GR RP "Adventures in Gunrunning" ACT 21
POSTED BY: CapnRahn
UPDATED: Thursday, October 14, 2004 13:08
VIEWED: 20054
PAGE 5 of 10
Damon's turn:
LOCATION - CARGO BAY
DAMON, the bungees are in a locker under the stairs leading from the cargo area to the dining area. There is a K painted on the latch. Just push in on the center of the letter and release. The door should open. Don’t mess with anything but the bungees, OK?
Damon waits a moment before answering as he silently repeats Kaylee's instructions to himself, making sure he didn't miss anything.
"Sure."
He switches off the com and turns toward the stairs. After a few moments of searching, he spots K and opens the locker. If not for the fact that he knew it would be here, he probably wouldn't have found it. Reaching into the dark storage space, the scent of something sweet and chocolate fills his lungs. His eyes roll closed as he exhales with a moan. He sits back on his heels, savoring the aroma with deep breaths
(in Chinese:)"Damn, that has got to be the best gorram thing I've smelled in almost a decade..."
He opens his eyes and spots a small box of candybars- real candycars- in the corner of the locker. To say he isn't tempted to take one would be a lie. He would trade his boots for even a small reminder of what chocolate tastes like. But they aren't his and wheteher he likes it or not, he needs his boots. The smell will have to suffice.
"Ruttin' hwoon dahn," he mutters as he grabs for the rubber cords neatly coiled in the back, "Makin me scrape for change an spend all I have on erasin you from my life, when I could be buying chocolate."
A beautiful picture of killing Crofton comes to mind but he reluctantly pushes that aside too. Killing Crofton would mean seeing him again and that is one thing he is determined never to do.
Damon picks up the large bundle of cords and gently kicks the door of the locker closed as he stands up. Walking over to an empty area on the floor, he drops the coils and starts unwinding one of them. Once again, he finds his thoughts on his upcoming talk with Mal.
I'm not broken, in my dream I win...
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MERZ move
LOCATION - INFIRMARY As ...
Once the diagnostic function finished, the machine grinds to a halt. MERZ leans over to look at the readout. She is already sure what it will say. And she is not mistaken.
… i can still do a adequate analysis. mission complete …
She requests a printout of the results and after scrounging for a pen, adds her own analysis to the bottom of the page.
Negative, negative, negative, negative. And printed at the bottom, hardly distinguishable from the typed words.
Negative.
This is not to say there was no data found. MERZ knows for certain now, that ROWAN is fatigued, stressed and in pain. But she is not suffering from any chemical or biological hazard, no toxin, and no venom, nothing discernable at all.
… will she consent to a physical exam, i wonder? …
MERZ tucks the paper into a breast pocket. She will give it to ROWAN as soon as she sees her. Turning off the diagnostic machine she prepares to leave the room. She has a momentary concern for RIVER, but judges that leaving her asleep in the darkened infirmary will not be either dangerous or frightening for her. She looks down at RIVER one hand almost reaching out. But not quite.
Turning off the light as she leaves the room she glances back once again to make sure RIVER is calm for the moment. MERZ exits into the corridor, closing the door softly after her.
Time to assist DAMON with his new endeavor. Anything to keep busy.
EOM
18:05 AMT (6:05 PM)
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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Location : Mal's Dorm
BOOK
"Heaven or Hell or whereever you end up when you die, is what you make of it, and so is this life. A man's guilt will haunt him forever. If you don't accept responsibility for your sins and allow them to be taken from you... they will keep you from what you want."
MAL
Very weary
"Taken from you ... I think I see what you mean."
shakes himself a bit as if coming to a descision
"OK, I'll take your advice and not cogitate on things. If you see Damon tell him to come to my room as soon as he has finished work."
Mal pauses a moment
"It'd be best if the crew loosen up a tad before the run tomarrow ... check with kaylee and tell her to "open up the cabinet". She has got a mighty fine inter-engine brandy that should be ready to uncask. Let 'em have fun t'nite."
EOM
"Remember, there is only ONE absolute - There ARE NO absolutes!!!"
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Rowan’s Move
LOCATION - PASSENGER DORMS.
The personal message center on her source pad indicates a message has finally come in from the UBA.
Greetings Tournament Participant;
The Storm virus has been successfully thwarted. Therefore, your tournament information and complimentary guest package is now available for your access. We apologize again for the inconvenience this may have caused you.
