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Pandora's Box; No blue people allowed.
Topic Started: Jan 29 2011, 02:10 PM (3,714 Views)
~Alissa~
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Hannah sat on the bridge watching tense as the intruder put an armored boot on her brother’s head and pushed down. She absolutely hated this…she was helpless, there was next to nothing she could do that would be of any real help and Alex was quiet clearly in danger. Mike was still out for the count and Sam was nowhere to be seen, though she knew he was actually close at hand.

Even if she was in the room there was next to nothing that she could do, she was stuck in her chair, absolutely incapable of really fighting, not that she had it in her before the accident to begin with.

“Does….does this happen a lot?” Cat asked as they sat watching the feeds from the security cameras in the cargo bay.

“They don’t normally end up on the ship…” Hannah said hardly blinking away from the scene “Alex likes for people to underestimate us, which makes them think they can intimidate us. A gun in the face is pretty standard…” there was a click across the radio, Hannah reached over and clicked her end twice.

“They all see the farm boy….none of them see the soldier in him”

-_-_-_-_-_

It was an interesting sensation, being pushed into the floor like that. Alex had gotten a pretty good idea what kind of man Derrick was. He was not the sort that Alex liked, but he was the sort he had to give some respect too, the same way you respected a chained dog.
From where he was he couldn’t see much, but he could see the blinking lights on the control panel for the grapple and gantry.

“That….is some very nice armor you have there” he said at last, sounding slightly muffled from under the boot “cloaking device, I bet a shield, fully sealed, quality stuff, looks pretty expensive too”

“Never got gear that nice in the service did we?” he asked, by this point Derrick probably thought he was trying to build something on the foundation of former soldiers
“Some guys think it’s because the powers that be don’t think a soldier’s life is worth all that money. I don’t buy that though. All that tech, it’s a crutch. I’m all for stopping bullets, and life support, but you get a guy in a suit he is sure can stop everything and suddenly he doesn’t feel the need to get his head down. Then someday someone has a better gun and that fancy expensive suite ends up actually getting him in trouble.”

“I mean no matter how good the gear is we are all stuck with physics right?”

And that is when things started happening; first one thousand bounds of magnetic grapple began to swing down from the ceiling released from its resting place falling in a rapidly accelerating arc along the end of its cable strait toward Derrick, second the lights went out, and third…just before it came into contact with the bounty hunter, the Gravity was switched off.

They had not had a specific plan in action when Alex went into the cargo bay because they did not know what they were walking into. But Alex had been working with Sam for years now and they had a very good rapport built up at this time. More to the point they each knew how to work together and they knew how to leave messages for each other.

However Alex had not expected the Gravity to cut out, but on this ship artificial gravity was an option in every room, he’d gotten to know the subtle feeling just before its gone all together and grabbed onto the grating in the floor to keep himself from floating away.

The short term zero gravity time would end shortly before their guest hit the wall at the far side of the cargo bay.

“Have you met Lucy?” the huge mech came active and lifted a foot pressing it against the prone hunter, just enough to keep him in place

“See?....physics”
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"...All that tech, it’s a crutch. I’m all for stopping bullets, and life support, but you get a guy in a suit he is sure can stop everything and suddenly he doesn’t feel the need to get his head down. Then someday someone has a better gun and that fancy expensive suit ends up actually getting him in trouble."

"Oh, I will drink to that," Grace said, pouring herself a shot. Then again, she was primarily a city-dweller, and in turn primarily on Earth. In the context of her career, she didn't need the tech.

"Hey, watch out, Derrick!" Ronnie exclaimed, the way one might shout at a movie. They watched as a half-ton of machinery came crashing towards him... only for the screen to go black right as it was about to hit. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth from the peanut gallery, as if their team was just about to score a game-winning touchdown in overtime.

The next thing they saw on the screen was a thermal image of Lucy pinning Derrick against the wall with her foot. They heard him grunt in pain, and the readouts on the other monitors indicated his body's displeasure.

