8105/Hello Hala

Hello Hala
Date of Scene:	03 October 2021
Location:	Cockpit - Milano
Synopsis:	The Guardians enter Kree space in an effort to get Ava and Finley to Hala. Unfortunately, the Kree border patrol don't take kindly to the Milano's presence and stubbornly fire upon the ship -- despite the number of reassurances Peter Solo gives them. Turns out, giving a Ghost a quantum energy boost can be really beneficial when you're trying not to get shot. Who knew?
Cast of Characters:	Ava Starr, Vance Astro, Peter Quill, Gamora, Finley Ellison, Nebula

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Ava Starr has posed:
The Milano cruises through hyperspace, heading for Hala. It's a dicey proposition, really, and everyone aboard knows it. The Kree Empire aren't fond of outlaws, to start with. They're less fond of most of the Guardians quite specifically. Add to it allies like Captain Marvel and, well... No one's expecting a warm welcome.

Ava and Finley, of course, have no reputation on Hala -- though it could be argued that arriving with this particular ragtag crew is not the best way to solidify an upstanding reputation for themselves in this sector of space. Regardless, Phyla told the pair that Ava's best hope may lie in the hands of Yv'Kar, a scientist of some reknown. So... who knows? Maybe the authorities will let the strangers past on humanitarian grounds?

Riiiight. 'Cause that always happens.

So, as the ship finally breaks into Kree space, Ava stands beside one of the chairs in the cockpit, looking out at the streaks of light coalescing into dots in the viewscreen. "How does this work?" she asks, reflecting this may be the wrong time to ask. "Do you have a fake transponder so they don't recognize you? Or do we just hope we get lucky and avoid the border patrols entirely?"

Yeah. Should've asked that earlier.

Vance Astro has posed:
    He doesn't -say- it, but.. Vance is rather impressed. Though, what he is impressed by, is why he doesn't say anything about it. What he is impressed with is the fact that spaceships from a thousand years in his past don't just fall apart spontaneously. They are so primitive.

    But he stays out of the way, usually spending his time during transit sitting in one of the passenger seats. His mouth stays firmly shut for the most part, and he just observes.

    "I am likely capable of modifying your transponder." he says, speaking for the first time in quite some time as he stands up and shrugs his shoulders. "Unless you can think of some other way to put me to work."

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter is at the helm and glances back at Ava's question. "Well since we didn't adjust the transponder... I guess it's option two." Flying by the seat of the pants much? It's the Star Lord way. Vance chiming in gives them some options though. "If you can do it, be my guest," he says. "We'd normally have Rocket do it but he picked a bad time for a vacation."

Gamora has posed:
    "Rocket can do what he wants right now." Gamora notes somewhat sullenly. The whole incident still stings a little. She's seated in her usual place on the bridge, and cranes her neck a bit to look at Vance and grimaces slightly. "... I have no objections." She says, then, more quietly, adds: "Or better ideas."

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley wrinkles her nose. Both at the lack of a plan and at the rushed offer. She hates not having a plan. But really she didn't think she'd need to be in charge of one. They're on a space pirate ship. Sneaking into places that don't want them should be routine...shouldn't it? She glances over at Ava. And reaches out to discreetly take her hand.

She sighs. And then bites her lip. "I guess it doesn't hurt to try?"

Nebula has posed:
Nebula sneaks in to the cockpit and leans against the wall lazily, "Oh it can hurt. A lot. It probably will. No doubt, just by proximity, they will assume you're all fugitive criminals." Throw some cheer in to the room, that was her intention. A small cruel little smirk on her lips.

Ava Starr has posed:
Not having a plan seems typical MO for this crowd, Ava's noticed. Fin reaches out for her hand and the Ghost gives her a faint smile, squeezing lightly. She knows the young engineer is nervous. Times like these, however aren't usually when Ava likes a lot of distraction. "Aces..." she murmurs softly as she hears the various responses. She glances briefly at Nebula and resists the urge to roll her eyes.

Whatever any of them want to do to try to disguise their entry, Ava certainly won't stop them. She has no clue about such things. What she does know, however, are patrol flight patterns. And the energy ripples out in space make those fairly apparent to her -- though it's the first time she's ever really had that sort of awareness. Thus, she says nothing... only to be rewarded a moment later when a strident voice sounds through the navtraffic comm frequency.

