Redemption (Rated T) - A Pirate/Fleet RP

[Huntress]

Hunty was beginning to get irked. Granted, she lived most of her life in a perpetual state of mild irkedness, so all things considered it wasn't any remarkable collateral damage, but the scales were starting to tilt.

But she had to admit that Keng had a point. The point was mainly the fact that they'd save lots of money going with her, and that was always an automatic plus in Hunty's book. But--

" Hunty, Im trying to make this easier for all of us. If I am seen with the pirates at all, the fleet will most likely make assumptions, they aren't stupid people. If I go with Keng, stick with Keng, then less assumption of anything other than possibly a date."

"Look," Hunty said with a sigh. "You're likely to get caught anyway. Don't hope that you won't. The fleet, as you said, isn't stupid. I'm sending you because you're a cyborg, you know your way around the machinery. They know that too. As soon as the security breach is discovered, they'll check all incoming visits, they'll find you, and then it'll be up to you and your wits and pretty necklace to get yourself out of there alive. If you went with Keng, it'd be her neck for taking you up there. If you went with a commercial flight, they won't have anything to hold against anyone else. Savvy? It might look a little weird at first but it'll save us all later."

She paused, then looked at Keng, then grinned.

"You know, I should've thought of this sooner. Alright, gentlemen, here's the deal. We're going with Keng's ship. Except for you, Speck. You're gonna go fetch your ninja clothes..." she paused. "Guys, do we still have the ninja clothes? Honest answer, please."

"Yes," Justice said. "Only because they're comfy to sleep in, and don't smell half bad."

Hunty nodded. "Mkay, so Speck, you'll fetch your ninja stuff, and Merpo will be so incredibly kind and buy two tickets, one for you, one for Cyborg. You two will go with the public flight, and Speck'll keep an eye on Cyborg so that he won't do anything... funny."

"No, in all seriousness, are we gonna stand out in these clothes? Because it may well be time for shopping."

"We're the Pirates' Guild," Hunty said, in a voice that was trying to convince herself as much as others. "As such, a political force. As such, we have full right to appear up there dressed as anything we like... although you're free to bring cameras, there's probably a lot to see up there."

"Um," Bloody Mary piped up.

"Yeeess?" Hunty's voice was starting to acquire that typically strained 'one more 'but' and I'll shoot someone' quality.

"The White Weewoo is back at the docks. And we've wasted enough time as it is, so that whole ninja-garb thing..."

Hunty paused, then turned to look at Sev. "I'd much rather leave within the next ten minutes or so. You think you could perhaps poof off and bring those ninja-clothes?"

[Speck]

Speck needed out. It was surely past the time that she was supposed to meet the "mysterious voice," and she most definitely couldn't meet whoever-that-person was while she was still in the Spaceport. She devised a plan to get onto the street, at least. She left her clothes at the bathhouse? No, they were right by her side, in the same paper shopping bag. She needed some fresh air? Not likely. The air in the lobby seemed more fresh than the air outside. Ah! She had it!

"Captain, there's one other thing. Surely, I can't change in the Spaceport itself for, er," she whispered the next two words, "security reasons."

Speck looked up at one of the security cameras in the lobby, which had been continually swiveling from left to right before the pirates had entered. As soon as they had stepped foot in the lobby, the camera had focussed its attention on them. She made towards the door, "Perhaps I could find an alley outside to change in?"

---

Joce was getting more and more irritated by the second. Her plan had gone wrong, and she was stuck sitting on a street, posing as a beggar. Two local beggars across the street eyed her suspiciously, as if she had trespassed on their territory. She quickly turned away from them, trying to catch the attention of passerby.

"Alms fer th' poor, missus and sirs?" She faked an accent, hoping no one would question it. Her question was directed at a group of approaching triplets, and a small black monkey.

[Ikkin]

Rider's response to Ikkin was not quite helpful, Sev thought. "Our ticket out of this goose-chase and onto more serious things, you can be sure," she said, seeming to be on the lookout for something. "Oh, look, Sev's back. Looks relatively undamaged," she added, in response to Cyborg. Sev smirked. "Relatively undamaged" was his specialty. Rider touched the mark on Cy and glared at Sev. "Sev, did you give him a tattoo? ... Never mind, I don't want to know."

