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Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 3, 2020 1:56:25 GMT -5
Space between Beylix and Deadwood
May 17th, 2518
AST: 2:00 AM
Tyler snuck out of his hiding spot looking for food. He knew he was supposed to stay hidden, but he wanted something to eat, and all they'd sent him with were protein bars. He wandered quietly through the dark ship, moving surprisingly quietly for a child of his girth, and finally found the galley.
He found the cooler and took a small container of some sort of pastry. He had no idea what kind. He closed the cooler and sat down in the floor in front of it and began eating the pastry with his hands. Strawberry he thought as he took his first bite.
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Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 3, 2020 1:59:03 GMT -5
Ilana couldn't sleep. She lay in her bunk staring at the ceiling thinking of all the possibilities for what is in that massive crate. None of them were good. Of course, the longer she was trapped in space with that crate not knowing what on earth could possibly be in it, the more wild the theories became.
They'd left Beylix a week ago, and Rina said she was almost finished with the gadget to scan the gorram cargo. She'd lost a lot of sleep lately worrying about what exactly was in those crates. She finally decided to go for a drink in the galley, hoping maybe the alcohol would help her sleep despite her growing concern. She padded barefoot out of her room and down the hall. She took a bottle of whiskey and a glass from a cabinet and poured a drink. She capped the bottle, but left it out just in case, and turned to sit down at the table. A short, very round boy of about eleven sat in the floor in front of her eating her strawberry sweetroll with his hands. She shrieked, startled, and nearly dropped her glass. "Who the fuck are you, and why are you on my ship?" She nearly shouted, a little more harshly than she'd meant to.
Before the boy had a chance to answer, she pressed the button on the comm to both Rina and Jace's rooms. "I need you in the galley ASAP, she said.
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Post by Marina Kseniya Sebastien on Oct 4, 2020 19:46:37 GMT -5
Rina jerked awake at her captain's hail and got moving even as her head parsed the message. She'd left her boots standing up in the puddle of her shucked coveralls. That made it easy to shove into them again. Three zips and she was decently dressed. As she'd left her coverall pockets loaded, she was also armed. Rina tightened her belt and strode out of her quarters for the galley, not sure what she expected to find there. She crossed the threshold and slammed to a stop at what she saw.
No, a stowaway child was definitely NOT what she expected to find.
She shook off her shock and made her way to the coffee maker. Whatever happened next would take all the caffeine they could get. Basket loaded, reservoir filled, button pushed, Rina left the brewer to do its thing. Keeping her movements slow and her voice soft to avoid scaring the kid, she came around the counter and said, "Reporting for duty, Captain. What are your orders?"
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Post by Jace Cisco on Oct 5, 2020 21:35:36 GMT -5
Jace had been getting used to the thrill and the butterflies that always came with him being in the black for longer than a few days. Jace had just allowed the ship to go dark for the short time he needed to reach. Helios or Ilana would fire it up again when they woke within a few hours, Jace shrugged the thought off. The ship came with some decent specs to alert him in his bunk if anything came amiss.
He was jerked out of his thought when Ilana came over the comms requesting assistance. Jace had dashed out of his bunk leaving most of his weapons, but he always kept a pistol on him. He feared the possibility of Reavers, but Jace felt that Ilana wouldn't sound so calm if that was the case. Jace almost ran into Rina as he stood at the doorway. Tilting my head being perplexed at the chubby little child. Looking at Ilana who seemed have terrified.
"Ilana who's the father?" Jace chuckled a bit behind his hand.
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Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 6, 2020 17:37:38 GMT -5
Ilana stood there awkwardly, waiting for Jace and Rina to arrive. Staring angrily at the round child who'd been eating her sweetroll when she appeared, she became even more annoyed that he wouldn't answer her. He hadn't moved from his position on the floor by the cooler, but he had stopped eating, face covered in strawberry sweetness. She got even angrier at her lost treat. She closed her eyes and made a solid effort to calm down. She imagined the kid was probably scared.
Rina was first to appear, and immediately stopped dead when she saw the kid on the floor. She shook herself and started a pot of coffee, and - moving slowly - she came back to nearly where she was before in the doorway.
