Taking a Break [Open to Crew]

[lilyzhang]

In the engine room, Lily watched as the machinery of the Orlando whirled and twirled, forcing the ship into motion. With a grin of delight, the mechanic clapped her hands like a giddy little girl on Christmas morning. There was a gleam of happiness in her eyes, and she moved her gaze over every component and part - the heart and lungs that filled the craft with draconic breath.

She'd checked it all earlier on, made a few tweaks here and there to keep everything proper. Screws had been tightened; cables had been tied, and then clipped together to keep them good and snug. 'Shiny', she thought. 'All precise and workable!'

Meanwhile, the compression coil wheeled almost hypnotically, tumbling pretty smoothly given the age of the model. The catalyzer was attached to it as soundly as could be, clicked in like a sharp new jigsaw piece. Everything seemed to go, and much better than Lily had expected, to boot. With a bit of luck, it would stay that way - or at least it would, if she had anything to do with it.

Now, the girl had worked on a couple of Fireflies before, alongside her grandfather as he did his work around the docks. During that time she'd gotten a good feel for them, and all their eccentricities. Robust and solid - but nothing fancy, mind - they'd both had their own personalities, their own quirks.

The first had been like a tough old broad, adored and pandered to by her crew. A bit finicky, a little fussy, maybe, but steady as a rock for all that. Just so long as you paid the matriarch the respect she was due, she'd kindly acquiesce to your demands.

The second had been a different story: a dumb, overburdened beast, doing the best it could given the circumstances. The captain – a real trigger-happy buhn dahn – had seen to weighing it down with too much armouring, too many big old guns. Then, just to ice the cake, he'd wired the main systems all wrong, presumably to juice things up some. The result? Something gorram akin to a professional weight-lifter, tanked up on steroids and ready to pop under the strain – a Goliath that could have been taken down by one well-placed hit.

The Orlando, though? Not like that at all, as far as the mechanic could see. The feeling Lily got from it was one of sturdiness, of reined-in strength, such as you see in seasoned old brawlers. She reckoned – perhaps optimistically - that the ship could take a good, hard knock or two before it went down. Of course, she hoped it wouldn't have to, and that the crew wouldn't have the opportunity to test that little theory. Although, it was a possibility, she knew that ...

But why worry, when everything seemed to be going so well? Stepping back with a smile, Lily watched the machinery do its thing. 'Trace Compression Block. Nice!'

Nothing against the crew, but the girl suspected she'd be spending a lot of time in the engine room - what with it being all fascinating and the like. By now though, she was more than a mite peckish, and she needed a drink. In any case, the mechanic supposed it was time for her to surface, to give herself a rest. She peeled off the work gloves she used to protect her hands, then the yellow head-scarf that held back her hair.

Pale fingers flexed and stretched out, cracking at the knuckles. The girl laid one hand on the hull of the ship - gave it an affectionate pat - before she shrugged off her coveralls. Underneath it she wore a black hooded top, a pair of battered jeans, and the heavy leather boots she seemed to favour. Nothing fancy to look at, but then Lily was a grease-monkey by trade, not some high-falutin' Companion all gussied up in silks and velvets.

Activiting the intercom, Lily spoke into it with a happy sort of tone. "Can't see any problems down here, Captain. Not yet, anyhow. I could tell you all about it in nerd-speak, but really, I think everything's fine and dandy." She said, leaving it at that - pretty concise by Lily's standards, really. "Permission to take a break and get a snack?"

OOC: Yeah, so assuming she does get the permission, anyone who wants to join Lily is more than welcome.

[benbarrow]

Ben sat in the common room, studying the St. Alban's armory satellite photographs he bought from that shady character back on Persephone. According to the intel on it, it would only be guarded by twelve men. Just as he was about to study the blueprints of the armory, he heard the intercom open and a voice crackling through it.

"Can't see any problems down here, Captain. Not yet, anyhow. I could tell you all about it in nerd-speak, but really, I think everything's fine and dandy. Permission to take a break and get a snack?"

Ben wondered if he told Lily that he preferred people calling him by his first name. He was pretty certain he told all of his crew, but there was a chance he might've skipped one. It didn't matter though. After all, he couldn't make people call him by his first name. So captain would do just as good.

Ben looked at his watch. Almost six o'clock. Maybe it was getting time for dinner. With all the intensive planning and studying he had been doing, he had totally forgotten he had to feed his crew as well. Ben walked over to the intercom, and picked the horn up.

