Lackadaisical (Gunn)

[Deleted]

Dez leaned against the doorway to the core room, staring at the core and trying to gauge everything he could about it. He could already tell just by listening to it that it was off by a tick, needed to be fine tuned just slightly. It was almost perfect however, whoever had been the previous mechanic had done good work. Not nearly as good as Desmond was about to do, but good work. It wouldn't take Dez long, and it wasn't like he had anything better to do for the time being anyway. Hitting the intercom he decided to make a ship wide announcement, just in case something happened. "Attention everyone, I'm going to be doing some work on the core for the next few minutes. Please ignore the screech that will come in about, three minutes."

One minute later, all that could be seen of Dez was a pair of legs sticking out of the core. And two minutes after that, there was the loud screech that he had predicted, and then... The ship suddenly started running smoother. At least from an engineering standpoint, Dez stayed where he was for a moment, listening to the sound of the core and making sure his adjustments were correct. It sounded smooth and it looked perfect. So naturally Dez lowered himself down into the core more, anyone outside would see little of his back now. He continued to fiddle with the core, though this time no sounds could be heard, at least nothing out of the ordinary.

Dez pulled what appeared to be a small box out and tossed it out of the core, redirected that power through to the engine itself. Looking around the core, he started to swear silently. Maybe the last mechanic hadn't been very good after all, there were tons of junk parts he could just take out and redirect and make the ship run better. Of course most of them couldn't be done until they landed and he could safely turn the core off. Jao Gao, what did these people do to you Peerless? So many ways for things to go wrong.."

Dez spent the next several minutes examining the core and making notes on what he would have to do the next time they docked. His examinations resulted in a colorful display of swearing and the occasional part flying out of the core as he found something he could adjust while the core was still running. By the time he was finished with everything he could pull out, there were half a dozen parts lying on the floor, and Dez was still halfway inside the core examining it. "Ai Chr Jze Se Duh Fohn Diang Gho." So caught up in his swearing over the sheer level of work he was learning he would have to do when they docked next, he didn't even notice anyone entering the core. Or what they could be thinking about nothing but a butt and legs sticking out of the core, the swearing or the parts laying on the floor.

((OOC: Jao Gao: Not good.
Ai Chr Jze Se Duh Fohn Diang Gho: Crazy dog in love with its own feces))

[Abigail Gunn]

When Sassy came over the intercom, the first thing she thought about was their brief encounter and the cherry stem. The sad fact was that a gun hand outside of a fight didn't have a lot of functionality aboard the ship. She could spend time on the computers researching, training for combat to come... or she could take a peek at one of their newest acquisitions. The man, not the weapons, although the weapons were a bowl full of fun in their own right. The second thing she thought was regret that she had been approaching the engine room when that screech he anticipated began.

Keller was dressed in workout clothes that consisted of a form-fitting, light gray tank, black yoga pants, and running shoes that were black with blue accents. She'd redirected her aimless jog through the Peerless toward the engine room, and she slowed to a halt before activating the door. Her light auburn hair was up in a pony tail, and her chestnut irises, the result of her sharp blue eyes lightening dark blue contacts, were glinting with amusement.

She listened to his swearing and watched his legs for a moment before moving to the intercom herself. She skipped the button for the ship-wide announcement, making an announcement that resounded in the engine rooms only, the important and sage words of: ”Nice ass, Sassy.”

She had thought about screwing with his legs, but she was afraid he'd get his hand ground off on some moving part, and frankly, people just weren't much fun when they were bleeding profusely... usually. And especially if they didn't have all their fingers.

It was kind of a mood killer, come to think of it.

She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest and grinning somewhat to herself. She was fairly unproductive without putting a bullet in anybody, and now she was unabashedly screwing with one of those people who did have something to do. In other words, she'd just gone from unproductive to, in fact, counter-productive. She'd worked as a foreman, more or less, so Onas had gotten a lot of productivity out of her. She was still in the green overall. Just... maybe a little less so after this.

But, she was bored and Sassy had drawn her attention to himself. She had noticed the intercoms, but she hadn't screwed with them, nor really heard anyone else make any announcement until this point. He was practically setting out a sign that said: Screw with me.

