Viva Las Venus

[Admiral Hart]

Plunder's Heart pulled into Aphrodite Arms as it always did.

"Alright, guys and gals, it's every pirate's favorite time and every pirate's wallet's nightmare! Shore leave! Now, remember, Aphrodite's our friend, so everyone on their best behavior!" Hart called over the comm.

Morgan was standing directly behind her. "You're going to see her again, aren't you?"

"Yes." Josetta replied. "I still owe her, Morgan."

"You're always gonna owe her, Jo. She's never gonna let your debt be paid." Her husband insisted.

"It's a small price considering what Aphrodite usually charges." The Captain replied, turning and hugging her husband. "And she doesn't have my heart, not like you do."

"I'm not the only one with your heart. We both know that." Morgan replied, turning away.

Jo cast her eyes down and then moved to the door. "I'm going to see Madame A." She mumbled before shutting the door.

Morgan moved for the door a few moments after. Oh, he was gonna get druuuuunk.

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda sat in the lavish lounge area of Aphrodite's Arms, alone for the moment. Cassiopeia had begged her profusely to be allowed to go and hang out with Beau and Clara by themselves. Her sister had been so happy of late, being near her two new friends, and Andromeda didn't have the heart to tell her no.

The three of them had wandered off to the pool area a little while ago, leaving Andromeda alone to brood with her thoughts. The doctor sat in a plush lounge chair at the moment, ignoring the complimentary fruit drink that one of the hostesses had brought her a while ago. Instead she was staring hard at one of Aphrodite's varied prostitutes.

The woman was a true credit to the female species. The no-doubt expensive whore had full, voluptuous curves in all the right places but tiny besides--her charms put on shameless display by the barely-there silk dress she wore--her skin tanned to a burnished golden sheen, her hair hanging down her slender back in a thick, red-gold tangle that couldn't help but put a person's mind to sweat-tangled sheets.

Andromeda studied the woman across the way with all the determination she was infamous for in her medical career. Picking apart every feature, disecting it and logging it away. After a minute however she loosened again with a groaning sigh, slumping.

Nothing.

She felt absolutely nothing. No spark, no attraction, no nothing. Other than a somewhat clinical aknowledgement of the woman's beauty, Andromeda wasn't the least bit interested.

Her gaze was suddenly caught by a familiar red-headed form walking through the lounge. Josetta strutted through the room like she owned it, and from the amount of staring and sighing and whispering that fled in her wake, it was probably accurate. Immediately Andromeda felt her whole body go warm, her cheeks flushing hot against her will, breath catching. The slender Pirate Captain passed by her, noticed her staring, and Josetta smirked before giving the doctor a wink and a slight nod of her hat.

Andromeda wrenched her gaze away, scowling. How did that make any sense? How did she not feel the slightest bit attracted to any other woman but Josetta Hart? And how did she continue to feel that way knowing that Jo loved someone else? Was married to someone else? Was going off to spend several days having sex with someone else entirely from that?

Heart-sick and confused, Andromeda reached over and grabbed her drink and then drained it's contents in one, long swallow. She gasped afterward as the alcohol traced an agonizing path down her gullet. Then she slammed the slender glass down before getting to her feet and stalking for the casino.

For the first time in her life, Andromeda Reyes was going to get utterly, completely and totally drunk.

[Admiral Hart]

Morgan threw back another shot, and the robot barkeep refilled it immediately. He was trying hard not to think about what was undoutably happening in Aphrodite's private chambers at this very minute.

When he was a teenager, the thought of a gorgeous redhead and a sexy half-asian girl doing naughty things to each other for days on end would have made him lock the door to his room and turn up the music. Now, it just made him feel sick.

Josetta never listened to him, but Morgan knew what people like Aphrodite wanted. They were everywhere--from the military to the slums to pirates. He knew that Aphrodite wanted, ached for his wife. And he knew that Madame A would never, ever let Jo out of her tangled web. And he knew that, every time, Jo would defend her "friend", never realizing or admitting that people like Aphrodite did not have friends. They had trophies and conquests, but never, ever friends.

And Morgan did another shot of straight rum. He hated coming here, though Jo and the crew loved it. So he said nothing. It was his job to be second in command, to lay down the law, not make himself everyone's least favorite officer.

He stood up, pounding back another rum, and found himself face to face with Andromeda. She looked at him like a deer in the headlights, and he looked back at her with an unreadable expression.

