Freelancers:Tight Quarters (see OOC to join/info)

[Tseranc]

She hated him for it, he knew. That made him die a little more inside too. Looking up, trying to focus on her as best he could through a drunken haze and tear filled eyes. “I tried to save her...I saw them take her.”

He had to stop, breath, and swallow the fist sized lump in his throat. “Men we'd dealt with earlier...they took her, and I only barely saw as she was pulled into the building.”

He drained the last of the bottle, that through some miracle he had not broken or spilled during his puke session. He stared at it, blaming it for being empty, and not delivering him from the pain. “I tried to get in...I looked, but only that door, so I fired three shots at the hinges.” His eyes closed, and his whole body swayed while he sat on the bench – the memory of the violent explosion etched forever in his mind.

“And the building exploded....blaster musta hit fuel cell...” He returned to being angry at the empty bottle, and then threw it as hard as he could; which in his present state was not far at all, and he looked foolish doing so. “I tried....poor Aislinn...Ace. I tried to save her and I killed her!”

He slipped to the ground again, and clung onto the woman he thought was Jaynnah's legs. “I killed our Ace. Jaynnah baby, please let's go....”

 

[Erotic_Beauty]

She watched the stranger crumble and cry in his grief. She listened to his words and closed her eyes, thanking the stars that her sister wasn't the victim after all. She felt compassion for the woman Ace, but joy that her sister wasn't dead.

Sure she didn't have much love left for her twin, but she was her blood relative so that had to mean something. Amber watched the man bawling his eyes out and clinging to her legs. She wasn't sure what to do with him, it was obvious that he was sorry for what had happened, and it had been an accident.

Amber bent down and disentangled herself from the man's iron grip. "Look," she said, "I'm really sorry this happened, but I'm not who you think I am."

She picked up his chin and saw he was sobering somewhat, but was still not right in the head. Another sigh left her lips as she thought about what to do for the stranger. He obviously knew her sister, which made him a friend, his concern for this Ace spoke volumes too. Was Jaynnah on the rock? and if so where was she?

"I don't need this," she muttered.

Her first instinct was to leave the man there, walk away and disappear. The last thing she wanted to do was run into her sister. "Get back on the bench. I'll get you back to the ship... surely you've got one somewhere, Jay never hooked up with someone that couldn't provide something for her."

She aided the stranger back onto the bench and called back the security team of the planet and canceled her request for their aide. She then called her hotel and ordered a craft be brought to her location. They replied back that one was just a few seconds away and would be there shortly.

"I'm going to take you to the docks and you're on your own after that," she told the weeping pile of smelly muscle.

She sat with him, pushing him off of her whenever he leaned against her and cried. "Jesus, Jay, you picked a real winner this time."

The shuttle craft arrived and she helped the pilot assist the stranger into the back. "I'm not sitting with him," she told the pilot and claimed the seat in the front with him. She told him where to take them and soon they were sliding easily through the air and back to port.

Once there she helped the man out and paid the fee. "Wait here. I'll be back after I find out where to deposit ... this," she told the pilot, indicating that "this" was the still barely consolable man.

"Okay buddy, where'd you park your horse?"

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

“Where the fuck is he?” Jaynnah muttered under her breath as she walked around the burning pile of wreckage. Workers were still dealing with hot spots and rescuers were still pulling out bodies or tending to the injured. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but she knew the mess she came across had to have been caused by Desum, it reeked of his destruction. He never did anything small when it came to Ace or her safety. She eventually made her way toward a bar and eyed the small crowd of people that had gathered outside its doors. Her gaze traveled to a couple who’d just emerged and she cursed low. “Aww fuckin’ hell.”

She stared at her sister and closed her eyes. Reopened them and saw that she wasn’t hallucinating. Her sister was holding her lover and partner. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” she muttered under her breath. She started to approach, then stopped when Desum started to empty his cookies. She paled and wondered what had driven him to drink so much. She didn’t want to know the answer, because it was apparent that Ace was not beside him. This didn’t bode well for either of them.