"See what I mean, Nick?" Grace said. "No fear. Not from these kids. You could put the Big Blonde Amazon herself on that ship, they'd tell her to piss off. And they'd fight like hell. Like a mama bear."

"They ain't winnin' that fight."

"How do you know?" She turned around and leaned over the back of the chair, looking him in the eye. He did not have an answer for her.

.........................

When Derrick had first come to Jimmy in need of a suit, his main priority was something light and maneuverable. He'd been a sniper in the Corps, a natural fit for his lone wolf nature, and he felt the types of armor favored by most hunters were simply too bulky for the things he wanted to do. Jimmy had come through - he always came through. The black and gold armor he'd supplied was everything Derrick wanted and more. He could do yoga in this suit.

Of course, the trade-off was less protection than bigger, bulkier suits. It kept him alive just fine. But the hits hurt a whole hell of a lot more.

As soon as he assured himself that his ribs were not broken (though he could possibly be wrong about that) and he was able to breathe again, he started weighing his options. He had some powerful grenades with him, but if he tried that he might well blow himself up in the process. His energy pistol, also supplied by Jimmy, was starting to look like the better option.

He drew the weapon, holstered on his left hip, and tossed it into his right hand. It was a custom job, built by Jimmy himself. A standard Hydra blaster at first glance, with a snazzy magenta trim, but heavily modified upon closer inspection. He charged the weapon, electricity crackling all around it.

Derrick aimed and fired, not at Lucy, but at the magnetic grapple. The high voltage blast powered up the machine, and Lucy was yanked right off of him. At the same time, he activated his own magnetic grips, so as not to be pulled to the grapple himself. It worked, but maybe a little too well. The current pulled him forward, nearly off the wall. As his legs and shoulders protested, Derrick briefly had a mental image of his torso flying towards the magnet with his arms and legs still attached to the wall. Finally, the charge dissipated, and as Lucy dropped to the ground he allowed himself to do the same.

"Hm... physics," he quipped as he got to his feet.

Without another seconds hesitation, he zapped Alex with his blaster. It was a weaker shot, painful and enough to knock him to the ground, but wouldn't cause any real damage. Of course, if he zapped him again, he could stop his heart. And a third zap might actually get it going again.

Cool as a cucumber despite the fact that his body was hurting like hell and quite possibly damaged in places, he walked past Alex and started up the stairs. "If you won't turn this ship around," he said, holstering his blaster and drawing his pistol, "then I'll do it myself."

.........................

"Oh he's good," Grace said.

"Why didn't he just zap the mech and short it out?" Ronnie asked.

"Cause he'd still be pinned to the wall," Grace replied. "Besides, he'd probably electrocute himself too."

"He let him off too easy," said Nick. "That boy Powell needs a bullet in his head."

"Nobody's killing anybody, Nick."

"Says who?"

"Says me." Grace turned around again to meet him eye to eye. "You got a problem with that?"

He did, actually, but he wouldn't say it. Instead, he just stared her down as hard as she was to him. The tension wasn't broken until Jimmy walked into the cockpit.
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~Alissa~
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“ALEX!” Hannah screamed at the scream as her brother was shot. He’d just started getting up and the blast threw him back a bit, but he didn’t make a sound, he did however get up as the lights came back up.

-_-_-_-_-_-_

God but that hurt, Alex got up catching his breath a moment looking up the stairs and grit his teeth as he reached down picking up his own pistol and taking aim. He never pulled the trigger though, as Derrick reached the top of the stairs a pair of armored feet swung down out of the overhead connecting firmly with the hunter’s chest with enough force to at least send him down the stairs again.

Sam dropped down onto his feet and pulled what looked like a shotgun from where the stock stuck just over his left shoulder; Fired once pumped the weapon and fired again. Two blobs of what looked like tan clay had stuck to the suit with small flashing green lights imbedded in the center. The old Mercenary slowly walked down the stairs slowly.

