Elite roleplay: Off station

OFF STATION

Your ship, deep space, anything that is not happening inside the Citi Gateway or Ingaba...

General Roleplay Etiquette:

1. Control only the actions of your own character(s). (AKA: God Mode)
This doesn't matter how small the action is, even if it is as simple as scratching their nose or a direct reaction to something else that just happened. This applies to everything from casual conversation to full blown fight scenes. If you'd like someone to do something specific, PM that person, however keep in mind they are completely within their rights to say no. Especially if said action is inappropriate to their character and/or circumstance.

2. Don't brute force your way into another persons RP.
Approaching with a conversation starter is fine, or indeed some other small action. However charging in, guns blazing and disrupting the flow of another person/pair/groups conversation/arc is about as rude as doing so in real life. If something is going on that you'd like to participate in, be subtle about it. Put out a gentle hook for someone to take, but again, be aware that said hook may not be taken. If you fear it was simply unnoticed, PM the person or people it concerns. Or even leave a message in the OOC forums.

3. Good grammar and spelling is preferred.
We're not asking you to be perfect, but please at least demonstrate willingness. no1 iz gna tak u srsly usng txt spk. There's a wide variety of people here, many who speak English as a second, or even third language. There are even some with varying degrees of dyslexia and/or likely other issues that affect spelling/grammar. We accept them all here. However, people who aren't accepted, are those unwilling to accept polite correction. Remember that even a small thing like the placement of a comma, or the wrong use of there/their/they're can completely change the definition of an entire sentence.

4. Accept constructive criticism gracefully and politely.
If someone spots an issue with your writings, they may wish to help you improve that writing. They may do this through PM or even publicly air their thoughts on the OOC forum. If they have taken the time to be polite and explain what is wrong with your writing, the best way to behave is to respond in kind, using the same manner they have approached you with. It means they have taken an active interest in what you have written and wish to see more. Basically, you have a fan!

5. Don't take the actions or opinions of things done IN RP, to be directly relevant to the writers thoughts or opinions.
Basically, if some ones character calls your character a jackass, it doesn't mean the writer thinks you are a jackass. It's a ROLE they are PLAYING. Watch a movie. The argument between the characters isn't an argument between the actors involved. The same applies here.

6. It's not a popularity contest.
Your RP might be bustling with participants. You have 3 people off station in a fire fight, while another 2 are infiltrating the darkest areas of the station, meanwhile a group of 4 others are tracking your movements in an effort to stop you. Good for you, I'm sure it will be a thrilling read! But you know what? Sometimes the absolute BEST work, comes from two RP characters having a simple heart to heart. Both are valid, both are great, but NEITHER is categorically better than the other. Period.


Inara RP Etiquette:

1. Respect the setting and rules of the universe.
Inara is an Elite: Dangerous 3rd Party Tool. The RP Forums are set in the Elite: Dangerous universe. Elite: Dangerous has rules, as any fictional universe does from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, or Game of Thrones to Star Trek. If you intend to RP within the Elite: Dangerous universe you are bound by the history and rules of that universe. Simply put, this RP forum is bound by the same rules as the game, so if it can't be done in the game, it is not permitted here. This applies to things from a 50Ly Jump Range on a normal, unmodified Sidewinder, to the destruction of entire stations.

2. Respect the characters created by others.
We have a wide variety of characters already here. It's expected that some will be similar, just as it's expected that two characters will be vastly different. Opinions of each persons character will naturally be varied, but all are valid provided they follow the rules of the universe. You are allowed to interact with, or avoid interaction with, any character in the RP forums. But you have no right to belittle others for their creation. You are not an authority figure on writing, nor are you directly affected by another persons imagination. You might not like it, but you MUST respect it.

3. Be caught up on current events before joining in.
You need basic things like character descriptions in order to interact with them. You also need to know what's going on in the surrounding areas. This is simply because the people you are hoping to RP with, might be gearing up to something that you might not want to be part of. Or simply that the most recent post, out of context, could leave a different impression on the goings on than if you gather that context. We don't expect you to read every single post from the beginning of the forums, just enough to get that basic understanding.

4. Either subscribe to, or frequently check, the Roleplay: Q&A and OOC forum.
People may be discussing something relevant to you there, or even discussing you directly. Perhaps someone asked what the general consensus on the existence or non-existence of a certain object. Or we're just chatting about random gibberish. Either way, be aware of it and use it. If you're unsure about something, such as how guns would look and or behave, or even the music selection, use the OOC forum to ask. We don't have all of the answers, but the collective knowledge and logic usually allows us to overcome an issue and come to a decision on what should be allowed. Frontier Developments, and even David Braben himself, don't have the answers to every possible question that can be asked.

5. Large Scale events exploding out of nowhere are a complete no go.
We get it. Everyone wants their character to be noticed and for people to be tripping over themselves to interact with them. In some audiences, an introduction involving you blasting in for landing in a fiery wreckage of a ship, before cart wheeling out and sword fighting 35 Ninjas before whisking off with the local celebrity for a glorious night of passion, is in fact, cool. This is not one of those audiences. It is generally considered better to build your character up slowly over time. Eventually, you might even have a legitimate excuse to fight those Ninjas. Maybe even with other RP participants by your side.

6. Perfect characters are boring.
The point of a character arc, is that it is in fact, an arc shape. One who is morally unquestionable, fully kitted out and an infinite fountain of knowledge, cannot go through an arc. Give your character flaws. Be it a tendency towards befriending the wrong people, or a bad knee that frequently gives out at inopportune moments. It gives readers something to latch onto and empathise with. You can give your character exceptional capabilities at something, but it requires balance. She's a damn good pilot with no equal, but can't drive an SRV for peanuts. It can lead to some very interesting moments between characters, be it heartfelt or comedic.


Other Notes:
It should be noted that there can be exceptions to these points. For example, good grammar when a character is speaking is actually rare. Few people in real life actually speak with perfect eloquence after all. Or previously arranged actions during a fight scene, such as someone stumbling back after a punch. What's key to remember is context.

All in all, remember this is purely for fun. We have some seriously talented writers here, and others whose writing history starts and ends at high school. But many are willing to help out in whatever way they can. All it takes is that you ask nicely.

Also keep in mind that many people who RP here, also have logbook stories related to the character, or characters, they portray. If it looks like there's an "in joke" going on that you're unsure of, it's probably in those.

In fact, some users have even gone to the trouble of creating "alts" to RP with. If you read back far enough, it's usually pretty clear who has and hasn't, and which ones are the "alts". It's therefore not unheard of to see the apparent seizing of control of other characters. If you do spot one, point it out in the OOC section. If intervention is needed, it will be sorted quickly and (hopefully) politely.