"Ravager Ship Milano, you are inviolation of... I can't even count how many regulations. Heave to and prepare to be boarded."

To emphasize the point, a trio of ships appear in front of them, and a trio appear behind them. A shot is, quite literally, fired across their bow to encourage them to stop.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Finley. Care to give me a hand? This -is- going to be a two person job.. as long as we're not able to set down and do the work properly at least." offers Vance as he heads aft towards the engine room. "Now, if memory serves, this model had their transponder physically integral within the engine cowling. But it should be hardwired to the comm station to broadcast."

    That last part is muttered mostly to himself as he reaches for a diagnostic tool. "Seriously. analogue?" he mutters as he opens a panel and reaches inside to begin working. "Okay. Fin. Can you monitor the outgoing broadcast and help modulate it when I... do... -this-?" he asks, a banging noise coming from the engine room that sounds like he either bashed a wall with his shield, or cut loose the primary buffer panel during atmospheric re-entry. But everything's shiny. Shiny is good.

    And then.. a shot across their nose. (Not up it), and he leans back to peer out of the engine room, "Um... I guess we're too late?" he calls out in a questioning tone of voice.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter glances back at the others, "Don't worry, we've got this," he assures their new arrivals which of course is just seconds before they're hailed. "Oorrrr maybe not," he says before shaking his head to Vance. "No keep going, I'll stall them."

"Kree vessel we don't know who the Milano is but it's not us... we're the Danza," he gives a little shrug at the name, hey he was working on the fly here. "We're just taking a load of zurg nuts to Hala, nothing to see here, wouldn't want to waste your boarding party's time..."

He begins plotting a new course to jump to hyperspace in case things start getting really hairy.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora gives Nebula a very cold look as she speaks to the others, "Forgive my sister, she likes to..." Gamora clenches her teeth and concludes, "... tease people." She looks back to her instruments and adds, "She also reliably forgets that she'd be killed in her own fantasies."

    Gamora frowns a bit as the broadcast comes in. She hears that a lot these days. At this point 'regulations' doesn't even sound like a real word anymore.

    She gives Peter a bit of a pained look between his sentences, and mouthes the words 'Tony Danza???'. The fact that she knows that name speaks to too much time spent on board the Milano.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley is loathe to leave the cockpit -- and Ava, -- especially when they might all die in an explosion or be arrested for violating like a billion space treaties? she guesses. But after sneaking a quick kiss to Ava's knuckles, she gets up and follows Vance.

She winces as he clangs though whatever modifications he's making on the other side of the wall. There is an elegance to analogue, a beauty in the way it fits together. But, she has to admit, especially because she can't see what he's doing, sometimes a machine just needs a good thumping to work properly.

"No, no," she calls back to him from the other side of the wall, "keep going. If we can get it put back together before we're boarded, at least they won't have blatant evidence of your work."

Nebula has posed:
Nebula rolls her eyes as Gamora calls her out, "Relax. The border patrol ships out here are useless. Their job is to report back to home when something like an armada is approaching. Only a submissive mewlhuft would actually let them board your ship. Unless the plan is to take theirs." It sounds like she's done this before.

Ava Starr has posed:
"There's a plan?" Ava says dryly. She hasn't observed planning to be a strong suit among these folks. The patrol craft make their demands. Her brows crease, almost pained, as Quill makes the Danza reference. "We gotta get you more modern references," she mutters.

Finley slips out past her and Ava moves to take Finley's seat, where she can look out the front viewscreen better.

"This is your final warning, Milano." The Kree officer apparently isn't buying the Danza routine. "If you do not stop your engines and permit bording within the next 30 seconds we will open fire."

"Sooooo," Ava says casually, leaning back and wrapping her hands around the arm of her chair. "You have shields? Evasive maneuvers?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    Bang! Bang! Clang! "Okay. Check it now! I put a nano-tranciever relay in. If we can break contact, we can totally change the transponder broadcast. It'll be like turning a corner and flipping a reversible coat around to look like a totally different person. Fly through a group of ships and we can be a totally different one. It's... well, I scavanged a bit of the tech from my own comm device. I can replace it later." admits Vance, sounding a bit winded due to the speed at which he's been kit-bashing.

