One Last Check Before Take Off

[benbarrow]

[OOC: This is for all those drifters who missed Ben in O'Hanrahan's Pub. It's a thread for last minute passengers, coming to seek passage or a job on the Orlando.]

With a clipboard in his hands, Ben did a last check-up of the Orlando before take-off. Everything seemed to be in order. And so was the crew. Roxanne was in the cockpit prepping for take-off, George was in the infirmary getting settled, Jaclyn was doing a weapons' check and Lily was in the engine room, working on the engine. Everyone was where they were supposed to be. Everything clicked into place nicely.

Murdo had accepted Ben's deal, and now all he had to do was deliver. They'd go to St. Albans to steal the guns, keep a few weapons for themselves, give a few to Ryan for the Atlas, and sell the rest to Murdo. Piece of cake. And Ben looked forward to kicking some more Alliance butt. Anything he could do that would hurt the Alliance, he would.

Ben checked off the last thing on his clipboard, and then put it on the mule, that was parked in the cargobay. It was now take-off time.

Ben walked over to the cargobay doors, and with his hand on the button, he took one more look at the Eavesdown Docks, knowing they'd return to Persephone soon enough.

[kyrin]

Kyrin moved at a leisurely pace, with a determined look about her. She eyed each of the ships carefully, checking them each for sturdiness, hoping that she would find something suitable. Clasped in her hand was the handle of a rich-looking suitcase that she seemed to carry without much difficulty, its gold silk gleaming in the light beneath the layers of dust billowing in the wind.

Her hair billowed out around her as she glanced from ship to ship, until finally she locked onto a potential voyage. Her icy blue eyes danced diligently over the figure standing at the cargo bay, before flashing a hearty smile. She couldn't quite make out any features, but she hoped that consumed in the shadow of this ship might be a bit of salvation.

She tucked a lock of golden-blond hair behind her ear, and began to speak. "Might you have room for one more?" her light soprano voice rang out over the bustle of people and the distant thundering of engines.

[benbarrow]

Just as Ben was about to push the button, a beautiful young girl walked on the cargoramp. Ben took his finger off the button, and decided to wait and see what she wanted.

"Might you have room for one more?"

The girl looked fragile, and by Ben's guess she probably never even saw a gun up close, let alone shoot one. She looked wealthy as well, her suitcase and clothes seemed expensive enough. This girl was anything but a hired help, and therefor not useful. Not where they were going.

"Unless you've got some skill we can use aboard this boat, no." Ben replied. "Sorry, but we're currently not taking any passengers."

Ben was careful around people he didn't know. And he couldn't tell this girl they were heading to St. Alban's. Not if they were to pull off a heist.

[kyrin]

She nodded politely in a carefully calculated response to his question before delving into thought.

"I am a certified companion," she said removing the term 'Alliance' from the beginning of that phrase, pausing to observe his face carefully before continuing, "and I've been trained in many different areas. Extensively in psychology, and persuasion can be quite useful in... situations..." She lingered on the word emphatically enough that the sturdy man could hear, but as to not draw any attention from passersbys. She studied his expression once more, trying to figure out exactly what skills would be useful to him, not that Kyrin intended to lie; she simply wanted to know which index of proficiencies she should call upon. "I have also had instruction in a few different martial arts. I speak multiple languages, and if none of these abilities can serve you, I catch on quickly to anything."

"And as I am sure you can tell, I have enough to give you a substantial sum for your troubles."

She paused for a moment, wearily, though her perfectly placid faced showed no strain, and then spoke in an even softer voice, resisting the urge to bite her bottom lip in a child-like fashion that had been discouraged at the Academy. "And, perhaps, if one were to encounter the Alliance, I could... deter them from an honorable ship, such as yours."

She prayed that her last thought would do the trick, but decided against pushing the subject any further in case the man was Alliance-friendly. She had put herself out on a limb, and hoped for the best. Silently, she waited for a response.

[benbarrow]

The word 'Companion' caused Ben to block out any thoughts of actually letting this girl aboard, let alone bring her anywhere. To Ben, Companion meant Alliance. Especially the part about her being certified. Because who certified her? Right, the Alliance.

