Blackwatch: Strange Island and Strange Men

[Lord Bromosalino]

You and the rest of the Blackwatch are headed north, to Ice Nine. Marine activity and control has only been recently established, and locals are still distrusting. This is even more so true due to the events regarding that red-headed jaguar zoan user and that giant oaf that had bested the first of the Marines sent to the island (who were extorting the locals, no less). That being said, you might find that the locals might be...well difficult. Nonetheless, Ice Nine is an important foothold for the Marines. And even more so for the Revoultionary Army. We've secured reliable information that a high ranking member of the Revoultionary Army is on Ice Nine. We're certain that he is holed out at the north most point of the island. We don't believe him to be alone. Capturing him alive is of the utmost importance. Be careful, very careful. If our information is correct, than the man that you're looking for is named Gunnar. He's dangerous and reported to have ears within the Marines. Godspeed, Captain. And best of luck.

---

Knock, knock, knock, knock. "Captain, sorry to interrupt your usual routine. You're needed on deck." And with that, the Lieutenant and over-seerer of the 'Black Guard' left, her small feet leaving a faint pattering as she bounded down the stairs that connected the captain's cabin to the main deck below. The behometh of a ship continued its steady pace in the icy waters. Since their departure two days ago from the B1 Marine base, the Blackwatch was back to its usually busy schedule; though those two days of rest had been invaluable. Now as the two hundred or so crew scurried here and there to accomplish their tasks to keep the floating base functioning at one-hundred percent compacity, things were back to normal for the most part. While not the quickest of vessels, the large ship was making good time; though nobody on the Marine vessel knew where to. Though Captain Saifer knew of their first assignment for quite a few days now, he had choosen to not speak to the rest of his crew about it. Not even his most trusted subordinate knew. And so, Lieutenant Amyot kept her mouth shut and did her job. Something was up with Saifer. But even if she knew that something was 'up', the Lieutenant hardly had time to think about it now. There was still a ship and it's crew to run, afterall.


"First and second division to the mess hall, you're off the clock boys! Come get it while its hot and ready!" In an instant, a hundred pairs of hands and feet left what they were doing and were racing down to the second deck as they finished their shift that had lasted from before midnight till just after dawn. They would spend the next six hours eating and getting whatever precious sleep they could get before they would start their next shift. Replacing the voice that had just come on the Den Den Mushi system that was linked throughout the vessel, Amyot got the relieft crew up and running now that they had a few hours to rest. "Third and fourth division, stations. Keep her pointed north; and be ready with those furls, the winds really picking up today." With four divisions (two working, two resting and alternating every six hours) to feed, the kitchens were constantly working to ensure that the crew was not only fed, but also getting the necessary nutrients that the body needed in order to endure the conditions demanded of the sailor life. The medical ward, too, tended to see their fair share of people throughout the day. Yes, the life on the high seas was not one of pure adventure and shenanigans. Grueling work was necessary and the crew of the 'Black Gaurd' were giving it their all to keep the impressive ship running in the way that Amyot expected of them.


The third, and bottom most, deck was a different story than the crowded decks above it. A mere twenty crew members called the third deck their station; and yet, the hustle, noise, and work was no different. Overseen and directed by Junior Lieutenant and Chief Engineer Rogers, the other nineteen engineers, scientist, tinkers, and visionaries were hard at work, each working on individual projects and plans. Then there was the constant uptake that was needed on the purification system that provided freshwater to the entire vessel. Time schedules, however, were typically not followed (something which annoyed Amyot to no end). Rogers, at the moment, was showing the newest addition to the oddball group of tinkers around and explaining the different sections and compartments of the deck. "And under no circumstance are you, or anyone, to make modifications to the boiler. As far as maintenance go, you will be under my supervision until you learn the ins and outs of her. She's the heart of the entire ship. So don't pull any of your crap around here Sommerset! Oh, and head up to the main deck and see the Lieutenant, she's going to assign you to one of the four divisions. It's all part of her silly compulsion to have everything on a schedule. Don't worry, once you're down here and working, you work on your own schedule as long as you're not performing maintenance." Clearly Rogers had read the transfer papers that Saifer had obtained when he had recruited her aboard; and the Chief Engineer wasn't about to let the unpredictable dynamo do something less than pleasant to his boiler. Still, she had impressed him, not with her invention but the seirousness and dedication that she took in reaching her goals, even putting herself in harms way to see her plans come to fruitition.

---

Knock, knock, knock, knock. "Captain, sorry to interrupt your usual routine. You're needed on deck." The captain's 'usual routine' was something that Saifer almost always did. Breaking such a routine set the day off; not in any noticeable way, but just enough to annoy him. A short exercise to warm up his muscles for the physically demanding day and to keep his body on alert, keeping an updated log which he would send to his parents and a formalized copy which would be sent to Marine HQ every other month to keep them informed of his whereabouts and activities, and then a warm cup of green tea while reading one of the hundreds of books in his own personal library. Unfortunately, it seemed that this morning would turn into one of those 'annoying' days. Midway through a pushup, the Lieutenant's high pitched voice came through the heavy oak door, beckoning him to the main deck. She certainly knew how much he valued his quiet routine each morning; and so whatever the issue was, it must have been serious enough to potentially anger the Marine officer if it proved to be something small. Quickly changing into his regular attire (a plain white tee, bomber jacket, dark green jeans, and black combat boots), Saifer couldn't help but lamet the fact that for the second time this week, his tea would go unfinished. Hearing the door open and the usual noise, 'Hellhound' was on full alert, bounding to Saifer's side in an instant. The tall Captain and his canine partner were never far apart from each other, and the crew had never seen one without the other.


Quickly scanning the main deck below them, Saifer and Thor made their way towards the center of the deck where Lieutenant Amoyt was speaking with Seaman Recruit Sommerset. The air, as expected of the North Blue, was chilly, nipping at the unprotected part of Saifer's face. The cold of the North Blue had a way of making everything slow down; the ship moved at a slower pace, and even walking across the deck took longer than usual as the cold was always trying to ice the steel floor. However, even before Saifer and Thor could reach Amyot, Saifer caught a glimpse of a large man who stood a few feet away. It wasn't the fact that he was a new face that caught Saifer's attention, but rather the fact that ten Marine's formed a circle around him with their rifles pointed squarely at his puzzled looking face with his hands tied. "Lieutenant, what's going on? Who is this?"


"So you'll be part of the...OH! Captain, sorry to bring you down here so early, but we've got a problem. We found him in the cargo bay late last night, just before sun up. He's has no identification on him and he's not on our rooster. We don't know if he's just some lost, misfortunate soul who wandered on our ship by mistake at B1 or if he's a threat. We haven't gotten much out of him."


"I see, you can untie him. Send him up to my office, I'll handle it. And good morning Miss Sommerset, hope you're settling in well enough. And the escorted gaurd won't be necessary. As you were."


Though Amyot protested, Isaac had his mind elsewhere. Back up in his office and sitting the oaken chair, his mind kept running over the assignment he had been assigned. As the hulking man stood before him, Isaac could only think of the warning Vice-Admiral Dalmatian had left him, If our information is correct, than the man that you're looking for is named Gunnar. He's dangerous and reported to have ears within the Marines.


