Getting Acquainted

[Jin Caron]

The Dragonfly-class ship was definitely a lot more roomier and comfier than the past few rides he had taken, such the cargo shuttle he had ridden onto Paquin, but the size of the ship also made it a bigger target for Alliance patrols to stop and scan. This made travel a bit more dangerous, but given that it seemed like the crew of the Rayya was not the type to mingle with Alliance, Jin felt safe with his company and the ship.

Making his way down the spiral staircase, Jin entered the larger of the two common rooms and walked over to the bar, a bottle of his own whiskey in hand. Setting the bottle down on the table of the bar, Jin picked a clean rock glass from the shelf of glass cups, put two ice cubes into the cup and poured himself half a glass. The drink reflected amber lights onto the tabletop of the bar as the colors danced with the motion of the alcohol. Picking up the glass, Jin swirled the drink a bit to help cool down the drink faster and then proceeded to take a large gulp. Setting down the cup and satisfied with the taste, Jin poured himself more whiskey and pulled over a chair to sit down by the bar. Closing his eyes, Jin listened to the sounds of the ship, from the soft rumbling of the engine, the metallic clanks of people walking about the ship, and the occasional voices echoing through the empty halls.

As he listened, Jin picked up on the sound of someone entering the common room. His first instinct was to reach for his gun, but the fact that he was not in any kind of danger on this ship kept him from pulling a gun on whoever it was. Instead of pulling a trigger, Jin took a sip of his whiskey and turned to see who had entered the room. It was time for him to finally meet some of the crew and get to know them, he would be on the ship for a while anyway.

[Kyla Monroe]

[[Jin~! I'm assuming that this is the same day that you joined the ship during the evening-ish time after the carnival adventure]]


The day had been a good one, rather great in fact really. No catastrophes to speak of, at least any that the Rayya's resident medic had been aware of. It was also tiring, Kyla definitely got her exercise today running around the carnival. She had gotten lucky at a couple of the games, once back to the Rayya she had to decide which of the stuffed animals she was going to sneak into her sister's room. Kara said she didn't want any, but that wasn't going to deter her sister one bit.

So Kyla had sort of snuck down the halls until she reached Kara's room. Luckily she hadn't been inside at the time, the medic quickly left a small stuffed animal on the pillow and returned to the hallway. It was some sort of bird, black and white. Though the man in charge of the game booth couldn't tell her what it was. It was cute regardless of what it's name was, there was no way that Kara could give it back to her...right?

It was nearing about time for Chris and Skye to start some dinner, which meant some relax time for Kyla in the common area. Over dinner she was sure that their newest passenger, Jin, would be getting alot of questions from everyone. Cure the curiosities and what-not, possibly especially because the man didn't have a specific destination in mind. Even Ky was curious about him.

As if on que, Kyla entered the room to see just the very new passenger of the Rayya. Not holding back from her usual attitude she sat down near him, not directly next to him though. Just in case he didn't like folks being too close. Her usual smile plastered on her lips, "Good ta see yer not hole up in yer room. How are ya liking the Rayya so far Jin?" Her question was accented by her elbow being placed on the bar, leaning her cheek into it while she looked in his direction.

------------
Outfit

[Jin Caron]

((Yup, that should be fine ))

Jin couldn't help but smile at the woman's absolute lightheartedness. In the few hours that he had spent with the Rayya crew he had learned very few things of the crew, but he did know that the woman's name was Kyla and that she was the medic of the crew, information that was given to Jin by the captain only because it might be useful to know who to look for when one was sick.

"The Rayya's a fine ship, very sturdy and flies true and straight, though I am not sure how much of that is the ship and how much of it is its fine pilot." Though he had been through much, Jin couldn't help but feel cheery around such innocent company. He downed the rest of the whiskey in his cup and held the whiskey bottle in his hand, looking over at Kyla. "Would you be interested in a drink?" Jin offered out of courtesy, then slowly realized what a horrible mistake he had made. If the captain was anywhere nearby and overheard his offer, she would most than likely toss him out into the black without a moment of hesitation.

Standing up, Jin picked up his glass of whiskey and walked around the common room, checking out the decorations and admiring the cleanliness of the ship. Though he did not mind being close to Kyla at all, it was the fear of being misunderstood by a certain sibling and being shot in the face that kept him at a distance, at least until he had a better bearing of the crews' personality. "So how long have you been flying with this ship? Anything or anyone I should be careful around?"

