Samuel closed the book and quickly threw it into his bag before slinging it over his left shoulder. He quickly got out of his chair and checked the pulse of the captain lying on the floor, as shocked as anyone else he was basically on autopilot.
"She's dead Captain. If you wouldn't mind I'd like to perform a simple autopsy once back on the ship. It may get us a bit ahead of what killed you in the future." Samuel said as he hefted the body up. By the time he had looked up the Captain had already run out the door without a word.
"If I get lucky may even be able to find something telling us when or where she came from. Though the chances of that are...unlikely at best." He said more to himself than anyone else. Something like this was greatly irregular, but the chance to study the captain for possible future ailments was exciting to him. Luckily he had used most of his money on more than medical tomes. He had made a place for himself to work on the ship, and most of his cut went towards medicine stock and new equipment when the chance arose. Though with only a few months it hadn't amounted to much yet.
'I'll have to ask the captain about that autopsy once we get her future corpse back onto the ship.' He thought as he himself began to walk the body out of the bar.
Sheska was about to holster her rifle when she noticed someone enter the tavern. Someone that looked extraordinarily like the Captain. She slowly stood up as she stared at the second Winged Beth, the look on her face one of confusion and horror. There was another Beth, and she was bleeding. But she didn't rush over like she normally did, simply because shock took quick hold of her. "Cap'n?", she asked quietly, the horror seeping into her tone as she glanced between the wounded doppelganger, and the Captain still seated at the table.
When the doppelganger slipped a folded bit of parchment on the table and said that consequences would be dire, she frowned and started to step around the table. Only to rush forward when she collapsed, dropping her rum bottle in the process. "Captain!", she shrieked, kneeling next to her and rolling her over, a look of pained sorrow on her face.
She was dead, and there was nothing she could do. But, more importantly, while she may have been Captain Beth, she wasn't her Captain Beth. So after a short moment of silence, she stood, then looked over at her Captain and the piece of paper. "Orders, Cap'n?", she asked shakily, putting one hand to her uneasy stomach.
"Every pirate under my command is to report to The Mermaid within the hour!".
She nodded, feeling easier having orders to follow. "You heard the Captain! Every man under The Mermaids colors get back to the ship!", she bellowed, quickly taking her place at the Captains side.
When she did, she was the unfortunate recipient to a fist to the face. She staggered back once, then leaned forward and landed a savage headbutt onto the culprits forehead, knocking him out. Placing a hand over her left eye, she looked over at Isaac. "Carry the Captain, Izzy. I'll cover you both.", she said.
Then she turned and drew both cutlass and revolver. "Any man who wants a bullet in the belly or a blade in their chest, come and stop us.", she snarled.
Isaac slid to his feet, moving surprisingly lithely.
He moved quickly over to the Doctor and took the corpse's legs.
"We don't want this fight." he said as firmly as he could.
"Quicker if I help doc."
The gravity blade shifted an inch or so closer to his palm, ready to throw at the slightest provocation.
But... he slid it back. No killing. The people here had just been here for a drink, they didn't deserve death for being in a tavern brawl.
The two of them hustled the body away from the tavern as fast as they could, all the time Isaac eyeing the tavern patrons and really hoping he was right to keep the blade out of reach.
Jason was utterly speechless. Was that... really Beth? What's going on here!?
"Every pirate under my command is to report to The Mermaid within the hour!"
'Fucking hell, Captain. What have you gotten us into this time?' Jason, keeping his hand on his pistol, stood with the rest of the crew and motioned to leave. As he hurried out the door, he heard a fight break out, but he paid it little heed. All that mattered was that he had to get The Mermaid ready to leave IMMEDIATELY.
He broke into a run down High Tortuga's dingy streets, eventually arriving at the dock they had moored their ship. Two of the engineers he had left to perform maintenance on her in his absence, Fry and Jake, where smoking on the dock as he approached. They turned their heads in surprise, quickly snuffing out their cigarettes. Fry was the first to stammer out an apology. "Uh... sir! I thought you said you'd be gon..."
"Shut the fuck up, Fry. I'll chew you out for this later. Jake, start up the engines. NOW." The emphasis he put on that last word jumped the boy out of his stupor and he scurried onboard. "Fry, help me unmoor the ship. We're leaving as soon as the crew gets on board."
