spring is planetside

[benbarrow]

Ben believed Roxanne. And understood what she had to do as well. After the war he brought some stuff back to families from soldiers who died under his command, some who even died in his arms. So he knew what it was like. And if they had to divert their course for Beaumonde a little, he was more than willing to do so.

"Okay Roxie." Ben said. "No problem. And take as long as you need to when we're there. No rush."

Ben remembered Greenleaf from when he was stationed there during the war. It was a world with a large tropical belt, with massive jungles and forests. It was an important world to have during the war, because the jungles were filled with species of plants with medicinal properties, and many pharmaceutical companies had set up there. As a result, some of the population had set up a black market for it also, resulting in the Alliance clamping down on landing restrictions. But Ben had no idea what it was like there since the Uprising. In any case, he knew that the weather there was hot and moist all year long.

"Alright, Greenleaf it is then." Ben said to everyone. "Hope you all own a pair of shorts and T-shirts."

[roxanne]

Roxanne was glad that Ben didn’t have a problem with the divergence off the path he wanted. She wasn’t going to stop them from seeing this Minerva character. She’d just be a little out of it and probably not the best person to go see Minerva with Ben. She’d stay behind in the ship or walk around the planet a little. Anything to keep her mind off what was happening.

Her movements became almost robotic. She nodded as her body seemed to get up from the couch all on it’s own. ”Thanks Ben.” Roxanne’s feet moved her out of the room as her breathing became shallow and rapid. Her eyes couldn’t focus on anything as she moved through the kitchen and halls to get to her room, near the cockpit. All she wanted was to get away from everyone as she crawled into her room.

[benbarrow]

"Poor thing..." Ben thought as he watched Roxanne leave the room.

It all started to make sense now, why she seemed absent some of the times. Also, Ben now know that the ring Roxanne wore around her finger was probably an engagement ring, and that the one who gave it to her was the very person whose stuff she was returning. He just hoped it would give her some closure.

Yet, Roxanne's sudden departure from the room had troubled him a bit. Normally he would've gone after her himself but there were other things he needed to first. He was their captain first, and their friend second after all.

Instead, Ben gave George a nod that said 'go after her and see what's going on'. He knew Roxanne and George were getting close as of late, and George would probably be the best person to go talk to her.

He then turned to JD. He had a job for the young weapons' expert.

"JD, I'm making you the ship's quartermaster." Ben said. "I want you to take some guns from the crates and turn one of the passenger dorms into an armory."

Ben reached for his front chest pocket and took a note he had written out of it and handed it over to JD.

"I wrote down what I want you to gather for the armory." Ben said. "It should all be there. Just make sure the guns are in good condition as you take them."

The note:

- 10 low calibre handguns (.22's - .45's, revolvers, pistols, just see what you can find)
- 10 high calibre handguns (.44's - .50's)
- 5 submachineguns (MP5's preferably)
- 5 machineguns (I saw a couple of M60's, a Browning .30 and a deployable .50, make sure you grab them)
- 5 assault rifles (3 AK47's, 2 M16's preferably)
- 5 shotguns (4 pump-action, 1 double-barrelled)
- 5 long range rifles (M21's, M24's, I saw one .50 sniper rifle, make sure you grab it)

There's a lot of loose cartridges and clips in there. I want you to grab those as well.

If there's anything else I left out, or anything you want for yourself, you can grab that too.

[parkesy]

JD's cowing down on the chocolate came to a sudden halt, when Ben made Roxxie explain why she wanted to go to greenleaf.
JD wouldn't have made her tell them things, that she obviously didn't want to share. But that's supposedly why JD isn't captain material. He's to soft.
'I suppose he needs to know. You never know what she would have wanted to do. Not that i think she woul ddo anything behind our backs.' He though, as he continued to munch away at the bar.

Roxxie looked upset as she left the room. She didn't seem to have the balance she had earlier, But JD knew there was nothing he could do or say to her to help her along. Luckily he noticed Ben's nod to George.

He finished his chocolate bar, just as Ben turned to him. He hadn't a clue what the ship's quartermaster meant. All he knew, that right now, Ben wanted him to sort out a few guns, and put them into one of the dorms. Guns, he could do. Sorting something into a neat, and tidy area...not so much. But luckily, it was to do with guns. JD had always wanted to have an armoury. His Dad had been completely against it. He had taught his son every thing he knows about guns, but never really wanted him to follow it up as a career. Well, that seems to have backfired a little bit.
"Sure thing." He said taking the note, and giving it a quick once over. From the note, all he really was interested in, was the 50. cals. He doesn't own any. Only got to use one a couple of times, hopefully there are some more 50.'s that Ben doesn't want for the armoury.