Sev gave her a look as if to say, "Oh, please." What was she thinking it was, anyway?

Hunty was a bit more graceful. "Thanks, Sev, as long as he's in working order, I'm not complaining." She then quickly turned her attention to Cy, however, and Sev's attention kind of waned.

Sev was kind of glad that he was generally ignoring the proceedings as they quickly turned to minutia of how they would all go up to Spacefleet and what Cy would be doing there. Sev could hardly believe how bold Cy was to actually attempt to haggle with someone who had killed him only a few hours before, and even less that he managed to get his necklace back. The flight plans turned out to be much more complicated than he would have liked as well, almost turning into a Mod Squad-esque debate over details (which, to be fair, at least had the decency to not involve a works cited page) before Hunty finally decided to take Keng's offer to take a special flight up, while sending Speck and Cy on the commercial flight.

This, of course, created more problems. Speck would be going as a ninja, and her ninja outfit was on the Weewoo. And as Bloody Mary said, "The White Weewoo is back at the docks. And we've wasted enough time as it is, so that whole ninja-garb thing..."

Sev knew what was coming next before Hunty even said it. "I'd much rather leave within the next ten minutes or so. You think you could perhaps poof off and bring those ninja-clothes?"

"Under normal circumstances, I'd refuse to do little chores like that out of sheer principle," Sev said, his voice low. "But, in the interest of finally having something happen..." He disappeared in a flash before even finishing the statement. A minute later, he reappeared in front of Hunty, holding the ninja clothes.

"Now, since I did that for you, I hope you don't mind if I insist that everyone who doesn't want to wind up with hot feet does their part of leaving as quickly as I did mine," he said with a grin.

[Fraze]

"No, in all seriousness, are we gonna stand out in these clothes? Because it may well be time for shopping."

Fraze felt a great disturbance in the Roleplay...as if millions of shinies suddenly jingled in terror and were suddenly dropped into a register. He felt he might need to do a shift at the Spacefleet Gift Shop today.

---------------

"You're an angel," Huntress said. "That'd be lovely."
Merpo was caught off-guard by this odd display of affection, but didn't say anything as another voice demanded his attention.
"And why might I ask, Mr. Crayola man, do you need them to get whatever it is for you when you certainly have the means to go up and get it yourself? Being 'terminated' from the personnel of the fleet certainly doesn't prevent you from visiting the civilian area."
Merpo began to feel something like indignation. "I was told I wouldn't--I would never be allowed back. Yes, I used--used Spacefleet equipment for m-my own experiments. But they were never harmful...never got in the way of anyone else's research...but I was told I would b-be taken into...custody...if I ever set foot in Spacefleet again. Twenty-five years on th-this planet, can't even get back...home...because all flights from the spaceport stop--go to Spacefleet." Merpo was stammering so badly now, he could hardly speak. Before he could continue his rant, Huntress interrupted him.

"About those notes you wanted - where would we find them? I mean, the title or the appearance of the notebook or presumed whereabouts would be helpful."
With great purpose, Merpo took several deep breaths to calm his nerves before speaking. "L-library. Section IV, fifth floor, row 25-b. Second shelf from the bottom, toward the--middle of the row. It's a b-black bound notebook about two centimeters thick, spiral design on the front. That floor of that section is the Spacefleet independent research section, you need a l-level five security pass to get in. Unless it's been moved." One of his few contacts at Spacefleet had told him years ago, before his communicator died, where the notebook was when he had been kicked out of Spacefleet. He had memorized its location, in case there was ever a chance he could get it back.

Merpo was about to ask if the phoenix would get the comms from his house, but decided against it. Walking back to the desk in the spacedock, he ordered two tickets, next flight out.
"That-leaves-in-twenty-minutes-pease-proceed-to-the-loading-bay-by-following-the-signs-on-the-ceiling."
Turning to the group, Merpo said, "W-well, I think you heard her. Here are the...tickets. I just n-need to get the comms now...should be b-back in fifteen minutes." with that, he once again applied the manic "DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE" smile to his face, hummed something that managed to be off-key despite also being completely tuneless, and set off walking at a quick pace, the peacock feather in his hat bobbing to his gait and the breeze.

