the shiny NEW take turns writing by ebonezer

Yay! New TTW!
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Teela was wandering around the dock, looking for a pilot.

Pilot...pilot...need a pilot...

Teela surveyed the prospects. No...no...definently not...never... She sees Ebo. This girl's got something for her already. She's a girl.

"Hola, mi compadre. I need a pilot. You interested?"

_____________
"Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2 plus 2 make 4. If that is granted, all else follows"-Winston, 1984
Teela Brown, keeper of the delete key.
"No one reads these things any way."- Bart on Blackboard

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Tuesday, September 14, 2004 4:59 PM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul stays back in the shadows, staring at the two women deep in conversation. They are obviously talking about a ship, but which one? Then his eyes settle on a Firefly, new by the looks of it, and by the way one of the women is gesturing to it, the Firefly seems like hers.

He needs a ride, a way to get off this rock, but if he asked, would the woman let him board the Firefly...?

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Tuesday, September 14, 2004 5:25 PM

Ebo thought a moment, "Whats the salary?"

"Um...love and gratitude? And proten bars."

"Deal!"

"Alright, the ship you'll be flying for me is that one over yonder, Sidere."

"What, behind that heap of junk Firefly?"

"It is the heap of junk Firefly."

"Oh!" Ebo said a little to loudly, "and a lovely heap of junk it is," she quickly changed the subject, "Um, I'll just go put my stuff on the ship."

Teela gave her a fake smile, "You do that. I'll go collect us some passengers."

Ebo strode off and Teela went back to her heap of junk, -er, firefly, and sat down in front of it with a large sign saying, "Passage to rim planets, cheep, cleanish rooms, edible food."

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2004 4:08 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul made his decision and strolled up to the Firefly and to the woman now sitting in front of the boarding ramp holding a sign with the words "Passage to rim planets, cheep, cleanish rooms, edible food" written in what he guessed passed for english these days.

"You lookin' for a ride?"

Soul smiled. "That I am, if you've got the room."

"Well, I've got the room if you've got the cash."

Soul considered that, and then unshouldered his pack, making sure she noticed his guns as he pulled out a roll of bills and peeled off a few. The woman took the money and smiled.

"So where are you headed?" Soul asked.

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2004 4:27 PM

"Me? Where money leads me."

Ebo appeared again. "Shiny! I'm not the only one who wants to ride this piece of-" she remembers Teela "-hand-crafted excellence." She turns her attention to Soul.

"Hiya."

_____________
"Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2 plus 2 make 4. If that is granted, all else follows"-Winston, 1984
Teela Brown, keeper of the delete key.
"No one reads these things any way."- Bart on Blackboard

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Wednesday, September 15, 2004 5:06 PM

Ebo dropped her large dufflebag on the ground and shook Soul's hand, "Nice to meet cha."

Ebo's eyes fell to Souls guns, "Oh, you must be the merc. I'm the pilot," she added before turing back to Teela, "I found us some cargo. Hope you don't mind."

Teela nodded, "Great! That'll make us some gas money. Where's it headed?"

"Ballard."

"Where's that?"

"I dunno."

"You do of course realise that is pilot, your gonna have to do some navigating as well."

"HA! Oh i failed that in flight scho-Um, I mean, Sure! No problem! I'll navagate our asses to Ballard so fast you're feet'll fall off."

"Good. Where's this cargo?"

"The guy said he'd bring it here, should be here in a coupla minutes. I'm gonna go get navigating."

"Sure, drop you stuff in the hold, I'll show you your bunk once were airborne."

"Sure thing."

Ebo picked up her bag and trotted up the ramp into Sidere. Soul picked up his stuff and followed her.

A few minutes later a man and a boy showed up on a quad dragging a trailer with a large crate on the back.

"Ello," the greasy looking man said, "I'm looken for a Teela, you be her?"

"Yep. I hear you got some cargo for me."

"That I do," he extended a gloved hand, "Me names' Jerry. This is my son."

A bow of about 7 looked up at Teela from under an oversized bowler hat, "People call me Badger," he said, glaring at her.

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Thursday, September 16, 2004 2:18 AM

Teela looked down at the boy. "Okay, Badger. What sorta cargo you got?"

"Why d'you need to know?" Badger said haughtily.

Teela found this amusing, but kept a straight face. "Just innocent cutiousity."

Jerry monitered the converstaion, and when there was a pause he said "Winthrop, help me with this."

"I told you, it's Badger!" the boy complained.

