Lazy Days (Luke)

[somerandomhippie]

With a snicker, Katy trotted out of the lift. Today was a lax day, for once. No aliens, no rips, no action whatsoever. Not that Katy minded-- relaxed days were quite nice after a spot of action the size of Belgium. Still, from what she had heard, the flight deck was actually quite boring most of the time. Huh. Sounded like they needed some entertainment.

Armed with a music player, a couple old DVD's, and a thermos of coffee from the chef, she snuck up to the door of the flight deck. She giggled behind her hand. She had taken acting classes back in university-- besides being a police officer, making an entrance was her life's calling. Shoving open the door, she took a running start and slid across the pristine floor, arms spread wide.

"Hello!" she sang in a cheery voice. "It's the Odd Job Squad, looking to cheer up your day! What can I do for you, sir?" Seeing as Luke was the only person up there, she directed her antics to him.

[Luke Martin]

Luke was on shift on the flight deck and it was a SLOW afternoon. Yes, that slow. They weren't really heading anywhere in particular, and the ship's systems didn't need any tinkering with or anything like that, so he was reclining in his seat with a cup of coffee and a book, his glasses perched on his head rather than over his eyes where they should have been. It was a crime novel from the 2100's. It didn't differ much from the other stuff he'd read, just the technology was more primitive. They still used bullets, for example.

He was busy taking a slurp of his coffee when Katy burst in and he snorted, his coffee going the wrong way, and he choked, pounding himself in the chest to clear his wind pipe before putting the hot coffee away from himself so he didn't spill it all over his pants. "You can start by not scaring the crap outta me," he said, but not angrily, more of the American in his voice coming through for once. His Aussie accent had been taking over while Ally was around. "Looks like you certainly came prepared. Were you looking for someone else or am I just lucky?"

[somerandomhippie]

Katy chuckled as Luke snorted coffee out his nose. She knew it was probably bad for her karma and all, but he looked hilarious. At least it didn't hit his book. "Not the crap, your coffee," she pointed out amusedly. "Though I guess they're pretty close." She pulled out the thermos. "I've got real coffee... Care for some?" She danced around the chair, and plopped it on the console. Luckily, it missed most of the buttons.

"I certainly did," she grinned. "Music, movies, coffee, and I'm sure the chef wouldn't get too mad if some snacks suddenly went missing." She plopped her bag on the ground, commandeering the co-pilot seat so she could prop her loafers up on the steering column. "As the Odd Job Squad, it's my responsibility to make sure this ship runs smoothly, you know. And I'm pretty sure it'll get a little bumpy if our pilot accidentally falls asleep. Monty Python?" She waved the box set in front of his face.

[Luke Martin]

Luke realised his glasses were still on his head, and quickly pulled them off, shoving them in his pocket, probably getting mucky fingerprints all over them. He let out a laugh when she said that it was indeed the coffee that came out of him, not crap. "Oh so very nearly. I would have been cleaning congeled coffee off the console for days if my body hadn't decided to give my lungs a caffeine buzz instead." He eyed the 'real' coffee, "go on then," he said, downing the rest of his cup before holding it out to her.

Usually, he wouldn't have indulged Katy like this, but he had absolutely nothing to do, and it would be good to spend time with someone else on the crew. "I'm sure he'll forgive us." That was when she waved the Monty Python boxset in his face, and he had to restrain himself from letting his mouth fall open. It must have been so ancient now, but still hilarious. "Only if you put on Holy Grail," he said, pointing at the boxset. Maybe this afternoon was going to be more fun after all.

[somerandomhippie]

Katy laughed. "I'd like to see how the computer would react," she chuckled. "I'm sure it would be delighted with you." She poured some of the real coffee into his coffee, then put some in the lid for herself, smiling at the taste. This was good stuff.

She chuckled, sliding the disk out of the case. "If you don't mind me talking along with it most of the way," she grinned. "I did a play version once-- the original script, too. That was the best." She scouted around for the DVD player, finally spotting it and popping the disk on. Sitting back, she popped her feet up on the console and dug some popcorn out of her bag. "Popcorn?" she mumbled through a mouthful, tossing it in his direction.

[Luke Martin]

"Positively screaming with joy, yeah," Luke chuckled, "as in, lights blinking and sirens wailing probably." Then, Will probably would have come here and killed him for not taking better care of the equipment, if Luke hadn't managed to fix it before the man got wind of the disaster. Luckily, he had averted any crisis, and would keep his life, even if his throat was a little sore now. Katy's coffee would help to soothe it.

