RP: ISC Phoenix [Mission 9] Enzo's Lady of the Night

Naoko shoved her hands in the pockets of her oversized jacket, walking to Ivan in silence. When she got to where she was going, she scuffed over the blackened area of pavement, and frowned. On the one hand, her suggestion had been cruel and possibly even evil. On the other, disrupting traffic would have slowed the advance of the assault team, whose comms. she could occasionally hear like the faint crackling of paper on the other side of an empty room. It would have bought them time.

Naoko pulled her arms back inside the sleeves of her jacket. A scant few seconds later there was a sound; the very faint, high-pitched whine of her energy pistols warming up in their holsters.

"They're coming for you," she stated, "Who-ever it was. So I think you should run, yo."

"FREEZE!" Would hopefully be the first words out of the OriSec officer's mouth, and hopefully the last he'd have to tell Ivan as a cyclone of incoming fire from SEPs, Fatboys and 10mm bullets were headed in his direction. His timely discarding of the bomb hadn't dulled their edge for retribution, though.

However, in spite of Naoko's immediate presence, they didn't pay any notice to her, one of them was even kind enough to tell her to stay the hell away. Although, a couple of stray shots did miss her by inches, but were quickly followed up by sincere apologies. After a few too many close calls, Naoko took a few steps back, her hands still pulled inside her jacket.

Furthermore, Ivan realised something after sustaining a few seconds of continuous fire that'd stopped abruptly. He was still alive - only just. He couldn't move, immobilised by pain and bruising all over his body. His cybernetics were well fried too, only adding insult to injury. The only thing he could do properly at the moment was hear.

"Alright then," One of the captains of the OriSec tactical team stepped forwards as he grabbed Ivan by the shoulder and lifted him up, "Do you know why we've come after you?" He scowled, "You should know."

He tightened his grip on the psychopath's neck as he continued, "Our bean counter just finished counting the cost of your accumulated destruction. You owe us 12,000 KS by the next seven days - or we will send out a bounty to bring your worthless arse in and we will make you stand trial for your actions."

He was then dropped to the ground and told, rather justly, "That's why we've let you live - to make you suffer in penance for your actions."
All Ivan had to do now was wait for someone to scrape him off the pavement and give a good thought or two his way.
The OriSec team had backed off, although a couple were still around to keep an eye on him.

John walked out and stood next to Naoko, looking down on Ivan, "You look like shit," As he turned around, he stepped on something and looked down. It was a rubber bullet for a 10mm calibre, "I'll be damned, they must've really hated you."

He then looked down and made a few considerations, "Listen, if you do want to keep clinging to what you call a life, do us a favour," He knelt down, "If you assist us on operation 'win back Enzo's ship', Luca might pay your debt for you - hopefully it'll keep Origin off your ass."

"Maybe they would stop shooting at you, too," offered Naoko. Her pistols no longer whined. She had turned them off. "Looks like it hurts."
"I dunno," John said, "They might tell you to stay off the station."

Taking a few delicate steps forward, Naoko reached down and - with surprising strength - hauled Ivan up and threw him over her shoulders like a potato sack. It wasn't like he was going to be moving on his own anytime soon.
"Which way to the ship?"

"Just follow me," John shrugged as he started moving away from the shop, "So, want a drink later?"
"Hai."

-

Meanwhile, back at the Phoenix, Luca was giving Enzo an assuring smile, "I'm sure you and your associates have a lot of catching up to do," He looked over to Sebastian who had this gem to offer:

"You can take the chaingun Vincent lent me for a while," He nodded as he pointed his thumb to the armoury, "If you can carry it and handle the recoil."

As for Daxle's offhanded Jetpack comment, Luca had this to say, "There's no way you can prove that's not my silhouette in the walls, doc," He didn't mean to say 'not', but it came out anyway. After realising this, he chuckled dumbly.

Jimmy blinked upon hearing about this for the first time, being very behind on current events, "Do what with a jetpack?" He looked over to Daxle with a worrisome eye, "What'd he do this time?"

Luca took a turn to the side as he saw Naoko hauling Ivan over his shoulder coming towards the As of yet unnamed ISC Phoenix-affiliated Vessel, "I'd be asking what happened to him!"

"Karma," she stated, donning an impish smile.

Enzo retrieved the chaingun and examined it briefly before declining it in favor of a smaller weapon he would decide on later. He wanted another cigarette, but still had to restrain himself from ruining the 'new ship' smell. Ergo, he made his was back out to the dock and lit up. Streamers of smoke soon decorated the air above his head and around the brim of his hat. Nicotine party favors were entering his body. All to celebrate his upcoming reunion with The Lady of The Night. He watched on in silence as Naoko and Zeta walked past him, taking turns carrying Ivan.


So they were on way. Zeta stood up from the cover she jumped to when Orisec started firing. "There we go," she said and saw Naoko picking up Ivan. She shaked her head and walked to little neko. "Hey doll, let me take him. We need to get to ship soon and I still need to buy fags along the way." She said and took Ivans hand to relieve the small neko of the weight. Even though it didn't appear as if she were having trouble, Naoko gave him up, and Zeta took Ivan and put him across her back so it would be easier to carry him. It was not far to hangar anyway. Zeta bought even ciggaretes on the way and soon she was walking by the sidewalk next to hangar. She noticed the silhoutes in the wall. She was looking at it for few second and then just shaked her head and moved on.

"Honey I am home," she shouted when she got inside ship. She lied down Ivan on the table and lighted a ciggarete. "Okay I brought the rabid dog back home now." She said to other in the room.

Somehow smelling the smoke coming from inside, Enzo shrugged and took his cigarette back into the ship. After a few feet, he found himself with Zeta in the lounge. He waved at her casually, a greeting fit for coworkers at a post-office instead of a murder-office.

"Zeta!" He jeered, plopping down on the ugly brown couch, "Watcha smokin'?"

Zeta took a pack of cigs out og her pocket. They were black and had a skull on them. "It's name is Death pack," she said upon reading the name. "Want one?" she asked and reached the hande with pack to Enzo.

Taking the cue, Naoko took a few steps backward out into the passageway, picked a direction, and began to explore the ship. Enzo and Zeta were left alone, free to flood the area with their cigarette smoke, as they pleased. Just because she could never get cancer, didn't mean Naoko enjoyed smoke.

With a smirk, Enzo reached and slid one of the cigarettes out of the pack. With his free hand, the vagabond put out his current cigarette in favor of the new one. After a few tugs on it, he delivered his verdict, "No menthol?"

"Don't mess with me mate," Zeta replied. "Maybe I am a woman but I am certainly not a sissy. These are pretty good cigs. I used to smoke them long time ago in Funky City." She them smiled and added. "It is not like those shitty ones you use to puff."

There was a quick chortle from the smuggles in response. He raised an eyebrow and reached towards Zeta's metallic arm.

"I thinks we both did lot's of stuff a long time ago in Funky City, eh lady?" he asked, tapping the cold metal twice with two fingers.

"I lost this arm at the end of my first bodyguard gig." Zeta said and looked at her arm. "I had to spent years being one armed after this. I was a bloody telephonist to save money for this arm. But it was worth it."

Enzo withdrew his arm and paid attention to the cigarette in his mouth again. This time, he inhaled with his nose and blew the smoke out from it like an angry bull. His eye wandered over to Ivan, lying on the table. "Wonder how much shit he hads to do to saves up for his shit?" he commented.

