<div align="center"><strong>~ Sasha Dearing, First Officer - Still in the Gamble's cargo bay, itching to get to the job meet - on Persephone ~</strong></div><br/><strong>"Never ready, Ma'am... always prepared."</strong><br/><br/>The brand new crew member’s First Officer had specifically asked him if he was ready, so a reply that sounded suspiciously smart-assy wasn’t exactly a response that pleased her. Sasha’s blue eyes narrowed in displeasure as she observed the new recruit’s thick fingers squeeze his rifle tightly and heard his barely audible mumbled explanation followed by questions.<br/><br/><strong>"Sorry, old army saying.. anyhows, yes Ma'am, just lead the way."</strong><br/><strong>"So .. how do you like to be addressed, Ma'am? ... and  can I ask where it is we're goin'?"</strong><br/><br/>To top it off, she caught the new man’s quick glance at Dani, causing Sasha to quietly growl protectively in her throat. First day uncertainty and awkwardness she could understand and look past. But the soldier had damn well better stay the hell away from their medic, at least until she felt he had earned her trust to do so. Which so far he wasn’t even in the vicinity of doing.<br/><br/>Luckily Si walked up before her escalating temper got the best of her, his ever-calm, collected manner acting as a soothing balm to her aggressive response to McPherson’s behavior. It wouldn’t do for her to unceremoniously kick the man to the curb without even giving him a fair shot. But he was definitely on a short leash as far as she was concerned.<br/><br/><strong>"The war is over, Mister McPherson, and, even were that not so, we are not a military crew. Do try to keep in mind that we are not soldiers anymore. There is life to be lived outside of such affairs. That said, a sidearm should be more than enough protection for tea, even where we plan to have it. Everything will be fine."</strong><br/><br/>Sasha glanced sideways at Si, wondering if “having tea” was some kind of ke ai Army lingo.  Griff had seen fit to give her just the bare bones background on McPherson; that he had been a soldier on the side of the Independence and that he hailed from Aberdeen.  From his comportment so far, Sasha wagered he either hadn’t fared very well as a grunt with his borderline belligerence, or he had been higher up the food chain and was used to being at least in the know and possibly even in charge. Her very first impression of the man had been positive, and Sasha had learned to listen to her gut instinct. She<em>wanted</em>to trust the man, and she had a feeling she’d<em>like</em>the man. But he certainly wasn’t doing a very good job of selling so she wasn’t yet in the buying mood. He hadn’t dug himself too deep yet, but the dirt was surely flying fast.  With Si’s Alliance background and propensity for clean living, McPherson had the makins right out of the gate for getting under the skin of her already proven and trusted wingman. And McPerson seemed determined to do what he could to make sure he started off on the wrong foot.<br/><br/>In her heels, Sasha was taller than Si, and McPerson stood taller than her. As the big man glared at Si, mouth silent but with daggers shooting from his eyes, his large form automatically followed suit with his emotions, hulking menacingly toward Si without moving an inch. After he spat on the floor near their feet and began to none-too-subtly draw attention to his rifle, Sasha’s temper clawed its way to the surface of her control once more.<br/><br/><strong>"Fer a non-military vessel, we sure seem ta' have a complicated chain o' command. And I ain't that smart .. might take me a while ta get it figured out.  Should I leave the rifle behind, Ma'am?”</strong><br/><br/>Sasha smoothly stepped right in front of Steve, so close her body almost touched his as her icy blue gaze bored into him. Pinching his cigar between her fingers like it was an offending insect, she slowly slid the cylindrical object into one of Steve’s front pockets. Then, wrapping the fingers of one hand around the barrel of his rifle, she grabbed the stock with her other hand and pulled the gun downward between them until it was positioned horizontally across her hips. Leaning further forward, the firearm pressed firmly into McPherson below his belt. So close that her breath feathered across his cheek as she spoke, her deceptively soft tone was even more threatening than if she had been yelling at him.<br/><br/>“Nothing complicated about it, soldier, since I don’t take you for a chwen joo. But I’ll make things real simple for you all the same. Cap'n is in charge, and when he's not around that leaves me in charge. Ma’am is fine. And where we’re goin’ ain’t important - what I tell you to do when we get there is. You can leave your rifle on the ship; and you best be leaving your attitude wherever you just come from. Or you just might end up leaving behind something you’re a bit more attached to than your gun.” Emphasizing her last words with a firm thrust into his crotch with the side of his rifle, she then released his gun from her hands, his hands never having let go of the rifle. Her face still only inches from his, she growled almost sweetly, “We understand each other, McPherson?” Her mesmerizing blue eyes were that much more striking within the frame of her long dark lashes, their intensity holding his gaze captive for several more heartbeats as she waited for his affirmative reply.<br/><br/>At last stepping back from her confrontational position, Sasha took on a more professional demeanor and tone. “I assume you are<em>prepared</em>with more than just the rifle, McPherson?  So yes; the extra firearm is a little more of an impression than we feel a need to make with an old “friend”.<br/><br/>Tilting her head from side to side to release a bit of the tension built up in her muscles, she took a calming deep breath but ended up cursing as the influx of foul air expanded into her lungs. “Ta Ma De Hun Dan! Let’s get the hell on our way, shall we...boys?”  Taking one last look around the bay, she saw Lex standing next to Dani on one of the platforms overlooking the cargo hold.  Her anger began to slowly seep from her body as she recalled the smoldering look in Lex’s eyes as well as Dani’s sweet attempt at reassuring her that all was well. They had a job to do, and she was sure-fire tired of all the gorram inaction. Walking with her typically fast paced long-legged stride, Sasha assumed the men would fall in and be able to easily keep up with her, not bothering to check if that was the case as she headed off the ship.<br/><br/>Once they had made their way off the crowded docks and onto the congested street, Sasha turned to Steve, never breaking stride. “I know you were expecting to head out with the Cap’n, and I apologize for the short notice. That’s the first lesson, I suppose - you gotta always be ready for anything, willing to follow the lead and roll with the punches. And for the record - you’re not<em>needed</em>on this meet, you’re<em>wanted</em>~ you understand the difference?”<br/><br/>Glancing over at Si to make sure to include him in the conversation, she continued as they made their way through side streets, each new one looking vaguely just like the last. “As Si knows, we’re meeting a huai dan of a woman, goes by the name of Ferret. She’s no xiong meng de kuang ren, but we can’t go trusting her any farther than you can spit.” Her eyebrow raised in wry reference to his earlier disrespectful action. “So just look like you know how to keep the peace if needs be, but keep your hands off your piece. I’ll do the talkin’ and you do the watchin’.”<br/><br/>Stopping in the middle of the bustling street, Sasha stood with her stance wide and hands resting on her hips. Facing what looked like a respectable little florist shop, she tilted her head back to read the sign hanging above the door.  “The Best Little Hot House in Town”.  Striding up to the front door, Sasha flicked her eyes briefly at Si as she reached for the doorknob. “Always found the name rather amusing myself; although ‘delicate beauty’ or ‘sweet smelling’ might describe some of the flowers inside, them sure ain’t words that ever come to mind in relation to Ferret. Shall we?” She asked rhetorically as she opened the door and stepped confidently inside the shop.<br/><br/><br/><em>ke ai = cute<br/>chwen joo = idiot/moron<br/>Ta Ma De Hun Dan = mother humping son of a bitch<br/>huai dan = scoundrel<br/>xiong meng de kuang ren = violent lunatic</em><br/>