The Speedster and the Scavengers

The Speedster and the Scavengers
Date of Scene:	17 July 2014
Location:	The Great Jungle
Synopsis:	Serenity's crew tries to scavenge fuel from a crashed Cybertronian cruiser, and meets the Autobot Blurr.
Cast of Characters:	273, Blurr

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Blurr has posed:
Blurr had been sent into a densely foliated area to retrieve some intel from a crashed vessel, make an assessment on what parts and supplies, if any, were worth salvaging from the wreck, as well as search for those who had not managed to make it to an escape pod before the craft impacted the surface of the planet.

Needless to say, this isn't one of his favorite kinds of places to go cavorting through. So many trees. And other stuff in his way. He's left quite the obvious trail of trampled vegetation behind him wherever he treads. And to top it all off, he managed to step in some gargantuan pile of organic defecation while he'd been busy scanning the airwaves for any kind of a distress beacon or other signal that might possibly be coming from another Autobot. "Slag it...." he mutters indignantly as he does what he can to wipe it off on a giant palm leaf or something. Stupid waterbags.

Blurr has posed:
Blurr had been sent into a densely foliated area to retrieve some intel from a crashed vessel, make an assessment on what parts and supplies, if any, were worth salvaging from the wreck, as well as search for those who had not managed to make it to an escape pod before the craft impacted the surface of the planet.

Needless to say, this isn't one of his favorite kinds of places to go cavorting through. So many trees. And other stuff in his way. He's left quite the obvious trail of trampled vegetation behind him wherever he treads. And to top it all off, he managed to step in some gargantuan pile of organic defecation while he'd been busy scanning the airwaves for any kind of a distress beacon or other signal that might possibly be coming from another Autobot. "Slag it...." he mutters indignantly as he does what he can to wipe it off on a giant palm leaf or something. Stupid waterbags.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
It seems the Transformer isn't the only one to hear of the downed ship, as there's presently the obvious sound of a ship flying overhead in the direction of the crash site. It sounds like it's certainly larger than just a sub-orbital ship, and shortly, the ship itself comes into view, flying low over the forest canopy.

It's a transport ship, Firefly-class, with the larger aft end that gives the ship's class its namesake. The twin engines mounted into the ship's stubby little wings are rotated downwards, in order to maintain altitude just above the treetops.

"Wash, keep it steady, gorramit!" comes the shout from a voice belonging to a suspenders-wearing figure standing just inside Serenity's bay doors.

"Ain't particularly keen on this idea; ain't one of my best, I admit it. But you tossing my spaceship around ain't helping!" he says, letting go of the talk button on his radio communicator.

Blurr has posed:
It isn't long before the scans reveal another vessel. It doesn't belong to the Autobots nor to the Union. So who is this, exactly? Blurr looks up as it comes nearer and nearer, and once it's close enough he can hear the shouts that appear to be coming from a human man.

Their approximate trajectory is calculated, and the Autobot quickly determines that they're headed for the crash site as well. Slag it, he can't just let some strangers stumble across that wreck...especially since the on-board computer might have some valuable intel that simply can't be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Transforming down into his vehicle form, he zooms forward, knocking down even more trees and attempting to avoid rocks or anything he -can't- simply run over.

As the Firefly-class ship approaches the crash site, whoever's on board will likely notice just how enormous it is. Given that it's a battlecruiser designed to accommodate people who are several stories tall, in comparison to the human-piloted vessel it is quite colossal.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Gao yan jong duh goo yang (Motherless Goats of All Motherless Goats)..." says the captain's voice, the radio transmission probably detectable on the Autobot's frequency, as well. Sounds like Chinese.

"You said this was a SHIP, Jayne! Not a gorram floating city!"

Another voice comes in over the radio, as the one being addressed, presumably Jayne, replies: "How's I supposed to know what he meant, damnit Mal! Job's a job, innit?" The back door of the ship's bay is pulled open by a pair of hydraulic lifts, and the ship begins to slow, as it approaches the crash site. It might not be able to actually land, due to the tree cover, but it can probably get low enough to drop some of its crew off.

