[USS Charon] SD241007.28 || Off Duty Log || "Bunk Mates"

<<This takes place immediately after "Drink and Be Merry"   =/\= Onboard the Quantum Fury =/\=   Sam had finished a small meal and had a quick chat with Auden in the lounge, and was now attempting to find her accommodations. She'd learned the layout of the Charon, but hadn't looked over the smaller ships specs, so found herself easily lost. She thought she had the right place, and the door did open when she placed her palm to it, so she stepped in. Occupying the room before her were several marines from Aria's task force, including Aria herself. The colonel leaned lazily against the plated wall, laughing and joking with three others, two men and a woman. They each had their specialties, that particular reason for being there but right now that wasn't apparent. They all had casual wear, dressed in urban cammo pants and tops of verying kinds, except for Zazz, who prefered to leave his shirt laying on the bunk. The groups low key socializing hit a brick wall when Sam entered the room. None of them knew who she was or why she was bothering them, but Aria, always one to take the lead, spoke up. "Can we help you?" "Oh, sorry." Sam looked around, realized she obviously had the wrong room. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I just got the wrong room." She spoke quietly, embarrassed by her mishap. A forbidding smile played across the woman's face, obviously amused at some level by the sheepish girls mistake. On what level? Who could know. "Are you sure you got the wrong room," Aria pushed herself away from the wall, taking a step towards Sam. "What room are you looking for?" "Deck 3, room 12." Sam answered. The room erupted with amused smiles and muffled laughter, like they knew something she didn't. Zazz interlocked his fingers against the back of his head, flexing bicepts and tricepts that might just be able to crush stone. He stayed the most quiet, whereas the other man, Vel, had the loudest laugh, but he covered it up tactlessly enough with a cough about as real as replicated food. The third, a smaller woman but who nevertheless wore the smirk of a soldier, only smiled, knowing what was coming. By far amongst the four marines, it was Aria who stole away the center of attention. A took a sharp gulp of air, abruptly halting in place. Excruciatingly long seconds later her fliudic walkz resumed, circling the girl once over. "I know exactly where room 12 is...positioned...on deck 3." Her boots barely made a sound as she took a step or two back and to the side. "In fact I would say I was intimately familiar with said rooms location," her voice was like an unknown melody, pleasant to hear yet cold enough to carry a chill down ones spine. "Welcome," then the shortest of pauses before, "to room 12, deck 3." Sam watched the interplay of the group. It was the Marines who had rescued her, pulled her from the rubble just a foot from her dead and bloodied owner. They had clothed and fed her and been unswervingly kind during the journey to Earth. Their laughter, albeit aimed at her, was still comforting. "Oh" She answered, realizing it was the correct place after all. "Would you like me to come back later?" She asked, her voice far from the boisterousness so often shown by the Marines. The woman chuckled to all who would listen and waved a hand dismissively. "Nonsense. If this is your room, then it is your room as well." Her eyes swept over the room, nodding as she counted the number of bunks. "The three of them," she gave a flick of her gaze to each of the marines, "have been thrown in here. I'm up stairs because someone things I'm VIP, but unless I'm taking someone to bed with me I'll probably bunk with my team." She gave a slight sigh, something on her mind, something coming up. "I'm Aria. The jungle boy over there," she lifted her chin to the shirtless marine, "is Zazz. The other boy is Vel and the lady to your left is Xantho." Sam smiled shyly to each in turn, nodding slightly. "Sam" she introduced herself. She noted that there were four bunks in the room, and Aria had stated she would most likely bunk with her team. Sam somehow managed to scurry stealthily, long practice of not wanting to be noticed, to the one free corner of the room, and dropped her small bag into the corner. She sat on top of it, her back against the corner. "A pleasure," she replied. She couldn't help up cock her head to the side in confusion at the girls odd behavior, watching her practically float past the group and into the room to setup shop in the corner. "What are you doing in the corner? The bunk is over there. You can have the one under Xantho and bond." Xantho, for her part, thought the whole encounter was just silly. She giggled at her commanders idea, not out of mockery but out of a girlish little charm she had managed to preserve throughout her time in the corps. Sam looked up at Aria. "You said you would probably bunk with your team, and there are only four beds" She explained softly, uncomfortable at the idea of taking somebody's bunk. But she got up, picked up her bag and headed for the lower bunk on the right. She settled onto the bed, crossing her long thin legs and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Xantho had already hopped up onto the top bunk. The two boys were'nt quite ready to call it a night, and Aria certainly wasn't. She still had an appointment at 2100 she was not going to miss. Xantho leaned over the side, poking her head down into the space of the bottom bunk. "So what is it you do, Sam?"Sam had finished a small meal and had a quick chat with Auden in the lounge, and was now attempting to find her accommodations. She'd learned the layout of the Charon, but hadn't looked over the smaller ships specs, so found herself easily lost. She thought she had the right place, and the door did open when she placed her palm to it, so she stepped in. Occupying the room before her were several marines from Aria's task force, including Aria herself. The colonel leaned lazily against the plated wall, laughing and joking with three others, two men and a woman. They each had their specialties, that particular reason for being there but right now that wasn't apparent. They all had casual wear, dressed in urban cammo pants and tops of verying kinds, except for Zazz, who prefered to leave his shirt laying on the bunk. The groups low key socializing hit a brick wall when Sam entered the room. None of them knew who she was or why she was bothering them, but Aria, always one to take the lead, spoke up. "Can we help you?" "Oh, sorry." Sam looked around, realized she obviously had the wrong room. