Redemption (Rated T) - A Pirate/Fleet RP

[Huntress]

"Well, you certainly picked a good time to ask her that one."

"A time as good as any other," Hunty said with an equally small smile, absently filling the paperwork. "I heard what I needed to hear."

She seemed rather thoughtful throughout the walk through the corridors that led to the more populated area of the headquarters. There definitely was a lot to see, but she paid very little attention to her surroundings and barely muttered a quiet 's'rry' when she nearly bumped into a tall seven-legged alien.

The smell of food brought her back to reality. That one somewhat-questionable sausage inna bun she'd had back on the planet was long forgotten - as hard as that was in essence - and even though this particular smell of food felt rather weird, it still made her mouth water.

"You think they accept your money here?" Bloody Mary asked. Hunty hadn't even noticed when he'd returned to her shoulder.

"They'd better," the captain grumbled. She tended to get irritable when she was hungry. Well, more irritable.

"Charming," the meepit said dryly, then suddenly craned his neck. This smell was familiar. It'd given him enough trouble in the last big war to forget that easily.

[Fraze]

Fraze heard a familiar voice. Several familiar voices, in fact. He wasn't sure whether to run and say hello, or run and hide until they left--either way, he knew, he would wish he had made the other choice.
Well, better to have adventured and died, than not to have adventured at...wait a minute.
"Hey, see them?" Fraze asked Ethan, gesturing to the Pirates. "I'm gonna say hi." Despite his best efforts, a mischievous smile escaped his grasp and attached itself firmly on his face.
Fraze got up. Huntress was there, along with Kat and Rider, and some others Fraze wasn't sure if he recognized or not. He walked quietly and quickly--he could be surprisingly stealthy when he put his mind to it. Well, that and they all seemed preoccupied with being in a new situation. He took a circuitous route, staying well out of sight, until he was directly behind the group.
"Never thought I'd see you here!" he said cheerfully. To Hunty, he added, "Didn't you say it'd be nothing but trouble if we met again? C'mon, let me get you all something to eat."

[Huntress]

Never thought I'd see you here! Didn't you say it'd be nothing but trouble if we met again? C'mon, let me get you all something to eat."

Hunty did what she always did when something sneaked up to her from behind. Her hand twitched towards the crossbow while her brain readjusted and began to process new information at twice the speed, as workers who have been caught slacking off usually do. Then it got distracted as she realized that she had no idea how she'd actually managed to bring a crossbow in through the customs.

Bloody Mary, who did know that - they hadn't actually considered it to be a serious weapon - and had seen Fraze coming a mile away, turned around on his shoulder-perch.

"You have no idea," he said. "Seriously, Hunty, try to be diplomatic, will you?"

"I am," Hunty grumbled, letting the crossbow go. "I'm a pirate. Our diplomacy is always pointy." She turned around. Admittedly, it was really nice to see a familiar face in this otherwise uh, alien place.

"Eat, you say?" She smiled, largely out of relief. "Sounds like a plan." Bloody Mary, who remembered well what the fleetpeople had attempted to feed the blarf during the last war, didn't look half as enthusiastic, but he didn't count for the time being.

Hunty still looked preoccupied with something. To ask or not to ask? But then again, where's the harm?

"Say... you wouldn't happen to know the schedule for public flights to the Spacefleet, would you?"

[Omni]

"Ahh, thank you. I hope it helped?"

"Think so." Brian wanted to say more, but didn't.

"Classified?" Ethan asked.

"Classified."

Fraze soon walked up to the group that just entered, and startled them.

"He's been busy with negotiations lately, hasn't he?" Brian asked.

"People who are visiting to negotiate usually don't head to eat until after they talk. Plus, I saw them during the planetside war. I don't think we're negotiating with that group right now." As Ethan said this, the waitorbot brought him his pizza, which he promptly took a bite of.

[Kat]

"Hi, Fraze!" Kat greeted him. She waved and then added, "I'm starving. Let's eat. I think we'll all be in more diplomatic moods if we had full stomachs."