“Lock it down Kiddo” came the gravelly voice through the faceplate of the old heavy armor. He advanced slowly on Derrick but kept himself outside of striking distance. There was a sound of the door at the top of the stairs locking with a heavy click and the lights on the panel turned from green to red.

“You alright boss?”

Alex nodded coming around to stand with his own weapon aimed at Derrick.

“You will want to drop that weapon now Mr. Rhodes; or we are going to find out what those entry charges will do to that fancy armor of yours” there was none of the previous easy going conversational tone, no humor, in fact if one was not in the room with him it would be easy to think it was not the same person. “then again we might anyway”
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Derrick didn't need an explanation; his mind was already conjuring up all sorts of horrible scenarios. They could blow holes through his armor, they could melt right through the plating, it didn't really matter. He knew the score. And that was on top of Powell aiming a weapon at him and another crew member in a heavy suit.

He knew that model well. An old, clunky bucket that was just about indestructible, which was why so many people still had them lying around. Given his current state, he wasn't so sure he matched up well against all that.

End of the road. He dropped his weapon.
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“There’s a smart move” Alex said moving over and kicking the gun away before he moved over crouching down to pick it up, he dropped it into his jacket pocket, all the while keeping his own pistol trained on Derrick.

“Alright stand up nice and slow, keep your hands where I can see them” it was beginning to become clear that this was not the first time Alex had done this. He moved around behind Derrick and started to remove the other weapons. The second pistol, the grenades he could find.

“Alright cowboy…out of the suite” he said moving toward a work table laying the confiscated weapons out neatly before moving over to where Mike still lay unconscious. The whole fight had been rather short, Alex rolled him over as he was coming too.

“Wh…What….what happened?”

Alex smirked a bit “you missed it…sleeping on the job” he held up his free hand while still keeping his gun carefully trained on Derrick’s back “how many fingers?”

“seventeen” came Mikes slightly woozy response

Alex patted his shoulder “ take her easy” he stood up and moved to one of the lockers, he opened it up and fished out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt tossing them to the floor at Derricks feet

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_


Not too long later they were out of the cargo hold and into the common area off the Galley. Sam had ditched the armor and the shotgun for a large pistol and a knife which he sat quietly sharpening on a wet stone where he could see Derrick who had been sat on a sort of couch and told to keep his hands where they could be seen. Meeting the captain’s requirement of two people watching Derrick was Cat who sat in a chair with her feet up reading a book a small pistol lying in her lap. At some point during the day she had considered the battle with her hair a loss and had just tied the red curly mess back from her face.

At the long table in the galley Mike sat with Hannah leaning over cleaning the blood from his forehead where it had made contact with Derrick’s helmet. It was perhaps fortunate for the captured hunter that the one who most wanted to shoot him was not armed.

Alex had been on the bridge checking their course, and listening to the feed from the long sword to see if he could learn anything new about their plans. He came out a short time later and moved into the kitchen.

“Well doctor what’s the prognosis?” he asked looking to Hannah who made a face “thick skull probably saved him from the worst of it, should have a medic check it when we make the station though”

Alex nodded and turned his attention to Derrick a moment taking a deep breath leaning on the counter as he seemed to consider something. “Cat, I know it’s not your turn but it seems tonight’s cook has been concussed, if you would please”

Cat blinked and nodded walking toward the kitchen, once there she began pulling this out of cabinets, some of the standard ship’s kitchen fair. But there were also real honest to goodness fresh veggies hitting the counter. Hannah wheeled over and pulled a bunch of carrots down along with a peeler setting them in front of mike “like your off the hook” she said wheeling back toward the bridge.

“Derrick! Here is the deal” he came into the common area and set an unlabeled amber bottle in front of Derrick before cracking one of his own open and sitting down in the chair Cat had vacated and taking a drink, the crisp smell of apples could be smelled coming from the hard cider.

