Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[Evrant-Knight]

"Well done Garrett." Adrianna said as they reached the dance floor and began to dance in time with the music. Garrett breathed a sigh of relief, as they could finally do something more enjoyable besides talking. "How did you ever get to be so wise?" Adrianna then asked, the question sounding like it was part compliment mixed with a curious inquiry, this caused the rugged mercenary to smile.

"Thank you for thinking me as wise. Though I have you to thank, guess spending as much time as we have had together, has meant that some of the knowledge and skills you possess have rubbed off on me. Still, that man was a right lout, he had no reason to insult you like that, except for the two of you being on opposite sides of the law. Believe me, if I hadn't kept myself in check, I would have punched the man right then and there." Garrett said in as quiet a tone as possible so that only Adrianna could hear, but the music seemed to have the effect of covering up his words. He then looked around the dance floor, seeing if there was any potential threats.

"Anyway, lets just forget about him for now, and concentrate on us instead." Garrett noticed the sight of a one armed woman walking away from Exeter, it looked as though the pair had been both insulting and dancing with each other at the same time by the way they moved. He then twirled Adrianna around himself, before pulling her in close.

"I don't want to alarm you my dear, but I just saw Exeter speak with a woman who had one arm, matching the woman he fought a few days ago. At least we now know that they are here as well. But's lets not worry about that, at least for tonight. For tonight, all I will care about is you." He then said in a calming tone, before smiling again.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Zach's challenge had made the Imperial nervous. He did well to not let his tone of voice change, and to plant a reasonable effort of a convincing smile on his face, but the faint draining of colour from his skin gave it away. In many ways this irked Zach more than the open hostility or smarmy condescension that he received from most Imperials. What right did this bottom-feeder have to feel uncomfortable about the revolting attitude the Empire showed towards the Neobedouin? He worked for them, and as such the blood of all the people, tribal or otherwise, that the Empire considered undesirable was on his hands, and no amount of perspiration or awkward shifting in his seat could forgive that. If he was going to be complicit by association in the horrific atrocities that counted for daily routine for Imperials, then he should at least have the common decency not to care, or to actively enjoy it. Any crisis of conscience was nothing more than a second insult.

"I wouldn't know. Please, do tell... I am sure it will be fascinating to hear about Neobedouin customs."

"In all honesty, any romantic Neobedouin customs you might be imagining are empty, pretentious bollocks if they even exist at all." Zach replied, his tone still light and jovial, concealing his dislike, and juxtaposing his harsh descriptions in a way that Zach knew would only serve to make the man more uncomfortable. "Let's just say I... differ, from the majority of tribal folk on this one, but it was a lesson I learned from the few with any sense some time ago. The true 'Song of my People' as it were, is nothing more than the rhythm of violence. Everything else is just window dressing. In the wild, you kill to eat, you kill for your family, and you kill anyone and anything that gets between you and what you want. If you're weak, cowardly, or stupid, you die, and I'm not dead yet. That's all I know of my people, Doctor. As for the rest, I'll let the clowns speak for themselves."

It was at this moment that Sheska, having broken away from the Officer, came to join them.

"Izzy, Zach. Which one of you wants to dance first?"

It took a brief moment for Zach to weigh up the options in his head. If he stayed at the bar, he'd have a batter view of the door in case anyone suspicious made an appearance. However, he'd also be in just as much danger of being watched himself. Going with Sheska put him in the middle of things, meaning he could act more quickly and subtly if needed, at the price of separating him from Issac, making it more difficult to communicate.

"It would be my pleasure." He said to Sheska, taking her hand. Before they moved out onto the dance floor he turned back to Issac. "You were right before. The atmosphere is here is far too close. Anytime you fancy some fresh air, let me know and I'll join you for a smoke."

Zach was confident that Issac was switched on enough to understand, and to inform Zach if he spotted any danger. Now he just had to hope that Issac's threat assessment skills were at least as good as his.

"Lover's tiff?" He quipped to Sheska as they went to take their places, nodding towards the retreating Officer. "I hope you kissed and made up."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

Sheska blinked when Zach was the first to answer, but she figured it was just as well. May as well get the dance with Zach over with, then take the time to talk to Izzy once they were done. When he took his hand, however, he turned and spoke to Isaac first.

