Everybody Get Together

[Ilana Logan]

Bellforge
July 10, 2517 - Beaumonde
2:13 P.M Local Time
8:18 A.M A.S.T

Still docked at Longstreet's compound, Ilana made her way through the ship.  She had been woken up earlier than she'd liked by a noise she couldn't define.  She found that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get back to sleep, so she dragged herself out of bed.  She picked out a pair of white cotton pants and a pale yellow fitted t-shirt, and headed for the shower.  Washed, dressed, and feeling a little more awake, she set out across the compound toward the loft she lived in when she worked in the compound.  She cleaned out the remaining things from the small loft she had vacated in a hurry on the day of all the trouble, back when they'd met up with Marcus.  The things she had left there didn't amount to much; some clothes, an extra pair of boots, a few trinkets, and a nice set of sheets she really liked.  She had been in something of a hurry when she had left the last time, so she hadn't taken everything.  As her new home was on the Chainless, she figured that she should have her meager belongings with her, no matter how worthless they may seem to someone else.

The bazaar Morse had taken them to the day before had been interesting, and the food had been good if not great.  She'd had a lot of fun with Ray, though toward the end of their conversation he had gotten a bit hesitant, as though realizing that he was telling her more about himself than he was comfortable with.  The sight seeing had been interesting too, and she'd bought some things that had caught her eye, including the new white pants and pale yellow top she was wearing today.  Ilana didn't normally wear white because of the grease factor in her day to day work, but she wasn't expecting to do much work on the ship today.  Of course that meant that that was exactly what she'd ended up doing.  She'd pulled on a pair of coveralls first, and hadn't gotten any grease on her new outfit before she replaced the reg coupler.  She had been meaning to replace it since Persephone and she just hadn't gotten around to it.  

When she finished with the reg coupler, she washed up, shucked the coveralls and her boots, and took her databook into the lounge.  She curled up on the big comfy couch and started reading Wuthering Heights.  She'd never read this one before, but it was a real old book, and supposed to be good.  She didn't actually get much reading done, between her mind wandering, as it was wont to do, and wondering where the rest of the crew was.  

She was in a mood today.  Not exactly a bad one, but not good either.  She had woken up in a great mood, and her mood had only slightly soured because she was a little lonely.  She wanted someone to talk to, or even just sit with.  She didn't mind being alone most times, but every now and then, she just wanted someone to be with.  Today was one of the every now and then days.  She couldn't concentrate on the book very well, and when she realized she'd read the same paragraph five times, and still hadn't absorbed any of it, she gave up.

She sighed and turned off the databook.  She went into the galley, made herself a glass of tea, dropped some ice in it, and walked back to the lounge.  She reclaimed her seat on the couch and attempted reading again, waiting for the rest of the crew to stir and give her some company.

[Ray Hudson]

Boxes covered most of the floor in the room. Ray had some of Longstreet's workers bring all of his things onto the Chainless so he could move in. The workers got all of his things onto the ship before noon and Ray gave them a few credits for their labor. Ray stood in his new room staring at all of the boxes littered on the floor. Most of them were open and half empty, their contents spread on the bed. Ray had started organizing his room about five times, opening a new box each time. He was an extremely lazy person and he found himself taking several breaks every hour. Ray always had trouble getting started. He sat on the bed staring at all of the boxes and their contents. Each time his mind told him to stand up an get started his body simply refused. 

Ray started to get frustrated with his inability to organize his own room and threw his box cutter at a wall. Hi's anger had always been a problem where a little thing could possibly set him off. Dwelling on his own incompetence was enough to infuriate him and throw a small fit. Some people had suggested anger management but Ray didn't feel comfortable going to those types of things. He didn't see his anger as much of a problem. He got frustrated fairly easily but he always calmed down relatively fast. He never got violent with civilians when he was angry so he wasn't a threat...in that sense. Everyone he knew understood that he had anger issues and most of them just tolerated it.

Bits of broken plastic were scattered on the floor where the box cutter had been thrown. Ray leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. He knew that it would be weeks before his room would be in order. He was stressed out and needed something to help him relax. He had a Cortex viewing terminal in one of the boxes but he wasn't ready to find it and set it up just yet. He assumed there was one in the lounge of the ship so he got up from the bed and left his room. 