Ben pushed his browncoat behind his holsters, and looked down, and then up again.

"Companion?" Ben asked. "Young miss, I think you need to have a good look around before you ask me to let you on my boat again. Starting with you looking at the color of my coat."

Ben hinted that he was an Independent, and that he had no desire of letting this girl aboard his boat. If they took a Companion with them to St. Alban's, and did what they had to do there, she'd probably blow the whistle on them before they even had a chance to land anywhere. That, and Ben wasn't too keen on Companions. In many ways, he preferred the touch of an actual prostitute, instead of some Alliance bred whore that could manipulate men. At least a real prostitute could say she did it to make a living and to survive, in contrary to those 'just for fun' whores who got paid no matter what every month by the guild on Sihnon.

"It's nice you know psychology and persuasive techniques." Ben said. "If we ever need someone to analyze an enemy before we shoot him, or if we need someone to persuade an enemy into not shooting at us, we'll be sure to give you a call. Word to the wise though, get yourself a gun, because you may know martial arts all you know, but I bet you don't know how to stop bullets."

Ben deviated from his actual personality when he was up against someone that belonged to the Alliance. The kind, helpful and caring man that he was could turn into a sarcastic and disrespectful jerk when confronted with Alliance officials, or spoiled Alliance brats such as Kyrin. He didn't do it on purpose, it was just something left over from the war. And his ever growing hatred for the Alliance.

"Needless to say, I'm sure you'll find this boat unsuitable for your kind. And you may find me and mine are of the less desirable crowd. I'm sure some Alliance vessel may come around soon enough."

[kyrin]

Smiling patiently, she inclined her head gracefully. His response, though not as colorful as some she had received, was beneath it all, the same. "There are plenty of such vessels if I so choose to board one. Perhaps you're afraid that I would report you to the authorities. I have no such intentions. Besides, although we companions service Alliance, our work doesn't extend beyond that. I cannot think of a fellow companion that would stoop so low as to do groundwork for the Alliance. We simply assure our well-being, and those that we grow fond of. Not our clients. It is my best interest to not board an Alliance vessel. You know surely as well as I that if I were to send out a call to the Alliance, you would be notified if you have a half-decent pilot and they would probably even scramble my transmission before I got a chance to give any information as to your whereabouts. If this were the case, I'm sure a person who has traveled to the ends of the verse could find a rather interesting place to drop a companion off."

Beneath her carefully calculated expression, a light edge of desperation developed.

"Believe it or not, I can help you, while paying you. I don't plan on servicing any of your crew, so if you're worried about losing money, then simply find another excuse. My ability to read people can come in handy, and I'm sure if you would overlook the fact that I am in some way, shape, or form connected to the Alliance, then you would see that too."

Her white dress billowed out around her emphatically after her last statement.

[roxanne]

Roxanne had been hanging around the cargo bay. Well, hiding was more like it. Everything was ready for take off. She had to talk to the captain. But when she made her way down here she found herself in the middle of him dealing with someone who wanted passage on the ship-maybe even a spot on the crew. She frowned. A companion could do wonders for them. If she was registered and legal they could venture anywhere and everywhere-form the Core to the Border moons with little to no problems. Instead of jumping right in, she hung back and listened.

But now, after hearing the young miss speak, she decided to jump in. “Ben, I think she’d be of great use to us. A registered companion such as herself could open up many jobs for us-clients higher up that would also pay more and want more discrimination then such underground bosses. Plus, I think if she were on the ship we wouldn’t have to worry about the Alliance nearly as much. Why else would a respectable woman such as herself travel with anything but the respectable?”

Roxanne flashed her pearly whites at both the captain and the companion. She hadn’t heard the woman’s name, but she knew of the use and help she could be. Then she turned her full attention to the captain. “Besides-we do have the room. Two shuttles. This fine woman can have one of them. Could be of use if she wishes to continue her work because she could use it to get to a client when we are on a planet.”

