POOHEAD189

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

As Sayeeda walked into the cockpit, she would hear the distress message playing over the Comm.

"Hello. I am Prince Amalric of the planet Dar'monad. If anyone recieves this transmission, my retainers and I are stranded on this planet, what my navigator has told me is XL897 of the Mu Cephei system...Please, if anyone is out there. We are in need of aid. You will be rewarded and given status, if only you would help us. Please..."

"Goddamn, that's..." Neil began, shaking his head. "Even if they're dead or not, we should check it out. Even the bones of royalty is worth millions."

When Neil noticed Sayeeda, he flipped the switch and began recoursing the navigational system of the Highlander. "I had Lonney scan the transmission and we can count the iterations." He said, pointing at the display monitor. "It's probably centuries old though. I've come by two other lost transmissions, and it usually leads to dead people. Lonney, bring up the iteration count." Immediately 1639 popped up on the display, causing Neil to blink.

"What?" He said, somewhat stunned. "Lonney, how long is the message?"

"twenty two seconds"

"What is twenty two times 1640"

"36080" Lonney replied.

"I..." Neil shook his head, doing quick math in his own head. Impressively he was somewhat of a mathematical savant when he had the inclination to be, but he needed to calculate this for himself. "Ok well...unless Lonney and I have both messed up, this transmission is just ten hours old. That is statistically impossible..." As his voice trailed away, Neil began to chuckle in disbelief, soon giving way to a full blown laugh.

"On your orders Captain, let's go get rich."
@Penny

The Elder Scrolls: Vengeance of the Deep

Alim and Anifaire

A LadyTabris & POOHEAD189 collab

---

A few days earlier...

The Altmer woman took one more turn, stepping into another alleyway, glancing around to read the signs. With a sigh, she squinted at the nearest one, an alchemy shop. Had she been by here before? She couldn't tell. Looking around her, she tried to find any landmarks she recognized, to no avail. Frustrated, she sat down on some storage barrels near the shop.

Anifaire knew how to get a handful of places - a few shops, the bank, those sorts of things - but only from the University. Without the landmark, she found she had no clue how to find her way back to that part of the town. Suddenly, she wished she had spent more time in the city. Fear had always held her back from it. Thugs robbing a rich Altmer lady didn't seem unlikely, and even now the though occured to her, though it sounded less fightening in comparison to the Dwemer ruin ordeal.

As it was, she managed not to be too afraid, sitting on the barrels, trying to make sense of where she was in reference to the shop signs around her.

Unfortunately for her, she was noticed by a few fellows of an unsavory sort with their eyes trailing on her for more reasons than one. She was quite a bit taller than most of the crowd traversing the city. Her pretty face and obvious wealth sent alarm bells through the up and coming gang of ruffians, freshly immigrated from the wars in the North.

However, as fate would have it, she had also caught the attention of someone else. Someone who was an enigma to the oft sheltered Altmer. The dashing Alim had taken to the local marketplace, casually eyeing the merchandise and shops as he waded through the packed streets. He decided he wasn't in the mood to thieve today, feeling his surviving the exploding mountain pressed his luck far more than he was comfortable. Instead, he decided to spent a bit more than usual, tossing a few Gold coins a fruit vendors way before taking his pick of the stock. But Alim wasn't going to eat his assortment of food on the ground, and instead made his way atop one of the many buildings overlooking the marketplace to enjoy his meal.

The apples were quite good, but the peaches were to die for. He was just about to skin his last peach, a small knife in his hands as he began to peel the soft skin off when he noticed a movement down below sticking out like a sore thumb.

On second glance, it was quite a beautiful sore thumb. A sore thumb nearly seven feet tall, resplendent in a rich dress. He had never actually gotten to speak to Anifaire more than a few encounters, their being completely different people. But he wasn't above admiring a pretty Altmer, and he simply ate his peach and watched over her until she sat down atop a barrel below him, looking defeated.

After a moment, he realized she had to be lost. He was about to capitalize on the situation and maybe surprise her and amuse her with a few tricks as he helped her find her way, but fate threw another curve ball. The spellsword blinked as several gentlmen he would describe as 'thugs' materialized out of the crowd and began to slowly surround her, blocking any view from the street. Two were wearing hoods, but if Alim had to guess it was three Imperials, a Khajiit and a Breton.

