A place to call home.

Started by James Mackenzie, October 05, 2017, 07:11:27 PM

Izak Archer

The last two weeks...save for some mechanical work he did for a small freighter crew which became a full engine rebuild...were as dull and back breaking as they had been since Izak wound up on Constance. It was a far cry from his smuggling days, that much was certain. Working in a spaceport had lost its charm, and he couldn't wait to head out into the black again. If that was what F-Word had in mind, he had no reason not to sign up.

This job though seemed more bizarre than he first thought, but it was legal and did not come anywhere close to violating his morals.

He came in shortly after a woman who introduced herself. She certainly appeared to be interesting, but Izak paid her no mind really, he could analyze people later. right now, he was more interested in what money could be made from this venture, and how F-Word and Freya planned on pulling this thing off. Izak slid into his usual corner ,put his feet up on the table and propped up his stuff in the corner next to him. "Ready and waiting F," he said. "What did you and my friend the stowaway cook up?"

Abigail Archer

Abigail had been frequenting the little saloon for the last two weeks. It become a bit of sanctuary for her to clear her mind and avoid the things she didn't want to think about.  There had been a few jobs here and there, none nearly as bloody and violent as the one from a few weeks ago. Word seemed to have gone around that she was a formidable woman and not someone you wanted on your bad set.  The reputation kept her pockets full, for now.

Pushing the door open, with a little less force this time around, Abigail strolled up to the bar nodding at the usual patrons in the bar. The tiny human smuggler, the victim and the hero, were all sitting together, along with a new comer. She couldn't help but think about the last encounter they had.  What was a highly escalated, and tequila fueled rage, quickly fizzled into a large amount of laughter on her end.  F-Word probably still wasn't the fondest of Abigail since then, but she had an odd amount of respect for the man. No matter how twitchy he seemed to be.

Abigail sat down at the bar and ordered a sandwich, eying the newbie that was over speaking to F-Word. She was confident, strong, and intriguing to say the least. Abigail couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.

Jax

November 13, 2017, 12:37:35 PM #62 Last Edit: November 13, 2017, 12:39:13 PM by Jax
The saloon door slowly swung open with a raspy sound, the rusted hinges almost refusing to do their job. The sunlight cast the man's shadow onto the wood floor planking before him. Jax hobbled in looking a wreck, a cut lip with the start of a shiner under his left eye to show for his efforts. His leather bag now long gone along with the few possessions he owned. He brushed the dust from his jacket and made his way to the bar. "Whiskey." He groaned as he looked at his blood encrusted knuckles.

Abigail Archer

November 13, 2017, 03:58:22 PM #63 Last Edit: November 13, 2017, 04:06:32 PM by Abigail
Quote"Whiskey."

That voice, as tired and beat up as it was, she'd know it anywhere Abigail gave the new comer to the bar an inconspicuous side glance.  She smirked and shook her head. It wasn't too long ago she had come into this establishment looking a little worse for wear, though she didn't complain nearly as much.  That was always the difference between them, she knew how to take a hit, and was usually the one giving them. Jax on the other hand....he had an ability to attract a knock to the face from the other side of the 'verse. Her fist clenched as she remembered the last time they saw each other. She left him on that planet, after she decided to stay with Lin, and Ronin. She hadn't heard from him since, no wave, no hello.  Just silence.

Abigail reached over the bar and pulled up a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Noting to the bar tender she'd be paying for the bottle. Abigail slid off the chair and walked slowly towards the man, beat to hell as he was, and put the glasses down. She poured one out for him, then her, taking a seat, next to him, her peripheral vision on his weapons, because really who knew how he'd react.  But this was about as close as she'd ever get to an apology,

"You know... these people might find it a bit impolite, you bleeding all over their counter.  I should know, I did the same thing a few weeks ago...They don't take too kindly to it."

Abigail had kept her eyes on her drink and took a slow sip, waiting to see what he might do.

