No Guns Allowed }{ [Phoenix Crew]

[Miria Harken]

[Same date as the topic "A promising turn of events" - Later that evening]

Miria hadn't taken long to get settled into her room, surprising though that she had one to herself. At least as far as she knew so far. She had just tossed two of her bags on the bed and let them be, but she had carefully set her bag containing her firearms at the foot of her bed. The Lieutenant had checked in with her fellow crew-mates if they needed or wanted anything because she was going to run to a few shops.

She was back now and hanging out in the dining area, the table had various bottles of alcohol on it. That was one of the things she had gone out for, along with plenty of ammo. Can't have her pretty firearms unable to be used can we? Tonight though was a celebration of sorts, new ship, new crew, new captain. Not that Miria needed an occasion to drink, it was just a good excuse.

Alot of glass choices had been set on the table as well, ranging in size and shape. Plenty to choose from if anyone wanted to join her, she hoped someone would. Drinking alone didn't bother her, but drinking with someone else was always more fun for the gunhand. Miria downed her first shot of whiskey and slammed the small sturdy glass onto the table, causing everything to shake slightly. A wide smile on her lips.

[grabem]

Jon was settling in as best as he could. He had been expecting more grunt duty or maybe a posting on a massive Alliance capital ship not a return to basically the same thing he did in civilian life. Straight out of retraining he hardly had any actual possessions to bring aboard that weren't issued to him by the Alliance. Might be best to see about getting a few things sent from home if this was actually to be his new life, for a time at least.

After dropping what little he had in one of the crew quarters, the sergeant made his rounds of the ship to get a feel for her. He'd flown a Mantis before but he hadn't logged more than a few trips and none of them had been all too recent. This ship was Alliance too, not some civilian transport owned by his family. It would certainly be to everyone's benefit if he had a look around before grabbing the wheel.

There was nothing much of note after a quick inspection. The ship was in fine condition except as far as Jon knew there was no mechanic on board to keep her that way nor did it seem like they were getting one. From the looks of it Miria's skill was just fighting, as per her introduction, and he seriously doubted that the captain was going to be spending his time inside an engine. Jon knew a thing or two but there's no way he could pull double duty flying the ship and keeping her running. Even if he was relieved of the burden of flying he didn't have the skill to keep the ship going for too long. No, it couldn't be that bad. The Alliance wouldn't just outfit a ship without a mechanic... would they?

Finally he reached his main destination, the cockpit, and reacquainted himself with the set-up doing a few mock actions to test if anything stuck or was too sensitive. It looked like there might be a few upgrades as well, possibly sensors or just military grade communications, but he wasn't about to go fiddling around above his pay-grade without permission or cause.

Satisfied with the Phoenix, Jon made his way back into the body of the ship, finding Miria in the dinning room. It was a little troubling that she was surrounded by dozens of various drinks and glass. A gunhand with alcohol poisoning didn't exactly bode well for any future mission. He was starting to guess at the cause for that 'Disciplinary Leave' mentioned earlier. Still, time would tell if it would be a problem or a blessing from a relaxed environment.

"Mind if I join you, lieutenant?" the pilot asked as he took a seat at the table.

[Miria Harken]

Miria still had the shot glass in her grasp and the wide smile on her lips as she saw Jon walk in. "Of course ya can Jonathan, so long as ya take a shot with me! Can't expect a girl to drink by herself can ya?" She shot the Sergeant a wink then waved a hand above the bottles on the table. "Plenty here to choose from. Really don't think I'd drink all this by my lonesome do ya? At least not in the same night." Yeah her recent discipline leave was because of her like of drinking, drank so much she went to roll call the next morning still drunk off her ass. The General hadn't taken a liking to the spitfire mood it had put her in either. Even less the fist to his jaw when he yelled at her.

The Lieutenant rose from her chair and grabbed the bottle of whiskey to refill her glass. Then proceeded to fill another before she sauntered over to Jon placing the drink down in front of him. "Don't worry yourself about how much ya drink, I got plenty when I went to the shop." She reassured him that there was more where this came from. No need to by shy, it was free alcohol for him after all. What man didn't enjoy a free drink?

