Thread: An Eclipse of Corruption (Vuxayl x Cricket)

Karilel stepped back into her ship with a small, armed crew accompanying her. The door closed behind them and began to depressurize just as Karilel took one last glance at the planet they had just come from. The planet was mostly rocky and barren except for prickly light purple shrubs that had come up to her waist. However, the natives seemed to thrive just fine. There were two warring factions on the planet apparently the conflict started because one side planned on irreversibly terraforming it, and the other side was fighting against the plan. To Karilel, the current environment didnt look all that worth trying to protect. But now the rebels were getting out of hand, even threatening to use a bombif they couldnt have it the way they wanted, they were going to destroy it. The government of the planet had asked for backup to placate the situation, or at least see if the bomb threat was real. The director had sent Karilels and her ship. The ship took off from where it had landed within the valley of two mountain ranges. Karilel could feel exhaustion, though it wasnt the same as organic species, and more that she was running out of actual energy. She and her crew took a beating out there, but managed to subdue the rebels long enough to deactivate any form of electronics they had. They never found out if the bomb as real or not, but it if was they put it and its detonator out of commission. It would take a very long time before they could get anything up and running again, and when they did, Karilel was ready to come back all over again. She felt good, even if she was tired. She felt useful. She felt like she was just where she was meant to be. The crew that had stayed behind on the ship gave her and the others congratulations. Then she retired to the commanders viewing port. Karilel was now commander of the SS Vigilant. It had taken her what almost felt like an eternity to get here, but here she was. The ship was much more streamlined and advanced than what the Aurigas-Bridge had to offer, and Karilel was more than just a stand-in commander. This was her ship now. On occasion, she found herself wondering if the Aurigas-Bridge was holding up at all. Probably not, without her wasting her time trying to repair it. It probably starting falling apart the moment she left it. She knew she could find out how it was doing with just a simple search, but preferred to stick to her daydreams. Besides, it barely occupied her thoughts these days and wasnt worth the bother to research. While she was searching through her news and alerts, Karilel received the Vigilants next mission. There was a distress signal from a crashed mining ship, and command sent out a recruitment link for freelance workers. It seemed that they needed someone with experience to oversee the whole expedition, even if it wasnt entirely complicated or dangerous. Karilel looked at the applications and reviewed the names. She also had the authority to either add them to the team or immediately decline them without further questions. As she scanned through the names, Xayuns immediately stuck out at her. They had not talked since their explosive situation so long ago. Xayun had only sort of occupied Karilels distant memory with the Aurigas-Bridge station. But when she remembered, she got a bitter, sinking feeling. What was he doing now? Why would he apply to this job? The first thought that occurred to her was that somehow he knew she would lead the mission and wanted some chance to screw her over or watch her fail. But no that wasnt it. Then Karilel frantically searched for information on the planet the mission was on. It wasnt something she usually didit was more typical of her to head straight for the coordinates, no questions asked. The map of the planet and its system swelled out on the screen before her. She didnt need to double-check it, but she did just to be positive. It was that planet. Karilel hit decline on Xayuns application and went to prepare for the mission.