S2E6.2 - Hunter or Hunted

[Vega Barnet]

Vega caught the name Velocity whispered. Wonder who Bonnie is. He thought to himself.  It definitely seemed like Velocity had been though some rough times. "The man who brought you in? That'd be Lin. Captain Kuei. This ship is his. I'm just a lowly gun hand and shuttle pilot." Just then Vegas ear piece chirped to life and he heard Ians voice. "Ah, Ian. Lin took a quick drive into town to pick up some new hires. Should be back in a couple hours. Before he left he found someone collapsed out in the jungle, her names Velocity. We're up in the galley." He turned his head back to Velocity. "That was Ian, another gun hand." He paused for a moment, and then added, "Strength coming back at all now that you've got some food in you?"

[Velocity Grey-Lambert]

A shadow passed across Velocity's face at the word 'gun hand' but it fled when Vega added shuttle pilot; that was more palatable to Velocity. She wrote the information down in the notebook, her hand moving quickly as she formed the letters. The words were legible, just, not helped by the fact that the writing was cursive and in a tight, miniature script.

Vega	:	Gun hand, shuttle pilot (delusions of inferiority)
Lin Cooey	:	Captain (kind, thoughtful)

She didn't really notice when Vega's attention drifted as the communication came into his earpiece; she hadn't picked up that he was wearing one and when he responded to the communication, she was confused. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times without saying anything before she began to have the feeling that he wasn't speaking to her. "Who is he speaking to? Where are they?" she wondered, and she looked around, trying to find the other person. It only became clear with Vega's last sentence but it did not become any more comfortable.

Vega said: "That was Ian, another gun hand."

'Another' suggested that there were more than just the two, that there were probably at least three including Vega and maybe more. Of course, people were careless with their use of language, imprecise and misleading so there was the chance that there were just the two. Velocity didn't think so; she took the pessimistic view and a darkness settled around her like a black cloud, her forehead wrinkling in a frown. She didn't like violence, didn't like the idea that people might shoot at each other. It wasn't uncommon, out here on the border, even less uncommon, on the rim but she didn't like it, didn't want to have to tolerate it but she had to fly; fly or die, there was no middle ground for her.

Focused on the part of Vega's statement that had distressed her, she ignored the question about her recovery.

"So many gunhands," she said mournfully. "Why so many gunhands?" she repeated querulously, her head tilted on one side as her gaze locked with Vega's. There was something birdlike in the way she held her head but her bright blue eyes were wide and sunk deep in their sockets, rimmed by a dark, puffiness that was in stark contrast to the pallor of her albino skin and her shocking white hair. 

[Abenette Kelker]

As they traveled back to Ronin filled with supplies and special bits and pieces, the slow sway of their flight was making Abe absolutely sick.

"Must not have been an emergency.  Lin just left."

Abe couldn't help but cover her mouth and power on, sitting back behind Ian and closing her eyes, hoping that it wouldn't be as bad, but God...  Was there no shaking this thing?

It's just the flu... she thought to herself.  It's just the flu...

But who was she kidding...  The flu shouldn't last this long.

"Let's land and get this cargo sorted.  We'll see what we're up against in the meantime."

That is true...  Sooner or later they will know what they were up against.

Or who...

It has to be the flu... she told herself, just not too convinced.

She followed Ian up the ramp then.

"Vega.  We're back and need help unloading.  Where did Lin go.  Any idea?"

Why the ship can sound so cavernous, she had no clue.

"Man, I miss the Glory."

She smiled wistfully.

"So do I," she whispered.

She turned to Ian knowing that she probably looked like Hell.

"I'm goin' ta go get some tea.  Maybe help with my nausea?" she said hopefully, but what she was about to try, it almost made her already upset stomach churn a little more.  She had seen lots of women on her homeworld go through numerous pregnancies.  It was a treatment that helped.  "I hope there is some ginger tea on board."

She smiled nervously to Ian. 

"I heard it might help with certain... conditions."

So she headed off to the Galley.  When she neared the door, she heard a new voice.

"So many gunhands,"  "Why so many gunhands?"

