The Intrepid: Episode 1 (Pilot) The Walls Have Eyes!

[Universe]

Universe's bellowing was perhaps premature.

The quarters were likely far more than many others were afforded on the ship. In fact, it was a decent sized apartment, complete with a living area, kitchen and dining, bedroom, and a sizable washroom to boot. On top of that, it was all already furnished, albeit with somewhat 'ultra modern' futurism style furniture. The simplicity nice for some, boring for others.

*I sighed* “I really got to get my temper under control”

 

[The_Happiest_Husky]

While Rikiti's explanation was extremely helpful, Dorian was a little perturbed at the guy's sheer rudeness. He stared right at the rodent.

"I have dealt with several situations where engineers on site panic at a situation, and in those, someone arriving and taking charge of the situation was necessary in order to calm them down and get them to solve the issue. THAT would be why I blitzed right by you, Rikiti. PLUS, Spit told me there was no time to waste. That said, thank you for explaining."

Dorian glanced over to the wolf.

"No sign of phantoms. My rig would have picked that up already."

Dorian went for his EVA to send a message to Spit.

"Spit, Rikiti says someone is actively sabotaging the exchange junctions and other junctures down here. Someone in Agri reported it to security already, but they made the mistake of saying there were phantoms. Whoever's doing this is NOT a phantom, and NOT an infestation, they're an actual saboteur. Rikiti tried to find out who before we showed up."

Message sent, Dorian leaned up against the wall.

"I'll give him a moment to get back to me. But it's too quiet, Rikiti. I don't like the thought of it, but we're only going to find this saboteur if we actively look for them. I'm not stupid enough to run right into the fog without a plan, hence my attempts at scanning it, but I'm staying until we or security IDs this intruder."

Dorian then looked over to the horse and wolf.

"While I'm waiting for Spit to get back to me... would you two take a breath and introduce yourselves, please?"

Heep waits quietly, listening. A saboteur? Not something he was expecting. Well, whatever. He's going to do his job as ordered, doesn't matter if he has to rip someone's throat out to do it.

 

[Universe]

*I took a shower*

 

[Silverthunder]

While Rikiti's explanation was extremely helpful, Dorian was a little perturbed at the guy's sheer rudeness. He stared right at the rodent.

"I have dealt with several situations where engineers on site panic at a situation, and in those, someone arriving and taking charge of the situation was necessary in order to calm them down and get them to solve the issue. THAT would be why I blitzed right by you, Rikiti. PLUS, Spit told me there was no time to waste. That said, thank you for explaining."

Dorian glanced over to the wolf.

"No sign of phantoms. My rig would have picked that up already."

Dorian went for his EVA to send a message to Spit.

"Spit, Rikiti says someone is actively sabotaging the exchange junctions and other junctures down here. Someone in Agri reported it to security already, but they made the mistake of saying there were phantoms. Whoever's doing this is NOT a phantom, and NOT an infestation, they're an actual saboteur. Rikiti tried to find out who before we showed up."

Message sent, Dorian leaned up against the wall.

"I'll give him a moment to get back to me. But it's too quiet, Rikiti. I don't like the thought of it, but we're only going to find this saboteur if we actively look for them. I'm not stupid enough to run right into the fog without a plan, hence my attempts at scanning it, but I'm staying until we or security IDs this intruder."

Dorian then looked over to the horse and wolf.

"While I'm waiting for Spit to get back to me... would you two take a breath and introduce yourselves, please?"

Heep waits quietly, listening. A saboteur? Not something he was expecting. Well, whatever. He's going to do his job as ordered, doesn't matter if he has to rip someone's throat out to do it.

"Gah! Nooo!" he shouted, poking Dorian's chest with his finger rather aggressively.

