She looked at the people sitting waiting around the table. Their eyes drifted but each was waiting for her to speak. For a moment she looked at each member of the crew, sharp Orion with his strong morality, Siren the dramatist, Venus and Raptor right next to each other as usual almost breaking regs, Ivory the operator extraordinaire and the three newbies. Scythe left her with a vaguely uneasy feeling, possibly from his cold, nearly black eyes, Nighthawk seemed to be completely comfortable on a ship but then the young woman was in the top of her classes at all times. Lastly, there was Sparkle, the vibrant girl whose every emotion danced across her face. Maralah, first officer, paused before calling attention to herself.
"Zion has issued a mission to the Rhetoric," she began, choosing her words carefully, "I want to know if you would take a mission that the captain declines." Intakes of breath did not surprise the woman standing, but they were exactly what she had been expecting, especially from those not accustomed to the ways of the Rhetoric.
"You're going to ask us to mutiny." Softly the eyes of steel pinned hers. Orion was an honourable man and if he had a choice, his captain's word would stand. She smiled a little, putting a spin on the issue. Where Orion would lead, the others would follow and she needed his support.
"I suppose in a way I am. But you haven't heard there was a mission, have you?" They all shook their heads and her lips twitched in amusement. Yes, the captain had done precisely as she wanted this time.
"Will you tell us what's going on before we decide?" A small voice asked. The girl was new, her hair barely reaching her ears in blonde waves. Sparkle, worried, looked for reassurance, which was given in a small grin.
"There is an important store of information in the Matrix. This information is considered vital to the success of our cause. All Zion wants is for us to get that information to them."
"Sounds like a drop box. Why don't they send another ship? What aren't you telling us?" As usual, Orion was astute, almost too much so for her liking, but she refrained from appearing worried.
"It's the same one as last time." A young woman leapt to her feet, hands clutching at her chest as the sentence finished. Over dramatic perhaps, but that was exactly what made the blonde famous.
"No!" Siren declared, "we barely made it out before!" Her eyes had grown wide with panic, orbs of blue glistening with fright. Maralah knew she was playing to the crowd.
"Last time there was too much nonsense from those inside. Last time we didn't have a plan. Last time we sent everybody in at once." As she outlined each mistake, her voice grew louder and stronger. "This time we will not fail Zion. This time we can make it out a complete crew." There was a silence she could understand as the others tried to come to terms with what was being asked of them. Slowly the young woman sat again, her hands lacing in her lap. Eyes still wide, Sparkle swallowed hard against the dread she saw in the other eyes.
"I suppose Arcane has said no go and Zion is holding something over your head." Smooth voiced, the operator smiled her normal, knowing smile. Her almond eyes danced with anticipation.
"Right as always. They've said it's my last before I get a place on a kid ship." Nods followed her voice as it faded away. All but the three newest members knew about the child waiting in Zion for the first officer to return.
"How long have you been waiting for that?" Breathed Venus, the girl whose mind worked brilliantly no matter the task. She crafted incredibly real people, no matter the situation. Sometimes they were almost too good.
"About three years now." A smile tugged at her lips at the memory of the young girl whose eyes asked more questions than made it past her lips.
"Um, what are you talking about?" Blonde Sparkle asked, completely perplexed.
"There are certain ships, mainly ones that restock ships up at broadcast, that can carry both military personnel and children who have plugs. The orphans. Minerva really picked me. We've been happy and because the Rhetoric generally has short missions and extended shore leave, I was allowed to adopt her. After this mission we have a place each on one of those ships. I can't risk losing that over a mission." Silence followed as the information soaked into the minds of the fresh crew.
"Are you going to tell the captain what you plan?" Orion once again questioned her. He should already have known the answer, but with so much at stake even the woman he respected as much as his captain could act irrationally.
"I already have." Her voice was as calm as it had ever been, laughter dancing in her expression.
"What did he say?" Siren let her blue eyes open melodramatically wide in anticipation.
"'As long as you keep me the hell out of it I don't care what you do' were his exact words if I remember rightly." The corners of her lips twitched upward in amusement.
"You do, as always Maralah." A voice, unexpected, came from the stairwell and downward came the man of who they had been speaking.
"Sir! I was only curious, I wasn't really going to go against you…" Stumbled Siren, standing shocked at his arrival.
"It doesn't matter either way what you were or weren't going to do. I've sent word back to Zion. As far as they know, we've taken the mission and there are no expected problems." His tone was rueful as he looked at his second in command. She smiled a little but stayed, still waiting.
"Sir, are you coming with us?" Comrades for years, Orion didn't want to betray the trust his captain and best friend had in him. But he too couldn't truly afford to turn down this mission.
"No, I don't want anything to do with this mess. It's enough that I lost three of us last time." He paused a moment and ran a hand through slightly curling hair. "But some of you don't have a choice. I understand that and I'll support you, offer advice if you need it. But I am not going in and I'll only haul your tails out if you can't do it yourselves. Maralah is in control of this one. Just keep me informed." His last words were directed at the woman by his side, his companion, his intimate.
"I always do." She replied quietly, a smile in her voice. And his feet were heard on the ladder. All eyes returned to her, the composed woman who would lead them either to success or death. They hoped for the former.
"Alright, you have an hour and a half before briefing." They left in muted mutters, some winking as they left. A lot could be achieved in an hour and a half. Ivory, the operator, paused.
"Core in twenty?"
"Twenty-five, I have some patching up to do."
"No problem. I'll get started then."
"Thanks Ivy, I won't be able to pull this off without you."
"I know, that's why I agreed in advance." The woman left with a smile and finally Maralah sank into the cold seating. A moment later his arms slipped around her and the silence became warm, comforting, forgiving and rebuilding. Closing her eyes she leaned into him and relaxed, preparing for what they had to do.
"I won't let her down Maralah, that would mean losing you and I won't do that either." His voice was rough, coarse over emotions he would never let out into the open. The ghost of a smile whispered across her lips.
"Just keep watch for me, that's all you can really do." He nodded and the time slipped by, each wrapped in their own thoughts, drawing support from the other. As she finally made her way up the stairs Arcane, captain of the Rhetoric, felt foreboding helplessness for the first time in his life. And for the first time he put stock in something an old woman had told him.
'Sometimes you only know what you have when you're going to lose it…' She had said between drags on her cigarette. In this case, Arcane couldn't afford for her to be right.
