Tide stifled a look of amusement as Pascal took the cards from him, though he couldn't hide the look of dismay as he watched him expertly deal. It looked like there was at least one member of the crew he wouldn't be winning a pile of credits from on this trip.

He lifted one edge of his cards from the crate, glanced quickly at them, before laying them flat again. A mediocre hand at best, probably best not to push this one until he knew a bit more about the other men at the table. He turned to Pascal, straining to hear the quietly spoken man over the humming noise that seemed to be a feature of all ships.

"I'm from a complete crap-hole, out beyond the edge of space," he said, idly scratching his chin while trying to decide how badly he should play. He didn't want to give the impression he knew what he was doing; not until there was real money at stake, anyway. "A first gen mining colony it was, called Merlon's Halt. I never did find out why." Picking up his half empty cup, he leaned back in his chair and gulped down the remaining coffee. "Not a lifestyle I'd recommend, especially when you're not on the company payroll so you can't afford to get out."