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"Emily, just calm down." Jin says as he walks over "Don't do anything hasty, just come over here and lets have a snack, alright?" he continues as he beckons her away from the ladder.
Emily stared up at the gun and froze. She processed what Ayda was saying, and focused on every word -- trying to get a read on the lashunta before responding.
"Jin, have Cassius send us a positional fix every hour. Whose side is Rollo taking?"
Ayda is equal parts furious and scared.
Emily took a slow, deep breath to calm herself. Anger and fear were exactly what she was feeling as well, and two people who were angry and scared would make for a volatile conversation. "Look, we need to take a breath and talk this through," she said. "You, Jin, Amaryst...talk. They need that money to get the ship, and get us ID's...and, well, they know a lot more about that than I do. So talk to them. And if you still don't care and you just want to go to Beijing, you don't need to kidnap us to bring along. Pointing that gun at me and locking us up are NOT necessary."
"I did talk to her. She wasn't very forthcoming, and she's contradicting herself." says Ayda. "The money's for IDs, which we're bypassing with this stupid plan to do a mid-ocean pick-up."
"For which, by the way, we do need things which are not money and are not being acquired." She points an accusatory finger in Emily's face. "You talk some sense into your friends until they decide to share what their plan is."
Emily winced, and tried to keep her own feelings in check. "Just stop the craft. Please," she said. "I know you're angry, and you're scared. I am too. But you're the one scaring me right now, and I know you just want answers, but I don't have them and I can't get them while I'm in the middle of being kidnapped. Stop the craft. Put the gun away. Please."
She heaves a big groan, the pair of lashunta sling their rifles over their shoulder. Ayda disappears for a moment and the engine on the hovercraft winds down, leaving it at a stop.
"Ok, now what?"
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”Wow. I didn’t expect... good job Emily.” Jin says, a bit flabbergasted that she was able to talk them down ”That was an impressive de-escalation you managed there.” he says, obviously caught quite off guard by that display of skill.
When the two Lashunta return he walks over next to the ladder and talks up to them ”Come on down and I can explain what they are doing” he says as he messages Cross and Amaryst back.
While Cross and Amaryst rumble over to Rex's house to acquire some equipment (the old gangster gives it to them on loan - a small fast hovercraft of his own and a shirren-eye rifle with a dozen rounds) and then to the docks to get on board the hovercraft, they receive another message from Jin. Apparently everything is fine?
They also receive another message from Ayda. "Your friends here are persuasive. I've stopped the boat. So, tell me, what are you doing for me to keep me from going ahead with this plan?"
Emily breathed a sigh when the situation defused, and her tension practically deflated as the craft came to a stop. When Ayda asked what was next, Emily half-shrugged -- not really certain where this whole thing would go. "I guess you can come down here," she said. "Jin can call Amaryst and put her on the speaker-thing so we can all talk. If you're still not happy then we can talk about where we go from there. Okay?"
Emily didn't react much to Jin's praise, as she found a place to seat herself out of the way. She only offered a wan smile. "It wasn't much... You an Amaryst have the hard job, now."
Cross preps his borrowed rifle quietly. It was the sort of large caliber weapon that was technically classified as an anti-materiel rifle, meaning it was not supposed to be used against personnel in a theatre of war but rather used against enemy equipment. The only part of that that mattered to Cross was that it was a large caliber rifle.
When Amaryst was settled on the boat, he took it out onto the waves, reaching the point where the other hovercraft set out and following the assumed course easily enough. If anything, piloting a boat was easier than he expected. Open water was mostly free from obstacles and only really being concerned with navigating a two dimensional space was simplicity itself.
"You don't seem to be grasping something," Cross sent back, "You're not going through with any plans. I expect you and your men out on deck and unarmed. Mr. Larson? Would you be so kind as to help them disarm?"
Cross receives a simple message back. It just says - 'Fine.'
On the hovercraft, Ayda grumbles with frustration. "Hold this, will you?" she and Savael hand their guns down into the hold. "your friends aren't happy with us. I'd rather not have a gun battle out here in the open like this... especially if they're serious."
Cross and Amaryst arrive shortly on their fast boat. The lashunta's hovercraft hadn't gone too far out before they stopped. Ayda and Savael are standing up on deck. They've brought the box of their battle-bot up on deck as well - it's de-activated. Ayda waves sarcastically. "We don't want to fight," she shouts. "but what do you want from us? You want to just jerk us around while we wait for you?"
