PBP Game Colony Ship EXODUS: Search for New Home

Sydney Marks

The Engine Block of floor nine was a rough place. Most of the men and women around her were big, muscular workers who were used to keeping the engines running and making sure repair orders were done on other sections of the ship. They were used to getting their hands dirty. There were many more men than women and a few gave the young woman appreciative whistles or cat calls as she passed. When she ignored then, most just smirked. Fresh meat was always fun to play with. They rarely kept that snooty attitude long.

When she entered the office, the first thing she noticed was that it was just as hot in there as it was out on the floor where the men and women were going about their work. Behind a desk that looked too small for him sat a bull of a man. The desk had two large stacks of pages, one actually sitting in a box labeled "IN" and the other next to the box, but clearly unable to sit inside it as well since it would topple over. He was growling in frustration as he signed a finished work order and then slammed the page into a bin labeled "Out." He glanced up when she came in and gave a grunt of acknowledgement, but didn't say a word as he started working on another page.

Looking at the man, she would notice that his arms were ripped with muscles and that tattoos showed from under his short sleeves. She would know that this man, her new boss, was Cedric "Cabal" Gladstone. He was called "Cabal" because he ran his men like crime lord. He was known to have actually beaten a few of the men for disrespecting him. Most of the workers under him feared him. But they all respected him. He could be harsh, but he was fair. You hold up your end and don't be a dick, and you won't have a problem with him. But he wasn't one for whiners or lazy sons of bitches who dumped their workloads on others. He didn't have an open door policy either. If you had a problem, you handled it. If you came to him, it better be for a damn good reason. In his opinion, gender didn't matter. If you were strong and bad enough to work in the Engine Block, then you better be ready to keep your shit together and work your ass off.

 

Alicia Lane

(OOC: It is 12 now)

Before the girls left, Bear (Real name Barry) gave his contact information to Sarah. She shouldn't have acted shy considering how he had just fucked her ass, but she couldn't help it. She blushed and accepted.

(Rolling: 3)

The girls soon come across a group of Engineers on break. They are sitting on some boxes near the elevator that the girls need to go down. When they see the girls, they start calling out flirty comments, even the one woman of the group who looks like she is stronger than the guys.

 

Alicia Lane

Figuring it wouldn't do any good to interact with the engineers, Alicia tried to walk past them with Sarah.

 

Sydney Marks

Sydney quietly sized up Gladstone, her impression immediately favorable yet terrified. Her hands drifted to the bottom of her shirt to smooth out nonexistent wrinkles as she processed his apparent dismissal, unsure what to do since she had no idea as yet what her duties were. She considered the shirt for a moment, having tried to go for something in between workmanlike and dressy until she knew exactly what would be required of her. She quietly spoke up, any firmness that she might have wanted to inject into her voice immediately abandoning her.

"Um, Mr. Gladstone, I'm Sydney Marks, reporting for duty. It's my first day today, uh, so I was wondering just where you wanted me. To go get to work, that is. And what you've got for me. To work on today. Um, sir."

Her voice trailed off at the end of that embarrassing speech. So much for good first impressions. She tried her hardest not to stare at her feet, quickly searching for a way to come out, if not on top, closer to the top than she was apparently headed for.

 

Alicia Lane

It will take a moment for the engineers to move some of their stuff out of the way so Alicia and Sarah can get on. Since the girls are trying to ignore them, the engineers go back to whatever they had been discussing.

"Damn man, I still can't believe that sink. I've never heard of an AH destroying a sink. Or anything actually. Even the Security AH don't normally break something like that unless it is in the course of capturing a criminal."

"Yeah, its unreal. And it was a damn pleasure worker! From what I heard, the sound of that sink busting could be heard half a mile from her place. Whoever her last client was is lucky she didn't decide to bust him up instead."

The woman glared at the men for a moment.

"You guys are idiots."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't even know the whole damn story and yet you want to talk shit. I know someone in R&D... That AH became sentient. She's down in R&D right now getting tested to see if she is fit to have citizenship."

"Are you serious?"

The woman nodded.

 

Sydney Marks

After she finished speaking, he finally stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, giving her a real once over before standing up.

"You can tell alot about person from a few minor details. You didn't come dressed for a real workout today. Even though you graduated at the top of your class, you don't seem to have as much confidence as I've heard. Miss Marks, you were assigned to Engine Block because you have shown to be not only a talented engineer, but able to hold your own. If you lose that nerve now, you wont last long here. This is the hardest job on the whole damn ship and the people who work here are the hardest damn people on the whole damn ship. They swear, gamble, drink, fight, and fuck harder than anyone else you will meet. They'll take one look at you and see a chew toy. I suggest you don't be one, or they will tear you to pieces."

He smirked then.

"That's it. Orientation's over. Follow me."