"When you run your own organization, you have whatever name you want." Jerry secretly smiled.

_____________
"Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2 plus 2 make 4. If that is granted, all else follows"-Winston, 1984
Teela Brown, keeper of the delete key.
"No one reads these things any way."- Bart on Blackboard

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Thursday, September 16, 2004 2:55 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul stood on the catwalk, his bag at his feet as he watched Jerry and "Badger" load the cargo. The boy looked mighty funny, nearly drowning in his huge bowler hat, but hey, to each his own.

"So Soul, where you from?"

Soul looked over as Ebo approached him. He smiled at her. Damn, she sure was pretty. Well, for that matter so was Teela, but Teela wasn't the one smiling at him now.

"Everywhere and nowhere," he responded, smiling back. "Wherever my guns take me."

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Thursday, September 16, 2004 3:45 AM

A young man with red hair watched the crate being hauled aboard the firefly with more than a hint of suspicion in his eyes. He breathed in deeply, before breaking into a fit of coughing.

'Note to self:' he thought wryly, 'never breathe in deeply in a ship port.'

Anyone who took a second look at him would notice the look in his eyes and the lack of baggage, and deduce that he was on the run from something or someone. Fortunately, hardly anyone gave him a second look.
He rooted around in his pocket. The few nuggets of gold he'd found were still there. He sighed. Time to be movin' on... again. He walked up to the vessal.

"Who'd I have to talk to to get offa this rock?" He asked quietly.

--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Thursday, September 16, 2004 3:53 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Something caught Soul's eye, and he turned away from Ebo to stare down to where Teela was now talking to a man with red hair. It seemed like a casual conversation, but something about the man seemed odd, almost familiar...

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Thursday, September 16, 2004 4:29 AM

"So..." the girl who'd introduced herself as Teela said "have you got a name?"

The red-haired man's face gave a ghost of smile away. "Mantichorus." He replied. "But you can just call me Manti if you like..."

Teela nodded. "What've you got to pay your way, Manti?"

"Three gold nuggets enough?" Mantichorus asked. Before she could answer, he spotted another man off to the side. He looked familiar, but presently, Mantichorus couldn't put a name to the face. 'Ah, well,' he mused, 'time will tell...'

--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Thursday, September 16, 2004 2:02 PM

"Well, Manti, do you have any baggage?"

"Nope."

"Well, then I can show you to your room." Teela looks up to Soul, sees that he's looking at Manti, and then back at Manti, and sees a faint smile. Well then, Teela thinks. this might be interesting... She smiles.

"Anyway, let's go to your dorm. Walk this way."

_____________
"Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2 plus 2 make 4. If that is granted, all else follows"-Winston, 1984
Teela Brown, keeper of the delete key.
"No one reads these things any way."- Bart on Blackboard

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Thursday, September 16, 2004 5:27 PM

"Talk this way!" Ebo sang out and played a few chords on air guitar. She noticed the looks she was getting. "What? Don't you guys listen to clasical music?...I guess not, to high class for you all" Manti raised an eyebrow "Right!" Ebo said and clapped her hands, "Navigating! Gonna go do that." And she trotted up the stairs to the brigde mumbling 'tough crowd.' She plopped down in the pilots chair, still covered in protective plasic covering, and started plotting the route to Billard.

Teela showed the passagers to the dorm rooms and was just explaining about showers and how she would prefer if the men took them ever so often when the ships intercom crackled and Ebo's voice came booming through the speakers, "Hey, you guys wanna go now or what? I plotted our course, but if we don't leave soon the planets gonna be in a diferent place by the time we get there."

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Friday, September 17, 2004 1:06 AM

"So far, so good..." Mantichorus muttered to himself, lying down in his dorm room. 'Isn't that what you say every second of a three-mile fall without a parachute?' the ever-pessimistic part of his brain asked. Through years of it being proved right, Mantichorus decided to pay attention. That Soul character, for example... He would swear he'd seen him somewhere before...
The firefly banked sharply, breaking his train of thought. 'Bugger' he thought. With a sigh, he took off his brown overcoat, and threw it on the bed.
'Well, the crew seem agreeable enough...' the ever-optimistic part of his brain smiled hopefully. Yep. All two of 'em. Mantichorus thought for a second, then clicked his fingers.
Maybe they needed a mechanic for this boat... If so, maybe he'd be better off here than plodding through the 'verse.
Catching a niff of his armpits, and remembering Teela's advice, he decided to take a shower first...