[Deleted]

Dez almost fell into the core when he heard the intercom, only one person in the 'verse called him sassy. And she was the only one who wouldn't get shot for doing that, kinda helped when it was a gorgeous girl was the one doing the name calling. Climbing out of the core, he turned to look at the woman dressed in workout clothes and winked at her. "Why thank ya, no where near as nice as yours though. Really no comparison." With a few easy movements he pulled the core closed for the moment, and kicked the loose parts into a corner of the room. "So what brings you to my hidey hole? Other than staring at my ass of course." Not that he minded her coming to visit, gave him a break from working and seemingly pleasant company.

Dez motioned over to a small table and two chairs he'd scrounged and set up in the room, just for situations like this. Now all he needed was a hammock. "Tea? I'd offer you something stronger, but I haven't managed to finish setting up the still yet. Or the inner engine fermentation system." He knew how it was to spend weeks on end in the black, this would help the crew out. Without waiting for an answer, he set a small pot to boiling on a electric burner he had built into the wall. Complete with magnets to hold the tea pot! That had been the second thing he had done when he got here, the first was discover that he needed a few more parts for his still first.

Dez rolled his shoulders, his tan shirt covered in stains and several tears, and dark brown pants and boots. His hat was safely stored away in his bunk where no one would find it. He didn't want his hat getting damaged while he was crawling around in the core and engine rooms. He was probably overly protective of that hat, not that he cared. He'd earned that hat from one of his jobs that DIDN'T involve either killing or making weapons that killed. That was something he could be proud of. Something he was sure his sister would be proud of- he was going to NOT go down that line of thought right now. He had someone to talk to, distracting himself should be easy right?

Dez leaned back in his chair, "Lookin' for something to do between jobs?" He asked, trying to think of something that would pertain to giving Keller something to do. Of course he didn't know her all that well, so it was proving slightly more difficult that he hoped it would. He could always give her a paintball gun and watch all the mischief. That would entertain them both, give her something to do, and him something to laugh at. Of course that would also cause many bruises and maybe even some trouble with the captain. Was the entertainment value worth it? That was the real question here, if the funny was worth the possible trouble that would be caused.

[Abigail Gunn]

She'd grinned even wider, were it possible, when she noticed the sort of jolt that those legs underwent when he heard her voice on the intercom. She watched him writhe out from the core, nodding to him fractionally from her place against the wall when he fully emerged and staying put for his approach.

”Staring at your ass was pretty well the only motivation. Sweaty grease monkeys, you know how it is. That shit's better than the pretty boys on the calendar in my cabin.”

When he mentioned a still, she wasn't certain if he was joking or not. She honestly hoped he wasn't. She would have loved to help him set up a scrap bar. She was trying to ween herself down from averaging about twenty waking hours a day, thanks to Onas Knox's work ethic and the availability of a very powerful stimulant to his employees. She'd noticed some of the former Rippers going through the same late, late night pacing in her own rounds. It wasn't withdrawals, just adjustment. She'd gotten used to those hours, and without easing down from her use of the stimulant, she'd have screwed her sleeping pattern up and slept for a week. This way, she got use to sleep again at her own pace. Long story short: she would have a lot of time to help him set up a little bar, and she'd have been happy for the diversion. If he was kidding about the still... well, it seemed kind of immoral to joke about a still aboard a relatively dry ship.

”Tea sounds great to me, though homemade alcohol sounds a hell of a lot better.”

She came to sit with him,, immediately hiking her chair onto its back legs and placing a balancing foot on the right leg of the table. His last question made her laugh a little. God, he had no idea. She didn't have anyone aboard to shoot, and her guarding skills weren't so relevant in space.... She had forever to fill, or so it seemed to her.

”Yeah. Not a lot of call for a gunhand in the black, Sassy. I'm this close to developing some kind of neurosis just so I have something interesting to do.”

[Deleted]

Dez couldn't help but chuckle, turning to the teapot and taking it off the magnets and poured them each a cup of tea. "I need a few more parts before I can finish the still. I've got everything I need for the inner engine fermentation system though, just have to install it when we're not flying around." Dez tried to remember if he had any alcohol hidden away in his bunk. He couldn't remember, though he doubted it, he didn't tend to store any alcohol and what little he tended to buy was drank quickly. Though he made sure not to go to the extremes his father had, that was just begging to kill his liver and kidneys, he needed those. They helped him to not die, and he was kinda allergic to dying. "But hey, when I get it all set up we'll have an unlimited supply. Care to help me keep it maintained? I'll teach you all the ingredients."

