Big Fish

Spaceport - 

Still relatively unscathed, the tarmac of this spaceport, as well as everything else, is obviously new. The spaceport appears to be able to accommodate anything from a shuttle to a cruise liner. Several vehicles are here, with one or more nearly always taxiing, landing, or undocking. Dozens of personnel scurry about, guiding ships and helping passengers with anything from baggage to customs. The roar of engines is one of the only consistent things about the pad. Several tracks lead away, towards Deserata's various attractions, and the Grand Hotel is nearby, enabling passengers to check in and rest before enjoying the planet's other attractions.

Katriel steps out of the Faux as the hatch cycles shut behind her, blinking at the activity on the landing pad.

Kit weaves her way slowly through the lines of ships and cargo being transferred, unhurriedly examining each vessel she passes until she spots the Faux's distinctive shape and turns to head toward it.

Traipsing down the boarding ramp, the Mystic hums to herself as she examines the signs leading to themed amusement parks. Looking up, instead of in front of her, she manages to run right smack into a dock worker who appears extraordinarily startled herself. They both give little yelps of alarm, and stare at each other for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

Kit's shoulders rise and slump with a resigned sigh as she witnesses the collision, giving one last shrug to shift her satchel's strap into a less irritating spot before she interjects into the giggle-session, "Katriel."

"I'm really sorry--" comes out in stereo as the recently collided and still grinning pair try to apologize, which starts another round of giggling. Until a familiar voice says Katriel's name, and she looks over almost guiltily to her hero, the cyberwitch. A last grin and wave from the thankfully amused-not-irritated worker is issued, before she returns to her own duties. The Mystic gives a similar wave, and then bounces over to Kit. "Hey! Did you get my message?"

He is small. He is liquid shadow. He is... Raz Blackpaw, secret agent. Armed with his trusty custard gun, the furry sleuth creeps along in the wake of the evil villain Moonbeam, his pawfalls quiet and precise.

Kit takes a deep breath, seems to resist sighing yet again at the Mystic's enthusiastic bouncing, before she wryly notes, "There are other sites I would far rather visit than Deserata. Could you not have chosen a more hospitable detour?"

Katriel tilts her head to the side at Kit, oblivious to the stealthy approach of her arch nemesis, Sunshine. "What's wrong with it? I've never been here before-- Ace said she thought Raz would like it," she explains.

This is the part where Jack, who had been lounging at the base of the Faux's ramp, lifts his head to send Kat a warning woof. That dirty traitor. He thumps his tail three times on the deck, which in doggie language undoubtedly means "gun-wielding bear alert".

"No doubt you both would," Kit agrees sourly with a roll of her eyes. "But never mind that...did you have something specific in mind when you sent that message out, or is this one of those...'bonding' things?" she asks with no small amount of suspicion; suspicion that is only reinforced at the dog's bark and turning to pin the Castori cub and its strange armament with a narrowed look.

Katriel is beginning to formulate an answer to that, ignoring Jack's warning bark-- but Kit's turning and glaring gets her attention. "Raz! Hey-- don't shoot me-- or Kit! Really, don't shoot Kit," she adds, putting her hands up and dancing a little closer to the data analyst. Whether she's trying to protect her, or be protected, is completely ambiguous.

A look of totally overdone innocence crosses Raz's face and he stops short, blinking, shell-shaped ears angling toward the pair. "Short furred Raz not shoot Moonbeam and tall furless lady, nyet." He points accusingly at Jack, who has returned to watchdog status. IE: sleeping.

Kit trades a disbelieving look between the two youngsters before she tries to edge subtly away from Katriel with a grimace. "I am here, Katriel...now talk! Else I am taking the next shuttle off of this pad."

Katriel blinks a moment at Raz, and then turns worried eyes on Kit. "Oh-- no, don't go-- I really do need to talk to you," she explains hurriedly. "I'm not real sure who else to talk to about it, 'ceptin' Ace, and we kinda got interrupted, and..." The Mystic seems to abruptly realize she is babbling and comes to a sudden halt, taking a breath. "Everybody's worried about treatin' the symptoms, but nobody's treatin' the disease-- least, I don't know anybody is, an' you're more likely to know than anybody," she tries again, rapidly devolving into less than crystal clear terms. "Look, is anybody actually goin' after Volari this time?" she finally simply spits out.

There is the characteristic thunk*hiss of the Faux's airlock as it cycles, allowing her kapitan to step out onto the ramp just as Katriel speaks out, "Not you," she says quietly, nodding to Kit in greeting. "Will not have you getting sick, not so soon after your last bout."

