A Fast Exit

[MysticMoon]

Yulo strode purposefully from the Scorched Haglin. People unconsciously gave him plenty of room, his presence filling the walkway as much as his girth.

"I believe you will find the med bay to be in good order Helia," he said. "It's a new addition, converted from unused crew quarters."

They were nearing the docks when Yulo's comm buzzed.

"Yes," Yulo said. "What is it?"

A pause.

Yulo's eyes narrowed and his pace quickened.

"d**n that man! He's the biggest magnet for trouble I've ever seen. It's a wonder he still breathes.

"No, no. I'm on it. You've only just docked and the Prize is ready to go. I just need to muster my crew and get cleared."

He closed his comm and turned to Helia.

"It looks like we'll be leaving earlier than I expected. I'll message the others and hope they can jump to when it's necessary. A buddy of mine is in some kind of trouble and we're the closest thing to salvation he has."

[MysticMoon]

Broadcast Message

To: The Crew of the Hollen's Prize
from: Yulo Queren
Subject: Important Notice
Importance: High

Message:

My sincerest apologies to you all, but I need the entire crew aboard the Prize as soon as possible. A situation has arisen and we must depart within the next 2 hours.

I repeat: you have 2 hours to board before we leave. And keep your weapons at hand. Odds are high that you'll see action before we leave the system.

Level 10, Dock #39.

-- Captain Yulo Queren

[EchoMirage]

"I am not personally opposed to saving individuals in non-medical ways" Helia reassured the captain, and paced up her steps. There was no time to be wasted, especially if she wanted to stash away her luggage safely.

Yulo hurrying beside her, she gave him a curious look. Was the haste feigned, and did he want to leave before something caught up?

Yet, they had the same motive then.

[Autumn]

Autumn rolled over at her communicators incessant beeping, un-entangling herself from the scantily clad woman still asleep and entwined around her, growling in annoyance.  Fumbling for the on switch she unleashed a low string of curses as the wrist computer seemed to become a living thing in her paws, skittering out of her grasp and across the floor to rest somewhere underneath the bed.

Straining she reached under and retrieved the device, giving a dim eyed look at the message, before sighing in resignation. So much for a relaxing rest and enjoyable morning, it seemed Yulo's friends needed his aid. On the upside there would be hazard pay at least, and the opportunity to blast something would improve her sour mood.

Rising to her hind paws Autumn quietly dressed and checked to make sure her weapon was fully loaded, taking great care not to wake the sleeping beauty still stretched out on the bed. "It seems I must forego our plans for the morning and depart ahead of schedule," She whispered to the young woman, gently pressing a credit voucher into her hands. "May this keep you and your sister in good standings until my return." With a soft lick on the side of the woman's face Autumn shouldered her bag of tools and quietly departed the stations quarters, heading for the ship at a fast padded run.

[Dozus]

Quan whistled as he strode into Dock #39, vac-sealed duffel bag in hand. "She's a beaut," he called aloud, slowly strolling around Hollen's Prize. He nodded as he inspected the details with a trained eye.

Coming around to the side of the starboard drives, he dropped the bag carelessly and slowly reached up toward the vessel. The V'rak placed his hands slowly and firmly to the hull, eyes closing behind his strapped flight goggles. He breathed deeply, stretching his fingers against the coolness of the metal. After a few moments he exhaled with a smile. "Oh, baby," he murmured, gently removing his palms and putting them at his waist. "We are gonna have some fine times, you and me."

After a slow nod to the Prize, he picked up his bag and headed around to the boarding ramp. "Hey Cap," he called out, looking about for Yulo's wide frame. "Me an' Betty are ready for action. You think things are gonna get hot?"

[EchoMirage]

Cassandra went to explore the new home and meowed "mine" at every corner; her human just hoped the saying about cats' curiosity would not hold true.

Skeptically, Helia entered the medical lab, scanned it with a blacklight, fed a few air and water samples to her computer to chew on, and flicked on the UV lamps to burn all the nastiness that infirmaries usually housed. Not that it would work against prions, but she worked with the tools she had.

The Veradani had to sneer - this was not a seven-floor complex in the middle of a vast park. But then, that complex had been bombed into a crater thoroughly. Twice.

Whistling, she grabbed technical alcohol, a rag, and went to clean her bunk.

[valadaar]

Jerome wasted no time checking out the ship as soon as he boarded it.  His automanteau and pack he dropped in the first reasonably out-of-the way spot he could find.  He then methodically worked his way through the ship, level by level, comparing what he saw with the schematics his PDA showed.  If he was to defend this tub, he'd best know it like the back of his hand.

