Galaxy's Edge Space Bar

[Terenia]

"Da," Nareth says with a nod, "I am certain it is a profitable business, especially if the range of ships you can work with is wide. This is a rather diverse galaxy."

He brings the drink to his lips to sip, but instead finds himself spluttering on the vodka, coughing and lowering the glass abruptly at the arrival of Myitt. "Ah--hello, Myitt," he says cautiously. His eyes travel over her generally disheveled appearance. "This is Ike. Ike, Myitt, Myitt, Ike. He was just telling me about his experience with ship repairs. Something I think the two of you have in common, da?"

[Myitt]

"Oh, yeah?" Myitt drawls, eyes roving over Ike skeptically. "He an Imperial?" She pulls the bottle closer, as if Ike might make a grab for it.

[Chad32]

Ike smiled and waved at the new arrival. "To start, drinks are on me. Best way to make friends at a bar, right?" He glanced at the tab and once again pulled out exact change from his pocket without even looking at the money. "You are a friend of Dom's, but don't like imperials? Well I'm not a controller at all, but I'm willing to be civil with anyone who is willing to be civil with me."

"As Dom said, I work on ship construction and repair. I have a workshop in my ship, and am employed at a workstation in a Human colony not too far from here. I do train for every common ship we have, so it's about as wide as possible."

[Myitt]

Myitt blinks rapidly. "It's good to meet a kindred spirit," she says with a grudging smile. "I'm trained as a shipboard engineer. Though, clearly, you're not from the same reality as us; humans don't have that kinda stuff where I come from." She shrugs and takes a sip of her drink, wincing. "Thanks for the drink, pal. I never say no to someone who wants to pay down my tab." She grins outright at this, taking another sip.

[Chad32]

"Yeah, I'm from a universe where Humans achieved space travel on their own, and didn't get found by Yeerks. Or maybe they did, got defeated, and the military covered it up MIB style. Who knows? The war is still going on between Yeerks and Andalites, and I'm not sure who is winning. Are you in the military, Myitt?"

[Terenia]

"Nareth," the Yeerk corrects, shooting Myitt a dirty look for addressing him by his host's name. "You are speaking to Nareth. Dom is merely an observer at the moment."

He sighs, rolling his shoulders back and taking another sip of vodka, murmuring something under his breath in irritable Croatian. When he switches back to Galard his smile is a little forced. "Ike, I should advise you to proceed cautiously. Myitt is not the most amiable friend you can make, and if you are looking for someone to convert to your cause you are certainly going to be disappointed."

[Chad32]

"I'll take it easy on the evangelism, Nareth." Ike said. "I'm all for making friends with everyone, but I also have means of defending myself if anyone gets hostile. Traveling to different places to meet new people is always risky, but can be rewarding."

[Shenmue654]

James quickly notes the amiable group sitting at the Bar that evening. They seem to know each other in passing---- It is at least clear that the coarse brunette and the gay guy from earlier know one another. James moves closer to the Bar's front and seems to go entirely unnoticed--- A phenomenon that he is used to. There's something about his voice, or appearance, or some other quality that is so utterly ordinary that people's eyes tend to glaze right over him until he says something. That's been useful on more than one occasion, James thought, smiling to himself and shifting his hands in his pockets.

James looks up in surprise when he realizes that at least one person has met his gaze--- That creepy Bartender. His eyes seem blacker than black. It's like staring into a void just behind the man's flesh and bone. James wonders if this is in fact exactly it--- He has seen one other race with eyes like that. He notes to himself that it might be wise to be careful around the Bartender, but the Bartender ceases paying attention to him and returns to repetitively polishing the same wine glass. Weird.

James sit at an open place on the Bar and glances over at the person to his left---- The strange man wearing the pendant. "You're an evangelist?" James says quizzically. "I can tell you right now--- They don't look the way you do where I come from. I mean what is up with that..." James gulps nervously, noting the design of the amulet. "...necklace....you're wearing?" Trees. He was wearing a necklace with a tree on it.

[Chad32]

"This is the symbol of my God." Ike said to the man. "It is a tree that represents life among a wasteland of death and suffering. It is different than the traditional Christian holy symbol, but I prefer it over a representation of torture. God is life and happiness, so why associate Him with death and pain?"

[Shenmue654]

"How can you represent an invisible man you can't see or talk to with anything, exactly? Let alone that. It's not like he can confirm or deny whether he represents life or happiness," James states, trying not to roll his eyes. The Bartender gives James another expectant look, as if asking him whether he'd like to order a drink. James glances to the side of the Bartender, but doesn't see anything that might help explain what this place serves. James scratches his head in confusion, and the Bartender merely shrugs.

Trying to quickly change the subject away from God and the tree amulet, James states, "Do you.....I mean sir, do you know how this place works? I don't see a menu or a placard and it appears to be located...in the middle of empty space. Is there an atmospheric dome?"

[Chad32]

"I have met HIM. In physical space. He is no longer something that can't be proven to exist. I have met Him."

"This is a strange place that's connected to many different dimensions and timelines. You can order whatever you want, and the Bartender will give it to you. It costs money, but I'll pay for it."

[Shenmue654]

"What the hell do you mean, "You've met Him?" states James, blinking as if attempting to process what Ike just said. "You mean to say..." James holds up a finger. "...that you actually ran into the bearded guy himself and he talked to you of all people about what he wanted his symbol to be? Forgive me if I'm a might bit skeptical. That's a little like saying you bought the Devil a drink once. Then again..."

James frowns and looks off, as if something is bothering him. He replays the fight between himself and the Oligarch within his mind. Those deep black holes where his eyes used to be, the promises of a Beryllian invasion, the gravitic warp hole he opened up in the middle of a room. "....I guess you could say I've met someone close. But there is a perfectly rational explanation, at least, for him."

[Chad32]

"He wasn't actually as paintings and such depicted him as. He's just a being of pure power, and living within him is blissful happiness. All wants and needs are provided for, and there is constant contentment."

"I suppose He may not really be the one I'm talking about, or maybe our view of Him became so distorted that even His most devout followers wouldn't recognize God if they met Him. In any case, what I found is what every Christian has been looking for. A God that will protect them and give them meaning in life."

[Shenmue654]

"I don't think you can speak for everyone when you say that, though I think my knowledge of religion is even less substantial than your own," states James with a less skeptical and more earnest look on his face. He is admittedly intrigued by any person who claims they have met a God, although it is more likely that Ike has met an alien. "People worship beings they cannot see for all sorts of reasons, some of them highly personal. Some people want adventure. Others want lovers or friends. My family..."

James shakes his head. "...they worshipped their God because he was a link back to their ancestral past. I think they saw a hundred dead grandfathers going centuries back in him. I didn't see anything except a lot of people going through an awful lot of trouble for a being that never spoke and never took action."

He frowns suddenly. "What do you mean, live "within" him?"

[Chad32]

"Well, He takes up a lot of space if you find where he is. He takes on a form that can be seen, but you can feel Him everywhere. When they wrote about his omnipresence in the Bible, I believe that's what they were talking about. You can just feel a certain aura, and if you call out to Him, he will be there instantly. I guess He isn't everywhere in the entire universe at once, though. I know I'm using similar terms that people on Earth used when they couldn't prove His existence, but I promise there is a way to let Him into your heart, and when He is inside you will know Him to be real."