Scared of something. . .smile like the crack of dawn. The storm. Like you said. The Maelstrom...

Shen Jiutai sits on the catwalk, watching Rae work her biceps.

Gabriel Keats watches as well. He seems vaugely lost in thought.

Rae Overholt sits there, doing mindless curl after curl trying to drown out all the thoughts going through her head. She glances up at Gabe and gives him a half smile, not quite ready to be all cuddly yet.

Rae: So, Whats on your mind Gabe?

Xiao Li Marshall deciding that their pursuers are most likely long gone, hits the autopilot and heads for the cargo bay.

Shen Jiutai heads towards the sickbay to look at the sleeping guest.

Gabriel Keats: "Bad feeling... Ain't like I've never had one before."

Rae: You always have a bad feelin'. Why you got one this time?

Gabriel Keats: "Hell if I know."

Rae: You wanna see if that girl knows why you have one when she wakes up?

Gabriel Keats: "Spect she's got somethin' t'do with it. S'an awful lot've trouble for one girl."

Xiao Li Marshall: Wei. Any change in our sleepin' beauty yet?

Rae: Not yet.

Shen Jiutai grunts from the sickbay, "Still out."

Rae: I'm guessing she's goin to bring us quite a bit of trouble.

Xiao Li Marshall leans heavily on the catwalk railing. "An' that's different from our normal state of affairs how, exactly?

Li Mei nods, "That seems to be a pattern around here"

Gabriel Keats: "This time maybe we see it comin'? Who the ruttin' hell knows..."

Rae: Well, you folks'd be awful bored if things started runnin' smooth.

Gabriel Keats: "I do believe you're right."

Li Mei raises her eyebrows, "No .. I don't think I would."

Rae Overholt grins at Li, "GIve it time."

Shen Jiutai goes into the sickbay to get a closer look at their guest.

Xiao Li Marshall: Bored, maybe, but at least we'd get PAID once in a while.

Rae: Yeah, that part aint so shiny.

Li Mei shrugs, "Well Paquin was at least profitable for me."

Rae: Let's all go gander at her huh? Atleast it'll be funny to watch her have that "AH" minute when she wakes with us all starin'.

Gabriel Keats: "Maybe we'd have employers that weren't qingwa cao de liumang..."

Shen Jiutai moves around the unconscious girl, looking closely at her.

Li Mei follows the others into the sick bay

Gabriel Keats looks at Li with a courteous smile. "Same here." He heads towards the sickbay.

Xiao Li Marshall hangs back, watching over everyone's shoulders from outside the medbay.

Rae: Any markins on her?

Gabriel Keats tilts his head as though listening to something.

Shen Jiutai scans her face, then lifts her right hand, looking for marks or rings.

Gabriel Keats: "Glad I'm not her..."

Sean M. fusses in the corner, "And just what are you doing?"

Shen Jiutai looks up sheepishly, "Uh, nothin', just looking for..." her voice trails off as she lifts her left hand, turinig the fore-arm towards her.

Rae: What? What is it?

Xiao Li Marshall goes pale.

Gabriel Keats: "Watchin' her. Take it steady doc. Don't blow anything up."

Shen Jiutai goes quiet and places the girl's hand back, then 'shhhhushes' the others as she leaves the Med bay.

Rae Overholt waits, arms crossed.

SeanM "haurramps" and fusses with his charge as he watches Shen leave.

Gabriel Keats: "Girl's right scared..."

Rae: Imagine she should be, someone tried to kill her.

Shen Jiutai gestures to the girl and nods towards Gabe, "Not only that... she's a Dragon."

Rae: SHE is a dragon?

Gabriel Keats: "And so. . .and forgive me if I'm oversteppin' my bounds. . .but why in the ruttin' HELL is she on the ship?"

Rae: Shoulda left her pigu.

Gabriel Keats: "Hm...s'not what she's scared of, though. "

Rae: Well, that's odd then. It's what I'd have been scared of.

Shen Jiutai: Well, the mark on her arm... shows she's a dragon lord, or I guess at least the child of one.

Rae: At her age, lets hope its child of one. She'd be pretty nasty to be an actual lord.

Roland Josephus just shakes his head.

Xiao Li Marshall: Hm. Child of a Dragon loard... you think we can use this t' get some leverage?

Gabriel Keats: "Yeah. We get leverage. We get a few hundred clicks off, and then, bam, we're humped."

