[Log]

===============================================
Cargo Bay, Grace O'Malley [Ariel]
===============================================
The smile on Aradia's lips never falters as she keeps her gaze on the man below her and says, "She does and she can but she won't." With a canting of her head to one side, her gaze slips briefly down to the man's hands and then back up to his face and then past him completely to the vehicle below as Tyr starts down toward it.


The top lip of the Mr. Grade A curls into a bit of a sneer, "Suit yourself, but I think she lost the benefit of being called a lady when she left Ariel to go trapse the 'Verse with a bunch of Rim riffraff. Captain.." His glaze finally unlocks from staring Lucinda down and it sliiides on over to Aradia in that smarmy way of his. "I see you took my advice and cleared your cargo bay of the livestock." Not that they had any livestock, maybe he's alluding to something else. Currently Ara, Lu, and Josephine stand nearly shoulder to shoulder on the loading ramp, looking at a man beneath an umbrella. Tyr, for his part, is moving to unload a few crates from back of the man's vehicle.

Lucinda just stands there. Looking a bit pale and stiff. Her hands drift behind her, fingers grasping each other in a tight grip. She looks rather meak and small for a woman of her stature, and her eyes are downcast at the verbal retort from Brett.

"And up we go," says Tyr, picking up the crates. He winces a little bit at the strain; Jo is right, he is no muscle-bound cargo hand, but he's doing the best he can. "This the only set, or are there more?" he asks, as he makes his way back up the ramp with them.

Josephine continues to keep Brett in her dark regard, but apparently considers him unworthy of the effort of conversation, polite or otherwise. Especially when the Captain has the opportunity to let off some sharply eloquent steam. Larry the rat is a silent observer as well, from his perch on the small woman's shoulder.

Saienne steps down from the decks above the cargo bay having heard the murmur of voices and other sounds of activity. She has her coat on, but not her hat. However, as the unnamed stranger beneath the umbrella begins to hurl insults first at Lucinda and then at the rest of them, Sai pauses on the steps, peers down towards the light, and frowns darkly. She waits there, half in the shadow of the hold, listening intently and observing the others' reactions.

"Border, mostly," Aradia corrects Brett. The riffraff part? No chance in hell she's going to correct him on that. There's an impish twist to her smile for a brief flashing moment before her chin lifts and she looks down her nose at the man on the ramp below her. "You're right. Ladies are useless twats who flit around in fancy skirts and swoon and bat their eyelashes in the hopes of winning the attentions of useless assholes who parade around in their fancy suits and call themselves gentlemen. I'd hate to think Doctor Delray had such poor taste and judgement." Nodding to Tyr as he comes up the ramp, she turns her gaze to Brett one last time with that fixed smile and asks, "Is that all, /sir/?"

Brett tsks heartily. "Such a mouth. But I did not expect much out of you -Captain- Brooks. And I wasn't disappointed. When you're done playing your little games, Lucinda, you -will- return to me." The last of which is given back to the top of Lucinda's head, still fixated on the ground as she is. "I've taken the liberty of packing all of your personal items. Don't bother with bringing them back, I'm sure you can squeeze into a few of Nina's things in a pinch. I also refilled your prescription. Its in the smaller of the two crates."

Tyr takes the two crates he has in his arms and approaches Lucinda. "Just tell me where you want them," murmurs the cargo hand softly. "I'll even bring 'em right over to your bunk if you want." He sounds sympathetic for the spot she's in, mainly.

"Please put them in the cargo bay for now, Tyr," Josephine says quietly, turning her gaze from Brett to look upon the helpful young man, with a reassuring gaze. That's all she has to say for now.

;'s expression, if anyone cared to look in her direction, would illustrated neatly how she felt about the arrogant gentleman taking up space on the cargo ramp. As it is, she merely steps down another step - heavily, the noise of her boot echoing somewhat - and leans back against the rail, arms folded over her chest. She looks down on the tableau. Noting Tyr's position with the crates, she treads down the rest of the steps quickly and crosses the deck towards him. "Let me show you where to put them," she calls to the young man, evenly, bypassing the other women almost entirely - with the barest of glances offered in their direction.

