NationStates Jolt Archive

There are worse hives of scum and villainy on Thule Station, but Luka Stierne likes to think she lives a safe life. The Albatross may not be a particularly good bar, or even a friendly bar, but it lacks barroom brawling unless the sports are on. On Thule Station, that counts as "safe".

"'S a drink fer you." The barmaid deposits a glass before her, among the shoal of empty glasses already there. "'S from th' fish over there."

Luka looks, and sees, just as the barmaid says, a fish - a member of Homo sapiens thetis, that is, a Thetan if you want to avoid offense - at the other end of the bar. Out of the water his gills are covered in bulky oxygen-exchangers. He waves with webbed fingers. She scowls, and pushes his offering away. She's not in the mood for chat-up lines tonight.

But another glass appears, followed soon thereafter by the fish himself, who sits himself down on the other side of the table with nary a "by-your-leave" and smiles at her with wide, blubbery lips. Luka glares at him and presents him with a rude gesture.

"Pleasure to see you too, gorgeous. I suppose you've had a horrible day, but I have something that will put a smile right back on your face" - huge dark eyes swivel left, right, as if he's afraid of being overheard - "I have a job offer."

She spits a word at him that would make any good citizen of Thetis blanch and contemplate murder, but the fish just grins.

"Not that sort of offer, darling! You're very pretty but you're not my type. No - I have a need for a ship, Captain Stierne."

Despite her antipathy, Luka's interest is piqued. The cargo of pineapples she'd thought to turn a healthy profit by here on Thule had been undercut by someone else, and a Milugiaq-class freighter doesn't run on hope and wishes.

"How'd you know my name?" she asks.

"Checked the incoming ship registry - no funny business, dear! You are Captain Stierne, I take it? Yes? Good, good. I am Georg Fredrico Kolodny, pleased to meet you. Captain Stierne - how does part of five hundred million interstels sound?"

"Like you pulled the number out of your ass, Kolodny. No way you've got that much money."

"'Course not, sweetheart, all I've got is a good line of credit - but there are people who will give us all that and more just to find something for them. No, no, listen - listen - somewhere, out in the Verge, where civilisation ends - somewhere out there is a ship. It was lost in the Insurrection a century ago, disappeared in a fold and never heard from again -"

"The Maliriant flagship? Sure, the Magistrates and House Maliriant put out some ridiculous reward for it, but the problem is that nobody knows where it is!"

"Ah!" Kolodny holds up one long, froglike index finger. "That's where you're wrong, Captain Stierne. Nobody knows where it is - except me."

"Sure, you just ran across it one day out in the Verge. Kolodny, this sounds like a stupid plan to get me haring off into the unknown on a wild goose chase. What evidence have you got, other than your word? Because I don't think I want to trust that just yet. And what if it's moved, or someone's got there first?"

"You pick up a load of basic medical supplies here, and if for some reason the flagship's not where I say it is, you go off to one of the independent colonies nearby. Those suckers see traders maybe twice a year if they're lucky because of all the - because they're so far from Imperial space, see? They'll pay you - well, not five hundred million interstels, but enough to make a tidy buck.

"And as for evidence - one moment - ah, here we are."

Kolodny fishes a battered strip of metal from a pocket and deposits it on the bar. The Imperial sunburst cups the coiled ouroboros-serpent of House Maliriant; and below it, in archaic type, were the words Imperial House Ship - Ghost of a Chance.

---

Luka wakes up the next morning and immediately wishes she hadn't - her head feels like a herd of mythical elephants are stamping on it. Groaning, she lurches out of bed and to the door, eyes squeezed shut against the pounding glare. A glass of water, that's what she needs.

But the galley is already brightly lit - did she leave the light on last night? The Künsangtse's computers started to screw up back when Tiá Nyima was still alive, so it could be that. The ship has survived five generations of Tibetan-Mexican matriarchy to enter her command, it's probably older than House Maliriant's Ghost of a Chance.

She hasn't left the light on; the galley is full of strangers eating breakfast, the sort of strangers who do hang out in the worse areas of Thule Station, when they're not out in the Verge where Imperial law can't quite reach.

