Objects In Space: A Sci-Fi Ensemble

[Mark Flanagan]

Frantically scrambling around to pop the now dented contents of the shelves back inside Randa swore under her breath before giving up on any pretense of re-stacking properly and just started heaping armfuls back inside the cupboards.

"faster faster, don't get stuck on the ship again, gotta move"

Throwing the last few cans in she slammed the cupboard doors shut and sprinted for her bunk to retrieve her rucksack and leather over clothes, yanking them roughly on over her jeans and tanktop. Making sure she had her goggles she spun on her heels and sprinted for the airlock, the metal flooring reverberating under her as she took the final turn a bit toO wide banging into a support strut.

There! there was the airlock hatch and from the sounds coming from it it didn't appear that they'd left yet. Slowing her pace she swung round the airlock hatch at a leisurely pace that was at odds with her heavy breathing, taking deep breaths as she straighted and zipped up the leather vest and chaps.

Exhaling slowly she turned to Captain Ellery , putting on her sweetest smile and asked "So... can I come? I'm sure Streak aint gonna need me plus I did all my chores"

 

[Fishtie]

The small house of cards that Leonidas had started on promptly collapsed as the ship shook with a characteristic of entering atmosphere. Still, he didn't mind much as it had been a bit of a time waster anyways. He then smiled a bit as the captain's message sounded through the ship.

"Alright! If anyone is coming with me to the market you better get your behinds down to the air lock. Everyone else stick with Streak as he fuels up."

Leo was looking forward to the trip out as he kicked his feet up and gathered his cards together. He didn't have any money at the moment, but the market would be full of things he could work with. People; marks, tools, ladies they would all be there and Leo knew just how to work them all. Not to say that there weren't a few cuties on the ship, but it was said that verity was the spice of life.

Leo passed through a open bulkhead and made his way down a short ladder that took him right to the airlock in question just in time for Randa to arrive as well.

"Oh yes Ellery. She has been so good lately." He said with a hint of humor, "Surely you wouldn't keep our little Cinderella locked away for ever."

 

[Sparrow]

"Yeah, you can come. No point in you cleaning when we'll have messed everything up by dinner anyway."

Ellery surveyed the area behind the crew that had gathered, making sure nobody that wanted to come was going to be left out. The only people that seemed to be staying were Streak and Erin.

"Alright, we can give those two some well needed time alone. Everyone else, make sure you're packing heat. Pickpockets are going to be everywhere on this dump, and I bet the salesmen ain't so chirpy either."

Twisting the lever to exit hatch left, he opened the exit. Whatever smell came next seemed to be some kind of mix between animal droppings and cheap airfreshener.

"Let's make this quick."

Before Ellery could take a step out in the murky, brown coloured landscape, Erin appeared alongside the others.

"And here was me thinking you and Streak wanted some quality time together."

 

[NeoAC]

Jewels emerged behind the landing party, it was much larger than she thought. Everyone but Streak was coming down, and that was no surprise. Streak loved this ship a lot. Even in the state of disrepair it was appearing, despite Juniper's best efforts, Streak still put the ship above everything else.

Some of the crew, she wasn't sure exactly what they were going to be going for, Randa in particular. But if Ellery gave her the go ahead, there must be something on this forsaken rock that piqued the teen's interests.

"Ellery, you think we're going to find something I can actually cook with here that doesn't make a shlorp sound when I put it into the pot?" she asked the captain. "I mean, I'm sure you want something other than beans for the next couple weeks..."

 

[Sparrow]

"I doubt it. Not with our budget, anyway. Find the cheapest stuff you can get that'll last a few days at best and a week at a stretch. To anyone else, I suggest using your personal wages on food for yourselves."

Ellery noticed a few sour faces in reaction to his last comment.

"I promise I'll find us a bounty on this rock before we leave, how about that? In fact, why don't you come with me to the local law enforcement station Randa? You can learn the ways of us bounty hunters, the freelance police force of the galaxy! Also, you can totally defend me from the hookers on this planet. I can't hit a girl."

 

[Mark Flanagan]

Flashing a smile at Leo for getting her back she was about to ask what a 'Cinderella' was, A helper? yeah that made sense when Ellery spoke;

"I promise I'll find us a bounty on this rock before we leave, how about that? In fact, why don't you come with me to the local law enforcement station Randa? You can learn the ways of us bounty hunters, the freelance police force of the galaxy! Also, you can totally defend me from the hookers on this planet. I can't hit a girl."

Randa grinned and not just at the prospect of maybe having to hit some tarted up doxie, all in defense of the captain of course. This was it, Part of the team taking down scumbuckets and cashing checks plus No more.... less....exactly the same amount of cleaning. Yay?

