What's the Brig Idea? (Open)

[Deux]

Deux tilted his head and stared at Kaden. He looked over his shoulder at the older men in the room. They had seemed nice to him. Wondering he turned back to Kaden with the same blank expression. Taking a step toward the cell he began to examine the door.

“How do I get in?” He asked. Why had Kaden invited him inside anyways? And as far as he knew Archer didn’t have a house. Deux shrugged it off as something else he had yet to learn about.

Deux blinked when Gregoire spoke, not sure the captain was addressing him. “I have no business here,” he answered honestly. There wasn’t a place on the ship he did have business. He looked at the small group again, “There is still space. The mess hall is probably the most crowded place right now.”

[Bartelby]

Bartelby's rage simmered as he continued with his forgiveness prayers. It was all he could do to ignore the comments made against him. Had he been in another place, in another guise, there was a good chance he would have taken a swing at this Kaden guy. Perhaps Archer as well. There was still something about that guy that really bugged Bartelby. Maybe it was the way he showed no respect to a holy man, even a fake one, just as the prisoner was doing.

But as it was, Bartelby managed to hold his tongue and his fists. It would be a disaster if he blew his cover now. Sure, maybe he had tarnished his reputation a bit with his previous outburst, but people could hardly expect even a holy man to be a saint. Not to mention the captain still seemed to have his back.

Bartelby did a few hand gestures to signal the end of his prayers. Then after a brief moment to collect his thoughts, Bartelby finally spoke up once again. "I feel I must agree with the captain. Although this conversation has so far been... less than satisfactory, I would still like to discuss a few matters. And for that, it may be best if there were fewer audience members. I hope you can both understand." He looked from Deux to Archer. When he looked over at Archer, he had to fight the urge to stare daggers at him. Bartelby avoided eye contact with Kaden completely.

[Kaden]

"I would sooner converse with a pig than a false priest," Kaden said politely enough, turning to Gregoire and ignoring Bartelby completely. "A man that can lie about such things is not worthy of using language, let alone of participating in conversations with civilized human beings. If he would lie about this then there is nothing he would not lie about." He turned to look at Bartelby, unaware that he was accusing Bartelby of a crime he was actually guilty of, instead only giving thought to his prowess as a priest as opposed to his credentials. "What man claiming to have a close relationship with the gods would discourage a stranger from honesty? It is one thing to doubt my word privately, that is only common sense, it is quite another thing to doubt my word so completely that you think my suggestion was preposterous. Such little faith in humanity or the goodness of other's souls is unbecoming in a priest. Tell me, do you even believe in the gods or in a soul?"

Kaden didn't really want an answer. There was nothing to be gained by talking with the priest. He smiled as the young boy asked how to get into his cell but didn't answer him. His business was with the Captain and that was who he turned to now. "I do not blame you for doubting my plan. On the surface it is a cheap and see through escape attempt. But I ask that you fully consider the situation we find ourselves in. You have a UIF officer that is worth quite a bit of money if," Kaden said, emphasizing the if, "I am turned over to Fleet officials unharmed. However, since the Fleet is currently spread out all over space trying to quell rebellions the chances of you running into another UIF ship with the authority to pay my ransom is slim at best. You'd have to fly all the way to the capital to get your ransom and then, of course, you would be caught and hung."

He paused a moment to let that actually sink in. They hung those accused of piracy or kidnapping in the capital. It seemed ridiculously barbaric but it sent a message to those that lived on the outer ring. How clearly that message got through was debatable. The public executions seemed to do nothing to stop crime from running rampant in the outer ring. But maybe he was wrong. He was not a politician.

"Unless you can get me to a UIF ship, I'm worthless. Worse than worthless seeing as you have to feed me and let me breath your oxygen for however long I am on this ship. However, if you trust me and let me return to my fleet I will let you set the conditions for how you want my ransom delivered and I will deliver it myself. Don't misunderstand me, I hope you use the money to hire very good lawyers because once our debt is settled I will do whatever it is within my power to do to make sure you get brought to justice. But I do not leave my debts unpaid, nor do I dishonor a deal I have given my word to, despite what the common practices may be out here," he said turning to Archer.

"So let me go. What do you lose? At worst I don't pay you. You are not getting paid anyway. At best you get my ransom and you get away scott free, until I manage to find you that is. But, since you seem fairly healthy, I am guessing you have learned how to avoid capture by now. What is one more officer looking for you really going to change?"

