Episode 0: Three Hills, One Clue

Started by Sidney Applebaum, October 29, 2020, 12:55:52 PM

Rhiannon Pool

Location: The Ship

"Uh, hi," came a response from the handsome bear of a man that came into view. A brow rose and Junior looked him over with what was halfway between a grimace and a look of mild curiosity. It ended up settling adjacent to skeptical doubt. "There something I can do for you? You lost or something?" he asked.

The redhead cleared her throat and set her hands on her hips, then shoved them into her pockets, and finally pulled them free to hang at her sides. "Not lost," she informed him, looking around at the interior of the cargo hold. "Looking to hire a ship, if you're for...hire," Junior explained further, frowning again at her lack of eloquence. Another clearing of her throat and straightening of her spine. Come on, you're better than this. Just be Dad.

Still, she stood just barely inside the threshold, not wanting to barge into his ship. This sentiment was not held by the stranger who moseyed on past her. Well, maybe she was part of the crew or something. Not her business. Or...actually it was her business wasn't it?

"We're looking to hire a ship, transport, mostly. Maybe hauling some cargo, along the way, if we find some to haul. Are you for sale? Hire! For hire!" It had been going so well... Still! Her father's scowl slapped its way back onto her mouth, although her brows were furrowed in barely contained embarrassment.
Dialogue Color - Indianred

Sidney Applebaum

January 24, 2021, 11:34:31 AM #21 Last Edit: January 25, 2021, 11:23:51 AM by HumanHyperbole
Location: The Clinic

Three men rounded the corner carrying Sidney like a log. He had a torn piece of cloth shoved up his nose to stem a nose bleed and a fresh shiner as they dumped him in front of the doctor's door. As soon as he hit the ground they were beating feet in the other direction. If he wasn't so dazed from the multiple blows to the face, he'd actually have said more than weakly mustering:

"Thanks for the lift guys..."

Writhing, he flopped himself over like a turtle on the ground, and started to pick himself up onto his feet. Sloppily he pushed his way through the door and nearly collided with his collaborator.

"Pool! Hey so I didn't start..."

He eyed Pool's condition, then looked to the doctor, pointed to her, then his business partner.

"Did he get beat up too? Oh MAN! I'm gonna be honest I can't wait to journal about this..."

Before his surly and begrudging ally could get in a comment about the journaling he inquired with the woman he was assuming was the medic on staff.

"You got any gauze? And recommendations for sleep medication that has 50-60% less wacky hijinks as a side effect?"

He pressed his sleeve up to his nose to absorb some of the blood, not worrying about ruining his fancy duds. Perversely, blood stains and stories like this were half the reason he was even doing any of this. A man who wasn't in the midst of a mid-life crisis brought on by a divorce might have found this moment to self reflect. But Sidney was not there yet. Maybe after he finally admits it to himself he's mad she kept the dog.

Desmond Holt

February 20, 2021, 04:15:05 AM #22 Last Edit: February 22, 2021, 09:19:51 AM by Lomari
Location: The Ship

The girl fidgeted for a moment, before answering. "Not lost," she said, and glanced around the cargo hold. "Looking to hire a ship, if you're for...hire," She frowned, and Desmond raised an eyebrow. He was about to reply, but was immediately distracted by the appearance of a second person. This time a gorgeous brunette, with hazel eyes, and a sassy walk who looked oh so familiar. In the back of his mind was also a bit of indignation that they just walked into HIS ship. His attention was brought back to the redhead when she spoke again.

"We're looking to hire a ship, transport, mostly. Maybe hauling some cargo, along the way, if we find some to haul. Are you for sale? Hire! For hire!" He looked back at her quizzically. "Uh, well. Yeah, I mean I'm looking for work, yes-" His head swung back to the brunette "Excuse me, can I help you?" Back to the redhead. "I still need to fill a couple crew positions but, yeah I, err, we are for hire." back to the brunette again "Sorry, you look so familiar, we've met haven't we? I'm pretty sure we've met" back to the redhead "Transport you said? Yep, we can do that, we've got a good amount of cargo space in the hold here, and some empty rooms for more space if-" He snapped his fingers and his head snapped back to the brunette. "Gem! Gemma, right?!"
"The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun."
Dialogue Color: Seagreen

Gemma Pierce

February 20, 2021, 12:30:08 PM #23 Last Edit: February 22, 2021, 09:20:05 AM by Lomari
Location: The Ship

Gemma continued to walk slowly around the cargo bay just admiring the ship. Completely unaware of what she had walked into. It was either that or she really didn't care, after all the door was wide open. A familiar voice snapped her out of her trance,

"Excuse me, can I help you?"