Best Regards
UBA Administration
Translation: they managed to contain the Storm virus for the time being, long enough to get the general messages and packages properly routed. Rowan grins, picturing a somnolent technician somewhere draped over his or her source box, still mumbling incoherent frustrations over a full-proof virus while simultaneously cursing and praising the name Exile.
Climbing the steps, Rowan reaches the first landing just as she's filing the UBA message away, and another message blinks in. This one is from the Selene with a simple text message from Aislin.
Rowan:
Givan - Captain Arshagouni - has received his membership package. He informed me with tremendous enthusiasm as to the date and location of the UBA reception. It is difficult to say who is more impatient - Givan or me. Only three more days, xiâo long.
Aislin
ROWAN (inwardly): So she gets to call her captain by first name, does she?
Rowan lifts an eyebrow at that, wondering over the nature of their relationship. The situation on board a luxury liner would be dramatically different from the one on a ship like Serenity, and not just in the more obvious measure of opulence, or--glancing up at the exposed pipes and wiring in the companionway overhead, Rowan has to concede--the lack thereof. A companion contingent is a requirement on board such vessels, and the women holding that title are treated the same as if they were living in a companion house on any planet lucky enough to have one. That means the captain would have the same privileges as any other civilian customer, but usually they also have the same restrictions. Under those circumstances, neither Aislin nor Captain Arshagouni - Givan - should have broken the boundaries of title and position. Yet Aislin obviously has.
Then again, Reynolds and Inara seem to have stepped past that boundary themselves. Granted, Serenity is smaller, the crew more close-knit and involved in each other's lives, to the point of a family dynamic. The tension couldn't be any more obvious between them, yet they still manage to skirt the boundaries just enough to keep from breaking whatever rules Inara feels she has to adhere to. Companions are strong by nature, they have to be to compromise their personal emotions to perform the professional duties of their occupation without building an attachment. Nonetheless, strong women often have an unfortunate tendency to respond to strong men, a point Rowan understands only too well.
Xiang.
Pausing, she reaches one hand out to the railing as a sharp spear of pain cuts through her right temple again. Vastly duller than the last time, it's still proving to be something of a nuisance--bèn dàn wúnéug de rén yíge yīshēng. It also serves to remind her of one thing she needs to do before she gets to New Hokkaido.
As the pain slowly subsides, Rowan starts up the stairs again. Accessing the public cortex, she pulls up the contact information of the optometrist and lens specialist she's used in the past to obtain her colored lenses and fires off an order. With luck, he'll be able to pop the request to an affiliate on New Hokkaido.
At the top of the stairs, she takes a right and heads down the hall into the galley (wasn't she just in there for something like hours?). The cue case is right where she left it in the lounge area. Detouring just a bit, she grabs the strap and slings it over one shoulder before continuing on. One hand drifts down and she rubs
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KAYLEE’s move
LOCATION - BRIDGE
ROWAN
Makes one wonder what else a girl would have in her locker. Rowan winked at her. I believe I was asked to do a diagnostic on the captain's new big damn gun. Is this a good time?
KAYLEE grins back at ROWAN, her mood as chirpy as it ever has been. Doin’ stuff like this, is just what the Doctor ordered. She sighs. Her face falls just the least little bit … just can’t stop thinkin’ bout Simon, not really … She pushes the thought away for now, really needing to keep her mind on the job at hand.
KAYLEE
Can’t see any reason why not, s’long as ZOË is done, and since she already stood up – go for it. And appreciate the hand. Been such a busy day I don’t know what we would have done without all you extra folks.
No, no, WASH. That don’t go there. Haul it back out and move it back a notch. OK, better.
Go ahead ROWAN, do your stuff.
EOM
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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MERZ move
LOCATION – TRAVELING: INFIRMARY TO CARGO BAY As ...
MERZ closes the door softly behind her, and turns in the direction of the Cargo Bay. DAMON has apparently located what he was looking for and is unrolling the coiled cargo straps. Braiding those should prove … interesting.
She speaks as she approaches him from behind, so as not to startle him. DAMON, I see you found what we needed. Let me help stretch those out and we will see about making a thicker cord out of it. She takes another one of the coils, and starts unrolling it across the length of the bay.
MERZ
Do you know what KAYLEE has in mind?
EOM
If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress
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Alliance Force Declaration:
Wanted Dead or Alive:
White male, 5’ 11”, age 27. Brown eyes, brown hair. Rouhgly 170 pounds. Named Damon Boster.
Escaped slave wanted for the murder of 19 Feds and 2 civilians in the second degree, resisting arrest, grand theft vessel.