In the quiet of his cabin, Saifer planned to get the truth out of his 'visitor'. If he was with...well, there was no point to jumping to assumptions just yet.


"So, who are you?"

[Mr. Moshypocrite McSlowbro]

Ruo heaved a sigh of relief when the sailors finally lowered their arms. That circle of rifles had been centered at his head for the past hour now. The large man had come to the conclusion, in light of recent events, that he did not like being around guns. That is not to imply that he was comfortable around other forms of weapon, but just the thought of firearms brought a dull throb to his chest. Rubbing the bandage-wrapped gauze under his shirt, it was hard to forget the three bullets that had lodged themselves just underneath his collarbone during his time on Lost Island. It was taking a long time for those wounds to heal, and he had a feeling that even then they would leave behind a trio of ugly scars. With that said, he would make the same decisions again if presented with the opportunity.

As soon as the thick knotted rope they had looped around him several times over fell loose, he moved to stand. He was used to roughing it now; he had spent several nights sleeping in the hold with boxes of cargo when there was not enough room to put him elsewhere. Of course he did not mind, it was his fault not theirs. And these Marines here were just doing their job, so he could not blame them. But there was something about being tied up that left you stiff as sundried wood. The shipwright delighted in the chance to stretch, and the slew of cracking noises his joints made as he rose was music to his ears. But standing only confirmed a fact that had already been eating at him. From his position on the lower cargo deck his vision had largely been blocked, but after rearing to his full height it became abundantly clear. The ship was surrounded by the sea, and only the sea. Not a speck of land in sight. Which meant they were well underway at this point. This realization made Ruo sink in his boots.

But perhaps the most surprising fact of all hit him when they were walking. The man who had called for the others to release him was the same plain-clothed guy he had spotted back on the pier at B-1. And he had called the loud shouting lady ‘Lieutenant’, whereas she had called him ‘Captain’. Which threw the Bangira for a heck of a loop since he could have sworn that she had been the captain. At least based on how she was ordering people everyone around. That is what captain’s do, isn’t it? Or, maybe the rank of Lieutenant is actually above Captain. Honestly he didn’t know a lick about the military beyond what their boats and uniforms looked like. ‘That makes sense though. Right?’ He thought to himself quietly as they entered the man’s cabin. The doorframe was surprisingly high, and he did not have to duck too far to pass underneath it. ‘I wish Yura was here. She’d know.’ It was a sentiment he had quite often since leaving home.

It was interesting, actually. Most of the questions up until this point had been ‘Why are you-’ or ‘Who are you working for-’, both of which he had been asked so many times that at this point his attempts to answer had devolved into ‘I don’t know anymore’. But he was fairly sure this guy was the first to ask him who he was. Well, the first to ask without shouting down the barrel of a rifle. Still, the question knocked him off kilter just as easily. Even if he hadn’t had such a rude awakening this morning, he still would not have been entirely sure how to answer that in a properly Marine-y way. Caught somewhere between the nervous pressures of an individual who thought they were in trouble and the desire to convey information as accurately as possible, Ruo ended up with a rather bumbling response. “Umm. I am lost, I think. No, wait, you knew that. Uh. I work at the docks. Well, worked I guess. I have not been back home in a while. I am travelling now. Though, I do not think that the nice man who was allowing me to ride with him to Nuovo Romano will have waited this long. He had me pay up front as well. That was most of my savings, so I do not believe I will be travelling anywhere else for a while.”

Those last few sentences came out rather sadly, Ruo grimacing at the thought of having wasted the majority of the cash he had left. Passage from island to island had been expensive than he originally thought it would be. If the giant had more experience in such things he might have realized he had been scammed on a rather regular basis the moment he left the West Blue, but suspicion had never been part of his nature, so he had paid their outrageous dues dutifully. After a few seconds of tense silence, he suddenly realized how foolish he must have sounded babbling like on that. “Oh! I am sorry. Let me try again.”

Sucking in a large breath, he closed his eyes for a moment’s time, and then released a similarly sizable exhalation. It was how he had been taught to keep a steady hand when working on something delicate, but he had found it was useful for keeping one’s nerves in other situations as well. In this situation, it had been enough to help him recover his manners. “My name is Bangira Ruo. Son of Bangira Sidon. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.” His voice was solid this time, and he accompanied the statement with a short bow. Ruo hoped that was what you were supposed to do in this sort of situation. "Um. I am not a marine, but the woman outside told me to help load your ship. When I came back up, it had already launched. I do not think I heard the announcement..."

[Weeks]

Overnight, Penny had become somewhat popular among her new crew mates. Perhaps not the ones who worked up on deck, but the engineers seemed to have instantly found a liking for the young, adorable, bold, and plucky scientist that would be joining them. Half was simply due to her being a women, the other half, must have had something to do with what they had seen at B-1. It was by no means a secret at this point, the entire base after the launch had suddenly gone into alert, thinking that the commotion had been an attack. Penny had certainly dodged a bullet by being pulled onto the crew, or she would have been thrown in the brig back at B-1, something she hoped had not happened to the twins. Still, the event was enough to confer a collective sense of modest respect from her co-workers, all of whom had overlooked her past failures and destructive streak.

Still, she was certainly the fresh meat in the engine room, being put right to work early in the morning at a dark and cold 4 am. They had started her off with a tour, but with not much to see in the large boiler room except, well, a boiler, she was put to work greasing the machines and cleaning out the vents. This seemed a perfect fit for her however, keeping her busy with work that required her to focus all of her attention for a long period of time. Though it may have been menial, Penny had a huge sense of gratitude to the Captain, but more so to Lieutenant Rogers, who was letting bygones be bygones. It seemed he had no intention of scolding Penny on her rocket test, instead, simply emphasizing that she would be judged on the work she did henceforth. That was more than Penny could have hoped for.

Still, the medic had been less than pleased when she had explained how she had gotten the cuts on her forehead, as well as some of the other crew members who seemed to think that the Captain had let a ticking time bomb aboard.

The first night was everything she had expected at least. A lot of new faces, most of whom wanted nothing to do with her, and pretended she didn't exist. That more than anything was what Penny had hoped for. She had wanted the ability to settle in herself in, quietly and with dignity. People tend to forget just how long it takes to unpack, especially when you packed up everything you owned in less than thirty minutes.

Still, the morning of hard honest work had made the young women happy, who as usual, took to singing as she worked. As she continued to clean nearly every inch of every machine, their was a bounce in her step, and happy smiles all around who seemed to enjoy a lively and young soul among veteran men.

SPOILER: Click to show

"Hello Patrick Fagan you can hear the girls all cry,
Hello Patrick Fagan, you’re the apple of me eye,
You’re a decent boy from Marineford,
there’s no one can deny,
You’re a rare’m tare’m devil may care'm decent sailor boy

Well the day that I left Marineford, ’twas many months ago,
I left my home in Silver where the pigs and praties grow,
But since I left old Marineford, it’s always been my plan,
To let you people see that I’m a decent sailor man."

Hanging upside down, her legs wrapped around what seemed to be a sturdy intake pipe, she was reaching down into a tight fitting ventilation system, just large enough for her to squeeze her arms and head into int order to get into the parts that had been neglected by the larger crewmen, who would have to do a bit of disassemble in order to do the same job.

