<><> As the Raven crew makes their way back to the spaceport, they can see Jake the Flake speeding out the gate with his mule listing heavily and beginning to spark and smoke.<><>
Rae Overholt says a curse word under her breath and hopes the cans don’t fall off and break open.
Kevin Cliffe: Did anyone ask what was in those barrels?
Rae Overholt: Yes we did Kevin.
Shen Jiutai looks to Kevin, "Chlorol-Hyrdo-Clotonate or something..."
Sean M. Writer: It's a major irritant. They used to use it for crowd control in the prison camp system.
Kevin Cliffe: Tear gas?
Sean M. Writer: No, it's a smell and vomit agent.
Kevin Cliffe: Puke gas?
Sean M. Writer: Puke gas. Overexposure, you pass out like you drank a liter of vodka made from rotten potatoes.
Kevin Cliffe: So...a liter of vodka, then.
<><> The Ravenites pass through the guard-house where their biometrics are checked against their entry to the colony and their visitor badges are collected. The small man who processes them from time to time reaches over to the terminal on his desk to press a button, each time he does so, “Welcome to Wallace’s Mining Consortium. Please turn control of your helm to our Spaceport Command.” is heard over the monitor behind the desk.<><>
Rae Overholt turns and eyes Gabe at the sound.
Xiao Li Marshall, up on the bridge, fidgets restlessly, eager to be out of this place as quickly as possible.
Roland Josephus: You see him?
Sean M. Writer: Same side effects--potential brain damage, blood poisoning, liver failure...
Kevin Cliffe: Do the gas effects also include hallucinations of people trying to turn themselves inside out?
Sean M. Writer: Not that I know of... Then again.… I've never hung around to find out. The smell was usually enough to make us clear out.
Kevin Cliffe: Well, we'll need to tie these things down.
<><>Upon approaching Raven, The Captain, First Mate, Doctor, Companion and Cook find Roland, the Mechanic pondering the rusting pile of barrels that have been unceremoniously dumped inside the cargo bay.<><>
Kevin Cliffe: Yeah. Definitely need to tie these things down.
Rae Overholt: Well hop to it.
Shen Jiutai walks up to the barrels, "Which one is she in?"
Sean M. Writer: I'd suggest welding them all together if I didn't think that'd perf them...knock on them 'til you find the hollow one.
Shen Jiutai goes from barrel to barrel, knocking on them, looking for Fan.
Kevin Cliffe goes to his stateroom and comes back with a heavy set of gloves, a can of hull sealant foam, a mass spectrometer for picking up gas leaks...
Fan Newall sits with her limbs folded up close to her body. The barrel's almost empty, but she can smell a trace of the fumes from the barrel's previous contents through her mask. She's eager to get out, so she taps back when she hears Shen knocking.
Rae Overholt: Good job.
Kevin Cliffe: Never can tell when there's something that'll leak on something I'm working on...*he calibrates it to the room air, then sweeps it over each barrel, waiting for the needle to twitch...if it does, he puts a squirt of sealant on the hole, and rolls each barrel carefully to the wall where it can be tied down and secured*
Fan Newall taps again, more urgently. She's not a claustrophobic person, but she's definitely over this barrel.
Shen Jiutai stands up, "Over here!!"
Rae Overholt walks swiftly over and begins to help with the barrel.
Fan Newall puts her arms out to brace herself as the barrel begins to move. She raps gently with her knuckles against the top of the barrel and utters a muffled shout through her mask. "Contents fragile! This end up!"
Shen Jiutai looks to the Captain, can we get airborne already? I hate the idea of opening this thing in here, can we put her in the airlock by the cargo door?
Kevin Cliffe: *Roll roll tie down...*
Sean M. Writer: Uh... get her out first. We can isolate the bay with the outer door open, right?
Rae Overholt nods and presses the coms, "Pilot get us off this rock!"
