Firefly: Suns and Daughters

[Ryudo]

The wind blew the large droplets of rain with an unfamiliar intensity across the nearly empty landing site, water flew unhindered until it reached a lone object laying pristinely on the metal platform. Though the wind and rain cared little, tiny shadows marched towards the single ship lying on the landing pad.

Eric West watched as the passengers boarded Themis one by one, Eric smiled as he noticed a few of the crews reaction to his gorgeous ship. Themis had always been quite the looker, for a transport ship Themis was proud to be one of the fastest ships in the ‘verse, and though some more civilized folk might criticize her for being a rough ride, Eric found it to actually be quite comforting. As the new crew filed in Eric shook hands with each of them, and helped them with any extra luggage; this was Eric’s first face to face meeting with a few of the newcomers, and he was determined to get to know them.

Eric had visited Beaumonde for two reasons, neither of which were the sights. Though his primary concern was hiring a new crew for a few key positions of the ship that had recently opened up, Eric also had an ulterior motive; he had been contacted with a job offer. This offer was significant because not only did it seem less shady then most of the other jobs Eric was forced to take, but it also seemed relatively easy. The orders were simple, transfer a special computer from Beaumonde to Boros, drop off the package in one of Boros’ ship yards, accept payment from the owner of the shipyard, then go off on there merry way.

Zack Raam was the last person aboard Themis, Eric’s “enforcer” and acquaintance since before the war. Eric chuckled as he shut the lift gate and sealed the air lock,

“I see you got a few new toys there Zack. Any of them legal?” The large man shrugged and continued walking, Eric stepped inside the cargo hold and inspected the package headed to Boros one final time, it was nearly ten feet tall and it had taken a mule and nearly an hour for Eric and Zack to get the damn thing inside Themis, Eric couldn’t help but think that it was going to be a nightmare getting the thing out of the ship once they reached Boros.

Eric was headed towards his first meeting with his new crew, walking briskly towards Themis’ ‘briefing room’ Eric quickly ran over all the names of the men and women who had just joined them. Eric stopped in the hallway leading to the briefing room to knock on Sari’s door, Sari was a registered companion, and the most striking woman that Eric had ever met in his life. Over the past few months Sari had served Eric by providing Themis with the respectability that only a companion can give. However, as of late Sari had also begun to assume the role of an advisor to Eric, whenever he was faced with a dilemma or just needed to talk to someone he went to Sari, she seemed to understand Eric in a way that no one else did. Though the respectability of Sari’s profession was of great help, Eric valued Sari’s friendship and advice even more. With a light knock Eric spoke,

“Everyone is onboard Sari, I’ll be holdin’ a meet and greet and then after that well be taking off.” After saying this Eric proceeded towards the conference room, stepping into the makeshift meeting area Eric couldn’t help but smile when he saw his new crew assembled. Standing before them Eric cleared his throat,

“I ain’t the best at giving speeches, so I wont waste my breath or bore you all to death. In case you don’t know, my names Captain Eric West, when I get to know you all it will be Eric, but right now lets keep it Captain West. Other then that there isn't much more to say, if you want to know more about me then we can talk some other time. That’s enough about me, how ‘bout the rest of the crew. You all remember Zack,” Eric pointed at the man who he often refered to as the problem solver. While Zack introduced himself Eric heard footsteps behind him and so he stepped aside to let Sari enter the room, when Zack finished his speech Eric introduced Sari,

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the beautiful Sari, the last crewmember that you haven’t met. Sari is a registered companion who operates from Themis. Sari also gives Themis the respectability that she deserves,” Eric bowed, “Sari, the floor is yours if you’d like to say anything.”

After the charming young woman had finished speaking Eric returned to the head of the conference,

“Now this is the part where you can introduce yourselves, if we are going to work together and you are going to be a part of this crew I need to know who you are and if I can trust you.” Eric waited for the first person to stand and introduce themselves,

“Once everyone has introduced themselves I will go over my rules, fill you in on the job we are currently working on, and then you all can find your bunks and get settled in. So, who wants to go first?”

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari smiled as she entered the room. New passengers were always an exciting time for her. The opportunities, stories, and connections they presented were always promising and this group appeared no different.

She stopped to offer a friendly smile to Eric. He had been a lot to her in her time on the Themis, almost in spite of how cold and antisocial she was when she had first boarded. He had begun as a means to an end to her and somewhere along the line he had become a friend. She relied on him more than she cared to admit and liked to think he relied on her as well.

She didn't hesitate when Eric opened the floor to her. It was a familiar routine and she he knew her part well.

" Welcome to the Themis. As the Captain said, my name is Sari and I'll be happy to assist you in any way possible. We're glad to have you on board and I hope that you have a smooth relaxing ride, and that you come to love Themis as much as I do."

Sari relinquished the floor to Eric again, smiling as she took her place to his left. She waited to greet and learn the names of the passengers, but was also looking forward to a moment to talk to Eric. She needed to ask how long they would be in Boros. She had appointments to make.

[StormWolf]

"Ya really think ya can afford all that, boy?" the store clerk mused stroking his beard when he saw a large man place a great deal of ammunition on the counter. Most of which were of a high caliber. The man, Zack Raam, just glared at the store clerk. His eyes cold and piercing.

"Uh...Of course you can! Have a nice day!" the clerk stammared, smiling dumbly, forgetting to even ring Zack up. The enforcer onboard the Themis walked up the ramp, shrugging when Eric questioned him of the weapons' legality. Zack didn't know and didn't care, as long as they ruttin' worked.

He went straight to his bunk, stockpiling all of his guns and ammo in slightly inconspicuous spots. He made himself at home, removing his weather-beaten and wet brown duster. He wore a Blue Sun Co. Shirt that hugged his chest and arms tightly. Then there were his combat fatigues and black combat boots.

When Eric called him up, he sighed with displeasure, but he obeyed. Zack figured that he would just stand there and be his usual menacing self. When the captain asked him to introduce himself, he sighed yet again.

"I'm Zack Raam. I'm the enforcer here. Behave and I won't hafta shoot'cha." Zack figured that was a good enough introduction for now. He just stood there, thumbs tucked behind his belt as he surveyed the crew. 'Bout ruttin' time they got some gorram fresh meat.

[Reed]

Themis was neither the largest nor the flashiest ship Robin had ever piloted, but it had the quality he appreciated most: character. This was his second time seeing it, the first being during his interview. He vividly remembered the bridge and the pilot seat, and he looked forward to sitting there again. It had been an enormous stroke of good fortune to meet Captain West and find this job, one that Robin was grateful for. Perhaps Lady Luck was on his side after all, or was at least willing to throw him a bone once in a while. Either way, the job looked good, and he wouldn't question it.

He tipped his hat to Eric as he boarded the ship. He hadn't had the chance to familiarize himself with the rest of the crew, but it appeared he would soon enough. He was led to the meeting room and grabbed the nearest seat, and then waited for the initial introductions to finish.

After they had, a woman entered the room. Robin had never seen her before, but was sure to have a good look at her, and he was positive he wasn't the only man in the room who did. Before Eric had even introduced her, Robin guessed that she was a Companion. On a boat like Themis, what else could a woman that gorgeous be?

Finally, the floor was cleared for introductions. Robin took a quick glance around the table, and decided to speak up first. “I'll go,” he said. “I'm Robin Gable. I'll be piloting this bird.”

That was probably enough, he thought. If the captain wasn't sure he could trust Robin, he wouldn't have let him on board.

[Zaro]

Jed looked around the room at his new crewmates. The ship was decent, better than the rustbuckets he had worked in before. The big guy and the lady with the guns looked to be the fighting types, probably will be getting to know them better. Glad to see they had a companion, just as long as he doesn't have to deal with any nasty "surprises" her customers may give her. The preacher was a preacher, and the pilot looked to be competent enough, if a little shifty for his tastes. The Techie stank of Core planet, and he hoped the guy adapted quickly to backwater life. The mechanic looked to be a bit young, he hoped that he wouldn't blow up the ship too badly. The girl troubled him though. Her odd demeanor, the blank stare...it reminded him too much of...No. Forget about it. He stood up and walked casually into the center of the room.

"Gooood afternoon, my soon-to-be-injured crewmates! I am Doctor Jedediah Kinglesy, M.D. Not that any of you give a rut. Should you be shot, burned, cut, or been given the gift that keeps on giving by your lover, Come to me. And you will. Noone lives out here without getting shot at least once." He glances at Zack. "Or more than once."

"You this?" He says, pointing to his flask of liquor. "This is Doc's happy drink. It keeps Doc's headaches away-and causes them, but that's besides the point. If Doc doesn't have his drink, he gets cranky. And noone wants a cranky Doc with a hangover operating on them, right? So DON'T mess with Doc's happy drinks. Remember that, and we should tolerate each other just fine."

There, he thought,that's out of the way. No need for them to know Eric hired me as an assassin as well. Some things should be kept confidential.

[mcstringer]

Shepard James P. Morgan walked cheerily under a black umbrella in his newly purchased travel clothes. Not that the clothes themselves were new, just newly bought. He tugged along his belongings behind him casually viewing the port. A couple of offers for a ride he turned down and he turned away a few young pickpockets as well. Just because he was old didn't mean he know longer remembered the tricks from his younger years.
He stopped and pulled a piece of paper out of a pocketwith a bit of information on it. "Themis....Themis....Themis...Ah there it is." More to himself than anyone else. He followed the other passengers and crew onto the ship before it closed and readied for lift off. He drudged about quietly to himself to find a place for himself to stay, but was called to a conference room before he could do anything.
While there, he scanned over the faces in the room to gauge his company, until the captain introduced himself. Upon first glance, the Sheperd saw an honest driven man. Chaptain West introduced the ship's Companion, Sari and various others introduced themselves including the ship's pilot, brute, and doctor. He guessed it was his turn. He slowly rose from his seat to not threaten any one.

"I am Sheperd James P. Morgan.....I doubt I have anything to contribute to a crew besides an extra hand and a listening ear. I have alot of experience in trade and barter from being a Colony Leader......I am not some twit new to the cloth, so you wont hear messages of fire and brimstone from me just a honest opinion... Uh thanks for letting me on your ship Captain West. I hope I can help anyway I can."

Sheperd Morgan resumed his seat quietly to wait for the others to finish.