"We'll be leaving again tomorrow. When most of the crew has had some time to sober up."
Sober up, my arse. Give me a ship and a heading and I'll be good the rest of my life.
Then all hell broke lose, a second Cap'n stumbled onto the table, giving the first Cap a map or sommat, then fell over dead. So much for her plans of leaving tomorrow, looks like they were leaving tonight. A fact that brought an ear to ear grin to his face and a spring in his step, he didn't even notice his rum going down Beth's gullet. He lept to his feet before she even gave the command, tucked the coin he'd been rubbing back into his clothing, and headed straight for the door.
"Every pirate under my command is to report to The Mermaid within the hour!"
"Whooo-hoooo!,"He screamed to the night as he exited the dive before sprinting straight for the docks, where the Mermaid sat,paying no heed to the increasing sounds of grumbling coming from inside,"Get the barrels stacked, the cannons secured, and lets get ourselves ready for sailin'! Cap'n Beth said we're setting off tonight!"
Paying no heed to the skeleton crew on-board, he rushed to his little slice of the ship, the cannon hold, where he proceeded to make sure of pre-cast-off duties. They were secured, the barrels of gunpowder were netted, and the cannon balls were stacked, not much else he could ask for, right? He'd done his part as a part of the crew, time to get back deckside. Which Eddie did with his particular brand of gusto, involving a bit of whooping and pacing the decks, waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive.
After a few moments as the rest of the crew poured out of the Laughing Gull, Sheska nodded and holstered her weapons. "Good then. Sorry about this Frank, but we can pay you for the trouble when we make port here again!", she called out, before turning and breaking out into a run.
She practically flew her way across High Tortuga, climbing up the side of one building before leaping from rooftop to rooftop, foregoing the crowds on the streets. It didn't take very long for her to get to the airship, and she promptly dropped down onto The Mermaids deck, glad to see the crew was already bustling and getting to work. Still...
"Move your asses, you filthy dogs, and get to work!", she called out, just before jabbing a claw at a crewman, "You, make sure the Captain is in her cabin, she looked ill. Izzy, see if you can get us a heading.", she yelled, going from place to place, giving out the proper orders.
It was after a moment she decided they needed something else to get them working. What better than a good song? "Hoist The Colors, men!", Sheska shouted, just before starting to stamp a foot onto the deck itself. The rest of the men started to join in as they worked harder, making the ship reverberate somewhat.
And she started to sing with grim determination as she got to work herself, prompting the others to join in: "The Emperor came, and took all but name... And threw us out on the streets! But the skies be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam!".
The Emperor came,
And took all but name,
And threw us out on the streets,
But the skies be ours,
And by the powers,
Where we will, we'll roam.
Yo Ho, all hands,
Hoist the colors high,
Heave Ho, Thieves and Beggars,
Never shall we die!
Now some have died,
And some are alive,
And others sail on the clouds,
With the keys to the cage...
And the Devil to pay,
We lay to fortune and fame!
(Chorus)
Yo Ho, haul together,
Hoist the colors high,
Heave Ho, Thieves and Beggars,
Never shall we die!
The Bell has been raised,
From it's forsaken grave...
Hear it's sepulchral tone?
We're a call to all,
Pay heed the squall,
And turn your ship toward home!
(Chorus x3)
The Emperor came,
And took all but name,
And threw us out on the streets,
But the skies be ours,
And by the powers,
Where we will, we'll roam.
Once Samuel and Isaac had gotten the body of future Beth out of the tavern, they followed some of the others who had already gone back to the ship. It was merely following the city streets until they came upon the ship and walked the body up the gangplank onto The Mermaid. The two of them carried the body down a few flights of steps until they reached Samuel's makeshift sickbay.
He kept it as clean as possible and also tried to keep the smell of the various chemicals down by keeping flowers in the room. One of his books had said that patients responded better to examinations and other procedures if the room didn't smell like alcohol and other chemicals. Samuel planned to test that theory.
"Thank you, if you have anything you need to do I can take it from here." Samuel said to Isaac as he placed the body on a bed.
"Now if you'll excuse me I need to talk to the captain about opening up her future self." He said with a smile before leaving the room. He walked through the ship knowing it was likely she was either at the ship wheel or in her cabin in all likelihood. He figured he would start with her cabin Samuel quickly moved to the door. He knocked on the Captain's door, hoping that he wouldn't have to look much farther than that.
