Persephone - Eavesdown docks

Midnight finally came to dock at Eavesdown after a week of hard burn from Whitefall, and from where Capt. Anne had just purchased her first ship. Exciting, to most, but to Anne it had been an expected turn of events. She’d been working on Midnight since leaving her fathers side nearly ten years previous. She’d been first mate for the past six years, saving her wages and pilfered coin to finally have enough to buy out the Captain. What hadn’t been expected was the previous Captain and entire crew leaving the ship while they were still docked at Whitefall. She’d at least expected the crew to remain onboard until they reached Persephone to find to work or resign with her. Perhaps they simply didn’t want to work under a woman, or if they didn’t feel comfortable working beneath her, what was done was done. She’d sent out a quick wave to call in a favour from the other Capt, DeBois, her father, and he pulled through. He loaned her a skeletal crew, at a cost, a co-pilot and a mechanic to get her to Persephone and find her own.

Anne loved her little firefly, ever since the day she stepped aboard and it locked her out of her personal room. It had taken her three days to figure out just how to step on the rail for it to pop open and remain open for her, much to the amusement of her crew mates. From then it had been love, the little beast had been abused and mistreated and Anne made a point of overseeing the mechanics endeavours, she hadn’t known at the time that she would be owner of her in the future, but Anne had known that a ship that had been afloat for so long and taking care of so many people needed more respect than what she’d been given with the previous crew.

Over the previous week of travel Anne had sent out recruitment papers and managed to find herself a partial crew; a pilot, a medic, a mechanic, and a ‘man at arms‘. Hell even a bonafied Companion had requested to travel with them! That would make their lives a little bit easier, get them into ports that would otherwise be closed to them. Naturally they would post up their planned travel route, naturally they needed to remain a legitimate business, eventually the alliance will question how you remain afloat while not taking on any passengers… or supplies.

The docking clamps would close over Midnight and Anne would sigh, satisfied that she was finally there. “Thanks again Gerald, couldn’t have made it without you.” She’d walk with the borrowed pilot towards the bay where the would meet up with Max, the mechanic from Compass Rose[I/]. Reaching the bay she’d open the hatch, letting the doors and ramp open and extend before she started handing out the coin owed. [I[Midnight was nearly a full hour late to dock, and already she could see her resupplies waiting to finish their jobs for the day. Late into the evening Anne would walk down the ramp to solid ground and pause for a moment to just enjoy being ‘home’.

Anne would lean against one of the docking clamps, lighting herself a long cigarette and taking a deep haul, looking over the night markets now just opening in this city. It was high trade, and a place she had remembered coming to since her childhood. She’d watch the men load her purchased supplies into the bay of the ship while she waited for her crew to arrive for the evening.

Ianto ran down the road, backpack bouncing against his back and duffel bag making him stumble as it hit his leg. He had recently been hired as the pilot for a ship called Midnight and he was looking forward to flying the Firefly as well as meeting the captain. He was about an hour late, so he headed to one of the computers and searched through the database for his new home. Finding its location, he realized that he was standing little more than a hundred feet from it. Blushing momentarily, he glanced over his clothing- the black T-shirt and dark blue jeans he had thrown on and the dirty black sneakers on his feet. Running his fingers through his shaggy brown hair, he jogged over to the ship and the captain, whom was sitting outside smoking.

"I imagine that you're the captain of this fine vessel?" he smiled cheerfully, awaiting an answer before he continued. "I'm Ianto Schaefer, pilot extraordinaire."

Absently, he ran his fingers through his hair once more. An old habit, he tapped the fingers of his free hand against his pant leg in a playful beat.

This was her ticket. Her ticket out of this blasted place. Business was atrocious these past few months, so she figured branching out into another part of the universe would do her much better. She had hired a few movers to get her things to this ship Midnight. The price for passage was decent compared to all the others and she hoped the accommodations were… not as cheap. With her she would be bringing everything she owned. This would be a move, where she lands is.. still questionable.

The movers hauled her things up to the docks, a large trailer full of leather bound, gold studded luggage and a few large crates full of oddities. The movers arrived before she did and they would begin to load. Everything had been prearranged for her passage on the ship. From the help of a friend who knew a friend. Of course, being a licensed companion made it easier to get aboard.

Temporarily her things would be placed in the bay until further instructions and untill she is told where the passenger quarters are.

Charlie would arrive by escort granted to her by one of her clients. He had sent a luxury vehicle for her. It’s clean surface would shine as it pulled up to the docks and she stepped out. Long skirts pooling about her feet, resting low about her hips, the skirts being held up by a glimmering belt. Her stomach was bare, besides a small dangling jewel in her belly button, she almost looked like an exotic belly dancer. Long sleeves of see through, violet cloth covered her arms and upper half, granted it wasn’t see through across her breasts.

She stood for a moment to gander at the ship, it wasn’t impressive, in fact it looked rather worn. Wonderful she thought.

