TeslaTornado
Inactive Member
"Uhh... The NAM Design Team?" Harrison offered as he strode across the small hallway to the mess hall and promptly began capturing and eating his fill.
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RP: NSS Acadia [Mission 1, Briefing] The Dust Devil Cometh
- Thread starter Exhack
- Start date
- Status
SUBLIMEinal
Well-Known Member
Adrian pouted when Amelia told him to drop it. "But I don't like waiting... Besides, why else would they have given me..." Adrian reached for the holster on his belt, grabbed for his gun... and got air.
"Oh, shit," the medic mumbled. He stood quickly, gritting his teeth a bit from the rather painful experience of running about with a series of large gashes on your back, and examined his pistol belt himself. Noticing a rather glaring lack of a pistol, he quickly patted himself down. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me..."
"Oh, shit," the medic mumbled. He stood quickly, gritting his teeth a bit from the rather painful experience of running about with a series of large gashes on your back, and examined his pistol belt himself. Noticing a rather glaring lack of a pistol, he quickly patted himself down. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me..."
Fian
Well-Known Member
"You're going to need to file a report on that." Fian observed Adrian gripping thin air. "You know, just in case someone murders someone with it. Happened very often a long time ago, because nobody bought soldiers to the book." Fian chewed his toast smugly, feeling that his time at Officer school wasnt as useless as he thought. "Just give me your testimony later and I'll fill up the rest."
Dragonnova
Well-Known Member
Amelia smiled faintly at Adrian. "Well you may be in luck. Here." She pulled out her old standard issue pistol that was given to her after training. She had bought a different one after all during shore leave. "I've got a new one anyways and I don't really need two. You can have my old one for now if you like." She held it out to him. She didn't know if this was technically allowable, but she figured Adrian didn't care if it was or not.
Amelia heard the chief's signature swearing and turned slightly to face him. "Welcome back, sir. And do be careful, it seems this ship is either in serious need of maintenance or it was designed and built by midgets." If that was a joke, she sure didn't act like it. She did have a small smirk when she saw him recoil from the blow to his head, though she hid it quickly.
Amelia heard the chief's signature swearing and turned slightly to face him. "Welcome back, sir. And do be careful, it seems this ship is either in serious need of maintenance or it was designed and built by midgets." If that was a joke, she sure didn't act like it. She did have a small smirk when she saw him recoil from the blow to his head, though she hid it quickly.
Blackbird Lore
Inactive Member
Viktor was up early, despite his heavier-than-expected drinking the previous night, and had been reading a several decades old sci-fi novel until his datapad alarm went off. He picked it up, and quickly read the message as he headed to the bathroom for his morning shower and other hygienic activities. A short while later, he was in a cab on the way to the docking bay.
His arrival onto the NSS Dust Devil was not a particularly welcome one, and he entered an environment thick with tension and irritation. The Chief was the first one he noticed, grumbling and holding a head injury. He had arrived in a rather dead silence, adding to the discomfort in the room. He gave a nod of acknowledgment to anyone that met his gaze, muttered a, "Ma'am," to the Commander as he passed her and then entered the adjoining room. He hadn't eaten yet, and he had a large appetite to fill. Blueberry bagels, toast, and several cups of OJ did the trick. However, the food didn't ease the feeling in the room; to distract himself, he wondered if anyone had an evening/morning as uninteresting as his own... God, my life is rather pitiful these days.
He gave a sigh, and leaned his butt against the table so he could survey the other Marines in the room.
His arrival onto the NSS Dust Devil was not a particularly welcome one, and he entered an environment thick with tension and irritation. The Chief was the first one he noticed, grumbling and holding a head injury. He had arrived in a rather dead silence, adding to the discomfort in the room. He gave a nod of acknowledgment to anyone that met his gaze, muttered a, "Ma'am," to the Commander as he passed her and then entered the adjoining room. He hadn't eaten yet, and he had a large appetite to fill. Blueberry bagels, toast, and several cups of OJ did the trick. However, the food didn't ease the feeling in the room; to distract himself, he wondered if anyone had an evening/morning as uninteresting as his own... God, my life is rather pitiful these days.
He gave a sigh, and leaned his butt against the table so he could survey the other Marines in the room.
MoonMan
Inactive Member
Morning in crumby second-rate motel…a morning not unlike the billions of others happening around the universe. This particular morning, however, Rico Sanroma found himself at a loss as he rolled around on his motel mattress. The young woman sleeping rather loudly next to him was the cause; he had met her the other night, and while she seemed ever so happy to accept those drinks she also seemed ever so happy to enjoy her dreams through a symphony of snorting and snoring. Needless to say, there wasn’t much rest to be had for the Nepleslian sergeant…which suited Rico just fine. He preferred a good head start in the morning anyway.
After a long period of necessary primping, Rico left the motel room clean, fresh and as quietly as he could. She was a nice girl and all, sure, but Sanroma wasn’t about to jeopardize his new assignment by being too greedy with a pretty lady. First impressions meant getting on the good side of the captain…and that usually led to sweet, succulent, delicious promotions.