[Gregoire]

The boy took a step forward near Kaden's cage, and Greg raised an eyebrow. Where had they gotten this one? He wasn't exactly sure why Deux would think it was an acceptable idea to try and get into Kaden's cell. Taking a step forward in Deux's way, he blocked the cage's door and gave the boy a strained smile. "Then perhaps you'd rather find business elsewhere, that isn't inside of a cage. Or inside here, preferably."

The captain turned his attention back to Kaden, leaning his shoulder against the bars. It seemed that even being told that his release was non-negotiable, the fighter pilot still wanted to negotiate. Greg let him speak his piece, giving an amused snort as Kaden mentioned hanging pirates. That threat came with the job, and Greg had always been highly aware of it. The risk of being hanged had never overshadowed the gain in taking from others for him. And even so, it was somewhat of a thrilling game to play with the stiff, hoity-toity UIF and UIR. If he lost, it was only his own fault for playing it.

Kaden finished his plea, and Greg gave him a small smile. "Beautiful speech, there. Very moving indeed. However," there was a slight change in his posture, shoulders falling and expression turning sad. "I need to assure you, it is a completely see-through escape plan. Even if it wasn't, there's too much complication to it, too much that can go wrong. Not going to happen. And there's never going to be a debt between us, not if I can help it." A heavy sigh, "And you see, you're putting way too much value on your own life. I'm sorry to say, but there are going to be only two options in this entire situation: Your friends cough up the money, or I shoot you out into space. There's no in-between, there's no gray areas, or 'maybe if's' to that. I get paid, or you stop wasting my time and my oxygen."

[Deux]

Deux looked up at Gregoire innocently as the captain stepped in front of him. Was he in the other man’s way? He tilted his head back to get a better view of him. Greg looked pained but Deux was unsure as to why. Perhaps he had a previous injury or stepped wrong. He was about to ask when the captain spoke.

“Understood,” he said mechanically before abruptly turning.

His eyes were far off as he brushed past Bartelby and Archer and walked out without sparing the men in the hold another glance. Through the door Deux turned and walked down in the direction down. He reached the spot where he had originally heard Bartelby and stopped. After a moment he resumed his circuit around the inside of the ship.

[Kaden]

Kaden listened to the captain and the only reaction he showed was a slight narrowing of his eyes. Inside however, he was furious. He hated dealing with pirates. Everything they touched turned dirty and distasteful. Their complete and utter lack of any understanding of the concept of honor made them almost impossible to deal with. It was like speaking to those less intelligent than yourself made you feel less intelligent in turn. Kaden was feeling dirtier the longer this conversation continued. The captain's easy dismissal of his proposition showed that he had no ability to look past his own interests at all.

There were people out there who were dying. Men, women, children, androids, cyborgs, creatures of all kinds who had suddenly found themselves in a universe that was being ripped apart by the political intrigue and power grabbing left in the wake of Earthfall. And Kaden and the fleet were the only ones trying to do anything about it and yet this man could hold a UIF officer hostage for an undetermined amount of time and still rest easy at night. There were not that many trained officers out there, that is why his ransom price was so high, and yet the captain would throw his life away because he couldn't get his money. It wasn't even as if he'd lost any money capturing Kaden and needed to be reimbursed. This was all about getting more wealth, more coin, just more. It was people like him who had started to enslave their neighbors so that they could sell them for a bit of profit. People like him who had started the labor camps, the child prostitution houses, the mines.

Kaden felt a weird tension building up in his body but he paid it no mind. He took a step towards the bars of his cage, his eyes attempting to burn through the captain's. "You are a-" as his foot stepped down he felt a sense of ripping inside of his mind and his whole body felt like it was going to pull itself apart. It was so sudden that Kaden was caught off guard. He felt like every nerve ending in his body had just been pressed against a hot stove and, instead of being able to pull away, he was being held there while the hot metal burned through his flesh. He hadn't braced himself for the pain it had just hit him full on, unprepared and he felt like he'd go insane if he had to endure it for any length of time. But, almost before it had started it was gone.

Kaden fell to his knees every muscle in his body shaking and cramping. It was as if he couldn't decide whether to try to run or to brace himself and he only hoped that whatever had happened would not happen again. A thin layer of sweat covered his body and he felt the chill of the brig's carefully regulated air supply against his skin. He managed to open his eyes and was confused by the sight of his own knees. It wasn't that they were there, it was that he was looking at his own flesh instead of clothing.

He looked up and saw the captain standing above him and he was so distracted by the memory of what had just happened that he didn't take note of the fact that there were no bars between them anymore. "What did you do to me?" he demanded, his voice shaking a bit but not as weak as he'd expected it to sound.

