Nero finally put down the phone, making sure she saw it as well.

"Yeah. I mean no. No phone, let's just hold one another."

He could always tell his fans they did something else later on.

OOC: I don't know if I hinted at it or not but in my mind I definitely had them crashing Silver's room as well.

Ledo just nodded at the cop.

"No mystery about it. I've got two of the best computer whizzes on the planet on my crew. Can't get attacked if you don't leave an opening."

Ledo lets out a cough as the docs do their work.

"Sure. We can drop off your commandos on our way to orbit. Tell my companion here the details while I...I'll just pass out for a little bit."

OOC: Feel free to jump ahead.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 8):

We will get to it then.

I'm not sure where I got the idea of Nero crashing Silver's room.  But it is funny waiting to happen isn't it?

The med team arrives outside about ten minutes later Tepha.  It's two nurses pushing a medikart.  But they make quick work out of patching everyone up.

About twenty minutes after, another security detail shows up, pushing two wheelchairs with Ledo and that Tai Kwon Do lady.

The head of the security team takes out a datacube.  "Your captain agreed to drop us off at the outer hatch to the pumping station.  Here's the details. He should be waking up in a couple of minutes."

The datacube contains some schematics and a map of the outer portion of the city dome.  The idea is pretty easy:

>Tia lifts off, heading up the elevator shaft.

>Between one hundred fifty and two hundred yards up, Tia blasts through the shaft wall and enters the ocean outside.

>Then you guys skirt widdershins around the city dome to the pumping station port.  It's on the opposite side of the city.  You dock, unload the security detail, and then you can vamoose.

Simple, right?

Ledo and BB are given drugs to wake them up.  Pain is minimal thanks to the Fixenall.  Remember their temp HP.

If there's anything you want to do before lift off, go ahead.  Otherwise, I will move us along when I post Thursday.  Thanks.

It takes only about ten minutes for the med team to treat and evac.  Ledo and BB you feel stiff.  But you can move.

The station unlocks the landing gear.  Fritz finishes the reboot of Tia's mainframe.  It uploads the data cube info.

The station wants you to head up the elevator shaft on your own.  The lift mechanism is still down because of the virus.  There won't be a ton of maneuvering room, but you should be able to handle it.

As you head into the shaft, Mainframe displays two options for 'cutting' out of the shaft.  You can fly above the point of impact, let the water rush through, and lower the ship into it.

Otherwise, you can shoot ahead and dive right in.  The rush of water shouldn't be a problem.

Let me know who is doing what on the bridge.  I'm assuming Ledo is pilot and Rig is engineering it up.  Silver manning the turrents and Teph on scanner?

---

Ansley snuggles closer as the thrum of the engine comes on and the ship starts to shake Nero.  Seems like you are finally getting out of this deathtrap.

Ansley sighs.  "Nero...have you ever had to make a tough decision?"

Ledo considers the options available and then starts plugging in a course and targeting information.

"I don't care if mainframe thinks rushing water isn't going to be an issue, I'd much rather not have to deal with it. Prepare to fly above the point of impact and lower ourselves in."

OOC: Correct, Ledo is at the pilot's chair, Rig is engineering, Tepha is on sensors and Fritz duty and Silver is manning the guns.

Nero hugs Ansley close, giving her a little squeeze so she knows he's listening.

"Yeah, sure. Doesn't everyone?"

He pauses, considering her tone.

"What's on your mind. You've been kind of out of sorts since that guy got shot. Did you know these eco-terrorist assholes?"

His mind was racing, processing information he had ignored from earlier. Hadn't she said something about the OLF right before the shooting started? Didn't she call to that guy like she knew his name?

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 11):

Aye aye mon cap-e-tahn.  Fritz seems to have been playing with the slang dictionary program again.

Silver, you can make this shot in your sleep.  The shaft wall comes crumbling down and the water starts to rush in.

Pushing into the flow of the oncoming water isn't difficult.  This is Tia after all.  But it is the first time you've taken her into oceanic conditions Ledo.  The controls are a little rough.  -1 to any Pilot rolls

You leave the elevator shaft and start to move around the dome.  The damage is worse than expected.  You can see large gouges in the upper tiers.

Tepha needs to give me a Sensors/Int roll please.

