Red Fire Part II, Kasern S. 2, Ep 2. Part 2.

[Kasern]

Persephone is behind them, abandoned as one with nothing left to offer. Reminders of damp morning rains and hot afternoon sun, of noodle shops, cold white wine, and meetings with friends new and old become memories to be reached for in the lonely dark of the Black.

Kasern flies forward, towards to a future unknown. A year before, a single young woman set out to explore her own future and was lost in the tangle of misfortune that was Unity Life Corporation's promise of a new life, a new world. This voyage has taken Kasern to dark places, and now, at last, there is a glimmer of light.

Alan Red and the crew of The Red Queen race ahead of her, blazing a trail that she can follow. Together, will these two ships, both winging their way with their glory days left in the past, put a closing on the final chapter of Dolenz' cult and shine a light, a beacon, for those cast out by it's madness?

Welcome to Kasern, Red Fire, Part II.

Hope y'all had a solid breakfast this morning, because you're gonna need it... ;)

[Cade Quinn]

Cade stood inside his bunk, door closed, just breathing. Just feeling.

Everything was just as he'd left it. Except for one thing.

The scrap of paper on his desk.

Cade,
If you make it back before I do, I wanted you to know.
I got a job, a good one, here on Bernadette. I'll be back when I can.
You are what keeps me breathing at night. Please, take care of yourself. Take care of our girl.
I'll be home soon.
Dahlia

That's what he'd said. Weeks ago. Be home soon.

She didn't leave a wave-code. So he figured... Well, he knew what that meant. Squaring his shoulders, he tucked the note right back onto his desk, under the edge of a ledger with the figures they still owed Howard Tong, a dwindling number, surprisingly low considering where they'd started. Accounts left unpaid. Would that be what Dahls became?

Hell.

Cade turned his back on his room, strode out into the corridor and glanced around for signs of life before he hit the com-unit, "Cade here, gang. Let's everyone meet up in the Common room for some gettin'-to-know time. We got a couple days before we reach where we're goin', but we got a lot to do before we get there."

Weren't that the understatement of the year?

Turning back, he snagged up his folding chair just in case, wondering for the first time just how many folk they had onboard. Including the kiddos? Delilah! He hadn't seen Delilah yet! Had she gotten taller? And did they count as two each for how much trouble they caused? Cade headed towards the galley with an eager step, leaving behind his troubles for a moment. He was home. Trouble could wait another few thousand miles...

[Jason Cunningham]

Jason knelt down in front of his backpack, unzipping it. He pulled out a Corpad and placed it on the desk his bag leaned against. It hadn't taken long for him and Riley to find a room. The two wanted to share a room, seeing as neither of them had many possessions.

Jason hadn't bought much during his six years on Santo. Just enough to make it through the week. Food had been his main necessity there. No need for many clothes. The money had to be saved for Riley and it came in handy. Riley didn't have much, because she'd left most of it at the orphanage, wanting to start a new life for the second time in her eighteen years. She only took what she had of her father and early childhood. The siblings probably could have shared all they owned in one bag.

Jason sat at the desk, starting the Corpad. Riley laid on the bed, watching him. Her expression was blank, though, her mind wandering. Being on the Kasern reminded her of being back on her home ship. Her heart ached for the past, mourned for the family she had once had. Jason was all she had left. She swallowed a lump in her throat, not wanting to think about it, but the memories flooded her mind. She wondered if Jason was thinking the same things or if he'd gotten over the end of their family so long ago. She hadn't. In fact, she had avoided confronting it over the past years.

Riley could only hope that this crew didn't share the same fate as her original one. They all seemed close. They also seemed genuinely accepting of her, her brother, Caleb, and the other newcomers. That was something she truly appreciated and she desperately wanted to be a part of what they had.

"We're gonna have to pull our own weight," Riley finally said, breaking the deep silence. She noticed Jason's hands stop moving. He tensed a bit before nodding. He and Riley had an unstated set of rules when it came to being aboard a ship. They were almost comparable to latch-key kids. Rule 1: If you're going to be on a ship, you have to play a role, prove your worth.