When Ray entered the lounge he noticed Ilana sitting on a couch reading a databook. He walked over to the Cortex viewing terminal and turned it on. He thought for a bit about what he wanted to watch before deciding on Cave.

Cave was a comedy-drama about a woman who murdered her abusive husband and moved to the border worlds with her teenage son and nine year old daughter. The show received critical acclaim for the cast's  tremendous performance and it's writing. Ray loved the show but he felt that the shows quality was beginning to dip. Ray felt that the show was very character driven. It made you connect and care about the characters in such a powerful way. The strong mother who would do anything to protect her family but made several bad calls, the son who was struggling with his diminishing sanity and the daughter and being taken away from her due to the unfortunate mistakes of her mother. Unfortunately, it seemed that the writers were repeating things that the audience had already known and they were running out of ideas. Ray was unsure if the show was just having a bad start to the season or if the show was just dying, but he had faith. The current season still had it's moments and hopefully it would pick up later, like some other shows did.

He sat down and watched a re-run of the episode the week before, since he had missed it. He was about to turn the volume up before he remembered that Ilana was reading. He realized that it must of seemed kind of rude for Ray to just walk in and turn on the cortex when Ilana was already there reading something.

"Sorry, is it ok if I watch this?" He asked her, pointing at the screen. He had an apologetic look on his face, showing that he wasn't thinking.

[Ilana Logan]

"Sorry, is it ok if I watch this?"  Ray asked.

Ilana's whole body jerked and she looked around wildly for a moment.  She spotted Ray by the cortex panel, and it was a good thing too.  Another hairsbreadth of a second and she would have been on her feet and swinging.  He had startled her pretty badly, and he had an apologetic look on his face.  Whether it was because he startled her or because he hadn't realized she was there either, she didn't know.  She had finally gotten involved in her book and had no idea Ray had even came into the room until he spoke.  She hadn't gotten that entranced by anything in a long time.  Apparently, this was turning out to be a pretty good book.

"Sure, I don't mind," she said, fighting to keep her voice from shaking, as he heart slowly worked its way out of her throat.

She settled back into her corner of the couch and tried to get back into the story.  Once she realized that wasn't going to happen, at least not right now, she stood up and stretched.  Her pulse was still racing, though it was slowly working its way back to normal.  She walked to to cortex panel where Ray was seated and looked at the screen for a moment.  Whatever he was watching was quite strange, and she walked back to the couch and melted back into the comfy position she had been in before Ray had damn near given her a coronary.

She picked up her iced tea and took a long drink, as though the drink would bring back that tranquil feeling she had had for a blessed few minutes. The ice clinked in the glass and she set the glass down on the table next to her.  She picked her databook back up and stared at the page that it was turned to.  It took a moment, but she finally sank back into the story.  She didn't go quite as deeply as she had before;  the start Ray had given her was still a bit too fresh on her mind to allow that.  

She curled her bare feet under her and wished for a blanket.  It was a little chilly in here.  That was okay though.  Her mother had always said its better to be a little cold that to be too hot because you can always put on more clothes, but there's only so many you can take off.  Ilana smiled and thought, If you only knew, Mom.

[Jay Fuller]

Jay's morning was slow. He woke up, made some coffee. He bought some the day previously and was excited to try it. It was one of those new popular coffees that had come out with different flavors, a little expensive, but this one had a bit of white chocolate and caramel. Jay figured, what the hell, and bought it. He made some up and added a touch of cream to it, and it ended up being delicious and fulfilling. He drank a cup and grabbed a notebook in his room. He sat at the small desk and tried to write. It started out as the first two or three lines were coherent, but his hand drifted out of the lines and soon the page became filled with little drawings and pictures. Jay didn't really want to read, or write. It was one of those times where he couldn't figure out just what to do. He ended up sitting around, waiting, thinking about random things.

Finally, he got up and made his way out of the small room. He brought a notebook and pen with him, just in case. He glanced into the infirmary as he went by. He wondered if he should try cleaning it, but it wasn't too bad, the counters were just a bit cluttered. He put it on his list. 

