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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 17, 2014 21:40:01 GMT -8
It was nightfall on Lennox Manor. Footsteps could be heard- panicked, rushing through the estate's grounds.
This had been planned for nearly two months. Seven people who barely knew each other’s names had come together in some form or another to be running for their lives tonight. Two months of taking items at a slow enough rate to not be noticed, two months of gathering and processing and sharing information, two months of hard work, intense planning and determination had culminated to this.
They’d sneaked through the entire estate, their plan set into motion the second Callum fell asleep – roping in one of the few people who didn’t have a restriction into lifting their own and leaving with them for the night. Once their handicaps were lifted – the EMPs ending, the cages opening, the gravity lightening – they left, taking the money and supplies they had stolen and leaving all together to the one unsupervised ship.
Thus begins the chronicles of the Outrunner – a deweaponized slaver ship that had barely been used for decades, used only as a transport from Delango to Lennox Manor and a few other select places. It’s rough, gaudy and ran like a terrible, ancient car on Earth – but it was their only hope.
The Outrunner took off with a massive boom that shook the manor. Lights flew on, and they knew they had no time left. With Leveret as the pilot, they sputtered off into the night.
The first thing they had to do was get the ship fixed – something that was probably going to take a lot of their money, but a risk they had to take. Luckily, Genesis, who had listened dutifully to many conversations that the slavers coming through had, knew that a nearby planet named Zias was the perfect place to land and find help.
They stopped right outside, with massive hoards of other ships, and all went right to the planet’s surface to search for a mechanic.
The only issue was, none of them knew their way around here – nor did they know who was good enough to listen to. They had to search and travel here alone, and they had to make it fast.
((They’re searching for and going to find Hon’at, but first they’ll be going through this seedy little planet with a lot of scary people of all shapes and sizes. Good luck!))
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Post by Rocket Raccoon on Aug 17, 2014 23:10:09 GMT -8
Leverett let out a long sigh, patting the ship as it whirred to a halt. "Ya did good, girl. Ya did good -- everyone else, THANK YOU FOR FLYING AIR ASSHAT, GET THE HELL OUT." The rabbit had a few things on his mind - presented in order of importance: 1. how the fuck are we going to get this fixed?
2. are the people with me absolute idiots?
3. If they make any cracks about me being a rabbit, I will skin them alive. Anyone and everyone. That'd be fun, actually - keep that in mind.
4. Is there anyone who I can get pissed at so I can skin them alive? Because I'm eagerly anticipating that with bated breath. Like, my own fur is not gonna get me through this winter and a new coat would be pretty damn sweet.
He stepped out onto the surface, and he could feel the regret that he was not wearing shoes hit him like a rock. In addition to a rock. Which he stepped on. Like an idiot. He winced, jumping back and clutching his foot - oh fuck, oh christ, oh shit that hurt like a bitch - and then slammed into the side of the ship.
Today was certainly not his day.
Nonetheless, he turned to the other members of his motley crew, cleared his throat, and spoke up. "So, hi. You don't know me, I don't know you, and quite frankly - let's get this out of the way - I could give a shit less who you are. Priority is finding a guy to fix this puppy, and that's not gonna be fuckin' easy from what I felt flyin' it. Does anyone know this landscape? Anyone? Anyone at all?"
There was a quite obvious and stilted silence.
"...Right. So! Our plan at the moment is to wander around like idiots and hope that we don't A) die, and B) lose track of the fucking ship entirely. Glad I'm working with you all. It'll be a pleasure looting your corpses once you die." He mock-saluted, and began walking, pointedly avoiding the rocks, and flipping off the rock he stepped on. Truly, the man you were dealing with here was a paragon of proper rogue-ishness.
By which the narrator means that if you don't keep an eye on him, he's going to use all of his money to get piss-drunk. So yeah, you might want to have someone watch for that. He's not too pleasant when he's drunk.
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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 18, 2014 9:38:42 GMT -8
"We won't lose track of the ship," Genesis declared, stepping out and to the streets. "But we need to stay together, and get into crowds. If Callum's already discovered we're gone - which he probably has - he'll be out looking for us. The ship will give us away, but if we play our cards right, we can and will get out of this easily."
