EVENT: SPACE PIRATES ▒ APRIL 20-21

[ataraxites]

CHARACTERS: Ensemble production!
LOCATION: Anywhere.
WARNINGS: Pirates, violence, etc.
SUMMARY: Brief encounters, finding ransacked/damaged areas, making your way to the oxygen gardens.
NOTES: Open to all!

The ship has been invaded by pirates. They're noisy on the network, but you haven't seen any, not in person. Though if you go far enough things start to make themselves apparent. Kitchens have been ransacked. Pieces of the walls are torn out, media libraries overturned. Maybe you should get your valuables together and find somewhere safe to hole up...

Comments

York and Delta

[logicunlocked]

Since Delta had arrived on the ship, he and York had become virtually inseparable. As well they might, considering the arrangement they were used to before. There was a lot Delta seemed to need to absorb about life in a human body, and York was determined to be there to guide him in anything he needed.

Now, on top of everything, there were pirates invading the ship. York was concerned for Delta's safety. Not that he didn't trust in the AI's bravery or competence, but Delta had never learned to use a weapon as a human, and he wanted to make sure Delta all the practice he needed should they end up in a conflict.

So York had brought Delta down to the shooting range and given him the pistol that he had found in his locker way back when he first arrived here, set him up with hearing protection, and got a lane ready. "All right, you ready to try this?"

[alaspooryork]

As for Delta, he looked a little bit ridiculous in the ear protection but conceded it was necessary given his lack of armor. His theoretical knowledge of firearm use was excellent, but he'd also be the first to tell anyone that theory does little good unless applied in practice. So he nodded and held the pistol safely down, only ready to aim it once he had the target clear in his sight.

"I believe so. Although it will be best if this practice is not necessary, being prepared for any future situations will not be amiss. Do you have any last-minute advice or shall I continue?"

[logicunlocked]

Being prepared was just the point. But he knew Delta understood the risks with the pirates on board.

He moved to a good spot to observe from behind Delta. He knew the AI had a good understanding of the methods, so he didn't need to bother to explain anything about that. "Just don't let the recoil startle you the first time."

[alaspooryork]

"Understood."

Delta took a deep breath and fired a single shot then, after a few moments to recover from the surprise (it was one thing to expect the recoil but another to actually feel it), fired three more shots in rapid succession. A little to his surprise, they had all hit the target. Not the center of the target, but at least they were on the target. Not too bad.

He took a moment to reload the clip and then leveled the gun carefully to fire one more shot. This one hit much closer to the center.

[logicunlocked]

"Hey, look at that," York said, genuinely impressed. "Guess you're getting some good bodily control going on. I didn't know if you were still kind of, you know, acclimating to it."

[alaspooryork]

"I am," he admitted, "so it takes a great deal of concentration. Your target practice is both more accurate and requires less effort." Not that he would forget the intense bouts of practicing to help York adjust to his disability. But even so, York had the muscle memory and instincts from years of training, while Delta had primarily theory.

"Do you think it would be possible to make this a routine?"

[logicunlocked]

"Yeah, absolutely, once things settle down. I mean, as much as they do 'round here. You want to try the rifle?"

[alaspooryork]

"In a moment."

He wanted to get a few more shots off with the pistol first. The additional rounds were more like the first few, on the target but not quite centered. But again, once he steadied his hand and spent a little time to concentrate, he became a lot closer to the center of the target. Finally he nodded, reloaded the pistol, and engaged the safety so he could holster it.

"There. How is the recoil, comparitively?"

[logicunlocked]

"There's more of a kick, and it's going to be hitting your shoulder here, so you actually have to be careful not to jerk backward. It's pretty easy to end up way off target because of that."

[alaspooryork]

Delta frowned and took a little time to adjust. When he did finally fire the rifle, he managed to mostly keep it under control - but, as York predicted, his accuracy with it wasn't great due to the heavier kickback.

"Hmm."

He tested a few more short, controlled bursts until he began to get the hang of it a little more, and eventually he managed to stay more or less on target.

"I think I prefer the pistol."

[logicunlocked]

"I think it's a better option for you," he agrees. He takes the rifle off of Delta's hands after ensuring that the safety is on, and trades it for the pistol.

[alaspooryork]

"Thank you."

A slight adjustment later and Delta had sent three more bullets into the target. He grinned, reloaded, and holstered the pistol.

"It is my hope I will not be required to use this. However, I feel much more confident in its use now."

Now he didn't have to worry about pirates threatening York while he would stand by helpless.

[logicunlocked]

York couldn't help but grin back. He was kind of surprised Delta was so pleased by accomplishing this. "Come on, we'll head to shuttle bay. I want to see if there's anything that needs done down there."

[alaspooryork]

It was a useful skill - and he knew it would probably help York feel better if Delta could defend himself. He nodded.

"Acknowledged. This is part of your normal duties?"

He'd been looking at the different job postings available and considering if he wanted to do anything, but since he was still just adjusting Delta hadn't made any decisions yet.

[logicunlocked]

"Well...except for the pirate part." He pulled Delta's hearing protection off along with his own and turned them in before leading the way out. "Normally we try to repair the shuttles and keep them in working order, but they're in pretty bad shape, some of them. And they get damaged during the jumps so sometimes we have to redo things."

[alaspooryork]

Oh, right - Delta had forgotten about the ear protectors. He smiled a little sheepishly as York took his off and returned it.

"Have you had occasion to use them yet, or is it primarily proactive care in case they should become useful?"

[logicunlocked]

"Heh." He strapped the rifle to his back. "I'll let you in on a little secret. The shuttles are pretty much useless. If something happens, no one knows where to pilot the shuttles to, since we're in an unknown region of space. It's just busy work."

[alaspooryork]

Delta snorted, though he looked at least a little amused.

"I see. So you have not made planetfall in five months?"

Even so, they couldn't be in a completely unknown region of space - or else where had the pirate ship really come from, and how had they been found?

[logicunlocked]

"Nope, no planets. Doesn't stop some people from wanting to try getting home anyway. We had some people rush the bay trying to steal a shuttle. One of 'em popped me in the head real good. I had some migraines for a while after that one."

[alaspooryork]

"And they planned to do so without concrete knowledge of our current location? Do the shuttles even have faster-than-light capability?"

Or were they just, as Delta's tone implied, colossally stupid?

[logicunlocked]

"No, no, they were just going to take a rowboat out into uncharted space and go starve somewhere." York's tone is similarly dismissive.

[alaspooryork]

"I see."

Yeah. Just colossally stupid.

"Even so, it is a good practice to keep them in working condition. Perhaps they will be of use after all."

[logicunlocked]

"Yeah, we can hope. Like I said, I mostly do it to keep busy. I work with a lot of interesting people too."

[alaspooryork]

Delta nodded. York had never really liked being completely idle, so it didn't surprise him that his partner had found some kind of work here.

"I think investigating this environment once I have settled would not be amiss. Perhaps you can show me what you have learned."

[logicunlocked]

"Yeah, I can do that. I think you'd find it interesting."