[IC] The Marauders

[Akayaofthemoon]

The Spire, though a most elegant creation of flawless design was the last place Luirae preferred to be. It was always too crowded, people always rushing about and busy no matter what time of day it seemed since this place was like its own planet with people even permanently taking up residence. That was not the reason she preferred to stay away from this place though, no, it was because of the council that controlled most everything from this place. You would think that Rae being a volunteer would mean she wouldn't mind talking with them but she did not appreciate seeing the council in person. They only did so when they felt the team had done something inappropriate or incorrect and needed to come down to explain or hassle them about how much they had control over the lives on the ship. For instance, all debriefing could be done through the holographic display system since it was a direct link to the council so coming in person was null and void. She believed that this was logically a waste of their precious time as they could be meeting the new recruits, docking supplies, and doing more personal errands but no, they were going to go up and get lectured with them not knowing all the facts. The council had already formed a story in their minds against them and even Rae knew this. She could only hope it was over quickly so she could get back and check if Shaso͞on had awoken and what kind of condition he was in after such an experience.

They all made their way into the elevator as it started up to lead them where they needed to be. Once they entered, the council spoke up about why they were here before asking who would speak first. She knew Raymond probably wouldn't be the best choice since anything he said would be thrown back at him so she could defuse the situation hopefully before that point. She went to speak when the "prisoner" Pip spoke up first and she had to hold back the smile that wanted to form at the council's react to Pip and his words. She didn't know much about the person, not having much more than a name and knew nothing of what happened during interrogation or even before that. She was almost tempted to inch forward to see what the council was seeing right now but she decided against it. This person was not a member of their ship and not a patient so Rae would not intrude on there privacy unless directed to or had the respect or consent of him. It did make her very curious though but it was not her place to do what she had been thinking. She glanced up to the council, wondering what it they would be asking or if they even had the stomach to ask now. Rae was ready to point out that, though they had accused the assassin of being a stowaway, that was technically not the truth since Raymond had opened the airlock for Pip and Rae had done the rest by convincing Raymond to give the other a chance and invite them in even if it was for an interrogation and cuffs. Pip had proved to be nothing but cooperative in her opinion so far so it wasn't like he could truly be charged on that at least in her opinion. The council didn't always care about those kind of facts though unfortunately.

[Jones Sparrow]

The question "Who wants to speak up first" was pretty much similar to "Who would like to get shot?" Raymond hesitated. Where to begin? There was a lot he'd like to clarify, and add in their briefing. The scene with Pip walking up to the Council and revealing his face made him turn his head in a bit of interest and confusion. Most members turned away in disgust but others stared at him with glares... Have they seen this guy before? He turned to see Rae grinning at the sight of everyone, but Raymond kept only a hint of a smile. He was glad to see the Council, especially Kail, was revolted by the image. Once the crowd quieted out, the Representatives started to demand questions.

"What exactly were you doing on their ship?"

"Who hired you?"

"Do you know exactly what you've done?"

The Chairman once again quieted the crowd with a large Thump! of his staff. "Pip Bernadotte of Earth, you have made a name for yourself within the Committee. A mercenary with a very long record.. Most of it covered up and very secretive... But that does not mean it is forgotten. Murder, Sabotage, illegal forgery... and now stowing away on a Committee vessel--"

"To be fair sir, he technically didn't stow away. I opened the hatch for him, making him a guest to the Monroe." Raymond finally spoke up, stepping forward a bit. "Of course you did. Did you make him promise not to kill you after he blew up an entire warship? Your father was exactly like you. Always trusting people's words." The Head Representative of the Yhei said. Raymond's hand started to shake slightly. He hated being compared to his father.

"For three days we were under constant fire from the attacking Sekvali ships, almost depleting our fuel. If it weren't for Bernadotte destroying their largest war vessel we would have never made it out there alive--"

"And what a shame that would have been." Representative Kail muttered. "Look, Lad-- Representative, we rescued the colony, we escaped from the army your intel forget to tell us about, and my crew members found the first working antidote for the Sekvali poison. What the hell do you want from us--"

"Raymond--!" the human representative warned.

"Talk like that to me again, Boy, and you will be back in that little pit you were in. We have not forgotten your crimes, Chase." Kail warned. Raymond glared at the woman. "yeah? Well why don't you take those crimes of mine and shove them up your--!"

"Enough!" The Chairman demanded. Silence yet again. "Captain, please give us a full detailed report on what exactly happened on your mission." He said rather calmly. Raymond looked at the council again, and with a sigh, he started the story.

The Monroe made it to the planet where they rescued the colonies from the Sekvali raid, destroying the Sekvali base of operations. What they weren't expecting was the whole race's forces coming after them in their attempt to flee, and for three days were constantly bombarded. The crew did their jobs perfectly to keep them alive, and at one point, the team's hunter Enok Shaso͞on embarked to stop the squad of enemy ships. He successfully took out one, but was bit in the process. He, Terry, and Rae embarked to rescue their crew mate, and were successful. At this point the largest warship exploded, causing confusion and panic from both sides. Rae and the science crew went to work on him, Tango, Addy, and Tahillie plotted a course and set up a hyper drive course that would take them out of the line of fire. At this point the Sekvali were within a civil war, and have declared war on the Marauders. This is also when Pip had tried to enter the Monroe, but Elyse and Addy were there to stop him. Raymond was able to ask questions, tell him to put his weapons down, and he cooperated, making him a prisoner on the ship, and not a stow away. At the end of the mission they had gotten away, saved a colony, and his scientific team created an antidote.

The story sounded farfetched and ridiculous, but it was a normal day for the Marauders and the Monroe. Everyone listened intently, and after a few seconds, the Human representative spoke up. "If what Captain Chase said is true, Pip is not a stowaway, but it does not cover him of his other crimes, like blowing up a vessel in Committee Space..." the Furtim Representative was the second to speak up. "We will get to that in a minute, Sir Mitchell... Doctor Draini. Is everything Captain Chase said true? Did you find an antidote?" Of course they wouldn't take Ray's full word, he was a criminal, but has worked long enough for the Council to not second guess most of his accusations. But Rae was a part of the Committee, a volunteer to the crew. They would trust her word better than his... That, and her race had a tendency to not lie as much as humans.

"Yes, would any of you two like to speak up, and add in something the Captain has not added?" The chairman asked to both Rae and Pip.

[Pyromania99]

"Gaahhh, and like I told you! You can't just connect the systems like that and expect to get a result, let alone a good one if it somehow does work." Somehow, Tymea found herself arguing with someone that was attempting to swindle away some items, probably trash. "Those two things are definitely not compatible with each other. Now, maybe you should just get out of here." The vendor huffed, but didn't say much as he gather his junk and made his escape. Some of the people heckled the girl, but she stood her ground and told them off.

Soon enough the small mob disentigrated and Tymea made her way to a real shop. Not much really happened aside from gathering what she thought she'd need and purchasing her items. With little else to do at the moment, she took to walking around the Spire for a little bit. Considering if she should go back to the ship or not. With little doubt the captain and others were still at the meeting with that insufferable council. . . At least that was the feel Tymea got from them. All things considered, she took to "studying" some of the alien species.

[Akayaofthemoon]

"We will get to that in a minute, Sir Mitchell... Doctor Draini. Is everything Captain Chase said true? Did you find an antidote?"

