My Ships Don't Lie

[Valik]

Valik, at this point in time was rather impressed with the efforts of his apprentice Kara Vi'Dreya. Sure, her training in Alchemy had not progressed tremendously, mostly due the time it took to learn the craft as well as his refusal to simply teach without furthering his own means, but Kara had a knack for bending others to her will, forcing them to serve her, and to want to serve her. She had quite the little band of servants, tools. It had come to pass that she had desired a ship of her own, to be recognized by her apprentices, to be hers.

Valik had come to watch, perhaps help if she offered something worthwhile in return, as always, and see how she went about obtaining and customizing the craft. From what he described she wished for a Heavy Cruiser, big enough to intimidate yet not large enough to summon a fleet. In truth, there were only so many guns and fighters one could fit on a vessel, true customization came to the components of the ship that weren't armaments. Redundant shielding, hyperdrives, HIMS systems were all good starts, at least in his eyes, but it wasn't his ship. He'd watch her make her choices and judge accordingly.

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]

 

[Lief]

Kara was stood over the technical drawings brought about via a holo-projection at the desk. Every so often she would shake her head, and scribble something down on a datapad at her left hand side all the while hyper-aware of her Master's presence in the corner, watching as ever. There was rarely a moment that she wasn't being monitored, as though her life were a test, but she did not let it get to her. Between Valik, Daxton and Azar she had learnt to block it out. Still, there was a task at hand and she sought to see it through. At present they were upon her small personal vessel, the Vhailor, orbiting Bastion. She found it much easier to focus in space, with the stars and the darkness to be seen through the transparisteel-windows.

Rubbing her right temple with her free hand she focused in on the blueprints. She had been at it for hours, but slowly she seemed to be winding down to a conclusion. The changes were few and far between, and every so often she had smiled as a new concept or idea came to mind. As she worked she bit her lower lip, and old habit induced by long-lasting immersion in thought. She hadn't eaten, barely hydrated herself, she had simply stood and finished off the plans, tapping her finger against the screen of her datapad every so often. Finally she nodded her head, and took a step back, blinking to readjust her eyes to the dimly lit room. She had a large task to play out, now, which would take her across the Galaxy, like as not. Turning her gaze in the direction of Valik, eyes alight, she merely said; "Done." Of course... That was an understatement. She was nowhere near completed in her task, just the first step of many.

@[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

Valik had observed as the woman examined her blueprints for hours on end, refusing to sleep or rest until the task was done. He had done similar things, many times in his career as a scientist, though he couldn't have said he placed so much importance on one ship. Then again, this was to be Kara's Command ship, a symbol for all of those her lesser, her slaves, whether they knew it or not. He supposed it meant more to Kara than any ship had to him. After a long while, she turned to Valik, announcing she was done, a figure of speech, only meaning she was done with the blueprints in truth, but a step of the process was complete.

"I would look over your work, but I'd prefer see it as it materializes." He replied, examining the girl as he went over to pilot's seat of the Vhailor. "Where to first?"

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]

 

[Lief]

Stepping across the room she grabbed up a datapad and placed it within her robes, loaded with the information she required. With a small inclination of her had towards Valik she stepped towards the bridge of the Vhailor. "Set the co-ordinates, Skydd; G-16." And then she turned on her heels softly to look upon Valik. "Bakura... That's our first destination." Finally she slipped into the seat, allowing the ships engines to start up. Already in orbit it was a simple matter of jumping to hyperspace in order to begin their journey across to Fringe territory.

---

The temperate planet lay sprawled out before them as the ship finally left hyperspace. This was not, admittedly, a planet that Kara was familiar with, yet she had recently become acquainted with the Fringe as it stood. Before allowing the ship to drop through the atmosphere in order to land it was time that she ensured she upheld her typical persona when on Fringe territory. Taking out Lurendrejare the Knight turned the mask over in her hand for a moment, before turning away from Valik and Skydd to walk away. Her ship was unmarked, indistinguishable from the many others which had been procured for members of the Empire. Thankfully that meant she could use both in conjunction with one another.

In her chambers she changed out of her typical robes into something more befitting of Lura, and applied both salve and mask to ensure that the latter could not be removed. A gift from Daxton, the only individual aside from Valik who knew the truth. The final part of her disguise was her eyes. No longer blue, she immersed herself in the darkside and allowed their corruption to show, as opposed to suppressing it. Sickly, sulphuric yellow seeped out from beneath the scarred, alchemical mask. Stepping back from her room to the hull she allowed the ship to begin to sink towards the planet surface, while she turned to Skydd. "Keep the ship safe in my absence." With that she waited.

When the ship landed upon Bakura and the ramp lowered down she began to wander through into the hangar. "HIMS" she finally said to Valik, giving him an idea of what they were here for. Otherwise she was quiet, walking away from the ship...

@[member="Valik"]