Dake watched Geoff as Kale spoke.  The change in Geoff's facial expressions was impossible to miss.  Even at the dismissal from Kale, Dake stood his ground, still looking at Geoff.  The pilot almost found it comical that Geoff would sit there and tell Kale that he was not one to call the shots and then get angry at Dake when Dake took the initiative with Wei-Li.  Then Dake made a decision, one he was sure he would regret later.

"You got a problem with me, Geoff?" Dake asks.  "You ain't done more than shoot daggers at me for the last gorram month.  Why don't you speak your mind rather than looking like a bei bi shiou ren* all day long."

Dake was probably seriously overstepping his bounds at this point, especially in front of Kale, but at the moment, with everything going on in his head, he did not care.

(*Pathetic wretch)

Geoff smiled again, but this time, there was something disturbingly cold about it.  As if warmth had never existed, and would have no hope of finding a home there.  His eyes, however, were another matter entirely.  They might have been blue, but instead of being as cold as his mirthless grin, they burned as hot as any similarly colored star.  He felt a kick of adrenaline mix into his bloodstream, and he was suddenly aware of the sound of his own hearbeat, echoing in his ears, drowning out everything else.

"Well, Dake," Geoff said quietly, that smile having yet to waver.  "I'd explain it to ya, but I figure yer smart enough to figure it out.  Probably already have.  I'd rather not waste the breath."

He winked, and added, "Don't worry about watchin' yer back.  Because if I come for ya, it'll be from the front, and I'll give you the fair warnin' of seein' me comin'.  And I promise you, it'll be the last damn thing you see."

Geoff turned back to Kale.  "Now run along.  Us big boys have business to discuss."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:39, Mon 22 Feb 2010.

[From Destiny: Cargo Bay]

Rhaef caught the end of the conversation, and saw the look of concern, dismay, maybe even a little panic in Kale's eyes, but he'd been away so he could be sure. Whatever the hell was going between the new kid and Geoff was big, probably bigger than him and Geoff that could be mean trouble.

"Look kid, word to the wise, you get some R&R on this boat, take it. 'Cause ain't no tellin' when you'll get it again." Rhaef said plainly as he pushed by Dake.

He looked directly at Geoff, hoping focusing the big man on the mission at hand would help defuse the tensions further. "So Geoff, what's the plan? We just walkin' into the theater through the front door, or taking a less direct approach."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:45, Mon 22 Feb 2010.

"Enough." Kale said, getting to his feet.  He didn't raise his voice but there was a hard edge to it that wasn't there often.  It was the tone he had used back during the war and used as little as possible now that that was in the past.

"I don' know what is goin' on between the two 'o you but it ends now.  You got somethin' ta say ta one another you hammer that out on yer own time - not mine.  An' you will hammer this out." he eyed Geoff and then Dake in turn, his hired gun and his best friends little brother, what a mess.

"Take yer leave, Dake." he said firmly, leaving no room for argument.  Dake had started it but Geoff had played right into his words, they were both guilty and if he could have sent Geoff away as well he would have, but he needed him here.  They had a job to do and he couldn't let this sort of thing interfere.

"Yeah, whatever," Dake says to Kale's second dismissal.

Turning, Dake makes his way to the cargo bay and, ultimately, off the boat for a while.

[To: Destiny: Cargo Bay]

Geoff watched as Dake left the bridge before turning his attention back to the captain and Rhaef.  "Me 'n the boss were just discussin' that," he said.  "And I think us three need to talk about this whole 'first mate' situation.  What do you think, Cap'n?"

Kale watched as Dake left the bridge, wondering what he was going to do about the kid.  He was Nate's brother, he couldn't just turn him out, but just his very presence on board Destiny brought to the surface a lot of issues that Kale had no interest in dealing with.  It was becoming a trend, he seemed to be avoiding things a lot lately.

When Geoff spoke up he was reminded of one of those things - Rhaef.  He let out a heavy sigh and sunk back down into the pilots chair, "Right.  Talk." he said.

