Unification Day [Orlando crew/open]

[benbarrow]

Ben was sitting in a booth in what was supposed to be a neutral bar in downtown New Dunsmuir, near the docks. So far he had been enjoying his holiday, going to the beach on a regular basis and spending some of his well earned cash. His crew was with him in the bar, but they were either somewhere playing pool, darts or cards, or sitting at the bar.

The time had come to cut the holidays, and get back to work. But before he went out looking for a job, there was just one more thing he wanted to do before leaving Beaumonde.

Today was Unification Day, and it was exactly ten years ago that the Browncoats lost the war to the Alliance. People were generally friendly to the Independents on Beaumonde, but there were bound to be a couple of Purplebelly-loving boneheads around, and Ben's fists were itching.

Patiently Ben scoped the bar, just waiting for someone to make a toast for the Alliance.

[alec]

Alec walked back into the bar where Ben was enjoying his time with his sister, Roxanne. His sister had opted to do a little shopping first before she joined them for a drink. Since leaving Greenleaf, Roxanne had that spring back in her step and Alec could turn back into the overprotective and sometimes grumpy big brother that he could be. All was right with the Knightly siblings.

He stopped at the bar first, ordering a bottle of whiskey for the two to share and him and Roxanne split the cost. They grabbed the shot glasses and moved to join their captain at his table, setting one in front of Ben, one in front of his sister and one in front of himself. There were five other, one he had grabbed and four Roxanne had grabbed, in case others from the crew joined them. ”Drink up. Might as well drink if you’re in a bar.” He poured the whiskey into the three glasses and set the bottle down, throwing back his shot with ease. Whiskey was Alec’s drink of choice.

Alec twirled the small glass in his fingers as he watched his sister go through her bags of various trinkets. ”What in the blazes did you get you insane little girl?” Alec rotated his shoulders in thought, the muscles straining against the fabric of his green shirt that tucked into his jeans. Alec was a simple mechanic who wore simple clothing to get him in and out of the days.

[roxanne]

Roxanne was making the best of this trip. Their first day here, she had gone to the beach. The second, she grabbed a bunch of things she needed personally that she refused to ask her brother or Ben to pick up as men didn’t know the shampoo women liked. And since then she floated between the beach and checking over things on the ship seeing as she was the pilot and still had to do things. Alec told her to relax for just a little bit, but she didn’t want them to end up landlocked or have some sort or problem while here.

Today while the crew headed for the bar, Roxanne headed out to spend her money on stuff she wanted. Her cornflower blue dressswirled just about her knees as the white flats kicked up dust. She went into various stores, picking up trinkets, some items of clothing and a new blanket for herself. Once Roxanne was satisfied, she went to the bar where her brother met her at the door. Roxanne was not a girl who drank often, but when she did, she generally just drank whatever everyone else was. Today her brother wanted his favorite whiskey so she split the cost and bought a bottle with him. As they joined Ben, she moved to sit in the chair beside him, the large bag on the ground with all the smaller ones inside of it. Roxanne began to rummage through it as Alec poured a shot for everyone.

Since Greenleaf, she had been wearing Nathaniel’s dogtags with her engagement ring on the chain. It was becoming easier for her to let go and she was back to her happy self. Her brow cinched together in thought. ”Well I got some stuff I wanted and another blanket. But I also got presents.” It took her a moment before she find the one for her brother. She pulled out a brand new set of handkerchiefs, roughly ten in all, and place them in front of him. ”So you can actually wash up before eating or coming near me.” It was slightly a joke and a serious gift. The boy only had one rag he used over and over again, so it was time for something new.

For Ben, his gift was in it’s own bag. Roxanne had to thank him for the detour in some way because he didn’t have to but did. Roxanne set the bag in front of him before she downed her shot. ”Just wanted to say thanks for Greenleaf and taken this goon on board. Though you don’t have to use it.” It was a flask that she had gotten engraved with ‘Bulletproof’ as much more would be too expensive. She reached for the bottle to pour another shot. ”So why this bar? There’s like a million of them here who I’m sure has much more nicer company.” More like ones who wouldn’t leer at Roxanne. She straightened her back as a hand traveled to rub her neck nervously.