"Reporting for duty, Captain. What are your orders?" Rina asked.
Before Ilana had a chance to respond, Jace appeared behind Rina and nearly ran directly into her back. He looked confused at the sight of the large boy on the floor.
"Ilana who's the father?" Jace said, snickering into his hand.
Ilana rolled her eyes at him and said seriously, "I wish I knew. Unfortunately all I know about the kid is that he has a penchant for stealing other people's snacks without asking. What I need is some help figuring this situation out. Rina, I surely hope your scanner gadget is ready."
She turned back to the boy. "Alright kid. Who are you, and why are you on my ship?" She asked him.
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Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 6, 2020 17:45:25 GMT -5
Tyler wasn't exactly scared, but he was definitely wary of the small, angry woman asking him questions. He'd been assured that he wouldn't be in danger as long as he'd stayed out of sight, but he'd been caught, so now he didn't know what to do. Not only had he been caught, but he'd be caught stealing fresh food. If Tyler had to guess, it was probably the food of the tiny angry lady staring daggers at him.
Another woman soon entered the room, paused to stare at him for a moment, and then made coffee. Then a man appeared and asked who his father was. The tiny angry lady spoke to the other two and mentioned some sort of scanner. He didn't know what that was, but it made him feel anxious. Then she turned and asked him a second time who we was and why he was there. He didn't really know why he was there.
In a shaking voice that betrayed his anxiety, Tyler said, "I'm T-t-tyler ma'am. Tyler Schneeplestein. I was told to hide until you landed the ship, but I got hungry."
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Post by Jay Fuller on Oct 6, 2020 21:32:24 GMT -5
Jay looked up when he heard a scream come from upstairs. Standing in the medbay, a bottle of pills and glass of water in his hand, he had stumbled out of bed in his sleeping shorts and tank-top desperately looking for something to numb his pounding headache. The scream made it worse, and he winced. He let out a groan.
When he saw Rina dash by, he wondered if maybe there was something actually wrong. Jay took three of the pills – probably two too many – and downed them with the entire glass of water. He poked his head out just to see Jace walk towards the galley.
Another groan – Jay was crabby when he got woken up. Unfortunately, curiosity and slight fear were enough to keep him that way. Pausing for a moment, there were no gunshots, so the worry about danger subsided unless there was some witch upstairs that silenced all gunshots and killed his crewmates with pure quietness.
That would make a fun story.
Jay decided to investigate and meandered his way up to the stairs that led to the galley. As he entered the galley, he called out “Why are we screaming??”
“—and why are you on my ship?” he heard Ilana’s voice question. That perked his interest as he came up and looked around. On the floor was a chubby little child, clearly looking like he had been kidnapped. Jay blanched.
The little one responded, "I'm T-t-tyler ma'am. Tyler Schneeplestein. I was told to hide until you landed the ship, but I got hungry."
Jay immediately looked at Ilana, worry apparent on his face. “Did we kidnap a child? Please don’t tell me we kidnapped a child.”
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Post by Marina Kseniya Sebastien on Oct 7, 2020 0:56:16 GMT -5
"Of course we didn't kidnap a child." Rina shot Jay an annoyed look. In the absence of any orders from her captain, Rina approached the little boy and said softly, "Why not sit at the table instead of the cold deck, while I make you something to eat? Would you like that?"
In her head she went through the pantry's inventory. She was certain she could throw together something tasty a child would like. Within minutes the galley area was redolent with the appetizing aroma of grilled cheese sandwiches and creamy tomato soup. Rina set a serving of each before the child and gave him a friendly smile.
"Dig in." She paused and added to the crew. "There's more if you want it. Help yourselves."
She poured herself a cup of coffee, snagged a sandwich in hand, and took a seat at the end of the table, where she'd have a clear view of everyone else in the room. She also made sure she had room to move if she needed to. Just because their stowaway was a child didn't mean he wasn't dangerous: if provoked enough, even a cornered rabbit will stand and fight. She just hoped her crew wouldn't be the ones doing the provoking.