“Legally speaking I get to shoot you and toss you out an airlock. It’s amazing how little those laws have changed in the centuries.” He said regarding the man quietly a moment “but I don’t want to do that so long as you don’t give me another reason too” he said taking a breath as if considering what to do next “I could tie you up and throw you in the hold till we make our next stop, about twenty seven hours. but that doesn’t make me a very good host”

“So the way I see it you have a couple choices. You can agree to behave yourself, accept that you are going to be watched every moment you are on my ship, that if whoever is watching you will shoot you if you give them a reason too, you can enjoy some non-hogtied laying in the dark time, you can even bunk with Sam” the Mercenary grunted but gave no other indication that he was paying attention. “We make station, I drop you off, have a conversation with your boss and we part ways like civilized adults”

He looked between the bottle and Derrick quietly “so what is it going to be?”

(( edit for spelling and grammar))
Edited by Alissa, Sep 18 2014, 05:38 PM.
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"He's not my boss," Derrick shot back with as much defiance as he could muster, which truthfully wasn't much. Overall, his whole tone and posture suggested a man who had been defeated, even as he tried to hold his head as high as he could.

"The truth is," he said, "I owe Jimmy money. A lot of money. You're right about that suit, it didn't come cheap. That's where Jimmy comes in. And I..."

He trailed off, burying his head in his hands, the most emotion he'd shown since he'd come aboard the Persephone. All of his mistakes were coming back to haunt him all at once, it seemed.

"The whole point of this job was to pay back my debt. If I don't claim this bounty, Jimmy's gonna kill me. It's that simple. The rest of his crew? They're just along for the ride. They're having a big ol' party over there, just trying figure out how to make things interesting for themselves. They don't care about me, and they don't care about the mission. And all Jimmy wants is his money. Or failing that, my head on a stick.

"So if you wanna get rid of them, easiest thing to do would be to just kill me and get it over with."
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Alex sat there blinking as Derrick crumbled in front of him; the man was clearly under an amount of stress that Alex did not quite realize. To him it made the initial presence of Derrick a great deal more dangerous on his ship; a desperate man could do anything.

“You were a sniper weren’t you” he said taking a pull of the drink in his hand before leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees looking at the bottle in his hands for a time. “The lone wolf type right? Don’t need or want anyone to depend on, no one watching your back and no one’s back to watch?”

“Do you understand how horse shit that whole idea is? And from a Marine too…” he shook his head looking up at Derrick “I wasn’t one, I won’t claim to be. But I get what you I don’t think.”

“Because you don’t think you need anyone you didn’t bother to make any friends in the Corps, am I right? Because of that you didn’t have contacts that you could have used to get that armor on your own. And so you turned to a gangster who you knew would take the money out of your hide if he had too. And when you couldn’t come up with the cash fast enough you ended up with Vega holding the sword of Damocles hanging over your head. And now with your one chance to get out from under it, to get free and clear of this whole mess you have got yourself against the one group of scrappers good enough to beat you too the goal, and stubborn enough not to back down.” He took a long drink from the bottle “that about the long and the short of it?”

Alex leaned back in his seat again “your right, the easy thing to do would be to kill you and be done with it. Except that I’ve bloodied Vega’s nose a bit in the process, and his pride is wounded now” he sighed a bit considering some of his own errors in the past few days, knowing what he knows now. “Mike, do I do things the easy way?”

“No boss you do not.”

Alex grinned a bit “then why rock the boat?” he looked back to Derrick “twenty seven hours till Archer station, I think I can come up with something by then, you might not like it” he downed the last of his cider and stood up “Meanwhile, don’t give Sam a reason to kill you…this aint over yet” he set the empty in a bin before walking towards the bridge “I gotta make a call…holler when suppers ready” and with that Alex left for the bridge.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The call went out to the Longsword

“You can pick your boy up at Archer station, we need to talk, find me at Maddie’s pub”
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The Persephone was calling, but for now, nobody was answering.

