Lookin' for a less-than-reputable ride [recluse]

[Jack "Trigger" Briggs]

Ever since Minerva had hired Jack to keep an eye on the Lenore, she had lorded over him for his remaining few days on Persephone. A thug or two of hers watched him constantly as he roamed the city, closing business transactions and tying up loose ends. She had provided him with some coin to catch himself a ride to Londinium, but it was only enough to maybe hire him an illegal transport, a smuggler perhaps. When he was finally ready to go, Jack packed his few belongings in his bag and made his way to the docks, a goon of Minerva's shadowing him.

Unsure as to what ship would be best, Briggs pushed back his hat with a finger, eyeing the names of the ships as he passed them. None really caught his eye, but he knew that sooner or later someone would offer him a ride. His walk was leisurely, and he looped around several times in an attempt to annoy the goon that was following him, and trying so hard to remain inconspicuous. Finally, Jack doubled back until he was face-to-face with the man. "Look, I'm tryin' to find a ship. You can jus' sit down if I'm runnin' you ragged." The man had the decency to at least act like he didn't know what Jack was talking about. Briggs winked at him, adjusted the bag on his shoulder, and went on walking as the man that had been following him took a seat on a bench.

As he circled around again, he noticed a ship he had somehow missed before. It was a small ship, a cutter, and looked pretty gorram fast. The brown lettering and even the name boldy declared it Independent, which meant the types that crewed it were probably less than friendly with the law. Perfect. He walked up to the ship, glancing about for anyone that might belong to the crew.

[alice]

Maria sat in her room, absentmindedly fixing her hair into that perfect messy bun. She looked at herself for a moment, noticing worry lines on her face that hadn't been there before she gained ownership of the Recluse. She frowned a little, before rising from her seat at her vanity. She picked up a jacket on her way out of the room, as she headed down to the pilots quarters. She was vaguely aware that they had been docked for several minutes, but she had just needed the alone time.

As she reached her intended destination, she found an empty chair, with a note. "Out," she read out loud. And as she continued through the ships, she found similar notes with similar sentiments. She shook her head and then headed out the door to the ramp. She yawned quietly and stretched. And then she looked around her. Hmmm. Picking up travelers. She vaguely remembered Mr. Noyce saying something about that. She took a few steps down the ramp, finding herself face to face with an unfamiliar gentleman.

"Hello, there," she said politely, slightly awkwardly.

[Jack "Trigger" Briggs]

As he wandered around the ship, hoping to run into someone, he saw the dock surrounding was empty. Perhaps the crew was inside the ship, or out in the city. He certainly wasn't about to go into a stranger's ship, so he decided to look around for the best place to await the return of any crew that had gone on-planet. Near the ramp was the smartest choice, he decided. As he reached the ramp, though, a woman came down and stood right before him. She greeted him with a somewhat awkward tone to her voice, and he acknowledged her with a quick, over-dramatic sweep of his hat off of his head. "Hello! Sorry for the intrusion, luv, but I'm lookin' for a ride. Is there any chance I might speak to the capt'n of this splendid craft?"

When she confirmed that she was, in fact, the captain, he set his hat back on his head and touched the brim of it with two fingers politely. "Apologies, miss. Didn't see someone so young 'n lovely as yourself as a capt'n. Impressive, of course." His lips spread wide in a grin. Never short on charm, the young criminal was practically oozing it out his pores to make an impression on the woman. As bumbling a crime lord as he was, the man knew to trust his gut. It somehow always got him through, and now it was telling him that this was his ship. He set his pack on the ground beside him and held out his gloved hand. "Name's Jack Briggs. I'm tryin' to get to Londinium. Was admiring this craft, here, and hopin' it'd be my good fortune to find it wantin' for passengers and bound in that direction."

[alice]

Maria seemed a bit perturbed at his insistence on speaking to the captain. It ate at her ego ever so slightly, enough to leave a bit of a sour look on her face as she introduced herself.

"I am the Captain," she said bluntly, putting little to no emphasis on specific words. She leaned against the old vessel, pulling out from a pocket in her leather pants, a self-rolled cigarette. She popped it in her mouth as he talked.

A smile tugged at her lips as he tried to flatter her. It was nice. Cute. Although not entirely genuine, it was still much appreciated. Something about him rubbed her the wrong way, but she found him a bit... infectious.

As he reached out his hand, she placed her own slender pale hand into his. She shook it gently, quickly pulling it back to fumble around in the same pocket from which she retrieved her cigarette. She pulled from it a silver lighter, setting fire to the paper held within her lips, before hiding it back in the tight pockets.

She took a quick drag, and then removed the cigarette from her mouth for a moment, biting her bottom lip in thought. And then, a nod.

"Sure," she replied to his request. "We'll take you there. My crew is out for the moment, but when they arrive, we'll shove off."

[Jack "Trigger" Briggs]

Ever the observant one, it having saved his ass more than a few times, Jack noticed it had bothered her when he mistook her for a member of the crew instead of a captain. However, as usual, his flirtatious words seemed to save him. She smiled at him, and he noted that she was certainly attractive. When she pulled out the cigarette and lit it, he leaned back just a tad to avoid the first puff of smoke.

Strangely enough, she did not need to think long about whether or not to offer him a ride. She quickly accepted the job, without asking why he had to get there or who he was. He was most concerned that she did not even haggle a price for the trip. However, he rolled with the punches. That was how a man like Jack Briggs made it through life. "Brilliant! I can't tell you how grateful I am." His smile was wide and genuine this time, though he was still slightly hesitant at her easy acceptance of a complete stranger. Still, maybe the Recluse was hard-up for some coin. They wouldn't be the first ship to do something reckless for money. He cocked his head and shifted his weight, unsure as to how to proceed. She would probably not want him going in the ship alone, so he assumed he'd have to wait for her to finish her smoke.