The Crew of the Emerald Queen

by ClassicHearts

This is the beginning of the crew's adventures, the recruiting of the basic elements, a medic, a navigator, and a mechanic. Diandriaa has her first encounter in leading the Emerald Queen.

1. An Awakening

Halden awoke from the side of a building. He looked down at himself as the smell of blood filled his nose. His cloths torn, his arm and legs bruised and battered. He winced as he moved a bit and a sharp pain shot into his head. He reached up and touched the left side of his head as he felt a large bump, which made him cringe in pain.

"Wha...what the hell happened to me.... where am I?" Halden murmured to himself. He gazed around a bit. It seemed he was in some sort of docking area. He had no recollection of where he was, or even worse, who he was.

He reached for the wall and began to pick himself up off the ground as a man strolled by.

"Hey...hey, you alright man?" The guy ran over to Halden and assisted him up.

"Th...thanks, I dunno what happened to me." Halden said to the man.

"Well anyway someone sure had a problem with you. Whoever it was really didn't care for you 'cause they kicked the crap out of you." The man set Halden against the wall and made sure he was stable.

"You should see a doctor or something. I have somewhere to be so take care of yourself man. You should get that looked at" He pointed to Halden's head and walked off.

Halden pressed himself against the wall gazing into the air, trying to figure out what happened or who he was. Just then some sort of fighter craft flew by and a memory flashed into his brain. It was vague, but it was of him in a fighter ship being shot at, as it crash landed on some planet he didn't know, he figured it was this one.

"So it seems like I'm some sort of fighter pilot." He reached into his pocket and found a bit of money. How it was there he did not know.

"I need a drink." He said to himself and he stumbled toward a bar... __________________

Halden sluggishly made his way into the bar and sat down at the first booth he could come by. He let go a sigh of relief as he sank into the cushions. He could feel his aces and pains already beginning to sooth. He pulled out his wallet to find more money then he thought and began to count it. A considerable amount, whoever beat him up obviously wasn't after his money. He put his money away and just put his head back.

Out of the corner of his eye Halden noticed a man looking at him with interest. Halden picked his head up and the man turned the other way.

"Hey waitress." Halden said and Terran waitress strolled on over.

"What can I get you sir?" she replied.

"Well, I'll have a beer, but anyway, who is that man over there?" and Halden nodded.

The waitress turned around and then turned back. "That's Hunter...he's mostly a thug, always getting in trouble, watch out for him." She walked off to fetch Halden's drink.

Halden looked over and noticed the man starring at him again, the man just smirked and downed his drink. Just then the waitress brought Halden his drink.

"Thanks" he said and she smiled and walked off. He took a sip of his drink and slid down into his seat a bit more.

After a bit of resting Halden felt a bit better and decided he needed a bit of fresh air. Slowly getting out of his seat he realized that his aces and pains were not fully healed. He dropped some money on the table and walked out. He figured he'd take a walk and maybe something would come to him. As he left the bar the man who was eyeing him stepped up and followed at a cautious distance.

Halden was relieved as the gentle breeze hit his face as he slowly walked down the street. Something caught his eye and he turned down into an ally. He followed it, but it seemed to be only just a stray cat.

"Man, I must be paranoid or something." Halden said as he turned around to face the man from the bar...Hunter.

"Let me have your money, and I'll leave you alone." Hunter said harshly to Halden.

"Straight and to the point eh? Well what if I don't feel like giving you my money?" Halden said rather arrogantly considering his condition.

"Then I'll finish what someone else started" the Hunter said to him and shoved Halden back.

"You know, I like that Jacket of yours. How about I'll give you my money, you give me your trench coat." Halden replied.

The man smirked and ran towards Halden angered by his comments. Halden knew that in his condition he was in no room for a fight and decided to take the defensive side. Just then a fist came at Halden's face, which he grabbed then threw to the side sending the man with it. Hunter fell into a small heap of trash and immediately jumped to his feet.

"You'll pay for that" the man yelled as he drew a knife from his pocket. Hunter jabbed at Halden's mid section as Halden took a step back. The man continued his furious attacks as the calm Halden simply dodged left or right to avoid them. One of the attacks nicked Halden's right shoulder as blood dripped to the ground.

"Man, that one hurt!" Halden said as he grabbed his shoulder. "Time you got rid of that." Halden sent a sore kick to the surprised Hunter's wrist and sent the knife flying out of his hand.

"Damn you!" Hunter yelled as he threw a fury of punches in Halden's direction. The first connected to Halden's stomach and the second to his chin which knocked him on his back near a dumpster. Hunter in a fit of rage ran over to finish the job, but Halden wrapped his legs around one of Hunter's and sent him crashing down as he smacked his head on the edge of the dumpster. Halden took this time to make a break for it, but before he did went over to the unconscious Hunter and removed him of his nice new trench coat.

"Thank you."Halden said as he put it under his arm and began walking away.

After reaching the bar again Halden decided to go lay low by the docks and made it over in that direction. Just then he heard a familiar voice from behind.

"That's him, that's the guy!" Hunter yelled as he and his buddy ran after Halden.

"Not again." Halden said as he ran towards the docks... __________________

It took Diandriaa about a day to get to The Scorpion Bases. She was quite pleased. That meant that it would only take about another 2 days or so to reach Earth.

She was making good time. She had managed to put herself into a mild trance, having the ship computer alert her when she approached any planet or space station, or whether she was being approached, or approaching any unfriendly craft. She came out of the trance rather easily and opened her eyes.

Pleased with her results, but feeling mildly hungry, she went to the galley for a moment to grab a couple of muffins and an apple.

-Approximately one and a half days later....

"Baret Tegul."

Diandriaa opened one eye and looked at the visual console, and twisted up her mouth. "Ugly little dusty planet that is," she thought to herself. The last time she had been there, was to help Palantir rescue a little Terran boy, an autistic child that was believed to be the reincarnation of some 21st century healer. They managed to save the boy, though Palantir remarked that he was surprised that her sneezing didn't give them away.

Perhaps she wasn't being fair. It wasn't the planets fault that it was dusty. Being attacked will do that. Plus, parts of it were starting to look like a normal planet.

Diandriaa checked to make sure the engines weren't overheating, grabbed another muffin and an apple from the galley, went back to the cockpit and went back into her little trance until she hit Earth.

-Twenty-Four Earth Hours Later....

"You are now approaching Earth..."

"Ack!" Diandriaa cried out, being startled out of her trance.

She thought she was having a past life vision. She saw herself, but it wasn't really herself. She was wearing somewhat traditional 21st century clothes, in a typical 21st century home, playing with two children. She looked like she might be pregnant, and there was a man, but it wasn't Palantir. He was a little shorter than Palantir, blondish brown hair, and spoke with a European accent. (which European accent that was, she didn't know) She didn't see Palantir anywhere, but on a screen in the house, she saw a man that looked a bit like him.

Interesting. "Earth, This is the Emerald Queen, requesting permission to dock."

"What is your business on Earth, Emerald Queen?"

"Visiting an old friend."

"Which part of Earth will you be visiting?"

Diandriaa huffed. She wouldn't be surprised if they asked her what color panties she was wearing. "California Isle," she replied.

