ROLEPLAY HQ - space-walk

The world was a desert land of endless sands and cactus, bushes that bit and critters that stung. The winds were harsh and the weather relentlessly hot year round. But that was life on a planet with two suns and a day twice and half long as Earth Prime. It wasn't so hard. For those that survived the scattered settlements and various farm steads on the little rock they called home. Hyra was no different. Though perhaps in that she was a sole rancher in the middle of it all and a woman to boot. All the same she tended her land, her small crops, and livestock. Which had recently seen an illness run through it and left her in straights as far as the seasons went. Here on Helios, the change of the seasons came when the two suns were shadowed by three moons that caused a winter to settle in. And with that, she'd need cattle to milk, slaughter for food and use their hides to make better gear for the season. She'd need seeds that grew in the winter that you couldn't just get here. She'd need more hay then she had. So she had resorted to calling out for a shipment of not so legal goods to be delivered to her via a ship of which the name she had no been informed. Which is what found her out on her ranch, leaning on the cattle gate and watching the landing zone left on her property and rarely used, with a mild smirk and piece of straw hanging out of her mouth. Adjusting her cowboy hat over curly brown locks, she canted her head. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea but it was the only one she had for hopes of keeping her homestead. The world of Helios was a harsh one and one that would swallow her whole if she let it. And she wouldn't let it. So she waited by the cattle gate with a hitch of uncertainty but all the moxie to see it through. All she had to do was wait for the transport ship, get her cattle, seeds, and hay, pay them, and call it good. Easy as pie. So she kept telling herself. With winter approaching and the time ticking by, she told herself that in rep

7:31 PM

etition. @Al’splan123

Dexter woke upto the sun beating down hard on his face beaming through his window. He sat up on his bed, wearing the same outfit from last night and looked around blearily, "What time is it?" he mumbled to himself. He turned around, leaned over towards his nightstand and grabbed the clock sitting on it; his body was so taut that he felt like a rubber band stretched beyond its limits. It was just past 12pm. In Dexter's diary that's an early morning and without a hangover that's an early and a good morning. He lived in a one bedroom loft in one of the busiest markets of the city, the Temple Market, located on the south side of New Boston, just a few miles west of Lake Somer. He got onto his feet and moved towards the window through a scatter of to-go boxes, beer bottles, ash trays and other remnants of his activies from the previous night; peering out of it he saw the crowd of the market, moving about the street, in and out of the stores. Feeling the onset of a migraine from the light of midday, he moved away from the window and made his way into the washroom. After a splash of cold water on his face and quick rinse of his mouth, he felt himself waking upto the moment; his vision cleared up, his ears picked up din from the street, and his body took in the energy from the surroundings. He ran a delivery service from the store below. He transported cargo all over The Belt, at the edge of the Solar Rim, and he moved goods of all types which attracted customers from all corners; when nervous patrons with serious goods working for more serious dons asked him whether he'll be checking the contents of the shipment, he'd say, "ignorance is bliss and money is healthy"; he was so proud of the phrase that he came up with it, so much that he printed it on all his business cards.

He poured himself some coffee and started his day. He went down and entered the store through the connecting door from his apartment. The store housed a single desk facing the front entrance and a counter on the right with a weighing scale, calibrated to his favor. He sat behind his desk, tapped on the center, a hollogram appearedr infront of him. He swiped right on the face and pulled out that day's shipping list. The list consisted of a few deliveries within and on edges of the Belt with a few outliers, the farthest being a delivery of a cattle on Helios. Being outside of the belt, deeper into the space, he was not too excited for the trip but business being business, he looked forward to clearing it off as soon as possible. He opened the details on the delivery; it was a rush order, the order was made the previous day and to be received the following day which means he'd have to use the warpspeed which would push his ship to the limits. He grabbed his pad, an extension of his main server, and bolted through the back of the store towards the docking pad. He checked off the shipments as present on the board and ran a quick health check on this ship. The delivery being on Helios, and being crunched on time, he skipped his protocol of running a full daignostic on his ship whenever he planned to use warpspeed for deliveries. He climbed into the cockpit, logged the entry, set the course, and jetted off to Helios. It would take about half day on warpseed compared to a three day trip. @🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

Helios was far out in the rim and on the outer reaches which were very prone to attacks of all sorts. From pirates to the things of nightmares that people told around campfires in the settlements. Not that Hyra believed any of that. She'd had her share of misfortune here. It was par for the course as far as living on this dust ball went. But attacks? No, she'd heard of whole settlements going missing or perhaps moving on but that was just people migrating, right? No need to worry. And of all the lies she told herself, that was probably the largest right by "Ordering illegal goods is a good idea" It wasn't like the governing bodies of the Galactic Union cared about farmers like her, making it on the scraps the could get by with and thriving on them. Perhaps people like her were meant to die of some horrible death like nightmare monsters or simple cold when winter came. Another thing she had to keep reminding herself. She only had a few days, maybe, until winter came. And when it did she'd be out of luck with prep and spending all winter scrapping by what she could. The others that lived on Helios might help her but they'd have they're own survival to think of and that was all anyone thought in this world. So as the suns started to set and she pulled her leg up to rest on the gate, she watched the landing pad with more anticipation for the cargo and ship that was supposed to arrive. She'd traded a good deal of the little credits she had saved for this and if it didn't come she swore to the goddess she was named after that she'd personally tan the hide of the proprieter. While night didn't mean winter, there was always the chance that the moons didn't go down and winter set in anyway. And then the pilot delivering her goods would end up in a gale storm that she wouldn't be held responsible for. She left it to the company she'd gone through to decide how to handle themselves and the longer she waited for a ship to appear on the horizon, the more annoyed sh

