[Log] Breakfast scene

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Crew Commons, Grace O'Malley [Persephone?]
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Lucinda rests the water bottle on the table so she can concentrate on her PDA. She plucks out the stylus and begins tapping away at the screen, she pauses once to look up as the Captain leaves, giving a nod before she clicks one final button. The screen goes dark just as the light's flicker. "Off to Ariel." She repeats the Captain's parting words, holding no joy in saying them.


Maxwell nods biefly to Ara and then looks to Bishop, tilting his head towards the bridge. "Let's go. It's a short enough trip." As they head to the fore, he calls back over his shoulder to Lu, "could be worse... we're not headed to Constance, at least."


Kael Bowen opens his bottle and flops into a chair across from Lu, announcing with about as much enthusiasm as her, "Off to Ariel, indeed." He pulls the bottle up to his lips, taking a long drink from it before letting out a long and slightly tired sigh. His left hand, not holding the water, reaches up and rubs gently as his eyes with the palm and fingers of his hand, bringing them from the outside to end in slightly pinching the bridge of his nose.


"Ariel, eh?" asks Saienne as she steps in from the portside quarters. "Ain't been there in a few years." She takes the few short steps to the galley and begins to rinse out her blue cup, humming quietly as she does so, although the louder hum of the engines mostly drowns her out. "Bishop along for the ride, then?"


Lucinda tucks her PDA back in her pocket, closing the zipper to secure it. Her gaze lifts to study Kael. "Headache?" She asks, lightly before her attention is snagged away by Sai. "Seems he might be the new co-pi..." She grips the edge of the table, still unused to the ships movements as it zips into space. "Co-pilot."


Kael Bowen slowly lets out a sigh and then gives a small smile towards Lu, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a gentle motion as he looks across the table at her. He leans forward, a bit hunch backed, on to the table, forearms resting upon it and both his hands gripping the water bottle. He shakes his head slowly and then rests his forehead down on the surface, "A little.. but I'm alright, mostly just tired.. nightmares, the bad kind." His left hand disengages from the water bottle and raises up in a slow motion. He doesn't need to look up to tell who the voice belongs to, he simply calls out in a slightly muffled voice, "Hey there, apprentice."


Saienne , in contrast, rolls with the motion of the ship like some old sea dog. "I ain't met him more'n five minutes or so," she says to Lucinda. "But he seemed decent enough." A pause, and she looks up at the bulkhead, her gaze falling through it to sit in the middle-distance. "He's flyin' now? Seems to be doin' a reasonable enough job of it." She turns the tap off and dries the cup with her sleeve. As Kael speaks, she peers out into the commons proper. "Lordy Kael, you all right?" She looks mildly discomfited when he calls her apprentice. "Eh, yes. Sorry about springin' that on you. Mangled my words, an' all."


Lucinda reaches out, smoothing a hand over the back of Kael's hair before rising from the table once again. "Well I was going to head down to the cargo bay for a bit of exercise, but now that its been turned into a barnyard, it seems a big fattening breakfast is in order." She walks crisply into the galley with Saienne.


Kael Bowen grins widely and slowly turns his head so his chin rests upon the table. He pushes himself up and back, sitting into the chair now and letting out a long sigh. His eyes Focus on Lu for a long while as she moves towards the galley, finally they tear away back to Sai. "S'alright. I think it's kinda funny. Just tell me when, though.. I'll show ya the way 'round a pistol and a rifle. 'n' when you can shoot as well as me, we'll work on your sneakin' about. Turn you into a descent recon soldier yet." he shakes his head slowly from side to side, looking back to Lu, "'Ey, Doc.. If you see any eggs, I would really appreciate if ya snag me some.. scrambled, boiled, I don't care so long as they're not raw."


Saienne laughs loudly at Kael's suggestion that he'll turn her into a decent recon solider. "Kael," she says, shaking her head and chuckling, "Don't you think there was a good gorram reason I got drafted into artillery an' not special ops?" She grins crookedly at him. "I'd settle for increasin' my hit rate a mite - I ain't chasin' no miracles." She shifts over a little as Lucinda joins her in the galley, assembling the ingredients for a cup of tea. "Won't be two minutes, Doc," she says, flicking the button on the kettle on. "You two want tea an' all?"