[Kyla Monroe]

Kyla was warmed to hear the compliments towards the ship, "Well she's happy that there's finally a crew on board, not just Kara an' me. I haven't seen Henry fly, but he's doin' good so far." Everyone was new to her, even her sister in a way. The memories still weren't there, just the feeling that they existed. It was as though there was a block in her mind, keeping her away from her past. The reasons were unknown to her, but from the things Kara had told her perhaps it was some trauma that her mind didn't think she could handle yet.

Her thoughts had drifted for only a second or two, but was brought back by Jin's words. An offer of a drink. Kyla shook her head, "I'm not much for drinking, wouldn't be too good if someone needed a nurse for somethin' ya know.' There was a slight pause as she felt a change with him, she finished her words as he got up. 'Nice to offer though, thank ya." Ky turned around on the stool to admire Jin as he moved around the room, she propped both elbows behind her on the bar.

A lighthearted laugh escaped Kyla's lips with the man's questions. "Well, truth an' all. Kara just got the ship about a few weeks ago. We had to get her fixed up some, then find some folks to help keep her runnin'. Really she ain't flown too much at all other than a couple test runs here an' there." She paused to situate herself a bit better on the stool. Moving a strand of hair that had fallen into her face before she placed her hands in her lap. "Nothin' to fret about though, the Rayya will be fine and dandy...So far as anyone to be careful around, only one I really know is my sister Kara an' not even that well yet; but that would depend on why yer needing to be careful." Her smile moved into more of a grin, a mischievous one with a curious look in her eyes.

[Jin Caron]

Jin chuckled, putting down his cup as he turned to face Kyla. "I only ask because I don't want to step on toes. I feel that your friends and sister don't take a liking to me that much." Jin couldn't blame them for their distrust of him. Though the crew had only been together for a few weeks tops, he was still not a part of the crew and that made him an outsider, someone to look watch through the scope of a gun. It had been a long time since Jin had not been a part of a ship, but the feeling of being an outsider was as typical to him as having a gun on him.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Jin looked over at Kyla and smiled. "I'm glad that at least one person in the crew doesn't want to have a gun pointed at me at all times." Jin joked as he tried to lighten the mood of the conversation, even if it was by using dark humor. The common room felt so empty with just the two of them in there, but Jin honestly enjoyed the quiet yet sociable vibe of the room. The ice in Jin's glass of whiskey began to crackle as the ice started to crack.

"So if you don't mind me asking, what are you and your sister doing with a big ship and a crew of middle-aged men? I'm sure you could have found a job at a planetside clinic, and your sister would make one hell of a bodyguard. Probably would pay more too." Jin knew that he was pushing Kyla's buttons a bit and he didn't mean to pry, but he was genuinely curious and he knew if he at least didn't attempt to get an answer from the siblings, it would bother him forever.

((He's not hinting at them being fugitives or anything, it just seems oddly suspicious when you think about it. Two young adults with pretty exceptional skills on a ship with an all-male crew. You would be curious if you were in Jin's shoes ))

[Kyla Monroe]

Ky nodded, she knew somehow they'd gotten a bunch of folks who may not come off as friendly as her at first. Truth of it all was though she had no proof of that because she hadn't gotten alot of face to face time with any of them. She always was a lighthearted woman that took to people quickly. Everyone had their own way though. "I wouldn't think too much into it, Kara swings to the side of caution when it comes to new folks. Where I'm kinda the welcomin' committee I s'pose.' She shrugged playfully, 'I don't do fruit baskets I'm afraid an' didn't think ya would want a stuffed animal."

Another soft laugh escaped her lips, truth of that matter was she didn't like weapons. Especially ever since the incident on the planet she'd been staying on before Kara had found her..no Kyla refused to let that sink into her mind. Instead she focused on Jin and talking to him. "Not a thing to worry about there, I don't even own a weapon. Probably more likely to shoot myself than anyone else truthfully, then where would we be?" His attempt to lighten the mood was really not needed with Kyla, she was almost always in a good mood and more than happy to be her cheerful self. Though perhaps the attempt was more for himself, she wasn't too sure.