[Kengplant]

"Right then. We can continue complaining about minor details in my ship. Tali-ho and all that. I'll get the ship ready." Keng said as she turned around to go back into spaceport, but paused before she'd made it to the door then ran to give Cyborg another hug. "You mind yourself. If you have to tell them you came to get a checkup of your implants or to visit me or whatever and weren't aware I was at the station. I'll see ya up there." then with a quick peck on his cheek that wasn't made of metal she disappeared back inside, after a quick glance at 'Mr. Crayola man'.

"Excuse me Commando, you left this on the floor." offered the clerk, holding out her communication device.

"Oh, thanks. A bunch of those nice folk who were in here earlier will be taking a ride with me up to the fleet. Normal security procedures apply, they just won't have tickets. Give them a pass or whatever and send them to bay 1. I'll park my craft there so they won't get lost. It's craft N.C.C. dash seventeen, zero, thirteen thirty-seven. The Ludicrous."

"I'll let them know."

"Thanks again." Keng said over her shoulder as she made her way into the main area of the spaceport. She was parked in bay 6 at the time: a personal bay on reserve for Fleet Officers. She'd bought a parking spot when she got her craft. She turned left for the lift that would take her there.

" Identification-" Keng was already putting in her security number as the computer asked for it. "-please."

A short ride latter with bad elevator music (it'd proven crippling to an invisible alien race that had once tried to invade the fleet, and as such was now a mandatory security measure on all lifts) and Keng was running for her turtle-like ship. After getting through her own security she lifted off and landed moments later in a parking spot in Bay 1 right close to where the pirates would be getting off their own lift, the name and number of the ship clearly visible.

[Kat]

"If it doesn't buy us enough disinterest, Katkat and Ikkin will continue to be Mage ambassadors.

"Sounds good to me," said Kat, shrugging. "I could be like Ikkin's assistant or something. Besides, I look the part. Remember that old guy-slash-demon in the tavern? He instantly knew I was a mage. Or maybe he's got some powers...eh, whatever."

* * *

"Alms fer th' poor, missus and sirs?"

Jacob stopped and dug into his pockets. He fished out two shinies. "Sorry, we're kinda strapped for cash too; that's all we can spare." He eyed Jingleheimer, silently asking him about that gold tooth he had gotten from the demon.

Their youngest brother pretended not to notice and continued on with John. That was Jacob's cue to keep up.

[Jina]

"Oh, yes, do show us, miss."

"Alright then."

As they approached, a beggar said, "Alms fer th' poor, missus and sirs?" Anester didn't give her anything. She was a pickpocket for a reason.

She pointed the entrance out to the triplets, then looked around. Hopefully if her target was around and had seen her, she wouldn't have looked too suspicious with the triplets around.

She took another look at the beggar from before. She didn't look too dirty... and why yes, there was definitely shiny underneath the hood.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any way she could get it without being seen, which meant she would have to wait for the target to move on.

Anester entered the spaceport.

[Huntress]

Hunty was always mildly worried when she had to give Sev orders. The phoenix was, technically speaking, her subordinate - or at least bound to one - but she knew that firebirds aren't fond of technical thinking. Not to mention they're rather fond of fire. So every time she gave the phoenix an order, she got the feeling that she was using up some invisible pool of patience that wasn't getting any new supplies.

But at least this time Sev still obeyed and brought the clothes. The captain suppressed the urge to hug him and tossed the bundle of clothes over to Speck.

"Now, since I did that for you, I hope you don't mind if I insist that everyone who doesn't want to wind up with hot feet does their part of leaving as quickly as I did mine," Sev said.

"Good plan." Hunty turned her attention to Merpo, listened to the directions to his notebook, and as it so tended to happen with anything that wasn't nautical or connected with money, promptly forgot every word.

"Any of you got that?" she asked glumly.

"Four, five, 25-b, second bottom, middle, black, independent research, level five," Justice rattled in her usual speed-thinking tone. "Check."

This, in turn, meant that the fate of Merpo's notebook now depended on the memory and presence of a small rabid rodent who mainly stuck around out of habit, but Hunty figured that it was a better risk than writing it down, so she left it there and nodded in acknowledgement when the man went off to fetch the communicators.

"Fifteen minutes... you know, there's no reason for all of us to stick around until then. Keng's waiting. Speck, I think he'll be back before your flight leaves, could you just get the communicators to us once you get to the moon? And... be careful, will you? This won't be an easy task." She glanced at the kougra. "Cyborg... watch yourself." This may have been a warning as well as a friendly wish. It was hard to tell.

