Current location:	Persephone: Eavesdown Docks
Current mood:	happy
Entry tags:	ashlyn, beckett, chade, maty, mccain, nilka, tayen

Nice boat
IC Time: Apr 05, 2522

Simply because he blends in so well with his eclectic surroundings, its easy to miss Chade, sitting on an empty cargo container, clutching his satchel as a passerby takes a longing look at it. "Gorram thieves," he says. "Everywhere," he adds with a shake of his head.

The ramp of the Chaos Theory opens and Ashlyn appears at the top, looking rather bleary as if recovering from something that likely had her highly medicated. She looks back over her shoulder up towards a point in the ship with a sigh as she closes the ramp behind her and turns to head in a very deliberate direction as if she's got some kind of destination in mind. This direction happenes to be toward Chade, though he's not nessisarily the destination.

Beckett comes wandering out of the Zai Yin, yawning, hands thrust deep into her pockets. She eyes the Docks with her usual dubious expression, and makes her way towards the repair terminal, looking disgruntled. As always. "Gorram ships. Always somethin' breaking."

Pulling an apple out of his satchel, Chade notices the ship ramp open and close as a woman disembarks. He stares for a moment, tilting his head, then takes a bite of his fruit and offhandedly comments, "Nice boat."

Matty is here at the Docks, sitting on a cargo crate near a coffee vendor. In her hand is a styrofoam cup full of black coffee, so thick it might be used for greasing engines. She glances over toward the Chaos Theory as the ramp opens, but remains seated on her crate sipping her coffee.

Ashlyn smirks as she reaches up to rub her nose, slightly pinker than the rest of her skin might suggest it should be. "An' riddled with desease," she chuckles. The laugh turns into a cought. "Don't worry. I ain't contagious. Rest a the crew..." she sighs. "Need ta make a run out fer some cold meds, I'll leave it at that."

Beckett mans the Repair Order Terminal.

Beckett swings into the seat of the repair terminal, and spends a moment eying the screen, lazily tapping at a few keys. "Gorram broken ships..." She raises her voice. "Yo! Ashlyn! Gorram Chaos Theory is still showin' up as damaged on my readout! You gonna let it sit and be a busted-ass ship for a few more weeks, or what?"

"I've got what you might call a bit of an iron constitution," Chade says with a chuckle, "Not too prone to getting sick, fortunately." After another bite of the apple he adds, "She's got some pretty lines, though... I used to run supplies in a Firefly back in the war. Ain't been in one since, though." He looks up into the sky longingly.

Matty gives a look around at the shout from Beckett, then glance over toward Ashlyn again, seeing her with some stranger. She takes another sip of her coffee, then hops off the crate, picks up the backpack sitting at her feet and heads on over. Quietly, she comes up to stand a few meters behind Chade, watching his back with a look like she might pounce on him if he makes the wrong move.

Ashlyn turns as Beckett adresses her, the motion rather slower than it might usually be. She looks back at the Theory then back to Beckett with a shrug. "Well ya can't expect us ta be on top a things when only one're two a us at a time can stand!" she hollers back. She turns her attention back to Chade as Matty wanders up behind him. "War, huh?" she asks. "Which side?" Her eyes move up and to the side, possibly allerting Chade before she speaks that he has company. "Heya, Matty. Feelin' better? Sorry we're so late."

Chade nods slightly at Ashlyn with a wink, indicating that he, at the very least, was aware of someone behind him. "Independents," he replies, "Never saw too much action, though -- shuttling supplies from one LZ to another, and only a few hot areas."

Beckett hrrmphs. "I gotta slap some repairs on the Tsukai no Idiotica, but I'll slot the Theory in after. Because just -knowin'- there's a busted ship on my Docks, that gets me all kinds'a twitchy and compulsive, dammit." She starts tapping more buttons on the terminal.

[Dock] Docking claws slowly start to attach themselves to the Tsukai no Inari

Matty gives a nod to Ashlyn, though her eyes are still on Chade, then a shrug follows. "Yeah, 'm a'right. Jus' reckon I might wait a few days more 'fore I get back on board. Don't wanna catch that bug again," she notes and sends a tight smile toward the captain. "Ya ever see any real action, then?"

He leans back on the cargo container on which he's sitting to get a better view of Matty and chuckles, "Oddly enough, saw more action outside of the war than in it," he says. "Nothing that wasn't nothing, though," Chade went on, "Some barroom brawls, couple of shoot outs, running from Pirates and the occasional Alliance checkpoint when my captain weren't keen on having our inventory scrutinized." He finishes off his apple and puts the core in a pocket of his satchel, "Luckily, I usually came out on top," he says before rubbing his left arm, "Well, generally, anyhow."

