Stars with Black Sails

Shawn made her way down to the engine room, stifling a yawn until she was safely inside her new work space. Luckily for her she hadn't met anyone in the corridors as she made her way back to the core, so she was thankful for that. A pirate with a hangover from a night of drinking was almost worse than a drunk pirate. Once inside, she placed her hands on her hips and breathes hard.

"Okay. My name is Shawn, you and I are going to be a team now, so we can't work against each other. I know I've got a lot to learn about you, but I'm confident that I can, and I need you to be, too." Shawn knew that the core couldn't talk back to her, it was illogical, but she did it anyway. It put her at ease. After her little speech, she moved around the room as she had the day before, this time slowly. She examined everything slowly, taking in every detail. As she moved, she went over what she had read, comparing it to what she saw, deleting from her memory things that were not relevant.

When she got to the main panel, she found the previous engineers notes, and picked them up. There wasn't much there, and it was scribbled down, nearly impossible to decipher, but if she was going to be working on the core she was going to have to. So that was what she set herself up to do.

"Status report please, Jen." Ezra's voice broke the silence on the bridge, an odd thing in and of itself considering who worked on the bridge crew. His hair was still damp, and may have given him a slight chill if he could still feel cold. But the only coldness he could feel was in his own heart, the numb emptiness that followed him around like his own personal specter. It was a mantle he shouldered willingly, day in and day out, for he had lost so many in his life that it seemed he was cursed to forever live in the shadow of happiness.

Jen responded, her voice uncharacteristically melancholy. "Holding steady, captain. We should reach Seti within the next two hours." Jen's eyes did not leave her screen, but Ezra did not have to see them to know how red and swollen they were. Her shoulders hung low; Erik's death hit her harder than anyone else, for no one felt the same way about him as she did. "Morning crew is already in the hanger prepping the cargo for transport.

"Good. This won't be a long stop, just time enough to get rid of the goods and get the hell out of this system."

"Are we picking up more recruits, sir?"

"If there's time. Mostly we're here to get rid of the cargo and get paid. Then we'll head out to the border worlds and lay low for a little while. I have a feeling that the FA will be looking extra hard for us this time."

The helmsman piped up then. "Why's that?"

Ezra did not answer with words, though his actions may have spoken enough as he walked away, he destination set for the engine room. He stopped long enough to grab a few items from the kitchen, then continued on. He did not bother to knock, but entered the core room to check on his latest pirate recruit.

"Finding your way around?"

Deciphering the previous engineers notes proved to be more annoying that difficult, and Shawn was quickly getting irritated. There seemed to be no logical way that the notes were written, they just seemed to be scribbled down in any spot, one thing not having anything to do with the rest on that page. She knew that her lack of sleep was playing into her shortened temper, but it was just frustrating.

She ended up spreading the pages out on the floor and sitting in the middle of a wide circle of papers, gathering the information in a way she would understand transferring them to her own tablet where she could go over them easier. She barely heard the door open as she was mumbling to herself while she went over everything, her brow furrowed in concentration. Only when Ezra spoke, did she glance up, and it was only for a moment.

"Mhmm." Was all she offered in response, turning back to her work. Most people who knew her knew that she hated to be bothered while she worked, but he didnt know her. He didn't know how absorbed she could get in what she was doing.

Ezra exhaled sharply through his nose, annoyed by the way Shawn responded. While he understood her hard-working nature, he expected his crew to offer more than a murmur as a response to his questions. He set the coffee down on a table to his left, then pulled several protein bars from his pocket and set the down next to the mug. As he straightened up, he leveled his eyes on the back of Shawn's head, still annoyed by her lack of response.

'WHAM!!!' Ezra's booted foot slammed against the metal door, the sound bouncing off the walls loudly. "You did not eat last night, and I know you skipped breakfast this morning. Stop. Eat. Drink. Then get back to work." This was Ezra's way of showing his concern. At one time he had been softer. He had been a good friend, giving his loved ones the more tender side of his personality. But a lifetime had passed since he had any friends. He had almost forgotten what it was to be nice.

