Murillo watches Aersten and Azadi's interaction, sneering in pleasure at the instant friction between them. Oh, he could be very useful indeed! The inquisitor walks over to the new officer after the Master Gunner walks away.
"I see you've met Freeman. He's a slug - slippery, spineless, and averse to salt. I'd like to kill him myself, except he's annoyingly skilled at repairs.
"But I like your attitude, Vidsun. I'm a man who knows how to make others work, and you seem similarly disposed. Consider yourself Night Talon's bo'sun until myself or the Captain tells you otherwise. Keep the crew on task - Azadi included. The man is also an officer, but only barely either one."
He leans forward and squints into the muscle-heavy man's eyes. "You get the evening shift; relieve me at twilight. You're to make sure those on watch are watching more than their dice, yourself included." The first mate glances back as he begins to walk away. "Oh, and don't worry about any of this," he motions to Azadi's unfinished repairs, "likely he'd just rip out your work and start over anyway."
*
Murillo proceeds to stalk the ship in search of slackers; when he comes across Azadi, he gives the man a snarl. "Trying to trick the new man into doing your job for you, Freeman? I'll have none of it! If we wanted shoddy repair work we'd strike your name from the charter; but seeing how that has happened yet, how about you get to it? Carver might've been too busy dreaming of introducing men to their own innards to bother keeping anyone in line, but I'm not.
"I don't dream, Freeman. I do."
”The kid said he was sent to work...” the master carpenter protests before catching sight of just how deathly serious the new first mate was. Snapping to, he tugs his hat in a quick salute, with a ”yessir,” then scurries off to get back to work.
Aersten had time for only a few swings of the hammer before the chaplain came over. He was in a foul mood, and it still showed in the scowl on his face.
However, the anger moderated as he listened to Murillo, leaving just a serious frown of deep thought. "I didn't go over there lookin' for that, but I probably could've handled it better."
"Thanks for the opportunity, sir. I'll see it done." Noting Murillo's comment about the woodwork, Aersten calmly puts the hammer down, then sets off to attend to his new duties.
"Until twilight, sir."
Letting herself in the house Aerin waits as Eshmun is done with his current patient. "Well Eshmun it's time for me to say goodbye. I found a ship to sail on." She holds a hand up to stop his comment. "I know, I promised to always help you after what you did for me a few weeks ago but you understand why I have to get out of here. I'm still trying to help you though. I've heard that they're looking for a physician, thought that maybe you'd like to work for someone who can pay what you're worth."
She pauses for a moment to give him time to think about the offer. "Well I am going to pack my things and claim a berth on the ship, it's called The Night Talon by the way. If you want to join me I'll introduce you to the Captain, a reasonable lass by the name of Hedy, which seems to be a diminutive of Hedwig, I don't recognize the ship itself but I'm fairly certain she wasn't a captain a year ago. Hope to see you there." With that she turns to leave, allowing the Halfling time to think about his choice.
After eating and putting her few belongings away she is happy to see Eshmun walking toward the ship. Intercepting him near the gangplank she goes to meet him and bring him on board. "So glad you decided to give this a try, as promised I'll introduce you and from there you're on your own." So said, so done, she takes him to Hedy's quarters, knocks on the door and waits for it to open. "Evening ma'am, hope it isn't to late to introduce you to someone." She pulls Eshmun in front of her to make sure he doesn't get overlooked. "This is Eshmun, he was Ship's Doctor for my father. He's been keeping his skills up by treating folks in the Beggarbriar District. But he is interested in the position of Ship's Doctor if it's still open. " With that she leaves them alone allowing Eshmun to his own merit.
After seeing Ronnie is still on duty, Saph asks to speak to Hedy in private.
“It’s one of those situations where I feel like… I look biased if I pick Ronnie, but even with our date less than an hour away, she’s on-task. And she always asks me not to give her special treatment, and… we haven’t… y’know? She wants us to keep that part of our life off the ship.
“So is it really fair if I pick someone else just to appear un-biased, when she’s been going out of her way to be fair? That would mean that, just for having feelings for me, I deny her a promotion so *I* won’t look bad. I’m sure you agree that’s stupid.
