The Killing Moon [2430-1-4-Thur-9:00pm]

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace kept a count of the bullets fired in her head, since there was nothing that got you killed quicker than thinking you had one left when you had none (or that the other fellow had non left when he had one). Castle got Klove moving, and Szar got the engineer on her feet (and Grace was going to have to talk with the Dwarf later about freezing up when you're being fired on). She just kept her eyes on the men in front of her, aiming to kill when they popped up here and then to get a shot off at her crew.

Eddie, cowardly little shit that he was, was staying well hidden behind his own rock. Grace wanted nothing so badly as to see him stick his head over so she could bust it open and put an end to this. Maybe if they had time, she could do it, but they didn't have time. Security was still coming. If they were lucky, they'd be kept busy with Sprung's bunch, and the Queen could get off this rock.

Grace fired of her last round and paused behind the rock, reloading her guns and taking a moment to look at the rest of her men. Klove and Castle were almost all the way there. They'd be sitting ducks once they stopped to get the gangway down. Kenna was running behind the. And Enan wasn't anywhere to be seen. Where the fik was he? Grace finished reloading and turned back around to face the men.

"ENAN!" She yelled, not sure what the hell the doctor was doing, but damn sure that they didn't have any time left to waste, "GET MOVING NOW!" When the next man came over the rock, she aimed for the throat and shot. He moved just after she pulled the trigger, and the bullet grazed his neck instead. She would have preferred a kill, but that would hurt hard enough to keep him down, and that was nearly good enough.

[Enan Breese]

Everything seemed to happen in a flash. As if the air on the moon wasn't enough, now they were being fired on? He got to cover as fast as he could and could feel a sharp sting on his forearm as he slid behind a nearby rock. He moved his sleeve fast to get a quick peak at the red left by a bullet that grazed his arm. It wasn't that bad, just kinda stung.

He made a snarl and pulled a hand gun for defense. Being a doctor he wasn't really fond of using a weapon unless you really needed it. But he was pretty sure this was a very needed time and wasn't about to hesitate firing back. He just wasn't necessarily aiming to kill.

He must have darted a slightly different way than the rest of the crew. He couldn't really see them, but he could probably pick out where they were due to the fact that the bullets were aimed for a specific area.

When Grace yelled he examined the area for a visible sign of a usable escape route. The area was crap for spacing rocks to hide behind, clearly if you were slow there wasn't a huge survival rate. Now when she yelled specifically at him he figured they couldn't see him, and used that as an opportunity to dart towards the ship.

"What the hell is this?!" He growled when Grace came into view. There had to be a reason for a large group like this to just open fire without warning.

[Klove Makem]

By the time they reached the ship, his mask was completely fogged over. Against his better judgment, Klove shoved his mask up onto the top of his head. The gas immediately starting burning his eyes and lungs, but at least he could see.

He slammed his fist into the emergency ramp button, located on one of the saucer's three legs. The ramp opened up, moving agonizingly slow with the sound of weapon fire behind them. A bullet slammed into the ramp, a few inches away from Castle. Then the ramp finished lowering and they both stumbled in, thick air swirling in after them.

Kenna came running behind. Klove's eyes were watering and he stumbled into the main hallway. He was going to have to start up the ship and get it ready to fly. Hopefully he could stay awake until Grace was back on the ship, or they'd really be fiked. Klove headed for the cockpit, leaning against the wall to keep up, "Keep covering Grace!" He told Castle, "Make sure everybody gets back!"

Then he slid down the corridor, ignoring the trail of blood he was leaving on the metal steps.

[Grace Forjacks]

Finally Enan showed up. Grace fixed him with a furious look. He was just in time. Another minute, and she would have taken off and left him, even though it would be a waste of a good doctor, and an even bigger waste of potential.

"I'll explain later!" Was the only answer she gave. This was no time to explain her history with Eddie. Especially not when he was close enough to blow both of their brains out if he got a bead on them. "Just get moving!"

Security was getting closer by the minute. Time to fall back and hope they didn't end up full of holes. She carefully picked out the nearest rock and ducked back to it, grabbing Enan on her way by and yanking him after her. They took shelter behind it and waited for Szar to move. Hopefully he'd pick up on what she was doing and they could alternate their way back to the ship.

Overhead, a few bullets started flying in a more orderly fashion. A glance back revealed Kenna finally getting on board. Three down, three to go.

[Jared Castle]

Castle waited as Klove opened up the docking ramp to the ship. He kept shooting back but stopped to make sure Klove got onto the ship okay. He nodded as Klove told him to go back and make sure everyone else makes it aboard.

He ran back towards the firefight after Kenna made it onto the Queen. Jared changed mags and began to fire again. He was back with Grace and the others behind a rock now. One of his bullets hit one of the men in the arm. "Come on." He said as he made a motion toward the ship, mostly directed at Enan but it went for Grace and Szar as well.

