open Cowboy Bebop RP

[Jack Baker 698]

OOC

@@Driz,@@Orange Sparks, @@Hazard Time,

 

December 10, 2071

 

Near the planet of Jupiter...

 

 

This part of the solar system was somewhat crowded with spacecraft. Some were trade ships who came from the different moons of Jupiter, rushing to the hyperspace gate in order to sell their wares to other planets. Some were travel ships, taking citizens from the ocean colonies of Ganymede to the dry, rocky desert towns of Io, or like the merchants, to other planets. And among these ships, one lies drifting slowly across the moon of Europa. A black, somewhat dangerous looking ship, about 286 meters in length; with the word "Vega" written on the left side of the hull. This was a bounty hunting ship, and its inhabitants were all experienced bounty hunters, capturing criminals from all over and turning them in to the International Solar System Police for a hefty sum. Yes, the life of a bounty hunter is thrilling, and the money can be great at times...

 

But for bounty hunters, money can run out faster than you think.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MduJjbcLSqE

 

Raze stared at the open fridge, a blank expression on his face. He had just woken up from an amazing four hour nap, and he wanted to grab a bite to eat from the living room fridge.

 

And here he was, staring at it. In all its empty glory.

 

He should have been shocked. Angry, even. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to do that. All he could do was stare, and wonder. Wonder where the hell all the food went. There were four people on this ship, and he bought enough food from Mars to last them at least a month. It had only been one week since then.

 

He closed the fridge, and sighed. They didn't have any money either; they had spent all of it on said food and fuel for the ship. It wasn't much either, about 37,000 woolongs (($370)). There haven't been any bounties out either, at least big ones anyway. He had seen one worth 19,870 woolongs for the capture of an armed robber somewhere in Europa, but that was it. He walked over to the couch in the living room and plopped himself down on it.

 

Ugh... when the hell are we gonna actually gonna make some real money...? he thought. If this keeps up... I don't know how much longer we'll last...

 

Just as he thought that, his stomach began to growl.

 

"Tch..." he rolled over. "I'm hungry... I could go really go for some bell peppers and beef right about now..."

Edited December 14, 2016 by Detective Adachi
Corrected link to OOC

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@

 

Bronze remembered a time when the hum of the ship's engines would drive her crazy.  How could anyone sleep with that constant droning noise in their ear?  Gradually, however, it grew on her until it became a sweet lullaby.  It sure beat the sporadic sonic booms of meteorites or the occasional burst of gunfire back home.  At some point, it simply melted into the background, a white noise that she could not remember going without it.

 

This made it even harder for the mare to open her eyes in the morning.  Was it actually the morning?  Sure, time was relative and even more pointless in space, but she had since taken to calling any time that she had awoken from a nap that lasted four hours or more as "morning".  Unlike the engines, she still had trouble adjusting to this.

 

The mare groggily stretched her limbs and rolled out of her bed, running her hands through her long, unkempt mane.  She took a moment to look down at her sweat-drenched tank top and boyshorts.  When was the last time she changed either?  Would probably be a good idea to change her underwear at least.  

 

After a small pinch to help her wake up, she staggered over to the shower, dressed down, and took a short, cold shower.  After exchanging her panties for something slightly fresher, she pulled on a pair of slacks and walked into the living space.  What was for "breakfast" on this fine "morning"?  She felt in the mood for a nice slab of rye and marmalade.  Just thinking about it made her stomach rumble.

 

Ignoring the familiar sprawled figure on the couch she walked over to the fridge and had a look inside.  She stared.  Strangely, no food materialized.  It's alright, there had to be food in the pantry.

 

Nope.

 

The pegasus slammed the pantry door shut and whirled on the relaxing stallion, crossing her arms over her chest.  "Alright, 'o ate all our food?  I want names!"

[Jack Baker 698]

@@Hazard Time,

 Raze rolled around to look at the figure standing in front of him. Seeing that it was Bronze, he laid on his back and put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes.

 

"That's what I'd like to know," he said, yawning. "I kept enough food there for a month and it runs out in a week; either that isn't enough or one of us really needs to change their eating habits..." He scratched his forehead.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@

 

The mare rolled her eyes and turned back around, opening the fridge back up and staring inside.  Nope, still nothing.  A lock of hair obscured her vision and she blew it out of her way.  Right, she forgot to do her mane.  Standing back up, she began forming her mane into a bun.  Normally, she liked to keep her tail in a neat and tidy braid, but she just couldn't be arsed to do that today.

