S2E6.2 - Hunter or Hunted

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

Nat waved a hand as she about-faced and headed back to the head to wash up, "Just needed something to wake me up first, don't worry about it."

She paused for a moment, frowning as she looked towards the hallway- yeah, she thought she heard a ruckus happening. Not like it was her business though. Getting back on track, she gave the captain a wolfish grin as she passed.

"Come on, you can't tell me you don't enjoy the view," Her smile faltered for a moment, as a genuine look of concern crossed her face, "Unless you, uh, don't. No judgement- I mean, I don't like to limit my options either, you know? Just uh..."

Nat paused a moment, her brain briefly crashing.

"You know. Guys and girls. Both. Yeah."

Yup. Nailed it.

[Lin Kuei]

Lin raised an eyebrow at Nat. "Not exactly ... I just buried the young woman I cared about the most before you joined this crew. Your appearance has nothing to do with it." There was an edge of ice to his voice. Without saying another word, he turned to look back out of the cargo bay doors. The sooner they got off this planet the better it was in his mind.

[Vega Barnet]

Vega woke with a start and sat bolt upright, drenched in cold sweat and aiming Hound at... nothing. He'd been dreaming. He dropped the gun onto the bed, screwed his eyes shut and spent a moment trying to remember any details about the nightmare. In the end the fragments drifted away. He shuddered. Usually he had no trouble remembering his nightmares, it was a rarity that he didn't. He checked the time and swore. Lin must have already moved the ship, and Vega had slept right through it. "I really need to get it together." He said to the empty room.

He gave a sigh, no time for a shower. He rose, stripped, wiped away the sweat with his shirt and then quickly changed into fresh clothes. No time for a shower, there was likely work to be down. He strapped on his thigh holsters, checked his revolvers, and left his room. A quick moment down the stairs outside his room and he was in the cargo bay. He saw Lin standing looking out the cargo bay, and one of the new crew. Nat... something. Natasha? She was looking distinctly rumpled, like she'd just woken up. The look kind of worked for her. The ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Hey Nat. Glad I wasn't the only one to oversleep." He said, good naturedly.

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

Nat's smile immediately left her face- well, she certainly leapt head first into the gao on this one.

"Oh- god I'm sorry, I didn't-"

If there was one thing Nat could do, it was read a room. Best that she just leave the captain be for now. She turned, quickly making her way to the head.

"Taikong suoyo duh shingchiou saijin wuh duh-"

Her self-roasting was cut off as she nearly ran into Barnet- snapping out of her train of thought as he greeted her. An awkward smile plastered itself across her face.

"Ahh- hey! Yeah, haha-my mama always did say I could snore my way through a parade if I wanted to."

She cleared her throat, pointing a thumb towards the open cargo doors, "We're parked near civilization now- if you were planning on showering outside I'd advise against it."

[Lin Kuei]

Lin did not even look in Vega's direction. He waited until he sensed Natascha had left the cargo area before speaking. "She's right. We are as close to civilization as we have been in the past couple of weeks. Probably want to get a shower before we lift off. As soon as Monty and Helena get back, we are hitting the Black to the skyplex in orbit. Have to follow up on a lead there." Finally turning to look at the gunhand, Lin nodded. "You are now officially the second longest continual crew member on board. Once we get Ian his ship back, I expect you to take over as XO. Feel up to it?" He swung his gaze back to the street for a few seconds before looking back at Vega.

[Fey]

Helena held on as the truck sped off. Ifthey had stayed much longer at that establishment some trouble would've come their way. She sighed contently thinking about the haul they had brought back. She might've gone a bit over board.

They pulled up quickly into the cargo bay and came to an abrupt stop.

"It was good shopping with you sir we should do that again sometime. "
Helena gave him a polite nod and hopped out of the vehicle to pull the canvas off her new toys.

"We're back and we brought souvenirs. " She grinned proudly at the crates of explosives and ammunition and started to unload.

[Lin Kuei]

Lin quickly moved to unload the Beast. Climbing into the back of the truck, he quickly started moving the gear to the edge of the tailgate. "Just set it all off to the side. Monty, you can store the spare parts at the foot of the stairs into the cargo bay or along the wall here past the workout equipment. ... There is an armory on the main deck as well. Vega can show you where it is so all of this can be stored there."

As soon as the truck bed was empty, Lin grabbed the keys from Monty and shut the tailgate. Climbing into the front seat, he made the engine roar to life and stuck it into reverse, accelerating out of the cargo bay. Once far enough away, he flipped it around quickly and backed the Beast back into the cargo bay. Shutting off the engine, he jumped down from the cab. The cargo bay doors were shut abruptly. Lin grabbed the chain off the side, looped it under the truck and began the process of hoisting it up to the ceiling again. "Okay, folks. We are on our way out of here. The armory is a doorway next to the one for my quarters across from the medbay."

