Pure Happenstance [open]

[Agari]

Agari stared out at the open sea with wonder. It was so huge! Growing up in caves made one appreciate wide-open spaces, even if they did make you nervous. And something about a flat plain of water that disappears into the horizon just seems so much more vast than the limitless depths of outer space. It was an amazing view, at least to Agari. The violet tint to the water really gave it a nice touch.

Agari turned back toward the floating city. It was almost equally as breathtaking to see. An entire city without a ceiling. He was glad that they got to leave the ship when they landed here. Agari wasn't privileged enough to know exactly why they had landed on Ortho, but he assumed it had something to do with getting more supplies or something. That's what Agari himself planned to do. Get some personal supplies.

Like seeds. That was Agari's main interest at the moment. Ever since he discovered his new 'ability,' Agari was testing the limits of what he could do. He felt as if he was on the verge of a major breakthrough. On the verge of comprehension.

Even so, Agari was in a strange place with people he mostly didn't know. So for now he was content to follow along behind a crowd of people from his ship as they gradually split off into smaller and smaller groups. It was becoming obvious that pretty soon Agari would either have to introduce himself to avoid looking like a stalker, or wander off on his own. He wasn't sure which he preferred more...

[Agari]

(Note: this thread is still open for anyone who wants to join. I just wanted to explore Agari's history a bit more, and so decided to continue posting here.)

Just when Agari was about to work up the courage to speak to one of his fellow crew members, he stopped. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of something wonderful. It was a small park.

The park was less like a playground and more like a garden, and it seemed to be open to the general public so Agari decided to go take a look. He left the sidewalk and entered through the park's gate. It didn't take long to figure out that the park was a type of botanical garden, seeing as how many of the plant species were labeled.

"How fortunate," Agari remarked to himself. Agari knew a lot about plants already. He had taken many courses on the subject. However, on his planet fungi species were far more prominent than plants. He had rarely gotten the chance to study specimens outside of a laboratory and decided to take this opportunity to do so. And knowing that he had at least rudimentary control over plant growth only encouraged his decision to investigate.

He stopped in front of the first plant along the path through the park. "Juniper," the sign in front of it said. "Very nice," Agari commented to himself as he noted its scaly leaves. He looked at its branches for some sign of seeds he could pick, but they didn't seem to be in season. He moved on down the path.

"Tiger lilies," Agari read aloud. They were not yet in bloom, but many large buds were present. Agari looked around to make sure nobody was watching too closely, then held his palm out underneath one of the larger buds and concentrated. In a few moments the flower opened to reveal some brilliant orange petals. "Well, I guess it works here too," he mumbled to himself, still not quite believing what he could do.

Agari continued down the path, but didn't even need to read the label on the next plant to know what it was. It was a nectarine tree. But all the fruit was still green. "I think I can fix that," Agari stated, reaching up to touch one of the pieces of fruit. It swelled and reddened under his touch until it looked just right for picking. He had his hand around it and was about to pull the piece of fruit down when someone behind him cleared their throat.

"Ahem," the man's voice said. Agari figured they had seen him ripen the fruit and he became worried as he turned to face the stranger. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. There can be quite a hefty fine for fruit poaching."

Agari let out a sigh of relief, but the feeling was quickly replaced by confusion. "Fruit poaching? Really?"

[Luce]

"Yup," Drew said as he looked around. "People get pretty touchy about their produce here. Has something to do with the fact they don't have much soil to grow it in. Now," Drew reached into his bag and pulled out a blueish-green fruit, "if you want to steal these you can probably get away with it."

He held out the fruit to Agari to look over. It was a type of plum that grew on vines under water. It only grew in shallow water and there wasn't much of that around Ortho naturally but it was easy enough to set up a pool to grow the stuff in. Off planet the fruits were a delicacy since they could only be grown here and they went for a high price. Which was why Drew was making a nice little collection while they were here. If his parents knew what he was up to they wouldn't let him leave the ship for years. Smuggling was a serious crime. But it helped pay the bills in the lean times, it gave him some extra spending money and he saw it as a victimless crime.

"Name's Drew," he said as he continued to hold out the fruit. "Don't suppose you're looking for work?" Officially he was supposed to be recruiting deck hands, not stealing local delicacies. It was hard to find competent spacers on planets but Ortho was one of the best places to look. Not because they actually produced more space capable people, but because at least the people here weren't quite so attached to land.

"Because if you're descent with plants I may know a ship in need of a hydroponics specialist."

((I think this is what you meant. Recruiting the crew right?))

[Agari]

"Agari," he said as he took the plum in his hand. He stared at the fruit while he thought about Drew's offer. When Agari's ship had landed, a new job was the last thing on his mind. But now that one presented itself...

"I feel I should inform you that I am not a certified hydroponics specialist. My expertise lie in mycology. However, I am familiar with hydroponic processes, and have a modest background in other agricultural processes. Additionally I have studied extensively in the fields of pharmacology and bioengineering. I have not had much on the job experience yet, but that is mostly because I was still completing the very last portion of my schooling when the Earth disappeared."

Agari took in a deep breath after finishing his long spiel. "So I guess what I am essentially saying is that if you are willing to look past my lack of actual credentials, and you can pay an acceptable wage, I would be very interested in working on your ship. I truly do have a sort of... knack, for growing things. Sorry about your fruit, by the way"

Agari held out his hand with the plum in it to give it back. The fleshy parts were all shriveled and it had a crack in the top. And out of the crack a small leaf was threatening to sprout.

