Athena Initiative: Explorers Wanted

[Arutha]

Terminus, a shipping center at the edge of the galaxy.
For a planet located in the Outer Rim Territories and referred to as 'the end of the road' it was surprisingly busy with traffic. The sky was choked with vessels of common and outlandish design. There were the familiar triangular vessels of the Imperial-inclined as well as the odd bubbly shapes of Mon Calamari ships, and some looked liked ocean-faring vessels with masts and all albeit given the ability of flight. A strange land, but one the Athena Initiative chose well. It was a center of commerce between governments from beyond the Outer Rim, in Wild Space and into the Unknown Regions. Space uncharted and dangerous. It attracted spacers and spacers were well in demand.

Arutha was one such spacer. A cartographer and crpytologist. While a specialist in designing maps and charting space, he had a deep interest in solving codes and decoding glyphs. Ordinarily Arutha found work hard to come by, much of the galaxy had been discovered and that which hadn't was of little interest to be discovered by the rest galaxy for they were busy with warring one another. When he saw the posters on the HoloNet for the Athena Initiative he jumped at the chance for permanent employment. A dream job come manifest. Arutha was moving towards a space dock rented out by the AI. Huge banners of light blue and white signaled the presence of Athena, with survey ships in dock for open inspection of interested employees.


[ [member="Lauris Floyd"] ]

 

[Lief]

Another dead day floating through space.

For all the adventure and thrill his job provided, there were a lot of down days. Traveling along congested space lanes, moving slowly through uncharted routes that were dangerous and largely untested, and required constant vigil and little else, days where he simply had no commissions coming in yet had no desire to return to his suspended home.

Lauris lived for adventure. He longed to go further than his job often allowed, to set foot upon the planets he until now had only been able to watch from afar. Until now.

As he sat there with his boots up on the consoles and his eyes half closed with boredom, a message popped up on his ships comms. Impersonal, not intended for just his eyes, yet an opportunity all the same. He sat upright, staring at the words as they fully formed. And then a very slight grin spread across his lips.

"EXPLORERS WANTED"

Big bold font. And a footnote that merely included a location and some strange company logo he hadn't seen before. Terminus? Sure, he'd passed through but never once thought to stop. Hadn't ever had reason to. Like with the rest of the Galaxy, he didn't exactly have the time to be messing around especially not during his more busy periods.

But right now? Right now he was sat waiting. And that would very soon bring with it a bout of cabin fever. He did not relish the notion of losing time, so he did the only sensible thing he could.

He set a course for Terminus, and realized quite happily that it was in a nearby system. Just a few days and he would be at the door of a new adventure. A new opportunity...

If they'd have him.

[Member='Arutha']

 

[Belek]

Terminus. An odd trading hub at "The End of the Galaxy" where one could find any product from any nation, if one had the crdits and the contacts. Suffice to say Belek had neither. After a largely unsuccessful venture as a cruiseliner's bell hop Belek was again looking for a job. Any job. Anything to get him some stability since he'd left his home world of Stic. Passing by a poster he found a poster with an intriguing graphic, the phrase "EXPLORERS WANTED" nearly popping out of the advertisement. Was Belek an explorer? Of course he was. He left Stic with little but a bus ticket and some clothes. If he could make it this long he could make it as an explorer. As long as this ship lasted longer than the last one.

Heading over to dock Aurek he looked around other men and women, a myriad of species of all color and inclination. He wondered if all of them were aiming to be explorers. Belek found the idea a bit . . . romantic himself, though he couldn't deny hunger was his primary motivation at the moment. After a little while he found himself in a bit of a line. It looked like it was an initial screening, maybe an interview almost. Perhaps he's be hired here, or sent to a second interview, or be turned away. Hopefully not that last one. Time would tell, but Belek was excited. New horizons, new tomorrows, new opportunities. To find adventure, and perhaps himself.

[member="Arutha"]

 

[Arutha]

"Hey, you saw the posters too?" asked Arutha, his head turning to look at Belek, the man who was behind him in line, "Doesn't look like a bad gig if you ask me." His attention turned as a woman in light blue chirped for his attention, at least he initially thought she was a woman. He studied the tall droid in front of him who was clutching a datapad. A good head and a half taller than he. The droid was dressed in the regal fashion of Naboo with a voice that hinted at feminine programming. "You're perhaps the most interesting droid I've seen in these parts," Arutha said.

There came an obvious slap of annoyance in the robots voice, "I'm not a droid," she growled, "I'm a Lost." Arutha was almost stunned to hear a droid talk back to him like that, "An android then? I don't understand." To his surprise the metal of her face shifted into a semblance of a frown. "I'm a sentient, just as much as you, Lost is my species." Arutha raised his arms as two Liran propped them up, and small Miln ran around his feet performing a quick screening. "But-" Arutha wanted to argue, droids couldn't be sentient. Metal was not flesh. "What little remains of my species works for the Athena Initiative, at least those who have found their way to us. Approximately three." Her eyes danced over him and he felt like she was somehow scanning him, "My calculations suggest there are no more than one-hundred of us left in this galaxy."

"Something new everyday," Arutha murmured, then looked back over his shoulder at Belek, "I'll see you inside, by the way, the names Arutha." He exchanged a quick friendly nod to the alien then gave the odd droid a final glance before being hurried into the dockyard. He was greeted by a less than appealing sight. The vessels were top of the range, state of the art craft, but there were so few people mulling around. This place was dead. A half dozen interested employees, and already some were walking out the door without filing for employment. He wondered briefly at why that was. He looked around and his attention caught onto the sight of another droid akin to the one that had done the screening.