"Sure I gotcha back Cap plus about time I started schooling in the 'family' trade" smiling she pulled her bulky goggles over her eyes to ward out the glare from the sun that seeped through the smog and shuffled closer to Ellery.
"Sooooo... does this mean I get a gun Cap?"

 

[NeoAC]

A sigh escaped Jewels' lips as she heard the expected requirements of her shopping excursion. "Aye, Captain," she replied. A quick check of the ship's food budget that she was entrusted with meant that there would be little coming in, and having to spend their own meager personal wages on food was silly. "Be back in a bit then."

As the Captain headed to the police station, something Jewels had no intention on doing herself, she headed off to the nearby market. As expected, there was really no fresh fruit or vegetables or anything on this speck of rock. Just more canned goods that had to be imported in. "Sigh, I'm with Randa," she said to herself as she perused the selections. "I wish we landed on a nicer planet a bit more often, rather than just these one stop trading posts." While waiting for word that Ellery's business on the planet was finished, she continued to go through the offerings to see if there was anything else that looked like it could contain something with flavor in it.

 

[CounterAttack]

Juniper whistled cheerfully to herself as she followed Jewels to the markets, then peeled off when she got there and stopped to examine a length of extension cable wrapped around a piece of wood. She noticed the cleverly hidden tear in the cabling, and the broken wires beneath, and immediately put it back where she found it. Putting broken gear to work would just make it worse.

Then she found something in a pile of what looked like discarded junk that would make her day... if it was compatible. Mostly clean, surprisingly undamaged pipes that could quite possibly replace most of the old pieces in the Waxwing's fuel tank and engine. No-one seemed to be looking out for the pile, so she picked up one of the half-dozen or so pieces and took a closer look at it. No signs of intense damage, a few slightly crude repairs here and there but nothing that didn't need changing.

Juniper furtively looked around to see if anyone was looking her way. No-one was; they were all too busy with talking to others or looking through their own junkpiles. With that in mind, the engineer 'requisitioned' the pipes for herself, tucking them under one arm and quickly walking away. She slowed down after a short while, trying to blend in with the crowds and not attract attention to herself by moving too quickly.

 

[Fishtie]

Leonidas didn't waste too much time before heading into the markets on his own with an easy smile and a whistling tune. Leo spent some time wandering among the shops looking for his objective and still passed by it for a bit after he had spotted it. It was almost surprising how much the darkly dressed people in the market place almost seemed to get out of the way of the brightly clothed Leo. Of course he knew it was mostly a mater of posture. Most people would see such a person; confidant, handsome, and clean and it wouldn't take much of a leap to assume that wealth and power were the cause. A person probably not to be messed with.

Eventually Leo circled around and crouched slightly to enter the low door of the slightly grimy shop. Bottles of various colors and different labels were set in a few small shelves. But while half a dozen bars were nearby that brazenly advertised their cheep booze, but Leo could tell that even within this near squalor there would be a few prideful souls; and they would hold themselves all the higher for being so low.

Leo wasn't disappointed either as he saw the proprietor, a middle aged man who seemed quite neat and orderly despite his dark shop.

"Oh, hello. What can I do for you?" The man asked, clearly jumping on the rare appearance of a customer.

Leo smiled easily and began to speak as he wandered the shop examining the bottles. "Well you see, my ship is stopping by for fuel and what not." It wasn't difficult for Leo to slip into the role of a wealthy idiot. "And I was thinking of restocking some of my provisions as well, space travel can be rather dull you know. Anyways, I was just looking for some samples of the local drinks so that I might decide what to take with me."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up quickly at the prospect of a larger sale in the future and he quickly scrambled to offer Leo a bottle of his best wine; at a special price of course. The amount was a bit more of Leo secret stash then he had been hoping to spend, but he recognized the good deal and it wasn't too much longer before Leo left the shop with a bag that contained the wine.

It certainly wasn't good wine compared to what Leo had once been used to, but the captain had said they should spend their money on food, and if Leo was finally going to starve they he would rather do so in a happy state.

 

[DktrAgonizer]

I hope this planet's people like to dress up their faces, Mirie thought as she followed behind the others to the markets. She looked around for a bit, pausing when she saw a stall displaying fabrics and threads. The shopkeeper, an older man with trembling hands, noticed her interest and tried to shove practically everything he had onto her. Mirie simply frowned as she inspected the different fabrics. They were all cheap and thin, liable to tear at any given moment. The threads were't any better. "Never mind," she sighed as she waved a dismissive hand at the shopkeeper. He scowled at Mirie as she walked away, clearly offended.

