-Manta- {Begins} (LSU's welcome!)

[Pichu Luver]

Year 2518

The people who inhabit the ‘Verse are a huge and varied group. No one, if they did even a mite’s worth of travel, would see fit to argue that point. The Alliance may think they can call all them billions its own, but the people of the Rim know better. Out there the Alliance finds itself stretched thin and a more… interesting variety of folk can find themselves a home. Not that the Core doesn’t have its delights, but its populace seems a might too preoccupied with its own neon bright democracy to care about much besides themselves. The Border worlds are less engrossed, but they still have pretentions of finery. Thus it would take a miracle to gain the attention of this whole group for any scrap of time.

‘The Vid’ wasn’t that miracle. It was all kinds of horrifying. The people of the ‘Verse had seen horror before though. Nobody would call the last weeks of the Unification War a minor backyard scuffle. So when ‘The Vid’ hit the Cortex it was almost a surprise how far it reached, and how much it affected folk. Then again… with its gruesome final moments, perhaps it hasn’t been so easy to dismiss. It revealed that the Alliance wasn’t some shining beacon of honour and honesty. They had their dark secrets and ideals they seemed willin’ to foist on everyone. No matter the cost.

Those from the edge, or frequently travelled there, knew about Reavers. Mad people bent only on killing, raping and eatin’ on a man’s flesh. It was hard to believe that the Alliance had made those men the way they were, but that kind of mutilation is hard to fake. Few remembered Miranda but that didn’t matter none. The only thing that did was that the Alliance had lied to the whole God-damn ‘Verse, and they had managed to keep their planet wide fuck up quiet. That took power, a scary kind of power.

The mood on the Rim worlds, home too many an old Independent, was grim. Not truly shocked but wondering what the result of this reveal would be. They feared more law, but in some a new hope for freedom stirred. No one was talkin’ war yet; those who had fought were still young enough to be listened to by those newly young and dumb. Change however, that was in the gossip. But whether Parliament is willin’ to bend to the wants of a stirred populace is the true question.

Perhaps they hope the crowd will quiet down and everything will go back to the way it was. Tickity-boo.

Perhaps it won’t though.

~~~~~~~~

Current Location: New Dunsmuir, on Beaumonde of the Kalidasa system.
Destination: Colchester of the White Sun system.


~~~~~~~~

Calgary

“No. Iwillnot hear it Riley. We are going to Colchester. Lou is too important of client nottotake.”

Kale could see Riley was not pleased with his decision. They had just been pulling into port when ‘The Vid’ (as it was now being called) had been broadcast over the Cortex. There had been no way to stop it, and in the typical non-deference to Kiia’s ‘no one in the cockpit when I’m flying’ rule, everyone had been in the cockpit to see it.

Kiia had shown her skill at piloting that day. She hadn’t crashed, a couple others around them had.

“The Core worlds aren’t going to be happy with this. They have quadruple the screens of any Border world and from what I hear, everyone got it. There’ll be riots.”

‘Wehavebeen over this. We aren’t going to a Core-Core world. Colchester’s a moon, a farming moon. We will be fine. Doyouthink the Rim worlds are better?”

She crossed her arms but did not reply. Kale could see she was still displeased though. Kale sighed, and patted her shoulder. “If it is as bad as you fear, wewillnotbethere long anyway. Just loading some ponies and we’ll be onourway.” He smiled in a ‘cheer up’ way but she wasn’t buying it. She crossed her arms and looked away.

‘Iwouldhavethought you would be more worried about this ‘Jim’ character we are meeting, then some riot that mayormaynot be happening a Sun away.”

“’Jim’ I can shoot. I can’t shoot a planet.”

Kale could almost hear the ‘yet’ in her sentence. He raised and shook his hands emphatically. “Nonono. No shooting. Not unless you are really sure he is about the shoot me. Thenitsok.”

She gave an ironic salute but finally smirked. A little.

Smiling he gave a decisive nod, “Good. Seeyouin15.”

