SD241807.03 | JL | Com Ivanova, Cmdr Dahe'el | "You can't take the sky from me..." pt 2/5

Posted on Sat Feb 18th, 2023 @ 7:01pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander Almar Dahe'el

1,648 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Lacuna
Timeline: BACKLOG

"It's best not to think of the ship as having decks rather than... sections," the Cardassian replied as he climbed a short set of stairs and moved through a sliding door onto the bridge, a room filled with consoles and two swivel chairs, his eyes were immediately drawn to the man sat at the controls, piloting the ship into the atmosphere of the planet they had been approaching, eyes were drawn there because of the bright blue Hawaiian shirt he was wearing, it stuck out along with his crop of dirty blonde hair, "Wash, this is Rochelle, she's going to be... assisting us on this trip," Almar stated as he moved to lean down on the edge of the console, "Rochelle, this is Wash, our pilot and Zoe's husband."

Clearing her throat, Rochelle offered a friendly smile. More intel, more info. More... Moreness. "It's a pleasure." She offered, sizing up the bright print of the shirt. Underestimating them would be a piss poor idea. The strange amalgamation of parts - cowboy and... Whatever Wash was - may not have been the most conventional grouping, but it obviously worked. Almar wouldn't have banked on anything less. "Where are we headed?"

"Persephone, the Eavesdown Docks," Almar replied with a slight smile, "We need work and Badger reached out on the cortex, he may have something worth our time." he added as he turned back to the exit of the bridge before laying a hand on Wash's shoulder, "Don't crash my gorram ship." he added before moving out of the room, "Come on, we'll go meet some of the others, will be good for you to know names before we crash and burn."

Mouthing the name 'Badger' in silent question, she slowly shook her head and dutifully followed along. "Crash and burn being a figure of speech only, yes?" She had to ask. It only seemed right to ask. Then again there was something in the back of her mind that told her that Almar would never put her in a situation, fictitious or not, where she could possibly be injured.

"Maybe, maybe not, depends on how she holds together, she ain't let me down yet but its been a while since we put in for repairs, maybe Kaylee can get some down while we're down." the Cardassian replied as they made their way back through the corridor and towards a set of stairs down, they led them down into the cargo area of the ship which was large and open by comparison with the rest of the ship, in the centre was a quad bike and trailer with a dark skinned woman tending to it. Her hair was wild and untamed and her attire was very similar to that worn by Almar, but instead of a pistol she carried a short barreled lever action rifle on her hip and a knife on the other, "Zoe! I hope you told Jayne to leave most of his stuff here? We ain't lookin' to fight."

Knife. Check. Sawed off shot-gun. Check. Inventory taken, stored, Rochelle she was doing everything she could not to lose the plot. "You might not be looking for a fight, but the fight could potentially come to us." She quipped candidly with a flourish of a hand. "Isn't that right, Zoe?"

"You're not wrong, Badger has turned us in once already," Zoe replied, looking up from the four wheeler and scanning the newcomer up and down a couple of times, "You'll be Rochelle then." it was less a question and more of a statement, "You must be good, Cap'n doesn't trust easy."

"You could say that." The redhead shrugged, resting her hip against a supply container, but her eyes chose to ignore the other woman, instead following 'Captain Tight Pants' on his rounds.

Almar continued walking the gantry as the conversation continued, he didn't make for the stairs down by for an exit at the rear of the bay reached by the gantries, "We'll be good, thats why Jayne is coming," the Cardassian replied with a chuckle, "Make sure Simon is stocked with what he needs and Kaylee gets the parts she needs."

"You got it, Cap'n" Zoe replied with a slight smile and a nod as Almar disappeared through another doorway.

Taking that as her cue, Rochelle gave Zoe a two finger salute and stepped off in the same direction Almar had disappeared. It didn't take long to find him. Though her stride was so much shorter than his, she was used to moving with purpose. "Simon and Kaylee are..." And then of course there was the Jayne person, apparently male, and undoubtedly their tactical type if he was supposedly looking for a fight. More and more info, all of it spiraling through her mind and hurtling towards fueling her decision.

