S2E8 - To Catch A Glory

[Fey]

Helena had woken up in a sweat.  Ever since her discussion with Vega she hadn't had much sleep, it had re-awoken a few ghosts she had chosen to bury.  Hoping she hadn't startled her roommate, Helena rolled out of bed and pulled on her shoes, finding her way to the galley. Half hoping she'd see Vega there. Though she wasn't sure why.

She walked into the galley to Iris making breakfast.  She sniffed the area and instantly found the aroma of coffee. "Well this is quite the treat...appreciate you cooking for us...Can I get you a cup?" Helena poured herself a cup of coffee and took a deep breath in and taking a sip, letting the caffeine enter her system and wake her up.

[Iris Reale]

Dark eyes looked up from the task at hand to the arrival of Helena as soft lips offered up a kind smile. Iris, while grateful for the thanks, knew she was simply fulfilling what she had promised to do on board. There was some pleasure in the simple things, such as seeing the faint smile of satisfaction that food and coffee were readily available and not needing to be made. Gently, Iris shook her head no to the coffee. "I'm more of a tea drinker, but thank you for offering."

Her attire was far more relaxed than when she'd come aboard, feeling that dressing down would put the rest of the crew more at ease with her presence. Anything she could do in that regard was worth the effort, in her mind. Her hair was loosely braided and hung over one shoulder, contrasting sharply with the light blue collared shirt she'd opted for. "The captain keeps a good stock on board. I'm rather impressed by that. Allows for a little more substantial meals than I expected."

[Monty]

Hunger pangs were beginning to set in which were Leroy's alert to hit the galley. He took to the time to clean up some after he had been crawling around deep in the bowels of Ronin making various repairs. In some cases he completely replaced certain items he had picked up earlier. Approaching the galley the inviting scent of coffee hit him square in the face. He took in a deep breathe as just the aroma gave him a lift. Leroy swung in through the hatchway all smiles to find Iris and Helena. "Why good day ladies, that coffee smells great!"

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

"When you can see Shadow and her moons, let me know. I'll be in my quarters."

Nat had barely been in her quarters the past four days- wasn't that she didn't trust any auto-pilot feature to get them to Shadow without any watchful eyes passing over them- or well actually that was exactly it. She had a job to do and she was gorram sure she was gonna do it right.

Footsteps sounded in the doorway, and Nat turned to see the captain.

"We shouldn't be too far out now, Monty did one bang-up job on those repairs."

She grinned- tired, for sure, but work was work and when your work was flying... well to her that was hardly work at all.

[Vega Barnet]

Since his and Helenas slightly intoxicated chat Vega had been feeling much better. He'd been sleeping easier and felt happier in general. He eased into wakefulness, feeling actually refreshed. Still tired, but better. He rolled out of bed and did some morning stretching, and then the scent of hot coffee and other decliciousness wafted in. All thoughts of exercise forgotten for the moment, he dressed quickly, and headed up to the galley.

He entered to find he wasn't the only one enticed by the wonderful smells. "Morning Monty, finally dragged yourself out of the engine room eh?" He said with a smile at the man, turning his head to Iris he continued "Miss Reale, whatever it is you're making smells positively divine.". And finally his gaze settled on Helena. His smile increased a few notches. "Morning Helena."

[Jerilyn Gordon]

With Jerilyn, Lin showed her the computer system with the upgrades constantly being improved by the nanites invested in the system a few years ago. Part of the strength of the system was how the sensors were extended to pickup things from distance. The nanites were pushing anti-virus programs in overlapping cycles.

Jeri had exhausted herself digging through the computer innards, tracing down the changes and upgrades that Lin had shown her. She took some time off finally to exercise in the cargo bay, stretching and tumbling, at times sparring with any of the crew that would happen by.

Today, she felt pangs of hunger and made her way to the galley, seemingly already starting to fill with personnel.

"Hey ya. Coffee smells good. Pastries up for grabs?"

[Fey]

Iris looked a little more relaxed today than what Helena had seen before.  Like she was just a regular crew member. 

"The captain keeps a good stock on board. I'm rather impressed by that. Allows for a little more substantial meals than I expected."

"Glad to hear we'll be eating more than protein bars," She grinned at Iris, and took a small sip of her coffee, "Perhaps we can find some tea for you as well, I know the captain is more of a tea man himself as well." Slowly the rest of the crew started to filter in, most likely due to the smell of coffee.

