Shiny Objects [Iron Maiden Crew]

[Aeryn E. Keel]

Hot lead poured from cold steel as two figures dove behind cover with their stolen goods. The pair returned fire moments later, slowly thinning the ranks of the men who guarded the treasure they had been after - bars of raw platinum. Once refined and shaped into coins, platinum served as currency in certain markets, all of them highly illegal.

Captain Aeryn Elizabeth Keel looked to her First Mate and comrade-in-arms Darren Wilder, the glint in her eyes betraying the feeling of absolute confidence and excitement. "Just like old times, eh Wilder?" A cocky grin spread across her lips beneath the fabric of the mask covering the lower portion of her face as she quickly reloaded her twin KZ47 combat pistols. She couldn't hear Darren's reply, but she had seen the mirrored excitement in his face when he had met her gaze. Turning her attention back to the task at hand, the Captain dropped to her knee and swung around the side of the large crate she had been using as cover. Aeryn quickly sited down the barrel of her main pistol and fired, taking out her target while forcing two other guards behind cover with her off-hand weapon. Amateurs, she mused.

The seconds passing by seemed like hours to the former Browncoats as they continued to trade bullets with Salvatori's men. Diego Salvatori, landlord and slaver. Drives the locals into poverty and then forces them to work in his mines to pay off their debts, while he sips on poolside mojitos in the comfort of his private villa. Bastard. Aeryn ducked behind cover once more, waiting for the next opening. When it came, she rushed forward, both pistols blazing. Two men fell under the Captain's assault, while yet another fell prey to one of her First Mate's jaw-shattering haymakers. With Keel now in position, the two of them had successfully executed a pincer maneuver, flanking their foes and leaving them vulnerable to the crossfire they had set up. Realizing this, the guards caught between them began throwing down their weapons and holding up their hands in surrender. "God I love this job!" Aeryn beamed.

[Darren Wilder]

Darren rushed behind the cover of some heavy crates as gun fire rained like hail in his general direction, none of it even coming close to hitting the 6 foot 3 wall of muscle. He popped up again and fired off his two New Tech 357 Magnums. The bullets hit their marks, throwing two of Salvatori's men back into their comrade's ranks. The pistols were more like miniaturized shotguns when it came to power and could easily throw the handler of the weapons down, possibly rendering him or her unconscious with the recoil alone but, that was what Darren liked about them. Even if someone managed to get ahold of his Magnums, they'd had better be experienced gunmen themselves, or hit him with their first shot, or suffer the consequences when they awoke. Wilder's powerful arms though held the guns with ease, easily taking the powerful weapons recoil in stride.

Soon enough Darren was moving again, his friend and Captain, Aeryn E. Keel, beside him. They dove for cover again and seconds later were returning fire. I'll give Salvatori this. He's sure got alot of men to throw away the war veteran thought as a wide grin split his lips beneath his maroon red mask that covered half his features. He took a quick glance Aeryn's way and saw her grinning at him. He returned the smile. Darren dove sideways from behind his cover, another large heavy crate, in a classic gunslinger manuever, catching three men in the chest as he fired. The three men toppled backwards and Darren scooted around behind a conveyer belt. Now that their pincer manuever was complete, Salvatori's men were out manuevered. A few shots later and after rendering one that had wandered too close unconscious with a resounding crack to his skull, they surrendered and dropped their weapons. It was then as everything went eerily silent that Darren remembered Aeryn had said something to him during all the chaos.

He stood fully up and some of the gunmen's eyes widened, their expression on their faces clearly saying "how in the world didn't any of us hit him?" He laughed a deep rumbling laugh and said with a smirk "Yep. Just like old times." A few seconds later Darren saw to tying the guards up and collecting their weapons, as well as relieving them of a few peices of coins along the way, and adding them to his already heavy satchel tied on his waist. Just as Darren's instincts were beginning to prode his conscious mind, a shot rang out and ricocheted off of steel somewhere in the mine. Darren's reflexes took everything from there. He ducked and whirled around to come face to face with yet another guard and his reinforcements. Before the poor soul could react and adjust his aim, Darren's fist impacted on his chin in a bone cracking upper cut as his body came up from the crouch. The poor man lifted atleast two feet off the ground and flew into his friends, knocking them down as the man landed on them. Darren again dove for cover as bullets sought his flesh once again, he shouted out a warning to Aeryn "Captain! Reinforcements!"

