<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/0/0a/Rudy_reyes.jpeg)</div><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">Santiago,</span><em>First Mate and "Public Relations"</em><br/>2519, present day<br/>Last Stand Saloon, Eavesdown Docks, Persephone<br/>Tagging - Thalia Linnea, Babette Lafayette, Aaron Shaw<br/>Location - Last Stand Saloon, the bar<br/><hr/><br/>I glanced back at Thalia and considered getting her a refill.  Maybe she would spill some stories of how<em>close</em>she and her friend Shey was, and just<em>how</em>intimately they knew each other.<br/><br/>Shey managed to make a deal and nothing bad happened.  Good on her.  Good on Samson, too.  Maybe she'll replace his bad memories with some good ones.<br/><br/>Babs seemed to be in bad shape.  She was talking all incoherent-like.  Not making no sense.  Kind of made me feel bad.  She done so much, saved so many.  Never seemed to have her head on straight.  Crazy Babs was becoming Crazier Babs.  Couldn't leave her like this.  When you can't run no more, you crawl, and when you can't do that, you find someone to carry you.  Babs needed carrying.<br/><br/>I sat her down in a stool.<br/><br/>"You listen here, Babette.  You want a job?  I'll see what I can do.  But you stop your nonsense.  All that crazy talk.  Talking about my backside and pigs and purple bellies.  Get it together, soldier.""<br/><br/>I turned to Aaron.<br/><br/>"Not just a single buffer panel, Shaw.  All of this stuff, too..."  I again rattled off some other items I knew the ship would need to be replaced.  "At the moment, yours odds ain't so good.  I'd say halfway between slim and none.  But if you impress Samson with everything on that list and then some, he'll find a use for you."  I looked down at the tablet he was pulling out.  "Though you'll want to confirm that list with Samson and a mechanic."<br/><br/>Having given the potential crew member a chance to show what he can do, I looked to Thalia to size him up on a psychological level.  The man would require closer inspection.  Thalia vouched for Shey, I'm a-going to act as a reference for Babette, but we didn't know Shaw at all.  He'd have to pull off something amazing, and maybe he might be able to do it.<br/><br/><br/><br/>