She waited to approach, wanting to time it just right, get Desum away from Amber and take them both back to their ship. She watched her sister take care of her friend and a part of her wanted to thank her for the kindness, another part, a more deeper, rooted jealous part wanted to walk over, wring the woman’s neck and order her to keep her hands and her body to herself. Funny how seeing her twin brought a mixed reaction to her, but then again it was normal for her to hate and love the woman at the same time.

Amber sat Desum back on the bench and Jaynnah took that opportunity to begin closing the distance between them once more. She couldn’t hear what her sister was saying and she was not yet close enough to draw the couples attention. Soon a ship descended in front of her goal and she cursed again. She ran over to the door and heard Amber give the pilot directions to the docks.

Jaynnah doubled back as fast as she could on foot, hoping to get to her and Desum’s ship before her sister found it. She wanted to be there to take her lover in her arms and kick her sister out with her feet. “I don’t need this,” she muttered as she sprinted back as fast as her feet could carry her.

 

[deathlynx]

Arch liked the excitement he saw in Lili. After all, as he’d argued many times with Desum, criminals often jumped at the opportunity to join a crew of bounty hunters. It was easier work than they had been performing and paid more steadily. The downside, as his bro always reminded him, was that you couldn’t trust their integrity. Arch always had to admit it was a possibility he was being had, but so far only once had a crew mate turned on them. It had been a shame, but the rest had dealt with it easily enough. Space was not a very pleasant place to be asked to leave the ship.

“If you can pilot that’ll be good. I’m a fair pilot myself, but it’s hard to cook, or do anything else, while steering the ship. There’s always room for another pilot. Especially those times we send out the shuttle and the ship in different directions.”

For the first time since they began the discussion, he let his eyes wander down her body. However he forced them back as he remembered something else to discuss with her. “The lawyer actually will probably work on your charges whether you will it or not. She’s like that. And you’ll never actually have to meet her. Hell, I’ve met her all of once and she’s been my lawyer for a decade or more.” Arch couldn’t help but laugh at the sad truth.

With so many of the details now ironed out, the lesser features of their surroundings began to intrude on Arch’s consciousness. Normally, a scene such as the one that played out nearby, wouldn’t concern him, but for some reason that Arch couldn’t understand the upset man and woman who consoled him kept drawing his attention.

“One moment Lili, I don’t know why, but I want to see what’s going on over there.” For the first time he truly turned his back on Lili, and although his hand went instinctively to the butt of his gun, it was more a reflex than any indictment of his trust of her or the situation not far away. He began to move towards the scene when the shuttle landed. By the time he reached it, the man had been loaded into the shuttle and the woman spoke to the pilot. Likely it was some spacer who’d had too much to drink and did not know how to handle it.

 

[PaintaPicture]

She was glad she was allowed to pilot on occasion because when it came to random 'chores' she was terrible. She wasnt a bad mechanic and was known to turn a wrench when engines and the such started to give up but she wasnt a professional. When he mentioned the lawyer again she gave an 'oh hell no' look. She didnt want anyone to bring her case up, the more people that thought she had disspeared the better, the more that remembered she was alive the more she had trouble sleeping at night.

Lili had noticed the small 'scene' going on next to them but didnt say anything. It must have finally gotten to Arch as he excused himself to walk over and see what it was. She watched his hand go to his gun and just chuckled to herself knowing this guy didnt trust her very much. She didnt blame him because she felt the same about him.

After a moment she walked up next to him.
"So whats going on?"

She adjusted her jacket and felt her gun on her side and knives all in place. Everything was where it was supposed to be, and she felt a bit better knowing that. Arch made her slightly uneasy but she'd never let him know that. His facial expression didnt show much as she looked at him trying to get an idea of what he thought of the situation. She could care less but tryed to look slightly curious.

 

[deathlynx]

Arch shrugged as Lili walked up beside him. Them moment he saw that there was little threat from the scene his hand strayed from his gun and his trench-coat fell back over to cover it. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t trust anyone, but his life had certainly taught him caution.

“At a guess, I’d say some spacer couldn’t hold his liquor and caused a scene. Doesn’t affect us any really.” Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw someone vaguely familiar. For that matter, the woman who loaded the man into the shuttle seemed familiar, though in that case he was fairly sure that he’d never met her before. Something in her mannerisms made that clear. Even still, it drove him forward to the woman.

