What a stroke of luck! A coalition military escort and its cargo, ripe for the picking, lams to the slaughter. Though some weird things certainly had happened as a lonely space pirate frigate, Black Heaven encountered what would have been an intimidating threat.

The large escorting cruisers seemed to stop almost suddenly, one going completely off angle and colliding with a nearby asteroid. This certainly was an issue since the entire area seemed to consist of asteroids. No-one went a dangerous path like this except to hide something. For one pirates like those on board the Black Heaven were quite thankful for the privacy that asteroid fields gave them. They could set up outposts and watch the fields for drifters, or break out into the open to perform hit and run tactics.

The pirates of the Black Heaven were part of a group known as the Dark Angels, notorious as one of the deadliest of the smaller pirate groups. Although their actions against Earthers had always been in defense, they'd shown favor in eliminating Coalition forces. And here they were, watching as the debris of the smashed ship rained on its allies. Although their defensive shields held up, the closest second cruiser was more heavily damaged.

Needless to say it was a shit-storm of metal and debris, bodies and frozen chemicals. This place owuld be radioactive, but the shielding of the Black Heaven reduced that risk to nothing.
It was the cargo transport that had gotten their eye, for it seemed quite well protected, but under the hail of parts and asteroids they had to break away, especially as the Pilot of the Black Heaven chased them down. The gunners taking out what fighters remained.

The asteroids were their home turf, they wouldn't lose here.

Once the transport had finally been caught, its engines were shot out so it could no longer flee. Then came the boarding. It didn't take long as the pirates attached their vessel to the transports hull and breached it. One of the first out into the fray was a young man, known only to his crew as Code-Eye, or simply Code.
With deft gunslinging skill he could take out soldiers even around corners. It was said he once challenged the leader of the Dark Angels, others would say he was there to assassinate her, but an enticing offer of more bloodshed and money than he could deal with in a lifetime was far more appealing.

Later emerged the pilot herself, Hannah Lynx, often just referred to as Lynx, members of her own crew were intimidated by her, she was strong, inhumanly strong or so they believed, being born on and living on a planet with two times the regular gravity of Earth had made her physically adapt into a walking tank of a woman, but she was fast, a quick thinker and damn near the finest pilot in the entire sector.
And questioning her loyalty to Aria? Now that right there was a free ticket to Loosetooth city.

Lynx had been scouring the ship for survivors, frankly disappointed that the troops had been taken out so quickly, so she supposed it was safe to start with phase two, check the goods..
"Freakin jackpot!" She yelled, with the many doorways to the breaching hatch being open it wasn't hard to hear her whoops of joy, "Hey boss! Come look at this shit! We're in the freakin money!" She called out, admiring their collection of new goods, this would make one hell of a payday.

There were guns.. Lots of guns, new types, old types, MCU-Storage units holding Mechanized Combat units, perfect for land battles, some even fitted for space operations, there were large crates carrying god only knew what kinds of expensive junk they could trade off.
And there was what looked like another room on the far side, surrounded by the crates.. Strange.. She wanted to investigate but figured instead she'd wait for the boss. Aria would be ticked if she got near the cargo, even just to pass it, before she herself could get at it.

As great as this day was, something about it also felt a little easy, or just plain wrong.. Lynx wasn't one for superstitions, but even she could have her doubts at times..

Captain Aria cast a cursory glimpse around the main command room to make sure there were no stragglers. Predictably there were none. Aww..what a shame. Had those slacker's taken her last threat seriously? She'd said that in jest...or had she? See, that was the scary part about Aria. She had a sense of humor but it tended to be a bit drier than others. A lot of the came the members of her crew couldn't tell when or if she was joking. Those that had known her long enough knew when to duck in cover, those that didn't know, well what had happened to them was too tragic to bring up. One word that failed to describe Aria was delicate or lady like. Not to say she didn't have the necessary manners needed to hold a conversation but honestly, she was a pirate, she spent more than her fair share of time amongst ruthless, blood-thirsty, and easily corrupted rapscallions.

Making her way towards the transport hull the corridors were filled with the soft murmurs of the newer recruits. Aria's soft gray eyes narrowed as she came to a stand still next to a small group. They never even knew what was coming. The moment they finally acknowledged their beloved but sadly much feared captain they all sprang to attention. Aria's lips curled up in a soft humorless smile. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you slackers have a job to do? Need I remind you what happened to owners of your previous positions?" she asked one fine eyebrow arched in curiosity.

Ken Daniels just so happened to be an unfortunate participant of the group. He'd been well on his way to the transport hull. This wasn't his first time being caught down on the job by Aria, but hopefully she wouldn't remember him..how ever he had no such luck as that cool steel gray gaze locked on him and delivered the verbal tongue lashing. Some would consider Aria's words a mere warning but not him. He'd seen his captain in action and new her words weren't just a threat but a promise. And he didn't want to be the recipient of that promise! And he wasn't the only one, sadly everyone else seemed too terrified to speak up and offer their reasons for not getting to work. Casting a nervous glance around at his crew mates Ken let out a soft sigh before he spoke up for not just himself, but the others as well. "No ma'am. We're sorry about the delay, some of the new recruits weren't aware of procedure and I was just walking them through it. I'll keep in mind not to let it happen again-" he started before being silenced by a soft shake of Aria's head.

"I didn't ask for a full explanation. It was a simple yes or no question. So unless you really do want to end up like those before you, I suggest you get your butts in gear and get to work!" she snapped. A few minutes later both Ken and the other members of his group were running for the transport like bats..well bats outta you know where. Her lips curled up in another humorless smile before she followed after them snapping directions at any other stragglers.

Finally Aria made it through the hull and into the thick of activity her ship mates scurrying past as the did the jobs they were assigned. For a short while all she did was walk around surveying the wreckage of the ship before she made her way back to the breaching hatch where she could hear Lynx's shouts ricocheting back out anyone and everyone who cared to listen. Aria's lips curled up in a faint smile as she walked towards the pilot of her ship, her eyes roaming over the goods. Her eyes stopped on the extra room settle off to the far side. "Has anyone been near the cargo hold yet?" she asked a soft edge in her voice. She doubted anyone had went near it considering her reputation, but there was always someone that believed they deserved first dibs on the cargo hold. How ever she believed differently.

