Space Pirates (Closed for NekoMata

[raiguy]

Alex Mason was standing at the prow of his light corvette. It was a smaller ship, able to be run by two people, if they were good. That was what he wanted. He was going after treasure. No one wanted to split booty more than they had to.

He had posted an advert, looking for another person to help him work the corvette. Someone had to maintain the engines and know navigation. He also wanted someone he could trust with his ship. It had cost him several mega-cred packs. He had also customized the ghost mod. So far, no one else had been able to detect his ship.

It was also a necessity to have someone who could be a backup weapons master. He was a pirate after all, so plundering along the way was a given. He needed someone handy with a blaster, as well as the turrets on the ship.

He sat on the bridge, tweaking the custom AI. He hadn't paid the port tariffs on Ravis 4, so was hoping that his cargo would get unloaded, as well as he would find his crew.

He had heard of a few smugglers and pirates in port when he docked and started unloaded, so hoped he might find one of them to help. There was a code of respect among pirates. They didn't steal from each other, but didn't go out of their way to help each other out.

He sat back and stretched his frame. He was 23 years old, young to be owning his own ship, but he had been first mate and had gotten the choice of their last prize. He had chosen the corvette he was on. He was laughed at, being 6'6" and well muscled. His body was covered in the tattoos of his tribe. The swirling lines seemed to glow with an inner fire at will. Everyone said that the corvette would be too small for him. It turned out that it was perfect, as he would easily recoup what he had spent to refit the corvette to his specifications.

He sighed and headed down to the loading dock, hoping to hear from anyone. He wanted to get the new meeting out of the way so that his new crew could start learning the peculiarities of the ship. He looked around the dock, his grey eyes taking in everything, seeing a few pirates he knew. He hoped that he wouldn't be working with a few of them, but one stood out. He had heard about her, but wasn't sure. He knew she was all business. He actually hoped she would be the one to apply to his advert. He just sighed and waited as the hoverbots removed the cargo. He had already accepted payment, so the only thing left was to wait for his advert to be filled.

 

[NekoMata]

The slender Lunari made her way amongst the chaotic dock her gaze unwavering. Her eyes were pale silver bordered in a ring of gold and black. She moved with ease and grace, never uncomfortable in the crowds of pirates. Despite her slight appearance she was deadly as all hell. She wore a jet black body suit that was cut to expose her midriff and the majority of her outter and inner thighs. In these places complex markings made trails up and over her tan skin. She carried two blasters strapped to her hip as well as an assortment of other weaoponry. All to be expected of course since she was a bounty hunter.

She spotted her target before she was even within a few meters of him. She studied the tall man with the strange tattoos before she approached him. Walking up she stopped offering one leather glove clad hand. "Im Krys the one who responded to your ad." she said flicking long white hair from her eyes.

 

[raiguy]

Alex studied the Lunari before him. He had heard many things, most of them telling of how dangerous this woman was. He knew not to ignore her talents, nor the weapons she carried. If the rumors that were floating around were true, then she had pulled down targets from across the galaxy, and several planets that were not in imperial control. He also knew how skilled she was with engines, among other things.

"Krys. Well, come aboard. I'll ask that you keep the weapons holstered while on my ship. Once we ascertain that you are the right person for the job, we will get protocols set up so you have access to the ship. Now then, lets see what you can do in the engine room with the grav stabilizers and the ghost drive," Alex said, towering over Krys.

He made his way to the elevator, punching a button. The elevator quickly made its way to the engine room. There were many intricate machines in the room, but they were all part of one of six systems: the Grav Drive, the Engine, the Warp Drive, the Homeostasis engine, the Plasma generator, and the Ghost drive.

Alex could work all of the machines, but needed someone who could be the weapons master, as well as the mechanic, while he was piloting the ship. He also hadn't told anyone that he was a pirate, nor that he already had one of the most valuable treasures in the galaxy as his current target. He just needed to see if Krys would be able to handle the mods on his ship. They weren't to be found on any other ships, imperial or pirate, and could cause several stumbling blocks for even a decent mechanic.

 

[NekoMata]

Krys crossed her arms over her chest. She studied the man who was soon to be her employer. She was not one to walk into any situation unprepared. Her knowledge of him was minimal but she was at least intruiged with the possibilities. He owned a fine ship and by all accounts he was a very good captain. He had to have been to be running a corvete like this single handedly.

She trailed quietly behind him as he led the way to the elevator. On the way down she relaxed herself lightly. He was going to test her skill as a mechanic by having her work on the grav stabalizers and ghost drive. Judging by the rest of the ship it was highly likely that both would be modified.

She stepped off of the elevator and slung her blaster from her shoulder. Walking out into the room she sighed. She stepped over to the grav stabilizer first. Peeling off the glove on her left hand she pressed it to the smoth metal surface. She never fixed a machine until she knew it first. And there was no better way to get to know a machine then through a Lunaris most prized skill.

