WUSHU RESURRECTION

[Jax]

There wasn't much Jax could do from the galley so he raced down to the bridge. Upon entering he noticed Charity had taken roost in one of the bridge seats. "Miss Charity, there might be a better place for you right now." He tried to be nice, but after all she was a passenger and on most normal ships she wouldn't have access to the bridge. "But don't worry we'll get you on your way in a jiffy, just some miscommunication I'm sure." Jax stepped up next to Reyes to get eyes on the console, the red flashing warning was hard to miss. "Did you call port control yet?"

[Charity]

Hearing the others entering the bridge, Charity turned in her chair to look in the direction of the doorway curiously, her hands tucked into the jacket resting upon her lap. She was about to smile and say something welcoming to the Captain, but he spoke first.

"Miss Charity, there might be a better place for you right now. But don't worry we'll get you on your way in a jiffy, just some miscommunication I'm sure."

Her eyes widened ever so slightly, her spine stiffening and her jaw clenching. Was she being banished from the bridge? Charity's brows shot up and a hand lifted to settle over her heart in surprise. She'd never been sent out of a room before and she wasn't quite sure she liked it. Were he anyone else, she would have argued, of course, or not bothered to listen to such a silly suggestion. But, he was the captain of this ship and she had to offer him the respect that title demanded. With a deep breath, the aristocrat stood, her free hand brushing idly over the front of her skirts as though not bothered by the request to vacate the bridge.

"I'm sure you're right, Captain," she agreed kindly, her shoulders straight and her chin aloft, her posture nearly perfect, her voice almost a bedroom murmur. Charity glided past Jax, her skirts rustling and her jewelry jingling. She set her hand on his chest and smiled winningly up at him, "Please do let me know when everything has been sorted out?" she asked, patting his chest a couple of times before sashaying off the bridge.

As she walked further away from the group, inadvertently making her way toward the galley, her pace quickened and her grip tightened on the jacket in her arms. Brows furrowed in consternation and her lips puckered together thoughtfully. Charity stormed into the galley and threw Amorru's jacket onto the table, narrowly missing the bottle of alcohol in the process, "Why, I never! I have never been so insulted! The absolute nerve!" she exclaimed, looking around at those remaining in the room, her hands shaking. With a frown, she pointed at the bottle, "That! I would like some of whatever nonsense is in that grimy bottle! Please!" she asked, her voice resolute.

[Jolene Blaylocke]

"Well go on get up there, goodness knows Reyes isn't nice enough to talk to anyone."

A small, but cheeky grin spread across Jo's face and she set her mug down before darting out of the galley. The captain was well ahead of her and she stopped by her room. Quickly, she dug out her kit, a hard sided case containing a variety of tools for her trade and then was off again. A quick double check of her cortex and she made her way to the bridge. Taking the stairs a couple at a time, she suddenly had to break stride to let Miss Charity pass by. The woman looked more than mildly perturbed. She tried to smile sweetly, but was left standing as the lovely woman seemed to have a death grip on some piece of clothing. Jo couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the fabric fearing it was likely to get torn to shreds, but the tiny thrill of what she might be getting to do overtook that feeling swiftly. Just before stepping onto the bridge Jo took a breath and squared her shoulders, going all business.

"Did you call port control yet?"

"So... before you call them, how legal do we want to keep this? Cause I might be able to override that. Just need an open and active line to the station to piggy back a signal on. Needs to be active for at least four minutes if you can manage it." The small woman stood off to one side of the door after entering, eyes scanning the consoles seeking her access point. More than likely it was behind the main controls and as she checked the schematics, she found her guess to be correct. With eyes still on her cortex, a smile playing across her lips, she spoke again. "Assuming you don't mind going the not so legal route on this."

It wasn't exactly how she wanted to play her hand, but the situation was what it was. She hadn't done anything with infiltration in nearly eleven months, so the time frame was good in her book. It was just letting on so quickly that she might be more than what the captain had thought he'd hired. Given there hadn't been an interview and just a 'you're hired' kind of thing, she'd wondered if the job was offered out of desperation. Even before she got an answer to her question, she moved around the comm station and set down the silver case and popped it open. Disappearing from view as she sat down, one hand felt along the edge of a panel looking for the spot that would allow her access.

Leaning to one side Jo peeked around the corner of the comm station, her hair cascaded freely around her and the overlarge sweater shifted and bared one shoulder. Eyes glinting with a hint of mischief, she looked first at the pilot and then the captain. "Though maybe, given the episode at the bar, the captain ought to be doing the talking..."