"Good thing your opinion o' me matters about as much to me as the dog shit you stood in down there," Aradia says with a cheeky grin, not even bothering to conceal it now. "I'll surely sleep easy tonight knowing I haven't disappointed you. You may want to splash around in a puddle a little. The stink o' dog crap's about the only thing about you that smells bad that you got any hope o' washing off." Turning away from him to slip her arm through Lucinda's with the intent of walking off into the bay with the doctor, she waves her empty mug up and says without looking back, "Do have a good day!"

Brett growls, looking down to his indicated shoes. Lifting his leg, he shakes it once or twice. "Driver!" He snips again, and the little man in the little hat steps out into the pouring ran with a towel. Apparently he's done with this little conversation as well and doesn't offer any words or gestures in parting. Lucinda gives a bit of a greatful sigh as Aradia twists her around to head back into the cargo bay.

Tyr nods his head over at Sai. He gives her a thankful smile for the bit of direction, following after her towards the spot in the cargo bay where the crates should go for now. He does keep one eye on the unfolding scene with the haughty fellow -- just in case.

Josephine is the only one to wait for Brett (and his driver) drive away, before turning to head back indoors. The first thing she does is make her way to wherever the crates are being deposited..and to the smaller one, in particular. "My apologies, Lucinda," she says, respectfully, before, as soon as she is able, she carefully goes through the items until she discovers and retrieves a bottle of prescription pills which she promptly stuffs into her pocket.

"You want me to take one of those?" Sai asks, gesturing with her eyes to the two crates Tyr is carrying. Her hands are shoved deep into her pockets. "I'm Saienne, by the by," she says in an accent stained dark with the lilt and song of a Boros upbringing. She glances over her shoulder to the bemucked Brett. "Don't know how far you got with introductions before..." She shrugs, fluidly, and turns a crooked smile on Tyr as Josephine intercepts the crates and takes what she should from the smaller one. "Well, no matter." The smile creases into a grin and she holds out a long-fingered hand to Tyr. "Saienne Olaeno, general shipboard dogsbody an' doer of odd jobs."

Hitting the button on the control panel alongside the ramp as she turns away, it starts to raise, closing with a dull and decisive thunk. By then, Aradia's across the cargo bay and turning Lucinda around to deposit her on the stairs leading up. "Sit for a minute," she says quietly, smiling faintly. Turning around, she nods to Josephine as she rifles through the crates and then looks to Tyr waiting for the exchange of greetings with Saienne. "Thank you for doing that. I won't keep you if you have to get back to work," she says to him, "Otherwise you're welcome to dry off first." MRE, who's been woefully neglected during all this and who's not one to be ignored pads over to Aradia with an exaggerated limp, whining to her. Crouching down, Aradia scritches behind his ears and says, "You're an attention whore, buddy, ain't ya?"

Lucinda flushes a bit with embarassment as Jose. "I didn't request them, I swear it. But thank you for taking away the temptation, Josephine. Knowing him, I'm sure I'll have to shake out every article of clothing and check every pocket..." She stays where deposited on the stairs, having sunk down onto the metal grate now starts running her hands over her face.

Tyr smiles a little bit. "I'd right appreciate that, Captain," says Tyr with a bow of his head. "The offer to dry off, that is. And I'm Tyr," he tells Saienne. "Tyr Bannik. I'm just one of the day laborers 'round the cargo office." A pause. "So. Uh. Do you guys haul a lot of livestock?" Curiosity creeps into his voice.

"I didn't think for a moment that you had," Josephine says to Lucinda, gently, and with a small smile. Once Aradia invites their temporary help to stay a bit, she smiles to him as well. "I bet you could use a sandwich..and hot tea..or are you a coffee sort of person, Tyr? I can get you towels too, and you'll be feeling better than yourself in no time. Anyone else want food and such?" she asks the gathered crowd, clearly taking it upon herself to take care of them all. "I don't mind delivering, but it might be best if we moved on upstairs for a while, with the Captain's permission, of course."

Saienne regards the limping dog with a cool expression. "Who hurt the beagle?" she asks, "'Cause that ain't no kind of acceptable." She glances over at the now-closed ramp, frowning again. "Xi niu hun dan!" she exclaims, hotly. At Tyr's question, Saienne glances up to Aradia, grinning crookedly. "All manner of things, really," she says. "Chickens have been a popular cargo of late." There is a pause, and she turns to regard the doctor with an element of concern - although she says nothing to her.