"Why good day ladies, that coffee smells great!" Helena grinned at Monty her shopping buddy and handed a cup to the resident mechanic. "Not too bad tasting either..." Vega followed after, he seemed in a better mood, she met his smile with one equally as enthusiastic, she poured another cup, apparently becoming the resident barista, "Hey you...." There was a sweetness to it, and a small blush, if you were looking.  She handed Vega the cup as Jeri popped in as well,"Morning Jeri, care for a cup? And yes, anything is up for grabs....Iris is cooking, something delicious." Helena grinned back at the passenger.

[Iris Reale]

"Glad to hear we'll be eating more than protein bars. Perhaps we can find some tea for you as well, I know the captain is more of a tea man himself as well."

Iris lifted her lips in a grateful smile, but shook her head ever so slightly. "I think it might be in poor taste for me to assume something granted without knowing. Even so, a kind thought, but I tend to keep my own teas as well. Call it a personal luxury I can't seem to give up." Her eyes moved to the doors as each crew member entered and each was given a reserved, but kind smile and the smallest of bows with only her head. Helena took the lead on coffee. She'd had a little interaction with a few of them over the course of the last few days, but had yet to really get to know any of them in more than a cursory fashion.

Gesturing towards the food, she welcome Jeri to help herself to the food warmed and waiting. "Please, all of you, do help yourselves. I'd rather not see it go to waste." There was a twinge of pleasure that the crew seemed to at least appreciate the food, even though it was what she had all but begged to do simply to be allowed on board. It was strange, watching the people she'd heard bits and pieces of stories about interact right in front of her. Granted, stories were just that. Stories. Absolutely no doubt lingered in her mind that many of those stories held more than a small grain of truth or she wouldn't have even attempted to find the ship.

While the others set about getting coffee and food, she set about clearing out the mess created by cooking. There was no reason to simply stand idly. Having sampled everything as she'd made it, her own hunger was dampened for the time being. Gingerly, slim fingers pushed up the rolled up sleeves of her blue button up in an attempt to keep them from becoming soaked as she began her task.

[Vega Barnet]

"Hey you...."

Vega felt his smile increased another notch, he could definitely hear the air of sweetness in Helena's voice, and noticed the slight reddening of her cheeks. Their drunken chat had definitely changed things. More than he'd realized. He reached out and took the cup Helena offered him, and stepped off to the side so as to not be in anyone's way, though still near Helena.

He took a sip, and gave a nod of greeting to Jerilyn as she entered. She inquired about the food, and Iris replied.

"Please, all of you, do help yourselves. I'd rather not see it go to waste."

"Well, don't need to tell me twice." Vega said. He let the others go first if they wanted, sipping his coffee while he waited, and then grabbed a plate and a decent sized serving. Out of habit he took a seat facing the entryway, and dug in.

[Helena Cain]

No one else had entered the kitchen at that point, Helena put down the coffee pot and chose to get her own breakfast.  She respected Iris's wishes and chose to avoid the Captain's tea stash, if it was even in the kitchen.

She went over and grabbed her own plate of food eventually taking a seat next to Vega. Her leg touched his momentarily, it startled her but somehow also felt natural in some way. But she pulled away nonetheless.

"So Iris, how did you find yourself aboard Ronin?" A vague but obvious attempt in her mind to ignore the sensation flowing throughout her. 

She hoped someone else, anyone else would distract her from what was happening in her mind. 

[Iris Reale]

"So Iris, how did you find yourself aboard Ronin?"

Iris canted her head slightly to one side, braid slipping over her shoulder, and pondered exactly how to answer the question. Her hands continued to work at cleaning, but an amused smile played across her lips. She recalled how swift the 'arrival' aboard had been. One moment, she'd been all but begging to be allowed on board and then she'd been pulled aboard by the captain. It hadn't been exactly as she'd imagined the encounter would go, particularly for someone of her profession. A soft, single laugh escaped her before she looked over to Helena and lifted her eyebrows. "Abruptly."

Most of the cleaning had been done as she worked, so there wasn't a great deal that remained at the end of cooking. The rest of it would come as meals were finished and the food was cleared away. For now, she set aside the cleaned utensils and dried her hands as she turned to lean gently against the cabinets. "I honestly wasn't expecting to make it aboard. I'm not exactly what one might consider 'standard' crew here or anywhere really." As yet, she hadn't revealed much about herself, tending to be more of a listener and she was mildly curious about how her profession would be received.

[Jerilyn Gordon]

Jeri pulled a mug and filled it with black coffee, spooning a little sweetener into it and then browsing the available breakfast meats and eggs. She filled her plate and gathered utensils before taking a seat across from Vega and Helena. She caught a brief glimpse of the other woman's slight blush and smiled quietly to herself. She dipped her head and spooned some eggs into her mouth without a word.

