The great wide open (All crew)

[Sakura Kina]

Sakura realized as they ate that her intrusion had caused a lot of silence with the crew. Feeling responsible for the silence, she felt obliged to break the silence somehow, but how would she? How could she? She had almost shot the whole crew, or at least however many she could before getting shot herself, and now she's still with the lot eating a delicious meal. There was nothing she could really say that could break the silence. Unless she could try and learn about people, but that seemed like a hard task that seemed very out of place. But she had to try something... "So.. Sidney, was it?" Sakura spoke softly, but didn't mean any disrespect by how she spoke, she also refused to call Sidney 'captain' just yet because she was not yet comfortable with that idea. "You are the captain of the ship... How long has that been?" She assumed that Sidney had taken leadership of the Trinity right after James' disappearance, but she could have been wrong. It also mean that Sidney must have had command of the ship for some time now, but it seemed like the whole crew was still fresh meat.. It didn't make sense to her, but she was certain that Sidney or Arthur could easily help clear things up about the past year.

[Sidney Bainbridge]

Everyone had fallin in to a silence and Sidney was glad to see that Sakura, the cause of the silence was willing to step up and brake it. Sure it must have been a challange for her but it was a good first effort to let the crew see the nicer side of her.


Sidney finished the bite he had in his mouth before replying to her. "Sid or Sidney works, but Jams is still the Captain of this ship and will be till the day he dies. He is recieving a bit of medical treatment but should be back with us in only a few weeks." Sidney paused and looked in her directing.

He could tell she was worried about taking and uncomfortable in the situation along with everyone else. He figured it best he say something that would help calm her nerves make a connection of sorts. "I know James from back in the war, wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for his willingness to take a supid risk now and then. How do you know him?" He didn't know if she would answer the questoin but the tone of his voice made it apperent the question wasn't meant in any sort of threatening manner.

[Dani Kingsley]

The pilot of the Trinity had been uninvolved in the crew's activities as of late, even more so than usual. She did not like being around people much anyway, and the hectic activity had kept her in her bunk a lot, when she wasn't on the bridge. That was where she was now, missing all of the dramatics in the galley as she had her head stuck underneath the steering panel.

Flat on her back, boots sticking out, she flicked some hair from her eyes and fiddled with the wires some more. While James was not keeping an eye on her, the pilot had taken it upon herself to modify the controls some to help the Trinity fly more smoothly. If she just crossed this wire with this one, inserted this chip here...ZZZFFFTT! With the slight shock, Dani sat up instinctively, striking her head quite hard on the underside of the control panel. "Ow," she said quietly, almost eerie in her calm.

Gritting her teeth, she finished adjusting the wiring and slid out from underneath. Holding a hand to her head, she breathed in deeply and glanced at her palm. Only a little bit of blood. Head wounds did tend to bleed a lot, so she assumed it probably was not that bad. Tugging a handkerchief from one pocket, she dabbed at it. A sigh left her as she stood up. A lithe hand slid into one of her pockets and she tugged out a small metal tube. The young pilot had an oral fixation, a habit left over from when she used to smoke. She'd quit the cigarettes, but not the motions. Twisting the top off of the tube, she shook out a toothpick and shoved one between her lips before returning its holder safely to her pocket. Rolling the toothpick from one side of her lips to the other, she finally began chewing gently on the tip.

She realized then that her stomach was quite empty, and so after rechecking their course, Dani made her way to the crowded galley.

It was clear even to someone who did not understand emotion that the mood was quite awkward, maybe even a little hostile. "Fahng-tzong fung-kwong duh jeh..." Dani said under her breath. She chewed almost violently on her toothpick. Her eyes flicked around the crew before she moved to grab a plate of food. Glancing to Art, she pointed to the small, bruising cut that now graced her forehead. "Hurt myself," she said conversationally, "Shoulda let you do it. But the ship should fly a bit more true, now." As if Doyle even knew what she was talking about. The girl was odd, that much was for sure.

