Odette Episode 0 : Eggs

[Pele Kesher]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Secret Space Dock / Inside Odette

Pele couldn't help but roll her eyes when the mechanic punched in the lewd pass code. Boors and crooks getting their kicks with schoolboy humor, how very pedestrian. Although to this particular boor's credit, his sigh indicated he found the code just as juvenile as she did, and by the time he turned to address the captain, she'd wiped the exasperation from her face. She simply smiled and nodded along quietly as the woman in green encouraged the mechanic to explore the ship on his own and let the two of them talk in private. The last part was unspoken, but Pele could tell the captain was just as eager to sort out the tangle they found themselves in as she was. Once she was certain Cooper was out of the earshot, she cut right to the chase.

"I don't know what's going on here, and I don't particularly care to find out." Her words were direct, but spoken in a neutral, non-confrontational tone. They were also true; getting off Iscariot and surrounding herself with people was at the top of her agenda right now. The details didn't really matter. Besides, the less she knew about whatever criminal activity was going on here, the safer she was in the long run.

"It just so happens that I'm looking for" a place to lay low for a while "passage, posthaste. I can pay you, and I won't ask too many questions if you'll extend me the same courtesy."

She sized up the woman in front of her. Much like her, she was clearly a fish out of water, only where Pele had made some attempt to dress down, the captain's extravagant gown immediately betrayed the fact that she came from high society. It truly felt surreal to run into someone like her in a place like this.

[Emit Culpepper]

Location: Medical Facilities/Private Quarters (Station Hub)

Emit was in full protection mode as he continued to escort the lovely Gwendola back towards the location of the Hub. She wished to obtain her belongings and say her goodbyes on her own terms and Emit was going to make certain she got to do just that. He gave her space as they walked, not wishing to cause anymore stress upon her.

As the couple made their way closer to the Medical facilities Emit stopped abruptly, lightly touching her upon her arm."Gwendola I believe we really need to talk. Just the two of us. We never did get to finish our conversation properly and I fear that some actions might have gotten lost without proper words."

[Gwen Eiber]

Location: Medical Facilities/Private Quarters (Station Hub)

."Gwendola I believe we really need to talk. Just the two of us. We never did get to finish our conversation properly and I fear that some actions might have gotten lost without proper words."

She stopped short as he abruptly halted and touched her arm. She didn't quite frown at the words but she wasn't smiling.  She just nodded seriously and stepped ahead of him, leading him passed the med bay to a side corridor, unlocking the door that led up to her rented room. 

It was a studio-style apartment, small and functional.  There was nothing in the living space to indicate the room belonged to Gwen at all, other than the basket of sewing gear and the partially finished quilt neatly laid on the table next to the couch.  Hanging on the outside of the closet door was the dress that Charity had gifted her. The bed was neatly made and covered with a patchwork quilt.

"You may say whatever you feel you need to say, Mr. Culpepper." Her tone was tight and almost brusque.  She wouldn't look at him either as she set to work.

She didn't waste much time packing, pulling the quilt off the bed and folding it neatly, then taking the dress off the closet and laying it on top of the quilt, careful not to wrinkle it.  She opened the closet and took out a smallish suitcase, moving the the tidily folded clothes from the closet space to the luggage with precise, economical movements.

She stopped just as quickly as she started, sighing softly and turned to face Emit, realizing how rude she was being. Her voice softened a fraction and her posture relaxed ever so marginally as she looked up at him. "I'm sorry.  My behavior is inexcusable. I'm just a bit overwrought with 'working' for this Lil Sebastian person and all of the deception surrounding it. Plus you quite surprised me..."  She trailed off, looking down uncomfortably. But at least the air had been cleared, giving him leave to speak his piece.

[Emit Culpepper]

Location: Medical Facilities/Private Quarters (Station Hub)

The tension in the little room definitely could be cut with a knife or rather scalpel depending on the circumstances. Emit wanted to talk to the sweet Doctor, try to finish there prior conversations, try to enjoy something nice with her. Everytime though something else would occur taking away that opportunity. So much so that now she was upset perhaps with him,surely stressed as well.

Just as his lips moved to speak,Gwendola expressed her apologies along with her displeasure of being forced into employment. Emit wanted to protect her wanted to hold her close and chase the stress of the past few days away. Damit he just wanted to enjoy a nice conversation with the lovely lady and maybe some coffee.

