Odette Episode 0 : Eggs

[Charity]

Lil Sebastian's Secret Space Dock

Charity eyed Emit and the good doctor, a brow raising when it looked like the lawman calmly moved to pull at Gwen's braid. Her lips parted to ask what that was about but shut quickly. Who was she to judge how people showed their...? Her brows furrowed. Affection? Friendship? Comradery? Emit was double the doctor's age (if she was being generous) and so she didn't see that as being an affectionate or romantic sort of situation. And besides, they'd only been station side for a week and some days, or so she'd been told. Again, she shrugged. Friendship certainly could blossom that quickly, so perhaps they'd found themselves to be fast friends.

In any case, she was more than a little grateful that all the gathered crew had seen and understood the message in her stern look. It was better for their safety and anonymity if this Lil Sebastian thought they were who he thought they were, if that made much sense to anyone but herself. Her eyes remained settled upon Pele for a moment and she made several mental notes to find out who she was and what she might bring to the table. But now was not the time, not with the vultures circling.

"So, we have a deal then?" The voice ripped her attention back down to the smaller gentleman and she opened her mouth to answer, but he continued without her, railroading past any dissent she might have offered and continuing with the planning process on his own. He and his man went through a list of potential employees, all of them coming up lacking or dead.

Serendipitously, more so for Sebastian than for anyone else, a man descended from a vent some distance away giving a poor station worker what for before he looked in their direction and sauntered past them, his movements tracked by Gwen's puppy dog eyes, further cementing that she and their lawman must have just become bosom buddies, and not some kind of lovers. The man must have been in the employ of Sebastian, because it was soon decided that he'd be the one to go with the crew to 'somewhere' with their cargo. Francis objected and Charity watched him with a peaceable neutral smile, her hands inside of the hidden pockets beneath the side seams of her peacock green skirts.

"Don't worry about it. You're going, too." Seb assured Francis, and again, an elegantly arched chocolate brow rose curiously as she watched them interacting. "Wait, what? No." Again, the steamroller continued on by himself.

"Coop! Just the man I wanna talk to. You wanna take a trip with these lovely folks? Just to Persephone and back." The strange ball of human dust paused and muttered something that she couldn't quite hear and wouldn't have been able to understand had she heard it. Her attention slid curiously toward Gwen, then, interested to see her reaction to the dirty monster man having been recruited to their ship.

"There. All crew'd up. My contact is Qing Sun and she's expecting you in a couple days. Cargo's already loaded up. Check with me when you get back and we'll get you paid for this run. Thanks, doll, you're a peach."

Before she could even inhale to ask a question, he was gone, and she was left 'alone' with the new 'crew.' Charity stared after him for a moment before rocking back on her heels a little and slowly turning to look at the gathered group of people, her expression a socially pained wince. She imagined they'd have lots of questions and she wasn't sure she had any answers. The aristocrat cleared her throat a little, a glimmering hand emerging from the pocket to idly rearrange the shimmering necklace settled atop her creamy décolletage. "Well, then..." she began, smiling winningly and waiting for the onslaught as she scooted a little closer to King and chewed prettily on one corner of her cherry lips, gaze bouncing between Gwen/Artemis, Emit/Jesse, Strange Woman/Aqua, Francis/Frankie and the Dust Creature...

[Gwen Eiber]

Gwen was already considering her options.  It wasn't as if she had to leave this exact moment, surely they'd be allowed to gather their personal things. It was a journey of at least 2 to 3 days there, plus back and even someone like Little Sebastian wouldn't expect them to make such a trip without a change of clothing and a toothbrush.  She could head back to the med bay and her quarters and just forget about this whole thing.  It's not as if he knew who she was to come hunting for her.  He had her name all wrong and her profession.  One hand snaked back to tug at her braid again, thoughtfully trying to puzzle things through logically.  He had seen her face though. He might recognize her if he saw her again on the space station and his hired man Francis certainly would be able to recognize her, as he'd tracked her down in the first place, even if he had her confused with someone else.  Staying might cause all sorts of trouble for herself and endanger others.  That was something she just couldn't risk. She could never endanger someone else because she was being selfish.

And she had been looking for a way off Iscariot.  She hadn't been too specific as to where and she hadn't heard anything back yet, though she'd just posted the message this morning.  Seemed like weeks ago really. She could get to Persephone and just not return if she brought her things with her.  She wasn't sure if the little crime lord had a reach that long or not.  She also wasn't sure if that would cause trouble for Charity and the other misnamed travelers on the ship.  But at least it would give her several days to puzzle that out.

She wasn't sure about traveling with Little Sebastian's hired man, either of them.  Big blue eyes flickering from Cooper to Francis. He had been polite enough and he had kept his promise not to kill them, at least so far.  Maybe he wasn't all bad, perhaps he just got sucked into working for the man much like they were. She would try to reserve judgement on him, pretty is as petty does as her mother always said.

