090: Bullets and Boards – Five
Even though they'd all tied one on the previous evening, none of them had gotten to the point where they'd woken up debilitated the next morning.
Despite that, they tucked into their breakfasts as ravenously as if they needed the hangover cure.
"So what's on the docket for today?" Viatrix asked, bobbing around their sitting room while she waited for her organic crew mates to finish eating.
Looking up some information on her data pad, Elytra said, "There's a performance of a fiskaz play this evening, 'Salt for the Wound'. It's a drama about a detective on the hunt for the killer that has evaded her at every step of the way. It's a couple towns over, a place that also has some museums."
"I'd be down for a day of sightseeing and a night of the arts?" Rhea proposed, and the others were quick to agree with her.
Kitting themselves out in casual wear instead of for combat for once, they made their way to the hotel's shuttle parking bay, as their suite had a complementary shuttle assigned to them as well.
"Going this far away from the Pelekys isn't going to cut you off, will it?" Elytra asked as Nevara brought them into one of the designated flight paths to their destination, "It's in a subspace pocket, so how does that affect your range?"
"If you'd asked me that a month ago, I'd probably have a different answer for you, but after my unexpected upgrade?" Viatrix popped the drone's arms out so she could razzle-dazzle them with jazz hands, "I have no idea what the limits on my range are now! There doesn't seem to be any lag, even going through subspace as my signal is, and I can actually remotely link up with the Storlayacas now, beyond just the comms link I could set up before. If anything, this day trip is a test on my range as much as it is a chance to spend time with my friends."
"Let me know if you do start feeling any lag," Malakh told her, "I'm curious to see how far that extends now myself."
The flight took no time at all, and thanks to the off season, they found parking right away.
The town they'd ended up at, Pernula, lay sprawled within a valley deep in a mountainous area. The buildings were primarily stonework, elaborately carved tiles designed to show off the blue grey splendor of the natural rock. The streets were wide and clean, a bright dun colour to contrast the cool tone buildings. Powered transports were few and far between, the town having been designed for pedestrians more than vehicles.
Once they'd stepped off their shuttle to begin their tour of the city, Rhea had opened her mouth to say something, but her expression suddenly sharpened, head tilting off to the side, her gaze intense, like a predator that had just scented fresh blood.
"What is it?" Malakh was at her side an instant later, staring in the direction Rhea was facing, trying to spot what must have been the threat to have her so on alert.
But when Rhea turned to her, she was smiling in delight as she said, "I know where our first stop is going to be!"
Their destination, which she led them to unerringly despite the fact she'd never been to this world, let alone this town before, was a cozy, human run cafe.
One that served freshly brewed coffee.
"Oh I'd missed that." Rhea sighed as she breathed in the rich aroma within the building, the others gathered around her as they tried to decipher what the items on the menu were.
"I'm shocked you were able to smell this place from so far off." Nevara admitted, clearly impressed.
Chuckling grimly, Rhea told her, "During med school, there were some days where I had more coffee than blood in my veins. It's practically part of my DNA at this point."
Knowing what she knew of everyone's flavour preferences, Rhea ordered for them all, and it wasn't long before they were wandering down the street, drinks in hand.
"This is quite pleasant. What did you say it was called?" Nevara asked, her mandibles clicking together in a clear sign of enjoyment.
"It's an iced mocha, basically a coffee mixed with chocolate, and obviously served cold instead of hot. With how nice the weather is here, I figured cool bevs wouldn't go amiss."
"I can understand why you drank this in genetically altering quantities." V'tala said appreciatively.
The drinks were a hit all around, gone before they reached their first stop, a museum that was currently hosting an exhibit of artifacts from the late Fiskaz Renaissance.
It was a very different experience from their time at the Bakiz Institute of Technical Curios and Habiliments on Ritroser, and not just because they were actually coming during opening hours with the intent of looking and not touching.
"Look look look, it's interactive!" Viatrix had said excitedly, bobbing over to a display that invited attendees to try out replicas of Renaissance machines like looms, printing presses, and paddle boats. For the latter, they had a replica of a famous (or infamous, depending on the historical event) stretch of river from the Fiskaz homeworld of Saiwa (which had absolutely nothing to do with the captain of the Sudoxe, despite sharing part of its name with her. "It's actually really fascinating, how many times certain sets of sounds are repeated across different languages, even from different races," Rhea had said when Pryseia had pointed out the similar names, "Like the word 'erin', it's a person's name in one human dialect, but in an apiarian language it means 'spatula', while in a deupazing one it means 'manager'. Linguistics are wild!").
Technically the paddle boat was more meant for children, but with things so dead for the museum attendees, they didn't even bat an eye when the crew of the Pelekys had a go on them.
