The Return of Queen Anne's Revenge: Chapter 1: Another Ship on the Barbie (Closed, Started)

[NeoAC]

"Kid, listen. Get yer gun and keep yer back to the entrance of the ship. You see anyone looks like they wanna hurt you, shoot first, shoot 'em again, and don't bother askin' questions."

"Ummmm, OK..."

Jewels timidly followed the rest of the men who had been in her kitchen to the outside platform that led off the ship. When she saw how desolate the terrain of Tlaxcala looked, she like everyone else wondered if there wasn't some sort of mistake. It certainly didn't look like anything was around in the area. A lot of dust, a couple rocky outcroppings, a few scattered cacti, there was nothing to indicate this was the spot. Still, she stayed in the back like the Old Gun said, with her back to the ship. But everyone seemed to be in agreement on the situation.

"Yeah, I don't really want to stay here for too long either..."

Her voice trailed off as another sound in the distance rumbled to life. It sounded like an engine revving at full speed and a cloud of dust appeared off in the distance and it was growing as the sound got louder.

[hr]

The communication to home base was not given a response. It was apparent that area of Tlaxcala they were on was devoid of most of the accoutrements that NeoTeno had. The ship's radio was not set up for contact here.

 

[blaze96]

Jack had gathered his things and had his rifle in hand as he joined the others, checking that his medical bag was secure one last time.

"So, Jewels was it? Ready for your first job? Holding up to your expectations? Bet you had an unrealistic view of it all, all the soldiers and sailors had it too." He said trying to make some amount of actual conversation while waiting for the inevitable hammer to drop.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

"No luck, I'm not getting comms at all." Langley said as she set aside the radio. "The way I see it, we can do a few things. We can hole up on the ship or get the hell out of here which may or may not make Viduka a bit angry but as of right now, I'm not above burning this bridge." Langley said to Hammiclar. A thought did occur to her which might be that this might be where Viduka wanted them all along. A middle of nowhere would be better than a recognized somewhere in case the Feds come. As far as she knew, the entire planet was like this which would make a deal like this harder to track.

"Maybe the contact wanted us to be here..." Langley thought aloud.

 

[RandomMan01]

"No luck, I'm not getting comms at all."

Well shit...
Will glanced back down at the nav systems, trying his hardest to resist the urge to look towards the captain and pilot. It would only betray his nervousness, and that could only make things worse. Instead he went back to looking at the software, trying his damnedest to find any sort of mistake. He was just about to give up when something caught his eye. A small blip appeared on the surface map, moving towards the ship. While he couldn't tell how many there were, Will could tell that they were there, and moving fast. The question was if they were friendly or hostile.

"Maybe the contact wanted us to be here..."
Will glanced towards Langley, "You might be right there," he remarked, gesturing towards the computer, before reaching for his communicator.

"Heads up ground crew, you've got an unidentified figure approaching your position," Will announced.

 

[Mr. Omega]

"The way I see it, we can do a few things. We can hole up on the ship or get the hell out of here which may or may not make Viduka a bit angry but as of right now, I'm not above burning this bridge."

"Certainly options worth keeping open. Still, we should get someone on the guns. If things do go south, we can get a few shots in as we retreat. And trust me, if Viduka has lead us into a deathtrap, you have my assurances we will get paid..." He was trying to sound confident in this situation. They had left before the planned captain could get on, so he had tried to get things under control. Granted, it wasn't working so far, but things weren't too bad yet.

"Muhammad, respond. If you aren't at the front, then get to the guns. At least say something."

 

[NeoAC]

"First job?" Jewels asked, in response to the Medic. "Oh, oh yeah, first job. Yeah, um, definitely not what I was expecting. I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't think we would be delivering to like downtown businesses or something, but still, like, I've never even really been out in a place like this..."

[hr]

As the cloud of dust grew in size, the revving of the engine got louder and louder before tapering off as the figure became clearer. A large blue all-terrain vehicle, as wide as a Corvette but twice as stubby pulled out of the cloud of dust and stopped a few feet away from the ground party. On board was a tall blonde man, his hair styled into a fauxhawk that had picked up it's fair share of dust on the trip. The googles he was wearing obscured his eyes, but his face told of a body that may have been in shape at one point but was starting to carry a little access weight. He wore a yellow and black striped muscle shirt and some rough cargo pants, finished with a pair of army boots.

As he stepped off the ATV, he took off the googles, resting them on his forehead. "Roight. Viduka's blokes, yeah? Bout time ya showed. Oi've been waitin' yonder for too long. So where's tha deliv'ry bay on this scrap 'eap? Someone want to let me at it?" Not waiting for a response, but expecting the action done, he stepped around to the back of his bike, where his tool box was, and began rummaging.