"Affirmative Lily. Dinner in ten minutes. That goes to all of you." Ben said.

He then put the horn back on the intercom and started making his way toward the galley, wondering what he was going to serve to his crew for this first evening.

Ben walked in the galley and went to the cabinet in which they kept the bread. He picked up a couple of baguettes and put them on the table. He then walked over to the kitchen and got a float of butter and several garnishes out of it and put them in the middle of the table. Ben found some knives and some spoons in a drawer, and cups in another cabinet. Table was all set now, the crew could eat.

Before sitting down at the dinner table, Ben went on the intercom once more.

"Roxie, you can put the boat on autopilot if you want to eat as well." Ben said. "The proximity alert will warn us if something's up."

He then sat down at the head of the table, wondering how this first dinner with his new crew would be.

[roxanne]

Roxanne was just doing a bunch of things right now. She was going over all the things in the pit that she was able to check. The ship was already in autopilot as she was walking around. A huge pet peeve of hers was keeping a clean place. If too much dust or dirt got into the console then it could mess with the system. Right now she was underneath where the wires were pulling at strands of dust and making sure not to pull out any of the vines.

Her hair was pulled back taunt as she pushed herself out from underneath at the sound of the captains’ voice. Ah so she wouldn’t tell him that they had technically been on autopilot for a while. Oh well! A she dusted herself off, she checked a few things such as making sure the proximity alert was on and also no one could get in here and mess with the wave. Didn’t want to risk anything. She stopped by her quarters to wash the dust off her and switch shirts so she didn’t appear disheveled and then headed to the kitchen.

As she skipped in she made a sudden stop and frowned slightly at the food before them. It didn’t seem to be much of a selection-pretty much bread and snacks. “Um Ben? Is this all that there is for supper?” Her brow rose questionably. Now she was wondering if she would have to cook something or not.

[benbarrow]

“Um Ben? Is this all that there is for supper?”

Ben took a pause from making himself a sandwich. This was all the stuff in the fridge he could find, but of course there was other stuff to eat as well.

"Well I almost forgot I had to feed you guys as well." Ben joked. "So yeah, this is the best I could muster at such a short notice. But there's cans of soup in the cabinet there as well if you want some."

Ben rather ate some meat himself for dinner, but defrosting some of the meat that they kept in the freezer in the cargohold would take centuries, and Ben like most of his crew was hungry now.

"I'll lay out some meat by tomorrow evening." Ben said. "Get something hearty in our stomach before the big job."

[roxanne]

She peeked around the table. Ah there is what she was looking for-fillings to actually make the food worthwhile. Roxanne smiled widely in understanding. "Stupid me! Didn't see all the fillings at first." She took a seat close to the captain but not on any direct side. She knew one was usually for the first mate and she wasn't sure who the other was for. back on her father's ship it was for her mother. As she reached for a cup she filled it with water to have something to quench her thirst. A portable water container would have to be something to add to her listen of things to get next time they were planetside and she could wander.

As she leaned back in her chair, Roxanne kept an open ear for the proximity alert. As she piled meat and vegetables with condiments on the bread a puzzled look crossed her visage. "What job Ben? I assume one where I get to sit my little bum in a chair and hope to get some sweet air while you guys have all the fun?"

Roxanne was a girl with an appetite. Too bad for any girls around her who didn't eat as much and that she ate around. Some looked jealous while others looked down upon her. Roxanne didn't care though. "I have some of my own snacks if it gets bothersome. I'm used to scrounging with little food. The last ship there was always at least seven and at most nine people on board. Things often got tight. Especially with the black holes." The black holes referred to her father, brother and once Nathaniel.

[benbarrow]

"Well you don't have to worry about food here." Ben said. "I'll make sure there's always plenty around for everyone. And that we'll have enough money to pay for it. And if we can't pay for it, we'll steal it."

Ben took some butter of the float with a knife, and started smearing it on the sandwich which he had cut in two halfs.

"And if we find ourselves in a position in which we can't buy or steal it, I'll make sure you lose your appetite." Ben joked.

Ben finished smearing the baguette with butter, and took some meat and vegetables and garnished the sandwich.

"As for the job..." Ben continued. "Whether or not it succeeds is all up to you really. And don't worry about getting some fresh air. St. Alban's is probably the last place where you wanna do that."

Ben put the other half of the sandwich on, and then cut it in two. Hungry he took a bite, enjoyed the taste and cleared his mouth.