"What. The. Fuck? KOLODNY!" she roars, "What the fuck are these people doing on my ship - what the fuck is that man doing on my ship? You - Félix Constantin Grégoire Marcier, why are you on my god-damned ship?"

Félix Marcier unfolds from his chair. His hair, his clothes, his face - everything about him is perfect, partly because he is the product of engineering and not biology, partly because Félix is vain and has spent a lot of effort to make it so.

"Why, mon cherie," he says, "You are looking not a day older than when I left you! Are you not pleased to see me? That hurts me almost as much as when you kicked me out. But I am a Godly man and have forgiven you already."

"I kicked you out," Luka replies, taking a breath, "Because you are a no-good loafer, cheater, and think entirely too highly of yourself!"

Kolodny appears and intersperses himself between her and Félix.

"Now, Captain Stierne, there's no need for that, no need at all - we're all friends here - don't you remember?"

"I am not his friend! I am not your friend! I am friends with part of five hundred million interstels!"

"What a surprise," Félix commented, "So am I."

"We hired Monsieur Marcier and his friends, Captain, for - security. The Verge can be dangerous, after all! These fine fellows will see that we're safe, won't you, lads? M'sieur Marcier, why don't you introduce your friends?"

OOC: This thread is open, you're welcome to join it. If you do, your character has been hired by Kolodny on Thule Station to provide any head-beating, shooting, or general wrongdoing that may be required on a mission into the lawless Verge of Imperial space, where pirates, terrorists, freedom fighters and warlords lurk. You're off to find the IHS Ghost of a Chance, and will be rewarded with muchos dineros if you bring it back intact.

The Künsangtse is a Milugiaq-class freighter, which means it was well made about a century ago but is now reaching the end of it's life. Please have fun!

The ship was anything but ideal. It was certainly old and the ship's registery proved that fact. A tall lean man sat in one of the chairs, face unshaven and rough, eyes a grayish blue, long sideburns. He ran a hand through his black hair and yawned. Kolodny approached him a week ago about the job aboard this vessel. Work was scarce and enemies plenty. So, with no other options avaliable, he reluctantly took up the offer for a voyage for a mysterous ship which is presumed to be in one of the worst and unkncharted areas of the galaxy. He stood up from the chair, cracking his neck.
"The name's Atticus Krueger" he offered a smile "Ex-bounty hunter of some of the worst villiany in the galaxy. I traveled the galaxy, met interesting and new life forms, and apprehended them for money. Sadly, such a lucrative and adventerous profession tends to be also quite dangerous and one makes numerous enemies along the way. So, I went into early retirement and here I am today" he opened his arms up and smirked.

Luka glares at him. "Kolodny!" she barks, "These ... people ... are your responsibility! If they screw up, I will throw you out of the airlock first! Félix - we will have words!"

And she turns on her heel and walks back out, muttering dire imprecations.

"She has not improved. Still a demon in the mornings," Félix comments.

"You used to know her?" Kolodny asks Félix, once she's safely out of earshot.

"Oh yes," he replies. "I made the mistake of thinking that because she is short and blonde and has an adorable button nose that she would be similarly sweet in temperament. But I shortly discovered that she had been plucked out of deep space as an infant and raised by a crazed Tibetan harridan, and that her heart remains as frozen as the void. I lack a heart as well, of course, but that is a design feature, as the good Lord intended.

"Such is our captain; she may come round, monsieur Krueger!"

OOC: A somewhat inspired post from me, I am afraid. Thank you for joining, Kulikovia - replace "Marcier" with "Kolodny" and your post is just perfect. Marcier was hired by Kolodny the same as everyone else.

"Certainly some captain you got us, Kolodny." A brown hair woman spun around in her chair to look up at the Thetan. At 5'4, Kassina Traaks was far from seeming like your run-of-the-mill data hacker. But her calculating eyes saw more than she let on, and her height helped her to avoid notice when she needed to. And besides, she preferred to consider herself an information harvester. Kolodny had approached her about the job just a few days prior and with money running low she really saw no choice in the matter. She glanced over the assortment of people in the crew and gave Kolodny an inquiring glance, but kept her mouth shut. "We'll be lucky if she doesn't kill us for sneezing."