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Jin sighs as the situation begins to unfold ”I had intended nothing of the sort. I would have preferred a normal conversation to solve things. This whole... debacle, is just going to strain things..” he says aloud, partially to Ayda and partially just talking at this point ”You know we aren’t your enemies right? We all just want to get away from this horrid rock these humans call a world.” he finishes as he turns to look at Ayda with a dissatisfied look, his voice tinged a mixture of sincerity, melancholy, and regret.
Cross keeps his rifle trained on Ayda as he boards the other hovercraft.
"Seems clear enough to me, we cannot and should not trust you anymore. One way of dealing with this problem springs to mind. Amaryst? You brought them in, what do you think?"
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”Cross, that’s going a bit far don’t you think?” Jin says as he turns to the Cored man ”We’ve all been under a lot of stress. Just calm down and let’s not burn bridges without good reason.” he continues as he gestures to Ayda ”She got scared, she didn’t know what was happening and threats are everywhere on this planet for all of us. It’s not like she refused to see reason either. She listened when Emily talked to her.” he points out, coming to Ayda’s defense.
"You'll notice I didn't shoot her as soon as I boarded," Cross said simply, no annoyance or spite in his words. He was not particularly good at dealing with people so he found frankness the best course.
Emily was surprised when Ayda and Savael handed over their weapons, in a complete surrender. It was an even bigger relief when Amaryst and Cross showed up. Tensions weren't quite over yet, though... Emily frowned when Cross came onboard with weapons drawn, with barely-veiled threats. "No one is shooting anyone," she said. "I saw too many Lashunta die getting us out of the facility, we can work this out without violence."
(fails)
"Emily is right. " Amaryst straightens up from tying off the two vessels. [b]"We need everyone if we're going to make this work. Let's go inside and we'll lay it all out."{/b]
Ayda crosses her arms. "Fine. You don't want to work together? You should've told us when we first met. Take your friends, we'll make our own way."
Diplomatic words do little with a gun trained in their faces.
"They want to work with you. I think you're a liability. However, I don't have a ship and so I listen to them," Cross said, the group consensus having shifted away from his choice decisively. He studiously shifted the barrel of his gun skyward and away from any targets. There was no resistance, the group had made a decision and he had hitched himself and K-Van to this group as the best chance to get off-world. He would follow. It was the sort of group-mentality that living in limited numbers in the most hostile environment imaginable molds you to.
"Go talk, I'll take my borrowed gear back. Give me a ring when you've talked things out but please don't give them back their guns until we have assurances they're not going to pull another bone-headed move like this again." He might not resent the others for not agreeing with his more direct approach to the problem of the mercs but he certainly did not hold Ayda in high regard. As far as he was concerned this whole even had been an impressively petulant display, made even more so by the lives it risked.
He went back to the borrowed hovercraft and stowed the rifle in an out of sight compartment.
Ayda looks between Cross and the rest of the group, visibly relieved that Cross is no longer pointing a gun at her face. "What the f@#~," she says, "is going on."
Savael is just leaning up against a bulkhead, watching. "It seems like they're jerking us around," he says. "Maybe we should just go our own way. People with a hair trigger who don't bring you into their plans maybe aren't the best allies."
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"This was all a rather large misunderstanding on all of our parts. So let's just do the sensible thing and talk it out alright?" Jin offers diplomatically as he anxiously looks back and forth between Ayda, Amaryst, and Cross "How about we just go down into the hold and eat or something while we clear things up? We can tell you the parts of our plan to get off this rock that evidently got missed, and then once we are finally out of the Earth Government's reach we can see how we want to continue. Does that sound alright for everyone?"
"Cross, you look a bit dinged up. Want me to take a look at things while we talk? I'm just as much an engineer as I am a doctor." he offers the Cored man.
"It can wait for now, I need to run this stuff back to the guy I borrowed it from. He's the kind of guy who appreciates promptness and someone I am keen to keep on the good side of even if I leave the planet," Cross said from where he made ready to leave for now.
"Also, I'm don't think unzipping while tensions are this high would be a good idea. Talk, I'll make myself scarce for a bit, that should relax things a little."