"I know," Jason said quietly. He ran his finger over the Corpad again. Riley sat up, crossing her legs so she sat Indian style. She ran a hand into her wavy hair, resting her head on her palm, her elbow on one knee.

"We're thieves, Jason. Thieves, tricksters, con men. You're a hacker-"

"And you're a fighter," Jason finished, knowing she wouldn't include it.

"Yeah. So, what are we going to offer?" Riley asked. Jason turned off the Corpad and got up, turning to her. He shoved his hands into his pockets, taking a step toward the bed. Riley watched her brother.

"I'll help them work with their tech, I guess. I'll do that as a way to prove both of our worth." Riley shook her head.

"That's wrong. I need to do my own-"

"Until you figure out what you can do to help, I will handle things. And I'll talk to Caleb about what he can do. Until then, stay out of peoples' way," Jason said sternly. Riley returned the expression. Although they weren't biologically related, this look that they shared conveyed their relationship as brother and sister. They even looked similar when they did it.

"I'm not a child, Jason," Riley retorted. She didn't appreciate him treating her like that or talking down to her. She knew that she had been ten when they separated, but she was eighteen now. They'd celebrated her last two birthdays together for Christ's sake. He didn't have to treat her like she was still a kid.

"You are to me," Jason admitted. They were silent for a moment. Jason was letting Riley think over his confession, letting her frustration with it ease. He knew she wouldn't appreciate the statement, but it was true. She was still his baby sister. "Maybe they'll need a fighter or something. I don't know, but we'll find out what you can do. Until then, chill out. I'm going to go find Caleb."

Jason left the room. Where would Caleb possibly be? He assumed the younger man would be in his room. They hadn’t been onboard long and Caleb was… antisocial to say the least. He walked to the bedroom beside his and Riley’s and knocked on the door, hoping the former slave was there. He wanted to talk to him immediately before they were at a loss for time or privacy. He heard Cade's voice, though, and knew their conversation would have to wait as Riley exited the room they shared.

"Meet ya there," Riley said.



OOC: Um, I give myself permission to godmod Riley... Yeah. LOL. I hope I don't put them in posts together like this too often.

[Caleb Hall]

The ship was enormous. At least, that was Caleb’s first impression of it. He had been wandering through various sections of Kasern for what felt like hours, though it was really only a couple minutes. There were quite a few rooms to look at. Most of them were living areas, but still, they were interesting. Of course, Caleb couldn’t stop himself from noticing certain things, such as potential escape routes or objects that could function as makeshift weaponry. If for any reason he needed to make a quick exit, he wanted to know how to go about doing that. Just in case.

One thing Caleb wasn’t seeing around was people, though that was more his doing than anything else. A new ship full of people he didn’t know was a little intimidating, and the man would rather put off group meetings for as long as he could. He preferred being alone. When he was alone, he didn’t have to act any certain way. He could be his normal, closed-off self.

Unfortunately, the former slave knew that sooner or later he’d have to face the strangers on the ship and that they’d ask him to tell them some kind of story about his past. That was something he was not willing to do, but didn’t know how to avoid it either. Well, he still had some time. He’d think of something.

Caleb rounded a corner and found himself back where he started, down the hall from his room. He was surprised to see Jason knocking on his door. What could the older man want that couldn’t wait? He was about to go find out when Cade’s voice rang through the ship. Caleb winced. Great, there was the call for the big meet and greet. With a sigh, the man approached his companion.

“Looking for me?” he asked. ”What’s up?”

[Zira]

Her Bunk

Pillows and blankets covered a bed that looked like it hadn't been made since it was first put together.

Clothes covered the floor area in front of what passed for a closet.

There was a open trail leading from door to bed, bed to clothes, clothes to door, and all to her Corepad that was built into the wall under a table she had named as desk. There was a Capture on the table showing a little girl, a woman, and a man. All three had the same dark hair, but it was clear that the smallest favored her mother most of all. She was held in the air between them, smiles and laughter on all of their faces.