Saienne regards the limping dog with a cool expression. "Who hurt the beagle?" she asks, "'Cause that ain't no kind of acceptable." She glances over at the now-closed ramp, frowning again. "Xi niu hun dan!" she exclaims, hotly. At Tyr's question, Saienne glances up to Aradia, grinning crookedly. "All manner of things, really," she says. "Chickens have been a popular cargo of late." There is a pause, and she turns to regard the doctor with an element of concern - although she says nothing to her.

"He hurt himself running away from Lu when he peed on one of the terminals outside," Aradia says with a chuckle as she straightens up slowly, looking to Saienne with a slightly strained smile and then turns back toward the stairs. "Yeah, let's go upstairs," is her response to Josephine since Aradia knows better than to argue with the woman when she's in mother hen mode.

"I would love a sandwich and some coffee," says Tyr. "And a towel." His face brightens immediately at the suggestion, as if he just suddenly realized how wet he was. But then he stops short. "Uh. If'n it's not intruding too much."

Lucinda uses a hand on the railing to aid herself in getting back to an upright and standing position. The steel that usually resides in her spine is just molten goo, however, and she more or less trudges up the stairs ahead of everyone else only by happenstance positioning.

"Goodness, no," Josephine assures, patting the damp guy on his back. "Did you think we'd just toss you outside into a puddle just like that? Come along," she instructs him and everyone who isn't already ahead of her as she smiles to Saienne for no reason in particular and hops up the stairs toward the crew commons.

A step or two behind Lucinda, Aradia's trudging a little herself as she wanders into the commons, veering for one of the couches where she flops down onto one end and wipes a hand across her brow and back through her slightly dampened hair from the rain. "Chickens, mostly lately like she said, occasionally cows and sheep and sometimes ducks. Used to carry beagles back on a ship I flew on before but I won't have none o' that here," she says conversationally, at last answering Tyr's already answered question.

Lucinda is also making with the flopping, only in one of the chairs. As soon her tush hits apholstery, her PDA is once again buzzing. There is a frequently used curse word flowing off her lips as she rummages for it. "I don't think that was the 'livestock' Brett was referring to."

Tyr ohs and nods his head to Aradia. A little light bulb goes off over his head. He takes a deep breath, and then: "So, you know, Captain." He tries to be conversational in his self-promotion. It's not the best casual tone. "I used to be a ranch hand with my folks back on our little Rim planet. And I got all sorts of experience takin' care of and handlin' all sorts of animals. Cows, sheep, chicken, ducks, well, okay, no ducks, but they're easy enough. Dogs. Horses, even," he tries to drop hints. "I can keep 'em all healthy and in ship-shape on the hauls, makes for better contracts, I bet. I mean, I don't got any fancy schooling or nothin', but, I got real life experience, which is tons better. And I can do lots of other stuff to help, too. I can cook some, especially beef, but all sorts of things, and I even know a little to patch up folks, if the Doc needs some help around the medbay --" Here goes nothin'! "And well. I guess that's it." He sort of deflates as he realizes he's got nothing else, a tone of, 'well, I had to try.'

Josephine deposits Larry the rat in the grey plastic crate that is his home (when nobody's carrying him around or he hasn't escaped) before she heads to the galley to wash her hands and to fetch a towel (white with pretty blue embroidered flowers) to hand over to Tyr. "That one's nice and soft," she assures him. "Sai, would you mind please checking on the coffee urn and seeing if we need to make more or if we're good to go..? Okay, I can do peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly..or I can make some tuna salad, come to think of it.. Who wants what?" She can't help but smile a bit at Tyr's self-promotional speech. "Other than a job."

Saienne brings up the rear, and makes a beeline for the dining table and the wooden benches around it. She brushes by Lucinda and touches her gently on the arm as she passes. "Don't fret too hard, Lucinda," says Saienne, quietly, and with no small note of compassion. "Folk like that ain't worth thinkin' on, although I reckon you're goin' to think on him plenty anyhow." She moves on, sitting down and tucking her legs under the table. A long-fingered hand sneaks up to scrub at the stubble on the back of her head. "Well," she says, in response to Lu's comment, "Neither did I." A beat. "But I ain't inclined to humour him in his obnoxiousness, neither." She tilts her head to listen to Tyr's resume: "Man after my own heart," she murmurs, as he talks of ranch life. Josephine's request has her hauling herself to her feet again, and ambling towards the galley and the coffee urn. "Surely can, Josephine," she says, as she pops the lid from the urn. "An' if any of y'all want tea instead, shout out now."