Zeta shifted her vision to Ivan. "Well I have no idea. But it must have been something ugly." she said and took a deep puff from her cigarette. "The guy's a realy psycho. He almost threw live grenade in a street. He was lucky coppers were nice enough to use rubber."

Enzo nodded, "My moms wasn't even lucky enoughs to gets that from my dad. That's why I'm still heres today, not elsewheres. Hey, Zeta?" His tone turned serious, "Yous gonna helps me gets my ship back, yeah? You cans ride in it after Naoko, if you wants. It's nice."

"Yeah I will help you. Are part of the crew after all. I hope your ship is okay." she said and then pointed to chaingun. "So that is why you got that monster from the armoury?" she asked.

"Nah, just lookin'." he replied, nudging the monstrosity with his boot. "I thinks it's too bigs for the close quarters of my little Lady of the Night."

"Yeah I am looking forward to test out that Origin Peashooter. It looks like good pistol." Zeta said swill watching the chaingun. Wondering that it would be easy to use in Impulse. "Now that I think of it I do not own any shotgun." She just said out of blue.

"Worthless anyways." Enzo replied. He drew his own Peashooter and put it down on the table in front of him. He was looking around the room for something to use as a rag. "Shotguns yous can't aims, It's like, 'What's the point, Jack?'"

"One of my brothers like shotgun. He used that automatic one from Styrling. He was pretty good with them you know. It is easy to hit weapon for idiots but it is dead-machine in hand of experts. And in ship. There is no better weapon that shotgun or low-caliber gun. We do not want have a hole in the ship don't we?" Zeta said, taking last puff from the cigarette and putting it down on Ivans leg.

"It has better hull integrity than that," stated Naoko, who reappeared. She promptly frowned and waved away a few tendrils of nicotine-laced smog.

"Maybe, but I like to be careful." Zeta respondedn. She threw pack of cigs to Enzo. "Here keep them I bought enough. I am going to take a long shower now. I got sweaty carrying this bag of rocks." she said and poked into Ivan. She then stood up and left to look around a ship and find a bunk. Maybe she could get Arin or Mellisa to be there with her. She would not like some of the guys to share room with her. Maybe Seiren, but Seiren was just a kid.

--------------------------------------

Enzo waved Zeta away and turned his attention to the diminuitive Nekovalkyrja in the doorway. After Zeta left, a nervousness set in. He was dreading the 'talk' they were supposed to have; but he still wanted to get it over with. Another tug from his cigarette came and went and with it, went his silence.

"Well." he began, "You said earlier we haves to haves 'a talk', yeah? Talk."

Naoko nodded, then dodged a few more lingering smoke clouds as she moved over to the seat beside Enzo. "Yes," she stated, crossing one leg over the other. "You and I are friends, aren't we?"

Enzo said nothing in response, only nodded. As a sign of consideration, he blew the next stream of smoke away from Naoko after seeing her fanning and dodging of the last few sets.

"Well, are you sure, yourself?" Naoko shifted around, turning so she could fix Enzo in her vision completely. She frowned, very slightly, at the edge of her lip. It turned into a sort of pout, though her eyes glittered with a dangerous light - what was it? Was it accusation, curiousity, violence or something else? "I will be up-front. Most of this crew hates me. I can tell, and I do not blame them. They have their reasons to do so, and I expect they are good ones. You were the first one interested in helping me, even if you know I am wrong. Why."

There was a slight twitch at Enzo's right eye. He couldn't find the words to explain his attachment. Instead, he plucked his communicator from his breast pocket and flicked through it, searching for a specific image. He had taken the image on the trip from Drift to Dawn Station while playing with his new toy. It depicted Melissa, Crane, Luca, John, Naoko, Sebastion, and Hitori going about their business in the lounge. With his finger curled slightly, he tapped the head of each crew member, leaving Naoko for last.

"Slut, Chump, Chump, Chump, Chump, Slut and..." His hand wavered over Naoko's head. Her figure was barely visible as the picture was taken before her most recent growth spurt. The thought of the subject brought another twitch to his left eye. "Friend. That's the only way I knows how to puts it."

Sitting back in the chair, Naoko put her hands together over her raised kneecap, gently scratching at the baggy cargo pants as she considered the picture of the man in front of her. Enzo was a scraggly bastard, if ever there was one. Even in the suit, something was off about him - a sort of rugged trait, as if it didn't matter what he were wearing, it was going to tarnish. The man thieved for a living. And Naoko honestly didn't care. He could steal the tails from newborn puppies and it wouldn't phase her in the least. But one thing did bother her.

"Why, then," she asked as delicately as possible, "Do you seem to not wish for me to return to the way I was?"

There was the twitch again. This time more powerful than the last. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly stuffed the cigarette into it so he could gather his words. There was a beat. "It's not that I don't want yous to be happy an' all..." he started, his words warped by the cigarette clenched tightly in the side of his mouth. "It's just that... I'm kinda like... An opportunist, see? An' we opportunists, we sees an opportunity an' we takes it and then we don't even thinks abouts it." He spat the cigarette out and finished his thought as eloquently as he could, all traces of his Lower West Side Funky City vernacular faded for the moment.

"If you go back to normal-size. I'm scared that I'm going to start... wanting. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

Naoko only widened her eyes enough to show her surprise, then she did something unexpected - she started laughing. It started off as a sort of hiss, then became a giggle that just spilled over somehow. Enzo frowned at this with another twitch, and Naoko caught hold of herself again, rubbing at her forehead as if it would actually help. Then she raked a hand back through the loose strands of hair that framed her face, pushing them away and holding them there.

"So what?" The challenge came sudden, the edge of her amusement still in it, "You think you are going to take advantage of me?"

"No!" Enzo almost shouted defensively, "I might not be a mathematician, but I am not a moron. You wouldn't let me. It's like this: I grew up playing a certain game. Everybody in the whole galaxy is a rival player. The objective is to fuck all the women and rip off all the men. Up until now, I've never met anyone who wasn't a rival player. Not a slut or a chump. Get it? You're pretty. I'm greasy. I won't look at you the same." His accent slowly began to return. "At least, I hopes I will. But I knows I ain't gonna do it."

"I grew up playing a similar game;" Naoko explained, her composure returned, though the bemused smile and expression still lingered, as if she were enjoying the act of speaking. "Everything in the whole galaxy that isn't a Yamataian or a Nekovalkyrja deserved to die. No questions asked, if someone told me to go shoot someone, the reason didn't matter to me. It was enough I had my squad and we did everything together. Everything. If you believe however you look at me, is going to bother me, you're wrong."

Pulling an arm out of her jacket, Naoko flung it onto the couch beside Enzo. The shirt beneath it was baggy, and she adjusted it so it stayed on her shoulder, apparently having already known it was going to slip.

"I think you should know I am not interested in games, yo. If you want me to be your friend, fine. If you do not think you can handle that, there is very little that I have not done for much less than friendship. But I don't play games and I'm not your rival. Wakaru?"

Enzo plopped his back hard against the back of the couch and a sigh escaped his lips as if the impact had squeezed it out. His eyes trailed up towards the ceiling and his cigarette drifted over towards the ashtray. He looked briefly back over at Naoko and glanced over her clothing situation before grinding his eyes back into the ceiling. "Hai." He replied unconsciously in Yamatai-go, one of the few words he knew. Then he chippered up just a tad. "Just in cases yous can't be my pal anymore..."

He turned slowly with a wide grin and held up the white box with the dresses in it that he had thrown on the coffee table upon entering the ship before continuing, "How abouts we haves a little fun while we still can?! I gots yous this cute little number with a big wide-brimed straw hat an it'll actually fit! You'll looks so cute innit. And the hat matches your pretty hair, just likes in magazines!"

