Death was a dance. A steady one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three-four. When you're in an extended fight or a battle, time loses meaning. This was no different. One-two-three. King was aware of nothing but the crush of bodies around him. That familiar metallic smell filled his nostrils. Block, incapacitate, shift to a new target. One-two-three. Block, parry, kill, shift. One-two-three-four.

Then, as suddenly as it had been lost, time regained meaning. The lull. Not an actual pause to the fight, but he had time to actually look around in between dealing with attackers. Somewhere he had acquired a second knife. He must have looked fairly terrifying, face covered in blood, with the feral look of a cornered lion.

King looked around and located Cooper just as a gap opened up between them, which Cooper took advantage of and dashed over. Cooper gave King a look, which King returned with a half grin. Hey, maybe we don't die today after all. Cooper clapped him on the shoulder and hopped into the drivers seat of the loader. "Let's go!" King covered him as best he could, dispatching two more men while Cooper fiddled with some wires. The vehicles engine noise intensified and King knew it was time to go. He jumped onto the back of the loader, his leg almost collapsing form the pain in his foot, and Cooper put the pedal to the floor. "That is the LAST time I am leaving the ship without a rifle, extra mags, and several grenades." He said under his breath as the loader sped off.

Kings eyes narrowed a fraction as the group proceeded through the gate and up to the main house. The grounds were deserted. Not a man in sight. No gardener, no guards, nothing. However, his practiced eye spotted more than a few cameras, covering just about every angle possible. Something is very not right here.

The door opened, and a pretty young woman flanked by two guards appeared, presumably Lady Sun. "Where is Sebastian?"

"Little crook sent us to keep an eye on things. 'Pologies for the blood on the product. Had to smash a pirate's brains ...Out." "Hope your day's gone better." King surpressed a grin at the little frown Charity gave Cooper. At least the man was honest.

"I do apologize for our tardiness, Lady Sun. There was some trouble at the docks, a case of stolen identity, I'm afraid. But we're here now. Mister Sebastian will not be joining us. He thought it might be better for all involved for me to come instead. I imagine he was worried about his lack of...decorum, I am Charity, the current captain of the Odette. We've brought the requested cargo, and despite the...blemish on the container, I assure you that is where the uncleanliness stops."

"I see." Lady Sun spoke something to one of her guards, and they moved forward to collect the cargo. King did not miss the dragon insignia they wore, and did not fail to notice how similar it was to the one wore by the men who'd attacked them. Lady Sun followed her men deeper into the house, and the crew followed. What they found inside was just about the complete opposite of what he'd expected. The house was bare. The walls empty of art, the floors empty of furniture. The lavish exterior was nothing but a a facade... a Front. Then King saw the scale, and everything else fell neatly into place. They had not transported ration packs. He'd bet just about everything he had that they'd just been recorded on camera delivering a shipment of drugs. Kings heart-rate spiked, and suddenly his scalp was wet with sweat. It took everything he had to force himself not to react outwardly.

Lady Sun and her guards stopped next to the scale. "Do come in." She said. The guards moved the cargo onto the scale, and Kings mind went to the package of sweet poison still residing under his jacket. "I apologize for the misfortune you found at the docks, but I am impressed you managed to recover all of the product. Shikai's Red Talons can be... tenacious."

He didn't have to see the readout to know that it would be about a kilo short. His mind raced through the possible outcomes of simply keeping it. They could keep it. They should keep it. They deserved some compensation for their trouble. They could sell it, make some money to buy supplies. He could sell it. He could keep it. He could... use it. His mind snapped out of the rapid downward spiral and without hesitation he tossed the lone brick neatly on top of the rest of it. King shrugged. "Sorry."

Lady Sun smiled. "Very good." She clasped her hands before her and seemed to be waiting for something. When that something didn't happen, her smile tightened. "You may go."

"A pleasure doing business with you, I do hope our paths cross again, perhaps for something less business oriented. Perhaps tea," "Alright, back to ship," Charity said, ushering them out the door. King kept an eye on Lady Suns guards, and made sure he was the last one out the door before closing it behind him.

His eyes darted around the grounds again, straining to pick out anything that would indicate a threat. One of two things would happen now. Either they'd passed a test and were now "trusted" couriers, or they were deemed loose ends and would be dealt with before they could get back to their ship. He longed for the comforting weight on a rifle strap on his shoulder, and wished he had more than one round from his sidearm and a knife to defend them.

"Anyone wants to hop on back, mind the bit towards the end there." King took a seat on one of the claws. He felt a tremor in his hands, and covered it by rubbing his legs. He looked around and then spoke quietly enough that only Cooper and anyone else sitting right next to him would hear. "We aren't safe til we're back in the Black. Keep your eyes open." He hoped Cooper understood his meaning.

Quote from: Jedikiah Rembo on August 18, 2020, 11:50:45 am"Does anyone require immediate medical attention?"

King ignored Jeds question. His foot would definitely require medical attention, but not the kind they could do on the move out in the open. Plus, King was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to get his boot back on if he took it off now, what with the swelling that was undoubtedly starting. The best thing he could do was cinch his laces up real tight and pray he didn't need to kick anyone else today.

While Jed attended to the others, King hobbled around and retrieved the pieces of his sidearm. He reassembled the weapon and holstered it, with a round in the chamber. If at all possible he would avoid using it before he had a chance to clean it, but at least he would have one shot if it came to that.

