A Defiant 'Verse - In Character
POSTED BY: Defiant2thelast
UPDATED: Thursday, July 23, 2009 08:49
VIEWED: 32764
PAGE 4 of 10
Lincoln had just poured himself a cup when Bucket entered the galley, bounding down the gangway into the room with his usual childlike energy.
"Well I figured you'd want a cup, seeing you on the stairs there, like a battered sack of rice dropped from some immeasurable height. Here ya go bub."
He grinned and passed his mug to the younger man, pulling down another for himself. He filled it and added a drop of some artificial cream substance they'd found a few months back. Tasted like overused fryer oil but with a sweet thickness he sorta liked in his coffee.
"Besides, Captain likes the one flying to be.. well conscious. So do I for that matter. You look like you could sleep for a week. You alright?"
He takes a sip of his coffee, as he heads to an overstuffed, patch-worked chair in the tiny lounge.
"Guys, I know Kung Fu."
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"Three Hills, eh?" Jackie's mind raced, trying to put together any facts she could remember regarding that area. "And Aberdeen."
She wanted to answer him quickly in hopes the Captain wouldn't notice that she hadn't a care where they were going as long as it was away from here -- and fast.
"Yep, that's the direction I'm bound for, Captain Rey. I do have coinage for passage, but if you're in need of a medic, I'd just as soon work my way across the skies."
She could tell by the unrevealing look on his face the Captain was a fair hand at poker.
Behind Rey, she noticed a few other folk going about their business on board, one a richly dressed woman -- a passenger, she wondered?
The Captain opened his mouth to reply but before he could utter a sound Jackie asked, "What kind of work is it you do?"
Silently, she bit her tongue for asking. It didn't matter to her if they were a band of professional assassins or a traveling whore house as long as they were shipping out soon with her aboard.
And as long as they weren't Alliance.
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The dreaded question. At least once, every passenger makes it. As criminals, a believable lie must always be at hand with appropriate documents to prove it. That’s why the business isn’t as populated as other industries.
That’s also why Rey has made the cut.
“We’re a small time salvage boat. While a Firefly doesn’t seem ideal for the work, we give our peers a fair run for the pay check."
Rey pointed at the undeniably official papers sealed in plastic to the metal wall. Despite the drop dead obvious placing, the years have proven that customs officials are dumb enough to believe them, and even prefer the placement.
With the question deflected, Nathan considered his options. If he happened to spurt it out like a complete fool, the guise which the Defiant acted under may be blown, but he couldn't shake the idea of someone who could patch his crew up as anything but a good one. He prayed she wasn't a fed.
"While I sincerely hope we never will need your services Doc, you're crew as long as the same stays in one piece. The rate is a standard five percent cut and your own rack is available."
Nathan extended a hand to seal the deal.
Lincolnz: I'll have an explosion in my pants pocket when I get a text message now
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Jackie looked down at the Captain’s extended hand, his words echoing in her head: You're crew as long as the same stays in one piece. The rate is a standard five percent cut and your own rack is available.
Wow, just like that she was part of the crew of a salvage ship about to blast away, far away, from this pee-goo planet.
It all seemed so easy, too easy. On the other hand, maybe this meant she was in exactly the right place, exactly the right time to be in it.
She felt the wide grin slowly split her face. She grabbed his hand and shook it enthusiastically.
“Sheh-shey, Cap’n. You won’t regret it. I’ll do whatever I can to keep you and yours shiny. I guarantee it, or my name’s not Jackie Holliday.”
A corner of his mouth curved upward and suddenly she felt a little foolish. So much for playing it cool. Country doc meets slick salvage captain.
She lowered her hand and stooped to pick up her suitcase. As she straightened, her eyes brightened. “Do I smell coffee?” she asked hopefully.
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“I’m guessin’ you do Doc, the galley is that way.” Nathan pointed “Get acquainted with the crew some, I’ll go see to other matters.”
With that, Nathan left for the shuttle Ainsley was currently inspecting. You couldn’t leave business sitting idle too long; it tends to sour the deal some bit…
Lincolnz: I'll have an explosion in my pants pocket when I get a text message now
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Standing on the desk in the corner of his room, Dale's head had disappeared into his new frontier.