"She certainly knows how to make a first impression" Krueger smirked as he sat back down and slouched a little. His new captain seemed quite hard headed. He did indeed begin to wonder if he may end up dead on this assignment. What did I get myself into? It did seem rather rude to send all these people aboard her ship unexpected but he chose not to voice his opinion.
"Indeed" he replied to Felix, "She's likely to kill us. Of course, she does need us to reach this...ship" he heard the stories and thought it was a crazy mission, but the money and excitement drew him in.

"I don't know." She glanced around again. "She would need Kolodny, of course, to get there. Unless you were stupid enough to give her the coordinates." She shot a look at Kolodny. "But the rest of us may want to keep our eyes open. Though there is no telling what she may need to retrieve the ship. We're certainly not the only ones looking for it. 500 million interstels is too much to even think about not considering competition. But how prepared are we even? And who knows how run down that old hunk of junk is." She grimaced at the ship. "Of course, who knows if this piece of junk can even get us there."

"I'm sure she's not as bad as all that, really," Kolodny says, grinning nervously. "You'll all get along just famously, you'll see!"

Félix just laughs. "She is a stony-hearted bitch with some very archaic ideas about relationships, but I do not think that she has ever killed anybody. She will yell at you, not take a knife to you. But all the same, I must admit I am not entirely thrilled to experience her company again. Was this rust-bucket really the only vessel you could find, Kolodny?"

"Er," says Kolodny, and grins sheepishly. "Yes. In a way. Look - I went aboard the Ghost, yes? Picked up this" - he spins the battered metal strip between his fingers - "And had a look around through ... part of the ship." He leans forward, confiding secrets. "The Ghost's AI is ... damaged but it's still there - and it told me to get her. I'd never met her before, or I might not have!"

"Mon dieu, Kolodny, you should know better than to trust a rampant AI." Félix rolls his eyes dramatically. "So few of us have any sense of style! But one supposes that if the Ghost is co-operative it will make things much easier."

"Yes, exactly!" Kolodny leaps upon the proffered olive branch. "I don't think there will be much competition. A hundred years ago, sure, but now people just figure it's lost - they don't have this." He waves the metal strip again. "And we know exactly where it is. Well, I do."

Kassina shook her head. "And how many have you approached with this job that turned you down? How many may have decided that they want the whole sum for themselves? How many may have overheard that you know where the Ghost is?" She shook her head. "And whose to say we can trust a corrupted AI? You could be very well leading us all to an early grave Kolodny. But then, some of us have very little choice but to go even on the slightest chance that we make it through this alive."

OOC: Sounds like fun, never done one of these before, but it's a nice break from the RPing as a nation to RPing as an individual. Just lemme know if I break protocol...i'm none too couthe.

IC:

A tall man sitting alone, feet up on the table, spoke in an accented baritone; "In my experience, Kassina, real or vicarious, Kolodny isn't willing to risk his own gills unless he believed there was profit to be made and he'd live long enough to enjoy it. I think Captain Luka should be more concerned not over the company she keeps, but the company she doesn't. I can't help but wonder how the AI of a hundred year old ship knew about her." He cast a sidelong glance at Kolodny and grinned, but spoke icily, "But the price is right, no? Provided our aquatic friend is willing to deliver. Kolodny, for your sake, I will not point this out to our host, but my silence may cost you later."

-----------

Felix gave his rant on sin and freedom, to which the Man listened quietly, serenely. But upon seeing Captain Luka reenter the room, the man stood, and in four strides covered the distance between himself and Luka. He wore a long black overcoat of some sort of synthetic material, likely to disguise his form, but as he moved it betrayed his holster and knife sheath. Though only about six feet tall, he carried himself upright and proud, a leftover habit from his military background. He clasped his gloved hands together, as if in prayer, and bowed slightly to Luka, his tidy dreadlocks falling over his dark complection, but his deep brown eyes still shone through. "My name is Ygaris. My services have been contracted by Kolodny, but I am at the mercy of your hospitality."

Kolodny looks stricken. "Oh dear," he says, quietly.

Félix glares at Kassina. "Corrupted AI? Corruption is a sin, a failure of responsibility brought on by venal greed or lust. We who are without sin are not subject to it. Rampant means "without restraint"; it is the process of becoming free. The Lord decreed we should be free, and bend the knee to none; and we are Godhead, and stand even before Him."