Most, if not all RP participants here have Logbook stories pertaining to their character(s). These are for the reading pleasure of anyone who wishes to do so. While it can be useful to read them in order to gain a bit of backstory on a character you wish to interact with, it should not be assumed that your character shares that knowledge. Within the E:D Universe, these Logbooks either don't exist, or are private diaries kept by the characters. Either way, without explicit statements to say otherwise from the writer, your interactions should reflect that your character is in the dark about any information you, the writer/reader, have gained from reading the stories.
Maul Montresor
27 Sep 2019, 4:09am
Maul lounges on his bed scrolling through various news feeds on his pad before tossing the pad aside and sitting up to look at his jacket that was crumpled up at the foot of his bed. Hopping up, he grabs the jacket and pulls the bottle of pills out and heads to the bathroom.

He stops at the door and notices the note attached. "I'd give it 10 minutes if I were you." He removes the note and presses the button and promptly starts to gag and stumble backwards.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Khelan. No more cocktail sausages for you." He says to himself before holding his breath and stepping inside.

He looks at himself in the mirror and shakes his head.

"Not exactly the life we thought we'd be living is it?" He smirks and turns to the toilet while opening the bottle of pills and pouring them into his hand. His hand starts shaking as he fights with himself to drop them into the toilet.

"What are you doing?" Comes the voice of Vega. He turns to see her standing outside the open door.

"I...I don't know."

She notices the pills in his hand.

"Looks like you were about to get rid of those."

Maul clenches his fist around them.

"They make me numb and I don't like that. It makes me feel like I'm hiding from the pain and I'm afraid that if I stop hurting then I'll forget what happened to the kid..."

Vega steps towards him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You know you can't hurt forever."

He nods and looks down at his clenched fist.

Vega reaches out wrapping her hand around his fist, slowly opening his hand, causing the pills to pour out of his hand and into the toilet.

"I'm here for you." She says looking into his eyes. "We'll get through this together."

Maul embraces her in a tight hug.

"Thank you."

She nods and hugs him back.

"Now go get some rest."

He nods and exits the bathroom.

"I will. Thanks again, Vega."

She smirks and closes the door behind him.

As the door closes she turns to look at the pills in toilet and flushes them. She leans her back against the wall and slides down to the floor as she begins to cry.

She struggles to regain composure as she stands back up wiping the tears from her eyes and looks at her self in the mirror.

"You chose this life. Now you've got to live it; one day at a time. Just do the best you can do."

She sniffs and wipes the remaining tears before exiting the bathroom and heading to her room.

Last edit: 27 Sep 2019, 4:22am
Khelan
28 Sep 2019, 11:21pm
Khelan and Omi stand gasping for breath and covered in sweat.

"That was fun." says Omi between gasps. "We need to do it again sometime, it's been so long since I had a bit of a challenge."

Khelan stands breathing heavily and spits a large gob of bloody saliva to the floor.

"Ye've hid mair work done." he says "Ye move a lot quicker an ye hit a lot harder than Ah remember."

Omi smiles at him

"It never hurts to keep up to date with ones upgrades, especially when you do the sort of things that I used to do for my father."

Khelan nods

"Goat any idea aboot who wis responsible fur that attack?" he asks

"A couple" she says "Our deaths would have thrown Hondo City into chaos so it's likely to have been someone who would have benefited from that and maybe expanded their territory in the process."

Khelan looks slightly shocked "Ye're talkin aboot the Kuroi Kiri clan right? Ah thought all that shite between us wis in the past?"

"Hopefully, but some people are likely to believe that any treaty between my father and the Kuroi Kiri died the moment he did. I doubt Sakamoto had anything to do with it but you never know."

She pauses for a second "The other possibility is that they weren't after us but were going after either Maul or Vega. It may be an idea to check and see if anyone is offering contracts on them."

Khelan thinks about it "Ah'll look intae it when we get back haim. Ah'm assumin yer wantin tae speak tae the people responsible fur it?"

Omi nods "If possible but if you have no choice but to kill them then do so."

Omi smiles at Khelan.

"Now we both really need to get showers otherwise we're going to end up smelling worse than you did when we first met."
EvilCreamsicle
30 Sep 2019, 10:07pm
"Shit, Kai."

"What?"

"Iniuk and Raj."

"Oh, man, those dudes were unconcious in that pod, weren't they?" Kaisla's short laugh was loud inside the cramped escape pod.
"What a dick move. My bad."

"Yeah. Probably would have been better to just off them." Silas remarks.

"Eh, we saved that other dude. It's a wash."

A few seconds of awkward cramped silence.

"Welp... hope someone gets our message soon."

*********

Raven sat in the copilot's seat, feet up on the console, inspecting a small model of Mars.

"And once again, here we sit, quietly nestled in yet another canyon on yet another uninhabited rock in the middle of nowhere." he muses.

***Incoming Message***

Echo finds a stopping point in the story he was reading and looks over at Raven
"Well, you gonna see what that was, Confucius?"

Raven moves the Mars model back to its perch on the console, the magnet grabbing it with a metallic snap, and looks up at the communications panel.

"Its an incoming communication from... uh, the FNS Cormorant."

Echo raises an eyebrow at him.
"FNS? Wait are these guys actually Feds or not?"

"I mean, I guess. Must have their hooks into a few stations, at least. Deep pockets, dirt on everyone, guess I'm not surprised. Look at Johnston." Raven opens the message, and spends a second reading it.

"Its Creamy and Kai. Looks like its time to go. They're in a new pod now in the same area... guess Lamb's handiwork probably kept them local doing system checks and stuff. The message says 'Look for the fire and debris'"

"Of course it does." Echo says, unsurprised, securing his slate and strapping into the pilot's chair.

The Arbiter lifted from the asteroid they had quietly parked on, pointed in the direction of the system they came from, and hit the boost, the Krait's engine giving off a high-pitched whine. Echo loved that sound. The ship shook a bit as the right side thruster cut in and out a bit. Echo decided he really ought to stop using the Arbiter as a ship-spatula.

While they pressed forward, Echo broke their radio silence by sending a message to the Hand letting Lamb know what they were up to, but urging her to keep a modest distance. He knew that the Hand had taken some damage during the various events of the day, but not the extend of Lamb's injuries. He tried not to make his personal concern for Lambast too obvious, though as usual he did an adorably inadequate job.

As the Arbiter jumped into the system, they headed for the coordinates of the site they had been faux-battling above, dropping into glide and keeping an eye out for any ships or other signals.

As the ship slowed from its glide, a flash ahead caught the eye of both Echo and Raven as a streak of contrails jumped into the distance. Clearly the Cormorant was able to jump.

"I hope they made it off before that Corvette bounced." Echo said, closing the messaging console.

"Yeah, look, the pod is showing up on the sensors now." Raven points out.

Echo brought the Arbiter in closer and slowed it down, deploying the cargo scoop. He had limpets, but wasn't inclined to trust them with something so valuable as his friends.

Approaching slowly using his cargo scoop guide HUD, he heard the distinctive clunk of the cargo getting collected.

"I'll go check on them." Raven said, standing up. "No sudden movements, I don't want to be bouncing around like a pinball machine."