And say the word he did; Rico had been reassigned to the NSS Acadia, once again joining as a marine under the command of Captain Esther Belmonte. Rico had little to complain about; he was just glad that his former captain didn’t request his head separated from his shoulders.
However, with that all behind him, Rico could relax. Once he stepped outside the door, Rico breathed in a healthy amount of Fortuna oxygen, releasing it in a long breath between his smile as he combed his hand through his still-moist hair. Morning on Fortuna…almost as smog-filled and grime-encrusted as good ol’ Funky City itself. There aren’t many mornings like it.
A man in a duty uniform would soon be spotted by Rico, he was a rather tall, gaunt and lean figure, not necessarily attractive due to the large scar across his cheek, and the fact he had glowing yellow eyes. He was accompanied by a smaller man who carried a case with him, and was dressed in a rather snappy suit, with a comb over for hair, and glasses on, giving him a rather cheesy appearance. The tall man soon found his way to where Rico was, having asked a rather disturbed maid who pointed to the room. Once he'd found the man standing outside (a stroke of luck) he cleared his throat, and spoke in a gravelly voice. "Sergeant Sanroma?" He asked, his voice deep, and resonant as well.
Rico spun around, slightly surprised to hear his rank and name called out. The first thought that crossed Rico’s mind at seeing the two snappy-suited individuals was a difficult choice between old enemies or old friends...and that really narrowed it down. He decided to play it safe and returned the greeting with a fresh smile. “Uh, yeah baby, that’s me. What can I do ya for?”
The tall man flashed a badge with the CPS insignia emblazoned on it. "I am Major Mcmanus of the CPS" He then swept his hand to the smaller man. "And this is my associate Mr. Alercroft. We are here on business that pertains to you." He said, and leaned himself against the railing. He took a pack of cigarettes out, pulled one out for himself, and fished for his lighter, and lit it. Taking a drag, he soon held the pack out to Rico. "Tell me, do you remember a young woman named Mya Larusso?"
Rico paused for a second, completely (and gladly) forgetting the fact that he was being sought after by the Fortuna’s branch of the Child’s Protective Services to focus all of his noggin-gears on grinding out their request. The truth of the matter was, however, that Rico could not remember the name of every lady he had ever met. He couldn’t even name half of them…he always did have trouble with names. “Hmm…can’t say that I do, baby. You sure you got the right guy?”
"Yeah, we're sure right down to the DNA." Mcmanus said as he took another drag of the cigarette. "Well, I'm not going to pussyfoot around on the issue. You, Mr. Sanroma have a daughter. Conceived in YE 25, by Mya Larusso. And she has bit the big one about a week and a half ago, leaving said child, parentless as Mya Larusso lacked any family, trust us, we checked." Smoke trailed out of his mouth as he spoke. "She was murdered, and turned up a day or so later, and we took the kid into custody. Hearing you were on Fortuna, we didn't necessarily have to waste time tracking you down."
Most of the words from Mcmanus after the ‘have a daughter’, sadly, did not make it through the intense battle going on in Rico fresh morning mind. The most he could do was pause for a second and repeat the sentence over in his head for a few moments before retuning a solid, definitive, jaw-dropping, “. . . huh?”
Mcmanus shook his head, and brought a finger up to the corner of one of his eyes, rubbing it. "Yeah, it would seem you didn't wrap it when you slept with Miss Larusso. And the result is a kid. Come on now Sergeant, we know how biology works."
“I…ungh,” Rico said as he idly scratched the back of his head. He used to be confident enough in the women he slept with to trust that they would use the ever-so-affordable birth controls available pretty much anywhere (even in corner-store vending machines). It would appear that one of them actually wanted a kid…a thought that Rico himself couldn’t begin to fathom, let alone appreciate the gravity of in such the circumstance. “…well shit, you sure? I mean it could be anyone’s kid, yannow?” Rico asked again, still having trouble accepting the full face value of what the two men before him were telling him.
Mcmanus ground the spent cigarette under his heel, and looked at Rico firmly. "Look, we ran the DNA of the kid on the networks to determine if she had any other family, and what we got back was a positive match for you, right on up there in the 99.9% range buddy. We don't dick around with this kind of stuff what, with how the government is and all."
“Unngh…” Rico groaned, leaned back against the door and clapped a hand over his eyes. He didn’t have time to argue this kind of stuff; he needed to get to the NSS Dust Devil before it took of to transfer to the Acadia. As much as he wanted to stick around and get stuck with a new kid, Rico stood back up. “Well shit…I can’t take care of it, my ship pulls out in ‘n hour or so, in case the uniform wasn’ a dead giveaway,” Rico said, waving a hand shortly over his green military regalia. “Y’all did the damn research, right baby? Then ya know I got family on Nepleslia…just send the kid to them and they’ll take care of it. Probably a lot better than I can.”
Mcmanus shook his head. "No can do, if you don't take the kid off my hands here on Fortuna, she's going to an orphanage."
“Whaaaat?” Rico said disparagingly, tilting his head in aggravation. “Well shit, why the fuck not? It ain’t that hard, put her on a boat an’ ship her to my address.”
