Mercenary Crew: Bounty Hunters: Jewels of the Core

[JasraLantill]

Episode 2: Jewels of the Core

 

With no bounty collected and two crewmembers killed on their last mission, the Scimitar was once again looking for another job. An easier one, and preferably, one that paid well. Ok, well, maybe one that just paid period.

 

Jyot stood in engineering, eyes closed and listening to the sounds of the engines. He’d been on board long enough that he could just tell by the sounds and the vibrations if anything was amiss. Right now, things were running smoothly. And it was a good place for him to do some thinking.

 

Ali had remained behind on Bryndar. Even thought she had stated it was because she wanted to stay to salvage the Republic ship, Jyot knew that wasn’t the reason. Ali had never been that greedy for cash. She like adventure, sure, but the money had always been secondary. She had stayed because she didn’t want to continue with the Scimitar. Her relationship with Jyot, the stress of the situations they had faced—it had all been too much for her to bear and still keep up her icy public front.

 

Jyot had understood. He didn’t make a big deal out of it, or cause an embarrassing scene for her. He just shook her hand politely, smiled, gave her a peck on the forehead, and wished her good luck. Another love lost, but… there were plenty more women out there. The Galaxy was a big place.

 

Which lead him to think about where they were headed next. They had new crew aboard. They needed a job. They were on the Outer Rim. So, naturally, Alec had decided to visit Space Station A12-76--a pit stop in the middle of the Galaxy, a place to gather info, re-supply, get a drink, check mail, and chat with a contact of the captain’s who went by the name of Zeek. If anyone had a job going around here, Zeek would either know about it or, at the very least, point them in the right direction.

 

Jyot exhaled meditatively. Now that the job with the Jedi was over and done with, they could go back to hunting more ‘normal’ bounties. He liked that. Normal was good.

 

((OOC: Ok, so since we’ve got new crew on board, now might be a good time for them to explore the ship and give their opinions of their new ‘jobs’. We should be docking on the Space Station in under an hour.))

[starmark2k]

Alec sat by the console in his cabin rubbing the space between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He had this unending headache the last day, since they left Bryndar, he ad a theory what was causing it, but that would mean he was insane. He heard an almost constant unintelligible whisper, sometimes the familiar voice of the Jedi that died saving his life and he had even seen her for a brief second just after they left the icy world.

 

He couldn’t concentrate or sleep for all the noise he could hear inside his head, If he wasn’t insane, he would be soon.

 

Alec was going to wait until he got to A12-76 before he’d try to get something to help with this problem, but it was too much for him to handle. He stood up and walked out of the room taking the short few steps to the Med-bay. “Anyone here?” He called.

[Writer]

((Joint post with SM))

 

 

From the other side of the operating bed/table, Raelyn's voice answered. "Your new doctor rearranged the place, and then thought he ought to be sleeping," she murmured. Then, she stood, rising into view from behind the bed. "I can wake him if you like..."

 

"That won't be necessary," Alec stated. "Just point in the direction of the headache pills."

 

Raelyn smiled faintly and shook her head. "No," she said softly. "Point one, I haven't a clue where they are. Point two, they won't help you."

 

"I thought your brother was the doctor and you were just his odd little sister," Alec grumbled as he walked over to one of the cabinet and opened it to look for some pills.

 

Raelyn laughed. "He is, and I am," she replied simply. She quickly added, "Just... don't rearrange things... Cole gets cranky when that happens."

 

She fell silent for another moment and then insisted, "But really, medication to dull your pain-inducing nerve endings is going to do very little for you."

 

"What would you know?" Alec snapped.

 

"I know what I see," Raelyn replied. "Or rather, what you see... what you saw, what you hear..."

 

"Sure," Alec dismissed, finding the pills he wanted and taking two out of the container. He quickly popped both in his mouth and swallowed. "You're a little mind reader." He stated putting the bottle in his pocket and walking out of the room.

 

"Yes, that's right," Raelyn agreed, walking out behind him. She poked a finger at his shoulder. "You been seein' a Jedi..."

 

"We all did, remember? She disintegrated when a plasma grenade exploded." He continued, pretending nothing was wrong. Raelyn sighed.

 

"But you did after that. And whispers too... little voices in your head." She stopped walking, though he did not. "Like I said, headache pills won't help you..." She grinned. "You got yourself a Jedi conscience..."

 

"And a psychic pain in the ass," he called out as he walked into his room and closed the door behind him. Raelyn laughed and returned to the med bay.