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Post by Jace Cisco on Oct 11, 2020 6:20:25 GMT -5
Jace did a little jump as Jay came up behind him. He was too goram tired to be worried about someone sneaking up on him. Though the question posed about kidnapping a child had him starting to get worried. Jace's face also dropped when he realized what snack the kid had gotten ahold of, he had a good plan for taking it himself or at least a taste. He was already not liking the kid. Rina made sure to let Jay know it was not the case, but Jace was wondering where the kid had come from.
Jace walked into the galley and poured himself a stiff drink, and he stole one of the sandwiches on the table. Resting against the counter he mouthed to Jay behind the kid's back.
"Should I prep the airlock?"
Looking over at Ilana he spoke. With grave concern.
"Who is this kid, and are we going to have purple bellies on us now?" Jace's face was grim at the thought. Wasn't the first time being on the wrong side of the law, but he had avoided a cell and wanted to keep that way. Delivering a kid to the black wasn't above his willingness to stay out of alliance hands. The war was over, but he wasn't stupid he knew treatment of his kind was still not the greatest and in an alliance facility even less so.
He poured himself another stiff drink, and began pondering and chasing the illusive ideas of what could possibly be along those lines.
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Post by Marina Kseniya Sebastien on Oct 11, 2020 17:45:59 GMT -5
"Jace. Mind your words," Rina said.
Her expression made it clear: Airlock? REALLY?!
"As for the rest, we'll take care of it when it comes. If it comes. 'Til then, let's keep the fussin' down to the minimum, yeah?"
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Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 11, 2020 20:07:15 GMT -5
Ilana listed as the kid responded and felt bad for yelling at him, even though she hadn't meant to, "I'm T-t-tyler ma'am. Tyler Schneeplestein. I was told to hide until you landed the ship, but I got hungry."
Jay immediately looked at Ilana, worry apparent on his face. “Did we kidnap a child? Please don’t tell me we kidnapped a child.”
She gave Jace a look, but before she had a chance to respond, Rina had already jumped in. "Of course we didn't kidnap a child." Rina said immediately, giving Jay an annoyed look. She approached the little boy and said softly, "Why not sit at the table instead of the cold deck, while I make you something to eat? Would you like that?"
Tyler nodded and followed Rina to the table, where she set a bowl of soup and grilled cheese in front of him, and gave him a friendly smile. "Dig in." She said, and added to the rest of us, "There's more if you want it. Help yourselves."
Rina took a cup of coffee and a grilled cheese of her own and took a seat at the table.
Alright, I guess in all the excitement she missed it, Ilana thought to herself.
Jace snagged one of the sandwiches too and poured a drink from one of the good bottles. "Should I prep the airlock?" He mouthed with a solemn look.
"Jace. Mind your words," Rina said, almost snapping, her expression clearly showing how she felt about the idea.
Ilana closed her eyes at the thought of tossing a kid out of the airlock. She shook her head, lips pursed tightly, at Jace. She crossed the room to where Jace stood and poured a drink for herself.
"Who is this kid, and are we going to have purple bellies on us now?" He asked, face still grim.
He poured himself another drink.
"As for the rest, we'll take care of it when it comes. If it comes. 'Til then, let's keep the fussin' down to the minimum, yeah?" Rina added.
Good on her, Ilana thought. She was really starting to come out of her shell the last little bit with us.
"First of all, you've been around long enough to know that if I planned on kidnapping anyone, I'd have let you know about it first and not a week into the trip. Second, I got here less than five minutes before y'all did. I don't know any more than you do at this juncture," she said.
She downed her glass and poured another. It's entirely too gorram early for this shit, she thought, wishing she'd stayed in bed.
"Alright, Rina, I surely hope you've got that scanner ready, because we're gonna need it now. I have a bad feeling this kid is connected to that cargo," Ilana said, taking a short pull on her drink. "Jace, Jay, we're gonna need you too, and if someone could drag Helios out of bed on the way, that would be fantastic. I'd rather have all hands on deck just in case. And if you don't have them already, get your guns to be safe." She turned to Tyler and said, "You're welcome to come along if you don't want to stay here along, but you look to be old enough to mind yourself for a few minutes, so it's up to you."