“Excuse me ma’am. Is everything okay here?” There was a certain roguish quality to Arch as he asked Amber. Even still, he knew how to veritably exude trust.

 

[Tseranc]

It was hard to focus, and after having added that last swig, hit head was spinning; his body torn between trying to get smashed and trying to sober up. He let himself be put in a car, though Jaynnah was odd and sat up front...something was off about her, not acting right at all. She wasn't even upset about Aislinn!

And then asking him where the ship was?! “Um, Space Dock 7...bay 18 , I think.” It couldn't be Jaynnah, despite what his eyes told him. She didn't even talk like her, though with the same voice...it was all so confusing. Confusing and drunk might be easy to do, but he hated being confused about anything; even in his present state.

He looked out the window, and had to fight once more to keep from getting sick. They were headed to the right place, he remembered the larger ships out on the landing pads that he walked by to get to and from his craft. Soon he'd be able to see his ship, and if there was any merciful gods left in the stars, his other surviving love, the real Jaynnah. Even if she hated him for what he'd done, he needed to know she was OK.

“Just set her down here, I need out...” He really did want to throw up, and outside a moving craft would be better for everyone.

As the craft came down, in the middle of the larger landing pads, he opened the door and threw up again, just leaning out of the vehicle. Desum wiped his mouth on his arm, as to hope to gain some of his dignity back before he spoke. “And hun, if you arn't Jaynnah, who the hell are ya?!” He wanted to add threats that Jaynnah had better be safe, as he thought two identical women on the same planet to be highly suspect, but he didn't have the energy. In fact he was pretty sure he still needed help walking to his ship.

 

[Erotic_Beauty]

Amber sighed and led the drunk along the walkway toward the specified dock. She stopped short when he spoke her sister’s name. The ride in the shuttle, another bout of vomiting and the fresh air that was somewhat stale in the air, had obviously aided in sobering the stranger up some. She frowned and took a deep breath.

“I’m not Jaynnah and the fact you know her just makes me want to get off this rock even faster. She’s my sister, my twin.”

She pulled his arm and dragged him behind her.

“Now let’s find your ship and get you back there, before she finds me and I am forced to be civil with her.”

Amber glanced around and spotted the ship that the stranger had deemed his by quoting the dock and bay.

“There ya go,” she told him. She helped him to the walkway and leaned him against the side of the ship.

“You’re good right?” she asked, glancing around and praying the man could go the final feet into the ship and she could disappear before she was spotted by the black sheep of the family.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

She was out of breath by the time she reached the edge of the space port. Her sides ached and her lungs burned as she dragged in great gulps of air. She took another deep breath and sprinted toward her and Desum’s ship. She still wasn’t sure where Ace was, but the thought of her partner in the arms of her sister was enough to push thoughts of Ace away ... for now. She hurried over to their ship and stopped a few feet away. “Fuck,” she muttered and watched as her sister propped Desum up and faced him. She saw her glancing around and smirked. “Hoping to not run into me? Are ya?” Jaynnah muttered to herself.

“Well, the feelings mutual,” she hissed, and glared at the mirror image of herself. “Still wearing designer clothes and looking like a million bucks.”

Desum looked bad, sick and very much confused. With a shake to her head, she opted to take pity on her partner and get him safely away from her twin. She pressed a palm to her stomach, counted to ten and then headed toward the couple.

“I’m here now, you’re not needed.”

Jaynnah waited for her sister to turn and face her. When she did, she made her way to Desum’s side and protectively stood beside him. “You’ve been dismissed,” she hissed back. “Any luck on finding Ace?” she asked her partner, her eyes however never rested on his, but remained locked with her twin’s matching orbs.

 

[PaintaPicture]

As Arch attempted to figure out what was going on besides the drunk spacer she looked around at the situation and overheard a few people talking about an explosion of some kind. She wasnt 100% sure of it until she heard more than just the 2 people talking about it.

"Hey Arch...i think there was some kind of accident explosion or something."

She shrugged and looked around as people gossiped and she saw a news truck fly by them towards a specific area. She gave Arch a curious look and wondered if it had anything to do with the drunk guy, it probably didnt but she thought ya never know, on this planet in this area, just about anything was possible.

