Business Complications

Posted on Wed Aug 23rd, 2017 @ 5:34am by

1,201 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Unknown Life, Unknown Dangers
Location: The Pink Kitty

After his shift William wondered what Vash was up to, no doubt working but wondered if a surprise visit at the end of her shift would help brighten a busy day. The reports he had been reading were indeed troubling but until Engineering had done it's thing all he could do was wait. The incident resulting in the loss of a crewmember made for a grim reading from the submitted report, more so knowing that whatever it was could worm its way through the ship's systems attacking at will. As time went on William knew measures would become more and more desperate.

He could hear the music of TPK before he rounded the corner, a positive sign and it didn't take long before he was seen and waved in.

Now to see where Vash was...

The music was drowned out less than a minute later when screams erupted from the right corner of The Pink Kitty. A group of enlisted were yanking desperately on another man who seemed to be stuck in the booth and someone was shouting for a weapon.

The Betazoid dancer on the stage suddenly stopped dancing and a look of shock crossed her features before she whipped her head towards Vash who was behind the bar talking to other customers.

"Lockdown!" Vash called out before she leaped out from behind the bar with a large cleaver and ran towards the personnel who seemed to be fighting something.

When things turned from entertaining to chaos Will wanted to know more. Just what was happening on board his ship? When he neared he saw the scene unfolding, a patron was caught by a vine, something very very similar to what his Chief of Security and Dr Patrovski reported. "Vash wait, don't touch it or let it touch you." Whatever this thing was, was getting out of hand.

"Lieutenant Beckett, report to The Pink Kitty on the double, bring a team with you immediately."

"Beckett here. Understood. On my way." Charlie looked over at a few of security standing by, "You, you and you, come with me." They followed her.

"What do you mean don't touch it?" Vash asked as the other personnel managed to yank their friend free. The vines whipped out again to try to ensnare another one, but the man jumped free and the group began to run for the door.

"What's going on, Will?" Vash demanded.

Charlie arrived at the Pink Kitty with her men. They were greeted by a bunch of frightened people. Charlie yelled out, "Everyone! Out!" She ran in and saw a familiar figure. She fired upon it, splitting one of the vines in half. She gently grasped Vash's arm, "You need to go." She looked at the Commodore, "You too sir." She didn't have time to show the proper respect to her superior officer.

"This is my club and I will not abandon it!" Vash said before she headed back to the bar and went behind it. A moment later, she stood up carrying a Nausicaan doorbuster special almost as big as she was tall and flicked a button on it. A low growl came from it and started to gain in pitch as she turned it towards the mass of vines.

"Vash, now is not the time. It will kill you and then you won't have a club to come back to. This thing threatens the ship, let's get out of here so that we have something to come back to." Will spoke stepping back towards the door and the armed security detail. Will could understand her possessive nature, his ship was under attack by this thing and he wasn't going to back down without a fight. There were however the right times to fight, and when it's best to regroup.

"This is all I have, Will!" Vash cried as she took aim on the mass of vines that were now coming through the wall where the crewmen had been.

"Vash!!! God sakes." Will wrapped his arms around her from behind. "IF we don't leave then it will destroy what really matters here, You. All of this, everything can be rebuilt but you can't. I don't know what this thing is but its attacking my ship and right now I need to keep people safe and that includes you so come on....please."

Vash threw herself back against him and even though she had a small body, she still had the greater strength of the Orion race behind her and she fired off the Nausicaan weapon at the mass of whatever it was at the same time. The gun roared and a large section of the vines simply vaporized along with the booth they had been at. "Get off me!"

Will didn't have time for this, Vash was tunnel visioned. While he could understand her desire to protect what was hers, he was left with following suit, his ship. "Deal with this Lieutenant. She wants to protect her club, I'll protect my ship." Will stormed out and headed to the Bridge. He was furious, all he wanted to do was keep her safe, keep what mattered protected. He knew Vash didn't need protecting but somethings can be rebuilt, shops, ships, tables, chairs could all be replaced and made new but people could not be.

"Coward!" Vash called after his retreating form. "I've handled more than this by myself and no alien shit is going to take what's mine!" She powered up the resonant disruptor beam gun again and it grew to a fevered pitch.

Charlie couldn't believe the exchange between the two. She sighed as she watched Hood leave. She looked back over at Vash, "You know, it doesn't matter how many times you shoot this at thing, you're not going to kill it. When you shoot at it, the vines just sprout new ones. Soon, it won't matter if you save this place or not because it's going to overtake this ship and all this will be for nothing. So, you can either act like a fool, stay and keep shooting at the vine or you can leave and live another day."

Vash cursed and powered down the gun, but reached under the counter and came back up with a hammer that had two heads on one end and a four pronged curved blade on the other. "Then come on," she growled. "Let's get out of here." She hated leaving the club, but if what was being said was true, there was no hope for the ship and she waited for the order to come to abandon ship. I should have stayed with the Syndicate she thought to herself as she headed for the door.

Charlie was relieved. She had already tangled with one of those vines and didn't want to do it again, "You don't have to say that twice." She was already going through that door.

Vash looked back as the vines started coming back exactly as the Security woman said they would and sighed. "I'll be back," she said to the empty room before she exited and sealed the door behind her.

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