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Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 11, 2020 20:17:42 GMT -5
Tyler sat at the table, happily eating the soup and cheese sandwich the dark-haired lady had given him. He ignored what was going on around him until the other lady told him he could go with them or stay where he was. It sounded like they were going to open the boxes downstairs. He felt his eyes go wide and he started to panic. "No! You can't! You can't open the box! He cried, jumping out of his chair.
"Please," his voice turned pleading, but still had a slight edge of panic. "They'll kill me if you open it. They'll kill us all." He started to cry quietly, pathetically, because he knew they'd open it anyway. Adults never listen to kids.
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Post by Marina Kseniya Sebastien on Oct 12, 2020 0:13:53 GMT -5
Oh, that tore it. Rina prided herself in being emotionally strong but some things killed her every single time. Kids crying in fear or despair? Oh yeah, total kill. She left the table and knelt in front of Tyler and held his hands.
"Hey, now," she said softly, putting as much comfort into her voice as she could. "Don't you worry about that. I made something that can show us the cargo right through the containers. Like x-ray vision. Nobody would know we got a look inside. So, no worries."
Even as she asked, another part of her head started tallying up what she knew, gathering the puzzle pieces and trying to make them fit.
One, the kid was smuggled aboard as cargo, presumably to look like the rest of the cargo.
Two, the rest of the cargo was something "they" (whoever they were) would kill to keep secret.
Three, what sort of secrets would that cargo contain that was worth killing over?
Four, was Tyler also something "they" would kill to keep secret?
Five, (the million credit question) who the freakin' fuck are "they"?
Back to the crying kid in front of her, she said:
"But ... Tyler, who are 'they' that you're talking about? Are they the same people who put you in the box? Why would they do that?"
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Post by Helios Hamilton on Oct 12, 2020 17:00:07 GMT -5
Helios sat in his room strip cleaning his assault rifle, Theodore, the name he'd given his snake was sleeping in the cage that he'd bolted to the floor. he finished the cleaning of his rifle and reassembled it. A shriek came from outside of his room, it was shut so the shriek had been faint, but he still heard it, with it being this early it could only mean trouble. Helios put his belt on that had the holsters for his revolvers hanging off his backside, drew the revolvers and put his ear against the door he heard faint noises but couldn't make them out, so I stepped out and quietly walked down to the kitchen, when I swung around the corner I raised my revolvers, to see they were aimed at a chubby kid, I slowly dropped them to my sides. The kid was crying and Rina was saying something to the child.
"Why's there a child on the ship?" he said confused he hadn't seen a child board on Beylix.
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Post by Jay Fuller on Oct 16, 2020 15:20:26 GMT -5
“Just making sure,” Jay said sheepishly, walking over to grab a sandwich. He glanced over at Jace who mouthed, ‘Should I prep the airlock?’ Jay raised his eyebrows in a look that responded with ‘Maybe.’ When Rina snapped at Jace, Jay couldn’t hide a smirk – at least he wasn’t the only one getting snapped at. He hung back, leaning against the counter near Jace while the kid, named Tyler evidently, sat down at the counter and Ilana and Jace poured themselves drinks. Jay wondered if he should join the drink train, but thought to himself, it’s too early for alcohol.
"Who is this kid, and are we going to have purple bellies on us now?" Jace asked.
"As for the rest, we'll take care of it when it comes. If it comes. 'Til then, let's keep the fussin' down to the minimum, yeah?" Rina added.
"First of all, you've been around long enough to know that if I planned on kidnapping anyone, I'd have let you know about it first and not a week into the trip. Second, I got here less than five minutes before y'all did. I don't know any more than you do at this juncture," she said.
Jay smiled, “Thank goodness for that,” he said. Of course he didn’t actually think Ilana would have kidnapped anyone on purpose, but he appreciated her clarifying all the same.
The captain shot down her drink and continue, "Alright, Rina, I surely hope you've got that scanner ready, because we're gonna need it now. I have a bad feeling this kid is connected to that cargo. Jace, Jay, we're gonna need you too, and if someone could drag Helios out of bed on the way, that would be fantastic. I'd rather have all hands on deck just in case. And if you don't have them already, get your guns to be safe." She turned to Tyler and said, "You're welcome to come along if you don't want to stay here along, but you look to be old enough to mind yourself for a few minutes, so it's up to you."