"Simon is the Doc, will patch us up if things go south, boy's good, damn near a genius," Almar replied as he made his way down another set of stairs and past the small medical bay, the lone bed clean and waiting for it's next inhabitant, "Kaylee is the mechanic, ain't got no book smarts on the subject but she has a way with machines, almost supernatural the way she knows things, learnt from her family,"

"Doctor, Engineer... Got it." And something about a rich twang that made her question the origins of this Malcolm character that Almar had assimilated so flawlessly. It almost made what was to come that much easier. A game was a game, she reminded herself. Her fingers coiled against her thigh as she followed along.

"Jayne!" Almar shouted out as he stopped himself at the next bulkhead and leant forward with one hand holding himself still on a crossbeam overhead, "Hurry up and get your Shiang Jing ass up here, we're about ready to set down." he called down the corridor before turning back to Rochelle, "Jayne is... the muscle, ain't much for brains but he makes up for it in brawn."

"Tactical." She nodded. So she'd been right and when 'Man Mountain' appeared, brawn was most definitely one way to put it. He wasn't nearly as powerfully built as Almar - or even Landon when one came right down to it - and a quick nod and small smile made up for any lack of professional courtesy on her end. So far there was five, not counting 'Malcolm', and all of them could be considered armed in one way or another. The playing field was becoming more and more interesting with every passing tick of the clock. It piqued her curiosity, but control kept her heart rate from elevating. The chase, she decided, was almost always better than the catch - but the catch was going to prove intriguing none-the-less. "Should we be strapping in for landing, Captain, or does this bird set down softer than you care to admit?"

"It's usually smooth," Almar replied, it was then punctuated by a violent shaking that sent him lurching forward a few steps before he managed to grasp a railing for support, "Usually..." the Cardassian added as Jayne moved past them, armed with his favourite weapon and an assortment of smaller arms.

"That is when Wash ain't try'n kill us all." he responded as he passed with a slight grin at Rochelle, she reminded him of the redhead Mal had picked up as a wife, the one who'd tricked them all and left the Captain naked and stranded.

"Come on, Rochelle, lets get you armed," Almar replied without paying Jayne too much heed as they stepped into the auxiliary storage room that had been fitted out as an armoury, "What's your preference?"

Nearly thrown from her feet by the rough landing, Rochelle stumbled sideways in a crude crab step and rested a hand against a bulkhead to steady herself. "Wash... Hawaii. Gotcha." She nodded, shaking her head. That one would be the easy one to pick off in a fight, she decided. 'Man Mountain'? Not so much. He was a one man army that walked a bit like a bear. Heaving a small sigh, she chose not to comment beyond what she already had and instead followed Almar into a proverbial treasure trove. "Looks like most of these are typical shell shots - nothing too fancy..." She began, running her fingers along the length of a couple of them as she went, "But, at second glance there's something more to them." From the corner of her eye she could see the pistol hanging at Almar's hip, holstered and quiet... For now. "What's the something else? These are multi-capacity. Shells and what?" Knowledge was power.

"Mostly shells and pellets from what I gather," Almar dropped the facade when he was sure they were alone and slipped back into his usual tone, "Lasers exist but are incredibly rare, most weapons seem to be black powder or compressed air," he added before drawing the weapon at his hip, "This one is something else too, what they call Newtech, it has a dual firing mode and can switch in an instant, gauss shots."

"Something akin to laser?" She asked, studying the brass plated hand gun. At first glance it seemed to be semi-automatic, but to the trained eye she could easily tell that whoever had built it had based it heavily off someone Taurus Arms had built back in the twenty-first century. A revolver, but disguised by whatever 'Newtech' was. Either way, she was certain she could figure it out and use it to her advantage. Black powder weaponry was one of her specialties - sometimes it paid to be as in love with antiquities as she was. Holding out a hand, she wiggled her fingers, clearly asking to handle the weapon for herself.


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To Be Continued...
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Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

 

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