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Post by Zayman on Jun 1, 2012 12:54:30 GMT -5
The Knotted Iron, City of Bellforge
September 10, 2517 – Beaumonde
10:53 Local Time
The Knotted Iron wasn’t a very large place, but by the standards of some bars was considerable. It had ten tables of varying size scattered around, and as one would expect a long bar. It was also a grill, so the smell of freshly prepared food was constant throughout the interior. Behind the bar, there was an opening in the wall, where you could see a man in a chefs jacket preparing things that the patrons had ordered.
There weren’t as many people in there as would be later in the night, but it had at least a third of its capacity filled up. Some men sat at the bar, and a few were scattered around the tables getting a late breakfast. Not everyone was drinking, but some were. It was a peaceful environment though compared to other bars. Some light Hindu styled music was playing through some strategically placed speakers.
The room was a gray in color, but only because the entirety of the place was metallic. It was like most of Beaumonde, you built with what was cheapest, and luxury was secondary. A place like this wasn’t unusual. It fit right in with everything else in the area. A sign out front had the places name written,“铁结.” The interior was decorated with lots of pictures of the staff, and it had several screens around at the top. Some showed sporting events, but others showed departures of spaceships. The bar was located very close to the Bellforge spaceport, so it was no surprise many of their patrons were workers there.
Zayman stood behind the bar. He scratched at the goatee on his chin and heard a voice behind him.
“Biǎo wǔ, kuàisù kuàisù kuàisù” The voice said. It was the man in the chefs jacket, who just set a plate of food down.
Zayman picked it up and brought it to the far left end of the bar. He set it down. "Here ya go." He said and moved away back to where he was. He found his way back over to the other end of the bar and stood there wondering how long it would be till he could go on break.
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Post by Lulah Hayes on Jun 1, 2012 17:37:08 GMT -5
Supposedly, your home planet was meant to have a sense of nostalgia and belonging. Something about, taking the 'person off the planet, but never the planet out of the person'. That no matter where in the verse you went, you'd always eventually come running back to your one, true home. After all, home is where the heart is, and all that fancible, sentimental hoo-hah. Too bad that one particular home-bound citizen, was more than happy to keep proving those theories wrong. Preferably, in the most public way possible.
As soon as Miss Tallulah Hayes stepped back onto Beaumonde soil, she'd tilted her head to the side, hocked, and spat away her misgivings. When a tourist who fancied himself better than all the rest turned and pulled a face at her rude manners, she'd simply grinned and said “welcome to Bellforge! Now best get ready to be a-hoofin' it, 'cause it's the biggest an' bestest pile o' gou shi you'll be seein' this side of the verse!”
Suffice to say the tourist wasn't impressed with that information, but the local gal had strolled off without a care to what he thought of her. She had a package to deliver from Persephone's Eavesdown Docks, and after that, well... the plan went pretty blank. No one else had been desperate enough to take the one-way trip job, and as much as she hated being potentially marooned on Bellforge for 'x' amount of days, this was just the ticket to a shiny new job. Hopefully a bigger one than the last, because work sure was starting to dry up in the Eavesdown pond. Sometimes a new location was just the right thing, even if that location was a polluted hell hole with a history of nasty things happening there.
Fortunately, lady luck was on the lively girl's side. Or at least, there was the possibility that an advert she'd seen only a few hours after landing, could lead to a greater thing. It was plain and simple; some Marcus O'Terra fancied himself a Captain in need of filling a few spots in his crew. So she'd noted the contact number, completed her job, and then made the call knowing that it was probably too good to be true. She'd had her fare share of men who liked to think themselves to be captains. Most in turn thought that she was just all bark but no bite when it came to actually having some experience under her belt. Others figured she fit the job specifications for deckhand meets convenient, on board doxy better, to which she told them exactly where to shove it. So as she now made her way to the 'Iron Knot' bar following the briefest of conversations, Tallulah couldn't help feeling just a little anxious about the type of captain she could be meeting.
It was around 10:54, which was far too early to be going on a bar-crawl as far as Lulah was concerned. This bar seemed pretty average though, but above all; it had a tasteful feel to it. At least, tasteful compared to some of the other dives in the city. Maybe it was just the time of day mixed with the ratio of men to women present, but Lulah felt a little out of place the moment she stepped through the saloon doors. The odd glance looked her way, but she kept her pert chin high and paid no notice, focusing dead ahead instead. At least the grill sent wafts of pleasing smells that teased her unappeased stomach into more painful groans. Instinctively, she placed a hand over her gut and sighed; the unappetising protein bar she'd chewed on for breakfast still tasted fresh on her tongue. Meat hadn't been on the menu for a week, and even then, it had been cheap, over-cooked left-overs. 'Oh lordie, don't you tempt me now.' She could only sigh to herself while patting her pockets in reminder of the lack of credits rationed there. Just about enough to buy a drink to please the barkeep before settling down and waiting for the elusive 'Marcus' to show his mug. That is, if he wasn't there already. She briefly stopped at the bar where she could carefully eye the current patrons, but the Cortex feed had been a little fuzzy, and half these jokers looked the same. So, wrinkling her nose and turning back to the bar, she reasoned with herself instead. 'He can look for me. Ain't like I'm hard t'miss or nothin'.' Indeed, considering the ratio of women present, and her bright red hair, her mug was definitely more easier to spot than his.
“Gimme a shot of whiskey!” Her hand abruptly slammed down on the bar, while her rear slid over the stool until she was sat up high enough for her feet to kick to and fro. “Ah heck, best make it A-grade.”
Leaning forwards, her elbows propped on the bar surface, and she rested her chin on flexed fingers. “See I'm either feelin' real lucky, or real stupid.” Nonchalant shoulders shrugged along with a carefree and light giggle. Bright eyes gleefully lighting up as she made idle banter with the bartender. “Both I reckon. Stupid t' be feelin' lucky, right? Well sir-ee. Might as well live it on up!”
gou shi: dog crap
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Post by Marcus O'Terra on Jun 1, 2012 20:11:25 GMT -5
Marcus checked over himself and what he'd brought: mentally, so as not to draw in any pickpockets. Roll of bills, tucked inside his coat, under a buttoned pocket. Taser, in his left coat pocket. A few other odds and ends, and all in all he realized he'd no plan on interviewing this girl Lulah.