--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Friday, September 17, 2004 4:13 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul grabbed onto the copilots seat as Ebo yanked the controls and jerked the Firefly hard to the right. Ebo let out a whoop.

"You are crazy, you do know that?" Soul said, sarcastically.

Ebo just grinned and jerked the controls again. God, she reminded him so much of his son. His son...he hadn't seem him in over a year, ever since Helina had asked for the divorce. His son had such great potential to be a pilot, and a damn good one at that, the way he just naturally knew how to fly the simulators; but Helina had wanted differently, wanted him to do anything but fly.

That had been the downfall of their marriage. So Soul had left, promising his son, little Hoban Washburne that he would come back one day and really teach him how to fly...

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Friday, September 17, 2004 4:29 AM

Mantichorus walked out into the corridor, and paused. Something felt ...wrong. He frowned and ducked back into his quarters, and began to rummage around in his coat. Eventually, he pulled out a small pouch. He quickly attached it to his belt, and pulled his tee-shirt down to cover it. You could never be too careful...
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A/N: Guys, I'm off for the weekend. Just carry on the story as normal and FORGET THE POUCH. It doesn't have any relevance... yet.
--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Friday, September 17, 2004 3:23 PM

"Wee! this piece of junk can move!" Ebo shouted gleefully at Soul, who sat down in the co-pilots chair and grabbed the consoule.

Teela steped through the door, "Is there a compeling reason for all this motion?" she asked.

"Not really," Ebo shrugged, "Just seeing what this piece of, um, spaceship can do before we break atmo."

"Right. Why?"

"In case we have to escape from somebody or something."

"Why would we have to do that?"

"We're carrying not so ligit cargo. Just playing it safe."

"Right, playing it sa-wait-what? Not so ligit cargo?"

"Uh-huh, Jerry isn't exactly your honorable busness man."

"Whats in the box?" Soul asked.

Ebo shugged, "Beats me."

Manti stepped in, "What ever it is it probably isn't kosher, I've delt with this guy before. He likes to keep his big bad reputation by keeping things on the wrong side of legality."

"How long have you been standing there?" Teela asked.

Before he could answer the ship jolted violently.

"I had nothing to do with that," Ebo said. The ship jumped again. "I'm getting the idea this thing has crappy stabilizers. I think this is its typical reaction to breaking atmo."

"Will it do the same thing when we re-enter?"

"Probably be worse."

"Great," Teela mumbled.

"I might be able to fix that," Manti spoke up, "I mean, not all the way, but once we land in Ballard I can rig up some stuff to make it better."

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Saturday, September 18, 2004 10:23 PM

Glico stared at the displays in her tiny fighter:
FUEL LEVELS CRITICAL
TIME TO ASPHYXIATION : 0 HOURS 20 MINUTES 12 SECONDS
She was in orbit now, could float for, what did it say? Twenty minutes. Crap. With a new sense of desperation, she scanned the list of ships on her RADAR until a firefly caught her eye. Fireflies were liable to have various things of value on them. Things that needed protecting. She was good enough at that, and her little fighter was a great help with the fighting. She waiting for the firefly to hit orbit, and opened a channel with it.
"Hi, my names Glico. I Got a little problem here, and need a lift. I got nothing of value, but I'm willing to work. Things sometimes have a tendancy to blow up in space. I can help make sure that's not you."

-----------------------------------
Hope you guys like the new addition.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 5:26 AM

Ebo looked again at the little flashing light. It had been blinking now for about 10 minutes. Maybe Teela would know. Ebo was about to page her when she realized that Teela probably knew less about the buttons on this ship then she did.

Maybe there was an owners manual or something.

Ebo stood and paced around, looking for an owners manual of some sort. She finnaly found it in one of the lockers in the rear. She flipped through the thick book untill she came to a page marked with a simple diagram of the control console. After a moment she realized that the blinking light was telling her there was a message waiting to be recived. She hit a button and a fuzzy picture of a woman popped up.

"Hi, my names Glico. I Got a little problem here, and need a lift. I got nothing of value, but I'm willing to work. Things sometimes have a tendancy to blow up in space. I can help make sure that's not you."

Ebo sent a message back "Umm...what sort of problem?"

Glinco's face came up again, now looking somewhat more relived "I'm running out of air."

"That can be a problem. Lemme just ask Teela."

"Who?"

"Teela. She's our captain."

"Wait! Look i got less then 5 minutes left. By the time you get back from her with clearence, I'm not gonna have enough air to even get to you."

