Interviewing with the Thunderchild
Just as the sun sets, another boat roars into atmo from the black, angling itself down towards Eavesdown. When the landing thrusters kick in with a brilliantly loud howl, dust is kicked up into the air like billowing clouds, more than likely enough to choke anyone that doesn't cover their face. Settling down with a thump and the whine of hydrolics from the landing gears, the ship's reactor powers down, leaving it in relative silence, despite the few lights that automatically flip on beneath her belly: The Thunderchild has arrived. After a moment of silence, the cargo ramp of the ship lowers with a hydrolic hiss, leaving her bay exposed and open. Tromping down its length with a swaggers, Trent finally appears with a stretch, his neck craning side to side after a long flight. Pausing to fetch his cigarettes from a jacket pocket, he taps a single free from the pack so he might perch it between his lips loosely, patting down his pockets for a lighter after. Finding it, he sparks a flame to life that briefly brightens his youthful face, the dancing, flickering flame causing the tip of his smoke to blossom into a brilliantly glowing orange ember. With his first drag, the young captain can't help but smile in a satisfied way, finally able to relax. <English>
Selina and Levi wind up back on Persephone pretty frequently. It's a busy planet, with lots of traffic coming and going, which makes it a good place to find work for a pair of folks looking to fill holes in a ship's crew. In the light of the setting sun, Selina wanders down the docks, moving easily through the crowd while letting her dark eyes roam from ship to ship. The dark-skinned woman's dressed casually, boots, dark pants, and grey tanktop. At her side, and standing a few inches taller is her brother. Thumbs hooked in her belt, Sel looks up at the Thunderchild when it arrives, stopping in place to watch it land and get settled. Glancing aside to Levi, she quirks a brow and wonders, "Wanna go introduce ourselves? Maybe they're looking for a couple pairs of hands." Regardless of her brother's answer, she starts walking again, heading closer to the ship. She tips her head in the direction of Trent when he comes down the cargo ramp, remarking aside to her partner, "Look at that, somebody to say hi to. You want to, or shall I?" <English>
For his part, Levi looks at least a little more formal then his sister, though its really only with the addition of a well-kept dark coat to cover his scruffier looking clothes. As usual, while Selina watches the ships, Levi watches the people. Mostly, it looks like simple curiousity, but to a more trained eye, it's obvious he's scouting for a mark. Someone gullible but well off enough to swindle or steal from to pay for their next meal. So far, he's coming up pretty unlucky -- that is, until, Sel stops.
Levi continues walking for a few more steps before he suddenly realizes he's walking alone. "What is it?" he asks, looking back then following her gaze to the landing Thunderchild. "Might be they are," he murmurs in reply when she poses her first question, eyeing Trent as he steps out of the ship with the same eye he was using to scout marks. He's quick to dismiss the notion, though, as he starts heading on over. "That's cute," he replies as an aside, just before he reaches the Captain, "You. Do the talking. You always know how to make me laugh."
He stops a few feet from Trent and tips his head to the man while he adjusts his coat, "You need some hands to help you unload that beautiful ship of yours, Captain?" <English>
Chloe steps off the ship with the clipped pace of smart no-nonsense pumps talking on her smartcom, "No! It is not the same! A valve support mesh negates the need for a complete bipass, it's success rate is a full eighteen point seven percent reduction in post-operation rupture!" she sniffs and replies stiffly, "Well I hope you won your bet, I find this as highly distasteful. No wonder you got a C in cardio-vascular studies!" she hrrrphs and hands up on the person, looking rightously indignant. <English>
Having dragged Levi's attention away from his hunt for a mark worth the trouble, Selina walks alongside her brother towards the Thunderchild and the man standing at the end of cargo ramp. There's a small grin at his joke about handling the talking himself, her arm shifting to nudge him lightly in the ribs with her elbow, "Keep it up." On their approach towards Trent, the dark-skinned woman continues to let her eyes roam, studying the ship and continuing to watch their surroundings. Once closer, and once Levi greets the man, Sel flicks her attention back to Trent herself. There's a look towards Chloe before she chimes in after her brother, not wasting any time in getting to the point, "Siblings, looking for a gig together. He's a pilot," she nods at the slightly taller Levi briefly, before glancing back at Trent, "I do security. He can handle a gun too though, if you've got your piloting covered."