He'd spoken with her briefly, but the connection had been rubbish and speaking details over the line never sat well with him. Even after his charges 'vanished', he didn't trust long comms. Still.
He got off a public transit and stepped in time with the crowd. Bellforge really was quite the burgh. It made him feel like part of a throng and let his brain just shut off as he fell in with the crowd and the current of bodies.
It was peaceful, and during their time off, Marcus had let himself wander blankly for hours sometimes. It was a relief from thinking and trying to sort out all his inner demons.
Now he had to make a plan though, so he couldn't really shut off. What did he really NEED for his ship? An extra pair of hands in the engine room? Ray could reasonably assist Ilana, he'd proven that during their horrid reentry incident.
Cooking? Jay and Marcus could share that chore, but variety was always welcome. A designated cook was probably a smart idea, especially if the were able to really stock the Chainless's stores.
Shooter? Ray would probably like someone else on the ship who really knew how to use a gun. But he didn't think the thin looking girl would be muscle.
Pilot? Marcus could fly the ship, but there was the shuttle to consider, and without another pilot they couldn't quite pair the two in any schemes.
He'd figured out when he got there, a minute to eleven. He'd told the rest of the crew where he'd be and that he was interviewing a new crew member. If they chose to check in, that was there prerogative.
He found the Knotted Iron and immediately liked the place. Bare bones and no frills. It was a place to eat, drink, and talk; it bore no false testimony to anything past that.
Immediately a word came to mind as he looked over the room: red. A mane of red hair sat at the bar. It was apparently attached to a person. He walked into the bar and sat beside the hair, and saw a the person was a woman, and she looked a fair bit like the Lulah he was looking for.
"Two fingers of whisky, please." He thought, "And some grilled chicken wings." No sense drinking, in the middle of the day, on an empty stomach.
He looked at the woman and took a gamble. "Lulah Hayes?" He asked, his tone mostly neutral, with a bit of hope in there.
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Post by Zayman on Jun 1, 2012 21:07:03 GMT -5
When the red haired girl walked into the bar, Zayman was ready. She was easy to spot, and it was his job to be ready to intercept people. Fortunately she sat at the bar, so he didn’t have to walk over to a table at that moment. She sat down right across from him and she began to start talking. Since she opened with a request for a drink, Zayman didn’t waste anytime going to get it.
He stopped when she amended the request. His body halted, and he rolled his eyes as he went down to get it, but was bent down so she couldn’t see him do it. He really wasn’t feeling up for a deep conversation, or conversation at all for that matter, and yet this girl was yammering on to him.
Zayman had had a long night since someone driving a hover-car had crashed it into the building next to his apartment. Unfortunately for him, he lived on the second floor, and not in the best place. His entire night had been defined by sirens in the street, lights flashing through his window, and the sound of people yelling. Some about how their area had been damaged and who was at fault, others about how they needed everyone to back away from the scene. Really Zayman didn’t give a damn about the wreck. It hadn’t happened to his apartment, and he had spent most of the night just praying that merciful Buddha would just grant him the power of spirit to get some sleep.
He’d only managed a short amount, and thus the cheery girl in front of him wasn’t precisely the thing he hoped to be met with that day. He set a small glass in front of the girl, and he filled it with a bottle he’d pulled from below. He ceiled the top again, and she continued talking.
Looking at how cheery she was, Zayman decided not to take out his own frustration on her. ”If you’re living, you’re lucky.” Zayman replied shrugging. It seemed like a true statement, but he wasn’t exactly in a state of mind where he really cared. She looked like someone he should probably check ID for, to make sure it was legal for her to be drinking. But Zayman had worked there long enough to know that the police really didn’t care about stopping the expanding epidemic of youths finding their way down a bottle.
Just as he finished another man approached the bar and sat next to her. Great. The ‘lets hit on the girls at the bar’ sailors are arriving He thought. Aren’t you here a bit early? Nǐ húndàn His unspoken words fell through with his gaze as he waited for the mans order. Fortunately for Zayman it was simple. But since he imagined that this man was going to be trying to pick the girl up, he decided to poor the same stuff that he’d given her. He set down a glass in front of the man, and poured it the same as he did the girl’s.
After he finished pouring he ceiled the top back on the bottle and walked up the opening behind him. ”Gust.” He called out. Behind the bar, the man in the kitchen in the chef jacket looked over. ”Jī, zuìduō hésè.” Zayman said, relaying the man’s order.
The man raised his finger up in response. ”Yī fēnzhōng” the man said, and he went to work on it.
Zayman turned back to the man that had walked up. ”One minute.” He said, and then moved off down the bar towards another man that was there, adjusting his glasses as he walked.
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Post by Ilana Logan on Jun 1, 2012 22:13:17 GMT -5
Ilana walked with Ray through the streets of Bellforge. Despite the horrid party and everything that had happened there, she found Ray's presence calming. They hadn't spoken about what had happened, but she knew he wasn't the sort to forget things. Especially since he remembered the autistic kid from his childhood that ate glitter to have fabulous puke. To her, that didn't sound autistic, that sounded sly, but she wasn't a doctor either. What did she know?
She was in a fairly good mood today and she hadn't even had a drink, though she surely intended to have one once she found the place they were looking for. The weather wasn't horrible either, which only added to her mood. She saw other people out and about, walking to and fro. She spotted a woman in a lime green cocktail dress that looked like she'd slept in it the night before. She was barefooted and her hair was a wreck. Then again, she could have just slept in it a few minutes ago. Who knew?
She walked in silence with Ray. A comfortable silence; for her anyway. There was no telling how Ray felt. He was so hard to read most of the time. Every now and then he got a peek at what was underneath all that gruffness and stubble, but most of the time, he was a mystery. She was jerked out of her thoughts as a man in black, wearing a horrible wig on his head, bumped into her, and breathed soured beer breath all over her. Her stomach lurched at the powerful stench radiating from the man and she pushed him back away from her. She shivered in disgust as he mumbled a slurred apology and stumbled away, walking back in the direction he had come from.
