Thrill of the Chase RP MA15+ (Language adult themes horror) IC (closed)

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Celine made a bit of a face at Rocky when he goggled at her order. She had gone over it twice before hitting submit and was sure that she hadn't over ordered to extremes. Just enough to give a bit of a buffer in case the captain found something interesting to delay their return. Perhaps she needed to switch to one of the larger suppliers if the order seemed that unusual.

When the granite-like alien made the crack about the EVA suits Celine crossed her arms and gave him a warning look. "Are you implying there is something wrong with my height?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

'Edge of Nothing' Cafe

Will started to sift through the material he was given, and was quite impressed by both the detail, and the obvious skill that had gone into the creation of the airframes and sketches.

"This is very fine work Miss Rosendahl! I gather though you've not had too much experience with space faring craft and their power plants just yet? Thats not meant as a put down, and I won't count it against you when we're selecting members."

Rocky's Equipment and Supply

Catching the look Celine tossed at him Rocky sobered up. "Sorry Elf, didn't mean to make it sound like a crack at you at all...

[Sunblink]

Pandora nearly lost her composure again - this was an unexpected question for her, as she had assumed her ace in the hole would instantly assure her employment. Instead, in spite of her perturbed state, she straightened herself and answered honestly. After all, if she tried to bluff her way out of the situation, this would only result in trouble. "No, sir - I don' 'ave any experience wit' space farin' craft. No' yet," she admitted. This was probably a severe handicap for an engineer specializing in technology in that domain, but there was still a possibility she could secure the job.

[Paladin Sheppard]

'Edge of Nothing' Cafe


"Its not a big issue Miss Rosenthal, you've obviously got a very good grasp on mechanics, and going on your UNSC entry test scores and what I've seen of you so far, you're very bright."

Will packed the photos and handed the package back to Pandora, stood and held out his hand.

"Either myself or my 2ic will page you when we make a decision, thanks for coming down."

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

After poking through the job sites for about half a cup, Johnny ran across mention of a quartermaster role. Can't hurt to look, can it? he thought to himself, punching up the details.

Standard quartermaster gig, it looked like. Previous quartermaster had signed out on docking, it seemed, after a single trip. Odd. Usually people hung on to a job... unless there was something wrong. Personality conflicts could get seriously dangerous, out in the black, with nobody but each other to rely upon. Perhaps that was the reason. Perhaps not.

It bore looking into, though, so he scanned the networks, looking for what public information there was about the Inferno. Single captain, one Dante, a... Johnny paused, titled his head sideways trying to figure out how to pronounce the species of the captain, and gave up, opting instead to hit the library network for details of the species.

Seconds later, he was frantically scrabbling to disable the sound and holographics, settling for the flat, non-moving - and, more importantly, silent - picture version; specifically, the one that wasn't moaning in pleasure. Oh. My. God. The universe is a very, very strange place... And that's probably more information than I need. No wonder she left.

He decided that that particular job probably wasn't one he'd be interested in, thanks all the same, and went back to scanning the boards, pausing every now and again to shake his head in disbelief.

[Sunblink]

Pandora nearly sighed in relief, but managed to school her features and keep her from betraying her innermost relaxation. If all of her credentials seemed satisfactory, then the job was secure. She didn't feel she had any reason to worry, as she was confident about her expertise in engineering... but her lack of knowledge about spacecraft was a severe handicap, unless they were modeled similarly to the airships she crafted. Either way, Pandora nodded to Will and stood up, gathering all of her papers and photographs back into their respective sleeves in her folder. Closing the folder and gently sandwiching it between some of her equipment in her toolbox, she snapped the lid of the compartment shut and accepted Will's handshake, grinning genially.

"It was a pleasure meetin' y', sir," Pandora said in a tone she hoped came across as professional. She departed the scene, retrieving her rifle from the bar's storage, and sighed to herself as she finished strapping the firearm to her back. Now that she was outside, she supposed she could go do some sightseeing and observe some of the spacecrafts parked at the bay. If she could memorize the specifics and ask the crewmen about the technology behind the ships, she assumed this would help her in the long run.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Captain Conner

Will completed several other interviews with interested party's, but wrapped it up a couple of hours later. Passing by the Onyx Armor and Arms store, William put two orders in for himself after checking on what they had available.