<English>
Arching a brow curiously when he's approached by random strangers, Trent can't help but look incredibly suspicious and paranoid at first. Afterall: With a price on your head, you might be as well. "Evening," he murmurs, the word crisp and clear with a Londinium accent, despite the fact he tries his hardest to hide it. Peering first at levi (Whom he mistakenly assumes to be the biggest threat) then at Selina, the Captain tilts his head curiously,considering each in turn. Only after is he distracted by Chloe, who finally forces him to crack a bright grin, the shake of his head amused. "Nerd. What was that, Surgeon bets?" he muses, just before returning his attention to the siblings.
Currently He's standing at the base of the cargo ramp with Chloe and has just been approached by Levi and Selina. Hooking the thumb of his right hand into his gunbelt (Noteably right next to his rather intimidating sidearm) Trent considers the pair thoughtfully. "I appreciate the offer, and the words of kindness in regards to my ship," he offers in reply to Levi, "But, if'n it's all the same, I think we're good for now," he murmurs. When Selina speaks, his nods once, a smile reaching his expressive features, "As a matter of fact, we are looking for some help. We do happen to need a pilot, and security. I don't guess you're properly trained for security are you? Or do you just know how to shoot and call it security?" he muses, still inspecting the pair carefully. <English>
Appearing in the maw of the Harpoon is a redheaded woman. She pauses there, a long braid of her hair falling forward over her right shoulder. Her blue gaze slips over the area, and she raises an eyebrow slightly, considering the gathering of people. She idly rubs the fingers of her right hand against her outer thigh, and then she starts to make her way down the ramp of the Thunderchild, her footsteps bringing her closer to Trent. As she approaches, she listens to the pieces of the conversation that reach her, and her gaze slips towards the folks the Captain is speaking with. Lifting her left hand, she uses her right hand to uncap the bottle of juice before taking a sip from it, and then she recaps the bottle. Stepping up behind Trent, she lifts her right hand to touch his shoulder, and then she lowers her hand back to her side. "Busy interviewing, are you?" she asks, a smile touching at the corners of her lips. <English>
Levi pauses to shoot a /look/ back at Selina. One of those special, 'Shut up!' looks, but it's gone by the time he's looking back at Trent. However, he's already mentioning how they just so happen to be looking for the skills the duo can offer. He takes a second to prepare himself for the snark after that look, but is pretty quick to recover, "Well then you're in luck. What's the pay?"
As first Chloe, then Vanessa appears behind Trent, his gaze flicks to them both, briefly, but mostly stays on the Captain for now. "She's worked as security before, of course. Knows a fair bit more then which way to point a gun. A skill I just mastered myself, actually. So..." He smirks, and slides one hand into a pocket, looking like the poster child for Flyboys everywhere. <English>
Chloe blinks, "OH. Dear." She flushes, and turns, "Forgive me, Captain, I did not realize we were entertaining, Shall I put some tea on? Or is this a meeting for libation?" her her accent crisp, clear upper crust londinium. She tilts her head, studying the fact the sister is doing most of the talking, "Twins, I presume? Fraternal, naturally." She looks to the Captain, "That I would know the percentage of the successrates over the leading methood down to the tenth decimal." she sounds sullen. <English>
Selina glances aside to the redhead who wanders out, offering a nod to both her and Chloe before chuckling dryly at Levi's response when Trent brings up the matter of security, "Not sure how you define 'properly' trained. I didn't go to school to become transport security, no. I can do the obvious things. Shoot, fight." The lean, dark-skinned woman looks aside to Chloe again for a brief moment, shaking her head, "No. I'm older. Levi's the baby." Looking back to the man, Sel continues her answer, "I'm pretty good at spotting trouble before it gets to the point of being a serious problem. I know how to take orders and give them, I can clear a room, or a building. I know how to reduce the odds of getting my own ass shot and try to keep other folks out of trouble."