Oddly, her singing into this pipe was voicing it all around the engine room, to smiling faces who seemed to enjoy Penny's zeal. She certainly was in high spirits, and it was rubbing off on the other men, who were had been with this ship since it's conception, and needing a long overdo vacation. Certainly working down here could become monotonous, yet Penny was just one of toughs people who found happiness through work. Hard to come by in the day and age.

"Sommerset! Report!" came the voice of Lieutenant Rogers, several others repeating the order to make sure she heard it.

"AYE SIR!" she replied in kind, her voice chipper.

With a tug, her supervisor pulled her free of the vent, her entire upper body covered in grease, soot, and anything else that she might have come in contact with in the past few hours. She was already starting to feel quite tired, but perhaps with a quick cup of tea and a light breakfast, she would be ready for another round. Her supervisor, a chief Petty officer with bright blue eyes directed her to the Lieutenant, who seemed to be in a very business like mood. Penny herself was certainly not presentable by Marine standards, yet at the same time, how could anyone complain when she was hard at work? Perhaps this was one of the perks working in the engine room, you could be as messy as you wanted an no one in their right mind would call you out on it. Her once white standard Marine uniform with long sleeves and ball call with seagull now looked like they had been washed in crude oil, but the Lieutenant seemed to glint the slightest of smiles at this, perhaps happy to see Penny was starting to fit in. Her glasses, still cracked from the crash the other day had not been replaced yet, but the ship's doctor had remarked that he would send for a replacement that should arrive by today. Otherwise, her hair was up in its usual ponytail, flowing down her back and ending right above her waist. Though grimy, she stood at attention with pride, saluting the lieutenant with a smile.

"Mornin' to yah sir."

"Morning. Walk with me for a moment Recruit, I have a few things to discuss with you." replied Rogers, returning a casual salute as he tossed her a wet wash cloth.

"Aye sir."

For the moment, they simply went over a few of the notable supervisors currently present, many of whom Penny had not been formally introduced to yet. It was certainly a culture shock. She had been used to working along with irregular hours, but now there was a long line of structure, all leading to the bottom, to her, who for now would be training with each of them at some point, learning the ends and outs of every part of this great machine that was the Black Guard. In turn, she was able to introduce herself, putting on her best face for her comrades, who for the moment were at least accepting of her presence, that was a good start.

"And under no circumstance are you, or anyone, to make modifications to the boiler. As far as maintenance go, you will be under my supervision until you learn the ins and outs of her. She's the heart of the entire ship. So don't pull any of your crap around here Sommerset! Oh, and head up to the main deck and see the Lieutenant, she's going to assign you to one of the four divisions. It's all part of her silly compulsion to have everything on a schedule. Don't worry, once you're down here and working, you work on your own schedule as long as you're not performing maintenance."

"Aye sir." replied Penny, her neck beginning to become sore from her constant nodding at everything Rogers had said.

"I suppose I'll grab a spot of breakfast as well iffin' that's alright sir."

"Of course, take a break if you need it, then come back down and I'll have one of the chief's walk you through inspection."

"Aye aye sir." he replied, wiping off the last of the grease from her arms and face. Her uniform at this point would need a good washing, and may have been a lost cause.

The meeting with Lieutenant Amyot however, was not quite as pleasant. It began with the simple appearance of her uniform, to which Penny was far to offended to reply. She certainly had a way about her, a way of pissing off Penny that caused no end to her frustrations with the by the books women. She had no time for levity in Penny's eyes, and the whole situation nearly caused her an outburst, that was of course until the Captain walked in. At least he had the common decency to start the conversation with a greeting rather than a solid scolding.

"And good morning Miss Sommerset, hope you're settling in well enough."

"I am indeed sir." she replied, her usually happy voice being reduced to one of defeat and utter annoyance.

With the Captains arrival however, Penny had her chance to break away, a chance that she took. Now knowing her division, she at least knew when and where to report. Even if the meeting with Amyot had been less than pleasant she had gotten what she came for, and in the end, it was Rogers who had command over this new Recruit, not the white gloved Amyot.

Making her way to the Galley, her step just a little bit less springy, Penny found that a little part of her soul had died in that meeting. She obviously had not made a good first impression with Amyot.

[Lord Bromosalino]

"...but the woman outside told me to help load your ship. When I came back up, it had already launched. I do not think I heard the announcement..."

Typical Amyot. The lieutenant knew no boundaries when it came to using her position to get a job done, especially if it could be done with more efficiency. And by the looks of it, this Ruo fellow was one of those 'gentle giant' types, which meant that the overly pushy, pink-haird, ball of energy would have no problem getting him to do whatever she asked of him. "Amyot, would you please come up to my office?", the Captain's voice booming throughout the whole vessel. Reaching down for his cup of tea, Saifer lamented the fact that his tea had gone from piping hot to barely warm in just moments. Still, he drank it nonetheless. "Nothing like a good cup of tea to keep someone warm up in this frozen tundra, wouldn't you say? Now, about our little 'predicament', it seems that my lieutenant may have forgotten that she had 'recruited' you back at the B1 base." And while the issue of who he was and what he was doing aboard the 'Black Guard' was settled (for the time being), there was still the question of what to do with him.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in."

"Erm...everything alright Captain?" Only moments earlier, Amoyt had suddenly realized where she had seen the lumbering stowaway before; she had asked him to help load their ship! That sudden realization put a timid, and rather sheepish, look on the short Marine officer. She now only hoped that he hadn't told Saifer anything yet. It'd be better if she could take charge of their visitor and privately apologize. If anything, Amyot hated being embarrassed in public and even more so by Isaac. Though, upon opening the heavy laden door to his office, seeing the smirk on her commanding officer's face, Amoyt knew the gig was up. "No, no. Everything is just fine. I was just wondering, I thought we picked up one recruit back at B1, not two?" "Yea, yea. I just remembered not a moment ago," her face becoming the same hue as her hair. "Listen, I'm sorry. Got caught up with the loading process and forgot I asked for your help. Um, so...yea. Sorry." The normally bossy and assertive female wasn't used to giving out apologies, especially for orders that she had given. It was rather embarrassing and uncomfortable for her. "You know I'm just teasing Caroline. No need to look so upset. There is the matter of what to do with you now that you are here though Mr. Bangira. We should be approaching the island of Ice Nine within the next few hours. You are more than welcomed on-board my vessel while we finish some business there, after which we will be returning to the B1 base. As for travelling fees, we will be more than happy to cover them until you reach an island of your choosing. To repeat my forgetful lieutenant, I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. I hope you'll accept this apology." Extending an arm and sort of half smile, the Marine, however, wanted his office cleared. Now that he had spoken of their destination (to which he had only told the navigator to 'go north'), there was much that needed to be discussed with Amyot.

