RP: "Adventures in Gunrunning" - Act 11
POSTED BY: FrauDirektor
UPDATED: Monday, March 15, 2004 03:00
VIEWED: 19707
PAGE 11 of 12
Rowan's Move:
LOCATION - BRIDGE
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MERZ: "ROWAN, please send a tickle charge through here while I am still under the console and tell me if we are leaking anywhere. If not I'm coming out and replacing the decking before someone breaks their neck. Then give me 5 minutes to get outside and test the gimbel mounts. We have to know if the blessed thing will turn and target." She pauses.
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Rowan is in the midst of asking Serenity to send just enough power through feeds and watches the lines for signs of bleeding into auxiliary systems. In her ear, she hears Serenity's voice.
SERENITY: "New Hardware detected. Attempting interface with secondary systems. Power assessment authorized and engaged. Diagnostic of firing system commencing."
Serenity has a pleasant inflection with female vocal tones. Rowan smiles to herself at the automatic university oriented evaluation. Basically, Serenity just has a nice voice, but it is interesting how the old terminology is still rooted in her brain.
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MERZ: "Oh yes, this is the important part. Out of the box this particular cannon has sighting problems, every one I have ever seen is 15 to 25 degrees out-of-true. And never in the same direction. Please tell the gunner that. The first shot is going to miss. Every time. If it is new. Which I don't know. It is not the gunner's fault. But if they watch how much they miss and in what direction, they can compensate. If they know it up front. Stand back, and give me power. And cross your fingers."
Damon suddenly grins and then bursts into laughter. He winces as the laughing only causes more pain. After several attempts, he gets his laughter under control, but can't stop grinning.
DAMON: "I can fix that if you want, Merz."
MERZ: "So can I boy and never forget that. But not in . . . approximately one minute. Lock and load boy, cause you are probably on your own."
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Turning around to glare at Damon doesn't work quite as dramatically as she might like with her right eye covered, but Rowan still manages a withering stare that indicates she's not nearly ready to trust him with anything yet, let alone competency.
ROWAN: "Why don't you get it done instead of busting your guts on the deck plates?"
SERENITY (into Rowan's earpiece): "Power assessment complete. All power connections are sound. Interface with secondary systems is complete. Diagnostic of firing system is complete with no incidence. All systems are ready."
ROWAN: "Serenity says the power lines are good, interface is good, everything's clean. I'd say all we need is the tweakage from xiâo dì dì and we're good to go."
She turns to the pilot, who has been watching the entire scene with his mouth agape.
ROWAN: "You wouldn't mind informing the Captain, would you? A couple more tests and he'll soon have firepower the likes of which no Firefly has ever seen."
EOM
xiâo dì dì = little brother
We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
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Inara's turn
Inara and Thorne step back into Serenity's belly, both introspective after their stroll around Serenity Valley.
a frenzy of activity greets them. Inara regretfully disengages herself from Thorne, giving his hand a squeeze before she does so--
"thank you for your companionship, Mr.Thorne, I know there is much to be done...I can't believe I was selfish enough to take you away from your duties..you were very kind to humour me. I need to see if I can be of help somewhere...I'm sure we will see eachother again when all this is over."
Inara pulls a silver pin from her hair, shaking her curls loose, and causing them to tumble down her neck. Inara holds the pin to her lips, eyes closed, then extends it to Thonre.
"I offer this token, a symbol of trust and bonding."
Inara stands on her toes and kisses Thorne gently on the cheek. Smiling up at him one last time, she strides away into Serenity's depths.
In the clatter and buzz around her, Inara hears word of the ETA on Alliance ships...she is more shocked than ever that she'd been perambulating around the grounds arm-in-arm with Thorne whilst they were all in danger.
Spotting Mal, looking grumpier than usual, she approaches, touching his shoulder lightly.
Mal spins around, caught off-guard. Inara starts a bit, taking a step back, and asks:
"Mal..they're coming so fast...I hear we only have fifteen minutes left, if that? Please, is there anything I can do to help?"
...awaiting Mal's response...
End Inara's turn
woo am I off my game tonight ;) internet problems---have fun all!
Just a humble supplicant in service to all things Joss
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LOCATION - BRIDGE
Quote:
ROWAN: "Serenity says the power lines are good, interface is good, everything's clean. I'd say all we need is the tweakage from xiâo dì dì and we're good to go."
MERZ grunts from under the console. "DAMON, do your magic, if you be quicker than I am."
She does as promised, exiting the crawlspace and then replacing the loose decking. "And as I have no business on the working deck of someone else's ship in the middle of a firefight, I shall join the others in the hold, retrive my gun, and be prepared to defend as necessary. Thank Serenity for me also, she was a real help."
