Aiden could only afford a brief appreciation of the Silver Jewel on their way back from the market before Carradine set him to the back breaking work of cargo checking. Carradine had a crew of ten with him, Aiden included, but cargo check meant unpacking and repacking everything before they were either carted onto the ship or rejected without payment, or accepted with reduced prices. Under Aiden's sharp eyes, a fourth of the incoming cargo was culled due to low quality, and Aiden left Carradine to negotiate adjusted prices with the suppliers while he and the rest of the crew finished stowing the cargo.

They got done with only an hour left until the Silver Jewel started undocking procedures. Aiden would miss that, as he was already passed out in his bunk after a shower and change of clothes. He had barely made it back to his assigned berth as soon as Carradine discharged him from cargo duty, his body already fatigued from the morning's work.

--------

Aiden woke up hours past messtime with a growling stomach. The note on his bunk didn't help either, as galley said his pufferskeins dinner was in the tender care of Captain Lee Hyukjae. Hunger drove him to the galley, where Smithy, the night-shift chef, bluntly said the captain had taken Aiden's dinner to the Captain's mess the moment they found out the scrub was still passed out on his bunk from cargo duty.

"Just go on up the Captain's cabin, mate, he's not likely to start in on your dinner," Smithy just kindly told him. "Besides, his galley is the only one on the ship capable of storing leftovers - everything down here needs to go as Atkins always wants to work a clean kitchen. Also consider it an invitation to dine with the Captain."

Left without a choice, Aiden headed to the Captain's cabin. He could still take a meal in the galley, but that would mean foregoing the pufferskeins, which Smithy said Atkins had already cooked for him. He silently cursed his growling stomach before he knocked on the Captain's door.

"It's Aiden, Captain," he called through the cabin door.

He had somehow expected Hyukjae to still be dressed in his Captain's uniform, never mind the late hour. So he was surprised to find a sweatshirt and shorts clad Hyukjae opening the door for him.

"And here I thought I'd get to feast on your fishes without you," Hyukjae greeted him.

Aiden's head was ducked, and even he wasn't entirely sure if it was because of his hunger, embarrassment, or because a dressed down Hyukjae was even more charismatic. His grumbling stomach inadvertently saved him.

"Oh, I was just joking, you know," Hyukjae solicitously said. "Come on up - I've also yet to start on dinner, just finished with work." Of course, he didn't elaborate, going through his office and up the spiral staircase leading the way up his living quarters.

Aiden paused at the top of the staircase, taking in the Captain's quarters, currently bathed in dim lighting. The landing ended up at the Captain's galley, a tastefully appointed area with a granite top island, on the other side of which stood a gorgeous wall of gleaming stainless steel equipment. Such models would be expensive yet Hyukjae's galley had that.

From what Aiden could see where he stood, beside the galley is the living room, occupying the center of the aft upper deck, with the back wall composed of mostly glass braced by a wooden artwork frame that stretched down from the rafters. He had to take a moment to recall that this deck would be a level down from the bridge, one of the cabins comprising the ship's upper quarters. Comfy sofas draped with discarded uniforms and settees are arranged around a wooden coffee table. Aiden thinks the living room opened out to an outdoor deck though he couldn't see it at his vantage.

On the far side of the deck is the formal captain's mess, though Hyukjae didn't head that way, instead staying behind the galley island to take out something from the stove - Aiden's deep-fried pufferskeins. The aroma finally reached Aiden, who still stood at the top of the spiral staircase. His stomach growled loudly in the surprisingly quiet place, the sound of the sea a faint background hum in this part of the ship.

Hyukjae just chuckled as he looked at Aiden over his shoulder. "What are you doing still standing there Aiden? Come here and be a good crewman and help me set the table."

Aiden hurriedly complied, setting out the plates and cutlery while Hyukjae set out more food - tully in sweet-sour red sauce... and rice. Aiden swallowed back the rush of saliva suddenly in his mouth. The pufferskeins alone already made him hungry, but seeing that bowl of rice - whole white grains of it - now made him ravenous.

Legend had it that before the waters rose to entirely cover their world, the people lived off on whole grain such as what Hyukjae now served. Nowadays, automated floating and skyfarms down at the tropics is where these grain are raised and harvested, resulting in sky-high prices to have them shipped, and only in limited supply. Flour from processed kelp, which the seas grew in abundance, was cheaper, and so bread became the staple. Aiden has had rice only a few times in his life, and that was back when he was too young to know what precious meals he had been eating with his own family.

Hyukjae disappeared to an area behind the galley, only to come back with a bottle of sparkly. "Tell you what, I'll trade you a pufferskein, for this," Hyukjae held up the bottle. "I'll throw in the tully for free," he added.

Aiden had already seated himself on the barstool on the other side of the island, he now leaned back with a calculating look on his face. "Just a bottle?" he asked.

Hyukjae looked at him askance, his eyebrows almost disappearing past his hairline. "Are you ripping me off, boy?" Hyukjae demanded. "Really, a bottle of sparkly for a pufferskein? And to think I even cooked it for you."