She turned around her hair flipping to the other side, Gemma flashed the man a smile and shook her head, "I don't know - can you?" She just couldn't help her self. The man seemed like he had his hands full and she was always a bit playful with her responses. It didn't take long for Gemma to recognize the man, after all who could forget that face. But he seemed to be slow on the uptake.

"Sorry, you look so familiar, we've met haven't we? I'm pretty sure we've met" She grinned nodding - Gemma began to tell him but it was only a second later when he turned around, "Gem! Gemma, right?!"

Gemma walked towards him nodding, "Yep Gemma Pierce, good to see you Des. But I'm a little hurt it took you so long to remember me. I must be losing my charm." She sent him a wink and looked around the cargo bay again,

"This boat yours?" She asked him, looking back with interest. It took her a moment to remember her manners and introduce herself to the other party. Gemma reached out her hand to the girl, "Nice to meet you, Gemma Pierce, pilot."

Reinhardt Pool

February 21, 2021, 04:28:03 PM #24 Last Edit: February 22, 2021, 09:20:22 AM by Lomari
Location: The Clinic

Pool stopped with his hand in the door and considered the girl's offer and decided it couldn't hurt. "Lady I knew way back, don't figure she's still in town. Had a wild burr about getting' out." He smiled wistfully. "Posie Wickson." Before Rose could inform him of their happenstance, Sidney appeared. "Sucker punched. I was sucker punched. There's a difference between that and whatever the hell happened to you. Jesus. Look atcha. I leave you for-" Pool remembered that he didn't know exactly how long it had been. "-and you get-" Like he had any room to talk about not being on world and getting sucker punched. "-say, toots, what's your name? Can you get my friend here some ice maybe? We gotta hit the road."

At this point he just wanted to put Three Hills behind them. This was a wild goose chase. He could feel it. That wasn't something you could fake. Three Hills was a lost cause and the sooner they accepted it, the sooner he could just go home. Sidney. The reason Pool was here. The financier had been convincing, but it had really been Rhiannon who had pulled on her dad's heartstrings and greenlit this little adventure. And now look at them! Couldn't leave them alone for even however long it had been since they'd separated.

Rhiannon!

He grabbed Sidney by the collar and pulled him close enough to chew on the man's face. . "Where's. My. Kid?"
Dialogue Color: firebrick

Ulrich Kruger

February 21, 2021, 09:27:32 PM #25 Last Edit: February 22, 2021, 09:20:13 AM by Lomari
Location: The Ship

At the sound of the word 'pilot,' Ulrich stopped lurking around the corner and came forth from the shadows.  The gaunt figure of the tall man might have been unsettling had he not been so quaintly dressed.

"I am the engineer of this vessel," he announced, unasked.  "Ulrich Kruger."

He spoke briefly to Holt, "I will interview the pilot.  You, Captain, can arrange some income." 

The suggestion sounded suspiciously like an order.  Rather imperious for an employee, but to Ulrich's mind the ship was really his.  The Captain was just the owner.  The man who paid for things and gave orders.  Hardly important in the grand scheme of things.

"Come, young lady.  I will show you our wings.  You can tell me how well you will use them."

He gestured, inviting the young woman deeper into the vessel.  To his mind, any pilot they hired must see the engine of the ship- its beating heart- before they could speak at all as to their ability to fly it.



Dialogue Color: burlywood

Rose Wickson

February 22, 2021, 12:03:06 PM #26 Last Edit: February 22, 2021, 12:16:06 PM by Rose Wickson
Location: The Clinic

"Posie Wickson."

Rose's heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be. Could it? No. But it had to. There was only one Wickson family around these parts, and nobody in the most recent branches of the family tree had a name you'd expect to be shortened to Posie, other than yours truly... and her.