"Might you be lost, miss?" The Breton asked, a dangerously mischeivous edge to his voice.

As the thugs slowly boxed her in, Anifaire jumped up from her barrel. She barely made it one step before she was cut off by a large Breton man. In an attempt not to seem frightened, she straightened her back, using her height to her advantage. She was nose to nose with the man, but he still had far more strength than she did.

Briefly, Alim wondered how these thugs could ger away with messing with someone in daylight, even in an alleyway. He'd thought the Imperial City wasn't as lax in their guardsmen. Either way, he wasn't about to let this happen to a comrade. Breathing in, he stretched his arms a bit and braced his hands on the building's ledge.

"No," she replied. "Just enjoying the day. If you don't mind, I'll just be on my way." She moved to step around him, but he stepped in tune with her to block her path again. She frowned, considering how to get out of the situation, but she couldn't see any way out. There were four more of them, blocking her off from the street. Were they after her coin? Nervously, she reached up and covered the jewelled necklace at her throat.

The Breton gave a grin, and held a knife. "Now now, don't get greedy on us..." and he reached for the necklace.

Suddenly, he felt a hand grip his arm and the men around him, too busy focusing on blocking the outer alley view, gave a start. It probably looked like Alim had materialized out of thin air to Anifaire, as he'd landed behind her and slipped under her arms to block the Breton's grab.
"Whoa now," Alim said. "Is that anyway to help a lady? Offer to aid her and then ask for payment immediately?"

Anifaire nearly jumped in shock at his arrival, at first glance assuming him to be another assailant. With relief, she noted who he was, from the expedition: Alim, the strange one.

He let the incredulous stares and open mouth astonishment of his appearance hang as he casually unhanded the dagger from the Breton and handed it to Anifaire, as if it had belonged to her all along. "Thank you so much for your assistance, either way. I was looking for her all over."

"You was...what?" one of the Imperials asked, a brutish looking man with scarred hands and a ruddy complexion.

"You know her?" The Breton asked, eyeing Alim's sword and his obvious skills of sneaking. This mark was looking a bit less easy now than they had originally thought. For his part, the dashing young spellsword placed a hand on his chest and gave the lady Altmer a longing look. "Alas yes, she is my fiance." he declared, before leaning over and whispering to the Breton. "She's a tad slow in the head." Of course, her Elvish ears allowed her to hear every word.

Too stunned to react, she slowly processed the words "a tad slow in the head" as she daintily held the dagger as though it would stab her of its own accord. She scrambled to confirm what was being said, relieved to see a familiar, if odd, face.

"I- um- there you are!" she stuttered. She glanced at the men around her nervously to see if they were backing off. The Altmer stepped hesitantly behind Alim, just wanting to avoid the Breton man. Fiance? This guy? She held her breath, hoping the deception was enough. But, really, would they believe that? Her? And this... She nearly shook her head, but stopped herself.

"It does my heart wonders to see her safe," the Spellsword said with relief, and tossed a gold peice to the Breton with a subtle flick, followed by patting the cheek of the closest Imperial. The Khajiit tilted its head in confusion as Alim's feather spell on the gold coin suddenly took effect, and the wealth halted in midair, before floating further within the alley as if a powerful gust of wind redirected its course. All of the thugs but the Breton chased after it.

"Now, if you'll excuse us kind sir, me and the misses must be going." Alim said, hooking his arm around Arinfaire's and escorting her out of the alleyway into the more crowded market. "Let's go dear. We've many things to do today."

Anifaire blinked a few times in the direction of the floating coin as she was dragged off by her rescuer. She mumbled an uncertain "of course" as they moved away from the alleyway and into the crowds. Once safely in the middle of things, Anifaire stopped Alim by the arm and offered him the dagger, held out in front of her as though it might burn.

Alim took a respectful step back, and then took the dagger off her hands. He flipped it, allowing the blade to spin once over before he grabbed the blade between his thumb and forefinger. "You know, the way things are you might need this someday." He said, but he slipped the blade within his belt.

"Alim, right? I, uh. Thank you, for your help." She glanced skeptically at the dagger, thinking she wouldn't know how to if she did.

The spellsword blinked and looked to her with a pleased smile, before giving a dismissive wave and shrugging. "It's no problem. We're companions after all." He replied. The spellsword looked around and made sure they were in no one's actual way, before continuing. "You're not used to the city, are you?"