Abe entered, hand staying near Dude as she came in.  She looked at Vega questioningly as she regarded the newcomer with a raised eyebrow.  The woman was way pale, most likely one without pigment.  Albino, she thought the were called.  She looked a little worse for wear, but recuperating.

"Everything OK, Vega?" Abe asked as her body armor was starting to feel tight.  She made it over to the tea cabinet and fished around with her free hand as she kept an eye on the new girl.  "Who is she?"

She saw the tea she was looking for and pulled it out as a wave of dizziness swept over her.  She dropped the box on the counter and used to her hand to steady herself, but tried not to let herself look off balance.  Probably not so well, but she tried.

"As for your question...  Lots of gunhands helps keep us alive.  I would feel blessed if I were ya.  Makes here safer and all."

Dear God...  Was she going to pass out?

[Lin Kuei]

Lin leveled off as the others kept talking. He focused his attention more on the landscape and the sky. The three ships that attacked Ronin had only been gone about four days, maybe five, but he was concerned they would be returning before he could get Ronin up and running. Hopefully, the drive back would be uneventful.

Lin guided the Beast around some of the treetops that broke through the canopy. He had them flying close enough to the trees that one might have been able to reach out and touch them. Letting the others talk was an easy way for them to get to know each other or know each other better. Now he had to figure out how Velocity would fit in the mix. They were also still short of having a medic which, given what they tended to do, was fairly essential.

Guiding the Beast, he had it swing around a mountain's edge. Accelerating, he recognized the area and knew the ruined outpost was not much more than ten minutes drive. "Hang on. Bought to get bumpy." It quickly descended as he switched off the hover portion of the Beast and the tires bounced roughly on the ground. The plume of dirt rose behind them and a dust trail started to form. He tapped the comm.

"Vega, it's Lin. Almost back to the outpost now and should be back at the ship within ten minutes. Have Ian and Abbey returned yet? ... Got some new crewmembers but still need a medic. Starting past the outpost in a just a few minutes." Lin pointed out the front windshield at the ruined outpost.

The fires had gone out but it was not difficult to see which buildings and small vehicles had been on fire at one point. Bullet holes riddled most of the buildings. The only item of stone was the well off to the side of the outpost. As the Beast continued forward, he pointed out an area off to one side of the outpost where a series of low mounds were laid out in a grid like pattern. "Gravesites. ... We've had to scrounge what we could from that outpost. That's where I got the armor plating."

[Fey]

Helena had zoned out for the majority of the ride until the touch down, she held on briefly as they switched from hover mode.

"Vega, it's Lin. Almost back to the outpost now and should be back at the ship within ten minutes. Have Ian and Abbey returned yet? ... Got some new crewmembers but still need a medic. Starting past the outpost in a just a few minutes."

Her ears perked up when Lin mentioned Vega however, her old crew mate from Horizon. Really how many other Vega's could there be out there. It hadn't been long since they all last scene each other. Albeit, she was captain and an XO the last time they interacted, so working as equals would be interesting.  For such a large universe it was  feeling awfully small. She leaned forward and put her hand on the back of Lin's seat,

"Cap't I couldn't help but overhear, but were you just talking to Vega Barnett?"

[Lin Kuei]

"Cap't I couldn't help but overhear, but were you just talking to Vega Barnett?"

Lin raised an eyebrow as Helena asked her question. "Yes, he's been working on Ronin for that past nine to ten months, could even been a year now. He's a solid gunhand. ... Where do you know him from?" Connections could be tighter on this ship than expected which was never a bad thing, especially if they remember how well they worked together.

[Fey]

"Yes, he's been working on Ronin for that past nine to ten months, could even been a year now. He's a solid gunhand. ... Where do you know him from?"

Helena smirked, of course it was him, where else would he be? "Vega and I served on Horizon together, not too long ago....before all the poisoning and what not." She grinned slightly thinking about some of the adventures that had back then.

It would be nice to someone, at least it was one less person she had to have to introduce herself to.