[Aeryn E. Keel]

Aeryn reflexively ducked as a bullet sparked off the surface of nearby scaffolding and ricocheted out of sight. As the Captain repositioned, her gaze flicked over to her First Mate just as he dove for cover. "Ya think?" she called out in reply to Darren's warning. Biting her lip, Aeryn tried to assess the enemies' strength with the few seconds she had to spare. She counted thirteen men before she was forced to again take cover, a hail of gunfire from the guards' fully-automatic weapons splitting the air above her. Sliding behind a pillar of crudely hewn stone, Keel drew her pistols to her chest, lowering her heart-rate with slow, deliberate breaths.

The middle-aged merc whirled around the side of the stone pillar, dropping a pair of approaching tangos before strafing rapidly back behind cover. Drawn out by the chance to fell one of the intruders, four guards poured out from behind the heavy crates and machinery near the entrance of the chamber. To Aeryn's bemusement, none of them were smart enough to spray the area ahead of them as they moved. Instead, the guards carefully cradled their sub-machine guns, almost as if they were afraid the weapons were going to develop a will of their own and turn on their handlers. Who trains these buhn dahn?* Keel thought, her disapproval showing in the slight side-to-side movement of her head.

What they didn't have in training or discipline however, they had in sheer numbers. As the seconds ticked by, Aeryn was able to make a re-count, and this time she found the number at seventeen, minus the two she had taken down moments before. Well this is getting interesting, the Captain mused, narrowing her ice-blue eyes in concentration. No choice but to regroup and make a strategic withdrawal. Oh well, 'least they haven't spoiled all the fun. With that Keel took off, charging across the relatively open space of the chamber's center. Gaining speed with each step, Aeryn vaulted over the guards they had bound and gagged, throwing herself into a roll as she touched back down. When Aeryn came out of the roll, she was crouched next to Darren, behind the set of crates just up from the position he had held during their pincer maneuver. "Hey there handsome, ya miss me?" the femme fatale** winked coyly.

Keel slid the backpack full of platinum from off her shoulders and checked her remaining ammunition. She was beginning to run low, but even that couldn't deter her enjoyment of the night's activities. Standing up with her back against Darren's, Aeryn pulled at the elastic on her ponytail and shook free the locks of her raven black hair. "Well, here they come. You ready Muscles?" she teased.

* Buhn Dahn: idiot, moron. (Literally "stupid egg".)

** Femme Fatale: "an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations." (dictionary.com)

[Ryan Lee Hawke]

Riley was bored. Crossing his arms, the young man leaned over the catwalk's handrail, resting his chin against the top of his forearms. Staring ahead at the cargo-bay doors some twenty feet below, Riley willed the doors to open, revealing the Cap'n and her First Mate Darren- safe, unharmed, and loaded with loot. Unfortunately though, the boy had no such luck. The cargo-bay doors stubbornly stayed shut, his 'mates Aeryn and Darren were nowhere in sight, and he was left to wait for their return aboard an almost empty ship. Riley adored the Maiden, but he'd never been good with being alone unless he had an engine to fix or a comms system to re-wire. He couldn't contact Darren or the Captain for fear of blowing the operation either, so that only left the crew's new pilot Corran Boid for conversation.

Riley sank to his knees at the thought and clutched the handrail above him feebly. Corran had only been hired on a short while ago, and the Iron Maiden's young mechanic still had his reservations about him. Riley didn't much care for being left alone with a relative stranger, he would have much rather gone with Darren and the Captain. But it wasn't as if he was in any danger from Boid- the Captain would have never let him aboard in the first place if that were so. Usually, Riley was very outgoing and good at making new friends, but the pilot had a darkness to him that scared the younger man. Riley had seen, heard, and learned much of the 'Verse in his twenty two years, but the depths of Corran Boid's eyes told him the man had seen things that would drive a lesser man out of his mind - and Riley wanted no part of that. Still, the man was now a colleague, and the young mechanic believed that everyone deserved a chance, even if first impressions were less than favorable. Besides, he was going to go stir-crazy if he didn't soon find something to do.

