Kai
Retired Staff
Hyperspace, on a course for Nepleslia
>ON!
The hours in transit from Yamatai to Nepleslia passed by without so much as a hoo-ha, the occupants of the shuttle doing little more than resting or otherwise occupying themselves as they went. And yet, both sooner and later than anticipated, the journey came to an end, as Ellen's nap concluded and she made her way somewhat groggily to the Pilot's seat, bypassing the gigantic Abwehran as she did so, and then disappearing behind the high back of the comfy chair, to start the preparations for landing- the first of which included bringing the Roc gently out of FTL before the planet's gravity did so forcefully.
In the co-pilot's seat, Nyezeh lifted her glasses to watch Ellen take the controls. She grumbled, sitting up straight and leaning back, letting her eyewear drop back down onto her nose. Letting out a big belabored sigh, she cracked her knuckles once in front of her chest, and then a second time as she she stretched her arms into the air and her wings off to the sides. "Wide awake, captain," the Lorath reported, doing a cursory systems check while the Yamataian started with landing preparations.
Successfully in Orbit, Ellen went about the dreary task of calling in her identifications and intentions, before gaining clearance and taking the shuttle down toward the planet. However, instead of the usual trip to a starport, the Roc began swooping along through Funky city. While this was not altogether unusual, it wasn't really the standard procedure for delivering a package.
"Alright guys, I need you to help me look for a large red building with a landing pad on the roof," Ellen asked, herself scanning the skyline for such a structure. "We're supposed to take the package there, although, I'm not sure what we do with the Abwehran when we're done."
Rüd exhaled a sharp breath from his nostrils- not necessarily offended, but amused that the pint-sized Yammy would even allow herself to utter such an insult to such a massive man. He rose and leaned between the two women to peer out the window. He pointed off to the left, vaguely, and offered only slightly more precise information. "Should be downtown, toward the industrial district." He took his seat again and crossed two pairs of arms, glad that they would finally be doing something other than sitting.
Nyezeh opened her mouth wide, yawning as she barely brought the back of her hand in front of her face as some half-hearted gesture of politeness. "You still owe me a smoke break," she reminded the Abwehran as he returned to his seat. Lazily she planted her elbows on the console and her chin in her hands as she skimmed the cityscape for the aforementioned red building. "All in all, this gig is turning out a lot quieter than I expected," she mumbled not directly to Ellen, but turning to face her slightly she added, "Are we dropping it off on the pad or am I gonna get to drive that thing?" Jolokia nodded her head towards the back of the shuttle.
"Thanks," Ellen responded to Rued, as she took a different course, turning at a right angle to follow a different street as they looked about, the shuttle doing most of the actual flying anyway. "So, What Are we supposed to do with you once we drop off the package, Mr. Rued?" Ellen asked conversationally, her eyes still glued to the wildly varying skyline of Nepleslia's Funky City.
"Smoke on the job. Saves time," he suggested amicably to the Lorath, then turned his glowing eyes on Ellen. After some contemplation, he shrugged despite the Yamataian's back turned to him. "Nothing. You don't owe me anything. Though if you're looking for another hand, this job ends so soon as the goods are delivered."
"You can drive it if we've got nothing else to do after the job," Ellen answered Jolokia quickly, making a small noise as she acknowledged victory- the building appeared up ahead and to the right, not too conspicuous, but easy enough to find.
"Well, I wouldn't mind giving you transport wherever you might like to go, as far as another hand goes, well, Not sure if I'll need it, but I'll keep that in mind," the small Yamataian explained as she swiftly brought the Roc to the landing pad atop the building, deftly setting it down with a slight jolt, showing that she wasn't an especially experienced pilot, but it was still better than the landings the public transport pilots subjected their passengers to.
Ellen began flicking switches and shutting the shuttle down, equalizing the pressure inside the shuttle with that of Funky city one last time in case it had changed since they'd dropped into the city, and then popping open the starboard airlock door, which faced the small raised door that led down into the building. "Well, let's head on out, I'll call the contact." Ellen motioned toward the door, while pulling out her communicator and tapping a few buttons on the screen for the desired result.
The Nightwalker was already on his feet as Roc descended to the landing platform, and therefore the first out the door, the package tucked under one arm. He looked around, surveying the rooftop, and finding nothing of import. Grateful, he fished his partially spent cigar from one pocket and relit it. Then he withdrew a fresh one which he proffered to Nyezeh. "As promised." He felt nothing more could be said on the matter.
Grabbing the mess of guns and straps beside her seat, the Lorath woman slid her gear over her arms and fastened it once more as she stood up and headed for the shuttle door. "Ready to go, captain," she said, less worried about openly carrying firearms on Nepleslia than she was on Kyoto. Propelling herself outside, Nyezeh got a good look of her surroundings and graciously accepted Rüd's gift. "Thanks," she replied, holding it up and taking a good bite out of the tip, spitting the remains onto the launchpad. "Gotta light?"she asked, sticking the cigar between her lips and clenching onto the thick, wrapped tobacco with her teeth.
Rüd nodded, pulled the lighter from his pocket, and ignited it in one slick, well-practiced gesture. It was a short matter of firing up the Lorath's cigar before he dumped the lighter back in his pocket.
Ellen strode to position herself at the front of the duo, poking her communicator once more before flipping it closed and stuffing it in one of the pockets of her bomber jacket, and then simply standing, staring the door down as if daring something other than a simple customer to burst from it.
The wind whipped Nyezeh's loose tie about as she thanked the four-armed man, her words a little slurred as she spoke through clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath filled her lungs with the amazingly warm and calming aroma of Abwehran tobacco smoke. Perfect," she complimented, taking ahold of the cigar as she expelled a small puff of wisps into the air. Taking a moment to reflect on the taste, Nyezeh turned her head down to look at the Captain and see what their next move was.
Ellen's hopes were, of course, dashed, when some sort of suit-clad man emerged, a handkerchief hastily wiping sweat off his brow, the effort of making his way up the stairs apparently too much for his level of fitness. In any case, he approached, seeming somewhat intimidated by the very large grey person with four arms and a Lorath carrying two submachineguns.
"You Geoff?" Ellen asked, and the businessman nodded, answering
"Yes, Yes, I'm Geoff. Hey, you mind, you know, giving me the package really quick. I'm not supposed to be up here or anything, so..." He tugged at the collar of his suit, still nervous, looking from one side to the other as if expecting something horrible to happen any second.
"Uhh, Sure," Ellen responded, looking back to Rued. "Well, hand it over, Mister Rued, we don't want the customer dissatisfied." The small Yamataian also approached the man, pulling her communicator out of her pocket and calling forth a volumetric screen which asked for a signature to confirm the delivery.
Making small talk, Ellen asked Geoff "So, what's so special about this package that we have to drop it off on a windy rooftop rather than send it through the mail?" She wasn't really expecting an answer, just trying to be amicable toward the less than calm Nepleslian.
"Oh, Umm, It's nothing. just, medicine, you know, Cheaper to get it this way than by prescription." he explained, laughing nervously, and continuing to look about as if he were going to be shot at any moment.
Rüd stepped forward and held out the box with just one hand, as if it were nothing more than a child's doll. When Geoff came near enough, another arm lashed out and held the small man by his noodle of a bicep. "What's the rush, little man?" He had an amused grin.
Not liking Geoff's attitude, or general demeanor, form of dress, or really anything about the man, Nyezeh scowled at the Nepleslian, making sure her cigar was firmly held between her teeth. And when Rüd decided to have a close one-on-one chat with the man, she slipped her hands under her arms to unhook her guns. Certainly whatever strong-arm deal was going on, it seemed prudent to the Lorath that she not have to take the extra time later. If she didn't need them, great. But experience told her that generally when you bring out the guns, you end up using them.