"I'll brief you guys on the job when we're about an hour away from St. Alban's." Ben continued. "For now, there's something else I want to ask you."

[roxanne]

Roxanne chuckled at Ben’s retort. Her mother was always one to steal and resell like anyone else out in the verse. But when it came to certain things such as food and clothing they always worked for it. It was a fond memory-one of many talks her mother had with her and her brother over the years. Even though not everyone thought that way it was something she liked to keep with her.

She raised a brow as she cut her sandwich in half. A foot tucked behind the opposite ankle and swung her feet back and forth. A playful shrug played on her shoulders as she focused on Ben. “Depends on what you want me to do to lose my appetite. If it’s too out there I’ll whiter away in my pilots seat.”

As she bite into her sandwich-a nice blend of three meats, cheese, and a kick of vegetable toppings-she was slightly confused. They were doing something on St. Alban’s? Was he nuts? That was a death trap in the air! Roxanne was staying on the ship nice and safe. Well not so much safe. Depending on how long it was going to take she could spend some time exploring the ship a bit more. There was another shuttle she wanted to check out and possibly clean if she was bored enough.

As she set her sandwich aside, there was one thing she was wondering. ”Am we-erm the Orlando and I-going to be alone while your off is anyone else staying behind? Oh and I don’t have my own weapon right now either so next place we stop off St. Alban’s you think you could help me find one?” When it came to her she’d probably be more likely to get swayed away from what she was looking to buy or pay more then what she was looking to. At least Ben or George could help her.

[georgewest]

George was putting the finishing touches on his medbay. The was putting some pure adrenaline in the top cabinet, just in case. I hope no one tries to use this while bleeding or they'll lose blood faster and pass out sooner. He heard the captain's call but he wasn't too hungry. It had been just long enough since he last ate that he had been hungry but wasn't anymore. He looked into the bottom of one of his bags, he had a few bars of protein mixed with all the other essential vitamins and minerals. Some complained about the taste but he didn't care much. In fact, he enjoyed it.

He grabbed the protein and put them in an empty bag and a couple bars of chocolate into his medical refrigerator. I'll save those for after our first job. He walked over to the dining area. unaware of a conversation in progress he said, "How's everybody doing, I brought some protein if anyone wants any."

He went over and sat across from Roxanne. This seemed like a pretty informal meal so it probably didn't matter where he sat

[roxanne]

Roxanne at this point was putting off packing in all aspects of the word. She had taken a few things out to look for something she needed and came across the box. Her whole body had frozen so still. And later when left to her own means she knew that she would open the box and lose it then. Depending on how far she pushed herself Roxanne would probably go into her dark state for a day or two. It would be bad with the job coming up. Guess she should see how far out from St. Alban’s they were then go from there. Plus-there were some things she eventually wanted to put up.

She hardly noticed when George entered until he spoke up. A wrinkle of her nose and she bit into her sandwich. “Doing fine and dandy. And got plenty for another time but thanks.” They had all been in their respectable areas working so since before take off they hadn’t really talked much. And she wondered if the new passenger or the mechanic was coming along at all.

Roxanne grabbed a nearby napkin. After she balled it up, she proceeded to throw it at George’s head. With a completely innocent grin she acted like she hadn’t done it as she polished off the first half. After it traveled down her throat is when she spoke up. “What has our good doctor been doing? All settled in nice and cozy?”

[benbarrow]

"No." Ben answered. "Lily's staying behind as well. I won't risk my pilot and my mechanic getting hurt. And about that gun... When this job's over you'll get to take your pick. We take what we need before selling the rest to Murdo on Persephone. Afterwards we'll lay low for a while on Three Hills, so if you want I'll teach you how to shoot it as well."

Ben took another bite of his sandwich. Then George walked in.

"How's everybody doing, I brought some protein if anyone wants any."

Ben's mouth was still full. And since he was mannered, he wouldn't speak with his mouth full so he put up his hand in greeting as his pal George sat down across from Roxanne. Ben then swallowed the piece of sandwich and cleared his teeth of any remnants with his tongue.

Ben saw Roxanne throw a balled up napkin against George, but decided to tolerate it. It was all in good fun anyway, and he was glad his crew got along so well.

"Hi Doc!" Ben greeted. "Good thing you brought proteine, some of us should gain some weight."