Charity began to speak and Gwen refocused her attention on the young woman now captaining the ship. Was 'captaining' a word even? It didn't really matter.  She doubted Charity had any more experience being a captain than she did being a mechanic. "Well, yes, um, if we are going to be departing soon I, for one, need to head back to the med..." She stammered a moment before recovering, "to my quarters to get my things." She flashed a smile to Mr. Culpepper. "If you wouldn't mind accompanying me Mr. uh Walker, I'd be most appreciative."  That would give her a private moment to discuss with him what he thought of things.

[Emit Culpepper]

A wave of memories washed over Emit as he stood there listening to the little man speak. He couldn't help but think he'd been through all this only a few weeks before. Except the part of Lil Sebastian was played then by a ruthless Tong leader. But the words here were sounding very familiar. Easy job shouldn't be any troubles, sending along one of my men to insure everything goes smoothly.

His chest aches were reminder enough to know that nothing in the Verse was ever easy. His trust factor had also been tested during his last outing, still be tested now. He didn't have much time to converse with the crew last time he was out in the Black. Didn't have the proper time to figure out who everyone was or who they claimed to be.

Miss Charity was a passenger last time, who by all accounts didn't appear to be educated in the ways of a non Core lifestyle. Yet here she was now about to command a ship regarding a business venture with a rather odd criminal element.
Was she just putting on a ruse now for Lil Sebastian,or had she always been putting on a show. What of her man King. Just what did happen to the rest of his old crew?

As Emit's head began to race away Gwendola's words snapped him back to the present. It was at this time he finally noticed that he had been holding onto the poor woman's braid rather than her hand. Whispering "My apologies I thought I was reaching for your hand. I truly just wanted to provide some comfort during this moment. I certainly didn't mean to hold your braid, nor for as long as I probably did. I'm not like that I promise you. "

[Francis Church]

Francis tried. He would have begged, but he wasn't given the time. Lil Sebastian had made up his mind and there was nothing Francis could do about it. He shouldn't have been surprised, really. There had to be someone there to represent Lil Sebastian's interests. It made sense that it would be Francis. But that didn't mean that that was what Francis wanted. Francis watched the elevator close and took a moment to collect his thoughts before turning to face his new crew. Was he in charge of them? They hadn't really gone into the chain of command. The lady was the public face of the ship, that much was clear. And the guy was her second. I should really learn these people's names. Francis said to himself.

He looked at all of them and felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety and unease. His stomach turned and his heart rate increased and sweat formed on his palms. I'm going to have to make small talk with them. This was no time to get panicky. It would be fine. He would be fine. They were fine. They were all fine. Francis didn't feel any better. "Sh*t." He said aloud, intending it to be just a thought, or perhaps under his breath, but it was very much neither. "Sh*t." He said again.

[Gwen Eiber]

She realized when Mr. Culpepper spoke that he'd been holding her braid that w-h-o-le time.  A man that she wasn't married to had not only touched her hair but had been holding it for an extended period of time.  To make matters worse, she'd just publicly invited him to walk her back to her room.  If it were possible to drop dead of mortification, she would have keeled over dead right then and there.  She understood not everyone would understand the customs of her back water little berg on Santo but apparently Mr. Culpepper understood because he apologized, going so far as to say he "wasn't like that."

It probably didn't look any better to those who might be watching.  He leaned over to whisper to Gwen  and the young Dr's face went deathly pale, then bright spots of color bloomed in her cheeks as she gripped her medbag and the walking staff with a white knuckled hands.  Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment as she willed the floor to open and swallow her whole.  She knew she was likely overreacting, but she couldn't help it.  In the time she'd known him Mr. Culpepper had been nothing but polite and respectful, though thinking back he had taken her hand twice and by his own admission had intended to do so a third time and had only gotten ahold of her hair on accident.

Somehow thinking about that didn't make it any better.  She looked around with panicked eyes, trying to figure how to get out of the hanger.  At the exclamation by Francis she turned his direction. Her first instinct was to chide him to mind his language in front of the ladies but instead she simply said,  "Excuse me, sir? Can you please show me how to get back to the main corridors so I can collect my things before our trip?"  She was very studiously not looking at Mr. Culpepper or any of the others for that matter, hoping they wouldn't notice her obvious discomfiture.

[Cooper Brown]

Cooper trudged over to the assembled crew and started a new trail of dusty boot-prints u-turning on the steel floor. He locked eyes with the pint sized punter. There was a palpable feeling in the air, that despite the power imbalance between the jobless mechanic and Sebastian, you could tell the nomad just didn't care if his contempt for him was evident.

It's not so much that Cooper hated the vertically challenged grifter, it was that he just didn't really respect or trust the man beyond that he paid his debts. Brown was willing to turn a wrench for him on the station, but the last time he and Sebie had a talk like this it didn't quite go too well. Though, mostly just for Roarke.

