"Well, I might have had a few bottles delivered while we were on Phlume." The ex-scout prevaricates once Yas and Keryn have gone about their business.

"Dad will still be pumping gas, and mum will still be bustling around the house doing hosework and listening to the music box." He returns to the family conversation with a grin, "Although they have to get the accumulators charged and collect the brickettes for the fire themselves." he adds with a shrug.  "So what do you think your lot will be doing?" he adds idly.

Caught in mid-stride, the lanky navigator pivots.  His mug still in hand, Ash manages to make sure that none of his coffee hits the floor.  He turns to face Jago, his eyes widening slightly - it is part 'deer in the headlights' and part 'scrutinizing owl'.

"Of course." he answers the Captain, "What's up, Boss?"  His thin fingers wrapped around the handle of his beverage container, he takes another sip of the black, black coffee savoring the heavy aroma for a moment.

Besides, Ash's pretty sure that nothing is going to happen in j-space.  In any case, the central core's sensor alarm feeds are being piped through his wrist computer and personal comm anyways.  He doesn't really have to be on the bridge to get a timely notification.

Shui laughs quietly at Tylen's gauging of resources.  But her expression grows more serious at his question. "What my family might be doing?" she wonders aloud.  It's not something she has considered in specifics.

"Business," she finally decides.  "Someone will be managing the fields -" that's always necessary "- while others will be looking into administration.  Study.  Research.  There's always more to add to the business.  I expect father and mother will still be heading up management, while my brothers and sisters are continuing the field work." Both kinds.  "And certainly some of my brothers and sisters will be out marketing, or doing field research and work on other worlds."

Her smile returns - small and fragile, but genuine - as she glances back to Tylen.  "I do not miss it," the steward confesses.  "Being a steward and ship's medical officer is far more to my taste."

"Have you many siblings?  I cannot quite recall - we have only discussed it once, and briefly."

"None." Tylen replies casually.  "I guess there wasn't room in the flat on Darrian, and then my parents were older by the time we moved to Lopiengata. There wasn't any real chance of a career there, so I had to move on.  Joining the Army was something my parents supported, because they could see there wasn't a future for me on 'Ell.  Then they were supportive when I joined the scouts.  Not that they could do much else really." he concludes with a shrug.  "It was either that or self-employed fisherman."

"So ...  should I bring that bottle of wine around? If I can find one of course ..." he half teases, letting her off the hook of early life conversations for the moment.

"I expect that might be considered fortunate by some," Shui ponders.  "For some, siblings are less-than-welcome.  It depends on the sibling, of course."  She sighs. "At this time, I find it difficult to recall the more irritating aspects of my brothers and sisters..."  One hand drops to touch her side.  "Difficult.  Not impossible."

Ah, the wonder of broken ribs.

"I certainly prefer you as a scout," she admits.  "And yes, by all means, bring about the bottle.  If you give me advance warning, I might even have a chance to cook something."

"So that would be this evening then?" he suggests with a grin.

"Something wrong with your side?" he asks noting the touch.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:09, Thu 11 Feb 2016.

"Sit down." Jago gestures to a nearby chair, and waits for Ash to be seated before he continues.

"After Extolay, we'll be Jumping to Dinomn to drop of Covan Draik, and then on to Regina, where we'll take some R and R and get the ship serviced.  After that... Yori, Treece, Kinorb and Fulacin.  All subject to revision, of course, except for Fulacin.  Or we could go Wypoc, K Kirka, Echiste, Turedad, and Fulacin.  It's mostly Jump-2 all the way, but we can make it Jump-1, as long as we don't mind taking longer, and visiting some less pleasant systems.  As it is, Wypoc is an Amber zone, but the rest of the stops I mentioned, on either route, are Green."

And then, in a sudden change of subject, "While I have your attention... you've been with us about seven weeks now.  How are you liking the job?"

Yas and Keryn come into the room from the Cargo Hold, talking quietly and laughing about something...

"This evening," Shui returns with a sidelong glance, "would be fine." Then she laughs, quietly, at his next question, dispelling her worries.  "Old issues.  Children play.  At times, their play becomes a tad too strident.  When I was nine years old, I suffered three broken ribs thanks to second brother."  One eyebrow dances for a moment, and her smile grows wry.  "Ah, memories of family."

She goes back to examining the engine.  "But do not think poorly of him.  It was an...error.  A mistake.  Such things happen, and children recover.  No lasting harm."

