Old Friends and New Enemies

Posted on Sun Nov 12th, 2023 @ 9:51am by Danielle Loxley & Ayla Seton & Whit

Mission: Oh, Give Me a Home on The Range
Location: Ezra - Port Bridger
Timeline: 18 November, 2517 - Evening (Follows on from 'Skeletons')

Day had shuffled into evening, bringing Port Bridger a whole different mood and manner of low-life. Multicoloured lights mutedly marked the retail sector with their pale yellows and blues, while brighter shone the landing bays in bright orange and pale green as they flagged with permission or denial for each incoming shuttle or ship. This port wasn’t nearly as busy or congested as a Core planet, or even the likes of Three Hills and the more mercantile Border worlds, but Ezra had a reputation and that brought trade, along with the ubiquitous bits of trouble.

It took Elle about an hour to hit up some old connections in locations from bar to office to port baggage control and then the three of them - Elle, Jonas and Whit - were looking down from an upper level terminal window at a modified Komodo Class transport ship. A Komodo with two people stood casually beside it conversing and imbibing sweetly smoky water vapour. They matched the descriptions Seb had given perfectly, minus the cigar, but that was probably for the best considering their proximity to fuel lines and suchlike.

“Well, if it ain’t just ‘Roses and Skulls’ plus ‘Lanky But Shifty’,” noted Elle. “Now why d’ya think they’re shooting your ship down when they’re looking at something right-so-fancy there of their own?”

"Thieves," said Whit plainly. "We got something they want bad enough to shoot all manner as them's in the way of getting it."

"Sure seems that way," agreed Elle. "Let's go down and ask 'em outright?"

Whit didn't feel right about letting Elle take the lead, but at the same time he was better off as support than point man. He shot Jonas an arched eyebrow. "Reckon we should."

The middle Loxley child didn't waste any time waiting for permission, and was already halfway towards the Komodo's ship before Jonas' input was given. She strolled with a casual purpose, aiming slightly to their left rather than charging straight in, but Elle knew where the port camera feeds were and used that knowledge wisely. If anyone was going to shoot her, at least it would be recorded.

It wasn't Jonas' first rodeo either, though usually a visit to Ezra was a peaceful diversion from the chaos of the wider Verse. Elle trusted the big fella to have her back, and the wider scope of visition that came from that high-placed overwatch position. Credits didn't count as highly as favours here, so while local palms hadn't exactly been greased, both Jonas and Elle had checked in with the roughnecks that handled port security.

Meanwhile down by the 'enemy' ship, 'Roses and Skulls' was picking up a cortex call out there in the open and 'Lanky But Shifty' had moved position to stand on the ship's open ramp. It seemed they were waiting for someone, or a signal of some sort but from his lofty position, Whit couldn't see any overt backup.

But looks could be deceiving. Whit kept close to Elle. If anything happened to Alden's baby sister, there would be hell to pay.

Meanwhile, a few bays over was someone Elle would definitely recognise had she been graced with a wider perspective onto the myriad craft below. Said person was a dark haired young woman with a purposeful gait and she was disembarking a Walkabout transport ship.

The trip to Ezra had been well enough, but she was more than grateful once she was able to leave the damn ship. Getting on as a passenger wasn’t her favorite thing to do, but seeing as how she was in between jobs at the moment, it had been her only choice. Heck, it probably had been the only choice even if she’d had a job. No, no, that wasn’t right. This was a job, only it wasn’t one she’d been hired to do. And maybe it was more curiosity that had spurred her into action.

She grabbed her bag, thankful that most everything she had could fit into such, and strolled from the ship. It’s been a minute since she’d stepped onto Ezra, but it was a place where she knew there to be friends, or if not that, at least acquaintances. Though, if she was being honest with herself, and she certainly tried her damndest to be, she wasn’t quite certain what the Loxleys were anymore. But either way, that was one reason she’d sent the wave telling Alden she was coming to visit. She didn’t tell them she had some information he might want, and well, if he didn’t know she was coming well, it wasn’t her fault if the Sha Gwa forgot how to read.

As Ayla left the immediate area about the external landing bays and began to approach the port terminal itself, her cortex chimed with her chosen alert sound, announcing an inbound attempt at a call. The caller ID shown as anonymous, no image whatsoever, but it had to be coming from somewhere on Ezra.

The sound drew her to a stop and she had to shift her bag around to dig into it, pulling the device free. Ayla gave it a few seconds, staring at the ID and wondering if she should, and with a shrug tucked it back away to check later. Later as in, when she wasn't surrounded by any potentially eavesdropping ears, and continued on her way.