"Arright look, Sebastian... I'm not inclined to go on any sort of errands for you again..."

Two Months ago - Shuttle near Jiangyin

Cooper, Francis, Roarke, and Schmidtty sat on one of the station's shuttles, passing time as they returned from a job the Golden Trail expat had gotten himself roped into. Roarke was practically shoveling shots down everyone's throats, celebrating their completion of the job and their imminent payday. But Cooper opted not to sit with them in the passenger section and was instead sitting on the bare floor in the rear by the engine. Noticing his absence the the larger man lumbered over to Cooper. They both shared an New Melbourne accent, but the drunken man correctly pegged Brown's as acquired earlier. Not that he was particularly clever, Sebastian had already let slip the mechanic for the job was "one of those space gypsies that can talk to engines and stuff".

"Oy, wanker..."

A kick from Roarke broke his focus on the book clasped in his hands.

"Y'gonna drink with us orya you too good fer us, eh?"

Letting another micro-transgression pass, he just took a breath and answered calmly.

"I'm sure you can handle my share, mate. Cheers."

Seemingly looking to take offense, he emptied the shot in his hand onto the book's open pages. The mechanic just groaned, it was aggravating but wasn't worth starting a fight right here.

"YesayinI'mfateh?!!"

Roarke knocked the ruined book from his hands and pulled the grease-jockey up by his jacket's collar. Pointing his beefy fingers in his face, Sebastian's goon made his gambit, thinking he had Brown just where he wanted him.

"You're going to come by dock '6A' tomorrow, NOON SHARP, you're going to tune up my racing shuttle. I know you blokes can do bloody magic with machines, all your bloody good for, gorram cowardly pacifists."

It was here that an inebriated Francis' eyes widened as he noticed Roarke had grabbed Coop and was demanding free labor for a perceived transgression. By now Sebastian's least objectionable enforcer tried to interrupt but was cut short.

"Oh.. I wouldn't-"

Roarke yelled back at him.

"Mind your own go-se, Francy!"

The larger goon thrust Brown back onto the bulkhead and stormed off back to his seat, pouring another shot for himself.

Day after the job - Cooper's bunk -1pm - Iscariot station

BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM

The mechanic, rose from his bed of loose bits of padding and pillows he'd scrounged from around the station. Once again being interrupted while reading, before he could make it to the door, Roarke had burst through he door, pistol in one hand, a busted fuel injector in the other. It seems he'd really expected him to come through and fix his shuttle for free.

Before he could start to make his further threats and demands, Roarke had already made a grave mistake. By confronting Cooper on home turf, he'd neutralized the upper hand he had with surprise and bringing a gun to the fight. The veteran's instincts kicked in when he saw Roarke's weapon, and any hope of racing that shuttle today went right out of the window.

First, the Mechanic's hand came down atop the pistol, his pinky contacting a switch meant for the operator to use during cleaning. The rest of the motion, he just pulled the cheap pistol's slide right off rending it completely useless. A quick punch to throat from his left knocked the man back and Cooper didn't give him half a second to recover before charging forward, then stopping and pivoting, putting a leg behind Roarke to give him the leverage he needed as he slammed the man's head back into the steel bulkhead, stunning him further and dropping him to the ground.

Roarke tried to stand. Brown brought his booted foot down on the man's tibia, snapping it like a stubborn branch meant for kindling. Outside, the nearby shop-keeps could heard his screaming so they called Sebastian. Francis found Coop lounging on his bed, reading once again with a cup of tea, as Roarke flailed in his doorway, howling with agony and shouting threats through gritted teeth.

"I said no..."

Now.

The dusty engine-whisperer directed his attention over to Charity, the proposed captain of this new venture.

"Apologies, ma'am. I'd offer to shake your hand but that looks like a lovely dress. If your looking for a good mechanic, I'm your man. The little bugger, can hire anyone he wants to be a 'backup' but I'm only interested in that boat's engines. You take me on I'll work for you alone, 'sall I can promise ya."

While he had all the skills needed to be another set of eyes, ears and guns on the ship for Sebastian, it wasn't within a mile of the type of job he wanted anymore. This arrangement was already starting to run its course before Roarke decided to spend some time on crutches.

[Charity]

Charity looked curiously between Emit and the doctor all the more, perhaps needing to change her initial assessment of their relationship given their current conversation. He'd been holding her braid tenderly, she asked him to accompany her to her quarters...and now Emit was whispering into her ear. They were quite bold about their situation, weren't they? No attempt to hide it, but instead they seemed to be flaunting it freely to any who might look in their general direction. A hand settled atop her exposed collarbone, a subconscious gesture betraying her secret inner thoughts as she stared at the couple. She'd been on board a ship with a couple before, and that had been a violent and stressful situation for all involved. Her lips pursed in a thoughtful line.

"Sh*t."