Rae wanted to let out a long hard sigh at the question but she knew it was inappropriate to do so in the current situation. She just didn't understand why they had to ask the same thing again and again when it was already clearly stated as well as answered. Of course, the fact was that they just plain didn't want to believe anyone they viewed as a criminal since they were short minded and thought all criminals to be lairs. She calmed herself, taking a moment before stepping forward to speak a reply to the council in front of her.
"If the information given was incorrect I would have spoken up the second the words had been said. An antidote has been found though I can hardly take credit for its discovery. It was a team effort between myself and the two crewmates of the Monroe, Reena Vaemas val Mari'Dosvin and Tymea L’cint. Now, if I may, you did request if there is anything the Captain has not added which I would like to discuss. It has nothing to do with the current situation on topic but it needs to be addressed promptly. I, Doctor Luirae Draini, formerly request the reassignment and transfer of two crew members aboard the Monroe. One, Terrance Ward and the other being Meghan Jackson. Though these two are both remarkable in their own right,these crew members are not an excellent fit for the Monroe and could be of more efficient use on another vessel." Rae spoke up, her tone serious and her eyes keeping off of the Raymond as she spoke. She hated having do this part but they were going to ask her sooner or later and they would be in horrible trouble and probably be punished for months in petty ways.

[KaiserElectric]

As Reena and her new Zaetherian team member shot the breeze waiting for Raymond and company to return from their meeting with the Council, the Sorlas suddenly developed the nagging feeling that she had somewhere to be before she thought to check the time on her suit's UI interface. She did. "Vaas, it's that late already?" she hissed, irritated that she had been ignorant of how late she had been talking to Galvus before turning to the Zaetherian in question to explain. "I apologize, I just realized that I'm late for an appointment. Feel free to wait for the Captain, I'm sure he must be finished with his meeting by now." She gave a slight bow before turning to go on her way. "Take care, Galvus Velinian. I hope all of our interactions will be as pleasant as this one was." Reena winced behind her helmet at the way that sentence sounded. The traditional way of saying goodbye in Sorlasan, like most phrases in her native tongue, lost something in the English translation.

Checking the time again, Reena broke into a faster paced walk as she crossed the Spire walkways, earning a few mean glances from passersby which she chose to ignore. After a few turns into one of the seedier segments of the Spire, she spotted the holographic faux-neon sign proclaiming The Moorhen Midget in large block letters with the outline of a shapely human female lounging across the o's. Below it stood a bouncer, a rather large and beefy alien that bore a striking resemblance to the bulb of the Shaso͞on Blossom, who looked Reena over with his beady little eyes with contempt and suspicion. The Moorhen Midget was about as sleazy a place as you could find on the Spire, and besides the skinflint owner pretty much everyone who frequented the Midget was desperately poor. Reena, bedecked in her expensive and valuable envirosuit and belonging to a species known for being generally wealthy, did not look like she had any business in a place like this. Still, the bouncer nodded his lumpy head slightly and let her through. A sensor in Reena's suit went haywire as the combined scent of human tobacco, alcohol, and bodily fluids wafted over her, and the rest of the place looked no better. Cautiously slipping past a staggering drunk on her way to the bar, Reena looked over the filthy counters and mismatched furniture with disgust, thankful that she was sealed off from the toxic environment around her. The din of conversation was incredible, and a bout of shouting followed by crunching wood indicated that a fight had started somewhere in the back. Suddenly aware of the weight of the sidearm on her belt, she took a seat at a somewhat intact stool and tried to flag down the bartender, thinking longingly of the sweet taste of a Jenberry milkshake.

"Hey there, gillwoman..."

Neera paused at the sound of the racial slur. The sensors in her helmet indicated a rough-looking Yhei male standing behind her, his reptilian eyes gleaming and toothy grin stretching from ear to ear. The small band of thugs with him were all leering at her as well, with the bouncer some distance away pretending not to notice. Neera barely moved as the leering alien drifted uncomfortably close to the side of her head.

"That's a pretty suit you got on. I wonder..." the Yhei slurred in his gravely tone, running his hand alongside her arm as his putrid breath left a fog on the side of her helmet. "...if you're just as pretty underneath, gills..." The room seemed to drop by ten degrees as the repulsive Yhei flicked his tongue out at her, like a cobra sizing up its prey before it went in for the kill. Stupid cobra.

The crowd at the bar went deadly quiet as the distinctive whine of a charging energy weapon echoed across the room. The Yhei's face went through every color of the rainbow before settling on a lumpy shade of white as the barrel of Reena's machine pistol pressed against his windpipe. Not even appearing to turn in his direction, Reena was satisfied to see the look of confused terror on the little sleazeball's face.

"Try me."

The Yhei quickly removed himself from around her and took a generous step backwards before breaking into a run, he and his friends shoving past one another as they tried to escape. Her gun still held in the air where the Yhei's neck had been, Reena felt the eyes of every lowlife in the bar looking at her. Casually, she replaced the gun on her belt, not bothering to switch it off again as a show of force. As the usual din of the tavern returned, Reena heard a familiar, deep-voiced laugh somewhere behind her.

"You certainly know how to make friends, don't you?" mused a slightly accented human voice.

"You should see how I make enemies," Reena said lightly, a hidden smile crossing her face. "Good to see you again, Doctor,"

"Likewise, Reena Vaemas," Doctor Hector Bahri said, bowing slightly before occupying the seat next to her. "I hear you helped with a cure for that, ah, 'mole-rat' poison. I'd love to hear about it." Reena explained all that had happened on the voyage with great detail as Bahri listened attentively. Bahri had always been a great listener, Reena recollected. A damn good surgeon too, considering that he probably saved her life after a sniper's bullet ended her Hype-fueled rampage a couple years back. A kind and exceedingly gentle man, the good doctor had even stayed longer then he needed to help her cope with the Hype withdrawal. 'I make sure all my patients are cared for,' he had said with a gentle chuckle when Reena barked at him to go away. 'Whether they want me around or not.' At the time she hated the tiny, dark-skinned human's guts for refusing to let her suffer in peace, but nowadays there was no one she trusted more in the universe, except perhaps Captain Chase.

"...and now the Captain and Driani are presenting the cure to the council. It's a rough formula, but it worked, and hopefully it will keep working."

"Sometimes, that's all we can hope for," Doctor Bahri said with a knowing smile, sipping on an ice water that he had ordered halfway through her account of the latest mission. "How have you been holding up, though? You mentioned that you had an episode in there." Reena hung her head and stared at the remains of her Jenberry milkshake.

"I...don't know..." she admitted after a long pause. "I was controlling it fine, but we were going so long, and I was tired...weak...Great Malunista, someone almost died because of me."

"There, there," Doctor Bahri said soothingly, taking his hands in hers as a comforting gesture. "Falling down does not make you weak. The fact that you could stand up again proves it."

"You honestly believe that?"

"To paraphrase one of my childhood heroes," the Doctor said with a knowing grin. "You're much stronger then you think you are, Reena. Trust me." Reena was glad that her tear-filled eyes were hidden behind her suit's helmet. They left the seedy tavern to continue their conversation in the hallways, with Reena talking about her new teammate and the history between their people while Bahri talked about the patients he met and the medical breakthroughs he hoped would come from a new medicine he was working with. Reena was so enraptured by the conversation that she nearly lost track of time again.

"I think I need to go meet with the Captain," Reena explained sadly. "It was so good to see you again, Doctor,"

"Before you go," Doctor Bahri said quickly. "I wanted to talk to you about one of my students. Audrey Ortega, are you familiar with her?"

"Not particularly, why?"

