George's return

[georgewest]

It had been longer than he could remember since he had walked into this Bar. O'Hanrahan's was were he had met and been recruited by his old war buddy Ben to become the medic of the Orlando. He often felt bad about leaving the crew at Greenleaf and never giving any formal reason or goodbye. An old friend of his had sent a wave saying he was in trouble and George had promised to help. He had to keep it a secret but he wanted nothing more than to ask for help from the rest of the crew.

He had met this friend when traveling the verse as a doctor. The man had been an Alliance pilot gone AWOL but seemed like a trustworthy friend. Once on Greenleaf, he took a transport to Osiris where the message had been sent from. Turns out, when George had been grazed by that bullet at St. Alban's he had left some blood and DNA behind. West's buddy Legran had apparently returned to the Alliance and helped set up this trap.

West rotted in a cell without trial for...he wasn't sure how long. He was tortured for info. Killed, brought back to life and tortured to death again. It was weeks of this before they even bothered asking questions. these blue gloved monsters were the bane of his existence but it seemed this new horror caused his old nightmares to go away. He refused, despite all of this, to give up the Orlando or her crew. The thoughts of them was all that kept him sane. He finally went to trial, turned out Legran felt bad and pulled some strings. The jury found it quite unbelievable that this highly trained doctor with his numerous character witnesses (including an entire town that he had saved) could attack an alliance base. He was released with all his funds gone and his property seized.

He got work with some rich Alliance official as a personal physician until he could afford to book passage elsewhere. He finally made it to Persephone and went back to his old town, Eavesdown Docks. He tried getting a job as a medic on a ship but couldn't find any takers. He did odd jobs to make money and went to various pubs and bars hoping maybe he would run into Ben or Roxanne.

Here he was in O'Hanrahan's Pub. It was the obvious place to go but he couldn't bring himself to walk in until today. He walked over and sat at the bar.

"I'll have some Whiskey," he said to the bartender. A bartender who seemed to constantly be cleaning the same glass. He looked around hoping to see a familiar face. He was ready to get back in the verse and he would find a ship needing medic or one with cheap passage sooner or later.

[benbarrow]

Ben was furious. What the hell was wrong with people? They all seemed so dedicated when they first signed up but after a few weeks they'd abandon him, as if loyalty didn't mean a thing anymore.

First JD left after the heist on St. Albans, then that Ling Ling Clark woman jumped ship after only a few days on the crew, then Starsi's kid Enoden went awol as well, and finally the Knightly's decided to leave as well.

And now he was just left with Ceren. An able woman, but there wasn't much trouble they could cause with just the two of them. Ben needed another crew. A loyal one this time. One that wouldn't go awol as soon as they got some money in their pockets.

Having to fly the Orlando himself back to Persephone and damaging it while landing it on the Eavesdown Docks had angered him greatly. The fact that he had to walk to O'Hanrahan's Pub in the pouring rain didn't help either. All the way over there Ben just basked his in own anger, and he felt like cracking some skulls. But he'd never do that in O'Hanrahan's Pub, unless some Alliance-loving son of a b!tch would start trouble, then he'd definately throw in the first punch.

He entered O'Hanrahan's and and shrugged of the rain from his browncoat. Much to his annoyance a lot of the raindrops fell onto his pants, soaking the area around his tighs immediately. Ben couldn't help but to make an annoyed face and sigh heavily.

"Of course. Figures..." Ben muttered deeply annoyed and discouraged.

Letting out a deep sigh, Ben started looking around to see what was what in O'Hanrahan's. He took a few paces further in and got greeted here and there by Independent veterans who either shook his hand or tapped him on the shoulder. The band was playing, people looked like they were having a good time shooting pool or playing cards, there were people laughing; probably talking about times past, men making out with floozies in the darker corners, George West was sitting at the bar enjoying a drink, and...

Ben's eyes widened. Immediately he looked back at the bar. Was it really George West? He couldn't believe it. He couldn't help but wonder what the good doctor was doing back on Persephone. Didn't life planetside work out for him?

Rather than to stand there wondering Ben decided to go find out. George was just sitting there, bending over his drink, and didn't see Ben coming from behind him.

"Ah doctor." Ben greeted George. "You just couldn't stay away huh?"

[georgewest]

George heard the voice coming from his old friend. He turned looked at him for second and then turned back to look at his drink. Nope not drunk, I've only had a sip, he thought to himself. He looked back over to Ben and motioned for him to sit down at the bar.

"I guess I couldn't," he answered with a slight laugh, "I've been moving around a lot since I had you drop me at Greenleaf, not always by choice, but...," he trailed off at the last part by raising his glass in a mock toast and taking a large gulp. George was glad to see his old friend again. He could hardly believe it was possible but it was still good.