Reaching the ship, he made his way to the lounge, where Ephrael had taken Jaes after setting him up in one of the bunk rooms.

Waving Jaes to stay seated, Will made his way over to where his first officer sat. "Well I have a list here Eph lets call em."



Celine 'Elf' Walker

After forgiving Rocky, retrieving her bag from the lockers and supervising the loading of the supplies into the 'Thrill''s secondary cargo bay and freezer, which had taken the best of two hours, Elf was standing sweaty and grimy at the main hatch letting the last of Rocky's loading drones and crew out.


Johnny 'Weaves' Weaver

As he trawled the local net, Johnny was alerted by a small beep that he had an email. picking up his PDA and opening it he was greeted by a video message from Ephrael.

"Mr Weaver, Captain Conner would like to extend a contract offer to you. If you would like to come down to Bay 25 to look it over." The black and white furred, red headed hybrid said.


Rekk Bsquottic Miquelliosk

Rekk had gotten lucky with the the blond fox, who had happily chatted and poured a few free drinks for him. He was on the verge of getting her contacts when his PDA chimed, and when he activated it Ephrael appeared and gave a similar message as Johnny's.


Theodore Ambrosius

Theo was waiting at the Marble Lodgings, going through an electronic medical book, when the front desk called and sent a message to the room's comms from Ephrael.... 


Pandora Amelia Rosendahl

Pandora had spent the last two hours constructively, getting both descriptions and comments from the crews and loaders all over the docks, as well schematics from the closest net cafe of most of the ships in docks at the moment.

She was just getting a bite to eat from a food stand when her PDA beeped with Eph's message.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Johnny blinked. He'd got it? Even after the shambles he'd made of it? "Yes! Rock on!"

He suddenly realised he was standing up and shouting. And that all his classmates were staring at him. Along with everyone else in the cafe; even down to the cook, who was peering through the little window. He flushed bright red, and sat down again, quickly, covering his face with his hands until it stopped burning quite so much.

He then looked up the location of Bay 25, tracked out a map, and dropped a reply to Ephrael (three words: "On my way.") before packing up his things and heading for Bay 25.

On his way out of the room, he had a sudden bright idea, and stopped by the group of his classmates, tapping the one who had been most effusive about using his faked creds on the shoulder. Speaking quietly, he said "I'm just on my way to the Thrill to see the contract they offered me, but I noticed that the Inferno is looking for some crew. If you don't get a call, you might want to head over that way and ask them. The captain is a bit unusual in build, but from what I've looked up, he's straight dealing, doesn't do wrong by his crew. I'll flick you an infodump."

The classmate grinned back. "Really? Congratulations! And thanks for the hint!"

Johnny smiled, all innocence, replied "You're entirely welcome. Good luck!", and strode out.



... chuckling evilly to himself all the way over to Bay 25. After all, if they hadn't learnt by now his penchant for practical jokes...

[James StarRunner]

Jaes sat back, watching in silence as William called the others. He wasn't used to having a break while there was still day left. It felt wrong for him somehow to not do anything and started to tap his feet in anticipation.

"Is there anything I can do?" Jaes asked. "I do not want to feel like a burden."

[Boog]

Rekk's third drink poured down his gullet and he grinned at the foxgirl. "So, would it be outta line for me to ask what a pretty girl like you's doing workin' a dive like this?" He transferred the credits for another drink, "Or do you hear that one too much?" He tried desperately to ignore the beep of his PDA, hoping to keep the conversation going just long... Enough... To...
"Hey, I think you have a message." The fox girl pointed out. Cursing mentally, Rekk checked the message. "Oh hey, I've heard of that ship! You better get going, I hear the captain's supposed to be a real hardass." Seeing the look on Rekk's face she laughed, "Catch you next time you're in port then, huh?" Grousing, Rekk pushed himself out of his seat and sighed.
"Righ' then, 'til then lovely." He turned around and skittered away, taking a drag at his envirotank as he walked out the door.
Captain, I mos' cer'ainly hope this contra's impressive. I mean full denta', petty cash for hookers an' the contra' isself fringed en fraggen' GOLD.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

After watching the last of Rocky's crew leave Celine found the nearest intercom. Eph had let her peek at the suit before the supplies arrived. It was very pink but would fit and at this point was the best choice she had. Celine had transferred the payment to the ship's account and was now the owner of a kitty decorated suit. But she needed a few enhancements to make it equivalent to the suit she lost. A shopping trip was in order. Using the intercom she reported to the bridge.