"Welcome Arutha," the droid spoke, his voice was rough like a sea-faring sailor, "You can call me X-17." The Lost held his hand to his own mouth, made a spitting noise despite the lack of actual saliva and held out his hand for a shake. Arutha took it with a wide grin. He was loving this place already. It was foreign beyond his imagining in the most exciting way. Sentient droids. "Who're those two?" Arutha asked and beckoned X-17's attention to a hologram of two other Lost, though those two were holograms. One looked like a cowboy while the other appeared more a soldier. One male, one female. "More of my kind," X-17 spoke with pride, "V-01 and L-17." The droid reached up and scratched his head, "L-17 died in combat a couple centuries ago, I was there to see it. A sad day for all of us Lost."

"A couple centuries ago?" Arutha was taken aback, "How old are you?" X-17 smiled, or as close to a smile as a metal humanoid could achieve, "About eight-hundred years now, give or take. I don't really count." This was amazing, Arutha had never heard of anything like it, but his curiosity got the best of him and before pushing onto what the job entailed he asked about V-01, "What happened to the cowboy?" X-17 laughed, "Hah! Best gunslinger we had among our species. Sadly, we aren't sure what happened to him, he just vanished." An air of mystery, Arutha was getting giddy. "What's the job," he then motioned to the departing spacers, "No one seems to want to bite."

"To explore the Unknown Regions, chart it for the rest of the galaxy and find habitable planets for research and establish colonies," X-17 informed him. The mention of the Unknown Regions made Arutha reconsider for a moment. He had heard the stories, more like horror stories. The Unknown Regions was notoriously dangerous. Few civilizations lasted long out there. The saying went; There are a hundred different threats out there that would freeze your blood if you knew about them. It was madly dangerous, but this was the career he chose for himself. He couldn't chart Wild Space forever. Before he could stop himself Arutha said, "I'll take the job."

[ [member="Belek"] ] - [[member="Lauris Floyd"] ] - [ Alasdair Sitra ] - [ Gabriel Audemars ]

 

[Lief]

Could he do it?

His ship had been docked for a solid 15 minutes now, but still Lars sat staring through the transparisteel viewing port to the hangar beyond. Oh, he was no stranger to such things. He spent a lot of time within hangars! Only... They floated in space.

This?

Lars swallowed the rising insecurity and exhaled one long breath.

What a coward... You spend your whole life just longing to step foot on a world, on something other than a ship or a spacestation, and now you have the opportunity to do that... and what? You're just going to sit here?

His fingers drummed against the arm of his chair, before grasping on tightly as though his dear sweet Mira had been struck by asteroid or jolted by hiccups in space. He screamed for a moment, all manner of profanities tumbling from his mouth, until his breathing was ragged and his head lolled back against the seat.

It can't be so different from walking along Waypoint, or The Wheel, get your ass up lad.

Finally he rose to his feet, though his eyes remained fixed ahead and his hands settled on the console infront. "I can do this, I can do this..."

Could he do this?

There's only a slim window of opportunity here, you miss it and you'll never have cause to leave space again. You'll be stuck with admiring the worlds from afar... Tell me, Lars, do you want to remain little more than an endless wanderer?

He kicked the console and turned from the cockpit, boots clacking on the durasteel ground as he made his way toward the boarding ramp. It hadn't been lowered yet. One hand settled along the cold metal wall, before he lowered his head. "Sorry Mira, I didn't mean to lose my temper with you, girl. I'll be back, just you watch. Then we'll touch ground somewhere... real. I promise."

Ship well and truly talked to, he punched the button to lower the ramp and took his first step on solid ground. Then another. Huh, who'd have thought it would be so similar to Waypoint? He barely felt any difference at all.

But after sitting through customs, and eventually leaving the port, Lars realized how stupid a statement that was.

Holy bantha on a stick... What in the world?

---

It had been a most mentally tiring day. While this area of Terminus was not as green as others, Lars' mind was still forced to work overtime to make sense of the things he was witnessing. When he looked skyward after leaving the port he was met with a most brilliant blue in place of the black void he had come to know. And in the distance he saw great mounds of stone and greenery that made very little sense to him.

Sure there had been the occasional plant on the Stations he frequented, but never to this magnitude.

Now he had reached a building, and while it was a little more comforting to be away from all the strange new sights he was still struggling to comprehend it all. Stood in line for what he hoped would lead to a more certain future, the young lad had a distinctly faraway look in his eye. He didn't notice that the line was swiftly dwindling. That people were leaving without signing up. He paid distinctly small enough attention to merely step forward when the time came.

But when that ceased all together, he could not help but blink and look up to find someone staring at him intently.

"If you're quite awake..." came a chirpy droid voice, "Then perhaps we can begin?"

A droid? I'm being interviewed... by a damn droid?

[member='Belek'] [member='Arutha'] [member='Alasdair Sitra'] [member='Gabriel Audemars']

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

Terminus. What a strange place - a place so remote yet so diverse. Gabriel saw races that he'd never even thought imaginable already in his short time here - needless to say he didn't trust a place that didn't have a reputation. Or at least not one he knew of... The shipyard was very clean - and in some parts quite green. Very uncommon kind of decor for an Outer Rim establishment. He expected big waterfalls of lava or perilous asteroid belts not...shopping malls and spaceports and strange rocks. It definitely beat Tatooine though - too many bad experiences in that sandhole.

