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originally posted in:The New Dojo
12/24/2017 7:18:06 PM
30
[b]A Very Merry Pirate Christmas
Somewhere in civilized space[/b]
Alpha sat in her sparrowhawk, still docked in the ship. She kept watching the radar, eyeing the liner they were stalking. They'd picked this one up ever since they left planetside, and had been eyeing its crew of wealthy patrons. She flicked a switch and activated her comms.
[quote] "The ship is approaching interdictor range. Lemme know when."[/quote]
With that, she waited. The girl was tense, having been out of practice for a very long time. She wanted it over with. She was just wondering how the hell they'd manage this, considering Takatai had some serious defenses. If they decided to help this liner out...
She gripped the joystick in her right hand, and the throttle in her left. Only time would tell
[spoiler]You know who are[/spoiler]
English
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Edited by GingerlyWalnut3: 12/25/2017 8:04:39 PM“[b]I mean, who the hell is Carl Sagan anyways?[/b]” Drake exclaimed to nobody in particular as his new bootlegged ship made its rickety approach to the luxury vessel. Strapped uncomfortably to the pilot’s chair, Drake looked supremely unhappy with his current predicament. “[b]Cool name for a crappy ship.[/b]” After hearing Alpha’s signal, he quit his moping momentarily, and replied to her over the comms. [quote]Alpha, this is Drake. I’m giving you the go ahead to launch. Just make sure that you [i]only disable[/i] the thrusters temporarily, otherwise we’ll be stuck with this sack of shit, over.[/quote] He closed the channel, and warmed up whatever hardoints the ship had in preparation for docking. He’d stay on until the “tether” was securely fastened to the other ship before he went over himself.
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Sawyer's forehead was slick, sweat falling from furrowed brow. He had been following the [i]Polyteleia[/i] for days, tracking it even since he got a bead on its location with the Arrowhead's wake scanner, trailing not too far behind it as it hit beautiful vistas and locales along its course. After sleepless nights in the cockpit, the cruiser now began to falter in its speed above a lush water planet. "Deploying tether now," Sawyer stated with a shaky voice. The magnetic field began to constrict around the hull of the ship and lock it in place due to the mass around it, making it unable to leave.
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Alpha's sparrowhawk then released itself from the hangar, and flew towards the liner "Alright assholes, time to dance!" She activated her ship's weapons, and the plasma accellerators slammed into the side of the ship to knock out its shield and damage its drives. It couldn't reboot or repair in the tether without destroying itself, but after the tether ended it would be able to again. "Drake, She's ready for the picking." Alpha broadcast to drake as she prowled around the ship
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“[b]Gotcha. Sawyer, make sure the ships are aligned while I’m gone. Alpha, keep overwatch. I’ll give you guys the go-ahead to board when I’m done.[/b]” Drake unstrapped himself from the pilot’s chair and put on a rebreather, just in case the tether failed. His jacket and EM shielding would protect him from space if shit went sideways, but just in case, he spun up a grappling line and placed it inside of his prosthetic. He gave Sawyer a peace sign as he opened the airlock, and fell right into the tether. [b]Onboard the Other Ship:[/b] The two guards went down amidst a cacophony of screams and shrieks, blasted by crimson stun bolts before the crowd even saw their hijacker. Michael Drake floated into the ship through the airlock, his blaster simmering in the now-oxygenated atmosphere. “[b]This is your captain speaking,[/b]” he said, blaster raised up at the ceiling menacingly, “[b]everyone lie down and put your hands where I can see ‘em.[/b]” Into his shoulder, he spoke into the comms channel, [quote]All clear for boarding guys.[/quote]
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Sawyer heard the audio over his comms and relaxed in his seat. Almost like clockwork, his fingers punched over the panel before him. A hologram flickered over the canopy of the cockpit, and soon, a beautiful, curvaceous figure appeared, long and flowing locks of raven hair obscuring amble bosoms. It spoke with delicate jaw gyrating: [b][i]"DELTA ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FRAME bow active. What COMMANDS would you like me to input today, AARON SAWYER?[/i][/b] "Delta, run auto-pilot protocol and open airlock." [b][i]"Running AUTO-PILOT PROTOCOL and OPENING AIRLOCK now, sir. Have a nice day."[/i][/b] The ship's mainframe began to produce a symphony of electronic sounds and buttons pressed down upon themselves, levers moved autonomously, nozzles twisted independently. Sawyer got up from his chair and busted through the door to the airlock, a space-faring suit transmitting over his own. As the helm wrapped around his sullen and serious face, he jumped from the airlock which disappeared behind him. Small thrusters sprouting blue flames propelled him towards the liner, and he easily slid into the docking bay where Drake previously entered. "Y'all heard the man. Comply and no one'll get hurt," he said in his traditional Scott drawl, a carbine warping into his hands with a blue flourish.