"With the silly voices and everything?" Luke raised a brow. He wouldn't admit to it now, maybe later, but he probably knew a good few of the lines as well. It was the most watched movie on disc and on the computer at his parents house. The DVD player looked ancient, but if it worked, then what was there to complain about? "Where did you get all of this stuff?" he asked, then smirked as she pulled the popcorn out of her bag, "what don't you have in that thing?"

[somerandomhippie]

"I don't know computer speak," she admitted. "I'd probably think it was throwing a party or something. A good, old-fashioned fiesta." Fiestas were fun, no matter what the bull-runners said afterwards.

Katy raised a brow in return. "Of course, silly. It's not the same without the silly British accents." That was where she had learned how to do a proper imitation, after all. She blamed John Cleese. "I will, however, refrain from trying to dance, and save your sanity."

She chuckled amusedly. "The importance of networking, my dear chap, the importance of networking. I bug the chef so much, he probably just gives me this stuff to go away." She had to right-out laugh, as he asked. "A lamp," she quipped. "Mary Poppins has that one. Though I'm sure I could unearth an anti-gravity tea set if you gave me a few minutes." She munched, as the dentistry gag came on. There was probably a toothpaste company with that name, now. Poor things.

[Luke Martin]

"Then you'd start to wonder why on Earth the ship was careering towards the nearest planet. Unless, of course, you were too busy having your fiesta to notice." He barely ever messed up in the pilot's seat. One of the most frigtening moments was when the engines on the Venia died and they plunged into the ocean. It had taken him a little while to calm down from that.

Luke laughed, "oh no, if you want to dance, then feel free," he said, that'd be hilarious to watch, and he got the feeling Katy would follow through with it as well. "Just don't expect me to join in." That was probably a fatal sentence, she'd probably try and make him do it now. Damn.

"Yeah, right, networking," Luke chortled. The chef, Alex, was a nice enough guy, a fellow Aussie, but he could definitely imagine Katy bouncing at his counter demanding food until he told her to bugger off. "I can imagine." He laughed again when she gave him a retort to his question and grinned across at her. "Usually people say the kitchen sink, since you didn't, I'm assuming you do?" he smirked a little, casting his eyes back over to the screen as the film began to start. No doubt Katy would be chattering away with the guys soon enough.

[somerandomhippie]

"Oh, I doubt I'd be so inclined to worry about that," she grinned. "It is an anti-gravity tea set, I'd stay in the exact same spot. And whoever else joined me for tea, for that matter," she added after a moment's thought. "Though they'd probably be too busy trying to save the ship to bother."

Katy chortled. "Then I will," she shot back. "I will sing and dance, and expect you to clap afterwards. Even if it's bad, which it probably will be. I haven't done it in years." She gave him an eye, as he refused to join her. "Well, I guess not," she relented. "Do you even know the Camelot dance?"

"Networking makes the world go 'round," she commented. "You get favors and food, especially if you're annoying." She grinned deviously. "Which I have in bounties, if I so choose to use it."

Katy raised a brow, digging in her bag as the dentists continued with whatever dentists did. "I've got better-- hand sanitizer!" She pulled out a little bottle, and tossed it up in the air, catching it neatly. "More portable, smells better, and if you were really bored and depressed, you could hypothetically get drunk off of it, if you felt like going to the hospital. Druggies are very inventive."

She danced in her chair as the llama music came on, then sat back in her seat, sputtering at the silly lines a little. "Do you suppose that's actually true?" she asked, as the swallow fun facts popped up. "Or did they just make that up?"

[Luke Martin]

"I don't know," Luke said, "if they were as crazy as you then they might sit with you and ignore their impending doom. If all else fails, you could always find some cuddly toys to drink your tea with you, I'm sure there'll be something in that bag of yours." He smiled at her, enjoying the witty banter. He didn't get this with Ally as much, it was more of a family thing that he'd had back at home.

Luke snorted, "I will clap and whistle, how does that sound?" he smirked. As for the dance... "Do you think I would admit to it if I did having refused to dance in the first place?" Which was a fair question, and a way of covering up the fact that yes, much to his own shame, he did know the dance. He used to do it for his sisters when they were upset.

He didn't doubt that she used her annoying qualities to get her way. Luke would usually stray down the flirting route, unless it was a guy of course, then he resorted to other methods which didn't involve people getting the wrong idea. "Hand sanitiser," Luke repeated, then laughed, "yeah, why do meth when you can do hand sanitiser? I'm sure it's all the rage."

Luke raised an eyebrow, "well, this is what computers are for," he said, reaching over to grab his hand held computer, quickly typing swallow facts into the search engine. All the results popped up and he chose the one that looked like it made the most sense, "looking at this, it is definitely more fun to believe that they're true. Swallows laden with coconuts would certainly be a sight to see, coming from Africa or America."

