| Logs |
2006 March 29
| Hunter |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: Hunter Logs |
Part Two: Tables Turned?
Transport Shao Kung and pirate vessel
Four hours out of Demeter
Solbiort shakes her head slowly at Elgyn's comment, "No... our hull valker's tether vas visible from the Shao Kung's bridge, and it led to the starboard upper level airlock just down the hallway from this bridge. Those klaxons aren't the hull valker -- I bet they're a remaining pirate on this ship, trying to draw us down in a hurry to cargo." She rises abruptly, putting a hand on Elgyn's shoulder, "Elgyn, I need you to hold the bridge against the hull valker. I'll run down and get the others, bring them here... but I need to know you're keeping the bridge safe for us to return to. Can you do that for me, please?"
Elgyn blinks and opens his mouth to reply that surely it would be more important to provide backup than to protect the bridge... and then remembers how effective Solbiort was back on the Shao Kung once she had bridge access. "Yes. Watch your back, Captain. We're in unfriendly territory, with uncertain allies," he finally replies. Solbiort nods a bit grimly to Elgyn at the bit about uncertain allies, squeezing his shoulder once gently. Then she draws her pistol and, finger resting on the trigger guard, glances out cautiously before heading swiftly and carefully for lower cargo.
After closing the doors leading into the cargo bay, Quan is now looking at the aft doors of that space. It looks uncomfortably like an airlock, but there are a lot of gauges that appear to be showing green lights on the aft doors. Seeing the green gauges, Quan checks the 'tell-tale,' then tries to cycle the inner doors.
The aft doors of the airlock open, accompanied by flashing lights and a klaxon this time as well. The doors open onto what looks like a hangar deck, familiar enough to anyone who's spent time aboard ships. Two shuttles appear to be docked in conformal berths, their hatches locked to matching hatchways within the ship, thus leaving the hangar bay sealed to vacuum. In the aft (back) of the bay, there is what looks like a more normal-sized, very durable airlock hatch. Quan enters the aft airlock and starts closing the door he entered by. Then he checks the telltales to see if he can cycle the aft door and proceed further aft.
Quan cycles the airlock that's in the aft bulkhead of the hangar bay, and finds himself in the loud, noisy engine room. Wisps of steam drift about from various auxiliaries, and the three generators are noisy enough even without the main engines running. Quan steps carefully into the engine room, senses alert for a potential ambush. As soon as he is fully within the room, he cycles the second airlock door closed. Quan moves carefully to the aft wall of the engine room and begins climbing the ladder to the upper catwalk. From this perspective he looks through the room, doing his best to verify that he is alone here for the moment.
Raj and Nigel, who has finished stabilizing the Browncoat, are shortly met by Solbiort who has come down the ladderwell leading up to the upper deck. Nigel pushes both hands through his hair, squinting as he thinks hard, then shakes his head. He's really not familiar with this class of ship. After a moment, he blows his breath out, "Look, I need to stay by our blood-drenched friend here, but we really need to get her and the old codger to a med bay of some sort. She needs an infusion. He probably needs traction."
Solbiort glances around, then puzzledly asks, "Vhere's prettypretty?" She adds tersely, "Anybody know anything about breaking computer lock-down?"
Nigel motions aft and away, "He decided he wanted to explore or something. Probably busy getting his brains splattered." He squints at the captain, "You're a pilot. You know if this boat might have an infirmary?" Then he adds, "System lockdown? I can give it a try."
Raj turns to Solbiort and says, "The civilian? He wandered off, like the Doctor said, looking for the engine room, I think." He checks the door to the Shao Kung and turns back, saying, "Any idea how many unaccounted for? We need to get these two to sick-bay, and I don't want to surprise you if we move around."
Solbiort gives them an incredulous look, "He did vhat?! That idi-" She cuts off, thinking furiously. A moment later her eyes narrow, "Of course -- that's who the pirate is -- a plant!" She glances at Nigel, nodding to the doors Quan left through, "Can you lock down that hatchvay, or show me vhere to shoot to break it so it won't open from the other side? Then ve go to the bridge."
Nigel squints across at the hatchway, "Eh, I can probably lock it down for you or show you how to. But we really have to get this girlie somewhere to get some blood into her... " His concern for the girl sounds offhand, as if his mind is on something else -- and by the way he's looking across the bay, it's likely the hatchway.