Instead, they were gathered in the back, trying to make sense of what had just happened, and trying to decide their next course of action. Truth be told, nobody had really foreseen this particular scenario. They should have, but nobody had cared enough to think too hard about it. Now they were stuck.

"We gotta go get him," Grace finally said. "We can't just leave him over there."

"Sure we can," Nick said. "His job, his mess. Let him figure it out for himself. If not, then as far as I'm concerned, mission failed. Cut our losses and go home."

"Um, excuse me, but aren't you the one who's always going on about how Marines never leave a man behind, and once a Marine, always a Marine? Or is that just more of your dumbass macho bullshit?"

"Hey, you shut your damn mouth!"

"Both of you, please?" Jimmy was surprisingly calm. He'd been seething practically since they'd left Bellingham, and although he mostly managed to maintain an even keel, they could all sense his anger boiling over. Right now though, there was none of that. He seemed relaxed for the first time in days.

"We don't leave our people behind, Nick," Grace reiterated.

"He ain't our people, Grace," Nick shot back. "He ain't one o' us. We don't owe him jack shit. How many jobs he backed you up on, huh? How many times he save your life? How many times he pick you up after basketball practice before Henry got you a car? How many times he remember your birthday when Jimmy forgot?"

"You do know I'm standing right next to you, right?" Jimmy asked.

"Don't confuse that kid for a part of this crew," Nick went on, ignoring Jimmy. "He's a deadbeat paying off his debt. Anything that happens is on his head and his alone."

"He probably don't even wanna be rescued, you ever think about that?" Ronnie hadn't said much up to now. He typically didn't contribute much to decision-making, which was just fine with him. Still, he did have his moments of insight. "I mean, he's probably over there thinking this is his ticket outta this mess. He tells 'em his whole story, convinces them to let him go, he hops a ship at the next station and goes as far away from us as he can. He's home free."

"You know what Jim, I changed my mind," Nick said. "He can't get off that easy. We gotta snatch his ass up and make sure he pays his debt."

Grace rolled her eyes at Nick, but did so with a smile. Ronnie certainly seemed pleased with himself, but they didn't seem any closer to a consensus. Jimmy said nothing, his expression unreadable, even to Grace.

"Jimmy?"

He glanced at her, but still didn't respond. Instead, he reached under one of the bunks and retrieved a bottle of bourbon.

"You guys do what you want," he finally said. "As long as it ends with either Derrick dead or me getting my money, I don't care how you get there." Then, casually as could be, he went into the bathroom and locked the door.

The Persephone was calling again. This time, Grace answered. They'd be there, she said.
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Archer station was not the sort of place that someone like Alexander Powell was supposed to know about, much less visit on a regular basis. But even legitimate jobs could be found there. And as time wore on he had developed something of a reputation on the station. To the point where Alex could safely land at the former Asteroid mine without much concern about being jumped as he went about his business, which meant he could use the location safely when he had cargo to sell, business to conduct, or just needed to take on fuel.

All Alex had been able to hear over their still active link with the longsword had been muffled voices punctuated with some shouting. They were not having their conversation on the bridge, which meant they knew they were being listened too….or that they just wanted the extra room, Alex recalled the bridge such as it was being rather cramped on that model.

Alex strolled down the ramp from the Persephone’s main cargo area with his old navy long coat on. Deep blue and hanging down to the top of his boots. He’d carefully removed the various signs of rank and outfit from the coat which left it as a serviceable if at times overly nice coat. He’d changed out of work cloths as well in favor of black slacks and a white button up shirt, he even wore polished boots. His pistol was holstered at his right hip and for the time being the weapon Derrick had shot him with (dubbed zap gun by Hannah) was at his left.