After a while, Mirie finally found a stall selling lipsticks and other makeup. The shopkeeper was a chubby middle-aged woman with pale skin and droopy eyes. Mirie smiled to herself; this would be easy.

"Hello there," she said, resting her pack on an empty part of the counter. "I'm here to sell." The shopkeeper simply stared at Mirie with a bored expression as she took out everything in the pack. "This is all of it," Mirie said, nudging the small pile of cosmetics closer to the woman.

The shopkeeper leaned forward, picking up and studying each container closely. "I dunno," she said, finally setting the last of them down. "They're all kinda bright, yeah?"

"To be honest, my good woman, I think a bit of brightness is what this planet needs," Mirie replied, casting a glance around her as she spoke. She'd definitely taken note of the rather drab decor and plain-looking people earlier. The way the planet's citizens seemed sort of daunted by Leo's bright clothes hadn't escaped her notice, either. "This stuff will help make people stand out and be noticed," she continued, looking back at the woman. "This stuff will make you look younger, prettier, and accentuate your eyes. Those who view these noticeable, good-looking people will want the same attention, thus turning their business over to you for the same stuff."

"Not much here to sell to dozens of people," the shopkeeper said, giving the pile of cosmetics a rather dubious look.

"That's precisely it," Mirie told her with a knowing nod. "The laws of supply and demand, y'see. You can charge more for this stuff, upping the price as the stock goes down." She paused, casting another glance around, then leaned in to whisper, "And have I mentioned that all this fine-quality stuff comes from Dunmar?"

Just a few minutes later, Mirie walked away with an empty pack and a heavy coin purse. She hummed to herself as she spotted Jewels looking through the food selections. "Need any extra funds?" she asked as she stood beside Jewels, looking through the food herself. "I've still got a few packets of beef jerky back in my own room, so I could spare some coin for the benefit of the whole crew. You wouldn't believe how much I got this woman to pay for a bunch of bright, gaudy makeup."

 

[Cap'n Ninja]

"You know taking things that aren't yours isn't very lawful." Erin piped in, falling in to step with the engineer, having been watching from a little way away, one hand resting loosely on her sidearm, and the other clutched around Streak's. "But then we all have our vices, I suppose. Do you know anywhere that I could get Streak's gun rigged to blow when he pulls the trigger?" she joked, trying to see through the densely packed crowd.

Spoiler: OOC

Short post, sorry, I have no time, I'm currently doing what can be politely called "more than is reasonable" and I only managed to get a little time to myself now. Hopefully you'll be able to stand me being... Fluctuant in my consistency over the next week and a bit.

 

[CounterAttack]

If Juniper had a hand free - one was holding the pipes she'd taken and the other was casually resting on the butt of her holstered pistol - she would have facepalmed at Erin admonishing her. "Ah... well, I suppose I could take a look at it... but I'm not going to sever all of Streak's fingers when he's about to fight to save his life. It could happen," she said with one raised eyebrow. "And about these, A: no-one was looking, B: they were in a pile that looked like it was about to be turned into scrap, and C: I need a way to keep the engine running. Can't keep the Waxwing in the air if we don't have working machinery inside."

 

[Sparrow]

As he and Randa approached the rather run-down looking police station, Ellery began to become aware of his surroundings. He'd been here in the past, years before he'd bought the WaxWing. Of course the planet had a different name back then, but everything looked more or less the same. The police station was a welcome addition at least.

"Hello? Anyone home? We're, uh, bounty hunters.", Ellery announced as the pair entered the station.

There was no reply, which seemed fitting considering the dust-covered surroundings. There were blankets and pillows lining the floors, seemingly for the homeless that used the building to take refuge. Regardless, the "Bounty Hunter's Terminal 2.0" still seemed to be operational, tucked away in the corner of the murky little room. Ellery placed his thumb on the small screen, which replied by lighting itself and the room in a pale green light.

"Ye-haw, cowboy!", the console's voice roared in the accent of some kind of American cowgirl, "Welcome to the new and improved BH terminal, version two! Are you looking to claim a reward or get yer'self a bounty, Mr Brown?"

"I'd like to get a bounty."

"That's the spirit, cowboy! Here's the list of bounties we got, so get at 'em cowpoke!"

"I hate these machines.", Ellery sighed, "Let's see what we've got, then. Hmm, a rouge dentist? Psh, the bounty wouldn't be worth the fuel. A shady business man? Seems a little beneath us..."

