netted himself nearly a million. She had no doubt she'd lose crew with those sorts of profit margins, but considering how nasty the latest run had been, she was fairly certain they'd be considering jumping ship before payday. At least this much money would keep their mouths shut.

She flicked on the intercom with one hand, "We'll be docking on five minutes in the north-west region. See you in the cargo bay." Grace flicked the switch off, returning her hand to the yoke as she navigated around a slower ship

[Klove Makem]

To say that Klove was pissed was an understatement. If Grace hadn't made it clear that she'd abandon him on the next planet if he killed Eli, then he would have staked that fiking vampire in his sleep the moment he realized that he'd gone and attacked Grace. She'd tried to make up some bullshit story, but Klove knew what it looked like to be attacked by a vampire, and those bites on her neck were clear as day.

If Grace had died... Klove didn't want to think about it. Thinking about it just made his stomach cold as ice. She should have blown his head off the moment that vampire got near him. The money wasn't worth it. Maybe it would make the rest of the year easy, but she would be wearing those bites for the rest of her life.

As Grace's voice came over the loudspeaker, Klove turned onto his side, facing the wall of his bunk. He had no plan to go into the cargo bay until that vampire was long gone. He was just going to stay here in his bunk, and once that thing was gone, he was going to ask Grace to move them to a new berth, where the vampire wouldn't be able to find them. The last thing he wanted was that thing returning finish what he'd started and try take back his money.

His teeth felt too long in his mouth. He really wanted to hunt something down and kill it, and wouldn't you know, this was just the one planet he couldn't do that on. Life was really fiking unfair sometimes.

[Kenna Kleykir]

It was such a relief to hear the Captain announcing they would be on Terra. She quickly checked her bank account, feeling another overwhelming feeling of relief as she looked at the numbers. This trip had been a bad one, but it had paid well. Better than well. The temptation to stay on for another few weeks and watch that number double was so hard to resist, but she resisted it.

Her things were already packed. She slung her harp onto her back, and took up her two bags, tools and bits and bobs in the left, clothes and other junk in the right. She would get a hotel room, and then she would find herself another job. A less dangerous job. There were always machines that needed work.

Kenna headed to the cargo bay, heart feeling lighter than it had in well over a week, ever since she watched Quillan's head dissolve. It had given her nightmares. And it didn't help that he had looked so much like Daniel...

[Eli Wellington]

To say there hadn't been tension with Klove after the biting incident would have been a serious understatement. Eli had had to fight every instinct to prod and play with him further, because he knew that the were-cat had reached his final straw, and it was ready to snap if given the chance. To help himself, Eli had withdrawn more often throughout the day, keeping himself away from the others, lest his tongue get him into serious trouble. He'd spent a good portion of that time alone to browse the Network some more, learning what he could about Terra, and beginning to discover more of the entertainment side of the Network's content in the process.

As much as he'd read and watched about the planet, however, nothing could have prepared him for finally seeing it in person. Antheia had been a shock, but it was nothing like Terra. While Antheia had been far more lush and green, and intensely brighter than Nox (Eli had been surprised when he peeked out of the ship to find that Antheia's dead of night was nearly as bright as Nox's twilight hours), Antheia still carried many of the basic characteristics of Nox. Trees, grass, open land. It was different, but still familiar.

Terra, on the other hand, was all city. City... even that word barely computed in his mind. Towns, Eli knew. Large towns. But a city, with towering structures of any kind, and sprawling residences that went farther than the eye could see, even if one was standing on a hill... that was beyond his comprehension. The idea that Terra would be so covered, in fact, that the city went up even further than Nox's towns ever went sideways... Eli had originally dismissed that as a joke. Grace had told him that some things on the Network weren't real. He'd just assumed the images of Terra fell into that category.

It was definitely real, he realized quite quickly as he eyed the planet on a view screen. He wasn't able to look out of the window and truly see it, due to the sun, but the view screen showed him enough to be fully blown away like he hadn't expected. The big sparkling ball of... it was a ball of metal, with some ocean here and there, but otherwise... metal and lights. It was ugly and beautiful at the same time, and Eli could hardly take his eyes off the screen, soaking it in with pure amazement. The Humans of Terra were strange and amazing creatures to have accomplished the work of art that their planet had become, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Humans of Nox would have accomplished the same, had the vampires' presence not become so overpowering.

He was filled with mixed emotions as Grace made an announcement over the ship's intercom. He wanted to run down to the cargo bay as fast as he could, eager to get onto the planet and explore. On the other hand, he couldn't bear to tear himself away from the screen, lest he miss something else that was new and exciting. Reminding himself that viewing it on the screen was nothing compared to seeing it in real life, he finally forced himself to hurry off to the crew quarters to scoop up his bags that were already packed, and then he eagerly made his way to the cargo hold to wait for Grace.

[Enan Breese]

It was good to see Terra come back into view. Enan hadn't felt so relieved since... he couldn't really remember if he'd ever been this happy to see Terra. He was already thinking about what he would do when he left the ship. His apartment was high on the list. He hadn't slept in his own bed in over a month, and he was looking forward to it.