He was due to be at the ship in a half an hour, but he decided to stop for a drink at one of his favorite places. The late night crowd was still awake and bustling around. There was a small band playing in the corner, a few drunks were dancing around a table with some bar maids. He sat at the bar, a half filled glass and a bottle of whiskey beside him.

His massive frame took up a large area around him, and most of the people in the bar left him alone except for the bartender and the occasional lady of the night. Jack took a sip of his drink and smiled, nothing could make a man happier than a good drink. That and getting paid. Cause you can't drink unless you get paid. “You going to drink the whole bottle,” The Bartender walked to where he sat, Jack just nodded, “Yep, good stuff,” he just nodded to the older man, he just shrugged and walked away.

He waited a couple of minutes before finishing his drink, reaching in his pocket he pulled out the required amount of money and slapped it on the counter top. Reaching down he hefted his two bags unto his shoulders: one held clothes and the other had his assortment of weapons. He made his way thru the crowd on patrons and out of the bar. The bright lights of Persephone greeted him, along with the ripe smell of some animals droppings, or where they human. Either way they smelled. Muttering a few choice words, he turned down the street and headed towards the docks.

Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me

The familiar lyrics of the space-farer's song drifted over a stack of crates, where Miko Kitsune lay sprawled. From her vantage point, she could see who came and went from the ship. She'd already seen the Captain arrive, along with two others. Either the assembled group was a bunch of early birds, or her brother was just late. Punctuality was hit-or-miss with him, so she didn't fret. The ship most likely wasn't going to leave without him, and if it looked like it was, she could let the Captain know that he was probably almost there and that she shouldn't take off.

"Speaking of which," Miko thought aloud, "I should probably introduce myself." She sprang off the pile and sauntered over to the assembled group. At the last moment, though, she lost her nerve, so she swerved around them and pretended to be admiring the ship and loitering. For some reason, she didn't feel comfortable approaching them without her brother.

Anne had been watching the young man as he headed towards herself and her ship, she’d seen the stumble and had shaken her head. She certainly hoped his hand-eye coordination was better than his feet. It was worrisome hiring just a young pilot but hadn’t had any other options, no one was interested in working on a decaying ship with an unknown Captain. As he approached she’d give a small welcoming smile, flicking the butt of her smoke into the dirt and crushing it with the heel of her boot. “Good to meet you, Ianto. You’d be correct, I’m Anne.” She was nodding back towards the ship. “This is Midnight “

Before anything else could be said between them the trailer full of luggage was arriving and hired movers hauling the expensively looking boxes onto the deck. This had been expected, and Anne was delighted to see that one of her two paying passengers were arriving. She was about to tell Ianto to remain at the entrance of the bay while she went to speak to the Companion when the young woman caught her attention. It seemed as though she were approaching them to speak but then detoured away to look at the exterior of the ship. Now that was suspicious. She’d turn back to Ianto, “Head over there and speak to that young woman. I think she’s the sister of one of the crew members, if I’m not mistaken.” She could make that assumption because she knew who was to be arriving, and each of her crew members profiles came with identification.

She’d step away from the bay doors of the Midnight and headed down the ramp towards the well dressed woman standing away. Anne never honestly approved of the whole Companion/Whoring career path but she wouldn’t chastise it either. She could only assume that if she hadn’t had the abilities and education that she did when she was younger she would have become a whore as well. She’d offer the woman a smile, removing her leather gloves to tuck into the belt around her hips. She’d offer a deep bow. “Welcome, Miss Charlie I presume?” She’d rise waving back towards the ship. “If you’d please take the time to mark which pieces of luggage you’d like brought to your quarters, it will be a few moments before the other passenger arrives and we will get you settled in.”

She was beginning to wonder where the rest of her crew was, late was never a good sign. At least they had a few more days on Persephone to collect more passengers and the rest of her crew.

The thing about working as a "Traveling Doctor" is that When your in one place to long people think it's ok to come knock on your door at odd hours. Not that she minded, insomnia was a bitch anyway. So sleep really wasn't a problem for her. She would have been at the ship way earlier but a man had shown up at her little room she called home with his son in his arms. The little guy had broken his arm, and the family couldnt afford to pay the hospital bills, so she did the nice thing and helped them.

Now a hour later she was headed towards the docks; it was late, most people were already in be or out doing something. Her medical bag wad slung across her shoulder and her other bag full of clothes was in her right hand. She left her left hand free to hang beside the gun on her hip in case anyone decided to Bother her. It was a rather nice night, she wore a pair of faded jeans, a tank top and a old tank jacket she had since the war. Kate was in sight of the docks, she knew the design of the ship, the Firefly class made good cargo runners back in the day. Smiling she started walking down the row of ships, she walked past several ships, some that looked in perfect shape then those that looked bad. Kate quickly realized she was on one of the more shabbier looking. There were already people near the cargo bay doors, she made her way towards them, and to the one female she knew was the captain. "Captain DeBois... Weird to think there are two of y'all now." Kate held out her hand to the Captain, "Kate Harris, I believe I am y'alls medic"

"Cap'n?" Ranthol shuffles up behind Anne, brushing off the dust on his hands. The Hired movers move right past him into the Cargo hold. Ranthol points his thumb back at the movers packages. "You sure we need all this 猪屎 on the ship? I mean Midnight ain't exactly the prettiest place anyways. Side's what's in these things anyways? We won't be able to take many more passengers at this rate." Ranthol rubs his face a little and looks behind him for a second before turning back to Anne. He speaks softly "And do the new crew mates know what we're doing here? We don't tend to follow the Alliance rules all the time?"

