Adrift Among Stars (SxyCowgirl/Reno)

[SxyCowgirl]

Having made their way to the top deck and across it to the forecastle, Deana and Andy walked up the stairs to see four men waiting for them.

"This is Mark our gunner, Dom our bos'n, Brick our Quartermaster, and Soa our carpenter."  Deana said walking past and motioning to each of them in turn. "And this, is Andy our engineer." She said, turning to face Andy. As Deana introduced each of the men, they looked up from talking to each other to look at their captain and then to Andy with a bit of confusion. Andy stepped up to Mark, the first one introduced, with her hand out to shake his. Looking at the other men, Mark smiled and began to laugh.

"This is the infamous Andy? You have got to be kidding me! That's a good one Cap. Now where is he?" He asked, the other men laughing now. Angered by their disrespect, Andy grabbed his hand and twisted it behind his back and putting her foot on the back of his neck, causing him to fall to his knees with a yell. "Yes. This is Andy. Anyone else got any issues with it?" She asked looking at the other men.

"Now Andy, don't go hurting my gunner yet. Mark runs his mouth off again like that, I'll have him castrated. Got that? She's the best of the best and we must show her respect and she will do the same. Anger her too much and with her knowledge, she could blow us all to kingdom come. So lets all just get along shall we?" Deana said, walking over to Andy and her prisoner, a smirk on her face.

Andy nodded and let Mark stand back up. "Sounds fair to me." She said smirking as well and looking at the others. They had long since stopped laughing and looked at each other before smiling and holding out their hands to greet Andy. "He deserves it. He's always running his mouth of so don't mind him." the man named Brick said.

[Reno]

Eric hooked his fingers behind his back impatiently at the unfolding scene. It looked like the new boss had some self-esteem issues, and the gunner wouldn't be much use in a real fight if he fell for a move like that. He shrugged. She moved well and looked good doing it, he had to admit, but was there any compelling reason that he needed to be on this little tour? He knew where the engine room was already, now he just needed to know where the chow line started, since he'd clearly be meeting the crew on his own time instead of during the little meet-and-greet. He turned away from the others and looked boredly off the forecastle, squinting his eyes into the distance. 

[SxyCowgirl]

"Right well now that we're all acquainted, I think it would be nice to have one last meal on land." The captain said with a smile. "My treat tonight gentlemen."

The four she had just met whooped and headed for the gangway in a sort of awkward trot. Andy laughed and followed behind with the captain and then noticed that Eric had come at some point. "I only assume that means you too." She said, motioning for him to follow. "We'll introduce you there if need be."

[Reno]

Eric blinked, completely bemused. He'd followed them through the entire ship, and she'd forgotten he was there.  He felt a sharp pain between his eyes. Oh, this is going to be a great job, his mind groaned. He just waved dismissively.

"You go on ahead," he said, heading toward the gangplank himself. "If we've got enough time for dinner, then that means I've got some time to wrap up a few things planetside," he explained.

[SxyCowgirl]

Andy shrugged. "Alright. Just don't get in trouble. When you're done meet us at the tavern." She said. Wrap a few things up? She wondered, the words hanging only lightly in her mind. Huh. Wonder what he means by that. Better not get into too much trouble.

She and the captain walked wordlessly behind the four men ahead of them. By the time they had gotten into the tavern, the four of them were already sitting and ordering their food. Andy sat between the captain and an empty chair and ordered a good ale and a steak. There was no point in turning down a generous offer to pay.

[Reno]

Eric grinned as they parted ways at the bottom of the gangway. "Yes, mom, I'll behave," he said, turning away from the group and heading off on his own.

He snorted to himself as he made his way to a nearby lodging house. Meet us at the tavern when you're done? He wasn't about to rush to socialize with his employer. Some things were more interesting than a meal, he thought as he knocked on one of the beat-up apartment doors. He smiled as a pretty redheaded lass opened the door and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Eric? I thought you were leaving today," she said, confused.