"If you don't take care of yourself, you can't work. If you can't work, then my ship doesn't perform. If it doesn't perform, we all die. So get up, have something to eat, and tell me where you are in your studies."

The loud banging of his foot against the door startled Shawn, and she jumped in surprise. She turned to look at him with wide eyes, almost as surprised to see him still standing there. When exactly had he come into the room? Pushing herself up to her feet, she stretched her arms above her head, groaning softly. The smell of coffee made her wake up just a little bit more, and she moved over to the cup and the protein bars.

"I went through a lot of information last night, so I'm kind of understanding the actual substance, but your engineers notes are just... they're all over the place!" She took a second to down half of the coffee, a satisfied sigh escaping her lips. Closing her eyes, she let herself relax a bit, before she looked back over to Ezra. "I'm reorganizing the information and once I'm done with that I'll be able to go over it."

The coffee was real and authentic, made from pulverized coffee beans, unlike the processed garbage that they synthesized off of Earth. Only Earth coffee had that flavor, and was considered to be quite a luxury, as it was quite expensive. One of the perks, being a pirate and all. The bars, however, were mass produced. The flavor wasn't bad, but it could not hold a candle to real food. Protein bars were popular in deep space vessels, as it would hold up almost indefinitely if the package wasn't broken.

"Mmm," Ezra replied as he sipped from his own cup. "Eric was a hurricane. So many things going on at one time that it seemed like chaos, but he had a process. I never tried to follow it. I would get dizzy." He stared down at the scattered pages and the small gap Shawn had created for herself. At least she was more organized than Eric. Hopefully she would be cleaner as well.

The captain roamed the room a little, looking at nothing in particular but feeling some measure of comfort being so close to the core. "I am curious. Why did you become a grease monkey? Your grades indicate that you could have done just about anything you wanted. Your father is in quite a nice position as well. You could have taken the easy road and followed him, or been even more lazy and made him buy you anything you wanted. Why pick such a dirty and dangerous job?"

Shawn savored the rich flavour of the coffee, drinking it slowly. She considered his questions, her gaze growing distant for a moment. "My mother told me to never rely on anyone else. They won't do for you what you can do for you, you're the only one who will always have your back. So I only rely on myself and what I can do; I never rely on my father." She set the coffee down and moved back to the papers, shuffling through them, trying to get back into work mode.

"I chose to be a greasy monkey, as you put it, because I love knowing how things work. I'm good at taking things apart and putting them back together better than they were before. And," she paused for a moment, "aside from being a pirate, it was the furthest thing from my father." Because of what had happened with her mother, Shawn blamed her father. If he wasn't so ruthless, so unkind, and so hated she believed her mother would have never died. But because he was a part of the higher FA, because he had to rule with an iron fist, he made enemies and never took responsibility for his actions. Her mother paid the price.

Shawn would never forgive him. "Thank you for the coffee, and the food, but I'd like to get back to work. I've got a lot to learn, and it looks like some work to finish."

There was the sore spot, the nerve she had been covering. In a matter of hours he had cracked open a shell that probably had remained completely intact for many many years. "Your mother told you right. At the end of the day the only person we can truly count on is ourselves. But you can't do everything. At some point you're going to have to delegate. You're going to have to ask for help. Don't let pride or advice interfere with your judgement. There is no weakness in asking for help when you need it. The weakness would be your stubborn refusal to do so. Or mine."

As Ezra's speech ended, he drained the contents of his mug and turned around, opening the door and stepping through, but pausing for a moment. "We'll be reaching Seti soon. Get ready to break into atmo and for landing procedures. Manual's above you." With that, he was gone, heading back toward the bridge with another stop at the kitchen to refill his beverage. The whole way he racked his brain, trying to figure out how he would proceed from there. He had business to do, and normally he would go alone so as not to spoke the buyers. But he could not leave Shawn on the ship alone with the rest of the crew.