Ayla's cortex bleeped with the sound of a voicemail being left, but as she strode across the no-man's land between landed ships and check-in and walk-on-through, she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Well if it ain't Little Miss Dark and Mysterious," Elle Loxley said, her tone absolutely one of jovial surprise. Seemed the planets were aligning in strange and wonderful ways lately. The blond rancher beamed a smile. "Whaddya doing sneaking up on us like this?" She asked, then canted her head to the side, eyes bright with curiosity. "You here to rescue us or bring more trouble?"

The look Whit gave Ayla was perfectly cordial. He even followed it up with a warm and friendly smile. Eyes so keen they could cut through metal, though, told another story. Introductions could wait. Whit was nothing if not a patient man. He'd rather observe this newcomer without the benefit of her staring him down right back.

With a glance of surprised recognition, Ayla first noticed Elle before her gaze swept over the man accompanying her old friend. “Well,” she started, sliding her gaze back to the other woman, “since when do the Loxleys need rescuin’? Judgin’ by that question, seems your oaf of an older brother couldn’t be bothered to check his messages. Told him I was comin’.”

"Some of us don't," Elle retorted, swift and sure as she was want to. "Some of us do. Mostly the men-folk," she added, with a wry smile and raised eyebrow to Ayla. There was no bitter retort to the slight on her elder sibling, so it was a fair assumption for the Whit and Jonas to gather that they shared some history. Then Elle's easy expression deepened swiftly into a darker frown at Ayla's next words. "But no, Alden didn't say nothing. I don't think he knows though..." She shifted tone, softening a little. "Mebbe on account of his ship getting shot down an' all..."

Above them, Jonas's overwatch picked up on a purposeful figure moving across the external space. A gait that spoke of confident strength and certainty of their position in the Verse. Olive skin, dark eyes, tall, slender and serious-looking, exactly as Seb had described back at the bar. At one point, as she strode across open space, she turned, staring back at the terminal building as if she knew someone observed from afar. With an upward nod as if acknowledging the man she surely couldn't actually see, this woman continued walking in the direction of Elle, Whit and Ayla.

Looking back to the Komodo, the two lackies were also now on the move, their ship closed up and secure behind them.

"You really should answer your calls, Ms Seton," the olive-skinned lady stated as she strode into sight of Ayla, Whit and Elle. "But, I suppose this makes things easier. Out in the open." There was a cool smile. "A Loxley, a bounty-hunter and... a 'man of the cloth'..." The air quotes were audible as she looked to Whit.

Elle's eyes were wide, her stance stiff as shocked surprise clearly took a hold. "You..." she said, failing at speaking. "You're..."

"Captain Io," said the olive-skinned woman, looking from Ayla to study Elle and Whit. "She didn't tell you?"

Ayla regarded Captain Io. The woman was the reason she was on Ezra, and seeking out old acquaintances in the first place. The information she was bringing to Alden was now standing right there with them. She tsked, “You ruined my surprise, Io.” As much as she wanted to give the man, this supposed man of cloth, another… better assessment, now wasn’t the time. Not with Captain Io making herself known.

Clearly that name meant something, but Whit didn't know what. Whatever it meant, Elle wasn't taking it so well. This Captain Io had already made him. There was nothing gained from pretense. Whit's way with words meant he could confirm and deny most allegations simultaneously, so he wasn't worried about that. Control of the situation was in this Captain Io's favor. Whit meant to shift it back to their group. So, he reached inside his shirt pocket and flicked a half-spent cigar toward Captain Io, letting it fall where it may.

"Folk ain't telling us a number of things," Whit said as the cigar stub made its falling arc. "We know you were at the hilltop where someone shot a rocket at our ship. Maybe you could tell us about that. Maybe if we like your answer, we don't go tellin' the local law."

Captain Io chuckled at the threat. "Well, ain't that just righteously unfair of folk," she said, mocking up the rougher accent some with a lazy ease that clearly had seen both sides of the Verse's two main opinions. "And yes, I was." The grin was luxurious. "I was hoping someone might find that and clear up after me. Thank you, kindly, Shepherd," she noted, the sarcasm light and friendly, but still evident.

"I... but... you... I don't understand," said Elle, her expression matching her words and full of confusion. "You're dead?"

“Elle…” Ayla’s voice was low, hushed. But her words were cut off.

"Can I assure you I ain't," said Io succinctly, after a moment's pause in observation of the two women before her. "But I think you have me mistaken for someone else," she added, paused again for a dramatic effect.

"I'm Vianna Io," the cigar-smoking ship captain waited for the penny to drop in Elle's brain, then, with the merest of smirks, added. "Anouk's sister."