 

"We'w, now what?" she inquired.  "You sure there isn't a job somewhere?  No murderers?  Robbers?  Smugglers?  What I'm tryin' to say is if I find the porker 'o ate all me marmalade, I'm cuttin' 'em up and servin' 'em a la carte.  I didn't become no bloody cowgir'w to starve to death!"

[Jack Baker 698]

@Hazard Time
Raze, eyes still closed, responded to Bronze.

"Look, I've been trying to find one, alright?" he said to her. "It's not as easy as it sounds, the ISSP've been handing out small fry as of late. I'm looking for a big one; with a bounty so huge you could buy yourself enough marmalade to drown in..." He slightly opened one eye to look at her. "...But as I said before, there isn't one yet that's up for grabs, so until then, you'll have to deal, got it?"

He yawned again. "...Now calm down, have a seat or something. You check the other pantries? There's probably some bottled water in there, or something..."

Edited December 11, 2016 by Detective Adachi

[Driz 1,552]

@

@@Hazard Time

 

"Alright, boys and girls. I'm calling crew meeting right now. One two one two, c'mon." Trinket rapidly jogged across the living room, alerting those who were anywhere near enough to hear her demand, carrying various pens, pencils & other office utensils resting on top of a large pile of papers. As she approached the room's small coffee table, she slammed down the pile on it and continued to pace around impatiently.

 

She had woken up from her nap a few hours prior and checked on the kitchen area for snacks which, to no surprise, had recently been dried clean of food. Ever since Trinket joined the crew, she had assigned to herself the responsibility of making plans, organizing schedules and generally looking over the performance of her comrades in order to ensure the best results in their jobs. Needless to say, it was one of the most difficult tasks she'd ever been responsible for. And as a dreadful reminder of that fact, they were slowly but surely running out of supplies.

 

Sporting her usual overalls bottom tied to her waist, limited edition Bugarally t-shirt and pair of star-shaped earrings, Trinket wanted to set some things straight with the Vega crew.

 

"Now listen; I know we already had a meeting this month just to, y'know, see how things were going and whatnot, but it seems like we haven't quite mastered the art of, uhm... living. Yet." She tinkered with a few settings on the ship's internal comm panel whilst still addressing the people nearby. "I promise I won't take much of our incredibly precious, limited free time we have at our disposal. After all, we're a busy bunch, full of bounty offers and working nonstop, right? Right?" Perhaps sarcasm wasn't the best alternative to lighten up the mood, but she still wanted to give it a shot. Trinket then picked up the internal comm microphone and spoke up:

 

@@Orange Sparks

 

"Attention lovelies, I repeat, attention lovelies. Your presence is requested at the ship's lounge at this very instant. Please, do move your lazy butts with haste. Your cooperation is appreciated." Across the Vega's inner quarters, her best attempt at a radio announcer impersonation could be heard by the residents.

[Jack Baker 698]

@@Driz, 

Raze opened his eyes again to see Trinket, the second girl of the Vega crew, making plans to arrange a meeting. He always wondered: just how could she be so lively in a situation like this? She always seemed to remain optimistic about things, even in situations like this. Nevertheless... he admitted he enjoyed it a little whenever she was in the room; it always lightened up the mood. He sat up, looking at all the stuff Trinket and laid out, and sighed.

 

"All I know is this: we've run out of food, and Bronze is really cranky about it. The ISSP haven't put out any big bounties yet, which means we won't be able to make money to restock our supplies... and last time I checked, we're about a quarter of the way through with the ship's fuel." He looked at his watch. 8:19 AM. Big Shot was about to come on, and that was his only hope left if he wanted to find a bounty with a big reward.

 

He stared at the ceiling. "We are near Ganymede... maybe I should try my luck with fishing again. Hell, I might be able to snag one of those rare Ganymede Rock Lobsters..." He made a gesture with his hands that resembled him holding a fishing rod and casting a line.

 

((For those who don't know: Big Shot is a short television show that bounty hunters watch in order to find their next big bounty))

Edited December 11, 2016 by Detective Adachi

[Driz 1,552]

She put the microphone back down after sending out her message and turned around to face Raze and Bronze, sitting down on the couch across from them. She began skimming through the stack of documents she had brought, sorting them out in smaller stacks all over the coffee table.

 

 

"I know, I know. These past couple of days have been rough on everybody. But we can't just keep idling about, waiting for ISSP's input, can we? Besides, if Punch and Judy do come up with some big news for a bounty on today's show, it's gonna be a freaking death race for it. We're not the only Cowboys stranded at the moment." She explained to Raze while still focused on the papers.

