Life just got Hard .....

((OOC: we really need to get this moving and bring more people in. Speeding us along a little, hope no one minds. Not sure how Amane got there - she said one thing but then Nol said another, so just go with me here ))

(OOC: Sorry I got it wrong she is still on her planet at which we can go and pick her up. I've fixed my last post. Also moved us forward. )

Orbit Of Ousren
Nightfall
Dining Area

"We should ditch the girl. If the Alliance decide to follow us and find her there, it could bring all kinds of zāogāo down on some very good people,"

Nolan smiled at this statement. "I know the exact place. Remember that fat old man that double crossed us on Xeon Yu, well why not drop her there and report it to the Alliance, considering how law abiding we are" he said mockingly. He waited for a reply on this one. That way they could get rid of two bird with on stone. And they were also picking up a new crew member there too. The man he had talked about had made a bad decision of not paying him for a job when they were starting out. Katy wanted to well lets just say use him as crayfish bait. But Nol knew that that meant having them all black listed so he held her back. But if the Alliance did their job for them then they would still have the rep they had now but one less worry in the galaxy.

Two Hours Later
City Of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Cargo Area

Nolan checked his two pistols so that they were loaded and the barrel was clear of anything that would jam the weapon. Then he did the sam with his shot gun too. Just as the rest of the crew got ready. "Okay plan is Charlie you send the Alliance the call, While Katy and I leave the girl here. Also we are waiting for a new person to arrive. She'll have our shuttle. Questions?"

Orbit Of Ousren
Nightfall
Dining Area

Katylinn nodded her head, and she was pleased to here that there was no tremor in her voice as she spole - she could not say the same about her hands. "Sounds like the plan, Captain. If you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the drop off". She stood abruptly and walked a little too briskly back to her quarters. She took her rifle from the cabinet on the wall. She checked the weapon and slung it over her shoulder and then made sure her hair was tight in its tie. It was never a good idea to be blinded by hair in a battle. She held her hand up to her reflection and watched the slight tremor that was present. She clenched and unclenched her fist and then noticed the shake was slightly less. Knowing it was the best she was going to get, she checked her falcata in its holster and then climbed back up to the Cargo Bay, [refering to wait there than where the rest of the crew were gathered.

Two Hours Later
City Of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Cargo Area

Katylinn nodded as Nolen once again reiterated their rather simple plan, her rifle held easily in her hands. "Yessir, drop the girl get the hell out of here before the Alliance picks her up. Can we hail the shuttle and get an ETA on our new guest, it would be best if we weren't waiting around to be discovered while the Alliance bears down on us" she growled, finding it was the easiest way to speak that did not betray her tormented head.

Tag

OOC: Thanks guys, makes things a tad easier for me, sorry for the muck up!

City Of Xeon Yu
Port

Amane guided the shuttle through the traffic settling near the open docks. Her belongings had already been packed into her shuttle, boxes filling the previously empty space. She flicked on the waver, flicking a strand of black hair back behind her ear.

"Nightfall, this is Kinomoto Amane, requesting directions and permission to board." She waited a few minutes, greeting the face in the screen, "Thank you, I will be there shortly. Oh, and may I commandeer one of your crew to help me set things up? Once we're away of course."

She flicked off the waver and guided the shuttle around, spotting the Nightfall and entering the bay with ease. The clamps settled into place and she rose, intending to introduce herself.

Tag

City Of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Cargo Area

Nol heard the Intercom go off from the position he was standing at.

"Nightfall, this is Kinomoto Amane, requesting directions and permission to board."

He walked up to the bridge and turned on the com screen. "Miss Amane I prasume. I'm sending our location feel free to drop in we were just awaiting you." he said to the woman on the other end.

"Thank you, I will be there shortly. Oh, and may I commandeer one of your crew to help me set things up? Once we're away of course."

"That can wait, we actually are about to endeavor on a little job if you would like to join us?" he said awaiting her reply.

A few minutes later the shuttle landed. Nol keyed the Comlink, "Miss Amane if you could meet us in the Cargo bay". And after another few minutes they were all face to face. "Kinomoto, Captian Nolan Law at your service. And this is my crew. The best mechanic in this galaxy Charlie Cordoy. And my trusted first mate Katylinn Mersah" he said pointing to two of the three people behind him."Okay lets get this up and over with" He said to them all after the introductions were done with.