"Mmmm..." Matty mutters and gives Chade a look up and down now that he's turned toward her, eyes pausing for a moment on the scar. "A'right." She gives a shrug of her shoulders, not seeming terribly interested even if she's the one who posed the question. She gives a glance toward Ashlyn and then back to Chade. "What's yer name?"

Beckett continues to work, directing the repair terminal and the Zai Yin minions as they take care of the Inari. She mutters to herself, shaking her head in despair. "Who the hell's their engineer? An untrained dyslexic howler monkey?"

"Name's Chade," he answers with a cunning smile, "Pilot extrordinaire and all around nice guy." He closes his satchel and pulls the leather strap through the buckle, fastening it tightly. "Just ask my mom," he adds with a wink.

Tayen hops off the Inari, patting part of her vest as if checking for the presence of something small. As the minions are swarming over her pride and joy ship, Tayen aims herself at the woman who appears to be in charge of the matter. She only catches part of the comment, but asks of Beckett, in an accent that just rolled off the Rim 10 minutes ago, "Why's it always monkeys?"

Matty isn't laughing. In fact, she's looking much like someone just killed her kitten. Upset and at the same time thoroughly pissed off. "Got a last name, Chade?" she asks without offering her own name. Besides, Ashlyn has already put a name to her face. She gives a quick look around, pausing a moment to watch Tayen join Beckett, then looks back at the man in front of her. "'n why exactly is it we're doin' talkin' ta ya?"

"If you want to know that, you either have to hire me or take me out to dinner," he says matter-of-factly. "Nothing personal, you know... jus' the only folks who need know that would fall into one of those two categories." He straightens himself back up to stand and slings his satchel back over his shoulder, "As for why yer talking to me, I can't rightly give you a reason why you're doing something... I jus' remarked on that fine vessel over there to the young lass here," he said motioning first to the Theory, then to Ashlyn.

Beckett shrugs at Tayen. "Monkeys are gorram funny," she replies dryly. "Whether they're mutant moon monkeys, howler monkeys, or cryin' gorillas in tutus. But none'a them can fix a ship worth a damn. And given the way your systems're breakin' left n' right... But I expect's much from Captain Migraine's pride and joy."

Ashlyn chuckles faintly at the reapeated compliment to her ship, having fallen silent to suppress a coughing fit. "So does that mean yer in the market fer a job, Mr. Chade?" she asks, choking a little as the chuckle reverts to coughing again. "Name's Ashlyn Tanner. I'm the cap'n a the Theory. An' while we got a pilot, he's gotta sleep sometimes, yeah? Found ourselves with a need fer two a late."

Tayen runs a hand through her hair, sweeping it out of her face before fixing Beckett with a glare. "Our engineer an captain got sent flyin' a couple hundred feet, thanks t' a landmine. Our backup took a walk. Th' only folks left t' keep our engines runnin was me an our cargo master, and it ain't somethin' the gods gifted us at. So... yeah, I ain't really surprised th' ol' girls pitchin' a fit. But we're back on track now, an I'm aiming t' pay ya for bailin us out." She beams, in a mixture of innocense and smarm, at Beckett, and holds out a hand. "Tayen Killburne, th' Pilot. Insult mah captain again, and we'll take our business elsewhere next time." Of note, perhaps, is that Tayen does not deny her repair aptitude is on level with a monkey. It's probably true.

Trying not to look excited, Chade perks up a bit, "Why, I could probably do for a bit of flying, s'long as you can offer a bed, meal and a fair wage while we're workin'." He pauses a moment to look at Matty, "That is, if'n it's okay with her over yonder -- she doesn't seem to have taken much of a liking to me by the look of it."

Matty balls up the hand that isn't holding coffee into a fist at Chade's reply, not very happy with it at all. She gives a quick glance over at Ashlyn, wrinkling her nose a bit at her offer, but keeps her mouth shut by raising the cup to take a sip of coffee. Her eyes send a blazing cold look at Chade, still without words, though her expression should convey that he's certain right about his assessment that she's not liking him much.