[Lacantherope769]

The little girl rose, her seat grating against the floor. Her eyes scanned the room, the lights emphasizing a more recent bruise to her chin, a light bruise from her earlier fall. Her hands never left her sides, one hand constantly brushing her leg, the other held motionless as she read everyone in the room. Her gaze finally rested on Captain Eric, then one word escaped her lips; "Anwyn" was all she said as she waited for Eric to explain her position on the ship, then she slowly sank back into her seat, her face still an empty mask and her posture rigid. She could feel a pair of eyes watching her, and she slowly stared back into the eyes of Jedediah. Once he looked away, she faced the Captain again and waited calmly.

[Peacekeeper]

Godwyn was afraid, once he embarked Themis, he would feel out of place, but now, going aboard the ship as a crew member for the first time, he felt in his element. Maybe he'd been out of place all his life and this huge piece of metal was his first true home. He'd been aboard spaceships before, but those were cold, unfriendly Alliance vessels. Themis was different: while not as comfortable as a life in core planets, it had somehting inside it Godwyn couldn't name, but it was like the spirit of the ship, something that made it special.

He wanted to go see his room and made it as comfortable as he could, but all the years he spent in the Alliance taught him how important ceremonies can be. Besides, he wanted to get to know his crew mates too, and he couldn't help look too curious.

When he felt it was the time, he stood up and introduced himself. He was confident on not hiding his past, because he knew sooner or later they'd find it out. The captain knew it and he had hired him, so it shouldn't matter, but he wasn't sure how many of the others would know.

"My name is Godwyn Richmond. I was born in Prometheus and for several years, I worked for the Alliance. I was a supervisor for terramorphing projects." He had to make a short pause to watch the reactions in everyone's face. He didn't have enough time to study his crew mates, but he thought some of them we're shocked by this revelation. Most of them, if not all, were probably Independets at heart. "That's over now. I didn't like what I watched there, so I left." Technically, he was politely fired, but he'd get into details later. "I could tell you about that if you want. Now, I told Captain West about my abilities as a technician, with any kind of device if I have the time to study it. I also keep some contacts in the Alliance which could save the day if we need them. Thank you for this chance". It'd been long compared with the girl who had talked before him, but he wanted to start this journey properly.

[Cheshire]

Angel sat, looking around idly around watching the others introduce themselves. She payed enough attention to size them up, more or less, though she looked rather bored with the whole thing.

She yawned and decided to introduce herself briefly and to the point, "I'm Angel. I'm really, really good at making problems go away, and making alive things not so alive anymore. If it shoots bullets or vaguely bullet like objects, I can kill a man with it. If it has a blade, I can kill a man with it. If it's hard enough to pierce flesh and big enough to reach an artery, I can kill a man with it. Any Question?"

[Gsarge]

Akinseth walked onto the boat giving the captain a salute and then making his way into the mess hall like he had been told. Most likely the rest of the crew wasn’t going to see a lot of him anyway unless they planned on going out of their way to visit him in the engine room. He stood up looking over at everyone and gave a half-hearted wave.

“Yea, I’m Akinseth, I fix things and can make other things blow up. I guess if ya need me. I’m always around the engine. Capt was nice enough to even let me set up a hammock in the engine room so its kinda my room too. I guess if somethin’s broke an ya need some help fix’n it. I can do what I can when I got time to help ya.”

Akinseth wasn’t one to talk about his past. He’d joined the crew to get away from it so why would he want to relive it over and over. He sat back down. He knew the rules but figured the captain would want him to stay. He didn’t like being away from his Siren, but he knew pissing off the Capt only made it likely that he’d never get to keep Siren singing on key like she was right now.

[Ryudo]

Eric listened to everyone introduce themselves, one by one they stood and spoke a few words, and though he had already had the chance to meet them during there interviews it was nice to see how they acted with the rest of the crew. Once Akinseth sat down Eric finished his speech,

“Ok, just a few more things and then you can all be off. First and foremost, I am the Captain, what I say goes. Along with that, if you have a problem, petty squabbles excluded, bring it to me. As of now I trust you all, so long as your dedicated member of this crew we wont have any problems. Any questions?” Eric barely paused before continuing with his next statement,

“Alright then, in regards to meals, we have three a day, and you aren’t required to attend any of them, but I will say this, ain’t nobody in the ‘verse who works well on a empty stomach. Now you all know where your bunks are, so go ahead and get settled, I got a boat to fly.” And with that Eric turned away from the group and headed towards the cockpit, Eric wanted to speak with Sari but first he needed to loose Themis unto the black.

Stepping into the familiar room Eric looked around, for a ship as complicated and advanced as Themis her controls were relatively simple. Eric gently sat himself down and cracked his back, he had spent nearly two weeks on Beaumonde and so he was ready to depart. Flipping a few switches Eric spoke into the intercom jovially,

“Attention crew of the Themis, this is Captain Eric speaking: I’d just like to inform you all we will be disembarking shortly, and I suggest you brace yourself.” Eric’s voice trailed off the intercom with a light laugh as he began to push theon the throttle. Themis lurched forward in response, and Eric eased up a bit to level her out, “Woah girl, I know your excited but lets not give the new crew too much of a heart attack….at least not this early” Seconds after saying this Themis was ascending rapidly towards the heavens, as Themis hummed Eric began to whistle along with her.


-----------------------------------------

Eric knocked lightly on Sari’s door, Themis flew silently amidst the black, her course already set for Boros. Approaching the companions shuttle door, Eric was undeniably eager to speak with her about the crew, their new job, and many other things. Smoothing his shirt Eric waited patiently for the young woman. Eric knew that at that very moment the rest of the crew was just beginning to settle into their new home.

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari made the long walk back to her shuttle alone. Normally, she would have followed Eric to the cockpit to keep him company, but she knew him well enough by now to know that he was eager to get into the sky.

That man had an almost uncanny attachment to Themis. She loved the ship dearly, but it was nothing compared to how Eric felt for it. And there were times that he needed to spend some time alone with the ship. She gave him that space.

Sari was lost in a long list of potential clients from Boros when she heard the knock on her door. She clicked her screen off as she stood, striding across the decently sized shuttle in several steps. She paused before the door, straightening her silk dress and running a hand through her hair. Which was only because she hated looking rumpled.

She opened the door and smiled at Eric, stepping to the side to allow him in.

" Hello, Captain. What can I do for you?"

[Lacantherope769]

Anwyn watched quietly as everyone went about their separate ways, her dark and blank eyes looked over the room once before she stood. Walking about the ship, the little girl ran a hand along certain areas of the ship, feeling as certain areas were either movable for storage or just loose from lack of supervision.

Making her way into the cockpit, Anwyn glanced back down the hall briefly, then dashed to a small corner of the control booth. Looking over the controls, she quickly went to one knee, and slid a small blue circle out from behind her ear. Glancing behind her once, the little girl blinked, then returned to removing a small piece from the control booth using her tool kit hidden amongst her person, and finishing by sticking the little circle onto a wire of matching color. Using a small knife, she pressed its edges until nothing showed, then stashed all of her tools back into their appropriate places.

After returning the piece she had removed, Anwyn rose quickly, surveying the room again. She spotted a small camera watching her, which caused her to tilt her head up at it. The little Pink and Black haired girl calmly walked out of the room and made her way back to her own room, once there, she looked it over then unpacked her belongings. Making it a point to block the door with all of her rooms storage containers, the little girl set to work, moving box after box into the path of the door.

Once she had finished, Anwyn unscrewed a piece of wall and crawled inside the hollow spot, dragging her bedding in with her. Once the nest was finished, the little girl curled into a ball, one hand holding a small flash grenade under her pillows, the other rested calmly on a throwing dagger hidden under the folds of blankets and quilts.

[StormWolf]

Once everyone had made themselves known, Zack took a seat at the dining room table of the Themis. He put a name to every face, and every face to a voice. He stared blankly at nothing while he pulled his bowie knife from the sheath strapped to his boot. He laid the large knife down on the table and flicked his wrist, causing the heavy-bladed weapon to spin in a counter-clockwise direction.

The large enforcer reached into his coat pocket and procured a long sharpening strip. He wound the strip around his left hand a couple times, stepping on the canvas stirrup with his right foot, pulling the strip taut. Zack, without looking, reached out at grabbed his bowie knife by the handle. The enforcer dragged the blade down the sharpening strip, the stroke ending in a metallic zing as the edge of the knife left the strip. He then pulled the blade up against the strip, sharpening the other side, ending in the same zing. Zack focused on what he was doing, even though he didn't really see what he was doing. Those icy blues were glazed over, not even seeing the floor.

The muffled roar of Themis' engines were calming to Zack, like how a mothers heartbeat was calming to the babe snuggled against her breast. Themis was Zack's home. She was a place to go when all others turned him away. Zack loved this ship, and he was pretty sure she loved him back. Themis was like that.

While he sharpened his knife, Zack ran through the images of the new crew in his head again. A Shepherd on board? That would be interesting. And that Anwyn girl? She was nine kinds of crazy, she was. Nutty pink-haired scamp. Then there was Angel, she was a spectacle that definitely warranted some consideration. That sly face and her attitude were a pleasant change of scenery. The Techie stank of spoiled Core planet brat-ness. Then there was Angel... The Doc was a drunk, and maybe a couple kinds of crazy to boot. The other Techie, Akinseth, sounded like a mediocre enough guy. And then there was Angel... Wait, what?

"How many times was that?" he muttered to himself, wondering how many times Angel's name and face and voice flashed through his head. He had been sharpening his knife almost mechanically the entire time.

[Peacekeeper]

Godwyn left early to find his room. He was sitting on his bed when the ship ascended. It was quite small, but good enough for him. It looked comfortable, and not as cold as all the Alliance ships he knew. Leaving behind all he'd taken for granted in his past was a good way to start his new life, he thought. He unpackaged the few things he was carrying with him, and he noticed how out of place his clothes looked now. He'd better get soon new clothes which would let him blend with the other crew members. He didn't want to be considered different from any of them, and whatever business they were going to be involved in, a guy wearing what an Alliance bureaucrat would wear wasn't probably going to help very much. He wasn't going to get rid of his clothes (he'd probably have to impersonate an Alliance man some day), but he was now determined to borrow clothes from someone, or buy them in the next planet they'd land.