---

King kept his eyes in motion as they walked, constantly looking for new threats. Thankfully he was able to hide the severity of his limp, but the ache in his foot was getting worse. As they moved farther from the scene of the fight he could see Charity relax, the tension leaving her shoulders and face. She absent mindedly brushed the front of her gown, dislodging most of the dust from it. "Do I look alright?" She asked a whisper, her cheeks reddening slightly. "You look every part the fearless leader." He said, matching her hushed tone. "Also you missed a spot." He gave her a wry grin, obviously teasing.

The house that Francis let them too was like many King had seen growing up. It positively screamed Money. King felt the weight of the "ration pack" tucked against his side under his coat. He'd wanted to surreptitiously open it and take a look inside, but hadn't risked it with Francis so close, not to mention the self proclaimed "former lawman" escorting them.

Charity looked up at him with furrowed brows. He shrugged in reply. She spent a few moments dusting everyone off and making them as presentable as she could given the circumstances. She brushed off Kings torso, and gave him an apologetic look for his foot. He gave her an appreciative nod before his eyes resumed scanning the surrounding area for threats. "All right," Charity mummer to herself as she pushed the call button.


"Yeah. Give it 'bout fifty-fifty odds somebody's gonna try and pull our trousers up over our heads again."

King barely made out Coops hushed comment to Francis, and grinned. He was thankful someone else shared his own apprehension. Coop had proved to be quite good in the fight earlier, and apparently had good instinct as well. A good man to have around.

King dropped Bao Lin's lifeless body unceremoniously to the ground, and looked around. Charity and the rest of the crew seemed to be alive and relatively undamaged. He bent down and wiped his knife clean on Bao Lin's shirt, wincing slightly as the bones in his foot grated against each other. Sloppy. Next time, go for the knife first. Or better yet just shoot them before the fight starts. He thought grumpily to himself.

He glanced around briefly for the pieces of his sidearm, saw the frame, but the slide wasn't in immediate view. Not that he'd trust it firing properly again without a thorough cleaning, too much dirt and grit.

He limped his way over to the crew, gritting his teeth with every step. If there was more trouble, that foot was going to slow him down. "What now?" He grumbled.

"Oh, um... well... Captain?"

Charity looked down at the ration pack in her hands and fiddled with it, pulling back a corner of the wrapping, standing as she did so. "Well, what's next is we get whatever this is to who we're supposed to be meeting. You said it's not far. We need to right all of this mess and then you can lead the way. Also, what is this?" she asked, tilting the partially opened package toward King first and then the rest of the gathered crew.

He looked at it and opened his mouth to reply, but stopped. Ration pack...? It looked like one, more or less. His scalp itched. Something was off. "Here, let me see tha-" A new voice cut him off, and Charity tipped the opened package back toward herself to hide it.

"Name's Darius.  Retired Lawman.  Let's get you folks out of here.  Is this your wares?"

King eyed the man warily as Darius went about righting the cart and started putting some of the fallen ration packs back inside. Charity reached out and gently slapped the top of his hand to move it away from the rations.

"I'll escort you to safety with your stuff.  Place'll be swarming with police or gangs any minute now.  I don't see any sense in waiting for either eventuality.  Where do you folks call home?" Darius said, glancing around.

"Why, how forward of you. We haven't even been properly introduced past getting your name, Mister Darius, and I must say that we don't know who you are or who you work for. Thus, it would please me greatly if you would refrain from touching our cargo without the invitation to do so," Charity said, then paused a moment before continuing. "I do thank you for your generous nature, however, I think I will leave the decision up to my 'XO' here,"

King looked at Francis, and then back at Charity. "He's right, we should get moving. If its the law, at best they'll detain us for questioning, at worst, and more likely, they'll just arrest us. If its one of the gangs they'll probably just shoot us. Best get our, uh, wares loaded back up and be on our way." He limped over and started loading fallen ration packs, carefully and sneakily slipping one under his jacket. He wanted a look at what exactly it was they were transporting.

Location: Med Bay

Charity smiled at him. "Likely not the most eventful wedding you've ever been to, I'd wager," King chuckled. "Nah, pretty normal actually." They sat there for a moment, enjoying the mirth, but then the mood sobered. "Is everyone else on this station as well?" She glanced down at his shoulder and winced. "Hey, dont worry about me. I've been shot before. No big deal." He paused, taking mental stock of their crew... former crew? Were they still a crew without a ship?

"No idea about Artemis. Grace is here, but after she got off the shuttle I kinda got the feeling she wont be staying long. That Mercer guy didn't stick around either. Seans around somewhere. Octavia made it, though who knows if she's hanging around. Ru, if I had to guess, is currently consuming as much alcohol as he can at one of the bars... He kinda blames himself for everything that happened. Or at least that's the impression I got."

King paused and reached up to scratch the back of his head with his good hand. "Hey, uh. Sorry about getting you shot. That's my fault. I should have been paying more attention to you. Kind of a tzao gao bodyguard, eh?" He said, grimacing.

Location: Med-Bay

The slug dropped into the tray with a clink. "I certainly don't mean to tell you your business Mr. King, but perhaps you should find a less dangerous line of work? Or you and your friends should perhaps invest in a doctor to follow you around to put you all back together again." King chuckled. "Soldiers aren't trained to retire, Doc. Though you do have a point, hiring a Doc to patch us up might be a good idea. If there even is an Us now." He wondered how many of the crew would actually stick around after losing the ship. Not to mention what happened on Bellerophon.

Gwen trailed her gloved fingers lightly over the scars on his chest. Something in the local must have been messing with his sense of touch, because while the feeling of her digging around inside his shoulder had been appropriately dulled, the feeling of her finger tips on his skin was oddly enhanced. It wasn't uncomfortable, just... odd.