"Dock 42. Enjoy your stay." __________________

Halden was running fast as he could, trying to find a ship where he could get some help. Finally he gave up and just stopped and turned around.

"Might as well fight 'em..." Halden said to himself as the 2 men approached. Halden slipped on the trench coat for some added protection.

"Good fit, man this thing is nice" he said as he clenched his fists and got into his fighting position. As the two men approached one of them grabbed a knife from his pocket and the other put on a pair of brass knuckles.

"You know we'd ask for your money and leave, but it looks like you've roughed my friend up a bit. So that means it's time for you to pay." the larger of the 2 said.

Halden this time knew he didn't have much of a chance at winning so he tried to buy himself some time.

"Well I do have some money if you guys want that..." Halden said rather reluctantly.

The men just laughed and began to circle Halden. The one with brass knuckles went behind and the one with the knife came to the front. The guy with the knife charged at Halden and jabbed at him, but Halden stepped to the side but a fist connected to his back and sent him flying into the ground cringing in pain.

"Ahhhhh..." Halden moaned as the pain shot up his spine.

"Well that was easier then expected" one of the thugs said as he approached Halden. Halden lay there in pain rolling back and forth as he realized the end could be near... __________________

Great, punks.

That's all Diandriaa needed.

A four-day trip through space to come to Earth to visit her dead boyfriends memorial, and she comes across this.

Diandriaa was dressed in her black body suit, black boots, black trench coat and had her long, burgundy hair cascading down her shoulder and finally, topping the whole look off with a pair of black sunglasses.

Yes, she was aware it was nighttime. But she didn't care. She looked good.

She had, at first decided against leaving the ship, but she needed to stretch her legs for a while, maybe knock back an ale or two with one of Palantir's old military friends.

As she stepped off the landing area that brought her from the docking area to the planet surface, she heard a pitiful cry coming from a nearby alley. Her curiosity got the better of her, so she quietly walked into the alleyway, to see two men, corning this other man. She lowered her sunglasses to have a better look, and saw that the man on the ground looked like he had some older wounds.

Diandriaa sighed. She hated bullies, especially two against one. So not good. She took off her sunglasses, and placed them in her pocket. She then slipped her brass knuckles on her right hand, and pulled her energy pistol out of her belt with her left hand. She carefully crept up behind one of the men and aimed. Not with the gun, mind you.

Diandriaa then made a fist with her hand, pulled it back, and with all the strength she had in her tired, space lagged body, through it forward into the back of the mans head. As the man crumpled to the ground without a sound, his friend whipped around. "What the fuck..." he gasped, reaching into his sheath for what Diandriaa thought was a dagger. As he turned to lunge at her, he saw a pistol aimed right between his eyes.

"This ain't your fight bitch," he snarled, pulling the dagger out and preparing to use it on her if she let her guard.

"Well, it is now," she smirked, "it's not nice, ganging up on a man two against one. Or can't you handle it without your girlfriend.."

"You'll pay for that," he shouted, putting on foot forward in an effort to charge at her. Diandriaa raised an eyebrow as she aimed the pistol at his forehead.

"You don't have the guts," he retorted. Diandriaa tilted her head slightly to the side and fired the pistol as she raised her hand just above his head.

"I don't?" she asked sarcastically, as the coward dropped his knife and cowered back. "Give the man his wallet back."

"How did you..."

"Because I know your type. You hang around in bars, looking for anyone who looks like they have enough deccas and you and your buddy corners them and robs them. It's the oldest trick in the book..."

The man reached into his pants pocket, removed the incapacitated mans wallet and tossed it on him. "W-w-hat about my jacket?" the man asked, putting his hands in the air.

"Fuck your jacket," she snarled, "I figure its fair compensation for you and your friend beating the shit out of him. Now, grab your friend and get the fuck out of here, and if I ever, and I mean EVER see you or this shit pile again, I won't give you the courtesy of a warning shot."

Diandriaa kept her pistol trained on him as the man lifted his friend up and quickly walk away with him.

Diandriaa waited until they were clear, and approached the man on the ground as she put her pistol away.

"Hey friend," she called out to him softly as she kneeled down next to him, "are you...."

She already had her answer once she got a better look at him. __________________

-meanwhile on a space-dock nearby

The last two hours had been complete hell. Of course, she had hardly done anything but worry her butt off from the minute she knew how close they were. She hadn't been landside before. Bo had given her a couple of warnings; the old spacer mechanic always managed a few words of valuable advice before setting off on new adventures. However, due to the state of general disrepair and all out poorness of the crew, ship and company paying for the mining trip, she had nothing but a couple hundred deccas and the clothes on her back. And a meager education.

A rush of breath left her nostrils as S'era poked her head inside of the small cabin. "Hey, doll," the raven-haired woman of forty offered. "It's about time. Y'got a minute ta give the crew one last farewell if ya want it." With that, the slight little pilot slipped back outside.

Nadia was reluctant to leave the small 8' by 7' room, much less say goodbye to everyone who she had ever known. This had to be the longest trip attempted by the dumbest (and probably most bankrupt) company she could think of. And of all things, she had the misfortune of being born during the time. Granted, they had made the occasional stop at an asteroid belt.

A few more minutes and there was the slightest change in the room. Her arms felt heavier, her feet more firmly held to the floor, even though she was sitting. A thought occurred to her. Earth gravity must be a little more. Hmm, interesting. One more new and alien thing for her.

Looking around for her ear-piece, the only thing that keep her from being entirely alone in a bi- and tri-lingual world, she spotted it on the stainless steel cabinet next to her meager cot. Scooping it up, she plugged it into her ear and grabbed her duffel. It was light, filled with a jumpsuit or two, a bit of money, and her handy med kit.

The girl avoided eye contact with all of her friends, adoptive parents really, since she hadn't known hers since she was five.... __________________

They crowded down the hallway and onto the bridge to watch the huge carrier land. A thumb signaled it's arrival, and the crew turned as one to approach the door exit, which awaited them at the end of a rather thick hallway.

Nadia was the first through the door, the light of midday striking her auburn hair and setting alive the fiery highlights. Her jumpsuit looked much more faded in the yellow light of earth's sun, and the world's colors much more true than the metallic blues and grays of the carrier. The greens perturbed her. In space, she couldn't recall how often she'd seen the color, and it was a surprise for her to find it everywhere. Well, realistically, there were only bits of it peeking through the pavement here and there. Hearty tufts struggling to outlast the day's heat and the night's chill with so little nutrients. There was the occasional tree as well, for looks mostly, she was sure. And shrubbery, which lined the front of buildings.

By now, the slender female had walked the distance of the landing field to the hangar, presented several papers for some receptionist, whom she studied closely. The woman was wretchedly browned by the sun, and it didn't suit her face, which was delicate and made for a pale creamy complexion. I hope the sun doesn't do that to my face. However, the young woman's face was strong enough to be complimented by a bit of a tan, but appeared somewhat elegant with her pale-ish countenance.

Nadia continued out of the building, sweeping past her friends and family for the past seventeen years, nearly eighteen now. She said not a word, nor made any signal. They were the past, and to think of them hurt the child. And therefore, she refused to look anywhere but ahead and to think of anything but the future.