Ebo thought a moment, "Alright. Go ahead and dock."

Glico said a breif thank you and cut the communication.

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 3:06 PM

Glico breathed an incredible sigh of relief, and punched the button to sync the two ships orbit's. She watched as Sidere slid into view, coming in from the top left. Habitually, she sized up the ship. Big and sturdy looking, no weapons, but those engines could rotate, giving it a real quick turn. With the right pilot that ship could get away from near anything. The light on the "Sync Orbits" button turned off, and with an enthusiasm she hadn't felt for days she grabed the control sticks, and guided the ship into docking bay one. After the message "AIR CLEAR" she pulled open her fighter's door, then Sidere's door. The rush of air threw her shaggy brown hair back for a second. She walked out and looked for the cockpit, getting lost several times along the way. When she found it, she saw Ebo sitting in the pilots chair all too lazily, reading the manual. Then she noticed the RADAR screen. She flew forward, pushed ebo back away from the console and grabbed the steering wheel. Turned the ship out of the orbital plane for interplanetary transits.
"Obviously you don't know the rules yet, you have gotta stay outta that plane until you're right ready to leave this ugly little rock. Ships with big guns'll get mighty mad with this boat in there way."She smiled. "It's allright though. Just pay a little more attention when you're in a high traffic lane next time."

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 3:37 PM

Ebo looked up at her, "But we're not in a high traffic..." she trailed off, looking at the high traffic around them, "What the..." Ebo tapped a few keys "Whats wrong with this thing? We were supposed to break orbit 15 minutes ago." More key tapping, "Hell, I'll figure out this bloody auto-pilot later. Its different with every model I swear." She tossed the manual on the floor and took the controls and began flying manually. "Thanks for saving the day there. I was trying to figure out how to set the clock. I'm tired of that stupid 12 blinking at me."

Glico shrugged, "No problem."

Teela trudged through the door, "Hey Ebo, We're hungry, any idea how to -Gaa! Holy God where'd you come from?"

"Me?" Ebo asked, "I'm the pilot, you hired me."

"Not you! Her!" Teela gestured at Glico.

"Oh," Ebo scratched her head, "Something about running out of air and...um...maybe I'll let her explain."

"She summed it up pretty good. Somethings wrong with the life support on my fighter and I was low on fuel. Ebo let me dock. I was hoping i could pay my way by offering my services as a mercenary."

As Teela and Glico worked out a deal, Ebo noticed a light blinking on the radar and locked on to their trajectory. 'Somebody else goin to Ballard I guess,' she thought and beyond that didn't think about it anymore.

"Can you cook?" Teela was asking.

"Little bit," Glico nodded.

"Good, eveybody else on this ship seems fairly incopetent in that area. Soul just started a small fire, actually. And Manti isn't willing to try-"

"-Me neither," Ebo cut in, "I refuse to cook."

"Right," Teela contunuted, "So if you can handle that I'm willing to give you a job here."

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 3:47 PM

"Right, food! On my way." Cooking was one of the things she liked that didn't involve blowing people up. She jogged happily off to the kitchen. When she looked through the cupboards she found protein in all colors of the rainbow. She sighed, then muttered "Maybe I could get some hydroponics going on this boat." She pulled out a few things and started to make soup. While the water & protein began to boil, she explored the kitchen. Found some flour, some yeast and a bread pan. Atleast one thing would be real for this meal. She Eyeballed the correct proportions and started to knead out the bread dough.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 4:19 PM

"Do I smell food?" Ebo said, hoping down the steps into the dining room, "Like, real, actual food food?" She spied Glico pulling bread out of the oven.

"Bread!" Ebo practicly shrieked, "Actual fresh bread!"

"Did you get the auto-pilot figured out?"

"Hopefully, at least theres nothing to run into out here in the black. And I'm sure theres some sort of proximity alert if something gets to close. I'm not overly concerned. Besides, if we die, I'll die eating, and that doesn't sound so bad."

"Whats this about dying?" Manti said, stepping into the kitchen. "Hey I smell - whoa. I didn't know there was anybody else on the ship."

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 4:29 PM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul came striding back into the kitchen wearing a new shirt, since he had only moments before burnt a hole in the one he was wearing. He had told Teela that he didn't know how to cook, but did she listen? No. And look what had happened.

He strode over to the stove, about to finish cleaning up his mess when he realized that someone had already beat him to it. Someone he hadn't met before.

How many people were on this gorram boat?

