Maiden voyage

[Ari Deschain]

ooc: Okay, there are two reasons I'm making this thread.
1: We have a new member, Pit, and he is going to be a passenger on the Lenore. I'd like him to get to know everyone.
2: Clearly we are missing quite a few people, and I'd like us to have something to do with some of our characters while we are waiting to start on the kidnapping plot with Arabella (she will be back soon, apparently. she just got married!), plus the crew of the Lenore would do well to get to know each other a little better anyway. Sooo, anyone who is on the Lenore can join in!
This thread takes place after the Captain (presumably) goes with the plan and the Lenore takes off on its way to rescue Bella. So they're out in the black for a little while.
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It had been a long, exhausting day for the mechanic of the Lenore. The ship was making its first voyage, and there were bound to be some technical difficulties. It took every shred of mechanical knowledge Ari had to fix some of the problems that were cropping up, but the work was her passion and she loved every satisfying minute of it. Coated in engine oil and sweat, she had taken a quick, hot shower and changed into some casual clothes before traipsing down to the galley. As she went, she brushed her damp hair back behind her ears. She couldn't be bothered with styling it; the woman rarely worried about what she looked like.

It was a shame the ship she'd brought back to life was taking its first trip to an Alliance planet so the people aboard could attempt to rescue one of their own. There was a dark shadow hanging over the crew, and everyone seemed grumpy all the time. She'd hardly even seen Connor since the Captain had okayed the journey, and it upset her that there was already a rift between some of the crew. This was not how she had foreseen the beginning of the Lenore's adventures.

As she entered, she at first thought the kitchen was empty. As a result, she startled a little when movement caught her attention. Hand flying to her hip instinctively, although she actually did not have her gun on her person for once, she looked over. It was only Pit, seated at a chair one the other side of the large table. Her hand moved from hip to chest as she breathed in deep to catch her breath. "Pit. Didn't see ya there." The man had been the last addition to their ship, a passenger that would be staying with them for an undetermined amount of time. He was quiet and kept to himself, mostly, but Ari had an idea he'd open up after a few weeks with the crew out in the black. Life on a ship could be tedious at the best of times, and she knew he had to crave some kind of human attention.

She wandered to the cabinets, rifling through their food supply before finally drawing out a protein bar and an apple. They were lucky to have scored some fresh fruit before they left; Ari was definitely enjoying the change in diet. She set her food and a glass of water on the table in front of Pit, then sat with crossed legs, her feet propped up on the chair. She set the protein bar to the side before cutting into the apple with her knife. No, Ari had not been there in the trenches when some of the Alliance had given her Independent brethren some booby-trapped fruit, but she had definitely heard about it. Word about something like that travels fast, and old habits died hard. She popped a section of apple into her mouth and chewed, studying the mystery of a man across from her. "How've you been? You likin' the ship?"

[pit]

The journey thus far had been long and uneventful, despite having heard various arguments and shouts from the decks around him. The word on the street was that the Lenore was more than new, that it didn't stand a chance to stay up in the black, and more importantly, that the woman who had bought the thing wasn't capable of captaining it. Of course, on Persephone, words meant little to people who were bright, and meant even less to Pit. He knew it was the ship to board the moment he saw it, despite lacking the explanation even for himself. Up until now, he'd been very careful to stay in his own room, sticking to his own rations, as few and far between as they had become.

And now, he was out. It wasn't really within his nature to ask for food, but he assumed that perhaps if he waited long enough, he could go about it in a way that presented himself as more than a simple beggar. So, he sat for an hour or two, simply observing the mechanical 'breathing' of the ship, those little creaks and pops that were unique to each ship. Granted, the Lenore had more creaks, pops, and sounds of parts coming free than most ships, but that was part of the charm. He found it even more interesting that if something particularly loud happened behind the walls of the ship, it was only a matter of moments before a thickly accented young woman would brazenly shout about said part angrily. Even Pit couldn't help but chuckle under his breath, keeping a warm smile on his face as he heard her approach. When she instinctively reached for a gun, he lifted his hands with a playful look of fear.