He was going to take a chance before it was gone again.
"Gwendola."
He reached for her hand knowing that it could all backfire. Lightly,gently placing  her hand into his as he spoke softly.
"Gwendola please,I don't wish to upset you. I just want back that chance to talk with you,to share that piece of pie,take that walk together. You are an amazing woman who I'd like to get to know. The circumstances of our meeting each other perhaps not ideal but I'm so glad I did. It's not in my head is it Gwendola? You felt that little tug too didn't you. My intentions are purely respectful. I've not spoken to anyone in this manner in a very long time. Perhaps even now I'm doing it wrong and have made a fool of myself. Gwendola I just want that chance to make you smile. I know not what is planned with this Lil Sebastian fellow but I promise I won't let any harm come to you. If you think me a fool I can't blame you."

Letting go slowly of her hand still gazing into her beautiful eyes. "I just wanted an opportunity to talk with the prettiest girl on this station and you've been kind enough to let me speak. I'll wait outside and let you finish things up in here.

[Charity]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Secret Space Dock / Inside Odette

"I don't know what's going on here, and I don't particularly care to find out...It just so happens that I'm looking for - passage, posthaste. I can pay you, and I won't ask too many questions if you'll extend me the same courtesy," the mystery woman said, laying out her interests in the situation.

Charity smiled warmly, listening to the deal and proposal with gem adorned hands clasped at her belly, head canted to the left ever so slightly. She felt somewhat displeased with the idea that Mister Sebastian's presence had led this lovely lady to believe that she was also part of the station's underworld, or that she was the sort to run some kind of illegal operation, so she figured that there were a few unasked questions she would need to answer before they made their arrangement solid.

"I assure you, Miss..." she paused, just long enough for a name (false or real) to be supplied before the debutante continued, "I've been told that the job this ship is being sent on is purely above board. We are to deliver rations to those poor souls that need it the most," she continued, although there was a little hint of doubt in the back of her mind about all of this. King's continued unease with the situation and Mister Sebastian's clear intent to breeze past the details left her feeling that there was something she wasn't being told. "If that eases your mind some about potentially booking passage on Odette."

With that, Charity's smile grew, the rays of her brightness raining down on the other woman as she extended a graceful hand toward her, "But I'm quite adept at not asking questions, and your presence aboard the ship would be an absolute breath of fresh air," she agreed.

[Francis Church]

Location: Hub/Medical Corridor/Various

Francis watched Walkpepper and Gwendemis go. "Man." He said. "They sure were in a hurry to get away from me." He shrugged, didn't take it personally, and inadvertently followed them to the med bay corridor. Not one to miss out on a hint, Francis kept his distance but didn't exactly hide that he was going in the same direction as they were. Sure seemed strange that the lady was so insistent upon no one seeing her things and then brought the hacker Jesse Walker with her. But Francis got the feeling he didn't really give the lady a choice. Not too forceful, mind you. But likewise insistent. Seemed to be a lot of that going around with the folks.

Spotting one of Lil Sebastian's men, Wilson Wu, across the way, Francis waved him over and handed over Pelamarine's storage card with instructions to bring her bags back here.

The strange thing, though, was that once in the medical corridor, they went right past the med bay- where he figured injured members of the crew might have been keeping their things after landing on Iscariot in a mess- and headed for the medical crew quarters. "Huh. Weird." Francis clocked that information for later and went to collect Miss Vornbach's things. While in the Med Bay, he asked about any other of the Wushu Crew -Crewshu, he made himself giggle- and found there were no other effects remaining. "Odd." He said with a shrug. Didn't make any difference to him. Less to carry, he figured.

Francis, surprised the Lady Vornbach only had the two bags, - he had imagined no less than seventeen - got them loaded up onto the hand operated cargo hauler supplied by Wilson. "Thanks, bud. I'll be back in a few days. Sebastian knows. Water my plants, would you? Not too much. They're delicate."

Wilson smirked. "LS wants to know why you're still here." And departed.

Francis sighed. This was unfortunate. Lil Sebastian hadn't been explicit about how soon he wanted them to leave. Turned out, it was sooner rather than later. Darn. "He's not going to water the plants, is he?" With a sigh, Francis left the cart with Pele and Charity's things on it and went the direction Emit and Gwen had disappeared to.

Without eavesdropping, it was quickly clear that Francis was interrupting something and so waited half a second before reaching up to knock, only to find Emit exiting in just that moment. "Hey. We gotta go. I've got a little cart thing we can use to carry the bags just over there." Francis gave a tight, awkward smile that he had been told had an "unsettling effect on people." He tried adding teeth to it once but it just came off as ghoulish. As he waited for them to exit the room, a thought occured to him. "Who's Gwendola?"

