Galaxy's Edge Space Bar

[guitarhero01234]

Guppy jumps, surprised by the sound of Myitt’s voice. “Oh! Wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” After fumbling with the goggles for a moment, a little hesitant to have his entire world changed. Taking a deep breath, he carefully fits them over his face.

Shaking off a painful but brief jolt to the head, Guppy slowly lowers his hand from in front of his face. “Oh . . . my . . .” Guppy slowly turns his head around the shipyard, trying to make sense of this new sense that is so alien to him. His gaze finally rests on Myitt, and he slowly sits down on the gravel of the shipyard. “Myitt,” he says, having trouble even conjuring words. He has to look up to even see her face from his vantage point on the ground. “Is that you?” Guppy looks down at his hand and moves his fingers as if playing a piano. “And that’s . . .”

Suddenly, he jumps up and wraps his arms around Myitt. “Myitt, I can’t . . .” He backs away slightly to look at Myitt’s face again. “I honestly, truly can’t thank you enough.”

[Myitt]

Myitt grins down at him as he sinks to the gravel surface, her hands on her hips.

"Pretty great, huh?" she says, and she lurches back as Guppy hugs her. "Hey, man, don't squeeze my lungs shut, gawd! You're welcome!" She coughs a laugh.

[Gaz]

"This place is a lot quieter than I recall," Julian commented. He was sitting at the bar with Morgan.

Morgan nodded. Things had certainly changed around the area, a lot of faces they had left weren't around anymore.

[Hunter]

As the hole in the very fabric of reality reaches critical size, it seems to glow even brighter as it pulses rapidly and seems to spit out a strange humanoid creature, but something was different about him.

Subject #2218 lands chest first on the gravel of the shipyard, as the strange portal immediately closes with an almighty crack, not dissimilar to a thunderclap, easily heard by all in the vicinity.

Moving to a sitting position on the gravel underneath, his eyes quickly adjust to the low light of not-quite-nighttime and he looks around to get his bearings. He is instantly confused, as where he has ended up is definitely not where he was meant to be, going off of the strange looking vehicles around where he was sitting. His whole body, still tingling from the teleporter, he slowly stands up, boots crunching underneath, and looks around for anyone nearby.

[Myitt]

Myitt watches with relative calm as the portal opens and emits the humanoid creature, sort of like a human man, not far from their ship.

She tilts her head.

"Hey, Guppy," she says with a grin, nodding towards the portal and the person who came out of it. "Now that you've got eyes, take a look at that."

[Shenmue654]

"Nothing about this place will make much sense to anyone at all. You can trust me on that much," says Mar, a bit casually to the dinosaur. He was more than a little baffled by how the dinosaur had gotten here, from millions of years in the past. He listens to the conversations that go on between Ossanlin, Salem, Al, and the person named "Dino" apparently, and then nods his head in response to the collective's commentary on him and the Bartender. "Yes, that's about the size of it. I expect that it's...a bit more complicated than that, from the Highest's perspective. Most Highest wouldn't set up such an elaborate plan unless they were..." Mar chuckles. "...well, hungry. I strongly suspect the Bartender and his Mass eat the sort of pointless conflicts that end up coming around here. You'll have to be careful, or leave soon...assuming you're able to gain an exit using any kind of device, or ship."

Mar then blushes as soon as the Andalite lady asks about his species, brightly. <Ah, that's--- I am---> He tries to send a thought-speech name for his species through his mind, but it's quite difficult. The name can only come across in images and concepts, and very few of the associations he would normally use would be instantly comprehensible to an Andalite from the homeworld. But he tries.

They come in a sudden flash of emotions, and pictures. An image of a glowing, Silver-Blade-like Andalite, and then a comparison of this image to a human depiction of an angel. The emotion here, or concept, is something like "powerful servant, messenger, spirit being, Ellimist." It then shows the angel, and the Andalite, simultaneously falling dead to the ground, their bodies growing cold and the Andalite's fur growing damp and pale and stiff. Next is a light being snuffed out by thick, black tendrils of darkness. In the next moment, though, the angel, and the dead Andalite, stand up in a zombie-like lurch. The tendrils that had swallowed the light seem to glow as if they had swallowed that light. The concept that accompanies this is "undead, unnatural, neither alive nor dead, fallen, Entropy's messengers."