She whispered softly to the machine in her native toungue. The marking on her skin glew pale blue as she murmured. Her mind reached out to touch the machine as she learned every inch of it. After a moment she took her hand away. Disappearing behind the machine she worked on a few things before she reappeared. She did the same to the ghost drice though the extent of its mods was surprising. She fixed it easily and sighed.

"Good enough for you?"

 

[raiguy]

Alex smiled. He had heard about the gifts Lunari had with machinery, so was happy to have her aboard. He knew she would be able to fix the problem, especially since he had left it relatively easy when he had designed it.

"Let's go," he said, then suddenly pressed her hand to a bio scanner. As soon as the palm print was taken, he smiled at her again. His special gift was being able to read someone's intentions when touching them, if he so chose. He wanted to make sure she wasn't after him for a bounty.

Alex quickly sent a message to the docking station, having the bots removed. His ship was completely resupplied and ready to go. He figured Krys would have everything she would need, and if not, he had the ability to obtain it.

"welcome aboard the Noxus," Alex said, gesturing to the ship. He proceeded to head to the control room, then quickly activated the ghost drive after reaching orbit. Once he was away from the planet, he engaged the auto-pilot, before pushing back and heading to the gun range.

 

[NekoMata]

After she finished her trail with the ship repairs everything seemed to go very quickly. Almost before she was aware of it she had been handscanned and registered in the ships system. His touch on her wrist sent a strange sensation rippling over her skin. She shook it off and watched as, within the space of a few minutes he had the corvette cleared for launch and she followed behind as he strode off towards the control room.

She barely had time to registwr his welcome before they had made the launch back into space and the hum of the ghost drive buzzed in her ears. Still he showed no sign of slowing down for as soon as the launch was complete he was mxoving off through the ship again. Krys shook her head and followed after him again with swift strides of her lean legs. For most space newbies the jump to space would have left them in need of a period of adjustment but it didnt affect her. Lunari were spacefaring people by nature so she had been accusfomed to the terra-space shifts since she was a youngling. Judging by how easily the captain was moving the shifts didnt have any effect on him. Coming up at his side she adjusted her weapons holsters. "So where exactly are my room Master?" she asked using the typically Lunari title for the captain of the ship.

 

[raiguy]

Alex looked down at Krys for a minute. "Well, unfortunately we have two cabins, but they are connected. If that bothers you, I can try to seal the door, but otherwise that's how it goes. There is one private bathroom, with a large bath and shower. There are three other bathrooms around the ship, but the only other one with a shower is down in the cargo bay. So for now, you are right next to me," he said.

Alex trusted Krys. He had to, since his life would depend on hers, just like hers would depend on him. He smiled at hers, and then, without really taking aim, fired his las-pistol into a target, the spread barely larger than an inch. He changed to his blaster and did the same thing. He was going through the motions and making sure he was still as sharp as ever. A pirate who was slopping with his shots was a dead pirate.

He looked over at Krys. "Is there anything you will need to be comfortable? I can stop in a port to pick it up while we wait for a target to pass in the shipping lanes. We won't have a mark for at least 900 parsecs. Let me know," he said, stripping his shirt and heading to his room. His tattoos seemed to still glow and shimmer. It was the mark he had received when he was born. All of his people had those marks, and grew with them. His were very intricate, showing how he was different from the normal in his tribe.

He stripped fully and proceeded to head to the shower. It was part of his routine. He always went to the gun range and then took a shower after lifting off and starting a voyage. He didn't want to break his routine either. The hot water hit him, bringing a sigh to his lips. He relaxed as the water helped relieve the tension in his back. He was happy. Happy to have found someone as able as Krys to come on with him.

 

[NekoMata]

Krys couldnt help but smile to herself as she watched Alex walk off towards the bathroom. She waw quickly becoming accustomed to his quick pace and was properly impressed by his accurate aim. She trailed behind him as he made his way to the shower. "I dont think I'll be needing anything just yet." she answered loudly so he could hear her over the water. She paced her cabin, putting her things away.

The close quarters didnt bother her much. In fact it was more to her preference. Leqving her room she headed for the gun range. Reaching the room she programmed in a complex practice routine in and started it. The lights in the room dimmed and targets hissed up from the floor. She drew her pistols. She took a deep breath and started moving with ease blasting her target cleanly as she ducked and turned with the ease and grace of a deadly ballerina.

 

[raiguy]

Alex quickly dried off, and then got dressed. He didn't really keep a dress code on his ship, like some pirate ships did. Instead, he pulled on a pair of shorts and a shirt, then went to the bridge. He had all of his clothes custom made, and these clothes would stop a blaster round, or even a las-cannon round, if it was smaller than the one he carried.