"Don't shoot! I'm just hungry."

He watched her retrieve the fresh fruit, a tiny little smirk pulling on the edges of his lips as he observed her taking her seat and working at the apple with her knife. He glanced towards her a few moments, simply remaining silent until she spoke to him. He looked up with a genuine smile, nodding his head once as he spoke.

"It certainly is a ship full of character."

His dark eyes took in the eyepatch a moment, careful not to stare, before he motioned towards the apple and the protein bar almost cautiously.

"I...do not mean to be out of place in asking, but...may I have some of the rations on board this ship? I seem to have run short much sooner than I expected to. Please accept my apologies."

His words were very well spoken, but there was that tiny lilt of an accent at the end of some of his words. He was very genuine with his words and motions, and generally kept an air of respect wherever he could. He remained silent a few moments, focused on the apple in her hand once more before he cleared his throat.

"You are Ari, yes?

[Ari Deschain]

As he joked with her, she felt ashamed for reaching for her weapon. It was just instinctive; it wasn't as if an enemy could sneak onto their ship very easily while they were flying through space. She chuckled with a shake of her head. "I guess hunger's too innocent ta warrant a shootin'." Ari didn't comment on the fact that he had no food before him on the table. Some folks liked to pray before their meals, although Ari never did put any stock into that nonsense.

When she asked him about the ship, she took his response as a compliment. To the mechanic, character was a good thing, an endearing thing. Nodding, she popped another piece of fruit into her mouth and let her good eye roam the room fondly. "Aye, she's well worth the blood, sweat an' tears." Since her attention was on the ship, she didn't notice him glancing at her patch. Good thing, too. The mechanic didn't wear it often, but she was extremely self-conscious about it when she did. Harsh words and harsher blows had been exchanged in defense of her eye.

The mechanic had not known, of course, that Pit had been eating his own rations. Everyone on the ship had access to the food in the kitchens, as long as they didn't horde any of it away. It was not until he asked her for food that she realized he why he had no food on the table. Her mouth dropped open in an unflattering manner and she slapped her palm to her forehead. "Wuh de ma, Pit! You haven't been eatin' out the galley?" She stood, her chair clattering in her haste, and went to the cabinet. When she returned, she had quite a few protein bars and some fruit besides. "You're on the ship, you're crew. You eat what you want, as long's you don't stuff it down or overdo it. This should replace some 'f what you ate o' your own. I'm sorry ya didn't know."

She sat back down, shaking her head. Obviously she was not cut out to be a captain, which was why she'd given the position to someone else. Shame Conner didn't seem to have covered the basics of food consumption with Pit. "And yeah, I'm Ari. Ari Deschain, mechanic." They'd met when he had boarded, but he may not remember what it was she did on the ship. After all, they'd not seen a whole lot of each other. Pit seemed to keep to himself and Ari was in the engine room a lot of the time.

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wuh de ma - mother of god

[phantomseige]

[[OOC - just gonna jump on in cause I have time finally lol]]

Leighton looked over the infirmary, sorted for the fourth - or was it the fifth - time today. The journey to the core had left the doctor with little to do other than prepare for the worse, and after the scolding he had received at the beginning of the journey, he was fairly certain that letting the crew get over their anger out of his presence was probably better than pursuing the issue.

And so he sorted. He had pondered doing a blood test on himself just to have something else on his plate, but that would have been a waste of supplies, cheap as they may have been. So he just sorted and cleaned before hopping up on the gurney for a moment's rest.

After sitting on the gurney and staring off into space for a good five minutes, the doctor decided that his self-imposed exile was no longer fruitful in the infirmary. At least in his room there were books and other ways of keeping himself entertained. But first, he thought, food was in order. He hopped off the gurney, grabbed the lab coat off of the counter and threw it on simply to keep from having to carry it, and headed towards the kitchen.