He's not entirely certain why he doesn't just use the simple words "entropic or 'Dark' Highest" with her, like he has with so many other people that he's met. He feels, though, that she probably wouldn't get it as readily with so simple a word used, so some from his own language will have to suffice.

[guitarhero01234]

Guppy watches the portal open seemingly out of nowhere with an oddly stoic expression. “Not sure, but I’m going to guess that’s not normal,” he says in a matter-of-fact way. He watches in silence for a few minutes ashis lips slowly become more pursed. “Okay, I’m pretty sure that’s not normal. What the heck is that!?”


The goat-headed newcomer accepts the whiskey from the Bartender and pours some in the rocks glass he was provided. He takes a look around the Bar, taking note of the patrons that he had previously ignored. Shrugging, he downs his drink in one gulp, licking the last of the Scotch whiskey from his lips. “Good stuff,” he mutters to nobody in particular.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Salem nods absently as Mar speaks, but his eyes remain locked on Dino, brow furrowed. She does remind him of something, but he's positive he's never met her species before. Moments later, however, he notices the light from a glowing, flickering portal in the woods not far away. Something falls out of it, but he can't see what it is through the foliage. Interesting, that. This place never quite settles down, does it?

He's so engrossed in the portal that he all but misses the weird flickering sensation, tugging at his newfound sense, that accompanies Mar's thought-speak and, presumably, his attempt at an explanation of his species to Ardania. Salem catches only the end of the sensation and smirks. He's been on the receiving end of similar messages in the past. Mar's true name, while impossible to pronounce, has proven equally impossible to forget.

"Pretty straighforward, right?" He calls to Ardania. "Welcome to the weirdest corner of reality."

He seems to make up his mind about something and turns back to Dino. "I don't mean to be rude, but where exactly are you from?"

[DinosaurNothlit]

<I do not have a ship,> Dino said to Ossanlin.  <Or, well, I did, but I seem to have . . . lost it,> she corrected herself.  She didn't want to reveal that she had used the Time Matrix to get here, not with how little she knew about these people.  But she was not the greatest liar, and she was scared that it showed, as she mentally scolded herself for her poor wording choices.  She 'lost' her ship?  Did she really think they were going to just buy that?

She was momentarily distracted by a scent of rot and smoke, as a tall creature in a black duster coat walked past her and the others, and into the Bar.  Too tall to be human, but she'd never seen any other species wearing human clothes, and in any case the scent was wrong for an alien.  But, well, in any case, that wasn't that much stranger than anyone else present, so she turned her attention back to the group.

She listened to Salem and Mar continue to explain what this place was, staying silent because she didn't have much to add.  She noted that Salem mentioned Mar's 'familiarity' with higher beings, and decided that probably explained Mar's unfamiliar scent.  Somehow, that realization didn't set her mind at ease.  To be perfectly honest, this whole conversation was doing quite the opposite of setting her mind at ease.  Especially when Mar referred to the Bartender as 'hungry,' saying that he 'ate conflicts.'  <I assure you, I intend to leave as soon as I can,> she said tensely to Mar.  <As soon as I figure out->

That's when she heard a thunderclap that made her literally jump, jerking her attention towards a new human that had appeared in the shipyard.  Once her initial shock wore off, and her heart started beating again, she was overcome with a very cautious curiosity.  This, so far, seemed like the most promising lead in terms of how to actually get out of this place.  This person had definitely not been here a few seconds before, Dino would have smelled him if he had been.  So however he had gotten here, it was at least superficially similar to how Dino herself had come to be here.  This talk of ships, and gods, was getting her nowhere.

The Ankylotyrannus wandered tentatively closer to the new human, while still keeping a good distance.  She sniffed in the newcomer's direction.  He smelled more-or-less human, but there was also a definite scent of 'big cat' about him.  <Hello,> she said, and simply waited for his reaction to that one thought-speak word before saying anything else.

She was still close enough to hear Salem's question, though.  <I'm from Earth,> she said distractedly, about one tenth of a second before she wondered whether or not that information could be used against her somehow.