Geoff, having already signed Ellen's form, grabbed the box as if it were a pet that was about to bite the Abwehran, and held it as firmly as he could, trying futilely to hide it beneath his suit coat, but Rued's arm was too quick and he couldn't retreat into the safety of his office building, the box dropping on the rooftop and splitting open, revealing a number of vials of various colors-Blue, Pink, and Purple. He began to frantically look around, his breathing rapidly increasing in pace, and sweat pouring from his brow once more. "It's ah, It's not actually mine..." he tried to mumble, though he could tell that it wouldn't help him at the moment.
"Whoops. Ladies, what's that look like to you?" Unfortunately for Geoff's peace of mind, the Nightwalker already knew what it was. With a dramatic puff of cigar smoke he answered himself. "Why, this looks to me like some good old old Kaserine. What's a man like you need Kaserine for?" Rüd put a little extra emphasis in declaring Geoff's gender because it was no longer clear just what the frantic fellow was. The pathetic attempts to divert guilt elicited a laugh from Rüd who didn't give a damn what it was for.
A gunshot rang through the air, and Geoff went limp in Rued's hands, the white shirt under his coat turning red with blood, giving everyone just enough time to react as more gunshots began pouring in at them- from a nearby rooftop, from the doorway, even coming out of some of the vents, crisscrossing the area with bullets and energy beams.
"Shit! What the hell did you have to do that for, Dumbass?" Ellen yelled at Rued, pulling two pistols out from beneath her jacket, which she had unzipped, revealing a black T-shirt partially obscured by two holsters. She quickly began firing, popping several 10mm rounds at the doorway, which rewarded her with a cry of surprise and pain followed by some dull thudding as the person she had just shot tumbled back down the stairs. She was already on her way down to the deck, taking cover behind a chimney, firing rounds at a nearby rooftop to keep whoever was on it pinned down.
"Fuggk," Jolokia swore through her gritted teeth. She knew something was up, and the worst part about it was now she was pretty sure that she was going to have to shoot the Abwehran. And he was such nice eye candy, too. "Gedd donn," she barked at Ellen, taking a few steps towards her employer as she sprayed laser fire from her Fatboys towards the source of the gunfire, offering some cover fire for the Yamataian to get to someplace safe. The smell of smoke filling her nostrils paired with the thrumming of the guns against her palms calmed the Lorath, giving her focus as things went out of control.
Whoops. Time to roll with the punches. The Nightwalker hefted the slumped body for use as a meat shield and bulldozed his way into the stairwell shouting a battle cry: "BRING IT BITCHES!" How he managed to speak clearly without removing the cigar was a hidden talent of his people, derived from their throaty language; little to no jaw movement was required to utter it. In the dimly lit entrance, there was just one more gun-toting goon; he had been sprinting up the stairs, but an Abwehran barreling down on led him to second-guess this plan. There was no time for that, unfortunately. Rüd plowed him over and followed his ragdoll of a body as it tumbled down to the next landing. With a sigh the Nightwalker dropped Geoff's corpse like he would dispose of a dead cigar: carelessly and without a thought. His second victim was still alive, but appeared to suffer from one or more broken bones. Rüd snapped his neck to end his suffering, then collected the man's gun. At the top of the stairwell, he also collected a pistol from Ellen's first kill. With one in either of his upper hands, he peeked left then right out the door. Gunfire immediately forced him to retreat. He was grinning, excited by the prospect of combat.
There was a lot of clanging as Grates removed themselves from the roof vents, the occupants ditching their hiding places to find better cover to shoot from- One guy got 'lucky' and took a shot to the face, Nyezeh's laser blast melting it to look more like a well-done hamburger, and causing what was left of him to tumble listlessly to the ground, but most of the other guys found their way to safety, continuing to fire on the trio, even as the Abwehran disappeared down the stairwell, to soon peek his head back out.
Ellen's efforts to shoot up the rooftops proved fruitful, as a well-placed shot resulted in a scream followed by a person falling off of the adjacent building, continuing to scream as he watched the street approach, already in pain. Ellen took the opportunity to reload her pistols, before turning around and focusing her fire on the opposing rooftop, though the range sort of made her efforts useless.
"Innana shuddle," Nyezeh suggested in as harsh of a tone she could muster, smoke billowing from between her lips as she continued to pepper the air with hot death. Stepping quickly towards the vehicle herself her guns drew an arc away from the stairwell and shuttle. If she didn't have to shoot the four armed bald guy, she wasn't going to. Perhaps his boss had instructed him to start a brawl, after all. There was really just too much unknown about the situation for her to make any rash decisions. For now, the priorities list mainly included keeping Ellen and herself alive long enough to enjoy the next shootout.
When hoodlums started sprinting around the roof, popping out of vents like they were damn rats, he started firing at a controlled rate: one, two, one, two... When they were all behind cover or dead, he moved closer to the rooftop threshold. He couldn't see Ellen or Nyezeh, so he shouted, "You ladies alright?" The Nightwalker still had his guns at the ready, and pulled the trigger anyone so much as thought about looking his way. This strategy wouldn't last long with stolen weapons and just one reload per gun. Should have brought a gun, he berated himself. Always always bring a gun to Nepleslia...
"Been worse, been better!" Ellen responded, ducking behind her brick-clad cover of a chimney, again swapping magazines for a fresh pair so she could keep firing, this time, however, she rolled out from her cover and took a knee, firing swiftly at the nearest gangster before diving for another bit of cover closer to the Roc.
The Nepleslian man, having been distracted by Nyezeh and Rued's fire, shouted one last time in surprise as his chest was peppered with ten millimeter hunks of hot lead, flopping face first into the ground with a thud.
The Lorath woman punctuated her response by giving a guy who thought he had good cover a couple of brand new holes, "Fuggnk cuddn be bedda," she yelled over the sound of return fire zipping past where she had just been standing. "Ah goddya nah fuggka," she grunted to herself, letting off another plume of deliciously aromatic smoke to dance around her cheeks and up the sides of her sunglasses. Taking a second to collect herself and waiting for a pause in her assailant's shots, Nyezeh spun back around, burning the air between her and her target with a flurry of semi-automatic laser fire.
Rued's shots resulted in one man taking a bullet to the knee- he flopped backwards onto his back and started yelling out in pain, his .45 pistol skidding across the rooftop, out of his reach. Nyezeh's flurry of laser fire pockmarked just about everything on the roof, the side of the building next to them, and with a lucky shot, popped off the last guy on the opposite roof, whom slumped over the edge, hanging there limply, and bleeding off the side of the building.
There now remained, against the three, about five gangsters, whom were wielding various forms of pistol, mostly in the larger caliber range, such as .45's. They sounded off, alternately stopping to hide behind cover and change magazines so they could keep firing.
Satisfied with the progress, Rüd charged out of the stairwell and dropped his massive form behind an unoccupied AC unit. Once the Nightwalker had his feet beneath him again, he waved an arm wildly outside cover on one side, hoping to draw fire. That way, when he swung out the other side and replied with his own salvo of forty-five fire his opponents would be unsuspecting. That was the plan, anyway. Results tended to vary in field testing.
"Gunna gedd me kildd," Jolokia huffed, hooking one of her chubbies back on her holster to free a hand to hold onto her cigar as she dove and rolled towards Ellen's position, bringing the gun up next to her employer to add some extra cover as she knelt beside the Yamataian. "Let's go, let's go," she emphasized, shoving the cigar back in her mouth and grabbing the back of Ellen's coat. Pulling the trigger she sprayed another round at the rooftop in front of them.
"Oi, You're bleeding," Ellen pointed out to Nyezeh, motioning to a number of grazes on her legs and arms, but the Lorath was apparently quite lucky having taken nothing serious. "No sitting on the seats till we patch you up, I guess," the Yamataian babbled, ducking out from her cover and taking a few more potshots to add to Nyezeh and Rued's fire before making a sprint for the Roc's open hatch, which she then dove through.