Was it just here or did this all seem a little easy? From the moment she'd stepped onto this ship it'd seemed off. But she couldn't pin point why. There were no survivors, any that had previously been aboard the ship had already been taken care of...so why couldn't she shake this feeling? "Does this seem like a set up to you? It doesn't seem right." she mused softly directing her questions at Lynx.

Lynx turned to look at her slightly more diminutive leader. The pilot prized her larger form simply because she could act as a wall between the captain and her enemies, an unnecessary wall, perhaps, Aria, she feared, was much more dangerous than herself, but perhaps it was a case of protecting idiots from the leaders wrath... Nah!
She pumped a fist into her palm and grinned,
"Aw c'mon Captain, you know I wouldn't let anyone on in first. Look at all this stuff! We've hit the big time!" She grinned, looking over her shoulder, hands rested upon her hips, though, her face went more serious when Aria questioned the ease of it all. Lynx had that same gut feeling, it was something of a link she felt between herself and the captain, if things felt wrong, then they usually both felt it, they'd share moments of confidence in the same way, even if their reasons were different or similar.

"Y'know frankly I think you'd be right but like.." She rubbed her head a little, "We were sweepin' these fields for hours, full scans of all asteroids, no minds, no traps, nothing we'd set up. The escorts were some of the most advanced Coalition frigates, y'know?" Lynx asked her the question rhetorically, it was simply her way of speaking as she turned ot look at the cargo hold,
"Frankly we woulda been outnumbered, but when the first escort crashed the way it did we were able to take advantage of the confusion, we woulda seen them setting up traps or caught any ambush ships hours ago. Frankly I'd say luck's smiling on us, but I can't shake a feelin' bout all this. Where were they takin' all this stuff? I know theres a war between the Spacers and the Earthers, but this ship's not going toward the frontline, you'd think they'd want weapons out there, y'know?" She glanced over her shoulder one more time at the cargo bay, it was still bothering her a great deal, ".. An what the hell's that?" The muscular woman pointed over to a large container, the more she looked at it the more familiar it seemed to her. It suddenly clicked. She'd seen hundreds of those int he past, it was a prefab unit, mobile platforms that were capable of sustaining a group of people. They could be set up just about anywhere where there was enough space,
"Oh snap! Hey boss! It's a prefab! Think there's some-one inside? Couple survivors perhaps?" Lynx looked towards her captain with a slight grin, waiting for a command or for the woman to go and investigate it, the pilot would be right behind her. In all the commotion she figured the captain hadn't had her fill of the fight, so it would have been nice to see a few surviving soldiers.

Lynx turned her head suddenly, staring up at a camera for a brief moment. She knew the security teams were already wiped out, but she felt something strange.. Almost as if something was watching her. The soldiers on board were too fresh dead for this damn thing to be a ghost ship already, but what if whoever was in the prefab had access tot he cameras? It would give them quite an advantage in a hanger full of weapons. She held her hand out sharply before the captain went too close,
"Boss, I don't know if its really safe, let me walk ahead, all right?" She stated, again this was rhetorical as she turned fully towards the cargo bay, looking about suspiciously as she drew a handgun from the back of her belt and began a half-silent run around the edge of the cargo bay so she could flank the prefab unit. A light could be seen through one of the portholes, it was dim, but it was definitely there.

Aria offered Lynx a wry smile hearing her reassurances. "Oh I know, but there always seems to be a few who either forget or refuse to believe they apply to them." she mused softly. And of course there were also the ones who simply refused to take no for an answer. Then again those few were very amusing when they had to go up against Lynx. Talk about an easy source of entertainment!She shook her head easily ridding herself of any remaining thoughts of her own personal amusement as she listened to Lynx working through all the things that could possibly be causing the eerie feeling around them.

When Lynx's rhetorical musings came to a stop Aria took a moment to think over the last question before she spoke up. "Maybe another pirate crew ambushed it and took it over...But if thats the case then this was still too easy. because any pirate with a ship worth of loot like this would have be out of their mind to just give it up. They would have fought harder." she mused with a soft shake of her head. Nope that didn't make sense so that theory was null and void. At the mention of survivor's Aria's eyes lit up with interest, not casual interest exactly, more like the blood thirsty kind. Hey what could she say? She was a pirate! She pillaged and looted, threatened and terrified. Dispatching a few extra soldiers that dared to cross her path to the other world...well it was all part of her job."I haven't got a clue. Let's take a looksie, shall we?" she offered taking a few steps towards the prefab.

Before she could get too close though she was stopped by Lynx. Her brow furrowed in a soft frown as she listened to her pilots warning. One brow arched softly at the mention of safety. Her job wasn't safe. It never had been so why would it suddenly turn safe now? Still....she respected Hannah. If not as a member of her crew then as a close companion. After years together she'd learned to go along with her pilots advice. And so far she'd benefited each time from it...but right now it was becoming increasingly harder to stand off to the side. She'd missed out on the excitement earlier and now seemed as good a time as any to make up for that. She stood stock still for a few moments before the tension in the room seemed thick enough to literally cut with a knife. Aria let out a soft huff and reached down easily drawing her own weapon checking to make sure it was loaded before she turned away from Lynx just a moment to bark out a single name "Code!" she demanded her voice ringing out in the eerie quiet despite the group of over excited pirates on board the ship.

Hannah smiled a little when Aria said Looksie, it seemed so.. Out of character? That she wanted to laugh but she didn't want to make the captain feel insecure, instead keeping the grin on her face as though she were simply eager to find out what it was as well. She eventually reached the prefab and rested her back against it, edging along it carefully to the door, however looked over to the captain when she called for Code.
Code-Eye gave Lynx the collywobbles. He was a strange young man, insisted simply on the name Code-Eye his responses often consisted of a stare and silence before he returned his attention to whatever he was doing. But at the lightest snap of Aria's fingers he was there like a faithful hound, even now as the dark-haired individual practically materialized next to the captain. Parts of his uniform were splattered with blood, a side of his face freshly painted, but he simply turned a gaze over to Aria,
"I am here." He responded calmly, looking only briefly at the cargo room. Too many objects, lots of places for people to hide, enemies maybe, prefab unit, light on inside, possible survivors? Maybe, he couldn't tell yet.

