| Handcuffs and Callsigns, Oh My! |
| Summary: | Petroski, Coll and Ethan have a light conversation about different topics. |
| Date: | 20 May 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
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| Galley |
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| Behind the two hangar decks, the Cerberus' Galley is the largest room on the ship. Nearly half the size of a football field, the eating area is made up of long lines of stainless steel tables that can be folded up and placed against the wall for larger events. Individual seats are the standard military issue, boring and grey with lowest-bidder padding. The line for food stretches across one of the shorter sides of the room while the kitchen behind works nearly twenty-four hours a day to produce either full meals or overnight snacks and coffee for the late shifts. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #83 |
Its that time of day right before dinner when only a few people bother trying to grab something from the Galley. Most people prefer to wait for the actual dinner. Someone Ethan might recognize, a Specialist from the Deck Gang, is sprawled back in a chair with a half-eaten sandwich in front of her. There's an apple in her hand and she takes idle bites out of it while staring off into the Great Beyond. Her hair is matted from wearing those danged helmets for eight hours while her orange jumpsuit is unzipped down the front with the arms tied around her midsection to hold it up.
After fully recovering from the back pain he was suffering after the 'harsh' landing, Ethan is wandering around the Battlestar. His feet led him to the Galley and now the guy is standing at the entrance, looking around as if scanning the room. There's quite a number of people gathered around the area, nobody that he would go directly to talk to, at least he hasn't spotted anyone yet. He moves forward, hands in his pockets, dog tags dangling over his chest. One person that he now spots, is Coll and he does find her face familiar, perhaps she was one of the Deck crew shaking his head with a 'WTF' expression after he landed his Raptor in such an abrupt fashion? That could be it, yes. He also catches a glimpse of the Tattoo that she carries and that makes his walk towards her "Hey there…" says the man, offering a nod after that.
Coll looks up as her approaches, taking another chunk out of the apple. She nods, chewing, at his greeting. The woman sits up a little straighter. "Evenin, Ensign. What's news, sir?" Her voice takes a lazy drawl without hitting the annoying twang that can sometimes accompany an accent like hers.
"Not much, not much, just walking around a little after getting rid of the light back pain" offers the young man with a soft smile. "How about you, Specialist?" He remains standing for a moment but since there's an empty spot where the woman is, he just goes ahead and asks "Mind if I sit? I'm Fresh, by the way" Yeah it kinda sounds strange if you don't specify that it's a Callsign but his uniform has that written so it's alright.
"Yeah I bet. By the stress on the skids, looks like you probably hit five or six instanteous G's when you slammed that thing down." Coll takes another bite of the apple and gestures to the seat across from her. "Name's Coll." She talks around the chunk of apple before swallowing it. "Just being lazy. Trying to figure out how to kill the rest of my night. Thinkin' about going down and overhauling one of the Raptor rigs. Every girl needs a hobby, right?" She shrugs. "Got anything on tap, sir?"
Ethan rubs the back of his head with one hand and shows a bit of an ashamed smile, after all, he wasn't expecting to land like that. He takes a seat and nods "Coll, nice meeting you" offers the Ensign along with a smile. He takes a deep breath and presses his lips together before answering "I guess we are pretty much in the same situation, trying to see what to do, that's another reason I've been walking around." He taps a little on the table with his fingers and adds "Can't say I do. But hey…if you are up to something, want some company?"
"Same. Seen ya around the Deck checkin out the Raptors for some hops. Don't sweat the landing, though. Everyone has rough ones. Part of growin' into the Raptor. Its a lot of metal." She takes another bite of the apple and sets it aside on her tray. Coll shakes her head to the question. "The big wigs don't like the pilots crawling around the ships unless its part of projects. One of the birds needs to get the ECO panel ripped apart anyway. Been having some problems with the weapons controls coming up slowly." She shrugs. "How do you like flying so far?"