Roxanne decided to emphasis a few points as well. Mainly point them out to the Ben. “Besides-West trained on Ariel so he could alert the Alliance just as much as this lady here. And you know I’d catch and scramble it before this ship would be compromised.” No matter what Ben said she’d sit here and argue it before taking off the Orlando.

[benbarrow]

Despite the fact she was right, Ben was pretty annoyed with Roxanne being out of the cockpit. He kept an informal ship, but that didn't mean they had a free pass to do as they pleased.

"George is an Independent war veteran." Ben said in a strict way. "As for you Roxanne, I hired you because you claimed to be the best pilot on this rock. Don't you think that you being out of your cockpit right before take-off sorta contradicts that?"

Ben looked at Roxanne with a straight face, without expression any emotion. If she wouldn't high tail it back to her cockpit soon, she'd be in big trouble.

"Do not take the informality on this boat as an excuse to do as you please, Roxanne." Ben continued. "I will not tolerate disobedience. Now get back to the cockpit, I'll be with you shortly."

Ben didn't like lecturing Roxanne like that, especially in front of some Alliance whore, but he had to. The crew of the Orlando had a lot of freedom, but there was a limit. And Ben would not tolerate any of them being insubordinate. He'd explain to Roxanne later on why she got read her rights like that.

Ben then turned to the Companion again. He couldn't deny the fact that Roxanne was right. Hell, Kyrin could practically be some sort of prisoner aboard the Orlando if he played his cards correctly. And if she did try to play the 'betray card', they could always ransom her Companion ass back to the guild on Sihnon.

"As for you..." Ben said. "I'll rent out one of my shuttles to you, but you'd better be prepared to take the conditions that come with it."

Ben took a few steps toward Kyrin, just so she could hear him clear.

"The price if fivehundred platinum per month, and that doesn't include meals." Ben said. "If you're gonna be eating my food and use my water, you're gonna have to pull your weight around this boat."

Ben couldn't care less whether or not Kyrin was a Companion, and if that made her 'respected'. Far as he was concerned, she was just another crewmember, and another mouth to feed.

"That means doing chores around the boat, and help the other crewmembers out if they need your assistance." Ben continued. "Furthermore, you are free to roam about the boat, but the cockpit and engine room are off-limits for you. You can talk to the crew if you want to or if they speak to you, but if I catch you pulling off one of your Companion tricks on any single one of them, you're outta here. Also, I don't care what you do if you're out in the shuttle, that's your business. And I don't mind you taking customers either when the shuttle's docked with the Orlando, but I never, and I really mean never want to see an Alliance officer or anything of the like aboard my boat. If you do however, I'm sending you back to the Companion Guild on Sihnon... piece by piece."

Ben sighed annoyed. He couldn't believe he was going to let a Companion aboard his boat. He turned away from Kyrin, and walked a few steps toward the doors in a second attempt to close them.

"Me on my part, I'll make sure we visit a lot of core worlds where you can 'entertain' a lot of customers. I'll also make sure none of the crew will bother you." Ben said as he pushed the button.

The cargobay doors closed, and now the Orlando was all set for take-off. Ben walked toward the stairs to go up to the cockpit. After he took a few steps, he stopped.

"Shuttles are either that door, or that door." Ben said as he pointed to the left and the right of the ship. "Pick one."

Ben took a few more steps up, and then stopped again.

"Oh yeah, and welcome to the Orlando, Bangtail."

Ben walked up the stairs and out of the cargobay. Now all that's left to do was give Roxanne the go ahead, and have a face to face chat with her about what just happened.

[kyrin]

She smiled graciously at his every word, knowing better than to do anything less than comply. She would not provoke him any more, but with the way he treated Roxanne, it would be an interesting stay aboard the Orlando. Her arm began growing tired holding the suitcase, but she soon realized it probably wouldn't be the worst pain she would feel in the future. Kyrin had refused to switch arms for the duration of the conversation as it was simply a sign of weakness. She smiled warily to herself, satisfied for the day, taking one last glance at the closing doors, and began to make her way to the left shuttle.

