Maiden voyage

[penny]

Penny took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, and lit up a smoke as she shook her head at what Haven said about Pit being the minister for the wedding. She took a heave from the cigarette and blew out the smoke slowly while laughing softly at Haven's statement.

"Dressin' the monk up as a shepard. Yeah, that'll work." Penny said sarcastically. "I mean don't get me wrong, I like diversity as much as the next person, and god forbid I make a joke about other people's beliefs, but when was the last time you saw a Chinese christian?"

Penny took another pull from her cigarette, and looked in the direction of where Pit went. It didn't look like he was coming back, nor did it look like he was within hearing range.

"Holy man or not, a buddhist ain't a christian." Penny continued. "But by all means, if you wanna make this plan go south, dress up the monk as a shepard. You wanna fool yourself, go ahead. You wanna fool the Alliance, think again."

With the cigarette in her mouth, Penny leaned back in the chair and put her feet up on the table. She then took the cigarette out of her mouth before talking again.

"Myself, I suggest we put the monkeysuit on the good doctor over there." Penny said. "Slap some gray dye on his head and his beard and presto, instant shepard."

Haven had also mentioned a few people looting the house, but that wasn't going to fly with Penny. A crew was only good on a bankjob, but while burglarizing a house other people were just a liability.

"Also, I move faster on my own." Penny said. "Once I'm inside I'll dump the dress and put on my gear. If you get me one o' them fancy puffy dresses I can smuggle in my gear no problem. I can also find our bride-not-to-be then before the ceremony and give her a message."

[radegrasan]

Rade listened to what his friend Penny had to say and nodded. She had a point. A Chinese shepard would definately arouse suspicion, and his speech left much to be desired. His accent was just too thick, and his English too broken. Shepards were preachers, and therefor very vocal. And Pit had said barely two words to everyone.

"She's right guys." Rade said. "They'll never believe Pit to be a shepard. For starters his English is broken and from what I know these monks don't preach."

Penny had also suggested that Leighton had to pose as the shepard, and Rade couldn't quite argue with that. He took a look at the doctor and tried imagining him with gray hair and a gray beard, just like Penny had suggested.

"I'm with Penny on this one." Rade said. "The doctor would make a far more believable shepard."

Rade then turned his head back to the table and while doing so he glanced for a second at Haven. He thought about what she had said but then remembered one important part she had said about the Alliance not stopping the wedding.

He pondered it over for a moment and slowly but steadily an idea came to mind. This was one of those moments where his fancy Alliance education came in useful.

"The Alliance won't stop the ceremony." Rade continued. "But we can..."

He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. The pieces of the puzzle were all coming together nicely in his head. He took a look at the blueprints before continuing and then smiled.

"What if we were to take control of the both the ceremony tent and the Alliance command tent?" Rade suggested. "There are only techs and officers on the estate right? So they won't put up much of a fight. If Penny can jam their communications two of us can take control of the Alliance command tent while the others hold up the ceremony tent. We burst in, take control as long as it takes for Bella to get her shoes on and rip her dress, and then we set the place on fire, creating a chaos in which we can escape via the Alliance command tent on the side of the house, we pick up the two people holding the command tent and then we make a run for the plane. If we handle this right we can be long gone before the perimeter guards get back!"

Rade leaned back and put his hands on his head. He didn't know he had it in him. This plan was brilliant, if he were to say so himself. He just hoped his crewmates saw things the same way as he did.

[penny]

Penny listened to Rade's plan and tried invisioning it. It seemed like a very good idea, but it also left them with little room for error. Being somewhat baffled by the ingenuity of her friend Rade, Penny removed her feet from the table and sat up straight again, brushing her right hand through her blond hair.

"That's... that's..." Penny stuttered. "That's... pretty gorram brilliant Rade!"

Penny took a look at the blueprint and imagined her place in this rescue. It was far more logical than what Haven suggested. This way all she had to do was get the valuables and go wait for them at the plane. It made far more sense than loading up a carriage and getting the goods of the estate that way.

"All I have to do is steal the valuables and wait for you guys at the plane instead of loading up a slow carriage like Nursey suggested." Penny continued. "We'll be gone before they can say Yi Dwei Da Buen Chuo Roh! I'm definately with this plan!"

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Yi Dwei Da Buen Chuo Roh: Big stupid pile of stinking meat

[phantomseige]

Leighten looked at Penny and Rade as they both took him in. "Well, I can sport the grey hair I guess, but I look bad in a beard, let me tell you." He smirked a little. "It's been a while since I've seen the inside of a church, though."

He took a deep breath, thinking about what he needed to do to impersonate a shepherd. More than that, though, he was afraid of what exactly would happen if he were caught. Impersonating a shepherd wasn't exactly a capital offense, but it looked incredibly bad, and he could only imagine trying to make a case.

Yes, your honor, dressing as a priest is my hobby on Saturday mornings. Just something I do to unwind.