"Well, I used to live at the University," Anifaire said with a shrug. "But I'm not accustomed to being lost in the marketplace by myself, no. I've never stayed at an inn on my own either, so it appears these are days full of new experiences." Longingly, she remembered having the aid of her father's retainers back home. She hadn't had to occupy herself with these things.

"Yeah I could tell..." Alim said, honestly pondering on how to help her. "First thing's first. The whole deal with the city is that there's more people than you're probably used to. And you might not have noticed but you kind of stand out. Not many imperials are used to a beautiful rich Altmer that gets lost easily..."

He glanced around at the shops within reach, pondering as he looked. "What you need is..." his voiced trailed off, and without a word he slipped away into the crowd as if born in it like a fish to water, before slipping back in front of her with a rolled up item. "A cloak." With a few quick motions, the cloak unfolded and he wrapped it around himself, his thick mane of hair and his face concealed and wrapped tight until he looked up at her, a knowing smile on his face before he unwrappred himself. "See? Can't cover your height, but it'll help you remain somewhat incognito."

Anifaire glanced at the bundled cloak in surprise when he reemerged from the crowd with it. Had he just stolen that? She shook off the thought and nodded in agreement. "Ah, I understand. That is good advice." The Altmer touched her stomach, feeling the lump of her coinpurse underneath her clothing. That had been advice from her mother, perhaps the reason nobody had pickpocketed her yet.

"My mother told me I should hide my valuables, but I'm unprepared, today," she admitted. "I haven't been thinking very clearly lately."

Alim wrapped the cloak up again to make it portable for her, though he caught the subtle wording of her next sentence and couldn't help but ask. "Why lately?" It was a quick and casual question, however he found he was very interested in hearing her explanation.

"After the business at the Dwemer ruin. I've never done anything like that before." She was uncertain she'd be able to explain effectively, and struggled with the next words. "It's as though... I'm not sure, I just can't get rid of the feeling of being chased by the Falmer in the back of my mind."

The spellsword regarded her for a moment, sympathy on his face. He sometimes forgot some people could be effected by such things in a deeper manner. He was often afraid as well, but it was an old feeling he was quite used to. He handed the wrapped up cloak to her, giving an encouraging smile. "I know the feeling. But it'll pass very soon, trust me." He chuckled. "You'll find Falmer are also not a common sight in about any location." He gave her a bow once the cloak was out of his hands.

Standing up, he inclined her to follow him with a motion of his head. "I'll show you around town if you're still lost."

Anifaire unfurled the cloak, wrapping it about herself. She left the hood down, but the fabric still covered her fine dress. She smiled gratefully and nodded. "Sure, that would be appreciated."

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

As Settione unlocked her shackles, Aeryn would feel relieved of the weight of the cold iron, and hear the clack of the shackles as it hit the stone. Argon's tongue flickered out as he gazed down at the Dorcha half breed. "Friend or food?" He asked, his voice echoing with a guttural undercurrent. Geradin finished healing Ursaren, his hammer becoming a beacon for a short moment, waving it above his wounds, sealing them together.

"Neither," the Gruff Dwarf said, glancing Aeryn's way, obviously a bit too stuck in his ways to accept her at the moment. "She wants to leave, and I agree."

Calanon the Elf hopped down from the Mushroom, and with an impressive leap, cleared the river without touching a drop of water and landing lithely onto the stone. His feet made nary a sound. "Coast is clear for now." he reported. Brogach the Elk stayed close to him, the mount still somewhat perturbed by their underground location, but a bit less scared with the low illumination of the fungus around them.

Once Aeryn was free, Beren crossed his muscled arm and let out a breath and spoke to Aeryn. "You're free." He said, even giving a small smile. "But if you're hungry, we were just about to eat dinner until all hell broke loose. We have some jerky if you'd like." He said. The tanned monk glanced across the river to the spots of blood and altered his posture, placing his hands on his hips. "Besides, something tells me you'd be in the mood to help us out a bit."