The Lorath woman winced, she didn't want to acknowledge any damage until the adrenaline wore off. "Juss geddana shuddle," she repeated again, grunting smoke through her nose as lips as she continued to provide covering fire for her fleeing employer, slowly backing up as she stayed low towards the ground. There was certainly less gunfire she was hearing, but otherwise Nyezeh couldn't tell how many were left. Just keep shooting until you don't hear no more was sort of a good rule of thumb in this situation.
Dropping her guns on the floor, the Yamataian girl went to her pilot's chair and started the shuttle up, warming the engines for takeoff. "Nyezeh, get in here quick!" she yelled, looking out and seeing the Abwehran still firing at the gangsters.
Rued's results with the field testing of his tactic did indeed vary, and as there were multiple assailants, not all of them were fooled, a few bullets flying at the Abwehran and smashing the pilfered weapon from one of his four hands, making the thing explode into sharp pointy bits of metal that flew everywhere- but at least he didn't get shot any closer than a bunch of holes in his pants, and a missing shoelace.
Rüd snorted out of frustration and took cover, shaking his hand that had until recently been equipped. This was why fist fights were so much better: you couldn't disarm your opponent without literally tearing his arms off- which was a valid tactic when you were someone like Rüd Grülik. "Fuckit," he decided, and made a mad dash for the open shuttle door, emptying the remainder of his one gun while he ran. He dove through the gap and rolled into the relative safety of the Starbryte.
"Commig," Nyezeh replied in the best sort of sing-song tone should could muster, given the current conditions. Reaching the shuttle she hopped through the doorway and used it to peek out and see if she could spot any remaining combatants out on the roofs. Seeing Rüd heading towards her, the Lorath rustled her wings, took out her cigar and yelled, "Fucking hurry!" She reached out and let off a few more rounds from her Fatboy, giving him some cover as he dove for the shuttle. "Fly! Fly! Fly!" she yelled at the captain, dropping her gun on the floor to help the Abwehran if he needed it.
The shuttle's engines made a bit of a whining noise, straining to get itself in the air as quickly as Ellen wanted it to. With a jolt and a shudder it was up, but it didn't go too far- small arms could be heard pinging off its thick metal belly as Ellen put the craft into a hover. she opened one of the boxes, revealing an enormous number of Zen Arms covert ops pistols.
"Take as many as you like. I'm opening the back, and let's unload on those chuckleheads." Ellen instructed the other two, taking a couple of the guns and doing as she said she would. Bullets began to ping off the rear cargo doorway, but Ellen ignored them, as she began firing indiscriminately down on the roof, raining her own bullets back at the offending gangsters on the rooftop.
The Nightwalker required no assistance, helping himself up. At Ellen's behest, he claimed four Zen Arms pistols for himself and marched to the back door. The animalistic desire to leap out the back and pulverize their remaining foes was strong, but not strong enough for Rüd to commit to the suicidal thought. He contented himself with the idea of firing all four pistols akimbo, alternating left and right as he had before. With this new vantage point, he didn't even bother considering to conserve ammo. The Abwehran let loose with the borrowed weaponry, still smiling that pleased smile in the face of mortal danger.
Nyezeh retrieved her Fatboy as it attempted to scatter away at the behest of the shuddering shuttle. "Still not sure if I need to shoot you," she directed at the four-armed man pawing through the pistol container with a scowl as she adjusted her glasses. With her cigar firmly back in place she unhooked her other gun, getting a good view of the red splotches over the shredded side of her previously nice white shirt. "Fuggken eh," the Lorath flicked her thumbs over the mode selectors on her weapons. Time to go fully automatic on whichever of these sons of bitches were left alive. Holding the guns aloft, she hardly waited to get a good view before applying pressure to the triggers and letting those fuckheads know how she really felt.
It was pretty awesome, what happened. Well— at least to the three on the Roc. The rooftop was pretty much wasted as a large number of bullets and laser blasts found their way down, raining on the four guys and turning them into some bloody, pulpy, macabre version of Swiss cheese. They didn't even have a chance to try and respond in some manner other than dying. not even girlish screams were afforded as they were killed, and then their dead bodies were killed, and then whatever was left in those bodies was also killed.
Then, as a final goodbye, Ellen unloaded the remaining ammunition in her magazines into the kaserine box, causing it to explode in a puff of oddly colored smoke which suddenly caught fire and exploded, spelling a definitive end to the whole ordeal.
Having found a resolution to their business, the Nightwalker put Ellen's guns back in the trunk. Unlike his reckless handling of Geoff's corpse, or absentmindedly discarded cigars, he took care to put them down with due respect. He resumed to his full height and glanced over his cohorts, surveying their status.
As Ellen cleaned up the last loose end, Jolokia rehooked her guns to the carabiners on her holster straps and started to look for a first aid kit and some gauze to wrap around her waist. She didn't seem to have been hurt too badly— mostly grazed, but there was some bleeding. It hadn't been anywhere near the worst scrap she'd been in. Taking the butt out of her mouth one last time, Nyezeh let the burning remains loose from her fingertips and fly out the back of the shuttle before slamming her fist the button to close the bay door. "Captain, where's the fucking gauze?" she asked as the back of the Roc shut closed.
Satisfied and out of bullets, Ellen threw her Zen Arms pistols back in the trunk and walked back toward the front of the shuttle, where she slowly sank to the ground. The others would notice why- there was a trail of drips of blood where she had been walking, and a darker stained portion of her jacket had appeared, surrounding a hole in the garment.
Ellen had been shot.
Jolokia was well; Ellen was not. "Well shit," he muttered, sounding more disappointed than surprised by the captain's injuries. He jogged the few steps it would take to cross the multipurpose space and threw himself down into the cramped pilot seat. After a quick refresher-- he hadn't flown an Origin craft in some months-- Rüd tried to compute a course for the nearest hospital, but found it had already been dialed in. Ellen had apparently been shot before deciding to finish the job, and knew she wasn't going to be up much longer.
While the craft managed the menial task, the Abwehran spun in the seat. "Find that first aid yet?" He was surprisingly calm given the scenario.
Walking over to where Ellen lay, Jolokia was not pleased. Either she hadn't done a good enough job at protecting the Captain, or the Captain didn't get to the shuttle when she was told. In either scenario, what was done was done. "Yeah, I found it," she yelled towards the front, having dug past a couple of crates to where the kit was strapped to the side of the vehicle."Open her clothes up, let's see how bad the damage is," Nyezeh instructed as she pulled out a syringe and a small bottle. The Lorath scowled at the roll of gauze, and removed her sunglasses, placing them in the white and red box while she carefully measured a dose.
Rüd wasted no time, dropping on his knees beside the tiny Yamataian and throwing open the jacket. The wound was low enough that the Abwehran disregarded Nyezeh's command to "open her clothes up" and instead tugged the shirt up high enough to reveal the injury. No point in wasting a perfectly good shirt. "Low on her left side," he informed the Lorath then scooted back, leaving plenty of room for the winged woman to work, but remaining near enough to be of assistance if necessary.
"Do we have to dig anything out?" Nyezeh asked, kneeling next to the prone Yamataian and setting the kit on the ground between Rüd and herself. First, she checked to make sure Ellen was still breathing, placing her ear close to the Yamataian's lips. Satisfied, Nyezeh pulled Ellen's jacket off of her shoulder and felt along her arm for a good artery to shove the needle into. Slowly she depressed the plunger, administering the medicine to the captain. Discarding the used needle back into the kit, she looked up for the Abwehran's report.
He rolled Ellen just enough to glimpse her back and discover an exit wound. "Clean through," reported the Abwehran.