Lynx reached the door finally, hand going up to it and she gently tugged the emergency release. There was a hiss as the doors hermetic seals tore open, the pneumatic locking system undoing itself and sliding the thick steel door aside. She waited until the mist cleared and was about to move until a rather venerable voice emitted from within,
"You pirates certainly took your time.." It mentioned quite clearly, Lynx's eyes going wide before she put herself in the doorway, aiming at the source of the voice. Code's attention also shot towards the doorway, however he didn't move. Normally if he moved, there was danger, but he stayed stock still, perceiving no immediate threat.
It was an old man, it was the first time Lynx had encountered anyone this old to the best of her memory, the greatest source of light in the room appeared to be a large tube laying at a perfect forty-five degree angle, within which a clear liquid suspended a shape.. Something.. Unusual..
Oh my god.. What the..?!
She had to blink a couple of times as she stared at it, suspended within the liquid was a young woman, eyes open as she lay there almost peacefully, hair haloed around her, however her eyes shifted, moving to the doorway, to stare at the distorted figure of the woman who stood there.

Once Code arrived Aria didn't so much as blink an eye as she took in his appearance if anything she seemed to have just the faintest look of jealousy on her usually stoic face. Luck son of a gun. He'd gotten right into the fray of things where as she'd held back baby sitting the new members of her crew. Well that wasn't going to happen again. The next time there was a battle, or a disturbance of some sort she would be there. Those who failed to do as they were supposed to would face her wrath. So all in all it would be a win win situation the next time. She'd get to indulge in some guilt free violence and then she'd be able to experience the sweet rush of satisfaction that she got whenever she saw her crew members fearful expressions when they were caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

Shaking her head softly Aria brought herself out of distracted musings and turned her attention back to Code. "Glad you're here." she responded somewhat flippantly at his announcement of his arrival. She didn't wait for a reply before she crept forward with her weapon drawn. She hadn't bothered to issue him a command. In a situation like this it wasn't about command so much as instinct. True she could issue a command that patrol the perimeter of the room to make sure that no traps had been disregarded and that no stragglers were arrive but there was no solid guarantee that it was the right command. So she'd let Code do his own thing while he provided both her and Hannah with back up. Hannah would be so proud of her. She'd chosen a semi-safe option.

Hearing the low hiss of the door as it slid open Aria's slow almost cautious amble changed into a quick brisk walk her slim legs carrying her forward that extra distance. As the mist slowly cleared, Aria kept her gun hand loose and ready in case something happened. No scratch that. Not in case something happened, she wanted something to happen. She didn't care what just as long as she got to do something more productive than scare her crew members and survey the looting of the now unowned ship.

Hearing the voice of the old man drifting out to them she let out a soft sigh as she lowered her gun. Call her cocky or over confident but he wasn't going to hurt her or any one else for that matter. He was too old, and from where she was standing he didn't look armed. He just looked old...and somewhat impatient. Although the latter wasn't any concern of hers. She didn't say anything as she allowed her steel colored gaze to rove about the remainder of the small container before they landed on the tube. Aria's eyes lit up with unhidden interest as she stepped past Hannah to get a closer look at the container in question. Well she'd gotten what she'd asked for. She'd wanted something to happen and while it might not have been the blood shedding action she'd wanted it was something different. And unusual...and of course it was interesting. She stared down it in curiosity before she looked up pinning her cool gaze on the old man. "Who are you?" she demanded skipping over the usual formalities.

"I am the Doctor. And that's what you can call me." The old man responded in a callous manner, staring over at Hannah for a moment. She didn't even have the time to tell the captain not to enter, though frankly she was too scared to approach the scene any further herself. The doctor could see quite clearly were Lynx was from, but he looked back at the captain, disregarding her blood-spattered Shadow that followed, a slight smirk on his face. There was a young man he had absolutely no fear of. He could see the obvious enhancements, the physical adjustments and black market cybernetics, and the namesake. Code-Eye. His right looked normal enough except close up you could see just how perfect it was, even when it focused, nano-sized rings extending and shrinking, like a biological camera lens.
He regarded the captain with more attention and stood form his seat, using a cane to help his balance,
"I am a Bio-geneticist and the head of the Coalition's Weapon R&D Division. And this-" He shifted his weight to his good leg, moving his cane to point it at the girl in the tube, who stared at him a moment but then to the captain,
"-Is Project White Noise. Although I have taken to calling her Weiss."
She smiled, recognizing the term, or rather, the name. She could hear them and the Doctor knew that,
"Now don't think me a fool, Captain.. You've got more questions on your mind, far more important than who are you?" He chuckled, easing himself back into his seat,
"Let me pick out a few questions you might have lurking in your skull at this time.. What exactly happened just now. Why were things so easy? Why was I waiting and why am I telling you these things." He looked up at her with a sly smirk, he had a plan grinding in that old brain of his, or at least an idea,
"You were tracking this small party of ships because Weiss and I made sure you could. The first vessel was disabled by.." He hesitated but then grinned a little "Let us say; alternative means..? And the security systems, as well as the tracking of the other ships was also restrained with a little clever systems interference on my part. We were aware that the Dark Angels are not on friendly terms with the Coalition. I was waiting for you because I wanted to meet you in person and I'm telling you these things because I will not let the Coalition have her." He added with a grim tone.

Code calmly made his way over to the tank, staring in on the white-haired girl for a while. She reached toward him, but only to have her hand plant against the glass on the inside. It was as she was doing so that the dark-haired man frozen, seeming almost paralyzed, backing away a step, but his movements seemed rigid, not at all like the fluid, swift assassin.
He stopped, then stood, staring at her as he felt something in his mind, and a slight smile came over his face,
".. A strange greeting.." He whispered, looking over at the captain, "She's not human.."
A laugh came from the Doctor,
"Do you speak from experience? Or are you simply stating the obvious, young man..?"

Aria's first feeling towards the Doctor was intense dislike. Of course was prone to general dislike towards people, but this guy, the Doctor, well it was clear to her and everyone else in the room that there were going to be less than kind words between the tow. Not that Aria was necessarily known for being kind, she was on rare occasions known to be fair. Clearly this wasn't going to be one moments where she was either of the aforementioned emotions. Once he'd finished his brief introduction she spoke up using the same callous tone of voice. "And I'm the captain of this ship. You can call me Captain." she fired back at him. That didn't describe who he was. it described what he was. And it still didn't tell her much about him. She didn't want to know his whole life story but a little more information would have been useful than some silly nickname. She wasn't a huge fan of nicknames and she rarely used them unless the owner of said name had earned it. Like Lynx and Code Eye? She knew them on somewhat personal level, they were loyal to her and they'd worked their butts off for their nick names there fore they deserved them in her book. This guy how ever did not. And ok so maybe it was because she disliked him a little too much..she didn't care. There was just something about him she didn't like. Now if only she could pin point what the heck it was! She tucked her weapon back into its holster before she crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him motion towards the girl-no the thing in the tube. It looked human, but if it was human why would it need to be in the tube? It was obviously something else entirely, now if only the doctor would get a move on and spit it out.

