This is the reason why no one on the Red Fish should have hobbies outside of punching people...

[blindoptimism]

Who: The motley crew of the SS Redfish
Broadcast: None
Action: Boarding area of the Red Fish
When: Backdated to Part 1 of the June Bug plot

[On tonight's episode, Coil and Zhas return to the Red Fish with a squirmy live bug in tow. Coil intends to perform untold experiments on the living specimen. But it seems like trouble is brewing on the once peaceful ship... Will the other crew members be okay with these morally questionable experiments taking place on board? Tune in tonight to find out!]

Comments

THE MAD SCIENCE INCIDENT

[theboogieman]

[hello yes it is just a perfectly normal day here on the Red Fish and your resident skullface guy is hauling a heavy, twitchy alien bug through the cargo bay.

despite the thing being mostly-hogtied and Coil there to give him a hand, it's still a real pain in the ass to get through the door and into the main hallway. it manages to jitter violently into the frame and make an awful racket.

but if they can just get it to the lab, they'll finally have a living test subject--and that's pretty much his sole concern, right now.]

[mortalcoil]

[Coil is hyperfocused and trying to hurry--which is probably exactly how the thing bucks out of his grip and into the doorway. it knocks into the metal, gets a good kick in against his chest, and their whole balance is thrown just for a second. he manages to quickly wrangle it back, however. with one arm wrapped around what count as its hindmost legs, following Zhas into the hallway, he hooks his other arm around a flailing fore-appendage and hangs on.

just a little further and they can get to the lab, where his shiny new restraints are waiting.

they're so close. it'll be just like the good ol' days...]

[child_of_bhaal]

[Well that's a metric ton of noise, so you can bet Syeira comes running.

When she gets there, she assumes along the lines of they'd somehow been boarded by the bug, and she moves to help.]

How did it get in here?

[It's a logical and obvious question, because hey, she doesn't assume her crew is crazy.]

[openhands]

[Unlike Syeira though, Cassandra doesn't have any reservations about assuming her crew is crazy. She'd like to not have to, but the evidence speaks for itself and it's the fact the thing's legs are bound that draw her attention immediately. Were this a bug that managed to get on-board, why would they have bound it up? Why not simply kill it and get rid of the body as would be the most obvious solution?]

I should think that's obvious, Syeira, [she says from behind Syeira. She steps around her, her gaze moves from Coil to Zhas, but rests ultimately on Zhas.] The better question is what are you two doing?

[theboogieman]

[as pleased as he is that Syeira is running to help, this hallway is starting to get cramped... he's only gotten through shaking his head before Cassandra shows up and makes things even more complicated.

he obviously doesn't want to talk about it right now. he clearly looks between her and the end of the hall to decide whether or not he can just ignore them until they can put this thing down.]

Lab.

[an eloquent response, as always, as he continues to try and carry the thing in that direction.]

For Zhas

[child_of_bhaal]

[Predictably, since the episode in the hall, Syeira's erratic sleep schedule has kicked itself up a notch. She's gone from maybe 5 hours a night to 3 at best. But the nightmares are at least different?

At around why-are-you-up o'clock, she drags herself blearily into the kitchen, intending to have some tea while trying to eat some of that tasteless meat like stuff that isn't goo.

The goo food has likely added to her problems, since she eats less now when she can't have anything real. Lack of sleep and acting like she's on rations is starting to make her look thin.]

[theboogieman]

[while his sleep schedule has remained mostly the same, his trust in this space has not. he's reverted back to his old habit of finding bizarre little nooks and hiding spots to sleep in, rather than crashing in his room. it has made him especially scarce, the last couple of days.

but eventually he gets wound up and exhausted enough that he drags his useless mortal form out to the kitchen, hoping to find something to either help him sleep or push him past the thought of sleeping altogether. he washed off his face paint in the hopes of one or the other, which makes him surprisingly hard to recognize as he wanders into the doorway and stares dully at the person already in the room.

oh. hi. ...yeah, she was passed out the last time he saw her, wasn't she? boy. that was a thing.

...he grumbles something unintelligible that was maybe supposed to be a greeting. maybe.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[It sure was a thing.

But uh, Zhas. You have a face. Your face. It's there. She's not staring.]

... Hi.

I was going to make tea. You want some?

[theboogieman]

[to be fair, if she was staring (and she's totally not), he would not have the social wherewithal to notice. he blinks, which currently seems like the most difficult thing in the world.]

Yeah.