---

Truth Seeker was still staring in despair at his broken device, but he couldn't tune out Jeffrey's voice, even if he wanted to.  The memory of being in Jeffrey's thrall was still too fresh.  <'Nutters and schmucks,'> the Iskoort echoed, anger building in him again.  He looked up fiercely at Jeffrey.  <You think I'm gullible?>  His tentacle hand actually twitched towards his satchel, as though reaching for a weapon, but the thought of violence actually calmed him down somewhat, as he suddenly was forced to realize how irrational he was being.  Maybe Jeffrey was right.  As much as that thought now disgusted him.

But something else Jeffrey had said caught his attention, and Truth Seeker's gaze flicked towards a tall figure in a black coat, accompanied by a faint smell of rot and smoke, who had just entered the bar.  <Anyone . . . from any world?> he wondered.  <Even . . . > he looked down again at his device, meant to detect the spirits of fictional characters, now broken beyond repair by the strange energy signature of the Bar itself.

Nevertheless, the Iskoort loped cautiously towards the bar, opting to sit a couple seats down from the goat-headed apparition.  He had to sit almost exactly backwards from how a human would sit, his legs draped off the back side of the barstool.  He put his defunct device down on the stool next to him.

Mostly, he wanted the excuse to get away from Jeffrey.  And, well, he no longer had a job to complete, so why not linger awhile in this strange and curious place?  And while he was at it, why not take his mind off of his troubles?  That was, after all, the purpose behind most places such as this.  <Uh, I will have one of those, I think,> he said hesitantly to the Bartender, obviously still leery of talking to him, but pointing a clawed finger towards the goat-headed being's now-empty glass.  Truth Seeker had no idea what 'scotch' was, of course.  He rummaged in his satchel for a moment, before looking up again and asking the Bartender, <Do you accept only currency, or can you accept trade as well?>

[guitarhero01234]

The tall newcomer eyes the strange creature now seated a couple of stools away. It didn’t seem to be threatening - granted, there wasn’t much that could pose a significant threat to the goat-headed being. No, it instead seemed nervous, for whatever reason.

The Iskoort is greeted with a wide smile from the odd beast. “Don’ worry ‘bout it, friend,” he says, sliding the bottle over to the strange alien. “Jus’ give ‘im a glass, this is on me.” He turns from the Bartender toward Truth Seeker and extends his arm across the Bar, offering the alien a hand - er, cloven hoof-shake. “You look like you could use a drink, strangah. Might I ask ya’ name?”

[Hunter]

After surveying his surroundings, Subject #2218 sees two humans in the near distance, who he assumes are looking towards him. Quickly brushing the dust from his camouflage fatigues, he makes his way towards them, loose gravel underfoot, crunching with each footstep.

As he walks towards them, he looks at all the strange ships placed around the lot, a majority of them decrepit, looking like they had been sitting for quite some time. Getting closer; but still a distance away from the two people, he raises his hands to show that he is unarmed, in case he has ended up in a hostile environment.

Stopping in a small patch of light, reflected from several of the hulls around him, the extent of his unusualness is revealed. He doesn't have much visible skin due to his heavily militarized outfit, but what can be seen of his facial features and skin colour are strikingly similar to that of a Bengal tiger, but his raised hands are clearly humanoid, yet still tiger-like. "I'm unarmed," he calls out to them, but to himself he says "Where the hell did that machine send me?"

Subject #2218 looks around in confusion when he hears the thought-speak voice in his head, having never experienced it before.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin's fur suddenly shimmers to silver again, his eyes suddenly glowing an intense ice blue.  His hooves and blade flash to silver as he winces and leans against the hull of the Mirage.  The uncontrollable spell seems to be less painful this time...less random, yet it strikes him with the same weakness, as if he's being over-exerted.  As his main eyes pass around the different people gathered, he can sense more than just auras...more than just random thoughts.

As his eyes pass over Mar, they note the writhing blackness around him.  Not unexpected, of course, but he can't normally see that which is behind his friend so clearly.  Others he gets sensations of...trueness, along with what seem to be memories and empathic feelings.  Ardania feels mostly innocent, though she is perhaps hiding something.  The others each have their own aura...Myitt, the formerly-blind controller, the new-comer, the strange reptile...all of them.  The true surprise, however, comes to pass when his eyes make contact with Salem's.

