Vacation Interrupted

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OOC Date: March 26, 2011
IC Date: May 8, 2122

First week of leave and Commander Eisley is sent to bail out Dominic.


Mexico City, Mexico


The capital city of Mexico in a small, rundown police station that smells of feces and urine.


The early evening hours in Mexico City find First Lieutenant L'Anse laying down on a bench in a holding cell of the police station. The cell is empty, except for him, which allows him some time to close his eyes. He has his left forearm draped over his eyes, trying to block out as much light as possible as he rests. His knuckles on both hands show signs of fighting and the obvious smell of alcohol is in the air. The calls from other inmates down the hall on either side of the cell can be heard mixed in with the back noise of the building.

Enter… Commander Eisley. Except this version of her looks absolutely nothing like the starched, polished, stick-up-the-bum officer that appeared in the Secretary's office on that first fateful afternoon. For one thing, she's gotten a bit of a tan, and for another… well. She comes under escort, with one of the officers assigned to this detail; their boots are audible on the tile that paves the aisle, not quite moving in unison but in close enough cadence for argument's sake. The other inmates are patently ignored though. She has one particular goal, and from the precise blend of neutral dismay and shallowly buried disgust that curves at her mouth and keeps her eyes forward, the sooner she achieves that goal the better. They both stop outside this cell and the guard rattles his baton against the bars. "On your feet, Marine" says the woman before yon Mexican can get out the words. Hers are snapped out like the crack of a whip.

The audible click of the boots coming down the hallway after the distinct sound of the door to the area opening and slamming shut causes Dominic's eyes to open and his head to turn to face the bars. He doesn't move to sit up as the footsteps get closer in case they're for another prisoner, but as soon as Eisley appears, his eyes close and he mimics one of the first things he heard her say. "..fuck." As she barks her orders, his military instincts taking over to cause him to jump up like a shot, coming to stand at full attention. "Ma'am…" Is all he says to her.

To be fair she doesn't look any happier to see him than he is to see her, but such is life. Such is the unfortunate role she has been cast in, since apparently six months of leave does not in fact mean six months of full leave, in her case. Eisley steps back so that the jailer can unlock the cell and rattle back the door. "At ease," she says in the meantime. "I'd let you go as you were, but I do hope you don't want to stay here." This is rather more wry than her first snap, as is the little tilt that she gives the hallway, head inclined in the direction of the far doors.

Dominic's body relaxes and eases as the Commander gives the 'at ease' command. His attention draws to the guard as the door is unlocked and open before he steps out of the cell, giving a small throated growl to the guard as he passes by him, moving towards the door that she indicated. He remains silent through most of the discharge process only speaking when he is required to give answers. Not until they stepped outside does he speak again. "Thanks for bailing me out." He says to the Commander as he puts on his jacket military jacket over his civilian clothes. "I'll send you the money when I can. I'll see you after leave is up." He says, looking up and down the street before he starts to walk down the sidewalk, thinking the Commander may want to get back to her vacation.

Most of the paperwork gets handled by the Commander who, sadly, has to sign for him, or at least show her ID and verify appropriate discharge. It's a pretty simple process, not of note until the end, when they're both outside. And he might think that, and he might be right, after a fashion. "What?" This one word has that same subtle sharpness to it. It's not Eisley's fault, she's been snapping orders at people for years. "I flew all this way to bail your ass out of that shithole and that's it? Could you at least point me in the direction of the nearest beachside cantina so I can resume recreating?"

Dominic stops in his tracks at her single word, glancing back over his shoulder before he turns and faces the Commander. "I just figured you'd want to get back to your vacation." He thinks for a moment before he takes out a pack of cigarettes and lights one up. "Well…" He says, exhaling the smoke and looking up and down the street before looking back to her. "There's the El Mariachi which I'm sure I can't go back to or The Blue Rose a few blocks from here. Come on…" He says, turning and starting in the direction of the Rose. "…I'll buy you a drink or two." He stuffs the pack back into his pocket as he exhales the smoke.

"I do want to get back to my vacation," Eisley verifies. The sooner the better too, apparently. She tilts her head slightly at this suggestion, evidently willing to take his word for it, and moves to follow in whatever direction he's picked. "I wanted to see Mexico at some point before we left. I suppose now is as good a time as any." Surely this excuses her behavior and whatever inclines her to stay and drink with the man. Either way, she is clearly not in a hurry to be gone yet.