He leaned slightly and, attempting to be inconspicuous, looked at the door to see if any of the rest of the crew came in. When he didn't see them he asked, "So where's the rest of the crew? You all still flying around reaping the benefits of that job I helped with?" George had only taken a small portion of the take from St. Alban's. He only took enough to book passage and a couple nights in a cheap motel. He had felt bad about leaving and it seemed like the right thing to do. He hoped none of them had gotten in the same kind of trouble he had been in.

[benbarrow]

Ben sat down on the barstool next to George and gestured at the bartender to bring him the same as George was having. The bartender poured him a drink and sat it down in front of Ben.

"Ugh, don't get me started." Ben answered George. "These kids, they get a pocket full of dough and next thing you know they're awol. My crew's down to two, me included. Everyone else? Gone."

Ben gulped the whiskey down in its entirety and gestured toward the bartender to bring him another. As fast as the first time, the bartender poured him another whiskey.

"What ever happened to loyalty?" Ben asked George rhetorically. "Used to be different in the old days. I mean, we stuck around during the war, right? Even though we knew we were losing."

Ben stared at the whiskey in front of him for a while and sighed heavily before continuing.

"Or maybe people just don't make plans anymore." Ben continued. "They live to just exist, rather than to exist to live. Me? I ain't going out like that. I've got plans."

Ben gulped down the whiskey again. For the first time in a long time he didn't know what he was going to do. He had plans sure, but without a crew those plans would be useless. Maybe George was interested in teaming up with him again.

"Ship's gotten a whole lot emptier without you around doc." Ben said. "I don't suppose you're interested in coming back?"

[Ceren Aatos]

Of all the people you'd expect to stick by a person, it was the most unlikely thing that it turned out to be Ceren Aatos. While in the position of First Mate, she'd seen the entire crew disappear and move on from the ship, yet she stayed behind. Maybe she was some kind of bad mojo no one seemed to notice? Or maybe that was life and people move on. Ceren had only just landed the job with the Orlando compared to those who'd already been aboard. She still needed the coin, and she was still employed, so why leave now? It was just the most sensible option she could think of at the moment. Ceren was a noted deserter to old friends, but maybe she could quell a few of those assumptions with this here crew. She wasn't sure. She was a little confused about where her mind was going with all this. And she'd been alone and bored on an empty ship.

The Captain had been up and off before much word could be said between them. They usually shared the odd word, but he hadn't been exactly too talkative, and Ceren hadn't been inclined to bother him. She supposed it was just good enough that she'd stuck around.

Boots squelched against the wet ground, the noise rather unpleasant as Ceren waded through the hurried people rushing through the rain. Business never stopped in the sight of weather, it just either sped up or slowed down. Of course, Ceren wasn't really here for business. Just to locate her Captain, see if he wasn't knee deep in a barfight. Without her! She'd round the corner and enter O'Hanrahan's just as George had been looking for any crew entering, and as such wouldn't have assumed the stranger to be anyone in particular. Her trained eyes scanned the room in that half-arsed glance, before they settled on her Captain at the bar; talking to someone.

"Sure picked a pleasant day to disappear, Cap'." She'd note, but wasn't overly sore about it. He hadn't really run off, and she doubted he'd ever abandon his own ship.

Ceren peered between the two men, then realised those manners she was supposed to have.

"Sorry, Cap'. Weren't lookin' to interrupt." She'd twist towards the stranger, "Ceren Aatos."

It was easy to discern she was at least some kind of Mercenary. With a steady hand held out towards him, and the gun at her hip. Of course, could also be the description for a crackerjack First Mate. Only with a little more sense of being able to tell the crew a thing or two if the Captain's not around to do so. Lucky for Ceren, he was the only one around. Still, the quiet on the ship was unnatural, and she preferred to have some kind of background noise. Even if it was bickering.

[georgewest]

Wow, the almost entire crew had left after he had. He felt bad about deserting but it seemed that Ben understood a little. He knew George wasn't a deserter, and vice versa, he had stayed throughout all of the battle of Serenity Valley. "As far as people go, yeah, thing sure are different since the war. But as I haven't said before, Things change, get used to it...Doctor's orders," he laughed at his own phrasing. He still felt he needed to explain his own disappearance to Ben. "Look, I wouldn't have left if it wasn't an emergency and I would have been back if not for being arrested for the murders of an entire alliance base"

He nodded over to the bartender for another round of drinks. He needed one when he thought about the Alliance prison. "Don't worry though, I was found not guilty somehow," he chuckled as he downed a drink. George wanted to come back to the crew but he wasn't sure if this was a genuine or just a polite offer.

George was getting ready to ask who else was left of the crew when his question was answered for him. He had no idea how they had managed to run the Orlando with just two people. The woman started talking to the captain when she turned and noticed George sitting there, "Hello Ms. Aatos, I'm Dr. West, I was just talkin to my old war buddy about becoming your new medic" he said reaching out his hand to shake.