She remembered a time when that had happened on Lilac, when she'd been helping her mother out in the tavern one night. The drunk with the sour breath had thrown up all over her. She'd gotten him back though. The smell of the puke had caused her to throw up all over him in return. Later that night, when she was clean and talking with her mother, she'd laughed about it, but when it happened, she was disgusted and mortified.
She continued walking alone and found the Knotted Iron right where they told her it would be. It was a hole in the wall sort of place, but a relatively clean one. Especially for a border world. They had some great food out in the sticks, but they didn't always have the cleanest facilities. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she opened the door, glanced back at Ray with a wicked smile and said, "Into the Lion's den." She only meant that they were walking into something that she didn't know the outcome of yet, but there was no telling how Ray would take that.
As her eyes adjusted to the lighting, she looked around. She knew there was a prospective crew member here, and being the second in command, she felt she ought to be there for the interview. After a minute, she found Marcus seated at the bar next to a girl with hair as red as blood. Wow, Ilana thought at the sight of the girl's brightly colored hair.
She pointed out where Marcus was to Ray with a wave of her hand and said, "Better make sure he doesn't hire an idget."
She walked to where Marcus was seated at the bar and climbed up on the stool next to him. She waved slightly to the bartender, and said simply, "Whiskey, neat."
She heard Marcus ask the red haired girl if her name was Lulah Hayes, and turned to see what the girl would say.
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Ray Hudson
Independent | Browncoat 
[M:3357]
Keep diggin' that hole
Posts: 150
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Post by Ray Hudson on Jun 1, 2012 23:54:11 GMT -5
Those familiar streets were comforting and left Ray in a bit of a trance. When he was somewhere new he would try to soak as much in as he could but in zone of familiarity he just hovered through the streets. He didn't read the signs or look at the crossroads. Ray walked with confidence and his head occasionally bobbed to the bits of music that played in his head. Certain street corners reminded him of a certain song while a streetlight reminded him of another. Ray wasn't an audiophile but it was hard to live a life devoid of musical memory. Whenever Ray walked the streets he usually smiled and nodded at other pedestrians. He rarely thought about it, it now becoming reactionary whenever his eyes met another pair.
A walk got the blood pumping and left Ray with some energy to spare. He sometimes heard a ringing in his ears during a walk down the street and he occasionally smelt copper.
Ilana was walking with Ray, the two of them not saying much to each other. Ray felt awkward walking with someone but not speaking to them. He kept his mind off of it, unsure of what he could even talk about with her. They didn't know each other well despite having known each other for a few months now. Ray was partially responsible for the distance he kept. He hated people who were in his line of work, knowing what type of person you had to be to get involved in that world. Most of Longstreet's employees were scum who would kill a long list of people on his go. When the Logan used to pick up people to turn in, Ray would sneer and rip apart most of them, knowing full well who they were. There was so much about Ilana that Ray liked but he never forgot what she was and what she was willing to do. The hypocrisy wasn't lost on Ray but he knew precisely why he felt this way.
Once they reached the Knotted Iron Ilana remarked that they were going into the lions den. He smiled, unsure of what to expect once they entered. The two of them went inside and Ray observed his surroundings. He had never been to the Knotted Iron before but he knew that he had past it a few times in the past. There was nothing about the bar that made him uncomfortable or well at home so he searched for some familiarity. He saw Marcus sitting with a girl with vibrant red hair. Ilana pointed to them and said that they should make sure he doesn't hire someone unfitting of the role. Ilana sat next to Marcus and ordered a drink.
Ray looked at how they were sitting. Marcus sat next to the girl and Ilana sat next to Marcus. Ray went to sit on the other side of the girl, not wanting to get to far from the conversation. He realized, after he already sat down, that it might be perceived as weird to have two strangers sitting on either side of you with a third further down. It was too late now, he wasn't going to stand up and sit next to Ilana to make things more comfortable for this girl. He didn't even know if this was the girl they were supposed to meet so he didn't really care. He thought that it would be better if they were at a table but he would bring that up if this girl was who they were meeting.
Ray didn't order anything having eaten earlier and wanting to quit drinking. Instead he sat there, waiting for the conversation to play out. He thought more about how strange it might be for someone to sit next to you, not say anything and listen to your conversation. The thought made him smile a little.
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Post by Zayman on Jun 2, 2012 0:38:15 GMT -5
After refilling the mans glass who was at the other end of the bar, Zayman looked over at the entrance and saw two more people walk in. Let me get a break here, please. He thought to himself as he started moving in the direction they were heading. It was a woman and a man. At least that made for a more normal mix. He began walking towards them, and they set up on either side of the two that were already there. Zayman immediately assumed they’d planned to meet up there.
When the woman had called for whiskey, only one thing went into Zayman’s head. No shit. Of course she wanted whiskey, the last two wanted whiskey, why mix it up. Having the same agitation, he just brought up the same bottle that he’d poured for the other two, and set a new glass down.
As it was filled up, he looked over to the other man who was on the other side. He said nothing. He didn’t even look at him. Zayman took at as a sign clear enough that he didn’t want anything.
From behind him there was a call for him. “Ž, jī ròu.” Said the man in the chef jacket. Zayman turned around to see him at the opening, with a basket. He must have run the chicken under the hard cooker right at the second Zayman had made the call for it, or had upped the temperature another hundred degrees. Either way it was done. Zayman walked over and grabbed the basket which was filled with chicken as ordered.
Zayman turned around and set it down in front of the man who’d ordered it. It took a breath through his nose. ”Here ya go.” He let all the air out the moment he finished. He then turned around and started moving a set of bottles that were in an odd placement, reorganizing them as he did.
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Post by Lulah Hayes on Jun 2, 2012 8:26:58 GMT -5
Dark pupils focused within teal blue orbs, as the perky girl observed the liquid being poured into the shot glass. More than anything, she was simply making sure that the bartender didn't try to cheat her out of a full glass. A pursed smile revealed her satisfaction, and so her gaze lifted back to the spectacled man. He had a very slow manner about him; from the way he'd prepared her drink, down to his very curt response. Not exactly the type of custom she liked, but at least he hadn't ignored her completely. Still, neither his statement nor his demeanour managed to phase her one bit. Instead, fair triangular brows lifted as if challenged to a verbal duel, and she wasting no time reaching for the glass to raise it high, along with a choked, half-laugh.