After a moment she quickly withdrew her hand, as if realizing she wasn't being very professional. King didn't comment or bring attention to it. He didn't mind. He was proud of the scars, and of the physical shape he was in.

Gewn started stitching him up, a process that didn't take very long. Once she was done she spoke again. "I do have a favor to ask if I might, Mr. King.  The gentleman that was here earlier?  The one you said was having a rough couple days.  Do you have any idea where I might be able to find him at?  Where he might have gone? I should give him an update on Miss Cherry and..." she paused, then finished in a rush, "And I owe him an apology. Very unprofessional of me to get so riled up." King raised an eyebrow at her, and chuckled again. "He's got a knack for pushing peoples buttons. His name is Ru... Amorru." He spoke the mans full first name carefully, almost as if it was odd for him to say the whole thing. "Honestly, I've only known him a short time, but if I had to guess I'd say he set a course for alcohol. Probably 4 or 5 sheets to the wind by now. Might wanna wait a bit for your apology. Or not, I'm not your boss." He said with a grin.

Gwen finished applying a dressing over the freshly stitched wound, and lowered her mask to reveal a smile of her own. "On the plus side, you are all finished and should heal up just fine.  Nothing for me to get riled over there so long as you don't overexert yourself and tear your stitches. Would you like to go see your lady friend now?" King nodded, flexing his shoulder slightly to get a feel for Gwens work. "Yeah, that would be-" Just then an attendant knocked on the window, and King was briefly worried that something was wrong, but apparently Charity was awake.

Jed rushed out ahead of them to check on her, Gwen and King following right behind. King didn't take the offered support, his walking was fine. As he entered, Jedikiah had just finished reassuring Charity, and Gwen now did the same. King just smiled warmly at Charity, and took the seat offered by Gwen. "Hey, Cherry." He said.

Official:

MALADY	DESC-TREATMENT-ETC
INJURY	DESC-TREATMENT-ETC

Ship Specific (If going by an assumed name):

MALADY	DESC-TREATMENT-ETC
INJURY	DESC-TREATMENT-ETC

King doesn't really carry much, a few knives, a sidearm, a cortex pad, some lock picks (manual and electronic), a backpack, and a duffel bag of various clothes. He knows how to get anything else he might need, be it clothes, firepower, or just about anything else. Notable items for current job: Set of lightweight modular body armor, capable of being worn under clothing Older model AK style rifle, short barrel, folding stock, foregrip, suppressor, red dot sight, extra magazines, cleaning kit, ammo A suit appropriate for a fancy party

Location: Med Bay

Gwen recognized the older gentleman and began talking to him as soon as she finished with Charity. King waited patiently. He was fairly certain that, given the Docs demeanor, Cherry was going to be perfectly fine.

Once she was done talking to Jedikiah Gwen finally turned back to King, smoothing down her scrubs and seeming to put herself back into professional mode. "I apologize Mr. King. Your friend did well during surgery.  I think she should recover well.  If you are ready I'd like to tend to your shoulder. Would you like to scrub in and assist Uncle Jed?  Unless that gentleman needs some assistance?"

King smiled, and sighed with relief. He could relax a little now.

"You look like you have things well in hand Gwen, I think I'd better make sure," he checked the man's I.D. and stated his name. "is alright. Unconscious but no indication how bad. Do you have any sort of scanner?" Jed replied.

Gwen turned back to King again. "If you are ready then I'd like to tend to that shoulder." King smiled at how animated and friendly Gwen was, he liked her. He got the feeling she was a pretty good Doctor too. She has said she would be moving on soon though... King wondered if she had somewhere specific in mind, or if maybe he could hire her to tend to Cherry as her arm healed. "Ready as I'll ever be, Doc."

One of the techs called her attention to something on Kings chart. "Are you sure you don't want any pain medication?  I will try to be as gentle as I can be, but I can also give you a local numbing agent if you don't wish to be fully sedated." Her large blue eyes studied him seriously. King nodded. "Yes ma'am, I'm sure. You can use a real mild local if you really want, but please nothing stronger than that. Me and narcotics... uh, don't mix well."

Gwen accepted that, and went to scrub up again.

They got him into the O.R., and Gwen stood over him. "I do apologize Mr. King. I'm afraid this might be a bit 'uncomfortable.' Are you ready to begin?" He gave her a smile that was half grimace, and gestured to the small, but impressive, collection of scars scattered around his torso. "Nothing I haven't been through before, Doc. Ready when you are." King enjoyed a rather high tolerance for pain, but even so, fully conscious surgery was never a pleasant experience.

She didn't sing while she worked this time, but she kept up a running commentary as she went, which was almost as good. She had a very calming voice. Yep, good Doc to have around. He thought again. "You are a very lucky man Mr. King, the bullet lodged solidly in the muscle tissue medial to the intraspinatus tendon and distal to the coracoid process. It will take some fancy needlework, but once the bullet is removed I can repair the muscle itself.  Since no tendon damage was done the healing process shouldn't take more than a few weeks as long as you go gently.  You'll need some therapy for the shoulder to keep full range of motion, but no nerve damage I don't think. I'll try to keep my stitches tidy so you don't end up with much of a scar."

"That's what I figured. You get shot enough times you get a feel for the bad ones and the less bad ones. Nice to have it confirmed though. And as you can see, I dont have a problem with scars. One more wont hurt." He kept mostly quiet while she worked, didn't want to distract her to much.

Location: Med-Bay

"I've been here a short spell.  I expect I'll be moving on soon enough.  Doing a little sight seeing. Now, you set yourself down over there and we'll tend that shoulder in a minute, Mr. uh?"

