'Firefly: Sidere' A Take Turns Writing Thread by SoulOfSerenity

The Man They Call Soul...

Oh, and here's the link back to the very first thread, if you want to catch up on the whole story.

http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=7178#99551

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

http://havenofsouls.blogspot.com/

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, May 2, 2005 3:03 PM

Lying in his bunk, staring at his memory chip, Jazaf congratulates himself. 'He can't touch you now. He can't even find you. But now you're mine. Without you he can't do a gorram thing.'

A grin sneaks it's way across his face. But as soon as it arrives it vanishes. 'No! I can't let this get to my head. Gotta stay out of his reach. Don't know how far he can extend now. Gotta be .....'

"What'cha doin' Jazaf!"

"Aiya!" Jazaf sits up quick as a bolt, gasping for air, "You gotta reason for sneaking up on me like that?"

Ebo giggles, "No, not really. I saw you head back into the ship. Just wanted you to know that the crew are headed into town. Interested in coming?"

"I....guess." said Jazaf.

"'kay. Seeya outside!" With that Ebo left.

Hiding his memory chip in the securest place he could think of, Jazaf then strapped on his trusty Katana and headed outside as well.

'Who knows.', he thought to himself, 'Things could get a little interesting here.'

---------------------------------------
Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with till you
understand who's in rutting command here.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 4:40 AM

OoC: Wow, the third chronicle of the Sidere adventure...
For this, our third term, we can promise you this:
"I aim to misbehave."
Hold on tight.
__________________________________________________

"So... How much d'you want?" Mantichorus asked.

The stall-holder looked at Mantichorus, Soul and Glico just standing there looking at him, and did a few quick calculations. "90 creds...?"

"Sounds reasonable." Mantichorus nodded, and threw the money over to the man. He cautiously handed the engine part over to Mantichorus. Mantichorus smiled, nodded, and walked over to Teela with the part alongside Soul and Glico.

"Well?" Teela asked, squinting in the light of the local Sun.

"Got a discount due to our intimidating manner." Mantichorus replied, then stopped and looked around. "Say, where'd Ebo go?"

"She went to check on Jazaf." Teela replied. Mantichorus nodded. Jazaf didn't seem to much like the air here. It didn't bother him, his homeworld had several ranches on it, and they smelt worse than this most the time.

"Well, at least she's not getting us into any more trouble." Soul grinned. "...Not yet, at least."

"I reckon trouble's found us." Glico said, and pointed at a large man striding angrily through the crowd towards them. "Anyone know that guy?"

"Uh-huh." Mantichorus sighed. "Bounty hunter. He was sent to pick me up for something once, and I blew his ship up."

"You like blowing ships up don't you?" Ebo quipped, as she and Jazaf ran up.

Soul frowned, leant in towards Mantichorus and muttered: "Tell me, Manti... Is there a chance that one day we may run in to someone who hasn't got a grudge against you?"

Mantichorus shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

"What ship d'you blow up before?" Jazaf asked, reaching for his blade.

"Alliance fighter. His idea of distraction/way of getting down to a planet without the engines on." Ebo said, jerking her thumb at Mantichorus.

Jazaf nodded. "So it was you guys that made all that fuss at Ballard..."
__________________________________________________
OoC: Anyone fancy writing a brawl? I'll write it on Thursday if no-one's called it before...

--------------------------------------------------
Barret: "I been here since the beginnin', an' I still don't know what the hell's goin' on either."
--------------------------------------------------
"...I'm not a man who likes to swear,
But I've never cared for the sound of bein' alone..." -Neil Diamond, I am... I said.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, May 12, 2005 12:32 PM

EBONEZER

OOC: I'm awake! Sorry guys, I got all distracted like, and more'n a little confused, but I'm here now.

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

Ebo eyed the 225 pounds of ugly pushing through the crowd towards them. "You know, its times like this I wish someone would give me a gorram gun."

"No one is stopping you from buying your own," Teela said without pulling her eyes away from the Bounty Hunter.

Ebo snorted, "You gotta pay me occasionaly for that to happen."

"Could we discuss this after the impending brawl?"

"Sure!" Ebo said, "Don't hafta pay me if I'm dead."

"Ain't she supposed to be the positive one?" Jazaf asked.

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

OOC: Ebo advances the story none. Sorry. Someone with more imagaination can write the brawl. I'll add the quipy commentary and we shall have ourselves a story.

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

Four out of five gynecologists recommend calling Ebo a girl.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/yeabig/

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, May 14, 2005 8:33 PM

The Bounty Hunter finally manages to get in front of the group. He doesn't say a word as he passes his gaze over the crew of the Sidere. He stops when he sees Mantichorus and raises his fist in the air.

"Fugitive Mantichorus! I have come for your head."

"You've tried that before, only to have me slip from your grasp. Careful now, or I won't be the only thing leaving you."

The Bounty hunter just grins. "You'd like to think that wouldn't you. But I've managed to get my own crew together," He brings his fist down to his sides and several imposing figures gather around the hunter,"to assist me in my goal."

Manti leans to Soul "what's your count? I see 25 thugs."
"Same here. Teela? What's the plan, I think this calls for an executive decision."
"Plan? Who needs a plan. This ruttin' son of a gorram weasel is threatening one of my crew."

The Hunter grew impatient of the pow-wow going on in front of him."Now is not the time for talking! Attack! That bounty is as good as ours!!"

The thugs charged, Manti and Soul fired a few rounds dropping some thugs. Then Manti and Soul charged in themselves. Teela managed to toss a gun Ebo's way before she was confronted by two large men.

While trying to get a bead on one thug Ebo was swept up in a fierce Bear-hug that threatened to snap her spine. The thug looked up and laughed, "What good is your pistol now? Ahahaha!"
"Don't fancy myself a good shot," Ebo struggled,"But at this range who needs to be." With that Ebo worked the pistol to the temple of her assailant's head and fired.

Meanwhile, a few well-placed kicks and some gunfire got Teela out of harms way. She went and checked on Ebo.

Katana drawn, Jazaf and a single thug armed with a large pipe faced off. The thug charged in with a downward swing, Jazaf deflected it to the left side as best he could and dove in with a lunge catching the thug in the chest.

"Hey Glico!" Soul shouted
"Yeah?"
"Let's get you Airborne!"
Glico caught the hint and sprinted to Soul's ready hands. As if was a practiced manuever, Soul launched Glico into the air where she produced two firearms and let loose a barrage of bullets dropping even more thugs that were on the way.

Mantichorus made a beeline for the hunter. The Bounty hunter had a smirk on his face as he lifted his gun in Manti's direction.

"You're about to be the easiest mark I've ever had." He spoke gleefully.
Under his breath Manti said, "This is the last mark you'll ever try to catch!"

