Celeritas

[DB_Explorer]

Michael had just finished explaining a basic outline of how trade companies like Pasloe operated. They had already decided that the pilot would be the one to talk, partly due to the fact that her daughter would help sell the 'we really need this cargo' angle.
Yeah it was a little manipulative, but Sakura had proposed it first so Michael was OK with it. This left Mr. Feng and Miss Harmon to hang back. Their skills would come into play once they actually had access to the records. Their chief engineer and the doc had decided to fill some gaps in their medical supplies – and oddly enough Mr. Flowers had decided to go along. Then again in a situation like this the loadmasters mouth was likely to cause more harm than anything else.

Michael let the former sergeant and the petite engineer drift to one of the lobby's sofa's as they headed toward the front desk. He could already see the young lady minding the desk light up at the sight of the girl looking about the lobby as only a child could.
Well that was a good sign.

Meanwhile several blocks away Arthur opened the door into a much less well-appointed reception area, Helena's robotic hound right on his heels along with Helena herself. He could tell something was off about the warehouse like building – the reception area was just a small carpeted area in one corner of a vast space housing pallets of medical goods and supplies. It was more like a bulk purchase story then an office building. The décor was not the issue though, the fact that every employee in view gave them a look ranging from distrustful to downright hostile was. This despite the fact that most of them looked to be in the middle of some sort of inventory.

"How can I help you – sir." The man at the front desk asked in clipped tones.

 

[Unimaginative]

Meanwhile several blocks away Arthur opened the door into a much less well-appointed reception area, Helena's robotic hound right on his heels along with Helena herself. He could tell something was off about the warehouse like building – the reception area was just a small carpeted area in one corner of a vast space housing pallets of medical goods and supplies. It was more like a bulk purchase story then an office building. The décor was not the issue though, the fact that every employee in view gave them a look ranging from distrustful to downright hostile was. This despite the fact that most of them looked to be in the middle of some sort of inventory.

"How can I help you – sir." The man at the front desk asked in clipped tones.

Click to shrink...

Arthur frowns at the tense air of the building. It was so thick, the large man could almost feel it at the back of his throat as he breathes in. Why would the people here be so suspicious? If they know about his past, that was a possible reason. However, he hadn't called in before hand, meaning the distrustful behavior wasn't because of hum or the group. How strange.

Arthur walks up to the front desk, scanning the room as he does so.

When the doctor reaches the front desk, Arthur responds, "I need medical supplies."

With that, Arthur pulls out a list and shows the long list of medical supplies that range from painkillers to pure epinephrine.

 

[Jeboboid]

Arthur frowns at the tense air of the building. It was so thick, the large man could almost feel it at the back of his throat as he breathes in. Why would the people here be so suspicious? If they know about his past, that was a possible reason. However, he hadn't called in before hand, meaning the distrustful behavior wasn't because of hum or the group. How strange.

Arthur walks up to the front desk, scanning the room as he does so.

When the doctor reaches the front desk, Arthur responds, "I need medical supplies."

With that, Arthur pulls out a list and shows the long list of medical supplies that range from painkillers to pure epinephrine.

Click to shrink...

Content to let Arthur do the talking, Helena walked a few steps behind. The tall man was intimidating, sure, but he seemed to know his job well, and that was something Helena could respect. Eyes flicking to the side, she caught sight of Oswald in her peripheral vision.

Oswald still scared her. He seemed to know his job as well, but his casual abuse of others put her on edge, reminded her of times best left forgotten. But she didn't need to interact with him as long as he didn't interact with her, and that suited Helena just fine.

Besides, she knew her role in this situation, Arthur knew what he wanted, and who to talk to in order to get it. She was simply there in case they needed Ajax for intimidation purposes. The large robotic dog padded along beside her, taking in everything that could potentially pose a threat to his mistress. As quietly as she could, she placed a hand atop his head, taking comfort in the cold metal beneath her fingers. She cast her mind back to her inspection of the engines. Everything had seemed to be in order, but there were a few things she wanted more spares for, just in case. Maybe if there was time after this...