Desmond took a sip of his own tea, getting comfortable in his chair. "Well you're welcome here anytime, but if your staring at my ass, I'm staring at yours." It was only a fair trade right? He wouldn't complain if she wouldn't. "How do you think I learned about stills and fermentation systems? During the war between assignments we had nothing to do, so we built stills and fermentation systems, and drank the end results." Granted he had no clue what it was like to work twenty hour shifts, but he did know what it was like to go for several days on end without sleep. That was one of the most common things they did when they were on assignment, that and take four hour sleep shifts when they could.

Dez couldn't help but smile, "Well, that sounds like it could be perfect for you then. Help me set up the still and fermentation system, then you'll have plenty to do. They don't need much maintenance, but they do need emptied filled and cleaned every now and then. Depends on how much we make." He sure as hell wasn't going to have the time to give them proper maintenance, especially not with the level of work he would have to do for the next several months. No, having someone help with this would make things a lot easier on him. Besides, it was always nice to have the help of an attractive young woman.

"Well, lets put it this way. We hope there will be no use for a gunhand in the black. But if there is a reason, no armor piercing rounds." It as meant as a joke, but he was also partly serious. Dez was also allergic to depressurization, and pretty much anything that involved death to himself. It was an allergy that had one end result, his death. Of course he had yet to meet anyone that wasn't in the same boat as him on that one, but if he ever did he sure as hell hoped they were on his side.

[Abigail Gunn]

”So you are serious. You know, if we're going to make a still, we orta just clear out a space somewhere and make a rec room. Dartboards and shit. Like a real bar.”

She said it with some enthusiasm, if only because the ship wasn't really made for recreation. In its hay day, the Peerless had probably hosted brilliant scientists and engineers with strict protocols and almost military discipline. It would have had no idle body aboard, likely, for the processes of terra-forming and shaping worlds. The simple equipment in the cargo bay would have been replaced by great atmospheric machines. Many of the cabins, which had been re-purposed as rooms, had likely contained test equipments to determine the content of the water. Other cabins likely would have contained seeds and plants to transplant onto the surface when it had been properly terra-formed.

Basically, the Peerless had never been a luxury liner sort of deal. It was utilitarian, and even now, stripped and remade, it was the bare bones of what was needed. It would have been nice to account for the crew's needs in the form of a still. They had serious missions ahead; she knew that better than most. Hell, she was going to be shot at in the months to come. But, they also needed a way to cut loose. Sassy had the right idea.

”Never ran a still before, but if you show me how, I'll be on top of it. And as to staring at my ass---I'd be offended if you didn't.” She laughed. She didn't really comment as to the war. Her father had supported the Alliance at the time, and for that matter, so had she. Her father had always viewed the brown coats as people who needless got other people killed in the process of unification. She was beginning to see them as a gray area instead, especially in light of the Miranda scandal. Still, even that had made its waves in that period in history, and the Alliance still ruled. She didn't disagree with her father but... she no longer felt that she was entirely swayed away from the Independents. Or, more aptly... she was starting to see their point about it.

”Don't worry, I don't wanna be mopped off the walls any more than you do.”

In fact, she had somewhat of an irrational fear about it. Maybe it wasn't exactly irrational, and it wasn't a fear but... perhaps more aptly put, she was overly aware of the possibility that presented, however unlikely.

[Deleted]

Desmond laughed with her, glad that she was showing some enthusiasm. He just wished he could set it all up for her now, give her something to do so she wouldn't go stir crazy. Besides, that would give him another chance to stare at her ass. "Well, I wouldn't want to offend you." Dez made a pointed motion to lean over sideways in his chair and gave her an over exaggerated motion of moving his eyes down before nodding and leaning back in his chair again. Sure it was over exaggerated, but it amused him slightly. "Dart board would be nice, maybe a pool table too. We'll make them drinking games. Every time a dart or a shot miss, take a shot. If someone gets hit, that person gets two shots. Three if it's a dart." He really didn't feel like explaining how he came up with those rules so fast, he had a few scars to show for the rules.

Dez nodded and propped his own chair up on the back to legs, using one foot on the table for balance. "Well, it's not to hard to run it. Most of it will be pouring alcohol in bottles and making sure the still is filled with ingredients for booze." He'd make sure she knew what to do, he didn't want to go blind from drinking this stuff. Vision was kinda important, and he had a recipe that if done properly held no risk for blindness. Unless it was lit on fire and thrown in your face, but that was a whole other mess to deal with.