Then, he found out the gun. Godwyn had almost forgotten he was carrying one. He hadn't even tried it, and he suddenly thought the dealer from that alley had conned him, and it probably wouldn't work if needed. He couldn't take that risk, he'd probably be involved in a dangerous situation by the end of week or sooner, and he didn't want to compromise his life or any of his mates'. He had to shoot it when they were on land.

His mates. He didn't still know what to think about the crew. Godwyn had never trusted first impressions at all. If he was that kind of guy, he'd never heard the Independents he had met, and he'd still be an Alliance believer. He trusted better Eric, the captain. Maybe because he was the first he had met, but he was truly an inspiring leader. Godwyn felt that was the kind of man who could prevent this crew of strangers from dying in their first mission. And there was the companion, too. Godwyn had never required a companion's services, but many of the people he worked with in the Alliance had, and all of these companions seemed well-educated and determined. A woman in her right mind should never be underestimated.

He was now settled, so he left his room in order to meet some crew members and get to know them better. Besides, his work may be needed - there's always some device to work with.

[Zaro]

Jedediah entered what he supposed passed as a medical bay in the Themis. He groaned as he thought of the intensive sterilization he would have to do to the room before it was fit for any kind of serious surgery. He made himself busy, labeling the cabinets and then putting his rather ludicrous supply of medicine and instruments in its proper places. That was the irrating part of being a traveling doctor-he had to lug all of this equipent around everywhere he went, or he wasn't much use to anyone. He went ahead and sterilized the operating table right away, and placed on it a clean sheet of surgical paper. He absentmindedly started to sing an old drinking song from his homeworld of Greenleaf, a rather raunchy ditty that he would be embarrassed to sing around company that wasn't completely hammered.

He entered his cabin and threw his clothes into roughly organized piles in his closet. He placed his hygenics in the bathroom, and then...to the fun part. He unloaded his final suitcase, which was full of his most prized commodity...alcohol. He spent what must have been an hour carefully unpacking all of the various bottles, organizing them by drink, and placing them in the cabinet, in special racks so they wouldn't be knocked about by the rocking of the ship. Speaking of which...he hoped the ship didn't rock that much. The last ship had rocked like a cradle, and this had led to several...accidents..during surgery.

He wondered about the strange girl. The strange stare, the cold, emotionless demeanor, it was all so unnatural. It reminded him of his former work...and he never wanted to remember his former work again. "Don't worry", he said aloud. "They think you are dead, killed in the war". But a small voice said in the back of his head: But if they find you....She was going to bring back some bad memories. He sighed. "That's what I have you for, I suppose", he said to his racks of rum, ale, spirits and vodka. Best to just ignore her, he thought. You'll shake the feeling eventually.

[mcstringer]

Shepard Morgan santered about the ship looking for a place that comfortable to sleep. He had been on too many ships out in the 'verse to just pick one. He felt the ship's rhymn to find his place of piece. He quickly chunked his meager belongs into his room and decided to take a jaunt about the ship. He liked to think being a Sheperd gave him enough leeway around people to stick his nose into everything. Eventually, the Sheperd found himself up in the eves of the ship itself with "Arabian Nights" on paper. The classic was valuable in and of itself, but being on paper and basicly complete made it all the more.

[Ryudo]

Eric returned Sari’s vibrant smile with a smile of his own as he entered her shuttle, Eric noted that she looked positively gorgeous as usual and so he gave her a compliment as he settled down on the couch,

“Sari, I know you must be tired of hearing it, but you look absolutely stunning. Thanks for setting aside some time to talk, I know that we haven’t spoken in a few days and I feel that I almost makin’ decisions blind with out you. But first things first, how are you?”

Once Sari had finished Eric began to delve straight into what was on his mind, ordinarily he’d like to just talk with Sari more, but the new crew and job were at the forefront of his mind,

“So, how do you feel about the new crew? I already have begun to size ‘em up; the Doc seems reliable, strangely when hes drunk, and that Angel seems like she can more than handle herself in a fight, as for the Shepherd, I really don’t mind a bit religion on this boat, and neither does Themis, Godwyn seems to be stronger then he appears, and Akinseth appears to have a good head on his shoulders, despite his age. And I really don’t quite know what to think about Anwyn, she seems like a whole bag of surpirses if you ask me. Now I’ve spoke my peace and its your turn. You are after all the most perceptive person here, and I trust your judgment,” Eric paused and let out a small laugh, “Hell, I’m just eager to hear what you think.” Eric listened intently to Sari's answer.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric looked around the dinner table as everyone took their seats, most had gathered and he was pleased to see them all. For the first night of the new crew Eric had decided to break out the good food, along with a bottle of Alliance wine that he had ‘borrowed’ a few missions back. Once everyone was settled Eric raised his glass,

“To new adventures…may they always be shiney.” And with that he took a drink of the wine, “Now, so long as no one minds I’d like Shepherd Morgan to say a few words.” Eric smiled at the Shepherd, indicating that it was acceptable for him to give a prayer. Though in the past Eric hadn’t had much to do with God, he figured he was out there somewhere and he hoped that he was watching over him, plus he figured a few good intentioned words never hurt. When Morgan finished his prayer everyone went to their meals, Eric smiled as he realized that this was truly the beginning of a new journey.

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari smiled a bit at Eric, busying her hands by preparing some fine green tea a client on Persephone had given her. It wasn't often they got to enjoy the finer things in life and she was more than happy to share. She didn't ask if he wanted a cup, simply poured it and set it in front of him as the smell fill the room. She paused to consider his question as she sat gracefully across her small table from him.

" Honestly... you have the most peculiar talent of attracting the oddest people, Captain." she said with small smile. " And really, you should give your own powers of perception credit." she shrugged a bit, sipping her tea. " I don't have too much to add. That Anwyn girl is a bit odd, but I almost think our dear Zack may have taken a shine to her, so it can't be that bad... But I am concerned about the good Doctor. Drinking like that is rarely a good sign in a man. Usually means he's got demons to drown."

Sari paused to recompose herself. A little of her old backwoods accent had shown through.

A while later, she found herself in the ship's kitchen, finishing the last of the dinner preparations. She had taken the opportunity to use real food, the type they so often would not have, and made real roast with real vegetables. She'd forgotten how good it was to eat real food, and almost dreaded the return to the non perishable protein bars.

She took her seat at the table to Eric's right, lifting her glass with him and seconding his toast. Her eyes then drifted to the shepherd, offering him an encouraging smile.

[Gsarge]

Akinseth had gone to the engine room and planned on staying there for a while. New people were nice and all but machines spoke so much more clearly and were easier for him to understand. Sure the siren was a bit of a diva about how you had to treat her. A little pickier about how you worked on her, but she was much easier for him to deal with than new crewmates. He never really took the time to wonder why that was the case either. He was much too busy making sure everything on the ship was running perfectly or even better.

He sat down and buckled himself in as the ship’s engines sang out from the captain courting her to thrust them into the black. Once he was sure it was save to be standing again, he unbuckled himself and set about checking over the engine making sure everything was turning and working just right. He was happy, she was right on key. That was a very good thing to hear indeed. He got into his hammock and lay back listening to her as he closed his eyes. While he might be resting, he’s ears were ever vigilant listening for her to go off key where he would then spring into action.

[Lacantherope769]

Anwyn awoke to the smell of food, her eyes wandered around her nest, settling on the door where the boxes appeared to have moved a little. Someone had come trying to wake her... foolish. Crawling out of her cubby-hole, Anwyn rummaged through her clothes, pulling out a small navy blue high collar, and a pair of black slacks. Slipping into her clothe, the little girl brushed her hair with a hand then looked about the room, eyes settling on a single square of metal in the roof. The corner of her mouth twitched, then her hands slowly found their way around to a box high enough for her to reach up and undo its bolts, a small laser cutter helping her slice through each like a knife through butter.

Once the piece was movable, Anwyn pressed to test its weight. When it gave easily to her small push, she climbed up and scanned the tiny hall of pipes and wiring. The scent of warm food was stronger here, so she quietly made her way. Being her unnatural size, she could almost walk comfortably with her head barely brushing the top, but the narrowness causing her to slouch and move slow.

A small vent shone in light, where the girl crouched down and peeked through. From there she could see figures moving about the kitchen, a brief memory flitted through her thoughts but was brushed away as another strong scent hit her nose.... Potatoes? Anwyns eyes closed for a moment as she tried to remember real potatoes, her head began to ache slightly as it struggled to regain a lost thought.

Anwyns eyes snapped back open at the sound of silverware, bringing her back to unscrewing the vent with her magne-driver. The small magnet was strong enough to move the screws out of place, each being held from falling as she maneuvered them inside and into her open palm. Once the last two where being worked on, her small fingers grasped the vent to keep it from falling. As the last screw was undone, Anwyn pushed and slid the vent towards her, then made a quick search of the kitchen.

The Captain, and Companion seemed to be preoccupied with prepping dinner, and the shepherd... was lost in though from her point of view. The strange man with the knives and the loud woman were no where to be found, and the engineer and doctor hadn't arrived yet....

Sucking in a small breathe, Anwyn inched her way out of the small opening like a caterpillar, using her hands to support her as she maneuvered like a ballerina. Once her body was fully out, she fell to the floor without a sound and made her way into a chair, one hand deftly lifting her hair and resting it over the back of the chair. Blank eyes settled on a spot of glare on the table, and the girl remained like that for the rest of dinner.

[mcstringer]

Sheperd Morgan closed his book. He went to his bunk to wash up and hide the expensive book. Just because you trust in God does not mean you trust in people. As he walked he could smell the aroma of food cooking in the kitchen. He nodded his head to the crew he passed. He was not very familiar with anyone or their practices yet so he chose to be cautious.

Sheperd Morgan was the last to be seated at the table, and as he took the only available seat, he could feel hungry glares from some of the crew. He returned from a deep tunnel of thought after the captain finished his toast, and his companion's encouraging smile.

"Thank you Captain West, and to the chief who made this wonderful meal. I'll make this as quick as possible. I may be a pious old man, but I am just as hungry for real food as the rest of you."

The Sheperd bowed his head and closed his eyes, not expecting anyone to follow suit.

"Lord Father, bless the food before us with your protection. Bless the ship with strength and beauty so it may travel for years to come. Bless the crew with health and wisdom, and bless this adventure so that through out the bad we see the good. Amen......Ok people let's dig in!"