He stood up, shoving the chocolate wrapper in his back pocket, and giving a little stretch. "We got anything I could use for a rack?", He asked, actually taking an interest in making something tidy. Tidiness goes against his nature. His room back on Triumph was a tip. And his bunk will probably be too pretty soon too. He just hasn't had much time to mess it up yet.

He was about to Leave the room himself, when he turned around quickly, and reached down next to where he was sat. He had forgotten his pistols. This was uncharacteristic of JD, as it is very, very rare that you see him with out some kind of firearm on him.

With the holster strapped back on, he proceeded to do his newly appointed job. This is one job that JD could do. other than shooting things of course.

His route through the corridors and rooms to get to the cargo bay where event less. No one was about. Ben was still in the living area, Roxxie, disappeared somewhere, presumably, George followed and Robin must still be asleep. He got to the cargo bay, filled with crates, all stacked up, and laid out as out of the way as possible, but even so, JD had to step up and over a few of them.
He gave a sigh, and looked around at all the crates the had hauled.
"Where to start." he muttered to himself, before kicking open a nearby crate. After searching through it, it wielded no results. Just a few old carbine rifles. Nothing of real interest.
The same went for the following few crates, until he came across a rather interesting one. A crate full off shotguns. gotta hand it to the alliance, they keep there stuff organized. He took out all the guns Ben wanted, and took one for himself. A Spaz 12 shotgun.
JD looked it over for a little while, to see if it is just a replica, or an original. It was very worn, but the serial number was still visible.
"Oh that's mine!" He said, after realizing that it was indeed an original, probably from the earth that was itself. He handled it as though it was a newborn baby.

The rest of the crates, held no surprises. No 50.cal's that interested him. But at least he got all the guns that Ben wanted for the armoury. And to further the Alliance's organisation, all of the ammunition where held in separate crates, which made it easier for JD.

He sorted all of the guns into separate crates. The SMG's in one, rifles in another, and so on.
Carrying them two at a time, to the passenger quaters, and sliding them into an empty room, before heading back to get the rest. The whole time, all he could think about was the spaz 12, but feeling disappointed that there wasn't much else that he wanted for himself.

Coming back for the last crate, he accidentally knocked over a stack of crates, spilling the contents onto the floor.
He froze in awe, at what he had discovered. He didn't even know that these guns where used in the war. A gorram m134 minigun.
He couldn't believe his eyes, JD had wanted one of these all his life. The way it worked, the damage it could cause, the sound of keeping it spooled alone. But the catch was, that there was only one ammo belt for it.
It wasn't as though he could use it for many jobs. It was to big and heavy for decent movement, so he would probably get hit...But in JD's mind, it would be totally worth it, just to use this beast.
He placed everything back in their crates, and tried to take the minigun crate with the last crate at the same time. But the wieght of the M134 was too much, even for him. So he had to come back for that.

He simply piled all the crates, into the makeshift armoury, so he could get his new 'babies' to his room, and just stare at them for the rest of the day.

[benbarrow]

As soon as everybody left the room, Ben stood up as well. It was time for some well earned coffee.

He walked to the kitchen and started making some. From down below he could hear JD talking to himself. Apparently he had found what he was looking for himself.

As soon as the coffee was done, Ben took a cup and poured some in it along with milk and a lot of sugar, just the way he liked. He then decided to go check on JD.

He walked down to where he told JD to make the makeshift armory, and looked in. JD had done a neatly job apparently. Only thing that was missing was racks to put the guns in. But he could buy and install them as soon as they docked on Persephone.

"Nice job, JD." Ben said.

He then put his cup of coffee down and grabbed one of the AK47's. He took the loader out of it, and then put it back, cocking the weapon.

"Can you believe this model of assault rifle is almost 500 years old?" Ben asked. "They say it's the best one ever made. You can leave it in a corner and have it rust for 50 years, and it'll still fire. Hell, I even heard it'll still fire underwater."

Ben then put the AK47 down and grabbed one of the M16's. Ben had a history with this assault rifle, as it was the one he used the entire time during the war.

"But I'll trade an AK47 for a good ol' M16 anyday." Ben said. "Okay, given, the original version has been known to jam from time to time, yet that doesn't really matter if you know how much you can have this baby upgraded. I used one like this during the war, and upgraded it with stuff I bought from my pay, or won during card games. Flashlights, laserpointers, optical scopes, 50 round magazine drums, hell you can even upgrade this puppy with an M203 grenade launcher."

Ben took the clip out of the gun and checked if it was fine. It looked in prime condition, just like the rest of the gun. He then aimed down the sight to see if there were any irregularities, but there weren't. Ben decided to keep the M16 to himself.

"I think I'll keep this baby for myself." Ben said. "You wouldn't mind grabbing another one for the armory, would ya JD?"

The last question was kinda rhetorical. Of course JD wouldn't mind. He couldn't, even if he did. But Ben guessed JD shared the sort of same interest for guns, so he'd understand.