Solbiort says, "Raj, no idea how many unaccounted for -- currently just the hull valker. Ve need to keep the crazy out of here, then go break the computer lockdown on the bridge. I'm thinking you and doc here should come vith, and ve can move the vounded to the infirmary once ve've got control of the ship." She nods to Nigel, "Lock it down. Quick, please. Need you up on the bridge."
Up on the bridge, Elgyn paces a little while, then decides to move outside to get better tactical advantage. Espying around for a good hidey-hole, he ends up deciding on hanging from the ceiling. It's tricky, because the walls aren't exactly made to be climbed up, and his pistol almost falls out of its holster once. But he's finally settled, hogleg in one fist and keeping a handhold with the other, to stay hidden on his perch. Very shortly, settling in and making himself 'one with the overhead,' Elgyn has managed to tuck himself into the shadows and become quite, quite inconspicuous.
Nigel and Raj confer for a moment at one of the terminals near the cargo bay door. Nigel taps at the interface, getting main control to respond quickly. "Got it," he says, "It'll take them a bit to get past that." Looking over his shoulder, Raj mumbles, "It's an old Lansing SysFlex. Try the default password on the maintenance update." Nigel pauses, then taps again briefly with a wicked grin. "You're a bad man, Raj," he chortles. Raj replies, "When needed."
Solbiort stands silently, covering Raj & Nigel as they confer at the big hatchway doors. Once they're done she nods once, then has Nigel follow her, with Raj bringing up the rear, as they head for the bridge. She adds to Raj, "I doubt he'll remotely harm the two here, considering his dog is with them." Nigel follows along after Solbiort, chuckling to himself. If this bunch of folks is going to let him muck about with systems like that, and if he's got support like Raj, he may just have found good traveling companions.
As best as he can tell, despite it being a huge and noisy and somewhat steamy room, Quan is alone in the engine room. Quan looks around the engine room. No chairs, no single station indicating some sort of main console. There are panels which might be telltales... some monitors which have outlines of the ship on them... but what, for example, 'PRI H2O COOL FEED BYP SHNT VLV' could mean is anyone's guess.
Quan looks around some more, being careful not to disturb the delicate machinery in this space, and also examining the telltale on the upper-level doors into Engineering. He takes up a position just by the side of those doors, and out of immediate line of sight from anyone entering. Quan is standing beside the doors, when he hears a faint mewling of a cat on the starboard (right) side of the catwalk, which ends in an open hatchway. Quan moves smoothly along the catwalk toward the cat and the open door, to see how friendly the cat might be and what might be in the room beyond.
Quan says softly, "Hello, kitty. And isn't this a strange place for us to find ourselves in?" The room beyond the hatchway appears to be a storeroom of some kind, mostly with foodstuffs -- protein paste, standard spacer fare -- on metal shelves, shared with various engineering supplies. The cat appears to be towards the front of the storeroom, which a clanking of a small pan as it hits the deck seems to indicate. Quan, being alerted by the clatter of the pan, tries to press up against the wall and out of any line of fire through the open door.
Quan says, "Hello! Please come out! We can work things out with a minimum of violence, if we work at this together!" There is a pause for a few moments, with what sounds like scampering on the floor. Then the mewling starts again. Quan slides along the wall to the point where he can peer around the edge of the door, at which point he squats and carefully tries to sneak a look around the edge of the door at knee-height.
The room is filled with boxes and crates forward of midway -- all with the Blue Sun logo and clearly marked as foodstuffs -- and the mewling comes from the forward right corner. It pauses a bit, and it sounds like the cat is licking up something there. Quan moves over to see what the cat has gotten into -- still moving carefully, and trying not to make any noise that would frighten the cat -- but not trying to act as if he is 'stalking' the cat. Quan says, "Hello. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm just looking to see who is still on board." There is a single 'meowrl' before going silent. The cat makes no more sound. Quan continues to move forward until he can actually see what was making the scuttling noise. "Hello. Please don't be alarmed."
Meanwhile, Elgyn sees Solbiort, Nigel, and Raj coming up out of the ladderwell onto the upper deck. Solbiort cautiously and warily leads the way to the bridge, being careful to keep Nigel well covered behind her -- she trusts Raj, the combat vet, to keep their "6" safe. She gives the agreed-upon signal so Elgyn knows it's them, then makes sure the bridge is safe before hastening Nigel there to work upon the locked-down board. Elgyn gives back an answering low whistle he arranged with long ago with Solbiort... which probably confuses Nigel as he suddenly hears a snatch of what might be birdsong.
