Outerworld

XXXXIt started with warmth. The kind caused by racing heartbeats and flirtatious smiles. The kind caused by fingertips on skin typically untouched. The kind caused by mouths meeting in feverish kisses and exchanges in the dark. All at once that warmth vanished and was replaced by cold tables, latex covered hands, and pain as sharp as a knife. It cut into her spine, her wrists, the left side of her head. It was everywhere.

And then the warmth returned, but it grew hotter until she was burning from the inside out. Flames flickered beneath her skin and sharp searing pain stabbed through her until she arched upwards, gasping for breath, awoken from the nightmare. She dripped with sweat, sheets tangled around her. Beside her was a dark head, long hair fanned out against the pillows. Meg's head pounded hard enough to tell her she'd been drinking too much again.

That and she had no idea who the woman was.

She suppressed a sigh at her predicament and rose to dress. She slipped out of the room, leaving nothing behind, and the door silently wooshed shut behind her. At this point, she remembered where she was: Space Station Argeus--the meeting place for their next job. Probably the most dangerous she had accepted and she had yet to inform her crew.

Apparently, she had been too busy drinking and fucking to do her damn job. Frustrated with herself and her aching head and roiling stomach, she looked for the first, dark place to sit. She quickly found a sparsely lit cafe, still open and mostly quiet at this time of night, with soft jazz flowing from the speakers. She sat down at a table in the corner and asked for whatever concoction they could make to cure a hangover. There was no way she could face her crew like this. Especially if they rejected their new mission.

The god damn Solarflare, she thought with a rueful laugh that did nothing for her head. The waitress returned with a green shake-looking beverage that smelled like grass and lemon. Meg wrinkled her nose. After Meg declined interest in anything other than this odd concoction, the waitress held out a thin metal object. Meg held out her wrist for the woman to obtain her credits. She nodded her thanks and returned to her work.

Meg took a moment, steeling herself for the drink, and thought about how much she appreciated the implant beneath her skin there. They had begun the implementation after she had changed her name and ran from... them. She shivered, remembering the cold table and the many hands from her nightmare. Well, at least she has a way to collect her credits without them finding her. She lifted the drink to her mouth, plugged her nose, and chugged until she could no longer take the cold, slimy substance working its way down her throat. She slammed the glass onto the table, using all her concentration to keep the thick drink down, and swallowed. She shivered again but for a completely different reason.

There was a series of tones coming from her jacket's inner pocket. Too tired and pained to bother with the light from her Chatter so she pulled her earpiece from the small breast pocket. "Hellfire." She rasped.

Quick turns, brights lights, near misses and distant explosions. The rush of adrenaline was a constant flow in her body, much like the fire under her skin.

Rozalia was dreaming of one of the recent missions, one she particular finds fun and memorable which her captain and pilot would think otherwise. The crew of the Stardust were tasked with what seemed like a easy cargo delivery but after leaving the Autix-2 System they became under fire from their long hunters, Et Salvos. Rozalia had a grand ole time firing back at them while Banshee attempted to lose their followers through an asteroid belt. But just as she was remembering her favorite part she felt a shake and heard mumblings from a voice she could barely understand.

When Rozalia came to her senses an alien that wasn’t exactly human was telling her to leave, after looking around Roz figured out she must of fallen asleep on the bench outside of a vendor on the space station that was their most recent stop, Argues. Roz spent the precious night just exploring Space Station Argues, starting a couple bar fights for fun and stealing small trinkets off of people and being ran off by some thugs who didn’t appreciate her.

Roz threw her hood over her head and face and waved off the alien as she stood up, mumbling back to him, “Yeah, yeah. Leave me alone you baztard.” After checking her hologram, Roz knew she had time to kill before being required to meet back up at their ship so she decided to see if she can find any pricey information to sell or to even capitalize on. The misfit crew of the Stardust basically lived job to job so it was always good to have multiple leads at one time. Rozalia assumed the best place to gather some good information at this time was the foreign market, as people tend to discuss things when they think that no one else cares about them. As she finally arrived to the market, she smiled a little bit to herself as she saw something that would put worry and maybe even fear in some; Et Salvos officers. Granted, at the moment they didn’t seem to be hunting anyone down or doing anything important besides trying to get some rations or food, but Rozalia knew that if there were officers here, scouts and soldiers were on the station as well. This would be information that her captain would want to know and that they should probably leave soon.

As she was turning to leave the other way, Roz saw a sweet piece of pie a couple she put down for a moment and swiped it to fill herself up, completely out of sight. Her time living off the streets of Anvari helped teach Rozalia how to flawlessly flow through crowds of people and stay unnoticed. As she started her way back to the ship. When she felt like a comfortable distance away from the market Roz pulled out her Chatter and called her captain, quickly hearing her answer as she swallowed the last piece of pie she was eating. “Oh good that you’re alive after lazt night. Knowing that you hadn’t call to check in tellz you had a good time.” Roz giggles to herself, knowing she was teasing her captain. “Anywayz, zaw a couple Et Zalvoz people walking around the market zhopping. Probably be otherz patrolling.” She finished as she heard the agitation through the Chatter. "Okay, Captain, zee you back home.”

Rozalia headed back to the ship as per request of her captain, seeing that Banshee was already warming up the ship, she skipped into the bay announcing her return, not entirely sure if she had beat Hellfire back or not. “Ello! Gunner Plazma onboard! Ready to… BLOW thiz joint?” Rozalia giggled and joked to herself, looking around to see if anyone needed help.

