FIREFLY - Wayward Bound (Game Thread)

-= FIREFLY =-
-= WAYWARD BOUND =-

A Role-Playing Game by Aliies

((Forenote: If you wish to play in this game, remember to post your Out Of Character Comments and any posts not 'In Character' do not post here.
Secondly please read the rules in the following thread http://www.killermovies.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=492140&pagenumber=1 before posting. Any posts here not conducted in the manner described in the rules, even ones requesting to join will be ignored and i will request a forum moderator to remove them from this thread.

With that aside, I hope you have fun in my new Role Playing Game!))

Rain pelted off of the darkened front view ports, beyond the forward beams there was nothing to be seen, a stray column of light here and there but overly nothing to guide the blinded vessel to safer shores save for the glowing look of the holonet navigation system roguishly installed into the pilot's frontal controls.

The pilot, a beaded fellow with a meanish demeanor looked on into the invisible skyline. Despite for recommendations to use his navigational assist, he had a natural feel for spatial concepts, even risking a glance over his shoulder at the weary for of his captain who was draped over the side of the co-pilot's chair, snoring heartedly and absentmindedly, the man had been through a lot in the past few days, it was no wonder...

Unfortunately for the dear captain, this man Anjorvic Tsanov, his name was not the nicest of pilots, feeling a sudden burst of childish manner and threw a scrunched up piece of discarded paper at the captain's open mouth, shocking him back to the land of consciousness with a start.

“AUUghhh, Bai-Li-Mao!” the slender figure of the ship's commander twitched and slumped off the chair, painfully with a dull thud as his head bounced off of the unforgiving metal plating underfoot, a miracle he hadn't bruised anything... but then again, Jacques had a reputation for bouncing...

“Aaawwwwwaakey-wakey Cap'n-sir... Have a nice beauty-nap?” Anjorvic mocked in his laced accent as he continued to pilot the ship with astounding grace and direction.

“I was until you woke me and made me realize how much my neck hurts...” Jacques said idly, flexing the strained muscles to the right as he yawned widely, probing at the mark where his head had broken his unexpected fall before slumping back into the chair, issuing a second even more-so impossibly-wide yawn.

“I woke you for one of two things, we'll be docking on the bridge in a few moments, Tien has everything locked and ready for transport.” the elderly pilot said clearly enough so that a certain dopey-captain could make out what was said.

“And the other thing?” Jax said dreamily.

“We're leaving...” he replied rather bluntly.

There was an awkward silence as the captain lazily turned his head to meet the stern gaze of his supposedly-loyal pilot.

“Do I smell?” Jax suddenly said, breaking the tension somewhat.

“What? No... its just, well you haven't been yourself since Kingsford and... well...”

“Lorinda...” Jacques suddenly lost his childish appeal as he cut his man off before he could say anymore.

“Yes, I... or I should be saying, 'we' think that you need to sit for a month or two and really decide if this life of suicidal reckoning is realy the path you want to take and if it is which so far it seems to be is not something that we would be wanting to hang around for...”

“I need someone to hang with me at the end!” the captain covered his eyes and dismissed most of Anjor's comments with a wave of his hand loosely.

“And that, my friend is why we can't stay...” The slavic-born man said rather solemnly.

Another moment of silence, the rain stinging the outer shell of the ship adding the only ambient noise aside form the dull hum of the engines, only barely audible over the weather.

“How many of you are leaving...” the captain asked, once again breaking the moment.
“Myself, Tien, Michael, Andreas and Timothy... And unless you haven't already realized that Daniel left when we were on Ariel.”

“Eh? I thought he was sick in his cabin...” Jacques jumped up and stared at his soon-to-be former-pilot, his face accentuated by a wide set of shocked eyes.

“Captain... He told you to your face! Oh... Oh I see, you were ignoring him again, like you do with the rest of us when we have important things to say!” Anjor's voice grew rather gruff and irritated, his captain had a reputation for being an arse, even if he tried not to be.

“Well importance is only a matter of opinion...” He said dreamily, leaning back over the backing of the co-pilot's chair.

“Can't you take anything seriously, for even a moment... sir?”

Anjorvic looked over and snarled to see the pathetic excuse of a man fall soundly to sleep again as if he hadn't a care in the world.

- - - - - - - -

Shaking his head violently to get rid of the last remnants of sleep, Jacques awoke to the blinding light of a clearing sky and the rumble of sky-traffic roaring overhead.
As his usual self, he got up and shook his head again, yawning and looking around for any signs of life after spending a moment gazing down at the heavy mob of human traffic down in front of his ship.

