Predictably, the vote is two to three.
Elsa and Mulan both vote no, tentatively and with emphasis respectively. Belle, Ruby, and Emma herself vote to go for it.
And so it's settled.
Emma messages Regina – through her identification number, which she'd provided, although Emma had gotten it from the drop message earlier – soon after to let her know the news. She responds with I knew you'd make the right choice. When should we meet? and Emma has to fight the urge to roll her eyes as she tells her to lift off the station in an hour. Sealing will be easiest outside of the station's atmosphere, and Emma has every intent to make sure the coupling goes smoothly.
Mulan insists on being present for it, of course. Emma expects nothing less than her.
The bruiser is smaller than Emma had imagined. She's familiar with the model, of course: it's not too old, rather practical – although she's unaccustomed to seeing them outside of Alliance space, let alone this far out into the Wilds. Regina hadn't been kidding when she'd mentioned their small capacity for, well…everything.
Emma actually heads up to the rarely-used helm for this: it's at the opposite end of the ship, past all of their utility and bedrooms and up a small flight of stairs, and so Emma and Belle had rerouted all controls to the center console of the common room long ago. It's still useful for more complex maneuvering, though — like lining up two ships perfectly — and so she leaves Mulan down there as the reception party.
Whatever hell Mulan is going to give her, Emma's certain Regina can handle it, even though she only just met the woman.
The alignment goes well, at least. The Daniella lines up nicely with the Bug's port, and with a handful of keys on Emma's part, the mechanics hiss to life and connect the two seamlessly. The Daniella is drawn snug against the side of the Bug like a growth, effectively integrating it as well as any other of its rooms.
The moment that she's confirmed stability, she fires off a message to the Daniella's communications letting them know it's safe to board and practically flies down the corridor. Part of it is just the excitement of it all driving her down so quickly.
The other part is the nagging realization that she's just let an entirely strange crew aboard her ship without her there. Not that Mulan can't handle herself.
The port opens up to the hall just after the common room but before the bedrooms. It doesn't take her too long, but by the time she gets there Regina's already stepped across the threshold and into the Bug's corridor.
"Welcome aboard, Captain," Emma says. She tries to make it sound genuine, at least, despite the scowl Mulan shoots her way. Regina, on the other hand, flashes her a smile that's halfway between cocky and appreciative, and it makes her heart stutter.
"Only been aboard thirty seconds," Marian comments, appearing from the hatchway. She shares a look with Mulan, who actually gives a sly smile of agreement.
Regina ignores the comment. "Thank you, Captain." She steps to the side, letting Marian pass. Marian slips farther along into the hallway, though she only takes a couple steps past Emma and Mulan, who are flanking either side of it. "You've already met Marian, my second in command. This is Kathryn." Regina nods towards the hatch, and Emma realizes she's been so busy staring she hadn't noticed the woman hovering in the doorway.
"Nice to meet you," Kathryn says rather formally. She's blonde, a little taller than Emma and Regina herself, with something of a serious look about her. "I'm looking forward to looking together."
"Sure," Mulan says.
"Likewise." There's a pause until Emma says, "Uh. Alright, then. Well, welcome to the Bug, guys. So…we can go to the common room and talk about where we go from here?"
"Huh," A man's voice from the hatch. "This isn't too bad. I thought it'd be nicer on the inside."
Emma's brows go up at that. Both at nicer and at the fact that Regina had distinctly told her three crew members –
A lanky man appears from behind Regina. Emma takes one look at his round eyes and cheeks that haven't quite lost their baby fat, and – oh, not a man. A boy.
And suddenly nicer and three don't seem so bad.
"What the fuck. You've got a child on your crew?"
Regina scowls. "He's my son. And he knows how to handle himself."
The boy doesn't look like Regina, at least on a physical level – he's got lighter skin, a smattering of freckles, and a messy thatch of straight brown hair that's several shades lighter than Regina's near-black. His eyes are brown, but even those are lighter, leaning towards hazel.
