(2530-06-23) The New Kid
Summary: Abigail gets to grumble when Raven gives her another new kid
RL Date: 23 June 2530
Related: None
abigail raven timur 

Galley, Seraphim

A long hallway with doors on either side leads to the galley at the aft end of the ship. The far wall is slightly rounded and has several high narrow windows that let in natural light or offer a great view of space. There are some couches and armchairs by the windows as a place to chill. A small kitchen lines one side, while the other consists of storage space. There are some shelves holding books, board games and similar to pass the time. The room is dominated by a single large table lined with an assortment of non-matching chairs. If there's anything odd about the room, it's the few dozen fridge magnets covering every magnetic surface.


The Seraphim has returned from a job at the far end of the Kalidasa system, replacing a main thruster. As is their wont after a longer trip, everyone is allowed some time off ship afterwards to catch up with friends and family. The captain herself spent some days on Ariel with her family and is only just returning apparently. She can be seen hauling two bags of groceries towards the open cargo bay of the Seraphim, where a bulky guy is keeping guard.

A little ways away from the bulky guard, a young man stands with a duffle hanging in front of him in his hands with a tablet that he glances down to check whenever a new person walks in the vicinity of the Seraphim. When he glances down after spotting Raven, he straightens and puts his tablet away in a front pocket of the duffle, exchanging it for a sheet of paper. He walks towards Raven, in a course to match pace rather than stop someone carrying armloads of groceries. "Ma', uh, Captain?" he almost stutters to correct himself in addressing her, one eye wary on the guard.

It's not the first time people are waiting for her outside the ship, so Raven slows to give him a good look. Does he look like someone who might demand money? Like he's a Fed wanting to sniff around her ship? No? Good. She comes to a halt in front of him and even offers him a smile. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, yes, I believe so," he replies. He looks at her full hands and the paper he was about to hand over. Instead of trying to thrust it into her hands, he holds it straight up; not for her to read, but for her to see that he has it as he explains, "Name's Varghes, Captain." He clears his throat, while his speech may fidget and halt, his body language doesn't shuffle or hitch. "Been reassigned by, uh, HQ to the Seraphim?" He pauses. "'m a mechanic, Captain."

"Uh, really?" Raven tries to get a look at the paper that has the URSS logo and everything and smiles. "In that case, why don't you come up with me and we'll have a chat?" She points her chin towards the Seraphim and starts walking, quite expecting him to follow her through the massive cargo bay to the galley, where she can stow her groceries and get the coffee machine going.

He nods once. "Really," he replies, quite sincerely. He puts the paper back in the pocket of his duffle, and then holds an arm out. "Uh, can I -" he offers to help with her burden now that he's been given informal permission to board. He glances at the bulky man, ever so imperceptibly edging away from him as he follows.

"It's no bother.", Raven assures him, being quite used to drag her own shopping around, "If you could just.." And a particularly bulky container of orange juice is thrust into the young man's arms. This way they arrive at the galley, Raven with two shopping bags she drops onto the counter to start clearing items away.

In the galley, there is an Abigail. She's sitting at one end of the table. On the table is a big cloth, and on the cloth is a collection of weapons. Two small knives, one big one, and a couple of pistols, to be precise. She has a cleaning rag and some containers of oil and grease, too. She looks up at people enter. "Wei, Cap'n," she greets.

The orange juice is taken easily, and then set on the table next to the rest of the groceries. Timur's eyes go over Abigail and her layout on the table as he removes the transfer paper once more, and sets it next to the groceries. With that done, he steps back out of the way, both hands going to the duffle straps that he lets hang in front of him while he waits for the Captain to address him when she's ready. After looking over Abigail, his eyes continue to rove over the galley, taking their time with all the details, while the rest of him remains absolutely still.

Raven groans a bit when she sees Abi and her arsenal. "I've told you before, not on the table we eat off!", she grumbles, "I don't want your oil in my spaghetti!" Then she catches herself and rustles up another smile. "This is Abigail King, one of our security hands. You know my name, I suppose? Raven Duvall, captain of the Seraphim. So tell me more about who you are, what's brought you here and how do you like your coffee?"

"I put a mat down!" Abigail says, defensively. "I'm as neat as anythin'. You catch anythin' on this table after I'm done, and I'll scrub it 'til it's shinin'." It's done in a casual way, as if this is an argument they've had before. It probably is. She picks up one of her knives, and runs a sharpening stone along the blade. "Cap. Don't tell me we're takin' on another one've them."

"Timur Varghes," the young man replies, giving Raven his full name, now. "Um… I get called Tim, mostly." He pauses, and while most people would fill that pause with a scratch or some other nervous tic, he just stands there, and looks at the knife being sharpened. "Been mechanic for few years. Know little about electronics. Too." Pause. "Don't wanna cross wires." Pause, then he looks towards Raven. "I, uh, don't drink coffee."

Raven arches one brow at Abigail. "Another one of what? Crew members? Men? Human beings?", she wonders, "Neither is a reason to sharpen your knife just yet." As the full introduction is forthcoming, she smiles at Timur. "Well, pleasure to meet you, Tim. I'll look at your papers in a minute." She is still clearing the shopping away and setting the coffee machine. Until he stumps her. "Umm… tea then? Something else?"

