A place to call home.

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

F-Word

F-Word listened to what Abigail had to say. Like most people, F-Word certainly didn't like admitting when he was wrong, but...unlike most people, he could do it.

He took a seat next to Abigail, giving her some space.

"You're right," he said. "It's long past due I let my hackles down. I'm sorry. You need time? Fine by me, but if it changes your mind some, consider this: Farming may not be to your liking. That's okay. I'll take care of that part. I ain't looking for another farmer. I ain't looking for a bounty hunter. I'm looking for people who can look out for their own."

He let the fact that Abigail was currently looking out for Jax by fixing up his hand speak for itself.

"We don't get along," he said. "Truer words ain't oft been uttered. But damned if I don't respect you. And double damned if I don't need both of you. Don't keep me in suspense too long."

He got up and as he walked away, he tapped the whiskey bottle Abigail and Jax were sharing.

"Make sure this goes on my tab, Sabrina." he said. "My party, my bill."

Jax

November 29, 2017, 03:39:13 PM #81 Last Edit: November 29, 2017, 04:17:34 PM by Jax
"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."

...Was Abigail's response to Jax's comment concerning the attributes of farming just before they were set upon by the vocation peddler. Jax thought he was getting a little too close for comfort but he let him ramble on seeing Abigail said she knew him.

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

This question just about got Jax out right laughing but he held it in. Does this guy ever listen to himself? Jax pondered as F-Word continued his sales pitch with renewed fervor. The following hand gesture took the cake. "This describes how we're going to make money. Hand over fist." Yeah right buddy, hand over fist....I got a bloody fist for you right here. Jax thought. What happened next, as F-Word reached his crescendo, caught him unexpectedly....the damn sod-buster kicked them out of the saloon.

"Well you'll have to throw me out yourself then!" Jax blurted finally breaking his silence. Luckily Abigail broke in to defuse the situation.

"Is everything an argument with you?"

She went on explaining their line of thinking and Jax was impressed by her statement and it settled him down as he reached for the glass and downed his whiskey. Turning to F-Word...."And that goes double for me!" Jax looked at Abigail and smiled.

Jax was glad to see F-Word tone it down some but he was still a bit wary seeing him take a seat by Abigail. There were a few more words and for now things seemed to have slowed down and an immediate decision was no longer required.

Walking away F-Word added...."Make sure this goes on my tab, Sabrina......My party, my bill."

"So where are you getting a transport, let alone an escort?" Jax asked before their possible future employer got too far away. "I just might have a ship if you're interested?"







F-Word

F-Word noticed Jax's barely held together reaction to his milking sexy cows comment but let it pass. Maybe I should make understanding what a figure of speech is a requirement for employment

He also let Jax's outburst for F-Word to throw him out himself pass. It wasn't worth it even if F-Word COULD take him. If Jax figured to cause trouble in this establishment then James, Sabrina, and Cyrus would be more than happy to mop the floor with his ass. F-Word had his own barely concealed giggle fit at THAT particular figure of speech.

Quote"So where are you getting a transport, let alone an escort?" Jax asked before their possible future employer got too far away. "I just might have a ship if you're interested?"

F-Word couldn't let THAT pass.

"Well hell," he said. "Now we're talking! How 'bout coming on over with the others and we'll discuss it. There's a lot of preparations and shopping that need tending, ship included. No obligation. You can still think about it. But you'd probably want to know the other folk before deciding. I promise they ain't all as big of assholes as me."

Jax

"....I promise they ain't all as big of assholes as me."

That's the most truthful thing he's said. Jax concluded.

Jax turned to Abigail...."This just might work, go along to get along right." He gave her a wink and a smile before grabbing the whiskey bottle and the glasses. Jax wasn't quite sure if he'd ever talked about his old ship, it was past history... before they had met. "We've been tangled up in worse." Jax stood up and waited for Abigail to see if she would follow him down the rabbit hole.

Izak Archer

Looking over the paper in front of him, Izak decided that there would definitely need to be some things discussed, pilot to manager, if this was going to work.

Paying little attention to the conversation at the bar, he signed the charter and slid it across the table with a smile, and promptly leaned back, returning his feet to the table. But then he spoke up.

"So where exactly do you plan on getting the ship for this?" he asked.

Abigail Archer

Abigail sighed an hung her head nodding in agreement.  She stood up to follow her battered pilot.

"Well, go on, out with it. No need to keep us waiting in suspense."