Fan Newall knows that there's somebody outside the barrel, but she can't hear what's going on well enough to figure out why she's still inside. Fearing that somebody from the colony might've come aboard, she goes quiet and still again.
Xiao Li Marshall, who was pacing back and forth on the bridge, jumps back into the pilot's seat and starts the entry sequence.
Sean M. Writer: Jesus y maria...
Kevin Cliffe ratchets down the tie-downs on the last barrel...these things are not going to come loose until they want them to come loose...
:::This is Spaceport command, we hope your visit to Wallace’s Mining Consortium has been a pleasant one. Your ship has been cleared for departure, Please fly safely, and have a nice day.:::
<><>The Land-Lock that has been holding the ship’s nav systems hostage since landing, is lifted<><>
Xiao Li Marshall is already lifting off before the announcement finishes.
Fan Newall tries to breathe shallowly. Her respirator keeps the gas residue in the barrel from getting to her, but it's cramped and hot and stinking inside. She begins to rock gently as noise and vibration from outside the barrel threatens to nauseate her.
Kevin Cliffe mutters... "WMC, your partner in slave-based mining..."
Shen Jiutai pulls the barrel to the airlock door, "Can someone ask Xiao Li not to break atmo too quickly?"
Sean M. Writer sighs. "Can we get the pendejo barrel open please? "
Rae Overholt: Why's that Shen?
Kevin Cliffe: What, is she welded inside?
Shen Jiutai: 'Cause I wFan open this thing in the airlock, can we crack the ramp?
Rae Overholt nods and presses the coms again, "Hover us up here a bit Pilot, don’t take us out yet."
Kevin Cliffe: There still that much gas in the container?
Sean M. Writer: "Just pop the freakin' lid. She's gotta be ready to puke *without* the fumes...
Shen Jiutai struggles to open the door to the airlock, "Can someone give me a hand here?
Xiao Li Marshall reluctantly throttles back and reduces the angle of ascent.
Kevin Cliffe pushes the airlock actuator.
Shen Jiutai shoves the barrel through the hatch, follows it out and closes it behind her. She takes a deep breath of fresh air before prying the lid off of the barrel.
<><>Amid the swirling and rapidly dissipating green vapor, Fan manages to struggle out of the barrel and collapse on the floor of the air-lock.<><>
Shen Jiutai shouts into the comm, "She's here, but she don't look too good..." She closes the lid to the barrel.
Fan Newall tries to take several deep breaths to calm herself, but it's nearly impossible through her old respirator. She is trembling as the barrel is manhandled to the airlock, and when the seal cracks, revealing a thin beam of light, she is mightily relieved to see the Raven's crew.
Shen Jiutai opens the door and pulls Fan back inside the cargo hold...
Rae Overholt shouts back, "Get rid of the barrel, get her to med bay."
Sean M. Writer takes out a scalpel from his med-kit, and cuts through the suit to administer a quick anti-tox shot.
Fan Newall claws at her respirator to pull it off her face and takes several deep breaths, allowing the Raven's doctor and crew to do all the talking until she gets her bearings.
Shen Jiutai: "That could not have been pleasant." She says as she closes the Cargo-bay ramp. "OK Xiao Li, we're sealed up here. Cap'n?"
Rae Overholt: yup?
Shen Jiutai looks to Rae, "Nothin', just we're all sealed up here, I reckon there's nothing keeping us here, is all."
Xiao Li Marshall holds back on the throttle, waiting for orders.
Rae Overholt: Then out to the black. She hits the com again, "Take us out Xiao Li."
Xiao Li Marshall: Dang ran, Cap'n! She pulls back on the throttle and the Raven fairly rockets into the black.
Kevin Cliffe: One slave freed, a bazillion more to go.
Li Mei heads to the galley to make some tea.
Shen Jiutai holds onto something, and looks at Fan, "You OK Kid?"