"Due to the CPS branch just kicking off here in Fortuna, there is a clause stating only immediate family can claim children, and looks like you're immediate family. We aren’t trusting anybody else but immediate family. And you can't just put her on a ship unattended; we're monitoring transfers to ensure child safety." Mcmanus said as he crossed his arms and stared down at Rico.
Rico paused again, his eyes squinting slightly as he processed the rest of Mcmanus’s answer. He didn’t like the conclusion…this wasn’t what he was expecting to be thinking about today. “…so you can’t ship her to my folks, or even let her go with anyone else but me. Can’t she, like…wait here or somethin’? Maybe one a’ my folks can come and get her or…?”
"Hey, we do that, she ends up in a rather nice orphanage, I'm sure a five year old would love that. Unclaimed children must be sent to facilities to be cared for...we only hold them until they're ready to accept." Mcmanus said.
Sergeant Sanroma heaved a heavy sigh. “Jeez man, you ain’t makin’ this easy. Fuuuuck,” Rico said, turning around and pacing for a moment with his back to the two. He didn’t have time to do this, no time to argue. Rico wasn’t about to quit his military career for some kid he didn’t even want. But and orphanage…a few of Rico’s gang buddies were rolled up in a place like that back in Los Apagos. Rico remembered them.
“…so, what, you got her with ya right now?”
Mcmanus jabbed a thumb behind him to a somewhat ramshackle sedan. "Yeah, backseat." He said looking over his shoulder. "Rather sweet kid too, and I hate the little monsters."
“Well shit,” Rico said, sighing again. “Let’s go, I’m kinda in a hurry.”
After a long period of necessary primping, Rico left the motel room clean, fresh and as quietly as he could. She was a nice girl and all, sure, but Sanroma wasn’t about to jeopardize his new assignment by being too greedy with a pretty lady. First impressions meant getting on the good side of the captain…and that usually led to sweet, succulent, delicious promotions.
And say the word he did; Rico had been reassigned to the NSS Acadia, once again joining as a marine under the command of Captain Esther Belmonte. Rico had little to complain about; he was just glad that his former captain didn’t request his head separated from his shoulders.
However, with that all behind him, Rico could relax. Once he stepped outside the door, Rico breathed in a healthy amount of Fortuna oxygen, releasing it in a long breath between his smile as he combed his hand through his still-moist hair. Morning on Fortuna…almost as smog-filled and grime-encrusted as good ol’ Funky City itself. There aren’t many mornings like it.
A man in a duty uniform would soon be spotted by Rico, he was a rather tall, gaunt and lean figure, not necessarily attractive due to the large scar across his cheek, and the fact he had glowing yellow eyes. He was accompanied by a smaller man who carried a case with him, and was dressed in a rather snappy suit, with a comb over for hair, and glasses on, giving him a rather cheesy appearance. The tall man soon found his way to where Rico was, having asked a rather disturbed maid who pointed to the room. Once he'd found the man standing outside (a stroke of luck) he cleared his throat, and spoke in a gravelly voice. "Sergeant Sanroma?" He asked, his voice deep, and resonant as well.
Rico spun around, slightly surprised to hear his rank and name called out. The first thought that crossed Rico’s mind at seeing the two snappy-suited individuals was a difficult choice between old enemies or old friends...and that really narrowed it down. He decided to play it safe and returned the greeting with a fresh smile. “Uh, yeah baby, that’s me. What can I do ya for?”
The tall man flashed a badge with the CPS insignia emblazoned on it. "I am Major Mcmanus of the CPS" He then swept his hand to the smaller man. "And this is my associate Mr. Alercroft. We are here on business that pertains to you." He said, and leaned himself against the railing. He took a pack of cigarettes out, pulled one out for himself, and fished for his lighter, and lit it. Taking a drag, he soon held the pack out to Rico. "Tell me, do you remember a young woman named Mya Larusso?"
Rico paused for a second, completely (and gladly) forgetting the fact that he was being sought after by the Fortuna’s branch of the Child’s Protective Services to focus all of his noggin-gears on grinding out their request. The truth of the matter was, however, that Rico could not remember the name of every lady he had ever met. He couldn’t even name half of them…he always did have trouble with names. “Hmm…can’t say that I do, baby. You sure you got the right guy?”
"Yeah, we're sure right down to the DNA." Mcmanus said as he took another drag of the cigarette. "Well, I'm not going to pussyfoot around on the issue. You, Mr. Sanroma have a daughter. Conceived in YE 25, by Mya Larusso. And she has bit the big one about a week and a half ago, leaving said child, parentless as Mya Larusso lacked any family, trust us, we checked." Smoke trailed out of his mouth as he spoke. "She was murdered, and turned up a day or so later, and we took the kid into custody. Hearing you were on Fortuna, we didn't necessarily have to waste time tracking you down."
Most of the words from Mcmanus after the ‘have a daughter’, sadly, did not make it through the intense battle going on in Rico fresh morning mind. The most he could do was pause for a second and repeat the sentence over in his head for a few moments before retuning a solid, definitive, jaw-dropping, “. . . huh?”
