Bond Mason's Story

Bond sauntered into the Inn, eyeballing the gathering of humans and aliens in the place and finding his target at once. She was speaking with an older gentleman. So he stepped over, standing a few feet away and watching the exchange with a small smile. He caught her eye once and his grin widened. After shaking hands with the physician it appeared, Bond stepped a bit forward.

"Regina Oris...once a cheat at poker in the dorms...now a captain. Who would have guessed that one?"

He lowered onto a stool, smiling. "I was never invited to a game though. Probably would have ended your streak. So i hear you need an engineer."

After informing Weiss of the rented out rooms, and free food and drink, Reggie big the doctor good night. He walked off, to do as he pleased, when the captain was met with a familiar face.

"Regina Oris...once a cheat at poker in the dorms...now a captain. Who would have guess that one? He said while lowering himself onto the stool in front of the table.

Reggie smiled, sitting down herself. "I was never invited to a game though. Probably would have ended your streak. So I hear you need an engineer."

"Bond Mason," She said recalling his name. "I see you finally grew into those chubby cheeks." She mused. "And I won poker fair and square. Those guys were just jealous that a woman could so painfully kick their ass."

She laughed. Bond Mason was in the IDA, but he was a year ahead. They had run into each other a couple of times, but they never really traveled in the same circles. He was always an attractive man, but she distinctly remembered him having a chubby face when they were in the Academy. He had definitely grown into them, his face now matching the rest of his body.

"Well, Mr. Mason, what makes you think I want to hire you?" She mused. "I mean, there are so many better engineers out there. And many with less snark as well. Granted, you graduated top of your class. And have since taken care of several many ships, but I don't know if I want a flirt such as yourself on my ship."

She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Especially with so many females on the crew."

Bond

Giving a shrug, Bond replied, "Eh, I've given up my ways. Serious man now. Roughened while sailing across the skies."

She seemed skeptical and he laughed. "I'll behave, you know I will. Sleeping around isnt my style, though if I recall...yours was." He raised an eyebrow.

Around him many different species sat and stood. It was intriguing. New experiences always intrigued him.

"So what do you say, Reg?"

"I'll behave, you know I will. Sleeping around isn't my style, though if I recall...yours was."

Reggie clicked her tongue, but couldn't help but smirk. She definitely didn't sleep around with every guy at the academy, but she had been known to date a few guys. She wasn't the type to sleep around, but rumors had gone around.

"So what do you say, Reg?"

She rolled her eyes at the name. "My name is Regina, or Reggie, not Reg." She stood from her chair, pressed her hands to her table. She leaned forward, to get a closer look at Bond.

"But you may call me Captain Oris, or ma'am." She said standing straight. She held out her hand. "Welcome to the Nightwing Bond Mason, don't destroy my ship."

Bond

He shook her hand, standing as well with a smirk. "Thanks for the opportunity...Reg." with a wink, he stepped away before she could correct him and ordered a drink then started toward an empty booth. Sitting alone was needed.

Sipping the amber liquid, he watched the other recruits converse, recognizing most species. Truly a grand array of aliens and humans. It would prove interesting to see how Regina handled them all.

Absently, he pulled out his screwdriver and turned it over his fingers, thought wandering. He definitely wanted to take a look at the ship's insides. He had high hopes after his last clunker of a vessel.

Glancing to Regina, he hoped she would do well, truly. Being a woman and human put her at a disadvantage, but she had the spirit and drive needed. He wondered what the expedition was truly about but dismissed the notion. All that mattered was the mechanics of the ship. To him anyway.

Bond

He bypassed the rest of the recruits, giving them a stoic nod to acknowledge them and let them know he would be part of them come morning, but he didn't feel the need to chit chat just then. A room awaited him at the end of the hall and he fell against the covers with a sigh, eyes on the ceiling.

Up in space again. Familiar faces and new gears to work with. He hoped this mission lasted a long time. He liked consistency, at least with his work. He grew tired of people quickly...