Jin's next words caught her a little off guard, a little shock that probably showed on her face for a moment. Kyla was going to have to lie, or at least not tell the entire truth of things. There was an immediate sadness at that thought, she didn't like to lie. Especially to someone she had no dislike for. Kara would be upset if she told him though. He'd probably just leave the ship anyways and they could use the fare. Ky gave it her best effort, "Well these just the folks we were able to find to hire. Don't think I'm gonna apologize for not havin' a ship full of pretty girls for ya." She gave him a playful wink with the end of her words. Her own attempt to lighten things, for herself mostly. "As for Kara an' me, well..we jus can't sit still for too long ya know. Change is good." There. That was a little bit of truth, but it didn't make her feel too much better. Really she couldn't say, 'Oh we're just hiding out from some Alliance academy that pretty much took us prisoner when we were little that we were able to escape from. Except now they really want us back. Fun times right?' Nope there would be none of that. Kyla felt horrible, but she did her best to keep that to herself. How well she did though was dependent on Jin's perception.

[Jin Caron]

Jin noticed Kyla think hard when he asked about the crew, specifically her and her sister, and realized that she was trying to come up with a lie. He knew it wasn't a good sign when someone had to come up with a lie, especially someone as cheery as Kyla. Though he became much more wary of the girl because of this, Jin didn't let his unfounded paranoia take hold of him, especially on a ship that was itching to shoot him over Kyla. Though he wanted to know the truth, he also respected Kyla's privacy and right to her secrets, just as how Jin had his own secrets kept from the crew. "Well, you can never have too many pretty girls.." Jin teased, chuckling as he tried to sway to subject from what seemed like a pretty sullen topic.

Picking up his drink again, Jin took a sip and walked over to the bar counter again to fill up his cup. He was drinking more than he usually would, but that was more due to the fact that Jin never had the time to really sit down and drink casually for more than a few minutes before meeting someone for a job. Putting down his glass on the counter, Jin decided he should wait a few before continuing to drink again. Resting his elbow on the counter, he faced Kyla and smiled. "So don't you think that if you're going to try and survive out here with your sister you should learn to shoot? I'm sure she won't approve of you being in a firefight, but she also has to admit that there will be times when you might get into a sticky situation and need to handle a gun."

He believed that there was definitely more about the crew of the Rayya than could be seen up front. Everyone had secrets, but something about the ship's crew felt familiar yet foreign. From the old gunsman to the young twins, this ship was something new altogether. Jin just hoped that his haste to get off of Paquin wouldn't spell trouble for the crew. "So what do you do for fun around here?" Jin asked Kyla, as he felt bad that they were sitting around as he just drank alone. He felt that a bit of activity would help him to get to know Kyla and anyone else who joined in as well as possibly help him sweat out the alcohol in his body.

[Kara Monroe]

Kara looked at herself in the mirror one last time. She already missed her hair. Her hand reached up and touched the shortened golden locks, it had been years since she saw her natural hair color, she almost forgot what it looked like. A deep, heart broken sigh escaped her lips before she started to make her wait upstairs. She couldn’t help but keep running her hand though her hair, she was trying to get use to the feel of it. It was going to take weeks, maybe longer before she got use to it.

Her eyes looked down at her watch, it was time for her to start the calculations, make her rounds around the ship. The captain walked up the stairs slowly catching only a the last bits of what Jin had said. “If she’s ever in that situation, than those around her better start praying for their forfeited lives.” She wasn’t scared of her sister learning a gun, she already know how to shoot, it was just lost among her memories. It just needed to be recovered, in her current state, well, she would feel more comfortable with her staying as she was. She deserved a normal life, at least as normal as Kara could provide for her.

Kara moved over to the bar, not paying any mind to those around her. Her mind was moving back to her work, back to the academy and her current job. Moving behind the bar, she felt around for a moment for a drink, but stopped and though better of it as she looked at her sister and Jin. “She will learn.” The look she gave her twin was more of a I mean ‘remember’ look that would be lost on others around her. “However, not on the ship.” However, she worried what learning to shoot could do to her sister, would it trigger something in her, would it break her focus, shatter the wall she had up. Would some of the deeper training surface, what would it do to her to remember? Kara didn’t want her to lose who she was. She seemed happy, and that was enough for Kara to want to keep her safe, and as she was.

[Kyla Monroe]

Kyla gave Jin a playful roll of her eyes at his comment about the pretty girls, the fact that the crew was made up of mostly men hadn't even crossed her mind until now. Not that it was any concern to her.

It was kind of a relief when he came back over to the bar, truthfully she had worried he had gotten up because of her presence. Really Kyla wouldn't put something of a warning past her sister, who was rather protective over her. The medic's smile widened at his smile directly at her, the man had a nice smile. His words had a point, but it struck her in an odd way. There was a slight fear in the back of her mind about handling a weapon, though she couldn't place the exact cause or reason.