She watched clarity hit Ms Loxley's brain and allowed a few extra seconds for that to settle in. "I considered giving your brother a straight up heart attack by showing my face, but figured might be simpler to get what I want if everyone was just kinda stuck here for a lil bit." She looked to Ayla and Whit then as Elle cursed and procrastinated.

Dark brown eyes took an assessing stroll before focusing on Captain Io. She heard what the woman was saying. If she was thinking they were stuck, then that meant she wasn’t alone and they just might be stuck. “Got it all nice and neatly planned out, then?”

"Definitely some malice aforethought," admitted Vianna openly. Her gaze locked on Whit as she added. "Local law already been bought and paid for, so wouldn't be expecting any help from that side. But I'm not looking to end any lives here. Just to get what I need."

Ayla questioned, “And just what might that be?”

"Well, now," Alden's dead wife's sister returned, her voice direct and unshaking. "If you don't already know, then that would be a discussion I'll be having with my brother-in-law. You three dangerous individuals leave that poor dumb child all alone back at the ranch?" She asked, mild amusement creasing those olive features as she added, with casual calm. "We should probably go check he and that battered Companion are still breathing."

While Vianna talked, Whit took a few steps, light and even, off point in order to separate himself from Elle and her new/old friend. Things were fixin' to get a might unsightly and it was best to split the line of fire. "Oh, no man is ever alone," he said in a pontificating droll. "Ipso facto, no woman either. A fine lady of the 'Verse such as yourself no doubt already knows what comes around goes around. Everyone knows Ezra ain't a law-abiding world. Not with His Royal Heinie lookin' down on folk from his skyplex."

Whit paused in order to give a nod upward, drawing eyes to the ceiling and away from his waistband. His hands disappeared behind his back in a relaxed posture. "But that don't worry me none. Not him, not you, not whatever tryst you runnin' with whatever passes for the law 'round these parts. There's a saying... 'The people have no other remedy in this, as in all other cases where they have no judge on earth, but to appeal to heaven.'"

Grinning right at Vianna, he said, "Means I serve a higher power, one you will answer to no matter how this goes down." His hand pulled away from his back, graciously free of any weapon, and flipped the frock around his neck to reveal a blood red color opposed to the traditional white. "So how's about you back up, make nice, and tell us what you want like the old friends you seem to be with these fine folk." The mirth left Whit's eyes even if his smile remained. "If we weren't friends, too, Captain Io, I just don't know if I could bear it."

He was smooth, Vianna considered, unlike the rough and ready younger sister and this gun-for-hire who had just arrived on planet. Whatever-his-name-really-was certainly was silky smooth, and his handwork was on point too. Impressive.

She gave no outward sign of any real concern for her own safety, whether that was down to her perceived back-up, skillset or simply calm and peaceful nature it was difficult to know. Her dress code implied she worked for a living, while the quality of the trousers, tall boots, shirt and jacket spoke of above average funding and access to Core World establishments. Her confidence, in both voice and stance, told them she'd spent plenty of time in the Border worlds too.

"Not my first rodeo, 'Shepherd'," Vianna said, her tone light and the quote marks once again audible. "Him upstairs happens to be equally interested in the outcome of current events pertaining to this little sanctioned visit, but I don't like to rely on his word alone. I'm sure you can appreciate that. So yeah, law-abiding ain't a really problem here, as we both figured out, and 'scuse me if I hold more respect for your big balls than your higher power," she added, the smile lopsided and confidently amused.

"So, sure, let's be friendly-like. After all, I just want what's mine, and no more harm will come to any folks who don't need to be involved in this mess." Io shrugged, light and easy, her gaze direct as she switched gaze from Whit to Ayla and back again. Her voice didn't hold any humour or malice, but remained matter of fact as she added. "If I wanted to end some lives, said lives would already have been ended."

Whit dipped his head with a nod of acknowledgement. "All due respect, ma'am, you don't hold the power of life and death you think you do. What's done to others will be done unto you, as the Good Book says, and with the same measure. Most folks who shoot first and take second usually ain't a got a clean title to what property they claim is theirs. That about the way of it?"

Io's smile echoed in those dark eyes briefly, a look not of mocking, but of mutual respect and undertstanding. "Karma, the Book, Deities and all can't make claim to every damn thing," she said. "And a clean title is a rare thing in this Verse." A pause and a gentle shrug followed. "But you have to admit, my first shot was only to wound, not to kill. And my claim is as good as anyone's. Let's discuss this with the thief in question, shall we. In person. Up front and centre. Cards on the table. Weapons holstered. Fair as can be."

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