You've Got Mail MISSION START

Posted on Thu Jul 24th, 2025 @ 6:13am by Captain Jaivir Vohra & CLO-VR
Edited on on Wed Jul 30th, 2025 @ 8:32pm

Mission: Royal Mail
Location: Kama Novus, Somewhere in Space
1574 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

"Captain Vohra." The disembodied voice echoed through the Captain's quarters. "You asked me to notify you if a business opportunity ever came up involving the Auvetari." The blue ethereal form of CLO-VR shimmered into existence near the door of the room. Her glowing orange eyes scanned the room to try and locate the captain of the Kama Novus.

Somewhere, in the depths of the shoebox that qualified as Vohra's bathroom, a muffled thud, followed by the scuffle of haste and a muttered expletive became the precursor to the dishevelled man's eventual appearance. He had, at least, managed to pull on his trousers and, though damp strands of tousled hair were plastered to his forehead, he also appeared to be mostly done with the morning's shower. Whether it felt like it or not, this was an improvement; it hadn't been that long ago, the Pixel Princess would have just materialised in the shower cubicle.

"Yep, that's right, I did." Scrubbing at his hair with a towel, Javir fixed the apparition with a playful squint and continued, "So are you telling me one's come up or just reminiscing?"

"One has come up." CLO-VR's skin shimmered with a pulse, an indication that she was processing something. "Was your question regarding my motivations for appearing an attempt at levity or a genuine enquiry?"

"Little bit from Column A, little bit from Column B, with contingencies for Column C." Tossing the towel onto the bed, Vohra winked at the enigmatic projection and started to pull a shirt on. At some point along the way, he'd given up trying to figure out if CLO-VR counted as a crewmember or simply belonged on the asset register. Though he'd been wedged into a position of dubious leadership, it was the people on board he wrangled, not the ship itself. "Been working on that whole 'making assumptions' thing Trin keeps ranting about."

"Now," the Captain leaned against the corner of the bedside table to continue, at least partially dressed, "Talk to me. What do our exceedingly-wealthy glitterati want from the riffraff this time?"

Another pulse of light coursing through CLO-VR as she considered the response. "I agree. No need for additional ass-creation." Her face remained perfectly stoic as she moved slightly further into the room. "A message directly to select members of the guild." She took a moment, she'd found that biological sentience often appreciated pauses in speech. "The offered contract specifies the transport of a high-value biological asset from Point of Origin to Designated Transfer Coordinates." Especially if the information was relatively longwinded. "The nature of the asset is classified under Annex 4, Section 2, accessible to authorized personnel only." It seemed that the unfiltered sensory input would often distract recipients of information otherwise. "Client stipulations include non-interference with the asset nor associated affairs, provision of appropriate environmental accommodations, and adherence to discretion protocols." Jaivir was especially prone to zoning out. "Compensation will be rendered upon verified delivery. Contractual language strongly discourages inquiry beyond operational parameters."

In his defense, Vohra had yet to figure out half of what the avatar said during most conversations, and without Trin there to scoff and hammer it home in short, pointed summary, he often found himself back at the start of the conversation still by the time CLO-VR had finished. A similarly-vacant expression dominated for a few seconds after she stopped speaking, and a slight skewing of his features towards a wince of uncertainty suggested the Captain had arrived at a point in the translation where he wasn't entirely sure of his interpretation.

"So...a passenger? Big, important, don't-look-at-me-that-way-peasant type needs to hitch a ride somewhere?" It was entirely in keeping with his usual methods that Vohra made no mention of the explicit instructions regarding discretion; he figured they were mostly guidelines and, besides, it was difficult to know just how interesting someone was until you got close enough to their dirty laundry to smell it. Sucking air through his teeth, Vohra then sighed. "Passenger transport isn't exactly top of our best reviews. Could be a bit of a squish."

"From the contract language one could deduce that, indeed. The fact that we're not especially qualified for the task seems to be an intentional qualifier in and of itself." CLO-VR's facial features seemed to mimic Vohra's frown from earlier. Another pulse coursing across her features. "Nevertheless, as Captain, we can pursue or simply ignore offered contracts."

