A Defiant 'Verse - In Character
POSTED BY: Defiant2thelast
UPDATED: Thursday, July 23, 2009 08:49
VIEWED: 32764
PAGE 1 of 10
The Thebarton Sky Plex is built like a city within a box. Each building is separate from one another, and fall short of the exceedingly high ceiling. If it wasn’t for the lack of sky, one would think this was something planet side.
In recent times, the Sky Plex has become a trading hub, and many ships flock here for one of the few neutral ports in the middle of the war, which has lead to a large number of refugees aboard stations, and an increasing crime rate.
The many streets are lined with apartment blocks, bars and merchant stalls. All things common or popular during war abound. Booze, accommodation and desperation, a lovely mix. This doesn’t change the fact that if you want crew, or goods, you can’t do much better then a free port. 
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Nathan sat only a few hundred meters from the Defiant, in one of the many bars the city had. The air was putrid, a thin haze covering the vast station, with neon lights advertising everything from brothels to places of worship in a variety of languages. Places like this are the reason he didn’t believe in a higher power. You could taste the poverty.
That didn’t mean the Ambrosia wasn’t good, another glass downed for the night. The entertainment for the night was starting to hurt his ears, and he was starting to wonder if he shouldn’t try his luck at another. Instead, he slouched back in his chair and scanned the Cortex Wave again.
He’d been eating noodles across the street with Lincoln when he came up with the idea. That was yesterday, and he was still wondering where to hit for the goods. There were enough sites, but he couldn’t help shake the fear. What if troops were still there?
Nathan stared at the street, for the millionth time this night, from behind the plastic window. Hundreds, if not thousands of people bustled to and from, not one of them seemed like they had a credit to their name. He circled one of the various battle fields at random. That was the one they’d hit. He then put the Cortex News head lines back down on the table, and looked across the street again.
He wondered how many hundreds would have tried to apply to rent the shuttle now, or responded to the Port Master listing saying they had space for passengers. Nathan shuddered at the thought of sorting through all the crew applications if he’d openly put that up too. No, just like he’d done previously he’d go searching for them himself.
He lit a cigarette, and took guesses at how long it would take for his crew to find him, and bitch about not having work. They’d been here a week now, and he still hadn’t heard a thing. Nathan stared at the place he’d circled absently.
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Lincoln shouldered his way through a throng of arguing vegetable salesmen, the generally smaller men scurrying to get out of the way of the larger, bear-like man. The smell from a nearby grill made his eyes water, the smoke of the roasting chili peppers almost unbearably caustic. He quickened his pace and continued on past the restaurant and towards the bar where he knew Nathan would still be. Carefully avoiding a puddle of suspicious looking substance.
He entered the crowded pub, spotting Nathan in a booth near the corner by the large windows. He stepped up to the long bar and ordered coffee, black, then walked over and sat down opposite Nathan in the booth.
"Evening Nate"
He glanced at the cortex feed in his Captains hands. A rotund waitress approached with a mug and a carafe.
"Anything interesting?"
Zhù na ya tian guò de yú kuài!
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Dale was getting restless. They'd been parked on this floating piece of fei-oo a week now. It was starting to grind a little on him.
Sure, he loved the chance to get off the ship, stretch his legs and get to know the place. But without purpose to their stay, the skyplex soon felt even smaller than the ship...
At least when they were in the air they'd be going someplace to do something.
Sitting in the Defiant with nothing to do but remember his old home didnt really appeal.
So, he wandered about, trying his best to avoid the refugees standing about everywhere. When they'd docked Dale had been eager to see what other ships, what other opportunities were out there. Maybe he could find a better deal. Or maybe he'd find a decent independent he could truly follow. Truly believe in. He doubted it.
A better captain though, that he'd thought possible. Maybe even a prosperous venture that didnt have a side in this Niou-se conflict.
When they touched down though, he wasnt ready for the poverty, the listless families with no prospects. The press-gangs from both sides that'd stalk the able-looking men and disappear as the station guards walked by.
Seemed everyone here was waiting for a ride outta here, or preying on those who were waiting. He didnt want to dock here anymore, with job or no.
This hwai dong felt like the moment you stopped long enough, you'd be ensnared, enveloped by it.
