Common Area - Firefly Class Transport
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A few stairs lead into this space. It is spacious, containing a kitchen area, eating area, and place to lounge all in one. Cabinets and alcoves provide room for storage.
Two support beams have been given an opportunity to hold a flat plank of a table between them, thus serving as a primary staging area for both preperation and delivery of the food to the table. Behind this sits another counter top, this one with several cooled storage units above it. To the left lies the sink itself.
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Cole steps down into the common area from the forward passageway, reading his book as he goes along.

Godin is seated in one of the chairs around the dining table, with a mug of coffee in front of him. As he hears Cole enter, he glances over, and gives the boy a smile. "Good morning," he greets him with a nod. "Did you have much success last night?"

Cole strides over to the coffee machine himself, giving the pot a sniff and then a sip, which causes him to drop the pot in the sink, the brown blood dripping out into oblivion as he hops around discomfortably. "Owie owie HOT," he complains, heading over to the fridge with a quickness, grabbing a glass of pre-made chocolate milk, and chugging it half-down. All of this is done without dropping the book. "Damn, I don't see what you grownups see in that."

Godin raises an eyebrow at Cole, giving him a small grin. "Well, normally, Mister Cole, we let it cool down a bit before we drink it." He picks up his mug and takes a sip. "But I can certainly understand the appeal of chocolate milk, rare as it is out here."

Cole shrugs. "We manage t'stay well supplied," he tells the man, taking a seat to his left and putting both glass and book down. "Costs me damn near a full month's wage, o'course, but well supplied anyhow. One luxury I get t'keep out here."

Annabelle arrives from Aft Passageway - Firefly Class Transport.
Annabelle has arrived.

"I think Doctor Cameron might be concerned to hear you using such language, Mister Cole," Godin replies with a chuckle. "But yes, I suppose that one must take what luxuries he can find out here. It's not as if there are an abundance of them, this far from the core."

Cole nods his agreement, taking another sip of the coveted chocolate milk. "You ever been to the core?" he wonders, gazing curiously at the man's strong boots.

"I have," Godin nods. "At one point of my life, I was in the core with a great deal of regularity. But those days are long gone, and it has been some time since I spent any time in the core worlds."

Annabelle steps in from the aft deck, nodding quietly in greeting to boy and technician before circling the counter to check the coffee pot, her eternal worry these days.

Cole returns the nod to Annabelle, grinning her way. "What did you do while you were in there?" he asks Godin curiously.

"Well, I grew up on Persephone, which is rather close to the core, especially when compared to places like Beaumonde... and, even more so, Three Hills," Godin explains. "My family and I traveled to the core on a fairly regular basis."

Annabelle smiles faintly to Cole's greeting and picks up the coffee pot... empty, sure enough. She moves to the sink to fill it again, reaching into an overhead locker for the makings.

Cole perks up at the mention of Persephone. "You grew up there? I spent darn near a year there 'fore I shipped out w'the P'ang Che, whereabouts?"

"Yes, I believe Doctor Cameron mentioned something about that... the rather unsavory types that were responsible for your being there." Godin shakes his head. "One of my least favorite things about the planet." As he notes Cole's nod over to Annabelle, he stands from his chair, and inclines his head to the woman. "Good morning, Miss Merriweather." And then he turns back to Cole. "I grew up in the capital city, actually."

Annabelle begins mixing up the next pot of coffee. She smiles faintly, hearing Godin's greeting. "Mornin', sir." She doesn't say any more than that, not wanting to interrupt the conversation. Within a moment or two the coffee pot is on the stove to brew, and she's checking the storage areas. With the ship due to depart any time, it wouldn't do to be short on anything.

Cole shrugs. "It wern't a bad experience or nothin'," he assures Godin. "Sure'n it makes me appreciate the Che a lot." He takes another sip of his chocolate milk, peering up to see what Annabelle's up to. "Need any help there?"

Godin inclines his head to Annabelle with a smile, and then turns back to Cole, giving the boy a nod. "I suppose it would. At any rate... I need to check on a couple of things, but I imagine I will see you both at lunch." He smiles, and turns to leave the common area.

Godin heads through Aft Passageway (AP) into Aft Passageway - Firefly Class Transport.
Godin has left.

Annabelle closes a locker and opens another. "If ya don't mind," she replies, nodding over her shoulder to Godin as he leaves. "Got ta inventory the food supply 'fore we leave port. Can ya check the lower cabinets while I check the upper ones, an' write down what ya find? It'd really save me a lot o' time."

"Write?" Cole asks curiously, his brow furrowing. "You mean on actual paper? I'm not sure I know how to do that."

"Well, loggin' it down on a computer an' printin' it out'd be just fine, too..." Annabelle concedes. "Don't really matter how it's done, I suppose." She has to think about that for a moment. Cole might not know how to write?

Cole gets up and heads over to a lower cabinet, doing as indicated. "Mmmm, protein cubes. Not a bad store of 'em. And... what's this?" He reaches into the back and pulls out an old apple, long since rotted. "Awww, such a shame."

Annabelle glances down and nods. "That must o' been in there a long time... I never did look in the back o' these lockers... maybe I better 'fore we leave port. No tellin' what's in the back corners." She nudges aside a tin of cocoa powder and checks in the back of the locker she's nosing through. "How full's that cabinet? I got ta run inta town today, so I may as well stock up while I'm there."

Cole looks back over his shoulder at Annabelle, tossing the rotten apple off to one side. "Looks maybe l'il more than half full, some room for stuff, that's for sure. I wonder if we could get ice cream."

Annabelle looks wistful for a moment. "Yeah... guess it'd depend on how far I can stretch the food budget." She grins conspiratorially at Cole. "Get me a count on how much we got in those lower cabinets, can ya? The quicker we're done here, the more time I have ta look for bargains. The more time I have ta look for bargains, the more I can stretch the budget." She begins writing down a tally of the cabinet she's searching. "Which means more money for stuff like ice cream!"

Cole, uhhh... does more looking and stuff. Soon he's done. Yeah.

Annabelle finishes up her count quickly, noting Cole's dispirited searching. Hmm. Promise of ice cream doesn't motivate for long. She settles a few odds and ends on the counter from the backs of the cabinets: an old, blocky-looking black power cell from 'Verse-knows-what, a broken handle from an old kitchen implement, an Alliance-issue food supplement block, still in the wrapper, and what looks like a screen for a very small data console... minus the console. "Okay... looks like we could tighten up the stores on protein cubes an' flour... most o' the staples are okay. A few fresh vegetables wouldn't go amiss."

Mei Li arrives from Aft Passageway - Firefly Class Transport.
Mei Li has arrived.

Cole nods back at Annabelle from his spot at the console, typing up what he saw. "Maybe some spice flavorings, too, make the protein taste a little more interesting."

Annabelle nods, making a mental note. "Protein cubes, spice flavorings, fresh vegetables... and ice cream. Can't forget that!" She quickly tallies up the necessities, comparing it to the food budget figures she remembers. "Should be just enough." She looks over at Cole and his terminal. "Want ta come inta town with me?"

[They go to town and soon discover that there's not enough money for any of that stuff, making the job that much more important...]