The hunter fired a single shot, aimed for Manti's head. But thanks to his pre-cog ability ,it never got there. Spinning to dodge the bullet and bring him to within arms reach Mantichorus lashed out with the speed of a serpent and brought the hunter in close. "Goodbye." was all Manti said before he put the barrel of his gun underneath the hunter's chin and fired.

The few thugs remaining scattered, leaving the area as swiftly as they came.
"I think it's best if we do the same," Teela said, "Let's go."

-------
OOC: If, this seems like crap I apologize, I pulled this outta my butt at like 1:30 AM eastern time, so I'm really tired.

---------------------------------------
Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with till you
understand who's in rutting command here.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, May 14, 2005 8:33 PM

OOC: If mantichorus was supposed to black out after his pre-cog kicked in, I'll just say he had one hell of an adrenaline boost that kept him going.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, May 15, 2005 11:28 PM

OoC: Hey, works for me...
__________________________________________________

The hunter's remaining crewmates milled about for a second, noticed the glint in Ebo's eye now that she'd gotten a gun, and ran for the hills.

"I hate bounty hunters..." Mantichorus muttered. He shook his head groggily. 'Wish I didn't have to blast the poor stupid son-of-a-bitch, but I didn't have much choice...' He sighed inwardly.

Jazaf whistled appreciatively. "How in the good gorram did you manange to dodge that bullet?"

Mantichorus shrugged. "Adrenaline...?" He managed to suggest before pitching face down in the dust.

Teela looked around, and saw that their fight had attracted more attention than was desirable for such a small crew. "Rut. One of you, grab Manti. This ain't the only settlement on this rock, we'll look for the bits we need and a job elsewhere."

Soul walked over to Mantichorus and was about to pick him up, when he heard a sound that was like a cross-breed between a groan and a whimper. "Hey, Manti."

Mantichorus sat up uneasily. "Hey Soul." He frowned. "Umm, are you here?"

"Yeah..." Soul replied.

"Right. And am I here?"

"Yeah..." Soul replied again, frowning worriedly.

"Good. Let's not be here." Mantichorus suggested, and got unsteadily to his feet. He would have fallen down again, but Soul and Jazaf each grabbed an arm. "Thanks fellas."

The crew of Sidere made a steady tactical withdrawl to their craft, and took off.

**************************************************

"I swear, I sometimes wonder if you're worth the gorram trouble..." Teela sighed.

"Who're you talking to?" Ebo asked.

"The whole gorram 'verse." Teela replied.

"Nee ta ma duh tyen-shia suo-yo duh run doh gai si." Mantichorus muttered darkly, holding an ice-pack to his head.

Ebo stared. "Watch your gorram language."

"I have the great-great-grandmother of all migranes..." Mantichorus snarled. "Could everyone please be quiet?"

Sidere carried on in silence apart from the whirr of the engines. Finally, they reached another settlement where they could do business.
Thankfully for all concerned, Mantichorus' headache had cleared.

Select to view spoiler:

Wash:"This is going to get pretty interesting."
Mal:"Define 'interesting'."
Wash:"'Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die.'"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, May 31, 2005 11:29 AM

'I wonder if we'll find work on this planet?' Jazaf wonders to himself. He straps on his Katana and heads for the Cargo Hold.

"Ok. Let's try this again." Teela said "Soul and myself will go and find us a job to do everyone else hang out around the town until we contact you."

So once the crew got to town everyone dispersed. Glico and Manti went in search of some hard liqour, Ebo went off babbling excitedley about something in the area and rushed off to see it, and Jazaf wandered aimlessly about the town.

During his walk a hand reached out from an alleyway and pulled Jazaf in.

"Hey!"
"Shhhh!" the shadowed figure whispered, "I have an important proposition for you."
The tone of voice used intrigued Jazaf, "Go on. I'm listening."

A few moments later Jazaf left the alley, alone. Under his breath he whispered "Now how to pull this off."

---------------------------------------
Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with till you
understand who's in rutting command here.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 1:14 AM

Alias Mantichorus surveyed the stall in front of him with an approving eye. The owner of the stall grinned at him, with very few teeth left in his mouth.

"So...you're serious? This weapon will just set me back 10 credits?" Mantichorus asked.

The stallowner beamed and nodded. "Yes. It is not very new, this weapon. This is why it is so cheap."

Mantichorus raised an eyebrow at the phrase not very new. He recognised the design. It was a firearm from ETW -- during the late 19th, early 20th century. A Colt Peacekeeper. Vintage.

"What the gorram have you got there, Manti?" Glico called, coming out of the store behind him.

"Gun. Cheap. Not new, but it looks good." He looked up at the stallholder. "Done." He passed the 10 credits over, paused, and threw another 10 in. "Been lookin' for a gun like this for a while now." He explained to the man who gaped at him.

The stallholder gathered the credits up, and handed Mantichorus the Colt and some bullets. Glico caught sight of the gun as they left the stall.

"Go-se! That's a Colt Single Action Army! Those are...you got it for 20 creds?" She hissed.

Mantichorus nodded. "That's why I gave him 10 creds more than his askin' price. ...How 'bout that drink you were talking of earlier?"

--------------------------------------------------
Time to get this running again...

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it's just possible you haven't grasped the situation." Jean Kerr.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, October 27, 2005 4:33 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

"You're kidding me, right?" Teela glared at Soul. "We are not taking this job."

"Well, we need the money, and the pay is pretty good," Soul replied. "What's the problem?"

Teela shook her head. "Well, the problem might consist of the fact that transporting dead bodies without the proper permits is very illegal."

Soul grinned. "Like anyone's gonna know. We'll hide 'em good, and it's only gonna take a few days to get to Shadow. It's not like they'll be on board for very long."

Teela glared at him. After a long pause, she reluctantly nodded. "Fine, but if we get caught, I'm pining it all on you."

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree, Captain of Destiny.

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

http://havenofsouls.blogspot.com/

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, October 31, 2005 1:48 AM

"This is a nice pub." Mantichorus said, taking a sip from his drink.

Glico glanced at the man slumped in the corner. "Why did you hit him anyway?"

Mantichorus slid his empty glass towards the bartender, with a 'thanks' in Mandarin. "He liked my wallet. There was a slight disagreement as to whether it should stay in my possession or not."

"You won the argument, I take it?" Soul asked, as he and Teela entered the bar.

"Yeah." Mantichorus nodded. "Any joy in finding some work? Preferably of the paying kind..."

"We're...transporting something to Shadow." Teela said, giving Soul a glare as she said 'transporting'.

Mantichorus stared blankly for a second or two. "...Shadow..." He muttered under his breath. None of the others heard him. "Suppose we best find where Jazaf and Ebo got to then." He said, getting up. The assembled crew all filed out of the bar. But there was only one thought in Alias Mantichorus's head...