The roof cavity.
Sure, it was cramped, filled with electrics and composite supports, but luckily, it stuck true to the most stubborn of cliches that survived the vid-culture from earth-that-was.
The ship had a ventilation system.
It was smaller than the "comfortable" sized ones in most adventure scenes, in fact it would probably allow only forward movement, even for Dale. Also, it was undoubtedly linked the the main atmo-pump, which would make it frigidly cold when it worked to counterract the soaring temperatures of the ship- as happened when entering atmo, and likely, a little on the warm-side when out in the cold black.
It'd require conservative planning, cautious scouting and wary exploration- But it was undoubtably awesome.
As he replaced the grill and screwed the restraints back in-place, he resolved to keep the discovery to himself for now. It was his room, his secret, and his adventure for the moment.
Life in the black was too boring without a project, and Dale had just found one.
He pocketed his multitool and turned his senses to the rest of the ship. He could hear several footsteps on the metal stairways of the cargo hold, and just the faintest touch of coffee tainting the air with an irresitible pull. A slight grin formed on his face
His discovery had left him awake, and eager to see what was what, who was who, and where in the verse they were off to now.
It was good to be doing things
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Whatever conversation had happened at the ship's entrance was over, and the captain was headed Ainsley's way.
"Captain Rey," she said, stepping down the last few stairs onto the cargo bay floor. Her gaze flicked over to the woman he'd been talking to, curious, and then focused on Rey again. "The shuttle seems decent enough. What's your asking price?"
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"Oranges, Mimes? Yeah... I'm not sure what you mean, bud."
He recalled the street performers he'd seen, they seemed mostly harmless at the time. Lincoln leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee. He considered Bucket's comment about not being cut out for random acts of violence and wondered honestly if he was himself. He glanced at his friend. His eyes had a pinch to the corners which suggested stress or fatigue, probably both considering his awkward nap in the hold and his sigh as he collapsed into his chair. This place was beginning to get to everyone.
"Work, yeah. Captain has a job in mind." Lincoln confirmed. "Details are a bit undecided yet but it looks profitable." He didn't give said details, that would wait until later.
He set his coffee on a small table next to his chair, he preferred his coffee cooled a bit. Never was much of a fan of extreme temperatures, especially in his food or beverage.
"I think we'll be leaving soon, Nathan is keen on getting out of here."
"Guys, I know Kung Fu."
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The Captain had turned his attention to someone else, the dark-haired woman she'd seen earlier. Their conversation seemed serious enough that Jackie decided it wasn't the time for introductions. Plenty of time for that later, if the woman was to stay on board for the Defiant's upcoming trip.
Therefore, the doctor decided to follow her strongest inclination at the moment, which meant following the tempting scent of coffee. Could it possibly be the real thing? It certainly smelled like it.
She turned a corner and found two men looking up from comfortable-looking chairs, each with a steaming mug at hand.
Jackie set down her bag and suitcase and came forward with an extended hand to the nearest one, a large and dark-skinned fellow with friendly eyes.
"Hi, there, gentlemen. I'm Doctor Holliday. I sure hope you have enough of that delicious-smelling brew for one more."
She moved to the second man, much smaller and younger than the other, his blond mullet looking like it hadn't seen a comb for a few days. He seemed a bit shy, meeting her eyes for only an instant before shaking her hand quickly and then glancing away.
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Lincoln had just taken another sip as the woman entered. He glanced from her bag to her hand and then stood, shaking it briskly as she introduced herself. As she moved on to Bucket he spoke.
"Lincoln Bargara, First Mate. This is Mic.."
"Bucket, call me Bucket." The younger man interrupted, Lincoln not even glancing and seeming to have anticipated the correction.
"Coffee, yes. Here let me pour you a mug."
Setting his mug down he moved back towards the galley kitchen and dug out another from a cabinet. He blew in it quickly to dislodge any stray dust and rinsed it out.
"Make yourself comfortable." He called over to her. He continued to talk as he poured the dark coffee.
"So the captain hired a Doc after all? Cream?" He asked the last part quickly and held up a questionable canister with a picture of a poorly imagined cow.
"Big.. big mug."
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