|
Post by Admiral Hart on Mar 26, 2010 19:10:01 GMT -5
Josetta Hart awoke holding Andromeda Reyes tightly, her arm curled around the doctor's satin pajama -covered torso. She smiled a feint smile, and pulled the woman closer to her, giving her lover a small kiss on her exposed shoulder.
She held the doctor like this for several moments before she felt a presence twitch in her mind, followed by Patches' voice.
"Captain, we are recieving a distress signal, specifically aimed towards us. It a call from one of the mages that assaulted the ship, one Christian Monroe. Your biological brother, I believe. He states he has the daughter of the deceased prime minister, and is requesting sanctuary from her." The AI said.
Hart sighed. "Alright, Patches. I'll be on the bridge shortly." The pirate carefully moved over her lover. Whereas Andi was dressed in satin pajamas, Hart was wearing her shirt and little else. She reclaimed the rest of her clothing and knelt by the bed, carefully waking the doctor.
"Wh...what's...Jo?" She said sleepily.
"Go back to bed, Andi. I just wanted to let you know I have to do captainy things." She leaned in and gave Andi a quick kiss.
Andromeda never really opened her eyes, she just gave a sleepy smile and said, "Okay, have fun, love you." and turned over to go back to sleep.
Hart pulled the covers over her before she left.
*****
In very little time, Hart was on the bridge. "Xiao, do you have a lock on that signal?"
"Yes ma'am." Xiao replied, dragging and typing at the holographic interface in front of him.
"Patches, can you 'port us there?" The Admiral asked.
"This is probably a trap. Captain. Most likely some ploy on the Source's part to ambush us." Patches warned.
"I appreciate the warning, but you didn't answer the question." Hart replied wryly.
The AI sighed. "Yes, I am fully capable of teleporting myself there. But I would feel much better about it if I were one hundred percent starmetal rather than the...adequate but undesirable replacements you've cobbled onto me."
"Sorry. The only starmetal in this system is the stuff you were made out of. It'd be next to impossible to get it all back. Now get ready to teleport." Hart returned.
"You could simply convert the patches into starmetal. I am not sure why you inferiors decided it was easier to shape an unbreakable metal than it was to shape it first and then convert it, as my creators did." The AI replied. "Are your Infected so attached to their dark gifts that they will not sacrifice a single kilomana for the good of your ship?"
That gave Hart pause. "Wait. Starmetal is made from magic? We can make more?"
"Of course you can make more! It's not a natural metal! A mage must simply channel their magic into the metal--any metal--and intone a basic incantation. It's five bloody words, anyone with half a mind and some magic in them can do it." The AI said, exasperated. "But at least it's heartening to know you are vultures and parasites due to ignorance rather than malice."
Hart was thoughtful for a moment. "Send those instructions to TK, and tell him I give him permission to draft someone for starmetal creation duty. Now no more stalling. Teleport."
Patches sighed. "Yes, my Captain."
The AI's voice sounded all over the ship. "Attention. Prepare for teleportation. In five. Four. Three. Two. One."
*******
In a flash, the Plunder's Heart II was in space not far from Earth, a small skiff--ant-sized in scale when compared to the massive ship--not far from it.
"Attention skiff, prepare to be taken aboard." The AI said over its comm as it was pulled into the cargo area of the massive alien ship.
"Infected mage, known servant of the Source, detected. Commencing Lockdown." Patches once again broadcast. Before the skiff was even securely docked, Christian's mage powers were on lockdown.
Hart, a Patches hologram, and Alexandria, along with Morgan's boarding crew, were waiting outside the vessel when it was secured. The main hatch opened, and out stepped Christian--without his mage markings, nearly the spitting image of Wilcroft Wright. A moment after him, a teenage girl who was unmistakably Isabella Martinez.
"Well, this is a surprise." Hart called. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, little brother?"
Through clenched teeth, the feral-natured teen said, "This is Isabella Martinez, dautgher of the former Prime Minister. Clara had us apprehend her after the Bicentennial. But Clara...isn't exactly Clara anymore, and Ms. Martinez here isn't safe. You and this ship are just about the only thing left in this solar system that can fix that."
Jo gave this a few moments of consideration. "Suppose we do take her in. What do you do?"
With a steady stare, Christian replied, no hesitation in his voice, "Not nearly as important. Put me back in a cage if you have to. Just make sure she stays out of the hands of whatever it is that's taking over Clara."
"She is being taken over by an evil queen with the powers of a demigod." The AI said, matter-of-factly.