Sheperd Morgan started helping pass the dishes around the table to the waiting mouths. He was the last to put anything on his plate.

[Ryudo]

Eric followed the Shepherd's example and bowed his head, when he finished the prayer Eric reached for a plate and began helping himself to some of the delicious food placed before him,

“That was a mighty fine prayer Shepherd,” Eric took a bite of mashed potatoes, as the taste of the food hit him he nearly dropped his fork, “Sari, my goodness you’ve out done yourself!” As Eric took another bite of the wonderful meal old memories rushed back to him of stale bread and disgusting rations, in fact, even while on Beaumonde Eric hadn’t had anything that tasted half as good as the this meal. Eric enjoyed sharing the meal with his new crew, and as he ate with them he began to learn more about them. It was like his father had always told him, share a meal with a man and you’ll actually get to know him. As Eric learned more about the crew he was sure that they too were learning about him, his loud laughter, the way he devoted his full attention to whoever was speaking, and his ability to understand and sympathize with anyone.

Finishing the meal Eric stood and gained everyone’s attention,

“Ok, now before you all head to your bunks, I have one announcement. I’m sure that you’ve been wondering what our first mission is, and so I‘m here to remove the wonder. At this very moment we are on route to Boros, and we are bringing one of the mining factories there some new,” Eric paused, he actually had no idea what the large package sitting in Themis‘ cargo hold actually was, “Well…new machine-thing. Now I don’t have a ruttin’ clue what it does, but I can tell you this; the man who hired me was explicitly clear that this machine was very fragile and not to be messed around with. Now, I intend to get paid, and as such, unless I give a different order, do not touch it.” Eric paused and looked at everyone, “Is that clear?” Once he was certain that they understood he smiled and informed everyone that they could head to there bunks.


--------------------------------------------

Eric started helping Sari with the table, even though clean up wasn’t ordinarily a captain’s duty Eric always insist on doing it. While Eric reached for a plate his hand brushed against Sari’s as she went for the same one, pulling it back Eric laughed shyly and apologized. He proceeded with the table cleaning, busying himself with a few napkins,

“Oh, I almost forgot, we should be staying on Boros for at least two days. After finishing the job I intend to pick up a new catalyzer there since the old one is on the fritz, and I figured you’d want to know how long we were staying so that you can plan your schedule accordingly.”

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari cleared her throat, taking the dishes in her hands to the sink, forcing her mind to remain clear.

There was no room in her life - in either of their lives, really - for that little thrill that ran up her spine.

She turned on the tap and ran water over them, listening as Eric talked.

" Two days should be fine. Thank you for letting me know." she said, forcing her voice to stay casual and cool. She took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out through her mouth. This was the problem with people. Sooner or later, she would get to know them, start liking them, start caring... and that was always when the problems started.

" So..." she cast for a subject. " Mining machines?" she turned and leaned against the counter, watching the captain. " You're hauling mining equipment now?"

[StormWolf]

WHen the dinner bell rang, Zack huffed a sigh before slipping his Bowie knife into the sheath strapped to his boot. Rolling up the sharpening strip and stuffing it in his pocket, the enforcer stood silently and walked over to the refrigerated food storage and grabbed himself a half-drunk bottle of cheap liquer and a cup for himself. Zack wasted no time in pouring himself a glass and taking a hearty swig. The drink was no fine Alliance Rice Wine, but it did the job, and Zack preferred stroger drinks.

His eyes stayed on Anwyn a while when she emerged from the vent. He shook his head with a sigh of frustration. There where ruttin' doors on this boat for a gorram reason.

Taking his seat and refilling his cup, Zack waited for the rest to show up. It was usually just himself and the Captain, and occasionally Sari, on this boat. The abundance of people made Zack itch, especially on his trigger finger. It was a common fact known by those who knew Zack that he does not like crowds of people.

The Shapherd said his bit, but Zack didn't partake. He wasn't one for religeon, he had seen his fair share of bad in the war and not nearly enough good to convince him there was a God. A whole cratefull of go-se, in his opinion. So, while the Shepherd did his useless praying, Zack twirled his fork around his scarred fingers.

When time came to get eats, Zack went after Sari, only because the Captain would chew him outotherwise. He stayed quiet throughout the course of the meal, silently enjoying the luxury of real food, unlike the Captain. A blind man could see what he wanted from Sari. She was a companion, it wasn't like it would be hard to get in her bed. Eric acted like a gorram schoolboy when around Sari. Yes, it was cute the first year or so, but now it was just irritating...
Or was that envy? Two men and one woman on a boat for a couple years. If the woman had any ruttin' decentcy, she would choose one. Of course she chose the dashing Captain. Being silent had its advantages; you see and hear more. Sari obviously had a fancy for Eric, but both of them were too scared. Schoolchildren. Zack had never had a girl. Not once.

The current train of thought made Zack scowl deeper than usual, his eyes all but burning through his plate while he moved his mashed 'taters around his plate absently. The enforcer finished off his glass and poured himself another. His eyes darted from Anwyn to his plate, then to his cup. His appetite was gone. He hadn't had much, only half his rations, but he no longer felt hungry. Zack stood and carried his dishes to the sink, his large form towering over those sitting at the table. Putting his bottle of booze away before walking out of the dining area.

"You know where t'find me, Cap'n." Zack said in that deep and eerily cold tone of his. Zack's heavy combat boots made loud thumps on the metal tiles, slowly fading as he made his way to his bunk.

In Zack's room, there was the bare minimum for one to survive - bed, sink, toilet - the rest looked more like an armory. On his wall, next to where he hung his Browncoats helmet, was a looping vid of his two sisters holding on to Zack's muscular arms, a tattoo on his right bicep of a wolf skull with a red 13 carved into the brow. Zack smiled at the vid card, his scarred fingers brushing over their faces.

"Tzu fa-ne, mei-mei." he said quietly before laying some weapons out on his bunk and started cleaning them and performing maintanance. He wasn't in the right mindset to sleep.

[Peacekeeper]

Godwyn had almost forgotten what it felt to have dinner with a family. The Alliance had progressively taken him away from his family, and he hadn't contacted them after he left. They were probably trying to cut any possible tie with him, since being a relative of someone who fell into disgrace inside the Alliance wasn't going to help them with their business. For a moment, he thought he was being too harsh on them, and he should at least tell them he was still alive before embarking the Themis. But then, he remembered what his father did to Jacob, and he felt a chill running through his body. Fortunately, the details on how he had left the Alliance weren't public, but he was sure his father would have been making inquiries.

Hearing Shepperd's speech was feeling home, too. Godwyn, despite his name, had forsaken religion a long time ago, but he respected it deeply. His family was moderately religious, and while religion wasn't a major issue in their lives, he had been educated as a believer. In his opinion, religion was a way to feel better and be a good person, so he wouldn't be bothered by that at all. The dark side of religion wasn't religion's fault, anyway.

Food tasted great. In the Alliance dining rooms, in both official buildings and aboard space ships, you didn't eat their meals in the company of several people, and food always tasted the same. "That's amazing indeed." Goodwyn stated. "You know, we didn't have such tasty food back in the Alliance". He laughed, hoping mentioning the Alliance when having diner wasn't too much for their ship mates.

It was good to finally know what their first mission was, but he was a bit disappointed he wasn't allowed to watch or touch the device they were carrying. It was just professional curiosity, but it wouldn't drive him crazy since he had something else to spend his time with. When he left the Alliance, he had carried something with him, a device he used when he visited terramorphing planets. He had big expectations for it if he could modify it, which might take a little, but he hoped it could be useful for the crew, specialy in life-or-death situations. He'd be telling his crew mates about this kind of projects soon.

[Lacantherope769]

Anwyn ate her meal in silence, her silence eerie and almost empty feeling compared to Zack's. The little girl had kept her eyes locked on the man through out the whole of dinner, her mind taking notes of every movement he made, then followed his eyes, which led her to stare at the captain and the companion. Anwyn made notes of them as well, her thoughts jotting down movements, gestures, positioning of the body, arms and hands.

Whilst watching, she noticed a strange pattern between the Captain, the Companion, and the Mercenary, until it finally clicked on her. She said nothing, but slowly fit the puzzles together as she watched. The girl let her brain rest for awhile once things made no sense anymore, so she focused on the Shepherd and the Engineer, both seemed oddly at peace, yet had something moving in their thoughts. The engineer had a past she already knew about, but the shepherd intrigued her for the rest of dinner. So she studied.

After dinner, Anwyn rose and bowed once to the captain, once to the companion, then left, but not before giving Zack a one eyed look. One that was she was certain her understood; " Got You". She left through the door this time, turning a corner which lead to the captains room. Making sure Zack had gone to his room, she slipped a small red circle out of her sleeve, and rubbed it into the steel plate next to the captains door. Then she pulled out a little spray can about the size of her thumb from her belt, and spritzed the circle until it blended with the wall.

Once she had returned to her room, Anwyn looked the hall over once more, then moved through her box barricade, making sure to return it to its original position of guarding her door. From there, she nestled into her nest, held her gun in a relaxed grip with one hand, and her flash grenade in the other under her pillow, then slept.

[Zaro]

Jedediah anxiously waited for the Shepard to end his sermon so he could chow down. He was absolutely ravenous, and he seriously considered disregarding the prayer and devouring his meal right away, but he had learned that sometimes it was best to just go with the flow and keep your head down. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, the tiny girl staring at Zack. He guessed she knew he knew what Jed assumed everyone knew: the Captain had a thing for this companion girl. By the way Zack looked more tense and standoffish than usual, he was sweet on the lady as well. Apparantly the midget disapproved. "Oh God, I hope she's not one of those straight-lace prudish types", Jed thought despairingly.

He wolfed down the meal in record time, leaving shortly after Zack, and headed back to his bunk. There he washed down his meal with a swig of bourbon (or perhaps two swigs) and washed himself and got ready for bed. Finally, he pulled out the last bit of luggage from his duster before tossing it in the closet: His trusty lasor pistol. He placed it underneath his pillow and then rested his head on top of it.