"You were right before. The atmosphere is here is far too close. Anytime you fancy some fresh air, let me know and I'll join you for a smoke.".

Her face only registered mild interest, but internally she wondered what the fuck was going on. Still she smiled politely as they moved out to the dance floor, taking his hand firmly and nodding once.

"Lover's tiff? I hope you kissed and made up.".

Her face hardened and she glared at him with barely restrained fury. "Don't be a smartass, especially when I'm this fucking pissed, and when I happen to be your First goddamn Mate.", she snapped, only to close her eyes and bear down on her anger.

Once she managed to tone it down to a low simmer, she opened her eyes again and sighed. "That man's pet is the one that took my arm. A monster of a misbegotten named Capricorn, with eyes and horns like a goat, and almost larger than our cook, Morgan. It ripped my arm off with its bare hands, letting that officer get away.", she explained.

She kept her voice low as they danced, but it was clear that she was still tense, and still pissed beneath the surface.

"So, both St. John and Capricorn owe me an arm, as well as their lives for taking my arm, making me feel weak. And you had no goddamn right to interfere with that, Zach!", she started, only to relax.

"But thank you for the concern, and I appreciate the gesture. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have cared, but that man...", Sheska trailed off, shrugging and sighing.

Then she looked up at him with a quirked brow. "Now, what the fuck was that about Izzy, earlier? You aren't causing him any trouble, are you?", she asked suspiciously.

 

[3quency]

"You were right before. The atmosphere is here is far too close. Anytime you fancy some fresh air, let me know and I'll join you for a smoke."

Isaac nodded pleasantly, but left enough meaning in his eyes to make it clear that he got the message. He should be alright, he had a good view of the hall and anything that set his alarm bells ringing would be a good few minutes from causing any trouble provided he paid attention.

Then Zach peeled away with Sheska. Isaac watched them dance idly for a while before returning his attention to the table and the rest of the room. He'd need to keep his wits about him and watching his crewmates have a good time wasn't going to help with that.

He turned to Dr Roque and gave him a smile.

"Bracing company isn't he? One of the things that always gets me about living out here, the people. A bit divorced from city-living hey?"

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

"No, if he wished to 'brown-nose' our emperor he'd actually give a damn about dress regulations." a voice said behind from behind her, drawing Ciel's attention. "So you are our new Head Engineer? Nice to finally meet you, I suppose. Should I introduce myself?" the speaker said, as Ciel finally managed to turn around.

Cield blinked and shook her head a little, not expecting to see one of her fellow - and higher ranked - officers behind her. The good news was she at least knew all the officers names already, so she could manage to not look incompetent. "Anastacia Baker-Cromwell" Ciel said, holding forward her hand in greeting. She probably should have saluted, but they were off duty at a party; saluting seemed a touch excessive... gouache even. "Or should I call you Black Annis?" she asked, genuinely curious how she should address the quartermaster turned second mate. "In any event-" she added as a bit of an afterthought. "yes; I'm the new Engineer; Ciel Kriebel."

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

"...Believe me, if I hadn't kept myself in check, I would have punched the man right then and there." Garrett said, getting full agreement from her. She's been halfway to challenging him to a duel when Garrett had torn them away. "If you hadn't pulled me away, I suspect I would have lost my commission before the evening was up." she said, letting him know her thoughts. "About what he said though... he's wrong. I don't doubt your honor or loyalty for a minute." she said, in all honesty. She knew the pirate's words were probably eating at him; hell his words were eating at her, and wanted to make the idiot's words moot.

"I don't want to alarm you my dear, but I just saw Exeter speak with a woman who had one arm, matching the woman he fought a few days ago. At least we now know that they are here as well." Garrett said, informing her of the situation across the floor. Somehow, it didn't surprise her. Putting it together, the bastard they'd just spoken with was likely part of the same crew. She sighed to restore her calm and let it go; they would get theirs soon enough.

"But lets not worry about that, at least for tonight. For tonight, all I will care about is you." he added at the end, finally giving Adrianna an excuse to smile. Or smirk. "So business as usual then?" she replied playfully, before continuing into a more serious response. "We'll have to make it an evening to remember then-" she said, before taking the lead on the dance, eager to rematch their skills... this time with fewer pistols she hoped. "-so do try and keep up."