Naoko shrugged, settling back again and pulling her braid over her shoulder. Something told her that somewhere along the line, they had entirely missed the point of their conversation, but she really did not know where precisely. "If you want."

"It's a deal!" came the response. Enzo shot up from his seat and removed the dresses from their home as he made his way over towards the door. There, he leant on the frame and held the smaller dress up in the air to show off its cut and the hat hanging from its tag. There was a sort of proud smile on his face, as if he were the tailor that made the dress and the weaver that made the hat and the farmer that harvested the cotton and straw all in one. He shook the wrapping from the hat and snatched it from the tag before slinging it playfully towards Naoko like a frisbee, sending it on a twirling course for her. He followed behind it and offered his dress-bearing hand. "Do you likes it?"

Naoko snagged the sunhat out of the air, and stood to examine the dress. She didn't smile, but didn't really frown, instead taking the dress and pressing it against her front, as if to size it. After a few minutes, she looked up, somewhat embarassed.

"I've never worn a dress," she admitted. "So I don't really know yet."

For some reason, Enzo seemed to know what to say here. "It's not as bad as it seems, so long as you don't gots to wears the underwears like the brassere an' shit. Dress like that, let's you moves around free, but you still gots plenty of room to hides shit likes heavy cargo pants gives ya." The smuggler apparently had experience in cross-dressing at some point in his career. Naoko, for some reason, did not have a hard time imagining this. Enzo started towards the door and motioned Naoko to follow him.
"Why don't you picks out a room while everybody's pickin an' I'll wait outside while yous trys it on?

Naoko grabbed her jacket, "Hai."

And with that, Enzo lead the way towards the crew quarters, having worked on a Courier I he felt he knew right where they would be on the Courier II.

They left the invalid Ivan alone and completely forgotten.

In the silence of the room Ivan's brain continued without the supervision of a conscience, most of the ideas and plots that worked their way through were of an extremely vile nature. Luckily these were more wishes then ideas with planning. At the top of the list and what was now a priority for Luca's newest resident psychopath was to find the nearest tool kit and get his limbs back to working order. However the effects of OriSecs blatant use of superior firepower still held leaving him staring at the ceiling unblinking. Somewhere in the back of his thought process was the small hope that another talk of Enzo and the Neko's nature wouldn't occur while he was still unable to leave the room.

Robert grumbled as he walked onto the new ship, lugging a couple bags. "Hey Zeta, I think ya forgot something!" he called out as he carried the bags. He wandered around the ship not entirely sure of the layout till he walked past Naoko and Enzo. "Hey guys, either of you seen Zeta? She kinda left these at the shop."

Enzo shook his head, but pointed ahead of himself and Naoko.

"She's looking for the bunks. Ands the bunks are this ways, Ragsey." Enzo suggested, adding a little joke at the end, "Ifs yous thinks she'll let you bunk with her, yous mights wanna be wearin' yous Impulse when yous meets her, yeah?" The vagabond chuckled to himself as started again towards the bunk-rooms.

He also made a mental not that he would be sleeping in the cargo-bay again. There were far too many troubles bunking with someone in his memory. They tended to notice when their stuff wound up 'missing' and Enzo wound up a few DA richer after a trip to the nearest pawn shop.

Once aboard the new ship, it wasn't terribly difficult to find Luca- following the sound of voices, Uriel came upon him surrounded by people, as usual. "Luca, if I may have a moment of your time." Saying those words made the Elysian realize this would be the second time he addressed the Captain with his own personal concerns concerning a new crew member; he also noted that the last character that had worried him- a certain Neko- turned out to be an appreciable addition to the team. This time, however, would be nothing like that. Ivan, like Enzo, was a brash man who made his intentions in life very clear to anyone who looked his way. While such straightforwardness was something of an honorable trait, there was nothing honorable about what this man had done in their company thus far nor was he repentant in the slightest.

Perhaps Luca's crew is not the place I belong, he mused faintly to himself. Regardless of whether or not he would agree with the statement, Uriel also knew he could nothing about it until the next stop.

Daxle turned to Jimmy, "Well you see, some people have this weird thing, and it involves taking the jetp-" he stopped midword as he saw a neko enter the ship, followed by Zeta. Even worse, they were carrying that psychopathic guy who blew up the lobby. He said nothing, only watched wide-eyed as they made their way into the ship. He turned to Luca.
"Is...is that safe?" he asked, shock and awe very evident in his tone.

Luca turned to look at the ensemble that'd climbed in, "Probably not, but it seems to be working anyway," He had an indifferent shrug towards Ivan, to which he commented, "He looks like shit."

John adjusted his glasses, "Yeah, he was on the receiving end of rubber bullets and stun rounds at the same time for about six continuous seconds," He took a cursory glance at Ivan, "Judging from his groaning, he's not exactly hurt, but incredibly pissed off at the guy that berated him."

"Huh," Luca shrugged, "I suppose no lobby blowing-up goes unpunished, huh?"

"And the guy demanded that he pays Origin twelve thousand KS as a fine within the next few days," He adjusted his glasses solemnly, "or we'll be forced to let him go and get shot up - with lead and plasma."

Luca looked a bit worried, "Alright, we'd better get that debt paid - after Ivan fills his end of the deal with us," He then took a look at Daxle, giving him a nod, "Show us what you got, sawbones."

Daxle blinked for a moment,
"Wha-?" he said aloud, but then remembered the cross stitched on his jacket
"Oh yeah! Heh, riiiiiiiight. I'm probably gonna regret this later," he mumbled as he went off to locate Ivan.

-

He found the psychotic man laying in a heap in the middle of the ship's armory, not moving and very obviously brooding. Daxle didn't even bother looking around at whatever assorted weaponry lay hidden; he wasn't interested.
"So the captain of this ship says I got to get you up and running. Though I'm questioning the decision, he is letting me ride to wherever. Hey Jimmy, help me get this guy to the infirmary bay, ja?"

Jimmy nodded as he crouched down and got Ivan under one arm, lifting him very slowly, "Alright, breathe in, and breathe out," He asked Ivan calmly, "Take one step at a time,"

"I'm pretty sure he can't move," Daxle mentioned helpfully, as he unceremoniously grabbed Ivan's legs and lifted them, leaving his arms to Jimmy.
"Fortunately, standard policing usually leaves the victims alive, and in generally movable condition," he added as they moved Ivan out.

"But he can feel pain, let's try and keep that to a minimum," Jimmy nodded as he took the arms and started walking slowly towards the medical bay, "Anyhoo, Anna and I have already set up what we can in the Medbay, it isn't much, but with an extra set of hands, we should be ready for anything."

Eventually, the two medics put Ivan down on a stretcher, face up. Jimmy had started looking at all of the bruises and welts, wincing occasionally at the nastier ones, "Looks like in addition to the obvious," Jim noted, "His cybernetics are a bit, uh, fried."

He cringed at the smell, since improperly grounded cybernetics tended to smell like burning meat after a prolonged exposure to voltage.

Jim made a slight correction upon seeing the extent of the damage and realising that there wasn't much of Ivan that wasn't cybernetic, possibly a few pounds of flesh at the most, "He is, uh, fried."

"Yeah...I'm actually kind of curious as to how he is alive right now, to be honest. I wonder if he has a backup Life-support unit inside him somewhere...though I suppose that wouldn't really matter, given that everything inside is fried...hrmmmm," was Daxle's response, though it sometimes sounded as though he was talking to himself.