Remember to thank... Roxanne... Kyrin thought to herself.

As the term "Bangtail" rang through the air, Kyrin suppressed an amused and simultaneously annoyed smile. "I prefer Kyrin, and thank you," she stated in a joyous tone.

She turned quickly on her heel before he could process her words and made her way to the left shuttle.

[roxanne]

Roxanne still kept a smile on her face but it turned more into a smirk. Apparently he didn’t like her stepping out of line. Oh well. As she turned on her heel to head back to the pit she threw over her shoulder. “Everything’s ready when you are sir. Oh and your com is broken. May want to look at getting that fixed once we’re in the air. Just thought you should know.” Her two reasons for being down here. It was a somewhat sarcastic and somewhat proving her point moment.

As she climbed through the various stairs and passages, she found her way back to the cockpit. She sat back in her seat. There were lights blinking back at her all around-pre-take off measures. Only a few more switches and buttons and they’d be started up. It didn’t take long at all though the captain felt like it did. Whatever. She didn’t want her mood to be ruined because she knew that as soon as she started to unpack later it would go downhill.

Simply for now she sat back in the chair as she looked over things and double checked that things were running smoothly. In between she moved about and looked at the intercom to try and figure out what in the Orlando could be wrong with it. All while she waited for Ben to come and see her.

[benbarrow]

"I prefer Kyrin, and thank you."

"And I would prefer it if you were actually someone that could be useful aboard this boat." Ben thought to himself, recognizing the Companion's sarcasm, yet not indulging her by answering to it. After all, to him, Kyrin was just another dumb kid and a spoiled brat. Ransoming her ass back to Sihnon seemed a better idea by the second.

Ben made his way toward the cockpit, and got ready for the difficult conversation between Roxanne and him. After all, he hated being the bad guy, but they had to listen, and do as they were told. In return, he'd keep the boat informal and gave them a lot of freedom aboard the Orlando.

Ben walked in the cockpit, and went toward the other seat and sat down. He laid back in the seat, and put his hands on stomach, and entangled his fingers. He was now just hanging back and shooting the breeze. He figured it would make things a bit easier between Roxanne and him, if he was going to talk to her about her insubordination.

"Alright Roxie. Take her to the skies."

[roxanne]

Roxanne was already starting to switch on things she could while waiting for Ben to come up to the pit. She had already called ahead for clearance to leave the docks. They had clearance has long as they left within the next 15-after that they had to wait to get the next set of clearance. She spun around in her chair as she made mental checks of what to and not to start up. Damn it that intercom needed to get fixed! Hopefully Lily didn’t need her right off.

As soon as she heard Ben she finished starting up the ship. There wasn’t much to do and she did it in almost a silent, trance like state. She was focused on her, the controls and pulling back and up from the docks. As she pulled back the handles that steered the ship and was pulling the Orlando up. As she pulled near the atmo, she felt the pressure against the ship with the shaking. It would only be another minute or two...there it was. The leveling off of the ship as they reached space. Of course she wouldn’t slow it down just yet. They still had to pull away a little more. As she moved at a more “reasonable” pace for being in space she turned her head ever so slightly to look at Ben before turning back to look at the stars.

“We may want to get that com fixed soon. I want to be able to talk to Lily when it comes to jobs and if we run into any tight situations out here. Probably something simple I assume but I don’t mess with anything mechanical that isn’t under this console.” She was calm as she drew in a breath. Ah how beautiful the stars and planets looked against the onyx sky. This was true beauty. “Ever sat and tried to count the stars when you can’t sleep Ben? I do it all the time.”

[benbarrow]

Ben was sitting back and enjoying the ride as Roxanne took the Orlando to the skies, enjoying the view and liking what he saw. This was very much different than sitting in a passenger liner, looking out of a small window like he had done so many times before. This was the real deal, this was what it was all about.

With the Orlando also leaving Persephone for the first time with Ben as its owner, Ben truly felt like a captain. The boat was his, it was home. And there were others aboard it as well. People who were counting on him. People who would rely on him to keep food on their plates, to make sure there was always work, and to keep them safe from harm.