The only choice would be to take her with him.

"My mother knew a lot." Shawn murmured long after he had left. She grabbed the manual and began to read through it. By the time it was getting close to atmo and landing, she had read through the whole thing, and managed to sort out most of the notes. Shawn now had a base understanding of how to run the ship, and what the previous guy had been trying to do. She was confident that she'd be able to have his work finished by the end of the week.

Halfway through her reading she got a notification from Iota that the software was finished and ready to run. "Go, Iota. Run the program, and save all information you recieve. I'll go through it when I have time." Shawn looked at the core, her exhaustion apparent, even after the coffee; it hadn't been enough. "Would you mind terribly if I uploaded your interface to my bracelex?" She indicated the metal bracelet on her wrist. "I'll be able to run things through it even if I'm not in this room. So if there's a problem, I can troubleshoot, and find a solution before I even get here." Knowing that the core couldn't talk back, she still asked for permission to do so, as it was polite.

As expected she received no response, so she began to plug into the system, downloading a portable connection to her bracelet. She removed her old ships information first to make room for the Marauder, but once that was complete it was only a matter of minutes before she had access to the info.

The descent into Seti's atmosphere was very smooth, compared to other worlds, for it's air had been scrubbed significantly and kept free of pollutants. The Marauder's radar signature was masked by the Dark Matter drives, cloaked from all but sound and sight, allowing it to slip in and out of the FA-controlled world relatively unnoticed. Like a smooth stone it pierced the air, rapidly approaching the ground until the heat shields were no longer needed. On order, the helmsman pulled them out of the dive, gracefully righting the ship until it touched down safely on the flight deck of a massive structure, something resembling an Earthen aircraft carrier of old.

The engine room, however, was a completely different sight to behold. It was smoother than any other area of the ship, its monitors displaying both data and imagery. The core put off heat, though no where near a dangerous temperature, catalyzing the Dark Matter into energy as she sailed into port much like the way a swan would touchdown on still water.

"Alright, good work everyone. Let's get locked down and unload the cargo quickly. I want to get off this world as soon as possible. Too many Federals crawling on this rock."

"Aye, sir."

Disappearing off the bridge, Ezra moved toward engineering, his pace crisp and brisk. The only way to keep Shawn out of danger was to keep her at his side. It was better to keep her on his hip than to leave her on board, where the others might commit violence on her without his knowledge. The door slid open. Ezra tossed a set of fresh clothes at Shawn, speaking clearly over the constant hum of the core. "Suit up, we're going for a walk."

Shawn turned as Ezra came into the engine room, barely catching the clothes he threw at her. With a frown, she looked down at her own grease stained clothes, understanding why he wanted her to change. But why did she have to leave the ship with him? It wasn't her job to go anywhere, or do anything. Far too tired to argue, Shawn shook her head and changed her clothes.

"Going for a walk where? How long is it going to take? I have work to do, I can't just be lounging around, going for a stroll." Unintentionally she sounded ungrateful, but it was just her exhaustion bleeding through. If she hadn't been so tired, and focused on what she needed done, it may have occurred to her that he was only taking her because he had to. His crew still hated her for what she had done and it was safer to take her than leave her.

Though it wasn't the smartest idea either. The FA knew her face, and if they knew she was 'missing' and someone spotted her with Ezra, the captain of a pirate ship, his crew would never be safe. That port was notorious for FA henchmen to gather and rat out anyone. Didn't Ezra know it would be a huge risk to take her out with him? He had to have known, so if he wanted to take that risk, then fine. She'd already annoyed him twice since their meeting and she wasn't aiming for a third. Yet.

"This is not a leisurely stroll through the park, Shawn. I can't trust my crew with you alone yet, and i have to be the one to complete this transaction." His tone firm, Ezra stared daggers at the girl. It was not a subject he was willing to debate with her, though he did understand, up to a point. Why she would be eager to help was beyond him, but more perplexing still was her hesitation to disembark.

