This huge room spans both levels of Destiny.  The flooring is metal plates, some of which are removable to hold hidden storage space.  From here you can hear Destiny's twin engines humming, it truly is the bowels of the ship.  On the right and left are doors leading to more storage room and a ladder leading up into Engine Rooms 1 and 2.  Toward the front of the room are stairwells leading up to the second level.

This thread continues the original Cargo Bay Thread

[From Destiny: Dining Hall]

Kale stepped out from the dining hall and onto the upper level catwalk of the cargo bay and almost ran smack into Geoff on his way to his bunk.  Taking a step back Kale looked at up at the younger but larger man.

"Sorry 'bout that.  Runnin' a ship ain't ever easy." he said, in reference to having to take a break from getting things ready to deal with the "Dake problem".

"You pick out yer weapons 'o choice yet?" he didn't wait for Geoff to respond before yelling down to the lower level were Wei-Li and Lei were, "An' you best be ready to Wei, yer comin' with on this one.  We're gonna need man power and we're gonna need stealth."

Kale tried to push all of his issue with Dake from his mind, he couldn't deal with that now.  He needed to focus on getting Rhaef home.

So not quite carte blanche.  Oh well.  Focus on the problem at hand.

"On the way.  Be ready quicker'n a fire in a who-... uh, well, quick."

Geoff ducked his head, seemingly backpeddalling and moving forward simultaneously.

-- to bunk

Wei-Li smiled up at Kale.  "Stealth is my middle name," she answered cheerfully.

"Actually its Heloise," She confided.  With a shrug she returned to the weapons locker which she had abandoned for the great 'balloon round-up.'

"I guess my question is, are you going to need me more as a sneak or as another gun?  Perhaps a bit of both?"

Kale nodded distractedly at Geoff as the new first mate headed out of the cargo bay to his bunk to gather his personal supplies.  He knew the man took pride in his own collection.  Kale would stock up from the weapons locker though, save for his own pistol that he always kept on him - issued to him back during the war.

He moved down the stairway and onto the ground level of the cargo bay as Wei-Li spoke, "I'm thinkin' we'll be needin' a bit 'o both.  I'm gonna try ta do this as quick an' quiet as we can, but things don' always go smooth." he smiled and there was a bit of the old Kale in that smile.  The one who hadn't lost his pilot, doctor, and first mate in the past few months.

He was almost at the weapons locker when he heard Connor's voice come on over the comm.  He looked to Wei-Li, "Suit up, and grab a few grenades fer me an' Geoff.  I'm gonna go see what's what on the bridge." he said.

He moved back up the stairs hoping that Connor had some good news for him.

[To Destiny: Bridge - via Destiny: Dining Hall]

Wei-Li looked up at the intecomm for a moment and nodded.  She quickly pulled out two pistols, spare clips and a handful of grenades before closing up shop.

Then she trotted off to her quarters.  She was going to need something a little more substantial then her stretching clothes, though if she was being sneaky-- she'd need her unitard as well: the black one.

She took a deep breath and waved to Lei.  "Duty calls."

----> To Wei-Li's quarters

[ from bunk ]

Geoff trotted back into the cargo bay, just narrowly missing a collision with Kale.  With a spin-twist-slide, he stopped and shrugged slightly.

"Sorry, Cap." he grinned slightly nodding upward to indicate the comm.  "Hope 'at's good news."

He then continued on his way into the cargo bay proper.  He'd flesh out his arsenal from the main weapons locker.  If there was anything interesting to be found that is.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:07, Thu 24 Jan 2008.

Lei moved toward the side of the cargo bay as Kale came in and started giving out orders.  She was still feeling guilty for causing such a commotion and making such a mess when the crew really had more important things to be dealing with.  She knew that it was important that they got Rhaef back - even if she thought the man was kind of scary.

When Geoff started going through the weapons locker Lei sidled her way over to him.  In a quiet voice she spoke, "Do you think that you guys are gonna get hurt?" she asked.  She had never seen them load up on so many weapons and she wasn't entirely sure what it meant.  And although Geoff had yelled at her and hadn't really been himself lately - Lei was scared.  She didn't want him to get hurt.

Geoff paused, caught both by the innocense of the question and the fear in her tone.  Was she willing to trust him again?  If so... No, don't think, just act.

He crouched down, one knee on the ground, meeting Lei's eyes.  "Don' worry 'bout it, mei mei.  We're gonna be jus' fine."

Taking a brief glance around the bay, he turned to focus more fully on Lei.  He wanted to reach a hand out to her.  He wanted to grab her up into his arms and hug her and promise he would never, ever, ever be mean again... ever.  Instead, Geoff just smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

"This'll be simple.  All smooth.  We're jus' goin' t'get Cap's right-hand-man." he indicated the vast number of weapons.  "An' all this?  This is jus' fer fun."

Again he tried to smile reassuringly.  Whether or not it worked, only time would tell.  At least she was talking to him again.

Lei glanced skeptically from Geoff to the weapons and then back to Geoff again.  She had begun to understand social interactions enough to know when someone wasn't telling the whole truth.  But she could also tell that he wasn't trying to be mean or hurt her by it.  He was trying to stop her from worrying.

She nodded her head, "Just for fun." then tilting her head she added, "Promise me you won't have too much fun?"

From anyone else this would have been a joke, a play on words.  From Lei, it was an honest request.

Geoff smiled with an echo of sadness in his eyes.  He wanted her to be safe; to not worry.  The sound of her earlier laughter - so innocent and free - came to his mind.  If only he could hear that sound one more time.  If only he could cause that sound...

"I'll be careful, mei mei." he said softly.  "An' I'll make sure they're careful too."

Wei-Li paused in the entry way to the cargo bay.  She was far enough away that she couldn't hear what Geoff and Lei were saying, but judging by their positioning-- Geoff was... maybe trying to be Geoff.

She bit her lip as she tried to figure out what to do then simply stepped into the cargo bay, draping her haversack like a bandolier across her chest.

Looking up at the sound of Wei-Li, Geoff cleared his throat and stood up, if a little too quickly.  "But there ain't nuthin' ta worry 'bout.  We'll be fine."

The lightness in his voice was a little forced, as if he were embarrassed to have been caught being sensitive.  After all, he wasn't the sensitive type.  Those kind stayed on the core planets, worrying about whether or not they'd get a paper cut counting their money.

He reached into his vest pocket and was pleasantly surprised to find a pack - only slightly wrinkled - of cigarettes.  With an almost too-eager glint in his eye he withdrew a bent cigarette, struck a match, lit the end and took a deep drag.  He held the smoke inside for a long moment, then exhaled slowly.  A look of peace settled over his face.

He grinned over at Wei-Li, trying to ignore the femininity of her - which was never an easy task.  "Lookin' ready.  It's gonna be easy, right?"

Geoff nodded slightly toward Lei, silently hoping Wei-Li understood.

Wei-Li winced slightly.  While she realized he was trying to reassure Lei, you never, ever said something like that before a show, or in this case mission.

She looked to the top of the cargo bay and shook her head as if to say 'when is he going to learn?' before turning towards Lei and smiling.

"He’s never going to learn is he?” she asked with a sigh.

Then she looked back at Geoff.  “Paquin-brat,” she reminded him point towards herself.  “Performer… never.. say that… ‘Break a leg’ is good, ‘we’re going to knock ‘em dead’s all right.   But “easy?””

Geoff smacked his forehead, very nearly knocking the cherry off his cigarette as he did so.  "Sorry 'bout that... forgot." he looked semi-apologetically, semi-clownishly at Lei.

"Can I help it?  I'm good fer shootin', climbin' an' mayhem.  I ain't built ta be performin on a stage less'n it's the kind what's drug about by horses."

Again he tried a slightly sheepish grin, only the expression was marred by taking a drag from his cigarette.  Sometimes warriors just never learned.

Wei-li smiled and shook her head.  "We'll get you straightened out yet, won't we Lei?"

Lei smiled.  It wasn't like the smile from earlier when her and Dake had been running around the ship throwing make-shift water balloons.  But it was a smile.  And it was directed at Geoff - so that was something.

She nodded her head to Wei-Li with a slightly confused expression on her face, she wasn't entirely sure what she meant by 'straightening out' and was hoping that it wasn't a very painful process as what immediately came to mind for her was the process of ironing a shirt to get all the wrinkles gone.

Geoff stood up to his full height and looked, almost beseachingly, at Wei-Li.

"Look!  I'm straight!"

He grinned, then winked at Lei before relaxing a bit.  After another drag and exhale - directed away from the women - Geoff ground out his cigarette.

"Hate waitin', ya know?  I'd rather just get into it and be done with the whole mess.  This waitin' though... that's rough."

Wei-li nodded.  She knew all too well.  "Performance peak," she answered.  "When you're on you want to be at your best, but you have to time it--- peak too soon, it shows, peak too late, there's no point."

She shrugged and set her bag down before facing the bulkheads and bending her forward leg.  "Might as well stretch," she said with a shrug and set to work limbering up.

It wasn't as if she hadn't already warmed up with the tumbling runs, but it was something to do.

Geoff nodded his understanding, then turned to watch as Wei-Li bent her body in ways no normal body was supposed to bend.  It confused the heck out of him.  He looked over at Lei, frowning slightly, then nodded at Wei-Li.

"I don' know how y'all do that.  If'n I tried movin' my legs 'at way, y'd be scrapin' me up off the floor an' shootin' me full a' pain meds.  I betcha my bones'd snap quicker'n leaves in Fall."

Again he turned his attention to Wei-Li.  He could, of course, see the obvious benefits of being able to move a body that way.  And those were very beneficial benefits.  But, it still wasn't natural.

Wei-Li continued, blissfully unaware of Geoff's attention.  It had been so rare lately she didn't expect much reaction at all.

She did a simple back layover, then simply dropped to the floor.  There was limbering up and then there was overdoing it.

Since they had no idea what to expect, she left it where she'd landed.  She shrugged and looked over at Geoff.

"Well, you don't start with what I do... but if you do the exercises regularly-- you'd be surprised how flexible you can be."

Geoff laughed, loud and long.

"I'm a man, darlin'.  Ain't nuthin' flexible 'bout me."

Wei-Li blushed slightly, then raised an eyebrow.

"You'd be surprised."

How could such an innocent as Wei-Li fully understand the truth behind his own statement?  Or, was there truth behind hers?  It didn't much matter.  At the moment he wasn't flexible in mind or body.  At the moment he was doing his best to remain relaxed.  It wasn't easy.

In order to dispell the faint tension - something he didn't quite understand at the moment - he pushed off the crate he'd been leaning against and hit the ship-wide comm button.

"We gonna do this or not, Cap?  It's gettin' close t' supper time an' I like t'work up an appetite."

Though the comment was meant to be humorous, there was a heavy note of seriousness within it.  He had an itch what needed scratching and only a good dose of violence would sate his current hunger.

COMM: "We're preparin' to hit atmo here in a few ticks, Charlie's shuttin' down non-essential systems so just be prepared fer things ta get a bit finicky."

(From Destiny: Kyoko's Shuttle)

Kyoko descended the steps from her shuttle down into the Cargo Bay just in time to hear the captain's announcement. She nodded and grabbed onto the railing, figuring here was just as good a place as any...

Wei-Li listened to the announcement and scanned the area around her.  After a few moments thought, she pulled herself into the overhead rigging.  If they were shutting things down, especially non-essentials, she guessed the lights would be going shortly.

Ever since the 'incident' she hated the idea of being on the ground in the dark.  Being in the rigging just felt... safer.

"Gotcha, Cap." Geoff said in a swirl of elegance and vociferous expression.

Well, okay, maybe not so elegant or vociferous, but expression, definitely.

Geoff looked up to Kyoko and nodded.

"Might wanna go shut down the non'sentials in yer shuttle... 'r least ways, get where's gonna be comfy-ish."

He then turned to Lei, noticing that Wei-Li had already gotten herself ensconced in the rigging.

"You gonna wanna find a hidy-hole too, Mei-mei?"

Lei's eyes widened up at Geoff as he suggested she find a hidy-hole.

"Maybe not a hole," she began a little cautiously, feeling her stomach squirm with the thought. She tended towards the claustrophobic side, understandably of course, with having been boxed inside a crate for who knows how long. And seeing as how she was taking Geoff's words of hidy-holes quite literally...

"But I should find a place to hide, yes?" she added, glancing to Wei-Li, as that seemed to be precisely what she was doing.

Lei allowed her eyes to roam the cargo bay once, and though she spotted a good deal of places that would be more than adequate hiding spots for a girl of such tiny stature, she was hesitant about bundling herself in any place on her lonesome in the dark. A moment's longer hesitation, and she was turning back to Geoff, chewing gently on her bottom lip as she studied him carefully, eyes still a little wide with that underlying apprehension.

"Will you hide, too? With me?"

With a grin plastered across his not-quite-ugly mug, Geoff nodded at Lei.  "Yeah.  An' I'm thinkin' a small place ain't such a good idea."

Again he grinned, indicating his much larger dimensions.  He then nodded toward the Mule, locked into place.

"Let's go sit in there, yeah?  Strap in an' go fer a ride."

A few moments after Geoff and Lei settled into the mule that lights went out and the ship started shaking slightly - they were entering atmo.

It was almost showtime.

Wei-Li closed her eyes only to force them open again a moment later.  She could feel her heart in her throat as she fought to remember that she was safe, that the station was a long time ago and more importantly nothing evil stalked the decks of Destiny.

'you're home you're safe... ' quickly became her mantra.  She hoped they would land soon, the straps where cutting into her hands where she had them in a death grip.

A cracked and not-quite-melodious voice rose upward in the darkness of the cargo bay.  It was an ancient song, a song of Earth That Was.  It was a stupid song.  But the point was to relieve the stress of darkness and shaking things.  It was something someone, long, long ago, had sung to bring peace to a terrified little boy.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.  Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream."

Lei's apprehension subsided a little as Geoff found them a hidey-mule, and she did quite well with strapping herself in and keeping in relatively high spirits.

That is, until the lights went out, and things proceeded to get a little bumpy.

She managed no more than a very small gasp at all of this, though she balled her hands into little fists, pressing her fingernails into her palms and tightly pursing her lips.

So it was that Geoff's song, however crackly, served to calm her down a little, her short breaths becoming a little longer. A small giggle even escaped through the darkness, Lei's fists unclenching as she murmured to the bay at large,

"We aren't rowing, silly. We’re flying."

Kyoko swallowed hard and continued hanging onto the railing for dear life. She sighed, next time, she was getting somewhere more secure...

"Yeah, but ya can't much row a space ship now can ya?"

He asked with good humor in his voice.

Now that the ship had landed some of the systems began coming back online.  The lights being one of the first, there was a flickering and then slowly the lights in the cargo bay hummed to life.

[From Destiny: Bridge]

Kale entered the cargo bay just as the lights began to turn back on, they were dim as he moved down the stairs to the lower level but were gradually warming up.  He moved around Kyoko his hands double checking the guns at his hips.

"Alrigh', you two ready?" he asked Geoff and Wei-Li.

Kyoko paused for a few seconds, before doing the only she could do.

"Captain..."


"Good luck..."

Wei-li grabbed the edge of the webbing and lowered herself to the ground.  She checked to make sure the contents of her haversack were still unharmed and nodded.

"Ready."

Grinning from his seat on the mule, Geoff released the safety harness and sprang - as much as his bulk allowed him to - from the beast, landing with a loud 'k-thunk' on the grilled floor.

"Ayup, ready, Cap."

The time for action had come.  And he was ready!

Kale nodded somewhat grimly at his crew, he wasn't sure what to be expecting.  He didn't know anything about that man that had contacted them or what the gorram hell Rhaef would be doing on Beaumonde.  But he knew that he had to get him back.  He owed the man that much.  Two years they had fought and traveled side by side.  Sure they'd had their spats and disagreements.  But now that he was gone, Kale had felt his loss more then most with the exception of Charlie who had been even more upset then Kale had expected her to be at Rhaef leaving.

"Alrigh' then, lets go be heroes." he said, and moved to the cargo bay door controls.  The hatch slowly opened and the ramp lowered to the ground, he looked back at Kyoko, "Charlie's gonna be checkin' somethin' out fer me so you can leave the doors open fer her, but make sure someone stays nearby watchin'.  I don' want no one that ain't my crew steppin' on board my ship."

[To Beaumonde: The Underground]

Geoff grinned, tossed a wink at Lei and took off after his captain.

"Time to go play." he chortled.

His footsteps somehow seemed lighter, fading away shortly after leaving the ship.

-- To Beaumonde: the underground

Wei-Li followed behind the other two, silently as their shadow.  This was what the other side of her family was known for, and for once-- she had no problems with her family history.

---> To Beaumonde: the underground

Daintily lowering herself down from the mule, Lei gave Geoff a small smile as he disappeared off the ship with the others, though the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. For a long time, she stood watching the door, long after the majority of the crew had disappeared into Beaumonde.

After what was almost an impossibly long time, she finally murmured very softly to Kyoko, the only one left in the bay, "I think that I might wait here. For Charlie, like Kale said someone should."

Though it was evident there was a lot more on the little girl's mind than just following the captain's instructions, as her eyes still had not left the ship's entrance.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:56, Thu 21 Feb 2008.

Kyoko nodded and sighed, making her way down next to Lei and ruffling the girl's hair.

"I suppose I'll wait with you..."

-------->from Cargo Bay

Charlie stepped out of the Engine Room, walking along the catwalk as she looked at those standing there.  They were all waiting for the crew to get back, most likely.  Normally, she'd be one of those, standing there and waiting for news of who was coming back.  She hadn't been able to do it when Rhaef had gone, however...and it was all she could do to not do it now.  She made her way down the steel steps, bare feet making hardly a sound.

"Hey, ah'm goin' under th'ship t'check all'f th'gear.  Y'all good watchin' th'door while ah'm out?"

Kyoko nodded to Charlie and smiled.

"I think that Lei and I will be good for the task, right Lei?"

Kyoko did her best to sound encouraging, just because she was somewhat, and generally consistently, at odds with the crew didn't mean she didn't know what was going on. She cared, in her own way, it was just showing it that sometimes misfired for her...

"A'ight, then.  Ah'll be down'f th'ship, y'know.  Don'be lettin'm take off'n all w'out me."  Charlie smirked a bit, tapping one of her temples at Kyoko as she headed out the door.  There was a chance that the job Kale gave her was just busy work, but he was right; the last thing they wanted is a small stupid problem keeping them from leaving, since the large ones were more few and far between.  That was just how things worked, of course.


------->to Destiny: Hull

Lei managed to peel her eyes away from the ship's entrance for long enough to muster a very small smile for Charlie as she left, before turning her attention back to Kyoko. "Yes. Right," she replied with quiet simplicity, her gaze being pulled out to the entrance once more. Hugging her thin arms across her chest, she added after a long moment of silence, "Do you ever worry that... that one time, they might not come back?"

Kyoko took a deep breath and a long pause. What if they didn't come back?...

God, she didn't even want to think about it.

"I find that, if I think about things like that, I cannot keep calm, and that's what the captain needs me to do right now...keep calm..."

Finally, Kyoko seemed to have gathered more of Lei's attention than the entrance to the ship had. Looking fixedly at her, wide eyed and completely free of any natural shyness at so openly staring upon a person - particularly a woman like Kyoko - Lei gave a small voiced, yet appreciative answer.

"Thank you. For not lying and pretending that you do not worry about those sorts of things."

Looking searchingly upon Kyoko for a moment longer, she then uncurled her arms from about her legs, placing her hands in her lap and fiddling with her pinky as she spoke, her voice a wavering murmur, "Calm... I can keep calm, too. If that is what we are meant to do..."

Kyoko nodded and smiled at the girl. She was unsure whether this was a moment of connection between them, or if it was simply a candid moment. Either way, it was...calming.

"I think that is what we're supposed to do for now, keep calm...once they get back, then we can celebrate."

Kyoko was trying very hard to be positive.

(From Cargo Bay)

Connor made his way quickly down the steps onto the floor of the cargo bay, and he nodded to Kyoko and Lei.

"Ladies, I suspect something is going on, I'm down here to grab weaponry...perhaps you two should make your way up to the bridge. You know, just in case?"

Connor tried to give a reassuring smile, but was reasonable sure he just looked even more nervous. He headed to the spot where he'd pulled weapons from before...when the Reavers has been on the station. He grabbed a few pistols, and two shotguns, making sure they were loaded. He tossed a revolver to Kyoko.