"Patches. Remove lockdown on Christian." The Admiral ordered, a sly smirk starting to form on her face.
The AI and Christian both gave Hart a confused, stunned look. "Surely you must be joking."
"Now, Patches." She reiterated, voice more firm now. The AI sighed in exasperation. "Yes Captain." The lockdown faded, Christian's fur and claws instantly growing back in.
"So, I hear you're out of the job." The pirate said as soon as the mage looked a bit more comfortable.
Christian, a bit rattled from the lockdown lifting, looked as though he fully expected to be beaten down.
"See, I have three ships now." Jo began, pacing a little. "I need more boarders. And hey, you're good in a fight. And given that I'm going to give your famous girlfriend here asylum, you kind of owe me" She gave an obvious pause full of fake consideration. "....plus, Cassi would stop speaking to me if I flushed you out an airlock or put you in the brig. So how's about it?"
Christian gave a stunned blink. "Oh...uh...well I..." Then he grew a bit more flustered, if it was possible, "Sh-she's not my girlfriend. I just..." He cleared his throat and tried to appear less flustered, failing miserably, and said "Alright," giving the impression that, had he still been locked down, he would be blushing to his ears.
Jo's smirk deepened. "Excellent." She ignored Patches' glare to the best of her ability.
She started to walk away, seemed to remember something, and called back, "Oh, and you two don't mind if you share a room, do you? They're made for eight-foot tall hyenas, so there's plenty of room for two."
Christian, normally a lion, now looked like a deer in headlights. "Uh..."
"We don't mind." Isabella interrupted, a nervous smile on her face.
Christian turned his stunned look to his companion. "...we don't?"
"I'll feel safer if you're there too." Bella replied, a bit insecurely.
Jo said, clapping her hands together. "Great. Apparently I have another important transmission coming in, so I'll leave Mom to get you two lovebirds settled."
"Captain. You are allowing a servant of the Source to wander me! How in the name of the Stars do you believe this to be a good idea?! On any level?!" Patches fumed as they walked towards the bridge.
"Because I can tell he genuinely cares about Isabella. That'll keep him on our side." Hart replied.
"And if it does not? If his allegiance to the Source rears its ugly head despite our offer of asylum? Surely you must agree it is safer to keep him locked down."
"If he turns on us, it's simple. We gave Isabella safety." Jo gave a glance back at the hologram. "And if he turns on us, we make her unsafe."
The AI considered this. "While such a tactic lacks honor, I do very much appreciate its effectiveness. An excellent idea, Captain."
Jo, a more serious look on her face, sighed. "I only hope it doesn't come to that."
|
|
|
Post by Christian Monroe on Mar 26, 2010 21:01:57 GMT -5
Still a bit unsettled and not entirely sure how to react to everything that was happening, Christian kept silent as he and Bella were led away from the cargo area by Queen Cob--his biological mother, he conceeded silently. The beautiful woman looked and smelled genuinely happy to see him, which was unexpected and confusing but not entirely unwelcome. Christian would die before admitting the weakness aloud, of course, but the fact that she had seemed to honestly create an emotional attachment to him even though he was simply created in a science lab using her DNA without her permission impacted him. A lot.
Alex led them through several corridors. Christian did his best to ignore the surprised, distrustful glances he garnered from the crew. Though he had no intention of testing that suspicion, they were wise to have it. When she reached the room that would be theirs, the older woman turned back to them with a smirk very much like her daughters, green eyes dancing. "Here you are. Be careful with her, tiger," she murmured for him alone, then, giving him a wink.
Christian balked for an instant, eyes wide, and from the heat he suddenly felt in his face he was probably dark red under his fur. Rather than try and correct their misconceptions as to his and Isabella's relationship, Christian decided to change the subject instead.
"Does this ship have any gyms or training facilities?" he questioned carefully. An olive branch of sorts, in his own, uncertain way. Alex just smiled.
"As far as I can tell, there are over a dozen. Seems that the 'people' who made this thing were pretty fond of war."
He nodded to that, then stepped forward so that the door opened for them. He allowed Bella to enter first, then turned back toward Alex, who still stood outside. He hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words, then hesitantly asked, "would you . . ." He had to pause, clearing his throat before speaking again a little firmer. "Would you consider continuing my training?"
Instead of sneer or seem put off, his question seemed to delight her. Her green eyes lit up brilliantly. "Of course, tiger."