Shawn was not stupid. She had to know that she could make a break for it. Seti was full of FA goons. It would be easy for her to pick up with one of them and have back her freedom. Why would she pass up such an opportunity?

"Besides, having a pretty face in my company adds to both my credibility while adding some more intimidation to my side." It was not a compliment, but a simple gamble based on history. Jen had a way with looking at others in a way that could disarm them, which Ezra used to his advantage.

"Or you can stay on board and get lynched or worse. If you aren't coming tell me now, so i knlw to look for a new engineer." Ezra turned and meandered down the hallway, the same dead look on his face that he always had on a job.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Jeez..." Shawn followed after him, annoyed and a little nervous. As irritating as Ezra was, she wasn't willing to let the FA get their hands on him, his ship, or her. As they walked down the hallway, Shawn pulled her hair tie out and ran her fingers through the long strands. Once she did that, she pulled her hair back up, pulling out a few pins and shoving the thick mass of hair up into a weaved style that hid the two different colors. Most of the FA knew that her hair was long and faded from black to red. If they saw that, then she'd be recognized, and it would be all over, so she just styled it differently so only the red was seen.

"So... you're trying to keep me safe from your crew, hm? I'd think that was nice if I didn't know any better. But using my face to boost your image? Yeah, I believe that part." Shawn may have been a grease monkey, but she wasn't bad to look at when she cleaned up. Couple that with the threatening look in her eyes when she was tired, and his goal would be accomplished.

It took her a moment to realize that he basically said she had a pretty face, and while she was flattered, she was also a bit unsure. Raising an eyebrow as she followed him, she decided to find out what she was being pulled away from work for. "What are you dropping off? Why are you the one that has to make this deal or whatever? Why couldn't you have just ordered your crew to leave me alone, I thought they listened to you?"

"I am nice. I am like Mother Theresa." Ezra's sarcasm was sometimes difficult to read, thougb it was pretty clear in that moment. "I let your old crew live, didn't i?" As they approached the cargo bay, more of the crew began to notice tgr two of them. Some seemed to pay no attention, while others glowered and glared as they walked by.

When she asked about the nature of the deal, Ezra simply waved the question off. "Plausible deniability. If things go south, you are a prisoner brought against her will and know nothing of this deal or why i am making it. Catch and release for you." Without saying it outright, it was another way for him to show he was not an evil man. He was giving her a way out if she needed it.

"As for why i don't leave you on the ship... accidents happen."

"Should I call you Mother Teresa from now on then?" Her sarcasm matched his own, a slender eyebrow raising, though she did not look at him. She didnt look at the other crew members who gave her nasty looks either. Shawn was somewhat immune to others hateful stares or words; she grew up as a rich kid, and people always assumed the worst of her. In fairness, these looks were justified, as she had killed some of their mates, but it still did not effect her.

"I don't need plausible deniability, or a way out. If I wanted out, honestly, I could have gotten out. If your core wasn't so magnificent I'd already be plotting my escape, but I'm enthralled, and I will not be looking forward to the day I must part with it." Shawn was completely serious. Even though she hadn't actually done any actual work as an engineer, she was fascinated by his ship and wanted to spend more time aboard it. She could ignore the fact that it was a pirate ship for the sake of being able to learn more about it, and experience it. And also that she could find a way to escape if she needed to.

If Shawn really wanted to leave, all she had to do was call out to any of the FA lapdogs and be done with it. But she had no intention to. Before they exited the vessel, Shawn pulled up a cloth half mask that resembled a skull, allowing it to cover the bottom half of her face, from her nose down. It was the face of Stitch. Not only would Ezra have a "pretty face" by his side, he would also have Stitch, and that would also boost his reputation, and make him even more intimidating than he already was. For who would approach a pirate as powerful as he, when he was the one who 'owned' Stitch? Many have tried to recruit Stitch for various purposes, but she only did things she deemed worthy, and it was never for the FA. Perhaps it was a good thing that she would be seen with a pirate. It was a good boost to her own image.