"Hi," he said, eying the new person warily. Then he noticed that she was cooking, and apparently with some skill, so he relaxed. Ebo and Manti were there as well, Manti looking as mystified as Soul as to who the new person was.

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 4:32 PM

Glico smiled at Ebo and started to sing "We are the champions". She put the bread into the bread pan, and placed that in the oven. Then stirred the soup, and began to dance around the kitchen. She saw Ebo's wry smile, and Mantis confused look and laughed.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 4:55 PM

Introductios were made and soon everyone was aware of who Glico was, and what she was doing on the ship.

Teela wandered in from wherever and they all sat down for a meal. Ebo was just taking her first bite of bread when an alarm when off.

"Crap," she mumbled and stuffed a piece of bread into her mouth.

"What is it?" Teela asked.

"Sounds like a proximity alert. Must be commin up on something.," Ebo mumbled through all the food in her mouth. She pushed back from the table and stomped uo to the bridge.

"Or somethings commin up on us," Manti mumbled before following the otheres to the bridge.

Ebo plopped down in the pilots chair and began cheking the insturments.

"Whats out there?" Teela asked, leaning over the control pannel.

"Dunno yet. There was something following us a while back but it looks to be gone yet."

"Where'd it go?" Ebo checked the radar and shrugged, "Away," she said tentitivly.

"Thats impossible," Glico said, "It couldn't have gone fast enough to get out of the radar screen in time."

"I know."

"Some of the newer short range fighters might've been able too," Manti pointed out.

"But the alerts still goin off," Soul said, "Steath technology?"

Ebo shrugged, "It doesn't make sense. If its stealth the proximity alert shouldn't have picked it up either. Hell, its probably just a glitch somewhere. Just the ship worken all the bugs out of itself."

Suddenly the ship jumped upward.

"Woah!" Ebo shouted, grabbing the controls, "I didn't do that."

The ship jumped again.

Glico looked around, "Its not a glitch. The reason the other ship isn't showing up on radar is because its underneath us."

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 5:46 PM

"Wish me luck, and get ready for full burn the moment I'm back with ya"
Glico ran down to her fighter, strapped in, and hit the switch that made everything go. As soon as Sidere let her go she was off, making a half orbit of Sidere. Sidere was down, black was up. God it felt good to be flying again. With some food in her, and air. Sweet sweet air. She came around the bottom of the ship and saw...

------------------
Note to everyone for clarification:
The atmo in my ship was about to run out because I was almost out of fuel. Everythings fine except for the fuel levels, which I took the liberty of topping off out of Sidere.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 6:22 PM

Back on the bridge, Ebo was typing furiously away at the auto-pilot, trying to get it to revoke control of the ship to her so that they could get away from whatever it was banging around below.

Manti was shaking his head, "It just doesn't make any sense. How come the sensors didn't tell you where the other ship was."

Suddenly an alert flashed up on the screen by Ebo's left hand. 'Collision Warning! Pull up at once!'

Ebo shrugged, "Sometimes things just need to wiggle into place. Goddamn! If this bloody auto-pilot doesn't give me control again so help me I'll..."

"This ship is a death trap," Soul mumbled.

"Hey!" Teela said "Its my death trap and you'll not offend it else you'll be taken a short walk outside."

"No thanks," Soul mumbled, "Its cold out there."

"Guys, I think we have larger issues at hand here," Glico's face appeared on the monotor.

"Whats down there?" Teela asked.

"Fighter, it looks Aliance, but with all the markings sratched off."

"Aliance?" Manti wondered, "What are they doing way out here? Were at least seven sectors away from anything under Aliance rule."

"Nine," Ebo offered, "We're nine sectors away."

"I hear that the Aliance is trying to expand, and get every planet in this system under its rule," Soul said.

"They've been saying that for years but its not happened yet, and i don't see it happening at all. The Alliance just isn't powerful enough to get it done," Teela interjected.

"Not yet anyway," Manti mumbled darkly.

"Hey, lets not get ahead of ourselves," Glico jumped in, "Lets worry about this first, and politics later. Wan't me to blow em up?" she asked eagerly.

"Not yet. Lets talk like civilized folk for a bit. Then you can blow em up," Teela said, "Ebo, gimme radio contact."

"Aye Aye," she fliped the switch, "This is Firefly class Sidere to whoevers messing up our paint job..."

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004 10:26 PM

The radio spluttered into life. "Sidere, this is the Hydra-class SR* fighter Talon. I'm in a spot of difficulty here. Could you guide me back down to the planet? Over."