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XXXXMeg listened to the voice in her ear as it transmitted over the chatter. At first, it was a little difficult to hear the speaker due to the noise in the background of wherever they were, but based on the impediment of their speech she knew it was Roz.

And she was teasing her.

Meg snorted in response to her questions. "I take it you stayed out of trouble then?" She asked sarcastically. She knew full well what kind of trouble Roz could get herself into. It's part of why she's a valued member onboard. Easy distractions. Meg forced herself to swallow more slime as it slowly slowly leeched the pain from her head. She nearly jumped from her seat at the words "Et Salvos". Even with Roz's "z"s she understood the name of her least favorite group of people.

And she hated a lot of people.

"I'll call Nat to ready the ship for launch. Head home and await further instructions." She downed the last bit of slime shake and bolted from the room. "Do not under any circumstances blow up the station. Not even when we leave." She made her way through sed station and down down down into the docks. She passed craft after craft of fine make until she made it to the rusted over clunkers and spray painted merc ships. Her's was somewhere between these two things.

The day she spotted the ship that now goes by Stardust, she had been a bit of a clunker and a hell of a fixer-upper. After a lot of time and more than a few credits, she had her up to be nice and shiny. However, she still has scars from damage sustained over the many years of her service. She's an older model on the outside, but most of her insides were refitted to be as updated as possible. Hard to outrun the law when the law is faster than you are.

"Hellfire to Banshee. Hellfire to Banshee. Do you read?" She muttered into her earpiece as she went. "Damnit, Nat stop feeling up whatever girl you have in the cockpit and get Stardust prepped for launch. Et Salvo is here." She didn't get an answer for a few more moments. Then she heard Roz in the distance as Nat finally responded sounding the hearing of the order and the acknowledging of it. Well, she sounded clearheaded so at least no one had tempted her with Comet.

Meg still worried for the day she'd lose her friend in a drug-filled stupor. Comet was a one hit addiction and it took a lot of effort and patience to keep from going back. And the withdrawals are ugly. Sweating, vomiting, hallucinations, you name it. Meg was glad Nat had made it past that point, but could she withstand the drug if it was offered to her again? If she couldn't resist the feel of stardust in her veins?

Finally, she found her ship, shining in the fluorescent lighting of the docks. Hundreds of years in the future and you'd think they'd find a replacement lighting that didn't make you look like the plague had slammed into you and made a run for it. Moving on. She climbed up into the cargo bay, nearly avoiding a frazzled looking woman with blue skin and bright green hair, slammed her fist against the button to close the hatch and sealed them all inside. Hopefully, her crew was accounted for because they were leaving. Now.

She made her way into the cockpit and took her place in the chair behind her pilot. "Nat, evasive maneuver sigma. I don't want to blaze up the place because we think we're being followed. If we are in fact being followed... book it. Otherwise, proceed with caution. Just a normal take off."

She pointed to the red-clothed figure off to the side. "You. Guns. Now. And remember what I said. Under no circumstances are you to blow up the space station. We may be pirates and murders, but we don't kill innocents. And there are more than 10,000 of them aboard that station." She gave her the sharpest look she could to prove she meant business and returned her attention to the star-filled vision that stretched before her.

"Launch."

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XXXXSoft jazz played through the speakers, electric lights decorated the table in the galley, and two places were set out in a romantic setting. Too bad the people it was meant for were up in the cockpit and tangled together. Thankfully, no rations were out. It would've been a waste. Their presence in the cockpit was meant to be for stargazing. Nat was supposed to show her the place she worked and point out the distant planets and stars whose light they could see from where they were docked at the station.

She had put on some jazz in the background to play through Stardust's speakers, but once the music was on, they found themselves embracing as they gazed out at the stars. One thing led to another and the girl Nat had asked aboard--a girl whose name she could no longer recall thanks to time and spirits--was pressed up against the glass, Nat's lips at her neck. Their hands roamed, pushing them ever closer to the inevitable crescendo of their interaction.

And then her radio went off.

She swore colorfully and in multiple languages, which was comical for someone of her size. She pushed the girl away from her in an attempt to make it to the Chatter before Meg said something irksome. The girl grabbed her from behind, her hand on Nat's breast and lips at her neck. "Let it go. They'll come if it's an emergency." At first, Nat didn't object--however she was a little irritated from being told what to do by someone who wasn't Meg, and turned to face the girl again. She had just given her a deep, hungry kiss when the Chatter went off again and Nat froze, ice filling her veins and killing any feelings of passion she had.

Et. Fucking. Salvos.

She pulled herself from the girl who protested once more, but Nat ignored her. When the girl insisted they continue--obviously not hearing her captain's words on the Chatter, Nat turned her dark eyes on her, her fingers rapping rapidly against her Chatter screen. "Get off this ship. Now before I put my blaster somewhere it really shouldn't go." The girl, wide-eyed and suddenly frightened, grabbed her jacket where it had been discarded onto the floor and grabbed the front of her shirt to hold it closed. She rushed from the cockpit. Those who had left the ship had now boarded and the girl seemed to make it back onto the station just in time for Meg to slam the button to close the hatch and soon appeared into the room giving her orders.

She didn't have to tell her twice. She executed the maneuver perfectly and they soon found themselves shot into space and drifting. They now waited for any sign of pursuit.

