The Syndicate

Location: Jenny Wren, Galley

While Kit and Low were in the thick of undercover intrigue, the ship sat silent. The tension was thick, no one here liked just waiting around for something to happen, but they didn’t exactly have any choice. Ellie had put together some kind of meal, nothing extravagant like Cinnamon Man seemed to like to do, but it was sufficient. For the most part Fiona had kept to her room. Teddy had spent most of his time in the cargo hold, keeping watch, but after dinner he had gone to bed.

Graham returned from having delivered a plate of food to Fiona and found Ellie in the kitchen, washing dishes. He stood on the other side of the counter from her, she had her back turned and hadn’t heard him come back in. She was humming softly to herself. He remembered this was a nervous habit she had, a way to keep herself from thinking about the things that were worrying her. Staying silent, he observed as she worked. Her red curls escaped from a messy bun, she was wearing a tank top and he could see the freckles on her shoulders. She finally put the last dish in the drying rack and grabbed a towel to dry her wet and soapy hands. Tossing the towel aside she turned around and jumped backwards against the counter in shock, “Good God Ian, what’re you tryin’ to give me a heart attack?!”

He flushed in embarrassment at being caught watching her, “No sorry, I just came back from giving Fiona her food, I was going to do the dishes but it looks like you beat me to it.” He forced a weak smile and tried to act nonchalant. “Anyway, I’, going to head back down to the Medbay for a bit, thought I might see if I can work a little more on a better treatment for Fiona before I head off to bed. Did you need anything from me?”

Ellie reached back and pulled the tie out of her hair, letting her locks fall loose around her face as she replied, “No, I’m probably going to head to bed myself soon. I locked up down there before dinner so I think we should be ok. Besides, we haven’t seen any sign of problems so far.” She offered him a smile and then yawned as she headed for the corridor back to her bunk, saying over her shoulder, “Night Ian.”

He watched her leave and then sighed, muttering to himself with frustration, “Why are you torturing yourself Ian?”

He made his way down the spiral staircase and out into the back end of the cargo hold. He was a step from the threshold of the medbay when he heard a noise. He stopped and stood still, holding his breath and listening intently. A metallic scraping sound, very faint. Turning slowly, he walked a few steps into the cargo hold and pause to listen again. Second ticked past and it felt like a lifetime of silence, but then just when he thought he had imagined it he heard it again. A metallic scraping sound, coming from the far end of the cargo hold, where they would load. Cautiously he crossed the hold, walking softly until he reached the other end. Standing still he listened again. Once again a sound, this time of what sounded like some kind of electronic device, it sounded like it was just outside the loading dock. He moved closer still until he was right on it, listening. Finally he could barely make out bits of whispered conversation.

“... got a lock on… just take a…. “

“Hurry up!”

“I’m going… I can… one second…”

As it registered that someone was tampering with something on the outside of the ship, the loading dock sprang to life, opening itself and lowering. Just as he was about to turn and make a break for the crew quarters to warn Ellie, a hand clamped over his mouth from behind and he felt the cold press of a gun into the small of his back.

“Now, now. My buddies just want to come in and see what kind of hospitality we can find here. It would be unneighborly of you to run away from them, don’t you think?”

The loading dock hit the ground with a dull thud, Ian hoped that Ellie or Teddy had heard it from the upper deck, but it was hard to know if they were even still awake. Two men entered, one small and squirrely looking, while the bigger one toted a shotgun, clearly the muscle of the group. He didn’t have time to even try to escape before his captor pulled the gun from his back and struck him on the head with it. Black warmth enveloped his senses and he fell to the floor of the cargo hold limply.

Location: Jenny Wren, Cargo Hold

[mention]Ellie[/mention] [mention]Teddy[/mention] [mention]fionafiacha[/mention]

Joint Post with Captain McKee and Dr. Graham (Teddy written as an NPC by Annie)

Location: Jenny Wren, Medbay

The medical bay had a lingering smell of soap and disinfectant. Graham’s sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he was scrubbing at the floor, just a few feet from the door. Things were relatively slow for him here on the ship, so he was looking for busy work to keep himself occupied while Ellie and her crew were out doing whatever it was they do. His mind wandered as the brush circled the steel plating, trailing soapy bubbles in its wake. Sweat was beading on his forehead and he lifted his arm to wipe the sweat away on his sleeve. He looked out at the nearly completed job and then bent over to finish the last couple feet. He was intent on keeping his mind occupied.

Ellie came up behind Graham and crossed her arms over her chest before nudging his leg with her boot.