Solbiort grins, looking up once at the birdsong, then looks back at Nigel, "Doc, can you break the lockdown?" She pauses, then adds amusedly, "And... you have a name?"
Nigel blinks at the birdsong, settling in at the board and starting to examine the system, hands moving nervously over buttons and switches, not actually moving anything. It's as if he's trying to make his hands familiar with where things are. He says casually over his shoulder, "Hey, guy, wanna help out with this ruttin' thing as well?" He's apparently talking to Raj, though he's not actually looking at anyone or anything but the board. Solbiort watches silently over their shoulders. Computer programming is not her specialty.
Nigel starts tapping at the console, muttering absently, "Nigel... " he either doesn't want to tell his last name or just doesn't care about it. He snorts, grinning, "The lock on this gorram thing is like trying to seal a gut wound with spit and hope... " Solbiort smiles, watching with silent appreciation.
Nigel has been actually humming to himself as he works on the system, nodding any time Raj mentions something he might not have noticed or something that might help it go more quickly. But his statement about the security of the ship seems to be right because it seems to take no time at all before he leans back, a broad grin crossing his face and crinkling the brand scar on his cheek, "We're unlocked."
Solbiort crows with delight at that announcement, settling immediately at the other board, "You rock, Nigel!" Her fingers fly across the board, and this time it's her humming happily to herself.
Elgyn is quiet, patient, and implacable on his perch. There are enemies still out there somewhere, and he will remain on guard till they've been brought low. His mind is focused on that... and then he hears Solbiort's humming voice wafting through the door, and he actually smiles, but catches himself before he starts humming along.
Nigel scoots out of the way and stands, stretching and looking around the bridge, arching a brow at the fallen pirate there, "I'm guessing I shouldn't even bother checking for a pulse on him?"
Solbiort shakes her head absently, "DOA, sorry. That's his blood all over your board, in fact."
Back in the Storage Bay, Quan sees him a moment before the man comes into full view from around the crates. He is tall and wears the same spacesuit Quan last saw on the hull-walker (sans a helmet), revealing a tanned and weather-lined face. He is just starting to bring to bear a large autolock of some kind that has a tubular appendage on the muzzle. Whatever it is, it doesn't look particularly friendly.
Quan steps forward hurriedly and will be attempting a Martial Grab before the unpleasant fellow can get his shot off. "FOUND ONE!!!" the shepherd calls out in what he hopes is a carrying voice. The pirate is taken by surprise, and is held, squawking. "A gorram shepherd-?" Quan grabs the pirate and looks to lock up his gun arm in an arm bar. Instead of attempting to break the hold, the pirate tries nothing more elegant than to kick the shepherd, but is not able to get off more than a glancing kick, which does not land.
Quan and the pirate are locked in a grapple, when from behind Quan there's a 'tsk,' and someone says, "Dumbass hundan, getting yourself bushwhacked by a priest... " And then something hard and heavy hits Quan in the side of the head. As he goes under, Quan can hear -- somewhat woozily -- the two pirates: "He's a gorram shepherd, didn't feel right shooting him." "And you were complaining about him bushwhacking me? Elsa, you cold hearted wench... ."
Meanwhile on the bridge, the group has unlocked the ship's systems controls and are not noticing anything amiss as they get navigation, power, sensors, and -- oh, hello... weapons systems. After that a quarter of an hour passes fairly quickly. The ship's major systems have been unlocked, but like most ships that didn't incorporate large amounts of automation, there's a few secondary functions that either are controlled elsewhere, or are only monitored from the bridge. The internal systems monitor is unlocked with enough time to show that one of the cutters is being prepped for launch and will shortly be ready to depart.
Solbiort says, "Aha. That'll be our remaining pirates, I think... any vay to lock that down?" She looks around, "Hoya, Elgyn, Raj! Vant to try taking down the pirates in cutter #2?"
Nigel looks over Solbiort's shoulder and curses virulently under his breath, "No. The gorram pirates don't have it set up to lock down from up here." He kicks a console.
Elgyn appears without a sound outside the door. "Just point me in the right direction, Captain."
Solbiort waves to the board, "This is a modified Trans-K, boys, and this is a stylized deck plan. Is it enough to get you there, or should I go vith von of you?" Then she pats Nigel's shoulder consolingly, "That's all right. Once the ship is pirate-clear, you can play vith the engines to your heart's content." She grins at him, "Vant to go shares vith Raj, Elgyn, and me on a great little ship?"