<English>
Glancing back over his shoulder, Trent grins brilliantly when he spots Vanessa, turning so he can lean over to kiss her cheek in greetings warmly. "Something like that," he offers in reply simply enough. "I'm being downright professional, even," he murmurs, just before returning his attention to the siblings. Given his tone of voice, one might safely assume that's not something he does often... If ever. Shifting his weight to favor his left leg, the act cocks his hips like a loaded revolver as he listens to Levi, his brow quirking pointedly. "You're playing this all crabbed," he notes, shaking his head. "You don't start off with payment. First, you sell yourself," he explains. "Haven't you ever played out a short-con?" he murmurs, just getting a sense about the man. In reality, he see's a bit of himself there, a few years back, anyway. Rather suddenly, he pauses, glancing sidelong at Chloe with a curious expression. It might be obvious he barely understood half of what she said -- At the least, that's what he's pretending, anyway. "I think we're good for now, but if you'd like to fetch us a beer, I won't stop you," he muses, despite arching a brow at her. "Also: Who the hell would bet against you in a scenario like that?" he scoffs playfully, shaking his head. "So. You've got security experience," he murmurs, glancing back at Selina with a nod in understanding. Since she seems to have a sense of cooth, he directs the conversation at her for now, or so it'd seem. "What about your brother? Any formal training as a pilot?" he asks curiously, again eyeing the man briefly. "The redhead behind me is Vanessa, my XO," he finally offers in the way of introductions. "The bookish one is Chloe, a Surgeon that travels with us. I'm Edison Trent, the boat's Captain. Who're y'all?" <English>
Vanessa takes a moment to look over the pair of guests near to the ship, and she raises an eyebrow slightly. There's something about the look the young man gives the young woman that seems to indicate 'sibling'. Yet that notion is set aside for the time being. At the mention of the woman having served as security before, Vanessa turns her attention to her, considering her for a longer moment. Her attention shifts to Chloe, and she chuckles softly. "There's time enough for making tea in a little while, no need to rush about it," she says softly, her blue eyes showing a bit of amusement in them. Then her attention turns back to the woman. "And do you know how to make the shot even when another target in the firefight has their head explode into brain matter, blood, and skull shards?" she asks, tilting her head slightly to one side. An unfair question, perhaps, but she's justified in asking it. Then she looks to Trent, studying him, and she gives a small nod. "Mmm... professional could be good," she muses in a quiet tone. Then she elbows him in the ribs. "Stop teaching them your bad habits," she states. As she's introduced, she inclines her head slightly towards them, a bit of a smile coming to her features. <English>
Levi grins a bit, despite being called out for trying to run a con. "A... Short-con? Is that a sort of tech set up?" he asks without hesitation, sounding so unconvincing, it's pretty obvious he's not even trying. Then, suddenly, the conversation is between Trent and Selina and his smile takes on a somewhat fixed quality. While they speak, he allows his gaze to turn from the Captain and the crew to the ship itself. The compliment was, very obviously, just a ploy, but on second glance, it seems as if the young man is taking a liking. In particular, he pays special attention to the engines and to the outer plating, looking for rust or holes. Some form of disrepair.
By the time he's done inspecting the surface details, his cocksure attitude has faded a bit and he looks straight back at Trent. "The good pilots don't learn in a classroom, they learn in the cockpit," comes his answer while his stance shifts faintly, "Give me a bucket with a rocket strapped to the back and I can outrun alliance fighters. You put me on the bridge of her?" Her being the ship, obviously, "And no one you don't like will catch up to you again." Yeah, that paranoid greeting didn't go unnoticed by Levi, just as Trent's assessment was pretty much on the mark as well. <English>
Chloe loosk to Trent and tilts her head, "You know direct eye contact would be a more effective method for establishing dominance, captain. All primates and most mamals respond with submission unless they challenge the alpha." She looks to the pilot then Captain, "Do you have a written exam for him or shall I write one?" Chloe, ever so helpful. <English>
"If another target in the fight just had his head explode, that's one less shot I need to make and I owe somebody a drink after I finish doing my job," Selina answers Vanessa easily, though the dark-skinned woman's eyes remain on the redhead for a moment, rather obviously sizing the older woman up, "Life's hard and it's usually messy. Run around shooting rifles and shotguns at folks, you see some unpleasant shit, yeah?" Glancing aside to Trent and her brother, Sel snorts at the exchange between them about cons. "Like he said, he's got time in the cockpit. Actual experience, not 'theoretical, I read a book about it' experience." Chloe's suggestion earns a dry laugh from the woman as she shifts her stance, idly leaning her weight on one foot as she answers Trent's query, "I'm Selina Ryder. And this is my little brother, Levi Ryder. Nice to meet you folks."