"You put words in Rikiti's mouth! He not say it sabotage! You come here like you in charge but you not even have uniform yet, you not know anything what happening and you tell Rikiti what to do!?" He balled both paws into fists in frustration. "I serve on Raki battleships since twelve, I know what sabotage look like! Sides, I ask for assistance, not someone come here and treat Rikiti like mouse!"

"Sir, please calm down, he's only trying to help..." the equine tried to intervene as the rodent continued arguing with Dorien. "I'm Startail by the way."

As everyone spoke up and their voices filled the corridor entrance, Heep would have a hard time catching much. But... perhaps just barely, he could hear the sound of skittering somewhere further ahead in the fog. The other canid seemed to hear it too, perking up as his ears twitched in surprise.

"Oh... I heard it that time..." the other wolf stated quietly as he looked into the fog.

 

[Silverthunder]

*I took a shower*

Ah yes, access to the best the ship has to offer. His quarters were certainly accommodating, the washroom had a large tub and shower to use at his leisure, along with a display on one of the walls that took up its entire surface. He wasn't in a room on the exterior of the ship, but the display showed a window view of the stars and some of the ship none the less, in crystal clear quality.

As he was preparing for his first bit of relaxation since his arrival, a comms device placed there before his arrival in the living room dinged with a message.

 

[The_Happiest_Husky]

"Oh... I heard it that time..." the other wolf stated quietly as he looked into the fog.

Heep's ears both swivel to face the fog filled room. His voice cuts sharply through the argument.
"There's something moving in there. What is it?"

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

"Gah! Nooo!" he shouted, poking Dorian's chest with his finger rather aggressively.

"You put words in Rikiti's mouth! He not say it sabotage! You come here like you in charge but you not even have uniform yet, you not know anything what happening and you tell Rikiti what to do!?" He balled both paws into fists in frustration. "I serve on Raki battleships since twelve, I know what sabotage look like! Sides, I ask for assistance, not someone come here and treat Rikiti like mouse!"

"Sir, please calm down, he's only trying to help..." the equine tried to intervene as the rodent continued arguing with Dorien. "I'm Startail by the way."

As everyone spoke up and their voices filled the corridor entrance, Heep would have a hard time catching much. But... perhaps just barely, he could hear the sound of skittering somewhere further ahead in the fog. The other canid seemed to hear it too, perking up as his ears twitched in surprise.

"Oh... I heard it that time..." the other wolf stated quietly as he looked into the fog.

"Rikiti? You are the one who specifically said 'see WHO do it'. You are the one who implied it was a person messing with this. No one repeatedly breaks things unless they're trying for sabotage, I've had more than enough engineer jobs to figure that out. So no, I did not put words in your mouth. I have been trying to follow standard ASPIRE engineer protocol here and your attempts to actively hinder the 'assess' part-"

Heep's ears both swivel to face the fog filled room. His voice cuts sharply through the argument.
"There's something moving in there. What is it?"

Dorian's hearing wasn't exactly spectacular, but the fact that the wolves perked up was a cue enough that he needed to stop this argument.

"We will have a long talk about this later. I can partially sense through this fog and security seems to have laughed this one off, so I'm going to have a look at this."

Dorian adjusted his rig to the modes that had allowed him to best see through this fog - most likely either sound spectrum or thermal sensing - and entered the room to try and find the source of whatever had gotten the wolves' attention.

 

[Universe]

Ah yes, access to the best the ship has to offer. His quarters were certainly accommodating, the washroom had a large tub and shower to use at his leisure, along with a display on one of the walls that took up its entire surface. He wasn't in a room on the exterior of the ship, but the display showed a window view of the stars and some of the ship none the less, in crystal clear quality.

As he was preparing for his first bit of relaxation since his arrival, a comms device placed there before his arrival in the living room dinged with a message.

*I sighed and picked up the comms device* “commander Universe here what is it?”

 

[TrixieFox]

"Very well." Black Fang replied.

He escorted universe back down the elevator and through a little bit of the ship before finally arriving at the Security Section. There, it was a mix of martial facilities, barracks, and administrative wings.