And what exactly, Nadia wondered, was to be her future. Well, first thing, to get her butt back on a ship as fast as she could possibly. Earth might've been interesting, but she knew immediately, from the feeling of being in a vast space so big she'd lose her way and be alone, Nadia knew Earth wasn't for her. However, the plants caught her attention. Wherever she intended to go next, she wanted a sliver of grass or a little tree on the next ship she boarded.

The effects of the fractionally heavier gravity wore on her as she trudged through the complex city streets. Light exhaustion began to make her feet feel like leaden weights and her arms hung heavy at her sides. A decent bar scene would be nice. Her introduction to alcohol was meager, limited to watered down moonshine whiskey fermented and distilled on board with chemistry equipment (compliments of Bo and Jewlie, their little hacker/crafter who was a uniquely human like Mahdi), and the sweet old wines of their eccentric captain, Alex Baccardi. A little shadow cast over her face in remembrance of her motley crew.

Spotting a building that was most assuredly a pub of some sort, she slipped inside, and laid a few of her meager deccas on the counter. "Whatever you've got that won't kill a tired girl." She wasn't pretending any sort of greatness or experience in drinking, and trusted the bristled big man behind the counter to supply her with good drink.

The old man eyed the girl, a look as lusty as every. A pretty little thing she was, even though Nadia was easily the same height as the bartender, Cigre, though not half as broad (or wide if I might add) as he. The girl's head was down, picking at her bag in a most interested fashion. And she was indeed sincerely interested in liberating the frayed thread from the handle of her duffel. The grimy male quickly concocted a plan. Sindra, a bar maid, and mostly second in command, would keep an eye out. The little scam had been pulled before on the rare occasion a little lady such as this wandered into a bar unaccompanied.

Reaching under the counter for a mug, he filled the cup up a quarter the way with a liquid that belonged in a shot glass. Moving over to the ale dispenser, he twisted the nozzle and watched the spray of frothy ale cover the dangerously glittering amber liquid. Pushing it in front of the crouched figure, Nadia absently grasped the mug and brought it to her lips. The bitter taste made her face scrunch and her eyes tear, but she drank the pint halfway down.

A good ten to fifteen minutes after her first gulps, she felt queasy. Her stomach roiled and boiled within her and she could feel the acid stinging it's way up her throat. Her bag tossed on her shoulder, Nadia collected her change speedily and dashed out of the door, nearly tripping on several entering customers. Once beside the building, She hunched over, vomit discharging from her elongated through in waves. She wretched until nothing came out, until it hurt. Finally, her neck muscles aching and her stomach no longer nauseous, she stumbled away from the steamy pile of stomach acid and her last synthetic meal.

Wobbling uncontrollably and seeing double images, Nadia walked right into Cigre about a block down, behind a weapons shop. The back street was littered with trash, and a squat glass plated building was blocking any exit from the narrow ally. The people weren't much for fung shui, she thought drunkenly, and reeled back away from the man. His big arms grasped hers, though, and she couldn't back up. "Heyyy, therrre! Wh-Wha-What's the big iiiideeeaaa, misterrrr?" Her tongue felt heavy, clumsy in her mouth and hardly able to form the words. The bartenders face was uncomfortably close to hers, and his hot breath felt sticky on her face. Trying to yank away, the man pushed up against the weapons building and preceded to reach for the zipper of her navy jumpsuit.

By now, Nadia was struggling mightily to remain conscious as she caught on to the "big idea". The man looked eagerly to her chest as the zipper came down enough to expose the soft milky flesh of her breasts, stopping just short of full exposure from the girl's swatting hand. Cigre realized that she hadn't gone out quite yet. Disappointed and annoyed, the man with smushed, shadowy shoved her over onto a decently high pile of trash. Quite unbalanced, Nadia went with the movement and landed with a whoosh of air that let out of the bags beneath her. Her head swam with the sudden direction change, and she barely made out the looming sight of her aggressor standing over her. Making a last ditch attempt at freedom, the lithe female took aim for the man's crotch and let a rip.

Her foot grounded audibly into the man's groin, and he sank down like the wicked witch of the west after being soaked with water. Nadia rolled off of her little bed and stumbled with better speed than she could've hoped to make. Her direction wasn't general, and she had to follow walls to stay upright. Amazingly enough, her duffel was still strapped to her back, the band running up from her left hip to her right shoulder.

Soon the walls ran out, and she noticed a certain openness before her. Wandering aimlessly, she realized it was an immense and vast body of water. In her drunken state, she encountered her first sea ever. But compared to the vastness of space, Nadia wasn't too awed. Closer than the sea though, she made out two retreating figures, and a kneeling one. Hardly up for traveling much farther, Nadia stood slouched, one hand propping her up on bent knees and another wiping her nose.

Straightening, she made a miserable inebriated call to the duo, a tall, slim girl with straight, ginger hair reaching well beyond her shoulders, suited in a cobalt boiler suit partially unzipped and heavy black boots. What a sight... __________________

Diandriaa looked up as she heard another pitiful cry coming from in front of her. She cautiously reached for her gun. "Hey," she called out, "you all right over there? Don't try anything funny, I am armed..."

Diandriaa knelt there, at a loss as to what to do. She didn't want to leave the wounded man there and go aimlessly looking for help and she also wanted to see if the figure propped up against the nearby wall was okay.

"You wouldn't be able to help me over here, would you?" she called out to the figure as she stood. "this man is really badly hurt, he needs medical attention. Do you need any help?"

Diandriaa took a deep breath, trying to figure out what she could do without having to leave these people behind. __________________

The woman's words called out to her in return made sense, she knew they did. But what sense they made, she wasn't sure. Wandering forward, she felt the world spin wildly. Thinking as deeply as her intoxicated mind could, she strung together the meaning of the lady's words. Help, she wanted help.

Stumbling and tripping over nothing in general, she nodded and watched the world fly around her. But things were getting better. Notably, her feet managed to make some sort of rhythm and her pace increased, still nothing more than a careful walk.

Mumbling to herself about not having a goddamn weapon, and what was the world coming to, she realized that there was another pitiful body propped next to the strange woman. Focusing hurt her eyes, and a deep throb of pain was beginning at the base of her neck, but things made a bit more sense.

Coming upon the man and woman, a short gasp of surprise escaped her lips. The man was in pretty bad shape. Instinct returned to her, letting the human part of her slip away, as useless as it was. Naturally, her nervous system had recovered nearly enough to make up for her clumsy movements, but automatic motions allowed her to perform.

Kneeling carefully, compensating for her erratically shifting balance, Nadia pulled her duffel from over her head and reached inside for her medical kit. Setting it aside momentarily, she took a second to give the man a once-over and find out where exactly his wounds were and what sorts she would have to deal with. __________________

Diandriaa stared. She was amazed that this seemingly intoxicated woman suddenly recovered her wits enough to help her with this...

Unconscious man? To weak to say anything guy? Or in too much pain to be coherent enough to respond person?

And when the woman pulled out her med case, she was stunned to see that the woman was a medical specialist.

The almighty is looking out for you tonight pal, she thought to herself.

"You okay to handle this yourself?" she asked the woman, "or would you like me to help with something?"