Taking a sip, she cleared her mouthful and turned to iris, finishing up the clearing. "What is it you do on board?"

[Lin Kuei]

Lin examined the charts and the approximate distance to Shadow then calculated the speed. The math in his head came up with a little more than a day until they could see Shadow in front of them. Tack on another twelve hours at most until they hit Summerfair. He nodded at Nat's thoughts on Monty's work. "To be fair, he had a lot of work to handle too. ... I'm smelling breakfast upstairs, Nat. I'm heading up. Set the proximity alarm and get something to eat. I do not want any food in the cockpit. See you up there when you finish." Setting the charts aside, he made his way along the main deck.

He had isolated himself more than normal for the past couple of days. There were things he had to sort out in his head. There was certainly new crew but they were also missing the one of the most crew members in Ronin's history. Victoria. ... Lin had not really set aside time to come terms with what all happened to her. He knew she was at rest now which was most important for her. Much of his time had been spent in meditation and fasting, save for tea, so he was hungry when he ascended the stairs.

Lin padded into the galley quietly, almost like a shadow. The sense of peace from the morning's meditation still carried with him. Although it was more than just a sense of peace, it was a resolution to finish off those promises he had made and rededicate himself to completing them. Touching the comm, he tapped the button for the rest of the ship. "There is breakfast in the galley."

Stepping past Iris with a nod, Lin fixed himself a small plate of food before leaning against the countertop and taking a bite. It was good. Iris had talent and it showed. "Iris, this is very shiny. Thank you." Taking another bite, he set his plate aside for a moment. "I do want to say that most of you did not know our previous XO. As I am sure Vega remembers, she was about keeping high morale on board through her cooking. She believed as I did that a well fed crew does solid work.

Due to meddling by the Alliance, her mind had become scattershot to some degree and she eventually succumbed to it. I will always think of this as her galley but I can say she would also appreciate the skill Iris has shown in it." He nodded at Iris as he picked up his plate again. There were other matters to broach as well. "Tomorrow about this time, we'll be able to see Shadow and, where we are headed, the moon Summerfair. There will be a briefing tomorrow about this time to go over what we are actually doing there. Any questions?" Lin took another bite of eggs.

[Monty]

"Not too bad tasting either..."

Leroy gladly accepted the mug from Helena and straight away filled it with the hot steamy brew. He held it up to his nose and breathed in the aroma letting it wash away the smell of oil and cleaning fluid he had been using.

"Morning Monty, finally dragged yourself out of the engine room eh?"

Leroy turned in Barnet's direction and lifted his mug. "Coffee will do it everytime, if you can't find me just git 'bout brewin' a fresh pot and I'll be along shortly." He ended with a slight chuckle to himself. He fetched a clean plate and loaded up on the spread Iris had put out. "Looks great Miss Reale, thanks." Leroy fumbled with some flatware as he barely made it safely to the table. He went about eating and listening to the Captain.

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

"Aye, cap'n."

Nat fiddled with a few more controls, double checking her heading before she was satisfied that the ship would stay on course long enough to grab a bite. She could smell the coffee from near halfway across the ship (that nose of hers had to be good for something), reminding her that yes there was life beyond flying and it was worth living sometimes.

Seemed like nearly the whole crew was in the galley- or would be soon enough with the captain's broadcast. She was pretty sure one of the new folks was her roommate now, not that Nat had spent much time in her quarters since their quick leave of the station.

"Run-tse duh fwotzoo, is that real egg?" Nat asked, picking up a plate of her own and getting a little of everything. She listened as the captain gave his anecdote- didn't take much for her to put two and two together. Seemed like the captain was involved with the former XO. Lao tyen yeh...

Nat poured herself a coffee and put a pat of butter in it. She needed a little something uplifting after that.

[Iris Reale]

"What is it you do on board?"

The question was innocuous enough and not directly a question about her profession, so Iris opted to answer it as it was asked. "I will be mainly preparing meals and assisting the doctor as she needs it. Beyond that, well," her hands lifted in a subtle and gentle 'who knows' gesture. Hearing Monty mention that coffee would draw him from the engine room, Iris filed the information away and offered up a soft smile. Each piece of information added a tiny facet to each of the crew, filling out their personalities for her a little at a time.