She turned to Meg, seeing the disheveled appearance and having the knowledge that she hadn't seen the captain for some time, she signed, "Glad you got some action." She turned to face the stars and typed into her Chatter. "You owe me a date."

Rozalia had just pulled down her hood from her face when she heard the closing the main entrance hatch and watched as Hellfire quickly went to the cockpit to hand out orders and take her captain seat next to their pilot up in the cockpit. She could tell that her Captain wasn’t exactly happy having to leave so early, especially because of Et Salvos. Rozalia was one of the few not to be directly wronged by the corporation, to her they were just some extra target practice and the occasional thorn in the side during some of the Stardust’s jobs. But Roz knew about Hellfire’s hatred towards them, kind of came out when the two of them talked about their common power over control over fire.

Roz snapped herself back to reality when she heard Captain Hellfire yelling to her and pointing; telling her to get to her babies, but not without adding a small remark about not blowing up station. “Oi, why? It waz a one time thing, a zatellite station. The view of it going boom waz pretty!” Rozalia shouted in response before quickly skipping down the hall towards her gun bag, setting her energy blades in their holder before climbing up into her seat and putting on her targeting HUD helmet and disengaging the lock on her seat for more range of motion.

Rozalia turned herself back towards Argues Space Station, targeting parameters ready to go waiting to see if there would be any followers, but also slightly hoping to be given permission to fire a rocket or two toward the Station. She could shoot a couple of rockets to the lower C quadrant of the station that would cause only minimal damage. “Before you zay it again, I’m not going to fire.” Rozalia quickly said into her Chatter, knowing Captain Hellfire can see what her guns are pointing at. Even though no one could see her face right now, Roz stuck out her lip in a pouty fashion as Argues got smaller in the distance and eventually out of range.

Rozalia was confused when she first joined the Stardust and the pilot wouldn’t talk to her and only send messages through Chatter, but after striking up conversation with Meg, Rozalia found out the truth about her voice and started learning GSL to try to understand the pilot better when she wasn’t typing, though her sign skills aren’t as good as her Captain’s signing ability.

Rozalia turned her attention to the occasional piece of scrap or asteroid they would fly by, quickly switching from one target to another, spinning her guns around pretending to fire. Rozalia use to fire shots at random pieces of scrap as they flew in space to keep her preoccupied until Hellfire told Roz off more than a handful of times about drawing unwanted attention to them and how it wasn’t smart.

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XXXXNat groaned as she stood, pushing against her back to stretch it and work out the kinks that formed as she worked on the pod in the docking bay. Practically everyone was asleep now, exhausted from celebration and resting before they found out their next assignment the day after. Nat, however, couldn't sleep. The near brush with Et Salvos putting her on edge. They hadn't seemed to follow them so she knew she could calm down. Her mind, however, refused.

She had wandered from her bedroom nearest the bridge and made her way through the corridors and down to the bay where their land pods were located. One of them had seen better days and Nat had slowly been fixing it up. She had been at it now for a few hours and her back was killing her. She did a little twist and then decided to head back to her room to try to sleep.

While on her way, she thought to stop at the lavatory just between the docks and the cargo bay. She had just turned a corner when she smacked into someone. Her first instinct was to sign out a quick apology and then move around them. That's what she did...at first. Then she realized she didn't recognize the person and the craft as small enough that she knew everyone onboard. A few of them intimately. She turned. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" She typed into the Chatter, more curious than angry. There was no reason to ask how considering their quick take off from the space station left little time to check for stowaways.

"Give me one good reason not to wake the captain right now and tell her you're here," she demanded, the Chatter taking away from the stern expression on her face. She observed the girl, looking her up and down. She was cute, no doubt about it, although dirty and a little skinny like she hadn't had a full meal in a while. Nat sighed. "Nevermind. Come with me first." She turned and led her up the 'vators to the galley.

Once they made it into the room, Nat prepared a quick meal of space gruel (leftovers and rations no one would miss with their new supplies, but food was food) and sat down facing the girl. "Spill."

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Rozalia was first awoken by the sound of running water coming from the showers, this was mostly her fault as she fell asleep sitting at one of the work benches closest to the bathroom, so she wasn’t too upset at whoever was taking the shower, though she was a little surprised that someone would be taking one at this hour. “Eh? Who iz taking a zhower right now?” Rozalia mumbled out loud to herself as she put her head back down on the table to go back to sleep. Well she would have gone back to sleep if her stomach didn’t decide to growl and rumble at her. “Ugh, I guess I’ll get zome food to zhut you up.” She said to her stomach as she poked up. Rozalia stood up, leaving her one of her energy blades on the table to go to the kitchen, leaving it to work on later.

Rozalia walked through the hall of the ship towards the kitchen, listening to the light hum of the numerous noises on the ship. Some people hated the noise that came with their ship, but Rozalia loved them, hence why she quickly claimed the room closest to the engines as hers to keep her stuff in, plus not really anyone else wanted that room.

As she got to the kitchen, Roz saw Nat sitting at a table with another person but didn’t really get a glance at the other person since her back was entered the kitchen and didn’t look at her as she walked by to get to one of the cupboards. Roz opened cabinet to see what small snack she could have right now to quiet her stomach. “Hey Banzhee, when iz the next pick up for those weird zlime thingz you got me addicted to?” Rozalia spoke as she continued to shuffle through the cabinet, finally deciding on a small pastry to snack on. After grabbing a small plate she went and sat next to Nat and across from the woman she was sitting with. realizing she didn't know who she was.

