Custo' wanders in carrying a crate. No-one is in the bar, as seems to be the norm for the last few days. He dumps the box down on the bar counter. Even the bartender was missing.
'Where the hell is everyone?...' The silence pressed in. 'God, anyone would have thought you were all dead...' There was still no responce from the empty bar. Even the regular Cretian defence force pilots were absent from the scene. Custo' prized the lid off the crate. It contained ball after ball of tumble weed. Custo' began to grumble 'If no-ones going to bloody come in here, I'll make it at least feel deserted.' He leaned over the counter, poured himself a beer, downed it and proceeded to hurl tumble weed over the tavarn. Sure Custo' was enjoying the mindless messing up of the bar floor, but Jose the night-shift barman would probaly bar him/attempt to attack him when he turned up. Good times:P
Lucendez walks in still bandaged from his fight with the Cylon fighter. He looks better than he came in, but his left eye is covered with a grayish metal. He looks around with his good eye and sees Custo' making a mess of things.
"I know, its been quiet but trust me, it's good to relax a little bit, and win a little bit." Juan referenced to recent Corsair victory in Maltan space.
"Jose! Water please." Whispering to Custo': "Jose makes horrible milkshakes, I usually don't come here this late."
Juan pulled away and sat next to Custo'.
"Seriously though, I'm wondering what to do. How can I be of service to my people? I was thinking about going back to Delta to help the Zoners, and thus help the Corsairs in that area. But with the recent ... power realignments, I can't afford to lock myself up like a hermit. I need to do something damn it!"
Jose set the glass of water down on the table, Juan didn't see it, the glass being in his blind spot.
Raul was outside, walking around in the city of Crete, where he accidentally sighted the bar, with lights on. "*sigh*, Why not?" He said. He changed his path straight to the bar entrance.
When he walked in, he only saw Juan Lucendez, Custo and the night-shift barkeeper Jose. He moved his eyes towards the floor and saw tumbleweed scattered across it. "Oh my, what happened here? Do you have any idea who did this?" Raul asked. "It was Custo, Elder Yanez." Jose answered. "Oh, Custo, do you really enjoy messing the floors up?" Raul asked with slight sleepiness. "Anyway, Jose, give me a glass of water, please."
Raul sat down next to Juan. "Umm, I think that glass over there is yours, Juan. So, what pulled you two into the bar this late night?"
Juan turned his head so his good eye could see the drink. Smiling he said "Damn it. Well, to answer your question Elder Yanez, I just got discharged from the medical facilities. Seems the Corsair weapon the Cylons were using managed to singe the nerve endings in my socket, they can't replace it."
He felt the metal plate for a second, then said "What about you Raul? Can't sleep anymore?"
"I just wanted to feel the air of Crete in night-time, so I decided to take a little walk... Sometimes, in space, it just happens that I miss this planet, even though I'm patrolling above it... Anyway, this is no issue. I hope you'll get well soon, Juan. That metal plate makes you look dangerous, though." Raul chuckled and finished his glass of water.
"Ah, the water tastes in the night even better than in the day. Well, sleep is also important for a fighting man, a mental preparation for tomorrow's struggle... This walk did good to me. Again, get well soon, Juan, and Custo, you can clean up the floors for, say, 5 days? This should be enough. See you later all." Raul disappeared through the bar entrance out into the night.
Sephardi walked into the bar, seeing Elder Yanez, Juan Lucendez and Custo sitting near the bar, he proceded over to them. "Jose, agwa por favor" He called out. Jose came back with the water, he was becoming annoyed with all these brothers never ordering real drinks from him, enough to give a bartender a complex. It showed on his face when he set the water down. Sephardi looked at him and said, "ok..ok.. and a whiskey neat hermano". Jose smiled and went to get the drink. Sephardi looked at Lucendez, "Brother I need to talk to you, can you join me at a table over there?" Lucendez turned his good eye towards his brother quizickly. He then followsed Miguel Sephardi over to the table. Sephardi started " First it's good to see you up and around. Now, with the changes in the power dynamic here on Crete, I'm sure you will have to spend much more time here on Crete. And knowing you I assume you do not want to leave your tasks on Yaren undone, with that in mind, I offer myself to you me hermano. I will station on Yaren base, one the front line of the nomad incursion, fighting along side our freinds the Zoners and the Order. Brother you must think of all the corsairs now, You must be here, be a presense, I will fill your place, let thoughts of Omicron Delta not distract you from your duties here on Crete." With that Miguel Sephardi, threw back his drink and awaited his brothers reply.
Magia peeked into the bar, nervous. The entire time she'd been on Crete, she'd yet to see a friendly face, though admittedly, none had yet been agressive, either. There seemed to be a few people in the bar, but it looked empty, more so than it should have been. 'Screw it,' she thought to herself, and stepped in the rest of the way, pulling up a stool at the far end of the bar.
Magia motioned to the bartender, hoping to get a drink with some kick to it. She didn't look around, didn't try to recognise faces - she'd stopped doing that about a week ago when she realised there would likely never be anyone familiar again. It was strange being so far from home, but it was time to get used to it, time to start over and make things work over here.
The bartender mumbled something about making a real order. "I'll take your house special, good sir." There was only a slight tone of sarcasm in her voice, barely hidden beneath the gloom she was in.
Lucendez leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. Matters on Crete and a rumor of a new Kusari offensive made his return to Delta unwise.
"I would not command you to go, Sephardi. The situation in Delta has been toned down. The post could range from boring to suicidal, and I would not press anything onto your shoulders. However, if you wish to take my place I don't see why not."
"A bit of advice: protect Zoner interests to protect Corsair interests. Be diplomatic and never stick your foot into something that would have no foreseeable impact on the Corsair security interests ... then again, follow your heart and use your head."
Lucendez picked up his glass and swirled the water around. Nomads were one thing, but Cylons were just as deadly. And they had both made their little home around Yaren. He wasn't going to command one person to go into a battlefield, especially one of his brothers.
"I understand, but it is nessesary, the Brotherhood must not forget our intrests in Omicron Delta. If the Brotherhood cannot maintain control of our facilities, we lose our power. I do not need you to order me brother, I just need your blessings, I feel very strongly that we must maintain our presence in Delta, And your words of advice do not fall on deaf ears brother, I shall heed them as I go on my way." With that Miguel Sephardi downed his whiskey, sttod and extednded his had to his brother, an anceint custom of respect between people, Brother Lucendez grasped his arm and wished him luck, and with that Sephardi was on his way to delta.
Custo' picked up a ball of tumble weed and threw it out the window. Street cleaners could deal with it. Satisfyed that he had done some cleaning he reasoned he could do the rest tommorow. Finished with his work Custo' sat down at the bar again to get a beer when he noticed a new face at the bar.
'Hey hermana! I've never seen you here before. Where you hail from?' Magia turned around nervously.