Taking the seat next to him but turning it to face the man she watched and waited; smiling mischievously. Would he take the drink? If so she'd drink hers the same time. If not she'd pout and drink hers anyway. Possibly his as well. No point in wasting a good drink.

[grabem]

Drinking on the job, again not what he expected from an Alliance assignment but then again this was no typical assignment.

"You seemed to be drinking perfectly fine before I showed up." he replied as Miria began to pour two glasses. "But no. I'd hate to see anyone have to drink alone."

Jon took the glass when offered and brought it to his nose for a quick whiff before throwing the shot back. The warm rush that came immediately from it was welcome after such a long time. He'd been living a dry life since reenlisting after all though he wasn't much of a drinker anyway.

"Lucky for you I have a soft spot for Whiskey but for all of our sakes I should worry about how much I drink." he smiled back at her. "I am driving after all."

[Miria Harken]

Miria grinned at Jon, "Well o'course I was, but it's much more fun to drink with someone other than me, myself, and I." she also shot him a wink. Yes she would, could, and did drink alone but she much preferred to have the company of others, even if they weren't drinking.

Once she saw Jon begin to take the shot she'd poured for him she drank her own. "Whiskey eh? I got plenty of that, most definitely! An' well we could always relocate to the bridge to drink if you prefer." Miria winked at him again, she was only teasing. She wasn't someone who would force anyone to drink if they didn't want to and such. Despite her rebellious streak she didn't want them going down in a blaze of not so much glory after all.

Grabbing a different bottle from the table the gunhand leaned back in the chair and propped her feet up facing the opposite direction of Jon. She pressed her lips against the opening of the bottle of dark goodness and drank. "So what kind of fun you think we'll get ourselves into on this boat? Myself I can't wait for the excitement to begin. Always fancied the rush that the dangerous stuff gives." Miria tossed back another sip from the bottle.

[grabem]

"Heh, I don't know if our definitions of a fun mission are exactly the same." Jon replied. "Diving and rolling the phoenix in the middle of a mid-air fight would probably be pretty exhilarating for me but the rest of you would probably be mighty upset at your helplessness, assuming you're not throwing up from the maneuvers. Likewise, you and the captain getting in a gun fight on some little moon while I watch the ship isn't exactly my idea of an ideal vacation."

"That's all assuming I get left behind to watch the ship instead of coming along to crack some skulls with you, but someone's gotta make sure the civy don't steal the ship." he added. Jon didn't want Miria to think he wasn't up for getting in a fight when needed.

"As far as wild guesses go, I'd say we're probably going to go after the type that normally are good enough at keeping far away from obvious Alliance ships. If we don't play by the rules then we can get in close with big crime bosses or slavers and the like. Then when we're right on-top of them I open a window and you get to shoot out. That sounds like fun, don't it?"

[Miria Harken]

Miria sipped her bottle as she listened to Jon talk, all the while she was grinning too. The man sure talked alot, which was fine at the moment, she had her bottle to tend to. After a few more drinks from said bottle he really caught her attention and she laughed. "Ya really know 'ow to show a girl a good time eh? I'll have ta make sure we get ta do that one, helluva lotta fun that sounds! An' of course ya should come with us, we jus' gotta make sure we lock 'er up all safe an' sound. Everone should get ta knock the blazes outa folks who need it." She nodded a couple times, yep this was gonna be a good ship with some good folks. At least thus far. It was only the first day after all.

She wasn't one for all that fancy flying stuff though he had that right. Another grin crossed her face "Course if ya get stuck 'ere on the ship, there's always tha big gun on 'er, I'm sure that'd be fun too, least ya would get ta do somthin' yeah? 'ell even I'd like ta try shootin' that one!" Another drink from the bottle.