[szarados]

By the time Enan got his head on straight, Szar was restless and ready to go. He had continued to return cover fire from time to time, but it was clear than any chance he or Grace had at a good shot was gone. The altercation had ground to a stalemate, and every minute that they spent shooting at the other man’s rocks was a minute that they were closer to getting pinched for being armed to start with.

From where he was, he couldn’t hear much of what the two were saying to one another over the shouts and the gunfire, but he could tell that they were exchanging words. He fired blindly over his head as he motioned as if to ask ‘what next?’ just before the two make their dash. Fact that they hadn’t thought to give him some kind o’ sign as to what they were about to do irritated him to no end, but he turned and looked out to cover them properly regardless. As soon as they were behind cover, he would fall into line with the plan and make a move of his own. Gods, he hoped at least one of ‘em was a decent shot. He was a big target, and wouldn’t be too tough to hit if one of their enemies was given half a chance to take aim.

“Yer turn, girls!” he yells to Enan and Grace as soon as he’s out of the line of fire, behind another pillar of rock just across the way. During the pause, he took the opportunity to drop his clip and refresh it with a fresh one.

[Grace Forjacks]

What a clusterfik. At least Szar was doing his job and not getting himself shot or lodged behind a rock. Grace didn't have the patience to deal with yet another idiot under her employee. The next one to lag was getting left for either security or Eddie to pick off.

Speaking of that coward, he didn't seem to be bringing his head around much. And Charlie was nowhere to be seen, just like usual. At least it made the fall-back easier. There were only about two men left firing, and neither of them were particularly good shots. Grace dragged Enan with her, making sure he didn't get cold feet or whatever the fik had him caught up the first time. At least he was able to provide some cover for Szar when she stopped to reload again.

Just as the reached the ramp, security finally showed up in their masks and matching suits. Grace went backwards up the ramp, not willing to turn her back. Eddie came popping up, just as she knew he would, and she dodged right, barely clipping her leg on the side of the saucer as she got off the ramp. The bullet missed Grace, but it did not miss Quillan, who had the bad luck to stick his head out and into a gunfight.

Szar and Enan were halfway up the ramp when she hit the close button, ramp shuddering under the unexpected weight but closing despite it. The engines were already revving up, and she could feel them going as soon as the ramp slammed shut. Klove. As long as he got them off the ground, he'd be fine.

Quillan, on the other hand, would not. There was grey matter on the floor, and he was missing his right eye (and most of the right side of his face, to be honest). But he was still alive, poor bastard. There was about a foot of that heavy atmo swirling around the bottom of the ship, stinking up the place, so she didn't bother taking her mask off. Grace looked over the rest of the crew. They were mostly intact.

"Enan, go take care of Klove." She told him, picking up Quillan and pulling him out of the doorway. "Castle, get his feet, we're going to drop him on the table."

[Klove Makem]

Klove got to the cockpit, prying the panel off the wall and untrapping the ship. At least that was easy enough to do with his eyes burning up. If he blew them all up because he didn't press the right button, that would just be the icing on top of the shit cake.

He was bleeding all over her chair. Aw fik. Nothing he could do about it now. He got the engine warming up, squinting out and trying to spot Grace and the others. She shouldn't have been taking so long. He finally saw movement coming near the ship. He hoped that it was Grace.

She, or whatever else it was, slipped inside. And then the display warned Klove that the ramp was closing. It was Grace then. This was his cue. He hit the ignition, feeling the rumble as the engine lit up, and promptly got them off the ground. At least this bit was easy. There were no satellites to worry about hitting up here, and nothing else scenery-wise. Just short crappy rocks they were already leaving behind.

He rubbed at his eyes, and felt the throb in his shoulder get harsher. Klove was going to need something for that right away, or he was going to end up passing out in the Captain's chair and then Grace would be really pissed.

[Kenna Kleykir]

Kenna managed to get back onto the ship, barely aware of anything going on around her except for the bullets flying way too close for comfort. She got out of the cargo back and into the hall, ramming into the cook and not even bothering to apologize. Then she got back into the engine room, and down inbetween the cooling pipe and the wall.

This wasn't what she'd thought she'd signed on for. Sure she'd travelled with rough men before, sure she'd dealt in the less-than-legal, but ambushes while doing legal trades? Getting fired at? She was an engineer! She got her hands covered in grease, not blood!

The engine rumbled around her. She wasn't sure how long she'd been crammed between the pipe and wall, maybe an eon, maybe only seconds, but it started going. And the inevitable shame flooded through her. Allfather, what sort of Dwarf was she? Freezing up? Hiding like a child? What was wrong with her?

Kenna poked her head out. Thick brown air curled inside the door, lingering around her knees. She pulled off the damned gas mask and headed down the corridor to see how the others were faring, knowing there was nothing she could do to make up for freezing, but also knowing that staying in the engine room would just be further proof of cowardice.