"She's been doing studies into non-human biology, more specifically she's been focusing on the Sorlas' unique biology. No no, I'm not asking you for anything invasive," he said with a laugh as Reena stopped dead in her tracks at that statement. "I just thought you would be interested in seeing what she was working on." He handed her a data-pad, and a cursory glance told her it was clearly some sort of Sorlas environmental suit with one glaring flaw.

"Did Ortega finish this? The helmet's missing from these blueprints." Reena looked up at the Doctor for an explanation, but he only smiled at her in anticipation. After a few seconds, it clicked. "You're joking..."

"It's a fascinating concept, isn't it?" Bahri said casually, as though he were talking about the weather. "A Sorlas environmental suit, lightweight yet durable, and with no need to be sealed off. A marvelous little project if I ever saw one." Reena couldn't speak. She suddenly felt the suit enclosed around her a little more then usual, the sensors gently connecting with her neck and her breathing amplified slightly within the suit's confines. She wondered what it felt like to have the sun shine on her face since the nearly twenty years she had been away from Sor, to explore a world without that familiar barrier.

"I told Ortega that I knew a suitable test pilot for when she gets the first suits built," Bahri explained, pleased with her stunned reaction. "Not a guarantee, but I think that she'll be interested to have someone like you to work with." Reena could not find words, in English or in Sorlasan, to express how she felt at that time. Instead, she numbly asked Bahri one small question.

"Why me?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Bahri explained happily as he turned to leave. "Good luck on your next mission, Reena!" And just like that Doctor Bahri hobbled into crowd, leaving Reena to stand there staring at the blueprint, dreaming...

[Jones Sparrow]

Raymond couldn't help but smirk at Rae's response to their question. As if it wasn't insulting to be asked the same questions numerous times just because they didn't trust you. It was funny to think that when he was in the military there wouldn't be any doubt or hesitation whenever Ray asked someone to do something. They would jump off a cliff if he asked them to... It was clear though his crew mates would vouch for him, and trusted him fully, but the Committee was definitely not interested in that. Raymond nodded at the points Rae made when saying that it was a team effort. He was proud of his crew, all of them brought something to the table that would help them survive even longer, and he was thankful for that.

The Committee's attention reluctantly turned back to Raymond when Rae requested that Terry and Meghan be reassigned on another ship. Time for Raymond to step up again. "Captain Chase, do you agree with the Doctor?" The Chairman asked. Ray nodded. "Yes, Chairman. They are remarkable, but it is for the best of the Monroe and the Expedition Force that their assistance should be put elsewhere." The Committee seemed to like that answer.

"Very well. We approve your request, we will update your roster before you leave the Spire later today." The Earth representative said with a nod. "And speaking of which..." The Chairman muttered again, receiving a tablet from a Committee member. "You have new members for your team, Captain. Galvus Velinian, a Zaetherian soldier. Everything you need to know about him will be at your private terminal on the Monroe."

"And Pip Bernadotte, let this meeting be your hearing. We have looked up everything we could on you. A very secretive, yet messy history of being a mercenary... Where you've recently broke several laws under Committee code..." The Yhei Representative muttered, examining the tablet of information.

"Mister Bernadotte, as head Earth Representative, I have the authority to sentence you for the crimes you committed against both Committee and Earth laws. You have three options. Death Row, Death Row in The Rock... Or you can join the Marauders." Hal Mitchell said, looking at the man straight in the face, even though it was not a good sight.

Raymond was actually very surprised. Losing two members to get two new ones right back, both of which seemed like two very big alphas... But there was a bit of respect with Pip and Ray, and he didn't know a thing about this Galvus character, but he did hear stories about the Zaetherians. They were a military race, were similar to both a Tu'Veeri and human in the sense of thinking, but these are just stories he's heard.

"Captain Chase, Doctor Draini, you are allowed to leave, Mister Bernadotte does not have to make a decision just yet, but he will be held in custody until his decision is made. Refuel, resupply, and whether or not you get two new members or one, you will be cleared to leave by the next Sol... And Captain, make sure you look at your private terminal periodically. With all of these events, there will be a lot of work that will need to be done." Raymond looked at the Head Chairman, gave a nod and respectful bow, and walked towards the exit
------

The elevator doors opened and Raymond Chase walked out back onto the bridge, with a lot on his mind. He was exhausted, his crew was exhausted, and yet he couldn't sleep. Not yet. He had new crew members joining, his team was probably going to be constantly hit with requests and questions about how they found a cure of the mole-man poison on an Expedition Ship, and they were going on another voyage soon. He wasn't complaining, though. The more he works the less he has to deal with the politics, the more he's out there, the more he shows everyone that if anyone deserved a second chance, it was his crew members... And he was living his childhood dream. To travel to those far off stars in the clear Colorado sky.

He was halfway across the large bridge when he heard a voice behind him. "Excuse me sir. Can I see some identification?" Raymond rolled his eyes in frustration, and was about to tell the man off, but when he turned and looked up, he gave a shocked grin. "Holy shit. What the hell is your ugly face doing out in public?" Raymond asked as he looked at the large Tu'Veeri man. The long brown hair was braided neatly, matching his neat Committee uniform. This man joined the Committee the same time as Raymond, and they were partners in their basic training. His name is so hard to pronounce, that he usually goes by simply Barney. "Sir Chase, Captain of the Monroe. It's great to see you again." Barney said, holding out his hand. Raymond grabbed the large forearm in a handshake, giving a smile. "It's been a while. You a security guard now?" Ray asked teasingly. It was strange to have a Tu'Veeri have a sense of humor, most of them are literal and don't take kindly to mocking their honor, but Barney was very different.

"For now, yes. With all the Council members meeting for the next few days, security has been even tighter here. I heard you survived an ambush from the Sekvali. Impressive, but I'm not surprised. Atlas always survives." Barney said with a grin, and Raymond avoided eye contact. "It was just another mission, and without my crew I wouldn't have gotten far, but thanks Barney." He said with a nod. Barney returned the nod and looked around, clearly uncomfortable about something.

"What?" Ray asked. "I... Have some information. About your family--" Barney began, but Ray turned. "I gotta get back to my ship, man. I don't need to hear more about my dad." Ray said, starting to walk down the bridge again. "It isn't about your dad, Ray!" Barney called out, which made the Captain stop dead in his tracks. He walked back towards his old friend, staring at him dead in the eyes. "What do you know?" He asked quietly. Barney shook his head. "I don't know anything personally... But I know someone who does. But there's a problem. I overheard him at a bar last night. He's a crime lord known here. He won't be easy to get to."

"Where is he now?" Ray said in a deadly quiet tone. "Probably working in his illegal cage fights in the lower districts. Every time the Committee tries to stop it, he either beats the committee members to death, or disappears for a few sols and starts it somewhere else."

"Tell me where the fights are. I'll talk to him." Ray said, but Barney shook his head. "Did you not hear the part where he beats people to death? He's a rare breed on the Committee. A Xonak by a name that roughly translates to Plague." Ray looked at his friend again, his dark green eyes staring intensely at him. "Where is he, Barn?"

----

Ray's Adventure!

"Winner by knockout! Atlas!" A nasty voice screamed and the dingy and barely lit room erupted in an applause. The lower districts of the Spire were not a nice place to visit, but if you were a criminal and had a reputation, you could find a place where you could last more than a couple minutes. For Raymond Chase, it wasn't hard to find the cage fights, and it was even easier to challenge Plague into a fight... But Ray had to fight Plague's best fighter before he could fight him. That's the only condition. That's when the son of a bitch will talk with him.

