GR RP "Adventures in GunRunning" ACT 23
POSTED BY: CapnRahn
UPDATED: Sunday, November 7, 2004 21:02
VIEWED: 20468
PAGE 9 of 10
Book's Move
Location: Cargo Bay to Infirmary
Book looks around at the empty bay. Only thing around here that needs tending is me. He thinks as he looks down at his clothes and is reminded that he needed to change a long time ago. He walks back to the infirmary and clicks on the comm.
------- In the fore hall
MAL: "Sit ... Lay down ... whatever ya need ta do to. Things are changin', you gotta cogitate on yer next move." MAL pauses, then continues... "Power'll be goin' down in a minute, nuttin but the lights. Darkness makes you face yerself."
The comm crackles and Book's voice rumbles hollowly over it. "Captain... what's going on?"
ZOË almost physically hears MAL's unspoken words... "...and yer demons..."
-------
back in the infirmary
Book waits next to the comm and only silence follows. Looking up through the ceiling of the infirmary, he wonders what's going on up there. Leaving the comm behind, he starts to walk down the passenger hallway to his room. ...and River... so lost in all her knowledge. I can't forget that River needs me too. Simon entrusted her safety to me.
EM
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Blended Post - WASH and KAYLEE
LOCATION - PILOT'S LOUNGE
KAYLEE allows WASH to lead her down the steps and to his ratty old futon. Once he seats her WASH retreats to the far side of the futon and seats himself also. Now that he has her there, he has no idea whatsoever what comes next.
KAYLEE sighs. "It's just... things is so confusin' right now. I just know Simon is in some kinda trouble, but I cain't prove it, and cain't do nuthin' 'bout it. And that's hard. You been listenin' to everyone lately? Seems there's just so much that's goin' wrong or strange. I'm afraid 'Nara gonna think about leaving again... and I don't want that either. "
She scoots over next to WASH and leans her head on his shoulder. Warm tears drip on his shirt.
WASH sits, straight and stiff. ~ OK, this is an unsettlin' development. Gee I hope my ever-lovin' Zoe understands this. ~ Tentatively he reaches around with his left hand and pats her on the back. "It'll be ok Kaylee. It will get better soon. It always does."
They both sit silently for a time, just the two of them, far away from the conflict and confusion. A respite for them both, those gently souls. But time moves on, and so must we.
There is comotion, and footsteps. Distant shouting. And finally, over the intercom.
ZOË
"KAYLEE? Need you to rig up a ping grid for one o' the crew bunks for our boy DAMON. I'll be waitin' in the fore hall for ya, so don't dawdle."
KAYLEE looks up at WASH. "That's me. Guess I gotta run." She reaches up and pats his cheek gently. "I surely appreciate you takin' some time with me. Feel better. Zoe is a lucky woman."
She rises and climbs the steps. WASH watches her go. "Well, I am glad she feels better. Wish I knew why. Then I would know how to do it again."
Once back on the bridge she heads out into the hallway, retrieves her toolbox and heads back to the engine room.She knows what a ping grid is. MAL described it to her one time and it sounded kinda interesting. Now, building one from scratch is gonna be a challenge. But she's got some wood, and some ideas. Can't do infrared, don't have the means. Do have a laser level. Got an assortment of small mirrors needed to look around corners of the engine and like that. Got one warning alarm meant to be hung on a door. Good enough. It takes her a bit to rig something incorporating what she has into a functional device. Once done, she trots it off to where Zoe is waiting for it.
She sets two pieces of wood on their crossed block bases next to the door one on either side. They are about waist high. The laser level is partially disassembled so that the laser points at a mirror on the other side, which throws it across to a mirror on the other side, which does the same thing back. This produces a zig-zag pattern which was the best she could manage on short notice. There are wires all over the thing and the alarm at the bottom. Once set, KAYLEE turns it on and stands back.
KAYLEE
There you go. Anything breaks that beam and the alarm goes off. Best I can do."
EOM
OOC. Kiddies, comp is frelled. lost this post 4 times writing it. Going now. Debs
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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Inara's move
LOCATION - AFT CORRIDOR/Galley doorway area
Inara heads back out of her shuttle to rejoin the crew, heading back to the galley, hoping that things haven't gone to hell in her absence. Tensions are running high, there's no telling what will have transpired.
She climbs the back stairs again, Inara watches River wander the length of the corridor, singing softly to herself. The companion smiles a little, relieved to see the girl bouncing back from the screaming terror that had brought just about half the crew to her side. River has suffered so much, Inara thinks, but she keeps bouncing back. Perhaps she's the most resilient of all of the lost souls aboard Serenity...
Quote:
Flashback:
LOCATION – INARA'S SHUTTLE
Simon is there, looking young, tired and lost.
