Never Said (Tayze)

[jsneill]

John's room was too stuffy for his taste; they provided the crew on board ship with the bare minimum as regards to their actual room - it felt like he was back in a prison cell. The common room was better, but other people wanted to use the space, watch the holo, play games in their down time - it was too distracting. In the end, John had found himself in the mess hall. The general chatter didn't bother him, and he had a constant supply of coffee.

He was currently pouring over some personnel files and reports on the ship's missions so far. These days, he could do it all via computer, which is why he had a hand held computer laying on the table in front of him, but it was never as fun as looking at something on paper. There was something unique about paper, the way people had to use their hands to write, all with a different style of handwriting. You couldn't see style in a typed report, it was boring. Easier to forge, but boring.

With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, dragging his hands down his face. Why had he given up his previous life for this again? Oh, yes, right, because the other life was bad. Right. He loosened his tie, undoing the top button of his shirt. The AC was on the fritz in here, and an engineer hadn't been down to look at it yet. Perspiring wasn't on his list of favourite things to do. Rolling up his sleeves, he went back to looking at the files again. His ears perked up at the sound of the mess hall door opening, but he didn't look round.

[spectra]

Tayze had been sent down to the mess hall to fix the problem with the AC. She wasn't exactly impressed, it involved going somewhere with an abundance of people. People meant socializing. Something she didnt enjoy very much. She waited impaitently as the mess hall doors opened automatically for her and she stepped in, her gearbag full of whatever tools she'd need slung over one shoulder. There wasnt a great amount of people there, hopefully due to the higher temprature in the room. She sighed in slight relief before heading across the room to the control panal.

In mid stride she stopped as her eyes came to rest upon a man sitting at a table with a hand held computer. His sleeves rolled up, top button of his shirt undone and tie messily out of place. Him. She knew him from somewhere. Her jaw almost dropped right open. Surely she had to be imagineing things. It couldnt be the same person, could it? The man who had saved her skin once. She just stared at him, completely frozen. Little did she realize she must have looked like quiet the weirdo, just standing and staring.

Flashback:
It was the 17th of September, It had been 5 years since the murder of her mother. Tayze was just the tender age of 21. She had some how managed to get the personal details of one of her mothers murders. A man who got away scott-free from his disgusting actions, she had organized a visit with him to his current home. A prison. She had conned him into thinking she was a distant relation of his, after weeks and weeks of letters finally he had agree'd to a visit. Perfect. It took a good 45 minutes to get through the security scanning, identification vertification and various other procedures before the visit.

Finally it was time to meet the man, face to face. Tayze walked confidently into the visitors hall. It took her only moments to spot the man. She recognized him as clear as day. He looked exactly the same as the day he had entered her parents house 5 years ago. Her features darkened for a mere moment. Her bright green eyes scanned the room quickly just a precation, old forced habit really. She met eyes with a handsome blue eyed man, she held the gaze for a little longer than she should have before averting her gaze back to her goal. The table where the man who killed her mother sat. Gary Leonard.

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[jsneill]

Flashback

It was a year today since John had been arrested, and he was not enjoying today at all. Because, not only was it the first day of 1461 days that he had to spend in prison, but also, it marked the anniversary of Terry's death. Terry. The same day each month, one of John's old friends, Maggie, came to let him visit him and give him an update on his mother. The security guards didn't know this, they thought she was another 'lady friend' in their words, but he was really concerned for his mother's welfare - he was all she had any more.

He was still waiting when he watched a young woman enter the room - she was hard to miss due to her fiery red hair. Her green eyes focused intensely on his for a moment longer than was usually polite, before she sat down at the next table. She was visiting Gary. Who would want to visit Gary? He was a thug, convicted of robbery, and he would boast all day long with the other prisoners about the stuff he had done. It was tragic, he was a poor excuse for a criminal if you asked John. The sooner he was gone, the better.

The girl intrigued him though. Of course, he'd overheard Gary talking about some relation of his that he was going to meet. But John could see as plain as day, that they had absolutely nothing in common. Even distant cousins had at least a trace of resemblance, but these two had nothing. What was she up to?

[spectra]

Flashback:
Tayze felt eyes upon her back, she didnt look back over to check who it was from though. It did not surprise her, people often stared at her due to the tattoo's and her bright firey hair. She sat down calmly across from Gary. "Hello Gary. . . " She spoke calmly.
"Well dang girl, if you weren't a relation to me I'd do some nasty things to you"

[/b] Gary commented back, without the hello, without the how are you, nothing of the sort. The man was a crude and pathetic excuse for exsistance.
"You done something nasty to my mother Gary, Her name was Leanne Foxal. Do you remember her?" Tayze got straight to the point, she was over playing games. She wanted revenge and she didnt care if she ended up behind bars doing it.
Gary's smirk was wiped right off his face, Leanne Foxal. The lady was all over the news for weeks and weeks. Her murder confusing the police and FBI for months on ends. Lucky for him, he had got away scott-free. "I don't know what you're talking about girly. Who the hell do you think you are?" A blatent lie, Tayze saw right through it, practically anyone would be able to tell.
Tayze lanched herself across the table, knocking Gary from his chair, pinning him to the floor. A brawl very quickly erupted between the two. Gary over powered Tayze easily. The man was well over twice her size and strength. He pinned her firmly to the floor, hands tight around her throat.
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[jsneill]

Flashback:

[/i]

John was listening in of course. It wasn't hard, considering the close proximity of the tables, and it would keep him amused while he waited for Maggie to appear. His curiosity got the better of him. He was already in prison, they couldn't sentence him to another year for eavesdropping on someone else's conversation. And, neither Gary nor the woman were paying attention to him, their conversation was too heated for them to be aware of the goings on around them.

