The crew of Destiny has finally managed to get itself back on its feet.  After a trying past few months things are starting to go back to normal.  The absence of Ren and Acacia is still felt but the ships newest members have begun to find a home on board the old freighter.  Most relationships have been mended and although there are still some unanswered questions between members of the crew life has been peaceful.

However, after a few months of excitement and trials the crew has discovered that the cash flow has come to a sputtering halt.  The crew needs a job and soon.  First rule of the black is to keep flying.  Fortunately, one of Kale's contacts managed to put him in touch with the infamous Sin Twins.  The girls are probably the most ... unpredictable of contacts, one can never be quite certain what they're getting into when dealing with them.  But one thing is for certain, the pay-out is always good.  The crew has set up a meeting with the twins in a casino on Santo to get more details about the possible job.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:38, Fri 25 Apr 2014.

Lei sat comfortably in Kyoko's shuttle atop a pile of silk pillows.  A portable terminal sat in her lap and her eyes flicked across the screen quickly as she listened to the soft music that permeated the air.  Lei liked it on Kyoko's shuttle, if only for the novelty.  It was like stepping into a different world when you compared it to the rest of the ship.

Within moments Lei finished reading the passage on the screen, this time it was about the economies of the various planets in the 'verse.  Kyoko insisted that she spend a little time each day in her shuttle studying.  Sometimes she would work on the terminal like she did now, sometimes Kyoko would work with her.  She said that all children had to go to school, especially ones with a mind like hers.  Lei went because it made Kyoko happy, but oftentimes she found the material too easy, despite the fact that Kyoko kept trying to provide her with more difficult material.  At least it was better then just rifling around the ship on her own trying to gain information.

Lei answered the questions that were now on the screen.  She got them all correct - she always did.

"Done." she said, glancing up at Kyoko who was seated at the other side of the shuttle, "Now can we go say goodbye to Connor?" she asked.  The Captain had told them that Connor was going to be leaving about a week ago.  Lei hadn't spent much time with him but the crew seemed to think it very important to say goodbye properly.  Lei had even made a card out of some old paper she had found in Charlie's bunk.  Charlie almost never went in there so Lei had figured it was okay to use something that she probably didn't even know she had.  In neat handwriting Lei had printed:

"Given the size of the solar system and the current population which occupies it there is a 34.576% chance we will meet again.  Goodbye Connor!  - Lei"

Kyoko smiled at Lei as the girl announced that she was already done. Despite the best training the academy could offer, Kyoko knew that this girl was far beyond her own level when it came to academia. But, Kyoko figured useful and pertinent studying and information might keep Lei a bit focused and round her out more.

One could be extremely intelligent, but one also had to be able to harness that intelligence, or else it was all wasted.

Kyoko nodded her approval. Lei aced yet another test. Kyoko smiled warmly and glanced down at the card, and the smile widened. It was a touching gesture, and she was sure Connor would appreciate it. Kyoko sighed contentedly. Despite the immense danger and physical harm their last two "missions" had presented to them, Kyoko was beginning to feel more and more like she belonged on Destiny. There was no longer a frenetic need to bash heads with everyone. Kyoko was finding a sort of serenity aboard the ship. She wondered if it showed at all outwardly?

Kyoko nodded to Lei's question.

"Yes, I think we should head down now..."

Lei smiled and hopped up from her spot atop the pillows.  She closed the terminal and stored it before meeting Kyoko by the doorway, "Did you know that 67% of Santo's revenue is generated by people participating in a statistically unproductive trade of money for a 2.31% chance of acquiring substantially more?"

Lei looked up at the companion, "They call it gambling.  Geoff wants to do it and told me I wasn't allowed to tell him about the statistics anymore," she shook her head, "I don't know why." Lei wrinkled her nose, genuinely confused by how someone would not want to know the variables of a situation before diving into it.

[To Destiny: Dining Hall]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:14, Sun 17 May 2009.

Kyoko chuckled at Lei's enthused speaking. This girl was quite a wonder at times. Kyoko finished with her hair, triple checked her makeup in the mirror, then followed in Lei's footsteps, making her way down to the Dining Hall.

(Kyoko to Destiny: Dining Hall)

While Kale, Geoff, and Rhaef made their deal with the Sin Twins the rest of the crew went about their day.  Charlie fueled the ship, and couldn't help but wince at the cost.  Fuel was an import on Santo and came at a cost because of that.  Hopefully Kale had landed the job, otherwise he wasn't going to be too happy.  Not that it could be helped, ship needed fuel to keep flying.