 

[Lefthandofgod]

"Muhammad, respond. If you aren't at the front, then get to the guns. At least say something."

"I'm at the front. Target approaching. Blue all-terrain vehicle. stand by for contact"

He threw the comm back in his pocket and refocused on the oncoming ATV. He was still twitchy, expecting an ambush or to be left in the desert to die again. Something seemed off about the approaching ATV. He spotted only the one driver, and in Muhammad's experience, not feeling like you need protecting when dealing with mercenaries is a feeling only reserved for dangerous men.

"Jack, listen. This is starting to remind me of a job I ran back on Petra. The product is in the cargo bay. Take the kid and make it look like you two are in charge. Stay ahead of him. Ray, keep on his six. He makes a sudden move, blast him. I gotta get to the gun deck."

He made his way back through the door as casually as he could, and broke into a full sprint when out of sight. Fumbling with his comm, he got back in contact with the bridge.

"This is Mo'. I'm on my way to the gun deck. There's only one contact, no apparent backup. Seal the door behind them when they get in. This doesn't seem right."

 

[blaze96]

"Yea, treasure the boredom while ya got it kid. It never lasts as long as you'd like it to." Jack said before responding to Muhammad.

"Got it, play the big bad bodyguard and make sure this doesn't all go too tits up." With that he kept his rifle in position to be aimed and fired at a moment's notice as he walked down to meet what appeared to be their contact.

"Yea well you take a left at alpha centauri in this scrap heap and suddenly you have to rely on the flying brick to make a hard right at the next star system or you get stuck using the highway. Which this time of day is just backed up all the way to Earth. You know how it is." Jack joked as he made it close to him while keeping some distance.

"So wanna give me a name and just what it is you need the toolbox for before we bring you aboard or are we just supposed to trust the guy who says he works with our employer won't pull a gun out of said box or plant a bomb on our ship?"

 

[NeoAC]

"Boredom?" Jewels asked as the Old Gun apparently had a plan. "I'm in charge? I...OK...I'm in charge." She steeled herself as well as she could as the rough-looking mercenary approached her and the Medic. Luckily he took the lead.

"Heh," the man laughed at the joke. "Yeah, them Earth basterds do backa lot a shit up. Course you're doin' a decent job too, mate. Alla these questions in all. Ya really want tha resume? Talk ta ya boss. I ain't sayin' nothin' till I get what I been sent out 'ere for 'n make sure it's ready to go. That too much to ask? I ain't blowin' nothin' up, I don't want yas 'ere any longga then ya need ta be."

 

[blaze96]

"Not your credentials I give a damn about to be perfectly honest, or even your intentions particularly. I just want to be sure that you don't pull a gun out of your toolbox there and put one in my head. Can't blame me for a healthy mistrust of others, especially not in this line of work. Besides I never said you couldn't enter the ship, by all means go ahead and enter. Though since you have a few steps before you get to where I stand anyway and I don't plan on turning my back on somebody who I haven't flown with, you can give me a name while you walk. Then you can get whatever it is we've been sent to shuttle you away with and be on your merry way." Jack said as he maintained his stance and he reaffirmed the his grip on the rifle in hand.

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

Ray nodded at Muhammad as he passed by, his current job simple and clear. Being quick on the draw was something of a specialty for the man, and it seemed that was all that was asked if him. With room to think on other things, he was curious why everyone else was so antsy. It was creating tension. Evidently affecting other crew members. It was like a sound-activated echo chamber of nerves. Ray wondered if there was something the others knew that he didn't. If Viduka regularly assigned work with little information and his employees were regularly on edge or if this was just a special occasion. Perhaps some of this wasn't entirely unwarranted, as it was suspicious the contact didn't even give his name. Then again, he could've been equally as suspicious. Either way, the guy would have too many holes to plug up if he made any sudden movements.

 

[NeoAC]

The faux-blonde gave a look of incredulity as Jack continued to defy him. "Really, mate?"

Jewels wasn't sure what was going on, but the Medic was on the draw and on defense, so she figured she better join him. She held up the little pistol as confidently as she could. "Yes, really. ...We're the ones in control here,..so you better comply before anything on our ship gets opened up!"

The contact just sighed as he continued to rummage through his box. "Jeazus. The things I do..." He finally found what he was looking for, pulling out a slender silver rod that looked like it had a couple tines on the end of it. "It's Culina. Thought 'Duka told ya I wasza one for tha deliv'ry. Now can ya have your tin jockeys open tha can up? I'd rather get this lit'l transaction finished off."

 

[blaze96]

"You expect a hell of a lot of trust out of strangers. Plenty of people can just ride up and say the package is for them and to hand it over. If I'd believed every guy who said who worked for my boss I'd have been shot by now. You're welcome to your package." Jack said as he stood off to one side and waited for Culina to walk by him.