F-Word

November 15, 2017, 12:14:18 PM #64 Last Edit: November 15, 2017, 12:17:34 PM by F-Word
As people filtered in, F-Word did his best to strike a professional pose. But as Freya came in, her hair in some semblance of order for a change, his facade cracked as he gave her a friendly smirk and a wink.

Quote“I hope Izak comes,” she murmured to F-word, looking up at him and away from the toy momentarily.

"Me too, Wisp," he murmered. Izak's noninvolvement wasn't a dealbreaker. A couple other people he'd invited could also fly. But Izak was clearly the right pilot for the job. The others had other valuable talents and backup pilots were always welcome. He just wished he had as many doctor candidates. Soon, a woman came in he recognized through their cortex conversations.

Quote"Mister Fiwiescaya." She extended a hand. "Iona Pike. We spoke earlier." Her gaze flicked down momentarily to inspect the young woman, no girl, who was with him. A daughter or niece perhaps?

"Ms. Pike," he said, shaking her hand. "Pleased to meet in person. This here is Freya Fahn, mechanic and stowaway extraordinaire."

Soon, Freya got her wish as Izak entered and took his usual seat.

Quote"Ready and waiting F," he said. "What did you and my friend the stowaway cook up?"

F-Word gave a mischievous chuckle. "Cool your axionic superliminal jets, I," he said. "Let's wait for the others. I don't want to have to explain it more than once."

F-Word looked up to notice that Jax and Abigail had entered and there seemed to be no small amount of tension between them. Good, F-Word thought to himself. I may not particularly like those two, but damned if I don't need them.

F-Word gave one look around the room and decided to give it a few more minutes for any stragglers.

Freya

The new woman who'd entered made her a little uncomfortable with the silent way she walked and the brooding vibe that rolled off her like smoke. With a frown, Freya took one step to F-word's side and another behind him, keeping him between her and the somberly dressed stranger. When Iona's gaze dropped to her, Freya raised a brow and stared right back, accidentally yanking too hard on the toy's arm and ripping it free of its socket. The girl looked back down at the metallic robot with a frown. That wasn't supposed to come off that easily. She brought it up to her face and peered into the hole with a suspicious little frown, disregarding the woman and letting F-word do most if not all of the talking.

Quote"This here is Freya Fahn, mechanic and stowaway extraordinaire."

Upon being introduced, Freya seemed to choke on her on spit as she cleared her throat, suddenly remembering what 'manners' were, "Nice to meet you," she told the lady sternly, eyeing her dubiously. She pulled at some of the internal wires of the toy and made a disgruntled noise when one of them, eroded from time and neglect, popped out.

Her attention lifted, however, the moment Izak walked through the door. Freya lowered the metal man and lifted a hand in greeting, a smile pulling at her lips. When he called her his friend, the girl positively lit up, beaming at him and rocking back on her heels. It felt nice to have a friend. She shoved the robot's arm back into its socket and twisted it until it clicked into place, although she still held the lost wire in her hand. She's have to figure out how to get that back into its proper place later. She laughed very softly to herself when F-word told Izak to wait.

Freya's gaze followed Abigail from her journey from the door to a seat and she waved a hand at her both in greeting and in welcome. She remembered that F-word had mentioned her in their plans and was glad she'd shown up, although she'd leave that to F-word. With a mischievous grin, the girl began to wonder if the two were going to argue today as well, about things they ended up agreeing on. Maybe they'd get in a fist fight over how they both thought it was a nice day out today. Or they could shoot each other of a shared interest in card games.

Her nose scrunched up and she grimaced, eyeing the new male as he made his bruised way over to the bar. She didn't know what to make of him and his grunged up appearance made her take another step behind F-word, turning her body a little to keep him between her and as many people as possible. The man looked like he'd gotten in a fight with a meat blender and lost, and then the meat blender stole all his things, it was a really criminally savvy meat blender... Oh! And apparently the volatile woman knew the meat blender's victim!
Dialogue color: teal

Jax

Under normal circumstances Jax would be very attentive to his surroundings, but on this day he was just too tired to care and besides what else could go wrong. His plan of quietly exiting his employment pretty much ended up the complete opposite. While he waited for the barkeep he glanced in the direction of a familiar voice, it was Iona. Well at least one of us made it to town safely. He thought as he let out a slight chuckle which made his jaw ache. He could sense someone sitting next to him with the clank of glasses, before he could turn to the individual he heard another very familiar voice.