Next to the capture were three guns, each taken apart and in the process of being cleaned. All three were old, and none of them had originally belonged to Zira.

The message had been recorded. Her finger hovered over the send button though. If they were trying to be stealthy, it wouldn't be a good thing to send out a wave to broadcast where she was, even if the receiver was sure to keep it quiet. But Z needed the help that only one person could give.

The help only a mother could give.

"Cade here, gang. Let's everyone meet up in the Common room for some gettin'-to-know time. We got a couple days before we reach where we're goin', but we got a lot to do before we get there."

The door to her room was closing before Cade had even finished speaking, only ghosts remaining in it.

And the CorePad was reading "Message Sent" before it disappeared.

[Riley Aimes]

Riley sighed as her brother exited their new room. She looked around it as if she expected to see something immensely special about it. It was bare, though, as if it had never been used. Empty. That would change soon enough, though. Even in the orphanage, Riley had refused to stay in a plain room. She had to mark her stamp on it somehow. But she'd wait for her brother's approval before messing with things.

She hopped off the bed and went to her bag in the corner of the room. She unzipped it and began rummaging through it to make sure everything she wanted was there. She knew it was, though. She didn't really own much. No, what she really wanted was a particular item. She found it in the secret inside pocket of her duffel. Riley pulled it out cautiously, gracefully.

She unsheathed the knife. It was her father's and she'd taken it from his jacket before the Alliance took her. That, and the cross she wore around her neck were the only things she had from him. And an old blanket from when she was a child. She had stitched a ripped off piece into the interior of one of her jackets. But this knife was what she treasured most in this 'Verse. She'd never had to use it in a fight. It looked to beautiful to use. The way the blade and hilt curved. The way it came to two tips, a slit splitting most of the blade.

She was pulled from her admiration when she heard Cade's voice.

"Cade here, gang. Let's everyone meet up in the Common room for some gettin'-to-know time. We got a couple days before we reach where we're goin', but we got a lot to do before we get there."

Riley put the knife back into its leather sheath. She placed it back into the inside pocket before zipping up the bag and standing. She left the room, not bothering to put her leather jacket back on. The tank top would do.

"Meet ya there," Riley said, passing her brother in the hall. Jason gave her a look as she began going up the stairs. Passing Zira and Ian's rooms, she went into the Common Area. Seeing that she was the first to arrive, she shrugged and took a seat in a chair farthest from the entrance she'd come through.

[Claudia James]

Claudia's Room

Back in her room with a belly full of beef and veggie noodles, Claudia unpacked her duffel, putting the clothes away on shelves in the closet, laying the CorPad on the desk and hiding the stash away in a hole she made in the mattress. She didn't think anyone would actually do searches of the crew's quarters, but it was never a good idea to keep things like that out in the open, no matter how private one's room might be.

It was bad enough what Galvin might suspect, she thought, sitting back on her bed with eyes closed, one hand wrapped around a single tablet of Edge. He had been polite enough, never asking anything too personal and he certainly hadn't pushed for any information. But somehow, he had gotten under her skin. Whether it was the fact that he had reminded her of Alastair or something else, she didn't know, but there was a gnawing feeling in her guts about him that had nothing to do with the noodles she had shared with him. And it wasn't altogether unpleasant...

"Cade here, gang. Let's everyone meet up in the Common room for some gettin'-to-know time. We got a couple days before we reach where we're goin', but we got a lot to do before we get there."

The captain's call interrupted her train of thought, jarring her back to the present and the thing she held in her hand. Now wasn't the best time to take Edge. The drug lived up to its name in more ways than one. Not only did it put you on edge, but it sharpened your senses, ramped up adrenaline and shot pain tolerance through the roof and above all allowed you to stay awake for for days. “No...” she mumbled to herself and stuffed the pill back in the mattress with the others. Not what she needed when there were half a dozen new people to meet. And seeing Cade Quinn again.