Before she could respond however her sister walked into the room to speak up about it. Ky liked how her hair had turned out, but it would take time for Kara to get used to it. She had been told the stories of some of the things she couldn't recall, they had seemed so off the wall at the time but also seemed true. Like with kara being her sister..she had no memory of it but her instincts told her it was real. Of course it helped that they were twins.

Kyla looked away from her sister and back to Jin, giving him a short shrug. She didn't want to argue with Kara about it, plus she didn't really want to learn that badly. Though if Jin had been offering to teach, perhaps she might make an exception to spend time with him. Even if it had to be a secret.

Her look changed to more of an awkward smile with the question of fun, "Well ta be honest my fun 'round here is probably rather dull to anyone else..but we got all kinds of stuff on board. Cards, board games, an' there's a hoop down in the cargo bay, but I'm not sure where the ball is off tha top of my head...pretty much whatever you can think of to do on a ship Jin." yeah the only freetime she had as of late had been spent with her nose in the medical books that lined half the wall in the infirmary.

[Jin Caron]

Jin turned as he heard Kara's voice, his heart stopping for a good three seconds as he felt his life flash before his eyes. As he saw the source of the voice, Jin did a double-take as he at first had a very hard time recognizing the captain. "I almost didn't recognize you there Captain." Jin spun around in his chair and stood up, straightening out his shirt. The sheer shock of hearing Kara's voice in the room had knocked even the slightest trace of drunkenness out of Jin's body. Whether it was instinct from his days in OCS when he and the other officer candidates would drink in their dorms in secret and would have to force themselves to sober up when an officer came into the room, or if it was simply his blood pumping all the alcohol out of his body from fear and reaction, Jin was definitely a lot more sober than he had just been seconds ago.

"Well, I do hope that your sister does not get into such a situation, but I suppose she has nothing to be worried about with such a dedicated captain and sister." Jin smiled as he finally relaxed from the initial shock and took a sip of his drink again. Grabbing the whiskey bottle again, Jin raised it and tilted the top of the bottle slightly towards Kara. "Care to join me for a drink, Captain?" Setting down the bottle for her to pour from if she so chose, Jin walked over to the cabinet by the chairs that he had not seen until just then and opened it up, spotting an old board game that made its way from old Earth. Picking it up and the 32 pieces that went along with it and put them down on the bar table, setting up the black and white pieces as he remembered them. He remembered that the old veterans of the Alliance navy had a fond liking to this traditional game and had even taught Jin how to play. Once he was done setting up the board Jin looked at Kara and Kyla, smiling as he finally found something to pass the time. "Would either of you like to play? You can make the first move."

[Kara Monroe]

Kara looked from her sister to Jin, and an ache in her stomach started. She didn’t like where this was headed. But thankfully, he wasn’t going to be staying long. “It was time for a change.” She ran her hand though her hair once more, she hated the feeling, she already could tell that. She dyed her hair black for so long, kept it long, she did it all to separate herself from her sister, and now looking at her with their hair the same color, she could already tell that there was going to be some problems on the ship at first. Oh how she was going to hate that, after all as they grew up they were almost always confused as being the same.

“Kyla is better at those than I…” While Kara could plan raids, how to kill people in a blink of an eye, work her body against an opponent, games were almost lost to her. She didn’t see the purpose of the desire to play them. Physical games, well, that was something she might get behind. Her fingers locked around the bottle that Jin had offered, however she stopped, she had to finalize her deal for the medical supplies in Ariel. “We will be stopping at Ariel…” She shot her sister a look, one that spelled stay in the ship, then looked at Jin, a look that told him she had no issue killing him if he hurt her sister, or if Kara even thought that he harmed her in anyway.

((sorry so short))

[Jin Caron]

((np ))

Jin took a very short step back as he almost physically the threat emanating from Kara's eyes. "Though I would happily get off at Ariel, I do not think I can afford to live there for even a day, not the mention that there are not too many intraplanetary jobs. I hope you do not mind me staying until we have reached an outer planet?" Jin knew he was probably already pushing some buttons by having been alone with Kyla, but he also couldn't get off at Ariel, it would have been the same as handcuffing himself to an alliance outpost gate and sending out a message to all Alliance personnel within the area that he was there. So he had to lie again to attempt to stay alive. He also knew that if the Rayya was spotted dropping Jin off on Ariel, things could make a very heavy turn for the crew and so the choice to lie and live another day for both himself and the Rayya crew was inevitable.