James shuffled down the docks eye balling each of the ships he passed. The dock was pretty empty at this time of night so he moved along easily enough. He'd come to Persephone a month back on a smuggler's ship. He'd intended to go farther then this but had the good sense to get off when the man started talking about crossing Reaver territory to get where he'd wanted to go. James wasn't about to go anywhere near them Reaver's if he didn't have to. He'd learned a few years back that they hadn't just been fairy tales parents made up to keep their kids from traveling away from the core worlds.

Shuttering at the thought of them he blinked his eyes and stopped. He was coming within shouting distance of the firefly transport he'd booked passage on earlier in the week. There was already a small group forming around it, which he'd expected. The information had said the ship was hiring a whole new crew but he hadn't been interested in joining. James merely wanted to hitch a ride off this forsaken planet. He'd already made a few enemies here and would be glad to be rid of them.

Taking his right fingerless gloved hand he grabbed absently at the brim of his hat readjusting it on his head before continuing towards the ship. Coming upon the group he stopped standing there silently as, who he assumed, was the captain conversed with what had to be a companion. As he waited he watched as laborer's heaved what he knew had to be the companion's luggage aboard.

A companion on board eh?

He was about to say something when he caught the words of a man behind the captain, "don't tend to follow the Alliance". James flashed a smile, that had been all he needed to hear to know he was going to like it aboard this ship. And so he waited for the captain to disperse orders to the rest of the group before even attempting to make contact.

Anne would watch the movers finish their job, loading the Companion woman’s belongings onto the ship before heading out. At least most of what was needed before they headed out once again had been loaded onto the ship just after she’d arrived.

Her first mate was sneaking up behind her and speaking, making her jump. He was complaining about the storage space and she’d roll her eyes, turning to face him. “If it becomes and issue we’ll move the luggage to the port shuttle runner. It doesn’t work anyways.” There were more people arriving, she hoped at least some of them were her crew, for the moment she had her pilot and her first mate, and that wasn’t enough to fly. “Besides, think of it this way,” She was whispering now. “We pull a heist and the Alliance catches us before we can rabbit, it’ll take them a great deal of time and effort to go through that ladies privy before they even start on Midnights… extra storage.”

Yet another reason for keeping passengers on board. They got in the way, and were extra mouths to feed, but at least they pay their fares and it made her look legit. She’d slid her pack of smokes out of her pocket and stick another between her teeth, she hated sitting in port for too long, it had only been a short while now, but the longer she kept still the more likely it was the Alliance would start poking in your business.

Ranthol sighs and shoves his hands to his pockets. "It's your boat Cap'n. Just don't blame me when you trip on the cargo."
He swings himself around and walks back into midnight. Ranthol takes a few short steps and knocks on the door to Charlie's room "Hey, umm, lady... You need any help with your things?"

Ianto nodded as Captain Anne told him to go speak with the timid girl. However, as he began walking out away from the ship and around to the boxes he heard someone yell.

"There he is!"

Ianto heard the angry call behind him, but mainly felt the shock as a bullet tore it's way into the flesh of his right shoulder and another into his left leg. Too stunned to make a sound, he crumpled to the ground, but as he was grabbed by the man whom had shot him, he struggled to get loose, kicking with his uninjured leg as best he could, but only receiving a grumble and a 'they didn't specify alive' as a knife penetrated his right side and the butt of a gun came down on his head, hot blood quickly spreading. In too much pain to resist now, Ianto was hefted by the man, who began to carry him off.

"The 'lliance oughta give me a fair price for ye, boy. That li'l' stunt ye pulled off Santo in that go-se ship ye was in sure put a nice price on y'r he'd." Ianto barely heard as his captor rambled on, carrying him off to who knows where.

"Help." the injured boy mumbled the word half-heartedly as he drifted in and out of consciousness, going limp.

Ranthol hears the gunshot coming from out side and rolls his eyes. He smiles sarcastically at Charlie and holds up a finger "Hold that thought". Poking his head out shuttle he yells "Anne! Who the hell are you shootin' up!?"

Ranthol looks back to Charlie "Yeah, this stuff happens sometimes. I'll talk to the cap'n. Don't get beaten up in here." He exits the room and begins walking down the catwalk. "Better not be that damn Alliance officer again!"