Silver Haired Assassin

[Anonymous]

It sounded like she wouldn’t be able to have any fun. Oh well, it would just be more of a challenge if she had to work at finding something interesting to. And she always liked a challenge. As for Adrian’s rule of ‘no weapons’ she didn’t need human weapons, claws and fangs were enough.

     As for maybe negotiating the terms, she couldn’t think of anything that he was likely to say yes to.

     So she just said, “Nope.â€?

[Anonymous]

"So we are agreed?" Adrian asked, tilting his head just slightly as he evaluated her. "Do you have other talents or skills?" If he could give her something to do that was helpful, it would ease the crew's concerns in all likelyhood, plus, keep her busy and out of the way.

[Anonymous]

“Other talents and skills…� she thought.

     What could she do other change her form? Well she could fight well but she assumed he meant non-combat based skills.

     â€œI can tell the DNA structure of something just by looking at it,â€? she offered.

     What else could she do? When she had been living with her grandpa because of his rather old-fashioned views she had ended up doing a lot of the housework so she could do that as well.

     â€œI can do a few domestic sorts of things as well…Cooking, cleaning, sewing…â€?

     As boring as housework was she guessed she would probably have to do it in order to get to do more interesting things.

[Anonymous]

Adrian nodded "Well, I may have you assigned to the kitchen once in a while. Sometimes the cook needs an extra set of hands and the guys usually ruin more than they actually help with." Adrian commented "it wouldn't be all the time...just when we actually get some decent food aboard the ship rather than the preserved stuff we keep stocked."

He paused a moment as he considered something "can you alter DNA? or just detect it?" If she could alter DNA, the possibilities of what she could do were fairly endless. Just to start, she could keep the fruit from spoiling.

Later on, if she was still around by then, she very well might manage to get in on the combat...after all, if the ship was attacked, it wasn't like he was going to forbid her to fight. He'd probably encourage it as long as it wasn't in her own form.

[Anonymous]

“Sorry no,� Raichou said, shaking her head, “I can use DNA structures I know to turn into something I haven’t seen. For example modifying the DNA of a domestic cat to make a tiger. But that only really applies to my shape-changing abilities.�

     The ability to tell DNA just by looking at something was only really useful for shape-shifting and maybe genetically altering animals. She wouldn’t be able to do it herself but she could tell someone how to do it.

[Anonymous]

Adrian nodded. Considering he delt in biologicals, she could be very useful indeed. "You may end up with more interesting tasks at some point, but we'll start small, make sure this situation will work out for us before we write anything in blood."

"Can you detect abnormalities within the DNA? For example, a virus or disease?"

[Anonymous]

“I should be able to,� Raichou replied.

     She liked the sound of being given ‘interesting tasks’ even if it was sciency stuff, it made a change to wandering around aimlessly perhaps occasionally killing someone or massacring a village.

[Anonymous]

Adrian gave a nod. That would certainly cut costs. He wouldn't have to bribe labs to test them and 'lose' the file. There were plenty of lab techs who needed extra money...but it was that need for the money that left him cautious and wary. If someone offered them enough money, they'd roll over on him in a heartbeat. "Good then. We should be joining with the ship shortly. Pick your form. It'll be yours for the duration we have that crew. I don't care if it's human or not, but it needs to be something with opposable thumbs and communication skills."

[Anonymous]

“Hmm…What form should I choose?� Raichou thought.
 
    She could pick something really crazy or maybe just a human but different colouration…Then again there were advantages to keeping her own form as well. Though Raichou Fenix was quite notorious, most didn’t really know what she looked like because she was a shape-shifter. Even if someone were to see her normal form, it could be one she had created or borrowed from another person. Meh, she’d stick with it.

     â€œI’ll stay in this form,â€? Raichou said.

     She guessed that Adrian wouldn’t want her walking around in her current attire. It was easy to move about in but probably distracting to males. For reasons unknown to her and most shape-shifters, when you changed into an animal form, your clothes didn’t show, it was like they were part of the transformation as well. And when she turned into another human, her clothes changed into their clothes. Needless to say she had used this ability to simply change the attire she was wearing on many occasions.

     She changed into a reasonably length skirted blue dress. It was still pretty but not as revealing.