Mcmanus shook his head, and brought a finger up to the corner of one of his eyes, rubbing it. "Yeah, it would seem you didn't wrap it when you slept with Miss Larusso. And the result is a kid. Come on now Sergeant, we know how biology works."
“I…ungh,” Rico said as he idly scratched the back of his head. He used to be confident enough in the women he slept with to trust that they would use the ever-so-affordable birth controls available pretty much anywhere (even in corner-store vending machines). It would appear that one of them actually wanted a kid…a thought that Rico himself couldn’t begin to fathom, let alone appreciate the gravity of in such the circumstance. “…well shit, you sure? I mean it could be anyone’s kid, yannow?” Rico asked again, still having trouble accepting the full face value of what the two men before him were telling him.
Mcmanus ground the spent cigarette under his heel, and looked at Rico firmly. "Look, we ran the DNA of the kid on the networks to determine if she had any other family, and what we got back was a positive match for you, right on up there in the 99.9% range buddy. We don't dick around with this kind of stuff what, with how the government is and all."
“Unngh…” Rico groaned, leaned back against the door and clapped a hand over his eyes. He didn’t have time to argue this kind of stuff; he needed to get to the NSS Dust Devil before it took of to transfer to the Acadia. As much as he wanted to stick around and get stuck with a new kid, Rico stood back up. “Well shit…I can’t take care of it, my ship pulls out in ‘n hour or so, in case the uniform wasn’ a dead giveaway,” Rico said, waving a hand shortly over his green military regalia. “Y’all did the damn research, right baby? Then ya know I got family on Nepleslia…just send the kid to them and they’ll take care of it. Probably a lot better than I can.”
Mcmanus shook his head. "No can do, if you don't take the kid off my hands here on Fortuna, she's going to an orphanage."
“Whaaaat?” Rico said disparagingly, tilting his head in aggravation. “Well shit, why the fuck not? It ain’t that hard, put her on a boat an’ ship her to my address.”
"Due to the CPS branch just kicking off here in Fortuna, there is a clause stating only immediate family can claim children, and looks like you're immediate family. We aren’t trusting anybody else but immediate family. And you can't just put her on a ship unattended; we're monitoring transfers to ensure child safety." Mcmanus said as he crossed his arms and stared down at Rico.
Rico paused again, his eyes squinting slightly as he processed the rest of Mcmanus’s answer. He didn’t like the conclusion…this wasn’t what he was expecting to be thinking about today. “…so you can’t ship her to my folks, or even let her go with anyone else but me. Can’t she, like…wait here or somethin’? Maybe one a’ my folks can come and get her or…?”
"Hey, we do that, she ends up in a rather nice orphanage, I'm sure a five year old would love that. Unclaimed children must be sent to facilities to be cared for...we only hold them until they're ready to accept." Mcmanus said.
Sergeant Sanroma heaved a heavy sigh. “Jeez man, you ain’t makin’ this easy. Fuuuuck,” Rico said, turning around and pacing for a moment with his back to the two. He didn’t have time to do this, no time to argue. Rico wasn’t about to quit his military career for some kid he didn’t even want. But and orphanage…a few of Rico’s gang buddies were rolled up in a place like that back in Los Apagos. Rico remembered them.
“…so, what, you got her with ya right now?”
Mcmanus jabbed a thumb behind him to a somewhat ramshackle sedan. "Yeah, backseat." He said looking over his shoulder. "Rather sweet kid too, and I hate the little monsters."
“Well shit,” Rico said, sighing again. “Let’s go, I’m kinda in a hurry.”
SUBLIMEinal
Well-Known Member
Adrian grabbed the pistol quickly and placed it in his holster. "Shit, Private, you're a lifesaver." He grinned at Amelia. "I'll make sure to give you extra morphine next time you get capped."
(OoC: Hoooly crap I've been putting this off, sorry for not posting for so long, Nova.)
(OoC: Hoooly crap I've been putting this off, sorry for not posting for so long, Nova.)
Kai
Retired Staff
Trey ignored everyone in the other room now, intent only on the food. When it came down to it, all this breakfast stuff was sub-par. Nasty junk you can only get from caretakers, the kind of cooks who hate cooking. "Bah!" Trey mumbled, heading towards the kitchens to complain. this food wouldn't do for soldiers. Even marines needed more than this. With a slight huff, he burst through the door and asked politely "Who's in charge of breakfast?"
So just who was Milly T? Henry heaved a sigh as he rested at the breakfast table, without appetite. Rubbing his temples and slouching into his chair. His uniform wasn't in the best of presentations, his shirt was untucked, hair dishevelled, beret on the wrong way and his reading glasses were sitting near the tip of his nose.
Just. What. Happened? Henry could not put it together, not in his current state. What he didn't consider is that being drunk again would help him to remember just what happened last night. Going over what little foggy evidence again was not helping.
He didn't know how to share this predicament with the other marines, if he was getting any attention.
It's always the quiet ones who need the least attention in these times. Or so people think.
((OOC: Psychology Note: It was found that people who learn something are more likely to recall it if they are in the same physical or mental state of mind. This is called a State Dependent Cue.