The reigning Proserpina Wickson, the seventh of her kind and a vast improvement over the previous model as far as her family was concerned, was still gathering her thoughts when the mysterious horse-gazing man burst into the clinic, looking significantly less put-together than the last time she'd spotted him. Ten seconds ago she would've been awestruck by coming face to face to him, but the bombshell dropped by his companion had already done the job. Rose directed her gaze in the general direction of the injured man's face but stared right through it, even as the other man began chewing him out.

"-say, toots, what's your name? Can you get my friend here some ice maybe? We gotta hit the road."

"Rose." The informal introduction came naturally; nobody called her Ms Wickson (or Dr Wickson, for that matter). "I'm sorry, w-what was that about--"

Before she got an answer to her question, the burly man suddenly had horse guy by the collar. Without thinking, she approached the quarreling pair, poking her head next to their almost interlocked faces.

"You knew Aunt P-P-P-" That forbidden name, so rarely spoken above a disapproving whisper in the Wickson household, might as well have been literally cursed never to pass her lips. Rose knew well enough to give up before she'd even gotten properly going. "You knew my aunt?"

Aunt Proserpina, or Posie, as this man had called her. The folks who had been around when she'd still been a part of a community were fond of coming up with colorful ways to insinuate her rotten character, but surprisingly tight-lipped about what she'd actually done to earn her reputation. The Wicksons were determined to put her memory behind them, and since their family was generally well-liked, the townspeople respected their wishes for the most part.

"She left home, what, thirty years ago? And she ain't been back since. Now why would Gus..."

Rose smiled and furrowed her brow in a kind of amused confusion. Then the realization hit, and her face fell.

"Gus ain't my fiance." It was suddenly extremely important to her that Aunt Proserpina's old friend understood she had absolutely no affiliation with or feelings for the cocky bastard who'd attacked him. And Aunt Proserpina's old friend's friend, too; her gaze darted to the other man and she repeated for emphasis. "He ain't my fiance. We're not engaged."

Oh for Goodness' sake. She knew Gus was bad at boundaries, but this was going too far.

"He hasn't even p-p-proposed. And if he did, I'd say no. We're not... I just don't... He ain't exactly my..." Rose struggled to find a way to put it kindly. She looked at the burly man with the bump on his head. "Well, you've met him."

"And you've met my aunt." Her eyes lit up again as the excitement of finding a friend of Aunt Proserpina's won over the horror of being falsely identified as the future Mrs Jenkins. She beamed at the man, then turned to his friend "And you're... bleeding. Oh dear."

Rose sprung to life, darting towards the cabinets to rummage for gauze and other medical supplies, all the while apologizing profusely. 'Sorry' seemed to be all that would come out of her mouth right now.
Dialogue color: palevioletred

Sidney Applebaum

March 05, 2021, 04:04:50 PM #27 Last Edit: March 18, 2021, 10:59:37 AM by Lomari
Location: The Clinic

"Can you put some of the ice in a cup... with some water.. maybe lemon? Do you have lemon slices?"

He laughed at his question. Realizing how silly it was.

"Oh, jeez I'm being silly. This is a doctor's office."

Before he could then ask if she really did have any though, his burly partner had him in his grips and they were close enough to smell each other's breakfast on the other's breath. His voice started to crack again as he really could have used that ice water with lemon.

"Docks... section C... she was heading towards a ship..."

Then the doctor interrupted them. The lady they were looking for was her aunt! If Pool wasn't an inch from his face and from snatching the life out of him Applebaum would be frantically taking notes for his conspiracy cork-board. He pulled his notepad from his jacket pocket and shoved it towards the man gripping him. Maybe he could jog that foggy memory of his while Sid checked on Kiddy Pool.

"I'll go make sure the kid picked out a nice ship..."

Sid made a face like he was waiting to get punched.

Rhiannon Pool

Location: The Ship

"Uh, well. Yeah, I mean I'm looking for work, yes," he answered and her eyes lit up. Well, that was easy. Why had the fancy idiot made it seem like this was a much more complicated process. "...I still need to fill a couple crew positions but, yeah I, err, we are for hire..."