The sudden pressure against his leg was so unexpected that Graham jumped at the sensation and fell to his left. His startled gaze turned upwards to find Ellie looking down at him, arms crossed and looking tenser than she had since she saw him for the first time that day in the bar on Greenleaf. “What’s wrong?” He asked as he hopped up and wiped his wet and soapy hands on his pants.

Instead of answering him, Ellie turned to Teddy, “There's a locker with some spare weapons in the galley, can you go up and get some guns and ammo ready? The Doc and I will be up in a minute. And see if you can’t find the girl too, make sure she’s tucked away somewhere safe.”

Teddy touched a finger to the brim of his hat, “As you like ma’am.” His glance slid briefly to the young doctor’s face and the smallest slip of a smile settled on his mouth as he turned and headed for the stairs.

Watching him leave, Graham felt a sense of unease. As if the stiff ex-Alliance man knew something that he himself did not. Once Teddy was out of sight, he looked questioningly back at Ellie.

She blew a stray lock of hair out of her face with frustration, this day was not going well. “We have a job, but we think we were bein' followed by someone else. Kit and Low went on into town to scout things out,” she hesitated, thinking of how she lost one crew member already. She was worried about Fiona and even Ian.

Graham tipped his head a bit, studying her face. “El, what’s wrong?” He knew her moods better than anyone, even if it had been years since he had seen them all. She was still as easy for him to read as a book. Even now, instead of a woman in her mid thirties, he felt like he was looking into the eyes of that scrappy little girl who refused to let him leave when he wanted to run away. She had been so worried about him that night. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“Damn it, Ian! I don’t know if I can keep you safe! I have enough to worry about as it is,” her anxiety took the expression of an angry outburst.

He was quiet for just a moment and then busted up into laughter. After catching his breath he asked, “That’s it? That’s what was worrying you?”

It was Ellie’s turn to be taken aback, “What do you mean, that’s it!? That’s a pretty big worry, I’d say!”

Graham stepped in close to her and held her gaze steadily as he reached down to take one of her sidearms from its holster. He then he brushed past her, stalking quickly across the cargo hold and out to the end of the open bay ramp.

For the moment when he stepped near, she felt like she couldn’t draw a breath. As if her chest were constricted and all she could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Then he took her gun and walked away, leaving her in shock. Recovering her senses, she turned and scurried after him, “What are you doing?!”

He stood looking out until she caught up to him, then pointed the gun at a “No Trespassing” sign hanging on a fence about 50 or 60 yards away.

“Ian, we don’t have time for this, come on…”

The shot rang out and it was followed by the familiar metallic clang of the bullet striking the aluminum sign. He turned and held the gun out to her handle first. “I may not be as sharp with a weapon as your boys Low and Cinnamon Man, or kill men with my sword like Stuffy up there. But I can take care of myself. Put a gun in my hands and I’ll do what needs done.” His eyes held the determined look of a man who was tired of being underestimated.

She grasped the handle and slid the gun back into its holster, “What about those oaths you medical types take. Isn’t there somethin' in there about doin' no harm?”

Leading the way back inside he retorted, “I don’t think that counts if you are defending yourself,” he stopped short and spun around to give her a meaningful look, “or the people you love.”

Barely able to keep from running over him as he stopped in front of her, she eyed him warily as he spoke. She cleared her throat awkwardly, “Well let’s get you somethin' to shoot with then,” and sidestepped around him. Without even the smallest of glances backwards she took the stairs up to the upper deck two at a time.

Teddy didn’t even look up as she came trotting into the room, he was cleaning a rifle with a calm and ease that few of them seemed to have on the crew. She settled herself down on the arm of the couch and could hear Graham as he came up the stairs, “Where’s Fiona?”

“She was in her room, I told her to lock the door from the inside and not to come out until one of us comes to get her. No matter what she hears outside.”

“You think it’s gonna come to that?”

He gave a non-committal shrug, “It’s possible. Then again, we might not have any problems at all. Either way, I thought it was prudent to keep her locked in safe and sound.” Teddy looked up at the doctor as he joined them and commented jovially, “Hello Doctor, I see that gun shot wasn’t our dear captain disposing of you.”

Graham ran a hand through his hair and gave a half hearted smile at Teddy's joke, “No, it was just me showing her why she shouldn’t dispose of me.”

“So I was thinkin',” she said, ignoring their conversation, “we should set up in the cargo hold. Along the catwalks. One on each side and one on the back wall. That way the entrances'll be covered.”