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I just got the wrong room." She spoke quietly, embarrassed by her mishap. A forbidding smile played across the woman's face, obviously amused at some level by the sheepish girls mistake. On what level? Who could know. "Are you sure you got the wrong room," Aria pushed herself away from the wall, taking a step towards Sam. "What room are you looking for?" "Deck 3, room 12." Sam answered. The room erupted with amused smiles and muffled laughter, like they knew something she didn't. Zazz interlocked his fingers against the back of his head, flexing bicepts and tricepts that might just be able to crush stone. He stayed the most quiet, whereas the other man, Vel, had the loudest laugh, but he covered it up tactlessly enough with a cough about as real as replicated food. The third, a smaller woman but who nevertheless wore the smirk of a soldier, only smiled, knowing what was coming. By far amongst the four marines, it was Aria who stole away the center of attention. A took a sharp gulp of air, abruptly halting in place. Excruciatingly long seconds later her fliudic walkz resumed, circling the girl once over. "I know exactly where room 12 is...positioned...on deck 3." Her boots barely made a sound as she took a step or two back and to the side. "In fact I would say I was intimately familiar with said rooms location," her voice was like an unknown melody, pleasant to hear yet cold enough to carry a chill down ones spine. "Welcome," then the shortest of pauses before, "to room 12, deck 3." Sam watched the interplay of the group. It was the Marines who had rescued her, pulled her from the rubble just a foot from her dead and bloodied owner. They had clothed and fed her and been unswervingly kind during the journey to Earth. Their laughter, albeit aimed at her, was still comforting. "Oh" She answered, realizing it was the correct place after all. "Would you like me to come back later?" She asked, her voice far from the boisterousness so often shown by the Marines. The woman chuckled to all who would listen and waved a hand dismissively. "Nonsense. If this is your room, then it is your room as well." Her eyes swept over the room, nodding as she counted the number of bunks. "The three of them," she gave a flick of her gaze to each of the marines, "have been thrown in here. I'm up stairs because someone things I'm VIP, but unless I'm taking someone to bed with me I'll probably bunk with my team." She gave a slight sigh, something on her mind, something coming up. "I'm Aria. The jungle boy over there," she lifted her chin to the shirtless marine, "is Zazz. The other boy is Vel and the lady to your left is Xantho." Sam smiled shyly to each in turn, nodding slightly. "Sam" she introduced herself. She noted that there were four bunks in the room, and Aria had stated she would most likely bunk with her team. Sam somehow managed to scurry stealthily, long practice of not wanting to be noticed, to the one free corner of the room, and dropped her small bag into the corner. She sat on top of it, her back against the corner. "A pleasure," she replied. She couldn't help up cock her head to the side in confusion at the girls odd behavior, watching her practically float past the group and into the room to setup shop in the corner. "What are you doing in the corner? The bunk is over there. You can have the one under Xantho and bond." Xantho, for her part, thought the whole encounter was just silly. She giggled at her commanders idea, not out of mockery but out of a girlish little charm she had managed to preserve throughout her time in the corps. Sam looked up at Aria. "You said you would probably bunk with your team, and there are only four beds" She explained softly, uncomfortable at the idea of taking somebody's bunk. But she got up, picked up her bag and headed for the lower bunk on the right. She settled onto the bed, crossing her long thin legs and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Xantho had already hopped up onto the top bunk. The two boys were'nt quite ready to call it a night, and Aria certainly wasn't. She still had an appointment at 2100 she was not going to miss. Xantho leaned over the side, poking her head down into the space of the bottom bunk. "So what is it you do, Sam?" "I'm a yeoman." Sam smiled slightly, finding Xantho's position amusing. She wasn't tired yet, in fact she had a lot of reading she wanted to do before sleeping, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to fall asleep on the bunk anyway. She could just wait for the others to fall asleep and curl up in the corner. She laid back, so she wouldn't have to crane her neck to look at the other woman. "And what do you do?" She asked with genuine interest, if still in a soft tone. "Mmm," Xantho looked up, which turned out to be down, because she was in fact upside down. "I'm a combat enemy profiler," she said, proud of herself. It was not a usual specialty, but nor was Aria's team a usual task force. Xantho had been picked for very good reasons and Aria had made sure the younger woman knew it. "Oh, what's that?" Sam blushed slightly, not sure how much of a faux pas her ignorance on the subject was." She looked at the poor upside woman, thinking that must