[Anonymous]

Adrian gave an approving nod. She apparently possessed some common sense. "Good" He said, picking up a radio and speaking into it, a reply crackled back, but the conversation didn't seem to be english. "We'll be meeting up with the ship in about ten minutes....but you might want to buckle up. He's going to hyperdrive it." Adrian stated, taking his seat and leaving her to be thrown across the cabin if she declined his suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Raichou wondered what the crew were like, from what Adrian had said they didn’t sound very pleasant, so she should get along fine with them. She adjusted her harness though she knew if she did fall out her seat she could just turn into a bird of something.

     She had travelled through space before many times but usually hiding into cargo hold or in one of the empty cabins or as a small insect. She generally travelled on ships in a way that she wouldn’t be discovered. Being on a vessel in which the crew knew she was there was weird.

[Anonymous]

"Remember what we have talked about." Adrian advised as they shot across the galaxy at speeds that plastered them to their seats. "A ship must run smoothly." It was the same with every member of his crew. If they were not compatable, they were replaced. It was as simple as that. It didn't matter if Adrian liked them personally or not, if their presence was more detremental than benificial, they were gone.

It wasn't long before they slowed and a ship became visable in the rapidly closing distance. It was a fairly normal looking ship, nothing to stand out terribly, but it managed to hold a carefully crafted elegance in its simplicity.

The conversation in the non-english started up again, this time between the pilot and the main ship.

Adrian seemed to be listening to the crackling voices before he gave a nod and the shuttle came almost to a stop, easing up to the ship. "You can unbuckle now" He informed, unsnapping his harness and standing from his chair. There was a lot of racket going on as the vessels coupled to allow for the transfer of passengers midflight so the shuttle could be powered down and stowed properly.

[Anonymous]

"Remember what we have talked about." Adrian advised as they shot across the galaxy at speeds that plastered them to their seats. "A ship must run smoothly." It was the same with every member of his crew. If they were not compatable, they were replaced. It was as simple as that. It didn't matter if Adrian liked them personally or not, if their presence was more detremental than benificial, they were gone.

It wasn't long before they slowed and a ship became visable in the rapidly closing distance. It was a fairly normal looking ship, nothing to stand out terribly, but it managed to hold a carefully crafted elegance in its simplicity.

The conversation in the non-english started up again, this time between the pilot and the main ship.

Adrian seemed to be listening to the crackling voices before he gave a nod and the shuttle came almost to a stop, easing up to the ship. "You can unbuckle now" He informed, unsnapping his harness and standing from his chair. There was a lot of racket going on as the vessels coupled to allow for the transfer of passengers midflight so the shuttle could be powered down and stowed properly.

[Anonymous]

"Remember what we have talked about." Adrian advised as they shot across the galaxy at speeds that plastered them to their seats. "A ship must run smoothly." It was the same with every member of his crew. If they were not compatable, they were replaced. It was as simple as that. It didn't matter if Adrian liked them personally or not, if their presence was more detremental than benificial, they were gone.

It wasn't long before they slowed and a ship became visable in the rapidly closing distance. It was a fairly normal looking ship, nothing to stand out terribly, but it managed to hold a carefully crafted elegance in its simplicity.

The conversation in the non-english started up again, this time between the pilot and the main ship.

Adrian seemed to be listening to the crackling voices before he gave a nod and the shuttle came almost to a stop, easing up to the ship. "You can unbuckle now" He informed, unsnapping his harness and standing from his chair. There was a lot of racket going on as the vessels coupled to allow for the transfer of passengers midflight so the shuttle could be powered down and stowed properly.

[Anonymous]

Raichou undid her harness and stood up as well. She had seen better, bigger ships but still it was alright. As long as it did the job she supposed. Raichou guessed that she would be quite to useful to Adrian because he seemed to be interested in her DNA detected ability, he was probably a scientist of some sort.

     As for not being ‘compatible’ with the crew she wouldn’t know whether she was or not until she met them. Being female didn’t seem to be helping.

[Anonymous]

The ship was abuzz with activity. Crewmen moved from area to area, preparing for the boarding of the additional people, double checking cargo, readying the room for Rai, which had formerly been used as an unofficial extra cargo hold. Adrian had given particular instructions for its preparation.

Adrian led the way through the airlocked corridoor into the ship. "Stay out of the cargo hold." Adrian instructed Rai simply. Aside from that, there weren't many places he cared she went. "Your berth is yours, and yours alone, the same goes for every other crewman here." He pushed the doors aside. The majority of the crew had assembled to greet him. "As you were" He said with a polite nod. "This way."