Her hands moved to her waist and she stared up at him with a frown. Easily distracted. Probably had something to do with his looks. Handsome people were less likely to need to pay attention, she figured. Life probably handed them everything on a silver platter. Why pay attention when you can hold your hand out and /ta da/ that thing you wanted just ends up in your grasp. Was that unfair to think? Her furrowed brow deepened.

"Transport you said? Yep, we can do that, we've got a good amount of cargo space in the hold here, and some empty rooms for more space if-" Oop. There he went again.

"This boat yours?" Asked the woman responsible for keeping him so distracted. She reached out her hand to the her, "Nice to meet you, Gemma Pierce, pilot," she said. Rhiannon took the offered hand and squeezed relatively hard. Not on purpose, or to be rude. That was just how you were supposed to shake hands. Firm. Unyielding. Strong. Like your character. A loose handshake indicated a loose character. Was that right?

"I will interview the pilot.  You, Captain, can arrange some income." Junior flinched and took her hand back quickly, her eyes wide as she stared at the person who she was fairly certain had materialized out of the ship itself. Had he been there the whole time? So much for keeping her head on a swivel. "Ah," she began, looking back up at the ship's owner with a baffled expression that she hastily covered up with stern professionalism. "Looks like you have a pilot now, so that position looks filled. Kind of forcefully. Is this considered shanghaiing?" she asked him. "Ah, well, in any case. Your ship looks nice, large cargo area, you seem to not be the skeevy murder type, your ship has a sentient ghost, you're hired!" she exclaimed. Did she have the authority to do that?
Dialogue Color - Indianred

Reinhardt Pool

March 30, 2021, 12:30:52 PM #29 Last Edit: May 17, 2021, 07:35:28 AM by noseatbelts
Location: The Clinic

Pool, within kissing distance of a man he'd just as soon cripple and leave behind on this forsaken rock, turned towards the doc, his brow furrowed in confusion. The gears in his brain turned. The math was beginning to add up. If only... "Shut up! Can't hear myself think, for chrissakes..." He said to Sidney, finally losing his patience he swatted the notebook out of his eyeline. Not that he had much to begin with, but there was only so much yapping a body could take. Pool tried to remind himself that this guy and his cockamamie plan were going to get him and his rich and finally afford him the opportunity to properly retire. He let go of Sidney's collar, but slapped a calloused hand over the motormouth for good measure.

"You say Posie is your aunt?" Weird. That was a detail that had completely evaded his memory, but maybe back in those days Posie had mentioned a brother. Or sister, maybe? Then the whole fiance thing clicked for Pool and he grinned stupidly. "Ha! You look more about a proper age for that codpiece, I was wondering what he would be doing chasing after Posie... We ran together for a while, back in the day. Not like that, though. Not for lack of me trying..." Pool trailed off as memory took hold of him. His old friend had always had a stick handy to beat the boys back with, but he reckoned she might have settled down by now. But apparently not back home, as he had desperately hoped. "Ain't been back, huh? Well, dammit. Was hoping she could help fill in some gaps in the old recollect." He tapped his temple. So it was a wild goose chase, after all. His hand dropped from Sid's mouth.

"Sorry to waste your time, kid. We'll get out of your hair. Thanks for the, er, ice I guess." He leveled a finger at Sid and bid him to follow with it. "You. We got a conversation to have. But first, let's find Junior and get off of this rock." His rickety old brain started to try and create other associations they could reach out to, but he was coming up dry. Pool was an anomaly in longevity as far as folks in his line of work were concerned. He'd have to do some hard thinking. For now, though, it was time to go collect his daughter. He hoped she was alright, but Pool knew she could take care of herself. It was the rest of the 'verse he was worried about. This doc sure did remind him of her, and his protective hackles couldn't help themselves. "Um, Rose, right? Stay as far away from whatsisname as you can, savvy? You seem like a good girl, hate to see that change." He nodded at the door for Sid to lead the way to the docks, and grabbed the financier by the arm just in case.
Dialogue Color: firebrick

Rose Wickson

Location: The Clinic

'Codpiece'. Rose wanted to let out a hearty chuckle at the rugged man's off-color way of referring to her unwanted suitor, but she resisted the urge. As upset as she was with Gus, it didn't feel proper to laugh at his expense. Why not though? He certainly doesn't extend you the same courtesy.