Walking through the galley, he poured himself another cup of coffee and cream. He saw Ilana and Ray in the lounge. He made his way in and joined them. "If you guys want some coffee, there's a pot made," he said. It seemed Ilana was reading and Ray was watching TV. Hoping he didn't interrupt anything, Jay walked over and sat in the couch opposite Ilana. He sat with his back resting on the arm and his knees up. He opened up the notebook, and set his coffee on the table. "So what's goin' on?" he asked absent-mindedly.

[Ilana Logan]

Her book had gotten pretty good.  It wasn't the sort of thing she normally read.  She really liked some of the books that came from Earth-that-was, but some of them were downright stupid.  She wished she could find some of the comics - is that the right word? - that she had heard tales of for her data book.  Apparently they were made for people who weren't very bright, as there were more pictures than actual words, but they were supposed to be very funny.  She figured a hard copy, if any even existed, would be worth more money than she had earned and spent in her entire life so far.  So far, all she could think was either they never existed, or all copies were lost between the loss of Earth-that-was and now.  Either way, they were inaccessible to her.  

Ilana looked up at the sound of Jay's voice.  "If you guys want some coffee, there's a pot made."  Wordlessly, Ilana put her databook down, drank the last of the tea in her cup, which wasn't much, and left the room, taking the cup with her.  She rinsed the cup out in the galley sink and poured in some coffee.  She added a little sugar, and a little creamer and returned to the lounge.  She reclaimed her seat on the couch, smiled, and said,"Thanks, Jay."

Sounding a little like he didn't truly care what the answer was, Jay asked, "So, what's going on?"

She opened her mouth to say nothing,realized that wasn't true, and closed it again.  She pondered that for a minute.  It was often said, and thought by Ilana herself, that she spoke before her brain could tell her it was a bad idea.  After only a brief pause, she said carefully, "I don't know for sure yet.  Just waiting at the moment."   

After a brief pause, she added, "And trying not to get bored enough to clean the dirt from under my fingernails with my sword."

[Jay Fuller]

"I feel like that would hurt," Jay responded to Ilana's comment. 

He turned back to his notebook, and his brow furrowed. He still couldn't figure out what to write, but he knew he needed to get something out. He once again resorted to doodling and being bored. After a minute, he gave up and set the notebook down. He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. Jay wasn't in a particularly good mood today, but he wasn't quite to the bad mood stage yet.

He turned to Ilana, "So how's life?" he asked.

[Ilana Logan]

In response to Ilana's comment about her fingernails and her sword, Jay said, "I feel like that would hurt."

Ilana laughed heartily at this.  His comment caught her off guard and at the same time, it sounded innocent.  Maybe that was his tone of voice.  She still didn't know exactly why he seemed to be so innocent, but regardless of the reason, that's how he came across.  To her anyway.  She had never met anyone quite like him.  In all the places she'd been too, she'd never found another Jay, and she probably never would.  People generally grew up too fast in this 'verse.  Jay's appearance of youth, innocence, and general happiness always earned him a smile or a laugh.  

"Yes, I'm sure it would hurt," she said, grinning.  "But I would have something to focus on."

She hoped he knew she was kidding when she said that last part.  Sometimes he seemed to take things seriously when people were joking.  Though, especially when Ray was talking, it was hard to tell sometimes.  He usually knew when she was kidding, and if he didn't she could sure tell by the look on his face.  Some of the horrified expressions he made were pretty damn comical.

Jay looked like he wanted to write something in the notebook he was carrying around, but the expression of frustration on his face clearly said he was having trouble getting started.  He drew on it for a few minutes, decided he didn't want to do that anymore, and put the notebook down.  He turned to Ilana and asked, "So how's life?"

What an odd way to phrase that. She thought.  She considered several replies to this, discarded them all, and sat there looking stumped.  "Life is....life.  Just hanging on for the ride and trying to enjoy it as much as I can.  There isn't much else you can do, is there?"

"What about you?  How is life for you?"  She asked after a moments pause.  After a moment, she added carefully, "You're having trouble writing, I see.  Do you know why?"

[Jay Fuller]

Jay laughed at her comment. He always enjoyed Ilana, she was fun and he felt like he didn't have to hide around her. He thought about what she said about life, and how optimistic she seemed, even when the going was rough.