This was the life Ben always wanted to live. Now he could finally start looking for his missing friends. And maybe he'd find Lindsey again too.

“Ever sat and tried to count the stars when you can’t sleep Ben? I do it all the time.”

Funny Roxanne would mention sleep. Ben hadn't had a good night's sleep since before his incarceration on Londinium. And he wasn't shellshocked either from the war like his friend Ryan. What kept him awake at night was wondering where his friends were, what they were doing, if they were still alive. Also, Ben and his male friends may have escaped prison on Londinium, but the females of the group he once belonged to were never freed, and were still doing time in the women's correctional facility on Londinium.

"Seventeen years..." Ben thought. "I've left those girls behind for seventeen years now."

Ben thought about it for a while. Maybe now was a good time to start thinking about breaking them out. Since the Uprising the Alliance had become a staggering beast, and it wasn't the strong superpower anymore that it once was. A prison break would be possible now. But his crew would have to get used to him first. Getting them to trust him blindly, that was the most important. Secondly they would have to gain some experience before ever pulling off such a thing.

And that was what they were on their way to doing now. Pulling off a weapon's heist.

Ben then suddenly realized he hadn't answered Roxanne's question yet.

"Sorry about that." Ben said. "But to be honest; if I were to count stars everytime I couldn't sleep, I'd be counting stars all the time."

Ben smiled at Roxanne. Maybe this little talk about stars was the perfect icebreaker he needed before telling her she shouldn't undermine his authority like she did a while ago with Kyrin. At least now he would be able to say it without sounding like one of those strict, cold Alliance captains he hated so much.

"How about you Roxanne?" Ben asked. "Do you count stars a lot?"

[roxanne]

Roxanne was new to a Firefly class. Her father’s was also a converted transport ship, but a Router class. It was set up slightly differently. Only a glance at the layout told her so and she should probably spend more time looking at it later. Though it would be much handier for Lily, it was also something good for her to know.

Her stomach rolled over-not something to hear but she could feel it. There was a bite of chocolate somewhere in her bag. A bite or two would hold her off until dinner. Roxanne flicked on the proximity alert. Even if it wasn’t on manual, it still helped her for anything behind or to the sides she couldn’t see. There were some things she checked such as the pressure within the ship, oxygen levels, and fuel. Though everything was full she did those checks frequently to make sure there were no leaks that had been missed. That could be disaster.

Silence seemed to hang in the air. Ben was taking a bit to answer her question. She switched to autopilot to get up and check a few things real quick while she waited for him to talk up. Everything was in order-though personally at some point she wanted to change some of the lights behind the various buttons so they were brighter. Roxanne tossed her pen behind her ear as she resettled in her seat and took the controls back up.

A soft, but almost pensive smile spread across her face. “Every so often. Memories and dreams keep me up. Some are my fault-I keep the memories a bit too close.” Like the ring. While some days she almost forgot she wore it, most it weighed there like a lead weight on her heart. When she felt like torturing herself, she put it on her left hand.

But she wanted to shake those off for now. “So because of that adventure with the man buying the mule I never heard where we were headed. Where should I be aiming for?”

[benbarrow]

“So because of that adventure with the man buying the mule I never heard where we were headed. Where should I be aiming for?”

Adventure wasn't the word Ben would use. It was more like a run-in with the Alliance, causing them to get the hell out of there. First it was that guy, and then all of a sudden a Companion appeared. It seemed like an awful lot of coincidences to Ben. Yet the Companion he could keep an eye on. As for Robert Borden, the question remained whether or not he was ex-Alliance or just plain Alliance.

"Yeah about that..." Ben answered. "If a ship called The Horizon ever hails us, don't answer it but get us the hell outta dodge. That Borden guy had Alliance written all over him."

But Ben couldn't worry too much about Robert Borden right now. He had to focus on the task at hand: getting the guns.

"Alright?" Ben continued. "Now get us to St. Alban's, Roxie. We're gonna do a little repowork."