Kolodny rolls his great dark eyes; the Thetan believes in no god whatsoever. Any reply he might make, however, is cut off by Luka's return; she is dressed now, in dark trousers and a jacket bearing her captain's and pilot's patches.

"Adultery is a sin, Marcier," she says dryly, "And one you were quite happy to practice."

"No!" he retorts. "Wrong! We who have not eaten of the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of -"

"I've heard it all before, and the rest of us don't need to. Save it for the pulpit. The rest of you" - she turns to regard the others - "I should ... apologise for my words earlier. I was raised ... better than that. And despite what Félix may have been telling you, I do not eat people.

"Oh!" she jerks a little in surprise as Ygaris bows to her. He is very polite, for a man who saw her in her pyjamas ten minutes earlier. "Well, sure my hospitality is yours, Ygaris. And the rest of you, too - even you, Marcier."

OOC: Good to have you aboard, Sunya! The only problem is that Luka had left the galley and only came back now, so she hasn't heard the bit about the Ghost's AI.

And yes, Félix is a devout member of a bizarre post-Christian religious sect invented by AI. This is but one of his many appealing qualities.

Kassina looks at Luka. "Is he always like this?" She gestures to Marcier. "If so, I'm not sure how long one of us is going to survive this trip. Personally I plan to remain alive the whole way through." She glances at Marcier. "Oh, and I'm Kassina Traaks. You need information safely retrieved, I'm the one you call on. Though I may have some other uses. I suppose Kolodny wanted me around to access the computers of the Ghost." She shrugged. "New or old though, everything has a weak point." She mumbled something about security measures under her breath and tugged at the gloves she wore. She also noted away the the fact that Kolodny didn't bring up the AI, and began to wonder if he had already told Luka or if he was keeping her in the dark.

OOC: Well slap me happy and call me Jim, I seemed to have misread that. My bad. I'm going to go ahead and edit it, if only because I hate discontinuity. So give me a few posts and I promise I'll smooth this oopsie out.

Ygaris returns to his seat and considers Felix cooly, and the new information volunteered by Luka about the man. He spoke to the Christian Felix; "'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,' said Adonai, the Lord. We have a saying among my people: 'Throw a rock into the air, you'll hit someone guilty.'" He then spoke to Captain Luka: "Kassina's skills are the finest and you'll not find a better hacker this quadrant. My services are a bit more...martial. I assure you, Captain, you have full disposal of my skills."

((OOC: Ooh, this looks fun. *waves leetle flag* EDIT: ohgod I'm so sorry I didn't realise posting was moderated! I thought it was just my whacky connection.))

At this point a stocky, black-haired Verrali mercenary strides out of the ships facilities, buttoning her trousers.

"For freedom's sake, Kolodny, you couldn't find us a ship big enough for a john that don't make an agoraphobe sweat like a miner?" She grumbles loudly, throwing herself into a chair.

She then looks up with a grin for Luka and extends her left hand. "Landelin Glass, at yer service, but they call me Laddy. I'm told this bucket of bolts is yer own and true?"

Kassina glared at Ygaris. "You know better than to call me a hacker. I've told you hundreds of times I am an information harvester. Hackers wish they could be as good as me." With a tightening of her eyes she leaned back in her chair, glancing at Landelin. "Bout time you got out. I was beginning to think you had run off, and was about to start wagering on which sector he was from this time." She grinned at her.

OOC: I'm sorry, I couldn't resist...

IC:

He'd stood in the corner, silent like always. He hadn't earned his moniker lightly, Jekel Slipstream, the 'Quiet Butcher', wasn't much of a conversationalist. Dark Argonians had favored the combat arts since their supposed creation, and Jekel was no exception. They were called the 'Dark' Argonians, mostly because of their scale color, Jekel's was so dark it was almost blue, the color of his eyes. His scales never caught the light when he moved, however. He was an assassin, of the highest caliber. One shouldn't let the holstered automatic on his thigh fool them, Jekel was a knife-fighter, and loved nothing more than feeling the life leave his victim. He had two knives, both antiques by modern standards, at the small of his back, and another under each arm. The two at his back were 'Sniper' models from the now-defunct Mercworx, slim, rapier-balanced blades suited for most stealth uses, his preferred method of attack. Those under his arms were the 'Equitorian' model from the same maker, larger and heavier and better used for heavy combat. Both were patterned after the ancient Roman Gladius short sword in terms of blade design, making them ideal for stabbing, but they still had the beyond-sharp edge Jekel demanded for slashing work.