A deep, soul-rending anguish washes through him.  Somewhere deep in Salem, there's a pain.  It's almost indescribable...int olerable.  Buried so deep as to become nothing more than a dull ache.  How could he live with that much pain?  There's also a "wrongness" about him, as if he doesn't belong.  Not so surprising since Salem himself is a nexus of different realities.  But through it all, he senses light...goodness.  The trader had wronged him in the past, and done some nasty things to boot, but underneath it all, Salem seems to be...good.  Or at least well-intentioned.  And also scared.  A fear glossed over with forced humor and a devil-may-care attitude.  A fear stemming from that deep pain...the pain of loss.  Indescribable loss.  It is at this moment that Ossanlin senses the sincerity in Salem's request.  The need.  While his story is more or less impossible, Salem himself certainly believes it to the hilt.  His motivation is based out of caring and concern for others...not at all what Ossanlin expects.

With that, the spell passes and Ossanlin's fur, eyes, hooves, and tail revert to normal.  He stands up straight and tall again, taking a few deep breaths, betraying nothing of what had just happened.  He locks eyes with Salem.  <<You...with me.  Now.>>

He spares a glance for Ardania, hoping she doesn't manage to get herself killed in his absence, before he makes for the ramp on the Mirage, ascending up to the flight deck.

[Myitt]

Myitt stares at the Bengal-tiger-patterened newcomer, eyes wide.

"I have no idea," she tells Guppy, still staring, far longer than is polite, before she collects herself and blinks at Subject #2218.

She wriggles her fingers, which sprout from her cut-off gloves, in a lukewarm greeting.

"Yeah, unarmed," says Myitt blankly. "That's...that's good. You speak English, too, or else there's some translation chip action going on. Do you, uh...often make such dramatic appearances here?"

She elbows Guppy and mutters, "Keep an eye on him. Seriously. Now you can, eh?" Myitt gives him a sidelong grin.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Salem's eyebrows shoot up when Dino says she's from Earth. He scrutinizes her form more closely-- in this place, there's no way to tell what ridiculous or absurd version of Earth she's talking about-- but he's sure now that he recognizes her species. How in the world...?

His confusion is doubled when Ossanlin invites him aboard the Mirage. His mouth is suddenly dry, but he manages to mumble "Uhm... Yes, sir," as he follows Ossanlin up the ship's ramp.

Once inside, he leans against a bulkhead, arms crossed, trying to look more relaxed than he feels. Adrenaline pumps through his system, and he's on high alert-- is this Ossanlin finally making a move on behalf of Sector Seven? Or a move against them? Is the War-Prince about to reprimand Salem in some fashion? With nobody left aboard except for the two of them and the unconscious Seer, he's not sure what to expect.

Salem lets out a slow breath, steadies his nerves, smirks, and says, as brightly as possible, "What's up, buttercup?"

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

<Drop the attitude...and the act.>  Ossanlin keeps his back facing Salem, tail swishing back and forth.  He looks up at the ceiling of the flight deck on the Mirage, sparing only a single stalk eye for Salem.  <You are demanding that I betray my own people.  Requesting that I hand over the schematics to our most-effective warship for you to use as you please.>  He turns his head so that he can look out the corner of one main eye at Salem, his face darkened by a serious and intimidating expression.  <I don't like you.  I have nothing but contempt for the way you live your life.  Always running...never standing your ground like an honorable being.  Your deep concern for your own self-preservation combined with an apparent lack of caring for anyone BUT yourself.>

He pauses before sighing and turning to face Salem.  <So imagine my surprise when I read you.>  His visage softens for a moment, but then firms again.  <You are asking more of me than I'm willing to give, especially to you.  I'm not promising anything, but if you want my cooperation, you'll start by being honest with me.  Completely honest.>  Ossanlin steps slowly toward Salem.  <You'll tell me everything.  Where you're from...the FIRST universe you came from.  You'll tell me who you really are...who you were then.  And you'll tell me exactly what that agonizing pain buried in the recesses of your mind is.>  He stops, standing only a couple feet from Salem.  <You have ONE chance at this, Salem.  One.  No attitude, no swagger, no jokes.  You will relive your past HONESTLY as you recount it.  You will not mask anything with humor.  You will not sidestep the truth with false bravado.  You will tell me all of it.>  He raises his hand toward the Mirage's ramp in a gesture.  <Or you can be on your merry way and get what you need from someone else.  And you do NEED what I have for once.  That much is clear.>  He regards Salem with the same serious expression, falling silent, waiting for the "trader" to make his decision.