"Oh, sorry, my names King." He said in reply to her query.

"I need to take care of this fine young lady before she bleeds out on me and if I'm lucky she won't lose the use of her arm.  When I'm finished I need to dig the slug out of your shoulder." Gwen said as one of her med-team took Charity into the O.R. to prep her for surgery. King gave a rueful smile. "No worries Doc, take as much time as you need with her. I've been shot before, and this aint that bad. It'll keep for a bit."

By now Amorru had joined them in the med-bay, and was currently looking at the young doctor as if she were raving mad. "Right, he's fine. Did you say if you're lucky? How much of a gamble are we talkin', doc?" His voice displayed not an ounce of gratefulness. King sighed.

Gwen made a comment to the staffer prepping Charity to be careful not to damage her dress to much, and that she could repair it, which set Amorru going again. He began clapping, very slowly and sarcastically.

"Listen, Stitches, figure you best be focusing on the Duchesses' wounds more'n her dress, yeah?" When he used his own nickname for Charity he glared directly at King. "We all got hobbies. Like havin' a sneaky peak at the crew's medical files, maybe. That what you been up to, when you're not snoopin' 'round the bend looking so pleased with yourself?"

King blinked. "No, I haven't been peaking at the crews medical files, Ru, she hired me to protect-" He paused and grimaced. "She hired me to protect her. Body guard. Her blood type is kind of important information for her bodyguard to know." Then his eyes narrowed a fraction. "Why, should I be peaking at them?" He couldn't tell if this was just Amorru lashing out, or if the man was genuinely worried about King having seen his med-file.

Amorru offered nothing but a smug smirk to Kings reply, and to Gwens totally justified retaliatory tirade, and then left without another word.

King sighed again, and shrugged at Gwen. "Sorry Doc, he's had a rough couple of days, don't take what he said to personal."

Gwen finished scrubbing up and headed into the O.R. to start working on Charity. King caught little bits of the song she was singing, and chuckled a little. Nothing wrong with humming a tune while you worked. He also took it as a good sign that Charity would make it through this alive.

Another med-tech brought in an unconscious man on a gurney, while a second one came over and started prepping King for the Doctor. He shrugged and did as he was told, however he point blank refused the pain medication.

Shortly afterwards an older gentleman entered the med-bay.

Quote from: Jedikiah Rembo on October 25, 2019, 06:04:36 pm"I'm Jedikiah Rembo, expected I hope. How can I be of assistance?" He was already standing next to the unconscious man, his fingers lightly on his throat, his eyes on his breathing. They flickered over to the man with the bloody shoulder.

King gave the man a nod, just to be polite, but left the interacting to the med-staff.

Location: Docks

As King stepped off of the haggard luxury shuttle and onto the docks of Iscariot station, he couldn't help but immediately feel a little better. The relief was accompanied by a healthy amount of guilt. Mostly guilt for failing to protect his charge. She was still unconscious, and in great need of medical attention. For the matter he needed some too. The bullet was still in his shoulder, though he was pretty sure it hadn't fragmented. This wasn't his first time with a bullet wound. Regardless, he still felt a tiny bit better. This was his world, this was the type of place he knew and felt comfortable in.

He stepped near to Amorru as the medical crew swarmed around Charity, loading her onto a gurney. He briefly considered reaching out to the man, or saying something to the effect of "its not your fault", but thought better of it. Truth be told it was a little bit Amorrus fault. Not that the man could have done much different, the plan had been ridiculous from the start, and would have been difficult even with a mastermind planning it... but by assuming the role of Captain he had also assumed responsibility. Charity getting shot... that was on King. Eventually he'd have to explain that to Amorru. He wondered if the hotshot pilot would listen or not.

The young woman who seemed to be in charge of the med team had been fussing over Chairty's arm, and finally spoke. "The bullet went through but she is going to require a blood transfusion and I need to get the vein repaired. Does anyone know her blood type?"

King took a couple steps towards them, one of the other med staff coming over to examine his own wound. "She's AB+, universal recipient. So that shouldn't be much of a problem."

They started moving Charity off towards the medbay, and King followed along close on their heels. He wasn't going to let Charity out of his sight. Not for a while at least.

The lead doctor posed a question aloud, almost like it was directed at the unconscious debutante. "Do you have a name darlin'? I'm Gwendola and I'm gonna patch you all up. Don't you fret." King replied for her. "You can call her Cherry, Doc. Do your best, she deserves it."

As they walked he heard someone shout at Amorru, because who else could they mean by "you with the hair", but King didnt stop to look or listen. His attention was fully on Charity and his surroundings. His eyes swinging back and forth at the people they passed, looking for any signs of recognition of himself or the pretty woman on the gurney.

"You been on Iscariot long, Doc?" He said conversationally as they walked.

Everything was actually going well, right up until it wasn't.  Amorru did a great job of getting himself challenged to a fight by Ainsworth. They made it to the shuttle bay without incident. The other security personnel were off dealing with some fortuitous situation, and the one remaining bodyguard seemed to be on their team. King wondered how on earth Ru had managed that.

Amorru intentionally took a hit to try and stab Ainsworth with syringe, but the old guy still apparently had enough muscle to send Ru stumbling into King, and the syringe clattering off across the floor. "Oof, easy there Ru, back in the fight you go." King muttered as he pushed Amorru back towards Ainsworth.

"Sod it" Amorru said, producing a small blade. "Shoot this little bastard and be done with it!" Ainsworth barked at his bodyguard, who did the wholly unexpected thing of grabbing Ainsworth and sticking his gun up under the mans chin. Amorru had his blade tip planted somewhere in the vicinity of Ainsworths kidney. It seemed they were now in bargaining position.