"You know...just in case..."

Connor thumbed the switch on his comm.

"Hey Dake, I'm down in the cargo bay, I'm going to bring Kyoko and Lei back up with me..."

Kyoko nodded to Connor, then listened as he said he thought something suspicious was going on. Kyoko's only reaction was a few rather cynical thoughts on that in a place like this, something suspicious was bound to be going on.

Of course, she didn't say this, merely gave Lei a soft, reassuring squeeze on her shoulder...before catching the revolver Connor tossed her way.

"Is a gun truly necessary? I mean, can't we lock ourselves on the bridge if worse comes to worse..."

"No, a pistol is not really necessary." a voice said from the ramp and the sound of boots heading up towards the bay door filled the cargo bay.

"Drop them." the man who was in the lead said.  There were around eight for them in total and they all had their pistols trained on Lei, Connor, and Kyoko.

"Sonofa..."

Connor looked up for a moment before letting the guns he was carrying clatter to the floor.

Damn.

He turned around slowly, his hands up.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:49, Fri 30 May 2008.

Kyoko looked at the men for a moment, stepping slightly in front of Lei, before gently placing the pistol on the ground and using her foot to slide it away from her.

She shot a surprised look at Connor before turning her attention back towards the eight rather intimidating men.

COMM: "Roger that."

The lead man narrowed his eyes at Connor's comm as Dake's voice sounded.

"Someone else on board?" he met Connor's eyes, "Tell him to come down here - and don't try anything funny, or the gals get it." he said.

The men had moved into the cargo bay now and were positioned by both Kyoko and Lei.

Connor held the man's gaze for a moment, wanting to defy the man. And then common sense kicked in. Now was the furthest time for any other to be defiant. He nodded to the man.

He slowly took his right hand and pressed the 'talk' button on the comm.

"Hey Dake, do me a favor and come down to the cargo bay...and don't do anything stupid..."

Connor prayed Dake would show more common sense than what he had before.

COMM: "I thought you just said you were bringin' them up here."

Connor sighed, then hit the button again.

"Dake, don't do this, not now, just get down here..."

COMM: "Uh ... why?  Now not a good time fer you?" (pause) "Look, Kale said that I needed to stay up here 'til he got back.  I'm already in the dog house with him so I'm thinkin' that I should probably stay put.  Whatever it is, have the girls help you with it, there's two of 'em down there."

The lead man narrowed his eyes and gave Connor a warning look to get the pilot down to the cargo bay now.  Curio's orders were to keep an eye on everyone on the ship and Curio did not play games.  He also hoped the man had the good sense to not raise the other mans suspicions although whoever was on the other side of the comm link seemed to be as dense as a rock.

These people were amateurs, he thought, his skills were being wasted baby-sitting them.  Sometimes he didn't get Curio, he couldn't imagine what the man could possibly want with this lot of idiots.

Connor looked at the man who shot him a warning look. He took a breath, then hit the comm button again.

"Dake..."

Connor's eyes scanned about before they settled on Kyoko. It was time to lie.

"Look, Kyoko is down here, she wants to talk to you about what happened earlier. Uh, yeah, and she doesn't want to trek all the way up to the bridge to do it. So, let's not piss off the captain by pissing off one of his passengers. So, pretty please, could you get down here?"

Connor was half tempted to shout that if Dake didn't get down there, He, Kyoko, and Lei would probably all end up dead...but he doubted the leader of the 'merry men' standing on the ramp would appreciate that.

Kyoko looked at Connor, then at the radio in his hand, before shaking her head and putting her forehead against the palm of her head. This was unbelievable. That gorram pilot couldn't even do a hostage situation right!

She sighed and looked back at Lei, trying to make sure the girl was still relatively shielded. If shooting started, well...Lei might have a shot at getting away.

Huh, Kyoko sighed, where exactly was the calvary when it was needed?

COMM: "Tian xiao de*.  I thought all of that had been done an' settled.  She's still squawkin' about it?" (long pause) "Fine, tell her I'm on my way, but if I get in trouble fer this, she better stick up fer me."

Lei peeled her gaze away from the entrance of the ship as Connor entered the bay, her brow furrowing into a frown of concern at his words. "What makes you think that something is going on, which we will need weapons for?" she asked very quietly, a knot beginning to twist her insides, despite Kyoko's reassuring squeeze of her shoulder.

It was then that she realised that Connor's nervousness was very much warranted. Attention snapping to the ship's entrance again, she heard the boots before the voice appeared from seemingly nowhere. "People are coming," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

And she was very much right.

Instinctively drawing in closer to Kyoko, Lei peered out from behind her, her wide dark eyes taking in the eight men and their guns, a mixture of fear and anger playing across her gaze. Had these men found Geoff and the others? What was happening outside the ship?

Connor nodded, and looked at the leader of the 'merry men'. Hopefully, they weren't all going to get shot...

The mans expression did not change but he nodded his head in approval and waited for the last crew member to enter the cargo bay.  He made a motion with his hand and two of his men moved toward the stairwell and trained their weapons on the opening the last crew member would come through.

[From Destiny: Bridge]

Dake clomped out of the dining hall already on the defensive, "Alright, I'm here Kyoko, but I don' see why you still have yer panties in a bunch over everything ... and this is not at all about earlier, this is a trap." his eyes took in the men with pistols trained on him and the others, "Visitors.  Shiny."

"Hands up!!" the leader shouted, "Over your head and come down the stairs slowly unless you want to see a bullet in one of your friends heads."

The sound of pistols readying rang in the cargo bay.

Connor looked at Dake, well, at least now he understand the gravity of the situation.

"Yeah...couldn't exactly tell you that there were visitors here with guns to our heads, now could I? Something about them shooting us..."

At the shouting and readying of pistols Lei seemed to shrink into herself, making her already tiny form seem even tinier. Eyes flitting from Dake as he appeared, to Connor, then to Kyoko and then to the apparent leader of these horrible men, she finally spoke up, in a very small voice.

"Are you going to shoot us?"

"No one's shooting anyone." Dake said, ignoring the mens orders to put his hands up, but he did begin moving down the stairs.  His adrenaline was pumping and his heart was racing - if they hadn't shot anyone yet then they probably weren't planning on shooting anyone.  It was a gamble, but Dake was a gambler.

His fingers were itching just a few feet from his own gun and he tried his hardest to not let on.  He counted the men as he walked trying to come up with some figure where he was able to take them all out without getting shot himself first - the odds weren't looking good ...

"I said HANDS UP!!!" the lead man shouted and motioned for his men by the woman to grab the girl.  The man, in one clean motion brushed Kyoko aside roughly and grabbed Lei towards him, pushing the pistol to her head

The lead man smiled and looked back up at Dake, "You gonna risk her life - pretty little girl, it'd be a real shame."

The man who held Lei tightened his grip on her, painfully tight.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:09, Sun 01 June 2008.

At Dake's words, Lei's gaze was drawn back to him, searching his eyes to see if he was really sure of what he was saying. Unfortunately, this meant she was much more distracted than she should have been and therefore taken completely by surprise as she was suddenly grabbed by none too gentle hands.

Whimpering and flinching away as best she could as she felt the cold metal of the pistol against her head she couldn't help the terrified look she gave Dake, another small whimper escaping her as the man who was holding her tightened his grip. However, with the gun held to her head she was far too scared to protest verbally, nor to struggle all that much. He was much stronger than her, anyhow, so she was quite sure it wouldn't do very much good.

Kyoko tumbled to the ground, caught completely unaware. Before she could even react one of the men had snaked Lei and was pointing a gun to her head. Kyoko sat up, but remained on the ground, glaring at the man.

This was beyond undignified! And to think, holding a gun to a little girl's head! What kind of savages were these men?!

Connor held his hands out in both directions, at the man who was now holding a gun to Lei's head and Dake.

"Everyone, gorram think about this situation for two seconds, please!"

He turned first to the leader of the men.

"I get the whole hostage taking thing, but really...placing a gun to a girl's head?! Why not let her go back to the lady on the floor and you can point the gun at my head..."

Connor turned to lock eyes with Dake.

"For the love of God, do not mess things up. Put your gorram hands up!"

Connor turned back to the leader.

"Nobody needs to die today...everybody needs to calm down..."

Dake frowned when Connor started talking.  He was right though and a rush of adreneline shot through him as he realized what a huge mistake he had been about to make.  Might well have gotten all of them shot.

He put his hands up then, hating to concede but not wanting the man to shot Lei, the little girl was the one thing he liked about this gorram ship, "Alright, my hands are up, don't shot." Dake said and walked slowly down the stairs to join the others.

"That's better." the man said, "Your buddy here's a smart man, saved all your lives, he did." he said, motioning to Connor.

"Now I want everyone to sit down on the ground, no funny business, this here is a wait it out situation.  So wait."

The crew all complied and sat on the ground, the men kept their pistols trained on them all.  No one felt much like talking so they sat in silence.  Perhaps ten, maybe fifeteen minutes later a group of six more men came holding between them Geoff who was just barely starting to regain conciousness and was obviously causing the men a lot of trouble.  He was a big guy, and he had been dead weight all the way here.

His hands were tied behind his back and there was a large bump that was bleeding a bit on the back of his head.  The men dumped him unceremoniously on the floor before turning to talk in hushed voices to the man who had been doing all the talking.

There was no sign of Kale, Wei-Li, or Rhaef ... or for that matter Charlie.

[ From Beaumonde Underground ]

Curses and epithets were fresh on his tongue, and Geoff had absolutely no compunctions about uttering them.  Unfortunately the knock to his head made everything come out in an unintelligable mumble.  Even the tone of that mumble was unclear.  Only after he'd made contact with the ground - that was gonna leave a bruise - did a clear comment pass his mollasses-in-winter lips.

"Gorram fuzzy-headed pi-goh..."

Whatever else he'd been about to say was cut off by a wave of nausea.  He bit it back.  He'd had worse days than this while drinking.  Except, when he was drinking he at least had the pleasant part first.

Geoff tried to kick at one of his "escort", but they were too quick for him.  Instead, he did his best to roll onto his knees.  Even with his hands bound behind him, if he could stand up he might be able to deliver a parting shot.  Okay, so it was extremely unlikely, but action was better than inaction.

As pain blossomed in his head, Geoff let out a low groan and decided that perhaps, just this once, inaction was better.

Connor looked over as the thugs dropped a clearly beaten Geoff into their midst. Something he didn't think he'd ever see.

This was insane, clearly they'd wandered right into a gorram trap. Perfect. Connor sat there and just prayed nothing else went wrong.

And then it hit him. Where was Charlie? He looked to the leader of the thugs, debating on whether or not to ask him.

Lei kept her eyes trained upon the ground, staring so intensely at a tiny scratch upon the floor that she didn't even seem to be blinking. All her energy was going into not crying at the moment, and staring at the floor was apparently a delicate part of this process of holding herself together, as was the way that she was hugging her knees in tightly to her chest.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of others approaching that she looked up from her fixed spot, dark orbs widening in horror as she caught sight of Geoff. Tears stung her gaze as she quickly scrambled over to him, completely ignoring the pistols that were still trained on the lot of them. "Geoff?" she whispered shakily, reaching out a small hand to touch his cheek.

Geoff turned his head to look at Lei.  His voice was thick and a little slurred, but soft; an attempt at comforting her.

"It's okay, mei-mei.  No tears, little one."

He gave a warped smile, pulling back the groan that threatened in his throat.  He wasn't hurt enough to worry Lei.  He would never be hurt enough to worry her.

He was worried though.

"Where're Kale 'n' Wei-Li?"

"Was about to ask you that very question."

Dake was feeling pretty low, and watching the kid touch Geoff's face in obvious concern just about made him feel even lower.  If he were to die right now, they wouldn't have to dig more'n three feet under to dispose of his body, that's how low he was feeling.

And it wasn't just because he was blaming himself.  Which he was, of course.  Well, himself and Kyoko.  He might not've been able to figure out just how it was her fault, exactly -- maybe for being such a suo xi hu li jing that he'd actually believed she wanted to harpy at him over earlier again.  If he hadn't, maybe he'd have picked up on the fact that something was wrong.

He was worried.  Where were Wei-Li and Kale?

And what would Kale -- no.  What would Nate do in a situation like this?  Dake just knew that it'd be something clever and funny, and somehow after he did it, it wouldn't matter that they were outnumbered by a lot.  He'd probably just kill the badguys with laughter.

So when Dake spoke, it wasn't very loudly, and he wasn't exactly looking Geoff dead in the eye.  He didn't like Geoff, but he didn't like seeing Geoff beaten up -- well, maybe in another situation... Say, with Wei-Li clinging to his own arm and Geoff crying an apology and about how Dake was the flashest person ever while he magnanimously said no no Geoff it's shiny just get up we can be friends now that we've had it out...  And Wei-Li didn't even have to be clinging to his arm, although that'd be nice, she just had to be smiling at him with that look she had and... Yeah, maybe in that situation.

But not in this one.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:25, Mon 23 June 2008.

"That ain't none o' your concern.  Now I think I remember tellin' everyone ta sit down an' shut their traps.  Order still stands til yer all told otherwise." the man said as the crew began starting up a conversation.

He thought the baby-sitting job was gonna be over when the rest of his team returned but they were supposed to be showing up with three people, not one.  Now he had to hang around until the rest were returned.  Damn Curio and his code of honor.  It'd be much easier to just take them all out ...

[From Beaumonde: The Underground]

A few moments later Kale stepped up the ramp, the men still at his sides escorting him.  He wasn't exactly surprised to find his entire crew sitting in the cargo bay surrounded by men toting guns.  This Curio sure knew how to spring a trap right.  All bases were covered.

"Well, I think it's safe ta say you all know it was a trap." Kale said as he was nudged towards the rest of the crew.  His eyes scanned each of them.  Dake looked angry, Kyoko exasperated, Connor surprisingly calm, Lei terrified and Geoff a whole lot worse for wear, but the condition of the crew that was present didn't concern him as much as the fact that two of his crew were missing.

"Where's Charlie and Wei?" Kale said sharply, the question directed at both his crew and the men holding them.

"Never mind them." the man said.  Now that the captain was on board his order were to make sure they took off, leaving Rhaef behind.

"You are to follow these coordinates," he handed Kale a disk, "we'll be tracking you, any attempt to stay or turn around to come back will result in the immediate termination of your ship and all those on board."

Kale shook his head, "I ain't goin' nowhere without the rest of my crew.  That wasn't the deal.  Curio said that I do my bit and me and all those on my ship walk free."

He glanced at what crew he had.  He thought that Wei-Li would have been brought back to the ship with Geoff and it disturbed him that she wasn't here.  Even more troubling was Charlie though.  Putting two and two together he had a bad feeling that Charlie being gone had something to do with Rhaef.

Kyoko looked at the captain and closed her eyes for a moment. Logic dictated that she talk the captain down. That these men clearly had an upper hand, and that they were probably ready to kill them all at a moment's notice.

On the other hand, loyalty to this ship told her to stand by Kale and demand the safe return of the missing crew. Either option was not particularly appealing. But Kyoko had friends in high places, and she didn't think that her going missing was something the Guild would just miss out on.

Time to take a shot. She stood and walked over next to Kale.

"Gentlemen, your posturing has grown wearisome. I sincerely doubt that you're going to lay waste to all of us with those guns, so please, let's not be silly..."

She took a breath.

"Besides, I've been off grid long enough to make my Guild begin to worry...when they get worried, they start looking, and they're a tad bit higher up on the food chain than you all are. Nobody likes it when they're angry..."

Kyoko had no idea what effect her bravado and posturing was going to have. If they were smart, they'd at least play ball, but chances were, they were just going to posture right back...still, maybe an opportunity would arise?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:18, Mon 23 June 2008.

Connor looked at the captain, then, at Kyoko as she rose up to stand by the captain's side and said her piece.

They were both gorram insane. Connor was shocked the armed gang didn't open fire on all of them at that moment. Then again, Connor was expecting that from the get go anyways. His mistake?

Connor didn't say a word, merely stood up and positioned himself in front of Lei and Geoff. If things went down, he'd try and buy them some time...or act as a shield, in Connor's mind, they were more or less the same thing.

With a gentle smile, or what was supposed to be one, to Lei, he murmured faintly to her.  "Untie my hands, little one.  Quick-like."

The man smirked at Kale, "An' I don't see what the problem is.  All those on yer ship are walkin' free.  Curio didn't say nothin' about those not on the ship though." his smile deepened.

He outright laughed at Kyoko as she stepped forward, "Missy, I really don' think you know who yer'll dealing with.  No pack of whores are gonna get us shakin' in our boots.  Now you got yer orders an' we got ours, lets do this civilly." he said, although it was clear to everyone that he'd probably like nothing more then for them to decide to fight back so that he could do things the way he liked them.  Uncivil.

Kale sneered and shook his head.  So that was the game Curio was playing, a twist of words here and there and he got exactly what he wanted.

"On my ship or not, I'm not leaving without every one of my crew - an' that's a promise.  You tell me where -" Kale cut off as two more men stepped up the cargo bay ramp with Wei-Li in tow, "Wei-Li!"

Kale glanced from the girl to the man he had been speaking with but he looked more surprised then Kale.

[From Beaumonde: The Underground]

Wei-Li was led up the ramp and into the cargo bay where she was tossed, yet again, to the floor.

"What's this?" the lead man demanded, turning to the men that brought her.

"Another one of them." one man said, the way he said them made it sound like a dirty word and he sneered at the crew, "Curio said she was supposed to be brought back.  They can go now."

The lead man looked slightly skeptical but accepted the other mans words with a brisk nod before turning back to Kale, "Well there ya go, got what ya wanted after all."

Wei-Li did her best to roll with the toss but with her arms secured behind her back, all she managed to do was pretty much nothing.  She winced, but looked around.

She'd heard Kale's voice and things sounded and felt like Destiny but until she could see it for herself, she knew to hold her tongue.

Curio had already proven himself a master manipulator and now was not the time to fall for one of his games.  She tried to push herself up, but finally decided that waiting might be easier on her system

In her mind she retraced the steps that had brought her here, trying to lock as many of her senses into the trip as possible.  She was going to need them if they were going to find Charlie and get to her while Rhaef was still able to fight Curio.

Kyoko glared at the man as he snapped back with his response. It had been more or less what she'd expected, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Still, she'd shown solidarity with the captain, and now it was time to shut her mouth and let Kale do what he did best.

Get them out of sticky situations.

Trying to allow herself to be comforted by Geoff's attempted smile, Lei brushed the back of her palm beneath her eyes, pushing away the tears there. At his request, she glanced down to his hands, flicking her gaze quickly to the surrounding group thereafter. As everyone became preoccupied by Wei-Li's entrance, she forced herself not to look on to check if Wei-Li was okay, instead busying herself with untying Geoff's hands as he had asked.

One glance at the knot and she already seemed to have it unravelled in her mind, small fingers plucking at its chords until quite deftly she had managed to render the tie useless, and Geoff's hands free. Catching his eyes, she tilted her head questioningly, her fear still evident though she now had something to do to try and distract her from it. Voice only barely a whisper, she questioned Geoff cautiously,

"And now?"

While the others were distracted, Geoff twisted his wrists a bit, trying to get circulation back into them.  He kept his arms behind his back, allowing the illusion of bondage.

Though his whispered words were slightly gruff, the compassion and approval for Lei were strong in his eyes.  "Check on Wei-Li.  Untie her if you can, but tell her not to move."

Geoff still felt like his head was about to split apart - from the inside out - but he had no time to nurse himself back to health.  He released a quiet moan, watching Kale.  This time he would wait for the captain's signal before moving.

At least Wei-Li was back.  That was good.  Wasn't it?

Kale looked a moment longer at Wei-Li to make sure she was alright, she was still conscious and she wasn't gritting her teeth in pain so for the time being she seemed to be fine.  Once relatively sure that she was unharmed he turned his attention back to the man in front of him.

"I'm still down one." Kale said.

Geoff moaned to his right and Kale's eyes flickered that direction for a second.  A second was all he needed to catch the look in Geoff's eyes.  Something had changed.  Geoff's look meant he was ready for action.  He then noticed Lei, positioned almost directly behind him ... maybe ...

He was careful not to look at Geoff again as he continued, he had seen that Lei was heading towards Wei-Li so he purposefully started walking around the lead man, taking his attention away from where Wei-Li was.