 

[HatsuZ]

Michael had just finished explaining a basic outline of how trade companies like Pasloe operated. They had already decided that the pilot would be the one to talk, partly due to the fact that her daughter would help sell the 'we really need this cargo' angle.
Yeah it was a little manipulative, but Sakura had proposed it first so Michael was OK with it. This left Mr. Feng and Miss Harmon to hang back. Their skills would come into play once they actually had access to the records. Their chief engineer and the doc had decided to fill some gaps in their medical supplies – and oddly enough Mr. Flowers had decided to go along. Then again in a situation like this the loadmasters mouth was likely to cause more harm than anything else.

Michael let the former sergeant and the petite engineer drift to one of the lobby's sofa's as they headed toward the front desk. He could already see the young lady minding the desk light up at the sight of the girl looking about the lobby as only a child could.
Well that was a good sign.

Click to shrink...

Why do I keep getting into situations like this, Sakura wondered as she walked into the lobby with her new boss, her two coworkers and Misa. I wanted to pilot a spaceship, not negotiate. THAT should be the captain's job, but... she glanced at her new boss ...he's so passive. Nice guy, very generous, but... passive.

Inwardly, Sakura conceded that she'd had worse employers. And, to be honest... she was probably the best person to be a 'face', so to speak. It was what she was made for, in a way. Which was why she'd grudgingly asked to be the one to talk. She didn't really trust the others to, well, be social.

"Mama, what kinda ship is that?" Misa pointed up at one of the model ships that decorated the lobby.

Sakura looked to where Misa was pointing..."J20P-21F Drone".

Misa played the 'what is that?' game a lot. Sakura hadn't failed to answer yet. "It looks like a bunny" the girl giggled.

Her mother chuckled. "Yeah, it does".

With the thought of her daughter's smile in her thoughts, Sakura went up to the receptionist.

"Hello, welcome to Pasloe!" said the young-looking woman at the reception desk.

"Hi!" Misa waved.

"Hi, umm..." Sakura offered the credentials Captain Waters had given her earlier and started explaining...


((AN: I am seriously out of practice writing... *grumbles* Here is a post, I will have to edit it later. This is mostly to get something up...))

 

[Ryo0955]

It was quiet right now. The lobby was... somewhat relaxing. It didn't look busy and it... really didn't imply busyness in any way.

Which has good for Elise; her mind was really, really busy on its own.

Somehow, she just obtained a new job and everybody was already up in arms. Having cargo robbed right under your noses was admittedly a new experience for her. All she could do was let herself get pulled along by the various ideas others offered. Once they discussed going over drone records and such, Elise quietly agreed to follow that specific group to Pasloe Logistics.

Once at the lobby, she waited with her fellow co-worker... Nathan? Introductions were a little rushed when she arrived.

Nathan looked... grizzly. A bit hard to approach for someone like her. Since they were co-workers on the same ship, she didn't expect problems. She still slightly worried.

Sakura and Misa reminded her of a friend she had back in Callisto. Said friend had a little sister and a mother a lot like these two... just, without the tail and ears. She found herself split between wondering how advanced (and strange) gene therapy had become in Venus, and wondering how that friend of hers had been doing. It had been a couple of years, after all.

Captain Waters looked... reliable. Gruff but reliable. The kind of person you'd expect driving cargo out here. And the kind of person 'Lis' already had the pleasure (or displeasure) of meeting a couple of times before. He didn't look like the kind to 'intrude', a happy change from someone a few jobs ago...

She remembered the... very loud-mouthed Oswald, which somewhat scared her, and the quiet Helena, the higher-up engineer in the crew, but somehow seemed very imposing. She really wanted to check in with Helena, but she needed to quickly unpack to meet the others, and that dog... that dog really--

"Muffin?" Nathan asked the bespectacled girl sitting next to him, before taking one for himself. "They're blueberry."

Click to shrink...

"Uh? What? Um...?"

And just like that, Lis found herself startled out of her own thoughts, caught off guard, and just...

Muffins?

"Uh... sure. I'll take one."

She took one, pondered it for a bit, then took a soft bite onto the side. It tasted pretty good. She nodded slightly as she chewed.

"Thanks. Um..."

She had to stop and think for a moment.

"I guess we... yeah. We hit the ground running, right?"