Working up the courage to make his way up to the cockpit, Riley swung his legs over the side of the cat-walk and tried to think of a few conversation starters. He dismissed several ideas before he figured out the answer was right there in front of him. The ship! The Iron Maiden was what both of them had in common, and as a pilot Corran was bound to know a thing or two about the mechanical workings of a Firefly. And as an engineer, Riley was likewise familiar with flight controls and other avionic nuances. Climbing to his feet, the mechanic took one last look at the cargo-bay doors, still anxious for his friends to make it back to the Maiden safely. A moment later Riley started towards the cockpit, where he was likely to find his new shipmate. Of course, Corran could have just as easily been anywhere on the boat for all he knew. The dark-skinned pilot had a way with quietly wandering off and then showing up where you least expected him to. But to Riley's mind, it was only natural to want to familiarize one's self with your new home, and he was now determined to overcome his apprehension towards the man.

Riley made it up to the mess hall without so much as hearing a sound. As he approached the hallway on the other side of the room that led past the crew cabins and up to the cockpit, the mechanic called out. "Hey Corran, ni shi nar?"* Where could he be? Riley wondered.


* Ni shi nar? = Where are you? || Pronounced: (Nee shure narr?)

[Corran Boid]

Corran Boid, pilot of the sky and currently a nervous wreck, did not like waiting; it made him twitchy, which was a bad thing, a very bad thing. Corran had never cared much for sittin' still. Moving at a snail's pace would have been at the very least something, but sitting on his butt and doing nothing was eating him up. Earlier on he had gone to the galley for a honing file for his favorite knife so that he could take his mind off of the boredom. When he had opened the drawer with his left hand, he heard a faint clinking sound from the wares within, and he knew he had to find a way to settle down quickly. So here he was in the medical room, a place he cared not for, diggin' around for somethin' he hated even more - tranquilizers. Pills, pills that would put down a ruttin' bull in heat.

Finding what he needed, Corran put them into his right hand; his left was starting to act up more. The wiring in his left arm was connected not to his nerves in his shoulder, but instead tied into his brain - a new feature brought to you by the new medical division of the Blue Sun group. So when his fits start to manifest themselves, a nervous twitch would start in his left hand, sometimes including an uncontrollable spasm in his pinky finger. All Corran could figure is that a tranq would settle his nerves, and sharpenin' his blade would alleviate his boredom.

Boid went back upstairs slowly and quietly, his natural manner of walk. This often resulted in people acting jumpy whenever he entered the room, almost as if they'd seen a ghost. So, when Corran heard the mechanic call out, asking him where he was, Corran tried to not startle the young one. "Hey Kai Tze, [1] you lookin' fer me?' Boid tried to say it softly enough not to shake his colleague's nerves, but Corran's very presence often seemed to upset the young one.

Corran calmly walked past and picked out for himself a rationed cup of water and a metal file. Putting the file under his left arm, Corran juggled the pills in his right hand and popped them into his mouth. Taking the cup, the pilot gulped down the water and the pills. Shaking his head in revolt as the two pills slid down his throat, Corran looked back at the young one. "Wuo fah shiang jing." [2] Corran held up the file to observe its' condition. "Come on Jahn. [3] I won't bite."

Boid walked into up into the cockpit, past the control consoles and then down into the flight pit. He sat down on the small couch against the left wall so that he could stare out the view-port. Corran removed his trusty blade from its' sheath and went to sharping it. The knife was twenty inches long, its' fearsome blade ruddy and black, almost like something a Reaver would use. Shink, shink, shink, ping. Even the sound the blade made as it was sharpened was eerie. "Shuh muh?" [4] is what came from his mouth as he waited for the other one to come 'round and sit. "Don't worry, be a nuhn tze huhn [5] and come sit. The others are fine, they probably found a feh feh pigoh [6] and are just dachow jing ser. [7]

Corran laughed a bit at the literal translation of the words. He hoped it would settle the fellow across from him down. Boid was a bit rusty with talkin' to other people. Most the time, when he had dealings with anyone they either wanted his money or his body, and they usually were none too friendly. To Corran, having someone that wanted just to talk was a godsend.


