The Syndicate

As Low sits in the cockpit a console screen crackles to life. The screens flickers and statics a bit until a woman's face appears. It is the woman Ellie and Teddy just did business with not so long ago. "McKee!" The woman glanced back over her shoulder, and when she looked back her face clearly showed concern. "Dammit Princess, your gorram crew stepped in it! Someone answer!"

Tag: Low

OOC: While we are opening a new chapter, please be sure to continue posting in the old chapter if you have anything left the wrap up. Once it's complete, that chapter will be closed.

Location: Jenny Wren, Captain's quarters

"Ellie, need you up here! We got trouble brew'n! Big trouble!" With a glance at Fiona, Ellie hit the button for the comm, "I'm on my way," turning again so Fiona could get a clear view of her lips as she spoke she said, "You can rest here if you need, I've gotta go to the cockpit."

It took only a moment for Ellie to be in the cockpit and she was met with the sight of Low anxiously pacing the small space. She recognized the look he got when something was going terribly wrong, "What is it?"

He pointed to the image that was now frozen on the screen. "Miller & Lowrey". His face was a bit pale. "They sent redeemers!"

"Redeemers?" she asked.

He shook his head. "We need to leave..." he said dropping back into the pilots seat. "They are vicious contract killers, they will stop at nothing to bring a wayward soul to justice! Or at least what Justice the company is paying for anyhow." he glanced over the controls and system stats. "I'm sorry Ellie, didn't think it would be this soon, or these people coming after me, if I had known I would have steered clear." he glanced over at her, there was clearly panic and fear in his eyes. "We gotta go!"

As she stood there taking in the look on his face, a wild rush came over her and a giddy laugh slipped out. With a smirk she replied, "Let them come, we'll give them a run for their money. Last I checked, everyone was on board, so get us out of here. We haven't got a job at the moment, so take us somewhere we can get fuel and supplies, but somewhere low profile."

Ellie slapped his good shoulder lightly and said with a sparkle in her eye, Looks like we get to give someone hell together again, Old Man!"

She made for the corridor and called back over her shoulder, "I'm going to make sure everything is buttoned up downstairs, let the rest of the crew know we're leaving."

And with that she disappeared down the corridor, leaving Low to wonder about her reaction.

Location: On her way through the ship toward the hold

Tag: Low, & anyone else who should intercept her along the way

Location: Jenny Wren, moving through the upper deck en route to the cargo hold on the lower deck.

Ellie came out of the corridor from the cockpit and quickly crossed the galley and down the short hall to the open door of the engine room. She peeked in and saw the sleeping form of who she assumed was Timmy in a hammock strung up inside. He barely ever even slept in his actual quarters, that engine room was his life and that hammock saw him in it more than his bed. [color=#*8000BF]"Timmy!"[/color] She banged on the metal frame of the doorway, sending a resounding noise into the small engine room. "We're heading out, be ready for a hard burn!" She didn't wait for his response, instead she took to the spiral staircase and bounded down the stairs two at a time, miraculously not falling on her face in the process. She hit the grating at the bottom and as she came out of the door she nearly ran over Graham. Pulling up short she exclaimed, "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."

Before Graham could even respond she darted around him and out into the cargo hold. The doors were closed, good. Her eyes played across the large space of the cargo hold, most things were already tied down. However she noticed some supplies on the far side of the room that they had brought on board during their stop at the station that were still loose. In no time she had closed the space between her and the supplies and was lashing them down. Even as her fingers worked the straps she could feel Low firing up the engine. From the sound of it, this was not an easy lift off. But if there was anyone she trusted her ship with it was Low.

She hit the nearby comm panel button with force, "Have we got some space between us and that station yet Low?"

Location: Jenny Wren, Cargo Hold

Tag: Graham, Low

Location: Jenny Wren, Cargo hold

Ellie made the rounds of the cargo hold, double checking that nothing was unsecured as a result of the rough take off. Finally satisfied all was well, she headed back upstairs, humming to herself. She always loved the feel of the ship in motion. Something about the vibration from the engine in the plating under her feet, it was soothing. Maybe it was just the knowledge that she was still on the move, still a step ahead. Ahead of who, it didn't matter. As she crossed the galley she could smell something tasty. Clearly Kitsune has been at work, but she didn't see him. She wasn't sure where he was currently. Moving along, she passed into the corridor and made her way up to the cockpit. She ducked as she entered the low doorway. Low was sitting in the pilot's seat, so she dropped into the co-pilot seat at an angle, slinging her legs over the arm of the seat and spinning slightly.