6:37 PM

e was gettting. @Al’splan123

He poured himself another cup of coffee; it was the only activity that he enjoyed doing to kill the time while the ship traversed throught he space - getting high on the caffeine while monitoring the course. The outer belt isn't as well maintained as the inner belt, most popularly know as Starscape. Navigating the ship in the outer belt and in the space beyond required full attention of the pilot; autopilot helped but the instinct of human made the difference between life and death there. Dexter figured that being hopped up on coffee was way economical and safer than reading a book because drinking coffee didn't cause him a 3000 credit indelible dent on the fore of his ship. Dexter sat behind the console and put his feet up, observed the stretch of stars through the curtain of floating garbage. The inner city folks found it easier to discard all scrap and trash into the deeper space like sweeping it under the rag. Stripped of all the natural resources and left to eat dust from deserted open cast mines, the outer city folk never stood a chance against the inner city people in terms of air, water, clothes, and food, such was their destituteness. There was a time where the outer city folk lived their llives comfortably: when the resources were made for everyone's need; people were content and lives were happy; birds were singing and flowers were blooming. But the hounds of greedy men caught smell of well being and sound of heartful laughs that spread across the fabric of the space, and soon hands of capitlism plunged deep into the coffers of outer city folk.

Its been years since Dexter made drop-offs in outer space and even more years since he has been to Helios. The last time he was there he transported people out of Helios into the outer city; he recalled the day and felt a shiver through his body and pang in his heart, the air was filled with sadness and devastation of the people leaving the place they once called home; even then the population was half of what it had been. He wondered, rather he looked forward to seeing the state of Helios now. As he reached the end of his thoughts, as if on cue, the console beeped; a bright message in white text popped up on the screen and a voice alerted him that they have reached the lower orbit of Helios. He sat up and turned off the autopilot, "Manual drive engaged," said the ship. Visiting Helios after a millienia Dexter needed the support of his GPS. He entered the co-ordinates of the landing strip into the system and it laid out a path for him on the head's up display. Within minutes the ship dropped from lower orbit into the atmosphere. The air being as dense as Earth Prime, created drag on the fore of the ship which developed a blanket of air around it. drag created heat, and flashing orange light filled the cockpit from the entry. Dexter felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest, pushing him into the seat throughout the entry phase and then suddenly pulled off like a table cloth which is when the ship broke through the atmosphere. It took him another two hours to be within a mile from the landing pad, which is when he pinged Hyra, "20 mins out." He came onto the landing area on his right; from a 1000 feet above ground, he saw a vast area with H written in white paint on a dry patch of land. He banked right and made a wide arc and brought the ship right above the H and lowered it till the landing pads touched and with a jerk the ship landed and came to a stop.

6:42 PM

Atmospheric re-entry always made Dexter cranky. He grabbed his pad and looked at the manifest, "Cattle," he said and growled. He turned off the main engines and power supply and left the auxillary power running. He exited the ship and walked down the bridge and looked for a sign of any person whom, he decided, he'd assume as Hyra.

@🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

The arrival was long awaited. She'd worried the frost would set in before he got there but he got there in time. Only just though. She held her hat back on her head as dust and mild fog kicked up from the ships arrival and sighed, holding her breath too long as it powered down. She didn't know what to expect. Some sort of space pirate with a heart of steel and a cold demeanor perhaps. She didn't dwell. It was just important to make the contract clear, get her reserve cattle for the winter, and be done with it. Watching as he descended the ramp, her grey eyes clocked him easily. She held a very knowing look behind them. A sharp woman just in appearance. Her clothing weathered from farm work and her hat tattered, she had a homey look to her with the edgings of beauty beneath. Freckled skin was highlighted on tanned features as she walked into his view to meet him, her fingers hooked in her belt where a sidearm swung at her side. Dangerous and waiting like the woman who carried it. All the same, she had a smile on her parched but dark lips and rose her hand to tip her hat to him as he came down and she finally met him. "I suppose you're the man I'm looking for?" She asked with a wry smile and quick words that seemed to drawl "I hope me waiting comes with a discount, but living here has taught me a bit about not expecting much," she winked and gave a harsh laugh that seemed unused to the sound. Considering him, she measured him up to her slight but toned frame. She was tallish but weathered by the elements she lived in. Her skin tan and highlighting the pale eyes under her hat she continued to speak conversely with him "The cattle can go in the pen, if you need help wrestling them lemme know. I got your payment and all." she assured. Looking around she mused to him, though she was only a few feet away, "You're lucky you got in before the frost. Freeze your engines right up when it comes. It's a flash kind that just hits fast and hard like. Never know. I wor