He wished at that moment that he had one of them portable medical scanners, which sadly remained in the hands of the SAoY. Maybe he could build his own...
He shook those thoughts from his head as he re concentrated his focus on the task at hand.

"Either way, it was rubber bullets and stun rounds - those stun rounds must've done the most damage to his cybernetics. He wouldn't have felt the rubber," Jim scratched his head, "The problem is, I'm no electrician... cyber-netic-doctor part fixer... mechanic... thing..." He seemed legitimately puzzled.

Jim's background as a Yamataian medic meant that his knowledge of cybernetics was limited at best, and he didn't want to have to learn how to fix them now. Doing so would be as disastrous as learning to fly with passengers.

"Well I can tell you that you practically need a mechanic in order to fix this job. Look at this," he said to Jimmy, coming around to Ivan's head "His head, and undoubtedly his brain, has extensive cybernetic work. Probably a positronic brain with only bits of his original kept for processing speed purposes, which also allows him to have expansion upgrades such as radio, telepathy implants, probably an occular one or six."

"Note that it's shut down right now, damage via stun weapons; fried circuitry, little brain activity, the works. Now the problem is, even though he has all this cybernetic work, the head and brain are still the most important parts of the body. Since it's all shut down, nothing will work, even if we repair the rest of it, which thankfully doesn't seem to be too bad, probably just have to replace a processor here and servo there." He stopped and took a breath.

Jim nodded as he followed along with Daxle's crash-course into cybernetics, and he knew two women who were perfect for the job with a snap of his fingers, "Arin and Allison shouldn't have any problem with this at all, you haven't met them yet."

"Do they have the...finer tools for the job? Or the parts?" Daxle asked, mentally preparing himself to be mightily impressed

"I'm not going to argue with someone who can fabricate grenades and push them down your pants in the same action upon being groped," Jim spoke grimly, affirming Arin's prowess, "She's practically legendary, and slightly radioactive."

"Is she hot?" was the response to a claim to Legend status

"For fear of my pants, I'm not at liberty to say."

"A fair point. I think I...and by I mean we, can probably get the surgery done...supposing this Arin and Allison can get us the parts we need on top of the tools. Otherwise, attempting to do the surgery now would be like trying to use a Ship's Cannon to target a very specific ant."

"Or doing brain surgery with a mallet, saw and a bottle of anaesthetic... as a bludgeon."

-

Meanwhile, at the Captain's cabin, Luca had just gotten himself acquainted with the relative fineries of being a 'Captain' captain as opposed to a leader of a rag tag bunch of misfits. This room even had a computer, desk, closet, a spiffy looking viewing screen, a durandium lock box and a giant bed just waiting for an extra set of legs to jump in and tumble between.

The first thing Luca did was to put up on the viewscreen that their main course was "Nepleslia Prime", it even had a map of the galaxy loaded into it with all the known locations and a navigation computer. The message on this screen would appear around the ship, along with a helpful little message to the crew:

"Everyone, lay claim to a room! Its two beds to a room and first in first served, with Daxle taking the lead! If you don't want a room, you don't have to take it!"

-

As Daxle and Jimmy headed towards where ever Jimmy was leading them to find Allison and Arin, they passed a view screen where the message appeared.
"Oh crap! That's right!" and without another word he took off for the dormitory section to pick his room.

"Huh?" Jim paused for a moment and tilted his head. He then blinked and bared his teeth in embarrassment, "Crap!" He started sprinting after Daxle. Behind him were the footfalls of the other crew members, including Allison, Sebastian, Anna and Crane.

Sebastian and Anna immediately laid claim to a room to themselves, and themselves only, hurling the contents of Jim's suitcase out.
"ARGH!" He groaned as he watched Allison and Crane take a room, agreeing to a time-share privacy agreement to save the embarrassment that could take place later on.

"Hey, Daxle! Wait up!" He yelled as he hauled his suitcase with him.

Daxle dove into the door closest to the elevator section, the one on the left if you were entering from that direction. He whipped out his pistol and guarded the door for all his life's worth until Jimmy could haul his suitcase into the room.
"2 beds for the each of us, one for a lady" he said with grin that could only be brought on by the adrenaline of room-picking.

"You're lucky! I don't swing that way!" Jim said as he charged, suitcase forwards into Daxle.

"Yea, good point" Daxle said, eyeing the two beds from the floor, using only one eye due to the other having an almost obscene meeting with a suitcase. He could've sworn there were three. He mentally sighed. He then took note of just how they were going to get out of this mess.

"So, What's with the suitcase?" he asked, his voice muffled beneath clothing that was falling out. Oddly, it took being crushed by a suitcase to remind Daxle that he had none of his own, being on the move never really affording him much time to buy clothing.

"Its where I keep my non-essential combat stuff, like, uh," Jim thought as he peeled himself off of Daxle and put his suitcase and some of his contents on the bed in an unruly pile, "Clothing, and a swimsuit."

-

Meanwhile, Melissa was nearby in the armoury when she saw this message, "Ah cripes, don't tell me I gotta share with," She turned around slowly and eyed Enzo, and swallowed a lump in her throat, "Augh, gawd."

-

Meanwhile, John had left the vessel, and had endeavoured to try and park the ISC Big Bird into the massive Courier 2A, which still didn't have a name. It was just a matter of not letting your hands slip from the controls and being very, very careful. He also hoped that people would try and keep clear from the hangar.

((Sorry guys please don't kill us))

Zeta was just entering one the rooms when announcement was made. She just looked toward the nearest speaker and smiled. "Looks like I am in time," she said and entered. Room was... well full of beds. Two twin sized beds and dressers. Zeta began by looking inside the dressers. Luckily there were Origin towels inside. "Bingo," Zeta said and begain undressing. Her under-cloth armour was getting too uncomfortable. With luck John would land Big Bird inside this ship so she could get her stuff soon.

When she was done undressing she claded herself in towel and headed for showers, locking the doors behind her.

Meanwhile, Luca was lazing in his captain's suite, taking in the atmosphere and listening to the panic he'd caused by his announcement with a chuckle. He could've sworn that he heard the sound of a suitcase being weaponised for a moment. Elsewhere, Naoko twitched an ear and, without mentioning exactly why to her companions at the time, drew her pistols and energized them. Then she very purposefully began to stalk down the hall, her leisurely pace hardly changed.

As Zeta passed by Enzo's path to the crew quarters she was greeted by a mild cat-call. "What's the towel for, Lady? The ship's new, there's no needs to cleans up around heres." Without breaking stride, the well-dressed heathen fell into line with Naoko as he finished his interjection, preferring on this occasion to forgo the tits in exchange for the potential blood.

Zeta smirked at Enzo. "No free shows, sailor," she replied continuing towards the showers. "And some people do bathe and like to not smell of old pub, Enzo," she added and laughed a little.

"I'll join you in a bit," Naoko said pleasantly over her shoulder, "Just give me a second or two to find a room, yo."

"You can bunk with me, Nao," Zeta replied possibly she'd be sorry for that in future but at least she could keep an eye on the little neko this way, "It's third room from the showers." she added.

"I showered twice lasts night." said Enzo, more to himself than anyone else, "Both before and afters the liquor and combat candy."

Luca was struck by boredom, as he usually was after staying still for a prolonged period of time, unless he was sleeping. So he peeled himself off of the bed and left his captains quarters to take a look at what the crew was up to, locking the door behind him. He rubbed his hands together, anticipating some mayhem and antics.