She pauses momentarily at the door and looks back into the room. "Thank you. This has been an experience. I go to throw myself on the captain 's mercy."
She cocks her head at ROWAN and asks "Do you know by any chance if he has any?" And makes her way to the cargo area, without even waiting for a reply.
EOM
xiâo dì dì = little brother
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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Damon's turn:
LOCATION - BRIDGE
Quote:
MERZ: "So can I boy and never forget that. But not in . . . approximately one minute. Lock and load boy, cause you are probably on your own."
Damon's grin fades into a glare at Merz's remark. He was beginning to seriously dislike the way everyone was calling him 'boy', as if being younger automatically made him inferior.
"I'm sure you could do it just fine, but you seem a little busy at the moment, so I was offering to save some time."
Rowan glares at him as best she can with one eye. "Why don't you get it done instead of busting your guts on the deck plates? Serenity says the power lines are good, interface is good, everything's clean. I'd say all we need is the tweakage from xiâo dì dì and we're good to go."
MERZ grunts from under the console. "DAMON, do your magic, if you be quicker than I am."
Damon pulls out his pocketknife and walks over to the firing controls he had installed less than fifteen minutes earlier. He another small smile as he remembers what had been so funny. Somehow a cannon model that he had tinkered with seven years ago has made its way back into his hands and hadn't been fixed. They must have decided that it wasn't worth fixing a couple hundred cannons for 15 to 25 degrees of error.
He opens up the consol and quickly pulls out the targeting module. Turning it over, he unscrews the back and accesses the targeting data. This one's off by 17 degrees. An easy fix for the person who sabotaged it in the first place. He sets the data back to the orgininal default setting.
"Done," he announces. He screws the back of the module back into place and then puts the whole thing back in the computer consol. He looks over at Wash who is prepping the ship.
"Would you let your captain know that he now has a functioning laser cannon that is awaiting his command?"
I'm not broken, in my dream I win...
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Thorne's move:
Location: Ramp/Warehouse/Cargo Bay.
Inara pulls a silver pin from her hair, shaking her curls loose, and causing them to tumble down her neck. Inara holds the pin to her lips, eyes closed, then extends it to Thonre.
"I offer this token, a symbol of trust and bonding."
Inara stands on her toes and kisses Thorne gently on the cheek. Smiling up at him one last time, she strides away into Serenity's depths.
THORNE:(to himself)"Wow!
[THORNE thinks for a moment of calling after INARA to stay in the Common Room during the fight. It'll be the safest place in the ship. But then he realizes that she's not one to hide out from danger. She'll be where she's the most useful. Damn, what a woman!
Business calls. The conex is loaded but the Gyrfalcon is still in the warehouse, and SLIGHT is nowhere in sight. At least the door is clear. THORNE tucks the pin safely in an inside pocket, buttons it, and zips the security seal. As he goes inside to move the obs craft out, he grabs a roll of gaffers tape, tears off a strip, and slaps it over the zipped security seal. THORNE is very careful of his valuables.
The G'falcon is ready to go, so he expertly taxis clear of the warehouse and Serenity, spots it on a smooth patch of earth, and extends the wings. Returning to the warehouse, he rolls out a set of autonomous surface-to-air missles on a wheeled cart. Once more inside, and he sets two dials and leaves for the last time. The doors roll closed behind him, and with a chorus of groaning gears the warehouse sinks back into the earth. Anyone trying to open it without the correct combination will get a 5 kilotonne surprise.
He grabs the remote control off the missle cart, and as he steps on the ramp, hears DAMON calling out to someone named MERZ. Who the Hell is MERZ?]
EOM
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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MAL's Move:
Location: Cargo Bay.
Inara starts a bit, taking a step back, and asks:
"Mal..they're coming so fast...I hear we only have fifteen minutes left, if that? Please, is there anything I can do to help?"
MAL:"Gorram it, don't sneak up on a...
[As INARA's words sink in, MAL takes a better look at her. Sure seems pretty calm considerin' all Hell's about to break loose. Most women'd be all fluttery. She just seems excited. Where should he put her for the fight?]
MAL:"You'll be out'a everbody's way in the Common Room, an' it's the safest place in the ship. If the Doc needs some help you'll be handy. Just get down there an' sit tight, dong mah?."
EOM
OOC: Boy, and everybody thinks SIMON doesn't know how to talk to women.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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LOCATION - CARGO BAY As ...
MERZ makes her way quickly back down to the cargo bay, and from there to the place where she stashed her belongings. She quickly removes her toolbelt and returns it to her pack. From the pack she then removes 2 short rods and telescopes them into sticks approximately an inch across and 15 inches long. These are slipped into a long pocket built into the leg of her shipsuit. Then the gunbelt with the multi-barreled mostrosity she carries and the vest with the four odd rods in pockets on the back.