His head snapped round to look properly as Tayze launched herself across the table at Gary, fists flying. He sat perfectly still, watching for a moment while the guards, flustered, tried to get their act together and get moving. Unfortunately, Gary got the upper hand, crushing the girl's throat, and the guards were nowhere near ready to break up this fight. He would commend them on their atrocious organisational skills later, he had a fight to break up.

Rising from his seat, he punched Gary hard across the face, seizing the opportunity while the man was dazed to hook his arm around Gary's neck, hoisting him back and away from the woman. Gary was about his height, if a little shorter, but was twice his weight. John pushed Gary against the nearest table where he heard the man groan with pain as his ribs crashed into the plastic. John looked back to Tayze, "are you...?"

John was seized from the behind, the guards restraining both him and Gary. He struggled for a moment, then realised it probably wasn't the best idea, he didn't want to spend any more time than he had to in this place. The woman was being helped to her feet, she looked like she was going to be okay. Good. Good.[/blockquote]

[spectra]

Flashback

[/i]
Tayze gasped for breathe as the brutal man was ripped from atop her. Air gushed into her lungs causing a burning sensation to rush through her throat. Before she knew what else had happened both Gary and the handsome man she had met eyes with before were being restrained by gaurds and she was being helped to her feet. "I'm fine" She mumbled to a gaurd whom was asking her if she was okay and if she needed medical attention. The gaurds began to drag Gary and John away back to their cells, she presumed thats where they would be headed. "Hey wait a second. . ." She called out but was blatantly ignored by the busteling group hording the two men away.

Back In The Present:[/b]

Tayze snapped back into reality, it was him. John Neill. The man who had saved her life. His quick actions had renched her from the cold claws of death. Abruptly she looked away, She had never been given the chance to thank John for his actions, She fought with herself on wether or not to approch the man. Finally she decided she should. After a moments more hesitation she approched the table at which he was seated. "John Neill?" She knew exactly who he was, but it was more so poliet to ask. Her head was tilted to the side, those eyes. A piercing light blue. Exactly the same as the day at the prison. [/color][/center]

[jsneill]

John felt eyes on the back of his head, but still didn't turn. Someone was interested in him, that was for sure. If they wanted his attention, they could ask for it, for the moment he would concentrate at the task at hand, as boring as it may be. A pair of legs came into view and female voice spoke his name. Looking round, his eyes lit up as he saw the woman standing before him. What a coincidence. He'd never caught her name, her last name yes, but not her first. She had the same red hair, and those bright green eyes.

"Ms Foxal," he said, confirming to her in those two words that she had in fact got the right person. People from his past were cropping up all over the place. "Fancy seeing you again." Presumably, this time, she wouldn't leap over the table in order to get some sort of revenge. And he wouldn't be dragged away for saving her life. Well, at least she was alive and well, that was clear to see. And working on the Venia... he mustn't have reached her file yet, otherwise this wouldn't have come as such a surprise. She had to be curious about what he was doing here. Last time they'd met, he'd been in prison, that didn't exactly speak volumes for him.

[spectra]

Tayze was rather surprised that he remembered her. And he knew her last name, he must have heard that from the gaurds or Gary. She was a little stunned still. He had to of been the last person she expected to see in this place. What on earth was he doing here anyway? Not that she was complaining in the slightest, he was a nice piece of eyecandy to look at. "Its Tayze" She informed him of her first name, she wasnt very big on formalaties as such. "Yeah, Fancy that" She said, finally grabbing her barings again.

"I never got to say thankyou," She started then trailed off for a moment. "Thanks" She said after a few moments with a small grin edging on her usually serious held expression. It had been 5 years in the waiting to say thankyou, although she had to admit she never actually expected to be saying it, most definatly not in person face to face. "What are you doing on the Venia anyway?" She then asked a slight hint of question lacing her voice and confusion shining ever so slightly in her serpant colored eyes.

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[jsneill]

John had always been good with faces, came with a keen eye. But it also helped to remember those that he had run into, if he spotted them before they spotted him, and he wanted to avoid them, it made it much easier. All habits he had picked up in the past which were hard to unlearn... or more, he didn't want to unlearn them. He had no plans of hiding from Ms. Foxal though. She may just track him down and dive on him. "Tayze," he repeated her name, pronouncing it correctly, "nice name." He'd never heard it before.