"What about you?  How is life for you?" she asked a second later. She added after, "You're having trouble writing, I see.  Do you know why?"

"Meh, same old, same old," Jay responded. He wondered how he should respond to the writing. The obvious reason was his mood. He wondered why his mood got so dark. He knew a lot of it was a dream he had the night before, it was partially a flashback. He was back on Paquin with his parents, still struggling over everything. Then the dream took an interesting turn where everyone could fly, but that was beside the point.

Jay also wondered if he could tell Ilana about his little secret. He was sure none of the other people on the crew knew he was sly, or at least mostly sly, or whatever he was. At least with Ilana, she was a girl, and girls tended to be more understanding. With guys, the minute they hear about it their first reaction is "Is this guy gonna hit on me?!" -- that was something that would never change, even in the Core where things were generally more acceptable. Jay then had to remind himself that Ray was still in the room, so telling Ilana here might not be a good idea.

"As for the writing," he started, "I'm not sure. Just one of those moods, I guess."

[Ilana Logan]

"Meh, same old, same old," Jay said when Ilana tossed his own question back at him.  

Immediately following this statement, Ilana watched quite a few different emotions chase each other across Jay's face.  Anger, indignation, fear, confusion, hope...they were all there.  That was how she interpreted his expressions anyway.  For a moment, he seemed to be on the verge of speaking.  Then the moment passed as some realization swept over him.  Ilana could almost see the light bulb come on in his head.  It would have been comical if not for the small thread of worry she felt twining through her.  She wasn't worried for herself, she was worried for the boy-man in front of her.  Why was she worried?  Because he seemed so much different than his usual self.  Granted, she didn't know him very well and she mentaly chided herself for assuming he wasn't normally dark and broody, but the worry didn't abate no matter how much she chastised herself.

"As for the writing I'm not sure. Just one of those moods, I guess," Jay said.  

Dragged out of her own dark thoughts by Jay's voice, she glanced at Ray and saw he was still sitting at the cortex terminal, staring at the idiot box.  She gave Jay back her full attention. She thought about what he said for a moment, and then said, "Could be.  Or maybe you should actively try to work yourself out of this funk.  You could try writing down everything you saw yesterday at the bazaar.  There were lots of interesting things there.  If you go through the events of your day in writing, there may be some small detail there that will inspire you.  Or at the very least make you laugh," she said and smiled, remembering she had done that very thing when trying to write for school growing up on Lilac.  "The smallest things can be inspiration to a writer, Jay."

[Jay Fuller]

Jay thought about what she said. It was true, he could write about anything. But writing about real life was boring, unless something dramatic happened to write about. And as exciting as bazaars were, he had most of his adventures with the Chainless written down in his personal journal."True...I would write about the bazaar, but I kinda already did that in my journal last night...I think I'll just chalk up my lack of writing to laziness." With that, he tossed the notebook onto the table.

He was losing things to talk about. His mind went back to it's previous train of thought. He wanted to tell someone, to get it out there so he didn't feel so out of place. But that was so much easier said than done. It was then that his mind remembered that if Ray weren't in the room, he could probably say it easier. For all he know, Ray could hear something and go running to tell everyone else in the crew. Though the entire crew knowing wasn't an entirely bad idea, Jay wasn't sure what their reactions would be so he avoided the thought.

And that was his mind exploring every possibility and every outcome. He hated it when that happened, it always made him space out and look like a creep. He mentally shook himself out of it and glanced over at Ray on the vidscreen. "Do you think he can hear us?" Jay asked, smirking.

[Ray Hudson]

Once Jay and Ilana started talking, Ray knew that he wouldn't be able to focus on his show. He changed the channel several times until he settled on some old comedy show that had been on the air for ten years running. The show was ok, it was more of a time sink. Something to occupy yourself with while you waited for something more pressing to come along. The episode that was on was from one of it's last seasons, when the show had already been considered by many as dying.

Ray decided to listen to Jay and Ilana's conversation while he phased in an out of the show that was on the screen. The episode was garbage but it was better than organizing his room. Ilana and Jay's conversation was fairly uninteresting to Ray in total. Awkward small talk were nobody gains anything. Ray didn't involve himself in the conversation because he hated small talk in general and he wouldn't contribute to it if he didn't have to. The 'Hi's, how are you's, I'm great's' were all so needless to Ray. He preferred a conversation with a little more depth to it.  Ray has gotten into small talk with people in the past and he always regret it.