----

Half an hour later, that had their arms across each other's shoulders, both blizted out of their minds, on the stage, singing, "Aaaaaallll by myyyyseeee-eeeelf! Don' wanna beeee, aaaaaalll by myyyyyyyseeee-eeeeelf!" together, along to the karaoke machine.

[Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart]

Cassi, Clara and Beau laughed good-naturedly form where they hung out together near the pool. The sunlight simulator was starting to dim now, as the station was gearing up for it's 'night-time.'

"You didn't!" Cassiopeia gushed, eyes wide at the story Beau was telling her of his more reckless years in school. The auburn-haired gunman just grinned shamelessly, shaking his head.

"I did, sad to say. Gym class was never quite the same, after that."

Clara smiled with them, though it was obvious the cat-girl Magi was still confused as to the exact humor of the situation. Cassi's heart went out to her. The blonde had gone out of her way to include Jo's daughter in almost everything that she did, trying desperately to heal what damage she could from all the years of torture that Clara had been subjected to. The two of them had become very close friends very quickly as a result.

And as for Beau . . . now Cassi colored slightly, gazing silently at the handsome teen while he related yet another hilarious tale from his youth, expression thoughtful. He was very nice, funny, and quite handsome, she decided with a silly fluttering in her belly. Just remembering the way he'd carried her to her room after the Heart Breaker attack was enough to make the tips of her ears tingle with a blush.

Other than Morgan, Cassi had never felt this way about any other boy before. As such, she was a little uncertain as to what to do about it exactly.

The sun-simulator had dimmed completely, the clear dome opening to show the millions of glittering stars outside, before Cassi finally glanced around herself and noticed the time. And suddenly noticed that Clara had disappeared.

"Where's Clara?" she questioned of Beau, who immediately glanced around himself, startled. She felt a swift stab of guilt. "I didn't even notice that she'd left!"

Beau sighed, reaching over to pat her on the arm. "I'm sure she's fine, Cass. You know how she is, Clara slips off all the time. She probably just got tired of listening to me ramble," he finished in a faintly self-conscious chuckle.

Cassi chuckled. "You weren't rambling," she assured kindly. "I'm the one who's been sitting here insisting you spill your whole life story."

Beau just chuckled again, his green eyes staring into her own. Then his smile slowly faded into a far more serious, probing stare. It was then that Cassi became somewhat uncomfortably aware that they were largely alone in the patio area of the pool, and that it was now a cozy dark, with only the starlight to illuminate them. Her breath stalled somewhere in her chest, and Cassi stared up at him, caught somewhere between terror and eager anticipation.

Finally Cassi couldn't take it anymore, and suddenly leaned forward, her mouth sealing over his for a brief, achingly-chaste kiss before she jerked back again. Beau just blinked at her, stunned, while Cassi's face slowly turned a painful red.

She grimaced, dropping her eyes to the floor. "S-sorry," she whimpered. "I--,"

Beau suddenly curled his hand under her chin and made her look back up at him. Cassi had no more time than to gasp a little and blink before he was suddenly kissing her back. She let out a soft, whimpering sigh then, her eyes fluttering shut.

Soft and gentle, eager need mixed with sweet innocence, Beau kissed Cassi with slow, careful motions. Cassi though her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. When one of his hands speared into her thick hair, Cassi let out another soft moan before her slender arms curled around his neck and she gave herself up completely to the moment.

Her very first-ever kiss.

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda stumbled as she and Morgan left the stage for another drink-break, but the large black man caught her deftly by the arm despite his utterly drunken state and managed to steady her before they both went toppling to the floor in a heap.

This drinking thing was pretty fun. She might have to start doing this more often. Both of them ignoring the various crew's shocked and floored expressions, Andromed and Morgan fumbled over to a table they had occupied previously, fell into the chairs and then reached for the shot-glasses already set there.

"I jus don . . . get it," Andromeda slurred sadly after they had pounded two more down. Her bleary eyes watered as she stared somewhat over a hunched-over Morgan's shoulder. "She just . . . she makes me so . . . so . . ." She scowled, reaching for another drink. "You know what I mean?" she demanded then. Despite the lack of any clear meaning to her words, Morgan nodded heavily, downing his own glass.