[Ceren Aatos]

"Hit me."

There was a slightly dubious look on the face of the man before her, but Ceren Aatos didn't waver an inch. A finger stabbed down onto the cards already laid out on the table. Just a simple game between her and a few of the local patrons. Blackjack. And she had some money running on it. Still, it was a friendly game, and anyone looking to rob her blind would probably think twice with the revolver at her hip. The dealer was still eyeing her, and wondering as to her choice to add another card atop the seventeen count she already had. Risky?

"I'll lose either way, so c'mon. Hit me." She didn't like help with her bets. Ceren knew how to play.

The dealer rolled his shoulders, flipping a card down from the deck. She didn't wince, just watched the eight of clubs land atop the cards already laid out. Bad luck again. Still, a loss was a loss, and it wouldn't harm her pride any to see the money go. Maybe next round. As the winner raked in his winnings, Ceren let her gaze pass over the room, and caught sight of her new Captain. Drowning his sorrows? Well, it was U Day, so maybe he was. Being the woman that she was, Ms Aatos didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the date. It was just another day for her. Upon seeing the pilot and mechanic entering, Ceren lifted out of her seat to head across towards the bar. She'd give them both an upnod of greeting as she returned her already empty glass in favour of another. Her gaze inspected the faces of her fellow crewmates as she listened in on the goings on.

"Bad company'll always be bad. No disappointments." Ceren interjected offhandedly, sipping her drink.

[benbarrow]

Ben took a big swill from his mug of ale as the two Knightly siblings came in the bar. It appeared that Alec knew Ben's favorite poison: whiskey, scoring the mechanic some points with him.

He of course didn't think twice when Alec told him to drink up. He took the shotglass, brought it to his lips and swallowed its content and then took a breath in order to cool his mouth down.

Ben couldn't help but laugh as Roxanne gave her brothers items to clean himself up. Washing up before dinner wasn't that much of an issue on the Orlando, even though Ben had noticed the smears of oil and the stench of petrol Alec had left behind on the ship.

He didn't expect to get a present as well, but when he did he was pleasantly surprised. Eagerly he opened the bag in which the present was and smiled at Roxanne when he saw what it was.

"Ah, a flask! Excellent!" Ben said. "I always figured running around the boat with a bottle in my hand looked kinda unprofessional. Thanks Roxie!"

When he turned the flask, Ben noticed that it had his nickname "Bulletproof" engraved on it.

"Bulletproof eh?" Ben asked. "Well then, I'll be sure to wear it close to my heart. Also, consider yourself promoted. From now on, you're pilot First Class, which means you get to boss Alec around."

Ben smiled and winked at Roxanne and put the flask in the inner pocket of his browncoat, close to his heart. Even during the summer season he wore it, he hardly ever took it off. The coat sort of had become part of him, and no matter how dirty or old it had gotten, he didn't feel safe without it.

At Roxanne's question why he chose that bar, Ben just shrugged.

"No particular reason." Ben answered. "I know this neighborhood. Lived here for a few months when I was a teenager, before I went to live with my grandparents on Haven. And before that I lived about an hour on horseback south from here, a small town called New Shiloh."

Ben lied a bit about the first part though. He didn't feel like being around other Independent veterans at the moment. Being around other Browncoats would cause him to think back about the final battle on Hera, and how they lost the war to the Alliance. All he wanted was to get pleasantly drunk and pick a fight with an Alliance supporter or, if he was lucky, an Alliance veteran.

[alec]

Alec turned the package of hankies over in his hand. He lifted a brow, glad that they weren’t something the least bit girly. Knowing his sister she would have bought him ones that were all different shades of blues and pinks. ”Thank you mei-mei, but if you are saying anything with this subtlety, I will put oil in your shampoo again.” While Alec found those things amusing, his sister didn’t the last time he had done it. Plus he had gotten a good whooping from his father. But now their father wasn’t around so he only had his sister to be afraid of-unless Ben didn’t like his little prank.