"I am," he nodded, "but the captain has a soft spot for eating on land, apparently, so we don't shove off for a little while. I thought I'd come over and say a proper goodbye." He grinned winningly.  The girl smiled and stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind him.

When he emerged from the apartment, the sun was directly in his eyes. It had been some time, but not enough.He'd hated feeling rushed, but it was better than being stranded on this dust ball any longer than he had to be.  He made his way back to the dock and figured that he'd beaten Andy and the Captain back, since the gangway was still down. He stood at the foot of it and lit a cigarette as he waited, smoothing his rumpled clothing and trying unsuccessfully  to neaten his bedraggled hair.

[SxyCowgirl]

Having finished their meal, all six of them walked back to the ship. Eric was already waiting there for them, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Andy led the way up the gang plank and up onto deck, grabbing the cigarette from Eric's mouth. "You want to fight and work at your best. These will only make your life shorter, especially with the amount of fighting I have a feeling we're going to be doing." She said, throwing it over the side of the ship. "With what our lungs already go through as mechanics, it's a wonder we aren't already slower than we should be."

The Captain laughed lightly at this, the other men having simply returned to their own business. "We will be taking off shortly." She said to the two of them before turning and bellowing in a voice that should not have been as loud as it was. "WEIGH ANCHOR!"

[Reno]

Eric bristled and gritted his teeth in annoyance. "With what our lungs go through already, it hardly matters," he snapped in counter. He considered pulling out another and lighting it on the principle of it, but he decided against it. He'd been just about done anyway, and cigarettes were too hard to come by aboard ship to waste them on a measuring contest with an uppity boss. When the captain bellowed, he turned without another word and headed for the aftcastle to make his way below decks before they hit space.

[SxyCowgirl]

"What we deal with, doesn't kill our lungs, just makes them work a bit harder." She half said, half mumbled. She just turned and watched as he went below deck. Standing near the captain, Andy watched as the gangway was removed and every other crew member rushed this way and that to get everything ready to take off. She could hear the whir of the forcefield generators and the gravatrons starting up in preparation of take-off. In what seemed like no time at all, the ship was ready and the captain yelled to cast off, and then they were in space. It felt good, the cool air on her skin, the wind in her face.

The stars surrounded them as the ship moved quickly and steadily away from the planet where they had just been. For what seemed like a long time, they stood and looked at the stars before Andy excused herself. Though the view was nice, as it always was, there was work to be done. She could only hope that Eric would be somewhere near the engines so she could begin his training.

[Reno]

Eric had only just made it to his bunk when the deck lurched beneath his feet and the ship lifted off. His stomach flipped as he reached out to grasp a nearby conduit and closed his eyes against the wave of nausea. This was why part of why he hated going planetside. He loved being in space, but taking off just sucked. When the Dawn finally broke through the atmosphere, his grip slackened and he sat back, settling himself with a few long, deep breaths until his guts settled from their gymnastics and the green tinge faded from his face.

[SxyCowgirl]

Andy took a deep breath of the now oxygen rich air, held in by the forcefield. It cooled significantly on the starboard side facing away from the sun of the system as they headed away from the planet. Clapping her hands, she smiled and said "Wellp. Celebrate a good take-off?" Andy turned towards where the captain had been and her shoulders drooped a bit as she noticed she was no longer there. Shrugging, she walked off and back down to their quarters. "So. What do you think of the ship?" She yelled over the engines.

[Reno]

Eric was only just getting back to his feet when the boss reappeared, looking far too thrilled with the entire takeoff experience. "I haven't seen much of it," he called back, shrugging. "Just the deck and down here!"  His stomach had found its proper orientation now, and he was more pleasantly disposed toward the overgrown tuna-trawler already. "It's big!" he allowed, fatuously.

[SxyCowgirl]

"It is. And it's our job to make sure it and every other piece of machinery in this place works smoothly." She yelled. "Well for the moment I think we should get some shut-eye. It seems like the best time. Nothing ever goes wrong right after departure." With that she turned and walked into the bunk room, pulling her jacket off and tossing it onto one of the chairs in the back corner. Flopping onto the bed, she sighed happily.