He was a little less relieved to think about Grace. There was a part of him that was tempted to cut and run. There would be some trouble getting his old job back, and saying "I was kidnapped by a smuggler" was far-fetched, but not impossible. He could sleep in his old bed, and go back to the way everything was before she had shown up and thrown him for a loop.

But... there was another part of him that felt more alive than he ever had. On Terra, everything had been predictable to the point of boring. Most of the trouble in his life wasn't even his trouble, but his twin's trouble. This was the first time in his life where the trouble was his. Enan wasn't so sure he wanted to give that up.

He decided not to go down to the cargo bay. He could leave after the others. And after he'd decided if he was going to sleep in his apartment for a few nights, or for the rest of his life.

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace brought the Queen of Spades into her berth, waiting for the legs to extend before finally settling down. She locked the console, as she always did when in port, and killed the engines. The steady quiet vibrations disappeared completely, leaving the ship quiet as the dead.

She slid her jacket on and headed down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Castle entered just before her, carrying his things on his back. Looked like he was leaving. As she stepped in, she noted that Kenna was equally packed. Looks like she would be looking for another crew. This one hadn't lasted too long, which was a shame. Hopefully she'd keep Enan and Szar, but she'd find that out when they left port, and not before then.

"Castle, Kenna. You're paid up and free to go if you want. I won't be replacing you for a few days." She left it open, in case they did come back. But she wouldn't force them to. Only an idiot would stay locked in a ship with someone who hated them or had every reason to kill them. And speaking of reasons to kill... "Eli, I've held up my end of the bargain. Let's see the money. After that, I'll take you to an elevator and get you where you need to be."

[Eli Wellington]

Of course, Eli realized. He'd almost forgotten to finish the payment side of the deal. "Right. You got it." He pulled out the metal case and flipped the numbers on the combination lock, waiting for it to click. When it opened, he handed it over to Grace. He stepped back a little, knowing there was a chance she might be pissed at finding there wasn't anything physical in it, other than a piece of paper with an account number.

"Hope you don't mind my precautions. Took the liberty of doing some business with Malcolm before I left. Got him to teach me about non-physical funds, since I told him I was interested in doing some of my own business with the blood trades. He set up that account for me," he explained quickly, lest she pull a gun on him thinking he was screwing her over. "He now owns most of my original coin on Nox."

Eli might not have been technologically savvy, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew the business transaction had been a risky one, and he'd wanted to make sure that if someone were to stab him in the back--literally or figuratively--there would be no physical money for someone to steal off of him. A traitor thinking he could just kill Eli and pry open the case would be out of luck.

"I'll give you the password when we're off the ship, in public," he continued. "You know... so I don't get stabbed once the funds are in your account."

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace wasn't really sure how she felt about seeing inside the case. On one hand, she had been hoping there would be coins in there, coins worth far more than the millions she'd asked for. But on the other hand, a quick calculation had revealed that thirty million worth of coins was far larger than a single briefcase. She had been fairly interested to see how it would pan out.

As it turned out, it was the boring option. Oh well. Thirty-three million was still thirty-three million, and even better, she didn't have to find a buyer who wouldn't ask questions. "As long as the money's good, I don't give a shit how I get it." Grace said as she picked up the paper, glancing over the account number. It looked like a valid one, but she wanted to make sure. She drew out her eInkr and quickly punched it in. It was valid.

"Sounds fine to me." Grace wasn't too worried about Eli not giving her the password. After all, if he tried to cheat her, this was her planet. She knew plenty of people who could find him, no matter what his species was. "Alright, thanks for your service everyone. See you around." She hit the button to open the ramp and stepped onto it before it sunk too far down. "Alright, everybody get moving."

[Kenna Kleykir]

Kenna felt rather awkward as the exchange went on between Grace and Eli. The further away from the vampire she was, the better she would feel. And the further away from Grace... It was no wonder they got along. They were both monsters in their own way.

But finally the ramp lowers. As soon as it hit the ground, Kenna was down it. The city was bright and busy, and full of humans as ever. After weeks in a quiet ship, it was good to hear these sorts of sounds again. People-sounds. Engine-sounds. Busy and full and overwhelming in a way that she had somehow missed.

Kenna gave Grace a polite nod, and headed away from the Queen of Spades. There was a hotel near the mouth of the spaceport. She could get a room there, and begin looking for a new job. Or.... with the money she had, she could afford to stop for a while, maybe focus on her inventing. She thought back to Daniel again. It might be worth it to try.

With a new plan in mind, she squared her shoulders and made her way through the crowds.

[Eli Wellington]

Kenna seemed all too eager to leave. It probably had to do in part with his presence on the ship, which none of them had been all that impressed with. Eli probably should have attempted to talk to the dwarf more than he had, but he'd gotten himself a swift kick to the shin when he'd pointed out what a perfect height she was for a certain activity, and she'd mostly avoided him since.

He followed Grace down the ramp, quickly pulling a hood up over his head. When he'd experienced Antheia for the first time, he'd thought Grace was playing a cruel joke on him when she told him it was night and he'd stepped off the ship into a much brighter setting than he'd expected. It wasn't that Antheia--and now Terra--'s night time was a painful level of sun to anything more than a minor itchy skin irritant, like Nox's twilight hours just before day broke, but visually, it was still just far too bright for his liking. He'd eventually get used to it, but for now it mostly annoyed him.