"She can't help it," he heaved. "She loves attention, an . . . everybody loves her," he pronounced broken-heartedly, voice cracking. "Even me." He rubbed at his face a little, then. "That and she has really, really bad impulse control."

"How is that fair!" Andromeda wailed drunkenly. She snatched a glass of some random drink from a passing robot waiter and gulped half of it's contents. "How can I wan someone so bad, who's so bad for me?"

Morgan just nodded empathetically, though his expression became a little more distant. As if he was suddenly thinking of something else entirely. "Yah," he heaved painfully, grabbing the bottle out of the waiter's hands and staring at it for a moment. "I know jus' what you mean."

They were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a familiar form. In their drunken state, neither Andromeda or Morgan showed as much wariness as they probably should have for the fact that Thorn Scarsgard suddenly grabbed a chair and hauled it up to their table, heaving himself down into it. He already had a rum bottle in his hands, his wintery eyes slightly bloodshot.

"What in th' hell the two of you doin' here?" he demanded, his deep voice slurring only slightly.

"The woman I love is sleeping with Aphrodite," Morgan and Andromeda pronounced nearly at the same time. They blinked at each other, then both reached for another drink. Thorn just shook his head painfully.

"Wha'bout you?" Morgan demanded, and Thorn scowled. The bottle in his hands suddenly frosted over.

"The woman I love is in love with the woman sleeping with Aphrodite."

Andromeda was far too drunk to decipher that statement, so merely leaned over and drunkenly patted his shoulder in sympathy. Thorn just took another long pull of his bottle.

"And because that same woman pussy-whips me in every goddamned thing that I do," he added harshly. Morgan winced, and then it was his turn to lean over and pat his shoulder in comfort.

"Don . . . Don let it get to ya," the First Mate of the Plunder insisted. "I mean . . . hey . . . you've got more eyes than she does," he tried, then, tone hopeful. "Tha's gotta count for somethin." Then he hissed. "Jus don't tell her that. Las' guy that did, she really proved him wrong. If you know what I mean."

"That's it," Andromeda suddenly pronounced, shooting to her feet, her chair toppling backward--though she didn't notice or care in her current state. "Enough bellyaching, more singing."

She reached down and grabbed Morgan by his jacket, and Thorn by his. The two men made sure to grab their drinks before the much smaller, slender female dragged them up onto the stage.

[Admiral Hart]

Clara sat at the poker table, a monstrous pile of chips in front of her, tail twitching lazily behind her as she, once again, won the hand.

It was a very simple game, after all, more based on deception and calculated risks rather than luck. And the tiger girl, thanks to her empathic awareness, was literally impossible to lie to without her knowing it, verbally or otherwise.

To say nothing of the slot machines. Though largely plastic, there was just enough metal in them that her geomancy was able to trip the slots in just the right way every time. It was child's play, really.

And then, of course her "luck" caught up with her when a pair of brutish, amazonian women walked up to her at the poker table and said, "The management would appreciate it if you retired from the casino for the day, miss." One of them said, the threat underlying those words clear to everyone nearby, who suddenly had more important things to do than to be anywhere in the vicinity of the poker table.

"I want to keep playing." Clara replied. "And there is no rule against winning. So I will keep playing."

"I'm afraid you've won enough for today."

Her purple eyes flashed as the tiger girl turned to the bouncers. "You have three options. The first, you continue telling me to leave and I go tell my mother, Captain Hart, that you were mean to me. Two," She put down her cards and raised a claw, which began to glow with white fire. "You try to make me leave and I hurt you. Three, you let me do as I wish and nothing bad happens to you."

The amazons looked at each other for a moment before stalking off, calling back, "We'll be back after we've cleared this up."

"I doubt it." Clara replied, thinking to herself that whoever had said the house always wins had, clearly, never seen Project Savage in action before.

[T.K.]

T.K. grunted as he forced the Magnetic Accelerator into place.

“Shiyounin, could you check the settings please. We can't afford to be wrong here.”

“Checking Master.”

T.K. sat back on his heels for a few minutes, while Shiyounin ran the calculations, and checked their work so far.

“Master, there is a .00023 Micron offset between the Accelerator, and the Plasma Feed.”

“OK, that's easy enough to fix. While I go get the tools I need, finish the other calculations.”

T.K. went off to the storage bay, and left Shiyounin and her new Portable Holo Imager behind to keep working. He shook his head as he tried to imagine how he'd ever worked without her before now. Since he'd finished modifying the PHI he got from Willy, his work efficiency had sky-rocketed. Not to mention, he now had a partner in crime when it came to 'upgrades' for the ship.