An experiment showed that if you get stoned and are told to remember something to be recalled later, you won't remember it well if you're clean, but get stoned again and you can remember it with better clarity.))
Just. What. Happened? Henry could not put it together, not in his current state. What he didn't consider is that being drunk again would help him to remember just what happened last night. Going over what little foggy evidence again was not helping.
He didn't know how to share this predicament with the other marines, if he was getting any attention.
It's always the quiet ones who need the least attention in these times. Or so people think.
((OOC: Psychology Note: It was found that people who learn something are more likely to recall it if they are in the same physical or mental state of mind. This is called a State Dependent Cue.
An experiment showed that if you get stoned and are told to remember something to be recalled later, you won't remember it well if you're clean, but get stoned again and you can remember it with better clarity.))
Fian
Well-Known Member
Heh, so many individual problems. Some even not completely recovered. Fian grinned, if this was a situation on the battlefield, he would have ordered a sweep on the right flank. But his grin changed into a slight frown when he remembered that these were HIS soldiers. Hopefully there isnt any permament damage from last night's fling.
He then mentally counted the men and women in the room and next door attacking the buffet and noticed a distinct lack of THAT guy. Little did he know that of all the Marines in the room, Rico would be the one bringing in long term trouble very soon.
He then mentally counted the men and women in the room and next door attacking the buffet and noticed a distinct lack of THAT guy. Little did he know that of all the Marines in the room, Rico would be the one bringing in long term trouble very soon.
TeslaTornado
Inactive Member
Harrison sat down at Henry's table, carrying several piles of breakfast foods. He saw Trey rush into the kitchen and thought of a quick retort... But now wasn't really the time. He turned to Henry.
"Geez, man, did you get in a fight with the wrong side of a wind tunnel or something? You look like hell."
"Geez, man, did you get in a fight with the wrong side of a wind tunnel or something? You look like hell."
Kim
スター軍の司書
Autumn seemed rather amused by everything in general. She decided to listen to gurgling of her stomach and make her way towards the Dust Devil's chow hall. Her diet while on leave was usually more expensive than she was used to but she considered anything more than fast greasy food to be rather pricey. She was looking forward to the sheer simplicity of eating Mess Hall food again and of course, the 'free all you could eat' aspect of ship food was also appealing.
She wasn't surprised by the number of people already eating but she did seem surprised by how short the line was. She jumped into line and when it was her turn, she just grabbed the simple stuff- cereal, orange juice, milk, some strawberry jelly, some cornbeef hash and some runny imitation egg and mixed it all together into a bowl on her tray. She ignored the disgusted faces of the Marines in line beside her as she hummed happily to herself and found herself an empty seat.
She picked up a spoon and started to eat the.... textured mixture.
She wasn't surprised by the number of people already eating but she did seem surprised by how short the line was. She jumped into line and when it was her turn, she just grabbed the simple stuff- cereal, orange juice, milk, some strawberry jelly, some cornbeef hash and some runny imitation egg and mixed it all together into a bowl on her tray. She ignored the disgusted faces of the Marines in line beside her as she hummed happily to herself and found herself an empty seat.
She picked up a spoon and started to eat the.... textured mixture.
MoonMan
Inactive Member
Mcmanus frowned slightly as he nodded to Rico. "Which ship you being sent out on?" He asked as he waved the smaller and stocky suited man along to follow. Mcmanus didn't give Rico time to respond before speaking further however. "By the way, Mr.Alercroft has the documents you will have to sign to take her off our hands, we'll get to that after you see the kid however." He stated rather plainly as he led the duo towards the sedan.
"The, err, NSS Dust Devil, docked on the port downtown," Rico replied as he put his thumbs in his pockets, peeking around corners and down streets nervously. When the sedan finally came into view, Rico barely took his eyes off of it as he continued to speak to Mcmanus. "Transfer shuttle, I'm assigned to the Acadia up in orbit. So ya get how I'm kinda in a hurry here."
"Yeah well, we're here." Mcmanus stated as he continued to walk towards the beat up ground car, the gravel crunching under his booted feet. "By the way, the kid's name is Carina Gabrielle Laruso." He stated with a small lop-sided smirk at Rico's distress from earlier. Hell, frankly this was the part of the job he liked. Watching people squirm.
The smaller man, Alercroft...moved over to the rear door the sedan briefcase in hand. He took hold of the handle, and opened the door which creaked open. Inside it looked a little better, the windows had been tinted slightly to keep the glare the day manageable, the seats were cloth covered, and a dark grey, and sitting in the backseat was a little girl no more then five years of age. She had long black hair that ended in a light curl that framed her face from the bangs, and down her back where it ended cat-like hazel eyes, dark rosy lips, and obviously carried some semblance of looks from Rico from her facial structuring as well as her mother. She wore a green top and a pair of blue jeans and some off colored sneakers as she sat there.
When the door opened, this had caught her attention, and she looked. She saw the larger somewhat scary (although funny) man, Mcmanus, and the smaller man she'd dubbed a roleypolly. The one standing behind them with his thumbs in his pockets caught her attention the most however as she eyed him with childish curiosity, and a bright eyed look. The girl began to smile, somewhat nervously at first, having a feeling she knew who the person was.
