Horsing Around (slight backpost)

Posted on Fri Aug 14th, 2026 @ 10:24pm by Lonian Royal Sovereignty & Lieutenant S'hib

Mission: Season 6: Episode 7: Crossroads of Destiny
Location: Niea IV :: Tafavera
Timeline: MD1
1037 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Tafavera sat on the cliffside on the west coast, just north of the Lontune Peninsula. Tall conifers created a cosy, cabin-like environment around the town and the landing pad. A moderate sea breeze rustled the grasses and shrubs around the landing pad. Signs for hiking trails could be seen on the edges of town, as well as a sign for shuttle racing with a footnote disclaiming that the races were managed separately from landing pad operations, and participants would still need to communicate with Niea Ground Control. The town had grown over the last decade, but the original infrastructure was preserved as an historic artifact. The information from Teevs had said that this place had some of the most scenic hikes on the planet.

It had been a quiet, uneventful day for Tafavera thus far; quiet and uneventful until wisps of ethereal blue energy thrummed a vague but imposing shape into existence.

The transport beam took mere seconds, materialising the strange alien as remnant particles of energy drifted past him, then dissipated altogether.

The creature inclined its long neck to one side and glanced down at the nearby Lonian with an unreadable expression, studying him silently like how an animal might.

"Hello," he finally said with a deep snort of air before raising his head and glancing around. "Where am I exactly?" he asked, still turning around to take in the view.

The Lonian who was overseeing transporter operations turned, then looked up, and even took a step back to avoid straining his neck. This certainly wasn't the first tall species he had ever seen, but he hadn't seen one as bizarre looking as this one before. "You are in Tafavera," he responded. He gestured in a direction away from the cliffside. "The town is that way, unless you're looking for something else?"

S'hib paused, leaving an uncomfortable silence between the two as he breathed in the fresh air.

He cared little for the view or the town; any holodeck could recreate them.

But the smell, the subtle changes of intensity with each deep breath, the warmth of the sun on his bare back coupled with the gentle chill over his body. This was why he was here.

"I'm not looking for anything..." He said lazily as he closed his eyes and existed in the moment. Barely moving save for the twitching of his ears, one tracking the Lonian, the other towards the sea.

The transporter operator watched the large being for a few awkward seconds. Then, the transporter console beeped, and the Lonian cleared his throat. "Well, uh, if I could ask you to do that off the transporter pad..." Above them, a shuttle approached the landing pad. "There is a visitor's centre if you need anything, "he offered, gesturing in the direction of it.

He slowly opened his eyes and let out a long sigh, clearly content to move at his own pace despite the tone of urgency coming from the Lonian.

"Thank you." He finally said, bowing his head deeply before slowly stepping forward and clicking down from the transporter pad. "Dune's blessing." He said politely as he thumped by, placing his oversized cloven hand upon the man's shoulder as he did so.

The Lonian glanced at the appendage that touched his shoulder, then watched the large being leave. "Bless... you?"

As S'hib walked, he kept glancing about, taking note of the architecture and the subtle hints of culture in the Lonian clothing.

It was the small details, something he had picked up on quite quickly while growing up on Earth... after all, when your race doesn't wear clothing, things tend to stand out more, become more apparent or intentional.

Yet there was something he couldn't quite put his finger on, an almost manufactured veil hanging over everything... the thought, however, was quickly cast aside, deemed paranoia and nothing else.

Maybe some food would quell his worries, he pondered as he reached the visitor's centre and stepped inside after ducking low through the entrance.

The first thing visitors were greeted with was a textured map of the Twin Peninsulas, as Tafavera and its neighbouring peninsula were called locally. Small raised areas indicated hills, and a sharper line along the border of the two peninsulas indicated their cliffsides next to the ocean expanse. The map labelled eateries, hiking trails, and historical places of interest. There were a couple Cavaarans inspecting the map, and one touched the map before looking at a display next to it to see more information.

Being subtle wasn't something a Sequus was known for, especially for S'hib as he clicked up behind the two Cavaarans. He paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side so a single eye could get a good read on the map before reaching over the top of one of the Reptillian aliens to touch it.

The one Cavaaran saw a shadow cross over him, then glanced up to see a giant being reaching over him. He jumped, startled, and quickly moved out of the way, a rumbling sound their equivalent to a hiss. The other Cavaaran gave the tall being a stern look before the two reptilian beings awkwardly walked off. There was no doubt that the mutterings in their consonantal tongue were targeted remarks without the courage of direct confrontation.

On the map, Tafavera had several restaurants, as did the southern peninsula. Their cuisines were predominantly seafood-based, but little symbols indicated what dietary needs they could provide.

He moved closer to the map, entirely oblivious to the annoyance he had caused and only vaguely aware that the two Cavaarans had even left to begin with.

Instead, he mused over the restaurants and their menus before a flutter of inspiration hit him.

The sort of out-of-the-box thinking that caused diplomatic incidents, he thought to himself sarcastically as he scoured the other local businesses until he found what he was after.

"There we go..." S'hib huffed softly as the name and details of a local flower shop appeared.

To the side of the map, the display showed more details about Maela's flower shop, how they catered to many events and carried a respectable variety. The display then showed a map of how to get there.