She looks around and spots the Captain, speaking to a most impressive Lady that MERZ can't recall seeing before now.
Quote:
CAPTAIN :"You'll be out'a everbody's way in the Common Room, an' it's the safest place in the ship. If the Doc needs some help you'll be handy. Just get down there an' sit tight, dong mah?."
Good. That is one person she does not have to worry about. MERZ takes a deep breath and approaches the captain one more time. The last time was not . . . pleasant and she doubts he is in a better mood, all things considering. But at least she bears good news.
"Begging the Captains pardon, but I just wanted you to know. The cannon is installed, diagnostics have been run, and Serenity seems satasfied with the results. Without actually firing it, which may spoil any surprise, you are as well gunned as could be managed in the time we had. Now, I am prepared to be defense if you are willing to trust me. Do you want me in here, or out there covering your departure?"
EOM
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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MAL's MOVE:
Location: Cargo Bay
MAL:"You'll be out'a everbody's way in the Common Room, an' it's the safest place in the ship. If the Doc needs some help you'll be handy. Just get down there an' sit tight, dong mah?."
[MAL is waiting for a "Yes, Captain" from INARA, but from the expression on her face, it doesn't look like he's going to get one. As the moment grows uncomfortably long, he hears MERZ approaching, and gratefully turns away from INARA's glare.]
MERZ:"Begging the Captain's pardon, but I just wanted you to know. The cannon is installed, diagnostics have been run, and Serenity seems satisfied with the results. Without actually firing it, which may spoil any surprise, you are as well gunned as could be managed in the time we had. Now, I am prepared to be defense if you are willing to trust me. Do you want me in here, or out there covering your departure?"
[Well, at least this girl finally understands which one's the Captain around here. Direct but respectful, and knows who's in charge. Too bad other folk can't figure that out.]
MAL:"Good work. If you know how to shoot the Gorram thing, you best stay on board an' shoot it. Get back up to the bridge an' be ready,...Uhh. What was your name, again?
EOM.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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LOCATION - CARGO BAY
this time she can't help it. this time she cannot stop the salute, so much an automatic response (The Captain's companion has spoken to her, but the sudden knowledge that she has just given something away is of greater interest; MERZ is indifferent to her words.)
"Troy, Sir. Mercedes Troy."
She holds the salute for an instant and only the slight tightening of the muscles in her arms and shoulders reflect the realization that she may have just made a serious error.
MERZ drops the salute, executes a perfect about-face that she does not even realize she has done, and moves out, once again back to the bridge.
EOM
{edited to account for accidental cross posting.}
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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LOCATION - CARGO BAY to CATWALKS
Inara's turn
INARA
"Mal..they're coming so fast...I hear we only have fifteen minutes left, if that? Please, is there anything I can do to help?"
MAL
:"Gorram it, don't sneak up on a...
Mal gives Inara a strange look, her face warms under his gaze...the adrenaline rushing through her veins is starting to galvanize her blood, making her heart beat faster, her breathing quicken. "oh please..don't just send me away, let me help..." she thinks to herself.
MAL:
"You'll be out'a everbody's way in the Common Room, an' it's the safest place in the ship. If the Doc needs some help you'll be handy. Just get down there an' sit tight, dong mah?."
Inara crosses her arms over her chest, giving Mal a frown.
[MAL is waiting for a "Yes, Captain" from INARA, but from the expression on her face, it doesn't look like he's going to get one. As the moment grows uncomfortably long, he hears MERZ approaching, and gratefully turns away from INARA's glare.]
Inara's mouth gapes as he turns away from her, mid-conversation, and addresses the blonde woman who has approached him. Inara can't hear them speak over the rushing of blood in her ears.
Trying to maintain her composure, Inara turns..taking a deep breath to calm herself.
MAL:
"Good work. If you know how to shoot the Gorram thing, you best stay on board an' shoot it. Get back up to the bridge an' be ready,...Uhh. What was your name, again?
Inara slowly turns and begins to make her way toward the catwalks, passing Mal and the new woman..
INARA to blonde woman:
Don't tell him your name, I wish I never had.
Inara continues up onto the catwalks spanning the cargo bay...as she reaches the middle of the catwalk, casting her gaze back down into the cargo bay, Inara hears a high-pitched whine, announcing the arrival of several small ships. Her fingers wrap around the support bar, knuckles white, as the sound increases in pitch.
Serenity is rocked by a small earthquake as what Inara assumes are Alliance ships open fire.
End Inara's turn
OK guys--let me know if this is too soon, and I'll cut it--
Just a humble supplicant in service to all things Joss
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