For the first time since stepping off the skiff, Christian's stiff posture relaxed a fraction, and a hint of a smile almost curled his lips. He nodded. "Good. I will . . . contact you when I am ready."
Alex nodded, then turned and retraced her steps back down the hall. Christian watched her go for a moment or two, then shook his head slightly and entered the room that they'd been given fully. The door slid closed behind him with a hiss. He glanced around, memorizing the layout immediately out of habit, inwardly impressed. It was pretty huge.
Isabella stood in the middle, staring around herself with a similar awed, unsettled expression. Christian almost fidgeted with nervousness before he realized what he was doing and stopped ther reaction with a gruff frown.
"I'll arrange to get some sort of divider put in here," he announced, trying for nononsense and his usual gruffness rather than nervous as hell. She turned back to him and he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. "So you can have some privacy," he elaborated. "And . . . another bed," he continued, eying the massive thing currently crouched in the back center somewhat warily. It looked like it could fit about ten people comfortably, but he doubted she would want to sleep in the same bed with him even if they managed to stay on completely opposite ends of the gigantic thing. He couldn't blame her for that. He wouldn't want to sleep in the same bed with himself, after all.
Now, wanting to sleep with her on the other hand . . . Well, there were far worse things he could conjure in his mind than the thought of sleeping through the night with her warm scent in his nose.
Isabella just smiled at him, though, and stepped forward until she was nearly touching him. And then she was, one of her slender hands curling gently around his larger forearm. "The bed's more than big enough for two people. I trust you to be a gentleman."
Christian just stared down at her, at a loss. It wasn't just the sincerity of her tone, or the softness of those chocolate brown eyes of hers. It was her scent. There was no coppery tang, no unpleasant musk. She had not an ounce of fear of him. She really and truly trusted him completely. The concept was mind-boggling to him.
The Mamba training in him warred with the nineteen year old boy. For once, the teeanger in him won out. He carefully reached up with his free hand, and used his claws to push a hank of her hair back behind the shell of her ear. When he spoke, his voice--though still a touch uncertain--was a deep, velvet purr.
"When Hart called you my girlfriend . . . you didn't correct her. Was that because you felt you needed my protection?" Her smile didn't fade, though she gave a slight, almost imperceptible shake of her head.
"It was because I like the idea."
A rush of something warm and soft filled his chest then, making him ache, but in a strangely pleasant sort of way. And suddenly he was struck with a fierce desire to touch her, a kiss maybe? Unfortunately, he didn't know how. Growing up he'd never been shown even the smallest affection, and after waking up on the Plunder only Cassi had shown him kindness--despite his gruff attempts otherwise. Never had that included kissing. Still, he'd been an unwilling witness to several bouts of PDA over the last year, from Seigfried and Amanda as well as others. Surely it couldn't be that hard?
Making up his mind, Christian braced himself before suddenly bending down to her. Unfortunately he miscalculated his speed in his nervous haste, and ended up nearly headbutting her. Isabella let out a startled yelp, which quickly turned into a laugh. Christian scowled however, feeling like an idiot. A sensation he didn't enjoy at all.
"Sorry," he growled, scowling and turning on his heel, wanting nothing more than to beat a hasty retreat. She grabbed him by the back of his shirt, however, halting him.
"No, wait," she called, laughter still in her tone. "Christian, don't go. It's alright." When he wouldn't turn around, Isabella circled him instead. Her dark eyes were dancing with mirth, but warm with something else as well. And before he could say or do anything else, she reached up to cup the curve of his jaw in one of her hands--fingers gently sifting through his golden fur--before standing up on her tip-toes and pressing her mouth to his.
He went stiff and still at first, completely unsure of what he was supposed to do and terrified of messing it up or--worse--accidentally hurting her. But the feel of her warm softness so close and her scent swirling so thick in his brain soon effected him enough that he relaxed a fraction. Enough to allow his eyes to close, and allow himself to enjoy his first ever kiss.
|
|
Willie Barbary
Buccaneer
Pilot
It's worse when you know that hell is coming, but nobody else will believe you . . . .
Posts: 52
|
Post by Willie Barbary on Mar 26, 2010 22:02:41 GMT -5
Willie finished packing the last of Joey's things in one of the satchels she'd aquired on the Cove during their last visit. Her gray eyes were dry now, if still a bit reddened and swollen. She'd cried herself out last night, however. After vengefully tossing out everything she could identify as Randolph Miller's into the hallway, she'd managed to have enough presence of mind to make sure Joey was ok before she curled up in a ball on their bed and sobbed herself into unconsciousness. She'd woken up filled with grim purpose.
