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Deciding that formerly introducing themselves would help the situation Garrett stepped forward once the seller was out of the office. "I am Commander Garrett Cartwright and this," he gestured with his hand towards Kathi, "is Ensign Kathi Rierson. Our ship is known as Resilient. We were docked at this station to barter for supplies when one of our shipmates caught sight of you. The plan had been to rescue from the highest bidder but that has obviously changed." Garrett clasped his hands behind his back as he examined the former slave. "I apologize for leaving you chained for now but the other species around here might take us for easy prey if they see us walking out with a freed slave. You have my word that we will give you safe passage on our vessel." As long as you pose no threat to us, Garrett added in his head.

Though curious about how the man came to be in such an unfortunate position even Garrett knew better than to interrogate him right then and there. As long as this man was friendly, Garrett saw no need to treat him as a threat. This was a fellow human after all and not some random alien stranger. The commander made his way over towards their new acquaintance and extended his hand in an offer to help him up so they could leave. Perhaps, if the man was willing and the supplies could be spared, Simon could give this man a new arm just like his own. Garrett said nothing on the subject however as he did not want to get the man's hopes up if the procedure could not be done.

Simon nodded in response to Emma's comment about his reading habits, completely unashamed about spending so much time buried in research. Oftentimes the most trivial pieces of knowledge were the most fascinating to him. A few weeks ago he even took an interest in reading about old Earth delicacies and the obsessions people back then had with sweets and sugary treats particularly with a substance called chocolate.

Simon smiled faintly when Emma eagerly took her seat in front of him and even adjusted her posture to a more professional one in case anyone walked in. They couldn't have two high ranking officers looking like lazy bums when their guest came walking into the infirmary. He shifted in place when he noticed Emma's expression change no doubt to his comments on slavery. Sure enough, that was what she focused on surprising him with the sincerity and seriousness which she treated the matter. Though she had stated most of what he already knew and believed it still disturbed him to no end that slavery existed. Still, just wishing for the circumstances to be different would not be enough to change things and even if he wanted to act Resilient could not pour all their resources into freeing everyone. They had to find a way to take care of themselves before they could focus on anyone else.

He let out an exasperated sigh, nodding once more. "Yeah. Sometimes it's easy to forget how awful some of our ancestors used to be. We moved beyond that though and it's just saddening to know not everyone else has as well." Finding himself unable to continue the conversation he went silent, watching Emma from where he sat. Emma might have complained about being bored but he had no problems just sitting here like this doing nothing.

The beeping of one of his instruments broke him out of his daze sooner than he would have liked, startling him and causing him to rush over by the computer console to check the results displayed on screen. "Mm..." His brow furrowed while he scrutinized the data before him. "Looks like the results came in sooner than I anticipated. Between what my assistant has analyzed and what I'm seeing here, it looks like I just found something new that won't kill us all or get us sick." Simon scratched his chin. "It's still new...so I'll need some time to prepare it. I could synthesize it here in the lab but...that seems a little artificial..." He trailed off in thought beginning to wonder if he should enlist the cook's assistance. "Well, we'll see later." Simon's gaze returned to Emma realizing how easily distracted he was and nervously laughed. "Uh, sorry about that. I know we were in the middle of something more important than my pet project here."

So anime it hurts.

Resistance is not futile.

Simon crossed his arms over his chest, rubbing the one that Emma had punched as he thought over what she had said. Well, it was more than that. Simply bringing in another one of their kind was not so simple and was guaranteed to be big news throughout the ship but in the back of his mind he could not help but be skeptical. He'd only believe it after he saw the scans and test results for himself. Whatever became of the man's crew was something Simon was very curious to know. Was he the only survivor? Were there other humans enslaved? Had they been sold off already if they were? Was this man dangerous to Resilient?

"So then if he's coming here..." Simon glanced over at Emma returning the smile she had given with one of his own. "I suppose I should unleash the leeches, huh?" He chuckled at his own joke then paused realizing that Emma would not get the joke given the extreme age of the reference he had made. "Uh, centuries ago on Earth it was common practice to treat most diseases with leeches that would suck out blood from the patient. It was a barbaric method by today's standards and it rarely worked but there were some cases that such a treatment was viable for. It was something I read during one of my readings on Earth." Thankfully he did not have to explain what leeches were either. Though the variety that lived on Earth were long extinct they had run into such creatures during their travels. Simon had even heard a rumor some years back that there existed a species of leech that had obtained sentience...nightmare fuel indeed. Simon almost shuddered at the thought of it.

