A "Colourful" Crew [Open]

[Roger Davis]

Roger smiled and nodded to Sofia as she entered. "I figured if I was hitching a ride off Paquin I might as well travel with a familiar face." When one really had little interest in where they were going, the company kept shot high up on the list of priorities. Companion or not, they were acquainted so he had at least one person that he could trust... well, half-trust. Roger didn't trust many people and he and Sofia really didn't know each other too long. Besides, it's hard to tell with companions if a friendship is real or just another form of their craft. The gunhand didn't think that to be the case but as always no chances would be taken.

The room filled up as two more people entered the room. Roger nearly though the one to be the captain before getting a better look which revealed her just to be her sister. The other was a young man, about the same age, who joined the conversation with their 'old man'. Roger sat back and listened as they had a short back-and-forth about the war and allegiance. This Fletcher's story wasn't reassuring. He claimed no allegiance, the type that fought the war and got over it with no hard feelings. That attitude was fairly uncommon and currently unproven but if true then Roger had no issue with the man. If only all the 'victors' could be that way.

The mention of his military service on the other hand was not redeemable. Espionage and spec-ops were part of war but it's not the same as a stand-up fight. Roger was a decorated war veteran who participated in many engagements that certainly were in the record books. The worst he ever did in the war was destroy the livelihood of a few folks on Beaumonde to prevent a factory from falling into Alliance hands. If it had been a black-ops team the factory probably would have been destroyed along with the surrounding blocks and all the people living there as collateral. They didn't hold the line but at best would sneak through them to assassinate some poor bastard in his sleep. A lot of those guys were little better than sneak thieves and murderers. Maybe Fletcher was a decent guy just doing a necessary job in war but if that was the case he'd just be lucky not to have a strike against him.

From the responses, verbal and otherwise, it was fairly clear where the rest of the crew stood: Concerned neutral to Independent. Even the kids were set in their allegiance, an unexpected outburst revealing how much the Alliance had succeeded in screwing up their young lives already. As for Roger, he might have showed a little dislike for Baden's history through his facial expression but certainly less than the others present. The fact that he was remaining out of conversation for the moment probably also helped hide whatever subtle movements there were.

[Daniel Bruce]

Dan and Skye talked for a while whilst the other members of the crew talked in the common area. They discussed a few things that didn't really have any relevance to anything but then, eventually, the conversation came to the subject what had happened earlier. Skye started it by saying, "You don't have to hold a grudge like that forever, Dan."

Dan sighed. "I know, sis, I know. It's just..." He hesitated, unsure whether or not his little sister would get his point or not, but he continued regardless. "It's just that when something's messed up you and your family's life, it's hard to get rid of a grudge like that. There's nothing I wouldn't give if it meant that the three of us could have a normal life that didn't mean that we had to live in that container for two years or being in that orphanage for most of our lives."

Skye listened intently until her brother had finished speaking before asking gently, "You want Shadow back?"

"Yeah. Not only Shadow but Mum and Dad too. Like what we had before everything went to hell." The oldest Bruce felt himself tearing up slightly at the memories of Shadow and everything that had been lost with it. Seeing what was happening to her older brother, Skye snuggled into him on the floor of the corridor, causing him to laugh and wrap his arm around her, a position the two of them regularly found themselves in after Skye had nightmares about various traumatic events in her life.

She curled up a little more into him and sighed contently before saying, "Yeah, I would like that too. As long as no one is hurt in the process, that is."

Dan laughed again, thinking to himself, Typical Skye. Never wanting to hurt anyone. "Course not, sis. Hey," He got up off of the floor then offered Skye his hand to help her up. "How about we get ourselves back into the kitchen. I'm sure Chris is pulling his hair out over you not being there to help." The youngest Bruce, being born a few hours after her twin, giggled then grabbed her brother's hand and pulled herself onto her feet.

The two of them walked back into the common area to find the other crew still having their previous conversations so Dan distracted himself for a bit by pouring himself a drink before heading back to the table and sitting there listening, not wanting to say anything about of embarrassment and hoping that no one would call him out on the walking out earlier.

[Jin Caron]

As Fletcher spoke, Jin picked up that the old man had caught onto the looks that Kyla and he were giving each other. Forcing himself to keep from blushing, Jin looked away as he took a sip of his tea. If the old man was able to pick up on their romance, it would be so much easier for Kara to pick on it, wouldn't it? Hesitating, Jin looked over to Kyla, wondering what her response to Fletcher's question would be. Though more rhetorical, he still wondered if Kara had actually harmed any of Kyla's previous suitors. If so, Jin wondered whether having a relationship with Kyla around Kara would be healthy for either of them.