At that point, the Yamataian began to groan, wriggling slightly, before blinking herself back awake. She looked up at Nyezeh and Rued, and then looked down at her torso, and looked back up at the ceiling. "Dammit, I liked that kidney," she complained, jokingly, wincing in slight pain, and closing her eyes again. She focused on the wound, diverting all her conscious efforts to making it hurt less, though the medicine Jolokia had given her helped a lot more than mind over matter would, even for a Yamataian.
Digging a hemosynth pouch from the kit, she tossed it to the Abwehran. "Open that up, rub it on her wound. Yammie bodies are crazily durable things," she said, offering stone cold advice to Rüd: "You have to really make sure they're dead." Placing her hands firmly on Ellen's shoulders, she directed some conversation to her patient, giving her something to focus on. "I don't think your kidney likes you very much right now," she joked, "You might want to call up your friend and ask if he can get you a deal on a new one— and if you hadn't shot the package, we could've given you a new organ." She chuckled even before giving the punchline, "It might not be a useful organ in this situation." Looking up at Rüd as she realized that they were currently in-flight Nyezeh asked, "Where are we headed?"
The Nightwalker nodded along, already possessing the knowledge Nyezeh attempted to impart. He did as told, ripping open the packet. He spread the hemosynth on his two lower hands then tilted Ellen's body so he could massage the gel on both exit and entry wound simultaneously. Rüd answered the Lorath, "She set course for the nearest hospital." To Captain Katsuragi, he jested: "Just don't get any funny ideas about this whole massaging business. You saved my ass, it's only right I return the favor."
"I don't want one of those. I've borrowed them before and while they're fun I'd rather not have one of my own." Ellen responded to Nyezeh, grinning darkly. "We're headed to the hospital in case one of you guys got shot, but it looks like you didn't so you can turn off the autopilot or make it go somewhere else," the captain said, apparently unconcerned for her own well being. "Just wrap me in Gauze and I'll be good in a few days."
"See," the Lorath noted to Rüd, "They've got crazy regenerative systems." She was a little nonplussed by what she interpreted the captain's statement to mean, but it wasn't exactly the sort of information Nyezeh wanted clarified from her employer. "Hospital's no good. We're on Nepleslia, they'd as soon sell your kidney and stitch you up with catgut." Taking the gauze from the kit, Jolokia ripped off a long piece for herself and threw the rest of the roll to Rüd. "Wrap her up, Baldo, Imma go fix our course," she told him, winding the bandage around her own waist as she headed for the cockpit.
The only man of the group let slip a small burst of laughter at Ellen's 'borrowed organ' comment. He glanced blankly at Jolokia as she once again stated a well-known fact about Yamataians, like he was a schoolboy or some ignorant hinterlander. However, he made no response, just took care of what needed doing. Once again four arms proved to be better than two as he gently lifted Ellen off the floor just high enough to run the gauze roll around her midsection a few times. After tearing it off and pinning it, he scooped up the little captain and carried her to a bunk. "Just let us know if you need anything."
"I'm fine.." Ellen answered Rued after she was placed on her bunk, swiftly deciding to pass out in light of the situation. Shutting down most of her body's functions by going to sleep would allow it to heal itself faster, anyway.
"There's a duffel bag on my bunk!" Jolokia called to the back of the shuttle as she started the AI on calculating a new course for the trio. "There should be a big bottle in there. Or two. Whatever. Grab one. Glasses are in the cupboard. The captain might want some, but you and I are definitely going to have some." She futzed around with her datapad as she checked Ellen's itinerary, her finger sliding down the list.
Jolokia's thinking was interrupted as the shuttle spoke to her in a young woman's voice. "If Miss Ellen's hurt, we can go to the Hinoki Pagoda and stay for a few days. Oh, wait, I'm not supposed to talk. Shutting up now." The voice disappeared but a set of coordinates was left for Nyezeh to choose.
The Nightwalker had just retrieved a bottle of hard liquor from Nyezeh's duffel and was headed to the cupboard when a voice, clearly belonging to neither of the women on board, came out of speakers within Roc. "What the hell was that?" He peered up at the ceiling with a quizzical glance for just a moment before resuming with his ordained task. It clearly wasn't malicious, so Rüd didn't have to worry about it.
"Fuck it," Nyezeh muttered, "we'll go there." She confirmed the AI's selection and let it do its thing. Turning her face towards the inquiring Abwehran, for the first time he could get a look at her face sans-sunglasses. "This rig has a better IES than I thought," noted the winged woman, who stripped off her guns and set her gear down next to the pilot's seat. "We're headed off to some big station. I think I—," cutting herself off, Jolokia realized it probably wasn't in her best interests to regale the Abwehran with tales of her pirating days, "I might have been by there once before."
Rüd turned to meet the Lorath, two half-full lowball glasses in hand. It took him a moment to realize what had changed about her appearance, register it, think it over, and then the moment passed. While offering the drink, he added his own two cents, "I know Hinoki Pagoda. Ritzy place, for big gatherings-- political shindigs and the like." He smirked and took a sip; the alcohol was mediocre, but that was fine by him. The Nightwalker was still smirking as he spoke again, "Pulled the rug out from beneath some Nepleslian bureaucrat once. Forget why, maybe he was fighting to shut down orphanages or something, I dunno. In any case, kidnapped the guy, took his stuff, and flung his ass into space in an emergency pod. Should have seen the look on his face. Like a child finding out Lewis Pasco is a hoax." He emptied the glass, then filled it up this time. Mediocre or not, the Unterweldt native hadn't had a drink in a couple months. Now, when he was between jobs, he might as well do a little unwinding.
It wasn't anything as extravagant as Lorath wine, but it was strong enough to enjoy a cordial evening together with. Nyezeh emptied her first glass as Rüd went over his own exciting adventures, and reached for the bottle to pour herself a second glass. "I probably wouldn't have left him alive," she noted grimly, filling her glass and shifting gear on the conversation, "What I want to know is what the hell happened down there." Getting straight to the point, she added, "Why the captain and I are nursing wounds and you can bet she's going to be mad about the paint job on her new ride. She won't shut up about it. Was the plan the whole time to bring down the fury and lay waste to the—" suddenly stopping, Nyezeh realized that the guy doing the pickup had to have been shot by what she had assumed were his own guys. Only now did she realize that it must have been some third— fourth party who was interested in the deal. Her brown eyes widened as her brain processed the scene again. "Someone else was after the merchandise."
The Nightwalker shrugged at the mention of the paint job and took another sip. "So I'll help her pay for it. Doesn't bother me any. As for the plan," he smirked, "I was just supposed to deliver the goods unopened." Another shrug. "But yeah, shit happens. Where there's a shady deal, there's always someone looking to get a cut of it." He suppressed another chuckle with a smile. "Did you see the look on his face, though? Geoff, was it? Guy about shit his pants when I rattled his cage a little." Rüd poured himself round three with a grin.
Nyezeh nodded her head, "Yeah, I don't think that getting a great big Abwehran hug was quite what he expected." She laughed and downed her second glass, "I don't think he was half as surprised as his buddy behind him on the stairs." Reaching again for the bottle, she poured her third round. "I don't think he expected the Captain to be such a fast draw. And the other one you bum rushed into?" The Lorath laughed again, feeling much more comfortable now that the two of them were embroiled in amicable conversation.
There was that smile playing at his lips again. "Saw that, did you? Poor sap tumbled so hard, I was surprised the fall didn't kill him." He shook his head as if still doubting the series of events. "I know I'm a big guy, but some of these goons... fucking twigs." He gave another shrug. "Goes to show what a gun does for a person. Once it's stripped from them, though..." He shrugged again, smirked, and downed his glass. The Nightwalker didn't need to say any more. He'd probably make up for it later, when the alcohol loosened his tongue and greased the gears of his internal dictionary.