Smoke billowed from a flat cigarette clenched between pure white teeth. Smoking was definitely frowned upon in this part of the station - but he didn't care one bit, no man would dare try and serve Gabriel some Outer Rim Justice. A man wearing an expensive jacket made from the leather of a fallen Lotek'k - armed with two heavy blasters he didn't look like anyone to be playing games with. And that was his intention. He was here for business - or at least that's what he was summoned here for.

He was here to transfer a package of Spice to a buyer. And this Spice was ridiculous. Gabriel could feel the weight of it burdening his eyelids. With a sniffle and a rub of the eyes, his chair creaking against the steel floor loudly as he made his way up. He had been here for over 15 minutes and it was starting to get suspicious.


Piercing cyan eyes flickered around the station, as his pupils settled he seemed more and more confused by where exactly he was. This place didn't appear on a lot of navigation systems either. So why was it so clean and shiny for somewhere so stealthy? He came to only one conclusion.

Whatever worlds lurked beyond this station were wilder than he could ever imagine. But one bright cyan billboard caught his attention. Athena Initiative?

As he focused on the billboard and reading the scrolling contents underneath the big white logo, he found out it was a group with the ambition to lead expeditions into deep space. Gabriel remembered his wayfaring days, being a mercenary at the tender age of 13 and raising hell on a mass level.

Although, raising hell didn't seem to be the goal of this company.

"Hey. Got the stuff?" A voice snapped the mercenary out of his stupor. "Scared the sith out of me." He grinned sarcastically. "Money first, under the table. No sudden movements." He recited - a vow that seemed to be consistent throughout each and every deal he'd ever done. "Spaceport T-22" His voice confident upon dispensing the whereabouts of his customer's spice. "This better be the good stuff with the price I'm paying, you're really doing me dirty here Gabe." The Trandoshan across from him beckoned. "C'mon, you know me. I wouldn't be here to waste your time. Trust me this'll blow those pretty reptillian nostrils off." Grinning broadly with a sarcastic tone as he slid a chip with the ships Access Codes, giving the trandoshan a very gentle and amicable slap on the muzzle - something which disgruntled him - but it was to be expected when dealing with Kal Vhonté, better known as Gabriel. "And you're doing me dirty by making me travel here, do you know how much I had to pay the guards? You're lucky we got history."

With that, Gabriel picked the case full of credit chips up - and made his way towards his spaceport. Still too high to remember his interest in the Athena Initiative until he was nearly half way to the unregistered Freighter he hauled the gear with.

"Oh...Right, should probably check that out..." He murmured to himself. Boots trudging towards the dwindling line in the queue. Although it wasn't that slow - after 5 minutes it started to wear the ex Mercenary General out. "C'moooooooonnnnn..." He whined, bouncing on the spot excitedly as he awaited his place in the interview. If all went to plan - this whole thing could net him a LOT of money.

[member=Arutha] [member=Lauris Floyd] [member="Belek"]

 

[Belek]

"I'm Belek." The Xi'Dec said with a smile at [member="Arutha"] as he left the line and began his interview. He seemed somewhat familiar, but Belek couldn't place it. In any case someone else having confidence in Belek made Belek have a bit more confidence in Belek. If that individual thought Belek was ready, well, he must have been ready. Unlike Arutha and [member="Lauris Floyd"] Belek was not greeted by a sentient machine and autonomous machine, but rather a blue-skinned clone.

"Stand still." The Liran said and held out a scanner, going from the bottom of Belek up, then from the top down, then from feet to skull again. "Turn 90 degrees." She instructed, and Belek complied. She took another scanner and continued the process. "Clean." She said, less to Belek and more to herself and some of the people behind her. "Continue on in." She instructed, her voice never leaving a curt and distant tone. Belek continued forward and wondered where he'd be stationed. Part of him hoped to be assigned with the friendly man who'd made a little small talk, but then again the whole point of exploring was learning new things right? Meeting new people, new cultures, new genders? Belek couldn't get comfortable just yet. There was 'comfortable' for an explorer.

"Well hey there." A high voice greeted Belek as he entered the other side. It was held by a rodent, perhaps a meter high, dressed in company guard with an appropriately sized slugthrower at her hip.

"Hello." Belek replied as he took in the scene. Few employees, but the shipyard was filled with sleek and impressive vessels. Belek wondered for a moment on their benefactor.

"Take a seat. My name's Raela." She introduced herself as I went to sit. "Now the Athena Initiative is aiming to chart the Unknown Regions. Find colonizeable planets. Research them, even establish settlements. This is going to take dedication, and I have no idea what to tell you on how long it'll be before we're home. Before we go into the rest of the interview I want to know. Are you ready to make that sort of commitment?"

"Yes." Belek said, little hesitation in his voice. "I left my homeworld when few of my species ever do. I went to see what the Galaxy had for me. What I had for the galaxy. And I am to continue doing that." He said and the Miln smiled.

"Then you should be fine. Let's get to the rest of the questions."