"You know... these people might find it a bit impolite, you bleeding all over their counter.  I should know, I did the same thing a few weeks ago...They don't take too kindly to it."

"Ta Ma Duh Ma Tze"[Damn Girlfriend] Jax muttered as his right hand dropped down to his pistol, luckily it's magazine was empty. He instead redirected his hand and reached out for the glass of whiskey. He wanted to be mad as hell but as hard as he tried to show that all he could muster was a smile.

With glass in hand he turned to the woman he had not seen in some time, his smile growing upon seeing her face. "Been awhile Abigail....Cheers." Jax lifted the glass slightly and then downed the amber-hued liquid. His head was filled with a million questions but first another whiskey was required. He slid the glass to her and motioned for a refill. "You're buying, right?"

Abigail Archer

Abigail watched as Jax's hand slid to his gun. She couldn't blame him after all, though it's not a fight he would win.  Abigail smiled back at him slightly, more apologetically than anything. 

Quote"Been awhile Abigail....Cheers." Jax lifted the glass slightly and then downed the amber-hued liquid. His head was filled with a million questions but first another whiskey was required. He slid the glass to her and motioned for a refill. "You're buying, right?"

She nodded and refilled the glass, then finishing her drink refilling hers and looking at him.  He looked just as tired as her.

"Ice please. And a first aid kit." She asked the bartender. Taking a glass of ice cubes from him she took a napkin and wrapped them up pressing the make shift ice pack to his eye. She took one of his free hands and replaced hers with his.

"Hold this.....Looks like you pissed someone off again, what happened this time?" She opened the first aid kit that had been given to her and started wiping down the cuts on his one hand.

Iona Pike

Quote"Ms. Pike," he said, shaking her hand. "Pleased to meet in person. This here is Freya Fahn, mechanic and stowaway extraordinaire."
Quote"Nice to meet you,"

Iona gave Freya a small nod and a smile that reached her eyes. If F-Word considered her a mechanic she would take his word for it until proven otherwise. She couldn't fault the girl based off her age. After all half the crew chiefs she had served with had been only been maybe a year of two this girl's elder. When another man spoke up, greeting the two Iona had approached she gave him a cursory once over. The question he asked was the same that sat silent behind her lips, albeit phrased a little differently. With F's announcement that story time was going to wait Iona gestured to the table at which Izak had taken a seat. "Room for another?"

She had no interest in dragging out small talk just yet. For one, it felt unnatural. For another, she wanted to find out what exactly was the offer here. What had this man cooked up and what parts were everyone to play?

Jax

November 16, 2017, 07:33:53 PM #69 Last Edit: November 17, 2017, 01:32:53 PM by Jax
Jax watched as Abigail filled the glass once more, his thoughts drifted to the past. Happier times for sure but not without their troubles, maybe not much has changed after all... he mused. The beat up Pilot downed the second glass of cheap whiskey and placed the glass back on the counter.

"Hold this.....Looks like you pissed someone off again, what happened this time?"

Abigail placed some ice on his eye and then moved his hand to hold it in place. Just that simple touch brought back a flood of memories. Well so much for be angry. He conceded as she began cleaning up his hand.

"Really it wasn't my fault, I swear!" He started. "Just got myself stuck in a bad position and I needed to extract myself, though I had hoped less painfully." Jax caressed his jaw with his free hand. "That woman got me good too, a real sucker puncher that one." He laughed. "You'd have a real match with her I'm sure of it."

Enough about me. He thought to himself as a few opening questions popped into his head. "So you know I have to ask." He prefaced his first question while refilling their glasses. "What happened on Ronin? Lin finally give you the boot as well?" Jax was hoping for a good explanation, but frankly at this point it didn't matter, water under the bridge and all.