He was wearing tracksuit pants and a ratty old shirt he had since he was sixteen and used mostly for sleeping in, and had a few holes in it, "So!" He announced as he leaned against the wall with a sly grin, "How are my little furies doing today?"

"Furies?" Naoko asked, pausing both because Luca had suddenly appeared, and also because she was considering the prospect of bedding down with Zeta as opposed to singing the facial hair off of a couple of armed medics with her SEP's 'stun' mode.

"Furies?" Zeta asked almost simultaneously with Nao.

"It's an Elysian thing. Uriel told me. It's myth...mytholo...gee," He had a hard time getting his head around it, but according to the myth, they were minor deities who personified vengeance and the anger of the dead, "Oh, Naoko, try not to scratch the paint," He added as he noticed the SEP's before his eyes wandered to Zeta's figure, "By the way, Zeta, you look positively dashing."

Daxle heard talking outside and, after extracting himself from Jimmy's clothing, he looked outside only to see Zeta walking past.
Hello ladies was his thought.
"Well hi there!" was what he said, completely missing the armed neko who was conviniently looking the other way. The neko in question didn't miss it, though. She turned around at the voice, examining the head poking out into the hallway.

Zeta blushed upon hearing captains praise. "W-w-well I was.. I was on my way to the showers. Not the I was expecting for such a crowd to appear," She replied and it was first time a little nervousness appeared in her voice. As if she was shy in front of the captain only.

When Daxle greeted her from behing she jumped a little being startled and immediatly turning around. Her towel slipped a little lower but she was fast enough to catch it. It was first time she had seen Daxle. "Oh, hello," she replied just not knowing what else to say, starting to feel uneasy at being a center of the attention.

Picking up on this, Enzo opened his fat mouth, simultaneosly leaning against the wall to strategically (and humorously) block Daxle's view. "So, Daxle is it... yous a big-time doctor man, yeah? Why don't you take a lady out to dinner before yous tries the old 'WELL, HI THAR' routine, see? By the ways, I invented the 'well, hi there' routine, doc."

As far as Daxle was concerned he was just denied a view of the Heavenly Gates themselves though this guy, clearly from somewhere South Side F.C, did an excellent job of distracting him. He was then left to wonder, for the second time that day, how someone he had never met knew who he was.
"Well, you see, being polite is a form of communication...after, of course, you present them with the customary Bullet of Disapproval." he replied, a little too cooly then he would've liked

"Nani?" posed Naoko, letting her pistols down, as if she weren't entirely sure she wouldn't still have to use them, and was skeptically considering shooting first. "Routine? That stuff actually works..?"

"Only on whores." Enzo muttered in reply, a hint of former disappointment in his tone.

"Usually makes me laugh in the face of guy who tries it," Zeta said to Naoko, "Then me giving them a prompt punch, or knee in balls. It is the best to shoo away men like that." (Daxle fervently prayed thankfulness that this didn't occur)

"Stylish!" Luca commented, "I think while I was out last night, someone tried that on me, but he was hairier than me, so," He paused for a moment, surprising himself that he could remember last night's events, "I rolled him up in a carpet and tied him to a lamp post upside down whilst smeared in honey?" He sounded confused by this newfound knowledge.

"Was he Nepleslian, or something else?" The guns went into their holsters and Naoko folded her arms beneath her chest, causing the baggy clothing to become rather less baggy. "Because, it might have been cultural, yo."

"I don't know..." Luca concluded, feeling very unsettled.

Daxle then had to cough "Jetpack," a little unconvincingly, to which Luca replied with a quiet: "Shuddup."

"Knee in the daddy bag always works." Zeta said to Luca after turning back to him. Her voice was calm as she shared her wisdom with others. In light of this, Naoko began to eye the males surrounding the two of them speculatively, a faint malacious smile playing at the edge of her lip.

"Does it, now?" Naoko asked, and Zeta nodded immediatly. Jim cringed in response to this, not wishing to be a test subject for this theory as he hid in Daxle's shadow. Luca didn't seem too fazed by this.

"Very well." Enzo provided, looking heavily at his male companions. He was keen to defend his position as the greasy, creepy guy aboard the ship and had no interest in losing it to chump doctors. "Some of us can takes it better'n others."

"That we can, Enzo," Luca smirked, now starting to remember more about last night. He was starting to wonder why he couldn't keep a laptop bag, a jar of honey and a few feet of dental floss off his mind for a bit.

Daxle was beginning to suspect he was being rejected on some level, though he wasn't exactly sure how. In all, it was a very confusing suspicion. He had greeted an admittedly gorgeous woman, and in return someone had gotten all up in his face about it...only to not even seem interested in the matter. He assumed this was the daily part of being around this new crew, if the captain was any indication, so he let the feeling pass for now.

"Well, if no one wants to test who can take it better, I will head up for the shower." Zeta said waiting for any response.

"Twenty DA to drops the towel." Enzo chortled, comically spreading his legs for the ball punch.

"I'll do it for free," Luca smirked, nudging Enzo and assuming the stance, "Real men don't need the money."

"I can take a bullet better I bet," Daxle said, pulling out his pistol.

"Naoko, why won't you test them out? You can get some practise this way." Zeta said to small neko with a devilish smile on her lips. Naoko's own smile broadened in a slow, deliberate way. The teeth it showed were remarkably pointy.

Luca blinked, "Wait a minute-"

"Wait, what did I just volunteer for again?" Daxle added.

"Be gentle, it's only my seven-hundred-and-seventy-seconds time." Enzo chimed in.

Up snapped the two SEP's - one at Daxle's crotch level, the other at Luca's. It didn't help that the diminutive Neko hadn't exactly specified whether they were set to 'Stun' or not. It hardly mattered, really. Either way, it was a lot of nerve pain, and possibly bowel control loss. For a long second, it looked as if she weren't really serious, as if she were just doing it as a joke. Then, she fired.

Pzzt-Pzzt!

Luca looked down at his tracksuit pants, and noticed that the electricity hadn't fried his clothes, but behind the tracksuit was a different story altogether. His unusal resilience to bullets, concussion and electricity had been tested before, but it hit a whole lot closer to home.

Still, the Captain kept upright-ish, clenching his teeth and keeping a stiff upper lip as best as he could. The groin injury could ruin his chances of productive procreation, but given his line of work, the lack of byproducts might be useful in the long run.

"Ow..." He said, simply, as if almost underwhelmed.

First, Daxle had no qualms about taking a peek with people around, just to see if they were still there, which they where. Oh good he thought. Yes, thought, because to speak would be to allow that terrible scream he was holding in loose. With a very shaky hand, he reached into his Traveling Med Kit, fumbled about for a second, and pulled out a hypospray, which he injected immediately. Still, the pain didn't susbside for whole seconds.
"Klempsomorphirine...doctors privelage" he said, now sounding like he had smoked several bowls

"PUSSY!" Luca ratted out on Daxle.

Pursing her lips, Naoko flicked a safety on the pistols, pointing them to the ceiling lackidasically as she did so. They began to hum menacingly. "I probably don't know how to operate these, yet, ne? I guess I don't know the settings, dakara... want to go again? I promise I'll get it right?"

Luca blinked, "We can test that when someone else who isn't part of our crew is trying to shoot us all, alright?"