1.) Kai Tze: Boyfriend (derogatory).
2.) Wuo fah shing jing: I'm goin' nuts.
3.) Jahn: Shiny.
4.) Shuh muh?: What?
5.) Nuhn tze huhn: Real man.
6.) Feh feh pigoh: Baboon's ass-crack.
7.) Dachow jing ser: Beating the grass to startle the snake.

[Darren Wilder]

While Aeryn was occupied with the tangos approaching her, Darren was in the middle of a brawl, his fists flying nearly as fast as the bullets flying around him. The men sent to apprehend them were untrained, untested raw recruits and it showed, both in their handling of their weapons and in their fighting. Darren raised a massive fist and brought it straight down on the head of one of the guards, sending his crashing to the ground in an unconscious heap. The sound of an automatic weapon opened up somewhere behind him and he dove for the cover of the crates nearby, the sound of bullets hitting everything but their intended mark, including fellow guards, resounded in the cave. Darren peaked out from behind his cover and spotted the wild gunman, who was currently trying and failing to reload and re- the weapon, an AK47 from the looks of it.

Darren rushed from behind his cover and tackled the man to the ground. All in all it was a stupid and risky move considering how quickly they were being surrounded but, better to fight men that actually had some semblance of how to properly shoot a gun, than take the risk of being shot and killed by an amateur that didn't know what he was doing. Darren's fist cracked against the man's skull and rendered the man unconscious, the impact echoing off the walls of the mine. Even Darren grimaced upon hearing it. He looked up, counted the men bearing down on them, and ran back behind his makeshift cover of crates and drew his two magnum pistols. A few seconds later Aeryn came up beside him. "Hey there handsome, ya miss me?" Aeryn said drawing a smile from the dark haired gunman. Then she shook her raven black hair free Darren noticed, his mouth agape. He recovered quickly and checked over his ammunition. "Well, here they come. You ready Muscles?" Aeryn said as a bright smile split her mouth. Darren couldn't help but smile back as he cocked his magnums, she always did like a good fight. It was one of the many reasons they got along so well. "Always darlin'. Let's do this."

[Aeryn E. Keel]

As the fighting continued, the two Browncoats were quickly surrounded, forcing them to turn back-to-back in order to repel their attackers. Bringing the butt of her .45 caliber pistol down on a guard's nose, Aeryn kicked out sidelong, sending yet another opponent stumbling backwards into his companions. Deflecting an incoming punch with her left forearm, Aeryn and Darren swung round, Darren’s massive fist sending the poor soul to the ground with a hammering blow as they traded positions. Raven black hair flying, Keel sent herself into a somersault, catching the approaching tango in the chin with her boot while simultaneously knocking his weapon from his grasp as he flew backwards into a heap.

Taking advantage of the precious seconds she had earned herself, Aeryn holstered her pistols and fished out her knuckle dusters, which would be of much better use in such close-quarters. Her fists now hard as iron, Keel floored the next guard outright, a fierce uppercut sending him into gut-wrenching spasms. Again Captain and First Mate swung round to trade positions, and again their new opponents fell before them. Ducking, weaving, and striking, the Browncoat compatriots never missed a beat, but neither did Salvatori’s men give in, still confident they could bring the intruders down with their numbers.

After a full three minutes into the fray, Aeryn and Darren were confronted with their final foe, the chief of Salvatori’s security, if his name badge and the fact that he seemed to have some actual training and experience under his belt were any indication. As one the ship mates faced the burly brute, answering the man’s calculating stare with their own. Sizing him up, Keel put the craggy-faced goon at six-two, and easily over two hundred pounds of chiseled muscle. Aeryn for one was tempted to simply shoot him, but when he drew a wicked-looking combat knife and beckoned them forward, she knew they were going to have to settle things the old-fashioned way. Slipping the knuckle duster from her right hand, Keel drew her own combat knife, widening and lowering her stance as she and Darren prepared to strike.

