Ronin - S02E05.3 Aside - Party Time

[Luke Donovan]

Ronin is on Harvest after the Pelorum bank job. The current crew's first attempt at a night out ended with an almost-fight, a hurried exit, a broken Beast and three new additions to the crew. Let's hope a night in might work out better...


The Beast was fixed. There was some more work still to be done but the Beast was running again and that deserved a little celebration. Luke was in such a good mood following this little success he didn't even need Adriana Lucy's bright encouragement to seek out the other crew members. He'd gotten permission from the Captain to make a run into town to replenish his personal supplies and Luke had decided to get a load of drinks to share. He had no idea about his fellow crew-members' tastes yet so he pretty much got some of every kind of liquor he could think of - whiskey, vodka, gin, tequila, rum, peach schnapps, and apple sours. He also got a case of beer and, as an afterthought for the girls, a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine. He got some soft drinks too, for mixers and in case there was anyone who didn't drink. It looked like a lot, but it wasn't like alcohol could go off so he didn't care. Luke didn't have anything else to spend his money on anyway.

Luke went round to all the crew and invited them to his little party. Pretty much everyone got the same nervous clearance of his throat covered by a lean against whatever was nearby and a casual, "We're gonna have a few drinks in the galley in a bit, if you wanna join, there's plenty to go round."

He set out the galley table with the drinks and cups - he'd gotten the plastic kind in town, knowing that Victoria was particular about her galley he'd be taking responsibility that not a thing of hers was left out-of-place afterwards. He put some music on, quiet, in the background. He took himself a beer and sat back to relax. Dinners were great on Ronin, thanks to Victoria's cooking, but they felt somewhat formal to Luke. Hopefully sitting around with a few drinks would liven things up enough for the crew to really get to know each other.

Adriana Lucy was all dressed up like she was at some kind of sweet-sixteen. She was pacing back and forth, worrying that no-one would show, as if it was a real party. Luke found it amusing and anyone who did show up would find him grinning as he sipped slowly on his beer.

[Victoria Dare]

Victoria appeared in the door of the galley almost as soon as Luke finished his announcement.  She stopped there and examined the spread with an unreadable expression, eyes scanning the plastic cups, the drinks, the speaker playing the music.  She seemed to consider this all very carefully for a second or two before uttering a soft, "Hm." and heading for a cupboard.  She produced two bowls, one large, one small, and set them on the table along with the drinks, then reached into another cupboard and seized a bag, tossing it to Luke.

"Chips," she stated clearly as he (hopefully) caught it, then turned towards another cupboard, rummaging for something.

"...and dip!" she finished, emerging from her quest with a large jar of salsa, which she popped open and poured into the smaller bowl.

Content with her level of effort, she turned away to prepare herself a cup of tea.  Victoria never drank.  With all that was going on in her mind, she didn't think it wise to add alcohol to the mix.

[Donovan Casey]

Donovan's arrival in the galley was foreshadowed by the hollow thud of his plastic cast-boot and several grumbled swear words drifting up the stairs. He wore his typical, unreadable poker-face as he limped into the room, but stopped short as he looked around at the spread. Not to mention the goofy grin Luke was wearing, and Victoria Dare tossing bags of chips and pouring salsa into a bowl. 'Wulong, what have I gotten myself into?'

"Quite the impressive selection, young man." Donovan grudgingly admitted. He made his way and poured three fingers worth of whiskey into one of the plastic cups. If truth be told... the aged Marshall felt a little ridiculous drinking whiskey from a plastic cup, but he did not want to ruin the kid's happy buzz. Even if the anger inside of him wanted to smack that ridiculous smile right off Luke's face. Instead he took a sip of the whiskey, enjoying the burn in his throat to distract his thoughts. He gave Luke a nod and raised his cup. "Cheers."

[Lin Kuei]

Lin was not a drinker and rather emphatic about it but he certainly understood the need to keep things light or at least the need to relieve stress. He preferred other methods but at this moment, a cup of tea would do nicely. He ascended to the galley with that intent. Lin was pleasantly surprised to find a more relaxed environment than anticipated. Making his way over to the stove, Lin prepped a kettle for some tea. "It looks to be a good spread, Luke. Appreciate you doing this for the crew."