He began to wonder about this machine the captain was hauling. Why did these high-falooting corporate types choose to hire a low-brow hauler like this to haul such expensive stuff when they could do it themselves? Isn't that what those gui sunzi are good for, screwing the middle man out of a job? And why only one: what's one machine gonna help in a big factory? And why the emphasis placed on not going near it? It all smelled like a gorram trick to Jed, but noone ever asked him. He would bet his stethescope, which was pretty valuable out here, by the way, that this was going to get complicated in the end. "Oh well", Jed said to the ceiling. "Whatever's coming, It's inevitable now. Let's hope everyone else is gonna be prepared for anything". He fingered the trigger of his pistol. He knew he was.

[Ryudo]

Eric laughed a bit as he threw the placemats into a drawer,

“Yes, ma’am, we are in fact hauling mining equipment, but at least were getting paid,” Eric paused for dramatic effect, “somewhat decently.” Eric laughed a bit again, “You know, my father was a miner-” After saying this he stopped mid sentence and looked down, then, as if a switch were flipped, he returned to his normal friendly demeanor,

“Next time, I will let you choose the job, sound fair?”

Eric and Sari worked well together, and in no time the dining area was nearly spotless. Eric liked when things were clean, for some reason messes bothered him, he was sure that there was some psychoanalytical reasoning for his preference but he didn’t know it and he didn’t care. Giving a small whistle Eric looked to Sari and nodded his head, a classic motion indicating his satisfaction,

“Well, I believe our work here is done madam, if you’d like I’ll walk you to your shuttle.” Eric extended his arm for her to take in a gentlemanly fashion. Reaching her shuttle door Sari relinquished Eric’s arm while Eric opened the door for her,

“Goodnight Sari, enjoy your rest. I‘ll see you in the morning.”

After leaving Sari’s shuttle Eric proceeded to take care of a few small matters before he too went to bed. He walked softly as he traversed Themis’ many halls, Eric knew that some of the others would be fast asleep and he did not want to wake them. Stopping before Zack’s door Eric knocked gently, it took Zack a moment or two before he opened the door, and when he did Eric noticed that he looked a bit more displeased then usual,

“Hey, I wanted to check in and see what you thought about the new crew, I need to know if you are picking up any vibes. ’Course they all have one vibe or another.” Eric chuckled, “What I mean is, do any of them unsettled you. I think they seem like a good and trustworthy crew, but I want to know what you think.”


------------------------

Eric knocked on Jed’s door, he was starting to feel a bit tired and so he decided that this would be his last stop of the evening. Right as Jed opened the door Eric sensed the faint smell of hard liquor wafting from the man. However, despite what Jed might have thought, it didn’t bother Eric that he had been drinking; what a man did on his free time was one thing, and so long as it didn’t affect his work Eric couldn’t care less,

“Hey Doc, I know that you just settled in, but I was wondering if you needed any special supplies. Themis’ isn’t accustomed to havin’ a doctor on board, she might be missing a few things. If that’s the case just let me know, and I’ll be sure to pick it up while were on Boros.” Eric paused, he wondered if Jed even knew where he was at this point,

“Look, maybe I’ll just ask you tomorrow, okay?”


------------------------

Stepping into his room Eric let out a small sigh as he though over what he had accomplished today, it had been a long day, but a fruitful one. Eric kicked off his shoes and sat on his bed. Before Eric shut off the lights he looked over to a small case resting in the far corner of his small room,

“Maybe another night.” He said as he flipped the switch and plunged the room into darkness.

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari stood staring at the shuttle door after Eric left for the longest moment, her face scrunched thoughtfully. She wasn't exactly sure what she expected but the slight disappointment hanging over her stomach meant she'd expected something...

Something, like maybe him finishing that sentence? Like maybe him lingering a moment longer at her shuttle door? Something like...

Sari let out and agitated groan and took a few steps to flop onto her bed, where she proceeded to smack her palm to her forehead a few times.

" Stupid, stupid, stupid..." she told herself before rolling to her belly, where she clung to a pillow for a few moments while she regained herself. " Just business." she muttered out loud to reinforce her words. " It's just business between me and him. That's all. It's okay to be friendly with your business partners. Just not that friendly." she told herself.

She stood again, straightened her dress, and primped in the mirror for a moment before sitting at her screen with a calm exhale. She fired it up and logged on to the cortex, entering in her arrival and departure dates to the cortex.

" Okay, boys... and girls..." she muttered to herself, noting a few female faces popping up. " Impress me."

Whatever it was she'd been expecting from Eric, she had convinced herself she didn't need it.

[StormWolf]

Zack was busy cleaning the several components of his favorite gun, Bruce. That old MG was more reliable than any of the high-tech gorram Alliance crap. Hell, it was older than most of the stuff that the normal Browncoats used in the war. It was battered, ugly, heavy, and it gobbled up ammunition like a hound would a steak, and it kicked like a mule to boot. However, for some reason, in Zack's hands, Bruce fired straight and true as any high grade MG, and it fired heavier calibur as well. Zack would know. He had been shot by the gun before. He killed the man who originally owned it and it quickly became Zack's favorite gun. The only thing he could love more than that gun was a woman... or his sister..... or a cute fluffy kitten.... or a puppy..... Yeah.... puppies were cute, with their little ears and tiny noses and --

Zack's already de-railed train of thought fell off a cliff and exploded when he heard a knocking at the door. Pulling his knife from his boot, Zack walked over to the door and cracked it open. He tossed the knife across the room when he saw that it was the Captain.

The large enforcer looked down at the Captain while doing his best not to look down at him. Zack listened as best he could, but part of his brain was still focused on puppies.

"Vibes, Cap'n? Hell, the gorram pink-haired "fong lug" ninja greatly disturbs my calm." Zack paused, scratching the back of his head. He wanted to say something, but knowing him, it would get scrambled in that bombed-out brain of his.

"Cap'n... this is strictly observation, but... You trust too much, sir. Lettin' a bunch of ruttin' strangers into our home? And Core planet soft-hand folk to boot? How do we know ones a'them 'aint Alliance? Huh? How're we to know if ones a'them don't got a bomb or virus or....." Zack stopped to rub his eyes with the back of his hand, mumbling close-to-nonsense in the meantime.

"Just.... watch yer back, Cap'n. I 'aint givin' none of these folk a lick of trust 'till they earn it..... G'night, Cap'n." Zack said closing his door and bolting it.

[Gsarge]

Akinseth woke up long after everyone had eaten, making his way through the corridors as he grabbed anything hand-sized from the mess as he made his way up to the cockpit sitting at the helm looking around at the instruments and the path the navigation computer and auto-pilot system were using as he sighed lightly finishing the rest of the food he’d gotten. He figured since he knew how to fly ships like this, he’d watch nights and let the captain have some peace to sleep knowing that some one was making sure everything was staying on course.

He took up a keyboard and set about looking over the news threads on the net as he keyed up the weekly digest of his home planet’s news. He scanned over it with a smile on his face happy that no one he knew as arrested or had anything bad happen to them. Too bad he had no way to safely contact his family, but it was just as well. He figured there was no way he’d ever get to go back home unless the current class system were gone and he had a feeling that wouldn’t happen within his lifetime. He sighed and logged off the net and looked over the ship’s log to see where the captain had them going next as he tilted his head to the side with a smile. Well this would be interesting, most likely he wouldn’t be leaving the ship, but it was still a very interesting place to be going from what he’d heard about it.

[Ryudo]

Themis gently drifted towards the large planet, she was not the only ship making its way to Boros, and an equal amount were leaving. Most of the traffic in and out of Boros had to do with the mining factories, Boros after all was one of the largest suppliers of metal and machinery in the Verse. Themis glided past a small transport cruiser, and as she passed it Themis began to feel the first semblances gravity, her exterior began to heat up, and her nose naturally rotated towards the planet.

Eric loved entering the atmosphere of a planet, the pull of real gravity, the warmth of the walls, and the rush from the danger all culminated into one gratifying experience. Eric turned the P.A. system on and greeted his fellow crew,

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, we are only moments away from landing at our intended destination, sunny Boros! At this time the Captain requests that all seats and tray tables be returned to their upright position and that all luggage be stored in the overhead bins. Should you need assistance, press the Call button located on your arm rest and an attendant will be with you shortly. The entire crew would like to thank you for flying Themis air, and we hope to see you again shortly.” Eric laughed as he turned off the sound system and returned to flying, and though he was alone in the cockpit he proceeded to comment out loud,

“Today is going to be a good day.”


-------------------------------------

Themis gently touched down on the stretch of land designated for re-supply zones, halting her engines, Eric then waited for the buyer to send him confirmation and the equipment necessary to remove the machine from his cargo hold. Eric followed standard docking procedure and waited patiently for the Mining company to retrieve its machinery.

The face of the customs officer appeared for a second time on the dashboard screen, though he couldn't be a day over forty he was already bald and Eric assumed that it had to be a direct result of his job,

“Excuse me Mr. West, but would you mind repeating your transit code?” Eric nodded, a transit code was a marker created between a buyer and a seller so as to assure that the delivery was from the correct manufacturer,

“EE978WRWJT3” Eric watched as the customs officer carefully wrote down each letter, Eric gave a small sigh, in his own opinion transit codes were only good for two things, and that was making everything more difficult and nothing.

“Thank you Mr. West, a crew will be dispatched to get machine in a few minutes, you just sit tight.” Eric smiled as the screen went black, as soon as the machine was out of the ship Eric would let the crew know that they could disembark. He had already sent Zack down to the cargo bay to open the doors, and he was sure that Sari was busy preparing for her work. While he waited for the Mining factory to send there crew Eric let his mind wander. His thoughts immediately went to Sari, Eric understood that Sari had to work and that the only time she could take clients was during shore leave, but Eric couldn’t deny the fact that he wished Sari wouldn’t leave every time.

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari stood in front of her large mirror, comparing two different types of earrings. The mirror spent most of it's time covered by fabrics, as did most of her shuttle. It softened the hard metal walls and floor in a haze of silks and satins.

Sari sighed, settling for the silver teardrop earrings. They glistened nicely against her dark skin and her pale blue dress made her bright green eyes pop. She sighed again as she fastened them into her ear lobes, and then again as she slid a silver arm band shaped like a vine with leaves up her arm. Finally fed up with her own sighing, she placed her hands on her vanity and leaned on them, giving herself a hard stare in the mirror.