"Excuse me Captain, are you in there? I'd like to request permission to perform an autopsy on your future self." He was sure his excitement shone through his voice.
Jessie's mouth hung open, the jaw working up and down for a few moments, just a faint mumbling sound coming out. Her eyes couldn't possibly be any wider. The captain had a double? And she was dying.
Eventually she looked down at her own hands, closing and opening, counting fingers. She'd eaten the wrong mushrooms before, but this didn't feel anything like that. Could it be something in her drink? She quickly looked around the room, but nothing else seemed to be going insane.
Shock passed by the time Sheska and Samuel leaned over the body. Realizing how long she'd just stood agape and stared, she forced herself to move fast, pulling herself to her feet even while the corpse was hoisted up and people started making their way to the door. She took the back of the group, weaving and dodging her way through the increasingly rowdy crowd as the brawl built up and spread all across the bar.
She wasn't fast enough, though, and things just got messier and messier - keeping the back clear so the two could drag the corpse wasn't getting any easier. A big, meaty fist clocking the side of her head is what finally got her through being patient.
"Ye like yer brains?" She screamed up at the top of her lungs - which, incidentally, was quite high from being a lookout so long. Her gun was in her hands in an instant, pointed straight up. She fired a single warning shot, the big gun's blast disturbingly loud in the tight space of the bar "outta the way or ye bloody lose 'em!" A few pieces of ceiling fell around her, significantly damaging how dramatic her pose looked.
It did the trick anyway - or at least did enough to get them out the door no worse for wear. As soon as everyone was out, she turned around, walking backwards so as to keep her eyes on the door, making doubly sure no one was following. She kept the rearguard all the way to the ship, climbing onboard only after every crewmember was in - and only then did she shoulder her gun again.
Sheska had been getting the people working for a moment by then, and she promptly joined in the labors, and in the singing. It was something of a relief, really. A busy body and a song on your lips works wonders to dispel the shock and horror of what just happened, and it wasn't long before her usual smile was forming again.
Isaac nodded to Samuel.
He turned away and headed back up on deck, making his way towards his cabin.
""You, make sure the Captain is in her cabin, she looked ill. Izzy, see if you can get us a heading."
At this order from Sheska he nodded, inwardly groaning. He rolled his eyes as he walked away.
"It's Isaac, for the six-hundred-and-fifteenth time Sheska" he muttered under his breath.
He walked back towards his cabin, eyes already on the clouds. He wasn't sure of their direction at the minute but could get some ideas just letting the wind wash over him.
Isaac loved navigating from the deck. You could plot and hum and move compasses around all you wanted from some damned cabin but it was nothing compared to being out in the world you were trying to move through. All he needed to do was grab a couple of things and he'd be right back up on deck.
In his cabin, Isaac brushed aside some items and poured through his maps, thoughts on the captain.
He was generally a pretty unfazeable guy. You sort of had to be, when trying to chart your way through a howling storm when suspended miles above ground. But this Second Captain that had shown up... well, he had no frame of reference for it. How could she even exist? A twin? An exceptionally good disguise? He didn't think so - Isaac knew disguises fairly well and was certain this hadn't been one.
But these were questions that'd surely be answered eventually. He had no reason to dwell on them. Maps and sextant tucked under his arm, Isaac marched back the way he came and up onto deck.
Oh gods she's got them singing again. She'd better not make me join in this time.
And there was Jessie. She'd been clocked during the escape, Isaac had seen her but hadn't been able to act. Not that he felt too guilty, she was plenty capable of looking after herself. But...
"Erm... are you alright Jessie? L- looked like he hit you pretty hard."
Jacob walked at a brisk pace down The Mermaid's lower deck, frustration and confustion painting his features. 'Who was that? It couldn't be Beth, could it? I know my old friends in the Skyworks physics department said something about how time travel was theoretically possible, but this is just too outlandish to be true...'
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Now was not the time to dwell on this mystery. He had to focus on getting this rustbucket in the air above all else. Beth's interrogation can wait.