Regina wasn't too detailed with the mission, something about Earth yeah...humans...history...that kind of blah that passionate people tend to care about. Stretching his arms behind his head, Bond let out another sigh, wondering if his former classmate was biting off more than she could chew. Sure, the books had it wrong. The governments usually did that. They had control after all. Everything you learned about wars, allies, far-off planets, the Wretcheds, the Squealers...all had to be taken with a grain of salt.

Squealers for example. Government says they are an extinct species, an experiment was all, extinguished and failed.

More like they released them into the wild unknown parts of the galaxy to feed off of criminals and sky pirates. Bond remembered his first job on the O.O.C. Gateway. Great crew. Great pilot. Great everything...

Until the Squealers boarded the ship and let out a high-pitched screech, a scream...with his human mind, Bond blacked out after only a few moments, unable to find cover. Thankfully, only the pilot and captain were eaten and taken. The rest survived. Bond survived.

Trying to ignore the memories of his former crew mates crying out for help...Bond closed his eyes. That was one thing he would not tolerate. Being helpless against enemies threatening his crew. He would have to speak with the weapon specialist at some point, wield a proper blade.

Images of slicing through Squealers filled his mind. It was comforting.

With a deranged smile, he drifted to sleep.

Minn

"Hello Mr. Pilot," Minn greeted once she noticed him sit down beside her. She had been watching the captain eat her hash browns, smiling at the girl's interest in food. Eddie's appearance didn't look so good though. "Did you sleep okay?" she asked, pointing to the area beneath her own eyes to indicate the slight circles under his. She had been around enough ladies who tried to use makeup to hide bruises or who put on a happy face to distract from fatigue. Minn could tell. "You look kinda beat."

She hoped she wasn't being rude, asking such a thing. They were crew mates now and she felt she should care about his well-being, especially since he was the one flying them everywhere. Waiting for a response, she tuned out the others and faced him full on, trying to sit up completely straight again to look professional. Keeping on a concerned smile, she tilted her head slightly.


Bond

Morning streamed in through the window. A bright morning. Bond sat up after staring at the ceiling for the past two hours. He hadn't been able to stay unconscious very long. It always happened nowadays, especially before going back into space. He shrugged it off though, freshened up a bit and left the room satisfied with the service.

Downstairs, the crew was gathering at the bar. He noted the Shar he hadn't seen last night. She was rather nice to look at. Then he noticed Reggie, stuffing her face. What a captain they had here this morning.

Bond sat a few seats away from the Shar and a supposedly human young man. He could somewhat hear them, but didn't much care to listen. He ordered a caffeinated drink and an omelet, playing with a screwdriver in his free hand. He glanced to the Shar and her rosy skin. Seriously not bad at all...

Minn

Seeing Eddie's guilt made Minn feel guilty. She sighed, shaking herself out a bit so the beads on her pants jingled and she put on a smile. "I'm fine...really, just weird dreams. Nothing scary just...off putting I guess...I've never flown before. First timer!" She smiled wider and placed her hand on his. "I'm find, really. And don't feel like you can't joke around me. I'm just...I don't know really," she giggled and analyzed his face, hoping he understood she was really okay.

"The Captain trusts you so I trust you."


Bond

The pink-skinned girl was rather jumpy. It amused him a bit, but then he noticed Colin and then a not so happy Reggie. He smiled to himself, slipping off his seat and striding over to the captain before anyone else could get to her on the steps. With her three above him, she was taller, but not by much.

"Something wrong, Reg?" he asked, trying his hand at friendly. He hadn't been friendly in awhile. That didn't mean he was going to call her Captain or take orders. "You seem..." He scrunched his shoulders up to his ears. "Tense."

Minn

Taking her hand away, she saw he was uncomfortable with the gesture and blushed, not that anyone could tell with her skin tone. But what he said rang truthful and she smiled, happy that they were getting along okay again.