" This has got to stop." she told herself sternly. " You're sighing like a gorram school girl. You're going to meet a client in a gorram hour and you're sighing like a lovestruck pup." She paused, fidgeting with her hair, most of which was piled elegantly at the back of her head, held in place by a few shiny pins. She twirled one of bits of black hair hanging down around her finger, biting her lip. Then she straightened her back and smiled mysteriously into the mirror. " You're a companion, not a little girl." she reminded herself, finally turning on her heel and straightening her things up a bit before seating herself in the shuttle's pilot seat, hidden from the rest of the shuttle by a red curtain.

She opened the coms and patched herself through to Eric.

" Captain, I'm lifting off. I'll be back tomorrow morning, before noon. Let me know if the plan changes." she said, keeping her voice calm and steady.

Professional. she reminded herself silently. Business.

She lifted the shuttle off with no trouble, and made her flight to her clients estate, where she was greeted by several well dressed servants.

He was a handsome man, the way men who have never known hunger or pain or want tend to be. His hand on the small of her back as he guided her out to a terrace with a beautiful view was gentle, and better manicured than her own. He spoke softly and kindly, and his proper grammar and annunciation were dead giveaways to his extensive education. His conversation was intelligent, and his business modes her all totally legal (he owned an accounting firm with several big name clients), and his only hobby was boats.

He was safe, kind, and never wanted for money. Every woman Sari had ever known would have found him perfectly desirable in every way. He even made love slowly and deliciously, and his endurance was rather outstanding.

She didn't sigh once, but in her mind she was somewhere else completely.

[StormWolf]

Themis rumbled around Zack, the entrance into the atmosphere making his teeth rattle in his gums. With his perpetual frown, the Enforcer sat on the edge of his bed and stared into the opposing wall, as if he expected to fall away at any moment. The familiar buzz of the air rippling around he vessel was somewhat welcoming to Zack. That sound meant solid ground and real gravity, as well as money. But that also meant being shot at.

Zack wasted no time in getting ready. Holstering his hand-cannon, Carol, as well as one of the small pistols from his room and his micro M-4, strapping that to his chest underneath his coat. Once he was all ready to go, Zack made his way down to the cargo bay, his face fit enough to commit murder.... maybe a couple counts of it, too. Just another day at the office.

Once down in the cargo hold, Zack lit up a cigarette and took a draw. It was a terrible habit, but Zack didn't honestly give a good gorram.

[Cheshire]

Angel was laying in her bunk... she'd been there for a while now... she was bored. Various weapons were laying around her, she had taken them apart and put them back together several times now. Her sword, Dizang, had been sharpened and polished to perfection. Now she was bored.

She really hoped they'd get to shoot something. Hopefully a lot of somethings. Yawning loudly, she decided she might as well be ready for a full on assault... something she made a point to be ready for at any given opportunity; gathering her weapons, and holstering her revolver; Mary, throwing Dizang into it's sheath, putting her shotgun in her back holster.

Being completely bored... she decided to go check out the cargo bay, and make sure Zack wasn't getting shot at... secretly hoping he was... not out of any particular dislike for Zack, she simply wanted an excuse to shoot people. Wandering into the cargo bay she yelled loudly, "Hey! No ones here yet!?" followed by quietly muttering, "Gorram son of a... he's fine..."

[Gsarge]

Had made his way to the wash room and bathed as it wasn’t long before he came out clean and in different clothes. Feeling much more refreshed, he made his way into the mess as he began to cook making sure he had enough ready for anyone else that might want to eat. He sighed looking over the food he made as he set out the table and then got himself a plate. He then sat down and began to eat in peace wondering if he was going to have anyone else was going to join him. He figured for the most part he wasn’t going to be going out of the ship unless asked to do so by the captain.

[nonangelic92]

DJ looked up at the ship and smiled, she had seen ships like this before but mostly in the shipyard. She entered into the loading aread of the ship. She saw someone who looked like they were in command and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me sir, I got a message that you had a problem with your catalyzer. Well take me to it kind sir." she said as she began to pull tools from her pockets.

When the man shwed her the engine room, she nearly screamed it was beautilful and ugly as the same time. There were a few great pieces on the engine and a few rustic peices there too. "Oh my gosh is that a Balillion 2600 with a duel transsystem." She stopped by another piece of furniture, "And how is this? This filter is way to small and old for this machine. Your lucky you haven't been stuck in space yet."

[mcstringer]

The Sheperd woke up hard, groggy, pissed off, and all the general ugly like he always did on a space journey. He always said he body was make to have his 2 feet on terra ferma. It seemed James would have his chance. He felt the ship it hard on something solid enough to call land. To confirm it he heard the Captain's sad version of a joke through the speaker system.

"Days like this, I wish I hadn't sworn off being drunk to the gills."

He rolled groggily off the brick called a bed, and began to get himself presentable. If his fellow crewmen saw him like this, they would either run screaming off the ship, or start shooting him, neither choice he liked. The former brought more guns, and the latter .....well the latter was Zack and Angel, the Gunnut and Physcho. Just thinking of them gave him the willies. By the time he huffed out of his little square of his world with his special bible in hand. Everyone was about their business. James remembered the list he promised himself to buy upon landing. He went to find the Captain to at least tell him that he will be off the ship.

It was not long until he found him near the front of the ship still, but he was to lazy to go down the rafters and meet him.

"Hey Captain, I am leaving to by a list of goods for the ship."

Before Zack could say anything about money. He also added.

"I will be using my money for this enterprise, and I can take care of myself out there. I wont need a happy trigger firing at everthing that moves. I am off with a comm. Contact me, if anything changes."

Before the Captain could say yes or no, the Sheperd was off for the firm ground, fresh air, and the sea of bargains. A devilish smile came over his face when he thought of the bargains. He learned the tongue of buy and sell through trial and error years ago. The foolish con artists wont know what hit them.

[Gsarge]

Akinseth heard someone walking as he stood up and followed it into the engine room.

“Uh captain…why is there a strange woman handling the Siren like that?”

He heard what she had just said about the engine as his eyes went wide.

“N-now wait right ‘ight ‘ere capt’n this ain’t funny. Please get her off that.” He was really not happy that it seemed the captain didn’t trust him to be able to take care of the engine and she was just some butcher that slapped upgrades and add-ons trying to sell things that didn’t amount to more than bells and whistles and who had the nerve to say this engine could break down at any moment.

He stormed over and snatched the filter from her looking it over as its size was fine and was having no adverse effect on engine output. He pulled out a bucket of some kind of solvent and dropped it in letting the chemicals work at cleaning the filter to good as new condition.

“Captn’ I gotta protest this. If ya didn’t trust my work why didn’t ya say it to my face instead of going behind my back and getting this?“ He said pointing over as her like she was some kind of leper. He was pissed and rightly so this was his room and he was the engineer and she was messing with Siren without any regard for her feelings.

[nonangelic92]

DJ stopped her look over of the machine after the engineer took the filter from her, "Excuse me. I'm sorry if I envaded your personal space but next time you take something out of my hands I will slap you, got it." She reached over and took the filter back. "Listen your Captian wanted me to take a look at this. If you want me to go and you put the wrong filter size and other such items on this beauty then be my guess. But if you don't then get out of my way so I can get this beauty in tip top shape." DJ went back to work.

[Ryudo]

Eric was about ready to march over to the customs house himself he was so fed with waiting for the officer to return with his confirmation codes, when suddenly the screen came to life and the man informed Eric that his transit code was correct and that he was sending a team over to collect the mining machine. Eric thanked the officer and shut off the console, he then headed down to the cargo bay to do three main things; see off those who were leaving, make sure that the machine was transported safely, and finally meet a mechanic who was going to take a look at Themis. Eric hadn’t met her before, but he had heard that she was one of the best on Boros, and most importantly that her wage was somewhat affordable.

As he headed towards the bulkhead of the Cargo bay Eric was caught off guard by the Shepherd who seemed to be dead set on heading off world. Eric didn’t mind that he was leaving, and the fact that he was taking a communicator was all that Eric needed to know in order to send him off. But before Eric could even agree to his leaving the Shepherd was off headed towards the market. Eric wondered what had the Shepherd so flustered, but he quickly forgot about it as he entered the Cargo bay and saw that the transport crew was already beginning to work on the machine.

"Excuse me sir, I got a message that you had a problem with your catalyzer. Well take me to it kind sir."

Eric reeled around when he heard the voice, when he finally discovered who the comment belonged to he realized he was looking at a woman,

“You must be D.J. I presume,” Eric extended his hand for a friendly shake but he saw that both of hers were busied with tools. Smiling he lead her to the engine room. After he felt that D.J. was settled Eric began heading towards the cargo room to see how the acquisition of the machine was coming along when he was stopped in his tracks by Akinseth,

“Uh captain…why is there a strange woman handling the Siren like that?”

“She’s hear to give me a second opinion on the catalyzer issue, D.J. is a trained professional and you should-” Eric stopped as he watched Akinseth loudly lumbered over to D.J. and, replete with defiance, begrudgingly solved a problem that she had identified with the filter. Eric didn’t appreciate the attitude, but he knew that Akinseth was a good kid and he understood how he must have felt challenged. In truth Eric wasn’t trying to go around his new engineer, he had merely set up the meeting before he even knew Akinseth was joining the ship.

“Captn’ I gotta protest this. If ya didn’t trust my work why didn’t ya say it to my face instead of going behind my back and getting this?“

“Look Akinseth, I don’t doubt your work, I had already set this meeting up between Themis and D.J. long before you were ever on board.” Eric emphasized D.J.’s name to remind Akinseth that she was in fact a person, “Also, I am the captain around this boat, and what I say goes. Dong Ma?” He said the last part, not patronize the young man, but to remind him who was in charge, Eric liked Akinseth well enough but he still had room to grow.

“Now, D.J.’s only here for a short time to fix the catalyzer, after she is done you’ll be back to the only engineer I got. Now until then I’d like you two to work together, learn what the other one has to offer ok?” Eric paused and looked at them both, “Ok.”


-------------------------

Just as Eric finally stepped into the cargo room he noticed that a large transport truck was departing with the machine and Zack was closing the hatch doors. This sight caught Eric by surprise, he was sure that removing the cargo would take hours and yet it was over before he even knew it had begun. Eric called down,

“Hey Zack, they get the machine already?”

Zack looked up from the console, the half-smoked cigarette wafting thin plumes of cobalt colored smoke."Hrm? Yeah. What? Isn't that what out ruttin' job was?" he frowned, more than usual, chomping on the cigarette.