 

[Daraken]

Nathan nodded approvingly to himself as he watched Lis take a bite. Though, upon a closer inspection, the bespectacled girl sitting next to him really needed to eat more. All skin and bones, and frail enough that a stiff breeze could blow her over. Unhealthy, that's what it was! He'd have to make sure to prepare a big meal for the whole crew when this whole mess was over with. Something with lots of meat for sure.

"I guess we... yeah. We hit the ground running, right?"

Click to shrink...

A bark of laughter escaped Nathan's mouth, the man nodding along with Lis' words. "Yeah, you can say that again," he commented back wryly. "Normally I'd say something pithy at this point like 'oh, this isn't the weirdest thing I've seen starting a new job.' But yeah, having our cargo stolen on the first day sure does rank up there."

The communications officer chuckled softly before shaking his head. "At least it'll make for a funny story later on." Looking down at the open container in his hand and then back to Lis, Nathan moved the box closer to the junior engineer. "Want another? There's still plenty."

 

[DB_Explorer]

The clerk at the desk looked over the trio, eyes resting on the lean and lethal looking form of Ajax, before pushing a small terminal toward them. "Inventories right there." The clerk said before going back to his own work.

Behind the clerk one of the workers in the was also looking at the group, snatches of a conversation float over the distance. "…Look at that thing! Can't we just ask if they-"

An older worker cuts the boy off with a gesture and a growl. "It our own mess, we've had enough trouble with hired guns as it is, we can solve it ourselves."

 

[tankdrop24]

Why did Oswald go to fetch medical supplies like a damn chore boy instead of doing anything to help solve the cargo problem? There were a few reasons:

Seeing how Captain I'm so Handsome handled things on this ship. Getting one last chance he would have in months to pretend he didn't exsist. Getting to see Mike come crawling when this proved to be beyong his ability. The list went on.

Oswald wasn't picky. Everyone else just had no taste.

The clerk at the desk looked over the trio, eyes resting on the lean and lethal looking form of Ajax, before pushing a small terminal toward them. "Inventories right there." The clerk said before going back to his own work.

Behind the clerk one of the workers in the was also looking at the group, snatches of a conversation float over the distance. "…Look at that thing! Can't we just ask if they-"

An older worker cuts the boy off with a gesture and a growl. "It our own mess, we've had enough trouble with hired guns as it is, we can solve it ourselves."

Click to shrink...

Oswald leaned towards the area behind the clerk. "Hey, buckaroo, are you going to sell us what we want, or do you have something you need fixed first? Don't waste our time with a bunch of leading fucking questions."

Oswald didn't actually care about whatever stupid issue they were having, but this was the first time someone had called him a mere hired gun and it had truly sunk in as technically accurate. And for that, Oswald was going to give them some kind of shit.

 

[DB_Explorer]

@tankdrop24 @Jeboboid @Unimaginative
The clerk moved to interpose himself between Oswald and the employees working behind him. "Their busy," He said "You want something, talk to me." At this point both his hands where on the table and his entire body tensed for a moment before it uncoiled as he continued. "Just punch in what you want on the terminal – and we can fetch it after you agree on a price."


@HatsuZ @Ryo0955 @Daraken
Meanwhile Several blocks away the receptionist nodded as Sakura explained the crew's current situation. "That sounds horrible." The young women replied. "I don't know if I should do this…." She said hesitating before glancing down at Misa, who was still looking around at everything, and nodding to herself as she pushed forward. "But I could show you to a meeting room where you can use the terminal to check the logs?" The receptionist looked back toward the doorway leading back to the main cubical farm. "If anyone asks I can just say I was brining you in so you could discuss your contract with us."

At this point Michael stepped forward. "Thank you that sounds excellent – hopefully next time we work together it won't be overshadowed by such circumstances."

The receptionist nodded in agreement before pushing herself away from the desk. "I would hope so, now if you could follow me?" She asked as she motioned toward the doors.

 

[tankdrop24]

The clerk moved to interpose himself between Oswald and the employees working behind him. "Their busy," He said "You want something, talk to me." At this point both his hands where on the table and his entire body tensed for a moment before it uncoiled as he continued. "Just punch in what you want on the terminal – and we can fetch it after you agree on a price."

Click to shrink...