The expletive brought her attention back to Francis, a brow raised with surprised reproach at his sudden cursing.

"Sh*t," he said again, although this time, Charity couldn't stop the amused grin that pulled at her crimson lips. He seemed flustered, and that somehow made her feel better about the whole thing. If he couldn't manage to keep his head or clearly didn't know what was going on, then perhaps she could forgive herself for being likewise unaware of the entirety of their current situation or the supposed next steps. Once more, Gwen asked to return to the station proper to get her things, although this time she asked Francis and looked just about on the brink of death. Would she be able to treat herself, if she were ill? Surely so, she was a Doctor after all.

"Apologies, ma'am. I'd offer to shake your hand but that looks like a lovely dress," the Dust Man said, surprising her a little than he could speak in a tone lower than a frustrated shout. His perception and manners seemed to surprise her as well, and her hands stayed dutifully clasped in front of her lap.

"If you're looking for a good mechanic, I'm your man. The little bugger, can hire anyone he wants to be a 'backup' but I'm only interested in that boat's engines. You take me on I'll work for you alone, 'sall I can promise ya," he continued, and she could feel her shoulders visibly relax. It looked like they would only have one set of eyes under Sebastian's employ aboard their ship. Her dark gaze slid toward Francis for a moment as she eyed him from the corner of thickly lashed eyes. What would he do when he found out the crew had been so terribly misnamed and that only she and King were who Sebastian thought they were? No matter, that would be a bridge she'd have to cross at a later date. Smiling warmly in Cooper's direction, Charity took a deep breath and extended her hand toward him daintily, palm facing the ground, fingers relaxed and poised like a dancer. It seemed that despite the dust he was caked in, she was willing to allow him to dirty her hand for the sake of their agreement.

"Welcome aboard the...." She paused, grimacing as she remembered Sebastian's name for the boat. The Sensual Swan. She thought not. "...Odette. Welcome aboard Odette," she finally said in a cool, charming tone of voice, her smile like the sun beaming through the clouds of grime floating around the man. At least she'd stuck with the Swan motif.

[Pele Kesher]

Pele was pretty sure now that this wasn't a hidden camera show. The deal -- whatever it entailed -- was sealed with little fanfare and zero drama that would make for engaging entertainment. The miniature crime boss walked off, leaving their ragtag group standing stupidly on the dock. If she wanted to slip away, now was probably the time to do so, yet Pele found her feet firmly planted to the ground. Even if there were no more of Cecil's men lying in wait along the corridors of the space station, what was she supposed to do? Kill time until a ride came along? That seemed risky. Not to mention boring.

Her gaze was drawn to the ship before them. That was a ride, wasn't it? Maybe it wasn't exactly on the up and up, but she wasn't exactly on the up and up herself, hadn't been for years now. She quickly sized up the newly appointed captain. While Tiny Tim (?) was most definitely not the type of person Pele wanted to associate with, this woman was more after her own heart; impeccably dressed, well-spoken, clearly core-born -- birds of a feather, blah blah blah, what the hell, it was an out and she'd take it.

"Excuse me, sir? Can you please show me how to get back to the main corridors so I can collect my things before our trip?"

"Go pick up my things from the luggage storage while you're at it." She dug out her storage pass and tossed it to the perturbed, simple-looking man who appeared to be Tiny Tim's errand boy, or something to that effect. "Two trunks. And keep your hands to yourself. If I notice anything missing, I'll have your head on a plate."

She punctuated her words with a smile that was very decidedly not friendly and only served to highlight how serious her threat was. She wasn't too worried about him digging through her things; Pele knew a lapdog when she saw one, and even crooks like Tiny Tim had some kind of code of honor when it came to how they and their henchmen treated their business partners. At least as long as they stayed on their good side.

She turned her attention to the woman in green, the venom draining from her smile as she switched over to business mode.

"May I have a word with you, Captain?"

[Francis Church]

"What?" He said, as the mechanic who didn't look like a mechanic asked him to take her back to her quarters. The elevator was right there? Did she not know how to use an elevator? How could she be a mechanic then? And she looked awfully familiar, as if he had seen her around the station. Lil Sebastian had said that Charity Vornbach and her friends had arrived only a short time ago. And this one lived here? That didn't make sense. "Hey... don't you-"

Before he could finish that though, Francis was cut off by another one Charity's crew. Ack- something. Academia? Well that's just stupid. Her name can't be Academia. Whatever her name was, she was also asking for her bags, but in a tone that suggested he was meant to do the carrying. "What?" He reconsidered. That might be easier, actually. If he just had their belongings retrieved for them, they could leave sooner. Less wandering. The organizational, problem solving side of his brain liked that. Hadn't that Italian fellow called her something else? Paleo?

Francis really had to get better with names.