Kevin Cliffe punches the comm. "Cargo is tied down, it's not moving unless we let it move. I can't say much for the integrity of the containers but I tried to find and patch what I could."
Rae Overholt turns and grins at Fan as well.
Fan Newall is regaining her balance and clearing her head as the Raven gets a kick in the pants from her pilot. As she lurches, she curses gently and looks around. "Hey! Is this the pilot's first time?"
Xiao Li Marshall waits until they're well clear of Ezra before throttling down and setting the Raven on autopilot.
Kevin Cliffe: So... Fan, right? how's it feel to be free?
Fan Newall rubs her temples. "Oooh... remind me never to fly in barrel class again."
Shen Jiutai takes Fan's arm, "Come on let's get you sitting down," She leads Fan upstairs.
Li Mei returns from the galley with a cup of tea and hands it to Fan, "Here, you look like you could use this."
Xiao Li Marshall takes a deep breath, lets it out, then stands and walks out of the cockpit, heading toward the cargo bay. She meets Shen and Fan halfway up the stairs.
Kevin Cliffe: Xiao, you seemed a bit anxious to get us clear of there...
Xiao Li Marshall glares daggers at Kevin. "You want me to drop you back down there?"
Fan Newall looks up and grins broadly as Xiao Li enters the bay. "Hey! Maybe next time I can give taking off a try! I mean... if that's OK with you."
Kevin Cliffe seems unfazed..."you want that stuff rupturing in the cargo bay?" He nods towards the secured barrels.
Xiao Li Marshall smirks. "On someone else's ship, maybe."
Rae Overholt smirks at Xiao Li's comment and makes her way around the bay, checking over everything.
Kevin Cliffe shrugs...he could think of a few people whose ship he'd like a barrel of puke gas rupturing on... “Hey Fan...I hope you're not allergic to cats.”
Xiao Li Marshall 's smile softens a little. "Good to have you here, mei mei."
Fan Newall stands up straight so Xiao Li won't see that she doesn't have her space legs yet. "Good to be out of that barrel, jie jie."
Kevin Cliffe leans to Shen as he heads up to the galley deck..."If you want me to make her something to protect herself, firearm, tazer, something like that, I'll whomp one out, just say the word."
Shen Jiutai nods to Kevin, "Good , I'll let you know."
Fan Newall takes a deep breath and does her best not to wobble as she walks over to Xiao Li with a bright smile. "So when do I get to start helping out, hmm?"
Xiao Li Marshall: When you ain't wobblin' like you've just been doped, that's when.
Shen Jiutai looks to Fan, "Why don't you start in the Galley..."
Kevin Cliffe flomps in one of the chairs, reaching out to give Nigel a scratch behind the ears, and he looks up at Li..."Gettin' crowded in here."
Li Mei grins at Kevin, "Would you rather be alone on this ship?"
Kevin Cliffe: Meh... I've done alone when I still had Gaia's Hope. I like working with others better.
Fan Newall smiles lopsidedly and throws her arms around Xiao Li's neck and kisses her on the cheek, mostly because she's happy to see her, but partially so she doesn't fall over. "The galley?! That's easy stuff!"
Xiao Li Marshall flinches a little at the sudden display of affection, but lets it pass.
Shen Jiutai: "C'mon, Fan, this way..."
Fan Newall lets go of Xiao and walks over to Shen, a little more stable now that she's had time to get used to standing up again. "Well, ok... show me this galley. Maybe I can rig up somethin to make your stove work better!"
Kevin Cliffe: You're a machinist?
Fan Newall nods. "Yeah... tha's why those goons back at the mining colony were fooled so easy when I asked 'em for nonsensical doohickeys to check out the cargo." She beams and boasts just a little. "I practically kept that place runnin’!"
Rae Overholt trotts in and grabs a fruity oaty bar.
Shen Jiutai makes her way to the Galley, "Here kid, have a seat, I'll make some soup..."