[member="Gabriel Audemars"]

 

[Arutha]

There was a moment where X-17 took down the details of Arutha as well as checking identification and verifying he was who he said he was, exchanged banking details and in a matter of half an hour he was an employee of the Athena Initiative. "If you go into that block over there it'll lead you into the locker room," X-17 said as he indicated a large square building lacking any architectural magnificence. "This is your locker key," the sentient droid said, handing over a key that had a tag attached indicating it as '001.'

"Thanks," Arutha muttered as he beelined for the building. Pressing past the front door he was greeted with a large locker room with attached showers. There were no doors between the showers but a short wall in-between each shower head. It became apparent this was a unisex room and he raised his eyebrows in brief surprise but it quickly died away. He found his locker closest to the entry and swung it open. Inside were documents as well as equipment and uniforms.

There was a uniform for every size, but no more. He chose the medium and began to change, placing on the black boots and sheer white uniform with bright blue trimming. A small AI logo was emblazoned on the chest above his heart. He liked the fit and cut more than his older clothes. He flicked through the documents, contracts and basic welcome packages to the company, as well as a uniform order sheet where he could order more of his size. He tucked it away back inside the locker, grabbed the datapad waiting for him and strapped it to his wrist.

As he emerged he didn't look any part a new man. His old uniform had been an all white although it was rather dirty and had seen its time. The only difference was the blue trim, logo and company datapad. His eyes turned right and he caught sight of a ship coming into dock. It was over one-hundred meters long, sleek in design and clean enough it seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. "That's a Heleus-class Corvette, we buy them off the Republic Engineering Corporation," X-17 buzzed, "That's your new home."

[member="Belek"] [member="Gabriel Audemars"] [member="Lauris Floyd"]

 

[Lief]

"Forgive me, Mr Floyd, but why are you here? Records indicate that you make a substantial amount more on your commissions than we can offer to pay, and the danger levels are just as high if not higher. Are you sure the Initiative is the right place for you?"

Damn droid sounded more human than most humans even with its silly shrill voice, and surprisingly had called him out on more than a few things since the interview had started. As though it was a test of character more so than an indication of aptitude. The droid, X-17 as it had referred to itself, was staring so intently that it felt like it was looking through her soul.

Man, that ain't right... No droid should be so damn... Sentient.

But it was. He realized with each passing moment that the damn thing was most definitely more than just a droid brain.

"It's not about the credits" he said, after just a second of thought, "You think I got paid commissions at first? Please, I spent most of my career working for bed and board. And the danger ain't for scaring me off either. I just..."

Lars frowned and turned away from the distracting droid with its all too organic motions. He couldn't damn well confess to never having been planetside before, Terminus not including, then they'd never let him join, but that was the crux of it...

"I'm done being a passerby, a watcher from afar. I see planets most never even know exist, but never up close. I never break ground, or make first contact. That's what y'all are about, isn't it? Discovery? Yeah, well I wanna help."

X-17 merely made a note, and continued on with further questions.

In the end though it didn't matter, Lars faced little difficulty having his status within the Initiative verified and was swiftly handed a locker key, #004. From there he was directed to the locker room, though when he entered there seemed to be... Just one other person? Where were numero 2 and 3? Surely this was some sort of joke?

He walked to the locker which was situated beside [member='Arutha'], staring along the empty row with furrowed brows. "Hey, uh, where are the others?" he asked, as he pulled open the locker and carefully rummaged through its contents. Like the Cartographer he opted for a medium uniform and shrugged out of his leather jacket. It would be strange seeing her go, who knew when he'd next have chance to wear his signature attire.

Maybe they'll let me bring it with, no harm in having off-duty clothes eh? Though... Will there really be off-duty time?

[member='Belek'] [member='Gabriel Audemars'] [member='Alasdair Sitra'] [member='Lena Gray']

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

As the queue moved forward, Gabriel was next in line to be interviewed. First thing was first - he had to predict the kinds of questions they'd ask, probably something along the lines of previous occupation - if he was aware of the risks that adventuring through deep uncharted space could bring. Obviously he'd use his alias - his real name being linked to far to many felonies in Republican Space to not have the authorities called - then again this was the Outer Rim, where justice was somewhat stretched thin.

He wasn't nervous though. Something told him that the Athena Initiative cared a lot more about the future than a few deliquencies in his past.
This wait however, felt like ages. He eavesdropped on conversations - but that was just a bounty hunter's instinct. He analysed his would-be comrades. Honestly - it didn't look too bad. He'd see mercenary tryouts with less intimidating people. Then again - here it was better to have a friendly face than to be belligerent especially when it came to new worlds.

"Next." A robotic voice cueing Gabriel's screening. At this stage he looked bored, placing the briefcase on the floor as he lifted his arms for inspection. This droid was by far the most advanced thing he'd seen. Gabriel would know - he had invented droids for fire support and even commanding armies. But this was far different - it was if whatever had created them wanted to draw the line between organic and synthetic. Revolutionary.

His eyes found himself glaring at the female Lost. But out of interest more than anything, admiring its elegant physique - Gabriel being known to design things more for function than for form - so different stances kept his interest. "When you're done ogling my comrade - we can begin."
The other droid, X-17 chimed in a way of getting the mercenary's attention. "I wasn't tryna ogle I was just wondering who makes you droi--" - "I wouldn't start with that if I were you. She won't take it well." The annoyance ever present in his albeit robotic voice. Raising his hands defensively he stepped back a bit - awaiting the first question of the interview. "Name?" The annoyance rang hard this time. "Gabriel Audemars." The name uttered clearly, and with a few gestures on the datapad - the Lost's synethetic expression changed to one of surprise. "Looking at your bank balance, I really don't understand why you're here. You own two companies? Why not just buy a palace in Naboo and smoke all that spice that I can smell on your breath?" The cybernetic being asked with an upbeat chime.