 

"At least he didn't ask me for help in getting her out," she concluded aloud. "I'm a reader, not an exorcist..."

[Corinthian]

The hum of the Scimitar as she glided through Hyperspace was like the sweetest melody to his ears. Maybe it was being on a frozen rock for the better part of the past month or maybe the hyperdrive was just particularly pleasant. He snorted and headed out of the cockpit, into the common room.

 

"We should reach the station in about an hour, folks. It's nice to be back aboard a ship again, especially one that isn't a garbage barge like I've been on the past two months. "

[Rogue Nine]

Latch glanced up at Kadis and resisted smirking at their new pilot. He'd thrown himself headlong into the role after Alec had decided to let him stay on board, going over every nook and cranny of the Scimitar, oftentimes to Jyot's chagrin. "It's like he's trying to steal the Scim away from me," the blonde engineer had complained.

 

Despite that, the new additions to the crew had transitioned and integrated fairly well. Kadis was still irascible and outspoken, but a bit more tempered now that he was off Bryndar. Ellie had almost squealed with delight at being given a new fighter to pilot and had set to work customizing it to suit her desires, spending a bulk of her time in the hangar bay. Colin had also gone a similar route with the medbay, rearranging it to suit tastes. He was as particular about placement of things as Stitcher was, which was only mildly amusing to Latch, as the Corellian gunner had grown fond of the young medic over the short time he had been with them. Raelyn was the odd one out, often flitting about the ship seemingly lost in her own world, to the bemusement of Alec and the rest of the crew.

 

Pocketing the sabacc chip he'd been idly flipping through his fingers, Latch stood and headed aft towards the galley, intent on finding something to eat.

[ForceFightWMe12]

The sound of her boots on the durasteel floor of the ship sounded almost alien to Ellie, despite the fact she had been on ships for the better part of her life. It had only been - what, a few weeks, a month or two? - since she had been on a ship...but it seemed to feel like it had been so much longer than that. Regardless, she was glad that she had finally managed to return to the place she loved, and get her way off of that damn ice ball of a planet.

 

She was currently finishing her very first circuit of the ship, managing to find herself wandering first through the empty galley, then through the med ward, the dormitories, cockpit, common room, and finally into the engine room. She had left the engines for last, knowing that she would find herself lost in the complicated machinery. The last thing she was expecting to find there was Jyot.

 

Coming to the door, she lifted her arms and rested her hands against the top of the door frame as she looked out into the large section of the ship, finding the mechanic standing there, seemingly in his element. "After all that searching...it would seem we have a Jedi among us this entire time." she said, grinning and biting down lightly on her lower lip as she noted his apparently meditative state. She waited for him to turn around and spot her before dropping her arms and walking into the room, her fingers sliding into her back pocket. "Having fun, Jyot?"

[JasraLantill]

"Fun?" Jyot grinned at Ellie as she approached him. "No, but if you have something special in mind, I'm up for it."

 

He smiled flirtatiously and gave her a wink. "So, you finding the ship, okay?" he asked her. "Fighter to your liking? 'Cause you know if you need any help with any mods on her, just let me know. I'll be right in there." He pulled out the hydrospanner he always kept handy in his back pocket and flipped it deftly into the air, letting it free-spin a few times before catching it again in his hand. "They don't call me 'Spanner' for nothing."

 

He frowned a bit then. "But you don't have to call me that," he added. "Jyot's fine."

 

He moved closer to her. "So, you hungry, El? Thought I might head to the galley. See if anything's cookin'."

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Down boy," she said, a grin just as playful as his surfacing on her lips. So she hadn't been imagining the way he eyed her from time to time...and though she suspected that something was significant - or, at least, had been significant - between the mechanic and the pilot that had stayed behind...a bit of harmless flirting couldn't really hurt, could it? "This retail's not for sale."

 

She looked up at him as he drew closer, the height difference between them only becoming more and move obvious with every step. "I actually haven't found the fighter yet." she said, her smile a little sheepish before turning flirtatious again. "But I've been working on mods on swoop bikes since I was seven - I think I should be able to handle a little fighter."

 

As he came to stand before her, she looked up into his eyes and raised her own eyebrow. "Here's the question, though," she said, "Do I not have to, or would you rather I didn't?" she asked, her hand extending so that her finger came dangerously close to touching his chest before she stepped to the side and slipped by him, moving further into the room. "I was actually planning on looking over a few of the machines. I'm curious - even if I'll never have to touch them."