"Nice flyin' Old Man. Looks like you haven't lost your touch."

She turned her gaze out to the stars and a soft smile settled on her lips, "Best site in the 'verse. You know, I've seen some nice border planets but I've never ventured onto the central planets. I can't imagine they can compare to the freedom of the stars."

Ellie pushed her red curls back from her face, still spinning back and forth slightly in her seat. "So, Harvest huh? Hopefully we can pick up some fuel and supplies at a decent cost. We got paid on our last job there at the station, which reminds me..." Digging into the pocket of her pants she pulled out some credits and held them out to him, "Your cut."

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

[mention]LiamWhelan[/mention]

OOC: I realized the other day we can use the at mention system to tag each other now!

Location: Jenny Wren, cockpit

As Low spoke about rolling hills and green land, she felt transported back to her childhood on Whitefall for moment. "Everyone has their reason for settling down where they land I suppose. My folks stopped on Whitefall to teach. Sure it was a harder life than the one they had on the central planets, but they loved it there. Maybe I could have too, if life had gone differently..." she trailed off, turning over thoughts of things long gone now. The "what if" scenarios she usually didn't allow herself to indulge in.

Ellie shook her head as if to free her mind from unproductive trains of thought and grinned at Low with a playful wink, "Course then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting your sorry ass!"

Location: Jenny Wren, cockpit

[mention]LiamWhelan[/mention]

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

Ellie glanced up as Teddy entered the cockpit, "Look who finally decided to get out of bed. Sorry about the rough flying, we had a little... complication at the station that called for a quick exit. We're headed to Harvest now, the plan's to pick up some supplies and fuel. Find a job if we can. Oh! That reminds me..." Ellie dug in her pocket again to retrieve Teddy's credits.

She held them out to the man, "Listen, thanks again for your help on the station. Here's your cut."

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

Tag: [mention]Teddy[/mention] [mention]Kitsune[/mention]

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

Ellie looked past Teddy as Kitsune entered the room as well, knocking on the door frame as he entered.

""Knock Knock anyone seen Timmy? Hes not at his post nor anywhere on the ship that I can find."

"Timmy?" Low exchanged a glance with Ellie. "Isn't he your grease monkey?"

Her brow furrowed in concern and she sat upright in her seat now and spun quickly around to face the console. She quickly hit a couple buttons to pull up the screen that should display the locator signal Timmy should still be emitting. Where she should see a blinking blue dot was... nothing. Then in the top corner of the screen were the words, "NO SIGNAL" She looked over at Low and there was clearly panic in her eyes as she said, "He's not on the ship, he must've got left behind at the station!" When she had run through the ship, she was so sure she saw him in his hammock in the engine room... wasn't she? Ellie closed her eyes and imagined what she had seen and realized she hadn't actually seen him. Her eyes shot open again, "Lao-tyen, boo! Low, I left him behind!"

"We would have enough fuel to get back if we turn back real quick," Low answered her panicked exclamations.

Ellie looked at the fuel reserves and her heart sank. She knew Low was being generous. They had used a lot on the hard burn, and if they went back to get Timmy and ran into the thugs they were running from to begin with they wouldn't have enough to do another hard burn. No, the fuel they had would only get them back to the station if they ran conservatively, and given what they had just been through on their way out, the seemed like a long shot. She sat silent for a long moment, not wanting to say what she knew she needed to say. Finally she looked around the room resolutely at the men standing about waiting to see what she wanted to do and gave a firm head shake, "We can't afford to risk not having enough, we're closer to Harvest. Let's land and pick up the fuel and supplies. In the meantime, Low," she looked to her old friend, probably the only one in the room she knew could see right through her brave facade, and said, "Send a wave to the station, see if we can't get Timmy located. If he's there, they should be able to find him and we can get him word to sit tight until we can get back from Harvest."