Lucinda moves easily enough around Saienne, grabbing the skillet that Max and Aradia were using earlier. "I'm used to working in tight spaces, Saienne." She greases the pan, setting it aside until the burner is free. "Though cooking up some eggs and making tea isn't as life threatening as what I'm used to." She finds a cup for herself and Kael, plopping them down on the counter before he can say yay or nay. Next she works on toast. There must be toast with eggs afterall.


Kael Bowen lets out a long sigh, grinning still and says to Sai, "I'm alright.. as for artillery, ya know.. good number of people in my squad were pulled from artillery. Made a fine bunch, usually have a good handle on ballistics. Same concept as artillery just a helluva lot flatter." Kael's head bobs slowly up and down as he looks back over to Lu, "I can 'magine that medical work is by far more stressful then cookin'." He sniffs a bit at the air, grinning at the smell.


Saienne looks sideways at Lucinda and smiles a lop-sided smile. "Ain't that the truth," she says quietly as the doctor compares cooking to her profession. She carefully spoons aromatic tea leaves into the bottom of each of the three cups and then, as the kettle rises to the boil, pours the hot water in. The blunt and slightly bitter smell of hot tea mixes with the smells of the eggs and the toast, and is soon drowned out. "Well, Kael, I never was one for finesse, I'm afraid. Lob enough ordnance in the direction of a target an' some of it's bound to hit home."


Lucinda leaves the pan on the burner, letting the eggs sizzle as she goes to check on the toast. Its a little...blackened for her taste, but she gingerly takes it out and tosses it onto a plate. By the time she gets back to the eggs, they have well exceeded 'over-easy' and are now on their way to over-hard. She frowns at them, most sternly. "Where's Jo when you need her." She grumbles. Using a hotpad, she takes the pan from the stove and slides the inedible eggs into the refuse bin.


Kael Bowen chuckles softly, shaking his head from side to side as he pulls the water bottle up to his lips, but not yet partaking in it. He responds evenly to Sai, "Give it a chance. Might grow on ya. I'll teach ya the basics though 'n' we'll see where that goes." He tips the bottle back, taking a quick drink from the water bottle. He looks back towards Lu, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as he listen to her, "Hey.. smells great to me, Lu."


Saienne slips past Lucinda as she grapples with her eggs and toast and carries the cups of tea to the dining table on a bamboo tray. "Ain't no bother if you don't want it," Sai says to Kael about the tea, "I can always find room for another cup." She grins crookedly. "Startin' from the basics'd be wise, I reckon." She sits herself down on one of the benches around the table and sips her too-hot tea. "Might as well try an' earn my keep an' all."


"You're biased." Lu grabs up the plate, a butter knife, and a cup of tea before heading back towards the table. She slides the meager offering infront of Kael, "Guess you're having toast. Here.." She thrusts out the butter knife. "Use this to scrape off the blackened parts."The corner of Kael's mouth pull up into a slight smile, shaking his head as he takes the toast and butter knife, looking to Lu, "Scrape it off? You apparently haven't seen me make toast.." He snags the first piece and looks over to Sai, "Well... I'm sure you'll find room for my cup then. 'n' you can help me by keepin' the cargo bay clean." He looks back to Lu then and shrugs a little, a grin pulling at his mouth as he takes a bite from the toast with a bit of zeal and eats it.


Kael Bowen looks over to Lu futzing around in the kitchen again, a smile pulling at his lips once again. He gives a little nod, "Smells good Lu." He takes another bite of his toast before pulling his water bottle up and taking a quick nip from it, "I don't think I ever asked.. how /did/ you choose the profession?"


Lucinda is frowning when she once again emerges from the kitchen, but at least this batch didn't end up in the bin. She leans over, scraping more than half of the runny eggs for her plate onto Kael's plate. "Like mother, like father, like daughter. Guess you could call it the family business." She sinks back down at the table across from Kael.