But he turns towards her then, and the resemblance strikes Emma immediately in the form of his expression. His mouth turns down in a mirror image, his brows knitting exactly like Regina's, and Emma blinks. "I'm sixteen," The boy protests.
Emma holds up her hands. "Okay. Okay. Just…this life's dangerous, is all." Dangerous, and she hadn't agreed to kids. Emma likes kids, don't get her wrong – it's just. She's not a babysitter. She's not going to supervise.
Regina rolls her eyes. "I'm well aware. And so is he. We keep him safe."
"Wait until she finds out about Roland," The boy says, an aside to his mother like Emma's not even there.
"Roland?" Emma echoes. The boy's expression darkens again the moment his eyes land on her.
"My little brother," Is all the explanation he gives.
Regina looks like she's going to laugh. "Marian's child," She explains, and squeezes Henry's arm. "He's down for a nap at the moment."
"Regina," Emma begins, and Regina turns her gaze on her, somewhat coolly. "You told me three on your crew. That makes four."
"Three adults," Regina says. "Two children."
"So five," Emma says.
"Three to split the payment with, Captain. That's all you need to concern yourself with."
"How old's Roland?"
"None of your business," Regina says, and the former warmth in her voice has all but dissipated.
"It's my ship," Emma shoots back. Marian's expression clouds significantly and Emma backtracks a bit, loosening her stance and attempting to diffuse things. "Look," She begins. "It's not just about crayon on my walls. I like to know who I'm responsible for. We don't know what we're getting into here, and –"
"How about you let us worry about the children, and you can focus on getting us four star systems over, okay?" Marian, this time. Bold. She meets Emma's gaze head on, and Regina looks something like proud.
Emma holds the stare for a moment, but eventually she decides that it's not worth pissing them off the instant they've stepped on their ship. They could still back out of the deal, after all, and then they'll be flying blind into Deadspace. "Alright," She says eventually, and she can see the tension visibly diffuse from those around her. She steps to the side with only a little reluctance, holding her arm out in a little flourish. "Mulan, lead the way, then."
Mulan rolls her eyes, turned so that Emma's the only one who can see, but she does as she's asked despite her clear disdain for the entire situation. She slips past Marian without so much as bumping her on the shoulder, and Emma can't help but be proud of her self control. Regina gives her a gracious smile and follows Mulan with her hands pushed deep into her pockets. Emma hits one of the comm buttons as she watches them go and sets it to project over the entire ship's speakers.
"Come on, guys. Everyone to the common room. Our guests are here."
Elsa ducks around the corner almost immediately. Emma supposes she must've been hiding somewhere near the storage rooms, eager to eavesdrop without scaring away the newcomers. She shoots Emma a half-smile that's only somewhat guilty for it. Marian flashes a smile and moves to greet her the moment that she appears, but there's a chirp from the comm she's got strapped to her wrist and she stops in her tracks.
"Roland's up," She murmurs, and then flashes an apologetic smile before ducking right back through the hatchway.
"She's going to be a moment," Kathryn says, eyes on Emma. She'd been hovering. "We might as well go start…whatever this is."
That last part might have rubbed Emma the wrong way with most people. Kathryn, however, has this small, sly little smile at her lips, like this whole thing is just another day. Nothing to worry about.
Emma nods, and holds her hand out. "Ladies first, then."
"Ew," Ruby says, making a gagging noise as she appears from the hall leading away to the bedrooms. Belle's with her, their locked hands swaying between them. "She's being chivalrous already."
"Shut it, Rubes."
Kathryn looks like she's holding back a laugh, but she doesn't say anything, only turns and heads in the direction that her captain and second had disappeared through a minute before.
"Nice," Belle says.
Emma lets the pair go first if only so that she can give Ruby a good shove at the center of her back.
Things are awkward the moment they all file into the common room. Marian appears not a minute after Emma herself, a bit frantic looking with a small child at her hip. He looks to be maybe five or six – Emma's not good at judging child development – and something inside her deflates. Elsa catches her eye and mouths a kid? Emma purses her lips in an expression that she hopes communicates something between frustration and resignation.