Elgyn looks blankly at Solbiort. "You're the one that knows ships, Captain. 'Course, I can always follow my nose." He blinks a little at Solbiort's assumption that they can just take this ship as their own... then again, why not? Spoils of war, one might even say. Besides, there's no evidence the Shao Kung is even still space-worthy.
Raj says, "Go or no go?"
Solbiort nods to Raj, "Ya. You hold bridge, keep Nigel safe please? Elgyn and I vill be right back."
Nigel blinks at Solbiort, then snorts and grins, "Wait, are you saying you're offering me part of the ship and engines to play with?" He looks her up and down, but in the way one might an exceptionally fine machine rather than an exceptionally attractive person, "I think I might like you."
Raj nods. "Go!" Solbiort grins, cheerfully claps Raj's shoulder once -- then is out the door and darting down the hallway after Elgyn. Soft laughter trails back over her shoulder at Nigel's comment... nothing more. Raj moves into position, covering the entrance, "Salvage is tricky, but there's no reason to assume we won't get a big piece of this little gunboat, if not both ships."
Nigel hehs and settles back down at the console, pulling a rather stained cloth out of one of his many pockets to wipe it down, "Y'know, if they're going down the way the Shepherd went, I ought to unlock the door for them... " He pokes around a bit, looking for the controls.
Raj says, "Can unlock the doors, or turn on the corridor lights in the direction they need to be moving from here? OK. I'll shut up now... " grins and settles in...
Meanwhile, in the storeroom, Quan begins to come to, with a horrific bruise over his ear and a piercing headache. Quan lies still long enough to make sure he won't just collapse when he begins to move, and listens to see if he can tell he is alone. After a few moments, he begins to stir and looks around. The shepherd awakens and finds himself indeed alone in the storeroom. Not even tied up or restrained; the pirates must have left him there.
Quan picks himself up with a wince and looks to assess just how long he's been out. Unfortunately, they don't tend to mount chronometers in storerooms, so he becomes a little worried and opens the storeroom door forward of the one he entered by. Seeing nothing through the door, Quan goes through and proceeds up the hallways toward the forward part of the ship.
Solbiort and Elgyn reach the cargo bay, standing in front of the airlock doors leading aft which Nigel had locked earlier. Meanwhile Quan has staggered to the forward end of the corridor. An airlock appears to be here, with a tether of some kind cast onto the deck beside a familiar helmet. Quan smiles and winces again at the sight of the helmet. He looks around for some clue about how he might regain the cargo bay without having to backtrack all the way through the shuttle bay. He looks around for an intercom panel.
From the bridge, Nigel unlocks the cargo bay airlock, and as they watch the 'locked' telltales on the door switch from red (but with green pressure gauges) to green (still with green pressure gauges). Solbiort nods Elgyn to cover, then tries the doors to see if they're still locked. As they slide open beautifully, Elgyn hears her soft chuckle, followed by the muttered, "He can haf my baby any day!"
Elgyn feels more comfortable now that he's back in action, absently glancing at Solbiort looking so confident and pleased with herself. At her comment he arches an eyebrow. "He must have made a good impression."
Solbiort flashes a grin at Elgyn, "Mechanic and doctor!" then nods for him to lead in the bounding overwatch towards the cutters. Elgyn responds instantly, eyes sharp for the promised pirates... but finding himself wondering if he'll be so quick to kill them outright now that he knows who they are... or were.
The airlock between the cargo bay and the hangar bay opens without any issue. The hatch to #2 cutter is sealed shut, though, with the telltales red to show that there's no pressure on the other side. Solbiort mutters, "Niflheim!" and trots over to double check... and close the outside airlock doors if the cutter's truly gone.
Elgyn stays on alert and on guard as Solbiort checks... this may be a ruse. He finds it a little odd that the pirates might just give up without a fight, leaving such a valuable ship in their hands... Solbiort calls to Elgyn, "If you see an intercom, alert the bridge we're all right, the cutter's gone, ve'll check the vounded, do they see the cutter leaving?"
Solbiort sees that the cutter has indeed departed, barely ten to twenty seconds before. She seals the outer hatch; they would be in about the midships cargo bay on a Trans-K, so the outer hatches to the shuttle berths would leave little more than the impression of more hull area. Elgyn nods at Solbiort's request, scanning the area for such an intercom. Solbiort says, "Hm. Ve'll have to replace that cutter. Need to care for the dead on Shao Kung too. Our vounded come first, though."