“Heh. Sure, I reckon I'll drink to that. Chin-chin!”
Yet she only just about managed to let the brim of the glass touch her lips, when her toast was untimely disrupted. The scratching sound of the stool beside her being moved, followed by a neutral, male voice. It could've sounded familiar, but it was hard to pin a voice after such a short and fuzzy conversation. Really she was just clutching at eggshells right now. Instinctively though, her wrist relaxed away from her mouth slightly, while still keeping the glass poised close enough to quickly down the contents at any given chance. Only her head tilted slightly so she could steal a side-long glance at the intruder, keeping the rest of her body pointed forwards. Again, it could've been the Marcus she was waiting for. Just like it could also be a deluded hopeful, to which, she had a plethora of insults at the ready to shoot his way.
Fortunately for both of them, he cut to the chase by letting her name roll off his tongue. But not before someone else joined him. A woman; not an immediate threat. At least, not physically. The only odd thing was why she chose to sit so close. Sure there were some other men sat at the bar, but it wasn't like stools were that hard to come by. It was hard for Lulah to make too many assumptions. Not when the stool on her other side abruptly chinked and felt the weight of yet another stranger. At that precise moment, her feet stopped their comfortable kicking to and fro. Instead, the small, block heels of her calf-high, brown leather boots, planted down on the stool's footrest. Meanwhile, her gaze snapped to steal a glance at who or what exactly, was sitting next to her. That very brief glance was all she needed to size up the evolved situation.
'Tzao gao.' Seriously, she really had to start watching her back more! Not even a whole day back in Bellforge, and already she was being surrounded by questionable people. 'Must be a new record.' The disturbance of the bartender delivering the ordered food basket was at least a welcome break. But damn him for bringing freshly cooked chicken! Her stomach gave a loud 'feed me' lurch. It was as good a moment as any to finally down her whiskey shot in one very quick swig. The gutsy way a teenager tries to swallow their first shot in one fell swoop, except unlike them, Lulah didn't choke half as much. Sure, this brand had a nice bite to it, but that sharper edge was exactly what she needed right now.
Slamming the glass down, she finally turned to face the alleged captain again with an answer to his long-awaited question. By now, it was clear that the woman at least was with him from the way she was more blatantly watching for an answer. “Yeah. That'll be me.” Seriously, it had to be one of the longest, most drawn out answers she'd given in quite a while. The tension and the inner-battle to stay confident was giving her jaw the urge to chew on something, even though she was out of gum.
“An' that'll mean you must be Marcus.” She already knew that the likelihood of him being anyone else with knowledge of her name at this exact time and place in the verse, was pretty slim to none. So, managing a very taut and forced smile, her eyes sized him up with a flick down to his boots, and back. “I make a habit o' not callin' anyone captain. Not 'til they gone an' proved it awhile first.”
Her smile lifted, emphasising the cheekiness of her statement and overall tone. Just to add further insult, she literally turned her back on the dark-haired man to her left. Sure it was a dangerous move, but she was taking a gamble on letting the all-important first impressions shine through. It was rare enough that a captain would actually meet with her so quickly, even if he had brought a posy with him. If anything, the brute behind her was just a bodyguard for good measures. As for the woman, well she was anyone's guess right now. So, shifting on the stool to face Marcus completely, one leg clad in fitted, beige linen slacks tucked under her boots, crossed over the knee of the other. The toe of her raised boot gave a single tap that seemed to pre-announce her direct, follow-up statement
“Jus' like I'm gonna prove how I ain't no green deckhand. So skip to it. An' .... hold the, you're lookin' too young to know the difference 'tween a moon an' a star speech. Unless,” at last she paused; the pointed end of her nose twitching. "Unless you an' your friends here are jus' wantin' to gimme somethin' to be worryin' about." The lifting of her brows posed as the question mark, because no matter how much she layered her nerves with bold confidence, she still wanted a solid answer for insurance.
Tzao gao = Crap / damn.
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Post by Ilana Logan on Jun 2, 2012 12:51:25 GMT -5
When Ilana sat next to Marcus at the bar, Ray went to sit on the other side of the red haired woman. "Huh," Ilana said softly, using the sound to remark on Ray catching her off guard as he seemed to do so frequently. The red haired girl glanced back at him.
The bartender brought her drink to her, looking more than a little annoyed. Ilana lofted a brow at him but said nothing. She put a few coins on the counter, but said nothing to the man. Instead she took a swig of the drink, made a face, and set the glass back in front of her. She watched as the bartender set food in front of Marcus, then she turned her attention back to the red haired girl just as the girl threw back a shot of whiskey. She slammed the glass down on the bar with unnecessary force and turned to face Marcus.
“Yeah. That'll be me,” the red haired girl said, confirming that she was Lulah.
“An' that'll mean you must be Marcus,” Lulah added. “I make a habit o' not callin' anyone captain. Not 'til they gone an' proved it awhile first.”
Ilana smiled a small smile, thinking the girl was either stupid or confident. Maybe both. The girl smiled, and turned her back to Ray, making Ilana's brow go up. Before Ilana could say what she was thinking, which was that the girl's attitude needed adjusting, the girl went on.
“Jus' like I'm gonna prove how I ain't no green deckhand. So go on, hoof it. An' .... hold the, you're lookin' too young to know the difference 'tween a moon an' a star speech. Unless,” the girl said, then paused. The end of her nose twitched and she added, "Unless you an' your friends here are jus' wantin' to gimme somethin' to be worryin' about." The girl's brow went up, as though she really wanted someone to assure her that they weren't there to hurt her.
"Ó, nǐ yǒu méiyǒu gǎo cuò wǒ," Ilana said incredulously. "If we were here to hurt you, you wouldn't still be sittin' on that bar stool; you'd already be hurt."
Ilana went on before anyone could stop her, "Now, you say you're gonna prove you're not green, and provin it is fine and all, but I'd like to know what skills you've got that will make you somewhat less than useless to me and mine. Aside from the skills you haven't yet informed us that you have, your attitude is gonna need some work. I ain't got a problem with ya havin confidence, but I do have a problem with ignorance just for the purpose of insult. I get a mite tetchy when people start slinging around insults when they don't know what they're talkin about."