'I'm goin' home...'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it's just possible you haven't grasped the situation." Jean Kerr.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 8:09 AM

OOC: Longtime fan of the site. Got my own account because I saw the thread and wanted to play!
----------------------------------
IC:

Carla sat in the pub, sipping a hard cider, eyes scanning the other occupants over the top of her book. Gorram it! She'd been stranded on this planet for two months since that junky piece of go-se she'd boarded broke down halfway on its trip to Shadow. Then got impounded. Then sold for scrap.

Sure, she could have found a transport by now, but most of the ship captains she'd seen around here were all kinds of unsavory. They'd probably charge her extra for passage and then rob her in her sleep. She had that kind of unease about her, and truth be told she was more comfortable behind the podium of a university lecture hall than she was in the company of thieves. But she was eating through her credits and needed to find passage soon.

From over near the bar she heard snatches of conversation, and at the words "...transporting something to Shadow" her heart stopped. She scanned the group more closely and decided that now was probably her best chance. She followed behind them as the left the bar.

"Excuse me," she said. The group turned to look at her. "I couldn't help but overhear that you were heading off to Shadow...I've got business out that way too, and I was wondering if you could take me along as a passenger."

She began to get nervous as the woman in the middle, who she assumed was the captain, looked her up and down, smiling bemusedly, and the heavily-armed man to her right could bore a hole in her skull with that stare.

"I don't have much in the way of cash...but I do have this," she said fishing an object out of her pack. "'Don Quixote', one of the last editions printed on Earth-That-Was. Published by a house that was a precursor to the Blue Sun Media Company. It's worth a pretty penny."

She smiled shyly. "So...may I join you."

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, November 2, 2005 1:26 AM

OOC: Welcome aboard, Carla!

==================================================
IC:

Mantichorus gave the girl who'd approached them a once over. She seemed to have a scholarly air about her, which made him wonder what she was doing out these backwaters.

Teela butted in on his thoughts. "I've heard of that book...OK, sure, what the hell. The more the merrier. What's your name?"

"Clara." She replied, glancing at Mantichorus, Soul and Glico nervosuly.

"Well, I'm Teela, the captain of Sidere. This here is Glico, Manti and Soul. Got two more crew members somewhere in town." Teela said, completing the introductions.

"How come you're out this end of the 'verse?" Mantichorus asked, deciding to quench his curiosity. "You look like you're used to... slightly more cosier surroundings, if you don't mind me saying so."

Soul elbowed him slightly in the gut and whispered into his ear: "Careful, else she may ask you what you're doing out here."

Mantichorus sighed in agreement. "Sorry for being rude, Carla. You don't have to answer that. It's none of my business, anyway."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it's just possible you haven't grasped the situation." Jean Kerr.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, November 3, 2005 7:05 AM

"It's okay, Manti," she said as they headed back to find the others. "I have nothing to hide. Although I doubt you'll find the story very interesting."

"Go on," Manti said, encouraging her.

"You were right when you said that I looked like I was from cosier surroundings. I'm a Core-worlder. From Corazon, to be precise, one of Londinum's moons. It's a little moon, not much to it but headquarters for a few terraforming companies and a college town. I taught history at the university there until that little private school started going into debt. Then the Alliance government bought the school from the dean and fired all the untenured professors, myself included.
I tried to find another teaching job in the Core, but there weren't many vacancies. Sure, a friend of mine found a job on Ariel, but he was one of the few. My sister told me to settle down and find another career, but then one of my colleagues on Shadow contacted me about a job there.
The school on Shadow is mostly vocational, teaching useful skills like veterinary science and mechanical repair. But a few years ago my colleague contacted me about writing up a plan for a political science department for the school. And, since I helped establish the department, I have the privilege to join the department any time I want. I just got stranded here on the way."

"Somehow I can't imagine fancy Core-world education on Shadow," Manti commented.

"Well the way I see it, the Alliance has been looking to expand into the Outer Rim worlds for some time now. It's best that those worlds have some politically savvy citizens to handle the Alliance when that time comes."

By now the crew had walked to a marketplace in the town plaza. Teela spotted a wayward crew member over near one of the kiosks. "Ebo! We're almost ready to head out!" She called.

An excitable-looking girl ran over. "Already, cap? And I was just about to find the greatest bargain on some music bootlegs, too. Who's the new girl?" Ebo said.

"Professor Carla Zane," Carla said, shaking Ebo's hand.

"We're taking her as a passenger to Shadow, and once we find Jazaf and load up our cargo we can get off this rock." Teela added.

"I'm right here." A voice behind them said. They turned around. The man--Jazaf--looked dusty and disheveled, and a cut on his forehead was bleeding. But he was smiling, and the jingling sound when he moved suggested a pocketful of newly acquired platinum coins.

"Ai ya! What happened to you?" Glico excalimed.

"Oh, nothing, just found a job on the side while the rest of you were looking for work. I'll tell you about it later." Jazaf said. "I see you found another passenger," he added, nodding to Carla in acknowlegement.

Once the introductions were made again and Ebo tired of examining the bootlegged music on the market, it was time to return to Sidere, meet their client, and load the cargo.

"Okay," Teela called out in her Captainy Voice of Authority, "Manti, you show Carla where the passenger dorm is. Jazaf, you get cleaned up and start fixing supper. Ebo, you program the flight plan to Shadow and wait for my order to lift off. Glico and Soul, you'll load the cargo with me. Everyone got that? Good. All right crew, let's get to work!"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, November 3, 2005 6:03 PM

Jazaf sighs as he looks at what he has to work with, 'Not my favorite thing to do, but it has to be done!' Jazaf cracks fingers then sets to work.

Gradually, a mouth-watering aroma wafts through the ship it grabs the attention of all the crew. As they make their way to the dining table Jazaf just finishes putting out the eating ware.

'That smells really good Jazaf.' Ebo says salivating.
'You didn't tell us you were a good cook.' Soul pipes in.
'Heh, there's lot's of stuff I don't tell you guys.'
'Care to tell us something now?' Teela pries.
'No' Jazaf says before sitting down and starts to eat his meal.
---------------------------
OOC: I have no clue what fantastic meal I just made.......

I couldn't think of one.

---------------------------------------
Mystery Man on the Sereni-Tree

Navigator on Destiny

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 4:43 AM

Carla took a bite of the mysterious-looking meal Jazaf created and moaned in pleasure. There was no way that a spaceship's protien rations could ever taste this good, and yet sitting before her was the best meal she'd seen in months. Carla decided that it was best if she concentrated on the food rather than the conversation--if she ate fast enough, she'd have more of a chance at a second helping.

Jazaf passed the cooking pot across the table and grinned, "I'm glad to see that everyone appreciates my cooking," he said.

"Hey, Jazaf! Pass that here too! We've got children starving at this end of the table!" Ebo called, gesturing at herself and Glico.

