A Priest and a Mechanic? [Tetra/Ask]

Another day on this planet, another dawn of anxiety to awaken to. As the suns rolled by, she found herself getting less and less sleep, spending more time embroiled in her abrupt workload. At this point, she'd already cannibalized her entire ship and turned it into some manner of campsite for her to live in, but she needed more materials if she'd hoped to find a way off this rock and out to find more Earthling survivors. She'd already met one, but that only spurred her belief there were many more out there, waiting for the assistance they desperately needed. To that end, she'd taken up to scavenging parts and materials that had come the way of the Nameks, intercepting electronic parts before any Saiyans could come by and make use of it themselves.. She'd amassed quite a haul, loaded onto a hovering trolley she'd constructed from retro-thrusters from her old ship, tugging it along as she made her way back to her forest home. Just how long until she'd have to either escape the planet, or confront her Uncle? Once more her mind was ablaze with thoughts, a problem she seemed to suffer from while alone.

As she strolled by the fields, silently contemplating, the sound of her makeshift sled would be the only thing to break the silence. That, and the sounds of a man waxing philosophical or religious lines to himself. She paused, catching ear of his voice over a mound she'd been approaching. Her first thoughts were to if this individual was some manner of threat. A saiyan, perhaps, since they seemed to be bloody everywhere on this planet. The last thing she needed was them 'comandeering' her materials. She slowly approached the small hill, pulling her materials along with her, but as she reached the slope, the sled began to tilt. As it did, some of the smaller parts she'd recovered began to make distinctive clattering sounds, making her presence all the more noticable. Realizing she wouldn't get away with it stealthily, she instead wrenched herself up atop the hill, dragging rope-tied sled along with her, knowing there was no sense in stalling the inevitable.

Atop the mound though, she saw the elderly man slouched over a book. His appearance certainly evoked the typical religious stereotype, albeit one from an ancient bygone era and less of a modern priest. He seemed desheveled, much like certain others she'd met before, and this prompted the good samaritan in her to speak up.
"H-hey, are you alright?" she asked, little hesitancy in her voice as she came up and over the mound. Her approach was followed by her looking over the elderly gent, hoping he was still alive.

As she approached, the man rose with a bit of a start. This was fortunate, he was at least still alive, in spite of his advanced years. She didn't seem to flinch in the face of his book slamming shut, noting it resembled something like a bible. Tetra had some education on religion a long time ago, when she was a 'wee lass', but she'd never quite gotten involved in it. However, Callahan was more than approachable to the girl, who seemed content to move closer at the sign of the gesture.
"Oh no, I wasn't spooked," she said, a little white lie in itself but she wanted to seem brave. "I was just hoping you weren't like... a Saiyan coming to take my things from me." she continued, being more truthful on the second pass. She turned to her raft of scrap, flicking a switch on it that made the thrusters slowly die down, settling the pile of scrap on the floor so the pair could enjoy silence for now.

She began to listen, shaking her head at his wondering if she was a saiyan too. She had a lot to say on them, but all of it was more than just plain rude, so she kept her mouth zipped. As he moved on to confirm he was an Earthling, a human like her, she gazed up. Another survivor who'd been torn from their home.
"I only heard about Earth's destruction a couple of days ago. I'd been off world for 4 years, kept away from all the info but believing I could go home one day and help protect our planet from war and death... and those fighters who care so little for the lives of others." she explained her side of events to him. "I tried to escape my confines to find out what happened to my parents, only to get railroaded here. Where saiyans rules and hellish creatures can turn you into candy if they feel like it. Now I'm stuck here, trying to build a ship to get off this planet before my uncle comes to take me back to my isolation." she continued, her voice showing shades of the anger and anxiety she felt long before. She reached over, tugging her scrap tray like a child trying to assure themselves their parent was close by.