[Archer]

Dean's gun was out the moment that Kaden had...shifted? He didn't know what was going on, but Dean had no intention of letting this UIF lapdog get the best of him. Whatever he was capable of Dean would not let his gaurd down. He leveled the gun at the prisoner, face set in a calm glare. The look was a simple one, it said: I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you take another step.

Dean stared down the pilot, saying simply: "Hold on there freind. No need to be gettin' all excited."

[Bartelby]

Every time the prisoner opened his mouth, Bartelby had to fight an overwhelming urge to lunge at his throat. In a manner of speaking. He momentarily though the guy had somehow discovered his secret about impersonating a priest, but quickly realized this wasn't true. Bartelby did not enjoy having his words twisted around, nor did he appreciate this Kaden guy's attitude. It was as if he thought he was superior to them all just because he was a UIF officer. As if those guys weren't corrupt themselves.

Bartelby quietly stood and watched the dialogue between everyone in the room. He couldn't trust himself to speak at the moment, and nobody was addressing him specifically, so Bartelby remained silent. His respect for the captain continued to increase as quickly as his disgust in the prisoner was increasing. But just as it was starting to look like Captain Greg finally cracked the prisoner, something unexpected happened. The prisoner disappeared.

Or at least that's what Bartelby initially thought. One second Kaden was making a move toward the bars, the next second his clothes were falling to the floor because Kaden was no longer in them. "What the...!" Bartelby took a quick step back from the cage, then took another step to the side as he noticed a naked man crouched down between him and the captain. What was going on?!

"What did you do to me?" Kaden asked Greg.

"Hold on there freind. No need to be gettin' all excited." It was Archer. His gun was drawn and everything. Bartelby had almost forgotten that Archer was even there.

Bartelby grabbed his staff in both hands, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary. He still wasn't sure what had just happened, but he didn't want to take any chances. He eyed the captain, looking for some clue as to what they should do. "Captain?" It wasn't every day that a man jumped out of his clothes, went through cage bars, and appeared in front of you.

[Gregoire]

Greg's eyebrows drew down as Kaden advanced forward in the cage, his amused attitude dropping briefly to reveal a more vicious expression. "You are a-" Kaden began, but just as he was about to finish, something strange happened. One moment Greg was staring eye-to-eye with Kaden, and then in the next there was only empty space. He had vanished. In the moment it took for that realization to truly register, Greg found himself staring down at a naked man. Kaden. Sucking in a surprised breath, he took a quick step backwards.

"What in the world...?" Unconsciously, Greg's hand had drawn the gun from its holster. The weapon was clutched in his hand, not aimed at anything in particular. "What the hell? What are you talking about? I didn't do anything to you at all. You're the one who... did whatever the hell you just did." As he spoke Greg stared at Kaden, his posture tense. His mind was running through every possible answer, grasping at anything to make sense of what had just happened. More importantly, how Kaden had just done that.

He broke his gaze only once Bartelby asked what to do, glancing over at Dean then back to Kaden. Retrieving the key from his pocket Greg waved a hand towards Kaden, "We need to get him back in the cell, right now!" He flashed the key card near the cage's lock panel, and the door to the cell swung open smoothly. With his luck, Kaden's teleportation was some obscene fluke of the universe and he wouldn't be able to do it again. On the other--more likely--hand, there was the possibility that they were dealing with something that might be dangerous. Either way, they would be able to tell soon.

[Daxen]

((Sorry if I get mess up on a few details))

The sound of footsteps can be heard approaching the group, and an absent-minded Daxen came into view while saying to thin air, "Wait...this doesn't look like the way to the mess hall. Are you sure this is the way?" He looked around with a bit of a frightened expression, a common one for those who are lost and not sure they're supposed to be there.

He turned around after receiving no response and blinked, "Huh? Oh no, where'd he go?" He thought for a moment that he had been tricked. That mean person lead him to the wrong place on purpose! Then his eyes widened and he gasped, "What if they got him...no...no they couldn't have..." He looked anxiously down at his own shadow in a very I'm-on-to-you manner.

It took him about two whole minutes to realize there were others there, and tensions seemed quite high. He gulped, frozen in fear at the sight of weapons in plain view. Most unsettling, causing Daxen to blush from embarrassment, was the man without clothes!