“Oh. Iz this the cargo for our next job, or are you zmuggling zome fun for yourzelf until our next ztop?” Roz said joking to Nat as she set down her plate and food. It wasn’t abnormal for them to have escort missions or to transport people. Before taking a bite of the pastry, Rozalia summoned a small flame in her hand to toast it a little, nothing too big but enough to do what she wanted. “Zo, how much is she worth?” Rozalia asked Nat she bit into her pastry and extinguished the flame in her hand.

XXXXNat kept her eyes pinned to the girl--well really a young woman, but with Nat's height, she appeared small--watching as she took in her surroundings. Watching as her nerves caused her to fidget. Watched as she wasn't eating the food. Nat tilted her head to the side. Maybe it was too cold? The girl began to explain but only got a sentence in before she started to talk quietly to herself. At first, Nat wondered if maybe there was something wrong with this woman and that she would have to be on her guard. Then she realized she was chastising herself for talking to a deaf person.

Nat bit back a laugh. While normally she would be insulted, she figured she had jumped to the best conclusion with the situation presented. After all, it's not as if anyone had come by to talk to Nat regularly to show her. The woman then typed out her same confession into her own Chatter and prepared it to project into the air for Nat to read. Although she really could've just shown her the screen. No need for theatrics. Nat was about to type out a response when she heard, rather than saw, Roz enters the galley asking about slime.

Nat was momentarily confused before she realized that Roz was talking about the jello she had made not too long ago that the crew couldn't get enough of. Apparently, that included Roz. However, if the prank Nat was beginning to plan was to work, she would have to ignore Roz. She'd tell her later it was in the refrigerator.

Turning slowly pretending she didn't hear Roz, but felt her, she let herself tense... and then relax once she took in her friend. "Hey babe," she typed, barely taking her eyes of the woman. "She's running from Et Solas." She leaned back in her chair, her eyes full of mischief. "She's a stowaway." She picked up the bowl of food from in front of her and handed it to Roz. "Here warm this for me. If we're to take her to Captain Hellfire, she'll need to eat first." She grinned. "Although I guess it doesn't matter either way." She realized she was probably starting to scare the woman, but she couldn't help herself. A good prank is like a drug. You can't help but take a hit.

Of course, this put her mind on Comet which made her hands twitched, but she shoved it as far back into her mind as she could. Not today, Satan. Not today.

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Rozalia wasn’t shocked when Nat told her this woman was running from Et Salvos, wasn’t that uncommon when people try to get away from them, but what surprised her was when she found out this woman was a stowaway. “Hmm, wonder how much zhe’z worth to Et Zalvoz.” Roz said outloud with a giggle. The crew of the Stardust would never do business with Et Salvos, but Rozalia loved to joke around. Roz quickly heated up the cup Nat had placed in front of her. She did this often for people as it was quicker than using any equipment around the ship, though she would get annoyed when asked over and over, especially if she was busy.

Seeing the woman stand up put Rozalia on edge, especially with blades in her hands. Rozalia placed the one energy blade she had with her on the table, to show she also had a weapon and could grab it quickly if need be. Yeah, she had her flames, but the more the merrier in the mind of Roz. But when the she kicked over the chair Rozalia also stood up, placing her hand on her own energy blade. Who does this woman she think she is? Rozalia thought to herself. She quickly felt Nat’s hand on her own, well her gloved hand. Roz always wondered about why she wore gloves, but Meg had taught her not to always be asking questions about their crew mates since sometimes its “not nice to bug them.”

After the woman apologized for kicking over her chair, she practically demanded them to take her to Hellfire. “Captain. Captain Hellfire, ezpecially to a ztowaway.” Rozalia shot out of her mouth as she stepped up from the table. Though she did have a point, their captain would want to know about a stowaway. “Up to you Banzhee. Pretty late, but Captain tendz to be awake randomly. I’ll follow behind you two.” Rozalia spoke towards Nat, leaving the decision up to her.

XXXXNat watched as the woman's twitches stilled and her eyes grew darker with suspicion and anger. They were definitely pushing too hard. She was about to attempt to diffuse the situation when the girl suddenly shot from her chair, donned her bag, and placed her weapons in hand. A challenge. Nat's eyes narrowed and the grin left her face, but she didn't rise to meet it. She felt Roz tense beside her. She knew her friend well enough to know that if she didn't keep her in the present, something disastrous was going to happen. The last thing they needed was a fight in the galley.

Nat placed a gloved hand on top of Roz's where it placed her energy sword on the table, steading her. She stood slowly. She pretended like she didn't know what the girl was saying specifically--since apparently, she was deaf--but even if that were the case, she would be able to tell by her body language that she didn't like the way the two were acting. "I take it you would like to be taken to Captain Hellfire," she typed. She allowed a slow, knowing smile spread across her features. This would prove interesting. "Suit yourself."

She looked at Roz and signed, She thinks I'm deaf. Play along. This will be interesting. Without another word, she turned from the room and led the way to Meg's room. Nat and Meg were like sister souls. They were mostly night owls. Space was dark in the first place so "night" was an abstract concept. They always found it difficult to sync themselves with the usual rhythms. Knowing Meg, she was probably wide awake and having a drink by her window. Once she reached the door to her quarters, she lifted a knuckle and knocked. Rap. Tap-Tap. Rap.