The rest of his crew were untied, but still a fight would be dangerous.  Kale counted fourteen men against the seven of them.  There was no doubt in his mind that Charlie - and Rhaef if they could get him - were worth the risk though.  He'd have to wait until Lei got Wei untied however or the girl would be helpless.  He needed to stall.

"Now you see, those mighty fine pistols of yers might convince me to tuck in my tail an' go.  Only one problem.  The crew member you ain't returned to me yet, she's my mechanic.  And it just so happened she was supposed to be fixin' the ship while we were visiting your boss.  With her gone this bird ain't goin' no where."

The man arched a brow and stared a Kale for a moment, considering.  After a rather long pause he finally said, "Yer lying."  His expression belied his words though, Kale could easily tell he wasn't sure whether he was lying or telling the truth.

Kale kept his face even and maintained his position on the opposite side of the bay from Wei-Li, "Wish I were.  I'd much rather leave while my crew is still all in one piece but I can't do that without a workin' ship." Kale shrugged his shoulders, "You an' I seem ta be at an impasse.  I reckon' the best solution would be to get me my mechanic so we can run along on our merry way."

Kyoko smirked at the man, loving the fact that, while he...and his men, were clearly in control, they were not informed, which could lead to a feeling of inferiority and opportunity for the oppressed.

"He's right, you know..."

She felt like chiming in. Maybe give somebody time to do something...

Connor looked around quickly, trying to take an assessment of the situation. And then an idea struck him. This idea would either work, or get him killed, but either way, something needed to happen.

Connor swallowed and took a breath before taking a step or two to the side and glancing at the leader.

"Hey...can I talk to you for a minute?"

Time to see how this played out.

Wei-Li did her best not to move, not to draw attention to herself but everything ached.

Larry had been quite... thorough in his tying, making sure there was no way she could squirm or otherwise work her way loose of the ropes he'd used on her.  She'd tried every trick she'd known when he was tying her, but either he knew what she was doing and compensated, or he hated Rhaef, and therefore her that much.

Her money was on the latter.  The man didn't strike her as a heavy hitter in the brains department, but when it came to vindictiveness-- he took the prize.

She closed her eyes, trying not to think of the pain in her shoulders, or how much it was going to hurt when circulation finally returned, but when she closed her eyes all she could see was Charlie trussed up like she was and the tone in Rhaef's voice as he bargained for their lives.

Wei-Li wanted, more than anything, to wipe that smile off of Currio's face.

Geoff kept the appearance of a broken man.  He let slip a moan or two, but they were quiet, understated.  As long as the bad guys thought he was helpless...

Soon.  Soon he would get his chance to knock those arrogant cods down to size.  He only needed Kale's signal... and Lei to finish untying Wei-Li.

It wasn't all that hard for Lei to creep her way over to Wei-Li without drawing all that much attention. After all, she was... well, very small. And plus, who would question a young girl greeting the just-returned crew member with a tight hug? Particularly when the majority of the men with guns were well distracted by Kale and the others.

The only problem was, one glance at the knot holding Wei-Li's wrists behind her back, showed Lei that it was going to be quite a bit more difficult than the one she had just untwined Geoff from. Not because it was any more elaborate... just tighter. Very much so. Chewing her lip in a deep concentration that she hadn't quite meant to reveal, Lei set to work with the knot, slowly prising the cord apart, bit by bit. Unlike Geoff's knot, though, she couldn't quite get the thing undone.

Also unlike Geoff, though, Wei-Li was far more flexible. So loosening the knot enough to allow her to bring her hands around to the front if she needed to, was at least useful. Leaning in close to Wei-Li's ear, she whispered softly, "Sorry. I can not do it all the way. It is very tricky."

Wei Li winced slighlty as Lei worked on her bonds, but tried to remain still even as her circulation returned to her arms.  It hurt.

She gave Lei what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"It's all right," she said softly, then added so only Lei could hear.  "Don't need my hands nearly as much as I need to be able to move. "

She winked as she prepared to do what she could to help if the moment came.  Having her hands would have been nice but she could move again, and she still had her legs.

She turned slightly and watched the others for a sign.

The lead man raised a brow, looking at Kale.  He wasn't as easily duped as the crew hoped.  Curio's men were the elite and although those that he sent to do grunt work like guard the crew weren't his top of the line men, none of them were complete idiots.  He had noticed Kale's apparent change in demeanor.  One moment furiously saying he wanted his whole crew back, the next acting as though he didn't really care.

He shook his head, "No, and no." he said turning to the other man that had stepped forward, "I ain't stupid.  I'll let one of my men take a look at your ship, if she looks flyable though there's gonna be a price ta pay for wasting my time."

The man looked like he meant it.  He was eying Kale evenly, daring him to protest again.  He was trying to call Kale's bluff.  The only thing that was still going their way was that he hadn't noticed that Lei had moved quietly from Geoff to Wei-Li.

Kale met the mans stare with an equally even one of his own.  Imagine that, a guard that wasn't complete brawns for brains.  He only took a few seconds to think over his options.  The ship was flyable, it wouldn't take a genius to check her out and see that, and the moment someone left to go check it out they probably tighten their guard and Kale was more then a little sure that the man intended to fulfill his promise of their being a price.

He had caught Lei's movement over to Wei-Li though and he could see the woman looking up at him now expectantly.  They'd have to move now.

Kale reached a hand up and scratched his head, his glance was brief but it met every one of his crews eyes, it meant: NOW.

"Well, I'm sorry ta hear that, I really am ...

With that he sprung into action.  He lunged forward, his arm shooting out to hit the mans wrist that held the gun down into his knee which he was bringing up.  The pain should cause the hand to release the weapon and Kale could make a grab for it.

It was the moment he'd been waiting for.  As Kale moved, Geoff also moved.  He lurched to his feet, reaching for the guards closest to him.  His arms went wide, intending shoulders to meet guard-gut as he came fully to his feet.  If he was lucky, he might even get a weapon or two.  Still, his primary goal was to at least knock the two guards out of commission; to buy enough time to go where he was needed.

As the others moved Wei-Li sprang into action, or more acurately slithered into action.  She quickly flipped herself around, working her still bound wrists to the front before swinging her legs around to provide the momentum she needed to stand and more imporantly move.

She didn't need full use of her hands, not for this.  She had her feet which could be just as formidable a weapon as hands.  She moved without thinking, intent on doing as much damage as she could.

Connor swore something unintelligible before leaping towards the man who'd confiscated the weapons he'd been pulling out of the locker.

He figured it was the best bet at this point.

The man that Kale attacked shouted a curse as his wrist was hit into Kale's knee, the force was so strong that Kale could swear he heard something break and the gun clattered to the floor.  Kale made a grab for it, but even with a broken wrist the man was still thinking on his feet, his leg shot out and kicked Kale hard in the ribs as he dove for the gun, the impact causing Kale's fingers to miss its grasp and push the gun further form himself as he fell to the floor, the man standing over him.

Kale's action was so sudden however that many of the other guards were still watching their leader's fight when the rest of the crew sprung into action.  Geoff stood up swiftly but his balance was a little off causing most of his weight to lean slightly to the left.  A bad thing for the man standing there who got the full force of Geoff's shoulder in his gut, but a good thing for the man on the right who was unscathed.  The guy on the left crumpled to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.  The other man quickly swung around, beginning to bring his gun up to shoot at Geoff.

The men guarding Wei-Li obviously didn't consider her a threat and as Geoff stood up they began to rush towards him to help out their colleagues.  Turning their back on Wei-Li was a back idea however as she quickly sprung to her feet.  She shot a leg out ot the closest retreating bad guy and the man tripped allowing her time to wrap her still bound hands around his neck and position herself on his back where he tried to bat her off.  The man that she didn't attack stood somewhere between Geoff and Wei-Li, uncertain as to what to do next.

The man standing by the weapons locker managed to duck Connor's attack and ran towards the bay doors where four of the remaining men were opening fire in the direction of Connor and Kale.  Bullets whizzed past Connor's ear as his leap became a roll to the floor.

Two men were rushing towards where Kyoko and Lei were still standing, staying out of the fight, not having noticed Kale's subtle signal.  The last two were trying to rush down the ramp and towards the lair, presumably to get back up.

Connor swore and continued his diving roll, now desperately looking for a weapon to use. He was also glancing to see where the nearest guard was.

So much for being helpful.

Momentum.  One of these days, Geoff was going to fully think through that whole momentum thing before he lept into action.  Now was not the day, however.

Having completely missed the second guard, the pieces clicked into place.  There would be a gun - at least one - trained on him within a matter of seconds.  He had to do something to avoid being shot.  He also had to do something to attain a weapon.

Well, action was better than inaction.  Right?

Geoff did the only thing he could think of.  He attempted to grab hold of whatever part of his victim was in reach, hoping like hell that he'd have enough strength in his momentum to pull the poor sucker into a shield position.  If there was enough momentum, he wanted to "spin" the hapless bad dude into the gun-toting bad dude.  But, the best laid plans of mice and men...
This message was last edited by the player at 06:50, Fri 18 July 2008.

Wei-Li broke the scene down mentally, cacluating the moves needed to keep the crew of destiny whole and they simply didn't foot out as they where.  It would take her too long to take this man down in a sleeper hold and that time was all the two approaching Lei and Kyoko needed.  Then there were the two running for the ramp.

She took a deep breath.  First things first.  The man she was dealing with had weight and size on her.  She had surprise, which had been used up and she had the ropes.

She knew if she could get the right leverage she could bring him down... but then what?

She shook her head for a minute then turned to Kyoko and Lei.  "Move!" she yelled.

Lei had scrambled back and out of the way as the fighting had begun, automatically attaching herself to Kyoko's side. Other than that, she seemed completely frozen in terror. She wasn't sure quite what she was meant to do, where to look, what to think. It was only Wei-Li's urgent command that snapped her back into reality.

Move.

She only needed to be told once. Just as two of the men were practically upon her and Kyoko, Lei scurried quickly out of the way... by ducking under one of the men's legs, tiny as she was. The only question would be whether she had caught him off guard, or given him the perfect opportunity to grab her.

Kale grunted as the man's kick hit him solidly in the ribs before he hit the ground.  Ta me da! he cursed as the gun spun across the metal floor and out of reach.  There was no time to scramble for it yet, not with the man standing over him.  Kale quickly rolled onto his back, as he did so he swung his legs out with all the force he could muster, trying to knock the mans legs out from under him and buy him some time to make another grab for the gun.  He could hear shots being fired already and he'd feel a hell of a lot better if he had a pistol in his hand.

Kyoko was surprised that the crew sprang to action as quickly as they did. But then, this was the crew of Destiny. Kyoko immediately crouched the second she heard the first gunshot echo off the chamber wall. This was not good.

She saw the two men at her and Lei, and Kyoko dove towards the girl, hoping to provide her with cover. It was ironic, at least in Kyoko's mind, that she was willing to sacrifice herself for the girl. But hard times brings out parts of you that you didn't know existed...

When the fan suddenly got brown and sticky, stopped whirling around in a smooth fan-like way, Dake was taken by surprise.  He is the outsider, whatever his history with the captain, and his mind was far and away when Kale made the signal.  His mind was intent on not letting his mouth open up, because the sight of Wei-Li tied up and treated so callously, the sight of his hero -- wait, no!  His former hero!  Former hero! -- trying to bargain with the bastards, the whole sight of it...

Well, it made his mouth want control.  Which was a bad thing.  Dake knew it was a bad thing.  And bad things were bad.  Which Dake knew, because --

And then the fan got brown and sticky.

To one side, Lei and Kyoko.  To the other side, Kale.  Kale's gun goes spinning out of his hand, and Dake, torn for a moment, hesitates.  Then he tries to get to Kale's gun.  He doesn't want it for himself.  He wants to kick it -- push it -- send it spinning closer to Kale, and then run and tackle -- at the knees, because Dake is a younger brother, and dirty fighting is a younger brother's only recourse when it comes to self defense -- the men who are menacing Kyoko and Lei.

He doesn't even think anything bad about Kyoko when he acts on this plan.

Connor's roll landed him almost right next to the weapons locker, if he could avoid the men shooting almost haphazardly into the cargo bay he should be able to slip inside the locker and get his hands on something nice and shiny.  No one really seemed to be paying direct attention to him, however, there were definitely bullets whizzing through the air for him to be worried about.

Geoff successfully caught onto the arm of the man he had knocked down, using both his momentum to the side and the falling mans momentum towards the ground he used his left hand to swing the man in front of him just as the second man fired his weapon.  The bullet hit the man Geoff was swinging square in the chest and he crumpled to the ground, obviously dead on the spot.  Geoff looked back up at the man who had fired the shot and the man actually stumbled back a step, shocked at what he had done and perhaps just a little afraid that he'd be next.  However, the man that had been trying to decide whether or not to help the men attacking Geoff or the man that Wei-Li had attacked had chosen to go for the larger target.  He shot at Geoff, the bullet nicked his right shoulder, a glancing blow but enough to draw Geoff's attention.


Wei-Li was finding it difficult to get the man she had her arms wrapped around into the proper sleeper hold position - so she did the next best thing she could think of.  Expertly using the other mans size and lack of balance to her advantage she managed to flip him down onto the ground.  Her arms and the rope still wrapped tightly around his throat.  However, in getting him to the ground she managed to get herself pinned beneath him.  He gurgled and tried to force her arms off from around his throat.  In order to do this he dropped his gun on the ground beside the two of them, just inches away from Wei-Li's grasp.

Kyoko and Lei had finally sprung into action as bullets began flying across the bay and two men began rushing towards them.  Kyoko tried to leap in front of Lei to protect the young girl but she wasn't quick enough.  Lei had already begun rushing the men who were running towards them.  A tactic that obviously took the men by surprise.  She managed to run right under the first man, knocking him off his feet in the process.  He almost fell on top of her but she managed to duck to the side just in time.  Lei was getting dangerously near where the bullets were flying now.  To her left Geoff was fighting with two men and Wei-Li was lying on the ground trapped beneath a third man.  To her right Kale was struggling with the lead man and Dake seemed to be heading to aid him and Connor was by the weapons locker.

The second man didn't falter however and kept rushing towards Kyoko.  He was drawing his weapon has he ran but didn't yet have it in hand as he approached her.

Kale's kick knocked the lead man flat onto the floor with a loud grunt.  He rolled over to get the gun that had been knocked away from him just as Dake kicked it towards him.  The gun spun across the floor and almost right into Kale's hands.  Dake didn't stop there though, he kept running across the bay towards Kyoko and Lei.  In order to get there however he had to rush across the area where the men were opening fire and he was forced to drop to the ground or risk getting shot.  He could see that Lei had almost positioned herself in the line of fire too however which would not be good.

        |                                            |
        |                                 4          |
        |                             X              |
        |                           X
        |      2X                  5                 |
        |                 3                 6  X     |
        |                                   D X      |
        |  1   X                                7X   |
        |                                            |
        |_____________  X  X  X  X    _______________|


                          X  X

[1. Connor
 2. Kale
 3. Dake
 4. Kyoko
 5. Lei
 6. Geoff
 7. Wei-Li

Here is a diagram, the X's are the bad guys, the D means a bad guy who is dead]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:36, Sun 27 July 2008.

Connor ducked as the bullets whizzed right by him. Gorramit. He wasn't about to stop now, even if it meant taking a bullet. Connor made a mad dash, attempting to cover the few remaining feet that separated him and the weapons locker. Connor knew he'd be grabbing more than one gun, and he'd also be looking for something that could pause the firefight. Or maybe win it? Connor had no idea if Kale even had something like that.

Time to find out, provided he didn't get shot to hell first.

Wei-Li winced slightly when she realized that her manuever had worked a little bit too well.  Now the man could better use his weight against her.  When she saw the gun she felt a slight tinge when she realized that she might have to kill to get out of this, but visions of Charlie trussed up like a Thanksgiving goose quickly settled that thought in her mind.

Charlie had almost killed Kyron to save the crew, Wei-Li realized she could do no less.  Even as she made the decision a new plan of attack formed.

She couldn't get the hold she needed to incapacitate this man, but she could use what he was trying to do against him.  She felt his body shift and contined to fight him, giving just a little, and showing signs of weakness on the side that would lead her to landing on his gun.

One down, only a hundred more to go.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly a hundred to go, but with the pounding in his head, the gunshots, the dying and the spinning, it didn't much matter if it was one or a thousand.  There were more bad guys than Geoff could take out alone.  Good thing he wasn't alone.

Turning his focus onto the shooter, Geoff felt the burn of the graze.  He was not a happy camper.  The blatant pain, however, seemed to clear some of the fog from his mind.

Enough of these games he thought.  Then, he roared.  It wasn't the sound of a man in pain, it was the sound of a man pissed off; a dangerous man; a man who didn't care about the consequences.

With the strength of long-trained muscles, Geoff dropped to the corpse at his feet, reaching for the gun still held in dead fingers.  Even as his knees hit the grating of the cargo bay, his hand brought the gun up and squeezed the trigger.  Once, twice.  A double-tap.  Without pause he shifted aim to the gunman who'd backed up a step, intending on another double-tap.

Geoff didn't like getting shot, even if it was just a graze.

Kale looked up as the gun spun into his hand with surprise as he saw that Dake was the one that had kicked it towards him.  He'd half expected him to stay out of the fight ... but no, that wasn't Dake, not the Dake that Kale remembered.  The kid that did whatever he could to keep up with Kale and his brother.  The two of them never did give him enough credit.

Kale didn't have time to think on that now though.  He pushed himself up onto his knees and spun around, firing off a shot at the man that he had just knocked to the ground and scrambling to his feet.

Unfortunately for Kyoko, she was now on the ground. Lei had run off, making her attempt seem somewhat foolish. Kyoko felt a mixture of relief that Lei had gotten away and panic as the second man approached her, drawing his weapon. Kyoko tried getting to her feet, but the heel of her shoe snagged something on the floor and she feel back down to the ground unceremoniously.

Kyoko swallowed hard and began to back away from the man, desperately reaching for something she could use to fend him off.

Dake wasn't a big planner.  This was bad, but also good.

The bad news first:  He had no clever plan up his sleeve.  When he entered the firing range, he dropped -- hopefully below the bullet zone.  But Dake was about motion; nervous energy; momentum.  He dropped -- yes -- but to his knees, skidding as far as he could before crawling and/or rolling to get out of the way seemed like the best plan.  And the cargo bay's floor?  Was pretty painful.  Not made for skidding.  Bad idea, Dake.  Bad idea.

He was still trying to get to Lei and Kyoko; that much hadn't changed.  He was just also trying -- not very well, but he wasn't used to this kind of thing -- not to actually get hit by any bullets.

The good "good" news?

Well.  Dake wasn't a big planner, so he wasn't looking ahead to a future of pain and/or death and/or tragedy and/or swiss cheese-like demise.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:09, Wed 30 July 2008.

Scrambling as quickly as she could away from the men behind her, it took Lei a couple of seconds to regather her senses enough to realise she was about to dart into the line of fire. Inhaling sharply she dropped right then and there to the ground.

Problem was, that was all she did.

No scrambling to get out of the way, or to find cover, or perhaps even take down a few bad guys. She simply sat, scrunched into a tight ball as close to the ground as possible, pressing her palms into her ears as if to try and shut out the overwhelming noise of gunshots and struggle. Dully, somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that she wasn't exactly safe here, but at least her tight ball on the ground was a little better than standing up. Fighting the urge to scrunch her eyes shut tight as well, she peeked up over her knees, spying a... tumbling, crawling, rolling Dake heading her way and she managed to blurt out a single word; "Kyoko."

Apparently despite her effort to block out everything around her, she had still managed to pick up on the struggle going on just behind her and seemed quite desperate for Dake to do something to help out Kyoko seeing as Lei herself was... well, rather useless, curled up in a ball of fright as she was.

Connor miraculously made it across the few feet of bullet ridden space to the weapons locker unscathed and quickly slipped inside.  No one seemed to be following him and here he was safe from gunfire and the chaos outside.  He to the back of the storage locker to the false wall which he pushed aside to reveal the secret compartment where the crew of Destiny kept their weapon storage.

There were three shotguns hung on the wall, a few pistols and a crate that used to hold grenades but that Connor remembered all too well had been used back on Torrance Station - they hadn't resupplied yet.  There was also a small collection of knives.  Outside the storage room he could hear the gunfire still going and the shouts of his crew mates.  Before he had a chance to start loading up on gear however, the man that he had tried to tackle earlier pushed open the storage room door, "Tryin' to hide, are ya?" he said with a grin.

