Alpha Panda, Serenity RPG IC

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Crew Quarters
The ex-Browncoat, whose coat is admittedly still rather brownish, heads towards his own bunk. He gingerly opens a case; inside, a pair of gloves and meticulous rows and channels of wires. Greg removes his shirt, not bothering to stand on ceremony if one of his bunkmates is using the room concurrently, and begins hooking the wires up with practiced finesse. The gloves are on Greg's hands in minutes, the battery pack that charges them concealed at his waist. He then puts his padded shirt and ballistic mesh on, and then puts his shirt and coat back on atop his added layers. He then heads to the armory, where his crossbow and ammunition are stored. He holsters the powered weapon across his back, and takes a tranq bolt and two cases of blunted bolts and loads one case into the crossbow's magazine, putting the back up case and the tranquilizer gingerly in his belt. He grabs a smoke grenade for good measure, putting that in yet another slot on his belt, and then proceeds back to the bridge to see what he can do to help Lei and Jack.

Spoiler

Show

We never established our bunking arrangements. I assumed that Lei and Grace had one room, Cole and Sia another, and Greg, Morgan, Tap and Shooter the third. But since Grace is a recent addition, that would mean that Lei had a 4-bunk room to herself for quite a while, unless bunks were rearranged when Grace got on board. I'm running with that assumption for the time being, but if it would make more sense for one of the men to be bunking with Grace and Lei, to spread them out more, then that's fine too.

[Sunfall]

Grace,
Alpha Panda, Hallway

A bowl with some soy sprouts in hand, Grace steps from the chaotic container that is once to become a veritable greenhouse. If it's been unusually quiet on board during the last hour, she hasn't noticed. Making her way through the ship, Grace trips up when Morgan in full body armor crosses her way. She takes a frightened step back before recognizing the silent man.

"Whoa, big fella!", she says, a surprised edge in her voice. "Tha's some impressive gear ya got there… Are we 'n trouble... or did we git ar'selves a job?"

On a ship like this, Grace has learned, it's always better to ask before panicking.

[Erasmas]

Cole
Alpha Panda: Medbay

Cole just held the doctor for a long time, stroking her dark hair with his gloved hand, careful not to tangle his armor and pull any of the strands. He simply made a low, sustained shushing noise to quell her self-abusive rant. The soldier envied her ability to cry - to vent and release the build of emotional tension that came from remembering painful pasts. It wasn't that Cole was without dark memories from the war... no one in the war escaped without them... and there had been nights when the big man had sobbed himself to sleep. But Sia... Sia wore her wounds more visibly and allowed herself to deal with the grief. Cole did what any good soldier was taught to do - bury it with the men you had to put in the ground and move on. The trouble with this tactic, however, was that unlike the bodies of those fallen brothers and sisters... the souls of black memories had a way of pushing themselves back up out of the ground you put them under.

Giving her time without saying anything, just being there with her, just holding her, Cole finally spoke - again in a low and even tone. As he did so, he placed his hands on either side of her face and gently tilted it up to look into his own. He wiped her tears away with a sweep of his gloved thumbs.

"Mei mei... my beautiful Sia. You didn't send them boys to no fate they didn't know was comin'. You gave them the hun jeng chance to fight back. And if they didn't make it...", he chased her eyes with his own as she faltered at this, "... if they didn't make it, then they's luckier than a lotta folk that did."

Cole hugged her tightly again, putting her head against his chest to hide the tear that now ran down his own cheek, only to disappear into her brown hair.

"Docs can't heal all wounds, Sia... specially not on their own."

[Lentrax]

Sia sobs against Cole's chest. She clings desperately to him as she cries.

"I could have done something else. Sent them home, told them they couldn't fight."

She cries again, as Cole goes on.
"Docs can't heal all wounds, Sia... specially not on their own."

"I can't Cole. I can't let anyone in. Not anymore. I lost her, and I don't want to go through that again. I can't."

[Erasmas]

Cole
Alpha Panda: Medbay

There it was... that small twinge of pain that jealousy manifested in Cole's gut when Sia talked like this... of her. He had no qualms with whoever this woman from the doctor's past was; none, except that her death had hardened a part of Sia's heart and prevented her from giving it over fully to him. He hadn't intended on falling in love with Sia... but he found himself unable to help it - he found a vulnerability in her that mirrored his own. He found himself wanting to protect her; to heal her in the way he felt when he was with her. Cole had known a lot of women, and some of them were doctors (though most were nurses), but Sia was different... she wasn't just a doctor, she was a healer.

"One of these days, the choice might not be yours, Sia... I just hope I'm there to see it."

