In reply to Allen 'Flash' (msg #646):

"I think you protest way too much, ace," Darvin says, unphased by the outburst and follows, "I want t'see our sleeping arrangements anyways. You go ahead a lead, champ. I'm right behind ya. Sleepin' quarters are as good a place to start as any..." Darvin adds merrily, giving the Duros his best smile..

Flash stops again.  "Zyra," he says in a strained voice.  "I just want to sleep.  It's been a long day.  Please get this paranoid freak away from me."

In reply to Allen 'Flash' (msg #648):

"What is it, ace? Used to riding everyone else's ass but can't take it, tough guy? C'mon, you and me will be good friends, I can tell. Or are you gona hide behind some skirts like a child suckling his thumb, is that it?" Darvin crosses his arms and stares at the Duros, "if you're really going to sleep, I'll be real quiet. Mum's the word..." Darvin continued to smile sweetly.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:58, Mon 20 June 2011.

Merreck look over at Darvin and the Duros, expecting a confrontation any second, probably hoping he doesn´t have to jump in to break it off.

"Y'know," Flash says suddenly, "you had no problem with me until I disagreed with you.  You had no issue with me at all until I took offense t'you comin' in here, takin' one look at a damaged fighter and sayin', 'You guys are doin' your jobs wrong, there's no excuse for this much damage,' without knowin' a damn thing about how our ships are set up.  All of a sudden I'm th'hard case, I'm th'bad guy, and you think you have some kinda Force-given right t'hound me with no proof of me havin' done a damn thing wrong."  He tilts his head.

"An' now you're tryin' t'make me angry enough to bother hittin' you and, y'know, you're not even doin' it well.  So go on, you've got yer moment in th'spotlight.  Do you have any proof of any kind that you're justified in houndin' me after I've already told you to stay away from me?  I bet you don't."

He laughs, suddenly, and shakes his head.  "Nah, you ain't got shit.  An' y'know why?  Cos there's nothin' to have.  I've been a loyal member of th'Talons since I joined.  Fought my hardest, did my best.  Seems t'me you've got yer nose outta joint cos someone's disagreed with you.  An' if Jax or Sheppard want t'have me followed, search my room, keep tabs on me, then fine.  I got nothin' t'hide.  But that's their right an' their call.  Not yours."

Sheila watches the interplay between Flash and Darvin, then how Zyra, Xil and Mark are handling it.   She was close to where they  were, with the Duros trying to leave.  She was still really tired, and wanted another turn in the bacta tank, but she was 3rd in line this time, but this needed physical defusing.  She would trust that the new guy wouldn't hit her and she figured she could turn her back on Flash.

Sheila stood up and slid in between the two. "You need to back off."  to Darvin very quietly.  She's obviously very tired, but her stance and expression betray the fact that at one time she was indeed a TIE pilot and a good one at that.

In reply to Sheila Masters (msg #652):

Darvin waves a hand at Sheila and lets her through and smiles at the Duros as he considers him, "I don't know what you're talking about, ace. I was offering to accompany you and chat all nice like, but you're the one who has been getting all defensive... i don't think it's deserved and I want you to apologize."

"Nice try.  We done here?"  He crosses his arms and stares at the human over Sheila's shoulder.

Devon moves quickly to support Sheila, but facing Flash rather than Darvin.  In the circles he'd moved in before joining the Talons, he'd seen fights start like this often enough that he could more or less predict exactly what would happen next if no one interferred.

Devon's body language is relaxed.  One hand still in the pocket of the battered and stained flight suit he habitually wears, the other on his squadmates shoulder, trying to gently steer Flash out the door.

'Come on, buddy.' he says quietly 'Let it go.  I got too much to do right now to waste time breakin' up fights.'

In reply to Allen 'Flash' (msg #654):

Darvin shrugged, "No one's stopping you from leaving, ace. Matter of fact, you're the one holdin up the line with yer over the top yappering... I'll be thinking of you while I glance around the ships, sweetems." Darvin nodded his thanks to Kismet and Sheila, and showed the Duros his back as he left to explore.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:00, Mon 20 June 2011.

Mika had done her best to ignore the noise, but she finally turns and watches the interplay between Flash and Darvin, though now it looks to include Devon too.  If this sort of thing was common among the Talons, then she shouldn't have even bothered to ask after the saluting and all of that.

But question one of whichever Talons she queried would be if this sort of flare up was a common occurrence, but she'd wait a bit for now.  Last thing she wanted to do was add a heaping helping to the bantha poodoo flambe currently in the works.