"Well I was raised as a mercenary in Mandalore, "retirement" isn't really a thing down there. I'm never happy in one place - plus spending years just designing stuff has left with a serious thirst for adventure. I just wanna feel alive, y'know?" The 24 year-old grinned. "And as for the spice, can't a man have a vice?"

"Interesting rebuttal, what do you class as 'feeling alive'? I'm just trying to get to know how your mind works."

"Feeling alive? To know that anything could go so right - or so wrong at any given moment, but fight your way through it you feel me? That uncertainty that leaves you buzzing." He started. "Call it curiosity on death-sticks I guess. But I guess the unknown and the unexpected just leaves me giddy - that and the fact that I always enjoy bonding with new civilizations. It's not the first time I've done that kind of thing. All I know is I'd rather die finding something amazing than die rotting at home."

X-17 rolled his eyes, knowing that the man was probably as high as a Skyhopper. "I also want to invest." And with that, the Lost's eyes seemed to glimmer more. "I think you're all onto something great here - and I would like to supply funds - some staff, armament and droids. And more on the way as it gets developed - as I'm always hunting for new technologies. I could work on R&D but I love myself a bit of fieldwork. I'd call myself a battlefield engineer."

Long winded discussions about business followed leaving the briefcase as an investment - before he was guided through towards the locker rooms. Communal showers - not that this surprised him - these were incredibly commonplace for most mercenary factions in Mandalorian Space. They're just showers after all.

One thing he was not going to do however, was leave his Lotek'k jacket in some locker room on a ship. That was coming with him, it'd saved his life before - and would do it over and over again. Throwing the leather jacket over his uniform, he looked at the other candidates

Locker room #002 - He left the bulk of his possessions minus the jacket and his guns. The black jacket a contrast to the all-white uniform. "I'd greet you all but I think there's better places to do that than in a changing room." He chuckled.


[member="Lauris Floyd"]
[member="Arutha"]
[member="Belek"]

 

[N'Jay Crowe]

Terminus, the one place N'Jay never thought he'd go. a Hugh trading hub at the edge of the Galaxy. there was only one reason he even bothered to come out this way, Adventure. when he was in other nearby systems J kept seeing posters saying " Explorers Wanted" he wanted to get out and find out if it was real. 'exploring the outer rime and unknown regions'. that sounded crazy, but fun all the same. he needed some thing that was more exiting than the normal scavenging runs. J brought down his ship, ​The Wild Flower, ​his Gozanti-class cruiser towards the Athena-Initiative's rented dock. there seemed to be a large number of people wanting to be hired by the AI. he wanted to try out for employment. there was a decently long line, and even quite a few rejections, but a few where accepted. Confidence was needed to get most things in life, self confidence and confidence with a gun. ​"R-5, bring us completely down and bring engines to standby, I'll give you future instructions later If thing change." after disembarking the ship he got in the waiting line. it moved slow, but he could wait. it might be worth it. people where being interviewed by what looked like Droids? Anidroids maybe? J was unsure he'd have to wait and find out.

[member="Belek"] | @Arutha | [member="Lauris Floyd"]

 

[Zef Halo]

TERMINUS
EDGE OF KNOWN SPACE

There comes a time a man realizes he is need of adventure, of a thrill, of a new vice, of a new mistress. Unfortunately for Darryl that need had come out of all the wrong reasons.

Debt.

Too much debt.

He had been in such scenarios before. The conman would go into hiding in some forsaken schithole til it all cools down. This time it was not cooling down. At all.

Hence, Darryl found himself in line for the Athena Initiative. His ticket to escape and a great opportunity to get rich. Just imagine all the rich asteroid belts of minerals and the new planets ripe with resources to be taken. This opportunity came at the perfect time for the infochant.

Suited up, as always, he patiently waited in line. Cigarette after cigarette till his time come to be aggressively scanned.

"Whoa." He reacted in surprise at the thorough scanning.

"Hello, I am X-17. Welcome, Mr. Montreux." A tall...droid (?) appeared out of nowhere. Great, an interview by a weird protocol droid. "A student at New Habat University, what exactly brings you here from the safe haven of First Order space?

"A project for uni." He retorted.

"Interesting. Is you university aware of the extended period of leave you would be taking?"

"Absolutely." Just go ahead and let me in. There's money somewhere out there in the unknown.

"Quite interesting. Well, Mr. Montreux, it says that you are a communications and scanning specialist here in your resume." The thing that looked like a droid observed. "Is that the academic term they give slicers these days?"

"Whoa, that's some sharply drawn conclusions by a protocol-" A metallic slap interrupted him. Darryl was certainly taken aback by that. "Wh-"

"I am not a protocol droid. I'm a Lost."

"A what?"

"A Lost. A sentient."

"Uh, okay." Darryl spread his arms around in disbelief. "Are we done?"

Silence fell between them with the Lost's appraising gaze upon the blonde man.

"Welcome to the Athena Initiative, Mr. Montreux. You will find the locker room to the right." X-17 finally interrupted the silence and dropped a datakey with the label of #003.

