Remnants of the Earth
EDANITH => The Frontier => Topic started by: Rhi-Rhi on September 22, 2011, 03:29:57 pm
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"Fucking asswipes!" Kota yelled, throwing his hands up. "I can't believe this! Now what're we supposed to do?! Fucking fuckers, I hate this place! I knew this was a bad idea! I knew one of us should've stayed!"
A quick run into the nearest town--a, what, ten minute trip, tops?--ended with he and Sei Yuk returning...to find their ship gone, the dust still settling and ground still hot from its take-off. He could see it in the distance, just a small dot of motion on the frontier. Gone. Stolen. They'd never catch up with it and had no means of doing so in the first place.
With another loud curse, Kota kicked the ground in frustration and then took a deep breath, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Anger would not do anything. It wasn't going to get him his ship back. It wasn't going to get them out of this mess. Letting his breath out slowly, he wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead. This heat was not making matters any better nor helping his mood.
He whirled on Sei Yuk then. "I locked it up, right? You saw me lock it."
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Sei Yuk wasn't really listening to Kota curse and swear, his eyes locked on the retreating ship. They were stealing his home, ripping away a very important piece of his life. His lip pulled back in a small snarl until he heard Kota's question.
Quickly composing his expression, Sei Yuk smiled, "Relax Kota. You locked it. We'll find it. There aren't many places to sell a ship here and they can't leave atmo without the right papers. We'll find um."
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"Relax? How can I relax? They stole our ship!" Kota gestured roughly in the direction it had gone. "They stole everything! That has everything on it! All our clothes, our food, our money. What're we supposed to do now?"
It wasn't often that Kota panicked like this. Usually he felt in control, cool and calm even under stress. But that was because he had his ship, had his bearings, and felt grounded as a result. Now all that had been ripped out from under his feet and he didn't know where to even begin. And they were out in the middle of fucking nowhere. That ship was his everything, his pride and joy, his freedom.
He let his shoulders slump. "I just don't wanna be stuck on this rock.
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Sei Yuk reached over and hugged his friend. He was angry, furious and wanted nothing more than flip out. But the few times Kota lost control were when Sei Yuk kept his, 'It'll be okay. We'll make it work, okay. I bet they are heading to Midwidth."
It was a decent sized city, between the frontier and the nearest Megacity. A perfect place to try and either fence the ship or get some papers made.
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Kota was stiff at first, arms at his sides, but then he leaned into the hug and wrapped his arms around Sei Yuk, some of the tension melting away. It was so stupid, but that was what he needed to hear just then: that it would be okay. That they'd get through this, make it work, and get their ship back. He let out a low sigh, hands lightly gripping the back of Sei Yuk's shirt.
"Okay." Another deep breath. "Okay. Yeah. You're right."
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"I'm always right." Sei Yuk kept holding onto Kota, his head resting under the taller man's chin, "We'll get a ride, I still got money on me, we'll track those fuckers down and we'll get the ship back. I promise."
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"Yeah." It was several seconds more before Kota pulled back from the embrace and rolled his shoulders back, trying to keep his composure. Sei Yuk was right. Freaking out wasn't going to do anything but further cloud his mind and if they were going to take those fuckers out and get their home back, his head needed to be in the game. Besides, he was the strong one here. The responsible one, the thinker and planner and leader. If he didn't get it together, where would Sei Yuk be?
"Alright. Ah...how much do you got on ya?"
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"Not a ton. Like..." Sei Yuk rummaged around him pockets and pulled out a card, "Just what's in my account." Which, as Sei Yuk was awful with money, there wasn't a whole lot, "Just a few hundred. But it'll be enough for a ride to the city."
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"Okay. That's good. A ride to the city, that's all we need and we can figure the rest out when we get there. I mean, cities like this, they always need work. We can grab a job if we need the cash." Kota usually got on Sei Yuk about his spending, but right now he didn't care; Sei Yuk had more on him than he had and for that he was grateful.
"Alright then. I guess it's back to town." He heaved a sigh. Hopefully this run down place would have some decent transportation; frontier towns could be a doozy, and Kota didn't like staying on Edanith any longer than he had to.
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"And we can track the ship man. They aren't all that common out here, so we should find it." Sei Yuk smiled, wrapping an arm around Kota, "It'll be okay. Breathe buddy."
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"How can we track it?" Kota asked, leaning into Sei Yuk's arm and turning them both toward the town. "We--ah, never mind. You're right." He took a deep breath and let his shoulders slump. "We'll figure it out. We've had worse, right? Right. Alright, angsty moment over, I'm good."