She then bent over to get a better look at the wounded man. "Hey guy," she snapped, trying to get him to respond, "we're trying to help, but you have to tell us what exactly is wrong with you..."

She stood upright and sighed again. Short of slapping him awake, she didn't know what to do. __________________

Her head swam, and her hands shook. Nadia ran her fingers down the strange man's ribs and back, looking for any broken bones, wishing she were in a better state to show off her medical prowess. When the woman asked if she needed assistance, the girl was relieved. She didn't think that she could treat the puncture wound on his shoulder, not with her state off clumsiness. Afraid to nod, and finding it hard to answer clearly, she mumbled a yes and pointed to the bloodied shoulder.

From the looks of things, most were wounds from heavy impact, most likely incurring some internal damage, but she didn't have equipment to deal with that. Handing the woman her med kit, she pulled out gauze and saline to rinse the wound. It was fresh, and if cleaned properly early on, there would be a minimal chance of infection. Enunciating the words carefully, Nadia sat back heavily from her crouching position, her legs tired as could be. "Take saline, clean carefully. Then wrap in gauze." It was obvious that further medical attention was required, but the shoulder could be taken care of first.

Then pointing to a bag that, when the chemical packets inside were popped and shaken, turned into a handy cold compress, she motioned to the obvious lump on the left side of his mussed head. The lady would get the point, seeing as how there were directions on the bag (1. Squeeze bag until contents inside pop 2. Shake until cool 3. Apply).

Rising laboriously to her feet, she stumbled off to find a phone. They would need an ambulance over quickly. She'd hate it if he did in fact have internal bleeding and she dawdled too long. Still, she would've loved a stimpack or something to give her a pep-up. It would take at least two to three hours before she got the alcohol out of her system. __________________

Diandriaa knelt back down, taking the bag that the girl was handing to her, and did as she instructed. She cleaned the shoulder wound and placed the ice pack on the mans head as the girl got up and stumbled away.

The mans injuries looked bad. She didn't know where the girl was going, but hopefully, she was going to reach a phone and call an ambulance or something. Hopefully. Some of this mans wounds looked fresh, but some looked a little old, like he had been jumped the day before but didn't get medical attention.

People were stubborn sometimes, especially men. It was the same with dumb old Palantir. If he had stayed where he had been stabbed, he would have been treated right away and wouldn't have bled to death. He probably thought it was only a flesh wound.

Men. She loved them, respected them, but most of them thought they were so invincible.

She turned her neck and looked behind her as the woman walked towards the landing platform. She hoped to god she would be all right. __________________

The urge to vomit came again, but there was nothing left in her stomach, as she hunched over and wretched. Her feet wouldn't answer her command to move as quickly as her legs, making her walking somewhat erratic. Making it in to a nearby building, she asked for a phone, for an emergency. The room itself was brightly lit and palely painted, reminiscent of a hospital, Nadia thought.

She was lead down a back hall to an office and pointed to an audio/visual phone. An emergency hospital wouldn't have a visual option on their emergency lines, no doubt. Reaching the desk, she plopped into the chair in picked out the numbers, slowly but surely. Hating to be forced to talk in her embarrassing state, she made the words out as best she could. "Injured man, bar fight and old wounds. Eastern docks," and Nadia wished she knew the area better. Waving to the watching employee, she asked him in a stage whisper," What pier is at the end of the buildings?"

"Pier 18, section C." Giving the person on the other end the information, they gave her the customary," We'll have a med team there in a minute. Please do not move the victim or attempt any other treatment." It was the sound of a unisex voice, Nadia noticed, a recording. How unfortunate that humans didn't man the switchboards anymore, as inefficient as it might be. Well, at least it meant she couldn't be annoyed with it for telling her not to treat the man. After all, Nadia was a med, however low level. But she brushed that aside.

Not wanted to stretch her chances, she wondered aloud and laboriously," Got a painkiller or stimpack?" The store was mostly odds and ends, she noticed when she entered the customer's area.

The stores stimpacks were pricier than she could afford, and even their Kylemol drained her meager funds. Instead, she turned to head back to the docks, arriving with the sound of distant blaring horns following her at brisk pace. Look to the unconscious man, then to the woman, and then to the direction of the approaching sirens, Nadia waited drowsily. __________________

Any urge Diandriaa had to drink, was completely diminished as she heard sirens in the distance, and turned to look at the woman. The way the woman was acting, reminded her of the other night on Osiris when she got plastered with Amber. She was definitely in no mood to go through that again.

"Did someone call for an ambulance?" she heard a voice call out as the sirens got very close. She got up and walked around the corner to see an ambulance and a squad car. "Over here," she called back, waving the paramedics over. Two paramedics rushed over to the injured man and a police officer approached her. "What happened to him?" one of the paramedics asked her.

"Well, I'm not sure what happened before I got over here, but it looked like these two guys were trying to rob him and he resisted, cause he was on the ground and one guy had just kicked him in the stomach," she replied. The police officer looked at her gruffly.

"What's your name?" he asked, looking like he wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of paperwork.

"Diandriaa," she replied, knowing exactly what questions he was going to ask her, "I'm a Valertrez, I pilot the Emerald Queen, no, if you look me up in your computers, I'm not wanted for anything, and no, I don't know my last name...."

The police officer glared at her briefly as he wrote everything down in his PDA. "How long ago did you land?" he asked.

"A little over an hour ago," she replied.

"Did you get a look at the two men that did this?"

"One of them. I only caught the back of the others hand before I laid him out..."

"Excuse me?"

"Okay, here's what happened. I walked from the landing platform towards town when I heard someone cry out. When I went over to have a better look, I saw one guy with a knife and the other had just kicked the guy in the stomach. I was afraid they would kill him, so I put my brass knuckles on, and punched that one in the back of his head, and he fell. The other one tried to come at me with the knife, so I fired a warning shot at him, then he tossed the guys wallet back on him, grabbed his friend and took off."

"Good for you. Now, do you remember what the other guy looked like?"

"I would if I saw him again. I just know he was ugly and he smelled bad."

"Heh. Who called the ambulance?"

"That girl over there," she replied, turning and pointing towards the girl, who was leaning against a post, "I called to her and we cleaned his wound on his shoulder and I held the ice pack on his head while she walked off to call you guys. She's a bit plastered, so she won't be very coherent, plus, I doubt she even saw anything."

"Thanks miss, good work. If you hadn't of stepped in, that guy would be as good as dead. I'll contact you on your ship if I need anything else."

As the cop walked over to the girl, Diandriaa saw the paramedics put the man on the stretcher.

"We think he's going to be all right," one of them called to her as they wheeled him over to the ambulance, "it's a good thing you two were here..."

Diandriaa smirked. She wasn't much for ego inflating, but this made her feel good. She walked over to the young woman as the cop patted her on the shoulder and walked towards his car. "Hey," she said to her softly, "you did pretty good. I know you're not feeling well, but I have some food and some Kylemol on my ship, both of which I think you need right now. And you can catch some sleep too if you need to. My way of saying thanks for helping me out..." __________________

Whatever happened next, Nadia could hardly tell, but she did notice too much activity around her for it to just be the woman. The ambulance had gotten here. Good, there wasn't anything to worry about anymore. A police officer approached her with several kind words. At least, his tone implied that. A moment later there was the woman in black. Absorbing what she said, Nadia shook her head slowly, suddenly nauseous again. Holding back, she stood straight with an hand on her newfound friend's shoulder for support. "Let's go."

