SIM:A Rogue Amongst the Stars/Chapter 6
 A Rogue Amongst the Stars |
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Chapter 6
((Pirate Raider, somewhere in the Shoals))
Once the three passengers were safely behind closed doors, Roshanara finally turned to Teller.
Rahman: Captain… ::tilts head slightly:: Finley? Would you mind cluing your “valuable assets” as to what’s going on?
Teller put a finger to his lip, then gestured to the quarters around them. He had little doubt they were still being watched and listened to. He kept himself drawn up as he ‘inspected’ the meager quarters there were temporarily sharing, and found the usual detritus of long term spacers - food packaging, empty liquor bottles and strong pornography. Teller kicked these aside with disdain until he worked his way towards the comm panel, which he glanced at long enough to confirm it had long ago fallen into disrepair. A small sensor module above the door was still blinking, though, so the only option was to keep up the act and somehow explain the situation to the Captain and Kinan.
Teller: Alright..since my operation has been exposed anyway, I see no harm in explaining the particulars. Rosie ::glancing at Rahman:: Do you recall how I got my scars? ::Teller tapped his left bicep and prayed the Captain would remember the tattoo incident::
Kinan: Scars?
Rahman: How could I ever forget?
Teller let out a small sigh of relief, at least the Captain was following along.
Teller: Well, quite a lot happened during that particular encounter which you didn’t need to know about. It revolves around someone we both know quite well. A certain green-skinned troublemaker who had recently lost her ship.
”Rosie” held up her hand.
Rahman: All right, enough. I get the picture. And you can explain the details later when we get back. ...if I even want to know.
Teller deflated slightly, this was all making his head throb.
Teller: Long story short, then. I was forced to expose my true identity as Captain Silas Finley of the Dead Star to a number of ill-tempered pirates. How this lot came to hear the story, I have no idea.
Rahman: Apparently, you did a very “good job,” indeed.
Teller snorted in derision at his ‘catchphrase,’ but was glad the Captain seemed to be following along...
At this point, Kinan crossed her arms. Frowning seemed to be her current state of being.
Rahman: The point is then, we need to figure a way out of here. Either escape or taking control.
Kinan: I counted six people on our way in. While I’m sure you two can pull off some booby traps, I don’t see us strong-arming each and every crew-member off the ship for a successful takeover.
Rahman: I don’t like our odds if we end up facing this Captain Madrid of theirs and the rest of her crew… no, our best chance then is to make our escape here, while it’s just the few pirates on this raider.
Teller:: Listen, Rosie...uh...Kara. These idiots already told us what they need. A score. We dangle a carrot, keep them distracted, make an opportunity and get ourselves back to the Veri...The Dead Star.
Teller desperately hoped his message was being received. Captain Rahman seemed to be getting the picture he was painting, but Kinan was clearly having a hard time digesting it all.
Kinan: Did you just call me “Kara”? And what’s with “Rosie”--what am I missing here?
Rahman: ::turns to Kinan:: Well, Kara… ::Kinan glowered at her:: It doesn’t seem like we’re dealing with nice people here. So it’s probably best to keep a low profile. ::raises her eyebrow:: Do you trust me?
The fact that all five of her names were about to be thrown out the window (way too many names, Kinan, you don’t even use them for God sake) she sighed.
Kinan: You’re my- hmm. ::She stopped herself.::
Teller shrugged in desperation.
Teller: Half-Sister.
| Rahman: | Kinan: |
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| Rahman: :-I | Kinan: :-I |
Teller flinched slightly under the withering eyerolls from both women.
Kinan: Yeah, that doesn’t help. ::She sighed.:: But sure.
Rahman: If you can trust me, you can trust “Finley.”
The Etamoan Trill rolled her eyes, preparing herself for a butchering of her face name (a gut punch to her culture to be sure, but a necessary one).
Teller: So, Rosie...Kara...do we happen to know of any enticing morsels we could throw to the hounds out there?
Roshanara looked back at her “half-sister.” The mere thought of them being related making her give a goofy grin in an otherwise tense situation. If anyone would know of tempting morsels, it would be the administrative officer.
Kinan realized they were both looking at her, and she sighed again.
Kinan: Well, at last check-in, there were a few . . . “promising targets”.
Teller: That’s the play, then. Finley was developing you as information resources and due to….tight timing and the disruption to his schedule, he graciously brings these folks in on it. Can we make that work?
Roshanara took a deep breath. It was an utterly insane situation. And it was also their best hope.
Kinan: As soon as those outposts see us, they’re going to open fire. We’re putting ourselves in the line of our own fire--and we’d have no way to explain that to them.
(Also problematic if the Veritas or Montreal showed up conveniently at that point. Communication was key in these situations, but under watchful guard and with her combadge out of reach, there was no way to explain what was happening.) Both major vessels were both out of reach anyway--Montreal was up near Karakka, and Veritas still unavailable. This would be an installation that wasn’t totally familiar with the three of them.
Teller: ::quietly:: I’m never going on shoreleave again.
The Kriosian nodded and then looked at her chief engineer-turned-fearsome pirate captain. It seemed he was just an ever flowing fountain of surprises.
Rahman: Come on, “Captain.” We’ve got your reputation to maintain.
Continue to Chapter 7