"Oh really?" A slight smiled appears on Oswald's face. "There's something we, paying customers who, out of the goodness of our hearts, have ever so kindly volunteered to provide assistance to whatever trouble it is that you're having, can't be told?" Oswald leaned in. "You know what that sounds like to me?"

"It sounds like this store is a fucking rotten pile of trash that's only coasting along on sheer fucking inertia. I'd bet my damn liver that if anyone knew half of whatever it is you have crawling around beneath the surface of this place, they wouldn't give you a penny to buy a rope to hang yourselves with, even though they certainly would love to see the people who loved to sell them non-functional crap dressed up top product gutted and paraded through the streets on a national fucking holiday."

Oswald spun around, into the direction of the door, and gestured for the other two to follow him. "Come on, we have a better chance of finding what we want lying around on the streets outside, unless your hippie medical training counts the black death as a treatment."

Oswald took three steps, before he heard the sound of a fist hitting a wall.

"Fuck!" The clerk exploded behind him. "What the fuck is your fucking problem? Shit...er."

Oswald turned back. The clerk had his arms outstretched now.

"Alright, fine! A few local punks thought they'd start a gang and make us their first customers. They ask us for protection money, we don't take the young fucks seriously and they come back stealing and burning half our fucking inventory! There, happy now? You've exposed our store terrible dark secret to the whole fucking solar system! Now excuse me, but I have some matters more important to worry about then a vulgar old man and his sidekicks getting themselves killed picking a fight with a fucking gang. If you still want to buy something feel free, but otherwise kindly take yourself and fuck off!"

"Hmm. Touche."

Oswald turned to Arthur and Helena, a smile on his face. He was back in his element, with a perfect chance to show who really knew what they were doing while Captain Handsome was flailing about.

@Unimaginative @Jeboboid

"Alright, Doctor Tall, Mrs. I-wanted-to-be-a-vet-but-my-mom-made-me-be-an-engineer, pop quiz: a band of young ruffians have stolen a large part of this store's inventory, which may or may not have an effect on the price of our supplies. Considering the situation we are currently in, what do we do?"

 

[HatsuZ]

@Ryo0955 @Daraken @DB_Explorer

Misa looked around at the office as the lady at the desk led the group into a room with a table, some chairs, some artwork depicting spaceships and a computer terminal. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Someone swiped the captain's cargo, so they couldn't deliver it. And if they couldn't deliver it, Mama couldn't fly the ship. And if she couldn't fly the ship, she'd have to go back to her last job at the club and a small apartment... Misa didn't like that apartment, it was too small and sometimes Mama rolled over in her sleep.

Having nothing else to do, Misa sat on one of the chairs and took out a piece of paper from her pocket. It was a square, and had a few creases in it. It was space paper, and you could use it over and over again a few times before it fell apart. Very useful for spaceship crews, since you could erase whatever you put on it and put a new message on it! It was hard to grow trees in space, after all. The little girl used it for origami.

Humming, the girl folded the paper-ish square into a bunny as the two people Mama worked with did stuff with the computer. Suddenly, the big guy... not the captain... took out something from a container he had.

"...hey mister... can I have a muffin? I'll trade you a bunny!"

 

[Daraken]

"...hey mister... can I have a muffin? I'll trade you a bunny!"

Click to shrink...

Gah!

Managing only barely to keep himself from jumping out of his skin, Nathan instead visibly twitches before the man turns to look at the little girl behind him. Hadn't...hand't she just been by her mother's side? Were space catgirl children natural covert infiltrators or something?

Banishing that inane thought, Nathan looks down at the container of muffins in his hand before back at Misa. "Uh..." the ex-sergeant says ever so eloquently in response as he considers her request. Sugary goods and young children didn't go well together right? At least, from everything he had heard beforehand. Not like Nathan had much experience with kids after all. Idly wondering for a bit if the catgirl would end up climbing up drapes or clawing the furniture in the midst of a sugar rush, the communications officer finally shakes his head slightly to clear his mind and answer Misa properly.

"Er, the bunny is...nice? But you don't have to give it to me. And uh, let's ask your mother if you can have a muffin, alright?" Nathan offers tentatively, awkward smile on his face before directing his attention to Sakura.

"Muffins alright for your daughter, Miss Noihara?"