"Eh."

Vohra's expression remained one of internal distaste.

"That'll lead to tetchiness, and really boring conversations about quotas and repayment schedules and obsessive remarks about ownership of my buttocks." Javir squirmed awkwardly. "I'd kind of like to keep the whole estate intact, even if this does reek of someone trying to get their hands on it." He shuddered visibly. "Again."

"I have completed a comprehensive risk assessment of the offered contract." CLO-VR her eyes flashed softly, "I have sent the file over to your personal account, would you like a short summary or will that only result in you leaving the full report unread?" She mimicked his visible shudder, a wave of light coursing from top to bottom, "Again."

The astute remark was met with an immediate deadpan, followed by the twitch of a poorly-contained smirk. A hand rested against his sternum, Vohra lamented, "Tink, why you gotta go straight for my heart every time?" The same hand stretched towards her, an entreaty for consideration. "I just like hearing it from you more, you leave out the boring parts." He pursed his lips and added, "Mostly."

"Security risk is classified as elevated. Unknown behavioural variables increase the potential for internal disruptions. Hostile external actors may possess both motivation and opportunity to interfere with transit." She clasped her hands behind her back. "At present, mission viability remains within acceptable tolerance margins, provided enhanced monitoring and contingency protocols are enacted. I recommend assigning minimal crew contact, isolating passenger access zones, and maintaining heightened situational awareness for the duration of the contract." A faint pulse in her projection suggested her processors were continuously evaluating new data.

It was...fiddly. The whole passenger transport thing had a habit of backfiring, mostly because the Kama Novus wasn't designed for luxury and her capacity for comfort depended greatly on your sensibilities. They didn't even have a properly designated guest quarters anymore, unless you counted the one they were currently in, and he really objected to giving up his bed for some spoilt sod. Refusal came with its own complications, however, quite a number of which had the potential to be far more uncomfortable than a few nights bunking on someone's floor. Vohra arrived at the inevitability of his predicament with a defeated roll of his eyes and pulled a face as he slumped.

"Just send them the thumbs-up, we can figure out the details later. I assume," he suddenly added, breaking an earlier promise, "they've actually given us a decent timeframe to respond this time?" Once again, Vohra's expression collapsed into narrowed suspicion. "All right, how long do we have?"

"We won't have time for R&R once we deliver our current contract." CLO-VR simply remarked. Her eyes flickered as she processed his approval of the contract. "I have confirmed the contract. Thank you for your time, Captain." With that she shimmered out of existence.

Left to his own devices, Javir stared at the empty space with a lingering suspicion that questioned whether it was ever truly devoid of inquisitive speculation and then huffed a weary-man's sigh before flopping backwards onto his bunk. Frecking typical. He'd been looking forward to a bit of downtime too; a little exploring, a little bit of night-life, a decent amount of bad-life-choices... There wasn't any point trying to maneuver out of it though, the notion of requesting his services really did put a mockery on the accurate definition of the term.

He did kind of owe them, he supposed.

Shuffling over until he was comfortable, Vohra flung an arm across his forehead and frowned up at the ceiling. Inevitability aside, there wasn't much point in pretending they were a ship designed to transport dignitries. Picking up and dropping off earned good money but those were usually transients who couldn't afford better and didn't have a lot of room to complain about sharing bunks with heavy breathers. This whole venture already reeked of him having to give up his own quarters and that was...wildly inconvenient.

Sharing his quarters might have been far more inviting if he had any way of curating a suitable candidate. The option wasn't off the table but it definitely required several back-up plans.

He just needed a bigger ship.

Somewhere, spinning out in the ether, a singular drop of inspiration collided with the brittle husk of a previously abandoned thought and had the misfortune of lodging itself into the mind of Javir Vohra, where it was destined to live out its existence as the catalyst for a dubious plan, at best.

He sat up swiftly. Over the span of several seconds, the creep of a slow smile painted his expression a familiar shade of devious. In a scramble of limbs, Javir struggled from his bunk, returning only briefly in the flouder of haste to pull his boots on before hopping in partial-success towards the Bridge.

He needed a bigger ship, and he knew just where to get one.