Raz Blackpaw tips his head way, way back, rising to his tiptoes and trying to regard Ace upside down. "Privet, Ace!" he greets. "Moonbeam, she is making the silly talky-talky like much girlkinds, da."

The hatch to the Wolfsbane slides open and the boarding ramp extends down to the ground, allowing LeBeau to exit the ship as he looks out at the small gathering.

The Faux's hatch doesn't immediately close after Ace exits. Instead, it stays open long enough to allow the tall female Timonae to escape from the dark depths of the ship, wrapping a beach towel around her waist as she exits. She looks around and starts to descend.

Kit stares and blinks at Katriel, obviously taken off guard. But as she finally begins to process the Mystic's broken narration, she snorts and crooks a brow, giving Anastasia a passing nod in return as she notes, "Katriel, there is *always* going to be some disease or disease carrier. Even if someone disposes of Volari, another will simply rise up to fill the vacuum."

Carrying a small bag full of vegetables and alcoholic beverages, an already-slightly-drunk Valerie exits the Midnight Runner. The little human slides the handles of the bag into the crook of her elbow and begins climbing up the side of the ship.

Katriel looks up at the suddenly appearing Ace-- how does she know just when to show up like that? It must be mom sense, or something. Lifting her chin stubbornly, the Mystic puts both hands on her hips. "Why not me-- I helped last time. I can help this time," she responds, before turning back to Kit. "Sure-- but you take care of the ones that you can see now, and you take care of the next ones when they come along-- this virus thingy isn't gonna get any better 'less somebody takes out the person responsible, and that's Volari," she counters, eminently reasonable.

Ace gives Raz a kiss on his upside down nose, "Da, she is," she says with a gentle smile, "She does that a lot, da?" She looks up at Katriel, "Because I do not think you have fully recovered from your most recent adventure with the Gray Horse," she cannot help but let a hint of anger creep into her tone.

LeBeau looks around the pad and smirks "My my, mus be my lucky day. An entire pad full o attractive young ladies."

"One might argue that a known evil is better than an unknown one, Katriel," Kit notes neutrally, eyes flicking briefly toward Anastasia with the reference to the Gray Horse before she focuses back upon the Mystic. "As for Volari, there have been no demands, no intent to trade hostages for a cure. It is doubtful if he has even bothered to have one made, unless he is paranoid enough about his own accidental infection to have one in storage. Even if he *is* eliminated, it will not cure those that are infected now."

Aisrya slides up to the gathered group. "Well, as they say, the beach can cure anything," she says

Valerie perches atop the Midnight Runner, just above its hatch, and unpacks her bag. A few round-shaped vegetables to her right, and a bottle of beer to her left. Tomato in hand, she peers down at the ship's hatch, but it never opens behind her.

"But I'm better-- lots better," Katriel argues, and indeed she does seem to be looking better these days. "Dr. Frey put me on a diet, and it's fixin' me all up," she declares, before her attention returns to Kit. "That's not the point though-- there's people workin' on gettin' it cured, and hopefully they will. But just lettin' him run around and infect other folks willie nillie," she waves her hands around for emphasis, "makes no sense. I don't mean we should capture him. I mean he needs to be stopped. Really stopped," she adds, expression taking on one of fierce determination. For the moment, no one and nothing else exists for the Mystic, outside of this argument.

"A diet has fixed everything?" Ace says, raising an eyebrow, "And we run the Faux on chocolate milk. Da, you are looking better, but cannot stand by and let you make yourself sick again." She looks to Kit with a scowl, "So is better to let him infect as many planets as he chooses then?"

Kit sighs and casts Anastasia an irritated look. "Are you, or are you not trying to convince Katriel that this is something that she should leave to others? You are not helping that image."

Valerie takes a swig of beer and peers back down at the hatch for a few moments. Still no crewmates are forthcoming. She has a drink and grabs a head of cabbage and wings it at a passing vehicle. A miss. By a lot, too. Somehow, this is still hilariously funny to Val.

As the 'discussion' between Kat and Kit continues LeBeau moves around the group to Rya as she seems to be the only one not to involved in the talk "Hey sexy, yu cerdainly looks like yer dressed fo fun."

Aisrya glances over to the Lunite as he approaches, and smirks a little. "And you look like you're going vampire hunting," she dryly states.

Katriel makes a face at Ace and her dismissal of claims of a cure. But at least she's agreeing with part of what she's saying, so she nods, turning to look at Kit. "He needs to be stopped. By *somebody*," she repeats.

Ace nods to Remy and Rya as she catches sight of the two of them, adding another for Val as she sees the woman, continuing her conversation with Kit and Kat, "Did not say I would involve Katriel," she replies, "But do you truly think Volari, he is done?"