He pulled up a cam feed, watching Krys move through the gun course she had programmed in. He had to admit that she was deadly with her weapons, even more so than he was. He just wasn't sure how she would be able to handle the large bore cannons of his ship. He had built them to his specs, and they only truly opened up to him. He had heard that Lunari were able to speak to machines, but he had even had a friend who was a Lunari who couldn't do anything with these weapons systems.

Alex closed the feed, then proceeded to set a course to a nearby asteroid field. He knew no one would complain about asteroids being destroyed, as most merchant and naval ships used the asteroid fields for target practice. "Krys, please report to the main deck," he said to the AI. The message was relaid to the gun range, and he just sat back and waited. He figured he'd also need to tell Krys his rules.

 

[NekoMata]

Krys slid to a stop holstering her blasters and brung the simulation to a halt. She strode out of the range and made her way to the flight deck. Even after such an intense training session the Lunari hadn't broken a sweat. Most it was due to her outfit made of a special material only found on Lunari fleet ships. It was flexible and breathable but still strong enough to deflect a full power blaster or lazer shot.

Krys brushed her hair from her eyes and stepped into the flight deck. Spotting Alex she strode over to stand in front of him. "Did you need something Master?"

 

[raiguy]

Alex motioned to the weapons control seat. "Have a seat and lets see how you are able to control the weapons on this ship. We have a long range rail cannon, short range EMP, and several large bore machine guns," he said. He angled the ship to the asteroid field and put it through his normal maneuvers, telling her to shoot every weapon at the asteroids.

He needed to see how she'd handle the weapons, and if he needed to adjust them at all. He hoped he wouldn't but knew he would, even if a little bit.

 

[NekoMata]

Krys settled into the seat and placed both of her bare hands palm down on the panel. The marks on her arms gleamed a dull red that gradually turned blue as she attuned herself with the elweapons system. Reaching out she whispered a request to the EMP to take aim at a near by rock. The weapon whirred and whined to life. The nearbye rock was struck by the force of it abd whirled away. As they approached a cluster of asteroids she again reached out with her mind this time to the railguns. With another whispered request she asked for the rail cannon and machine guns to offer her thier assistance. With a deep whir the guns roared to life and with a blaze of lazer fire cleared the area in front of them.

Finally she reached out to the large bore cannons. They were approaching some of the larger asteroids now. She whispered to them the marks on her hand glowing a dull red. The guns didn't respond and she pressed a little harder. Her voice fell to a low whisper as she murmured to the guns mire urgently. Still they remained silent. Krys frowned as she looked up realizing they were coming much closer towards the asteroids.

Finally with a low growl she pressed her hand to the panel and bwgan murmuring urgwntly more to herself then the machine. All over her body her marks glew with purple light spreading up her arms and across her torso and legs and finaly sparkling to life on her neck and around her eyes. Tuning the world around her out she sunk down to the level of the machines. Fently her mind reached out wrapping around the guns. She sat frozen and her gaze was distant for a while. After a moment her marking flashed blue and the gun roared to life clearing the rest of thier path. Dropping her hand from the panel she took a deep breath as the markings on her faded back to thier neutral tattoo like appearance.

"How was that?"

 

[raiguy]

Alex smiled. He knew the Large bore cannons would be the hardest for her to work, but the fact that she had gotten them to work told him that the AI was beginning to trust and recognize her. "That went better than the person who built this ship could do," he said. He sad down in the main chair, and pulled up the weapons systems. He eased her into the controls, then started on the asteroids around them, clearing the field in a few seconds, easily using each weapon system effectively.

"There are a few things you should know about the Noxus. First, it's a pirate ship. If you don't like that, then we will have an issue. The second thing is that we only have a dress code when we are boarding a target vessel. Third, you will ask me before boarding. I trust your proficiency, but I don't like people who storm forward without letting others know. Finally, the ship is open to you, but ask me before making changes to anything," he said.

He pushed back in the seat, finally realizing how beautiful the Lunari next to him was. The subtle tattoos enhanced her beauty, adding an almost feral quality to her as well. He shook his head and smiled. "If you have any questions, as myself or the AI. Peaches will be around at all times, and will answer any questions. Isn't that right, Peaches?" he said.

"Yes it is, Sir," Peaches said. The AI was more advanced than most ships, and Alex prided himself on Peaches. He looked at Krys and smiled, waiting to see if she had any questions.

 

[NekoMata]

Krys absorbed the rapid for information with no problem and smiled as the AI spoke. ”It is a pleasure to meet you Peaches, I am glad to have a name to put with the presence I sensed in the systems. I hope I did not make you to uncomfortable with my sudden intrusion.” she said with a small smile. This ship was going to be far more interesting than she had originally expected. Sheer gaff always wanted to serve on a ship with an AI, and oneadd intelligent add Peaches would certainly be interesting. ”Master, may I inquire as to what exactly the dress code for boarding is?”