Cole moved to leave the Medical Bay. He paused just outside of the door and turned, unable to completely hide some of the defeat he felt being laid open like this at the mercy of the doctor's walls. He hesitated, and then added, "We all lost people. But something that my Mama told me always stuck in my head through that time - 'Mourn the dead. But not at the neglect of the living'."

With that, the soldier looked as though there was more that he wanted to say. But instead, he absentmindedly bumped his fist against the top of the door twice and then turned and made his way towards the air locks.

[Lentrax]

The door closes behind Cole, and Sia falls to her knees.

"Cole... Don't go." she sobs.

i want to let you in, but what will I do when you are the one on my table?

Sia finally calms down, and makes her way back to her room, making herself presentable, though she can't disguise she has been crying. She finally makes her way to the airlock when she hears Panda dock.

[Creed]

Morgan
Hallway

Morgan stops in front of the older woman, any expression hidden behind his helmet. He shrugs and tilts his head side to side slightly, then mimes weighing things in each hand. He seems to be implying that there is some of each in the current situation.
Not sure if he got the message across, Morgan points down the hall towards the control room.

[Sunfall]

Grace
Alpha Panda, Hallway

Grace nods and an impish smile spreads across her worn features. "Some o' both, eh?", she asks and steps aside, letting the big soldier pass. "Guess I'll make mahself scarce then. Good luck, lad!"

She claps him on the back, not being able to reach his shoulder, sending him on his way. That he probably can't feel it underneath his armor never crosses her mind.

[Creed]

Morgan
Hallway

Morgan fires a crisp salute to the elderly woman before he goes. But this salute meant more to the soldier than 'Yessir'. His salute was a sign of respect, of acknowledgment. Morgan was fairly sure that many occupants of the ship felt no animosity or good will towards him on a good day, while on a bad day he feared some might curse his presence. Some, he was certain, would shoot him in the back for another member of the crew.
Strangely, Morgan didn't resent that fact. He didn't work hard to build up emotional bonds to people. It was usually too painful if that bond broke. But Morgan felt that, deep down, the one member of the crew that wouldn't swat a fly out of the air if it bit her was Grace. In addition, Morgan had been in Alliance military since his late teens, and Grace's grub made the Panda look like a pleasure cruise compared to an Alliance battlecruiser.
Morgan stepped back into the control room, rapping on the doorframe to announce his presence to the pilots.

[Space Lawyer]

Lei
Bridge of Alpha Panda

Having finished treating the opposing vessel's navigational systems as her personal playground of destruction, Lei brings Alpha Panda's own navigational system up. Lets see... average density for this area... factor in speed and heading versus our own... timing differential of starboard retro thrusters... and here we go. Lei expands a window on her screen. It looks like a squiggly line drawn through a field of various oblong shapes. She rotates it, and it becomes essentially the same thing, only in 3-D. Here's our best course, chuánzhǎng. A tap on her keyboard brings it up on Jack's screen.

Spoiler

Show

This is Action 1 of the two actions to help the ship along. I haven't thought of the other one yet.
Rolling, applying Math Whiz
Intelligence (1d12)[1]+(1d2)[1]+Pilot (Astrogation) (1d10)[2]

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Bridge
The now-suited-up tactician returns to the bridge as the race continues. He takes his position at the comms station and keeps his eyes on The Black, seeming pensive. As the worst of the flying is finished and Lei can handle flying on her own, he turns his seat to face the Captain.

Cap'n, I been thinkin' on this job. Our destination, Regina... I seemed t'remember somethin' 'bout a blockade, an' a quick Cortex search confirms it. Whatever Badger's wantin' from this space rock, someone on Regina's wantin' it bad, t'risk payin' t'have us run the blockade. Which, a course, is why Badger needs us t'do the runnin', on account a the Alliance blockade. The miners on Regina're hurtin' bad from isolation, Cap'n. I'm sure Badger's seein' nothin' but credits an' plat, but there might be some folks really needin' whatever it is we'll be haulin'.

[Narmoth]

Adrian Starr
Alpha Panda, Hallway

As Grace is moving to "make herself scarce", Adrian turns up and smiles to her:
"Excuse me, mam. You are the one in control of the kitchen here, I believe?"

[Voltaire]

Stirling wakes with a start. Immediately, he canvasses his surroundings, feeling the way with his hands. They slide over his prone body, the bunk, the little stand to his right. Ahh, there you are.

His fingers take hold of his lucky coin. At times like this, he liked to think about stuff. Pretty much anything, except for the fact that this tiny bucket of metal and earnest hope was about to enter a dense cloud of rocks and debris at thousands of kilometers an hour. His stomach was a little queasy.

