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Post by Samantha Greystone on Jun 9, 2023 9:05:19 GMT -5
SPACE, 1 Day From Georgia System
July 16th, 2518
AST 2:00 PM
Lunch had been over for a while and clean up was done. Sam would be talking to Mike later, thanks to Rina. Now, for the moment anyway, there was one more thing to do.
One last look around, maybe she should reorganize the pantry. Why was this such a big deal? He was a doctor, the Captain was right he should know. It was just she felt weird telling people, even Max didn't know her real age.
No reason to put it off, she headed out of the gallery and towards the infirmary, where Jay likely was.
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 1, 2023 18:37:49 GMT -5
Jay had spent a good part of the morning wandering aimlessly around the ship. The typical day - journaling, some exercise, a bit of cleaning. As he aimlessly wandered into the infirmary, he saw Sam walk up not soon after. She looked a bit nervous, or maybe a little scattered, Jay wasn't sure. She came toward the infirmary, he assumed that was her destination as well as his. He gave her a small wave, "Hey, how's it going?" he asked.
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Post by Samantha Greystone on Sept 1, 2023 18:49:01 GMT -5
How's it going? Well, how that was the question she supposed. "Alright," Sam responded. "I have something to tell you and before you ask, the Captain already knows but no one else and I'd like to keep it that way." She didn't really think he'd tell anyone, or couldn't honestly Sam didn't remember how that worked.
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 1, 2023 19:00:40 GMT -5
"Alright," Sam responded. "I have something to tell you and before you ask, the Captain already knows but no one else and I'd like to keep it that way."
Jay nodded, "Yeah, of course." He walked around Sam and shut the door to the infirmary for privacy reasons. Since it was a private conversation, he figured Sam wouldn't want someone walking by and overhearing. "Don't worry, it'll stay between us. What's going on?"
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Post by Samantha Greystone on Sept 1, 2023 19:06:18 GMT -5
Sam hadn't realized the door was opened until, Jay closed it.
"I'm not nineteen, I'm 16." Sam said. "The Captain thought you should know. I suppose she's right. I just usually don't tell people."
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 1, 2023 21:11:25 GMT -5
Jay blinked in surprise. "Huh?" he said instinctively, before the information fully processed. He thought she was at least mid-twenties, but she was still a teenager? He leaned back on the counter and crossed his arms. "Damn, I would never have guessed. What did Ilana say when you told her?"
He wondered what the hell in her life had brought her to this crew at only sixteen years old. She was clearly mature for her age. Jay had also been touted as having an 'old soul' for most of his adolescence, but he knew that was due to hardship more than anything. A sense of protectiveness sprung up, but ultimately he wanted to treat her like everyone else on the crew - like an adult. First thing though, was to assess how the captain felt about it - he would definitely bring it up later.
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Post by Samantha Greystone on Sept 1, 2023 21:57:42 GMT -5
He leaned back on the counter and crossed his arms. "Damn, I would never have guessed. What did Ilana say when you told her? Jay asked.
"She mostly didn't blame me for not telling her before and said it was up to me to decide who to tell. Except she said you should know." Sam responded. "I had already told her the long sorted story of how I ended up here."
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 1, 2023 23:47:12 GMT -5
Jay nodded, [/b]"Yeah, that makes sense... Thanks for telling me."[/b] He looked down, then back up. "How did you end up here?"
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Post by Samantha Greystone on Sept 2, 2023 7:22:48 GMT -5
"How did you end up here?" The doctor asked.
Sam took a breath, "I'll tell you but you might want to get comfortable, it's a long story."
She then began, "I was raised on a ship. My parents were co-captains, the crew like family. My father taught me to cook. My brother took to piloting, so the pilot mentored him. I took to Engineering. The Engineer took me under his wing. When I was about six, I started showing an aptitude with computers. The Engineer was also good with computers, hacking in particular. He showed me how, by eight I was hacking on my own." Sam paused. "The crew will know soon enough I'm a hacker, as the Captain has asked me to help on the upcoming job. So, at least, that part isn't a secret."
She moved around a little. "We mostly took on cargo, but sometimes passengers as well. I took up the habit of hacking into information about all the passengers, even though my parents didn't like it, they thought it was too dangerous, but I never found anything.
We were stopped in Paquin when my parents agreed to take on a passenger, a man who called himself Chen Hui. He seemed alright but no matter how deep I dug, on the Cortex, I couldn't find the man anywhere. Its one thing to just have a fake ID but he was a ghost even on the dark web. I kept it to myself not just because my parents didn't like me hacking but Chen seemed nice. We stopped at Persephone, my mom sent me to a store to get a few things. By the time I got back..." without realizing it, Sam had begun to pace. This part was difficult and it showed. "By the time I got back to the ship everyone was murdered. My parents, the entire crew.. Chen and my brother were missing. The only thing was a note which read "Nǐ shì xià yīgè."
There was a tone to her voice that this was just a break, there was more to tell.
Nǐ shì xià yīgè - You're next.
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 3, 2023 13:44:04 GMT -5
Jay nodded "I love a long story," he said and waved her the go ahead. He listened to her story intently, surprised at how much she had done at such a young age. She sounded like some prodigy or something. It made Jay reflect for a moment on his own, rather stuffy and sheltered upbringing - on Paquin, no less. He realized an how engineer would be helpful - he saw why Ilana brought her to the crew rather than just as a cook. As she got into the murder of her parents, Jay frowned sympathetically. "Wow, that is insane... thank you for telling me. And, if that guy shows up I hope you know we got your back. We're a pretty tight knit crew, for the most part."
