En route to Ganymede
A very bored looking woman sat at the helm of a retired police cruiser watching the stars go by as they zipped through hyperspace on auto-navigation, travelling millions of miles per second towards the fishing capital of the "civilized world" known as Ganymede. The woman's name was Chibuya, Sara Chibuya and she's the Captain of the ship she calls the Blue Jay. They hadn't set course for Ganymede to see the sights however, they were after a man who had committed one too many crimes and had been marked as a bounty by the ISSP. They knew the general location of the fugitive but finding and apprehending him would take some leg work which Sara was not looking forward to. It would be a while before they reached Ganymede though, so she had a bit of time to relax. Sara decided to head down to the rec room and grab a bite before they exited hyperspace.

G

The sound of a man working up a great wad of saliva was the first thing that greeted the captain as the young woman stepped inside. Henri Fontaine Delacroix, Del to the few people he considered a friend, was the source of the disgusting sound, and he concluded his effort by spitting on the whet stone in his hand. The tall, wirey Cajun looked up briefly at his captain as he worked the battered bit of black metal against the blade of his knife for the briefest of moments to acknowledge that he'd seen her, then set back to work on his weapon. He looked as disheveled and shabby as ever, just like the day he'd stepped out of Tijuanna and signed on with this crew. He had most of his personnal arrsenal layed out on the table, along with the cleaning kit for all of them.

"Best keep your eyes open on Ganymede. Wallet outta your back pocket too. Lotsa folk make'a livin' pickin' pockets there when they ain't fishin'." He drawled in that odd accent between English and French that was growing rarer and rarer as the years went on. He tested the edge of his knife with a thumb, then grunted and set it aside, immediately reaching for the revolver to his left and starting to disassemble it. "How long we got anyway?"

Jack slid from under the ships engine, wiping the grease off of his hands with a spare rag, and then using his arm to wipe the beads of sweat that were falling down his countenance away from his eyes. He smiled as he headed for the rec room, hoping that there would be one or maybe two cold ones still available. Jackronicus Hawkfry, Jack to most, Hawkeye to some, was of average height, had a sinewy frame, dark eyes and hair, and a mind that was made to mess with technology. The tall and lithe figure whistled as he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked for the elevator, pressing the button and waiting, hearing the ding of the elevator and walking out into the rec room. Jack threw a small salute to the Captain upon seeing her, "Howzzit Cap?" He said in greeting. Making his way to the attached kitchen, Jack pulled himself out a bottle of cold liquid, popped the cap, and drunk deeply from it before making his way to a couch and flopping down onto it. "OH" Hawkeye added almost as an afterthought "Engine's running a little hot, Blue Bird's got a fever, might add an hour to our trip, max, Cap'"

Knight sat in the rec room with the rest of them as he sharpened his sword, his assault rifle next to him as he did so. It wasn't often that he was able to let loose with his rifle so he focused on making sure his blade's edge was killing sharp. Otakor listened idly to everyone else's conversations but only spoke up when he heard Hawkeye. "Isn't it the Blue Jay? And not the Blue Bird?" He figured that Jack knew that but couldn't resist pointing it out. Suddenly he heard the familiar banjo tune and he quickly set his sword aside. "Shhhhh! Never mind Big Shot is on." He turned up the TV and watched for the new bounties that had been announced, even though their captain was former ISSP and had the leads sooner he still couldn't help watching the show.

The show went to commercial and he listened again to the conversation around him. "I can't wait until we land and we can bag us a bounty. The Black Knight could use some work and my stomach could use some more food."

G

Sara never understood the reasoning for spit shine but she let Del do his own thing. She didn't care for the habit but she admired a man who took care of the tools of his trade. Much like the other members of the crew, they all had their field of expertise and she couldn't argue with the results. Unfortunately they wouldn't be too happy about the next bounty they were after as it would hardly pay for their food and maintenance. Each of them greeted her in their own way as she took a seat next to Jack on the couch. and lit a cigarette.

"This next gig isn't gonna pay much, only 40 000 woolongs. That should be enough for two weeks worth of food, maintenance on the Blue Jay, the fees for landing, and if we're lucky we'll break even. Sorry Knight we might not have enough left over for the Black Knight but we'll try to make it work." She let herself relax back into the seat of the couch and stared at the ceiling. "We need some big fish to pop up on our radar or we'll be broke before the month is over." They had run out of food the day before so everyone was probably feeling the hurt although they had been in worse situations before, nobody likes an empty stomach. She took another drag from her cigarette slapped Jack lightly in the chest to get his attention. "What's wrong with the Blue Jay? Do we need to get something replaced again? I swear you've rebuilt the engines from the ground up by now."

"WHA AHHH" Jack said as he suddenly snapped back to attention "wha, what's up Cap?" He said before registering the words that his captain had said, his attention had been split by the sounds of the Television, the magnificent cold of the beverage in his hands and against his lips as its wonderful chill slid down his esophagus and disappeared into his stomach. He took a moment to steady himself, and to make sure that that exquisite liquid didn't come back up that same esophagus, Jack had a feeling that it wouldn't taste as good the second time around. After reclaiming himself, he took another swig of the delicious liquid and answered "Not this time, she's actually just getting used to the parts we just put inta her, we replaced some pretty important parts last time we restocked" Jack explained and then continued "It's like......imagine ya' got this new, better than ever, ticker inside ya, just put in ya, works better than ever, problem is yer body's not used to it, it's used to yer old, janky heart, so it takes some time for it ta readjust to the new, improved, version, that's all Blue's doin Cap', readjusting." Jack explained in his strange, little bit of everything accent.