Blurr has posed:
The closer the crew get to this ship, the more imposing its size becomes. If they are to disembark near it...well, it looks like it could be the size of a small human city. Though, it has a lot of holes in it, along with a lot of exposed circuitry, wiring, and the like.

But just inside one of those holes, is what appears to be a car. And a very slick-looking one, at that. Just sitting there, empty, and somewhat dinged up but otherwise appearing to be in good shape.

Meanwhile, Blurr reaches the perimeter of the crater the ship had created, and curses to himself when he sees that the humans have already arrived on-site. There's going to be an ideal way of handling this particular situation...

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
Serenity slows to a hover a few dozen meters above some of the deforested ground near the crash site, and shortly therafter, a large cable is tossed out of the back hatch. Two figures descend the cable, followed by another two.

"Alright, people. Let's get in there and find what we can," says the voice of the captain, once more. "Should be plenty here. Kaylee, you and Jayne get to wherever the engine..." somehow, 'room' just doesn't seem like the right word here "..area is, and grab whatever looks expensive. Me an' Zoe will start at the bridge," he says.

Blurr has posed:
Oh, no sir, no way is Blurr going to just let those humans loot the Autobot vessel like that! Just as the captain and his friend Zoe start heading toward the bridge, what appears to be a blue-haired teenaged boy just...materializes in front of them. "Excuse me but what are you doing and where do you think you're going, I'm sorry but I'm afraid it's too dangerous to venture inside." he says abruptly and also at a very rapid rate. Not so fast that no one could understand him, but fast enough that you'd just barely catch what he's saying.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
The two other figures, Jayne and Kaylee presumably, continue to make their way over in the direction of the ship's aft section, hopefully where some of the engine tech is located. Mal and Zoe pull up just shy of the blue-haired kid as he just sorta appears right there in front of them. An eyeblink later, and Zoe, a darker-skinned serious-looking woman, pulls out what looks like a Western-style sawed-off shotgun, and actuates the level.

"Whoa there... We're not lookin' for trouble here, friend," says the captain, raising his hands, palm up, in a neutral sort of gesture. "Well..." he says, with a sidelong glance to Zoe. "Always prepare to see a bit of it," he corrects, looking back to the kid. "Plenty there for you, and plenty there for us. Ship's pretty large-like. No need to be making a fuss over it."

Blurr has posed:
Blurr grumbles to himself. No, these stupid humans don't -get- it. The kid shakes his head, not appearing to be at all disconcerted by the weapon being drawn on him. Does he need to talk even -more- slowly? "No no no, you don't get it, I mean didn't you hear what I just said, I said it it's too dangerous for you therefore you need to leave these premises immediately before the automated defense systems activate as soon as your friends step inside."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Who said they're needin' to go inside?" comes the reply from the dark-skinned woman at the captain's side.

"I was.." Mal replies, giving a sort of stage-look back to his second-in-command, then looks back to the blue-haired kid, pointing a finger at him.

"Now, I don't consider myself much a mechanic," he says. "But I know a broken ship when I see one. And crashes have a funny way 'bout breakin' ships, see. Reckon there's not too much working on that ship still save a couple of batteries, dig?"

Blurr has posed:
But Blurr is adamant. "You don't know what kind of ship this is, do you? You certainly didn't expect it to be this large. It could belong to anyone, and they could still be alive onboard. Speaking of which, most people aren't very friendly to other people who try to dismantle their spacecraft." He insists, perhaps unintentionally revealing that he had intercepted their communications earlier. "Now if you were smart you'd tell your team to get back out here so you can leave immediately. Like right now. Before anything bad happens."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Ain't heard anything when we hailed her, but if there's someone on there, we'll be sure and help them out," Serenity's captain replies, evenly. "Now I'm getting less patient-like. Seeing as you're standing 'tween me and mine and that ship back there," he continues, folding his arms over and across his chest now.