Passing security officers rendered their salutes in their black and white uniforms, carrying on their tasks with stun batons at their sides, while others chatted on the sidelines.

Universe's quarters were arranged near HQ, or the Command and Control hall, for quick access. Once they arrived at his room the Lieutenant gave a bow.

"Here you are sir. I'll have your uniforms, and your armor brought to your room once it arrives." He explained, holding the sliding door for his superior.



Briar gave a bow with a smile. "Very well ma'am. Understood."

He seemed satisfied by her suggestion, perhaps pleased at the desired outcome.

Both Senemen and the SFC slug rabbit Fizzle seemed ready to explode at the subordinate deer, but they held off. Senemen clearing his throat and turning around.

"Lets... just get back to the Section." Senemen sighed, trying to dismiss his frustration about the deer. "I think it's been a long day already. I'll open up the training range so you two can have your little game... then I'm getting something to eat... Oh, and another thing. I expect all weapons to be spotless when they return to the armory, and I only release weapons to those who can show me they know them inside and out. No exceptions."

The last bit seemed aimed more towards the marines behind them than Trixie herself.

"If a weapon goes missing, I won't hesitate for a second to request a lockdown of this entire ship to find it." He added.

*Trix smirked* "I brought my own" *she said patting the sling backpack on her back* "YOU" *pointing at briar "you have ten minutes to be in there or im counting it as a forefit" *trixie smiled* "Sterling wanna walk with me?"

 

[Universe]

*I just wanted to relax as my armor forms around me* “I hope you have a darn good reason for calling me or I’m court marshaling your a**”

 

[The_Happiest_Husky]

"Rikiti? You are the one who specifically said 'see WHO do it'. You are the one who implied it was a person messing with this. No one repeatedly breaks things unless they're trying for sabotage, I've had more than enough engineer jobs to figure that out. So no, I did not put words in your mouth. I have been trying to follow standard ASPIRE engineer protocol here and your attempts to actively hinder the 'assess' part-"


Dorian's hearing wasn't exactly spectacular, but the fact that the wolves perked up was a cue enough that he needed to stop this argument.

"We will have a long talk about this later. I can partially sense through this fog and security seems to have laughed this one off, so I'm going to have a look at this."

Dorian adjusted his rig to the modes that had allowed him to best see through this fog - most likely either sound spectrum or thermal sensing - and entered the room to try and find the source of whatever had gotten the wolves' attention.

Heep points at the wolf, pointedly ignoring the other two.
"Contact Security. Report that something is loose in this section, and that Engineering is investigating."
Heep immediately turns on heads into the fog after Dorian. While he lacks Dorian's augments, Heep is used to hunting using primarily his sharp canine sense of smell and hearing.

 

[Silverthunder]

*Trix smirked* "I brought my own" *she said patting the sling backpack on her back* "YOU" *pointing at briar "you have ten minutes to be in there or im counting it as a forefit" *trixie smiled* "Sterling wanna walk with me?"

"Yea... about that..." Senemen replied rubbing the back of his head as they moved out to the tram. "You're going to need to sign that in to the armory as soon as we arrive. I don't know who let you carry it on board, but there are strict weapons policies on the Intrepid. You can use it for target practice at the range, but it comes right back to the armory. Only the captain authorizes the release of lethal weapons outside of designated emergencies. Otherwise, stun batons and tasers."

"No exceptions butter bar!" Senemen teased her, boarding the tram before her and motioning for Fizzle and Briar to stand with him in the back, clearly not happy.

Sgt. Sterling nodded and took a place beside Trixie. "Ma'am."

Sterling held himself quite differently the the eldeer. While the cervine seemed to walk with a cocky demeanor by default, the other canid carried himself much differently. No nonsense, professional, everything you might expect in someone like him... almost.