"I can't wait," she told him sincerely. "I am nervous but...Oh I don't know...the stars, the planets and galaxies and being on a ship...It is exciting. In a good way."

She put her wooden spoon to her lips. "Plus I get to cook!" she added as an afterthought.


Bond

"Mechanic...I suppose that is needed..." Bond muttered, considering it. "I know a guy but I doubt he'll ever speak to me again." With a laugh he took a drink and nudged Reggie a bit. "Don't go overboard, and don't worry about it. I can handle it."

He thought about that statement. An entire ship with one guy checking the gauges, meters, the engine, the valves...it was a lot...but doable...depending on the size of the ship.

"How big is this cat anyway?"

Bond

Ears perking, Bond spun about before Reg could respond. He saw the reddish haired gal, the one other than the cook, and heard her say she was a mechanic. He nudged Reg and laughed. "What kind of luck is that?"

It was quite strange, and lucky. Two things he rarely liked. But he smiled to the mechanic and hoped she was into getting hired. Reggie seemed on the hunt.

Inqueta hadn't bothered with getting to know her crew mates the night before. She understood that she would have the entire next day for that. She stuck around long enough to catch most of their names, but then went to bed, quite early. She curled up in a little ball, and rose early. She was walking out of her room when she saw the Tourain from the night before sneaking out of his room. He had all of his stuff with him, and it didn't look like he was coming back. Inque glared at him, but silently continued walking. She sat at the end of the bar, and blended in, watching as everyone came downstairs. The captain seemed to have a healthy enough appetite. Her second in command, who seemed just the slightest bit hungover to Inque, took her hashbrowns, which just made her order more. She got up and went upstairs after a loud noise.

The blue skinned girl turned her attention to the Shariva and the pilot. Two of the people she had met the night before. There was someone sitting near them too. A human. She hadn't seen him last night. She shrugged the thought off and stepped off her chair and walked over to the two, or rather, three, of them. "Goodmorning." She said to them, giving the same greeting she had given the previous night. Just as she was sitting down, the new guy got up and walked away. He went over the the captain and they exchanged a few words. Reggie looked upset, but Inqueta didn't bother to listen to them. The girl looked over the menu. She simply ordered juice, unlike a few who were already drinking alcohol so early in the morning.

Minn

Saein's words helped Minn relax and she smiled brightly again, but the spoon was still gripped in her hands tightly. "I'm good with food," she agreed quietly. Peering around, she hoped they would be leaving soon. Waiting was not working out for her very well. She was trying to be friendly, but internally she was freaking out.

It's better than where you were before, right? Stop complaining. Stop worrying.

Before she had had to sleep in a tiny closet sized space with three other girls, colorful blankets strewn on the hard floor and door always closed since Betna liked privacy. Hot and horribly cramped, the girls had basically worn no clothing unless going out and Minn had had to sneak off to the club's kitchen to make food for all the employees in the back. It was a trade. If she made good food for all the girls, then they would make sure she wouldn't ever have to be alone with one of the customers. They could be brutal, especially so someone as tiny and curved as Minn.

Glancing down herself, she cursed her heritage for the millionth time in her life. Sure, she was "nice on the eyes" as Dawn had always said, but with the lifestyle she was thrown into because of her ashamed father, the beauty came at a price.

This was her chance. Her only chance. She had promised the girls she would find an actual life outside of bars and clubs. And now that it was here, she needed to get it over with. Her stomach was going to explode from tense nerves.

Excusing herself from the bar, Minn went to sit alone in a booth for a moment, steadying her breathing and trying to only think good thoughts. She played with the beads on her pants. Dawn had made her clothes for her. She was so talented. Why was she still stuck with that awful man?

Minn pushed the thought away and glanced to the crew. She sensed there would be some issues between mates but overall, a good vibe rolled off of them. Placing her hands on the table and rest her head on them gently, she forced a smile. Just relax. You'll be fine.