[Gwen Eiber]

Location: Medical Facilities/Private Quarters (Station Hub)

She had started to say "Ëmit, wait..." Not Mr Culpepper this time.  Calling him by anything other than Emit would seem a slap in the face after his tender declarations. He seemed so earnest and sincere.  He was a good deal older than her, though that in itself wasn't so unusual, men often took a younger woman to wife, especially a widower.  But he was indeed widowed and had been a father to boot and she had never been kissed.  From all accounts, and there had been a good many in the papers she read detailing the life of the Hero of Newhall, he had been a loving husband and devoted father. Both admirable qualities.  He'd been a lawman and a soldier, very noble and heroic.  Other than the hair holding incident, which could be chalked up to an accident, he'd been a modicum of chivalrous behavior.

She had wanted romance.  Been pining for it really.  She wasn't sure that Emit was what she had in mind though.  Did she truly want purely respectful intentions?  Did she want walking out to the diner for pie? In the stories she read it was always a rakish rogue who seemed like a cad but had a heart of gold underneath.  Devilishly handsome of course.  Witty and glib.  There would have been flowers and dancing.  Poetry and champagne.  That didn't only happen in the storybooks did it? 

Maybe that only happened for fancy ladies like Miss Charity or the beautiful lady they'd rescued earlier. Emit called her pretty, no, said she was the prettiest girl.  Not 'gorgeous' or 'dazzling' or any of the other things the charming heroes said in her books though.  Maybe sweaty palms and carriage rides and diner pie was all the romance someone like her would ever get? Dressed in her homespun clothes she'd get nicknames like "Stitches" over "Duchess" or "my star".

She stuffed the last of her things into her suitcase, bringing the unfinished quilt and sewing bag as well.  She sighed softly, almost imperceptibly, and spoke as she started out the door, "I'm not making promises, mind you.  But if my Uncle Jed approves, since Father isn't here, we could spend some time together, perhaps share a slice of pie.  Get to know one another.  But you'll have to ask him before we leave the station.  He runs the dojo across from Alice's Restaurant."

As she stepped outside she heard Mr. Francis say her name.  While her cheeks flushed with the embarrassment of being caught making such an arrangement with Emit it was human nature to respond before she thought. "You can call me Gwen, Mr. Francis.  Did you need me to look at your head before we left?" As the realization of what she'd just stupidly done clicked in her wooly-headed brain she stammered awkwardly, "It's a nickname, well, my middle name really, but I like my friends to use it.  Only work associates call me Artemis." She didn't quite bat her lashes at Francis, but the rapid blinking as she tried not to cry for being so stupid might appear that way. "I do so hope we'll be friends."

[noseatbelts]

Location: Aboard Odette

And not long after, unless there were any objections or last minute bathroom breaks, the crew were all in their rightful positions and ready to take the Sultry Swan Odette off of Iscariot Station to fulfill their mission for Lil Sebastian.

Charity oversaw her new domain from just behind the pilot's seat, which was currently occupied by none other than Pele "Aquamarine Reyes" Kresher. An array of buttons and knobs and gizmos and doohickies that all had proper names and purposes, none of which seemed overly familiar to Pele at the moment. It was quite a lot more complicated than the terrestrial shuttles she had been known to pilot.

Francis Church, second-in-command to... someone, no one was yet sure exactly where that command was segmented - sat nearby on the bridge, his knee shaking as his nerves got the better of him. He knew that there were risks involved with this particular job, none of which he could discuss with his current compatriots. And it was odd how Emit "Jesse Walker" Culpepper and Gwendola "Artemis Graham" Eiber had acted during their errand. At least he could rely on Coop to watch over them in the engine bay as the ship warmed up, ready for takeoff. Francis tried, however, not to look at Charity's body man, King, as he'd been introduced, who stared at Francis like he didn't like or trust him. Which he didn't. Francis cleared his throat. "Okay, I think we're ready to go!" He waggled his eyebrows at Charity. "Captain, care to do the honors?"

[Gwen Eiber]

And so Gwendola found herself in the engine bay with Emit and Cooper.  Her meager belongings sitting on the floor surrounding her feet.  She seemed uncertain now that she was on board.  When she spoke her voice was soft, hands clasped before her waist. "Mr. Brown, would you be so kind as to point the way to where I'll staying for this trip?"  She offered a weak smile. "I'd rather not sick up in your engine room."