When he arrived, he noticed two people there: Ari and their passenger who was helping to defray some of the cost of the journey. He had heard the man's name once; it was Paul or Pit or Pete or something, but in the couple of days since the ship started its journey, the doctor had managed to forget. He let off a polite smile at the two in lieu of a proper greeting, and headed behind the counter.

It was the typical fare: meal bars, some pieces of fresh fruit, of which he grabbed an apple and vaguely considered the archaic cliche from Earth-that-was: if an apple a day kept the doctor away, what would happen if a doctor ate one himself? He debated for a moment before grabbing one of the bars as well; he hadn't eaten all day, and even though the bars left something to be desired in the gourmet department, they still did their job of nutrition.

He then turned and grabbed a mug from a nearby cabinet, thrusting it under the machine responsible for the passable coffee onboard. A couple of button-clicks, the machine sputtered to life for a moment, and then stopped with a gurgling, not unlike a stabbed and dying animal.

"Piece of gou shi," he muttered under his breath before stopping, glancing over at the two at the table. "Er...sorry," he offered politely, apologizing for his impoliteness. "It's just...the machine, and it..."

Leighton stopped himself and turned back to the machine, fiddling with a couple of the buttons, trying to keep himself from making more of an ass of himself in front of the two.

[haven]

Haven was in the infirmary nursing a wound. Her arm had a gash from her attempts at sprucing up her room. She had some old porcelain items she had gotten over the years. But before she could get the stick down on the bookshelf that was in there, one of the figurines fell off the bed and smashed. As she tried to clean up, she didn’t see the piece wrapped up in the blanket. It ripped the fabric and punctured her skin. After taking care of the rest, she went to the infirmary. Leighton wasn’t around so she took care of herself.

It’s not like it was that hard. She just hoped she wouldn’t get in trouble by Leighton for doing this on her own. The gauze she found she used to wrap over the cut to protect it from infection. She didn’t feel like doing a quick stitch at all. Haven preferred it old school.

As she applied the last of the gauze and secured it, Haven finished what she had to clean up and walked out whistling. She’d finish her room later. Right now she was craving some liquids to sooth her thirst. But what she didn’t expect when entering the galley was to see a full bunch of people. One face she didn’t quite recognize was a gentleman sitting at the table. She nodded her head at everyone in the room as she reached for the faucet to put some water into a cup. Her body found it’s was to sit upon the counter. No one was making food nor eating on it, so Haven used it as a seat instead.

After she waved to Leighton, she faced the new guy. ”Hey there. I’m Haven. Sorry I haven’t been around to see you board, but I’ve been busy.” There was a bit of distance between them so she didn’t offer a hand to shake of anything. Just a make shift greeting of raising her cup to him. Her eyes found Ari as she asked the question weighing down. ”How goes the search for Alliance Brat? Found where she resides yet?” There was a bit of sarcasm in her tone. Haven did not like Arabella at all. Mainly because she was born and raised a snob, but trying to pass off as one of them. And the fact she hadn’t told anyone when meeting them or boarding irked her a bit. But because they all saw her as part of the crew, they were going on a suicide mission. Not exactly her dream first job.

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OOC: Yes I did! So I'll be popping up with my new name in the chat :]

[radegrasan]

"Great. As if we weren't humped enough already." Rade thought when he opened the Lenore's weapons locker. All that he could find was a lever action rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun that looked like they had seen better days.

He closed the lit and then started walking toward the kitchen to get a quick drink, and then it was on to the cockpit where he had been residing the past couple of days.

Rade hadn't been in his bunk since Bella got taken. He just couldn't get to sleep knowing his friend was out there missing. He hadn't exactly been himself either since.

He got to the kitchen just in time to hear Haven call Bella an 'Alliance brat', which ticked Rade off. It was almost as if she was laughing with the whole thing, as if Bella didn't matter at all. He decided he wasn't going to take it and teach Haven a little lesson on his own.