“Tien? You got the cargo al ready to go I hear?” he called out, wearily taking the stairs from the bridge and passed the dorm hatches I the neck of his vessel.
There was no response, he felt no concern as the door to his own room slid open reluctanly and spending a few moments collecting his gear, ready for the voyage onto solid ground.

“Tien? Where In the Sahm-Heck are you...” no one in the kitchen or common room, the engine room was empty and the cargo bay was devoid of any life or any cargo for that matter.
Finally getting his bearings on the world around him, Jax strolled up to the open bay doors of the cargohold and looked around confused, wondering why his ship was so clean and empty.

Abount to turn and look through each of his crew's rooms, his foot landed on a piece of carefully folded paper, an omnious feeling as he recognized the handwriting on the letter to be his second in charge's...

'Dear captain,
It has come to our attention that your lack of self respect and blatant disregard of our personal safety has become a distressing notion for us and we have all agreed that we must leave, mostly for your sake, yet a fair amount for our own lives.

I hope this doesn't remove your already-weaken outlook on mankind, but I do hope that one day I can speak to the man I once knew as my captain, my friend and loyal employer.

May the black treat you well,
-Tien'

Everything fell still, the noise from the crowd outside, the singing, the bartering and the roaring of vehicles and vessels all fell silent for a moment. Jacques carefully refolded the letter and placed it into his upper-coat pocket, feeling his fragile grip on reality slip a little more...

- - - - - - - -

A month had passed, the now-perpetually drunk form of Captain Jacques had never left Persephone nor had he even wandered back onto his ship... He had posted an advertisement for a new crew on the wire, but nothing had come up to even a glimmer of returning to his beloved life of anti-alliance mischief as he slowly spent away all of his small wealth ensuring that he never felt anything anymore and that the last remnants of his fragile being remained firmly plastered at the tail end of a bottle.

He was up to his seventh mug of beer, more of a strong draught with at least fifty percent of which alcohol, he was now having trouble meeting the glass to his face to actually drink the foul smelling brackish liquid until the barkeep decided he had had enough and threw the blindly-veneered excuse of a captain to fall soudly asleep in the gutter outside, his unkempt beard and stale clothing rendering him a rather unpleasant sight and smell to take in, the fact that he was drunk at least gave him somewhat of a excuse for it.

He lay there for hours, the day in the sky grew to a solemn black, covered by clouds that would soon wash away what was left of the infamous Captain Jaqcues.

((Sorry it was slightly rushed, but I managed to capture the moment Mostly xD You may jump into the game however you wish so long as you have created a character and i have approved it, also try to post in story-book context and that you haven't joined my character's crew yet))

Slinging the megre sized personal bag over her shoulder, Maggie glanced around her.
Being in the same atmosphere that was common to her; eg. drunkards, homeless, drug addicts...and the like, she slowly made her way toward a delapidated bar where she was sure to find a particular gentleman that had been advertising the need of a 'crew' for his ship for just over a month now.

Not much to her surprise, when asked about said gentleman, she was referred to the gutter outside of the establishment. Nodding in thanks, she turned and left only to find the very man she was looking for asleep in the gutter. Lowering herself down into a squat she looked the man over once and smiled slightly and poked the man to see if he was at all lucid or knocked out for the count.

The bar was quite lively this day. People had been moving in and out of the doors non-stop. Unfortunately, none of them looked even remotely like a skipper. None of them asked questions about pilots or seemed to be looking for someone.

Goins was pretty good at judging people's appearances and the fact that his appointment appeared to be late annoyed him. He had arrived early... both to make a good impression and to have time to pick a table close to the rear exit in case the meeting turned sour. Goins had chosen this particular location since he had known the barkeeper for some time and trusted the lady. He felt it comforting to have her eyes and her hidden auto-shotgun watching over his shoulder.

"15 more minutes, then I'm gone", he thought before nearly retching at another sip of the vile beverage. Nyamko was a highly admirable woman in many ways, but she never did have a grasp of the finer varieties in alcohol... "This is supposed to be ale? I've been to Reaver ravaged settlements that brew better than this!"

Persephone was a gray zone between civilization and 'the wild' as he liked to call border planets. Probably outright pleasant if you could find the sense to settle down with a mundane job and aspirations to raise a family. The problem was that Goins didn't have that amount of sense, seeing how he was an unemployed sky-jock sitting inside a pub at noon, waiting for a potential employer who didn't seem to know what day of the week it was.