He banished the thought from his head. "I'm up for it if it's okay with everyone," he added. "Probably pretty safe, too. I mean, who'd shoot a shepherd?"

[Ari Deschain]

Uncharacteristically, Ari had been rather quiet during the last few minutes of the conversation. Her head inclined to Jove at the woman's generous offer, deciding she'd made sure Jove got paid well for any help she gave. She had her arms crossed on the table, her chin resting on them, her good eye on Rade half of the time and on the blueprints the other half of the time. She never spared a glance at Penny. Depite her original misgivings, she found with surprise that Rade was coming up with a rather good plan. It was still completely speculative and very dangerous, but Ari lived for danger. She completely ignored what Penny said about Christians and Chinese and 'liking diversity'. It was sort of ignorant, and Ari didn't like to waste her time on ignorance. Since Earth-that-was, there were a lot more blurred lines between culture barriers, especially because the two superpowers that had been combined into the Alliance were the Chinese and Americans.

When Penny lit up, without even asking if anyone would care, Ari glared at her and waved some of the disgusting drifting smoke away. She didn't mind if people smoked, as long as they did it away from her or outside in the fresh air. The argument that Penny made was logical about not wanting to waste time, but it was also a little insulting to the crew. She finally met Penny's eyes for the first time in a while, and she raised her head to prop her chin on her hand. "You don't think any of us are capable of keepin' up with ya? I don't think you should go alone." Her eye cut to Gabriel and then to Rade. "Look, it ain't no secret I don't trust ya, but I'm also not too narrow-minded to let that cloud my thinkin'. My problem is, if somethin' were to happen to ya, how would we know? What if ya needed help or encountered some unforeseen problem? We don't know for sure what the security and guards're gonna be like 'til we're actually there. I honestly jus' think it'd be better you're not by yourself." She shrugged and leaned back, having said her piece.

She looked over at Leighton, wrinkling her brow a little. "I seen some that would shoot a shepard. If it's alright," she said, turning to Gabriel. "I'd like ta go in with Doc." Leighton, although not a close friend, was still the closest one she had on this ship, seeing as how their captain still lay sick in his quarters. She wanted to make sure the doctor would be alright through what was certain to be a dangerous part of the job, what with the ambush and the impersonating of a shepard. Besides, the ambush also sounded like the most fun part.

[gabe]

Penny ignored every word Gabriel had said to her, which didn't surprise him at all. The doctor spoke up, then, and Gabriel nodded in acknowledgement, admiring his bravery. "That's a good idea, Leighton. Well done." Jove was equally willing to help, and Gabriel pointed at Rade when she mentioned needing a list. "He'll be the one to talk to, then. Whatever you can do to help with be much appreciated, eh?" He made it quite obvious that he meant she would be reimbursed for her troubles. Turning back to Rade, he listened to his ideas for where the various crew would go during the job.

Although Gabriel didn't see the problem with two women attending together, he decided that Rade was probably right that the unfortunate wording of 'escort' would cause some questions to be asked. "Well, as it seems Leighton will be otherwise occupied, that leaves you or I to escort Penny." Haven seemed to think Gabriel was the best choice, suggesting Rade go with Leighton. "Rade, if that's what you want to do, I would be fine in escorting Penny."

As the stowaway lit up, Gabriel felt the urge to have a smoke as well. However, he was not one to do it in a crowded room, and he especially did not want to after he saw the dirty look the mechanic threw at Penny. Although what she said about the Chinese and Christians was a little intolerant and silly, he excused it in light of her good idea following. Leighton wanted to be involved in the ambush, and she had the idea of having him dress as the shepard; it was rather ingenius, really. He would be there if anyone was hurt, and he would be dressed as a shepard, and so would be relatively safe. "That's quite brilliant, actually. Leighton, if you're up to it, I think that's the best course of action."

Rade's plan was pretty good, as well. They had to hop he was right, though in assuming the amount of guards. It was a problem that they had to trust this person none of them had ever actually met, but it was all they had to go on. "Right. I think it's a good plan, as good as we can hope for. If somethin' goes wrong, we should have some kind of a back-up plan, but for now it seems like we've got a great idea of what to do once we're there." The mechanic spoke up, then, specifically looking at him before addressing Penny. He shrugged and nodded before looking at Rade. "She's got a point," he conceded. "Maybe whoever escorts her, be it me or you, should go in with her."

Gabe also agreed that Ari should go with Leighton. There was no one else he would think would be better at the ambush than she. "Yeah. I think you'd be best in the ambush. Haven can go as well, I should think. Unless you've a better place for her?" He glanced at Rade.

[penny]

Penny rolled her eyes at everyone not willing to want her alone. She figured they had a right to distrust her, and she didn't need any of them to trust her. All she needed was Rade to trust her, just like he always had before, and just like she trusted him.