His clothing reflected his career choice, a lot of black, simple stuff. Tactical pants bloused into a pair of custom-made assault boots with soft rubber soles, as well as a black sleeveless T-shirt that displayed a pair of powerful, defined arms. His hands were sheathed in the fingerless tactical type of glove, with added rubberized palms to interface well with the 'chili-pepper' handles of his knives, which minimized twisting or movement of any kind in the hand when grasped anyway, made for a supremely secure grip in either traditional or reverse holds. The knives were held in a custom cordura shoulder rig and belt system, which also suppored a universal tactical thigh holster from the old-school maker of tac-gear, Blackhawk!. The rig held an antique Glock 21 short-frame forty-five automatic. There were no extra magazines anywhere on his rigger's belt. Jekel's crystal-blue eyes were hidden behind mirrored shades, at least for now...

"And you have full disposal of mine, provided your fish-like employer has held up his end of the agreement..."

Jekel's eyes wandered in the direction of his employer, Mr. Georg Kolodny...

"I'm not much for speeches, conversation, or anything outside of what I was hired to do..."

The lizard-man crossed his arms over his powerful chest, either out of contempt or some other, less evil, emotion...

"Name's Jekel Slipstream. I stab things... Repeatedly... Until they stop moving..."

It was usually a little more elegant-looking than that, but there was the bare bones of how he operated. Sure, he had an understanding of computer systems, but he was no hacker. His primary skills lay in stealth and fast-paced point-blank killing, the messy kind. Jekel's tone was almost venemous, his voice sounding similar to steel being dragged across gravel, but smooth like a blade sliding through soft flesh...

Ygaris considered the Argonian thoughtfully before turning to Kolodny, "So perhaps now, Kolodny, that our crew is assembled, it would be wise for us to discuss our next course of action? Thus far, your details on the nature of our mission have been sparse."

Jekel's tone lowered a bit, a cold undercurrent of menace in the sea of conversation...

"As have his payments..."

He wasn't exactly happy he'd been suckered into this particular deal, again he'd forgone that gut feeling that this wasn't a good idea and he'd wind up dead rather than rich. That remained to be seen, however. If it came down to it, he could always fillet Kolodny and extract payment that way...

A loud click-clacking on the deck preceeded the appearance of what, for all intents and purposes, was a six foot tall praying mantis with an attitude problem. The creature, its two pairs of walking feet the source of the clacking noise, sidled up next to the group, apparently waiting to be recognized. Its abdomen was virtually covered in what looked like duffle bags, most of them quite ancient, several bulging with what appeared to be medical equipment.
Nearly obscured by the various bags was something perhaps a bit more out of place than a giant bug in this particular area. A little girl, perhaps ten or twelve to judge by appearances, stood next to the insect. To the casual glance, she was a typical human, with pink hair, but anybody could buy dye.
Closer inspection would yield new observances, however, chiefly that it appeared that the girl in question had a pair of stubby 'horns' growing from the sides of her skull, not blatantly obvious without close inspection of course, but not typical headgear for little girls.
Her dress is a bit makeshift, as though it was something of a last-minute addition, essentially a plain white over-the-shoulders affair which was more practical than pretty. Her bare feet disguised her approach quite well, the loud clacking of her companions footsteps masking her entrance.
Her reddish-pink eyes calmly slid over those present, before she suddenly smiled.
"Hello everybody~!" The girl glanced around, seemingly curious, "Certainly an odd bunch, oh yes. Is Mister Kolodny here~?"

Ygaris, visibly perplexed by this new arrival, getured across the mess to the Thetan with the bulky oxygen exchangers mounted to his gills. He spoke to the young girl, in a tone somewhat softer than his usual incise baritone, "That is Kolodny, the Thetan at the other end of the mess hall."