.

F-Word

November 21, 2017, 08:11:18 AM #70 Last Edit: November 21, 2017, 08:55:07 AM by F-Word
As the final stragglers came in, F-Word muttered to Freya, "Welp...here goes, huh?" He then donned the confident voice of authority he used back when he'd run the family farm.

"Alrighty, folks. Thanks for showing. Gimme our eyes and ears for a bit and I'll make this short, to the point, and hopefully worth your while." It had been years since he'd put his 'boss voice' to use, but it still cracked some air. "Now a lot of what I got in mind is proprietary information. And since you ain't proprietors yet, I'm going to be pretty vague." He nodded to Freya. "For those who don't know, this here is Freya Fahn. She's here for the same reason you are: She's got skills necessary to pull off this venture. She and I have been tinkering and we've found a way to grow and transport a diversified portfolio of agricultural commodities through an interplanetary medium. That's business talk for we can grow and move lots of different crops on a spaceship. Now, if you got a lick of sense you should be able to see the advantages of this. One: If you fly with us, you'll always have fresh fruit and veg ripe for the picking. You'll eat better than any crew in the verse. Two: We will be able to provide the best and freshest produce possible. Which means we'll be able to charge rich pricks out the ass for a single gorram carrot. Three: We can transplant crops to less developed rim planets and make them a whole lot more livable. We'd be the everlovin' Johnny Ruttin' Appleseed of the verse, 'cept we'd get paid and wouldn't wear pots on our heads. 'Less that's your thing. So! We need pilots," he eyed Izak and Iona. "Not just to fly the freighter ship- Oh! We need a freighter ship, by the way- but to fly some kind of corvette or fighter to fend off attackers. We need tech folk who can keep our crops in an optimum environment. We need gunhands," he eyed Abigail. "To keep other people's dirty little fingers off our things and to make sure business stays business-like. We need a quartermaster," he eyed Jax, "To keep a close eye on our assets, which will be extensive and...well...I don't want to do it. Most of all, we need capable people like yourselves to help get this off the ground." He pulled out a document with his and Freya's signature along with some lines for others to sign. "This here's the charter. I'm offering partnership in this li'l venture. I know you're curious about the money. That's all there. Take a look at it and if you got questions, now's the time to ask. And if you're in, just slap your signature on it and we'll get to work."

Freya

November 21, 2017, 08:28:47 AM #71 Last Edit: November 21, 2017, 09:43:21 AM by Freya
Freya watched Iona sit with F-word, her head cocked and a funny little look on her face. The woman was interesting, to say the least, but she still made the girl nervous. She spent a little time staring at Jax and Abigail, not so subtly eavesdropping on their entire conversation with a grimace.

Quote"Welp...here goes, huh?"

Turning her head to look up at F-word, Freya gave him a thumbs up and a cheesy grin, being as encouraging as she could be despite not having had very many opportunities in her life to do so. She just hoped she got it right. At his boss voice, her grin broadened and the girl rocked back on her heels, suitably impressed and a little surprised that that voice had been hidden somewhere in the tomato man.

Quote"...this here is Freya Fahn."

Freya raised a hand in greeting but looked pained at having been called out and although she was still definitely somewhat behind F-word, the little stowaway did attempt to stand beside him a little more, wanting to assist in providing some kind of unified front. As he listed off the advantages, Freya held up the corresponding amount of fingers, quietly helping to illustrate his points in her own way.

Quote"This here's the charter."

At this, the girl held her hands out, one vertical, one horizontal, to gesture toward the document much like a gameshow assistant might show off the prizes, although her expression remained mostly neutral and stoic. She even went so far as to wiggle her fingers a little.
Dialogue color: teal

Abigail Archer

November 22, 2017, 03:30:36 PM #72 Last Edit: November 22, 2017, 04:35:31 PM by Abigail
Quote"Just got myself stuck in a bad position and I needed to extract myself, though I had hoped less painfully." Jax caressed his jaw with his free hand. "That woman got me good too, a real sucker puncher that one." He laughed. "You'd have a real match with her I'm sure of it."