A sour expression was the only response Shawn received from Ezra. He was certainly no saint. Not by a long shot. But he did notice the level of sarcasm in her voice and interpreted as a joke. He also shot deadly gazes at the crew, warding off more prying eyes until they passed them by, the shipmates only daring to look up again once they were looking at the captain's back. For a moment, Ezra wondered if they would actually try to state a mutiny, but quickly abolished the idea. They knew what he was and what he could do. None of them would be that stupid.

When they at last reached the door that would allow them to exit the ship, Ezra turned his gaze to his engineer, staring directly into her eyes, her face mostly covered by her mask. "The world is not a simple place. Even if you handed me over to them on a platter, that doesn't mean they will welcome you with open arms. Remember who we're talking about here." The warning was not made lightly; Ezra had experienced first hand the treachery and deceit that the FA had to offer the universe, how they rewarded those who did their work for them. The memory almost forced a wet burp to his throat.

The door finally swung open, allowing a brief rush of air to hit both of them in the face. Fresh air flooded the compartment. Ezra took in a deep breath through his nose, savoring the wonderful fragrance of oxygen that had not been scrubbed and recycled. It was pure and fresh, like the ides of Spring. Ezra walked down the gangway and put his feet on solid ground, an almost foreign sensation to the pirate, as he spent almost all his time in space, feeling the vibrations of gravity wells and roaring engines and pulsing weapons.

Waiting for him at the end of the ramp were four men, dressed in nicer but casual clothing. They were a little rough looking around the edges, worn and aging, but none of them seemed very threatening. "Captain Denton, welcome to Seti. I trust your voyage was a quiet one."

"Quiet... I suppose. Where is Quill? I was lead to believe that I would be meeting her directly."

"Sends her apologies. She's ill like a lot of folks here. I'll take you to her," the man offered, his eyes darting back and forth between Shawn and Ezra.

Shawn remained silent, able to tell when she should talk and when she shouldn't. She followed Ezra and the other men, making sure to stick close by him. She didnt know who they were, what they wanted, or what they were there for. But she wasn't going to try to leave, especially since she didn't know where she was. Seti, obviously, but Alarvis was in a completely different system and she'd have a hard time getting back there alone.

As they walked, she noted the tension between them, and began to feel curiosity creep up on her. Why was everything so tense? What exactly was going on? She felt an impulse to drop trackers into the pockets of the other men to find out more about the "work" they did, but she fought it down. It wasn't her concern after this drop off, she was only with him, witnessing this transaction, because she'd probably be lynched if she was left alone.

For a while the group only walked, the strangers in the front and Ezra trailing behind with Shawn at his side. He seemed calm for the most part, but there was definitely an air of hesitation around him. That was normal for Ezra; he never walked into a building and didn't have at least two exits in mind. He was wary all the time, unless he was attempting to make a statement with body language alone. On that little stroll, his eyes were constantly moving, watching faces and alleys and doors and windows. He couldn't help it; his father had made him paranoid.

The five finally reached their destination, a rather large building that looked significantly nicer than some of the others, though that didn't mean it was actually nice or expensive. The area they were in was clearly on the lower-end of the income chain. One held the door open while the other two entered, followed by Ezra, leading Shawn in with him. Through another door they walked, crossing the threshold into an office.

Behind the desk sat a woman appearing to be roughly 35-40 years old. Her frame was thin and malnourished, though she was not quite deathly-looking yet. "Come in," she said with a weak smile. "Have a seat."

Shawn did not leave Ezra's side. She followed closely to him, noting how hesitant he was being. She wondered if he was paranoid because he had to be or if it was just a product of who he was as a peraon. On the off chance it was something that she would need to be prepared for, Shawn also began to subtly look for exits to the building, devising an escape route should she need one.