Miller hadn't returned. He must have been by at some point during the night, because all of his belongings were now stacked neatly outside their room rather than heaped in random piles. But he'd made no attempts to speak to her. Certainly not to apologize, or tell her he'd changed his mind. Willie scowled a little at that, checking the fastenings on the bag. At this point, she wasn't even sure that that would do any good.
How could she go crawling back to someone who could toss her aside so easily? Could their relationship ever even be the same after something like that? Right now, Willie didn't even want to think about it. All she wanted was to get herself and Joey as far away from this ship as possible. She needed room to breathe, room to think. Room to heal the massive hole in her chest where her heart used to be.
She had no immediate plans, other than returning to her parents' estate on Mars. Her parents wouldn't mind, she was sure. Her father had been begging her to leave Miller and give up 'that damned fool stint of piracy' for months, and her mother would simply be ecstatic at the prospect of getting to see and hold her grandson in person. Still, it was probably best if she sent them a comm. message alerting them to her immenant arrival, rather than randomly showing up on the doorstep.
Willie stepped over to Joey's crib to check on him. The infant was sound asleep for once, chewing and drooling happily on one chubby fist. The small woman bit her lip with a shuddery sigh, reaching out with trembling fingers and brushing at his unruly shock of inky black hair--which was just like his father's. To her, Joey was the spitting image of Miller. The only thing he'd inherited from her was a faintly darker skintone than Miller's pale one, and her own gray eyes. She used to love the fact that he looked so much like his father. Now, that similarity was going to be like a daily dose of razor-blades to the chest.
She watched him sleep for a moment longer, then forcefully shook herself out of her melancholy and turned to the comm. instead. Willie sat down, mentally preparing herself to eat the crow pie her father was sure to dole out, then typed in the address to connect with her parents.
A moment later, the screen blinked on, and Willie immediately tensed at the disheveled, tear-streaked face of her mother that greeted her. Instantly all of her own troubles disappeared.
"Mom, what's wrong?" she demanded. Zaira immediately started sobbing at the sight of her.
"Oh, God, Willona," she whimpered. "I don't know what to do."
"Where's dad?" she questioned then, almost frantic, her stomach turning cold. "What's happened? Is he hurt?"
"He's gone!" she somehow managed through the wrenching sobs. At first Willie was terrified that her mother meant he was dead, but she continued--and unfortunately the truth wasn't much better. "M-Mamba forces . . . th-they attacked his vessel. They arrested him and all of his officers before destroying it. They've taken him to Io! And our military can't do anything about it! I can't lose him, Willona, I just can't!"
"It's gonna be alright, mom," she immediately soothed. "I promise, just calm down. I'll figure something out."
It took her several more moments to get her mother talked back down into a semblance of calm. After assuring her again that she would handle the situation, Willie cut the communication and then stood. She hurried over to her son, scooping the infant out of the crib and unfortunately disturbing his nap. To which Joey vocalized his displeasure in a disgruntled whimper. Willie cuddled him to her shoulder and soothed him with a few gentle shushes and rubs as she darted out the door.
She had to find the Admiral, and convince her to go to Io to save her father. If Willie had to hire the crew herself, so be it.
|
|
T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
|
Post by T.K. on Apr 3, 2010 20:41:46 GMT -5
T.K. was sitting at his workstation in engineering, staring at his latest toy. He'd successfully captured a ghost. He'd really caught a ghost. He almost couldn't believe it, but every time he had doubts, the little capture mechanism would begin rocking violently as the spirit tried to escape.
"I really should design something a little more... permanent for this thing. Imagine the havoc it would cause if it got loose."
He was oblivious to the reactions of his crew as most of them conveniently found better places to be.
"If you are done playing with your new toy, the Captain demands you devote all current Magi to a new project."
T.K. looked up at the terminal to see detailed instructions on how to 'make' new starmetal.
"Patches. I officially promise not to poke around in your mainframe for a full 24 hours." He paused, before hitting the ship-wide intercom. "Thorn, get to Engineering. You're actually going to be useful for once."
|
|
|
Post by Admiral Hart on Aug 19, 2011 4:39:17 GMT -5
Josetta was sitting in the bridge, going through various screens, tables, and star charts on a holographic screen floating in front of her.
Captain, a problem is about to make itself known.
