round 1 Alora DeVeau (alt) & Lobo - “Unlikely Fellows”

[Rahman and Rivi Vataix]

((The Pocahantas))

Alt!DeVeau: Il y a les ténèbres. Il n'est pas sécuritaire. Nest pas sécuritaire!

::The utterance was soft, but still audible in the confines of the ships cabin. Although spoken aloud, they were done under the influence of sleep as Alora muttered in between the unconscious whimpers that punctuated her slumber.::

::He looked over at the sleeping woman with a slight frown. He recognized the sound of the language but not the words. He could have used the translator but he decided not to bother. For all he knew, she was spouting all her secrets. He had secrets of his own. Far too many. With a sigh he turned to the comm and sent out a signal. It did not take long to get a response. The voice was female.::

Woman: =|= You again?

Lobo: ::smiles:: =|= I need a favor

Woman: =|= You always need a favor

Lobo: =|= You owe me, love.

Woman: ::audible sigh:: =|= What is it?

Lobo: =|= Medical.

Woman: ::a touch of anxiety could be heard:: =|= Again? Bran, you have got to stop doing this. There will be a time I cant fix you up. Youve barely recovered the last time. The nerve damage to your face You could have lost your eye

Lobo: ::chuckles:: =|= Easy, Soop. Its not for me.

Woman: ::Another sigh.:: =|= Another stray? Really Bran

Lobo: =|= This one is worth a lot. ::pause:: Shes Ronin.

::There was silence for a long moment.::

Woman: =|= Are you sure?

Lobo: =|= Im sure.

::Another moment of silence followed by a long sigh.::

Woman: =|= How far out are you?

Lobo: =|= Ill be there in a couple of hours.

Woman: =|= How serious?

Lobo: =|= Broken arm, leg and ribs, single gash on her forehead. Possible internal damage but no other bleeding I can detect.

Woman: =|= All right. Well be waiting.

Lobo: =|= Thanks, Soop.

::With that he closed the comm. He leaned back in his seat and this time letting out a sigh of his own. Absently, he ran a hand over his face, pausing over the scar. He had allowed Soop to save his eye and knit the skin, but he didnt allow her to take the time to heal the rest of the damage. He had been in a hurry at the time. Then he discovered the advantage of it among his own kind. The perception of who he was and what he did changed. It made things easier and harder at the same time. It was a choice. His choice.::

Alt!DeVeau.: Who is she?

::She had awoken to the burning sensation in the pit of her stomach that had become far too familiar over the years, even if it wasnt constant. As she had drifted awake, shed caught most of the conversation with whomever it was he called. Soop?::

::He turned the seat around to face her, and eyebrow lifted in inquiry.::

Lobo: Someone I know.

::All right, fine.::

Alt!DeVeau: Who do you plan to sell me to? Its not as if the Ronin can afford to buy me back. You plan to hand me over to the Dominion? If so, you should have just left me there, they already had me.

::Alora doubted they would treat Lobo kindly should he try to do so.::

Lobo: So it doesnt matter. The Jemhadar arent the only ones buying.

::Her eyes fluttered shut again and she attempted to take a deeper breath, an action that resulted in rasped breathing. Even doing that was too difficult still. Alora focused her attention to that sensation, then her eyes flew open.::

Alt!DeVeau: Somethings wrong

::Strangely enough he didnt move.::

Lobo: Do you want something for the pain?

Alt!DeVeau: No. Somethings...somethings wrong. Somethings

::How could she explain it? Honestly, Alora didnt quite understand it herself, the strange sort of warnings she seemed to get. Unfortunately, because she was unaware of the route they were taking or his plans, she wasnt sure how to get him to understand.::

Alt!DeVeau: Where are we? Somethings coming

::He glanced at her with a frown then he turned back to his console, scanning the area around his ship. Just because something sounded weird or unbelievable didnt mean he wouldnt listen. He would have been dead long ago if that had been the case.::

Lobo: Something like what?

Alt!DeVeau: I dont know. I cant explain...its just

::She paused. Would he believe her? The only person shed truly confided in was Raissa.::

Alt!Alt!Alt!DeVeau: I get these...feelings sometimes and they generally mean something bad is going to happen.

Lobo: Always?

Alt!DeVeau: Always get them or always bad?

Lobo: The latter.

::Alora shifted, her eyes darting toward the screen that afforded a view of the outside. There was nothing there, but that didnt mean something wasnt coming. If she had a feeling, she knew it would happen eventually. Her heart beat rapidly against her chest and she struggled to sit up, a feat that was impossible between the pain and her inability to use her hands.::

Alt!DeVeau: Turn around...turn around, go a different way, do something!

::Before he could react to her advice, a ship rippled into existence. Immediately, a light flashed and the vehicle they occupied rocked against an impact.::

::Lobo swore with such creativity the air almost turned blue as a side effect.