Bond

Tossing back some water, Bond allowed his sight to travel over the gathered "troops." Two red/pink hair ladies. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. Curly hair wasn't really his style, likening to long flowing locks on his gals, but he smiled to the new recruit. She was cute enough, seemed direct, had a nice smile. Bond felt he could like this girl, hoping she would return the sentiment since they would be working together.

Stepping over, he introduced himself. "Name's Bond. Engineer Bond." He didn't hold out his hand just to see what she would say in response to him. He noticed the tools on her person, lips curving up a bit.

"Didn't catch your name."

"Yes, it should be," Saein agreed, "but I'm afraid it won't be until all species in the universe have met each other. That's still going to take a while. But instead of being sad about it we should be happy about this mixed crew here adding to the solution, right? So, double pleasure to meet you! Name's Saein." She shook Cassy's hand.

Saein had spent more than enough time working with men like Bond to know when she was being checked out, and as long as she didn't work too closely with them and they acted chivalrous, she didn't mind at all. In fact, she'd had a lot of "fun" when she still had her first job that she should never have quit. Of course, trying to get the new girls before the guys did was even more fun, in a way. Those had been good times, but after the better part of ten years she felt she should find a safer job, and then someone to settle down with. She had changed her mind about the safe job, not about the safe relationship. Saein hoped she could get rid of the touch problem, because it looked like she wasn't going to meet other Firni for a long time.

The handsome man introduced himself as "engineer Bond". Oh. Oh well then. "Nice to meet you, Bondengineerbond, I'm Saeinmechanicsaein. Do you want my beer? Things got a bit weird a moment ago so I decided to stay sober, but it would be a shame to waste it. Nobody touched it, I swear." A mild mocking joke, followed by a peace offering, that had always been a good way to handle this kind of situation. "I guess we'll be working together a lot. I'd better tell all the other girls about my professional standards, before they start plotting against me." She downed the beer she had just picked up. "Oh drat. Sorry. Was getting stale anyway. How about I buy you a drink and we talk about work a bit?"

Bond

"Drink? Can't say no to that."

Bond gestured to two open seats a little ways down the bar and he sat down beside her. "Saein, interesting name you got. So I have to ask. That screwdriver...regular metal or magnetic? I've always wondered how the magnetic ones work, but I could never replace Old Yeller." He held up his screwdriver he kept on him at all times, the handle a faded yellow.

"Do you know what the ship make is yet? 'Cause I don't. Wondering what shape our engine's in...And I'm talking way too much. Get me that drink and you can take over."

He smiled and then faced the bartender, smile drooping a bit. "Uh...got any...I guess Vodka sounds good. Strongest you got. With juice in it."

He then realized it was hardly eight in the morning. "Never mind actually. I'd rather be alert for take-off."

Saein told the barkeep "A juice without vodka for the gentleman, then. Oh, and if someone could bring my luggage back downstairs, that would be dandy." The barkeep almost groaned - the bellboy had not been happy about the weight of Saein's luggage (a large suitcase full of metal tools and a large bag containing clothing and the tools that couldn't be added to the suitcase anymore). He loathed having to tell the boy to drag all that around again already on the same morning.

Saein pulled two otherwise identical screwdrivers with differently colored handles from two of her pockets. "Regular AND magnetic. I usually use the regular, some screws insist on sticking to the magnetics sideways and that just gets annoying. I know nothing about the ship except that it's called the Nightwing, I was hoping you'd know more. I also thought we could talk about dividing the first inspection work between us, but without knowing anything about the ship it will be difficult to tell if there is any overlap in the things we want to look at. Oh well. Wanna talk about girls instead? Or we could talk about your other hobbies. I'd show you my tool collection but I'd rather leave it packed right now."

Bond

Bond laughed. She suggested talking about girls and hobbies as if they were the same thing. Well, he considered, to some maybe.

"You want to talk girls, let's talk girls," he chuckled, taking a sip of his drink and facing Saein full on. "So you swing to that team or what? I'm a little confused, so if you could explain." Leaning forward, he wiggled his eyebrows a bit. "I'd love to hear some details."