Jo turned towards one of Patches's screens with a questioning look. Immediately after, Miller's Girlfriend, who was holding Miller's Baby, stormed on the bridge, the remnants of tears in her eyes, one of the AI's avatars trailing behind her.
"How can I help you, Miller's Babymama?" Jo asked, not looking up from what she was doing.
"Don't..." She began, voice rising, before she said in a slightly calmer voice, "It's my Dad. Serpentine got him. He's...he's in Io."
The Admiral turned towards her at that. "In Io."
Willie nodded. "I...we need to help him."
"Do we?" Jo asked, voice calculating. "You know, Miss Barbary, you come to me with an awful lot of problems."
"And if you'd listened to...." She began, but the pirate raised a hand to stop her.
"Oh, I agree. And I believe you that your father really is in Io. I also believe that this is probably a trap. And, in addition, I believe you said you were leaving my crew." Jo replied, turning back to the star charts.
Willie looked as though she had expected Jo to continue, but she did not.
"...if you're not going to help me, I can pay." Willie said, a palpable edge of desperation in her voice.
"I'd love to help, really. But that sort of risk is only the sort of risk I'd take for my crew. Specifically, one that I had a Very Important Position lined up for. But since you're leaving because of a certain psycho snake, I'm afraid I can't spare any of the armada to help." Hart said in a distracted tone. "Now, if I had some assurance you'd stay and accept the Very Important Job I need a pilot for, well...that's another thing entirely." She turned to Willona. "That's my price for assaulting Io and getting your father back and stepping into this obvious trap and just in general saving the day. I don't want your money, Willie. I want your loyalty."
|
|
Willie Barbary
Buccaneer
Pilot
It's worse when you know that hell is coming, but nobody else will believe you . . . .
Posts: 52
|
Post by Willie Barbary on Aug 19, 2011 12:18:24 GMT -5
Willie stood in silence for several heartbeats, struck somewhat dumb from shock, and just gaped at Hart. This . . . was not the direction she'd expected this conversation to go. Joey suddenly let out a faint, uncomfortable whimper--alerting her to the fact that she was squeezing him a little too hard in her upset--and Willie immediately relaxed her grip.
Willie might have refused out-of-hand--she was stubborn and contradictory enough that she hated to be forced into anything--but it was her father's life on the line. She couldn't risk it. Without Hart and the crew, he had zero chance of escaping and even less of surviving once Serpentine realized he wasn't of use.
Trembling somewhat from the emotional onslaught inside, Willie did her best to firm her chin and appear strong. "Alright," she finally forced out, voice shaking only a little. "If that's what it takes to save my father, alright."
|
|
Jason Thornvaald
Cabin Boy
Second Best Pirate in the Solar System
I'm the only man surrounded by a fleet of beautiful female Captains . . . Karma anyone?
Posts: 33
|
Post by Jason Thornvaald on Aug 19, 2011 12:26:16 GMT -5
Thorn stepped into the engineering area of the ship, expression beyond irritated. And as a result of that irritation, ice crystals were forming along the walls and floor in his wake. It was one thing to be labled incompitent by Hart. It was quite another for the Rabid Grease Monkey--someone he technically outranked--to shout that opinion over the ship-wide comm.
He zeroed in on T.K.'s current position, which was sitting near a terminal with that ghost contraption near-by. Which wriggled and shuddered even as he watched.
"You rang?" he barked out tersly, arms crossing as the temperature of the room dropped by a good fifteen degrees.
|
|
T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
|
Post by T.K. on Aug 19, 2011 16:24:43 GMT -5
T.K. was pulling up a list of all the current Mages aboard the ship, being sure to add Christian to the list. He didn't respond to Thorn right away, instead transferring the instructions from Patches into a data terminal, and pointing it in Thorn's general direction.
"Memorize that. You learn how to do it properly, and you'll be the first Human Mage to learn how to make Starmetal. Unless you'd like that honor to go to your cousin of course."
He stood up from the terminal and stretched, before gesturing for Thorn to follow along.
"Lets go find a work detail to hijack, and see if we can make history."
|
|
Jason Thornvaald
Cabin Boy
Second Best Pirate in the Solar System
I'm the only man surrounded by a fleet of beautiful female Captains . . . Karma anyone?
Posts: 33
|
Post by Jason Thornvaald on Aug 19, 2011 16:37:05 GMT -5
Thorn blinked, staring down at the datapad that the Grease Monkey had thrust into his hands. His startled shift in attention also allowed the area around him to return to a normal temperature.