"Oi, don't go telling her our quest!" Geradin growled, his beard bristling as he shouldered past An-Hasst and Settione to square up with Beren. What followed was Beren giving a gruff reply in Dwarvish, to which Geradin spat back in the same tongue and Beren, by his tone, gave a witty retort that had Geradin growling in defeat. "Fine!" The Dwarf declared, walking back to their small makeshift camp, with Calanon joining him to grab a towel for Alice. Beren shook his head at the departing Dwarf and sighed. "Once you get to know him he's not so bad." He said with a grin to Aeryn. "So how bout it?"
@Stormflyx@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@BCTheEntity

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

"You know just what to say," Neil said, hitting the thrusters and sending the Highlander on B-line for Delta Cephei, the closest star system with any civilization of note. Neil had heard there were some work opportunities there a few galactic years back. He simply hoped they weren't 9-5 jobs.

Taya nearly draped herself across one of the chairs, so worn out. "I'm just glad that's over wiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIII-" She screamed as Neil sent the ship to a frightening speed, the young woman clinging to the top of her chair.

---

17 days later, within R.I.P. space...

"I'll need to change the fuel soon." Neil reported over the comms as they traversed through the FTL dimension known as the R.I.P. He had no idea where Junebug was at the moment, but Taya was in the cargo bay making sure their cargo was still upright and tied down. The pilot, a felon in three systems, wasn't entirely expecting them to be transporting two tons of Raccarian Cola boxes. It was boring and it didn't pay for much more than their food and fuel.

"But like my dad always said," he breathed aloud, switching the auxiliary power to the strafe thrusters to help them lose the R.I.P. "It's a job." You had to take what you could get, and honestly, despite the fact Neil was a pyromaniac adrenaline junkie, it was kind of relaxing that they hadn't had any real problems the past few weeks since they left Beckett's Node. He'd gone on the Void Web and perused to see if there was a fourth warrant on his arrest, but it looked like Nia held her end of the bargain.

The ship's normally smooth gliding was interrupted by some turbulence as they began to exit the R.I.P., and on the display monitor, one would see the narrow-tunnel of grey space turning utterly dark in an instant, and as one's eyes adjusted, they would begin to see the vast array of stars in the distance.

"Lonney, location." Neil said in a yawn, stretching and feeling the strain of sitting oozing out of his body as he gave a groan.

"Looks loik we're in th' Mu Cephei system, sir!" The AI replied enthusiastically, as if he was an up and coming young soldier looking for advancement in his career.

"So about halfway there." With a shift in his body weight, Neil hopped out of the chair and headed out of the cockpit to the access corridor, past the lines of wiring and into the fueling station below decks, the engine's hum growing louder as he climbed down the ladder. The fuel gauge showed they had a quarter tank left, and Neil removed and rerouted the fuel rods to get refilled, humming a Chevelle rock song under his breath as he saw the meter begin to move, indicating the refilling was nearing completion.

Meanwhile in the cockpit, the indicator beacon began to flash a diminutive red light. Once Neil made it back in the cockpit, he cursed. "Lonney why didn't you tell me we were getting a transmission?"

"Captain told me to shut up more."

"Goddammit."
@Penny

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

THE HYPE

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

Neil might be one to usually go against the grain, but that last line called to his need for irony. He pulled out his gun and cocked the hammer, ready to land in the middle of the group and take them out with some quick gun work. Only to stop at the last moment, which made Junebug halt as well since he was at the vanguard.

"What?" She mouthed, cautiously curious.

Neil pulled out the mine from his shirt, which caused a wicked smile to dawn on Junebug's face. Neil winked and set it down next to the hatch, taking out his multitool and unlatching it slowly and carefully, and above all quietly. It was less than a minute later when he removed the vent hatch and grabbed the photon-mine once more. He took a steady breath, and mouthed the countdown from three to the Captain, before he tossed the mine inside the board room.

The item hit the door, furthest away from Cheng but in a very close proximity to the other admins and boardmembers. They only managed to just turn around with a startle when Neil's gun went off, the bullet piercing the thin steel lining of the mine. Time seemed to drag sluggishly for an instant before an electronic-like blue field exploded from the item, not even giving them time to scream before they were partially vaporized, the rest of their remaining matter fried to a crisp.

Neil had known the explosion would not have been large. It would have needed to be contained within the ventilation system, killing an intruder while keeping the people within the quarters below unharmed. His gamble seemed to pay off, because a groan from behind the ruined and charred desk revealed Cheng still alive, merely blown by the concussive force and dazed from the blast. Neil leaped down into the boardroom, careful not to slip on any ashes.