Still in the cargo bay Wei-Li struggled beneath the weight of the man she had managed to pull down on top of herself.  He was trying hard to get her off and get back to his gun.  Slowly he rocked back and forth and each time Wei-Li offered a little resistance.  She could feel his muscles tightening up for one final turn that would get him flipped back over and able to go for his gun.  Right has he started to pull his hardest Wei-Li stopped resisting completely and his momentum flung her over him and almost directly over the pistol and caused him to lose his balance slightly, falling to his right side before trying to scramble to his feet.

A few feet away Wei-Li heard Geoff roar in anger followed shortly by the sound of a pistol being fired multiple times.  Geoff's aim and rage were deadly, the two men attacking him didn't have a chance.  The first fell to the floor immediately - obviously dead the other managed to get off a second shot at Geoff which missed, before Geoff unloaded on him as well.  He shouted as the first bullet hit his shoulder, the second silenced him and he crumpled unceremoniously to the floor.  Geoff was left standing with a smoking pistol, surrounded by three dead men.  The four by the cargo bay door were still firing though and seeing Geoff take out three of their comrades they began focusing their gunfire in his direction.  Beyond them Geoff could make out the two men who were now down the ramp and heading off into the night, presumably to get back-up.

Kale managed to get to his feet as he fired the pistol.  The bullet connected with the lead mans leg and he fell to the floor once more with a groan.

"You think this will stop Curio?" he said to Kale through gritted teeth, staring up at him.

Kyoko scrambled backwards, trying to get away from the man closing in on her.  Her hands grasped furiously for something, anything that she could use to stop him.  The man smiled, he was missing one of his bottom teeth, "You're a pretty little thing, I'll regret killing you." he said just as Kyoko's outstretched fingers fell upon one of Charlie's wrenches that she had decided wouldn't be useful for fixing the landing gear when she had gone out after they had landed.

A few feet away Dake watched as Lei dropped to the ground and curled into a small ball.  It wasn't the safest location in the cargo bay, but tucked so close to the ground like she was the bullets were flying well over her head.  Behind her Dake could see that Kyoko was clearly in trouble however, lying prone on the ground and trying desperately to scramble away.  There was nothing he could do until he got close enough to help though, and getting close enough to help through the barrage of gunfire was no easy task.  A few steps in Dake felt the sting of a bullet connect with his left forearm and he just barely managed to duck under one that would have found a home in his skull before the men suddenly changed the direction of their shots.  He heard a shout as they actually hit one of their own men, the one that Lei had ducked other and a quick glance told Dake that they were now opening fire on Geoff.

        |                                            |
        |                                  X    4    |
        |                                            |
        |                         3      D
        |      2X                  5                 |
        |                                  6  D      |
        |                                   D D      |
     1  X                X                       X  7|
        |                  X                         |
        |_____________        X  X    _______________|


                          X  X

 1. Connor
 2. Kale
 3. Dake
 4. Kyoko
 5. Lei
 6. Geoff
 7. Wei-Li

Connor's hands immediately went to one of the shotguns. He hefted it, only to hear a cold voice call out from behind him. He smiled and pumped the shotgun, before turning and pointing it at the man.

"Not particularly."

Connor advanced towards the man at the entrance to the locker. One might ask why? Well, it was very simple. Connor had a sneaking suspicion that the shotgun may or may not be out of shells. If it turned out that the shotgun needed reloading, Connor wanted to be close enough to use the gun as a club.

Wei-Li tucked and rolled with the momentum of her attacker's movements, her entire being focused on the gun.

'Land, grab shoulder roll, fire as he comes into view... Land, grab... shoulder roll, fire ad he comes into view.'

It was just like a run through on the new choreogrphy for a routine.  She knew the instructions, knew how to make her body do what was needed.

'Land... grab... shoulder roll... fire as he comes into view...'

She focused on the weapon knowing that if the man got it, nothing else would matter.

'Safety... on or off?'

'Land... '  She landed, reaching for the gun as part of the landing, with her wrists still bound toghther it would have to be a shoulder roll...

She let her breath become part of the routine she'd worked out in her head.

'Grab... shoulder roll...'

OOC - let the GM Roll...

Kale looked down at the man who was staring steadily back up at him.  He wasn't afraid to die.  The expression on his face made him think of Rhaef, that same determined look in his eyes, and he was once again reminded that this was where Rhaef had been trained, this is where he had grown up.  But this ain't who he is ... he ain't scum like this.

Kale shook his head at the man, "I ain't lookin' ta stop Curio.  I just want my man back, it's you folk that went and got all touchy 'bout it.  So I'm thinkin' the real question you should be askin' is: do you think this will stop us?"

Kale pulled the trigger then.  He didn't even wait to see if the man was dead, it had been a point blank shot, there really wasn't any room for doubt.  He turned immediately to the been that were moving in on Geoff now across the bay.

"Stop shootin' at my gorram crew!" he shouted and opened fire on the four men.

Geoff didn't much care who was shooting at him.  The fact that he was being shot at kind of set the tone of the day.  He turned, figuring he had at least six bullets left.  He had to make them count.

Sight.  Acquire.  Fire. the old, familiar litany flickered through his mind.  There were two men closer to him than to Kale.  There were another two closer to Kale.  There were another two beating a quick retreat.  He couldn't get them all.

Sight.  Acquire.  Fire.  He just had to concentrate on the closest target and deal with the rest as he came to them.  To that end, he opened fire on the nearest of Curio's men; a long-conditioned double-tap.  A quarter second pause to be sure the target was down.  Slight shift and another double-tap.

When this was all over and Rhaef was back on the ship, Geoff was going to have a little talk with the Captain's Second; a little talk with fists.  Rescuing Rhaef certainly wasn't as easy as it should have been.  Geoff was actually starting to break a sweat.

Kyoko felt her heart begin to pound, no, hammer in her chest. She was frightened. Moreover, she was truly unused to such a raw display of violence up close. So, she nearly froze up when the man pronounced how "it was a shame to kill her".

Survival instinct took over. Kyoko's hands found the wrench, and before she could even register what the hell she was doing, she let out a frustrated scream and swung the wrench as hard as she could at the man.

Dake let out a shout of pain as the stray bullet connected with his arm.  It hurt ... a lot.  Dake had always considered himself a daredevil but he had never been shot before.  This is what Nate and Kale had faced he thought as the sound of gunfire continued and he found himself ducking to the floor as another bullet whizzed past his head.  He felt small as he hit the floor, unable to will himself to move forward.  However much he wanted he was not Nate or Kale and he couldn't imagine how they had faced this during the war - how Kale continued to face this today.  He wished he were more like him ...

No, no, he didn't want to be like Kale, he didn't want to be the type of man that leads other men to their death.  That just takes off when faced with reality.  Who just abandons the people that need him most.  He was better then that.

Up ahead he could see Lei curled in a ball shouting at him to go help Kyoko.  He had to move.  He couldn't just lay here on the ground hoping the bullets would stop.  So he forced himself forward.  He reached Lei first.

"Keep low, and hide.  Get behind something big." he told her, and helped guide her out of the line of fire and closer to the side walls were there were large crates and other items for the small girl to hide behind.  Then he moved towards Kyoko just as she swung the wrench at the man looming over her.  He raised his eyebrows, "Nice shot." he commented before grabbing the guy she had just hit and grabbing for his gun while he was still dazed.

Lei let out a small scream as she saw Dake fall to the ground and shout in pain.  Everything was happening so fast that she hadn't actually seen him get hit and for a moment she was afraid that the wound had been fatal.  Immediately all of Acacia's  old medical journals that she has spent so much time reading began flashing through her head.  All the possibilities of where he had been hit and how much time he'd have before he'd die and if he could even be saved.  But a moment later he was crawling towards her.  She could see the blood coming from his arm and knew the shot wasn't fatal.  He reached her quickly and she felt herself shaking her head as he told her to hide.

Her lower lip quivered as he began moving her from the small spot on the floor that she had curled up onto.  Her body didn't want to respond to his guiding hand and her mind was too terrified to try and force it too but somehow she was moving.  Once she reached the side she had regained control of herself and began burrowing her way in between the crates and out of the line of fire.  She watched from between a crack between the crates as the rest of the confrontation unfolded.

As Connor turned around with the shot gun in hand the mans face paled considerably, he had obviously been expecting to find a scared man trying to hide from the fight and instead found someone even better armed then himself.  He didn't even have a chance to shout out before Connor fired and the man was thrown right out the door from the force of the bullet.  Things were looking up.

In the cargo bay Wei-Li's silent chant became a reality.  Her shoulder hit the metal flooring with a jarring blowing, it hurt, but not enough to keep her from the task at hand.  Her fingers managed to connect with the weapon and she rolled up onto her knee as her attacker landed ungracefully in his face on the floor.  It took only one shot at this range for the man to not get up again.  However, she didn't have time to think about what had just happened because the men opening fire on Geoff were coming dangerously close to hitting her as well.

Across the cargo bay Kale's shot rang out and the lead man lay motionless on the ground as he turned to open fire on the other four men.  He had to aim carefully so that he wouldn't hit his crew and make every shot count.  His first shot, hit one of the men in the leg and he fell to one knee and spun around, realizing that they were being fired at from both sides.  He shouted something to the other men to warn them and a second man turned to face Kale instead of Geoff.  Two bullets narrowly missed him but his second shot took down the man who he had first hit.  The second man was still opening fire however.

Geoff was luckier.  His anger driving him to perfect precision.  This is what the large man was built to do.  His aim was impeccable and the two men went down easily, before either managed to actually hit him.

Kyoko's hit with the wrench landed solidly and the man began falling to the ground, but was caught by Dake who easily managed to remove the mans gun from his hand and throw him all the way to the ground.  He stared up at Dake with a confused expression, not understanding how the tables had turned on him so quickly.

Lei remained safe in her hiding spot, watching the fight.

Two down, four to go, or was that three?  It didn't really matter how many targets were left until there were no more bullets.  He wished he knew how much ammo was left.

Geoff took half a second to process the sounds around him.  Sure, they said you couldn't tell the difference between friendly and enemy fire, but you could get a semi-decent read on the situation if you knew what to listen for.

A pain- or surprise-filled shout off to the right.  Dake or Connor.  (He couldn't quite identify their non-vocal sounds yet)  Hit, maybe not dead, but hit.  Shot-gun blast to the distant right against the wall of the ship.  No shotguns on the bad dudes so either Lei, Dake or Connor.  Man those boys got around.  Frustrated scream off to his right.  The Companion.  She'd probably broken a nail.  Shots from Kale.  In the periphery to his right.  Bad guy down.  Kale still alive.  A shot to his left.  That was Wei-Li.  No scream.  Target down; Wei-Li alive.

Oh sure, Geoff had seen enough action in his life to know that just because a girl didn't scream didn't mean she was the one alive.  But when you're in the thick of battle and fantasy is all you've got to keep you putting one foot in front of the other - and when the idea of your little sister lying dead would be enough to send you into a berzerker's rage from which you might never return - you might take a little vacation to the Land of Denial.

He had no clue whether or not his assumptions were true, but he didn't much care.  He was fighting.  Who had time to play at answering riddles while at least three bad guys were still very much alive and Geoff's gun might soon be out of ammo?

Kale would have to get the second bad guy within the ship, Geoff was focused on the two trying to get back to Curio.  They were still within pistol range; he hoped.  They were moving targets.  Geoff was a moving platform, propelling himself forward so as to be in range of a corpse's weapon should he need it.  His conscious brain was shut off, leaving nought but conditioning.

He depressed the trigger rapid-fire, stitching an arc between the two escapees.  If he could just knock them down, that would buy the necessary time to get more ammunition and complete the job properly.

He hoped this would be over soon.  He was starting to feel something odd in the pit of his stomach.

Wei-Li flattened herself out along the ground, using the downed guard as cover, she came up and focused on the men shooting at Geoff (and there-by her) from the doorway.

They had to be taken out and fast.  If they didn't get them all it would be over before it started and Rhaef and Charlie were depending on them.

Kale watched the first man fall to the floor but the second was still opening fire and his aim was deadly enough to cause Kale to start running for cover, Gorram people get on his ship and shoot at his crew ...

He ran backwards in order to keep an eye on the rest of the fight, each bullet from the mans gun narrowly missing him and each bullet from his gun narrowly missing the man.  But behind the man Kale could see that Geoff had taken out the other two.

"Catch the ones running away!" Kale shouted at Geoff as he reached cover behind the mule that was strapped down to the floor.  If they got more back up they were all going to be in trouble.  Kale leaned his back up against the mule pausing for a second, listening to the gunfire on the other side to determine exactly where the other man was so he could make this next shot count.

Most of the sounds of gun fire had died down so it wasn't too hard to listen for the gun shots.  Behind him and to the left.  Another shot.  To the left but moving right.  Another shot.  Okay, go!

Kale stood up and aimed slightly to his left, the man was almost exactly where he expected him to be.  He fired off two shots and hoped they hit home.

Kyoko looked at the wrench in her hands, almost completely shocked that she'd knocked the man over in her desperate attempt at survival. Kyoko turned it over and stood up. She walked over to the man, then aimed another strike at the man's head.

She was feeling pissed off and slightly barbaric. Huh, so this was how the crew got so riled up sometimes...

While the man was still staring up at him all confused-like, Dake used the opportunity to check and see how loaded the man's gun still was.  There weren't too many bad guys left, which was, as far as Dake was concerned, a good thing.  Once the weapon checked out he aimed it at the man and narrowed his eyes at the cargo bay doors.  He heard Kale yell for Geoff to get the ones running away, and maybe Geoff could use some help.  First he'd have to take care of the man, though, and that was a problem.  Dake wasn't a killer.  He just wasn't.  He could shoot somebody who was actively shooting at him but you get that same person weaponless and on the ground and he just couldn't.  In fact, his arm smarted so badly that he'd probably even take a lot of pleasure in shooting somebody who was shooting at him right now.

"You should go on and get with Lei -- " he started to say to Kyoko, only to practically jump out of his skin when she started bludgeoning the poor bad guy with the wrench.  He blinked and then tried to loop an arm around Kyoko's waist and pull her off the guy.  "Whoa there, Miss-More-Civilized-Than-Thou."  If he wasn't unconscious by then, Dake also gave him a swift kick.

He'd sure love to know what all of this was actually about.

Connor watched the man fly backwards from the force of the blast, before pumping the shotgun. The smoking shell ejected and chambered a new one. Connor grabbed for the first pistol her could find, tucked it into the back of his pants, then waded back into the fray.

Hopefully, this was enough fire power to start turning the tides. Connor scanned the room, trying to figure out where he was needed most.

From her vantage point behind the crates, Lei peered with wide eyes as if she were trying to make up for scrunching them shut with fear before. The relative safety of her position seemed to have forced her mind to focus once more and she was taking in all the information she could get. She only allowed herself to blink when the overly loud gunshots pierced her ears enough to make her wince. Otherwise, she attempted to focus her hearing on the conversations around her; Kale's urgent command, Dake restraining Kyoko...

Her eyes flitted quickly to the door of the cargo bay, assessing how many more of these horrible men there were, her ears straining to gather any more information that might help the crew.

Kyoko took another wild swing as Dake held her off of the man. Blinding rage had filled her and all she wanted to do was hurt the gorram thug as much as her weak self could manage.

She shouted out again, struggling to get out of Dake's grip, and failing as the man was far stronger than she.

No shot rang out as Geoff pressed down the trigger ... the gun was out of bullets and in the meantime the two men were now at the trap door that he and Kale and Wei-Li had entered when they first arrived.  He could see one of the men kneeling down, preparing to draw it open.

Wei-Li fortunately was luckier.  Seeing that the men actually in the cargo bay had already been taken down by Geoff's shots she did her best to aim out the door at the men on the ground.  Her shots rang out but from this far back her aim was not good.  Wei-Li could fight when needed but she was not a fighter and trying to shoot at men a considerable distance away was not her strong suit.

However, the shots did succeed in causing the men to pause, realizing that the shooting in the bay was now being directed at them.  The man by the hatch shouted something to the other before turning his attention back to getting the thing open.  The other man turned and fired back into the cargo bay, not really taking aim, just providing cover for their escape.

The man that had driven Kale behind the crate was exactly where he had expected him to be and his last two shots rang true.  The man let out a shout and then crumpled to the ground allowing Kale to come out from his cover.

The man on the ground at Dake and Kyoko's feet was very obviously unconscious and would probably stay that way for some time, not to mention the headache he was going to wake up with.  There was a gash on his head that blood was slowly dripping from but it didn't look too deep.  Probably not deadly.  Dake, fairly easily, was able to keep Kyoko from bludgeoning the man to death.  He didn't have time for a lecture or anything though because bullets began flying again haphazardly across the bay.  The man outside was just shooting wildly at this point and anyone in the bay was fair game.

The bay that Connor emerged into was quite a bit different from the one he had left.  In his absence the crew had managed to take out or down almost everyone.  Except the sound of gunfire was still ringing and it only took him a second to find its source.  Outside he could see two men, one firing wildly into the bay, the other knelt on the ground.

From her hiding place Lei observed the fight, her senses picking up on every gunshot, heard every shout.  Although to the others the quick orders that the man outside had shouted to his partner were indistinct Lei could make them out perfectly and what he had said sent a shiver down her spine.  "Cover me, we have to get in quick, Curio told Ford to blow the ship if things went south."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:35, Sun 24 Aug 2008.

Connor ducked as a ricocheting bullet whizzed by his head. He breathed a sigh, then began moving as quickly as he could towards the exit of the cargo bay, where the remaining two men had retreated to.

When Connor felt he was actual close enough to fire off the gun without hitting anyone inside, or causing significant collateral damage, he leveled the shotgun at the two and pumped it, squeezing the trigger. At worst, he figured he could keep the two pinned down while the others get here.

Well, that or he could get shot, but Connor liked to think positively.

Lei's grip upon the crate she was peeking around tightened considerably, her knuckles whitening as the icy remains of her shiver lingered on. The ship was about to be blown up. With everyone on it. And nobody else realised.

Heart pumping twice as fast as it had been before, Lei weighed up her options quickly. She could let somebody know... Kale, Dake, Geoff... but what good would that do? Surely she'd get the attention of more than just the intended person. And by that time, perhaps it would be too late. It sounded like whoever this Ford person was, he was ready to blow the ship right now.

At this thought, she peeked just a little further around the crate, giving her a full view of the darkness outside the cargo bay. Narrowing her gaze very slightly, her enhanced eyesight allowed her to clearly make out any figures cloaked in the darkness. Ford, whoever he may be, must be out there somewhere, relatively close if he was to detonate a bomb, yet far enough away that he wouldn't get caught in the blast. A quick, near subconscious calculation of the distance from the ship he would need to be to hold such a position lead Lei to scan more carefully, until...

There he was.

A split second later, with a quick scan now of the inside of the bay, and Lei had made her decision. Darting out from behind her crate, focusing intently on the directions of the flying, haphazard bullets, Lei quickly made her way over to Wei-Li, being that she was the closest crew member with a gun.

"Wei-Li... I need to borrow this, please."

Lei didn't give Wei-Li very much time to think about the request, as she was already gently prising the weapon from her fingers, now aiming it with an oddly calm determination out into the darkness where she knew Ford was hiding. Biting her bottom lip in an effort to somehow concentrate yet not think about what she was doing, at the same time, she carefully mimicked what she had seen of Geoff and Kale's use of a gun, zoning in directly on Ford... and firing. Just once.

Wei-li had hunkered back down as he bullets seemed to rain down all around her.  She was startled when Lei slipped out from behind the boxes and made her way over.  She had been about to pull the girl down behind he man she'd dropped when she asked for and took her pistol before she could even wrap her mind around what was happening.

As Lei fired, Wei-Li watched their surroundings ready to to pull Lei to safety if needed.

It wasn't like she couldn't do any worse than Wei-li herself had done.

Kale came up from behind the crate and didn't even watch as the man he shot fell.  He wasn't a killer and he took know joy in knowing that men had to die here today but when it came down to them or his crew ... well, Kale would chose his crew every time.

It took him only a second to realize that the men that had taken off down the cargo bay ramp had still not been taken down and were looking like they were about to get away.  He cursed under his breath, they weren't going to fair well if back up showed up.  Problem was they were shooting back now so it was too risky to go straight after them.