He smirked as he grabbed the tools he needed. It would be really, really nice, if the ship didn't explode.

[T.K.]

T.K. listened to the information Shiyounin was rattling off from the databanks of the supercomputer, while he worked under the main control console on the bridge.

He heard everything she was saying, but was too busy making sure e wired everything properly, to actually respond. It had taken a few days, but all the modifications were complete. All that was left, was installing the controls for the Boosters, which is what he was currently working on now. If it all checked out, then he'd have to go find a Pilot brave or crazy enough to test it out.

[Jane Doherty]

Jane walked onto the bridge and noticed T.K. messing around with something. So, being that he was so distracted, she quietly made her way to stand behind him and yell, "What'cha doin'?"

[Dane]

Dane stepped off the ship sometime later, having been forced out once again by Elsa, the feisty sprite told him to go have fun or she'd shove him out a air lock. She'd do it to. So a shower later he was wandering Aphrodite Arms, looking for a good time.

His eyes spotted a familiar red haired female, Dane's smile widened as he got a closer look at the tall female, Lyra was walking ahead of him, still wearing her uniform, her long braid swinging with her movements. Dane knew he should have avoided it, hell all common sense told him to stay away, she's not interested. Despite all the things warning him away, Dane suddenly quickened his pace, trying to catch up to the long legged female.

"Hey Lyra!" he called out, to give himself a few moments to catch up. The female tensed and turned in one motion, she stared at him one eyebrow slightly twitched up, he read the stare and feature like a book, he sauntered over, giving off a sexy smile.

"If you're looking for company, there's no need to waste credits, babe. I'm right here and more than willin' to rock your world, free of charge." Lyra glared at him, arms crossing her chest, Dane just smirked further, giving a small shudder.

"Oh baby, don't tease me, getting me all hot and bothered with that sta--" The weapons expert had to dodge her fist at that point, she growled low and went to upper cut him, he blocked it and continued to back up to the wall, pretending to be pushed back against the wall. When he was nearly backed against the wall, he ducked low and rolled out of the way, he was on his feet when she turned, Dane charged forward, picking up the larger female and not so gently put her against the wall.

She struggled in his grip for a moment until he moved closer to her eyes locking, she blinked and suddenly a faint look of vulnerability crossed her eyes. Against his better judgment Dane leaned in, canting his head to the side, near hypnotically lost in her ice blue stare as he moved closer.

His lips barely brushed against hers when suddenly she reared her head back and head butted him, hard enough for his grip to release and himself to black out from the blunt trauma.
***

Dane blinked himself awake nearly a half hour later, there was a crowd around him and a nurse standing over him, mumbling something he couldn't quite hear.

The weapons expert suddenly flipped to his feet causing the people around him to gasp. He ignored the nurse's request to sit down, to busy looking for Lyra as he walked away. Nearly twenty minutes later he stopped and groaned loudly.

Dammit, what the FUCK was I thinking!?

Dane made a bee-line to the bar, grumbling to himself, his smile fading. Time to loose myself at the bottom of a bottle of rum. When he arrived he stopped suddenly and blinked, the site of Morgan, Scarsguard AND Doc. Reyes singing karaoke, loudly and very off key all three beyond drunk. Dane blinked and rubbed his forehead.

Did she knock me clear the hell all the way to never never land...?

He shrugged after a moment, ordering a bottle of rum and walking up to the stage.

Can't beat em, join-em.

[T.K.]

“Chikusho!”

T.K. muttered a curse, as he smacked his head.

“Master, someone has stepped onto the bridge.”

“Thank you Shiyounin, I figured that out myself.”

He rubbed his forehead as he pushed himself out from under the console. He glared at Jane, once he realized who it was.

“I was installing a new upgrade for the engines, if you really must know.”

Luckily, he had just finished wiring everything together in the console. All that was left, was to make sure that the new controls would work properly. And, there was the test drive.

He smirked up at her, as he had Shiyounin run a status check.

“So. Think you're up to the task of testing out the new Turbo Boosters for the engines?”

[Jane Doherty]

Jane grinned at her success, and answered, "Hell ya! Like anyone else would be crazy enough to test something you did."