She stood there and just waited for something. Waiting for Arch's next 'orders' to see what he wanted to do, since she was clueless at this point. Her life had just changed completely and she was about to be a new Lili, well not completely new but maybe a bit different. Everything was just happening so fast and she didnt know what to do next.

 

[Tseranc]

Desum's head spun, he didn't even know Jaynnah had a sister, much less a twin! But as she began questioning him if he would be ok alone, as she didn't want to speak to said sister...it was too late. He'd seen Jaynnah running, then stopped, saw them and walked over.

He was again shocked by how fierce Jaynnah spoke with her twin, and then reminded him why he much preferred being drunk right now.

He reached up, and pulled Jaynnah, the real one, down to him by her hand, and hugged her, “I'm so sorry baby..” He didn't know if he could confess this again, and more sober to boot. The lump in his throat hurt, and felt like it might tear his neck open should eh try to swallow it. “I...she.....They took her.” He got out part and struggled to continue, “She's dead. I tried to enter the building, and it blew up.” He just let the tears fall, not sobbing this time. “I'm so sorry baby, I tried to save her...but i think I killed her, and a lot of other people.”

He expected Jaynnah to hate him, almost as much as he hated himself. The girl was on board mainly because of Jaynnah, having a not so secret crush on her, that made the pilot easy to recruit and seduce.

“I tried....,” he couldn't defend himself any longer, and just hung his head, trying to absorb the night.

 

[deathlynx]

Arch looks over at Lili. He just missed the people as their shuttle lifted and would have liked to have found out from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, but that wasn’t in the cards. Perhaps another time. “Well, explosions don’t mean much to us, provided they weren’t at the port. But we’ll keep an eye on the local contracts in case one appears in response to the incident.”

“That reminds me, however. We should probably head over to the port and check on the status of my ship. Well, it’s actually more of a large fighter or small shuttle but it gets me from place to place when my crew has the real ship. Cummon, I’ll show you so you can familiarize yourself with the little thing.”

Arch brought Lili to their berth at the port and opened up the small ship. He slid behind the main pilot’s console and his hands began to dance with practiced ease. “In a moment you’ll be able to set your own passwords for command codes and the like. Please understand that some of the main systems, like startup procedures, will be deactivated for the time being. While I trust you do truly wish to join the crew, I can’t afford to be too trusting.”

Arch looked a little sheepish at the admission. He honestly preferred to believe the best in people, but he knew it was unrealistic. Even more, he wanted to trusts his instincts, and those said that Lili would be a perfect addition to his crew. And trustworthy to boot. But he had never been one to act on instinct alone. A little logic and precaution were needed in the real world.

“I have to go check on some supplies. In addition it seems the techs have managed to shake loose one of the thruster brackets. Is there any way you could remind them that damage that they do when refueling is their responsibility?” Arch laughed slightly. Too many ship-owners forgot to do an in depth workup on their ships when they only requested a refuel. As a standard practice, Arch left his computer on and set to run a diagnosis both before and after a refuel. He didn’t want to make it to some asteroid and discover his engines shooting off in some random direction without him.

 

[PaintaPicture]

When he recomended that he show her his ship it made sense. She'd want to get a feel for the thing, and atleast figure out the controls. Each ship was basically the same but she wanted to make sure she was used to it all.

As they got there and he showed her everything she smiled. She liked the thing, it was a good size and rather comfortable, and nothing overly glorious. As he showed her everything and basically flat out told her he didnt trust her with his ship she laughed slightly.

As for the passwords she'd establish that in a bit after she gave herself a nice tour of the whole thing. Lili also knew she could possibly hack into his computer and and the such but decided not to screw up a potentially good thing. And this shocked her; her not wanting to do something criminal.

She then turned to Arch who was already ready to leave her with the ship to get new things and he had a little 'assignment' for her. She agreed and laughed cracking her knuckles. She wasnt going to beat them, unless need be but, if ya break it ya fix it. She watched him leave and head back towards the parts store and she sat infront of the controls looking at everything getting a feel for it and then went to find the techs that messed with the ship.