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Dining Area

Marcus had just taken a seat in the dining area, his knife strapped to his right side. After the commotion with the Alliance cruiser, he suspected that this wasn’t a common transport vessel. Of course, getting questioned by an Alliance officer always set his nerves on edge, which is why he was enjoying a quiet cup of tea as he read through the novel he’d managed to pick up at a book store a few planetfalls back. He’d been working his way through the system for a while now, taking little jobs here and there, and was keen on returning to Verbena to visit his family’s graves. They’d been killed during one of the Alliance crackdowns, and that had only ratcheted up his anger and resentment toward the Alliance that much more.

His rifle and pistol safely stowed in the locked, and somewhat inconspicuous, case in his room, he was quite content to simply enjoy his tea and his book. Marcus had spent much of his time on Nightfall in his quarters, quietly minding his own business. Alone, he was used to. He’d been alone for a while now, though it did get tiresome at times. Thus, he’d picked a comfortable spot in the galley to spend a few quiet moments with his book.

Dressed in black work/combat boots, dark gray denim pants that may have once been black, and a light gray shirt, he absently rested his left hand over the tattoo on his right wrist that was currently hidden from view by the leather gauntlet that covered much of his arm. That tattoo of a panther was the reason he wore the gauntlet, as he'd been through all sorts of trouble with the Alliance whenever they'd gotten wind that one of the Nightstalkers had survived Serenity Valley. The fact that the unit itself had never drafted up a roster of it's members had always been a benefit, as he'd joined up with the 8th Reconnaissance Battalion before volunteering for the Nightstalkers. He smiled a bit as he thought about that. Other units had always called them 'Section 8' for the crazy, semi-suicidal stunts they'd pulled to gather intel.

Returning his thoughts to his book, he turns the page before taking another drink of tea.

[Tag anyone]

City Of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Cargo Area ---> Dining Area

For the record, Charlie didn't like calling the Alliance to tell them about the girl. Firstly, she felt kind of sorry for her. Secondly, the cheery 'ni hao!' answer made her skin crawl. It was hard to sound like a law abiding, concerned citizen when you wanted to shoot someone in the face. Or, at the very least, hit him with a socket wrench.

The call made, she headed back down to the cargo bay just in time to see the new passenger arrive. A companion. She was pretty and evidently smart, too, if she actually got paid for sex. But then it didn't seem like that great an occupation. She didn't get to get up close and personal with some of the best engineering humanity had produced.

"Kinomoto, Captian Nolan Law at your service. And this is my crew. The best mechanic in this galaxy Charlie Cordoy. And my trusted first mate Katylinn Mersah"

”Miss Kinomoto,” Charlie said in greeting, as politely as she could muster. Which wasn't a whole lot given her skin was still crawling. The Alliance had been on the goddamned ship - she was itching to get somewhere that felt safe. Somewhere with open skies and dusty bars and pretty guys or girls that wouldn't charge and would be gone by morning. Lord, but she needed a drink. ”A pleasure to have you onboard. If you'll excuse me.” She turned to the Captain. ”I'll go tell the Shepherd to bring the girl out and then go stay up near the engine room for when we haul ass out of here.”

She did just that, passing by the passenger quarters to knock on Richie's door before heading up the back stairs. Behind her, she could hear the girl groggily complain as Richie steered her out into the cargo bay.

At the top of the stairs Charlie opted to get a drink from the kitchen. When she arrived a bottle of gin was already open on the kitchen table. Seems someone had already had a similar idea. Marcus was sitting at the kitchen table too, a rarity. And he had a bloody book.

”I swear, we're the best read thieves in the 'verse,” she said jokingly, getting two glasses and pouring them both a healthy dose of gin. ”New girl's in, cargo's nearly out. We'll be leaving soon.”

City Of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Passenger Quarters ---> Cargo Area

The girl was dressed in overalls, with knotted hair and bare feet. She looked like one of the homeless crazies out in the rim planets. It was pitiful and Richie was worried about her, but even he knew she had to get off the ship.

