Keys to the Ship (Tristram)

[Roger Davis]

(Didn't proofread anything so be warned. Also, I took license with explaining the situation. Hope that works with everyone involved.)

The Trinity had fallen apart of late. Her captain and owner, James, was dead. His sister Layla and Cadan, her boyfriend, had departed shortly there after. Art, the mechanic, had left the ship as well and now Tari, the ships... subterfuge expert, had also slipped away with little more than a goodbye. That left the crew light already but soon the ship was struck by disease which laid up Kali, Meilin, Dani, and Sidney the secondary mechanic, cook, pilot, and new captain respectively. The ship had to seek port in Alliance space to provide adequate medical attention for half the ship (and also to dump them and prevent the entire crew from falling to it). With the Trinity grounded Sofia, the companion, still needing to travel to find work also departed. It wasn't long before Sakura, the medic with strong dies to the deceased James Clark, also left for new opportunities.

With everything said and done that left but two left with the ship, the two newest crew members, Roger and Tristram. Both were gunhands which meant that they were humped in the "necessary skills" department for crewing a ship. If the Trinity didn't find a crew quickly, it was likely to rust on Ariel until Sidney and the others came to. Roger had seniority and had just been promoted to First Mate so at least there was some sort of chain of command. Still, it didn't seem right for him to just take over and start completely anew. He'd been on the ship for not even two months and Tristram had been on it for about a week. Now they were the ones running it and unofficially owning it. For all intents and purposes it was a "free ship", a rare opportunity that most wouldn't hesitate to take. But Roger wasn't "most". The ship would sit there and wait, for now at least, to give the others a chance to recover without waking to find their home had disappeared into the Black.

As much as he would like to be there looking after the ship and crew, Sakura and Sofia had the right idea. Waiting around was frankly a waste of time. There were things to do and very few of those things could be accomplished while sitting in an empty ship parked on Ariel. Roger wasn't interested in work, at least not seriously. If a short term job came his way he might take it but he was mostly interested in catching up with his life. That included meeting up with old contacts, employers, and comrades. It also meant making a trip home to Verbena to see the folks. There was no predetermined itinerary nor an estimate on a return to Ariel, just the overall objective of catching rides home and seeing whoever he could along the way.

Now the de-facto captain assembled his entire crew to make the announcement. Roger walked out onto the cargo ramp knowing that the young man would either be hanging around outside or would pass through there sooner or later.

[Tristram Kelly]

Tristram was sitting on the open cargo bay door, staring out in the direction of St. Lucy's, where a good number of Trinity's crew lie comatose. At the rate his new friends fell victim to the disease, he shuddered to think he could have been right behind them. He thought about the gruff captain who had given him a chance when others would have written him off. The quirky pilot who helped him find the ship on his first day. The kind hearted cook who could make protein palatable. The gentle mechanic whose smile stopped him in his tracks. Within days of meeting them, these people made him feel like he had a home with them. Like he belonged. It was bad enough there were four in the hospital, but then the medic jumped ship, and Tari, the first one to welcome him, had disappeared. Now it was just him and Roger, whom he heard approach behind him.

"Do you think they'll be ok?" He remained focused on the skyline. The worry on his face seemed to age him. "What if Kal-..." He quickly corrected himself. "Captain Bainbridge and the others don't wake up?" Though he had known them for only a short time, he cared about these people. The thought of losing them saddened him, and it showed in his voice.

[Roger Davis]

Tris was right there on the ramp as expected when Roger exited the ship. The young man's typical upbeat attitude had recently been replaced by a more solemn one, understandable due to the circumstances. Of the two, Tristram was taking it the hardest or at least he let it show the most. His growing attachment and interest in Kalli was probably responsible for that. Roger's relative coldness compared to the new gunhand also contributed. A dozen years of losing comrades to enemy fire, disease, and even just changing crews had somewhat dulled him to it. In time perhaps it would get easier for Tristram too.

"St. Lucy's the best in the 'Verse, or so they say." Roger replied as he took a seat on the ramp next to Tris. "And I've seen folk in a lot worse shape recover in considerable worse medical accommodations." He patted his right leg, the old war injury. "Myself included."

"They'll be up and about eventually but I ain't expectin' them to walk out that door tomorrow morning." He turned to look from the skyline over toward the man beside him. "That brings us to the question of 'What do we do until then?'" Roger sighed and looked down for a second before looking back up. He didn't like the idea of leaving them there and he was sure Tristram didn't either, hence why they were both still there this long. "Do we stay and wait here on this ramp for them, no matter how long that takes, or do we get on with our lives until they're well enough to come back."

Roger had made up his mind already but he had little idea of what Tris wanted to do. Hopefully the young gunhand wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that Roger was taking the ship and leaving and have the likely reaction of seeing that as a stab in the back to the crew. Once explained, Tris would probably understand the plan and agree to it... not that he really had a vote in the matter.