Although spellbound by Aunt Proserpina's friend, Rose had not forgotten about her patient. As soon as the larger man dropped his hand from his companion's mouth, she swooped in and got to work with impressive efficiency, quickly wiping away the worst of the blood around his nose with a wet rag before replacing the piece of fabric stuffed in his nostril with gauze actually designed for the purpose. That was all she had time to do before the other man bid her what sounded like a farewell and began to pull her patient away.

"You can't leave yet!" she protested, grabbing her patient's other arm. "I haven't checked if he's got a... I ain't done here yet."

She realized she was addressing her words Aunt Proserpina's friend, as if he was the legal guardian of the grown man between them. She turned her attention to the patient himself, offering him an apologetic smile.

"I'm 'fraid whatever sleeping pill's got you all m-mixed up is still better than anything we've got on hand." She couldn't help her gaze from being drawn to the blood stains on his sleeve. Anyone who'd so casually ruin a nice shirt like that had to have access to good Core medicine instead of the stuff they had to make do with out here.

Rose's shoulders slumped as she realized there wasn't much she could do to keep the men from going their way. If Dr. Cohen were here she might put her foot down, but she was just little old shrinking Rosie. Why do you say that? You're a grown woman, aren't you?

"Well...uh... Good luck with the new ship. You can take the ice with you." She pressed the ice pack in fancy shirt man's hand, then frowned as she remembered his request from before. "For the head. Don't put it in your m-m-mouth."
Dialogue color: palevioletred

Desmond Holt

April 11, 2021, 04:25:03 PM #31 Last Edit: May 17, 2021, 07:37:42 AM by noseatbelts
Location: The Ship

"This boat yours?" Gemma asked, while Des smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Real sorry I didn't recognize you sooner. Yeah, this is all mine," he answered, before the pilot was swiftly stolen by Ulrich.

"I will interview the pilot.  You, Captain, can arrange some income." Des' smile broadened and he nodded his chin downward once, waving apologetically at the pilot. "I'll see you after the tour, we can catch up," he offered, watching her vanish with Ulrich deeper into the ship. "Come, young lady.  I will show you our wings.  You can tell me how well you will use them."

"Looks like you have a pilot now...Ah, well, in any case. Your ship looks nice, large cargo area, you seem to not be the skeevy murder type, your ship has a sentient ghost, you're hired!"

The man chuckled softly and turned back to the girl, "I'm glad you like the ship. What exactly are we being hired for? And of course, we'll need to hash out the numbers and specifics," he asked, setting his hands idly on his hips.
"The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun."
Dialogue Color: Seagreen

Gemma Pierce

April 14, 2021, 05:03:46 PM #32 Last Edit: April 28, 2021, 10:40:10 AM by Lomari
Location: The Ship

Gemma jumped slightly as the mechanic seemed to appear out of thin air.

"I..oh..uhm." Gemma fumbled slightly - confused by the interaction and uncertain of what to say she looked back at Des for some kind of direction. This was unexpected but she was looking for work, she shrugged and walked away with Ulrich "Sure yea okay...I mean I'm not the pilot...yet or who knows. But I can certainly look around. Quite the boat you have here to take care of...Ulrich? My name is Gemma, Gemma Pierce."

She followed the man through the vessel, as they made their way to the engine room.

Rhiannon Pool

Location: The Ship

"I'm glad you like the ship. What exactly are we being hired for? And of course, we'll need to hash out the numbers and specifics."
 
Junior frowned slowly, her hands shoving themselves back into their pockets as her brows furrowing in thought. Then, she pulled her hands free and steepled her fingertips together. "Just ferrying us around to some locations and then hopefully hauling some cargo at the end of it all," she explained, tilting her head back almost all the way so she could stare down her nose at him. All while looking up at the much taller person.

She looked sideways, out of the corner of her eyes. She needed to tell her dad where she was. How? This was probably something they should have talked about before she and Sydney ran off. Her brows furrowed again and her gaze upped in intensity as she glared at a corner of the cargo hold. It had been five minutes, or more, and he wasn't back from getting a drink. Had he gotten lost? Did he die? Was that something she was going to be getting in trouble for?