She found the two techs and every so loveingly reminded them that if someone's thruster brackets get messed with to fix them. After they sustained a few bruises the thruster brackets were fixed once again. Once they left and she inspected their work she headed back in checking on things. She looked at the engine to make things were alright and tinkered around with a few things for the better. She then looked around at everything and made her way back to the pilot's chair to do things and then she slowly fell asleep deciding to take a little nap. The first time in a long time she could sleep and not have to worry about some guy trying to mug her or something. Her hand was still on her blade but she slept soundly.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Jaynnah’s attentions went from her sister to her lover and friend. His words staggered her and she fell slightly into him. His drunkard state didn’t bode well for them and he started to sway. She steadied herself, but had no real words to offer. Ace was dead? She couldn’t believe it. She looked at Amber and tried to grasp what involvement her sister had in the matter. The questions though wouldn’t move past the pain in her chest. She stared at Desum and shook away Amber, incase she wanted to offer her shoulder.

“Let’s get inside,” Jaynnah said and walked with Desum into their craft. Once inside she took them off to their bedroom, a room shared by all three. She stood in the door way, Desum tucked up against her. She wasn’t sure what to say still, how to react, what to do or how to be.

Her hands dropped from Desum’s side and she made her way to Ace’s belongings. Her fingers brushed over the console where Ace sat and read. Jaynnah sat down at her now lost lover’s seat and buried her face in her hands. She cried hard, wanting to wake up from the nightmare Desum admitted was his making.

 

[Tseranc]

Seeing Jaynnah cry broke his heart all over again. He'd never seen her cry before, and though perhaps she wasn't capable. Not that many sad events happened on board, but he could remember Aislinn crying on his shoulder, and Jaynnah's when she'd heard about her brother's death, last year. He wondered if there was any family to notify. Talking about one's emotional past was not a favorite pastime.

Desum didn't know how to console his lover, or himself. The woman outside was a family member he'd never known about, and silent hoped she;d return and help them sort out what to do. He stumbled over to a small cabinet, and took out two pills, that much to his displeasure, would sober him up within minutes. He deserved the pain that would follow, but he also needed to be clear when describing what happened.

They worked, and his head felt like someone used it for target practice. He pushed past that, as best he could and knelt behind Jaynnah, letting his hands gently touched the tops of her shoulders. He couldn't blame her if she chose to hate him. “Earlier, when we were buying parts, we got into a fight with some folks that tried to rip us off. I'm pretty sure it was the same guys the grabbed her. They must of tranqu'ed her; I didn't see her struggling.”

He just could not seem to force what obviously came next out of his mouth. “I panicked, but I tried everything else first. I thought they might hurt her. They had to have filled the room with fuel cells, and put one right against the door for it to blow like that. Fuckin' idiots. Who in the stars blocks a door with a fuel cell?!”

He wanted to hold her, but just couldn't. He didn't deserve to hold the longest lover he;d ever had, after killing their friend.

 

[Erotic_Beauty]

Amber sighed and felt a part of her heart melt as she watched her sister comforting the slowly sobering man. She had a heart it seemed, something Amber hadn’t witnessed in years.

The couple made their way into the ship and she knew deep in her gut neither was prepared to take care of themselves after such a shocking and staggering loss. The man obviously felt it was his fault and her sister obviously cared for this Ace character.

She pulled out her com unit and told the driver of the shuttle to deduct her bill from her card, which she rattled off the number for him. Immediately she watched the transaction take place on her hand held unit and then called the hotel where she was staying and canceled her room for the night, ordered her belongings packed up and brought to the bay where her sister and the man’s ship was.

She walked in and listened to the echoing of crying folk. Once she reached the room, she stared again at the two people and listened to the man tell his story. No wonder he felt responsible for the other person’s death, but in reality he wasn’t. They took the girl and put the fuel cell there on purpose, but why?

Stepping into the room, Amber rolled her shoulders.

“Look neither one of you are in any shape to lift off. So. . .as much as I don’t want to be here, I’m here. You two go shower and get some rest. I’ll hang out here till you don’t need me anymore.”

Amber then turned and left, alllowing the couple more time to console each other.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

She sniffled and wiped at her runny nose and puffy eyes. “It’s not your fault,” she croaked out and turned in her seat to face her lover, partner, and friend. She wrapped her arms around him and slipped down to the floor to be with him. There she sat, holding him close and crying into his chest, soaking his shirt, that smelled vile, but the scent was lost on her.

