Sail //Chahana|Crew//

[Sam Grady]

^{maybe i'm a dif'rent breed
maybe i'm not listenin'
blame it on my ADD, baby}

It wasn't often that Grady would willingly bring a ship she was flyin' all the way into the docks of a Core world. Maybe a drive-by with her middle finger firmly aimed at the planet they was passin', but other than that, she usually just liked that open, free space that weren't filled with folks liable to pull her over for speeding or some gou shi. So the Veasna had been settled down snugly in the space it was given, and no one had stormed onboard to search the place for illegal goods-- not that they had any. Well... that Sam could recall. I mean, you can forget at times what was stolen and what wasn't... Oh well! The pilot was out of her little sanctum. Her cockpit, her home. Her padded and frayed throne. Nope, no where near it-- but as always the ship was designed with that straight run from the cargo bay to the bridge with no obstacles other than doors. In fact, she was outside on the lowered ramp. She'd been helping some dockhands and other crew loading on some supplies. The Good Lady Captain had been doing all the important, non-physical business side of things. Syeira even had a whiff of possible employ, but Sam hadn't heard who or what exactly. All she had been told, in the Captain's slightly cheeky way, was that she should probably "tidy up" a bit. Wear somethin' a little more presentable. Syeira was always one for style. Her heritage portrayed in the crushed velvet jacket and jazzy patterns and colours. Grady? Grady had snorted, and replied with a disgruntled 'aye aye, Cap'. She had then proceeded to not change much. But she claimed she was in her "best" clothes.

As she jogged down the ramp, there was the jangle of the three metal objects around her neck. The bullet with the strange grooves in it hitting the old battered dogtags before Grady came to rest on a crate. She had no fear. No hatred for the Alliance. She more or less sneered in the face of their "civilisation", and would probably only do so to any authority figures that might pass. If there was a chance someone turned their nose up at her, they'd sure as gui get the biggest grin in response. Her shirt was also covered in old military patches. Some came with it, and some other random junk had been sewn on. The vest over the top concealed the patch that said _GRADY across it.

There was the temptation to go on a spree. Rob some people blind for the hell of it. The pull of greed and violence she'd never really shake. Syeira had instructed her not to cause trouble, though. The pilot was reigned in, so to speak, by her loyalty. That metal hand with it's spidery black digits gave little waves to anyone that looked her way. When a dockhand approached to say he was finished, Sam even shook his hand with it. Still with that big stupid grin on her face. Maybe the glint of intimidation in her eyes-- just for kicks. The hand always did spook some folks the first time.

All in innocent, Sam Grady-style fun!

[chahanapari]