Jay nodded. Once Tyler spoke up, panicked and reduced to crying, Jay felt himself go pale at the worry the child was displaying. Who the hell would ship a child, and why was he so scared of what was in the cargo? He wondered if Tyler knew what was inside, or if he was just scared of the people who put him there.
Rina said, "But ... Tyler, who are 'they' that you're talking about? Are they the same people who put you in the box? Why would they do that?"
Then Helios came up, asking why there was a child onboard. Jay piped up, “He was in the cargo we picked up. Looks like whoever we got it from was trying to ship this little one too.”
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Post by Ilana Logan on Oct 22, 2020 15:36:16 GMT -5
Ilana sighed. She didn't do well with crying. It made her uncomfortable. She shifted on her feet awkwardly while Rina consoled the sobbing child. She looked around at the others, feeling weird looking at the kid, but feeling just as weird avoiding eye contact as well. Though Rina did answer the question about the scanner indirectly while comforting Tyler.
"Why's there a child on the ship?" He asked, sounding confused.
Jay piped up, “He was in the cargo we picked up. Looks like whoever we got it from was trying to ship this little one too.”
"But ... Tyler, who are 'they' that you're talking about?" Rina continued. "Are they the same people who put you in the box? Why would they do that?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Ilana asked. "Why don't we head on to the cargo bay while we talk?"
She paused and gently, but somewhat awkwardly said, "Tyler, I think it'd be best if you come with us to the cargo bay."
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Post by Jace Cisco on Oct 24, 2020 12:28:41 GMT -5
Jace pondered on the conversation that the room was having. Rina was trying to calm the child down after we mentioned checking the cargo. Jace did a subtle run through of what he had on him with his hands. Finger tips tracing along the hilts of the knives he kept on him gosu he thought. He had left his main holsters in the room and therefore only had the one pistol on him. Rina had assured the child that he wasn't going to meet the black, but he wasn't sure if Ilana would agree if it endangered the crew.
Nodding as Ilana had mentioned checking this out and asking if the kid wanted to tag along. Jace had to speak up. "I agree with Ilana the kid needs to come, we don't know why he is here on this ship."
"We also need to know who they are."
Jace hadn't let the conversation deter him as he went ahead and had started down to the cargo bay. He did admire the new ship, but he had to make a note to check cargo a hell of alot better.
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Post by Helios Hamilton on Nov 3, 2020 15:05:12 GMT -5
Helios to a minute to think about the fact that the kid was part of the cargo, this won't look good if we get stopped by the alliance, Helios didn't holster his revolvers, but instead tightened his grip on them. He decided to voice his worry and opinion, even though he knew most if not all of them were gonna disagree.
"This whole thing is fucked, we should stuff the kid back in, hurry up and get the kid off the ship as fast as possible and get paid." He looked at the kid and then back around, Helios wanted nothing to do with the shitshow that kids attached to.
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Post by Marina Kseniya Sebastien on Nov 3, 2020 18:06:17 GMT -5
Rina carefully turned around so Tyler couldn't see and gave Helios a look that very clearly said: What the hell is wrong with you?
Aloud, she merely said, "Never mind him, Tyler. He's just tired and grumpy. C'mon, why don't you show me which crate you escaped from? I just have to go to my workbench and get something. Would you like to come with me?"
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Post by Jay Fuller on Nov 13, 2020 16:09:56 GMT -5
"That's the question, isn't it? Why don't we head on to the cargo bay while we talk?" Ilana paused as if contemplating how to speak to the child and said, "Tyler, I think it'd be best if you come with us to the cargo bay."
For now, Jay was glad he’d grabbed his gun. He doubted there would be anything in the cargo that could attack them, but if they stowed away a young one in some boxes, who knows what else they might find.
"We also need to know who they are." Jace added. Jay nodded in agreement, about to make the same sentiment himself. Without waiting for a response, Jace was already headed to the cargo hold.
"This whole thing is fucked, we should stuff the kid back in, hurry up and get the kid off the ship as fast as possible and get paid." Helios said. Jay rolled his eyes and responded, “Go stuff yourself.”
With that, Jay followed Jace to make his way to the cargo, assuming the crew wouldn’t be far behind.
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