Lin jogged up the stairs to the main deck. He passed a few of the crew as he headed off toward the cockpit. Moving through Ops, he quickly sidestepped around the 3D modeler station and settled into one of the two pilot's chairs. Tapping the shipwide comm, Lin barked out a couple of quick orders. "Get the gear stowed before we break atmo, especially the weapons. Natascha, get up here to the cockpit. We are taking off. I may be somewhat capable as a pilot but it is time for you to earn it. We are heading to the Skyplex over Greenleaf. Got a possible lead on something for your fellow crewmate, Ian. Once I get that info, there may be time to relax a little. I'll spot the crew a round, maybe two."

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

Thankfully, Nat was in no mood to dally in the shower, already mostly dressed as Lin's orders sounded over the comms. She hopped out of the door to the head, one boot on and attempting to slip on the other before she scurried her way to the cockpit.

Lin was already in the copilot's chair- lovely. Hopefully Nat could avoid putting her foot in her mouth again. Simply nodding at the captain, she sat in the chair and began her pre-flight checks. With a flick, she opened the ship-wide comms.

"Attention passengers, this is your pilot speaking- we are beginning our pre-flight procedures so please make sure all baggage is stowed in the overhead bins and that your tray tables are in the full upright position. Once we hit cruising altitude our stewardesses will be around with in flight food and entertainment- tonight's film is a classic from earth that was: Biodome, starring reknown legend Pauly Shore. We appreciate your cooperation, and thank you for flying Air Ronin."

With a few final clicks, the Ronin was ready for take off, and Nat took on a breath. The moment of truth.

Nat released the landlocks and started up the thrusters, as the ship steadily climbed into the air- a grin flashed on her face. The repairs seemed to be holding- thank you, Monty- and she felt the thrill of the powerful engines under her fingertips.

"Hope you're buckled in, cap'n."

[Lin Kuei]

"I was buckled in before you were awake, Nat." Lin deadpanned without skipping a bit. He pulled up the destination of the Greenleaf Skyplex on the monitors. It was a very short hop from the surface. He hoped the crew had gotten the parts and weapons stored. Last thing they needed was an Alliance visit while aboard the Skyplex. It would complicate things in an unfortunate way. "As soon as we dock, I'll handle the dockmaster. Everyone else gets to head to the resident bar there known as The Camel. I'll meet up with you all later."

[Fey]

Helena had gotten the weapons put away by the time they had launched.  She stood quietly admiring her haul and she sighed contently. Nat's voice came in over the comms, Helena shook her and and smiled slightly.  It was quite the crew they had.  She closed up the panel which hid the weapons and left for the galley.

[Monty]

Once the beast was unloaded, Monty carted all his new parts down to engineering. He labeled boxes and stored things with some sense of order so he'd be able to find them in a pinch. Monty had just gotten the last items stored when the word came it was time to go. He was looking forward to a good meal and a drink. The Flying Camel Saloon was a well known franchise throughout The Rim. They had one particular meal that was his favorite, his mouth watered just thinking of it. Nothing like protein in its natural form. He happily concluded.

[Abenette Kelker]

Finally, Tarantino calmed.  She didn't know if it was her ruse or not, but the results were favorable, no matter how they came about.

"Thanks for your help,"

Abe raised her eyebrow a little at the Doc's tone, but she passed it off as wanted to look after her friend.

"I think he'll be okay now."

Abe nodded her head in acceptance.

"I think Ian and I will go see where the others are," she told her.  "Just yell if ya need anythin'."

She very carefully sheathed Dude and looked over at Ian and motioned for him to follow.

"Cargo Bay?" she asked as she turned and walked that way, assuming that Ian was behind her.  Once there, she looked at the happenings.  Beast was back and a haul had been stowed.  Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.  "How long did I sleep?  I didn't hear y'all return."

But lifting heavy stuff was something that she wanted to avoid.  She hadn't exactly had the chance to ask the Doc for some guidelines. Should she be taking it easy?  Or could she do whatever she normally did at the beginning?  She'd never been pregnant.  She also didn't pay much attention to those on her homeworld who were.  She was more interested in weapons, plus spending time learning such things.

Ian has a kid though.  Would he know?  She turned around to ask him, albeit quietly enough that no one would hear."

"Ian?  I have a couple of questions..."



OOC:  Ian, you can decide if he is there or not.  If not, Abe will just sigh and wonder where he went.

[Desertpuma]

Everyone please move on to the next thread of the Greenleaf Skyplex located here:

Greenleaf Stopover

There may be some visitors visiting from the ship Wushu too ...