"Wait, what?" he demanded, looking up to realize that the engineer had already started out of the room. The larger man frowned, but it was an easy thing for him to catch up, given that his strides were a lot longer. "Make Starmetal?" he parroted in disbelief.
"Yep," T.K. confirmed. "Apparently all it takes is some regular metal, some mana and a five-word incantation. So I'm sure even a lug-head like you can handle it."
At that Thorn scowled dangerously. "Does it matter even one small iota to you that I'm a god-damned Captain?"
T.K. just snorted fearlessly. "Whose ship are you on right now?" he demanded wrly. "Is this your ship? No? Then you can either follow orders or take it up with the Admiral, big boy." He motioned to the datapad hanging in Thorn's lax fist. "Now get to reading.
His temper flared for a moment before Thorn blew out a harsh sigh and rolled his eyes. It wasn't even worth it. He glanced back down at the datapad, unwillingly intrigued despite himself. The first human Mage to create Starmetal, huh . . . ?
|
|
|
Post by Admiral Hart on Aug 19, 2011 17:35:18 GMT -5
Hart's voice rang out all over the ship. "Attention crew, this is your Admiral speaking. It seems a certain Rear Admiral Barbary has gotten himself thrown into Io. I have agreed--out of the kindness of my own heart, of course--to help the future pilot of the Heart Breaker get her daddy back.
"Now, this is a trap. This is obviously a trap. But, I started thinking to myself--it used to be that it was impossible to rescue someone from Io. And then we did it. And now, they've undoubtedly made some changes to make it even more escape proof. And I'm sorry, but I really can't stay away from the opportunity to top myself.
"Now, while we get prepared and I think up my no doubt brilliant plan for getting Barbary free, we're going to teleport to Jupiter and hide in its gravity well. I need scouts out there telling me what the opposition is, and I need to know if Barbary is really in Io. Twenty percent bonus to the persons who give me this information."
On the bridge, Patches looked skeptically at Hart. "Not that I am incapable of sympathy even for lower life forms, but how does this aid in my righteous quest? It seems we are more and more removed from it as time goes on. The Source is only growing in power, Captain."
"Patches, trust your Captain, will you?" Hart said with a smirk. "I know what I'm doing."
"Well then, I'm bloody excited that one of us does!" Patches exclaimed, throwing her tiny holographic arms in the air. "You swore to me, Captain, that you would aid me. All I have done thusfar is pardon the Infected and perform menial tasks! I don't care about this "Mamba" or "Serpentine" or however many snake euphemisms they refer to themselves as! And while, as stated, I understand the female's plight, it is not relevant."
Willie shot the AI a very dirty look. Patches did not even pretend to care.
"Patches. Teleport to Jupiter." Hart ordered.
"No." The AI replied curtly. "Not until you justify this course of action to me."
"I am your Captain, Patches. Don't question my orders. Just trust I have a reason for them."
"Well then fucking tell me it!" She boomed, partially through her avatar and partially through the speakers of the ship. "I'm all ears, Captain. Why are we doing this? Why does this...insignificant man matter at all?"
And at that Willie snarled. "Insignificant?! Listen here, you alien voicebox! You need more than righteous zealotry to get your precious mission off the ground! You need a crew. I'm one of the best damn pilots flying, and you're gonna need me. And they have my father, dammit."
"I'm starting to question whether I need any of you primates." Patches countered.
"But you do." Hart said. "You need a crew. Willie here is part of your crew and she's asking you, Plunder's Heart, to help her save her father. You said yourself you're not without sympathy. Prove it. Help us."
Patches's avatar disappeared then. "We will speak of this later, "Captain". There are some things we need to discuss about our future relationship."
***
Normally, there was a countdown before teleportation. Not today.
Suddenly, a feeling of intense nausea and disorientation washed through everyone on the ship, and when it faded, they were in extremely low Jupiter orbit, so low it was actually partially resting in the atmosphere, a sound not unlike roaring winds washing over the hull immediately following.
***
Miller froze mid sit-up, looking towards where he guessed the ambient sound on the ship came from. He had gotten himself a new room, though there was nothing in it but knives.
In very little time, he was dressed and most of the knives in the room were gone.
Maybe Willie was not safe around him...but maybe he could do one last thing for her. One last thing for the woman he loved, before she left him forever.
Soon, he found himself on the bridge. Unfortunately, Willie was already here, strategizing with the Admiral.
Heartbreakingly, for himself and Willie, however, he did not acknowledge her. Or his son.