He entered the main engine room, surveying the progress his team had made since he'd come aboard. 'Engines fueled, steam pressure at full capacity, ship unmoored... all we need is to shift it into gear, and we're ready to go.' He turned his attention to Jake, who was monitoring the pressure of various steam outlets throughout the ship. "Jake, keep your eye on the steam pressure to the main rotors. We'll be moving out of port quite a bit faster than usual, I think."
"Aye aye, sir." Jason then turned his attention to the intercom wired to the wall. He pressed the button to broadcast it shipwide. "Beth, Issac, the engine's ready to fire. Cast off at will."
The hustle and bustle of getting the ship ready to sail had slowly driven the doubts and worries from her mind, helped her forget about what just happened and focus on the moment. The music helped immensely, too, and for that she was very thankful.
She'd been right among the men, moving from one task to another and singing all the way through when Isaac came up. The slight smile that had already formed on her lips widened somewhat.
"Oy, I'd forgotten all about that." Her hand came up, touching the right side of her head. There was an angry bruise right at the cheek, it looked like she would be carrying it for a while. "Suppose I'm alright. Not hurting unless I touch it." She grinned as she spoke, not bothering to stop her work to talk - she just did both at the same time "guess the sod didn't know how to throw a punch, eh?"
She finished pulling the length of rope up to the deck from the berth, and set about tying it to the bitt for safety. "So, what about you?" She nodded his way, making doubly clear she was still talking to him. People were coming and going busily, after all "looks like you got out smooth as silk."
A couple of deckhands jostled Isaac and he stepped forwards to avoid them, bringing himself a little closer to Jessie than he'd intended. He took a hurried step back, carefully avoiding colliding with anyone.
He nodded and a slight smile finally reached his lips.
"Yes. Can be a right sneak when I want to be."
Suddenly the self-consciousness came back with a vengeance. Hell, that sounded stupid. What are you thinking Isaac?
He started to scratch the back of his head and all of a sudden his shoes were looking very interesting.
"Permission granted. Rear Admiral on deck!" Annis called out as she and Garrett boarded the ship. As a result of the call, each of the men and women on deck stopped and saluted, until she returned the greeting.
Adrianna had to wonder about that particular tradition. She understood it was designed to show and teach the hierarchy with the greatest speed, but it always seemed like a waste of effort. How many man hours had been lost to saluting on the Invincible? How many in the Empire. Over all, it was a relatively minor inefficiency however, and it at least served a function.
As she reached the top deck, she was assaulted by reports, about the state of the ship. Annis was the loudest, clearest, and most brief of the reporters. "The resupplying has gone well, Rear-Admiral. Save for a single incident - one of the automatons dropped a cannon. Minor scuff damage to the deck, I've had two of my men clean and wax the location. I am attempting to track down the Automaton and have it reprimanded." Adrianna listened intently to all the words of all the reports, but Annis had a way of making them short, sweet, and too the point. There were never attempts to hide errors behind countless details - only cold, hard, facts.
"When I'm finally relieved of Mr. St. John, I will need to give her first-rank; no other officers are that good" Clearing her throat, she answered the reports one by one. "Ms. Baker-Cromwell, please see to it at your discretion; though if its a first infraction, please use a lighter, more productive, punishment such as rigging work - enough to get the point across, but nothing to horrendous; we can save the lashes for mutineers and brigands." she said, moving on to the next topic.
When they were finished, she intended on gathering the rest of the officers for the heading and course, but found Exeter missing. She had barely begun to search, before Annis found her goal. "Is that Mr. St John I see? He's late." Breaking out her pocket watch, she checked: he was, if only by a few minutes. Another minute later he was up the gangplank and aboard; all aboard.
"Admiral." He intoned, voice sickeningly warm. "I trust you and..." Exeter hestitated slightly, eyes flashing to Garrett. "...And your, um, entourage had a pleasant trip? You have received our orders?"
If there was anything to admire about Exeter, it was that he - like Annis - was straight to the point. He dispatched with the pleasantries quickly, then asked the most important question; their orders. Unfortunately, his pleasantries only ever seemed to drip with sarcasm and contempt. She had to bite her lip at his comments regarding her and her "entourage" as he so eloquently put it.