 

[deathbydeath]

"Where's the harm in having a bit of fun? Especially if it's on the expense of the upper class."

Drustan sighed upwardly, attempting to vent most of his frustrations before he began. "Why do I seem like the only person in this damned city that doesn't immediately hate people because of their purchasing power and mannerisms?" He buried his face in an empty hand, permanently irritated at the hatred surrounding the entire socioeconomic dissonance that had taken up residence in this land. "Seriously, when the barbarian ginger with no discernible occupation is the only one who isn't participating in this endless spat, you know you've screwed up."

Prying his hand from his face, Drustan ended his diatribe to ask Roy a question. "I'm going to go inebriate myself. Is there anything you want to get drunk on?"

 

[Terratina.]

"...As for the rest, I'll let the clowns speak for themselves."

Vasco nodded as the Neobedouin went about his people and their close relationship of violence. Was this another attempt to make him uncomfortable? If so, it only reinforced his position. Outside of the Empire, everything was ruled by violence and only the strongest survived, it seemed. But before he could argue with this 'tribal', he was already gone. Gone to dance with a beast. Well, that was what Neobedouin did, didn't thing? The doctor smiled and leaned back to his original position.

"Bracing company isn't he? One of the things that always gets me about living out here, the people. A bit divorced from city-living hey?"

Now was Mr. Traynor's turn to talk and thoughts went back to the past. Living in Everglade was close to idyllic, apart from what he saw of the lower class districts and the whole workhouse business. Nevertheless, if this gentleman thought that he was just a city doctor, he was wrong. He had brought people back from the brink, he had created an air filtration system that help others to this day. Dr. Roque's eyes went cold as he looked up to Isaac.

"Quite." He responded, "It has been quite a while since I have been in city for some time... But I would imagine that would be the case."

 

[Cybele]

Roy raised a curious eyebrow as Drustan started to rant, apparently frustrated by what Roy had said.

"Why do I seem like the only person in this damned city that doesn't immediately hate people because of their purchasing power and mannerisms?"

Roy missed the most of what the mercenary said after that when Drustan buried his face in his hand. Something about gingers and screwing up. Roy shrugged and smiled sheepishly when it seemed like Drustan had finished.

"I just find it amusing how easily some of them get upset, that's all," he replied, "I don't really give a rat's ass whether someone's a upper class neovictorian or a lowly neobeduin. Unless it's about business," he added, grinning.

"I'm going to go inebriate myself. Is there anything you want to get drunk on?"

"I don't really have any preferences," Roy admitted and headed over to the bar, nodding towards Jason as he walked past him and sat down nearby.

"And what will the Sir have?" the bartender asked him.

"Oh, anything's fine, really," Roy said, rummaging through his pockets until he found a crumpled old bill. The barkeep stared at the money for a moment before accepting it with a scowl and disappearing under the counter. He reappeared a few moments later with a large dusty old bottle that contained some sort of yellowish murky liquid.

"What's...that?" Roy asked rather bluntly as he stared at the suspicious looking bottle.

"Seagull wine. It's a northern speciality," the bartender replied with a mean smile as he wiped the bottle clean of dust, uncorked it and placed it in front of Roy. There definitely was something floating in the bottle. "Of course if the Sir would like something else?"

"Nah, that'll do," Roy said and waved the bartender away. Seagull wine? Surely he had 'misheard'. He poured himself a glass and took a closer look. At least the stuff didn't smell bad - like plain alcohol and something else Roy couldn't quite guess.

'Ah, what the hell...Bottoms up!' he thought and emptied the small glass in one go, regretting it an instant later. The stuff tasted as bad as oil from an old engine and went down even worse. Roy struggled with keeping the nasty brew down and a few moments later a warm heavy feeling spread in his gut, followed by a buzzing in his head that wasn't entirely unpleasant.

Roy took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly before pouring himself another glass.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"If you hadn't pulled me away, I suspect I would have lost my commission before the evening was up. About what he said though... he's wrong. I don't doubt your honor or loyalty for a minute." Adrianna sounded very sincere when she spoke, her words sounding believable. Garrett smiled in response as they continued to dance to the tranquil music. For the first time in their relationship, they were acting like a couple in public.