His eyes settled on Rhaef.  Over the year or so that they had sailed together Rhaef had become the closet thing Kale had to a best friend since Nate.  They worked well together.  They were both fighters but Rhaef's critical eye compensated for Kale's trusting nature, and Kale's ability to put most people at ease blunted Rhaef's sharp edge.  Things had changed since he had left though and they hadn't gone back to the way they used to be - maybe they never would.  But Geoff was right.  Kale might have given him a fancy title but Rhaef would always be the man that he turned to in a pinch, even with how strained things had become between them.

"Geoff expressed some feelin's on bein' first mate," Kale ventured, "Said he reckoned he'd like to step down." Kale held Rhaef's gaze firmly.  He knew the other man was perceptive enough to reason out why Geoff was feeling this way.  That he knew that Kale couldn't stop thinking of Rhaef as his right hand man.

Rhaef sighed, he figured this conversation would come sooner rather than later. Yet, when he spoke he turned to Geoff and not Kale. "You sure this is YOUR decision, Geoff." He paused again, considering the larger man. "In my mind, first mate's your job, and you earned it - so just 'cause I came back don't mean I earned my old job back." He paused and looked to Kale, "Sorry Cap'n, but that's true, and if I ain't earned your trust yet, then you shouldn't be pushing Geoff out of the job."

He sighed, removing a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out and lit it, studying both Kale and Geoff. "But if you really want to step down, Geoff, and you really want me back at the First Mate Kale, and both of you do so without holding that against me, then yeah I'd take the old job back, assumin' that's what you offerin', Kale."

"Listen guys," Geoff said with a surprisingly good-natured grin.  "You're not bullshittin' anyone here.  The only reason Kale picked me as first mate is 'cause there was really no one else for the job.  And as honored as I was to get the gig, however temporary it might've been, I never thought I was cut out for it.  Still don't.  I shoot what you boys need shootin', and I break what you boys need breakin'.  Not much of a leader, not yet anyway, and I ain't much of a tactician or whatnot."

He slapped Rhaef on the shoulder.  "You know as well as I do you need to earn everyone's trust back, hoss.  Might as well start now by grabbin' the reins and goin' to work.  You're still the first mate, far as I'm concerned.  Might as well make it official."

There were probably still things that needed to be said between him and Rhaef but for now, while they had a job to do, this little situation of theirs was as resolved as it was going to get.  Kale nodded his head, "It's done then.  Rhaef, welcome back to yer old post." there was just a hint of a smile on his lips as he said that, something about it just sounded right.  The crew had been through a lot and Kale hadn't realized how good it would feel to see something going back to normal.

"This here's the data the twins sent over, they got a layout of the place along with all sorts of info.  We may not even need to do a reconnaissance mission, what do you think, Rhaef?" Kale said, looking up at his new first mate.  He hadn't expected the twins to have such detailed information about the theater but here it was, all at his finger tips.  He supposed he should have expected that, rumor was the Sin Twins practically ran this town.

Rhaef considered the information - as always the Twins were nothing if not through. He paused, he knew it was bad for business for the Twins to let a major import die on their watch, and he knew that the Twins did not likely know that he was with Kale when they hired Destiny - so there was little likelihood that this was a trap.

Yet something gnawed at him. "Kale, you think you can raise Connor or Walton from here?" He paused, "Without raising a bunch of alarms..."

He looked at the Kale and then to Geoff, "We're bein' hired to protect someone, goes to reason then that this person's got folks lookin' for him." He shook his head with a hint of knowing sorrow, tapping the information, "and it looks like the Twins do not know who or why. And I am thinkin' we should."

He paused and looked again at the information they'd provided on the theater and looked to be near another of the cities causeways. "Geoff, didn't you say you wanted to take Lei over to one of the causeway pavillions?" He paused and tapped the map, so the street level view came up. "Looks like there is one right by theater. You two could go and get some down time and still check the exterior of the theater for surprises."