[Jax]

Charity was up at once upon Jax's request, she paused as they passed laying her hand on his chest.

"Please do let me know when everything has been sorted out."

He nodded an affirmation though her demand did sound a touch testy, she continued on passing by Blaylocke on the way in.
While Jax spoke with Reyes he watched Blaylocke setting up some equipment out of the corner of his eye.

"So... before you call them, how legal do we want to keep this? Cause I might be able to override that. Just need an open and active line to the station to piggy back a signal on. Needs to be active for at least four minutes if you can manage it.....assuming you don't mind going the not so legal route on this.""

Jax looked in her direction as she disappeared behind the comm station console. A wide grin appeared on his face as he looked back to Reyes..."I like this girl." Jax was about to move over to her location when she peeked out from behind the console...

"Though maybe, given the episode at the bar, the captain ought to be doing the talking..."

"Well by all means do what you can, laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught. So let's be a big fly and I'll let our pilot here have first crack at it....if it goes south fast I'll bail him out."

Jax flashed Jo a thumbs up and then reached for the comm button to the skyplex. "Okay Reyes, when Miss Blaylocke here gives us the signal it's show time."

[Abigail Archer]

"Why, I never! I have never been so insulted! The absolute nerve!"

Charity came storming into the galley, nearly missing the bottle of booze. Abigail's eyes widened as she grabbed the bottle and cradled it to safety. "Be careful will ya!"

"That! I would like some of whatever nonsense is in that grimy bottle! Please!"

Abigail smirked at the passenger, "But of course princess only the finest swill for you." Abigail got up and got a glass for Charity and poured her some of the brown liquid.

"Now what has your bonnet in a knot?" She asked as she handed the drink to Charity

[Artemis Graham]

In a flash Jo was out the door and Art was a few steps closer to figuring out what the girl's job was. An onship hacker was a surprising addition to the crew but quite a welcome one. Art hadn't had a hacker onboard since she'd first started out in her life of crime. Thankfully Pliss had remained in touch well past his departure from Gemini and had always been happy to lend a hand from whichever corner of the verse he was hiding out in at the time. But having Jo under roof would make things a lot quicker.

Art had been about to follow her to the bridge, willing to offer some assistance if it became a hardware issue, but she was stopped in her tracks by the arrival of Charity. Without quite knowing why, she slid into a seat near the end of the table. She wasn't going to partake in the bottle but morbid curiosity was making her want to stay and hear what (or who) had ruffled the unruffle-able. If she was a betting woman she knew where she'd be placing her money. Although it was money she would have lost as Art would have put Reyes down as the one causing Charity such distress. She'd never suspected the Captain.

[Amorru Reyes]

Amorru stared ahead, focusing every fiber of his being on trying to ignore Charity again. I hate vanilla. The pilot continued lying to himself as Charity descended into the chair at the nearby communications console accompanied by a sound quite like rustling leaves as the frilled layers settled. Amorru glanced back just as the Captain arrived with the new... person in tow. Girl? Woman? Passenger? Crew? The questions remained unanswered as the Captain ejected Charity from the Bridge. Though she struggled to maintain her demeanor, Amorru knew from experience that a woman like Charity always viewed someone like Jax - someone who works for a living - as lesser, and receiving orders from a lower station tended to come across as an insult in high society. The exhalation of relief that slowly passed through Amorru's lips turned into a low chortle as Charity gracefully exited the Bridge with his custom jacket in tow. Then the boss man turned to the pilot, interrupting his moment of glee.

"Did I contact the Port - pfffft. Do I look like a first year apprentice? I'm Amorru ruttin' Reyes, man. I... I'll dial them up, I guess."

The new addition chimed in as Amorru reached from one set of keys to another and hailed the control deck.

"I like this girl."

Apparently, Jax liked her suggestion. Amorru couldn't care less.

"Though maybe, given the episode at the bar, the captain ought to be doing the talking..."

"Well by all means do what you can, laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught. So let's be a big fly and I'll let our pilot here have first crack at it....if it goes south fast I'll bail him out."

Amorru missed Charity already.

"Okay Reyes, when Miss Blaylocke here gives us the signal its show time!"

A thumb popped up from under the communications console where Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene went to work stealing access to the Skyplex's information network just because she can. Amorru coughed several times and bellowed from deep in his core, roughening his vocal cords before hailing control in as gravelly a voice as he could put on. "Wushu to Control, I repeat Wushu to Control. This is Captain Maxell Graves, and I need you to tell me what kind of improperly maintained fenpen you're trying to pass off as a Skyplex here!" Amorru glanced back to Jax, raising an arrogant eyebrow and flashing that smirk. He rubbed his throat as he awaited the reply. Just four minutes. Sure. Why not?