<English>
"That's a fantastic idea, Chloe," Trent murmurs, eyeing her pointedly after her running commentary. "Why don't you write the exam. You're well versed in piloting, right?" he muses. As far as dominance and submission goes, he starts to open his mouth to comment, but stops himself, deciding to be nice infront of new people. Instead, he just smirks wryly, shaking his head. "Ha ha ha, you're fucking hilarious, Sigmund," he offers, calling her by a name he knows she hates, for the first time in ages. He laughs after, eyeing Vanessa with a brilliant grin. "Yeah, last time someone's head exploded, our last pilot ended up so disturbed and distracted, he sort've shot Vanessa," he explains, even as he again hooks his thumbs into his gunbelt. Dropping to an entirely straight face, his voice deadpan, he offers, "Notice we're hiring a new pilot. They'll never find that body." Only once he's ribbed by the redheads elbow does Trent wince, lifting a hand to rub his side, "What?! If the man's gonna try to con me, he can at the very least be good at it. Why shouldn't I teach him what I know best," he complains, despite the playful tone he uses. Still, he /is/ calling levi out on his bullshit. Can't bullshit a bullshitter. "I'm forced to admit, I learned the same way. But... I'd still want to observe your skills for a while before I just turn my ship over to you," he murmurs pointedly. "You'll just have to accept and live with that." Again, he focused on Selina with a smart nod after she introduces herself, leaving the concersation about exploding heads and general badassery between her and the badass redhead. "Well met, Selina. AS for pay, /if/ we decide to take you two on, the pay starts at fifty cred a week. There's no negotiation," he explains. "We feed you, we shelter you, we equip you with everything you need and possibly even want. As such, we think fifty is perfectly fair. Dohn Ma?" (Understood?) <English>
Vanessa raises an eyebrow slightly at the young man's words, and she faintly shakes her head, not buying it for an instant. She follows his gaze to the engines, to the outer plating, nad then she chuckle ssoftly before giving another slight shake of her head. "If you're looking for her being a worn out rust bucket of a ship, you won't find it," she comments, her blue eyes showing a sparkle to them. "And even if she was, you wouldn't find it as long as I maintain her," she adds, inclining her head towards him. She shifts her weight slightly, and a smile touches at the corners of her lips. "I wouldn't mind the challenge," she comments, considering them each in turn. Her gaze lingers on the woman, and she tilts her head a little to one side. "Mmm. We'll see if that's the case when it happens in a firefight then, won't we?" she poses, giving a small nod. "Especially if said brain matter, blood, and skull shards end up splattered over you in the process," she adds. It wasn't pleasant in the slightest. Her blue gaze turns to Trent, and she raises an eyebrow slightly. "Because you know other things better," she points out in a logical tone of voice. Then she looks back to the two 'applicants'. "Food isn't the processed stuff you might expect on ships. We have good contacts, which means good food. Fresh food. For the most part, unless I'm having an epically bad day, it's home-cooked and hearty fare. If there's allergies, it's better to let me know up front than to end up laying half dead on the deck because you couldn't be bothered to own up to them," she adds, a thoughtful note to her voice. <English>
Levi finally focuses his attention on someone other then the captain, settling his gaze on Vanessa with a small smirk. "I've heard that plenty of times only to find cracked plating under a fresh coat of paint and a nearly fried compression coil lodged in the life support," he remarks, though he offers a faint shrugs, "If you're willing to let me take a look, though, I'll be happy to admit my worrying was pointless." All the junk about equipment is nice, but it hardly seals the deal for Levi. Selina might be a different story though. No, it's when Vanessa gets to the food that he shoots a quick look back at his Sister, then back to Vanessa. "No shellfish and I promise not to asphyxiate on your table." <English>
Chloe oh's and smiles, "How rude of me! Lovely to meet you Ms. Ryder. Mr. Ryder. I am Dr. Chloe Jameson. Lovely to meet new prospective talent." She looks to Trent, "I have read the exam the alliance requires and I have eidetic memory. I could flawlessly pass the test, but perhaps I would not make a very good pilot." She tilts her head, "Being forcefully intubated is unpleasant. Do you have an epipen?" <English>
"I'm fine, as long as you actually mean 'good food'. --Coincidentally, you, uh, don't have any cats or dogs on board, do you?" Selina chimes in after Levi, answering Vanessa as well. And refraining from responding to the continued brain matter splatter discussion. When Trent focuses on her and starts in about pay, the dark-skinned woman nods to him, cracking a brief smile, flashing her teeth at him, "Sounds plenty fair to me, especially if you actually mean to keep up your end of all that. Understood loud and clear." When her brother starts in on wanting to check the ship out, Sel rolls a shoulder in a shrug and remarks idly, "He's like a kid still sometimes. Don't mind him, he just wants an excuse to take a closer look at how everything works. And if we're gonna be on the crew, that's a good thing, ain't it?" Pausing there, she looks back to Vanessa and wonders, "Does that good food come with booze, or does that come separately?" <English>