With a thoughtful nod, Teddy spoke up, “I can be along the back wall. In case anyone makes it across the bay and to the stairs or lower sleeping quarters I can get there quickly.” He patted the saber laying on the table.

Graham interrupted, “We should clear as much out of the cargo hold as we can. We don’t want to give them anything to take cover behind.”

Ellie shot him a surprised look, then nodded slowly. “Shouldn’t be difficult, the guys have the mule, we can move the skiff to the back by the medbay and we aren’t carryin' too much aside from that. Nothin’ that can’t get moved into the galley or the engine room anyway.”

Teddy stood up and took his saber, “Well let’s get to it then, shall we?”

Joint Post with Graham and Ellie

Location: Jenny Wren, Med Bay

“Knock, knock,” Ellie’s voice interrupted Graham’s reading and he looked up to see her holding up her hand which appeared a bit bloodied, “I seem to have some work for you.”

He hopped up off his stool in surprise and closed the distance between them quickly, “Ellie! What did you do?” He took her hand and looked it over. Her knuckles were broken open and bloodied, but they didn’t appear to be too deep.

An embarrassed look crossed Ellie’s face and she said, “I got in a fight with a wall.”

Graham glanced up at her face for a moment, something felt off. He didn’t ask though, just pointed to a stool and said, “Sit down.” He retrieved a bowl of warm water and a cloth and set it on a rolling cart with some bandages and a needle and surgical thread. Then he rolled the cart over next to her. The ship began to shake as they began their descent onto Harvest, the instruments rattled against the stainless steel cart.

Ellie dropped the cinnamon sticks she was holding onto the cart and rubbed her neck with her good hand. It was killing her from a long nap on a hard metal floor. “I could probably use some pain killers,” she commented.

He saw her drop something on the cart and he froze for a moment, staring at the cinnamon sticks she had been previously holding. Cinnamon sticks… “Hmm?” he said absent mindedly, realizing she had been saying something to him but he had missed it, being preoccupied with the cinnamon sticks. Or more precisely, being more preoccupied with the reason she might be carrying cinnamon sticks and where she had gotten them.

“Pain killers, I’m pretty sore at the moment and my hand is hurtin’ so I was hopin' you might give me somethin’ to quiet the pain.”

“Right, right,” he pulled open a nearby drawer and withdrew a small bottle of pills and took a couple out to give her. He studied her face as he held them out to her. Once she had taken them, he took her right hand and dipped the cloth in the water to wash the knuckles off.

She took the pills and popped them in her mouth and downed them, without bothering to get a glass of water. “How bad is it?” she asked him.

“Mm, the cuts don’t seem too deep, I don’t think I need to stitch it up. Flex for me, would ya?” He watched as she carefully opened and closed her hand. “It doesn’t look like you broke anything either. I think I’ll just use some medical glue on the places I can and let the rest heal up naturally…” He went back to cleaning it up.

She drew a sharp intake of breath as his process of cleaning triggered a wave of pain.

Graham looked up at her apologetically, “Sorry ‘bout that,” he finished up as gently as he could. Then he applied the medical glue to the easier to close cuts, but the main ones across the knuckles, he knew those wouldn’t stay closed, they would just need to scab and heal like normal. Instead he applied some antiseptic and then placed bandages over the wounds before wrapping the whole hand in some gauze to protect it from the elements. “You may have more pain, I can give you some more meds in six hours if so.”

Ellie looked over her mummy-like hand, then smiled gratefully at Graham, “Thanks Ian.”

“Anytime you need El, I’m here,” he answered sincerely.

The rocking and shaking increased and she glanced up warily, “Suppose I should go up top and make sure Low isn’t breaking my ship. You might want to hold onto something.” Ellie stood up and hurried off toward the stairs.

Graham thoughtfully watched her through the window until she disappeared up the stairs. He turned back to the rattling cart and picked up the cinnamon sticks, turning them over slowly in his hand before he finally dropped them into a trash bin with a heavy sigh. Then he turned his attention to cleaning up the small mess he’d made.

Location: Graham - Jenny Wren, Med Bay
Ellie - Jenny Wren, stairs to the catwalk

Location: Med Bay, Jenny Wren

After getting FIona some pain meds and a brief conversation, he had helped her out of the Captain's quarters and to her own room. Back in the med bay, he had set about doing some research with the help of the cortex. He was hoping there had been some developments or advancements in processors like Fiona's that would help alleviate some of the pain she was feeling. Who knows, he may even come across a new treatment. It was slow going though, searching through the various databases available to him. Granted he had much more access as a doctor trained and licensed on Ariel than a lot of the local practitioners on small planets such as Bernadette, but it also meant a lot more work sifting through information.