Her sister came in and said something, but it too was unnoticed. She merely lifted her hand and waved her away. She’d deal with Amber later, if she were still there, right now Desum needed her and she needed him.

“If they purposely put a fuel cell there, then maybe there was a reason. Why go to the trouble of kidnaping her, then killing themselves?” Jaynnah asked herself, more than her partner. Her question was quiet and she wasn’t even sure if Desum had heard her. She pressed herself into him and tried to calm the hiccups that had started to erupt from her grieving self.

“Come on love, let’s get showered up and then we’ll get some sleep. We need to figure out what happened, but we both need clear heads.”

She rose from the floor and helped her lover to rise as well, then she led them to their shower unit and slipped out of her clothes. She helped remove his, and eventually they were pressed together letting the sonic waves wash away the stench of the day and ease some of the pain of their loss.

 

[Tseranc]

The shower helped everything but his head, which he was pretty sure might explode at any moment. He held onto Jaynnah in the small stall, needing her safe, and her support like he;d never know before. He'd lost friends in this life, and lovers. He'd never lost both on same day and he'd never lost a crew mate. The combination of the three hurt more then he could have guessed.

But Jaynnah had been right, They needed to think through things. Why put such a dangerous object against the door? None of it made sense, but then, death seldom did, even in his line of work. One think had definitely cleared up in his mind; revenge. “After this job, we're coming back. Anyone who even fucking knew those thugs that took her is getting a visit. For once we'll bring justice, for justice's sake alone.”

He turned the shower off, and grabbed Jaynnah by the sides of her head, giving her a hard kiss, “ You're not allowed to die. One is too many, far too many.” He then walked out, naked as the day he was born, and into the cockpit. Another thing was clear, they would soon be looking for anyone that might have had something to do with that large explosion. They had to leave.

He input warmed the engines, and then gently picked her up off the ground. He was gentle with the ship, and his passengers (one of which he didn't know about), as he climbed higher through he atmosphere. Finally the turbulence ended, as they broke through the air and into space. He;d had to answer a few questions from the dock master, and flight control as to the nature of his unscheduled flight; but they were paid in full at the docks and there was nothing illegal about leaving early. The girl from flight control even seemed embarrassed at talking to a naked man over the video com.

Once free, he put in some coordinates that brought them toward the area of their next job. It would take the better part of a week to get their, though Ace could have probably cut a day or two off that. But he was in no hurry, for that very reason.

Desum returned to the single bedroom, never noticing Jaynnah's twin, who must have been checking out the cargo hold or engine room, as he passed through the kitchen. He fell onto the bed, and was asleep instantly; his body and mind both too tired to fight it off for even a second.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Jaynnah normally would have attacked Desum after a kiss like the one he’d given her, but this kiss was one of desperation and need, not passion and lust. The words he’d proclaimed and the depth of his emotions told her there was a part of him that loved her. She had always known this, but had never really said the words. All three of them, Ace, Desum and herself had been together for so long... love was a given, as was respect.

She watched him leave the shower and followed behind him, but stopped when he reached the bridge. She wasn’t aware he was about to take off and leave the planet and so she abandoned him to his musings, knowing that working on the bridge often helped him to sort things out. She assumed that was what he was going to do. Look over things and thing about what and where to go next, as well as why anyone would wish to kill themselves over Ace and parts?

It didn’t make sense. She shook her head and headed toward the cargo hold to see what parts her partners had picked up. Once there she looked around and felt the loss of Ace sweep over her unexpectedly. She pushed it away and focused instead on how to better secure everything before taking off. . . whenever that would be.

 

[landiek]

The drug was slowly wearing off as her head was still aching as the images of the room slowly tided from left to down. There were loud beeping noises droning in the background, like a medic Unit.

Aislinn tried to lift her hand to rub her throbbing temples but her hands were heavy like lead. She even noticed the pain in her arms when she tried to move them. It was that moment that Aislinn was aware that she was tied up.

"You bastards better have a good reason for this!" Aislinn spat as a face moved closer.