*I just wanted to relax as my armor forms around me* “I hope you have a darn good reason for calling me or I’m court marshaling your a**”

"You're required in command and control sir. A situation is unfolding, the captain deffered decisions to you in the matter," the officer on the other end of the line replied calmly. "He said it would be an excellent test of your judgement."

 

[TrixieFox]

"Yea... about that..." Senemen replied rubbing the back of his head as they moved out to the tram. "You're going to need to sign that in to the armory as soon as we arrive. I don't know who let you carry it on board, but there are strict weapons policies on the Intrepid. You can use it for target practice at the range, but it comes right back to the armory. Only the captain authorizes the release of lethal weapons outside of designated emergencies. Otherwise, stun batons and tasers."

"No exceptions butter bar!" Senemen teased her, boarding the tram before her and motioning for Fizzle and Briar to stand with him in the back, clearly not happy.

Sgt. Sterling nodded and took a place beside Trixie. "Ma'am."

Sterling held himself quite differently the the eldeer. While the cervine seemed to walk with a cocky demeanor by default, the other canid carried himself much differently. No nonsense, professional, everything you might expect in someone like him... almost.

*Trix looked at Senemen* "Nah... I'll log it but I'm keeping it... it was my sister's *a tear falls* she died in a battle we fought together"
*trix takes a deep breath and smiles* "tell me about yourself Sgt"

 

[Silverthunder]

"Rikiti? You are the one who specifically said 'see WHO do it'. You are the one who implied it was a person messing with this. No one repeatedly breaks things unless they're trying for sabotage, I've had more than enough engineer jobs to figure that out. So no, I did not put words in your mouth. I have been trying to follow standard ASPIRE engineer protocol here and your attempts to actively hinder the 'assess' part-"


Dorian's hearing wasn't exactly spectacular, but the fact that the wolves perked up was a cue enough that he needed to stop this argument.

"We will have a long talk about this later. I can partially sense through this fog and security seems to have laughed this one off, so I'm going to have a look at this."

Dorian adjusted his rig to the modes that had allowed him to best see through this fog - most likely either sound spectrum or thermal sensing - and entered the room to try and find the source of whatever had gotten the wolves' attention.

Heep points at the wolf, pointedly ignoring the other two.
"Contact Security. Report that something is loose in this section, and that Engineering is investigating."
Heep immediately turns on heads into the fog after Dorian. While he lacks Dorian's augments, Heep is used to hunting using primarily his sharp canine sense of smell and hearing.

"Just cus someone do thing not mean it sabotage thick smooth brain bird!" Rikiti snapped at Dorien, as he and Heep made their way into the fog. "Better not touch atmosphere parts or Rikiti have you thrown off ship!!"

The wolf complied and began tapping his own Eva to report on the situation.

Rikiti was simply infuriated at this point, growling as he followed behind them on all fours, followed by Startail who was still quite nervous about the whole situation. The wolf remained behind to report the situation.

It was difficult to pick much up. The plasteel composite hull of the ship outlined the storage section fairly clearly on his sensors, they couldn't see past it, but much of the clutter from the containers, crates, and barrels turned the place into a maze. Still, the thermal sensors at least gave him a tiny bit of extra range and visibility in the fog.

Finally, his audio sensors picked something up, a mechanical whirring, isolated from the typical sounds of the ship.

As Dorien was pinpointing the location, Heep caught something skittering between two containers off to his side! It was small, the size of a moderately sized pet, but too obscured by the fog to see much detail.

 

[Universe]

"Yea... about that..." Senemen replied rubbing the back of his head as they moved out to the tram. "You're going to need to sign that in to the armory as soon as we arrive. I don't know who let you carry it on board, but there are strict weapons policies on the Intrepid. You can use it for target practice at the range, but it comes right back to the armory. Only the captain authorizes the release of lethal weapons outside of designated emergencies. Otherwise, stun batons and tasers."