The sound of Kylemol and sleep, it was just what she needed. Absently, Nadia said," No more drink on Earth." __________________

Halden awoke from the stretcher as he was being taken to the hospital.

"What the...man, get this stuff off of me!" he said as he ripped some of the needles going into his body off.

"Sir, your banged up pretty good, you need a good days rest." one of the paramedics told him.

"I don't need nothing now let me go." Halden saw the car stopped and decided it was time to make a move. He sat up from his stretcher. The pain rushed throughout his body as he knew he really did need medical attention, but wasn't willing to pay for it. He knocked the back door open and hopped out. Feeling light-headed he looked down at his trench coat to see it stained in blood from his shoulder wound.

"At least it's patched up" he said. He made his was toward the dock where someone had helped him. He figured he'd be the nice guy and re-pay them someway. He had nowhere to go, and didn't really know who he was. All he knew was his name was Halden and he could fight pretty well...when he wasn't hurt.

Halden stepped into the dock area to see a ship and what looked to be two women.

"Maybe that's them" he thought to himself as he made his way towards them.

The two women turned to him as he approached. Halden stood 6'1'' tall and looked to weigh about 220 lbs. His face was a little battered and his trench coat was in pretty good shape despite what had happened. His brown hair, which was going all different directions, flew back as a breeze blew by. He winced as another sting of pain shot up his arm.

"So are you the two who helped me, out here? I'd like to re-pay you. I don't have much money and I don't really know of anything else I own...so all I can really offer are my services. So if you need me for something, just ask." Halden said. Maybe finally he could tag along with a crew and try to find something out about himself. __________________

When the injured man approached them, she was appalled, but further annoyed and worried (and slightly gawked at his height, standing a good half a foot taller than her). Nadia had just managed to ship off that battered man that had been her charge minutes ago and now he was back again. And her responsibility. And seeing as how the girl was in no shape to worry, she looked to her supporter to rant at the man about how he needed medical care, and should not to be wandering about like this.

Damn medical morals. And damn her nurturing personality, even in her state.

The stress finally consumed her, and the young woman's face drained, becoming pale. Before her, the world faded to black and she slid down the arm of the older woman, ending in a passed out heap at the lady's feet. It looked as if she'd be sleeping off the shit she'd drank. __________________

"Uh, yeah, I ran off the two guys that were kicking the shit out of you, and she tended to you until the paramedics arrived," Diandriaa huffed, turning towards the man, "and in my opinion, you did a pretty dumb thing leaving the ambulance. You could have internal bleeding that will kill you later..."

Diandriaa looked down as the girls face twisted into an annoyed grin, then passed out at her feet. "Oh wonderful," she mumbled, then turning back to the man, "you know, it's on you, whatever happens. I can't tell you how to take care of your own body, but if you want to repay me, you can help me carry her to my ship, if you're up for it. If not, I can probably carry her, but you need to get some rest to heal."

Diandriaa bent down and started to lift the girl up by her arm, in an attempt to get the girls arm around her neck and her own arm around her waist so she could walk her to the ship. Diandriaa looked over at the man.

"You coming?" __________________

Halden smirked a bit and walked over to help the girl to the ship. He made sure to use the arm that wasn't killing him with pain.

"You know I'm not really hurt that badly, and I can take care of myself..." Halden said rather arrogantly. He looked over to his dirty trench coat.

"You got something I can clean this off with?" he said with a smirk as they entered the ship. __________________

Nadia made several murmuring noises, as if she were in a dream. However, the girl was hovering just near consciousness, trying mightily to wake up. To no avail, though. Her mind and body were exhausted. Too many factors on top of alcohol content, including the time difference between her ship and Earth time. That alone meant she was lagging behind. Along with the decimal difference of gees between the ship and Earth. Add yet another fact, her last meal had been a good four hours ago, and Nadia was not in the prime state for quickly returning to a state of sobriety. Her inert body couldn't be help them either, though she was relatively lightweight. __________________

Diandriaa detected a bit of arrogance in the mans voice and frowned as they reached the TCP that would take them to the Emerald Queen. "Arrogance killed my boyfriend," she retorted, "he thought as long as he got to the ship, he would be fine. But a knife wound in the guts has its own rules. Don't let that happen to you."

Diandriaa pressed the dock number on the keypad and then pressed "Ready" and the TCP suddenly beamed them off upwards. "In four days," she continued, talking to hear herself talk, "is the fifth year anniversary of his death. That's why I'm on Earth..."

They reached the dock the ship was on within a few minutes. Diandriaa "pulled" (for lack of a better term) the incapacitated woman and the over confidant man to the ship. She pushed the secret code in order to open the ramp, and proceeded to lead them inside.

Their first stop, was Diandriaa's old room. "Lay her down here," she said, motioning towards the bed with her head. After they laid her down, Diandriaa motioned to the man to follow her to the galley. __________________

"Well I'm sorry to hear about your boyfriend and all, but where's some food?" Halden said as he looked around.

"Nice ship too." he added as he followed her into the galley.

Just then a sudden flash came into his mind. A picture of a ship appeared on some planet that he didn't know. Halden dropped to one knee as the picture got worse and more vivid. He could see a man running towards it being chased by a group of people. He saw the man punching the numbers to be brought up to his ship as he was shot at. The door opened on the drop ship and the man turned and entered. As the man turned Halden noticed it was himself entering the ship. A bright white light flashed in his mind as he let out a cry in anger and put his hands on his head as to get rid of the memory.

__________________ Most people would have been offended or aggravated by the mans comments.

"Sorry about your boyfriend, but where's the food?"

Diandriaa eyed the man as they walked into the galley. This was a guy who's used to doing everything on his own, she thought. It also looks like he had a head injury and god knew what else. And he probably had a drink or two as well. She didn't think he was too bad, of course, she wasn't the type to judge a person based on a first impression. But she did think he was too macho and arrogant for his own good.

But at least he thanked her for helping in. She didn't that consideration very much.

She started rifling through the refrigerator looking for something that would appeal to the man. "Ah, you should like this," she said, pulling the tray out of the freezer, "Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes...."

He cried out as she turned to him, just in time to see him grab his head. She froze for a second, looking at him. Then, she realized she made the same angry sound whenever she remembered something she didn't want to remember. "I don't know about you," she said softly, popping the tray in the heating unit, "but I feel the same way when I get certain memories. Of course, I don't know if that's what it is. Anyway, I'm going to take a tray to our passed out lil-missy in there for when she wakes up. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, if you wanna talk about it. When you hear a beep that means your food is ready. Go on and help yourself."

She then grabbed a tray of fruit, muffins and some juice to take to the room of her new friend. __________________

Nadia had awoken momentarily after being left for the galley. Her head throbbed horribly and then fiery-haired girl was quite thankful for the pillow that propped her head up. The thins sheets felt blissfully cool. Rolling over tenderly, careful not to disturbed her reeling head, she settled deeply into a bed of higher quality than the cot she had occupied for the last seventeen years of her life. The change for better was quite welcome.

