S2E7 - Greenleaf Stopover

[Amorru Reyes]

"Vega, look out!"

The amusement on the man's face faded to recognition. Your friend's right to warn you, mate... Amorru reached for a guthook camping knife strapped behind his back. He shared his own amused look, which quickly became shock as this Beta person checked him hard into a table. A pitcher fell over, soaking a sleeve on Amorru's prized jacket. A massive form, Amorru assumed someone's pet hippo, rushed through the air between them. He watched the behemoth lurch forward for no apparent reason, sliding across the floor on his face and leaving a short streak of blood and mustache. Amorru looked back up at Jada, an awkward blend of admiration and disgust on his face. He continued to lay where he landed, watching the man head out after offering only a shrug.

Don't figure I've been in a weirder fight in my entire life. Maybe those blindfolded duels, but I ain't even makin' a gorram pean -

"That's him! On the floor there!"

"Hey, pal! Reckon ya owe me and my friends a round!"

"Hold on now! He flipped our table when we built a six figure pot!"

"Hey! You think he always does his hair like that?"

"- gonna teach you to ruin a perfectly good jacket!"

"C'mere, you!'

Amorru tried to follow his new friend but was snagged by the sleeve with an audible SHRRRIIIIIIP! Amorru turned toward whoever grabbed him, an expression as grave as an oath sworn to a dying lover on his face. Amorru took three deep breaths, the moment seeming to stretch out for hours. "...What have you done?" His voice little more than a hiss, Amorru went to reach for the combat knife again but felt his hand caught in an iron grip. That three hundred pound walrus that tried to run him over earlier returned to the fray, all exposed orbital bone and floor-burnt mustache. Looking around, Amorru counted ten or twelve men and what he thought was a woman surrounding him with sneers and jeers. "Come on then, lads! I know this looks bad now, but someday I'm gonna look back on this day and me and your mum's gonna laugh and lau-" A miracle worker, though he didn't look much like a Shepard, stepped forward and stopped Amorru's mouth with a strong hook. Before he could get a hand free, Amorru was beset upon on all sides. He struggled for an opening, but found every direction blocked. Soon he felt himself drowning beneath the torrent of fists, boots, and - Gaaaah! Was that a ruttin' cattle prod!? The secondhand on the barkeep's pocket watch barely made it from the 1 to the 4 before Amorru disappeared beneath the converging mob...


...only to reappear on the outside of the stomping circle. Brushing off his remaining jacket sleeve, Amorru averted his eyes from the mirror behind the bar. Looking down at the tattered remnants and loose ribbon hanging from his left shoulder, Amorru huffed and shuffled in the general direction of Wushu.

[Charity]

Hammy's oversized features scrunched up in confusion, he hadn't rightly expected the small violent woman to rush him, nor had he thought she would try to take him down! Of course, he wasn't going anywhere, but he was mighty surprised all the same.

"Now now," Abigail's hands were out in a pleading manner, palms facing towards the man, "There's no need to get violent, we can all pretend like this never happened."

When she pulled away, he grinned in anticipation of the hurt he was about to lay down, one hand on his shoulder, his other arm moving in circular motions to get the blood flowing. You see, HamHam was an equal opportunity arse kicker. He didn't discriminate between men or women when it came to a beat down, and that was part of what made him so gosh darn great. So you could imagine his surprise when she zipped off into the crowd and left him all alone with no one to punch. His head whipped about, searching suddenly for the little dandy who'd started this, the chaos and upheaval in the saloon hiding most of the Wushu and Ronin crew from his fiery gaze.

Now, while Ponytail had indeed rushed toward Abigail and Emit, fully intending to sandwich them between the unnervingly thick bodies of the two brutes, he got a mite distracted on the way over. Just as he was nearing his intended targets, a gambler scrambling in Amorru's direction got caught up in his feet and they both went sprawling to the ground, throwing blind and aimless punches all the way down.

Mustache was quite happy to throw jabs and kicks into a pile of men who all though they were beating sense into the pompadour, his expression one of reckless and unbridled joy. He was like a kid in a candy shop and he'd be darned if he didn't get his share of the pilot's beating. In fact, he wanted to get himself a nice souvenir to remember this day. Perhaps that jacket? Mustache was very fond of fine things, although he kept that little joy hidden from his companions. He could almost imagine himself walking down the SkyPlex in that ruffle covered jacket, a nice hair piece sitting atop his bald head, maybe some sparkly boots to finish the ensemble. A spittle of drool dripped from his mouth onto another man's shoulder as he continued to punch into the pile of people, his eyes closed and a goofy grin spread across his face. It could have been that that trip across the floor addled his brain a little more than he realized...