Her arms crossed over her chest, she rocked back on her heels, and then finally the girl held out her index finger toward the ship's captain. "Uh, one second, don't go anywhere. Or do, it's your ship," she told him, then promptly power walked to the cargo ramp. Junior peeked her head out, then moved her body to join it, hoping to make herself visible should her dad or their financer come looking.
Dialogue Color - Indianred

Sidney Applebaum

"Man..."

Today was an exciting day. But a frustrating one simultaneously. Sid was conflicted. The nice doctor lady seemed to have some sort of personal connection to their quest for lost treasure, but his biggest walking, talking, grabbing, and threatening clue was trying to drag him out the door. As Pool pulled him outside he tried to not sulk like a child but it showed.

Sure he thought they should talk more to the doctor but the larger of two Pools was anxious to find the smaller one, and still cross with him for parting from her. Sidney tried to say something to Reinhardt but the second his glare hit his face he practically recoiled. The former finance bro just looked over to the side just past his partner as if he had been looking at something else. Maybe it was cowardice but he'd been through enough physical altercations today.

Finally, as they started to get close to the section of docks he'd last seen her, Sid noticed one of the guys who'd joined in on the beating he received earlier. He was grinding something on a ship in the row they needed to walk down. Sparks were flying everywhere, his best shot would be that they slip past unnoticed, or hope the fellow had tired his punching arm.

The not so sly financier pulled his hood-less jacket up over his head as if that would make him look anything other than insane as they trudged towards their errant pirate offspring.

Reinhardt Pool

Pool marched towards the docks, on a mission to find his progeny. Not because he didn't think Junior could protect herself. Bringing her up, Pool had made sure of that. And not because he considered Three Hills to be considerably dangerous. Back in the day, he and his gang had picked it for a reason for their crime spree. No. Because in the case that something did happen, Pool knew that his wife would kill him. She'd barely let Junior come on this little adventure, and had strictly forbidden her favorite child, Rocky, from going. Pool prided himself on his fearlessness and, in fact, thought himself to be pretty fearsome himself. But the wrath of Charlotte Maurier was not one he wished to face. Again.

Luckily, there weren't many ships berthed and Pool spotted his offspring almost immediately and took it as a sign of providence that she was standing on the ramp of a ship. Maybe they were getting off this rock afterall. "Junior!" He stopped short of approaching and grabbed Sid by the jacket. "Hey, uh, let's not mention the trouble in town, yeah? Don't want to worry her." He released the financier and they closed the distance to the ship and his daughter therein.

"So, you found a ship." No small amount of pride. Then pragmatic pessimism. "There's a crew right? You didn't just find an empty ship..."
Dialogue Color: firebrick

Desmond Holt

June 10, 2021, 01:21:33 AM #36 Last Edit: June 10, 2021, 01:21:54 AM by Axe
"Just ferrying us around to some locations and then hopefully hauling some cargo at the end of it all," The girl said, tilting her head fairly far back to look up at him. Then she looked sideways, and furrowed her brows and glared at a corner of the cargo hold.

Desmond raised an eyebrow.

She crossed her arms, rocked back on her heels, and held up a finger. "Uh, one second, don't go anywhere. Or do, it's your ship," She said, spinning around and promptly power walking to the cargo ramp to stand at the opening and look out over the docks. Desmond shrugged and went back to digging in the toolbox for the oilcan. He finally located it and was just turning towards the cargo ramp to see about fixing the squeaking when he heard a deep gravely voice call out.

"Junior!"

Oh, right, I never even introduced myself or got her name. Great first impression, very professional. He hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, chuckling. This whole Captain thing was going to take getting used to.

He heard steps on the ramp and, leaving the oilcan, walked over to greet his potential new employers. He arrived in time to catch the last words of one of the two men. "There's a crew right? You didn't just find an empty ship..."

The pair that now stood in front of the girl could have been a picture perfect definition of "opposite ends of the spectrum". One was older, graying hair, broad shoulders, long arms, and a look about him that positively screamed of a hard life filled with brawls and trouble. Rough. The other, a good looking guy somewhere in the middle of his life, who Desmond would bet his newly acquired ship had grown up with money and never worked a day outside an office in his life. Soft.