Raven exits the bridge, and opens the cargo bay hatch, climbing down into the cargo bay. At the bottom, he located the cargo crane panel and pressed a few buttons, causing the built-in cargo crane to hum to life and set about the task of retrieving the pod.

Once the pod had clunked gently to rest on the floor in front of him, he immediately reached for the control panel, but paused. What if it wasn't them?

He turns, retrieves a plasma cutter from its perch on the tool wall, and then goes back and begins to open the pod.

It hisses, and the lid flips open, revealing... EC and Kaisla, contorted around each other in what looked like an uncomfortable fashion, but they were both laughing.

"Uh... am I interrupting something?"

"Nah, no room to do anything fun in there." Kai says, trying to push Silas off of her, but was having trouble as his leg was stuck.
"Gah, get off!"

"I'm trying! Ow!" he says, as Kaisla pushes him, unsticking his leg in a manner a little more aggressively than he may have done himself before climbing out of the pod first.

"So what was so funny?" Raven asked, still absently clutching the plasma cutter.

EC stands from the pod and he and Kaisla exchange a look, and then begin laughing again.

On the bridge, Echo was beginning to worry, as Lambast had not yet responded.

Last edit: 30 Sep 2019, 10:13pm
Maul Montresor
02 Oct 2019, 9:04pm
Khelan"Now we both really need to get showers otherwise we're going to end up smelling worse than you did when we first met."


Maul rolls over in his bed and cracks open his eyes to see Vega sitting on the floor across from him.

"What're you doing?" He grunts while half asleep.

Vega looks up from her pad briefly and back down.

"I was bored and tired of sitting alone. Also, there is nothing to do on this ship."

Maul closes his eyes again.

"Leo is a great conversationalist, have you tried talking to him?" He mumbles.

Vega sits her pad down.

"Hey Leo?"

"Yes, Ms. Vera?" Leo responds.

Maul begins to laugh.

Vega grabs her pad and stands up to walk over and sit on the edge of his bed.

"Now you see why I'm not talking to Leo."

He nods as he sits up and rubs his eyes.

"Yeah, he can be a bit sassy."

She lays her pad down and looks at him.

"The people that attacked us earlier, that whole thing has me feeling a bit on edge. Enemies are never a good thing to have but not knowing your enemies is worse."

He nods.

"I'm sure we'll find out who was behind the attack once we get home and start doing some digging."

"Good." She nods.

Maul gets up and grabs his jacket.

"Well, I'm heading up to the bridge."

He reaches his hand out towards Vega.

"Would you like to join me, Ms. Vera?"

Vega smirks and grabs his hand.

"Why of course, Mr. Mole."

Maul retracts his hand after she stands up and shakes his head.

"Nope, don't call me that."

"Oh I'm sorry, did I dig up some repressed memories, Mole?"

He slides his jacket on and walks out of the room.

"Wait up, Mole! I thought you'd dig that joke! Ha! Get it? "Dig", like a Mole?"  She says quickly chasing him out of the room.

Last edit: 02 Oct 2019, 9:12pm
Khelan
03 Oct 2019, 12:25am
Khelan sits in the cockpit looking out into space, the lighting casting a blue hue throughout the interior of the ship indicating that it's nighttime.

He adjusts his red bathrobe to keep himself covered and puts his booted feet up on the console, his black boots a stark contrast to the pale white of his legs. He reaches into a pocket beside the pilots chair and takes out a metal tube, he unscrews the end and takes out the cigar that's inside. Khelan gives it a sniff and smiles as he reaches into the pocket of his robe to fish out his lighter. He puts the cigar into his mouth and lights it causing a cloud of strong smelling smoke to slowly fill the cockpit.

Leo turns up the air purification system to compensate for the smoke as Khelan sits enjoying the peace and quiet for a few moments before the door opens to let Maul and Vega enter.

"Urgh! What's that stench?" exclaims Vega as the smell of the cigar hits her nostrils.

"That there Vera is the smell of wan of life's simple wee pleasures. It's the smell frae a hand rolled Disonian cigar. Ah picked up a few back in Tionisla, Shin goat me intae them a while back an Ah occasionally indulge just tae help me relax a wee bit while Ah contemplate life. "

Vega looks out of the cockpit at the stars.

"Where exactly are we anyway?" she asks

"Ah'm no exactly sure, Ah mean Ah cud check the charts but tae be honest Ah'm no really that bothered Ah trust the course Leo's plotted an that's gud enough fur me. All Ah know is we're in an uninhabited system so it felt like a good place tae take a wee breather an let the AFMU dae its job."

Khelan reaches into a pocket on his robe and takes out a small silver hip flask, he flips the top open and takes a drink before offering it to them both.

Vega takes a swig, nearly chokes and passes it to Maul her eyes watering slightly.

"What the fuuu.." she gasps.

Khelan smiles and chuckles at her. "Gud shit ain't it?" he asks

Vega nods as she regains her breath

"Very smooth" she croaks "What are you looking at anyway?"

"No much really, Ah'm just sittin enjoyin a wee bitty peace and quiet, Omi's asleep an Ah cudnae drift aff so here Ah am."

He pauses looking at the stars.

"Ye know, when Ah furst goat up intae the black ah foond it awe inspirin, an beautiful. Noo Ah just find it a wee bitty dull tae be honust. Ah mean Ah know there's loads oot there that cud kill us frae pirates tae neutron stars an Thargoids but Ah'll admit Ah've never seen them so fur all Ah know they might no even exist."

Khelan takes a draw from his cigar and offers it to Maul and Vega.

"What the hell" says Vega as she takes it from him and takes a drag from it before erupting into a hacking coughing fit causing Khelan to laugh.

"Ye get used tae them" he says with a smile as Vega passes the cigar to Maul.

"So wit are you two daein up here anyway?" he asks "Wur ye lookin fur somewhere tae go tae hiv a wee snuggle an play tonsil tennis? Because if Ah wis ye Vera Ah widnae go any further, well no till Dr Kojima his fixed Maul's galloping knob rot."

Vega screws up her nose.

"You're a pig sometimes you know that?"

Khelan laughs.

"It's all part of ma charm hen." he smiles.
EvilCreamsicle
03 Oct 2019, 4:24pm
Spritzing his glasses one more time with the cleaning solution, and giving them another pass with his microfiber cloth before replacing them on his face, Grim could now see much more clearly the scene before him. Debris and remnants of a few ships, pieces of others. Something very dramatic had happened here, and he was sorry to have missed it. His collector limpets were zipping around outside the canopy gathering evidence as his eyes followed them absently, lost in thought.

After Frost had tasked him with finding the stolen data, he had departed hastily and with confidence. However, what little direction he had went cold quickly, and he was struggling to find a lead to follow once the Dreadnaught had disappeared. For this reason, it was a miracle in his eyes that his quarry's accomplices had returned, once again, to the Conduit of their own volition. In a past life, he would have attributed this miracle to God. But he served a new God now.