"Belle, Ruby, Elsa, you've all met Regina and Marian." Emma gestures to each of her crew as she says their names for the benefit of Regina and her company. "This is Kathryn, and…" Her eyes land on the boy – Regina's teenager, not Roland, although Emma kind of wonders if it's rude not to introduce him too –, and all he does is scowl.
"Henry," Regina supplies in a tone that isn't quite scolding. "Manners."
His frown deepens, but he holds his right hand out – not in Emma's direction, of course. Towards Elsa, who is apparently the least threatening person in his eyes. She takes it, at least, with a smile at her lips in true Elsa fashion. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Henry Mills."
"Right," Emma says, and the frown reappears right on his chubby baby face. "Now that the introductions are out of the way. Regina, wanna pull up that map you promised?"
She nods curtly, and Emma takes her over to the console.
"I assume this is something like what you have in the bruiser?" Emma asks, gesturing to the center panel. The buttons are all labeled in English, all with standard terran symbology. One of the advantages of being from the same planet, Emma thinks, is intuitive tech.
"Close enough," Regina says, confirming Emma's musings. She taps a few buttons, accessing the Daneila's storage files. Emma feels her heart twist, a not so subtle reminder that she's just fully linked their systems with that of a stranger. Regina makes good on her end of the bargain, though, and pulls up the star charts that she'd flashed Emma earlier in the day. Once again, Emma's struck by the sheer amount of detail.
"Well," Regina begins. "I've already confirmed from my ship's center console that our systems are fully integrated. It's a show of trust, as I'm sure you're all aware. With that in mind, I'm providing my piece of the agreement: knowledge."
Pretentious, just like the wine, Emma thinks.
"The crystal is in the possession of this woman," Regina says, and brings up an image of an alien person over the star charts. "She's a collector. She's known only as Blue."
"Blue," Emma asks, raising a brow. "Really? That's very…plain English, for an alien."
"How do you know she's an alien?" Regina asks. And she's right, Emma supposes, if a bit bitterly. The chances of a human making it that far out and becoming a rich collector aren't zero, even if they're slim. But then Regina wets her lips and says, "That's what she calls herself, apparently."
"What's her real name, then?"
"Blaihulaet," Regina says.
Emma frowns. "What?"
"So, Blue, then?"
Emma scowls. "Go on."
Regina's eyes glint. "That's what I thought." Emma rolls her eyes, and Regina turns back to the screen. "We're here." She gestures to a spot to the left side of the map. "The jewel's last known location was on Kliemar, which is here." She points to a spot on the far right. "But it's not there any more. We have intel stating that Blue is heading to Lorreon next. It's going to take approximately four weeks for us to get from here to there. Let's just hope she's still there. There are a couple of space stations and inhabited planets on the way. It'll be most efficient if we take our resupply on Hjielak."
"Hi-what?" Roland asks, piping up for the first time, and Marian bumps him around on her knee. Regina turns toward him with warm eyes.
"High-lack," Regina says, sounding out the word slowly. Roland echoes it back, and Regina gives a proud, encouraging nod.
Emma nods along, like she hadn't needed the guidance, too. She's been there a couple times. And she'd pronounced the planet's name a bit more…phonetically. It's not like anybody had ever corrected her.
Does explain some scowling from the locals, she thinks.
Still – Emma voices what she hopes is what everyone else is thinking. "Lorreon is under quarantine."
Regina tears her gaze away from the child and puts her hands on her hips, console remote tucked deftly between her fingers. "For a disease that is only known to affect cetheloform species. Which, I might remind you, humans are not." She narrows her eyes. "Do you have any cetheloform crew members that I don't know about, Captain?"
Emma raises a brow. "No, but we could very well carry it back to people who are. I'm not exactly keen on the idea of bringing the Blood Plague back to the Alliance."
"Nobody's seen a case of the blood plague in over a hundred years," Regina says.
"Because of the quarantine," Emma argues.
