Glamorous (Day 4, Evening)

“Find something to do…” Serena grumbled, rubbing her ear once again. Tojiro, as it seemed - hadn’t slipped away, he rented not only the stateroom, but the crew room with all the bunk beds, meaning the beds would have to be moved to the cargo bay and bolted down. With Gil laid up, that meant the task would fall to her and the crew chief, and she’d already moved all the boxes from the Hydroponics room. Best to stay scarce for a bit anyway, so instead she headed for the crew table in the cargo bay.

Yaz waited patiently in the cargo bay finding a seat until things died down enough for her to remind the residents of her presence. Of course, the young boy and girl needed tending and any talk of buying passage could wait, she wasn’t in a rush. Her outer coat was neatly folded over a chair giving the cargo bay was rather cozy a warm. To her, she was dress in respectable clothing to face the cold of her previous accommodations according to her station. Even with long sleeves and a high neck, the dress was cut to flatter and compliment colored in emerald green and trimmed with gold. It was a more classic European look but it was no doubt doing its job keeping most of the chill away. She entertained sneaking to the galley for something warm to drink.

“I know exactly who’s gonna get stuck with all the… Stars and stones!” she exclaimed using one of the crew chief’s expressions, as she clutched a hand to her chest. “I didn’t think anyone was in here! Are you looking for a ship?”

“Oh! Hello.” Yaz said standing with a brilliant white smile. “I am Yazmina.” She said with a curtsy. “Doctor Adler actually rescued me from a kidnapper and if your ship is booking passenger I would be all too delighted to book passage.”

“Was it a Sampan class ship?” Serena asked warily.

“A what? N-no why would a ship kidnap anyone?” Yazmina asked with a slight tilt of her head. “No, my client … had some issues I couldn’t help him with.”

“We’re looking for passengers all right! We got all sorts of rooms, single rooms, double rooms, state rooms, what are you looking for, where do you wanna go?” Serena couldn’t help but stare at the woman’s green dress. It shimmered even in the dim light of the cargo bay. Like the woman herself, it was *stunning*.

“I tend to travel quite a bit but if you’re passing through a core world, Sihnon would be ideal and if you have a stateroom available I would love to book it.”

“Plenty of them. Well, sorta. One with a single bed and a few with double double beds, depends on what you’re looking for Yazmina”

“Well, it would just be me so a stateroom with a single bed would be more than sufficient.”

“You’re amazingly pretty,” Serena said from out of the blue, tentatively touching the sleeve of the woman’s green dress. “Even prettier n’ Jacy was, and she was a companion.”

Yazmina gave off a pleasant giggled. “Well, then I must be doing something right so you have a fellow companion on board?”

“Had, only she left and broke the Crew Chief’s heart so we try not to bring it up much only he’s not here so it’s okay. She used to have the shuttle, lucky bug that she was, I was in it once, it was amazing! And then I had to help clean it out and it’s kinda big.”

“Oh how sad and unfortunate! Well then ... how about a tour, some tea and you can show me who to pay for my stay.” Jasmina suggested holding out her hand. “You know you have very pretty hair.”

“Thanks!” Serena told her. “Only it’s hard to put in a hat, and if you don’t wear a hat, your ears will practically fall off! I’ll be glad to give you the tour. This here is the cargo bay. It’s off limits, ‘less you’re crew, like me. But even I knock usually.”

“If you want I can’t show you how to do up your hair nice so you can wear hats if you want.” Yazmina offered the chatty girl.

“Couldja? Only… I dunno. The captain calls me pigtails on account of I wear pigtails. My crew chief used to do the same, only now he usually calls me kid, but it’s okay, he ain’t patronizing, just shows he’s older n’ me is all. But if I don’t have my hair in pigtails, captain might know it ain’t me.” ”

“Oh, well, there are still a few tricks I have that might work with pigtails.” Yaz said with a nod. “Do you think I will be able to begin my rental for the stateroom tonight? I might be a little late to find a place in town and it would be much easier for me given the circumstances.”

“I don’t see why not! Soon as the lieutenant is done, she’ll give you prices, but we can go pick one out, she might be a bit on account of she’s with Mistah Doctah Adluh. Ship has it’s own doctor, and he’s a dentist too. Over there is where the crew chief sleeps, closest to the cargo bay. Up over there are the shuttles. One of ‘em works, one of ‘em is full of meat still. Up there is the bridge, don’t go there, ever, and over here is my bunk, it’s got a lock on the inside of the door and everything. If you go down there, you got the crew slings and the engine room and the med bay, and Mistah Doctah Adluh’s room, only now Gil’s in it, recovering from gettin’ bit by a wolf! I been assured he won’t turn into nothing but Gil on the next full moon, but I don’t know I buy it. And over here are the state rooms. This one is Leo’s, I’d rather go on the bridge than in there, but this one here is empty and you might like it. I think Tojiro Yamamoto took the one over there that used to belong to the Widow Schnabel and her dead husband Micah. Nice room though, right?”

Yazmina smiled at the girl chatty enthusiasm. She was in her own way charming. "It's lovely and more than sufficient." The companion agreed. "So … do you know what planets you'll be stopping on on your way to the white sun system?" She asked curiously to the young deckhand.

“Uh-huh, the Lieutenant gave me a list.” Serena said excitedly, ticking the planets off on the fingers of her hand. “We got Sho-Je Downs in Kalidssa, then a Skyplex, we’re gonna stop on Hera, that’s where Mistah Doctah Adluh is from, it’s in the Georgia System, an’ so is Athens ‘n Priam, but no matter what she said absolutely - which means definitely no Boros. And then we go to another Skplex and then High Gate in the Blue Sun system. We got some rooms booked for each, and even a couple a cargo drops to make. It’s gonna be a long stretch, but then we’re gonna go to White Sun. I ain’t been to the core much, my old ship mostly stuck to the rim. If you’re in a hurry though, you can talk to the Captain bout goin’ to the White Sun ‘fore Georgia, you’re really pretty so he might listen to you when he’s not drinking. Just not tonight on account of he got drunk,fired the doc and Riley re-hired him, then the Captain near threw up on the Crew Chief’s shoes an’ they’re still pretty new. So if you like the room, I’ll get the lieutenant for you if she’s available, she might be with Doctah Adluh still, and if him being with Marisol was any indication, it could be a while. The walls are kinda thin. Wanna come have a seat in the galley, I think the crew chief was about to make tea.”

“Well then, why don’t we let you Doctor and Lieutenant conclude their business first. Tea sounds absolutely lovely … I don’t believe I caught your name.” Yasmina said her dressmaking soft swishing sounds as they walked.

“Oh! Serena.” She said pointing to herself. “It’s not as exciting a name as Yazmina, I just spoke to someone who no lie was named Tojiro Yamamoto, that’s why I love talkin’ to the passengers, everyone has names that sound like far away places. The galley’s right over here. If you sail with us, you get breakfast and dinner and both are hot, at least I think they are, on account of we don’t really have anyone that cooks right now except I can make oatmeal an’ Crew Chief can make toast only most of the time he burns it and has to scrape off the well done parts.“

That got a giggle out of Yaz. “You Crew Cheif sounds like a character. Thankfully I have a fair hand at cooking. I may not be the caliber of a chef but I certainly know how not to burn toast.”

“He is, he looks out for the crew.” Serena bragged. “And I’m crew. C’mon, I’ll get you some tea, are you hungry? I think we have some of Roose’s stew and if not, there’s always toast!”