RP: YSS Celia Mission 3C: [Space] Grace Under Fire

*Perhaps, but anyone with an ounce of self-preservation instinct wouldn't stay here any longer than they needed to,* Isuzu pointed out. *The radiation here is bad enough to kill anyone not in an armor or HEV suit and their only chance of survival would be to get someone's attention. Why set booby traps for your potential rescuers?*

Ren shrugged again. Sighing softly inside her helmet she checked the bit's she had out and started looking for cracks to send them through as she floated down the hall.

~Their Pirates...who knows how those crazies think. Besides like I said. I'm paranoid, it keeps you alive. Or so my Da' always said.~

Being careful keeps you alive. Being paranoid gets you a nice long chat with the morale officer. The dark-haired Neko kept her thoughts to herself, however; she appreciated Renko's concerns, she just... wasn't especially worried at the moment.

Compared to the SMX, pirates just aren't very scary, I guess; yaaay for childhood trauma... Calmly perusing the ship schematics she'd located, Isuzu signaled for Ren to stop. *The ship's computer is that way,* she explained, gesturing toward the bow.

Ren stopped in her tracks, facing the stern. Crap, crap, crap! What a blunder....

Looking around furiously without turning her head Ren got a bright idea. With a demented grin she turned to her partner and gestured in the direction of the engine room.

~Ah, but the power is out...well intermittent at best. We should go fix that enough to access the computer first.~

Isuzu hummed skeptically. *I'm not sure we want to be in Engineering right now. All of this radiation has to be coming from somewhere,* she noted. *The computer will probably work on auxiliary power.*

Meanwhile, in the shuttle bay of the Nero...

The ID-SOL growled, baring his teeth, but did not reach for his weapons.

“Calm yourself, Dwayne,” said the other Nepleslian. “Taisho Branard is our guest here. If you and your bodyguards will follow us, ma'am...”

Sixthree turned his head as he heard footsteps coming from further down the dim corridor. “Shit! Someone's coming! Everyone into the med-bay! Now!”

The Lamias were again the first ones to go through the door. After shoving everyone else in after them, Sixthree grabbed the unconscious pirate and his GP-1 rifle, and scrambled in after them. The door slid shut.

The two Nepleslians led Aurore, Kiyoko, and Zug down the corridor toward the bridge. They paused briefly in front of the medical bay.

The middle-aged Nepleslian man looked down at the Liberator pistol on the ground. “Oh great. Where did that boy ran off to now?”

“He's probably in the can,” the ID-SOL chuckled.

The other Nepleslian sighed. “I do apologize, Taisho Branard. Please take care to not trip over the weapon that my crew-mate so carelessly left behind. You can't expect military discipline on a pirate ship, I guess. Let's be on our way...”

The bridge's hatch opened, and Aurore, Kiyoko, and Zug were ushered inside.

“Ah, Branard-Taisho!” exclaimed Captain Hyde, standing up from his seat. “So gracious of you to accept my invitation. Please, have a seat,” he gestured at the empty chair next to him. “Your bodyguards will have to stand, I'm afraid. I do apologize, but accommodations here are not as luxurious as those of a Yamataian ship.”

Around the bridge, Kiyoko could count eleven pirates, including the captain and the two pirates who escorted them to the bridge. Seven of them, including the middle-aged Nepleslian man, appeared to be ship operators. They were most likely needed to compensate for fact that the Bellystabber was not nearly as automated as the Yui-class, while possessing similar systems. The remaining three, including the ID-SOL, appeared to be security personnel.

As Aurore took her seat, Hyde turned to the ID-SOL. “Dwayne, stand guard outside, please.”

Dwayne grunted, and walked outside.

“A little too obvious, Mr. Hyde,” said Aurore. “You need to work on your trap-making skills.”

“It's simply to prevent my crew from disturbing us, I assure you,” replied Hyde as he sat down facing her, smiling all the while.

(OOC: I'm splitting up the two missions into different threads. Renko and Isuzu's players, please report to mission 3D(2). Everyone else, please report to mission 3D(1).)