[Takeshi is near the front doors of the oxygen gardens, because some people would totally have a heatherfit if he were far off in the halls. Which he was, but shhh, we don't need to let Ned or Heather know that.]


Don't fight!!

Don't fight each other, there are real monsters to fight--don't fight pirates! Pirates, please don't fight, too! --why are we all not getting along? There are scary things we can stop together; we can give each other stuff. We can be really smart and not hurt each other!

[Huff--this is hopeless, but he hates how scared or angry people are. And if not those two, then too willing to fight people who could have easily been with them.

Hitting someone who hurts your friends, he gets. Hitting a monster, he gets.

But--when did it end up where you're enemies just because?]

I saw some of the pirates. They talked to me before. They talked to you, too! Some might be bad, but maybe they're not bad; maybe they're just playing the game, and they're scared of losing. They're just trying to get their points so they don't die. [What, that makes total sense. To him it does, anyway.]

I--maybe I can talk to them. Maybe we can talk and make this better. People're getting hurt.

And stealing is wrong. Stop stealing from us! Stop shooting stuff! Why're we fighting if we don't got any reason to fight? We're not monsters. Nobody's monsters. Why are we fighting when we're all not monsters??

....

We're all just people... 

... I don't get it...

[the video clicks on to Kirk standing in the armory, communicator held level with his face. his expression, though not hostile, certainly holds something unyielding in it. right now, Jim is every bit a starship captain, ready to go to bat for his ship. even if this ship wasn't theirs, as the pirates have been so quick to declare, it was the place they were forced to call home. they have enough trouble as it is without these guys coming in and thinking they can take whatever the want, and to Kirk- the people on this ship might as well be his own. they haven't heard from Ward or Resnik, last they'd heard they were missing. The pirates have said otherwise, but considering their line of work Jim isn't inclined to believe much of what they say.]

Captain Laurens, my name is Jim Kirk.

I'm sure you've noticed the people of this ship don't take being boarded and threatened lightly. We know why you're here, but we can't allow you to clear out our stores when we need them ourselves. I think we both want to avoid as much bloodshed as possible. I'm inviting you to come forward for negotiations.

[he's aware it's a long shot, that these guys aren't going to want to negotiate, but half of this is for Kirk to find out first hand out how they'll respond and where their movements might take them. They need to take back the ship and to do that, they need to find out where those pirates are. The pings he sends out don't ask for a response, but their meaning is clear: report in, we're going to move out.]

PING :: ENTERPRISE ENCRYPTION :: ALERT

PING :: GUNNERY ENCRYPTION :: ALERT

(welcome to the shuttle bay with han and obi-wan. excuse the fact that there's a shuttle that han's stripped and that obi-wan generally looks like he has a bad feeling about all of this.)

I think if you follow the guidelines set by the Security Team, you should be safe. Stay in groups. Don't engage.

(there's a beep and a long protest as Arfour says something, but she's not in view. that's when han just takes off his goggles off to actually prove obi-wan wrong.)

No, this is what you do. If you see a pirate? Shoot them. (wait, this is a jedi he's talking to.) Or use the Force, you know what you do.

(obi-wan looks irritated for a moment, but he'll take this moment to roll his eyes and cross his arms)

If you don't have training, don't engage.

If you don't have training, get someone else to shoot them. If they talk to you, shoot them. If they even look at you, shoot them. If they ask you how you're doing, shoot them. If they're dying outside your room, watch them die and then shoot them to make sure they don't get up.

(han's getting a little serious about this.)

I'm going back to work.

(aaaaaand Obi-Wan walks a little away, Arfour beeping after him, but she's still not visible on screen)

Don't touch anything, I'm redoing the - (han was running after him before running back to turn off the communicator.)

[Taylor's walking as she talks, clearly not caring about keeping the camera steady with the way it dips around. But from what you get to see of her face, she looks pissed off and tired, and when she talks she's clipped and fast, not looking for a discussion.]

These fuckers are loud, I don't need to tell any of you what's going on. And I'm not waiting around to see if they're gonna back up their threats.

Everyone should take what they can carry from their rooms and the nearest kitchen and proceed like we did during the emergency lockdown. If you weren't here for that, grab a member of my team or someone who's been here longer, ask them in person. Communications are compromised.

SEC, I want you escorting people or down there setting shit up. Passenger safety is our priority.

Tranquility - the last transmission on the network was not a hoax. We have been boarded.

All non-combat personnel should keep to their quarters at the present moment. Further instructions will follow.

Note please that the boarders are able to hack all transmissions, including those which are highly encrypted. Do not discuss tactical information over the network. Do not discuss extraneous things. We do not know what will be of use to these brigands, and we need to deny them as much information as possible. Keep silent; keep vigilant; updates to come.

[The feed crackles on to show a man leaning in close to the camera over some kind of console. Everything about him seems dry and harsh, from the lines of his features to the colour of his eyes, like too much sun and dust has sapped all the softness out of him. And his voice — when he finally speaks after a long moment of simply looking silently at the camera — is a light, husky tone, rough-edged.]

Tranquility. [A pause.] I am Felix Laurens, I am captain of the Scylla. My crew and I are boarding this vessel. We will take what we want from it, and then we will leave.

[A very long pause, where he seems to be considering something, looking at the camera silently.]

Keep out of our way and you won't be harmed.

[And with that, he's done with the message. He turns and walks away from the camera, revealing a view of the room behind him — though much smaller and less well-kept, it's a clear match to the shuttle bay. Part of a blonde head ducks into view after Laurens finishes speaking, clearly trying to find the 'off' switch for the console.]

Did he just—every time. Every fucking time.

[That remark garners him a bony elbow to the ribs, sneaking in from just out of sight to jab hard at his exposed side, voice quiet but still impatient.] Shut up. [Extending her arm out a little more to jab at the console, Hayes severs the transmission.]