Hmm.  What to cook tonight?  She has it, swiftly. "Dinner will be a fine one, I suspect.  Nothing to complicated.  I'll begin shortly, and leave it to simmer over the course of the day."  Shui purses her lips, considering. "Hopefully you will enjoy it."

"So no excuse for me to offer you a massage then ...." he says half jokingly  "Even if we could get some oil while we were in jump." He says half dismissing the old injury as one of those things.  "But three ribs?  That is some mistake to make.  What did he do?  Take it out on you with a full sized bat, or drop you over the edge of a cliff, or something?"

"I am sure I will enjoy what ever you serve for dinner." he adds with a grin  "Especially if it needs all day to cook.  Most of the stuff I cook takes about 3 minutes on full power ...." he grins as he sits back on his haunches.

"You hardly require an excuse...Tylen," Shui finishes, checking her instinctive use of his family name.  That would have come across odd, even for her. "As for his mistake?"  She purses her lips, searching her memory.

...fist brushes her face as she shifts, arm rising to touch and then screw outward, shunting the opening fingers from gripping the back of her neck on the return, and the girl steps, foot sliding in behind the boy's, a shift forward pressuring her knee into his calf, breaking the lines of his body.

Her own frame uncoils, the followstep driving her body's weight, perfectly timed with the shift of hips, of shoulders, the opening of her chest and closing of her back, spine lengthening, her fist aligned with all and driven for his throat even as the parrying arm continues to pressure him -

- Backfooted, he hinges at the hips, driving down the younger girl's blow before shunting it away as he steps in, balance instantly returned, his fist chewing into her ribs with his own biomechanics supporting the impact, the pressure increased by her own movement even as she moves to compensate -

All in an instant, not at all like the back-and-forth of the vids, and a perfectly clean hit: a rarity.

ssss-snap

"Stop!" father shouts as she stumbles back, her brother's face abruptly as white as hers feels.

"Rough-housing," Shui laughs.  "We were quite physical with our games, our play.  Even me."  Waving her hand, she brushes that away.  "I can hope you will enjoy it.  You'll be eating in my quarters, so you are at the mercy of what I decide to make.  I assure you, it will certainly have taste.  Perhaps not of the sort to which you are accustomed," she stresses, her smile still bright, "but...and yes.  It will take more than three minutes."

"Fortunately, the ship has me as steward and not you.  Mr. Orgesh."

"Rough housing. Wow. That is some rough housing." he comments surprised, but the grin on his face shows he has something else on his mind.  "I suppose I could ask the Steward if she has any massage oil in her supply cupboards?  Or perhaps even the Ship's Medic?" he asks with a cocked eyebrow.

"Not that I am much good at massage." he adds after a pause.  Then just a moment or two later "But I would enjoy it."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:13, Tue 16 Feb 2016.

Keryn suddenly laughs harder, leaning up against the wall for support as tears stream down her face.  One hand flails out to punch Yas, inexpertly and weakly, in the arm.  This results in more hysterical laughter from the passenger.

Jago gives the two women a filthy look, and returns his attention to Ash.

Ash had wandered over and taken a seat once beckoned by the Captain.  He didn't need to be asked twice.

The lanky navigator nods as the route options are delineated.  "Of course, Boss." he reassured Jago, a slightly pat answer. but it isn't as though these are anything startlingly new.  And they are definitely not anything that he hadn't thought about before.  Once Fulacin had simply been mentioned as a final destination, Ash had been running various scenarios in his head to calculate many of the navigational aspects required to traverse the Spinward Main.  It was just what he did.  All the time.

And while, he'd likely never admit it to the rest of the crew, the gaunt ex-Naval officer had been at it long enough that he dreamt quite vividly about the multi-dimensional astrogation curves on a regular basis.  There was something intoxicatingly elegant about the equations.  They shared more than a superficial resemblance to a six-theme fugue (plus, twelve more themes).

The impromptu performance review caught him slightly off-guard.  His eyes widened slightly and the lanky navigator paused for a moment, giving him a 'deer in the headlights' look for a brief moment.  "Ah," he stammered slightly, "I've enjoyed my time quite a bit, sir."  He returned to a more formal form of address to try and disguise some of his nervousness, "You have a great crew assembled.  Very loyal and extremely competent."