The athwartships corridor the shepherd is in doesn't give much clue as to which direction to go to get to where; he estimates he's probably somewhere near where the cargo bay would be, but there's no ladderwell or hatch in the deck. Quan checks the airlock telltales to see if there is air and pressure on the other side. If so, he opens it to see if there is a thruway, or just an external hatch. Quan sees the airlock on the upper deck is pretty much just a closet with an overhead hatch, closed and sealed shut against vacuum.
The puzzled shepherd shrugs and starts trying doors on his level, working his way from the starboard-side forward, all the way around to port-side aft, or until he finds one that looks as if it might lead onward. When he gets to Engineering, he'll give up and go back down to the lower level.
Up on the bridge Raj asks, "Is there any surveillance in the cargo bay on this boat? I'm concerned about the wounded."
Nigel chews on his bottom lip and starts looking around for surveillance of the cargo bay, "Yeah, I'm a little nervous about those folks myself." A moment later he grumbles and sighs, "No cameras in cargo... doesn't anyone put ruttin' cameras where they store their gorram cargo?"
Raj says, "These dungheels seem to favor explosives. Anybody want in on the pool that says they left some behind?"
Down in the cutter bay, Elgyn locates the intercom in seconds. He flicks it on. "The cutters appear to be escaping, gentlemen. Do you have a visual confirmation?" he barks into it. While he looks around, Elgyn spots faint drops of blood on the deck. Faint, but fresh. They lead from the #2 cutter to the starboard (right) hatchway just forward of cutter #1's berth. Elgyn freezes as he notices the fresh blood. He gives a sharp whistle, to get Solbiort's attention, and puts a finger to his lips, to indicate quiet before indicating the stain. "Fresh," he mouths to her.
Solbiort, glancing around at Elgyn, notices a very faded and worn red crescent and cross on the port hatchway just forward of cutter #2's berth. She nods, pulling her pistol again and waving him on towards the other, starboard hatchway. Elgyn carefully moves towards the unmarked door, shotgun muzzle first...
Quan meanwhile tries one of the hatches in the athwartships corridor he's in. The hatch is heavy and doesn't open easily, but it opens well enough, leading out onto a catwalk that seems to overlook the hangar. Beside the hatch leading onto the cargo bay catwalk, Quan does spot an intercom -- and that's about when Elgyn's bark comes over it. Quan inquires over the intercom from the corridor overlooking the hangar, "Excuse me. Can anyone hear me?"
Elgyn has his hand on the hatch handle, when Quan's voice comes over the intercom. He looks startled, glancing at Solbiort... who shakes her head at Elgyn, motioning him on as she covers him to open the door for her to roll through. Crazies on the ship can only be dealt with one at a time. Elgyn nods and jerks the latch then, tugging the door open quickly...
Quan asks over the intercom again, "Hello?" then shrugs and examines the hatch to see if the hangar has pressure and temperature.
Up on the bridge, Nigel can't sit still for very long and is soon out of the seat he took at the console. Again. And pacing. And that strange little puzzle box is in his left hand again, thumb flipping and pushing bits and pieces of it. At Quan's call, Nigel stops with a roll of his eyes and pushes the intercom button. "Shush!" Quan quickly looks over at the intercom, then deciphers the instruction, shrugs, and continues looking to access the hangar, if he can do so safely.
The hatchway Elgyn tries opens easily, and Solbiort rolls through -- almost coming lips-to-casing to a crate of rail gun ammunition. Solbiort rolls smoothly to one side -- lovely ammunition, but not her style currently -- and checks for where the blood drops lead. The entire room appears to be the ship's arsenal, which includes a few crates of rail gun slugs, a handful of nearly antique repeaters, and not much else. What weapons were stored here seem to have been looted either recently or some time ago, it's hard to tell at the moment. The blood drops lead forward to another hatchway, which is closed.
Solbiort straightens once she's sure the room is clear, waving Elgyn in. Elgyn comes in, in a crouch after her, checking the corners quickly. She says, "Di-di, is blood fresher leading out to cutter, or out the other vay?" She points at the other door.
Elgyn studies the blood splatters in turn, forehead creasing in thought. "The trail, I think, leads to the cutter, not away from," he whispers.
Solbiort whews softly. "Good. All right, let's check our vounded, and report to the bridge. Got a nice little ship here to explore and clear." She grins cheerfully, quite pleased. She heads with Elgyn towards cargo, where the mule is.