Plague's best fighter reminded Raymond of a giant turtle. He was large, had pale green scales all over his body, and the ones on his back side were thicker and darker. His limbs were ginormous, his face pinched off into a snapping turtle-like scenario. The fight left the turtle-man unconscious and bloody, and Raymond had seen better days. He took off his shirt for the fight, his body bruised and cut, his lip was swollen and bloodied, and the injury on his forehead was reopened.

The loose fence was surrounded with all kinds of different looking aliens, slamming and screaming and cheering as they placed bets on who would win in side the pit. The only light was a large one right in the center of the arena. Ray looked around the arena, fire in his eyes, and spitting out blood.The crowd cheered, then die down as soon as the Xonak jumped into the arena. He was large, green, nothing but muscle, and had four arms as thick as tree trunks. An eyepatch covered one of his three eyes, and his disgusting yellow teeth grinned at him. "So the stories are true. The best fighter in the Committee, the "Immortal Atlas" in charge of the Marauders. All it took to see him in action was to get a little information about his sister."

Raymond didn't answer, he just put his hands up, his body aching. He didn't know if he could win this. This guy definitely looked like he could kill Ray with just one punch. It's alright to be afraid baby. Plague made a very quick and powerful jab towards Ray. Ray barely managed to duck under it, and came up with an uppercut, square in his jaw. The giant stumbled backwards a bit, but simply laughed and cracked all his knuckles. "Now that was a nice hit... That all you got?"

Every time Ray blocked a punch another arm hit him, and every time Ray countered and moved in for a hit he was blocked by another arm. Ray was getting tired, Plague grabbed Ray with two of his arms, hit him in the gut with the other two, and tossed him onto the floor. Ray was in immense pain, his vision was blurry, and he felt like just closing his eyes here... No. He had to see his sister. He had spent three years going through suicide missions, had everyone doubt him, had faced everything head on with no regrets. He WAS going to see Anna again!

Raymond stumbled up, which made the crowd cheer. More action, and blood. Plague laughed as Ray wiped the blood from his mouth. "I've always liked you humans. They are either pathetic and cowardly, or they have the warriors spirit.. like you. come on!" He gestured for Ray to come at him, and with a scream of rage, Ray charged, but instead of getting too close, Ray dove to the side, missing the arms as Plague lunged forward. Ray hit the ground, and with every strength he could muster, used both of his legs to hit the side of his knee, and luckily, a large snap was heard. The Xonak fell to his knees in pain, but simply gave a grunt, and turned to face Ray again. A giant fist tried to hit Ray, but the Captain of the Marauders grabbed the arm, and bent it backwards until it snapped as well.

The crowd was going crazy as Ray scrambled to kick Plague down, and then jumped onto the Xonak and punched at him with all the strength he could gather, screaming in frustration and pain as he did so. Minutes of that and Ray was thrown off the creature known as Plague, the cheering turned to shouting. Raymond had won.

---

"There was a rumor going around that your sister used her family name to get aboard a colony ship heading to a new safe planet to help colonize it. She's working for some organization that works with new colonies or something. Last I heard it was going to Sector 14, Quadrant 2."

Plague told Ray everything he needed to hear. The man may be a criminal and running an illegal fighting arena, but he knows when he's been beaten, and respects it. So everything he told Ray was the truth.

Raymond Chase walked towards his ship, now clothed. His head was bandaged, but his lip was still swollen, and bruises covered his face. The first person he met was Tango. "Captain!" The robotic voice said as he turned to face him. "Welcome back! How was the meeting?" Tango examined Raymond and his battle wounds. "Not good, I suppose." The robot said quietly.

"The meeting went fine... The doctor make it back yet? Did we get a new member besides, Gabe? Gavin?" Ray asked, looking at the cargo that was being added to the Monroe. "Do you mean Galvus? He is right over there." Tango said before walking on board the ship.

Ray made his way to the large Zaetherian. "Galvus Velinian?" Ray asked, looking him up and down, as if scanning him. "I'm Captain Raymond Chase. This is the Monroe, and it will be your new home for a while. Welcome to the Marauders." Raymond held out his hand, normally every species in the Committee had some form of handshake, so he decided to play it safe and offer a hand.

[Mega Birb]

At the moment, Galvus was lost in thought and the pieces of his rifle laid out before him. He had started to clean his weapon for the first time in a few weeks in the lull between Reena leaving and another person approaching, and decidedly tuned the world out while doing so.

"Galvus Velinian?" The Zaetherian's head whipped towards the person who just interrupted his maintenance. "I'm Captain Raymond Chase. This is the Monroe, and it will be your new home for a while. Welcome to the Marauders." He flexed his mandibles in a smirk and stood as Ray's arm extended for a handshake.

"Well, Captain Chase, I'm honored to be on your ship." The alien took the human's hand and shook it, soon letting go and returning to his previous, highly invigorating activity of stripping and cleaning a gun that lights things on fire. He paused within a few minutes, however, and returned his gaze to the captain.

"Say, if you see that Sorlas girl... crap, what's her name again? Reager or something like that? Anyway, send her my way, I had an idea to slim those suits down a while ago." He actually went back to his previous activity, this time pulling a scrap of paper from a pouch in his armor and setting it beside an empty magazine.

[Akayaofthemoon]

The three took a silent ride up the elevator, all of them planning to return to the ship or at least they needed to so that Pip could be returned there till a decision was made per the Council's order. It would be hell to pay if they didn't do so as soon as possible, especially with the walls having eyes an ears in this place just for the Council's use. It was best to just do what was charged of them, even if it wasn't favorable to do so and trust that most of the time it was how Rae felt about the situation. She actually liked Pip's guts and personality dealing with the Council but it seemed like he got a bum wrap when it was clear that they had happily used him before or at least some had for their own means but none stood up for the man beside her. It was quite unfortunate but it would be nice to see the other around the ship more, that is if it happened to be his choice when all was said and done. They had made it to the bridge when they or more the Captain was stopped and though it seemed like they might be being hassled at first, it was quickly clear that the two new each other and were probably planning to have a long conversation. Rae, not wanting to butt in on a private conversation and needed to get to the ship quickly, tapped on Pip's arm and silently tilted her head towards the ship as a mention that they should continue on without Raymond. Once they arrived to the ship, Rae passed the new recruit with a gentle smile before continuing to the interrogation room once more and holding the door for Pip to enter. "I thought you would prefer this to a cell." Rae said softly and a light frown to her features. "I apologize for how things turned out. If...if there is anyone you would like to contact than I could do that..." she spoke a little awkwardly before continuing in a more usual smooth tone,"Or you may do so yourself with the communicator on the wall. I will let Tango know to patch you through..."

That being said she shut and locked the door before continuing back off the ship since she had a bit of time for herself and she planned to use it while she could. The Galaxic Committee would provide anything she needed for the medical bay so she had no worries for that but there were personal things she liked to have stocked in the kitchens such as teas and other items that were close to foods on her homeworld that the Committee never had in the food pick up. If she could than she would probably get a plant or two if she found any of use or that tickled her fancy. After an...interesting visit to the tea shop as the owner was a unique on and a quick trip through one of the plant shops, she found herself heading back to the ship once more with no plants but at least a few bags of the other items she intended to find or retrieve.

Rae entered the ship once more as Atlas was introducing himself to the new recruit she had passed by earlier. She stood for a moment, watching the two interact more for the moment before speaking up,"Reena. I am sure she will be fascinated to hear anything on the constructs of a slimmer suit. If I should run into her before the Captain than I shall surely pass on this information."
With that out of the way, she gracefully passed by the two as she headed for the kitchen and not bothering to introduce herself. She didn't want to be bother by interrupting the conversation further and the Zaetherian looked to be more interested and busy with his gun in any sense. If he wished to introduce himself later than so would she but as of now she just wanted to get these items into their rightful place.