"I do indeed have our newest orders - I will share them at the navigation table post-haste" she said, letting the message sink in. She rarely explained the orders so formally these days. Most times the invincible was given a pirate hunting mission, which entailed little but skirt the boarders around Tortuga, sinking vessels until supplies ran low. That she kept her orders close to her chest for even this short a period of time was a sure sign of their importance and secrecy. Though she felt the mission was deserving of neither of these, it had been signed into law by the emperor himself, so it had to be handled as though the fate of the Empire were on their shoulders.
"Mr. St. Johns, Ms. Baker-Cromwell; please gather the ranked officers within the hour: discretely if possible." she said, confirming any suspicion they might have had regarding the contents of their orders.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When the staff had been gathered, she laid out their orders. Despite the fact he already knew the orders, Garrett had to remain outside; he wasn't a Ranked officer; he had no right to be there.
"Our orders are as follows:" she began, tracing the map as she spoke. "We are to sail East to Helium city, where we are picking up a new engineer to replace Mr. Edeson; Emperor rest his soul. Following this, we are to sail for Neo-Atlanta where we will refill all supplies to their fill. Finally, we will sail North-Northeast, skirt the ruins of the Old New York necropolis, and eventually reach..." she said, tracing her finger to a large star mark she had made on the map. "...here. Imperial intelligence has reported that a set of Old-world ruins is located at this residence. It is believed to hold the a piece of ancient-technology of some potential. Our mission is to acquire this device and return it to Old Borealis before the pirate hoards catch wind of it. The Invincible has been chosen for this mission by the emperor personally; citing Mr. St. John's and my own knowledge of the sky-city and pirate holding in those areas." she finished, laying out the now completed map before them.
"Are there any question?", she asked, ready to answer most that came her way. She just hoped no one thought to ask why a ship was sailing from Desolation, when Old Borealis and Everglade were so much closer.
For clarification, I'm assuming that, of the player characters, everyone but Feron-12, Capricorn, and Garrett Corvus are in the room.
Sheskas left eye was starting to swell shut thanks to the punch she intercepted for the Captain, and the pain spread to her entire skull. As an added bonus, her head felt like it was throbbing in time to the song, but she kept singing, and kept working. That is, until she spotted Isaac and Jessie talking in the middle of the deck, which made her frown just slightly even as she strode over.
"Guess the sod didn't know how to throw a punch, eh?"
"You're lucky. The bastard that got me had a fist like a brick. Then again, I'm used to taking hits to the face, and it shows. So, Izzy, you talk to the Cap'n, get us a heading? I'm not setting the ship sail without direction from her, since she seemed to have a mind about where to go.", she said, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head to one side.
Then she glanced between them both and quirked an eyebrow. There was something between those two, though she supposed it was stress. "Tell you what, once the Cap'n gets us to our heading, you two take a break in the hold. Have something to drink. You both earned it, s'far as I'm concerned, and it looks like you both can use it.", The First Mate told them out of uncharacteristic generosity.
Then she turned and started to head toward the Captains Cabin. "Gods know that I could, but there's work to be done, and rest can wait in my case.", she called back to them with a vague wave before opening the Captains door.
"Cap'n Beth?", she said quietly, stepping just inside the threshold.
Feron-12
It was dark, and he was alone, save for the constant scuffling that echoed somewhere between conscious thought and subconscious meanderings. In the half-light from the twisted portholes he glinted, repetitive motions again and again repeating themselves. Scrub the deck scrub the deck scrub the deck. A sold mantra to follow. Something to work on, to hold, to give himself handle.
He muttered lowly to himself as he worked, echoing the voices that reverberated around the ship. Keeping time with his soft words. ?Emperor?. name?. streets?.? It would be cathartic if he?d been able to comprehend such a thing. As it was, he couldn?t, and just figured that is was something to keep his mind occupied?
Not that it needed occupying. He was perfectly happy to follow orders. He was made for it after all. His purpose. ?Admiral?. Resupply?. Automaton.?
He looked up, ringed eyes scanning the half-light. The scuttling from below was louder again. He could make out no more. The creak of the wood and the slap of the wind against the hull was enough to drown out the noises from above.
It would soon be time for him to meet the new stock. The others who were like him but not. Odd bunch, like the last ones he was sure, who would whisper to each other when there were no humans around; who would exchange furtive glances before boarding; who would crawl to embrace each other as they were run through or shot down.