 

"But yeah, we're gonna have to dock somewhere today either way - Ganymede might just be our best bet right now... Even though we'll be damned if we rely on your luck with the lobsters, cap, we don't have much of a choice." Trinket chuckled at her own remark. "So what do you think? Should we go for it?"

[Jack Baker 698]

@Driz

Raze's eyes widened a bit at Trinket's remark, then cringed. He sighed.

"Hey, I try my best..." he said. He thought about what she had said before that about Ganymede, then nodded.

 

"Eh, you're probably right. I didn't want to stay here floating aimlessly in space anyway..."

 

He looked under the coffee table, finding a small Holo-Monitor underneath. It could be used for a multitude of things, like finding ISSP bounties. He figured he might as well check the database one last time before they docked.

 

He set the device on the table and turned it on, switching it to computer mode, and took out the wireless keyboard underneath. Connecting to the net, he pulled up the ISSP database and searched. Nothing, he sighed.

 

"I guess I'll give it another few minutes when we get to Ganymede..." He looked around. "And since our pilot doesn't seem to be here, I guess I'll have to bring the ship around."

 

He stretched his arms out, then stood up. "Alright everyone, grab whatever you need, we're heading to Ganymede. Hey, that rhymes..." Chuckling softly to himself and smiling, he slowly made his way to the bridge, hands in his pockets and whistling a tune.

When it came down to it, Raze really was an easygoing captain.

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

@,@@Driz,  

 

Clockwork was busy carefully expecting his Heckler & Koch PSG-1 sniper rifle when his mechanical eye swiveled in the direction of Raze and growls softly "We're floating aimlessly in space because our navigator managed to get us lost" he says with a shake of his head and puts his rifle down, he sighs "Also, when are we actually going to go after a worthwhile target? So far it's only been smallfry" he remarks, hoping that one of these days they'd come across his parents' murderers and he'd be able to get his revenge on them.

 

Despite his growling and his distance with most of the crew, he actually did have a rather sweet personality, it just bothered him whenever one of the crew members complained about something. "I'm running low on munition as well, so unless we come across some money for more or just happen across some that are laying around..my rifle's gonna be out of commission for a while" he sighs before going back to inspecting and cleaning it.

 

Being the ships' pilot and mechanic, he took his job of inspecting the ships mechanics and also every single firearm the crew owned seriously. A pony is only as good as the weapon they wield, he always says, and if the firearm malfunctions then that pony is pretty much useless in a fight, unless they know some form of martial arts or also had a melee weapon of some sort.

[Commander Tangent 861]

Home. That is what it looked like to Skyhop. The long never ending fields of grain and corn swayed in the simulated wind of the colony. A slight whistling sound filled the air as the wind gently rustled through the never ending stalks. He was standing just on the edge of the field near the farm house in the waning daylight. He closed his eyes and pulled in a long drawn out breath, taking in the memories of home and comfort. It was so peaceful. He relished in the silence as he ran a hand through his hair, sweeping it back. Footsteps from behind broke the gentle tranquility that surrounded him.

 

With a quick turn he found himself face to face with his Pa. Skyhop smiled, " Hey Pa, just enjoying the one last time before I head back inside for dinner. Sorry to keep ya waitin" Skyhop craned his head back to the field, " Who knew a place in space could look this beautiful".

 

His Pa returned his signiture grin and opened his mouth, releasing a flood of electronic noise into Skyhop's poor ears. "Attention lovelies, I repeat, attention lovelies. Your presence is requested at the ship's lounge at this very instant. Please, do move your lazy butts with haste. Your cooperation is appreciated."

 

With a jolt he shot upright in his bed. A simple dream it seemed, but it flooded him with memories of times before the fire. Before Pa went missing. With a growl he hopped out of his bed and threw on his clothes that were on the ground. It was simple attire, a buttoned plaid shirt and blue jeans. Slowly, he stumbled his way through the ship to the assigned meeting point. Silently he skulked his way into the room, sitting on a lost chair and looking around at the others. Looked like he was in for another meeting of sorts, or had missed one.

[Jack Baker 698]

@@Orange Sparks,

Raze turned his head to look at Clockwork. "So that's where you've been," he said to him with a slight smile. "Don't worry about the bounties, I'm working on it; Big Shot's coming on soon and they're bound to have something good. For now though, get your ass to the bridge, we're heading to Ganymede. You never know, there might be something there too." He continued walking slowly, whistling again.

Edited December 12, 2016 by Detective Adachi

[Hazard Time 1,127]

Bronze grumbled under her breath before grabbing a bottle of water and plopping herself down on the couch.