He looked over at Chantilly Vornbach; Lil Sebastian's façade du jour. Francis had seen folks like her chewed up and spit back out by Lil Sebastian and his schemes. He didn't know this woman or her crew (clearly) nor did he much care for their actual well-being (at least he told himself that). But now he was wrapped up in this and Francis couldn't help but feel like Lil Sebastian was testing him. Or punishing him. He rubbed at the sore spot on his forehead, the bandage holding tight for now, but wondering if his headache was a result of his injury or the situation he found himself in.

He made a decision. "Okay." Francis said for all to hear. Whether they listened to him or not was something else entirely as he spoke with roughly the same level of authority as a goldfish. "I'm Francis and Sebastian put me in charge. Sort of. Technically she's Captain-" He pointed to Chickoree. "-but I'm Sebastian's right hand man-" he held up his hand to illustrate, then realized he was waving his left hand and switched them up. "-in day to day operations so yeah. I really think it's best that we don't leave the area, so I'll send for all of your things and we'll get going shortly, how's that?" He remembered that someone had once told him that people responded to a smiling face, so quickly forced an awkward, toothy grin on his gob.

[Cooper Brown]

Coop too felt more at ease at the newly minted captain's response to him. He could tell she was a little less grossed out by him than at first at least. He gave her a confident smile and nod as he shook his hand a bit before accepting her hand, his own palm up, and gripping lightly. He dipped slightly in a sort of half bow and shook his new captain's hand.

"Wê gavê karsaziyê bikin!"
To business then!

He consecrated the deal with a saying his people often exclaimed upon sealing a commercial exchange, and also by soldiers of their secretive defense force, the Pashmerga, upon accepting a new mission. He clapped Francis on the shoulder and let him stammer for a bit before he too addressed the group.

"I know Francis works for that tiny prick but he's all right, no worries folks. Can I check out the engine room now, mate?"

Brown was not excited about the idea of sort-of working for Lil Sebastian again, but at least now there was a sort of layer of insulation. Plus he'd be back on a proper ship. Not just some hunk of steel on a long orbit. It was hard for him to sleep without listening to the hum of an engine. Maybe now he could get some rest and spend less of his time watching his back, and hopefully even less time breaking the bones of those who mistook his politeness and sobriety for a sign of weakness.

The mechanic started wandering under the ship, inspecting it up close.

"Oh yeah, this'll do... gimme a roll of tape and a screw-driver I'll keep this bird flying..."

The ships design was more modern than his liking, and he was already running a list of parts he considered "non essential" he was going to start ripping out of it as soon a possible.

[Gwen Eiber]

Gwendola looked at Francis as if he had suddenly sprouted another head.  She frowned and gave her braid a decidedly hard tug.  Then she straightened her shoulders and met the eyes of Lil Sebastian's left hand man with a frown and the over-sized cornflower blue eyes were chilly.  "Absolutely not. Completely unacceptable. First off, you or your people are most definitely not welcome in my quarters.  Secondly, I don't want some stranger rifling through my things.  The very idea of some strange man pawing through my delicates, I just won't abide it.  No sir.  I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful, but I am absolutely, positively, not getting on that ship until I've been given a moment to go collect my things.  So, you can escort me to go get them if you wish, or you can explain to your boss why I'm not going." She didn't manage the haughtiness that Charity could have, but she did manage not to sound like a frightened and squeaky mouse, which is how she felt. 

She really had had enough nonsense today.  She didn't wait for him to answer but turned on her heel and headed for the elevators.  She didn't exactly know where the elevators let out at, not compared to where she needed to be, the whole escorted trip down had her disoriented to her position within the space station, but she didn't care at this moment.  She needed a moment and she wanted it in the privacy of her own room.

[Charity]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Secret Space Dock

"Wê gavê karsaziyê bikin!" the Dust Man exclaimed, evidently pleased with their arrangement. Charity lowered her hand once he'd given it back and smiled to herself, allowing herself a moment to perhaps reassess her initial judgement of the mechanic. Compared to the other gentlemen she'd met today, why, he was a peach.

"May I have a word with you, Captain?" the beautiful stranger asked, and Charity turned her head to raise a brow and nod her chin downward to indicate that she could, in fact, have a word. Being called 'Captain' had taken a moment to sink in, but she liked the way it felt. It had a much nicer ring to it than "Lady" or "Madame" or "Mistress." At least this title came with some real leadership and a freedom that the other titles she'd held could never have given her. "A word would be splendid-" her gaze cut to Francis for half a second before returning, "-Aqua," Charity finished, using the fake name for now. She'd have to find out what this lovely creature's actual name was. Surely it would be far more interesting and less vapid than 'Aqua.'

"Okay ... I'm Francis and Sebastian put me in charge. Sort of. Technically she's Captain- but I'm Sebastian's right hand man- in day to day operations so yeah."