Back in the cargo bay Wei-Li mended the netting for a bit but all in all it was actually in good shape and needed little repair leaving her with more time then she would have liked to become a little nervous about her impending date with Dake.  A butterfly filled stomach had led her to Kyoko's shuttle where the companion had shared some of the finer points of dealing with men to the naive girl from Paquin.

Meanwhile, Dake decided to take Lei out to an arcade near-by the port for an hour.  Lei had been surprised by all of the lights and noises and colors that suddenly surrounded her.  It was unlike any place she had ever been before and quite a far cry from the "white place".  Dake swiftly found the Lei needed very little instruction in any of the games and easily mastered them, setting a few high scores on the machines much to the dismay of a few teenage boys who had watched with sullen faces as she neatly wiped their names from the leaderboards.

Laughing the two of them were just making their way back to Destiny where Charlie was finishing up some repairs on the landing gear and Wei-Li and Kyoko were still talking in the shuttle.  Kale, Geoff, and Rhaef were expected back at any moment and hopefully that meant that there would be work to do.

Wei-Li looked up and smiled when she heard the others return.  Her smile grew even more when she realized she was hearing Lei laugh.  For as much trouble Dake seemed to cause, he had been great for bringing the young girl around to being... a girl.

"Well, I guess we better go and see what trouble Dake and Lei have gotten themselves into," she commented with a wry laugh.

While she'd enjoyed her visit with the companion, she was still no closer to figuring out her relationship with Geoff, or Dake for that matter.

She paused and shook her head.  "I have to admit, it's good to hear Lei laugh..."

Kyoko nodded sagely, also taking great care not to show the delight she heard from hearing the girl laugh. Kyoko had taken it upon herself to try and be sure Lei kept up with studies that children her age should, but the fact was that Lei was probably more intelligent than everyone on the Destiny put together, the only thing they could impart on her was common sense, really.

Kyoko looked back at Wei-Li, and stretched a bit, sitting down properly on a rather comfy couch.

"Indeed, the poor girl hardly gets out."

Kyoko flicked an eyebrow.

"Of course, it would be telling for someone else I know to laugh as well."

Kyoko looked pointedly at Wei-Li...

Wei-Li turned, giving Kyoko her very best 'deer in the headlights' look before laughing.

"Nothing a work out on the highwire... or maybe playing in zero 'g' can't fix... " she said with a shrug.

"And figuring out the male mind... but something tells me that just isn't going to happen... 'least not with the guys around here..."

Wei-Li paused and turned back to Kyoko as the reality of what she'd said hit her.

"Is that true for normal men, or just the ones that gravitate towards Destiny?"

Kyoko crossed her arms and looked mock sadly over at Wei-Li. Both women knew the answer to her question.

"My sweet woman, you and I both know the Black attracts a certain...type of man and woman. Now, the trick is, getting to know what type of the type you've found yourself attracted to. In Geoff's case, he's loyal, but he's also simple and gruff, capable of mistakes, but very lovable in a rough and tumble sort of way..."

Kyoko's voice held a compassion for Wei-Li, but it also held a tinge of a note that let Wei-Li know that Kyoko probably wouldn't ever consider taking Geoff on as a client. Ever.

"And then you have Dake. The poor man is so naive in some ways, trailing in his brother's and Kale's footsteps, but, at the same time, Dake's a heart-breaker. He's unsure of what he wants, and thus, he'd be unsure of commitment."

Kyoko shrugged.

"Perhaps I'm overly critical due to a certain water incident that I shall not go back and discuss..."

"So the trick is, do you want safe, comfortable, gruff, and unchanging? Or do you want wild, crazy, constantly shifting, and sometimes unreadable?

Wei-li thought about what Kyoko said for a moment and finally laughed, shaking her head.

"Is it too much to want someone who's a little bit of both?"

She stretched and sighed.

"It's just... I decided to... to see how things went with Geoff."  She looked pleadingly at Kyoko as if she could unravel this whole mess and lay it out in a logical pattern, and in a way she had but Geoff had become more unpredictable than Dake.

"When we were on Torrance... I thought the pieces had fallen into place, only... Geoff... "

She let out an exasperated sigh.  "Sometimes it's like he's still there and he doesn't want me and I'm getting tired of waiting for him to come around."

Kyoko shrugged.

"They say human beings never change, but that's not true. Most times, it merely takes a catastrophic incident, some kind of profound event to change a person. Otherwise, human beings are creatures of habit."

Kyoko poured herself some water, and then poured Wei-Li a glass as well.

"If Geoff hasn't changed, then you need to make a decision. If he keeps waxing and waning, back and forth, then I would suggest talking to him. If you have already done this, then I would say you need to think on whether or not you can live with this, or, be willing to embrace the temporary pain and awkwardness and move on."