The knock on the door was his cue to take her out to the cargo bay for the others to accompany her out into Xeon Yu. The girl, groggy as she still was from the sedatives, seemed to understand what was happening. She babbled only semi-coherantly about wanting to stay, about not being safe alone in a city she didn't know. Richie tried to close his ears to it. He found some bible tracts in his bag and tucked them into a pocket of the overalls, telling her to trust in God to keep her safe.

He lead her out to the cargo bay, where Law, Mersah and an unknown woman stood. He figured she was the new passenger, a companion. Passing the girl off to the others, he held out a now free hand to the newcomer. ”Wei, I'm Shepherd Quentin. I'm a passenger on the Nightfall and the spiritual counsel of the crew.”

He hoped the crew knew he was going to make them have bible study with him, if it was the last thing he did.

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Dining Area

Marcus smiles slightly as he leans back in the seat, slipping the slip of paper he’s currently using as a bookmark between the pages as he closes the book. He waits until the drink is poured before nodding his thanks.

“Xièiè, Charlie.”

His voice, as usual, is just loud enough for her to hear. He’d never been much for letting everyone on the ship know what he was saying, preferring to keep his conversations between himself and whoever he was talking to. He takes a swig of the gin, the slight smile still on his face.

“The best read?... Perhaps.”

He takes another drink before continuing.

“I figure the more I know about the past, the better prepared I am for the present and future. Besides, who doesn’t want or pretend, if only for a few moments, to be someone, somewhere, sometime other than who, where, and when they presently are? I think of it as a healthy way of keeping my sanity.”

The smile drifts from his face as he takes another drink.

“But we always return to the who, the where, the when of the present. To do otherwise is to fall into the darkness and chaos of the madness swirling about us. I guess that’s why I don’t read too much.”

He pauses for a moment, and chuckles.

“I think that’s enough philosophical ramblings for one day.”

He leans a little further back in the chair, his eyes slightly unfocused as he thinks about the girl. A pity that she was going to end up back in the hands of the Alliance, but what else was there to do? They weren’t flying around in a high-tech warship that was armed to the teeth. The normal options of running, fighting, and hiding weren’t really available to them. That left them with handing her over to the Alliance. Not really liking the choice, but agreeing with it nonetheless, he could only hope that she wouldn’t be mistreated. He’d seen too much of that, and firsthand.

Turning his attention to Charlie, he again speaks.

“So, who’s the new girl?”

[Tag]

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Dining Area

“I think that’s enough philosophical ramblings for one day.”

Philosophical, for sure. But insightful, too. Whoever thought common thieves like them couldn't be smart were clearly mistaken. Or at least in Marcus' case - the rest of them probably were dumber than a box of rocks.

Charlie reached over and pulled his book closer to her to look at the cover. "A companion. Pretty but looks expensive, hope she doesn't think she'll be getting much work when we head out to the rim planets."

She swallowed her gin in two gulps and pushed the book back over to him. "The sooner we're away from the Alliance, the better."


[Tag: all]

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Dining Area

Nol walked in to the Dining area to get Marcus. "An Assassin I heard" he answered Marcus to both of their surprise. "Our late Companion's friend I believe, any way she has said she will work for us know. Could become handy in a bar fight." he said smiling at Charlie. He had almost forgotten that fight but the thought brought it back. "Shocking tactics you used if I remember correctly Charlie, distracted not only the guys we were fighting but us too" he said with a laugh. He ducked as the incoming object missed him. "Okay I'm sorry, Can I leave you with Nightfall for when we are ready?" he asked her. "Shinny" he said then looked at Marcus, "Well come on then Marcus we better get her dropped off before the alliance catch us here" he said finishing his cup and walking back out.

City of Xeon Yu
Streets

Nol lead the team towards the assigned place to drop the girl, Turning a corner he smiled, "Shinny no one is here" he said. Then gave the orders to the crew. As they were about to leave though Charlie came across the radio. "What do you mean a ship has arrived, are the alliance early? No..." at the description of the ship Nol suddenly went wide eye with realization. "Charlie fire her up we need to leave" he then turned to the crew. "Get the girl we are leaving now"

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Dining Area

Marcus looks up at Nolan, taking in the identity of the newest crew member. After a moment, he smirks slightly.