Teasingly, Ben grabbed Roxanne's arm and dangled it above the table, indicating she should be the one to gain some weight. It was then that Ben noticed her wearing a ring on her finger, a ring that most would recognize as an engagement ring.

"Is she...? Is she engaged? Did she leave someone behind? Funny she didn't mention it yet." Ben thought.

However, Ben knew better than to ask about it. If Roxanne wanted to mention it, she probably would. Ben decided not to push things and just wait. He didn't want to screw up the loose atmosphere as well.

“What has our good doctor been doing? All settled in nice and cozy?” Roxanne asked.

"Yeah." Ben answered. "Is the infirmary all ready? Did you get that dermal mender installed?"

[lilyzhang]

At that point Lily strolled in from the engine room, her hands thrust deep into the capacious pockets of her jeans. The mechanic was clearly in good spirits, as there was a peaceable look on her face, and she was quietly humming a little tune.

She looked around, figuring that everyone was in place now; everyone save Jaclyn, and the lovely companion girl, what's-her-name: Kyrin. Hopefully they'd be along soon, though! Lily liked getting to know new people.

“Heya!” She said to everyone who was present. On the mechanic's face was a big grin - the sort of grin that lucky gamblers wear. And hadn't she just won the jackpot, though!

Oh yes, Lily still pretty pleased with herself, and it sure did show. For starters, the Orlando really wasn't a piece of crap, so that was nice! Added to that that, she was going to learn lots about ships and the 'Verse, travelling with a crew who – at first glance – seemed to be a fairly agreeable lot.

Of course, that's not to say she actually knew any of them, or that she could say that any of them were Shepherds, or nothin' like that. But - like anyone with half a brain - she'd gathered a few sketchy impressions of their general backgrounds and temperaments. Impressions she'd have to elaborate on through the medium of prying, daresay it.

With an amused grin, the girl took a seat next to Roxanne, who'd just thrown the napkin at George. Then, with a vaguely surprised look, Lily folded her arms on the table, away from the plate that had been set down on it. “Oh, we got eats?” She said, as though she'd only just noticed – which, in truth, she only just had. “Shiny. Mind if I just filch me some of this? Thanks!”

Getting herself a piece of bread, the girl began to thinly butter it up with the knife provided. After that some peanut butter went on, spread in a similarly studious fashion. Apparently that was enough for the time being, as well it might be. You see, as a general rule, Lily ate like a bird. Give her a protein bar, her family joked, and she could probably make it last for months.

The girl took a bite from the bread, chewed it, swallowed it, before repeating the process. When she heard something about a dermal mender, though, Lily perked up her head, obviously intrigued about the piece of medical kit. See, she'd watched a few educational broadcasts on emergency surgery, about the composition of skin. All the layers of tissue, how all the glands and nerves worked beneath them - it was pretty fascinating stuff. She'd wait to see what George was going to say before she jumped into the conversation.

[georgewest]

"I just finished getting the infirmary settled and set up, I haven't been in my own room yet, . He paused as he reached for a piece of bread. "The mender seems to be in working order, i did do some tweaking on the nerve re-aligner but it should work fine. I might nick my arm a little later to test it out." George took a bite, of the plain bread and now he started feeling hungry. He broke of a small piece of protein and ate it.

"As for gun practice, I have this hover target that you could use if you don't want to waste bullets," he still had that in the infirmary. He really needed to get to his room. "It has 99 dificulty levels so it moves and stuff and which room is mine?" He added that last question in hurriedly to the end of his sentence.

"So how is the Orlando working," he asked Lily

[roxanne]

“Ok. If she isn’t busy at least I can have someone to chat with.” Oh wait! There’d also be Kyrin! She’d have a couple people at least to pass by her time. Maybe during her travels she could pick up new books along the way as well. Anything to keep her occupied while in the cockpit passing hours.

Roxanne had a gun back on her father’s ship. But one stipulation of leaving the ship was the fact that she had to leave certain things behind-such as the gun, some family things she was supposed to inherit, and any money outside of what was given by her mother when she left. It wasn’t a huge deal, but depressing none the least. ”I know how to shoot, it’ll just take time getting used to whatever gun. The gun I used to have was a revolver-well it was my father’s. But when I left his ship I had to leave it behind. Haven’t been too keen on getting scammed so I figured since you and George were in the war you may know a little more about guns then I. Though it could also be a bit ignorant of me.”