Movement to the left let her know that it was more then one person. "Yeah she's the one that threatened us.. all talk and mighty... I think Bujunee would like this one."

Aislinn quickly figured out the men were space slavers. Since she knew a great deal about repairing ships then she was a prime subject for some other Overlordish tyrant that wanted free labour.

Then a voice with a snake like hiss echoed in her ears "Will anyonessss triessss to findssss her?"

"Nope, we set the booby trap.. blew the stunt house off the block.. probably took out some of the competition while we were at it ." The mousy squeaky voice banged like a drum on Aislinn's forehead.

Then darkness, total darkness as she drifted into a sleep. A hyperdriven sleep.. one that was not controlled and one that sleeping wouldn't wake from until given an antidote. Aislinn was on her way to a new "owner"

 

[deathlynx]

Arch had rounded up all of the supplies in fairly good order. It was a simple task for the little ship as he needed very little fuel or reactor mass, only basic food and drink supplies and hadn’t expended any ammunition for the pulsers since he left the ship. All that he had purchased should be delivered within an hour to the Anole.

As he left the last of the supply depots, the familiar rumble of a ship on takeoff surrounded him. He glanced up instinctively. He had always felt an affinity with space and an even deeper one for the ships that crossed the gulf of its vast ocean. They were a symbol of the majesty of ingenuity.

Much to his surprise, he recognized the ship! It had been a while, possibly a year or more, but he would always recognize it with envy. No matter how hard he tried, somehow, the Libertine Bounty, remained a symbol of more than majesty, it was a symbol of his brother’s success and skill. A symbol that Arch had yet to conquer, despite the ownership of his own ship and number of his own crew, Desum was still the better man.

Arch quickly checked his mini-computer and tagged the ship identification. Bounty hunters, like the crooks they chased, like the crooks some authorities viewed them as no better than, often flew their ships under ‘false colors’ ~whatever that had originally meant. It was useful to know another of his brother’s transponder codes. When he got back to the ship he would add the name to his database so that he could keep an eye on his big-bro’s whereabouts. If he hadn’t still had a mark on the planet, he would likely have gone after him.

As he stepped back into the ship’s berth, he smirked at the mild bruises on the maintenance people who scurried quickly out of his way. There were the same number, so obviously his new crewmate hadn’t killed any, but they certainly looked a little more attentive.

 

[Erotic_Beauty]

Tenderly Amber rubbed the knot on the back of her head. She looked around with a confused expression on her face and then sighed.

“Oh yeah,” she muttered and rose to her feet.

“What the fuck did I hit my head on?” she asked herself as she looked around, then spotted a rusty and worn down pipe that was hanging loose from its bolts.

It was the realization that she’d stumbled and hurt herself that made her stop and think about what had caused her to loose her balance on board a perfectly stable ship that was set on a perfectly stable planet.

“No fucking way,” she gasped as she made her way past secured cargo. She ran right into herself and glared at her sister.

“What have you and that drunk of a captain done!?” she screamed and pushed past Jaynnah.

She’d spent a few minutes exploring the craft while leaving her sister and the less than sober partner alone and learned quickly where the bridge was as well as the galley, cargo hold and engine room. She’d even made a quick stop in the main quarters and wondered where her sister and the woman Ace slept since she’d only found one bedroom and one bed.

Now though all those thoughts were gone as she dashed to the bridge and watched the stars whisking by in all their less than glamorous glory.

Amber wasn’t sure if she were going to faint or throw up later, but right now she simply opened her mouth and screamed to high heaven as she ran back through the ship and found the quarters where she could only assume her sister, the dead girl and the drunkard space cowboy slept. She launched into every word she deemed unworthy to fall from her lips and bellowed making sure no man or woman slept or even thought of sleeping while she was on board.

“YOU fucking ass, turn this ship around and take me home! KIDNAPPING and Murder. . . boy sis you’ve come a long way! Come on you piece of shit! Get off you ass and take me home! NOW!”

Her eyes were gleaming with hate, her face red from anger and her lips pulled back in a vicious snarl.

“NOW!” she screamed again and slapped at the half-raised up and awake man.

