Episode 4: The Siege of Echo Valley

[Izak Archer]

Izak watched as Holger brought in their two new arrivals. A woman who may have been in her mid 30s and a man who gave off a 'worked in the bowels of a ship' vibe. It may have been judgmental to assume, but he looked like one of the many engineering crew on a larger ship. The ones who were stuffed in around engines and power systems who rarely got to see the stars or go planetside. 

Izak offered a single acknowledging nod at the two new arrivals when he was introduced. Not need to interrupt Melody right now. He was also impressed with Melody's sudden conversational decorum. She was beginning to behave like a Captain. Not the stuffy, textbook version, but just generally caring about the ship and the crew.

The man, Ick, did a stint in an alliance prison. That would explain the 'worked in the bowels of a ship' vibe. The environment was similar enough.

"Welcome aboard, if you need to store anything in the armory let Holger or I know."

Izak was content to stay for the rest of the conversation, as he was interested in what the woman had to say about the Alliance. But then Breene appeared on the bridge. He looked to Melody as Breene finished his monologue about the marshals they just encountered.

"Should I go with him?"

[Fey]

It was still a bit difficult to take everything in between the concussion she likely sustained from Iscariot, and whatever they had used to drug her to get her over to the Revenge. From what she could gather, her ride to the boat was new as well and clearly was looking for a way off the planet. The tall one, Holger, may have had a screw or two loose but seemed nice enough.

"I'm Captain Turner...This is our Technical Specialist, Jo, and that is our Gunner, Izak...It looks like we've been saddled with each other, but hopefully we can make this arrangement beneficial. What are your thoughts on the Alliance?"

Helena's attention was brought back as the captain arrived. She wore a scowl on her face that Helena could only default for her. A woman of few words who avoided niceties, something Helena could appreciate. As she sized Melody up for a moment and began to respond, her thought process was again interrupted by a half nude man that had made his way into the conversation. Helena rose a brow smirking her gaze lingering but eventually finding it's way back to the Captain,

"I can say the Alliance and I have a bit of history..." the last few words coming off with a tinge of bitterness at the thought of her parents and missing sister, "and I'm happy to find another ride out of here if you plan on working with them." She chose her words carefully, still uncertain of who she was surrounded by, even if one of them was half naked easy on the eyes. Though based on the other arrival Helena gathered she was probably surrounded by people who lived on the other side of the law.

[Melody]

If looks could kill, Breene would have been six feet under. Her jaw clenched and unclenched, the vein in her forehead started thumping, and she was fairly certain her blood pressure had risen to a rate their Doctor would have found troubling.

"Did Mac dump these guys on you?... Gaize de hundahns....Any of you guys seen a handsome nerdy-looking professor wandering around?..."

Her gaze snapped over to Jo, remembering his reasonable request that she not be as reactive and violent with their new (apparently permanent) crew member. Count down from ten. Ten, nine, eight, where did he get that rag, six, he has no respect, five, four, ought to break his nose a second time, three, two, dump him out into space, one... That didn't work. Luckily, the newcomers started speaking and she allowed them the full breadth of her attention once more.

"For my part, I did a dime stretch in an Alliance prison...I'd consider any humpery against the Alliance not only a payment of owed duty, but pert'near a victimless crime," the male replied. Melody nodded, tilting her head to the side and raising a brow at Holger. The giant knew a thing or two about Alliance prisons so she wagered they'd be able to bond over the luxurious accommodations the Purple Bellies had provided them with. 

"I can say the Alliance and I have a bit of history...and I'm happy to find another ride out of here if you plan on working with them," the woman offered. Mel held up a dismissive hand.

"No need to find other accommodations. We ain't planning on working with them, we aim to rob them," she told the pair. "So if that sounds kosher to you, welcome to the Revenge."

"Should I go with him?" Izak asked. Mel stared down at him, looked over at Breene, then nodded curtly.

"Yeah, I'd be much obliged if you did. Escort our..." What was Breene to them? Intel? Gunhand? Pain in her neck? "...Breene, back to the MedBay. Holger will be doing a full scan of the ship while Jo assists from here with the cams. If Adam/Alex is on board, fine. If he's not... well I can't speak for you all but I sure as hell don't care anymore and I'm not going back for four-eyes. We'll send him an invoice when we're out in the Black," she muttered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Now if ya'll'll head off the bridge and get settled into some seats, we'll get the Hell off this moon and get back to what we set out to do in the first place. We'll discuss the particulars of your new positions once we're on course for...somewhere," she told them, nodding her chin a little to dismiss the bunch before she sat back down and turned the pilot's chair around to face the console. "Speaking of...Jo, can you scan through the documents Isa left us, see which shipping lane is closest?" she asked.

[Missy Etheridge]

Nothing, apparently. Breene had apparently learned nothing from his experiences, and Missy only wished she could be surprised as he flung himself off the table and bolted.