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As if to punctuate Sawyer's remark, Alpha's Sparrowhawk flew in front of the Docking bay, looming over the crowd. The P.A. was active, and through it, Alpha's voice [b]"Alright -blam!-ers, listen up! Your cargo is ours. You'll get to keep enough credits and supplies to make it to the next station and supply yourselves when you get there. However, your surplus...that's a different story. I hope you folks are feeling in a nice church-going mood, because we're gonna ask you guys to donate to our cause. So cough it up![/b]
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Drake raised an eyebrow at Alpha’s melodrama, but nodded approvingly. “[b]Yeah, you heard the goat. Hey, this group of people—[/b]” he gestured with the tip of his blaster at a group of people on the floor, “[b]—you guys are gonna help her load your cargo onto our ship, and...[/b]” he scanned the crowd for an attractive woman, before finally pointing to a young brunette, gesturing for her to come closer, “[b]-you are gonna help me take out the pilot.[/b]” She walked over to him, subtly looking him over as he led her over to the bridge as a hostage. Holding his blaster to her head, he kicked open the door to the bridge... and that was when his jaw dropped. It was beautiful. A stunning panoply of camera suites, holograms, and beautiful metal awaited him, with space rushing about him on the view-screen. Halfheartedly, he lowered his gun and stunned the captain and his guards, before pushing the brunette out through the door which they’d entered in, shutting the door behind her. He was in love with this ship, his eyes glazing over the panels and joysticks as if he were admiring a fine woman. His prosthetic hand lightly brushed over the myriad buttons, almost caressing the smooth surfaces of the metals, before he finally regained his wits. Awkwardly, he re-opened the channel to Sawyer. [quote]Hey, Aaron, tell Alpha and the crew to stop loading the cargo onto that rustbucket. [i]This[/i] is our ship now. [/quote]
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Sawyer heard the information and patched his communications to Alpha. [quote]Listen dear, tell your posse to stop loading the cargo; we're commandeering this vessel. Orders from the Cap'n. Don't blame him myself... it's a fine vessel.[/quote] Sawyer turned back to the common people who huddled on the ground and opened his mouth in decree, wrapping hands behind his back. "Alright people, here's the deal. You are all coming with us. We'll drop you off at the nearest point we can and make sure you're safe, as long as you're compliant. For the next few days, you all are going to be familiar with our faces. If you aren't willing to bend to our will and orders... well, there's always the airlock. Got it, everyone?"
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What Alpha told her people, they never knew, but she did quickly end up flying next to them in the Sparrowhawk again [quote] I'll run some escort till we get to the station. This ship got an auto-docker or nah?" [/quote] She asked, as her ship did some loop-de-loops and began charging its weapon [quote] Regardless, I'm gonna blow up that trash-trawler. All that's on there is beer bottles and used condoms [/quote] She said, proceeding to trash the old ship [Quote] They'll know we were here, but there's nothing left to point them as to where, at least till we get out of the station [/quote] She continued, flying past unneccessarily fast, to scare the passengers again. She kept shooitng at the hulk, flaunting her ship's weapons as if to state to the hapless people onboard that nobody could help them
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Edited by GingerlyWalnut3: 12/26/2017 5:40:29 AM“[b]Heh... as if I use condoms.[/b]” Drake mused to himself, smirking proudly as he reminisced. He waved a hand through his hair, reminding himself what he was there for, and opened the ship’s NAV computer. As he leaned back into his chair, Drake moved his prosthetic hand under the command console, looking for an input for [i]DELTA[/i]: the Arrowhead’s Dumb AI module. When he finally found the right gauge, an electrostatic connection formed in his neural link, connecting his mind with the ship. “[b][i]So Delta,[/i][/b]” Drake communicated to the AI wordlessly, connected to it by a bond that imitated telepathy, “[b][i]run over the hyperspace calculations to Tatakai again. I wanna make sure that I don’t send us to Skiraja again.[/i][/b]” As the ship seamlessly corrected its course, Drake switched channels to the crew, who he updated with the new details. [quote]We’re going back to Tatakai guys. We’ll drop the passengers off, sell the cargo, and buy some upgrades while we’re at it. This ain’t a bad ship, but it could use some fine-tuning. What’re your thoughts?[/quote]
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[quote]Sounds good to me, Drake. I'm not exactly partial to Tatakai, but it's closest, so I won't complain.[/quote] As he spoke, Sawyer meandered around the ship. He wandered the stark, sterile corridors of porcelain and ivory, admiring the Venetian architecture of frills and arches etched into the marble of doorways, the traditional Greek statues littered throughout with men strong not in phallic aptitude but only in their pectorals. As a buff for history, the Paladin particularly enjoyed the calls to the cultures of Old Earth, the exquisite craftsmenship of the structures, and the lavish nature of the place. As a former soldier, he had known few pleasures in his life, and being in a place such as this designed for complete comfort was equal parts polarizing and exciting.