He walked around his desk and past her, heading for the door. When he past her, she realized just how big he actually was. He was nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. Probably one of the biggest men on the ship. He led her out of the office and over to a service elevator. He let her in first and then stepped in after her. He hit a button, one that would take them to floor 3.

 

Alicia Lane

Alicia raised an eyebrow at hearing an AH became sentient, but she wasn't surprised enough to approach the engineers, so she just kept trying to pass by them.

 

Alicia Lane

(OOC: Lol you really going to pass up on juicy gossip?)

Sarah looked at the engineers in shock, wondering if such a story could be real. The engineers almost had their gear moved and were about to let Alicia through.

 

Sydney Marks

Sydney perked up when he started addressing her. Adversity she could deal with, being ignored was much harder on her. She spoke up as they stepped into the elevator.

"I think I understand, sir."

She steeled herself a bit before adding with her own smirk, carefully calculated to hopefully win back some respect, "I'm a bit too small for the drinking and the fighting, but swearing, gambling and fucking I can do with the best of them, sir. You can bet on it."

 

Dahlia Hendrick

Dahlia suppressed a snort. "He's terribly confused. Oh, and to think I was worried." She lapsed into thoughtfulness. "This will happen a lot, and I hope these situations will all go just as well."

As long as I can avoid Felix, she inwardly grimaced.

"I do hope the meeting with Captain Vanger goes well." Her brain switched gears on her nervously. "My good jumpsuit should be ready by tomorrow. I suppose I consider it my business attire now."

 

Sydney Marks

Cedric gave a snort, but said nothing to her. Words alone weren't going to convince him that she was more than chew toy. When they arrived at floor 3, he stepped off and expected her to follow him. He led her past a couple of men working on some very old equipment until they reach a strong looking woman with a large scar on her face and a huge wrench in her hands. She was standing over a few men who were trying to repair what looked like an antiquated water recycler system.

"Come on you lazy bastards, we need this thing up and running yesterday! I thought you were engineers!"

"Ma'am, we haven't used this system for almost a hundred years. It was old even then. Why the hell we need this thing running?"

"Dumbass! If the main system goes down, what the hell are we going to rely on until its fixed? Its sat broken for so long because numb nuts like you think old means useless!"

Cedric chuckled as he watched the woman swing the wrench down next to the man who had back talked her. It thudded heavily into the metal floor, leaving a dent. He looked up in fear for a moment but went back to work.

"Majorie! Got you some fresh meet here."

"Don't give me that shit Ced! Call me Major while I'm workin or I'll have your ass too."

"Heh, care to try?"

The two glared daggers at each other for a moment and then broke into laughter. Then Marjorie looked past Cedric to Sydney.

"Looks a little skinny. You sure you want her with me?"

"Hell Major, I figure you'll either toughen her up or break her. If she isn't up to it, fuck her a few good times and toss her to your men."

"Might do that anyway. Fine, whatever. You, skinny, what's your name?"

Apparently "Major" was ready to address Sydney. Cedric waved goodbye the the woman and headed off without another word to Sydney.

 

Dahlia Hendrick

Michael gave her a smile.

"I don't mind it happening. It was your past love. We can't avoid it, so letting it bother us will do no good either."

"Tomorrow we'll have to meet up with the Captain and the other Sentients. Are you excited? It should really be a good experience for you."

At the other table, the man was now cowering as his wife brow beat him. Poor guy was probably going to be sleeping on the couch tonight. The children looked confused, but stayed out of it. All they knew was "Mommy is right and daddy is in trouble." Smart kids.

 

Sydney Marks

"Sydney, ma'am! What do you have for me?"

She watched Cedric head off and leave her to this she-wolf with the feeling that she was in way over her head, which wasn't hard as she stood 5'3". Most everything down here on the deep floors literally was over her head. Deciding that her earlier crack did her at least some good, Sydney decided to throw another one out there to try to feel her way around the crazy society that was the Engine Block.

"Ma'am, if you do decide to fuck me prepare to be on bottom."

A smart salute and a somehow impish poker face peering up at Major's chin from her vertically challenged vantage point completed the joke. Sydney could only hope it would be taken in the spirit it was given, otherwise this could be the start of a very short career and possibly the end of a very short life.

(OOC: I'm not sure if I need to announce this, but I'm out for the night. See you guys tomorrow and thanks for the welcome.)

 

Sydney Marks

(OOC: No need to announce it, welcome to the game again and I hope enjoy it.)

The five men look up at her in shock. Not many people would dare speak to Major like this. The big woman eyed Sydney for a moment, then walked over to her and grabbed her by the shirt, nearly lifting her up off the ground when she dragged her closer.

(Rolling! 18)

Fire shown in Major's eyes. Was it anger? Lust? Disgust? Then the woman suddenly pushed her backwards with a laugh.