"Thank you Adrianna, for standing by my side, and for believing in me. It's just given all that we've done, sometimes it feels like I've turned my back on my people for working with the Empire. But no one would understand the reason as to why. I'll be glad when we get the chance to walk away, to start a new life." It was at this moment when Adrianna's expression changed to what looked like a mixture of a smile and a smirk.

"So business as usual then?" She said a rhetorically playful manner, before sounding more serious. "We'll have to make it an evening to remember then-" She then forcefully took the lead in the dancing. "-so do try and keep up." Garrett saw this as his cue to smirk.

"Oh I assure you, since last we danced, I have improved my capabilities some what." Garrett said, sounding brash and a little overconfident as they began to pick up in terms of tempo.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

'No right perhaps,' Zach thought to himself 'but a good reason. You never get yourself into that kind of situation without someone to watch your back, especially when you've got a temper that blinkers your vision, and yet I'm supposed to be the rookie here.'

"Now, what the fuck was that about Izzy, earlier? You aren't causing him any trouble, are you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Zach answered, as they started to dance "Izzy and I were just getting acquainted."

Zach decided for now it would be better not to tell Sheska anything about his suspicions. As he saw it there were three possible outcomes to such an action. She could believe him, take the threat seriously, and follow his lead, which seemed the least likely result in her current state; or, she could believe him, and fly off the handle doing something foolish; or finally, she could just laugh in his face. Best to keep it between him and Issac for now, and to keep an eye on the rest of the crowd as he and Sheska danced.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

Sheska's eyes narrowed further until they were slits when he finally answered.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Izzy and I were just getting acquainted.".

She sighed, and relaxed just slightly, but her hackles were still raised, and she wasn't sure if that was due to St. John, or the moment of thought she could see Zach had before he answered. Or maybe she was just on edge due to the setting for all she knew.

"Well, good. You seem to be coming along well, Zach, I'll give you that. You have balls, you seem to have some brains, though for now I've yet to see you in a fight. Even with some of the posturing, you're not as bad as most new recruits. But I'll tell you now, Izzy is harmless, so don't trouble him. He's been through more hell than I, and that's thanks to the Empire as well. I won't tell you the specifics, and don't bother prying them out of him. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you.", she said quietly as they continued to dance.

"Sometimes, Zach, it's best to let others keep their pasts to themselves. They're memories that are best left buried.", she added as a soft warning, her eyes firmly locked on his in the hope that he would get the message.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Don't worry." Zach replied sincerely "There isn't anything I want to know about Issac's past that I can't already tell without asking him. So long as I can trust him to watch my back, I'll watch his. It's as simple as that."

He paused a little before adding...

"People don't become pirates because they're content and emotionally balanced, and everybody's looking for something more than they have, in one way or another. Me, you, Issac... we've all got our own stories to tell, or not as the case may be. The specifics aren't that important, so long as we've all ended up at the same place in the end.

Still, it didn't take me very long to get the back story out of you, so it's only fair that you should know mine, if you care to that is. Between now and the end of this dance you can ask me anything about my past, and I will answer honestly and in full. Look, I've never really served on a ship like The Mermaid before, and I mean that not just in the sense that she's a pirate vessel. Everywhere else, most people were just there doing a job, and rarely stayed on one ship for more than one voyage. The Mermaid though, I can tell that a lot of you are as close as family, which is a dynamic I've never really had since the tribe, and that said, I don't have the happiest family history."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

"Don't worry. There isn't anything I want to know about Issac's past that I can't already tell without asking him. So long as I can trust him to watch my back, I'll watch his. It's as simple as that.".

She frowned at his reply. "That's what worries me.", she murmured under her breath before he continued.

As he told her that all pirates became that way to look for something more, she nodded in understanding. Then he offered her a chance to ask anything about him, with honest answers in return while they danced. He compared the Mermaid to a family, and she frowned thoughtfully at that.

"The Mermaid is like a family. The closest thing to a family I have. You know, before you came on board, hell, before we came to Helium, we had another Neobeduin on the crew, another Outrider. Her name was Jessie. We were friends, relatively close. I miss her, actually.", she added with a small shrug.