He turned to Kale, "And maybe both Geoff and I look suspicious in the theater, but Charlie and I, we look like a couple out of an afternoon ..." he stopped short, blushing slightly. "Of course, with her agreement to go out and your permission, Cap'n."

He lowered his voice, "And trust me, whatever might happen to me, she'd always get back to the ship safe, even if it took my last breath."

Geoff watched the screen as Rhaef ran through his plan.  He shook his head, however, when the newly reinstated first mate mentioned bringing Lei along.  "I'm gonna have to pass on that one, hoss," he said.  "If there's a possibility things can go to shit out there...even just casing the joint...I don't want Lei being caught in the middle.  I'll do it solo, but I want to keep her as far away from these jobs as possible.  Fair enough?"

Kale thought for a few moments about Rhaef's suggestions.  The layout that the twins had sent to him looked pretty thorough - but the twins didn't have the best reputation.  It was entirely possible that they were "accidentally" leaving out an "inconsequential" detail like armed security drones or something equally dangerous.  Geoff had a point though, Lei shouldn't be brought into danger but sending Charlie with Rhaef could be valuable - she might be able to spot things that Rhaef couldn't given her area of expertise.  Connor, of course, would have been better for this sort of thing but they had said their goodbye's.  Still if he contacted him he might be able to at least run a background check on Conroy Castel - pull up a list of likely enemies.

"I agree with Geoff, a job just ain't the place for a young girl.  But you an' Charlie might wanna take a look.  She might have some useful insight an' I don't trust the Buckley girls any further then I can throw 'em.  I'll see if I can get a hold of Connor for a background check.  The rest of us will lay low til tomorrow."

Rhaef listened to both men's responses - they made good sense. "Understood, Geoff - just trying to arrange some reasonable source of cover for you to be lookin' around but can also understand not wantin' to put Lei in danger."

He turned to Kale, "I'll check with Charlie, see if she's interested and then we'll make the run." He paused and added, "See if we can get Connor to hack the girl's security as well, it might be helpful to know what they're not tellin' us."

He shrugged and added, "And I know he's not crew or with us no more, so if you need to pay him for that, take it out of my cut, considerin' his work will likely keep me from gettin' shot by the Twins, and I'd appreciate that greatly."

With that, he turned and headed toward the cargo bay in search of Charlie.

[To Destiny: Cargo Bay]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:00, Tue 06 Apr 2010.

Kale watched Rhaef head off the bridge and then turned to Geoff, "Think it's probably best to just let Rhaef and Charlie do the recon work.  I'll contact Connor.  You make sure we got everythin' we need fer tomorrow.  We can't bring big guns, we're gonna have to look inconspicuous but I don' intend on bein' caught with my pants down.  We should be expectin' somethin' to not be quite right if the Twins reputation is true."

After giving Geoff his marching orders he turned back to the console in front of him and pulled up the Cortex.  He'd give Connor a ring and see if there was anything that he could pull up to help them.

Geoff frowned slightly, it was an expression the crossed his face every time the Captain told him he wasn't going to get to pull out the big guns.  Looking inconspicuous was not something that Geoff did well, partly cause he was a 6'4" man that could fill an entire doorway with his size, but also cause he was about as subtle as a bull in a china shop.  So finding out that this was going to be one of those jobs burst his bubble just a bit.  And his bubble wasn't doing too good to begin with.

"Dong ma, Cap'n," he conceded grudgingly, the a small smile lit on his face, "'Course I dunno if bein' caught with yer pants down ain't actually just what you should be aimin' fer with those girls." he chuckled lightly as the Captain's cheeks colored and headed out of the room to get ready before he could respond.

[To Destiny: Dining Hall]

Kale sent a wave through to Connor on Athens, which is where he had returned after leaving Destiny.  Last time he'd heard from Connor he had resumed working as a hacker and Kale hoped that he was finding some peace in that.  They'd all gone through a lot over the past few months and Kale couldn't blame Connor for wanting a life with perhaps a little less excitement.  Hopefully he wouldn't be adverse to helping them out now.

