|
|
Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 19, 2012 21:18:01 GMT -5
Halfway between Ariel and Rubicon.
November 8th, 2517
A.S.T. 6:55 PM
A call came in across their comm from another ship. There was no name listed, which could mean as little as them having never taken a call from that location before. She hesitated before answering. She asked Jace for a better image of the ship placing the call, and he provided one in seconds. As she looked it over quickly, she pressed the key on the screen to accept the call.
She looked at the comm screen and didn't say anything immediately. The man introduced himself as Lieutenant Olson Danes of the Ariel patrol in the city of Gordon. Ilana smiled wickedly. With a bite that only people who knew her well would catch, she said, "You're a bit out of your jurisdiction, eh?"
She gave a slight chuckle then, and added, "No matter. What can I help you with Lieutenant?"
Being nice to this man made Ilana want to throw up, but she fought through it because her newly found station required the unpleasantness from time to time.
Ilana stood in front of the control board looking at the monitor. She'd asked Jace for a better image on the ship, and he'd provided one. But what she was seeing wasn't making any sense. It was a Lion, which was a very small ship, and definitely not an alliance ship. That alone contradicted what she was hearing from the officer who'd waved them.
She frowned, not sure what to do at this point, so she said nothing, and waited for him to tell her what he wanted, as she worried that she already knew. With any luck I can buy some time to figure out what to do, she thought, then cursed Sylvia in her head for ever finding them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jace "Original Zest" on Oct 23, 2012 22:23:48 GMT -5
Being snapped out of his trance from a call, he grumbled a bit for he was day dreaming and enjoying his small nap. Before Jace could truly complain too much Ilana asked for a image of the ship, and he quickly provided one but not exactly the best view he could manage but it satisfied Ilana and she answered the call before he could offer better.
Now that Ilana wasn't requesting things from him he took more notice into the call and the ship itself, he started fiddling with his knives cause he was beginning to become uncomfortable and nervous as he always did when things were unexpected. When Jace overheard the man introduce himself as a Alliance Officer, he couldn't remember what position, but he quickly gripped his knife till his knuckles were white and gritted his teeth. He despised alliance and cursed anyone who supports them. He kept quiet however and tried to remain professional and calm.
Hearing Ilana request from him a better look of the ship he released his knife and hoped she hadn't noticed and quickly provided one. Jace almost choked and laughed when he noticed the Lion class ship and he made sure to stay out of view of the monitor and quickly grabbed a pad and wrote down, that the Lion class ship couldn't keep up, and we could easily out run it. Waiting for Ilana to respond he asked her on the pad what her orders were?
Jace waited for her response but all he knew is he wanted to ripped Sylvia's head off for bringing this on top of them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lieutenant Olson Danes on Oct 26, 2012 10:43:11 GMT -5
The face of the woman on his comm screen was that of a woman who spent too much time in the engine room. There was a smear of grease across her forehead that he doubted she even knew was there. For all he knew it could be a permanent fixture. Maybe she'd wiped sweat from her brow with greasy hands so many times that the grease wouldn't wash away now.
To his introduction, she said, "You're a bit out of your jurisdiction, eh?"
She gave a slight chuckle then, and added, "No matter. What can I help you with Lieutenant?"
"Not quite. You're still in the Ariel sector," he said. It was a lie, but he said it so smoothly that it sounded true to his own ears. "And regardless of that, my wife was kidnapped earlier, and she was seen boarding a ship that matches the description of yours, and I'd like to come aboard and look around. Just for the purpose of excluding you from the suspect pool of course."
He'd been fairly diplomatic, which was something he was accustomed to. He wanted to be the governor of Ariel eventually, and acting the part of a baby kissing politician helped with that, and not just with the locals. If the locals saw you treating otherworlders like they were the scum on his boots made them wonder if he would treat them that way. No one was here to see now, but it was his habit to fake it. He leaned back slightly in his chair and waited the woman's response.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jay Fuller on Oct 27, 2012 11:33:25 GMT -5
Jay had left Sylvia in the Galley and was making his way to the Bridge. He was tired of sitting in the room, awkwardly sipping coffee. So he made a quick excuse to go ask the Captain about the engine because it was supposedly making a weird noise, and since they had the Captain and the Engineer rolled into one, nice little package, he excused himself.
