FIREFLY RPG - Episode 0 - Prologue

Christopher continued admiring the ship's interior as they went about Kelly's tour.

"Deep space exploration, eh? That's a field that still isn't too messed with much, is it? Most of the star systems under the Alliance are pretty close together... relatively speaking."

He took note of the interior of the ship looking better off than the exterior.

"That all aside though.... you seem to be neglecting the hull when compared to the inside of the ship. A simple glance at the outside would make one think the Gan Ying's quite the junker."

"Well, could be that's a reason there only one Series 0 Junk-class explorer craft prototype," Kelly says. "And the hull... well. Looks can be deceiving. It's what I'm aimin' for. Folks don't think much of a junker, no matter if the ship is unique or not. Can save you some trouble if you give off that impression, and gives everyone a nice surprise when they step inside."

The cargo hold has a hard industrial look, but when Kelly opens the hatch into the rest of the ship, you are greeted with an ovular hallway plated with sparkling stainless steel.

"I see what you mean," Phillip comments.

"Never gets old," Kelly says, stepping into the hallway with a smile.

Harmony always pauses for a moment as she views the ships interior, even after all these months. It always gives her a faint feeling of belonging; the clean, elegantly-designed hallways of Gan Ying are familiar... "Plus, the Alliance reduce spending on a bunch of ship projects around the time she was finished; deep space exploration wasn't the only project to get cut." She steps inside, around the passengers, and then gestures for them to follow. "See? Told you she's like a cruise liner!" Harmony says to Phil, beaming with pride.

Kenneth nods. "It's a great ship to be on. Good looks, comfortable rooms... even the food is a step above the usual fare in the black."

Gulping, Alan slowly takes the Samson into the garage. "Armed folks in there..."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine. It'd be foolish for anyone to try anything," Nadra says lightly, despite the fact that she thinks Harlan's people may be a bit over-armed.

Ms. Nadra is correct, there is no need for us to be paranoid. I do not know the customs of this planet, nor the crime rate, so their weapons may be necessary for their own safety. Toki decides to stay close to his fellow crew members, especially Alan, trying to reassure him that they are all safe. He places all of his trust in Harlan and his company, but he still wishes to near his team in case the worse were to happen.

"I must say it is one of the nicest ships I've been on. How did you get her, if I may ask?" Gabriel says to the Captain

Christopher keeps following along with the tour.

"I understand the need to keep a low profile with appearances. Had to been down that road myself a few times."

"Exactly! No sense in broadcasting to every pirate crew in the Black that we're worth their time! Most people looking at an unfamiliar junker wouldn't even bother to look it up and find out what kind of ship it is. After all, doesn't even look like it would be worth the effort, certainly not if it looks like it's in poor repair. Plus they'll probably assume it's too old for them to immediately recognize, not too new." Harmony's heels finally stop clicking along the cold, hard steel of the flooring, instead silently sinking into the carpet. "But, yeah, that's a good question...?" She pauses, looking at Gabriel, "You know, I don't think we've gotten your names yet..." While she most certainly has figured out who they are based on their reputations, she can't remember them actually introducing themselves.

Christopher looked at Harmony and blinked.

"Oh.... right. Huh. I geuss with half the crew going out to do buisness, we got all mixed up. My name is Christopher Jackson. What's yours?"

"Yes. Must have missed it, my name is Gabriel Thornby"

"Don't take this as a means to disrespect, but I prefer not to talk about it," Kelly says coolly in response to Gabriel's question. "Personal things stay personal. I reserve that right as the owner of this rock-hopper. I won't ask you no questions neither unless I feel it would be beneficial to myself or my crew."

Kelly does offer his hand in greeting to both Jackson and Thornby when they give their names, though.

-

I'd hope you trust your fellow crewmates more than what appears to be Harlan's security team, Toki! But then again, who knows in this line of work...

Alan drifts the Samson into the spacious garage. The men inside do not raise their guns or take cover for a pitched gunfight or anything, only eyeing you warily.

"Power it down and head upstairs," the bearded man says, and you catch hints of a Russian accent in his speech now. "We'll load her up when Harlan gives us word to do so."

Alan will look to Shaftoe, wanting to get the 'go ahead' from the man in charge before powering the Samson down.

"Me? My name? Mhm, I'm Harmony, and I'll be your pilot for your stay!" The way she says it sounds... familiar (because she said the exact same words on page 3). "Nice to meet you both." Harmony says, extending a hand to shake. "Oh, and you'll just be wasting your time, asking the Captain those kinds of questions. I mean, I'm flying her for him, and he hasn't even told me how he got her..."

I'll nod at Alan, and then hop out of the still powering down Samson.

Marina follows Shaftoe off of the Samson, sticking close to him because she knows he is the one to stand by if something goes wrong.

"Where's the exit to get to Harlan?" Marina asks the bearded Russian guy. She herself is part Russian, and so is curious.

"Let's say I won it by drawing my name out of a hat," Kelly says, trying to put you at ease.

-

The Russian gestures to a heavy sliding door that one of the men then hauls open. Beyond is a combination workshop and laboratory, where terraforming equipment is repaired and experimented with, no doubt.

"Don't touch anything," says the Russian. "Stairs on the right, as soon as you walk through."

Nadra will hop down off of the Samson, but waits for Shaftoe or Marina to go first through the door.

Well then, I guess thats my cue.
I'll go through the door and up the stairs, checking out what everyone is armed with while I walk by.