“I’m recommending Ronnie Pfifer. If you worry it’s a biased choice, I understand… but she’s my best in terms of who I trust to be fair to the crew. So it would be unfair to her and myself—and to you—to pick someone else. Ronnie is the best for the job, and to recommend another to cover my ass is dishonest.”
She adds, “Just like it would be dishonest to tell you I’m glad I couldn’t find a reason to choose another. Captain.”
Assuming she was able to blurt all that, Saph finally lets Hedy actually get a word in.
In the absence of something specific to do before the start of his shift, Aersten will basically roam the Night Talon's deck. The idea is to get a feel for the ship, what you can see from where, how the rigging is laid out, who's doing what, does anyone look like trouble, does anyone need a hand, anything he can pick up to make his job manageable.
Eshmun lifts up the parcel he's been carrying, which Aerin assumed contained his clothing and personal effects, and he unwraps it to reveal a beautifully crafted leather tricorne. "This was her father's hat," he explains, "its magic will benefit any ship, but it only works if its worn by the captain. So wear it well, ma'am, and may the Night Talon find nothing but success. I would ask though, that if you do part ways one day, you please give it back to Miss Aerin. I won't be there to make you--and I wouldn't have any way to make you if I were--but sending her on her way without it seems like the sort of thing that may call down curses on a ship..."
Handing the hat off to the captain, he turns and takes the sorcerer's hand. "Good fortune, Miss Aerin," he says, giving her hand a little squeeze, "I'll see you next time the Night Talon glides into Port Peril to empty her hold of treasures."
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"...this is a game about pirates getting treasure, not a brass-tacks naval simulator..."
Aersten listens intently as Leif details the way things have been running up to this point on the ship. "Tak, Master Leif. I appreciate the rundown. That is a good suggestion about the new crew; I will adjust the roster accordingly, and make sure the more experienced hands are a good example." He makes a note to himself to meet with the old crew, get them to help train up the newer ones.
Assuming days 1-2 are flops, it seems that, after the date all goes very well. Saph looks for info that will align with her agenda, yet keep the bloodthirsty crew satisfied.
•
#1. Are there other lady captains out there? Saph would hope to be on good terms, as—not that she’d blurt this publicly—she and Hedy were both forced into a certain life simply because of their gender. The last thing Saph wants is to murder women over gold when they could form a sort of sisterhood.
If she learns of this on one day, she’ll try meeting a lady captain the next day. (So if she learns of lady Cap’n day 3, apply the day 4 roll to meeting her. If she learns of her day 4, please apply day 5’s roll…)
•
#2. Are there slave ships? Saph is sure that Hedy agrees a slave ship is a deserving target. Saph personally would be in it for rescuing the slaves, but the slave drivers would undoubtedly deserve a bloody end. (Hopefully, any lady captain she learns of won’t be captain of a slave ship.)
•
#3. What about the sunken treasure? The crew isn’t interested, but why not get more info? Saph and Hedy can both survive underwater. Who better to go after sunken treasure!
•
Any days left can go to recruiting the healer and making crew helpful.
"Master Eshmun!" Hedy rises from her charts in surprise, giving the little man a deep curtsey of respect. Anyone down and near gutted knew of the halfling clinic, and his willingness to see to your wounds no matter who did the gutting. Neutral ground he was in a city of backstabbers.
Her mouth dropped open at the suggestion he was joining them, but thankfully only for a moment. Slack-jawed captains are rarely thought highly of.
"I'll wear it with honor and as long as I am alive will make sure Aerin receives it if we part ways." she pledges, meaning every syllable.
She leads you off the ship, up the dock, and around a corner towards a little shop off the beaten path. "You do look beautiful in that dress," she tells you, "but I know that Hedy and Vadoma put it together for you, which is so sweet, and really impressive, but then I was thinking about your story and... well, it occurred to me that you've probably never owned a real dress before much less been able to go dress shopping, and I thought, as beautiful as you are, you should have a chance to try things on and see all the options and feel like a princess for a little while..."
