Roleplayer Guild - Roleplay Forum

Brynacha

Captain Kiana Kamaria and her compatriot Anath ran long the streets of the lower west side of Medura, the third quadrant of Alsicant IV. Kiana was exhausted, her nerves on edge. And she was furious. “A sting operation, Anath?” she gasped ahead to him, her knee-length patterned skirt whipping out behind her. “You’d think those oh-so-magical powers of yours would ‘ave been able to notice the fact that maybe they didn’t actually have any bills with them to trade?” She shook her head vehemently, inwardly cursing herself for her own foolishness. They had just delivered a great shipment of colossac ore, the black, iridescent and diamond-hard ore that was used in much of the technology of new (and illegal) weapons. And now the two smugglers were running for their lives from their clients, who had actually been badged police officers of Alsicant IV. Empty-handed. No ore and no money to show for it. All in all, a wasted trip to the outer regions of T’nacrom for the ore, and a wasted trip back to this cruel planet. The people were pressing in and around them, none of them seeming to notice that the tall Hume man and his captain were in a huge hurry and that several officers were following them with loud shouts.

Anath did not answer Kiana. He took everything she said with a grain of salt. Humans were too emotional, he thought dryly. Instead he grasped Kiana by the arm and pulled her into an alleyway, and then they ducked into what seemed to be an underground bar. “Almost killed and all you can think about is a drink,” said Kiana harshly, and then flashed Anath a smile. “I like how you think.” She strode to the bar, a hand on her hip in a casual manner, and hiding the two ray pistols fastened securely to a belt on her left him. Kiana wiped her brow and leaned her elbow on the bar, addressing the bartender. “A Bloody Mary and a Snue Leave,” she ordered, casting a glance at Anath.

“Water for me,” he said in a smooth, emotionless voice. “Kiana, how are we going to leave undetected? There are officers posted at all of the ports. They have not discovered our ship yet but we cannot board without drawing attention.”

Kiana shook her head. It always surprised her a little how much Anath knew, when they couldn’t possibly have received any of that information within the last few minutes. “Not sure. We’ll figure a way out. Always do,” she said with a bitter laugh.

Sarge

Canyon Russell, a once great helmsman leaned against what can only be described as a slimy alleyway wall. He looked at the filth that had collected so far throughout the day. Empty food wrappers, broken holodecks, and other assorted trash. Sighing, he spoke to himself:

"Blasted Alsicant cops. Took my wings, and stuffed me down a crumhole. That's what they did."

He was angrily scraping the floor of the alley with a worn out street-vac, when he heard what sounded like police sirens coming toward the alley. At that moment he saw two figures run into the alley entrance - a woman and what looked to be a Hume. Canyon jumped behind a dumpster and carefully peered out.

He watched the two run into the backdoor of a bar, and then watched as the police continued pass the alley. Russell pulled himself up of the ground and brushed off his jumpsuit and strolled casually toward the bar door. He hesitated for a moment before entering the bar, but after a few seconds, walked in. Looking around casually, he noted the two he had seen speaking in hushed tones over at the bar tender. He walked over toward the end of the bar - closest to the female and cleared his throat before speaking.

"So... that was some crew following y'all back there. If you're looking to disappear, I know some of the darkest parts of space. Places that no Alsicant guards will be looking."

He stopped for a moment and stared at the two intently.

This might just be my way out...

Brynacha

Kiana spun and immediately had the barrel of her gun hard against the stranger’s stomach. “You lower your voice, alright? I don’t need any Alsicant officers in here. Tell me now. How much do you know exactly?” Kiana thought it didn’t hurt too much to be careful. She’d kill the man if she had to in order to keep her secret safe. But then again, he had said that he would hide them. And there was the matter that they needed another crew member…

Across from them, Anath turned with a much slower and more studied air about him, cocking his head curiously at the stranger. “Easy, Kiana,” he said smoothly and emotionlessly. It was all the words that were needed to get her to ease the pressure on her gun.

“Keep talking,” growled Kiana menacingly at the man.

Sarge

A cold sweat formed on Canyon's brow when the barrel of the woman's gun found its way to his stomach. He lowered his voice, and replied quickly.