He glanced at the pair of women as they giggled their way past him and Jago.  Ash swallowed hard before continuing, "I ... I am sorry about what happened on Phlume."  He stared down at the edge of the table which he was picking at,  "I probably could have handled that situation better.  Perhaps I shouldn't have volunteered so readily without knowing a bit more..."  It wasn't an indictment of the Captain, of course; simply a statement that Ash himself likely shouldn't have been so cavalier on the comms.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:04, Wed 17 Feb 2016.

"Touch my ride and you'll have to look for those tools, real hard!" Yas shouts back at Ty as she steps through the entrance to the crew lounge.

Sharing a laugh with Keryn she gives the younger woman an innocent smile and asks sweetly, "Ow, I almost felt that. Any way, what's wrong with eating raw fish?"

She manages to keep that smile for a couple of seconds before laughing again.  As Ash stutters his apology she stops and flicks him with her hand over the top of his head.

"You didn't shot at the raft, dummy!  If the local yokels can't keep it in their holsters it's all on them.  Beside, intel never equals the real situation, so stop that before I do," she tells him, even though the 'threat' at the end isn't spoken severely and accompanied by a small wink and a smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:08, Wed 17 Feb 2016.

"I suspect I could find something that will suffice," Shui states, pondering.  No massage oil, and she's not going to use anything meant for cooking, of course.  Ugh.  But there might be something in her medical supplies that will do the trick.

Thankful that they've moved on from discussion of her past, she again eyes Tylen sidelong. "Experience and skill are only small parts of the equation, Mr. Orgesh," Shui notes.  "Care is the foundation, and a willingness to make the attempt, these are the foundations.  That you would wish to try?"  Her voice lowers slightly.  "This is the most important thing."

Tylen considers her words for a moment.  "Oh, I am willing to try.  And I hope it will be relaxing and enjoyable for both of us." he says quietly, in a fairly neutral mode.  His mind is less well behaved,  Why wouldn't I want to run my hands all over your body? he asks himself.

"Better get this put away though." He says nodding towards the quad and the few pieces of casing that must still be refitted.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:41, Wed 17 Feb 2016.

Scooping up her datapad, Saskia suddenly stands and nervously clears her throat.

"Erm -- I need to get back to Engineering straight away.  These figures -- um -- they show a -- a dangerous polaron imbalance in the -- er -- transverse intermix conduit.  Yes.  Big imbalance.  Very dangerous.  I need to go fix it now.  Bye."

And she starts towards her own department.

Standing, she stares down at Tylen for a moment.  "If you can finish that, I can begin to prepare dinner.  I will need to do that at the same time as working on my duties.  They are...light...at present, but one never knows when a passenger might needs something."  It could, in fact, happen tonight.  Which would be a shame, but duty first.  "Like Saskia, I will take my leave."

A final touch on Tylen's shoulder, and she strides from the hold, her mind already hard at work, categorizing her culinary options.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:19, Thu 18 Feb 2016.

Tylen grins at Shui's touch and then gets on with replacing the last parts of the engine's casing.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:21, Thu 18 Feb 2016.

"Yas is correct.  I don't hold you responsible for some local deciding it was open season on air/rafts." Jago responds to Ash.  "If we aren't given up-to-date information, then we can't take that information into account.  Personally, I wouldn't have authorised you, or anybody else, to take the raft out if I'd thought there was a chance that somebody might take a shot at it.  But I looked over the data on the world, and there was no mention of any ongoing disturbances.  And that government official you were driving about, Marrtin was it?  She could have warned you that there might be trouble."

Saskia leaves the room, and Keryn, under instruction from Yas occupies a seat at the table where the Engineer had been sitting.  Yas enters her own cabin, but returns a moment later with two briefcases, one smaller than the other.  The smaller case turns out to contain a handgun, while the larger one holds an array of tools and small vials, all slotted into its padded interior.

Smiling at the weapon, Keryb asks, "Can I give it a name?  Like they do in holos."

As she enters the Crew Lounge, Shui's dataglove buzzes and pulses.  Cövan Draik's face appears on the display.  "Excuse me Miss... " and a voice mutters something off-screen "... Tiesi.  Could you come over to the Passenger Lounge please?  It is quite important."

Pause.  "Certainly, Mr. Draik." It looks like starting work on dinner will need to wait.  Shift, turn, and the steward heads directly to the Passenger Lounge.

Shui arrives in the Passenger Lounge to find the lights dimmed to about fifty percent of their normal intensity.  Covan Draik is still standing by the intercom panel.  Across the room is an overturned table with playing cards and dried fruit scattered across the floor nearby.