[Charity]

"But of course princess only the finest swill for you," Abigal offered.

After her initial outburst, Charity's temper had cooled considerably as her years of social training and practice worked to take over. She watched Abigail fetch her a glass, her hands smoothing over the front of her gown, slow, calculated breaths lifting and lowering her chest. Once she felt composed enough to speak properly, the aristocrat smiled and reached out to take the offered glass of swill.

"Now what has your bonnet in a knot?" the XO asked.

Without thinking much on it, Charity knocked back the amber liquid as though it were something a lot more expensive. Her eyes widened immediately and she turned her back on those in the galley with her, a delicate hand covering her mouth to muffle the fit of coughing shaking her upper body. Very slowly, she took a couple deep breaths and turned back around, reaching into a slit in the side of her skirts near her hip that opened to a pocket layer beneath it. She pulled a fan out and snapped it open with a flick of her wrist, fanning herself rapidly, her cheeks already a deep pink. "Oh," she murmured, taking a couple of minutes to let the fire the swill had burned down her throat die down a little.

"Oh," she muttered again, her gaze lifting to stare wide-eyed at Abigail, and then Artemis. The fan covered her lips, still for a moment. "Bonnet," Charity repeated, trying to get her thoughts back on track. "Oh! I just..." the fan began moving rapidly again, the curls framing her face moving about in the gentle breeze caused by the gold silk fan.

"Perhaps I overreacted," she admitted, blinking rapidly and looking down at the empty glass in her hand. "Is this engine fuel?" she asked timidly, her voice cracking a little at the question mark. She could still feel the heat of the drink on every exhale.

[Jolene Blaylocke]

"Wushu to Control, I repeat Wushu to Control. This is Captain Maxell Graves, and I need you to tell me what kind of improperly maintained fenpen you're trying to pass off as a Skyplex here!"

It took a monumental amount of self control for Jo to not laugh at the bluster in the opening contact with the station. Shaking her head, she focused in on the read out on the screen in the case. Jumping onto the signal too soon would raise an alert for the watchful.

'1, 2, 3...' She counted silently to herself, not realizing she was worrying at her bottom lip and tapping a finger on the open edge of the access to the innards of the comm station. Her read out lit up as the station comm center answered. On the other side of the comm station, she was aware of voices, but was more focused on making her move at the best possible second.

'7, 8, 9...' A subtle shift in her position put her closer to the case, eyes going a little wider as a long, slow breath was taken in as the anticipation built swiftly. She spoke softly, mostly to herself, "Why be a fly, when you have a pixie on board to bend the rules?" Her hands moved to the keyboard, hovering just over the keys as the last few seconds ticked away.

'13, 14, 15...'

Fingers went to work, as her signal rode on the back of the comm link, seeking access to the computers of the station. 'Standard set up... inspect the side and back doors...' Carefully, but quickly Jo began to spread her work out onto other active comm lines across the station, further masking her activity and giving herself more lines to work with. One signal in particular piqued her interest and she focused in on it. Her eyebrows went up, a look of delight coloring her face as it was lit by the screen in front of her. 'Well, well, well... aren't you just the perfect opportunity. Last place anyone would look for a signal like mine...'

[Abigail Archer]

"Perhaps I overreacted," she admitted, blinking rapidly and looking down at the empty glass in her hand. "Is this engine fuel?

Abigail stifled a laugh and cleared her throat making eye contact with Art, trying to keep her composure.  She looked back at Charity,

"You? Overreact? I can't imagine that's the case, Reyes has a habit of ruffling everyone's feathers...and you know, it might be but it certainly does the job doesn't it." She grinned at Charity, the girl was growing on her, she at least provided a distraction and entertainment. Pushing the days events deep down inside where everything she chose to ignore lived, Abigail took another swig of the brown liquid breathing deeply as went down her throat.

"Now that's a drink..." She looked at the jacket on the table and shook her head, "That dandy sure does have an odd sense of style,  I suppose you offered to fix it up for that pigu, despite his short comings?"

[Rolemancer]

"Wushu to Control, I repeat Wushu to Control. This is Captain Maxell Graves, and I need you to tell me what kind of improperly maintained fenpen you're trying to pass off as a Skyplex here!"