The sound of the still unnamed woman's approach called her awake to thank her for the help given, but Nadia begged her manners to shut the hell up and let her sleeeeeep! Sitting up doggedly, but with no intention of staying that way long, she waited for her newfound friend. The thanks owed was all that stood between the girl and several hours of dreamland.

__________________

"...surprised to find that Marcus had been expecting their arrival, and greeted two of the officials with his illegally modified Plasma Pistol. Terran Officers opened fire, striking Marcus in his left shoulder, causing him to drop his weapon. After searching his laboratory, the TFP was able to recover several incriminating documents related to the charges Marcus confessed to.

Coincidentally, Shane's wife apparently filed for divorce a mere three days before Marcus went public with his illegal ties. It is as of yet unknown if this event provided Marcus with any motivation. The two officers wounded during the raid on Marcus Shane's office suffered severe injuries, but are both expected to make a full recovery."

Diandriaa casually flipped the ships radio on to catch the latest on DSRnet and caught what seemed to be the tail end on yet another wacko getting arrested. She was very relieved when they apprehended that famous assassin the week before.

Diandriaa walked into the quarters where her and the gentleman in the galley placed the girl and was a little surprised to see her sitting up. "Uhh, I brought you some food, just a few apples and grapes, and a couple of muffins, one is pumpkin and the other is poppy seed, they're really good," Diandriaa spat out, "I also brought you some water and a little bit of apple juice to take the Kylemol with, whenever you're up to it. I'm Diandriaa, by the way, and you're on the Emerald Queen. When you're feeling more up to it, I can show you around the ship if you want..."

Diandriaa started to walk out the door, when she turned back around. "You should actually take the pain killers now, before you go to sleep," she suggested, "it won't get rid of your hangover, but it will make it a lot more bearable. Sweet dreams.."

Diandriaa smiled at the young lady and went back over to the galley to see how her other new friend was doing. __________________

After recovering from his little episode Halden could feel his stomach growl in hunger. The heating unit beeped letting him know his food was done. He grabbed the plate out form the machine and set it on the table. He searched around for a fork of some sort, but found nothing. Probably because he didn't look hard enough. He reached into his boot and pulled out a small pocketknife and stabbed at the steak. Halden immediately devoured the entire thing up threw away the empty dish.

"Well this looks like a nice ship, maybe I'll have a look around." Halden said as he began to wander the ship. __________________

A mumbled thanks and acceptance of the Diandriaa's charity, Nadia took the juice gratefully and down the Kylemol and liquid. Sinking back into the pillow, she drifted off, eager to get away from the pain.

The mists in front of her broke and she could that she was back on the old company ship. Bo, S'era, Jewlie, Alex Baccardi, and her parents, Kara Asiro and Seth Asiro, they all faced her, along with several others whom she hadn't been quite as fond of. They were all welcoming her back, calling her home. She even saw faces she didn't remember, like a tall broad and rakishly handsome raven haired man, who laughed heartily and called her to him. She went forward, and her vision twisted like water draining into a pipe, leaving her to stand there in the black...

Specks of light appeared. Then a planet as she slowly rotated. The sun was glaring somewhere behind her as she floated in zero gee. She wondered how she could be outside in the cold vacuum of space. Still she rotated until the face the space ship she had lived on for years. She was by the piloting bubble, a compartment made of a material clear as glass but doubly strong. She wasn't sure what it was called. The sun beyond the ship created a corona of light, setting the hull's shadows into deeper hues. In the compartment, she saw the crew, in tears and pointing. Her mother was bawling into her father's shoulder and S'era was pounding the glass in agony. Looking for the man easily called tall, dark, and handsome, she didn't see him. Slowly, she realized she couldn't move either. They thought she was dead, didn't they? Wanting to call out to her grieving mother, she was helpless just floating in space...

Nadia continued to sleep with bizarre dreams. The handsome nameless man was there sometimes, and sometimes he wasn't. Her parents were always there, even though they were dead and gone. No sense could be made of the drunken sleep and when she awoke some five or six hours later she dismissed it as just that, a drunken sleep. __________________

Diandriaa walked out of the room in time to see the man walking out of the galley. "Well, you look like you're feeling better," she stated, walking over to him, "I take you if you wanna tour of the ship..."

"Well, to your left there, you can see the door that leads downstairs to the engine room, that's also where the cooling units are. To your right, are the stairs leading to the cargo hold. Right ahead of you is the rec- room, it doesn't have much in it at the moment though. Next to that is two empty rooms then the med bay. Right across from the med bay is the captain's quarters, otherwise known as my room, and two empty rooms next to that. Next to my room is where we came in, and across the way is the TPT and escape pod rooms. Straight ahead there," she said, pointing to her left, "is the cockpit and the ships main computer. I pretty much control everything from there. And the pretty green color on the outside and inside of the ship, is why we call her Emerald Queen. Our friend is in the room right next to the med bay, so you can pick any other room to sleep in, which is what I suggest you do, at least for a few hours. I'm going to read in my cabin for a while, and get some sleep. If you need anything, just knock. Feel free to look around, but please, don't touch anything that looks overly important. I have a lot of old earth video games in the rec- room that you can play on the computer if you want."

She smiled and walked down the hall and into her room. It was odd, sleeping in Palantir's old room, but since she was officially the captain, it was her right. She grabbed a book entitled "Infamous Serial Killers of the 20th Century" and hopped unto the bed and proceeded to read, hoping that the man didn't pull anything. She didn't think he would, but he made sure to keep her ears open, just in case.

The man in the cast walked up to Diandriaa as she lay sprawled on the shore of the beach. "Excuse me miss," the man said, "I need some help getting my boat from my car. Can you help me? By the way, my name is Ted..."

Diandriaa sat up, stared at the familiar face, and screamed. She was wearing a black, form fitting bathing suit, her wet burgundy hair laying down her back. The mans face became ugly and distorted and as she started running away from her, he dropped the cast and took off after her. As she ran into the woods, still screaming, she grabbed a tree branch and stopped, swinging it full force into his head as he neared her. Confident that she at least knocked the Ted man out, she proceeded to walk away, when she felt something grab her ankle. She looked down and saw Ted's twisted, animal features and screamed again....

And that was pretty much when Diandriaa woke up, screaming. She opened her eyes and lifted up her head. When she looked down, she noticed that she fell asleep reading her book, and the reason she had the dream was staring back up at her from the picture in the book.

Diandriaa got up to use the bathroom, cursing herself under her breath for being dumb enough to read awful things like that before falling asleep. She used the toilet, and washed her hands and face in the sink. She rubbed her eyes, considering changing into a sleeping gown, but decided to first check and make sure everything on the ship was fine. She walked into the cockpit. Nothing missing, nothing messed with. Same with the med bay, the galley, the rec- room and the engine room (how she managed to walk down the stairs without freaking out because of that dream, was beyond her). Nothing was amiss at all. She didn't feel like checking every room to see where the man was, so she went back to her quarters.

Before she started to change her clothes, she let her paranoia get the better of her, grabbed her energy pistol and looked under her bed, in her closet and in her shower. She huffed, setting the gun back on the headboard. If that guy were going to try something, he would have done it a long time ago, the minute she turned her back on him. She had the com in the girl's one on in hers, just in case, and never heard anything.