>PAUSE!
>ON!
The hours in transit from Yamatai to Nepleslia passed by without so much as a hoo-ha, the occupants of the shuttle doing little more than resting or otherwise occupying themselves as they went. And yet, both sooner and later than anticipated, the journey came to an end, as Ellen's nap concluded and she made her way somewhat groggily to the Pilot's seat, bypassing the gigantic Abwehran as she did so, and then disappearing behind the high back of the comfy chair, to start the preparations for landing- the first of which included bringing the Roc gently out of FTL before the planet's gravity did so forcefully.
In the co-pilot's seat, Nyezeh lifted her glasses to watch Ellen take the controls. She grumbled, sitting up straight and leaning back, letting her eyewear drop back down onto her nose. Letting out a big belabored sigh, she cracked her knuckles once in front of her chest, and then a second time as she she stretched her arms into the air and her wings off to the sides. "Wide awake, captain," the Lorath reported, doing a cursory systems check while the Yamataian started with landing preparations.
Successfully in Orbit, Ellen went about the dreary task of calling in her identifications and intentions, before gaining clearance and taking the shuttle down toward the planet. However, instead of the usual trip to a starport, the Roc began swooping along through Funky city. While this was not altogether unusual, it wasn't really the standard procedure for delivering a package.
"Alright guys, I need you to help me look for a large red building with a landing pad on the roof," Ellen asked, herself scanning the skyline for such a structure. "We're supposed to take the package there, although, I'm not sure what we do with the Abwehran when we're done."
Rüd exhaled a sharp breath from his nostrils- not necessarily offended, but amused that the pint-sized Yammy would even allow herself to utter such an insult to such a massive man. He rose and leaned between the two women to peer out the window. He pointed off to the left, vaguely, and offered only slightly more precise information. "Should be downtown, toward the industrial district." He took his seat again and crossed two pairs of arms, glad that they would finally be doing something other than sitting.
Nyezeh opened her mouth wide, yawning as she barely brought the back of her hand in front of her face as some half-hearted gesture of politeness. "You still owe me a smoke break," she reminded the Abwehran as he returned to his seat. Lazily she planted her elbows on the console and her chin in her hands as she skimmed the cityscape for the aforementioned red building. "All in all, this gig is turning out a lot quieter than I expected," she mumbled not directly to Ellen, but turning to face her slightly she added, "Are we dropping it off on the pad or am I gonna get to drive that thing?" Jolokia nodded her head towards the back of the shuttle.
"Thanks," Ellen responded to Rued, as she took a different course, turning at a right angle to follow a different street as they looked about, the shuttle doing most of the actual flying anyway. "So, What Are we supposed to do with you once we drop off the package, Mr. Rued?" Ellen asked conversationally, her eyes still glued to the wildly varying skyline of Nepleslia's Funky City.
"Smoke on the job. Saves time," he suggested amicably to the Lorath, then turned his glowing eyes on Ellen. After some contemplation, he shrugged despite the Yamataian's back turned to him. "Nothing. You don't owe me anything. Though if you're looking for another hand, this job ends so soon as the goods are delivered."
"You can drive it if we've got nothing else to do after the job," Ellen answered Jolokia quickly, making a small noise as she acknowledged victory- the building appeared up ahead and to the right, not too conspicuous, but easy enough to find.
"Well, I wouldn't mind giving you transport wherever you might like to go, as far as another hand goes, well, Not sure if I'll need it, but I'll keep that in mind," the small Yamataian explained as she swiftly brought the Roc to the landing pad atop the building, deftly setting it down with a slight jolt, showing that she wasn't an especially experienced pilot, but it was still better than the landings the public transport pilots subjected their passengers to.
Ellen began flicking switches and shutting the shuttle down, equalizing the pressure inside the shuttle with that of Funky city one last time in case it had changed since they'd dropped into the city, and then popping open the starboard airlock door, which faced the small raised door that led down into the building. "Well, let's head on out, I'll call the contact." Ellen motioned toward the door, while pulling out her communicator and tapping a few buttons on the screen for the desired result.
The Nightwalker was already on his feet as Roc descended to the landing platform, and therefore the first out the door, the package tucked under one arm. He looked around, surveying the rooftop, and finding nothing of import. Grateful, he fished his partially spent cigar from one pocket and relit it. Then he withdrew a fresh one which he proffered to Nyezeh. "As promised." He felt nothing more could be said on the matter.
Grabbing the mess of guns and straps beside her seat, the Lorath woman slid her gear over her arms and fastened it once more as she stood up and headed for the shuttle door. "Ready to go, captain," she said, less worried about openly carrying firearms on Nepleslia than she was on Kyoto. Propelling herself outside, Nyezeh got a good look of her surroundings and graciously accepted Rüd's gift. "Thanks," she replied, holding it up and taking a good bite out of the tip, spitting the remains onto the launchpad. "Gotta light?"she asked, sticking the cigar between her lips and clenching onto the thick, wrapped tobacco with her teeth.
Rüd nodded, pulled the lighter from his pocket, and ignited it in one slick, well-practiced gesture. It was a short matter of firing up the Lorath's cigar before he dumped the lighter back in his pocket.
Ellen strode to position herself at the front of the duo, poking her communicator once more before flipping it closed and stuffing it in one of the pockets of her bomber jacket, and then simply standing, staring the door down as if daring something other than a simple customer to burst from it.
The wind whipped Nyezeh's loose tie about as she thanked the four-armed man, her words a little slurred as she spoke through clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath filled her lungs with the amazingly warm and calming aroma of Abwehran tobacco smoke. Perfect," she complimented, taking ahold of the cigar as she expelled a small puff of wisps into the air. Taking a moment to reflect on the taste, Nyezeh turned her head down to look at the Captain and see what their next move was.
Ellen's hopes were, of course, dashed, when some sort of suit-clad man emerged, a handkerchief hastily wiping sweat off his brow, the effort of making his way up the stairs apparently too much for his level of fitness. In any case, he approached, seeming somewhat intimidated by the very large grey person with four arms and a Lorath carrying two submachineguns.
"You Geoff?" Ellen asked, and the businessman nodded, answering
"Yes, Yes, I'm Geoff. Hey, you mind, you know, giving me the package really quick. I'm not supposed to be up here or anything, so..." He tugged at the collar of his suit, still nervous, looking from one side to the other as if expecting something horrible to happen any second.
"Uhh, Sure," Ellen responded, looking back to Rued. "Well, hand it over, Mister Rued, we don't want the customer dissatisfied." The small Yamataian also approached the man, pulling her communicator out of her pocket and calling forth a volumetric screen which asked for a signature to confirm the delivery.
Making small talk, Ellen asked Geoff "So, what's so special about this package that we have to drop it off on a windy rooftop rather than send it through the mail?" She wasn't really expecting an answer, just trying to be amicable toward the less than calm Nepleslian.
"Oh, Umm, It's nothing. just, medicine, you know, Cheaper to get it this way than by prescription." he explained, laughing nervously, and continuing to look about as if he were going to be shot at any moment.
Rüd stepped forward and held out the box with just one hand, as if it were nothing more than a child's doll. When Geoff came near enough, another arm lashed out and held the small man by his noodle of a bicep. "What's the rush, little man?" He had an amused grin.
Not liking Geoff's attitude, or general demeanor, form of dress, or really anything about the man, Nyezeh scowled at the Nepleslian, making sure her cigar was firmly held between her teeth. And when Rüd decided to have a close one-on-one chat with the man, she slipped her hands under her arms to unhook her guns. Certainly whatever strong-arm deal was going on, it seemed prudent to the Lorath that she not have to take the extra time later. If she didn't need them, great. But experience told her that generally when you bring out the guns, you end up using them.