"Take cover!" he shouted at those of his crew that hadn't already dropped to the floor or found a place out of the line of fire.  Kale had been counting the mans shots, he was firing wildly.  It was a sloppy move, they had obviously driven them to desperate measures.  Kale liked desperate men - they made mistakes.

Seeing that Connor was already right by the bay doors he shouted to him, "Stay behind the bulkhead, shoot at the man by the hatch, don't let him get it open.  Geoff, catch!" he tossed his own pistol at the larger man, "He's got four shots left, let him use them, then go right down that ramp and take him out.  Dake -"  Kale cut off suddenly as he saw Lei run out from behind one of the larger crates and take Wei-Li's gun.

"Lei!  Girl, tian xiao de*, what are you doing, put the gun down!" he shouted at her as she took aim and fired out into the night.

* _{In the name of all that's sacred}

Dake hauled Kyoko, since he already had her at hand and all, back behind some crates.  Hopefully, she'd start to behave like a rational human being again once she wasn't so close to her assailant.  Dake wasn't thinking too hard about it; the gesture, chivalry gone wrong, was completely automatic for the kid.  The point right now was to stay unshot and then do what he could to -- well, he heard Kale shout his name, and he'd have paid attention if he hadn't also just noticed that Lei had streaked over to (and his heart leapt around like a fish covered in jello thrown into a vat of vaseline -- a markedly queer feeling) Wei-Li.  And had just taken a shot at the men outside.

Wei-Li looked up when she heard Kale yell, and when it seemed that Lei had finished whatever she was doing, Wei-li did her best to pull the girl behind what little cover they had.

She curled herself around the younger woman a littany of prayers on her lips.

They had to get out of this-- they just had to.

Rhaef and Charlie were depending on them.

Geoff caught the gun in his left hand, tossed it to his right and kept moving.  As soon as he got a clear shot, he took it.  Double-tap.  Pause.  Double-tap.  Toss the gun.  Keep moving.

Everything began happening in a blur of sound and motions.  The crew responded almost instantaneously to Kale's shouted commands.  Connor took cover and although few of his shots actually hit the target he was laying down enough firepower for the man who had been trying to get the hatch open to have to back off.  Between shots he'd try to lunge forward only to leap back again as a blast hit the ground nearby.  He was obviously desperate for some reason to get inside, but not willing to risk being hit by a shotgun blast.

The man beside him continued firing into the ship but true to Kale's words four shots later he was out of bullets. Geoff wasted no time in rushing to take the man out.  With no one firing at him he had a clear shot.  He moved down the ramp, his first double tap hit home, the second hit the man who was trying to open the hatch earlier, that much was clear from the shout, but it didn't stop him.  He kept running off into the night.

There was hardly anytime for the crew to realize what little Lei had just done.  Although everyone saw her grabbing hold of the pistol and firing out into the night, she was the only one who watched the body of the man hidden back among the tall grasses crumble to the ground.  Her shot painting a neat hole in his forehead before she could no long see his face.

The fight was over, a few men still groaned on the ground of the cargo bay, not all dead - they'd have to be gotten rid of - but the path to the hatch was clear now.  It was time to get what they had come for.

Kale had waited anxiously as his plan was executed and soon the sound of gunfire was only a dull echo in his ears.  He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and looked around the bay at his crew.  Everyone was still in one piece although he could tell a few of them were a little worse for wear.

"Well, that was all exhilaratin'-like.  You done good.  Anyone injured?" he asked, "If yer hurt, I want you stayin' here.  There's sure to be more fighting to get to Rhaef and I don't intend to take wounded into the fray."

He looked over at Wei-Li and Lei, "You take that gun from the girl, I don't want to see her carryin' again.  What were you thinking shootin' like that?"

Wei-Li gently rested a hand on Lei's shoulder.  "You better give me that hon," she said soflty.

As she held her hand out for the gun she gave Lei a kindly wink.  She hadn't hurt herself or anyone else on the crew-- which meant it was at least as good as she'd managed to do.

She looked over at Kale.  "He's playing games with guns and words and people's souls," she stated.  "When I was there they had Rhaef and Charlie in an office..."

With only half an ear for Kale's orders, Geoff was moving off the loading ramp in pursuit of the escapee.  He didn't want any survivors.  As soon as he had a clear shot, he took it, only then waiting for additional orders from Kale.

Lei ignored the exclamations from Kale and the confused look on Wei-Li's face, waiting until she was certain her shot had made contact to let the woman beside her pull her into safety. She still clutched the gun tightly in her fingers, even when it became apparent that the fight was over. It took both the second  address from Kale and Wei-Li's gentle words for Lei to loosen her grip, finally putting the gun in Wei-Li's extended hand.

"I... there was a man. He was going to blow up the ship. I did not think I should let him," she murmured to her feet, worried now that she had acted wrongly. Kale did seem quite angry with her. And she didn't feel very good about what she had done, either, despite the fact that it may have just saved all of their lives.

Kale had almost dismissed his comment to Lei out of hand when he saw that Wei-Li was gently taking the gun from her and became more involved in making sure the rest of the crew was alright.  When Lei spoke however he did a double take, looking back to her with a surprised frown, "Blow up the ship ..." he looked at Wei-Li as though she might be able to make sense of what the girl had just said.  He hadn't seen no one with explosives or nothing, but Lei was funny that way.  Sometimes she seemed to have heard things or seen stuff that no one else had.

He nodded his head and gave the girl a tight smile, "You done right, anyone ever go tryin' ta blow up the ship, you got my special permission to stop 'em." he let that sink in a moment before looking to the others.

"Connor, pull out anything else from the locker that may come in handy.  Dake, you look injured, you're stayin' with Kyoko an' I don't want to hear nothin' about it.  You're stayin' end of story.  Last thing I need is to lose someone while tryin' to get someone back." Kale didn't mention the other reasons he didn't want Dake along.  He remembered how impulsive the other man could be from when they were still kids.  He'd landed Nate and him in trouble his fair share of times by rushin' head long into situations that called for a certain amount of finesse.

"Wei, I'll need you to lead us back to where they got Rhaef and Charlie.  Geoff, Connor - your with me." he glanced at Kyoko, "Keep the lil' one safe."

Wei-Li gently patted Lei's shoulder.  "Ya done good Lei.  Thanks"

Then she turned towards Kale and gave a single nod.  "It's going to be a bit tricky... but if you can deal with me walking backwards, I should be able to lead you back."

She gave him a relieved smile.  She had been half expecting a fight on her hands, but Kale had surprised her.

Once the bad guys were done away with, Geoff looked at Kale and nodded.  He was as ready as he was going to get.  Well, almost.

With what seemed a dash of desperation, Geoff scrounged a few more weapons.  He was going in heavy and there were only two folks underground that he wouldn't shoot on sight: Rhaef and Charlie; and Rhaef only because the bastard was overdue to re-take his position as Kale's number two.

Just give me somethin' to shoot or some fine filly to bed.  Don' want all this responsibility.

Geoff banished the thoughts, turning his full focus on Kale.

Dake opened his mouth to protest as Kale told him that he would have to stay behind, "That's a load of crap Kale and you know it.  So I took a bullet, big deal." it took every last fiber of his being to try and play that off like it was nothing.  His arm was on fire with pain.  He'd never been shot before and it was not an experience he wanted to repeat - ever.  And really more then anything he would love to go lay down and have someone deal with the injury and forget about people shooting at him but gorramit, Kale was taking Wei-Li with him.  If he could take her then he could take him - plus he wouldn't feel too good about anything happening to her.  He could go and just make sure she stayed safe - ya that would be a good idea.  Maybe save her life, that should make her think of him.  Girls liked that sorta hero thing, right?

"You need all the hands you can get, they almost took us out here and there are probably a hell of a lot more of them inside." he stared at Kale, knowing what this was really about, "You just don't want me to go cause I'm Nate's little brother, but news flash Kale, Nate's dead."

Kale wasn't surprised to hear Dake begin to protest.  He'd expected as much from the kid, he'd always been as stubborn as a mule growing up, at the mention of Nate however Kale's face almost twisted into a scowl and he stopped what he was doing and stared the younger man down, "That ain't at all what this is about, boy, an' the fact that you can't see that makes a mighty fine case fer you stayin' behind.  I'm the Captain and yer on my ship so you do as yer told an' get that arm looked at.  Kyoko, I'm expectin' you to make sure he stays put." he cast one last dark look in Dake's direction before heading to where Connor stood by the weapons locker to stock up.

Connor watched the whole exchange and shook his head. Somethings never seemed to change. He'd been checking the shotgun he'd grabbed, making damn sure it was fully loaded. He'd also grabbed two pistols and a revolver. He figured the more fire power he had on him, them more he could cover up the fact that his aim at longer distances wasn't the greatest.

He turned to look at Kale.

"What do you think, captain? Grenades or no grenades?"

Lei easily let the gun slip from her fingers as Wei-Li removed it.  At the time taking it had seemed like the right thing, the only thing to do.  But now that the moment was over the heavy metal object felt strange and unsettling in her small hands.  She stared at the Captain for a moment longer, her head cocked slightly to the side.  He went from angry at her, to grateful, to angry at Dake in a matter of seconds.  People were confusing, no matter how long you were around them.

Lei quickly slipped over to where Dake was standing after the Captain had shouted at him and grabbed his hand - the good one - she winced slightly at the other arm, "You'll stay here and make sure we're safe?" she questioned Dake as she peered up at him.  She didn't much like the idea of everyone leaving her and Kyoko alone on the ship after all that fighting - what if they came back?

Kale looked at Connor, "We got any of 'em left?" he asked, stepping inside the weapons locker himself.  He tried to make himself think only of the supplies and not how they had come to be short on grenades - that led to a whole mess of hurt.  The night on Torrance Station was not one any of them were likely to forget and was probably at least half the reason he was so adamant to get Rhaef back.  He wasn't gonna lose another one of his crew, he'd already lost too many.

"I think guns will be fine, but we'll take the big ones, we may have to lay some serious cover dependin' on how many they got in down there." he hefted a shot gun off the rack for himself then stepped aside for Connor and Geoff to finish arming.

"Wei, you keep that pistol you took from Lei.  I'm hopin' they'll be no need fer you to use it but best be prepared in case things go south."

He waited then for the other two men, trusting Kyoko to make sure Dake stayed in line - the woman was at least good at that.  Once Geoff and Connor joined Wei-Li and him he turned to her, "Lead the way."

[To Beaumonde: The Underground]

Connor looked at the captain as he queried on how many were left. The answer happened to be two, but then the captain grabbed a big gun, and some ammko and walked right back out, heading towards the ramp. Connor made sure he had his couple of handguns and loaded shotgun and made his way out of the weapons area. Not before pausing and grabbing a grenade though...one never knew.

Connor tossed a nod to Kyoko and Dake before following Kale down the ramp.

(to Beaumond Underground)

Kyoko nodded as the captain gave her the orders to make sure Dake stayed put. Part of her was disappointed, one because she wished she could help more, and two, well...it was Dake.

Still, in an effort to improve her relationship with the captain and crew in general, she'd do as she was told. She began searching around for a first aid kit, looking at Dake occasionally, making sure he didn't do anything stupid...like try to leave.

She sighed, what a day.

Upon Kale's order, Geoff loaded up.  He wasn't going for stealth, he was going for firepower.  Once locked and loaded, he descended the ramp and followed the others, taking up rear-guard position.

-- To Underground

Wei-Li drew a deep breath and gave Kale a nod.  She paused long enough to give Lei a wink then she straightened her shoulders and headed for the ramp.

"See you all in a little bit," she said with a determined nod then joined the others.  There was work to be done.

---->To Beaumonde: The Underground

Dake glowered at Kale's back as he told him to stay and then stoutly ignored him as he, Geoff, Connor and Wei-Li took off into the night.  His anger was enough to make him forget about his arm for a moment even.  It was just like Kale, going off and leaving him behind.  Just like he had done after Nate died.  He'd probably go and get Wei-Li killed too.

As soon as the group was out of sight Dake gently untangled his hand from Lei's after a quick squeeze and headed towards the weapons locker without a word to either female.

Lei nibbled on her lip as she watched everyone file out into the night, managing only a tiny smile for Wei-Li as she winked. She hoped that a little while was really how long that they were all going to take. And that they'd all come back... in one piece.

As Dake disentangled himself from her, Lei sunk to the ground where she was, hugging her knees into her chest. Her eyes flickered cautiously between Kyoko and Dake, back and forth, back and forth. Kyoko was getting medical supplies for Dake's wound. That made enough sense. But Dake was in the weapons locker...

"Dake? What are you doing?", she asked with a bit of hesitation, her voice a bit nervous. He wasn't going to leave them, was he?

"I'm goin' after them, is what I'm doing." Dake said, "Kale needs me, he just don't know it yet." he said as he reached the weapons locker and found a pair of pistols that would do nicely.  He held them both, grunted slightly as even the weight of a pistol in his hand was too much for his arm and decided on only bringing one.

He looked back at Kyoko and Lei.  Kyoko he gave a look just daring her to try and stop him, but when he glanced at Lei his look softened, "Hey, I'll be right back, no worries.  You'll be fine here, fightin' is already over on the ship." he said, trying to sound reassuring, trying to not sound in pain.

Kyoko saw the look on Dake's face and smiled right back at him. She then sprinted as hard as she could over to the Bay door controls and hit the button she thought made the doors go up. She was praying nobody had locked it up, or that Dake couldn't get out before the bay doors closed...or that she'd hit the right button.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Wed 15 Oct 2008.

The bay doors immediately began closing with a slight rumbling sound after Kyoko hit the button, and they began closing rather quickly.  Long ago Kale had had Charlie rig the doors to close quickly - there were a lot of fast getaways in their line of work and quick closing bay doors had become a necessity.

"Tian xiao de!*" Dake exclaimed after Kyoko took off across the cargo bay, slamming her hand against the bay door button.  Dake sprinted towards the door but came to a halt a few feet away when he realized that he wasn't going to make it through before they shut. He turned to face Kyoko with a scowl on his face, "Yer only job on this ship to make life more difficult for me?" he said.  The woman was impossible.  Of all the people that Kale could have left on the ship with him it had to be the companion.  Same one that almost got him kicked off the gorram ship just for having a bit of fun.

"Move outta the way, I'm goin' even if I haveta physically move ya aside to get to them controls."  She was wasting precious time.  Dake was already behind the group, he needed to be quick if he wanted to catch up.

_{*in the name of all that's sacred}

Kyoko shook her head and stood her ground. Interesting time for her to get physical...again. She just looked drolly at Dake and sighed, folding her arms under her chest and setting herself into locked stance. Now, she had no doubt that Dake could physically pick her up and move her. But she could stall for time, because, Kyoko very much doubted she could talk the dumb oaf down from his blind conviction to die a fool's death.

The captain had given her an order, and...for once, she was going to try and follow it without question.

"You can try..."

Dake quirked an eyebrow, "That suppose to be threatening?" he asked, shaking his head.  The woman really was insufferable.  "Just get outta my way." he said, moving towards her, trying to decide what his next move was gonna be.  He'd said he'd pick her up and move her, but the sharp pain in his arm was a pretty good indicator that his arm would give out before he could lift her an inch.  He tried to push the pain away and look threatening at the same time, hoping she would move before he had to test his theory about his arm.

Kyoko closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. She was not ready for a physical confrontation of any sort.

At all.

She could her feel her heart hammering in her chest. Kyoko knew this much, the captain had wanted Dake to stay aboard...and Kyoko was frightened to open up the cargo bay doors because of their wonderful earlier incident. She opened her eyes and shook her head.

"No."

"I'm not moving..."

"Well, no sayin' I didn't warn you." Dake said, and moved towards the door, trying to dodge around the woman, rather than have to lift her up out of the way.  He feinted slightly to the left then moved in on the right, his arm outstretched for the bay door button.  He'd already wasted far too long arguing, he'd be lucky now if he could catch up with the crew at all.

Kyoko looked at Dake, steeling herself for the inevitable being moved out of the way...

And instead, Dake tried to dodge around her.

Huh.

Kyoko didn't really think, she just leapt at Dake, hoping that her slender frame would be enough to either knock him back, and let her reposition, or, with any luck, have her end up pinning him to the ground...which she figured had a chance to succeed as much as it did to fail horribly.

Dake tried to hit the button for the bay doors but was stopped with his fingers just a few inches away as Kyoko went plowing into his side ... his left side ... more specifically his left arm ...

Pain washed over him in waves and he let out a short yell followed by a series of curses as he felt himself fall to the ground with Kyoko on top of him.  Typically his balance would have been better but the pain shooting up and down his arm let him think of nothing else.

He roughly pushed the woman off of him once he had hit the ground and rolled onto his right side with a groan, "Ta Ma De Huhn Dahn ... Lio Cho Jwei Ji Neong Hur Ho Deh Yung Duh Buhn Jah J’wohn ..." the curse went on.  He wouldn't admit to himself that this was exactly why Kale didn't want him to go.  Look what happened when a tiny 100 lb woman ran into him ... gorram hell ...

Kyoko hit the ground roughly and rolled for a second before she stopped. She sighed inwardly, why the hell was she trying to stop this idiot from going to get killed? Hadn't she just bitched to the captain about him?

She sighed outwardly. Kyoko could feel a bruise forming on her ribs where she'd hit the ground after he'd pushed her off him. She also knew, undoutbedly, that her hair was a mess, and she cracked two nails. Two!

Kyoko sat up and brushed off what dirt she could get off of herself. She glared a bit at Dake, before looking to Lei.

"Lei, sweetie, could you go get a first aid kit? I think Dake needs it..."

Lei's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, despite what were initially soothing words from Dake. If he was going, then that left her and Kyoko. And he didn't know for certain that the fighitng was all over... what if someone did come back? Or what if Dake got hurt... moreso than he already was, by trying to go after the rest of them?

Huddling into a tighter and tighter ball, Lei simply kept her anxious gaze flickering between Kyoko and Dake, Kyoko, Dake, Kyoko, Dake...

KyokoDake. Yes, they kind of... moulded into one, at this point.

Lei was caught between the odd urge to laugh, and cry out anxiously at Dake's obvious pain. In the end, neither emotion won out, because she was too busy staring, jaw agape, as Dake's long list of curses streamed from his mouth.

She shut her own mouth only as Kyoko requested she go and get the first aid kit. Nodding mutely, she untucked herself from the little ball, moving quick as she could to gather medical supplies.

In the next second she had returned, passing the kit carefully to Kyoko. Then, quite abruptly, she marched her little self over to Dake, moving to lean over him so her face was only a couple of inches from his.

"Dake Collins. You have to stay here and get your arm fixed," she began in what she hoped was a cross voice. Poking a finger at his chest, she added very determinedly, prodding him with each syllable, " You. are. not. going. You. do. not. get. a. choice."

There was a short pause. And then the slightly more regular Lei returned as she plonked herself down by Dake's side, cocking her head curiously at him,

"And what did half of those curse words mean?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:38, Fri 07 Nov 2008.

Dake lay on the ground trying to stop himself from groaning about his arm.  It was all for the best that he wasn't able to pay attention to anything but the pain and missed Kyoko's glare and clipped words to Lei to got and get the first aid kit, signifying her victory.

However, by the time Lei returned he was beginning to think clearly again.  Her small form hovering over him was slightly a shock though, and her words most certainly were.  For a moment Dake just stared at her.  Then he began to laugh.  The shear upsurdity of the entire situation setting in.  Here he was a grown man being lectured by a little  girl.

"Fine, fine." he laughed again through the pain, "You win, Lei, I'll stay." he was careful to mention nothing about Kyoko winning, his pride was too great for that.  He did look at her then though as he managed to push himself into a seated position, "Alright, lets get this gorram thing over with." he said, referring to his arm, his teeth already clenching in anticipated pain.

Kyoko simply rolled her eyes at Dake, holding back on the temptation to sock him in his arm really hard. She figured she'd behave for now.

Kyoko opened the medical kit, pulling out a swab of anthestic, applying it to the wound before sterilizing. She looked to Lei.

"Let's get him to the infirmary, huh sweetie?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:42, Thu 08 Jan 2009.

Lei looked from Dake to Kyoko and back to Dake again before nodding, "Okay." she said, a very small smile touching her lips at the fact that she and Kyoko had won the argument.  The people on the crew were really illogical sometimes.  It didn't make any sense not to seek medical attention when it was needed yet she had seen them trying to avoid it many times.