None the less, Goins needed to eat and preferred to earn his bread from people who didn't ask too many uncomfortable questions. Hence his current predicament. "8 minutes..."

Redge stumbled down the grimy street. He had been drinking again. He had been out of a job, and out of luck, for 3 weeks now; his pockets growing ever so lighter every day. He had spotted an ad for a crew about a week ago, but had had no luck in finding the Captain of said ad.

He went to take another swig of the whiskey bottle he held in his hand, but no bitter taste passed his mouth. It was empty. Grumbling, he put the bottle down on the path and was about to walk into a nearby bar when he tripped over something in the gutter. Picking himself up and squinting hard he could just make out the form of a man, laying in the gutter and a woman seemingly checking on the man's health. He mumbled an apology.

Looking up at the man a small smile again creeped across Maggie's features, "I don't think he'll mind much, seems to be out cold." Glancing back at the man in the gutter a thought crossed her mind as she stood up and turned to the second man, "Would you mind helping me carry him to my lodgings? It's not far and I'll compensate you for your effort."
Hoping that the man would take the offer as her 'position' required she had a tendency to help everyone, especially the unfortunate.

Dom had heard talk of someone needing a crew.
After hanging in the bar a bit, he overheard some chatter about a man in the gutter outside. So...bored and and wanting some air, Dom headed out to look around.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, he saw a woman, a drunk, and a sleeping drunk...
He chuckled and looked towards the woman... "Hey lady, need a hand?"

Maggie's eyes turned to the stranger who addressed her, nodding she replied, "That'd be appreciated, can you help me carry this man to my accomodation?" She motioned with a hand toward the unconcious drunk in the gutter.

"Sure thing..."
Dominic walked over, crouched down, and slowly lifted the man up.

"Ok, Lead the way..."

Maggie had taken 'the other side' as she nodded down the alley, hoping that the second drunk would follow suit as she had a feeling that he too needed aid.

Walking along with the woman.

"Say...I've been hearin gossip of someone 'round these parts lookin for a crew... you by chance know where i can start lookin? "

Maggie shook her head slightly, "I haven't found the man yet, I'm looking also. But I have a charitable heart so this man caught my eye and the ship will have to wait." She smiled as she spoke.

"Ah, i see hehe"

"Well, My name is Dominic, but most folks call me Dom... Maybe we will be workin together if we can ever find this guy..." He smiled and chuckled.

"I'm Magdelene, or Maggie..." She paused, "Or Shepherd..." She waited for his reaction, as many people had a negative reaction to her personal 'path' in life.

"Ah Pleasure ta meet ya... Shepherd."

Smiling as he walked.

For a change he enjoyed meeting Maggie, He had mostly dealt with the scum of the 'verse in his past.

Chuckling slightly, she made the indication to turn to their left, most Shepherds took up more professional lodgings that where by right provided to them when on a planet, but Maggie was different, she liked to be among the people, there was no use in the 'position' in the first place if not to serve and guide.

Several metres later she slowed to a stop and dug in her pocket for a swipe key, it was just as battered as the door...but it worked none-the-less.
"Welcome...please, I want to get him inside as soon as physically possible so that I can clean him up and make sure he's rested."

There was no shortage of shady characters in Nyamko's pub. Despite his safety measure, Goins still sat with his back to the wall and attentively scanned the crowd. Partially out of habit but there was also the slight chance that the person he was waiting for would still show up.

One of the hardcases, a pale scarred man caught Goins' interest. He had seen him standing alone at the bar for quite some time. Certainly, he was there to meet someone but he didn't look right... not likely to be recruiting for a boat. When the scarred man was about to leave and stopped outside the door, Goins felt uneasy. A crowd had started to build up on the sidewalk, apparently someone had fallen. It was probably nothing but still left an exit obstructed and too many people that could see his face up close. It was time to move.

Nyamko and Goins exchanged knowing glances as Goins moved fluently from his table and out the back door. Not much of a loss... the mark was obviously not going to show up anyway. "2 hours of my day totally wasted" he thought. "I would have been better off trying that postal run, despite the lousy pay". He strolled out into the street and headed for the ship yard. As much as it would hurt his pride, he decided to go beg for the postal run. Now it would pay even less than if he had taken the first offer.