[Velocity Grey-Lambert]

Ronin's Galley

Velocity's head turned and tracked the newcomer; again it was tilted to one side like a bird considering whether what it saw was a tasty worm or something poisonous. She noted the gun, the hand hovering over it and the general wariness. It might have seemed comical to Velocity if it didn't represent things that she disliked intensely. A subtle change came over her face and her body tensed; the bird had sensed poison and danger and was ready to leap out of the way of any strike; a leap doomed to failure and likely to cause more damage to the bird's fragile frame than the perceived attack.

Abe said: "Who is she?"

"The cat's mother," Velocity murmured; she didn't care if she was overheard but she was in the habit of speaking softly. "A bit of rubbish dragged out of the gutter." Whether it was the sentiment of the management or the result of random neurones firing with inadequate censorship was unknowable.

Abe said: "As for your question...  Lots of gunhands helps keep us alive.  I would feel blessed if I were ya.  Makes here safer and all."

"Do they? Does it?" The words were a challenge but the tone was not, instead quiet and resigned, as was her attitude toward a 'Verse that seemed to her to spawn so much violence and taught people that all too often violence was the answer . She didn't put it so eloquently in her mind; it was an unformed feeling but the impact was as great.

"Send us to the front line send us into battle point us at the Enemy Lest we Forget!
It's for our protection that we lay here slaughtered it's for our survival we Bury our Dead!"

It was an excerpt from a song^[1] from The Earth That Was, an anthem against corporate greed and military excesses, something that had caught Velocity's attention when going through the vast music catalogue that humankind had brought with it. Most had forgotten its existence, a loss of memory across generations, probably deliberate to help create and reinforce the collective delusion that the diaspora was a fresh start; it was only those like Velocity who took a deeper interest in music and wanted to have a wider repertoire to play and to listen to, that unearthed it and exposed it to the light of day.

She sang softly, using minimal diaphragm support and while her voice was quiet during the monotonal portions and sounded pleasant and in tune, she put a lot more into "forget" and "dead", and her voice cracked and broke. By the time she had finished, tears were rolling down her cheeks but there was no other outward sign of her distress.

"Nothing changes; nothing ever changes," she complained.




[1]: Alison Moyet - Money Mile

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

"Wow, the 'Verse is just absolutely tiny today, ain't it?" Nat said, allowing herself a grin. Friends in the crew were good- people being close to each other just meant more opportunities for bonds and safety- the less likely your fellow crewman was to stab you in the back.
Nat nodded- yeah, this was gonna be great.

[Alyssa Garnet]

Outside/Cargo Bay

Alyssa and Tarintino were trudging through the Greenleaf jungle towards Ronin. Vega had sent her the coordinates for the ship but last they spoke she hadn't been able to give him a definite time of arrival. When she had discovered the massacre at the compound Tarantino had escaped she was terrified for the safety of both of them. The poor boy - well, no, he wasn't a boy - was traumatized. She might be making a huge mistake, but she felt impelled to take care of him. It had been really difficult to contact Vega and ask for his help but she knew she couldn't do it by herself. Thankfully Vega was willing.

"I think this is it," she said to Tarantino as the ship came into view. "That's the ship."

She walked up to the comm panel, pressed it, and announced their presence.

"Hi, uh, hello? This is Dr. Garnet and Tarantino, looking for either Captain Kuei or Vega Barnet."

[Ian Dugan]

Cargo Bay

Ian was still in the Cargo Bay and had started with the sorting.  Abe had gone up to the galley to something for her stomach.  Vega had let them know that all was right with the ship so he had let her go alone. 

He had lost track of time while he worked when the comm activated from outside.  He listened to what was said and smiled. 

Maybe we'll find out sooner, rather than later if Abe is pregnant.. He smiled as he opened the door, a hand not far from Ghost as he did.

Once the door opened fully he saw a w ok man and young man.

"My name is Ian.  The Skipper isn't in right now but should be back soon.  You can wait in the galley if you'd like.  Please leave your bags here."

He indicated the passage that would take them to the galley and listened to the barley heard song that came from that direction.  He pointed to a spot on the deck, by the door to place the bags.

"Oh, Doc.  What do you know of prenatal care?"