Lei held Dake's uninjured hand and she and Kyoko led him to the infirmary.

[To Destiny: Infirmary]

Dake frowned at the look that passed between the two females and let out a short grunt and shook his head.  He was about to start heading to the infirmary when Lei's small hand wrapped around his own.  He looked down at the girl and thought for the millionth time that she shouldn't be here.  A little girl like that should be out playing, having a childhood.  Like he had had.  You only had so many golden years before the world chewed you up and spat you out.  Lei wasn't even getting that.  He kept his mouth shut though and let the girls lead him to the infirmary.

[To Destiny: Infirmary]

Kyoko nodded approvingly as they made their way into the infirmary. Maybe this would go according to plan?

[To Destiny: Infirmary]

[From Beaumonde: The Underground]

Kale stepped back into the ship along with the rest of his crew and slammed his fist on the comm, "Let's go Dake, now!" he said firmly.  The quicker they could leave this place behind the better.  He glanced back over then to assure that his crew was getting on safely, his gun was in hand in case he need to lay cover fire for them.

---> From Beaumonde: The Underground

From her vantage point Wei-Li watched for any sign of trouble, ready to protect the others as they made their way on board.  When trouble came she was almost caught flat-footed.

Kale had spared Kyron after all he'd done to the crew, but there was one crucial difference-- Kyron was no loner a threat: Curio was.  She nodded to herself a she quickly flattened herself out on the deck cargo bay, providing her an even lower profile as she watched, ready to shoot anyone who threatened the crew.

She gave Kale a grim nod as he passed by but remained where she was until the airlock closed.

(From Beaumonde: the Underground)

Connor backed himself behind the blast doors slowly, keeping the shotgun leveled at the crowd of rogues and bandits that had just witnessed the events that had transpired. It was incredibly nerve wracking.

He swallowed hard and waited for everyone else to get on board, wanting to make sure nothing else happened.

Rhaef moved into the bay when he heard the crack of a gun, turning expecting half to see the bloom of a blood rose on his chest, when he saw Kale standing over Curio and then moving into the ship.

He looked at Charlie, "Charlie, please find cover, I need to help the others" He turned back, raising his gun and moving to Kale's side.

"Kale, you got 'bout five minutes before someone figures how to lead them." Rhaef said, his eyes scanning threats, ready to fire without hestitation.

With a small jerk the ship began rising slowly. The crew could see the ground steadily distancing itself from the ship through the open bay doors. Then the onslaught of bullets began.  The men had finally regained their composure and were firing into the open cargo bay.

With the ship lifting up as it was, however, none of them were making very good shots.  Bullets hit the walls of the ship haphazardly as the crew tried to keep cover.

"Less then that." Kale commented wryly as the bullets began only seconds after Rhaef's comment, "Connor, hit the door controls!" he shouted to the man on the opposite side of the bay, closer to the controls, "Everyone not armed, get back!"  Then he raised his pistol again and began laying cover for the ships escape.

Rhaef nodded and dodged the hail of incoming bullets, "Well they've gotten faster then." He answered with a wry smirk, and began to fire his gun as well - helping to lay additional cover fire.

Connor fired off his shotgun, then switched it over to his other hand. He pressed the button to activate the cargo bay doors and growled, racking the shotgun slide with one hand. An empty shell ejected, the next one put into place.

Connor hoped there weren't anymore surprises today.

As the men outside began to fire Wei-Li hugged the ground and began firing.  She didn't fire with the intention of hitting anyone, just not hitting the ship which made her job easier.  All she had to do was give their attackers a reason to keep their heads down and that meant she didn't have to give up her cover to fire.

As the ship shifted she hooked her leg around the railing next to her and continued firing.  She pulled herself back slightly as she heard the doors start to close.

It wouldn't do to be on the wrong side of the airlock.

Gun fire continued to rain down on the ship, but it from their distance and angle it was impossible to aim and the majority of the bullets made it no where near the occupants of the cargo bay.

Finally, the bay doors closed up and the air lock sealed.  They could still hear gun fire pelting the outside of the ship - there would probably be the need for a few minor repairs at their next stop - but nothing could hit them now that the doors were closed.

As soon as the air lock sealed shut Kale hit the comm once more, "Take us out Dake, we're leavin' this whole ruttin' planet behind." he said.  When he turned around it was to find his crew picking themselves up off the ground or coming out from where ever they had taken cover during the firefight.  His eyes scanned each of them in turn, ensuing that they were all alive an whole.  Then his eyes settled on the man closest to him.  Rhaef.  Kale swallowed.  Last time the two of them had spoken it had been in anger.  Words that neither could ever really take back, words that had caused Rhaef to leave ... words that seemed pretty damn unimportant now.

"So that was the man that taught you all you know." Kale said, the corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile, "Pleasant sort of fellow wasn't he?" He looked a bit more seriously at Rhaef then, "I'm sorry that I had to ..." Kale trailed off, he really was sorry that it had come to that.  Kale believed in honor, even among enemies, but Curio had presented a risk that he could not take.

Rhaef winced when Kale's gaze settled on him, it was not like the man could not just as easily drop him on the next stop.

He smirked a litte when Kale joked about Curio, and began to smile. "Taught me a lot, yeah. But I had a Captain who taught me a lot more."

He looked Kale in the eye, "Taught things that Curio never could understand..."

"loyalty...trust...family...honor."

Rhaef suddenly felt a mighty urge to stare at the bay's grating. "And if that Cap'n's got a place for cast-off from an organized crime outfit that would rather kill him than keep him..." His voice trailed off.

He looked at Kale, "Kale, Destiny's the only real home I've known, and I know I let y'all down, failed you right good, but...if its possible, I'd like to come home...if y'all'll have me."

There he'd said it...everything was in Kale's hands now.

Kale grinned and slapped Rhaef on the back, "We flew all the way to Beaumonde, broke into a criminal masterminds secret lair - twice, had a gun fight in this here cargo bay - twice, an' held a guy hostage to get ta you.  I'm offended you even had ta ask."

He looked around the bay at those of his crew that were gathered.  They were a ragtag bunch and certainly worse for wear after the night they'd had, Curio wasn't wrong there - but they were family, even more so for most of them then their own blood kin.  And Rhaef - Rhaef was part of that.

Connor looked at Rhaef, looked at Kale, nodded, then slumped down onto the cargo bay floor, leaning against the stairs. Yay, something would have some kind of positive note today!

Connor took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, flicked the safety on the shotgun, and set it down next to him. Finally, time for some rest. In Connor's mind, gears were turning. He had some decisions to make...

Wei-Li looked up at the webbing from where shy lay on the caro bay floor.  They had been through quite a lot and she was content, if only for a moment, to simply lay there staring... listening to the sounds of Destiny as she flew.

She didn't know where she stood with Geoff anymore... but she did know that this was her home now.  She hoped the rest would fall into place-- and a lot easier than it had for RHeaf.  She didn't think she was up to another adventure like that.

Charlie was on the floor of the Cargo Bay, having made the dash for the doors with Rhaef originally and ending up there.  Gunfire had been pelting the entire area, and each ricochet of metal and steel caused her to cringe a bit further.  She threw her arms over her head as the airlock shut, the muffled sound of bullets against the door reverberating in her ears.  Destiny was more her family than any of her crew, and as much as she wanted to enjoy space travel, little dust-ups like this would keep her busy until they touched down.

After the ship left the station, she finally sat up, taking a deep breath as she moved into a sitting position.  Most of the crew looked exhausted, maybe just as much as she did...not Kale, however.  Weariness was something his eyes always carried, but he carried the entire crew on his shoulders.  Our invincible captain...how lucky.

"Did'n think ya'd t'be askin' all'f th'permission t'be on board."  She looked up at Rhaef from where she sat, sliding over taking his hand.  Despite the aches that had begun to permeate her muscles, she managed a smile at him.  "Don' leave us'gain.  I don't mean'ta say me, y'know...ah'm just one gal.  I mean, y'know...us.  Destiny."

Rhaef grasped Charlie's hand when she took it. "I ain't plannin' on it, Charlie." He paused, "Like I told Kale, Destiny's home, it just took me a mite longer than the rest of y'all to be figurin' that out."

He looked back at Kale, "I'm guessin' you rightly promoted somebody after my departure. So I'm thinkin' maybe the hired gun role you hired me for a few years back is still open?" He paused, "Lessen o'course, yur current pilotin' situation is temporary."

He winced hard again, "And, um thanks for savin' me and all, but we best be findin' a sawbones to do somethin' 'bout the bullet in me shoulder."

"I think I might just have a position fer ya." Kale said with a nod.  It was true, he had given Geoff the spot of first mate and it wouldn't be right to go strippin' him of the title now, not after all they'd been through.  Rhaef seemed to understand though.

Kale felt the ship shake then as they exited atmo and hit the black once more.  There was still a lot to be done before they could rest.  The ship would have to be repaired and injuries seen to, a new job would need to be booked and relationships would need to be mended.  But for now it was enough just enough to have his crew together once more.

"Welcome back to the crew, Rhaef," he said, </b>"Welcome home."</b>

The crew of Destiny has finally managed to get itself back on its feet.  After a trying past few months things are starting to go back to normal.  The absence of Ren and Acacia is still felt but the ships newest members have begun to find a home on board the old freighter.  Most relationships have been mended and although there are still some unanswered questions between members of the crew life has been peaceful.

However, after a few months of excitement and trials the crew has discovered that the cash flow has come to a sputtering halt.  The crew needs a job and soon.  First rule of the black is to keep flying.  Fortunately, one of Kale's contacts managed to put him in touch with the infamous Sin Twins.  The girls are probably the most ... unpredictable of contacts, one can never be quite certain what they're getting into when dealing with them.  But one thing is for certain, the pay-out is always good.  The crew has set up a meeting with the twins in a casino on Santo to get more details about the possible job.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:39, Fri 25 Apr 2014.

Six....Seven......Eight..........Nine..........

Charlie slowly counted the twists of the wrench as she tightened the railing of Destiny's catwalks, toolbox scattered behind her with parts trailing into the first Engine Room.  She'd been working on the ship since waking up, unable to fall into the deep slumber that she was used to.  It was hard to stop thinking about Rhaef, but it was so strange being around him...it was getting something that she didn't think she would ever obtain, but had never given much thought to the things that may have laid in the way.  His killer instinct, his bloody history; every one of them seemed like little things when he was the goal.  Once the chase ended, however, there they were hanging in the air.  It was the way that he quickly responded, or had silent moments as if remembering something that he couldn't share.

But she would never tell.  She had her worries, but she just had to see him smile, to feel his fingers touch her skin...and all of that melted away.

...ten............eleven................Twelve.

She let out a slow breath, leaning back and looking at the new railing.  They had been creaky and threatening to fall, and it was one of the first fixes she'd made when coming aboard the ship.  If I'm going back and forth between the engines, there's no use in dying on the way, you know?  Thankfully, she wouldn't have to put it down halfway before saying goodbye to Conner.  Kale hadn't mentioned when he was leaving, but if it was like most, they were out within minutes of dusting down.

<from Rhaef's Quarters>

Rhaef has spent morning, checking and re-checking his gear. He knew that he was going to have to find reasonable additions to his armory on Santo. Geoff was Kale's first mate, and Rhaef now did have the responsibility of having whatever munitions that they needed and he was not about to let the crew down.

He had walked back into cargo bay to get some work down. He looked up and saw Charlie on working on catwalks. He smiled.

She was the vision that got him through the worst of things in Curio's dungeon, yet they still had to work out what they were. His monstrous past was behind him, yet he was still trying to figure what his future would be, and how to make sure she was a part of that future.

"If I jumped up and pulled myself up with that, you think it would hold my weight, Charlie?"

"Yea, ah'm na'sa sure, cowboy.  Yer jus'a bit more'n all's th'ship built fer."  She spoke with a smirk, throwing her tools into the metal toolbox, each one landing with a satisfyingly loud noise.  They slowly buried the book that the Professor had given her, stuck in the toolbox with just a few colours of the cover poking out underneath.  "S'why tha good lord gave all'f us stairs, movin' up.  If'n ya think y'still got legs t'be movin, that is, y'know?"

She stood up, sliding the box to the side of the catwalk with a bare foot, walking down to the main level that he was on.  "Y'come down fer work, r'ya jus' hangin out t'say g'bye to our boy Connor?  Cuz, y'know...if y'aren't, y'should.  Ah'm jus' sayin..."

Rhaef shrugged, "Little bit a'both, I guess." He said with a smile. "Workin' by refamilarizin' myself with the place with for a different set of eyes, and also here to say goodbye."

He shuddered slightly, "I did not really get to know Connor, on account of mistakes, but he did risk his live to save my tail, so least I can do is see 'im off."

He looked at her, "You got plans after sayin' goodbye to Connor?"

"Nah, ah'm jus...ya' know, ah'm jus stickin' around.  Not much've work ah'll be doin until we're on planetside."  Charlie smirked at Rhaef as he spoke, giving him a shrug.  "All sorts'f rootin' around.  Sure Cap'n has all'f the sorts for you, seein' as you're a gun now.  Don'think we're in fer too much this round, d'ya?"

Rhaef shrugged as Charlie spoke. Kale really had not given him much of an idea of what was expected of him in the new role. Rhaef instead was working instinct and what he gleaned from watching guns like Geoff over the years. "Not really, Charlie, Kale's been givin' me a wide berth since I joined back up. He paused, "not that I blame him. Geoff's first mate, its him Kale should be lookin' to for advice."

He stopped and smirked, "Me, I'm just here to make sure the things that ain't supposed to blow up - don't and the things that are - do."

When she asked about trouble, he tried to smile convincingly. "Casino's supposed to be relatively safe, and we're goin' lookin' for work, so hopefully there should not be too much action." As he spoke, he subconsciously rubbed his shoulder that was still a bit sore after being shot.

"Yea, ah'm sure he's got all'f a reason.  Maybe's cause y'did leave'n all.  Can'blame a man'fer lookin' out, 'specially one goes'n carries a gun 'round...ooh, not that ah'm sayin' nothin, any'f tha sort like I'm implyin' or anything!  Don'cha take it like ah'm tryin' t'scold."  Charlie backpedaled out of the sentences as quick as she could, shaking her head a bit.  Rhaef wouldn't be quick to judge, but as someone who bottled most of their emotions, she could smell her own kind.  There was a reason that she liked Rhaef so much...he didn't ask questions, and neither did she.

Rhaef shurgged, "you're prob'ly right, Charlie." He answered, "Kale's got his right to be cautious given my past, all I can do is work to earn back his trust."

[From Destiny: Connor's Bunk]

Kale stepped into the cargo bay from the passenger quarters, one of Connor's bags slung over his shoulder.  Rhaef and Charlie were already gathered and Kale could smell something cooking wafting into the bay from the dining hall.  Wei-Li had told him that she was cooking Connor a farewell meal but he'd forgotten all about it, hopefully Connor wouldn't mind sticking around a bit longer.  He glanced back at Connor, "Told ya folk were ready to see ya off, Wei's even cookin' ya up a farewell meal if'n ya have time to stick around."

He glanced up at Charlie and Rhaef then.  The two of them had been a might closer since Rhaef returned and they seemed to be in pleasant enough spirits today.  Kale smiled.  Things were finally starting to settle in again.

"You two know if Wei-Li's ready fer us yet?  That sure smells a sight better then anything I could whip up."

Kale had seemed to walk in at the tail end, and she shot him a smile, waving at Connor.  "Ah...y'should stay, less ya get a meal outta th'trip.  Not like food'n planetside's gonna b'tha best.  All spices'n steam.  Y'know."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:25, Sat 16 May 2009.

(From Destiny: what was once Connor's Bunk)

Connor set down his bags, in the cargo bay, then nodded to Kale.

"A final meal aboard the Destiny sounds like a good plan to me..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:26, Sat 16 May 2009.

He nodded to the Captain and Connor as they entered the room. "Ain't see Wei, Geoff or the new fly-boy all morning Cap." Rhaef answered plainly, "although after what I went through, I ain't ever complain' 'bout folks cookin' anymore, even yours, Kale."

Kale clapped Connor on the back, "Glad yer takin' up the offer, if I know Wei-Li, she's been puttin' them nimble fingers to the spice cans all mornin' to produce somethin' worth eatin'.  She'll be right happy to have you enjoyin' it."

He looked at the other two gathered, "Shall we?" he asked and motioned for everyone to head on over to the dining hall.  However, he also gave Rhaef a slightly sideways look that told him to hang back a bit.  The two men had been working together long enough to read each others body signals - even with Rhaef's short furlough they hadn't lost their touch.

Connor nodded to Kale and Rhaef, then looked over to Charlie.

"You all coming or what?"

He flashed a grin, then started heading towards the kitchen.

(To Destiny: Dining Hall)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:20, Sun 17 May 2009.

"Yeah we're comin', Rhaef answered. He turned to Charlie, "Can you go on ahead and get me a seat at the table?" He said quietly. As he spoke he gave Kale the briefest of nods that indicated he got the Captain's message and would hang back as requested.

"Ya ya, ah'll get'cha place t'sit.  Maybe a plate'r so, if'n it's goin' fast.  Y'don't wait t'long."  Charlie gave Rhaef a smile, patting his arm and then walking away.  The smells were too inviting, and it would do her best to get in right away.  Even though it was Connor's meal, they would all enjoy it.

to Destiny: Dining Hall -------------->

Kale waited for Charlie and Connor to head up to the dining hall before falling in step beside Rhaef.  Their relationship since his return had been a little strained but overall they were starting to slip back into old times.

"We're meetin' with the Buckley girls here in a bit, place called Prisma Casino.  Just got off a wave with them before I headed over ta check in on Connor." Kale looked down and then back up at Rhaef.  They needed money something fierce right now, Destiny didn't fly on dreams alone.  But he'd learned that he wasn't always the best reader of characters, "This could be a big job fer us an' we need that.  Sin Twins are famous fer high payouts ... if'n we keep our eyes open fer their tricks."

It was true, the Buckley girls were high rollers.  They only did the big time.  But they were also infamous for never making anything easy.  There was a time when Kale would have just accepted blindly but he'd been doubting himself lately.  He needed Rhaef to be keeping an eye out for loop holes, tricks, things that Kale didn't always pick up on, "I need you on this."

Rhaef was nodding along with Kale's speech, listening and processing the information, and understanding what the Captain was asking. Then he heard their employers, and caught his breath.

"Kale, I am in this the whole way with you, but there's um, something else you should know..." He paused "I, well, um, how to put this, I kinda got know one of the Sin Twins on a very personal level when I was working for Curio, and well, I honestly never did not know if it was Callie or Allie, but whichever one it is, well they might not exactly be happy to see me."

He had said, and leveled with Kale, which he should have done with the situation with Curio as well.

Kale shook his head at Rhaef's admission, "'Course ya did." he said in a dry tone.  That was just his luck.  Man he needed with him on this job had a potentially bad connection with their contact.

"Well I suppose we cross that bridge when we get there." he said, "Meantime I want you lookin' sharp.  This girl ain't gonna have you distracted, is she?"  There was a bit more to that question then just being worried about the job.  He'd seen the way Charlie and Rhaef had been looking at each other and he although he hadn't meant for that disapproving, overprotective big brother tone to slip into his voice it had been there.  He wasn't willing to see lil' Charlie get hurt.

Rhaef couldn't help but notice the tone in Kale's voice, especially when he spoke about distractions. "Gorram no, Kale." He shook his head, "one bout of the Buckleys is more than enough for any man."

He paused and added, "Plus, I'm workin' somethin' a little more permanent, and a whole hell of a lot more important than anythin' those vixens could offer."

He paused again and looked Kale in the eyes, "Question is Cap'n, you ready for the charm offensive they'll throw at you?" He paused, "Callie's likely to be all business and Allie's all pleasure, and they wrapped up Curio in his prime." He said as a way of warning, not a criticism.

Kale's expression softened at Rhaef's immediate and emphatic response to his question and it made him wonder why he had posed it at all.  Before the events of a few months ago Kale would never have questioned Rhaef's morals.  As much as he tried to put the past in the past, however, finding out where Rhaef had really come from had had an effect on him.  Made him wonder about the man that he thought he knew so well.

That's downright stupid, Kale, he's still the same man. he reminded himself.