Ray's refusal to participate in small talk made it very awkward whenever he would visit his Brother, Kevin, on Paquin. At some point during every visit he would always find himself alone with his brother's wife, Morgan. Ray and Morgan had almost nothing in common so they were always left with nothing to discuss. She would always try to engage Ray in conversation but all of his responses were typically no more than a single word. This would leave both of them sitting uncomfortably next to each other, avoiding eye contact. It also didn't help that Ray thought Morgan was a self-absorbed cunt.

Quickly losing his tolerance for what was on the screen, Ray changed the channel again, this time leaving it on a show he had never seen but heard of. A commercial was on for a floor cleaner so Ray just left it there. He leaned back in his chair, placing the remote on his lap. As he listened to the conversation going on next to him he noticed that it started to get slightly interesting. Ilana was talking about Jay and his journal and how he could get out of a writing funk. As that topic went on, Ray found himself getting uninterested yet again. Jay and his diary weren't particularly facinating to him. Not that the conversation concerned him in the slightest.

Not long after the diary conversation Jay asked Ilana if she thought Ray could hear them. This caused Ray to wonder if Jay was joking or not. He thought about how close they were and how they weren't really trying to keep their voices down. Ray looked up at the corner of the room for a quick second, then turned to Jay and Ilana.

"I don't know, can he? Why don't you ask him?" Ray responded to Jay's comment to Ilana. Ray's response wasn't meant to be nasty or rude. He thought that he was just making a smart remark but everyone draws their own conclusions on such things.

[Jay Fuller]

When Ray spoke up, Jay couldn't quite tell if he was serious or not. Jay instantly thought of a snarky comment. On the off-hand that Ray was serious, however, saying something rude could start a fight. But then again it was Ray who, as far as Jay could tell, was never serious. Even if he was, Jay could always say that Ray shouldn't have been eavesdropping in the first place.

"Good idea, Ray," he said, and then gave a pause for dramatic effect. "Hey Ray, can you hear us?"

Jay smirked over at him.

[Ilana Logan]

As Ilana watched Jay, that look came over his face again.  The look that said he had something to say but didn't yet know if he wanted to say it.  His face was pinched slightly with anxiety as glanced at Ray.  He looked back to Ilana and asked, "Do you think he can hear us?"

Before Ilana could respond, Ray piped up with, "I don't know, can he?  Why don't you ask him?"

He didn't sound angry, for Ray that is.  Ray almost always sounded angry when you compared him to other people.  He did to Ilana anyway.  She was sure he wasn't always angry.  It was most likely just the way he was.  

Jay seemed to understand that as well because the look of anxiety drained out of his face as he said, "Good idea, Ray."  After a slight pause, he added, "Can you hear us?"

Ilana burst out laughing at this.  She didn't think the medic had it in him to be a smart ass like that.  He'd pulled it off pretty well though.  After she got herself under control, she took a big swig of coffee and, her eyes still sparkling with laughter, she said quietly, "I never woulda guessed you had the balls for that Doc."

[Jay Fuller]

Once Ilana started laughing, Jay couldn't help but join in. "Well, what can I say," he added, "I'm full of surprises."

He loved moments like this. Especially on this crew, where he wasn't entirely sure he fit in. There wasn't any other feeling in the world like feeling accepted and being able to open up to your friends. Now, he wasn't telling Ilana and Jay every one of his secrets, but this was a step closer. At least, he hoped so.

[Ray Hudson]

When Jay commented back at Ray, with equal sarcasm, he let out a little laugh. When Ilana mentioned that she didn't expect him to have the balls to talk back like that, Ray nodded his head.

"Exactly. No stick up his ass, this kid can talk back." Ray mentioned, grinning. To often Ray was surrounded by people who can't take a joke. The people in his business always seemed to be trying to hard to fit into a stereotype that forbad them from having a personality that's more complex than a jagged rock. Taking everything personally, believing themselves above self depredation. No one can bite back with out resulting to threats of violence, or turning their noses up. Some prime examples where on the very ship Ray was currently on. The Superstar who flew the ship and the girl with the 'photographic memory'. At least, that was the impression that Ray got from them.

