♕ 01 • Arrival

[smallra]

♕ I. Action [The Bay]
[Lotor emerges from the pod in confusion, accompanied by a sleepy (and slightly grumpy) cat, who is curled around his neck. Lotor is also sleepy (and possibly also grumpy). He's on guard, too. He's never had the experience of not knowing where he is before. It looks like he's on a planet. Where is the fleet? Has he been abducted? Wary, he draws his blade, in case there are enemies nearby. At least he's still armed.

Once he has his bearings and is relatively sure that there are no enemies here ready to attack, Lotor reads the pamphlet. He listens very closely to the welcoming speech given by the hologram. The warning about tampering with the hologram is very clear. Well—Lotor doesn't intend to tamper. He just wants to learn a little more about the device and how the hologram is generated, which is why he leans in close and runs his claws across the surface of the stand.]

Hm, I wonder what the energy source is.

♕ II. Action [Genessia City; Library]
[There's a child in the library who has surrounded himself with a massive array of books. They are stacked on either side of him, as well as in front of him, and his attention shifts from book to book quickly. He leafs through one quickly before abandoning it in favor of the next.

His cat, Kova, is still with him, lounging and dosing on the table Lotor has commandeered. Is this child taking up residence? Are cats even allowed in the library? Regardless of how well he's following the library's rules, it's definite that no one is allowed to eat the books, which is what Kova starts doing when he rises, stretches, and starts to nibble on the corner of a page.

Lotor idly waves the cat away.]

Kova, no—I know they're primitive, but they're information retrieval devices.

♕ III. Network: Text
[Having the ability to make a general public transmission of his own, with no oversight? It's new for Lotor, and it's exhilarating to be free from authority, so he wastes little time in making use of the network. Really, what is it if not another source of information?]

I want to know about the others who were brought here. Tell me, what is your name, rank, and planet of origin?

[Those are decent, basic questions to start with.]

♕ IV. Action [Nova City]
[Wandering and exploring his new surroundings has taken up a lot of Lotor's time. He now finds himself in Nova City. Nova City feels a little more like home, if it still isn't quite like living on board a giant warship. Walking past the shops and other businesses, Lotor peers curiously into the windows. Kova, even more tired now, is lying on Lotor's shoulders, asleep. It occurs to Lotor that he should find somewhere to stay soon—for Kova's sake, at least. He needs to take proper care of his animal.

In front of a café, Lotor stops short and stares through the window. Inside, people are seated at tables, eating. The food here is so strange, but he's suddenly so hungry. He remembers the red bills that he found when he woke up. He should be able to use them to buy things. But he needs to determine if this alien food is edible. As if sensing his thoughts, Kova opens his eyes and mews wearily. He's probably hungry, too. Lotor straightens, determined. He's the one in charge here, so he's going to handle this situation.]

Don't worry. I'll find us something we can eat.

Comments

III

[hotheadwarmheart]

Hey there. Guessing you're new around here?

Anyway, my name's Lea. Not really sure I have a rank back home any more, since I left the Organization; though if I had to pick something... Keyblade wielder in training, maybe? Here, though, I'm a Deputy Guardian of Genessia City. And I'm originally from a world called Radiant Garden.

How about you?

[smallra]

I am. I just arrived.

Your rank here is fine, if you don't have another one. What is a Keyblade? I've never heard of a planet called Radiant Garden before. Where is it?

[There's—a lot here he's never heard of, which is strange. He thought he knew so much about the universe. When it comes to this place, however, everything is different. When asked for his own name and rank, he supplies is readily. He has no reason to be afraid or hide his identity. Especially as, as far as he can tell, there aren't any enemies of the Galra present.]

I am Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire. I'm not from any planet. I live in the fleet, on the Command Ship.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Well, as the name implies, it's a sword that's shaped like a key. Though some of them look more key-like than others. And aside from just being weapons, they've got some special properties, like being able to lock or unlock pretty much anything.

I'm not quite sure how to tell you where Radiant Garden is though; chances are pretty good I'm from a different dimension than you are, so any directions I gave wouldn't really mean much in relation to what you're used to.

And a Prince, huh? I've met a Princess or two, but I think you're the first Prince I've talked to. And almost certainly the first person who's not actually from an actual world. What's it like, living on a ship?

text

[youfool]

[Well would you look at that: a familiar face. Not one he expected a second time. Now to see whether it's mutual.]

Ted, none to speak of, and Earth, respectively. Or so my memory tells me. Good evening, Lotor, pleasure to have you again.