"Captain. The supplies are stowed. Is there anything else for me to do? If not may I leave the ship on a little shopping expedition? I'll need a few things for myself before we depart."

[Sunblink]

A while after her meeting with Captain Will, Pandora Rosendahl stood in front of an obnoxiously colored, cheery food stand, awaiting her order. One of the many posters mounted beside the establishment was emblazoned with a few slogans in a universally-recognized alien language, advertising a confection similar to what humans would call a hot dog. The vendor behind the stand - a strange, juvenile, scaly abomination probably working its way through college by peddling unhealthy treats - was rummaging through an oven packed with the sausages, methodically impaling one of the meaty weiners on the end of a long poker. The alien wrapped the unappealing sausage-on-a-stick in a pastel-colored paper used to absorb the hefty amount of grease marinading the concoction, then offered it to Pandora wordlessly. Filled with an almost childlike enthusiasm, she reached into her pocket and unearthed a sizeable amount of cash, starting to count it. Suddenly, her bright expression transformed into something uncharacteristically crestfallen.

"Yeah, uh, I don' think I 'ave any o' tha' money y' need," Pandora said to the food vendor, rustling the currency in her palm, counting the coins with an index finger. "See, y'r askin' f'r somethin' else entirely. D' y' take credit 'r somethin'? I'm real 'ungry, an' I could use somethin' t' eat..."

The food vendor narrowed its eyes and jabbed its tentacle-like appendage toward a poster tacked on the wall of the stand. Pandora read it, as instructed: written in several different languages, one of which she could eligibly decipher, was something along the lines of We do not accept credit. Pandora scowled in disappointment and returned to her bartering, steadfastly ignoring the small congregation of people clustering behind her.

"'Ey, look. Can't y' do a gal a favor? I'm starvin', pal, an' I'm not in a good mood. I c'n pay y' off, I swear, y' can take somethin' o' mine as insurance..."

Before Pandora could finish her plea, a sudden beeping from her PDA interrupted her. Pandora stopped, clamping her mouth shut, and reached for the device, unhooking it from her belt and pressing a button on the screen to activate it and highlight the newly-received message. She listened to the recording with increased enthusiasm, starting to wonder if it meant her application for the job had been accepted. Grinning, Pandora pocketed her PDA and hastily finished haggling with the vendor (she ended up giving him almost all of her incompatible cash and a lucky rabbit's foot that was worth 100 dollars on his home planet). With the hot dog-on-a-stick in hand, Pandora departed for the Thrill of the Chase.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Bay 25 'Thrill of the Chase''s lounge

William looked over at Jaes "Not much to be done right now Kid, If you like, Eph can go over your contract with you now if you want. I'm just heading down to the main hatch to wait for the rest."

As he was heading to the central lifts and ladders Celine called over the intercom. "Sure thing Celine,  nothing left here for the moment, go have fun."

Forgoing the lift and using the down ladder, Will slid down the rails to the cargo deck. Once down he wandered into the refrigerated section and grabbed a cool soft drink, from one of the slabs there. Undoing the lid he headed to the massive main airlock/Cargo doors.

This should be interesting in the least Will thought as he waited.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Johnny looked up as his stop was announced, flipped his PDA away (he'd finish cooking up that infodump later; he had some ideas about fake Net-Cyc entries he wanted to work on the skin of, so they looked real), skipped off the transport unit, dodged past a couple of pedestrians, and screeched to a halt, just around the corner from Bay 25. He then paused, cause his breath, checked he had everything put away, straightened his jacket...