She shifted her weight one hip resting her hand on her gun, tapping her finger impatiently.

Iona Pike

QuotePanting 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!

The left corner of Iona's lips curled up just noticeably at Freya's antics though by the time the girl had turned a stiff gaze in her direction the mirth had faded for the most part. Lingering only in light crows feet at the corners of Iona's eyes.

Once Izak had make his mark Iona slid the document and pen over before her and skimmed through it. For all it was a contract of sorts, it didn't have the solidity to it that so man of the forms she had signed in the past had. But then again, this wasn't an official Alliance document, which after all, was the reason she was able to pen down her signature on it without any undue worry.

Iona lifted the paper and the pen, offering them both to Freya with  small but pleasant smile. "Xie xie ni." Thank you.

Freya

December 05, 2017, 04:34:16 PM #87 Last Edit: December 05, 2017, 04:36:48 PM by Freya
Of course F-word and Abigail were arguing. Freya narrowed her eyes and stared at them, still standing at the table Iona and Izak were occupying, waiting for them to sign the paper with her hair pen. She half expected the two at the bar to spontaneously start hissing and spitting at one another, and she started to imagine that they were two alley cats fighting over who was the biggest baddest puddy tat...

Quote"I just might have a ship if you're interested?"

Freya's brows rose and she turned her lips downward, giving F-word a subtle 'not bad' sort of look and a not as subtle 'ok' gesture, making a circle with her thumb and index finger, the other three sticking out upward. 

Returning her attention to the two who'd just signed the charter, Freya gave them both a toothy grin in response and took her pen back, putting it back in one of her braids. She took the offered paper from Iona and waved it back and forth in F-word's general direction.
Dialogue color: teal

F-Word

December 06, 2017, 08:25:57 AM #88 Last Edit: December 06, 2017, 08:27:47 AM by F-Word
As Freya waved the charter in front of F-Word, he playfully crossed his eyes, stuck out his tongue and pretended he couldn't grab the sheet of paper from Freya's moving hand. He then fixed his face with a grin, grabbed the charter and lightly bonked Freya on the head with it. He then turned to address the crew.

"So! You're all wondering about a ship. There's a whole laundry list of preparations, of course, but yeah...the ship is the most pressing concern. I just come in to a good chunk of change. It's this whole thing, but suffice it to say the Alliance took my family farm, sold it, and is now finally giving me a small fraction of what they sold it for. But it's enough to get us started." He took out a folded packet and tossed it on the table. "Here's the settlement agreement so's you know I ain't full of go shi. Izak here has been workin' the docks. No, that ain't a euphemism. I imagine he's in a position to know about any ships that happen to be for sale. We can also take a trip on over to Hépínggē and see what the dealerships have on their lots. And Jax here says he might have a bead on a ship. So we got options. And options are what I want to see. At least three ships that fit our needs. What are our needs? Enough living space to co-exost at least semi-comfortably, and cargo space. Lots and lots of cargo space. Can't have too much. Big enough to hold huge shipping containers and still allow us to access them individually. If it has holds for shuttles or, in our case, a fighter escort then that would be great. If not, maybe we could customize it some. Izak, you're the one who's going to do most of the flying, so you're in charge of finding ships that might fit the bill. Jax, if you decide to join us, I'm sure Izak could use some help and would love to hear about that ship. Also, Jax, once we got a ship, we'll need some quartermastering to get it liveable. We'll have a meager budget for that, so don't spend it all on a stockpile of booze, but, uh, go ahead and spend a little of it on a stockpile of booze. Abigail, if you're with us, I'm sure the boys could use somebody imposing to go along and make sure they get a square deal. Also, we'll need weapons beyond what we all personally own, I'm thinking. I trust you to know what we need and where to find them. Don't go too crazy, but, uh, go ahead and go a little crazy. Just personal firearms at this point. I've applied for a ship-mounted weapons permit, but it ain't come in yet.

"Speaking of ship-mounted weapons. Iona. Your escort ship. I know this ain't ideal but I got a shuttle that's currently outfitted as a crop duster. You and Freya need to take a look at it and see if it can't be outfitted to kick some ass. As for me, I'll be overseeing all this, implementing Freya's and my growpod design, and rounding up some seed for crops.

"Those are the broad strokes. Any questions?"