What mattered now was what to do with Tris. Roger couldn't force him to do anything and it didn't really seem like he had the same kind of system of friends, contacts, and family to make a trip to see in his down time. Still, dumping Tristram with the keys to the ship and the orders to sit there on the ramp forever wasn't an ideal scenario. Even if Tris wanted to stay, it wouldn't be healthy to just mope and luck toward the hospital all day. The kid needed work in the area to stay busy and stay fed. Roger intended to get Tris settled someplace before he left.

[Tristram Kelly]

The older gunhand's words held truth. What good would it do anyone if they just moped around, day in and day out? Tristram sighed and looked over at Roger. "Sitting' around isn't doing' one damn bit of good, either for us or them. Still, I don't feel comfortable just leaving them. I know how I'd feel if I woke up one day and everyone I knew who still had their fine motor skills up and left." he hung his head. "I don't know what to do." There was a hint of hopelessness in his voice as he spoke his final sentence.

[Roger Davis]

Roger nodded his head as Tristram spoke. "Too true. It ain't a position I'd ever want to be in and it certainly don't fell right." he replied. Fate had not laid out a path before them to follow this time. There was no easy decision to make or a clear course of action. There was just a shell of a crew and their attachment to those they were missing.

"Well, I can't stay here forever." Roger finally announced firmly. "In case you ain't noticed, Alliance and me don't always get along so nice. Sittin' on my ass waiting for an undetermined time is bad enough without that little complication of big government and their bigger grudges." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn piece of paper. "Besides, I got some things to do while the others are laid up."

In the hopes of brightening the mood a little bit, he showed it to Tristram. The paper was a print of a Davis family portrait that was at least ten years old. Four figures looked back at the camera from the family farm on Verbena. "That's me there on the right with the crutch." Roger added pointing to the returned veteran at the edge of the capture. The young man was Tristram's age, just before the start of a career as a gunhand.

"I was thinking of headin' home for a bit... maybe stop a few places along the way to catch up with some others. Don't really matter since we ain't on a time table or nothing for their recovery." he explained. "I'd make my way back here after a while. If the others are back on their feet before then, well the Trinity can pick me up someplace."

Roger turned back to Tristram and asked, "What about you? Got any places you'd like to go in the meantime? I reckon you ain't seen as much of the 'Verse as me but you got some experiences under your belt." Roger didn't really know all too much about the young man's short career or his life growing up before that. If he had nowhere to go or still didn't want to leave then Roger was already thinking up an alternative right on Ariel, something better than just a family reunion.

[Tristram Kelly]

Tristram let out a small chuckle when he saw the picture of young Roger. "Looks like you've put on some weight, big guy." He shook his head at Roger's question. "I have family on Persephone, but it hasn't been long enough for them to miss me yet. I just don't feel right about leaving the others."

[Roger Davis]

"I'd hope so." Roger replied to Tristram's jest. "Four years of military rations when available and then three months as a hospital patient and then POW was a great way to shed some of those unwanted pounds." The only chances of ever staying that weight, short of intentional starvation, was if he'd actually lost the leg and the few dozen pounds along with it. At least those were the only choices Roger saw if he wanted to keep his job. You wouldn't get far as a gunhand if you were as thin as a rail and lacking muscle to boot.

The de facto captain listened to the young gunhand's response. It would fit perfectly with what he had in mind. "How would you feel about working security? Legitimate work I mean." Roger asked. The Trinity's work wasn't exactly (or at least not always) illegitimate but it certainly wasn't the sort of business that you got tell your grandparents about. "Ariel's local chapter of the White Sun PSC is run by Phil Towers. Phil and I go way back to Beaumonde in '20 and Verbena in '07 before that . He's a good guy, always willing to help other people out even if he's a bit of a hot headed show-off."

"It's basically the same gig you've got going here. You guard something during the day and then live here in the Trinity if you'd like. On your time off you can make sure she's not falling apart and also look after the guys over in St. Lucy's. It'll keep you busy, hone your skills, and put some coin in your pocket." Roger looked Tristram in the eye. "Sound like something you'd be interested in?

[Tristram Kelly]

"Security? Sounds a little more formal than I'm used to, but coin is coin, don't matter much where it comes from." Truth be told, Tristram was relieved that he would have some source of income while he sat with the ship. He had already decided he wouldn't leave, no matter how tough things got. "If you think he'll take me on, I'm in. I was going to try to find something local anyway, this just makes it easier on me." A spark of happiness flashed in the youth's eyes, a rare sight recently.

[Roger Davis]

Roger gave a faint smile. "It ain't really my type of work either but it's better than no work." Of course if it had been his type of work then Roger would have already used the connection with Towers to get himself the job instead of searching for inconsistent work on ships as a gunhand. Private security was like being a soldier without the honor and duty or a gunhand without the freedom and adventure.

"Good to hear." Roger replied to Tristram's agreeable response. "And I wouldn't worry about it. They need men that can handle themselves so you could probably get the job even without my reference, assuming they gave you the shot to prove yourself. Just my introduction will probably be enough but if that fails, well Phil owes me one." It was actually more than one and Phil Towers was thankfully not the type of person to forget his debts.