Elgyn's lips purse. "I don't like it, Captain. Why would they just run?" he replies, following close behind.
Solbiort says, "No idea, di-di. Ve need to check for any left-behind presents." She tests the blood-marked door with experimental care, seeing if it leads to the cargo bay.
Elgyn shakes his head distastefully. "This is all very disturbing. They attack the innocent, they leave behind their own, they run so easily... I wonder if their comrade can shed any light on this most dishonorable behavior."
Solbiort nods silently at Elgyn's comment, adding, "I think maybe the prettypretty was their plant, too. He recommended we hide in passenger, but took his own stuff out. Bunch of other strange things he did... " The hatch opens -- and Quan can see it and hear it open from the catwalk -- and beyond Solbiort sees the starboard side of the cargo bay. The bay is overall well lit; Solbiort notices Quan immediately. She goes still, except for aiming her pistol at him.
Quan says, "Hello, Captain!"
Up on the bridge, Raj turns a bit toward Nigel and says, "So, you've been poking at the innards of this boat for a bit. My first thought was some sort of military cutter, or a patrol boat of some sort. There seems to be plenty of room for folks, but not enough cargo for the long haul, so I'm still not decided on which. A few ticks ago, you even mentioned weapons. Now given the previous owners' clear preference for sneaky-jack explosives and such, do you think they left something on a timer, and expect to get far enough away, or do you think they're using some remote detonator?"
Raj pauses, and considers a moment, "If it's on a timer, I expect something bad to be happening in less than five or maybe six minutes. Considering how poorly they kept up the security, I don't think they really knew that much about this boat. If we've got weapons, we've almost certainly got the gear to back it up -- targeting, ranging, and so on. That should also mean this boat's got just enough countermeasures, if we knew how to turn them on, to keep random 'why don't you blow up now' signals from getting in. Any chance of you finding that bit of tech? It would certainly improve our chances of not being ka-boomed..."
Nigel blinks at Raj and stops, not having thought of explosives left behind again. Tactics just aren't one of the things racing around his brain. "Huh... well, I can certainly try that." He plops himself down again, humming and chewing on his lower lip. The little puzzle box is sitting atop the console.
A bit later Nigel squints, looking a little unhappy and muttering under his breath, "...can't just be simple?" He pokes and prods and types and switches and bounces his knee nervously. With one final little flurry of typing, he leans back, looking dubiously at the console, "Well, either I got it or we're all going to be floating off in gaseous form in a few minutes."
Raj shrugs, "Well, we do what we can. Could be I'm just looking for trouble..." Meanwhile, the cutter is doing nothing more or less than bee-lining for the worlds behind, though it's not clear if they're going to Hera, Demeter, or Hecate.
Back in cargo, Quan raises his eyebrows, then slowly raises his hands, showing them to be empty. "Excuse me?"
Elgyn doesn't quite aim his shotgun at Quan, but he does hold it a little tighter. "Captain?" he murmurs, seeming confused.
Quan says, "Indeed, Captain?"
Solbiort stands silently for several heartbeats, thinking... then says calmly, "Di-di, I should not shoot him vithout hearing vhat he has to say. However, I think until the ship has been cleared ve do not vant him vandering around alone any more. Funny how pirates escape vhen he do that. So, prettypretty, I vant you to come down here nice and quiet and slow, and ve tie you up next to your nice doggie until ve are sure of you."
Quan says to Elgyn, "Excuse me. I am quite unarmed, and am getting very worried about Lion. How about if I stand here quite still while your Captain keeps her weapon aimed at me, and you please open the bubble around his carrier, so he doesn't suffocate?
Solbiort says, "How about you for once OBEY so you not get shot?"
Quan says, "I'll be happy to do that, Captain, but I'm having trouble finding my way down. Is it all right if I climb down over the rail?"
Elgyn purses his lips. "Should I see to the canine, Captain?" he queries. He has confidence Solbiort can handle one man, particularly this one.
Solbiort says, "No, push a crate over for him. If he's innocent, ve don't vant him breaking a leg coming down here."
Elgyn nods to Solbiort's request, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder, and exerting himself a little to push a sizable crate over for the shepherd... Quan says, "By the way, I did bump into two of the ship's former crew. I'm afraid they knocked me unconscious and got away. Also what appears to be one of the ship's cats." As soon as a crate is pushed near enough to the rail, Quan will carefully make his way down to the cargo hold floor. Once on the cargo floor, Quan slowly raises his hands again. "If you'll just let me see to Lion, I'll settle where you wish while you tie me up, Captain."