... and sauntered casually round the corner, up to Bay 25. He paused outside, ran one eye over his attire again, just to be sure, in the reflection in the polished surface of the hatch (was that a knuckle print, at eye-height?) before tapping the comms buzzer beside it.

He ran over what he was going to say, one more time, in his head. "Weaver here, to see the contract offer." Yes, that should do it. Simple, and to the point.

... He couldn't mess this up. Seriously.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Instead of the flatscreen built into the intercom changing from the ships logo to someone answering, there was a hum and a holographic figure appeared in the air in front of Johnny. She was blond, transparent, and dressed in armor and fur and looked very much like the Valkyrie of Norse legends.

"Hello Mister Weaver! I'm Nova, the ships' AI nice to meet you!" Nova did a circle around Weaver, the wings on her back flapping as flying. "The Captain is in the main hold. I'll crack the doors for you!" With that the hologram blinked off, and the massive hatch lifted open.

Will had the lemon flavored drink up to his mouth, as the door finished opening with a massive thud. Finishing off the mouthful he waved Johnny over.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Johnny blinked. The AI might have started from the Valkyries, but unless he missed his guess, none of the originals had had such... abbreviated armour. He recalled something about "full plate", and while the armour in front of him was full, it wasn't actually covering anything like as much as he'd expect. More sort of supporting, and defining.

And emphasising. Definitely emphasising.

In fact, it was more sort of a fur-lined steel bikini than actual armour. And a fairly skimpy one, at that. Well... at least, skimpy for what it contained. Although "contained" wasn't quite right - "outlined" might be a more accurate description.

She blinked out before he could utter a word of thanks, and he stood, slightly bemused, watching the hatch open.

An outfit like that - and an avatar like that - suggested that the AI in question either had a fetish, or a twisted sense of humour. Well, the other alternative was that it was just flat out crazy, but he doubted that the Thrill's captain would stick with a sick AI, which left a significant sum of money spent on things that worked, but didn't look showy. Which meant there was a lot more to the Thrill than was publicly available. Which would be interesting to figure out.

And, if he was right about that AI, and the sense of humour, it - she - might well be interested in helping him with a few, ah, "projects" he had in mind. Like the info dump...

The thump of the door brought him back to his senses, and he sauntered semi-casually towards the Captain. As he arrived, he nodded. "Qu-, ah, Ephrael said you had a contract offer, sir?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

Thrill of the Chase' Main Cargo Hold

"Thanks for coming Mr Weaver! Yes, I am offering a slot to you, but we're just going to wait here for a bit and see if we can't get a few of the others I've extended an offer to, to show up, so we can get this done in one batch. Call me lazy but I prefer to do this once."

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Johnny nodded. "Fair enough. I'll sort out some paperwork while I wait, then."

He found a place to sit, flipped out his PDA, and set up the holographic workspace. He then started to slice together parts of the Network Encyclopaedia - articles of which he either took mostly straight, editing merely important paragraphs, or, less frequently, made up out of the whole cloth; some verifiable truth made the unverifiable parts seem more acceptable, after all - docking reports, a job description, profiles of Dante and the other crew on the Inferno - suitably edited, so as to keep the surprise, at least until after the ship left port - and various other sources of information.

Moving the parts into a container, he arranged them carefully, linking the reports into the articles, setting up the articles to look like they were still on the core NetCyc access, filtering parts of the images, and generally making the collection of half-truths look like it was the genuine article. After all, he'd done this a few times before; never quite to this extent, admittedly, but it was in a good cause.

Now if he could get this just right, it'd carry a packet requesting that the ship footage of the Inferno's internal cameras be forwarded to him, afterwards. He just needed to get it set up so only the Inferno itself could see the request...

[Sunblink]

Pandora finished up the remainder of her grease-lathered sausage and discarded the stick in a conveniently-placed waste disposal nearby. After inspecting her appearance and making herself look as presentable as possible, Pandora turned confidently toward the Thrill of the Chase and took a deep breath, preparing herself. She inclined her head to the side, the other side, and back, stretching the tendons of her neck, before reconfiguring herself and striding up to the main hatch. Standing in front of it was Captain Will, who she recognized - he was accompanied by another man she didn't know.