Of course that wasn't the only information she was finding pertinent at the moment. She could care less about who he was. But she did want to know what he was doing here, and why. Actually...she'd bet he'd had something to do with why everything had seemed so overly easy. Finally, miracle of miracles he finally got down to answering her questions. She didn't bat an eye as he went on to answer the questions racing through her mind. Ah...that explained quite a bit. No wonder it had seemed so laughably easy. He'd helped them out. Not that she felt grateful towards him. if anything she felt royally ticked. He'd taken away potential loot! If he hadn't interfered she could have had not one ship full of valuables but more. So much more! He'd knocked her looting quota down...that stupid loony old man!

And yet...his alternative means had actually helped her out. Her ship hadn't sustained near as many damages and it made her job just a little bit easy. But he'd still taken away her loot. She'd just opened her mouth to ask why he was so against letting the Coalition have..it. her. Weiss.That thing in the tube! "So you'd rather let a group of rowdy,blood thirsty, pillaging pirates have it versus the Coalition. Why? What's so special about it. so far all I've seen it do is sit there floating in its tube."she pointed out primly. One brow arched hearing Code's oh so astute comment. "Wow,and you just figured that out? I wonder what gave it away...is it the fact that its sitting there in a tube? Or better yet, let me guess, you've developed a sudden ability to read peoples mind? Would it happen to be one of those options?" she asked not bothering to hide the sarcasm lacing her tone. Really...she wondered about her crew members sometimes.

The old man chuckled in response to Aria's sharp tongue, barely affected by her skeptical behavior, he smirked again when she responded tot he dark-haired mans comment. However her ignorance of the situation was no less amusing as the old man chuckled once again,
"The fluid in the tank is amniotic, breathable fluid, you or I could breath it as well." The Doctor replied, smirking a little, "As for why she's so special.. Surely you could fit the puzzle pieces together, Captain." He commented a little sarcastically then chuckled again, "If a man who researches and develops weapons creates another human being, what kind of human do you think he would create in this day and age? Weiss, if you would be so kind as to show our Captain how on the brink of death we all really are.."

The girl in the tank looked over at the old man for a moment, a strange look on her face before she looked ahead of herself, gray eyes beginning to glow a cold blue. As she did so, sparks of light could be seen escaping the tank and jumping from nearby electrical currents to computer boards until they vanished form sight. But a few seconds later the emergency lights on the cargo vessel activated, along with a clear warning,
"Emergency! Emergency! Self destruct sequence initiated, Five minutes total to detonation." The computer wailed clear and loud through the entire vessel, causing an immediate panic among the other pirates who weren't aware of the situation, timers beginning to flicker onto nearby keypads and computer consoles, locking them out of all access except the doors.

Code looked about silently, it made some sense to him, what kind of a weapon would be the ultimate in space? A weapon that could override a ship and force it into self destruct, or simply make false scanner readings.. Or in his case.. She had actually stopped him from moving, but he'd felt constrictions around his chest in particular, as if being hugged. Odd for a weapon to be that way.
The old man raised his hand and Weiss shifted her gaze, the blue glow vanishing. At the same time the emergency lights cut short, returning to normal,
"Self Destruct countdown stopped, all systems returning to norm. Crew Life-signs 0%. Intruders detected. Defense Mechanism's, Offline. Systems control, Offline. Emergency Signal, Offline. Auto Self-Destruct, Offline. Life Support, Online. Please contact the closest Coalition Command Center for retrieval."

The Doctor grinned again,
"Would you rather the Coalition have her and others like her for when they start hunting you pirates down..? Or do you want her yourself?"

Aria offered the Doctor a cool smile. "You're right. I could piece together the pieces. But so far all I've got is the pointless drivel of some old man. There for I don't have a lot to go off of now do I?" she asked one brow quirked softly in question. Her eyes rolled upwards hearing his next question. "Obviously you wouldn't create a normal one." Was he going somewhere with this? She'd just worked up the nerve to ask him to get a move on with it, when finally he'd asked Weiss to give them a demonstration. Ahh that was more like it.

She turned away from the old man her gaze focusing on the girl in the tube. She wasn't normal. That much was blatantly obvious. But it didn't seem like she could do anything. But that wasn't right. Why else would anyone go to so much trouble to purposely plant her in the hands of pirates? She kept her expression bland as she watched Weiss waiting for something to happen. For just a brief moment she looked away from the tube to catch a brief glimpse of sparks dancing out of electrical currents onto nearby computer boards before they disappeared completely. That was it? After all the doctor's slily babbling she'd expected something a bit more than a silly little light show-

Aria jerked in surprise as the computer suddenly started wailing out a warning about self destruction. Her eyes widened just the slightest bit in surprise as she glanced around to see if anyone had moved to punch in the code. but no one had moved inch. This was all pre-planned, there was no other way to explain it all. He'd had to have set a timer of sort..but even then he'd had no way of knowing she would have willingly walked right into this...but she had. heck she hadn't just walked into it, she'd ran into it without thinking! Muttering a string of dark curses she'd just turned to get her crew under control and the other things a captain was supposed to do in a situation like this.

Mind you, this was all on the outside. On the outside she was cool,calm and focused on what needed to be done. On the inside thought she was freaking out. The ship was going to self destruct. She was still on said ship. She was going to die! She wasn't ready to die! She was still young, she should have a good long life full of plundering and looting ahead of her. She couldn't die here just because of her own stupidity and willingness to walk into a trap. The signs had been there form the beginning. It had been too simple and yet she'd just plowed ahead without thinking...and now she was going to die!

Then as suddenly as the alarms had started wailing they went quiet. for a few moments there was nothing but tense silence and then a relieved hush settled over the crew members that had only moments before been in every bit as much a panic as their revered captain had been. Aria's expression was guarded as she stopped in mid-stride and slowly turned back to the old man and Weiss her body language clearly showing just how tense she was after that brief-maybe not so brief for her-moment of panic.