Dominic nods as he keeps to a pace she can easily catch up to him. "Well, welcome to Mexico, Commander. Home of tequila, margaritas and tacos." He says, extending his arms out towards the area in front of him. "Make sure you keep your wallet and cash close-by at all times and don't drink the water." He says as a tour guy would give their tour group historic information and takes another drag from his cigarette then flicking the ash to the street. He remains silent for a moment before he looks over to her. "So, where'd I drag you from anyway?"

Eisley has little trouble keeping up with whatever pace he sets, though it likely helps that he isn't going out of his way to lose her. "I wasn't planning to drink the water," she verifies. "I was up in Colorado. My dad has a place in the mountains; I've been on Mars for so long I'd almost forgotten what granite and pine trees look like." There is no telling at all what the place they're headed to will look like, either, but she doesn't mention any of that aloud. There is a moment of thoughtfulness here, her sobriety flicking over into something ever so slightly wry after. "So why are you here? Nice jails?"

Dominic nods his head slightly as he listens to her. "Never been to Colorado myself. Too fucking cold for my blood." He says, shaking his head before he turns a corner and starts down a side street. He grins and chuckles at her question to him. "Bullfights." He says simply. "The closet thing to the gladiatorial games of Ancient Rome as one can get these days. Thought I'd come and see my last few matches for at least twenty years." Up the road, a
sign can be seen that is just a picture of a blue rose. "We're here." The outside of the building looks like any of the other buildings in the city, but the inside looks like an American take on a Mexican restaurant.

"It's only cold eleven months out of the year," she offers back. His explanation draws out a smirk though, a twist of her mouth that sets one corner higher than the other. "Bullfights? I should have guessed. Though of the hundred or so things I want to do before I die.. I mean, before we launch, I never thought to put that on the list." When they reach the Blue Rose she slows for a moment, brow lifting slightly upon registration of the interior. Her thoughts about that American twist are shaken off though, dismissed without any hint of sharing.

Dominic nods as he smirks. "It's a great show, really." He says as he looks back at her, heading inside the building. "Sit anywhere you'd like." He says, following her to wherever she decides to sit at. "I think you'd appreciate the fights. I've got a booth reserved for the next fight if you'd like to join me. I think everyone should see at least one." He says, placing a drink order. "Dos cervezas y tequilas dos por favor."

Eisley finds a seat at the bar, maybe for convenience, and perches on her chosen stool with a lazy kind of grace quite at odds with her uniformed clone. Some of the mannerisms are the same: her back remains straight, she is wholly fidget-free, and left to her own devices her gaze tends to wander to points far distant, though it comes back quickly enough when he speaks. This offer wins the loft of one eyebrow and a fragmented moment of consideration. "Sure," she accepts. "I don't have a pressing social calendar, as-is, and it will probably be my last chance." He can order; she merely nods at the bartender as if to verify what he's asked for.

Dominic watches the waiter go and fetch the drinks, getting comfortable in the bar. "I'll make sure to give you all the info on the fight before we part ways today." He says to her, resting his cigarette in the ashtray. "So, why did you go to Mars anyway?" He asks after a brief lull in the conversation, the waiter returning with two shots of tequila and two Mexican beers and sets them on the table. Dominic takes up one of the shot glasses and offers a toast. "Here's to a long vacation before a very long journey." With that, he tosses back the shot and slams down the empty glass.

There will necessarily be an even longer lull in the conversation because the drinks come, and though Eisley picks up hers and lifts to the toast, she also spends a very long moment looking at the liquid inside before downing. Needless to say, she also doesn't slam the glass down, but sets it instead, more philosophical in her approach to drinking. "I was stationed there," she answers. "I didn't have a lot of say at the time. My first post was on the Columbus when it orbited the planet, and when the option came to go ashore, I took it. Mars, you know? Our first major off-world settlement." The moon, obviously, doesn't count. Her hand comes up to rub at the back of her neck, elbow settling on the table. "You never went?"

Dominic nods his head as he sips on the beer as she tells her story. "I suppose I could understand that." He says to her as he studies the Commander's mannerisms for a few moments before he shakes his head. "No, I'll never have left the planet until Genesis launches. I had the option to go to Mars, but I opted to stay here on Earth and fight in the war. I was there from start to finish." He takes another pull from the bottle of beer.

