Landing Pad - Beylix

Connie pads down the ramp, on light feet...

Journey stands a few yards from the foot of the /Zun Yan/, looking around the landing field. She clasps her shoulders and shivers slightly, her expression a mixture of thoughtfulness and sadness. "This place always depresses me..." she murmurs, to no one in particular.

Connie chuckles, softly, from just behind her. "Why?"

Journey shakes her head sadly, apparently not surprised by the Captain's approach. "It's just so... well, desolate. And the poverty here... it just makes me sad, to think that people still have to live like this. Not because they deserve it, but because life's not fair... it's just depressing, that's all."

Connie slips arms round her, hugs gently. "To be fair, some choose it."

Journey accepts Connie's hug silently, slipping her arms around the slightly shorter woman. "I don't think I'll ever understand why. I guess that's just short-sightedness on my part," she says, her tone suggesting that she sees that as a personal weakness. "Maybe they just want to live free, I dunno. That I can understand."

A nod. "Me too." Quietly. "If you believe strongly enough in independence, you'll choose not to live under the Alliance."

Journey says, "Yeah... I'd rather push them off than run, but that's just not possible anymore. Not right now. I don't know how to live anywhere other than on ships and in towns, so that's what I do."

Patches arrives aboard an inbound shuttle.

Hudson walks down from the twistly little little path from the town, doing his best to stay upright.

There is a flurry of color from the shuttle, one hand holding her hair, the other the front of her heavily patched skirt ... a desperate attempt to maintain some wort of composure against the blast of the small ship's dusting off. Soft eyes look up through ragged bangs, peeking out across the field. She takes a hesitant step forward, coming to a then a sudden halt ... teeth caught upon herlower lip as but one figure snares her attention.

Connie smiles at Journey, stood next to her on the Zun Yan's ramp. "Anyway. Things are looking up."

Journey glances at Connie curiously. "Oh? How so? Really good contract?"

Hudson hops a transport ship outbound for Shadow.

Slowly, each step a graceful and silent sashay, the colorful waif slowly approaches the small spacecrafts boarding ramp. Her path is not straight but it wanders, silent as a proverbial space-mouse ... until a pace behind Journey she comes to rest, careful, quiet ... patient.

Connie shakes her head. "Nope. Just a much loved friend of someone aboard turning up." Patches gets a very quick wink when Journey's not looking.

Journey looks at Connie more intently. "One of Miss Mila's friends has turned up to wish her well? She needs support, definitely." A small smile touches her lips.

And from behind Journey comes a gentle whisper. A voice quiet, a bit hesitant, as if some shadow might be broached by her words, or perhaps a shadow banished. As the patchwork waif ducks, to look up through a veil of black bangs, hands carefully folded atthe small of her back. She sways, like a little three beat dance, a simple accompanyment to a statement so simple, but so true. Three words, a gentle prayer.

"I love you."

Connie steps back, out of the way, with a smile.

Remy disembarks from the IMV Chimera.

Journey freezes, with a little gasp, her lips still parted, her eyes going wide as she hears a voice that's so familiar... and so long gone from her life. It couldn't be... could it?

She turns slowly, looking down a little at the mismatched waif behind her... and sniffles. After a moment, she takes a slow step forward and wras her arms around Patches, hugging her close and sniffling once. "Dear heart..." she says, very softly, her voice breaking into a husky whisper. "Where have you been..."

Connie runs a hand through red hair, standing a pace or two back from the reunion on the Zun Yan's ramp.

The shadows banished, it is with the softest sigh and closing eyes that the patchwork girl is so warmly hugged. It is returned, dark rair flowing over Journey's shoulder as she nestles into the crook of the other woman's neck, holding on then suddenly tight. Well as tight as a patchwork girl can. "I gots losted ..." is her answer, a simple explanation, as for a moment there is no one else beneath the small freighter's shadow except for the two of them. "But I found my way home ..." is the return whisper, " ... it was kinda powerful nice, havin' someone to be coming home to ... never much had a home before, at that, and it kept a body warm against the coldest and most empty night."

The hatch on the Chimera slides open and a yawning Remy appears at the top of the ramp. Closing his mouth after the yawn he runs his fingers back thru his mop of hair and then just sort of ruffles it as he starts moving his feet to take him to the bottome of the ramp. Looking around he notices the Zun Yan and the little reunion going on as well at its other observer watching from her own ship.

Journey hugs Patches close to her, sniffling a little. "I missed you so much... now I'm just glad you're home..." She presses her lips to the dark-haired waif's cheek, her eyes shining. "Oh, I've got so much to tell you... so much has happened..."