"Thank you, m'am." Darryl gave a faux smile and headed to where the lockers were.

Upon entry, he froze at the sight. His eyes scanned the area and came to the surprising conclusion that these were unisex locker rooms that left much to the imagination.

Three gents were already putting on some weird space uniforms that made him puke inside. No way in hell I am wearing those.

The conman approached the trio and silently opened up his locker in between the others. His briefcase full of contraband cigarettes was put inside while the weird white uniform was taken out. Darryl held the top in his hands with some sort of disgust before he spoke to the rest around him:

"Where's the Customer Complaints' office?"

[member="Gabriel Audemars"] | @N'Jay Crowe | [member="Lauris Floyd"] | [member="Arutha"] | [member="Belek"]​

 

[N'Jay Crowe]

he felt uncomfortable in this line, waiting too long, he needed something to do. it felt like hours but he finally made it to the front. one of the droid/android called him forward.

"​Hello, Mr. Crowe, I'm X-17. it's interesting, there's not much info about you. stole a ship at 16 from imperial remnants on Brokelia, but that's about it. so i'll just ask a few questions to complete the form for employment."

​'when was I scanned? this think know too much about my past best to avoid futher inquiries about it. if I see guns i'm out.'​ he'd alow questions for now. ​"ok. ask away".

​​"what bring you to terminus to seek employment from the Athena Initiative?"

​"Money and Fun"

​​​​" The pay will be comparable and there will be great danger, it will not be considered 'fun' do you understand?"

​"That's my definition of fun moderate pay and grave danger."

​"Well that's good. do you have problems working with others?"

"nope. how many more questions?"​ Jay was getting impatient.

​"if the unfortunate happens, are there any relatives or family we should notify?"

​his biggest regret, not starting a family. ​"no, there's no one. but I've got a question for you, what type of sentient being are you? you look like a droid, but you don't act like one." ​as he finished filling out paper work

​" very intellectual I'm a Lost, you've passed. oh you'll have to leave you ship here we'll provide transport. when your ready head over to the looker room, that way. Welcome to the Athena Initiative." ​it handed J a key with 015 on it and pointed to a door.

"thanks, I guess." ​he walked back to his ship and locked it down, ​"R-5 take care of her while I'm gone, no I don't know how long I'll be gone. ok R-5 bye"​he grabbed his gun and walked over to the designated area. some on showed him to the locker room, he found #15, there where several others in the room, a unisex locker room, it didn't bother J though. not much did. he opened the locker, documents, a welcome package with basic details of the mission and their jobs, and last a white uniform with a datapad"​the best color to show off the blood, cool"
​he put it on, he looked good in it. it even came with a datapad. "could be useful"​ he turned to the others in the room "​So What now?"

[member="Darryl Montreux"] | [member="Gabriel Audemars"] | [member="Lauris Floyd"] | [member="Arutha"] | [member="Belek"]

 

[Arutha]

"Hey, uh, where are the others?" a voice asked behind him. Arutha turned and looked to Lauris, a man he didn't recognize but would come to know well. "They'll be here," Arutha said in an almost reassuring manner, he then nodded towards the doorway and motioned Lauris to look outside, "Check it out." The Heleus-class corvette was settling down into dock now with Ugnaughts rushing forward to refuel the vessel while Jawa's tried to sell the Athena Initiative 'upgrades.'

To his surprise several men approached the locker room rather than turning back the way they had come. The ones brave or dumb enough to sign up. Arutha averted his gaze from them as they got situated and changed. The cartographer crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "It's going to be scary," Arutha admitted to Lauris, "The big unknown. Like jumping from a cliff into the ocean at midnight." He craned his head over his shoulder and introduced himself, "Arutha, Wild Space Cartographer."

"I'd greet you all but I think there's better places to do that than in a changing room," a mans voice spoke from behind the two, Arutha smiled, "I won't argue that logic." A fourth voice chirped, "Where's the Customer Complaints' office?" Arutha turned his eyes to see the man in utter disgust at the uniform. Arutha laughed aloud. Then a fifth and last caught his attention, "So what now?" The cartographer ran a hand through his hair and nodded to the vessel. "Let's go inspect the ships we'll be using." Arutha pushed off from the wall, "As I was saying, I'm Arutha, Wild Space Cartographer," he repeated himself to the others who would not have heard.

[member="N'Jay Crow"] [member="Darryl Montreux"] [member="Gabriel Audemars"] [member="Lauris Floyd"] [member="Belek"]

 

[Lief]

For a moment the locker room was moderately quiet. Just he and some other guy who introduced himself as Arutha the Cartographer, and hinted that others might yet appear. He hoped so, two men did not an exploration crew make. Then again, I've done a good job going it solo this far. Maybe two men could take on the Galaxy's mysteries?

He turned his head toward the viewing port, and raised a brow. He hadn't really considered the possibility that he'd be leaving Mira behind... Perhaps there was a way he could convince them to let him stick with the vessel he knew best? No sense risking a crew if the pilot was unfamiliar with their fancy new models, after all.

No doubt he'd have to hunt down the Lost from earlier. I knew there was something different about her to other droids... Who'd have thought it. Lost, right here!

"The first time is always scary" he confessed with a shrug, as he glanced down at the provided datapad. There were some documents housed within it, but little else. "Most people either love it, or they hate it. The latter don't last very long... Then again, same can be said for the former."