Kael Bowen smiles a bit gently as he looks up to her, murmuring, "My father was in the same business I was till he got out. Moved out to the rim 'n' settled down where he knew the Alliance wouldn't bug 'im again." He nods a little, gently even before running the burnt toast through the runny eggs and eats that bite with a bit of glee even, looking up to Lu after he does, "It's a good business, yours. Have a lot of respect fer people in your field."


Lucinda pokes at her eggs with her fork, moving them from one side of the plate to the other. "Well my calling certainly wasn't galley cook." Poke. Poke. "Being a doctor is no more respectable then someone willing to risk their lives for a good cause. One has a bit more honor and glory, and its not the one holding the med kit."


That one seems to have hit home though and Kael physically stops for the moment, staring at Lucinda his breath caught in his throat before he slowly sets down the piece of toast. He reaches out, gently trying to set a hand on her's. His whole appearance seems to fall for a moment, taking on a much gentler look as he says in a more sincere tone, "In a war, no one is safe... from the medic in the back to the person at the front. You've saved more lives then I have and... and I respect that a lot more then the job of taking them."


Lucinda pats his hand with her free one. Trying to glaze right over the serious aspect of their conversation, saying the first thing that comes to mind, "That's what makes us a good pair." Her eyes widen, slightly, at her words, quickly trying to justify that statement. "I mean, on the ship. Our jobs are complimentary." She clears her throat, pulling away her hand and thrusting it in her lap before retaking her fork. She actually begins eating then, if only to give her mouth something to do besides spouting off gibberish.


Kael Bowen nods slowly, responding in the same tone as before, "Yes it does, Lu.. yes it does." His hand pulls back to the toast, picking it up and getting some more egg on it, swiping it around the plate before pulling it up and taking a bite. His eyes flick over to Sai who's been presumably sipping her tea quietly this whole time before looking back towards Lu, the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly in a little smile.


Saienne is doing her best to keep herself to herself while Lucinda and Kael have their conversation. She is sitting a little removed from them and, as surmised, is focused almost entirely on her tea - and on a little leather-bound book open on the table in front of her. Her pressganging into the cleaning up after the chickens in the cargo hold seems to have passed her by for the time being, although no doubt that attitude will change when she catches on to the implications of the job. Perhaps she feels Kael's eyes on her when he glances in her direction because she looks up and meets his gaze. "We all do what we can, ain't it so?" she says, somewhat enigmatically.


Lucinda slumps a little in her seat, reaching for a piece of crispy toast to keep busy. She sighs, almost inwardly to herself, before popping the sustanence into her maw.


Kael Bowen leans back as well, letting out a long sigh as he then announces, "Well.. seems my headache is fading a bit." His mouth pops into a grin as he looks over to Sai, "That we do, Sai. Just keep doin' what we can when we can to keep this can flyin'." He shakes his head a little before muttering, "Damn chickens.. I was just kiddin' 'bout that Sai, unless you want to help, yeah?" His eyes flicker over to Sai before down at his food again, starting to work on loading up some eggs onto the burnt toast piece.


"Gorram inglorious fate, that. Cleanin' up after chickens." She looks up properly from her tea and her book and leans back on the bench. "Of course I'll help," she says, somewhat regretfully it must be admitted. "Might as well put my upbringin' to some use." A pause. "An' the two of us workin' at it should make it go quicker, ain't it so?" She looks past Kael to Lucinda, but says nothing further.


Lucinda dust her hands off over the plate, brushing off any toast crumbs left on her fingers. She settles in with her tea, offering Sai a bit of a smile. "Good thing for me, I'm allergic to chicken feathers. Otherwise I might be inclined to offer my help."


Kael Bowen's head bobs up and down in a bit of a nod as he pushes some of the toast into his mouth, taking a bite and chewing it. His eyes momentarily looking back to Sai, swallowing before he responds, "I appreciate it.. 'n' you're right. Two'll do it faster then one." He looks back to Lu, a slight smirk pulling at his lips as he responds to her, "Aww.. c'mon Lu. Ya know I wouldn't let ya do that. No need to get yer hands dirty with such menial work. I'm sure there's more then enough work still to do in the med bay."