That little bit there was probably gonna piss Marcus off, but Ilana didn't much care right now. She hadn't gotten mouthy yet, and she hadn't said anything that wasn't true.
Ó, nǐ yǒu méiyǒu gǎo cuò wǒ means Oh, you have got to be kidding me
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Post by Jay Fuller on Jun 2, 2012 12:53:10 GMT -5
Jay was planning to go, but before he knew it, the rest of the crew had gone and left him with nothing but the name of the bar and some directions. So he hung out in the ship for a bit, took his time getting pretty. He slipped on a black t-shirt that had white block letters saying Fuckin' Beaumonde! on it. He picked it up a few days ago from one of the shady looking tourist stands along the street. He thought it was funny, so he figured why not. Over that, he put on a black corduroy jacket.
He made his way out of the ship and headed to the bar. He lost himself in thought as he made his way into the crowded city. He didn't really enjoy the streets at the moment. He'd been here so often that he sort of knew where things were. Not well, of course, but better than a complete newcomer. Supposedly this bar was where they were interviewing someone for a new crew member. Better be hot, Jay thought to himself jokingly. He wasn't very excited about getting a newbie to the group. He liked the small crew they had now -- they were just starting to maybe sort of click a little bit. A new person could screw up the whole dynamic of their crew.
But then, maybe a little extra help wouldn't be too terrible. Jay thought he better reserve judgment before he decided to be biased. He did wonder just what it is she would do, though. They had a captain/pilot, a mechanic, a medic, and...whatever it is Ray was. Muscle, Jay supposed. That, or the token crazy. Jay thought that would make an interesting sitcom. They had all the characters: the two remotely semi-normal two. The sly one, the crazy one. All they would need is a token multi-racial character and it would be a smash hit across the 'Verse.
He found the bar, and he entered. It was mostly empty, so it was easy to spot his crew. He assumed the red-head was the new interviewee. Poor girl, Jay thought, Getting ambushed by the entire crew. He figured he might as well add on. He saw Ilana and Marcus were on one side, and Ray was on her other side. Jay went over and sat next to Ray -- nice and even. The girl got two crew members on either side.
Jay just imagined the intimidation she must be feeling right now, unless she was cocky.
"... An' .... hold the, you're lookin' too young to know the difference 'tween a moon an' a star speech. Unless... Unless you an' your friends here are jus' wantin' to gimme somethin' to be worryin' about," Jay heard the end of her little monologue.
"I'll take vodka with orange juice," Jay said to the bartender.
"Ó, nǐ yǒu méiyǒu gǎo cuò wǒ," Ilana started. "If we were here to hurt you, you wouldn't still be sittin' on that bar stool; you'd already be hurt. Now, you say you're gonna prove you're not green, and provin it is fine and all, but I'd like to know what skills you've got that will make you somewhat less than useless to me and mine. Aside from the skills you haven't yet informed us that you have, your attitude is gonna need some work. I ain't got a problem with ya havin confidence, but I do have a problem with ignorance just for the purpose of insult. I get a mite tetchy when people start slinging around insults when they don't know what they're talkin about."
"Well," Jay mumbled to Ray, "That's one way to introduce yourself." But then, he just got here. They could have exchanged the 'Hi, my name is blah blah and it's so nice to meet you, won't you please join us?' On one hand, he was glad Ilana was speaking up on their behalf, but on the other hand he didn't know this new chick. He decided to wait to see what would happen next.
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Post by Marcus O'Terra on Jun 2, 2012 13:34:34 GMT -5
Marcus smiled when the food was put before him. He thanked the man and saw Ilana sit down next to him. Then Ray sat down on the other side of the girl.
She answered and Marcus was relieved they'd found the right girl. Otherwise this would all have been very awkward when the 'real' Lulah might have shown up. But that line of thought didn't matter; Lulah seemed to go into a little speech of her own.
Marcus winced at her tone, a reaction to him restraining a smile. That independent attitude. He respected it. But he knew it came with a price tag. Marcus hadn't been doing much to earn respect from his crew as is. Being alive, having a ship to call their own, and having food on the table was a start he supposed.
After that, people's moral needs needed meeting, he supposed. He opened his mouth to speak, and Ilana went into her own little response. Marcus took the opportunity to eat a wing. Something moved past Ray, and Marcus saw that it was in fact Jay. So the whole crew was here. Lovely.
He finished the wing by the time Ilana was finished with her own little response. He set the bones of the first wing. Wiping his hands with a napkin.
"With that being said; Let me introduce Ilana Logan: our Engineer;" He gave Ilana a smirk. "And apparently my spokesmen. Did you practice that? Or just have a lot of experience?" There was some genuine curiosity in his voice. For all their travels they didn't know too much about each other. Least Marcus didn't know much, or it didn't come to mind.
Maybe that was a problem. Probably.
"In all seriousness; she is right." He turned to Lulah. "What are your skills?"
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Post by Lulah Hayes on Jun 2, 2012 14:33:22 GMT -5
Brows snagged together at the abruptly incredulous outburst from the woman, along with the twitch of tightly pursing lips in a feeble attempt to keep her tongue bitten long enough. Inwardly, Lulah was more than aware of the fact that she hadn't even been talking to the brunette firecracker. Still, that didn't stop her eyes from more blatantly acknowledging her now that her mouth was running. For a moment, she looked back to the so-called 'Captain' and bit back a more know-it-all smirk. So, was he the silent type who just let other people do all the talking for him? Besides, he'd said nothing about bringing friends along over the video call. The glance was swiftly returned to the woman though. Apparently, she wasn't quite finished. Not by a long shot, Lulah soon discovered. The heck was she getting all fire up and flustered over though? At first, Lulah could only blink quite blankly with a gaping albeit silenced mouth to boot. Attitude? Insults? She blinked again, this time her eyes narrowing. Now hold on just a darn second...
She inhaled the open-mouthed breath that would propel her own colourful outburst, but alas, the moment she took that breath, was the same moment that Marcus finally decided to chip in. Probably a good thing too. For now, she focused on him, even though her mouth was held open, ready for battle. Regardless of being outnumbered, she could still feel herself starting to burn up with the need to tell these people exactly what she thought of them. A need that was just as important as breathing.