She glanced towards Emit, then away shyly.  She was glad he'd made it back to the Odette before they took off.  She wasn't sure he'd have time to speak to Uncle Jed and be back before they launched.  They hadn't had a moment to speak about it yet.  Truthfully, she wasn't sure if Uncle Jed would give his blessing for Emit to go walking out with her.  Emit with his soulful eyes and stoic face had not given anything away.

She still wasn't sure how she felt about him, but there was a kindness to Emit and she knew him to be a good man.  There were worse things to build a foundation upon. Perhaps her dreams of romance were but a child's musings that that like many childhood things were best put away.

She shook her head slightly, pushing those thoughts away. A new adventure awaited if she could make it through take off.  She'd only made the trip from Santo to Iscariot despite her plans for a big adventure.  Perhaps adventure was yet another childish dream.  She really didn't know at this point.

[Pele Kesher]

A few moments earlier:

"I assure you, Miss..."

"Pele." It was high time for Shiri to retire; she'd thought of the name on the spot under the assumption she'd only need to use it for one brief encounter, and had loathed having to go by it throughout the entire Empress job. Besides, it seemed almost everyone who'd be making up the crew of this ship had witnessed Johnny calling her Pele, so she'd have to build her new cover story around that anyway.

"I've been told that the job this ship is being sent on is purely above board. We are to deliver rations to those poor souls that need it the most. If that eases your mind some about potentially booking passage on Odette."

Pele's raised a skeptic eyebrow, but said nothing. She didn't buy for one second that this operation was entirely legal, but perhaps the captain simply didn't realize what she was getting herself into. She didn't seem stupid, but Pele knew from experience how naive rich Core citizens could be. She'd been like that herself before almost getting hitched to a sociopath had taken care of that.

"But I'm quite adept at not asking questions, and your presence aboard the ship would be an absolute breath of fresh air."

"Well, that's settled then," she smiled pleasantly. "Although with all due respect, if this job is, as you say, purely above board, I'm not sure why I have to pose as this Aquamarine Reyes person. If I'm going to have to pretend to be her, I'd prefer to go by last name. Although there's one even more pressing issue here..."



Now:

Pele sat in the pilot's chair, back straight, scanning the controls before her with the kind of mild curiosity you'd expect from an experienced professional seeing what they're working with. On the inside, however, her head was exploding. She'd spent her working years on a ship instead of planetside, which made her a more experienced pilot than your average companion, but all the experience she had was flying shuttles. You'd think the controls would be mostly the same, but apparently it took a hell of a lot more to get a ship this size off the ground. She wasn't sure how she was going to charm her way out of this one.

"Okay, I think we're ready to go! Captain, care to do the honors?"

Relieved to have her doom postponed, even by a little, Pele turned in her chair to face Charity. She looked up at her in a way that was expectant and perhaps just the tiniest bit accusatory.

[Charity]

Location: Odette's Bridge

Charity stood still as a statue with a hand laid gently upon the back of Pele's (or Aquamarine's) seat, her lips pursed into a firm line and her eyes staring purposefully forward to avoid catching anyone's gaze. Despite what might have been a well put together exterior and a calm demeanor, her stomach was churning around the hard knot that had formed deep in her belly. She felt sick, antsy, like she needed to run but had nowhere to go. There was a lot on her mind. When she could fully explain to the 'crew' what was going on, without Sebastian's partner overhearing things. How she could ascertain what was really being shipped and why, a suspicion she had thanks to King's worries and Pele's apprehension. She didn't feel like things were as legal as she hoped, but that was something she'd worry about much later. For now, they needed to get off the station...somehow. Her attention finally lowered slowly to the 'pilot' and her controls.

"Okay, I think we're ready to go! Captain, care to do the honors?" Francis asked and the debutante tensed ever so slightly, although she did offer him a sweet as sugar smile in response. She could feel the pilot's chair moving, and so her hands slipped off the top of it to join the other, both of them clasping together tightly at her belly, knuckles white. Charity looked down at Pele and couldn't stop the little musical laugh that escaped unbidden past her cherry lips. It might have seemed hysterical if she hadn't covered it up with a coy gesture and a hand wave toward 'space'.