She led them a little further out of the area with the ships. Zias seemed massive to them - towering skyscrapers all over, and a harsh artificial fluorescent light beating down from the apex of the city - and that was just this area, there would be huge stretches of places they hadn't even seen from the ship.
But the place they were at now was very unfriendly-looking, and people bustled around, trying to get from one place to the next. People lined the sidewalks, pestering passers-by and haggling with others who stopped to speak. The lighting didn't help any of them look anything but frightening.
"...I don't like this place," Rain mumbled eventually as they moved into the crowd, all of them trying to keep up with the pace.
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Post by Rocket Raccoon on Aug 18, 2014 10:00:41 GMT -8
Leverett followed suit, falling into the crowd easily, sticking by Rain's side. "...Yeah, I know, Rae. I don't like it, either. But it's alright, it's...it's better than where we came from." He sighed. Only barely, most likely - he knew very well by this point in time that nothing was going to be perfect - but at least it'd be...closer. "Besides, I'm here for ya. Remember that." He instinctively clutched the younger girl's hand gently, making sure she couldn't stray from the group - she was the closest thing he had to a friend, or more accurately, a younger sister.
He couldn't stand possibly losing her. So he wouldn't allow it to happen. He let out a yawn, glancing around, and to anyone who gave him an odd look, he snarled - the hell are you looking at? That usually wasn't very threatening, considering he was a small rabbit, but hey, he did what he could. He glared up at the nearly-blinding lightning and groaned. Fuck, that was a sight for sore eyes. By which he meant his eyes were sore as hell and he could barely see with that shit blinding him.
He wouldn't allow either him nor Rain to be bothered by the hagglers and riff-raff that was in search of 'conversation', being that his first reaction would be to either talk to them in his usual manner (which meant loads of swearing and insults) or to simply just tell them to fuck off. Either or, they likely didn't bother to get close to the two after a while.
"...You're alright, right, Rae? Nothing's...nothing's too wrong, right? ....It's unfamiliar as hell, but you'll...you'll be fine. We'll be fine." He hoped, at least. That's all he could do.
And, to be honest, he wasn't particularly good at being an optimist.
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Post by Alastor on Aug 18, 2014 10:11:04 GMT -8
Closer to a bar in the center of the district, there stood a Khiz'ra in a robe, obvious that he recently had been on Delango. The Khiz'ra stood in a heavy slump, and his eyes were a tad bit glossed over. His shell, at least what wasn't in the best of shape either- scratches, filled-in bullet holes, electrical burns, the works.
"Repairs!" He called, his voice ever-so-slightly slurred and with thick, oddly Russian accent. "Five thousand credits and Gon'at throws in a free rifle!"
It becoming clear he was wasted beyond relief- but he was offering repairs.
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Post by JW% on Aug 18, 2014 16:10:38 GMT -8
Khan had stayed behind in the ship, scuttling down in the depths of it. His smaller manipulator claws opened the latch and then gave up, larger stronger claws removing the panel. An arch of electrical power jumped across and grounded itself on his shell, but aside from flinching for a moment he didn't seem to notice, his eyestalks shifting up and flipping through lenses mounted above his head.
"Well, that I can fix." He grumbled, gingerly adjusting the hoses with manipulator claws. "But that I can't." One eye curled down on it's stalk and he tapped at a communication pad, adding yet another part to the inventory of things that needed to be fixed. He rated it at about a five on necessity, something they could probably do without for the next couple of jumps but would get worse if ignored. The list of parts needed for repairs was already extensive and updating realtime to an identical pad that Rain had in her jacket pocket.
The fact that he was apparently hanging upside down on the ceiling of the engine compartment didn't seem to be worth his notice. The artificial gravity on these ships was often a little strange when within a gravity well. With his smaller manipulator he took out a tool from the kit that they had found, and touched the probe to the conduit, checking the meter with one eye. "Hrmph. If I was going to steal a ship, it would have been one in better repair..."
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Aug 20, 2014 14:50:34 GMT -8
As the group walked down the street, Perron was eyeing everyone around him nervously.