He stepped next to Victoria and merely brushed up against her as she finished getting the two bowls set. "What no plate other stuff?" He jokingly asked her. "I mean, I'm liable to go rummaging through the refrigerator for additional food if you are unwilling to." Lin was obviously kidding but it was fun to jokingly push her buttons now and again.

[Victoria Dare]

Victoria said a few choice words to Lin, most of them not in English, and shoved him playfully away.

"You know how to reheat food, you lazy Captain," she retorted after her multi-lingual tirade was finished, but there was a smile curling the corner of her lips.  She retrieved two tea cups and the jar of green tea as he prepped the kettle, passing the tea to him.  Like Lin, Victoria was adamant about not drinking herself, but she took no issue with the crew drinking within reason.  Of all the problems they'd dealt with aboard the Ronin, remarkably few of them were caused or influenced by alcohol, and those that had been had been easy to deal with.

Of course, if she was to prepare a proper meal tonight, that would be made challenging by the "party" Luke was throwing in her galley.  He'd kept his initial setup fairly well confined to the dining area, but one thing she knew about alcohol's effect on the situation was  that things became much less confined as things wore on.  Tracing a finger along her jawline in thought, she considered her options for supper as well as her plan of attack for defending the galley from shenanigans.

[Blake Snow]

Blake had contemplated just staying in his room and not going to the so called 'party' one of the crewmembers was throwing, but he decided to give in and walk to where everyone else was. His mood was still a little sour, but he had quieted down a lot from the time he had been speaking with Donovan. A serious expression was on his face as he grabbed one of the cups and poured himself some whisky. He hadn't even had that much to drink at that gathering in the bar, so he wasn't that much in danger of getting plastered. Still... he needed to be careful. He sometimes could refrain from having more than one or two beers; the other times? Well... they never ended that great for him.

He leaned against the wall, one arm crossed under another as he took some sips from the alcohol. At least these people weren't stuffy when it came to drinks.

[Luke Donovan]

Luke got nervous when Victoria entered. Out of respect, he stood up. He watched her eye the set-up. He was unable to read her expression but worried she might be displeased. He couldn't guess what she was doing with the bowls and the cupboard, but managed to catch the flying bag of chips as it sailed through the air towards him.

"Thanks!" Luke said, a mixture of surprise and gratitude. He popped it open and poured it into the larger of the two bowls. This really was all kind of silly, wasn't it?

"It's nice," Adriana Lucy assured him, dancing about just behind Victoria. "The others will appreciate it. Try to have some fun!"

Luke was a little distracted, watching the ghost of his sister, as Donovan came in, so he missed the man's praise of the selection. Luke picked his beer back up and nodded it in the direction of Donovan's cup in response to his cheers.

For a brief moment, Luke watched the Captain and Victoria tease each other by the kettle. He wasn't sure he agreed with Adriana Lucy calling them a 'cute couple', but it was certainly interesting to see that different side to them. They seemed to make each other happy which was a good thing; if they were busy being cute with one another they'd be less likely to interfere with the crew's fun.

"Well, welcome to Ronin I guess," he said, taking a step in Blake and Donovan's direction. They'd already been introduced but this was Luke's first attempt at conversation with either of them. Luke wasn't the friendliest of guys but he did want to make an effort to make them feel welcome. They had to work and live together in close quarters and might even have each other's lives in their hands at some point. Crew just worked better when they got along. They didn't have to become best buddies or anything, but Luke did think they were the type of guys he could get along with. He also knew there was some bad blood between them... they might need an intermediary.

"You been traveling the black long?" he asked to either/both of them, just trying to drum up some conversation.

[Vega Barnet]

Vega arrived at the galley to find a good number of folk already there. "Well done Luke!" He said when he saw the selection of alcohol, slapping the kid on the back. "Fine looking spread indeed." He moved to the booze and poured himself a measure of whiskey. He was unsure what to make of the newcomers. Snow and Casey looked tough, but then again that is what one would expect of a gun-hand. Luke had just asked asked them how long they'd been in the black, so Vega stepped over to listen and hopefully join in the conversation.

[Blake Snow]

Blake apparently was the first one to answer Luke's question, "Not long on a ship..." Technically, he traveled place to place on different sorts of ships, but he never stayed on them for too long. This was the first time he was actually going to have crewmembers he had to protect -whether he really wanted to or not.

