The Valiant

~Sssstupid Humanssss~

"Shut it Phantom" he hissed, to nobody in particular after a woman had collided with him, He knelt down and helped her to her feet. "Sorry didn't see you there, take it you caught the fight too?" He asked after she was steadily on her feet. He felt slightly awkward, having potentially revealed himself to a complete stranger, but he played off his nervousness as best he could given the circumstances, and even offered to buy the woman a drink to replace the one that'd spilled.

He couldn't think of anything else to say at the time, so he asked rather bluntly "Do you know a Ship Captain, name's....Nadia Tsu...something." even if it diddn't show on his face, his nerves were clearly getting the better of him. He prayed she didn't hear, but he'd settle for not asking.
 
A fight between an old man and a professional soldier is something Herbert would have gladly left out of his biography, but now it was happening in front of him. Of course, he knew that he could not interfere, even if he wanted to break up the fight, he would likely miss or shoot the wrong person, not to mention that it would direct the brawlers' attention towards himself, something that he did not want to happen. He was perfectly content with observing everything from the sidelines. Naturally, the fight ended with the man getting knocked out, but that was nothing he did not predict already. Even with years of fighting experience, one could not beat a professional soldier less than half their age.

When the police appeared, Herbert's hands gripped his rifle tightly, but luckily, Isolde could defuse the situation with ease. Out of habit, he followed the medical android back into the medical bay of the Valiant, and he only realised how useless his action was when he was already in the room. The Valiant was already dead, he should be searching for a ship to pilot and not standing around here, he realised. But still, the memories attached to this old spacecraft were stubborn and they made him think twice about abandoning it. She might have been a ship that had bad performance, not to mention it was always on the verge of falling apart, but at least it required skill to pilot it. He never even realised how much he enjoyed sitting in that seat and sterring the Valiant in ways others would not even dare to think about.

In the end, though, Herbert ended up collecting his jaw from the floor from the disbelief. Isolde, the second-in-command of the Valiant just trusted a complete stranger with the command of the vessel, not to mention that he was an old man. He might have been a stranger to him only, but Herbert was never one to trust those whom he did not know.

"I know this is the captain's will... but I object," said Herbert. "I do not trust whoever this man is."
 
There was nothing. Then, suddenly, everything rushed back in a wave of pain and shock. For a moment, Jonas thought that he must be dying, the feelings tearing around his body from the drugs in his system were so severe. Slowly, he steadied, gasping for air and trying to focus on the words being spoken to him. A message. A message for Esperanza. Despite the numerous questions held captive behind the threshold of his lips, he remained quiet.

The message was read, and every syllable, every nuance and bit of inflection, brought him closer to the true knowledge that his dear friend was gone. In hearing her last moments, he found himself held captive by them, chained and charged with the wellbeing of these people, of this ship. A life he'd forsworn years ago. And now, it seemed, it was calling him home.

He'd once spoken to her of how to stay human, how, no matter what path one walked down, she needed to retain her love, her humanity, her courage, and her own morals. Now, he had to believe that she'd listened. Something about this life had called to her, and he couldn't blame her. He knew little about what she'd done, but her voice was that of the Esperanza he'd known. It sounded dedicated and loyal to her people, not cowed by sorrow or defeat.

There were others there. Others hearing and watching as he accepted the papers of ownership that were handed to him. Some vague part of Jonas marvelled at the oddity that was paper documents, the human need to hand over something tangible to represent property that was itself tangible and real. But this thought was dull, far away. He looked over the papers, preparing to accept, hunting for words to say. Something to rally these people who'd lost just as much as he had.

Then a voice of objection. Jonas looked to the man who had spoken. He sounded to have been one of Esperanza's crew. Slowly, Jonas stood, grimacing at the profound realization that the system flushing drugs had eliminated all of his pain medicine. Still.

"You were a part of her crew." It wasn't a question, but it was directed at Herbert. "And your objection is noted. However, I believe you should take time to get to know me, to find out who I am, before you state such objections. Esperanza wants me to take care of you, boy. I may not look like much, but believe it or not, I know a thing or two."
 
So a new captain was named and the body of the girl was on his ship. This complicated things and Asley made an inpatient "hrmff" sound and looked down at the body. She would need to talk to this Captain and do things that hard way. This body would be delivered to her parents either way.

