Ashan 50 719
"No."
"Ye can't be serious!"
"Y' heard our Cap'n!"
"It's wrong an' ya know it! Those 're people down there?!"
"You don't think I know that?" The captain spat coldly. "Just do as I say and make ready to sail!" As she demanded this of her crew, Frederick however didn't seem too happy to swallow it as he scoffed just as he stormed away.
It was a tough situation and all the boys weren't happy with it at all, hell even Hannah found herself disgusted with it. Yet here they were about to leave Quacia for what would be a long time, and honestly Enrick hoped it would be long enough for whatever that "creep" shit was to consume it. Probably because weird shit just seemed to linger in this place, and the culture didn't sit well with him at all in the short time they'd been here. But mostly... due to the fact they were dealing with the slave trade now.
Out of all the time spent conducting their business in Quacia they managed to pool a few good deals, but to go from shipping drugs to living people had been a huge step in the wrong direction. It clearly affected the rest of the crew too as Enrick noticed it right away, how quickly unhappy everyone became when the slaves were escorted on board. When the slavers that brought them grinned and paid her the fee upfront, it became evidently clear just where Hannah's allegiances did lie; wherever the money was good.
That's what the whole argument had been about just then, as Floyd and Frederick argued with them about it for almost an hour now; all while Hannah and Matt refused to entertain their notions of honor. Enrick merely chuckled at the thought of that, as what honor existed among pirates these days; when all that mattered was how much coin weighed your pockets. While he didn't wish to remain in Quacia any longer than he had to, Enrick detested the idea of sailing with them even more now. Nevertheless he had a job as one of their crew members now, if he wanted to get to wherever the hell they were about to go next. Just as he moved to start working on the sheets though, Matthew pulled him at the shoulder to prevent him from chipping in for some reason.
"Fore y' go doin' that Cap'n wants a word, she's in 'er quarters waitin' fer y'." The moustached sailor beckoned with a nod towards the Captain's chambers, Enrick looked from there to the First mate with a slow nod as he allowed him to take over. And then with a slow, almost leisurely, stroll towards the quarters, Enrick wandered inside the open doorway to find Hannah focused on the charts at her study area.
"Close the door please." Hannah requested in a softer tone of voice, which was a stark contrast to her usual demeanor. Yet Enrick obeyed and did what the captain asked, with the door pulled to a shut behind him as he entered the room fully. It was a modest size with a nice double bed centered at the wall, with a study area in the center of the quarters and some shelves and other pieces of furniture. About as much as what one would expect of a living quarters, even for one such captain as she considered herself to be among men. Yet when she turned to look at him Enrick could see the weight on her shoulders, as the bag of coin left behind by the slavers rested at the table she leaned against.
"You must think poorly of me now."
Enrick could only shrug as he tucked hands into his pockets, as he did his best to sound indifferent with the situation. "Slavery's wrong and y' know it, yet ya see the money's good so why not do it anyways."
"Because I know what it's like... For them to be trapped as they are." Hannah crossed her arms as she looked away towards the porthole. "Because I know it's wrong and that they should be free... but we're in over our heads now."
"What happened?" Enrick inquired almost eagerly with a fierceness in his eyes, their hues a combination of silver and orange as he looked to her.
"We met an unsavory bunch and had a bit of rotten luck. Did a bit of gambling and sure enough, lost a good chunk of the profits we made."
Suddenly he started to paint a better picture, all of their hard earned coin wasted and when they wanted more... "And?"
"A couple of the men offered to pay back what we lost, but only if we did this favor for them in turn. Thus here we are..."
"An' he paid upfront?" She looked to him and nodded at the question. "Sounds like it's t'eir loss." Hannah's eyes narrowed as she stood away from the table, her arms crossed as she took a step towards him.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" She sounded the same as before, demanding as though he'd just challenged her authority. "You really expect us to be able to cross men like them? They'd no sooner paint a bounty on us, and we'd be dead for failin' to deliver!" Enrick's eyebrow rose but the red in his eyes solidified as he cast her a slight frown. "I'm doin' this for the sake of my damn crew!"
"Aye, yer crew." He pointed out selectively. "Yer crew which wanted nothin' t' do wit' t'is at all."
"So what would you have me do then?!" Her voice elevated and Enrick could only guess what her crew would think, hearing their captain yelling because the newest 'member' chastised her over their choices.
"Oi'm not part o' dis!" He scoffed with a turn of the shoulder towards her.
"You're as much a part of this as we are!! Don't you dare turn your back on me Rick!!" He froze in place and bit at his lower lip, determined to leave but somehow... his feet refused to move at all. "Believe it or not we need you to make this work, the men are all unhappy with the decision and... I swear I can't fight all of you in this. But I also don't know what better way to resolve it either."
"Yes... y' do." He remarked lowly with a look past his shoulder, slowly willing to face her once more as he crossed his arms. "Y' know what ya wanna do, but yer too scared it'll cost ya everythin'. Y' go through wit' it an' ya lose yer crew, y' don't t'en t'ey're in danger cause y' bailed on a deal. So which is worth more? Yer respect or yer crew's life?"
"This isn't helpin' Rick!!"
"Which is it?!" He pressed more and Hannah visibly tensed at that point, her slender fingers brought up to rake through her brown hair out of frustration.
"My crew! Obviously! Now how do I fix this?!"
Enrick couldn't help it now, seeing her get worked up the way she did. He smiled at her as the red dulled to a turquoise hue, with a lean against the door as she turned away. "Where?" He asked as she leaned to hover over her charts on the desk, a sigh heard from her as she looked past her shoulder back towards him. "Where to Cap'n?" It took a moment for the question to sink in, as Hannah looked hard at the world map on her wall.
"We were supposed to ship them to Rhakros, so that a few contacts would take them off our hands. From there they would likely be taken to different places, past Etzos towards areas like Athart and Sirothelle." Enrick watched as she seemed to be drawing her own conclusions now, a slow and steady rise in her shoulders as Hannah remained fixated on the map. "Ne'haer is the obvious choice but too obvious, all slaves are sent there to be liberated... Being too close to our enemies, we'd want to be the farthest we can."
"Which is?"
"The Eastern continent, maybe even the central part of Idalos. We'd be the furthest from the West, only..." She twisted around with a finger curled near her chin. "You said you were sailing north when we found you. Where was it you were heading exactly?"
"A friend was helpin' me find 'te city where booze flows endlessly' or so he put it."
"Rharne!" She muttered intently as her focus seemed more introspective now. "They're not keen on slavery either but I believe it's out of sight out of mind there. We could release the slaves there, and learn from our mistakes as we double cross our enemies."
"Face it, y' double crossed 'em the moment they gave yer money back." Enrick remarked with a cross of his arms, still with a grin on his face as Hannah looked jokingly offended. "Ya never needed me t' make a decision, y' just wanted t' hear t'at what ye'd be doin' was right."
"And?" She chuckled with fists planted at her hips.
"Not my call, Oi'm just along fer te ride." He responded with a turn as he pulled open the door once more. "But if te crew matter that much, t'en learn from t'is and avoid lettin' it happen again." That was what captain's did after all, and what they all needed her to do. Thus Enrick walked out with nothing else left to be said, eager to help the crew finish preparations as they set off for the sea once more. The others surprisingly had nothing else to say about the matter, as they barely overheard the argument that took place inside prior. But it was obvious the way they all felt about it, Enrick included, and what they would do rather than honor the bargain she'd made.
They were going to Rharne.
"Enrick", "Ẹrọim", "Follower", "NPC"