Blake... was not exactly a conversationalist. Sure, when he became friendly with those who were around him he would talk, and maybe even act a little goofy, but he was far from that point right now. It didn't mean he was paranoid or didn't trust everyone; it just took a while for him to get comfortable. And, due to the nature of his job previously, he never had the chance to.

Of course, there were always exceptions to this. Donovan saw first hand how Blake could be without direction. This was why Blake preferred having a job than not; at least he had something to focus on and shut up while doing so.

[Lin Kuei]

"You know how to reheat food, you lazy Captain"

"Of course, I do", Lin smiled. He watched as the others interacted while he waited for the water to boil for the tea. Ian and Abbey were absent but it was somewhat expected in his mind and not because Ian might have a hard time making the stairs with his leg still healing. They were as much a couple as Lin and Victoria so there was no begrudgement on their non-appearance from Lin. He could guess that Victoria felt the same.

As the kettle started to whistle, Lin snatched it up and filled the teacups with water before resetting the kettle. Setting the teabags in the cups, he took hold of both saucers and placed them on top of the cups to allow them to steep. Speaking softly, he murmured in Victoria's ear. "We seem to be missing a few but I'd rather we did not bother them. Perhaps they are doing something we should take part in later." Lin kissed her on the side of her head as they stood waiting for the tea to finish.

[Luke Donovan]

Luke felt much less silly when Vega came in and heartily congratulated him on the spread. He should have gotten more whisky though - duh. He had his own stash in his room, he could get that if they ran low. And Luke'd drink anything once he'd gotten a few beers into him.

So Blake wasn't much on the small talk. Fair enough, neither was Luke.

"But you're the host," Adriana Lucy whispered, and Luke could feel the poke she seemed to give his side. He rolled a shoulder; a move that had anyone been able to see Adriana would have been a natural get-off-me-little-sis motion but, with nothing visible beside him, seemed like an awkward gesture of discomfort.

"Well Ronin's not a bad one. Spacious enough and food's certainly better than I've ever had in the Black."

He paused, kinda hoping someone else would jump in with conversation but if not, thanks to Adriana Lucy's encouragement, he'd think of something to keep it going.

[Victoria Dare]

Victoria gave Lin a look at his whispered suggestion, a look that was simultaneously deadly and sultry.  She said nothing, but the "look" told him everything he needed to know, her gaze lingering on him until Luke spoke.

"Well Ronin's not a bad one. Spacious enough and food's certainly better than I've ever had in the Black."

"Why, thank you, Luke," Victoria said sweetly, turning to face the gathering.  "I try."

When the tea was done steeping, she took it  from Lin and planted a kiss on him before moving to the table to join the others.

"Ronin is the only ship I've ever been on, really, excluding the vessel I stowed away on when I first escaped," she took a sip of tea.  "I can't really comment much on that ship.  I spent most of my time in the air ducts and storage compartments, but I can say the food was deplorable."

[Abenette Kelker]

Abe gracefully slid into the Galley, her sidearm strapped to her thigh.  Dude accompanied her most everywhere.  Heck she used to sleep with the weapon up until Ian won that honor.  But Dude was never far.

She eyeballed the group of them, her eyes scrutinizing Blake and the Marshal.  She would have rather been with Ian, but getting to know the crew better was probably a good thing.  Plus, she would be able to get a better handle on the dispositions of their two new arrivals.

Silently, she grabbed a mug, walked up to the alcohol and poured herself some tequila.

Pulling a chair up against the wall, she sat down.

"Done a good job here, Luke," she said calmly.

[Donovan Casey]

Donovan spotted the kid approaching... He sipped his whiskey from his plastic cup, feeling a bit silly in the process.

"You been traveling the black long?" he asked to either/both of them, just trying to drum up some conversation.

Blake apparently was the first one to answer Luke's question, "Not long on a ship..."

The former Marshal turned to stare at Blake for a moment, then snorted. "How else you travel the 'Verse, then? In a spacesuit?" He laughed slightly at his own stupid joke, probably laughing more at how stupid the joke was than anything Blake had said. "Sorry, bad joke. Yeah, I've been traveling the Black for many years, seen most of the planets, though less of the Rim... Folks out this way don't have much need for Marshals. Not that I blame them. Sometimes mob justice is just what is needed I suppose..." His words die off slowly as he feels a pair of eyes watching him...