"Captain Jonas..." her tone was as impatient as ever as she moved to stand next to the man who a few minutes ago had been doing his best to hurt her. "I need to tell Mr. and Mrs. DeRah what has happened." she swallowed. "It is in my contract, but the news may be better coming from you. I will be there to get new orders. Whatever happens to Esperanza nos is up to them." it might seem like a peace offering at the worst time, but it was protocol. According to the anti-piracy act a veterinary could not remove the belongings or the body of a crew member without the captain's permission, unless the contract holder has special dispensation or the target is a known felon.

As she spoke though her hands moved forwards to clasp each other in front of her. She didn't want more animosity that was needed, Jonas now had the upper hand, legally speaking.
 
Isolde stood quietly in the back as she waited for everyone to speak. For her, whomever was the captain she would follow loyally. She was an android after all, whomever owned the ship was (in a sense) like her owner. It seemed that Herbert wasn't for the sudden change, but Isolde said nothing. Her eyes glanced toward Rudy a moment as she smiled some. Now that Jonas was captain he could deal with Jonas' fare. Really she was hoping the man would join their dwindled crew. They'd lost many good people from the attack on Asperas. They'd need to start somewhat fresh now.

Stepping forward after speaking ceased she made herself known, "If we are finished here, captain, I will go do a quick inventory and be gathering supplies upon the station. We will be in need of advanced repairs. I can make arrangements for rooms upon the station if you wish"

Due to the situation she had been in her on-duty outfit this entire time. Mentioning she was going to be off ship for a while she would have to go back to her room to change. She had a feeling she'd be off duty for a short bit. Stepping back she awaited the orders of the captain to confirm or deny her request to seek medical supplies for the ship.
 
It wasn't a situation he would have wished anyone in that room into, but here they were. Jonas reached up to shove a few strands of hair out of his face, sighing tiredly. He was starting to slide toward a state of emotional numbness that he knew would help him accomplish all the little necessary things, but right now, he needed to hang onto the passion, the feelings, to be able to balance them with logic and do the right thing.

Only now was it dawning on the new captain that Asley was not the enemy. She'd been hired to make certain Esperanza got home and allowing her to carry out this duty would be honoring the wishes of his beloved friend's parents. Sitting back down, he looked around with a weary gaze.

"Alright, I guess you are all waiting on orders and decisions. Or are doubting me because of the scene in the bay. Well, in the latter case, that's tough. I loved that girl like she was my child. I would and did fight for her and I expect every one of you who intends to stay on this ship to do the same for one another and for the Valiant herself. Make no mistake, I want you to keep your heads on straight, but sometimes passion and fire can achieve what no manner of measured logic can hope for. When everything is against you, you gotta be ready to fight an impossible fight sometimes. The willingness to do so might change the odds from one thousand to one to nine hundred nintety to one. And that just might be enough.

"As for orders and decisions. I will get to know you all in due time, but I need whoever has it to get me the crew roster and files and have them up to date when you hand them to me. I guess that would be you, son." He nodded to Herbert. To Isolde, he continued. "Get me an estimate on repairs. There should be a guy on station named Norrim. If you can find him, he can put you in touch with some cheap parts and skilled labor. Tell him Jonas sent you. I have a room already, but see that what crew needs beds get them. I'll foot the bill. As for you, you're a passenger, yes?" That was to Rudi. "Right now, the way I see it is those who died saved your life doing so. Don't worry, I won't take you for all you're worth. Pay the agreed upon fare. This is where you want to get off, isn't it?" Without waiting for an answer to the prying question, he finally looked at Asley.

"Set up the call or make what arrangements you need to. This ship isn't going anywhere yet and I'm not about to leave her here. We'll-" he looked away. "We'll keep Esperanza's body preserved and get her home as fast as we can, but if we can contact her family... they deserve to know."

He inhaled deeply.

"That's all. Dismissed."
 
What a strange man. He had thought of Esperanza as a daughter but had lost his head when she had died. He spoke of war idealistically and yet mentioned he had seen conflict in the same breath. War was a game of numbers and tactics. Calculated risks and knowing when to call it even and when to play dirty. But when he had dismissed them she had found herself snapping her heels together and almost raising her hand in a salute.

