IAV Ranjit: "New Vegas Roulette"

[Lt. Pratt]

"Are you planning to shoot me with that taser, or did you have something else in mind, Lieutenant?"

The curve of air into Pratt's lungs preceded the words of the angel of death, increasing his calm. Common sense said to trigger the stunner, shock her into oblivion, but curiosity stayed his hand.

Average killers, sadistic killers, soldiers and angry fighters... those were everywhere in the Universe, in streets from Londinium to Lilac. A man who fought wars and captured criminals could look into the eyes of a hundred killers in a lifetime. Killers were of one breed. Jenni Wan was of another.

"You know me then." Pratt smiled, "The assassin Jenni Wan knows my name. I should be frightened?"

Jaguars in jungles, moving silent through padded forest floors, echoed glittering through her eyes as she watched him. Seductive smile, jasmine whispers, the paradise flower rising to the forest sun, Jenni flowed like water, stepping closer. "You don't know what fear is."

In that second, she launched her attack, diving forward, under the taser dart, fired too late. It would take the weapon twenty seconds to recharge. The katar locked to Jenni's wrist as she rolled, coming up to slash just as Pratt leaped backwards.

Flinging himself back, Pratt felt the steel graze his chest, the rip of slashed fabric, the sting of the long scratch left behind. A backflip brought him back to his feet, out of her range. On his feet, crouched, eye on her chest, waiting for the projection of her next move, she mirrored him, the opening steps to deadly dance.

No music began as they engaged, but their dance needed no rhythm, no notes to accentuate it's violent pulse of their fight.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over.

Pratt found himself on his back, Jenni kneeling on his chest. Both were bleeding, bruises coming out in livid red on their skin, breath heaving in tandem. Pinned, Pratt felt the ability to fight back stolen from him as her knee rammed hard into his solar-plexis, stealing the breath from his lungs.

"Don't be afraid," Jenni whispered as her katar raised, closing her fist on the crossbrace, her elbow cocking for the kill shot, "It won't hurt."

[Kendrick Rayner]

Room 610

Ken responded with the speed of a full blown racer and bounded after Czesky. The next thing he saw was a bloody mess-- there was not much he saw that wasn't covered.

"Oh gorram it all. Wade hang in there! Nadine what can I do? Will my blood help?"

Tears started to fall down Kens eyes as he stood there not knowing what to do. He looked over at Nadine he didn't know why he was crying, only that for someone he barely knew was dying and there was absolutely nothing he could do. That's when it hit him. Wade reminded him of Pew, and he knew why he was crying... He liked Pew he liked Wade heck he liked Nadine this had all gone so far south.

"Where's the lieutenant? Gorramit what should I do?" he asked himself.

Ken was stunned in indecision and then finally it hit him, page the lieutenant or go find him. There was nothing he could do here and he didn't care if he was disobeying orders. Something was very wrong here and the lieutenant was the only one left alone. "Where was he last? I should know! " he thought.

[Jenni Wan]

OOC: This postity is a combined Kendrick/E. Venture of awesemity goodness. Kendrick's wordination is in red. Enjoy! :)



"Don't be afraid, It won't hurt."

Pratt didn't flinch. Didn't blink. He just stared at her, mouth set in defiance, calm breath sliding in out of his lungs- she could feel the pressure of each breath against her thighs where they pressed down on his ribs.

"What?..." She whispered, waiting for more, waiting for the whimper, the groan, the gasp, that would tell her she had won, "Not afraid?"

Something was terribly wrong and it wasn't just the dying woman in room 610. As Ken ran his thought began to clear and memories of the night came back to him. And it hit him like a ton of bricks. They weren't the only ones there casing the place. Gorammit, they were being watched as well. How did he not notice this before?

"I'm on my way, Pratt!" Ken muttered to his com he ran down the hallways.

The building roar of the emergency sirens coming to Wade's aid stifled both his words and bootsteps, but they reached the only ears that really needed to hear them...

"You're forgetting something." Pratt whispered back, his struggle completely ceased.

Was he... was he smiling? Jenni set her wrist, feeling the weight of the kukri begging to slam down and puncture his jugular, to pin him to the floor, the sensual moment between breath and death lingering an instant longer, "No, lover, I don't think..."

Her words were lost in the roar of the handgun from behind, the blistering roar that ripped through her right shoulder, the kukri falling useless to her side. Blood, her own, sprayed over Pratt's face, as the realization that his crew was close, closer than she'd thought...

Through the loose strands of her satin-black hair, she glanced back.

Kendrick Rayner stood at the far end of the corridor.