Noticing Emma had not yet taken a seat Simon motioned for her to sit down. "Go on. I'm sure Ensign Ghostly won't mind you crowding her space." He motioned to the medical bed directly beside the one he had been sitting on. He leaned back in his chair as he considered for a moment how the meeting with their new shipmate would go down. Despite his doubts about the man, no one deserved to be enslaved. Regardless of who this man was Simon intended to treat him to the best of his ability. He scratched his chin, absentmindedly wondering if the man looked more rugged than he did. It had been some time since his last shave and hair cut and perhaps he would have scared Emma if he stopped looking so "mountain man"-ish. Maybe his own father wouldn't recognize him. Brushing off the irrelevant thoughts that came to mind, Simon spoke. "Slavery though...I can't believe that could still be a practice for spacefaring folk. I have no doubt that I'll be able to treat his injuries and get him back to full health but I can't imagine what kind of psychological trauma he's been through."

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"125 Kuffles it is, then." Garret said, glancing over Jael's way. "Well done." Thanks to Jael the price had been lowered a considerable amount though the seller was still unwilling to drop it further. Perhaps they could have pushed it down even more but the moment the he thought that this deal was too troublesome they would risk a confrontation in attempt to liberate the slave. Garrett walked alongside Kathi to ensure there would be no further changes of plan or more complications. With Jael giving the Admiral a status update he remained silent and planned on doing so until the business was done. Once at the office Garrett folded his arms ready to reach for the gun concealed on his person on the off chance that their business associate decided to make an attempt to rob them.

Simon let out a sigh of relief on hearing the status update. Still, his father had not ordered the security team to stand down so he could not afford to let his guard down so far just yet. There did not seem to be much need for him to be around to take care of any casualties if everything had been proceeding as "non-violently" as it sounded to be going. He remained at his post regardless absentmindedly rearranging the medical equipment for the third time as he waited for the ship to leave the station. He would have told Emma that he had been ordered to stay behind but using the comm system for such a trivial matter when they were still technically on alert seemed like a misuse of resources.

Time passed and not so much as a crewman with a runny nose came to see him. Simon hoped his assistant was being more productive than he was with getting their supplies...and that his assistant was having just as dull of a time as he was. No subordinate would have more fun than him. As Simon made his way to sit down on one of the empty medical beds to catch up on some reading a distinctive knock came at the door, ringing against the metal like...a small fist on a metal door. There were no musical metaphors to be had here for such a sound.

Years ago Simon and Emma had come across an old Earth code in the Resilient's database that they learned simply for the sake of passing messages along that neither would want overheard by the adults or, as they grew older, their fellow colleagues. With a ship of this size and with so few people aboard rumors were always bound to spread like a cold. Of course, the two were always careful to keep from using this code around the ship's translator. Even though they had modified it some, they had still been certain Morse Code would probably be under Jael's training.

Simon knocked in their typical response pattern indicating that he was alone. "Hey. You caught me while I was busy." Simon greeted Emma, looking over to the empty infirmary. "The crew's come down with phantasmic disorder so...you can't see any of my patients." He motioned for her to come in. "So, did you get a good look at the human? Any ideas where he came from? ...And I hope you didn't take all your savings with you to spend on hair products." Simon smirked, taking a seat at one of the beds.

"But seriously...a new human? I'll have to have him sent here straight away to check him out. I've seen a few species practicing genetic modification and...well, for all we know he could be a walking pathogen. Or a lizard-man in disguise."

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Enok silently followed the woman glancing momentarily at the man who had looked him over but did not speak a word. Just before the woman left Enok uttered a simple "thank you" as she walked away to leave him amongst unfamiliar company. The others paid him little mind as he stepped inside and continued their conversation which appeared to be nothing more than idle talk to familiarize themselves with each other. One worked at a chapel, another was a baker, and the other was a blacksmith. Hardly the battle-hardened patriots he had expected to find in such a gathering.

Taking a moment to set his story straight Enok spoke up after the blacksmith. "The name's Enok. I'm a trader. Lived most of my life on the road and I've picked up a few skills along the way. I can't be the only one who put my job on hold to seek out adventure, right? You all must have had your reasons for heeding the letter's call, correct?" He looked around the room as he tried to get a better feel of the people around him and make sense why such seemingly random professions would be called upon. The seal on the letter indicated some kind of urgency but the details were so vague it could have been a sign to hire them all for some noble's banquet for all he knew.

This is an old song I had composed back in 2013 but had never recorded myself. Click here for the original version.