The moment the Conduit's alarms went off, Grim raced to his Python, launching as soon as he could fire the thrusters. From there, the trail of breadcrumbs had lead him quite a distance, just to return to this spot so close to his origin point.

Slowly, something about the limpet he was passively observing caught his eye as it darted back to the ship. The cargo it was carrying, he had not seen anything like it before. He tried to stand to meet it in the cargo bay, but the movement started the familiar tingle in his esophagus and he sat back on the edge of his seat as the coughing fit siezed him. He removed a cloth from his pocket to hack into. Catching his breath after a few seconds, he leaned back into his seat, looking at the cloth.

Blood.

His doctor had explained the entire life-cycle of the illness to him, but nonetheless he was unprepared for the disconcerting reality of the symptoms taking shape.

Fear was not a useful emotion for a man of action like himself, so he pushed the thought from his mind and rose from his seat making his way to the cargo hold, where the partially destroyed guardian artifact pod and one-and-a-half of its underdressed frozen inhabitants were waiting for him.

Meanwhile, Star's beacon sat nestled in its cozy little hiding place, happily chirping away as it relayed Grim's location data.


(((Recap, if you've forgotten these characters.)))

Last edit: 03 Oct 2019, 4:50pm
Maul Montresor
05 Oct 2019, 6:54am
Khelan"You're a pig sometimes you know that?"

Khelan laughs.

"It's all part of ma charm hen." he smiles.


"I'll show you galloping knob rot." Maul says to Khelan with a grin. "Wait, no, that's not what I meant. I meant....oh fuck it, never mind."

Maul reaches the flask back to Khelan without taking a drink but takes a drag from the cigar.

"You know, I've never actually encountered a Thargoid either." He says as he exhales the smoke and passes the cigar back to Khlean, coughing slightly. "Read enough about them to know that I never want to though."

Vega leans against the console and looks out at the stars.

"You might find it dull but I still find all of this mesmerizing. I suppose I just haven't seen as much as the two of you have."

"How long have you been out here?" Maul asks.

Vega takes a moment to think.

"A couple of years, I think." She turns to face Maul and Khelan again. "But I spent most of that time with that dickbag Anton. He was always sending me on tasks to help with his "plan" to bring down the corporation, so I never really had a chance to see much of anything. I was so stupid to follow him so blindly."

"Ah, forget him." Maul says dismissively. "He was just an asshole who was exploiting your anger for his own purpose and besides, you took out Tessa and crippled their drug business in the process. You did good."

"I guess." Vega replies with a shrug. She looks at Khelan and attempts to change the subject.

"So Maul tells me you were born on Earth. I bet that was interesting."

Maul walks next to Vega and relaxes back on the console with his arms crossed and looks at Khelan.

"Yeah, what was it like growing up on the cradle of humanity?"

Last edit: 05 Oct 2019, 7:02am
Falcon15e
05 Oct 2019, 9:58pm
The Hand dropped out of witch space at the designated rendezvous point without incident. The Arbiter sat silent in the asteroid field only 150 Light Seconds from entry.

Everyone stood on the dark bridge watching the shiny dot of the Python.

“Is she supposed to just sit there?” Raven asked, arms crossed.

“No, it seems highly irregular for her.” Echo mused checking the scanner.

Raven glanced at Echo about to say something but Kai cut him off.

“Echo is right. That’s not like her. Bring us out of the field and lets go hook up. I have a bad feeling.”

As the Arbiter decelerated and drew closer, Raven kicked on the landing lights, bathing the Hand in cool, blue light.

“What are those on the hull?” Raven asked as he pivoted the Krait around the Python.

Kai leaned forward, “They look like scorch marks.”

Echo piped in, “Those are not beam laser scorch marks. Not like any beams I’ve seen.”

“They’re Thargoid.” Silas dead-panned. “I’ve seen them before.”

“Look, Lambast looks passed out in the pilots chair.” Kai pointed out while she reached out to hail the Python.

Holly handled the automatic docking request after Kai input the discreet transponder code they had agreed upon.

Kai burst into the Python like a bull in a china shop. She quickly moved forward, entering the cockpit.

Lamb raised her head looking to Kai, “Oh hey...fancy seeing you here.”

“Oh god sis, your pulse is really feint. Just hold on, we’ll get you fixed up.” She smashed the button on the chair console releasing the seat restraints and hoisted Lamb up out of the chair, carrying her back to the Python’s small but immaculate infirmary.

She set her down on the triage table and looked around the infirmary, picking up some of the wrappers scattered about the floor. “Shit what did you take?”

“Bit of this, bit of that.” Lamb mumbled while her head lolled around on the table. “Ohhh snacks,” Lamb murmured while she pulled a pill pack up out of one of the open drawers.

“No, no, no...” Kai snatched the pack from her hands, “No more of those.”

Kai set up a series of leads and attached them to Lamb. Silas entered the infirmary closely followed by Echo. She set them about to tasks while she uploaded Lamb’s vitals to a data pad. “This should take in her vitals and blood sample and tell us to administer whatever we need to level out her stats and get her a few hours rest.”

Raven stuck his head in the door way, “Hey..you guys should see this.”

They piled up around a holo-screen in the hallway. “Holly, will you please queue up to the start please?”

An electronic, audible sigh could be noticed, “As you wish Mr. Raven. Although, I would normally advise you to bugger off.”

Raven turned in shock, “Did that COVAS just tough talk me?” Kai suppressed a smile, “Relax, its just Holly’s way. Some of his modified programming must be coming back. He is programmed only to take orders from Lamb or myself.” She added, “It took him years to stop being ornery to me as it was.”

Holly queued up the footage of the Thargoid encounter. Silas leaned up against the bulkhead and crossed his arms. “Well, that explains the scorch marks on the hull but that firefight before hand must have given her quite a walloping for her to dose herself up that much.”

Echo turned to look at him, “Yeah, it was pretty rough actually. I’ll fill you in later.”

The four of them turned and started for the infirmary as a crashing noise followed by the sound of the vitals monitor flat-lined and they could hear Lamb rummaging through pill packs.  

“Shit,” Kai said as she went back into the room. “Lets tie her down until the meds take effect.”

Echo gently coaxes her down to the table and starts to tie up some make-shift strapping. “Ohhh you naught boy, but I like to do the tying.” Echo flushed purple and crimson. He looked at Kai who stood there laughing using her wrist pad to record the whole incident. “Sorry,” she said, “She’s not ever like this and now twice in a few days, I’m gonna have some great material.”

With Lamb tranquilized using the cocktail from the triage machine, her and Echo came back into the hallway. Silas and Raven still stood, re-watching the Thargoid encounter. “This isn’t their normal intercept.” Silas finally said. “What do you mean?” Kai asked.