Rico wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it. He couldn’t see one hint of resemblance between his own Adonis-like features and those of this little girl…Rico couldn’t even remember her mother. Not so much as a name. Despite all this, Rico’s arched eyebrow and awed expression slowly crept into a small smile. Rico wondered why he was smiling; he wasn’t entirely sure how to place it…but he was almost 95% sure he was simply smiling to keep the kid in good spirits.
’Lost her mom, huh…well shit, I guess I can relate to that,’ Rico thought silently to himself as he backed up a bit. Before this moment, he was almost certain that an orphanage would’ve been better for this kid. Better for himself, mostly, because Rico certainly wasn’t going to be quitting so early in his military career just for some kid. But now…an orphanage seemed so empty compared to the life Rico himself had when he lost his own father. At least he had his mother to fall back onto; this little girl had nobody. Nobody but Rico. The handsome Nepleslian firmly decided that being responsible was a huge killjoy.
“…’aight, I guess I can take her,” Rico said, not a single idea or plan in his head at the moment. An impulsive choice, no doubt, but a firm choice that he needed little time deciding upon. Rico turned to Mcmanus. “Ya said ya got some papers, baby? Let’s see ‘em.”
Alercroft nodded, his comb over bobbing along due to it being only a few wisps of hair. He ushered Rico to the trunk of the sedan where he put his briefcase and opened it. "You will of course have to sign saying you are taking custody of the child, and so on, as well as acknowledging she is yours." He explained before closing it, and placing the papers on the briefcase, and pulling a pen from inside of his coat. He held it out for Rico, and pointed to the first place to sign.
“Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah,” Rico said, rolling his hand around in a “let’s speed it up” motion. He didn’t bother reading the fine print; Rico had never read so much as a word on any contract he’d signed before, and he thought he was pretty set so far…why break the streak? The suave Nepleslian jotted his named down on the line and popped the cap back onto the pen. “Anythin’ else, chief?”
Alercroft simply shook his head as the girl soon shot out of the car before Mcmanus could nab her, and collided with Rico's leg. "Papi!" She squealed, having restrained herself until she decided she could take no more, and instead wanted to get it over with, and simply hug her father, even if he didn't care for her, she was only a child, and children often held love for their parents despite the other's feelings on the matter.
“WHOA WHOA whoa whoa whoa!” Rico said as he caught the tail-end of Carina’s bum-rush to his leg. He had his arms lifted and his captured leg sticking out in front of him as if he had just stepped in something, and shot the two men glances that were ones searching for whether or not he just made the right choice. Of course, he found no answer from either of them. After a moment, Rico smiled sheepishly and (with unnecessary amounts of apprehension) lightly placed his palm on top of Carina’s head. “Heh…yeeeaaah…’papi’,” Rico said with a nervous laugh. “Let’s, uuuhhh…let’s get walking…” Rico paused for a moment, his eyes trailing off a bit as he tried to remember her name. Tried fruitlessly, no less. “…kid. Papi’s got a date with a shuttle.”
Mcmanus stood their, a rather satisfied smirk on his face as he held out a small bag. "Her personal belongings." He said, and held it out for Rico as Carina was bouncing slightly from happiness at meeting her father for the first time...and he'd even gave her a pat on the head! Oh things seemed to be going so well to her... "I didn't know people could date shuttles..." She said after a moment's thought on the man's choice of words, a look of intense thought on her face.
Rico took the bag as he lightly shook his leg in hopes of detaching the young girl from it. When she finally let go, Rico turned and nodded at the two CPS gentlemen, grabbed his own small case of clothes and started walking down the street. “Uh…yeah sweetheart,” Rico said almost timidly, not really sure how to speak to Carina. “Ya just gotta push the right buttons, yannow? Heh. Heh…”
The child simply blinked as she processed this. "Where are we going afterwards Papi?" She asked in a sweet tone of voice, looking up at him with a charming smile on her little face, her eyes bright and slightly sparkly, adding a overly cute, and innocent look to her as she asked the question.
’Now that’s a good goddamn question,’ Rico thought to himself. The original plan was to deposit this kid onto a one-way flight to Los Apagos, and contact his sister Esma, or his mother Callista with some pick-up-the-toddler plans…like he was going to let some surprise parenthood ruin his plans for the day. But as they walked on, Rico started seeing some major holes in this plan. In fact, he was starting to quickly run out of alternative plans. “We’re, uuhh…” Rico started, but stopped again as he found himself at a loss as to what his own child’s name was. “What was yer name again, sugar?”
The girl looked up at Rico with a bright-eyed smile. "Carina." She said with that sweet tone of voice again as she answered.
“Carina…” Rico said, slowing his pace a bit and looked down at the little girl. ’Cute kid. Bet her mom was pretty smokin’ too,’ he thought to himself. “I’m Rico. You can call me Rico. Aaaand,” a sly smile spread across his face. “We’re goin’ to see if I can get you to come with me on Rico’s ship. Sound like fun, sweet cheeks?”