Enough about me. He thought to himself as a few opening questions popped into his head. "So you know I have to ask." He prefaced his first question while refilling their glasses. "What happened on Ronin? Lin finally give you the boot as well?"

Abigail smirked as Jax told his story of woe. Of course he was beat up a girl. "I very much doubt it'd be an even match." She winked at him. "Oh Ronin....no, he didn't...." The truth was after all was she left because he had left.  Things just hadn't been the same. "No, I left, things were just...I needed change." And she left it at that. 

On the other side of the room F-Word had been talking about setting up a new operation. She saw him look in her direction. It was an interesting idea but she wasn't going to show interest just yet.  With Jax cropping out of no where , who knew where things were going to end up.

Izak Archer

Quote from: F-Word on November 21, 2017, 08:11:18 AM
She and I have been tinkering and we've found a way to grow and transport a diversified portfolio of agricultural commodities through an interplanetary medium. That's business talk for we can grow and move lots of different crops on a spaceship. Now, if you got a lick of sense you should be able to see the advantages of this. One: If you fly with us, you'll always have fresh fruit and veg ripe for the picking. You'll eat better than any crew in the verse. Two: We will be able to provide the best and freshest produce possible. Which means we'll be able to charge rich pricks out the ass for a single gorram carrot. Three: We can transplant crops to less developed rim planets and make them a whole lot more livable. We'd be the everlovin' Johnny Ruttin' Appleseed of the verse, 'cept we'd get paid and wouldn't wear pots on our heads. 'Less that's your thing. So! We need pilots," he eyed Izak and Iona. "Not just to fly the freighter ship- Oh! We need a freighter ship, by the way- but to fly some kind of corvette or fighter to fend off attackers.

Izak was intrigued...this was not exactly a job up his alley, but he could easily fly a freighter around the verse. that was no problem for him at all. The lack of a ship on the other hand was a little discouraging, but he could probably help them scrounge something up. He could also serve as a quartermaster and mechanic. He certainly had a lot of questions, but he wasn't going to ask them during the pitch as it could shake the faith in some of the potential crew members. Either way, he had no time to waste.

"I'll fly your freighter for you, and I can help out with some other odd things here and there too. Bring the charter over," he said swinging his feet off the table. "No risk, no reward, they say."

Iona Pike

Quote"... So! We need pilots," he eyed Izak and Iona. "Not just to fly the freighter ship- Oh! We need a freighter ship, by the way- but to fly some kind of corvette or fighter to fend off attackers."

Of all the hair brained schemes Iona had come across in her time in the black this was up there, but with that being said this one of the few that sounded like it could potentially keep a ship afloat. The pilot chewed the inside of her cheek for a few moments, mulling the idea over. Work was work, but she wasn't keen on piloting a freighter. It was outside her comfortable skillset. The idea of running escort however.

Quote"I'll fly your freighter for you, and I can help out with some other odd things here and there too. Bring the charter over," he said swinging his feet off the table. "No risk, no reward, they say."

"Well that settles that then." Iona said sitting up a little straighter in her chair. "I've a fair hand when it comes to gunships. I'll make my mark."

Jax

November 23, 2017, 07:23:13 AM #75 Last Edit: November 23, 2017, 10:06:07 AM by Jax
Abigail smirked as Jax told his story of woe. Of course he was beat up by a girl. "I very much doubt it'd be an even match." She winked at him. "Oh Ronin....no, he didn't...." The truth was after all, it was she left because he had left.  Things just hadn't been the same. "No, I left, things were just...I needed change."

---

Jax just gave a simple nod in acceptance of her answer. "Well it's good to see you Abigail, very good." It was then that a voice sounded from another table. Jax turned to listen not quite sure what was up. It seemed he had inadvertently stumbled in just in time for a sales pitch. "Get a load of this guy..." He whispered to Abigail, "....you know this one?"He didn't expect an immediate answer as the presentation continued.

