Blameless gumball wishes and taxicab dreams

[thespaceopera]

[On Today's Episode of Drift Fleet:

The cargo are still full of crates of gumballs! The ships are well booked past capacity! There's a new empty vessel in the fleet- the SS Blameless! Official alerts have informed the passengers that they are signed to contracts that they've never agreed to! They are still docked at the dazzling FS Starlight, but are flat broke (or have they made it big?)

How is the fleet handling these turns of events? Find out in the continuation!

...Meaning, this is a spillover mingle for February's mingle as it's hit recaptcha. Feel free to use this mingle to start new threads, or carry on old threads from the previous mingle!

- Current Plot Setting
- Previous Mingle Post
- Latest Shuffle

Tag around, have fun, and feel free to continue posting your own posts/ship mingles! We really mean it this time when we say this will be the only mod-posted one for the event!]

Comments

howard stark | ota | alcohol tw in threads

[speedboat]

fs starlight

[ howard has come directly from the ss starstruck after having seen peggy. she fed him whiskey and head pats and he's feeling pretty good tbh. ofc he beelines for the casino where he sits at the roulette wheel for a while before moving on to craps and blackjack. he'll eventually get kicked out for counting cards but not before making a few measly credits. he'll loudly tell anyone who witnesses this or who he meets next in the mall where he's window shopping idly that his father came to america with $20 in his pocket and made a name for himself.

next up is the clubs and bars to try and swindle a few drinks. and he'll probably ask you to dance if you're cute. or just look like you want to dance #yolo. he's dressed like a typical gentleman from his time, in a smart suit with shiny saddle shoes, suspenders and a bright paisley tie. he's ready to mingle.

once he sobers up (or drinks more iirc) he'll be found at the datary with a look of absolute wonder on his face. he pours through every piece of information he can find until he figures out he can download all this crap for later consumption. he'll be here all night at this rate. ]

ss bloodsport

[ howard has one singular goal in mind, and that's finding steve rogers. the ship isn't any larger than the one he's been saddled with but he combs over it three times before giving up, questioning anyone he can find about the whereabouts of a certain super soldier. ]

ss huntress

[ he is taking what peggy said to heart about allies and so he's greeting all his fellow crewmates warmly, introducing himself as another pilot augment. (do they really have three????) he'll be hunting down a spot to call his own. he may be a man of means but all he really needs is a few square feet to put a bedroll and whatever junk he deigns to hoard. ]

[beardstrokes]

[ Another pilot? Well, less work for him in piloting large spaceships. He should thank the Force for relieving some of that burden from him. ]

You must be our new pilot. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the other pilots on the SS Huntress.

[speedboat]

[ well that's a mouthful, but he nods, hoping he'll even come close to remembering that. ] Right. Guess I answer to you, then. [ he's not very good at following orders which probably comes through as distaste. but it's not personal, he's excited to fly one of these things all the same. ]

Used to planes and dirigibles, mostly. I might be a little out of my depth. [ which is equally hard to admit. ]

[beardstrokes]

[ Dirigibles? Ah, the airships. He remembered seeing those long ago, when he was on a mission with Anakin. ]

I would not say you answer to me. I'm not interested in having that kind of authority. However, I'm always happy to help.

[speedboat]

[ interesting. howard nods distractedly. ] You can help by showing me how to fly this thing.

[ like right meow would be preferable. ]

[beardstrokes]

Certainly? If you'd follow me, please.

[ He leads him to the console and slowly talks him through it. You can tell that Obi-Wan is a teacher, or someone with ample experience with teaching because he pauses, takes time to ask questions, to check up on your understanding before moving on. ]

[speedboat]

[ for once howard doesn't have a whole lot of questions. mostly about controls, though those he learns quickly enough. he's a genius and the best civilian pilot peggy carter knows so he's up up and away pretty soon thereafter. ]

This is awesome. [ like really, in the original meaning of the word and all. ] It's like a motion picture. [ except you know with better special effects. ]

fs starlight »

[ladybro]

[ -- did he just ask her to dance? kate's nursing a glass of wine (and not exactly all that pleased with it, honestly) at one of the quieter, jazzier joints on the star-station. she isn't here to make friends; instead, she's waiting down the street from another bar where clint barton is making himself into a dartboard folk hero. but she can't stomach all that small-time celebrity, so she's here. waiting.

and that's when this guy approaches her. she squints. ] Does it look like I'm here to dance?

[speedboat]

It doesn't look like you're not here to dance. It is a dance club. [ is he missing something here? (always) ]

[ladybro]

And maybe I'm a fan of dance music.

[ just not the dancing. except (truthfully) she loves the dancing. it just doesn't feel like as much fun without america here, too. or billy and teddy. hell, she'd settle for tommy right now. ]

[speedboat]

But not a fan of dancing. [ he doesn't buy it. he speaks up a little to be heard over the music, much more invigorating than anything his time had to offer. he's finding himself quite excited by it really. ] Beautiful girl like you, what have you got to lose? [ he offers his arm in a gentlemanly fashion and lays the puppy dog eyes on her in full force. come on mama ]

[ladybro]

My standards.

[ zing. but her heart isn't in it. for some reason, the burn just isn't as sweet if the target hasn't yet proved himself to be adequately sleazy. ]

[speedboat]

[ his hand comes back, touching over his heart. ] You wound me, baby. But hey, suit yourself. I was just trying to be polite. [ which is mostly true actually ]

datary - hope this works?