A few moments later the console beeped signalling that Connor had got his wave and was opening a channel.  Kale hit a few buttons and Connor's face appeared on the terminal.

"I hope this ain't a bad time or nothin'.  Seems I'm findin' myself in need o' yer services once again."

Connor's face indeed appeared. His hair was shorter. His beard was trimmed. He looked more like a soldier than when he'd left Destiny. What was most noticeable to Kale was how tired Connor looked. Although the man's voice was still youthful and vibrant, he looked...aged. Bags under his eyes, his shoulders seemed weighted down.

Even so, Connor managed a smile as Kale's face appeared, and his voice echoed through to him. "Captain. I must say, this is an unexpected surprise...albeit, a pleasant one. How can I help you?"

Kale immediately noticed the difference in his former crew member, and it wasn't just the new haircut.  If he was honest with himself, however, he'd been noticing the same kind of difference in almost everyone on board his boat in some small measure.  It made him wonder how he looked.

"It's good ta hear yer voice again.  Wish we had time fer some more pleasantries but it looks like I'm callin' in another favor.  Got a job, one we're hard pressed ta get done right.  Ya ever heard o' the Sin Twins?"

Connor shook his head, his eyebrow quirked. "Can't say that I have, Captain. But, I'm going to guess that you either have background...or history with these twins of sin."

Kale cocked a half a smile at the other man, "'Lil o' both." he replied.

"Callie an' Allie Buckley are their real names.  Make their home on Santo workin' outta the Prisma Casino.  Infamous in the less reputable circles ... an' in some o' the reputable ones truth be told.  Rhaef an' I have met'em before which means we know well enough that there's sure ta be things they ain't tellin' us 'bout this job we're supposed ta be doin'.  Rhaef thought if'n we contacted you, ya might be able ta hack into their files, see if ya can't dig up anything they're tryin' ta keep secret."

Connor looked hard at something away from the screen for a long moment. Then, he popped back into view and nodded. "I'm going to need to know where the access point is for the system. But I don't see why I can't attempt to access their computers remotely."

Kale nodded, "I'm sendin' ya over all the information I got.  Hopefully it'll help ya.  We got 'til tomorrow 'fore the jobs underway.  Anythin' you can get on the job with Conroy Castel is what yer lookin' for."

Kale hit a few buttons and sent Connor all his data files on the twins and the Prisma Casino.

Connor nodded, and then as the information came up, whistled softly. He may not have heard of the Sin Twins, but he knew the Prisma Casino. Or, more importantly, what kinds of securities they ran. His fingers tapped rapidly, and he was silent for about ten minutes.

Finally, he looked back at Kale. "Got into the system, Captain. Wasn't easy, but it's a bit older. I didn't find anything though. Your job, at least as far as this records show, is legitimate. I cannot tell if your characters of moral ambiguity have other plans, however."

Connor's screen chimed multiple times, and he swore. "Duty calls, Kale. Anything else I can do for you...you let me know."

"It was good to hear from you..."

The screen went black.

Kale furrowed his brow.  A legit job from the twins.  Didn't seem possible but he'd been hearing that they were traveling in higher circles now.

"Thanks Connor." Kale said and watched as the screen went black.  He spared a few concerned thoughts for his former crew member in the silence that followed but Connor was a big boy and he was fairly certain if he hadn't been able to take care of himself before he'd proven to himself that he could now after his stay on Destiny.

Kale stood from the terminal and realized he didn't have anything to do now.  Rhaef and Charlie were gonna check out the theatre.  Geoff was prepping their supplies for tomorrow.  Which meant that Kale actually had some free time ... now if only he knew what the hell to do with it.

In the years since he got Destiny he hadn't really had much of a life outside of her.  Being on Santo reminded him of the life he once had however.  Before the war.  Before everything became so gorram complicated.

Without really thinking about it Kale found himself wandering off the bridge and towards the dining hall.  At the very least he should check in with Rhaef, let him know that Connor didn't come up with anything.

<To Destiny: Dining Hall>