OOC: collaborative post with [@Gunther] & [@Aalakrys] The food stores had been delivered. As both a deckhand and the boat’s cook, Joe Hooker saw it as his duty to store the food and find something for the boat’s complement to eat. He needed to prepare a meal as soon as possible. He was certain there would be several hungry folk aboard including himself. The food came packed in either cardboard boxes or insulated crates. A few of the larger items required a second hand to move up to the galley. Afterall, it was two flights of stairs, but each trip seemed shorter. Some items needed to be in cold storage, some in the freezer and others in the walk in pantry. On his last trip down to the cargo bay, he spied a young blonde haired woman step up the ramp. She was shorter than himself. In fact, it appeared all the women aboard were much shorter than the men. He hadn’t met the Captain yet, the first officer was a few inches taller. Hook looked for Abby, but was nowhere to be seen. As was his way, he felt compelled to welcome her aboard. Joe placed the cardboard box back on the deck, wiped his hands on his coveralls and taking a few steps forward, held out a hand to shake, “The name’s Joe Hooker, but most folks call me Hook.” The journey to her new home wasn't all that long save for a speed bump along the way, but that was resolved rather quickly. She'd stopped by the temporary quarters where she was staying to make sure she had all her belongings, but some hassler along the way caused quite the ruckus for a passerby as well as herself. In the end, Alana simply ignored him as she tossed some credits for the bastard, shaking her head in disgust. She'd been victimized twice before under similar circumstances, and the memories burned fresh in her mind. This time, what might have saved the stranger from at the very least receiving a mouthful was the constant sea of people surrounding them. Soon after that, however, she finally came across the China Doll. Alana noticed it to have an empty ramp as she made her way up until seeing a man approaching her who took the time to introduce himself. "The pleasure's all mine, Hook. I'm Alana Lysanger, the new medic," she responded, returning his handshake with a warm smile. “Very nice to meet you, Miss Alana. Allow me to show yew to the crew quarters and the infirmary.” Traditional sailors would refer to it as the sick bay or simply, bay, but there are those who used the term infirmary. Joe led Alana to the back of the cargo bay and opened the door. “The bay is right here. Not sure how is stocked. Might’n be supplies in some of them thar boxes. Yew can check em out later.” Joe allowed Alana to take a look inside, and gave her a pause to check it out. Joe had pointed out the boxes in the cargo bay. She entered the sick bay, looking at her surroundings momentarily. "Yeah, I will check the available supplies later, don't want to hold you up too much..." Alana then reached in her bag and pulled out some medical items, more so to ease the weight being placed on her shoulder rather than for organizational purposes. She set those aside on the counter as she would come back later and do a full inventory and inspection on whatever they had. Stepping out onto the passageway, Alana followed Hook to her quarters. "So what's your role gonna be on here?” “Miss Alana, I am a simple deckhand and the boat’s cook,” Joe replied. “If you follow me, I’ll lead you up to the crew’s quarters. They be just beyond the galley, on tha’ way to tha’ bridge.” Joe Hooker led Alana Lysanger up two flights of stairs to the Galley and ran into Penelope Randell. “Miss Alana, this is Miss Penelope, the ship’s pilot,” Joe Hooker introduced the two women. Penelope had been having herself a real nice time getting to know the flight deck. Overall, she was pretty impressed. Fireflies, after all, were their own breed. Once she'd had the one or twice over up there, she decided it was a fine time to go poking about, meet some passengers, and see what was what. Maybe get an ETA on any departure since the captain hadn't come a callin' yet. Just as she came to the end of the hall, there was Hook again - with a new face. "Howdy, there." She said at the introduction, eyes turning to Alana and soft smile that was seemingly always on his lips spreading as she extended her hand. "Since Hook is showing ya around, I reckon you're a new part of the crew, too?” "That'd be right, I'm the new medic here," Alana replied as she shook Penelope's hand, a smile on her face as well. "I'm fresh onboard but so far the crew seems to be friendly." Even though she knew what she herself was talking about, it took Alana a second to realize they didn't know that she had met Cal prior to her arrival. "I mean, I met Captain Strand not that long ago, to be precise. He, um—" In a split second decision, Alana decided to forgo any specific information regarding the incident from earlier, "I had to patch him up real quick and well you know, the rest is history. The timing is perfect, actually, since I'm between employment." She readjusted the strap on her shoulder, looking at Hook as well. "So have you guys known him for some time or are you fresh like myself?” “I have not yet met the man,” Hook interjected. “If’n yew ladies wouldn’t mind, I need to tend to the food stores and ready a meal for t’night.” Penelope closes her mouth before words went spilling out as Hook dismissed himself. She nodded, as it was fine with her. She understood the need to make sure things were ship-shape and whatnot. As he departed, she grinned at the woman she was left with. "It's real nice having someone else worryin' after the meals. I can't cook much, so most my last trip had crispy or soggy selections for me. But, anyway, I just met the Cap'n a few hours ago, wantin' to book passage but he was wantin' a pilot. Worked out for both us.” Upon announcing his departure, Alana nodded at Hook with a smile. She then turned to Penelope. "So you can't cook, huh? Yeah neither can I... Although I can figure out recipes even if they're a little complicated. However, I've been told before that's cheating, so I'm not sure..." she added with a shrug. After a brief pause, the young woman went on again. "But hey, I don't want to keep you if you got anywhere to be. Hook there seemed to be in a bit of a rush himself, especially since he's never worked with the Captain, much less met the man.” "Here I was thinkin' it was me." Penelope gave a breath of a laugh, shaking her head gently before turning her amused gaze back to the doctor. She gave a little shrug as it faded, soft smile left behind. "I ain't got no special place to be - just giving a self-guided tour to myself 'fore I'm bound to the flight deck for a while. But, reckon ya want to settle in - them hatches down lead to open rooms. I was told just to pick one, so I reckon the same goes for you. Won't keep ya none.” Though Penelope was also dismissing herself to give the other woman time to settle in, she didn't continue on her way immediately. There wasn't much she could do by way of answering any questions about the ship or crew, but if Alana had anything else on her mind, it was obvious she was welcome to share. Alana nodded in the direction she needed to go. "Then that way I'm heading. I should be going now, need to run some inventory myself and make sure we're all set. Pleasure meeting with ya, I'll see you around.” After a small wave, the young woman made her way in the direction she had been told. She wanted to make sure the essentials were all accounted for before they were scheduled to leave.