Those who would look at him and try to talk and he?d look at them blankly, unseeing. Eyes staring past at neither the future nor past. Only the present. And if they weren?t here to relay orders then he could say nothing to them. Soon enough they gave up. Soon enough, they were decommissioned, violently.
?Secrets?? he muttered, not wanting to enrage the scuttling beast below. Nor also to let it know that he talked to himself. That would end badly. He was not to speak unless spoken to. ?Secrets and orders and we?ll be hauling off soon. Then we will see.?
-Annis- "Ms. Baker-Cromwell, please see to it at your discretion; though if its a first infraction, please use a lighter, more productive, punishment such as rigging work - enough to get the point across, but nothing to horrendous; we can save the lashes for mutineers and brigands."
Annis nodded. She'd have preferred to move straight on to the lash herself but the Rear-Admiral was talking sense - no point wasting time and effort on a failing automaton.
She hated that they only seemed to get the off models. It just showed the ship for what it was - the Navy's dumping ground for misfits and outcasts. Like Vasco. Like the Rear-Admiral and that scoundrel of a bodyguard. Like herself.
As St. John arrived Annis stood dutifully and silently to the side, towering over all except Garret. She glared at Exeter's ill-kempt uniform as always, but had given up on making comments about it long ago. If the man simply refused to keep to uniform standards there was nothing she could do - he outranked her.
Her train of thought was cut off as Lanester spoke again. A meeting at the navigation table? Almost unheard of, unless the mission was of the utmost secrecy. Annis had to admit she was curious. Not that she was in a position to ask questions, but there would be time enough for that later. For now, she had officers to collect.
"Your presence is required in the navigation room." she hissed as she entered Vasco's pristine little dungeon.
You could say what you liked about Dr. Roque - and Annis often did - but his was easily the tidiest work space in the entire ship. And Annis could respect that. She waited barely seconds to see if the Doctor was coming along before turning on her heel. She didn't want to miss this briefing for the world.
After Adrianna had finished her briefing, Annis stared dumbfounded at the map. This was it then. The Admiralty were sending them to die. She could not accept that.
"Only one, Rear Admiral." she said, the mask twisting the anger rising in her voice to something inhuman. "We are being sent across the breadth of the country... for buried treasure? Is this a joke?"
-Isaac- "So, Izzy, you talk to the Cap'n, get us a heading? I'm not setting the ship sail without direction from her, since she seemed to have a mind about where to go."
Isaac damnit, Isaac.
He thought to himself, but ignored this and replied promptly.
"Not yet. Getting a read on the lay of the land first. Makes it quicker once I know where we're going."
The Captain liked Isaac to be quick with his work. He'd sort of earned his place on the ship by doing so, and now pre-planning potential routes before he even spoke to Winged Beth was second nature.
Speaking of which, he licked his thumb and held it up. Well, it seemed the wind would be in their favour regardless, it was already pushing out away from High Tortuga. An easy sail to begin with then.
"Tell you what, once the Cap'n gets us to our heading, you two take a break in the hold. Have something to drink. You both earned it, s'far as I'm concerned, and it looks like you both can use it." What?
Isaac looked nervously at Jessie, waiting to see how she'd respond. Calm yourself you idiot, it's not as if Sheska just commanded you to share a bunk or anything. Gods, but she would if she thought it'd help wouldn't she?
"Erm... thanks, Sheska. I still don't drink though." he said, shooting a please DON'T leave me alone in a room with her! look Sheska's way.
Of course, Jessie might be too busy to take a break anyway. Probably. Hopefully.
She chuckled at Isaac "that y' can, mister. Could make a proper outrider out of you, I could." She set the rope she was handling in a great, big knot, then put a foot among the coil and pulled the end with her whole body to set it. In a moment it was done, as secured as it could be. She stepped away from the rope, making room for the bustle of the crew, a satisfied smile on her lips.
She'd heard Sheska coming up, and for a brief second seemed concerned. She'd just finished a task, but wasn't too sure the first mate realized that, or would just think she was slacking off. A faint breath of relief escaped her lips when it became clear that wasn't the case.
"You're lucky. The bastard that got me had a fist like a brick. Then again, I'm used to taking hits to the face, and it shows. So, Izzy, you talk to the Cap'n, get us a heading? I'm not setting the ship sail without direction from her, since she seemed to have a mind about where to go."