Taking his time, Ellery casually scrolled through the list of bounties. There wasn't much to be found, just two-bit crooks and con-men. The bounties they offered were either too low to compensate the effort, or didn't pay enough to cover the danger.

"A-ha! This one looks like a bit of a looker. Theodore Palazzio, system ain't got much on him though. Just a name, a location and a bounty. Doesn't even say what he did wrong. Still, twenty million is nothing to scoff at."

"Alright, pardner!", the terminal exclaimed once Ellery had accepted the deal, "Happy travels!"

"Want to get back to the ship, Randa? I think I got a little money to spend if you want to get something.", he said, checking each of his pockets, "Or at least, I think I got money..."

 

[Mark Flanagan]

As she followed Ellery through the streets Randa was surprised at how much this planet reminded her of home; Masses of dirty people moving along narrow streets, The sound of children crying, The smell of desperation you got when to many people lived in too small a place and of chemical fumes drifting in smog banks above the streets. Every sense in her body told her this place was a shit hole, maybe not drifter colony shit but shit all the same.

Actually no, it was worse she realized. Dead Stop was the way it was because of necessity, this hellhole underneath all the trash was a planet and things would've grown here once. There would have been fields and trees and now there was just people and piles upon piles of scrap and the waste that went along with it.
In those minutes it took them to get to the police station Randa's mood soured and she wished she'd never left the WaxWing
The feeling didn't get any better as they went inside not to be greeted by the expected marshals but the detritus of the homeless that slept here. The captain seemingly had found what he was looking for and moved across to a terminal as she nimbly stepped over the bedding and around the curved desk that dominated the center of the room and opened it's remaining draws one at a time; paperwork, some receipts and a old note where in the first,The last two were bare.

The bounty terminal screeched "Ye-haw, cowboy! Welcome to the new and improved BH terminal, version two! Are you looking to claim a reward or get yer'self a bounty, Mr Brown?" in some fake sounding accent causing Randa to jump and turn.
Moving over to stand by the captain she watched him scroll through a list of names and pictures, sometimes he stopped and looked at one but evidently most weren't worth their time or up to his caliber. Eventually he found one that piqued his interest;
"A-ha! This one looks like a bit of a looker. Theodore Palazzio, system ain't got much on him though. Just a name, a location and a bounty. Doesn't even say what he did wrong. Still, twenty million is nothing to scoff at.

"Wow" Randa gasped, 20million was indeed a lot, enough even to make her bite her tongue about the suspicious lack of a crime. The terminal screeched again as Ellery confirmed the deal before turning to her and asking if there was anything that she wanted to get before they got back to the WaxWing.
While it was tempting to get home as quickly as possible Randa realized that if she really was going to do this bounty hunter thing properly she needed a pistol and more importantly learn how to shoot it.

"Uh yeah, If I'm going to be going dirtside again in places like this and what with this Plazzio guy I need a gun, not a big gun but still I need one just in case." Randa paused "I know you all look out for me these past few months and been far kinder then I had any right to expect but I gotta start looking after myself. I 'aint a kid, never been, and things are gonna get tougher 'fore they get sorted. I jus'... I just don't wanna be a burden thats all" she finished lamely and found a interest in her boots.

 

[Sparrow]

Ellery spent a few moments pondering Randa's request. Regardless of her maturity, Ellery couldn't get past Randa's age. Seventeen was far too young an age to be running about with a pistol strapped to your belt. At the very least, Ellery wanted to preserve what little innocence the girl had left.

"I don't know.", he pondered out loud, "I don't like the idea of you having a pistol, or any weapon for that matter."

Staring at the girl, Ellery couldn't help but wonder if she shared the same affinity for danger he did as a teenager. He knew the crew couldn't always be around to help her and that someday she'd have to fend for herself.

"Alright, alright. Nothing too powerful, though. Or too expensive for that matter."

 

[Mark Flanagan]

Randa continued to take an interest in her shoes as she waited for Ellery to speak, looking up at him as he did so,

"I don't know. I don't like the idea of you having a pistol, or any weapon for that matter."
Randa's chewed her lip and decided not to mention once seeing an improper use of a portable mining laser and the effects that it had on marshal during a water riot, she didn't think it'd help her case.
"Alright, alright. Nothing too powerful, though. Or too expensive for that matter."