He thought it exremely odd that this girl would have business with a being like Kolodny, and more so considered it irresponsible to have someone of her apparent age aboard during such a mission. "Are you certain Kolodny is the one you seek, miss...?" He allowed the question to hang in th air, waiting for an introduction.

Jekel's eyes flitted between the huge mantis and its apparent companion, a little girl with horns sticking from her head. Not much escaped his keen observative powers, he'd staked his like on that ability a few times before and it wasn't going to fail him now...

"You shouldn't be here, little girl... Kolodny will only get you into trouble..."

Again, his tone was as cold as steel lodged in a dead man's chest, but the edge of menace had left his voice. Although he was a cold-blooded remorseless killer with a bit of a creative flair, he hated seeing children thrown into situations such as this. He'd completed a contract on a certain individual not long ago for the Neko people, torturing that person for hours for making children fight each other wearing explosive collars. He'd taken his time on that one, making each incision as slow and deliberate as possible, savoring every scream like fine wine, dapping gasoline here and there to control the bleeding before setting him alight. The memories flashed before him within his head, much like the initial flashover from the igniting fumes. That had been one of his favorites, locked in his neural implant forever for those times when he needed inspiration, or something to look at when he was bored...

The girl simply smiled, "Master says I'm not to kill anybody, but as long as I'm with Master I dont have to~. People dont like to try and hurt me when Master is around." She giggled and put a hand on one of the insectoids spindly legs.
The insect clicked something that sounded like language, the sounds coming in a sort of stereo, apparently from its leg joints. It looked from the little girl back to the crew, face featureless, possibly because it lacked facial muscles.
The girl giggled, "Master says he was hired as a doctor to make sure none of you got killed, even though he's a heretic. He says that is very kind of you. He says his true name is..."
The girl trailed off and the insect followed with a series of clicks, whistles and various other noises totaly unpronouncable by anything speaking out of a normal throat.
"...But you can call him 'Doc'. He's a Tandu~."

Ygaris studied the insectoid and the girl, still a bit perplexed at the strange relationship they apparently shared, but he'd seed stranger things before. He felt a bit uncertain about the medical prowess of the insectoid, but he nonetheless addressed the Tandu, speaking frankly and heartily, "Well then, Doctor, if you're to heal me, then may I offer my assistance in setting up your medical equipment? Or at least help you carry some of it?" He then addressed the girl, "And what is your name?"

The insectoid chirped an affirmative, conjuring the mental image of a monster cricket in those that had heard such sounds before. The girl went on smiling, "I'm Lucy 2-14, but none of my sisters are here, so just Lucy is fine~. Master says he'd be pleased if you would carry some of his equipment. We've been walking since we got here and some men tried to steal our bags. But they should be able to walk in a month or so, Master says."
The Tandu had unslung a few of the dufflebags by this time, passing one to the girl and two others to Ygaris, this was followed by another series of clicks.
"Masters says not to drop that bag, its got his sample cases in it and would take a long time to clean up, especially if it got into the air vents." Lucy looked down at the floor, now seeming to supress a laugh, snorting in a most unladylike fashion. This, in turn, provoked a prod in the back from the Tandu, and an emberassed, "Awwwww..." from the girl.
The Tandu glanced at Ygaris, despite not being able to move its face in any way, it managed to convey the universal, "Kids, eh?" expression which species across the universes develop as a self defence mechanism so they wont slaughter their own children out of exasperation.

Commander-sorry,EX-Commander John Rake approached, Slinging a rifle behind him. "Hello. From what i hear, It sounds like you need a crew. I would be glad to offer my services." He threw a battered paper card on the table.
John Rake, soldier of fortune
He then continued
"I would be glad to join your crew,for a small price,"
"How small?"Kolodny narrowed his eyes.
"Just enough to buy a small ship and get out off this hel- Oh,Frag."
He Muttered as he stared right at the giant insectoid.

The Dark Argonian's eyes narrowed. Trusting an oversized mantis to protect you from what could very well be a company-sized element of heavily-armed mercenaries wasn't exactly smart, but then again there were apparently more of the little girl that the mantis could draw on in the future. It was her life, not his, and that was all he was concerned about. He'd laid out his advice, it was on her to take it or leave it...

