Inunne Chapter 3

After a moment's thought, Ikota decides that the most prudent thing to do is confirm what his duties and responsibilities on board are going to be, and asks Captain Rastin about it. Rastin nods, and moves over to a console glowing a faint green hue. With a few taps, he brings up a schematic and taps a couple of points. "Of course, of course. Your main task is general maintenance and repairs, as well as kitbashing occasional on the spot gear we might need, such as extra storage supports. As the Lt no doubt covered with you, this is a Rutila vessel which all run on chrysalis engines."
Ikota nods, intent on the discussion. While he hadn't personally worked with a chrysalis engine in depth before, he had helped a senior tech do some light repair work on a Rutila hull before, and had heard the stories. Chrysalis engines were a very particular magitech creation. Physically it appeared as an enormous crystal, usually some shade of green, blue, or purple, which emitted a sensation which could only be described as a gentle yet all encompassing hum. What made them really special, however, was that each chrysalis harbored a mysterious entity tied to that crystal which powered the ship. Rutila ships seemed to grow and form around chrysalis crystals of their own accord, and could automatically repair some damage depending on how much energy the being had to spare from the massive amount expended during spacetravel.
"It usually runs itself, but our chrysalis has been run a bit ragged lately and we thought it best to bring on someone experienced to do traditional ship maintenance where they could to give the chrysalis a bit of a break."
The captain taps a faint green tab on the console, and a small, transparent blob of hazy energy popped into existence, floating eerily above the dash. It pulsated gently, almost seeming in tune with the engine hum. Looking to the energy blob, Rastin gestures towards it. "This is how we normally interact with our chrysalis. It normally prefers to be called Oscillation." He pauses for a second, then waves at the energy. "You can focus again, thanks Ossy."
Turning back to Ikota, the captain frowned a bit. "Truth be told, I'm not sure what's been up with Ossy lately. Usually chrysalises don't start failing unless they've had some extensive damage, and we've only had some minor scuffles with asteroid fields and a stray port gate someone closed on us as we were leaving a few ports back. Ossy hasn't been chatty, and we've turned up nothing from what we could investigate. I was hoping someone with a more fresher and more mechanical eye might see something we don't, seeing as we're used to looking at the Inunne every day. If you don't find anything though, I'm not going to fault you for it. Could be nothing, just a moody period." He gazed off for a few moments in thought, then shook his head.
"Oh, before you go, we do have two drones on board if you want to try wrangling them. Sometimes they go a bit haywire, but don't we all once you've had enough time up here. You'll probably find them hanging around the crew or in storage, they seem to like it down there." Ikota nods and thanks the captain, pondering his options. After a moment's thought, he starts heading to:

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A) The recreation deck to find the crew, and maybe the drones? It would be good to introduce himself and see who he was going to spend this trip with. There might be food there too...
B) Storage, to look for the drones. He understood the urge to hide in small dark spaces well, and sometimes it was easier to make friends with robots than people. Besides, he was curious what they might have stored away down there.
C) Engineering, to check out the engine and try to communicate with Oscillation. Maybe they'd feel more comfortable talking about their energy problems in a more private environment?

6/8/23
Captain Rastin.

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