And he was the leader among them so he needed to snap out of this funk and lead, be decisive--because gods know he didn't want Sei Yuk calling the shots here. With that firmly in his head, he started to walk, leading them back to town.
With his other hand, he shifted his bag of purchased supplies and scowled down at them. "Wonder if we can sell this stuff back."
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"Well, my phone is still on there. We can track that signal." For once, it was handy that Sei Yuk had a bad habit of forgetting his phone on the ship, "I doubt they'll be getting rid of it." He was glad Kota was calming down, he didn't really know what to do in situations like this. Not really.
"Probably not. Let's see how far we can get on my money."
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"What? Really?" Kota stared at Sei Yuk. It normally drove him nuts that Sei Yuk was so forgetful, but in this one moment...it was actually useful. He blinked several times, then twisted and hugged his friend tightly. "Sei Yuk, you're brilliant. So what, do I just turn on my GPS and track it? I've never done that before."
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"Huh? I donno. I've never done that shit." Sei Yuk shrugged, looking helpless, "I mean, I guess?"
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Erk. Well, maybe he'd spoken too soon, but it was still an idea. Drawing out his cell phone, he fiddled with some settings. "Well, I'm guessing that's how we do it. Uh, question, though." He flashed Sei Yuk a worried look. "How long does your phone hold a charge?"
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"Oh, it'll be one for days man. And I think we gotta use a computer to get the GPS shit set up." Sei Yuk shrugged, then wrapped an arm over his friends shoulders, "Let's go find us a tech guy!"
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Kota repressed a sigh and pocketed his phone--and pushed back all the awful images he was getting of some thug pirates going through all his stuff! He twitched at the thought, but relaxed against Sei Yuk and drew a deep breath. Nothing to be done now. Right now, it was out of his hands and he just needed to accept that, and needed to focus on what could be done.
Like find a tech guy.
"Alright. So, back to town, huh?" he said, wrapping his arm around Sei Yuk and starting to head back to town.
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"Yup!" Sei Yuk grinned, doing his best to project easy confidence. He was furiously angry at the moment, that someone stole the ship, that they had upset his precious Kota so much. They would pay and they would pay hard.
"Let's go bug Awery. He's good with this shit."
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"Haven't seen him for ages," Kota said as they crossed into the town. "But yeah, sure. If he can't figure this out, then I dunno who else can."
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Sei Yuk nodded, heading along the streets, following the familiar path to see their contact. They had used him before when in the area. He wasn't the best, but he was a good price and kept things quiet.
"I wonder if he'll still be mad I broke that...screen...thi ng."
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"Uhhh, how 'bout we not mention the 'screen thing'?" Kota asked, shooting Sei Yuk a warning look before adding, "Y'know, I still don't know how ya managed that? That thing was marketed as crack resistant."
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"Probably a knock off or something." Sei Yuk glanced away, then brightened, "Ah! There we are!" He headed to the building and knocked on the door, patiently waiting for it to open up.
A moment later, a scrawny, pale man in his late 30's opened the door and glared at Sei Yuk, "Yes?"
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Kota grimaced at that. Well, that answered that question. Looked like he remembered.
"Hey there!" Kota said, speaking up to take the attention off of Sei Yuk. As far as he knew, the guy didn't have any issues with him--because he hadn't broken anything. "Been a while. You remember us? Ah...well, anyway, I have a sorta small problem I was wondering if you could help us with?"
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Awery narrowed his eyes, but then nodded, stepping back to let Kota in, "Fine. But he stays outside."
Sei Yuk huffed, untangling from Kota, "What? Fine. Whatever."
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"No, he comes inside," Kota said, grabbing onto Sei Yuk's arm. "Or I don't. Besides, he can explain it all better than me."
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"No way. He breaks shit." Awery crossed his arms, glaring. Sei Yuk just shrugged, tugging his arm free, "Don't worry about it. I can wait here, it wont take long."
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Kota frowned at Sei Yuk but, after a pause, finally just shrugged. "Alright. Fine. Uh, be out in a few then?"
He gave Sei Yuk an apologetic look before stepping inside Awery's place, and the shut behind them.
It was over ten minutes before Kota returned, for even though it was a simple process he'd had to have it explained to him in detail. Hey, he dealt in flying the ship! It was like driving a car. Driving one didn't make you a computer whiz or a mechanic and he was neither and needed simple, slow instructions.