Ari made a comment about them not being able to keep up with her, but speed wasn't the issue at all. It was about sneaking, moving around unseen, being able to recognize security systems such as cameras or motion sensors, and seeing a thousand different hiding spots and a hundred ways to escape in a room.

"I don't need any of you to trust me." Penny said. "But I've known Rade and his family all my life and I would never betray him, so be satisfied with that."

Penny took another pull from the cigarette, and then rolled the cigarette between her fingers.

"But anyway, if one of yous is comin' with me, ya better learn fast." Penny continued. "Because unlike what Patchy may think, thievery isn't so much about speed, but more about finesse and recognizing dangers and escape routes. So whoever's comin' with me better be prepared to do as I say. Just sayin'. I do this kinda thing for a livin'."

[radegrasan]

The crew had a right to distrust Penny, Rade knew that. With Penny being her lovely self and all. He knew that Penny's personality was one that needed getting used to, but he grew up with Penny and was used to her. He knew that she was reliable and trustworthy, but it didn't look like he could convince anyone of that.

Rather than listen Penny mouth off to the rest of the crew, Rade occupied himself with the equipment they would need for the job since Gabriel told him to make a list for Jove. He was pulled from his thoughts when Penny mentioned that she knew him and his family.

It then occured to Rade that Penny was the only one aboard the ship that knew he had a sister. He hadn't told anyone on the Lenore about Kylie due to the fact that she was a Purplebelly, and he wasn't planning to either. It wasn't the smartest thing to do on a Browncoat ship, even though Rade hated the Alliance.

Rade's father wouldn't tell Rade in what ship Kylie served in, and vice versa, in order to keep the family together, even though Rade and Kylie hadn't spoken in more than 5 years. All he knew about her was that she served on a ship that patrolled the Outer Rim, so there would be no danger of him standing face to face with her during the rescue. Rade had no idea that his sister's ship was in drydock on Londinium, and that she was going to be closer than he thought.

But as things were, he needed to get Penny alone before she spilled the beans about Kylie. Although he was hoping she would have enough common sense not to mention Kylie. She knew too that she was Alliance after all.

Getting Penny alone however was impossible now, so he figured the best thing to do was to change the subject and interrupt Penny, bringing up the various equipment they would need for the rescue.

"Well, I'm no military expert like Ari." Rade said. "But by what I know I can tell rifles are gonna be useless and difficult to handle. We need something compact with a lot of firepower, so I'm thinking submachineguns and heavy pistols."

Gabriel also gave Rade the choice to go with Penny, but even though he attended a prestige Alliance boarding school and was taught the proper etiquette and protocol, it wasn't an option. The Chinese woman whose nose he broke knew what he looked like, so the guards would definately be looking for him.

"You go with Penny." Rade said to Gabriel. "That Chinese woman knows what I look like and if she's running around there I'd be made in a second. Better I go with the ambush group and pose as an acolyte to our 'shepard'. But I'll explain a few things about Alliance etiquette and protocol to both you and Penny once we're on the ground."

Rade rested his elbows on the table and cracked his fingers real quick. In his head he had made a sort of line-up for the rescue.

"So we've got you and Penny inside the house to shut down security, get a message to Bella and plunder the place." Rade said. "But we need someone to be your carriage-handler. I'd rather not hire some local, so perhaps miss Gadria or our monk friend can be persuaded to take the job. As far as the ambush goes, that's Leighton, Haven, Ari and me. Doc's the shepard, I'll pose as an acolyte so that leaves either Ari or Haven to be our carriage-handler."

Rade took a drawing of the tent with all the places and the settings of the chairs in front of him.

"After Penny shuts down the security and we get in, we'll go to the quarters provided for the shepard here." Rade said and pointed at a place on the map. "The doc and I can carry a submachinegun underneath the ceremony robes. As soon as Penny and Gabe are done inside, they'll go to the Alliance command tent here and point a gun at whoever's inside."

Rade then took a marker and marked three positions on the tent map.

"Doc, you'll keep standing in front of the altar and keep watch from there." Rade continued. "Haven, you position yourself at the exit, making sure no one escapes. I myself will take position in the middle and tell those snobs what we're about and why we're there. As soon as we've taken the tent we let Bella put on her shoes and rip her dress, and then we make our escape. We'll set fire to the tent as we go, creating a massive chaos."

Ari wasn't mentioned yet so far, but that was because Rade needed her to do something no one else could: sabotaging the two other transports and take the homing beacon out of the one they were going to use for their escape.

"Ari, I know you're anxious to point your gun at people, but we need your skills somewhere else." Rade said. "We need to make sure we don't have a tail as we escape, and to put it quite frankly you're the only one who's capable of destroying the other two transports and taking the homing beacon out of our escape vehicle."

Rade scraped his throat. He had noticed that he had been the only one talking for a while now, to which the others stayed quiet. An unusual situation, especially because he was the pilot and not a first mate or the captain.

"So that's pretty much I can think of." Rade said. "If I forgot anything please say so..."