She began to stare at the ground before the priest, her thoughts once more lingering on her destroyed home, obviously disdraught about her future.
"Peace and love sounds nice... nobody would want to fight then. But those Saiyans think only of themselves." she responded to the pope. That was a lofty goal, as ambitious as hers was, only it was on the other side of the science/religion coin. "I thought about a machine long ago that just made people happy, but... it isn't right for science for force people's thoughts." she mused, still a sorrowful tone in her voice.

Finally, the priest made his offer to help. She got up, ready to reciprocate his earlier introduction with her own.
"A-ah. My name's Tetra Deltos. I'm an inventor... engineer... scientist. Y'wont need to worry about it, this raft I made can carry all this all the way back!..." she said, flicking the switch back on again. The retros began to wheeze. Splutter. Cough. Bang. A stream of smoke followed, indicating the demise of her easy carrying. She clutched her hands together in front of her, offering a sideways glance to the elderly space pope. "Uhhh... th-the retros backfired... there's not enough power to start it up again... b-but thats okay, I did put a pair of... wheels on it..." she said, stammering and stuttering at her own disaster, as she fumbled, lifting each side with some effort in order to reach a set of wheels folded underneath the raft.

As the good Father hoisted up the platform with his magi powers, she could only blink in amazement. It wasn't immediately apparent, but she wondered if this was some manner of telekinesis that the elderly man possessed. As it rose up, she quickly reached under to pull out the rails which the wheels were attached to, locking them into place with a distinctive 'thunk'. Confident that it was ready, she nodded to Callahan, and the trolley now rested to the ground. It would certainly be more difficult to haul along, now it was at the mercy of gravity and friction, but at least it wasn't going to be a literal drag getting it back. Making a mental note to recharge the retros later, she began to speak up on what the priest had said moments before.
"I can build a toaster out of a cigarette lighter, a camp site out of a crashed shuttle, and now I'm going to build a fully functional stellar craft out of this stuff. Though as it happens, the Saiyans are usually after these sorts of things too." she stated simply. During the morn, she had been scoping out just what sort of trade had been going on with the Nameks, seeing Saiyans come by to claim some of the more advanced tech that the Nameks had acquired but found no use for. Like to be used for their machinations of battle, or other dim meatheaded projects like new battle armours.

Adjusting the raft so it would be balanced, she looked to the ground, thinking back on her parents and all the encouragement they bestowed upon her, in spite of being too busy to be around. But she turned, looking at the elder as he spoke of magic, magi and how he was once in a similar situation to her. Sent away for her own safety.
"I'd never realized just why my parents sent me away until I heard about the destruction of Earth. They said I was going to receive private education off-world, but when communications with them stopped, I began to wonder what had happened to them." she explained somberly. "I guess the reality of it was that they wanted me to carry on, regardless of what happened to them, or Earth. Which is why I want to make something amazing out of little I have. And I'll never stop that until I succeed." she continued, putting on a bold face in response to the old man's encouragement. Nothing would change her views on defending the innocent, in spite of how naive a goal that may have been for a teen to have. But the pile of scrap she was hauling spoke a thousand words.

Then came a burning question. Machines to make people happy. Obviously there were multiple contexts at play, for science did not hold a single principle in its use.
"There are people out there who would create machines to mess with the thoughts of people, make them believe what they may not usually believe. Force them to think in certain ways. Machines like that are ... uh... unethical." she explained, having trouble remembering the final term. True as it was, she did hope her machines would make people happy in a more passive manner, however. "But if my machines and creations can make people happy and safe through their own means, then I'll be happy with the results too." she continued on, a pleasant tone in her voice. She offered up the rope to the old pope, beginning to lead them both back to the forest she was calling home.

One thing was on her mind though as they began their walk. Magic. The old man had mentioned it so freely earlier. She'd heard the term thrown about in storybooks from her childhood, and in hindsight, she felt Magic was just an unexplained form of science. Many would state it simply didn't exist but she was naturally curious.
"You know magic? What exactly is it?" she asked firstly. She had another question too. "And... uh... what's a... paste?"