[Rogue Nine]

Latch decided he missed Stitcher even more now as he stirred the small pot over the first. The young medic had also been an exceptional cook and had provided the crew with many a tasty meal over the course of their travels. With him gone now, everyone was forced back into fending for themselves or trying out culinary experiments, which wasn't a project suited for a crew of professional bounty hunters.

 

The chime next to the stove dinged, so Latch extinguished the flames and moved the pot off of the heat. His concoction of prepackaged nuna didn't smell all that bad, but he hoped the taste was at least somewhat passable. Ladling up a small amount, he brought the spoon to his lips and tasted his creation. "Mmm..." he murmured, pleased with his effort. "Could use a bit more spice though..." He reached over to the next cupboard and withdrew a shaker of spice and sprinkled some liberally over the stew. He stirred a few times, then covered the pot with a lid as he pulled out a plate and dinnerware.

 

As he set the small mess table, he had a thought to have Jyot try some as well. Grabbing another place setting, he set it on the table, then swung out the door and strode down the hall towards engineering. Poking his head into the large room, he spotted Jyot standing in the middle of the floor. "Hey Jyot, I've burned up some nuna, want to give it a try?" As soon as he spoke these last words, his eyes focused in behind Jyot and upon Ellie. "And you're welcome to it too, Ellie," he offered. "That is, if you dare try a Corellian man's cooking attempt."

[Quist]

"We should reach the station in about an hour, folks. It's nice to be back aboard a ship again, especially one that isn't a garbage barge like I've been on the past two months. "

 

Arelyn looked up at Kadis, studying him. They had not gotten off to the most auspicious of starts, but Arelyn didn't hold grudges, especially against people she had to work with. He'd proven himself a capable pilot, though his skill in battle would prove to be the true test of his abilities, especially with regards to herself and Latch as gunners. Now that he was aboard the ship, he seemed more amicable than he was on Bryndar, a function of better surroundings, no doubt.

 

"It's probably a lot warmer here than what you've been used to," she remarked quietly, rubbing a piece of cloth down the barrel of her rifle.

[Corinthian]

Kadis laughed. "That's not really saying much, but yes. You could probably space me and I'd still feel quite warm. This is like a vacation resort, at least, when that bloody..." He glanced behind him. "...droid doesn't decide it's terribly amusing to hover right next to me while I'm asleep."

 

He sat down and put his feet up. "What do you keep that damned thing around for, anyway?" It was rhetorical - Zip wasn't totally worthless, just incredibly annoying.

[Quist]

"Just be happy Jyot disables his dart launcher when we're all aboard, otherwise we'll all be eating the durasteel floor right now." Arelyn threw a disparaging look at the little hovering droid as she wiped down a vibroblade, then inserted it back into its sheath. "I can't wait until the captain finds a new set of programming protocols for him. I'd rather not be tranqed to death while I'm sleeping."

 

She stretched her arms over her head, feeling the tendons and ligaments pop satisfyingly. "I hope this station we're heading to has some decent amenities. I'd really like a nice bubble bath..."

[Corinthian]

Kadis rubbed the side of his neck - Zip's dart launcher might not be operational, but it didn't stop him from jamming the barrel into his neck any time he got the opportunity. "A12-76 isn't much. The Giddy Gammorrean dropped by there for a refueling. There's a reason it's got no proper name. People call it a pit stop in the Outer Rim for a reason. There's enough Corellian booze there to submerge the Scimitar, though."

 

He grinned and shook his head. "Blasted Spacer cliches. I hate Corellian whiskey."

[starmark2k]

Like before Alec say at the desk by his console rubbing the space between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Raelyn was right the pills weren’t working and his headache persisted getting worse as time passed. He closed his eyes for a few moments trying to concentrate on something other than the continuous pain he felt, but it was futile. He slowly opened his eyes and looked into the consoles screen, it was off and reflecting his image back at him in the darkness. In the reflection over his shoulder he also say the dead Jedi behind him, his expression didn’t change as he looked at her reflection and slowly shook his head.

 

“You’re not there.” Alec said out loud in an attempt to convince himself. “You’re just an illusion.”

 

“I’m not an illusion.” Son’Ti replied, Alec swivelled his chair right around to see that Son’ti was actually standing there. “At least I don’t think I am.”

 

“So you’re Ghost?” He asked. “Why are you haunting me?”