"It's been eradicated," Regina says, with bite this time. "The planet was irradiated. And even outside of that, the most recent studies only show a five year life span outside of a host. It's gone."
"Then why is it still under quarantine?"
"Maybe because it's a desolate radioactive wasteland in the middle of a violent zone of conflict?" Marian offers, and Emma's liked her up to this point, but –
For a moment she's overwhelmed with the urge to bite her. Roland stares at her with big eyes, blinks, and Emma realizes just how ridiculous that is. And, well. Marian does have a point.
She scowls, and Marian seems to take that as victory. "Fine," Emma says, unwilling to let her have the last word. "How do I know this intel is good, anyway? Where did you hear about Blue?"
"A friend of my father," Regina says. Emma waits for more, but it seems like that's all she's going to offer. "I can assure you, Emma, that everything I'm sharing with your crew is accurate. What good would it do me to lead you all in the wrong direction? My ship can't handle long distances on its own. There's nothing between Lorreon and Kliemar but wreckage. We're not making that journey on our own."
That's true enough, Emma supposes. She holds out for a solid ten seconds before she gives a curt nod, and Regina echoes the motion with a more relaxed one of her own. "Alright. Lorreon it is." Emma cracks her knuckles as she speaks. "We were aiming for a resupply on Hjielak next. Plan was to find a map and figure out how to get to Kliemar after that, but I guess we don't need that now."
Kathryn nods. "Kha De is the logical stop after Hjielak." Regina reaches out and moves the map as her crew mate speaks. "There's a great tech market there. If we're going to find anything that will help us get through Blue's defenses, it's going to be there."
Emma nods. "And then straight on to Lorreon?"
"Straight on to Lorreon," Regina confirms. There's a pause as she glances around at their mingled crews. "So we're settled then?"
Emma does the same, peering around at her friends. Mulan still doesn't seem all that happy about the situation, but she doesn't object. Ruby isn't really even paying attention, making silly faces instead at Roland, who Marian is bouncing on her knee.
"Settled," Emma agrees, and then projects her voice so that everyone can hear her clearly. "We leave immediately." Her eyes lock with Regina's and she adds, "If you have your Second get with Belle we can figure out resources."
"I have a name," Marian pipes up. "You do know it. You could use it."
Emma can't help the small amused smile that tugs at the corners of her lips. Despite everything, she thinks she's going to like Marian. "Sorry."
Marian gives her a wry smile back and, after a nod of assent from Regina, shifts Roland down off her lap. She makes her way over to Belle with the kid's hand in hers, and Ruby continues to coo over him as they steal off out of the common room.
"Well," Emma calls to the rest of her crew, "That's it, I guess. Unless anyone has any concerns?'
Mulan scowls again. Elsa's just got that perpetually worried pinch to her face, mouth all puckered up like she's sucked on a lemon. Kathryn looks bored. Henry's playing on a tablet.
Nobody says anything, though, and so Emma gives a decisive yet awkward nod. "Right, then. Break, I guess.'
They all scatter pretty quickly, at least. Kathryn shoots Regina a look and then ducks back through the hall leading to the bruiser hatch, nearly shoulder checking Elsa in her haste. Henry follows more slowly, only looking up from whatever he's doing so that he doesn't trip over the handful of stairs before the hall. Elsa shoots Emma a glance that is halfway between worry and wry acceptance, and then she and Mulan disappear through the same hall, though they follow it back towards the crew's quarters rather than taking the sharp left towards the bruiser.
And then it's just her and Regina, who's still tapping away at the panel like she owns the place.
"They sure didn't waste any time," Regina comments.
"Can you blame them? This is awkward as hell."
"I suppose." It's all Regina says, and Emma eyes the panel she's messing with. She seems to be taking stock of spec data on the bug: details that will allow her to determine how far it can go, how much water it can hold, etc.
It's all stuff that she can access from her own ships panels, now that they're integrated, and Emma know she can find the same on the Daniella. She supposes she'd rather Regina do it right in front of her than hide it away, though it still feels weird to watch someone access data on her baby so easily.