"Ah," answers Eisley, shifting her attention to her bottle. She picks it up and tips it this way and that as if to watch the contents through the lines of the glass. Either way it holds her gaze, trapping that distant blue stare. "I didn't see active warfare until I got to Mars. I don't know how much of what happened there made the news back here, but…" She shakes her head. "People are people no matter what planet they end up on, I guess."

Dominic nods his head slightly, a slight frown forming on his lips. "I've seen fighting my entire life. It's nothing new, but the military was just more organized. There will never be peace as it's not in our nature to be peaceful. We'll never find common ground on everything. Just the way life is." He says, shrugging. "No matter how much we evolve, we'll always have a need for violence."

Eisley repeats her last words. "People are people." She chases them down with a sip of beer, then turns her gaze on Dominic with the loft of an eyebrow. "And you? How much violence do you need?" It is a rather direct question, yes, but she surely has a vested interest in the answer. Here, off the record, might even be the best place for her to get it.

Dominic raises an eyebrow slightly at the surprise question which causes him to actually think about the answer. He takes a long pull from the bottle, looking at the contents before he finally speaks. "I'm a solder. My need for
violence is determined by those giving the orders. Until I get placed in a position where I'm the one giving the orders, then the only thing I can say is that I'll do what ever it takes to get those under me back home alive and
as much in one piece as possible."

It takes Eisley almost as long to process and respond to that answer as it took him to come up with it. She also sips, thoughtfully, before she nods. "Fair enough. I can live with that." As proof of this, she signals at the bartender, holding two fingers up at him. It's the universal sign for another round, though this one might be on her. They're on leave. More tequila and more beer has got to be the order of the day. "You're going to have a whole lot of people to look after."

Dominic nods his head as he looks at her while she orders the other rounds. "I know. I wouldn't have taken the position if I didn't think I was up to the task. You can count on me." He says before he sits back and smirks. "Besides, we're going to be asleep for the entire trip. What's the worse that can happen? Just have to keep everyone in line while we transition to the new planet from the ship." As the new drinks arrive, he downs the last of the first beer and then picks up the next. He takes a quick sip from this one before he speaks again. "Commander, how much of my record have you seen?" He asks, mainly trying to gage if she knows about what brought him to volunteer for the mission.

It'll be evident in a second or two that what she really wanted was the tequila, because when it arrives she abandons her beer to chase it down with about half of the second shot. The slowness of this leads to a brief closing of the eyes before Eisley glances over again, pushing through another of those little delays while she formulates an answer. "I've seen your jacket, L'Anse. I spent the first week of my fully paid vacation reading through all the personnel records. Around the middle of Day 6 I realized that nothing that was filed on paper was ultimately going to make a single stitch of difference."

Dominic nods as he leave the shots for her and takes up the beers instead. "Just making sure you were aware of everything in regards to my situation a few months ago." He takes another drink from the bottle. "Not that it'll matter much once we're launched from here." He says, slightly shrugging his shoulders.

"Is there anything else that I need to be aware of?" Eisley watches the Marine with thoughtful interest. The question is a mild thing though, without malice, without even a very strong press for information behind it. She finishes that shot then and sets this glass down beside the first, rim down. Whether he does nor not doesn't seem to matter. "You have an impressive record, either way."

Dominic shakes his head. "Nope. No family, no ties to bring me back here. I'm here for the long haul and once I'm off this planet, I don't plan on coming back unless we get turned around instead of giving the settle signal." He idly twirls a finger along the rim of the bottle. "Did you ever get your answer to why you got the job and not some other bloke?"

Eisley tips her head. "Ramesh does. He's leaving a wife and two little kids…" This is neither confidential nor need-to-know information, though it is probably not commonly available. She wets her lower lip, maybe licking away the last of the tequila there, then closes her eyes against the slow rise of the necessary haze. "Not specifically. I've made an educated guess though, and it has more or less been confirmed by the Secretary's decision to keep me on round-up duty."

Dominic nods his head at the mention of the Captain's family. "He'll probably send for them once everything is settled and they're ready to send more people or go back to Earth." He says, making a guess. He takes a drink from the beer before he raises an eyebrow slightly. "Oh yeah? Care to share you hypothesis or would that be above my pay grade?" He asks with a soft chuckle.