She changed into her own clothes; a dark green t-shirt with a faded print of a circuit board, her black washed-out jeans and her own boots. Clothes that fit, clothes that were her own, that had a smell she could recognise and feel comfortable about. She had never known how much one's own clothes mattered before she had ended up with nothing of her own. She hadn't even cared for clothes before, but now those precious few items in her closet were all she had left of her old life. Even if there was little left of that life, those five t-shirts and two pairs of jeans mattered. More than she had ever imagined.

Picking up her CorPad, she left her room and stopped. Down the corridor were two of the new folk, a pair of men she hadn't met yet. Skin crawling and heart starting to beat faster, she stared at them for a few moments, unsure what to say or do. Under any circumstance she would have to pass them to get to the common room and standing here like a deer in the headlights wouldn't do her any good. Taking a deep breath, she tucked the CorPad under her arm, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked toward the two of them, giving a nod. “Hi, I'm Claudia. Or CJ, or Ceej. Whatever you like,” she said, giving the names she was known by on the streets of Eavesdown for some reason. “Common room's this way.” She pointed and moved to go past them, waving them along.

[Galvin Schueto]

"Cade here, gang. Let's everyone meet up in the Common room for some gettin'-to-know time. We got a couple days before we reach where we're goin', but we got a lot to do before we get there."
Galvin smiled as he relaxed. He had been working on his new scope and gear since he had gotten back. With all the new faces, things were bound to be confusing so he just relaxed and took things slow. He heard Claudia's voice in the hall but figured she didn't need his inpute so he continued to work before entering the hallway. With confidence he headed for the common room. It was time to meet the new faces and do something he hadn't done before. Stick up for himself and talk. To make sure others listened. His life was changing before his eyes and he liked were it was going. Thus the smile he had on.....

[Jason Cunningham]

Jason glanced to the end of the hall, towards the cargo bay where Caleb was coming from. He waited for him to approach before speaking, shoving his hands in his pockets. That was his natural posture which Caleb probably knew. He either had his hands in his pockets or had his arms crossed over his chest.

“Looking for me?” Caleb asked. Jason glanced around the hallway almost suspiciously as Caleb usually would. Just because he was confident, it didn't mean he couldn't be suspicious at times. If anything, being a thief made him more aware of his surroundings. ”What’s up?” Jason returned his attention to the younger man.

"Yeah. Riley and I were talking about what we're going to do now that we're onboard. But I guess it will have to wait, seeing as we're supposed to be gathering in the Common Area," Jason replied. He sighed, looking towards the stairs his sister had just gone up. He really wanted to get through this conversation, but he also knew it was important to meet their new crew. Familiarity was the key to a great crew as Jason had witnessed throughout his life.

He glanced down the hall again, noticing the appearance of a woman. He hadn't been paying close attention apparently and mentally reprimanded himself for the slip.

“Hi, I'm Claudia. Or CJ, or Ceej. Whatever you like,” she said. “Common room's this way.”

Jason gave a small smile as she passed and waved them along. He looked back at Caleb, gesturing that they needed to follow. He led the way, but slowed a bit so Caleb could catch up to him. He glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He realized that this Meet & Greet probably meant sharing stories even if they weren't long and detailed, just short and general. But Caleb's was tragic even when told in a general sense. Jason knew full and well that, despite being companions for the last two years, Caleb still didn't trust him or his sister. He didn't mind and, despite this distrust, Jason still considered Caleb almost family and watched and protected him as such. He cared.

"Are you gonna be okay with this, man?" Jason asked as they entered the Common Area. He didn't go directly toward his sister, but he still stayed close. A few yards away, but he wasn't standing right next to where she was sitting. He still had to turn his head in order to look at her.



OOC: Permission to godmod Caleb from... well, Caleb Hall.

[Caleb Hall]

Caleb wasn’t sure how to respond to what Jason said. He hadn’t given any thought as to what he would actually do on the ship. As far as he was concerned, getting on the ship was enough. Apparently, though, he was wrong. Great. That was a problem. Aside from taking orders unbelievably well, he really couldn’t anything. He had a little piloting knowledge, but no actual experience. He wouldn’t trust himself to control the Kasern with any skill. And really, while he didn’t exactly like any of the people on the boat all that much, he didn’t dislike them enough to want to kill them all in a fiery crash.