"You know," Emma says finally, and Regina eyes her. "You could've just talked to me in the first place. You didn't have to play all those tricks and mind games and shit. You had me really fucking wound up, thinking I was being followed."
"You were being followed," Regina says matter-of-factly. "By at least two other crews than mine. Still are, I'm sure. But I understand what you mean," She adds when Emma starts to huff. "That's the point, though. I don't know what every member of every crew Gold's hired looks like. I can't keep an eye out for them, and I guarantee you all of them are paying locals for intel anyway – if they'd heard that I knew where the jewel is located, let alone had a map to it – well. It wouldn't end well for either of us. And since you never know who might be eavesdropping in a crowded bar, it was a lot safer for me to just pretend that we were flirting and get you alone somewhere safe."
Emma eyes her. It's not the important part, but: "Pretend, huh? Felt pretty real for a minute there."
Regina raises a brow. "I'm a great actress."
"So it would seem," Emma deadpans, and brings her beer to her lips for a swig. "Whatever. You could've gotten me alone and talked to me back on Valkitas. You didn't have to do that weird disappearing act in the hallway and follow me here."
"I wanted to be sure you could be trusted."
"And that helped you determine that how?"
"Because you didn't hunt me down and try to interrogate me, or buy me out, or worse."
"Huh," Is all Emma can think to say. "You really trust me off of that alone?"
"Not quite." Regina's eyes flash with something like mirth. "But enough. I hope I'm right about you, Emma Swan."
Emma watches as window after window closes and opens on her center console panel. Detail after detail on her ship, herself, her crew — it's a lot, and every single misgiving voiced by Elsa and Mulan comes rushing back to wrap around her chest, one big pulsating sheath of anxiety. "I hope I'm right about you too, Regina Mills."
Norogrobva Station is pretty far out in the Wilds, but it's still about a five day journey to Hjielak, even following the most common trade routes.
And those five days are fucking awkward.
Emma hears back from Belle within the hour on that first day: their pooled supplies are enough for them to make it to Hjielak with a little bit of wiggle room, but there's no negotiating the resupply there. They'd refueled on Norogrobva and could probably hit Kha De with the gas they have in the tank, even with the bruiser's added mass and systems, but as usual the water tanks are going to need a refresh before then.
There's only so much recycling that can be done.
At least for the first few days they can busy themselves talking shop: after all, fuel and food aren't the only things to worry about. But it becomes pretty obvious pretty quickly that none of them truly have any idea what they're walking — or rather, flying — into, and there's only so much preparation they can actually do. They bleed that conversation dry within the first day, and by midnight, even Regina's retreated back into the safety of the Daniella hatchway.
The second day goes much the same. Emma wakes up pretty early and heads down to the common room, only to find her sister and nobody else around.
"Guess they're not early birds," She comments, pouring herself some coffee, and Elsa eyes her.
"That, or they prefer the comfort of their own ship to the strange one with a slightly hostile crew that they've glued themselves to."
"Or that. Probably that."
Emma can't blame them anyway — in fact, part of her likes it this way. She's not used to sharing her space with strangers. The other part of her takes it as a personal affront that they don't seem to enjoy the space she's created. She knows that's ridiculous, but — hey. She can't help it.
She doesn't see any of Regina's crew at all on that second day, and flying goes so smoothly she's bored. She goes to bed almost a little disappointed that this whole thing hadn't turned out more interesting.
The third day, though, she sleeps in, and wanders out into the common area around lunch time to find the better part of both crews reclining on the various couches and chairs that she's collected over the years that Emma's collected over the years. It's almost startling, after two days of everyone basically behaving like ghosts.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Elsa teases from her spot on the couch. She's curled up with a cup of coffee tucked between her palms, and she looks like she hasn't gotten much sleep herself.
