Who: PEOPLE (specific starters and OTA) When: Oct 15th-20th Where: The Patrick Moira What: A big bad catch-all for pre-event and beyond Warnings: Update if needed
[Ratchet falls silent. Somehow, getting ready to help destroy the Earth didn't feel like an ideal answer. Even if it wasn't her Earth. He really didn't feel like explaining to anyone what it took to put their world on the chopping block.]
Part of another crew. Similar to this one...just...different. [He laughs humorlessly.] Do you believe this isn't the first crew I've been inter-dimensionally recruited to?
[Maybe someday, sitting in front of the fire and playing with her grandbabies, she can think of this as a wacky fun adventure, but as it stands right now she can't see how ending up on a ship like this isn't bad luck.]
[Bad luck. Ratchet was pretty sure that the only that the people on this crew - on any of these crews - had in common was their phenomenally, almost cosmically bad luck. So naturally he answers with sarcasm.]
You kidding? It's great here. It's like that vacation I keep saying I'm going to take, only...really long. And with work.
[She sighed.] I keep promising meself, 'No more adventures, Jacky me girl, just the quiet life for you, running things from one place that's got too much stuff to another that don't have that stuff, living all peaceful-like on the Farm with my Jaimy and all me friends and my dear sweet boy, not getting into anymore trouble, no siree.' And I was so close, too! But I just had to go out for a quick trip out on the bay afore getting hitched, and now. Well.
But! At least this whole mess will be a fun tale to tell someday! And I've gotten to meet such good friends, like you, and Miss DeWitt. So it's not all bad.
Right?
Edited (missed a closing quote mark) 2015-11-03 02:53 (UTC)
[Her optimism is infectious, for all that his tone doesn't sound entirely convinced. Ratchet did like a lot of the people here. But it was hard to use people as an anchor point when it was people he was most worried about disappearing. He'd had friends who'd made things with the CDC not so bad...but for all he knew they were dead now. Or on something other dimensionally-displaced crew. Or worse: still with the CDC.
He sighs, shrugging although she can't see it.]
Well, here's to hoping this trip's a short one, and we all end up back home at the end.
[Sighing, her face fell, fogging the glass that looked out onto that strange and lonesome sight of the heavens moving around them.] God, I will drink to that.
As long as it's not on the job, you'll hear no complaints from me.
[A sharp beeping from the navigation console pulls Ratchet's attention back to their original conversation. This time is was just an alert informing them of the nearby asteroid as their newly plotted course took them past it. Of course "near" was in relative space terms because realistically the asteroid was probably miles to their starboard.]
Congratulations, Miss Jacky Faber...you have successfully aided in your first intergalactic obstacle avoidance. Should be smooth flying for awhile, according to the instruments.
the number of times i spelled it 'leftenant', you don't even know
So, tell me Mister Ratchet, does the Navy still exist? In my time, I served in the Royal Navy of His Majesty George the Third; reached Lieutenant, even though I was a girl. [And even though Scroggs only promoted her to rid himself of frat rules in his odious desire to bed her; she earned her commission, and she'd fight any man who implied she hadn't!]
Have you served, Mister Ratchet? [Not that serving is the only way to be a competent sailor, but Jacky's found that naval men do, in the end, perform better than their civilian counterparts. And Ratchet is good; she might not know this tech, but she knows a competent sailor when she sees one. Or, rather, hears one, as the case may be.]
The ‘navy’? [He says the word uncertainly, like he doesn’t know what she’s referring to. Because he doesn’t. In fact most of what she’d said doesn’t make any sense; although he does recognize lieutenant, and is instantly impressed. It’s a pretty high rank for someone who at least sounded very young.] I don’t know. We don’t have anything by that name where I’m from...military, I’m guessing?
[He takes a moment to close out the navigation map, dimming the monitor, while he considers her question.]
Now and again, I guess. I work for my galaxy’s defense force, which is....kind of like military. I’m no Lieutenant though. [Ratchet preferred to leave the high rankings to people like Talwyn. Too much public speaking. Way too much paperwork.]
That is almost exactly like what I mean! Excepting in my time, we sailed the waters around our countries, or out in the free oceans, protecting our lands from opposing navies, or merchants from pirates. [Or robbing other country's merchant ships--for the good of King and Country, of course.] It was tough work, but I was good at it.
[She smiled, that old sin of pride fluffing her metaphorical feathers as she shifted her stance.] In any case, Mister Ratchet, I've known a great many men who might've been only rated Able who were more capable than many Captains I've known or in one case had the misfortune to serve under. A good mate of mine, Joseph Jared, he made his way all the way up to Captain during our acquaintance! Granted, there was a war on at the time...
[Ratchet cant help but smile at the parallels. The ships might be different, and the obstacles different, but he could recognize the similiarities...if not in the literal sense, then in the way she talked about it.]
Now that I'll drink to. Maybe our times aren't so different, after all, Jacky.