Not waiting on her reply he turned and walked out of her shuttle. Whistling to himself he strolled into the dining hall, most of his crew was here, excluding Kiia who was… well he thought she was in the cockpit but he wasn’t sure. Harper was also present, looking much too mischievous for Kale’s liking. Edmonton was on the table, surveying the crew, ‘probably looking much more Captainy then I.’ thought Kale, amused.

With a quick pet for his cat Kale began, “Alright everyone. Riley and I are going off to notshootanyone, but hopefully gain a crew member. If—”

“Why can’t I be the new crew?” piped up Harper.

“Because Iamtheengineer and we need someone with ‘connections’. Do you have connections?”

“Well I’m sure I have Junction IV—”

“ThatisnotwhatImean, and do NOT attach that to anything while Iamnothere.” He tried to give her a stern look, but she just looked amused and not at all ‘obeying’ like. ‘Perhaps I should put her on the crew, just so she will have to listen to me,’ he unrealistically thought.

“ANYway, if anyone wishes to come, we leave in 15 minutes. If not,” he made a grand gesture in the direction of New Dunsmuir spread out behind him, “The city is yours. Trynotto kill too many folk. They’re stirred up recently.” Kale frowned. “Seriously, the Feds aren’tveryhappy right now so keep your heads down.”

Kale turned and went to go down the stairs when Harper called him, “Calgary! Calgary! Wait! Waitaboutlookingforshipparts?”

Kale didn’t stop, just continued down the stairs into the cargo bay. His red vest blew back out behind him a little as he sped down the stairs. Today his colours were gold tunic, scarlet vest with gold embroidery, a bright blue cloth belt and brown pants. It was all about impressions when hiring, and he wanted to make a good one.

As for the reason for his speed…he wasn’t exactly trying to run away from Harper, but she could manage to get him to agree to things he normally wouldn’t. At least when it came to Serendipity; as she knew nearly, but not quite as much as he did about ships.

He told himself that often, it made him feel better about his education.

“Nottoworry, nottoworry Harper. I will go assoonasIgetback. I need to find something, and yes, you have a nose for such things.”

“What is it? Maybe I already have? Is it a Winglet 4000? I thought Ser—”