They continued on their way, a particularly decent stretch of blue field was next on the route, skirting the side of a river bank. She listened on as the elderly priest put forward more words of encouragement. It definitely seemed to have an uplifting effect on the girl, as her posture seemed to shift from a slouched one top standing more tall, and her eyes seemed to be a little more energetic now as the conversation continued on. She'd been exhausting herself without realizing it, so this walk with some help was certainly helping her.
"I've already met another Earthling here, so this planet must be the closest ally for Earth. I was never introduced to Galactic Politics, but I suppose I have a crash course ahead of me..." she said, mulling over how all of her scientific knowledge didn't prepare her for learning about allies, betrayals and the like. All the reasons why Saiyans disliked Earthlings, why that kid from before was so adamant that nobody from Earth wanted any help or why the Queen would have sent her people to a planet with supposedly hostile intent. "But I'll make sure what humans are left will survive. I'm sure there must be off-world workers on other planets, or some who were mid-transit. I'll find them all and hopefully we can at least continue on Earth's legacy..." she declared, that rising determination in her voice emphasising how bold she must've been.

She listened to the explanation about the word, but had no idea about the dialect. It must have been relevant slang back in his day, given how old he was, and how old his parents may have been. She certainly had a hard time pronouncing it, but she nodded all the same in response. Her attention was then drawn to the explanation about the mysteries of magic. The imagination of a kid was now in full force, as she began painting pictures in her mind in reference to each part Callahan explained. A mystical force in the background, unseen and unmeasurable to current technology. She drew pictures of martial artists firing blasts and beams out, facing down a stereotypical looking witch, whom fired fire and lightning from her hands to battle against them.
"It sounds like a force of nature, only, the 'Magi' have evolved to utilize its power." she said, following on with Callahan, but unable to adopt an un-scientific context. As he went on, he outright stated that even she might be able to use magic, given a proper tutor.

She paused, exhaled a little, remembering her first attempts to use Ki. Though it was all in private, away from the eyes of her parents, the results were notable to everyone. She simply couldn't summon up the basic ki in her body. Perhaps there were reasons for it, none that she'd ever figured out in-spite of her knowledge. She couldn't even make a spark around her hands. Stating that magic was similar to Ki had her believing she'd not be able to use it herself.
"I'm totally inert when it comes to Ki. No matter how much I try to summon it up, I cant. My parents always discourged me from trying, which got me into the idea of it, but when I failed to muster up any power, I turned my thoughts to studying just how it worked, so that I could manipulate the ki of others through tech. I guess in a way, that's what really got me into science." she began her explanation, a placid look plastered on her face. "My parents worked for a galactic trade conglomerate, and were busy a lot of the time. They were wealthy, though, so they always provided for my upbringing. Private tutoring, toys, trinkets, books. When I first dismantled one of my video game consoles and turned it into a holographic projector, they realized I was destined for science and engineering like no other. They poured everything they had into bolstering my growth." she continued.

She patted at the gem on her chest, a part of her attire. With that, it shone, and revealed a holographic display. The lights arranged themselves into what looked like a notice board, with numerous 'blueprints' tacked on to it. The good father would be able to see that there were more than a few stacks of papers digitally pinned up togther, showing she'd designed more than a handful of things in her life. The ones sitting by themselves were designs for rocket boosters, ship plating, hull design. All the schematics she'd need to build a ship.
"I did it originally because it was fun to see how I could rebuild things into something new and better. But now, I want to build entirely new things that serve to better humankind. I guess it's... a big leap in terms of life goals, but I'm sticking by it." she stated, tapping the holographic screen to move some of her 'blueprints' around, before tapping the gem again to turn off the holograms.

She continued walking with the Father, remembering his earlier statement about her one day perhaps being able to use magic. She took a deep breath.
"If I cant use ki, I may not be able to use magic for the same mysterious reasons. I mean, I'd... love to be a magical girl and all..." she said, trailing off sheepishly.