[Akayaofthemoon]

Collab Jones Sparrow and Akayaofthemoon

Ray winced at the feeling of Galvus' hand grasping his, completely forgetting that he was just recently in a fight. Thankfully the Zaetherian let go, and the Captain of the Monroe mentally sighed as he put his hand down, examining Galvus' activity. He was going to reply to the man, but it seemed that Rae beat him to it, Raymond simply nodding at her response before she walked away without an introduction. Before Galvus could ask, Ray nodded in the direction Rae walked off to. "That's Doctor Luirae Driani, the Monroe's lead medical expert." Raymond explained. "She's not... emotion-friendly. But you'll get used to it." Ray looked around before nodding back at Galvus. "Get yourself situated. We'll be leaving port sometime soon." And with that, Ray walked up the ramp onto the Monroe, back on to his ship. Hopefully he could make it to the bridge without crossing another person's path. He didn't need a lecture on his wounds, especially from Rae. These past few days had been extremely stressful, and all of their bodies have paid the price, both physically and mentally.

Rae had made her way to the kitchen in a relatively short amount of time and made pretty quick work in placing her bagged items away where she found them most useful. It wasn't long before she was headed to the bridge to double check mission specs and to check over the holo-map for any irregularities in their given course since it would need to be altered otherwise if such a problem occurred. It was on the way to the bridge that she ran into Raymond's path and the words that were about to form on her lips died to be replaced with new ones."What in stars name have you done to yourself?" she asked, swiftly stepping forward but gentle in the lifting of his hands as she inspected them."Atlas, how is it that every time you are not in sight that you come back injured in some form? Actually, I don't want to know that answer. Let's just get you to the medical bay so we can get these bandaged and look at what other damage you have managed to acquire since I am positive this isn't all of it." Rae sighed, motioning her arm to head in the direction of the infirmary and not letting 'No' be an answer as she crossed her arms across her chest to wait for him to do so.

As soon as Rae turned the corner to be in the same hall as him, Ray tried his best to avoid eye contact, hoping that she didn't notice... But she definitely noticed. His hands were examined, showing shades of red and blue and cuts of all sizes. "Plauge" had a lot of thick skin, and it did a number on his fist. He was going to answer her question, but she stopped him, speaking at a mile a minute as she ranted on about it. Ray had known the Doctor for years, and he couldn't help but smile faintly. She rarely showed much emotion or understood humans, but she had the anger emotion down to a tee whenever it came to him. Ray was smart enough to know that he wasn't going to say No to Rae, but he did shift his eyes farther down the hall, wanting desperately to see if Tango put the coordinates down. The first lead he ever had on his sister, and he was afraid of losing it. Ray nodded, motioning her to go first. "Lead the way, Doctor."

Rae raised a brow at him before stepping pass her Captain in the lead to the infirmary but the thing getting to her was that desperate look down the hallway. What was so important about the bridge? She shrugged it off for the moment, thinking that maybe she was trying to read too much in something that wasn't there. It wasn't long before the two were standing outside the infirmary doors, waiting as they slide open and the two could enter."Take a seat." Rae said, not stopping in her task to grab the supplies needed to fix up Raymond's hands, at least for the start. She pulled up a chair, sitting in front of him before dabbing the cuts with a disinfectant. "You really should be more careful..." Rae said softly, trying to strike up a conversation and in her own way showing her worry for the other.

"When have I ever been careful?" Ray asked with a wince, watching the doctor dab his hands. "It's not that bad... It was just a little fight in the lower sector." Raymond tried to explained, and stopped before going too far into the information. It was true that Rae was the only person who knows everything about Raymond and his past, but it was still a sore subject for him. "You didn't really give our new recruit a warm welcome, by the way." Ray added, his eyes moving up to look at her.

"Don't try to dodge the situation by using something I did earlier and besides, he seemed much busier with his gun than trying to make another introduction. I am sure the opportunity to warmly introduce myself would have arisen." Rae replied. "You usually don't go to the lower sector, why the change of pace and for a fight at that?"

"An old friend needed my help." Ray simply replied, which was partly true. He shifted a little in the seat, and after a couple more seconds of silence he looked away from her. "They were insulting my family." He said quietly, looking back down at his hands. "I went to stop it."

Rae watched him, her eyes not moving from him as he replied about helping an old friend. She knew better than most when someone was keeping something from her so she waited patiently as Ray began to shift a little bit and looked away from her before he gave a slightly surprising reply. She didn't speak a word and just continued to wrap his hand, not really sure how to reply. Did family defend each other like that? Words didn't have that much harm if the person they were speaking of didn't hear it, right? It was confusing but it was obvious that it had been upsetting to Raymond in any case. "I hope your opponent looks worse than you do or that you got some good shots in." Rae said, avoiding some choice comments she could have said since it wasn't going to be of much help.

"He was an Xonax. A big one... I knocked him out." A short pause. "And broke a leg... and one of his arms."

"Well, that certainly explains the damage to your hands. You are lucky that nothing is broken but you will be hurting for the next few days or longer depending on how deep your bruises are." Rae said, finishing up her work before standing up and replacing all the supplies."Guess we should head to the bridge before we are ready to leave. Make sure everything is in order so this time, you lead the way."

Ray examined his hands after the wrap up. They were still aching slightly, but he knew that if it weren't for Rae, his hands would be much worse. He leaped off the seat, wincing a bit as pain shot through his body, luckily Rae was looking the other way so she didn't need to do more on him. "Thanks." Raymond said simply, not really looking forward to the bridge and explaining the change of coordinates. Ray walked out of the med bay, and the two were now in the bridge, the view of deep space filling the windows. Tango was at his terminal, his head rotating a full 180 as it always did when someone walked in. "Captain on Deck!" He announced. Ray never liked how he did that, but it was protocol... That, and Ray didn't know how to deactivate it. Ray went to the navigation terminal, glancing at the screen. "Captain, I placed the coordinates in, but couldn't help but noticed it is located in another sector. Are you sure you want to confirm them?" The robotic voice asked, and Ray mentally cussed. He didn't look away from the screen. "Yes. Lock the coordinates in, Tango."

"Ray, these coordinates aren't correct for the next mission. Why have Tango lock them in as the next destination? " Rae asked in confusion, looking to Raymond for immediate answers.

"I got another set of orders on my private terminal..."

"Your heart rate would not be jumping if that were the case. Raymond, the truth, now."

Ray didn't look away from the screen, hesitating a bit before answering. "There's someone on that planet. I need to know if they are actually there." Ray said simply.

"Who? Who is worth defying orders for?! Risking your life for?" Rae shot back.

"I have a lead on someone, the only one I've gotten in years, I need to follow through with this. Orders or not." Ray's voice kept calm, his hands holding tight to the side of the terminal.

"Have you lost all logic? If it wasn't for the fact that I can see it, I would have thought you have lost your mind. You are going to an unknown planet, on a pathetic nonfactual rumor that you got from what...an underground fight in a lower sector? Oh wait, no, you want to take all of us on this unknown journey and not just yourself, putting us all at risk for something that screams trap because this planet lies just beyond a danger zone or did that escape your notice along with everything else. How could you be so blind!? You have no real proof that your sister is there!" Rae said, actually raising her voice do to utter disbelief, anger, and irritation.