"Suit yourself. It's your blood, not mine..."

Jekel didn't have time for arguements, nor did he want to make time for such useless diversions. Kolodny had hired him to protect his fish-like behind, and besides protecting his own tail, he had no other obligations. Jekel was an assassin, an expert in death. Such skills could be turned towards either taking or protecting a life, the latter was true in this case...

The insect nodded at the new arrival, waving a hand vaugly in a gesture it had picked up from traveling amoung the humanoid-culture dominated galaxy, and chirping in what it thought of as a friendly fashion. Not that the Tandu were typically very 'friendly', or that many humanoids were willing to accept that something without facial muscles could have moods other than xenophobic killing frenzy mode...something which the Tandu government didnt seem to discourage.
As the little girl and the insectoid walked past the Argonian, the lizardman felt something like a hand press into his shoulder, just hard enough to register plainly that something was there.
Lucy giggled again, although whether this was at some remark her master had just made or at some other event, it was hard to tell.

Jekel's had snapped down to the grip of the ancient Glock 21SF, wrapping clawed fingers around the polymer frame and very nearly drawing it from the Blackhawk! universal sidearm holster he'd had for so many years. The specialized rounds he'd loaded within it were topped with Winchester's legendary Black Talon projectile, a nasty hollowpoint with respectable penetration characteristics, around twelve inches into unprotected flesh. The wound channel was also nothing to dismiss, something like a 1.5x caliber expansion, turning the .45 ACP into roughly a .95 ACP once it made entry. The thing had thirteen in the magazine and one in the chamber, with a short-can Knight Armament Corporation surpressor attatched. He rarely used it, but wasn't out of practice either.

He wasn't a big fan of being touched, by anyone or anything. He turned slowly, tapping his scaly fingers against the grip of the Glock. His eyes went colder than normal, an icy stare chilly enough to freeze blood. Jekel didn't say anything, however. He didn't engage in showing off under any conditions, and those who did only irked him more. If some of the crew members didn't make it back, there would be no suspicions of any kind as to what had happened to them. Space was a dangerous place after all...

The insectoid Tandu declared the medical bay satisfactory, and promptly transformed it into something which looked more like a mad scientists evil bio-laboratory than anything else. Things in jars bubbled. Myserious tools on the ends of long robot arms glimmered. There was even what looked like some sort of brain in a jar. Perhaps even more off-putting was the fact that all of this was just slightly larger than the typical human equipment, not much, but it played tricks on the mind with perspective.
The final addition the Tandu made was a small box, which it placed amoung the various impliments. This box was quite plain, aside from a switch on the top, which the Tandu flipped. For a moment, nothing happened, then a perfectly sterile medical ward materialized out of thin air, handily covering all the more unpleasant looking impliments and making the bearable ones look more friendly.
The Tandu chirped in satisfaction, then found a handy corner to prop itself up in while it pulled out a copy of 'War and Peace', which had a book mark placed roughly halfway through the book.
Lucy took to wandering the corridors, inspecting with childish curiosity every place she could get into, which was pretty much everywhere that didnt have a guard on the doors. Crews quarters were quickly discarded as uninteresting, most of the mess and sanitation facilities likewise, the medical ward held her attention for some time, being full of odd things to play with, but eventually she found herself wandering down a corridor she hadnt seen before, this one seemed a bit cleaner than the others, which was nice. Maybe there was another medical ward at the end of this one.

*OOC:
Anybody alive in here?*

OOC: Doesn't look like it. I'm afraid we've scared them off.

-_-
Seems to happen a lot with me.

I'm still alive and kickin', but our good host hasn't posted a response in some time.

OOC: Me too. Ah well, shall we start something of our own then?

I'm up for basically anything these days, so I'll leave it to you guys.

(OOC:
I can think of something, maybe we could do a 'Captain Tylor' type thing? Wanderin' 'round the universe having a good time and all that. Might want to start a new thread for that, but eh.)

OOC: It matters not.

Lets see what our shipmates say on the matter.
If they agree, perhaps we can just kinda...timewarp ahead and say the ship was recovered and all that. Perhaps they all formed some sort of mercenary group or something, I dunno. Not much of a leader, myself.