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XXXXMeg was, in fact, standing by her window, gazing at the stars. There was a small glass of vodka in her hand that she swirled around. After the previous night, she wasn't desperate for another drink, but this was a ritual, years in the making, that helped her to sleep alone. She had spent a lot of time alone these days. Meg sighed just as a knock came to her door. Rap. Tap-Tap. Rap. Natsumi.

She turned, curious as to why her pilot would be visiting at this hour. "Come in," She called out. Not a demand. Not a request. A neutrally toned statement. She didn't have it in her for authority at the moment. However, that was about to change. First into her room was Natsumi--Banshee, she reminded herself. Followed by this tiny, mouse of a girl fairly clean despite her filthy clothing and an aggressive look on her face. Interesting...and concerning considering Meg didn't know this girl. And she had seen the one Nat had been fooling around with as she boarded. Last was Roz and Meg knew the girl didn't belong to her. The girl might fly in both systems, but the girl between them was definitely not her type. She'd break her. At least, that was Meg's impression. Why Meg's mind immediately went to a relationship and not the obvious was probably due to how messed up she had been lately. She was so out of sorts.

Probably because it was the anniversary. Et Salvos.

Meg's hands fisted at the words, flames flickering around her fingertips and up her arms for a blink. Now that anger cleared her mind, she realized what she was looking at. A stowaway. Nat did a quick sign to her telling her to play along and pointing to the girl and her ears as subtly as possible. The girl would have to be looking at Nat to see it and she wasn't. Her dark eyes were on Meg. Nat typed a few words into her Chatter. "We have a stowaway, Captain. Says she's running from Et Salvos."

Meg frowned. They were always running from Et Salvos but if she jumped onto a ship without buying passage just as they were running, she figured there might be more to the tale. She turned her attention from her pilot and onto the stowaway. "Why are they chasing you? If you're wanted by the most powerful corporation in the 'verse, I don't want you on my ship. We have problems enough." She actually turned from her, putting her back to the enemy. Which most times would be stupid but she had two loyal crew members in the room, plus... she could see the girl's reflection in the glass of the window. "We could drop you off at the next planet--which unfortunately is a central planet--but I won't risk my crew for a stowaway."

She said it so concretely. Like there was no other option. As if giving a life sentence. She grabbed the glass from the table and knocked it back, the liquid burning as it went down. A burn echoed in the fire of her heart where Et Salvos had planted it.

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Before the left to bring the stowaway to Hellfire, Nat signed to Rozalia on the side, in a quiet matter so only she would see. This led to Rozalia giggling a little as the two other girls walked down the hallway and followed behind them, this little prank would be fun to do, plus a little helpful to get information if need be. Rozalia kept an eye on the stowaway as they walked in case she tried anything more than kicking over a chair, especially since she was carrying weapons. Since Nat didn’t say anything about her leaving them behind she didn’t care to say anything else about them, plus Rosalia was pretty sure she could she could take this woman herself, little addition of having powers.

When they reached the Captains quarters, Banshee did her knock for Hellfire to know t was her. She has requested each crew member have a knock so she could tell who was at her door without physically checking, as well as having an emergency knock if they were being held hostage. It didn’t take long for Meg to announce they were allowed in and Nat opened and walked in, quickly stepping to the side also signing to her about the dead thing and then informing her about the stowaway and that she was running from Et Salvos. Rozalia knew that she didn’t like taking about Et Salvos more than when it was needed, and also knew that her captain wouldn’t play it easy on this stranger girl. Giggling a little as Meg seemed to almost play with the stowaway.

Rozalia way back and relaxed while the two conversed back and forth, keeping herself entertained by swirling her one energy blade in her hands. Roz wasn’t one for politics and talking, more into having fun and doing whatever she wanted. Though she did peak her head up she Captain Hellfire insisted on dropping her off on a central planet, though she knew her captain dislikes most central planets. But she was even more shocked that the woman just accepted this fate, quickly asking where she would be locked away and what planet. This woman who had risked stowaway on their ship, carried these blades weapons and was running from Et Salvos.

”What? Really? Juzt gonna give up like that?” Rozalia spoke her immediate thoughts out loud, turning towards the woman. “Doezn’t zeem like you actually need those bladez then, thought zomeone with thoze would maybe argue, or zomething. What would Et Zalvoz want with zomeone like you?” She continue to talk as she took a towards her. ”They probably aren’t actually chazing you...” Rozalia with a snark, her energy base gripped in her left hand, now about two arm lengths from her. Rozalia didn’t like people who would just give up, and more so people that were hiding something. In all honestly, Rozalia probably should have stayed quiet since this wasn’t exactly her place to talk, but she was already on impulse with what happened in the kitchen.

XXXXMeg was surprised and a little disappointed that the girl had given herself up so easily. However, it didn't make a difference to Meg whether she accepted her fate or fought it. It only mattered if she began to threaten her crew. Which, apparently, the girl was smart enough to know better than to threaten a crew in front of its captain. Unfortunately for the girl, the core planet closest and the only planet nearby on the way to their next assignment was Corphious V... and Et Salvos lab planet. Mostly for botanicals and more natural experimentation, but Et Salvos nonetheless.

