Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

A barrier protects it, displaying a holographic message.

"0572: Cryo
Role: Nav
Ship: Arlave 13"

"Then should I go fetch my study partner?"

 

Aquira, curious, heads to the double doors at the end of the room.


"I wouldn't mind a few lessons." Artemis says.

 

They're unmarked and unlocked, as well as cold.

"You probably have little to learn from us. Be better if teach didn't get killed, but we got what we got." He shrugs, turning to pick a blade of grass out of the ground.

 

Aquira tries opening the doors, heading through if they open.


Artemis grows a wooden chair and sits down, ready to learn.

 

They open right up onto an utterly massive dock, a fleet of ships carved of metal, crystal, and ice sitting idle.
The room goes so far back, Aquira can't see the end of the rows of ships.

Fifteen minutes later, a girl throws a book at Leo, who tosses it aside with a gust of wind.
"Attitude."
"Shut up, hardass! What did you want me for?!"
"This other girl wants to learn from you. I told her she's probably beyond us, but she insisted."
The girl looks at Artemis.
"Well... you do look like a Gaian know-it-all... you mess something up?"

 

Aquira just stares for a while, before trying to leap up onto one of the ships with a blast of water.


"I'm surprised you picked up I'm a child of Gaia so easily. Most people I've met here have seen me as a human." Artemis says, smiling.

 

Nothing stops her.
Seems the closest one is a medium-sized ship, though its hull shape suggests it's usually partially submerged.

"Whatever. What did you think I could teach you?"

 

Aquira explores the ship, checking it over.


"You world is different from mine. I wanted to know about the differences." Artemis says calmly.

 

This one doesn't have sails (though some do), and it has cannon slots as well as a heavy artillery launcher and six locked munitions rooms, four of them marked "torpedoes."
The navi room is near the heavy artillery, and it has the exact same device Aquira has on the Blue Amber. There's also a captain's room near the center of the lower halls, six inacive monitors mounted on the wall.

"First off... RUIN! Fucks with everything so bad, what you see is what it does AFTER Gaia came around and tried to get rid of it. Two, there is no balance here. Only cycles. Three, you should've asked teach before you RAN A SCYTHE THROUGH HIS SKULL." She says, irritated.

 

Aquira, pleased, tries exploring another ship.


"Whom?" Artemis asks, confused.

 

It's the same, sans a few colors and a few markings, plus an old family photo of a one-eye'd draconian with their spouse child, and a dagger sticking through another picture of the spouse.

"What's your name?" She asks, annoyed.

 

Aquira observes the pictures for a bit, before continuing to explore, deciding to dive into the water below the ships.


"Artemis." Artemis says.

 

It's not much deeper than the bottom of the hulls, the water as clear as the air above.

"Yep, you took out everyone in the classroom."

 

Aquira tries to figure out if the water is coming from somewhere, or it's just a large pool of sorts.


"When...and where?" Artemis asks with a confused expression.

 

It seems to be just a large pool of sorts.

"When you tried busting into the throne room, you dropped the ceiling on a staff meeting."

 

Aquira swims out of the pool, looking for any other areas to explore.


"Oh...sorry." Artemis says apologetically.

 

There seems to be a console with a scepter-shaped hole. Other than that, it's just a fleet... closer to an armada... of ships and their crews in cryostasis.

"Your loss, not mine." She shrugs.
"You're being a real bitch here..." Leo sighs.
"Piss off."

 

Aquira sees if the crystal she used to get to the cryostasis room and armada is still functional.


Artemis stays quiet.

 

It's gone, but there's a recall pad back where she started.
Maybe she should turn the lights off before she goes...?

The girl sighs.
"Whatever... point is, you've got a lot to teach us and not the other way around. Best get used to playing the Ruin's game, though, since it damn seems to always win."

 

Aquira flicks the light switch before using the recall pad.


"Oh...uh, jeez, I don't know if I'm the best teacher." Artemis says.