Buddies... Eventually

Posted on Thursday May 23rd, 2019 @ 17:09 hours by Mercy & Mayterial Droz & Clinton Westbrooke Jr

Mission: Pixie Dust
Location: Joe's Bar 'n' Grill, Deck 47, Outpost J-19
Timeline: MD04 - 2330 hours
1509 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

Clint sat at the small watering hole on the station that the Fawkes was docked at, glaring at everyone and daring anyone to give him trouble. First person that did was getting the devil's glare and he was leaving. Didn't even have to pick up his duffle, it was already slung across his chest, hanging down over his back. His face was bruised and he was sore from the few hits that 'Tony' had managed to get in on him. Wouldn't have made Clint mad to hear that Tony had gotten forgotten in that cell and rotted, but whatever. Now he had to focus on making a decent impression on his new Captain, so she didn't think she picked up a green horn trouble maker. He sighed. He hated having to impress people.

That's when he saw the giant wolf woman lumbering toward the bar. He stood up and raised both hands defensively, "Look... Listen, I don't want no trouble, alright?" He said as she drew closer.

A triangular ear flicked at the direction of the voice, followed by lupine gaze. A smirk came over her features, seeing who the voicd belonged to. "Thought I'd seen the last of you after dumping you in that drinking trough." she flicked an ear, her voice thick and warm. "Don't start a fight and I won't have to end it, big guy. We got a deal?"

"Hey, lady, listen, I didn't start that fight," He grumbled, slowly dropping his hands.

"I don't really care much who started it. I finished it." she scowled, taking her drink and sitting at a nearby table. "I come to this kind of place to enjoy myself and have a nice and quiet beer, not to listen to two men arguing like a married couple and beating each other up." Beat. "Also, you may have noticed I let you off easy. The other guy went flying into the river."

Clint let out a half snort, half snicker and grinned a bit, "Yeah... 'preciate that," He said, nodding to the woman and lifting his glass to her a bit.

"Good to see you are already getting along." Mayterial joined them in the bar, looking at the screens displaying the latest Zero-G Football match, "Mister Westbrooke, Miss Mercy our Engineer. Miss Mercy, Mister Westbrooke, our Quartermaster." She made the introductions, her gaze shifting back to the screen displaying a replay of a high-intensity play that just happened, she winced a bit as she saw the hit and smiled before turning her attention back to the two new hires.

"You're also on the Fawkes?" Mercy looked at Clint, then back to May, then back to Clint, before bursting out in bellowing laughter, loud enough to draw a few glances from the other patrons. "Oh that's just priceless." she added, amusement in her voice.

Clint made a face and looked from his new CO to Mercy... there seemed to be a lot of that going around in this conversation... then sniffed with a note of grumpiness, "Wasso funny about that, huh?"

"Just the fact that my first encounter with one of my new crewmates was dunking him in a feeding trough." she chuckled, raising her large mug of beer to Clint.

"Well, aren't you just lucky you don't have to bunk up with each other." Mayterial hadn't been sure about picking either of them up on that backwater town, both of them hadn't been shy about their dubious past and in fairness she had picked them up partly because of said past and the leverage she could have over them because of it. For one it made it a lot easier to get rid of them if they overstayed their welcome. "And don't worry, I haven't transported cattle in a long time."

Clint clucked his tongue at the lupin woman, and turned his attention back to the skipper, "When are you off of this bucket, ma'am? I'm not in any mood to hang around, even in high orbit," He said, flatly.

"Won't be long, just one quarter to go." Mayterial pointed at the screen where the game had continued, with both teams close in terms of points. "Time is money, after all, and so far you've only cost me money." She added with a smile, shaking her empty glass in Clint's direction.

"So, who you rooting for?" asked Mercy, turning her full attention to the screen now, not really paying Clint much mind.

"The Rovers," Mayterial didn't really know why she had always rooted for the Mars team, there was something about their underdog position. "They've always played their own game. Highly creative and unorthodox playdesigns on both offense and defense." Another crushing hit was replayed on the screen above the bar, a roar from the ground barely audible on the low volume speakers in the bar, "oh, and they still know how to hit hard."

Mercy winced at the crushing hit, flicking an ear at the captain. "Never really got into Zero-G football myself. I can appreciate the competition though."

"You would probably tear up any offensive lineman they'd put in front of you." May looked over at the woman for a moment before looking down at her still empty glass, sliding it over to Clint, hoping he'd get the less subtle hint now.

"I'd be useless at anything to do with the ball, though." Mercy flicked an ear, glancing over at May and motioning to her face. "Eyesight, not as good as your ISO-standard humanoid. Less color depth, not as good at picking up rlatively small, fast moving objects." She shook her massive head. "No, ball sports are not for me."

Clint pounded the last of his mug of beer and brought it back down heavily to the table, "Barkeep, two more over here," He said, motioning to his and May's cup. "And whatever she's having. Put it on my tab," He said, nodding to Mercy... and accepting that a bucket sized tankard of beer was probably going to ding the old credits account... but hell, things were looking up.

"I was hoping the Astrals would make it to the play offs this year, but the Rovers did really good," Clint said, sniffing. "They're a solid team. Defensive End has been a bit off, but ever since they changed those ball handling rules last season, it's been hard to play aggressive D," He said, shrugging and nodding to the waitress as she brought them their drinks.

"Pah, Astrals. Don't make me regret hiring you, Junior." May shook her head a bit, always these new kids wanting to cheer for the latest additions to the league, "Come on man, respect the history of the game. They're just a Pioneers rip off."

Mercy quirked a brow at the fresh tankard, and flicked an ear in Clint's direction. "Honestly, needn't have. But it's appreciated anyways." She smiled, tail giving a lazy wag. "Thanks."

Clint nodded and raised his new glass to Mercy, then turned back to his new boss, "Don't get me wrong, Skipper, I've lost a lot of money on the Sharks over the years, but those Astrals had a lot of spunk. If they can tighten up that defensive line, they may do alright next season," He said with a shrug. "We'll see."

"That we will." Mayterial took a sip from her new serving of whisky, "You guys have all of your affairs in order out here so we can depart without being put in a tractor beam when we put you on the manifest?"

Mercy flicked an ear, downing the rest of her current tankard of ale before reaching for the second one, courtesy of Clint. "I've got a clean sheet, far as the law goes. Anything else is personal gripes, and seventeen years is a long time to carry a gripe like that. Should be fine."

May nodded, relieved to hear that things were squared away at least. She had run the necessary checks on both of them but she still wanted to hear from them if there was something else they wanted to confess to, "Mister Westbrooke?"

"Skipper, I wouldn't set foot on this rock except to meet with you guys. I got nothing on my record here but a bar fight, and that's taken care of, so... you just say the word," Clint replied, nodding, and then went back to drinking his drink.

"Well let's see if they can hold on to this lead first, they've been known to drop off in the last quarter all season." Mayterial took another tentative sip from her glass before lifting it towards her two newest crewmembers, right as the Rovers intercepted a ball and started making their way over to score and secure their victory, "Here's to new beginnings" She smiled widely as her luck had seemingly taken a turn.

[OFF]

Mayterial Droz
Captain

Mercy
Engineer

Clint Westbrooke, Jr.
Quartermaster

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning that's as good as they're going to feel all day."