As she reaches out and opens the door, you see from the sign hanging above it that she's taken you to a seamstress. "If you don't like it we don't have to stay long, but I heard she does dresses for Free Captains and fancy prostitutes, and actually this is where I got my dress and she has so much pretty stuff... will you try some of it on for me?" Looking past her you can see dozens of dresses in different colors and styles hanging from rails around the walls and several more displayed on wooden forms. "Welcome," an elven woman greets you as she walk towards the door to meet you, "how can I help you this evening." Ronnie doesn't answer but looks intently at your face to see how you react.
You learn that female free captains are certainly a minority, but by no means rare. The Siren (the ship that recently won the Free Captain's Regatta) has not only a female captain, but all of her officers are women. Here in Port Peril the free captain Tessa Fairwind has amassed a great deal of respect and support and is expected by many to be the next Hurricane King (the ruler of the Shackles).
You fail to find a way to meet Captain Fairwind (possibly because you're distracted over the impending date).
You learn that slavery is legal in the Shackles and practiced by many vessels, even when that's not their primary business. When pirates take another ship, it's fairly common to sell whatever survivors don't join the crew into slavery; and, when merchants defeat attacking pirates they often sell the surviving buccaneers into slavery. There are also devoted slaving ships that travel through the shackles moving human cargo from one region to another.
You discover that Felnas Seaborn, the handsome elven free captain whose ship went down with a full hold, has been painfully tight-lipped about where the wreck is. You do, however, learn that the ship he arrived in Port Peril on sailed out of Oyster Cay (a settlement Northeast of here, on the mainland near the Sodden Lands), and rumor has it that he arrived there with a handful of his crew on a ship's boat .
You hear word that there's an unusual man by the name of Sylik Krane who's been healing wounded sailors for drinks at a bar down on the south side of the docks. Apparently, he was kicked off his last ship after summoning an errant lightning bolt that took out the foremast.
You track down Sylik Krane, a not quite human-looking man whose windswept blue hair makes you feel an odd sense of kinship towards him. After talking with him about the Night Talon and the possibility of returning to sea, he gladly accepts the opportunity to meet with Captain Bogg about joining the crew.
Hedy was finishing a late lunch of a flaky fish in a cream sauce and a nice crusty bread slathered in butter. "Whell, hello to you." she looks up in interest at the newcomer "May I ask why my master of arms is presenting you to me on this fine afternoon?"
”Afternoon, Cap’n,” the man answers reaching up to tug a salute on a hat he discovers he’s not wearing, ”your, uh, master of arms is presenting me to you this fine afternoon because I am a healer in search of a ship and you, she says, are Captain of a ship in search of a healer.”
”Ma’am.”
Strong women... also... cry. Strong... women... also cry.
“Oh, wow! I haven’t had a dress at all since I was a little girl, and that was just a black and white maid uniform.” She manages to resist both bursting into tears and kissing Ronnie passionately. A gentle squeeze of the hand and a warm smile will do for now.
To the elven women, she says, “I’m here with Ronnie, your satisfied customer. I would like to be a satisfied customer too. Ronnie and I are headed to the Taldan Bakery, so I’d like something appropriately elegant. Something that, when Ronnie and I step through the door, just screams she and I are equals. Not that screaming is elegant, but you get the idea.” Saph is obviously excited about the dress, but she manages to stop chattering endlessly. “The name’s Sapphire by the way.”
Day 5- You hear word that there's an unusual man by the name of Sylik Krane who's been healing wounded sailors for drinks at a bar down on the south side of the docks. Apparently, he was kicked off his last ship after summoning an errant lightning bolt that took out the foremast.
Day 6- You track down Sylik Krane, a not quite human-looking man whose windswept blue hair makes you feel an odd sense of kinship towards him. After talking with him about the Night Talon and the possibility of returning to sea, he gladly accepts the opportunity to meet with Captain Bogg about joining the crew.
"An errant lightning bolt? Sounds like an interesting sorry, Master Krane. Please regal us." she gestures to the other chair in the room and settles in for the tale, with a twinkle in her eye,
Ronnie is beaming at your reaction, and she informs the elf, ”neither of us know very much about dresses... could you make some suggestions, please.”