Aradia watches Tyr with a smile quirking her lips, her feet lifting as she swings them up onto the coffee table in front of her. Silent a time after he deflates and falls silent, she looks from him to the other three women in the room and then back to Tyr. "Well, Jo was looking for a girl friday to clean the chicken poop out of the cargo bay for me, but I suppose if you don a pretty frock 'n flit around the commons once that might be enough to make up for you being born a boy," she says mildly, still watching him the whole time.

Lucinda gives a bit of a smile after Saienne, and is indeed starting to regain a bit of her color after the taxing meet with her ex-fiance. Her PDA rumbles again in her hand, reminding her of why she cursed just a second ago. She furrows her brow, thumbing at the screen to see what the dickens it is now. Then she smirks. "Just the hotel confirmation." She mutters before her gaze lifts again to those assembled. "I could use a hand down in Med bay. What with our crew's incessant need to get shot up." She teases a bit. Yup, feeling better.

Tyr considers this for a long moment, various Things to Say bashing around in his head, one fighting its way to the fore. "Ma'am," he says, and he's so nervous he even forgets about the 'ma'am' problem this time. "If you'd give me a job, even one scraping chicken poop, I'd dress up in a tu-tu and dance around on my toes all day if I had to."

"Captain, don't be cruel," Josephine calls over. "He'll do nicely..without the frock and tutu and what have you. And you're all getting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and coffee, since nobody's bothered to specify otherwise." With that, she dons her red and white checkered apron and hums cheerfully as she gets to work.

"It ain't our fault," says Saienne somewhat imperiously - but not at all seriously - to Lucinda, as she sorts the coffee out, "If our illustrious Captain - an' notable others - spend their time moonlightin' as bullet magnets." She turns then to brew a pot of tea also, selecting some dried lemon rind and a stick of pale green lemongrass and chopping them both into small pieces. "Don't you listen to them, Tyr," says Saienne as starts a pan of water boiling. "I been cleanin' up the after them chickens trip after trip now an' they ain't never made me dress up in a tutu." She looks balefully all around - at Aradia, Lucinda and Josephine. "An' if they know what's good for them, they won't never ask, neither."

"I'm not cruel," Aradia says, poking her tongue out in Josephine's direction before she grumbles under her breath about bullet magnets. She pointedly ignores the baleful look cast her way by Saienne as she says, "A pretty frock will do. Besides we're going to a wedding sometime soon 'n you'll need one." Whether she's talking to Saienne or Tyr, who knows? Her attention does turn to Tyr as she pushes herself up to sit a little straighter. "Well, here's how it is, Tyr. We ain't rich folk around here, but anyone who is here ain't never going to go hungry or without somewhere warm 'n dry 'n their own to lay down their heads and sleep. They get paid when there's pay to be got but ain't no one here who's going to go demanding a paycheck if it means Grace is goin' to hurt for it."

Tyr nods his head slowly. "Well," he says finally. "I don't got much place to be, Cap'n, I'll be honest with ya. I don't got no home anymore. I've got some odd jobs that put a roof over my head night to night, but that ain't no way to live, not knowing if you'll eat tomorrow. So if your beds are warm and your food even half as good as those sandwiches look." He pokes his head up to see some peanut-butter jelly making. "I would be right honored if you'd have me."

Lucinda glances up as the crew seems to have gotten one larger. "I get him when you're through, Ara. And I'll need to speak with you on a different matter.." But she's not in any hurry now, and the Captain is busy with the hiring and all. Lu hefts herself from her chair, the PDA once again disappearing in her pocket as she meanders over to help Jo pass out the sandwiches she's artfully creating.

Saienne steps out from the galley, bringing with her a couple of plates of sandwiches that Josephine has prepared. She sets one down on the dining table and hands the other to Lucinda to take back to where she and Aradia were settled on the sofas. All this talk about pretty frocks, whether directed at her or at Tyr, has given her somewhat of an apprehensive expression, but she doesn't comment, stepping back in the direction of the galley to finish off the coffee and the tea.