Calista stood up and dusted off her blue cloak before moving. She picked up the black metal case that was sitting on the ground next to the ship, and peeked into it. There was a mysterious looking shard set in a seemingly specially made protective foam inside of the case. The air around the case became extremely cold, and so Calista shut it quickly. Carrying the case, she walked back to the front of the group.
"Listen, I know some of you don't trust me," she said. "Frankly, you have no reason to. I'm not even sure what I'm doing here, but I promise I'll do what we can to fix your ship and you off of this planet."
Calista was truthful in her words, except for deep down, she did know what she was doing. Part of her didn't want to admit it, but she hoped that by helping them fix their ship, the crew would let her fly with them. She was dying to know what other planets out there were like beyond those nearby.
She then turned and headed down into the trees, walking down the gently sloping mountain in hopes that the others would follow. Day soon turned to evening, and as the sky turned orange, the sprawling valley at the base of the mountain came into view, with her settlement, the town of Aven, visible below. Lighting was low in the village still, the sunset illuminating the town's skyline on its own. Now at the base of the mountain, Calista turned back around to the group that had been following behind her.
"We won't be able to enter the village, I'm afraid. The locals aren't accustomed to strangers, so I don't want to frighten them with an entire crew of you. My father has a large workshop just outside of the city walls, you can all stay there for the night," she said. Calista turned around and continued onward, east of the village to a modestly sized workshop on the outskirts of the town. Metal parts and gadgets were organized in perfectly neat piles in the front yard. The building itself was made of specially made brick formed by fusing clay and metal, and provided a sturdy foundation with its enforced roof.
She swung open the door, and inside was a robot, with a wheel instead of legs that made him a bit taller than her, that she herself had built.
"Welcome home, Calista," the droid said in his automated voice. Upon seeing the crew, his eyes suddenly grew red. "Oh, oh dear. Stranger danger. Paging-"
"Stop, Neil, they're safe," Calista told the robot. The color from his eyes disappeared, and he backed off. "Where's my uncle?"
"He went out for food. Will be back soon," the robot responded.
"Hmmm, okay," Calista said, turning around and beckoning to the robot, as well as the room behind her, which was empty save for a table and a couple of stools. "This is my droid, N3-1-L, or Neil. He's not equipped for combat, so no need to worry."
Just then, a black-haired girl came strolling through from a door in the back of the room. "That's Glory," Calista said, introducing the girl. "She came with us after we delivered materials to her home planet."
It wasn't long until a short, but strong looking older man came from the door, many bags of groceries in his hands.
"Oh...uhh, who is all of this?" he said, nearly dropping his bags.
"Uncle Cesar," Calista told him, running up to her uncle, "they need a place to stay tonight." She could see the obvious concern on her uncle's face, and quickly explained to him what she knew of the group's situation.
"Very well," her uncle sighed. "But we'll be out in the morning to get the ship fixed, and they'll be on their way." He looked around before asking them, "From what Calista said, it sounds like your ship is pretty bad. How much money do you all have?"