---

Ansley sniffles, nuzzling closer, Nero

She nods slowly.  "That guy...the one that pulled that rifle an' got shot?  He was the concert promoter.  Well.  Hesaid he was the concert promoter.  Who the hell knows now.  He an' Hava just told me it was gonna be this joke, right?  Like I was gonna yell that crap about OLF, and you'd take a vid, and we'd all yell that Bugga-guy crap.

"Now I don't know.  What if...what if Hava's in on it?  She spent a lotta time with that guy."

Hava was the Orange/Blonde you met at the same time as you met Ansley.

Tepha frowns as she punches the controlsa the sensor station. She had never had to configure sensors for underwater operation and it wasn't nearly as straightforward as she had hoped it would be. This was the difference between being a skilled amateur and a trained sensor operator.


15:32, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 5 using 2d6+01.  sensors/int.

Nero took in the information. He was still in his zen chill happy place with a Pansy Paws on his arm. It felt nice to cuddle up next to someone who he hadn't had to pay by the hour.

"Do you think we should tell someone? We could talk to your security team or I could talk to BB wherever she is. She definitely isn't involved with anything so you can trust her. Or whoever's ship this is I don't think they're tied to the OLF at all given how many people they shot to get us here."

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 14):

Ansley giggles.  "They did shoot a lotta people, huh?  Shit.  Never thought I'd see someone's head blow up."

She leans up and gives you a quick peck on the cheek.  "Thanks Nero.  I feel better.  I guess I should tell someone.  If you were me, who would you tell?"

---

Tia begins to come around the curve of the dome.  Schools of fish dive this way and that.  A school of mackerel sear to a crispy brown in the exhaust vent.  A dolphin tries to get out of the way, only to get whacked by the hull as you power through.

Maybe these OLF people have a point.

The ship suddenly shakes.  More so than could be expected.

Then it shakes more.

Warning, warns Mainframe.  <Red>Additional weight has been added to hull.  Adjust for streering by 15 point 72 on sections 24 to-<red>

What dumbass here is trying to say is there's a giant squid stuck on the hull.  Like...a really big one.

Fritz flips the cameras over.  It is indeed a squid, sticking to the underside of Tia.  It must have been laying on the ocean floor and reached up as you passed.  It's pulling itself along Tia's undercarriage.

It's weight is throwing off your steering Ledo.  This squid is almost as long and wide as Tia herself.

See?  Like really big!  Like super duper big! Also...not sure if you can get a shot at it with the weaponry.  It is on the hull too.


Poor Teph.  She just can't get a break.

So yeah.  Giant squid crawling up Tia's belly.  You can try to use the ship's weapons on it.  But remember:  it is on Tia's hull.

At the moment, other than making piloting rough on Ledo, it's not doing anything.

At the moment.

Ledo frowns as he flips through displays.

"Is it attacking us? It might just be curious. Once it realizes we're not food it might just go away. Silver do we have any weapons that will fire under water?"

Silver just laughs over the comms.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Alright, steady as she goes. One problem at a time..."

Nero thought about it for a second and then gave his reply.

"BB. Definitely BB. My bodyguard. She's a pain in the ass but security and shooting stuff is kind of her deal. If your band member and manager are in league with the OLF and the OLF just tried to blow up the entire dome it would probably be bad if they tried to sabotage the ship with us inside of it, right? Let me call her over."

Nero activated his comms and gave BB directions to the room they were squatting in. Nero figured it was time for her to earn yet another paycheck.

In reply to Nerotes Madigan (msg # 18):

Ansley dries her eyes.  She runs through the story for you BB.  It pretty much is exactly what she told you before Nero

---

Tia wobbles.  Really wobbles.

Oh my.  Yeah.  It's really curious.  If Mainframe was wearing a dress, he'd be up under it.

Rig, you can see lights coming up on your systems board.  The squid is feeling up into the cracks and crevices, a couple of tentacles lodging up into the underside bays the landing struts curl up into.

It seems to feeling around.  And tugging.  There are proximity alerts.  Like if asteroid debris were pinging off the ship.  But nothing terrible yet.

Looking things over, if it keeps going around the area it's in, it could damage some hydraulic lines.  It would mean you couldn't land planet side until that was fixed.