The dining area was full of laughter and noise, and although Manti had told her that the crew was still new, Carla was surprised to see how comfortable the crew was with each other. Glico was bragging to Soul about the gun Manti bought planetside, while Soul stroked his chin and mused about the capabilities of a firearm from Earth-That-Was compared to some of the weapons in his own arsenal. Manti countered that it could hold its own against any modern weapon. In a side conversation, Ebo and Teela made plans to play Go in the common room once each was done with their respective duties. Even though she was just a passenger, Carla too felt like part of the group. She and Jazaf, being the "new kids" on the boat, managed to strike up a conversation.

"So Jazaf, where are you headed?" Carla asked.

"Don't rightly know," he replied, "I think I'll just keep on moving until I can't pay my way anymore."

Carla wasn't sure how to respond to that. To her, not knowing the destination or goal was the quickest way for someone to lose control over life, and control was something she valued a lot, especially after losing her job.

Jazaf continued, his eyes beginning to look distant, "Besides, on the move like this, there's a good chance that he'll never find me."

"Who?"

"Adelai Niska."

Carla was about to ask who that was when Teela stood up and issued orders for the evening. Carla offered to clear the table and do dishes.

As Carla scraped the pots and pans, she wondered who this Niska character was to frighten Jazaf so.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 6:47 AM

"You gotta thing for antiques?" Soul asked, as he and Mantichorus secured the cargo.

"Will you BEE-jwey about the ruttin' gun already?!" Mantichorus chuckled, shaking his head. "Anyway, you got any idea what it is we're transportin' here?"

Soul glanced away slightly. "Uhh..."

Mantichorus frowned. "Soul...this cargo ain't too illegit, is it? You better not be bringin' trouble to Shadow."

Soul looked at him amusedly. "OK; what's Shadow to you? You be acting a bit strangely ever since it was mentioned."

Mantichorus grimaced. This place...it meant everything to him. When he'd left it was only meant to be for a few months. But then... the Blue Sun had forced him to change his plans. He hated the thought of them on Shadow. It was like sacrilage to him. Especially with...

"I was raised there. My older brother and his wife still live there, as far as I know." Mantichorus looked at Soul coldly. "Blue Sun better not link me with my real identity, for their sakes. Rather die than that happen."

Soul nodded slowly. "Explains a lot... you gonna tell the others?"

This had been on his mind a lot. It had always seemed likely that they might go to Shadow at some point. "...No. I'll disappear while we're there. Check on my friends and family. I need to see them, know they're doing all right."

Shadow meant everything. It was worth fighting for.

"...Soul. If anyone while we're down there mentions the name Kade or Kaden, let me know. Especially if they say they've seen him." Mantichorus paused. "And if anyone has any info on Del or Delvin, or Eileen, the same."

"Your brother and his wife." Soul surmised.

Mantichorus nodded in reply. Suddenly, Sidere bucked. Mantichorus and Soul were thrown from their feet.

"What the go se?!" Soul shouted, sprung to his feet, and bounded towards the cockpit. Mantichorus winced, pulled himself up and followed.

Everyone was in the cockpit, staring out uncomprehendingly in front of them. Soul shot Mantichorus a look. It said more than words could about their current situation. Mantichorus looked out at the wreck in front of them. The ship had been strip-mined, and bodies were floating around it. He swallowed.

"What the hell...?" Ebo muttered, aghast.

"Reavers." Soul breathed.

"...End of the line." Mantichorus sighed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's a lot of stunt men around. That's always a bad sign..." --Chris Buchanan, on the Maidenhead bar scene in Serenity.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 12:23 PM

Carla's eyes widened as she stared out at the ship--nothing but a skeleton really--floating dead in the Black and accompanied by corpses bloated by change of pressure as they had been flushed out into the vacuum. She shook uncontrollably and gripped the back of the co-pilot's chair to stay upright.

"Oh dear God in Heav--" she said, snapping her mouth shut once she realized what she was saying. No, she thought to herself, I'm not the kind of person who becomes a convert once her life's in danger. I don't believe in God!--her thoughts began to become hysteric. Just like I don't believe in the tooth fairy, Prince Charming...

...or Reavers?

She began shaking harder now, forcing herself not to start crying. It's okay Carla, you'll live through this. Don't regret leaving the Core, it was the best thing for you. You'll make it to Shadow in one piece and continue doing the work you love. Once you settle down, you can even wave home and your daughter will come and live with you, and all shall be well. You aren't going to die here. You aren't going to be one of those corpses, inflated like a balloon, skin purple where the capillaries burst, in rigor mortis, as the Reavers paint their ship with your blood, patch their vests with your scalp, and use your ears as a coin purse...

Carla's knees gave out and she collapsed on the floor. Colored dots swam before her eyes as she weakly staggered up, swayed against the wall of the bridge and back into whoever stood beside her, ran into the kitchen, and vomited into the sink.

The dishes, thankfully, had already been done and put away.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 2:14 PM

'Wuh duh ma huh ta duh fung-kwong duh wai-shung doh. I've only heard of Reavers in those Faux News waves. But to see their work in person....' Jazaf's voice drifts off.

Soul's ear twitches and he turns his head to Jazaf with a disturbed look on his face.

'You face mirrors my emotions Soul. This is a disturbing and horrifying sight.'

Soul looks back to the scene before him as he thinks on what he heard Jazaf say. Was that.....Awe in Jazaf's voice? He turns and looks at Jazaf a second time, noticing that his face is as frightened as the others Soul shrugs off his previous notion.

One of the lifeless bodies floating in the black bumped into Sidere's Co-Pilot side window and stuck there. The crew fixed their eyes on the corpse and the eyes of the corpse were fixed on them. Teela shuddered, 'Ebo, how about you move my ship so we can get this eerie Peeping-Tom off!'

'Don't have to tell me twice.' Ebo said.

She jerked the controls and shook the corpse free, however it had left a ghastly smudge on the window.

---------------------------------------
Mystery Man on the Sereni-Tree

Navigator on Destiny

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 4:39 PM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul closed his eyes and focused inward, activating the subdermal implant above his left ear. He sensed the momentary hesitation as it interfaced with the Cortex, and he prayed that Manti's quick fix job had effectively destroyed any way of his superiors tracking the signal.

First, he set up a broad search, looking for any sort of reference to the word "Reaver". Quite a few results came up identifying the word as an archaic term from Earth-that-was, and Soul surmised that that was most likely the origin of the word. Then he began to search deeper, digging through the folk tales and myths, until he began to uncover Blue Sun documents using the word "Reavers" with greater than normal frequency. Soul focused harder, and the code breaker software embeded in his brain began to pick away at the coding surrounding the most sensitive of the documents.

Finally, he hit pay dirt.

He found a series of documents describing two different millitary programs currently under operation involving human enhancements for warfare. The fisrt involved a list of children with remarkably high I.Q.'s and signs of telepathic abilities, and it described what the begining of a project aimed towards using those gifted children and turning them into mental weapons.