”I’d be delighted,” she replies, stepping back and giving Saph an appraising look. After a moment she offers, ”Your skin tone is lovely, but rather uncommon... I’d suggest one of two approaches. If you’re looking for subtle elegance, stick to neutral colors—like white or gray—and tones that are in the same color family as your skin, but different enough that it doesn’t look like you’re trying to match it—pale blues, gentle greens, soft purples. Now, if you’re trying to make a statement, on the other hand, I’d suggest going for dramatic contrast and for you that’s really orange, although, remember, the orange family isn’t all bright, it also includes browns and tans. Your own color is so strong that, in either case, I’d suggest choosing a subtler tone so that it doesn’t compete with your natural beauty. So, what would you like to try on: something subtle, or something that makes a statement?”
Sylik frowns and his shoulders slump slightly at the captain’s question. ”Well, ma’am, I’m afraid there isn’t all that much to tell,” he answers with obvious discomfort, ”I only recently learned to evoke a lightning bolt and the first time I ever did it—I’m principally a healer, as was mentioned, so I don’t often have reason to involve myself with lightning bolts and the like—but, the first time I used the spell was while our ship was under attack from a band of grindylow, and I killed nearly a dozen of them, but I also hit the foremast... which had been previously damaged... and it came down. We were stuck there for several days before we had it fixed well enough to limp into port. The bolt did scare off the few grindylow it didn’t kill though, in my defense.” His story done, he looks expectantly, though not particularly hopefully, at the captain.
She raises up her gloves as she speaks.
The gloves send additional words to Anduviel. Which reminds me, I’d like to purchase some lingerie, if you sell that as well. Is there a way to get that to me in secret, like when I try on the dress?
As usual, Hedy listens patiently. It is a skill that was beaten into her over decades and one she had decided to not abandon when she was freed. Unlike Not Killing people who pissed her off, only giving people what they wanted, acting like a meek kitten, so on. Those were tossed.
"Ronnie is a fine suggestion, Sapphire. Eager, smart, with ever-increasing confidence. I am not fully ready to make this decision, but I thank you for the thought you put into it." her eyes hold the blue woman, making sure she understands she's been heard and that she's dismissed now.
Later in the week, as things are being settled and all are about ready to get rid of the stability of land under their toes, she'll sit with Murillo in her cabin. "Cabin boy... or girl. Any thoughts? Sapphire has put forth her lass, Ronnie. Which is a fine option. Jim is also a good one, though the title would probably rankle him. What are your thoughts?"
"Any decisions on our next venture?"
Day 8 (rolled 23) and Day 9 (rolled 27) could easily be spent on this. Saph wants to know the slave trade well. If day 7 got the info she was looking for…
• Day 8: Any slavers docked here now? What’s the name of his ship?
• Day 9: Would the Siren’s Master at Arms meet her? How does Fairwind feel about the slave trade?
To the question of where to next, she gives an eager not so nice smile. "We're going hunting. No one can be called proper pirates if all we do is hunt for treasure. So no more of that for now. We go in the lanes looking for a fat merchant to gut. As soon as the last of the cargo is sold we set sail."
Anduviel chuckles slightly also, and says, ”I don’t know, it sounds to me like you’re learning some subtlety. One of each sound like an excellent place to start though. Sapphire, why don’t you head behind that screen and remove your dress and I’ll be there in a moment with something to put on.”
”What do we need a screen for,” Ronnie teases with a smirk, ”it’s just us girls here...”
The elf shuts her down quickly though saying simply, ”patience will be rewarded, Ronnie. Dresses are always their most beautiful when they’re all laced up.” Then she arrives behind the screen with: a lilac strapless satin dress in a similar shape to Ronnie’s; a shimmering orangey gold silk dress that covers the shoulders, with a neckline that dips down fairly low and a narrow, longer skirt that’s slit well up both sides; and, a pair of delicate lace undergarments hidden between them. ”Which one shall we start with?”
"Those of you who don’t know, I'm Aersten Vidsun, and I am your new bosun. I'm one of several new faces around here, including some up on the lines with you. Now, you've all served here a while, and you all know that our Captain, and even more so, her First Mate, have a... certain standard they want to see from our work. What I need you to do is make sure the new arrivals meet that standard. I’m gonna be shifting the duty rosters around some, and make the work details are a mix of old hands and new. You are to make sure that the new folks come up to speed, and that they don’t drag the rest of us down. If there is a problem, you bring it to me."
