Summary: The crew lands on Harvest as planned, only to be greeted in an armed and unfriendly sort of way. Quinn heads out to negotiate. To be continued (see The Black and future chat updates).
Shaiyat had been rather quiet for most of the trip once they drew nearer to Harvest. It'd been a long three week trip to get there, and the bigger the chance of them running into trouble the more jumpy the pilot got. The last week he hardly left the cockpit at all, or slept for that matter. Anyhow, they were far off the grid now. Shaiyat swore space got colder out this far, and darker to boot. Javan on the other hand was the opposite. He was friendly, open and usually could be found play some little tune on his guitar in the mess hall. He helped out with most of the more mundane tasks including dishes, laundry and the like. The ship made it without any big problems, little glitches that Nar could certainly patch up until they were in more civilized space. For the first time in weeks the entirety of <i>Vega</i> shuddered, the constant hum of the engine increasing throughout. The ship shook again, certainly enough to knock things around as Shai sped up some to compensate for breaking through Harvest's atmosphere. “Might want'ta hang on...” The pilot announced over the comm system a bit too late. “We'll be land bound soon enough.” It was a rough ride through the small moon's sky, but the pilot did the best he could to keep from knocking the crew around...too much. The roller coaster ride through the wind ended with a thud, >Vega's landing gear coming out with a loud creak and another vibration through the ship before she came to a stop finally...the engine's whine slowly dieing out. “Sorry 'bout that...” Shai apologized over the comm system before he finished shutting everything down.
[Quinn] Three weeks had passed since the crew left Bellerophron behind. Although going into Reaver territory caused some tension on board, everything went smoothly, and they had yet to so much as see one of the macabre ships. Quinn's injury was healing quickly and she was back to walking without the support of her crutch, the new leg from Nar seeming to improve her balance and strength. The growing season had just ended on Harvest, the patchwork landscape reduced to a dusty brown color. The weather had been particularly cruel this year, hot winds tearing soil from the earth once plantlife was no longer acting to anchor it down. Several dust devils could be seen from the air as the Vega made its final approach. Farmland opened up into a golden meadow-scape, the tall, burnt grass dancing rhythmically with the wind. Coordinates lead the ship to the far side of the moon, away from the majority of civilization, to the point where it may seem as though the directions were a mistake. At the foot of a small grouping of hills sat a tiny village, crude houses sheltered from the sun by a scattering of tall willows. A small stream ran through the establishment, a handful of people and a small herd of goats completing the scene. It appeared an unlikely place for Dupont's supposed rebel clan, but the spot coordinated with the directions the crew had been given. The grass around the village had been completely stomped down, the ground beneath it glinting oddly in some places. Quinn made her way to the cockpit after landing and peered out at the little scene skeptically. “This right?” she questioned, the answer coming a second later as a rough male voice filtered in through the comm system. “State your business, Firefly.” Quinn quirked a brow, again looking out at the village. Most of the people had vanished save two men standing guard on either side of a small house on the outskirts.
XinTou was sitting in the sickbay, focusing very intently on something. Something small. He looked as if he were applying sutures to a small animal. But when someone got closer, they'd be able to see that the doctor was, in fact, mending a small tear in one of his dress shirts. Although the sight looked hilariously domestic, he was far from Suzie Q. Homemaker. Although he was making an earnest effort of it, he seemed inept when it came to simple sewing. No matter what he did, it looked like his shirt had suffered an injury and was getting stitches. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he reached for the seam ripper and undid his work for about the third time today. However, other than that, the doctor seemed relatively unstressed, although he was thinking about something. He was relaxing in his white tank top and black slacks, and his hair had been left to its corkscrewy devices today. That, combined with his still smooth face from Halloween, made the doctor look uncomfortably younger than he usually came off.
His ever-tired eyes were the only dead give-aways. "Tzao gao!" He cried out as he stabbed himself with the needle due to the bumpy landing. In a couple of minutes, he headed up to the Vega's cockpit, sucking on his index finger. "Someone please tell our fearless pilot to give us a head's up next time, plea-?" Oh. Grown-ups were talking.
Kasai had kept quiet for most of the trip, aside from the occasional chat with the friendly crew members, and had spent the majority of his time either exercising or meticulously cleaning the seemingly endless arsenal of weapons he had stocked in his room. Blades had been sharpened and polished; pistols had been taken apart, cleaned, and put back together; and he had even been working at what one could only explain as light body armor for part of the trip. Currently he was slowly polishing down the barrel of rifle, the various pieces of it laying about on the bed he never slept in. Then the ship jerked once. That was all right, nothing had moved. He continued through the motions, not expecting the secondary bump and the many that came afterwards. Normally graceful in a bumpy ride, the merc couldn't help but yell out as he toppled over and all the small parts of his rifle slid off the bed and onto the floor. "Jigoku no noroi watashi!" He pulled himself up, placing a hand on his forehead where he had smacked himself on the bedpost. He glanced in the mirror, removing his hand and revealing a large red spot. "Oh come on!" His voice echoed towards the cockpit. "This better not bruise, pilot!" He shook his head and slowly began to search for the many tiny pieces of his rifle that were now mostly hidden underneath the very same bed that had just tarnished his devilish good looks for the day.