Emily was also relieved when Cross put the gun away, but rolled her eyes at Ayda and Savael's responses. "Come on, guys." She slumped her shoulders, and gave the pair an exasperated look. "That attitude isn't helping, either. He pointed a gun at you? Well, you pointed a gun at me. And tried to kidnap us. Can we get past what happened, and talk about what happens next, instead?" She gestured down into the hold. "Let's just follow Jin, okay?"
Maldor wants to help, and even lets his healing energy wash over the group to see if that helps relive some stress...
"Let's get down to business. First, we're almost broke. Cross has a race tomorrow night that offers us a chance to make some cash at small risk. The bike is good to go, and Cross is a good rider.
Second, I have enemies trying to keep me from my ship. The family of the last owner think the ship still belongs to them, and they've hired thugs to keep me away. So we'll need to fight our way on board. Four people ought to do it.
Third, before we can drop into the atmosphere we need a transponder from an atomosphere licensed ship. Otherwise we'll have fighters on our tail in minutes. Earth takes the drift drive restriction very seriously. Taking and installing a transponder is going to require some serious tech skills. I was hoping Jin, Korvan or Smyrna would be able to help. We haven't heard from Smyrna. That leaves Jin, or Korvan.
I think the space team goes up the morning after the race. We steal a transponder somehow. Only after we have that can we make a play for my ship. The sea team sits tight and waits for the call that we're coming. If you don't get the call in five days, assume we've been caught.
Any comments?"
Ayda sighs. "Just that you'd better win that race."
"We'll be ready. However, if you want people to be on your 'space team', you'd better take them with you now. We should set off quite awhile before we're supposed to be meeting you, to take us as far as we can get away from prying eyes. That means we won't be available for any pickups or dropoffs."
"I'm willing to do either - keep an eye on Maldor or come with you. I bet I could get the transponder out of a shuttle. If we take it out of an active one, it could even create a pretty good distraction."
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"You'll need Cross piloting the ship. I should probably stay here and keep an eye on the ship and the psychics along with your friend." Jin pointed out as he took part in the mission planning "Regardless Ayda, it'd probably be best for you and Rollo to go along since you two are more combat-capable than I, in addition to any tech skills you may have."
Ayda shakes her head. "I'm not leaving my hardware and my man," she says, patting Savael on the shoulder, "behind. You can take Rollo, but I'm in charge of this craft here."
"Is there anything Mal and I can do to help?" Emily asked. "Most of you wouldn't even be in this mess, if you weren't helping us. We'll do anything if we can." She shifted a quiet glance Jin's way -- not wanting to volunteer him, but well aware the others might need his help, too. "And... Jin, you don't need to sit this out just to watch over us. It sounds like you'd know more about that beacon thing than anyone else. We'll be okay."
Emily glanced around a moment. "Oh, and where's K-Van?" She asked.
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"While it stands that both of your abilities are quite incredible. The issue is that we can't afford to get you documentation to get to a starport without incurring some other much larger risks." Jin pointed out to Emily, before continuing "I am also less of a fighter than Korvan or the Lashunta are. So i wouldn't be as useful in a battle against the thugs guarding Amaryst's ship." Jin finishes, but it's clear there is something more to it...
Ayda shakes her head. "I'm not leaving my hardware and my man," she says, patting Savael on the shoulder, "behind. You can take Rollo, but I'm in charge of this craft here."
Amaryst emits a soft choked off -- titter?
"Is the final ship crew Korvan, Cross, Rollo, and I?" Amaryst asks, hesitantly. "We'll pick up Smyrna too, if she contacts us."
"Are any of you coming to the race? We all have a stake in it, and more eyes can help make sure the race stays fair."
"Maybe we should stay out here - out of the way and the camera's eyes..." Maldor says.
"There won't be any cameras at the race, at least not official ones. But it's up to you."
"I'd like to go!" Emily blurted out, at the chance to see the race. "I mean... If it won't be too much of a risk."
Ayda speaks up - "I'd want you to leave right after so that we could get going early in the morning. If you can handle that, I've no objection."
"We can handle that."
Mal grins, catching Emily's infectious enthusiasm. "Cool!"
Ayda and Cross both pilot their boats back to shore, where everyone except for the two lashunta terrorists get off. Cross returns to Rex in order to return the shirren-eye rifle and then everyone heads to a hotel or Cross' house in order to rest.
