NERF IT UP

[partofaplan]

It's about midday, the day after the pigs showed up to cause chaos, and that's when a loud beeping comes from all panels capable of transmitting comms signals.

A second later, a voice, and face, if you're near a viewscreen, pops up.

"Goood afternooon fellow passengers of the USS Enterprise. Legendary Outlaw and Guardian of the Galaxy Star-Lord, here, interrupting your normally scheduled comm traffic to bring a very important announcement."

Seems like Mr. Quill isn't done with his hacking escapades... Except this one seems to have worked.

"So... We seem to have a bit of a porcine problem, don't we? And, despite the valiant efforts of our security teams, it doesn't seem to be gettin' any better, huh? Well. I got two words for ya..."

He bends out of the view of the feed, coming back up with a bright yellow plastic gun.

"Nerf. Guns." He grins, obviously proud of himself. "Tried and tested. I figure it's more humane to blast 'em with foam bullets than vapourise the poor things... Even if I ain't had real bacon in a while. Plus, I'd hate to see one of these things end up in your fancy engine, or somethin'."

A pause.

"I know I ain't supposed to be hackin' into ships systems. I picked the least busy time in your subspace comms, and, hey, you folks don't make it a walk in the damn park. Anyway..." He scrubs the back of his head. "I'll make it easy for ya. Deck 7, Room 752. I ain't goin' nowhere, so, if you wanna toss me in jail, go right ahead."

And then a grin again.

"Until then, anyone who wants to Nerf it up, come on by. We got all kinds'a toys for just about everyone."

He's going to reach up and switch off the monitor. If Q wanted a show, fine. He was gonna get one... But no-one said nothing about other people not enjoying it. He grins to himself, clapping his hands together and turning to the replicator.

Things were about to get interesting.

((OOC: Open over the comms, in person, out and about shooting pigs... anything and everything. Come at me!))

Comments

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"Nerf guns?" Gaila asks, peering up the nearest PA speaker. What the...

The acting ensign turns on her heel and makes her way over Deck &, Room 752, glad that today she'd swapped out her normal loose trousers for leggings and knee-high boots.

"Nerf guns," she repeats once his door swishes open. There are some raised eyebrows.

[partofaplan]

And there's Peter Quill, stood there with a Nerf Rifle slung across his shoulder, grinning like a kid in a toy store.

"Nerf guns." He confirms. Yes. He's 100% serious.

[writes_with_digital_ink]

There's a helpless hand gesture.

"Is...this a human thing?"

Help the poor confused Orion, Quill.

[partofaplan]

"Could call it that."

He gives Galia an appraising look, before grinning and turning to the Replicator.

"Computer, uh... Gimme a Nerf N-Strike Demolisher 2-in-1 for the lady." And one acknowledging beep later, a bulky-looking orange plastic gun appears and he holds it out to Gaila.

"They're kids toys, but... hey. They're effective against pigs."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

She takes the weapon from him, adjusting her hands to try and find the right grip. She's not entirely unfamiliar with weapons. Well. She's done Basic. Phasers are fine.

"To...bring them down?"

[partofaplan]

"I thought you Starfleet folks were all humanitarian and shit." Quill comments, turning his back on her to grab a plastic bag full of ammo for her. "Naw, these're to corral them. Your Security folks've got forcefeld cells in place."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"I've done my time as, um. What's it called...swineherd?"

Still, she's looking altogether more cheerful now he's clarified what he meant.

"And the name's Gaila. Gaila betIlley," and she offers him her hand.

[partofaplan]

And he takes it, shaking it, offering her a wink. "Peter Quill, people call me Star-Lord." That last bit may be mumbled.

"I'd like to think of us as Pig Cowboys, darlin'. Sounds better."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

She bites down on her bottom lip in a futile attempt to stop a smile. 'Star-lord'? Well, hey, Cutie mumbled it! Can't be that relevant.

Her skin is human-warm to touch, but the closer she stands, the more that she smells vaguely of plant.

"Pig Cowboys. Cowgirls. Cowpeople?"

She shakes her head. "Pig Cowboys it is."

[partofaplan]

"Gender-neutral term, of course." He remarks. He leans forward on his table, still grinning.

"Take it you don't need a crash course on usin' these bad boys, do ya?"

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"Hey, I managed to pass Field Training, thank you very much."

Just.

[whereishe]

Shooting? Yuna was there and excited. She had many talents but something she excelled in more than anything was aiming her gun. Of course she wasn't used to these since they weren't really but it was certainly fun.

She brought the gun up to her cheek and smile. "This is to much fun."

[spideys]

If there's one good thing about being Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord's roommate, it's that he's at least somewhat privy to his roomie's haphazard and crazy plans.

Well, most of the time.

(Because the shampoo-and-towel-stealing part is never going to be fun. Never. QUILL, GET YOUR OWN TOWEL GDI.)

In this case, Peter hasn't even had to leave his room for any of the announcement. He'd been settled in the common space looking through the few options Quill had already replicated so far, feeling a little like it's Christmas morning and he's about to get his dream gift.