"So hey," he decided to point out as they walked. "If you keep that case, don't let Klove touch it. It's silver-lined."

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace watched Kenna and Castle head off. There was probably no chance of Kenna returning, which was a pity since she had been a good fit, up until the bit on Romulus. Hopefully she had seen to the engine before she left. The last thing Grace needed was to have the engine pitch a fit in a week's time.

"You're a crafty one." Grace felt a bit of admiration for the vampire. A silver-lined case would be useful in the future, though she would have to keep Klove's fingers off it. "I can think of a few uses for it."

At this time of night, the crowds were leaner. This was good, otherwise she might have an incident on her hands. If Eli went on a killing spree in the Below, it wouldn't matter much, but if he snapped here in plain sight, Grace would end up deader than him. The elevator wasn't too far away. "Just remember what I told you. Don't leave any evidence behind, and stick to the shittier districts. A few more bodies won't be noticed by anyone if you keep moving."

[Eli Wellington]

"Yeah. Next time you wanna hide something from him it could come in handy," he shrugged, trying to focus his eyes on Grace's feet in order to follow her. The scents of people were already pulling on him strongly, so the sight of them and their bared skin was something he needed to avoid at that point. He would just need to train his hearing in order to make sure to keep aware of the movement around him.

"No evidence. Check," he replied as she grilled him with the same info once more. "Shitty district. Check. I can do that. But wait, keep moving... so I can't get a fucking house or something like that?? I'll need somewhere to live."

[Grace Forjacks]

"There's not much I bother hiding from him." Grace admitted, though that statement was less true than it used to be. Normally, she was upfront with Klove about all their dealings. She'd hidden Eli, but only because she knew Klove would freak out and refuse to go along, and then she'd done her best to hide her scars, until it became obvious that she couldn't anymore.The thought made her a bit uneasy. That was something she was going to have to reevaluate.

"You can still live places, just not permanently." It was almost funny to hear him say 'house'. Houses were something that happened on other planets, but not Terra. You lived in apartments, even in the Top. A house would just be a waste of space. "You should keep moving for the first year, until you get the hang of things and figure out the lay of the land. After that you can look at getting an apartment. Six months is a pretty standard lease in most places, Keep it clean, pay in cash, and use a false name."

"The Below's full of survivors Eli. Don't underestimate them. For every easy meal, there's someone like me lurking around the corner. And they won't hesitate to kill you if they think you're a danger. Keep low, keep moving. You've spent centuries eating rats, you can survive a year of squatting." They reached the elevator. Grace fed credits into the machine, and waited for it to descend. "This will take you all the way to the Below. Now, if you don't mind, I'll have that password."

[Eli Wellington]

"Nox is full of survivors too," Eli pointed out. "I think I'll live." If sharing hundreds of years of dwindling food supply with fellow vampires and a forest of Weres who continued to breed had taught him anything, it was most certainly survival of the fittest. While he was, perhaps, inexperienced on Terra, he wasn't an idiot. He'd learn, adapt, survive. Finally he had something to stretch his brain, after so many years of stagnant boredom. It was a refreshing thought.

He glanced at the doorway as Grace motioned to it, putting money into a slot. This would take him to the Below? It looked like the entrance to a room to him. Maybe there was a staircase behind the door, he figured. He glanced back at the human, who as far as he could see had yet to pull out a weapon to finish him off. So far, a deal was a deal.

"It's 'Ciaran'. C-I-A-R-A-N," he replied finally, feeling a bit weird saying the name out loud after so long. Only a handful of vampires left on Nox would even know who the name belonged to, let alone associate it with Eli. Grace would have had no way of knowing what it meant. It was the safest choice he could think of, while still being something he knew he would remember. There were few things he remembered from so long ago. But that name... that name was one of them.

[Grace Forjacks]

Ciaran? She'd never heard that word before, and it was a good thing Eli slept it because she had no idea where to start. Grace drew out her eInkr and entered the password. It took a few seconds, but it cleared, and all that wonderful money was resting in her bank account. There was nothing so satisfying as a million dollars. Nothing.

She tucked the eInkr away in her jacket and took a look at the vampire. "Well, it's been fun, but don't take any offense when I say that I hope we never see each other again." The last thing she needed was to end up getting the death penalty because she smuggled a vampire to Terra and they made the mistake of keeping in contact. The same applied to Eli, since Grace was hardly a saint and Eli wasn't even the worst crime she'd committed. And there was also the chance that Eli would decide to finish what he's started and really kill her.

Grace paused, deciding if it was worth passing on the last piece of information to Eli. It wasn't likely that she'd get this chance again. She pulled a list out of her pocket. Paper was pretty rare, but when you had something you didn't want recorded down, it was your best best. "There are four names on here. Once you're settled in, do me a favor and kill them. Consider it payment for what you did to my neck. When you're ready, just step inside the elevator. It'll take you all the way down."