[Fraze]

The pirates seemed to respond well to Fraze's intrusion.
"Eat, you say?" Hunty asked, smiling. Fraze knew he shouldn't say anything, but the smile actually looked very good on her. "Sounds like a plan."
He received another warm greeting from Kat. "I'm starving. Let's eat. I think we'll all be in more diplomatic moods if we had full stomachs."
Wait, diplomacy? Fraze was unsure what to think. He hadn't heard of any diplomatic meetings with the pirates--then again, it could be that someone else was scheduled to meet with them.

"Excellent, then!" he responded to both pirates, with a smile. "Please follow me." He still wanted dearly to go to his quarters and sleep, but now he also wanted to catch up with these unexpected visitors.
He brought the Pirates over to the table, and introduced them all. "We fought on...somewhat the same side during the second Guild War." Turning back to the Pirates, he said, "The waiterbot should come pretty soon. I would tell you to look at the menu, but it's the size of a small paperback book so I wouldn't really recommend it. Just keep trying until you find something on the menu."
Fraze paused to consider a bit more before pointing to a smaller section of the large cafeteria some distance away, looking like something between a pub and, well, a high-tech space station. "The alcohol's right over there. If it's unsafe for humans they'll usually tell you. The keyword there being usually."

"Say... you wouldn't happen to know the schedule for public flights to the Spacefleet, would you?"
Fraze thought for a moment. "Uh, depends on where you want to get. If memory serves, and it often doesn't, there are tour group schedules placed near where you went through customs. Though if you're here for diplomatic reasons, you can probably get a private tour. Where in particular are you interested in going?"

[Rider]

[glow=red,2,300]"We were on the same side as most of the Guilds during the Guild War. The difference being we were on your side when it was over," Rider said. To herself, she thought, and now we're betraying that trust.

"The alcohol's right over there. If it's unsafe for humans they'll usually tell you. The keyword there being usually."

Most drinks Rider consumed usually weren't safe for humans. She bounded off like a puppy. "Oooh, Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, sounds like fun!"

She wasn't heard from for several more hours.

(Translation: Gone for the weekend, I expect to see seven pages when I get back. And at least one post from the Cyborg.)[/glow]

[Speck]

An announcement at the Spaceport came directly after a friendly ping, "Attention, please. Flight 452 is now boarding. Please proceed to loading dock 7. Again, Flight 452 is now boarding at loading dock 7. Thank you and have a pleasant day."

Speck had just come up to Cyborg's side. She fished their two tickets out of her pocket.

"So. Where do you think this loading dock is?" she said, completely oblivious of the backlit directory to the right of her.

(( Feel free to get us there and up into space, Cyborg. Or at least on our way. ))

[Cyborg]

(( I'll get us up there if ya don't mind. Rider don't hate me for this, but I couldn't resist. XD))

" Oh the loading dock, Keng told me where to go before." Cyborg said leading the way. After about five or so minutes he found the ship they would be boarding. " Here she is, not as nice as the Gallion, but she does fly." he said as he handed the tickets to a snobby old man at the entrance of the ship.

" Well here we are, there's your seat and here's mine." Cyborg stated sitting in his seat. A flight attendent walked up to the two.

" The ship will be taking off in about five minutes and it will be approximately a 30 minute flight. Can I help you with anything before we take off?" she asked with a smile.

" Ya I'll have a bottle of rum." Cyborg stated with a smirk.

" I'm sorry sir, but we can't serve rum anymore, we've been having a problem lately with chipmunkanese hussies getting drunk and flirting with all of the female passengers,... and me" she said with disgust before walking away."

(3 minutes later)

" Prepare for take off in 10,. 9...8...7..6..5..4..3..2..1.. here we go, enjoy your flight." the attendent said over an intercom as the ship took off.

[Zylaa]

Zylaa had left the weasels on the ship. They hadn't resisted, since they were in the presence of so much shininess., and Zylaa didn't want them overrunning Spacefleet. Everything around her was shiny, and interesting, and new. She saw aliens, of all shapes and sizes, from the seven-legged alien to a normal-looking man in a brown coat. She watched the man curiously for a while, to see if he did something like change color, but all he did was talk with some other normal-looking humans. I suppose it takes all kinds to make a space town, she thought.