"I-I'm really scared guys," he mumbled, his voice cracking a little, "I've never been without my brother before, and what if we get caught, I'm just really scared."
He'd been talking like this the entire time, he was nothing more then a little bundle of nerves.
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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 22, 2014 11:22:56 GMT -8
Rain took Leverett's hand, staying in close with him - he really did make her feel that much safer. She wasn't sure what it was - whether it was that they were the same race or that they'd just spent time together back at Lennox Manor, or some blend of both and more - but whatever way it was looked at, the same way he looked at her as a little sister, she saw him as a big brother.
"...We'll be fine," she agreed, and made herself smile over at him, even though it was a nervous smile.
"We'll be fine," Genesis echoed the same - to everyone, hearing the discomfort of the three 'smallest' ones. She stood up a little straighter, glancing around the streets while trying not to make eye contact with anyone. She looked down a side street - to see a Khiz'ra standing there, shouting out something about... repairs.
Might as well try.
She turned the sharp corner, motioning for the others to follow to go towards the Khiz'ra.
"You- repairs. How much?" Genesis let her features harden. Hopefully, she thought she looked older.
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Post by Alastor on Aug 22, 2014 12:33:47 GMT -8
"Five thousand credits," Hon'at hiccuped to the girl, still blatantly wasted. "with free weapons."
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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 22, 2014 12:42:46 GMT -8
Genesis side-eyed him, glancing back at the others. They had the money - but it still felt like too much. She hiked up her chin.
"A bit much for a drunken Khiz'ra. 2,000 credits."
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Post by Alastor on Aug 22, 2014 12:45:13 GMT -8
Genesis side-eyed him, glancing back at the others. They had the money - but it still felt like too much. She hiked up her chin. "A bit much for a drunken Khiz'ra. 2,000 credits." "Three thousand and I throw in air freshener along with weapons." Hon'at responded. "Smells like charred corpses of enemies. Good deal, yes?"
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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 22, 2014 12:46:52 GMT -8
"2,500. With new paint job."
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Post by Alastor on Aug 22, 2014 12:48:05 GMT -8
"3000 and I show you where I get parts." Hon'at replied flatly. "Final offer."
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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 22, 2014 12:49:58 GMT -8
She looked him up and down.
"...We need a guide. If you'll do that.... We'll make it 3,500."
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Post by Alastor on Aug 22, 2014 12:55:06 GMT -8
She looked him up and down. "...We need a guide. If you'll do that.... We'll make it 3,500." "Make it a regular payment and Hon'at show you across whole galaxy, little girl."
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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 22, 2014 12:58:24 GMT -8
She glanced back at the others. They could probably do it easily - and who knows, maybe they wouldn't have to pay for very long even. Whatever that entailed.
"...Deal."
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Post by Alastor on Aug 22, 2014 22:12:09 GMT -8
She glanced back at the others. They could probably do it easily - and who knows, maybe they wouldn't have to pay for very long even. Whatever that entailed. "...Deal." Hon'at gave a devious grin then, before turning his back to the girl and her friends. "Come, follow Hon'at." He told them in a rasp. He lead the group into the bar, a dingy little place crowded with several people. They wouldn't be spotted (well, beyond Leverett- but it's not often you find a rabbit trying to look tough) in there. Hon'at eventually lead them into the backroom behind the counter.
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Post by Penny Royals on Aug 22, 2014 22:43:29 GMT -8
The room they were led into was surprisingly pristine and well-lit - in stark contrast to the bar. There were rows upon rows of massive mechanical items lining the walls, and a door nestled away to their left. To the back was a table, shadowed, though they could make out a person sitting at it. In the center of the room was a tiny, flimsy desk on top of a faded pink flower rug, with a small computer off to one side and several potted plants to the other. In the middle was a bell, and behind the desk was a tall Ideli. She was pink, and clad in similar shades, with flowing hair - but really what stood out was the fact that her arms were long tendrils of suckers (although her legs, should you look under the desk, were fabulous and went on for virtual miles.)
She also wore a small blue name badge that simply read 'NAL'TIAE.'