Wei-Li thought about what Kyoko had said and then nodded.  "I think... I think I've only half tried-- maybe he's not the only one who's afraid... "

She shook her head.  "Maybe life would just be easier if I swore off men completely."

Kyoko gave Wei-Li a flat stare, then shook her head.

"You are not using humor and sidesteps to avoid this situation. This is an important moment, commit to it."

Kyoko stepped closer to Wei-Li, and, incidently, blocked the shuttle's exit, though it was hard to tell whether or not that was an accident or by design.

"You need to commit a course of action. Right now. It is not fair to either man, or, more importantly, yourself, to keep playing this waiting game, while simultaneously flirting with the new guy. You need to figure your course of action, and stick to your guns. It's not that big a ship, my dear. You can't avoid this forever."

Wei-L paused, giving Kyoko her best deer in the headlights look.  "Is that what I'm doing?  I just... "

She shook her head, allowing her mask to fall she gave Kyoko a totally overwhelmed look.  "I have to talk to Geoff, don't I?"

Kyoko didn't let up. Her face didn't soften, she didn't become a consoling advisor. Instead, Kyoko nodded sagely.

"You need to be firm and stern, and find out his intentions and his level of commitment. If he hesitates, hems and haws in anyway, you should look at going in the opposite direction."

Kyoko sighed.

"It's not going to be easy, but, at this point, you need to make sure you're the one who's taking care of yourself, because Geoff hasn't proven that he is willing, and Dake isn't close enough to do such a thing."

Wei-Li nodded, paused a moment, almost as if she were swallowing a bitter pill, then nodded again.  Kyoko was right.

Part of her wished she could be like her cousin Janine, and have a complete string of boys hanging on her every word... but that was Janine and what worked for her was not what Wei-Li wanted or needed.

Being stern on the other hand-- that wasn't in her nature, but again Kyoko was right by not being stern, she'd let this go on far too long.

It was time she learned where she stood.

"If you'll excuse me," she said with a dertermined nod.  "I think I need to go have a talk with Geoff.

Decision mad, Wei-Li squared her shoulders and prepared to talk to Geoff.  As she passed Kyoko she impulsively hugged the other woman.

"Thank you..."

She quickly moved away before she lost her resolve and headed towards the cargo bay.

[to Cargo Bay]

Kyoko nodded as Wei-Li left, determined to seek out answers. It was good the woman was finally taking control of the situation. Kyoko smiled and stretched a bit, hoping that Wei-Li found what answers she'd come to Kyoko seeking. Permanence was something Companions understood and didn't, at least in Kyoko's opinion. Every Companion had to be able to simulate the feelings and emotions evoked by longer lasting relationships, should that be what the client wished, but rarely did a Companion find his or herself in a position to have one...in the line of work they enjoyed, it was hardly wise. And studying only got you so far...

Speaking of studying, where was Lei? The little one had another lesson waiting for her. Kyoko pursed her lips and thought for a moment, wondering if it was better to go seeking the girl, or waiting to see if she would come on her own.

[From Destiny: Passenger Quarters]

Lei quietly approached the Companions door and knocked softly.  The sound barely carried inside the lusciously decorated shuttle.  She waited for Kyoko's reply to come in.

Kyoko stretched, and looked curiously over towards her door.

"Please, come in."

If it was Lei, Kyoko would be convinced the girl had some kind of psychic power, or perhaps a supernatural sense of timing? If not, well, who else could it be? Kyoko sat and wait to see.

Lei hit the controls and the door to the shuttle slid open.  She stepped quietly inside and closed the door behind her.

"I'm late.  I - I was caught up in a book I was reading." she confessed immediately.  She tried to look neutral but Kyoko could see guilt riddling her features.  She was late because she'd been out with Dake playing games all day.  Lei was a smart girl but she understood nothing about lying and it was completely obvious she was trying to.  It was really a silly thing to lie about but Lei was convinced that Kyoko would be terribly angry at Dake for taking her away from her studies.  She got the impression that the Companion didn't like the pilot much.

Kyoko smiled again. Lei was lying to her, it was written all over the girl's face. Kyoko's face still held the smile, but her mind was puzzled as to why Lei would lie about being late for lessons.

Huh.

Kyoko motioned for Lei to sit down with her.

"What was the name of the book? And what was it about?"

A look of terror shot across Lei's face.  The young girl must have read a million books since she first joined Destiny and suddenly she couldn't recall the title of a single one.  Kyoko could see her eyes darting around the room, thinking furiously.  Her cheeks were turning red.

"Um ... it was, it was called ..." her eyes fell on Kyoko's computer terminal, "Computer terminal ... diagnostics about ... diagnostics for ... computers?" the last came out as a question.