The sense of alarm in the air flipped switches in his head. Suppressed memories once again were being brought to the fore. 

When he passed his shipmates, he gave a simple nod and kept focus on the task at hand. 

There was no time to put on a hardsuit and check out the cargo bay - that would have to come later.  He hoped that wouldn't come back to bite him later.

Next stop, weapons. 

[Autumn]

Autumn entered the hulking ship cautiously, sniffing at the air as she did so, picking up scent traces of of the other crew mates she had met earlier. The mark of their passage intermingled with the ships own unique odors to create a new smell, that of home.

Silently she moved through the vessel, taking great care to inspect the engine and life support systems as she came across them, and keep an eye our for emergency cut off valve switches and crawl space access panels. quietly sniffing at anything that caught her interest.

It was a older vessel, but like all such ships it had a sense of history, and an energy all its own. With luck she could help shape a little of that legacy, and leave her in a better condition then she was found in.

[EchoMirage]

Whistling Gaudeamus slightly off-key, Helia surveyed her work. A patient in the infirmary would not -instantly- die of sepsis. Which was the highest achievable standard so far. Inspecting the air filter, she noticed the sniffing Autumn, and gave her a nod.

"Can you please help me a bit? I am not strong enough to get those rusty screws loose."

She stepped aside, offering the screwdriver.
"Once we get this place into an acceptable condition, be sure to drop by for a medical checkup. We're heading into action, and I want you all in top shape. Filling out death certificates is not my favourite exercise."
She had to chuckle at her military tone. Life changes you...

The doctor paused, and inquired bluntly: "Do you have any characterization of your strain?"
She received an incredulous look.
Then, it came to her: How did one ask this question in the ... wild?
Back at Verdandi, everyone was well aware of his modifications and had an exhaustive datafile on his genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic and biochemical profile, accessible to a physician at moment's notice. How else would one avoid accidentally poisoning people with medications they'd process differently than the wild-type human?

In the end, the shrugged with a twitch of her head-tendrils. "I need to know your wet-ware and hard-ware if I am to patch you up one day, girl."
Military life was good for one thing - it taught you to speak plainly.

[Autumn]

Autumn tilted her head at Helia's first question, trying to puzzle out just what she wanted, her follow up inquiry moments later making Autumn smile in understanding, more then ever she was sure med techs spoke a completely foreign language among themselves.

"I only have a few enhancements beyond my heritage," She began, reaching into an inner pocket of her jacket and searching in vain for a copy of her latest medical exam. "My claws have been replaced with duranium composite, as well as a complete mid level muscle augmentation, enhanced articulation and auto cut-off cyber hearing enhancement to keep me from going deaf in a gun fight."

A competent med-tech, a definite step up from the chem junkie she dealt with on her last assignment, hopefully if things went well she wouldn't need to put the woman's likely considerable skills to the test.

"Everything in here working okay? I should have time before launch to do a quick tear down and overhaul of anything needed." With heavy action around the corner it was probably best to give the medical bay priority in the mechanical department, failures here were often more costly then elsewhere on a ship.

[EchoMirage]

"And we have liftoff!" Yulo exclaimed and clapped his hands enthusiastically in the captain's seat, the belts straining against his huge form. "It's a delight to see her flying again... a landlubber no more! Thanks to you, my dear crew!"

The Hollen's prize drifted away from station Ghestree, propelled at first but by a magnetic catapult and flying in utter silence. Only after they cleared the hustle around the docking bays by a safe margin could Quan flick the ignition button, red and shiny, and flick it he did. On a plume of nuclear fire, the freighter rushed to the rimward jump-point.

"Jerome! Man the cannons and shoot me up some space rock! The Prize ain't falling to no space-scum, and you'll be the one to make sure of that!"

"By Darwin's beard!" Helia exclaimed, unprepared for the takeoff, as she flew across the infirmary, passed the meeting hall and crashed into the store room, to land on a stack of supplies. "I almost selected myself out of the gene pool."

***

"This is your captain speaking. We shall be accelerating at a steady 1.5 Gs until we clear this blasted gravity well, then the Prize can really fly. We've got to be sharp - there are lives to save!"

A tiny ark hurtled through the glittering wastness of space, to bring salvation to a fellow lost mote of stardust in a distance beyond compare.

[Autumn]

Autumn quickly grabbed onto the nearest surface in surprise at the sudden acceleration, her duranium claws leaving deep furrows in the stainless steel counter, reaching for, and just missing the Helia with a rescuing paw as she sailed into the storage room.