"We got this?"
If there’s a mirror, she checks herself out in the lacy little bikini thing. It’s like wearing a flower!
“Maybe I’ll wear the gold tonight, and lilac in the morning. So I guess that means I try on the lilac first.”
And just for good measure, Aersten goes up into the rigging to have this conversation, letting the men see that even in armor, he's not some clod that can't make his way.
"Well those things are nasty little things." Hedy nods, accepting the answer. She'll ask various other questions, and request he checks out a couple of her crew who have been complaining about rashes as a test. Then he is hired.
The seamstress helps you slip into the strapless lilac dress and lace it up. At first it seems impossible that it would stay up on its own, let alone support your chest at all, but as she shows you how to tighten and tie the laces you feel the boning of the bodice press against your skin and lock in place. The soft purple color against the rich blue of your skin is quite lovely, and it picks up the pink in your gloves as if they were made to go together.
When you, nervously, step out from behind the screen Ronnie's eyes go wide as they take you in and all she can manage to say is, "wow..."
The test complete, the new ship's healer thanks you; then, he and his parrot head off to get settled into their new quarters.
“I don’t wanna rush tonight. Oh, I’m eager. You’re not mistaken. But there’s something about the nervous feeling that I like… and after tonight, I won’t have this kinda nervous again… will I?”
Outside the dressing room, Saph beams at Ronnie’s reaction. “Looks like I won’t be wearing red tonight. But there’s still the question of wearing gold.”
Back to the dressing room!
When Saph is dismissed, Hedy gets the feeling Saph is grateful to be heard and that Ronnie is unaware of this meeting. (Could be the gloves.)
* * *
When the talk of a ‘test’ comes up, Saph says, “I better get ready for my shore leave. Best of luck, Doctor.” She salutes Hedy on her way out, then gives a friendly wave…
The last thing I want on my mind tonight is the sight of dangling infections. Oh, I hope they don’t serve cucumbers at the restaurant. Ask me later, if you’re curious! (Definitely the gloves.)
She smiles as you return, beaming, to the area behind the screen and helps you get out of the first dress. As you begin putting on the second dress, you're immediately struck by the dazzling contrast between the shiny gold and your deep blue skin. Its a little disappointing, then, when Anduviel takes a step back and scrunches her face in thought. "The gold is stunning on you," she remarks, "if you ever want every eye in the room to be on you, this is your color... but... it doesn't work with those gloves. You could go without them if you want but I'm guessing, since you never took them off at all when you removed all of your other clothes, that you'd prefer to wear them?"
"I have an idea... it's a little risque for the bakery but, given your red dress, I think you might be able to pull it off... you get out of this one and I'll be right back." She leaves you to undress and returns a few moments later with a new dress. Its glossy light brown silk is much less ostentatious than the gold, but the style more than makes up for it, with sides that are open from the arm nearly down to the waist and a neckline that plunges so far down in front that your navel may be visible; the skirt hangs all the way down to your shins, but a slit runs up the right leg well up onto your thigh. "Oh, that's so much better with the pink," the elf says with a smile, "shall we see what Ronnie thinks?"
"Yes, please," the other woman calls out. When you emerge this time she is completely speechless, though her cheeks and her chest begin to redden.
She really appreciates the elf woman’s advice…
When she sees Ronnie’s reaction, she says, “That’s obviously a yes to the dress. So which will it be tonight?”
When Saph is back in the dressing room, to gather the lilac dress even if not to change into it (depending on Ronnie’s choice), she asks the price. If it’s reasonable*, she asks the price of all three dresses plus lingerie.
If she buys all three, she’ll show Ronnie the gold, but with her gloves off.
Hedy summons Ronnie to her cabin and gets to the point rather after simple niceties. "You have been recommended for the open junior officer slot. Most commonly called cabin girl, the position would make you my aid. Running errands, being my voice, helping me keep order in the chaos. Plenty of normal sailing tasks, as well as aiding the other officers in their dailies. It does keep one off of bilge duty, which is the greatest perk. That and greater pay." she leans back folding her hands, and then asks "What do you say?"