When they entered the office and they were offered to sit, she did not move to do so until Ezra moved. Only there as a precaution to her own safety, she didn't pay too close attention to any business that would be discussed. She was more focused on an out if they needed one. Having her bracelex hidden under her glove was an advantage to them as she had a lot of nifty things she could do from it.

Obliging the invitation, Ezra placed his hand gently on the small of Shawn's back and guided her to a sofa that sat against wall, away from direct line of sight through the windows and without having to show his back to the door. He sat semi-relaxed, not keen on gushing with etiquette but not being rude either. Once they were settled, the woman softened even more and excused two of the three men that escorted Shawn and Ezra in, leaving the two of them, the unnamed man, and Quill to stay and talk.

"Quill, please don't be offended, but you look half starved." Ezra's casual demeanor drew no attention; it was clear that they had done business together before.

Quill laughed as she spoke. "Always a truthful one. You're looking well, and with new company I see. You never bring your friends to meet me." Though she smiled, Ezra could sense that she was not expecting him to come with a guest, and it put her slightly on edge.

"Ours is a dangerous business Quill. She's a new recruit, so i'm showing her the ropes, making sure she meets my favorite people so you can get used to each other."

Quill relaxed immediately. "Smart, as always. I suppose we should come down to business though. I hope your job went well."

"Nothing we couldn't handle." His eyes were straight forward, never once darting to Shawn, for fear that it would unsettle things again.

"Good. It was hard to get the information on that shipment. I just hope it was worth it. Garen, will you confirm receipt please?" The man who had brought them to Quill's home flipped through a monitor, cycling through a variety of screens until he landed on the one he wanted. From that monitor, they could see the crew unloading the stolen goods into a truck while an unknown figure opened up the cases. "It's all there," Garen commented with a sigh of relief.

"Ezra this is a game-changer. Are you sure you don't want us to spread the word? Good business is hard to come by sometimes."

Ezra smiled back at her. "No, thank you Quill. I have enough notoriety as it is."

The woman nodded, then brought her eyes to Shawn. "Well I suppose if we're going to be doing business I should know your name. My name is Quillian d'Merit, but you can call me Quill."

When she was acknowledged by the woman she now knew was Quill, she bowed her head respectively, and smiled. Though the smile remained unseen behind the mask, it was visible from her eyes. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, Ms. Quill. My name is Stitch, and I look forward to meeting you again in the future."

Contrary to her attitude towards Ezra, Shawn could be very proper and polite. She grew up as a rich kid, taught manners and proper etiquette when speaking to those with a higher status than herself. Knowing that he did business with this woman she was not going to put him in a position where it would be jeopardized as that was not her goal. Ultimately she wanted back on the ship where she felt she belonged, and not wandering around with him on a planet to trade where FA agents could potentially get their hands on her.

Rude though it may have seemed, Shawn did not move to lower her mask and reveal her identity. It was guarded just like her true name, and if they lived where FA agents were scattered then it was a possibility that she knew who "Shawn" was, and she simply could not take that chance.

Quill chuckled softly, surprised by Stitch's politeness. "Relax, girl. No need to be so polite, though my boys could certainly learn a thing or two about respect." She shot a sarcastic smile to Garen. The joke was accepted for what it was, so Quill moved on with her conversation with Stitch and Ezra.

"Would you two care to join me for lunch? My son is making federn soup. You'll never taste anything like it." Federn was much like duck on earth, succulent and juicy, especially when fried. The rich aroma was already starting to fill the room, which made Ezra's mouth water. He hadn't eaten anything decent in weeks, sticking mostly to the synthetic proteins to stretch luxury supplies for the crew. A happy crew was always more productive and honest.

"Thank you," Ezra began, "...but no. We have to get moving as quickly as possible."

"Not evading any particular FA scum, are you Ezra? You know how much that complicates things between us." Quill's expression had become much more serious in that moment. If it was one thing she hated most, it was the Federal Officers who ferreted people out just for the fun of it. She was a business woman in the community, and meant to keep her image clear.

