In the Wake of Destruction (Tally-cakes and Blue~!!!)

[Nix]

It certainly was a strange sight. The crew had informed him that this was a ghost ship, which explained the lack of resistance during the boarding, in fact Darvish almost ignored the ship entirely. It was small but it looked like a fairly valuable ship, he figured they could scrap some parts off it if nothing else but when they got on board... well, there were bodies everywhere. The carnage itself wasn't that odd, what was odd was the fact that the ship hadn't been looted.

If other pirates had gotten to it first there wouldn't be this sort of valuables left behind. No, this looked like a mutiny... and there had to be some fairly powerful someones alive on this ship still.

[Tally]

Well, fuck.  Raley finally got himself a decent ship and what happened?  A gaggle of small-time, sad little pirates had to get in his way.  They'd boarded, and were on the opposite end of the ship from Raley's position.

He found the nearest mirror.  "Hey.  The shit is this?"

Silence from the other side.  It was just his reflection, nothing more.

Fuck this whole thing.  He was sick of creeping around, avoiding notice, evading.  The hell did he have to be tiptoeing around a bunch of scavengers for?  Not like he was dealing anything really special here.  The captain, Darvish, was a reflectivist, but so what?  A few quick dips into the minds of the rest of the boarding crew told him everything relevant.

He went right for them, taking the main corridors, not hiding anything.  He looked...different than when he'd left Aedolis.  Had to get new joints put in, get half his torso rebuilt, get an entirely new right arm—all synthetic, real experimental shit, illegal as fuck and totally worth it.  He was able to hook one of the ship's router's to his arm so he could talk to it directly.  He had control of the whole damn thing, by thought.

The first thing he did was kill the docking clamps, close the airlock and disconnect them from the pirate ship.

The boarding crew was now trapped on this ship with him.

"Darvish!"  He yelled down the corridors, still out of sight but they'd be able to here him this close.  "Darvish this is my gods-be-damned ship!  I'm gonna bleed you out on the floor like the rest of the trash!"

[Blue]

Well, this was bound to be fun, hm? Did anything ever actually go as planned?
“Phrixus, when was the last time a job went off without a hitch?” He drawled smoothly as the lights on the control board flashed at him, notifying him that the docking clamps had experienced a malfunction.
A smile appeared on the delicate features of the chocolate-hued little devil, who was currently floating above his shoulder on tapering butterfly wings.
“Oh master, I think you already know how poor that record is.”

A soft smirk crossed his features as he depressed the button on their two-way radio system - at least things were getting interesting.
“My dear captain, we appear to have been cut off from one another, quite literally. I regret to inform you that you and our merry band of scurvy pirates are now trapped on the ghost ship - at least for the time being. I’ll send Yima Kshaeta along to your end to use as you please. Try not to get yourself killed, hm? I don’t envy you your position as captain, and I’d be quite inconvenienced to have to take over your responsibilities.”
A snap of the fingers in the semi darkness of the cockpit of the Vermilion, and in the next second a mirage like apparition was materializing next to Darvish aboard the ghost ship.

With golden skin and a head full of slender red braids, Yima blinked calmly at the slaver captain, hovering quietly with feathered wings.
“At your service, Lord Darvish.”

[Nix]

Darvish had pulled his gun as soon as it was apparent that there was someone alive on the ship, his men had begun looting the corpses and ship in general. Then he felt the ship dislodge from the Vermilion. That was a bit unsettling... it should take longer to execute that sort of action, even with a full crew which this ship was currently lacking from the piles of corpses.

He had turned down a corridor heading to where the ship's bridge should be when that voice came rushing at him. He couldn't see the other, but he knew one thing already, this man was psychic. That voice was not one he recognized, and therefore the man in control of this ship had to have gotten his name off his crew members. This guy was most likely strong too.

"You and I both know its not a ghost ship Razvan, ghost ships can't shake off the Vermilion's docking clamps and disconnect... there's a psychic on board, I'd say pretty strong from the look of things, but I have no intention of letting you get promoted." Darvish grinned as he spoke softly into the communicator. Next thing he knew Razvan's minion was hovering next to him. "Thanks for the back up~" He said before ending communication for now.