"Kids," Abigail explains to Raven, gesturing with her knife. "I ain't even finished house trainin' the first one yet." She puts the knife down, and nods to Tim, though. "Howdy," she says to him. "You makin' coffee, boss?"

"I know how to use bathrooms," Timur says quite seriously, but without defensiveness. When Raven mentions him not being a reason to sharpen knives, yet, he inches slightly towards the door. Then he looks to her and gives a little half nod. "Tea, sure." Pause. "Please."

"Young people are eager to learn and rather malleable.", Raven tells Abigail in a pretendy school-masterly voice, "You do well to support their learning. They are our future after all." She smiles brightly at Timur and starts the kettle for him. "Coffee for you then, Abi?" She's already filling two mugs. "This not your first gig on board a ship though, is it?", she asks the young man then.

Abigail mutters something about them also being as annoying as shit. Of course, she's a massive hypocrite since she's been teaching Lukas a lot of things, but she's not about to admit it. She puts the knife down. "Please," she says to the offer of coffee.

There's a slight upturn at the corners of Timur's mouth when he's smiled at, but other than that, he continues to look around and stand still with his duffle in his hands. There is a shift of gaze towards Abigail when she grumbles as if looking at her will make her words more legible. "Uh, not my first ship. No." He turns slowly back towards Raven. "Been in Black for…" he thinks. "Two and half years, now."

"You started mighty young then. No school for you?", Raven asks him, while bringing the mugs of coffee to the table. Then she does another trip, this one for Timur's tea and a box of biccies, which she sets down. "Now sit down and let me see your papers!", she tells the young man with a smile.

Abigail pulls her coffee over to herself with a "Thanks, Cap." She also claims herself a biscuit when they appear. She dunks it in her coffee, then takes a bite, her other hand busy with carefully rolling up her mat, the weapons inside.

After Abigail's mat is rolled up and the weapons placed aside, Timur stoops enough to set down his duffle against the wall. Then he steps forward and pulls out the seat to sit down. He pushes his papers towards Raven before he settles in, taking the tea. "Thank you." He places the tea in front of him and sets his hands on the table on either side of it. "No school, Captain. Nousha… took me from streets. I was young. Kept me out of trouble, helping her, and she taught me." He pauses, and looks at his tea, then up to the women. "She knew I wanted off planet, and said mechanic can go anywhere, needed everywhere." Another of his little smiles. "Said without pilot or mechanic, ship is just house. With big engine."

Raven studies the paper thoughtfully. "It's true, mechanics are always useful. Who's Nousha then and where are you from? And why did you leave your last ship?", she adds another question, while looking at the papers to see what information they may contain.

Abigail watches Timur carefully, while she sips her coffee. She's sizing him up, as Raven is talking to him. Seeing if she can get a feel for him, and if his words are the truth. She's not always great at reading people, but she /does/ know a thing or two about recognising if people are pretending to be helpless when they aren't.

"Nousha…" again there's a pause after the woman's name and he looks at his cup. "Caught me, hand in her pocket. Gave me chance to get off world honestly." He decides now is a time to lift his tea for a sip. "Ithaca." The cup is placed carefully again. He doesn't appear helpless, there is no shake or weakness in the calloused hands that show traces of oil in the knuckles. He seems rather the sort that would rather not be noticed, and each sentence seems to cost some effort. "Not found what I'm looking for. Everything goes through Persephone. Seraphim's based on Persephone."

"It is. Though we're not here very often or for a long time. We supply space stations and planets on the Rim still being terra-formed, so there are some long journeys involved. But you know that, since you worked for the company before." It's a statement, not a question. "Is there anything you'd like to ask Abigail or me about the ship? Anything else we should know about you?"

Abigail is still quiet. She doesn't feel the need to interject, or to have to speak. There's a stillness to her, a sort of patience that those who sometimes spend a lot of time waiting (or guarding) can develop. She's content to sip her coffee, claim a second biscuit, and let the others do the talking.

Timur claims nothing other than the tea he was given. He nods once when Raven says he knows how the journeys work. "No, thank you, Captain," he replies to the invitation of questions. Another sip of tea is taken. "Oh, uh, where do I bunk?" Important question.

Raven gives Timur a look. "If there's anything we should know, you better come up with it straightaway, because the truth will always out.", she warns him, though her tone is light and friendly. At the question she turns to Abigail: "Why don't you give him a tour of the ship?", she suggests, "You can get to know each other. Cabin 07 is available, he can bunk there." Back to Timur: "The cabins are very small, but at least you have privacy in one to yourself, including a cortex screen, a toilet and a wash basin. You will keep them clean yourself. I am not above inspections."

"Yeah, fine," Abi says. She isn't in a hurry to stand, though. She's studying Timur with a faint frown. Something is bugging her about him, but she can't figure out what it is.

"No, ma'am," Timur answers seriously, looking down at his tea again. He glances up, and his eyes widen a bit at the idea that Abigail will be showing him to his room. But he doesn't object, instead he manages to say, "seven's good number." Pause. "Thank you."

<OOC> Timur says, "I can see the tour. Neither one of them speaks as they walk. She points each thing out. He nods. He scuttles into his bunk as she gets him there."
<OOC> Abigail says, "Perfection."

Ah, these two will get along fine. Raven tends to think positive. Most of the time. She'll let them both go and take care of the rest of her shopping and that secret stash of candy in her cabin.

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