A breeze plucks at Patches' hair, Journey's arm.

An invisible, tiny, rapid gust, like summer lightning, soundless.

Then... a soft, choked gasp, almost, for a moment, like a sob.

And then a clatter, as a limp, boneless form, Connie's, slumps backward onto the Zun Yan's ramp, a darker stain spreading over the dark fabric of her tank top, around the neat hole that's suddenly ... appeared, above her right breast.

" ... aboard ship?" Comes Patches curious whisper, her head tilting. " ... you gotsa neeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!" And all of a sudden her dark eyes go wide, the scream catching in her throat as she watches Connie fall forward suddenly. She can't help but step back, her instinctive motion to scrabble behind journey, crouching low as her skirts swirl as she spins, looking this way and that, like a wild little thing suddenly cornered ...

In the sky above, a dropship comes into view as it descends toward the surface.

You take a step back as the ICV Jaguar fires its drop rockets and lands before you.

Darling disembarks from the ICV Jaguar.

Darling steps off the Jag, lighting up a cigar.

Remy is just about to turn his gaze from the scene when Connie's body shutters a bit then the young woman collapses to the ramp. At this distance he can't tell why she has fallen so he just tucks his hands into his coat pockets and more or less power walks his way over to the Zun Yan.

Journey suddenly looks up at Patches's scream and claws for her shoulderbag... and remembers she'd left it, and its deadly cargo of Colt and compact 9mm, on her bunk. All the way back in the ship. Her eyes snap to the now-falling form of Connie, and go huge with horror at the not-so-slowly spreading stain on the small woman's chest. Heedless of the danger, she takes a couple running steps forward and drops to her knees next to her. A moment's look later, she's doing some screaming of her own! "DOCTOR!!! WE NEED A DOCTOR!! /NOW!!!/ SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR!!!"

Darling swears softly, dropping his cigar and turning on his heel.

Darling boards the ICV Jaguar.

Ro Locastra disembarks from the IMV Zun Yan.

Connie's not moving, breathing shallow, dangerously slow, laboured, while blood starts to spread on the ramp beneath her. Journey's cry of 'DOCTOR' provokes curious looks from the various folks on the docks, and someone starts to head towards town. Someone yells, "Better hurry, mate..." after him, and his steps speed up. Of the source of the single bullet, there's no sign.

Ro moves down the ramp, swords drawn after hearing a gunshot. His head is ducked into his shoulders and his Khopesh swords are held parallel to his chest, the tips of the swords aiming in the opposite direction as the hands that hold them. His sharp green eyes narrow as he quickly studies the situation, trying to get a foothold before deciding on a course of action.

Journey's cry draws forth action from Patches. Gathering up her skirt she sprints ... from one ship to the next. A flattened hand slams repeatedly on a boarding hatchway, on the jamb of an open cargo hold, " ... hello! hello and halp us please, help us, you gotta stitcher upper ... please please we need a doc out here ... please ... a gal's been shot!" And when silence greets her at one portal she turns and scrables down the line to the next ship ... and the next ... and the next.

Remy makes it over to the ramp of the Zun Yan and it is as he gets there he notices the red stain that is growing on the front of Connie's clothing. "Journey hun, help me pick her up an ged her aboard da ship. Bedder fo her an da res o us den jus standing aroun oud here."

Darling disembarks from the ICV Jaguar.

Darling steps off the Jag at a full run, field medic kit in hand.

Ro stares at the back of Captain Saint as he comes behind her on the ramp, "Ma'a..." His head tilts and when he looks down, he cusses to himself, quickly clips his swords back to his side and grasps her shoulders. He looks up to Remy and upon his words nods and says quietly, "Get her feet."

Journey glances up at Remy with too-wide eyes, staring for a moment... then begins to get to her feet, nodding once. "Let's..."

And then she's no longer needed, as an unfamiliar man takes Connie's shoulders, to move her. The bloody-haired waif steps back, looking around for any sign of anyone who looks like a medic... and spy Darling, with his medical kit. "Doctor!" she cries, waving her arms frantically to get his attention, then gesturing at the ramp and hatch. "Over here! Please hurry, she's been shot!"

The exit wound looks unpleasantly bigger and messier than the neat fraction-of-an-inch hole in Connie's front. The one saving grace is that it's higher than would be immediately fatal: her right shoulder and collar bone, though, will be a mess. As yet, there's no follow up. No second shot. No fleeting killer.

