"I don't know what else to tell you.  It was work for them, or be killed.  Ask your boarding party about the ship... we were in no state to fight back.  This was the first attack we've carried out, and you saw how this one turned out.  You ever hear the term, 'an offer you can't refuse', Captain?"  Harper looks increasingly worried, "I had to agree, to save the lives of the people on my crew."

Tylen turned to Yas.

"Do you want to start looking for this 'Bomb', just to see if the story checks out?"

He opened the drawers and carefully went through the assorted items stored, noting with amusement that the Captain really DID sort his underwear by colour.

Turning to Tylen, Yas grinned.

Yas and Tylen continue their search...


Harper is sweating, and his face is pale, as he completes his little tirade.  He winds down, and seems to shrink in on himself, "I take full responsibility for this, Captain.  Put my crew off somewhere... they were following my orders... and turn me in to the Authorities."

“We’ll take this one at a time then shall we,” Jago says, ignoring the other captains plea, “what is your procedure for reporting in? I want dates and times, exact location, approaches, passwords, the works.”

"There are no set dates or times.  We are just supposed to go back when we have something to pass on to them.  If we don't get back in time, then we... don't ever go back.  We're supposed to avoid Choleosti itself.  The system's a binary, with a companion star about five AUs out.  That companion has a planet in close orbit around it.  Just a small rock, too small to even have a real name, they just call it Beta One."

"We're just supposed to jump in and take up position over the rock and wait to be contacted."

Harper starts chewing at his thumbnail.  "We were hit close to the main world, but they told us we had to come back to Beta One every time.  I'm guessing that they have at least two ships in the system... the one that grabbed us, and another at Beta One for the returning ships to meet with."

"If your people are in the computer, they'll have the codes we were given already.  It's not a password, it's a datastring that we're supposed to transmit once we're in place.  Then we'll be sent instructions regarding a meeting."

Tylen looks through the bills,

"Gods! These guys are REALLY operating on a shoestring! I think we may be due a reward from whatever authority moniters Ship safety in this sector just for putting her out of commision!"

He clips the bills back to their board.

"Want to try the rest of the quarters?"

“That’s more like it,” Jago says, “so how long have you been in this system, there have been two ships lost to pirates, and if it’s not you, then perhaps you could at least throw some light on the situation.”

"We arrived this morning.  About fourteen hours ago." a crooked smile, and Harper says, somewhat sourly, "I was actually congratulating myself on finding a target so quickly.  Thought it was so lucky... "

A scowl darkens Jago’s brow as the other captain speaks, and he takes a long pull on his unlit cigar to ensure that he doesn’t lose his temper.

“Where did they place the bomb, how much time is left on it?” he asks eventually in measured tone.

Yas turns to Tylen again. 

"We're conducting a brief search, nothing of interest to report at this itime," she reports back to Profit Margin.

Tylen pats the pocket containing the data crystals.

"I'm just gonna run through the other cabins then we're good to go."

Tylen steps out into the corridor and checks the other cabins.

Shui silently re-enters the cabin - given the intensity of the discussion, it's unlikely anyone noticed she was gone.  She replaces the cooled cup of coffee before Jago with a small nod and smile, then does the same for Captain Harper's tea.  No nod or smile there; the tea might be hot, but the Steward is cold.

She moves away, just outside of Captain Harper's line of sight.  It's instinctual to her - the man is still dangerous, he proves that with every word from his mouth.  In desperation, he was willing to turn to piracy, to kill to save himself.  In desperation, he may be willing to do something equally foolish now.

Harper shakes his head, "If I knew where the bomb is, I wouldn't be in this mess.  I would have had it removed and tossed overboard, then  made sure to stay well away from Choleosti in future."

A shrug, then, "It's the fact that I don't know where it is that's forced me to go on with this.  Even with no money, I'd have kept on working as normal, in the hope of one big score that could have let us sort out the ship and get her back into reasonable shape.  Having a bomb hidden aboard restricted my options."

"As for how long... we were at Choleosti two weeks ago, and were told we had six weeks to grab what we could and report back to get the timer reset.  So four weeks left."

Tylen and Yas continue their search for a while longer. 

Yas' chrono chimes. 

Conrad continues to watch the prisoners, while Saskia monitors the external sensors.  The only thing showing on them is the Ore Hound...

Tylen completed his sweep of the crew quarters and then came back to Yas.

"Nothing to report, although some of them are lousy housekeepers. The state the Ship is in would make searching for a bomb a major undertaking outside of a ship yard, and I don't know if they could sweep it in four weeks. I guess what we do with the hulk is in Jago's hands now."

He slung his carbine in a more comfortable position, but still kept both his hands on the weapon.

"Time to go? Or is there anything else you want to check?"

Yas met Tylen on his way back to her.

"Nothing of interest from a casual search, and more than that would be fruitless with only two of us.  We're coming back in with all logs and data downloaded," she reports back to Profit Margin.  "Let me know if you want me to... talk... to our guests, boss," she adds, sounding completely serious, although everyone on Profit Margin fully knows she is utterly opposed to such methods and more likely to shoot anyone trying to do it than stand by and let prisoners be mistreated.