Mantichorus' head shot up. "Hell. I know that voice." He muttered under his breath. However, Teela was able to hear him.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Lieutenant Richard Wilkins. One of the Alliance's up-and-coming young hopeful's. God alone knows what the gosa he's doin' out at a backwater rock like this..."

Ebo frowned. "So... whatta we do?" Mantichorus glanced questionly at Teela.

Teela sighed. "Great. Thanks for the advice, Manti." She said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"If you want my two cents..." Soul said levelly "...I'd help him out. We don't want the Alliance taking a disliking to us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(*SR=Short Range.)

--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Monday, September 20, 2004 4:40 AM

"I got no love for allaince, or this man in particular, but shooting this man down'd be very bad for us. At least, those of us that like breathing. I don't trust him one bit though, so if we're going anywhere with him we better get that radar fixed." said Glico over the comm to Sidere & friends.

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Question: Is this set before or after the battle at Serenity Valley?

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Monday, September 20, 2004 3:32 PM

In answer to Glico's question, this is all set LONG before the battle of Serenity, like, a whole generation before the battle of Serenity. This is why we keep referencing people from the show, but little (Seven year old Badger, and little baby Wash for example). I'm my eyes, the Aliance would be some fledgling little 'country' just beging to expand and invade other planets, or possible just beging to terraform some.

Make sense?

_____________________________

"Uhh, would like to point out that the planet we came from is waay behind us now. If he needs a ride, he's goin to Ballard," Ebo said, "Although this ship is getting a mite full."

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Monday, September 20, 2004 4:13 PM

Glico opened a comm with Sidere and started barking orders
"Anyone who can handle a gun, and/or knows how to look scary, Down to shuttle bay 2. I'll see you there" she gazed at their somewhat dumb faces and glared. Once they had moved she said
"Open shuttle bay two, I'll guide him in".
She waited about a minute before talking to Little Richy, to heighten the tension and allow everyone to get in place. Then she opened a data only channel and transferred the approach vectors for Sidere's docking bay two to Richy's nav computer.
She watched him all the way in, with sights trained, then sped into her own bay.

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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 3:49 AM

"Know how to handle one of these?" Soul asked Mantichorus, holding an old-fashioned revolver out.

"Well enough." Mantichorus replied, taking the gun. After a split second pause, he asked; "Where have I seen your face before?"

"Beats me." Soul shrugged, but the frown on his face showed that the other man had been wondering the same thing himself.

"Uh, guys...? Ranking Alliance guy, remember him?" Teela asked, somewhat jumpy. "Move, move, move." And to ram home the point, she pushed them both towards Shuttle Bay Two.

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"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 4:31 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul walked across the catwalk, Manti beside him and Teela behind the two of them, pushing them both towards the door for shuttle bay 2. He turned and looked over at Manti, still trying to place his face and now wondering exactly how involved he was with the Alliance, since he had so quickly placed the voice of one Lieutenant Richard Wilkins.

Come to think of it, the name sounded familiar to him too. But why?

Sidere rocked slightly as the ship outside docked with the Firefly. There was a moment of pause as the pressure equalized and then the doors slowly slid open. Soul held his rifle, aiming it towards the opening, waiting for Richard Wilkins to step out.

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 5:11 AM

Mantichorus slowly levelled the gun at knee height. Absently, he wondered if Wilkins would recognise him. After five years, he hoped not. Stealing an Alliance officer's encyclopaedia wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done, but...
That was a lifetime ago, now. Subconsciously, Mantichorus shifted his weight. Good. The pouch was still there.
He glanced at Soul. The other man held his rifle at approximate shoulder height. The sound of someone stepping out onto the gantry regained Mantichorus' attention.
And there stood Lieutenant Richard Wilkins. He calmly stared at Mantichorus and Soul, not even registering Teela glaring over their shoulders.

"Who's the Captain here?" He asked with an air of authority.

'Good. He hasn't recognised me.' Mantichorus inwardly sighed with relief.

--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 5:12 PM

The Man They Call Soul...

Holy God!

As Richard Wilkins stepped into view, Soul saw the man's face and was instantly swept back to a point in time nearly six years earlier, right after little Hoban was born, right at the end of his brief but memorable stint with a branch of the Alliance that "never existed", at least, not as far as the Higher Ups would ever admit.

The Expendables, as they were called. Asassins, mercenaries, hunters; they all shared the same name. Soul had been one of them.