Then she looked up at him with a strangely thoughtful expression. "Since I never really had one, tell me about your family. What were they like?", she asked.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Pretty limited to be frank." Zach responded "I only had my mother and my uncle growing up. Never knew my dad, and nobody was ever in any hurry to talk about him, no matter how many times I asked. It wasn't hard to figure out though that he wasn't one of 'us'. Not part of the tribe, probably not even another Neobedouin. That's pretty much where all the problems go back to. The tribe was very... insular. They had to be, I guess, to survive out there, and because of that most people were of the opinion that I didn't belong. They never came out and said it to my face of course, but their attitude said all it needed to. I had to work twice as hard as anybody else to prove I was even worth feeding, and even then it won me no respect.

In some ways, my mother was the worst of it. Looking back though, I don't blame her. In the eyes of the tribe I was a mistake, and she was the one who made it. She had to be tough on me, to make sure I'd toe the line, because if the elders had ever thought that she was planting a bad apple with me, they would have come down on her even more than the shit I got. She died when I was 10, and after that it was only my uncle who would take me. Him, and his friend Solomon, who sort of became the closest thing I had to parents after that. They were both Outriders, meaning that if I wanted a place in the tribe, I had to become one too, and fast. It's a dangerous job, and you can't afford to be dragging a kid around if he's only going to slow you down and get in your way, even if you are the only family he has left. Not that I'm complaining. It was definitely the best place for me. Outriders spend most of their time on the fringes of the tribe, hunting or scouting. Out there, I didn't have to swallow half as much shit as I would have done otherwise. The two of them taught me almost everything I know, and it wasn't long before I was the one setting the example. You would have thought being the best shot in the tribe as age 14 would have made the rest ease up on me a little, but nope. Apparently, me staying on the fringes was only more proof that I was trouble, never mind that I would have been left to starve otherwise.

Anyway, that's about it as far as family goes, except, well..." Zach sighed, he had promised full and honest answers, but this wasn't going to be easy. "I have a son. I say 'have', but he wasn't mine for more than a few hours."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

Zach was true to his word, and Sheska listened as he told her about his life in the tribe, his mother, and his eventual surrogate family in his uncle and his uncle's friend. As he spoke, her face was blank and her eyes were empty, but inside, she had to sympathize. Still, she bore down on that feeling as much as she could. Zach was new, and she barely knew him. The fact was, the life of a pirate was dangerous and unpredictable, meaning he could be dead due to one of a million things within a week. And as First Mate, she couldn't care too much about the crew, though few have managed to worm their way into her heart.

It was at the mention of a son that her eyes widened and she looked surprised. "Wait, you have a son? What happened?", she asked, genuinely confused.

She couldn't imagine simply giving up a child, not one that was hers, at any rate. Of course, she reminded herself bitterly, she couldn't have children. Yet another thing she owed to the Empire.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Although Zach was still making sure to keep watch for any potential threats, he didn't miss the implication of the look on Sheska's face.

"I didn't abandon him if that's what you're thinking. Well, not by choice anyway. To really understand takes some explaining.

When I was 15, I had this thing with a girl named Hannah. She was everything I was never allowed to be. She was respected, loved by everyone, and being the grand-daughter of one of the elders had its perks. I would have resented her, had she not deserved all of it. Unlike the others, she had time for everyone, and she judged people for who they were, not where they came from. I... I can't really say whether or not we were in love. We were still really just kids, neither of us knew what it really meant to be in love, and we never got the time to figure it out.

That was when my uncle was taken. You see, our little group was causing a political split in the tribe. Most just wanted to keep running from the Empire, while we wanted to fight them, and we were gaining ground. We'd seen enough to know that the empire isn't as strong as it likes it citizens to believe it is. No one force can overthrow them on their own, so we'd have to make alliances. Our tribe was one of the biggest and most influential. If we could get a dialogue going with the others, there was a chance that we could unite all the Neobedouin people against the Emperor. If that happened, the Skyfolk might take notice as well; and if that happened, there are hundreds of disaffected veterans out there, getting by serving as mercenaries and pirates, who'd jump at the chance to have another go at the Empire, especially if we could give them good odds. Finally, Most of the citizens of the Change-Cage cities would see the Empire struggling, and would be inspired to insurrection. Add all of these things together, and you had a force that even the full might of the Imperial fleet couldn't match. They would crumble, and nobody, no Neobedouin like me or Misbegotten like you, would have cause to fear them any more. That was our plan."

Zach still spoke calmly, but now a cold fury surrounded him like an aura, a power that was so tangible you could almost touch it.