"There is a long range communication booth down the corridor in the right. I will wait for you there and hold the call when it has been established. They could use this ship's on board array but she didn't trust it and using high powered communications devices in dock sometimes caused issues with port authorities. This was the safer option, and also the more secluded. "I apologize for subduing you." she turned an left. The captain would have his time with his crew, she would fulfill her contract and then head back to her own father. Her father, her commanding officer who she would die for to preserve the chain of command. Crew should die for their captain, the less valuable parts of the crew preserving the chain of command. That is why Asley was out here in the most dangerous sector of space right now fulfilling a contract while her father and his ship performed routine patrols. So why would Jonas have died for Esperanza, had she outranked him or been irreplaceable in some other way? Maybe he had been hired to protect her.

Her steel feel clanked down the ramp as she walked from the battered hulk of the Valiant and though the cavernous docking bay and towards the secure door leading into the station. As it hissed open she turned, giving the ship another look as the doors closed again hiding it from view.

She moved forwards giving herself a mental shake. This reasons for others doing what they did were none of her concern. Securing the booth and opening the channel was. It was exactly where she had described it, a closed booth with a couch and a screen. Sliding her ID and her expense card into the slots she picked the right contact from her directory and with the camera automatically panning up to where she stood, feet apart and hands behind her back she pushed the button.
 
Herbert could not help but clench his hand at the comments of the man. He thought himself to be a rational person, but every now and then, someone came and induced in him a wave of emotion that he just could not supress. This man, for he did not even want to learn his name, was one of them. How dare he take over the Valiant so quickly, the ship that brought so many of his memories back, the ship that he grew attached to and the crew that he locked into his heart. Even if it was Esperanza that recommended him, there was simply no way he would accept this so easily. The captain had to earn his rank. He had to prove that he was capable of handling the pile of junk that the Valiant was, or else the crew would get killed because of a mistake that could have been avoided.

He dared to state that he was more than he looked, even if he was but an old man that was just defeated. Then, to add to the atrocity, he started giving orders as if the position of the captain was already his, but the thing that really made him angry was the fact that the others did nothing. They just accepted him without a word, unlike him. Have they not realised the situation they were in? Sure, the old man agreed to pay the repair bills, but repairs were most definitely not going to fix the quirks of the Valiant, unless they were the most thorough repairs man has ever seen. At the words of the man, Herbert simply shook his head.

"Look. We just lost Esperanza. You can not expect me to accept you so quickly," said Herbert as he stood defiantly in front of Jonas. "And even if Esperanza was an important relative of yours, that does not matter. You do not know this ship. You have no desire to know the crew. You want the ship to know you. You want the crew to know you. But one can not just take," he continued as he straightened the laser rifle on his back. "You have to work with us on this ship, or all of us will die. If you can not accept that, then you are not fit to be the captain."
 
Norrim. She logged that name into her memory database so that she could remember it. Without much else to say she simply slipped away as Jonas gave the command. For her it wasn't as hard to accept him as the new captain. She was an android after all. What connections/feelings did she have to the flesh and blood of humans unless it was them giving her commands to follow. Herbert's outburst came as a slight bit of confusion for her programming, but she let it slide. He was an individual and she did understand that.

Entering the heart of the ship she disconnected her own sensors and plugged them into the 'brains' essentially. She didn't know how much Herbert would mind her momentarily hijacking the systems, but it was the fastest way for her to run a diagnostics test on a large computer as this to obtain full information on the total damage. Relaxing she closed her eyes as she would find herself 'downloaded' essentially into the computer system of the ship. Data streamed around as she hovered about essentially nude, but with data covering her 'private' areas. The scan was simple as she made quick logs of the information obtained from the manual scan. Retrieving what she needed she estimated this was going to put them back quite a bit money wise, but the captain didn't specify orders after that.

Humans and their lack of giving direct orders was sometimes frustrating to her, but she was learning to adapt. Disconnecting herself from the computer system she gave a soft sigh, "Right" she muttered as she turned to leave the ship. Off to find Norrim and get an actual cost of repairs needed. She had a feeling they may be on the station a few days for repairs.
 
The man knew of her ship? Well she had to act quick. Often if they asked it meant they were after her bounty or just after her for other reasons. She gave a coy grin however, "Naidia Tsutari" she corrected, "I've heard the name. Yes." This was a LARGE man. She was a good fighter but she'd even have a tough time taking him down. On top of that there was something...off...about him. Not that there wasn't with her, but still. Aqua would probably wonder where she was anyways so she should hurry up and return to the ship. AFter a fight like that the local police would be on edge anyways. "Are you a hunter or something? I've heard that Naidia is quite the viscous little criminal" she grinned and nudged him in the ribs.
 
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