Smyrna is nowhere to be seen. Honestly, nobody knows where she is.
The next day is a flurry of preparations. Cross and the others meet up with the Fergus Brothers and head out to the water treatment plant in order to set up for the race. The Brothers set loose their plethora of camera drones and begin to set up the viewscreens. A small group of scouts maps out a route, and sets up barricades. As the evening rolls in, more contestants and people to watch roll in. The Fergus Brothers choose the old supervisor's office near the top of the building for the spectators, and set up their viewscreens inside.
Some of the other contestants are familiar sights. Others are not, though Cross has heard of all of them. George is there, as are Missile and the Dominator from the previous race. In addition, there is a racer from China known as Yu and a racer from Formerly Great Britian known as Simon. Yu and the Dominator are known to be neck-and-neck in terms of raw skill (and definitely better than Cross). Cross knows that Simon is about as good as him, and that both him and the Dominator have a tendency to pull guns on their opponents during races in a dirty attempt to win quickly.
There was a lot to worry about. Smyrna was MIA, Simon was looking twitchier that usual, there were three pieces of walking and talking contraband in the audience, not to mention the remains of an alien black ops team. It was frankly a nightmare of interlocking concerns and potential disaster.
Cross was not, however, worrying. Outside of a quick greeting to the rest of his crew and fist bumping George in passing, he had simply checked over his bike and mounted up, spending the relatively long stretch until the race started listening to NeuroNet Agri-dub and tapping his fingers on the handlebars of his beloved cycle. A few text-only messages hit the others after a few moments.
Eyes open guys, I play fair when it comes to racing but the others don't always feel the same way. Anyone up for being my guardian angel today?
Amaryst spends an hour in the morning making calls from her comm to try to track down Smyrna. She'd spend longer, but she doesn't know that many people on earth.
Then she tackles Rollo about the rifle. She wants anyone who's interested to have a shoot off. The high scorer gets the rifle for the night. Late morning would be spent popping of a few rounds in that contest.
Just before leaving for the course, she pulls the team together to distribute the grenades. "Use these only in a firefight at the race, or as a last resort to escape. On the way there, we'll move in small groups separated by a short distance just like when we left Jin's house the other day."
Before the race, she'd like two teams. One to watch the pits and one, with the rifle, to set up at a key vantage point identified by Cross and Amaryst during their recon. Once the racers take their starting marks, she's going to hang out at the vantage point.
Just before the race she replies to Cross' text.
Can angles have antennae?
Well, Maldor?
Rollo is definitely the best shot among you, although he isn't that much better than Cross is. Because of that, he takes the rifle and hangs out with Amaryst on the maintenance scaffolding that they're setting up shop on.
K-Van tags along as well, not that he has much choice other than to be left alone. He begins cheering for Cross just about immediately. For a long time before the race starts, he's shouting and cheering.
The race starts in just a few minutes. The other racers join Cross at the start line. George claps Cross on the shoulder before mounting his own bike. Cross notices that everyone is packing.
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On race day Jin has the psychics down in the Pit with him. Setting up some screens and snacks for them while he prepares for the race. Getting his tools in order so he can patch Cross’s bike up when it rolls in.
I’m better at fixing then guarding. I’ll do my best to patch any damage you get though. he replies to the text.
Maldor was headed to the pit anyway, and was actually happy that Jin was going to be there, too.
To Cross' text, he sends back - If you can make it back to the pit, I'll do what I can to fix you...
To Amaryst, he sends - Though all of the pictures I've seen of angels show them as humans with wings, who can say what they actually look like. Or even if they can choose their physical appearance...but I would pick you as my guardian angel if I could!
Just before the race, Maldor will stand close to Cross and reach his hands out over him without actually touching him. He bows his head, closes his eyes, and intones a prayer for protection and guidance. He makes sure it is loud enough for the other racers to hear. But at the end, he whispers a few extra phrases, and Cross begins to glow with a soft, bluish-white light! "You have God's protection, now, Cross!" he will say with a sense of awe and wonder...
Cross should have reacted more harshly, even Maldor might pick up on that. Instead he just fixed the experiment with a look rendered enigmatic by his helmet.
"Don't need any gods butting in, kid. This is about me and them. My body against theirs. Whoever wins, wins,"