So, as a result, Dale rarely stopped walking..
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Nathan scowled at the larger man, his annoyance clearly shown through the process. Whether he was simply winding him up or not, Nathan was not in the mood.
"I thought I had already made it clear I don't like being called 'Nate', Bargara."
He took one more look at the Cortex Wave before handing it over to Lincoln and turned back to the window. No sooner had he looked out the window, he found himself staring. She was out of place, about 5’10, and some what attractive. His gaze wasn't broken as he continued talking.
“So? What do you think?”
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Lincoln grins openly as the captain passed him the cortex wave. He scans the news report, scowling at the number of casualties. Thirty thousand, taking into account both sides.
"So this is what you want to hit? I seriously don't know how I feel about looting the dead. What's more, what if they aren't all dead? What then? We aren't exactly armed or crewed for a battle."
He sets the cortex wave down and pours himself a mug of coffee and asks the waitress to leave the carafe. He raises his eyebrow and takes a sip as he lets Nathan consider his reply.
Zhù na ya tian guò de yú kuài!
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Turned out wandering about came with mixed blessings,
He now had a decent knoweledge of the skyplex, better than many of its residents he'd wager.
Of course, he was going to have to use it now, as he was being trailed by some shifty lookin goons. Likely either a local gang, or worse, a press gang.
Dale increased pace imperceptibly, considered his position in the 'plex and looked about for a friendly face..
Where the hell was Bucket anyway?
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The woman slipped out of sight, walking on to another street. However, Nathan found himself still staring out the window. Despite the desperation of the scene, he liked it. It was life, noisy, busy, dirty and disturbed, but it was life. The lack of this was why he didn’t like the core. It was his home for many years, but he never liked it.
“I never said it wasn’t risky, but think of the profits. One hundred wa tsao percent. We’ll be able to buy our own floating islands on Bellerophon if we escape with our ass still at our rear.”
Nathan turned to face the obviously not assured Lincoln. It didn't surprise Nathan, as he himself had his doubts about the job.
“Look, we’re taking on more crew while we’re here. I know we can do this.”
With that lie, Nathan got up and headed back to his ship, chucking the but of his cigarette on the way. He hoped Lincoln forgot about the moral side of the case. He didn’t have an answer for that, and he probably never would.
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Lincoln watched him leave, but didn't follow. He sat and sipped the rest of his coffee. When the waitress came around again he got up to pay his bill and leave.
Outside he stopped by the noodle joint across the way and bought a cup to go and then swung by the tobacco kiosk on his way back to the ship, grabbing three different cigars and a small butane lighter. As he passed a group of performing mimes, he stopped to watch.
As the trio attempted to construct some imaginary structure, he considered the Captain's idea. It would certainly pay off if there wasn't anything major along the lines of trouble. He honestly had very little qualms with taking supplies, weapons and ammunition from a battlefield. His emotional side didn't like the prospect of robbing the dead but his practical side countered that if they didn't someone else would anyway. However, this did little to ease his mind, in the end he decided to sleep on it and figure out how he felt about it after a night on his relatively comfortable bunk. He turned and headed off in the direction of the docked ship.
Zhù na ya tian guò de yú kuài!
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Alexander softly pushed open the lid of the crate. Light seeped in the cracks, but he still couldn't see anything. He sat with his ear to the gap for a good few minutes, and after hearing nothing, carefully removed the lid and climbed out of the box. He couldn't see very well, but made out the vague shapes of cargo boxes lining the walls of what seemed like a warehouse. Alexander looked around to make sure he was alone, and slowly began to creep toward the sliver of light coming from one end of the room. As he neared the door, he heard voices.
"Sooo...you like...uhh...The Alliance huh?"
"..Yeah...that'd be why I joined..."
"...guess so...yep...........mmmmm"
Alexander waited patiently, sneaking a look through the crack in the door. The two Alliance guards were slumped in boredom in the office to the right. Both were looking out into the crowd, watching for trespassers in all the wrong places. Alexander quietly opened the door a fraction more and snuck out of the building and around the side. Picking up a rock, he threw it to the other side of the guards, and, while they were distracted, Alexander disappeared into the crowd.
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