She felt foolish, suspecting that poor man of trying anything. She studied him a bit when they first got on board, and didn't see anything in his mind to indicate he was dangerous in anyway.

It was that damn book. That and falling asleep while reading that damn book. The subject matter fascinated her, but she learned the hard way never to read stuff like that before she went to bed. She had changed from her body suit to her sleeping gown, and while she put on a robe and crawled into bed, she thanked god that Ted Bundy had been executed over a thousand years ago. As she flipped off all but her reading light and closed her eyes, she wandered how many Ted Bundy's had been born since then. She grimaced and started thinking about something more pleasant, in particularly, about the possibility of running into her Hani friend, Amber sometime soon. She missed her. __________________

Nadia awoke to find Diandriaa awake, snooping around the ship with suspicion on her face. Letting the woman have her moment, Nadia decided against telling them that she had come back from the ever-popular "Dreamland". There wasn't a particular reason, she just found herself in want of a bit of privacy.

Taking the time that she had made for herself, the girl moved over to the computer console. These were two round rods(15 inches tall) of plastic with holographic projectors facing each other on the inside and set apart about 16 inches, elevated on the wall across from her bed. Choosing operation by audio command, she waited as the computer loaded, and watched the holographic screen appear and hover.

Reaching for the tray of food that had been brought in some hours ago by her very hospitable hostess, she picked out the poppy seed muffin. "Gourmet cooking," she said to herself with a half-grin. Movement on the console made her realize she had given a command. Shrugging it off, she commanded," Search." The screen turned a shade of violet and a voice replied," Enter query." "Current events." A list of texts appeared. "Live feed." The text scrolled out, and an image that expanded to the size of the screen replaced the blank violet background. The familiar logo of Star Cast 9 floated in the bottom left corner. Munching on the muffin, Nadia watched a newscaster, who was rolling footage in the top left corner of creatures in a jungle environment and was reporting,

"Extinct Creature reappears after Twenty Year Absence

A recent scientific expedition onto a remote Xu-Adey jungle world has brought about the rediscovery of a small colony containing the once thought extinct Hai-Lai (pronounced Hi-Li). Until this discovery, it was believed that the last of the species had died off more than twenty years on the Jungle Resort of Beletchi Station.

The discovery has rocked the scientific community, as the creature was one of the most beloved off of Beletchi Station. It is planned to take several from the colony for testing and breeding on Beletchi Station, the rest will remain in the protected habitat."

Amused with the good news, rare these days, she commanded the console for location of the Emerald Queen. Nadia was well aware of where ship was. Right under her nose. But where that was, well that was a different story. "Please wait while satellite searches database for Emerald Queen." Sitting back comfortably, the girl assumed that Diandriaa had heard her by now, and could have just as easily asked, but the dull ache in her head begged her to just sit still and ask the helpful computer. "A reading has been found of Emerald Queen..." Ignoring the latitude and longitudes, she requested a pinpoint on a map. "California Isle, eh?" There wasn't much significance in where she was, even though is was good to know. She could've been dropped in some foreign land and that would've been fine with her.

Finally standing and stretching, ignoring aching at the base of her skull, Nadia shuffled into the hall. Poking her head next door, she looked into what she realized was the med bay. "Ooh, exploration time," then thought against it. Diandriaa wouldn't appreciate a stranger wandering her medical bay. But it was tempting.

Instead, Nadia snooped around for Diandriaa's quarters. As luck would have it, unbeknownst to Nadia as of yet, the young woman chose to first check the door across from med bay. Knocking lightly, she listened for a response. __________________

Halden after looking around the ship a bit more decided to go for a walk. He left a small note on the cockpit door to let the crew know where he was. He made his way to the exit ramp and headed down towards Earth.

Halden arrived on the planet looking around as to make sure no one was after him. It was time he found something to protect himself with. He strolled down the first street he came across and found a shop labeled "Jimbo's Weapon Shop". He chuckled at the name and entered the shop. The man at the counter nodded at his entrance.

"What can I help you buy today sir?" the man asked Halden.

"Well, I was looking for a sword of some sort." Halden replied.

"I got just the thing." the man said as he reached behind the counter and pulled out a Ritelanium Sword and sheath. "This one's real sturdy and strong and will last you a long time, and it's only 800 deccas."

"800 deccas eh?" Halden picked up the sword and examined it. It seemed to be in mint condition and it flowed gracefully threw his hands. "I'll take it" Halden said to the man.

After paying for his sword and equipping the sheath under his trench coat he decides to head back to the ship.

After arriving back on the ship he quietly heads to the rec- room as to not wake anyone up. The door shuts behind him and he takes his trench coat and shirt off and places them off to the side. He takes the sword out of its sheath and moves it around a bit with his hand. Suddenly he takes the sword and makes a series of quick and graceful movements with the sword as if he was attacking someone.

"Seems like I know how to use a sword too." Halden says to himself. "Haaaa!" he yells as he jabs at the air and brings the sword up as if to block an attack.

He yells and drops the sword as a flash of light comes into his mind. The vision this time is what Halden thinks to be himself except younger. The young Halden seems to be practicing with a smaller sword with someone else.

"Now Halden, I'm going to attack you and I want you to defend." The man said.

"Yes master." the young Halden replied. The bright light again appeared in Halden's mind as he returned to reality. Halden laid on the ground and rubbed his head as the painful memory faded.... __________________

"Yeah, this has to be the one. Its the only ship that hasn't gone anywhere," Terry said to himself, as he stared at the large vessel through his sunglasses. It was mid-morning, and the sky looked darker than it really was, as he was wearing those tinted shades.

He was certain this was the particular ship he was looking for, and even if it wasn't, he would probably ask the crew if he could accompany them anyhow. Terry had no intention to return to The Tigershark; his captain and crew had really gotten into a mess this time. He had left a crew of close friends before, but this time by his own will.

Still stuck on the thought that these people might be sleeping, Terry continued to wait for complete daylight to spread across the sky, the sun had yet to rise. He could hear few vehicles passing by, as he stared down at his briefcase. He remained patient, constantly taking a glimpse of his current surroundings once he removed his eyes from his bags. It was nice to be on Earth again, although he hadn't revisited his old home, but he was happy to be here nonetheless.

Terry's mind began to wander, mostly about his visit with Mauri, and why she refused to go with him. Rather than dwell on the thought, he tried to stop thinking altogether and keep waiting. He found where he was going, or so he hoped, and was prepared for anything. All he had to do now was wait for someone from this ship to contact him in some way. __________________

Diandriaa had that dream again.

The one about the person with the blue hair and the grease on their face. She still couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but this time, Amber was with them.

Nothing was said. They just walked by her, the Hani woman smiled at her and that was it. Diandriaa was just about to ask Amber who the person was, when she was awakened by a tapping on her door.

At least she thought she heard tapping. It could have been part of the dream. She decided to just stay where she was, she needed the sleep anyway. She needed the energy to talk to the girl and the man about maybe joining the ship. She needed a med specialist, but she would find out what the other guy could do before she hired him.