Rade got in behind Haven and pulled the necklace of the cross she wore back so it would more or less choke her and render her incapable. He pulled Haven's body close to his, feeling the curves of her behind to the front of his body and then Rade drew his gun placing the barrel under her chin.

He put his head next to hers, so close he could smell the conditioner she had used to wash her hair, and so close she could feel the warmth of his breath.

"Now listen here you jien hwo!" Rade said. "Her name is Arabella, and that is exactly how you will be referring to her from now on, and that is exactly how you will call her when we get her back! Dohn luh mah, bright eyes?"

Somewhere deep in the back of his head Rade knew that this display of agression toward Haven was uncalled for, but actually care he did not. He had become cold and ruthless since Arabella was taken and he wasn't going to take crap from anyone, whether it was directed at him or Arabella. All that mattered was getting her back, and Rade was going to go far out of his way to accomplish that.

[OOC: Jien hwo: cheap floozy. Dohn luh mah: Are we clear?]

[haven]

Haven found a bit of paper on the counter and began to fiddle with it. It was only a scrap bit and didn’t seem anything important. Plus, kept her bit of jitterness subsided. She hadn’t been on a boat in ages and her manners and body language were showing it. The only people she knew very well were the ones a bit rough around the edges. Being around a crew who were used to being on a crew weren’t exactly ideal situations for her.

Nor when she found herself hurling quickly.

Before she even had time to blink, Haven found herself pinned back against solid flesh and a gun to her own skin. She couldn’t even turn to see who it was until Rade spoke.

Haven rolled her eyes in disbelief. This was not how she wanted to be treated by anyone. But not like she had a choice. She had no weapon on her and he was a might stronger then she was. ”Whatever. But no one’s exactly told me her story besides she ran away a friggin bit ago. So either you tell me or I’ll just keep with my thought that she is some Alliance haughty.” That was how far she was calling her until someone gave her the truth.

Haven finally struggled her way out of his arms. Took a moment and all her strength, but when she did she turned and faced her. ”You may defend her all you want, but the Alliance are the reason I couldn’t even do what I wanted so my parents wouldn’t lose their business. So excuse me if I don’t exactly trust anyone with an Alliance background.” Haven’s full out witch side was out now. And Rade would be spared no expense.

[phantomseige]

Leighton stared at the damned coffee machine just long enough to ignore the argument behind him, until it turned physical. He turned to see Rade with a gun trained on his nurse. It was an unreal scene, and Leighton had no clue what to even make of it.

It was Haven's voice that finally snapped him out of his thoughts. He stepped forward and put a hand on Rade's shoulder.

"Rade," he said quietly, "I know this is a bad time for all of us, but we can't be like this." He looked at Haven and smiled slightly before putting his hand on Rade's gun arm and gently urging it down. "We're a crew here, Rade. All of us. And if we can't trust each other, if we're angry at each other, and at each other's throats like this, then we won't get her back. The Alliance will win and it will be the end of all of us."

Leighton took a deep breath, trying to not let his nerves get in the way. "Besides, I need someone to fix this machine for me, because I'm hopeless. Think you can do that for me?" He smirked, hoping the humor would allay Rade's anger.

[radegrasan]

Somehow, for some reason, what Leighton said mattered to Rade. Ever since he first met him in that bar back on Persephone, they'd had gotten along.

Rade lowered his gun, he knew he was wrong in drawing it but still, he'd appreciate it if Haven would show some respect.

"We're all purple somehow Haven." Rade said. "Even the great Independent hero Ben Barrow came from an Alliance family."

Rade sighed and walked over to the coffeemachine. Somehow he wondered where in the 'Verse the doc got it in his mind that he was an authority in fixing coffeemachines. Although it didn't take long before Rade noticed what the problem was.