Property of Crofton Trinh
WARNING: EXPERIENCED ESCAPE ARTIST AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. CAUTION AND SECURE RESTRAINTS ADVISED AT ALL TIMES
Reward for suspect: 50,000 credits
Penalty for fraud: 8,450 credits, and siezing of any space vessels owned by any guilty parties.
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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JAYNE'S move
LOCATION – CARGO BAY
Jayne is mindful of the noises in the cargo bay. Since he's not alone, he keeps his singing to himself and only lightly hums the fiddle portion of a lively old dance tune.
His shirt and handkerchief are both as wet as he is now, and further brow-mopping in the uncomfortable heat created by the welder seems pointless. Jayne shakes his head violently instead and picks up the last metal rod he has left. Running out of material is a good reason to take a break. It'll give him a chance to cool off while looking for more.
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Damon's turn:
LOCATION - CARGO BAY or CATWALKS
DAMON, I see you found what we needed. Let me help stretch those out and we will see about making a thicker cord out of it. She takes another one of the coils, and starts unrolling in across the length of the bay.
MERZ
Do you know what KAYLEE has in mind?
Damon looks up and tosses Merz the legth of cord he has uncoiled as she walks down the cargo bay.
"I am under the impression that she wants us to braid 6 of these cords together to slow the container down when it drops. She said something about cutting it before it starts coming back up. I figure we can just start braiding and get further instructions later."
He picks up a third coil and starts unraveling it. Again, he tosses Merz the loose end when he gets enough length.
"So how does this braiding thing work?"
I'm not broken, in my dream I win...
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Blended post DAMON and MERZ
LOCATION - CARGO BAY
She pauses in unrolling the coil of cord as DAMON tosses her a free end on the one he has, and then selects a third coil, frees one end and tosses her that one too. He plays out the cords for her as she walks three ends down the bay.
DAMON
So how does this braiding thing work?
MERZ considers how to answer the question. She learned by example as all her family does. It is not something she can really describe. Civilians, she has decided, may be limited but they are not all ignorant by any means. If she shows him, as she was shown, will be interesting to see if he can learn.
MERZ
Let me get these straightened out and I will show you. The process does not lend itself easily to description, but is fairly simple.
Once the cords are at full extension she returns to the other end and reaches for the three free ends. She hooks them onto the stair railing, about waist height and looks at DAMON.
It starts like this. With her right hand she takes the cord on the far right, and shifts it over between the center strap and the left-most one. At the same time, she moves the left strap over between what has become the right most strap and the new center one. She repeats the procedure with each hand once again, and then stops to glance at DAMON. There, can you see how it works? Would you like to try it?
DAMON nods and takes the cords from MERZ. He looks down at them a moment and then continues where Merz left off, slow at first and not nearly as tight. He back tracks a little, determined to get it right, and then starts again, making sure it doesn’t get too loose. It’s harder than it looks, but he is already starting to get the hang of the hand movements.
Behind him, Merz watches his progress carefully, while doing the other half of the job, that being keeping 60 feet of cord from tangling miserably while the forward edge is being dealt with. When he unravels and re-does part of the braid, she nods with approval at his professional attitude, but worries a bit. He won’t be able to keep it up that tight for long, he probably does not have her hand strength. Besides it is not needed.
You need not keep it tight or even, you are not braiding a companion’s hair. This is just a means to an end. But you are doing quite well.
Damon gives half a smile at her compliment, and loosens up a bit as he continues. After a few minutes, he is moving at a steady pace. Merz keeps up with him, assuring that the cords are straight and taut behind him and come freely as he need them. Between the two of them, a full braid is accomplished in about 10 minutes.
Near the end, MERZ becomes aware of something tickling her nose, a scent that really does not belong in this context. She lowers her head and sniffs at the cords. The smell of the rubber does not quite overcome the other scent, which is almost heady. I wonder what that is, she mutters, almost familiar, and so indescribable.
What?
That smell. On the cords. Nice.
“Smell? Damon suddenly remembers the chocolate but can’t believe that’s what she could mean. He frowns. You don’t mean the chocolate do you?
Chocolate? Yes, yes that is it. How interesting. I have smelled that before, long ago. It is a … pleasant scent and quite evocative. I don’t know what it is evoking though. Odd.
Damon looks at Merz, his confusion quite apparent. You’ve never tasted chocolate, yet you can smell it on this cord? He sniffs the cord but only smells rubber.
Now it is Merz’ turn to look confused. You can’t smell it? Once you ignore the rubber it is quite str
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