Roz was on edge as the girl gave up so quickly. Roz was a fighter, the kind who only went down when her life left her eyes. In fact, Meg is still surprised that she managed to talk such a woman into her crew. And Meg put up with some of her antics. Probably because the two were like sister souls. Redheads with fire in their hearts that flowed through their veins. Nat easily diffused the situation, as she always did when it came to Roz. A gentle hand and a firm look to remind her that everything was alright. She knew Meg could handle almost any situation.

Meg made her way behind her desk to sit in the blue velvet office chair. She released the magnets holding it in place in case of a roll, and sat down, leaning back. "I wouldn't be so quick to give in, little one." She said as she rubbed a hand down her face. She figured that comment might warrant a backlash from the girl since she was probably about the same age as Meg and was average size for the woman. Meg just couldn't help but feel that she was so naive to the world around her. Probably hadn't seen much of the world. Hadn't seen the kind of dark, backstabbing pain it could cause. "You don't even know what planet it is." She swiveled her chair to face the window again, suddenly overwhelmed with everything in front of her. "Corphious V."

Nat, to Meg's surprise, began to type furiously in opposition to leaving the girl there. Nat typically didn't care about strangers one way or the other as long as it benefited her in the end. It was due to her own past that Nat seemed to be arguing against such a move. Roz began to chime in as well. Of course, Nat drew Meg's own past with the corporation into the conversation causing Meg to tense and flames flickered. Thankfully, Meg felt it coming and lifted her hands from the velvet armrests before she singed the fabric of her favorite chair.

Once the flames ceased, she turned her chair and slammed her hands down on the desk, ratting its contents. "Fine. If you want her to stay aboard, you have to watch her and she has to work. I can't afford to feed an extra mouth that just sits there." She turned her attention to the girl. "You have until Corphious V is in our sights to prove your worth to me as a member of my crew. Where we're going, I don't need someone whose going to get in the way. Our next assignment is tough enough as it is."

There was silence for a moment before Meg revealed the weight that had been weighing down her shoulders. The reason she had screwed around with a stranger on the space station. The reason for the drinking that led up to it. And the reason for the drink and her depressed state now. The impossibility that was before them.

"We are to retrieve a rare ship part from The Solarflare."

---

XXXXNat listened distantly to Meg's conversation with the stowaway. She couldn't care less whether the girl fought or gave in as long as she didn't attempt to harm her captain. She was the reason she was still alive and not dead with her soul high on Comet for the rest of eternity. At the thought of Comet once more, her fingers twitched and her heart raced with longing. Thankfully, Roz took that moment to say something dangerous. Nat reached out and held tight and fast to her hand. She squeezed it and gave her a firm look to remind her that it's alright. Not everyone is as die-hard as miss "Let's blow shit up."

She ran a gloved thumb over the back of her hand, thankful that Roz didn't seem to lose control of her power when angry like Meg did. To be fair, the two had obtained their abilities in different ways. One ravaged by Et Salvos, and still bore the scars to prove it, and the other in the clutches of a cult.

Then Meg informed them what planet they would be leaving the girl and her blood turned to ice. She let go of Roz's hand, not even bothering to remember to pretend to be deaf as she typed furiously into her Chatter. "Meg, you can't be serious." All the color had drained from her face. It wasn't the place where Nat's own past occurred, but it was a testing planet for biology. For all, she knew the girl could be turned into some kind of human-plant hybrid. "Look, I get it. We struggle enough as it is, but we can't leave her there. They'll use her like they used me. Like they used you." She didn't even flinch when Meg had turned back to face them, eyes cold as she slammed her hands down on the desk's surface silencing everyone.

Nat hadn't even noticed that Roz had opened her big mouth again. She gave her decision and she felt with both relief and dread which collide in a sickening knot in her stomach. She was in charge of the naive girl, but at least she was able to stay. However, they had to figure out the best way for her to be useful. Nat signed her thanks and turned to leave, ready to bring the girl with her to begin their preparations when Meg informed them of their mission.

She spun back to face her, hand's signing the same word repeatedly. What!?

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Rozalia mostly ignored the other snippets said by her captain, putting her focus and attention on the stowaway. A little surprised that Nat was actually standing up for her, talking about her and Meg’s past, which she knew wasn’t exactly good. Meghan, Captain Hellfire, didn’t exactly like talking about her past, about how she got her powers, and why she hates Et Salvos, especially if someone other than her brings it up. Roz smirked a little seeing some of Hellfire’s flame come alive with her emotion before continuing.

Rozalia looked over to Nat when their captain declared that she would be in charge of the new woman. ”Ha, have fun babyzitting.” Roz said with a light chuckle, teasing her pilot friend. Though when Captain Hellfire brought up how their next assignment would be tough, this immediately took all her attention, she loved learning about the next mission and such. Not the small gritty details, but mostly how much fun she could have and how much money they would be making. “Oh a new job!” Rozalia perked up a little to listen to whatever would be said next.

”…the Solarflare.” Rozalia was shocked at first, gasped for a second staying quiet for another, before finally releasing her energy. “Wait… wait. THE ZOLARFLARE?” Rozalia asked as she took a step forward, now next to Nat who was already asking for clarification. “The crew killer? Where no one haz come back from?” A smile quickly came across Rozalia’s face, getting all giggly and bouncing a little on her toes. She heard all the legends there were to tell about the ship named The Solarflare, some of the moth ruthless and best pirates going after it’s treasure and never being heard from again. Obviously, there was something there of price, especially now that her captain would accept a dangerous job to go in there and retrieve something.