"No exceptions butter bar!" Senemen teased her, boarding the tram before her and motioning for Fizzle and Briar to stand with him in the back, clearly not happy.

Sgt. Sterling nodded and took a place beside Trixie. "Ma'am."

Sterling held himself quite differently the the eldeer. While the cervine seemed to walk with a cocky demeanor by default, the other canid carried himself much differently. No nonsense, professional, everything you might expect in someone like him... almost.



"You're required in command and control sir. A situation is unfolding, the captain deffered decisions to you in the matter," the officer on the other end of the line replied calmly. "He said it would be an excellent test of your judgement."

*I sighed* “ok I’ll be there”

 

[Universe]

*I walked out of my quarters with narrowed eyes someone was going to get it*

 

[The_Happiest_Husky]

As Dorien was pinpointing the location, Heep caught something skittering between two containers off to his side! It was small, the size of a moderately sized pet, but too obscured by the fog to see much detail.

Heep's good ears let him catch a glimpse of the creature as it skittered past.
"Movement off to the left. Medium-small creature."

 

[Universe]

*I arrived at command and control* “alright what are we dealing with here?”

 

[Universe]

“Also I need a sandwich haven’t had anything to eat since before I got here”

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

"Just cus someone do thing not mean it sabotage thick smooth brain bird!" Rikiti snapped at Dorien, as he and Heep made their way into the fog. "Better not touch atmosphere parts or Rikiti have you thrown off ship!!"

The wolf complied and began tapping his own Eva to report on the situation.

Rikiti was simply infuriated at this point, growling as he followed behind them on all fours, followed by Startail who was still quite nervous about the whole situation. The wolf remained behind to report the situation.

It was difficult to pick much up. The plasteel composite hull of the ship outlined the storage section fairly clearly on his sensors, they couldn't see past it, but much of the clutter from the containers, crates, and barrels turned the place into a maze. Still, the thermal sensors at least gave him a tiny bit of extra range and visibility in the fog.

Finally, his audio sensors picked something up, a mechanical whirring, isolated from the typical sounds of the ship.

As Dorien was pinpointing the location, Heep caught something skittering between two containers off to his side! It was small, the size of a moderately sized pet, but too obscured by the fog to see much detail.

Dorian didn't want to show it, but Rikiti's superiority complex and stunning lack of attention to basic protocol were bothering him greatly. He'd seen senior engineers act just like this, and they'd almost always gone on to do something that got them relieved of duty entirely. Dorian had even filed reports on a couple of them in his earlier years on the job.

He began to focus on the whirring noise...

Heep's good ears let him catch a glimpse of the creature as it skittered past.
"Movement off to the left. Medium-small creature."

...but had to merely make a mental note of it, given that Heep had gotten a bead on the saboteur. Dorian figured it was either a really short sapient species, or someone had let their pet run amok down here.

Regardless, he looked off to the left, hoping to catch his own glimpse. Even if he saw it, though, he would not lunge to grab the creature unless it got extremely close - to try for a grab too early would be a sure way to lose the saboteur long-term.

 

[Marius Merganser]

It was a solid plan, obviously Mambi's navigational abilities would far surpass any conventional map they might receive. After all, it was a carefully laid out plan created by a faceless beurocracy aboard the ship. No doubt they wouldn't be interested in maximizing efficiency and efficacy of their methods. Perhaps, then, a little bit of faith was necessary to trust in Mambi's abilities to find the exact location they were needed at that very moment...

As they proceeded along their planned path, moving through the busy corridor, then boarding the elevator, they stepped off onto the appropriate deck, presumably by the armory.

However... something was... off. There was no armory, and in fact, the layout of the deck seemed different somehow. They stepped off the elevator into another hall, with a junction just up ahead straddled by some kind of cafe station, or common area? An arrow pointing to the left indicated 'Classrooms', and on the right, 'Admin 04'

It seemed to be relatively quiet, with only a single fellow sitting at one of the tables in the cafe reading a datapad in his white and black security uniform. Not unlike the uniforms they would receive.