Luckily, he didn’t have to give Jason an answer just yet. First there was a meeting to attend. A meeting that he would much rather skip. Caleb didn’t know what to do. He could spell out his entire history to this group of strangers, something that he wasn’t actually sure he could handle, or he could say nothing and leave them all thinking that he was some sort of criminal. Neither option was particularly enticing.

When the woman, Claudia, came up, Caleb nodded his response, his face expressionless. He was too busy thinking to really pay attention to what was going on around him. Because of this, it took him a couple seconds to notice when Jason started walking away, and he had to catch up. He caught Jason’s glance at him but didn’t respond. Jason was often glancing at him, and Caleb had long since stopped wondering what that meant. If Jason wanted him to know, he could just say it.

When Jason asked him if he was okay with their current situation, Caleb frowned. ”Do I look okay?” He didn’t mean for his words to sound hostile, but he couldn’t really help it. The prospect of having to relive his past, even for a brief period, was distressing, to say the least. And questions with obvious answers really weren’t helping.

[Hunter "Wildback"]

Wildback was lost on this thing. He wasn't sure where he was going; he wasn't even sure where he was... Lost, that was the answer. Somewhere on the lower levels of the ship probably, but he didn't remember taking any elevators. He had a pounding hangover... yeah that was fun. The cloud of smoke leading his way faded away down the corridor not encountering anyone at all. His scalp itched... not sure why.
"Cade here, gang. Let's everyone meet up in the Common room for some gettin'-to-know time. We got a couple days before we reach where we're goin', but we got a lot to do before we get there." The voice over the loud speakers was ringing through the hallways, Cade wanted everyone to meet up.

Wildback snorted, "The Common Room... yeah...Problem is I can't find the Gorram Common Room! I don't even know where I am!" It was pointless and childish to yell at the ceeling like that, but it made him feel better so he really didn't care.

Almost confident he wouldn't see anyone on this boat he took off in a random direction, smoke-stick in his hand. Then something odd happened. He encountered someone Two guys actually. A pare of new recruites like himself, Jason somthing? He didn't bother remembering... his hangover was still sore.

“Hi, I'm Claudia. Or CJ, or Ceej. Whatever you like, Common room's this way.” Some woman told them, waving him down a random hallway. She was a blonde, attractive enough. Mind you at this point he was tending to think that off every woman he saw... She seemed to be sweating…odd, not to mention a bit jittery. No doubt it was nervous energy, there were several complete strangers on her ship. That tends to make folk a mite nervous.

Wildback entered the hallway after the pare of young men left, saluteing the woman with his cigarette, creating a little smoke cloud and knocking some ash onto the shoulder of his battered old Browncoat. "Much obliged to you madam" He bowed in the older style from Earth that was. "My Name's Hunter Arnell, though most folk call me Wildback. I'm glad to make the acquaintance of such a charming lady..."

That's gotta put me in her good books. I hope I made a friend today...God knows I need 'em.

This post has been edited by Hunter "Wildback" on May 6 2011, 09:40 AM

[Piecemeal]

The mechanic grunted at the announcement as it belted through the insulating fire blanket that he had packed around the loudspeaker. Still too ruttin' loud, he was going to have make Zira scream bloody murder at him by cracking the case and getting at the tender inner components to install a muffler or something.

He looked down at where his mechanical arm lay across the worktable he had set up and set to closing the plating on the upper arm, the elbow gears were just dirty so he had just to clean them, which was a relief since his attention had been called to the commons. He handled the power driver with his meat hand and fastened the plating back down with the speed that comes with countless practice. Once re-assembled, Kasern's mechanic hefted the heavy prosthetic right handed and swung the cybernetic's shoulder socket at the geared metal nub that protruded from where his organic shoulder had been. There was the always agonizing lurch as the powerful motor wired to his brain caught within the socket and powered the limb. The electrical jolt of his fine motor control wiring interfacing with the socket hit next with the shivering input of chewing tin foil. Finally he set to bolting the supports that lay against his scarred skin to the anchor points that jutted from his flesh, the only indications that under the skin were an entire support system of metal plates welded to bone to support the oversized juggernaught's arm.