"I am NOT losing my sister again!" Ray yelled, turning to face her, his own face full of frustration and anger. "Why don't you show just a little bit of emotion for once and trust me!" Ray demanded. "Or better yet, get off the ship! Take everyone! Inform the Committee I've gone rogue and hopefully they blow the Monroe up before I land on the planet for a trap! Then you can say I told you so at my funeral!" Raymond exploded, all his emotions erupting from him. Rae was right that it was a stupid idea, and a risky one, but he didn't care. She didn't care about gut instincts or a feeling, and this time he was not letting her be the voice of reason.

Rae was hurt, it didn't show on her face but to hear Raymond basically say that he didn't care if she was here and to further say that she would do something that awful gave her a pain she had never felt before. She didn't know this kind of hurt. It was like a vice grip on her heart and she felt shaky like she might be sick. She sucked it back, putting up a wall that had never been there for the man before her and usually was reserved for the Committee. "It seems I have forgotten my place. I will be in my cabin to await orders or for emergency cases with any crew members, Captain Raymond Chase." Rae said in a dull cold voice, giving a small bow before turning on her heel and walking away as a tear started to slid down her cheek since she couldn't hold back her pain much longer.

She made her way to her room, locking her door for the first time so no one could enter and even went as far as pulling the panel out of the wall on her side so it couldn't just be ordered open. "Tango..." Luirae called out through her communicator.
"How can I be of assistance, Doctor?" the robotic voice sounded probably thinking it had to do with something medical since it was programmed to do so.
"Override command ES1CC and pass-lock activation LD27GC." Rae choked out.
Silence was her reply for a moment before the robotic voice clicked back on to answer,"Command Confirmed. All communications to this cabin has been sealed to those but myself. Pass-code required for direct contact and emergency messages shall be relayed promptly. Will that be all,Doctor?"
"Yes Tango, thank you..."
"It is my pleasure to be of assistance."
Rae finally felt alone and she crawled in bed, curling into a ball to cry for the first time in as long as she could remember. No wonder her people didn't want emotions if this was the kind of feelings that happened when you let others closer. How was she suppose to act around the captain now? She barely knew how to act before when she thought they were on common ground. Was avoiding the way to go? Silence? Would it be this way always? She didn't understand why this train of thought was making this mysterious pain worse. "What is wrong with me?" she asked to no one.

Raymond knew he shouldn't have said any of that the second it came out of his mouth, but he couldn't help it. It had been years since he had heard any word on his little sister, and it felt like Rae was purposely trying to stop him... He knew that wasn't true. The way she said his name sent a cold air into his veins. His left hand shook violently as he looked at her, giving a simple nod before saying. "Doctor." in a just as cold voice. He should have apologize right there and then, and said that he went too far, but she was gone too fast and a part of him said that he was the captain, and what he said goes.

"Locking in coordinates." Ray said, pressing a few buttons.
"Aye, Captain." Tango said in an uncertain tone, not really knowing what to take from that exchange. Ray walked out of the bridge, and back into the hallway, holding his arm steady as the shaking died down. He passed everyone's cabin, and stopped at Rae's door, hesitating a bit. Should he go in and apologize? Try to fix their relationship? Did they have one? After a couple seconds Ray kept walking until he eventually got into his cabin, the weight of the pain his body, and heart, felt finally taking a toll on him. He ruined a lot of things in his life, and hurt the only two people he really cared about in his life.

The more he tried to not act like his father, the more he did... Maybe he can make things right with his sister, and eventually Rae. He needed to go to that planet. He was so desperate and hopeful that this wasn't a trap... What was he getting his crew into?

[Pyromania99]

Tymea wasn't too successful with her alien watching before she made it back on the ship. For some reason, there were so many humans it wasn't even fun to look for anything. The last thing she grabbed before heading back to the ship with her robotics and other parts was alcohol. Enough to share around the ship and still have enough for some solo fun later. "Got to love my rum!" She muttered as she left and headed back to the ship with a few bags full of things. If it were not for her mechanical limb, she was sure that her arm would be hurting like hell.

Really, she made it back on the ship before the captain and medical doctor did and hid herself in the lab almost tripping on a beer bottle on the way back in. "Stupid drunks leaving their crap around." Of course she wasn't a stupid drunk. It must have been someone else on the ship after all. Still, there were a few bottles lining the hallway outside her lab. It wouldn't be too amazing for her image if there were random bottles of alcohol outside. "This is what science is for." She joked to herself as she moved to a recently familiar touchpad. "There should be. . . There. HERD 5 and 7, clean up the bottles. While we're at it. 9 and 10 search for interior damage on the ship." The bots were good at searching for damage. That's pretty much what they were made for after all.

While the bots worked and prepared diagnostics, Tymea pulled out part of her lastest haul. "Cap'n Horgan's! How long since I touched my last bottle of this?" A great name to be sure. An obvious import from Earth itself, Cap'n Horgan's has been theorized to have originally based off another name. Weird things happen through-out time of course, and it is as it is now. Still, Tymea was no savage. Who drinks straight from the bottle of such a delicate import? "A glass full of this should hit the damn spot." She poured herself a half full glass of the drink. The glass she used has of course been used recently, but she wasn't one to care about whether something she had previously drank from happen to be dirty from her cooties or not.

Now she wondere how the Herd was doing. 5 and 7 have finished their bottle cleaning duties so the woman ordered them to assist 9 and 10 in their damage diagnostics. She didn't exactly expect to find much on the interior that wasn't blatently obvious but it didn't hurt to have the eyes of a small thing look around. She downed the rest of what was in her glass and poured herself another. Usually she liked to mix some tropical fruit juices with her rum, but sometimes the drink as it was could do enough. Especially with the somewhat strong Cap'n Horgan's. Scanning over the multiple video feeds of the four HERDbots, Tymea noticed something. "Oh look, the Captain and Luirae Driani." Tymea always had fun saying that name. "I wonder what they're up to." She brought the miniture video feed of 7 up on the touchpad. "Bah, sounds busted on you little guy. Gotta' fix that." The slowly dulling woman watched as the two started off and then as they slowly by slowly got, well, not so polite with each other. Rae said one final thing and then made her way out.

She clicked the touchpad a few times and made it follow the woman. . . To no avail as the door to her room closed behind her keeping the robot out. "Well, it's like watching a Soap Opera without the sound I guess." Tymea just let the robot resume it's duties in the hallway until she saw the captain go to Rae's door and look at it. He seemed about ready to do something, but decided against it and went to his room. All the while, the Science Officer (self declared) had already finished her second glass. She couldn't help but think the Captain had a pathetic look on his face. Against how she normally would want to act, she decided on something.

In just a few minutes time, the somewhat drunk woman found herself in front of the Captain's room and hit on the door with her mechanical fist. "Oi, Ray. You, me, drinks. Now." Rather than a request or question, it was more an order and would have wanted to enter the room if at all possible be it with just pushing a button or trying to science open the door electronicly. "Don't worry. I brought both glasses AND the alcohol."

[KaiserElectric]

Reena didn't go straight back to the ship after her meeting with Doctor Bahri, despite what she had told him. How could she? To think that there could be a Sorlas environmental suit that didn't have to seal you inside was simply too unbelievable to be true. It's something that the humans would have called a pipe dream, though no human could ever understand what such a monumental discovery that could mean to her people. Wandering across the Spire lost in her thoughts, Reena stopped to stare at her own reflection in the window of yet another bar on the promenade, wondering what it would be like to see her own eyes staring back at her instead of a glass and polymer helmet.