SIMON
I'm sorry. For my part in what happened. I've never... I don't know how to --
INARA
You're lost in the woods. We all are. Even the captain. The only difference is, he likes it that way.
MAL
(entering)
No the difference is, the woods are the only place I can see a clear path.
Sad little smile as she remembers, and Inara stands in the doorway to the galley. Lurking, again, quietly observing from the periphery. It's getting to be a habit...
Someone's singing.
Sometimes I think I hear you calling, calling sweet and low,
And I seem to hear your footsteps falling everywhere I go,
But though the road between us stretches many's the weary mile,
Somehow I forget that you're not with me yet, when I think I see you smile.
There's a long, long trail a-winding into the land of my dreams,
Where the nightingales are singing and the white moon gleams,
There's a long, long night of waiting until my dreams all come true,
And that's the day when I'll be going down that long, long trail with you.
The singing's so sweet, and the song so... resonant with Inara's mood, that the companion feels the hot sting of tears. She shuts her eyes, pushing them back, aching a little at the song, glad she's not in a place to be observed by any in the galley...
EOM
OOC: Fixing the timings & location a bit: with River wandering down the aft corridor & not seeing Inara, I'm now placing Inara as coming down the corridor after River.
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JAYNE - GALLEY
Jayne just isn't getting into the "spirit" like he was before. The spirit of smiling and helping Rowan cook and keeping an eye on her. First of all that sort of espionage wasn't his style, and since Rowan had thrown him for a loop in a dangerous situation, Jayne just isn't... calming down. He finds himself leaning in on one side of her, with Merz (who probably wasn't in Rowan's good books right now for her role in Damon's apprehension) chopping food on the other. Almost boxing her in.
Jayne is thinking more and more about it. About her.
Rowan's eyelid flutters. She quickly moves her hand up to her face, hiding it from Jayne, but for a moment she looked pained.
"I'm not in'rested in yer secrets right now", Jayne finally answers. "I'm in'rested in what you was thinkin' you was doin' when Cap'n told me to bring Damon on over."
Rowan quickly regains her composure. Jayne keeps on talking. "We generally don't pick fights with each other here, an' any 'mounta brains'll tell ya not ta pick a fight you can't win. Now you know I gotta job ta do here. An' yer new job is to keep outta my way. Dong ma?"
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Mal moves to his bunk and boots the door open. For no real reason, he just slides down the outside rails of the ladder. In the near darkness, he moves over to his hidey hole and retrieves a leather-harnessed 2 gallon jug. It is shaped like a bent cone an made of a dark amber glass. Mal pulls the wooden top off and is assailed by pungent odor of premium 198 proof hooch. You could run an engine with this stuff, it burned so pure. Noting that the bottle is still three quarters full, Mal grunts as he nabs his pint’n’half hip flask. He fills it while looking around for another container. He spies one of those two and a half quart sports bottles with the self closing angled sippin’ straw. Capping his now full flask, he reaches for the sports bottle, splashes a shot of the hooch in and swirls it around. The fluid stays clear, indicating the bottle is poly-plas, so it is safe to store the potent alcohol in it. Jayne'll get a real kick outta this stuff. It had a mix of potassium and other minerals to make it a real clean and enjoyable blitzin'. Mal puts his personal flask into the deep front pocket of his pants. Grabbing his talkie out of its desk alcove, he clips it to his belt. One handed, he climbs the ladder and powers down his bunk.
Looking towards the Galley, Mal can see Kaylee moving down the hall towards the engine room.
Nodding at Zoe, he turns and moves down the hall to the upper catwalks. Mostly on autopilot, he finds himself in the Passenger Dorm section. In front of Book’s room. Without hesitation, he knocks.
EOM
OOC: will flesh out soon ...
"Remember, there is only ONE absolute - There ARE NO absolutes!!!"
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Slight lights a cigarette. At this point, he's willing to admit an addiction. But, being recently dead, one should allow him some eccentricities, eh?
Thank the Void, his skin had been grafted with a tailored "web." While it hardly made him immune to space, it did grant him an hour or two. Slight waits for Malachi to arrive impatientently. Why was it the man was so eager to leave no trail? Book, that born-again. He hadn't tried to evaluate. Sloppy. He needed to clean up his act. Being on the run did not grant him any quarter to be lazy.
We can't all be heroes, since some of us have to sit at the curb and clap as they go by.
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Book's Move
Location: His Quarters
Book has had time to change into a fresh set of preacher duds and pour himself a fresh cupa before there is a sudden knock at his door.
Setting down his cup and removing the Bible from his lap to a small empty table, he takes three steps and slides open his door. "Captain... I wouldn't have expected you to come all the way down here... just to give my comm call an answer." Stepping back from the doorway, Book gestures inside. "Please, come in."