The process that he undertook every morning when he woke (after all, having a immensely strong meathook flailing around when he suffered one of his famous night frights could hurt himself or anything else around him had taught him that lesson very early on.) done far quicker than it takes to tell, he shouldered into his shirt again and headed out of the engine room like some sort of sentinel of the engine the lil one called "Puff".

He remained with his thoughts as he slogged through the hallways of Kasern. As a rule, he didn't cotton to new folks; stared too much. So he had stayed where he had felt the most at home: where most folks didn't go unless they were fixin' to either monkey with the engine or chew at his mostly meat buttocks about some imagined slight to the ship's flight. To the first, and since he had again arrived a day late and credit short to the scuffle in the cargo bay while at Eavesdown, he had been nursing his street sweeper just in case Bad People needed a double barrel answer to their query. As for the latter? Well his onriness had truly become mythic since he was in bad sorts about his lack of help with the past neferarious goin ons plus he was trying to kick the 'statin cold turkey. The only reprieve anyone got of his grumpiness was if lil Deliah or Ben were around.

Peace finally stomped around the corner and stood in the commons door for a moment to let his appearance settle with people. Nothing would make his poundin' brainache blossom into a vicious lil bastard of a migrane like someone screaming. He picked a spot at the back of the room and settled down to listen to what was going one.

This post has been edited by Piecemeal on May 6 2011, 12:24 PM

[Claudia James]

The sudden arrival of a third newcomer in the hallway made Claudia pause, giving the other two the head-start they seemed to want anyway. The way the two had looked at each other and clammed up when she'd walked up to them made it obvious even to her that she had interrupted something. Hell, they hadn't even bothered to introduce themselves, though the serious-looking one did give her a polite nod.

"Much obliged to you madam. My Name's Hunter Arnell, though most folk call me Wildback. I'm glad to make the acquaintance of such a charming lady..."

The bow, the cigarette, the faint smell of alcohol under the smoke made Claudia take half a step away from him, shifting her CorPad to her front, grasping it across her chest. Something about this 'Wildback' put her on edge even more than the other two had and she gave a nod in the direction of the stairs. “Common room's upstairs,” she said and started walking, a little too quickly and without checking to see if he was following.

She wasn't even that eager to sit in a crew meeting right now. Most of all she wanted to run back to her room and take a hit of drops, go into that world where she could forget everything and just float away without worrying about anything at all. But she couldn't do that either. Couldn't take Edge, couldn't take drops. There had been a couple of downers in the stash from her bathroom, but that would only have dulled her the way Romulus' painkillers did and she didn't need that either.

So she continued walking, up to the common room, where she found a place in comfy-chair, drawing her legs up under her to lay the CorPad across her knees, turning it on to check on messages, her eyes on the screen so she didn't have to look at the people already gathered. Ink hadn't been idle. Already there was a message from Rio, welcoming her back and asking if they could meet, and another from Will, asking the same. She ignored both messages, and went in search of something less personal, reading up on the news.

This post has been edited by Claudia James on May 6 2011, 04:14 PM

[Brun]

Princess Janes Room

Brun Bradley stayed absolutely still.

One thing he'd learned a long time ago was that a woman in distress wasn't somethin' he was particular good at dealin' with. And Princess Janes wasn't just any woman. Wasn't like Vitorria Tate, who's hurt he could just kiss away for the time-bein'. Wasn't any Saskia Vass, who just needed a 'buck-up, darlin'' from time to time. Princess Janes was a gorram warrior, lookin' outward for somethin' she was carrying around inside.

"I ... He was here... I missed. All the gorram... I missed. He got away. And he knows. He knows I'm here." Her one good eye was streaked with tears, and there was anger, too, and hurt, and fear, and her hands were shaking so hard he wondered how she'd managed to fire that rifle at all. The words just kept tumbling out, becoming more and more incoherent.