[McKayla Langster]

McKayla watched as they neared their destination. She was glad, she could feel how stiff her back was and no doubt her knees would be aching from the long ride.

Vega and I served on Horizon together, not too long ago....before all the poisoning and what not."

"Wow, the 'Verse is just absolutely tiny today, ain't it?" Nat said

Tiny was an understatement. Did everyone know everyone on this damn crew? Admittedly, it wasnt a bad thing for business. She had tried to foster a sort of camaraderie of her own team back on Osiris. She found that when her team were close, they tended to work well together and needed very little oversight. They would talk amongst themselves and work out issues without having to ever come to her.

She had never had that happen since she left the core though. All the odd jobs she took, she was just another contract hire who did their work and left. Some of her former crews were good people, but she wouldn't consider them close.
No she hadnt been close to anyone since she left. She had made some friends during her time on Osiris. Work friends, friends that were friends of her fiancees.
Guess they weren't really friends if they believed the lies that were said about her so easily.

[Alyssa Garnet]

Cargo Bay

Alyssa took a half step backwards from Ian. She was a bit nervous - if neither the Captain or Vega was here she didn't feel confident stepping into the ship with strangers.

"Uh," she didn't want to sound rude but at the same time she was definitely not going inside without some kind of assurance. "What about Vega, is he here?" she asked nicely.

As for prenatal care, "Uh," she smiles. "Not my specialty but not a problem. Someone aboard expecting?"

[Ian Dugan]

Ian noticed the half step back and smiled.
This is a smart one.  He dropped his hand to his side and stepped back himself.

"Vega's in the galley.  So is the person who may or may not be pregnant with my child.  We're not sure but are hopeful.  Her name is Abe."

He motioned them inside.

"I'll take you to Vega.  I could use a break anyway."

[Tarintino Quin]

as Tarintino approached the ship he was scared, even looking up and seeing the sky sent a strange shiver down his spine he had never felt before and the exestential crisis he would get everytime he looked and could see things for miles in any given direction made him feel tiny and insignificant, but here he was, about to get on a piece of machinery far larger than anything he had ever seen before in his life which had been made to climb up into that vast nothingness to accomplish ... Something.

It was arrogant to think that with any machinery that Tarintino could get anything past the vast nothingness that beared down on him any time he looked up, it was something to be feared and avoided, something to avoid the attention of, not something to charge into with a earsplittingly loud humming hunk of crafted metals and alloys.

Tarintino was scared.

But, despite his fear, Alysa said they needed to get onto a ship, and he had allready decided he was was going to follow her ... It's not like the infinite nothingness that was the sky was any less scary than the writhing chaos of this place's ant-nest like cities or the pale hollow imitations of "innocence" that the backwater villages tried to portray either. Everything here was scary, nothing was free of taint.

He was still wearing the cloak Alyssa had found him in, it was tattered, shredded and still covered in dried blood but wearing it comforted him, Alyssa had tried to take it from him so she could wash it but he couldn't bring himself to give it to her, the cloak covered his entire body, even his front but it was still opened at the front so when he moved you could see he was actually not naked underneath this time, wearing a cheap black shirt and rough looking black working pants as well.

As Alyssa takes a step back Tarintino takes a couple flurried steps to position himself from behind her to directly in front of her, standing between her and whatever had caused her to feel like she needed to retreat (Which in this case, was Ian). He looks up at Ian, making eye contact with him and standing in a tense stance as he tries to stare the man down.

The display was ... Considerably *less* than intimidating, for one the guy was 5'5, for another he was very visibly terrified of Ian and for a third he looked like he was malnourished and had been picked off of the street, not exactly a visage of a powerful warrior by any stretch of the imagination ... Tarintino opens his mouth as if he wants to say something to Ian, perhaps tell him to take a step back, but all he can manage after a couple seconds of standing with his mouth open is a scared sounding whimper, closing his mouth again and simply staring at the man.

[Lin Kuei]

"Yes, he's been working on Ronin for that past nine to ten months, could even been a year now. He's a solid gunhand. ... Where do you know him from?"