"I... I was just saying... Well, look, I can't hide ya if I'm split in two alright? And I'm sure a dead man on the bar floor is only gonna make yer problems worse."

After a few tense moments, Canyon lifted a hand to rest it on the end of the barrel, feeling more confident in himself.

"I know nothing. I'm sure about that.", he paused for a moment and gave a nervous chuckle, "All I know is you want off this planet quietly, and I.. well I just want off this planet. Name's Canyon Russell, and I'm one of the best helmsman you'll find on this side of Bonham's meteor belt."

Saying that, Canyon straightened out his back and took a proud stance - as proud as one could with a gun to the stomach.

"That being said... I've ran into trouble with these Alsicant guards before. Enough trouble where they took my ship and made me suck up all the crap in the alleys. One of those alleys just so happened to be one you ran down."

He finished his sentence and looked directly into the woman's eyes, then up to the Hume's blank face.

Man... I hope they believe me... More than that, I hope they have a ship.

Brynacha

“Helmsman,” repeated Kiana, eyeing him suspiciously. “Russell, is it? I suppose you’d be wanting a way to escape from your debt to society.”

Anath shifted behind her, apparently unconcerned for either of them. “He is telling the truth,” he said smoothly and effortlessly.

Kiana glanced up and down at Canyon and slowly returned her gun to its holster. If nothing else, Kiana believed in Anath’s uncanny ability to read people. He had never once been wrong. Well, except of course for the Alsicant guards just an hour before. “Well, we’ve got a ship,” said Kiana, still an edge of hesitant warning in her voice. She could not afford to make any more mistakes, especially not after the mishap with the colossac ore. And inviting a total stranger onto a ship was, as every good captain knows, begging for trouble to come raining down like a meteor shower. “Convince me we should take you with us,” she ordered, as if she were on her own ship. “We’ve recently lost our helmsman, but he was also our cook and our physician. Tell me you’ve got those assets, and more than that wouldn’t hurt, neither.”

Sarge

A quiet sigh of relief escaped Canyon's lips when the gun was holstered. At least the Hume trusted him. He always heard that Humes were good judges of character, although he never really knew one. He casually folded his arms while he listened to the woman. A smirk crept across his face after she told him to convince her of his worth. Talking himself up had always been one of his fortes.

"I'm sorry to hear about your helmsman. But, I'm going to venture to say that he wasn't half the pilot I am. I joined the Galactic Navy as a young recruit and earned countless, yes, countless medals all across this universe. Half of them I earned when I was temporarily blinded in one eye."

The confident man brought a finger up to his left eye and tapped next to it a couple times as he finished his sentence.

"I also can make some of the finest intergalactic cuisine you have ever tasted. Trust me, get about 2 to 3 light years out from any known space ports, and you'll be glad you have me around. I know basic first aid - put a cold press on it then haul tail to the nearest medical station."

Canyon let out a small laugh and rubbed his unshaven chin, looking between the two.

"As for any other 'talents', you'll just have to wait until they're needed.", Canyon said lightly, and looked to the woman. "So, can we get the heck outta here?"

Brynacha

Kiana’s eyebrows twitched interestedly as Canyon listed off his skills. She was impressed, despite her suspicion of him. She turned after a moment and sipped one of the drinks she had ordered for herself, and offered the other to the man next to her. She thought for a moment, staring at the smooth slab of granite that topped the bar, and shifted her weight. It was dangerous to hire a man she knew so little about, even with the approval of Anath. “Well Russell,” she said finally, clearing her mouth, “I’m not really in a position right now to be taking on new crew, as impressive as your resume may be. So I’m going to send you off – “ she was interrupted as she turned and saw a uniformed officer walk into the bar. “Damn,” she cursed under her breath, and grasped Anath’s arm, turning him and facing him toward it though he couldn’t see it. Anath merely nodded and began walking slowly toward another door on the opposite side.

“Hey!” shouted the officer, seeing the abnormally tall Hume man moving amongst the people. “Stop! You’re under arrest!”

