1220/Mistaken Identities

Mistaken Identities
Date of Scene:	28 December 2014
Location:	Aznable Colony <AC>
Synopsis:	Serenity arrives at the Aznable Colony , but it's not the one Yulia is looking for
Cast of Characters:	256, 273

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Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    Aznable Colony, Sovereign State of Neo-Zeon - It's not a very large nation, being just a handful of space colonies and a growing outpost on (the local iteration of) Mars. the local history has been...colorful...but since the last war (which was very brief but could have ended very badly) ended a few years back and there is now a peace treaty in place between them and (the local iteration of) the Earth Federation, aside from another recent conflict, things have calmed down considerably. It's neutral, has a government that tries to keep local space from being too lawless, and is open for business for anyone willing to not shoot at other people while in their jurisdiction.

    That means free traders are welcome, and getting a berth in the local spaceport is simple to ask for, even if the space itself isn't easy to obtain. And yet, when the local ship control tower hears the callsign for 'Serenity', they're quick to find the ship a place to dock, with surprisingly little hassle. There are guiding beacons, complete with lights, to guide the ship inside the cylindrical 'cap' on the colony's axis, and since there is no gravity holding sway, one can manuver up and down as well as left and right once inside. They're directed to a docking berth on the upper sector, Number 14-B...

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Colorful history on Mars. No pun intended.

    "14-B, roger that Aznable Tower," says the pilot's cheery voice, hanging up the handheld comm unit and returning his hands to the ship's controls.

    CRUNCH

    "What the gorram hell was that?!" comes a new voice, as the ship's captain ducks into Serenity's cockpit. "I'm starting to wonder if I've not been clear enough on the subject of knocking parts off my spaceship..." Mal says, with a pointed sidelong look to his pilot as he steps up to the windows.

    "Just been a while since I've parked us in zero-g, Mal..." the pilot points out, sloooowly reaching over to hide a certain guilty-looking stegosaurus underneath his control bank.

    Serenity glides slowly on over towards the indicated port without any further incident, the skilled hands of the ginger pilot guiding her to a gentle contact with the colony's dock.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    The local docking crew will be muttering about ameteur pilots, but it's pretty likely that Serenity will be neither the first nor the last ship to have scraped against something in here. (There may be a bill for 'debris recovery' tacked to the standard customary docking fees, too.)

    As for docking itself, said local docking crew are old hands at this, and even though a Firefly class looks not much like the ones around these parts, they should be able to help the ship ease in and make all of the needed contact connections to keep it moored securely and airlock connections fitted snugly. Once they've finished, one of them floats over to the cockpit window to tap-tap his gloved hand and give a thumbs-up sign. 'You're secured,' he talls them over a local comm band. 'Feel free to disembark at your leisure. Don't forget to watch for airlocaks and gravity transitions zones.' A pause, as he receives chatter from a different band. 'Oh, and your party is on their way to meet you.'

    What?

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Serenity's docked without any further issues, and in the captain's book, that's a win. The ship gets secured to the dock, and shortly, after flashing a hand to the spacewalker in thanks, Mal turns nad makes his way towards the aft of the ship, down the narrow passageway.

    And then stops.

    "Party?!?" asks a new voice, belonging to a brutish-looking figure who clambers up form a room along the side of the bulkhead nearby Mal. "We're meeting a party?"

    "I ain't got no gorram idea what that's about, Jayne..." the captain calls over his shoulder, as he continues on down the passageway. "Zoe! With me!"

    The ship's second-in-command is already at the ship's airlock, waiting. "Didn't know you arranged a party for us, sir. How thoughtful," she says, flashing a bemused, sharp-toothed smile.

    "I didn't," Mal mutters in reply, reaching to open the airlock doors, and head into the station.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    On the other side of the docking airlock is the same kind of wide, neutral-colored corridor that you'd see at just about any airport or spaceport. Except that the local version of people-movers are handles on a conveyor strip mounted on the walls that moves at a leisurely pace. Useful for those who aren't comfortable with trying to glive through open air with no gravity to speak of. Yet there a few benches, a newspaper dispensors and a cluster of vending machines, all bolted to the floor.
    It's a busy hour, and so unsurprisingly there's quite a few people on their way inward toward the colony and outward towards the ships. Cargo pallets float by on mounted pallet movers designed to work in weightlessness, keeping higher to the tall ceiling to avoid the people-traffic.

    yulia's ponytail bobs in the wightlessness as she uses one of the people-movers, holding the handle in one hand while keeping hold of a handbag in her right. There's a man in a military uniform behind her, a good friend as well as bodyguard, and she looks behind her to flash him an excited grin. Then, she loks forward again, with that expected eagerness of meeting an old friend. Her destination? 14-B.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "You didn't tell anyone we were coming?" asks Zoe again, turning aside towars the captain, the two standing just inside the artifical gravity of their ship, with the door now opened to the station.

    "-I- didn't.." replies the captain, leaning his head out of the door and looking around for any immediate threats. Seeing none, he relaxes back into the ship. "Still, sounds as though someone's fixin' to see us here," he says, with a look back towards Zoe. "All the goods stashed?"