She grinned wider. "Bar brawl's no fun if we all come out in one piece, aye?" A half-step closer and she leaned in a bit, eyeing the bruise with clear interest "that's a beaut! Musta been a boxer or beast dancer got you."
Tell you what, once the Cap'n gets us to our heading, you two take a break in the hold. Have something to drink. You both earned it, s'far as I'm concerned, and it looks like you both can use it."
"Won't say no to a drink, but are you sure it's not you who should be getting a rest? That bruise looks--" She stopped in mid-sentence. There was not much point arguing, and Sheska was clearly busy. Instead, another tactic was called for "y' drop in after you're done?"
She shrugged and whirled back to Isaac, the smile even wider . "A drink it is! So, what's your poison tonight?" As she spoke, she set a hand to Isaac's shoulder, both in a friendly way and just to walk him a bit further from the railing. There was still a lot of work going on about them, and standing around so long had made them something of an inconvenience for other crewmembers.
That smile...
Isaac obediently moved where Jessie was guiding him without thinking, still a little lost in thought. He looked around, a little nervous before meeting her gaze and smiling, guiltily.
"I still don't... really... drink, Jessie."
He clasped his hands together nervously.
"You know how it is..."
But of course she didn't. Unlike himself, Jessie wasn't ethically opposed to the idea of fun. She actually cut loose and tried to have a good time when she could. Isaac had grown up under the impression that having a good time got you dead, sharpish. You take a bad risk, you drink from the wrong cup, meet the wrong girl...
Of course, now he'd met the right girl (as far as he was concerned anyway) he was more terrified than he'd ever been working for the Chuno Ggun.
Exeter stood on the deck watching the Admiral and Annis wander below deck. He wondered at the sudden formality of Lanester. Since he'd been designated to the Invincible, he had never known her to do this. Was the Lord-Commander's visit and this incident a coincident? Exeter decided that the answer would likely be illuminated during the briefing. For now, he would content himself with a visit to Capricorn.
He made a detour to the mess hall on his way to the lower deck, deciding to feed the beast now. The kitchen staff gave him nervous salutes as they sorted through the new stock. Exeter gave them cold nods and inspected the crates. He paced down the line, peering at the vegetables and fruit before stopping at the final crate. He wrinkled his nose at the foetid smell and turned to one of the staff.
"What is this, Stokes?" He glared menacingly.
"T-the remains... of-of our p-p-previous trip, sir." The man named Stokes stuttered, his hands wringing desperately.
Exeter took a heavy step towards him. "It should have been gone well before now. We'll be preparing to leave soon..." Stokes shrunk under Exeter's gaze. Sweat was beginning to break out on his forehead. Exeter clicked his tongue, whirled around to the crate and lifted it. "No matter, these will do for Capricorn." He said briskly.
Just as he was about to turn, Stokes placed a hand on the crate. "Sir, I don't think those would do him any...." He trailed off under Exeter's withering stare. The First Mate's face was beginning to turn red with anger.
Stokes stepped away with his hands up in defence as Exeter banged the crate down again. He didn't look at the man and his hair shielded most of his face as it was lowered. The voice that came from it was cold and had the undeniable promise of violence in it. "If you ever think about contradicting me again," he paused, "I will beat you myself. It will be highly unpleasant." Stokes made a small noise from the back of his throat as the First Mate stalked out of the Mess Hall, crate in his arms.
Exeter shook his head in disbelief as he descended down to Capricorn's enclosure.
-Capricorn-
The bars still felt good against his skin, each one seemed to offer an entirely new experience although they were all exactly the same. Capricorn was so enthralled by this new sensation that he didn't realise that his master had entered his area of the lower deck. The Misbegotten was still moaning in satisfaction when the lights flickered on.
"Stop that noise Capricorn!" Exeter yelled, his words echoing around the lower deck. Capricorn started in surprise and shuffled away from the bars, his head lowered in obedience; his eyes were shut because of the light but he heard his master's steps and something heavy being placed on the floor.
"Don't stand there with your eyes closed." Exeter's voice dripped disdain. Capricorn didn't undertsand the words but knew the tone was usually followed by punishment. A sudden banging on the bars made him jump. "Open your damn eyes!" Capricorn's head shot up and he forced himself to look at his master. Exeter was outside the cage, feet wide apart and baton in his hand. Capricorn knew what that meant....