"The, err, NSS Dust Devil, docked on the port downtown," Rico replied as he put his thumbs in his pockets, peeking around corners and down streets nervously. When the sedan finally came into view, Rico barely took his eyes off of it as he continued to speak to Mcmanus. "Transfer shuttle, I'm assigned to the Acadia up in orbit. So ya get how I'm kinda in a hurry here."
"Yeah well, we're here." Mcmanus stated as he continued to walk towards the beat up ground car, the gravel crunching under his booted feet. "By the way, the kid's name is Carina Gabrielle Laruso." He stated with a small lop-sided smirk at Rico's distress from earlier. Hell, frankly this was the part of the job he liked. Watching people squirm.
The smaller man, Alercroft...moved over to the rear door the sedan briefcase in hand. He took hold of the handle, and opened the door which creaked open. Inside it looked a little better, the windows had been tinted slightly to keep the glare the day manageable, the seats were cloth covered, and a dark grey, and sitting in the backseat was a little girl no more then five years of age. She had long black hair that ended in a light curl that framed her face from the bangs, and down her back where it ended cat-like hazel eyes, dark rosy lips, and obviously carried some semblance of looks from Rico from her facial structuring as well as her mother. She wore a green top and a pair of blue jeans and some off colored sneakers as she sat there.
When the door opened, this had caught her attention, and she looked. She saw the larger somewhat scary (although funny) man, Mcmanus, and the smaller man she'd dubbed a roleypolly. The one standing behind them with his thumbs in his pockets caught her attention the most however as she eyed him with childish curiosity, and a bright eyed look. The girl began to smile, somewhat nervously at first, having a feeling she knew who the person was.
Rico wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it. He couldn’t see one hint of resemblance between his own Adonis-like features and those of this little girl…Rico couldn’t even remember her mother. Not so much as a name. Despite all this, Rico’s arched eyebrow and awed expression slowly crept into a small smile. Rico wondered why he was smiling; he wasn’t entirely sure how to place it…but he was almost 95% sure he was simply smiling to keep the kid in good spirits.
’Lost her mom, huh…well shit, I guess I can relate to that,’ Rico thought silently to himself as he backed up a bit. Before this moment, he was almost certain that an orphanage would’ve been better for this kid. Better for himself, mostly, because Rico certainly wasn’t going to be quitting so early in his military career just for some kid. But now…an orphanage seemed so empty compared to the life Rico himself had when he lost his own father. At least he had his mother to fall back onto; this little girl had nobody. Nobody but Rico. The handsome Nepleslian firmly decided that being responsible was a huge killjoy.
“…’aight, I guess I can take her,” Rico said, not a single idea or plan in his head at the moment. An impulsive choice, no doubt, but a firm choice that he needed little time deciding upon. Rico turned to Mcmanus. “Ya said ya got some papers, baby? Let’s see ‘em.”
Alercroft nodded, his comb over bobbing along due to it being only a few wisps of hair. He ushered Rico to the trunk of the sedan where he put his briefcase and opened it. "You will of course have to sign saying you are taking custody of the child, and so on, as well as acknowledging she is yours." He explained before closing it, and placing the papers on the briefcase, and pulling a pen from inside of his coat. He held it out for Rico, and pointed to the first place to sign.
“Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah,” Rico said, rolling his hand around in a “let’s speed it up” motion. He didn’t bother reading the fine print; Rico had never read so much as a word on any contract he’d signed before, and he thought he was pretty set so far…why break the streak? The suave Nepleslian jotted his named down on the line and popped the cap back onto the pen. “Anythin’ else, chief?”
Alercroft simply shook his head as the girl soon shot out of the car before Mcmanus could nab her, and collided with Rico's leg. "Papi!" She squealed, having restrained herself until she decided she could take no more, and instead wanted to get it over with, and simply hug her father, even if he didn't care for her, she was only a child, and children often held love for their parents despite the other's feelings on the matter.
“WHOA WHOA whoa whoa whoa!” Rico said as he caught the tail-end of Carina’s bum-rush to his leg. He had his arms lifted and his captured leg sticking out in front of him as if he had just stepped in something, and shot the two men glances that were ones searching for whether or not he just made the right choice. Of course, he found no answer from either of them. After a moment, Rico smiled sheepishly and (with unnecessary amounts of apprehension) lightly placed his palm on top of Carina’s head. “Heh…yeeeaaah…’papi’,” Rico said with a nervous laugh. “Let’s, uuuhhh…let’s get walking…” Rico paused for a moment, his eyes trailing off a bit as he tried to remember her name. Tried fruitlessly, no less. “…kid. Papi’s got a date with a shuttle.”
Mcmanus stood their, a rather satisfied smirk on his face as he held out a small bag. "Her personal belongings." He said, and held it out for Rico as Carina was bouncing slightly from happiness at meeting her father for the first time...and he'd even gave her a pat on the head! Oh things seemed to be going so well to her... "I didn't know people could date shuttles..." She said after a moment's thought on the man's choice of words, a look of intense thought on her face.