    Zoe crooks an eyebrow. "The -one- crate we picked up on Badger's moon? Yes, it's stashed," she replies, with a layer of sarcasm over her words.

    "Was hopin' to add a few more here..." says Mal, looking out of the ship into the station once more, wondering who's expecting to meet them here.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    They aren't kept in suspense for long, or least they aren't left along for much longer. Or at the very least a young woman in a can't-possibly-be-uniform dress and with her wheat-blond hair in a floating ponytail touches down at the other side of the airlock, her shoes click-clacking on the threshold as the magnetic tap take hold. The man who decidedly is in a military-style red and black uniform touches down behind her a few moments later.

    "Hello!" she greets cheerfully, a smile going with the words. "I'm here to pick up your passenger."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    First, Zoe looks back to her captain with one of those Looks of hers, crooking an eyebrow at him. "Yes, it's a good thing we worried," she remarks, laconically. And then turns back to the girl, a polite enough smile on her features.

    "I...uh..." starts Mal, before clearing his throat once, and looking down at the girl. You can just see the gears turning, with that look on his face. "'fraid we ain't got no passengers, friend," he says, giving one of those quick, roguish smiles that he favors. "Well, actually..." he says, before leaning back in the ship, and cupping a hand to his mouth.


"HEY DOC! ARE YOU AND THAT CRAZY SISTER OF YOURS PLANNING ON FINALLY RIDDING US OF THE JOY OF YOUR PRESENCE!?!?"

    A moment later, a terse-sounding "No" comes back from the direction of the ship's infirmary, sounding annoyed.

    "See, 'fraid there's none that're gettin' off at this port," Mal says, turning back to the girl and flashing that smile again.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    Yulia's smile had originally been genuine, but it slowly fades into the one that she's learned how to hold for long periods of time. Though it gets broken by the part about someone and a crazy sister, and by the end of it her eyebrows have knit together into a more bemused expression. She grabs the doorway with her free hand so that she can lean back, and she double-checks the placard on her side. "Fourteen B..." she says aloud, more to herlf than anyone. Then she looks up at the soldier with her - no coice in that, since he's a head tallet than her. "It was Fourteen B, right?"

    "Yes, ma'am," is his short reply as he looks down at her. His expression hasn't changed much, all poker face.

    She then looks forward again, looking from Zoe to Mal and back. "...This -is- the Serenity, right?"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "Sure as the turning of the worlds," replies the captain, nodding. "Malcolm Reynolds," he adds, flashing one of those roguish smiles as he introduces himself. "Captain of Serenity. This is Zoe, my first officer," he adds, tilting his head towards the dark-skinned woman as his side.

    "I take it you're not the talkative type," the captain says, looking to Yulia's guardsman with a merry sort of amusement to his eyes. "Either that, or our little surprise is someone of import," he says, looking back down to the girl once more.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    "Pleased to meet you, Captain Reynolds, First Officer Zoe." Just because she's confused and growing just a little concerned doesn't mean she can't be polite! She even manages to must a bit of that smile back, and she'll step-hop forward extend a hand to offer a handshake. "Yulia Koslova. And this is Tuomas Finn." In theory she probably should have included her title, and in theory she didn't really need to introduce her bodyguards, but...well, this is just how she is.

    Though if anyone on the Serenity side did brush up on local information beforehand, that name might ring bells. Such as Very Important Person married to Very Important Person bells.

    Though she seems to be pretty unassuming in person. Maybe they have her stand on a box for press conferences.

    "You were supposed to have picked him up, along with..." Yulia continues, back to the matter at hand. "...did he only just send his mobile suit, then?"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    The captain offers his hand down to the girl, shaking the girl's offered hand politely. Who says a smuggler can't have manners?

    "Well met then, Yulia," he says, as Zoe offers a quick smile, and nods her head as the girl makes her introductions. It's pretty clear that no such bells are going off in the captain's head, and even if there were, he probably wouldn't know quite how to act on it. As it is, he continues regarding the girl politely enough, as he tends to do with amenable strangers. Especially ones that he's starting to take a liking to.

    "No suits on board either," says the captain, shaking his head. "Unless you're counting some of the doctor's more fancy get-ups."

    "I heard that!" comes the same perpetually-annoyed voice from the ship's infirmary, on the other side of the bay.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    Yulia smirks in that 'you must be pulling my leg' sort of that way at the crack about fancy dress suits, then shakes her head. "No, as in humanoid robot." She gestures with her purse-clutching hand to indicate something very tall. "Twenty meters high, give or take? Even wrapped up in a tarp, you couldn't miss it..."

    Her brow furrows then, concern growing. "Your last port of call -was- Von Braun, yes? He was supposed to have met you there and you were supposed to have picked up his suit, too."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    The captain looks back inside his ship, demonstratively. "Twenty meters you say?" he says, while looking inside the rather obviously giant-robot-less cargo bay. "Must be hiding behind that crate in the back..."

    Zoe gives the captain another Look, before turning her attention to the girl in his stead. "Our last port of call was back on Haven," she says, informationally. "One of Deadwood's moons. 'fraid we've never ever been to a Von Braun, s'far as I recall..." she says, looking to the captain as though to verify.