"So get out of my ruttin' way."

Blurr has posed:
Blurr is definitely -not- going to get out of his way, at least not willingly. "Nope absolutely not, you need to get yourselves out of this area immediately before someone gets killed by some unforseen danger such as a leak or an exposed circuit or a hostile entity or a malfunctioning quantum engine or orbital jump or Primus knows what else!" He's starting to talk faster and faster. "Additionally this craft was clearly designed for beings who are much larger and more resilient than humans so obviously that just makes it even more dangerous!"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
Zoe steps forward now, shotgun held ready, and posture equally so. "Man ain't gonna ask again," she says, expression and tone even, and serious.

By now, Kaylee and Jayne have wandered over in the direction of their captain, trying to ascertain what the holdup here is. The larger of the two figures looks like a walking arsenal; aside from the mammoth assault rifle that he carries, he's got a bandolier stuffed with grenades, a pair of handguns clipped to his belt, and the stock of a shotgun peeks up over his shoulder. He certainly looks eager to test it out, too.

Blurr has posed:
Spawn of a glitch, how much more stupid and stubborn could these humans get? Ugh. Blurr had been -hoping- that he could talk some sense into the organics, but it seems that he's going to have to be a bit more...forward.

Suddenly, the teenager disappears and a blur of blue and white bursts from a grove of trees near the crash site, and as it nears the humans can see that it looks like some kind of high-tech hovercraft. But not for long. It starts to unfold outward and upward, until standing before them is a 3-4 story tall mechanoid who looks like he might be the perfect size for the ship they had been planning on looting. "Hmph! Oh really you want to threaten me well go ahead and threaten me -now-." he taunts, glaring down at them.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Well, mine taking you seriously is certainly coming to a middle..." says the ship's captain, as him and the three members of his crew take a few careful steps backwards. "Jayne? Please tell me you brought grenades this time..." he says, giving a glance over at the weapon-clad man to his right.

"Uh...yeah," Jayne replies, a bit distracted with the sudden appearance of the big metal..thing in front of them.

"Listen! We don't mean no harm to you and yours. If there's some of your folk in that ship, we ain't gonna touch them. Just running low on fuel and batteries. Figured we might be able to pick some up that won't be used no longer. Some spare parts, too."

Blurr has posed:
Blurr folds his arms. "Oh and I'm supposed to trust you? Who are you anyway?" He crouches down toward them as far as he can comfortably go and starts off on the high-speed rant of the century. "Hmph if you needed fuel or whatever then why didn't you just ask or why didn't you just go to some orbital fueling station if you fly a ship you should know there are plenty of those out there that are open for business to the public, because the fact of the matter is that this ship crashed or not belongs to -us- that is the Autobots and therefore you have absolutely no right to just go right and take whatever you want as if you owned it yourselves!!"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
Both Jayne and Zoe keep their weapons aimed up at the big metal creature; though whether or not they even think they'd be able to do any damage to him/her/it is uncertain. Kaylee doesn't seem to carry any weaponry, it seems, and the ship's captain hasn't made a grab for the sidearm holstered on his leg yet, either.

"Ain't got enough to make it off-planet," the captain replies. "And those parts would cost us quite a pretty penny. You folk have more than enough to spare, and it don't look like this heap is going to be using them much anyway," he adds, calmly. "So how's about you let us on through to get what we need, now. Can't and ain't going to leave without it."

Blurr has posed:
"Oh is that so and how do -you- know we have 'plenty' to spare, huh? And how do I know I can trust you?" Blurr keeps pressing the question of trust. "You're not Union, and you're not Confederate, I've never seen or heard of you before so I don't know who the slag you are or whether you're just telling me a bunch of rustwash." He pauses, then sighs. "Fine I'll see if there's any useable fuel left and -I'll- get it for you okay?"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Well, it's a...big ship," the ship's captain replies, giving a gesture at the sheer magnitude of the crashed thing. It really is big, too.