She balked slightly hearing the doctors last question before she spoke. "I'd rather not have the Coalition get their hands on her. You said there were others...are they all like her? Or do their abilities vary? And most importantly..are the two of you a package deal?" she asked injecting some of her usual dry humor into her town as she looked at the pair.

"Hehe.. Weiss is one of a kind. The Coalition had a secondary team working on a branch-off from my design, but their design is flawed and inferior. They will be more combat-ready, however.." The doctor frowned slightly, something about it seemed to annoy him as he looked over at the girl in the tube. She looked back quietly, placing her hand on the tube, and as if knowing what she wanted, he sighed, giving in.
As he turned towards the computer console linked to the tube he looked over his shoulder, his hands tapping at the keys as though he had every sequence down off by heart,
"You are correct in your assumption, however. We are, as you say, a package deal. If anything happens to her you have no-one that could possibly help her beyond myself. She is beyond the help of any average doctor, which is where I come in as a matter of fact.."

"H-hey! She'd best not mess with the ship when I'm flying it!" Lynx suddenly interjected, finally getting the nerve to step forward, looking over at the captain. She realized the final decision hadn't exactly been made but she had a feeling this was going to end exactly as she thought it would. With tow new bodies on board the ship. She couldn't see how they could pass up the chance to have a doctor of exceptional skill AND a walking weapon on board, but at the same time, it was dangerous, extremely dangerous to have anything like that around,
"Oh dont worry about that.." The Old man chuckled, watching the screen as he removed the last of the locks.

The tube containing the girl shifted, laying itself flat so that Weiss was on her back. Within moments the fluids within had begun to drain with a bubbling sound. After a few seconds the circular tube split apart, opening up to disgorge the form of the pale young woman who leant over the side, coughing heavily.
Doctor went over to her surprisingly quickly, helping her out and placing her on the ground where she continued ot cough and hack up the fluids from her lungs while the old man rubbed her back. Taking a few breaths before she tried to steady herself, Weiss eventually looked up. Her hair was still soaked, clothes hanging loosely, in truth she looked rather frail and pathetic, more so when she was wrapped in a large towel by the Doctor.
She looked among the three of them for a while before looking at the Captain and bowing rather politely, even though she was shivering and wet,
"H-hello.." She stated softly, though found herself losing her balance a little and stumbled, falling onto her hands and knees.
"Be careful, Weiss, you're not used to walking yet,"
"Will.. Learn.." She replied in a disjointed manner, trying to push herself back up again.

Ken was crazy, there was no doubt about it. He had a job to be doing for pete's sake. And he'd do it...just as soon as he figured out what was going. He'd arrived on the scene shortly after Code. He didn't doubt the other man knew he was there but he was counting on the fact that Code would keep his usual vow of silence and let him be. After all Code had a job to do and in Ken's opinion the other job was much more high maintenance than his own. Thank goodness he didn't have to put up with the captain's presence as much as some of the other crew members. She seemed pretty scary....word wise. He'd heard her barking orders and threatening several poor souls with in an inch of their lives but at the same time he'd never seen Captain Aria raise a hand at one of her crew members. Maybe she didn't believe in public punishments? Hah! He let out a soft snort at that thought. She hadn't seemed to mind ripping him a new one at the beginning of their excursion so he could just go ahead and cross that one of his list.

Frowning softly he leaned forward just the slightest bit as he tried to get a closer look at the tube. What was in there? And what the heck was that old man blathering on about? he couldn't hear a thing! Dang it, he knew he should have gotten a closer hiding spot but he hadn't wanted to risk Code or any other member of Aria's small entourage finding him. Actually..it was a wonder none of them had noticed them yet. Why was that? They'd foudn something, that much he could gather. Hmm..what ever it was it must have been the sole focus of their attention. Now if only he knew what it was...

He jerked in surprise as the ship suddenly started wailing about detonating. If possible his pale skin went paler as he scrabbled back as eager to get off this ticking bomb as his other crew mates. He didn't know about Captain Aria or the others surrounding her but he valued his life. He was all for living the luxurious, adventurous life of a pirate but it was hard to steal from the rich when he was blown to bits. How ever, as soon as he managed to find his balance and surge away from his hiding spot the wailing ceased. For a few tense moments there was nothing but tense silence and then everything returned to normal...or as normal as things were on Black Heaven.

He hesitated for a moment silently debating whether to tuck tail and run back to his assigned job or stay here and see what was going on? Well obviously he stayed. His curiosity was piqued, those three had found something different, something better than their usual haul. And he wanted to know what. Heck even Aria's wrath over him failing to do his job wasn't enough to get him to leave. Crouching down he slowly and quietly crept forward back towards his previous hiding spot. Once he got there though he didn't stop he went just a little closer...and managed to do just what he'd been trying to avoid doing: bringing attention to himself. And how did he do that? He tripped over his own feet! He let out a soft grunt as he hit the floor with a muffled thud. Yup that was him. Mr.Graceful, Mr.Sneaky.Maybe he could someone to mention that in his eulogy? Because there was no doubt about it: Captain Aria was going to flay him alive.

Aria didn't bother to hide her obvious dislike of the fact that she'd have to take the old man onto her ship as well. Terrific. On the one hand she was getting a walking talking weapon. Which was awesome in an extremely terrifying way-yes she was still shaken up over the whole demonstration. She'd heard of the expression 'at Death's door' but she'd never felt so close as she had in that moment. She didn't want to experience that terror again. On the other hand she didn't mind giving others a taste of Weiss's power. Provided the situation called on it of course. As of now any and all events occuring with her was a trial. A test run. The girl had an extraordinary lethal power. And Aria respected that, heck she even feared it. She wasn't going to be stupid enough to just let Weiss and the old man escape. If she shot him down there was no doubt he could and would find another group of priates willing to take on him and his charge. And those pirates wouldn't hesitate to use Weiss's ability against her. So she'd just beat them to the punch. Sadly though she wasn't just getting Weiss. Maybe she'd find some way of locking the Doctor up in the brig. Not for any reason..just because she didn't like him. True it wasn't the best of reasons but she was the Captain! She could have locked up in the brig if she chose to. It was her ship so what ever she said went.