"You might wanna try putting coffee in the machine before you turn it on, doc." Rade said.

He then walked over to the fridge, Rade himself needed something cool to drink. And coffee would just make him more edgy than he already was. He took a can of Sun cola from it, and also noticed that yet again some of the food had gone missing. Either there was some kind of ghost aboard the ship, or someone had been stuffing his or her face when everyone else was sleeping.

Rade didn't think too much of it, and closed the fridge. But when he tried to open the lit of the can, it broke, rendering the can useless.

"Aah, gorram piece of tzao gao!" Rade said. "Can't something go as it should be for just once???"

In his frustration Rade threw the can through the door, into the corridor that led to the cargobay.

*THUD*

"Oof!"

A dull thud sound and some unknown voice saying "Oof", followed by the sound of a body collapsing onto the floor was heard.

In his surprise, Rade could only come up with one single question:

"What was that?"

[penny]

Carefully Penny walked down the ship, making sure she wasn't seen nor heard. She had been on the Lenore for days now, and figured the time had come to make her presence known to its crew. There was no way in the 'Verse they'd take her back to Persephone now.

She had listened in on the crew speaking several times, and she knew what was going on. One of their own had been taken, and they were going to get her back. Penny figured this was a good thing. At least this crew wasn't afraid of danger, making the chance of them willing to help free Patrick even bigger.

She carefully moved through the dark corridor that led to the kitchen of the ship. The door was open, and even though Penny could see everyone, they were unable to see her.

She was just in time to see the argument between the nurse and Rade transpiring. Apparently Rade was standing up for his friend that had gone missing.
Penny was glad to see that Rade still knew what loyalty to friends meant, and hoped he'd show the same loyalty to her, and if he'd still be loyal to Patrick, to him too.

When Rade was calmed down by the doctor of the ship, she lost focus on him for a moment, taking a look at how the other crewmembers reacted to the incident. Unfortunately for her, doing so caused her not to see the can of Sun cola flying towards her head.

The can hit Penny right between the eyes. She was able to let a small cry of pain out before it was lights out for her.

Penny then fell to the ground unconscious, not knowing how the crew of the Lenore would react to her sudden presence.

[haven]

Haven sighed. People here didn’t know Haven. She was opinionated and whether they liked it or not, they’d have to learn to deal with it. Haven hoped off the counter now that she was released. ”Just because we may all come from some sort of purple doesn’t mean we all are purple.” She started to walk out of the kitchen she turned at the doorway. ”My problem is she wasn’t honest about it to this crew. You may have known, but none of us did. Now we are the ones going on some sort of rescue mission.”

As she started out, an object flew by her. Haven pushed herself against the wall as her eyes flew shut. She hadn’t heard Rade as he fiddled with the coffee machine-due to her tuning him out-so she had no clue where this item had come from. That’s where she heard an ”Oof” followed by a thud. Haven opened her eyes and looked around. A little ways off there was a lump on the ground. Haven moved her way forward cautiously.

It was a girl. Haven tilted her head. She was passed out. Despite not knowing who or where she came from, Haven knelt on the ground to check her pulse. There was already a bruise-maybe a knot-forming on her forehead. It took a moment to find it, but there was a pulse. Haven shouted towards the kitchen. ”Doc! We got a girl here passed out here! And she ain’t part of this crew so someone may want to get the captain!” Haven began to asses the girl. She was breathing with a strong pulse. Haven reached for the knife at her ankle just in case this wasn’t a friendly person.

[phantomseige]

Leighton ran into the hallway and saw the girl passed out. He bent down, checking the basic vital signs, and noticed some blood in the girl's hair. "She's not too bad, but we should still take care of this," Leighton said. He ran to the kitchen, grabbed a napkin, and ran back, putting pressure on the bleeding cut on her head.

"Someone go get a gurney from the infirmary," he ordered, his voice finding its cold center as he focused on the matter at hand. "And I need some water for her if she wakes up." He looked over for any more injuries but couldn't see any.

