Disclaimer: IOOMOC

J.L.: This chapter will be the one to lay down a lot of background for each character.

Chris

A couple of weeks had passed and I got to know the crew pretty well. Tonight, the skies were clear and the sea was calm, so everyone was sitting around chatting with one another. I sat back and looked around at everyone, thinking about just exactly how much I had learned about each and every single one of them.

First there was Joseph, currently rolling dice with Forrest. Joseph was the joker of the crew. Joseph was relatively new to sailing, only having a year more than myself, but he ran with it by calling me rookie every chance he got. Other that that he was an easy enough guy to get along with unless you were one of the two girls on board.

Forrest Spreyer was Joseph's best friend and probably the closest thing to family that Joseph had. Forrest had grown up with Joseph, only having been separated to become a cabin boy at the age of thirteen. It was Forrest who pulled Joseph out of the slums and into Captain Wesker's capable hands. Forrest was the good-hearted influence Joseph needed to stray from the life of crime.

Sully, or Kenneth Sullivan, sat to my left plucking his guitar with the gentle expertise of a man who could probably play the instrument if he was dead. Sully was once a slave, but ever since Barry rescued him from the clutches of Tobias Goldbeard the Gangly the two were best pals. Sully was now a freeman but a life at sea was the only life he had known so he just made sure to get signed to the same ship as Barry.

Barry Burton, sewing a replacement sail together, was a lifer for the sea, though his family at home begged to differ. Barry was a jolly old man and proud father of two daughters. Rumor had it that Barry was from a long line of sailors and it showed with as much expertise and muscle as the man had. Barry had started contemplating retiring from the sea to see his daughters married off but he kept signing on to Lady J's ships to help clear the waters for future generations.

Richard stood over Joseph and Forrest, laughing at the foolishness of the two. Richard was a good guy, one of the first to sign on to Lady J's company of ships in order to prove to his governor of a father that there was some good left in the world. Richard was often the one called in to settle the small disputes that broke out between the older guys and the younger ones, often sparing everyone from a royally ass chewing from the uppers.

Rebecca, who sat on a barrel while chatting with First mate Valentine, was the youngest member of the crew. Her father had been the ship's doctor two years ago when Lady J started her company but he had worked as a doctor for several ships prior to that. Since Rebecca's mother had died when she was young, he father took her with him and taught her his trade. Last year tragedy struck and the good doctor died during an attack from a pirate ship. Rebecca proved herself to be a competent replacement and became one of two females permitted to work on the ship.

Up on the wheel stood Second Mate Enrico Marini, a quiet man who didn't interact with the crew much. His entire being seemed to be dedicated to steering the ship and which way that Valentine or Wesker called out. Marini was another lifer, having started out as a cabin boy many years ago.

Next to Marini stood Captain Wesker, leader of this crew and second to none when it came to naval battles. Wesker had served in the King's navy for years, leaving only to pursue a more relaxing life as a Privateer. As the story went, Lady J approached Captain Wesker with an offer to command one of her ships. Wesker accepted and the company has benefited from him ever since.

The one to capture my interest most was none other than First Mate Jillian Valentine. On the surface she was a friendly sort of person who knew when and how to put her foot down to get the crew in gear. A small bit of sadness wrapped around her though, her cause for being on this ship a noble one. She was looking for her lost brother, the main reason behind the financial backing of the ship's journey. She was related to Lady J somehow, though it was never discussed. Jill's role on this ship was to play the ever watchful eye for Lady J's interests, though Jill never seemed to let this keep her from becoming friends with everyone. True to Joseph's word, she was a bit overprotective of the younger woman on the ship, acting like and older sister when Rebecca needed her to. I found myself admiring her because of this, wondering what Claire would think of her.

Jill's eyes snapped over to me and she smirked. The rest of the crew had gone to teasing me about paying attention to her, but it never was to reach her ears. Jill herself didn't really pay much attention to me except to bark orders when I would mess up. She was never too harsh, always making sure I knew exactly what do even if she had to show me by example.

"There you go staring again." Barry. I broke eye contact with her to roll my eyes at Barry. He started chuckling.

"What?" I asked.

"You're digging yourself a hole you won't be able to dig out of if you keeping making with the puppy eyes to her. She's and icy lass when she needs to be and I don't feel like seeing you spiral into a pit of despair over her." Barry warned.

"I'm just being friendly Barry, that's all." I replied. Barry busted out laughing.

"Son, where I come from, friendly starts with conversation." Barry teased and went back to sewing. I rolled my eyes at the old sailor and worked hard on keeping my eyes off the blue eyed First mate.

Jill

As I hung my coat up in my cabin, I heard someone step inside. I looked over to see that it was Captain Wesker. I nodded at him, and took a seat at my table.

"We're on course for the night. Marini says we'll reach the islands within days." Wesker reported.

"Good. It'll be nice to trade with the Muluki tribe again. Finally going to get that monkey of yours this year?" I asked. Wesker grinned and nodded.

"I will name him Uruboros." He remarked as I began to work on stripping off my boots. When that was accomplished, I looked over at Wesker, curious as to why he was still in my cabin.

"Yes?" I questioned.

"I am curious, are you aware of the new boy's attention to you, or are you completely oblivious?" Wesker asked. I smirked at the Captain, a good friend of mine and in some ways my role model. He had taught me everything I knew about sailing and didn't question my complete command of the ship. He may be the one with the title but this was my quest, my show. I let him hold the reins more often than not because he did know exactly what he was doing though, which let me have more focus on finding my brother.

"I have noticed. Should I do something about it?" I asked, curious.

"I don't see a problem, yet." Wesker answered.

"Neither do I. Let the boy have his infatuation if it keeps him from coming down with homesickness." I replied.

"I am more concerned with you." Wesker prodded. I sat back, and looked him in the eyes.

"I have not gone out of my way for the boy, or made any inclination to a returned interest." I coolly stated. Wesker cracked a wide smile.

"Ah, but you do share an interest." He teased. I glared at him.

"I learned my lesson from last time." I replied coldly.

"That...I will be eager to see if that is true. Goodnight Jillian. I expect to relieve you of night watch before sunrise." Wesker replied, walking out of my cabin, laughing to himself. I spit on the floor to my side, anger boiling within me as my hand went to my pants pocket. A small gold chain was the sole content of my pocket, and the sole reminder of the existence of a man long since for a watery grave.

"Believe me Captain, I can only live for one man, and he's still just a child." I whispered.

J.L.: There we go, a lot of groundwork laid out. I do apologize if I'm not exactly the most ship savvy, but hey, we can all be masters of everything ever, amiright?