Jax

Jax followed F-Word toward the others and quietly took a seat and poured out some whiskey for he and Abigail. When F-Word was done speaking Jax chimed in. "I'm Jax." He offered as a short introduction to the others that were gathered about. "As for my lead on a ship, first off I not saying she's the biggest, about a three hundred ton cargo capacity which puts it less than a Firefly, but has a bit more fuel capacity." Jax paused taking a sip of whiskey. "A great ship, easily modified to whatever we need or want". He turned to Abigail. "Now we can put a team together and go fetch her..." turning back to the others... "I've had recent contact that the ship still sits mothballed in a yard on Beylix, United Reclamation." Jax eyes finally came to a stop on F-Word. "We just have to get there and it's a done deal." Jax's confidence even surprised himself.

Izak Archer

Izak shook his head and chuckled. He had a sinking feeling that there there definitely going to be strings attached with this one. Oh well, he'd just have to pull them to see where they led. Same as always.

He pulled his legs off the table and leaned in, placing his right arm on the table, he spoke up. "So just to be clear here, I think 300 tons is all well and good to start, but you may want to see about pushing to 500, once we can get someone with medical knowledge - since they'll need a full medical bay - and we'll need to expand pretty quickly, especially if we start growing larger produce."

He took a deep breath, looking at F-Word directly. "Also, seeing as I've flown on more freighters than most of you could shake a stick at, I'm going to ask that I serve as a...well the Navy term is 'loadmaster'...to supervise the loading and unloading of the ship. That's what I handle at the port after all, just from the ground side. That also means I want in on what supplies we bring for ourselves."

He then turned to Jax, "I don't mean to push in on that, but I have some expertise in that area that I think would be helpful." He scratched his head. "I also find it hard to believe that United Rec would let a ship just leave their lot with out money exchange hands."

Abigail Archer

Abigail moved forward slightly as F-Word spoke, her arms crossed her chest.  She nodded, "Yea I can stand there and look scary, I can bring this one as well, he's pretty quick on the draw should we need it." She nodded towards Jax.  "I suspect looter and the like might find us a good target so, we'll probably need some long rage weapons and explosives."

Her hands moved to her hips, as she became more comfortable with the idea, though farming still would not be her occupation of choice. "So when do we start on our great adventure?" Abigail nodded toward F-Word.

F-Word

F-Word listened to the ideas and concerns of his crewmates and sort-of-crewmates. Jax and Abigail seemed determined to stick together, and Izak seemed determined to make sure no contraband found its way into this operation.

Quote"I also find it hard to believe that United Rec would let a ship just leave their lot with out money exchange hands."

"I don't think Jax was suggesting the ship would be free. It's worth a look. In fact, hitting up United Reclamation is a good idea, all around," said F-Word. "We can get a better price than at the dealerships and between all of us we've got the mechanical know-how to make sure whatever we decide on is space-worthy. My shuttle can make the trip. It'd be an all-day trek and it'd be a bit cramped, but if we don't end up killing each other, we should make out pretty good. I think we can find a lot of what we need there, including some cheap shipping containers we can convert. All this to say I think we should all go.

Quote"So when do we start on our great adventure?"

F-Word gave a mischievous smirk. "Right after lunch," he said. "Sabrina? If you would, please?"

And with that, a serving cart overburdened with platters of food was rolled out. A tall pyramid of corn-on-the-cob, dripping with butter. Sliced tomatoes of all different varieties, marinading in herbs and their own juices. A huge bowl of marvelously red strawberries. Everything fresh, everything delicious, and everything grown by F-Word and Freya's hydroponic system in just the past few weeks. There were even huge, sizzling links of sausage procured from the brothers and sisters at the abbey.

"Don't stand on ceremony," said F-Word. "Eat up and get to know each other."

Freya

QuoteHe then fixed his face with a grin, grabbed the charter and lightly bonked Freya on the head with it

The girl grinned broadly as she was bopped on the head, a hand coming up to smooth out her hair (although that was a fruitless endeavor).

Freya stared blankly at the Jax and Abigail, grimacing internally at their aggressive natures. While she was a little hesitant to trust them, she did understand that the violent types were necessary to keep the other violent types away from their ship and their goods...and by extension, away from their crew. She hoped. But, she was glad to hear that they had other things to offer other than their fists and their trigger fingers. The information about potential ships was invaluable and manage to bring a strange half-smile to Freya's lips.

QuoteI'm going to ask that I serve as a...well the Navy term is 'loadmaster'...to supervise the loading and unloading of the ship

She was also pretty pleased to have Izak volunteering to oversee loading and unloading of all potential goods and cargo. From what she'd seen of his work when they'd met at the port, he was very meticulous about that sort of thing and she could see that coming in handy.