___

"They're injured! I need to make sure they're alright, there could be significant internal bleeding, and I think that man might be suffering from a concussion!" Grace exclaimed, reaching into one of her many pockets in an attempt to pull out some of the small bandages and dressings she'd stuffed in there and gently pulling away from Charity in the direction of one of the drunken thugs. 

Charity's grip tightened around the doctor's arm and she smiled brightly in her direction, settling her cheek on the woman's shoulder, "Not now, my dear. I am quite certain you will have a plethora of injuries to deal with once we return to our ship," she assured her friend, patting her hand sympathetically, all the while allowing Artemis to lead them both through the kitchens.

"That hat looks lovely on you," Charity praised, the warmth of her smile leveled upon Artemis for a short moment during their escape and eventual journey back toward the ship. They were moving so fast that after a while, Charity had to surrender Grace's arm so she could pick up a bit of the front of her dress, keeping the fabric away from her boots as she hurried away from danger.

[Rolemancer]

[ WUSHU CREW EXITS TO WUSHU RESURRECTION PAGE 7]

[Vega Barnet]

With no one attempting to to come after him Vega melted into the crowd with practiced ease. He could hear the sounds of the brawl continuing for a surprising distance. After a few direction changes and doubling back twice to make sure he wasn't being followed, he made his way back to the Ronin. As he approached Lin was standing near the gangplank talking to the cute brunette that the Dandy had been chatting up. He gave the woman a nod as he came and stood next to Lin. "Hey Cap, we waiting on anyone else or am I the last one back?"

[Lin Kuei]

Lin listened as Jerilynn expounded on her skills. She sounded more than qualified. As she was talking, the comm device on his wrist pulsed causing him to look at it. Lin mentally frowned as Jerilynn continued talking. It was a slightly disturbing thing. Not only was he now down a comp tech but the doctor skipped out on the crew as well. He gave her a stiff nod as he spoke. "Miss Gordon, welcome aboard. Head to the main deck and wait at the top of the stairs off the cargo bay."

Lin turned to Vega as he arrived. "I have not seen Ian or Abbey but I presume they will be along shortly if they are not already aboard. Make sure Nat is already aboard so we can leave asap. Looks like we lost a few crew including the doctor and her charge. Our tall passenger and our comp tech are gone too. We went from eleven down to eight in a hurry. We will need to find someone with medical skill soon."

Turning around, he noticed another woman standing nearby. Tall, beautiful but no looks of combat ability to her presence. Given the present situation, Lin spoke quickly. "I'm sorry but we do not have passenger berths." Activating the comm, he spoke into it just as quickly. "Ian, Abbey, get back to the ship. We're taking off."

[Iris Reale]

"I'm sorry but we do not have passenger berths."

Dark eyes studied the man she knew to be Ronin's captain. She'd intended to answer the other woman who had addressed her, but as a conversation had begun, Iris was loathe to interrupt. A subtle shift in posture preceded the bow of respect. "I am not seeking passage, Captain. I am seeking something far more important." Upon returning to full height, her eyes showed a little fire. She was too close to simply walk away. "My name is Iris Reale and we have a shared interest in the fall of one particular person."

It was a hard sell, to be certain, but she was determined to make her way onto the ship. Even if it meant putting aside her profession for some time to come. "You do not have need of the skills I practice most often, I can be certain of that, but I am determined to see this fall. And I do not care if you simply have me cook and clean to make my way. However, there may be doors I can open that would otherwise be closed to you." Her voice held steady, but there was an edge to it. This was as close to begging as she'd ever come in her life, but she wanted this badly enough to do whatever it took. She'd managed to do so for five years, she could do it again.

[Lin Kuei]

"I am not seeking passage, Captain. I am seeking something far more important. My name is Iris Reale and we have a shared interest in the fall of one particular person."

"You do not have need of the skills I practice most often, I can be certain of that, but I am determined to see this fall. And I do not care if you simply have me cook and clean to make my way. However, there may be doors I can open that would otherwise be closed to you."