Her lips twitched up in just the faintest semblance of a smile as she heard Lynx's objection. Well it was good to know she wasn't the only one feeling slightly perturbed by the Doctor's and Weiss's demonstration. But even so she wasn't going to let her own fear or anyone elses reluctance of having Weiss on board her ship.She'd just opened her mouth to challenge the others slight objection when two things happened at once: Weiss came out of her container and a sneak was revealed. Aria's face twisted into a scowl as her anger registered on her face. She wasn't just angry at the crew member caught, she was angry at herself. How the heck had she not heard the little twerp before now?! That was twice in one day where she'd completely neglected to stay alert. Actually she'd been completely alert..she just hadn't been focused. Oh who was she kidding? She was losing her touch! Her scowl deepening she narrowed her gaze on the crew mate in question as she prepared to blast him. Wait a second..hadn't she seen him earlier? A slacker from earlier, thats where she'd seen him. Actually she hadn't just seen him, she'd heard him. He'd talked back. "You there! Did I or did I not give you a job to do?" she spat hotly before plowing on. "Since you seem to have no interest in the job assigned to you maybe I should find somewhere better suited to your needs? Perhaps somewhere off my ship?"

The Doctor looked over calmly as the man fell into the room, though seemed barely even bothered by the clumsy buffoon's appearance. Weiss meanwhile had gotten to her feet after a moment and was using her tub for support, holding on to it as she stared over at the young man that was being berated, on hand holding the towel together in front of her. She didn't say anything, but seemed a little transfixed on him. He was somebody new. She liked new things, it was a curiosity about her.

Lynx placed her hand son her hips when the Captain turned on Ken next, displaying herself as the muscle, even as the Captain finished, Lynx added to it with a slight grin,
"Well since we have two more people on board we could always lighten our load and space him..?" She wondered out loud, spacing was a crel execution method where some-one was placed in an airlock and the outer door to space was opened. What happened next was simply unpleasant..
Lynx had really only joined in to try and get her mind off this whole situation, or at least relax her nerves as she holstered her gun and pounded a fist into the opposite palm.

Once again the old man spoke,
"I don't require much living space, this unit and its equipment are all that is necessary. Tuck us away in a storage compartment or a brig if you like, Weiss is not accustomed to having more than she needs and I only need space to work." He stated calmly, taking his place on his seat once again, though he kept a watchful eye on Weiss. She hadn't been let out often, and the times she was she'd been made to sit down and demonstrate her abilities. Now that she had the choice to move about and do more, he wanted to gauge exactly what kind of a being he'd created.. She already showed reluctance earlier to demonstrate her abilities but at the same time understood the necessity.. It was a strange feeling he got when he looked at her.

Code-Eye was also a little wary, but for a different reason. This girl could paralyze him with a glance, he'd never been so concerned about his proximity to anyone who wasn't wielding an EMP device.. But this was worse.. She could control him, physically puppeteer him if she wanted. He didn't show his fear, but he knew that he would have to tread lightly near these two..

Actually he was wrong. Captain Aria was going to do something much crueler thanks to Lynx's wonderful suggestion. She was going to space him! Once the suggestion had left Lynx's lips he paled and shook his head. "No! You can't do that, I mean you can but think about it, you'd be down one less crew member. Last I checked you were saying you barely had enough crew members as it was. And whiles is true you've taken on two more people one of them is old. He's not going to be able to do as much. " he pointed out. He was babbling by now. He didn't want to be spaced. he didn't want to die anymore than anyone else on this ship. He put on his best pleading expression as he peered up at his Captain. Come on..she couldn't be that heartless could she?!

Actually, Aria could be that heartless. She hadn't spaced anyone before but the option itself..it did hold a certain amount of appeal to her. She offered the poor bumbling idiot a cold smile as she grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and jerked him up into a standing position. "I lied, I'm a pirate and thats what I do best. I said that lure slackers like you out so I can get rid of you. I don't need slackers and vagabonds. I need someone who will give me two hundred percent all the way. Can you tell me that you or your little group of pals do that each and every day?" she snarled her attention entirely focused on Ken until she heard the doctor speaking. She blinked a few times in mild amazement. He was ok with that? He was supposedly an esteemed doctor and yet he had no problem being confined to a tiny container unit? He was odd to say the least. He wasn't like any doctors she'd ever met. Pursing her lips in thought her eyes lighting up as she had a sudden idea. "Lynx, could you do me a favor and take our newly acquired, doctor to the eastern Mainstream storage compartment? Please?" she asked with a saccharine smile. He wanted a storage unit? Why, she'd be happy to oblige him by giving him the smallest amount of space possible.

Ken winced slightly hearing Aria snarl and jerk him upwards by the collar of his shirt. Oh gosh, she looked extremely ticked. All of this because he'd been caught sneaking? Why did he get the feeling there was so much more at work her? "Uhh..no? But I try. I give at least 180. Look, just give me another chance! What ever happened to three strikes and you're out? Don't I at least deserve a final shot before you space me?" he begged. That's right. He was begging to stay on this ship. Why? Well it was his only option besides death.

Aria arched on brow staring down at him a cool smile on her lips. She laughed coldly hearing him babbling about hard he worked. "Ha, you're kidding right? You don't even give half of that." she sneered. "Three strikes? That's three too many. You've already messed up twice why should I give you another chance to do so again?" she asked with a soft lilt of her head. And even if she did let him stay what would he do? He wasn't even doing the job given to him now! Unless...it was too hard. Maybe he needing something more simple. Like a babysitting job of sorts? She looked away from Ken to Weiss and back again an idea forming."You want another job? Fine you can babysit-I mean show her around. Mr. Daniel's meet Weiss. Weiss this is Mr.Daniels, your new tour guide. "

The Doctor stared over at Ken when he suggested that he was incapable of doing as much, which prompted the scientist to chuckle,
"Well, he's certainly confident.. But if he doesn't watch his tongue he'll find it promptly placed in a test tube." The old man smirked, "I've done more work in my lifetime than you could consider for three. My lodgings wont be free, so there's an extra bonus in it for your captain. I'm a weapons developer. Who better to be on hand if you need a systems overhaul..? These coalition supplies could make you strong enough to take on a warship, and I'm familiar with it all.." He smirked, looking over at Weiss, the real crown jewel of the entire armoury was right there, trying to get her balance. It was strange to think about, he'd created the greatest wepaon of all time and it could barely stand. A living, breathing technopath. A creature where, in a world of science, machines and warships, she would practically rule the entire arms race.