It was a lie, but he wanted to get out. He also was still a bit upset about the tiff with Ilana, but he had calmed down a bit since before. He walked toward the bridge and he could hear an unfamiliar voice coming from the Bridge -- sounded like a comm message. He slowed as he got closer. He sneaked to the door, listening as he did so, "..my wife was kidnapped earlier, and she was seen boarding a ship that matches the description of yours, and I'd like to come aboard and look around. Just for the purpose of excluding you from the suspect pool of course."
Jay stood at the open doorway. After listening, he realized that they would most definitely get some Alliance trouble. Again. He sighed and walked up and leaned on the doorway.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 27, 2012 16:07:56 GMT -5
"Not quite. You're still in the Ariel sector, and regardless of that, my wife was kidnapped earlier, and she was seen boarding a ship that matches the description of yours, and I'd like to come aboard and look around. Just for the purpose of excluding you from the suspect pool of course," the alliance officer claimed.
FUCK! Ilana thought to herself.
Her mind raced quickly, and she pulled out a card her old friend Roman had used once or twice to buy time to stall. She'd seen him use it two times while she was on board, though as his mechanic, she knew there wasn't a damn thing wrong with the door. He'd probably used it a time or two when she wasn't on board as well. She just hoped no one on the bridge argued it. If they told her in front of this man that the door was working just fine now, they were all humped.
"Of course we'll oblige. We'll help in any way we can, but if it's not too much trouble, our access door isn't functioning properly at the moment. I was working on it when the call came through and I hightailed it up here. If you give me twenty minutes or so, I can fix it. Otherwise, we'll have to land to get you on board. The only other way on the ship is the cargo ramp, and I can't put that down while we're attached to another ship," she said.
She prayed he'd buy it, or at least not argue it whether he knew they were trying to buy time or not. After the visit from the fed that they'd ended up dumping off on a backwater rim moon, she knew it was nearly impossible to hide anything from a core world fed, and he knew she couldn't hide anything from him, so he should be fine with her taking a few minutes. She hoped.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marcus O'Terra on Oct 29, 2012 1:25:49 GMT -5
Marcus had given Jace the cockpit the moment the call was made. Out running the Lion would be a cake walk but he'd have friends waiting in far off places. Friends thinking they were the kidnappers.
Marcus had oft wondered why the Feds never allowed civilian ships the right to arm after the war. The Alliance had so many more and bigger guns, why would they worry.
This was why. So a single Fed official could badge-wave his way to victory.
Marcus was going to get his shotgun. If things went south. When things went south. He wanted a gun at his side that would kill the man in the first blow.
Getting the gun only took a minute, but Marcus stopped and wondered what to do about the woman. Giving her back would get them killed. Easy and simple.
He could see the headlines now. Alliance officer leads daring rescue to save wife from Browncoat terrorists. He'd have a crew with him on that boat and likes was that they could handle themselves in a fight.
That didn't appeal to Marcus; Stand up fights had a history of backfiring for him.
He walked over to the woman's quarters, and shouldered the gun. He knocked on the door and waited for her to respond.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sylvia Dickens on Nov 7, 2012 10:15:15 GMT -5
Sylvia sat in silence with Jay in the galley. It was awkward for her, as she wasn't accustomed to keeping quiet for so long at a time. After a little while, Jay spouted off about needing to ask the captain about some weird noise the engine was making. Sylvia scoffed at his outright lie. The only sound in the whole ship was his voice. Then he got up a walked out of the room. She sat there alone, staring into her cup of coffee. She'd sipped at it, and it wasn't horrible, but she didn't care much for coffee in the first place.
As she sat staring into her cup, watching it swirl around, she decided she didn't need to sit here any longer. She felt she had every right to know what was going on. It may not be her ship, but she was paying a damned pretty penny to be on it, and she felt like she deserved whatever information they were keeping from her. She stood and took her cup to the sink. She poured the coffee into the sink and rinsed the cup. She turned the cup upside down beside the drain in the bottom and went to stand beside the doorway.
As she stood there listening, she heard footsteps coming in her direction. They approached the galley, but then receded away from the doorway without anyone coming inside. She looked out of the room and saw the back of one of the men. She couldn't think of his name offhand. She wasn't even sure she'd heard it before at all, so she didn't try to think on it further.
After she was sure he wasn't coming back, she stepped out in the hall, and headed in the direction he had come from. She heard voices coming from up ahead, in the bridge. She stood outside the doorway, listening to them talk. She heard the woman captain talking to someone. It didn't sound like that person was in the room, so it was probably a wave.