"Sure, and by the time they get there to join him, his wife will be wearing someone else's ring and his kids will be almost grown…" The Commander might be a touch pessimistic. It isn't her problem though. This other question might be and it requires some thought, and apparently some more tequila. "Sometimes you have to make the call between a bad decision and a worse one. Admiral Santiago offered me my promotion. I declined and I got shipped back to Earth and figured I'd be driving a desk for the rest of my career. Evidently he had a change of heart." There are plenty of lines one can read between, certainly.

Dominic nods his head slightly though the part about her declining a promotion. This causes his eyebrow to raise once more. "You know, I think you might be the first person I've known to ever turn down a promotion. Most people take it and the pay raise." He says with a smirk, taking another drink of his beer. "I know I would." He offers a slight smile, trying to decide wither or not to push the subject, opting not to. "So, where are you heading off to after this? Who knows, I might need to find you quicker in case I need to make bail again."

Eisley smirks a teeny, tiny bit. "Have you ever -met- Admiral Santiago?" It's probably a rhetorical question, but she gives no further hints in that department, merely moves on with the conversation to the next question. This, of course, makes her groan a little. "Are you trying to get my phone number, Marine?" That's all it took for the good doctor to get her contact information, anyway. That and an order from the Secretary of the Navy, but who's counting? Tequila makes everything better, but she approaches the third shot a bit more circumspectly, collecting it but not drinking, yet. "I'll probably spend a few days on the coast, and go see whatever old, crumbling ruins survived the shift. I'll try and make it back for your bullfight though."

Dominic shakes his head as he chuckles. "I can't say that I have had the pleasure of meeting the Admiral." He says with a smirk that grows into a small grin as she teases him a bit. "Well, I figured since you weren't technically my CO yet until you check in after leave, it'd be okay. Wouldn't break any of the rules." He says in return, offering a small laugh before he drains his second beer and picks up the third. "Don't worry about it if you miss it. There's bullfights all over the world. I'm sure you'll run into one somewhere in the world." He looks down at the beer in his hands. "Well, I'll make sure to check the coast first if I get locked up again."

"Or maybe I'll simply get stuck with that particular detail again, no matter where I happen to be at the time. Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef? Oh, hell, have to go bail out L'Anse again. Sailing the Rim of Fire? Fuck, L'Anse is in jail again.." She sounds annoyed, but Eisley still smirks, creating a strange dichotomy between what she says and what she means. "The only saving grace about shipping out on the Genesis is that they will finally have run out of ways to stop making my life miserable." Famous last words for $300, Alex.

Dominic can't help but laugh as she predicts the outcome of the rest of her leave. "Well, at least you'll have a drink and company waiting for you afterwards. Though I'll try not to get into too much trouble from here on out. Wasn't really my fault this time anyway." He says with a smile before he takes a drink. "But, for what's worth, thanks for coming and getting me out of there. I hope I can make it up to you some time."

Eisley lifts the last glass to sip from, but apparently thinks better of it before it actually reaches her lips. She glances down into it for a second, then returns it to the counter. "Do try not to make a habit of it. Otherwise, try and get it out of your system before it's time to leave. I hate to think of what spending ten years in cryo with a hangover will do to a man…" An exhale is breathed as if she could dismiss all of that simply through mental release. "But you're welcome."

Dominic chuckles and nods. "I'll be sober when we leave." He says before he takes another drink from the bottle in his hand. "I'll try to stay out of jail, but I can't make the same promise for the other people. They may start it. I'll just try to use my better judgment." He says, not wanting to ruin what may be the last time the woman steps foot on Earth. Which brings up another question. "When we get there, you planning on coming back or is this
a one way trip for you too?"

Wow. Nothing like asking the hard questions right from the start, huh? Again Eisley is slow to answer and it is perhaps an act of willpower that keeps her from drinking again instead of answering. Her hands come together then, fingertips touching to form a steeple and then lacing together to clasp, both arms now on the counter. "I don't have much to come back to," she answers blandly. "Maybe when I retire, if it doesn't pan out into the beautiful New Eden we've all been hoping for, I'll put in for a return ticket. Hell, it'd probably be like visiting my fourth new planet."

Dominic isn't one for holding back the tough questions obviously, leaning back in his seat as he listens. "Hopefully it will be the New Eden we've wanted and hoped for, but we'll have to see when we get there." He sets the third bottle down on the bar top after he kills the bottle. "Though in my experience, nothing the military does goes smoothly as planned. If we wake up in a parallel dimension or as pets for an alien race, I'll be pissed."