"Right..." The Captain looked up and around at all the knobs and dials until she found one that looked like it might have been the comms button but could have been something else entirely. Still, she spoke as though it were, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Please brace yourselves for take off. We'll be heading out shortly. Thank you." With that, she looked back down at the pilot and winced a little, hand lowering, "Alright...take us out..." With the command given, her shoulders rose a little and she offered Pele an apologetic smile before biting down on her lower lip to block any other nervous laughter from slipping free. Turning, she glanced in King's direction, hoping that if this went very obviously wrong, he'd at least be able to perhaps detain the "second in command" before he could get to the doors or send some kind of message to Sebastian?

[Emit Culpepper]

Location:Engine Bay

Emit had yet to find the time to privately speak with Gwendola. Hell, he'd barely made it back to the little man's elevator on time. The chore of fetching his revolvers turned into more of a challenge than needed. Luckily one of the Security Clerks recognized his name from the news waves as the Hero of Newhall and assisted with expediting his request.

Emit's heart raced noticing Gwendola glance in his direction. Yet before he could offer a smile back,she had turned away promptly. Emit knew from experience that most crew just picked their quarters. At least this was his informed logic having been on several vessels prior.

Speaking with confidence he sought to assist. "With all my prior travels the crew would simply select their quarters. Any problems would be changed by the XO or kindly between crewmates. I see no trouble in doing the same. Miss Charity shouldn't, hmm should we now be referring to her as Captain? Anyway,she shouldn't mind,plus we need to find a safe spot for takeoff regardless.

Emit found himself excited to share with Gwendola the outcome of his meeting with her Uncle. Yet he knew that being in the presence of the Mechanic he wasn't going to be able to just speak openly. Perhaps a hint or play of words."I can walk with you if you like? A very wise man recently advised me that none should walk alone. This very wise man offered his blessing of good fortune to me just before I left Iscariot. Needless to say that I am pleased I had the time to meet him.

Emit smiled at Gwendola as he offered his arm to escort her in finding a suitable room to call hers.

[Cooper Brown]

Location: Engine Bay

Cooper was having trouble paying attention to Gwemit. These engine settings were totally "bollocksed" as he'd put it. First they had a secondary feed going from their grav-tec to the auxiliary power, but the grav-tec was powered by the auxiliary anyway and it was just a weird redundant circle. Roughly around the time the young doctor asked where she was supposed to be staying, the mechanic was eyeing the wiring going between the two systems. There was a decent chance this would cause a short if they tried to overdraw on that auxiliary power during an emergency.

He snapped back to, realizing Emit was answering the question for him. The nomad ripped the troublesome wire straight out of the drive, resulting in a momentary spark.

The freshly showered man still had a bit of grease on his hands already, having been near obsessively tinkering with the engine since he finished his patented ninety second showers. Both were habits notorious among the Golden Trail. There's no such thing as a stock engine in the Brown family tradition. Customization and never ending tinkering and improvement was a necessary way of life. And as for the ninety second showers, water rationing is an almost certainty of life at times in the black.

"Ah yeah, sorry, xanima ciwan... Just grab a bunk you like... I'm gonna be here... probably until our Captain bloody kicks me out. She's a beaut but a bit too gussied up with a whole lotta nonsense..."

Cooper was referring to the engine of course in the latter part of his sentence.

Emit was going on about not walking alone. Cooper still only half paying attention, scratched his bearded chin for a second wondering if it was some kind of sex innuendo but directed his attention back to the fuel governor computer. He plucked a screwdriver from his pocket and started removing screws that held in its motherboard. But the ship was taking off and he realized if he tinkered with this right now there was a roughly 5% chance of a miscalculation that could make the ship explode and he reluctantly stopped, leaving the computer still attached.

He pointed at the spot where he'd just ripped off a wire, since the young doctor wasn't familiar with life on a ship:

"Just to be safe don't touch that box... I'll put some electrical tape over it later... It'll be fine though."

[Gwen Eiber]

Mr. Cooper seemed completely distracted by doing mechanical things.  If she were smart she'd stay and learn from him but she really just wanted to go to her room.  She looked at him expectantly and then Emit offered up an answer.

"With all my prior travels the crew would simply select their quarters. Any problems would be changed by the XO or kindly between crewmates. I see no trouble in doing the same. Miss Charity shouldn't, hmm should we now be referring to her as Captain? Anyway,she shouldn't mind,plus we need to find a safe spot for takeoff regardless.
I can walk with you if you like? A very wise man recently advised me that none should walk alone. This very wise man offered his blessing of good fortune to me just before I left Iscariot. Needless to say that I am pleased I had the time to meet him." Emit smiled at Gwendola as he offered his arm to escort her in finding a suitable room to call hers.