Eneris is kneeling on the floor, next to a supine Corlan, whose open eyes are staring at the ceiling.  Eneris is busy adjusting a cushion under Corlan's head, which bears a nasty looking bruise, and a thin line of blood leading down from one temple.  Corlan appears to be trembling violently.

Looking up, Eneris explains, "We were playing cards, and he suddenly collapsed and hit his head on the fracking table."

Jago watches Yas and Keryn for a moment, then continues talking to Ash.  "As far as I'm concerned, you're doing a good job.  And you seem to be fitting in well.  It's been a good start."

Keryn almost seems to be drooling.  "I could call it Mister Shooty, or something."  She ponders for a moment then essays a brief threat, hesitant, "'Don't make me let Mister Shooty deal with you.'  How did that sound?  Was it terrifying, or just terrible?"

In Engineering Saskia sits herself at her workstation and continues reading her datapad...

While Tylen, still working on his ATV, briefly wonders where Shui had gone in such a hurry...

Ash flinches slightly as Yasmine playfully cuffs him upside the head.  "Yes, Ma'am." he mutters instinctively, though his tone has a touch of definance in it.  But as Jago piles on his similar assessment, the lanky navigator's shoulders slump slightly and he gives the Captain a more resigned, "Of course, s-... Boss."  Ash purses his lips having barely caught himself in time from using the more formal address to the Captain.  Though his tone is soft, it has enough reservation in it, that it is obvious that the thin ex-Scout still feels plenty of weight of responsibility and obviously wished that he'd been able to deal with the situation with potentially more panache.

But, displaying more panache would probably be way too out of character, despite what Ash might want.

When Saskia gets up to leave rather abruptly when the 'performance review' cranks up, Ash says quietly in parting, "Ms. Blake."  His delay allows him to only wave at her retreating back.

He nods and seems to brighten a touch, when the Captain praises his work.  Or at least doesn't seem to have any problems with it.  The lanky navigator does try to take pride in his work and is seemingly glad to have it appreciated.  "Thank you, Captain." he notes, especially with a passenger present (even if it is a long term one like Keryn, whom he considers almost honorary crew or - though he'd never say this aloud in front of her or the Chief - a sort of mascot), "I am just trying to pull my weight and keep up with the rest of the crew."  A nervous smile touches his thin lips, as he thinks back over the past couple of weeks and that the rest of the crew seem quite comfortable and competent in their roles - whereas he has generally considered himself a bundle of nerves.

Despite the nerves, he does manage to say, "I am starting to feel a touch more comfortable with the inner workings of the Margin and her crew."  He reiterates his previous assessment, "She's a fine ship.  And they are all good people..."

A slightly pensive ... or perhaps slightly pained ... expression crossed his face and Ash's eyes darted in the direction of the two other women in the crew lounge when the term 'Mister Shooty' is vocalized.  Multiple times.

Shui's dataglove instantly rises and she codes the crew intercom as she moves to Corlan and Eneris.

+ Medical Emergency, Passenger Lounge.  Medical Emergency, Passenger Lounge. +

"You did well," she states to Covan and Eneris, both, as she drops down beside their oldest passenger. "A coat, a shirt, a blanket, something to cover him.  Corlan.  Can you hear me?"  Even as she questions, she begins checking vitals and doing a survey of his body - carefully.  Other wounds?  Breaks?  Twists of alignment in his neck or back?

The crew intercom is still open; she uses it.

+ Mr. Orgesh, bring a stretcher from medical. +

It's always good to be specific - saying 'someone bring a stretcher' could result in a confused pile up or people assuming someone else is bringing one, and she knows Tylen is currently not working on anything critical.

All the while, her heart beats all-too-heavily and a number keeps rolling through her mind. Seven. Seven days in Jumpspace, and they're not close to leaving yet.

OOC - Begin first aid and assessment.

Tylen still has ssmall streaks of engine oil on his hands when the first Medical Emergency call comes through from Shui, and knowing he is the closest of the crew members he starts striding across the hold towards the door to the passenger lounge.  Until the second message, instructing him to get a stretcher comes through.  "Damn." he grunts as he turns back to the crew side of the vessel to get the stretcher.

He makes his way quickly to the medical area, and grabs the stretcher That's my evening gone ... runs through his mind, as he hurries back across the ship carrying the stretcher.