Removing the toothpick from her lips, she began eating her food in her slow way, standing up in the corner so as not to interrupt whatever was going on. As inept as she was when it came to interacting with people, at least she knew well enough that she needed to keep out of the way in this situation. She was wearing a nondescript black and blue jumpsuit, as she usually did, and her hair was looking a bit scruffy. Dani did not greet anyone, did not even acknowledge anyone. She knew how she was supposed to act, but sometimes she just could not muster the strength to assimilate. Especially when everyone was acting so strangely.

________________________________________

fahng-tzong fung-kwong duh jeh: a knot of self indulgent lunacy

[Art Doyle]

Art was pleased to see that things had settled-- even more pleased that Sakura was at the table and eating with them. Even going so far as to strike up conversation with the man holding down the fort for the good Captain Clark as they awaited his return. Though, no matter what, the man always came back from whatever scrape he'd gotten himself into. So Art was content to sit there quietly and eat this fine meal, offering Sidney a wink for his thanks. He really couldn't remember when he happened to be the "go-to" guy for negotiations... However, he guessed that, given the circumstances, he'd been the only one Sakura had remembered. Not her best choice in someone she could trust-- but what can you do when you're all out of options, right?

Mulling all this over, he didn't notice as the small pilot crept her way in. Mostly because his head was aimed at his plate and if he kept going any closer he'd have his nose in it. Not an unpleasant thought. When he heard the extra voice, Doyle peeked up from his meal, and blinked at the sight of Dani. A small frown of struggled understanding gripped him for but a moment before it flattened out, a small grin flitting across his face. He'd had no idea there was any kind of problem in the cockpick, to be honest, and wondered as to her own mechanical prowess. Art assumed everything was fine, though. Despite the head injury she'd endured.

"Didn't know we were flyin' untrue, Dan." He joked ever so lightly. There was always going to be something a little bit tweaked about the young pilot. Art saw nothing bad about her strange habits-- they all had their own. Some more subtle than others. Art himself was a mechanic who was finely dressed most times when he wasn't covered in engine grease. How's that for a slight oddity, right?

He felt he needed to make a little light of the conversations he had with her. Something so flat and serious-seeming in her voice always had pushed him to make things more jovial.

"Should probably get that checked out." He'd note offhandedly, regarding the mark on her head. The mechanic himself couldn't count how many times over the years a wound of some kind had been sustained over repairs. Plus, thinking back made him feel far too old at times, and he liked to avoid that for his own pride's sake.

[Sakura Kina]

Sakura was about to speak when another figure walked into the room. Looking over, she half hoped that it would be James walking into the room, grinning and simply saying 'Sorry I'm late Patches, how's the food?', but instead was another stranger who walked in and didn't realize what had just previously happened. Possibly better if it stayed that way for her sake. As Art pointed out her injuries, Sakura looked over and visibly saw a red bump on her head with a light cut. Standing up slowly as to not scare the others, Sakura walked over to the kitchen and slid open a drawer where the crew used to keep their simple medical supplies, but only saw kitchen utensils, all neatly in order. "We have a cook?" Sakura said, half in surprise, though the delicious meal on the table was the first testament to that fact. Opening a few more drawers, she finally found the drawer with a small first aid kit. Walking over to Dani, Sakura placed the first aid kit down and opened the bag, lifting a small blue, reusable ice bag and snapping it to allow the ice bag to get cold. Letting that get cold, Sakura picked up a flashlight and stood in front of Dani.

"It may seem a bit overdramatic, but if you are the pilot, I'd rather just make sure you don't have a concussion before it's too late to check." Sakura had very sound reasons for checking Dani out. If she really was the pilot of the Trinity and had even a slight concussion, it could affect her more strenuous flying later on. Opening Dani's eyes just slightly, Sakura checked her eye's dilation and saw that there was no significant concussion. She also pressed around the neck to see if there was any strain from her hitting her head, but saw she only had a mild strain on the back of her neck, though that would heal within a day or two. Satisfied that Dani didn't have a concussion, Sakura opened a bandaid and placed it on Dani's forehead and then placed the small ice bag over it, taking a bit of medical tape and placing it over the ice bag to keep it in place. "That'll help the swelling and the bleeding. It may seem a bit drastic, but we're on a ship with no advanced medical care for infections. I would rather not have to take a detour from our destination to seek medical aid for something that could have been so easily avoided."