Other races always misunderstood the importance of the Sorlas environmental suit to the Sorlas within it, a byproduct of the biological adaptability that the other races often took for granted. To a human or Tu'Veeri, a suit was just a suit, a tool used by the Sorlas to interact normally with other races. To the Sorlas, the environmental suit was a liberator, a gateway for Reena's people to travel to the stars and beyond, to achieve what the Council races could achieve. The environmental suit was everything to the Sorlas, dictating every aspect of their culture and self-image, and they wore them proudly. Still, the other races saw the suits as lamentable, a regrettable burden inflicted on "those weak creatures" so that they could survive. To hear some of those high-brow alien bureaucrats sneer about how pitiable her people were, it's no wonder most of Neera's species turned to crime once they reached the stars.

Reena stopped staring at the inky black of her helmet long enough to wander into the bar she was loitering outside of, a nice little watering hole known as the Brosnan. It was a far more respectable establishment then the Midget had been, mostly because the floors were actually cleaned with more then just stale booze, and since it made more sense for a Sorlas to be seen here it gave her a chance to get lost in her thoughts without being harassed. Taking her seat without much fanfare, she watched her hands as they began to reenact their familiar twitching, sealed within the red gloves of her suit. Reena did like her suit a lot, she admitted. She enjoyed being aware of her surroundings, the readouts were tremendously helpful in her research, and it was a gift from a 'dear friend' of hers, but she had not come this far by clinging to the past. She'd made a promise to herself, and indirectly to Chase and Doctor Bahri as well, that she would make something of her life. She was changing everything about herself, and what better way to change then by freeing herself from the suit that defined her past? Exhilarated by that incredibly uplifting thought, Reena felt like toasting to her future, and not just with your everyday fruity milkshake, no sir. THE fruity milkshake.

"What will you be havin' miss?" the bartender asked politely in his twangy accent.

"Trevelyan Nightmare." The bartender let out a low, soft whistle as he prepared her drink, a stiff one in spite of the fruity and milky aftertaste. He set it in front of her tentatively as Reena took it confidently in her own hands.

"Strong drink, miss," he clarified. "You celebratin' somethin' or forgettin' somethin'?" Without so much as a warning, Reena lifted the glass and tipped it into the induction port located where her mouth was situated that would carry the Trevelyan Nightmare to said mouth. The suits were nothing if not efficient. After a moment of enjoyment Reena twirled the glass around in her hand and set it upside down on the bar with finesse.

"Both, good sir," she said strongly. "Get me another one!"

---

One rumor that circulates about the Sorlas species is that they never indulge in alcohol to excess, to the point that a common idiom for seeing something thought to be impossible is "to see a drunken Sorlas". In truth, the Sorlas are just as capable of getting blasted as your everyday human, they're just better at hiding it. The Sorlas generally handle their alcohol better then most other species thanks to a fortunate genetic quirk, and a lot of the telltale signs of overindulgence, such as slurring or loss of balance, are covered up by the suit and the sensors within. Thus unless you knew Reena for her cool and collected demeanor you wouldn't have been able to tell that the xenobiologist had a few drinks in her as she happily strode back onto the ship with her supplies. Depositing them in her room, the somewhat tipsy Sorlas thought it would have been a good idea to check and see if the Captain had gotten back from the council meeting, so she can find out what they said about that awesome cure she helped to develop. Maybe he would even be hanging out with the new guy, Galius...Garru...Garla...Gravy? Whatever. She still wouldn't say no to meeting him again, not by a long shot. Meandering towards Chase's quarts, Reena was surprised to see the ship's self-proclaimed science officer pounding on the door with her metal fist. It reminded Reena of the unfortunate incident with Shaso͞on and the poisoning that she walked out on. Sober Reena would have slinked away under the circumstances and prepared a thoughtful apology for later, but Reena With a Couple Trevelyan Nightmares In Her had no such inhibitions.

"Hey, Tymea," she said cheerily, in a tone that was clearly not her usual one as she clapped a hand on Tymea's shoulder. "Just ta let you know, sorry about the incident with Shaso͞on and me walking out like a little bitch on you. Not cool on my part.I will deny saying this when I'm sober, but you're an excellent scientist and it's an absolute pleasure working with you. And your metal hand?" Reena continued, punctuating her next two words by prodding said hand firmly with two fingers extended. "Freaking. Badass."

There was presumably a moment of silence as Reena got off of Tymea's shoulder and straightened out her suit. "Whelp, that was fun. Now I'm off to polish my helmet! And that's not a euphamism!" She turned flamboyantly on her heel as she strode back the way she came, swinging her hands slightly as she sung to herself "Oh I'm a fancy man, a fancy man...woman...renla vaas..."

[DeathXtheXTree]

After he left the small shop/gambling ring, Tahillie slowly made his way back to the ship without the things that he needed. He knew that the messenger will deliver his new visor, but it will be some time before he has anything on the virus and firewall security system that he found on the Naked Moles ships mainframe. He had to wonder who gave them such items, when they themselves cannot handle high quality tech like the firewall. He needed to know, but that would have to wait till he's in the Spires Network to see what's going on in the black market.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Tahillie entered the Elevators, heading further down to where illicit fight rings, trades of drugs and other substances, and a smaller portion of the black marker. He noticed that this wasn't where he wanted to be, but rather farther away from the ship. It was the last place he wanted to be, at lease the beings here wouldn't want to deal with an angry or frustrated Furtim on their hands; a growl escaped. Tahillie wanted to get back to the ship as soon as possible. He watched as a group of bodyguards and a young adult entered the Elevator. A thought came to him. Either the kid is a mod bosses kid or the kid already runs a mob themselves.

Twenty minutes passed as they headed up the elevator, the silence thicken as Tahillies bright yellow eyes stared hard at one of the kids guards. He wasn't used to others staring at him without his visor, and this guard only irked him further before his stop came as he left the group of seven, including the kid, as he headed for the Monroe. This day was slightly longer than he liked, and that there were new crew members, not that he cared for, and boarded the ship without saying anything to the crew before he holed himself in his mess of a room. From there, he can enter Cyberspace and the Spires Network and dig a littler further down and enter the Black Market that way.

[Akayaofthemoon]

Rae hicupped, peeking out slowly from under the covers she had bundled herself under as if to make a cacoon. She still hurt but the tears had finally come to stop and now she was just trying to get her breathing under control but was failing miserably in that endeavor. She debated just ignoring the noise outside the quarters for the crew but the singing from the corridor made her wonder what in glazed...blades...whatever name was going on. It was just so loud and an unusual one at that which had her pulling herself away from the comfort of her bed. She carefully moved towards the door in a manner that ended up looking like a child creeping towards something they were scared of but trying to be brave. Once she made it to the door, she put the panel back into the wall, taking a breath before pushing the button for the door to open. She tilted out a bit, actually looking nervous for once as she spoke in the softest of voices since it was a bit scratchy from the heavy crying she had done."What is all the co-commotion out here?" Rae asked with a slight jerk in her breath.

[KaiserElectric]

When the automatic door flew open Reena flinched and faced the newcomer, hunched over and with her hands outstretched like she a wrestler getting ready to face his next challenger. The tipsy Sorlas was pleased to see that it was Rae who came out of the other room to ascertain just what was going on out here. Reena, of course, was incredibly happy to see her!

"Raaaaaae!" Reena exclaimed with her arms outstretched. "Vanquisher of moles, healer of plants, and second in command of the biggest bunch of idiots in the whole Quadrant, the MAUVE RAIDERS!"