"And that's fine. No need for trouble. Just needin' our fuel," he says, trying to gesture for Jayne and Zoe to lower their weapons.

"Standard mid-grade, particle combustion engine fuel!" calls out the rather happy-sounding voice of the other woman. Kaylee, presumably. She's also standing in awe at the walking robot, it seems. The eager ship's mechanic has a love for machinery, and meeting a walking, talking machine Well, that's pretty cool.

"Oh, and if you find any dual-layered compression coils, could use one of those. Cap'n hasn't replaced 'em for months."

Blurr has posed:
Blurr grumbles but agrees. Well, if he helps these people now, they're more likely to help him in the future. After all they do have a ship. They could come in handy someday.

Kaylee shouts, but the speedster has already disappeared inside, returning in just under a minute with one of the smaller fuel reservoirs (though it is by comparison, still quite large). "Mined from an asteroid near the Centralus system. Not sure if it'll work for you but that's what we have. And sorry but I'm not exactly an engine expert so I don't know how to find compression coils and chances are we don't have the same ones you do anyway."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Figure that'll do nicely," the captain replies, once the Autobot comes back out of the ship. Jayne moves ahead a bit with Zoe, carefully, meaning to heft the rather large (relative to HUMANS) drum and bring it back within range of the still-hovering Serenity, for her to catch with the cable.

"Appreciate the spot," mal adds, dipping his head to the Autobot. Kaylee looks a little disappointed at the lack of compression coils, though seems happy enough with the fuel, which is probably a good bit nicer than anything the crew's used in the past.

Blurr has posed:
Blurr watches thoughtfully as the fuel cylinder is carried to the ship. He seems to have calmed down at least a -bit- by now. "Right well I'm assuming you're the captain?" he asks, glancing down at Malcolm. "I don't think I ever got your names."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
It takes Jayne and Zoe two tries to lift the drum, as it's considerably larger than either of them, and probably weighs more than both put together, but they manage to heft it up, with Kaylee's help, and bring it back in range of the ship. Jayne works to hook the cable onto the drum, then radios up to the ship, which begins to winch the heavy fuel drum up into the ship's bay.

Mal observes a moment, then turns back to Blurr. He nods his head, offering one of those quick, roguish sorts of grins that he favors.

"Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity," he replies, politely. "Figured you for a Union-type. Ain't seen any like you 'round the 'Verse so far."

Blurr has posed:
"Captain Malcolm Reynolds," Blurr repeats, making a mental note of that to use in his report later. "Blurr is my designation." There's another pause as he looks back toward the crash site for a moment, then back at Reynolds.

"You know I wasn't -just- trying to convince you to leave because I didn't want you to loot our ship when I said it was dangerous, I mean it really is dangerous. Especially for humans. So don't go looting a ship you don't know much about in the future okay? Okay, good."

There's the sound of shifting metal plates and spinning gears as the speedster's body seems to fold down once again into the hovercraft vehicular mode. "So now that you have enough fuel to get where you need to go at least why don't you go ahead and do that." A.k.a., leave now. "Because I've got my own people to search for and like I said not safe for humans -especially- if I'm not here to override any drone defense systems that might still be online that you might accidentally activate you know I wasn't joking about those automated systems and don't tell me you know more about this ship than I do because it's a Cybertronian cruiser which is what I am and you're not."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Blurr.." Mal says, lifting a shoulder. "Least that's memorable," he adds.

"Plenty of dangerous things for a man to be doing out here," replies Serenity's captain, folding his arms over his chest once again. "Ain't like we've got another choice, 'sides," he adds, simply.

"Appreciate you betting the fuel for us, in any case. I'll take that as a kindness," says Serenity's captain. He gives a final nod to the Autobot, then turns and makes his way back towards his hovering ship, and the dangling cable. The spaceman grabs a hold of the cable, and Serenity begins to gain altitude, pulling the captain back in.

"Alright, people, we got what we came for. Let's fly."