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds after Reyes ended his call. He might have been tempted to repeat it just as the comm crackled with a response. "This is Greenleaf Station Port Control. We have no record of a Captain Graves but we are monitoring Dock 12 that is currently occupied by a mid-bulk transport with the designation Wushu.....what is your concern?" The acknowledgment of Reyes' question ended as quickly as it begun.

[Artemis Graham]

Art was glad she stayed. Charity snatched up the glass and threw back the liquor (that not even she was brave enough to drink) as if it were nothing. For a moment, Art was impressed and then the moment past, reality returned to normal and Charity battled to keep her drink down amid a series of unladylike coughs. The corner of Art's mouth twitched as she caught Abigail's eye. Oh yes, Art was definitely a fan of Charity. The black could be an awfully boring place but she knew it wouldn't be with this debutante around.

And speaking of debutante's, the fan had emerged and Art had to fight through war flashbacks of a time when she'd been all too familiar with the language of using them. The only pleasant association she had with the thing was the fact that they were used to conceal your emotions. Of course, Art no longer had any use for a fan. She could hide her emotions behind a blank expression like a professional.

Although that blank expression was becoming harder and harder to maintain as the charade continued. Luckily Abigail stepped in to help Charity articulate her feelings (and show her how to throw down her drink like a real girl) giving Art a change to regain her composure.

"Our new pilot sure has a way with people," Art chimed in. Her expression was so deadpan it was impossible to tell if she was being sarcastic or not, which was exactly what she'd intended. Art had nothing but pleasant associations with Amorru so far. Much like Charity, she found him deeply amusing and thus she'd classified him as someone she liked. The older she got the less time she had for boring people. "What's he done this time?" she added casually. From her tone you couldn't tell how eager she was to know what fresh mischief Reyes had been getting up to on the bridge.

A part of her wondered if she should be concerned about their predicament but she shrugged the thought aside. If Jax, their new hacker and Amorru couldn't fix it then it couldn't be fixed. There was nothing she could contribute to the team...yet.

[Charity]

The drink she'd guzzled without any sort of preparation or thought was far too strong for her liking. Charity felt like her insides were on fire and no amount of fanning was going to lower her body temperature. She hid her blush behind the fan and eyed them both over the top of it, her lips pursed thoughtfully and her cheeks a deep pink, although the color was likely due in part to the buzz that was slowly working its way over her body.

"What's he done this time?" Artemis asked and Charity had to clear her throat in some halfhearted effort to compose herself.

"Oh, well, you see, it wasn't Reyes," she told them both, lowering the fan a bit so they could see her embarrassed smile. Charity didn't see anything wrong with the pilot's attitude, in fact, he seemed darn right cordial to her. She didn't mind his big personality or the way in which he fashioned himself. "As I said, I'm sure I overreacted," she reminded them, now feeing terribly silly for having gotten so upset. Which might have been the alcohol's doing. Charity wavered a little, extending a hand to rest it on the back of a chair and bringing the fan back up to cover a soft giggle.

"That dandy sure does have an odd sense of style,  I suppose you offered to fix it up for that pigu, despite his short comings?" Abigail asked.

Charity's attention lowered to the jacket and she snapped her fan shut, slipping it back into the pocket beneath the top layer of her skirts. "I think it's lovely," she told them, defending the outfit more than the pilot. "I am going to attempt to repair it, but it is quite in shambles. Perhaps I can...do something though, to make it wearable again," she told them both, smiling brightly and reaching out to run her fingertips over the ruined sleeve.

The aristocrat looked between the two women, then eyed the empty glass in Abigail's hand, her lips turned downward skeptically. "Is this the only alcohol we have on board?" she asked, pointing at the glass and raising her brows in question. She would have liked to sit down and relax with a nice glass of wine or some champagne, and it could have been nice to get to know the other women on board in such a way. But that liquid poison was too daunting!

--

Deeper in the ship, Grace organized and reorganized the medbay. After the heroics on the SkyPlex, she'd reassessed how much of their supplies she'd used patching up the men Abigail, Jax, and Lin had beaten half to death and she'd replaced what had been lost in her many pockets. She liked to be prepared, after all. Despite the ship's current predicament, she felt she was better suited to making sure their infirmary was up to snuff. She'd already set aside some thermal packs for Reyes, but hadn't been able to bring herself to take them to him. Maybe someone could come by eventually and they could do it...

[Abigail Archer]

"Our new pilot sure has a way with people,"

Abigal smirked at Art, fully knowing the woman's interest in the dandy.  Her question was obviously more about the pilot than what he had actually done.