LeBeau looks down at his clothing and smirks "Well I know from experience dat yu do like to bite, so I figured to come prepared jus en case."

Kit snorts, folding her arms exasperatedly. "You know I am not that big of an idiot, unless I managed to misjudge your own level of intelligence. But it sounds like you have already made up your minds about pursuing him. What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, in that case it might protect you," Rya says with a little shrug, "Except for where it counts."

Valerie waves at Ace. "Hungry?!" she calls, holding up the bag of veggies. She giggles and throws a bell pepper in the general direction of the Runner's viewscreen.

Katriel refrains from commenting on Ace's rebuttal, instead turning to look at Kit again. "Cuz, like I said, I figured if anybody'd know if someone were already tryin' to find him, it'd be you," she answers. "No point in workin' alone if somebody else's already on his heels," she explains, focusing large lavender eyes on the cyberwitch, almost pleading with her to understand and help.

"Never said I was going," Ace says with a shrug, "Simply that your logic of 'if not him, someone else' was lacking. That way of thinking will simply lead to Volaris of the universe taking over." She gives Val a negative shake of her head.

LeBeau chuckles and shrugs to Rya "I guess dat all depens on wha yu consider da place id couns da mos." He winks to Rya before turning to Ace "Di yu ged da liddle gif I lef fo yu las nigh?"

Aisrya sighs and shakes her head at Remy, "The neck, hon." She then looks around again. "Anyone wanna do the beach?!"

"A little hypocritical of you then, is it not, if all your arguments are lined up to try and enlist my help and then you mention that you are not going after the same goal yourself?" Kit drawls with a quirked brow before shaking her head mildly. "My point simply is that if you have a predator keeping its territory free of other predators, and if you already know his hunting patterns, it may be preferable than to invite other unknowns into your field. And while I am flattered by your confidence in my skills at eavesdropping, Katriel," she notes with a flat, amused twitch of her mouth, "I still only have one set of eyes and ears to process all the information that is gathered. Nevertheless...I have no doubts that there is talk of pursuit. Most notably," she muses, eyes turning up and to the side, toward two distant points in the sky that would eventually lead to the Demar System and Waldheim, "those that have lost the most to him thus far. How many from each world, would you say, have managed to escape their gravity wells uninfected? And how many of those have the means to pursue what you say?"

Valerie flings a couple more veggies at passing vehicles, only one of them hits, just grazing the vehicle's rear bumper. She cracks open another beer and looks for something in her bag to eat.

Katriel blinks owlishly at Kit, trying to follow her logic on predators and territories, brow wrinkling in thought. "I think I understand what you're sayin'-- I just think maybe we need to find a way of keepin' our territories free of really big, nasty predators like him on our own," she replies with a sigh. "I don't guess there's all that many of'em, actually-- and of the ones who're set up for it, I s'spect you have an idea of," she answers. "Maybe you don't know all the little fish-- but I'm bettin' you know the big ones. The ones who could really do somethin'," she says, a little earnestly. "If'n you don't, you don't-- but I think you do."

"Believe you misunderstand," Ace says, looking between the two women, "This is the first I have heard of it. I did not call you here and have never agreed to anything in the first place." She settles down on the Faux's ramp, petting her sleeping dog, "Is not for me to deal with the likes of Volari."

LeBeau looks to Rya " 'll join yu if yu don min da company. Dat es also if dare es e'en a beach on dis place."

Valerie's sitting on top of the Midnight Runner, getting tanked and throwing food.

Kit arches her brows at Katriel's assessment before her gaze slides to Anastasia and she remarks amusedly, "Thinks she knows quite a lot, doesn't she?" before turning back to the Mystic. "And what if I did, Katriel? What do you wish me to do with such information? Ace herself has bowed out of any such potential conflicts, and the others who would not hesitate to enter the fray already have more than enough motivation to do so."

The slap, slap, slap of flip-flops against deck plating heralds the arrival of the Faux' latest cabin boy, today dressed in a yellow singlet and a pair of orange camouflage cargo shorts.

Katriel regards Ace with a decidedly perplexed expression. "Why not? You're 'bout the bravest person I know," she returns, before looking back to Kit. "Then I want to join the group that's going after him, and I want you to help me do that," she responds steadily, silvered eyes grave.

LeBeau sits down next to Ace on the Faux's ramp "Yu di no answer if yu god da package I lef fo yu las nigh?"

Valerie, having exhausted her supply of food, climbs down from the Midnight Runner and heads back inside.

"And look where it has gotten me," Ace looks up from the ramp, hand pausing on Jack's head.