Li Mei shrugs, "That seems like asking for more trouble."

Rae: Yeah. Seems we get our leverage by making sure she's well and alive and taken care of. Maybe make them so happy they treat us well.

Shen Jiutai nods.

Shen Jiutai: "Where we s'posed to take this kid?"

Roland Josephus: Does it matter? Long as she ain't seen on this ship?

Rae: Well, are we even sure its this kid we were supposed to get?

Gabriel Keats: "S'pose we jes wake her up and ask her. I mean, ain't like any of us have a better idea."

Rae Overholt nods.

Roland Josephus: Who you reckon is after her?

Xiao Li Marshall: Y'mean besides us?

Rae: Rival faction of dragon lords?

Shen Jiutai grunts and sits down, "Well, do I have ta be nice nice to sleeping beauty when she wakes up? I mean, so what if she was prolly in Kindergarden when they disposed my dad."

Rae: You have to play stupid when she wakes up.

Roland Josephus shrugs, "Could be.. point is.. They'll be after us soon..."

Rae: Well let's hope they didn't pick up our trail Roland.

Gabriel Keats: "R--cap'n? D'you want to be in there if'n we wake her up?"

Rae: I want you to be in there.

Gabriel Keats: "That's a ruttin' given." He grins widely.

Rae: Won't hurt for me to be in there too. Sure, I'll babysit.

Gabriel Keats: "Less'n she sees yer back."

Rae: I got my back covered.

Xiao Li Marshall: I should prob'ly be up on the bridge in case Daddy comes callin'...

Rae: Might be god to keep an eye out Xiao li. For the others and daddy.

Shen Jiutai: Where were we goin?

Gabriel Keats: "Doc? You mind maybe pushin' her some adrenaline? Or whatever the goshui ya use is to wake up them that ain't awake."

Xiao Li Marshall: Beaumonde to drop off our crates, then to Newhall.

Sean M. "I wouldn't advise it, she may have a concussion."

Xiao Li Marshall: See if I can't get in touch with the folks on Newhall we were s'posed to meet, let 'em know there was a little accident.

Gabriel Keats sighs. "Well, that's just ruttin' great..."

Rae: We've got time.

Xiao Li Marshall heads up the stairs to the upper deck.

Gabriel Keats: "We get the kid of some dragon hwun dan. . .and, made, she's a gorram vegetable..."

Rae: Well, let's hope she aint no vegetable when we get there or it'll be even worse.

Li Mei sits down, "Doctor, do you think she'll come around?"

Sean M: There's really no way to tell... her vitals are good... she's just out... she had to be awake enough to launch that Escape pod."

Gabriel Keats: "Well, that's shiny for our future survival."

Rae: She aint playin possum is she?

Sean M: Nope. Was there anything else in the escape pod, any loose items?

Shen Jiutai shakes her head at Sean, "I didn't see anything."

Rae: Not that I saw. You guys see anything? I heard a rattle though.

Li Mei: Could she have been drugged?

Sean M: It's likely.

Shen Jiutai: But who would drug someone and shove them in a pod, while not getting in themselves?

Gabriel Keats: "Someone who cared more 'bout her life than theirs."

Shen Jiutai: Good point, that mark says she's a Lord.

Li Mei: Ok, but why drug her?

Rae: Could it have been her father that did it?

Gabriel Keats: "Yeah. Them Dragons're real self-sacrificin'."

Shen Jiutai: Newhall, did Xiao Li say Cap'n? Didn't you guys go there while I was laid up?

Rae: Yeah, was one of the places we hit.

Shen Jiutai: Didn't that Locum guy say he was sent to Burnet from Newhall? What was that other guys name? The one doin' the sendin'?

Rae: I'm having some difficulty jogging my memory. Heir. Yeah. Heir. That guy. Was, yeah I guess he was a dragon lord.

Shen Jiutai supresses her rage. "Heir? Could it be the same guy?" her voice trails off.

Rae: IT would be my luck. our luck.

Shen Jiutai: "He didn't call himself Storm or somesuch? Tempist? ...what was it?" She taps her fingers "...Whirlpool?"

Rae Overholt smirks, thinking of a few words she'd have chosen for him. "Storm might have been it yeah"

Li Mei: I thought it was Maelstrom?

Rae: Yeah, that'd be it.

Shen Jiutai: Maelstrom! Yup, that's the guy! Cap'n, may I please kill this kid?