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This was what he wanted to avoid. Simply buying the slave had obviously been the most direct and easy solution but there had been one very important reason why he did not pursue it. It was wrong on principle. By buying the human they were validating the slavers barbaric business. It was sickening that this kind of thing was allowed on the station. For all the terrible things he had seen over the years it still surprised him how backwards some races were when humanity had long abolished slavery centuries ago. Then again, humanity had allowed their own planet to fall into ruin...

With a sigh, Garrett spoke directly towards Emma and the just-newly-arrived Allec. "Finish gathering the supplies we need and return to the ship. There's nothing to see here." His voice was sterner than usual, a hint of disappointment present. Ensign Rierson had disobeyed orders and she would have to pay the consequences later but for now it seemed that since his original plan was no longer an option he had no choice but to step in to ensure everything went smoothly. The commander headed inside the auctioning room listening in just as the seller was finishing the list of added charged to Kathi's original bid. Typical scum behavior. It only made sense that they would be overcharged given how apparent it was that they were the same species as the slave.

If Garrett had been twenty years younger he would have fired his pistol into the air before pressing the barrel, heated by plasma, against the seller's face for his sheer greed. However, acting on such violent urges would have only placed his people in danger and would likely ruin the trade agreements Admiral Carrillo had worked so hard to forge. Not to mention, if he so much as reached for his gun they would be outnumbered in seconds. Swallowing his pride Garrett spoke when he reached Kathi's side. "So that would make it 175 Kuffles." Garrett made no attempt to make eye contact with the ensign. "We can pay your fee."

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"Hold your position. I will be there shortly." Though they may have been desparate to save one of their own kind he was not about to allow the crew to throw themselves in harm's way when there was no need. Garrett had followed Emma's description of the area he needed to keep an eye out for heading left from Resilient and going through the third door on the right while moving as fast as he could without running. In another few moments he arrived by Emma's side after having spotted her but kept his distance from the entrance after making a quick peek around the corner to ensure that the human had not been placed on auction just yet.

It seemed the Admiral had given her blessing on completing the mission here without her and with good measure. The admiral could not just put herself in harm's way for everything that popped up and she was certainly going to be amongst the first to greet their fellow human in any case assuming things went well. "Just keep an eye out for the highest bidder. We'll track down the buyer and take him once we're away from this crowd." Garrett moved to the other side of the entrance and leaned against the wall while he casually peeked inside. If only they could have done something about these kinds of sales...but with their limited firepower there was little in the way of doing anything from stopping the slave trade once and for all.

It didn't take much longer for their person of interest to show up. The bidding had started out low and the man's attitude only caused a beating from his handlers. Sensing that this might disturb or provoke Emma he calmly spoke. "He won't be in this situation much longer. Whatever harm they're doing to him now can be fixed once he's back being looked at by Simon." Garrett spoke lowly so that no random passerby could hear him.

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The journey would have been longer had it not been for relying on the kindness of a friend whose horse he had borrowed. He had his suspicions when he read the letter, believing that it was not impossible for it to have been marked with a fake inkan...although the possibility of such a thing was unlikely, given the circumstances and recent events he still had to be cautious. So he waited in the bar, bread crumbs scattered about his table and his mug only half empty with mead. Day had turned to night and still there had not been anyone else to show up.

Enok pulled his parchment out to look at the details of the letter sighing at his own carelessness when he saw the small bloodstain on the corner from an earlier incident. Dirt had also stained the parchment but that too had been part of his haste to hurry and arrive at the inn. He leaned back in his seat and would have considered turning in for the night to get an early morning's start when a girl walked in. Not a few moments later did a boy walk in after her neither of them looking particularly old enough to be here for the drinks. The girl retrieved a paper and spoke something inaudible to the woman at the front. He would have thought nothing of it but the woman had led to two away. Considering all the rooms had been booked it was unlikely that two people who, from what he could tell, did not know each other would just so happen to enter moments apart and have rooms ready.

The woman they had spoken to returned and given that there were no screams of terror or sounds of a fight breaking out his nerves were eased. It was no trap. He stood up, grabbing his gear, and headed over towards the woman as he stuffed the letter into his coat and recited the line that he had been instructed to say. "I have a room booked. The one with the paneled bookshelf." Enok said to the woman, a hint of curiosity in his voice as he spoke.

He sounded like his father? Simon did his best to hide a smirk that was beginning to form on his face at the comparison as there were worse people to be compared to. "Well in any case, please try not to make it a habit. The last thing I need is for everyone to follow your example thinking they can walk out as soon as the bleeding stops." Simon sighed as he finished with the treatment and put the tool away. "There. All done. That wasn't so bad-" Kathi's voice came over the comm system and though her explanation was brief he could imagine what the situation was about to turn to in any second.