Before the two of them could act, they air began getting thicker, and the hall seemed to be starting to fill with a haze. The wolf up ahead with red markings looked up to see what was going on, glaring at Mambi and Marius as if they had somehow caused the growing fog.

"What are you two doing here?" the wolf grumbled, "do you have any idea where you are?"

Marius leaned to his cat colleague and whispered, "I got this."

The duck gave the wolf a salute and a smile. "Ensign Merganser. And this is @Mambi . We're helmsmen." But the wolf looked unimpressed. "Anyway, we're looking for our quarters and then the main tower to check in with the XO. I'm afraid we took a wrong turn, good sir. Uh, do you maybe happen to know how to get to the crew quarters, and should we be worried about that fog?"

 

[TrixieFox]

"Sgt?" Trix asked

 

[Universe]

*I was looking around and retracted my helmet*

 

[Mambi]

It was a solid plan, obviously Mambi's navigational abilities would far surpass any conventional map they might receive. After all, it was a carefully laid out plan created by a faceless beurocracy aboard the ship. No doubt they wouldn't be interested in maximizing efficiency and efficacy of their methods. Perhaps, then, a little bit of faith was necessary to trust in Mambi's abilities to find the exact location they were needed at that very moment...

As they proceeded along their planned path, moving through the busy corridor, then boarding the elevator, they stepped off onto the appropriate deck, presumably by the armory.

However... something was... off. There was no armory, and in fact, the layout of the deck seemed different somehow. They stepped off the elevator into another hall, with a junction just up ahead straddled by some kind of cafe station, or common area? An arrow pointing to the left indicated 'Classrooms', and on the right, 'Admin 04'

It seemed to be relatively quiet, with only a single fellow sitting at one of the tables in the cafe reading a datapad in his white and black security uniform. Not unlike the uniforms they would receive.

Before the two of them could act, they air began getting thicker, and the hall seemed to be starting to fill with a haze. The wolf up ahead with red markings looked up to see what was going on, glaring at Mambi and Marius as if they had somehow caused the growing fog.

"What are you two doing here?" the wolf grumbled, "do you have any idea where you are?"

<the cat waves politely but nervously, trying to ignore the growing mists around him. He looks around confused...he was sure this was the correct route but somehow, here they were, lost! Could this ship's own internal map be so wrong? He chuckles to himself as he appreciates the irony of that, and for a moment he considers using his internal abilities to recheck theri position until he notices the guard's stern pose. Deciding that he might be better off doing that in private at least, he just looks at his friend and shrugs, as the duck leans in close to whisper something into his ear>

Marius leaned to his cat colleague and whispered, "I got this."

The duck gave the wolf a salute and a smile. "Ensign Merganser. And this is @Mambi . We're helmsmen." But the wolf looked unimpressed. "Anyway, we're looking for our quarters and then the main tower to check in with the XO. I'm afraid we took a wrong turn, good sir. Uh, do you maybe happen to know how to get to the crew quarters, and should we be worried about that fog?"

<the cat motions to the mist and nods empathically> Yeah, we're just trying to find Navigation, ironically, and somehow ended up here. A map said we should be near the quarters like he just said, but like...what is the source of that stuff there, sir? I'm not seeing any broken pipes or anything, and you don't seem in a hurry to evacuate or anything so...what's the deal sir? If you can just tell us where to go we'll be on our way and you can get back to, whatever you were doing or guarding or...whatever.

<the guard stares at the cat unblinking, intimidating him slightly as he quiets up, seeing the duck tensing slightly as well. Stepping back to let his companion handle the conversation from here, he sniffs around, trying to figure out the mists while still figuring out where exactly they were standing and what went wrong>

 

[Universe]

*the officers would notice that my Eyes were turquoise with gold irises and silver slit pupils which were intimidating*