 

"I 'ope so," she mumbled, taking a large gulp of water.  That seemed to help, if slightly.  She was still hungry, but at least she was hydrated enough to realize that she was acting like a total bitch at the moment.  She didn't need to give the crew any reason to consider her as the first pony to go under the knife should tempers rise.  "Never been to Ganymede, but I also never liked seafood.  Always smelled Bobbins to me.  Still, beggars can't be choosers, aye?"

 

The mare shrugged and took another swig.  "I'm game for whatever keeps us alive."

[Driz 1,552]

"Hey, looks like everyone is here! About time." Trinket presented a joyous grin decorating her feature. "Before we go on our little fishing trip, I'd like to have a word with you all real quick, if you don't mind." She then laid back on the lounge's couch, expecting everyone to do the same. She stretched her arms and back before pointing her nose at the files scattered across the table. "These here are estimates of our budget usages of our expenses per month, and boy oh boy... They're ugly."

 

"Once we finally get lucky with our bounties and manage to get back on our feet, I don't want the same tragic thing to happen again, and I think I speak for everyone here... You know what I'm talking about: going completely broke out of the blue. Having no woolongs means having no food, having no food means becoming grumpy, becoming grumpy means not performing well on the field, not performing well on the field means not succeeding with the bounties, not succeeding with the bounties means having no woolongs. Catch my drift?" She proceeded to stare at each one of her friends with determined eyes.

 

"From now on, until we become filthy rich, no more snacks, junk food, etc. when buying the month's food supplies, alright? They expire too quickly, and also cost a bunch - especially in Mars' colonies... Expensive, filthy high-class markets, I tell ya. Anyway, let's try and only use our budget for the basic everyday meals we absolutely need. People tend to not eat food when they have to cook it first because they're just lazy like that, so that'll hopefully force us to only consume stuff exclusively when hungry. For the record, I'll also be giving up on my energy drinks for this, so we'll each do some sacrifices of our own for the greater good. Only then, the month's expenses might just be enough... Maybe." She cleared her throat. "On the other hand, what we have been using for the maintenance of the Vega and our equipment isn't looking so bad. No need to cut anything there, at the very least. Still, the fact that we're currently completely broke remains, so let's work on that before anything else, shall we? That is all, thank you. Dismissed." She gave everyone another warm smile and patted her thighs twice, before standing back up with a gleeful hop and moving towards the bridge.

 

It was always difficult for Trinket to establish rules like these for the crew, especially considering they might very well choose not to follow. She never really looked down on anybody there - quite the opposite; she believes each of them has much more potential than what she could ever wish for herself. That's why she feels the need to take care of them, to say what she thinks will benefit them the most, as to not let them wander astray. They have always been like one big family, in which she chose the role of the overzealous mother.

 

"Do we have anything juicy to look forward to at Ganymede, Raze?"

[Jack Baker 698]

@Driz

Raze stopped whistling to respond to Trinket

"Maybe," he said to her with a smile. "Personally, I'm hoping more for a juicy bounty reward than a juicy fish, but I'll take whichever comes first."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, it shocks me just how optimistic and energetic you can be at times, going around and making orders during a time like this . And I thought I was the captain of this place..."

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Driz,

 

Skyhop began to grin a bit. Being a broke bounty hunter sucked but it beat running drugs and contraband. The captain's optimism helped lift his mood slightly as well. Even after living on ships for a few years he still was not used to it. He missed being in the open expanses of colonies.His eyes scanned the other crew members for their reactions before looking over to the captain again.

 

"So tell me, what is this Gandymede place like ? We lookin at a backwater or are we lookin at a big ass city here ?" He tilted his head back, putting his arms behind his head. He didn't like speaking in front of the group with what was probably a stupid question, but he wanted to know what and were he was about to put his boots on. And blending in with a populace never hurt as well.

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

@,@@Driz, @@Hazard Time, @@Commander Tangent

 

Clockwork sighed but saluted with his metallic arm "Aye aye Cap'n" he says and starts to make way towards the bridge but then Trinket spoke up and he stops "Well don't look at me!" he growls "I've hardly eaten in ages and.." he sighs "I'm sorry guys, I'm just annoyed that our last bounty got away" he says then turns his attention to Skyhopper, if there was anyone on this ship that understand how he felt, it would be him "Ganymede is the seventh and largest moons of Jupiter, also known to have one of the largest oceans teeming with large juicy fish..." he states with a soft smile, he had joined the crew a few years before Skyhopper, but ever since Sky had joined, he found himself having a soft spot for him. "and while I agree with Bronze, I'm so starved I could eat a whole whale" he says then runs a gentle hand through the younger stallion's mane "say buddy, wanna help pilot the ship?"