By the time he returned, he thought he had it down. And anyway, Awery had activated all the stuff for him so that was one less thing to worry about!
"Hey!" he said, lightly punching Sei Yuk on the arm. "We got it all set up! Uh, it'll only last as long as your phone holds its charge, though."
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"Well, best get going then, huh?" Sei Yuk let the paper he had been absently shredding drop to the ground and he grinned, "Shall we find us a ride? I bet I could steal us one." Wouldn't be a ship, but it would move. And if not, they could try for paying to catch a ride on a ship, if they got lucky.
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"Really think you can?" Kota asked, looking around. And then, pausing, he eyed Sei Yuk suspiciously. "Rather, think you can without us getting caught?"
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"Uh...depends. We would have to look and see. But maybe!" He wasn't an expert, so if they didn't catch a break, chances were they would have to pay. But they didn't need anything fancy, just something that would go fast across the planet.
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"Well, if you think you can get us something, let's get looking. I just...the thought of baby being handled by those pirates..." Kota shuddered.
Never mind that they were pirates.
He turned and started leading them further into town, eager to get moving. "So what were you thinkin'?"
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"That one!" Sei Yuk grinned and pointed to a small craft. It was a skimmer, open topped and delicate. But she was fast and would get them to the city in no time. The only problem was the couple of guys currently in the ship.
"Wanna go bust some heads and steal that hot blond with them?"
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Kota gave Sei Yuk a disapproving look. "Let's bust some heads but leave the blonde. We're not kidnappers!"
At least, not of people. Ships were another thing and that one looked as good as any! Not to mention there weren't any people around right here. If they were going to steal a vessel, now seemed as good a time as any.
The irony of hijacking a skimmer to track down his hijacked ship was not lost on Kota.
He flexed his fingers, knuckles popping. There was no good water source around so he'd have to use pure brawn to take them out--not that he'd want to get the seats wet, anyway. He could pull the water out of the fabric, but there was no sense risking it damaging any of the mechanical stuff inside.
"Alright, then. Let's do this."
With that said, he strolled over to the skimmer on the driver's side, smiling and casual. "Hey there. Nice ride," he greeted.
And then promptly smashed his fist into the man's nose and opened the door, grabbing him and hauling him out of his seat and onto the dusty ground.
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Sei Yuk gave his friend a cheery wave, back handed him with the hunk of brick he had picked up and hauled him out of the car. He then gave the blond in the back another bright smile, "Hey baby. If you don't wanna come along for the-OW!"
Sei Yuk held his hands up, trying to protect his face and head while the girl smacked at him with her purse.
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For a few seconds, Kota couldn't really do anything to help his friend.
He was too busy laughing his ass off, doubled over and gasping for breath because, c'mon, that was just classic. He knew he should be doing something but hey--Sei Yuk had wanted to steal her away so let him find out for himself why that was a super bad idea.
"You sure have a way with women!" he said when he finally got himself under control before he strode over, grabbed the woman around the waist, and plucked her out of the seat. "Excuse me, miss!"
He had to duck her purse when she squealed and swung it at his head, and he promptly set her on her feet and piled into the driver's seat. "Dude, get in!"
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Sei Yuk was already seated and buckled when Kota called out. He gave his friend a look and grinned, "What? Like I was gonna wait around ta get beat up on. Bitch is crazy!"
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"Whoa!" Kota jumped, having been so focused on buckling his own seat belt to notice Sei Yuk, then laughed and kicked the ship into gear. It took off, surprisingly smooth and fast, hovering just above the ground, and within seconds they had put the two unfortunate men and their friend behind them, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
"Granted, you did beat her friend with a brick and we did ship-jack them," Kota called over the sound of the engine. "You may have come on a little strong there, buddy."
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"What? Normal women like an aggressive man. She's probably a prude." Sei Yuk snorted, his hand out the window and gliding along the air currents as they drove.
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"Normal people aren't usually turned on by, y'know, a random dude coming up and bricking their date," Kota said with a wry grin. Reaching down into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and plopped it onto Sei Yuk's lap.
"So, Awery set up everything and the screen should be up. Last I looked, it was pointing somewhere up north, but since I gotta pay attention here ya gotta read me the directions, alright?"
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"What? Lies." Sei Yuk snorted, leaning back against the seat and just enjoying the wind in his hair for a moment. He glanced down at the phone, "Yeah yeah. You are going straight for like 50 miles. We got some time. Maybe I'll work on my tan."
Honestly, he had reached a zen state about it all. They were going to get the ship back and he would do anything necessary to do that.