clothes
~~~~~~~
Chahana paused among the hustle and bustle of the docking area, people looking for rides, others loading or unloading merchandise. The Companion was not in search of a ride, or a temporary skip over to the next island over. She was tired of coming and going and she needed to expand upon her clientele. The best way to do so was to find a more stable mode of transportation. Make a deal with a ship's Captain for a proper place to stay. A nice shuttle perhaps?

And so she had listened for clues, hints, whispers while she worked for a few fine gentlemen here on Londinium. She had learned of a number of ships nearby with job openings, or rather, a little extra room. And to her immense pleasure, she had received a response. From a Captain Syeira of a vessel called Veasna. The prospect had seemed promising. And the Captain seemed like...Well, she seemed agree-able at least. And certainly they had a few last minute things to work out and discuss, but this wasn't necessarily a done deal yet. Plenty of time to work out any kinks.

Besides, they were actually only meeting for the first time. No need to go about this as though it were a certainty. And so, Chahana had a young escort with her that would assist her with moving her things to the ship, should things go well. She lowered her eyes to the youngster with a soft smile and she rested her hand atop his head. "Wait here. I see the ship ahead, I believe." She let out a little chuckle as the young man piped up he'd 'keep an eye on her, that looked like a sure shady ship, after all'.

The Companion stepped forward, weaving around those that seemed to be giving the woman by the ship wary glances. She halted short, a slight roll of the eyes as a couple of uppity politicians of some kind by the look of it. Shaking her head slightly she stepped forward to the edge of the ramp and paused, turning grey eyes up to the woman who seemed to be waiting.

"I wonder, might you be able to point me in the direction of Captain Syeira. I believe she is expecting me."

[Sam Grady]

True to her form, Grady was keeping to her semi-guard dog duty on the outside of the ship. The goodies were pretty much on-board, and there wasn't much call for her to do anything else. Her job always came when they needed to leave. In some instances, she was the 'getaway car'. Not that they were needing any kind of hasty escape. But, as always with Sam, the sooner she was back in the skies, the better. Lingering on one of the most Core of Core-worlds was never a smart choice for those of a much looser sense of moral values.

Grady had twisted on one bootsole in time to see the swish of patterned fabric. All wrapped up like an elegant present. Sam peered the woman up and down in an obvious fashion as she came to rest before her. Looking for Syeira, 'ey? Sam might've made a joke about the Captain not swingin' that way, but she had to keep some of her crude material to herself sometimes, right?

"The Cap? She-- well, she's around here somewhere.. Lemme.." The short pilot was peering this way and that, frowning in thought as she racked her brains for the possible location of Syeira Duvont. Now, she was supposed to be handlin' business somewhere... Or she was back on the ship already? Hell. Sam usually lost track of people easily on this boat. Big place.

"Wanna step up inta tha' cargo bay? Ain' really gotta seat ta offer ya or a magazine... So yer stuck with my humble company." Sam still grinned with good humour, eyeing the woman again as she waved her and the helper she had with her amongst some of the crates they'd just loaded on.

"I'm guessin' you ain't just a passenger, right?" Another studying glance. "Companion, right?"

Sam always was one for the bluntly obvious. And without manners. When she remembered them, the pilot would wipe her real, flesh and blood palm on the leg of her cargo pants and hold it out towards her.

"Grady. I'm th'pilot around here."

[Syeira Duvont]

[December 21st, 2522]

Londinium was not Syeira's idea of a good time, nor a fun place to be. It was a decent choice to stop though for supplies and things they would need before heading out to New Canaan. The Veasna was designed for the long-haul trips, plenty of storage space and room for fuel.

Syeira had left early in the morning with one of the mules, ready to get started getting everything purchased and set for the ship. The quicker they got things done the quicker they could get off of this planet. They had a date with some slavers that seemed to enjoy kidnapping companions. Or so the rumors were. The gypsy just hoped they would make it in time to have some fun.

She was heading back to her ship, rather large headache in tow. Shopping had taken much more time than anticipated. Approaching the Veansa she could see that the companion she was meeting with was already there. Being kept company by Sam no less, that made the Captain slightly amused.

Pulling the full mule into the cargo-bay she hopped off and headed over to the pair. "Phew! Folks around here don't take kindly to me trying to get a better deal! They get all huffy and fussy!" Holding out her hand in greeting she introduced herself, "Captain Syeira Duvont, pleasure to meet you face to face. Sorry to keep you waiting Ms. Pari, try to do a little bargaining around here and just makes folks more difficult to deal with it seems."

--------
Outfit

[chahanapari]

Chahana could see the humor wheels turning behind those eyes, but simply left a smile spread comfortably across her face. When invited into the cargo bay she nodded, turning slghtly to reach a hand toward her young escort, who came immediately to her side, taking her hand and guided her into the ship, looking around almost suspiciously. Chahana held in a giggle at his seriousness before looking up at the cargo bay, taking in her surroundings.

"Your company is more than welcome, I should think, thank you." she said softly, her own good humor reveiled on her features. She paused just inside the cargo bay, her gery eys wandering around, nearly memorizing the little details in this area of the ship. She was particularly interested in exits and where each path led.