The Ensign listens to her first comments and nods "Ah, yes." he goes silent for one or two seconds and continues. "When I got out of sickbay, I needed to see if my Raptor was still functional." he swallows and explains "I was part of the 'Green Gulls', and, during Warday, my entire Squadron got wiped out. My Raptor suffered heavy damage, the ECO with me died after an explosion. They found the bird and dragged inside the Cerberus, and found me there…spent around 50 days, 'out'." He now looks at the tattoo she carries and asks "I've been thinking to get one of those, with the 'Green Gulls' logo, I figure it's one of many good ways to remember them." He nods a smiles again "You guys were able to fix the Raptor I was piloting, thank you for that." Now, he clears his throat and says "I love flying, I've always wanted to be a pilot. My father worked on the construction of this Battlestar, down there in Leonis, so I always wandered around."
"Helluva way to spend Warday and the next two months. I was at Picon Anchorage. Alarms went up and rumors started flying around the hangar deck. When we started hearing about the hits on the station, it was every man for himself. Managed to get on the Cerb. Barely." Coll then glances to the tattoo on her arm and smiles easily. She rubs at it with the other hand. "My old squadron on the Battlestar Mars. Got this a few years ago. Serves as a nice reminder, yeah." She hmms at the last, looking fondly back to her tray with a memory. "Fixing the ships is part of the job. No thanks needed. Just keep the Cylons off us. Deal?"
Ethan nods once again "Yes, after I woke up, I heard all the comments and everything that happened, it was, overwhelming to say the least." He smiles at the woman and says "I'm glad you managed to reach the Cerberus" He runs his hand on the spot that he would like to have the tattoo and then looks at Coll again "Keeping the Cylons away, yes, that sounds like a very good deal" The man smiles a bit more now and finally asks "VAQ-129, that's a Raptor Squadron, right? Pilot or ECO?"
"Yeah. Overwhelming is a bit of an understatement. I wasn't allowed to work until my clearances were established by the Marines. Sitting around with nothing to do in the days right after?" Coll shakes her head. "I think it was probably better to sleep it off." She picks up the sandwich in front of her but doesn't eat just yet. "Yep. Attack squadron. We specialized in large-scale engagements in space. Got some experience in close air support but most of our stick time was practicing in support of fleet engagements. I was an ECO, though, sir. I never had the feel for flying. I'm more technically oriented. I can't even drive a car." A soft chuckle leaves her with the last.
"…and so I had to tell her, 'Honey, I get that you have dreams of being frakked while standing at center stage while visiting the Caprica City Opera House but I don't think I could do it'. That silly girl didn't understand that performance anxiety can happen during sex while in public places…" Petroski's voice rings as he enters the galley, his story gaining quite a laugh from his Marine escort, a burly young Tauron. "Anyhow, I'm starved so I'm going to get some food and then we can go hunt down your CO. See if I can't get myself signed up, hmmm?" The Marine nods and takes up post by the hatch, leaving Daniel to his own devices for as long as it takes him to get and finish dinner.
Ethan smiles after she chuckles, and her last comment brought some memories "I remember I crashed my dad's car once…he was really pissed, I can tell you" he chuckles at this memory and then refocuses himself on the conversation "Really? Wow, I didn't know that…but I guess it's understandable, everyone was very jumpy" Now, as for the fact that she was an ECO "Have you ever considering joining another Squadron?" He doesn't really know why she's not an ECO at the moment but he knows the Harriers could certainly use more help. His attention is cut upon hearing Daniel's comment, he lifts his gaze to where he is, but returns almost right away to Coll.
Coll glances up at the voice and smirks. She digs into a pocket and removes a small flask, shaking it between two fingers at the civilian. "Daniel! I have something for you," she sign-songs across the small distance to him before looking back to Ethan. "I tried driving once. It ended badly. My parents didn't have a car, though, so that was part of the problem. But joining another squadron?" Coll shrugs, making a little face. "Eh. Deck needs help. Squadrons need help. I haven't been aircrew in over a year and a half. Dunno. I like flying tons, but I also like the comraderie on the Deck."