Merreck looked on the scene between the ace fighter and the war veteran. He looked as if he considered to get in there, trying to break it up, but stayed put. In some ways, these things needed to be taken care of. Banking the fire for the future, or adding more fuel to it, was in many ways worse than letting it go on.

Even his errands in town needed to wait for this thing to finish, so Merreck sat and waited.

Sheila is annoyed with Darvin.  if she wasn't about to fall over, she'd slap the rude and idiotic man.  She normally had respect for old war veterans, but this one was downright annoying when he didn't have to be.  Just because they didn't all agree on how things should have gone.  And the man had a lot of nerve criticizing when he hadn't even been there.  She had to trust Zyra and Mark, she'd had enough experience with the group to believe that they knew what they were doing.  Didn't mean she had to like him.  "I'd recommend you don't call any of us sweetums." and followed Xil toward the backta tanks

In reply to Sheila Masters (msg #659):

"Sorry folks, but loud mouths get under my skin and I wanted to know if he was all air, or he actually had brains," Darvin said when he noticed Sheila's disapproval. He looked older all the sudden, and saddened, "and I also wanted to know if he'd back down or not. Seeing as he did, he's one step higher in my book, but not by much. I'd have fired his ass at the PPA if he'd so much as spoken that way to an outsider."

Darvin straightened and stuffed his hands in his pockets, giving a long sigh as he did. "I lost my wife in the Clone Wars. Someone in her platoon betrayed her. I don't expect anyone's respect because of it, but I'll be damned if some sharpshooter hot shot who thinks I should kiss his boots won't get a slice of his own pie. That leak worries me, folks, and it should worry you too. I don't trust my bosses at the PPA, so it's harder for me to trust new ones. I might have overreacted. That, I can admit, just don't hold it against me."

With that, the grizzled man turned around, "Now, you'll pardon me, but I need some air and think."

In reply to Darvin Sloan (msg #660):

Almost automatically, she said. "I'm sorry for your loss." then she paused again.  "I think we need some sleep." and left.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Tue 21 June 2011.

Zyra had been taking a comm call when the altercation began and missed it's beginning.  She moved over to the pair now and placed her hands on each of their shoulders.

"Whilst I encourage healthy debate and difference of opinion, this is getting a little over the top gentlemen.  Darvin, let me tell you that both the commander and I trust Allen with our lives.  His skill in a starfighter cockpit has saved us more than once.  His loyalty is in no way in question.  While his diplomatic skills are. . .lacking, he usually speaks the truth and his mind.  Refreshing qualities."

"If all of you wish to be Talons then you must learn to trust each other.  You don't have to like each other, but when we're in a life or death struggle you have to know the person behind you has your back.  Without that trust we cease to function."

Zyra turned to Flash.  "Allen, you've been cramped in a starfighter cockpit for ten of the last twelve hours.  Get some sleep."

"Now Darvin, if you and the others would like a tour, I'm sure someone else will show you around."

Flash waits. He's surprisingly patient and he simply watches Devon. Let it go? He was the one trying to leave! If the others couldn't see that this man was clearly baiting him then that was their malfunction, not his. Flash was entirely aware he was hard to get along with but that didn't make him a traitor... and for all his smarmy 'good guy' act, Darvin's talks of 'leaky crews' and then demanding to go around with Flash was a pretty obvious accusation, even to a pilot who knew he wasn't the smartest in the room. He'd been insulted. Hell, the man had indirectly insulted every last one of the Talons and while Flash was abrasive and snappish he did care about that. A team that didn't stock together wasn't a team - and the only one he felt had actually stood up and had his back...

"Thanks, Three," he says quietly, seriously.

To Zyra he says, "With your permission I'd like a word or two after I've slept, ma'am."

And then, with one final look around the room, he really does leave. And he heads to the sleeping quarters, takes his boots off and is in bed asleep - exhausted - before be can undress fully.

Cor wavers slightly as she stands now that the 'excitement' seems over. Throughout it all she's remained silent, as quiet-voiced people will when tempers start flaring. Flash's shout made her jump sharply; the rising tension made her shiver unpleasantly. And then she simply sat, trembling, waiting. She doesn't say anything as she stands, now, keeping her eyes away from everyone else's as she moves.

The debriefing went about as 'well' as she'd expected, but for very different reasons. And if she has opinions on the matter then she doesn't seem inclined to share them unprompted. Cor steadies herself with a hand on the table and then she walks straight for the door, leaving if she isn't addressed or stopped.