 

[Tseranc]

He heard screaming, and it wasn't the voices in his head this time. It wasn't Ace's ghost accusing him, as it had been in his dream. He looked up at the door, and could not figure out why Jaynnah was shouting to be taken home, and accusing him of kidnapping.

“What in the stars are you talking about woman?!” he turned on the light, and noticed again that Jaynnah looked...odd. Then it hit him. “Oh shit.”

He scrambled from bed, and made his way over to her, trying to calm the crazy woman. “I didn't know you were aboard! I'm sorry. Just CALM DOWN,” he shouted back at her. His head hurt, and her screaming didn't do him any favors, but he was sober, and thinking through all that had happened. He instantly wanted a drink, but knew that was no way to begin this already fucked up day. He pushed past her, through the kitchen and into the cockpit. After a moment of looking over the data, he shook his head. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

“I assume you pilot your own craft, so come look at this. I'd be happy to take you back, and sorry you got caught up in this. I can't thank you enough for just getting me home, really, you're every atom as much an angel at heart as your sister. Anyway, I can't really go back for two reasons. One, it seems that the owner of this craft is wanted for questioning. I'd really rather not face those questions until I have a little collateral with the government. Our current job will bring that. Second, if I were a very selfless man, and willing to risk all that in order to get you to your ship, there is this small matter of the gravity stream we're in. It's boosting our speed, and saving us fuel, but also not letting go of this ship for approximately 72 hours. I chose this route to avoid trouble, since its insanely hard to mass with a ship in a gravity stream; trust me, I've tried.”

He looked back up at Amber apologetically. “By the time we're out, we'll be too close to our job to turn around. If we did, and then came back, we'd look suspicious as all hell; which is again, something I'm just not really into. But I'll make you a deal. In thanks for helping me, I'll pay you for your time here. You don't have to do anything, just sit tight, quiet, and out of the way when the fun starts, and you'll get half of Ace's cut. The other half I am spending on investigators and bribes to find who took her, so I can hunt them all down. Not that I offer much options, and for that I am sorry, but, is it a deal? It's the easiest money you'll ever make.”

If they all survived that is. He didn't really want to bring that part up just now.

“Besides, you got time to catch up with your sis. A paid family reunion, damn fine deal if you ask me.”

 

[Erotic_Beauty]

“You fuckin’ ass,” Amber hissed once the captain, who tipped the bottle too much, finished explaining himself and her kidnaping.

“If I had wanted to catch up with the slut bucket then I would have done so years ago. You’ll give me a full cut of someone’s take or you’ll be hung up on several charges that I’m sure you’ve never even heard of!”

Amber turned away and walked back to the cargo room, where she sat down on a crate that was secured to the floor. A thump rattled behind her. She looked up and squealed as a beam slipped lower from its makeshift hold. Standing up she studied the handmade knotted twine and how it was the only thing keeping the beam in place.

Her gaze then slowly traveled over the ship’s hold.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered under her breath as she took in the dilapidated ship and the various tools that were either being used to hold up, hold in, or keep together some part of the ships structure.

“It’s a flying death trap,” she groaned, sat back down and buried her face in her hands.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Jaynnah stood in shock as her sister pushed passed her and stormed into her and Desum’s bedroom, formally Ace’s. The thought of that stung her, but she swallowed the bite. She didn’t stop her twin from attacking her partner. Hell if she hadn’t had reached him first then Jaynnah would have. How could he have been so stupid!? Her sister was on board the ship! And not only that she was stuck with her too. She watched Amber storm out of the bridge and leaned against the threshold of the room, where Desum still remained.

“Well, this is a fine pickle,” she muttered, pushed her hair back and walked over to the screens. She read the same thing Desum had and sighed. Once she claimed her seat, she turned back to face her partner.

“Let me tell you about Amber. She’s perfect. She’s the model daughter my parents would call their pride and joy. I never told you about her, simply because she doesn’t exist anymore. . .well, she does now, it seems. At least until we drop her off on the nearest planet, which... I believe we can get to by taking this little detour. But of course only after the job is done.”

“Lock her up in one of the rooms we keep the degenerates in. Feed and water her twice a day, give her a pot to piss in and our lives will be a bit easier.”

She spun back to face the darkness of space zooming by. “She’s a doctor. . .how more perfect can a girl get?”