"Morning," Emma echoes. She blinks, peering around at the assortment of her crew and Regina's. Kathryn is on the couch across from Elsa, clutching her own mug of what looks like Valdan kir root — in a mug that Emma doesn't recognize, meaning that she'd brought it over from the Daniella. Not that they keep kir on board anyway. Way too fucking bitter.
Ruby and Belle are splayed out on the floor next to the coffee table, Ruby's head in Belle's lap as she threads her fingers absentmindedly though her hair. Regina's on the couch next to Kathryn, for once sporting a neat pair of joggers and a casual t shirt instead of her normal button up and slacks getup.
They'd clearly all been chatting amiably and for once things look…comfortable. For the first time, Emma thinks that maybe this thing they've planned could really and truly work without a hitch.
"Slept in today, huh?" Regina asks. There's a gleam in her eye, a tiny smile at her lips, and Emma can't help the way her heart skips a bit in response.
"She was up late last night staring at the monitor." Ruby.
Emma shoots her a glare as Regina responds, "Oh?"
"Just keeping an eye out for those other crews," She admits reluctantly. "I don't want to be caught off guard."
Regina shrugs. "We're on the most common trade route in this area of the Wilds; I guarantee you they're going to be able to hide amongst the crowds. We might as well just enjoy ourselves until we get to Hjielak — we can lose them once they catch up to us."
Emma scowls at that, but she does have to admit that Regina has a point — it's the same point that Ruby had made when she'd been worried — rightfully, she might add — about Regina following them on their way from Valkitas. "Yeah, well. You're probably right, but still."
"Relax, Captain," Kathryn says, in that unusually steady tone of hers. "Our crew's familiar with at least two of the ships following us. We'll be able to spot them if they come too close."
"At least one of them is a dunce," Regina adds.
Emma's frown deepens. Stupid Captain or not, the thought of letting anyone trail them unchecked makes her skin itch. The others are all watching her now with varying levels of amusement: Kathryn with none at all, Ruby with plainly written mirth. Emma's not sure whether it's directed at her or a result of the dunce comment. Regina's just watching her levelly, with a slight smile at her perfect lips. She's got a hint of makeup on today, Emma realizes. They're just a shade darker than usual, a bit of rouge on top of her natural pigment, and her lashes look darker. She looks beautiful – and fuck, she's getting off track now.
"I don't care if they're all idiots," Emma says finally. "I want to figure out who's on our tail. The sooner the better." She heads towards the center console, the very same monitor that Ruby had seen her sitting at the night before with her feet kicked up on the dash, and presses several keys to cue up the short range scanners. "I'm keeping a constant feed to my room."
"You gonna lay in bed all day, then?" Belle chimes, and Emma shoots her a withering glance. "Easy, Em. I'm kidding."
"We'll find them and we'll lose them." Ruby's tone is cheery, and she threads her open fingers through her girlfriend's hair once more. "We've outrun Alliance patrols on more than one occasion. How hard can a couple of second-rate pirates be?"
"Third-rate at best," Regina says, as if it hadn't been her idea to team up in order to knock out the other competition in the first place. "We won't have a problem. I don't like losing," She adds, an edge to her voice that Emma hadn't yet had the pleasure of experiencing.
"Shocking," Emma mutters under her breath. It must come out louder than intended, though, because Kathryn snorts.
"Oh, I think I'm going to like her," Emma hears Kathryn say. She thinks she catches Elsa snicker. "Regina, you really picked well."
"Of course I did," Regina replies simply, as if it had never been a question.
Emma, who's still got her back to the others, lets herself smile. She knows it won't do her any good, but she lets herself simmer in the warmth that that quiet faith blooms inside of her.
Fuck.
On the fourth day of semi-uncomfortable cohabitation, Emma enters the common room to find Henry and Regina sitting alone at the dining table, some kind of board game set up between them. Mulan's with her, freshly showered: workouts have been a key foundation of their relationship since Emma can remember, and they'd just come off a two hour long session in the old converted conference room. She breathes something under her breath about strangers getting comfortable, and Emma elbows her in the ribs as subtly as she can.