"Oh, well, you see, it wasn't Reyes,"

Her eyes shot back to Charity with a raised brow, "Well it certainly wasn't Jo now was it." Abigail retorted with a sly smile. Jax had obviously done something to offend the woman, he was good at that, offending people.    She eyed the bottle slowly dwindling, these girls could use a drink, and so could she. Looking down at her shirt, she was still stained with blood. Abigail sighed,

"It's been a long day ladies,

"Is this the only alcohol we have on board?"

A smile crept across Abigail's lips, "But of course not Miss Charity." Abigail got up and rummaged through the cabinets, the sound of clinking and shuffling cans could be heard as she muttered to her self. "Ah HA!" Abigail came across a few bottles of alcohol, two half empty bottles of wine sealed with what appeared to be tinfoil, and one was a clear jar of what she could only assume was moonshine.  A gift from the ship's previous engineer.  She opened up the jar of moonshine and gagged slightly, much like anyone would past the age of 20 when smelling hard liquor.

"Alright ladies, and gent." She winked at Emit, "We have some wine,she denoted with air quotes "And we have moon shine!" Who's up for a drink?"

[Jolene Blaylocke]

Whatever had happened on the station prior to Jo meeting up with the crew had security all over the station and they were lighting up the comm lines. It was proving to make the job a little easier and giving her all kinds of insight on what she was getting into. Camera feeds came up on the side once she tapped into one line and eyebrows went up. Clear shots of the XO and captain. "Oh now we can't have that..."

Her eyes shifted across the screen as she changed gears again. Her usual 'back door' access was guarded a little better than normal. Given the lock down the station was putting into place, she wasn't surprised. The 'side door' however, seemed to be wide open. More than one person was being sloppy with their access codes and it gave her more than enough clearance to pull up the main screens in security. Luckily, whoever it was had just enough authority. It would take a couple more minutes for her to do what she needed to, but it would only work if the pilot could keep security busy.

And then an idea sprang to mind. "Let's keep you all busy, shall we?" Leaning in even closer, Jo pulled up the alarm systems for different areas of the station. With no hesitation, she flipped on the fire alarm and fire suppression systems nearest to the Flying Camel before picking an area on the opposite side of the station. After five seconds, she hit that one and left them both running and switched back to the comm lines. More and more traffic began to flood the system as a grin quirked at her lips.

[Artemis Graham]

The fan snap did not go unnoticed and Art had to stop herself from wincing. Where she was from, a snapped fan was a sign someone was in big trouble. Usually that person was her. Art's mother had been a big fan of the snap. Thankfully she'd given up all of that after her father had died. Art wouldn't have even considered returning to Osiris if she'd had judgemental fans to worry about.

But it seemed they were in the clear and Charity was merely finished with the dreaded thing. The tiniest sigh of relief escaped from Art's lips. She was also relieved to hear that she wasn't the only one who found Reyes so amusing. Apparently it was the Captain who had been rubbing Charity the wrong way. That was...interesting. She glanced sideways at Abigail, wondering how she would take the news but her fellow blonde merely shrugged it off. It wasn't just Charity that Jax had put out. Poor Jax. Art could already tell that being on the wrong side of those two would be a lonely (and painful) place indeed.

As Abigail unloaded the supplies Art's mind drifted to the two crates she'd picked up on Greenleaf while she'd been out picking up parts. One was large and had needed help unloading. One was small but equally precious. The big one she was deeply ashamed of. It contained the kind of wine that Charity was longing for. Old Art never would have dared bring it onboard. New Art had developed a taste for the stuff and couldn't bear to be stuck in the black without her supply. Watching Charity's look as Abigail announced their options, she felt a wave of hope. Perhaps she would find a way to openly pop a bottle of bubbles without giving herself away.

"I think I have something a little more to your taste, Charity. It may require chilling though." Sliding out from her seat Art held up one finger at the pair. "Give me a second." She skipped off a little too joyfully from the group but paused at the med bay. Ice. Ice would help with the chilling. Med bays had ice, right?

She hesitated in the doorway, unsure if Grace and her were at the stage where she could request a favour. Then, reminding herself who she was, she knocked gently on the side of the open door. "Am I interrupting?" she asked, "because I kind of have a favour to ask...for Charity.

She added the last part after a second of consideration. Coward she scolded herself. After everything she'd seen and she was scared of a doctor? Once again she chose to blame her mother. She usually did.