 

“I’m not a Ghost and if I was I wouldn’t be haunting you.” She Stated taking a seat on the edge of Alec’s bunk. “I’m in your head.”

 

“Well, Get out!” He ordered.

 

“Trust me Mr Tannis I wouldn’t be here if it was my choice.” The incorporeal Jedi explained. “I am here simply by the will of the force.”

 

“Why?” He simply asked after a long pause.

 

“That I do not know, Perhaps I am here to teach you, guide you, aid you…”

 

“Or the force has a twisted sense of humour.” The captain conjectured.

 

“I have a tendency to agree with you on that point.” She smiled. “Either way you’re stuck with me, in side that head of yours.”

[JasraLantill]

Poking his head into the large room, he spotted Jyot standing in the middle of the floor. "Hey Jyot, I've burned up some nuna, want to give it a try?"

 

As soon as he spoke these last words, his eyes focused in behind Jyot and upon Ellie. "And you're welcome to it too, Ellie," he offered. "That is, if you dare try a Corellian man's cooking attempt."

"Food? I'm there, man," Jyot said. "We can do the engine room tour later, El." He gave Ellie a once-over look, grinned, then sidled carefully around her and headed for the door.

 

"So," Jyot said to Latch, "when we land on the station, how about we pay a visit to Zeek's? I'm dying for a drink. A good one, that is. And I think Alec might be needing one, too. Have you noticed that he's been acting a bit odd lately? Talking to himself and stuff." He shivered. "It's weird."

[Rogue Nine]

Latch rubbed his temple as he led Jyot into the galley. "Yeah, he was acting pretty strange around that Jedi chick too. I just thought he might be under some sort of Jedi voodoo, but then she went and got herself blown up." He shook his head. "Cap'n really hasn't been right since."

 

"Yeah," Jyot agreed, taking a seat. "Nothing a few Corellian whiskeys won't fix, eh?"

 

"I hear you," Latch said, bringing over a plate of steaming nuna. "Hopefully you won't need whiskey to fix you up after you try my cooking." He sat down in front of his own plate of food. "It's kind of hard not having Stitch and his cooking around anymore."

[JasraLantill]

Jyot stared at his plate for a moment, then stabbed a chunk of nuna with his fork and put it in his mouth. He started to chew, then slowed, then swallowed. "Ye--ah," he agreed slowly. "Not sure if our new doc cooks, or even if his sister does, but I think we're all gonna miss Stitch."

 

He readied himself for the next bite, but before he could make the transistion from fork to mouth, he felt a grin start, a laugh coming, and couldn't stop it no matter how hard he tried. "Latch," he said chuckling, "not that I don't appreciate your efforts, man, but this is got to be the toughest nuna I've ever had the misfortune to eat!"

 

He finally was able to take a breath and then said, "Maybe we should ask Alec if we can hire a cook for a our next job, eh?" He wiggled his brows. "Hey! Maybe we can find a nice Alderaanian waitress on station that's sick of her job and seeks adventure."

[Rogue Nine]

""Latch, not that I don't appreciate your efforts, man, but this is got to be the toughest nuna I've ever had the misfortune to eat!"

 

"Hey, just be happy you can actually chew the damn thing, okay?" Latch shot back, grinning a stupid grin of his own. The nuna was pretty damn tough. Still, at least it was edible.

 

"Hey! Maybe we can find a nice Alderaanian waitress on station that's sick of her job and seeks adventure."

 

"Somehow, I don't think you can convince Alec to bring aboard yet another woman, with your track record," Latch chided his friend lightly. "Though by some miracle we do have three on the ship currently. Albeit, one's an absolute nutter..." Latch rolled his eyes at the thought of Raelyn and her oddities. "And the other's a Mistryl and could probably snap your neck into five pieces if you thought nasty thoughts about her." He chuckled, then leaned towards Jyot, a conspiratorial look in his face. "Lucky for you, our third lady doesn't seem to be put off by your lecherous ways, for whatever reason."

[Writer]

((Joint post with Jasra))

 

"Something smells.." Raelyn began, coming into the common room. "... mmm... sorta... well... not totally burnt..."

 

"Crispy?" Jyot suggested. Raelyn frowned thoughtfully.

 

"Nnooo..." she drawled. "Umm... well, maybe... keep listing adjectives..."

 

Slighty carbonized? A bit over well-done? Not quite vulcanized?"

