#erebusstart

Hemera it was, then. They didn’t mind -- the bustle of the city where they’d docked reminded them of the long-ago familiarity of the crowded hallways of the First University. Datascreen tucked up under their arm, hood ready to be pulled up over their face lest they be recognized, they had headed off the ship as soon as it docked, looking for some pease and quiet.

Of course, they had only made it ten paces off the ship before finding their pathway suddenly blocked by someone they were fairly certain they’d left behind on the ship half a minute ago. 

     “Nope,” they said to the waiting face. “Nuh-uh. Whatever it is, it can wait. You cannot stop me. I am here to partake in the most holy of academic rituals: sitting in whatever passes for a coffeeshop here and pretending to do work.”

Plants were not something they had ever had much experience with, their sole purpose having been to keep the inorganic just that, before now. Perhaps that was one of the reasons they liked the greenhouse. Caring for a living thing, a plant whose existence depended on the crew but also whose existence the crew needed to stay healthy, was fascinating. They had all the information needed about how to keep the plants alive, as well as what combination of plants was best to keep the crew alive, but their fascination went beyond that. They liked the plants kept aboard the ship. 

In a way, it felt appropriate to liken their own existence on the ship to that of the plants. And so with a moment of free time, Nero had gone to the greenhouse. Bent over, gently running a finger along the leaves of one of the plants, they had the strong urge to talk to the plant. Hearing someone enter the room as well, they spoke, voice quiet as if they might disturb a fragile peace.

“For a while, it was believed that human being speaking to their plants stimulated growth because of carbon monoxide exhaled, but there is no conclusive evidence of that... But it is a nice thought, isn’t it? That speaking to another living thing helps it grow.”

Lux had, more or less, been in a haze the past two days. Ever since they had been told about Imogen. She hadn’t been best friends with the crew-member, true, but Imogen had been a living, breathing person. She shared their air, their ship, their food, their loot. She had been there. And now she wasn’t.

Lux had never known anyone who died (except for Alba, but that was quite different). It was affecting her more than she would like to admit.

After a full day, night, and most of the next day in her bunk, she decided to try and venture out. Maybe contact was what she needed. Or just a change of scenery. Maybe simply walking around would lift the hulking hang of grief from her. She had barely left her cabin when she changed her mind. Just the few steps she had taken proved to take too much energy and she just wanted to be curled back up on her bunk.

 Turning on her heels, Lux found herself walking directly into someone. “Sorry, I... I wasn’t looking, sorry.”

Fox was not looking forward to being on Ersa again, lifting a mining shipment, no less... It brought back some grim memories, made them think of people they hadn’t bothered to think of enough in all this time... Their mother... their siblings... neighbors... so many people abandoned all for the sake of them having a better life. The very idea of setting foot anywhere near Orphe again made Fox’s skin crawl in the worst way... they wanted a cigarette, something they knew they wouldn’t get until they had their boots on solid ground again. Their leg jittered up and down from where they sat by one of the pressurized porthole windows, anxiously watching the planet they left over sixteen years ago get closer and bigger with every second.

After trying and failing to think of anything to distract themself, Fox took to chewing idly on their thumb instead, relying on the slight spike of pain to keep themself rooted in reality. It only half worked... their past hanging in the air before them was enough for their mind to contend with that they didn’t hear anyone enter the room behind them, didn’t notice as they stepped closer...

There were several problems stacking up on their plate at the moment. The threat of indictment, of course, being the worst, the elaborate plan to sink the man they worked for, being a very close second, if only because it was perhaps more time sensitive than the first. But the one on their mind just now, was the problem of the costume. The masquerade was the perfect opportunity to assert their innocence of the rumors and implications, while also setting up Strauss for his grand fall, which they already believed would be simple enough, considering all that they knew of what he got on with behind closed doors. But to do that, they needed to look the part. And that was apparently easier said than done in Semele, considering the terrible luck Baz had had with tailors so far in the city, many being either too daunted by the task of such an elaborate costume, or altogether.

The thought of facing life in high-security prison was almost more appealing than going back into the shop and trying, for the third time, to explain that black and onyx were not the same color, and that the fabric they were being shown was most certainly just black. They stood outside the shop, leaning against the window, smoking, only vaguely watching the passersby. Until, that was, someone made to go into the shop. They straightened up, feeling it was their duty to save another poor soul from the horror they’d been experiencing.

“If you’re in search of a quality tailor, I’d look elsewhere,” Baz sighed in a puff of smoke. “I’ve come in for alterations and he still seems vexed by what I asked for. It’ll be a wonder if he has the costume ready in time for the masquerade, but I’ve spent too much to give up now. Not sure how Ludomire had such luck here...”