Again, her attention was drawn to the other woman, when a question was posed to her. A slight chuckle escaped her and she nodded once more. "What an astute sense of observation you have, darling." she responded, a teasing tone filtering from her mouth. It was not to difficult to tell what her chosen profession was. Perhaps 'chosen' was the wrong word in this case, but had she desired, she could have chosen to leave the Companion House and do other things. But she had been comfortable in her life. So she had remained in it.

And then a hand was hastily held toward her. She blinked for a moment before reaching her own hand out, and lightly grasping the other's. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Grady. I am Chahana Pari." Her head turned as another voice rang through the bay, and her smile widened. Her hand went from the pilot's to the Captain's in a smooth motion, the other reaching out as well, to grasp Syeira's in both of her own. "No need to apologize, Captain Duvont. I completely understand what the folk around here can be. Sticklers, the lot of them!" She was pleased that her contact had shown up so soon after she arrived. That meant she cold get to business sooner and hopefully get oof this hellish planet sooner, rather than later.

[Sam Grady]

"Nice ta meet'cha."

Sam continued to grin, but this was more of a friendly thing now. She made note of how the Companion was taking this all in good humour. Being able to hang around and tolerate the colourful characters of this crew was one thing, though. Sam had to wonder whenever they picked up a seemingly non-combatant if they'd survive long out in the Black. The girl thought with her pirate mind. Everything was assuming there was going to be some kind of big fight at every turn. Things weren't that bad on the Veasna. Never as hectic as she remembered, but it did have it's moments.

The pilot shifted her gaze from Pari and towards her little charge. The kid earned himself a wink and a grin. She knew from the wary look on his face that he didn't much like the idea of this ship. Or was just cautious of it. Truth be told, though, the Veasna was the least of everyone's worries on this rock.

When the Captain showed up, Sam was much obliged to turn all responsibility and talking over to Syeira. She'd perch herself atop a crate, folding her legs underneath her as she stuck around.

"Easy t'spook, too. Fun folks t'hang around if you like that sort with a stick up their pigu."

She suddenly remembered that this might very-well be Pari's own society and social circle.

"No offence to yer clients or whatnot. But I'm guessin' they ain' too stiff in yer company--- well... I take that back."

There it was, the little snort that followed was enough to denote Grady's lack of class, manners or common decency. Terrible sometimes. The little half-smirk that had plastered itself on her face didn't move. It might've dropped if Syeira shot her a disapproving look. Or she'd be attempting to suppress it and failing.

[Syeira Duvont]

Syeira laughed at Sam's comment about the people around here, she hit it square on the head. She'd had to leave one store because the man had just been too difficult with her, like the Captain wasn't good enough to do business with or some-such. She would want to avoid this planet in the future if possible.

The gypsy was caught off guard with her pilot's next comment, the surprise lasted for a few moments on her face. Her stance changed, hands went to her hips and her head lowered just a bit. "Sam. Why don't you take care of getting these supplies situated." Syeira's voice didn't have the nice sound to it anymore, Sam's comment had been rather rude and certainly not proper. Perhaps if the Companion had been a long time member of the Veasna it would be fine, but the woman hadn't even signed on with the ship yet.

"My apologies Ms. Pari, some days I shouldn't let her out of the bridge.' Syeira raised her hand to direct the woman toward the hall. 'If you would accompany me I'll show you the shuttles we have." The shuttles were on the upper deck, everything else was on this deck. Which made things easier for moving supplies and such around, not having to mess with stairs. The shuttles were easy to load when needed, just take them out and land them elsewhere. Which she expected the companion to do if she decided to join them. Hopefully it would only take her a day or two to be ready at most.

[Kyle Phelan]

Londinum. Phelan shook his head. Buncha posh know-it-alls with their fancy this and their fancy that, noses in the air to boot, he thought darkly. Not that he'd ever in fact been on Londinum before, but he felt the same thing towards all the Core worlds: disdain. (And possibly a small twinge of envy, not that he'd ever admit it.)

Taking a break from moving supply crates around, Kyle decided to climb on top of one of the larger stacks. The scruffy rogue watched the crew mill about around him, attending to their various chores and duties. Veasna was a large ship, with extensive capacity for both cargo and crew, something her new First Mate found oddly comforting. An orphan from the streets of Persephone, Kyle had never had much, and what he did acquire he had to fight to keep, after probably stealing it in the first place. At the same time however, Phelan's sense of caution often bordered on paranoia, so it wasn't as if he had let his guard down and stopped watching his back. Duvont's crew were unlikely to try anything, but it was still possible. Still, all-in-all things were looking up. At least he wasn't stuck on Persephone anymore.

Kyle next turned his gaze on the people passing by outside. The view afforded him from his perch was impressive, encompassing the entire breadth the of Veasna's large cargo bay doors, from which he could see much of the dock's bustling activity. Money changed hands as passengers paid to either board or disembark other boats nearby. Food vendors attracted customers with their aromas and brightly colored signs, reminiscent of the scene found back in Persephone's Eavesdown Docks --only more posh and "civilized" of course, with somewhat less criminal activity. Of course, Londinum had more than a few of those as well, only they were called politicians and lawyers instead of Tongs or Yakuza.