[Jason Thornvaald]

"You know, you can be a very sweet man when you're not trying to kidnap people," Andromeda slurred cheerily as Thorn supported the slender woman almost completely on one side, leading her back to her room.

Though he had drunk quite a lot, he was a very big man who had been drinking a lot for most of his life. He wasn't near as wasted as the pretty doctor, who was probably so completely trashed she wouldn't remember a very large portion of the evening that had just gone by. Which was probably all well and good, as Thorn doubted she'd want to remember most of it.

Not that it would be a complete loss. He was almost sure he saw more than one crew member making sure to record their prim doctor signing drunken karaoke at the top of her lungs. The spectacular event would probably be all over the mainframe by tomorrow morning.

"Why thank you, dearling," he murmured wryly to her back-handed compliment as they rounded a corner. "Can't tell you how much that means to me."

Thorn continued to support her stumbling steps until they finally arrived at the room she'd been given. He helped her open the door--as she was too far-gone to type in the key-sequence--and then ushered her inside.

"Here you are, doctor," he pronounced with a sigh. "Back in your room, safe and sound."

Andromeda turned up to him, her bleary gold eyes blinking heavily. Her dark hair had long-since come undone from the bun she'd had it in earlier, her blouse decidedly askew, cheeks flushed pink from all the alcohol she'd consumed. Thorn bit back a groan, then, wondering if the Gods were out to torment him or if it really was just astronomically bad luck.

"You know, I can' figure out why I like Jo-Josetta so much," she pronounced softly, "but you . . . you I can figure."

Thorn's breath stilled. "What can you figure about me, dearling?" he questioned, almost too afraid to ask. She stepped closer to him again, reaching up to smooth down a wrinkle in his silver tunic, staring hard at her antics.

"You are a very handsome man, Thorn Scarsgard," she announced then, as if it were a vital discovery. Then she grinned a little lopsidedly. "And you are very sweet. Even though you don' like showing it."

His eyebrow lifted. "Sweet?" That made her chuckle.

"I 'member the boy, in the tavern. The owner's little boy." Markus. "He had a limp, and he idolized you." She continued to pet his chest, and Thorn did his damndest to think of algebraic equations in his head to keep from taking advantage of it. "You ruffled his hair."

"I also kidnapped you and tried to hold you for ransom," he reminded her, even though he knew it was somewhat pointless to argue with a drunk woman. She probably wouldn't even remember any of this in the morning. Yet, his massive amounts of guilt couldn't help but seek out some absolution, even if it was a tad on the empty side.

Andromeda merely shook her head, a little too hard, and almost fell. He caught her arms to steady her, and she spoke as if nothing had happened. "You saved me," she insisted stubbornly, expression earnest. "You didn' have to help me, but you helped save me from Io. And you let me go."

"Because Hart punched me in the face."

Andromeda just shook her head again. "You were gonna let me go before then." He didn't argue, and she suddenly stepped closer. "All I had to do was give you a kiss," she breathed then. Her chin lifted toward him. "I never did pay you that kiss, did I . . ."

5a + 4b = 2c . . . .

Thorn stared down at her, torn in two. It would be so easy. She was apparently more than willing. He could have her right here, right now, and no one would stop him. His whole body was screaming hard with the want of it.

. . . but she was drunk. And vulnerable because of Josetta. Thorn sighed heavily again, his heart sinking. He could take her offer, grab it in both hands, but it would be empty. And if ever Andromeda Reyes was to choose him, Thorn wanted it to be on her own terms. Wanted her to be fully aware of the decision.

Wanted it to mean as much to her as it meant to him.

Thorn leaned in then, and placed a soft, chaste kiss to the top of her brow. Then he pulled away, and gave her confused stare a small, sad smile.

"Debt paid in full, dearling."

Then he turned on his heel and left, off to go round up his First Mate and the rest of his worthless crew. The universe was ripe and there was piracy to be had.

[T.K.]

T.K. took several minutes to show her how the new controls worked, and explained what they actually did.

“Basically, it's an 'Oh shit!' button, incase someone else tries to jump us like the Breaker did. And, I think you're the only person who can actually use this. Your Pre-Cog abilities will warn you before it's too late so you can hit the Kill Switch. Any questions before we find out if we're going to be Space Dust?”

[Jane Doherty]

Jane just looked at T.K. in annoyance, "nope," and with that she hit the button without waiting for any kind of signal.