"Well I'm glad to hear neither of us want to be mopped up off the walls." Dez was forced to agree with Gunn on this matter completely, though he viewed it differently. He had a completely rational fear of being nothing but a smear on the wall for someone to mop up. Though it must have been bad being the person that did the mopping too, that would be one sight he never wanted to see if he could avoid it. That and watching the video from that Miranda scandal again, that had been morbidly disturbing. At least now people knew where the Reavers came from, at least if you listened to some people.

"Tell you what though, the Peerless has one thing up on the last ship I was on. All we had to eat there was moldy protein and the occasional glass of make you go blind moonshine." He almost shivered at the thought, there were days where he went without eating just so he didn't have to see the food. Besides that he was adverse to eating protein at times, particularly moldy protein. He knew it would keep him alive and give him all the vitamins and nutrients he needed, but it was just so BLEH! So to be on a ship that had actual food was amazing, at least considering he was used to either protein or military rations.

[Abigail Gunn]

She didn't question his rules at all. They didn't make good logical sense sober, but they would seem more and more legitimate with every shot. Besides, she was no stranger to doing fairly idiotic things for the hell of it, and far be it from her to cast down the idiotic tendencies and cravings of other people. The fact was, people wanted something to be irrational. People wanted alcohol because it transported them to this world of being able to digest the irrational, to leave behind what should be felt and thought and do whatever they felt and thought, however ill-conceived or badly planned. Most people needed alcohol to reach that level of hedonistic release. Gunn didn't really need the alcohol as an excuse to do something stupid or irresponsible. Doing it for the sake of it was reason enough.

”I bet we could get whatever junk we'd need in a market on-world somewhere. People are always getting rid of shit just because they don't like it anymore or someone died on it or whatever. If it's a close relative, we could probably haggle them down to a little'a nothin',” She didn't crack a smile when she said it.

It wouldn't be a relief to know that a still wasn't hard to run until she saw him running one. She'd never experienced it herself, but she'd heard that a poorly operated still was basically like willing ingesting poison. She could believe that, even though the safety of a still paled in comparison to the do-it-yourself chemists with drug-addled brains who thought they could make something good to safely inject in their veins and the veins of others without blowing their homes sky-high. It may not have been the flashier of the threat, but death by a still was likely no less possible than death by exploding drug cocktail.

”Yeah. Bet it was a legitimate work environment, all... legally acceptable and shit. No money in it. I don't know why they don't just tell kids these days that the underworld is the easiest way to make money and end up with real food.”

[Deleted]

Desmond nodded, then shrugged. "Really all that's left is a filter, and a some copper tubing.. Heck if we really needed to we could use something like stockings or pantyhose as a filter. But an actual filter would be better." He sipped at his tea for a few seconds, then shrugged. Either way they were going to have their own still soon enough. Dez had to agree, they could probably get what they needed for a steal at the right places. Particularly if they stopped on a rim planet and got the stuff from someone who did this on a regular basis. Though he doubted anyone wanted to wait that long, their next stop would be fine, they could collect other parts and replace them as time passed.

He couldn't help but laugh when she mentioned the legitimacy of his previous ship. "Now darlin' you do remember the whole thing about me bein' an gunsmith and gun runner right? The last ship I was on was just bad criminals. The only one worth his salt was the man who taught me about mechanics, best education I'd had since I learned about gunsmithing." Dez let his chair rest on the floor again, tired of making himself keep his balance, maybe he should install small legs on the chairs so they balanced themselves. That could be a busy project he could do to in between jobs he was sure. Or while they were moving and he was unable to do his job.

"Crime only pays if your smart about it, even then you have to be careful. I haven't kept my identity as the Smith a secret from the feds this long by bein' stupid." Granted he was wanted for murder, but that was another story for another time. Or hopefully never. Yeah, never sounded better. "In any case, with the way the key players on this ship are set up. We're gonna get payed, and we're gonna get payed well. Plenty of good food for us." And if the crew couldn't get decent food, he knew he would. He had the ability to make thousands of credits for doing just a few days of work. He could store food easily enough in his bunk. He might share, might being the prime word in that statement.