Downing the rest of his drink, Jin waved Kyla over as he smiled. "Let's see what you've got." Jin joked, shifted himself on his seat to be more comfortable and to square up to the board. It had been a while since had played, but Jin still remembered the basics, so unless Kyla had played chess before, he knew that he wouldn't have a hard time playing against her. Yet stranger things have happened, so Jin stayed unbias and decided to play with all he had.

[Kyla Monroe]

Kyla knew what the look was she received from her sister. It was one that said she wouldn't be seeing the sights of Ariel. No shopping, no fun outings. She was going to be stuck on the Rayya and while there wasn't much happiness about it there was also nothing she could do. It had become apparent that the core worlds were unsafe for both of them in fact, though Ky had never had any troubles before. She hadn't spent much time on any of the core worlds for something to arise. A soft nod was given to her sister to make it clear she understood, though the unhappiness about it was also clear.

Aside from the small let down some confusion also set inside the medic. Kara said that she was better at board games, but the problem was she hadn't ever played any. That she could remember, another part of her past that taunted her.

Despite the mixed emotions twirling about inside her Kyla turned to face Jin, taking in the game he had set out. She was glad at least he would be around longer, more time to get to know him. Perhaps if he didn't enjoy Ariel he would stay aboard the ship with her during the visit. At least then she wouldn't be alone.

She gave him a smile, mostly genuine however there was a slightness of tension in it. Perhaps some nerves as well. Kyla hopped off of the stool, careful to keep her balance and walked over to the table that Jin was sitting. She took the seat across from him and stared at the board for a moment, the pieces. An attempt to place the game and it's part in her memories. Unfortunately nothing came to her, which was frustrating.

Kyla pursed her lips and looked up at the man with a shyness in her face. "Uhm..would it be too much of a trouble ta kinda tell me how this one works..?" She asked him as she tugged lightly on one of her braids. The voice was a soft mumble, fully giving away the emotions built up behind her.

[Jin Caron]

Jin looked up and chuckled at Kyla's new found shyness and nodded. "Of course, it's a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. The game is called chess." As Jin taught Kyla of the basic rules of the pawns, rooks, bishops, knights, queen and king, he couldn't help his mind from wandering to the past every now and then. His kept teaching Kyla, but his conscious was elsewhere, wandering his memories... His naive assumptions that the Alliance was fighting the good fight. The blind acceptance that his mother had simply been killed in a freak landing accident in the outer planets. His ambition to help the Alliance fight the Independents. The chess board felt like a battlefield all over again. He remembered the days when his superiors would be sitting in plush seats in the officer's club of his assigned ship, chuckling lightly about battles that have ensued, speaking of whole battalions being obliterated on both sides as if it was an everyday thing. He remembered joining in the laughing, doing anything to be accepted by the people he looked up to.

Rejoining his lesson to Kyla about chess, Jin completed teaching Kyla of all the different moves that each piece can make, both attack and moving. "So does that make sense? If it still seems a bit confusing, we can play a game or two so that you can get the hang of it. That was how I was taught." Jin wasn't sure why he said that, he wasn't taught that way. He was taught to play chess by watching his superiors. Seeing what they did, what each piece did, analyzing the whole board and understanding different strategies. When he had finally finished learning, he sat down and played with another Lieutenant, only to win within a few moves. That eventually led to his commanding a small infantry battalion from inside a cruiser in orbit. His battalion suffered immense casualties his first time around, many from foolish mistakes. But the brass did not reprimand him for the loss of life as he had expected, they instead patted him on the back, gave him a promotion and another battalion to 'toy with' as they put it.

Jin's face became gloomier as his thoughts started to translate into his facial expression. Remembering that Kyla was sitting right in front of him, Jin pushed his thoughts back into the recesses of his mind and smiled again. "Alright, since you are the newbie, you can make the first move." He had to pay attention to Kyla, he couldn't bear to bring down the cheeriness of someone as happy as Kyla. Plus it truly helped Jin to look at her, as all his past memories were washed away by her sunny attitude. Maybe she was exact kind of person Jin needed to be around to really straighten up. Opening the whiskey bottle again, Jin poured himself another cup and gulped down a quarter of the liquid, slightly burning his throat from the immense amount of alcohol. Coughing once, he set down the cup and winced ever so slightly. "I'll try and slow down on drinking so you don't have to cut open my throat..." Jin joked, attempting to laugh but only resolving to coughing more.