Jack thought a moment before adding "I got a couple of guys I know on Ganymede, I could maybe drum up some business fer us there" he volunteered and then added, a little less sure "It might not be the most.....morally sound, job in the world, but they're men of their word, and they owe me a favor or two, can't guarantee it'll be career makin' but it'll at least be a job" Jack turned back to the television, watching as the two ridiculously dressed actors on Big Shot signed off.

Del looked up at that anouncement and bit his tongue to keep from swearing up a storm. Just breaking even again. Just fucking great. Same story every other job. The Cajun just glared for a few seconds, then turned his attention to the television. He had to admit he did enjoy watching the girl on Big Shot. Biggest tits he'd ever seen and they were covered in only the loosest definition of the word. He broke himself off in his imagining the things he'd do with her to turn his attention back to the captain. The Cajun never had any problem taking orders from a woman, hell he'd spent the best years of his old trigger-pulling life working for one. She was capable enough, even if she was a cop before this job. The problem was she liked to keep it squeeky clean. You could only go so far with clean.

"With Jack on this one, Cap. Holden Boys always got some work needs doin' on that rock. Always remember to include the hazard pay too, plus the risk." He looked back down at his revolver, running the barrel swab in and out. "Might try the Capshaws too. Or Gruvick."

Knight was somewhat deflated at hearing that they might not be able to feed his precious ship but went back to sharpening his blade to try and keep his mind off the bad news. "So what kind of intel do we ave on these guys exactly?" He asked, only looking up when he got a sly smile and asked "Will I be able to go all out with my gun? Swords are fun 'n all but I think my rifle might fall apart form lack of use!" He laughed a bit, but with a little seriousness in his voice. He had 3 full clips but no targets to use them on, plus going in with just a sword was dangers, especially considering that he didn't have any sort of armor. Luckily though it was very rare that one of their enemies had a melee weapon too, let alone the skill to use it.

Arriving at Ganymede
While the Captain was understanding of their grief she really didn't like the idea of working for criminals. Ironic as it may be that most of her crew had a history of criminal activity, she wasn't willing to give up her own integrity for the sake of paying bills. She had seen too many good officers head down that road before and it never had a happy ending. Sara appreciated their intent but made it clear that she had no desire to pursue the opportunity. Eventually they reached the point where they would be exiting the hyperspace highway of the Astral Gate and returning to normal space. Her cigarette had long since burned out and so she tossed it in the ashtray on the table as she got up to head to the bridge. Before she left the Rec Room Sara made one final remark, "Don't lose faith in me yet boys. We'll get through this slump, we always do." She only hoped it was true.

In orbit above Ganymede
Ten minutes from gate to orbit felt like an eternity as the retro thrust engines put them in geostationary orbit above the ISSP headquarters in Ganymede's capital, Sara had performed the maneuver hundreds of times before. She got up from the helm to answer a call at the comm station as a familiar face popped up on the view screen. A relatively young clean cut man with more hair spray than a prostitute at a photo shoot.

"Well, if it isn't the free bird herself!"
"What?"
"Lynyrd Skynyrd?"
"You know I don't listen to classical music, Marcus"
"Your loss, babe. I take it you didn't just drop by to see my handsome face again?"
"You disappointed? I'm here for the Harrison bounty, and don't call me Babe. I used to be your superior officer you know."
"Sure, you 'used to be'. Anyway, there aren't too many bounties out to be had lately, which is ironic since ISSP can barely cover the whole system on it's own. But hey, don't worry about that Harrison punk he's small time. I've got something you'll really want to see."
"Alright, what have you got?"
"It was just posted this morning, an arms dealer from Tijuanna moved in a couple weeks ago and he's been making some noise on the east side, expanding his business throughout the docks in New Birmingham. This guys worth 120 000 woolongs but only if he's captured alive, if you kill him you only get half but even then he's worth ten times that punk you came here for. I'll send you all the information we have on him."
"That's great! The boys will love to hear about this."
"The guy's name is Alejandro Ruiz, but Sara... I know you're good at what you do..."
"Yeah?"
"This guys no joke. He's dangerous and he's got muscle to back him up. Even the local hoods won't go near this guy. Watch your back okay?"
"My team's no joke either but... thanks, Marcus. We'll talk again soon."
"How about over dinner? I know a nice place whe-"
"Goodbye, Marcus."

Sara cut the transmission before he could finish and headed down to the Rec Room where she had gathered the crew. They would surely be excited once she told them that they were heading for a big payout.

Jack quickly hid the small device, the one he was using to listen to the Captain's call, under the couch as he heard the familiar click of hanging up. He had been caught listening to the conversations on the deck before, and it generally didn't endear him to whoever was on the other line, or whoever was on the ship's side of the line for that matter. Not that it mattered nearly as much with the captain as it did with Del or Knight, as the Captain would tell them the information that they needed anyway, and the others generally took......personal calls. Hawkeye tried to keep his face straight, to keep his little hobby a secret, and he was rewarded with a small amount of success. He laid himself back on the couch as he heard the Captain's boots above him on the deck. He took a drink of the cold liquid bottle that was in front of him, now practically gone, he supped the last bits of the sweet nectar of the cold, bottled beverage. As he felt the last of the delectable drink's contents flow down his gullet he licked his lips and said "Ahhhhh" as this occured he heard the workings of the elevator, slowly moving to the rec room. Jack closed his eyes and waited for the 'news' to arrive