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ Kirk had been pouring through the datary for the better part of an hour at this point. He largely ignored any of the Earth history in favor of alien cultures. Oh, yes, of course there were probably some Earth histories he did not know, but what was the fun in that when he had data on undiscovered (at least by Federation standards) planets and species at his finger tips? It was a treasure trove that made his heart flutter.

Surprisingly, he has a real book in his hands, or the closest thing to it, coming down the stack with headphones in (he finally went and bought some like an adult with manners), but his head is bobbing and he's singing along in what he thinks is under his breath - ]</sub>

Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games
We got everything you want, honey, we got the names
We are the people that can find whatever you may need
If you got the money honey we got your disease

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knnn knne knees, knees
I want to watch you bleed...

[speedboat]

[ o-oh. the other man's singing puts him off at first, but then... he starts to kind of enjoy it? or at least whatever he's emulating. it's like no music he's heard before honestly and it makes him curious. ]

...Let me see that. [ he tugs on the headphone cord unambiguously. oh hey it's that guy. he knows him or whatever. ]

[universal_charm]

_{[ Wow, Howard, personal space, okay? He blinks at the pull, mouth opening to chide whoever it was, only to realize it was Howard. Oh yeah, he had met this guy. He seemed nice, and he supposed he had had the music up so he wouldn't have heard anything (and he hadn't). It was one of the ways to get his attention. He takes the buds out, not at all embarrassed to have been caught singing aloud. ]}

Hey, you got off the Marsiva! How are you enjoying your first space station?

_{[ He assumed it was his first anyways. ]}

[speedboat]

What are you listening to? [ he asks distractedly, putting his ear up to one of the tiny speakers. oh but then he's being asked questions. it's okay he can multitask. ]

Obviously. I was assigned to the Huntress, third pilot. [ it seems like a lot of pilots for such a small craft but after flying the thing he could find no more to protest tbh. ] This is definitely... closer to what I'm accustomed to. [ amazingly enough ]

[universal_charm]

'Welcome to the Jungle' by Guns n' Roses. They're a classic rock group. They had some files of them, so I downloaded them.

_{[ He sounds terribly pleased with this as the song switches to Areosmith's "Dream On". Kirk had always liked classic rock groups as well as the retro techno ones too. A bit of an odd mix of taste, but it worked for him. ]}

What, really? Or do you mean the datary?

_{[ He motioned around them with the physical book he had in hand. ]}

[speedboat]

This doesn't sound like anything classic. In fact, it sounds like nothing I've ever... [ oh shit this next song is even more epic what's going on he needs a minute. ]

...No. I mean the space station. It reminds me of L.A. [ which he rather finds he misses, now. ]

FS Starlight; Because this will never not be funny

[reconstitution]

[ Winter first spots him leaving the casino, heading toward the mall with purpose. Spending those few credits you've earned, Howard? Tsk, tsk. He leaves the man be, not entirely certain he even wants to seek out someone from his past. Particularly someone he doesn't actually remember very well.. Peggy seems to be the one that holds the title for that one.

The second time Winter sees him, Howard is heading from one bar en route to another..Do you ever have the feeling that you're being watched, Howard? Because you just might be. Winter keeps his distance, but he doesn't lose sight of his target. He allows the other to enter the club, though he lingers outside the door, just in the shadows, unnoticed by the casual comers and goers. He'll bide his time until Howard tires of this spot and seeks out another. ]

[speedboat]

[ he does indeed feel like someone is watching him. but as he was informed there is someone always watching here. the atroma? or whoever they are. whatever is really going on here aside, he feels it more acutely even as numb as he is presently. a prickle on the back of his neck perhaps. it's easily written off for all the partying, though he isn't being unfrugal. he only bought one drink and is saving all his pennies (credits, he reminds himself) just in case.

that isn't to say he hasn't been drinking however and when he leaves the second club he's drenched in sweat, his only good shirt in the world now apparently splattered with a foreign blue liquid. curacao, probably. it isn't any wonder then that when he passes winter's hiding spot he very nearly jumps out of his own skin. ]

[reconstitution]

[ He'd be more sorry, Howard, but he's honestly not. He's really great at the quiet lurking in the shadows. Almost like you've seen a ghost, isn't it? Though this ghost is definitely a few inches taller and more broad than he used to be. He knows they knew each other now, but Winter doesn't really feel that connection like he does with Peggy.

Having your own memories to go with it really helps.

He steps toward Howard a bit, offering him a nod. Howard still won't be able to see the gleaming metal of his arm, hiding under his jacket, or the leather gloves he has on. Being inconspicuous starts with not having a metal arm. ...That, and the fact that he's made somewhat of a reputation for himself in the fighting rings around the settlement has a little to do with it.]

You should be more careful. This is the bad part of town.

[speedboat]

[ he recovers quickly enough, jacket slung over his shoulder. this barnes could not be any more different from the other, who looks and acts a decent amount like the one he remembers. still he's grateful for the familiarity even if it is only one-sided. ]

The rough part of the station, you mean. [ though he doesn't see what's so bad about it, creepy looming guy notwithstanding. ] You should wade back in with me. I'm only catching my breath, and my... second wind. [ oh he wants to sit. can he sit. he stumbles towards a bench not too far off. ]

[reconstitution]

[ So far, he stays put, simply watching Howard stumble to the bench and sit. His arms are crossed over his chest, his focus mainly on him, though every so often darting to each end of the alley. Constant vigilance is a bitch, but it's necessary on this station in particular.

For the longest time, he doesn't even respond to Howard's inquiry. ]

I don't think so.

[speedboat]

It's either dance with me, or tell me why you've been following me. [ he looks unimpressed, gaze flicking back up to meet bucky's. ] Your choice, pal.