Eric though about what Zack had said for a moment, the job had gone on without a hitch, Eric could count the number of times that happened in the past on one hand. Still Eric wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and so he headed towards the cockpit to meet with the customs officer one final time. As he walked his mind focused not on the job but on strange everyone’s reactions today, even Zack seemed to be in a worse mood then usual. Entering the cockpit he simply couldn't put his finger on what was causing everyone to be in such a foul mood, it seemed as if they had all woken up on the wrong side of the cot, but not Eric, today was going to be a good day.

Looking out from one of the windows in the cockpit Eric noticed the truck that had picked up the mining machine lazily making its way to the factory. As it entered the factory Eric mind drifted to a familiar place, but it didn’t remain there long. A blinding light brought Eric back, and he looked up to see the factory in flames, two more large explosions rang out and for a brief moment it seemed to Eric that he was once again standing on the battlefield of New Kashmir. It took a while for Eric to register what had just happened, the truck had picked up the mining machine, the mining machine was delivered by the truck to the factory, and now the factory was engulfed in flames.

Then it hit Eric, he had been set up, realizing this Eric quickly sprung into action. First he shut off all external communications so that the customs couldn’t reach him, realizing that there were a few people that had gone into town Eric radioed them and informed them to return to the ship immediately. Eric then called Zack on the horn and informed him that they would be setting sail in five minutes. He knew that Shepherd had gone off world, and when he radioed in to let Eric know that he was only a minute from the ship Eric let out a sigh of relief, which instantly transformed right back into tension when her remember one other, very important person, Sari.

Eric knew that he was never supposed to send her a wave while she was working, but now was not the time to worry about privacy. Eric sent a hail immediately to her ship,

“Sari! Sari come in, it’s Eric!” Eric prayed that Sari had her comm system on, his worry showed clearly in his voice and the way it shook.

Sari was fastening her robe around her waist as her client closed the door behind him, just as Eric's voice crackled on the coms. She dashed for the comlink and grabbed it up.

" What? What is it?" She asked, heart rate picking up.

Eric knew that by now the Alliance was already tracking his comm signal, he couldn’t divulge any information that would give up Sari’s position or the location that she would meet Themis at, thankfully he and Sari had created a code for situations just like this,

“I sincerely hope that your evening is going well, I just wanted to remind you that you had promised to pick up some of the iced treats you know that I love.”

Sari blinked. " Oh. Um. Yes. Of course." she started to shake slightly. " Anything else?"

"Make sure you get here before they melt." He said as he shut off the comm, now all he had to do was wait for confirmation from Zack that the Shepherd was on board and then he could go meet Sari. Eric informed Akinseth over the comm that he needed to spool up the engine immediately.

(Co-op with the fantastic Gyspy and Storm!)

[StormWolf]

Zack was busy closing up the hatches when an all-too-familiar noise filled his ears, a rumble setting into his joints and made his spine vibrate. Someone set off a very big bomb. Two more explosions followed, but Zack remained calm, taking a draw on his cigarette as he closed up everything but the loading ramp. Zack frowned up at the loudspeaker in the top corner of the cargo hold when Eric yelled for Zack to come to the bridge immediately. The burly enforcer just sighed, a thick cloud of smoke billowing out of his nose and mouth.

"He can't go a single ruttin' job without yellin' my name..." Zack muttered before picking up the radio.

"Hey Sheperd, things are gettin' a might hairy 'round here. Might wanna be gittin' back to Themis afore ya get yerself or the rest of us pinched by lawman." clicking off the radio, Zack made his way up to the main deck from the cargo bay, making a b-line for the bridge. He appeared behind Eric's shoulder, looking out the viewport at the columns of thick black smoke reaching for the heavens. He made a long whistle as he looked at the destructive spectacle before him.

"Go-se, what a sight!" Zack mused. "That'll make fer a great sunset in a day or two." the enforcer shook his head, ash flaking from the butt of his cigarette. "Ya called, sir? We still got the Sheperd to get back on board, though I wouldn't mind terribly if we left him."

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari was shaking as she put the comm back on it's holder. The thin silk robe did nothing to shield her from the sudden chill that filled the shuttle. The warm traces of a good lover's touch faded from her skin and gave rise to goosebumps.

Eric and the Themis had been in some hairy situations before. She had total confidence in the Captain's skill and abilities. She had no doubt that whatever the situation was, he could handle it.

She'd just never heard his voice shake like that.

She sat at her pilot's seat and eased the shuttle off the ground, taking deep steady breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. In a few moments her hands were steady and she was guiding the shuttle towards the pre-designated meeting place with a purposeful urgency.

She just couldn't manage to quell the nauseous feeling of dread that was welling up from below her belly button, gnawing away at her stomach and sending fearful pangs up her spine.

She had faith in Eric. She had to remind herself that. She kept repeating it to herself as she flew to the coordinates Eric had uploaded into the shuttle's navigation system what seemed like ages ago.

She crested a small hill as she approached the coordinates, and settled the shuttle down, her expression of worry fading to an eyebrow twitch of annoyance.

A junkyard.

Eric had picked a junkyard for the secret meeting spot in case of emergencies.

" How utterly in character." she muttered, crossing her arms indignantly as she waited for the Themis and her captain to show.

[nonangelic92]

DJ set to fixing the catalyzer with the very rude Akinseth watching her every move. Just when she was about to turn a bolt, she felt the ship rumble. She looked over at Akinseth, "What the hell is your Captain doing?" she asked, but decided not to wait for his answer. She made her way back to the cargo hold. Once she didn't find the captin or anyone there, she decided to go to the main deck.

the deck wasn't hard to find, she'd been on a few ships like this one to remember the layout of the place. She saw the captain and some other guys talking. " Captain what the hel..." DJ was cut off mid-sentence as she saw the firey hell of a factory out the viwe port. She shook her head and looked back to the captain. "Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on here. I'm trying to fix your damn ship when it felt like someone decided to let a few bombs drop." she stared at the captain waiting for an answer.

[mcstringer]

Sheperd Morgan was somehow enjoying his day in the fresh pestilent ridden smog called air. He chalked it up to not being on a ship breathing badly recycled air. His shopping purchases were quick, cheap, and underhanded. No one every expects a Sheperd to know how to wheel and deal. He wasn't lying to to them at all. He was just taking advantage of their stupidity. He was taking a break from his shopping, when his ears caught some drunkards talking about a job having to do with a factory. It would not have interested him if he had not caught the poor fools muttering about explosions and making boom sounds.

He was going to see what they were talking about, when he felt a familiar rumble. Once you have been in a war zone, you never forget what an explosion feels like. It wasn't seconds later he recieved a buzz on the comm from his Captain to get his ass back to the ship. He heard the urgency in his voice and didn't ask, and he just told him an automatic response. Guess my questions will have to wait. Considering his age he had the wisdom of years to not try to run his old ass back to the ship. He might not make it in time, and he'd be too tired to help out.

He jogged to a store for personel vehicles. The store's vendor tried to pull the wool over his eyes like all the others, but he got what he wanted for an extra cheap price; considering the vendor wanted to keep his life, the price was free.Sometimes the old fake Bible trick really does work. What he got could have been taken out of a Star Wars movie. The idea sure was. He stradled the quite literal swoop bike, tossed his purchases in the lockable compartment, and gased it. The bike slammed to a fast pace with a learch, but it didn't die on him, nor did he explode so he figured he was alright in his purchase.

The loud noise of the bike could have been heard easily over most anything. He bobbed and weaved the streets with some difficulty, had a few near misses that he thanked the One for. He felt he was shadowed for some reason, and the feeling was proven when blasts from guns started zipping aroung him. He quickly grabbed the comm from his pocket while steering as best he could with one hand and hips.

"Hey, Captain. Something is really fucked. I am coming in hot. (SLAM) Got tails. I should be able to get on, if you lift off when you see me. Just keep the back door down and clear a landing strip for something small and fast."

He fumbled the off switch and almost lost the comm when he tried to transfer in back to his pocket. This brings back memories from my younger years. I forgot I had this much fun. With two hands back on the handlebars, he increased the pace hoping to be far enough away that his comrades would not be in danger, while he was being shot.

[Gsarge]

Akinseth nodded to the captain and let her work as he set about putting everything back into place. He then looked up to DJ as she had asked him a question and then before even letting him answer had run off. “Looks like sumone jus likes ya hear herself talk.” He grumbled and then got over to the catalyzer setting in the bolts after her and setting about making sure that everything was ready to fire off in a moments notice.

If that woman had stayed he could have told her that it was a large explosion not very far away that had just been detonated inside a large building. He grabbed the intercom microphone and switched it to the cockpit. “Engines primed and ready, Cap.” He figured this might be something that they would have to run from.

[Zaro]

At first the rumblings sounded to Jed's sleep-addled mind like distant thunder. Then a closer explosion rocked the ship, sending him crashing to the floor and back to his senses. He quickly figured out that it was explosions he was hearing. "I KNEW it was too gorram simple", he said, pounding his head into the ground in despair. Ah, well. Time to start the killing.

As he looked out a window on his way to the bridge, he saw Shepard Morgan speeding through the city streets. "Got the call to get the hell back on the ship, eh?" He mused. Then he spotted him: a man on a speederbike, nimbly keeping up with Morgan, raining down shots with a weapon obviously meant for killing men. He ran as fast as he could to the bay area, drew his laser pistol, and kept careful aim at the runway leading to the Themis. Soon Morgan appeared, and some small part of his heart deep down leapt. But then he took careful aim at the chokepoint, sweat dripping down his face. At last the biker-assassin appeared, and Jed, exhaling to maximize accuracy, pulled the trigger.

The crimson beam reached the man faster than Jed's eyes could register. The beam missed the man, but struck the bike, superheating the tires and causing it to do a front flip at high speed. The man flew into a group of cargo crates, sending splinters of wood everywhere. As Themis lurched into sudden flight, he walked over to the preacher and checked for gun wounds "See you gotta new toy there. Hope it wasn't that guy's ride. Though I doubt it isnt that simple, eh?"

As he looked back at the cargo area, his jaw dropped at what he was seeing. The man was getting up. He had treated many high-speed auto accidents in his day, and he knew you didn't walk away from a crash at that speed, if at all. What the diyu is going on here? Now he was going to be able to inform his superiors of what had happened. This was bad, he thought to himself. He sighed. "Guess we gotta go to tell the captain about this mystery gunman, eh? Gorram it, why can't I just fix people up instead of messing them up, like a normal doctor? Can't ever be simple, can it..."