It wasn't Stirling's first go around, to be sure, but he couldn't help but regret leaving solid earth for the wide black yonder, sometimes. Very deeply regret it, indeed. More's the pity, there was a time when he had a choice in the matter. Not so much, today.

He yawns, still a little weary, and lifts himself from the bunk, taking his pistol out from beneath the sagging pillow.

Shooter kind of hoped things would go awry, on this asteroid. It was always livelier when things went awry.

[Aneurin]

Jack
Alpha Panda's bridge

The projected course is occupying Jack's full attention when Morgan taps at the door, eliciting little more than a wave of acknowledgement from Jack. He doesn't even notice Greg until he raises his voice.

Hearing him speak, Jack swivels in his chair and raises an eyebrow at Greg.

"Blockade, huh? Well, can't say that bothers me much. I've run enough in my life," he shrugs and turns back to the co-pilot console.

"...we'll go in and see what's what. I've no desire to take what someone needs, but if we don't take it, they will," he gestures vaguely at the other ship. "So we're going to get it first, and then decide what to do about it,"

[Adlan]

ACT II Resolution
The Ship Lei was messing up is the Mary Celestia, a Griffen Class ex blockade runner and from the way she was pushing hard burn, desperate to get to the mine before Alpha Panda. But you can't go that fast without AI assistance, and they have wisely cut all power rather than ram into something as every read out and sensor other than the Mk1 eyeball are drowned by highly sophisticated juvenile pranks.

Alpha Panda sweeps gracefully between boulders, her rockets hardly sputtering on the contaminated space dust around them. Heading for the mine, the landing process is all automated, very simple and gives you the option of Docking Coupler One or Two.

Lullabell Mine

Beneath you glittering on the ice is the Lullabell Mine, a converted BumbleBee Transport, like many comet mines in the rim. This one is protected by a magnificent glittering Dome.

[Space Lawyer]

Lei
Bridge of Alpha Panda

"Its so...pretty. Like the miners have their own little ice palace, floating all alone out here. Where do you want me set her down, chuánzhǎng?

[Sunfall]

Grace
Alpha Panda, Hallway

Smiling, the older woman turns around, her little vat of sprouts still in hand. "Well, look who's up an' about!"

She waves her hand at being addressed as 'Ma'am', making a tutting noise. "Jes' plain Grace it is, lad. And yes, the pantry's mah little d'main. In fact, I'm bound there right now. Ya need somethin'?"

She turns into the direction where she was originally heading, looking back invitingly at the new arrival. "Dinna catch yer name there...", she adds conversationally.

[Aneurin]

Jack
Alpha Panda's bridge

As the Panda coasts in, Jack listens to the thrusters with an air of concern.

"Hmm?" he spares a glance at the approaching dome, and looks over the layout of the mining station for a few moments. "Right. Put her down at docking couplet 1, the second couplet's too close to the claws for my taste,"

Jack's attention flicks back to the thrusters again, though, and he punches up some of the atmospheric data on the station.

"Hey, Lei, how're the thrusters sounding to you? Seems like they're chewing a bit hard for the amount of debris we're hitting," he frowns, and goes on without waiting for an answer. "We'll check them out when we hit Regina, and do a full systems diagnostic while we're at it. We pushed hard to get here first, and I don't want my baby breaking over some trinket for Badger,"

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Bridge
Greg hits a button on the comm system to access the PA. Away team, rendezvous at the airlock. We're dockin' soon. The tactician stands up from his post at the station. With any luck, Cap'n, this ought to be a milk run and we'll be back inside an hour.

[Adlan]

Fade to black.

Ad Break.

Fade back in from black

ACT III The Lullabelle Mine
Docking Coupler #1 Airlock
The english voice sounds like a bad impression of a Londinium street merchant, and the Mandarin is so badly slurred that you can't understand half of it, but the Automatic Airlock approves your entry, and the away team step out under a vast blue sky. It's apparent the clandestine ice mining business pays well. Bright sun shines down on a desert landscape that extends to a hazy and distant horizon. Wisps of clouds drift high overhead. The air is hot, but not unpleasant, with a slight desert breeze blowing past you. Several piles of crates stand around a small hill crested by a modest two-story building. Near the base of the hill is a real live garden with honest-to-god vegetables nearly ready for picking. And not the hydroponics grace uses on board ship, real dirt side dirt. At the corner of the house is a small stand of trees and a shrubbery.

But this idyll is disturbed all too quickly, as a shot rings out, the bullet spanging into the ground off an airlock bulkhead. A voice rings out.

“Who the ai yah tien ah are you?”