And he just stayed still. Lettin' her spill it all out until she was spent, just slumped on her bunk, hands squeezed so tight her knuckles looked blue. "Figure the others, they won't get it. But you... it's your job. You've seen his kind before."

Brun nodded slowly, "There's only a few folk in the universe with reputations like his. Wan. Niska. Pau Nu. Covenant. Ushi. Minako. But I never heard of Covenant coming after someone twice."

"He did. Ask Bit. He was here!"

"Whoa." Brun held up both hands at her vehemence, "Not saying yer wrong. Look, we gotta take it like we take everything else. We know he's comin, right? So we know what to look for."

"Why?" She whimpered, "Hasn't he hurt me enough?"

To this, Brun Bradley, a man who'd busted his own share of kneecaps, had no answer, "I don't think it's about you, babe. I think there's somethin' movin' through this 'verse that's bigger 'n all of us put together. And it's tied up in in that package Carter took, and it's got somethin' to do with that pirate attack on that supply ship, and with the funding cuts to R&R... and... I don't have all the puzzle pieces yet. I'm officially not Vecto any more, but I still have connections, still have my ear to the ground. All we gotta do is keep our heads clear, okay?"

"Clear. Look at me. I'm a wreck."

"Yeah." Brun wet a washcloth at her sink and tossed it to her, "But you're a good lookin' wreck, so let's go see what the cap's up to, a'right?"

Wiping her face clear of the stains of distress, trying on a mask of calm, Princess pushed to her feet. Side by side, they moved out of her room, up the stairs and into the Commons.

COMMON AREA

Nodding to folk, Brun shifted around to his usual spot by the galley hatch, leaning over to flip on the tea-kettle and coffee-pot. Glancing around he picked out the new folk, the ones who'd be too unsure of themselves to help themselves to the common galley offerings. Jason, Caleb, Riley, and... Hunter? Huh. "You folk want some coffee? Tea? Somethin'? Got some juice stuff around here, too, if'd you rather."

Supposed, too, he aughta find some Blue-Aide and snackage for the youngest crew members. 'less'n he filled Delilah's mouth with something tasty, they'd spend the whole meetin' listening to how she was gonna save the universe with unicorns and rainbows.

[Jason Cunningham]

”Do I look okay?” Caleb replied. Jason's brows raised with surprise at the younger man's tone. He was used to Caleb being calm and cool. He also used submissive tones, passive as well. Hearing him sound so contentious was unnatural. He knew that this would probably be hard for him to talk about, but no need for the tone.

"No need to be so hostile," Jason said in a low voice. "I'm just looking out for you. You think you'd be used to it after two years." Jason turned his gaze away from Caleb. He glanced at his surroundings, at the people in the room. Riley in her seat by the entrance to the galley. The woman who had greeted them downstairs, Claudia she had said, had just arrived as well as the other newcomer. Jason was pretty sure his name was Hunter. There was also another member of the crew. Jason hadn't seen this one. He hadn't been at the bar. His eyes caught sight of the cybernetic arm and his intrigue was piqued. What was this man's story?

Jason felt more comfortable with Brun in the room. It was always nice to have someone you were familiar with within a vicinity. Jason hated to admit being slightly uncomfortable before, but it was human nature, wasn't it?

"You folk want some coffee? Tea? Somethin'? Got some juice stuff around here, too, if'd you rather."

Jason noticed his sister's attention was aroused at the word "coffee." As a child, Riley had hated the taste of coffee. She'd always questioned why their mother and father had consumed the beverage. It was bitter and disgusting. Then, when Jason had picked her up from the orphanage, she was obsessed with the stuff. She had said she made and drank it a lot in order to balance her studies, martial arts, and helping with the younger kids. No matter the reason, Jason was still adjusting to the change.

"I am all for coffee," the young woman said, getting up from her seat and following Brun into the galley. Jason chuckled and shook his head.