Well stopping and getting arrested was not anywhere on Kiana’s list of things to do. “Go. Go. Go,” she insisted, pushing Anath ahead of her out of the door. She pulled out her gun and shot back at the officer as she left, hitting him squarely in the chest, sending shouts up from around the bar and more officers pulled out their guns and began firing back. But the two smugglers were already on their way up the stairs out of the bar and into the smoggy daylight.

Sarge

Great. Just gre-

Canyon's eyes widened as gunfire lit up the crowded bar.

I'm done caught with two runnaways who seem to be trigger happy. If that doesn't violate parole, I don't know what does.

The disgruntled man looked to the bar entrance where the guards had weeded their way through. Then he looked to the woman and the Hume sprinting off toward the side exit. He tried to duck down behind the bar, but it was too late - he had been identified by a police drone hovering above his head. The little robot began to rattle off some citation about parole violation.

"...Canyon Russell, ID #19402-EA1Z, you have been caught harboring criminals and participating in police brutality. You must remain here until officials have arrived."

"Awww, craaaap!", Canyon yelled as he reached over for a glowing blue bottle from the bar. He quickly reached up and smashed it over the drone's central processing unit. The drone then fluttered to the ground in a cloud of sparks and smoke.

Seeing that the immediate threat had been eliminated, he high-tailed it for the side exit. Busting through the door, he could see the shadows of the two strangers racing toward the alley exit. He screamed ahead,

"You two better be reconsidering my proposal, or we're all gonna be toast! What's the blasted port number?!!"

Brynacha

“You’re hired!” shouted Kiana over her shoulder, but she did not slow down. No good stopping to save a man who wanted her ship when they were being fired at…And boy, were they being fired at. As soon as Canyon caught up Kiana grasped him by the shirt and tossed him behind some crates. “Get down!” She and Anath followed, and they were both shooting at the officers, who had likewise taken cover. “Port number’s 0011G. Take this.” The captain pulled out one of her guns and handed it to Canyon. “And this.” She pulled out an automatic key to her ship. “Ship’s the Lime and Sugar. Go get it and then come get us. And if you steal it,” she added, eyeing him with a growl, “You can be sure that a few years in prison is the least of your worries.”

Anath turned his cold, staring face toward Canyon as well. “In all essentiality, we will find you,” he said. His voice was no longer emotionless. It was cold and strained.

“Go already!” shrieked Kiana.

Sarge

Canyon listened to the woman as shots were fired over head, one scorching the crate he was leaning up against. He gripped the pistol tightly, but the ship key even tighter still.

"The Lime and Sugar... port 0011G. I can get to the port in a matter of minutes from here, and hopefully avoiding Alsicant's finest as much as possible."

He paused for a moment before rolling over to a small sewer grate in the alley way. Looking to the both of them, he spoke with true sincerity, "You guys don't need to be worrying. Taking a chance on me is going to be one of your greatest decisions to date. I'll be back here at the end of the alley in a flash." And with that, he pulled open the sewer grate and began making his way through the underground tunnels toward the local space port.

The sound of his footsteps grew louder and louder as he approached a large metal wall with a single ladder protruding from the floor. He listened closely and could hear the voice of the overhead speaker belonging to the space port. "Bingo.", he whispered victoriously. He climbed up the ladder cautiously and peaked through the grate before pulling himself out of the sewer tunnel. After getting his bearings, Canyon made his way to port #0011G. Upon arrival, the pilot's jaw dropped.

"Whadda piece of..."

He stopped mid-sentence after hearing what sounded like several people headed down the hallway toward the port. Canyon sprinted toward the ship's underbelly and swiped the key quickly gain access. He made sure to lock the door behind him before running to the cockpit. The ship felt eerily familar to him - he piloted many similar ships back in his navy days. He jumped into the pilot seat, fired off an emergency power surge to get power to the ship's thrusters quickly and took off out of the port before any guards arrived.

He whirred down the crowded streets of the massive urban colony as quick as he could, heading back to that alley way to pick up his new shipmates. Upon arriving at the alley, he blasted by as close as he could to make sure that they knew he was there. He idled the ship just pass the entry of the alley and awaited their arrival.