    Then he pokes his head out of the engine room and adds, "Are we letting them board to take -their- ship? Maybe to use as an official -escort- to get past other checkpoints?"

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter grins as Gamora gets the reference, muting the comms he says "Figured I'd keep the 'Who's the Boss' theme going," what with the ship being named after Alyssa Milano after all. "And my references are awesome, everyone knows Terran culture peaked in 1989," a beat. "Mayyybe the mid ninties."

"We've got both," he assures Ava. "But gonna see if I can bluff them with another old reference first."

He turns the mic back on, "Uh, uh, negative, negative. We had a reactor leak here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak, very dangerous."

He looks back proudly and tries to hide he's crossing his fingers and hoping for luck. He taps the mute button one more time as Vance pops his head up.

"That's the last resort. First we bluff, then we run."

Gamora has posed:
    "Peter please-" Gamora starts to beg, before Quill unmutes the coms, forcing her to restrain herself. She merely watches helplessly as Peter makes a Star Wars reference she doesn't get. She can... FEEL it. She can feel how much she's not getting it. It's like catching a glimpse of an invisible man.

    Gamora sits back in her seat. ""Fighting seems like a more likely last resort. Taking a ship would make sense, but I wouldn't risk leaving the Milano behind." she replies to Vance. God help her she's become fond of this particular space bucket.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Then we let them board and take their ship?" Finley mutters. "This is getting too complicated." She shakes her head. They are never going to be allowed to see Yv'Kar now.

"Do we need to stay in position here to pull this off?" Finley asks Vance. Then she plays back Quill's stall. And gently bangs her head against the wall of the ship. "Don't tell me we need to fake a reactor leak now," she shouts to the cockpit. "They'll scan for that. And ending up in a trash compactor was not on my to do list today."

Nebula has posed:
Nebula smirks a moment, "I wasn't suggesting we do that. They have more than one ship. This ship and crew aren't ready for space hopping." She glances over at Gamora. How one gets from place to palce without ever owning a ship - so long as you don't mind stealing and murder.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava was *born* in 1989. The original Star Wars trilogy was over and only available on VHS or Laser Disk, though Who's the Boss was still on TV. She doesn't even want to think about what that means, these days.

That Finley, however, is snarking back at Quill's lame attempt to put off the patrol actually causes her to smirk and chuff something akin to a laugh. Quill's reference, though? That just elicits a groan.

"We are not detecting any reactor leak, Milano. Time's up." A volley of fire starts from the ships behind, the ships in front peeling out of their line of fire as the concentrate on the engines. The fact they're starting with the engines alarms Ava greatly. Her eyes flash with energy and the q-bands engage without her even thinking about it. It's probably fairly startling when the incoming plasma fire flows harmlessly through the ship without impacting a thing.

It certainly startles *her*.

Vance Astro has posed:
    "Yeah. So, that just happened." mutters Vance as the plasma fire does what it does. He emerges from the engine room. "Okay. Just tell me when, and I'll activate the modulator." he says as he works his way to his seat and straps in once more.

    "Was that you Ava? That seemed a totally Quantum Band sort of thing there. You realize that you can control -all- EM energy, and thus can change our transponder however you like with your new tools, right?" he asks with a grin as he straps back in.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter can't help it, he really can't. "Boring conversation anyway," he mutters as the Kree open fire, he jukes the ship out of the way of the first volley of shots but the second is on target to hit. "Brace for..."

The shots pass through the ship and out the other side. "Great trick whoever did that!" he calls out. He expects its Ava but it could be some sort of engineering miracle as well not that Peter cares, they're alive, the rest can be figured out later.

He puts on some speed trying to use their apparent intagibility to run a straight line course and out distance the bigger and slower patrol ships.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora turns left and right in her seat, looking around the chair with alarm as their ship just sort of... cheats at not getting shot. "... What the hell just happened?"

Finley Ellison has posed:
Following Vance back into the cockpit, Finley sure is wearing an expression. She shoots Ava a sympathetic look and mouths 'Thank you.' Then she slides in next to Ava. She lets a hand brush carelessly against the Ghost, just to see.

Nebula has posed:
Nebula flinches just a little bit. Being shot at in a space ship is not something you can ever be calm about. Boarding, one way or the other, is much preferred. Then she can beat people up and take their stuff. Fighting from a distance is not where he strengths lie.