When they met Fraze, Zylaa hung back. After all, she hadn't talked to the man since before her weasels assaulted him. That may be bad for this pretension at negotiations or whatever it is we're doing, she thought. Food, she agreed, would be nice.

"Where in particular are you interested in going?" Fraze asked.

That was an excellent question, Zylaa thought, as she scanned the room for a waiterbot. This ruse is problematic, she thought.

[Huntress]

"We fought on...somewhat the same side during the second Guild War."

Hunty nodded at the fleeters at the table.

"It wasn't a side, it was a polygon," she said wryly. "But we do come in peace and so forth."

"The alcohol's right over there. If it's unsafe for humans they'll usually tell you. The keyword there being usually."

The captain glared at Rider's quickly disappearing back. "For now, anyway. If you turn out to be unable to stay upright as a result of this, I swear to gods I will find a suitable keel in this station to introduce you to, and you know I don't joke around with these things!"

She grabbed a seat, sunk into it and turned her attention to Fraze again.

"Uh, depends on where you want to get. If memory serves, and it often doesn't, there are tour group schedules placed near where you went through customs. Though if you're here for diplomatic reasons, you can probably get a private tour. Where in particular are you interested in going?"

Hunty gave a sheepish 'eh-ehm' and tried to wrap her brain around a coherent, polite sentence that'd serve the purpose while not messing everything up.

"Well, I'd just like to get a grasp of the schedule of the connection between the moon and the planet in general," she said. "I mean, there's no telling when or how we'll go back and I'd much rather be prepared so that I can plan ahead a little and such... for instance, when the next flight arrives from the planet and when the one after that leaves for the planet, and the time gaps inbetween, stuff like that."

She paused. Some parts of her brain were desperately nudging other parts of her brain.

"Although I wouldn't mind a private tour around the HQ in general," she admitted, her voice bearing an odd note that made Bloody Mary scowl, twitch his ears and shoot a quick sharp glance aside at her. "I'm probably not about to get another chance of visiting this place."

((Also gone for the weekend, also expect to see seven pages by the time I'm back, and atleast one more post from the Cyborg x3))

[Jina]

Jina's trip to Spacefleet was somewhat uneventful, if you don't count falling over. A few times.

She didn't want to hang around with the Captain, but they had met with someone who she didn't know and she decided it might be nice to find out who it was. She wondered if he was part of the plan or not. Still, probably better to keep her mouth shut for now.

- - - - - -

Anester tried to understand what was going on.

The one she had tried to steal from earlier had brushed past her as she was going in to the spaceport, and had come in soon after talking to the new target.

And now she was going on board a shuttle to the moon.

She had left Anester with two options. She could stick to her shiny gold target. Or she could try sneak on board the shuttle to try and find out what was going on.

There had to be something. Really, how could so many people want to be at the spaceport in one go? And if there was a secret, it could be worth something. Probably better than the average day's pickpocketing, anyway.

Besides, Spacefleet was full of shiny things.

She was behind Speck in seconds, and was barely noticed as she boarded the shuttle.

What damage could a little pet monkey do anyway?

[Cyborg]

(Okay, Speck hope you don't mind, but I'd like to get us to the Fleet.)

(20 awkward minutes of small talk later.)

" Here we are, Spacefleet HQ. Come on Speck, les' go!" Cyborg said dragging Speck off the ship and past random personnel.

" This is where our paths divide, got it. I don't care what your captain said, I'm using a favour I'm owed. So get out and stay out of my way," he said as he left Speck and went to a reception desk," Excuse me, where is your hospital wing or whatever it's called?"

(Someone feel free to post as the receptionist, since I know nothing about the Fleet HQ,... other than it's shiny.)

[Rider]

[glow=red,2,300]Back on the NTWF, The Grey Lupe Inn was on fire with thoughts of rebellion.

