Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Eight

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Shane nodded agreement. "Let them sort themselves out, when they are ready, if they ever are, they can admit it publicly as Starr and Armin have done with their dating.

~~~
Danika chuckled softly and shrugged "It's just part of the game, most of the situations are made up things to give a reason for adding money to your bank." She waited for him to put the amount in then picked up the dice to roll them, using the chance to show him how they were normally rolled without saying so. She landed on the starship (train) and immediately bought it

The shuttle had precisely one life sign, the life support system seemed to be functional. There was no sign of damage to the vessel either, it just wasn't going anywhere.
It was a pretty standard small shuttle, the sort used by larger ships to ferry people down to planets or stations without the facilities for large docking. They weren't designed for long distance so it must have come from a ship that had since moved on. Whether the occupant had been heading somewhere or they'd been purposely stranded wasn't clear.

The ship this shuttle had come from wasn't in range, it had probably continued on its journey and at the speed larger ships moved it could be anywhere by now.

---

Matt raced half the way to where Zara and Lana were before it occured to him that bursting in all out of breath might freak the kid out far far more. So he slowed down, caught his breath and walked as fast as he could the rest of the way, wracking his brain for an excuse. He didn't want to lie to the kid, but he also didn't want to unneccisarily terrify her.

He'd come up with nothing by the time he got to them.

---

Lana was hovering at Zara's shoulder, peering at her drawing when her father appeared down the hall. She frowned. She wasn't entirely sure she was supposed to be exploring the quiet uninhabited parts of the ship but wouldn't the ship, so did this mean she was in trouble? She was rather accustomed to having adults scold her for getting into places she shouldn't be. She slid behind Zara, not quite hiding as such, just making herself less obvious.

Starr and Shane reached the shuttle bay soon enough, ready for Vestia to lock on and drag the shuttle onboard for them to be able to meet this passenger. Starr tried to see if she could feel any emotions from the craft before being told there was only the one living person on there. She didn't know if this would work with the distance and the unknown of who it was and if they had a block.

Starr would pick up anticipation, anxiety and perhaps a tinge of fear. The anticipation got stronger as Vestia pulled the ship into the shuttle bay, but that was to be expected right?

Vestia watched the shuttle nervously as she towed it into her bay. It was just a shuttle, nothing to be afraid of. Someone on board needed help. She was a cruise ship, and a shuttle with only a tiny fraction of her size, and power, and crew, should be nothing to cause her concern.

But one time she'd picked up a god out of an asteroid field, unintentionally leading to a large portion of her crew being sent to another universe and badly traumatized.

It was hard to forget about something like that.

Still, she towed the shuttle into her shuttle bay, and hoped for the best.

~~

Zara blinked at Lana's suddenly secretive air, unsure what to make of it. She glanced the direction Lana was hiding from, and saw Matt approaching, which didn't really clarify much.

"Hey Matt," she said. "Exploring the ship too?"

Matt tried to look unconcerned. "I suppose so." He smiled and peered around Zara. "you okay Lana?"

Lana wrinkled her nose. "yeah. Just looking around."

Matt nodded and if he'd noticed her acting a bit 'off' he didn't say anything about it. After all, they were almost strangers to one another still so some oddness was to be expected surely?
"You're drawing?" He asked Zara, noting her paper. Ahh good, diversions. But he was here, ready to race these two to safety if neccisary. They didn't need to know that yet... right?

Such feelings were normal, so Starr ignored them, waiting for the shuttle to be docked so they could go to the door and open it.

Once the shuttle docked and the door opened the single inhabitant stepped toward them.

They were short, a little stocky with long curling ram horns and familiar twin pointed ears. Their skin was a light brown, their eyes a deep indigo and their black hair worn long and tied into decorative braids and coils. Tattoos ran down their face, geometric lines running down both cheeks, crossed at regular intervals.
They were dressed in a bizarre mishmash of garments in clashing colours and patterns, none of which quite seemed to fit properly or go together.

They smiled broadly and clasped both hands together in a gesture of thanks as they bowed their head repeatedly. "thank you, thank you." They spoke with an accent that was almost familiar. "I was worried none would hear my call."

They were absolutely oblivious to the tension in the air.

"You're welcome. I am Starr and this is Shane." Starr said with a smile. "Can you tell us what happened and who you are?" She asked as she kindly gestured for them to come aboard.

They nodded and decended the ramp from the shuttle, bowing their head politely to Shane and blinking a little against the light. "I am Kasi Shyam" (I can't remember if Starr met him at the guild lol.) "The engine just... stopped." He spread his hands in a bewildered gesture. "I managed to figure out the automated distress call but that was about the extent of my ability there."

He seemed to be genuine, for the most part, though both Star Dragons might sense he wasn't telling them the whole story.

"I was heading to meet an old associate but unfortunately it would seem I won't get to make that appointment."

(I don't remember either, lol)
Starr nodded then turned her head to one of the cameras "Can you get Rigel over to take a look at the shuttle, please." She asked Vestia, wary of saying her name in front of this person that might seem a bit familiar. She looked back at them and smiled again "Our mechanic should be able to fix your shuttle up. Would you like to go to a lounge while you wait?"

Shane dipped his head in greeting but didn't speak, keeping the bodyguard image up for now.

Kasi bowed his head. "many thanks." He waited to be lead to wherever.

Starr would lead the way to one of the lounges with Shane following them. She smiled again when they reached the lounge, going in and glancing around. "You can order what you like. We have quite a variety." She said in a friendly manner.

"Lana's mapping the ship, so I offered to draw a little of what I've seen," Zara told Matt with a smile. She considered Matt, thinking he looked like he had something on his mind. "Is everything all right?"

~~
(I can't remember if Vestia ever met Kasi or not, whoops)

Vestia would notify Rigel about the shuttle in need of repairs, and keep an eye on Starr, Shane, and Kasi.

(i'm gonna have to go back and check lol. maaan, so many pages. This could take a bit.)

Matt hesitated, the nodded. "yeah, no.. it's okay." He glanced at the nearest Camera, hoping Vestia had an update.

Lana frowned but kept quiet, her dad was wierd and she still wasn't entirely accustomed to his mannerisms. But still, he was being odd and she was suspicious.

---

Kasi smiled placidly and found a comfortable seat. "you are gracious and kind." He bowed his head to Starr, she seemed to be the one in charge.

"Dad" Danika called, going over to Asher with a grin. "Mom says the visitor seems good."