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[quote] Can someone remind me why we took the goddamn art museum? [/quote] Alpha radioed in as she kept flying around, locking Takatai's sun on the Galaxy map. The ship would then jump to hyperspace, and would meet them there
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Drake gazed out the viewport as space-time bent to the implacable will of the ship’s hyperdrive, admiring the vicissitude of colors that expanded out before him. The FTL pattern was different than that of the old NTR ships though, and Drake scowled, enraptured by the archaic display. “[b]The new ship’s Alcubierre Drive must be v2.43/01 at the latest. Shit’s ancient.[/b]” he said to nobody in particular, leaning in closely to inspect the plasma screen display. A suite of cameras on the outside of the ship simulated glass, whereas in reality there were several feet of polycarbonate separating Michael from the vacuum. “[b]Sawyer, remind me to get a new FTL drive when we touch down... and get rid of the small dick statues. Replace them with guns or boobs or somethin’[/b] The ship exited hyperspace moments later, noticeably slower than even Alpha’s fighter, which was far slower than the original Arrowhead had been in FTL. That being said, he couldn’t help but love this new vessel—a spark of warmth that he’d only felt for three ships before. Beneath its maudlin extravagance, its sleek exterior, and it’s gaudy architecture, there was a rugged fusion heart within this ship, and Drake wished to make it his own. With a few days of modification... it could become something.
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Garin poked his head out of a crate in the ship's cargo hold, scanning the area before climbing out. "I guess we got attacked by pirates. Better investigate." [spoiler]Garin was hiding on the ship to get to another system, he has no idea what happened... or rather, who happened.[/spoiler]
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Drake heard a banging sound from the bridge, and cautiously withdrew his blaster from its holster. He strolled towards the cargo bay calmly, gun raised for any incoming threats.
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Garin unsheathed one of his swords and crept towards the bridge, head lowered. He checked his corners, sword raised to neck level.
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Drake paused, recognizing the sound of an unsheathed sword. Considering that all of the guards had been eliminated, and none of the passengers [i]should[/i] be carrying swords, that narrowed the possibility of his mystery assailant to one person... He rounded the the corner of a large cargo crate, with a few feet between him and Garin. His prosthetic arm was raised in front of him, and his hand had formed the shape of a finger gun, which he mockingly “shot” once at Garin, recognizing his crew mate on sight. “[b]I was wondering when you’d show up,[/b]” Drake said sardonically.
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Garin shook his head and sheathed his sword. "So, you like this ship enough to steal it, eh? Figured you'd take the loot, and probably me, and I would just pop up on your ship." He sighed, grinning. "It's good to see you, Captain."
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“[b]It’s better than that rust-bucket that we came here on, and she’s got a good frame too. Wouldn’t expect that from a passenger liner, but looks can be deceiving.[/b]” His left hand, which had been mostly disguised by his crimson jacket, then re-holstered his blaster, which had been disguised by the exaggerated finger gun in the off chance that it wasn’t actually Garin around the corner. “[b]It’s good to see you too man. Now c’mon, lemme show you th’ cockpit.[/b]”
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Garin would follow Drake, keeping his hand on his waist in case they happened to bump into her. "This is pretty ni-" Garin paused, frozen with fear. "My wines. My three-hundred year old wines. What happened to them?"
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“[b]Relax. We transferred what little was on that ship here already. What wasn’t on the ship was on Tatakai.[/b]” Drake shot a look over his shoulder, “[b]And yeah, I know where you hide your wine. I’m a smuggler, remember? My job is hiding things, so I ain’t bad at finding things either.[/b]”
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"I swear, if you drank even a drop of my wine..." Garin chuckled and continued to follow Drake to the bridge. "So, who all is here? I heard what sounded like Alpha's ship, and Sawyer's definitely here with you."
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"[b]Well, that's about it for us. We're taking the passengers with us to Tatakai, and we'll drop them off there before we set off again.[/b]" Drake said calmly as he re-entered the bridge. The ship was structured fairly similarly to the original Arrowheads, which had been retrofitted from a freighter and a military blockade runner respectively. Maybe Drake liked this vessel for its layout? "[b]We've mostly patched up our differences since we met up again. I think I'll have to sit down with you and Alpha at some point, but otherwise, things've gone smoothly.[/b]"
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"I'm pretty sure that'll end up with a hole in either one of us or in your ship." He gazed out of the viewport and squinted. "This isn't the Amoridia system." He turned to Drake. "I got on this ship to get out of Tatakai, Drake, and you went and ruined my plan." He was joking, and he sat down in a chair and chuckled. "I've been with you guys for almost a year now, but it feels like I've known you all for ages. We gained more members, attempted a couple of heists, and it was worth every second." He stood up and opened his arms to Drake. "Bring it in, pal."
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Believe it or not, Drake actually felt quite fondly of Garin as well. Despite his reputation on Tatakai, he was a valuable member of the crew, and a good friend... but that didn’t mean that Drake wanted to give him a hug. He shot Garin a quizzical look, before extending his left (organic) hand out in a fist. “[b]Err... How ‘bout we leave it at a fist-bump?[/b]”