Once they'd gone through all the exhibits there - and after stopping by the souvenir shop - it was time for lunch. They found a quaint little apiarian restaurant, and discovered it wasn't just words that they had in common.
"I'm telling you, this is exactly like a melopita!" Rhea said as she jabbed her fork at the dessert they'd decided on after their meal, "A cheese and honey pie? This tastes the same as what I would get back home!"
"Canpantan is a dessert from my own world that predates the invention of the wheel," Nevara told her with a wry grin, "Simple as it is, it doesn't surprise me that more than one race came up with it."
After lunch, they had time enough for one more stop before the showing of Salt for the Wound they were planning on seeing later that evening.
Less about the past and more about the future, their next destination was an art gallery showcasing local talent. Across several sprawling rooms, open and airy, were paintings in dozens of different styles, sculptures made out of anything from clay to recycled junk, poems and songs being performed live by skilled orators and singers, and fibrecraft ranging from elaborate tapestries to stylish clothing. Some of the artists they recognized from the market the previous night, but there were plenty that they'd never heard of. While none of the pieces on display were for sale, there was a connected shop where other works by these artists were available for purchase. The crew of the Pelekys came away with an assortment of pieces to decorate both their shared spaces, and their personal rooms.
After that, it was time for the play, and Viatrix was beside herself with excitement.
"I was looking into it last night, and this particular cast has been getting some rave reviews!" She told them as they waited in line for the concession, "I can't wait to see them in action!"
The performance ended up not meeting Viatrix's expectations - it completely blew them out of the water. An all fiskaz cast, Salt for the Wound told the story of Detective Riascsathrh and her hunt for the Kesceride Killer, a serial killer in the quite county of Kesceride who had been sporadically murdering people for decades. Riascsathrh had dedicated her life to hunting the Kesceride Killer down when they killed her father, a detective assigned to the case, and her obsession with the hunt had estranged her from both her husband and children, and it would cost her her job if she didn't get results on the last case her chief was willing to give her - on the stipulation that she take on a partner, Detective Cernopamoc. The by-the-books officer to Riascsathrh's loose cannon, the unlikely duo spent most of their time at each other's throats, rubbed raw by the attitude of the other. But as the case progressed, the two women learned to see eye to eye, until disaster struck, Cernopamoc's life hanging in the balance when she took a bullet meant for Riascsathrh. But things would take a turn for the worse when Riascsathrh gathered enough evidence to finally uncover the identity of the Kesceride Killer.
"Her own husband," Viatrix repeated in awe, still blown away by the plot twist in the third act as they made their way to another local restaurant for dinner, "As infatuated with her as she was the Kesceride Killer, he couldn't stand playing second fiddle to himself! A marriage imploding because of their conflicting obsessions! The drama of her daughter being the one to find the key piece of evidence to reveal the tangled web of lies! Oh, this was a marvel!"
"It certainly was," Nevara couldn't help but agree, caught up in Viatrix's excitement, "The cast was unparalleled."
"They truly were!" Viatrix said as she flew backwards so she could face the group of them as she talked, "I mean no disrespect to the Kith actors we've watched on the Quanvengier, but they're in those plays for fun. This cast? For them this was everything."
Chuckling as she pulled Viatrix's drone out of the way of a lamppost she was about to bump into backwards, Malakh said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting it to be."
"I know it's too late to do so today, but would we be able to watch other plays while we're here?" Viatrix pleaded.
"Of course," Pryseia told her, "It is as much your vacation as ours. When is the next one playing? We can plan our time around that."
"YES!" Viatrix cheered, spinning in a circle, "There's one tomorrow in this town, a fuglaz production this time - 'Her Flower, Her Garden', a historical drama about the longest reigning queen in one particular Fuglaz culture."
"I really can't get over how multicultural this place is," Rhea said, nodding to a baithaiz run shop that was shutting down for the night as they were walking by, "This is what the rest of the galaxy should be like, instead of… well, the mess that it is."
Shrugging helplessly, Pryseia mused, "Perhaps it's due to the fact that this world has such close ties to the Kith that has led to them catering to more than just their own kin? That organization has no qualms with working with any of the races of the galaxy. Barring the Bernetigan, of course. Though, I do wonder, if they weren't such an existential threat to the sovereignty of the individual, would they not find a welcome place among the rest of galactic society?"
"The Bernetigan, they're the race that wants to convert everyone into beings like them, correct?" V'tala asked.
"That's them." Rhea confirmed, "No one's sure how they do it, because no one's survived the process, but they found a way to turn any other species into their own. Outside of the propaganda that leaks beyond their borders sometimes, no on has any idea what their culture is like. Just that they have only the one, because they unified their entire race on pretty much every aspect."
Letting out a thoughtful hum at that, V'tala turned to Rhea and asked, "What was that phrase you said the other day? 'I bet they're fun at parties'?"