"Ah. There you are, doll," Danny greets Coll, smiling at her; showing his 'other side', he's no longer the brooding man she met the other night, instead allowing for his more flamboyant nature to shine through for now. "I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to call out the MPs on you." The flask is taken easily and given a little shake while the man Lauren has been speaking to is given a nod. "Hello. I'm Daniel Petroski. Pleasure meeting you."
Ethan laughs softly "I can imagine the level of problem you got into" he nods and continues "Well, right you are, everyone needs a hand these days and I have noticed that Deck crew are a pretty tight group, that's always good" He looks at the newcomer now and he extends his hands for a shake "Likewise. I'm Ethan Weber, everyone calls me Fresh tho" he shows a soft smile and then eyes the flask "Wow, it's been a while since I've seen one of those"
She quirks a brow at the 'doll' and laughs a bit. "Uh huh. Sure thing, Mister D. But you wanted it back after a short lending. Delivered as promised." There's a prim nod to her head before she looks back to Ethan. "Heh. Yeah. Everyone does things they aren't proud of. Sometimes they get you in a lot of trouble. I might reapply for air crew down the line but for now I'm just enjoying the Deck team."
"Fresh? Dare I ask?" Danny can't help but to quirk a bit more of a smile at that as well as at being called 'Mister D.' by Coll, that earning her a slight tussle of her hair if she doesn't move or stop him. "I did say that, yes. But you could have kept it for a bit longer." Speaking of the flask, it's cap is unscrewed and put into a pocket but instead of drinking from it he offers it to the others, polite to the end.
"Well…" starts Ethan "I used the word to describe someone's look…per se" he shrugs at that and then chuckles at the idea, shaking his head after that. He shakes his head again and offers "Can't, I'm on standby…but thanks for the offer" He looks at Coll and smiles amusedly "Oh, don't we all. I have a couple in my list" he laughs at this as he remembers some events that occurred during his time with the 'Green Gulls'. As for the first part? Lesson learned, never say someone looks 'Fresh' it might be taken in a bad way.
Coll just crushes her eyes shut with the hair tussel but she doesn't move from her mild slouch in the chair. She's too busy relaxing after a long shift to care. She glances at him with the offer but shakes her head. "Nah, thanks. Probably going to head back to the Deck in awhile. Knock out some work and get a head start on tomorrow. Got plans for the night? Like bangin' more women on the stage of an opera house?" She quirks a brow at Petroski then looks to Ethan. "If you're air crew its pretty much required that you do something embarassing at least once a year. I once signed-up on those singles message boards where you meet people anonymously? Squadron found out." She shakes her head. "Frakkers sent me to meet up with a transvestite hooker. Turns out the whole damned thing was orchestrated by my CAG." She clenches a fist and shakes it a little, smiling. "Bastards." The sammich finally gets a bite.
The cap is replaced and the flask pocketed it, that gaining a nod from Petroski's escort who seems to be keeping an especially close eye on his charge now that he has voiced interest in enlisting. "Was this someone one you were hitting on or was it one of those compliments that came out wrong?" Seems like Daniel's familiar with that. Very much so, in fact. Looking down at Lauren, then, he grins and shakes his head, amused. "I never did that. Couldn't do it. Not in a public place. But if you'd like to sign up for a try, I might be willing to put my stage fright aside for a night." Shaking his head, Danny adds quietly, "No plans outside of trying to get with the Marines' CO."