[Luce]

"Actually, all that stuff you just said, is what you want to tell my mother." It was odd how easy it was to say that word when she was not around. He frowned slightly thinking about it. Was Sedra his mother really?

Drew took the fruit back with a curious expression as he looked it over. He was normally pretty careful about the fruit he picked and he was sure this one hadn't been spoiled when he'd gotten it...He looked at the fruit for another moment before shrugging and tossing it into a nearby trash chute.

"Glad to hear you're interested. I don't suppose you know of any place I can find a good mechanic? My parents are a little sick of paying thieves at space stations."

((Leo cue?))

[Agari]

Agari held back a chuckle when Drew threw the fruit into the trash chute. Agari had meant for it to be a subtle demonstration of his affinity for plants, but it turned out to just be a waste of good produce. Oh well. At least it seemed he had earned an interview with Drew's mother. And it seemed she was probably the captain, or at least the one in charge of hiring new employees.

"You need a mechanic, you say? The ship I was on had one, I'm sure. I never really had reason to speak with him though and don't know if he is looking for a new place to work. But if I spot him roaming around, I will be sure to point him out. The bazaar would probably be the most likely place to spot him. I think that is where a majority of my ship's crew went."

"What type of ship do you fly, if you don't mind me asking?" Agari started heading toward the gate of the botanical garden so he could go search the bazaar. He still wanted to pick up some seeds, but that could wait until after the located his coworker. Besides, if he got this job he may have to select specific kinds.

[Luce]

"Cool. Man you may make my job cake today." Drew didn't exactly resent being part of the family business but it did mean he didn't have much time to do normal teenage things. He'd hoped to go away to college this year but there had been a lot of debate over that and, in the end, he had decided it wasn't worth the fight it would have taken to go.

Still, as they walked along the boarders of the university here he found himself looking over at it. He'd never known anything besides the ship and the war. What was it like to just be a normal kid?

"Oh, the ship," Drew said, drawn back to the conversation at hand. "It's a passenger cruiser. Very fast and capable of atmospheric landings when necessary though we have a few shuttles to handle that. It's pretty big but not too big. Comfortable you know?"

[Leo]

Leo tugged at his cap as he walked through the garden on Ortho. It was too close and looked too much like Kessep for his liking. Last thing he wanted was a former employee or guest recognizing him. He wasn’t sure what the resort would do if they got their hands on him, the most likely options were either to be reprogrammed or decommissioned. Both would effectively mean the death of him.

Regardless of his fear it was nice to get off the ship for a bit. He usually loved working on machines, yet like every other crew member he eventually grew tired of the monotony. Getting to walk around in the fresh air was a much needed break. That was one of the reason it he choose to go to the park, it was the direct opposite of what he was used to seeing every day. As he made his way through the area he nodded at a man from the ship and the kid he was talking too. He stopped briefly to glance at a flower he was unfamiliar with but made no move to interrupt their conversation.

[Agari]

It was with an interested gaze that Agari listened to Drew's explanation of the type of ship he had. The type of ship Agari may be working aboard very soon. From the sound of it, it would be just his type. Not too big, not too little, and not a strict military vessel. Agari was all for following rules, but a strict hierarchy of command did not sound too appealing to him.

As the two of them neared the exit to the park, Agari nodded acknowledgingly to someone he recognized from his ship, then turned to ask Drew another question. But he didn't make it more than five steps or halfway through his sentence before he stopped short. Agari looked behind himself, then looked back at Drew. "I think that was him. What are the odds? I suppose we should go talk to him, huh?"

[Luce]

"Yeah, let's do it," Drew said, looking around, wondering which random person Agari meant exactly. He hoped this other crew member would be as good at his job as Agari made it seem like he was. Then again, he didn't think Sedra had actually believed he would find the crew she'd sent him out for. It had seemed more like make work while she did the actual recruiting back at the ship.

Drew had taken the escape offered and used his time to wonder around the city and dream about what it would have been like to go to school here. But if he actually showed back up at the ship with a crew, or at least, people to recruit for the crew, that might make Sedra actually see that he was capable of more than just fooling around.

"Which one are they?"

[Agari]

"That guy. Over there,"Agari said as he pointed. He started walking toward Leo and called out to him.

"Hey, um, sir!" Agari was a bit embarrassed that he didn't actually know the guy's name. He just hoped this really was the mechanic from their ship. "You are one of my crew mates from The Destiny, right? The mechanic?"

Agari wasn't really sure where to go from there, so he decided to pass the baton to Drew. "This guy has something to ask you." Agari could feel his cheeks starting to turn red out of nervousness. He wasn't at all used to being in the center of social interactions with semi-strangers like this.

[Leo]

Leo tensed when he realized the man he recognized was talking to him. Nothing about him looked particularly threatening about him. Some of the tension was replaced by a mild curiosity. He raised an eyebrow at the man nodded slowly a “yes” to all his questions.

He raised his other eyebrow at the boy the man pointed out. Leo tilted his head in amusement as he wondered what the kid wanted to talk to him about. As much as he was afraid of being spotted as an android he doubted that was the reason. Maybe the kid had an interest in engines or something.

“Alright,” he drawled out, “ask away.”