Quote"Eat up and get to know each other."

When the food came out, Freya moved to the cart and looked the food over, bending down to stare at each different variation of vegetable and fruit. She pointed at the corn and tomatoes and murmured to no one in particular, "These and these are the easiest." By far, corn and tomatoes had proven to be the easiest things to grow, although the corn's pollination was tricky and she wasn't fond of just how hungry the plant was for fertilizer, but, it was a great source for calories and several vitamins and nutrients that prevented several illnesses and diseases, which would be perfect for colonies looking for a good source of food and nutrients. As for the tomatoes, judging from F-word's room and their tests with the hydroponic system, they wouldn't be running short on these fruit anytime soon, either. She wanted to also experiment with beans and something called okra, which were also fond of warmer temperatures.

Staring at the food, she started falling deep into thought about how to best arrange the different types of storage containers in a theoretical cargo bay so that every plant and container got the right sort of climate.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she eyed the sausages and pointed them out to whoever was interested, "These are the kind the brothers make for the sausage fest," she announced, although she was only guessing. How many other kinds of sausages were there? Surely these were the kind they made for the festival, or maybe they had a very special kind of sausage for those times, some kind of secret sheppard recipe, "I think," she amended, not wanting to mislead them. Freya brought her gaze up to F-word and she raised her brows in question, looking for his confirmation or correction.
Dialogue color: teal

Iona Pike

December 15, 2017, 09:19:02 AM #94 Last Edit: December 15, 2017, 09:21:08 AM by Iona Pike
Quote"Speaking of ship-mounted weapons. Iona. Your escort ship. I know this ain't ideal but I got a shuttle that's currently outfitted as a crop duster. You and Freya need to take a look at it and see if it can't be outfitted to kick some ass..."

Iona lofted both brows at this, a shuttle, outfitted for atmospheric flight duties and already rigged for map of the earth flight. That actually had some potential. She could point to spots on the shuttle where weapon pods would mount best but when it came time to mount them she was going to be helpful only in the 'pass the wrench' sort of way. The fighter pilot threw a glance towards Freya. The girl was young, sure, but if this enterprising, and admittedly charismatic albeit somewhat mad, man though she was fit to work as chief engineer, Iona would trust her as well.

Quote"Eat up and get to know each other."

After a few others had gotten up to get a plate Iona joined them. Fresh, free, produce was not something she would ever be willing to pass up. At the very least, this proved F-Word knew his way around a garden. A solid proof of concept that they would be able to at least make some sort of money, particularly if they were marking to rich fops. With a plate filled Iona retired back to the table to eat in relative silence. If anything she just wanted to get flying again, whatever that took.

Jax

Jax was glad to get some food, so far his belly was only full of whiskey. He grabbed two plates and as he walked passed the food he looked to Abigail and pointed at the selections and filled her plate as well based on her directions. After seated and a few bites in he looked to Freya..."Miss Fahn is it?" He inquired but not waiting for her answer. "Let's see here that contract of yours." Jax held out his hand as he chomped on a carrot stick.

Abigail Archer

Abigail followed behind Jax as he took her plate in his hand. Despite all the issues between them, he always took care of her. She took her plate and sat next to him, quietly taking it all in.  Abigail still couldn't believe they were even considering this gig. She hoped there'd be some kind of havoc and mayhem along the way to keep things interesting, but really, what trouble could farming get them into?   

Freya

Quote"Let's see here that contract of yours."

Freya eyed Jax dubiously, leaning away from him a little and staring silently as he chewed on the carrot. After a few moments of consideration, the girl slid closer to F-word and took the rolled up charter from his grasp, setting it down on the table and flattening the paper for Jax. Pulling the pen from her braid, she set it on the paper and then took a couple swift steps back, waiting for him and (hopefully) the woman to sign it. Meanwhile, Freya clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels, eyeing the more violent of the people gathered.
Dialogue color: teal

Jax

December 31, 2017, 04:16:53 PM #98 Last Edit: December 31, 2017, 09:06:58 PM by Jax
Jax reached out and pulled the paper toward himself. With the carrot perched between his lips he lifted the contract with both hands and began to read it to himself. He offered up a couple hums and an undistinguished grunt before snatching up the pen and signing. He then showed the Accord to Abigail and added after removing the vegetable stick from his lips. "Well...what do we have to lose?" He ended his query with a playful wink.


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