Beckett pffts, clearly unmoved by tales of woe or threats of vengeance, but she takes the hand anyway. "Your captain'll be the first to admit we ain't got any shared love between us. And I ain't about to lighten up. It's an extra surcharge for me to shut up while workin'. But whether'r not you pay anythin' more'n the base costs, you're still gettin' one'a the best gorram people in the 'Verse to fix your ship. Robin Beckett, off'a the Dark Dragon and down here at the shipyard more often'n not."

Ashlyn supresses another chuckle to supress the coughing fit it would trigger. "Well, I can't offer ya a huge paycheque by any means. We scrape by as it were. But we got beds, an' better food'n most the resteraunts `round here. But I s'pose that goes back ta our right ta ask ya yer last name, bein' as I ain't even gonna go any further without seein' yer ident card. Ya understand." She holds out her hand with the air of someone who expects no resistance to what plainly rings of a command. "An' after that we can worry `bout who do or don't like ya."

Tayen smirks as she shakes Beckett's hand, "Ah think that's someat I kin work with, Robin Beckett. Frankly th' fact yer willin' to toss aside not likin' us and still do a jing chai job fixin' the girl up is enough fer me." Then she reaches for that inner pocket, "Ah know I owe ya 300 for th' first pass. Second's 200?"

Chade nods and retreives his card from his satchel and tosses it over to Ashlyn, "Fair enough.. Outside of bein' a browncoat, Alliance ain't got nothing against me," he says. He looks back to Matty before speaking to Ashlyn, "An' in all honestly, I don' know what she's got against me in all of the five minutes of our chat," he signs and continues, "Bottom line... s'I know how to take orders, but I expect to be treated fairly. Folks can hate me, that's fine, but I am who I am, take me or leave me."

Matty stuffs her balled fist into a pocket and continues sipping coffee and watching Chade with a pair of cold eyes. Not really the best welcoming commitee, this one. Even when Chade explains himself, she continues with the quiet look, giving off irritated and chilly vibes. She drains the rest of the coffee, then looks into the cup and glances over at Ashlyn. "I need more coffee."

Beckett checks the terminal. "Ayup. The dockin' and undockin' fees are the real bitch, but ain't any way I can do anythin' about 'em. Everytime we use the gorram mechanisms, it causes wear n' tear." She shrugs. "So yeah, 500 total, but it's about the best work you'll get, on account'a I live by my rep as an engineer, not as a polite person." She grins at Tayen, sharply.

[Dock] Docking claws slowly start to detach themselves from the Tsukai no Inari

Tayen pays Beckett 500 credits.

Tayen hands over two credit chits. One for 200, one for 300. "I ain't bitchin' the cost, for what it's worth. When I smarted back t' yer captain, it was cause he ne'er mentioned th' second repair." She makes an annoyed expression, "Fool thing o' it is, if'n he'd made some detailed reciept, I'd'a prolly thought y'all were the red tape assholery sort." She shrugs, aware there's no good answer.

"You got an oppinion, Matty?" Ashlyn asks as she takes the card and draws a PDA from her over-stuffed pockets. The tone sounds completely conversational, though there's little chance that even suffering from the after effects of her illness, she's dense enough to miss the chilly vibe the XO is putting off. "We most a us are browncoats. Or kin ta them," Ashlyn offers as she scrolls through page after page of, well, lets be honest, nothing. "But I don't do too well with criminals or people what can't get along with the crew. Since ya ain't a member a the former..." She looks up to Matty, waiting for her oppinions on the matter.

Chade leans over a bit directing his comment to Matty, probably driven by the possibility of employment, "I take it we've gotten off on the wrong step," he starts, "If ye's decide to take me on, like I said, I'll obey orders and the captain and XO are more than entitled to set rules on their boat." He looks up for a moment, formulating what he says next, "But I'm sure you can understand, outside of that... someone's time is their own, and it's precious." He shrugs with a half-chuckle, "Don't mind much if you hate me, that's just that, I suppose, but I'm sure you wouldn't go about changin' yerself for anyone, either now."

Matty gives a shrug of her shoulders and looks away from Chade and back over to Ashlyn. "I dunno. Might be an idea to see if he can actually /do/ what he claims to do?" she notes all casual like and gives a look back into the empty coffee cup. She gives a look around the immediate area, then tosses the cup at a trashbin and puts her hand in a pocket, her eyes back on Chade. "I s'pose we can hire 'im on probation? Give 'im a week or two to show if he's up fer the job?"