~~~
"Thank you" Starr said, taking a seat and wondering if Amity or one of the drones would be in as she sent the quick message to Asher and Vestia through Danika. She would not have used such a way if she wasn't fairly certain.

(Could always say they met but with everything that happened, they forgot, lol)

(I found it! Kasi met Starr, Tala and... maybe Esk back at the guild. Then met Matt, Ellie and Shane. So yeah, Shane and Starr HAVE met him. it has however been over 10 years and they only encountered one another briefly... so they may not immediately recognise him and vice versa. He never went to Vestia herself I don't believe. Tala and Esk found him very very annoying and ditched him asap. Starr was too polite. Matt, Ellie and Shane found him amusing. They lost him in the crowds. )

(Ah that makes sense. Thank you for checking! Omg
If Tala finds out Kasi's here she'll be like "oh no, not again", ahaha)

"Everything seems okay so far," Vestia said Matt, sending a text to Zara with the same message. "The shuttle was picked up successfully, and its passenger doesn't seem dangerous so far."

Maybe she was supposed to be more subtle around Lana, but hey, Matt looked like he wanted news.

~~
Asher smiled with relief at the news from Danika. "Oh thank goodness. We're lucky to have Starr and her people looking out for us."

Lana frowned, looking at the camera and then at her father.

Matt looked awkward. "yeah, uh.. we picked up a stranded person." He didn't elaborate.

"Are they okay?" Lana asked curiously.

"uh... " Matt looked to Vestia for information there. "i.. think so?"

Danika grinned and came over to sit for a bit. "Why do we have a visitor?"

~~~
"Have we met before?" Starr asked after a bit of silence. This guy seemed familiar, not a close friend, but someone they had maybe met before.

~~~
Rigel arrived at the shuttle to start looking at it and see if he could find what went wrong.

Kasi paused, tilting his head. He nodded "yes, I believe so." He laughed. "What are the odds that you would be the ones to find me?"

---

it would take a bit of digging but eventually Rigel would find that the problem with the shuttle was a tiny missing part. Someone had removed a component. Sabotage.
Unfortunately it wasn't a part Vestia just had laying around in her storage. It would be a simple fix with the right part.

Starr chuckled, nodding and relaxing a bit more. Her memory of Kasi wasn't very clear, but she remembered meeting him at the guild now. "It's not odds I would gamble on."

Shane frowned a little but didn't speak, not remembering him in a good way.

~~~
Rigel came out and reported the missing part to Vestia, letting her know it was sabotage most likely before going to check if they had the piece, even though he didn't think it would be here.

Both might remember that last time they met Kasi had talked incessantly, about anything and everything. Now however he seemed preoccupied, he fidgeted with his bracelets. He smiled softly at Starr's remark. "But the payout would be incredible no?"

Starr chuckled softly and nodded. "Yes, it would. How have you been?" She asked gently to pass the time while they waited for a report from Rigel.

Shane blinked then nodded a little as he remembered. The guy was different, but it had been ten years for him. He seemed to relax a bit more though he kept his place.

Kasi fidgeted with his many many bracelets. "Well enough." He paused, then seemed to realise that he should elaborate. "travelling, meeting other outcasts. It has been quite facinating." finally he turned his attention to Shane. "Speaking of outcasts, You were friends with the Kanistha no? Does he still travel with you?"

Shane dipped his head in a nod after a moment then smiled. "Matt? Yeah, he's still with us. Us outcasts stick together."

A smile played across Kasi's face. "what good fortune!" He declared. "Yes, outcasts should support one another. " He tilted his head. "I wasn't aware you were one. My sympathies."

Shane smiled and shrugged. "I don't feel like one here with everyone, but thanks." He said before Vestia interrupted to let them know about the missing part.