[tea is a thing. that cook they had made tea sometimes, before he left. he wanders in further, dragging over one of the chairs so that he can sit with his back to a wall. if he remembers how bad that whole hallway incident was, he sure isn't showing it yet.]

For Coil... Brotrayed, man...

[theboogieman]

[so somewhere in the nebulous stretch of time between conversations, Zhas has absolutely no desire to stay anywhere in his own ship. he doesn't want to deal with... people... or his problems... or... the distinctly uncomfortable thought that his ship is no longer the comfortable, "safe" place he once considered it.

but his other option is the rest of the bug ship. or space. and he's not feeling it.

so he's climbed up on the roof of the Red Fish to smoke a lot and brood about things and try to keep his frustration down to a manageable, socially-acceptable level.]

[mortalcoil]

[between knowing Zhas' habits nearly as well as his own, and running through simple process of elimination, it doesn't take Coil long to track him down. it takes him a significant amount of time to begin looking for him, but it's a short search once he finally makes the decision to try.

he has some errands to run and calming down to do, first. so, it's only after he spins his wheels for a while that he finally seeks him out.

and once he hoists himself up onto the roof, he knocks on the hull to announce his presence, as is the custom.]

[theboogieman]

[he can hear him coming, but the knocking says that he means to be seen.

Zhas acknowledges with a glance and a slight nod, finishing up his last drag of smoke before flicking the rest of his cigarette away without a second thought. hopefully there's nothing flammable down there.

smoke seethes out of his mouth like he's some kind of an unholy specter--but not for long. the way he holds his jaw about it is just a hint that he's still unhappy. irritable. Coil has his full attention.]

[mortalcoil]

[despite some automatic, instinctual hesitation over it, Coil is glad he has Zhas' attention. the fact that he is there for exactly that reason is all over his face, in the way that he doesn't shy from eye contact.

there was a time when he'd forbidden himself from thinking this way--but today, he is here to talk.

and he starts by pointing down at the ship, drawing a little circle with his finger to make it clear that he's talking about everything inside of it and not the ship itself, and forms the sign for 'broken.']

FOR EVERYONE

[blindoptimism]

[After everyone clears out, Nunnally returns to the bridge for a moment to sort things out. The limited pieces of conversation that she heard, and the grander narrative. After roughly twenty minutes has passed, she begins to make her ways through the halls. It's a slow process, she enters a room, waits for a little bit busing herself with small work, then moves on to another room. She's waiting for something-- finding someone.

When she finds another member of the crew, she will holds up her hand in a slight wave to call over their attention. No matter who she sees, she face softens a bit. She cares for her crew, deeply, no matter how much or how little she knows them. And after she lowers her hands she asks]

Can we talk? [it's a casual way to phrase the question, a slight show that despite the fact that she feels worried about this situation, she isn't uncomfortable approaching them.]

[theboogieman]

[Zhas is one of the first she talks to, since he comes looking for her. he'll even meet her on her way out of the bridge. getting rid of the bug didn't take that long; most of the remaining twenty minutes was him trying to pull his head together, calm himself down.

something about Nunnally always cuts right to his core, though, so he doesn't have to pretend much around her. his frustration quells in the presence of someone so human to him. he turns more regretful than anything.

he nods to her. she wanted to talk to him?]

[blindoptimism]

[She looks up for a moment as she remembers the signs. While she likes signing, it frustrates her at the same time. She places great values in words, and sign tends to be more vague than she would like. But she wants to start this way, it's important]

I'm sorry that happened. [She truly is. She wants them to feel safe, she wants them to feel accepted by this ship. Even if she disagrees with the actions that they were going to perform--] You two wanted to help.

[she signs it as a sentence first, but then after a moment of consideration signs a question mark. She doesn't want to put 'words' in his mouth]

[theboogieman]

[he appreciates her trying to sign first, all the same. the silence is a comfort, even if spoken words might be easier for both of them at this point. his painted lips press into a thin line as he thinks about her question, and what to say in response.]

It was bad. I'm sorry too. [that's a start. regardless of his reasons, it went... about as far from good as it could have possibly gone. things could have been done to avoid it. he wasn't thinking of the others.]

[openhands]

[Cassandra has put Syeira to bed and left her with a cup of water before she retreated into her own room for a while to try and really cool down. But as always, whenever Cassandra is angered by something, she is too full of energy to sit still for long. At this point, she would just simply like to be as far away from the ship as possible to really clear her head. her first impulse, quite frankly, is to talk to Cullen and then to Mal, but she has her reasons for not burdening either one of them with this. (Especially Cullen.) So, she speaks to Jove instead over the communicator, and is on her way to leaving when Nunnally manages to catch her.]