“Nonono. Later. I promise. You can go searching now, Iwillcall when I am back. Or perhaps you can find where Kiia went? She’s disappeared andIdon’tthink she’ll be venturing out this trip.”

~~~~~~~~

So yes, your chars can come or not to meet Jim, or they can decide to wander New Dunsmuir. Maybe they can look for gadgets, parts, supplies or a drink somewhere, it’s up to you. If you’re coming, my next post will have us leaving, so don’t actually leave the ship just yet. Interact, get ready, whatever suits your fancy.

If you're NOT coming, you can leave when you wish.

[Blue62]

Shane paced quickly by the hatch, wringing his hands around a hastily scribbled list. It was a black day, though his boots- being the only footwear he owned- were brown. As he walked he barely awknowledged the others gathering around him, muttering the contents of the list repeatedly to himself, occasionally fingering the coins in his pocket.
"Captain, I must protest this delay, it's of utmost importance I aquire the parts I need so as to acheive maximum safety for Serendipities firewalls. I'll have you know that any half bred, sex obsessed *mechanic* could hack into our systems and gas us in our sleep without breaking a sweat, and I, sir, do not take that kind of threat lightly!"

(so don't all talk at once....)

[Samchu]

Sign Up
Name: Kiia
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Status: Crew – Pilot


Description: Kiia is 5’6 but she tends to look smaller because she’s so scrawny. There’s a little muscle in her upper arms but not a lot. She has green eyes and brown hair that she keeps cut in line with the bottom of her earlobe. She likes her clothes loose which is ideal because her physique makes it hard to find clothes that fit properly. Commonly found in baggy khakis and a wife beater that is always black or grey, she’s sometimes assumed to be the ship’s mechanic.



Personality: Kiia’s takes a casual and laid back approach to life which makes it easy for her to get on with the crew. Though she doesn’t consider them her family and possibly not even completely friends, she is very fond of them. Kale is the only one who knows the depth of her history and everyone else knows enough to be content, and Kiia has no interest in sharing any more than she already has. To this extent, she still hasn’t managed to open up to any of them emotionally and is still fairly withdrawn. She has a fondness for female companions and will generally spend the greater part of her shore leave in the company of one. As she says: “Relations are complication, sex is easy, and women don’t judge you if you’re paying.” Beaumonde is the exception to her rule. She has no love for the planet and refuses to leave the ship whenever they’re docked there. Despite having her own quarters she spends most of the time in the hull and has a bunk ready to be set up. She also has a terrible habit of eating in their instead of the dining area and the crew is trying to get her out of it. Flying requires her to focus and as such she instated a “no one enters the hull when I’m flying” rule. A rule completely ignored by the crew, much to her irritation. She is also known to be impulsive and a quick-thinker.



History: Kiia was abandoned at the spaceport on Beaumonde, for reasons she doesn’t know, and likes to pretend she never wants to. She moved through various foster homes and orphanages until she was 9 and decided she’d had enough of that life and ran away. She tried to escape the planet by sneaking onto whatever transport looked the easiest but was always caught and handed over the authorities. Stuck on the planet, she did her best to survive but the high security of many of the buildings made it almost impossible to survive in the streets and she ended up with the other runaways in one of the planet’s many scrap yards. One day, she came across the hull of a prototype for a small commercial transport. She made it her home and over time grew curious about the various buttons and switches in her house. She made regular trips to the spaceport to try and learn by watching other pilots but their ships were too different and she always came away at the day’s end feeling disappointed and more confused than when it had begun.
A year later, she heard about Life Line, a company offering to train pilots for a cost. With no money of her own, Kiia began stealing. With all the commercial traffic it was fairly easy to pinch the odd wallet. But her earnings were slim and when she was approached with the opportunity of joining a gang and receiving better pay-outs, she took it. They called themselves the Beaumonde Bruisers because the founding members made their money through street brawls. Those members were gone and the gang was now involved in less violent ways of getting money but kept the name because “reputations are worth more than gold”. They taught Kiia how to hotwire personal transports and she quickly learned how to handle them. She gained a reputation of her own for escaping chase scenarios by using unconventional means. This developed into racing.
When she was 13 she was challenged by some middle class snob who bet his admission to flight school that he could beat her. Kiia accepted and won but was arrested at the spaceport. With her long list of convictions, she was given a 5 year sentence and imprisoned in juvie.
Another year passed and Kiia met Docla, a scout from a flight school in Salisbury. He went to the prison looking for recruits as part of some “better direction” programme. Almost everyone shunned him, refusing to take the charity offered. But for Kiia it was a dream come true and she was released into the school’s custody. During her four years of training Kiia struggled to make friends. Her background meant she was shunned by many and their feelings weren’t helped by her difficulties in moving out of the survival mode she’d been in for 5 years. She got into a lot of trouble, mostly fights. She didn’t look for it but it found her. Flying was her escape. At first it had been a goal, a need to understand every aspect of the first place she had ever called home; but she loved flying and she had a talent for it, bolstered by her time with the Beaumonde Bruisers. She spent those four years dreaming of endless skies and a lifetime at the helm of her own vehicle.
Graduation came and reality hit Kiia hard. She was one of the best in her class but no one wanted a pilot with her background. She scraped a few jobs with various crews of less than reputable positions but they were always short runs, little more than a few weeks at a time. The last one was a bank heist. The crew tried to stiff her on her share of the payment, claiming that she deserved less because she’d stayed with the ship and piloting was so much easier than robbing a bank. Insulted, Kiia set the ship to a trajectory that would see it crash into on the surface of Boros but at an angle that would ensure the ship wasn’t destroyed, only damaged enough to require repairs before being able to take flight. She took the ship’s only shuttle with the intention of leaving her now former crew but it malfunctioned, trapping her inside and remaining attached to the ship. The malfunction also sent an electrical surge through the ship, destroying much of the circuitry and altering the ship’s trajectory and putting it dangerously close to another ship – the Serendipity.
The underside of Kiia’s ship caught the topside of Serendipity’s right fin and tore it open. Kiia’s shuttle was dislodged in the collision and bounced after the ship until both ground to a halt a little over a mile from the Serendipity. Bruised and bleeding, Kiia forced her way out of the now broken shuttle. She was immediately pounced on by her old crew who saw fit to try and beat the life out of her. She was saved by Kale and his crew and treated by the ship’s medic. The captain checked on her regularly and they talked. She told him her story and he explained that they had gone to Boros to stock up on spare parts and were looking for a pilot. She offered up the little money she had to cover the cost of the damage and asked if she could work off the rest of her debt by piloting the Serendipity. Kale agreed.
She has been a member of the crew for a little over a year and has never crashed. She will occasionally find trouble if she ventures out of the ship’s hull, like the time she put a hole in the walls just by touching one of Riley’s guns, effectively ensuring she would never be allowed to hold a firearm of any description. But these incidents are rare and usually more amusing than dangerous.



Skills: Excellent pilot. Knows very basic engineering as it’s kinda a requirement for her craft and has detailed knowledge on the electrical interior of the equipment in the hull. Can hotwire just about any vehicle.



Relationships: Knows everyone on the ship and calls them by their first name. The exception to this is Riley who she calls “Shep” in retaliation for the fact that Shep seems to go out of her way to break Kiia’s no entry rule.



Other: Nada.


Kiia
~~~~