Goins turned around to see the pale scarred man from the bar in the company of an odd looking shepherd, fishing two drunks out of the gutter. "What do you know... the man is a Samaritan." The older drunk was a grease monkey... a ships mechanic by the looks of it. "A fellow boatshand who is also down on his luck..." Goins felt a sudden jolt of pity but shook it off. He had his own problems to worry about.

He began walking towards the shipyards while cursing under his breath. With divine luck, he might stumble over a rich companion shopping for hand-me-down boats who could use a skilled helmsman. "Sure... and the Alliance will start handing out legal pardons any day now".

Khang strolled leisurely through the streets, nodding towards a group of monks as they passed him by. He noticed the usual crowds of people going about their business, some of them glancing up at him with a slight wave, which he returned. It was just another day on Persephone, everyone had somewhere to go, someone to meet, which was why Khang chose to live here when he wasn't offworld - you never knew what you might run into down on Persephone.

No sooner had the thought entered his mind, he saw the bulky shape of the old Firefly-class ship that had been docked the last few weeks. Khang had noticed the ship a few days after it had landed, but hadn't seen any crew or passengers leave or arrive. At first he thought the ship had just simply been abandoned, or perhaps the owner had been quietly killed after a job deal gone wrong - Persephone was known to harbor some rough characters. Khang had heard of a...'businessman'...by the name Badger, who some folk seemed to keep a fair distance from, couldn't blame 'em.

But it seemed whoever owned the boat was apparently alive and well, and looking for a crew to join him. Khang came across the advertisement a couple of days ago and was curious to find this 'Captain Cobb' and see what kind of man flew a ship like that, Khang had traveled on Firefly ships before but there was something different about this one.

He decided to sit on a crate next to the ship, hoping whoever owned it turned up sometime. Khang pulled out his bible and read silently to himself to pass the time.

Lee Chao Zhi had recently shut down his local office. It was on a simple whim, as many of his actions were these days. He had seen a tattered, old advertisement that reminded him a lot of a certain tattered, old Chinese man asking for crew members for a ship. Deciding it would be fun, exploring the black and all the known and unknown places out there, he set out for the ship's location.

On his arrival, he saw a man sitting on a crate, reading a bible. Lee quickly assumed the man was the captain of the ship, seeing as he was the only one in the ship's proximity, and proceeded to ask, "You are the one looking for crew members, yes?" He felt that he looked perfectly presentable, with his gnarled wooden cane that he only kept to make him look slightly more dignified and his tropical shirt that contrasted completely with the drab metal and shipping crates around him.

Originally posted by boiled_egg
Chuckling slightly, she made the indication to turn to their left, most Shepherds took up more professional lodgings that where by right provided to them when on a planet, but Maggie was different, she liked to be among the people, there was no use in the 'position' in the first place if not to serve and guide.

Several metres later she slowed to a stop and dug in her pocket for a swipe key, it was just as battered as the door...but it worked none-the-less.
"Welcome...please, I want to get him inside as soon as physically possible so that I can clean him up and make sure he's rested."

Dom nodded and headed through the door, however being as clumsy as he was sometimes... he accidentally bonked the man's head on the doorway. "oops!... hope he didn't feel that one, Heh sorry Ma'am i can be clumsy at times.."

Walking in, Dom looked around and gently placed the man in a nearby chair.

Originally posted by KingDubya
Lee Chao Zhi had recently shut down his local office. It was on a simple whim, as many of his actions were these days. He had seen a tattered, old advertisement that reminded him a lot of a certain tattered, old Chinese man asking for crew members for a ship. Deciding it would be fun, exploring the black and all the known and unknown places out there, he set out for the ship's location.

On his arrival, he saw a man sitting on a crate, reading a bible. Lee quickly assumed the man was the captain of the ship, seeing as he was the only one in the ship's proximity, and proceeded to ask, "You are the one looking for crew members, yes?" He felt that he looked perfectly presentable, with his gnarled wooden cane that he only kept to make him look slightly more dignified and his tropical shirt that contrasted completely with the drab metal and shipping crates around him.

Khang looked up from his bible as a strange old man approached him. The man seemed harmless enough, although Khang thought he looked slightly odd in his colorful shirt, given the surroundings.

"Ah...no, I'm sorry, I don't own the ship. I'm not sure who does, haven't seen anyone 'round here for weeks now. Thought I'd stop by in case someone actually turned up."

He stood up slowly and placed his bible back within his robes.

"I don't think I've seen you 'round here before. Name's Khang", he reached his arm out to greet the stranger.