Eisley glances sidelong at him. "I'm glad I'm not the only one with misgivings about this. Some of it - all of it - seems a little too… I don't know. Something about it bothers me. Chalk it up to the weapons payload, or the fact that it was an anonymous donation with no RSVP." Remember her reaction to finding out that she had been volunteered for her position? Oh yes. "We will have to hope for the best and plan for the worst."

Dominic nods. "That's a relief to know I am not the only one who has misgivings." He says, relaxing a bit in his seat as he looks at her. "That's something that was bothering me too. Why would anyone give out spots on the ship. You'd think with as much as was put into it, wouldn't they want to make some of that back through sales of tickets or something? And I've heard rumors about some of the people who got spots. I'm starting to think that they're trying to get rid of us or something."

And thus dies the last of Eisley's self control. The last shot glass of tequila is picked up and emptied, doing away with temptation in the most ancient of ways. It joins the other three on her napkin, rim down, as she shakes her head. "The whole roster is a bit sketchy," she agrees. "For every one person who likely volunteered out of a desire to face the unknown, I'll wager there are five or six who are in it to escape something here. Our colonists are, sadly, an even worse draw than the crew. The trip might be uneventful, but arrival…" This thought trails off with another shake, slow, pensive.

Dominic frowns and nods, his arms coming crossed at his chest. "Yeah, looking over the security crew, there's some of them I'm not sure I trust fully. I was going to request a chance to pick my own detail. At least some people I can trust with a weapon." He thinks for a few moments. "I'll tell you now, I'm just looking for a fresh start." The uneasy feeling starting to return now that his fears are shared with others.

"…that doesn't bode well," she observes next, quietly. "I'm afraid the roster has already been filled and no substitutions will be allowed, largely because they've made their payouts and tagged everyone already. Though you will surely have some latitude to work within aboard the ship, sadly, you will have to make due with the resources at hand." Eisley's hands unfold, one returning to that place behind her neck to rub at the nape. "And why wouldn't you be permitted a fresh start..?"

Dominic sighs and shrugs. "Well, I'll just keep an extra eye on the ones I don't trust." He says before he shakes his head. "Oh no. I was given a fresh start, but it's the people who don't forget. A lot of people here see me as a traitor, a convict and a criminal. They don't remember who I was before I was caught, just who I was after. I can't get a fresh start here because no one will forget."

Eisley tilts her head at that. "It's a shame you have to go so far to find somewhere that it doesn't matter. It's a shame, really." Her voice quiets; it's lost a great deal of her typical edge. The verbal whip has been set down
somewhere. "It speaks so much - and little of it good - that we are so quick to forget the good things a person does, yet hold aloft a few mistakes."

Dominic smiles and nods. "Yeah. People are people." He says, quoting her from earlier in the evening. "But it's alright though. I don't blame anyone else. They were my actions and my consequences besides, I get to be apart of the crew that gets to colonize a previously unknown world. If I settle down and have a family, it'll be something that the future generations can be proud of. No one will remember what I did before that." He says that last part with a small smile and a far off look.

"Correct." Eisley nods, though only once. "Your record starts anew when you report to the Genesis in…" However much time is remaining on that great ticking clock. All of them probably know, to the day, how much time is left. "What we do from then on becomes history. Not for Earth, but for New Eden." These words -should- sound bold, like some kind of canned morale speech. However now they come with some wariness, maybe harkening back to earlier misgivings about the nature of the trip itself.

Dominic nods. "Well, if the Captain remains the person he seemed to be in the meeting and you work out how I hope you will, we should be fairly successful. I'm not really looking forward to getting there and dealing with everyone." He says, shaking his head slightly. "I move that we don't unthaw the civilians until we got a handle on the situation we land into."

Eisley is quiet for another moment, one beat of perfect silence that ends as she tilts her head. "The Captain is a good man. One of… few. I served with him aboard the Columbus, though I do not know if he remembers me at all." His suggestion there makes her laugh, but there is something slightly bitter behind it. "I'll bring that up to him, though. I don't have a complete civilian roster, and I tend to agree that before we got waking them up and turning them loose that we should get to know the unknown a little bit."