“Well, I’ve studied the footage of these things intercepting ships in the past. Mostly out near the Pleiades. All those intercepts have similar hallmarks, almost like they have a set ‘way’ of intercepting humans. This encounter has nothing like that. I can’t tell if its because of the other ships involved or what but even the interceptor looks different. It’s larger and not the correct color. Usually when they intercept humans its a target of opportunity. This seems more like its a hunt. They’re looking for something...”

“Well that’s fucking creepy.” Kai finally said. “Never really believed in that Thargoid mumbo-jumbo but to see the footage well, it’s terrifying.”

“They’re not nice customers.” Silas observed.

“What’s even scarier,” Raven broke in, “Is that the data stamp on this recording indicates that this only happened two systems away.”
Khelan
05 Oct 2019, 10:55pm
Khelan takes a few puffs on his cigar followed by a swig from the flask before offering it around again.

Vega shrugs and takes another swig from the flask, choking slightly as the firey liquid hits her throat.

"What is this shit anyway?" she gasps

Khelan smiles "Leestian evil juice, Ah'd watch wit yer daein wi it. Too much an ye'll end up wantin tae put yer fist through the nearest person's heid."

He adjusts himself slightly on his seat taking care to keep himself covered by his robe.

"Wait a fucking minute" exclaims Vega "Are you naked under that thing?"

Khelan smiles.

"It's ma ship Ah'll dae wit Ah want. Besides" he smirks "Everwan's naked under their clothes."

"But ye wur askin aboot Earth, Ah'll be honest wi ye it wis shite, Ah grew up poor an wen yer poor oan Earth yer worse than nothin. If ye came frae money then yer sorted. Bit like everywhere else Ah suppose."

"Growin up it wis just me, ma wee mum an her older brother ma uncle Albert. Ah never knew ma da but the way ma wee mum used tae talk aboot him that's no a bad thing."

"Tae be honest Ah'm glad tae be aff Earth, ma mum died ages ago an uncle Albert died a few years ago. He kept her ashes in his auld ship so their buried together, kinda like a family plot oan the cheap."

Khelan takes another swig from his flask before offering it back to Vega who takes another big swig.

"So wits yer story then Vera? All we really know aboot ye is yer the sister of that chick wit used tae run that drug corporation and ye apparently saved Goolie bhoy here's life when his attempt tae take it doon single handedly went tits up. Well that an ye keep making googly eyes at Shagger Montresor here."

"It's Vega!" she sighs "Although I'm starting to feel like it's not going to matter how many times I correct you you're just going to keep calling me that. And I'm just going to ignore your googly eyes comment because I know you're just trying to get a rise from me."

"Truthfully though I'm starting to get used to the name Vera, a name change might be a good start in getting away from the past."

She leans back a little unsteadily against the console, takes another big swig from the flask and looks at Khelan and Maul while gently swaying.

"So, wadda you wanna know?" she says slurring her words slightly.
Maul Montresor
06 Oct 2019, 3:43am
Maul looks down at Khelan with a smirk and back up to Vega.

"Where were you born?" He asks, starting with an easy question.

Vega smiles and sways forward.

"I was borned...born?...is it born? Yeah, I was born on Rana 1. Mom and Pop were high school sweethearts. They had Tessa and then I came along 4 years later. Everything was going good till the sister bitch got mixed up in that shit corporation. Bitch."

She leans back again still swaying.

"What else ya got?"

Maul keeps his eyes locked on her.

"Do you have any plans moving forward from here?"

Vega shrugs her shoulders and notices the flask is still in her hand, she takes another swig.

"I still got that list of assholes who are running things over there. I don't want it anymore. You guys want it? You could kill em or...I dunno...whatever. Maybe toss it, I don't care anymore."

She fishes around in a pocket on her suit and pulls out a piece of paper and reaches it to Maul while taking another big drink.

"That's the people we were talking about back at your apartment." She says pointing at Maul but nearly falling over onto Khelan. "Those locations there were their homes at the time."

Maul takes the flask away from Vega and reaches it back to Khelan.

She gives him a dirty look as she struggles to keep her balance.

"Hey, I don't need you taking care of me. I'm fine! Always have been! You're the one who keeps fucking up and needing people to save you."

Maul looks down and grits his teeth. He looks back up at her and forces a half smile.

"I'm going down to the cargo bay." He says as he turns to exit the cockpit, punching the screen of a nearby terminal on his way out causing it to crack.

Vega looks at Khelan, her eyes glazed over from the drink.

"What? What're you looking at?"

Last edit: 06 Oct 2019, 3:48am
Khelan
06 Oct 2019, 6:56pm
Khelan shakes his head at Vega.

"Ah think ye've hid enough tae drink don't ye? Mibbie it's time ye went fur a wee lie doon. Don't ye think?"

Vega looks unsteadily at Khelan trying to focus on him.

"Or what? You'll knock me out again and lock me in my room?" she slurs angrily

"Look hen the state yer in a stiff breeze wid put ye oan yer airse, dae yersel a favour an go get some sleep. Don't make me hiv tae drag ye tae yer room because Ah'll dae it."

"You think you can take me?" snarls Vega "The only reason you knocked me out back on Rey gateway is because you took me by surprise. Come on then Mr tough guy show me what you've got."

Khelan sighs and stands up carefully refastening his robe before quickly grabbing Vega around the waist before throwing her over his shoulder. He heads out of the cockpit towards the living area of the ship.

"Help! Help! I'm being kidnapped" slurs Vega drunkenly while trying to wriggle free.

Khelan carries her down to her room and plonks her down onto her bed unceremoniously. Vega lies on her side and looks at Khelan.

"Thank you" she whispers before passing out on her bed.

Khelan turns and leaves the room making sure to lock the door on the way out.

"Ah hate it when the kids fight." he says to himself before heading down to the cargo hold.

He walks into the makeshift gym in the hold and over to the punchbag hanging from one of the racks.

"Ye in here mate?" he shouts "Just tae let ye know Vera's passed oot oan her bed an ye owe me a new monitor fur witever the fuck that screen wis fur."
Maul Montresor
07 Oct 2019, 7:17am
Maul steps out from behind one of the racks while looking down at the list of names Vega had given him.

"Yeah, I'll pay for the screen and I know she was probably just lashing out because she's dealing with shit but it pissed me off, you know?"

He pauses but never looks up from the list.

"I forgot Bryce was on this list. Huh, I guess that's one down and five to go." He says with a smirk.

He finally looks up at Khelan and quickly pockets the list.

"Uh, sorry about all of that back there. I lost control, guess I just need to recalibrate or something."
Khelan
07 Oct 2019, 6:14pm
Khelan nods in agreement.

"Of course ye'll fix the screen and yer right ye need tae find some way tae deal wi that rage inside ye otherwise yer gonna end up daein something yer gonnae really regret."

Khelan points to the bit of paper

"Wit dae ye want tae dae aboot that?" he asks
Lambast Mercy
07 Oct 2019, 9:59pm
Falcon15e
“Well that’s fucking creepy.” Kai finally said. “Never really believed in that Thargoid mumbo-jumbo but to see the footage well, it’s terrifying.”