 

Raelyn laughed. "Aren't we being a little overly helpful this mo... is it morning?" She frowned. "No. There's no such thing aboard a ship, drifting - albeit at high speed - through space. Time, day and night have no existence where it's all black... and artificial light."

 

"Well artificial light aside, my stomach says that it's dinnertime." He looked at the plate, then grinned before taking another bite. "Apparently," he said, as he strained to chew. "You cook, Rae?"

 

With a shudder, Raelyn answered, "I dispise the activity..."

 

"But she's the one that kept the two of us alive when it was just us," Colin added, coming in behind her. With a glare to her brother, Rae muttered a few things under her breath. The doctor laughed. "What's wrong, Rae? Can't I want to taste your cooking again?"

 

"Hey, in my book, if she doesn't burn stuff, she can cook. Besides, everyone should pull their weight on this boat. " He raised his brow. "And we don't have a full time cook. I was thinking about asking Alec to let us hire one, but... maybe it's better we hire internally. What do you say, Rae? Fancy being the ship's chef?"

 

Raelyn shook her head stubbornly. "Hells. No."

 

"You're good at it," Colin pointed out. Raelyn made a face at him.

 

"Still no," she answered stubbornly. Colin chuckled.

 

"That's fine, Rae," he said. "You don't have to do something if you don't want to... and I wouldn't want to embarrass you by telling you what you ought to do. Do as you like."

 

Raelyn stalked out and Colin grinned at the people around the table. "She'll take the job. Give her 'till tomorrow and you'll start finding her in the kitchen. To her, 'you don't have to' is a challenge."

 

Jyot raised a finger in acknowledgment. "I'll remember that. Thanks."

[starmark2k]

Alec walked out of room and from his perspective Son’ti followed him, as he was the only one who could see her and the fact she wasn’t corporeal meant she wasn’t actually following him. Unfortunately for Alec he was also the only one who could hear her and she seemed to be taking advantage of that. For the past ten minutes she had been talking about all the possible reasons why this had happened, however on the plus side Alec stopped hearing the whispering.

 

Still followed by the Jedi Alec walked into the Common Room.

 

“And further more.” Son’ti continued. “I do not feel that it is entirely necessary for you to continue your work as a bounty hunter.”

 

“Just go away!” Alec shouted in the middle of the room, to the person no one else could see.

[JasraLantill]

At Alec's outburst, Jyot blinked then gave Latch a strange look before looking back at his captain. "Erm... ok-ay," he said slowly. "It was just a suggestion, boss. If you don't want her to be the cook, then... fair enough. I'm sure we can find one... somewhere. Someplace. Else."

 

Again, a look to Latch. "Awkward...." he sang softly to his friend, then cleared his throat.

[Corinthian]

Kadis had been staring at the wall, thinking about, well, nothing. Hyperspace had always had a sort of eerie tranquility, like a soft silk pillow being pressed against your face. He nodded at the Captain.

 

"Just go away!"

 

He jumped, then looked around. Tannis was staring over his shoulder, looking behind him. Kadis reached down to his blaster, wishing he hadn't taken the one with no stun setting. "Uh, Cap'n, do you, erm, go need to lie down? We can handle the approach to the station."

 

Oh, hell no. A schizo Captain? Why me? Why is it always me?

[Writer]

"I'm... sure there's a reasonable explanation for this... outburst," Colin said slowly. He frowned at Alec. "There is a reasonable explanation, isn't there? Captain?"

 

He stared past the captain, puzzled. No one was there, and yet it seemed as though the captain had been yelling at someone who'd been following him. Wierd, Colin thought to himself.

[Rogue Nine]

"Awkward...."

 

Latch glanced at Jyot and nodded. He turned back to Alec standing in the middle of the common room and frowned. Their captain did seem to be losing his grip on sanity, and that didn't make Latch very comfortable. What made him even less uncomfortable was the slight ringing he heard in his ear and a faint, almost ghostly whisper at the edge of his hearing. He couldn't place where it was coming from, but he couldn't help but be drawn to the words Alec was muttering...almost as if the captain was replying to someone.

[Corinthian]

"I'm, uh, I'm gonna be in the cockpit. We should be coming out of Hyperspace momentarily."

 

He edged out of the room into the cockpit and sat down. A handful of minutes until they dropped out of hyperspace. He occupied himself with fiddling with various gauges and generally trying to occupy his mind away from the inevitable conclusion that Cap'n Tannis was a few cards short of a full deck.