Zeta raised her eyebrows upon the scene that played before her eyes. She put her hand on Naoko's head. The little thing seemed a lot less dangerous, almost most like a child compared to the taller, more muscular woman. Her reaction, which was to duck her head and shrug her shoulders, was hardly helping that image. "You still have a lot to learn. Sarcasm for one thing." She said and put her hand away. "Are you okay, captain?" Zeta asked as her bodyguard mind got back on. She knew he would be okay with a kick, but a stun round? "Jimmy come out and have a look at them." She added.

Luca tried his best to smile and nod, "I'll be fine, just give me a moment to fetch an ice pack," He then turned around and started walking back to the captain's cabin, and was walking unusually stiffly, in comical fashion.

"I think there's one in that place where I left that psycho...yea..." Daxle quietly called after Luca. It was entirely possible he had used just a bit too much of the painkiller.

"I'll go change, now," Naoko stated, holstering the weapons. Zeta lowered her head and whispeder code of lock on her room doors. "Towels are in dresser Nao," she added.

Enzo seemed disappointed to have been left out of the blast. Truly, he was probably the only person who would have actually enjoyed the quick blast of pain to his jewels. Still, he was somewhat relieved that nothing had to ruin his new suit. He wanted the fine threads to be in excellent condition for his upcoming reunion.

"Okay shower time. And if one of you male devils peeks I will do something worse to them then Naoko just now." Zeta said with a smile, though her voice was serious. With that she turned on her heel and headed to the showers.

----------

Luca eventually returned to his quarters with an ice pack in his groin, somewhat mirroring the morning's events. He decided to turn on the view screen that dominated the room and took a look at the general state of things on ship. He decided to post this helpful message from bed:

"Arguments are now to be settled by SEP Roshambo if we can't draw to a conclusion that doesn't involve a gunfight. By the way, Uriel, door's open. We'll discuss what we need to in my quarters - be sure to bring a book on Mythology, too - it's good reading."

He then bit his lip and thought of some revenge for his fried bits, "By the way ladies, I can see your gluteus maximus. Shake it like you mean it!" This wasn't the case, since there were no cameras in either bathroom, but he figured the message would be good for a laugh to scare the girls.

He then heard a series of heavy thumps on the door, punctuated by a distinctly annoyed "OI!" The voice couldn't be mistaken. It was Melissa.

Then the local intercom snickered at him.

-

Zeta just walked into the bathroom when she heard the gluteus comment. She just looked into corners of the room, not seeing any camera. She just showed the empty room a finger and continued on. Walking into a shower stall and taking her towel off. "Finally," she said as she turned water on and let hot drops stream down on her skin.

-

As always, there was never a dull moment in Mr. Pavone's crew. The amount of undisciplined ruckus would make Hanako blush and cuckold the crew for their poor behaviour, but that was just the way everybody liked it - especially the captain. In spite of all their bundles of flaws, they were still great fun to be around. And even funnier when Luca turned on the news and found himself on the front page.

"ORIGIN INDUSTRIES GETS BUSY WITH SIDEBURNS MAN - INTERESTING THINGS HAPPEN" There were photos of the results of what happened last night, but no specifics, even though they identified a "Luca shaped hole in the wall, followed by a Aerin shaped hole", along with a man wrapped in a carpet tied to a lamp post upside down, smeared in honey.

This was then followed by a distraught restaurant owner lamenting the loss of her stock - two days worth of abalones. Also, a hotel lobby had been destroyed, and it finished with a picture of the hotel room where the 'business discussion' took place, or what was left of it at any rate.

An 'intrepid reporter' finished off the report with this gem, "Is this the kind of man we want to save the world? He's obviously a menace to society! We need to think of the children! What if they get the wrong idea and try to emulate these stunts?" She was really scraping the bottom of the barrel and chewing the scenery, "No!" She tried to act smart by using a rhetorical question, "We need this man stopped before he impacts on us further with his insanity!"

Luca scowled in reply and said to the viewscreen, "With all due respect," He really meant 'kiss my arse', "It's not like you've got a choice, ma'am," He then grinned, "Unless you like having a tentacle use you as a hand puppet."

He leant back, and just waited for Nepleslia Prime to 'happen'.

Robert grunted as he heard a lot of commotion up ahead from the direction that Enzo and Naoko had walked of. He hefted the bags again and walked off in the direction. He caught up after seeing Naoko fire her pistols. He simply blinked after cringing for their pain and headed off to find an empty room to call his own. He entered one and set down the bags. He inspected the room and relaxed on the bed he decided would be his. Then feeling restless he stood up and started roaming the ship looking for someone, or something to mess with.

Smith walked onto the new ship. Smith carried the bag of goods with him. Smith carried his suitcases with him. Smith randomly chose a room that was unlocked. Smith dropped the bag and suitcases. Smith removed his glasses and set it aside. And then he collapsed face first right into a bed. He had no idea if the room was taken yet, by whom, and he didn't care. Truth be told, it had sucked the life out of him to keep himself under control with the Neko around. It was like...having an unfettered lion as a bunkmate; you never knew when it was going to get hungry.

Still, Smith wanted to be normal and boring, if only for a little while. It wasn't too much to ask, was it? So he slept.

Uriel's first action was to claim an empty room. Thinking on the matter, he figured it was unlikely he would end up sharing it, and if he did it would more than likely be Panther- they were both quiet souls, with quite different worldviews when compared to the remainder of the "team." When his things were set upon the bed and he'd snagged one of his tomes of cultural literature, the Elysian set off for the Captain's room. The door was indeed open, and inside he was privvy to a strange sight: Luca nursing his crotch with an ice bag.

He couldn't stop himself from quipping, "Did you finally get what's been coming to you, Captain, or are you just that bored?" There was a slight smirk on his face. He set the book down before Mr. Pavone, clearing not expecting an answer one way or another. He remained standing- these "relaxing" seats weren't meant for his kind.

Luca smirked in response and appeared to take his injury in his stride, "Long story, an SEP got involved, so did Naoko," He then sat up and sat against the wall, "Don't worry, she doesn't seem too intent on invading your room, Daxle and Jim seem to have caught her attention, for now anyway," He sighed lightly, reminded of a child - albeit with a worryingly good working knowledge of war, weapons, and mischief.

He then scratched his cheeks and asked the Elysian standing before him, "So, what's on your mind?"

"Ivan. He's a bad idea." He let that sink in quick before continuing. "I know, this isn't the first time: I had similar concerns about Naoko, but that was a... how is it said? An uncertain element? Something like that, I believe. Ivan, however..." The Elysian shook his head. "Ivan is nothing but a troublemaker. He breathes calamity, revels in chaos. It's impossible for my eyes to miss. Men of his... swagger saw little of daylight where I come from." He sighed, trying to gather the unruly thoughts. "Him, I won't work with; I would rather your doctors leave him be- or better yet, throw him out an airlock when we leave. It's not as though he gives a damn for anyone else?" Uriel almost asked, That's how you say it, right- 'give a damn?' but figured it would only weaken his case.

Luca listened and nodded. He knew that the moment he picked up Ivan, he was making a few risks - however, he had to find some way for the benefits to outweigh the costs.
"The only reason he currently gives a damn about me is because I've got him by his..." Luca searched for a word that best fit the situation whilst remaining polite, "...assets. I wouldn't have picked him up if Vincent and Michio had become so... vacant."

He seemed troubled, noting that over time, Michio's alcoholism had inhibited his ability to do the job, and Vincent seemed to be in a slight bedlam, in addition to having to recover from his wounds sustained on Drift.