When the captain slipped past her, she offered something closer to a more formal bow akin to what she'd initially greeted the man with back on the station. His compliment was taken graciously and a quiet thanks offered in a simple look. It was his story of the former XO that led her to realize that perhaps she had inadvertently stepped on his toes with her request to join. If she was as important to him as his words hinted, Iris knew a quiet and private apology was due, and yet her features remained soft and welcoming. Briefly her attention turned to the woman she knew to be the pilot, Nat, noting her preferences for her coffee. "The captain keeps the stores well stocked. I was pleasantly surprised and it seemed appropriate not to skimp my first time preparing a meal for you all."

[Vega Barnet]

Vega was pleased that Helena sat next to him. He felt her leg touch his on accident when she sat down. She pulled it away quick but he thought he'd felt her jump a little with surprise. He took a couple more bites of food and then nonchalantly bumped his leg into hers. He turned his head to her and quietly said, "Oops, sorry". He managed to keep a straight face but there was a definite mischievous twinkle in his eye, like he knew exactly what he was doing.

After that he stayed quiet, content to listen to the conversations.

By now most of the crew had shown up. Vega perked up during Lins mention of Victoria, and his smile turned sad for a moment at the memory of watching Lin come back from burying her. He sighed, the conversation ebbing and flowing around him.

"Tomorrow about this time, we'll be able to see Shadow and, where we are headed, the moon Summerfair. There will be a briefing tomorrow about this time to go over what we are actually doing there. Any questions?"

Vega shook his head. "All good here Cap. This place gonna have some catchy elevator music too?" He said with a grin, referencing a moment during the last bank job they had pulled. Vega, Lin, Victoria, and Ian had taken an elevator to the roof of the building for an aerial extraction. It had been a very surreal moment to go from a firefight to a calm elevator with such odd music playing. It had felt like something out of a holovid.

[Fey]

Helena smirked at Iris's response, there seemed to be more to her response, but she chose not to push it. The woman seemed to prefer her privacy and Helena wasn't one to pry. She felt Vega briefly bump her back, looking over at him she saw the look in his eye.

"Oops, sorry"

Helena stifled a smile on her lips, he was playing a dangerous game and it was difficult to keep her wits about her.  She nudged him with her elbow playfully, "Watch it...will ya." She replied back.Helena turned her attention back to the conversation, a smile slowly creeping on to her lips.

"Iris, this is very shiny. Thank you." Taking another bite, he set his plate aside for a moment. "I do want to say that most of you did not know our previous XO. As I am sure Vega remembers, she was about keeping high morale on board through her cooking. She believed as I did that a well fed crew does solid work. Due to meddling by the Alliance, her mind had become scattershot to some degree and she eventually succumbed to it. I will always think of this as her galley but I can say she would also appreciate the skill Iris has shown in it."

However it was gone as soon as it came. She glanced at Vega briefly, clearly he knew the previous XO, and she was an important part of the crew, especially to the captain it seemed.  Lin's description of the woman made her seem slightly troubled, obviously due to the Alliance, it didn't surprise her.  The Alliance never did attract good people.

Everyone seemed relatively surprised with the whole spread, and Iris had done a phenomenal job. Though she had never seen anyone put butter in coffee before. Nat was an interesting one, and Monty was certainly just as lively.

"Tomorrow about this time, we'll be able to see Shadow and, where we are headed, the moon Summerfair. There will be a briefing tomorrow about this time to go over what we are actually doing there. Any questions?"

"All good here Cap. This place gonna have some catchy elevator music too?"

His mood had certainly changed, Vega wasn't making jokes before and she could only wonder if it was because of their new found...friendship. Helena smirked at him and turned her attention back to Lin,

"Should Vega and I be preparing equipment in the arsenal, sir?" She nudged him with her leg, as if to keep him on point.

[Lin Kuei]

Lin nodded at Nat's question. "Yes, it is real egg, Nat. We have about two dozen left before we need to get more. Thanks for asking." He smirked as he answered her question. Finishing off his plate, he rinsed it and then stacked it with the other plates to be washed. Turning around, he finally gave his reply to both Vega and Helena. "I expect there will be gunplay but Vega can tell me if there is music in the elevators later. My part of the plan will not have any." With a small grin, he made his way back downstairs.

[Natascha Santiago-Negron]

Nat quirked an eye as the captain left- was that... was he trying to do a funny? A little dry, but actually that seemed pretty fitting- about what she'd expect from the impression he'd made so far.

"Sooooo," Nat gave Vega a pointed look, "I'm definitely asking about that elevator music later, but for now-"

Nat took another bite of egg- so good- and swallowed.

"For now I think I'm gonna chill with this breakfast, it's..." She paused, making direct eye contact with Iris Reale, "Reale good."