He poured himself another shot, but after downing that, Alec got up to order himself a tall glass something resembling beer. Alec liked to mix things, but he knew how to keep his head clear in case he had to work or do something for any reason. As he came back, he saw what his sister had gotten Ben. He was sipping at the bitterness when Ben said Roxanne got to boss him around now. Has he set the drink down, he turned his chair about to sit more comfortably leaning against the back. ”Hey! Give her a little power and it will go to her head. I more than satisfied with you and Ceren busting my chops.” He raised his glass to the first mate as she joined them at the table.

There was a random scrap piece of paper and rolled it between his fingers out of boredom. ”Well I think it’s a fine enough bar.” He noticed another group of gentleman make this way in and gather at one section of the bar. Alec kept an eye on them and just about every guy seeing as he was protective over his sister. He threw the piece of paper at Roxie. ”Well wear more than a sack for a dress.” He let a few swaps of his taller drink go down before he set the cool drink down. He could get used to this; their father took some legal jobs so the payout wasn’t quite as nice. Though he didn’t get a share from their last job, he had some money saved up from working on their father’s ship so he was able to have fun with the rest of the crew. ”So no luck with the cards over there? Wanna play for drinks?”

[roxanne]

Roxanne stuck out her tongue. There wasn’t a real message, just that he should clean up more before eating with them. She was used to the smell of oil and grease that was always around him like she associated cinnamon and wasabi with her mother and spice with her father. So when she smelt the oil lingering about the halls, she always knew her brother was around. ”Well if you do that then I’ll have to place a fish in your room.” Roxanne knew how to fight fire with fire. The sweet appearance was only her exterior-when it came to Alec she knew what to do.

Her eyes traveled to watch her brother move away but averted back to Ben. Her shoulders shrugged happily, glad that she picked the right gift. Roxanne actually consulted with Alec to get his opinion first as it wasn’t like Ben was her brother or her father where she just knew them and what they wanted as well. ”Well now you can go about being your big, bad self and not worry about anyone thinking you’re just in a drunken rant!” Her eyes traveled to the pile of what resembled a peanut mix in the middle of the table but wasn’t sure how many hands had touched it. Oh, whatever. She grabbed a handful and peeled back the shells of the peanuts to eat with the other things. Laughter fell from her lips as she tilted her head back to toss the food in. ”Oh I am so going ot enjoy my new position.”

They already bossed each other around enough for it not to matter much anyways. Now she could just use what Ben had said to her advantage. As Ceren joined them, Roxanne smiled brightly at the first mate. ”True. Just pointing out an observation.” Then again, since Nathaniel’s death, most men were bad company to her. Her head fell back to eat the snack regularly as she crossed her legs in thought. She hadn’t heard Ben say so much about himself; even if it wasn’t true, it was something about him. ”We’ve never lived planetside. Is it nice?” She was hoping it wasn’t intruding but even though she loved living out of Earth-That-Was sci-fi story, she was always fascinated with life planetside. It was like one of those fairytales parents told their kids.

She felt the paper hit her as her mouth hung open in shock. Her hand traveled to grab a couple peanuts and throw them at her brother. ”I’m used to the cool temperatures of a ship, so this means I have to wear a pretty dress. Not my fault there is more men in this bar then women.” There was maybe a handful more besides Ceren and herself. But many of them seemed to take care of themselves. Roxanne should have learned more from her father and Nathaniel. Roxanne’s head turned to the side as she heard raucous of men at the bar. Her hand immediately went up to fiddle with the ball chain, still wishing some days that she had Nathaniel here to protect her. But instead she pulled out a Chinese word puzzle book from her back to finger through thoughtfully. She didn’t want to leave and go back to the ship alone, so she stayed with the crew instead.

[Ceren Aatos]

Play for drinks.. Ceren shook her head with a slight 'heh' of a laugh and downed her drink.

"With my luck that might not be a good idea." There'd be a pause as she scouted out the new company from the corner of her eye. Cautious, but not obvious about it. Stuff like that never bothered her. She was the mercenary type-- despite her current First Mate status-- so she lived around these kinds of bums. "I like to be able to shoot straight if the opportunity should present itself. Just a thought."