---

"So, Ice Nine? What's there? Now that the office was just the two of them, Caroline took on a much more relaxed attitude. The 'sibling-like' playfulness and attitude arouse, though it was something she didn't allow to be seen by anyone else. Plopping down besides the usually ferocious canine, the two were soon rolling on their bellies and backside as they engaged in game of tug-of-war. "Depends. Could be a waste of time. Or, if HQ is right, there might be some Revolutionaries. But the island is big and the Marines there are too small in number to patrol the outskirts of the island." "So, we after the entire group or one in specific? HQ wouldn't assign us to take out a small group of Revolutionaries, would they?" "They might. There's a lot of curious eyes on us still.But, from what me and Captain Rogers discussed, it seems like HQ's main concern is this guy, Gunnar. I made some calls back to HQ and finally managed to talk with Vice-Admiral Dalmatian. Turns out the guy's more dangerous that his profile might suggest. Here, take a look," tossing the thin folder down to Amyot, who was now on her hands and knees trying to tug the mangled rope from the powerful jaws of Thor. Letting go suddenly, to look at the folder, Amyot was oblivious to the fact that Thor was still pulling and now that his playmate had stopped, he was sent reeling backwards. "Dalmatian claims that he might have a logia of some sort, though the reports on Gunnar are far too scarce to say which one it might be. And before you ask, yes. That one page is all we know about him. I know, not much." "So whats the plan Isaac? You can't go charging into him head-on like you do with everyone else. And according to this, HQ wants you to bring him back to B1...alive. Got some secret I don't know about?"

No, no he didn't. In fact, that was the troubling bit of news that had been occupying his thoughts for the last two days. And truth be told, Isaac wasn't fully sure on how they were going to bring him down. Picking up the funny looking snail once more, Isaac's office was about to be full of people once more, something he truly did not enjoy. "Rogers, can you join me in my office for a moment?"

---

Down on the third deck, Junior Lieutenant Rogers was going over some blueprints with one of the supervisors that helped run and keep an eye out on the other engineers, scientists, and 'tinkers' that were under his command. As soon as the order came via Den Den, Rogers himself answered with his own yellow Den Den, though this one was linked directly to Saifers office and not to the entire ship. "Yea, be up in a sec Cap'. Ok, so it looks good to me, what's the estimated pressure that this could hold? I'm worried about this part, here." The blueprints was a design to break up the boiler into two parts instead of having one giant piece that required constant maintenance. The plans were to create a new device to suck in and purify sea water while a separate piece would then push the water through the entirety of the ship. Doing it this way was, theoretically, supposed to keep water consistently flowing through the ship and speed up the time that the sea water could be boiled and made pure. "That's my one concern to. I was thinking of strengthening that pipe by making it larger, but we may have to reroute that one completely, ya know?" "Maybe, I'd like to run a mock test on a smaller prototype, but that'll take some time. Anyways, I'm need on deck. Until then, keep an eye on the boiler. Don't want sea weed or anything getting in there. Oh, and Sommerset, could you come with me up to the Cap's office?" Grabbing some paperwork of his own, and with the new recruit in tow, Roger's mind (much like Saifer's) was fully focused on his own problem at hand.

---

"Oh come on Thor! You're too big for that now! You know you can't...erm, DON'T YOU KNOW TO KNOCK FIRST!?" Laying on her back and with a giant dog on her, Amyot's face went from cheerful to mortified in a heartbeat. Standing at the door, chief engineer Rogers and the new recruit had seen their stern and 'dry' superior sprawled on the floor. Pushing, though that took a minute and looked rather comical, the large Doberman off of her, Lieutenant Amyot tried to think of something to say, but her face was too red and she was taken by surprise and could only manage to rush into Saifer's room (located at the back end of his office) and slam the door in a hurry. "Um, Cap', don't mean to stick my nose in Amyot's business if I can help it, but was she..." "Then don't Rogers. And I wouldn't mention it, unless you don't mind swimming behind the ship. You know how she is." Saifer wish he could say that he was joking, but the reality of Amyot throwing crew members overboard for whatever reason was all too real.
"Anyway, I called you for something else. But...is there a reason you brought Sommerset with you?" Only now remembering why he did in fact bring the new recruit when his captain had only asked for him, Rogers handed Saifer the papers he had brought. "Oh, yes! Seems like our new recruit hasn't gotten the necessary vaccination shots. You did leave B1 in quite a hurry. I'll have her head on over to Miss Mitchell's (the head medic of the 'Black Guard') and get that in order. Just need you to sign off one those papers and file them away so we have them on record. If that's all, I'll send her right away." Long, bony fingers rubbed away at the Captain's eyes. How could he forget? After all, he was the one who, together with the medical team, had put together a list of vaccination shots that all members of 'Blackwatch' had to have for health purposes. And though Saifer hated to show it, he was a bit of a 'clean freak' and he certainly didn't want anyone to catch anything Sommerset might have.

"Thanks for reminding me Rogers, it had completely slipped my mind. Get that taken care of as soon as possible. But first, we need to talk. Actually, its perfect that Sommerset is here too. You both have quite a respectable amount of knowledge on utilizing water and steam for all sorts of purposes. How would you two catch, capture, and transport someone with a logia type?

---

Elsewhere on the vessel, a rather nervous looking Marine was showing Ruo Bangira around. "And erm, well there's not much down there for anyone who isn't a scientists. They don't really like anyone to be down there if they don't have to be. Um, but yea. Kitchen, lounge room, and your room are all on the second deck. Um, yea. So...I gotta get back to my post. Bye! Having done his job of escorting their guest to the second deck (which was the hub of activity as far as relaxing), the timid Marine was glad to get back to his post. After all, just a few moments ago, the giant was tied up and had guns pointed at him. Besides, anyone larger than him made the poor Marine uncomfortable.

[Mr. Moshypocrite McSlowbro]

As it turned out, the ceiling-scraping fellow was roughly as uncomfortable at receiving apologies as Amyot was at giving them. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, a small spot of the floor suddenly became rather interesting for him. Anything to avoid eye contact. He had not meant for his appearance to cause this much of a fuss. He hated the idea of being a burden, especially for nice people like this. Marines, even. Pops has always told him to treat marines with respect whenever they stopped by.

"You are more than welcomed on-board my vessel while we finish some business there, after which we will be returning to the B1 base. As for travelling fees, we will be more than happy to cover them until you reach an island of your choosing. To repeat my forgetful lieutenant, I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. I hope you'll accept this apology." When Isaac extended his hand, Ruo stared at it for several seconds before realizing he was supposed to reciprocate.

"That is all very generous, sir. Thank you." The misplaced shipwright said gratefully. He had expected to be scolded, perhaps spend a few nights sleeping with the cargo. That was what he had become used to, as of late. The thought of a warm meal and comfortable bed was more than he would have felt right asking for, much less the return of his meager travel funds. As his bulky fingers closed around the other man’s hand, he was surprised by the strength of the Captain’s grip. Most people had issues with the gesture, just by virtue of the difference in their sizes. That was a good thing, he decided. Bad men did not have a strong grip. Which meant that this fellow was not a bad man. In Ruo’s mind, at least. "I do not mind the detour. What you are doing is likely more important anyway. I will try not to get in your way."

It became clear shortly thereafter that the plain-clothed marine had need of his office, particularly a need that required the Bangira to stop occupying such a large portion of his workspace. Which made sense, of course. The people in charge were always busy. As such he gave another round of thanks and slipped out as nimbly as he could manage as to leave Saifer to his work. Another soldier was waiting outside to offer to take him on a tour of the ship, which was immediately accepted. He very much looked forward to getting an eyeful of the vessel he had found himself on. Preferably one that did not involve having the business end of a rifle pointed in his face.