Ben then saw a minigun laying down on the floor. He hadn't seen one of those since the war. They could be carried, but also be mounted. Unfortunately Ben noticed that the minigun wasn't complete, and it appeared to be broken. He sat down on one knee to check it.

"Nice find!" Ben said as he took a closer look at the minigun. "But unfortunately it's broken. See where the belt is broken through?"

Ben pointed at a part in the belt where the rest of it was apparently ripped off. Probably due to an explosion of sorts.

"Also, it's missing the backpack that contains the bullets." Ben continued. "And parts for this sort of gun are rare on the borderworlds, and if you can find one you can bet it'll be expensive."

Ben then put the minigun itself vertical on the ground, and gave it a closer look. Other than the parts it was missing, it appeared to be in pristine condition.

"But I think..." Ben said. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's still useable. We'll talk to Robin as soon as she wakes up. Maybe we can come up with a way to have this thing mounted on the mule."

Ben then carefully put the minigun back down, grabbed the M16, and then turned to JD.

"Did you remember also to take a ballistic vest for yourself yesterday?" Ben asked.

[parkesy]

JD was sat on the floor, with the minigun laid out in front of him. He seemed to be checking it over, with a concerned look on his face. He knew some things where missing, but he didn't know exactly what, because he had never seen one, let alone tinker with it.

At this point ben walked in, and complimented him on a job well done. He wasn't going to tell him how easy it was, due to the Alliances sorting. He'd rather take the credit, than give it to the scum of the verse.

Ben began telling JD of the histories of the AK-47 and M16. JD never had much use for assault rifles. If he wanted range, he'd just use a bolt action, and for close range, it was the pistols, a shotgun or an SMG. But he knew the uses of them, and had learnt all he could off of his dad's old AK.
"Yeah, my Dad has an AK. He used that in the war too, but his had markings on the handle and grip. Looked pretty cool".

Ben wanted one of the M16's for himself, and asked JD to fetch another for the armoury. Which is fair enough, he is the captain afterall. "Sure thing man, I'll go in a bit. You want me to route around for anything to put on that.", He asked, nodding toward Ben's M16. "I think i seen a few of those things you listed in one of the boxes.".
He wasn't entirely sure if they where for M16's but it would hurt to try.

Ben then starting checking out the M134, and pointing out all the broken and missing things on it. JD was impressed with Ben's weaponry knowledge, but thought it was appropriate, saying that the man did fight in the war.
"I don't care how much the parts are for it, i need to get that thing running. I've always wanted one of these things." He told Ben, as he crouched down to check the gun again. "But I want to get it running, if that's ok. Just to see how it works.".
Ben could not understand how much this gun, and guns in general meant to JD. he doesn't feel right when he hasn't got one, and has been known to get edgy without one.
A gun to JD is like a baby...but tougher...and can kill things...But like a baby all the same. Most people back home had always laughed at the way he looked after his guns. He actually held affection for the things.

"No need for one." he replied to Ben, unbuttoning his shirt to show he's wearing one. "My dad made sure I had one before i left. He knows what kind of trouble i can get into." He said with a grin. There where more than a few dents in the armour, but nothing that would require a new one.

"So what should we expect when we go to see this Minerva character? She sounds like the kind of person we want to keep happy, if you know what i mean." As much as he loved a fire fight, JD didn't want to tango with almost defiantly more than two people, especially when they know they are there already. IF a fight did break out, things wouldn't look good for the two.

[benbarrow]

Ben smiled at JD's perseverance to repair the minigun. And he thought he was a gun-nut!

"Yeah, you can gather those parts if you want. We'll see what we can use. And of course it's okay to repair the minigun." Ben replied. "As long as you pay for the parts from your own pocket. I reckon you could buy them with the dough we're getting for the guns. Don't expect to have much money afterwards though."

JD was right about Minerva too. Ben never dealed with her himself before, but he heard stories from people that did. People who dealed with her once and then got so scared they never dealed with her again. She did have the reputation to be generous when it came to money, although that generosity came with zero-tolerance for failure.

"We'll want to make Minerva very happy." Ben said. "I've heard stories about that chick, stories that for our own good we better believe. Woman practically owns half of Persephone, and she has more than one politician in her pocket. Also a zero-tolerance for failure and people not living up to the deal. But she pays good money, and with a spot of luck we might be getting double the pay Dunstan was gonna give us. So I want you on your best behavior when we visit her."

Ben then remembered that Minerva also saw herself as an elegant lady, so perhaps dressing up nicely to go visit her would make the deal even go more smooth.

"Now that I think about it," Ben continued. "Your best behavior AND your best clothes."