That sounds like the program Manti escaped from...

Soul got a glimpse of the man in charge and his brain was rocked with a sudden recognition.

Damon Talos. So, I guess just being in charge of the Expendables wasn't enough. It looks like you've found an even bigger sick scheme to run.

Soul let his mind clear for a moment and tried to remain objective. He filed the information in his brain, and took a peak into the other project. That one looked as if it had been terminated, but the documents pertaining to it were littered with references to "Reavers". "Physical Gene Enhancement", "Muscle Growth", and "Mental Reconfiguring" were among the phrases used to describe the project. From what Soul could tell, Blue Sun was using gene therapy to try to enhance the physical and mental abilities of soldiers. Apparently the project had turned out too well: the soldiers not only became physically superior, but their mental conditioning began to break down the barrier between their animal instincts and their more human thoughts. In the end, they destroyed the research facility, horribly murdered all of the staff, stole several warships, and vanished. The last report detailed a plan to recapture and destroy the renegade soldiers, and to supress the reports of atttacks, using the term "Reavers" and playing them off as nothing more than urban legends.

He was about to exit when another file caught his attention, this one describing a new project using airborne drugs to calm a population to make them easier to control. Some sort of drug called Paxalin...

A warning flashed through his mind as a government sniffer caught trace of his signal. Soul quickly shut down the Interface, but the quick exit was a shock to his system, and he fell backwards into the wall.

"Soul!" Teela shouted.

"I'm okay," Soul replied. "Just doin' a bit of research on our new friends out there."

Teela raised an eyebrow. "And just how were you doing that?"

Soul paused, considering how much he should really tell about himself. He looked over at Manti who simply shrugged. Soul sighed, and began to explain what he had found out, and exactly how he had found it.

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree, Captain of Destiny.

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

http://havenofsouls.blogspot.com/

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, November 9, 2005 1:37 AM

Mantichorus hated situations like this. They usually ended with paranoia, due to too little being said, or someone saying too much and fracturing the group. He'd seen it happen before.

Mostly though, he was praying to the good Lord that Soul didn't let slip about his own abilities. Just what he needed, someone asking him for the rutting lottery numbers...

"So...how likely is it that they can trace you?" Teela asked, having sat down a long time ago.

Soul glanced at the floor for a minute. "...I met a surgeon on Whitefall a year or so back. Specialised in ...mechanical enhancements. He managed to muffle it, so I could have virtually untraceable Cortex access."

"Virtually?" Teela asked, arching an eyebrow incredulously.

"Boarder world tech." Mantichorus decided to add. "Nothing's ever 100% certain with this sorta thing, or so I understand. Even less so when it's the level of technology you get on boarder worlds."

Soul nodded. "Exactly. I only pulled out as quickly as I did then because their was a sniffer on my tail... Extremely sensitive documents. Even key members of the Alliance parliament can't access it unauthorised."

Teela nodded thoughtfully. "OK...I'm gonna have to think about how much of this I tell the others." She got up and started to walk off. She paused. "Hey, Soul. Give us a warning if any Alliance show up." Soul nodded his confirmation and Teela left.

Mantichorus looked at him. "So...what else did you find?"

Soul eyes hardened slightly. "...Blue Sun created the Reavers."

Mantichorus let loose a curse in Mandarin that he had been reliably informed wished a flying elephant with a bad case of explosive diarrhoea should pass over the heads of his enemies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's a lot of stunt men around. That's always a bad sign..." --Chris Buchanan, on the Maidenhead bar scene in Serenity.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, November 10, 2005 6:08 PM

Carla closed herself in her bunk and wrapped up in a blanket. She was pale with fear and continued to shake. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Deep breath in; deep breath out. Anything to prevent hyperventalating into unconsciousness.

There was a knock at her door.

"Yes?" Carla asked, voice shaking.

"I'm just stopping by to check on you," Teela said.

"Come on in."

The captain entered and leaned against the door.
"You had me worried there, Carla. I thought that we were goin' to have to sedate you."

"I assure you, that's not necessary." Carla was a little ashamed of herself, to tell the truth. She was the only one to react so strongly to the sight of that ambushed ship. She took it as a sign of her own personal weakness.

"I just want you to know that we're keeping a sharp eye out for anyone lookin' to attack us. We got Soul helpin' Ebo in the cockpit, and Glico's firin' up her fighter. If you feel up to it, you can help Manti and Jazaf monitor the systems, but if you're still not well you can just stay in here until the all clear's given. Dong ma? It's going to be okay."

Carla could see why Teela was such a good captain. She knew how to lead and how to keep a cool head. Carla thanked Teela for her assurances as Ebo's voice came in over the intercom. "Cap'n, you better make your way up to the bridge! We've got a ship coming in on the radar screen."

Carla groaned and hunkered down further.
-----------------------------

OOC: Yeah, I know. Carla's such a wuss.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, November 17, 2005 11:16 AM

OOC: Did I kill the thread?

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, November 18, 2005 12:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Carla:
OOC: Did I kill the thread?

OOC: No.
This has happened a couple of times before...there's been a period where we all just can't thing of a gorram thing to add.
If you think of something before any of us do, you can update anytime...even if you were the last poster.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, November 21, 2005 10:34 AM

Carla heard shouts ring out throughout the ship, orders being given and received. The Reaver ship that had attacked earlier had returned.

"Carla! Come on to the cargo bay! We need your help!" Teela's voice crackled over the comm.

Everyone was running around, adrenaline making them impossibly efficient. Manti nearly knocked her over on his way to soup up the engine, and Ebo's colorful swearing echoed throughout the bridge. Ebo was the only person Carla had ever met who not only could swear in English and Mandarin, but also Hindi, Tagalog, and...was that Farsi?

Teela and Glico were in the cargo bay waiting for Carla, and panels torn from the walls littered the floor. Glico pulled another long box from the wall and set it near a few others.

"Carla, I want you to open these boxes and shove them into the airlock." Teela ordered, then continued to argue with Soul over the commlink.

"I don't see why we have to dump our gorram cargo!" He yelled.

"Soul, we need to make this ship lighter if we want to outrun the Reavers. Besides, I figure the bodies might distract them if they're looking for a snack."

"Fine Teela, but when the buyer decides to make some bodies out of us to cut his losses, remind me to thank you. Soul out."

"Eeep!" Carla exclaimed when she opened the coffin, but one look from Teela and she decided to just grit her teeth and keep shoving bodies in the airlock.

When the three of them managed to get all the bodies into the airlock and shot into space, they ran to the bridge to see if they managed to speed themselves up, or slow down the Reaver ship at all. While the Sidere had a little extra push, the Reavers just sailed right through the dead.

"I think they prefer freshly-killed meat." Ebo said.

"I'll freshly kill them!" Glico muttered. "Cap'n, why can't I just get in my fighter and blast them?"