Like clockwork his father immediately responded after Emma and Allec, leaving Simon out of the picture. Of course, there was no point in dragged down the ship's medical officer but even if his place was there in the infirmary he still wanted to get his eyes on the situation. "I'll be on standby for casualties then." Simon spoke grimly hoping that his services would only be required to look after the former slave once he...or she was on their ship. Looking back at the admiral he stepped out of her way and motioned towards the infirmary's doors knowing she would want to be on the bridge or wherever she felt she needed to be. "I'll be here, Admiral." Worrying. As always.

Though he knew Emma took her job seriously, she did have a past of being reckless and it only added to his worries. At the very least he could find comfort in the fact that his father was going to be down there as well and if anything went wrong Simon was a damn good doctor. So far from what he could hear over the comm was that Emma had not rushed in blindly so that set him at ease if only by a bit. The last thing he wanted to do was perform a major surgery on another loved one again. "Just one thing to keep in mind." Simon finally spoke on the comm. "If this works bring our guest to the infirmary. The last thing we need is to find out too late that this human has a tracking device embedded in their body."

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Having just finished the training session with the Resilient's security team they had returned to the armory to store their weapon when the communication came in from Ensign Rierson. The words "slave trader" and "human" caught his attention immediately. After having been so long without contact from others of their species bringing this human onto their ship took priority. With so few of them left it had to. He left his rifle in the armory but took a standard pistol along as it was far easier to conceal. The last thing they needed was to alert the station to any kind of "rescue mission" by bringing an armed security team in all at once.

"At your posts, all of you." He ordered the security. If things went south everyone needed to be ready for a conflict. As Garrett began to head towards the dock to exit the ship he gave an order to the ship's other pilot, a young ensign with considerably less experience than Emma, to take his seat at the helm to prepare the ship for her when she returned to her station. He also told the ensign to scan for vessels still expending large amounts of power. If there were slavers around it was reasonable to assume they still had "cargo" aboard their ship they needed to keep fresh for potential buyers by having more power than any normal ship diverted to life support systems. It was just a preemptive measure in case Dania chose to order a rescue mission on the other slaves as well. When that was settled he finally spoke up on the open channel.

"Admiral Carrillo, I am leaving the ship. The fewer of us there are on that station the fewer the lives there are at stake." Commander Cartwright had left the ship by the time he had finished his sentence and wasted no time giving orders to Emma. "Give me your location, Lieutenant Commander White. Let's let this play out and take back the human from whoever is the highest bidder when the opportunity to strike arises. It will be near impossible for us to stage a rescue during the auction without causing a firefight. All non-combat trained personnel will continue on their business, get supplies, and return to Resilient immediately."

How does this image make you feel?

Spoiler

Even before the time Dania had made their announcement Simon already had a list of supplies that were required for the infirmary. Replacement parts for a few of the more advanced equipment, common medication a few members of the crew were taking, additional scanners, and a few other things necessary for more personal developments that went on in a generational ship such as Resilient. The news of docking at a new station was exciting despite his worries that someone would come back with an injury or allergic reaction of some kind. At least there were people under him who could do that kind of menial work while he was away. Besides, he was looking forward to keeping Emma out of more trouble seeing as how a pilot would have no supplies to stock up on. So, Simon sent the list and his estimates of the costs to the Admiral.

Unfortunately for Simon, when they docked(something he had only taken notice of when he was specifically told they had docked) he had still been busy rearranging stock for the new inventory to come in and as he did so he began to think of his last conversation with Emma. It was a shame that Emma did not believe his ladder story, with her placing it under the category of "unbelievable ghost story Simon made up"...though one detail he gave her did seem to cause her to stop. Before Simon could think more of it while getting ready to leave the infirmary there was a knock at the door. Then a voice. It belonged to the Admiral. "So she's finally coming in for that second checkup...alright. Better late than never." He handed the list to his assistant. "Tell Emma I'm sorry that I'll be late. I have something to tend to first." The man nodded and left the room as soon as it opened for the Admiral.

"Good to see you Admiral Carrillo. Have a seat." Simon motioned to one of the infirmary beds as he retrieved an anti-bacterial treatment for most common flesh wounds. A general way to keep infections from occurring. "I'm aware of your schedule but going about with an arm that had barely been patched up is...well do you know how many viruses and bacteria there are out there? A lot. Those aliens you were negotiating with? Who knows what kind of bugs they might have been carrying. Without proper inoculation you could have risked an infection despite my having kept your bleeding in check." Simon sighed aloud as he grabbed a medical scanner and began to probe. He rolled his eyes. "Hm." He scratched his chin and put the scanner down.