Shaiyat flicked a few switches above his head, squinting his one eye at the largest screen in front of him, the back out of the cockpit's large windows...and back again. “Number's are right Quinn...not much else looks it. 'less we're pickin' up a different kinda kid...”He chuckled a little, nodding towards the distant herd of goats. He seemed just as confused as the captain until the voice broke through the speaker. The pilot jumped some in his seat before he leaned forward, mashing the near-by button as he answered. “Prior business. Picking up transport. Looking to send something?” The pilot figured that was a safe enough answer, seeing as they were on a ship made for such things. He sent a concerned look Quinn's way as he let go of the speaker. “We can always high-tail it out if we find ourselves in the wrong spot...” He tried to sound more reassuring as Xin entered. “Rougher entry than I figured...” He sent an apologetic smile the doctor's way just in time to hear Kasai's muffled yelling from his room down the hall. He laughed a little. “Much rougher I guess....”
Quinn glanced distractedly back to the doctor when he entered. “Yer in charge, Xin, til Shai and myself get back from meeting-” The captain had yet to finish when another voice came through the comm system, this one female and with a hint of power behind it. “All crew will exit and present unarmed. Your cooperation is recommended.” A small red light on one of the control panel screens lit after the woman had finished, accompanied with a warning bing! notifying the crew they were being targeted by seemingly invisible weaponry. “...What in the hell is goin' on?” Quinn demanded to no one in particular, appearing a little startled. “This turns out to be another gorram Brown I'm gunna kill those two.” This time it wasn't an empty threat – there would be hell to pay for Kelsey and Maysen if this went south, which seemed likely. The red light flashed for emphasis. Quinn looked about ready to explode with frustration as she leaned forward and spoke to the woman on the other end. “This is Driscol, captain of the Vega. No way I'm riskin' my crew til I know we're friendly. Just here to pick up with Dupont wanted. Meet me out 'n we'll talk.” No answer came but the warning light stayed lit. “Slightest hint of trouble, fire her up 'n get out of here.” Quinn made her way down to the cargo bay, keeping her pistol and knives where they were.
XinTou waved off Shaiyat's apology, having only been kidding in the first place. He folded his arms across his chest as he listened to the pilot and the man in the speaker converse tersely. Then, suddenly, he was in charge. Then, suddenly, he wasn't. At the authorative female's voice, the doctor's eyes widened and he looked as if he shared Quinn's sentiment of "what the hell". His hands automatically began to reach for the back of his head, out of habit of hearing the "weapons are being are being aimed at you" noise. He looked to Quinn apprehensively. "Need a strong male presence by your side? Or, in lieu of that, a moderately not weak male presence?" He wasn't going to pretend that this whole thing wasn't somewhat discomforting, but it bothered him a lot more to see Quinn go out by herself. When she didn't respond, he slid quietly after her, perhaps even going unnoticed.
Kasai didn't have much time to search for his rifle parts, as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up at the resounded silence that followed the overly rough landing. He made his way to the ladder out of his room, peaking his head out the open door as Quinn passed. "- the hells is goin' on, <I>capitaine<i>? Get another sour deal?" He rested his arms on the floor, propping himself up as Xin slithered past after the captain. The merc shook his head, not planning on going after the woman since that's not what he had been tasked with doing. Never the less he threw on his jacket and armed himself, looking quite ridiculous as he moved towards the cockpit to try and get an idea of what was going on. He stood quietly behind Shai, wearing nothing but his jacket and a pair of brown slacks. After a moment of scanning through the windows, he spoke solemnly to the pilot. "I hope your friend's golden gabber can get them to turn their guns off before this heap of scrap becomes just that."
Shaiyat's calm was broken by the sound of the ship's weapon tacking system going off. The pilot had made sure to have such installed as it did them little good to have weaponry on Vega and no idea when to use it. Or where to shoot. Anyhow, as soon as it went off the pilot's face fell. “Think we're in the right spot.” He mumbled before tapping at the view screen in front of him and trying to pin point just where they were being targeted from. The captain being on edge just put him even more so. But he was going to stay in the cockpit and be useful this time damnit! “You won't be down there without guns, alright Driscol?” He called out as she moved away, nodding towards Xin earnestly as well even if Quinn gave him an answer. The doctor had proved himself adept in these situations in the past and he felt better knowing she wasn't going alone. The woman on the other line sounded intense...about that time Kasai came in. The pilot gave him a quick wave, not taking his eye off the screen in front of him. “This heap of scrap has three cannons on 'er...” He answered almost absently at first. “ They ain't the only ones with guns.” He frowned, motioning towards the co-pilot's seat. “Why don't ya plant yerself there? May need a hand if this does get ugly. Just trying ta pick up a kid...things are so crazy any more everyone's gotta shoot first and ask later.”