So had Richard Wilkins. Except back then, he hadn't been known by that name. Back then he was only known by a number: 666. His nickname: Lucifer. He brought death, and he had been good at it.

Soul kept his face as emotionless as he could but his gun never wavered from it's aim.

Wilkins cleared his throat, focusing on Soul and Manti. "Who's the Captain here?" he asked.

Soul glanced at Manti, who motioned over his shoulder at Teela. Wilkins' gaze shifted, apparently noticing the Captain for the first time.

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2004 1:39 AM

An interesting note: 'Lucifer' means 'light-bringer'. In the pilot, Kaylee says the Alliance is "Shining the light of civilization."
__________________________________________________

"You're... the captain?" Wilkins asked unsurely.

"Yeah. ...Got a problem with a girl being the captain of a ship?" Teela answered, her voice slightly annoyed.

"Of course not." Wilkins sighed, with the air of one who hasn't the energy to argue. "Can you take me back to Ixion?"

"We're on our way to Ballard. Sorry, no stops." Teela replied firmly.

Wilkins growled deeply at the back of his throat in anger. "Fine. Get me some quarters." He ordered.

"Follow me." Teela smiled patronisingly at the Lieutenant. As the two of them left the bay, Mantichorus and Soul's shoulders sagged in unison.

"...I hope that's a new instead of an experimental fighter." Mantichorus muttered.

Soul nodded in agreement. "The last thing we want is for any experimental weapons or drive systems to blow." There was a pause. "How do you know about Wilkins?"

Mantichorus pulled a standard issue Alliance military encyclopaedia out of a pouch on his belt, the lights glintting off of something else as well. He then waved the encyclopaedia in Wilkins' general direction. "Was his, until someone lifted it at Rhea."

Soul stared at him disbelievingly. "You stole it from him?" He hissed.

Mantichorus nodded, then sighed. "Now... Where the hell have I seen your face before?"

--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2004 4:23 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Note to Manti: I guess one of us is going to have to come up with this, so...

______________________________________________

Soul racked his brain, pushing aside all the useless tidbits of information he had gathered over the years, searching for Manti's face. He had seen him somewhere before, but he felt like he had been more of a friend than a foe-

His eyes widened as the revalation hit him. "That was you on Rhea," Soul said, finally matching the face. "When I was pulled back into the Expendables for one last job. After they threatened my family." He paused, not quite sure he wanted to continue. "They wanted me to kill...you."

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2004 5:15 AM

Response to Soul: Yeah, I know. I was just hopin' you'd come up with a better story than I would. Which you did. Kudos.
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"...What? Why would they..." Mantichorus trailed off. "Oh, hell. It was that job I did on Cybele, wasn't it? When me and a couple of others tried to 'kidnap' the Prefect's daughter..." He said kidnap, but in fact it was the Prefect's daughter who'd hired them. "...Why didn't you go through with it?"

"How do you mean?" Soul asked uncomfortably.

"Why didn't you kill me? Hell, they didn't harm your family as you didn't do it, did they?" Mantichorus repeated quietly, to make sure Wilkins didn't hear. Some of the things that had happened in the last year or so had messed his memory up something chronic, and he didn't have a clue what had actually happened on Rhea, short of his 'acquisition' of the encyclopaedia.
__________________________________________________
A/N: What happened to Mantichorus during the last year is my secret. ~_^ Also, both Rhea and Cybele are 'Earth' goddesses. From the Greek myths, I think.

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"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2004 5:36 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

Soul sighed. He had hoped that he would never have to relive that night again. "I had you in my sights, but you saw me, right before I pulled the trigger. I just couldn't do it." He shook his head. "I have killed so many people that if I put a knotch on this gun" - he held up the rifle - "for every person I've killed, I would be holding an handful of toothpicks and lead. Some of them deserved it..." he paused, guilt racking his mind as it had for years, "some didn't."

Manti looked at him. "And me?" he asked. "Why didn't you pull the trigger?"

Soul lifted his head and stared at the curved celing. "My son was born two weeks earlier. For the first time in my life, I helped bring someone into this world, instead of helping to send them into the next." He lowered his head, staring at Manti. "I read your profile, studied everything the Alliance knew about you. You didn't desereve to die."

Manti seemed to consider that. "Then why didn't someone else come later to finish the job?"

Then Soul smiled. "As far as the Alliance knows, I killed you that night." He grinned wider. "As far as the Alliance knows, you don't even exist anymore."