Spoiler

Show

I guess you'll have to do your best to convince them you are friendly. Roll in the OC thread, including whatever traits and bonus you think are appropriate, and post it up IC.

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Lullabelle Mine Entrance
The man puts his hands up non-threateningly. No need t'be gettin' shooty on us, podnah. Claim Registration 1277640. We're just here t'pick up what we're gettin' paid t'pick up. So kindly put the firearms away, so's we can discuss things gentlemanly-like?

[Adlan]

Lullabelle Mine Entrance
"Where is Captain Griffiths?" A voice called out. We were expecting Royale, 300 ton freighter, not two Ruttin' Ships.'

From his tone, clearly at least he was willing to ask questions first, resume shooting later.

[Erasmas]

Cole
Lullabelle Mine Entrance

Instinctually, the soldier had gone for his gun; but all it took was for Sia to rake cover behind him and Cole retracted his hand. Although he did not want to draw fire with her so close, he intended to fire while she went for better cover if the situation got any hairier than it already was. Seeing as how words always seemed to fail Cole in times like these, however, he thought it best to keep a tight lid on his trap for the time being.

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Lullabelle Mine Entrance
We ain't got no Cap'n name a Griffiths. All we know is that we're shippin' somethin' fer an employer, an' he gave us the claim ID. Payment's on arrival, so he thought he'd speed up delivery by introducin' competition. We won the little race, an' now we're here. Is there gunna be an issue, podnah? Because I'd very much like fer this t'go shiny-like.

[Creed]

Morgan
Lullabelle Mine Entrance

When the shot is fired, Morgan's guns jump to his hands, a pistol in each at the ready. Even though talks seemed to make the situation more hospitable, the soldier didn't make any moves to lower them from their ready position. But better to let Greg handle this one. Morgan wasn't much one for talking.

[Adlan]

Lullabelle Mine

"You both working together you said?" The speaker pokes out from cover, aware he's out manned and out gunned. Shortly after, another miner comes out too. The speaker is An older male, recognisable as Sam Hawkes.

"You've got the Claim ID I gave Badger, but two ships? How do I know you ain't claim jumpers?"

[Aneurin]

Jack
Alpha Panda's bridge

Jack's settled in one of the chairs on the bridge, a mug of coffee in one hand and feet on the dash, running a few basic systems checks when the shot, and whine of the ricochet, rings out through the ship.

He drops the the mug as he swings upright - there's a crash as the mug shatters - and grabs for the comms speaker.

"Hey, did someone just shoot my ship? Tell them if they shoot my ship again, then I'll shoot theirs - and I have a bigger gun than they do,"

Temper appeased - and fairly confident that the ground team would successfully handle any problems - Jack runs a hand over the captain's console, before walking off to find a rag to clean up the spilt coffee.

[Lentrax]

Sia
Lullabelle Mine Entrance.

When the shot rings out, Sia instinctively ducks behind Cole. She isn't a soldier. Not by trade anyway. She isn't even sure what they are talking about.

Two ships? Did Badger sell us out? Or is he just playing us for being late?

[Space Lawyer]

Lei
Cabin in Alpha Panda

As soon as docking procedures were completed, Lei had to her room. The captain can handle the systems checks. She rummaged around in the space, looking for her list of items she wanted for the ship. If they had anything at this out-of-the-way mine, maybe the crew could barter for something good. The walls of the room were filled with pictures, most prominently a photo of her entire extended family posed in front of the ancestral ship, 星飞龟. It was a massive, ugly ship, bulbous and ponderous, leading to the name, but it had been her home until the Alliance had barged on-board and begun "recruitment" procedures. They had ended up taking Lei and 4 cousins, sending them to training in matter of days. Lei had never figured whether they had conscripted young people like herself more to bolster their own forces or to deprive the Independents of that ready-made source of forces. Luckily, Lei had a talent they needed, and was smart on top of it. Three of her cousins hadn't been so lucky. They had worked down in the hold, and when the recruitment officer saw the three muscle-bound young men, he had assigned them to infantry without a second thought. All three had died in the ground battles for planets they had never seen before and had never cared about. The last cousin had simply disappeared. Any inquiries into his status were met with red tape and outright denials of information.


"Hey, did someone just shoot my ship? Tell them if they shoot my ship again, then I'll shoot theirs - and I have a bigger gun than they do,"

Lei quickly finishes dressing, grabs her pistol and the list, and runs out to the airlock. She yells out 什么婊子的儿子拍摄我的宝宝吗？

Spoiler

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星飞龟 = Star flying turtle.
什么婊子的儿子拍摄我的宝宝吗？ = What son of a whore shot at my baby?

[Voltaire]

OOC:

Doubt post. Apologies.