And as the summons for a doctor has brought forth a kind samaritan, Patches slowly begins to back towards Journey's ship, darting from shadow to shadow, to shadow ... her sleder frame beginning to shake as the her adrenaline rush begins to crash. She skitters, looking across the landing field, to the high spaces surrounding, until at Journey's side she slides to place, a tumble of scared colorful waif.

Remy nods to Ro and kneels down grabbing Connie at her knees. Looking to Ro, "On three...one...two...three." And as he says the third number he begins to lift up Connie's lower half.

Darling gets to the ramp of the Zun Yan as Connie is being carried aboard, calling half out of breath, "Wait! PUT her DOWN!... stop the blood loss first... then move...." His shaking hands are already tearing at the kit.

Ro follows suit, but stops and looks to Remy as he quickly begins to set her back down. He drops to his haunches, unbuckles his belt and begins to quickly unroll his wool sash from his waist, his eyes upon Darling. "What do you need us to do?" He asked.

Journey watches the confusion on the ramp, swallowing and biting her lip. Only the passing of a colorful figure takes her attention away from the chaos, and a moment's look at Patches tells her all she needs to know...

She draws the scared girl into a hug, holding her close. "Good work, honey... stay with me now..." she says, in a murmur a little louder than a whisper, but not much, and directed into the smaller girl's ear. Her eyes keep roaming back to the ramp. "Please... is there anything we can do to help?" she asks, not much louder than her murmuring.

As Darling starts his way over and offering his medical advice Remy follows suit with Ro and lowers Connie back to the ramp. "Was trying to ged her enside to some co'er firs. Would rader no jus be sidding oud here en da open trying to help her an ged sniped by da same person who god her."

Patches takes shelter against Journey, huddling in her shadow, in the lee of her activity. She swallows, not answering the whisper except with a nod, teeth pressing her lower lip hard enough to turn rose to white. From around Journey she glances, first to the area about. "If'n they's smart, they's long gone by nows ..." Her own whisper, finally breatehd. That and an even softer, "Gotsa doc, they ain't gonna let anythin' else bad happen ... docs don't let things like that happen, makes them all contraiwaise."

Darling's trembling efforts are rewarded with the freeing of a pair of scissors which are tossed to the swordsman. "Cut the cloth away.... frontside... gimme six inches from the wound." His next trip into the canvas pack yield a roll of sterile guaze, though not for long as it's rather unceremoniously unrolled and wadded into a rough ball. His eyes dart down to her chest as he mumbles, "You gotta quit showin' me those, red... I'm a married man." With a grunt, he starts to shove the packing into the entry wound without waiting any longer... and this is the easy part. He nods to Remy, "If you ain't tellin' the ruttin' truth... grab something that shoots and start looking for movement along the ridge line... kill it."

Ro nods to Remy, "Aye, but we don't want to make matters worse. Getting her into cover ain't going to help her stop from bleeding to death..." He catches the scissors and does exactly as Darling tells him.

The faintest of moans as Connie's set back down, that's all. If there's movement on the ridge line, Remy'd better start a-looking for it.

Journey turns a little, pointing Patches in the direction of the ship. "Too right..." She draws back just a little, bringing Patches to arms' reach. "Honey, there's a bag inside I need to get... come with me? It'll just take a minute..." She waits on only the word to go get her bad.

Darling's machine pistol dangles invitingly in his shoulder hoslter.

Patches is already rising, as Journey speaks. She takes a breath nodding once. "Anywheres ..."

Remy sighs and after setting Connie down shrugs his shoulder and begins to turn around. " 'll hav a look bu I hav a hard enough tim e'en touching a gun so I don know jus how good I would be en killing anyting...IF I e'en see anyting." He then lets his eyes flicker back and forth across the ridge line trying to honestly see anything.

Darling mutters, "It's OK... once she bleeds out a little, there won't be so much pressure."

Darling looks gravely at Ro, "Think we can roll her and work on the back?" WIthout waiting his eyes dart to Patches, "Kid, get over here and hold this."

Ro nods to Darling and holds Connie. "Ready".

Journey glances at the 'doctor', letting Patches go to assist as she sees fit... and her eyes widen at the sight of a weapon hanging easy to reach... Forgetting politeness in the stress, she steps forward and draws the LA19 from the good samaritan's (Darling's) holster, with a murmured, "Need to borrow this..." and looks around the landing field for anything moving that looks suspicious. There's a steely glint in her blue eyes now... one promising mortal danger to anyone that decides to hurt these people.

Connie bleeds. Silently.