"Vega and I served on Horizon together, not too long ago....before all the poisoning and what not."

"Always valuable to work with people you know are good from previous experience." Lin guided the Beast past the last of the outpost and around a small bend toward a box canyon. The Blaze, Ian's shuttle, promptly came into view and was dwarfed by the tail end of Ronin. It was hidden from the top by a sparse high canopy. "Looks like Ian is back which some more things he has scrounged." Lin slowed the Beast down before having do a slow circle so the truck bed was facing the open cargo bay. He shut down the vehicle, pulled the keys and dismounted.

Lin took a few steps over to Blaze and grabbed some of the material before carrying it into the cargo bay and setting it down. He greeted Ian and noticed the new arrivals. "Glad to see you made it back, Ian. ... I'm Captain Lin Kuei." He extended his hand toward the new arrivals as he punched the comm in the cargo bay. "Vega, I'm back with some new crewmembers. ... I'm guessing everyone pretty much needs a tour. ... Over there in the far corner are two large freezers for holding food and beneath the stairs we have some workout equipment, heavy bag and so on. The Beast hangs up the back wall here when we are in flight with the Blaze riding on the floor of the cargo bay. Up here there are more sights to see, Monty first door on the left at the top of the stairs." Lin started toward the cargo bay stairs further into the ship.

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

Nat whistled as she caught sight of the ship, jumping out of the cab when they parked and heading to grab her bag.
"Now, ain't she a thing of beauty!" Nat grinned craning her neck up to take in the Ronin.
"Slammer class, right? Don't think I've seen one of those since the war," slinging her bag over her shoulder and stuffing her hands back in her pockets she quickly caught up to the captain, "Good to know the boat I'll be flying is a nimble one- always been more of a fan of VTOL thrusters than runway shuttles-"
Nat stopped as she saw the two other newcomers already there- well, more the man than the woman. Dude looked like he had one foot in the grave, didn't need no doctorate to figure that much.
Probably best she steer clear, lest he gets any more spooked.
"So, anything extra you got hooked up on her?" Nat asked as Captain Kuei pointed them upstairs, "Thrust power, spec'd equipment- I can tell you cut her guns loose so I ain't expecting to dogfight in her, that's for sure."

[Fey]

Helena slid out of the vehicle, her boots landing heavily on the ground. She grabbed her bag out of the bed of the truck and swung it over her back, her hand resting on the butt of her gun as she walked up the ramp of the ship.  Her foot steps echoed in the cargo bay as she stepped slowly looking around the large open space.  It hadn't been long since she had been on a ship but she certainly had missed it.

The woman Natascha whistled and it reverberated off the walls.  Quite the talker isn't she. Helena thought to her self.  She glanced over momentarily at the woman who was rattling off a number of questions. Her eyes moved up to where Lin was pointing. 

"Quarters in that direction as well I suspect?"

[Vega Barnet]

"Oh everything is grand." Vega replied to Abbey, tiredly straight faced. "This is Velocity. Lin found her on the edge of the jungle." Abbey answered the why so many gun hands question. One of Vegas eyebrows rose in response to Velocitys reaction. She was getting more character by the minute it seemed. He was about to comment on it when his com crackled to life. "Captains back with some new hires, I'm gonna go say hi." He stood and stretched, stifling a yawn. "You be in here a while Abbey? Keep Velocity company?"

[Alyssa Garnet]

Cargo Bay

Tarintino hurried forwards to step in front of her. He must have sensed her apprehension and moved to protect her. Knowing how scared he was - of everything - she was surprised. Also touched, that despite his fear he would move to protect her.

She placed a hand on Tarintino's shoulder from behind him, and then stepped to the side so that she was facing Ian again.

At that point, the Captain arrived and introduced himself, along with a whole bunch of other people. Concerned that the sudden arrival of a crowd of strangers would intensify Tarintino's terror, she slipped her hand from his shoulder in order to take his hand.

When it was offered, she shook Captain Kuei's hand. She introduced herself and Tarintino.
"I'm a friend of Vega's, I believe he spoke with you about myself working as your ship's doctor, and that I would be bringing my friend here too."