---

"And erm, well there's not much down there for anyone who isn't a scientists. They don't really like anyone to be down there if they don't have to be. Um, but yea. Kitchen, lounge room, and your room are all on the second deck. Um, yea. So...I gotta get back to my post. Bye!" Offering a quick wave, his guide ducked out of his company as if hounds were after him.

As he wanted the other man slip away, he echoed the gesture quietly. "Bye." Despite the giant’s hopes, the ‘tour’ had consisted basically of a brisk walk across the deck away from the command post, with a few words on what little they passed along the way. Disappointing, yes. But he supposed that this man probably had more important tasks to carry out, just as the Captain did, and as such did not think too hard on the matter. No, what was more important now was for him to decide on what to do next. Typically this is the point where he would just sit down somewhere and wait. That was an activity he did a lot, waiting. It had never bothered him quite as much as it had other people. But then again, the current situation presented him with a rather unique opportunity. He had never really gotten to get this close to a navy ship. They had the local patrols pop by for repairs from time to time, but that was mostly just patchwork. The World Government had their own shipyards, where they built the iconic wave-cutting battleships employed by Marines across every sea. Maybe he could learn a thing or two, looking at military-tier work.

Or at least, that was what his head wanted to do. His body on the other hand, had a different set of priorities entirely. With a loud rumble like the growl of an angry beast, his stomach chimed in on what it thought he should do next. Confronted with the noise, Ruo was finally forced to recognize the emptiness in his gut that had been gnawing at him since he had first opened his eyes. He did not have any food with him when he boarded the boat, and though there was food in the containers he had helped load he did not feel right taking what was not his. Which meant he had not eaten since. Well. Yesterday afternoon? It was odd that he had forgotten about that. Shaking his head, he began walking again. 'Second floor...'

A few minutes longer than he would like to admit, he successfully found the path down to the galley. Stepping through the doorway, he found himself in a huge room, covered wall to wall in sets of tables and chairs line up against one another. The crew required for a ship of this size was a rather substantial one, but it seemed to him that this place could have fed them all at once, though it might have been a tight fit. Its population at the moment was not near that level, though there were a few clusters of men and women eating their breakfast. One table even looked to be in the middle of a heated competition, though his eyes could not spot what they were doing from here. He figured that they were not on duty yet. Crossing between the oceans of seating, he weaved his way over to the far side of the room where a short line of folks waited with trays for a meal of their own. Falling in behind them, he grabbed a tray of his own. When it was finally his turn, he stepped up to the window and spoke politely. "Um. Excuse me."

Before he had a chance to even ask for something to eat a head had already popped out to greet him. It was an older man, with a face like chewed leather and a happy grin that seemed short a few pearly whites. He took one look at Ruo and broke out in a laugh. "Oh! Well aren'tcha a big one. New recruit? Well, least you shaved your head. Normally you'd be in trouble for being out of uniform, but they probably didn't have a tent in your size!”

"Well, no. I am not a-" He tried to object, but it did not seem that the chef heard him. He was too busy being amused by his own joke to take notice.

"Ah, well, just pokin’ fun. I’m sure they’ll rustle something up for ya’. Hungry, I figure? C'mon, we'll get you nice and sorted." Glancing from the giant’s face down to what he was holding in his hands, it seemed that the contrast in size was enough to make the elderly marine start another round of chuckles. “Though, it looks like we might need to get you a few more trays. Hah!”

While he was not sure about being confused for a recruit, he was not entirely sure he was going to be able to change the man’s mind. At least not in a timely fashion. And given how hungry he was at the moment, time seemed a larger issue than usual. So instead, Ruo simply nodded. "Okay."

[Weeks]

The moment Penny left the office of Lt. Amyot, she found herself beginning to feel slight claustrophobia that could be associated with a Marine Battleship. The hallways, though wide enough for two, were simply not large enough to accommodate some of the larger crew members. She became alarmed when a larger crew members, who's shoulders were touching each side of the wall came walking down the hallway. before she knew it she was crawling under his legs, and making a B-line for the mess hall.

Still, this was no help, as this room was more crowded than the last, hungry Marines nearly fighting for positions in line. Penny herself felt a slight twinge of annoyance run down the bridge of her nose as it wrinkled. She hated waiting, she hated lines, and more than that, she hated waiting in line. So, to save herself the aggravation, she went strait for the beverage table, hastily poured herself a cup of tea, and exited without so much as a rumble in her stomach. She simply didn't have the patience at that moment after her meeting with Lt. Amyot, who had the uncanny ability to become instantly disliked in just about every way imaginable. The tone of her voice, her attitude, lack of understanding and unwillingness to listen to explanations. She seemed as hard headed as they come, and that was not something Penny dealt well with.

Thankfully, the way down to the boiler room seemed quite lax. It seemed that the only people who would ever feel the need to go down their were two people. Engineers, and damage control. That was more than a relief to Penny, who's quick steps could have easily caused tumble, and caused her to spill her piping hot tea.

Finally finding herself back in the engine room, and among comfortable surroundings (if that was even possible after only a few hours), she found herself sipping away at tea as she was introduced to chief Sundstrum, an older gentleman who had a hearing problem. Still, he had quick hands, knew his way around a ship, and tended to go into detail that Penny found fascinating. Though the old and long winded may have annoyed some people, Penny enjoyed the experience that came from most of them. Still, she was happy to have found a place away from the prying eyes of Lt. Amyot, or even the Captain. Sipping tea while going through complicated mechanics never would have flown in front of them on the top deck. This is how she preferred to carry herself most of the time, out of sight and out of mind.

"Setteling in? And at ease Sommerset." said Lt. Rogers, who knew she would salute and wanted her to realize that kind of thing was meant to happen up top, not down here.

"Aye sir, thank you sir." she replied, nodding as her still black uniform seemed to make her Lieutenants eyes sparkle for one split moment with pride.

"How's she doing Chief?"

"You tell me Ell-Tee, think it might be about quiz time for the young lady."

"Fair enough, I was just about to go over some problems we have been having. Sommerset, why don't you tag along with me, I have something for you in a bit anyway."

"Aye sir. Thank you Chief." she said with a nod, following suit with Rogers as they made their way over to what looked to be a planning table.

Penny knew instantly however that this was not a meeting that she was supposed to speak at. Though there were certainly a few times when she wanted to chime in with a few idea's. Sill, her mouth filter was already becoming better as she simply looked on, researching every inch of the blueprints of the engine compartment, already forming a mental picture in her head. Rogers seemed to be worried about some of the piping issues, something Penny would have to take a look at later, but not touch, and maybe think of some way to help.

A call on a Den Den Mushi however, stalled the rest of the meeting, and quickly, Penny was whisked away yet again. This time for reasons unknown.

Quickly, they made their way back through the crowded hallways of the ship, Penny dodging and finding as much room as she could. She was much a rookie in the way she carried herself, not wanting to offend, and saying as quiet and curious as possible. Rogers however made it very clear he was on a mission, calling "MAKE WAY!" at any point he found the Marines were getting to jammed up for his liking. She found a respect in that, Rogers having that kind of authority, yet still treating others with respect.