"You see that control screen there? Says that the Reaver ship's leakin' radiation out the core like none other--"

"Like gorram Three Mile Island--" Carla added.

"--and if you blow them up, we'll die a death even worse than if that ship had caught us." Teela continued.

Jazaf's panicked voice came up over the comm. "Ai ya! Guys! Manti just fainted and cut himself up real bad on some of the engine parts. I'll do what I can down here to make the engine go faster, but someone has got to get 'im down to the infirmary."

"Carla, you go." Teela ordered.

Suddenly, Ebo's eyes went wide as she felt more power come from the engine than ever before, and she pushed little Sidere into a sprint faster than was even possible under full burn. "Whatever you did, Jazaf, it was brilliant!"

"Thanks, but Manti here deserves all the praise. Now who's gonna help me drag this big damn hero to the infirmary?"

Carla rushed out of the bridge to make herself useful.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, December 4, 2005 9:09 AM

Carla mopped the blood from Manti's forehead before placing a bandage over the cut. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was ugly; any head wound has the tendency to bleed alot.

Jazaf had already left the infirmary, returning to the engine room to get it running back to normal, when Manti regained consciousness. When he sat up, his nose started to bleed, and it dripped on the infirmary bed's upholstery.

"Here," Carla said, handing Manti a tissue, "tilt your head back and try to stop the bleeding."

"Thanks."

"That was some trick you pulled, back there," Carla mused, "Whatever you did to the engine sure snatched us from the jaws of death. You've got a skill I could never have."

Manti grinned behind the tissue. "It's all about intuition. You've got to know the engine so well that you don't even have to think about it. I'm sure you're intuitive in some way too."

Carla smiled back and began rummaging through the medication in the infirmary cupboards. "Do you need any pain medication for your head?"

"No. I'll be okay."

Carla was about to dismiss Manti from the infirmary when Ebo came in with an announcement.

"Hey guys!" Ebo began,"Um, when we were escaping the reavers, Sidere got hit by a piece of debris, and our main fuel cells were damaged. Don't worry, the auxillary fuel cells will keep us going, but we have to go to a station six hours out of our way to get the main cells fixed. So it'll be a few more days until we get to Shadow, rather than the day and a half we had left. Anyway, we'll be going through some safe space to get there, so I've got the ship on autopilot and the entire crew has downtime for the next six hours. So, anyone up for a game of mancala?"

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 3:30 AM

Mantichorus lay on his bunk, thinking. For once, the blackout hadn't been caused by a precognitive vision, but a flashback.

Ironically, it was the Reavers. They'd been at two turns in his life that had led him here.

Barely a month before he'd left Shadow, the first Reaver raiding party hit planetside. He'd been there fighting alongside the rest, his father's shotgun in his hands. Del had been right next to him with a pistol that he'd brought himself.
Mantichorus had learnt more about how to shoot then than at any other time.

Then was the second time he'd come across Reavers, just a handful of months after he'd first met Soul.

Sometimes, he wished that the Reavers had caught him that time.

The ship he'd been on was saved from the Reavers by the timely intervention of an Alliance cruiser.
And that was when he'd met him.

The big man, with the hard eyes. The one who was only ever called 'Sir.'
"So...alias Mantichorus. Do you know, I'd heard you were dead? It's true, I had. Interesting that you are still alive... But it lets us test a theory. A soldier reported that you were able to dodge bullets..."

And then it began. The big man's assistants seemed to take a perverse pleasure in their work. The myoptic dwarf with the penchant for Shan Yu, the one called 'Professor' all the time.
But there was another... Dr Crescent, who'd released him. She must have gone into hiding, he supposed from what Herald had said.

He got up, and walked through to the kitchen. He needed some water.

"Hey, Manti! Like the bandage." Glico called from the crew's game.

"Thanks." He replied. "It's a fashion statement."

"What, as in 'I don't have a gorram clue about fashion' statement?" Ebo asked.

Mantichorus picked up a roll of bread and paused for a moment. "It'd be a waste of a good bread roll to throw this at you." He said and bit into it.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, December 23, 2005 9:02 AM

Carla looked up from her game with Ebo as Manti bit into the bread roll. "We were trying to bake fortune cookies, but we put too much flour in the dough."

Manti laughed and started choking on the roll. "You make mistakes quite well," he said as he regained composure.

Manti stayed in the dining room as Ebo brought up her mah johng tiles and started that game. They played for a few hours until Soul called Ebo up to the bridge; it was almost time to dock at the station for repairs.

For once, Sidere's arrival was uneventful and the crew gathered outside the ship in the station's docking bay while the captain laid the ground rules.

"Alright folks, here's how it's gonna be," Teela called. "Ebo and I will stay with the ship to supervise the repairs. The rest of you can go off and do your own thing. Don't get arrested or lost, and come back to the ship sometime before one o'clock tomorrow morning. The repairs should be done before tomorrow afternoon, and I want to get back in the Black ASAP. Dong ma?"

The crew dispersed, and Carla was glad to be able to stretch her arms and move about slightly freer. Her experiences with interplanetary travel were limited, so while she wanted to explore her surroundings, she also wanted to get the knots out of her muscles first.

She leaned against one of the far walls of the docking bay, stretching her leg out in front of her and wiggling the tension out of the muscles in her calves. She started again on the other leg when she heard snatches of conversation from the 'Rent a Suit! Guided Spacewalk Tours!' kiosk nearby.

"...are you sure you saw him?"
"Damn sure. Came in just now with that Firefly. Still carries that rutting sword of his. Loves it. Dotes on it. Unnatural, it is."
"Let's pay him a little visit. I'm sure Niska would be just thrilled to see him again."

Carla moved in closer to see who was talking--two big, burly, rough-looking men, grinning from ear to ear. She didn't know what to make of them, or of the conversation--who was this Niska character?--but she figured that she'd better find Jazaf and tell him about the people looking for him. Niska could be a jilted lover or an estranged sibling or something, and Carla had enough experiences with that kind of awkward situation that she felt inclined to give Jazaf the heads-up.

And speaking of jilted lovers, Carla thought, after I find Jazaf I should look for a little cafe that I can send a wave from, check in and see how Hernando and our daughter are doing.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, December 23, 2005 6:32 PM

In a seedy little bar, in the middle of the town, Jazaf sits in a darkened corner trying to strike a deal.

'...I'm telling you no one will ever figure it out.' Jazaf throws his sales pitch to a balding Arms merchant.

The merchant becomes skeptical, 'If it works so well.....why give it to me?'
'Because my creds are all grown up and having creds of their own.' Jazaf recites back with a smirk.
Still not satisfied the merchant decides to recap. 'So you're saying that if I take this ....code and apply it to a single business, I can get a fraction of their earnings?'
Jazaf nods in agreement, 'Every time they make money you make money.', and leans back satisfied that his deal will go off without a hitch. The merchant thinks on it for a while then answers
'And what are you asking for in return?'