Rae: As much as I'd like.

Gabriel Keats gives Shen a look.

Rae: Not until we find out what's going on. Jadi knows we botched that job so I dont want her to get wind somehow of us murdering his kid.

Gabriel Keats: "It's a ruttin' kid. We ain't killing her."

Shen Jiutai pouts. She looks at Gabe with a cold eye, "If you had seen what this girl's Pa did to kids on my world..."

Gabriel Keats: "Then I'd be like to put a few bullets into *him*. Ain't her fault who her dad is."

Shen Jiutai sulks, knowing Gabe to be right, but not willing to agree.

Rae: C'mon folks. Cheer up. We might get paid for this.

Gabriel Keats: "Pay is good."

Rae: Ok, so at this point, we got someone possibly related to Maelstrom, mystery boxes and possibly a black ship on our tail after this girl.

Li Mei looks over at the captain, "Oh, captain, before I forget .. I've received word from the Guild on Beaumonde."

Rae: What did they say?

Li Mei: They are requesting my ... assistance. It seems they have a bit of a backlog.

Rae: Well that's good news for you isn't it? Where do you need to go first? Shuttle working ok since you last flown it?

Li Mei shrugs, "It could be good news or not. It all depends on who the clients are. Whether they need me or not, I won't accept a client I don't feel comfortable with. The shuttle seems to be fine, but it doesn't have the range to get there, does it?"

Rae: No, but once we get there, will everything be within reach of the shuttle for you? Or will they want you to go offworld for some appointments?

Li Mei: I'm not sure ... so far all they have told me is that they would like my help. I don't know who the potential clients are.

Rae: Well I hope they're all to your liking.

Li Mei smiles, "So do I."

Shen Jiutai grins at Li Mei, "Do they ever want to 'take you away from all this'?"

Rae: So we get there and you should be ok with the shuttle. Who wants to find papa?

Li Mei grins at Shen, "Sometimes they do. But they usually want me to be little more than a sex slave ... and that I won't do."

Shen Jiutai raises an eyebrow, "Really? then why were there those ropes on your bed when we got the shuttle back from that Fan kid? Don't try to pretend you only tie THEM up!"

Li Mei laughs, "Oh, well ... there is a difference between playing a slave and being one."

Shen Jiutai smirks, "Riiiight!"

Rae Overholt's head swishes over to Li and Shen. "Should I be hearing this?"

Li Mei looks at Rae and smirks, "I don't know ... that depends on what you're into."

Rae: "Well I dont reckon I'm into anything lately." She crosses her arms and looks rather sulky.

Shen Jiutai giggles at Rae's discomfort.

Li Mei: Sorry, Captain. Would you like to borrow my rope?

Rae Overholt throws her hands up, "Why? My boyfriend left me"

Li Mei: To punish him?

Gabriel Keats turns a rather admirable shade of crimson.

Rae: "Hmm, tempting." She turns to eye Gabe.

Li Mei chuckles

Gabriel Keats: "I prostrate m'self before ya, Cap'n," he deadpans.

Li Mei: I have a whip too ..

Shen Jiutai carefully doesn't mention the 'other things' that were scattered around the shuttle.

Rae: A whip would be good.

Gabriel Keats bows deeply, the crimson gone, half-smirking.

Rae: So Gabe? Picking up anything interesting?

Gabriel Keats raises in one, smooth motion. Tosses his hair back with a flick of the head. "She's scared of somethin'. Demons?"

Rae: Personal demons, we'd know about that.

Gabriel Keats: "Scared of something. . .smile like the crack of dawn. The storm. Like you said. The Maelstrom..."

Rae: Scared of her father?

Gabriel Keats: "Don't know. . . It's all jumbled. Think it's separate. He's happy, I think." His rim accent is gone. "Something positive."

Rae: Yeah just like he was happy to marry off his gay boy to the new sex toy for his boys.

Gabriel Keats: "You asked for what I saw. You contracted for it. It's what I see."

Shen Jiutai shrugs, puzzeled by the Mystery of Gabe's visions, "Well, anybody hungry? I'm starvin'."

Rae: Food would be good.

Li Mei: I'm famished. What's for dinner?

Gabriel Keats: "Not hatin' that idea." He shakes his head as though clearing it

Shen Jiutai heads towards the gangway to the Galley, "I'll see what we got." She speeds her ascent as the thought of distraction compells her.