Episode1Prelude

CAST

• Michi Nom
• Carina Yuzu
• Karl
• Dorota Kowal
• Sarah Lee
• Esther

Explosions in Space

When it comes to livin in the verse, things never go smooth. Sure they might seem to be shiny at the moment but that just ain't the true way of things. After spending six months fixin up the Kobukson, Michi is ready to fly. Michi, along with Carina and Karl head off to Kuan Lo, a moon orbiting Sho-Je Downs. It's a short hop, less than twenty four hours from Belyx to Kuan Lo.

It's early evening on Kuan Lo when the Kobukson enters orbit. Just as the crew thinks all is shiny, there is a pop and then an explosion coming from the engine room.

"In orbit." Michi says. She resists the urge to sniffle. Stupid fen dui virus. She reaches up to check readings, making sure the ship is ready for atmospheric entry when BOOM.

"Yi da tuo ba bian! What the hell was that?!?" Because there's all manner of sirens and blinking lights and warnings going off every which way now.

Carina looks towards Michi worriedly from the co-pilot's seat. She's no pilot, thanks, and even less an engineer. And that's a bad thing right now. "I have no idea." she offers, a tad worriedly. "You would know better than I. Go, take a look. I'll try to keep things going here." That and prepare to become one with the Verse. Damn it all.

Swearing, Michi slaps the release, transfering control to the co-pilot's console and then leaps from the chair. It isn't a long run. The Kobuskon isn't a big ship at all. Out of the cockpit, through the common area (knocking over a chair) and into the engine room.

There is smoke everywhere. And the heat! Engines purr, this one sounds like it's making like a dying cow.

Being no type of pilot or co-pilot for that matter, Karl is in the hold trying to determine if they are going to have enough supplies to survive the trip after they pick up their newest crew members or if they are going to need to take on more supplies. The loud noise makes him nearly jump out of his skin and he lets out his on expletive. "That can't be any kind of good." he says to himself, grabbing tools and running toward the engine room as well, probably running into Michi in the common room

Michi staggers back, coughing as she waves her hand in front of her face to clear some of the air. "Go shi!" She grabs the fire extinguisher by the door and pushes inward, trying to find the source of the problem with her limited mechanical skills.

Carina tries to do what little she can to keep things in order in the cockpit, while she waits. Seems like the folks at the junkyard screwed them good; got them good enough to get into space, and not survive reentry. They got their money, and now they won't survive to land and find that engineer who'd answered the ad. Not a good sign at all.

Like Michi, Karl tries to wave smoke away, not that it helps "Luck would have you blowing something before you got your engineer." he comments as he sets the tool box down and digs through it to get the proper tools for the captain "What you need me to do?"

As Michi enters into the engine room, the ship jerks and she slams into an overheating coil, burning her arm.

There's more swearing. "I can't fix this." Michi growls as she moves away from the smoke and back into the common area. "Find a seat. Strap in." She tells Karl. "I'm going to try to put down. Engine like this, best not to hope for too much." She ignores the burn on her arm as she makes her way to the cockpit and jams herself back into the pilot's seat. "We're going down." Switches are flipped. Buttons are pressed. Michi grabs the yolk and begins a descent.

Karl gives a few swears of his own and the news amoung his coughing at the smoke. Quickly collecting the tools he packs up and goes to strap in and preparing for a bumpy ride.

Even without engines, Michi is the Best Damn Pilot on this Side of Kuan Lo. It's all about angles and trajectories and riding the winds down. Still, it's a good thing everyone is strapped in. The ship does a hop, skip, and jump before it comes to rest beside a deformed sort of lonely cactus in the middle of the desert.

"Any landing you can stumble away from." Carina offers. "Well done, Michi." It's been a few years since she was in such a state of making her peace with being about to die, only to survive instead. It will take some getting used to, being back in that state of things. "Now what? Damage assessments? Or do we try to get to the port and find that engineer?"

"I can't fix it." Michi says, breathing hard as he does so. He yanks the buckle of his safety restraint open. "That mechanic better be as good as she says she is, or we're stuck on this piece of crap rock for a while. Come on. We can take my bike into town. Hopefully."

Karl has his eyes clamped tight throughout the scary descendent. When things are suddenly still and like that for a few moments he opens an eye "Well damn, I'm alive." that's always a good thing. Unstrapping he gets up to head to the hatch to open it up so they can depart.

And there's the rub. There ain't nothing but desert sand all around. No bike, in fact, nothing that moves on wheels is going to make it through the rise and fall of the granular terrain.

"Alright. We're here, and we need to go that direction. Shuttle, or bike? And does one of us need to stay with the ship?" Carina offers, as they all gather on the gangplank.

"That far, over this terrain. Shuttle." Michi says, "Nothing but sand. I hate this planet already. Hover bike will kick it up as we go, it'll end up in the works and it'll take days working it out." He glances around. "We lock it up, should be okay. All three of us could go. Bring arms. Just because our mechanic is friendly don't mean the rest of this pit is." He takes a step back toward the stairs, ready to climb up and to the shuttle. As he does he sways, having to catch himself on the railing. Then come the sneezes. One. Two. Three. Five. Ten in a row.