Ilana and Jay seemed to be the most relatable people on this ship and he felt a little more comfortable around them. Unfortunately, Ray still felt very uneasy on the 'Chainless'. He felt like he shouldn't be there, he didn't belong. He assumed that the feeling may eventually go away but the feeling continued to feast on the back of his mind.

[Ilana Logan]

Ilana heard Ray laugh too, which surprised her.  It didn't surprise her that Ray had the capacity for laughter, she'd heard him laugh before.  What surprised her was that he laughed when someone took a shot back at him.  She had wrongly assumed that Ray made fun of other people but wouldn't like to be made fun of himself.

"Well, what can I say?  I'm full of surprises," Jay said.

She had taken him for the kind of person to get all red in the face when someone laughed at one of his jokes, which had also been a wrong assumption.  This must be a day for finding out I'm wrong about all kinds of things, she thought.  At least the things she had been wrong about so far had turned out in a positive way.

"Exactly. No stick up his ass, this kid can talk back," Ray said amiably.

"You are definitely full of surprises," she said.  "I never assumed you had a stick up your ass, just that you were too shy to talk back like that.  I'm glad to know I was wrong."

She smiled happily at the turn the day had taken.  It hadn't started out bad, she'd just been a little restless most of the day.  She was quite content at the moment.  No one was shooting at her or yelling at her, or anyone else.  That alone made for a pretty good day.  She lifted her cup from the table and took a sip of coffee.  She looked up at Ray and asked, "So, what are you watching?"

[Jay Fuller]

Jay laughed again. "I'm only shy for a little bit, then I warm up," he grinned.

He was liking the crew more and more. He was glad Ray went along with the joke. Jay felt like he and Ray could become pretty good friends if they got to know each other a little. He took another drink from his coffee, the cup half empty.

"So, what are you watching?" Ilana asked. Jay looked over at Ray curiously.

[Ray Hudson]

Ilana asked Ray what he had been watching and looked over at the screen trying to remind himself. An ad was showing at the moment anad it didn't look like it was going to end anytime soon so he had plenty of time to explain the show to them. She didn't ask for a lengthy explanation but she was going to get one anyway. Ray would talk and talk about things that he liked and could car less whether someone was actually interested or not.

"Show about sex trafficking." Ray answered simply. A brief explanation before the in depth one. "I've never seen it before but it's supposed to be really good. Apparently it's about a guy whose, you know, really down on his luck. He can't get a job, he's got no money, he's divorced and rarely sees his daughter, all that shit. Well he ends up running into an old friend of his. The friends this shady looking guy and the two of them start talking. The friend see's that this guys really having some financial trouble so he offers him a job. The friend tells him that he needs to get a ship from point A to point B but he needs someone he can trust to get it there. The guy was a pilot or something awhile ago. So the guy agrees but the friend tells him never to look at the cargo. Just fly the ship and he'll make a ton of money. Just DO NOT look at the cargo" Ray's explained the basics of the show without stopping. This was obviously something he was interested in. As he talked about the show, he spoke with youthful enthusiasm.

"So he takes the job and gets on the ship with these two scary looking guys that he's not supposed to talk to. They take off and he starts thinking about the cargo. He really want's to know what he's carrying. He just assumes that it's drugs but the more and more he thinks about it, the more and more he want's to know. So he sneaks into the cargo bay a few days into the trip and he see's that he's carrying sex slaves. Sex slaves of all different ages. Young adults who were picked up while on vacation, even children who wandered to far away from their parents in the mall. So the guy see's this and thinks 'holy shit, what the fuck' and then all sorts of wacky and crazy stuff happens." Ray described, the last sentence in a joking manner.

Ray was extremely interested in programs on the cortex. He had a huge appreciation for well structured, well written, and well executed shows. He spent most of his spare time watching these shows and obsessing over them. He didn't know a lot of people who shared his love cortex programs. The only person who shared this appreciation was Jordan Kruger on Tilotamma. Everyone else mostly tolerated his obsession, letting him go on and on while they did something else.