[smallra]

[Well, that's... not what he was expecting. Lotor frowns at the device thoughtfully. In reply, he gets right to the point.]

What do you mean "again"? I've never been here, and I don't know you.

[youfool]

[Ted wondered whether amnesia regarding himself should be offensive; for the moment it seemed funny, somehow. Something else might be funny too...]

Just the word itself; naught ciphered. Would it be too shocking to see something to the contrary?

text;

[alchemistofalanya]

Um, okay. I guess I can answer this. Though I am not certain I can answer all the questions. but I will try.

My name is Totooria Helmold, but most people call me Totori, if you mean rank that I had as an adventurer back home I guess Glass since I was just starting out. As for planet of origin, I'm from a small fishing village called Alanya in a country called Arland.

Is that what you needed to know?

text;

[smallra]

You answered the questions well enough. That's what I wanted to know, but now I'd like to ask you some more questions about your answers.

[Lotor is having too much fun actually getting to ask people all the questions he wants.]

What do adventurer ranks mean, and what kind of adventures have you been on?

Does your planet not have a name, Totori?

text;

[alchemistofalanya]

Adventurer rank... I know it means that you are of a certain level and can go to certain areas. But the job of an Adventurer is really to explore new places, go to dangerous places and fight monsters and in my case using my alchemy.

It's how I am to level up my rank overtime back home. Here that rank is pretty meaningless.

Does my planet have a name? I don't know really. I know there are countries but not a name for the planet as a whole.

II

[demonofbadluck]

Plus the books will give you indigestion no doubt. I mean they are primitive after all.

[Said in the most sarcastic way possible as he stood in front of the giant pile of books. Sure his shift was at night, but he always came a few hours before then just to screw with people if he can.]

I mean could be worse, these books could have ancient illnesses.

[smallra]

Yes, they're much more fragile than digital texts, and the cross-referencing isn't as efficient.

[Lotor doesn't acknowledge that sarcasm and replies matter-of-factly. Still, he's not letting his cat eat the pages, at least! Kova still seems a little interested in swatting at one, but Lotor blocks his paw playfully.]

I've heard about books, but I've never seen any before. The ancient Galra used to use them a long, long time ago.

[demonofbadluck]

A lot of people seem to be used to books. Cannot say much about how Nova City does it though. It sounds like that city would be more of your cup of tea however, being 'futuristic' and all.

[Baldur was used to books really, he doesn't really care much for digital.]

IV Action

[fashionably_strong]

[Bulla's on her way to a nearby all you can eat buffet. Given her half-saiyan heritage, she's got a massive appetite. This is especially true when she's been training and burning off ki. It winds up being more cost effective to pay for her meals this way than it is to buy groceries when she's been training intensely.

She over hears the boy's voice, not far from her, and turns around to spot a child and his cat. She offers a pleasant smile.]

There's a really good all you can eat buffet nearby. Although restaurants don't want people to bring in pets. There is a pet store not too far from here where you could buy some cat food, though.

[Assuming this cat would have any interest in the sort of fare that Earth cats would.}

[smallra]

[Lotor glances up at Bulla when she speaks to him. He doesn't really know what a buffet is, but the "all you can eat" part makes it easy enough to guess what it means.

Lotor raises his hand to gently pat his cat's shoulder. He doesn't want to be separated from Kova, and it's not as if he has anywhere else to take him. In spite of all the excitement, Kova has been good and hasn't left his shoulders, except for a few brief explorations.]

I'm interested in seeing this buffet. Where is it?

[The promise of food is tempting, after all. He could probably go a while longer without eating, but even before he arrived here, it was a while since he'd had any of the nutritional paste he usually ate.]

I'd rather keep Kova with me. He's very well-behaved. He can eat what I eat.

[Lotor isn't exactly sure what sets pet food apart, but certainly his own cat should eat as well as he does. They both eat meat, so why not?]

[fashionably_strong]

This way.

[She points in the general direction of the restaurant. With her appetite, she managed to learn where all of the good all you can eat restaurants were within the five cities in a matter of weeks.

Pausing, she looks over at the cat. He does seem to be staying still rather than scampering around. She knows that pets are commonly objected to, both due to allergies and because of pets wanting to run off wherever and possibly leave pet hair.]

Hmm...well, Nova City is home to the broadest range of sentient species of the five cities. If you're positive he'll stay at our table and not run off, then we can say he's a child and not a pet.

[One bit of helpful advice occurs to her.]