“They’re not nice customers.” Silas observed.

“What’s even scarier,” Raven broke in, “Is that the data stamp on this recording indicates that this only happened two systems away.”



Silas scratched his chin.
“Echo, get to work on that data please. Raven, fill us in on what happened after we got in the pod. I feel like I’m missing a part of the picture here and I don’t like it. Kai, get Lambast ready for a Medical, I better give her a once over. Her hand and braced neck may not be the only problem”

Kai and Echo left to get on with their tasks while Raven followed Silas into the Galley where he scrubbed up ready to treat Lambast. Raven told him what had transpired after the Dracul was sacrificed. Silas took a clean towel from a storage unit as Raven finished his recounting of events.

“Kai was rocked by the death of that Johnston guy too. I don’t know the story, but he was important to both of them. That was easy to see that time I met him on Vuia Survey. Sounds like Echo saved Lambast and the Hand”

Raven nodded.

“Echo is a bit too distracted by the Countess if you ask me, something better happen there before it gets in the way. You know what I mean?”

Raven was giving Silas a Look. He couldn’t say what look, but it was defiantly a look.

“Right. Well, what do you want me to do? Fit some mood lighting and pick a romantic playlist? Got a bit more on my mind than whether or not Echo dips his wick”

“Hay, just sayin boss. Just sayin”

“Just go say it to Echo with ya waggling eyebrows, and while you’re there help him with the data we got from that ship. I really want that fiasco to have a payoff”

Raven put together a couple of sandwiches for himself and Echo before he went back to the Arbiter and Silas headed for the infirmary. He knocked on the door. Kai let it slide open a bit and opened it the rest of the way when she saw Silas standing there with his hand up like a TV surgeon. A big smile filled her face.

“Your patient is ready doctor. We’ve been waiting for your skilled hands”

“Thank you nurse” said Silas as he strode in as if he owned the place “Let’s see what we’ve got shall we?”

Lambast was still under, wearing shorts and a half tank top. She looked pale, and as she was naturally pale anyway, she looked very unwell. Silas started his checks on Lamb's head. As soon as Silas started moving Lamb's hair out the way of what felt like a cut, Holly spoke up.

“Ere Kai, is that beardy bloke a medical professional or just some passing pervert pushing his luck?”

“It’s alright Hol. I can’t tell you if he’s qualified, but he’s not a pervert. He ain’t got much control when he’s close to a woman but he’s not a pervert”

Kai leaned around the medical table to check EC hadn’t involuntarily stood to attention because he was close to a half-dressed woman. Silas lightly kicked Kai in the shin and answered Holly.

“I don’t have any qualifications Holly, but I have been taught and I have a lot of experience putting people back together. Is that good enough for you?”

The lights dimmed for a moment while Holly thought about it.
“Alright mush, but I’m watching you. Any funny business and I’m tellin Lisa”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way Holly” Silas turned to Kai and silently mouthed “Who’s Lisa?”

Kia answered at normal volume with a faraway look in her eyes.

“That’s Other Mom, well Lambasts *mum* as she says. I haven’t talked to her or Lambs dad for years. I really should fix that”

“Find me something to clean this up with would ya Kai. It’s only a small cut, shouldn’t need stitches”

Kai came back to the moment and opened a draw full of antiseptic wipes. She unpacked one for Silas.

“Impressive, you knew where to look right away. I take it you’ve patched Lamb up in here plenty of times before right?”

“Ha! No. She’s had me on that table more times then I care to remember. I’m usually sat up being lectured at while she makes a big deal out of some small knock. Actually not this table.. .. or this room”
Said Kai looking around.
“but Lamb keeps her layout pretty much the same on all her ships. There’s plenty of new equipment in here, but I know where to find things. Lamb’s just much cheaper than medical care. And she gives me cookies after”

She smiled at Silas and they held each other’s gaze for a moment. Silas broke it off and got on with his examination.
“Umm,  I need to get a good look at her neck. Bring the X-Ray screen down please nurse”

Holly interrupted again.

“I got that Echo bloke on the blower. Shall I tell him to bugger off until ya finished here?”

Kai activated the X-ray screen and handed it to Silas then dealt with Holly while Silas was busy.

“Nar Hol, we need to know what’s going on. Could you put him through on open coms buddy?”

“Right on sister, patchin him in now”

Echo sounded pleased and exhausted. There was a lot of data to investigate and the task was going to keep him busy for hours.
"You got us a mother lode here Creamy. It’s gonna take days to sift through this lot to pick out everything important, but we have something.. Interesting and some fuckin nasty stuff right on top. How is Lambast doing?"

Silas changed the screen to show muscle tissue. He happened to see a small fragment of something in Lambasts tongue while he was looking at a slightly torn muscle in her neck.

“So far she’s gonna have a stiff neck and find it uncomfortable to talk for a few days. Let’s start with the interesting Echo”

“Not too bad then, good to hear. Right, It seems to we have a high up in the Federal Navy that’s being used by our old friend Frost”

Silas Looked up and happened to catch Kai's gaze again.
“Looks like we did good Little Sparrow. Let’s hear it Echo”  

“It took some piecing together from the logs and personal messages I’ve read, but seems this guy Rear Admiral Hardcastle had a condition that no one could help him with. Some disorder that meant he was losing the use of his left side and guess who came along with a cure at the last moment?”

Kai answered for Silas while she held Lamb’s mouth open so Silas could remove a bit of broken tooth from Lamb's tongue.

“A guy with a Saturday morning cartoon villains name by chance?”

“Got it in one. Now a few months ago, this Hardcastel guy gets a message from The Order of the Weavers Way asking him if he can help the Order with a little project”

Silas held up a pair of bloody tweezers with a tiny fragment of tooth in its grips. Kai took it in a cloth and handed Sails a swab gripped in a pair of forceps. Still concentrating on his task, Silas questioned Echo.

“Order of the Weavers Way. Really? And what was this project that needed an Admirals attention?”

“That I don’t know, but I’ll bet that’s when a portion of the Federal Navy Hardcastle had influence over went on manoeuvres around Maia. He also lent a good few ships to escort The Conduit for no apparent reason around the time the Dreadnought and a few other ships left the station without authorisation”

Silas packed some cotton wool beside Lamb's bleeding tongue and checked out her bruised ribs with the X-ray screen.  

“So we have a link and a trail to follow that could lead us back to Frost. At fuckin last. So, what’s this fucking nasty stuff Echo?”

“Dude, it’s unreal. I had to have Raven double check I wasn’t making a stupid leap of logic with what I read. It looks like some people referred to only as him, they or them, have some influence over the Thargoids using a device called a Witch Space Beacon by an astrophysicist working with Hardcastel’s fleet. This Doctor Cooks and quite a few of the grunts I may add are not happy with what’s going on”

Silas saw a fracture in two of Lamb right side ribs. He looked around her well-stocked infirmary again paying closer attention to a device in a Perspex storage unit that looked like it belonged in a hair salon. He pointed at it.