"Emma! Mulan," Regina calls, waving them over. Henry turns and scowls in Emma's general direction. "We were just about to start a new game. Join us?"
Emma squints at the table, pushes past Mulan with only a small check to her shoulder, and asks, "What is it?"
"Scrabble," Henry answers, only a little bit sour.
"Scrabble, huh?" Emma echoes. She's not sure how to talk to the kid. Children aren't exactly her strong suit.
Evidently she's gotten it wrong, though, because he rolls his eyes. "That's what I said."
"Henry." Regina scolds.
"It's cool," Emma says. "I get it."
She does not.
Still.
"Have you played before?" Regina asks, sounding genuinely inviting. "It's an old game, but we love it."
"Sure." She has, actually, a couple of times. Belle's roped her into it on more than one occasion, and she always grinds Emma into the dirt within the first couple of rounds. Still, Emma's got nothing better to do besides stare at the monitor or literally stare off into space, and maybe she'll have better luck against a child. She only pauses to contemplate whether or not that's an insane thought to have for a moment before she says, "I'll play."
"Great," Regina says, and then leans over to peer at Mulan, who hasn't really moved from her station near the door. "Mulan?"
Mulan presses her lips into a line, catches Emma's eye for a moment, and then says, "What the hell? Sure."
Emma raises a brow, and Mulan decidedly ignores it. That's the most accepting of their guests – teammates? Allies? – that she's seen her Second be this entire time, and she hopes silently that they're growing on her. They don't exactly have to be besties for this to work, but she knows from past experiences that things will go a hell of a lot more smoothly if they can at least get along.
They take their seats and Regina holds out the bag of tiles as Henry places a holder in front of them both.
Emma's first move gets her seventeen points, which is approximately thirteen more than her average play, and she's actually feeling pretty good about her chances. That is, until Henry plays zephyr over a double word spot right off the bat, earning him a whopping forty-six. Regina chuckles as she marks his total on the score sheet.
"Don't worry Emma," He says, pointedly not bothering with her title of Captain. "Maybe you can beat me in a few years, if you keep practicing."
Day five, they're officially being followed.
The common room has officially become common between both crews at this point. It's nice. Marian's curled up on the couch across from Emma, an old-fashioned book in her hands. Regina's hovering near the center console, staring at the external monitors in much the same way as she'd made fun of Emma for.
Regina scoffs, and Emma looks up at the same time Marian does. She finds Regina staring at the panel in front of her with her brows knitted, disgust written in the hard line of her lips. She's got the outer imaging cameras queued up, back display specifically, and Emma watches as she zooms in on a ship that's not too far behind them.
Marian asks, "What is it?"
Regina glances towards her, frown deepening as she says, "Robin's within visual range."
"Ugh," Marian says, and braces her hands against her knees as she stands up. She heads over to Regina's side, and Emma follows quietly. It's her ship, after all. Her panel. Regina taps a few things, and the image clarifies.
Marian whistles as the ship sharpens on the screen. It's a clunky model. Older, too, but the outside is packed with weapons. Emma's brow goes up as she counts them – they're screwed on to every surface that will hold them, to the point that Emma kind of wonders if they're even able to land. "Looks like the Outlaws have gotten a few new toys," She comments, and then adds, "Our hubby's been on a lil' shopping spree."
Regina snorts at the same time as Emma raises a brow and asks, "Hubby?"
"Please never call him that again," Regina says.
"...So you guys know the captain?" Emma asks, and then the first part of Marian's comment finally registers and she says, "Outlaws?"
Marian glances at Emma and says absentmindedly, "Dated him," as if that's an adequate explanation for either question. Regina wrinkles her nose.
Emma glances between the two of them. "Which one of you?"
"Her," Marian says, tilting her head towards Regina without taking her eyes off of the screen. "I married him."
"At the same time, or…?" Emma asks. Marian ignores her, still too enamored with the image of the weapons that Regina's currently zoomed in on. Marian traces her fingers over the edges of the image, and so Emma just adds, "Sounds complicated."