Her eyes glance over at the weapons console and she comments, "We're better off making a timely exit now." Her eyes fall not on Ava, but on those bands on her wrists. There's something to be said to having the Protector of the Universe on your side.. sort of on your side.

"There's an asteroid belt around Seetee VI," she says deciding to actually be helpful, "The spacial fields will block our signal long enough that a change of transponder will fool them. It's a short jump from here."

They're on their way to Hala for Ava, yes, it's true they were shot at because of Ava.. but then Ava just phased plasma fire using quantum energy. She steps forward and taps her fingers quickly against the nav compute, putting in the destination.

Unlike usual though, she doesn't activate the jump drive. She leaves that for Peter and Gamora. Her eyes glance over Vance with concern as he encourages Ava to utilise those deadly q-bands in more elaborate ways. Her eyes narrow and she steps back to lean against the wall again

Ava Starr has posed:
Vance's voice cuts into Ava's awareness. She growls. "Oh, sure, Astro. I'll just change the station to W T F-you and see what happens." 'Cause she's totally a radio engineer and has got all this shit down cold...

It's a good bet the fact the Milano went out of phase was her. And it's a good bet the q-bands helped her do it. Her head is buzzing and her vision is starting to refract in a *reeeeeally* interesting way. The pendant, laying under her suit against her breast bone, is probably getting all sorts of crazy readings right now.

The Kree can be heard over comms briefly, shouting in surprise and giving orders for evasive maneuvers as the plasma fire passes through the ship and risks hitting their own. There's even the predictable scream of "Get them!" before the comms cut off and the chase begins.

Of course, Peter's pushing the ship straight through the cluster of patrol ships, their fire either missing or continuing to pass through. Finley's hand *does* connect with Ava, but that has more to do with the fact *everyone* is intangible, right now. Not just her. Microbeads of sweat start to stand out on her forehead. She glances to her friend and partner-in-crime.

"Better I stick with what I'm best at." Her words have an edge to them. No fancy engineering for her. Nope...

She closes her eyes and grits her teeth. There's a bit of a tingle of energy, kind of like the build up of a static charge throughout the ship. It doesn't actually affect any of the electrical systems, but it shivers over the skin like a breath of air. Quite suddenly, pursuit breaks off and scans indicate the patrol has suddenly pulled back to regroup. The start flying a sweeping search pattern.

Somehow, the Milano is completely off their sensors. Which will doubtlessly make getting to Seetee VI or even Hala itself a whole helluva lot easier.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora watches Nebula warily as she acts; but the choice is left to them. As such, Gamora silently gives Peter Quill an affirmative nod, bracing herself for the change in course, and hoping - not for the first time - that trusting Nebula with... *anything* isn't as foolish as it often feels.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter returns Gamora's nod before he says, "Alright, Seetee IV to lose these losers and then we're on our way to Hala." He sets the course and pulls the lever to make the jump to hyperspace. "Hang on!" he calls to the others as the ship jumps away, "Thanks for the tip," he remarks to Nebula as they go.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"I think you can stop now," Finley whispers in Ava's ear as the Quill pulls the lever. "That was impressive, by the way." She grins.

Nebula has posed:
Nebula braces herself a moment for the jump and then looks over to Vance, "You're up when we reach the asteroid field."

Ava Starr has posed:
When the Milano jumps for Seetee VI, Ava collapses back in her chair. Intangibility is her natural state and, exhausted as she now quite definitely is, while the rest of the ship and the crew solidify and return to normal phase, she does not. She's still carried along with them, visible in her chair. But mustering up the concentration to become tangible again may take a while. She gives Finley a tight, weary smile. "I need to go recharge," she says. She doesn't exclude the younger woman, but it's clear she's not staying here. She climbs to her feet and looks at the others briefly. Finally, she nods to them and stumbles off toward the privacy of her QEC.

Between Vance's transponder engineering and the old fashioned tricks the outlaw crew already know, it's unlikely Ava will need to pull that trick again, anytime soon. Just as well, given how much it appears to have taken out of her. Regardless, getting to Hala from this point forward turns out to be easy in comparison.

That probably bodes poorly for anything yet to come, but at least they'll eventually get groundside without undue incident. Sometimes luck actually is on the side of the underdogs.

Just don't count on it.