Then things went really pear shaped. Ainsworths grandson grabbed Charity and pressed a firearm to her stomach.

King froze, 10 different courses of action flashing through his mind in less than a second, while also chastising himself heavily for not keeping a better eye on his charge. She'd hired him to protect her. Not watch the show. Granted he'd also been keeping an eye on the security man, and watching for returning security personnel, but the fact of the matter was that he'd failed at his job. There was really only one thing to do, given the situation.

He dropped the act. His posture shifted back to normal. He worked his head back and forth, the popping sound of his vertebrae very clearly audible in the sudden quiet of the shuttle bay. Then he chuckled. Then he laughed, and turned to the grandson, a smile widening across his face. It was odd to say the least. When he spoke, there was no trace of the feigned accent. "Well kid, you've really done it now." King shrugged off his suit jacket, drawing a small weighted throwing knife from a pocket.

The grandson sneered, and pulled Charity back several steps, putting a little distance between them. "Don't you see I've got your wife at gunpoint? What are you gonna do? Act all tough and try and intimidate me?" King gave the man an earnest, and resigned smile. "Yep, that's what I'm gonna do." He took a step forward, idly tossing the knife from hand to hand. "Thing is, she aint actually my wife." Another step. "See kid, you've miscalculated. One of two things is going to happen in the next 60 odd seconds. You're going to drop the gun, or you're going to shoot me. Because if you don't do either of those things, I'm going to kill you. And I'm going to do it slowly." Another step. A hint of doubt in the grandsons eyes. "Now you could threaten the woman again, but know that if you shoot her, you still die. My bet? You chicken out and drop the gun. Little quirt like you? No way you've got the stones to kill a man. Much less a woman." Another step. The grandson narrowed his eyes, anger showing in his face. King knew what was coming.

King took another step. The grandson swung his gun up. King bent his knee, tilting to the right, the knife in his hand ready to throw. The gun barked, and King felt the impact hard on his left shoulder. He grunted, grinned, and threw his knife.

Even freshly shot, Kings aim was better than the grandsons, the blade embedded itself in the mans eye and he dropped in a heap on the ground... but as he fell the gun in his hand swung back towards Charity, and went off a second time.

Charity briefly moved to the food table to send some young gentleman in Graces direction, before returning to his side. "Now we congratulate," She giggled softly, mischief in her voice. She wrapped her arms around his once again, and they headed over to greet their hosts.

"Ainsworth, dearest, it really has been too long. Your estate is just as splendid as always. Such a jewel!" Charity said, before turning to the bride-to-be. "And my darling, you look simply exquisite. I'm so glad we were able to meet again, and on such a joyous occasion. Truly you humbled me with your invitation,"

"Oh, um, yes. Well, I'd wager it cost me my own weight in jewels to build the place." Ainsworth replied, matching Charity's air of familiarity even though King was quite certain the man had no idea who they were. "It has been far too long since you and your, erm, man stopped in for a visit. It's such a pleasure to have you here for our happy day!" Ainsworth sized King up for a moment before addressing him directly. "So very good to see you again, friend. How's - ah - business?" Ainsworths smile was flat, and there was no real pleasure or happiness behind it. Ever aware of his surroundings, King spotted Amorru, Sean, Octavia, and Grace being escorted away by a man who looked very much like security. However there was nothing King could do about that at the moment, so he focused on their mark.

"Oh, business is going quite well." King replied, his voice colored by a touch of a drawl, just the sort one might expect from a Jiangyin cattle baron. "I barely have to do any real work these days, the product practically sells itself! Leaving me with plenty of time to attend pleasant events such as this. You're in top from today Charles! Top form. And I see your beautiful bride-to-be is looking lovely as ever!" He favored Sherrie with a good natured wink. "You don't deserve her my good man, but us men-folk never deserve our wives do we, eh?" He said with a chuckle. "And how's business on your end?"

This was far form King's first time hobnobbing with high society, though it was certainly the first in recent memory. Mr. and the soon to be Mrs. Ainsworth were there, as well as plenty of guests doing to social dance. King was happy to play his part, but thanked the stars he didn't have to do this kind of thing often. He much preferred the rough and tumble world his affairs usually kept him in.

"I was not lying when I said you were my personal guard, or that I'd pay you," Charity muttered from his side, her arm tightly wrapped around his own. "I feel more in danger here than I did during the explosion," She looked up at him and attempted a smile. He gave her a warm smile in return, partly because that's what a loving husband would do, but also it was meant as genuine comfort. This was her world, and there was a chance that someone might recognize her here. A small chance, but a very real one none the less.

She had stayed very close to him since they arrived. The farthest she'd gone had been to one of the food laden tables a few steps away. "I suppose we should congratulate the happy couple," Charity whispered after returning with some macaroons. "Surely Amy wasn't being serious about seducing the groom?" She looked up at King again, her brows furrowed. King chuckled. "I'll be honest, I'm not even sure he knows what he's about to say before the words are falling out of his mouth." He said quietly. "Besides, look at them. Happy bride and groom to be. So far it doesn't look like seduction will be the right play." Whether they were indeed happy was up for debate. They certainly seemed like a happy couple, but 90% of high society was looking and acting a certain way regardless of what was really going on, so it was probably even odds one way or the other.

"As for congratulating them, you lead I'll follow. Course I doubt they'd notice if we didn't. They don't know us, and with how many people are here I wouldn't be surprised if this whole part of the day ends up a blur for them by evening."