At that moment Mr. Cooper removed a wire that offended him in some manner, creating a spark.  She squeaked involuntarily, then giggled nervously. "I think it would be best if I found my room.  I wasn't joking about possibly getting sick." She didn't take Emit's offered arm, but she did give him a warm smile as she gathered her things.

She accompanied him to the area where all the rooms were, picking the one furthest from the engine on the starboard side.  She didn't close the door after walking in.  She worked at quickly storing her belongings in the cabinet/closet.  She spoke softly, glancing up at Emit as she carefully put her things away. "I'm glad you enjoyed meeting Uncle Jed.  He's a very wise man.  It's reassuring to know he approved of you."  She smiled at him, more warmly this time as she pushed the closet door closed and moved to set on the foot of her bed. "He and his late wife were good friends with my folks.  He is like family to me."   She took a slow breath, getting ready to say something else when Charity's voice broke over the intercom. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Please brace yourselves for take off. We'll be heading out shortly. Thank you."  Gwen visibly paled and then folded her hands together as if in prayer. "Have you taken many space journeys Emit?  I'm hoping it will get easier.  I feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest or I might get sick."  She grew quiet, eyes focusing on her clasped hands.

[Pele Kesher]

Well, Pele had indeed managed to postpone her doom -- by a whole 30 seconds. Now here she was again, staring at the mysterious array of controls before her, the gaze of Tiny Tim's oblivious-but-for-how-long henchman boring into her. What had she expected? For Charity to whip out some stunning master plan out of her sleeve? She didn't strike her as the type.

But her. Pele. Peshirimarine. She was supposed to be good at thinking on her feet. She'd bs'd her way this far, through the Empress job and out of Johnny's grasp. Might as well keep up the good work, right? She wasn't proud of the plan that popped into her head, but it was all she could think of right now, and it was better than revealing her cards or, alternatively, soldiering on and getting all of them killed when her limited piloting skills inevitably failed her.

Pele sat still for a moment, staring at the controls as if in a daze. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. If only she could drain the blood from her face at will; she'd just have to think nauseous thoughts, and maybe her flawless, glowing complexion would take on a hint of clamminess. As if.

"I'm sorry, Captain..." she said with a nervous chuckle. "I feel a little funny, is all. Should've known better than to trust the food in a dump like this, huh?"

She pretended to try to brush it off and get back to work. She flicked a few switches she did recognize as safe to fiddle with while docked, then stopped on her tracks.

"Oh, I really don't feel so good all of a sudden... Excuse me..."

She got up from her seat, stumbling to give the others on the bridge the opportunity to catch her for extra dramatics, but fully prepared to grab hold of something herself in case that didn't happen. She would pretend to have food poisoning this one time, but hell if she smashed her face in the process.

[noseatbelts]

A lot of things happened at once and could be chalked up to just as many causes. They were as follows:

Pele did her fainting spell. Francis, whose forehead anesthetic was beginning to wear off, wrinkled his forehead either in confusion or strange, tactile experimentation. Either way, he missed the chance to be a hero for the pretty "pilot." Luckily King, being the dashing hero with muscly arms, swooped in and caught her in those arms, steadying her from a crash to the floor. Whatever Charity had thought might happen while insisting that the stranger on her bridge do the piloting, surely this couldn't have been it?

The rumble of the engines and the trepidation of a journey with less than savory intentions finally had their way with Gwen's constitution, both moral and physical. She could take no more. With nary a word to anyone she gathered her things and made her way for the exit. A despondent look to her would-be suitor was all Emit needed to accompany her. Cooper, with a shrug, messaged to the cockpit that they were getting off and opened up the rear loading ramp for them, and that they'd need assistance with the elevator. A message was returned to him asking if he knew how to pilot. He sighed and said he'd rather not, but that he might know someone. Just then he nodded to Francis who was likewise departing to assist with the elevator. Charity's final message from the cockpit was simple. "Please, do hurry." Cooper asked Francis to wait up for him.


Twenty minutes later...

Cooper and Francis had returned to the Odette with a new pilot and a new medic in tow. The pilot was a recent arrival to Iscariot Station called herself Evie and knew Cooper vaguely enough to have him remember she had been looking for work behind the stick of a ship. The medic, a venerable practitioner of both the healing and martial arts who claimed responsibility for Gwen's abandoned post and apologized on her behalf, introduced himself as Jed Rembo.

No one had cause to argue the point; they were ready, they were set, and they were gone.