Charity turned away from 'Aqua' to stare in Francis' direction, a hand settling on the curve of her corseted waist and her head tilting to the side, chocolate waves slipping off one shoulder as she did so. She didn't recall Mister Sebastian putting him in charge, but perhaps this was somehow implied in his being made to come at all. A disapproving noise managed to slip past cherry lips, and she looked up at King with a raised brow, wondering what his take on the whole situation was. Surely, he had much more experience with this kind of thing. It had a name, didn't it? Hay... Straw...Grass... it was somehow farming related; she was sure of it.

He offered to have their things sent for, and she waved a hand to show that this was entirely acceptable to her. She had no intention of walking back into that dingey, dangerous station and would be more than pleased to have her things brought to her without any fuss or effort expelled. In fact, this sort of arrangement was more natural to her than had she been asked to get her things herself. Gwen, however, did not seem to agree.
 
"Absolutely not. Completely unacceptable. ... So, you can escort me to go get them if you wish, or you can explain to your boss why I'm not going."

Charity watched Gwen storm toward the elevator and sighed a little, worry on her face. Sebastian wouldn't have cared that their hacker wasn't going. Or...was she supposed to be their mechanic? Charity pursed her lips and nibbled on her lower lip. In any case, it was never wise to threaten someone with something that didn't matter to them. She'd need to teach the doctor how to best leverage one situation or position with another, or she was going to get walked all over. Grace's face flashed in her thoughts and for a moment, she felt her stomach clench, a hand lifting to cover it gently as a sigh lifted and lowered her shoulders. 

"I know Francis works for that tiny prick but he's all right, no worries folks," their new mechanic vouched, but Charity was still skeptical. She stared at Francis, now, gaze level and unyielding, her expression politely blank despite the clear storm in her dark eyes. She'd need to discuss the exact particulars of their arrangement (both in regard to him and Sebastian) in the near future.

"Can I check out the engine room now, mate?" DustMan asked and Charity took a step forward before Francis could answer, "Yes, of course you can. I'd be remiss in my duties if I did not allow our mechanic to become familiar with the ship he'll be working with," she answered, smiling winningly at him and then in Francis' direction once more.  When that bit of 'Captaining' had been completed, she turned once again to where Aqua stood behind her, a hand gesturing toward the ship, "Shall we?" she asked. Charity approached the berthing station's control screen and stared at it with the side of a knuckle pressed against her lower lip.

This was the big moment here. Opening the doors, letting them in, getting the adventure started. But...how did one open the doors? She glanced over at Francis but refused to ask for his help. She had to show those gathered that she was the Captain, not him. Her gaze went to Cooper and she cleared her throat, lowered her hand, and lifted her chin. "Mister Coop, might I have a quick word?" she asked, pointing at the control panel and smiling brightly.

[Emit Culpepper]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Secret Space Dock

Emit stood firm as the little man's lackey spoke to them advising of how things were to be attended to. His tact was completely missing but Emit was certain hospitality wasn't one of the skills taught to Lil Sebastian's men. When the man made bold decisions on how they were to obtain there belongs he knew it was about to get serious.

Gwendola had certainly given the lackey the what for and rightly so. Emit tried not to show his deep approval upon his face,not wishing to stir the pot just yet.
As Gwendola fled towards the elevator,Emit stepped quickly to catch up to her.
Gwe-Artimis please wait,let me accompany you to fetch your things.

Location: Lil Sebastian's Private elevator

He knew she was upset, knew she needed time to collect herself, but he also knew that he wasn't going to leave her alone now. Emit waited for the elevator doors to close before speaking, as not to allude Mr. Hospitality to their true selves. Gwendola are you okay?

He reached his hand out to touch her then stopped abruptly.
Gwendola I,I don't wish to make you blush or feel uncomfortable around me. That's the furthest thing I'd want is for you to not feel like you could be yourself. I didn't mean to hold your hair,I was trying to hold your hand. Maybe  not any better sounding but to be honest that's all I can think about is holding your hand and making sure that your safe. You're an amazing Doctor and no doubt woman and I don't know that I could go on if something happened to you. I know we just met very recently but I feel drawn to you,I can't explain it.

Emit reached outwards again not stopping himself this time as he took Gwendola's hand into his. He brought the back of her hand upwards placing a soft gentle kiss upon it. Forgive me, but I couldn't resist. Please don't think less of me for my weakness.

[Gwen Eiber]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Private elevator

She punched the button for the elevator, hoping the door would close before Emit could get on board. He really was the last person she wanted to deal with right now.  His booted foot slipped between the closing doors and he joined her inside the metal cage.  She stood there to one side, both hands holding the med bag, her walking staff tucked under her arm.  Her eyes were focused on the floor.  It surely didn't look good that he had followed her, but after all she had invited him earlier.  What a ninny she must look like to Charity and Mr. King, or worse, some kind of loose woman.