He watched as his master fiddled with the cage's lock and then picked something up from a crate. Capricorn shuffled forwards slowly, his curiosity making him bold. Exeter tossed an object into the cage and gestured for Capricorn to pick it up. He crouched down and inspected the object. It was round and squishy. Black with little white hairs sprouting from it. Not that Capricorn knew any of this of course; to him, the entirely rotten potato was simply interesting. It looked interesting and smelled incredibly interesting.
"Eat." His master's tone expected instant obedience. Capricorn grabbed the onion and took a large bite. He chewed on it for a few moments, his face contorting between intrigue and disgust. He opened his mouth and let the mushed pieces fall onto the floor. He looked at Exeter as a puppy looks longingly at its master.
For a long time, Exeter stared at the kneeling misbegotten, hand clenching and unclenching the baton in his hand. Without warning he picked up another mouldy vegetable from the crate and ran at Capricorn. The misbegotten didn't move as the beating began....
-Exeter St John-
Why did everyone insist on disobeying or questioning orders? First that little gremlin, Stokes, and then Capricorn. Clearly Exeter wasn't enforcing discipline nearly enough. He had calmed down a little from before though. The beast had eventually learnt to appreciate what was given him, and Exeter had worked out some of his frustration. The beast would be alright in an hour or two, when he eventually woke up. He allowed himself a brief smile as he walked to the navigation-table ready for the briefing.
When he arrived at the room, Garrett was standing outside. Exeter felt satisifed at this. For all her flouting of the rules, Lanester still didn't allow her tame pirate to be included in important meetings. He gave Garrett a stern look before pushing through the door.
As the Lanester related their orders, Exeter's mind was racing. They were as far from that location as any other decent airship, so why send the Invincible? No old-world relic could be worth such trouble... But if it was as important as implied - important enough to ensure any pirates don't get hold of it, then why send - of all airships - the Invincible!? It just didn't make sense...
After Lanester had finished she offered the opportunity for questions. Exeter was staring down at the map in thought, a frown creasing his features. He glanced up slowly as Black Annis spoke:
"We are being sent across the breadth of the country... for buried treasure? Is this a joke?"
It suddenly made sense. The Lord-Commander's visit and these orders 'straight from the Emperor' were no coincidence. This was a test. A test to guage Lanester's loyalty to the Empire. There was no relic. Or, if there was, it was useless. All of this was to test Lanester. Exeter was loathe to admit it, but the Empire had often used strange and unorthodox tactics in the past. This, though - this was unprecedented; using so many resources just to test the allegiance of one officer; she was obviously valuable in some way. Clearly there were things about her that Exeter didn't know. He smiled narrowly, relishing the thought of more puzzles to solve. This voyage was going to be interesting - Annis was certainly right though, the orders sounded like a bad joke; Exeter looked forward to hearing the punchline.
He stepped back from the table and addressed the quartermaster. "You, of all people should realise, this is no joke, Annis. To question orders from our esteemed Admiral," He inhaled gravely, "from the Emporer himself is so unlike you." he cocked his head in mock concern. "Perhaps you should go and lie down for a while, hm? Get the doctor to take a look at your vitalvbreathing apparatus." The corners of his mouth twitched up in a smile.
"Ye... Don't? Not ever?" She blinked, shook her head, seeming almost as bewildered as she was when the captain's body-double walked in on them. There was a brief pause, her gaze drifting about without really focusing on anything, as if she was making a mental map of how to proceed into this particular piece of unmapped territory.
"Oh, well..." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, actually flushing a bit as she realized that she'd just put Isaac on the spot for a choice that he probably was entirely alone on. Not nice, not nice at all. When she spoke again it was slowly, carefully, gauging his expression with each word as if she was talking with someone who just revealed a terrible childhood trauma "is there a reason? Ye had a bad experience, or a bad dad, or some spirit told y' not to?" She shook her head again, focused her eyes on his. It was just too perplexing, and the words were suddenly just blurted out "Not even a beer?"
It was quite clear that the thought itself was preposterous to her, and having lived her whole life either among Neobedouins or with airship pirates, it wasn't surprising she hadn't ever met someone who doesn't drink.
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