Beyond mumbling about her years in service she has always refused to say more about it than making it clear she is utterly opposed to it.  Pretending is a completely other thing, though.

Tylen agrees with a nod and follows Yas back to the Bridge, and then on to the Profit Margin. He makes no comment as to Yas's hinting at interrogation of the prisoners, although he is fairly sure she is bluffing....fairly sure.

Yas and Tylen make their way back across the spinning hull of Harper's Dream.  Part way across there is a brief flash from far overhead, as Jockram makes another minor course correction, adjusting for the slowing rotation of the erstwhile pirate vessel.

In Profit Margin's hold, Conrad gives them a friendly wave as they enter, then raises the ramp.  The characteristic squeal of the hinges vibrates up through their boots, sounding much quieter than usual, but somehow comforting to those who've been with the ship for a while.


Harper spreads his arms, and his voice develops a pleading tone, as he waits for Jago to speak to him, "That's all true.  Every word of it."

Shui taps her finger on her lips.  Once.  Then she nods.  "Captain Lanza, may I speak with you a moment?"  She turns her eyes on the other Captain for a heartbeat or two, then glances out into the other room.  Perhaps they could ensconce him there for a moment, in sight but outside of easy hearing for a whisper or three.

“OK captain, but don’t expect a lot of sympathy on a boat you just tried to destroy, would you wait out there a minuet please.”

"Did you get that data bas Yasmin?" he asks over the comms.

“Whats on your mind Shuie?” Jago smiles, "well done by the way, I wasn't sure how you'd react to a combat situation, you did good."

"Every last bit, boss.  They didn't bother putting in any safety at all, which fits the state of the ship I might add.  A sorry sight," Yas replies to Jago and grins over at Tylen, waves to Conrad and the proceeds through the bay so that she can speak directly to Jago, although she stops near Conrad for a moment.

"None dead?  They must be behaving then, eh?" she asks over the open channel, continuing the act of the hard-case Marine that would have no issues with spacing the prisoners or worse.

"Coming you way, boss.  Trigger, help Conrad a bit, will you?  Just don't shoot without me saying so," she continues, using the chance to both joke with Tylen again and to further still come across as a mean lean fighting machine.

Unless stopped she will then proceed towards Jago, waiting for any answers or questions from Conrad or Tylen first.

"Well, now, Yasmine.  Mus' admit that they's been so quiet that I did consider shootin' one of 'em, jus' a li'l' bit, to see if I could liven the rest up some." Conrad replies, his face deadpan, and his voice deadly serious.

"Then I r'membered how much paperwork I'd have to do, jus' to get fresh ammo outta Jago, so I figured it was prob'ly best not to."

"Las' I heard, Jago's busy tort - uh - interviewin' their skipper."

"Hmm, yes.  Maybe you could use your blade instead.  A slow leak could be interesting," Yas replies in a similar deadpan manner, although she adds a bleak grin and makes a motion as if puncturing something with a blade, followed by a hiss she makes as if of leaking air.

"What!?  He started without me again?  By the Fiery Forek Nebula, he promised he wouldn't after last time!  I'd better get going then," she says, waves to Conrad again and moves towards the exit in a hurry.

"Thank you, Captain," Shui replies, pleased with the compliment.  She detests violence, hates killing, but that doesn't mean she's going to shirk at her work.  No, it's all the more reason to work that much harder, to ensure that everything functions as smoothly as possible.  Fewer people injured, that way.  Fewer killed, possibly.

She eyes the other Captain as he steps out, carefully keeping herself out of his reach.  He's broken, Shui thinks, but there's no sense in being foolish.  The man remains what he is.  Once he is just out of whisper-earshot, she begins her explanation to the Captain, all the while keeping an eye upon their guest.

"Captain Lanza, I might have mentioned this before.  Please forgive me if I have.  I have taken passage and work on many ships, to many worlds.  And I have heard of such situations before.  Rumors, of course, and not of this specific circumstance, but there will always be those who force others to do their dirty work for them."  Another glance at the 'pirate'.  "Of course, this does not remove culpability for the actions of those who...'knuckle under', I believe is the phrase."

She shifts slightly, and her lips thin.  Shui's heartrate increases as her tension rises; she doesn't like talking about this, and wonders how to get through it without doing something she will regret.  "I have a great deal of experience dealing with people, Captain Lanza," she begins slowly, feeling her way through this minefield.  "As a Ship's Doctor, for example.  I have to trust my instincts - instincts not based on nebulous hunches, but on observation of body language, intonation, stress tell-tales, and so forth.  My analysis of our guest and his crew leads me to the conclusion that he is quite frightened and, more importantly, speaking the truth."

Tylen smiles mirthlessly at the Banter between Conrad and Yas. He taps his Carbine knowingly at Dietz's ammo joke.

"Well we have no problem now Amigo, this thing charges for free, as long as Sas keeps the engine running."

He covers the dispirited prisoners,

"And the bonus is they don't bleed on the carpet so Shui Tiesi won't have nothing to complain about."