"I don't know exactly how the Chuno Ggun found out about us. Even after everything, I refuse to believe our own tribe sold us out, not without proof. All I know is, we were ambushed on a scouting trip. The Imperials outnumbered us. Solomon and I got away, but my uncle was wounded and captured. You have to understand Sheska, that if I'd have known... if she had told me she was pregnant, I wouldn't have left! But for all I knew he was the only blood family I had left. I owed everything to him, so I couldn't just leave him to his fate.

Solomon and I went off on our own, to rescue him. I... we were too late. Their 'interrogation' hadn't left all that much of him behind to bury; and after seeing that, we couldn't just let it go and go back home. We would have our revenge, or die trying. So we tracked them down, every single agent and officer who'd been responsible. They all died, along with anyone who got in our way. For almost a whole year, seeing them all dead was all we lived for, and we did it."

He was finding it harder to stay in control now, and although he kept his volume low, his voice shook slightly.

"The tribe had given us up for dead, so it was quite the surprise for both me and Hannah when I turned up to find her ready to give birth any day soon. For that moment, that tiny moment, I thought I had a future. I thought I had something worth living for again.

She... didn't survive the labour, and I'd barely had the time to hold my own child before the Elders dealt their final blow to me. They accused me of endangering the whole tribe with my actions. Proof, they said, that my motives had always been to weaken the tribe from within. They even went as far as to accuse me of raping Hannah! Now, they could have killed me for the things they said I'd done, or exiled me out into the wastes to starve alone... but no. They really wanted me to suffer at this point. They didn't want to take my life, they wanted to destroy it.

My punishment was to have my own child taken away from me, and for me to be forbidden from even giving him a name. I was forced to 'gift' him away to someone else, someone more suitable. From then on, I would have to watch my son grow up. Watch him call another man his Father. Watch him be taught to hate me like all the others, never knowing the truth. Tell me Sheska, if someone had done that to you, and you were powerless to stop them, could you have stayed? Could you have lived that life?

Before I left, Solomon promised me he'd do what he could to watch over the boy. I'd been on ships before, guarding trade missions, and I knew I could make myself useful. I got on the first one that could take me as far away from them as possible. It had to be a ship, because even standing on the same dirt as them made me feel unclean! So yeah, I ran. I'm still running, and that's as far as my story goes right now."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

Zach's tale was one of young love, and a plan to overthrow the Empire. Or at least, it started off that way. He told her of their plans, to form alliances with the other tribes, and hopefully the Skyfolk, possibly setting off the Neovictorian lower classes to revolt. Only for the Empire's Chuno Ggun to attack, and capture his uncle. The story turned into one of rescue, then revenge.

As he told it, her face alternated between hardening and softening, depending on what parts he essentially relived. Anger for the Imperials. Sympathy for him. Disgust for his tribe. Sorrow for his losses. Even someone as reluctant to open up to people as her had to feel for him when he told her about his uncle's death, and their mission of revenge.

When he went on about Hannah and their child, she had to close her eyes and take a breath. Sheska's eyes stayed closed as he finished, telling about her death in childbirth, and his tribes punishment: Taking away his son. The last thing he said was about how he was still running from them, with Airships being his escape of choice.

He had asked her a few moments earlier what she would have done in his position, if she would have stayed, if she was powerless to stop them. When she opened her eyes, they burned angrily, though deep down there was sadness.

"As I am now, no, I wouldn't have stayed. I would have killed anyone who would try to take away my child. But, a few years ago... I would've done what you did. I can't blame you, Zach, for what you did, because I can understand it, at least part of it. Even though I've never felt that kind of loss, and likely will never know what it's like to have a child of my own.", she told him softly, before shaking her head.

"But remember this, Zach: You can't run from everything, and you can't run forever. It's better to face whatever is after you head on, be it your enemies... Or your past. So if you can find the chance, you should find your son, whenever the time comes. I'm not saying you should kidnap him, or break into your tribes camp with guns blazing. But he deserves to know his father, regardless. He should know that his real father cares, even if he isn't perfect, and thinks he has balls bigger than he really does.", she added with a small smirk, before letting go and stepping back.