This all came to culmination once they entered the quarters of Saifer, and upon seeing Lt. Amyot, Penny cleared her throat rather loudly, in order not to let out a hearty and maniacal laugh. Forcing herself not to smile, she breathed heavily through her nose to fog up her cracked glasses, her eyes smiling much harder than her mouth as she strained to keep eye contact from any of the officers. Once Lt. Amyot had left however, he glasses were removed, wiped clean and a slight triumphant smile was on her face, enough to voice her opinion.

"Actually, its perfect that Sommerset is here too."

"Eh?" replied Sommerset, Rogers seeming to second that motion.

"You both have quite a respectable amount of knowledge on utilizing water and steam for all sorts of purposes. How would you two catch, capture, and transport someone with a logia type?"

The request was a bit of a puzzle to them both, who looked at each other and nearly shrugged.

"I would suggest Sea Prism Stone handcuffs sir." he replied, the first answer that came to his head.

For a moment it was quiet, and all eyes were on Penny as she read what they were asking. They were not looking for the same answer, but something practical.

"Well...sir, it might be simple enough to jury rig one of the squad based cannons to fire seawater." she said, eyebows raising as her audience became intrested.

"Well, what I mean sir is that I already did tha' once. In fact, I have a prototype personal use steam cannon I brought aboard." she said quietly, gulping as she realized what she had just said, she cut anyone else off before they could scold her.

"What I mean is that it's currently a cannon modified to use steam pressure to fire standard cannon balls, It's built into me personal invention, the Handyman. Iffin' you give me a few hours, I could modify it to fire sea water, SAFELY." the last word was added simply for the purpose of reassurance. The handyman was more than safe, she had used it on a daily basis for several months without any terrible incident.

Still, it would all be up to the Captain at this point.

[Lord Bromosalino]

"I would suggest Sea Prism Stone handcuffs sir."

“Well, I mean yes, that is one option. It's just, well, that tends to work after we've caught said person. And I get the feeling we won't be able to just walk up and snap them onto their wrists. We need something more...well, practical.

While it was true that Sea Prism handcuffs (or anything Sea Prism related) was excellent for containing and countering Devil Fruit users (especially those pesky logia types), it took a great amount of skill, precision, and timing in order to contain a well trained fighter with just some handcuffs. And though Rogers was an excellent engineer and had a wonderfully innovative mind, his mind wasn't necessarily built towards combat. Another mind would certainly help. Someone with a certain uniqueness, someone like Sommerset.

“Well...sir, it might be simple enough to jury rig one of the squad based cannons to fire seawater. What I mean is that it's currently a cannon modified to use steam pressure to fire standard cannon balls, It's built into me personal invention, the Handyman. Iffin' you give me a few hours, I could modify it to fire sea water, SAFELY."

Yes, if anything, Sommerset was most certainly unique. Not only did she have a solution (or at least the first step in finding the solution), she already had a prototype of sorts.

“Hm, interesting. Basically firing the ocean at them, huh? It's a good start, it really is. The thing is, though, we may not get the chance to use it. As you two may have guessed by now, we're headed to Ice Nine where we need to capture a person who is rumored to have a logia type Devil Fruit. From what I've been told, they're holed up pretty far inland. What are the chances that this cannon of yours could be modified into something portable? Lugging a cannon across a frozen tundra isn't exactly practical. I'd still like to see that prototype, so get working on that as soon as possible. You're dismissed Miss Sommerset, and please see Dr. Mitchells immediately in the medical ward; there's still your immunization shots that need to be taken care of. You are dismissed.”

---

“I would have never thought of a cannon shooting sea water out. It's actually quite brilliant Cap.”

Now that his office was clear, or mostly clear, once more, Captain Saifer was able to breathe easier. He really did not enjoy the idea of too many people in his office; and truth be told, he was always uneasy around his crew members, especially newer ones. Chief Engineer Rogers was a different story, though. While he wouldn't go as far as calling themselves 'buddies', Isaac most definitely had a respect and admiration for the man. He was an engineering genius and always had a practical solution for the day to day issues that he faced. Not to mention, he didn't waste the day chatting. Like Saifer, he held a good reign over his tongue and only spoke when necessary.

“Do we know anything about Gunnar besides this? Any rumors of what kind of Logia power he holds? It could make all the difference, you know.”

A simple shaking of Saifer's head and Rogers knew why Saifer had been so quiet, er...at least more quiet than usual. Like Amyot before him, Rogers too was disappointed by the amount of information on their target. Having been caught up by the Captain on their mission, Rogers stuck around to see if he could find any other sort of information on their primary target. Having been entrusted in creating something (along with Sommerset) to detain Gunnar, Rogers was, quite frankly, stuck. Little information, very little time to prepare, and even less time to actually test their invention. This was certainly not the way an engineer of Rogers caliber liked to operate. Too many variables. “Well, if that's all we know, I'll head out. We have a lot of work to do.”

---

Creak.

“All clear?”

Timidly, Lieutenant Amyot poked her head out of Siafer's bedroom; inch by inch, scared that someone might still be in the office. For the last half-hour or so, the embarrassed Lieutenant had had her ear glued to the door, waiting for complete silence. And even after Rogers had left, she waited longer still in hopes that even the Captain would leave. However, when she heard the subtle thump of his boots settling onto his desk and the turning of pages, she knew that he wasn't heading anywhere anytime soon.

“Eh? You're still here? Completely forgot about you.” “Of course I'm still here! I wasn't going to squeeze throw that tiny window and swim around to the front, idiot!” “You know, if you didn't try to hide your sense of 'fun' and 'friendliness' and stopped acting so tough, you wouldn't get so embarrassed when this happens.” “Ha, like you're one to talk Mr. Sulky-pants. Hiding away in your office all day.” Hands on her hips and tongue sticking out, Caroline was certainly not going to take that from Isaac. “Just trying to maintain a sense of professionalism here, unlike you who's scared to make new friends. Sissy.” “Hmph, look who's talking. Name one person who'd call you 'friend' besides me. “Ha, who said we're friends, silly.” Back and forth, like two squabbling siblings, the two continued poking at each other. Thankfully, everything was done in good humor and neither were actually trying to hurt the other.

“Ya know,” changing her tone, and leaping to sit on the desk, “you're going to be leading some of these crew members on this expedition to catch these guys. People might get hurt and may even get killed, but I'd rather see them fighting and dying along the Captain they love rather than blindly following some guy they know nothing about.”

“I suppose you're right, for a change. What do you suggest then, Miss Smarty Pants?”

Grabbing the book out of his hands and smacking him over the head with it, Amyot had a twinkle in her eyes that she hadn't had in a while. It was time for the crew to start to get to know the Isaac Saifer that she did. “Hello, go outside for a change and talk to some of them!” “Fine, fine.”

---

“Keep her steady. How's the voyage going, are we making time according to schedule?” “Er, yes Captain!!! The sea is littered with icebergs that need to be avoided and we had to slow our speed a bit, but we shouldn't be too far off of scheduled, all things considered!” The response came out rushed and in a much louder tone than the Marine had intended. Still, it couldn't be helped. It wasn't everyday that the Captain was out and about on the main deck (unless something important had called for his attention), and it was most certainly not everyday that the Captain was asking about something so simple as the time they were making. “Good, good. As you were.” A perfectly executed salute and an “Aye!” were thrown out, but the Marine was still shocked.