Desmond cleared his throat. "Yep, there definitely is a crew. Desmond Holt, Captain of the Shanghai," He said, offering his hand to the man he assumed was in charge. "I hear you're looking for a transport? Little bit of ferrying, little bit of cargo hauling?"
"The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun."
Dialogue Color: Seagreen

Lomari

"Sure yea okay...I mean I'm not the pilot...yet or who knows. But I can certainly look around. Quite the boat you have here to take care of...Ulrich? My name is Gemma, Gemma Pierce."

"A pleasure to meet you," Ulrich answered in a soft hum, the noise akin to the thrumming of the engine. Most of the trip through the ship was silent, until they reached the cockpit. The tall gentleman extended his hand to gesture at the whole of the ship's console.

"Are you familiar with these wings?" he asked curiously, making eye contact with her now and holding it for an uncomfortable amount of time. "I should like to know more about the ways in which you have flown," he continued, moving closer to the consoles and looking them over, his hands clasped behind his back. Perhaps this was his way of asking for her employment history.
CHARACTERS
Charity ~ Melody ~ Tabitha


NARRATION
Darling ~ Iscariot

Rhiannon Pool

"Junior!"

Her head whipped in the direction of the shout, a broad smile pulling at her lips once she'd spotted her dad heading in their direction. Oh, and he'd found the layabout. That was convenient. Now she didn't have to explain to him that she'd lost him somehow. Junior lifted her hand to wave in greeting, although it lowered slightly when he grabbed Syd. She snorted and shoved her hands back into her pockets, wondering what stupid thing the finance man had said to make her father grab him like that. He released the financier and they closed the distance to the ship.

"So, you found a ship... There's a crew right? You didn't just find an empty ship..." her dad asked once they'd arrived. She raised a brow and stared up at him, about to tell him what she thought of that insinuation, but her response was nipped in the bud by the Captain's arrival. "Ah, yeah, this is uh..."

Desmond cleared his throat. "Yep, there definitely is a crew. Desmond Holt, Captain of the Shanghai," He said, offering his hand to the man he assumed was in charge. Junior repeated his name in a muttered, "Cpttt....Des..olt.." pretending like she'd known it the whole time. Like him, she'd failed to get to that part of the exchange.

"I hear you're looking for a transport? Little bit of ferrying, little bit of cargo hauling?"

Junior smiled up at her father and rocked back on her heels, proud of herself for finding them a ship. Her smile faltered. Well, she hoped she'd helped find them a ship. Nothing was set in stone yet.
Dialogue Color - Indianred

Gemma Pierce

Gemma nodded politely. This guy was....something. She gave him a pursed smile - clearly uncomfortable and uncertain of what to say. She pulled her hair behind her ear as she followed along the tour with the some what eccentric mechanic. They arrived at the cockpit - they stood in the door way and she leaned in to the room looking around.  Eager to get a closer look.  Gemma looked back at Ulrich, who caught her by surprise with the incredibly intense eye contact. She looked around her wondering if there was anyone else was behind her warranting that kind of stare.

Nope, just me, cool. Gemma decided to star right back and provide Ulrich with his oddly probing questions, "Yes - I am familiar with these wings." She turned back towards the cockpit placing her hand on the wall, feeling the cold metal, the ship spoke to her like they always did.

"I have flown a few dozen boats like this in size, specifically during the war. The things you have to account with this kind of ship is the rear - it'll sway if you're not careful. So it takes the right kind of handling to make sure you don't fish tale when maneuvering about." Turning back to Ulrich she smiled, "I assume that's the answer you were looking for?"

She walked out of the cockpit and nodded back towards the cargo bay - "Let's go see the Captain shall we?" Gemma turned promptly and took the stairs back to the Cargo Hold. She quickly jogged down the stairs and back to Des and the newly arrived parties. Nudging him gently to notify Des of her presence, she greeted the new comer, presumably a client and stuck out a hand, "Nice to meet you, Gemma Pierce pilot of...." realizing she had no idea what the name of the boat was she improvised, "Captain Holt's ship.".

Powered by EzPortal