"Hon'at, what are you doing here now? And don't give me the same excuse you gave me last time-" She stopped, seeing all the others, and tilted her head. "...What, did you finally get a job? Who're all these?... Another strange bunch of faces, they are."
The group should have started to disperse around the room already, marveling at the weapons and other assorted gadgetry all around them. Rain moved over to the desk, picking up a small canister off the table - before Nal'tiae quickly seized it back.
"No no no no no Sweetie, this ain't good for you. One wrong move with this stuff and your insides are gonna eat 'emselves alive. And not in a good way." She looked back at the others as Rain quickly moved back to wherever Leverett was. "Alright, so what's the deal?"
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Post by Alastor on Aug 22, 2014 22:52:54 GMT -8
"...When did'ja get new arms?" He hiccuped, looking at Nal's arms. "Didn't you used to have claws?"
He laughed for a second then.
"Jus'... shownin' these guys around. Need repairs, weapons. Tour guide."
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Post by JW% on Aug 23, 2014 14:31:01 GMT -8
Khan had moved on to other parts of the ship, content that, if the team managed to buy at least half of the parts he had listed as needed for repairs, they would be flying again without a problem.
Actually, he amended as he scuttled down the hallway, they could probably lift off without any of those parts, but some would be rather appreciated, come time to land again. He had been doing some minor repairs and patch jobs as he went after all. Nothing more than triage, but at least if they were spotted and needed to escape quickly, it would let them.
What he had not listed was weapons. After his... experience... Khan had decided that weapons were something the world did not need. Instead he had given a list of more exotic things, like sensor probes and particle emitters, deflector arrays, graviton producers, and ECM or ECCM systems. Their ship was small, outdated, out of repairs, and quite frankly he wasn't even sure the main power plant could handle what he somehow now knew modern military grade weapons would require.
As Khan opened up yet another panel, this time in the kitchen area to check on the food stores and water recycling system, he considered the approach of self defense as follows: They weren't big enough to be a sledge hammer, they were barely ball-peen hammer, and somebody would always have a bigger sledge hammer. There was no point in being a sledge hammer. What they needed to be was a Swiss Army Knife. They were just the right size for it, all they needed were the parts. And he'd love to see somebody come after them with a sledge hammer, only to get powder thrown in their eyes and then a knife through their throat all before they could swing that sledge.
And their recyclers weren't working. He added the necessary parts, the filters, to the list with an annoyed bubbling.
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Post by diamondcoffee on Aug 24, 2014 16:44:28 GMT -8
Faon about a half an hour after the group, walked into the bar. Not really sure of what exactly was going on, she was confused and pissed off. She looked around to see normal bar types, a few to drink their problems away, a few to sit and somewhat have a good time. She looked around to notice a door slightly cracked. She walked into see weapons and mechanical items around and some of her own race as well as others, just sitting there. She looked at the group. "Well," She spoke out loud. "This is interesting."
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Aug 31, 2014 19:55:05 GMT -8
The ugly scowl on Ba'al's ugly mug made him look all the more unpleasant of a creature to be around; while the rest of the ragtag gang of escaped slaves were obviously running off of fumes, the adrenaline and exhilarating fear of breaking free from their shackles and boldly venturing into the unknown was wearing off, and it showed; they were all tired.
While he didn't necessarily hold it against them, he didn't sympathize, either; he was Ba'al. He was not made to be tired.
The hulking bull creature's eyes were hard and dull, like smoldering coals, as he scanned the repair shop and its proprietors. He remained quiet, as he did for effectively most of the flight, and only listened on. It was only when matters of business began to take precedence that he decided to put a massive, hoofed foot in the door.
"Ion disruptors," he grumbled audibly, addressing the shopkeeper. "The vessel, it's unarmed. Modified, in its time, but still civilian-class. Retrofitting any kind of weaponry, conventional or otherwise, is just going to slow us down, or get us all killed, depending on who's jury-rigging it," his eyes shifted to the smaller, less physically-inclined members of their little group. "What we do have are tech systems. The ion arrays aboard the ship, they could be fashioned into disruptor cannons - knock out shields, comms, you name it.
"If we're planning on making it out of this mess alive and unchained," Ba'al said, much more clearly this time around. "We'll need some means to defend ourselves in that rustbucket."