[Amorru Reyes]

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds after Reyes ended his call. He might have been tempted to repeat it just as the comm crackled with a response.

The smirk faded and the arched brow melted to a wrinkled furrowing as Amorru brought the transmitter back to his lips. "I-

"This is Greenleaf Station Port Control. We have no record of a Captain Graves but we are monitoring Dock 12 that is currently occupied by a mid-bulk transport with the designation Wushu.....what is your concern?" The acknowledgment of Reyes' question ended as quickly as it begun.

Amorru's upper lip and nose curled in a Grinch-like sneer as he forced the rumbling voice. "Well after the night I've experienced as a guest on your fabled and illustrious 'SkyPlex', I wish I cold say I'm shocked to hear you don't have a Captain's name on record. Now my primary concern is some ruttin' urgent business in Georgia, so you can start by authorizing my pilot's clamp release request."

Amorru looked from monitor to monitor as he awaited a request confirmation. After a moment passed he attempted to enter the command again. When the request yet again rejected, Amorru reached for the switchblade stiletto. Gooseflesh dotted up along Amorru's bare arm, as if his fingertips yet brushed against Artemis Graham's along the polished mother of pearl surface. He leaned forward with a grimace, picked up his camping knife and slid it into it's sheath behind his back. The discomfort sparked an anger that only allowed him to better capture the essence of the grizzled Alliance veteran whose voiced he mocked.

"Wushu to Control! I repeat, I have business to attend to elsewhere! Either have your stationed guard notify me of formal charges, or let this ship raise anchor! That, or I can visit your Command station and - HACK HACK HOOF HUFF HUFF!" Amorru's voice cracked under the strain he put on his vocal cords, eliciting a choking sensation that got stuck in his throat and set him to a coughing fit.

[Jax]

"Wushu to Control! I repeat, I have business to attend to elsewhere! Either have your stationed guard notify me of formal charges, or let this ship raise anchor! That, or I can visit your Command station and - HACK HACK HOOF HUFF HUFF!"

It seemed at first the plan was working as the conversation seemed to be naturally dragging itself out.  Blaylocke was doing her part attempting to crack into the Skyplex's system and Amorru doing his....up until his coughing fit. Jax grimaced as he looked to his pilot in the midst of a hacking spell. "Here gimme that!" Jax brushed Reyes' hand form the comm switch then applied his own. "Port Control this is Captain Xavier of Wushu, enough already! Please release our ship as we have a tight itinerary to keep with....thank you for your consideration....Over." Jax was feeling the pressure now, his only hope seem to sit firmly on the shoulders of some girl he just hired. He snapped his head in Blaylocke's direction..."How we doing?!"

[Emit Culpepper]

Emit tried to blend into the background as best he could once the ladies of the ship started conversing. Miss Charity, was clearly all flustered and Miss Art & Mrs. Abigail appeared to be either tryin to console  or get her to let liquid spirits take the helm.
Emit was never good with this sort of thing. Gunfights, investigating, hell even punching cattle those he understood. Calming down a woman especially,one who may have been scorned. Nope, a bull in a china shop.

"A spot of Moonshine to freshen  this coffee sounds like a plan if you don't mind Mrs. Abigail."

[Jolene Blaylocke]

Jo was working quickly, suddenly feeling some pressure to move faster. With the captain taking over the talking, it seemed to indicate time was more precious than it had been. She glanced at the security footage and checked that her plan there was working. Noting that it was finalizing, she turned her attention back to the land-lock. "Come on, come on... not fast enough..." There was always a feeling of being slower than needed, but she'd always managed before and usually faster than she thought she was moving.

Seconds ticked away and as she just about to press forward on the land-lock...

{Connection lost}

"Go se!" The screen was darker now for the lack of connection and Jo frantically tried to reconnect.

{No available hard line connection}

Jo stared at the screen and felt her stomach drop like she was on a ship making a fast descent. She checked it again and got the same message on her screen. The string of Chinese that arose from behind the comm station put the earlier outbursts of the captain and Art back in the galley to shame. It was followed by a sudden reappearance of the small woman, standing straight up from her seated position. "We have a problem... someone cut us off from the station... as in, all lines were either cut or completely shut down and close to the ship. Probably in the docking lines."

There was a look of serious annoyance written all over the woman's face and posture. "Only positive thing to note is there's no longer any record of the ship at all in the station's computers and no security footage across the station for the last hour. Bad news is... without the connection, I can't break the land-lock." Irritation colored every word, including what was essentially good news for the crew who'd been involved in the fight both in the halls as well as the bar.