“I swear,” Imogen said, her voice leaning more towards whining than anything else, but still keeping it low enough that only their crew mate could hear them. “Either Captain Fun Sponge is trying to get me to freeze to death, or he wants me to die of boredom.”

 She huffed, folding her arms across her chest, and looking up at the sky. Besides Earth, Hemera was the planet where Imogen felt most at home. Though, it wasn’t necessarily an entirely positive feeling. “I mean, a job on Ersa? Come on. Seriously?”

Robbing a bank was no small feat -- especially not for a two person team. But when it came to the crew aboard the Erebus, well, they were a creative bunch who didn’t take the ‘odds’ at face value. Besides, a little flare and glare and sparkle and they’d be none the wiser.

She and one of her crewmates, Lux were tasked with taking on the First Celestial Bank of Ourea - a lovely little target in a small shipping port, little law enforcement in the area, and the honeypot of two big time oil refineries. A lovely little spot on the map with the Erebus’ sights firmly set upon it.

The first step had been blueprints -- after the briefing with the rest of the crew, Katya had a brief chat with Lux about whether or not the hacker could get them. Katya had received an offended look at that, as if any question utilising the word ‘if’ should ever be used in conjunction with the name Lux Levesque. Stars forbid. Regardless however, Katya had barely gone five minutes when she’d received a file on her datapad. Having someone who spoke the language of computers better than any actual computer was a wondrous asset to have at your disposal. Honestly. The most awesome.

After an afternoon of pouring over the blueprints over some coffee, Katya had isolated a few exterior weaknesses within the structure of the bank -- not necessarily architectural weaknesses, the building was actually rather nice and Katya was loath to ruin some of the hard work, but hey, they needed the money. In any case it was short work to plant a couple of remotely activated explosives -- two entry points on the roof, some along ground floor and second floor fire escapes-- places where someone would could break in (and, to Quino’s wishes, had typically light foottraffic) -- and she and Lux were going to go through all of them.

Well, theoretically at least. In order to rob a bank swiftly one surely needed a whole team to successfully do so, right? The two of them were going to give into those expectations with full certainty. Nothing a little smoke and mirrors couldn’t handle. These days most currency was in fact, digital, but there were just some things that couldn’t be turned into ones and ohs. The type of stuff you’d think to put in a safety deposit box. That of which this lovely little bank did have. The gig was simple really, make them think you were after one thing when in fact you were after another.

Katya pressed the last of the devices to the underside of a windowsill in the public restrooms and paused to wash her hands in the sink. A quick fix of her hair, a light reapplication of chap stick, and a little tug to the wide brimmed black hat. There, perfect. She glanced at the window sill in the mirror -- the security here really was shit. Most of the plants had been exterior, but honestly. She’d been able to simply walk in with it. She grinned, what an absolute delight of an easy target this place was.

She left the bank, placing perhaps one more wee device in the rubbish bin outside on the sidewalk, and made her way to a rendezvous point she’d arranged to meet Lux at, taking care to take a pre-established route that would allow for minimal sightings on visual feeds -- an ice cream shop a few blocks down. “Lo’ darlin’,” she said, pulling a chair up for herself next to Lux. She pulled out her data pad and kicked her feet up onto the seat of an empty chair. 

“Do you think you could get me the feed from the pawn shop across the way from the bank before we start the show? If you do, I'll totally forgive you for not getting me any ice cream.”

It felt like a big responsibility, to be asked to go out on a mission with Jinx alone. It was difficult to gauge, of course, what it meant, or if it meant anything at all, besides them just being paired randomly, but thanks to the amount of time they had spent amongst the crew, the amount of data they had collected, they were fairly certain that it meant something. Trust, perhaps. Or a test. Nero enjoyed their time spent with Jinx, even if they rarely fully understood why she did what she did, had been on several adventures with her, accompanied by others. But never a mission from the captain, without supervision.

Perhaps a word for what they feel is excitement. They’re pleased to have a task to complete, and with someone who enjoys their company. After a night spent preparing with any and all information they could upload that seemed even slightly helpful, Nero made their way to Jinx’s cabin. Instead of knocking, though, they settled for standing outside of her door, not wanting to disturb her, but also not knowing what else to do if not wait for her to leave.

Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty passed, before the door opened finally, Jinx standing in front of them.

“Good morning,” they smiled expectantly. “I spent the night uploading all I could find on piloting an escape pod to my internal memory, as well as any information I could find on where the freighter might have been heading, what it could have inside, and I am now sufficiently prepared for our mission. Will you be ready to leave soon?”