"Weapons got it." not much is known of Karl, but it is known that he has weapons. He straps one on each hip and a rifle goes across his back. Once properly weaponed up and making sure the other two are as well, he climbs up into the shuttle. "You alright there Captain?"

Carina climbs the gangplank back into the ship and heads up to her cabin, fetching her fans and a parisol. Then she heads down the corridor and preps the shuttle. When Michi arrives, she hands him a brightly colored kerchief. "Wrap that around the lower half of your face. Then double-check me, and I think we're ready to go."

"Don't tell Carina." Michi mumbles to Karl. "She'll worry. Just got a cold." He ties the kerchief around his face as instructed, though for now it gets pushed down around his neck. He'll pull it up when they're outside and in the sandstorm. "Everyone sit down and we'll fly." He dumps himself in the pilot's seat, trying to avoid sounding like he's talking with a stuffed nose.

Karl gives a nod to Michi "Sure thing Captain." he has loads of secrets, what's one more to add to the collection. Strapping himself in he readies for take off, hoping that this ride ends better.

In Jie Jie

In the small town of Jie Jie, Dorota, an engineer, waits to meet her potential Captain. It just so happens she answered a cortex ad for a new engineer. She's become acquainted with Sarah.

It's not a particularly fun planet, and Dorota is quite, quite determined to get off it. She's watching the skies, in fact, impatient as the sun beats down. Her sleeves are rolled up and she's darkened to quite the tan in the time she's been "stranded" here.

Sarah glances over towards Dorota, "Anxious?" She smiles a little bit, "Honestly, I can't blame you. I wouldn't mind getting out of here myself." Which might be a reason she's here, who /doesn't/ need a doctor once in a while?

Dorota and Sarah stand in front of the Big Sister Diner known in the area for it's best fried tomatoes. Afterall, it's late and dinner won't make itself. The diner sports large windows that let in light during the day but at night, the shades are drawn giving the place a more private ambience. There is a place where anyone can sit with a meal and chat with the wait staff or anyone else around them. As well, there are numerous booths scattered around if they so choose one of those.

"Yes. But they won't be here faster for the wishing." Dorota drops her eyes from the sky and studies the diner. No, dinner won't make itself, and fried tomatoes are calling.

Sarah glances towards Dorota, then smiles, "Come on, let's get some fried tomatoes. I know you like the ones here best. And they'll be here, right as rain."

Dorota nods. "Fried tomatoes, maybe...a burger?" Oblivious to the struggles in orbit, which of course she could fix perfectly, right...Dorota Kowal heads into the diner.

The inside of the Diner is cozy if a little dingy. Though it's pretty full, there are one or two booths still open.

Sarah looks at Dorota with a surprised expression, then chuckles a bit, "Why not? Hopefully this is celebrating both of us leaving this place." Her eyes flicker back and forth out of habit, then she walks over to the diner.

"Sadly, I didn't mean a *real* burger." That, she can't budget for, but the tofu-esque fake, she can afford.

As Dorota and Sarah take a seat at one of the booths, a middle aged woman waitress with the nametag that says Hello, my name is Esther, walks up to them. "What's pleasing you today, sugars?"

Sarah glances up at the waitress, and smiles a bit, "Hello Esther. I would like to have some of those delicious fried tomatoes that I've heard so much about, and green tea, if you have it."

"Hrm...fried tomatoes, *black* tea if you have it." She studies the menu and sighs woefully. "No, can't afford what I was looking at." Well, she's getting a new job soon, right?

"Green Tea, Black Tea, Two fried tomatoes. Shiny." Esther doesn't take any notes, in fact, there isn't anything in her hands at all except for a small hand towel. "Anythin' else?"

Sarah gives Dorota a wry look, then says to Esther, "A tofu burger for her as well, Esther, put it on my check, if you please." She grins back to Dorota, "Not the real thing, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help?"

Dorota laughs. "I'll pay you back." She lets out a breath. "Hate being broke, hate being stuck here more. No offense, Esther."

"None taken Sweetness." Esther Chuckles. "I'll be right back with your meals." She heads off to call her order through the window to where the cook, a grumbly fellow is cussing away at the grill.

Enter Crew of the Kobukson

It's evening so nothing really is open except for the Big Sister Diner. The trio of bedraggled newcomers enters just as Esther is serving Dorota and Sarah. The diners don't even notice or look up. There is a low hum of conversation all around with the occassional cussin and swearin from the cook at the grill.

Dorota doesn't. She's eating like, well, somebody who doesn't get to eat as well as she would like and burns a lot of calories. Bedraggled travelers? What bedraggled travelers.

Sarah sips from her green tea first, before deciding to dive into the fried tomatoes. Her eyes flicker towards the trio, then she looks at Dorota, "Hey, those people look familiar?"

By the time they get town, Michi's nose is dripping and his eyes are watering. Whatever bug he's picked up, exposure to the smoke from the engine obviously made it worse. He's shivering now.