Of course. [She stops. Her anger is quieter, more subdued in Nunnally's presence, but it's still there, palpable in the air around her and obvious in the way she carries herself with tension and height.] But I would ask that it be kept short, Captain. I am to meet someone in a few minutes and would prefer not to leave them waiting.

[blindoptimism]

Of course, I won't keep you long. [She glances her up and down, the tension in her shoulders is obvious. She puts her hands in her lap, one on top of another, and sits up straight to look up at Cassanda]

Thank you for taking care of Syeira. And I apologize that situation occurred at all. I want to be clear, I will talk to Zhas and Coil and they will know that such actions will not be tolerated on this ship.

[but...] But I also wanted to say, I think that some of your comments towards Zhas went too far. I understand that you were angry, and what they wanted to do was reprehensible, but they were cruel words.

[openhands]

[It is a comfort to know that Nunnally at least sides with Cassandra on the larger ethical issue, but she still bristles. She's half-expecting Nunnally to follow up with something along the lines of needing to apologize.]

Do not speak to me as though I were a child, Nunnally.

I spoke with honesty, not anger. He acted without honor today. That he wanted to do this in the first place was bad enough, but that he thought he had any justification for it... [She shakes her head, scoffing.] He needed to hear it. Maker only knows what he would have done otherwise.

[And no, Cassandra does not think "stand around and argue about it" would have remained on the agenda for long.]

[mortalcoil]

[and probably last of all, is the matter of Coil. he hasn't spent much time on the ship in the day or so following the incident. he doesn't return at all until he's had his conversation with Zhas, and then he's barely seen here and there, only when necessary. he could just as easily be off doing something secretive, away from his crew, as he could be simply giving them all time and distance. though, it's most likely some combination of the two.

so, when he does return for good, it's a decisive thing. some decisions have been made, but many more are still in the air, so he knows he needs to speak to his captain. she does end up finding him first, however, as he's washing something small in the kitchen sink. he almost has to glance all the way over his shoulder when he turns to look at her, to compensate for his blind side.

always in that odd, expressionless and vaguely wary manner of his, he hesitates for a full beat or two before he nods.

yes. it's definitely time to talk.]

For Cassandra

[theboogieman]

[at the very least, Coil and Zhas have agreed that they both need to get to work. Coil is the brain of the operation, so he's responsible for sorting out his research and his religious ceremonies and scheming his way into a safe, unseen spot. it falls to Zhas to be the people person, to make amends and negotiate--not because he's particularly good at it, but because he's the only one out of the both of them with a tongue.

still--he's not completely hopeless. when he goes looking for Cassandra several days after the incident, he leaves his big coat and (most of) his weapons down in his room. he wipes off his facepaint. it probably won't mean much to her, but it puts him in a much different mindset.

so wherever he finds her, he raises a loose hand to get her attention. approaches like he intends to talk to her. he looks exhausted without his face on, but that might just be years of dark makeup around his eyes that's never quite come off.]

[openhands]

[As it so happens, Cassandra is just returning to the ship from a visit with Mal. She does stop in her progress down the corridor when Zhas waves to her, taking a moment to look him over. She's never been particularly intimidated by his appearance despite his best efforts, but it's plain to see that he is not aiming towards aggression.]

What do you want?

[Surprisingly, this is not said with an edge of anger. Cassandra promised Nunnally that she would at least lean towards civility when possible. While it's far, far too soon for her to truly forgive and forget on her own without intervention, she means to keep her word to her captain.]

[And besides, if he's not being aggressive, she will not treat him as though he is.]

[theboogieman]

[he'd made a guess as to whether this initial moment would be met with neutrality or immediate conflict--and he's glad he guessed right. he's made no promises of civility himself, but is still walking into this with the specific intention of not starting a fight.

which doesn't always work, but hey. he's trying.]

I'd like to talk. [the full sentence is a little awkward and gruff as usual. he absently signs something in front of his chest before finding the right word.] And apologize.

[openhands]

[Wanting to talk doesn't catch Cassandra by surprise. She figured that sooner or later, he would want to say something even with as little as he does often speak at any length. But the desire to apologize? That does surprise Cassandra even if it doesn't show or soften her expression any.]

I'm listening.