“Well, I guess she’ll fit right in with the rest of us mismatched misfits.”

His smirk remains as he listens to the exchange between Nolan and Charlie. Despite not having been at the fight in question, the conversation was definitely giving his vivid imagination a few clues as to what had happened. Truth be told, his supposed halo was only held up by a pair of horns. When Nolan brought up the girl, his smirk disappears, and he slowly stands.

“I’ll go get ready.”

With that, he made his way to his room to get ready. He wasn’t about to go to the exchange without his guns.

City of Xeon Yu
Streets

Marcus had stayed toward the back of the group, his rifle slung along his left side, and pistol holstered on his right thigh. A thick brown vest is over his torso, and armored pads and plates are strapped to his legs. Even before Charlie called over the radio, something had his nerves on edge.

He’d always gotten little twitches when something was about to happen. It had always been just his nerves setting him on edge, keeping him tense and alert when something was happening. Sometimes it was enough to get the adrenalin pumping, and this just happened to be one of those times. As soon as the radio call came in, he pulled the rifle to the ready and looked around quickly. He subconsciously stepped back into the shadows when the radio call started, his eyes darting among the windows and roofs.

Still scanning his surroundings as Nolan gives the word, Marcus safes the rifle as he draws his pistol with his right hand and grabs the girl with his left. He’s gentle with her, but firm.

That’s when he hears the sound of the engines overhead. The sound of the engines was somewhat off from the norm, and that out-of-tune hum sent chills up and down his spine.

“Just what we need… gorram reavers….” He mutters under his breath as he pulls the girl in the direction of the docks.

Instinctively keeping himself and the girl in the shadows, it’s only a matter of time before the first few reavers come barreling down the alley they’re moving down, and Marcus pushes the girl into a doorway as he takes aim. His Taurus barks three times, and the reavers that were coming towards them drop. His face calm, he holsters the pistol, and takes hold of the rifle again. Turning to the girl, he speaks again.

“Stay right behind me, no matter what happens. We’ll get you out of here.”

With that, he continues on, ‘The Evilness’ up and at the ready as he continues leading the way back to the Nightfall. The only thing he disliked more than the Alliance were the inhuman Reavers, and he wasn’t about to let the girl or any other crew member of the Nightfall get caught by those monsters.

[Tag]

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Dining Area

"Shocking tactics you used if I remember correctly Charlie, distracted not only the guys we were fighting but us too"/"Okay I'm sorry, Can I leave you with Nightfall for when we are ready?"

Not one of her finer moments. Charlie aimed Marcus' book at Nolan's head and gave her best glare. It had been pretty funny though. Not funny enough to repeat in a hurry, but funny nonetheless. At the question she nodded and gave a mock salute. "Yessir, she'll be ready mǎshàng," she said with an accent, mimicking a dockworker from Dyton Colony.


City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Engine Room ---> Bridge

The engines spun up quickly, the room warming a few degrees with the escaping heat energy. The whirring hum was low and steady, the engine in full working order. It needed new parts, a little work, but it would hold up just fine for now. She let it idle until needed.

A bleeping caught Charlie's attention and, jogging to the bridge, she realised it was a proximity alert. Given that they were landside and the docking areas were far enough apart to avoid setting off alerts, there was either a fault or a ship was being piloted pretty sloppily. If it was the latter, she had no qualms with tearing the dockworkers a new one.

Bounding up the stairs into the bridge, Charlie looked up to see... Well, to see things that had no right being where they were. The vaguely discernible shape of bodies, burned and flattened against the hull by the pressures of coming down planetside. Spaces ready for fresh bodies to be pinned against the hull.

Charlie barely felt her fingers press the comms control, didn't notice it was her own voice that said, "Law, there's a ship. It's docking now."

"What do you mean a ship has arrived, are the alliance early?"

Something snapped in her mind. Self-preservation mode came online. She almost barked when she replied. "Alliance don't have bodies strapped to the outside of the ship!"