[Darren Wilder]

Darren turned back to back with Aeryn, they were completely surrounded by Salvatori's men. His fist struck out and connected with another guard's forehead, knocking him back and knocking him cold. Then a subtle pressure and a slight movement from Aeryn told him it was time to switch positions again and they both turned in sequence. Darren's fist immediately went out, more reflex than actual thought motivating his fist, and laid another unfortunate man low. He heard the slight chink as Aeryn took a moment to equip her iron knuckles and smiled. It meant she was getting serious. A second later he heard the sound of metal rebounding off of someone's head and instinctively cringed. A man ran up and attempted to kick him in the head but, Darren's beefy forearm intercepted the kick.

A second later the First Mate brought his elbow down on the man's head, rendering him unconscious. Then it was time to switch positions again. As he turned around someone's fist caught him in the jaw, Darren's quick eyes caught the foot the fighter was putting pressure on and a moment later his foot kicked out, bending the man's leg at an awkward angle and snapping the man's knee cap, toppling him forward to meet Darren's knee. He had no time to take a breather however, as another man stepped up to take the place of his comrade. Darren's foot caught him in the groin doubling him over, then his fist rendered the poor soul unconscious. Next thing he knew there were three men stepping up to take the place of the one. Darren acted fast, stepping up and cracking the nearest one across the jaw in a wide haymaker that sent him stumbling into his partner, knocking them both off balance and toppling them over. The third man got in two lucky shots, making quick jabs to Darren's stomach and ribs. The First mate grunted with the blows, the man hit hard despite it only being a couple jabs. Darren brought his arms up, guarding his torso and face, the man came up again, this time kicking in at Darren's leg. The big man brought his leg up, nullifying the kick and sent his fist into the man's nose in a few swift movements. The impact knocked the man backwards but, he stayed upright. Again he came in but Darren had other things in mind, he wanted to end this fight quickly. The more time he spent on one opponent, the less time he could be there to back up Aeryn.

The man came in again, his movements telling Darren he was preparing for a kick. The ex soldier cut him off short though, moving in faster than the man expected and delivering a powerful blow to the man's head and dropping him like a stone. That was when Darren noticed the Chief of Security standing there beckoning them with a knife. Breathing heavily now that the sea of men that had surrounded them either parted, backed off or were unconscious on the ground at their feet, Darren shook his head, a smile on his bruised and split lips.

"Now things are getting interesting" he said has he slid his Goliath MercWorx Combat Knife from it's sheath on his left leg. The Chief of Security stood about six feet two inches tall and probably weighed a little over 200 pounds, all of it well honed muscle. This man had experience in fighting Darren could tell but, he was facing two veteran soldiers from the Unification War. Darren was confidant they could take him down as well. It wouldn't be as easy as his underlings but, a challenge never deterred them before. In fact it only made them work harder as a team. Darren cracked a grin at Aeryn, a joking look in his eye as he said "This one looks a little tough to me. Why don't you take him Aeryn?"

He gave her a silly smile and walked forward beckoning the Cheif of Security to come at him, his body language easy natured. The big security man did exactly the opposite though and began to slowly circle Darren. Wilder gave an amused smirk good, he's not dumb enough to give into such an easy taunt. Means he knows the fighter mentality and how to handle himself he thought as he began to mimic his opponent, keeping an exact distance of 6 feet between them. Darren's eyes flashed from the man's face, to his feet to his hand and finally took in everything, trying to determine his opponents fighting style. He knew Salvatori's man was doing the exact same thing, it was one of the marks of a good fighter. Darren's eyes locked onto the Cheif of Security's left leg. He puts most of his weight on his left leg[/i] Darren rushed forward at that time, closing the distance between them rapidly and throwing a right hook, which the security chief blocked with a meaty arm. Darren took the opportunity to kick at the security chief's left leg but, the man had counted on it and side stepped the attack and following trough with one of his own. The security chief's left arm shot and Darren rolled his head with the punch as it connected, deflecting some of the impact. Darren's right leg shot out then, hooking his opponent in the back of the knee and toppling him backwards.