King listened a Amorru gave the introductions to the security officer. "May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jarold Thorington." Amorru said, gesturing to King and Charity. "Jarold's one of the most successful cattle barons on Jiangyin, and his lovely lady Amethyst is quite a homemaker."

It was extremely difficult for King to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Cattle Baron? Really? Oh well. At least I kept the beard, it probably fits. "Amethyst" wrapped her arms around "Jarolds" elbow and leaned against him, immediately slipping into her role. King kept his expression neutral, nodding vaguely, and looking rather bored. He briefly reached up to squeeze his "wifes" hand when she patted his chest.

Finally the security personnel seemed satisfied and left. He felt Charity let out the breath she'd been holding, and noticed that she didn't immediately release his arm. "...Right! So. Who knows where the shuttle is?"

He and Charity made their way up towards the shuttle. At the landing she gave him an apologetic smile and hurried back towards the crew quarters, presumably to grab the garment bags for those not already dressed for their parts. King continued on up to the shuttle and took a seat.

"So, who wants to fly? Have to say I'm more than a bit tired of flappin' me arms for one week. And how about the radio, while we're at it? I'd rather not hear myself think at the moment, if it's all the same to the rest of ya." King just stared at the man, and then shook his head with a chuckle. "I'm passable with a shuttle, if you're really going to sit this one out Ru." He said, moving towards the pilots seat. "Unless someone else would prefer...?" He wasn't sure if anyone else aboard even had flight experience.

King had spent most of the last 4 days getting used to the ship. He had memorized the layout, who bunked where, etc. He knew the ship as well as anyone could after only being aboard for a little over 4 days. He'd had some interactions with some of the crew, but they we're all at least a bit suspicious of him still, so a fair chunk of his social time had been spent chatting with Charity. She was fun to talk to. Plus he got the feeling she enjoyed being treated like a normal person, contrary to how most of the crew seemed to treat her.

As they made their final approach to Bellerophon King was in his room going over his gear one more time. Not that he needed to. He'd been over it all 3 or 4 times already, but old habits die hard. He was in the process of field-stripping his new rifle when Amorru's voice echoed through the ship.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking, we are rapidly approaching our destination of Bellerophon and - Agk!" The ship lurched to one side, and a loud BANG echoed from the engine room. "Um. Art?  Seems like we're losing thrust here. What, ah... What was that? ....Sod it all... Strap in folks, and prepare for a bumpy landing. I'll just... Glide her in. Yeah. No problem..."

"Oh god, oh god, we're all going to die." King muttered to himself with a chuckle, and continued with his work, oddly confident in the pilot's ability to NOT crash and kill them all.

Just as he'd thought, Amorru managed to set the ship down without turning it into a fiery tangle of burning metal and corpses. The pilots voice echoed through the ship again as King was finishing reassembly of his rifle. "Heads up. We're about to have some companyyyyy!" There was a pause, and then over the comms Amorru spoke again. "Charity, Octavia! Meet me at the ramp, please!"

"Time to go to work." He dressed quickly and efficiently. First the chest piece of combat armor, then undershirt, pants, and then the rest of the suit. He had debated trimming his full beard down to something more professional, but in the end decided against it. He liked the beard to much.

He strapped on his sidearm and exited his room, heading towards the cargo bay. He found the rest of the crew already there. As he entered, the cargo ramp had just finished lowering. Charity, Amorru, Sean, and Octavia were in a cluster next the the ramp, Artemis was off to the side in what would have been shadows, and Grace stood at the foot of the stairs... looking very much like the was packed up and about to walk away. Well, he couldn't really blame her for leaving. He didn't know the details but there was obviously some history between her and Amorru. Still, not having a Doc was going to be less than ideal if someone caught a severe case of lead poisoning.

He was half way down the stairs when she started walking towards the ramp. His longer stride and lack of baggage meant that he made it to the rest of the crew a moment before Grace drew level with them. He took up a position just behind and to the right of Charity. "Sorry I'm late. Looks like the Doc is making a break for it." He said, inclining his head towards Grace.

King remained where he was while the others talked, his eyes flicking around the room, watching faces and reactions. About half way through Amorru's speech Charity came over to stand by him. She gave King a soft smile. He returned it and gave her a small nod, before shifting his attention back to the room at large. "... So. I guess that's it. Any questions?" Amorru finished.

King head tilted to the side slightly. Was that it? Low on supplies, had to leave some crew behind, 6 day trip was now a 4 day trip. None of that information seemed like it would have been locked up in the Captains quarters. Perhaps it was an item Amorru and Sean had been after? Or they were just not sharing whatever it was that they had discovered?

Octavia was the first to speak up, blurting out her words almost as soon as Amorru finished. "So who's in charge here? And what precisely is the plan if the ship can't make it? A good question, and King could guess the answer already. Though he wondered how the crew would react to Amorru proclaiming himself in charge. It turned out he didnt have to as Artemis, the mechanic, spoke up. "By the sounds of it you're looking at the person in charge," she said, gesturing to Amorru. "And no need to ponder what will happen if the ship doesn't make it. She will. I'll make sure of it. If there's nothing else, I should probably get moving...Captain. She said in a perfect deadpan.

Amorru being captain would undoubtedly cause problems for King. If only for the fact that Amy was clearly mistrustful and suspicious of King. He might try to have King thrown off the ship. That thought made his amiable smile shift more towards a grin. Would be fun to see him try.