When you ask Ronnie which dress you should wear tonight, her adorable smirk slowly returns to her flushed face and she stammers, "uh, this one... definitely this one..." Before you even have a chance to step back behind the screen, she steps forward and places her hands on the exposed skin of your sides and leans in to plant a soft, lingering kiss on your lips.
Anduviel informs you that despite her quality and reputation, her prices are quite competitive with other shops. The lilac and light brown dresses are each 8 gold, the golden dress is 12 gold, and the lacy undergarments are 2 gold.
She looks down at the ground for a moment then shakes her head. "Ma'am, may I have a frank conversation with you that won't leave this room at all?"
Her cheeks are flush when she returns to the dressing room to get the other dress. “Oh, wow, I’m not so sure I do know my body better than you do. I mean… even the red dress didn’t……… wow.”
Saph removes four platinum coins from her purse. “This probably isn’t a tipping industry, but I… I’ve never been to a place like this before, and your advice, not just on the dresses… yeah. Thank you.”
If Anduviel says the tip is too much, Saph will just ask her to slip an additional 2g set of lingerie into the bag.
Once the items are paid for, Saph proudly walks about with Ronnie’s arm locked in hers, and in her hand—a shopping bag!
"Yes, you may." she makes a gesture to have the woman sit, and pours her some tea, if nothing else but to hide her interest.
"I'm glad to have been of help," Anduviel replies with a warm smile. "And thank you for your generosity," she adds, slipping an extra set of lingerie into your bag.
Ronnie can't stop stealing glances at you as the two of you make your way through the city towards the bakery. She's not alone either- you can't remember this many people looking at you since you were in the arena in front of a full crowd. The two of you do receive more than a couple cat calls before you make it far enough from the docks to be free of such trouble, but the only man foolish enough to really try anything is greeted with Ronnie's slipper-shoe to his groin before he can even finish the indecent thing he was trying to say.
True to Annie's word, you smell the incredible aroma of baking pastries before you can see the bakery. As she warned you, the outside is truly unremarkable and Ronnie seems a little bit surprised that you've both gotten dressed up for such a place. Walking in, however, is a completely different surprise. A number of small tables are draped in white linens and surrounded by an eclectic mix of antique chairs. Each table is laid out with a matched set of fancy china and silverware, but the sets are different from table to table. In the center of each is a vase with flowers and a candle to provide low, warm light. A teenage girl in a simple, light blue dress smiles and welcomes you as you enter, then leads you to table for two off in one corner. Once you're seated, she asks "what can I get for you two?"
Saph replies, “I was thinking to look at the wine list, but a kindly seamstress advised me not to dull my wits tonight. So might we also consider your finest teas? Aside from that, we’d like to look over the menu while resisting the urge to fill up on your famously aromatic bread.” As the waitress gathers both the wine list and the choices of tea, Saph lets Ronnie look on with her at the menu. “What looks good to you, Ronnie?”
"I'm flattered, Captain, truly," she explains, "but I think I can guess pretty easily who suggested me..."
"Saph is beautiful, and kind, and so sweet... we had the most amazing night together the other night..." her mind clearly wanders for a moment and her cheeks begin to redden a little before she snaps back to the present and continues, "but I told her we can't do stuff like this... if I get this promotion right after we... well, right after we made love, then everyone on board is going to know I got it for bedding her. Even if you and her and every other officer swears it isn't so, that's still what the whole ship will think."
"If she was just a notch on my belt, I'd take it gladly, and when the crew gave me sh!t I'd just tell them they were jealous that they couldn't bed an officer so well that they got promoted for it, but... well, if you'll pardon my softness, ma'am, I think I maybe have real feelings for her... and she seems to have them for me too... I think me becoming an officer, at least right now, would complicate that..."
She takes another sip of her tea before sighing and concluding, "I guess what I'm saying, ma'am, is that I would rather be a raider and free to be Saph's lover than be an officer whose relationship is tangled up in ship politics."