He sat now, reading a report on some research coming out of one of the top Universities on Ariel. It was in the early stages so he wasn't sure if it would help the girl even, but interesting none the less. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure if she would be open to any of this. Still, he was determined to find out all the options available before them just in case she was open to it.

Location: Med Bay, Jenny Wren

Location: Jenny Wren, Captain's quarters

Graham watched the Cinnamon Man head off towards the cockpit and he was left wondering if he hadn't misjudged the man's intentions. He was pretty certain he hadn't, but, well, that was weird. Maybe the man was addled in the brain pan. Or maybe he was toying with him. He drew a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh and then headed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

As he walked slowly across the galley and towards the stairs he thought over the situation here. Had he misjudged where Ellie was in her life? Was it possible she was involved with Kitsune? He shook his head at the thought. No, she would have told him straight out. One of the things he had always appreciated about her was that she was straightforward. No, she definitely wasn't involved with anyone.

He entered the medical bay and pulled out the pain meds, something nice and mild. Fiona didn't need to be knocked out, she just needed some relief from the pain. His thoughts now turned from Ellie to Fiona. He wondered if her processors could be adjusted some how to compensate for the ship, or even if perhaps there was newer technology that could be used to help her. Clearly the current situation was not working out well, and he was concerned that the only was it could be resolved is her leaving the ship. Graham wasn't sure what Fiona's long term plans were, but he wasn't sure she could take care of herself out in the 'verse. If anyone could help a lost soul like that it would be Ellie. As he reached the galley again, he thought "She really is so much like her folks." He retrieved a glass of water and made his way back over to Ellie's room and inside. He knelt down in front of her and held out the water in one hand and a few pills in the other for Fiona. He said "Take these, it will help. And I guess there is food waiting in the galley if you're hungry too."

Location: Jenny Wren, Captain's quarters

[mention]fionafiacha[/mention]

Location: Jenny Wren, Captain's Quarters

Fiona did not seem to be in a very conversational mood, this must have been a particularly bad bout with the processors. She had simply nodded at his inquiry, with a grimace of pain on her face, hands still on her head. He gave her a quick checkup, but aside from the issues with her processors not agreeing with being in space flight he didn't see any problems. Still being sure to give her clear view of his mouth so she could read his lips he commented, "I assume the hard burn is probably making this worse. I can get you some water and pain meds though, just wait here..."

He pulled the door open to find Kitsune standing there. Why was Kitsune standing here in wait outside Ellie's door? He eyed him warily for a moment, then made a quick and probably rash decision. Leaning casually against the door frame, he acted as if it was perfectly normal for him to be in Ellie's quarters. Like he belonged there. Like she wanted him there. Well it wasn't a lie, she had asked him to go there. Just not for the reason he hoped Kitsune might believe. He smiled a bit and asked, "Something I can do for you?" God, if Ellie found out he was trying to pass this off as something else she might kill him. It didn't stop him though, he had a feeling that he and Kitsune would not be good friends.

[mention]Kitsune[/mention]

Location: Jenny Wren, medical bay

Low's voice crackled over the ships comm and Graham glanced up from the ledger of supplies he was updating with the batch he had picked up at the station, "Ladies and gentifolk, this is your pilot speaking, where getting the hell out of dodge and in a triple quick like hurry so stow yer gear and get ready for a burn!" He didn't like the tone of that announcement, and thought perhaps he should find out what was going on. Flipping the book shut he stowed it into a drawer before heading out of the medical bay and over towards the door into the spiral staircase. Just as he reached it, Ellie came barrelling out the door and he stumbled backwards in an effort not to get mowed down.

"Ian! Sorry, wasn't expecting you there. We're about to go for hard burn to get out of here, but listen Fiona is up in my quarters. Can you check in on her? I think her processors are giving her problems again."

He blinked and before he couldn't even respond she was running off across the cargo hold. "Well then..." he said to himself as he headed up the stairs. Looked like he had a little patient to check in on. At least he was making himself useful and not just getting in Ellie's way. That was a step in the right direction. He found his way to Ellie's quarters and stepped inside. As he stepped in the first thing he saw was a curtain pulled back to reveal a wall of books and he was struck with how very like Ellie that was. He forced his focus on Fiona. A quick glance at her processor box told him she currently had them off. So he spoke in her full view so she could read his lips, "I hear you're having some problems with your processors again?"

Location: Jenny Wren, Captain's quarters

Tag: Fiona