"Man, you know I haven't played with these things since I was a little kid," he says, leaning forward to pick the closest one up, give it a quick test, maybe.

[therightpartner]

After her earlier encounter with the pigs, Peggy is curious about this new attempt at solving the problem of their newest 'guests'. And she wants to know what exactly a 'nerf' is.

When she finds the room, she's surprised that Star-Lord hasn't been thrown in the brig for hijacking the ship's systems. "I didn't understand most of what you said, but I am curious about these Nerf things."

[miniclaws]

Laura knows a little of nerf guns, she's seen other powered mutants playing with them across the dorms and classrooms - she did not join in. She shoots to kill. However...when she passes Peter she stops. She picks up one of the spare nerf guns. It has none of the normal balance of a gun but if it works better faster than her claws to stop the pigs she'll try it.

"Come hunting with me."

[spideys]

"-- uh, hey!"

Wow, Peter totally did not even think about the fact that Laura might have decided to check Quill's collection of Nerf guns for pig-hunting, but it's not exactly a surprise. She's got that whole huntress thing going for her, and her expression of utter seriousness only emphasizes her intent.

He just wishes he, you know, ran a comb through his hair, maybe, or changed into something less ... homeless-chique, if he was going to be expecting - actually he has no idea what the hell is going on in his head right now, so .. moving on ...

"Hi Laura," he tries again, straightening so he doesn't look so ... slouchy or uncool or whatever. "You - you want to try catching one of those pigs running about on the ship? Yeah. Uh - sure."

[miniclaws]

Laura notices the change in his stance, it puzzles her for a second, she has seen a reaction like this before...She shelves it for now, it is not of current importance. "More than one." They are source of frustration for her, and their sounds are loud in her ears.

Belatedly she drops her hand from his arm. "You look in shape to handle a chase across the ship, and I can train you." She remembers their first conversation clearly.

[spideys]

For a moment, Peter almost wants to protest against the need for 'training'; after all, he's carried himself through a fair number of scuffles and fights with dudes at least three times his size, he's saved people and their vehicles on a bridge from uncertain doom, and - yeah, that's all stuff he's still going to keep under wraps because he's never going to know when someone from his own world might show up. If he starts getting comfortable with the idea of revealing his secret identity, and maybe it does slip out, it's only going to end up hurting him and his loved ones when something goes wrong and it gets back to them.

Yes, paranoia is his middle name.

So, he shrugs, shakes his head, laughs a little.

"I guess I can probably handle it. It's - I mean, they're annoying, sure, but we've got a pair of Nerf guns. Just - you're not gonna totally kill them, are you? Just knock 'em out, and uh - maybe gather them all into one section of the ship, throw Q in there afterwards. Yeah, yeah that sounds like a good idea, actually."

[miniclaws]

Laura's face betrays the fact that she only intended to kill the pigs. "It is not efficient to keep carrying them to one section of the ship," she says. She does not wish to see the disappointed look in his eyes, nor fear. She searches for a compromise.

"We will clear a section of the ship, where people can drop the pigs. I will not kill them." Her green eyes look up, seeking approval.

[spideys]

"Great," says Peter with a grin, already looking into which Nerf weapon he's going to arm himself with, wishing he could tinker with them so they become a little more spider-friendly, maybe with a webshooting function that releases a net, for better pig-trapping.

He gets to his feet, leans over, picks up a bright yellow and purple gun, already loaded with spongey foam bullets, grabs a bunch of spares, shoves those in his pocket, and looks to Laura.

"You gonna pick a gun too?"

[miniclaws]

Laura scrutinises the guns, before she settles on a plain yellow one. "These guns were not designed for stealth," she observes. Three packs of spare bullets are placed in her jacket and she settles the gun over her arm.

She looks up, "Which area is the most densely populated?"

[spideys]

"Nope, they're definitely the opposite of stealth," Peter says, nodding sagely. "Pretty sure the flashier the Nerf gun, the more popular-slash-expensive it was."

Peter only had a sub-par purple and green one as a kid, but he liked it.

"Uh. I don't know. I heard mention that Deck Ten in general was full of 'em. Maybe we can. Uh. Start in the halls."

[miniclaws]

"The pigs are not intelligent enough to understand what a gun is, they have not been hunted before. They are almost as innocent as a puppy." Laura had a puppy once. She does not wish to dwell on that thought and leads the way towards Deck Ten.

"A pig got into my room."

[spideys]

... Peter, who had been inspecting his Nerf gun with the kind of care a ten year old boy inspecting a brand new toy would give, suddenly glances up and in Laura's direction.

Wow, puppies. Not exactly a great metaphor if he's supposed to be shooting these things. Even if they are with foam bullets.

He's distracted from that thought getting any darker (or guiltier).

"There's a pig in your room?" Yikes. "Okay, uh - detour. Lets head to your room first. Clear that out."

[partofaplan]

"Well, darlin', prepare to be amazed."

This is said with a flourish of his hands, as he pushes a Nerf rifle towards Peggy. It so clearly looks like a children's toy.