EM
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Malachi's Move
Location: Looking in the window of Slight's ship... from a distance.
A thought strikes him as he jets slowly through space... a thought he tries to hide from the man on the ship in his innermost mind. Malachi slows his motion and lifts his arm control panel up to his face. A few commands sequences later and his ship has powered up and is making it's way through the void to hover next to the other ship. He watches in bitter satisfaction as his ship sends out clamps and attaches itself to the other.
He'll have heard that... Too late now though. I know you can hear me. We live or we die together. Entering the last command on his control pad, Malachi views the readout display showing 20 minutes till self-destruct. Let's see how well you survive being in a million pieces. Malachi thinks to the man as he re-enters the doomed ship and floats down through the hatchway to once again confront the man.
EM
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Slight shrugs, seeing him enter.
I have no arguments. If you feel this makes a level playing field, suit yourself.
He raises an eyebrow.
Consider, though-I already know every part of how you think. Do you expect me to allow myself to die? Die from a lackey disappointed at his boss's negligence? You give me far too little credit.
Slight rises from his sitting position. Now comes the hard part.
My only question is, do you feel like you could be pursuaded to work for someone else? Clearly, survival skills aside, I'm stuck. Nowhere to go, but an obscene amount of cash. We both work for people. Care to make some sort of arrangement?
You want to kill this Book, or at least have a long talk with him. I want to look into a. . .mercenary I last saw with him. Seeing as how we both are exceptional in the art of killing, as a team we should make an excellent pair. I can help you with any Blue Sun or Alliance trouble you may have. You can help me to recover, and keep me from getting killed. While we don't need each other, it might be beneficial, no?
Slight holds his breath. He can't try to pressure this man mentally-a man working under threat of force was rarely as much of an asset as a hassle. He can't help but offer a silent prayer.
We can't all be heroes, since some of us have to sit at the curb and clap as they go by.
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Rowan's Move
LOCATION - GALLEY
Merz finishes the song, and the task at nearly the same time, producing the most precise chopped scallion Rowan has ever seen, yet without the usual tears that generally comes from chopping one of those little devils. that served as Rowan's reason for handing the job off. that seeming pretty darn pleased with herself. An effusion of expression where a Troy is concerned and the sight of it warms Rowan's heart.
MERZ: "Next?"
Rowan smiles over her uncharacteristic flourish - although tame by normal standards - and the idea that Merz could hold a tune without a bucket.
JAYNE: "I'm not in'rested in yer secrets right now. I'm in'rested in what you was thinkin' you was doin' when Cap'n told me to bring Damon on over. We generally don't pick fights with each other here, an' any 'mounta brains'll tell ya not ta pick a fight you can't win. Now you know I gotta job ta do here. An' yer new job is to keep outta my way. Dong ma?"
Suddenly Rowan is feeling exceedingly weary. Exhausted might be the general vernacular, but really that doesn't cover it either. All she wants is a few stiff drinks and to collapse onto her bunk down in the dorms. Actually, there's more on her wish list, but for now that will entirely suffice. She breathes a long sigh, and gives a small shrug before she looks up at him and answers.
ROWAN: "Hell with it - you wanna know something? I don't know what I was thinking. It was a stupid thing to try and believe me it won't happen again anytime soon. Damon was in good hands as it was, and I knew something was hinky with the whole situation. Truth is, I'm a behind-the-scenes type--I stay back and let them as are stronger and faster and better than me take care of the hands-on situations. This time, I wasn't even sure who that was until the last second. Now I know. You want me out of your way, fine--I'm out. I have to practice for the UBA tournament on New Hokkaido, so I'll be up here using the table a lot before we get there. When I'm not here, I'll be in my bunk and when I'm not there, I'll probably be in the Infirmary getting something for this gorram migraine that keeps coming to visit. I don't sleep much these days, so you might see me at some pretty odd-ass hours."
Moving back toward him, she looks deep into those dark eyes, seeing only stalwart determination.
ROWAN: "I'm only trying to get from point A to point B, hâo le ma and Serenity just happened to be going my way. Once we get to New Hokkaido, you won't have to deal with me again. Ever."
She stands that way, unblinking, so that Jayne will at least take the sincerity of the moment to heart, if not the words. Then she turns to Merz and tips her head to one side, wondering if either one of them is ready for the learning experience she's about to offer. Figuring she might as well go all the way, she decides to go for it.
ROWAN: "As for you, xiâo péngyou, I'm thinking you might just be ready to learn the fine art of glazing. How brave do you feel?"
EOM
hâo le ma = big fella
xiâo péngyou = little friend
Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
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