Sakura walked back to her seat and sat down, hoping she did not offend or embarrass Dani in any way from her immediate check up. Poking at the food on her plate, she thought over Sidney's question from a while back directed at her. "I was a Major for the Independents in the war, fought by James' side a few times, the last time being at Serenity Valley.. He probably saved my life a few times, keeping me from insanely jumping in the line of fire. Though usually he just let me jump right in as long as there wasn't a wall of bullets where I was headed." Sakura smiled at the memory of James pulling her back as she tried to jump right into an Alliance kill zone.

"He respected the fact that I was a young girl fighting in what everyone called a 'big boy's war' and that though I commanded hundreds of soldiers I was still the go-to medic in my company, fighting alongside everyone on the frontlines instead of being a 'background officer'." Sakura finished her story as she took another bite of her food. The tension in the atmosphere seemed to have lifted ever so slightly and people were relaxing a lot more, she was glad that everyone wasn't on their toes now. Maybe she could get the others to talk little by little as the dinner went on..

[Roger Davis]

Another crew member entered the room, another woman but this one wasn't half dressed nor was she holding a weapon. Hardly seemed noteworthy after what had just happened a few minutes prior. What was noteworthy was how Sakura sprang into action as their medic to treat the seemingly minor wound of this new entrant, presumably a pilot from context or god forbid a third mechanic. Sakura's transformation from psychopathic killer to skilled doctor in such a short period of time was simply remarkable.

After returning to the table she also began to speak with Sidney, telling of her past and the relationship to James. Lo and behold Roger's assumption was spot on, comrades in arms. Sakura giving her rank as major was a bit of a surprise though. He was no expert but the woman looked about his own age, not a little older like Sidney was. She even admitting to being a 'young girl'. There must have been a lot of tragedy in the higher ranks to fast track someone up the chain so quick at that age.

Hoping to get into the conversation and create a bit more camaraderie and a little less shooting each other Roger said, "Well James ain't the only one ya fought beside there. I may not be wearin' it now but my coat's brown. I didn't have no James to keep me from jumpin' into the line of fire though. Let's just say Serenity Valley was the end of my war but I wasn't on Hera for Unification Day like the rest of y'all if ya catch my meanin'."

"The name's Roger by the way, First Lieutenant Davis." He said after a pause. "Oh and no hard feelin's about that little standoff we just had?"

[Sakura Kina]

Sakura smiled as Roger opened up and introduced himself. "Of course not, I wouldn't have expected anything else considering the situation. I'm just glad you didn't pull the trigger." She sounded a bit morbid, but she meant in no way for it to. She looked over at the rest of the crew and scanned them over. "I suppose talking about the war can wait for when everyone can feel comfortable." She finished her plate of food and picked up half a plate more of food, absolutely dying to fill her stomach with sustenance.

ooc: short post, running out of ideas to keep this going, and deadly tired tonight...

[meilinalbright]

Honestly, Meilin wasn't sure what to say. She just returned to her seat in silence and tried not to stare warily as Sakura took a seat at the table. A nod of thanks was given to her comment about the quality of the food, but she didn't make a sound yet. The pilot, who Meilin was sure she hadn't spoken to yet and who's name she couldn't remember stumbled in. Sakura's quick action to examine the girl was a little surprising, and Meilin found it slightly reassuring. Just a paranoid medic. The tension in her shoulders relaxed more and she looked down at her plate of food. It really should be eaten before it got cold.

For some reason, all her mind could think of to talk about was the war. Or whatever happened to Sakura. Neither of which were the best topics for conversation at the moment. So she took the lead from Roger and introduced herself as well. "And I'm Meilin. Don't know much about the war, so I just cook." She joked a little and smiled at Sakura.