There was mixed reaction in the crew. Adrian hadn't specifically said why they had to fix up the room. Some of the older, more traditional crew men were biting their tongues. Adrian was sure he'd hear about it later. The younger crew members were stricken with her beauty and a couple of them were in danger of drooling on themselves. And then there were the level headed ones Adrian prefered to hire when possible. They simply nodded to her as they did to the pilot of the shuttle. She was to be a member of the crew, she would be treated as such in their eyes.

The room Adrian had had prepared for her had the same silver walls that every other part of the ship seemed to have, but unlike the rest of them, there was a velvet coverlett on the berth that gave it a more bed-like look rather than the giant shelf with a mattress that it was. The room was very clean, having been scrubbed just that day. There was still a faint scent of the cleaner they had used. There was a desk that folded up against the wall, along with a chair. It was a simple enough room, but Adrian had done what he could to make it more presentable and ensure that she at least had the comfortable mattress. "If you have any belongings, there under the bed is a storage system. If not, you have uniforms in there. Nothing flashy or flattering, but good enough for sleeping in, or if you have some dirty work...or laundry. I'm not sure how you handle all that, but here we like things clean and sanitary. We're much too confined to allow bacteria, germs and viruses to run rampant." Not to mention the cargo that would be at risk if something infectious got aboard.

[Anonymous]

Keir didn’t stare at the new crew member like the idiot younger members of the crew. True, she was very pretty but still, she was a member of the crew and she probably didn’t want to be harassed.
     However there was something in her eyes Keir didn’t like. Being a reader of souls he could work out someone’s personality simply by their eyes. Her’s was quite dark, unstable and easily distracted. She could be a problem…  And then there was the many faced element to her. That could mean that either she was very two-faced, a very good actress, schizophrenic, or a shape-shifter. Possibly all of them…
     If she was a shape-shifter it would make a lot of sense, her ability to read DNA like Keir could read souls would be very useful.

Raichou had to prevent herself from laughing at the crew’s reaction to her, particularly the younger ones who couldn’t take their eyes off her. Anyone would think they’d never seen a woman before.
     The room and its blandness didn’t bother her that much. When she had lived with her grandfather the room she had there was much worse, dark and small with a bed barely passable for a bed. And it always seemed to be full of cobwebs no matter how many times she dusted it. This was one clean and despite the silver walls felt quite homely.
     â€œThe room’s fine,â€? Raichou replied,â€? I’ve slept in much worse, believe me.â€?

[Anonymous]

"Good" Adrian said with a nod "The meal will likely be in an hour or so. I'm afraid our arrival has disrupted the cook's usual schedule as he had to add enough for three more. We may very well hear about it for awhile, but pay him no mind. He doesn't really mind as much as he makes out to. He simply is a stickler for punctuality, and when he's late, he feels it reflects poorly upon him." He smiled slightly. The cook had been with him for quite awhile and while he wouldn't quite call him a friend, there was definately a relationship between the two of them as the cook had been in his employ for years. "I will leave you to your settling in, if you need anything, type it into the keypad by the door" He stepped over to it and rapidily pressed several buttons in sequence "And I will see it." He finished. "But now, I do have some things to attend to." He dipped his head slightly and left the room.

Adrian headed up to the pilot deck where he suspected he would find his navigator. "Keir, a word?" He addressed from the doorway.

[Anonymous]

Keir followed Adrian out of the room. He suspected his boss wanted to borrow his abilities to get a better idea of what the girl was like. That was one of the reasons Adrian had hired him, because he could work out how trustworthy new crew members were. The other reason was he had spent many years travelling the galaxy and knew it well. There were some advantages to being thousands of years old.
     But there were also the disadvantages. Like everyone you know dying and watching everything you know change over time to be replaced by something unfamiliar.

Raichou slumped down onto the bed and gazed up at the metal ceiling. How long would this ship be her home? The thought of it being the rest of her life made her cringe, she would get bored eventually. She doubted she would be there for her rest of her life. If she hated it she could always sneak out when the ship docked.
     Raichou then began to glance around the room. Maybe later she’d turn into a mouse and explore every inch of it. Adrian had said she could transform in her room if she wanted to.

[Anonymous]

"She is a shifter" Adrian said, as if a question had been asked. "An assassin actually, but there's something about her that I like. I think she'll be useful if she can harness her attentionspan long enough to focus on the task at hand. I'll need your help to keep an eye on her. You know how the old salts get about a woman aboard anyway...and I do believe a couple of our younger crewmen are run on little other than hormones." Adrian pointed out.