Solbiort shifts so the gun remains steady on Quan, and says to Elgyn, "Now the dog. Then find some rope." Elgyn nods curtly, looking at the dog with some interest as he sees to the dog's comfort. A small about of searching later comes up with something suitable to bind Quan, which he uses wordlessly.
The next hour passes quickly. The ship is swept and no further pirates are found -- the two that ganged up on Quan (and any others if there were any) have absconded with the cutter... and, it seems, Dr. Kingston. Beyond this, the Shao Kung is totaled -- the blast did some fragmentary damage to the engine room, enough to breach the plasma containment. Like any fusion reactor, the fusion event simply collapsed rather than go 'boom,' but the Shao Kung is basically -- and literally -- a tomb at this point. Next, possibly much to Nigel's relief, the Browncoat is moved to the infirmary where she begins the rough path to healing up.
The next stage sees the recovery of their personal effects from the ex-transport. This goes without any sort of incident or event. Solbiort is relieved to be able to retrieve most of their stuff from the Shao Kung. She will also, with a bit of help from anyone willing to assist, lay out the bodies of the dead in the cargo of the Shao Kung, and say a few words over them as a captain. It would be zuo, improper, to leave them untended in the Dark, after all. She also 'waves to the planet about what happened, asking for someone to come out and collect the Shao Kung, and to watch out for the incoming cutter.
Solbiort glances around at everyone else, "Did ve forget anything else ve need to do?"
Raj says, "Eat? Shower? Sleep?"
Solbiort says, "Ah. No, unfortunately... two things left to do, but ve can discuss crew shares after ve've dealt vith the prettypretty."
Elgyn spent most of his time keeping an eye on Quan and his canine companion. He listened to Quan as he talked, but mostly just remained alert... small talk distracts, and he still felt like it wasn't over just yet. Solbiort will head to cargo with Raj, leaving Nigel in the infirmary with the wounded girl.
At mention of Quan, while meeting with Raj and Solbiort, Elgyn relates the preacher's explanation. "His story is likely true, Captain. He's not a warrior, and is therefore more likely to do foolish things. Plus, if he were on their side, why wouldn't he have left with them? Perhaps we should look to the man Kingston instead for an insider. He, after all, is no longer here," he adds, unprompted.
Raj says, "Dunno about Doctor Kingston. He's an odd duck, but he doesn't strike me as the piratical type. Just not mean enough. He did say something odd about 'not again' when the 'pirates' jumped us."
Solbiort nods at Elgyn's report as they walk along, thinking. She nods to Raj also, "Ya, I remember that too." Glancing at Raj as they enter the cargo bay and head over to the mule, she says, "Vhat else can you tell us about Kingston?" She jumps up onto the mule, then crouches behind Quan, untying him. She steps back once Quan is untied so she's not looming over him. "So, you vant to tell us your side of the story, prettypretty?"
Quan says, "Certainly, Captain."
Solbiort thinks a moment, then adds, "And... your name too, please? Feel funny calling you prettypretty all the time." Then she snaps her fingers, looking to Raj, "Hostage, so they don't shoot them out of the sky? That's vhy they take Kingston, not the girl, ya?"
Quan smiles. "I'm called, 'Quan,' Captain. Though I'd prefer other circumstances, it's nice to meet you."
Solbiort nods politely to Quan, "Pleasure to meet you, Quan." She settles cross-legged on the mule, adding, "Please, tell us vhat you vish. Can let dog out too if he'd like to run around? Or she."
Quan says, "After we boarded the ship, it seemed that everyone had a task to perform but me, and that no one had decided to go to Engineering, in case the pirates should try to re-enter the ship there and possibly work a mischief. So, no one more qualified being available, I thought I should go myself." He adds, "I'm sure Lion would appreciate being let out, Captain." Once he is free, he opens Lion's carrier and pets the puppy reassuringly while continuing to talk.
Quan says, "I didn't find anyone in Engineering proper, but there was a storeroom adjacent. I heard a noise and went to investigate. What I thought was one pirate -- who apparently re-entered the ship through one of the upper locks -- turned out to be two, with the result being this bump on the back on my head."
Solbiort says, "Di-di, check his head, vould you please? He doesn't sound like he needs to go to Infirmary... but rather be sure."