"And," Leighton added after a moment, "if someone would mind keeping a gun on her - I don't think she belongs here, and I'd prefer if she didn't try something tricky on my watch."

[radegrasan]

Rade followed Leighton in with his revolver drawn, but holstered it again as soon as he saw who was lying on the floor in front of him.

It was Penny McAllister, one of the people he grew up with back on Persephone, and sister of Rade's old pal Patrick McAllister. He knew she had turned into a thief when her brother got imprisoned, and chances were she was there to burglarize the place. Although Rade wasn't too sure of that. Penny would never steal from Rade though, there was too much history between the two of them, although there was a chance of course she had no idea he was on the ship.

Rade crossed his arms and waited to see what the doctor had to tell with a smirk smile on his face. If Penny was indeed there to burglarize the place, he had caught her in the act by throwing the can to her head.

When Leighton asked to bring a gurney and water, Rade got an idea. Penny could forget about the gurney, but the water she was getting very definately.

Rade walked over to the kitchen sink and filled a cup with water. He then walked over to where Penny was taking a forced nap.

"Here's how we handle a situation like this on Persephone, doc." Rade said, and then threw the water in Penny's face.

[penny]

Penny immediately woke up from getting the water in her face and sat up straight as she tried to get an idea of what happened. Right now she was surrounded by people. One of them being her old friend Rade.

She had been made, not exactly the entrance she had in mind, but as good as any. She felt that her face was wet, and felt the drops still rolling over her face, down to her chin where they fell onto her green army style jacket.

Penny saw that Rade was looking at her with a smirk smile on his face, while the other man and woman looked at her with certain surprise. Rade was also holding a cup, and Penny immediately knew that he was the one who threw the water in her face.

"Gorrammit Rade!" Penny yelled. "That's the second time!"

The first time that it happened was a couple of years before, when Penny's brother wasn't imprisoned yet, and he held a party with his gang and everyone else that was invited. Penny was passed out at the party, and Rade and their common friend Kate decided to wake her up by throwing water in her face, with the expected results.

"Gang, meet Penny McAllister." Rade said. "One of Persephone's most skilled thieves who, for her sake, isn't here for that exact same reason."

"Don't worry Rade." Penny answered. "I'm not here for that. Ain't nothing here worth stealing anyway."

Penny tried getting up but immediately sat back down again as it made her dizzy, and it made her head hurt. She touched her forehead and felt a lump on it.

"Ouch." Penny said. "I can only assume this is your handywork Rade?"

"What makes you say that?" Rade asked with a smirk on his face.

"Ain't no one else that aims that good." Penny answered.

Rade then turned to Leighton. Maybe he still wanted to examine Penny, just in case.

"Don't worry doc. She's cool." Rade reassured Leighton. "But if you want to examine her, she's all yours."

Penny looked up to the guy Rade called doc. Her head really hurt and if he could do anything to make it lighter it'd be more than welcome.

"I could do with some ice." Penny said. "And some painkillers, if you got any."

[haven]

Haven nodded as Leighton made his observations. She was quick to her feet and to the infirmary. The thing about her being a nurse was her instincts. She piled on the gurney some bandages just in case, a bin with water and a cloth to better clean the cut to look at it. She just hoped someone got her some water because there weren’t any cups in the infirmary.

Haven got back and lowered the gurney to the ground before suddenly there was water everywhere. Haven leapt back as some of it splattered on to her. ”Really!” It wasn’t much but more the shock of it. She stood up and back against one of the walls. What was going on-she wasn’t sure. All she knew was within five minutes she had a gun to her, found a trespasser and had gotten second splatter on her. This wasn’t how she planned on her day going, but here nothing ever seemed to go as planned.

An eyebrow arched has she sighed. ”You allergic to any meds or will just any old pain killer do?” Haven was going to need one for her migraine soon enough at this point.