[Ryudo]

The sound and tone of the Shepherd’s voice was unsettling, “Ok, Shep, the gates already down for you.” Eric heard footsteps behind him so he turned off the com., turning to see who had entered Eric eyes landed on Zack. Eric found it odd that his enforcer had left the cargo bay but he didn’t have time to bring this up as D.J., the mechanic he had hired earlier, burst into the room.

"Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on here. I'm trying to fix your damn ship when it felt like someone decided to let a few bombs drop."

Eric stood, he didn’t yell, he just let everyone know where his priorities lay,

“Everyone who isn’t the captain of this ship, the pilot of this ship, or both get out now. Dong Ma?” And before they could respond Eric had turned around and preparing for an abrupt departure. Ordinarily he would have tried to remain kind, but at this moment being tactful was replaced with the desire to survive, besides there would be time for a lengthy discussion later. Grabbing the horn Eric let Angel know that she was to inform him as soon as the Shepherd was on board.

Eric looked out the windows to see that the smoke from the explosions had begun to fill the sky, and he knew that it was only a matter of seconds before the feds would descend upon the ship. Eric knew that he needed to leave, but he wasn’t about to leave the Shepherd behind. Not until the last-, Eric’s thoughts were cut off early by the sound of Angels voice letting him know that the Shepherd was on board, in the background Eric could hear the sounds of gunfire and a small explosion, which disconcerted him even further. Eric pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he finished preparations for take off, Akinseth’s earlier affirmation of the engines capability let Eric feel safe in pushing Themis harder then normal. Lifting up on the yoke Themis jolted upwards. Eric knew that he needed to disappear quickly so he utilized the smoke cloud formed by the explosions to his advantage, flying blind for a few moments would hopefully disorient his followers more then himself. When Themis emerged from the smoke it took Eric a moment to get his bearings, within a few moments he was back on course heading straight for the rendezvous point.


------------------------------------------------

Eric landed Themis with less care then usual atop the land fill, there wasn’t time for finesse, not when every second brought himself, Sari, and the rest of the crew closer to spending the rest of their lives in jail. As soon as the landing gear locked Eric followed the procedure that he and Sari established months ago; as Eric flipped the switch to open the docking doors for Sari’s shuttle he simultaneously began transmitting a series of dots and dashes on a specific channel. To any outside listener the dots and dashes would be meaningless, but for Sari they indicated that Themis had landed and it was time for her to return to the ship. Eric hoped that she’d trace the signal quickly, he had no real way of telling whether or not he was followed and he wanted to be off world as soon as possible.

Sari was quite busy huffing when the meaningless scrawl on the channel she'd been watching finally came up. She flicked on the shuttle's navigation and traced the signal, flying a quick route to the familiar hull of the Themis. The docking sequence was automatic, and she was waiting at the shuttle doors, still clad in only a silk robe, loosely tied, when they slid open.

Whether it was the shock of the explosions or the heightened emotions Eric decided to leave the cockpit and go to where Sari’s shuttle would dock. Eric knew that he needed to leave immediately, but he also couldn’t leave without Sari, and thus he used this for justification to leave the helm, as soon as he verified Sari was on board he would be back piloting Themis as far away from Boros as possible.

As luck would have it just as Eric approached the shuttle area he heard Sari’s shuttle locking into the dock, a few moments later he heard the whirring of the hydraulics cease. When the doors opened Eric saw Sari standing there and instantly he moved towards her and hugged her. Eric held her close, there were so many things running through his mind, but they seemed to subside for a moment, replaced with the knowledge that Sari was safe. Eric didn’t want to break the embrace, and even though he wasn’t one for the big emotional displays, right now this was the only way that he could express himself.

Every scalding reprimand waiting died in her throat as soon as Eric's arms went around Sari. She stayed still and quiet there for a long moment, pondering the sudden jolt that zipped down her spine, followed by the warm pooling anticipation in the pit of her belly.

Finally, she put her arms around his chest and gripped his shirt, hiding her face against his shoulder and breathing in the smell of cheap soap, ship oil, and the deep underlying scent of Eric himself. She sighed, something twisted and sharp in her chest uncoiling itself, as she realized belatedly that it was fear. She had been afraid for him. But he was alright. He was here. It would all be okay somehow.

Eric held her for one more moment before reluctantly releasing her, he could have held her even longer in that safest of places, but in his heart he knew that the safety would be ephemeral if he did not get Themis off world first. Eric’s eyes met Sari’s,

“I’m really glad you’re ok. I don‘t know what I would have done if…” He trailed off, there was so much Eric needed to say but he knew that now was not the time, “I’m just really glad you’re alright.” And with that he gave her a classic nod that said everything was going to be ok and he headed towards the cockpit.

Sari stood in his wake, blinking after him a moment. There was that feeling again. Like she had expected something... anything... to happen, and it hadn't.

She shook it off and chased after him, blue silk fluttering as she jogged, her legs bare beneath it.

" What happened?" she asked.

Turning to Sari, Eric spoke as he walked,

“Well, it seems that those mining machines we dropped off exploded just as they got inside the factory they were heading too.” Eric stopped and looked at her, “Now in my experience no one blames the messenger, but everyone blames the somewhat shady merchant who delivered the bombs right to their front door steps.” Eric paused, he didn’t want to admit it, partly because it didn’t make sense and partly because it made perfect sense, “I think we’ve been set up Sari.”

Sari cocked an eyebrow.

" Hmm. That's totally plausible, in spite of sounding like it's out of a detective book."

Eric laughed a bit, then continued towards the cockpit,

“Truth be told I wouldn’t believe it myself if I wasn’t living it.” Ducking his head under the door frame he sat in the chair and turned it face Sari, “Now, as much as I’d love to sit around and give my side of the story to the lovely members of the Alliance, I thought it best if we hightailed it out of here and escaped a whole mess of nastiness. It’s my hope that we can get off world, lay low for a spell and let the dust settle, and then pay a visit to whoever it was that set us up.” Reaching behind his head he flipped a few switches that primed the engine,

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.” He turned his chair around, “I’d love to continue this conversation, but it’ll have to wait a while ok?” With the flip of a few more switches the engine came to life, Eric turned his head to face her one more time, “Sorry for gettin’ you into all this.” And after saying that he grabbed the microphone and spoke to the entire crew,

“Well ladies and gentlemen I suggest buckling up, because I can assure you that this is going to get rough.”

[The Gypsy Queen]

Sari did not wait to hear Eric's announcement, instead turning and rushing down the hall. Her silk robe fluttered around her legs and her bare feet stung against the metal floor, especially against the parts that were just grating. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, slamming open doors in her effort to check on everyone. It was her job when the Themis had to make a quick getaway.

Akinseth was in the engine room like normal, accompanied by a girl Sari didn't recognize. That realization made her stumble, but she didn't have time to stop and ask questions. They could sort it out later. Zack was in a corridor near the cockpit, muttering as per usual. She found the Doctor and the Shepherd in the cargo bay along with a fine looking mess. She checked on Angel and stopped to double over, panting and bemoaning the shape she was in, while she mentally checked off her list of people on the ship.

She realized only then she hadn't seen Anwyn anywhere.

She took another lap around the ship, checking every logical spot, but could not find the small girl. She finally sprinted back to the cockpit and slid into a chair behind Eric's seat, fumbling with the seat belt.

" Eric-" she huffed, out of breath. " I couldn't... find Anwyn... and there's some... weird new girl in... the engine room with... Akinseth... and shouldn't we be flying? In an away sort of direction?" she finished with a whimper, eyes wide as the seriousness of their situation settled and her stomach sank.

[mcstringer]

Sheperd barrelled in on the speeder bike a little more chared than he was before. Zack had played protection as the landing came off. He was still huffing when they somehow managed to grabbed Sari safely and banged out of the newly convient war zone.

"I am getting too old for this."

He wipped a dirty hand through his hair and started walking to his bunk, but he remembered he gained cook duty after last night's poker game. He began santering over to the kitchen in the hope they he would be able to get there in time to cook something. He ocasionally popped or stretched some part of his body in mock pain. Though he was sore. He liked to be a little dramatic at times.

"Huh, this is going to be interesting...isn't it?"

He took a little time to glance upwards with an inquisitive look before sighing again and opening the kitchen door.

[StormWolf]

"Cap'n! Hows about a lil' less yakkin' and a lil' more flyin'! We 'aint exactly the lucky type of folk and big booms tend to bring Feds. Throttle would be much obliged." Zack hollared through the thick door of the cockpit, knocking his strong and meaty fist on the viewing port. Zack loved explosions, without a doubt, but only when they didn't involve ruining his day, which these explosions would. If they lingered, the entire group would get pinched by the man and probably get the firing squad... except maybe Sari because of her status in the Companion Guild and her feminine wiles.

When Zack didn't get a reply, he just grumbled and rolled his eyes before walking off. He over-heard Sari saying that one of them had gone missing, but someone else had stowed aboard. Not his problem...yet. He could always blow the stow-away out the the airlock should they be a little leaky in the brainpan and decide to go ruttin' around with crucial systems... or if they just look at him funny.

Finally, the ship jarred and thrusted violently, the sudden change in gravity and inertia sent the bulky enforcer head over heels down the corridor, ending with him smacking his head on the mess hall table.

"Cheong Bao Ho Tze Lio Coh Jwei Ji Neong Hur Ho Deh Yung Duh Buhn Jah J'won!" Zack muttered a profound curse through clenched teeth as he wiped the warm trickle of blood from his right eyebrow.

"Everyone buckle sit yer asses down and buckle up tight! Chances are that there could be a good amount of ugly coming our way!

[nonangelic92]

DJ sat down in a hammock she found in the engine room. Greath, she thought, this ship is taking off and I'm still stuck on it. I hope my arse these guys are paying me extra or I'm screwed. DJ noticed the engine started to smoke. Great, I forgot to attacg a few bolts and the catazlyer comes off. DJ ran over and placed the catazlyer back on and attached the few bolts. As she was finishing, the ship rocked causing her arm to be cut deeply. She wanted to yell in pain. Just what I need she thought. She tore off the bottom hem of her shirt and wrapped it around her arm.