"Anyway, I'm going to go check on Izzy. You ought to find something strong to drink, someone fun to talk to. Take your mind off of things and laugh for a little while, or just listen to the music. That kind of pain has a tendency to linger if you let it, so don't. That's an order.", she told him firmly, patting his shoulder before striding towards where Isaac still sat.

 

[3quency]

-Annis-
"Anastacia Baker-Cromwell" Ciel said, holding forward her hand in greeting. "Or should I call you Black Annis? In any event yes; I'm the new Engineer; Ciel Kriebel."

Annis took the hand and shook it firmly, if curiously. It had been a while since somebody on the crew had been willing to make physical contact with her.

"Annis will suffice in informal occasions, Ms Kriebel. I hope you are finding our ship hospitable?" This was probably more than a little obviously untrue. It wasn't that Annis wanted things to be unpleasant, but it didn't matter to her either way what the crew thought of the ship provided that they did their job and did it efficiently.
"I understand we have some repairs and improvements to undergo, would you be overseeing that?"

-Isaac-

"Quite." the doctor responded a little coldly, "It has been quite a while since I have been in city for some time... But I would imagine that would be the case."

Isaac shrugged. "Same here. Haven't seen an Imperial city in a good few years now. I didn't mean to cause offence by the way."
He wasn't sure of this man. Isaac wasn't the sort to openly assume that every Imperial was an uptight self-important aristocrat with an open loathing of outsiders, but he'd not encountered a man that seemed to take offence at even the slightest implication of this stereotype. It was interesting.

He looked to the left and saw Sheska approaching. He nodded to her, and continued to scan the room around them. He wasn't sure of the point Zach was making though. If Ggun were here, and they were undercover, you'd not spot them. He may have the advantage of knowing their usual tricks, but things could change in the spy business and change fast. It was the only protection they had against defectors after all.
Not that they could hide everything. Isaac understood how they worked. If there was a Ggun agent at the party, the odds were pretty good that Isaac would know it.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

As she made her way back to where her best friend was lounging, she had to take a moment to calm down. After her verbal sparring match with St. John, and then Zach's story of his son, made her feel unsteady all around. She wasn't even sure why what he told her put her in such emotional turmoil, but she shrugged it off. In all honesty, she had been off-stride the entire time she had been at this goddamned gala.

Still, it not only managed to be a good sucker punch to the gut after her encounter with her enemy, but also managed to soften her defenses enough to try and be reassuring. She'd need to be careful about that. Not only was he new, unproven, and for the most part unknown, she had a reputation to uphold as a hard-ass, bloodthirsty *****.

Sheska felt a little steadier by the time she reached them, seeing Isaac nod at her before scanning the room itself. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Its your turn, Izzy.", she said, holding out her hand to help Isaac up.

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

"Oh I assure you, since last we danced, I have improved my capabilities some what." Garrett said, full of bravado. Still, Adrianna was hardly the sort to back down from a challenge. She kept pace with the beat, changing with the tempo as needed. She would have been happy to dance the night away if the world saw fit to allow.

As the dance moved forward, Adrianna found Garrett's ability to dance had improved significantly since their previous encounter. Still, Adrianna was still more experienced than he, giving her an advantage. They remained in a stalemate of sorts for a long time, until Adrianna tried to turn the dance to her advantage. She shifted her weight in an attempt to draw their movements in a direction he couldn't see, allowing her to gain control over their dance. Unfortunately, her attempt to gain control was met with the unexpected arrival of another couple, moving into the same area. Adrianna lightly collided with the unknown dancers midstep, throwing off her balance, causing her to slide forward and toward the ground.

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

"Annis will suffice in informal occasions, Ms Kriebel. I hope you are finding our ship hospitable?" Annis said, a touch stiffly. "I haven't reason to complain if that's what you mean." Ciel said, not sure what else to add that didn't dive off the deep end into technical details about how the ship's engines needed a serious tune up before the heating system would be working at optimal and such, but then it would be unkind to speak ill of the previous Engineer.

"I understand we have some repairs and improvements to undergo, would you be overseeing that?" Annis said, inquiring. Ciel responded in kind, seeing no reason not to. "Yes, though I've needed a hand from some of the crew as well as some outside help - a shipwright Mr. Corvus and Dr. Roque found. Fortuitously, I still have my assistant from my last commission to help me." she said, indicating James across the room as she mentioned her assistant.