“Well, what’z so good about this part? Captain.” Rozalia asked, wide smile still on her face. While the stowaway mentioned leaving the room, Roz just wanted to learn more about the mission, usually she would just be told the prize and her job for it, but now, now she wanted to know more.

XXXXMeg pinched the bridge of her nose. She needed another drink. If this was how her two most loyal crewmates reacted to the news she could only imagine how the rest would react. What she didn't expect was the fit of laughter from their stowaway, whose name Meg had yet to acquire. She decided to ignore the outburst and, instead, respond to her crew. "Yes. I know, Nat. You don't have to be so dramatic." She addressed Roz's questions next but allowed her eyes to drift up to the ceiling so she wouldn't have to look at the crew who she was going to be putting in danger. "I don't know. Craig is apparently willing to pay us a mountain-load of credits if we go and retrieve it. We could purchase a small moon with the payoff. Hell, we could probably buy Paradiso II if we wanted. Finally have an HQ to return to at the end of jobs instead of jumping from space to space. Think about it. All those beaches. Places to hide..." Her monologue drifted into silence as she realized she was rambling.

"Anyway, yes. That's the mission and I'd appreciate it, Rozalia if you didn't inform the rest of the ship before I've had a chance to. I'm going to send out a gathering alert in the next few hours for those who can leave their posts. The rest will hear after over the PA for morning announcements." She rubbed at the back of her neck with both hands, trying to work out the kink that had formed there. When Meg first created her crew, she thought it would be fun. Swiping goods from Et Salvos border colonies. Blowing up inhumane labs. Showing off her ship as a means to impress lovers. Etc. Etc.

In reality, her first week of being a captain ended up with her ship caught, her crew captured, and her identity almost discovered. If it weren't for one of her crew members being a highly valued individual who vied for her, they would've been spaced.

She turned her attention to the group before her. "Roz, get some sleep. In your room preferably. I don't want engineers Chatting me at the wee hours complaining that you're in the way. Again. Nat, keep an eye on our little... probie. And little Probie... I guess we should get your name. Then you're on your way."

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Rozalia stood next to Nat, still smiley and listening to Hellfire explain a little bit more about the money they would be giving. Oh! Having my own moon would be cool, dibz on that big one in the Quantice Zector!” Rozalia spoke up for a second, before being called out and specifically told not to tell anyone, Roz putting out a pouty lip for a second. Granted, if her captain hadn’t told her to not tell anyone, she would’ve talked to anyone she would see about the job and how they would be rich off of this job, and be the first and only crew to make it in and out of The Solarflare and tell the tell.

Roz giggled and judged Nat a little, entertained by her own whole reaction to the news of their new mission. Most people on the ship probably weren’t as ecstatic as she Plazma was, the chaotic little sister of the Stardust crew. The majority of the crew would more than likely react similar to Banshee. Rozalia quickly caught her captains eye before being told her next orders, one she’s been given numerous times and didn’t exactly like. ”Meh, they can go kizz my bladez.” Roz said as she rolled her eyes.

The new woman spoke up eventually, stating her name as Gadget. Hmm, much mean she likes to tinker with things? Better not touch my baby though. Rozalia thought to herself, referencing her main gun battery that she rarely let others touch. ”Well, I’ll be going now then. Wake me if any fun stuff happenz!” Roz announced before she left, giving a smile and a nod to Nat before skipping out of the Captain quarters.

Rozalia went and grabbed her energy blade she left on the table and pieces it back together as she walked back to her room, opening the door and hearing the engines at their lower setting. She quickly threw her robe onto her bed and sat at her personal workbench in an black loose shirt and shorts that Nat had gotten her once as a gift after Plasma’s first mission. She leaned back and had her feet on her table as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

XXXX

"Attention Stardust crew.
This is your captain speaking.
All available personnel report to the bridge.
For the rest of you, listen up, I'll be broadcasting a big announcement.
Captain Hellfire out."

Meg paced back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. If there were carpets on her ship, she'd be wearing a tread into them. Her crew began to trickle in, concern and curiosity on their faces. She waited about ten minutes before she stood before her crew, standing on a storage box because while she's taller than average, she's still hard to see.

"My most loyal crew!" She began and nervous figeting spread through the crowd. Shit, she thought, Too formal. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I've called your asses here for news of our next mission." Some shoulders relaxed. Better. "If we succeed, we're garunteed a huge pay off." She paused, waiting for the news to sink in. That way they would have something to sway them towards taking on their most dangerous mission yet.

"Now before I tell you, I must also warn you that this is the most dangerous job we've ever taken on and you all know the types of jobs we've taken. Keep that in mind." She waited just another beat longer. "We're to retrieve a special part from a ship of legend."

People began to shout guesses. And all of them wrong. Meg allowed herself a mad grin to show just how... crazy this all really was. How much they were really putting on the line for this. "We're going after The Solarflare." Shouts of protest filled the air. Cries of Anger. Apparently, her stressing of the word "huge" wasn't sinking in as quickly as she hoped.