[grabem]

Jon had kind of been droning on, not letting Miria get a word in edgewise. She didn't really seem to mind though, just enjoying the company. His joking comment added to the end of his little speech certainly seemed to help.

"It's more like I'm finally talking to the right audience. You'd be surprised at all the girls I've said that to and didn't get a positive reaction." Jon grinned. He was joking of course, keeping the friendly banter going.

Miria's comment about the ship's armament sparked the pilot's memory. He'd forgotten that the Mantis class had a turret on-board, typically fired missiles or something of the like. He'd have to make sure the thing was even working before they might run into a situation where they need it.

"So, the guy you punched to get assigned here, what did he do to deserve it?" he asked. The earlier introduction of being off disciplinary leave, asking who Tandem had hit to get there, and now the recent comment about beating folks who deserve it all pointed to the same conclusion. Jon meant nothing by the question and figured Miria would probably want to talk about it considering all the hints she'd dropped earlier.

[Miria Harken]

Miria gave a minor shrug, "Well they dunno what they're missing out on then! S'lright though ya got me 'ere now, an' I love the idea." She was amused, she wasn't so far gone yet that the fact that he'd been joking was lost on her. Another hour, yeah maybe then she'd have a hard time telling.

She perked up a bit and her grin grew wider when Jon inquired about her action that had put her here. Did the General deserve her punching him in the jaw? Probably not, at least to most people, but Miria wasn't most people. She liked things her way and didn't liked to be talked down to. Sure maybe she shouldn't have shown up to roll-call still drunk from the previous night, but it'd been her birthday that night. A time for celebration! "Not my finest moment o'course, but at the time was hilarious. Went out partyin' for mah birthday ya see, got drunk, as ya would expect for a celebration yeah? Well I 'ad some fancy roll-call to get to early tha next mornin'. Didn't bother gettin' no sleep an' was still a bit tipsy when I got there. I was doin' just fine! Til General Uptight calls me out on mah condition.' Miria shrugged, she actually had been doing just fine during the ceremony but the General had always had a hate for the feisty gunhand so he took the chance to call her on it. 'Well went from bad to worse, ya see I know I'm a feisty girl, don't like when folks talk down to me on a normal day an' such. But he took it too far an' all, so being who I am I took offense and gave it a go. So yeh, knocked him in the jaw -- I know I's lucky with jus gettin' the leave time instead of some jail sentance or anythin'. Think that was cos that man is an ass to anyone and everyone so folks took some kindness on me cos I 'ad the nerve to give 'em what he needed."

Miria didn't mind sharing, wasn't much of a private person normally. "Ain't no reason to be scared of lil' ol me though, don't you worry none. Jus don't talk to me like I ain't nothin'."

[squall86]

Jordan walked into the galley to see that Jon and Miria had begun drinking and getting the party started. He still had two guns in his shoulder holsters and a bottle of burbon as he made his way to the pair. With a nod to both parties he sat down and poured himself a shot. He patted his pockets for a moment before producing a pack of cigarettes and lighting up. After he took the first drag and let the nicotine seep in he returned his attention to the two others sitting at the table.

"So what have you two been talking about"

He was sure he had heard some of it when he went with Miria earlier in the day to pick up some more supplies. They spent a lot of time in the weapons stores and came back with a fair amount of ammunition. Jordan even baught himself an autmatic shotgun for those close quarter fights that would happen.

[grabem]

Miria's story was about what Jon had expected. She had some legitimate reasons and in civilian life it would have been justified but in the military that sort of thing absolutely wasn't. The lieutenant was correct in saying that she got lucky with a lenient punishment and she was even luckier getting a quick transfer to a ship where she could get drunk and get in fights without really worrying about consequences around superiors. This 'peace time' military certainly was a lot more lax than Jon's previous experience. Back during the war they might have had the offender taken out back and unceremoniously shot for such an action... not that severity of punishment equates to justness.