She drifted back off to dreamland, as she pondered the possibilities in her head. She figured if there was someone at the door, they would knock again louder, if it was important. __________________

The knock brought no reply in the first few minutes, and Nadia was a bit antsy in the midmorning hush. Blinking her eyes briefly shut, the girl reached out a bit for minds focused around then Emerald Queen. Ah, there's our friend, Halden, a feeling of slight exertion and the object occupying his thoughts brought to several conclusions. Again, Nadia reached out and found one she didn't recognize. A brief touch just beyond the outer barriers of this mind, and she was brought into the conscious world of a man... Terry, it seemed. A sense of waiting accompanied him, focused on the Emerald Queen. Respect for people's privacy and a deep sense of morals taught her not to probe deeply into people's minds, but her curiosity was certainly piqued.

Still, her search for the Captain of the ship was not yet fulfilled. One last probe led her to the sensitive mind of Diandriaa. Ah, another telepathic mind. She might not appreciate my curiosity. Rather than actually step beyond the boundaries of this consciousness, she merely gave it a nudge, a stimuli for reply, but no message of any sort attached. __________________

While Diandriaa fell back into sleep, she felt a mental nudge, as though someone were trying to connect with her.

She didn't know who this was, being the fact that she was actually asleep at the time. She just threw out what she normally threw out whenever she felt someone trying to communicate with her.

"My name is Diandriaa. I don't know my last name. My parents left me on Satyena during a raid nearly 30 years ago. I have not seen them since. I am told I have a sibling, but I do not know whom that person is. I inherited this ship from the original owner, Palantir Apollo Fairbanks after his death nearly six years ago. I am Valertrez, I will be 32 at the end of the Sol Calendar year, my favorite color is black, my favorite food is muffins and I don't function at all unless I have my coffee in the morning."

There, that oughtta make whoever that was happy.

Suddenly, she awoke and sat up.

Whoever it was that was trying to mentally poke at her, managed inadvertently to portray a minor thought to her.

Diandriaa jumped up and barged out of her room, rather sleepily calling out, "Who the hell is this Terry, and what's he doing lurking about outside my ship?"

She then stopped, puzzled and shouted again "And who is Halden?"

Diandriaa wiped the sleep out of her eyes as she plodded over to the cockpit to open the hatch. She then made her way outside to see a young man sitting next to the ship. She took a deep breath and stared at him for a moment to see what his intentions were.

"Job, navigator, job call...."

Diandriaa stopped. Job call? She didn't remember sending out any messages for a navigator...

Then she remembered. Bart, on Osiris. It must have been him. Damned Bart, he must have know she would have forgotten to do it, so he must have sent out the transmission for her.

"Hey you," she called out to him, "come on up here..."

She left the hatch open and went to the com. "If you two are awake, meet me in the galley in five minutes." __________________

The sun finally rose, shining brightly in the morning sky. Of course Terry couldn't see it, his eyes were shielded from the brightness. He figured that someone may be awake by now, and was ready to send a message by computer. It wasn't long after this thought when the main hatch to the ship opened, and a figure emerged, calling out to him. It was a woman, though he couldn't make her out too clearly. She requested that he board her ship.

Terry stood up, grabbing his cases and heading to a nearby TPT. It took no time at all for him to be on the ship, in a hallway where he could see the woman who addressed him earlier. She had a com link in her hand, and Terry just assumed that she was delivering a message of some kind to her crew.

He removed his sunglasses, letting his light brown eyes adjust to the light inside the ship. Turning toward the woman, he said, "Well, I thank you for allowing me onboard. My name is Terry Yamane, I'm here because I found an ad saying that your crew needed someone with some navigation skills, and I'm interested in taking the job."

He lifted one of his arms to shake her hand, realizing that he held one of his briefcases in each arm. "Well, I would greet you with a proper handshake, but it seems that my hands are full," Terry said. He put the case down, extending his arm to her again. __________________

Diandriaa sleepily raised an eyebrow, and with a grin on her face, shook Terry's hand. Well, so far, he's patient and polite. This guy isn't going to be a problem.

"I'm Diandriaa, you can set your bags there for now" she said, walking towards the room next to where she had laid the girl down in earlier, and pointing it out to him, "this will be your room, and I'll give you a brief tour of the ship after our meeting, please follow me to the galley."

She was aware that a light pink sleeping gown and a dark red robe wasn't exactly the appropriate outfit for her first crew meeting, but she didn't care. She ran her fingers through her burgundy hair and proceeded towards the galley. __________________

"Ah, yes, of course," Terry answered, as he placed his bags on the floor. He followed her to his new room, which seemed quite comfortable. It had more space than his room on the Tigershark; they had so much space for crewmembers there, so all the rooms were small, but fair enough to live in.

Terry was adjusting to the environment of this new ship, it was suitable for him; in fact, in a way it almost felt like home. He also noted that a meeting was coming up, which was good because he needed to catch up with the crew. He hadn't a clue as to what the crew had planned, but he didn't really mind, anything would be fine. He just hoped that they wouldn't get into any serious conflict; since his recent meeting with Mauri, he decided to put the fighting aside and just rest as long as he could.

"Well, this is all very nice. I think my stay here should be a new experience," Terry said, showing off a small smile. It was rare that he would smile for anyone, it was merely a sign of trust, and he felt that he trust this new crew. He had to, else there would really be no point in staying with them. __________________

Even as Diandriaa barged out of her room in a sleepy huff, Nadia felt a glow of activity liven the ship's inhabitants. The girl had managed to stay out of sight while the stranger was inducted with somewhat less drama than herself and Halden. Speaking of whom, she had half a mind to run and drag him up to the galley so they could meet the new stranger.

Nadia's curiosity was weakening her resolve to stay silent and relatively out of the way. But her grade of professionalism held up, and she was in the galley with a calm exterior. Meanwhile, even the least sensitive of telepaths could feel the interest like small electric zaps on the air. She didn't need her mental abilities to know that this would be a meeting to consider staying on board the Emerald Queen. Otherwise, Nadia would have gone by now, in search of another ship and paid for the services offered by the captain of the ship.

Allowing Diandriaa a moment to introduce herself and all of the proper pleasantries, the girl waited in relative silence, her mind nosing about in the essences of welcome and politeness. Any exterior feelings, she stayed away from, not at all interested in motives. She was simply bordering on impatient and following the gist of the conversation. __________________

Halden stopped from his training when he heard commotion outside the rec- area. He decided it was time for a break anyway and put back on his black shirt and equipped the sheath to his back and sheathed his sword. Stepping outside the room he saw Nadia heading towards the Galley and decided to follow her. On his way there he noticed Diandriaa showing some guy around and wondered who he was. When he got to the galley he took a seat next to Nadia.

"So what's all this about and who is that guy?" Halden asked Nadia with a sly grin. __________________

Terry followed Diandriaa back to the galley after looking through his quarters. There were two more people there, obviously the remaining crewmates who Terry had yet to meet. They had gathered for the meeting, which was to take place at any moment.

Of the two new members there was a young male, he looked as if he had been in some sort of fight recently, as there were some bruises on him. With him stood another woman, who in a way reminded him of Mauri, though they were two completely different people.

Terry felt it necessary to introduce himself to them, seeing as how he was the newest member aboard the ship, but it seemed that Diandriaa may have been ready to start with the meeting, so he would wait until afterwards.