Without warning, Reena darted forward and wrapped her arms around the co-captain in a tight hug. "Thank Malunista we have you around, doc," Reena continued before pulling apart, only to notice with alarm that Rae had been crying. It would have been awkward in any other time and place, but like before the fun and happily buzzed Sorlas ignored most of the nuances of social interaction.

"Is...is something wrong?" Reena asked as sincerely as she could muster.

[Mega Birb]

Galvus, having restored his weapon to a factory-new state after a long couple of hours, made his way to the upper decks of the ship, and noticed a certain Sorlas standing by someone's door... damn, names were a weak spot for him if anything was. He approached as the door slid open with an audible shooming sound, and he noticed something off about her behavior. Her movements seemed... loose, out of the ordinary for the typical Sorlas. Fighting a quick internal debate, he made the decision to follow the suited aquatic life form.

Needless to say, his suspicions were confirmed by a slurred exclamation. They say drunken Sorlas are rare, but he knew better. He once saw one of them win a drinking competition in a bar on some colony in the ass-end of nowhere and walk away, the advanced suit on his body failing to accurately compensate for the erratic, drunken stumbles.

"I wasn't told there was alcohol here." He pulled a mandible back in a smirk as he said this.

[Jones Sparrow]

"She could have fought back, you know. She could have stood up for herself against him if you just sent one damn message to us."

Ray sat at his desk, his right arm grasping his left as it shook. He managed to play some very old and classic jazz through his room's speakers to try and calm his nerves, but there was a mix of emotions going through his mind. Fear, excitement, dread, weariness, all coming to mind as he stared at the desk. This was the first time he's gotten a lead on Anna in years. He couldn't lose it. He couldn't lose the last normal thing in his life.

"He didn't kill mom. You did, when you left us."

The captain jumped a bit at the sound of a metallic thump on his door, with a slurred voice after it. There was a couple seconds of hesitation. He didn't want his crew to see him like this. He still had his bruises and cuts from his recent fight, his whole body throbbed with pain, and a mix of emotions swirled through his head... Then again, booze could be just what the doctor ordered.

Raymond walked over to his door, pressing a button to open it. It revealed the crew's engineer, or "science officer" according to Tango and a few other robots she tinkered with. She was a trusted member on the team, no doubt. "No drinking straight from the bottle?" Ray asked, his voice a bit raw from the recent yelling. He nodded towards the room, and took the glass gently from Tymea's hand. "We deserve a drink, after all the things we've been through these past couple days... How you holding up?" Ray asked. He knew full well his crew was a mixture of criminals, volunteers, and mercs, so he wasn't going to expect a touchy moment with every member on the ship. But while they were here sharing drinks, might as well try.

[Akayaofthemoon]

Rae was pleasantly surprised by the loud happiness in which she was received. She was already feeling positively dreadful and completely unwanted since she had wondered on the fact that maybe the Captain wasn't the only one that felt that way about her but Reena's words brought more emotions in her that she didn't understand. It was nice unlike the feeling from earlier but it still gave the response on wanting to cry. She almost lost it when arms wrapped around her in a tight hug but she held back. Rae stood awkwardly for a moment before lightly returning the hug and waiting for when the other was ready to pull away.

The question asked of her was simple but unfortunately she had no clue where to even begin to answer and even if she could give a long explanation it might have been lost on the Sorlas do to what appeared be intoxicated.
"I don't know." was the most honest answer she could give. It wasn't long after that answer that she stiffened, the sound of Raymond's voice talking to Tymea reaching her ears and causing her to scoot back in her room a bit just in case she needed to shut the door. She wasn't ready to see or deal with him just yet.

[Pyromania99]

"Drinking from the bottle is a bit annoyin--" Tymea started to say before she gave a light belch out and moving her mechanical hand up to her mouth. "Annoying." She finished. The girl peaked behind her at all the other crew members there. Well, it would be best just to have a damn party. "Aight! That's it." She knew something happened between the captain and their medical officer, but whatever. She took her mechanical hand and grabbed the captain's arm dragging him out of his room. The two reached Galvus, "Big guy, you're in charge of 'olding this fer' now." She shoved the glasses and bottle at him before making her way over to Rae and Reena. "I've decided, just now, that we are having a drinking party. . . Somewhere!"

She was a little beyond the point of major intellegent thought, "Someone decide where to go!" She almost yelled grabbing at Rae's arm, attempting to pull the woman out of her room. "Those who decline will be punished by one of my random machines." Of course, anyone who knew Tymea on the ship would know that her machines could be complete garbage that did the worst things. It was like torture. Tickle machines and other methods of making someone spilled beans. Hell, she didn't need to be drunk to threaten it either. It was "interesting" to see what different peoples reactions were to differnt machines. "Alright soldiers! Figure out where we go, and march there!" She exclaimed with the most serious, yet drunken look on her face.

[Carlsberg]

Jen sighed a little as she was led out of the small cell. Her hands were cuffed behind her as one of the guards dragged her by the arm.
"Watch it buddy, I'm coming peacefully," she said calmly, "I did choose this instead of death after all. It would be pretty dumb of me to back out now."
The guard ignored her, continuing to walk her out of the temporary prison in the security building. Jen had only been there for the past two days luckily, managing to get her legal affairs sorted out rather quickly. Apparently, volunteering for what most considered a suicide mission means you get a fast track through all of the bureaucratic bullshit that is the justice system. The fact that the ship she was to be piloting was on the Spire at the time helped as well.

Jen let out a low whistle as she saw the Monroe up ahead, stunned a little by the look of it. To the average person, it would seem like a piece of junk, something from twenty years ago. But this ship was an absolute beast. Two massive engines, one on each side. Large stabilisers on each side. It was beautiful.
"Did Christmas come early?" She remarked to herself, the guard remaining silent as always as they headed up the ramp, "I thought this was supposed to be a punishment? I'm going to have fun playing around with this baby."
The guard pointed at the handsome man as he undid her hand cuffs, Jen shaking her hands to get the circulation flowing again.
"That's the captain," He said, before turning and walking away.
Once the guard had left, Jen walked over to the captain and put her hand out.
"Jennifer Winters. But you can call me Jen," She said politely, "I'm your new pilot."

[Jones Sparrow]

Ray flinched greatly as Tymea grabbed his left arm, and being dragged in the direction of Rae's cabin. He was not ready to drink and have a party with anyone at the time, especially with the person he just yelled at. He would feel even guiltier. He didn't need that. He should be focused on the mission. At the time of being dragged, he noticed someone new aboard his ship (besides Galvus). Someone he hadn't met before, and he was not a fan of people on his ship. If she was a member of the Committee, he would hate that even more. He managed to escape the drunk Tymea's grip, and walked towards the woman, who also seemed to walk towards him.

Her first words to him were straight forward, and she held out her hand. Ray gave a quick examination of her, looking her up and down. She was obviously human, she looked a little older than Ray, and when she said that she was the pilot, he noticed she stole quick glances around the ship, as if in awe with it. "New pilot? They didn't tell me you'd be arriving... Captain Raymond Chase." He took her hand and shook it firmly, ignoring the dull pain in his hands.

"Welcome aboard the Monroe... How long did you serve?" Raymond asked out of the blue. "In the military, I mean. Your posture and handshake kinda give it away." Ray explained. He could easily look at the roster he most likely got in his private terminal in his room, but he heard shouting from the drunk crew members, and a lot of burping, so he thought he could use this as an excuse to not walk into that situation.