Scars of Reality }{ [Kyle, Grant, Cadan]

[Phoebe Saku]

[June 18th, 2522]

Pheobe hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in over two months, what few hours she did get haunted her with nightmares of that day. Much to her disappointment she was sent to her family home on Persephone, she had argued for an hour with the doctors and nurses at the hospital, but had lost. While her mother had been acting all motherly to her because of the injuries, Pheebs knew that it would only last until she was fully healed. Even though her mother had years to come to terms with what her middle daughter did, she hadn't let it go, Phoebe could tell she was still furious.

The nightmares, Phoebe wandered how long they would haunt her, flashes of horror, death and destruction. The Summer's Dance was no more, aside from her there were only two crew members left of it. Pheebs had shed many tears for the loss of her friends. Reavers were defiantly everything she had heard, and even worse than words could describe. Luckily the ship they were meeting up with had arrived when they did, else she wouldn't be alive today. If only they had arrived some time earlier then they probably would all still be breathing.

Pheebs ran her hand across her stomach feeling the scar beneath her black tank-top, she'd been very close to death herself. There was a matching scar on her back, one of the damn reavers had run her clean through with a blade; surprisingly he had left her for dead. She'd been at the first hospital until she was stable enough for transport to Ariel. She'd ended up with another scar down her shoulder, it was only about 6 inches long. All three would be a reminder of what had happened that day, not that she could ever forget it, thought she wished everynight that she could.

She had gotten out of her family's home as quick as she could, faking a few extra days to avoid her mother's rage, so that she could prepare. By the last day she'd been even more angry with Phoebe, though she should have been angry at Camile instead. Her sister shouldn't have talked poorly about their father, not to Pheeb's face at least. Camile quickly received her little sister's wrath in the form of her fist knocking her off of her feet. She knew everyone thought that Matthew had abandoned them, but Phoebe felt it in her heart that they were all wrong.

So now here she was still on Persephone but far from her home, the docks felt more at home than where she had been. Phoebe had been hanging around for a few days, not completely sure of where to go from here. She wanted to find a ship to take up with, guilt tugged at her a bit though. There was nothing she could do about that, she was trying to move on as best as she could. It shouldn't be so hard for her to find another ship, she was a damn good mechanic, she even had her own set of tools. She just couldn't settle, she'd talked with quite a few captains since getting here but hadn't taken anyone up on their offers. What was wrong with her?

The young red-head took a seat on the ground next to a mechanic shop, taking in some of the shade it offered from today's sun. It was a hot and dry day. Pheebs took a sip from her water bottle, pouring a bit over her head afterwards. What she wouldn't give to have grown up on Newhall with all that ocean, perfect for swimming. She leaned her head backward against the wall and closed her eyes.

[Kyle Phelan]

Kyle snaked through the never-ending crowd of people, changing course several times to avoid crossing paths with members of certain gangs. He was a Gallagher after all, and Kyle knew only too well how gang wars plagued the streets of Persephone. In fact, Phelan probably would have never returned to this particular part of Persephone, but his boat -the Falchion- was in desperate need of repairs, repairs beyond what his meager skill with machines could make. It wasn’t that the ship couldn’t fly, it flew just fine; but lately take-off had been sluggish and the controls shook when going at slower speeds. Kyle was no expert pilot, so that made landings a little difficult as well. Not being able to take-off quickly could be dangerous for the Falchion and her crew, whether they were evading enemies or simply on the job (and on the clock) as couriers. So here he was, along with his First Mate (who also happened to be the closest thing he knew to a best friend or brother) – Grant Ross – looking for quick fix for his ship, without being seen by anyone with a nasty grudge against him. Yeah, right. The docks were the last place a local would (or should) try to hide out. Many a crime boss and/or gang leader had their base of operations in or around the docks, away from the center of town where the rich folk lived and law enforcement (not to mention private security) actually existed.

Kyle couldn’t spend too much coin either, or they wouldn’t have enough to refuel and get back off planet, and they’d be forced to pull a job on Persephone to make up for the cost, which Kyle really didn’t want to do. So that cut out most of the chain stores and shipyards then. He could save money by actually hiring on a mechanic, which he needed to do anyway, but that just presented a whole other list of problems. Where could he go to look for recruits? Most of his old enemies frequented the same places he used to go. And what about being able to trust the person? Kyle didn’t trust anyone as far as he could throw one of his knives at them (except maybe for Grant), and given his history with Persephone’s underworld… As far as the rest of the ‘Verse was concerned, he was Kevin O’Connor: drifter, mercenary, and occasional hero to the little folk on the Rim. But here, in his home town, people were more likely to see through his disguise and figure out who he really was, Kyle Phelan: orphan, thief, and an heir to the local Irish crime syndicate. Fun times…

Kyle and Grant exited the Falchion via the loading ramp, each of them heading separate ways to take care of the tasks they had divvied up. Grant was in charge of the food and fuel, while Kyle headed off to hunt down a potential mechanic, and maybe even a pilot while he was at it. Kyle gritted his teeth (one amongst many of his bad habits): Sure, why not? This trip is already insane as it is. What’s one more complication? Stopping next to an out-of-the-way food vendor, Kyle mused a while. Roughly half of his clan wasn’t actually out to kill him, and the McClain owned the O’Hanrahan Pub, so he would start his search there. He just hoped he didn’t run into Daisy Jane while he was there. The one thing everyone that knew her agreed upon was that Daisy Jane was “mean as a snake”. Whether they grinned about it or started shakin’ in their boots was another story. Daisy Jane McClain… Oh boy…

[Cadan Ashdown]

Cadan had been down at the O’Hanrahan Pub for the fifth day in a row. Tomorrow he had a riding coming for him to take him off world and it was a good thing after the last 6 days since he arrived he had dealt with his family enough. THe constant tug for him to take up the family business he was ready to get out of there. The Ashdown family had been a fairly well known family in the underworld. At least when you were talking petty theft and information gathering. The knew all of what was going on in the underworld of Persephone and Cadan had no real interest in it.

Though the night before he had used those connections to help a young man find his way back to his friends. It proved to Cadan that at least some good could come from it and it had earned him a favor he may need in the future. Aside from that the trip back home had been a bust. He had returned knowing that Persephone was the best place to find a ship to pilot and yet he was leaving as a paying passenger of a freighter tomorrow.

Cadan slide his glass back up on the counter, dry as a bone, he was ready to call it a night when he noticed someone walk in the door. A face that stood out to him, almost as if he had seen it before. Then again he had seen so many faces that he remembered from before. Surely this was just another face in the crowd he had passed time and time again. Cadan continued to watch the man as he walked closer to the bar, he did indeed recognize the face but he couldn't quite place it. "Ya butcher's familiar, 'ave we met?" Cadan said as the man stood up next to the bar. An outright and blunt question for the likes of this place. Most people around here didn't want to be recognized and directly asking someone that had started its fair share of fights but that never stopped Cadan.

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Butcher's = look