Fruit basket
Posted on Saturday June 29th, 2019 @ 21:28 hours by Tobie Fitzsimmons & Mayterial Droz
Mission:
Pixie Dust
Location: Outpost J19
Timeline: MD04 - 1430 hours
1460 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure
(OOC: couldn't think of a good title, so there you have it... With our former Bosun resigning let's just say we should assume Tobie immediately applies for the job rather than work her way up ;))
(I was just sending you a start before I read what this was. Sorry it's taking me so long. I'm on a tiered medicine that starts a higher dose every 7 days for the next 21 days. It's making me sleepier than I thought it would, so I need to write during the day more than at night for a bit.)
The very bare promenade of this outpost held very little of interest to Mayterial. There was one stall that had drawn her attention earlier that morning before she'd had to make her way over planetside to meet with potential new crew. A fruit stall, which seemed weirdly out of place in an installation line this.
Weirder still was the gal dolled up in primp and polish to hawk the goods. She didn't particularly seem comfortable from the set of her shoulders, but her smile and her eyes were selling the shit out of the idea that people really needed fruit in their life. With pin curls and peach glossed lips, the brunette was working the small group of people that her antics had attracted, jori fruit in hand. "I'm tellin' you, sir. There's not a faster way to a good girl's heart than fresh sweet berries. That's the taste of sweet summer and sunshine that you just don't get in space."
Mayterial looked over the products in the stall, they weren't anything special, but you wouldn't know that listening to the woman selling them. May could always appreciate someone with a knack for commerce. There was a gruff looking man at the other end of the stall, also bagging fruit, he seemed more like the fruit stall type of guy. "I'm sorry, miss, do you happen to have Kava?" she'd always been partial to the Bajoran fruit ever since they joined the interstellar market place.
The woman eyed Mayterial shrewdly as she shook her head no. "I'm sorry, sugar, but we're plumb out. If you're looking for that bite of desert spice, I have Ilderyan musk grapes. If you've never tried one they've a kiss of honey and a bite of spice that follows it up."
"Tastes like shit.." uttered the obstinant old man at the back of the booth. He spit into what was obviously his spitoon following his comment- both of which Tobie ignored.
"You sure know how to sell them." Mayterial commented back towards the man. She didn't mind the occasional person that was rough around the edges, but this man just rubbed her the wrong way, "Never had one of those," She said focusing back on the woman, "Can I taste one?"
"Sure you can." Plucking up a pint of dusty golden colored orbs, the brunette offered them out, which led to more grumbling from the back of the stall. This time, the woman didn't let it slip. "You know without me, you wouldn't be unloading any of this fruit. So I suggest you simmer down and we finish this agreement out real civil-like. Understand?"
"I 'understand' why you're having trouble finding work. You're terrible. You talk too much. Not pretty enough. Think you know everything." The last was added with a decisive sniff that sounded just a bit phlegmatic.
"Is that all? That's a shorter list than yesterday," replied the saleswoman in a tone that was all sugar.
Mayterial quirked her eyebrow a bit at the interaction and leaned forward towards the saleswoman, taking one of the offered up grapes, "Thank you" She said in a warm and soothing tone, "Are you just good around fruits, or do you have other qualities as well?" She added in a whisper before taking a bite and savouring the taste that exploded on her tongue. She hadn't been wrong, it was not Kava but it definitely scratched the same itch.
"Are you flirting with me or asking about my qualifications?" Laughing, the woman set aside the pint and offered out a slender, freckled hand to shake. "Tobie Fitzsimmons. I've worked just about every job on a ship from accountant to cargo hauler to face to floor scrubber and I'm not too proud to do about any of them should they need to be done. My last ride unfortunately met her end in this lovely little berg."
Mayterial gave a half shrug and a crooked grin, "Could be both," adding a wink for good measure. "I'll take a dozen boxes of these." She pointed at the fruit she was just chewing, "Could you deliver them to the S.S. Fawkes?" She was sure to emphasise the 'you' in that sentence. She just needed a talk away from her grumpy current employer.
"I'll be sure to do that. Thank you for your purchase, ma'am." Tobie drawled just a bit then grinned. "See you tonight with your grapes."
"Cheers, much appreciated." May ate another of the complimentary grapes before walking off and giving a wave. She'd look forward to the meeting.
***
As promised, later that night, Fitz cruised on up to the skirts of the S.S. Fawkes in a much different outfit. She'd traded the dress for much more sensible dungarees and a buttondown that had worn away from plaid to white at the elbows. She had a pull-along at her heels laden with the musk grapes and a few fireze berries that she was rather fond of, herself. Fitz toggled the outer airlock call button to announce herself and waited.
It took a few minutes to get any sort of response, but it was in the form of the airlock sliding aside and revealing Mayterial leaning against the inside doorway, "Good evening fruit girl." She stepped forward and extending her hand, "Mayterial Droz, Captain of the cargo hauler docked beyond this airlock."
"So I have a title now? Fruit girl?" Tobie laughed. "I'm all kinds of moving up in the world.. Good to see you again, captain. I brought your goods as promised."
"Let's get them to the mess hall and stored for the trip." Mayterial stepped aside allowing the woman entrance, "The honorary title was in absence of a name." She had of course done some digging and had found the name of this woman, but she thought it better for her to introduce herself.
"Ah. I'm Tobie Fitzsimmons. Most people just call me Fitz. You might have ran into my ex a time or two. He's a shipping captain runs 'round every which way by the name of Hobe Fitzsimmons. He's a decent enough sort," Tobie snickered as she pulled the load along after her. Sure he was- so long as you weren't his wife. "Just don't marry 'im. He needs to grow up some."
"Don't worry, there won't be any immediate threat of that happening." Mayterial never saw herself as the marrying kind, let alone to a man. Let alone to a freighter Captain, "So, miss Fitzsimmons, did you learn anything during your marriage to a freighter Captain? Any transferable skills, I mean?"
"During the marriage, I ran all of the numbers and set up the jobs," Tobie explained as they walked along. "Then for the first ship afterwards, numbers and cargo. Then freight, numbers and handshakes and deal making. I've scrubbed deck and cooked. The only reason I was selling fruit is my last ride died in port and I hate walking around without credits to blow. I've got a bit too much work ethic to sit on my hands."
"That's a bad condition to have." Mayterial joked as they made it to the turbo-lift and she punched in the button to call on the thing to come down and pick them up, "Sounds like you did most of the work Bosuns do. I hope your ex compensated you well for all of your efforts."
"That's a story for a different day," Tobie sighed. "You happen to need someone with my skill set? I'd be terribly happy to be far away from this rock."
Mayterial nodded, "I can't say I blame you, I've not been here for long but I can already tell this isn't really what I'd normally look for in a place." The doors to the lift opened, again May stepped aside to allow Tobie to step in first, "As luck would have it, I'm looking for a Boatswain. Someone to keep the deck hands in line."
Tobie stepped into the lift and waited. "I'd be grateful."
"I'm hoping I'll be the grateful one," Mayterial commented as she put out a hand in agreement, "Do we have a deal then?"
"You bet." Tobie agreed, shaking the other woman's hand.