Seeing as how the excitement is over and Cor left, apparently too distracted to want to discuss the droids, Mika glances about.  "I think I'm going to bug Devon, get his read." she says to Merreck.

She then moves over to Devon.  "Glad that's over.  Mind if I tag along?  I'll help you with the repairs and you can tell me if that sort of thing is a common occurrence around here and maybe fill me in on what else a prospective Talon might need to know.  Deal?"

Merreck nod to Mika, then stand up and move over to the Talon, Rann Pertwee.

"Boys will be boys, right? You mentioned before something about the pirates being affiliated with Typhon Energy? Come to think of it, I didn´t catch your name. Merreck, a pleasure to meet you, mister?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Tue 21 June 2011.

As she isn't stopped or spoken to, which isn't really surprising when a nervous-looking bald alien chick makes for the door, Cor exits the briefing room.  She manages to walk about ten paces down the corridor before breaking into a dead run, and heads to her quarters.  Once there she enters, locks the door and sits on her bed for a few minutes getting her breath back.

"Better," she says to herself quietly when she can think again.  "Much better.  Stupid, Lambar, very stupid," she chides herself, giving her bald pate a light bonk with the heel of one hand.  "Your chance to make an impression, Cor, and you run away like a scared child.  Too big, the rooms are so big here..."

Shaking her head to clear it she moves to her workbench and picks up a few spare chunks of tech she's been fiddling with.  She looks at the idly and then puts them back down before sending a message to CC9 to speak with Zyra Jax - she seemed nice.

Around her are the various tricks of her trade.  Three droids - two PK labour droids and an R2 astromech with red detailing - stand nearby, watching her and waiting.  It's crowded in the room but she clearly doesn't mind.  It's a comfort to her.

"A9, please do a basic maintenance assessment on all systems in the ship, starting with the lowest deck and working up.  24 and 23, please go with him."  She suddenly adds, "And A9... do please at least try not to yell at 18 if you find her."

The astromech spins its head to stare at the two PK droids in turn and then makes a decidedly rude noise, looking back to chatter at Cor in Binary.  Then it enters wheeled mode and rolls toward the door, the two odd-looking labour droids plodding along good-naturedly behind it.  When the door unlocks and slides open the trio heads out, R2-A9 already ordering the smaller, less complex droids about in that beeping, digital language.

Cor giggles softly.  "I am not asking you to make any promises, A9.  Just... do try not to be rude," she calls as they leave.  She locks the door again when they're gone and then heads to her computer terminal to see if she can get a secure HoloNet link here.

'Was going to ask if you wanted to come along anyhow.' Devon pauses in the doorway and looks back  'Hey Zyra?  I'll get my wish list once I've taken a look at our ships, OK?'

Devon gestures to Mika and then ambles off towards the hanger.
'So no, this sorta thing doesnt happen very often...'  he paused for a moment, thinking.  'Think that's the first time.  So far we've been going on the whole 'mutual respect' thing and it seems to have worked.'  He sighs.  'I dunno what Darvin was thinking really... but on the flipside, Flash has been acting angrier than usual...'  He shrugs.  'Have to see how things play out I guess.'

He walks in silence for a few moments.  'Not really sure what else to tell you.  We work harder than slavery laws allow, get less sleep than we want to and get shot at more than is good for us.  Cruisers got a good minibar though.'

Devon halted in fron tthe R-41 and regarded the battered fighter with a quietly satisfied expression for a few moments.
'Ok, lets see what we can learn here.'  he scrambled up the side the fighter.  'Hope they remembered to remove the dead pilot.  And that he didnt wipe his navcom.  If he didn't, then this little beauty is going to tell us where his buddies hide out.  If he did, then there's still stuff we can learn... but it'll take some some thinking.'

Out in the corridor the huge battle droid stirs into action as the three maintenance droids move past it.

"Orders received," it grates, and stomps none too gently off toward the conference room.

Once there the droid moves swiftly into the room, still holding its blaster rifle, pushing past anyone in its way without bothering to ask them to step aside.  Moving toward Jax it halts and slowly turns its head to look at her.

"Zyra Jax.  You have, as information specialist and command unit, been designated current source of commands.  Mistress Lambar has ordered me to query which, if any, of the sectors of the ship I should patrol, guard or shoot, and to follow any appropriate tasks you set for me."  It puts only the very slightest emphasis on the word 'appropriate'.  "I have comprehensive combat and tactical programming and can communicate to you in Basic, Binary, Umbaran and Geonosian."