"No..."/"Charlie fire her up we need to leave"

Charlie's piloting skills were confined to tiny transport vessels that flew primary intra-planet; the Nightfall was beyond her skillset. Still, she knew enough to fire up the engines and prep the ship for imminent liftoff, until a pilot could get to the bridge. She did just that, hearing, in the distance, the sound of footsteps. Too many footsteps. She hit the comms control again.

"Amane, Richie, do what you can to stop those people coming in. If the ship's too heavy to liftoff ai ya, wo mun wan leh."

Out of seemingly nowhere, a reaver swung onto the front of the ship, plastering himself against the glass of the bridge. He bared black-brown broken teeth and slammed a bloody hand against the glass, leaving a print.

They were so screwed.

City of Xeon Yu
Streets

"Get moving back to Nightfall, get as many of the Innocents back with you" he yelled to Marcus as he turned and fired off two shots at an incoming Reaver. The reaver dropped and the one behind with a hole in each head. Nol waved a few more civilians through the alleyway as he fired off some more shots. An alliance soldier came running up the street screaming. Then a hook burst out of his chest and the man was dragged into the sky. No, picked up the soldiers weapon and shot at a few reavers that turned in to the street. He then started down the final alleyway between them and the Nightfall.


City of Xeon Yu
Cargo Bay
Nightfall

Nol ran into the cargo bay, and while throwing the gun to Katy ordered both his first mate and the new woman to keep them coming and keep the reaver's out. "Marcus, I have a surprise in the second shuttle bay you are welcome to use it to buy use a little more time. Charlie your with me, Issac is missing so your my co pilot" he said running up to the bridge. He flicked a switch after arriving which extended the second Shuttle's landing platform from the ships top half. But instead of having the expected shuttle on it, it had a gun turret attached to it.



(OOC The Turret is like the one Mal took over in the first episode at the battle of Serenity)

City of Xeon Yu
Cargo Bay > Turret
Nightfall

Kneeling atop the cargo ramp, Marcus covered the incoming civilians as best he could before putting his rifle on safe and rushing up the stairs and walkways to the shuttle bay. On arrival, he stared for a brief moment, wondering where the captain had managed to get one of the old double-barreled anti-air guns.

Without hesitation, he let his rifle hang free by the sling, and he settled himself into the turret’s cradle. As the HUD flickered to life, he first turned the gun on the Reavers that were beginning to rush out of alleyways. Each group of the monsters that he cut down gave him no satisfaction, but each civilian that made it into the Nightfall safely because of the cover he was providing gave him all the satisfaction he needed. Once the HUD was fully active, he began firing on the ships that were swarming over the city.

As each one would fall from the sky, burning and incinerating its monstrous crew, they became pyres for their personnel as they crashed into the ground. His face became a scary sight, his mouth a semi-maniacal grin as a fierce look burned from his eyes. He wasn’t about to let these monsters harm anyone, not if he could help it. He knew his place in life. He was a guardian, someone whose skills and personality resulted in someone who fought from the shadows so that others wouldn’t need to fear the darkness. He’d long ago come to terms with that knowledge.

As the last of the civilians came aboard, he continued firing until the last moment as the platform began to retract into the Nightfall. He steps back from the turret as the bay seals shut and pressurizes, letting out a sigh of relief. He’d done his best, saving as many as he could. Regret for those who hadn’t made it was something he didn’t allow himself to feel.

Orbit of Ousren
Nightfall
Turret > Quarters

Marcus quietly made his way back to his bunk, shutting the door tightly behind himself. He was drained, physically and mentally, and he slowly pulled his gear off, piece by piece. His guns and knife were carefully placed in the weapons case, and he lay out on the bed, one arm thrown over his face. He often ended up tired like this after a fight that fierce. As long as the fight continued, his adrenaline carried him through, but he always crashed afterwards. As he drifted off, he knew that he’d be awake again in an hour or two. It never took him long to recover from this post-battle weariness.

[Tag any]

City of Xeon Yu
On the streets


Renata was a little ticked off to say the least. The ship she had come here on had left without her and in a real hurry. Thankfully she always carried her possessions with her when necessary, she wasn't one to trust easily. So as it stood she had everything she owned in the back of an old wagon with two fairly tired horses strapped to pull it.