Bond had had two lesbian friends in the past and hanging out with them had been actually fun, since they had open personalities and talked about sex as casually as he did. it was an interesting dynamic he found, analyzing girl/girl relationships. It amused him and interested him. He wanted to understand the motivation behind it, because he certainly would never be attracted to another guy.

Inqueta was startled by Reggie storming down the stairs. She listened to what she said to the barkeep. Apparently, things were not going her way. the alien girl stepped aside to let her captain out the door. She was fuming, and Inque didn't want to get in her way. As Colin made his way towards Reggie, Inque returned to her previous group. she had left with intentions of finding the captain, and getting fresh air, but neither of those seemed desirable anymore.

"You want to talk girls, let's talk girls," The dark headed man said, taking a sip of his drink. "So you swing to that team or what? I'm a little confused, so if you could explain." He raised his eyebrows at Saein. "I'd love to hear some details." Inqueta pondered on this statement for a moment. She wondered if the women was indeed a lesbian, or if she was just messing with the handsome man.

Inque realized that she hadn't introduced herself to the mechanic. "Mechanic Vernig, sorry to interrupt, I am Inqueta To'avuor. Sorry if I came across as rude to you before. It was not my intention." She stuck out her hand to Saein, who in turn took it with both of hers and shook it. She then turned her head to look at Bond. "I don't believe we have met. Like I just said, I'm Inqueta To'avuor. I am a scout for this crew." She put out her hand for him to shake, if he so chose. She blinked a few times, and her white eyes began dulling to a light grey. She was becoming bored, and was itching to get the trip started.

"I don't think of it as a team sport" Saein chuckled. "If I like someone enough, it doesn't matter what they are. As long as I don't work directly with them or am in the same chain of command, of course. As for details, there are reasons I can't say much about them right now." She counted them on her fingers. "One, I decided to stop playing around a few years ago, and haven't found someone to be serious with yet. Two, I'm having an issue with skin contact, I'll explain it another time. Three, someone seems to want to join our conversation."

She shook Inque's hand. "That's quite alright, scout To'avuor. You're not the only one who is... distracted. I think finding a mechanic wasn't the only thing our captain needs to fix at the last minute. She looks stressed. Ah well, that's exactly why I never wanted a higher rank. Never a chance to relax." She turned her head away a bit from Inque and winked at Bond with the eye Inque now couldn't see. The moving patterns on her skin could give away that she was being cheeky, but she assumed Inque couldn't read them, and couldn't read her mind any other way either.

Switching to a safe subject everyone would feel comfortable about, she asked "So, how did both of you end up in this crew?"

Bond

"My looks," he said, as if it was obvious, then laughed. "Nah, I happened by, Regina and I went to school together, engineer was needed. End of that boring tale."

Bond shrugged his shoulders a bit, watching Regina and her second in command leave on whatever mission needed completing. It was morning and he was still a bit drowsy from sleep so he decided against drinking anymore. He needed to be 'tip-top' as they say, for when take-off would happened. Whenever that was...

Inqueta's eyes deepened to a darker grey, but presently returned to the slightly off-white grey color. The man in the conversation had ignored her, and she didn't know why.

"So, how did both of you end up in this crew?" Saein asked the two of them. The good looking man spoke up first.

"My looks," he said, then laughed. "Nah, I happened by, Regina and I went to school together, engineer was needed. End of that boring tale."

Inqueta listened to him. So he had no real reason to be on this ship. He just happened by. He was the engineer, that was nice to know. She turned her gaze back to Saein. "If you hadn't already noticed, I'm a Schael. If you know anything of my kind, you would know that we rarely venture out of our own village, and even more uncommonly, off of our home planet. I'll save you the details of my life story, but I am different than the other Schaelans. I left, and visited a few exotic places. Earth has always spiked my interest though. I found out about Captain Oris' ship, and thought it a good idea to join. I'm a scout." Inqueta finished and pushed her hair back again.