 

[HatsuZ]

@Daraken

Sakura looked at her daughter, then looked at Nathan apologetically. "Yes, she can have one. One". That last was to Misa.

"Thank you!" Misa said as she took a muffin.

 

[Unimaginative]

"Oh really?" A slight smiled appears on Oswald's face. "There's something we, paying customers who, out of the goodness of our hearts, have ever so kindly volunteered to provide assistance to whatever trouble it is that you're having, can't be told?" Oswald leaned in. "You know what that sounds like to me?"

"It sounds like this store is a fucking rotten pile of trash that's only coasting along on sheer fucking inertia. I'd bet my damn liver that if anyone knew half of whatever it is you have crawling around beneath the surface of this place, they wouldn't give you a penny to buy a rope to hang yourselves with, even though they certainly would love to see the people who loved to sell them non-functional crap dressed up top product gutted and paraded through the streets on a national fucking holiday."

Oswald spun around, into the direction of the door, and gestured for the other two to follow him. "Come on, we have a better chance of finding what we want lying around on the streets outside, unless your hippie medical training counts the black death as a treatment."

Oswald took three steps, before he heard the sound of a fist hitting a wall.

"Fuck!" The clerk exploded behind him. "What the fuck is your fucking problem? Shit...er."

Oswald turned back. The clerk had his arms outstretched now.

"Alright, fine! A few local punks thought they'd start a gang and make us their first customers. They ask us for protection money, we don't take the young fucks seriously and they come back stealing and burning half our fucking inventory! There, happy now? You've exposed our store terrible dark secret to the whole fucking solar system! Now excuse me, but I have some matters more important to worry about then a vulgar old man and his sidekicks getting themselves killed picking a fight with a fucking gang. If you still want to buy something feel free, but otherwise kindly take yourself and fuck off!"

"Hmm. Touche."

Oswald turned to Arthur and Helena, a smile on his face. He was back in his element, with a perfect chance to show who really knew what they were doing while Captain Handsome was flailing about.

@Unimaginative @Jeboboid

"Alright, Doctor Tall, Mrs. I-wanted-to-be-a-vet-but-my-mom-made-me-be-an-engineer, pop quiz: a band of young ruffians have stolen a large part of this store's inventory, which may or may not have an effect on the price of our supplies. Considering the situation we are currently in, what do we do?"

Click to shrink...

There had been an apology on the tip of Arthur's tongue when Flowers, in an apparent showing of his age-earned wisdom, started fishing for a punch to the face. He briefly weighed the benefits of letting the workers beat on the older man in his head before the clerk exploded and what he had been hiding. Huh, who knew Oswald's personality of having a suppository of capsaicin shoved into his sphincter would actually be useful for... anything. Sighing, Arthur resisted the urge to face palm. Was the freelance sector always this chaotic?

When Flowers turned to face him and Helena, the bearded man almost grimaced at the amount of self-aggrandizement apparent on the older man's face. The moment he opened his mouth, Arthur ground his teeth, leaving his face placid and expressionless. If Flowers got off to throwing around his weight, Arthur wouldn't give him the pleasure

Feeling his trigger finger twitch, Arthur turned his head to face his crewmate and said, "A pop quiz would imply you already have an answer, Dove, and you don't seem like the kind to listen to others so why don't you just tell us what you want to do."

 

[Jeboboid]

"Alright, Doctor Tall, Mrs. I-wanted-to-be-a-vet-but-my-mom-made-me-be-an-engineer, pop quiz: a band of young ruffians have stolen a large part of this store's inventory, which may or may not have an effect on the price of our supplies. Considering the situation we are currently in, what do we do?"

Click to shrink...

"A pop quiz would imply you already have an answer, Dove, and you don't seem like the kind to listen to others so why don't you just tell us what you want to do."

Click to shrink...

Content once again to let Arthur do the talking, the only outward reaction Helena gave to what appeared to simply be Oswald stroking his own ego was the equally simple raising of an eyebrow.

Once Arthur had finished speaking, however, Helena did feel the need to chime in. "Also, a note: While your... nickname? For Doctor Graves, is not inaccurate, considering that he is both a Doctor by trade, and is a tall individual. The one you appear to have come up with for me is both inaccurate and too lengthy to be said with ease.