“In all seriousness,” she mimicked in a firmer, matter-of-fact tone. “This right here,” then made a circling gesture with her hand and pointed finger, signalling at the plain fact that she was surrounded. For now, she hadn't even noticed the addition of one more to the fray, which was also probably a good thing. “Weren't part of your deal. You said; meet'cha at 11. Nothin' 'bout bringin' company.” Especially not supposed engineer's who forget that their place was in the engine room.
Speaking of, she switched her attention back to the woman even though it was clear that her voice was being directed at Marcus still. “I ain't no engineer, so you can go on an' tell that one to quit getting' her panties in a twist now her job's safe an' sound.” Lulah knew all about people being protective of their roles in a crew. How some captain's were fickle and eager to replace someone who wasn't doing their job well. So she'd made her assumptions already, and pinned the outburst down to that. Now that was cleared up, as far as she was concerned, she looked back at Marcus fully. “Now then. Navigation's my speciality. I reckon I'm a fair co-pilot too. Now if that's somethin' you'll be needin', let's take this somewhere that ain't awful crowded.”
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Post by Ilana Logan on Jun 2, 2012 14:54:06 GMT -5
"Well," Ilana heard Jay mutter. "That's one way to introduce yourself." She shot Jay a glare but said nothing, her eyes quickly moving back to the girl.
"With that being said; Let me introduce Ilana Logan: our Engineer;" Marcus said, giving Ilana a smirk. "And apparently my spokesmen. Did you practice that? Or just have a lot of experience?" That last he added with what sounded like curiosity.
"In all seriousness; she is right," He turned to Lulah. "What are your skills?"
The girl looked like she was going to explode for a moment, a fitting expression with underneath all that bright hair. Instead, she decided to answer Marcus. “In all seriousness,” the girl said in a mocking tone. “This right here,” she made a circle gesture, indicating people on all sides of her, “Weren't part of your deal. You said; meet'cha at 11. Nothin' 'bout bringin' company.”
She put her eyes on Ilana, and the look on the girl's face made Ilana want to knock her off that stool. “I ain't no engineer, so you can go on an' tell that one to quit getting' her panties in a twist now her job's safe an' sound.”
Ilana's fist balled up on the bar and she fought the urge to launch herself at the mouthy little twit.
“Now then. Navigation's my speciality. I reckon I'm a fair co-pilot too. Now if that's somethin' you'll be needin', let's take this somewhere that ain't awful crowded.”
"Shuí tā mā de nǐ yǐwéi nǐ zài gēn shuí shuōhuà?" Ilana said angrily, her blood starting to boil at this point. "I never thought a Chǔn biǎo zi like you would be taking my job, but you need to watch that tongue of yours girl," through clenched teeth Ilana continued with, "Before someone cuts it out for you."
Shuí tā mā de nǐ yǐwéi nǐ zài gēn shuí shuōhuà? Means who the fuck do you think you're talking to?
Chǔn biǎo zi means silly bitch
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Ray Hudson
Independent | Browncoat
[M:3357]
Keep diggin' that hole
Posts: 150
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Post by Ray Hudson on Jun 2, 2012 16:17:14 GMT -5
Watching the girl gulp down her drink and slam the glass on the bar made Ray's smile grow wider and an eyebrow raised. The red haired girl turned to face Marcus and she told him that she was the one who they were looking for. The girl claimed that she wouldn't call someone 'Captain' unless they proved that they deserved it and that made Ray laugh. He had no plans on calling Marcus 'captain' and that probably wasn't going to change anytime soon so Ray could understand her in that sense.
It was annoying to see the girl turn her back to him but Ray dealt with it. He was just here to see how things would play out and she seemed to care as much about his feelings as he did for hers. The red haired girl told Marcus that she wasn't new to this type of business and that he should cut to the chase. This girl didn't want to be treated as a child and Ray couldn't definitely understand that.
There was a sense of familiarity with this girl and Ray could pinpoint it almost immediately. As he listened to her speak he identified her accent, she was a local. This fiery red head was from Beaumonde and she probably came the lower class. People who usually spoke like her worked manual labor like pushing buttons or pulling levers ten hours a day. Or hookers, hookers also spoke that way. Ray grew up middle class but he still knew several people who spoke like her, some teachers and a couple of friends. Ray made an effort to keep that accent as far away from tongue as possible.
Since she was a local, Ray felt more sympathetic towards the girl and she went up a few notches in his eyes. He heard that factory girls were tough and you needed a bulldozer if you wanted to knock them down. Ray had no clue if she was from a factory family or a some other flavor of poor but that was irrelevant. She was a Beauman and Beauman can't be stopped. Ray would have normally filed this red headed girl under the 'cocky bitch' section but now he took her attitude as healthy Beauman pride. It would be obvious to anyone that knew Ray that this new girls attitude would get on his nerves after a few hours but Ray didn't acknowledge this.
While the local girl spoke, Jay joined the group and sat next to Ray, ordering a drink for himself. He looked back at him, smiling and looked back at the girl, waiting for the conversation to continue. As Ray thought about his pride in his planet, Ilana decided to respond to the girl. She told the girl that if they were here to hurt her then she would be scooping her teeth into a mug. She wanted the girl to tell her what made her useful and that the red head needed to fix her attitude. Ilana also mentioned an insult and Ray couldn't think of what she was referring to. Jay commented that this was one way to introduce yourself and Ray, still smiling, put a finger to his lips to show Jay that he wanted to listen.
Ray wasn't sure why Ilana was acting the way she did, antagonizing this girl she just met. Ray was learning that Ilana was a fairly fractious person and her attitude was starting to bother him. Marcus introduced Ilana as the engineer and remarked on her speaking for him before asking the girl what her skills were.
Unable to see her reaction from the back of her head, Ray eagerly awaited the girls answer. She claimed that she didn't expect the entire group to come along to meet her. The red haired girl then said that she wasn't an engineer so Ilana had nothing to be intimidated about. Ray let out a silly little laugh and turned to Jay. "Oh, look at that." He said, surprised and amused, turning back towards the girls hair. The girl bit back and Ray liked that. The girl said that she was a navigator and co-pilot and Ray thought about that for a moment and was reminded of Big Willy.
