This has kind of moved past "calm before the storm" territory into "holy shit, what's happening". [Shockingly, Cassel does not look that bothered.]

You know what I think is really funny - everybody says, you know, the Admiral's an inscrutable dick but when bad things happen you all complain to him anyway. Has that ever changed anything? [He holds his hands up - white flag.] Just asking.

private | Kon

You know this economy thing is gonna cut down on your ability to use the carrot. Time for the stick?

private | Barron

Two questions.

private | Riddick

Hey, do you have a second? I want to pick your brain about something.

spam | Chris & open

[This boat's getting worse. And by worse, in a weird way, Cassel kind of means more interesting. It's not fun, but it conforms to his expectations. All the padding's being pulled away, and what's underneath is what's been underneath the whole time. The Barge was always a lie. The spa and the pub and the gym and the art room, they were wool. Officially pulled over everyone's eyes.]

[Except his. He expected this. Nobody's ever really looking to help him. And if Kon really believes they are, he's about to learn better. Something bad is gonna happen, something really bad, because something really bad always happens to Cassel. He's ready to laugh and spit in its face if he has to.]

[Which is why he's on deck right now, a Gitane dangling from his lip, the picture of calm. He'd be chain-smoking if he could, but since Kon won't get him a case, this is decent enough for now. This is a grand Cassel-style fuck you to the Admiral, as well as a little smoke therapy. If Lila was here - ]

[He chuckles through the smoke. Well, if Lila was here, the Admiral'd be dead. That's my girl.]

[Later: By now it's a matter of course to look out for Chris when he's ambling aimlessly around the boat. Now, with less to do, less to keep him occupied, Chris is just about the only other person here who doesn't infuriate him on a constant basis - other than Barron, sometimes, and Iris when she's not in warden mode - so when he gets bored out of his mind it's Chris's door he knocks on. Ostensibly to touch base on that whole poker face thing, but really just because.]