"Vincent and Michio were similar types of cases to Ivan," He crossed his legs, now looking fairly reflective on the situation, "Both of 'em were volatile, and all I could do was point them away from our faces and watch the ensuing carnage. I just hope Ivan doesn't fizzle out like they do - and given his... style, he's going to burn out hard."

"I can understand your desire to diversify the crew, Captain, and indeed it is your crew to manage; ultimately, I can only express concerns, but as I've said, Ivan is not a man I will work with. Ever. Don't expect that to change, either. I'd rather watch him die than come to his aid. Furthermore," he started pacing, then stopped after the third step.

"That comparison seems weak. I cannot speak of Michio, never seeing him in action, but Vincent had the soul of a soldier, a man with the temperance any military instills in its people. This Ivan is a loose cannon with no such heart- in fact, I have no doubt I could cut him open and find naught a living piece within. He..." Another sigh. "He... aggravates me so."

"Given Jim and Daxle's observations, there probably isn't a heart," Luca sighed, "Apparently he's almost all metal."

Uriel seized upon this. "Proof to my point! He wages his little wars with reckless abandon for himself- how can you expect him to do any more for others?"

"Because if he steps out of line," He patted the HHG to his side with an unsettling scowl, "I'm not going to think twice."

Uriel didn't find this all that reassuring- if ever there were time to even consider such an option, there was just as much chance he could have already done permanent damage to others- to innocent bystanders, even, but he knew there was no way to push the topic further, and resigned the debate. "Very well, Captain. As I said, I'll hold to your command: it's your ship and your word, but I won't exchange a word nor a favor with that man unless God himself beg it of me." That settled, he let a brief silence pass.

That word 'God', the concept was so foreign to the Captain, but interesting. The captain wondered about this intangible, yet substantial being that lived in the heart of his Elysian crew member, "Tell me about God," The captain asked, genuinely curious.

Uriel paused, gathering rational thought and venting all his prior emotions. "God is many things."

Luca tilted his head, "What sort of things?"

"God is foremost the creator of all known things. He began with the very laws of nature, and from there formed the worlds and all things- both animate and inanimate. Having set order to things, he cast beings upon the galaxies, and likewise gave them order. Among this order, there is a race of beings that is to be the shepherd of them all, to guide them to God, make sure that they do not stray. The Elysians are that race, the shepherds of God's flock, so to speak." He looked away at this, somewhat ashamed, though discerning the multitude of reasons why would be impossible.

The captain scratched his chin, taking a moment to think about it and blinked, "Do you," He made a pause, "He thinks, then, I've strayed?" The morality of the Captain had always been something along theong the lines of 'Can't do what's smart, do what's right' and 'do unto others', amongst other things. However, the idea of a higher power hadn't struck his mind.

Thankfully Uriel was one to have great control over his emotions physiologically, and if his face reddened at all, it was faint and the room was dimmer than usual. "I suppose that would be one way to look at it- that I was sent here to correct your course in life." And naturally, I being the lunatic that I am, didn't even think of such a thing. Forgive my irreverence... "A better question would be: do you feel that you have strayed from a moral path?" The Elysian held genuine curiosity in the answer.

"Maybe," Was all Luca was able to say after a minute of solid thought, "Mum always told me to do unto others as they'd do to me. Dad always said that if I can't do what's smart, then do what's right," He looked around his cabin, into an absent state of thought, looking back on his adventures, "The news says I'm a menace to society through some of my more, uh... outlandish actions," He coughed, and hoped that Uriel didn't know about what happened between the Captain and Aerin, "But some people see me as a necessary good."

The Elysian was, in fact, entirely unaware of Luca's promiscuous dealings, and continued with the more direct discussion. "You mean a necessary evil? As in the lesser of multiple evils?" He smirked. "The line of reasoning holds no water, it is the reasoning of the weak-hearted and timid. God does not offer this... wishy-washy solutions to problems. It is either what is right or what is wrong. There is no middleground."

The smirk became a smile, "That said, I must say I approve of most of your actions. You truly do good, even if your crew is a rather rowdy bunch. And you might not be a saint, but you're a better role model than say... well, just about any man of Nepleslian heritage; ruffians and scoundrels, the lot of them. There's hard work to be had in their midsts."

Uriel noticed then a strange thing; he'd no more spoken of God in these last many months than he had of himself- which was to say, not at all. Nor had he carried a debate worth its weight in the paper upon which it was writ. It was a good feeling to have back, even though it was unlikely to last much longer- or so he imagined.

"Maybe it was the part-Yamataian upbringing, too," Luca mused, "When I was kid, the family moved to Yamatai, small place up in the mountains, ages away from the city," A smile came across his face, "I miss it," He sniffed a little as nostalgia blurred his instincts, but snapped back to there and then, "Uhm," He paused, shaking his head to get the nostalgia out of his brain, "Would you like to discuss anything else?"

There were plenty of topics which sprang to mind as worth discussing- but none of them did he feel he wished to broach, so Uriel shook his head in the slightest manner. "No, I came in attempt to persuade you toward my stance on Ivan, that was all, though I do feel our sidetracking was well worth it. I've not had a chance to speak of such things openly in quite some time." But was it truly for lack of opportunity or merely lack of trying? he asked himself, but did not answer- there was no need. "If there is nothing more you wish to say, then I do believe I'll take my leave, and wish you well with your reading." He gestured to the book on the table before Luca.

"Thanks, take it easy, Uriel," Luca replied as he walked towards his desk and sat down, and this was the first time he'd done so. He slid the book in front of him, put his left hand down and opened the book, putting the hard cover over his left hand, and blinked for a moment upon seeing how minuscule the text was. However, he tried his best to persevere with the small letters.

It was still some time until the Phoenix would get to Nepleslia Prime, and this would pass the time rather nicely.

Uriel took his leave after a slight bow, feeling overall better about himself and his presence on the ISC Phoenix; he also felt there was much he had to think on, much that time had stagnated and ought to be corrected. He made his way to the lounge to begin this project, having collected his Bible from his room. Silently, he hoped someone would inquire about his tome, but would be content were he left in silence.

Seiren, after the crew had left the shop to pursue more of their usual antics, had since gone to the newly christened Crimson Kestrel and staked his claim to his half of a room by dumping the entire contents of his backpack and jacket all over the bed; that is to say, a random assortment of anything and everything one might think a pack rat might have. Although, the only edible things in the mess were the candies. With this accomplished, the inventor headed down to one of the cargo bays where his shiny new LEAF awaited him, along with the two new weapons he had bought at the Origin shot - alloting for a quick pit-stop to pick up the Aether generator and the Zesuanium plate he had left on the Big Bird.

With a set of tools beside him and his new 'toy' ahead of him, Seiren rolled up his sleeves and grinned. It was time to go to work.

Robert happened along into the cargo bay as well maybe five minutes after Seiren had entered. Stealthily, he stalked up behind the little mechanic. After donning his once customary rag mask, he leaned in close just outside of Seiren's peripherals. "Whatcha doing?" he asked casually and friendly enough. Though he was genuinely curious, he probably sounded like he was just having fun sneaking up on Seiren.

"Whatcha doing?"

The voice caught Seiren completely off guard. The person who owned said voice had to be a master of stealth to pull it off, indeed. Or, they could have good timing to catch the inventor when he is busy making potentially illegal modifications to. But who's counting? Seiren's response to Robert was flailing about wildly, nearly hitting the man with a wrench he had just grabbed.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that!" He told Robert once he had calmed down. "I'm trying to put this generator I ripped from a Ripper or whatever those tentacle armors are called onto this Leaf.