Darling gives Ro a nod, unable to look away from the damage as it is exposed. "Ta de me..." he swears, voice trailing into nothingness. Another trip into the pack yields a plastic bag with a silica based substance. It's ripped open and dumped into the wound with a silent prayer.

Darling turns and vomits.

Ro helps turn Connie over and as Darling begins to work on her, he looks about with his narrowed green eyes. He catches the scent, but all it does is make him frown.

Remy shrugs as he seems to see nothing but his scanning it cut kinda short when Darling start tossing up breakfast beside him. He make a disgusted sort of look before looking back up at the ridge line and picking up where he thinks he left off. More or less trying to make himself useful for the time being.

Darling's eyes look up to Ro's, focused again on the task at hand. "If we can keep her from bleeding any worse, the Jag's still hot and can make Ariel faster than anything here. This looks like a Bunder, may be a Callahan...she's gonna need more care than this rock has to offer."

Ro looks around and sighs, shaking his head as he looks down at Connie. He says quietly "Ridge left of the pad...90 degrees off from the one with your gun..."

Journey continues to scan the ridgeline, lifting the 'borrowed' gun to look over its sights, assess its balance, and adjust her hand position slightly on the less-familiar grip...

Ro's directions draw her attention, and she glances that way. Unfamiliar or not, the man held those swords like someone who knew how to use them...

"It's a ruttin' automatic, hose 'em down." Zach growls, ripping open another package of quickpatch.

Remy turns his attention to where ever it is Ro is talking about, at least he seems to know what he is talking about.

The flow of blood is easing, with the coagulant pack starting to do its job. The ridge line Ro's pointing out is about 150 yards away, a mix of jagged bits of cover and bare rock. Perfect place for a good sniper. Especially one who's figuring out he may not have got his target with his first shot, and might be waiting for an opening.

Ro nods to Darling. "Aye, sir. That I know she would appreciate greatly. We can't let her die...." Ro paused and looked up at Darling, flashing a wicked smirk. "Got a white sheet? Maybe if the sniper thinks she's dead, he'll back off. And when they do..."

Darling dumps in the last bag of dermaplast, watching it foam and fiz for a moment before he takes the towel from off his shoulder. He tosses it to Ro with a solemn nod.

Ro stands up, shaking his head as he stares down at Connie as he unrolls the towel and lies it over her head and upper chest. He looks up and lets out an emphasized sigh as he looks about, rubbing the side of his head with his left hand.

At the mention of the ridge, Patches slips back, making sure there's pieces of ship and ramp between her and the mentioned locale. She does cast a glance that way herself, caught off balance between Journey's call to leave and her turning on the sniper's holdout.

Journey winces and swats the air in front of her as a bug flits into her eyes... and looks back... she's got no idea where the shooter could be...

At Ro's suggestion, then at the sigh, and says, softly, "Oh, God... No..." Here's hoping the slime is listening...

Remy might have picked out a where the sniper might be but other then that he doesn't see anything else. Turning his head from the ridge line just a bit to speak to the others. "I still tink we should ged her enside if yu ar all done playing medic. Because I really don like being all en da open like dis." Even as he says this he begins to slip away from where he has been standing and starts to try an put parts of the ramp between himself and the ridge.

"Jaguar... Ariel..." He looks between Remy and Ro for a confirmation, his confidence now quite shaken that the adrenaline no longer drives him. "I can have her there by the time the Hoplite hits the SkyPlex."

Ro nods, looking about as he dropped to his haunches. "Let's go."

Journey nods soberly. "I'll be right back..." she says, softly. Beckoning to Patches, she hurries for the /Zun Yan's/ cargo lock.

Remy is trying to creep away when Darling mentions his ship and heading to Ariel. Remy looks around again then slips slowly back over to Connie's feet and moves to lift her at her knees once again.

"I'll drop the boarding code...lay in the course, get her on board and hollar up front when everyone is in." He looks to Journey and hollars, "we'll wait, but not for long."

Darling boards the ICV Jaguar.

Ro nods and helps Remy bring Connie to the Jag, looking about as they moved.

Patches nodnods, and scrambles after Journey, gathering up her skirts as she does. And then she skitters to a halt. For a moment she stands stock still, the blood draining from her face. Closing her eyes she hugs herself tight, to push herself forward, blindly following her friend.

Ro looks down at Connie and quietly says to her. "Some great warrior I am...I couldn't even protect you, Captain...and after all you and Shin had done for me...I..." He bared his teeth and said, "God, even sorry doesn't cut it..." He looked around the tarmac, a glint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.