"A'right," Bloody Mary said as the shoulder he was perched on turned with its owner towards the door of the spaceport. "Onwards to destiny."

"If you want to be part of that destiny, you'll zip it until we're in the air," Hunty said, making her way towards the unknown territories that was the inside of the Tabloid Town Spaceport.

"Not even humming the Armageddon theme song?"

"Especially not humming the Armageddon theme song."

"Drat."

***

A few rather eventful and bureaucratic moments and some general plot avoidance later, Hunty was standing in the bay, looking around and feeling very much like a pirate out of water.

"Now can I hum?" her voice of personal conscience - and torment - asked.

"No."

"I make a pretty decent Steven Tyler impersonation."

"Exactly why I said no." Bloody Mary, with his chronic-smoker type of voice he'd gotten due to his position of a leader of a gang of anarchists whose work he often had to coordinate in storms, indeed made a very decent Steven Tyler impersonation. The problem was, his otherwise hard-as-nails attitude tended to get overly sappy when he sang rock ballades, which didn't work well for his credibility as the gang leader. And Hunty wasn't about to let that get out of hands when facing a moonful of space-people.

...unless the situation ended up presenting the need, of course.

She stepped closer to Keng's ship. "The Ludicrous. Nice. Alright, people, let's keep the line moving... and no pressing big red buttons unless you're certain that you won't blow us up with it, kay?"

[Fraze]

Merpo returned. Tabloid Town Spaceport, he thought. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

After thinking some more, he added, Or was that some other spaceport? I forget.
He walked through the door, looking around. Where did all of the pirates go--ahh, there was one of them. Walking up to Speck, he held out a bag. "There are four, uh, communicators in here. They're all tuned to the same f-frequency, so you don't need to change--adjust anything. Press the...button...to talk, and the message will go to all the other communicators. And I have one i-if you need to speak to me."

[Speck]

Speck stepped back as Hunty thrust the ninja clothes at her. She stepped back again as the very colorfully-dressed man pressed a bag of communicators at her. She dug one out of the bag for herself before looking around for everyone else. Why was it that everything was cut so close?

"That's good, that's fine, I'll be right back. I've gotta go change my clothes!" Speck jogged out the entrance of the Spaceport, brushing past Anester on her way out. She looked around frantically for some place to change.

---

"Thank ya, sir, thank ya," Joce nodded, and caught the two shinies as they passed straight through the illusion of the cup she was holding.

Not too long after she watched the little monkey and the triplets enter the 'Port, Speck came bounding out, her arms full of clothes and bags. With one flourish, Joce sprang to her feet and hooked an arm around Speck's neck. Speck grabbed close to the bundle of things in her hands as she was dragged into the nearest alley.

Joce let Speck go only to thrust her into the alley; she stood directly in front of the only entrance to it. The pirate sputtered, catching her breath, "What do you want!"

"What's your answer?" Joce adjusted her hood, making sure her face was hidden enough.

"Huh?" Speck would have rubbed her neck if her arms weren't full of stuff, "Are you... were you at the bathhouse?"

The hooded figure nodded, "Yes. Time is short, Fern. What's your answer."

"Yes. My answer is yes. Now what do you want me to do. Make it quick: I don't have a lot of time," She used this moment to put the stuff down, turning her back on the figure so she could start changing. Speck tried her best to keep the corner of her eye focussed on Joce.

Joce opened her cloak to dig out a piece of paper, neatly folded and sealed with purple wax. She set it down next to the bag of communicators, averting her eyes as Speck changed her clothes. "All you need to know is in that letter. It will give you precise directions for your task. Only you will be able to read it, once you open it. Make sure you are the only person to break that seal. If anyone else breaks it for you, they will be the only ones able to read it."

"What about my father? What about Noah Speckleton?" Speck had changed into her basic ninja attire, and now slung a belt and bag around her waist. She buckled it, and asked Joce yet another question, "Is he alive?"

"That depends a great deal on your definition of alive," Joce said flatly,"He is certainly not sleeping with the fishes, if that's what you're asking."

"Will I see him after this is over?" Speck turned around, but found no one to speak with. Joce had cloaked herself with an invisibility spell.