[Driz 1,552]

@

 

Trinket's cheeks became a bright-pink color as she scratched the back of her head and looked away in the distance.

 

"Aw, shucks, Raze... It's nothing big, really. I'm just doing what I can to keep us together, even if it means being so bossy at times. Everyone here is very important to me, and I want to cherish that. Besides, I think I prefer to leave the curse of being this nuthouse's captain to you!" She laughed out loud, before lowering her head "Thank you, though..." She gave him a playful, gentle punch on the arm.

[Jack Baker 698]

@Driz

Raze smiled at her, then continued to make his way toward the bridge. Seeing that Clockwork hadn't made his way over yet, he sighed.

 

"Well... looks like I'm piloting this thing after all..." He made his way to the pilot's chair and took a seat. He primed the ships engines, and began to descend towards the surface of Ganymede.

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Orange Sparks,

 

Skyhop recoiled a bit. He wasn't expecting the sudden physical contact so it took him by surprise. Looking over at Clockwork he mulled over the question for a few seconds. He could always use a good excuse to look out at the stars and planets now and then. It was usually a calming experience for him.He might also get a nice look at the moon they were landing on. Standing looking up, he nodded.

 

"I'm not the most tech savy person when it comes to ship controls, but it might prove interesting at the least. Might also get a nice look at this moon we are landing on" He says slowly,thinking out his words.

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

@, 

 

Clockwork had just reached the bridge and raises an eyebrow "Cap'n, I was on my way but Trinket addressed all of us, did she not? So I had to stay and listen" he says as he leans on the chair and smirks "I was going to teach Skyhop how to pilot this thing in case we need an emergency evac" he says and then sees Sky coming in.

 

@@Commander Tangent, 

 

"Heya kid, take a seat and I'll run you through the basics, and yeah, I'm gonna need to take a good look at where the land on that big hunk of rock" he says with a chuckle before gently using his hips to shove Raze off of the seat "I fixed up your Beretta by the way, may as well go take a few practice shots with it"

[Jack Baker 698]

@Orange Sparks@Driz

Raze looked at Clockwork in a weird way, then shrugged. "Suit yourself; guess I'll take you up on that offer..." He looked at Trinket. "Stay here and watch the navigations systems. I'll see ya later." He then began to make his way to the armory, whistling again to himself.

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Orange Sparks,

 

Skyhop nodded silently and slipped into the chair. After taking a moment to get comfortable, he gazed down at the control panel. The many switches, buttons, and gauges overwhelmed him a bit. There was a lot of items and information in front of him. Feeling slightly unnerved, he gazed over to Clockwork to await instructions. Hopefully Clockwork could at least narrow down what he was looking at to a more simple and straightforward view.

 

"Well, at least it has a good view" He muttered to himself, looking around at the bigger picture surrounding him.

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

@,@@Commander Tangent,

 

Clockwork pokes his tongue out at Raze before looking at the controls "Okay, first thing you need to know is what the controls do, and really, it's a lot like a car, as in it has a throttle and a steering wheel, however, unlike a car, you don't have to worry about gas pedals, brake pedals and constantly changing gears anymore, simply put you just push the throttle forward to go faster, then there's pulling it back to break" he says and demonstrates slowly "Of course unless you have the ignition on, the throttle will do nothing but move. As for the speeds this thing goes at, there's normal speed, which is basically at cruise, racer speed, and then there's ftl which stands for Faster than Light" he explains and then taps the display "This thing here, is the navigational panel, it shows you any planets, stars, moons and even other ships within range of the radar." he smiles over at Skyhop, hoping he had gotten all of that. "Now these buttons here, there's the cloaking device, which makes the ship go invisible and for the most part, undetectable. This one opens the hatch and this one is the lockdown, only use in major emergencies" he says then sighs "Do you see the triggers on the steering wheel? Those are what fires at enemy ships and the buttons fire missiles...got me so far?"

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@Driz @ @@Commander Tangent @@Orange Sparks 

 

After draining her bottle of water, the pegasus decided that the only way she'd get out of her slump was if through more interaction.  It would be hard, but she could forget about food for the moment.  They were already descending to the surface, and she hadn't seen Ganymede yet.

 

Bronze stood up from the sofa and walked onto the bridge with everyone else, craning her neck.  The last time she'd seen so much water, she was leaving Earth.  Would they be going to the beach?  She missed the feel of the sun on her skin, and maybe they'd get lucky and get a job there as well.  Both work AND play.  Who needed food?

 

"That's gorgeous, innit?" she pointed out, resting her elbow on Trinket's shoulder.  "You think we'll have the time and money to go to the beach?  I could use a new bathing suit."