"By the way, we don't just want our money back. We'd like a raise, boss."
@Penny

Tombs & Treks: An Interest Check!

We'll be hashing out the details and posting the OOC in a few days!

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

It had been an arduous crawl. Neil and Sayeeda were both slim and cut, and the shaft was wide, as it should be, for it controlled the oxygen flow of the entire station. Twice they had to climb upwards, bracing against the steel shaft with their arms and legs, Neil grabbing Junebug's hand to help her up once he had hauled himself to the next level. It had been close to an hour before they had entered the outskirts of Cheng's property.

Neil doubted Cheng had men climbing through the shafts. To have traps planted in the shafts meant he was particularly rich for a backwater banker. Servo-spiders were advanced AI, used for reconnaissance and trap making. It had to be one of them that planted the photon-mine Neil nearly smacked his palm on. "Hold on," he breathed suddenly, slowly lifting his hand that had been a mere inch over the mine, and slipping his feet and hands back a 'step.'

The slight indention in the steel was what gave it away. Nearly paper thin, though somewhat of an eyesore to an experienced engineer or thief, both professions Neil was quite adept in. He breathed out. "Hand me your combat knife," he said to Junebug, holding out his hand behind him. After a few moments he felt the grip of the Knife's haft, and slowly pulled it forward. He told Junebug to back up as he laid down upon his stomach, his freehand now gripping his multitool.

Making a small wedge on the corner of the mine's placement plate, he cut a small incision into the steel with the tool and slowly lifted the plate. Luckily, photon-mines of this caliber were push activated and not pull, but it paid to be careful. Once he got a look of the explosive, a mine with an octagonal base that held the photon-spring energy, beneath a hexagonal top hatch where the triggers were placed.

"You might want to crawl back...a lot of steps." He said, waiting for her to comply before he began to unlatch the hexagonal console and clipping the copper wire that activated the bomb. "Got it," he said triumphantly, and without even thinking he slipped the bare-circuits photon-explosive within his shirt. Only a bullet could activate its explosive now, and if Neil got shot well, he'd take whatever fucker killed him out as well.

Around the next bend, there was a long shaft with ventilation screens every two dozen feet, which meant they merely needed to find the room of Cheng now.
@Penny

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

Neil had ordered what Junebug had, though he asked for extra zest sauce. He'd been through thick and thin with her the past day or two and they'd hardly eaten. He was surprised he hadn't noticed until now. Guess they'd been running on a lot of adrenaline and good old survival instinct. He gave a wave to Taya as she approached and chowed down while the women chatted.

Slamming his palm on the table, Neil pointed at Junebug with a fierce astonishment. "You're a fucking genius." He said, and then his elbow nudged Taya, which caused the younger woman to jump a bit in her seat from the sudden pressure as Neil leaned over to her. "You see, this is why she's the Captain." He said, immediately fired up for some mischief. A little turned on too, but he'd push that aside because he was ready to get off this station and get to somewhere they could make some real money again.

His thoughts then caught up with him, and he turned to Junebug and Taya. "By the way," he began, taking a swig Ganimeen Brew. "We'll need to be extra careful. Mostly because there is no way we're going to have any friends on Beckett's Node once we do, and I plan on stealing a little bit from this douchebag before everything is all said and done."

---

Hours later

As far as the three could tell, they were still within the 'natural' nightcycle of the station, meaning despite no set time, most people decided to take this time to sleep. It made traversing through the crowds both easier but more dangerous, for fear of being spotted. Taya practically had to hug Junebug as they made their way through the Commons toward the western halls of the Node, where security was tighter and there were eyes around every corner.

At Neil's suggestion, instead of advancing gun's blazing, Neil stopped at one of the local AI controlled panels that popped up every corner or so, giving basic Node info such as what establishments were where and the usually very loose code of conduct could be found, along with basic living information. While Sayeeda and Taya kept an eye out, Neil took out his multi-tool and took out the bottom plating, slipping in an e-3 hacking cord. After placing in a code, he was granted administrative access to Beckett Node information.

"Why are we doing this again?" Taya asked, a bit calmer than usual but with still an undercurrent of nervousness.

"Because we'll be taking the ventilation shafts to his office." Neil replied, fully engrossed in the map layout he was reading. "And we want to know exactly how to get there."
@Penny

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

I shall post next! Hold onto your posts, ladies and gents!