Pandora cleared her throat to both call attention to herself and remove the nervous ball of muscle that had culminated in her throat. Trying very hard not to let her composure falter, Pandora spoke up, "'ello, Captain, sir. I got a message earlier on my PDA tellin' me t' come 'ere..."

[Paladin Sheppard]

Thrill of the Chase' Main Cargo Hold

'Ze Pink, she iz back!' William grinned as Pandora entered the cavernous main cargo hold. "Hello again Miss Rosendahl!, welcome to the 'Thrill'. We're just waiting for a few others to show up before we get the show on the road." Will waved a hand at Johnny "This is Mister Weaver, he's here for our extra pilot slot."

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

As Pandora appeared round the corner, before she'd even entered the cargo hold, Johnny had raised his eyes to watch her come in; he'd been alerted by her footsteps, and hit save - and then froze mid-keypress, as she hove into sight.

He blinked. Either she'd walked under a ladder where someone was painting the ceiling of the corridor - although he couldn't for the life of him remember any area of the station that had been... inflicted with anything in such a virulent shade - or she really, really liked pink. As she drew nearer, up to - and then through - the hatch, he realised she was one of the people they were waiting on. His face blanked as he attempted to fit this pink vision into any of the job spaces he could think of on-board the Thrill. And failed.

In fact, as she drew nearer, he wished he'd worn his aviators sunglasses (still called that, although for the most part, starlight or engine exhaust was a more usual requirement for them) instead of leaving them in his pocket. And now, of course, it'd be rude to pull them out...

He raised one eyebrow at the introduction, then waved shut the holographic interface, flipping the PDA closed with his left hand, and rose to his feet, extending one hand, and pasting what he hoped looked like a friendly smile on his face - and not a wince at the bright colours.

"Miss Rosendahl." He nodded.


He was even mostly successful. Mostly.

[James StarRunner]

"Well..." said Jaes as he looked at Eph. "I might as well do as Captain Will suggested. What can you tell me about my contract? Also... what would my job be? I have not worked in the starry blackness before. Will I need to be taught on how to use these mash-ings?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

'Thrill of the Chase' Lounge

Ephrael walked over to the chair Jaes was in and sat on the arm. "Well basically Jaes, your job here on the 'Thrill' will mostly be moving heavy items around for us. We do jobs sometimes that we can't use lifting gear, so we'll need your help. But that won't be all, sometimes jobs don't go as... smooth as we like and we have to fight, and you look like you can handle yourself, at least physically, we can teach you how to use guns, suits and stuff. We'll also teach ya how to read and write if ya want, I know ya a bit weak there..."

After that Ephrael went on to explain the contract, showing Jaes the text of it on his PDA, which was mostly legal requirements, and the pay terms. "We pay you 2k credits up front so you can pick up any basic equipment you might need, like a suit and/or a weapon. We go on three month cruises and upon completion we pay out 15k credits plus a full share of any jobs and salvage. You can go out with us again or you can call it quits then." Eph smiled at the feline "Do you have any other questions?"

[Sunblink]

Pandora took the reactions to her color scheme rather gracefully, fortunately. She was used to the stares directed toward her fluorescent appearance, so she wasn't offended. Pointedly looking at Johnny, she adjusted her goggles and flashed him a generally welcoming grin. "Nice t' meet y', sir," Pandora said, reaching out and taking his proffered hand. She shook it, only to stop and reconsider the captain's words. She blinked over her shoulder. "Wai', does tha' mean I've go' th' job?"

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Johnny coughed quietly and politely behind his fist, to draw Pandora's attention back to him.

"I believe that the Captain is waiting, with the intent of offering a contract to each of a number of applicants. I suspect that the contracts will all be more or less identical; hence the wait. If you choose to accept the contract, then yes, the job - whichever it is - will be yours for the asking." He smiled disarmingly. "I'm guessing, but it's a reasonable guess. I'd also suggest we're still waiting, since he mentioned a few others - although none by name." He shrugged. "Yet."