Carina isn't quite so bedraggled. She doesn't do bedraggled, despite the fact that at times draw more attention than they might like. And she's not nearly so clueless as Michi might like about his condition. But she follows along into the diner and looks around carefully. "Did you bring the picture?" she queries.

Dorota glances towards the door. "One of them seems to be having an allergic reaction to this..." She tails off. "...dump of a planet." That's recognition, alright.

Has keep at a flanking position as they trio went through town and to the diner and even now he stays in that tactical position as they enter the diner. He can't help but give a ghost of a smile at the aromas coming from the kitchen though at the sniffling of the Captain he gives a sympthetic eye, then looks around for a table they can sit at.

Michi stuffs a piece of smart paper into Carina's hands. On it, there's the latest message from Dorota, complete with an image to ensure who the crew picked up was who they meant to pick up. "Yeah. Coffee."

There are no more booths left at the diner though there are a few seats at the communal central area.

Sarah shakes her head at Dorota, "Not just allergic, he's sick. Notice the shivering... that's not from allergies. Also, he's been burned recently. Can't tell much more than that from here." She frowns a bit, then takes another sip of her tea.

Dorota winces. "He's also my new boss, so maybe we should try and fix the sick?" Dorota sips at her tea. There's...probably space to sit near the two.

The clean and pretty stylish, taller blonde woman appraoches, clearly ethnic oriental bits. She stops near Darota. "I don't want to interrupt your meal. But I believe we're looking for you. Mechanic job, for the Kobukson." she offers. "You are Darota? I am Carina, co-captain." And co-owner.

In a place like this, Carina does stand out. Now that there has been time to assimilate the newcomers, there are some who are staring at the beautiful woman.

"Michi Nom. Co-captain." The clearly sick person says. "This is Karl. He's does what needs doing." And right now, he looks like the most dangerous person in the group.

Sarah glances at the trio, then looks at Michi, "Exactly how long have you been sick? Because this is definitely not an allergic reaction if you're shivering like that." She doesn't seem terribly fazed by the three, though she does nod politely in greeting. Then she comments, "By the way, burns like that should be at least dressed before doing anything strenuous."

Dorota's played the wrong side of the law enough to translate "does what needs doing" as "muscle." Muscle, and one of the co captains is, well, gorgeous enough to raise the dead, or at least certain parts of the dead. An...interesting crew. "Burns?" she says, abruptly, a little sharply.

If Karl had a hat he would proably be the kind to tip it to the ladies, so instead he just nods his head "Nice to meet ya ladies." he greets, though it is somewhat stoically in fashion. Well if he is the muscle he should really start working out so he can be more muscly..but if weapons count as muscle...well then he is all set.

"Don't know you." Michi says, glancing to Sarah and then looking back to Dorota. "If you're Kowai, grab your kit and let's go. There's an engine needs your loving touch if you want to get off this Da Shiong La Se La Ch'Wohn Tian."

Carina looks towards Sarah and then back to Michi, but says nothing. Not yet. "We can clean and wrap the arm once we're back aboard." More than that would take a doctor they don't have, and supplies they couldn't begin to afford, probably.

Sarah hrms, "You have a medical bay on this ship? Since you clearly don't have a doctor from the way he's been sniffling." She eyes the burns, "Not serious, but if you leave them be too long they could get infected, which, when you're already sick... wan dan." She then takes another measured sip of her tea.

"Let me box up my food." Dorota grins. "Not abandoning a meal, even if I end up having to warm it up later." It's clear she's itching to go, though.

"I'll go get the shuttle warmed up." Michi says, turning and heading for the counter. There will be coffee to go or there will be hell to pay. Carina's left to deal with the doctor who hasn't even introduced herself.

One of the waitresses at the counter is happy to pour Michi some coffee to go.

"You think some kind of doctor?" Carina inquires, curiously. "Names all around, but you. And we can't afford to pay you." She's not even sure they can afford the parts to rebuild the engines.

Sarah smiles faintly, "You get me off this dustball, and I'll work pro bono. My name is Sarah." She shrugs, "And I'm not 'some kind' of doctor. I am a doctor, and as Dorota can attest, probably the best one here." A wry smirk, "Which isn't exactly saying much, but it is what it is."

"Best anything on this dustball is a low bar. Well, except for the fried tomatoes." Because those are actually good. The rest? Dorota's snagged a box from a waiter and is boxing up her burger and tomatoes.

Karl looks at Carina, studying her a moment, it could even be considered borderline scrutinity "May as well bring her along. She obviously is looking to impress us...and she is a doctor." how he would know that, who knows but he seems to beleive her "If she causes trouble we lock her up and drop of her at the next stop."

"Alright. Grab your things. You do a decent job with what we've got, you get your ride. Sarah." Carina offers, doing her best to be objective despite that this is Michi who is hurt and ill. Fighting her instincts. "Let's not waste a lot of time." Because somehow she's figuring the longer they're here, the more attention they'll draw, and the more trouble. As if they don't have enough problems.