He listened to Rhaef's words of advice and nodded his head.  For the briefest of a moments his thoughts actually flashed unbidden to Sophia Marquez, the beautiful and cunning woman they had run into on Athens.  It took Kale completely by surprise that he'd even think of her again.  Woman who had tried to tie him up in all sorts of knots with her wiley ways.  It hardened his resolve though and he nodded.

"That won't be a problem." he said.  Then hearing the sounds of the rest of the crew from the dining hall he glanced up and then back at Rhaef, "We better head up, the boy wanted to hit planetside and we got a job in 'bout an' hour.  Let's say our goodbyes."

He began walking up the stairs then and towards the dining hall.

[To Destiny: Dining Hall]

Rhaef nodded watching Kale's response. It was not like he could expect everything to just go right back to normal. Kale might have brought him back and put him to work, but repairing the breech made by his departure would time and hard work.

He watched the Captain's eyes as he pondered Rhaef's comments about the Twins, there was something there but he could not tell what, Rhaef filed it away for future reference.

"Yeah, I'm good to eat, good-byes well, I'm not so good at." He said with a shurg, "plus I need to talk to Geoff 'bout some temporary ordinance."

He quickly fell in behind Kale, the natural cadence and timing coming back, Kale in the lead, Rhaef a step to the right, and step and a half behind.

--> To Dining Hall
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:35, Mon 25 May 2009.

[From Destiny: Dining Hall]

Kale moved down the metal stairway and onto the lower level of the cargo bay with Connor and the rest of the crew that was there to see him off.  It had been a good meal and although it was never exactly pleasant to be saying goodbye he was glad that for once it was on good terms.

He stepped on the lower level and proceeded to the bay doors, hitting the controls and waiting for the rush of warm air that came with the ship depressurizing and the sounds of the Santo space port.

"You got transportation to where yer goin', right?" he asked Connor as he hit the  button to lower the ramp as well.

[From Destiny: Dining Hall]

Lei padded out into the cargo bay after Kale and Connor and the rest of the crew.  She hung back by the stairwell, her small hands wrapped around the railing as she watched the bay doors open and sunlight stream inside.  It made her smile, there had been no sunshine in the white place.

She looked on at the Captain and Connor.  No one was sad today which Lei did not understand.  When Ren had left and Acacia and Rhaef everyone had been upset.  She thought that that was how people reacted when other people left, but the crew seemed happy.  It was an anomaly in her understanding of social behavior.  She wasn't entirely sure what to do.

She glanced up at Geoff who was standing nearby, "Why is no one sad that Connor is leaving?  Charlie cried when Ren left but she smiled today."

(From Destiny: Dining Hall)

Connor had triple checked his weapon before shouldering his three bags. He turned back to Kale and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm all set."

He turned to face the crew for the last time.

"I, uh...I'm actually pretty terrible at saying goodbyes, so I don't think I'm going to say goodbye. Instead, I'm going to with, I will see you all around..."

Rhaef nodded, he understood Connor's sentiment. "With this crew, you probably will, kid." He said in wry but encouraging tone.

He paused, "Let me tell you from experience, ain't no better friends in the world then the crew of this here ship."

He stood aside from the group, letting them have their time and their goodbyes. He know he needed to talk to Geoff 'bout the first mate's objections to the plans and let him know he had not intenion of hidin' the rifle, rather he wanted it in plain sight for the twins to see.

Yet, this ain't the moment, he reminded himself and just waited for the others.

Kale smiled and took a step forward to shake Connor's hand, "See you around." he repeated, "An' you take care of yerself.  Never know when we might be needin' ta give you a call."

He stepped back then in case there was anyone else wanting to impart some words.

[From Destiny: Dining Hall]

Geoff made his way into the Cargo Bay alongside Rhaef, Kale and Connor.  Lei wasn't too far behind, wanting to see Connor off properly.  When she asked why no one was sad, Geoff really didn't know how to answer.  So he didn't.  He was used to people coming and going, and made it a point to not form any deep, profound relationships with people he saw as only temporary.  He hadn't gotten to know Connor too well, but liked him enough.

"You just take care of yerself out there," Geoff said when Kale had finished, extending his hand to Connor.  "You'll do fine."

Wei-Li watched as the others said good-bye to Connor. As she watched, she thought about his time with the crew and then gave a resigned sigh.  He was probably safer without them, that much was sure.

Suddenly she smiled and stepped forward.  "If you ever find yourself in need on Paquin... look up my family and tell them about me... they'll do what they can to help you..."

She paused before offering him an awkward hug.  She really wasn't good at saying goodbye either.

[From Destiny: Dining Hall]

Dake followed the rest of the crew into the cargo bay.  He had not been onboard for long, but Conner was always available on the bridge to give him a small amount of company at the least.  And Dake was fairly sure that Conner did not despise him the way he was sure most of the crew did.

Stepping forward, Dake offered his hand.

"It's been a pleasure flying with you the last couple of weeks," Dake said sincerely.  "At least it hasn't been dull."

His goodbye, what he considered a goodbye, done, Dake stepped back, allowing the folks that had known Conner the longest a better chance to say goodbye.

(From Dining Hall)

Kyoko had followed the rest of the group down to the cargo bay. When it was appropriate, she stepped forward, a smile on her face and gave him a hug.

"Take care of yourself Connor, if you ever are in need. Call."

She nodded serenely and stepped back as well.

----->from Destiny: Dining Hall

Charlie stepped in last behind the crew, her arms crossed as she watched Connor stand by the door.  When the others had said their piece, she stepped forward and embraced Connor, giving him a squeeze as she did so.  After a few seconds had passed, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped back.

"Ah'd...thank ya'fer what'cha done, Connor.  Ah'll miss ya 'till ah'd see ya'gain.  Don'be afraid t'call on a favour, ah'm owin' ya one."  She focused on the words, trying to let them roll out a bit more clearly than words usually did for her.  Charlie smiled, giving his shoulder a squeeze and stepping back beside Rhaef...

Connor looked to each member of the crew, committing each face to memory. One of these days, Connor would feel he was ready to rejoin this crew, this family. Today, however, was not that day. Connor adjusted the bags he had, making them comfortable, he'd be doing some walking before he got to where he was going.

Connor took one last look around, then took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes, and exhaled. Yup, he was ready.

Almost.

Connor reached around his neck, pulling off a small silver cross on a sturdy chain. He tossed it to Lei, then nodded his head.

"Thank you all. Catch you all around."

With that, Connor tossed a wave, and made his way down the ramp and off Destiny for the time being.




(Connor to Exit: Stage Left)
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Mon 01 June 2009.

Kale watched as Connor moved down the ramp and out into the Santo sunlight.  The man had been a good member of his crew for the short time that he had been there and he hoped that the future brought him what he was looking for.

Now however, Kale had a job to do.

"Geoff, Rhaef.  I believe we have a meetin' with the Buckley sisters in 'bout twenty minutes.  Grab what you'll be needin' an' meet me back here.  Remember, the Prisma Casino's a classy place despite the corruption goin' on inside it and the Buckley girls are about as high class as you can get among thieves."

Lei easily caught the cross that Connor had tossed in her direction and found herself studying the object instead of Connor as he departed from the ship.  Lei had seen the cross symbol before but she really did not understand what it meant.  Connor had once told her that it had something to do with the bible but Lei had not, as of yet, looked up the reference.  For a good while she stood staring at the tiny metal object wondering what it was and why Connor gave it to her.

"It's a symbol of faith," Dake said, stepping up behind Lei.  "For those that believe in God."  In the few weeks he had been onboard, Dake had come to recognize the looks Lei gave when trying to figure something out.  She obviously did not know about the cross.

"I'm surprised you haven't read the bible yet," Dake continued.  "You seem to have just about everything else read."

While he spoke to Lei, Dake kept an eye on Wei-Li.  After Geoff's enlightening moment prior to breakfast, Dake was curious if he still had a chance.

Connor made his way down the ramp and off the ship, disappearing into the crowd that flowed like a river outside.  Their goodbyes said and yet another crew member gone, now was the time for business.  They had work to do and money to make.  For a moment, however, Geoff's attention was divided by Dake's conversation with Lei.  He quickly shoved his thoughts aside, knowing that he couldn't afford to loose focus, not even this early on.  Part of him, however, wondered what Wei-Li was thinking about what had been said that morning.

Geoff nodded when Kale finished, turning to Rhaef and giving him a pat on the back.  "Aw, we'll play nice, boss.  Try to, at least.  I'll be on my best behavior."

Addressing Rhaef, he added, "You just let me know what you'll be needin', and I'll make sure you get it before we get on outta here."

Wei-Li watched Connor head down the ramp and quickly looked away.  It was bad luck to watch someone fade into the distance-- it meant you'd never see them again, and Wei-li liked the idea of seeing Conor grace the decks of Destiny again.

An odd smile came to her face as she realized that she really did consider Destiny home.  She sighed and turned back to Kale as he began going about the business of being Captain.

There really wasn't anything she could do until the meet was over, and the job defined.  She looked around the cargo bay and shrugged as she began inspecting the cargo netting again.

It may be a tedious assignment, but when you find new and inventive ways to inspect it, it became more of a game.

"We're gonna need'ta b'up, ah'm gonna start th'fuel pumps."  Charlie nodded to Kale, lifting up a bag from the cargo bay floor and heading for the doors.  She would spend at least six hours outside of the ship, checking for bullet holes and working on the landing gear; Dake was much harder on entry than any of their other pilots were, and there was a quarter-second vibration through the deck as it touched down.  And if that's a dead piston, it could build up pressure and blow in an environment without atmosphere.  Wouldn't that just be fun.  "Y'll gotta lemme know'f we've got any stuff'ta do, ah'll be onna comm."

"'Course, we'll be on our best behavior, Kale. Ain't us, I'm worried 'bout," he paused and glanced at Geoff, Dake and Wei, "mostly."

He turned back to Geoff, "As I said earlier, I want the rifle and shotgun, so we can make a show for the Twins," he paused and shurgged, "and given my last dealing with them, they'd be more concerned if I did not come that heavily armed."

He paused again, "Plus, they check me 'cause of the heavy pieces, y'all likely to get less of the once over, and I get to see the casino's approach for dealin' with heavy ordinance."

He paused and added, "if the meeting goes all civil-like, like Kale expects, ain't gonna be a problem getting the weapons back...if it don't well, Kale's first mates have a tendency of getting shot." He said with a slight chuckle.

Kale nodded to Charlie as she let him know what she'd be up to.  It was typically procedure for when they set down in a space dock but Charlie always let him know, >"Fuel up first, then go chekin' fer potential problems.  Life we lead ya never know when the getaway is gonna need ta be quick.  If'n ya see anything ... well, add it ta the list."  Kale hated having to say that.  But it was the response he had to give Charlie more often then not.  It was a rare time that he could actually tell her to go on out and get what she needed and with the way things had been lately they had a list backlogged of repairs and parts that Charlie needed to keep Destiny healthy.

He looked at Geoff and then Rhaef and was about to start speaking to the latter when he remembered that Geoff was first mate and his gaze shifted back to the first man, "I'm not worried just ... bein' cautious.  You'll wanna be keepin' yer eyes peeled fer signs of trouble.  The girls are known fer their tricks an' I ain't meanin' the pleasant kind."

He glanced at Rhaef then before turning his attention back to Geoff, "Let's get him what he needs.  I'll be here waitin'."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:48, Thu 04 June 2009.

Lei looked up when she realized that Dake was talking to her, "Faith." she repeated the word as though testing it out on her tongue.  She had heard it before but had not really put any thought into what it meant.  God, however, Connor had tried explaining to her once and Lei had come to the conclusion that he was Connor's imaginary friend that lived in the clouds.

She peered up at Dake, "Do you have a friend named God too?" she asked.

Hearing that Charlie was going to be giving the ship a once over, Wei-Li twisted in the webbing until she was hanging upside down.  "Charlie, if you need any spider-monkey work done... let me know..."

She had never fully figured out if the mechanic liked her or not, but any chance to 'play' was a good thing in her books.  There hadn't been enough fun as of late.

Dake looked at Lei, trying to figure out what to say.  He hadn't really thought much about religion since his brother had died.  Lei's innocence made Dake remember his own moments when he wondered what God really was.

"No," he answered.  "Not since...not in a long time."

Dake found himself looking at Kale.  It was easy to blame the captain for the death of Nate.  But Dake knew that he would have to give that up eventually.

He looked back at Lei.

"God hasn't really had time for me and my family.  But I'm sure he'd love to meet a great little lady like you." Dake put a large smile on his face.  "But you'd need to understand about him a little more."

Just don't ask me to explain, the pilot thought to himself.

Geoff nodded.  "Fair enough.  I'll be back in a bit."

He looked to Rhaef.  "So, two pistols, the sawed-off, and a rifle.  Ammo for each.  Anything else?"

Rhaef paused and thought, he could think of more than a few things but honestly, that would be pushing their luck upon entry to the casino.

"Nah, Geoff. Couple of flash-bangs'd be nice, but that's pushin' even the Twins patience." He answered plainly.

"Well whatever it is ya need just get it quick.  I don' intend on makin' the twins wait.  That'd be pushin' patience as well, I hear they got themselves a bit of a temper.  Ain't good business to go 'round makin' folk mad 'fore ya even get to the dealin' part." Kale said to the two men as they discussed what they were bringing.  Connor's goodbye party had run a little longer then he'd been expecting, they'd need to get going soon if they were going to make their meeting with the Buckley girls.

Rhaef thought about a few things he might add or suggest but realized that at this point, his place was to be seen and not heard. Kale and Geoff had to work out their dynamics of the new command relationships, at which they would indicate to him his new role. Until then, he would speak when spoken too on tactical issues, and treat the job like he would hiring to gun for any other ship that was not Destiny.

"Geoff gets the arms, I'd good to go, Captain." Rhaef said with a nod, checking the pistols he'd already holstered, and the knife tucked away in his boot.

Friendship was also something that Lei did not always completely understand.  Much of the time it could be quite illogical.  Like now, she did not understand why Dake was not still friends with God and why he thought that she and God would be good friends.

Lei peered up at Dake, "If I read the bible will I understand?" She was already mentally adding the book to her reading list.

Geoff was only gone for a few minutes.  He knew exactly what he was looking for and where to find it.  Truth be told, he was anxious to get back to work.  The less time they spent hanging around the ship, the better.  He wanted to get back out there, get his boots on the ground, his finger on a trigger, his fists ready to knock some poor bastard back into last week.  His pocket full of money.  His mind off everything that had happened recently.

He returned to the Cargo Bay with the rifle and sawed-off in one hand, two additional pistols in the other.  He handed all of it to Rhaef before digging in his pockets for the extra ammunition he'd brought.  It was a strange role reversal; he still wasn't used to being the first mate.  Neither were Kale or Rhaef, from the looks of it.  It would take some getting used to, although Geoff doubted it would last long.  He wasn't first mate material.

"An' there ya have it," he said.  "Sorry for the hold-up.  But if that does it, I'm ready when you boys are."

Dake looked at the innocent, quizzical face looking up at him.  The more questions she asked, the more he regretted bringing up the subject.  But he tried to keep the regret from his face, letting a smile creep over it instead.

"If anyone could, mei, it would be you," Dake answered.

It took a moment for him to realize that he had refered to Lei as his little sister.  In a way she was, for everyone on the ship.  And it make Dake happy to think that someone on the ship did not have a problem with him.  The thought made Dake genuinely smile.

"But enough talk of serious stuff," Dake said, letting a bit of mischief enter his voice.   He glanced over at Wei-Li before speaking again.  He had time before he took her out.  And the destination he had in mind for Lei was nearby.  "When was the last time you acted like a kid?  Have you ever been to an arcade?"

Rhaef nodded and took the weapons, adding the pair of pistols to shoulder holsters and the shotgun in a holster across his back. He knew the weapons were in fine working order, and he did not need to worry about them failing if they became needed.

He took the extra ammunion and pocketed it as well. Turning back to Kale, "I'm ready as well. You two lead the way, and I'll keep my eyes open for trouble and scragglers - although they're prob'ly the same thing."

Kale's hand went to the single pistol at his hip for a moment before he nodded to the other two men, "Then let's get on with this." He headed towards the ramp, just before he left he turned back the rest of the crew still gathered, "Ya take good care o' Destiny while we're gone, an' hopefully we'll get us some seed to give her a little TLC - us too."

With that Kale, Rhaef, and Geoff departed the ship heading towards the Prisma Casino and the Sin Twins.

[To Santo: Prisma Casino]

Kale, Rhaef, and Geoff disappeared down the ramp and out into the city of Delta.  The remaining crew were left to their own devices for the time being although they knew not to wander too far.  In there line of work you never knew when a quick getaway would be in order.

[Kale, Rhaef, and Geoff to Santo: Prisma Casino]

Lei noted the way Dake changed the subject.  Something people frequently did when they did not like the topic being discussed.  Lei found it interesting and wondered why Dake did not want to talk about God or the bible.  She did not prod any further, however, she was beginning to understand when certain things should be left alone.

Instead she cocked her head to the side at the mans question, "I am a kid." she informed him, "Therefore it would be logical that I acted as one at all times.  Am I not?" Lei questioned, "And no ... I haven't been to an arcade before."  she stumbled a little bit over the word, she hadn't even heard of an arcade before.  Even in the books she had read.

Wei-Li watched Geoff gather his gear and head out with the Captain and Rafe.  She wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting, but she was at the very least hoping to wish him well.

With a resigned sigh she lowered herself from the netting and stuck her hands in her pockets.  "How long do you figure we have until they get back?" she asked of no one in particular.

Kyoko folded her arms and leaned back against the railing on the stairs. She smirked at Wei-Li's comment and looked towards the ceiling.

"Knowing our captain, it will be a very short exchange followed by a hail of bullets and a quick escape, or, a long adventure. Nothing ever seems to go quite smoothly..."

Wei-Li smiled and turned, her eyes twinkling.  "So... it isn't just me?"

She laughed.  Having grown up on Paquin as a member of the Latrans family trouble seemed to be the guiding star of her life.  Up until that moment the idea of a non 'interesting' existance had never crossed her mind.

Kyoko flashed a genuine smile at Wei-Li and shook her head.

"It most certainly is not you."

Kyoko sighed quietly and ran the last few times Kale had gone out on this kind of mission through her head...yeah, Kyoko figured, at some point, she might want to actually learn how to use a firearm.

How unlady-like...

Wei-Li laughed and gave Kyoko a relieved smile.  "I'm not sure if that really makes me feel better or not."

She looked back up at Charlie.  "So... do you need any help or am I back to mending the netting?"

While Kale, Geoff, and Rhaef made their deal with the Sin Twins the rest of the crew went about their day.  Charlie fueled the ship, and couldn't help but wince at the cost.  Fuel was an import on Santo and came at a cost because of that.  Hopefully Kale had landed the job, otherwise he wasn't going to be too happy.  Not that it could be helped, ship needed fuel to keep flying.

Back in the cargo bay Wei-Li mended the netting for a bit but all in all it was actually in good shape and needed little repair leaving her with more time then she would have liked to become a little nervous about her impending date with Dake.  A butterfly filled stomach had led her to Kyoko's shuttle where the companion had shared some of the finer points of dealing with men to the naive girl from Paquin.

Meanwhile, Dake decided to take Lei out to an arcade near-by the port for an hour.  Lei had been surprised by all of the lights and noises and colors that suddenly surrounded her.  It was unlike any place she had ever been before and quite a far cry from the "white place".  Dake swiftly found the Lei needed very little instruction in any of the games and easily mastered them, setting a few high scores on the machines much to the dismay of a few teenage boys who had watched with sullen faces as she neatly wiped their names from the leaderboards.

Laughing the two of them were just making their way back to Destiny where Charlie was finishing up some repairs on the landing gear and Wei-Li and Kyoko were still talking in the shuttle.  Kale, Geoff, and Rhaef were expected back at any moment and hopefully that meant that there would be work to do.

[From The Arcade]

Lei led the way up the cargo bay ramp with a grin on her face and a gigantic purple bear in her arms.  It was so large, in fact, that anyone in the cargo bay would probably have missed seeing Lei and been wondering about the purple bear that was now boarding the ship.  Dake had offered to carry if for her but Lei had insisted.

She'd never won a prize in her life, she was familiar with the concept and had honestly thought it was a little silly ... of course that was before she was the one with the prize.

"And then I just calculated the trajectory that the computer used to generate assailants." she finished explaining to Dake, glancing over her shoulder at him which almost caused her to trip and tumble forward.  She giggled at that, "I don't think that the boys really knew about the math involved, they were playing wrong."