Jazaf leans in, 'A 10mm Double Eagle is all I ask.'
The Merchant smiles thinking he's gained the better part of the bargain.

Five minutes later Jazaf walks out of the bar with a new (at least to him) toy on his hip. He strolls into the town center whistling a decent tune, but not carrying it very well, when he is stopped by Carla.

'Hey there Carla. Enjoying the shore leave?'

'Yeah, I'm on my way to send a wave to some freinds and family. By the way,' Carla says as she passes Jazaf ,'There are these two large guys looking for you. They said Niska would be happy to see you again. Maybe you should send Niska a wave too?'

Jazaf pales for a few seconds. Ai-ya! Is there any place I can run to without his gorram thugs popping out of the woodwork? he thinks to himself.
'Maybe later' he replies to Carla. Then heads out of town thinking he may have over stayed his welcome.

The sun sets as Jazaf exits the town, hoping no one had tailed him. Just as he reaches the outer limits for the town not two, but five burly thugs had set themselves between Jazaf and Sidere.
'Gorramit!' Jazaf says under his breath.
'Hey Jazaf!' Shouts a man with a striped shirt, 'How've ya been!'
'I was doin' just fine, before you clouded my otherwise shiny day.'
'Ya know, Niska weren't too pleased that you cut up on his brother like that.'
'That bounty he placed on your head is a mighty nice pot.' Another man, in a Dark brown shirt, adds.
'So I noticed....' Jazaf mutters eyeing the five men warily.
Striped shirt spreads his hands as he motions for the four to start toward Jazaf, 'Me an' the boys reckon we'll beat you something fierce before we turn you over to Niska. As it turns out you crossed one of the locals and He would like to be .....recompensed'

'Come try it then.' Jazaf growls as he brings his gun up to bear. He fires four times, then draws his sword and rushes the thugs. Two of the shots rip through the knees of thug in the Dark brown shirt. The third hits another thug in the shoulder while the fourth passes the striped shirt thug by.

In a flash of movement Jazaf drove his sword into the first thug that got too close, piercing a lung. He yanks the sword out and arcs it across another thugs' chest. Slightly disoriented by the fast movements, Jazaf leaves himself open for the striped shirt thug to connect a right hook. Jazaf loses his sword and the remaining thugs jump on him.

Before Jazaf succombs to an overwhelming darkness he thinks he hears something... gunshots?

---------------------------------------
Mystery Man on the Sereni-Tree

Navigator on Destiny

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, December 23, 2005 6:41 PM

Jazaf wakes up in the infirmary onboard Sidere

'What happened?'
'Carla bumped into us as she made her way to the Wave stations' Mantichorus said as he motioned toward Soul and himself. 'When she mentioned Niska we knew there would be trouble.'
'How did you know where to find me?'
'Well, Manti had a premonition of you being in a field, but those few rounds you fired helped too.' Soul answered.
'Thanks for the help you guys. They were gonna....*yawn*..send me back....' Jazaf passes out. There is a stern look on Soul as he watches Jazaf sleep. What did you do to Niska? What did you do to make him loathe you soo much?

---------------------------------------
Mystery Man on the Sereni-Tree

Navigator on Destiny

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, December 26, 2005 4:56 PM

When Carla stepped out of the docking bay and into the space station, she gasped when she saw how magnificent it looked on the inside. Instead of resembling a usual space station's claustrophobic steel honeycomb, this station spread out before her like a fronteir town, with a field of grass--yes, it was real--leading up to the rustic-looking buildings that were the station's stores and bars. Overhead, the ceiling was made to resemble a blue sky, with lights installed to mimic the rising and setting of the sun. It was late afternoon.

Carla walked through the town, taking in the sights and sounds. The air didn't even feel recycled. She had been walking for awhile when she finally ran into Jazaf on the sidewalk. He seemed a bit startled when she told him about Niska, but then he shrugged it off.

She passed a wave station in the center of town, but it was full, so she had to keep going to another one clear on the other edge of town. On the way, she passed Manti and Soul eating ice cream outside of a cafe, talking and laughing.

"...and then I found out that the hwoon dahn was cross-eyed!" Manti finished, and Soul's face was turning red from laughing so much.

"If only all bounty hunters were such poor marksmen, eh?" Soul managed to reply.

"Hey guys," Carla interrupted.

"Hey Carla, what have you been up to?" Manti asked.

"Not much, just heading out to send some waves. I haven't talked to some of my friends for a while now, and my future employers on Shadow would probably be grateful if I gave them my ETA."

"You know, thinking about work during your leisure time is bad for your health, Carla. Relax a bit." Soul said.

"Yeah," Manti added, "or else you'll end up in the infirmary for stress related injuries. Jazaf, too. You know the minute he got here he started looking to sell some computer code? Some people just can't unwind." He laughed.

"I think Jazaf has more to worry about than overwork." Carla said.

"How so?"

"Well, I heard some people talking about him--they said that someone named Niska would be thrilled to find out that he was here--and when I mentioned this to him he seemed a little...perturbed."

Manti and Soul exchanged a long, significant look.
"Trouble." Soul said, and went to pay the check.

Manti turned to Carla and said, "The wave station is at the end of this street. Stay there. When you finish, send a wave to Sidere. Have someone come get you. This station may not be safe for any of us."

The three of them parted, and Carla finished her walk through town as she entered the wave station. She found a booth and sat down. She was tired and a little scared, so the first person she called up was her friend Sara, on Sihnon. Sara worked at a Taoist temple there, so she was the person Carla always talked to when she needed to calm down.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, December 29, 2005 4:16 PM

Carla left the wave station with Glico and Ebo. They were supposed to keep their eyes open in case any more of Niska's goons were going to come out of the woodwork and jump the crew. Carla's heart wasn't into keeping her eyes open, and the gun they loaned her was held limply by her side.

Waving Hernando was perhaps a bad idea. After the Alliance blacklisted Carla from teaching at Core universities due to her 'radical political ideals,' Hernando took sole custody of their daughter and still would not relent. Millions of miles of distance between them and they still rehashed the same old arguments. You're too irresponsible, Carla. You're on the wrong side of history. Don't be so stubborn. Get a new job in the Core. You won't be teaching, but at least you can be near your family. The delays in reaching Shadow had eroded any moral high ground she held in the arguement, and her resolve was fading. And to tell the truth, Carla wanted nothing more than to raise her daughter on Shadow, and it hurt her to know that it was almost impossible.

The three of them faced no trouble in the town, but walking through the space station's artificial field during the artificial night gave them a sense of foreboding. Glico scolded Carla for not paying attention, and Carla readied her gun. They reached the door to the docking bay and slowly walked in.

The situation had gotten worse.