"I reckon it'd be churlish in the extreme to hold it against you for sayin' no, allergy or not," says Saienne to Lucinda in a good-natured tone. "An' when Kael an' me come limpin' in with our noses runnin' an' eyes streamin', you can fix us up with some anti-histamines." She pushes herself up from the table and steps smartly towards the galley with her blue cup. The book she leaves open on the table.Lucinda leans over, curiousity getting the better of her as she peers at Sai's book. "I'd be most happy to tend to you both afterwards. Just remember to wear gloves and don't rub your eyes. The feces of any animal can host a myriad of diseases.."


Kael Bowen chuckles softly and then nods a little, a quick jerks of the head up and down as he responds, "God it.. No rubbing." He glances over himself at the book, seeming that Lu's not the only curious one of the bunch. His hands work on the last of the eggs and toast though, piling them up and sopping it up.


The book is small, bound in dark brown leather, and with yellowing pages. The passage on the open page begins: "And here we have the plain difference between the state of nature and the state of war, which however some men have confounded, are as far distant, as a state of peace, good will, mutual assistance and preservation, and a state of enmity, malice, violence and mutual destruction, are one from another." Saienne reaches the galley and clatters around a little inside. "A myriad of diseases, is that so?" she asks Lucinda. "I'm hopin' we'll have offloaded the creatures before anythin' nasty takes hold." She addresses Kael now: "Are they for Ariel, the chickens? Or elsewhere, do you know?"


Lucinda leans back to her proper seat, once again retaking her tea and sipping slowly at it. "As a matter of fact, both stop by the Med bay before you head down there and I'll give you surgical masks." Lu stands then, slipping off the bench and waiting for Kael to finish the last few bites before offering to take his plate with an outstretched hand.


Kael Bowen smiles a bit thoughtfully, picking up his now empty plate and passing it to her, popping the last bite into his mouth. His head tilts to the side a little, looking up to Lu as he quickly chews and swallows the bite, adding in, "Thanks Lu. Appreciate it, masks and the plate." He looks over to Sai then, nodding a few times, "I believe so Sai. Think it's a pretty straight forward Op."


"Well, that is a blessin'," Saienne says as she comes back into the common room without her cup. "The smell of chicken shit ain't goin' to have chance to drift through the ship before we get there an' get rid of them." She grins over at Kael, and returns to her place at the table only to scoop the little book up. "An' it also means we ain't goin' to have to clean up after them too many times." She tucks the little book into one of her pockets and looks between the two of them. "Reckon I might go an' scope out the scale of the job."


Lucinda balances his plate ontop of her own, sweeping a few crumbs off the table onto the dishware with the flat of her hand. "Now how I got suckered into being your galley wench..." She grumbles, but its tempered with the fact that she's smiling slightly. "How did running livestock suddenly become and Op? Does it really qualify?" She heads into the kitchen then, to do up the dishes. "If you get down to Med bay before I do, Sai, the masks are in the first cabinet to the right in a blue and white box..."


I'll be along as well, shortly to deal with the... bluntly put job." Kael responds to Sai. He picks up his bottle of water again and attempts to throw it into the trash from where he sits. He sticks his tongue out at Lu playfully, jabbing back at her with the same playful exuberance, "Because everyone needs a galley wench and I chose you." His tongue pokes out the side of his mouth as he lines up the shot before finally taking it.


Saienne tips an imaginary hat to Lucinda, "Thank you kindly, doctor. I ain't plannin' on settin' to just now - unless you are, Kael?" she questions. "An' don't you underestimate the power of livestock to make an Op out of pretty much anythin'. Beasts an' fowl ain't ruled by logic an' can make a meal out of the simplest things." She looks at Kael, a little darkly. "You just wait. One of the scruffy things'll get loose an' then we'll be chasin' it around the hold for the next four hours." And, so saying, she turns to the aft corridor and clambers down to inspect the state of the chicken runs.


Lucinda is, thankfully, not killed in the friendly fire of Kael tossing yet another water bottle. She turns the water on with a hiss and begins scrubbing up the dishes everyone used this morning, apparently having nothing better to do. "I think I just felt sorry for you, what with that pitiful look on your face.."