Jax's first thought was Snake Oil Salesman, but honestly Jax had been one himself at times and this guy seemed a little bit more legit, at least on the surface. Jax left Brutus looking for something different, was this it ....he mused. He whispered again to Abigail..."I ain't no ruttin' farmer." The speech came to an end with an invitation, Jax watched the others as they spoke in turn. Perhaps there was an angle here he could exploit to get Abigail and himself off this rock and back to looting the 'Verse.

.

Abigail Archer

Abigail gave F-Word a side glance, "Yea I know him....we don't really get along." She whispered back to Jax, when the presentation ended.

Quote."I ain't no ruttin' farmer."
She snorted, "That kind of life style doesn't quite suit me either....though beating the snot out of people for a living can get a tad boring...And this might be more lucrative."

If they joined the could both probably get enough money for a boat of their own.  It's not like a ship would just fall into their laps right?

F-Word

F-Word handed the charter over to Freya to pass around to those who were ready to sign. He couldn't help but notice that Abigail and Jax seemed thick as thieves and weren't making a move to sign. He wasn't surprised. He walked over to them.

"Let me guess. Growing and selling food don't sound too sexy to you. Well how sexy does a shit-ton of money sound? There's a lot of people in the verse and they all gotta eat. We'll set aside the ones who are starving that we could help for the moment and look at the ones who ain't starving. The ones who ain't starving got no problem paying top dollar for the best, freshest, most exclusive food they can get. How sexy is milking rich cows for all they're worth?"

He made a nonthreatening fist a few inches in front of his chest. He held his other hand flat, palm down over the fist. "You know what this is? This describes how we're going to make money. Hand over fist. But if you just ain't interested in earning money that ain't covered in blood...well then it's time you got the hell out of here. The saloon ain't open to the public right now and Sabrina and James don't take kindly to trespassers."

Freya

Freya gladly took the charter, walking to where Izak and Iona were sitting and holding the paper like she might accidentally rip it somehow. She set it down in front of Izak and smiled at him, pushing it a little closer and—her smile faltered and she looked down at the table, realizing there was no pen. The girl started patting at her torso and feeling in her hair before finally finding the pen she'd stashed in one of her braids. It had tangled in there pretty good and it took her a sizable chunk of time before she was able to free it. Panting and looking triumphant, Freya held the pen out to Izak, offering Iona a stare and a furrowed brow. That was sort of like a smile, right? The solemn woman was very interesting, she could not deny that, and her knowledge with gunships had Freya a little curious, but it is best not to share that sort of thing with a stranger. Not yet, anyhow!

Quote"How sexy is milking rich cows for all they're worth?"

Her attention flickered back toward F-Word as he spoke to the Meat Man and the woman, her nose scrunched up ever so slightly. Milking a cow did not sound sexy, generally. Although what would she know, maybe milking cows and sleeping around tomatoes were what made F-word happy, she had no idea. He was a strange plant person who lived with a bunch of men who were very fond of sausages, who was she to judge?
Dialogue color: teal

Abigail Archer

Abigail sighed and put down the damp cloth she had been using to clean off Jax's hand.  "Is everything an argument with you?" She poured herself and Jax another drink,

"Listen, you have to understand, we don't enjoy hurting people, it just tends to be the business we end up in. Not to mention, if I had know idea you'd be inviting this Fei fei pi gu along I might've avoided the invitation all together." She gave Jax a sly grin and took a sip from the brown liquid.

"In all seriousness though, I need to think it over.  I'm grateful for the invite, truly, but deciding to go from bounty hunter to farmer Jo overnight, is a tough pill to swallow.  Now if that answer doesn't sit well with you, then maybe we don't belong on the same ship.  As much as I love a good fight, I'm not inclined to spend a good chunk of my time on a boat with a captain that doesn't even want me there."

Abigail turned back to Jax's hand swapping them so she could work on the second set off bloodied knuckles.

Powered by EzPortal