"Miller, reporting. I'm available in any capacity you need me for this mission, ma'am."
|
|
Willie Barbary
Buccaneer
Pilot
It's worse when you know that hell is coming, but nobody else will believe you . . . .
Posts: 52
|
Post by Willie Barbary on Aug 19, 2011 17:54:54 GMT -5
"Miller reporting."
The sound of that soft, deep voice went through her heart like one of his throwing knives, jagged and deep. Willie jerked a little, turning to see him standing on the threshold of the bridge. His dark eyes were trained on the Admiral however, completely ignoring her altogether.
"I'm available in any capacity you need me for this mission, ma'am."
Willie blinked at that, confused. It was delivered in that same awful, deadpan tone so she couldn't really tell how to take it. Was he doing this to help her? Or was it just another opportunity to use the training he lived for?
She wasn't the only one affected by his presence. Joey perked up considerably at the sound of his father's voice. He'd never been separated from Miller for more than a few hours before, after all. The baby let out a happy gurgle, leaning his weight toward the slender man and outstretching both arms toward him in a clear and heart-rending attempt to switch parents.
And the bastard just stood there, staring straight ahead. As if they no longer existed. Joey's happy noises quickly turned to a louder and more impatient, pitiable whine, no more happy at being ignored than his mother was.
"Daaaaada," Joey suddenly yelped, causing Willie to jerk and stare down at him in surprise. It was his first word . . . .
She couldn't do this right now. Ignoring the stinging water in her eyes, Willie turned back to the Admiral with a stubborn glare. "Let me know as soon as you know anything, Admiral. And if you need a scout pilot, I'm your girl."
Then she turned on her heel and marched right past him, determined not to let the bastard know how much he was killing her. She also did her best to soothe Joey, who immediately started screaming in protest the farther they got from the father he wanted, who was no longer acknowledging him.
|
|
Ulysses Grante
Cabin Boy
Every man has their toys. Mine just happen to be plastic, with realistic kung-fu grip.
Posts: 15
|
Post by Ulysses Grante on Aug 19, 2011 18:53:28 GMT -5
Uly hurried into the cargo area of the ginormous alien vessel otherwise known as Plunder's Heart II, or Patches for short. The sudden, no-warning teleportation had almost caused him to lose the raspberry tarts Happy had given him for an afternoon snack, but luckily he'd managed to keep them down. Not long after that and Admiral Hart was contacting him, requesting that he meet Mr. Miller in the cargo bay. Apparently he was going to squire the ex-Mamba and his avatar into Io space so he could do some scouting for their next--apparently rescue--mission.
The dark-skinned Mage skipped along, his long red scarf flapping like a banner in his wake, quite excited. One, this kind of mission was right up his alley, and afforded him a chance to really show off his skills for the first time. After all, he'd practically made a life out of sneaking around places undetected. Secondly, he ws being paired with Mr. Miller. While that might normally intimidate him considerably, now it was a golden opportunity to perhaps glean some more information about the lovely and mysterious Dagger Leopold.
Uly jogged through the massive doors that opened to allow him passage, then came to a somewhat surprised halt when the very female in question stood inside, waiting. He also noticed Mr. Miller standing eerily still in the background save for the brilliant flash of silvery metal that danced across the knuckles of one hand. It only took a moment of staring to realize it was one of his throwing knives.
Gark.
"Oh!" he pronounced then, blinking and turning his attention back to the only other person in the room. "Uh . . . hey Dagger," Uly somehow managed, trying to ignore the way his voice was squeaking unnaturally high. "Fancy meeting you here." The female Mage just smirked at him, either ignoring his embarrassing speech problem or not noticing it altogether.
"Same to you, Uly. Looks like I'm not the only one Hart wants out there sniffing around."
"Oh?" he questioned, but before she could answer him, the doors slid open behind him and he blinked at Willie's sudden arrival. The small female looked a little worse for wear, her gray eyes slightly reddened and puffy. But her expression was hard and determined, she was dressed in a suit of dark-green flight fatigues for the first time that he'd ever seen, and she looked 100 percent business.
"I'll be flying Dagger's Anglerfish," the small female pronounced briskly. "Dagger will man the guns. Don't worry, I promise not to scratch your paintjob." While she might have normally combined that with a playful smirk, now the hard-edged expression never left her face. "Uly, you'll be taking Miller and Fang in your shuttle. I've been told the engineers have given it a few tweaks. The Anglerfish has the necessary hardware to cloak our presence for the most part, but you're going to have to use your powers to keep yourself and Fang undetected. Are you up for that?"