It shouldn't have surprised Ray when he heard Ilana's response. She asked the girl who she thought she was talking too, implying someone here had some sort of value. Then she said that she never would think that the red haired girl would ever take her job. Finally, she told the girl to watch her tongue before someone would cut it out. Ilana's threat was enough to get him annoyed and he felt the need to say something.
"Jesus Ilana, what's wrong with you?" Ray asked, visually irritated with how Ilana was acting. He didn't understand where her agression was coming from or why she was treating this girl with such disrespect. The hypocrisy was completely lost on him and every intentionally bad first impression he ever gave disappeared from his mind.
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Post by Marcus O'Terra on Jun 2, 2012 16:42:19 GMT -5
Marcus listened to the two girls cut into each other; resisting every urge to step away from them and take bets from Jay and Ray. Instead he held up hand between them, and to add to the point, spoke: "Enough."He shook his head. "Seriously. If you two are going to fight, lets sell some tickets first. Otherwise: I dunno." He looked at Ilana for a short moment, his head away from Lulah and mouthed. Dial it back. Then looked back at Lulah.
Ray'd spoken up and Marcus was thankful he'd taken up a non-hostile position. At this point if Jay took a position, Marcus would rather it be on his- Wait what? He hadn't had his whiskey yet but that was a drunk thought.
"Right. Lulah, so you're a navigator. What sort of boats have you crewed on?" As an afterthought he added. "What sort of people have you worked with?" This was the tricky part. If she was a straight and narrow sort of girl, things might not work out. There was a degree of illegality in some of their runs. Mostly harmless, still.
He finally took a swig of the whisky, half of it down his trap before it could hit his tongue. He was gonna need the buzz to keep himself sane. If those two really went at it.
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Post by Lulah Hayes on Jun 2, 2012 18:28:25 GMT -5
"Shuí tā mā de nǐ yǐwéi nǐ zài gēn shuí shuōhuà?"
Lulah wanted to immediately shoot back the same question, only with pointed and no doubt, immature emphasis on the 'you'. Instead, as more blatant cuss words were fired, her leg immediately uncrossed to allow the grounding of one foot. Nostril's flared with her temperament, but her jaw also clenched again, tempted to just laugh it all off. Yet the other half of her that wanted to go ahead and call the woman's bluff, was persuasion enough for her rear to lift slightly off the stool. It didn't matter that she didn't have chance to follow that action through with speech, because 'Someone like you?' was already written in her narrowed glare.
Too bad the captain wasn't prepared to let the disagreement go any further. Though the comment about making bets did only serve to irk her further. “I ain't interested,” she curtly snapped on auto-bot mode. But when the silent giant unexpectedly chipped in behind her, she was surprised enough to shoot her unchanged glare round to him. This time, she really looked at him, and was only confused by what she saw. First of all, because she could just about see in her peripheral sight that a third man had joined them at the bar. Cursing under her breath though, she focused on the one who'd challenged the tetchy woman. At least by speaking up, he clarified that he was part of the posy, but why was he somewhat sticking up for her instead of his crew mate? Actually, on second thought, Lulah didn't care why. Having someone on her side gave her enough of a boost to trade in her frown for a smirk.
“Hmph,” she huffed. Turning back to face Marcus and the engineer, she relaxed her squared shoulders, but kept her chin tilted up as she sat back down. That was all she was going to give as the sign of her retreat. If the engineer didn't like the look of her face still, well, that was her problem. Lulah's only problem was that the captain didn't want to move the conversation somewhere else. On top of that, he fired off some questions that were going to be tricky to answer. After all, she didn't want to be running her mouth off about all the illegal business she'd been caught up in.
“Folk who ain't scared t'get things done,” she shot back as carefully as she could. It was probably as vague as it was open-ended though, but Lulah figured that wasn't a bad thing. At the end of the day, she needed a job. If she told them the truth about her last crew, the situation could go either way. That was a risk not worth taking until she had the deal sealed.
“Let's see now.... worked two years on an Adelaide, transport class. First ship I ever learnt to fly. That ol' gal ran like a jien huo on too much whiskey.” The memory of the slaving vessel turned transport ship, brought a nostalgic smile to her lips. “Yup. Next up was a swift ox mid bulk transport, refurbed to a T. She was a tetchy one. Bulky too, 'specially with a load on her. But push them buttons right and she had A-Grade charm.”
Talking about those areas of her past was relaxing enough. By now, Lulah had one arm leaning on the bar, which she sideways reclined into. “All in all, that'll be....” Pausing, she counted her fingers a moment. “Four or.. maybe five odd years out in the black. Verse is a big place. Folk do what they need to get by.” Shrugging it aside, she realised that she might've said to much there, but too late to take back what was only a fact universally known. Besides, now that she was talking, it was hard to really stop. “Could say this here's where I were born an' raised but truth is, out there in the black, that's where the real growin' ups t'be done. Besides, I don' reckon you'll find a shinier navigator round these parts. That I'll put credits on.”
jien huo = cheap floozy
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Post by Ilana Logan on Jun 2, 2012 19:01:16 GMT -5
Ilana saw the girl's jaw clench, and she uncrossed her legs. She'd pissed her off. Good, Ilana thought. Little bitch deserves a taste of her own bullshit. Ilana wanted to throw her glass at the girl's head.
"Enough," Marcus said, shaking his head. "Seriously. If you two are going to fight, lets sell some tickets first. Otherwise: I dunno."
“I ain't interested,” the girl snapped at him.
Marcus turned his head toward Ilana and mouthed the words, Dial it back. Then he looked back at Lulah. Ilana's eyes narrowed and she clenched her fist tighter.
"Jesus Ilana, what's wrong with you?" Ray asked, clearly irritated. Ilana wasn't surprised that he was irritated, just that the irritation was directed at her.
The girl turned in her seat to look at Ray and when she turned back, she was smirking. Ilana fought the urge to walk over and wipe the smirk off of her face. She had her chin pointed up, like she thought she was better than them, which only served to piss Ilana off even more. Ilana didn't care who was or wasn't better than she was, it just pissed her off when people acted like it.