Charity spoke up next, closing her fan pointedly on her palm. "Yes, I have one...well, maybe two. Where did the formal clothing end up? And who will be fixing supper?" The first part directed at Sean, and the second to the room. Sean stood up and replied to both. King watched as the "drunk" persona faded away some. "The clothes ye handed me are either hung or stacked on or near the jump seats on the starboard side of the cargo hold where ye gave 'em te me... As for supper...I...I'm a fair cook and I can fix somethin' up if ye all would like,"

The only other person yet to speak was Grace. So far all she had done was stare at Amorru, stare at Octavia, and stretch. He was interested in what she might ask.

As for himself, King had no questions worth voicing yet, so he remained quiet. He could always ask them why they'd broken into the Captains quarters, but this probably wasn't the moment to do so. He would mention it to Charity though, the next time they were alone.

King didnt have to wait long before Amorru and Sean made their way back down the stairs. The pilot adjusted his collar while standing as straight as possible and giving King a leer.

"Well, well. Tell me somethin' guv: is there anything you do more'n showin' up when you're least wanted? I mean it's a talent, sure. But you're gonna have to do a might more than that if you aim to earn your passage here. Or are you just content to remain by the Duschess's side until she gets bored with you?" The man steepled his hands under his chin.

King raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to reply. "Well actually-" He stopped as Amorru raised a finger to interrupt. "Oh, you know what? I'm sure this is going to be very interesting, but I do hate to be late to a shindig. What say we pick this up a little later? I'd really, really like for us to get on a little better and discuss your, ah, position on board." And with that, the man swaggered off towards the galley. King couldn't help but chuckle.

"Aye laddie buck!" Sean said throwing an arm around King's shoulders. Again Kings eyebrow arched. Sean offered him a sip from a flask. "At least buy me dinner before you try to get me drunk." He said with a grin, declining the sip. Sean attempted to steer King towards the galley, which King allowed. He caught Amorru looking back at him a couple times. Interesting, could just be the fact I'm new, but I think I make him jumpy.

Sean displayed the slightest hint of a wobble in his walk. Whether feigned or real, King had no trouble believing that the man drank a bit more than your average person.

"Don't mind the fop! I'm sure miss bobbles an' bows is keen hǎo de hé zhèngquè de taken with you." Sean said with a disarming smile. King wasn't very disarmed, but he didn't let it show. "Professionally speaking of course."

"Oh, of course."

They entered the galley and Sean let his arm drop from around Kings shoulders. King glanced around the room and noticed Charity's absence. He took a step to the left, leaned against a counter near the door, and waited for the discussion that was about to take begin.

"So we're slipping the lockdown, eh?"

Amorru looked back at King with a sneer. "Yes, it would certainly appear that way. Now, I suggest the lot of you either strap in to the chair or otherwise clench up and hold tight, because this bird is flying in 5... 4.... 3.... 2...."

King braced himself as the pilot counted down. He was looking forward to seeing if the cocksure pilot was actually any good at his job. A question that was answered pretty emphatically. The mans cockiness was justified, at least in how skillfully he could fly a starship. Not that King would say anything to stroke the mans ego.

Charity seemed to have been off in her own little world, because she made no attempt to brace herself, or to buckle herself into the other vacant seat. Amorru's generous maneuvering caused her to stumble forward, colliding with King. One arm reflexively snaked around Charity's waist and held on, while his other reached up and took hold of the security netting that covered the bridge's ceiling. "Easy there Cherry, I've got you."

"Jaysus mate. Don't mind me breakfast." Sean said with a nonchalance that didn't quite convince King.

Finally the maneuvering calmed down. Once King was reasonably sure that the mildly insane man at the controls was done tossing them about, he released Charity. "You good?" He said quietly to her.

Sean and Amorru quipped back and forth for a moment, and a few seconds later Artemis's voice filled the bridge. "Everyone alive up there?" Grace gave Amorru and Sean a look of rage that King wondered at. Clearly there was some history there. "Scumbags." Grace said. She turned, gave Charity a look, and stormed off the bridge. Clearly something going on there too. Interesting. Amorru turned his head to watch Grace leave. The look lasted a little long. There were definitely some complicated relationships aboard the Wushu.

A moment later Artemis's voice echoed through the ship wide comms, "more importantly, any glasses survive in the Mess? I don't know about anyone else but I need a drink."

Sean stretched, yawned, and then stood. "Any other smooth and subtle maneuvers we should be prepared for? I need to know if I can lay a drink on the galley table as I promised our new passenger," Not waiting for a reply he turned and slipped past Charity and King off the bridge.

"Well, now ya mention it, I figure I could use a favor and - Hey! Where you off to now?" Rose as well and pushed past Charity and King, pausing to look back at them from the door. "Well, then. Just gonna hang about and enjoy the view, or do you care to join the rest of the riff-raff for a nip or two?"

King looked over at Charity and shrugged. Amorru backed out of the room with an arched eyebrow, pointing a finger back and forth between them. The man continued walking backwards all the way to the base of the stairs before finally turning around and taking the steps two at a time. "Half expected him to walk up the stairs backwards there... He certainly has... character." King said with a chuckle.

He headed up the stairs into the crew quarters area and turned towards the galley. There was a bit of a traffic jam. Sean, Amorru, and Octavia were bunched up in the entryway. King waited patiently, and a few moments later Charity joined him. Amorru turned and gestured to the debutante. "Dear Duchess, do us a favor if you please? Take Miss - uh - our guest to the galley and fetch her some refreshments. Ah, anything but the flapjacks, actually. There you are. Thank you so much. Yes. What a gracious hostess."

After the traffic jam was remedied King headed past Amorru and Sean into the galley. He stayed near the door for the moment, and as luck would have it he overheard Amorru talking to Sean. "Listen... normally I'm not the type to discourage a... chasin' tail on company time... awkward sayin' this - but we've got slightly more pressing matters.... your, ah, skill set should come in quite handy. C'mon... I mean." This was followed by retreating footsteps. Kings head tilted a little to the side, and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. Time to stick my nose into things again.