Standing up, Jin went to go get another cup of tea as he finished his first cup unconsciously. Sipping the hot tea, he completely ignore the heat of the tea as it burned his mouth. Hoping not to cause any commotion that could bring more attention to him, Jin held in the pain as he put down the cup. "I'll be right back." Jin said very promptly as he had some difficulty speaking. Walking out of the room, Jin walked past the children as he went into the bathroom and grimaced as he filled his mouth with cold water to cool down his mouth. The day couldn't possibly get any worse than it had. Kara was likely to pick up on Kyla and Jin's relationship and the best case scenario was that she would kill him on the spot executioner style, and he didn't even want to even wonder what the worst case scenario would be.

Shuddering at the thought of an older sister's wrath, Jin stood up and walked back into the room with as much of his courage intact as he sat down at the table again. "Sorry, I must have burned my mouth a bit." Jin said calmly as to not incur any worry or questions from anyone. "So how did you get involved with the Rayya, Fletcher? If you do not mind me asking." Jin hoped that by changing the subject, maybe Fletcher would be less suspicious of Jin and Kyla's relation, yet the plan was a double-edged sword. It would either lessen the old man's suspicion, or raise it even more. Jin hoped that it would be the former, else he would be at the old man's thumb.

[flame]

The companion sat down, and listened to those talking around her. She watched the young man run off, and then his sister. She frowned, but kept quiet. Things were always a little hard on kids. She wondered at his history, but for now it didn't matter. She closed her eyes, and forced herself to relax, and the dark orbs were open before anyone could notice.

She smiled at Roger. "Of course!" she was grateful to have someone she knew, but she was adaptive. She had to be. She was a companion. She listened to everyone, keeping quiet. She knew that more than likely, she'd be on the outside of the crew, but maybe not. For now she just needed to watch, and listen.

[Kyla Monroe]

Kyla laughed lightly at Fletcher's words, "O'course not Mister Fletcher, jus curious is all." She was pretty sure by the tone of his words that he wasn't actually thinking that. It didn't stop her from reassuring him though. That was just her.

The man had a point that they all didn't know much about one another, other than Kara she only knew things about Jin. Even that was on a limited scale though, if everything went as she hoped they would work on fixing that. "Well what would ya like to know? An' I hope that we'll get to have more great meals like this so we can all get more acquainted." Her words were followed by a soft smile to Chris as she continued to help him with the food while Skye was checking with Dan.

She was a bit surprised at the next things he spoke about, her eyes widened slightly as she looked at him. Unsure at first what to say or how to respond. While it may be true her sister was protective of her, she couldn't say with confidence that Kara wouldn't or would indeed be violent about any romantic involvements. What everyone wasn't aware of was the fact that the two had only been together again for a few months. Before that there was nothing for Ky to go off of. She smiled a bit nervously at the comments. "I don't think she's that overprotective of me."

Jin returned to the room, taking some of Kyla's attentions. She was going to ask if he was alright, but figured it was best not to. Not wanting to make anything more awkward or anything for Jin with the situation she took herself back to the cooking along side Chris until Skye made her way back over.

[Atarah Lynn Kobain]

Atarah strolled into the room, led by the aroma of the food. It smelled fantastic.

When she got there, she found the tension to be palpable. There were discussions on who was loyal to the Alliance and who was loyal to the Independents. She raised her eyebrows in amazement. It has been quite a few years since the end of the Unification War. The war was over. Everyone had pain touch their personal lives due to the war. Atarah herself was looking to put things behind her.

"Well, if anyone needs to know where I stand, I am wonderfully neutral to it all. Neither side had or has any quarrel with me," she explained, hoping she wasn't sounding glib. "I say we all leave our troubles at the door here. We are all new to this ship and are getting to know each other. There shouldn't be any outside allegiances to worry about. We should place our allegience to this ship and those inside of it. It is a new day for us all."

She looked around with a bit of confusion.

"Is there any coffee?"

She sure hoped to God there was some coffee.

[Baden Fletcher]

Fletcher watched with amusement as Jin excused himself from the room. No doubt in his haste to drink his tea he had burned himself. The old gunhand gave a small smile as he watched him go, before turning his attention to the captain's sister, who was asking him a question.

"I don't really need to know anything else. What I know now is enough. Anything else is just something I'll find out along the way", he said casually, sipping the tea from his cup. He had already seen the reaction he had wanted from his statement and did not require anymore information about her and anyone else's lives. It was not his business, and he had no desire to have that change.

The young lad returned at the same time the boy previously from Shadow did, both of them rejoining the table. Dan remained silent, but Jin decided to ask him a question. Giving him a lopsided grin that probably gave him no reason to feel comforted, Fletcher replied.

"Pretty short story, that. I got into a bar-fight that turned into a riot and found that I suddenly needed to leave the planet. A contact turned me to the Rayya, I asked the good captain if she required an experienced gunhand aboard and she agreed to have me. Not much more to it". Fletcher was certain that the lad was just trying to divert his attention from his previous train of thought, but he let it go. He had his fun. For now.