[Jared Castle]

Castle returned to the ship once he got an acknowledgment that the others were coming. He ran up the ramp and fired a couple more shots, just in case. Grace Enan and Szar were now in the ship. Thank gods.

They were fine but Quillan was not so lucky. He had stuck his head out to look at what they were running from and one of the men managed to get a perfect shot right in his face. Castle looked away as he fell to the ground. The door fully closed and they had already started to lift off. Castle did what Grace ordered and picked up his legs while she carried him by his arms. They brought him to the kitchen and set him down on the table.

"That's a shame," Castle said, "I'm gonna miss his crepes."

[Enan Breese]

Enan tried to ignore Szar's comment but couldn't hep but roll his eyes. Grace practically dragged him onto the ship, which wasn't really necessary but he figured she was just making sure they all got there. Which was understandable considering the current situation. He figured everything would be fine since they got on board. Nothing too over the top injury wise, right?

And then it happened. The gunshot and the sickening sound of bullet contact. "Fik!" Quillan was down. Still alive, which seemed like a miracle considering he'd been hit in the face. He needed attention and fast. But what hit Enan was the fact that Grace told him to go help Klove.

"You can't be fikking serious! He's going to die, he needs attention first!" He snarled. That's how the mind of a doctor worked. You treat the worst and more serious first and worked your way through.

[Grace Forjacks]

Grace got Quillan settled. She grabbed a towel off the counter, throwing it over what was left of his head. It puffed up a little as he breathed out, but she ignored it. She'd have to see what their supplies were like once Enan was done dealing with Klove, maybe they could give him an overdose. If not, she'd snap his neck and end it before he regained consciousness, assuming he even could.

Then Enan spoke, and Grace's eyes narrowed. Grace was not in a mood to deal with this. Klove was the First Mate, and even more importantly, Klove had gotten up to cockpit and gotten them to safety. That meant he got first shot at treatment. All Quillan did was get his head blown open, and it wasn't even a heroic sacrifice to save someone else. Even if he did survive by some miracle, he sure as hell wouldn't be able to cook.

"I didn't ask you Enan, I gave you an order." She growled, walking away from Quillan and out the door, pointing down the hall, "Get your ass up those stairs and patch Klove up."

[szarados]

Szar had ducked out from behind cover and made a dash for the ship as soon as it was clear that was where Grace and Enan were head. He probably should have stayed back and continued to cover the lot of them as they made their retreat, but there was one rule that held hard and fast among brigands of all sorts: never wait for the straggler. So, he had made a mad dash for the ramp with the rest of them.

As soon as he reached the top of the ramp, he had darted to the side to seek cover. It was only then, once he knew that he wasn’t about to catch a bullet that he ventured to return a shot or two. See, they were well out of range of a couple of drunk bast-..

He was about to call out a warning to the all too curious cook when the man’s head cocked back, a crater carved into the bone and flesh. “Fiking idiot,” he breathed, without moving to help. Bastard was better off dead at this point, if he wasn’t already. It was a shame, but it wasn’t the sort of thing Szar would lose sleep over. Hell, maybe the cat would croak too, and that’d be one more share that didn’t have to come out of his cut.

Once the door was closed and the boat lurched and tumbled, a good sign that they were in the air, he would holster his gun and start towards the mess. He hardly seemed to notice the body on the table as he pulled open the cupboard and pulled out a nutrient-laden snackbar. Enan’s comment elicited a look from him, a glance that said he would put the doctor in his place if he had to, all Grace had to do was give the word. Meanwhile, he unwrapped the bar and took a hefty bite, chewing as he watched the exchange.

[Not my best, but I had to cram in a lot of stuff to get caught up.]

[Enan Breese]

Enan clenched his teeth to refrain from snarling something back. He knew Grace wasn't about to change her mind and that frustrated him. He chose not to say anything, which was probably his best option at the time, otherwise he'd end up saying something he'd probably regret later and have to deal with a pissed of Captain even longer. He grudgingly grabbed the supplies he needed and stormed off to find Klove.

When he found the young were he looked like he had lost quite a bit of blood. He got to him quickly and tried to put his frustration to the side, or it may affect the out come of the treatment.

"Klove, I need you stay awake," He stated as he noticed he was seemed to be slowly drifting. and started quickly working at the wound.

[Klove Makem]

His eyes were still burning when Enan showed up. Klove breathed a sigh of relief and punched the auto-pilot button. Without any directions punched in, the ship would just go into a holding pattern and wait for instructions, and move out of the way of any ships or objects headed toward it. Grace could take over as soon as she finished with whatever was keeping her busy downstairs.

"I'll do my best." He told Enan, leaning back so Enan could get a clear shot of the wound. Klove could feel the bullet still inside of him, and was glad that it was just a regular bullet instead of a silver one. That would have made his life hellish. Instead, he just had to stay awake long enough to get the bullet out, and get some painkillers, and then he could go pass out.