It was one of those rare moments were I found myself in my room, glaring at the ceiling. It wasn't the vid that unsettled me, it was this opice-zasrany hovno of a planet. Why here? Out of every floating rock in the verse why did Kale insist on docking here. "It's like the little debile's doing it on purpose."

I rolled the fabric calming ball around in my palm then threw it at the furthest wall. I hated this room. Hated the damn walls. Hated not being able to see the sky, my sky. It made me want to go back to the cockpit but I wouldn't go, I wouldn't look upon that opuchnuty curak of a planet until it was time to leave. "This planet can rot for all I care." I stood up and paced. "This room is too small, too confined. How can anyone live like this? Gotta do something. Feel like an animal. Gotta do something."

Everything suddenly felt too restricting. My clothes hung tight on my body, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Just take 'em off. Not like anyone can see ya anyway. Change of clothes might make ya feel better.

"KIIIIIIIIIIIIA!"

As the door to my room slammed open I turned to glare at the monkey-owning pain-in-the-ass that had decided to waltz into my living quarters without permission. First my cockpit now my room. These people won't give me any peace! "Out!"

"Wanna go exploring with me?" she asked my chest more than my face.

My left arm moved to cover my exposed upper half whilst the other began pushing Harper out of the door. "No, I don't want to go exploring. Now get the fuck out of my room."

"Wo bu mingbai."

"I said no!" I pushed her out the door and slammed it shut. "Zostan z mojho izby!" The Beaumonde gutter-speak slipped out before I could stop it. I was okay with using it to cuss here and there, came in handy around them you didn't want hearing what was being said, but not in the proper form, not like this. Especially not on the planet itself.

"Shemian?"

"Go away, I'm getting changed."

"Wo bu hui shuo yingyu."

"Dammit Harper, you know what I'm saying! Vypadni!"

"Fakuan, fakuan."

I listed to the sound of her footsteps disappear before deeming it safe to continue dressing. "Face it, Kiia," I muttered as I pulled a change of clothes from the open case on the floor, "they're never gonna learn to fucking knock."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
Because I am a strange individual, the gutter-speak Kiia refers to is a language made up for use in Beaumonde's underground criminal groups as a way of by-passing the high level of security on the planet. I'm using a very rough translation of English-Slovak and will basically just use it in place of random insults. Kiia will only use it when she's very angry and will cuss in English on any other occassion. I probably won't bother putting the English translations at the bottom of my posts because it isn't necessary, however for this post I have included below the back and forth between Kiia and Harper. For anyone who actually knows Chinese, I apologise, I was using the simple form of Chinese on google's translator.

Harper: "I don't understand."
Kiia: "Stay the fuck out of my room!"
Harper: "Pardon?"
Harper: "I don't speak English."
Kiia: "Scram!"
Harper: "Fine, fine."