If there was ever a place to field-test her abilities properly and complete her; It was with these pirate..
Lynx's eyes had lit up however at the words overhaul, another of her favourite things.. Guns on her little baby the Black Heaven. Having an old man around who specialized in weaponry was a sheer joy if it came to something like that.
She was about to say somehting before she caught sight of Weiss getting closer to Ken, partly because the captain had introduced him, but she pointed at the currently-terrified deckhand, her pale finger practically in his face before she shifted it, her hand reaching out to grasp at his hair curiously. She didn't tug it, but rather ran the white strands through her fingers before reaching back to her own.
They were the same in look, silvery-white.. Odd.. She'd never seen anyone with white hair too. But his golden eyes were very different to anything else she'd ever seen. He was.. Unique.. An anomaly, a curiosity.

Code-Eye stared over at the scene with mild amusement.. The girl was like a curious child as far a she could tell.. And she was supposed to be some kind of ultimate weapon.. Frankly it was a creepy concept no matter how he looked at it. What exactly was the doctor getting out of this? Was she meant to function like this? He couldn't wrap his mind around it.. He looked then at Aria expectedly,
"Orders..?"

Aria didn't bother holding back her brief burst of laughter hearing the doctor's threat. It wasn't her usual cold laughter if anything this small bout had a faint amount of warmth to it. The doctor had definitely just earned some points in her book. He might be old and completely unlikable but he did have guts. Both literally and metaphorically speaking it seemed. "I like that idea. Is there any chance you could do the same to a handful of my other lower crew members? They seem to think they know everything. I think it'd be nice for there to be some peace and quiet amongst them for once. Don't you think so?" she mused softly not really speaking to anyone in particular as she watched Weiss. She looked normal....well as normal as one could look with white hair of course but what she was meant was Weiss didn't look like a weapon at all. The only reason she knew Weiss was far from normal was because of that startling display and the fact that she'd been stored in a tube. Would anyone else be able to tell that there was something different about her?

Aria's brow furrow in a soft frown as she watched Weiss. Seeing the girl reach out to touch Ken's hair in obvious wonder, her expression softened drastically into an expression of..well...there was no describing the look on Aria's face. the only way to describe was to say that the much feared and semi respected Captain Aria had currently left the ship at this point and time. She'd been cutesified. How could anyone not be pushed into submission though by a gesture as cute and as innocent as that? It was likely a baby kitten taking its first step, or a puppy giving away a puppy kiss..or oh dear good. Aria flushed slightly and shook her head promptly getting rid of such ridiculous thoughts. She was a pirate for pete's sake. She was not going to get all mushy gushy over a..a weapon. Moments ago that thing had had her scared for her life and now she found herself wanting to..too.cuddle it! She didn't cuddle. Not in public and not with people. She cuddled with her pillows at night in her private quarters and that was far as it went. "Ken! Get her out of here. Show her around. Do something besides sit there. You've begged for another chance, now show me you deserve it." she ordered her voice lashing out with whip like precision as she turned away from Weiss and her new found friend. Hearing Code's soft voice she lashed out at him as well. "I wasn't aware that I had to remind you of your job as well. If we found these two hidden away who's to say there aren't more survivors that were missed? Go check again." she ordered her expression and voice several degrees cooler than usual. Oh snap a new level of coldness. She hadn't thought that was possible. She looked away from Code turning her attention to Lynx next. "Didn't I already give you your orders Lynx? When, pray tell, do you plan on doing as I asked?" she demanded.

Ken gulped clamping his mouth shut and effectively keeping his tongue out of the doctors reach. Not that it would be that hard to get his mouth open again..but still. He shook his head making a mental promise not to say anything else to get himself in trouble yet again. He let out a soft sigh of relief as he was given another job and another chance. "Oh thank you, Captain Aria. You won't regret it. I promise-" he cut off suddenly as the girl he was being asked to watch over moved closer and reached out running her fingers through his slightly shaggy white hair. His mouth dropped open in soft surprise. His lips curled up in a soft smile as he watched her. Odd..she seemed surprised. By his hair? Odd..His hair color wasn't that unusual, but it wasn't exactly common either. "Its nice to meet you Ms. Weiss. Would you like to go on a tour of the shi-" he cut off all but jumping as Aria's voice lashed out at him. Gulping he nodded giving her a salute before he reached out placing a hand firmly on Weiss's upper arm and leading her away from the group.

Once they were safely out of ear shot Ken relaxed shooting Weiss an apologetic smile. "Sorry for pulling you away like that. The Captain was getting a little snippy. Trust me when I say this, you don't want to be around her when it happens. She's not known for being nice. She's known for..well she's known for the opposite." he explained. He didn't know why he was rattling on about his Captain like this, but he hadn't heard Weiss say a word yet. Could she even talk? He'd thought he'd heard her say something earlier but he couldn't be sure. Everyone had been speaking in low murmurs like they were trying to hide something..

"Search for and Eliminate any remaining survivors, confirmed." CodeEye responded simply, bowing politely and walking from the prefab unit, he didn't mind the harsh treatment she gave him, she knew what she wanted and she wasn't afraid to say it, he couldn't ask for a better captain to serve under. His time spent as an assassin allowed him to travel on his own sure, but the payments were only helping him alone, finding himself serving some-one else to aid in their goals, it felt more fulfilling..

Weiss stared quietly at the captain as she started barking orders, but she didn't react, at least not in any expected way, instead staring about in a half-confused manner, taking in the names and faces more clearly now that she was out of the tube. When she felt the hand on her arm she jumped slightly, then she was lead away, but even as she went she half-turned to look back at the captain quietly, and she raised her other hand, waving softly to the stern woman, emotion still lacking on her face, but for the brief glimpse of a smile.
The doctor began to chuckle a little to himself, watching as Weiss was led away, a wry smile on his face. Weiss liked the captain, that was not difficult to figure out at all. He knew the girl would have odd tastes, but then maybe she could see something about the captain he didn't entirely recognize in his old, stubborn ways.

Lynx chuckled when the captain addressed her, a hand placed on her hip as she looked back toward Aria,
"Well, boss, if I'm gonna be moving any of this stuff I'll need the cargo hold evacuated so we can open up the airlocks and get our docking crew to transfer the stuff to the Black Heaven. A whole prefab's gonna need a lifter, those combat units too." Lynx explained, "I'll go get things started up, just make sure everyone's clear of the hold."