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2004 2:06 PM

Glico stepped out of her fighter, quiet as night. She listened for a second then, hearing footsteps down below she walked carefully to the the crew's quarters, and fell into step behind the party escourting little Richy to a bunk. The element of surpise is sometimes the deciding factor between life and death.

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Thursday, September 23, 2004 3:13 AM

Mantichorus lay down on his bunk, pondering on what Soul had told him.
With a sigh, he pulled out the encyclopaedia. Wilkins had said 'back to Ixion', but they had taken off of Dyton colony.

"Information on Ixion- visual only." He murmured at the encyclopaedia. He'd learnt through bitter experience that the encyclopaedia's audio stream could alert half a pub to your presence. God only knew how well it would carry on a firefly. Let's see...
The jist of the information was that Ixion was the last port of call for ships before they went into mass production.
Mantichorus pulled himself off his bed, and went towards the bridge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ebo frowned at the manual. How the hell was she supposed to set this clock?

"Ebo?"

"Wah!" Ebo threw the manual in the air in surprise. It landed on Mantichorus' head. "How'd you do that?!" Ebo asked. "I didn't hear you come in."

Mantichorus removed the manual from his head. "Practice." He paused. "How long until we reach Ballard?"

"Ballard? Oh, yes, Ballard! Right!" Ebo replied. "...A while. Why?"

"The sooner we get Wilkins off the ship the better, in my opinion." Mantichorus sighed wearily. "I'm gettin' a bad feelin'..."

--------------------------------------------------
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." -Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News World Report.

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Friday, September 24, 2004 2:55 AM

OOC:
Where's everyone? Whose responsibility is it to say, that we've arrived? Maybe I'm just being impatient, but I haven't seen anyone post for a while.

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Friday, September 24, 2004 6:19 AM

The Man They Call Soul...

OOC: Someone else (Manti?) is gonna have to deal with Soul for a week. I have a honeymoon to go on tonight!! See you all in a week!

______________________

But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

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Friday, September 24, 2004 7:52 AM

(best kaylee voice) Have good sex!

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Friday, September 24, 2004 2:18 PM

OOC: Wow, we all decided to take some time off at once, thats interesting. (I was fasting from the interent, thought i'd get some work done, though, in truth, i just found otherways to procrastinate). Oh, and in answer to your question glico, anyone can say where there whenever we get there. Its a kind of go with the flow thing, ya know?

I would update and pick up the story again, but i'm getting kicked off the computer.

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Friday, September 24, 2004 2:52 PM

OOC: Ok, new computer. Got the interent back. Typin away now.

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

Ebo jumped up from the chair and trotted down the from the bridge and into the kitchen, finding it empty, everyone else was asleep. She flipped through her various protein choises, brown, brown with wierd green things stuck in it, yellow, and yellow-brown, before settling on light brown with black things stuck in it. She liked to pretend it was choclate (chochlate? God, i have no idea how to spell that.).

On returning to the bridge, protein in hand, she dropped into her seat and radioed ahead to Ballard, port of Begren. "This is Firefly class Sidere, requestiong permission to dock. Over."

After a moment a crackled response came back to her.

"Sidere this is the Begren port authority, whats your ETA?"

"About one hour, fifteen minutes. Give or take."

"Permission to dock at bay 3, dock code EW3KR5."

"Thanks guys," before closing the connection she asked, "Hey, what time is it there?"

"About 17:00 hours."

"Thanks."

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

Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Friday, September 24, 2004 6:20 PM

Glico was sitting at the kitchen table, sharpening a prized knife. She set it down, and proceeded to the next weapon, a long 12 gauge rifle. She took it completely apart, but her hands kept going back to the knife. Alliance always crept her out like that. She turned resolutely toward the 12 gauge, and took out all the moving parts. The canister-barrel assemby got dunked in rubbing alcohol, and wire-brushed. She set it to dry, and turned to the next weapon when an alarm sounded.
Glico grabbed all the weapons lying on the table, and slowly, alertly strapped them on. Then, checking every blind corner, ran up to the bridge where Ebo was sitting up, a ship's manual thrown off in a corner. She was looking around, trying to determine the source of the sound. Glico walked up calmly, and pushed a few buttons. A display appeared:
PROXIMITY ALERT, ALLIANCE VESSEL: ROMANUS 20KM AND CLOSING
"They'll be looking for their boy. Try to act real civil" Glico said before turning to the comm.
"Teela, we could use you on the bridge"

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Friday, September 24, 2004 7:01 PM