There was a light smirk curling up the corner of her lips at the mechanic, to suggest she wasn't overly trigger-happy. Just liked to seem it. Ceren preferred to be unpredictable. Subtle. Okay, so maybe not all the time, given her record of random bar brawls, but when it mattered and when the job recquired it, Ms Aatos was usually the one you're not watching when you should be. Her dark eyes drifted over the bar again. It was a surveying glance. Despite her sketchy past, she had some soldier in her still. Just the decent tactical mind part. If things turned to trouble, there was some chance she could find a safe route out for crew not looking to get in harm's way, then join the fun herself. A shrink had once told her she had a 'self-destructive' mindset. That she made sure to be in the thick of fights just to see if she could not make it out alive. Atone for something? Ceren had laughed in their face and told them where they could stick their opinions.

She wasn't that deep a person, anyway.

"Well, she does fly the ship. Easy to convince people to comply if you're the one that keeps us upright. I'd stay on her good side if she took us to some nice holiday spots." Ceren shot the pilot a wink, refilling her glass as she spoke.

A sip was taken, and the First Mate turned about, leaning back. She'd half-turn her head to add in:

"It is a nice enough bar. Bad company's still better than no company, after all. Good for.. entertainment value, right Cap'n?"

Her head twisted the other way, regarding Ben a moment before she returned to sizing up the men. Anyone that didn't know her well might've thought she was scouting out a possible 'prospect', but it was more of a cover to see how much of a threat they posed.

[benbarrow]

At Roxanne's question how it was living planetside, Ben pondered on all the places he had lived in the past. He poured himself another shot of whiskey and drank it whole before answering Roxanne's question.

"Well Roxanne, that depends on where you live and with who." Ben answered. "New Shiloh for example was perfect for me to spent my youth. Just my dad and me living on the family ranch. New Shiloh pretty much has everything. It's outdoors, yet not too far from New Dunsmuir. It has woods, ranches and even a beach. I used to go on endless rides with my horse and long walks with my dog. It was amazing."

Ben took a drink from his mug of ale, which was still half-full. The alcohol had loosened his tongue a bit, and it felt good talking about those times. It's not like he was secretive about his past, it's just that he only talked about it when asked, like now.

Ceren then made a remark about bad company being better than no company. Ben disagreed and shook his head.

"I'll have to disagree with you on that one Ceren." Ben answered. "I like to surround myself with people I can trust, and people I can call my friends. I don't like sitting with people knowing they've got a gun pointed at me under the table."

[alec]

Alec’s brow furrowed as he drew in a breath thoughtfully. Would he really go into war with his sister. Probably not a very good idea. ”Ok you win. But thank you for the gift either way.”[/color] Being on a ship where the only females were your mother and sister, you tend to get used to walking around greasy with either no problem or an entire fight depending on their mood. So either way he tended to be careful about what he did around the two women in his life. Not like he had anything in the romance department going on so he was relatively safe there for the time being. But putting that aside he moved to gaze over their first mate to talk about a game of bets.

”Hm so how about this. We keep track of how many shots we have to each take when we get back? That way we can still have fun without worrying about drunken brawls.” Alec knew the feeling about fighting though. He had a gun attached at his ankle mainly because he knew how his sister made a big deal about it. Alec hoped that if he could simply find a way to teach her to shoot something bigger then a small water trigger. Their father wanted him to stay a somewhat sweet girl so he hadn’t been all for showing her how to use a real gun to protect herself. Now it fell on Alec and maybe someone else to figure that out now. He knew whoever he dated he’d want her to know how to protect herself or if not teach her. Same when and if he had kids; they would all know how to use a real gun and protect themselves be a boy or a girl.

He set aside his bottle to pour himself another shot. A couple more shots and he’d start to back off. Being the mechanic he did have to work so he might want to be a little bit responsible. After he threw it back he shook his head as he gazed around. ”See the point of being her big brother is I get to tease her with no consequences plus tell her when she’s dressing like a street companion.” That was not taken lightly as Roxanne slapped him and he simply shrugged with a chuckle. What fun was it to be a brother without poking fun. Especially when asking ridiculous questions about living planetside.

Alec kept his mouth shut about that though. Their entire life had been spent in the air and he couldn’t imagine any other life. Maybe when he was older such as his late-fifties he would find someplace planetside to do some more mechanical work and just live the rest of his life out. But not before his health took the point where living in the air was more of a liability than being an asset. That was also Alec’s decision for his life. He couldn’t push his sister but he’d definitely talk to her about things when the time came if she became conflicted in any way.