When Ken finally stopped, Weiss stared at the man quietly while he spoke, but then looked back in the direction they'd come from, thinking on the Captain and her harsh attitude. What was it the Doctor said..?
"She needs a hug.." Weiss stated softly, looking back at Ken with a slight smile, head tilted in an oddly cute fashion, "Do you not think so..? The Doctor says a hug can make lots of people feel better."

Ken blinked in stunned amazement hearing Weiss's suggestion of what his captain needed. Oh she needed something alright, he just wouldn't have went so far as to say she needed a hug. He struggled to keep a straight face and hold his laughter in but he failed. It started with a snort, but before long he was full out belly laughing at her suggestion. He heed, he hawed, he made a complete jerk of himself but he only did that because he thought Weiss was joking. It wasn't until he caught sight of her slight smile and the tilt of her head that it suddenly hit him: she was serious. She really thought a hug would solve what ever problem Captain Aria had. And she believed that because the doctor had told her? Growing serious again he arched one brow in question and shook his head. "Uh...not to be rude," he left the again unspoken because there was no doubt his previous humor had been rude but you couldn't blame him. The thought of Captain Aria permitting anyone to hug her was laughable,the thought of anyone even considering hugging the captain? Another laughable thought. "But what corner of the galaxy of the planet is the doctor from? He looks normal but he thinks a hug can make a person feel better in todays day and age then I doubt his sanity." he said boldly before wincing slightly. Agh. What had happened to not being rude? She knew the doctor he didn't but the guy had threatened to cut his tongue off and place it in a test tube. And now he was hearing the guy thought a hug could solve peoples problems? It didn't make sense in the least.

Aria looked around her mood darkening even further as she noticed that her apparent blasting hadn't scared anyone other than Ken. Now that was sad..she was loosing her touch. Her own crew wasn't even scared of her anymore. Well..the lower crew members were but that was the beginning and end of her reign of terror it seemed. She nodded stiffly as Code parroted back her usual orders before leaving. Actually..Code had never been afraid of her per se. If anything he seemed to respect who she was but that was a small relief. She didn't want to be respected only...she wanted to be feared. She wanted to keep her tough girl image, although considering her reaction to Weiss's greet towards Ken that was going to near impossible now. Scowling she turned her attention to Lynx, mirroring the other girls pose in an attempt to make herself look a tad more frightening. She didn't have a clue how she looked, but compared to Lynx she was fairly sure the whole hands on her hips things made her look more like a child throwing a temper tantrum than some big terrifying pirate captain. If possible her scowl deepened even more as the bigger, more muscled woman grinned back at her. "Fine," she snapped," Do what ever needs to be done. If you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than stand about watching you to make sure the job gets done,so I'll be leaving." she said surlily as she turned to leave before remembering the doctor. She stopped midstride angling a cool look in his direction as she slowly pondered over what to do with him. She could just leave him..let him bother Lynx. Actually that sounded like a splendid idea. She'd leave Lynx to do her job and handle the doctor, and she the hardworking captain would go to her private quarters..and snuggle with some poor helpless pillow to get over her ridiculous urges. Stupid weapon..how could a weapon like that be so..so cute?! Weapons were deadly and dangerous. They even looked that way, Weiss didn't look that way,heck she didn't even act that way!Grumbling darkly Aria let out another low huff of annoyance as she left.

Weiss stared at Ken in confusion as he laughed at her response, the more he laughed, the stranger she felt about the situation, a slight hurting in the back of her mind, she'd experienced something like it before, the doctor called it sadness. Being upset. If some-one or something did something you didn't like, it would make you feel that way. That's how she remembered it, and what Ken was doing seemed like something bad.. Strange, considering he was laughing.
When he managed to gather himself and reply to her, when he doubted what the doctor had said she felt that odd feeling again, but she also felt the need, the urge to prove him wrong, so she ran through the processes in her mind, going through thought to thought on how to prove it to him,
"You've already messed up twice why should I give you another chance to do so again?" Weiss suddenly stated, it was something the Captain had just said to Ken in front of her, she added to it, "If he doesn't watch his tongue he'll find it promptly placed in a test tube." That time it was the doctor she imitated, finally she called back on something else the Captain had said, "You've begged for another chance, now show me you deserve it."
Weiss waited, waited for the exact moment as the words would sink in for the second time, no doubt he would remember the hurt, and be upset by it, even angry. It was the reaction she was expecting, however she would suddenly step forward, slipping her arms around Ken and gripping at the back of his jacket, leaning her head against this chest.
The way a hug could make some-one feel better. She couldn't describe it, so she had to do it, demonstrate it, let him see for himself why she thought the doctor was right and he was wrong.

Lynx watched as their fearless captain practically stormed off.. Something was eating at t he captain, she normally didn't get this aggravated.. Was it the Doctor and his pet monster..? She stared over at the old man, who was calmly turning off computer systems and shutting Weiss' tube so that the prefab could be moved without damaging the internal computer systems. The life support remained on, however. He would be fine in-transit on the prefab, if anything he was looking forward to some momentary weightlessness. The greatest thing about space was those moments where you had no weight.. It made his old wounds feel better, the damaged knee that forced him to use a cane.. The array of slight pain issues in his back and shoulders. Old age was such a hassle..
Lynx stepped out of the unit, but looked back as the old man shut the door.
"Heh.." The muscular woman chuckled, "Old man's got some serious balls.." She pondered out loud, activating her communications with the ship, "Al right you goddamn slackers, get the docks set up and break out the zero-g units, we've got a freakin' jackpot of cargo to load onto the Black Heaven. And by Jackpot I mean we've got tons of shit to move so you're working for your goddamn meals tonight! Jensen! Kula! You tow grab the heavy lifter, we've got a prefab unit with one new passenger headed for the East Main C-U, clear?" She heard confirmations on the other end, "Oh also ship-wide warning so no dumbass goes trigger-happy on what he thinks is an intruder. We have two new passengers. First; one old man, late seventies, referred to as Doctor or The Doctor. Second, one young girl, late teens, white hair, long, blue eyes, referred to as Weiss, anything happens to her, the captain will gut you personally and/or stomp the life out of your beaten, sliced and twitching corpse." Lynx mentioned the last parts quite casually, but it was the kind of casual that made even calm soldiers swallow their fears. Sure she was probably exaggerating, but the point was to keep up Aria's reputation.