::The ship rocked with another blast and Alora cringed. As a third one hit, the reaction of the ship was enough to cause her to tumble out of her cot. Her teeth drew blood as she bit down in order to keep from screaming in agony. Even with that, a half scream, stunted in her attempt, made its escape.::

::Outside the ship shifted around and took position on the Pocahontas left flank.::

::Lobo was still swearing and cursing a blue streak. His hands danced over the board, proving he was a skilled pilot. The Pocahontas abruptly flew backwards. The with equal abruptness dropped straight down. He didnt fly in any particular pattern and that was what kept them from being hit again.::

::Lobo was almost as fond of his ship as he was his life.::

Lobo: I dont have time for this crap

::Neither did she. Alora emitted another groan and a strangled cry. If she were rattled again in such a violent fashion, she wasnt sure shed be able to remain conscious.::

::The ship corkscrewed and spiraled, straining the inertial dampeners to the limit. A quick scan of the immediate vicinity gave him what he needed. Oort Clouds on the edge of solar systems were amazingly handy. Better than asteroid fields. Another shot just missed them and the Pocahontas dived into the debris of broken comet.::

::Although her eyes scrunched closed as she attempted to deal with the pain, they flew open as she managed to choke out.::

Alt!DeVeau: Keep going!

::She wished she could see, but the roiling in her stomach eased with whatever action hed taken. With another violent twist, Alora heaved, unable to withstand the nausea that welled up from within even with an empty stomach, then suddenly fell still and limp.::

::Lobo ignored the smell. He was completely focused on his piloting. The scans had told him what kind of ship was after him. In this galaxy there were pirates and there were Pirates. Unfortunately he had [...]ed off the latter on more than one occasion which explained the bounty on his head.::

::His hands tightened around the manual controls of the his ship, his eyes glued to the screens as he twisted and turned through the debris like a crazed dancer on hallucinogens. He slammed close to the edge of a chunk, blasting it, sending up a billow of plasma and debris her dove through, then swinging up he dropped his ship underneath the ledge, letting the debris and fire mask the sight of him. Once there, he shut down all his power except for passive sensors and his jamming system that would mask the lifeforms on his ship. He leaned back and shook the circulation back into his hands.::

::With a sigh he got to his feet to deal with his passenger. He reinserted her onto his bed and then dealt with the mess she left behind on the floor.::

Lobo: Im starting to wonder if youre worth all this.

Alt!DeVeau: Probably not.

::Alora managed a smile, though in her present state, it shone weakly at best.::

Alt!DeVeau: Sorry for the mess.

::Though, really, why was she apologising? She guessed shed always been brought up to be polite. After a few moments in an attempt to catch her breath and calm her heart, she managed to find her voice once more.::

Alt!DeVeau: What now?

::He straightened up, his arms crossed as he stared down at her. His face was devoid of expression as his dark eyes glimmered with intensity.::

Lobo: That is a good question Jettisoning you would be the quickest.

Alt!DeVeau: Dont like that option.

::Honesty, considering everything, Alora was amazed at her calm. Maybe she was simply in too much pain to get worked up.::

Lobo: So you dont like something?

::What did that mean? Aloras eyes fluttered shut as nausea twirled with dizziness.::

Alt!DeVeau: You never answered my question.

Lobo: Which one?

Alt!DeVeau: From earlier. When you were...so...insistent. About fear.

Lobo: Thats true. I didnt.

Alt!DeVeau: Well?

::Conversation. If nothing else, it helped, whether to bear with the pain or the situation in general, she couldnt say, but she just needed to keep talking. A smile touched his lips for a moment.::

Lobo: Yes I did say I would tell you, didnt I?

Alt!DeVeau: Yes.

Lobo: I lied.

::He reached up over her head to his medical supplies and withdrew a hypospray.::

Alt!DeVeau: I guess...I shouldnt be shocked.

Lobo: Yet you are

Alt!DeVeau: Not really. Is this...how you treat all the girls? Or am I just...lucky?

Lobo: No, this is how I treat fools

Alt!DeVeau: A fool?

::He sat down on the edge of cot, the hypospray in his hand.::

Lobo: Somehow in this nasty little universe we live in, you think you can survive on ignorance, illusions and high morals. ::pause:: Which pretty much tanks your value beyond having that all stripped away once.

::If he expected a response, he was to be disappointed. Alora simply lay there and gazed up at him.::

Lobo: So my idea of stealing you from the Jemhadar is becoming one of my poorer choices in hindsight.

Alt!DeVeau: I guess were both fools, then.

TBC

=========

Alora DeVeau (alternate)

as simmed by

Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science, USS Invicta

M239008AD0

&

Lobo

as simmed by

Lieutenant Raissa Moonsong

Chief of Counseling, USS Invicta

G239107RM0