Ethan shakes his head "No, no flirting really. It was like you said, a compliment that went wrong. You know, when you look younger, you look Fresh…right?" he smiles at this and then shrugs "But, yeah, it went bad." Now his attention moves to Coll and he arches both eyebrows "Really? Wow…" he chuckles softly and shakes his head "That must have been, quite a moment." then the comment on the CAG comes and he finally says "Tell me about it, the CAG was the one I called, Fresh. And she gave me the callsign" He lifts both hands and with an apologetic smile he says "I honestly didn't mean anything 'flirt like' by it"
Lauren sideglances to Petroski and sighs heavily. Dramatically. "You know, hitting a civilian is only punishable by a night an day in the brig?" She kidding, though. Probably. "What're you doing with the Mar- Ohhh yeah. Somethin' about signing up and getting in the shit. Know what you want to do for them, yet?" She then looks to Ethan and chuckles. "Yeah. I was mad as hell. Then there was talk of a new callsign being attached to me so I shut the frak up and learned to laugh about it. But you..called the CAG 'fresh'? Major Hahn?!" She's almost incredulous.
Petroski's more serious side rears its head, his playful demeanor put aside for the sake of conversation. "I'll probably be an MP or something similar that's befitting my utter lack of combat knowledge outside of fencing." A chair's spotted and he sits down, that while casting a slightly sympathetic grimace Ethan-wards. "Shame to hear that, old boy. Perhaps you'll get lucky and you'll get a new nome de plume…er, call sign. That's what those nicknames people are given when they're in the military, yes?"
Ethan smiles at Lauren's reaction and nods "Pretty much, yeah. I was just trying to state that she looked, well, young…and it came out the wrong way." He sighs at that and presses his lips together, finally looking at Daniel. Now, he shakes his head "Nah, I'm fine with this callsign, if I ever do something stupid again, which, I will potentially do since I tend to be like that…perhaps then I'll get a new one, if the guys see it fitting. But for now, Fresh it is." he nods firmly at that, showing a smile once again "Can I ask what that Call Sign was?" asks now Ethan to Lauren. To Daniel "Well, I think it's good that you are looking to join, we need all the help we can get, to be honest"
"Military Police, huh? Well you may get your wish and slip some handcuffs on me someday. I can get a little rowdy when I drink." Something in the way she says the last bit might indicate that Coll is understating it quite a bit. "Yeah. Callsigns. Depending on the wing and the act, you can occasionally get renamed. It usually sticks to aircrew, though." Her focus once more falls back to Ethan and she shakes her head. "Dude. You commented on the CAG's looks. To her. That..I don't even -know- what that is but its dangerous. Lucky you only walked away with a callsign. But the one they wanted to tag on me? 'Boards'. My name was always 'Bud' and preferred to keep it that way. Boards just doesn't seem like something I wanted to explain to people."
"Still shoddy luck but at least it was the CAG and not an Admiral or someone of that high of a rank." Not that Danny's saying it isn't bad to hit on the Major. Just 'not as bad' as it could have been. Leaning close, he openly looks at Lauren then, ogling the deckhand, the look concluded as he draws his gaze back to her eyes a millisecond before he waggles his brows at her. "Really? And here I was thinking you were the type to do the cuffing, not the one who'd wind up in them. Now I know better." Gods, he's just horrible but there's something about how Coll's joking with him that's making his mood yo-yo up and down, bouncing between polite and behaved and down-right naughty.
"Yeah, I know, I can say I'm pretty damn Lucky, but someone already has that callsign" says the Ensign with a smirk. "Boards…" repeats Ethan and presses his lips together, then he says "Bud…" he nods and says "That one has a better ring to it" he shrugs casually and then looks at Daniel "Regardless of who it is I am talking with, sometimes I just end up frakking up…" he shrugs casually at that, he's pretty much used to it. And now, with the interaction between these two, he is starting to feel a bit…well, like he is the third…unneeded leg. "Umm…" starts but then clears his throat. Bah, frak it. "So if you get to be Military Police, you'll walk around with regular handcuffs or the ones covered in fur? You know, to give them an extra touch"
Coll nearly rolls her eyes at Dan as she looks to him. At least she doesn't actually look upset about it. "If I -were- to be the one doing the cuffing, I certainly wouldn't want a guy who thinks he knows how to read me. Because Mister D?" She smiles oh-so-sweetly. "Confident and cocky ain't the same thing. One's hot. The other? Well the whole thing rhymes. Keep that in mind, buster. And another thing to remember" By now, she's grinning. "You've got a college degree. They might just pin you an officer. If that's the case, fraternizin' with enlisted carries a pretty rough punishment." She winks and looks back to Ethan as she takes a bite of her sandwich again. "Yeah, some Viper stick has that callsign. Good-lookin' lady around my age. Maybe a shade younger. Killer tan. Anyhow yeah, Bud does fit better. 'Boards' Coll? Not so much. If I went back to aircrew I don't even know if they'd let me keep it. Probably not."