Making his way down from the helm to the actual deck (though unfortunately even the sun's appearance had not prevented the main deck from freezing over), with Thor following close behind (naturally), Saifer had, for the first time, wandered among his crew for no real reason. The members of the 'Black Guard' were eerily quiet, even more so than usual. For a ship of this size with so many crew members, the quiet was very unusual. “Erm, morning Marines. No need to be so quiet. Um, as you were?” “You're all acting as if you've never seen the Captain before! Back to work, we've got an island to reach. Gibbs, you're letting that line slack! Come on Marines, no time to stop.” While the sight of the Captain on the decks may have been quite surprising, the overly aggressive Lieutenant was not, and she soon reestablished the normal pace of the hulking vessel. Walking along the Saifer, the pink haired Lieutenant continued barking out commands while trying to hold a conversation with him. “Barker, grab some men and some pick axes and start chipping away at the ice on the masts. Don't want those to crack. So Captain Saifer, how does it feel being around us 'normal' people of the 'Black Guard'? Kuro! Don't let that line slack, the wind's gonna push us every which way, idiot! I mean, did you see how shocked everyone was? Hey, you! Yes you, what the blazes are you doing with that furl!? Have you ever used one before, or are you just that dumb!”

While Lieutenant Amoyt was more than at home on the decks, and even more so giving orders, Captain Saifer still felt uneasy. These were real people, people that he was leading. He was responsible for them, the weight of that was heavy and the more Marines he saw, the heavier that burden. “Ye...yea. It's new alright,” an uneasiness came into his voice and a faint sick color began to rise in his face. “Sorry Captain, going to have to leave you on your own. Too many things to do! I'll catch up later, and don't you dare slip into your office! Ok, stop. Seriously, who taught you how to furl a sail. NO! Stop, just leave it! Roy, show him how to do it properly.” Whether she noticed Saifer's discomfort or was simply ignoring it, Amyot took off in a brisk march across the deck to deal with the now rather terrified soul who was about to receive the brunt of her verbal attack.

---

“Well, if it isn't the Cap. Wouldn't have imagined you to be here.” “Well, the Lieutenant figured it was time for the crew to actually get to see their Captain more than just once every few months. I thought you were working with Sommerset, though? “Aye, we are. It wasn't till I nearly fainted from hunger that I remembered I haven't eaten today. Heading to the mess hall now, care to join me? “Why not, Amyot is adamant about not letting me go back into my office just yet.” Muttering under his breath and shaking his head, Rogers could only exclaim, “That Amyot. Absolutely nuts sometimes.” “Tell me about it.

As the trio made their way done the long, steel hallways of the vessel, more and more Marines (each throwing a proper salute and a boisterous Captain!) stopped what they were doing in awe. And even after having passed them, the whispers could be heard. The Captain! Shhh, I know. What's he doing down here? No clue. He's taller than I remembered. Yea, it's good to see him though. Wonder why he doesn't come down more often. No clue.

“Ha, seems you're pretty popular today Cap.” Though a fairly stern and serious man himself, even Rogers couldn't help but chuckle at the what they heard whenever they would pass a group of Marines. And in the loudness of the mess hall that they had just entered, even more silent conversations were being whispered. “Hey, Cap! You ok? You look sick.” “Just haven't eaten either today, mind grabbing me a plate of whatever they got today and some tea? I need to sit down. Only Amyot knew why Saifer disliked public appearances and being around too many people, and so he had to cover it up with something. But he did really need to sit down, he was starting to get nauseous. And of all places he could sit, he just happened to sit next to their mysterious passenger from earlier this morning. “Ah, Mr Ruo. Good to see you, fairing alright?” Quickly trying to sit up and put a smile of sorts onto his face, Saifer was now starting to regret listening to his Lieutenant as he was now forcing himself to make small talk with his guest.

[Mr. Moshypocrite McSlowbro]

Ruo hit the food line like a one-man apocalypse. Or at least that’s how it looked after he was done.

From his own perspective he was actually rather reserved throughout the process. His old man was a stickler for manners, being respectful at the right times to the right people. They could be as rowdy as they liked on their own time, but when someone takes the trouble to make you food, you’d damn well better show your appreciation. And that meant eating like a civilized creature, not making a mess, and only taking your fair share. Problem was, well, his fair share was a good bit larger than most. Not to mention that the chef who had mistaken Ruo for a soldier had gone out of his way to stack food sky high on the boy’s plate. Plates, plural. But not before placing a white baseball cap on the giant’s head, one emblazoned with the words MARINE across the front, making a joke about it probably being the only part of the uniform that fit him. To be honest he probably should have spoken up about the whole issue, clarify that he had just boarded by accident. But man. By the time they got to the end of the buffet-style counter, the smell had him just short of drooling. You never really realized just how hungry you are after skipping a meal or two until you’re looking at the food. And at that point, he would have put up with just about anything. Stepping back into the crowded galley with tree whole trays worth of food resting against on top of his arm, he did not even wait to find a seat before starting.

Say what you want about the Marines, but they know how to feed their boys (Or at least this ship in particular did). There had been a wide variety, but rather than sample them all Ruo had mostly just gone for his favorites in bulk. The Bangira breakfast consisted of half a carton’s worth of scrambled cheese eggs with pan fried bacon and smoked sausage links, a small mountain of buttermilk biscuits smothered in thick gravy, a stack of head-sized pancakes dipped in blueberry syrup, two huge bowls of chicken and dumplings and hominy grits respectively, cornbread with honey on the side, several slices of baked ham, a mess of brown beans, some fried green tomatoes, and a single apple for good measure. That and the biggest glass of sweet island tea that the kitchen could scrounge up. He was fairly positive that Riky would have scolded his choices as unhealthy. Fortunately, his brother was nowhere near this ship. Plus he had an apple. That totally balanced the rest out. Using his free hand to shovel large mouthfuls of the meal into his mouth as politely as could manage, the dockworker wandered back and forth through the sea of white shirts in search of a place to sit without any sense of urgency. The contentment that welled up from his stomach was more than enough to put him at peace with the world.

In all likelihood he had already passed several open seats big enough to fit him, but he was not really paying that much attention. Food occupied the majority of his thought processes at this point, with what was left of his brain just barely able to keep him breathing and from him walking into someone. Whether conscious of it or not, his meandering eventually led him back to the lively table that Ruo had spotted earlier. Judging by the gathered crowd and rowdy shouts, it seemed an interesting place to be. Popping a biscuit or two into his mouth he peaked over the top of the crowd to see what was going on. From what he could see there were a pair of men locked in a struggle, their hands locked tight in a fierce embrace. On one side was a thoroughly scarred fellow wearing the standard uniform, his face red and his teeth clenched in exertion. He certainly did not look out of shape by any stretch of the word, but compared to his opponent he might has well have been. The second contender looked like he had walked out of a bodybuilding competition and straight into the military, all the way down to his smug grin and artificial looking tan. His outfit was much the same as everyone else on the ship, with the exception of the words ‘STRONG’ written in bright bold across his chest. The man’s shoulders were so swollen that it didn’t look like he had a neck. That bothered him for some reason.

The conclusion to their struggle was inevitable, with the larger athlete slamming the other’s hand to the table with a cry of victory, which was echoed by the crowd around him. “Easy pickin’, for the King of Arm Wrestling! Let’s hear it for Strong John!” Yelled another marine in his announcer voice, an act which spurred an additional round of cheers. “So, how about it folks? Is there a man alive willing to test their luck against the King?”