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

Tag: [mention]LiamWhelan[/mention] [mention]Kitsune[/mention] [mention]Teddy[/mention]

OOC: For Tags, type in the @ symbol followed by the username of the person you are tagging (with no space in between) and when their name appears click it. It will generate an @mention that will send them a notification.

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

As Low gave her a recap of the message he sent, she felt a suffocating weight on her chest and she stood up suddenly and stalked out of the room without explanation to the men. She came to her room and just as her hand came to rest on the door handle she heard muffled voices coming from inside. "Tzao gao." Ellie had forgotten that Graham was taking care of Fiona in her quarters. Her hand slipped from the door handle and she moved on down the corridor, she needed somewhere private. She needed it desperately, as her emotions danced ever closer to a breaking point. Her feet took her down the corridor and around the corner onto the catwalk to the port shuttle. stepping inside she slid the door closed behind her and paced the small length of the shuttle in agitation. As she came to the entrance side of the shuttle for probably the third time, she let loose with a scream and she punched the metal frame of the door with all of her force. Cradling her now certainly injured hand she fell back against the wall and slid down to the floor with a heavy sob. She hadn't cried when she lost good friends in the war. She hadn't cried when she got word her parents died. She hadn't cried that morning she left her family and home on Whitefall under the weight of her own guilt. But today, she cried sorrowful tears pent up from a lifetime of wounds. Not least of these was the loss of a very dear friend, and crucial member of her crew. Ellie curled up on the floor and wept until she was so tired she fell asleep.

Location: Jenny Wren, Port shuttle

Location: Jenny Wren, port shuttle

The early fall night was sweet with the smell of recently harvested hay. Above them was a majestic deep blue sky full of twinkling stars, fringed in the west with violet and fuchsia hues. Whispered words stirred the still night air, accompanied by the chirping of crickets. A soft moan of pleasure slipped from her lips and his mouth met hers with a lingering kiss. Shivers along her back; are they from his touch or the cool air on her skin? She could smell the crushed grass they lay in and the warm damp earth beneath. It was a heady mixture that seemed to drive them on. Soft caresses and impassioned kisses build until it felt as though she couldn’t stand it any longer… "Ladies and Gentlemen this is your pilot speak'n, we'll be putting in at Harvest here in a short time, gonna ask that ye start securing everything you can including yourself as this is likely to be a bit turbulent. Estimating about fifteen minutes at present speed to atmo entry.”

Ellie sits upright with a start at Low’s announcement. For a moment she was disoriented. It took a second for her to realize she was in her shuttle; on Jenny Wren. Her heart still racing, she groaned in irritation. It had been many years since she had that dream last. She had thought she was past this. This is not what she needed to dredge up. Not now.

She reached her right hand up to run her fingers through her hair and grimaced in pain. Why did her hand hurt? She looked at it and remembered her foolish decision to punch the door frame. Using her other hand she grasped the door handle and pulled herself off the floor. She drew a deep breath, trying to prepare herself to interact with the others. Unfortunately, Ellie knew she had to go see Ian about her hand.

“Pull yourself together McKee!” she chided herself softly. Finally she opened the door and just as she was about to step through the hatch she noticed something on the ground. Stooping down, she reached out with her good hand and picked up what appeared to be a couple cinnamon sticks. “That’s odd,” she thought to herself. Clasping them in her hand, she made her way down the stairs from the catwalk and across to the med bay. She could see Ian through the window before she reached the door. His head was bent over something she couldn’t see beneath the frame of the window. He was intently working on it though; she recognized the look of determination in his eyes. She had always admired his ability to stick it out, see a project through to the end. It was not a strength for her, she was more the type to cut her losses and run when it suited her.

Ellie stuck her head in the door, her hair an escaping mass of red curls from where she had them tied back before she fell asleep on the floor of the shuttle. “Knock, knock,” she announced her presence in an uncharacteristically timid voice. He looked up and she held her hand up for him to see and said sheepishly, “I seem to have some work for you.”