Her plan was to head to where she knew there was a ship to get off this dust ball. What she wasn't expecting were the Reavers that came flying out of the sky and dropping down into the streets. She was smart enough to know what all this meant, it meant she needed to go and go fast. "yúchǔn tāmā mǎ." she barked as she hoped onto the seat of the wagon and spurred the horses to action.

The animals must have sensed her urgency, that or they spoke Chinese, and they sped off down the dirt road. Her luck was looking favorable however since the Reavers seemed to find easier meals out of otrher people then a girl on a speeding wagon. She turned the wagon down one of the last streets and saw a firefly-class ship sitting there loading up refugees. The ship itself looked to be getting ready to take off soon. Since it was the only ship that appeared to be ready to leave she knew it was the ship she needed to be on.

Decorum and proper etiquette were not something one needed when fleeing from Reavers. "WAIT FOR ME! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT ME!" She yelled waving one of her arms as the other gripped tightly on the reigns. She yelled that over and over as she sped toward the ship hoping more then anything that some heard her so they wouldn't leave without her.

(OOC: Hope this is ok for a first post.)

City of Xeon Yu
Cargo Bay
Nightfall

Nol saw that they were full, Katy and Amane had closed the door with one last passenger jumping on. "Ok Charlie lets get out of here" he said then spoke in to the radio. "Marcus mate, time to get in now" he said waiting for the roger before flicking the switch to pull up the shuttle landing platform. He then smiled "Timed to blow this joint." he said, then hit the sequence of toggles and buttons to activate the burn from the engines.

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Bridge

"Marcus, I have a surprise in the second shuttle bay you are welcome to use it to buy use a little more time. Charlie your with me, Issac is missing so your my co pilot"

Let's evaluate. Charlie had flown intra-planet transports. Fairly small shuttles. This was a big ship and it was going decidedly off-world. And Law expected her to co-pilot. Did he not understand that she was a mechanic?

She sat down in the pilot's seat and let her hands hover over the controls. The others were still dealing with the refugees and a few Reavers who just wouldn't quit - she was alone on the bridge. This was not good.

03-K64 Firefly, she thought to herself. Almost instantly static-y blue text appeared in her vision. Square text with rounded edges spelled out 'Blue Sun Information Systems'.

She hadn't used this ability in a long time, hadn't needed to. Still wasn't completely comfortable with her brain being partially converted into a computer, heavily branded by Blue Sun.

Welcome to Nightfall, the ship were everyone has weird, life threatening secrets. Enjoy your stay.

A loading bar at the bottom right of her field of vision showed the information on the ship was compiling at a startling rate; a flight manual would be included.

Then footsteps sounded up the steps. Charlie blinked, the text disappearing to leave nothing but console before her. She got up, moved to the co-pilot seat and took a few deep breaths to calm before Law noticed anything was wrong.

A few seconds later, the sound of gunfire rang out from the shuttle bay.


Nightfall
Cargo Bay

The bay was full. People in various states - awake tired, dressed in indoor clothes, half-dressed, one guy not dressed at all - sat around the cargo bay. In one corner a woman nursed injuries caused by the turbulence as they left the atmosphere above Xeon Yu.

Charlie spent half an hour arranging people into groups based on age and ability. When they landed and let these people go, she didn't want to be stranded with the elderly and infirm while the young and healthy ran off to find transport or somewhere to stay. Everyone would pull their weight - and drag the others with them.

She sat down near to the last group she'd arranged who were seated near the infirmary. Her back was against the wall, legs stretched out. Privacy to relax would have been preferable but she wanted to keep an eye on the stairs, make sure no one ventured up to raid the kitchen or, worse still, mess with the engine room. There would be hell to pay if anyone so much as looked at a coupling wrong.





(OOC: unless we're ready to close this thread up soon and move onto job 2, Bossman?)

City of Xeon Yu
Nightfall
Bridge

Nol set a course for space looking in the scope to make sure there was no Reaver ship following them. He tapped the buttons on the screen and set course for the nearest Alliance Cruiser. He had to dump all of these survivors somewhere and at least there they would be better off than any nearby planet with the reavers around. Nol set the course and kicked back and waited for Nightfall to do the rest.