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Post by Penny Royals on Sept 3, 2014 21:48:03 GMT -8
The second fawn arrived, and at first slipped in unnoticed - until, that is, the shopkeeper saw her.
"Hey, she with you guys, or we got a straggler?" Nal asked, her voice sharp as she looked to the others. "I ain't dealing with this, I told you twice, Hon'at, close the damn door behind you -"
"She's with us," Genesis glanced over, lying through her teeth. Mostly it was to stop the shopkeeper from ranting too far, but also to save the girl from whatever trouble there might be. She glanced around a moment, and walked over to her, asking, in a low voice, "What's your name?"
"Alright then... Well, we got a buncha things," Nal replied to Ba'al, languishing across the table. "Hon'at, you know the rules. Intro the newbies, will ya? Where even didja get these kids?"
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Post by diamondcoffee on Sept 4, 2014 13:23:30 GMT -8
Faon looked around at the group, a bit surprised. Not in a bad way, though, or at least she thought. "Oh, I just-" She stopped at her tracks before she said that she just walked in. If Faon said any more, she could be injured or killed for walking in on what could have been some secret group of mass murderers or something.
She looked as this girl walked up to her and asked for her name. "Faon." Faon replied quietly. She knew what was going on, now. This girl was saving her ass. She had to thank her, but not now. She then looked over to the shopkeeper and her talking. She was a tad curious, but still on edge about this whole situation.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 4, 2014 14:18:47 GMT -8
Ba'al, undaunted by the fact that a black market dealer of dubious allegiance could easily sell them out (he figured he could snap one of those tentacles off and strangle her with it before she even made the call), simply pushed forward with the truth.
"We're slaves," Ba'al growled, yanking on the metal collar around his neck. A solid break where a panel of lights once resided had been obviously smashed by brute force. "Escaped. Or liberated. Whichever you prefer." he shrugged.
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Post by Penny Royals on Sept 4, 2014 18:23:32 GMT -8
"Oh," Nal replied, shrugging. "That explains the gaggle."
"Escaped from slavery, eh?" Came a voice. From the darkness stepped a human woman, short in stature, with frizzy blonde hair. Her arms were crossed, and her left arm and leg were replaced by metallic prosthetics. Studying them, her face broke out into a grin. "The name's Reese. Like the candy?" Genesis looked up, glancing back at her - another person from Earth. Reese seemed to notice this, and winked at her. "Kids got any plans?"
"Not really..." Rain let slip.
"...Hey, I'll help you guys. On me, right Nal? Plus, Hon'at's drunk off his ass, he won't give these kids anything good. You know what kinda ship you got? Make and shit?"
"An old XR15," Genesis replied, letting the words rattle off of her teeth, "Requipped as a travel ship, but I think it still has mounters for missiles."
"Model?"
"Quadra."
"Year?"
"2025."
"How full of a tank?"
"Quarter - what's that got to do with anything?"
"Well, I can't send you guys off to Miluna without any fuel." Reese moved over to the shelves, starting to pull down smaller things that she could get on her own.
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Post by Alastor on Sept 4, 2014 18:28:36 GMT -8
Hon'at gave a hiccup.
"..The fuck is a Miluna?" He laughed.
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Post by Penny Royals on Sept 4, 2014 19:06:53 GMT -8
"Moon off of Echelm. Alice and Charlotte are out there, remember?" Reese turned to them, holding a small missile launcher with her hip. "I got a package for you kids to deliver. 500 credits sound good?"
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Post by Alastor on Sept 4, 2014 20:57:06 GMT -8
"Trying to get these children to run drugs?" Hon'at asked Reese, moving over to a cart near the human girl. "They barely can fix their ship. Police find them in matter of minutes."
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Post by Penny Royals on Sept 4, 2014 21:10:07 GMT -8
"It's not drugs, Asshat. Alice and Charlotte need supplies, Evan's still too little so they don't really wanna leave, yknow? Perfect sense." She pointed out a few larger things, tapping them with her hand and leaving a soft mark to indicate they were the ones she wanted them to take. "You guys up for it? Also, gonna need a couple others to take these babies out."
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