Darren pounced, a little over eager to finish the fight, the Chief of Security's foot shot out and caught Darren in the jaw, knocking him back, then the man's other foot struck out, catching Darren in the knee and toppling him. Almost in synch the two kicked up onto their feet and started circling each other again.

[Ryan Lee Hawke]

"Hey kai tze, you lookin' fer me?” Riley spun around to face the Iron Maiden’s newest recruit: “Hey, yeah, I was.” The mechanic had once again been taken by the pilot’s stealthy approach, but he tried not to let it show. “So, I’m bored,” he said, with a slight chuckle. “What’s up with you?” Riley watched as Corran popped something into his mouth and gulped it down with a drink of water. “Wuo fah shiang jing,” the older man replied. Ryan Lee frowned as he worked out the words in his head, wondering if he had heard Corran correctly. He’s going nuts? What? Oh, maybe he doesn't like waitin' around any more than I do... But before he could respond, Corran headed for the cockpit, the sound of a blade being sharpened emanating from the flight pit moments later.

Riley hesitated for a few seconds, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment. “Oh, follow you into the dark confined spaces of the cockpit while you play with that ridiculously dangerous looking knife...” The young man placed his hands on his hips and turned this way and that, peering into the shady corridor behind him that lead away into the currently empty spaces of the ship that loomed around him. “Ok, sure. Why not?” Riley said, stuffing his hands into his trousers as he trotted off after his colleague. "Don't worry, be a nuhn tze huhn and come sit. The others are fine, they probably found a feh feh pigoh and are just dachow jing ser,” Corran was saying as the mechanic came into view. The dark-skinned man was laughing as he spoke, which told Riley that he was joking, and that he had a strange sense of humor.

Ryan Lee shook his head in amusement. “You really need to brush up on your Chinese dude,” he said with a chuckle. ”Ni shia suo,”* Riley recited with a laugh, something his instructors had often told him when he had first begun to learn the Chinese language. The Maiden’s mechanic took a seat on the small couch across from Corran. “So uh, how you liking the gig so far? The Maiden is pretty amazing, isn’t she?” Riley ran a hand along the edge of the viewport absentmindedly and yet affectionately. It wasn’t really a question, but an observation. To Riley, the Iron Maiden was now the only place in the ‘Verse he could call home.

_{* Ni shia suo: You speak nonsense.}

[Corran Boid]

Boid took in the first few words carefully thinking them over in his mind. It had been a great while since he had a proper sit-down.

"Sorry. It's been a very long while since I had a proper chat with someone who was sane and not wantin' me dead or wearin' my hide as a hat."

Corran sighed and thought of the past Reaver attacks he had been through before he joined the Iron Maiden. For Reavers, they had been weak and surprisingly few in number. He had to admit that the battle with the Alliance really had weakened them.

Turning to Riley, Corran looked at him and then lifted his eyes to the upper part of the flight deck.

"The Maiden is held well enough for now, but it could still stand for a few tweaks here and there - such as a better throttle response. She's a bit slow on her recovery from full burn to the atmo stall. Maybe she needs a few new timing gears, the engine seems to skip a beat every six minutes or so. That though could be just her nature. Well what do I know? I'm use to runnin' Alliance deep-space messenger skiffs. They purr like a kitten with a belly full o' milk."

Boid thought back to his hidden runner and his blacked-out cargo box of goodies. He was not going near them unless times got very, very rough. The place his goodies were stashed though was one of those places that not even a crazy man like Malcolm Reynolds would venture to twice in a lifetime.

"So when do you think the Cap and Muscles is goin' be comin' back?"