Quan smiles again, "When I awoke, I tried to go forward and find someone friendly to whom I could report -- after which I found myself inspecting the barrel of your side arm. The rest, you know. I'm afraid I didn't accomplish anything useful, and slept through most of the action."
Solbiort nods slowly, listening to Quan and watching thoughtfully as his head is inspected. Elgyn confirms the bruising and swelling quietly and efficiently, giving Solbiort a nod. Solbiort thanks Elgyn quietly, then says, "Quan, do you have any combat experience you haven't told us about?"
Quan says, "Nothing formal. Self-defense training, certainly. But no combat training, per se. I did, however, overhear a name. And I can say with some certainty that the fellow I grappled with was extremely strong. I might even guess he was on military stimulants."
Elgyn says, "You are brave, Sir Quan. But under the circumstances, you should have called us and let us know. They might not have gotten away, and you would be unbruised."
Quan says to Elgyn, "No 'Sir,' if you please. And when I found them I did call out, but I expect I was so far away you couldn't have heard me."
Solbiort nods to Quan and says, "Vhat are you trained to do, please?"
Quan says, "Give guidance, mostly. Counsel people about personal problems. Share pleasure. Pursue the spiritual."
Solbiort's eyebrows go up at Quan's pronouncement, and she takes a closer look at him. A moment later she says puzzledly, "You... are a Shepherd?!" Elgyn is about to correct Solbiort that he was not claiming to tend to livestock, when he gets it. He's never had opportunity with speak with one, but he has heard of the religious orders.
Quan says, "I'm a member of the Companions Guild, Captain. And I've been in training as a Shepherd on St. Albans."
Solbiort reaches out slowly enough Quan can move away if he wishes; she's trying to see the medallion more closely. Quan allows her to examine it, looking very calm and smiling gently, "Since I'm not currently in a House, and Shepherding doesn't generally pay particularly well, I pick up what skills I can here and there, and generally try to make myself useful."
Solbiort studies the medallion quizzically... then huh!s softly and lays it gently back against Quan. "All right, that's certainly unexpected." She thinks a bit, then nods and says firmly, "Vell! In about... oh, four hours or so, ve expect a ship from downside to pick up the Shao Kung. I'm sure if you vish they vill take you back to Demeter, Shepherd Quan. For now, I recommend ve all get cleaned up and eat."
Quan says, "Where is... I believe it is 'Doctor' Kingston?"
Raj grumbles, "That's a damn good question, isn't it?"
Solbiort says, "Pirates took him. That's vhat I meant vhen I mentioned hostage before vhile untying you."
Quan says, "Not to mention Dr. Baird and Mr. Raj?"
Solbiort points silently at Raj, and shakes her head, "Don't know Baird."
Quan nods. "Oh. There you are. Sorry, I missed you." He adds, "Dr. Baird was another one of our fellow passengers. The fellow with the scar?" He points at his cheek.
Elgyn looks at Solbiort with light amusement. "He's referring to the young man you were speaking so... highly of, earlier."
Solbiort laughs! then rises, dusting her hands off on her breeches, "Hokay, shower for me." To Quan she adds, "He's going to be joining in vith us on crew shares for this ship. Quite the mechanic!"
Quan says, "Anyway, one other thing of note -- one of the pirates apparently knew me for a Shepherd, which implies they had some knowledge of the passenger manifest before ever they encountered us."
Solbiort glances over her shoulder at Quan and grins, "That's not helping me not see you as pirate plant, you know!" Her voice is more teasing than anything else, and she heads off for the pile of equipment by the ladderwell.
Quan shrugs. "It seemed important that you know."
Solbiort shoulders her duffel and backpack from where they'd been dropped in cargo after retrieval from the doomed Shao Kung, and says to Raj and Elgyn, "Come, I show you vhere crew quarters are. Ve can use showers there."
Quan says, "Captain? Before you go. Do you intend to pursue Dr. Kingston?"
Solbiort says, "No. Ve aren't the enforcers -- ve're military trained. Ve've 'waved to the planet to vatch out for them."
Quan nods. "Very well."
Solbiort smiles at Quan, then heads off for a nice shower. Elgyn has gotten his own duffel. "Companion and Shepherd, hmm? Strange mix." he comments to Quan before following. Solbiort nods amusedly.
Quan says to Elgyn, "I hope to show someday that it is not as incongruous as it first seems."
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