Dominic nods. "Wake them up once we're ready to start building a colony there. And even then I think we should only thaw out the ones we need." He says before he stops talking, realizing that he's talking about work while on vacation, he shakes his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get to talking about work." He offers a smile. "I hope I wasn't dragging you away from something good in Colorado."

"But which ones are those..?" It's a rhetorical question. Eisley folds her arms against the edge of the bar and leans that way now, getting comfortable. The tequila has all but completely melted the stiffness out of her, but hasn't
done a whole lot to raise her spirits. "It's all right. I am still of more than half a mind that six months was too long for anyone to be on leave. If I didn't have ten years of advance pay at my disposal I'd be going stir crazy already." His apology is accepted, but deflected. "Anyway, I would like to think that getting to know the crew in advance will save some nasty surprises further down the line."

Dominic nods his head as he smirks. "Yeah? How's that one guy doing? The one who gave up the money." He tries to remember the Doc's name, but between the alcohol and time that's passed, he's forgotten it. "I bet he's going stir crazy for sure." He says, chuckling slightly. "The pay was a good incentive to join the crew and not everyone has trade crafts. We can leave them sleeping, go through the files of each civilian and see what trade crafts they have. We'll need wielders, mechanics, engineers, medics and the like. We can unthaw the ones we want to help us and leave the rest." He says, offering an idea. "Once we have access to the crew manifests and computer on board the ship, we should be able to pick out a rebuilding crew to assist. Plus the crew we have are extra hands."

It takes Eisley a moment to figure out who he's talking about. "He's … still out there. So long as he makes contact at the appointed hour, it really is not any of my business what he's doing." Which might be to say that she hasn't had to go bail -him- out of any third world prisons yet. "And you're right. If at all possible, I'd like to narrow the field down to those who won't generate more problems than they correct through production. I do not yet know what information will be made available on them, what with their crime and debt forgiveness, but I will see if I can pull any strings before we go to make sure we've got something to work from." So much for the idea of a totally clean slate.

Dominic nods his head. "If you get it, send me a copy. I'll go through it and see if I can't come up with a list of potential people we can unthaw to help rebuild. That way we have a game plan before we ever leave. I'll send it to you and if you approve, you can send it up to the Captain. I'd like to have as many contingency plans as possible in place before we arrive at New Eden so we don't have to run around like a chicken with our head cut off."

Eisley tilts her head slightly. "I like how you think. Ordinarily I wouldn't make so much of it, but since we'll be outnumbered about 450 to 1 when we arrive…" …nevermind the obstacles on the planet, whenever they get there… "I will see what I can do. Though I suppose this really does mean I'll have to have a reliable way of getting in contact with you again." Something about this makes her smirk, drawing her away from pending moroseness.

Dominic nods his head. "It's how I managed to survive the entire war. I always had multiple plans and escape routes for each mission we went on." He says before an eyebrow raises again at the mentioning of needing to get in contact, a smirk forming on his lips. "Commander, are you trying to get my number?" He asks, the tone of his voice is a playful one.

It's going to be such a shame when Eisley there has to turn back into the Commander. This, however, makes her laugh. "Apparently I am, and I'm banking on getting at least one more round of drinks out of it as payback for advanced information on our cargo. Assuming I can get it." Pause. "Otherwise I'll just bide my time until I can rattle your cage again." Which very nearly begs the question: just how many times -is- she going to have to make bail, anyway?

Dominic smirks and nods, digging into his jacket pockets and pulls out a pen. He writes his number on a napkin and hands it to her. "Alright. Here you go, but remember that I'm not a cheap date and I don't put out on the first date either." He shrugs his shoulders slightly, his expression shows that he's serious, but his tone says otherwise. He shakes his head. "I'm just not that kind of girl." He smirks and laughs before he orders another round of drinks.

…all of which merely makes her laugh more, quietly. In the end all Eisley can do is shake her head though. She takes the napkin and studies the number for a few seconds as if that might help her remember it later, then folds it twice and tucks it into a pocket. "No," she agrees, "somehow I don't think you are. But you're in luck, because I'm not that kind of girl either." His smirk is matched, though as the next round of drinks makes its appearance she straightens. "I can't make any promises on this one, though. They might seal the records or something stupid like that."

Dominic nods and chuckles as the next round of drinks arrives, sliding the shots to her and picks up a beer. "Well, that's good. I won't have to worry about you taking advantage of me and then waking up in a seedy motel bathroom full of ice." He takes a drink and nods. "That's alright. If you can't get them, then you can't get them. I'll still work on some plans for you that don't require the list. Best be prepared in any case. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em as well."