"And what, exactly, have we just spent the last 20 minutes discussing what you would *not* do?" Kit sighs, rubbing her forehead. "You are *not* going on a head-to-head confrontation with Volari, Katriel. Not if you wish for me to submit a single processor cycle to this endeavor."

"Lady smile, all." Anei beams as he joins the others gathered on the Faux' ramp.

Katriel frowns at Ace uncertainly, and brings her attention back to Kit, apparently deciding to deal with one problem at a time. A distracted smile greets both Remy and Aneirin. "If I'm with a group, then I'm not gonna go head to head with him," she replies ever-so-reasonably. "I'll be helpin' the people who are. And I CAN help, if people give me the chance. I think whoever tries is gonna need all the help they can get."

Anastasia looks up from where she sits on the ramp, petting her dog, "Privet, Aneirin," she says before turning back to the conversation.

"You can help when someone sees a need for your talents and asks you for it," Kit states with flat pragmaticism. "*Not* by butting in when the current plans happen to work better when you are not included directly." She looks sternly at Katriel. "Your experience might be useful, but if your presence becomes more a liability than a help, you could hurt the very cause you are trying to promote, do you understand?"

Aneirin looks around from one person to the next as he gracefully plops himself down by Ace and her dog. "I really should extend my perceptions beyond the ship more often." The boy comments with a wry grin. "Then I wouldn't have to look so lost when I walk in on conversations."

Katriel tilts her head at Kit, regarding her curiously. "You're already helping them," she decides, though exactly why she might make that leap is probably beyond anyone here. "I know I wasn't exactly a model secret agent last time, but I'd do better this time," she declares vigorously and earnestly. "I need to do something," she adds, fidgeting restively.

"They are discussing going after Volari," Ace explains to Anei, "Katriel believes Kit is already involved in the effort and she wishes to join. Kit and I believe it will not be good for her health to do so."

Aisrya shuffles in from the beach in a surprisingly quick trip for her. As she wraps her towel around her waist again, she heads for the group.

Kit throws her hands up with an imploring look toward the heavens at Katriel's leap of logic. "Katriel, just because you *believe* something is true does not make it so. And I will *not* be bullied by you into this until you understand that this has nothing to do with being the 'ideal secret agent', and everything with simple utility! You can just as well do something by helping the relief efforts as going after Volari. Not everyone gets to be the astronaut, as they used to say. If you are told that you are not helping, will you step aside?" she demands, gaze fixed unblinkingly upon the Mystic.

"Aaah. Now high probability that the Lady will not be smiling on such a venture." Anei comments. "Not the kind of risk to be taken lightly, even for a Timonae."

Katriel frowns at Kit, the quickly changing emotions displayed on her face making it quite evident she didn't follow all of that. But the end she gets well enough, judging by her expression. "Yes," she responds simply enough, silvered eyes meeting brown steadily.

"Depends upon who is involved," Ace replies with a shrug, "Have already hospitalized the bastard twice and it did not seem to do much good."

"Third time's the charm. And I suppose, having been in a hospital ward so many times, that he would not mind if we tried to give him another trip," Kit notes sourly, finically readjusting the strap over her shoulder. "How did I get maneuvered into this anyway?" she sighs, glancing at her watch and squinting toward the nearest board of departures. "Do not just go running off, do you understand, Katriel? This will take quite a bit of research and preparation. You will have to be patient."

Katriel smiles at Kit, lighting her face up as if the sun had just passed out of a cloud. "I won't," she promises, nodding her head vigorously. "You're the best," she adds, looking suspiciously like she has when there was about to be hugging.

"What, will she hit you if you hug her?" Ace asks, raising an eyebrow. "And he did not take being in the hospital all that well as I recall."

Kit has a long memory, and she all but physically shies away from the Mystic as that beaming look comes over the girl's face. "I will get back to you in a few days, all right?" she hastily attempts to distract before she smiles sharply in Ace's direction. "All the better, then. We cannot have him enjoying himself too much now, can we?" she notes as she begins to head toward the public shuttle pads.

Katriel glances back to Ace, and shrugs a little. "Kit doesn't like it, is all," she explains briefly, having managed to curb her hugging reflex. "Okay," she agrees to Kit, bobbing her head again, watching the woman as she heads off. "Be careful," she calls after her.

Aisrya eyes Kat. "Do you need a hug?"

"Ah," Ace nods, "Have run into that more than once." She looks to Kit, "Try not to let her get pushed too far this time, da?"

"I am not her babysitter," is all Kit responds to Anastasia with before she simply raises a hand in acknowledgment of Katriel's words, never looking back as she picks up her pace to catch the next boarding flight.