Location: Jenny Wren, Med Bay

Tag: [mention]Dr. Graham[/mention]

Location: Jenny Wren, staircase

Once Ellie was well out of sight of the Med Bay she paused and took a deep breath, looking over her hand once more. "You're a damn fool McKee..." she berated herself for such a stupid move. But in reality she was upset over the dream still, she just didn't want to face that yet. Just as she started back up the stairs she nearly ran into Kitsune.

"Hey Cap, I found a place we can Refuel and go, no docking fee's, inspections, or anything to slow us down."

She nodded a bit, "Almost sounds too good to be true. I'm heading up to the cockpit, can you give the coordinates for where to set Jenny down to Low?"

Hurrying on up the stairs, Ellie made her way into the cockpit once more and went inside. She could seethe planet coming up quickly and she was met with various warning alarms sounding. She slipped into the copilot seat and when he turned over to look at her she lifted a wary eyebrow as if to ask, "You tryna kill us all?" His only response was a sheepish grin, but she said nothing, leaving him to the work of putting them down.

Once he got them leveled off, he turned to her and asked, “We going to the main hub or someplace out of the way?”

"Kitsune has some connections here it seems, he send you some coordinates? Should be an out of the way spot to refuel and avoid inspections and the like from what he says."

Location: Jenny Wren, cockpit

Tag: [mention]LiamWhelan[/mention] [mention]Kitsune[/mention]

Location: Jenny Wren, Cockpit

"Gāisǐ de" Low spat.

"What, what is it?" Ellie asked standing to move over to see the message he was looking at.

"Ellie, I think my pursuers have Timmy. Station security says the last time anyone saw him is when he was being taken aboard an unregistered ship which followed our course out of the system. You can almost be sure its them..." he shook his head. "There after me, so they..." he stopped talking for a moment. "They are a rowdy bunch, but they likely wont hurt him. They will most likely use him as leverage to try and get me to turn myself over to them."

Ellie stood thoughtfully looking at the message, trying to inwardly quell the sense of dread she felt rising. She drew a slow, deep breath and straightened up to look Low in the eye, "We don't know any of that for sure. He could be taken by anyone. We'll find him. In the meantime, he's made of stronger stuff than he looks." She wished she felt as confident as she tried to sound about finding him.

"Before we can do that though, we need to get Jenny flying again. Which means we need fuel, so let's go." She turned and led the way out of the cockpit and to the stairs down to the catwalk, inquiring over her shoulder as she moved, "Did you break anything in that landing?"

She came upon Teddy laughing on the stairs and peered down to see what was so funny. Kitsune seemed to be brushing himself off and looking at a bottle of something or other. Lifting an eyebrow she asked, "Want to join us planetside, Teddy?" and went on past him to meet up with Kitsune in the cargo hold.

"Alright Kit, it's your connection, so how about you take lead?"

Location: Jenny Wren, Cargo Hold

Tag: [mention]Teddy[/mention] [mention]Kitsune[/mention] [mention]LiamWhelan[/mention]

Location: Dark's Property, Mule

Ellie slid back into her seat next to Low with a scowl. This whole trip was starting to feel like Karma was winding up to deliver a big ol' sucker punch to them. She crossed her arms over her chest as the others slid in their seats as well and Low started the mule up. She sat pretty quiet through most of the trip back to the ship, but once Low and pulled the mule into the cargo hold and cut the engine she climbed out and looked at Low and Kit. "Why don't you two o check out the area where the girl went missing. Get a feel for the place, see if there is some kind of trouble there we might want to know about. Maybe ask some questions about the girl and then get back here. We'll figure out our next step after that."

Turning to Teddy she went on, "I want your help buttoning up the ship. If we're all out investigating a missing girl, I want to know someone is keeping an eye on Graham and Fiona. You seem like the right person for that. So let's make sure we have a clear idea how to best defend the ship if someone out there is looking for trouble and has their sights set on Jenny. "

Sweeping her gaze over them all she asked, "Dong ma?"

Ellie looked again at Teddy and jerked her head toward the medical bay, then moved in that direction. Graham wasn't a dandy, but she wasn't sure how he would feel about shooting someone in self defense. She was about to find out though.

Location: Jenny Wren, Medical Bay

[mention]Kitsune[/mention] [mention]LiamWhelan[/mention] [mention]Teddy[/mention] [mention]Dr. Graham[/mention]