be an uncomfortable position. "Do you wanna come down here?" She asked tentatively. The marine's eyes whirled around in thought. "I determine the most likely psychological atributes the UnSub is to possess and then hypothesize what sort of tactical action can be expected, as well as what tactical action is likely to succeed against the UnSub." The soldier psychologist shook her head with a disapproving smirk at the second question. "Not at all, I'm fine right here. Until the fight anyway." "Ok" Sam didn't understand half of the explanation, but wasn't going to ask for clarification, or what fight she was referring to. She moved to the corner of her bunk instead, pulling out the PADD she'd been busy with all day. She felt slightly defeated from her apparently lame attempt to be social, and eager to busy her mind with the data on the PADD. Oh but it would not be that easy, nor had the marines finished with her. "They stuck a yoeman with a bunch of combat vets?" Zazz found the idea laughable, as though there must have been a mistake. Xantho shot the large marine a glare. Aria eyed the group but let the encounter play out. Vel, for his part, ended his silence. "So where are you from? Xantho and I are from Earth. The Queenbitch over there," he motioned toward Aria, "Epsilon Colony. The clunk head trying to blind us with his greased up abs is from the moon." Sam pulled her legs in closer, an unconscious manifestation of protecting herself. She wondered if she should just grab her bag and go, she could find somewhere else to sleep, and these Marines, or at least Zazz, didn't seem eager to have her around. She couldn't ignore the question though, and pushed down the desire to flee. "Olympus IV" She answered, not meeting Vel's eyes. Xantho could see the girls discomfort. It was what she did, after all, figure out what and how people felt. She gave the shirtless marine a poisonous look and shewed him away in a rare sense of of bravado. "Never heard of it," she said to the girl with a shrug. "Hey you wanna come watch the fight with us?" Sam shook her head. "No thank you" She answered politely. Aria busied herself in preparation as the group spoke, tightening her belt, selecting a tighter shirt and placing her tags with her things. She bent down to loosen her boots, one never wanted poor circulation in the cold after all. "Are you sure? High stakes are in the air and I think a lot of people onboard have been waiting for something like this for quite a while." From her bag she pulled two snow-white pieces of cloth and began wrapping them around her knuckles and wrists one after another, a look of exhilaration on her face. She wanted this fight more than anyone else knew. Sam watched Aria with fascination. The woman had a whore like beauty, curvy and confident. But she had no desire to see a fight. She'd witnessed plenty, and she did not see the entertainment in it. She also didn't know how to politely refuse...again."Ahhh ummmm" The normally soft spoken, but at least spoken Sam stammered. "Well, suit yourself," came the reply. The marines figured she was simply too timid for such events, which, they mused, probably explained her small stature and profession. "If I don't come back, I'm either fighting someone else or in the infirmary. Otherwise, well..." She paused a moment to make sure the wraps were tight enough. "Otherwise I'll be nursing my victory wounds in the mess hall." Sam relaxed a bit, seeing that she was off the hook."So why are you fighting the Captain in the cold?" she asked tentatively, her curiosity getting the better of her. Aria had to check herself at the question, impassioned with flashbacks she wished she sometimes couldn't remember. "I like the cold. The cold forces you to stay in action. To slow down is to lose heat, lose energy, lose will, so it makes you keep going; makes you resolute." She looked down at the girl. Her jade eyes were absolutely soul-shattering, but behind them was something else, something bestial. "The cold makes everyone equal. Muscles tighten, responses slow." What might have turned into a tense moment was disrupted when Vel looked at Zazz who made his signature dumbass grin and motioned over to Xantho. Xantho was still hanging from the top bunk, upside down as Sam and the Colonel had their chat. Vel brought his finger up to his lips, a silent demand for quiet and turned to face Xantho, still hanging there. He was quite about it, his plan that is, grabbing ahold of her belt and hanging downard, causing the soldier psychologist to fall forward with a shriek. The two men burst into laughter shortly thereafter, nearly coming to tears as Xantho rolled around on the ground. A quick foot to the gut, however, bought an 'oh fuck' from Vel who doubled over, clutching his stomach. Xantho hopped to her feet, a 'ha!' look on her face as she dusted herself off. "I needed to get down anyway," she said ruefully, "so your prank was all for not." Once again, the room erupted in laughter. Sam just huddled in the corner or her bunk, privately praying not to be noticed; not recognizing the joviality of the scene that unfolded before her. The shriek from Xantho left her cold, and it took a long few moments for her to realize the woman was not being raped. Vel recovered easily enough and patted Xantho on the shoulder. "Nice hit, you harlot! Now lets go so we don't get shitty spots." The three of them left wearing their enthusiasm, only Aria stayed. The colonel wanted to stretch a moment before heading off to the fight, deciding to try one last time to include the scared little girl. "You sure you don't want to join us? That's how you make friends," she offered the girl a wink. Sam just shook her head 'no' slowly uncurling from her ball.. Yes, she wanted to make friends and fit in, but it was all a little too much at the moment. "Well then," Aria's parting words, "be seein' you."   =/\= =/\=   Colonel Aria Falcon Marine Force Recon   Samantha Davis Yoeman