    "Not in my recollection," he agrees, looking to Yulia once more. "And I'm the type that tries to remember if'n I've been asked to take a giant robot somewhere. Just doesn't do to be forgettin' things like that."

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    This does absolutely nothing to alleviate Yulia's concerned frown. She looks away from them to open her bag, and she rummages for a moment before pulling out a little notebook that's clearly spent a lot of time being carried about like this. "Light cargo transport Serenity, due to arrive today," she glances back again to look at Tuomas' wristwatch, "about five minutes ago. Previous dock Von Braun colony, Earth's moon..." she trails off at that point, looking up again as if half expecting that somehow her pilot and his mobile suit magically appeared when she wasn't looking.

    Meanwhile Tuomas is...it's not a suspicious look, exactly. His eyes have narrowed in a kind of scrutinizing way at Mal and Zoe, before casting a quick glance down at his charge as she rattles off the information. Then, he looks up at them again. "...what's your ship's registration number?"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "Ah, big words," Mal says, faux-chidingly, as he looks level over at Tuomas. "When you're the quiet type, s'best to start small.." he says, and of course, doesn't answer the question.

    He peers over hte edge of Yulia's book, trying to scan the entries upside-down. "This -is- Serenity," he says, clearly an authority on the matter of the name of his ship, or so we'd hope. "Never stopped by Von Braun. Last time we made port on Earth was probably close to six months hence," he adds, by means of clarification.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    Tuomas has been well trained in public relations and thus manages to not glare at Mal for that remark. Maybe just a bit of silent harumph at it. Yulia, however, comes to his defense. "Be nice, Captain," she gently chides in that nice sort of way. We can all be nice, right? Right.

    Since he's looking anyway, she tilts her notepad so that he can better see her neatly penned note, albeit upside down. She can read her own writing, and what she's written is just what she said. And while he's looking at that, she cranes her nect to try and look past him and Zoe, just to be absolutely certain that this isn't some rediculous prank.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Well, needless to say, Yulia is definitely not going to see any gigantic robot stashed in the back of Serenity's cargo hold. Serenity's crew is particularly good at hiding things that aren't supposed to be found, but they'd probably have a rather difficult time making a sixty-foot tall robot hide in the cargo bay of the ship, even if they had wanted to.

    "Like I said," says Mal, after scanning the entries in Yulia's book. "Last place we made port was back in the Deadwood system," he says, flashing her one of those smiles as she chides him.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    During this back and forth, Tuomas tilts his head slightly in that way people do when listening to something through an earpiece. then, he suddenly winces and hastily raises his had to his ear to pull it out. The voice speaking through it is loud enough to be heard, and while not strong enough for the words to be distinct, the tone is clearly not happy.

    "Juin's been found, ma'am," he reports drolly. "-Our- Serenity is in the holding queue. It seems her pilot just learned that someone in tower control let another ship jump the queue to take their spot."

    "Oh. Um." Yulia flashes a sheepish smile. "Then...it sounds like this all a big misunderstanding."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Mal gives one of those smiles again, eye glinting amusedly. "I can't imagine why," he replies, good-naturedly, looking between the two.

    "Terribly sorry we didn't have that giant robot of yours, Miss Yulia," the captain says, flashing a roguish grin down to the girl. "Do hope you're able to find it," he says. "And, a bit curious who's stealing my boat's name as well," he admits.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    This time, Mal's smile is infectuous, and Yulia's sheepish smile turns to an amused one. "We'll blame the multiverse. If we can have a dozen people with the same name, why not two ships?" A pause. "Though it would have been just like him to put you up to pretending he wasn't here."

    She puts her notepad back in her purse and closes it up, then looks back at Zoe and Mal again, her diplomat side making a bit of a return. "Well. Sorry to have bothered you like this, and I hope you and your crew enjoy your time on Aznable."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "I'm sure we will," comes the captain's reply, smile remaining etched into his features. He leans back into the bay of his ship, and gives a sharp whistle. A few other figures emerge in the bay, as though preparing to head out into the colony proper.

    "Do hope we haven't wasted your time," he adds, with that sort of rakish diplomacy that he seems to exude. "Seems as though you've got some duties to attend to around here."

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    "Oh no, it's not your fault," Yulia says, making a dismissive gesture with her free hand. "I've found where he is, so mission accomplished, right? Though we should go on to meet them at the right dock this time." She step hops back so that she's no longer blocking the doorway. "It was nice meeting you, maybe we'll bump into each other again?"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "It's a small Multiverse," comes the man's reply, giving Yulia a good-natured, piratey sort of smile.

    "Best of luck finding the right dock, and all. We appreciate the welcome, I'm sure," he adds, turning back towards the interior of Serenity, as though to check on the preparations of the rest of his crew, who seem just about ready to disembark. A few carry small crates of goods, and the rest assist.

Yulia Koslova (256) has posed:
    Yulia gives a nod, then pushes off from the ground to float back in the direction of the far wall. Tuomas gives them all a nod, then noves to follow. They'll be halfway down the hallway by the time Serenity's crew disembarks proper.