[Abigail Gunn]

”Pantyhose... I'm going to just go ahead and assume new pantyhose. Otherwise I do have some, but you can only use them if you write seasoned with love on the jars.” She grinned slightly, using the muscles of her leg to lower and raise her chair again. She much preferred bullshitting about making a still to making a third or fourth lap around the Peerless. That's all it was until they were actually working on the thing: bullshit to talk about and entertain themselves with. A lot of ideas never left the bullshit phase (it was only brainstorming when it was pertinent to work and not recreational or hobby interests that people tended to be fickle toward anyway). She could tell that it was more than just an idea for Sassy, though---he was fully intent on building this thing. And if he did, she was fully intending to help with and, in fact, consume whatever rotgut they made.

”Oh, bad criminals---see, that's just a shame. So much wasted potential right there. Bright futures gone to hell. Almost brings a tear to your eyes.” She was grinning through her misanthropic reply. There was a time when she'd been straight as an arrow, a point of crude flint that one could run their thumb down and find seamless direction. Now, following the shaft of that arrow, it was smooth from the fletch until one got to the splintered ends that jutted out, connected by the narrowest string of wooden flesh to a broken end and an arrow that now pointed in a decidedly different direction. ”But for the grace of God go I.”

He was right, though. Crime only paid for the people who knew what they were doing. It was a simple way of putting it, smart, but for her, that dredged up images of the information broker she'd begun seducing in hopes of getting that information. Her assignments had brought her here, so that effort and sex may have amounted to a dead lead, but if she had to think about smart in crime, she would think of that broker. He was smooth, all high-dollar suits and exclusive clubs. He rubbed elbows with politicians as crooked as the broken arrow that symbolized her life, and he probably knew enough about most of them to bring their careers to a screeching halt in a second. He played it smart, though, kept a meticulous attention on his image and reputation. He made himself trustworthy so he could get to the bigger fish and shinier stones. That... that was truly smart. Then, when one looked at operations like Knox's---a payment that came from some non-existant B&C Construction, directly to the account, a paper trail as plain and pretty as you please that existed only on paper... That was on that same high-end level of crime and intelligence.

That was where it got really dangerous and scary. That was where it became more political, where the thugs getting in shoot-outs in the streets might have wished to go back to their urban warzone again. It was worse because, at that level, it was a corporation, and corporations were cold, inhuman, heartless things of themselves on the seemingly legitimate side of things. Corporations could do a lot more severe clandestine wrongs than any individual man could dream.... just look at Miranda.

”Oh, we'll get paid. Anything Onas Knox funded will do its job, and if it does its job, he will most definitely keep the gears greased.” It wasn't some hushed-voice conversation. Everyone aboard knew who their benefactor was, and what side of the law he was on. The entire crew was privvy to that little nugget of information---a nugget that certain ambitious feds would have willingly and happily given a portion of their genitals to have.

Information worth all depended on the audience.

[Deleted]

Desmond nodded in agreement, "See, this is why I left them. I learned everything I could, and decided to move on to something better." Or in reality he built weapons for a few months, then signed on with the Peerless. He liked this life better, the caliber of each and every member of the crew was more to his liking. Of course there was always more than just that to keep him on board. Their personality was one, and the fact that he actually felt like he belonged was another. This was probably one of the best ships for him to be on, if not the best. The company in the present room was by far the most entertaining he had been in for quite a while.

"And if I'm marking the jars aged with love, then those ones are just for Vitale. Maybe Lewis." He stated matter of factly, returning her grin with one of his own. His eyes flicked down for a second as she readjusted herself, before returning back up to her eyes. It was more reflex than anything, though he wasn't gonna complain about that particular reflex. "Though, even if we did that we'd still have to find a way to get a copper tubing to finish it. I can't get any from anywhere on this ship without running the risk of a slow and painful death. So, that'll have to wait." At least until they could stop and he could find the last of what they needed, then he would call Keller and the two of them would build the still.

"Well, with the resources he has we will be getting paid. One thing we will do right, is our job. Even if I have o get out of this boat and push it myself." Dez had no intention of letting this ship fail while he was on it. Despite the state he found the engine in, he was having far too much fun and wanted to keep it going for as long as he possibly could. Which would mean maintaining the crew's weapons and making sure they were reliable enough to not get everyone killed. He already had ideas to go along with just that line of thought, but first he wanted to test them out on his own weapons before he even considered bringing them to the crew.