[somerandomhippie]

Katy snorted. "I didn't bring them, actually. I didn't think I'd be gone so long. You'll have to lend me yours." Luke reminded her of her brother, Kevin. He was off down on Proxy 5, doing work on the rigs down there. Getting messy was one thing he had always enjoyed, after all. She had needled her brother incessantly, and would do the same here. "I'm sure he wouldn't miss you too much."

"What am I now, a Broadway girl?" she shot at him, grinning. "Better leave a good tip, too, buster." As Luke chose his words carefully, she could only assume he was hiding something. Which meant she would have to pry it out, of course. "Obviously," she started off. "It shows co-ordination, bravery, and it looks good on a resume. Why would you deny such an awesome skill as that?"

"It really is," Katy insisted. She was being honest here. "Seriously, they pump a whole bunch into, like, a plastic bag, then sneak it home and smoke it or put it into pills or whatever." It was an interesting addiction, that was for sure. "Though I must admit, it does smell a lot better than meth. More floral."

Katy peered over his shoulder as he browsed down to an article on swallows. "I suppose they didn't actually need to be biologically correct in a movie about knights," she summed up, sighing. "Though that would be a sight. Th great migration of the coconut-laden swallows. It could be a new wildlife documentary." Not that she had a problem with wildlife documentaries. They just filmed the weirdest stuff sometimes.

[Luke Martin]

Luke let out a laugh, "mine? Really? What makes you think I'd lend you mine? Who says you'll take good enough care of them, huh?" he said, folding his arms across his chest and nodding indignantly when he actually wanted to be laughing. He didn't have any cuddly toys, no surprise there, just a stack load of science trophies in his room at home. They were for his eyes only. And for no one else to know about.

"I didn't say that," Luke pointed out, "but if you'd like to believe you are, then that's fine by me. And you have to dance first, and well I might add, to earn your tip." This was like being back at home at the dinner at the dinner table. They tore each other apart with witty comments every meal time, it never got old. Raising an eyebrow at her, he said, "that's not going to work on me. All those qualities are balanced out by me looking like a gangly fool, and that's something I'd prefer to avoid."

"Seriously?" he said, a little disbelieving that what she was saying was actually true, but snorted at the 'more floral comment'. "At least you know those junkies insides are squeaky clean and smell nice, the coroner that has to determine the cause of death certainly won't be complaining." Wow, this conversation had just taken a strangely morbid turn.

Luke nodded as he reached the bottom of the page, "although, I would commend them if they'd actually done some research and made a joke out of something actually true," he said, "maybe the props department really did use coconuts to dub in the horses hooves, that'd be something." He shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head as he put the computer away. They'd moved onto the next scene by now anyway, one of the group crying, "bring out your dead! "Imagine if people actually did that..." he said, looking mildly disgusted.

[somerandomhippie]

Katy let out a snort. "What, are you expecting me to have credentials or something?" she joked. "Can you really not trust me to show a little respect at a tea party? Thanks, Farmboy, I'll just go shatter my perceptions of reality now." Her words were dunked in a bucket of sarcasm and wrung out over their heads. It was a lost art form, which often got her into a bit of a communication puzzle, but it all worked out eventually.

"Hey, how do you think I earned my keep through university?" she grinned. "Worked as an extra, chorus girl and props department for Broadway Theatre from the moment I hit working age. I've got a minor in theatre, you know." She nodded, to accentuate her point. She still acted, from time to time, but she mostly just helped out with charity plays. It was quite a stress-reliever, after working for the man all day. She sighed sadly. "Don't undermine yourself," she insisted. "Everyone thinks they look bad, even though everyone probably looks as bad as you. Get over yourself." She sent a fake whack as his shoulder, not actually making contact. It was all legal.

"It sure makes it easier for them, yeah," she scoffed. "Unless someone actually was deathly allergic to petunias, and died from ingesting them, which would certainly look awkward on your death certificate. Death by petunias." She snickered. You had to admit, it was rather funny, at the expense of those allergic to flora.

Katy nodded. "They do, they're just really quiet. You'd have to wire a mic through or something. Or just use plastic ones." She shut up as they started the next scene, with the not-quite-dead guy, and snickered quite heartily. "I believe it's called public transportation," she commented on Luke's disgust.

They then started on the political montages. "I must admit, Dennis would be rather well-off in today's society," she commented. "He could be a lawyer, or something. As long as he changed, I guess." From her experience, lawyers liked to dress rather lavishly.