Fan Newall plops down in a chair and looks around the galley. "Cozy boat..."
Kevin Cliffe: Well glad to meet you. I usually do the machinist work here...parts, weapons, I make 'em. Long as I have materials.
Fan Newall props her elbow up on the table and leans her face against her hand. "Shiny! Maybe I can help you!"
Xiao Li Marshall sags into a chair, popping open a bottle of Blue Sun Liquor.
Kevin Cliffe: “Maybe. ” He smirks as he tries to imagine... the double headache for the alliance, two people with military weaponry engineering secrets...
Rae Overholt leans against the counter eating her fruity oh bar.
Shen Jiutai brings a few glasses from behind the Galley, "Here let's have a toast."
Rae Overholt wanders over and takes one, holding it out.
Kevin Cliffe gets up and gets one for himself and another for Fan...
Xiao Li Marshall just lifts her bottle halfway, looking at Shen expectantly.
Li Mei takes a glass from Shen
Shen Jiutai: "Well, ya gonna pour some? I got more downstairs..."
Xiao Li Marshall: What, I gotta *share*?
Rae Overholt: Hell yeah you gotta share.
Fan Newall picks up her empty glass and holds it up to her eye so everything looks blurry. "It's a lil easier to toast when we got some drink..."
Shen Jiutai levels her gaze on Xiao Li, "You think that's all there is or something?"
Xiao Li Marshall rolls her eyes, but she's smiling as she starts pouring out drinks for people.
Fan Newall smiles. "Just a little, please. I'm still a bit queasy from the barrel ride."
Xiao Li Marshall pours out a smaller measure to Fan than to the others. "Careful, mei mei, this stuff's strong."
Fan Newall nods. "Kay, jie jie."
Xiao Li Marshall finishes pouring out, then looks back to Shen.
Shen Jiutai takes her glass and raises it in the air. "To us!" She looks to Rae.
Fan Newall raises her glass and looks from Rae to Shen. "To.... you!"
Kevin Cliffe raises the glass in agreement and adds..."to freedom!"
Roland Josephus crosses his arms across his chest, and lets out a deep breath.
Xiao Li Marshall nods and raises her glass. "To sticking it to that hun dan Wallace."
Fan Newall giggles and keeps her glass held high. "To Xiao Li! If I didn't wanna be like you, I wouldna been useful... an' I'd be dead or a whore by now!"
Kevin Cliffe: Can we raze his dwelling? Just a little?
Rae Overholt raises her glass and downs her drink.
Xiao Li Marshall: Too impersonal. I want that bastard to KNOW who's killin' him.
Shen Jiutai drinks to the toast.
Kevin Cliffe downs his as well...
Rae Overholt sets it down, with a quiet, "To us."
Li Mei raises her glass to her nose and sniffs it, shrugs, and downs the drink in one gulp.
Kevin Cliffe: Maybe if we paint the name on the bottom of the hull and land the ship on him.
Xiao Li Marshall downs the rest of the bottle.
Shen Jiutai: He ain't even on world now Kevin...
Rae Overholt: “What about that woman that hired us?” She starts pacing a bit. "Where can we find her?"
Roland Josephus looks over to Rae, "Its too late... I reckon the wave will beat us where ever we go.."
Kevin Cliffe: Xiao, you going to be okay to fly?
Fan Newall tosses back her glass and has a split second to regret it calmly before the after-burn makes her shudder and splutter. "Y... you were right 'bout this stuff."
Xiao Li Marshall: Ah, that's what autopilot's for, ain't it?
Shen Jiutai: Oh, that reminds me Cap'n, I should wire her her cut, I mean a deal is a deal...
Kevin Cliffe: Yeah. We use the Blue Sun stuff for degreasing engines, mostly. But the old engineer on this ship, her family made a moonshine that would melt lead.
Xiao Li Marshall: I think we still got a jug of it someplace, for emergency fuel.