"You never needed to thank me," he said, "but you're welcome." Despite the fact that attacking another prisoner like that had earned him a couple of nights in isolation, he didn't regret saving her. Gary had it coming to him anyway. "Me?" he said, leaning back in his seat again, "believe it or not, I'm a UGAP liaison, here to help with an investigation." He looked at her, "I would ask you in return but..." he looked at the bag of gear slung over her shoulder, "I assume you're here to stop us all from over heating."

[spectra]

Tayze had to say she was impressed with how easily John prenounced her name correctly. Most people done a double take, due to the slight complexity and unusual nature of it. She smiled vaguely and rolled her eyes at his comment. "I do a little bit more than stop you all from over heating" She chuckled, with a slightly cheeky smirk. Although she looked over towards the control panal, the thought crossing her mind that really she should get started on fixing that rather than chatting, due to the fact that if left like this for most longer the mess rooms humidity level would raise to almost unbarable.

"I'm a mechanical engineer" She added in as she looked back to John. Liason, A criminal who had become a liason, how interesting. She cocked her head to the side slightly, her fringe falling over her left eye. She hadnt ever found out how or why John had ended up in jail in the first place, not that she was going to ask anyway. "So what exactly does your job entail, if you don't mind me asking?"

[jsneill]

John's statement had been a little more demeaning that he had intended, but she didn't take it badly, in fact, the smirk was a good sign. "Well, you're not even doing that yet," he replied, smirking himself, "but I can imagine you unclog the ventilation shafts and poke around in dark crawl spaces as well." He ran with it, testing to see how far he could push her, and whether she'd be brave and/or witty enough to retort. If she could take the teasing in good grace, then she'd be an interesting person to keep around.

"Currently," he said, pointing at the hand held computer, "it consists of poking through everyone's files and mission reports. But generally, I work with the government to help track down and catch criminals." He smiled a coy smile, "I do have some experience in that area, after all." Apparently, this was the benefit of retiring from the life of a white collar criminal, you got paid good money to take down your old adversaries, and pick apart the new ones. "How did you end up on board?" he asked, choosing to continue the conversation on. He was willing to let her distract him away from the files.

[spectra]

"The crawl shafts are my favorite" Tayze said with a smirk, continuing the banter in complete good humor. Although her sense of humor lay more so on the twisted path she played along anyway. It was unusual for her to play nice, but this man had saved her life, so she was making an exception. She listened carefully as he explained what his job was on board. Instantly her mind sparked up and warning bells rang. Con-Artist. How fitting for a liaison officer. She chuckled ever so slightly as her random spout of intelligence. "Hope you don't get to learn all our dirty little secrets from those files?" She joked, although she was slightly concerned over what information was contained. After all the government knew everything these days. His next question made her grin, just ever so slightly. He obviously hadn't got to her file yet. If he had he would know exactly why she was here. She flew through college and university without so much as a wink. Her mechanical engineering career taking off with flying colors, although she switched here and there to a pioneering mechanic producing some of the worlds most incredible mechanical objects. Everything from cars to laptops to musical mixing equipment.

"Didn't they tell you? We're all here because we are the best at what we do" Tayze said with a small smile. "I had nothing to stick around for on the ground anyway, may as well waste some time doing something useful right?" She added on with a small shrug. She hadn't hesitated in accepting the offer to come aboard the Venia. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity really. "So out of all the white collars running around, why'd they pick you? What makes you special?" She asked with a smirk, He had never told her his trade, So it would be interesting to see his reaction to her comment. Tayze had an awful habit of looking for all the wrong buttons to press, then pressing them just for the kicks.

[jsneill]

John laughed. Touché. So she could take a joke. It also meant that she was intellectually on another level, and stood more of a chance of seeing right through him, which was something to watch out for. A flicker of concern passed across her face as he explained what his job was. They had met in a prison, and he'd been in a orange jump suit at the time, so it wasn't hard for her to put two and two together. At least he hadn't been convicted for murder, or rape, or some other completely heinous crime, then that would have definitely set off alarm bells. He would have never been let anywhere near this ship if that was the case.

He pulled a finger across the screen, one of the files blurring past. "I get to know a fair amount, anything that they think it's prudent for your superiors to know," John said honestly, "William Blake will know all the details of this file as well, not just me." He'd started with the heads of staff and worked his way down, remembering names and faces as he went. "I'm sure if there was something of concern in here, you'd know about it already."

"Mustn't have been listening hard enough in the meeting," he said with a smile. Of course he knew that, but it helped to let people stroke their own egos every once in a while. "I guess, by extension, that must mean I'm the best at what I do," he said with a smirk, easing back in his chair, looking at her with his piercing blue eyes. Now she was fishing for information. "I'm experienced," he said, "I'm the best, and I have absolutely no intention of going back to that life." It had burnt him badly, and although the need for a thrill still lingered, he wasn't going to get it by putting people in danger. "The best way to beat someone at their own game is to know their game and be better than them at it. That's why they hired me."