The real concern is the hydrogen scoop.  If Squid-o continues along the hull in the direction it's going, it will come up to the hydrogen scoop.  If it messes with that, it's more of a problem.

They didn't really cover 'giant squid going through hydrogen processor' in engineering school.  But it probably would put a crimp in ya'lls mirth.

That's if it goes that way.  But it is kind of creeping forward...

Ledo considers the squid. If it keeps doing what its doing it seems like nothing they can't fix. Let it poke around and let them go. Squids are just curious right?

However it it starts to drift he considers the side of the dome they're next to.

"Fritz...how hard do you think it would be to bounce against the dome a couple of time and kind of squish it or scrape it off? Maybe a couple taps will make it realize that no means no?"

BB nodded as Ansley spoke but she drew her pistol all the same. Just in case. She pulled out her comms and dialed Ledo's frequency.

"Uhhh...Captain? We might have a situation."<darkblue>

"Yeah I'm well aware of the squid that is groping us..."

<darkblue>"What? No. Not that. I mean...listen one of the band members just told me that a couple of the people in her entourage might have ties to the OLF. It might have been that the Pansy Paws were just a cover to get boots on the ground."

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me. You think..."

"That if they're fanatic enough they might try something. Do you have a place to lock them up in?"

"Actually..yeah. We have a brig onboard. This ship was run by skiptracers for awhile so they would throw skips in there. I'll send Silver back and the pair of you can get that figured out. Thanks for the update, BB. Where are you currently?"
"Uhhh, one of the crew rooms. I dunno, not a lot of stuff around but it smells kinda like weed..."

"...alright well this is going to be fun. Silver is on her way."

"What do you mean in my room?"

Silver had one hand to the link in her ear while she jogged down the corridors. The ship was noisy what with the two dozen or so passengers they had picked up trying to ignore the odd shakes and jolts of the ship becoming intimate with a squid. On top of the passengers they were transporting a squad of troopers so it was standing room only as everyone tried not to go ping-ponging around from the turbulance.

"I don't care if I wasn't using it...no I'm not going to shoot them..."

With a huff she shut off her comm and added.

"...unless they touched my stash..."

When she got to her room she stormed inside, looking with dismay at the teen lovers cuddled up on her bed. She thrust a finger in their direction and locked them with her best death stare.

"Don't you fucking smoke or drink or swallow ANYTHING or I will gut you myself. Fucking kids fucking on my bed..."<brown>

She grumbled as went to the locker and began to suit up. Full boarding suit and combat rifle get up. She wasn't taking any chances with these OLF fuckers. For all she knew they had rigged half the ship with IEDs by now and she wasn't going to be caught with her proverbial panties around her ankles.

As she was gearing up she saw the other woman next to her. BB, the chick that went with Ledo to kill some snipers was eying her and her overall demeanor screamed military. Didn't Ledo say she was a marine or something?

<brown>"So, do you know who they're talking about?"

The marine nodded.

"And you're ready to rumble?"

"I've got a gyro rifle stored if we need it."

Silver thought about it and shrugged.

"Eh, a pistol is probably fine. How much trouble can they be, right?"

"Well with all due respect we also have a squad of twitchy dome security looking to save their city onboard. AND the Pansy Paws have their own armed security team. AND we never bothered to check them for any weapons or explosives. So yeah, probably no trouble at all."

"Huh...well when you put it like that. Can you get their security to stand down?"

She wasn't looking at anyone in particular. She didn't know who the fuck was who so just asking the room seemed the best idea.

"I can try. I don't think their security is working for OLF especially as they helped shoot them on our way here, same as the rest.">

"Alright, let's let them know that we're coming to relocate a couple of them to the brig."

"Lead the way, I've got your six."

Silver finishes gearing up and then proceeded to the lounge where the rest of the Pansy Paws and company were located.

When they were outside the lounge, BB dialed Parket on her comm.

"Parket? It's BB, Nero's shadow. Nero's been chatting up your girl Ansley and she just made a connection between Hava and that OLF assassin. The captain of the ship wants to relocate her to the bridge just in case she has deeper ties than originally suspected. I guess they were the ones that put Ansley up to shouting for the OLF when she grabbed Nero. They told her it was just a prank except if we hadn't been there she would have been the poster child for the whole terrorist organization.