Uly gave a salute, one he felt more or less confident in. "No problem."
"Alright then, let's get a move on. You've got two hours, then back to the ship. Complete radio silence for the duration of the mission unless you get humped."
And then with that the diminuative pilot started for Dagger's ship, back ramrod straight and never once glancing in Miller's direction. The ex-Mamba himself seemed utterly unfazed, turning to board Uly's shuttle--where Fang had already been boarded by the various crewmen scurrying about, apparently.
Dagger and Uly were left in the brief moment afterward, the latter blinking like an owl. "Why do I get the distinct impression that I'm missing something?" Dagger just snorted at that.
"Trust me, Uly," she heaved, starting toward her own ship. "You really don't wanna know."
Minutes later and Uly had successfully piloted his shuttle from Platches' cargo bay and out of the cusp of Jupiter's atmosphere. He'd immediately reached out with his powers, cloaking the entire ship in an electromagnetic field that would jam most scanners and make them invisible to all but the most compulsively dedicated. He set a course for the near-by, heavily protected moon, then sat back with a sigh and resolved to relax as much as he could before their arrival.
He glanced toward his only passanger, who sat stiffly in the co-pilot's chair staring straight ahead and nothing in particular. Uly cleared his throat a little, then,
"Uh . . . so. I . . . uh, I-I understand it that you knew Dagger from way back, huh?" he attempted a friendly smile, one that wasn't returned. Or even acknowledged, really. He gulped at that, but forced himself to continue. "Mind telling me what she was like back then? I have a hard time picturing her as anything but the scary lady who almost broke my nose."
His shaky chuckle and attempt at humor went over about as well as the smile did.
|
|
T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
|
Post by T.K. on Aug 20, 2011 16:34:40 GMT -5
T.K. and Thorn hadn't gotten very far, when the Captain had made her announcement.
"Keep working at this. I'll go see if I can hack into Io's security systems. Sure the AI has put up more protection since last time."
He had just made it to the door of the storage room he and Thorn had hijacked, when Patches had pulled her Teleportation trick without warning anyone.
"That sadistic computer is going to get us all killed someday..."
Holding back his nausea, T.K. found his way to his new quarters, and sent out a call for Shiyounin. By the time she arrived, T.K. had all of his equipment prepared and ready to go.
"We didn't have you with us last time, so this should be... interesting. We're going to hack the AI that controls security for Io."
"Is that wise Master?"
"Probably not, but we can use it as a field test for the new systems and subroutines we installed in you."
"...."
"Relax, I have everything set up to kick us out of the system if something goes wrong. Nothing to worry about."
"Which is when I worry most...."
|
|
Shiyounin
Cabin Boy
AI
"Oh Master, did you electrocute yourself again?"
Posts: 15
|
Post by Shiyounin on Aug 20, 2011 16:43:25 GMT -5
Shiyounin shook her head in resignation as she interfaced with T.K.'s Dive Goggles.
No matter how confident he was about this, she still worried. The AI could be stronger than he thought. There could be a mechanical malfunction either on their end, or at the Prison. Hell, for all she knew, this was the actual trap, and they wanted someone on the ship to hack into the Prison Computer so they could upload a nasty virus that would kill them all. Or she could just be paranoid again.
She sighed as T.K. powered up the Goggles and logged into the part of Patches' Sub-System's he'd be using to handle the data feed.
"Ready when you are Master."
"Then let's find our missing Admiral. Maybe the Captain will give us a bonus."
"I highly doubt that Master."
|
|
T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
|
Post by T.K. on Aug 21, 2011 16:56:16 GMT -5
T.K. started things off easy. He interfaced with the very few data-nets streaming into Io from outside, and sorted through them till he found one that looked like it could handle the load he was about to put on it.
"OK Shiyou, I found our entrance. Get your Clone Program online and ready to assault the firewalls. We won't have long to get the channel jammed open."
"Starting program now. Estimation until sufficient drone population, 2 minutes, 32 seconds."
"Good, let me know when you're ready. I'll load up and program the search parameters. I doubt we'll have very long before the AI gets pissy and finds a way to cut us off completely."
They both worked in silence until Shiyounin's timer finally reached zero.
"Master, we have reached the estimated number of drones."
"Good, dump them into the data feed, and let's see just how big of a hole we can punch through it...."
"Very well Master."
|
|