[And Ratchet definitely knew and thing or two about incapable Captains.]
Would you know it, I think that's the most reassuring thing I've heard since waking up here? For that alone, I feel like the first round should be on me!
Ah, god's teeth, don't remind me! I've some coinage, but like. Is a gold dollar still worth a dollar? Is gold worth anything? I tell ya, it drives the merchant in me mad!
Well, even if your money's useless here, it might be worth something off the ship...one of the trading outposts, something like that. Gold isn't exactly a hot commodity in most places though...don't suppose you have anything made out of palladium or platinum? Those would get you a lot further.
[Although who knew? Maybe they'd find themselves on a planet where gold was a rarity, and palladium common as dirt. The universe was a big place.]
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Part of another crew. Similar to this one...just...different. [He laughs humorlessly.] Do you believe this isn't the first crew I've been inter-dimensionally recruited to?
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[Maybe someday, sitting in front of the fire and playing with her grandbabies, she can think of this as a wacky fun adventure, but as it stands right now she can't see how ending up on a ship like this isn't bad luck.]
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You kidding? It's great here. It's like that vacation I keep saying I'm going to take, only...really long. And with work.
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Aye, and I know how that feels!
[She sighed.] I keep promising meself, 'No more adventures, Jacky me girl, just the quiet life for you, running things from one place that's got too much stuff to another that don't have that stuff, living all peaceful-like on the Farm with my Jaimy and all me friends and my dear sweet boy, not getting into anymore trouble, no siree.' And I was so close, too! But I just had to go out for a quick trip out on the bay afore getting hitched, and now. Well.
But! At least this whole mess will be a fun tale to tell someday! And I've gotten to meet such good friends, like you, and Miss DeWitt. So it's not all bad.
Right?
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[Her optimism is infectious, for all that his tone doesn't sound entirely convinced. Ratchet did like a lot of the people here. But it was hard to use people as an anchor point when it was people he was most worried about disappearing. He'd had friends who'd made things with the CDC not so bad...but for all he knew they were dead now. Or on something other dimensionally-displaced crew. Or worse: still with the CDC.
He sighs, shrugging although she can't see it.]
Well, here's to hoping this trip's a short one, and we all end up back home at the end.
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Hah, I'll drink to that!
[Sighing, her face fell, fogging the glass that looked out onto that strange and lonesome sight of the heavens moving around them.] God, I will drink to that.
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As long as it's not on the job, you'll hear no complaints from me.
[A sharp beeping from the navigation console pulls Ratchet's attention back to their original conversation. This time is was just an alert informing them of the nearby asteroid as their newly plotted course took them past it. Of course "near" was in relative space terms because realistically the asteroid was probably miles to their starboard.]
Congratulations, Miss Jacky Faber...you have successfully aided in your first intergalactic obstacle avoidance. Should be smooth flying for awhile, according to the instruments.
the number of times i spelled it 'leftenant', you don't even know
So, tell me Mister Ratchet, does the Navy still exist? In my time, I served in the Royal Navy of His Majesty George the Third; reached Lieutenant, even though I was a girl. [And even though Scroggs only promoted her to rid himself of frat rules in his odious desire to bed her; she earned her commission, and she'd fight any man who implied she hadn't!]
Have you served, Mister Ratchet? [Not that serving is the only way to be a competent sailor, but Jacky's found that naval men do, in the end, perform better than their civilian counterparts. And Ratchet is good; she might not know this tech, but she knows a competent sailor when she sees one. Or, rather, hears one, as the case may be.]
i can imagine, though
[He takes a moment to close out the navigation map, dimming the monitor, while he considers her question.]
Now and again, I guess. I work for my galaxy’s defense force, which is....kind of like military. I’m no Lieutenant though. [Ratchet preferred to leave the high rankings to people like Talwyn. Too much public speaking. Way too much paperwork.]
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[She smiled, that old sin of pride fluffing her metaphorical feathers as she shifted her stance.] In any case, Mister Ratchet, I've known a great many men who might've been only rated Able who were more capable than many Captains I've known or in one case had the misfortune to serve under. A good mate of mine, Joseph Jared, he made his way all the way up to Captain during our acquaintance! Granted, there was a war on at the time...
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Now that I'll drink to. Maybe our times aren't so different, after all, Jacky.
[And Ratchet definitely knew and thing or two about incapable Captains.]
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Don't think I won't take you up on that...even if I'm still not really sure what the currency on this ship is.
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Well, even if your money's useless here, it might be worth something off the ship...one of the trading outposts, something like that. Gold isn't exactly a hot commodity in most places though...don't suppose you have anything made out of palladium or platinum? Those would get you a lot further.
[Although who knew? Maybe they'd find themselves on a planet where gold was a rarity, and palladium common as dirt. The universe was a big place.]
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But, yanno, just give me an audience and my fiddle, and I'm sure I can scrape together enough for a treat!