Most people might have folded their arms in front of their chests as a defense mechanism. Lin did not but the inferences of Iris Reale were not unnoticed by him. "Perhaps you should clarify the fall you are looking forward to. Given your obvious bearing, are you sure you want to be on board this particular ship?" He was, at this point, convinced she had no idea what she was asking to get involved with and he made sure it showed on his face. "Exactly what skills do you think you can provide besides cooking?"

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

It took more than a couple twisting turns for Nat to be sure that there would be no more cops chasing their tail (and maybe one or two moments of backtracking), but soon enough Nat found herself leading Monty back towards the familiar sight of the port. Captain Lin was waiting there- and some woman with him? Did we really have time to be taking on passengers?

'Captain's the Captain, gotta trust it's for the best,'

Nat gave Lin a two fingered salute as she quickly, but trying not to appear too worried, bounded into the ship and headed towards the cockpit. She looked back at Monty.

"See you in the engine bay, Monty!"

Finally back inside the cockpit, Nat strapped herself into the pilot's seat and started her pre-flight checks. Grabbing the comms, she radio'd the cargo bay.

"Gettin' a little antsy up here, cap'n- we about ready to launch?"

[Iris Reale]

Time was clearly of the essence as more crew appeared from different directions and headed quickly into the ship. Iris kept her gaze on the captain, making note of the crew only using her peripheral vision. A short inhale through her nose and she let her face shift, dropping the mask of her years of training. Seething anger flared to life across her features and burned in her eyes. "I am trained in a variety of weapons, melee and ranged. I am trained to defend myself capably whether with martial arts or ingenuity. And I am trained in masking any and all emotion to present a face to the verse of a calm, collected woman in any and every situation."

"Gettin' a little antsy up here, cap'n- we about ready to launch?"

Iris took another breath to rein in the fury a little. There was still fight in her. She wasn't going to give up without one. "I am here because I want to see Nikola fall." Her voice was low, but the determination in it gave it a hard edge. "And there is no other ship that is aiming to do just that." Dark eyes never left the face of the captain before her. Inwardly, she prayed for the tiniest sliver of mercy to grant her this desperate wish.

[Jerilyn Gordon]

"Miss Gordon, welcome aboard. Head to the main deck and wait at the top of the stairs off the cargo bay."

Jeri nodded and gathered her things, headed up the stairwell as directed and waited for cabin assignment. In the meantime, she took a moment to study the bulkhead walls, deck and corridor of the vaguely familiar surroundings. She heaved a sigh of relief. This would be good, to be back on a Jo to maybe deal with some of her PTSD.

She shook off the early cramp that usually announced a psychic break, and took a deep breath to calm those inner voices... screams... that would certainly follow.

[Monty]

Monty was glad he steered clear of any fisticuffs and made it back to Ronin unscathed, though he would have liked a few more beers. He parted ways with Natascha and headed straight for the engine room and began his pre-flight check. He hadn't seen Helena or Vega but he hoped or better said assumed they had made it ahead of he and Nat. It didn't take long to run his checks and Ronin was ready whenever the Captain gave the word.

[Fey]

Helena had rolled in with Vega, albeit unnoticed, but it wouldn't be the first time. The woman seemed to be pre-occupying the captain's time.  She was a bit demanding for Helena's taste, especially someone so new to the crew.  However the captain had his reasons, she was sure. She nudged Vega, as he seemed to interrupt their conversation,


"Should we...check on the thing, elsewhere, that's not, ya know, here?" Helena motioned with her head to vacate the some what awkward situation to anywhere that wasn't with in the vicinity of the new comer.  As intriguing as it was it find out why she was here, Helena wasn't one to break chain of command, aka, stick her nose where it didn't belong. 

Helena had hoped Monty and Nat had made it back, they hadn't had much time to 'bond' persay, they were still her crew. 

[Lin Kuei]

"I am here because I want to see Nikola fall. ... And there is no other ship that is aiming to do just that."

As Iris Reale had been talking, Lin overhead Nat's call on the comms. He quickly scanned the crowd which seemed to start noticing something regarding the ship in question and her name Ronin. "Get on board, Miss Reale." Lin abruptly grabbed her shoulder and pushed her toward the ship hard enough to make it seem like it was not a choice. He quickly followed suit and shut the cargo bay doors. Lin punched the comm. "Nat! Get us out of here and head towards Shadow!"

(OOC: Please read to the next chapter: S2 E8 - To Catch A Glory & we'll pick this up there!)