Geoff, having already signed Ellen's form, grabbed the box as if it were a pet that was about to bite the Abwehran, and held it as firmly as he could, trying futilely to hide it beneath his suit coat, but Rued's arm was too quick and he couldn't retreat into the safety of his office building, the box dropping on the rooftop and splitting open, revealing a number of vials of various colors-Blue, Pink, and Purple. He began to frantically look around, his breathing rapidly increasing in pace, and sweat pouring from his brow once more. "It's ah, It's not actually mine..." he tried to mumble, though he could tell that it wouldn't help him at the moment.
"Whoops. Ladies, what's that look like to you?" Unfortunately for Geoff's peace of mind, the Nightwalker already knew what it was. With a dramatic puff of cigar smoke he answered himself. "Why, this looks to me like some good old old Kaserine. What's a man like you need Kaserine for?" Rüd put a little extra emphasis in declaring Geoff's gender because it was no longer clear just what the frantic fellow was. The pathetic attempts to divert guilt elicited a laugh from Rüd who didn't give a damn what it was for.
A gunshot rang through the air, and Geoff went limp in Rued's hands, the white shirt under his coat turning red with blood, giving everyone just enough time to react as more gunshots began pouring in at them- from a nearby rooftop, from the doorway, even coming out of some of the vents, crisscrossing the area with bullets and energy beams.
"Shit! What the hell did you have to do that for, Dumbass?" Ellen yelled at Rued, pulling two pistols out from beneath her jacket, which she had unzipped, revealing a black T-shirt partially obscured by two holsters. She quickly began firing, popping several 10mm rounds at the doorway, which rewarded her with a cry of surprise and pain followed by some dull thudding as the person she had just shot tumbled back down the stairs. She was already on her way down to the deck, taking cover behind a chimney, firing rounds at a nearby rooftop to keep whoever was on it pinned down.
"Fuggk," Jolokia swore through her gritted teeth. She knew something was up, and the worst part about it was now she was pretty sure that she was going to have to shoot the Abwehran. And he was such nice eye candy, too. "Gedd donn," she barked at Ellen, taking a few steps towards her employer as she sprayed laser fire from her Fatboys towards the source of the gunfire, offering some cover fire for the Yamataian to get to someplace safe. The smell of smoke filling her nostrils paired with the thrumming of the guns against her palms calmed the Lorath, giving her focus as things went out of control.
Whoops. Time to roll with the punches. The Nightwalker hefted the slumped body for use as a meat shield and bulldozed his way into the stairwell shouting a battle cry: "BRING IT BITCHES!" How he managed to speak clearly without removing the cigar was a hidden talent of his people, derived from their throaty language; little to no jaw movement was required to utter it. In the dimly lit entrance, there was just one more gun-toting goon; he had been sprinting up the stairs, but an Abwehran barreling down on led him to second-guess this plan. There was no time for that, unfortunately. Rüd plowed him over and followed his ragdoll of a body as it tumbled down to the next landing. With a sigh the Nightwalker dropped Geoff's corpse like he would dispose of a dead cigar: carelessly and without a thought. His second victim was still alive, but appeared to suffer from one or more broken bones. Rüd snapped his neck to end his suffering, then collected the man's gun. At the top of the stairwell, he also collected a pistol from Ellen's first kill. With one in either of his upper hands, he peeked left then right out the door. Gunfire immediately forced him to retreat. He was grinning, excited by the prospect of combat.
There was a lot of clanging as Grates removed themselves from the roof vents, the occupants ditching their hiding places to find better cover to shoot from- One guy got 'lucky' and took a shot to the face, Nyezeh's laser blast melting it to look more like a well-done hamburger, and causing what was left of him to tumble listlessly to the ground, but most of the other guys found their way to safety, continuing to fire on the trio, even as the Abwehran disappeared down the stairwell, to soon peek his head back out.
Ellen's efforts to shoot up the rooftops proved fruitful, as a well-placed shot resulted in a scream followed by a person falling off of the adjacent building, continuing to scream as he watched the street approach, already in pain. Ellen took the opportunity to reload her pistols, before turning around and focusing her fire on the opposing rooftop, though the range sort of made her efforts useless.
"Innana shuddle," Nyezeh suggested in as harsh of a tone she could muster, smoke billowing from between her lips as she continued to pepper the air with hot death. Stepping quickly towards the vehicle herself her guns drew an arc away from the stairwell and shuttle. If she didn't have to shoot the four armed bald guy, she wasn't going to. Perhaps his boss had instructed him to start a brawl, after all. There was really just too much unknown about the situation for her to make any rash decisions. For now, the priorities list mainly included keeping Ellen and herself alive long enough to enjoy the next shootout.
When hoodlums started sprinting around the roof, popping out of vents like they were damn rats, he started firing at a controlled rate: one, two, one, two... When they were all behind cover or dead, he moved closer to the rooftop threshold. He couldn't see Ellen or Nyezeh, so he shouted, "You ladies alright?" The Nightwalker still had his guns at the ready, and pulled the trigger anyone so much as thought about looking his way. This strategy wouldn't last long with stolen weapons and just one reload per gun. Should have brought a gun, he berated himself. Always always bring a gun to Nepleslia...
"Been worse, been better!" Ellen responded, ducking behind her brick-clad cover of a chimney, again swapping magazines for a fresh pair so she could keep firing, this time, however, she rolled out from her cover and took a knee, firing swiftly at the nearest gangster before diving for another bit of cover closer to the Roc.
The Nepleslian man, having been distracted by Nyezeh and Rued's fire, shouted one last time in surprise as his chest was peppered with ten millimeter hunks of hot lead, flopping face first into the ground with a thud.
The Lorath woman punctuated her response by giving a guy who thought he had good cover a couple of brand new holes, "Fuggnk cuddn be bedda," she yelled over the sound of return fire zipping past where she had just been standing. "Ah goddya nah fuggka," she grunted to herself, letting off another plume of deliciously aromatic smoke to dance around her cheeks and up the sides of her sunglasses. Taking a second to collect herself and waiting for a pause in her assailant's shots, Nyezeh spun back around, burning the air between her and her target with a flurry of semi-automatic laser fire.
Rued's shots resulted in one man taking a bullet to the knee- he flopped backwards onto his back and started yelling out in pain, his .45 pistol skidding across the rooftop, out of his reach. Nyezeh's flurry of laser fire pockmarked just about everything on the roof, the side of the building next to them, and with a lucky shot, popped off the last guy on the opposite roof, whom slumped over the edge, hanging there limply, and bleeding off the side of the building.
There now remained, against the three, about five gangsters, whom were wielding various forms of pistol, mostly in the larger caliber range, such as .45's. They sounded off, alternately stopping to hide behind cover and change magazines so they could keep firing.
Satisfied with the progress, Rüd charged out of the stairwell and dropped his massive form behind an unoccupied AC unit. Once the Nightwalker had his feet beneath him again, he waved an arm wildly outside cover on one side, hoping to draw fire. That way, when he swung out the other side and replied with his own salvo of forty-five fire his opponents would be unsuspecting. That was the plan, anyway. Results tended to vary in field testing.
"Gunna gedd me kildd," Jolokia huffed, hooking one of her chubbies back on her holster to free a hand to hold onto her cigar as she dove and rolled towards Ellen's position, bringing the gun up next to her employer to add some extra cover as she knelt beside the Yamataian. "Let's go, let's go," she emphasized, shoving the cigar back in her mouth and grabbing the back of Ellen's coat. Pulling the trigger she sprayed another round at the rooftop in front of them.
"Oi, You're bleeding," Ellen pointed out to Nyezeh, motioning to a number of grazes on her legs and arms, but the Lorath was apparently quite lucky having taken nothing serious. "No sitting on the seats till we patch you up, I guess," the Yamataian babbled, ducking out from her cover and taking a few more potshots to add to Nyezeh and Rued's fire before making a sprint for the Roc's open hatch, which she then dove through.