From what the woman said, it sounded like she'd missed whoever had been on before. Even so, she heard what the woman captain said, and it sounded like someone wanted to board the ship. She didn't know for sure who wanted on the ship right now, but her gut said it was someone with the alliance. Possibly even her husband.
Fear shot through her, and she pressed her back tight against the wall to avoid being spotted, and she prayed the man who'd walked down the hall didn't come back. She didn't want to be in that room. If he spotted her on the comm, or heard her voice, there was no telling what he would do. She closed her eyes, and waited to hear what the person the woman captain was talking to would say. She almost regretted leaving the galley.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jay Fuller on Nov 17, 2012 13:58:15 GMT -5
Ilana spouted off some bullshit about the access door not functioning. Jay prayed it would buy them some time. If there was any sort of God up above, Jay was sending up his hopes. Marcus walked past to go who knows where. Jay's eyes followed him as he passed. After a couple minutes, Jay decided to head back to the galley to keep tabs on Sylvia.
He turned around and started walking toward the catwalk. As he came out, he looked straight ahead, quickening his pace. He crossed into the Galley to find it empty. "Well, shit." he said. He looked around, wondering where the hell the woman might have run off too. Hopefully not to destroy the ship or something.
Jay looked out back to the catwalk. He scanned it and saw that Sylvia was back by the Bridge door. He sighed. Seriously? he thought, and began walking toward her. She probably heard at least a little bit of what the Fed said. So Jay would probably have to calm her down. Hopefully, she would be cooperative.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marcus O'Terra on Nov 18, 2012 16:00:28 GMT -5
Marcus had been concerned by the silence and checked inside the room. Empty, he frowned and took a long way to the bridge. He passed through the galley in time to see someone leave. Still with the shotgun, but now with the safety on, he rounded the corner.
He recognized Jay and followed him at a pace. Jay reached the entrance to the bridge and Marcus could see Sylvia listening in. Marcus rested the shotgun against a bulkhead and leaned on a wall. If he smoked, certainly now would be the time to light up.
Odds favored them humped, hell to high water. Marcus wondered if this ride was coming to an end. He'd shoot his way out if it came to it. But how far would that take any of them, and in what direction?
|
|
|
|
Post by Lieutenant Olson Danes on Nov 27, 2012 8:55:58 GMT -5
The woman's smooth reply came through his comm crystal clear.
"Of course we'll oblige. We'll help in any way we can, but if it's not too much trouble, our access door isn't functioning properly at the moment. I was working on it when the call came through and I hightailed it up here. If you give me twenty minutes or so, I can fix it. Otherwise, we'll have to land to get you on board. The only other way on the ship is the cargo ramp, and I can't put that down while we're attached to another ship," she said.
She's lying, he thought. Of course, he didn't know that, but what self respecting captain would lift off with a busted access door? She could have discovered the problem after she was in the black, but he doubted that. He sighed softly and rolled his chin, popping his jaw quietly. They were trying to buy time, and he knew it. He couldn't see what good it would do, so he figured there was no harm in letting them have their time. It grated on his nerves to let them have what they wanted, but he could see no way to refuse them without raising alarm.
"Of course. Wave me back when you get the door functioning properly," he said, and ended the call.
He sat back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the edge of the control panel in front of him. He'd always hated waiting. With a grunt, he stood and stalked into the galley to make coffee. The woman had said twenty minutes, and he figured she'd take every bit of that time so he had nothing to do but wait, and scheme.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jace "Original Zest" on Dec 7, 2012 19:27:14 GMT -5
Jace was beginning to feel light headed by the time the call from the other ship had ended, he had started holing his breath when he knew Ilana was feeding the officer bullshit. He took a sec to get his breathing to normal to calm down to his thoughts straight before he completely shut down their comm link to keep from being contacted/interrupted until they were ready. Turning abruptly in his chair to stare directly at Ilana.
"Well our fearless Captain what do you plan to do now," Jace asked sarcastically. All Jace could think of is how bad the situation was, and how they could pull out of something like this.
Jace sat back staring at Ilana waiting for the orders to come across to flee, to kill the man, or to simply surrender which the last one he would die before doing to any purple-bellied bastard. He grimaced at even the thought of that ridiculous order.
|
|