Donovan turns to see the female gunslinger, Abe, if he recalled her name correctly, eyeballing him something fierce. He watches her as she poured a drink and took a seat. A ship full of predators... including himself. He gave a short nod of respect in her direction. "Abe."

[Blake Snow]

Blake nodded slightly at Luke's words, though he did notice that the man rolled his shoulder for some reason. He paid little mind to it, however; Blake did that as well just to ease the tension in his muscles. Or... whatever valid reason for that sort of thing -he was no rocket scientist. His eyes glanced at Victoria as she spoke, and then towards Abenette as she entered the room. The crew seemed... Nice wasn't the word he was looking for, exactly. Not that it mattered much to him how the crew was, but it seemed that at least they cooperated together for the most part. Well, then there was...

Donovan spoke, causing a bit of a sour expression to appear on Blake's face. Obviously Blake had not clarified, so maybe he was asking for that one, but it still created a spark of anger in him. He took a sip from his drink to try to quell this down, though he knew this was probably a stupid idea in the first place. He had only had one drink so far, so thankfully nothing too bad would happen. He just... really needed to restrain himself.

[Luke Donovan]

It had seemed like Victoria and Lin were getting cosey by the sink, so Luke hadn't expected Victoria to join the conversation. He gave a nod to her thanks for the compliment of her food and suppressed a grin of amusement at Blake and Donovan's prickly exchange. Abe complimented his spread too and he gave her a good-natured shrug as if to say 'it was nothing'. He was pleased everyone seemed to appreciate his effort, even if it was maybe a little lame. And it was good that Abe had joined them.

Victoria came to the table and sat. Luke listened and looked at her curiously as she mentioned an escape and stowing away on a ship before Ronin. What was her story? he wondered. Well, she'd brought it up so it could hardly hurt to ask. And they were in need of some interesting conversation.

"Escaped?" he asked Victoria to elaborate with just one word.

[Victoria Dare]

"Mhm," Victoria relied mid-sip, then set her cup of tea down with the casual air of one discussing the weather.

"There were some folks who thought it would be a good idea to cut into my brain, and I disagreed with their opinion." Her smile never wavered as she elaborated, long, thin fingers tracing the edge of her teacup.  "I'd go into more detail, but it's a rather dark story and I don't want to cast a shadow over the mood.  Perhaps later I can tell you about it."

Her sentiment was sincere, and her smile never wavered.  Her past at the Academy was far more disturbing to others than it was to her, and though there will still nights were it would return to haunt her dreams, it had become so distant in her past that it may as well have been another lifetime.  Talking about it didn't cause her any pain, but it certainly troubled those who heard about it, and for that reason alone she kept it to herself.

"Of course, some day, I think I'd like to settle down.  I don't really know much of a life off of a ship, but the idea of working the land appeals to me."

[Lin Kuei]

Lin made his way over with his teacup and set it down next to Victoria's before taking a seat next to her. Calmly, he took a sip and swallowed it. Kissing Victoria on the side of the head, Lin raised an eyebrow in Luke's direction. "Things used to be much worse for her a few years ago. Fractured might be a better word. Be sure you want to know before she tells you." Lin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and returned it to its saucer. "I'm waiting the day when we are done being on the run and hunting down the woman responsible for our trajectory. Settling down would be a good start. Thankfully, I know a hidden place to escape to where the future is not yet written and the life is very simple." Lin wrapped his arm around Victoria's waist.

[Luke Donovan]

The very brief explanation got a pair of raised eyebrows from Luke. He assumed the sub-text of her not wanting to cast a shadow on the mood of the party was more that she just didn't want to go into it, so he didn't push for more details. He was gorram curious though. She veered the conversation away from her past to focus on her future instead. Unfortunately for Luke, that was a subject much more likely to darken his mood. He couldn't see himself ever settling down, not really. He'd allowed himself to imagine it, once or twice, but it would never be a genuine possibility unless he could find some peace within himself first.

He finished his beer with several long swallows and grabbed another. It was such an old cliché, to try and drown his sorrows but the dark was always all around him like an ocean of black; he was already drowning in it and always would be. Once a man gave in to that ocean, once he saw those black waves in his mind, he'd grow old with it, terrified of the future he couldn't see.

Ha, Luke thought, he could get a song out of thoughts like that...