"I am unmarried and my mother never wished for me to be anything." All of this was said with a quiet, but easily audible voice, as her hand once again fell to brush against Ajax's head as he stared at Oswald, hackles raised in a gesture of warning, Helena's face studiously impassive even as internally, she was on the verge of a panic attack.

 

[tankdrop24]

There had been an apology on the tip of Arthur's tongue when Flowers, in an apparent showing of his age-earned wisdom, started fishing for a punch to the face. He briefly weighed the benefits of letting the workers beat on the older man in his head before the clerk exploded and what he had been hiding. Huh, who knew Oswald's personality of having a suppository of capsaicin shoved into his sphincter would actually be useful for... anything. Sighing, Arthur resisted the urge to face palm. Was the freelance sector always this chaotic?

When Flowers turned to face him and Helena, the bearded man almost grimaced at the amount of self-aggrandizement apparent on the older man's face. The moment he opened his mouth, Arthur ground his teeth, leaving his face placid and expressionless. If Flowers got off to throwing around his weight, Arthur wouldn't give him the pleasure

Feeling his trigger finger twitch, Arthur turned his head to face his crewmate and said, "A pop quiz would imply you already have an answer, Dove, and you don't seem like the kind to listen to others so why don't you just tell us what you want to do."

Click to shrink...

Content once again to let Arthur do the talking, the only outward reaction Helena gave to what appeared to simply be Oswald stroking his own ego was the equally simple raising of an eyebrow.

Once Arthur had finished speaking, however, Helena did feel the need to chime in. "Also, a note: While your... nickname? For Doctor Graves, is not inaccurate, considering that he is both a Doctor by trade, and is a tall individual. The one you appear to have come up with for me is both inaccurate and too lengthy to be said with ease.

"I am unmarried and my mother never wished for me to be anything." All of this was said with a quiet, but easily audible voice, as her hand once again fell to brush against Ajax's head as he stared at Oswald, hackles raised in a gesture of warning, Helena's face studiously impassive even as internally, she was on the verge of a panic attack.

Click to shrink...

The creases on Oswald's face increased as his teammates' unwillingness to play along. "Alright then, Doctor Graves, Miss Mitchell, considering the grain robbery our group is investigating was likely pulled off by someone with little practical experience, a fresh gang of youngsters could certainly fit that bill, don't you think it would be prudent to investigate this?" Oswald actually had little belief that the two were connected, but he wanted to have an explanation ready for if Mike questioned any mission creep. "Even if they're not the work of the same band of shit heads, we could probably at least get something useful out of scaring the little fucks straight."

 

[Daraken]

"Thank you!" Misa said as she took a muffin.

Click to shrink...

Watching Misa immediately get to work on the muffin, Nathan refrained from the urge to ruffle the catgirl's head, the edge of his mouth quirking upwards in the shadow of a smile instead. Cute kid.

But that was enough fooling around, the ex-sergeant decided as he replaced the container into his satchel. The Captain and the ship's pilot had gotten them to where they had needed to go, so it was time to get down to work. Lacing his fingers together, there was an audible crack as he bent them, before the man headed for the computer terminal.

@Ryo0955

"Hey Harmon. You have any experience with database trawling?" the communications officer asked with his eyes glued to the screen, fingers tapping at the console before him. Sorting through whatever system Pasloe used to store their information was going to be a pain in the ass, but what else was new? Every corp's database system was their own kind of unique shitpile anyways.

Though if they were lucky, maybe it would be one that wasn't on fire.

 

[DB_Explorer]

Michael slide his card through the bar's attached terminal as the bartender slide him his drink. A veritable cacophony of lights and sounds surrounded him even separated as he was from the dance floor of the club - he thought the name was little much, though he had to admit 'specific impulse' was catchy and worked for a club so close to the docks.

He and the crew with him had not come here based off the name, or the overpriced drinks, though. What data trail there was from the warehouses pointed to this club being used as the network access point - no idea who was actually online though. The captain nursed his drink as he glanced at the area above the dance floor - might need to check the VIP section he thought before eyeing the guards at the stairs and their compatriots scattered around the edge of the club. Without, he amended as he set down his drink, seeing how many people they used to throw his ass out.