"Looks like we'll have to amputate. We're low on analgesics, aka painkillers, so you'll just have to bite down hard and soldier on through it." He gave Dania a painless injection of the anti-bacterial medication for her arm. "Well, that's what I might have said if I were a less competent doctor and if you had waited too long to return but this is why you should have let me finish treating you the first time around." Admiral or not, in one way Simon did outrank the rest of the crew. If Dania had been medically unfit for her duties he could relieve her of command until she was. Luckily, a minor injury on her arm did little to impair the woman's ability to lead. Simon took out another tool, a subdermal regenerator meant to stimulate the natural healing of torn flesh. It was only effective on smaller wounds as anything more serious required surgery but this would do for the time being. At least he had already done the majority of the work treating her on the first visit. "This will only take a few moments, hold still please. You might experience some discomfort and a slight burning sensation but it is normal."

Simon raised an eyebrow as Emma began to show signs of a smile forming on her lips as he was confused as to what he said to make her react this way this time when he was trying to be serious. She listened to him regardless but even so she would always take his father more seriously than him...though everyone took the infamous Commander Cartwright the Unkillable (or whatever nickname a subordinate came up with upon seeing the man in battle) more seriously than him. Simon sighed and shook his head. As long as she listened to him he couldn't complain. "Alright alright, though I don't know what's so wrong with ladders. Unless you found out about the crewman who was killed in the horrific ladder accident of 3519. I had just received my promotion to Lieutenant...and I, a lowly field medic, arrived to find carnage everywhere. It took weeks to clean it all. I spared you of the details to avoid scaring you off this entire deck."

He smirked as he brought the ladder over towards Emma, hoping some part of his tall tale would elicit some reaction from her. As the girl went up the ladder with no further improvisation on her part to retrieve his equipment he mulled over the expression he had seen on her face earlier while she had been speaking of resting. Their jobs were oftentimes stressful, as were most of the crew's, but being on call 24/7 could take its toll. Perhaps Emma needed something to brighten her day. Simon made a mental note to pick something up for her at their next stop.

Taking the container from Emma as she descended he opened it to check the integrity of the scanners and injectors inside. Satisfied that everything was up to spec he closed it. "Thanks for the assist, Em. I don't know if I could have ever braved that ladder like you did." Though to be fair, he had never been fond of heights...but at least even if Emma was not able to help the distance he needed to climb was completely negligible for him. "I suppose given your height, climbing ability had to have been an evolutionary trait." He teased, nudging Emma gently with the crate in his hands. Though the question did remain if she was really just that impatient to get to his box, if she was just trying to tease him by making him worry, ...or if she was secretly bad at ladders. Nah. She had to have been teasing. ...Or she was just that eager to get it done with and had not been willing to wait for a ladder. The more he thought about it the more it confused him. No matter how good he had gotten at predicting what she was feeling or what actions she might take, some of the things Emma did left him wondering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q12xOukVAI

Username: Arch
Name: Enok Wendell
Age: 28
Magic type: Physikai
Power 1: Vampiric Touch - Drains the life force of another person through physical contact through skin. This can be lethal and grants the user added strength depending on how much was drained.
Power 2: Restoration - The user can pour their own life force into another to aid in their recovery of wounds and fatigue.
Power 3: Theft - Through contact, the user copies the last used power of the victim for a short period of time.
Appearance: Here
Occupation: Tradesman
Weapons: A greatsword he claims he won in a bet with a traveling mercenary--Enok never uses it saying its size is better for intimidation rather than practical use--and a curved sword.
Bio: Before taking up work, his past had been nothing short of unremarkable. His family had been self-sustaining hunters who were essentially hermits and Enok left to his home for a chance to explore the world and take in all it had to offer. During his time traveling he has had to grow quickly in order to defend himself from all those who would seek to rob a lone trader. To him, his wares were only a means of purchasing means of travel to go beyond any distances he thought possible--to seek out new sights and meet new people. To boldly go...

When word came to him that he was needed he sold off all but the most essential of his gear to join the group headed to Novenun for a chance to learn and to seek out adventure. Enok is eager to prove himself and more than capable of holding his own in a fight. For a mere tradesman, his skill with the blade is more than impressive to say the least.

Came here because I thought your user title was a status. I really wanted to give you a like for that SpongeBob referencuoli.