"Of all the med bays, on all the ships, in all the 'Verse..." she asked the empty room, still holding the perfectly-measured but completely unused syringe of morphine, "Why do they always end up in mine?"

She debated briefly on whether she was ethically obligated to follow him, decided that she wasn't - somebody would undoubtedly deposit the pantsless pirate back on her doorstep soon enough - and set about cleaning the mess that Holger had left behind instead.

Sure enough, she had just gotten the broken glass safely contained and was scrupulously updating the supply requisition table ("1 analgesic tablet, administered; 2 gauze rolls, administered; 1 erlenmeyer flask, 25 mL, broken; 1 dose morphine, administration pending; 1 surgical towel, 40x66 cm, disposal recommended") when Izak turned up with Breene in tow - or possibly the other way around, it was difficult to tell which one of them was being dragged along by the other.

"Welcome back," she said calmly, not looking up from her clipboard until she finished looping the last 'd' with a little flourish. She set the clipboard down, carefully centered her pen on it, then crossed back to the surgical tray and retrieved the waiting syringe. "Would you like to be treated now, or would you prefer to run a few more laps and get into another fistfight first?"

[Ick Rosewater]

"Welcome aboard, if you need to store anything in the armory let Holger or I know."

Ick returned Izak's greeting with a nod and a friendly smile. "Way ahead of you," he said. "Already turned over a healthy-sized brick of high explosive to Holger here. Only other piece is my roscoe."

Ick took out the revolver, released the chamber, shook the live rounds out into his hand and handed it towards Izak. It wasn't that he didn't trust Izak with a loaded gun though, to be fair, it was certainly too early in their relationship for much trust. Ick was just always taught to never hand ANYONE a loaded gun.

"Should I go with him?" said Izak, referring to Breene who went to continue his tirade elsewhere.

The captain gave her assent and orders to clear the bridge and prepare to flash ass.

"I'll help Izak," said Ick. "The 'I's' have it, Cap'n."

The med bay was on the way to the engine room, so it wasn't out of Ick's way to help Izak get Breene settled. He planned to saddle up in the engine room jump seat so he could see everything in action. The sooner he became acquainted with this boat, the sooner he could be of use.

Ick caught up in the med bay and did a double take at seeing a doily of a woman, far too clean and polished to be on a pirate ship. Before rudeness set in, however, Ick came to the correct conclusion.

"Doc," Ick said, nodding a greeting. "Ick Rosewater. He/him." He then directed his attention to Breene, trying to add weight to his voice that his body lacked. "Hey! Fella! I'm a complete stranger to you so you know I got no skin in the game when I say you're making an ass out of yourself. It's a bad look, my friend. Save some face and behave, yeah? A little self-awareness sound good right now?"

[HumanHyperbole]

THUNK

"Kàn zài shàngdì de fèn shàng wèishéme?"

Alan's head bounced off the Revenge's landing gear. He ran back in the other direction blindly and kept running until he heard a beeping coming from his cortex unit. Before they blew up the cabin, roughly half the test had been completed. He didn't have all the data he wanted but, he had SOME. At least that's what he could make out when he held the device very close to his face. The scientist resolved to wire Breene the money as soon as he found his glasses. They did have an agreement and the Revenge crew did do everything they could. And they were gun-toting pirates who somehow could calling favors with feds.

Shortly after dusting off, Breene's cortex unit, sitting on the dashboard of the Revenge, buzzed. The funds had been deposited. It was time to get going. While the going was good. But maybe the getting could be good too? Among the previous Captain's files were shipping lane charts. The closest shipping route had a couple of notes:

Anvil - Ariel
Heavily guarded. Blue Sun Corp sub-contracted facility regularly moves large volumes of high-value tech and raw materials. Breene suggested he knows some kind of Achille's heel in their security. Breene is also full of lā shǐ.

But that galaxy-brained strategy of Willy Breene's would become evident the moment they escaped the gravity of that accursed moon. An automatic warning came up on the Revenge's navigational systems.

Caution. Transit to Ariel from this region is not advised at this time. Gravitational lanes between Anvil and Ariel are currently one-way and reserved for authorized supply chain logistics and military vessels only.

It seems Breene had been talking to the previous captain about more than one score. They had designs on plunging a dagger into the heart of the Alliance military-industrial complex. Gravitational anomalies made the shipping lanes between the Purple Belly's top military tech on Anvil, and the nexus of Alliance military power in the core a sort of one-way road. Three weeks a year, once you depart Anvil, you're on a roller coaster to Ariel thanks to a sort of gravitational slingshot created by interactions between the Red Sun, the White Sun, and several dwarf stars and their constituent planets and moons.

No turning around. No changing course. Well, you can ...but doing so can send you flying out of the multi-stellar cluster they call home. Off into the deep reaches of space. Swallowed up in the deep, endless embrace of the black. They needed a win, and pulling the feds pants down like this might be a fun way to annoy the Marshals that just dumped the annoying Celt on them.

To be continued in Episdode 5: Between the Anvil and the Hammer