Ashlyn nods. "Sounds fair," she says to Matty. She's smiling, but she looks a little tense. A smile is so natural on her, though, that it can't fail but to look genuine, clashing rather strangely with the slight air of caution. She turns to look back at Chade. "Had us an engineer what couldn't fix an engine t'other week," she says with a grin. "But I imagine ya ain't pullin' my chain, yeah?" She nods toward the Theory. "In two weeks if we ain't scared ya off, or you ain't given us reason ta boot ya out, I image we can come ta an artrangement. Sound fair ta you?"

Beckett makes the chips vanish. "Yeah, well," she tells Tayen, "I know y'all contracted one repair, but it was just a lot easier, when the report popped up with the second thing in need'a fixin', to take care'a it at the time. Gorram pity this last bug didn't crop up then also, I could'a gotten 'em all outta the way at once." She shrugs. "I just fix shit, y'know? Captain gets to handle invoicin' and paperwork."

McCain strolls into the Eavestown docks, whistling tunelessly to himself. He pauses to get something to eat from one of the myriad vendors, pays the man with cash, and then moves off into the crowd. He sees Tayen and makes his way over to her, and nods "How are you doing Tayen." then nods to Beckett, "Beckett." he says with a smile.

"As fair as morn," Chade replies with a smile. "Oh, I know quite a bit about engines on paper... I'll be applyin' that actually getting my hands dity at some point -- so, maybe there's a bit more reason not to push me out of the airlock," he says with a chuckle.

Tayen nods, understanding where Beckett's coming from. "Shit, if I'd'a known th' Engine was punkin' and th' Reactor was dodgy, I'd've put in a bid for all three t' the same time, and keep th' extra credits!" She sighs, "Damned thing of it, I checked right afore I waved yer boss. Ain't that a bitch?" At McCain's greeting, she smirks, "We're jus' fine, thank ya."

Beckett nods to Tayen, sagely. "I'll tell you what it is. You got yourself a Dragonfly, of course, one'a the most tempermental, breakage-prone piece's machinery in the 'Verse. They'll last forever because you can slot just about anything you want into them, but the compatability issues will drive you insane. You're runnin' with the Blue Sun 2.2.334.1 operatin' suite, which has a nasty habit'a causin' dynamic cascadin' faults in the secondary power strips. If you'd'a happened'a wait another day or two, I bet all'a those problems woulda popped at once, like beads on a necklace." She shrugs. "Cross your fingers that somethin' else doesn't go tomorrow. I checked, but even I can't predict the future." She looks over, and hrmphs at McCain. "I see you're no longer clutterin' up sickbay, I guess that's an improvement and such."

Apparently satisfied with Ashlyn's answer to Chade, Matty gives a nod and gives a nod to the captain. "'m gonna get some coffee," she says and starts off, giving a last look over her shoulder at the man with a warning look in her eyes. She gives a glance at Ashlyn too, giving her a warning look too, though there's not the same kind of anger in her look toward the captain as toward Chade. Then she heads back into the crowds toward a coffee vendor.

Ashlyn shrugs, concern evident in her eyes as Matty walks away. "We don't need no one more tinkerin' with the engine. Matrix an' me got it well enough under control," she tells Chade. "You got any things what need loaded on the ship?"

McCain smirks to Beckett, "I had to get out before you started tinkering with my electronics when no one was looking." and shakes his head, just watching the pair for a moment, "I appreciate the hospitality though." he adds then takes a bite of the kebob that he'd purchased on his way over.

Chade sighs, "s'Always something I do to piss 'em off... jus' wish I could figure out what it was," he said with a shake of his head and focused back on Ashlyn, "Got a small trunk, s'about it... won't take but a moments time to take care of that."

Nilka leaves the Guan-Yin and walks down its ramp to the surface.

Over at the coffee stand, Matty gets another one of those large cups of black coffee, but rather than head back to the Chaos Theory, she disappears into the crowd over toward the spacer's district if anyone is watching.

Tayen remakrs to Beckett, "Most tempermental second t' a firefly, which eats it's own weight in parts." She sighs, "Jacob's back on his feet, an' we bought up stock in bits and togs for regular maintenance, so we oughta be okay. I s'pect he'll overhaul us a couple times afore we get off here, though. Be the smart thing t' do." Shaking her head more, Tayen glances at McCain and the comment of sick bay.

Ashlyn nods. "Then I'll help ya get it an' I'll show ya about a little," she says. "Bishop was out cold when I left. Hopefully he's set ta stay that way until I can get ahold a some medication a some kind." She chuckles a little and coughs. "Ship ran out a all the o'er the counter stuff." She sets herself to follow him presumably to the chest and from there to the Theory.