Robert nodded absently. "I see. What would that do for your Leaf?" He turned at hearing a sound of a box being dropped off by mysterious people. "Hold that thought." He quickly walked around to find the box, but he didn't see the deliverers. He opened the box to see the Impulse Armor that he had ordered. He quickly used a nearby dolly to wheel it over back to Seiren. "Sorry, my PA came." he smiled. "Whatcha think?"

It was not long before Luca was interrupted by another crewmember knocking at the door. There was a distinct difference between the two interruptions, however; the first knock had waited for permission. The second was more like a casual courtesy knock, as if the owner of the fist had every right to be there. Shortly thereafter the door slid open, and closed, leaving a small, barefoot, towel-clad Nekovalkyrja in its wake.

Naoko paused to examine the interior of the captain's suite, but only for a moment. Apparently she had a specific purpose here, and tossing Luca Pavone a two-fingered salute in passing, accompanied by a sort of apologetic sounding "Don't mind me, yo," she ducked into the suite's accompanying private bathroom and slid the door shut smoothly behind her with the ball of a foot.

"No notice taken," Luca said without missing a beat. He was currently reading about the 'Nymphs', and glanced over to the door to the shower. According to the book, nymphs were alien, capricious towards lesser beings and could manipulate nature, whilst taking the form of a young maiden. He then quirked an eyebrow and looked down again at his book again, "Hmh, that'd figure," He concluded with a sigh.

"So, Naoko," He spoke a bit louder to get his voice across as the hiss of shower water started, "Just for the record, there is no camera in either of the dunnies," he then scratched his chin, forgetting to explain what 'dunny' was supposed to mean, "Or mine."

"I know," came the response. There was a change in the texture of the watery sounds coming from the head. Apparently, Naoko had stepped into the stream. There were a few moments where Naoko said nothing at all, but eventually, she continued; "I just don't feel like showering where everybody else does."

Luca snickered, "Heh, don't make a habit of it, the others will probably get the idea that you and I are," He searched for an appropriate set of words to get the message across, "having business discussions, hmmyes," His stint with Aerin was bought to mind very quickly. He was wondering why a handbag full of putty and a room lined with sponges was coming to mind.

"Dakara," Naoko shot back, in a sing-song way, "I will not go into the hallway wet and without clothing. Easy-easy, problem solved."

"Done deal," Luca replied as he turned a page and saw some interesting illustrations. He turned the page quickly with a blush, "By the way, nobody seems to like Ivan. I wonder why?" He knew the reason, but was feigning stupidity.

"Because he's not very smart." There was another change in the texture of sound, but a minor one. A little bit of steam seeped out from the cracks in the door. It hadn't been made for complete seperation of the two rooms.

"I gathered," Luca shrugged indifferently, "Tell me what he did."

"I told him to throw the grenade into traffic," Naoko stated, in the sort of derisive way that one would scold someone who should have known better, "But he just took the timer off. He could have escaped the Origin people completely, if he'd had a distraction."

Luca facepalmed, "Maybe he was looking for another hotel lobby," He said.

"That's the other thing I don't get. It was too early for that sort of crap, yo." There was another pause, during which it sounded as if a lot of water were suddenly tossed against one of the walls. There was a brief moment of that before the regular shower sounds gained more regularity. "I should not joke like that, though. The man is just an..." Splash. "Ano... asshole?"

Luca nodded, as if satisfied with that explanation, "Yep," He'd just turned another page or two and found 'Cyclops'. One eyed beast that was huge, rotten to the core, and defeated with a ... sling. The captain had to remind himself that they didn't have automatic weapons back in those days. The shower cut out after he had read for a while, and shortly thereafter, he was joined by the damp Naoko, who examined the book from the other side of the desk as she dryed her hair. The fact that she could do so comfortably was only odd until he realized that she was floating a few inches off of the ground.

"He's still got his eyes," Naoko stated, reading into Luca's examination of the mythology book, "So he can't be that. What's this thing for?"

Luca shrugged, "I asked Uriel for it. Its a book on Elysian mythology and folklore - fascinating stuff." Naoko smiled in response, almost genuinely except her eyes didn't join in on the mirth.

"You know, that's just how their government kept them leashed," Naoko stated, "I don't see how anyone can believe in that sort of thing. I mean, I've seen a lot, but there is no record or evidence of anything like this ever having existed in this part of the universe."

"I think that's why its called mythology," Luca replied with a smirk. Naoko shrugged in response, glancing around the room again. She sat on the edge of the desk for lack of another chair, pulling her unbound hair forward as she patted it down with the towel.

"I never read much," Naoko admitted, "There was never time. I suppose I should start, ne?" Luca nodded in response.

"I never read much either, 'cept for comic books, and pulp novels."

"Do you have them, here?"

Luca rubbed his chin, "I think dad left them in the Vampire down at the hangar. It should be open, and the books should be hiding in the cupboard covered in stickers," He sighed with a hint of nostalgia, realising that he missed his home.

"I'll go grab them, soon, then, when I pick up my belongings. I promise I don't own much, so I won't take up much space." This time the whimsical smile was real.

Luca noticed this smile, and smiled back, forgetting something, "It's alright, take your time," He realised that indeed, there was a soft side to Naoko, but you just had to be slow, steady and patient, "By the way, I wonder how fast this ship goes?" He asked the radio offhandedly.

John's voice crackled in, "About 576 light years, a day," which roughly equated to half a light year a minute. He'd just gotten the Vampire Class parked inside the Kestrel and was looking around the halls.

A loud expletive of joy from the captain could be heard throughout the ship, realising that it could go about 24 light years an hour. The silence in its wake jarred his mind.

"Wait a second, you're moving in?" Luca asked Naoko, very late to the punchline.

"So-yo."

Before Luca could release another expletive, John could be seen in the door frame with, of all things, a trombone. He played four notes indicative of Luca's failure to notice Naoko's cuteness judo: "Wha, Wha, Wha, Wha~aaa."
He then turned around, walked away and said, "Nobody will believe you."

Luca didn't have a response for that.

Nevaraon said:

Robert nodded absently. "I see. What would that do for your Leaf?" He turned at hearing a sound of a box being dropped off by mysterious people. "Hold that thought." He quickly walked around to find the box, but he didn't see the deliverers. He opened the box to see the Impulse Armor that he had ordered. He quickly used a nearby dolly to wheel it over back to Seiren. "Sorry, my PA came." he smiled. "Whatcha think?"

Click to expand...

Seiren almost replied to Robert right after the question was posed, but came up a second too short to answer in time before the man had gone to fetch his Impulse. With the second question, the young inventor responded, "Oh, cool I guess. I personally don't really like Power Armors though. It feels a little too up-close and personal for my tastes, you know?"

With his wrench, he tapped on the generator that was half-on his LEAF.

"But this? This gives me power. Lots of it. It's why I bought one of those pistol swords. So I don't strain the main generator with both moving and shooting. Or swinging, as the case may be."

Robert nodded. "I see. Want any help?" he asked. "Everyone is up to their usual antics upstairs, and I'm feeling to laid back to join in." he set the armor down in a corner.

"Well, unless you've got an idea for how to make an auto-loader for my rifle, I'd say I need help holding this darned thing in place." Seiren replied, gesturing to the generator. It was beginning to unbolt itself from it's position on the middle of the Frame's back. The inventor continued, "I would be fastening this Zesu. . . Zetsu. . . This really hard metal plate over it if it weren't for the fact that it's REALLY HARD! So I've got to bolt the generator down for now 'cuz I can't."