Schzain tapped her blue nails on a wine-stained table to the rhythm of this stranger's speech. He had come to Tabloid Town from Dunburrow as so many had. He was a young man, and handsome, with flaming red hair and hands like claws.

"Once, our people were free to immigrate to this plane from our home worlds. We were free to find opportunity and fertile soil and acceptance from humans, Neopets, and many from other planes! We were free from the bonds of tyranny or famine or war or whatever we may have fled, and we all have stories, my brothers and sisters. Stories of injustice and suffering!

"Now, the humans have taken over! And for the mistakes of a few, they punish us all, oppress us as we were oppressed on our home worlds, yet we are the stronger beings!" The young man's claws gouged furrows in the pine table. "My brothers, could one of you not tear this tavern to pieces with your strength? My sisters, could one of you not burn this tavern to ashes with your rage? And is each one of us not cleverer than a hundred humans put together?

"There was one demon who understood this more than any other. A beacon, a hero to our people! Leraye, the Chaotic Alchemist! He led the Guilds on a wild chase, and reminded them what a human is before a demon! Nothing more than a mouse! My people, it is said that our hero Leraye even took a god from the heavens and trapped him in a stone black as night! And now the energy of that being has been sensed on the moon, in that prison of oppression that they call the Spacefleet! My brothers and sisters, he plans to destroy this establishment so that humans may look into the smoking wreckage and know the power of demons! But he cannot do it alone. He needs the help of his people. Any brother or sister of mine who can wield magic or sword to join me when we attack the moon and free Leraye so that he might lead us to battle against the humans on Earth!"

A loud cheer from every demon in the room. Leraye could even pluck the moon from the sky.

Things will get interesting really quickly, Schzain thought as she sipped her wine. This was the kind of excitement that pickpocketing wouldn't bring. Red on her proud seas and the moon-men in thier proud skies, she would humble them a notch.[/glow]

[The Bike]

Manure factories.

It wasn't one. The rider had been very specific about that. He'd always disliked horses, those big, slightly insane and disagreeable beasts who were too jumpy and unpredictable for him. Horses disliked him too. He'd never been able to connect with... well, pretty much any living being. So he had a bike.

Or rather, he had had a bike. Now he was gone, and it was there in a high-security room in the Spacefleet HQ, and it was missing a rider.

TMC's white Harley Chopper wasn't alive, in any sense of the word. The White Weewoo had been far more self-aware than this bike would ever be. The Horseman had valued it exactly because it wasn't alive. But Horsemen rub off on you. The bike was tuned after TMC, had an odd kind of connection with him, and could therefore sense things most machines can't sense, much like a space radar picks up things an old whale boat would never even dream of.

Up until now it'd been in a rather stable state, which was to say that it messed up the space-time continuum at semi-regular intervals and picked up signals from all over the universe, from all planes that were sending out signals. It was a chaotic buzz of energy and time waves, a constant analysis of incoming data... and constant attention.

It wasn't looking for TMC. It didn't have to. The connection had never broken. It was still there, albeit nowhere near as strong as it'd been when the Horseman was alive - or existing, anyway - and winding through far too many planes and temporal levels to be traced. It could constantly receive weak signals through the connection. Mainly signals of rage, resignation and grim determination.

Oh yes. He knew. But he couldn't do anything, and he couldn't use the connection with the bike for anything other than venting a tiny little fraction of his blazing rage. It came in, as it so tends to be with rage, uneven cycles of uncontrollable fury and sulky despair.

The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Defeated. Trapped. Overpowered and at the service of a low-rank demon!

The bike twitched, as if sharing its master's rage, and spun around on spot, without moving for an inch. Parts of it were suddenly impossible to look at - they were there, but eyes couldn't reach them. The laggy sphere of time inconsistencies grew around it, sending some of the Fleet machinery into that same lag of nonexistence. And the engine came to life with a low, laggy, weirdly off-tune roar, as if trying to get rid of the excess signals it got.

BRRRRRR-RRrr-rr- - - - rrrrR-RRRAR- R - R - bop bop bop