"You got balls Skinny. Sorry to tell ya, but if you want to be on top, ya got to earn it. Big talk don't mean shit down here unless you prove you can back it up. Now, see that water recycler? Had the boys here working on it for three days now. They don't seem to see what the problem is. It should work just fine, but for some reason it isn't. So now I'll make a bet with you just to see if you are good enough to be here. Fix it in the next thirty minutes and you can have a better name than Skinny. Take longer than two hours, and I'll put you on bottom right here and give the men a show. So girl, you still got balls?"


(OOC: If you take Major up on this bet, I'll give you a post to examine the recycler. Sydney can look at three components of the device and then I'll post what she finds. After that, you have one post two get it within the thirty minutes. Take more than three posts, and she is over the two hour mark. Use your imagination when looking at the problem. Think outside of the box, but also don't worry too much about right or wrong. Major knows the answer, but she isn't saying.)

 

Alicia Lane

(OOC: Lol, I've figured Alicia was in a hurry, but let's see what happens.)

Alicia noticed Sarah had become interested on the story, so she cautiously approached one of the engineers.

"Excuse me, what's this about an AH becoming sentient?" she inquired.

 

Alicia Lane

(OOC: In all fairness, Alicia just stopped for a massage and swapfest Lol I just figured with her feelings towards AH, something like that would pique her interest. Plus it gives a little information on Dahlia for her.)

The female engineer spoke up before the guy could.

"An AH on floor 20. Pretty popular one from what I hear. It isn't something that's been spread around much yet, but apparently this AH gained Sentience. She's called... What was it again Mac? You've been to her."

"Dahlia, P042. Best lay I've ever paid for. No offense boss."

"Fuck you Mac," growled the woman playfully before turning her attention back to Alicia and Sarah. "According to her logs, she had three customers Thursday. One of them noticed something different about her and it got back to R&D. They had her client list halted and now she's being studied to see if she really is sentient. From what I hear, the first day of testing went well. Thing is, someone pissed her off that day she was found out. She went into her bathroom and destroyed the sink. Totally wrecked it."

Alicia would probably recognize Dahlia's name from talks with Felix Brown...

 

Dahlia Hendrick

"It is quite a past," Dahlia stated ruefully. "But you're right. We'll make the best of it. Besides, now that I look back on it, some of it was kind of funny. Many teens from the Academy who wanted to lose their virginity for their 18th birthday, and all of them awkward. People who wanted to escape. Others had something to prove. Most who were just curious." Her lips twitched again. "I have all of these experiences. I wonder what I could do with it all." Vacancy captured her expression as she sorted through thousands of memories in seconds, before smiling at Michael again. "Something else for another time."

Dahlia brightened at the mention of the upcoming meeting. "Very! I'm thinking I may ask Yukon and Silk if they want to be assistants. I may the sentient AHs liason and advocate, but I can't do it alone. I hope they will be willing."

 

Dahlia Hendrick

Michael smiled at her short vacancy.

"You know, you should tell me about some of your more interesting experiences sometimes. I loved watching you masturbate while talking about Trent and Nathan, but you've had so many that I never saw."

When she mentioned asking the others to be her assistants he thought about it for a moment.

"Well, You will have the R&D with you every step of the way. Yukon would definitely be a welcome addition, since you might need security with this new position. Silk, I don't know about. She's like you, wanting to branch out from her current job as a prostitute. From what I hear, she's been looking into a lot of cooking lessons and since R&D initiated contact yesterday, she's really been looking forward to this meeting so she could try to become a chef."

Back at the other table, the family was getting up to leave. The woman and the kids went first, but the man was still eyeing Dahlia in confusion. He obviously couldn't take it anymore and he walked over to their table. He shot Michael a curious look before turning to Dahlia.

"Ummm Miss, you look... Familiar. Could I have your name please?"

 

Alicia Lane

(OOC: Well, Alicia liked massages and she doesn't have much love for AHs. I figure the info can be useful to Sarah.)

"Dahlia?" Alicia recalled the name from a few chats with Felix, he used that Pleasure Worker quite a few times and would probably be angry if she was taken off the market.

As for herself, Alicia didn't care for AH. If they really were capable of becoming sentient, she wondered why the inanimate dolls who had accompanied her father couldn't have done that to protect him better.

"Alright, thanks for the info." she forced a polite smile before trying to head for the elevator again.

 

Alicia Lane

(OOC: Lol ok, I'll give you that one.)

Alicia and Sarah get on the elevator and head down to the floor they need.... Not really. The elevator is experiencing technical difficulties and drops them three levels lower!

(Encounter 13)

When they get out of the Elevator, Sarah is looking freaked out. The elevator had basically just dropped and suddenly stopped on a random lower floor... Standing there when the doors had opened though, was a man with a drawn gun....