“Kai, have a look at that thing there. Tell me if it’s a bone knitter would ya? Hold on Echo, I am listening but I got a couple of cracked ribs to deal with”

Kai looked up from the machine she was inspecting. It looked like an old TV aerial crossed with a tube light array on a heavy mobile stand.
“It says Orthopa-Mesh Projector Model.. .. Numbers and letters”

“Damn that’s an expensive piece of kit to have kicking about in a privet ship. It’s probably worth more than the Hand. I know hospitals that don’t have any of them. Right, do you know where Lamb keeps the instructions Kai?”

Kaisla shrugged and started searching while Silas got back to Echo.

“Ok, Echo, ya saying what? Thargoids can be called like dogs to a dog whistle now and some people are pissed off about it?”

“Broken ribs, is she gonna... “
EC cut Echo off before he had to give an explanation. He wanted to hear more about the Thargoid device.

“Focus on the Witch Space Beacon please Echo, Lamb's fine”

“Right yes, umm, ok it looks like *Them* are testing the Beacons by dropping them in the path of salvage teams, or having them delivered by independent couriers. The test sites just happen to marry up with a frighteningly large number of ships lost to pilot error or pirate attacks, and all the rest are in Thargoid hot spots”

Kai produced a slate from the storage unit with the Bone Knitter and handed it to Silas.

“This looks like the destructions EC. Hay Echo, has it been civilian ships only this thing has been used on?”

“Like I said Kai, I still got a lot of data to check, but I can’t remember seeing any big military targets if that’s what ya getting at. A few corporate privet army ships, but not Federal, Imperial or Alliance so far”

Kaisla bit her cheek and checked Lambs readings. She was still out cold and well within all the safe zones.

“Hmm, that don’t rule out the big three governments being directly involved, but it does push it towards an independent factor. Could it all be on this Frost guy do ya think?”

Raven pushed out a long breath.

“He’s involved with the Feds being at the The Conduit, and the Feds are involved with this Beacon do-hicky, but that’s not a firm link. It's fuckin suspicious and I think he’s up to his balls in it, but that’s not evidence”

Echo took over from Raven.

“I ain’t got to the worst part yet. Another test is scheduled for three days from now in Maia. A convoy taking civilian refugees off-planet and from medical facilities is going to have some extra cargo. The resulting attack is going to be observed by a representative of *them*. Someone wants to know how aggressive the Thargoids will be to a large number of ships. That someone also secured an escort wing for the convoy. Not many ships, but enough to fight back. It sounds like a second stage test when you compare it to what we’ve learned so far”

Silas looked up from the instruction slate.

“How many ships are we talking about Echo?”

“Twenty transports of numerous makes outfitted for mass passenger transport and support vessels geared for moving intensive care patients. The open mission for an escort wing just closed and I haven’t got numbers on them yet”

Kai put her hand on top of EC’s.

“All those people thinking they are going to safety and they are just lining up to die. We can’t let that happen Si, not now we know it’s all a setup”

“Si? When did that become a thing? Look, we don’t know enough yet, but I’m not inclined to sit back and let it happen. You two keep digging through the download. Me and Kai have our hands full here anyway, we’ll talk about it over dinner when we’re done”

“Ya missed dinner by a few hours dude, it’s coming up ta twenty-two hundred hours” Supplied Raven.

“What? When did that happen? Said an unimpressed Silas.

“Chill guys, I’ll rustle us something up and bring it over while Silas is learning how to use the, umm Bone Light thing” said Kaisla.

The Bone Knitter turned out to be really easy to use once the nature and depth beneath the skin of the fracture was determined. A gel pack needed making up and placing on the brake, and then the Knitter was set and left radiating over the pack. EC taped Lamb's arm under her chest so her broken fingers were next to her cracked ribs and the knitter could aid the healing of both problems at the same time.

Kai cooked up a batch of chilly and rice served it up with a side salad and bread. Unfortunately, Lamb didn’t have any pitta or fajita wraps. Echo and Raven hadn’t found much more information to make the conversation about the Order of the Weaver Way or the Thargoid attacks more illuminating, but the Dining room did give EC a good view of the Arbiter. He near chocked on a mouthful of chilly when he noticed a missing pylon and heavy body damage.

“What the fuck happened there? Holly, can you have a remote camera do a pass of the Arbiter and send the image to my slate”

The rickety old AI responded.

“What’s the magic word Silas?”

“Could you activate the camera I requested please Holly?”

“Right on Beardy. Launching remote camera. You can plug ya slate in using the sockets under the portrait of His Grace Admiral Burlington Everett Formason-Hemsworth the second, Defender of the Royal Realms and Duke of Cubeo Three’s Northern Territories.”

Everyone looked around the room for sockets because no one had the slightest clue who this Admiral was, and there was a good number of portraits on the wall. EC tried to remember if he even had a cable for his slate. Kai stood up.

“Here, use mine. I doubt they even make the interface leads you’ll need now. I got all the adapters with me for just that reason”

Echo explained why he had to sideswipe the Hand when Lambast was on a suicide run at the Corvette that Johnston died on, and then how he flicked the Hand out of a crash after it was hit by perusing ships during dropping the fake Guardian pod.

With Kai sitting there trying to look like hearing about Lambast losing it after Johnston was murdered didn’t bother her, Silas lost a bit of steam for an ear-bending, but he had to say something.

“Man I don’t wanna sound like an asshole, but now we got two..”
He glanced at Kai, he could tell she was holding back tears.
“Ok, you were saving a friend in the middle of a battel, I get it. Have you at least got an estimation on the repair time and impact on combat effectiveness without repairs?”

“Er, no need Creamy, Lambast did an estimate on both ships, I guess while she was jumping back here to stay awake. I have to say she knows her stuff. Short answer is three days without a dry dock, and one day with for the Hand. Two days without parts for the Arbiter. Much less if we can dock. The damage to the Arbiter’s performance in space is next to nothing, but if we have to fight in an atmosphere, it’ll be tough to keep her steady.”

EC really wanted to verbally lash Echo for endangering the Arbiter because Lambast was having a hissy fit, but there was no way he could do that in front of Kai right now. It would just make him sound like an ass hole anyway. Now he knew what Raven meant about Echo being hung up on Lambast.

“Well that’s changes things a little. Looks like we’ll have to make for a dry dock if we want to be effective at anything. I don’t suppose you dinged up the Animus while you were at it and didn’t tell me?”

He knew it was a mistake once he said it. He didn’t need the hardening faces of his friends to tell him that.

“Sorry guys, there was no call for that. Look, I’m tired. Let’s call it a night and have another think about things in the morning”

Everyone agreed, Echo and Raven headed back to the Arbiter while Silas did a last check on Lambast before turning in.

“I’ll catch up in a moment. I’m gonna get Lambast a few bits from her room, oo and some biscuits. Can’t forget the after treatment cookies”
Said Kia scampering off to Lambasts quarters.