About two dozen armed men surrounded Sidere, and they levelled their weapons at the three women as they entered. At the center of the small army stood a slim blonde woman in a pink suit with a pink pillbox hat and veil. She was clearly their leader.

"Are you Niska?" Carla blurted out. Like Glico and Ebo, her weapon was dropped and her hands were up.

The blonde woman replied, "I am, so to speak. I'm Mrs. Adelai Niska, but Mr. Niska, my husband, is the one in charge. I just coordinate the protection racket on every station in the quadrant. Come along, and make yourselves comfortable. I am to hold you prisoner until my husband arrives."

"Gorram," Glico muttered to nobody in particular, "Take out a few hornets and the rest come swarming in."

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 6:12 AM

Alias Mantichorus did what he did best when things like this happened: he went to ground.

Who woulda thought that that Niska character would be married to Reagen Blaze?

There was a sound behind him as the door to his quarters was opened. His peacekeeper was levelled at the door in a heartbeat.

"Mite jumpy." Soul said, holding his hands up in a mock surrender.

"Don't joke around." Mantichorus growled. "You know who the blonde is?" Soul shook his head in reply. "Reagen Blaze. Name mean anything to you?" Soul's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yeah. Political terrorist from Londinium." He grimaced. "Heard she died a couple years ago, though."

"Reagen Blaze Jr. Every bit her mother's daughter. One cold-hearted bitch." Mantichorus elaborated. "I ran with her a few months before her mother's death. Charismatic as only a sociopath can be."

"And she's married this Adelai Niska." Soul nodded. "They must have quite an army."

Mantichorus sighed. "Right. We gotta find a way to sneak out before the cavalry turn up."

Soul smirked. "Leave that to me..."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, January 13, 2006 5:19 AM

The ground shook. Alias Mantichorus raised his head from his pillow and frowned. That wasn't right. The door flew open and Glico looked in.

"What a dump. Manti, something's happening out here, you better move your pee-gu."

Mantichorus got up and followed Glico out into the common area, when the ship rocked from the 'quake. Mantichorus and Glico looked at each other.

"Explosions." Mantichorus muttered.

"Sounds like the standard ordinance carried by an Alliance Cruiser." Jazaf said as he bounded up. He was grinning like a lunatic. "Gorram goons are rabbiting."

The intercom burst into life. *This thing on?* Ebo muttered, and then there was the distinct sound of the speaker being thumped. *If you can hear me guys, hang on to something. The Alliance are taking over, and all land-locks have been released...for the time being.*

Sidere rose into the air and left the station, back on route for Shadow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soul smiled sheepishly. "That worked better than I planned."

Teela stared at him. "You called them?" She asked, incrediously.

Soul shrugged. "Figured we'd have an easier time escaping them than we would have Niska and his wife's thugs."

"So that was your plan?" Mantichorus said monotonously.

Soul shrugged again. "Just broke into the local law enforcement's channel, and used that to broadcast to the Feds. The local law will take a fall, too, as they were being paid off by Niska."

Teela shook her head. "You're crazy - I'm glad you're on my side." She walked off back to the bridge.

Mantichorus rubbed his temple with the heel of his hand. "Gorrammit, today's been too nuts. I'm gonna go snooze for thirty years or so."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, January 17, 2006 11:54 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Quote:
Originally posted by Mantichorus:

Teela shook her head. "You're crazy - I'm glad you're on my side." She walked off back to the bridge.

Soul smiled.

OOC: I just wanted to post. I'm back!!!!

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree, Captain of Destiny.

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

http://havenofsouls.blogspot.com/

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 1:47 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SoulOfSerenity:
OOC: I just wanted to post. I'm back!!!!

OOC: Welcome back, sir, as Zoe once said.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, February 23, 2006 9:05 PM

Back in the Black, the crew meet in the common area to discuss new Business.
'So....where are we headed next?' Jazaf asked.

OOC: Sorry, couldn't think of anything else!

---------------------------------------
Mystery Man on the Sereni-Tree

Navigator on Destiny

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, March 13, 2006 7:02 AM

"Well..." Teela said "We might as well continue onto Shadow. It's the nearest planet, and so we'll get another job quicker if we go straight there." She then coughed slightly embarrassedly. "Also, I can apologise to our client."

"Get regular Reaver runs around these parts, from what I've heard." Alias Mantichorus stated. "Likely to be understanding as to why we dumped the cargo."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, April 3, 2006 7:58 AM

Carla gathered up all her things as Sidere approached the atmosphere of Shadow. Part of her relished these last few months of travelling ship to ship in the Black, as well as the people she met and the mortal peril she found herself in. Alone out here, she felt the most alive she had been in ages. She wanted to go on and see every gritty corner the 'verse had to offer. But...

She had a job to do. When she lost her teaching position, an old colleague on Shadow was the only one to offer her another chance at a career, and she had to admit it was a tasty challenge. She was about to step on a tiny border world, make a name for herself at a little upstart college, and teach the children of ranchers and blacksmiths the political and legal skills needed to take on the threat of Alliance imperialism. And to tell the truth, she still held out for the chance to raise her daughter among Shadow's pastoral beauty.

When every last book, blouse, and photo capture was rounded up, Carla slung her bag over her shoulder and headed up to the dining room to see if there was anything Teela and the crew needed help with once they landed.

--------------------------------------------------
OOC: It's great to be back. Not posting in over two months made me really miss this place.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, April 3, 2006 8:30 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

OOC: Alright, let's get this thing started again!!

_____________________________________________

Ebo set down Sidere nice and pretty on the dusty surface of Shadow. The ramp was lowered almost before they touched down, thanks to a few crewmembers who were itching for some solid ground. Jazaf was the first to run out, gasping for breath.

"Fresh air!"

Teela walked out next. "I swear, if I ever find out who did that, I'll dock your pay for a month!"

"It had to be Manti. I saw him scarfing down a can 'o beans last night," Soul said.

"Beans!" Manti cried. "We don't even have beans!"

"Boys, don't make me crash this ship the next time we take off," Ebo remarked.

Glico coughed. "Can I just shoot 'em? 'Sides, I saw Soul with a can of air freshener in his bunk earlier today..."

Of course, that started off a whole new line of accusations.

Behind them, Carla walked out onto the dirt and smiled.

* * *

"Okay," Teela began, preparing to throw out orders. "Manti, you take Glico and Jazaf, see if you can't scrounge us up some work. Ebo, you stay here and see if your winning personality can't get us a passenger or two. Soul, you come with me. We get to go see our client and apologize profusely for losing the cargo."

Carla looked around. "What about me?"

Teela looked over at her. "Well, this is your stop. I mean, having you along for the ride would be nice, but that's up to you. The invitation is open, just so you know."

"Well, if something changes before you leave," Carla stated, "I'll be sure to come running back."

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree, Captain of Destiny.

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

http://havenofsouls.livejournal.com/

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 11:01 AM