"Really?.... I mean thanks captain, you'll not regret this. Oath is bond." Randa replied in a half confused flurry, topping it of with a colloquial promissory.
"I 'aint got much in the way of money but you can have this, It's only little but I'm sure its worth something..." Randa paused as she fumbled through her pockets and took out something small wrapped in a piece of scrap clothe. Opening it up on her palm she showed him the rough unpolished red stone about the size of a fingernail.
"...We found a load when we fetched samples of an asteroid to see if it were worth hauling it to the station. I didn't get many and that's the only one I had left before I stowed away but I reckon you'd ought to have it" She looked up and tried to gauge his reaction "I didn't steal it, we just held a few back for extra rations and medicine and stuff...Thats not stealing it's ree-ah, ree-ahhhhh.... sharing, It's sharing"

Spoiler: OOC@ Sparrow

I don't mind if you feel the need to skip the actual purchase of the gun if you want to speed this up and get back to the ship

 

[NeoAC]

Spoiler: OOC

I'm posting this in all my active threads, but in case word hasn't reached through the grapevine, I'm without internet at home for the moment due to something my internet provider calls a "perplexing problem". Basically my internet receives data for all of 10 seconds upon first connecting and then refuses all data after that. I will be without this internet for at least another day, so until then, my posting is going to be sporadic. I'm stealing my little bro's friend's internet to type this up, so it's going to be whenever I can get it folks.

"I'd appreciate it Mirie," Jewels told her fellow crew member. "At least you're coming through with some money. Maybe we can have some actual meat." She paused thinking to herself. "Although, I tell you what, if you want to come with me for a minute I think I can make sure we get some."

Up ahead in the alley of the market she could see a young kid, couldn't have been more than twelve, getting thrown out of a stall. He sat on the street, as a larger man came out and stood over him. "You call this a shipment, you little brat?" he shouted, not caring if the entire planet overheard him. "You trying to sell me donkey, and calling it prime rib you little punk?"

"But sir," the kid pleaded, "this is as good as we could muster. It was a really rough year for the cattle, we don't have anything else at this quality."

"Well take your reject meat and peddle it somewhere else, I wouldn't serve this to my cat, let alone to anyone willing to come into my stall. Now get this bunch of crap out of my store before it taints the real product!" With that, he dropped the meat the child had brought in on top of the kid and huffed back into the store. The boy picked up what he could salvage and got out of the area, not wanting to face that kind of wrath again.

Jewels watched the scene and got a smile on her face. "I think I've found our target. If you'll let me use that bag Mirie, and if you don't mind it getting a little dirty, we should be able to eat pretty well for the next couple of nights anyway."

 

[SamuelT]

Streak hummed with the sound of the magnets, generators and pumps around him as he fitted the giant tube onto the fuel tank hidden beneath several layers of protective metal. As he heard the telltale sound of the pipe sucking out the air he climbed back ontop of the ship. He signaled the pump attendee to start the flow, and pretty soon precious fuel was being pumped into his ship again. At the same time he saw dock personnel disengage several spent hydrogen fuel cells at the back of the ship with the intent of replacing them.

As the valve behind him slammed shut he crawled back down, disengaged the tube and climbed down the hull back to the walkways that made up the dock.

"If you'll wait a sec for the Cap," Streak said, nodding to the pump attendee, "He'll get you fixed up with finances an' stuff."

The attendee looked at him, nodding dully and resuming his bored stare. Streak entered the ship again and made his way to the cockpit, fully intent on taking a nap after all that work.

 

[DktrAgonizer]

Mirie followed Jewels through the market, unable to contain a grin at the thought of having meat for dinner. The beef jerky she'd mentioned hardly counted; it was tough, salty, and not very tasty. But it was something. Actual meat, however...

She stopped as she watched the boy get berated for trying to sell off donkey meat to a butcher, a frown replacing the grin on her face. While she'd had no problem eating well back at home, life on the Waxwing had been different. They'd all had to get accustomed to eating sometimes questionable food when the money was running scarce, as it currently was.

"Well," Mirie said after Jewels spoke to her, "Like the guy said, donkey isn't exactly prime rib... But hey, I trust you to make anything you get your hands on taste good, so why not? Beggars can't be choosers and all that, I suppose." She swung her empty pack from her shoulder and into her hand, double checking to make sure it really was empty. "The stains may not come out easily, but I can always see about getting another one," she said as she handed the bag over to Jewels.

 

[Sparrow]

Ellery inspected the gem in his own, quizzical manner. It looked pretty, if a little dirty, and worth a nice sum. It would definitely cover the cost of a pistol, as well as a few days of decent meals.

"No," he finally responded, "you should keep it. No point in buying a pistol when we can just get you something off the ship. I'm sure we've got something decent for you."

Signalling for Randa to follow, Ellery began to make his way back to the ship. The two had barely made any headway when Ellery spotted Mirie and Jewels, each wearing a particularly crafty expression.

"What are you two up to?", he said, approaching them.