"While we're waiting, do you mind if I ask what you were hiring on as? As the Captain said, I'm looking for a pilot's slot, which leaves a lot of other jobs you could be doing." He raised his eyebrows enquiringly, and awaited the response from the colourful lady in front of him.

"Oh, yes." He added. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, too." He flushed slightly, then muttered something about being brought up right by his parents...

[Cogidubnus]

 Bay 25

Ambrose pushed his glasses up his nose, and picked up his suitcase. This seemed to be the Thrill of the Chase, and with luck, where he'd be able to fake being a medical professional long enough to get to the next port, preferably with some cash in hand too.

He swallowed, hefting both his suitcases. One was filled with clothing, and the other with whatever books he could steal from the store. Another reason to get off the station asap.

He headed for the boarding ramp.

[James StarRunner]

'Thrill of the Chase' Lounge

Jaes didn't know why they referred to a 'k' as 1000, but he was able to guess it's meaning. Jaes looked at the floor as Ephrael hinted at his fighting prowess. It was true that he killed his master in an act of self defense, but he wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. "Those guns are the magic bows, right? My father taught me basic archery. That was before I..." Jaes nervously tugged on the sash that covered his slave marking. "Before I went into service... But yes, I would be willing to learn what you are able to teach. I am kinda embarrassed not knowing how to read. I don't suppose I could be taught elven as well? I grew up speaking it as well as the human tongue, but I have not had the chance to read or write either of them."

Jaesguamarj wondered idly if Ephrael's race started like his own, but pushed the thought aside since he didn't know if the question would seem offensive. "So... About the gun and suit... Since I have these 2000 credits, I can spend it on both? How do I spend these and get those items?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

'Thrill of the Chase' Main Cargo Hold

"Well I wouldn't offer a contract if you didn't Miss Rosendahl" Will smiled.

Spotting Theo at the doors Will waved in greeting. "Glad you're here Dr Ambrose! We've just waiting on one more person to show up and I'll take you all upstairs to go over contracts."

"This is Mr Weaver and Miss Rosendahl." William said wave a hand at the two.


'Thrill of the Chase' Lounge

Ephrael arched an eyebrow at Jaes "Where you come from guns may seem magical but they don't really operate the same, Nova our AI... oh you probably don't know what an AI is." Eph looked over to one of the cameras mounted in the corners of the lounge, "Nova can you come here please" the Devil asked. No sooner than she'd finished than the holographic figure appeared, hovering before the two.

"Hi there!" The winged battle maiden said waving at Jaes, she floated over and sat on Ephrael's shoulder. "Jaes this is Nova, shes sort of like the ships brain. She also can teach you all sorts of things you want to know,  how to write in your native language I'm not sure. Watch out though she likes to play tricks on people." The AI frowned at Eph as the hybrid giggled.

"That's not fair Eph" Nova said pouting "I don't do it to everyone..."

"As for the suit and guns Jaes, I'll take you shopping when everyone has got here and looked over the contracts." Ephrael picked up a PDA pen and handed it to the feline. "Now just here is where you have to sign your name or make a mark to make you part of the crew...,if you want to join us that is."

[James StarRunner]

Jaes looked at the hologram with a confused and curious look. He waved his hands above and below the apparition to figure out how it was staying up. He leaned in to sniff Nova, but when he couldn't find any scent, he poked his finger through the hologram. Jaes threw his hand back instantaneously then gingerly tried to poke it again.

"Are you a living illusion?" asked a bewildered Jaesguamarj. "Or are you the ghost of the ship? Or maybe you should just tell me what this 'AI' means..."

[Paladin Sheppard]

'Thrill of the Chase' Lounge

Nova laughed as Jaes poked her the first time. "Hehehe that tickles!!" When he went to poke her again, she jumped off Ephrael's shoulder and danced her way up Jaes' arm.

"AI like myself are nonliving artificial intelligences...I'm a machine who can think as fast or faster than a human. As to how you can see me, well there are tiny projectors all over the ship that I can appear through." The AI said as she sat down.