Is everything cool? Are we going to have a problem?"

She thought about revealing that they were about to enter with high-grade armor and combat weaponry but she figured if Parket wasn't cool then there was no reason to give him advanced warning that his pea shooters were about to be useless.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 23):

Parket snaps back pretty quick. "Ha.  That's funny.  Cos Hava just finished tellin' me Ansley was the one who set the whole thing up.

"At this point I'm all for throwin' 'em both in the brig.  Just seems the cleanest solution.  You got Ansley with you?"

Ansley is hugging onto Nero, looking back at you BB with big innocent eyes.

---

Hmmm.  That might could work.  But it would be tricky even in outer space.  Let me get Mainframe to run some trajectories...

Fritz spits a set of numbers to your comm Ledo.  Optimally, you would need to skid over the surface of the dome, leaving just enough room to rough up or smear the squid.  Too close and Tia will be rubbing her hull against the surface of the dome.

Which may or may not be a good thing.

Who knows?

Interesting solution.  Pilot roll. You do have the -1 penalty for being underwater but that's all I'm going to penalize you.  Just don't fumble it.

BB looked at Ansley, then at Nero who also had big doe eyes looking up at her and she sighed.

"Yeah we have Ansley. We'll keep her under watch same as Hava. Their crew is coming into relocate the target to the brig, stand down."

With that she motioned for Silver to go in and collect the "package."

Alright just take it in nice and easy. Nothing too fancy just a couple of bumps to get it to rethink its current interest in their ship...

Ledo slowly moved the controls to close the distance between the ship and the side of the dome...


14:24, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 6 using 2d6.  no whammy... pilot check.

While Silver was going in to retrieve Hava, Nero looked at BB with wide eyes.

"So now what?"

BB let out a sigh.

"Now I'm going to be your chaperone. No more going off by yourself. She should be locked up in the brig as well until we can get to the bottom of it but...fuck me...I really don't think either of them are a big concern at this point so...goddam those are famous last words, right?"

She pulled up her pistol to make a point as she looked at Ansley.

"I'm letting you run around but don't think for a second I won't put a bullet through your skull if you try anything. I'm ex-marine so don't fuck with me and this crew is packing serious firepower on top of what I have. And there's the fact that we've got a cargo bay full of station security. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

While Silver was busy BB gestured for the two lovebirds to head back to Silver's room. They would all make camp in there. Nero and Ansley huddled up on the bed and BB sitting by the doorway with her pistol drawn but pointed at the ground.

In reply to Nerotes Madigan (msg # 27):

Hava is being told what's what by one of the security guys Silver.

She starts to squawk, but the one that you think is Parket leans close to her and says, "Until we determine who is and isn't a threat to the group, all potential threats will be isolated.  Capice?"

Hava seems smart enough to figure out from his tone that now is not the time to play spoiled popstar.

Parket glances at you.  "One of my guys is goin' with you."

One of them nods at you and follows along.

BB, you see the crew coming when...

---

As carefully as possible, you swerve to scrape the side of the dome Ledo

Proximity alarms blare out and the ship starts to rumble.  Tia suddenly pitches...

Let's have a check from BB, Silver, and Nero to stay on their feet. Either Athletics/Str or Athletics/Dex.  Your call.  If you can think of a more applicable roll, go for it.

I am assuming everyone else was seated.

Fritz squawks on.  You can level off Captain Ledo.  We left a squid stain on the dome.  We're good.  The docking port should be coming into view in a moment.

And because you haven't rolled enough lately, Tepha needs to make me a sensors/int check.  Thanks

The ship suddenly lurches and out of instinct BB latches onto the nearest handhold, flexing against her own weight to keep her from tipping over.



15:45, Today: BB Nova rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  athletics/str.

Silver tries to stay on her feet, shifting her weight under her as the ship lurches but she doesn't quite make it...


15:47, Today: Silver rolled 7 using 2d6+1.  dex/athletics.

Ever see what happens when you put a whiffle ball inside a dryer? That is Nero as the lurch catches the already ungainly kid by surprise and he goes flying down the hallway.

OOC: Lol

15:48, Today: Nerotes Madigan rolled 2 using 2d6-3.  athletics...ha.