"Silence!" She shouted only once and waited, a hand on her blaster. She wouldn't actually shoot anyone but she can chuck the thing pretty good. When they calmed enough to listen she continued, "Now look. With the money we get, we could buy a large moon... or a small planet. We could finally have our own space to be. A place to call home so this home away from home doesn't seem so cramped. We could buy more ships and maybe become bigger than the Et Salvos Corporation! Now whose with me!?"

And then shit when sideways. Literally sideways as the ship took a blast from a side, tilting the room and everyone in it to the side. Sirens blared. Lights flickered. They were under attack.

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Plasma was first woken up by her Captain’s call over the intercom system for people to report for a roll call. As she sat up and rubber her eyes she contemplated getting up and dressed to head to the bridge or to just put her head back down and go to sleep. She knew that it was to just tell the rest of the crew about their mission so she felt like Hellfire wouldn’t be too upset if she didn’t she didn’t see her primary gunner up at the bridge. Roz listened a little bit longer to the captains speech and hearing the cries of the rest of the crew, not many were happy about the mission Hellfire had accepted for them.

Rozalia laid her head back down and closed her eyes to get some sleep, atleast that was her plan before the whole ship shook, knocking Rozalia and her chair to the ground. “Fuck! Ow, what the hell?” She shouted to herself, landing hard on the and the chair landing on her leg didn’t feel too good. As Rozalia stood up she heard the alarms start up and lights go out a couple times, she looked out her windows seeing two ships two not so friendly ships. “Well, fuck...” she said out loud to herself.

Plasma was already running down the hall when she clicked on her chatter, weaving through other crew members. “This is Gunner Plazma, heading to the primary gun battery, requezt for number of hostilez. Give me zome info Banzhee.” Plazma knew that in any gun fight or getaway, a pilot and gunner needed to have communication. “Alzo, Rex, I need you down at the lower zecondary gunz.” Plasma said over her chatter to one of the other crewmen she’s worked with on the guns. She has the Stardust set up where she can have control of all the it’s guns and cannons from her primary seat but was able to give manual control to each gun individually if needed. It only took Plasma no more than 30 seconds to get to her station and getting everything hooked up and ready to go live.

“Plasma, this is Rex, the ships have shields, regular firepower isn’t doing much right now.” Plasma heard into her ear as her seat spun her around and she grabbed onto her controls. “I can fix that!” She shouted as she fired their main cannon at one the ships, almost missing but scraping along the right side, it was enough to lower the shields. “Gotta wait for my baby to recharge. Let’z have zome fun!” Roz commented as she let loose the firepower of the Stardust.

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XXXX Meg swore colorfully as the ship was righted. She could see a dark head peaking just over the back of the pilot's chair as Banshee took control. She was struggling with the help in her attempts to keep the ship steady and in place. They could both feel the purring of the ship's engines as she stabilized. But for how much longer?

She stood on her small platform once more, crying, "Battlestations!" Her crew scrambled, somehow still respecting her command after the news she had just given them. Either they were on her side once more, or they were just looking after their own skins. Either way, she was glad of it. Banshee whistled through her teeth, signaling for communications to spread the word throughout the ship. Not that the sirens made it obvious or anything.

Once she could hold the ship steady long enough, Nat quickly shot out a message to Roz. "You at the gunz, babe?" She asked, purposely making fun of her speech impediment. Though she knew her friend would see it as a sign of love. It wouldn't be the first time and it certainly wouldn't be the last. While she waited for a reply, she made a quick signal to Meg, knowing from experience that she'd understand even if she was looking on from behind. Awaiting orders, Captain. Meg didn't respond, but she knew she saw considering her next order was, "Evasive maneuvers! Get about fifty yards away and tell Roz to punt 'em."

Just before Nat swung the ship around, a large silver ship loomed before them. The symbol of Et Salvos shimmered on the side in the light of their gun blasts. Nat's blood turned to ice at the thought. Her mind slipping into the realm of the past. Of cold hands on her skin, a scar along her throat, and the knowledge that she no longer knew what her voice sounded like. The last thought turned her vision red, a crimson blotch that spread until it was all she saw and it took everything in her to keep from ramming them with their tiny ship. She hadn't even noticed the other ship coming up beside them.

A buzzing in her ear pulled her from her thoughts. Roz requesting info. It snapped her out of it completely, and she began to turn the ship around, albeit not very gracefully. Another round of swears burst from Meg. "Watch those turns, Nat! If we break a rudder we're sunk!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small, curly-haired girl off to the side, watching those in the bay bustle about. "You! Gizmo... no, Gadget. You best be finding somewhere else to be. Nat informed me you're good at machines. Unfortunately, you're of no use here and I don't need untrained personnel in my engines right now. Nat must've given you a bunk. Go find it." She didn't mean it to come out cross, but her baby was being fired at and her pilot was turning so sharply she could practically hear the rudders crack. Although, they weren't actually damaged.

Once Nat was able to, she quickly typed out another message to Roz. "Captain says fire once we're fifty yards out and I turn us back." She replies. After a moment's hesitation, she added, "You up for some drinks after this mess? Gettings a lot of memory garbage at the moment that I need to be rid of for a while."

Meg's voice cut through the air. "On second thought, we can't take both ships. Not with the damage we've sustained. Nat, tell Roz that once we turn, blast them with the shockwaves and smokers. I know it won't damage them, but it'll allow us enough cover to book it. We can land on one of the moons to refuel if need be. We're smaller and faster. We just need to get far away and fast."

Nat signaled her acknowledgment and relayed the information to Roz.