After a moment, he asked "Do you think your brother is still alive?" But then, considering it might be intrusive, added "If that's okay to ask."
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Post by Samantha Greystone on Sept 3, 2023 14:13:53 GMT -5
"Wow, that is insane... thank you for telling me. And, if that guy shows up I hope you know we got your back. We're a pretty tight knit crew, for the most part." Jai commented.
"Thanks, I've started to notice that the crew seems pretty close." Sam was still getting used to it, as it had been a while.
"Do you think your brother is still alive?" The question by the doctor, left Sam to think for a moment.
She responded with, "I don't know for sure. I know he wouldn't have just left me behind, if he had a choice. I have searched for him, but even with my hacking skills haven't found a trace of him." Sam had no idea if Jay knew that Mike was a finder, and didn't feel it was her place to tell, so she left out that she was going to ask for his help.
"There is more to the story. I later found out that there was no record of their being a passenger on the ship, and the Alliance was looking for myself and my brother. Which I'm pretty sure is because they want to pin the murders on someone. I've been pretty much going from ship to ship ever since. I'll admit I get antsy if I'm on the ground for too long." Sam wasn't sure how much else she was going to tell him. "I suppose you could say I've had my fill of experiences with different crews."
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 8, 2023 1:48:44 GMT -5
Jay nodded, listening to Sam's story. At this point, the surprise had faded but his empathy still grew in his chest - he had never been close with his family, often isolated from anyone he cared about. The crew had been the closest thing he ever had to a family or even friends, and losing them sounded unbearable. He couldn't imagine losing blood he actually cared about, especially under such circumstances.
"We are close," he said, referring to the crew. "Have had a few people come and go, but the core of us is strong even though we only been together a bit more than a year. I'm just a medical school softie, most of my family had little interest in me for my... proclivities. And the few that I've worked with didn't feel differently."
Jay had been working on being more honest about being sly, especially with his crew. Ilana knew, but he had never spoken to it with the rest of the crew. He figured they knew, he didn't hide it but didn't bring it up earlier. But he shook that thought away, turning his focus back to Sam's story.
Referring to the man who had taken her brother, "Sounds like an he was an impressive con artist to disappear like that and pin it on you and your brother, shit... wouldn't blame you for not wanting to stay in one place for too long."
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Post by Samantha Greystone on Sept 8, 2023 13:07:36 GMT -5
"We are close," he said, referring to the crew. "Have had a few people come and go, but the core of us is strong even though we only been together a bit more than a year. I'm just a medical school softie, most of my family had little interest in me for my... proclivities. And the few that I've worked with didn't feel differently."
Sam nodded to Jay's words, when he mentioned his proclivities she didn't bat an eye. Her parents always taught her it didn't matter what someone's leanings were, as long as they were a good person. After living such a live as she had, she knew her parents had been correct. There were far more important things to be concerned with. Had she suspected about Jay being sly, possibly, it was more that she didn't think on it much one way or the other. Even now, it was just a guess that was the way he was. "Just so you know, I never judge. And, as far as I'm concerned, anyone's proclivities, is their own business. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other. As long as people are decent towards others." She didn't ask, she didn't need his confirmation on her thoughts unless he choose to give it.
"Sounds like an he was an impressive con artist to disappear like that and pin it on you and your brother, shit... wouldn't blame you for not wanting to stay in one place for too long." Jay's words resonated on truth.
"Yes, unfortunately too good." Sam tried not to dwell on the fact that two of the people after her wanted her dead. As for Alliance, dead or in prison for the rest of her life, more likely the first. "It does get tiring though, going from job to job, line that." Sam wasn't exactly sure why she confessed that last part, except Jay seemed easy to talk to.
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 18, 2023 0:05:41 GMT -5
Jay noticed her response, or lack thereof, to his "sly" mention of his sexuality. She passed the test - those he mentioned to, even vaguely, usually took the hint and their reaction was under Jay's immediate scrutiny. The best response is no response. The most common response is a mix of surprise, confusion and often a smidge of disgust.
"Just so you know, I never judge. And, as far as I'm concerned, anyone's proclivities, is their own business. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other. As long as people are decent towards others." she said. Jay nodded in thanks. "Appreciate that." he said, "You never know."
After she continued, he added, "I understand that. Before joining this crew, out of med school my longest job was two months. It was rough for a couple years. And hey, maybe we could help find him someday." - he wasn't sure if that was something that would be appropriate to mention but knew that it was true.
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Post by Samantha Greystone on Sept 18, 2023 18:29:19 GMT -5
"I understand that. Before joining this crew, out of med school my longest job was two months. It was rough for a couple years. And hey, maybe we could help find him someday."
Sam nodded with understanding to what he said at first. As for finding her brother. "The Captain mentioned that as well. I am seriously considering it. I think knowing, no matter what I actually find out, has to be better than not knowing." Which had been one of the hardest parts about all of this, but Sam didn't voice that.
She did glance at the time, "I should probably get going, get back to work and let you do the same. But thanks for the talk."
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Post by Jay Fuller on Sept 23, 2023 13:31:30 GMT -5
Jay always preferred knowing over not, so he understood her disposition. When she mentioned to leave, he nodded, "Of course. Any time." He smiled, and opened the door for her as she left.
He waited for a moment in the infirmary, processing - he was truly more surprised by her age than her family problems. The traumatic past was a given for most people who flew on a crew, but he had never seen someone so young. Jay reflected on his own adolescence, unable to imagine being on his own at that age. In a way, Jay felt a ping simultaneously of worry for the kid, and a new level of respect and admiration for her.
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