"I will contact you if you make it back," She spoke, then teleported back to the dingy hideout, hidden miles away.

"If?"

Speck picked up the letter, and a communicator, then shoved them into the bag at her waist. As she shoved them into the bag, she pricked her fingers on something. The tips of her fingers felt for whatever else was in there, and she pulled one of the offenders out. It was a ninja star. She put it back in the bag before taking a long, dark blue sash and tying it around her head. The sash covered her entire head, all but her eyes. The rest of her outfit covered her in blacks and dark blues, and didn't leave much in the way of skin showing. All her scars and identifying features were covered.

Speck made sure all her hair was tucked into the sash before placing her katana it its scabbard on her belt. Before exiting the alley, she hid her now much heavier bag of clothes underneath the smelly dumpster. She hoped her clothes wouldn't stink too much by the time she got back.

With only the bag of communicators in her arms, she strode back into the Spaceport. Her feet hardly made a sound on the shiny linoleum tiles.

[Omni]

"Sorry, I don't know where it is."

Ethan paused and gave Fraze a confused look.

"Oh, wait. You weren't talking to me. Sorry, it's kinda been a long few days."

"That's alright. My days have been long too, but for the opposite reason. I want to do something, but all Spacefleet is doing right now is setting up trade relations, and I don't think I'd be much of a diplomat. Sure, I have personal training, I train Siber, and a few other things, but it's the same thing every day."

It was around then that Brian walked into the cafeteria. He walked up to the table Fraze was at, and held out the cup full of the metallic substance. "Your suit, sir. Sorry if I kept you, it's just annoying when you have to ask the computer for someone's location repeatedly because they keep moving."

[Rider]

[glow=red,2,300]It was a real spaceship.

Rider had only ever seen one before... and she had been trying to destroy it at the time. It had been a pretty ship, and this one was pretty as well.

"The Ludicrous... She is a beauty." She inched inside and the glittering buttons and switches inside took her breath away. "Oooh, Keng, what does this one do?" Her hand drifted towards a suspiciously red button and pressed it.[/glow]

[Kengplant]

Upon the pressing of the red button the fire extinguishing system came on. Luckily for the rest of the crew it only targeted Rider who was quickly doused in a strange foam like substance.

"Ok... Rule number one, two, and three... no hitting red buttons." she then glanced at one that said clearly below it 'DO NOT PRESS' and added, "unless it's that one in which case you'll just be kept occupied for a while. I've only had this ship for a few weeks and I still don't know what every button does, I honestly don't mind you pressing them so long as they're no red or on that" she pointed at the main controls for flying the ship "panel. There's enough seating for everyone, feel free to look around. The bathroom is over there." she looked directly at Rider as a hint that this is where she could clean up, "We'll be leaving as soon as everyone is ready. Huntress, you can give the order for when to leave, after that understand that you are on my ship." Keng warned. One warning she failed to give was that in her room which wasn't exactly locked off there was a large kodiak bear. Well.. it wasn't quite exactly large yet by Kodiak standards. It was only a yearling, but a 135 pound playful puppy with sharp claws isn't exactly something you want jumping on you, especially not one accustomed to wrestling with a werewolf as a form of play.

((I haven't really decided much on the layout or special features of the ship other than it has a digital art interface (part of it is 3D holographic and currently has a 3D model Keng is working on displayed), and close to that is a video game station. There's also you're typical lounge and kitchen area and stuff, so have fun 'exploring'))

[Zylaa]

Zylaa walked over to the ship with the rest of the crew. "Pretty," she said happily. Like Rider, this was only the second spaceship she'd encountered. As she entered, she looked around happily at the general shininess of the ship... and then she heard the low rumbling behind her and glanced around with a dull sense of foreboding.

All 300 weasels piled through the door and began to swarm over the floor, knocking Zylaa over with the combined force of their entrance. Once inside, overwhelmed, the weasels stopped, gazing around in wonder at the shininess, and the buttons, and the shininess.

Zylaa pushed herself up from the floor and plucked one of the weasels off her head as she stood up. "I think the weasels will enjoy this trip," she said. "Just maybe."

[Kengy]

"... are they... do you think... will they actually get off afterward?" asked Keng looking at the weasels uncertainly.