Shen Jiutai pulls out her data pad and does a few quick calcs.
Rae Overholt sighs and silently adds the woman to her list, "I still want more information on her, incase she happens to be somewhere we might like to go one day."
Xiao Li Marshall nods. "Think I can manage that, Cap'n."
Kevin Cliffe: Frankly I wish we could liberate that whole mining camp...but it ain't a perfect 'verse.
Rae Overholt nods at Xiao Li. "Thanks."
Fan Newall looks down into her empty glass, feeling the effect of the small shot and the weight of Kevin's words. "With me gone... stuff's gonna start breakin’. They're gonna get meaner to the slaves they still got..."
Roland Josephus: Fightin’ for freedom is nice and all.. makes ya feel warm and fuzzy.. But it don't pay much at all... And I reckon even as we sit here feelin’ good about ourselves... Waves are goin’ out sayin’ how we stole from someone we was supposed to be workin’ for.
Kevin Cliffe: "Stole?" She's a human being, she's not an indentured servant under contract, and we ain't kidnappers.
Fan Newall puts her glass down and places her hands into her lap. "M... maybe if I'm that much trouble to you folks... and considering what's gonna happen to the ones we left behind... I mean... I appreciate the kindness y'all have done, but maybe you should send me back."
Rae Overholt shakes her head. "What's done is done."
Xiao Li Marshall: Yeah, they wanna claim theft of property, they're gonna have to put it out in the open that they're slavers, an' I expect the feds will want to have words with 'em.
Rae Overholt: Those suits, ones we wore in that wreck. No recorders in them are there? Video feed that is?
Xiao Li Marshall: Fan, when I lit out from that place, I never looked back.
Kevin Cliffe: Video feeds are server-side, on the ship.
Roland Josephus: You can work it out however you want.. She was owned.. right or wrong.. .. We took 'er... The reputation will still be out there that the Raven crew can't be trusted... Its hard enough findin’ work as it is... Now it will be twice as hard.
Fan Newall smiles at Xiao Li. "I know, jie jie. I know you'd never leave me if you had a choice. I just don't wanna get you and your friends in trouble."
Xiao Li Marshall snorts. "In my experience, we don't *get* in trouble, we *make* trouble."
Rae Overholt: Shouldn't be hard as long as we don’t traffic with anymore slavers. Or, if we can get some dirt to scare them into keeping quiet with.
Kevin Cliffe: Like the fact that they had slaves in the first place?
Xiao Li Marshall: Exactly.
Kevin Cliffe: What would it take to liberate that place?
Roland Josephus: Right... Big operation like that... Out there.. Alliance cracked down on it real quick didnt' it.. How long they been keepin’ slaves there?.... Xiao?... We're lucky if they dont' send bounty killers after us..
Kevin Cliffe sighs..."just a thought."
Xiao Li Marshall: Hey, *I'm* s'posed to be the pessimist here, Rol.
Fan Newall sighs and slumps in her chair a little. "Well, if y'all are gonna keep me on, then... I should at least make myself useful. I wanna help you for what ya did for me. I don't know a lot about ships, but I know some stuff you might need."
Li Mei nods at Roland, "In my experience, the Alliance doesn't exactly have a problem with slavery."
Kevin Cliffe: In my experience they don't have a problem with murder or cover-ups, either.
Roland Josephus nods, "But I reckon even slavers take exception to folks takin’ their property.. Even if they stole it themselves."
Shen Jiutai: Cap, I should still wire Miss Small her 455 credits, if we're gonna do something to her, at least she shouldn't see it coming...
Roland Josephus: I'd say she already knows.. Crew she hired ... She may be in hot water too.
Kevin Cliffe: Fan...if given the chance, would the slaves rise up against the masters?
19:41] Fan Newall looks over at Kevin. "Well... I mean, yeah, if they had some kind of advantage. But it'd take more than just getting them riled up. You'd have to show them that they had a chance. The guards may not outnumber them, but they got all the gas and weapons. We're cheap to replace. If the slaves try something and fail, they don't just get punished. They get liquidated and replaced."