Kendrick just stared in disbelief, his hand already moving. His captain was on the ground dead to rights and all he could do was stare. Before he knew it the sights on his pistol came into view and he was aiming for the females shoulder. The shockwave and the sound itself of his gun firing hit him like a ton of bricks. He snapped out of his confusion and regained his composure.

Kendrick's eyes burnt a fiery read as he stood there, pistol drawn and aimed at the miscreants heart. His blood was boiling and his breath was silent even after he had ran what felt like an eternity. He kept his cool. Of all things Kendrick looked like death itself, and he was ready to lay judgement on all who dared to threaten his new family.

"Freeze, you're bound by law!"

Before her attacker could fire again, Jenni gained her feet and sprinted like the wind, her pistol clearing the way through the plate-glass window at the end of the corridor. The safety glass sprayed away in pebbled fragments, arching out into the whispering Santo air. Another bullet ripped through her blouse, taking fabric but no blood just as she reached the window. Silently, beautiful assassin lunged headfirst out the fifth floor of The Blue Diamond...

[Lt. Pratt]

Pratt rolled, coming to all fours and launching into a sprint after her, but skidded to a halt as she threw herself through the window.

Gasping for breath, and still not quite believing his good luck, he cast a glance back down the corridor to where Kendrick stood, weapon in hand. "That was kinda close, huh?"

Turning back, he slid forward towards the shattered window, one hand swiping the blood from his face, leaving stained trails down his cheek. Pratt looked down, half-expecting, but not quite daring to believe, that he would see her body splayed on the sidewalk, her dark hair falling over her face, her arms spread. If there were justice she would have landed on the kukri...

Pratt looked out and down.

And looked again. "Sonova..."

The utterance fell away and he glanced back at Kendrick with a shake of his head. From the 6th floor, she should have, by all rights, been dead, but a glance out the window told the tale. Each floor of the Blue Diamond was decorated with large blue canvas 'diamonds' that fluttered like flags or royal banners of old. The one between the sixth and fifth floor was gone, cut away, and with it was gone Jenni Wan.

"Nice shot, though. From the blood, she'll have to seek medical attention. Maybe we'll get lucky." Turning back to Kendrick with a sigh, Pratt slapped on him on the shoulder, "I owe you one, but it'll have to wait until we get everyone home safe and sound."

[Blake]

The girl was still struggling as he carried her into the lobby. But her attempt were half-hearted at best, compared to what they had been. Her language hadn't improved much, but Blake was tuning that out.

As the doors closed behind him, he caught sight of Lt. Pratt and Rayner coming down the stairs. He moved over to them, saying "I got the girl once he was within ear shot.

The close he got though, he noticed more things out of place. Like a bloodied Pratt and Kendrick with his gun out still. He froze where he was, a question on his face. "Did I miss something?"

((GMing of Pratt and Kendrick approved by their respective players))

[Lt. Pratt]

"Did I miss something?"


Pratt straightened his shoulders, suddenly aware of how they must look. The Alliance's best, undercover in tropical print shirts and shorts, splashed with blood, carrying cursing dark gypsies, (Good lord, what langauge was that?! It sounded like the unholy utterances of Shakespeare's witches!), wearing gun residue like lead-scented perfume...

Glancing conspiratorially over at Kendrick, Pratt winked, a dash of a smile flicking across his lips, "Nah, Blake. Not a gorram thing."

[IAV Ranjit]

One Hour Later


IAV Ranjit has gathered it's people and intel from The Blue Diamond Casino, and returned to The IAV Ranjit.

Under arrest, Miss Tsenko is ... well, is there a word that means uncooperative, only a thousand times moreso? Sadly, she is the only one under arrest.

Lieutenant Pratt is fond of his Shakespeare, and as much as I would like to say that all is well that ends well, very little has ended well. The assassin Jenni Wan has slipped through their grasp. Jack Deliono has once again evaded attempts to implicate him in criminal activities.

The only truly bright spot is the Tech Convention.

The thievery and it's resulting chaos has been announced to have been a combined Blue Sun and Iskellian Technologies stunt, allowing them to reveal their new technology in all of it's glory.

The press, and the fans, are eating it up.

The Blue Sun Tech Suit and the Iskellian Tech's rip-off venture IskeWear Suit- full body rigs that can be programed for a multitude of real-life and virtual reality uses! These prototypes provide small sample of what may one day be possible. The imagination, and the budget for development, are the only limits to it's capacity.


Doctor Benjamin Franklin Crowe must be so proud.

THE IAV RANJIT CREW HAS RETURNED TO THE SHIP HERE- IAV RANJIT THREAD