When the elder stopped in his tracks to take a breather, she turned, digging into the pile of assorted tech and pulled out what was unmistakably a water bladder. She offered it to the old gent, knowing her fundamentals about taking medication. Always drink plenty, because the chemicals sure will. But as she offered it out, she took note of the distinctive text on the bottle. Sertraline. She was never a whizz at chemistry, but she recognized Earth medicines well enough to know that the medication Callahan had taken was an antidepressant of sorts. She eyed the bottle for a moment. There was now a sign of something deeper behind this man, but Tetra had the foresight to keep quiet for the meanwhile. She continued to listen to his explanation on Ki and Magic, revealing that he too was unable to use Ki. This might've garnered some excitement from her, but she remembered earlier. He'd said there we people who were born with it. She kept her poker face up, to avoid any obvious disappointment.

She took a step back as he began to bare himself and his impending end to her. This was probably the last thing she wanted to hear, regardless of what disease it was. Humanity couldn't afford to lose people now, much less to disease and illness. She clenched her teeth for a moment, her jaw jutting to the side a little as she refrained from another emotional outburst at his expense. Forty-five wasn't a year to be passing away so easily. Her mind was again arush with thoughts on how to help her elder. She was no surgeon, and transplants were likely not an option. Callahan would have seen it in her eyes, her irises darting left to right as she envisioned potential means to help this man, the girl so obssesed over her need to save people...

She snapped back into her senses, a few ideas parked in the back of her mind for machines that could help Callahan one day.
"Nuh uh. No way. Doctors can be wrong. There's plenty of ways to beat back disease and illnesses like gigantism. It only requires the knowhow!" she said, again with the bold look on her face. It soon dropped as the old man reminded her about looking to spread peace and love around the galaxy. She certainly didn't want to put a damper on it all, putting her hands behind her back and swaying a little in the breeze.

She tilted her head, watching the floral bouquet be placed atop her machinery. She couldn't help but wonder. The two were a visual contrast from one another. Steel and iron, wrought against nature to shapes that benefit others. Beauty and nature, bright in colour and context, symbols of serenity and peace.. Yet the two ideas seemed to mingle in her mind. Machines that would bring about eras of peace across the universe. She blinked a little, as they began to make their move across the countryside once again.

Once again, their discussion returned to the ideas of Ki. The thought of being respected by the galaxy was certainly appealing, if intimidating, but the latter took hold as the reality was stated. The saiyans would more than likely want a piece of her machines. As Callahan recited quotes from holy scriptures, she tried to come to terms with the thought that her knowledge would be used for evil, as well as good, in the future.
"There's always people abusing science and engineering for evil gains. I met a Saiyan kid when I first crashed here. Through all his typical Saiyan attitude and pride, he randomly made me an offer to join the Galactic Patrol, but he quickly rescinded that offer when I told him I wouldn't make weapons for them. It goes to show that the only people who can control what gets made is yourself." she mused away. "That's why I keep all my plans close to my heart, as well as my head." she concluded, holding a hand up to the gem once more. It served as something of a safety measure, ensuring her ideas wouldn't be easily taken from her. She knew she may still play the fool one day, but hoped there would be good people around her, helping to guide her away from ne'er do wells.

The trek was taking its toll on the old pope. She knew with all that was said that he was likely suffering more than a little through all this, making her feel a pang of guilty that she let him help push the cart all this way. She stopped him by gently pushing her hands on the front of it, holding the rope up herself. She was young, and despite not being particularly strong, had enough stamina to likely haul it the rest of the way. Unfortunately, the wood she'd been sheltered under was still a few minutes walk away.
"It's past the incline over there, and over a stream..." she said quietly. She turned for a moment to observe their future path, but snapped back as she heard mention of another space ship. She was already eager to see it the moment the capsule came out. "S-sure, I can probably fit the sled to it, if it can perform vertical hovering!" she stated, her eyes wandering all around the capsule that he'd just pulled out.