There's a pause and a visible near double-take on Daniel's part when Coll reacts the way she does, it actually putting a bit of a shock on his face. "I…uh…" Clearing his throat, he unpockets the flask and opens it, that then drank from while he looks over his shoulder. Thankfully the MP who has been accompanying him this evening has been distracted by someone asking him a question, sparing the soon-to-be Marine from a disapproving glare, if not more. "I doubt I'll be an officer," he adds lamely. That's it.
Ethan just listens to Lauren's reply to Daniel and arches both eyebrows for just a brief, brief moment. Wow. He opens his mouth to say something and closes it right after that. There's something in her smile that makes him smile as well, and after he processes all the first comments, he just nods and talks about the other topic at hand "I don't know, I think they would let you keep it. As I understand it, they do respect the fact that you already have one, specially if it was given by another squadron." he shrugs casually at that and smiles "Like I said, it would be awesome to have you on board, but it's more than cool if you want to stay with the Deck Crew, they are a good bunch." He nods firmly to this and now looks at Daniel "You never know man, with the way things are, it is possible you could end up as one." he offers a nod and adds "But hey, best way to find out is to talk with the CO, and see what happens" Now he looks at Lauren again and says "Do you by any chance, know of a Tattoo artist around? Need to get myself one of those. I want the Green Gulls logo, I really do"
Coll looks back to Dan and shakes her head. She offers him a quick stage-whisper: "Confidence. You're doing it wrong." The Specialist winks once more and takes a bite of her sandwich again and sets the remains aside on her plate as she reaches for the apple. "If they make you an officer, they'll push you harder. Count on it. Could be good for you, though. Never know." She's back to conversational tones and easy smiles. To Ethan, Lauren shrugs again. "Like I said, I enjoy my time down on the Deck. I get to play with things that go boom and still crawl around my old flame. Im not in any hurry to put my El-tee pins back on. As for a tat artist?" A quick shake of her head. "Sorry, sir. Might ask the ship's barber. Everyone's gotta visit him at some point or another. He'd probably have a good idea of who to talk to."
"I am just fine," Daniel drawls out to Coll, sounding very much like a brother who's talking to a younger sibling who has managed to somehow annoy them endlessly. "Well, yes. I think this conversation has done well to embarrass the frak out of me so…" Making a show out of stretching his arms over his head, Danny groans deeply, trying to make it seem like he's attempting to get a knot out of his back. Whether this is successful or not is up for debate, however, as he's not a very good actor. "Think it's time for me to get out of here and look for the one I need to speak with. I shall see you both again soon, I'm sure."
Ethan listens to Daniel and nods "Very well." he extends his hand for a friendly shake "It seems like it, the ship is getting smaller and smaller every day" An easy smile is shown to the man, followed by a nod. "Happy hunting, Mr. Petroski" He looks at Lauren now and nods in acceptance to her words. He sighs a bit and says "I'll ask the Barber, see if there's someone that can help me with the tattoo thing"
Coll shakes her head at Petroski as he stretches, nudging him gently with her elbow. "Chin up, Mister D. All in good fun. Best of luck with the Marines. Lemme know how it goes." She watches him rise and slowly does-so herself. She slides her arms down into the coveralls and zips it up the front. "I should get back down there. Thanks for the chatterbox. Err. Sir." She gives a quick dip of her head to Ethan. "G'Luck with the barber." She sketches him a salute before stepping off towards the trashcan with her tray.