Speaking of superior officers, as Miria finished up her story, commander Tandem walked in to join them. The first officer walked in with bourbon in hand and soon had a cigarette in the other, completely relaxed. Despite appearances Jon wasn't ready to trust him yet. In fact he seemed TOO relaxed for the situation as if he was trying too hard to fit in with the gruff lieutenant and the enlisted man. The commander had probably been standing in the doorway eavesdropping before he had ever entered too.

The pilot was already beginning to think more like Miria, questioning authority figures. But it wasn't the fact that Tandem was an officer or that he had been more 'by the book' in their first encounter that perturbed the sergeant; it was that hinting suspicion that Tandem was out of place and purposely assigned here to cause the captain trouble. These were suspicions that may have been completely unfounded but they were hard to shake.

"Just shooting the breeze, commander." Jon answered.

[Miria Harken]

Miria nodded to Jordan as he walked into the galley, she had no interest in salutes or any of those formalities. Not even with the Captain whom she greatly respected. She watched as the Commander sat down, taking a glance at Jon when he replied to the man's question. "Yup we's jus gettin' to know each otha a bit bettah."

She liked that the Commander had a like for firearms same as she did, but he was technically her commanding officer here. Miria didn't know him yet, not that it would stop her from chatting him up of course. Being that he was over her though she'd take a bit more care in what she said. Not wanting to lose this assignment.

"Glad for ya to join us Jordan!" She'd had the man for company earlier when going out for extra supplies. Miria only needed to make two stops, one for weapons and ammo, the second for alcohol. The gunhand poured herself another shot, then looked back over to Jon holding out the bottle in offer to him.

[squall86]

Jordan had noticed the microexpressions crossing the pilots face. He didn't trust Jordan one bit, he was suspicious but tried not to seem like it. Jordan knew he didn't fit in with the group and would probably be suspected for a while until something proved otherwise. Plus it probably didn't help he was younger than every one else.

Miria on the other hand didn't seem suspicious of him just more gaurded in the fact he was a superior officer and she didn't want to make too bad of an impression.

"I see" he said as he drew in from the lit cigarette. He unleashed a cloud of acrid smoke the floated away from the group. He was careful for it not to head towards anyone as he knew how people felt about it.

"Glad for ya to join us Jordan![/b]" Miria said offering a shot to Jon.

Jordan nodded and grabbed the shot he had poured himself and raised it up before setting tapping it to the table once more and then sending it down the hatch.

To those above and those below he thought to himself as the whiskey slid down his throat slightly burning. He then stepped to the fridge and pulled out a soda pouring himself a whiskey and soda drink.

[grabem]

Well, the commander certainly didn't do anything to improve the atmosphere... hardly said more than two words. He actually only said two words. 'This could get awkward pretty quick.' Jon thought to himself as he took the next shot offered by Miria.

"So, we all know where we are now, but where have you all been before this?" Jon asked to get things going, learn some background, and avoid just talking about the most recent mistake that got them put on the Phoenix. Maybe the officers already knew a bit, having access to personnel files but it was probably best to hear it directly from the source anyway.

"Well, I joined up back in '06 right when the war began. Was sent around a load of places: Greenleaf, Beaumonde... Hera of course. I was in a front-line infantry company the whole war, right in the metaphorical for six years. Got mustered out in '11 when it all ended."

[Miria Harken]

Miria smiled as both Jordan and Jon took drinks, taking a shot of her own. Nodding at Jon's summary of his background with the Alliance, it was a bit prettier than hers. She was going to take the liberty of going next though, "Well, I joined up righ' when I turned eighteen. Basic was cut a bit short due to tha war an' all. Learn't most of what I know out on tha field." Wasn't the best place for a girl to learn how to fight, but at least she survived. It got her to wondering though how many folks got stuck like she had and didn't survive.

"What I did in tha war was nothin' fancy to speak about, was on the ground in tha thick of it all. Din't get into the navy end of the Alliance til after war ended. Served a couple differnt ships as security and what-not. I'm a lifer I suppose." Miria's career was nothing if not plain when it came to the excitement and award type situations. She usually made her own excitement during her down time, drinking and such.