The elevator doors closed behind them and then Emit spoke. "Gwendola I,I don't wish to make you blush or feel uncomfortable around me. That's the furthest thing I'd want is for you to not feel like you could be yourself. I didn't mean to hold your hair,I was trying to hold your hand. Maybe  not any better sounding but to be honest that's all I can think about is holding your hand and making sure that your safe. You're an amazing Doctor and no doubt woman and I don't know that I could go on if something happened to you. I know we just met very recently but I feel drawn to you,I can't explain it." She gave her head a slight shake, not completely understanding his meaning. "Mr. Culpepper, sir, this really isn't proper at all.  You seem like a very nice man, very sweet and kind and brave, but as your medic..." She trailed off as he boldly took her hand.  She could have clutched the medbag tighter, but she didn't.  He lifted it upwards and placed a soft kiss upon the back. She should have jerked her hand away, perhaps slapped him, but she didn't.  His lips were warm and gentle and his mustache tickled a little. "Forgive me, but I couldn't resist. Please don't think less of me for my weakness."  "Emit..." Her eyelashes fluttered at the kiss, her cheeks flushing once more. "We hardly know each other...and it often happens that patients become attached to their caregivers..." She didn't sound convinced or very convincing. And she hadn't drawn her hand away yet. She'd been dreaming about romance since she left home, she just wasn't quite sure this was what she had in mind, though her heart was pounding in her chest.

[Francis Church]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Private elevator

"Um, yeah, no that's fine. It's fine. You go ahead. Just, you know, come back." Francis said to the woman whose name was Gwen but he thought was Artemis, though his voice was low and she was walking away already so he doubted that she heard him. But Cincinnati and Aromatic - that can't be right - agreed to have their bags brought down and Francis figured that was good enough. Coop likely didn't have much to take with and the man Francis thought was Mr. Walker but was actually Mr. Culpepper was following Gwendemis so he'd get his own things, too. "Good. Yeah. This is good. Good good. Verrrry good." Everything was falling into place and Francis was glad to see it. Sebastian would be pleased. At least he hoped so.

The elevator doors opened. It suddenly occurred to Francis that maybe he should join them, so as to not have to wait for the next lift. "Oh. Crap. Hold the elevator!" He rushed over and juuuuust it. Jeez, didn't they hear him asking them to stop? He thought he had seen the lady hitting the button to keep the doors open. "Hrmph." He hit the button and the doors whooshed open just as Gwendemis and Walkpepper seemed deep in conversation. "Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting?" Painful discomfort crossed his face at that thought. "Um, well you need one of these to get it to go." He held up his key card that had a terrible holopic of his face on it. 

Even though the elevator could easily fit ten people, it still felt as though Francis had to squeeze himself inside. He waved the key card over the sensor, the doors closed, and the elevator began moving in silence. "So what's your guys' deal, eh?" It was going to be a long ride up.

[Gwen Eiber]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Private elevator

The doors whooshed open and Gwen jerked her hand back from Emit so quickly she almost backhanded Francis. Her cheeks were already red and she looked even more mortified by that unintended action. "Mr. Francis, sir, forgive me." She sounded sincerely contrite. "No, not interrupting up at all." She gave him an uneasy smile. "I was just wondering why I couldn't get this thing to work."

The doors closed again and the elevator began moving upwards.  Both of Gwen's hands had found purchase on the medical bag again, the walking stick still tucked under one arm. "No deal. Will just be glad to get my things.  I do prefer to travel with my own things, a small comfort I suppose." She looked much to young to be very well traveled. Too young to be some kind of ace mechanic too.

Long awkward pause. She looked over at Francis again, noticing the bandage on his head. Her eyes softened somewhat and her tone seemed kinder when she spoke next. "You've been hurt.  If you need the dressing changed or stitches removed while we are away I have some small talent at that.  Wouldn't want it to get infected." She sounded sincere and the smile she gave him was kind and the kindness reached her eyes.

She was studiously not looking at or speaking to Emit.  Not in front of Little Sebastian's henchman.

[Cooper Brown]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Secret Space Dock

Cooper took his attention away from the vessel's underbelly as he heard the Captain mix up his first name as his last, but then again, his first name was a last name, so it wasn't worth correction at the moment. He slapped his hands together to clap more of the dust off as he jogged over to the berthing station. He didn't know the specific access code for this ship though. He hoped against hope it was unlocked.

The mechanic replied to his new captain's request for "a word".

"Aye, cap."

Little poofs of dust coming up from his shoes as he jogged over, he came to a stop in front of the dock's control panel.

"Mind if I give it a shot?"

The nomad eyed the control panel and saw the button for the airlock controls was glowing red indicating it was locked. He let out a quick sharp exhale, aggravated that the two bit crook didn't think to code over the ship to them yet. But the wrench jockey had a couple tricks up his sleeves. He tapped a notepad icon on the control panel's touchscreen and a log of recent user's popped up. It seemed Hardy Willis, the resident walking smokestack and business proprietor was the last person to do maintenance on the panel.