Wincing at Helia's impact, Autumn angrily thumbed the intercom to the bridge and barked out a reprimand. "Next time sound a G force alert, you nearly put Helia in the morgue with that acceleration burn!" Yanking her claws free from the counter she hurried over to assist Helia's recovery with an extended paw. "You and your young one are unharmed I hope?"

[Dozus]

Quan held the controls steady as the Prize roared beneath him. He felt the old thrill rile in his stomachs, and he couldn't sworn he could smell burning ozone through the thick hull. "Rides like a beaut, Captain," he said with a smirk, eyes forward on the viewscreen. "Can't wait to see how she handles in the black."

Hollen's Prize wouldn't handle, he guessed, as his last few paying jobs. Corporates always had very bland ships with state-of-the-art maneuvering systems and automated flight controls. It hardly felt like piloting most of the time. The V'rak relished the chance to really fly again.

[EchoMirage]

The steering of the Prize gave the pilot much leeway, theoretically allowing him to fire thrusters even individually, and program maneuvering patterns of his own. Though - most of them did not come with any safety warranty. But then, nothing on Hollen's Prize did.

"Listen up. A friend of mine sent me a distress call - a code red, meaning s**t hitting the fan all over the place, and SNAFU beyond compare. As he is a lovable scoundrel and iconic scalawag, we'll sidetrack from our cargo delivery run, for farming equipment won't spoil, and the growing season on Rinea ain't coming anytime soon either. Serves them right for picking a planet with such idiotically long orbit. Now, before you ask me - there ain't no official emergency service out here - just goodwill and connections. Yeah, there's the occasional Solar League cruiser, but they're as likely to nuke you our of space  as to help you. Why? Because we ain't all shiny and proper."

Yulo pointed out into space, as if he could pinpoint their target by eyesight alone.

"We'll be hitting the system's edge in ten hours. Then, it's off to Severus, apply boots to (yet unspecified) butts, and then to drop combine parts and flower pots off at Rinea. Get to know the ship. Get to know the lads and lasses. Get your gear in shape."

"Next time sound a G-force alert..." the com barked.

"Yeah, that. Strap yourselves in when she's bound to fly."

[valadaar]

Jerome had just sat in his gunner's seat when the com spoke. A moment later he had his belt on, just in time for the engines to kick in.

He leaned back into the seat, feeling the G forces increase.  1.5 G's was not too bad really, he had been on drops so hard he'd cracked ribs.  But that was neither here not now.

He doubted there would be space rocks close to the station, so he took his time to assess the weaponry..

[EchoMirage]

You and your young one are unharmed, I hope... Helia shook her head to clear the fuzz out of it. She had heard that sentence before, in the war, in a bombd clinic.
She smiled, somewhat forcedly. "There's no threat to my vitals, fear not. I did crack open a crate with my pelvis - at least my bone density is good, it seems."

The cat hopped onto her head, with a bored 'mao'. The doctor caught her in her head-tendrils, then set her down. "My young? Cassie is my pet - though we do have similar Souls."

The cat sniffed at a broken crate, then pawed inside. 'Mao.'

"My young look more similar to me. Would look, I mean."

***

The Prize passed the first of the system's asteroid belts, its largely untapped wealth evident by the rare mining ship grinding up the debris for resources. The dusty colossus gave the passing freighter a friendly heads up with its reflectors - anything to feel less lonely in the black of space.

***

"THere's your target practice all right!" Yulo laughed. "Not the ship, the rocks I mean!"

[Autumn]

Autumn smiled and stepped back, mentally noting the med tech referee to her children looking more like her; the added would an interesting addition; perhaps slipped in out of a desire to keep her personal life private, or because of a tragedy in her past?

"Ah, I've learned never to judge offspring from appearance, so many variations between parents  using genome compatibility mods, and you both share a similar scent..." Her voice trailed off as struggled to find the right way to summarize such an observation without causing offense.

Licking her nose to hide a sudden onset of self-consciousnesses, Autumn looked about the storage room, scratching absent mindedly behind her left ear. "I  need to go give the engine room a once over before our jump; no telling how well the last mechanic maintained things."

[Kassy]

Hidden behind some strapped down crates in the Engine room Minerva checked that she was alone before doing a quick check of her belongings and that the area was secure enough that she would be discovered or be thrown out by the ships sudden accelerating.

Satisfied that everything seemed to be in order she slid to the floor next to a crate and pulled out her relic of a handgun, checking that the safety was on and the chamber empty. Against armoured opponents it wasn't as effective but it did the job in dealing with most people in the outer rim. Better to be safe than dead. Or worse.

Finally I can get away from here, away from him. How did he even manage to find me, I'd been so careful. Hadn't I?