He looked over at Yima, he loved how Razvan's minion called him 'Lord Darvish'. "Can you find out how many people are running this ship Yima Kshaeta? Quietly as possible." He asked before moving further down the corridor.

"You know my name! Well I appreciate the warm hospitality!" He called after the other. "You can have this... what did you call it? Gods-be-damned ship? I just don't like being called trash. Then again I don't know what I'm supposed to call you~" He still couldn't see the other man but that might be for the best at the moment.

[Tally]

Raley came to a halt and scratched his head.  Did that guy just say he could have the ship?  Well shit, what was there to fight over now?  All he really wanted was the ship, and that was just so he had a method to get around where he needed to be.

"Uhh."  The fun had kinda drained out of this now they didn't have an issue with each other.  If Raley could have the ship, then he didn't give a shit what they wanted to do with the cargo or whatever the shit they were here for.

He rounded a corner, and found himself facing the pirate captain.  Raley didn't bother to pull his gun—he wouldn't need it to kill this lot, if it came to that.  He leaned against the wall, arms folded.  "So, if you don't want the ship, then what're ya here for?"

[Blue]

Yima bowed that red-braided head to the order. They had no need for actually traversing the ship - they simply extended their power outward, like feeling tendrils, and could sense all that lived and breathed on board. They blinked blackish purple eyes just as Raley came into view, before lifting a slender hand to point at him with a finger adorned with dark purple nail polish.
“That man is the one controlling the ship.”

With no further objective, Yima Kshaeta continued to hover idly by Darvish’s side. Though everyone seemed enviously calm, even laid back, the demonic familiar had it’s core directive. They were to keep Lord Darvish safe from harm, by whatever means were necessary.
Even if the floating entity seemed to have half-lidded eyes and a lack of expression, they were watching, and closely. And even to the psychic’s formidable powers, Yima remained an unreadable fixture in the ship - blank in every regard, even thoughts.
Raley might not have as easy a time slaughtering everyone as he assumed, should he take that path.

[Nix]

When the other man finally came into view Darvish lowered his gun some but didn't put it away. He knew he probably wasn't going to use it, but wouldn't put it back in it's place just yet. "When I saw the ship I thought it was abandoned so I had planed on pulling some parts off it, but then I got on board, saw your handiwork; impressive by the way, and figured I would just relieve you of some of the former crew's valuables and cargo."

This was the only person on board. He certainly must be a strong psychic then. Darvish often wondered if most telepaths were as easily frustrated by the unreadable as his father had been. And now two unreadable creatures stood before this red haired man. Darvish's father often beat him simply for being a reflectivist... he wondered if this guy would lash out too. Well it wouldn't matter, Darvish was fairly confident that Yima would at the very least be able to protect him if need be and what ever way things turned they would surely be amusing.

This guy really made all those corpses himself? "So did they warrant being... what was it? Bled out like trash... or did you just feel like killing them all, either way beautiful work... may I ask how you accomplished it?" With that Darvish holstered his gun. There was no point in keeping it out if it would be useless anyway, it would only antagonize this somewhat charming man.

Anyone would could accrue that kind of body count in one place without blowing themselves up in the process? Charming.

[Tally]

Raley smirked at the gun.  Cute.  As if the guy would even get the chance to use it.  Raley could prevent him from pulling the trigger, could prevent him from even raising the gun in his direction if he wanted.  Civilians were so darling.

Ah, scratch that.  He was a civilian now, wasn't he?  Damn.

"Oh I didn't kill them all.  A few of them locked themselves up on the lower deck."  Raley jerked his thumb in the direction of the stairs down.  "I was just about to go clean them out.  Wasn't that I really wanted to kill them I just can't have them hanging around, y'know?  I need transportation, and they'd just get in the way."