That had Rhea cackling as they entered a deorviran diner for their evening meal.
"Oof, I think I overdid it." Malakh groaned as she collapsed on one of the couches in their hotel sitting room, holding her stomach like she was afraid it was going to burst, "I haven't had Kaistipotus since I was a cub."
Throwing herself down next to her wife, Rhea moaned, "I know what you mean. We've got a meal like that on my world - descriptively called Hotpot. Some college pals and I would go out for that now and again, when we were so stressed about tests that we didn't feel like people anymore."
"It was as comforting as it was filling, so I can understand why." Nevara said as she sank into one of the armchairs scattered about, "Unfortunately, I feel too full to sleep at the moment."
"Couldn't be me." Was Viatrix's smug reply as she floated aimlessly around them.
"Well…" Elytra drawled from where she'd sprawled out on the floor, "I know we're on vacation and all, not supposed to be doing any work, but we could maybe have a brainstorming session about what we want to do with our whole Kith storyline, now that we've got all the Storlayacas, and an actual reason for why they were built?"
"I do believe that would be a benefit," Pryseia said as she slumped into another armchair, "For the most part, we've been rather piecemeal with what our internal lore actually is, adjusting as we've gone along. A more concrete plan would certainly not go amiss."
V'tala sat on one of the couches, grimaced, then fully lay down across it before asking, "The lore about how you were all out for revenge in some regard, but then something either fulfilled or erased that need?"
"Yeah," Elytra said from the floor, "We got a little carried away with filming things at first that we just did whatever we thought was interesting without thinking about how it could affect things going forward. So a little live editing was needed as we got more comfortable with our characters."
"As of right now, we've been implying that Augury, the Program, and the Knight all have ties to the Hyttan in some way," Rhea listed off, holding up fingers as she did so, "That we've been chosen to battle Leviathan on the behalf of the Hyttan, as well as a bit about the threat that the Storlayacas were created to defeat. But before all that, we were playing up a sort of frenemies relationship between the lot of us, like we were all out to betray one another or something, which is going to have to change because I know for a fact that none of us would actually be down for that kind of thing, fictional or otherwise."
"We also implied that Bathory was seducing the Hand for her own mysterious reasons, and the Hand was seducing her right back on Kaizoku's orders, but that was really to save us from having to edit around the fact that these two can't stop flirting with one another." Elytra's voice was warm with fondness as she gestured between Rhea and Malakh, who were now fully leaning against one another, Malakh's head on Rhea's shoulder while Rhea was running a hand through Malakh's mane. Malakh smiled guiltily at having been caught, while Rhea smirked like she was happy to be seen being so openly affectionate.
"There has also been an implication that all of our characters have been carrying secrets," Pryseia continued, "But this was born more from the fact that we started filming before we started writing in our exuberance to begin putting out content as a Kith crew, and so had no concrete plan ahead of time from which we could build upon."
V'tala hummed thoughtfully, adjusting the pillow below her head so it wasn't pressing so uncomfortably against her horns before she said, "Then we should come up with a beginning for the characters, in the sense of the secret they keep, not an actual birth. It doesn't need to be something we film, but having that knowledge at the backs of our minds would make going forward easier."
"A foundation to build on, that would probably be a good idea," Rhea said with a wry smile, "Begs the question in that case - do we try to reverse engineer something off of what we have, or do something of a soft reboot going forward and just change thing wholesale?"
"Reverse engineer is the path I'd choose," was V'tala's immediate reply, "I've been looking in to what the audience thinks of you all, and they're quite fond of your characters. A sudden change would feel like a betrayal."
"And it might create difficulties for us, when it comes to the performance aspect of our profession," Pryseia pointed out, "Familiar as we've become with our Kith personas, were we to change them significantly and suddenly, would we be able to perform them with ease under the pressure of a live broadcast anymore?"
Elytra lifted a hand enough so she could wave a finger to emphasize those points. "We don't have to stay static, but we also don't have to change right away. Character arcs are a thing, after all."
"And our characters have definitely been going through an arc on the sidelines." Malakh said as she leaned back against Rhea enough to waggle her eyebrows at her.
Humming out a fond laugh, Rhea said, "True. We definitely need to come up with an in universe reason for why they're actually staying together, something more than the information they were supposedly trying to get out of one another. Hate to say it, but I think we have homework for our vacation."
"Is it really homework if it's something enjoyable you've chosen to do out of your own volition?" Viatrix pointed out, popping the arms out of the drone so she could shrug them.
The seven of them ended up brainstorming for an hour or so, before exhaustion from the day's activities had them yawning more than talking, after which point they retired for the night.
V'tala had intended on just going to sleep, but curiosity had her reaching for the data pad she'd left on the side table, and pulling up the Pelekys' message board once more. There were other topics there that she wanted to investigate.