Don't let him eat any of the chocolate from the dessert area, though. It can make cats and dogs pretty sick.

[Text]

[chaosimpact]

Well aren't you a stick in the mud? I'm Beauty Queen Etna, a demon from the Netherworld. I kinda run the show here.

[She has +5 in bullshit.]

[smallra]

[Lotor doesn't know what "stick in the mud" means, so he just... ignores the phrase. He's going to ask more questions, though.]

I've been researching this place, and I haven't seen anything about a Beauty Queen. What are your duties? Is the Netherworld a planet?

[chaosimpact]

Being the Beauty Queen means I run the joint.

[If only Lotor could see the face she's making. Not many people have never heard of a Netherworld.]

The Netherworld is where people go when they die. I don't run the Netherworld, but I'm second in command there.

[And really the only person that could stop her from talking shit about running Genessia is Laharl, but he's napping.]

[Action | Library]

[riddlemehiss]

[Not to worry! Rules were made to be batted around, mauled, and kicked off a table anyway.

Or at least that's what the striped feline currently perched on the top shelf would tell you. The Cheshire Cat lets out a soft chuckle in response to Lotor's comment, leaning over to observe the odd couple all the while pouring himself a delightful cup of Darjeeling tea.]

I would recommend the sweet kind from the local store. [Honestly he'd recommend not eating paper at all, but the edible kind is at least preferable to the book kind.]

[smallra]

[At the sound of a voice up in the shelves, Lotor immediately looks up. His eyes widen. The creature up there looks a little like Kova, but—is talking to him? Lotor rises from his seat, still looking up. The idea of talking animals isn't completely strange to him, as some of the aliens he's familiar with look more animallike (by Galra standards), but the Cheshire Cat doesn't look like any alien he's familiar with.]

Oh—what species are you?

[In his interest, he has forgotten about greetings.]

Sweet kind? You mean, there are books that people eat?

[It sounds odd, but so do are a lot of things about this place.]

iv

[merelyatool]

[ Owing to her place of employment, Maiya spends quite a bit of time in Nova City. Though she only technically needs to be familiar with one building, it makes her more comfortable to acquaint herself with the layout of the area as a whole, and that's the task she has largely occupied herself with in the short span of time since her own arrival. She's already come to accept the colorful variety of residents in this area, but— She can't turn off the sharp-eyed alertness that she has been trained to rely on for so long, and though Lotor may not have stood out otherwise, she immediately recognizes his curious, wandering behavior as being not unlike her own had been.

A lost child has always appealed to her empathy more than most things, but—watching him from the corner of her eye, she realizes that, for the first time, she's at liberty to act on the impulse. She stops, abandoning her furtive observation to turn her face fully in his direction. ]

Do you need help?

[smallra]

[Lotor is aware of the people around him, but as there are so many moving near him in this city, he doesn't pay this one any particular attention, until she turns and speaks to him. She's another of the "humans"—which aren't the only species in this world, although they seem to be the most common. He doesn't know much about them, but then, he hasn't met anyone from a familiar species here. If this is another dimension, then that makes sense.

Lotor doesn't take offense at the offer of help, but Galra don't need help. They don't show weakness. He's been trained as a warrior, and he's strong enough to survive on his own. So, although he could use some assistance with this, he doesn't exactly admit it. He meets her gaze directly.]

I need information.

[merelyatool]

[ She answers his words with a small nod. Needing information is the same as needing assistance, to her eye, but her voice remains cool and reserved when she replies. ]

I know a bit about this area.

IV!!

[fairbrook]

( Most days, her duties as one of Attleton's deputies meant acting as a glorified errand girl. Yes, she was expected to shut down any violence that might occur in her city, but the bulk of her work amounted to skimming over code enforcement violations and running between the cities at Dante's behest...

It's not very glamorous.

But seeing as these matters are not terribly pressing, when she overhears a seemingly lost and bewildered child, she's more than inclined to drop everything to attend to his needs. )

Have you just arrived? ( That's what she's assuming, anyway. ) I can take you somewhere to eat. It's no trouble at all.

[smallra]

[Though he was talking to his cat, Lotor accepts this interjection without hesitation, turning to face Integra and looking up at her with interest.]

Yes, we've just arrived.

[It's not a royal we, he's just including the cat. He's a new cat owner, and he's taking his job as cat dad very seriously!

Lotor remembers his manners and speaks politely and gravely in return—technically, Galra don't have to show manners to non-Galra, but he uses his manners anyway.]

We would appreciate your assistance.