"What's wrong with me?" Ilana asked, glaring at Ray, wanting to hit him, hard. "I suppose I just missed the memo that said I was supposed to allow every gāisǐ de nǚ háizi that comes near me insult me without so much as a word." She said sarcastically, not even attempting to be quiet about what she said. She had no reason to. This girl had been insulting them since she'd first walked up, and she'd never been the kind of person to just lie down belly up.
"Right. Lulah, so you're a navigator. What sort of boats have you crewed on?" Marcus asked, taking for granted that Ilana would keep her mouth shut. She had no intention of shutting up, but she would wait. "What sort of people have you worked with?"
“Folk who ain't scared t'get things done,” the girl said. “Let's see now.... worked two years on an Adelaide, transport class. First ship I ever learnt to fly. That ol' gal ran like a jien huo on too much whiskey. Yup. Next up was a swift ox mid bulk transport, refurbed to a T. She was a tetchy one. Bulky too, 'specially with a load on her. But push them buttons right and she had A-Grade charm.”
Ilana knew the ships she was talking about. She hadn't done more than service them in port, but she still had a vague memory come up when the name was mentioned. The girl went on, while Ilana fought hard to calm herself. “All in all, that'll be....”Pausing, she counted her fingers a moment. “Four or.. maybe five odd years out in the black. Verse is a big place. Folk do what they need to get by.” Shrugging , she went on further. “Could say this here's where I were born an' raised but truth is, out there in the black, that's where therealgrowin' ups t'be done. Besides, I don' reckon you'll find a shinier navigator round these parts. That I'll put credits on.”
Ilana cursed under her breath. She really needed to get some air. She'd been in a great mood… until the girl had opened her mouth. Ilana didn't like it when people talked to her or her friends like they were beneath them. Nobody was any better than anyone else, regardless of job or class. It pissed her off to no end when people acted that way. Of course, going outside would just mean that she was giving ground, or it would be perceived that way. And she wasn't giving ground to this girl.
gāisǐ de nǚ háizi means goddamned girl child
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Post by Marcus O'Terra on Jun 2, 2012 19:14:25 GMT -5
Marcus could almost feel the anger boiling off Ilana. It actually made him nervous to turn around. Ray's remark didn't exactly help things either. Marcus wasn't sure how this was supposed to go but an argument like this was NOT what he had in mind.
Maybe he shouldn't have told the group where he was going. BUT just hiring this girl without running it by the rest of the group. That led to worse ground.
She finally took a look at Ray, and seemed to notice Jay next to him, seemingly pleased at his siding with her. He imagined her comment on the 'captain' matter struck a fine chord with him.
The girl's response to who she had worked with got a smile out of him. That was a real shallow way of describing folks of an illicit nature. "Sounds like my kind of people." Marcus wasn't sure if the brown coat he was wearing got it across. He didn't wave it like a banner but it was always a flag raiser to any purple bellies in the bar.
When Lulah started listing off ships, the red haired girl seemed to calm a little. Good memories, he guessed. Somehow he started to feel better about this conversation. "Sounds like your comfortable with bulk freighters. Ever been on a Thardvark?" The mark 3 aardvarks were a few steps up from their predecessors. Marcus was glad to have it. It had taken getting used to but Marcus had flying well down. A co-pilot would be very much a help though.
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Ray Hudson
Independent | Browncoat
[M:3357]
Keep diggin' that hole
Posts: 150
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Post by Ray Hudson on Jun 2, 2012 22:08:04 GMT -5
Seeing the girl turn back at him made Ray tense a little, unsure of how she'd react. Ray had known a few girls who didn't take well to being helped and you never knew how someone would respond. Those girls he knew who despised a males aid typically had short hair and large torso's so they were a different type of girl than he was used to. The red haired girl smirked and turned back to Marcus with a huff. Ray took that as a sign of her dropping the issue and Ray loosened up a bit. Unfortunately, Ilana wasn't going to let Ray off with an angry look. She told Ray that she missed the memo where she should let any child insult her and not respond. Her sarcastic tone made him glare at her, letting out a silent breath to try to calm himself.
There she went again, talking about an insult that Ray couldn't identify. As far as he was concerned Ilana was the only one seeing a problem and was causing unnecessary issues. She was tearing into this girl over nothing and it was obvious that Ilana would start up the fight again at any given moment. She would continue a fight over a non-existant issue that only she saw.
Marcus said the girls name, Lulah and asked her what sort of ships and people she'd worked with. That was all Ray heard before he found himself standing up from his stool. He made his way towards Ilana while Lulah talked to Marcus and eventually Ray was standing next to the target of his frustration.
"We gotta talk, right now." Ray said leaning in towards her and speaking at a low volume. His frustration lingered in his voice before he leaned back away from her. Ray looked toward the wall on the opposite side of the room, showing that they needed to speak alone.
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Post by Ilana Logan on Jun 2, 2012 22:31:08 GMT -5
Marcus pretty well ignored the comment Ilana made at Ray and continued talking to the girl. "Sounds like my kind of people. Sounds like your comfortable with bulk freighters. Ever been on a Thardvark?"
Ilana made an effort to calm herself. It wasn't working as well as she'd like, but she was slowly calming down, since the tone that had set her off in the first place appeared to be gone from the girl's voice. She took a deep breath, and then a deep swig of the whiskey in her glass. Ray stood from his stool, drawing her attention back to him. He walked toward Ilana and stopped in front of her. She looked up at him, making a strong effort to stay calm in the face of his obvious aggression.
Ray leaned in to her and, in a low voice that made his anger sound even more pronounced, he said, "We gotta talk, right now."
Ilana physically flinched away from him, concerned for an instant that he was going to try to hit her, though she wasn't sure why. Probably just the tension of the whole thing. She lofted a brow at him, wondering what the hell he could possibly want to talk to her about right now, and bit back the angry response she wanted to give at his tone. He leaned back from her and looked toward the opposite side of the room, indicating to her that he wanted to speak alone. She heaved a sigh, but said nothing. Fucking lovely, she thought. And I was having such a good day. Why the hell did I even come here?
She took another drink from her glass and stood from the stool. Without looking at any of her crew, or the girl for that matter, she walked off, drink in hand, to a table near the far wall without looking to see if Ray was following her. She pulled out a chair and sat down with her back to the wall.
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