1. Say, say, say, ain't it been some kinda day

[pompous_today]

Who: Simon Tam and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Anyone aboard the Marsiva
When: From yesterday until the mighty shuffle!

[A very well-dressed man is seriously studying the communicator. His hair is tousled, and his clothing- fancy as it is- looks disheveled. Like he fell asleep in his clothes or... something else.

Hmmm.

At any rate, the young man looks pretty irate, but when he speaks, his voice is perfectly friendly.]

I've been watching this network for a bit and want to make sure I am understanding things correctly. I am part of a group of people who have been abducted and will be used to entertain a television audience? [He purses his lips.] Is there anything else I should know?

Comments

[pompous_today]

[That manages to tease a smile out of him.]

Even if I am unlucky, I am used to dealing with crewmates I do not get along with. I hope it will not end up being a problem, though. What sort of ships are they?

[got_it_memorized]

Oh, so you've done this spaceship ride before, huh? Well, so far I haven't met anybody too intolerable. Even the guy I thought was a huge jerk isn't so bad when he's deigning to engage in conversation like a normal person. [Fenris is still a jerk, but maybe a slightly less massive one than Axel had thought.]

Sort? Mm, that I'm not sure. They're not Gummi Ships, which are the only kind I was ever familiar with before this, but space engineering was never my strong suit. They're kinda small and not real fancy, and they mostly only fly in a holding pattern around the big monolith ship you're on right now.

[pompous_today]

Indeed- space travel is commonplace where I come from. [He smiles.] Sometimes people who seem difficult to get along with can be different depending on the circumstances. [He and Jayne had been the same way, after all- the two had been very antagonistic until the crew had banded tightly together to broadcast the message from Miranda.]

A Gummi Ship sounds like a sort of candy. But thank you for the information- do the ships ever leave this holding pattern?

[got_it_memorized]

That's true. And first impressions aren't always accurate, either. Everything's kind of a work in progress.

Candy? Well... you're not wrong... [He's still not sure how the gummi blocks work, to be honest, and he'd rather not think about the hull of a ship being made out of taffy or... whatever they're made of. It's a little creepy, and he's still not convinced Cid wasn't a little nuts.]

If your ship has someone with a pilot augment, they'll be able to take the ship out of autopilot and tool around a bit, but I don't think you can get real far from the Marsiva. There's little shuttles, too, that I think anybody can pilot, if you feel like going for a joyride.

[pompous_today]

Exactly.

[He listens intently, making a mental note of everything.]

Well, then, I hope I will be so lucky. I am not the type to go for a joyride, though- I'm a doctor, so I tend to leave the flying to the pilots. Of course, that doesn't mean I wouldn't ride along with someone else, but by myself I tend to play it safe.

[got_it_memorized]

Playing it safe is never a bad idea. [It can get a little dull, but in the end, you gotta look out for #1.]

Well, welcome to the ride, Doc. Got a name? Mine's Axel, I'm captain of the Tourist.

[pompous_today]

I'm Simon- it is nice to meet you, Captain. And thank you for the information.

[got_it_memorized]

[He starts to tell him 'Axel' is fine, but then stops. 'Captain' actually sounds kind of cool, so... he'll leave it at that.]

Maybe I'll see you around, then, Doc Simon.

[pompous_today]

Of course- perhaps I will even end up on your ship.