Temporarily ignoring /everything/ else being said around him, Trent noticeably distances himself from Levi, his grin tell-tale. He certainly wouldn't want to be that poor soul, currently. He knows: He's been in that situation before. Only once he's reached the minimum safe zone does the young Captain laugh at Selina's last question, his head shaking. "She asks if there's booze involved, of the woman who stashed away no less than twelve almost full bottles of irish whiskey," he muses, truly finding that to be quite amusing. "Oh, you might find a little bit of booze around," he offers with a brilliant, toothy smile. "We're like Baptists, see. Wherever there are four of us, there's BOUND to be a fith. Usually of whiskey. Though, I'm a scotch man, myself." <English>
Amaranth walks casually through the dock, taking her time and admiring the ships docked. Her short height would normally suggest she'd be overlooked but the giant curly frizzball she calls hair on top of her head usually captures attention. That and her chosen outfit of a ankle-length cowgirl skirt, pink floral button up shirt, and an olive pair of what those in the 21st century had called Uggs. Despite being a grown woman, she walks along with a slight skip to her step, clearly in a very good mood. As she nears the Thunderbird, she pauses and looks up to it, letting loose a whistle as she admires it from a distance. <English>
Vanessa tilts her head to one side, her blue gaze rivetted upon the young man after what he's said. A smile, a cold one, touches at the corners of her lips, and those who are familiar with her temper would perhaps recognize it. Combined with the icy look that comes to her eyes, and the positioning of her left hand against her waist, it's a clear indication that her temper has been 'disturbed' from its rest. "Let me make something entirely crystal clear for you," she begins, pausing to gesture back to the ship with her right hand. "This ship has no cracked plating, no nearly fried or otherwise damaged parts. ~Anywhere~. From one end of the ship to the other. I take care of all of the repairs on this ship, and I do them ~well~. I'll be damned if I'm going to let you grub your fingers through ~my~ work looking for flaws in it, when there are none. I've been working on ships since before you were even born, and if you even dare to imply that my work isn't up to snuff again, I will personally kick your ass from here to kingdom bloody come," she states, her tone cold. "Are we clear?" she asks. Then she takes a step back, rolling her right shoulder before she turns her attention towards Selina, and she shakes her head. "No cats or dogs or other animals. And I do mean 'good food' -- the finest meats and produce and such that money can buy," she explains. Why must people find it necessary to doubt what her words mean? Then booze is mentioned, and she gives a small nod. "There's booze on board," she adds. Her blue eyes narrow then as her attention turns to Trent, and she snorts softly. "They're still my stash," she comments. Then she turns to walk halfway up the ramp of the ship, pausing to looking back over her shoulder to Trent. "Hire them," she states. Then she heads the rest of the way onto the ship. <English>
Levi raises one eyebrow at Vanessa as she goes off on him. It's not a conscious decision, but he takes a step back all the same, glancing from her to the surprisingly far off Trent, then back to her. "Uh..." he starts, about to mention something about safety and... well it all seems less important, now. Instead, he simply nods silently and scratches the back of his head while glancing to Selina and shrugging helplessly.
Well at least they got the job. Let's just hope they can keep it! <English>
Chloe looks at Vanessa and even if no one else is suitably cowed Chloe is. She swallows and smiles tightly, "Yes, lovely to meet you both, welcome aboard. Please excuse me." <English>
Selina folds her arms across her chest as Vanessa starts in on Levi, apparently the protective big sister gig doesn't extend to relatively harmless tongue-lashing, particularly not when there's what seems to be a good job in the mix. There's even a faintly amused curve to one side of the dark-skinned woman's mouth. --And then its her turn for answer from the redhead, and Sel inclines her head in a nod, "Nothing against you, ma'am. Just, a lot of shit in the 'Verse ain't what it claims to be. At least not in my experience. But, thank you." When the woman tells Trent to hire them a few seconds later, Selina repeats herself, adding another, "Thanks," towards the older woman. Looking aside to Trent, Selina flashes a quick grin, "So, is that that, then?" Glancing at Levi, she reaches an arm to hook around him.
With a nod, Trent can't help but smile, "That's it," he confirms with a chuckle, before waving generally towards the boat. "Go ahead and get on board. If you've got any gear to go pick up, get it done. We'll likely be shipping out late tonight," he informs them both. "Bunks three and four are currently open and available. Fight between yourselves to see which of you gets which," he suggests, perhaps wanting to see a sibling rivalry. "Dinner should be soon, so I hope you're both hungry." With that, he dismisses everyone, pausing to watch Vanessa head up the ramp with a sly grin. At the least for once, he wasn't on the recieving end of that... <English>