Rico took the bag as he lightly shook his leg in hopes of detaching the young girl from it. When she finally let go, Rico turned and nodded at the two CPS gentlemen, grabbed his own small case of clothes and started walking down the street. “Uh…yeah sweetheart,” Rico said almost timidly, not really sure how to speak to Carina. “Ya just gotta push the right buttons, yannow? Heh. Heh…”
The child simply blinked as she processed this. "Where are we going afterwards Papi?" She asked in a sweet tone of voice, looking up at him with a charming smile on her little face, her eyes bright and slightly sparkly, adding a overly cute, and innocent look to her as she asked the question.
’Now that’s a good goddamn question,’ Rico thought to himself. The original plan was to deposit this kid onto a one-way flight to Los Apagos, and contact his sister Esma, or his mother Callista with some pick-up-the-toddler plans…like he was going to let some surprise parenthood ruin his plans for the day. But as they walked on, Rico started seeing some major holes in this plan. In fact, he was starting to quickly run out of alternative plans. “We’re, uuhh…” Rico started, but stopped again as he found himself at a loss as to what his own child’s name was. “What was yer name again, sugar?”
The girl looked up at Rico with a bright-eyed smile. "Carina." She said with that sweet tone of voice again as she answered.
“Carina…” Rico said, slowing his pace a bit and looked down at the little girl. ’Cute kid. Bet her mom was pretty smokin’ too,’ he thought to himself. “I’m Rico. You can call me Rico. Aaaand,” a sly smile spread across his face. “We’re goin’ to see if I can get you to come with me on Rico’s ship. Sound like fun, sweet cheeks?”
TeslaTornado
Inactive Member
Harrison continued tucking back his piled-high plat, tipping back orange juice by the quart and almost hoovering in the eggs and bacon, even if it barely passed as human food. Apparently he was hungry. Whenever he skipped a meal, even as an adolescent, Harrison always overate at the next meal.
Exhack
Inactive Member
Gyles pulled into the spaceport on the rental airbike, after a generally long, but not all that exhausting night. Sure, he hadn't gotten any sleep, but the combination of good food, alcohol, caffeine and pleasant company got him through alright. He might have to dose up on stims or something for next mission, but he'd otherwise be great. I'm just glad that I didn't do anything stupid last night. She probably would have knifed me or something, if I had.
"Pssst. You still awake, Rose? We're back in port." The tech sentry said to the combat medic as he set his airbike to neutral, then off.
"Pssst. You still awake, Rose? We're back in port." The tech sentry said to the combat medic as he set his airbike to neutral, then off.
"Ehh... nothing, Harrison..." Henry mumbled to himself as he leant forward to bury his head in his arms, "Just... nothing..."
This action made note in his top pocket slip out and fall in front of Harrison. He harked as he tried to snatch it up from prying eyes...
This action made note in his top pocket slip out and fall in front of Harrison. He harked as he tried to snatch it up from prying eyes...
TeslaTornado
Inactive Member
... Too late.
"Hey, look who's become a regular public speaker," Harrison said. "If you're beating yourself up over this, why not just call her?"
"Hey, look who's become a regular public speaker," Harrison said. "If you're beating yourself up over this, why not just call her?"
Soresu
Well-Known Member
Carina continued to walk along with Rico, her affection for the man, her father swelling with just finally being able to see him, let alone walk beside him and speak to him in person. As he spoke, she listened as he spoke of trying to get her to go along on his ship. To her, that ment he wished to spend time with her! Oh she positively grinned at hearing those words. She however felt a twinge of sadness that her mother could not witness this first time meeting of father and daughter, but all the same, it still made Carina's heart come close to bursting with the love a child could have for their parent as they walked.
"Soun's fun yes." She said wearing a cute smile on her little face before she clamped her arms about Rico's waist and nuzzled the side of her head into his side, smiling a sense of complete contentment awash over her before she said the four simple, yet deep words she'd longed to say since her mother first told her of her father. "I love you, Papi." The girl said with honesty and love in her words.
"Soun's fun yes." She said wearing a cute smile on her little face before she clamped her arms about Rico's waist and nuzzled the side of her head into his side, smiling a sense of complete contentment awash over her before she said the four simple, yet deep words she'd longed to say since her mother first told her of her father. "I love you, Papi." The girl said with honesty and love in her words.
Exhack
Inactive Member
Esther finished her coffee and toast and ecided to go for a quick stroll in the hallway, all the while wondering just how much longer it would take everyone to show. She fancied herself a slant more professional than the last captain they had, but it would really put a wrench in what she was trying to set as a standard. Mireille said these guys are trustworthy, but it hasn't helped the impression of uncouth jackasses I've been getting all morning. It's great! Just like when I was quartermaster on pirate ships.
Koenig808
Inactive Member
Ran had specifically sat himself at one of the least populated tables inside of the mess hall, wanting to avoid any sort of loud noises being brought into his proximity. The beating that he received during the night, coupled with the fact that he hit the same spot of his head, made for a very terrible migraine headache. "Fucking shit, nearly 11 years I've been doing this shit, and this still somehow hurts..."
Ran took a bite of a blueberry muffin and a sip of whiskey-laced coffee, holding his head in his right hand.
Ran took a bite of a blueberry muffin and a sip of whiskey-laced coffee, holding his head in his right hand.
- Status