Kevin Cliffe glances to the captain...
Shen Jiutai: Still, we did make a deal with her, even if we don't believe in what's she's doing, a deal is a deal, we should at least hold up our end of the bargain...
Rae Overholt nods at Shen.
Shen Jiutai starts punching in the transfer to Miss Small's account...
Fan Newall leans closer to Kevin, since he's the 'tech on board. "Look, I feel useless here. You guys have given me a new life. Back on the mining colony, I rigged up the air scrubbers so they'd work twice as long between filter changes. Helped a lot with air quality in the mines. Maybe I could do something to make ventilation maintenance on your boat easier?"
Kevin Cliffe nods..."well I may be the machinist, but the chief engineer on board is Roland. That kind of stuff you need to check through him. If you want parts made, that I can do." He looks to the captain, then back to Fan...."An advantage...would airborne cover with heavy weapons be advantageous enough?"
Rae Overholt stands there, staring at the floor, listening to it all quietly.
Kevin Cliffe already has an idea that the captain may veto the idea, very likely...and after all, she is in charge...but what Fan is telling him just doesn't sit well...
Xiao Li Marshall: Considerin' the slaves spend most of their time underground...
Fan Newall stands up. "If it's OK with you all, I'd like to go take a little rest. The barrel ride and that booze are catchin' up with me."
Roland Josephus: Let me explain somethen’ to you all.. It may not sound right, but its true.... Thick as all these hulls seems.. We ain’t flyin’ in a tank.. We're flying in a an eggshell.... It won't take much damage for us to be in a world of hurt.
Rae Overholt nods at Roland.
Fan Newall looks agitated as the crew discusses an operation to free the other slaves despite the possible risk to themselves. She looks around the room, her eyes lingering particularly on Xiao Li.
Kevin Cliffe: What, do you expect them to be flinging armor piercing missiles back at us?
Xiao Li Marshall: This ain't a military base, Rol. If it's anything like before, most of the security is based on keepin' the slaves *in,* not keepin' invaders *out.*
Roland Josephus: We aint' got armor.. We aint' a military craft.. We're a civilain craft... We aint' built to take any kind of shots.
Rae Overholt: We can't fight a whole moon.
Xiao Li Marshall: ...you *have* talked to Kevin 'bout the upgrades he made to this boat, right?
Roland Josephus: Half of which are dangerous...
Fan Newall excuses herself from the room, hoping to find some place quiet and distant from the bickering so she can clear her head for a moment.
Kevin Cliffe: Okay...ships generally have armor hulls because random micro-debris is murderous. a loose nut could gut a hull during an approach. But if they're going to shoot us, they have to find us first.
<><>From the cargo bay a thud is heard, and not long after a funny smell permeates the ship. Before anybody can do anything, the crew finds themselves unable to move, crumpled on the floor with their lungs burning.<><>
Kevin Cliffe: And if...IF we do this...oh ta ma...*HURL*
Xiao Li Marshall goes pale as she catches the smell. "Wo de ma... no..."
<><>As the crew drifts off into unconsciousness, Some can see a small figure wearing a gas-mask walk among them. The muffled sound of laughter and Fan saying, “This was too easy!” is the last thing they hear.<><>
<><>As the crew regains consciousness, they discover that not all systems are on line.<><>
Kevin Cliffe: “Unh...remind me never to touch that black sun crap...” He reaches for his holster, trying to make sure the gun is still there...
<><>Soon they notice that two people are unaccounted for, Fan and Xiao Li.<><>
<><>The helm does not answer, and no ready fix appears evident.<><>
<><>Shuttle #2 (Li Mei’s shuttle) is missing, and on the catwalk outside is laying a familiar looking pair of green cortex goggles.<><>
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