Cooper let out a sigh before he resigned himself to what he knew the passkey would be:

6 9 6 9

The control panel chimed, and the airlock doors hissed open. Cooper turned with a smirk to Charity and was glad he could save them further interaction with Lil Sebastian.

"I think we're all good!"

After a pause something occurred to him.

"Oh and I can uh, change that passkey for you later."

[Emit Culpepper]

☆ LOCATION: Lil Sebastian's private elevator

Emit ground his teeth as Lil Sebastian's Lackey rudely interrupted his talk with Gwendola. Emit wasn't to keen about being forced into work with a worm of a man like Lil Sebastian,and could only imagine what kind of a man took the position of right hand. It was all the same that he wasn't strapped right now because he most likely would have plugged them both and been done with it.

Emit had certainly worked some gray area jobs since hanging up the badge, but he wasn't at rock bottom yet. Maybe that's what happened to Mr. Lackey,maybe at rock bottom folks like Lil Sebastian are the only ones left to pull you up by the boot straps. He would give Lackey a chance to show him otherwise,but make no mistake if this man trys to pull him or Gwendola down to rock bottom lead will fly.

Emit's jaw ached from his teeth grinding,but still attempted a degree of small talk."Ah nice elevator you've got here. So grab our belongings and meet you back here correct?

Emit's attention was fixed upon Gwendola's words to Mr. Lackey. At least she was being her sweet polite self. Her smile could light up the darkest of rooms that was for sure.
"Goodness that is a nasty bump you got there friend. Yep she is a woman of many talents,fix you right up with those stitches and what not. Oh, well would you look at that,this is or stop. Okay so be meeting you back here after we grab our gear and all."

☆LOCATION: Corridor outside of Lil Sebastian's elevator

Emit hurried Gwendola out of the elevator with a gentle motion,placing himself between her and Mr. Lackey not wishing to give the man any chance to rebuttal. With a steady stride he escorted the young lady whom he so wished to talk to alone down the corridor.

[Gwen Eiber]

Location:Lil Sebastian's Elevator

Gwen stayed quiet while Mr. Culpepper spoke to Mr. Francis.  He didn't seem inclined to  speak with her, perhaps females made him uncomfortable, or more likely, he was able to pick up on her distress and didn't want want to make things worse.  That thought made her smile weakly, thug of Lil Sebastian's or not, she always appreciated when a gentleman acted like a gentleman.

Location: Corridors heading to the medbay

Then she was being shooed along by Mr Culpepper before she even had a chance to protest.  She did note he was being careful not to touch her and that he had put himself protectively between herself and Mr. Francis, though she hardly thought that necessary.  She wasn't in the mood to protest though, she actually wanted to get back to her room as quickly as possible.  Her legs were a lot shorter than his so she couldn't match his stride, but she did walk with a purpose.  She wasn't looking at him at all. The only thing on her agenda was to get back to her room and pack her things. If she was going to get off the space station and on with her life Charity and this ship might be the fastest way.

[Charity]

Location: Lil Sebastian's Secret Space Dock

"Mind if I give it a shot?" their new Mechanic and ship expert (in Charity's eyes) asked and she nodded her chin down daintily before taking a smooth step out of his way, one shimmering hand extending to offer him full reign of the screen. Her dark gaze flickered between his face, his hands, and the controls, the movements he made and the way his expression shifted while in thought proving interesting to the woman, if for no other reason than it gave her some small insight into his inner workings. His fingers keyed in the code and a brief line appeared between her brows as they furrowed, eyes lifting to look back at his face and sharing in his exasperation, even if she didn't share the reasoning behind it.

"I think we're all good!" he exclaimed, and she smiled winningly in his direction, focusing the full beam of her sunny and pleasant disposition on the man covered in grime. "Oh and I can uh, change that passkey for you later."

"Marvelous, thank you Mister Cooper," she began, looking toward the now opened doors and slowly slipping her hands into the slits on the sides of her full skirts, hiding her palms in her pockets. "Earning your pay already," she added, grinning up at him again. She turned to the mysteriously beautiful woman beside her and raised perfectly manicured brows in question, "Shall we?" Charity offered, before slipping her hands free, clasping them at her navel, and walking the short distance to the ship. She paused at the threshold and with her back to everyone, allowed herself a small moment of trepidation, pink lower lip trapped between her teeth.

This was a better alternative to anything else she could come up with. Or anything anyone else had come up with. Spine straightened, shoulders eased, and chin rose as the debutante made her way into Odette. Turning her head, she smiled back at Pele and Cooper. "You're more than free to check on the engine room," she told the mechanic, recalling his interest to do so before his compatriot had rushed off after Gwen and Emit. "And I'm sure there are further accommodations to explore?" she offered, not outright saying he should go find the showers. With that, she continued in, expecting Pele to follow for the 'word' they were to have.