Completely unprepared for the sudden acceleration Minerve was hurled across the room, slamming into a row of lockers on the other side.

Oww, can't breathe, my head, I feel so dizzy..

[Autumn]

Autumn paused as a faint moan pricked her ears near the engine room; her gait slowing to a quiet padding as she crept closer, hesitant to interrupt any intimate activities her fellow crew mates may be engaged in; tilting her head to the side as her gaze fell upon the crumpled form of a human woman, an antique firearm limply grasped in one hand.

The captains mate perhaps? No, too ragged looking, and such a lady would no doubt have no need to brandish a weapon on board; nor would any official crew member. With a quick leap forward Autumn pulled the pistol from the woman's hand, taking care not to shred the ladies flesh with her claws in the process; before leaning closer to inhale her scent; searching for the cloying stench of recreational pharmaceuticals or the tang of alcohol.

"Are you injured or intoxicated?" She inquired softly, keeping her voice the same soft soothing growl she recalled her mother using when she was still a pup.

[Kassy]

She felt someone, or something take her Desert Eagle from her hand before carefully putting it out of reach to her.

Still feeling dazed from the connection with the lockers she painfully looked up and her heart nearly stopped at what she saw. Those fangs, enough to tear hear apart in mere seconds!

Yet the soft growling voice calmed her fear somewhat..

My back, and my left hand, they hurt.. Why?

Suddenly remembering that she wasn't supposed to be here, let alone be detected, her fear returned. What would happen to her now? Who was this strange being next to her?

[Autumn]

Autumn sighed, momentarily forgetting the effect her breath often had on humans, briefly considering a simple solution by way of the nearest air lock before discarding the option entirely. This wasn't captain Tanners ship, and chucking  mysterious armed assailants into the black likely wasn't the way her current employer preferred to handle such difficulties, at least she hoped it wasn't.

"Don't try to move, you'll only make the injuries worse." She growled the words softly, trying in vain to replicate her adopted panther mothers purring voice, her sparse medical skills giving her the forethought not to move someone with spinal or neck injuries.

Hurrying over she thumbed the intercom to the med bay, her voice holding a notice of controlled urgency, "Helia, I have a medical emergency in the engineering bay, one human female in her mid twenties with spinal and possible head trauma." Turning back to the injured woman Autumn knelt down and began carefully searching Minerva's pockets for any form of identification, especially something official that may contain copies of her medical records for Helia. "Shh precious, things will be better soon..."

[EchoMirage]

Soon carried on a stretcher to the infirmary, the stowaway found herself on a padded table; Helia flicked a switch and metal cuffs immobilized the girl. The crew flocked in to see the sensation.

Sweaty, the captain rushed down: "Who is she? Does she have an ID or badge? Or ... does she have something to do with my friend's trouble?" A tinge of suspicion crept into his tone. "A bloody coincidence, isn't it?"

Then, he laughed: "This is why I don't give acceleration warnings - all who should know do, and those who don't know end up like her! Ha!" Still his face gave away worry, as he contemplated who might have sent the intruder. Enemies? Law enforcement? The tax bureau?

Jarven interjected from the corner: "I bet she was sent to kill us with that cannon of hers... we should throw her into the brig - or out!"

An outstretched arm in the middle of his vision gave the techie pause. "Nobody is throwing anyone out. Except me, and specifically all with no medical training out of my infirmary!"

Helia reached for a hypodermic injector, and rolled out ampoulles into her palm. She held two, and hesitated...
Minerva could read the labels...
Novalgin, a painkiller, and Vecuronium, a muscle relaxant, but lethal in this dose.

[Kassy]

Please, don't!

She managed to gasp, the pain in her chest making it difficult for her to speak. In the bright light of what appeared to be the ships medical bay she could vaguely make out the names printed on the sides of the ampoules held by the medic. One was a painkiller, of the other she wasn't ao sure. What did they plan on doing with her?

My papers, she's holding them. My student I.D. card has everything on it that you need to know.

"...sent to kill us.. ..cannon of hers.."

That didn't sound good, they clearly held the wrong end of the stick. All she want to do was flee, to get as far away from the core as possible..

[Autumn]

Autumn paused, looking down at the id card she had been idly chewing on the corner of while listing to the captain,  extending it towards Helia with her left paw, her right still grasping the ancient handgun, her thumb flicking the safety off and on with a repetitive tick, tick, tick...

[valadaar]

'What the hell are you doing with that weapon', snapped Jerome. 
'Put it down before someone gets hurt. Seriously, playing with it? You heard the medic, @!#$ing get out of here.'