Mike stood at the base of the ramp with Derrick chuckling a bit “you got a date boss?”

“Appearances mike….it’s all about appearances with these guys” he had a message he wanted to convey without saying anything. He had discarded the cloths that had been covered in grime from work enough that they looked worn in favor of something perhaps a bit dressy for the gathering. He put a hand on each man’s shoulder and turned them to start walking.

“now I don’t know about you two but the vegetarian diet is killing me, I want a steak and a beer, lets go to Maddie’s”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“Nice” and “Hole in the wall” were not often adjectives that were used together often but Maddie’s pub pulled it off nicely. The establishment was clean the atmosphere relaxed. There were a fair number of patron’s in the bar of various walks of life all seeming to abide by an agreement to behave. Mike and Derrick had settled themselves off for a meal at the bar, each had a beer sitting in front of them along with a good meal and instructions to the bartender that they were on Alex’s tab. Alex sat alone at a table waiting for Vega to arrive and seemingly unconcerned with how long it took for the gangster to arrive as he tucked in on a sizable steak with veggies and potatoes to boot. A dark beer in a tall glass wrapped up the meal nicely for him. The whole scene was so casual it might be easy to miss that he had carefully seated himself so he could see both the front door and the hall that lead to the back exit. Or that the zap gun was sitting right beside his beer glass in easy reach. It would be difficult to tell he was expecting trouble.
Edited by Alissa, Oct 10 2014, 03:09 PM.
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The Longsword arrived at Archer station not long after the Persephone. If Alex was a welcome guest here, Jimmy was treated like a king. He'd never been to this little corner of the galaxy, but his reputation preceded him. As soon as he stepped off the ramp, he was surrounded by lackeys ready to satisfy his every need, their bosses eager to impress such a notorious gangster from Earth.

"Fix me up with your best lodgings," he said without breaking his stride, dark shades over his eyes despite the fact that they were in space. "I plan on sleeping in a real bed tonight. Send me up a burger cooked medium and a bottle of the finest Scotch you can find on this rock. And set me up with an 8 am wake-up call. I wanna make Valhalla by Sunday."

Behind him, Grace and Nick exchanged looks, both of them about to say something, and, simultaneously, both deciding that nothing needed to be said. Just give it a shrug. It was time to get to work, anyway.

.....................

Ronnie Black had a serious dilemma.

He'd been craving a meatball sub since yesterday. He didn't remember exactly how the thought had entered into his mind, but his mouth started watering almost as soon as he stepped off the ship. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to find a pizza place, and he started practically drooling right there on the counter as he scrolled through the holographic menu, at last finding the object of his desire. The meatball submarine. He wanted it, he wanted it bad.

But then again, the chicken parmigiana looked soooooo good.

He flipped back and forth between the 3D images, unable to come to a decision on which sandwich he wanted. Both of them were practically oozing with cheese and slathered with some of the most delicious-looking marinara he'd ever seen. Or maybe it he was just that hungry. Either way-

"Ronnie!" Grace smacked him on the shoulder. "Hurry up and order, we got work to do!"

"You ready?" asked the guy behind the counter.

Ronnie looked up sheepishly from the menu. "Gimme the chicken parm."

.....................

"I don't like it, Grace. I don't like it one bit."

They had a nice little view of Maddie's Pub from the little pizza place. Nick had already done a quick little scout of the place while they waited for their food. He thought he saw Powell inside, but his back was turned and he couldn't tell for sure. But that was definitely a Navy coat he was wearing.

"It's the perfect spot for an ambush," Nick went on. "Perfect spot to box us in, too. I mean, there's what, four of them, right?"

"Five," Grace replied, taking a bite of a veggie calzone. "Although that one girl Hannah is in a wheelchair."

"Right, five. And that ain't even taking into consideration the possibility that Derrick's gone and flipped on us. So we're outnumbered, probably outgunned, and likely being lured into a trap. Throw in the fact that we ain't even got time to come up with a half-decent plan... shit, we may as well just let 'em keep the kid and be done with it."