There's some slight inequity in this, giving her all the tequila while he sticks to the beer. Maybe that is why Eisley doesn't reach yet for another glass but rather slides the first three away, using her fingertips and the napkin to move the lot. "I hope to God they have the sense to let us aboard before they start freezing the civilians." There is a thought there; it flowers in a moment, giving way to, "I've been reviewing operational parameters. It appears as though we might be using it as a point of operation for quite some time while the colony is established. I believe it would serve all of us well if you took the time to… familiarize yourself with her before we depart."

Dominic chuckles and nods. "Oh, they have to freeze us last. I mean, not even the military can be that much of an idiot… right?" He says as he thinks about that for a moment before her new thought blooms and catches his attention. "I've already been reviewing it. I started the day I got it. I got it back at my hotel." Yeah, he gets to sleep in a bed rather than on a bench in a Mexican jail. He looks back to her, unaware of the mariachi band sneaking up on the table. "I'll have it memorized before we launch and I'll send word to everyone in my department to do the same."

The only way there better be a mariachi band sneaking up on them is if there are also a bunch of doves waiting to be release dramatically past the windows. Eisley smirks at his first comment and leaves -that- entirely alone, as any good career officer ought. The rest is given a shake of her head. "Not the mission, the ship. I know we're going to have an official tour, but I want you to take an unofficial one. Open doors, look under floor panels, lift the hood of the engine. Amazing as it may seem, I do not like surprises."

Dominic nods his head as he takes a drink of the beer, seeing the band in the reflection off the bottle. "No music thanks. Not a date." He waves them off before he looks back and nods. "You know, I always wanted to see it up close… Might be a good idea to check it out. You know, go above and beyond my duty requirements. I'll do what I can and try to see if I can buy myself an early all access pass to the ship. Not like I've got much else to buy." He smirks as his mind starts to work on a plan of attack.

Eisley twists slightly around to see who he's talking to, tensing for a second. When it is in fact just the band she relaxes slightly, hand lowering to the counter to trace in the wood grain. "…do what you can," she allows. "If you can't get aboard before the festivities start for real, then certainly afterward. Know your territory, and all that." She pauses for a moment to consider, then goes on. "At the moment that is the only real suggestion I have. There are too many unknown variables to plan for all of them."

Dominic nods his head before he looks back again as she turns, looking back at her. "Don't worry. The moment I get access, I'll study every bolt holding that ship together personally even if it takes the entire trip to do it." He says with a smirk. "It won't be that long, though, I promise." He says before taking a long pull of his beer. "I'll make sure you have all the information you need to do your job to the best of your abilities. It's my job, after all, to make sure you can do your job right."

Eisley smiles at this. "Excellent. You help me with my job, and I'll help you with yours." Which ultimately is the best of both worlds, and in theory ensures that things run as smoothly as possible. One of her hands strays toward a glass to pick up slowly, and then to sip from. It's tequila. It's probably not even very good tequila. She makes a bit of a face, then downs a harder swallow of it, like that will correct the taste somehow. "And together we can hope that we aren't shipping out into disaster."

Dominic smiles as she does, nodding. "Sounds like a plan to me." He says, draining the last of the beer and eyes the last bottle, debating wither or not to finish it. He lets out a sigh before he gives and and picks up the bottle. "And if we are shipping ourself into disaster, I'll do my damnedest to make sure we get out of it." He takes a drink from the bottle, setting it down. "I'm not dying in space."

This last glass is emptied, leaving one behind. Four is apparently the Commander's limit, particularly in this kind of time frame. She fishes in a pocket for some currency to leave on the bar and offers what might be parting thoughts. "Hold fast to that thought," she murmurs. "I have no intention of doing that either. I will, however, be in touch, either to provide you with a civilian roster or to let you know that my efforts came up empty. And you. You try and stay out of trouble."

Dominic downs the last of his drink shuttering slightly. "Oh, that's my last one." He says, mostly to himself. He looks up at her and nods. "Alright. I'll make sure I have a few ideas ready before you call. You take care and I'll make sure to stay out of trouble until I start missing you or I need a drinking buddy." He jokes, offering a grin. "Be safe and thanks again." He calls after her.


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