They were soon joined by the second Companion who had rented the other shuttle, who promptly announced that she had no allegiance to any factions, and advised that they should "leave their troubles at the door". Fletcher chuckled darkly at that notion.

"Ma'am, if everyone left their troubles at the door, nobody would be able to get into the bloody room. May as well ask people to leave their limbs at the door, for all the good asking for it will do", he said in a humoured manner, taking a further mouthful of tea. "Why do you think so many people brought weapons to the dining table? Baggage is for life. You can't discard it when it's not convenient. Would that we could, eh?"

To be fair, he was not certain that everyone had brought weapons, but he had noticed the posture of some of them that hinted that they may be concealing weaponry.

[Roger Davis]

Conversation remained fairly uneasy. The kid had embarrassed himself or something by saying too much and had to excuse himself for it. Jin had likewise been caught off by words that had been spoken and ended up burning himself. Kyla seemed to be little better off, trying to push forward polite small talk but getting unexpected questions and statements tossed back at her. Sofia was pretty quiet, as was her way from Roger's experience. Their other shuttle renter had arrived and immediately tried to calm things down but with little success. At the heart of all the discomfort was Fletcher who either started it or made sure that no one else managed to put it to rest. An Alliance background combined with his probing attitude and apparent enjoyment for the discomfort of others led to a situation like this. Maybe the man was just oblivious to what he was causing... probably not though.

"I was just concerned that you'd feel a little insecure if you were the only one." Roger interjected regarding the weaponry. "Sorry that I forgot to bring a giant knife. Maybe next time, huh?" Roger's words were meant to be humorous but he spoke them in his regular tone as he sat up and joined the conversation. "Now maybe we can take the lady's suggestion and move away from such conversation instead of picking it apart. That is unless it would require too much effort for you to even make the attempt."

[Daniel Bruce]

It seemed the tension that had been present when Dan had left the room hadn't left with him. Everyone seemed to be more tense than when he had left and he was convinced someone was going to be shot, stabbed or both at the same time. The teenager slid down into his seat a bit more to try and not draw any attention to himself, cursing the fact that he seemed to be the only one polite or sane enough to not bring a deadly implement to the table.

Just as things looked like they were going to become bloody, Dan heard Skye call out, "Food's ready!" Sighing with relief, he made his way over to where his little sister was trying to reach a set of plates on a shelf a little bit too high for her.

Dan grabbed them for her then whispered in her ear, "You have a brilliant sense of timing, sis."

Skye smiled shyly and whispered back, "Thanks. I'm guessing we saved ourselves a bit of trouble then?"

"Pretty much." The girl giggled then went to putting the food she and Chris had made onto plates. As she was doing this, Dan said quietly to his little brother, "If anything happens, I want you and Skye to get the hell out of here quicker than I can say, "Run." All right?"

Chris nodded then asked, "What about you, though?"

"I'll be right behind you, I promise." With that, the two brothers started on helping Skye with setting out all of the plates and food before Dan politely said to the woman who had asked that all differences be left at the door, "Well, I would certainly like to try and get rid of all the crap memories that have haunted me most of my life but things never seem to work out the way people would like them to when it comes to that." He placed the stack of plates he was holding in the centre of the table he had previously been sitting at then said to Fletcher and the man who had replied to him, "If you two could stop trying to murder each other with stares for a second, I'm pretty sure there's some food you can eat before having a rather violent duel to the death later."

[Atarah Lynn Kobain]

Atarah frowned at the response from the crew members that spoke after what seemed like a simple request. She had her share of troubles too, but she preferred to put them way behind her and take each day at a time, giving the people around her a blank slate to work from once she became to know them.

Many of them did not have blank slates anymore. At least one of them even had a little black mark for being quite disrespectful, in her opinion.

She liked Kyla. Her optimism was contagious.

Sofia was reserved, but Atarah liked her. She was a businesswoman like herself.

Jin looked like he was hiding something. After a moment of inspection, it was obvious that there was something about Kyla that was responsible for his nervousness. Atarah smiled. She wished she could find someone to share at least a bit of her life with. Even if it was just a physical relationship. It had been a while and let's face it... A girl had needs.

Daniel just retreated from the conversation. Something had happened to the boy and his siblings, but she thought it most mature that he was looking after them. Pulling away from the conversation was also indicative of a certain amount of maturity. He could have went off about whatever trauma they endured, but he chose to retreat and leave their troubles from entering the main conversation.

And then there was Roger. His comment about the weapons made her lips turn up a little. He was funny.

"Think what you want folks, but holding onto your past and letting it fester never helps your future. I know that first hand," she wouldn't bother to go into her past. She'd really rather not think about it at all. "It takes work and sometimes a great deal of time, but I found out that letting it go really does help."

She moved over to the cupboards. She saw the tea that had been made, but saw no coffee.

"No coffee? I will have to bring some over from my shuttle. I have an amount of it for some of my clients for those late night bookings."