[Kaden]

Kaden looked around at the wild and fearful eyes of the men surrounding him and realized that they had no more clue about what had just happened than he did. For a second he hoped they would be united in the goal of ended their mutual ignorance but the captain quickly got over his astonishment enough to open the cell door and usher Kaden back into it.

Kaden looked at the cell he'd just come from. He couldn't count on whatever had just happened happening again and the captain had made it very clear that his life was hardly worth his ransom price. If he didn't escape now he might never get the chance again so when another crew member came around the corner and briefly caused a stir Kaden took his chances.

He'd been trained in a martial arts style that was all about avoiding an enemy instead of meeting them head on. To that end it employed a lot of dodges and sweeps. He used one now and quickly lashed out against the gunman who'd identified himself as Archer.

He felt his shin connect with the back of Archer's calves and before the man had even completely started to fall Kaden lunged toward the captain to grab his gun before he could react. But as he moved he felt that odd tension and then he felt the intense pain again as his body tried to rip itself apart. Again he wanted to cry out in pain but, as before, the pain was gone before he had a chance to react to it and he found himself almost ten feet down the hall behind the captain and standing next to the crew member that had just entered.

He staggered, his bare heels hitting the cool metal of the hull hard and throwing him off balance. He fell into the wall of the hallway and looked around confused. Whatever had happened before had happened again and he didn't even have time to figure anything out. He spared one moment to look at the person next to him before turning and running down the hall looking for the way to the hangar bay and his fighter plane.

[Archer]

"SON OF A-" was all that escaped Dean's mouth before Kaden's leg swept him off his feet. Dean was usually pretty good with taking falls- both real and fake- but Kaden had caught him off guard. Dean would fall flat on his face. Hard.

Or at least he would have.

Just as Dean's nose came to meet the hull, goosebumps rippled across his body, and somehow he stopped about two inches from hitting the ground.

Dean stayed there for all of two seconds, dumbstruck, until he let out a surprised, "Gah!" And just as swiftly as it had happened, it stopped, causing Dean to fall the two inches left to the ground.

he quickly regained his composure, snatching up his gun and running after the now ex-prisoner. He touched his finger to his earlobe as he went, all but shouting: "Wake up Disc! Warm up the guns and prep the engines! We've got a stray dog and it look like he's coming your way!"

[Bartelby]

Bartelby was about to breath a sigh of relief when the captain was going to put Kaden back in the cell. But the sigh never came. Before Bartelby knew what was happening, the prisoner attacked and disappeared again. He could see the naked man over the captain's shoulder, next to the other person who had only just arrived. He was making an escape!

Archer was up off the floor now, having been knocked down, and was chasing after Kaden. Without even stopping to think about it, Bartelby followed. He gathered up his off-white robes in his hands (were they really still off-white?) so they wouldn't get in the way of his legs as he ran. It was still awkward running, especially since he was still holding his staff as well, so he had a hard time keeping up. But he kept running. No way was he going to miss out on figuring out the mystery of the disappearing/reappearing man.

[Gregoire]

A new voice floated in from the hallway and caught Greg's attention. The second of distraction was long enough for Kaden to grab the upper hand, downing Dean in one swift kick. Greg turned to stare in surprise at Kaden, readying to react to his attack, when the man disappeared a second time. Put slightly off balance by the act, Greg blinked then steadied himself. Whipping around, he saw Kaden running and Bartelby beginning to run after him.

There wasn't much time to mull over how this fighter pilot had the ability to do what he was doing. Cursing loudly and stepping quickly past his downed fighter pilot, who promptly got up from the floor, Greg started after Kaden. Shoving the gun in waist of his pants, he slowed down briefly as he passed Daxen to bark a quick command of, "Stop him!" before continuing after the freed prisoner. The loading dock--where Kaden's ship had been stored with the intention of selling later--was a short jog down the hallway, and it looked like that was possibly where Kaden was headed.

[Daxen]

Poor Daxen. As soon as he realized he was totally lost and in the midst of a potentially violent situation, he came face-to-face with the spotlight character: Kaden. It took a while to register, but once he did he yelped and cowered in fear, not wanting to get hurt. Strangely, and for a split second, his shadow shot up the wall behind him and took the form of a very menacing silhouette, like a horned demon.

This scare-defense-tactic mechanism probably wasn't noticed, not even by Daxen, as the moment he heard Gregoire say, "Stop him!" He turned towards the now-fleeing criminal and said meekly, "Um...p-please stop?"

As that utterly weak attempt obviously wouldn't work, he'd quickly get out of the way of any others who tried to run past him. He hated being in the way.