A woman out of the ring of people seemed to have taken notice of the newest addition to the peanut gallery. Pointing up at the lurking giant, she asked the group. “How about him?” Ruo did not notice all the eyes collectively turn in his direction until he was already in the spotlight. His first reaction was to look over his shoulder, assuming whoever they were talking about was standing behind him. But that was not the case. Some of the assembled Marines were the same ones he had helped load the ship yesterday, and they remembered his contributions.

“Isn’t that the guy who was carrying ammo crates up the ramp?”
“They usually use the crane for those...”

This time it was the oversized civilian’s turn to turn a shade of red, though for a much different reason. He did not really understand why they were making a big deal out of carrying boxes. However the so-called king however looked several shades paler at the new appearance. John's size allowed him to dwarf other men, but Ruo. Ruo dwarfed him just as easily. It was not a thing that he was used to. Leaning over, he whispered a few quiet words into his announcer’s ear, which the man then repeated in turn. “…Strong John has decided that he needs to use the restroom immediately! He will resume challenges after he returns.”

There was a general grumble at that, as folks lost the show to go with their food, but after Strong John stood up and left there was not much the rest of them could do but disperse as well. The Bangira son included, who had never stopping munching throughout the proceedings, had no opinion on the matter. If you had to go, you had to go, and that’s all there was to it. He did eventually find a seat for himself and set down his trays but by that point he had already consumed most of it, and chugged down a gallon’s worth of tea.

“Ah, Mr Ruo. Good to see you, fairing alright?” Came a familiar voice, not long after he had settled down. Looking up, he caught eyes with Saifer. The officer seemed like a nice guy, and had showed extraordinary generosity towards him, so he was more than happy for the chance to speak with him again.

“Oh, yes Captain.” Ruo replied quickly, though he had to swallow his food half-chewed to do it. “Your crew is very kind. Thank you again. Sit, if you want”

Feeling somewhat pressured by the man’s high rank, and the need to avoid an awkward silence, he reached for a topic of discussion. It was a question he had been wondering ever since the conclusion of their previous meeting. “If it is not too much trouble. Can I ask why you are going to Ice Nine? I thought it was just. Well, ice there.”

SPOILER: Click to show

Don't actually have to answer that, was just tacking it on. If you don't I'll just delete it.

[Lord Bromosalino]

“If it is not too much trouble. Can I ask why you are going to Ice Nine? I thought it was just. Well, ice there.”

To be honest, Isaac Saifer felt about as sick as a dog and the slow rocking motions of his massive battleship was starting to really send him for a loop. Holding a converstation of any sorts was, at the moment, the last thing on his mind. Saifer, however, was one who prided himself on maintaining a sense of professionalism in accordance with his ranking as Captain; as such, he couldn't well (or at least felt as if he shouldn't) ignore someone – especially a guest aboard his vessel! “Well...ugh...Mr. Ruo, there's some Marine business that requires my attention. Uugh...I won't...ahh...bore you with it, too much red-tape involved anyways. Is it just me, or is it really bright in here?” Nauseous, uncomfortable, and now light-headed, the young Marine Captain was really starting to show signs of his discomfort. “Hey Cap,” boomed out the gruff voice of Junior Lieutenant Rogers as he strode towards their table, two trays in hand, “they only had black tea, I hope that's...Cap? Hey, Cap! You ok? Hey, you there, help me with the Captain!”

A loud Clang! was heard as the metal trays of food hit the floor, and all eyes within the mess hall were on their Captain, who had suddenly fainted in his seat, his head falling backwards before hitting the floor with a rather concerning thump sound. Rushing to his side and gently lifting his senior officer's head, Rogers called out to the large guest to ask for his assistance; though no doubt, the man must have been as equally surprised as Rogers at seeing Captain Saifer faint from seemingly nothing. With each of the men grabbing the lanky officer and supporting his weight between them, the chief engineer and the mysterious Bangira moved quickly through the mess hall and back out to the hallways. To the onlooker, however, the duo must have looked silly as the giant would be stooping down Roger's meager 5 foot eleven inch frame. Rogers, too, must have noticed known that Ruo could have easily carried Isaac on his own, but Rogers wasn't about to let someone 'cradle' the Captain like a baby over to the medical ward.

Did you see what happened?
No, just saw the Captain nearly fall from his seat. Out cold when I looked over. The hell happened?
No idea, you think this is why he's always coped up?
Could be. God, I hope he's ok.
You think it was the food?
No idea.

---

Pat, pat, pat, pat.

Hardly speaking (outside of the occasional “Left here,” or “through that door”) and quickly rushing across the mighty “Black Guard”, Rogers and Ruo (who was at this point just being forced along due to his size) dragged the still knocked out Isaac Saifer towards the medical ward with all haste. Upon reaching the ward, which curiously had no door (as head medic Amy Mitchell had an 'open-door policy' that she liked to enforce at least in her own work environment), two nurses (both dressed in white smocks) came rushing in, only to let out a loud gasp as they took the unconscious Captain from the two men. Miss Mitchell! It's Captain Saifer, ma'am! From somewhere in the back through a door which led to the highly energetic Mitchell's office, a sweet sounding voice came ringing out, instantly filling the entirety of the ward, “Oh, the Captain? What a pleasant surprise. Have a seat in the waiting section Captain, I'll be right on out!” NO MA'AM! HE IS THE PATIENT! “WHAAAAAAAAT!?” Bang, clash, thump! “Ow ow ow!” Jumping in sheer surprise from the chair she had been sitting in, Amy Mitchell, head medic of the “Black Gaurd”, had banged her head against a low hanging light, hit her knee on the edge of her metal desk, and promptly fell back onto her chair, leaving her to rub her head and knee in pain. Ahhh, Miss Mitchell, are you ok!?, shrieked one of the smaller nurses, as she rushed into her superiors office, worried that they would now have to officers to care for. At this point, Rogers had (with the help of the other nurse) set Saifer down on one of the beds, before motioning Ruo to follow him. While Rogers wouldn't compare himself to Lieutenant Amyot, he couldn't help but roll his eyes, muttering under his breath, “That bumbling fool. Amyot was right, she is too emotional.”

And it was certainly true. Amy Mitchell was, well...energetic. While Mitchell treated Amyot like a younger sister (and certainly cared for her as an older sibling), she was certainly the polar opposite of Amyot (or at least the Amyot that she presented herself as to her crew). Free-spirited, boisterous, one to over-exaggerate, and always flirting with her Captain, Junior Lieutenant Mitchell was almost always earning the Lieutenant's scorn, but conversely, always dismissing it just as an older sister would to a much younger sibling. And now, hearing that her 'beloved Captain' was one of her patients and in some sort of pain pushed the good looking head medic over the top. “I'm fine...I think! Um, you! You brought him in right? What happened!?

Whether Rogers was aware of it or not, he had left Ruo behind, leaving him to do all the explaining himself!

---

Land ho!
Lieutenant, we're approaching Ice Nine!

"Perfect, bring us into port nice and easy. Wait, has anyone seen the Captain?"

Um, ma'am. I heard he was in the medical ward!

"What??? Bring us into port, but don't leave the ship until I get back!