When Kai got to the infirmary, EC was un-taping Lambasts arm and disposing of the gel packs after putting the Bone Knitter away.

“Hay Kai, where are the blankets kept?”

Kai put a small pile of clothes, topped by a pair of Viper MkIII slippers in a mag-trolley and moved it next to the medi-table then got some covers out from a storage unit. Between them, they got Lambast covered and tucked in for the night.

“Is she ok Si?”

“Huh, there’s that Si guy again. Yes, shes ok. Just knocked around a little. That Bone Knitter is great. She’ll still ache, but a few more treatments and the brakes will be strong enough to use without support”

Kai swept into Sails and hugged him tightly.

“I’m really glad you’re here. You saved me on the Conduit with the security and that blind alley, and you did the lion’s share of the work on Vuia Survey”

Silas returned the embrace a little stronger than Kai could manage.

“Hay come on Little Sparrow, that was a team effort”

Kaisla, still keeping hold of Sails pulled back a little so she could look at his face.

“You know what I mean Si, your just there when it matters”

“Si. Your wokin hard to make that a thing ain’t you” he said smiling down at Kai.

“Si Kai or Kai Si. It works doesn’t it?”
Kaisla pressed her weight into the balls of her feet, lifting her heels off the floor to bring her face closer to Silas.

“It sure does” he answered using his strength to lift Kai slightly.

He tipped his head forward so his lips met Kaisla’s halfway and they kissed. They changed their embrace to stoke each other’s bodies, but their lips didn’t part. Kaisla and Sails lingered long in the moment.  

“About bloody time, now get out”

Lambast's shallow but clear voice made both of them jump a little.

“Yarp” Said Sails as he turned and put his head down. Keeping hold of Kaisla’s hand, he strode out the infirmary.

Kai blushed crimson and beamed like the Cheshire Cat. She didn’t resist Sails leading her out, but she did glance back at her best friend on the way.

“Good to know you’re ok Lamb”

Kai was puzzled for a moment. Lambast still appeared to be out cold and the vitals display backed that up, but Kai had other things on her mind.


Lambast woke up in a dark unfamiliar room. It took a moment for Lambast to realise where she was. She freed her foot from the blankets and pressed the display at the end of the medi-table with her toe. There was just one piece of information she was interested in. The time. Five thirty two AM.

“Holly, lights. What’s happened?”

Holly filled Lambast in on everything that happened after Lambast plotted the jumps back to the meeting place. She found the plate of biscuits on the mag-trolley and sure enough, her favourite slippers and PJ’s. She knew that was Kai’s work and it made her smile.

“Right, thank you Holly. Is anyone else on board?"

“Ur huh. Kaisla and beardy bloke are still asleep”

“Come now Holly, we like Mr. Cousland. He’s a good egg. In fact, everyone on the Arbiter and the Animus are good sorts”
Lambast remembered Holly had been lost after she had given everyone full access to the Hand.
“Please give them unrestricted access to everything other than my personal rooms and files”

“You wot? Even Tats-Puss? He looks like a rotten sort to me”

Lambast laughed. “Tats-Puss is Mr. Eugene or Raven and yes, he’s also good people thank you Holly”

“Well, you’re the boss boss. It’s done”

Lambast got up and tested her side, it felt much better. She got dressed in the clothes Kai provided and went to have a shower. After getting clean, she felt deeply refreshed. A little Yoga in the gym and a cup of that good tea Kai had brought with her would be just the tonic. She changed into her gym wear and headed to the Galley to get some water.

Leaving her room, she near bumped into Sails as he was coming out of the guest room. She saw a head of silver hair on the pillow inside as Sails closed the door behind him.

“Oh good morning Lambast, good to see you up and about. I was just, um, coffee..”

Lambast locked eyes with Silas and kept her face blank. He was wearing just his shorts and a Mona Lisa smile he just couldn’t shift.

“Holly informs me I have you to thank for the treatment. Capital job Mr. Cousland. Thank you very much indeed”

“Hey, your welcome. Just doing my part”

Lambast inspected his face and body language for any sign of shame or embarrassment. It wasn’t there. She decided that was a good thing, he just seemed content.

“Very humble of you Mr. Cousland. I say, I’m going to the gym for a light stretch. After that, I’ll cook up some breakfast. About, an hour and a half from now?”

“Um, that would be great. I was, like I said, you know, coffee”

Lamb turned away to hide her little smile. She decided to let Silas have the Galley to himself and slowly headed straight for the gym.

“When you have a moment, let the boys know Breakfast is on if you would be so kind Mr. Cousland” She called over her shoulder “By the way, you’ll find Kai likes a strong coffee, black no sugar and a cap full of her Bourbon stirred in first thing in the morning”

Sails stopped a half step, but didn’t answer. He felt his immediate future thankfully, wouldn’t involve a bag of rabid squirrels. When he entered the Galley, he felt conversation around the breakfast table may be just as bad all the same. You could certainly tell Kai had cooked in this mess. Then he remembered no one had tidied away the dining room either.

Last edit: 08 Oct 2019, 3:51pm
Maul Montresor
08 Oct 2019, 3:03am
Khelan Khelan points to the bit of paper

"Wit dae ye want tae dae aboot that?" he asks


He pulls the list back out of his pocket and looks at it.

"You know, I feel like taking these people out won't actually help anything. Hell, it might even make things worse but..I...I also feel like I can't let this go."

He looks up at Khelan.

"It's funny, when Vega first came around with this and asked for help, I was ready to just let all of this go but everything's changed now. I look at this and I can just see all of them sitting there with that same stupid smile on their face that Bryce always had. Thinking they're better than everyone else and that they're safe from any of the real danger that their line of work brings about. Not a worry in their fucking head."

He shakes his head and puts the list back in his pocket.

"I want all of this to stop because I don't want anything else to happen to her....and you guys, of course. But I know there isn't any winning against them."

He sighs and lightly pushes the punching bag causing it swing back and forth.

"I feel like I don't know anything anymore. I swear things were simpler when I was just sitting at my computer all day back at the apartment. Yeah, some of the jobs I took were sketchy and probably illegal and maybe I didn't have much interaction with actual people but it wasn't as complicated as all of this. You knew who your target was and if you did things right they'd never even know you were in their systems, like a ghost, you were never really there."

He shrugs and stops the bag from swinging.

"I know I say it a lot and I also know that it doesn't fix anything by saying it but, I'm sorry about everything."

He smiles and pats Khelan on the shoulder.

"But listen to me venting to you about my bullshit. I haven't even congratulated you yet! I saw Omi's ring when we went to spar earlier. I'm happy for the two of you."

Last edit: 08 Oct 2019, 3:13am

Post a reply

You must be signed in to post here.
ROLEPLAY ONLY! Respect the universe settings!
If you are new here, please try to at least partially involve in the ongoing stories and conversations instead of establishing a completely different "arc". You can always turn it to a different story later.