[Aeryn E. Keel]

Aeryn gave a smirk at Darren’s comment, watching Salvatori’s Chief of Security intently. Just as she decided on a plan of attack however, her First Mate moved forwards, taunting their opponent. Keel studied the two combatants as they began circling each other slowly, taking note of how Salvatori’s head goon distributed his weight as he moved.

The brute kept his balance mainly on the toes of his left foot like most right-handed fighters, allowing him to bring his full power to bear by stepping through the punch with his right foot as he swung. Easy enough, Aeryn thought, bringing her arms up in a defensive stance, the blade of her combat knife pointing down. Keeping in step with the circling combatants, Captain Keel kept herself just out of range, six paces from Salvatori’s head of security. This continued for about the count of two Persephone* before Aeryn reversed her direction and started moving counter clock-wise in order to force their opponent to make the first move.

The brute had to pick one or the other, and as Aeryn’s icy-blue eyes bore into his, he made his decision, sending a tremendous side-long kick in the Captain’s direction with impressive speed. The man’s glance had given him away however, and Aeryn deftly strafed out of his reach before launching a counter-attack with a horizontal slash of her knife. The Browncoat found her assault halted in its’ tracks as the craggy faced man shunted her blade aside with his own, a contemptuous grin on his face. Cursing, Keel was forced into a roll to regain her balance, coming up on the other side of him next to Darren as the guard swung around to head off any attack from her First Mate. Again taking her stance, Aeryn locked eyes with her opponent once more as Darren drew his MercWorx Goliath. More short-sword than knife, Keel knew it would make up for her lack of reach, possibly allowing her to get close enough for a quick finishing blow while Darren kept their enemy’s weapon at bay.

* Similar to counting seconds with the phrase “One Mississippi, two Mississippi…”.

[Ryan Lee Hawke]

"The Maiden is held well enough for now, but it could still stand for a few tweaks here and there - such as a better throttle response. She's a bit slow on her recovery from full burn to the atmo stall. Maybe she needs a few new timing gears, the engine seems to skip a beat every six minutes or so. That though could be just her nature."

Riley nodded at the pilot's words, the Maiden was in need of some new timing gears, eventually. Like Corran had said, the ship was in good order, with nothing in need of immediate attention.

"...Well what do I know? I'm use to runnin' Alliance deep-space messenger skiffs. They purr like a kitten with a belly full o' milk."

The mechanic's eyebrows shot up at the mention of the Alliance, but he didn't say anything about it right away.

"So when do you think the Cap and Muscles is goin' be comin' back?" Corran asked after a pause.

"Um, I dunno. Should be any minute now..." Ryan Lee replied, propping himself up to peer out at the landscape beyond the cockpit.

Sensing an awkward silence fast approaching, the young man sat himself back down and faced Boid once again. "So, you flew for the Alliance? What was that like?"

[Darren Wilder]

Darren raised his Mercworx Goliath Combat Knife in preperation for a move from the Head of Security, and move he did. The man must've been growing desperate because he headed straight in for Darren, a single thrust towards the First Mate's stomach. Darren caught the man's arm easily and pinned it against his side, before slamming the man bodily into a conveyer belt, twisting the man's wrist and ripping the weapon away from his grasp.

The man's head and stomach collided with metal, his legs gave way for a second due to pain and the security guard crumpled to the ground groaning. Darren backed away and tossed the security cheif's weapon. To his credit, Salvatori's Head of Security pushed the pain aside and kicked the feet out from under Darren. Darren hit the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him, then the guard proceeded to get up and stand over the gunslinger before standing on his wrist, and kicking the Mercworx Combat knife away with the other foot.

The brute continued to stand on Darren's wrist, making it hard for the gunslinger to get his breath back due to the pain but, he pushed past the pain and rolled over onto his side, then he sunk his teeth into the man's ankle. The Head of Security cried out in suprise and instinctively grabbed at his leg but, his cry was cut short as Aeryn's steel toed boot cracked against the back of his skull in a spinning jump kick. Darren shook his wrist and picked himself up off the dusty ground, just in time to see the distracted man holding the back of his head. The First Mate wasn't about to let an opportunity like this pass him by.