"Your first time, huh? Well, here's a list of beverages," the young woman answers handing you a sheet of parchment, "the wines are at the top here, and those are hot cacao and coffee drinks below there; on the back you'll find the tea list, by region, and at the bottom a few fruit juices. Unfortunately, our menu changes everyday depending on what's fresh in the market, so we don't have anything printed for you to look at... almost nobody orders à la carte because of that. We have options to just order dinner, a light dinner, or a feast and we'll put together your courses from what's made today; that's what most people do. If you do want to order à la carte, I could start listing things that are prepared, or you could give me an idea of what you like and I could tell you what we have along those lines?"
Ronnie leans in until your shoulders and upper arms are pressed together as you share the drink menu. "I don't even know what half of these things are..." she quietly confesses, "maybe we should just get the meals that they put together for us, and ask her to suggest drinks?"
"Hmmm... love over ambition." Hedy gives a wistful smile "It is your choice, and I respect your wishes." she sighs, leaning back and sipping her tea "Well, if we ever have another opening And you continue to impress, we can talk again."
Saph replies to Ronnie, “A saffron tea would be appropriate, but…” She goes on, to the waitress, “…but as you say, it is my first time. So let’s have an extravagant feast for two, and 遠東最好的茶…”
She finger-waves the translation, the finest tea from the Far East, then continues to speak of other areas in their native languages while using her gloves to translate to the waitress.
In Polyglot, <or the most passionate fruit juices of the tropics,> in Skald, <or the most delectable hot cacao outta the Great White North…> She goes on, as long as there’s an area on the beverage list from a place whose worldly language she knows, finishing with <or whatever divine beverage you recommend> in Celestial.
She hasn’t told Ronnie what her gloves do yet, as the mystery of how the waitress understands her is part of the fun, so she hopes.
She enjoys the warmth of Ronnie’s flesh against hers. Saph was not expecting this gentleness. Kicking that guy in the balls, on the other hand… that was beautiful!
”Thank you, ma’am,” Ronnie replies downing most of the rest of her tea. ”And, ma’am... I know I’m not an officer, but for whatever it might be worth, I think the thing that’d be best for morale would be for you to promote someone who was with you already when you sailed into Rickety’s. It shows everyone you reward loyalty.”
Rising from her chair, she gives a quick salute and waits to be dismissed.
When you offer Jim the promotion he smiles and answers, ”You know how much I enjoy meeting your needs, captain.”
Growing suddenly serious he adds, ”you also know I’m trying to keep a low profile out here, so I wouldn’t be able to be with you when you meet with important people, or anyone who could recognize me, but if you don’t mind that condition, I’d be honored to serve you however you like.”
The young waitress on the other hand, seems not to need any translation as you bounce through languages. After your date gets a chance to answer you, the waitress offers, ”I think I got all of that... but, if you trust me, I can choose a pairing for each course and have them brought with your food? Very little alcohol, of course, since you were advised to keep your wits. How does that sound?”
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A few days in, he gathers them all up for a brief talk.
"I'm gonna keep this short. I ain't the type for givin' speeches and I figure none of you are the type for hearin' them. The thought flashes through his mind that if Mother heard him talking like this, she'd be mortified. Well, I'm here and she's not.
"I don't expect the Night Talon t'be the embodiment of naval precision or some damn thing, okay? This ain't the Chelish Navy."
"But what I do expect, people, is that when you're on duty, you do your job, and you pay attention. If you're standing watch, you're standing watch, NOT sneaking off to a corner for a nap, or a game of dice."
"Pick a reason to give a damn how you do your job. Because the life we've chosen says that sometimes we'll fight for our livelihood, and sometimes we'll fight for our lives. And in a fight, more often'n not, it's the guy who gives more of a damn that'll come out on top."
Saph turns to Ronnie, “Notice the clientele? I was thinking of our first date—I mean the plan to get men to start something so we could fight ’em. I picked this place so there wouldn’t be any temptation.”
She gives Ronnie’s hand a squeeze.
“Not to fight, anyway.”
Hedy laughed, a low melodious one colored in memory "Oh the things you can do with..." she stopped, giving a smile and shaking her head "But no, my stance on sleeping with Any crew members stands. At least until we are a seasoned ship."
At his acceptance, Hedy seems relieved "Terms accepted. Since I doubt you want the esteemed title of Cabin Boy, I thought we'd shift to Concierge. It's a froo froo term for an assistant that helps keeps everything moving along, one in retrospect you might already be familiar with."