Marian grins, finally meeting Emma's eyes. "Not really," She says. "He cheated. She was the other woman." Her eyes flash and then she slips her hand into Regina's, leans towards her, and plants a kiss right at the corner of her mouth. "And then I made her my other woman. The love of my life."
Emma stares, stunned, and Regina bursts into laughter. She tosses Marian's hand away theatrically and says, "Fuck off."
Marian laughs, and with one last cast of an amused look in Emma's direction, turns away from the screen. "Let me know when you figure out what they are. I'll see if I can find us something comparable." With that she struts out of the room and Emma looks at Regina, hoping for some sort of explanation. It wouldn't be that much of a shock, Emma supposes – Henry had referred to Roland as his little brother, and she'd known the two were close. But, still, they'd almost seemed like they'd been setting her up with Regina, what with the sly comments and all –
Regina catches her staring then and says, "It's a matter of pride," by way of explanation.
And that tells Emma nothing. "What?"
"That we have better weapons than him," Regina continues nonchalantly. "They were together for five years. She's still bitter about it." Regina narrows her eyes at the screen, peering at the multitude of weapons haphazardly attached to Robin's ship. "He always was a quantity over quality kind of man."
"Oh," Emma says. "So…you and Marian?"
Regina's lips twitch up at the corners. "We're not together."
"Oh," Emma says, and is embarrassed at just how relieved she feels at that. "Okay." There's a few seconds of silence, and then Emma asks, "Does he really call his crew the Outlaws?"
Regina's little smile becomes a grin then. She turns towards Emma, eyes shining with amusement as she nods. "Yep. Not exactly creative, is it?"
Emma snorts. "No. Next you're going to tell me his last name's Hood."
"He changed it legally about a decade ago."
Emma gapes at her. "...And you dated this guy?"
Regina's nose wrinkles again, and damn it, it's cute. Emma fights back the way her heart races. "Not my proudest moment," Regina answers, "But I met Marian and Roland out of it."
"Well," Emma says. "You guys make a cute little family, even if you aren't together." It's kind of a weird thing to say, she knows, but Regina smiles all the same.
"Thank you, Emma." She sighs, and then points to something on the long range scanners, displayed on the panel next to the short-range. "If we duck behind this dust cloud here we might actually lose him. He's going to know that we're going to Hjielak, of course, but at least he might not know which part of the planet we end up on."
"Good enough for me." Emma presses her palms to the console and leans forward. The motion brings them pretty close, her shoulder brushing against Regina's, and she decidedly ignores the flush rising at the back of her neck at the contact. "Any sign of that other one Kathryn said you'd recognize?"
Regina shakes her head, curls tickling Emma's skin as she does. "No, not yet. He's a little better at blending in than Robin. He'll show eventually, I'm sure."
Emma frowns. "What's the class?"
"Not sure. It's pretty sleek, though, especially compared to that." She nods to the Outlaws, disgust practically tangible. "It's called Wonderland. Silver and purple body, streamlined, kind of like a terran Noro model. The captain's name is Jefferson." She wrinkles her nose. "I used to trade with him, years ago. He's dirty as hell, but he's well-traveled and crafty."
Emma fights the urge to ask dirty how, afraid that it might get her slapped. Instead she says, "Well. If you spot him, let me know."
Regina just nods, and closes out the short range scanners.
"Done?" Emma asks, a bit surprised. "You don't want to, I don't know, keep that up in case he tries anything?"
Regina raises a brow. "You have weapons sensors and proximity alarms, do you not?"
"Of course."
She shrugs, pushing away from the console by her hip. "Then it's not really necessary, is it?" There's a gleam in her eye as she rests a hand on Emma's forearm. Emma keeps her eyes locked to Regina's. "Take us behind the dust cloud, Swan, and we'll lose him." With that she pulls her hand away, letting it drift a couple centimeters first, and turns to leave. She calls over her shoulder, "I'll be in my quarters if you need me," and leaves an embarrassingly flustered Captain Emma Swan in her wake.