[Nix]

So there was still survivors? Interesting... "Still, I must say I am already a fan of your handiwork. If you were going to just dispose of the rest of them would you mind if I took them? I make quite a deal of money off the slave trade and even more if any of them are attractive..." He chuckled a bit.

"Though I tend to play with the pretty ones first." He grinned widely at the red head whom he found increasingly attractive. There was something special about this guy, and not just his abilities...

"You seem like a busy man, places to be and all that? Well... if you allow my ship to set the docking clamps again then my crew and I will be off and leave you to it... unless I can persuade you otherwise~"

[Tally]

Raley shrugged.  "Yeah, sure.  Go for it.  What do I need them for, right?"

His only plan had been to kill the rest of them and take the ship.  That was his whole focus right now, and there wasn't any space in his brain to think of much else.  Those people might as well be useful for something, then Darvish and his crew could clear out and Raley'd be on his way—or not?

"What did you have in mind?"

[Nix]

That was what Darvish wanted to hear. "Well, I was hoping that you would join my crew... you know pillage, rape, kill and all that fun stuff. Of course you'd hafta travel around open space and get a cut of the profit... not sure if somethin' like that would appeal to ya."

Darvish grinned at the thought of sharing a pretty young thing with this man. Funny, he didn't usually like to share. He also didn't usually ask people to join his crew. "So what should I call you anyway?" He asked the red head before looking at Yima again.

He wondered if Razvan's familiar was relaying anything that was happening here to the older man, it didn't matter either way. Darvish knew his first mate had his back.

[Tally]

Raley laughed.  "You offerin' me a job?  How do you know I won't do you all like I did these poor bastards?"

It was sort of a rhetorical question.  He wouldn't actually have a reason to off this guy, or anyone on his ship.  Not unless they gave him one.  Sure, Raley had his fun, but he didn't stir shit up just for its own sake.  He wasn't a psycho like that.

He hesitated on the question of his name.  Had to think about that one, about what name to give.  It didn't matter did it?  Any Pilot within range enough to read his name from their minds would be able to read their visual memory of him just as well.

"Raley.  Now, I'm not sayin' I'm interested, but, if I were, you should know I'm wanted in Aedolis.  Could bring trouble down on you."

[Nix]

Darvish ignored the rhetorical question. He knew that wouldn't happen. Even though he wasn't psychic he wasn't entirely defenseless against the like, and he had people on board his ship better skilled for that sort of thing. Besides, what a nice addition this man would make to his rag tag bunch!

"Raley," He chuckled a bit. "I'm a pirate and slave trader. Half my crew is wanted somewhere. Besides we don't make stops in Aedolian space often. I'm the only one who would really go there, and they don't get information off of me."

As fun as recruiting was there was still other things to be done. "Why don't you show me where the others are hauled up while we continue your job interview."

[Tally]

"Yeah, I can see that."  Raley's lip curled in a sneer.  Wasn't that he disliked the guy on account of him being a reflectivist or anything.  It was just an instinctual distaste.  Grow up with psychic and you came to have a reliance on being able to read anybody, anytime, as much as you wanted.  Then a reflectivist comes along and totally shuts that down.  It was irritating, and wouldn't ever stop being so no matter who it was.

"This way."  Raley led him down two decks to a set of double doors.  "They've physically jammed them from the inside with something so they won't slide open.  Was about to go look for a cutter."

[Blue]

Having hovered silently by during the entire exchange, it was quite easy to forget Yima Kshaeta was even there. He was like a specter, observing with half lidded, unreadable eyes of deepest purple. He ghosted after them as they traveled down to the jammed metal doors, black wings never once flapping or fluttering despite his easy hovering.

There was a soft crackling in the air, and the scent of ozone, before Yima finally spoke. In his hand had materialized an obsidian halberd, wickedly curved blade also in deepest black and accented in gold.
“Lord Darvish. If I may.”
A cutter they needed, and a cutter they had, though not of the sort Raley was thinking of. Though delicate in appearance, Yima calmly held the weapon aloft in one hand, before bringing it down and across in a strike so fast it was blinding.
The doors were cleanly cleaved.