As he leaned back there was a raucous of people behind him. Alec tried to ignore that as he turned back to the conversation at hand. ”See it’s conflicting for me. I’d rather be around people I at least get along with but if I’m looking for something a little more interesting then I like to surround myself around a…diverse company.” Such as now with a very loud crowd that seemed to seeking some sort of attention.

[benbarrow]

There was a loud sound coming from behind Alec, and before answering him, Ben look over Alec's shoulder to see a rowdy crowd standing behind him. Some of them were wearing military style jackets with patches on their sleeves which Ben recognized as Alliance. Some were infantry patches, and other were of armored infantry. In any case, they had Ben's attention now. Poor them.

"Looks like you're gonna have your wish granted Alec." Ben said as he nodded toward the crowd. "I have a hunch things are about to get real interesting..."

Ben was right. Things were about to get interesting. One of the men stepped forward and gestured at people to be quiet and to the band to stop playing. He then raised his shotglass, apparently ready to make a speech.

"A toast!" The man said. "A toast to a decade o' bein' rid o' the cowardly Browncoat scumbags. A toast ta ten years of unification, and a toast to our troops who will no doubt crush the insignificant Uprisin'!"

The crowd who was with the man cheered him on. The other patrons in the bar just looked at him until he was done talking, and then got back to their drinks or games.

Ben grinned. This was what he was waiting for. Nothing like a good old brawl to get the blood flowing.

"I'm tired of drinking whiskey." Ben said. "I feel like having something stronger. Anyone wants to do some tequila shots? Yeah, I think I'll go get us some tequila shots!"

Before any of his crew got the time to answer, Ben got up and walked toward the bar, to where the crowd was standing.

"Bottle of tequila and five shot glasses." Ben ordered. "And don't spare the lime and salt!"

As Ben waited for the bartender to serve his order, the crowd leader that toasted noticed Ben's order and approached him.

"Plannin' on gettin' yer buzz on?" The leader asked. "If ye can afford the lime, then ye can surely afford payin' a round for me and me boys now, can ye?"

"Bai Lih Mohn Puhn Yoh." Ben answered. "My crew and I are celebrating. I need all of my coin."

The man got an annoyed look on his face. Clearly he didn't like Ben rejecting his offer of him buying the rest of the crowd drinks.

"Aye." The man answered. "And how 'bout ye let us join yer lil' celebration?"

"Kwai chur hun-rien duh di gahng." Ben said. "I won't be caught dead drinking with the likes of you."

The man indulged Ben in his provoking, and it was clear as daylight that Ben's taunting was angering him greatly.

"Dead's the right word, ya Browncoat bastard!" The man said. "Now how 'bout ye give me all yer coin before we beat ya to a bloody pulp an' take it from yer corpse?"

The switch in Ben's head flicked into 'combat mode'. At the same time the bartender put Ben's order in front of him, with the five shot glasses stacked neatly around the bottle of tequila. Ben poured himself a drink and gulped the tequila down. Then, in the blink of an eye he grabbed the bottle by the neck and smashed it into the crowd leader's face, who fell to the ground unconscious.

"Da Chung Wu Dahn." Ben said. "Sha Gwa."

The crowd who was with the man rallied in front of Ben. For a brief moment there was a silence, until...

"FIGHT!!!" Someone yelled. All of the patrons got up from their chair and attacked one another. Ben grabbed a barstool and broke it on the head of the man who was standing closest to him. Before he could throw a punch at someone else, Ben got grabbed by two others who were in the crowd and they threw him into a table close to where his crew was sitting in the booth.

Ben got to his feet quickly and grabbed a tablepaw from the broken table. He quickly dispatched two men who threw him into it, and at the sight of more attackers approaching, he decided now was a good time to call in some reinforcements.

"Whenever you're ready guys!" Ben said.

It wasn't so much a suggestion, but more of an order. He definately needed his crew to deal with this situation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bai Lih Mohn Puhn Yoh: Wishful thinking pal.
Kwai chur hun-rien duh di gahng: Go away very far very fast.
Da Chung Wu Dahn: All show, no substance.
Sha Gwa: Fool.