All six foot four inches and two hundred and eighty pounds of muscle carried the ex-soldier to the powerfully built security man all of five feet away, as the man turned to face the onrushing First Mate, Darren's fist impacted upon his jaw in a ferocious haymaker, sending the man stumbing away, only to fall to the ground. Wilder grimaced and shook his fist to shake off the pain, he'd put almost everything into the punch. Severely disoriented with the last crack to his head, blood leaking from his cheek along with his obviously broken jaw, the man wobbled as he stood back up and turned around. Aeryn though wasn't about to let the man start back up again, or to clear his head for that matter. The Captain of the Iron Maiden got a running start before jumping up onto the security cheif's shoulders, then throwing herself backwards once her legs had clamped shut around his head, her hands hit the ground and she used all her strength to bring her torso and legs down, resulting in a sickening crunch as her opponent's head hit the ground.

Again, to his credit the man tried to rise as he fumbled for his gun but, Darren's foot finally laid the beast low as he brought it down on his head. "Gorram huen dahn nearly broke my hand!" Darren mumbled as the pain in his hand only seemed to intensify now that the adrenaline was starting to taper out of his blood stream. He looked around, relieved that he was indeed the last of their opponents and helped Aeryn up from off the ground.

"We certainly earned our pay this time eh Aeryn?" Darren said obviously a little out of breath from all the fighting they had just done.


*Jerk, bastard (Literally: rotten egg)

[Corran Boid]

Boid thought about how best to answer, but ended up with the same answer he got when he asked that question when he was young.

Well have you heard the old saying, 'You can sleep when your dead.' That is about how it was like a constant rush job. As for being a messenger if you weren't good then you'd walk for find your own way of getting the posts delivered. The machines I had, my scout runner and my hover bike were things that were mine and mine alone on Alliance hand ever touched them. I worked hard and flew harder than anyone else. I thought I was a trusted courier but it ended I was nothing but fodder for the military.

Griping the handle with a death grip Corran thought back to the following days. He had not told anyone else of those following days and he was not going to start.

Standing up quickly Corran went to the flight controls and did a prep warm up of the electronics. He found that when he was at the controls his anger would fade a bit quicker than had he stayed seated. Checking the wave he found a message posted from the planet Hera titled 'The Heart of the Tinman'. He knew at once who it was from.

In a quiet voice so calm and caring-So she got out. What more she's lookin' for me. That girl is all manners of crazy.

Looking back up from the screen to Ryan-What? I can't have a girl but the captain.

Smiling Corran Boid went back to the general poster board site to read the message.

[Ryan Lee Hawke]

"Well have you heard the old saying, 'You can sleep when you're dead.' That is about how it was like - a constant rush job. As for being a messenger, if you weren't good then you'd walk or find your own way of getting the posts delivered. The machines I had, my scout runner and my hover bike, were things that were mine and mine alone. An Alliance hand never touched them. I worked hard and flew harder than anyone else. I thought I was a trusted courier, but it ended up I was nothing but fodder for the military."

Riley watched a deeply reminiscent look appear in Corran's dark eyes as he replied to the young mechanic's query. The story reminded him of countless similar tales his Uncle Joseph had told him back on Beaumonde. A moment later the dark-skinned pilot rose and went back up to the flight-control panels, busying himself with his pre-flight checklist. Riley could tell that speaking of the past was upsetting to his new crewmate, so he said nothing. After a moment or two had passed, the young engineer contented himself with pouring over the readouts from the fancy holographic display of his pocket sized tech-pad - courtesy of NewTech Industries.

Hearing Corran whisper something, Riley looked back up in his direction. The pilot returned the glance, saying: "What? I can't have a girl but the Captain?" Smiling, Corran went back to reading something - a wave from someone he knew (a girlfriend maybe?) apparently. Riley's curiosity was now aroused. Chuckling at Corran's joke, he got up to see what was going. Still, he realized the message was probably a private one, and so he stopped on the second of the three little steps leading up to the cockpit's main floor. "Shen ma?" he asked with a smile. *


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_{* Shen ma? = What?}