[parkesy]

"First things first, gotta find the parts in question.." JD replied to Ben's confirmation of letting him fix the gun. He gave the M134 another look over, taking a mental note of all the part's that are missing and broken. Some of the parts look as though they may be able to run without a repair, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
It's no good wishing you fixed it completely, when it conks out on you when a wave of reavers are coming your way.
"I'm not sure of where to go looking for anything for this kind of gun, as you said they are rare.".

'Best clothes?' JD thought. 'what's wrong with what I'm wearing now.' But JD wasn't in the mood for a debate on clothes.
"Hey, Ain't I always good?"He said, with a cheeky grin, "Nah, I got it, and I think i packed a shirt when I left. We got an iron?" He asked, pointing out that even the clothes he was wearing now were creased.
He had never been on for appearances, never really caring what others thought about him because of it. But in this case, he decided it would probably be a good idea to do as Ben says. Don't wanna start anything with this one.

JD placed the M134 in the corner of the room, where it wouldn't get kicked, and finished stacking the boxes, and strapping them in, or else they would probably fall as soon as the ship breaches atmo.
"You reckon Roxie's gonna be ok? she looked pretty down when she left. I mean wouldn't want to be in her shoes. A loved one dying, and even through that, taking said loved ones belongings half way across the black, just to give them to their parents. Must be an emotional roller-coaster for her." JD could never fully understand what she is going through. The only person he got properly close to was his dad. And not many people would count your own parents.
It wasn't because he was anti-social and never met anyone, or because no one liked him. More because there are few settlements, with very few people residing in them. so the friends he did have, where pretty much everybody possible withing the area.

[benbarrow]

Ben was wondering whether or not they had an iron. He saw some appliances under the kitchen sink when he looked around his newly won ship for the first time, maybe an iron was among it.

"Check under the kitchen sink." Ben answered. "There a whole lot of kitchen and household appliances there. Maybe there's an iron in there too."

Ben himself didn't have too much use for an iron though. He didn't care whether or not his clothes were wrinkled, or what people would think. He did have a suit though that he kept in prime condition. He wore it on Persephone in the casino's where he played high stakes poker games. He also wore it on the night when he won the Orlando from its previous owner.

But he didn't like wearing it though. He didn't like the fabrics it was made of and the way it made him look. Not to mention the tie that sort of smothered him as well. He'd only wore it when he had to. Like now. Ben had heard Minerva looked down on people who weren't properly dressed, or dressed like they just came from the border. And he decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

JD then mentioned Roxanne, and how she was doing. Of course Ben understood that kind of loss. He himself hadn't lost any relatives yet, but he had lost a great deal of friends during the war, and after that. And it was even worse if one didn't know what had happen to a certain person, like it was the case with Ben and his friends who robbed with him, went to jail with him, and then escaped and went to war with him. Ben still clang to the hope that he would get them all back one day.

"Roxie will be fine in time." Ben responded. "She'll do much better as soon as she can get some closure. And some distraction. New Dunsmuir's a paradise near the ocean, and if one can't get some distraction there, I don't know where else."

[parkesy]

'Aww, searching.', JD though. He didn't like searching for items. Especially when they are usually of little importance to him. But from the sounds of this Minerva woman, a simply ironing could mean the world to him.

JD was not looking forward to their little encounter with Minerva. He is not very experienced with dealings of that sort. There's one thing that he excelled at, and only one thing that he can offer to the crew of The Orlando. But that thing is something of great importance to jobs. Gun play, He knows that he will defiantly try his best to make it out of their without a tussle.
"I think I'll leave that until we near Persephone.", He said, showing his trait of laziness. "Besides, I got other things to get done.".

Ben's answer to JD's question about Roxie, made him feel a bit better about her situation. In the short time the crew have gotten to know each other, he's grown quiet fond of them, and doesn't wish anything bad upon any of them. "Goodo, I hope she finds what she's looking for on Greenleaf." He said.

"OK, i'll go get sorted then.". He told Ben before leaving the makeshift armoury. 'Should go get that M16 1st' He noted in his head, as he headed back down to the cargo hold.
He had forgotten which cases where which, so he had to search them all again. He was hoping for another awesome find during this search, but nothing came up.
He found an M16, but it was broken up into separate pieces. It didn't take long for him to put the rifle together, and take it back to the armoury, and with the other rifles there.

The armoury now sorted, it's now time for his own guns. Almost every day, he cleans, put bullets in clips, repair any damage that may have occurred. Even his dad used to think JD over did his maintenance, but it was something JD liked to do. It was one of the few things that keeps him on a calm level.
Since his teens JD developed a bit of an angry side to him. Some days he used to just simply in a mood. some days, he would get into fights, Sometime even starting them. So since then he's had to find things to keep him calm.
But back on Triumph, there wasn't much to do at all. So he started to take an interest in guns, a skills that his father was good at himself. He even took a few drugs, that his friends grew, and even began growing some of his own.
All in all, JD's temper had been rather solid of late, and by the looks of things, it shuld stay that way.