A grim smile, before he looked over at the other recruits. Thusfar all men, unless the women had been sent elsewhere. Nah this is a unisex locker room. Adventure musn't appeal to many women, which is strange. I've always found them to be more adventurous in spirit.

Someone inquired after the complaints office, but he was in the dark as much as the rest of them. "Maybe wait for someone to come brief us." What complaint could he have already? Uniforms not to his liking?

"Arutha" he said, as he followed after the Cartographer and whichever of the other men were also tagging along, "Lauris Floyd, though really just call me Lars, deep space explorer and spacelane scout." Didn't sound as fancy as Cartographer, but at least it meant he wasn't going into this venture blind.

"Impressive ship, though... I think I'd rather stick with my Mira. She's never done me wrong 'til now. Reckon I'll speak with the Lost from earlier, see if I can't arrange something... She was built for such ventures, it would be a shame to make her rust in some hangar."

[member='Arutha'] [member='N'Jay Crowe'] [member='Darryl Montreux'] [member='Gabriel Audemars'] [member='Belek']

 

[Belek]

"So . . . I'll be frank Mr. Belek." The Miln began to say after she had gone through a myriad of questions. "Your resume is not the most impressive I've seen. Your work experience, or lack their of, are not ones that inspire confidence." The rodent said, and Belek's frame shrank somewhat. "But you've got enthusiasm, and I have need of enthusiast work. You seem to have a want for the job, which is more than I can say for some of the others we've had through here. You've got a job, though I'm not sure what yet, depends on how we fill the rest of the crew. You may be put in the mess, in sanitation, inventory, or hell, security. We'll see. Go ahead and headback. Throw on a uniform. Meet all the others."

"Thank you Ms. Raela." Belek said enthusiastically, and bowed his head slightly. "You won't regret it." He continued as he headed farther into the docks, heading into the lockers. A staffer there gave him a locker key, '006' and he headed over. The uniform admittedly was not built to be handled over his chitin plating. Most clothes weren't. He'd have to modify it later. Finding a pin with the Athena Initiative logo on it he pinned it to his shirt and figured he'd ask about specialized fitting later. Heading through to the docks he spotted the Heleus Class Corvettes. A beautiful ship, sleek and sparkling. Just waiting to explore the galaxy.

Belek took a deep breath then pinched himself. This was happening. He smiled before heading over to [member="Arutha"], who was now joined by [member="Lauris Floyd"] and @N'Jay Crowe. A couple of others, [member="Gabriel Audemars"] and @Darryl Montreaux were also getting ready. The latter seemed to want to air a complaint. Belek decided to let them be for now, choosing to join the others and explore the ship.

"What'd I miss?" The insectoid asked as he approached the group. "Do we have a ship-off date?"

 

[Tyluko-Kai Kaimana]

Terminus. The planet was a shipping center in the Outer-Rim, and despite being so isolated it still possessed quite a bit of hustle and bustle. While doing some research at the Silver Temple on Voss, Tyluko had come across an advertisement for the Athena Initiative. The Organization was seeking explorers to help discover planets and civilizations within the unknown regions. Tyluko jumped at the opportunity to explore new worlds and after consulting some of the masters at the temple he had decided to go along.

As the Dolphinarian Padawan strode along the streets of Terminus he eventually reached a ship dock decorated with the white and blue banners of the Athena Initiative. The space dock contained several ships which drew Tyluko's attention as he gazed upon the survey ships. However he was brought out of his daze by a robotic like voice calling for him.

"Excuse me sir are you looking to join the Athena Initiative?"

Tyluko's head perked up as he looked at the droid calling for him, but something was different about this droid. He could sense that this being was something more than a mere droid and appeared to be almost sentient. He then recalled about a sentient people known as the Lost that he had recently learned about at the temple. He smiled as he approached the stranger

"Ah yes I am indeed interested in joining the Initiative, I am Tyluko Dubykee."

"Excellent, it is a pleasure to meet you Tyluko, I am X-17, let us begin with the interview shall we?. If I didn't know any better you are a Jedi and from the look of your robes you are a member of the Silver Jedi Order. Tell me what brings you here? Why do you wish to join the Initiative?"

Tyluko thought for a moment "I love exploring new places and I feel that it is my duty as a Jedi to learn all that I can about the Galaxy and hands on experience provides the best source of learning in my opinion" Tyluko said with a smile.

The Lost jotted down a few notes and then looked back up at Tyluko, "Excellent my young Jedi friend, now the Initiative will be exploring many unknown worlds, what skills do you possess that you feel would be useful to the crew?"

"Well I feel that I could prove useful in the study of alien life forms, the Force allows me to connect with many types of creatures and as a matter of fact I am in charge of a Biological reserve back on my home world of Mon Calamari. Also since Dolphinarians are an aquatic race I feel that will allow myself to be useful in such environments."

"I agree sir. Welcome to the initiative! Please make your way over to that corvette over there to meet your team. Oh and here is a key for your locker. May the Force be with you my friend" The man said with a smile.

Tyluko bowed his head in respect as he made his way over to the ship, as he went inside he found his locker and inside were a uniform with the Initiative Logo and also a data pad. Tyluko smiled in excitement as he quickly put on the uniform and then grabbed the data pad. He walked through the ship and eventually found a group of people standing around. Tyluko walked up to them.

"Umm Hi everyone are you all new to the Initiative too?"