So Lei had missed the point a little bit ... but it was obvious that she had had a good time.  Dake seemed to bring out in her that little girl that had never had a chance to just be a kid.

[From The Arcade]

Dake chuckled as Lei explained the finer points of "Arcade Game Mathematics".  It only slightly amazed him as everything she touched turned to a high score with only a few minutes.  Even some of the games that he had mastered in his time on Santo were wiped clean by the little genius in front of him.  For a brief few moments, he wondered if Nate had ever felt the same way when Dake was the younger member.  He quickly pushed aside the thoughts, however, focusing on the now.  He had had too much fun to get mired in the past.

"I'm glad you liked it," Dake answered Lei as she shuffled foward with the bear.  "I'm sure the boys will get over it soon enough, once they figure out how to beat your scores again."

As he spoke, Dake looked around for Wei-Li.  She had already finished her jobs in the hold, however, and had moved elsewhere on the ship.  Realizing that dinner was fast approaching, Dake needed to get ready for his date.

"I hate to play and run, kiddo," he said, genuine regret visible in his eyes, "but I have to get ready to go out again.  You need anything before I go get ready?"

Charlie had been working most of the day on repairs that she couldn't do while the ship was flying, although she wasn't able to patch things up nearly so well as she'd like given their small coinpurse.  But you did what you could and luckily Charlie was quite skilled at makin' something from nothing.

She was just finishing up tightening the bolts on the landing gear, cause things had been getting a bit rocky their last few touchdowns planet side and for once she figured it probably wasn't Dake's reckless flying, when she heard voices.

Poking her head out from behind the landing gear and peeking at the ramp her eyes widened slightly at the sight of a giant purple teddy bear moving up the gangway.  A moment later she heard Lei's voice, slightly muffled from behind it and Dake close behind.

Charlie smiled and walked up to the ramp, leaning her elbows on it and peering up at the two people standing above her, "So's it's lookin' like ya'll had y'rself a good time." she said and moved her hand up to push a stray piece of hair from her face, not noticing the large grease mark that it left on her cheek.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:40, Wed 09 Sept 2009.

Lei smiled at Dake and shook her head, "I don't require anything further." she said, giving him leave to go.  She wasn't sure exactly how she felt about Dake and Wei-Li going on a date.  She had never talked about it with Geoff - he tended to get all stuttery when she started asking question about guys and girls but she knew that he and Wei-Li were good friends and now Dake seemed to want to be good friends with her.  And Lei knew that Geoff didn't like Dake much.

She turned then when she heard Charlie's voice, "Hi Charlie." she said and set the big bear down at the top of the ramp and moved over to where the mechanic was.  Squatting down she wrapped her arms around her legs, "Dake and I went to the arcade." she glanced behind her, "I won a replica of a bear ... but not a very good one.  Bears are not purple."

Charlie smiled, "Ah'm s'posin' they ain't.  Not that'ahm knowin' much 'bout bears'n all."  seeing that Lei was about to launch into a lecture about bears (she could be as bad as the Professor sometimes) Charlie quickly changed the topic, fixing her gaze on Dake.

"Dake, ah'm not one ta'be pokin' mah nose'n others business, but ... you do right by Wei-LI."  Charlie knew that Wei-Li came from a big family, just like she did.  She was probably used to her family looking out for her in these sort of matters so Charlie figured it'd be nice to help out in that area, course, she wasn't normally the one doing the looking after so this was new territory.

Charlie had seen what had happened with Wei-Li and Geoff though.  Wei had been all sorts of confused and none too happy about it, and Charlie trusted Dake a hell of a lot less then she trusted Geoff.

Dake had started to head for his quarters to grab a change of clothes before heading for the bathroom.  He was brought up short by Charlie's comment.

"Ah..." Dake hesitated.  He was not sure how to respond.  "I...um...I will.  I promise I'm not out to hurt anyone."

Dake held his place for a moment more, wondering if the mechanic would have anything that might give him a clue how much Wei-Li meant to everyone.

Charlie's face broke out into a smile at the hesitation in Dake's response.  Apparently she was better at the whole 'protective sibling' thing then she thought, she almost chuckled but managed to hold that in, "Oh, ah'm believin'ya.  But you ain't been here long'n all an' well.  Destiny's family." for Charlie that spoke loudly enough.  You didn't mess with family, hopefully Dake knew that.

[From Santo: Prisma Casino]

Kale, Rhaef, and Geoff reached the ramp leading up to the cargo bay of Destiny just as Charlie and Dake wrapped up their conversation.  He knew that Dake and Wei-Li had some sort of shindig scheduled for that evening although he wasn't quite sure how he felt about that.  For a long time his policy had strictly been no crew romances.  But then there was Ren and Acacia (the thought of them still sent a pang of grief through him) and now whatever Charlie and Rhaef had going on ... well there was no stopping it now.

His eyes flickered briefly over to Geoff.  He knew that he and Wei-Li had had something going on and although he didn't know any particulars (and frankly didn't care to) he knew that something had happened and now Wei-Li was going on a date with Dake.  Kale just didn't want whatever was going on to interfere with the running of his ship.  If it did he might just have to reconsider that rule of his.

"How's our girl doin'?" he asked Charlie as he stepped onto the ramp.  He noted with interest that Lei was carrying a very large purple teddy bear as he did so.

Charlie looked up with a smile as she saw the Captain returning with Rhaef and Geoff.  With a quick once over of Rhaef to make sure that he was all in one piece (he had a tendency to get shot most times when he was off the ship) she turned her attention to Kale, "Cap'n!" she said brightly, "Well as 'spected." she said, "Although she could be better'f I had some'f the right parts ..." she ventured.  Charlie was hoping that this job turned out well cause they could certainly use the money.

Rhaef smirked as Charlie looked at him, holding up his arms to show that yes, for once, he'd left the ship without getting shot. Perhaps, he thought to himself, its only as first mate that I get shot.

He looked around the cargo bay, oblivious to pretty much everything that was going on among the crew. Since his return, he'd pretty much been with Charlie, Kale or in his own company.

He turned to Kale, "So you want us to scout out the turf for the job? Get a lay of the land, he paused, "I've been here before, so its not like anyone would be surprised to see me in one of the casinos." After having spoke, he sighed briefly, probably was not a hired gun's place to make such a suggestion, but some old habits die harder than others." </red>

Seemingly forgotten, Dake decided to make his way to his bunk and get ready for the remainder of his evening.  Grabbing a towel from a locker, Dake wet it in the communal bathroom and carried it upstairs to his bunk.

As he moved past the entrance to Kyoko's shuttle, Dake could hear the two women inside talking.  He hesitated for a moment, silently wondering what they were talking about and whether or not he should try to listen further.  It only took a moment for the pilot to realize that not only would it be rude, but it would most likely undermine the relationship he was trying to build with Wei-Li.  He moved on, hoping the women did not notice him.

-> Dake's Bunk

Kale sighed, "I know lil' Charlie, if all goes right with this job we might just have enough creds to make some of those repairs we been needin'."

As he turned to look back at Rhaef he noticed Dake slip quietly away but let it pass.  Instead he nodded at Rhaef, "Yeah, Rha - Uh, Geoff take Rhaef with ya to scout the theater, I'm gonna go over the files that the twins gave us, formulate a plan o' action."

Charlie rolled her eyes at the Captain's words, not in disrespect or nothing, but because she had been hearing those words for long as she had been sailing with Kale.  They were always running one step behind it felt and always waiting on the next big job to get the creds to make needed repairs.  He was just lucky that she knew how to hold things together with what they got.

She frowned then when the Captain said that Geoff and Rhaef would go and scout out the theater, "You sendin'm off so soon an' all?" she said, "Seein' how y'just got back I was figurin' you'd, ya know, be stayin' put a spell."

She didn't actually look at Rhaef but her cheeks colored slightly cause she knew that she was being silly wanting him to stay on board for a while.  She knew that this was a job and this is how it was done but she hadn't had him back nearly so long as she'd like and after losing him like she had ... well, it was just nice to have him home.

Geoff followed Kale and Rhaef back into the Destiny's cargo bay.  As soon as they were inside, he spotted Dake and the purple bear grasped in Lei's arms.  He felt his face flush a bit as his blood got a bit warmer, fast approaching that point where it would begin to boil.  All he wanted was a drink right now.  Something to soothe the nerves and get him clear-headed for their next outing.  Just one drink.  Two, at the most.  But Geoff knew it wouldn't stop at two, or even three.  It'd snowball until he made an ass of himself again.

Which he wouldn't let happen.  Couldn't let happen.  Dake was already moving in on everything Geoff loved, held sacred.  Everything that meant even the slightest amount to him.  All because he'd let the booze get the best of him.  First Wei-Li, then Lei.  And it pissed him off, to the point where he wanted to pulverize Dake's face against the Destiny's bulkhead, smear it with his blood and remind everyone that no one...but no one...screwed with Geoff Wolfe and the people he cared about.

He took a deep breath and turned to Kale as the captain began to address him and Rhaef.  And there it was again...another slip, telling Geoff everything he needed to know.  He'd never be first mate.  Not really.  Kale would never trust him as much as he trusted Rhaef.  Geoff would never be more than the hired muscle, the guy who broke things when they needed breaking and shot things when they needed shooting.  He wasn't first mate material...deep down, he knew it...but it still burned the hell out of him that everyone would still hold Rhaef in high regard.  After what he did, the way he'd abandoned them, put all their lives in danger for his own personal, selfish bullshit.  Didn't seem like he had everyone's best interests in mind, but here he was, still the man of the hour.

Geoff wondered when he'd gotten so petty, so jealous of everyone and everything, and couldn't put his finger on it.

He nodded when Kale gave him their orders.  "Yeah.  Fine.  Let's just get this over with, huh?"

Turning to Rhaef, he said.  "Gimme a sec.  I need to take care of somethin' first.  When I'm done we'll head out of here."

Geoff didn't bother waiting for a response.  He didn't much want one, either.  Instead, he made his way over to Lei, a grin...forced as it may be...working its way across his features.  He took a knee next to her and tousled her hair a bit.

"Heya, darlin'," he said.  "How you doin', and where'd you get that mighty fine purple bear?"

Rhaef watched Geoff's reaction, and it was worse than he had expected, the big man was trying to hide his frustrations, but Rhaef knew he'd gone and overstepped his bounds. It wasn't his show any more, and well, he'd better learn that right quick.

When he saw Charlie's cheeks flush, he immediately regretting suggesting scouting the theater, rather than staying ship side, yet a part of him knew it had to be done to make sure they'd all get back in one piece.

"Don't worry, Charlie, won't take long, and then we'll be back pacing the catwalks, just like before, unless you have something else in mind..." Rhaef stopped short, realizing what he had said, and it was not his turn to blush a shade of crimson reserved for warning lights.

Lei had been sitting quietly and observing as the Captain came back with Rhaef and Geoff.  She knew that they had been out getting a job and the fact that they had come back and weren't hollering for Charlie to get inside and Dake to start the engines meant that they had succeeded.  Lei still wasn't exactly sure what all the crews jobs entailed but she knew that Charlie always got a little worried when they all left so Lei had started to do the same.

When Geoff came up to her she smiled but that was all.  There had been a time when she would have run up to him and grabbed onto his leg the moment he was in sight but now she was slightly guarded with him.  She was always half wondering if he had been drinking his magical forgetting drink again.  And maybe she didn't need him quite so much as she used to.  It'd been a while since Lei had been in the white place and she was starting to understand a bit how the world outside worked.  She was starting to become her own person and not just some scared little girl.

She bit her lip when Geoff asked where she had gotten her prize and didn't look at him, _{"Dake took me to the arcade ..."} she mumbled, knowing full well that Geoff always got this look in his eye when she talked about hanging out with the new pilot.  Lei wasn't sure but she didn't think that Geoff liked him very much.

Charlie shocked her own self at the images that came leaping to her head when Rhaef mentioned her perhaps having something else in mind.  Oh boy, she certainly did have some other things things in her mind none of which she was going to be explaining to anyone, anytime soon though.

Her cheeks probably flushed a bit darker as she stuttered, "Ah'm ... well there's'a ... no .. no ah'm not havin' nothin', nothin' in mind'f sorts an' ...."

She shook her head, she hadn't babbled on like an idiot nearly so much before Rhaef had gotten back.  Now she felt that her already limited vocabulary had been cut in half most of the time.  She supposed that was just what happened when you always had something else on your mind, someone else.  Charlie had never really felt this way before and when he had been unattainable it'd just been a fancy she could push to the back of her mind.  Now each little fancy was something that might actually happen and she just couldn't seem to ignore them the way she used to.  Fancies of Rhaef's hands, so deadly when in a fight but startingly gentle when he cupped her chin, or his lips ... his lips so soft when ...

"Port manifolds." she said suddenly, trying to back-peddle out of this whole line of discussion, "They've been hangin' loose'n ah've been meanin't get workin' on them so I should'b doin' that'n y'should probably be goin't scout."

Geoff felt that familiar swell of anger, felt his insides begin to get a bit warmer.  He quickly reigned it in, however, when he heard the tone of Lei's voice and saw the look on her face.  Over the past few months, she'd been growing increasingly distant from him.  Part of it had to do with her growing up, he knew, but the rest was due in no small part to his own vices.  It killed him to think how much he had caused his own suffering, and how he'd pushed all those close to him away.

He needed to change.  To fix things.  And he'd start today.

"Well, that was nice of him," he said, suppressing the anger and smiling as brightly and naturally as he could.  "Hope you had a good time, kiddo.  Maybe when we finish this next job, I can take you somewhere.  Anywhere you want.  If you'd like me to."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:11, Tue 02 Feb 2010.

Kale looked from Rhaef to Charlie and back to Rhaef again before deciding it was best to just stay out of whatever it was that was going on.  Inwardly he wondered if his ship was turning into some sort of melodramatic romance novel, that couldn't be good for business.  Deep down, he wondered how it was that his crew were able to find connections out here in the black and he was still alone ... deep down he was jealous of their blushes.  He didn't let any of those thoughts interfere with the running of his ship though and so he went right on with his business.

"Well, that's settled then, we'll head up to the bridge an' pull up the directions to the theater an' you guys can have a look around."

Lei wasn't looking at him so she missed the flash of anger that crossed Geoff's face for a brief moment, which was probably all for the better.  She was no longer a child that got scared when someone raised their voice but other displeasure still put her in a state of unease - perhaps more unease then was warranted.

When Geoff spoke, however, Lei looked up to find him smiling.  Her brow wrinkled for a moment, this was not the response she had calculated.  People were very confusing to Lei.  She couldn't figure them out like she could a math problem or the games at the arcade.  They didn't always behave in predictable patterns and that was frustrating to the young girl.

She ventured a small smile, "I did." she said softly, "I won this bear." she said, nudging that large purple teddy bear at her side, "I'm good at arcade games." her smile widened just a bit.

She tilted her head to the side then when he offered to take her somewhere as well, her response really seemed to matter to him, "Okay." she said, "I'd like that."

The anger faded, becoming little more than a distasteful memory as Geoff sat there with Lei.  She was something special alright, and Geoff wondered if he'd ever be able to have a daughter like her someday.  If he would even be able to find someone willing to have a child with him.  If not, he hoped he'd be able to get his shit together enough to keep from losing Lei...and Wei-Li, when he thought about it...altogether.  More motivation for him to keep himself in check and start to fix everything he'd started to break.

"Darlin'," he said, "you're good at anythin' you set your mind to.  Tell you what...I'm gonna go out and try to get this job done, so we can get out of here.  You try to come up with some ideas as to where you wanna go next, and I'll do everythin' I can to make it happen.  I promise."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:38, Sat 06 Feb 2010.

Lei could see him appear to relax slightly and she felt herself relaxing as well.  She nodded, her big eyes staring up at Geoff, "Promise." she echoed quietly and there was no doubt in Geoff's mind that she expected him to keep that promise.  This was a fragile truce between them.

Geoff winked, his smile widening as he realized this was the first of what would hopefully be many small victories.  He winked, and said, "I'd love to stick around, but I got some work to do now.  And the sooner we get it over with, the sooner you and I can start makin' some plans.  So you hold down the fort while I'm away, alright?  We'll be done in no time."

With that, he stood up and made his way back over to Rhaef.  He was still in the middle of what looked to be one awkward conversation with Charlie, so he leaned against the nearest wall and waited for him to wrap it up.  He'd been kind enough to let Geoff work his business out; he at least owed him the same courtesy.

Noticing that Geoff had wrapped up his conversation with Lei Kale motioned to his new first mate to follow him up to the bridge.  He cast a look in Rhaef's direction as well and figured the other man would follow suit when he was done here.

"The twins said they were sendin' up all the info on the theater." he said, "Should give us a jumpin' off point."

[To Destiny: Bridge]

Rhaef watched as Kale and Geoff left for the bridge, his initial instinct to follow them up there immediately. But, he reminded himself, he was just the hired gun now. The plan needed to be Kale's and Geoff's for this to work - and if Rhaef was poking his head into the conversation before the plan was formed, then things would always be awkward.

He had to wait and have Geoff bring him the plan and ask if he had any thoughts, the way Rhaef and/or Kale had done when Geoff was the hired gun.

Now that the others were gone, he turned to Charlie, "Now tell me, Ms. Bourdain, do you really want to be working on port manifolds or did you have something else in mind?"

As the cargo bay began to empty Lei got the feeling that perhaps she should slip out as well.  She'd heard Charlie talking with Kyoko one day in the dining hall about how she and Rhaef never really got to be alone on Destiny.  Lei didn't know exactly why they needed to be all by themselves but she remembered that Ren and Acacia used to talk about that all the time too.  She wrinkled her nose up slightly, people were strange.  Still she liked Charlie (she still wasn't too sure about Rhaef) so she'd let them be alone.

Without a word Lei slipped from the room, her feet not making a sound as she moved towards the passenger quarters where she had left the book she was reading.

[To Destiny: Passenger Quarters]

Charlie felt even more embarrassed as everyone left the cargo bay on their account but fervently pushed those thoughts away as she turned back to Rhaef.  A huge whoosh of air escaped her lips, blowing a bit of stray hair up and out of her eyes, "Now don'b gettin' all romantic on me." she said wryly at Rhaef's formality at calling her Ms. Bourdain, "Not when I'm covered in all sorts'f engine grease an' oil an' all."

She pushed herself to her feet, wiping her hands on her coveralls as she moved towards Rhaef, "The port manifolds really do need fixin'." she said, almost stubbornly as she stepped right up next to him.  She had to tilt her head up a bit to stare into his face.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:16, Tue 16 Feb 2010.

Rhaef craned his neck down at Charlie, as he slid his arms around her back, "Well, I guess its a good thing that I don't mind getting my hands greasy, and a better thing that even covered in grease, you look great."

With that, and a quick glance around the bay, Rhaef leaned and kissed her.

Charlie opened her mouth to respond and was promptly cut off by Rhaef's lips against her own.  Their soft touch sent a surge of warmth through her entire body and she felt herself relax into his embrace, perhaps against her better judgment.  The cargo bay wasn't exactly the most private of locations.  After a few moments she finally managed to pull away slightly breathless, "Now - now yer just tryin' t'be distractin'." she scolded playfully.

Rhaef shook his head ruefully, "Guilty as charged, Charlie," he said still holding her close. "Hopin' maybe I could 'stract both of us long enough for Kale and Geoff to figure out the plan, and I'd not have to go up to the bridge."

He paused, and slowly let her go, "But that don't appear to be the case," he said quietly. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "don't work too hard on those manifold, we're both due from some R&R when we get back" He said with a smirk, adding as he turned for the bridge, "And I'm guessin' you can come up with some creative ways to spend it." He winked at her and slid into the hallway toward the bridge.

[To Bridge]

[From Kyoko's shuttle]

Wei-Li did her best to fade into the bulkhead when she heard the soft murmer of voices.   'Charlie and Raef,' she thought to herself.

The last thing she wanted to do was interrupt them.  Time together was so rare...

When she saw Raef head towards the bridge she headed down the stairs, swinging down the last few steps and doing a half turn as she landed.

A grand entrance that was both playful and afforded her a good scan of the area as she landed.  She didn't see Geoff anywhere and she wasn't sure if she felt relieved or all the more anxious.

She smiled at Charlie "Hey Charlie... you seen Geoff?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Mon 22 Feb 2010.