The Lorath woman winced, she didn't want to acknowledge any damage until the adrenaline wore off. "Juss geddana shuddle," she repeated again, grunting smoke through her nose as lips as she continued to provide covering fire for her fleeing employer, slowly backing up as she stayed low towards the ground. There was certainly less gunfire she was hearing, but otherwise Nyezeh couldn't tell how many were left. Just keep shooting until you don't hear no more was sort of a good rule of thumb in this situation.
Dropping her guns on the floor, the Yamataian girl went to her pilot's chair and started the shuttle up, warming the engines for takeoff. "Nyezeh, get in here quick!" she yelled, looking out and seeing the Abwehran still firing at the gangsters.
Rued's results with the field testing of his tactic did indeed vary, and as there were multiple assailants, not all of them were fooled, a few bullets flying at the Abwehran and smashing the pilfered weapon from one of his four hands, making the thing explode into sharp pointy bits of metal that flew everywhere- but at least he didn't get shot any closer than a bunch of holes in his pants, and a missing shoelace.
Rüd snorted out of frustration and took cover, shaking his hand that had until recently been equipped. This was why fist fights were so much better: you couldn't disarm your opponent without literally tearing his arms off- which was a valid tactic when you were someone like Rüd Grülik. "Fuckit," he decided, and made a mad dash for the open shuttle door, emptying the remainder of his one gun while he ran. He dove through the gap and rolled into the relative safety of the Starbryte.
"Commig," Nyezeh replied in the best sort of sing-song tone should could muster, given the current conditions. Reaching the shuttle she hopped through the doorway and used it to peek out and see if she could spot any remaining combatants out on the roofs. Seeing Rüd heading towards her, the Lorath rustled her wings, took out her cigar and yelled, "Fucking hurry!" She reached out and let off a few more rounds from her Fatboy, giving him some cover as he dove for the shuttle. "Fly! Fly! Fly!" she yelled at the captain, dropping her gun on the floor to help the Abwehran if he needed it.
The shuttle's engines made a bit of a whining noise, straining to get itself in the air as quickly as Ellen wanted it to. With a jolt and a shudder it was up, but it didn't go too far- small arms could be heard pinging off its thick metal belly as Ellen put the craft into a hover. she opened one of the boxes, revealing an enormous number of Zen Arms covert ops pistols.
"Take as many as you like. I'm opening the back, and let's unload on those chuckleheads." Ellen instructed the other two, taking a couple of the guns and doing as she said she would. Bullets began to ping off the rear cargo doorway, but Ellen ignored them, as she began firing indiscriminately down on the roof, raining her own bullets back at the offending gangsters on the rooftop.
The Nightwalker required no assistance, helping himself up. At Ellen's behest, he claimed four Zen Arms pistols for himself and marched to the back door. The animalistic desire to leap out the back and pulverize their remaining foes was strong, but not strong enough for Rüd to commit to the suicidal thought. He contented himself with the idea of firing all four pistols akimbo, alternating left and right as he had before. With this new vantage point, he didn't even bother considering to conserve ammo. The Abwehran let loose with the borrowed weaponry, still smiling that pleased smile in the face of mortal danger.
Nyezeh retrieved her Fatboy as it attempted to scatter away at the behest of the shuddering shuttle. "Still not sure if I need to shoot you," she directed at the four-armed man pawing through the pistol container with a scowl as she adjusted her glasses. With her cigar firmly back in place she unhooked her other gun, getting a good view of the red splotches over the shredded side of her previously nice white shirt. "Fuggken eh," the Lorath flicked her thumbs over the mode selectors on her weapons. Time to go fully automatic on whichever of these sons of bitches were left alive. Holding the guns aloft, she hardly waited to get a good view before applying pressure to the triggers and letting those fuckheads know how she really felt.
It was pretty awesome, what happened. Well— at least to the three on the Roc. The rooftop was pretty much wasted as a large number of bullets and laser blasts found their way down, raining on the four guys and turning them into some bloody, pulpy, macabre version of Swiss cheese. They didn't even have a chance to try and respond in some manner other than dying. not even girlish screams were afforded as they were killed, and then their dead bodies were killed, and then whatever was left in those bodies was also killed.
Then, as a final goodbye, Ellen unloaded the remaining ammunition in her magazines into the kaserine box, causing it to explode in a puff of oddly colored smoke which suddenly caught fire and exploded, spelling a definitive end to the whole ordeal.
Having found a resolution to their business, the Nightwalker put Ellen's guns back in the trunk. Unlike his reckless handling of Geoff's corpse, or absentmindedly discarded cigars, he took care to put them down with due respect. He resumed to his full height and glanced over his cohorts, surveying their status.
As Ellen cleaned up the last loose end, Jolokia rehooked her guns to the carabiners on her holster straps and started to look for a first aid kit and some gauze to wrap around her waist. She didn't seem to have been hurt too badly— mostly grazed, but there was some bleeding. It hadn't been anywhere near the worst scrap she'd been in. Taking the butt out of her mouth one last time, Nyezeh let the burning remains loose from her fingertips and fly out the back of the shuttle before slamming her fist the button to close the bay door. "Captain, where's the fucking gauze?" she asked as the back of the Roc shut closed.
Satisfied and out of bullets, Ellen threw her Zen Arms pistols back in the trunk and walked back toward the front of the shuttle, where she slowly sank to the ground. The others would notice why- there was a trail of drips of blood where she had been walking, and a darker stained portion of her jacket had appeared, surrounding a hole in the garment.
Ellen had been shot.
Jolokia was well; Ellen was not. "Well shit," he muttered, sounding more disappointed than surprised by the captain's injuries. He jogged the few steps it would take to cross the multipurpose space and threw himself down into the cramped pilot seat. After a quick refresher-- he hadn't flown an Origin craft in some months-- Rüd tried to compute a course for the nearest hospital, but found it had already been dialed in. Ellen had apparently been shot before deciding to finish the job, and knew she wasn't going to be up much longer.
While the craft managed the menial task, the Abwehran spun in the seat. "Find that first aid yet?" He was surprisingly calm given the scenario.
Walking over to where Ellen lay, Jolokia was not pleased. Either she hadn't done a good enough job at protecting the Captain, or the Captain didn't get to the shuttle when she was told. In either scenario, what was done was done. "Yeah, I found it," she yelled towards the front, having dug past a couple of crates to where the kit was strapped to the side of the vehicle."Open her clothes up, let's see how bad the damage is," Nyezeh instructed as she pulled out a syringe and a small bottle. The Lorath scowled at the roll of gauze, and removed her sunglasses, placing them in the white and red box while she carefully measured a dose.
Rüd wasted no time, dropping on his knees beside the tiny Yamataian and throwing open the jacket. The wound was low enough that the Abwehran disregarded Nyezeh's command to "open her clothes up" and instead tugged the shirt up high enough to reveal the injury. No point in wasting a perfectly good shirt. "Low on her left side," he informed the Lorath then scooted back, leaving plenty of room for the winged woman to work, but remaining near enough to be of assistance if necessary.
"Do we have to dig anything out?" Nyezeh asked, kneeling next to the prone Yamataian and setting the kit on the ground between Rüd and herself. First, she checked to make sure Ellen was still breathing, placing her ear close to the Yamataian's lips. Satisfied, Nyezeh pulled Ellen's jacket off of her shoulder and felt along her arm for a good artery to shove the needle into. Slowly she depressed the plunger, administering the medicine to the captain. Discarding the used needle back into the kit, she looked up for the Abwehran's report.
He rolled Ellen just enough to glimpse her back and discover an exit wound. "Clean through," reported the Abwehran.