[Ceren Aatos]

"Eh. 'Least you know what to expect with an enemy. Friends? Not so much." Ceren noted with a shrug. Apparently words of experience.

It didn't take long to notice where this was going. Ceren had been happy to enjoy the company of the new crewmates, but she did also have this itch. And it was apparent the Captain was more inclined to indulge his own. A Browncoat man with a reputation on Unification Day was as sure a sign as any that they were in for some imminent violence. Of course, Ceren was never one to turn her nose up at a good ol' fashioned brawl. No matter who was involved.

In terms of Alec's challenge, Ceren got a little glint to her dull brown eyes.

"No fun in that."

Though, drinking was only one option. Following the exchange between Ben and Alec immediately drew her towards the new crowd. Purplebellies. The whole lot of them. And it seemed like clockwork that the Captain chose that time to get up and go to the bar. Ceren hadn't known him for very long, but she knew a true 'brown' Independent when she saw one. Her eyes followed the man, and she'd keep an eye and an ear on the conversation that started with the U fellas. She could almost pinpoint the exact moment Ben was going to retaliate.

Ceren didn't move for a good long while, just followed the man through the fight as it progressed closer and closer. She'd stand there finishing up her drink as Ben prompted some help.

Immediately, she'd right hook the nearest staggering drunk trying to fight.

"Aw gui, Cap'. You's doin' so well, though. Was about to put money on ya." Ceren grinned, but was glad to be in the fight.

Ducking an elbow, she'd twist to ram into a gut, tackling a man into a nearby table. Pinning him, she'd give a few sound shots to his jaw before someone dragged her off. The manhandling wasn't appreciated, so her head was thrown backwards, her thick skull colliding with the man's nose to force him to drop her. Ceren turned to give his already sore nose another shot with her fist. Eyes scanned the crowd for the rest of the crew and saw Ben still scrapping away with the Unity boys.

"Nice idea, Cap. Better present than the free booze!" She'd call over the brawling with a laugh.

Yep. Good day.

---------

gui -- hell

[roxanne]

Roxanne pointed to Ceran as she slapped her palm on the table. ”Ha! See. So you have to be nice to me no matter how old you are.” As her hands fell she stuck her tongue out at her brother as she chuckled back another bit of whiskey. There was a tune stuck her in her head as she watched Ben go back and forth about the kind of company to be around. Roxanne preferred good company but then again, her father wanted her to stay innocent so he sheltered over her to try and keep her from the bad. But being the pilot, you couldn’t hide from the bad men chasing them.

She was off in her own world when it came back to her question about planetside. It was more of a fantasy then anything really. It was almost like a fairytale for her. One that may run its course or she’d just have to experience it to get it out of her system. ”Maybe someday I’ll live planetside. Even for a short time it would be an experience.” Her eyes glanced over at Alec. She knew how much he hated the fact of living planetside. He was born with stars in his vein. And while she loved to fly, she was still up in the air about family and how her career would go.

Her eyes traveled to where Ben and Alec looked to the group of men. There was something unsettling about them. ”Ben, should I go to the ship…” She was not a girl who handled confrontation or fights very well. Though Roxanne flew a ship and was fit, she wasn’t fit enough to handle a bunch of Alliance officials. Her eyes darted as the speech commenced and instantly tensed up. As she watched everything go through, a groan just left her lips. ”I’ll get the mule just in case.” It’s not like it was that far off.

But things had progressed enough that even dodging the fight didn’t help. Somehow before she could even step out she got grabbed. ”You’re coming with me little bao bay.” There was a noise between a squeak and squeal that left her lips as she flailed her legs to kick at his heels. With a breath in she finally wiggled enough to bite down on his hand. If there was one thing she was good at was chomping down and not stopping until blood flowed and they jerked back. Roxanne spit out the blood as she made a typical knee to groin contact with each point she made. ”First off, I’m not you bao bay. Second, I would never be caught dead with a Purple Belly like you. Thirdly, you’re just an all around pig. Dong-luh-mah?” Roxanne was quick to step back though. There was no way she was getting out of the door so she found a pool stick and broke it in half to either hit or poke anyone who came near her.

bao bay-sweetheart
dong-luh-mah-Are we clear