[member="Arutha"] [member="Belek"] [member="Lauris Floyd"] @N'Jay Crowe [member="Darryl Montreux"] [member="Gabriel Audemars"]

 

[Arutha]

"I didn't like being a cartographer to begin with, it was just a job. I thought it was better than slumming it around on Nar Shaddaa wasting my life. In time I grew to love it," Arutha reflected as Lauris spoke of those who would either hate or love the job. He was moving towards the nearest ramp that would take them up onto the docking platform. "Pleasure to meet you, Lars," Arutha said when they completed their introduction of one-another. The Heleus-class Corvette was long, longer than almost any ship he had been on, beside that of a starliner or two. More of these corvettes were descending to take position on other docks, each a different color.

The one before him was emblazoned as the Hermes, a white vessel with light blue trimming. Arutha checked his datapad and saw that his assignment made him an assistant navigator for the Hermes. He was also the resident cartographer, responsible for the charting of Unknown Space and aiding spacelane scouts in forming future hyperlanes. A smile slowly formed on his lips as he took his gaze upwards, then he quickly looked back down, "Your name is assigned to another ship," Arutha mentioned. He then commented on Lars' remark, "I'm sure if you have piloting experience, or captaincy, they'll let you keep her. If you bring your own ship it lets them use the money they would have wasted buying another ship for more crew."

An insectoid moved towards them and belched aloud, wondering towards the ship-off date. "Probably when they're done recruiting here," Arutha said, he activated the datapad and began to flick through its menus until he found a mission log. "Apparently I am off to Voss in three days time to speak with the Silver Jedi," he paused, "I've never liked those magic monks. I've got a bad experience with one madman who could use magic." He reflected for a moment and continued, "Up until recently I thought they were just myth and legend, I didn't know that type of power and those type of people actually existed." Arutha studied the datapad and flicked to the next mission. A month from now. They would gather on Terminus and push off into the Unknown on their first voyage.

A strange species approached the group, even more strange than the insectoid for he looked like a humanoid dolphin. "The lot of us," Arutha spoke on behalf of those around him, "Just signed up a few minutes ago. We're about to go take a look around at the ships and equipment if you want to get situated and tag along." He held out a hand and introduced himself, "Arutha, Wild Space Cartographer."

[member="Tyluko Dubykee"] [member="Belek"] [member="Lauris Floyd"]

 

[N'Jay Crowe]

'Well that's interesting. I wonder what type of creature that is, at least it is intelligent enough to talk' as J glared at [member="Tyluko Dubykee"], he answered his question. "yeah, just got here." he would only speak as much needed, 'better to keep a low profile'. he turned to [member="Arutha"], "you know more than the rest of us here, so one question. Will i be aloud to use my ship?" J took notes of Arutha's fear of Force users, true they held incredible and unimaginable power. but they were still mortal beings and as such, they can be killed. there were other things, more powerful things that made J nervous. as they would soon start leaving the locker room to gaze upon ships and equipment, he would stay towards the rear, here he liked to be, unless a gun fight broke out then he wanted to be closest to the action. "when there done recruiting is pretty vague, you have a more solid ship-off date?"

[member="Tyluko Dubykee"] @Belek @Lauris Floyd [member="Darryl Montreux"] [member="Arutha"]

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

Cyan irises scanned the new arrivals - the crowd just got bigger and bigger. It seemed as if they had a pretty sizeable leadership group going on here. Obviously the excitement to set off into deep space was killing him - he needed to know more about exactly who these people were - and what they were gonna get up to. It's all good and well getting excited for something, when you haven't the foggiest idea what it was.

All he hoped for was that wherever they'd be visiting would at least be able to sustain life - screw going to a planet like Mustafar for a laugh. "Being a cartographer sounds like fun. Definitely more diverse than shooting people for a living - although I'd say some of the most adrenaline fuelled moments in my life have been gifted to me through slumming around on Nar-Shaddaa, I'd recommend it."

He chuckled lightly to himself as he too headed towards the nearest ramp - suddenly remembering that he had a datapad emblazoned under the thick leather jacket he was wearing.
Strong hands yanked the leather sleeve up to reveal the touch-screened device on the AI Uniform. "My role section just comes up as blank." The Mandalorian spoke aloud, hitting the refresh button a few times to see if anything had been changed. He craned around to look at Arutha's datapad - just to see the differences.

Deciding instead to wait for orders from Higher Up on what to do - he merely listened into the discussion at hand and the topic of Jedi immediately made the man roll his eyes and put on a screw-face. "They definitely exist I'd bet that you've seen one without knowing 'cause these times the Galaxy is pretty much crawling with these space wizards. I'd know as I've caught several near-misses before. They can play tricks on your mind. It's messed up." He added.

He didn't know where to present himself thus far - perhaps he was to await further orders? Or maybe it was a surprise, oooh. He loved surprises.

The mission section showed that they'd take off on their first expedition in a month's time. So unless there was nothing to do prior to this - they had plenty of time to say goodbyes and gather the necessary resources. Maybe Gabriel should figure out what the Initiative was most in need of - in an attempt to get it developed prior to dispatch. All he knew was they'd most likely need guns, lots of them - just in case.

"That's gotta be one of the shiniest ships I've ever seen."

[member="Darryl Montreux"] [member="N'Jay Crowe"] [member="Arutha"] [member="Belek"] [member="Lauris Floyd"]