"No no, nothing like that. I have another job lined up for us but we are a little behind schedule. You know how I am about punctuality."

Quill's face lightened considerably. "Oh good then." Garen then crossed the room to Ezra and Stitch, holding a Cred Stick in his hand. "Garen will see you out. It was nice to do business with you again, Ezra, and a pleasure to meet you Stitch. Safe voyage, now."

Shawn smiled and, again, bowed her head in respect towards Quill. "I look forward to our next meeting, and I wish you the best." In all honesty she just wanted to get this little meeting over with so she could get back to the ship. Everything about their meet was sketchy and uncomfortable to her, preferring machines over people any day of the week. It didn't help that the FA scoured the planet looking for anyone they deemed suspicious enough to take into questioning.

There was no doubt in her mind that a notice had been sent out that she was missing from her ship, last seen with a pirate crew. According to her former Captain, the coward that he was, she was taken aboard the Marauder by the infamous Captain Denton against her will. It was only a matter of time before she was found. Before she had gotten to see the core she would have been glad to be taken home, but now she wasn't so sure. Yes, it was dangerous for her to be anywhere near that crew, but she didn't want to leave just yet.

Shawn waited for Ezra, hoping they had no more errands to run. Being out in the open made her feel vulnerable, and that was not a feeling she was fond of.

"Quill i'm afraid our time has run out. It looks like the delivery was successful and we're loaded up and ready to launch. Please let me know if you hear anything." Ezra stood and leaned forward to shake Quill's hand, who took it gratefully.

"Of course. You fly safe out there. If I catch word of any new shipments coming through the area."

With a smile, Ezra lead his counterpart to the exit and back out into the main thruways and pedestrian traffic. There was still plenty of light in the day and people were milling about with their daily errands, making it easy to slip into and out of the stream without alerting anyone's attention. His pace was slower than normal, less determined, as if he were actually hesitant to return to his ship. That, of course, was not the case, for another thought had been playing at his mind. That inner dialogue continued until he finally just blurted it out.

"It's called CHP-10. It's a base chemical ingredient used to synthesize the uni-drug Fortress. It's kind of like a pack of stem cells. You program it with what you want it to do, inject it into a sick person, and it cures them. It's how we eliminated most of the plagues and diseases that killed so many people over the years. The problem is that it's hard to manufacture, and the only company that does it is in the FA's pocket, so getting any is very difficult. Quill's people caught wind of a shipment passing near to Seti, so she asked me to intercept it."

Ezra wasn't sure why he was telling her, but something deep inside him had prompted him to do so. Eventually he decided that it no longer mattered. She knew, and that was all there was to it. "Most of the border planets can afford it. The FA hordes it and makes a good profit off the demand. But if you like on Bethseda and you get sick, you are hopeless."

"That's insanely fucked up." Shawn said, her eyes narrowing. It infuriated her that the FA thought that they could just get away with whatever they wanted. Did they not care that people's lives were at stake? How could her father think that she would willingly be a part of an organization that tried to be rule the vast cosmos with fear and intimidation? "It's sick."

She scowled, her disgust for the FA growing; did they even care that they were hurting the people they were supposed to protect? Probably not. Shawn looked up, opening her mouth to speak again when she caught sight of someone familiar. With a soft gasp, she stepped in front of Ezra, turning to face him, hiding herself against him. They weren't touching, but they were very close to one another. She waited a moment until the person passed them by, closed her eyes and sighed in relief that she wasn't seen.

Lingering there for a moment longer, she realized that Ezra was very warm. Even that close she could feel how warm he was; without thinking she had stayed too close for a second too long. Inhaling sharply, she backed up and stepped to his side, glad that the mask was hiding her face, because her cheeks felt hot. Clearing her throat, she cast her eyes to the side. "Sorry... can we just... get back to the ship? Too many people."