"It's not a trap. Powell is not stupid. The last thing he wants is to escalate the violence. At the same time, he's definitely not afraid of us. He'll wait for us to make our move." She turned around to look at Maddie's, watching the people going in and out for a moment. "How's your sandwich, Ronnie?"

"Delicious," he replied through a mouthful of chicken parmigiana.

"Look, we don't need a plan," Grace said. "Just go in there, hang by the door in case things go sideways, and I'll do the talking."

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there. Whatd'ya mean, you'll do the talking? I'm Jimbo's number two, I negotiate the deals when he ain't around."

"I'll do the talking," she repeated. "No offense Nick, but this is gonna take a whole helluva lot more tact than you're capable of."

"Kid's military. I can relate to him on a level you can't."

"I have boobs." She folded her arms and arched an eyebrow at him. Not that Nick often won arguments with her, but he usually didn't lose them this hard.

.....................

"I'm here among my people!"

Ronnie Black stood at the entrance to Maddie's, his arms outstretched, basking in the shamrocks and dark frosty brews. Though he could have just as easily have been referring to the thugs and lowlifes that populated the station.

"Yo, bartender!" he bellowed, striding up to the bar. "Pour me a pint of the thickest, darkest, most Irish lager in the house. And uhh..." he nodded over towards Mike and Derrick, over at the end of the bar, "send those boys another round of whatever they're drinking, on me."

"They're both on Captain Powell's tab," replied the bartender. "Talk to him."

Ronnie had to stop for a second, and mull over what the man had just told him. Did he really just do him like that? He looked over his shoulder and saw Powell sitting at a table, having a beer. Probably the same one that Ronnie had just ordered. He turned back to the bartender and smiled, and took a c-note out of his wallet, setting it down on the bar.

"Okay, I'm gonna say that last part again, only this time, you're gonna say, 'Sure thing, Mr. Black, anything you say.' So... send those boys another round of whatever they're drinking, on me."

"Sure thing, Mr. Black." The man didn't waste any time snatching up the cash. "Anything you say."

As Ronnie got his beer, Nick came into Maddie's. He had the look of man looking to mix it up with someone, although A, that was how he looked most of the time, and B, it was really no different from a significant portion of the people around this station anyway. He took a table near the entrance, his purpose clear to anyone paying attention.

Finally, Grace made her way inside. Like Nick, she looked right at home on this station. Lots of tattoos, wild colors in her hair, ripped up jeans, as if she'd set out to do the exact opposite of Powell. Then again, the way she walked, the way she nonchalantly glanced at him as she strutted up to the bar... clearly she'd been thinking along the same lines. Just not in the way she dressed.

She ordered herself a gin and tonic. Ronnie informed the man that she was on his tab and to pour him another one. Once she had her drink in hand, she went over to Alex's table.

"Hey there," she said, settling into the chair across from him. "You're looking sharp."

Grace lit herself a cigarette, in no hurry whatsoever. She locked eyes with him for a moment, then looked down at the weapon lying on the table beside his plate, then back up at him. She offered him a smile that wasn't at all reassuring.

"Do you know what that is? That's a piece of alien engineering. The people who invented that were traveling the stars while we were still building pyramids. Jimmy's one of the few people who understands how their weapons work, and he built that gun using their technology." She looked down at the gun again, and if he'd done his homework like she had, he'd rightly be wary of her right now.

"These guns are one of the reasons Jimmy is who he is."

She smiled at him again, still vaguely threatening. She herself didn't appear to be armed, though as far as Grace was concerned that was a mere detail.

"So... we send Derrick over to raise hell on your ship, which he does admirably. You capture him, and by now have probably learned the circumstances of his association with Jimmy. And now you're just... giving him back to us." She leaned in closer, her eyes boring deep into him. "Why?"
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