At that point, the Yamataian began to groan, wriggling slightly, before blinking herself back awake. She looked up at Nyezeh and Rued, and then looked down at her torso, and looked back up at the ceiling. "Dammit, I liked that kidney," she complained, jokingly, wincing in slight pain, and closing her eyes again. She focused on the wound, diverting all her conscious efforts to making it hurt less, though the medicine Jolokia had given her helped a lot more than mind over matter would, even for a Yamataian.
Digging a hemosynth pouch from the kit, she tossed it to the Abwehran. "Open that up, rub it on her wound. Yammie bodies are crazily durable things," she said, offering stone cold advice to Rüd: "You have to really make sure they're dead." Placing her hands firmly on Ellen's shoulders, she directed some conversation to her patient, giving her something to focus on. "I don't think your kidney likes you very much right now," she joked, "You might want to call up your friend and ask if he can get you a deal on a new one— and if you hadn't shot the package, we could've given you a new organ." She chuckled even before giving the punchline, "It might not be a useful organ in this situation." Looking up at Rüd as she realized that they were currently in-flight Nyezeh asked, "Where are we headed?"
The Nightwalker nodded along, already possessing the knowledge Nyezeh attempted to impart. He did as told, ripping open the packet. He spread the hemosynth on his two lower hands then tilted Ellen's body so he could massage the gel on both exit and entry wound simultaneously. Rüd answered the Lorath, "She set course for the nearest hospital." To Captain Katsuragi, he jested: "Just don't get any funny ideas about this whole massaging business. You saved my ass, it's only right I return the favor."
"I don't want one of those. I've borrowed them before and while they're fun I'd rather not have one of my own." Ellen responded to Nyezeh, grinning darkly. "We're headed to the hospital in case one of you guys got shot, but it looks like you didn't so you can turn off the autopilot or make it go somewhere else," the captain said, apparently unconcerned for her own well being. "Just wrap me in Gauze and I'll be good in a few days."
"See," the Lorath noted to Rüd, "They've got crazy regenerative systems." She was a little nonplussed by what she interpreted the captain's statement to mean, but it wasn't exactly the sort of information Nyezeh wanted clarified from her employer. "Hospital's no good. We're on Nepleslia, they'd as soon sell your kidney and stitch you up with catgut." Taking the gauze from the kit, Jolokia ripped off a long piece for herself and threw the rest of the roll to Rüd. "Wrap her up, Baldo, Imma go fix our course," she told him, winding the bandage around her own waist as she headed for the cockpit.
The only man of the group let slip a small burst of laughter at Ellen's 'borrowed organ' comment. He glanced blankly at Jolokia as she once again stated a well-known fact about Yamataians, like he was a schoolboy or some ignorant hinterlander. However, he made no response, just took care of what needed doing. Once again four arms proved to be better than two as he gently lifted Ellen off the floor just high enough to run the gauze roll around her midsection a few times. After tearing it off and pinning it, he scooped up the little captain and carried her to a bunk. "Just let us know if you need anything."
"I'm fine.." Ellen answered Rued after she was placed on her bunk, swiftly deciding to pass out in light of the situation. Shutting down most of her body's functions by going to sleep would allow it to heal itself faster, anyway.
"There's a duffel bag on my bunk!" Jolokia called to the back of the shuttle as she started the AI on calculating a new course for the trio. "There should be a big bottle in there. Or two. Whatever. Grab one. Glasses are in the cupboard. The captain might want some, but you and I are definitely going to have some." She futzed around with her datapad as she checked Ellen's itinerary, her finger sliding down the list.
Jolokia's thinking was interrupted as the shuttle spoke to her in a young woman's voice. "If Miss Ellen's hurt, we can go to the Hinoki Pagoda and stay for a few days. Oh, wait, I'm not supposed to talk. Shutting up now." The voice disappeared but a set of coordinates was left for Nyezeh to choose.
The Nightwalker had just retrieved a bottle of hard liquor from Nyezeh's duffel and was headed to the cupboard when a voice, clearly belonging to neither of the women on board, came out of speakers within Roc. "What the hell was that?" He peered up at the ceiling with a quizzical glance for just a moment before resuming with his ordained task. It clearly wasn't malicious, so Rüd didn't have to worry about it.
"Fuck it," Nyezeh muttered, "we'll go there." She confirmed the AI's selection and let it do its thing. Turning her face towards the inquiring Abwehran, for the first time he could get a look at her face sans-sunglasses. "This rig has a better IES than I thought," noted the winged woman, who stripped off her guns and set her gear down next to the pilot's seat. "We're headed off to some big station. I think I—," cutting herself off, Jolokia realized it probably wasn't in her best interests to regale the Abwehran with tales of her pirating days, "I might have been by there once before."
Rüd turned to meet the Lorath, two half-full lowball glasses in hand. It took him a moment to realize what had changed about her appearance, register it, think it over, and then the moment passed. While offering the drink, he added his own two cents, "I know Hinoki Pagoda. Ritzy place, for big gatherings-- political shindigs and the like." He smirked and took a sip; the alcohol was mediocre, but that was fine by him. The Nightwalker was still smirking as he spoke again, "Pulled the rug out from beneath some Nepleslian bureaucrat once. Forget why, maybe he was fighting to shut down orphanages or something, I dunno. In any case, kidnapped the guy, took his stuff, and flung his ass into space in an emergency pod. Should have seen the look on his face. Like a child finding out Lewis Pasco is a hoax." He emptied the glass, then filled it up this time. Mediocre or not, the Unterweldt native hadn't had a drink in a couple months. Now, when he was between jobs, he might as well do a little unwinding.
It wasn't anything as extravagant as Lorath wine, but it was strong enough to enjoy a cordial evening together with. Nyezeh emptied her first glass as Rüd went over his own exciting adventures, and reached for the bottle to pour herself a second glass. "I probably wouldn't have left him alive," she noted grimly, filling her glass and shifting gear on the conversation, "What I want to know is what the hell happened down there." Getting straight to the point, she added, "Why the captain and I are nursing wounds and you can bet she's going to be mad about the paint job on her new ride. She won't shut up about it. Was the plan the whole time to bring down the fury and lay waste to the—" suddenly stopping, Nyezeh realized that the guy doing the pickup had to have been shot by what she had assumed were his own guys. Only now did she realize that it must have been some third— fourth party who was interested in the deal. Her brown eyes widened as her brain processed the scene again. "Someone else was after the merchandise."
The Nightwalker shrugged at the mention of the paint job and took another sip. "So I'll help her pay for it. Doesn't bother me any. As for the plan," he smirked, "I was just supposed to deliver the goods unopened." Another shrug. "But yeah, shit happens. Where there's a shady deal, there's always someone looking to get a cut of it." He suppressed another chuckle with a smile. "Did you see the look on his face, though? Geoff, was it? Guy about shit his pants when I rattled his cage a little." Rüd poured himself round three with a grin.
Nyezeh nodded her head, "Yeah, I don't think that getting a great big Abwehran hug was quite what he expected." She laughed and downed her second glass, "I don't think he was half as surprised as his buddy behind him on the stairs." Reaching again for the bottle, she poured her third round. "I don't think he expected the Captain to be such a fast draw. And the other one you bum rushed into?" The Lorath laughed again, feeling much more comfortable now that the two of them were embroiled in amicable conversation.
There was that smile playing at his lips again. "Saw that, did you? Poor sap tumbled so hard, I was surprised the fall didn't kill him." He shook his head as if still doubting the series of events. "I know I'm a big guy, but some of these goons... fucking twigs." He gave another shrug. "Goes to show what a gun does for a person. Once it's stripped from them, though..." He shrugged again, smirked, and downed his glass. The Nightwalker didn't need to say any more. He'd probably make up for it later, when the alcohol loosened his tongue and greased the gears of his internal dictionary.
>PAUSE!