He casually glanced around the galley, and then walked out into the crew quarters. He made his way out onto the landing, moving as quietly as he could. He caught Amorru's voice again, now coming from up the stairs to the left. Which, if he was remembering the tour correctly, led to the captains quarters. King moved over next to the stairs, careful to make no noise, and to not get within line of sight of the top of the stairs. He listened.

"...do us both some good to know exactly what this job is and maybe share it with the rest of the crew. After all, the sooner we get this done you can go back to doing, well, whatever it is you do and I can get back to doing what I do. Which may or may not include the continued hijacking of this ship." Hijacking? Was the ship stolen? Or was he referring to them leaving without the Captain? There was a pause, and then the sound of... keys? Likely an electric lock on the door. "Bugger all. Suppose it was worth a shot. Fancy a go, ol' son?"

The next voice he heard was Sean's. "Aye, masterful bit o' skullduggery an' breakin' and enterin' ye' were at there, boyo," There was another pause, and then the sound of keys being entered. This time followed by the clack of a lock opening. "After you,"

The two men entered, and the door closed. King casually leaned back against the wall and pondered. He couldn't really fault them for what they were doing. If there was some hidden facet of the job that only the captain knew, then it would definitely be better for the crew to know it too. Especially seeing as the captain was still dirt side. Honestly he probably would do the same, since not knowing a hidden detail of the job could put his protectee in danger.

He briefly considered just heading back to the galley, but almost immediately rejected that course of action. No, it would be better if he stayed here casually leaning against the wall with his amiable expression. He wondered exactly how they'd react when they passed him. The thought made him grin with genuine humor.

King had been busy in the several hours since he and Charity had finished their talk. He'd sent a few messages to people he trusted, asking them to look into old pictures of Charity's mother and to look into insurance policies on her and her mothers jewelry. If they found what he hoped they would, and if they found it easily enough, then he was pretty confident in it being grounds for contract termination. That had only taken a few minutes, but what had occupied the majority of the 6 odd hours was trying to secure some gear.

Charity was legitimately going to hire him on as a bodyguard, assuming he could extricate himself from his contract with Boyer, and that meant he was going to need some stuff. Only basics really. A modular set of body armor, lightweight enough to be worn under clothing. An older model AK style rifle with a short barrel and folding stock, an assortment of attachments, cleaning kit, ammo, and extra magazines. A few changes of clothing, since he was going to be staying a while. And finally a suit appropriate for a fancy party, since the Wushu's crew were on their way to pull a kidnap job, and if King was to do his job of protecting Charity the odds were good that he would have to attend.

Ordinarily it would have taken an hour to collect it all, maybe two at most. However with the terrorist attack and the subsequent lock-down he was forced to rely on third party deliveries. He stood in the open cargo bay, sunglasses on, arms crossed. The very picture of a guard. At his feet sat a garment bag containing a suit in his size on top of a small duffel bag containing his new clothes. Third party numero uno hadn't had any trouble getting through the checkpoints with the clothing. Third party numero dos was bringing the armor and weapons, and they was late.

King shifted and recrossed his arms. Waiting was something he was good at.

A group of security agents ran passed. Kings head tilted a little to the side. A minute or two later a very fit woman with a walk that clearly said Ex-Military strode purposefully up the Wushu's ramp and stopped a few feet in front of King. She had a decent sized wheeled valise in tow.

"Good to see you King. I apologize for the delay, today has been... difficult for business." She said, wearing a tired smile.

King returned her smile, removing his sunglasses and hooking them onto the collar of his shirt. "Ah, no trouble at all Julie. I know how difficult it can be to move stuff like this during a lock-down. Besides, you aren't THAT late." He produced a roll of bills and palmed it to her via a handshake, as he did so she pushed the case closer to him and released it. "And its not like I'm going anywhere before they lift the lock-down anyw-" He was interrupted by Amorru's voice echoing through the ship comms.

"Ladies and gents, this is your handsome and fashionable pilot speaking. We'll be departing Newhall for Bellerophon in T-minus four minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Be prepared for a hasty take off and an even hastier atmo break. Artemis, do us a favor: get the engine hot and give her a boost. Figure we're gonna need all the juice we can get,"

Julie flashed him a crooked smile. King shrugged ruefully.

"Same old King. Guess I have to wait a bit longer for that drink you owe me, eh?" Julie said. King chuckled. "Guess so. One day though." He bent down to pick up the clothing, and grabbed the valise. "Good to see you Julie, you take care of yourself." Julie smiled at him once more. "You too" She said as she turned and jogged away from the ship.

King paused long enough to hit the controls to start the big bay door closing, and then headed up to the crew deck. As he entered the hallway he heard a raised voice coming from down on the bridge. He was pretty sure it belonged to Grace. Sounded like she was cussing someone out. He opened the door to what was now his cabin and placed all his new baggage on the bottom bunk before heading back out into the hallway. He could hear the murmur of other voices coming from the bridge now. Well, might as well go stick my nose into things. He thought to himself, and headed down the stairs.

What he found was Amorru, Charity, Grace, and Sean. He only caught the tail end of what Sean had been saying.

"-more than leavin' mates in the lurch but we had no choice." a pause, and then, "Wasn't jest Amorru's decision to tear out though, was mine too."

King looked around at the four of them, wearing the amiable expression most of them would soon assume was his default. "So we're slipping the lockdown, eh?"