The Veasna's First Mate was pulled from his thoughts by the arrival of what appeared to be a Companion and lad who was carrying her luggage. Kyle placed his hands on his knees for balance and sat forward a bit to get a better look. He watched as the exotic young woman conversed with Sam Grady, the Veasna's pilot, overhearing the Captain's name being spoken. So Syeira had scheduled a meeting with a Companion... A grin suddenly found its way to the rogue's face, and he indulged in it for a few seconds before shaking away the thought. But gorramit if it didn't look like there was going to be yet another gorgeous face aboard...

Kyle continued to watch as Cap'n Duvont finally returned from her supply run and spoke with the Companion. The three women were coming closer, so Phelan picked up more and more of the conversation, including the rather colorful remark from the ever-colorful pilot Sam. He had to admit, it was clever in a cheeky kind of way, but even Kyle Phelan usually had enough self-control to save jokes like that for company that might enjoy it, which totally did not include either Companions or the Captain. Shaking his head, Kyle was content to stay put as the trio below reached the stack of crates he was perched on top of. If Syeira spotted him then so be it, but Kyle wasn't particularly keen to introduce himself to possible clientele while he was so plainly dressed and partially sweaty, not when he had clean clothes and showers available to him anyway.

[chahanapari]

[/i]...descriptions, her shock did not last long, as she had a number of other things flicking through her mind as well.

One being that the Captain seemed Hell-bent on their being some respect displayed on board, which even Chahana would admit would get boring after months. However, the Companion was certain that given some time to become comfortable with her, the crew would feel a bit more relaxed and open around her. After all, her passion for her career was mostly in that she could help people feel calm, relaxed and more themselves. So it was only a quick second between her batting her eyes in surprise and the grin that replaced her shocked expression soon after.

"Yes, well, I seem to have that effect on people most places I find myself," she commented, at which point another one of those things that had caught her attention became obvious when her eyes flicked up to the man crouching over some crates stacked higher than she was tall. She had noticed him as she walked deeper into the cargo bay, but as he had not made her acquaintance yet, she felt it would be rude to step in and coerce his name from him.

Her grey eyes found their way back to the Captain quickly, not wanting to seem confrontational, but rather inviting, should the other crewmember decide to join in. "Honestly, Captain, there is no need for you to continue apologizing." she said with a soft smile, a slight shake of her head and a gentler hand on the other woman's arm. "I assure you I take no offense." She shrugged lightly. "Besides, how dull would life be if I did not invite some color into my life now and again?"

She easily slid into step next to Syeira, her hands clasped together in front of her and the young boy clinging to her skirt, a glare aimed at the Pilot of the Veasna. Apparantly, he had not taken the comment as well as the Companion had. "Very good," Chahana answered the Captain's invitation. "I did want the chance to discuss a few minor details before deciding whether this little venture will be...the best for all parties involved." Her words were calm and slow, calculated as to keep any negative connotations from making their way into her tone. She certainly didn't mean it that way. She simply wanted to make sure her needs would be met, once she became a member of the...What? Passenger list? Clientele? Whatever they called it aboard this vessel.[/ul]

[Sam Grady]

Okay, so a teeny bit too far. That was fair. If Grady didn't push the barriers and boundaries like this then she wouldn't know where the fence was-- where the restraints were. It wasn't a bad thing, it was just her getting used to not being in said colourful company anymore. Well, they were colourful in their own right, but the Veasna was hardly the Nyx. Something like that took some getting used to, and Sam was always going to be Sam. Unfortunately for those that might disagree with it. Syeira knew her pilot well enough to keep her in line, but it was always a small piece of a silly victory to know she could still surprise the other woman sometimes. Dipping her head probably would've been the proper way to receive such an order in such a tone, but Grady couldn't quite lower her chin. She knew, however, that she had crossed the line a little.

"Aye aye, Cap." A small, casual salute was aimed at Syeira as she winked, trying her best not to get into even more trouble by being too pleased with herself. The grin was dropped and she cleared her throat, "I'll get on that.."

Even Sam could realise a chain of command. She quite liked chains. They were good in a fight sometimes. A little different from your normal conventional weapons, you know? Anyway. Grady gave a little bow towards Pari, a little wink to show she was just playing. Always playing. Usually.

"Ma'am." It was good to know there were no hard feelings, and that the Companion could take a joke. This did bode well for her on the Veasna. Sam liked her already! Despite the vast-- chasm-sized-- difference between them both.

As Sam moved away towards all the supplies piled up and scattered about, something would catch her eye. Not the most observant, she finally saw Phelan perched up high and she'd arch a brow at him. She quickly shook her head and started to rearrange some of the boxes that were just dumped anywhere.

"Takin' good stock o' the new crew I see, Phelan." Sam commented wryly, before adding with a sly smirk, "Make sure Fixer Girl don' catch ya."

It was probably a trying day for anyone in Sam Grady's vicinity.