Roxanne was going to reach for the other half of her sandwich when her hand was snatched away. ”Hey!” Her tongue stuck out teasingly as her eyes snapped shut. She completely forgotten that she had switched the ring from one hand to the other when under the console-her right was her dominate hand so she did things with that more. Roxanne didn’t want a diamond falling out. ”I’m perfectly healthy thank you. Plus, you could use someone rather thin to squeeze through a tight situation.” Obviously a lame joke. As her hand dropped she noticed the ring herself and tried to switch it from one hand to the other without anyone noticing. Her smile faded into a soft look as her eyes grew a little darker. A solemn bite was taken into the other half of her sandwich.

She sent a halfway glance at Lily and grinned softly. It was a little harder to smile as she had switched the rings. After this she may go check a few things then disappear into her quarters. Even she began to chew a little slower with smaller bites. But she tried to put on a brave face like nothing was wrong. As she kept her eyes down she addressed George. ”If you need a volunteer, just ask. Probably easier to run it with two hands then one I assume.” It’d also give her a bit of time to put off unpacking her own things. As she leaned back in her chair she caught wind of what George added to the end and nearly chocked on her food laughing. As she grabbed a napkin to half cough and half laugh into she shook her head until her airway cleared. Next she wiped the tears form her eyes from her choking and laughing spree. ”Nice slip in there George.”

[lilyzhang]

Looking only mildly worried, Lily gave the coughing Roxanne a few light pats on the back, before turning her attention to George. Though she hadn't really spoken with the ship's doctor so far, he seemed to be a pleasant sort, and Lily supposed they shared at least a small similarity. They both fixed things up, albeit in different ways, and they both had a quickfire way of speaking.

With a big smile, she nodded in response to the medic's question, and swallowed the mouthful of bread she'd been chewing over. In her hurry to be rid of the peanutty wedge, the girl winced it down, nearly getting herself into the same trouble as Roxanne just had. Afterwards, though, her smile returned, conveying the teenager's obvious enthusiasm for the ship.

“Can't say as though I can complain, from a mechanic's point of view, y'know?” Lily said brightly. Reaching across the table, she poured herself a much-needed glass of water. “I mean, everyone knows Fireflies aren't the newest or fanciest ships out, but this one's in solid condition, far as I can tell.”

The girl took a sip of from the glass, then placed it down again as a thought came to mind. “Like, if you got a patient who was pushing on in years, but was otherwise in pretty good health? That's kinda like the Orlando, I think.”

With that, the mechanic took a big swig of water, all the better to flush away the last traces of peanut butter. Then - as though she'd just remembered something - she sat up a bit straighter in her chair. Looking a little more serious now, she turned her attention up the table, her gaze fixing on Roxanne and Ben.

“Mind you, there was that problem with the com, wasn't there?” She asked, a glint of appraisal in her eyes. “I don't think it's anything to worry about, but I can double check it, if either of you like?”

Despite her query, there wasn't a hint of timidity or nervousness in Lily's voice. Even though she was the youngest member of the Orlando's crew, and she generally liked to be tinkering with machines, that didn't mean she was going to be shy of mingling.

After all, while he projected an air of command and confidence, Ben didn't seem mean or scary. As such, Lily wasn't at all fazed by the Captain, though that could have been because she didn't know too much about his background. She was too young to know everything of the war and the tales that came from it.

As for Roxanne, well; who could dislike the chipper pilot, or feel uncomfortable around her? She seemed to have a natural way with people, coupled with a genuine passion for her work. In short, she was real nice.

Thinking on all of this, Lily took a sip took a sip of her water, and sat back more comfortably. Once this was done, she'd want to have another look in the engine room. For now though, she'd relax!

[benbarrow]

“Mind you, there was that problem with the com, wasn't there? I don't think it's anything to worry about, but I can double check it, if either of you like?”

"Yeah." Ben replied. "I seem to be transmitting, but I'm not receiving anything. I want you to take a look at all the coms before we reach St. Alban's, make sure they all work.

Ben knew that they couldn't afford one single screw-up during the job. If just one of them wouldn't do their part, or screwed up, the job was likely to go south and they'd all be pretty much humped. The timing had to be just right for this, and that meant that the coms all had to work flawlessly.

Ben then turned to George. The guy had been busy the entire time, and he hadn't found a bunk for himself yet apparently.

"George, get some rest after dinner." Ben said. "You've done enough for the day, and there's not much you can do until we reach St. Alban's. There's a room right next to the infirmary which you can make your own, I suggest you take that one."