6:53 PM

ry for what might have happened if you tried to land on frozen ground," She snorted "Go right through and into the depths the locals won't tell you about. And you're much too handsome for that." She winked again and tipped her hat as she turned to the gates and went to lean on them with one leg up. "Lemme know what you need, cap'n, if anything," She tossed behind her as she relaxed. Her season wouldn't be so bad if he hurried. But she hoped he got the message. The flash freeze would hit and would hit his ship if he didn't. @Al’splan123

The bay doors opened; Dexter saw a silhoutte of a person. He walked down the ramp - his shoulders square, his chest forward and chin slightly up. As he approached them, as the dust settled down, finer details of the person began to become clear through the fog. He noticed them holding their hat by its brim, a mass by their hip which looks to be a sidearm - he was no stranger to being around firearms, he carried one on himself, concealed under his jacket, holestered by his chest. As he got closer, he studied the figure of this person - her shoulders filled the jacket to the inch but looking at her waist the jacket was open and wide, revealing her slender hour glass frame, there is a shadow of frizzy hair by her neck. As he got even closer, the dust finally settled down, the sun shined on her face reavealing the freckles and a smile. He stopped a few feet away from her; he was glad he took up the delivery, he was happy that such a delish woman was athe reward for his long journey; his lips curled into a grin. "I am," he said. He didn't say much and didn't ask much. She gave all he needed to know and he only wants what he needs. "The suns are beating down hard, through the clouds," he said from inside the ship, leading the cattle by their reins, "why did you put a warning for bad weather in your notes?" by the time he brought the cattle down the ramp outside the ship, she had gone to the gate and leaned against it with one leg, glancing around the ranch. Up until halfpoint to the pen, the cattle had followed his lead, he didn't need much force to walk them, when suddenly, the cattle stopped in its track, he pulled on them hard but there was no give, it felt like he was trying to move a boulder such was the resistance. Then they started twisting and turning their heads, pulling him in the opposite direction. The suns have dipped and the skies turned grey in a split second, this he noticed from his peripheral when everything looked dull, "What's happening?"

8:01 PM

@🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄

Taking him in, she paused in her casual manner and smirked ever so slightly as he got to it and asked questions along the way. She'd move around to start to hustle the cattle and start to explain in her coarse and not often used voice, "The Frost comes in a snap freeze. Grounds everything and keeps everything under lock and key. Too dangerous to be outside and lasts up to a full season. Which here is about 6-8 months, Earth Prime Time," she explained as she took off her hat in a cascade of long curly locks around her farmers garbed shoulders, to wack her hat against a few cattle to hurry them. She opened her mouth to continue to explain, her pale eyes looking to him for a moment as she was about to, but then the skies turned and the tempertures began to drop quicker then they should. Her tanned skin turned pale and her smile melted away as she flicked her focus from the skies to him and back again and once more, until finally resting on him. "Fuck me sideways with a loose broom!" She cursed rather unladylike before she started pushing the rest of the cattle in ward to the pen till the last of them had hustled in. She darted past him in a gust and then hit a button by the gate that created a huge and insulated dome around the cattle pen, an enclosed barn of sorts to keep them safe. The degrees dropped around them and snow started to fall the moment the suns disappeared and the snap seemed to hit a hard sound in the air as even the smallest bit of water would freeze in a moment and her hand would reach out to grab his forearm. "Close up your ship and come with me, now" she told him and pulled him along toward the cabin that was a short way from the pen "You're stuck with me now, so I hope you like the country. Consider this a punishment for being late," she smirked back at him as she led him inside as best she could. Givig him time, of course, to close up his ship as they moved. @Al’splan123

It all happened in a blink. The sky turned grey and his breath condensed in a split second when he exhaled. They say animals have a sharp sense when it comes to changes around them and Dexter had the pleasure of seeing it in live; the ropes cut into his hands when the cattle started in a jolt, the sudden chill made the cut hurt even more. "Thanks for being very specific about the change in weather here, that five word was very clear," he said, "if you didn't sense it, I was being sarcastic." He and Hyra started rushing the cattle into the pen; turns out that animals are creatures of habit, they didn't make the 100 yard trip to the barn easy. The second they tied up the cattle, his arm was grabbed and got pulled away by Hyra towards her house. He pulled out a stick from his pocket and pressed a button; the stick beeped and the bay door began to close. They entered the house through the back porch when the dome had done closing, ceiling the entire ranch from the punishment of the cold weather. "That was some fucking apocalyptic shit!" He looked at his ship, concerned how long he would be stuck and looked towards Hyra for some kind of good news. "I hope you have a plan in mind to get me out of here before we die of hunger and thirst."

@🎄A Magpie in a pear tree🎄