Aiden's eyes narrowed. "Respectfully Captain, you stole my meal, which Chief Atkins already cooked. So you didn't cook it, just reheated it. Which means you want it more than you need to, which means I can trade it however I want to." Seeing the dangerous aura manifesting around Hyukjae, Aiden hurriedly added with a meek, "Though if I can have the bowl of rice in peace without trading it for my noona's soul, you can have two pufferskeins." 

Hyukjae suddenly laughed hard. "Of all the... you'd actually bargain your noona's soul first?"

Aiden pouted. "I thought it was clear I've already traded mine. That can't come cheap." He pointed at the tantalizingly steaming rice.

Hyukjae just chuckled. "Relax Aiden, you're my guest. No need for soul trading over this. Besides, Carradine told me you chose the best tully to buy. He was even all praises for the work you did on cargo checking. We're just all surprised though, at how a bit of manual labor can get you passing out." He efficiently opened the bottle of sparkly driving the sharp end of a knife through the bottle's cork before pulling it out. Aiden came prepared with the glasses as Hyukjae poured the drink.

Dinner was initially a quiet event, Aiden taking the time to appreciate the meal, including a bit of the tully dish, and filled his hungry stomach while bracing himself for small talk from the Captain. Hyukjae was also quiet, having settled down to enjoying first the fish meal. They only talked once during the meal, and only because Aiden hesitated on the remaining pufferskein.

"I was only joking about the trade," Hyukjae gasped when Aiden offered him the fish. "I only wanted one because it smelled delicious, but really, what I want to eat is the tully." Aiden happily demolished his last fish with the remaining rice, before settling back to savor the sparkly after dinner.

"So, you have a sister?" Hyukjae asked once he was done with his own meal and is now sipping the sparkly.

Aiden nodded, suddenly turning introspective. "Our eldest, and only girl in the family. Me and the rest of the boys give her headaches every now and then. But she's also the only one who'd stand up for us. Me specially, when I'm always up to no good."

Hyukjae only smiled. "I wouldn't know anything about noonas - brothers, sure - I have a hyung myself."

Aiden didn't dare ask what Hyukjae didn't volunteer - like where those brothers are now. "She's the one who cooks a mean pufferskein, specially when the parental units are out and we're left in her care." Aiden didn't elaborate, and Hyukjae didn't ask more.

The rest of the night ended up with Hyukjae asking about Aiden's experiences at sea. "Running away to the sea seemed like the only option that time," Aiden said, his hazel eyes taking on a faraway look. "When you're sixteen and a hothead, trying to prove you can make it alone was the sort of misguided bravado I chose." His quiet chuckle meant not everything went rosy.

"Way I hear it, your lovely family might take you back - why stay after all these years?"

Aiden's face had suddenly taken on a ghastly look. "They're gone! I mean..." he trailed off, unable to say anything else, while Hyukjae mentally kicked himself for thinking he's the only pirate with issues.

They stayed silent again.

"What's your beef with Lt. Lee?" Aiden's timid voice came floating between them, and it barely kept out the ire in Hyukjae's voice with his reply.

"Ah... Lt. Lee Donghae... he's the notorious master of the Silver Wings - the flagship of Skye Privateers, Inc. He's been foiling our attempts as of late... seems like he knows where the Silver Jewel usually strikes next."

Aiden frowned. "Is he really as notorious as you make him out to be?"

"Why did you even drop his name during recruitment?" Hyukjae countered with a question of his own instead of answering Aiden. The only reason he took Aiden on board was because his interest was piqued with this boy actually daring to use that sonofagun's name.

Aiden pouted again this time, no doubt recalling the near strangling he got from Hyukjae. "Last ship I sailed in said that was a mighty important name to be associated with. And I was desperate - down to my last copper with no prospects, I needed a lasting impression." Then he shrugged before looking Hyukjae straight in the eye. "Seemed to work."

Hyukjae just snorted, surprised that the timid boy can be a bit arrogant. Or cunning, if one looked at it another way. Aiden was turning out to be a surprise, after all. Besides, nobody survives the sea without a specific skill set. "Are you sure you've spent enough time at sea? You're poorly informed as it is. Don't tell me my reputation also doesn't register on your radar."

Oh, Aiden had this down pat. "Ran away to be a pirate only at sixteen, gained a name with leading the raid of the Ember Pearl when but nineteen, established a name with a string of successful raids on famous and heavily secured ships without ever getting caught; was given the Silver Jewel by the notorious raid lord who styles himself as the Count Lee Minseok, who only happens to be his 'hyung'." Aiden didn't flinch from Hyukjae's stare as he listed down what reputation preceded the Captain.

Hyukjae chuckled. "I can't believe they still circulated that garbage of a press release," he said as he shook his head. "Is that all?"

Aiden was suddenly confused, unsure what else from the grapevine was true about Hyukjae. A predilection for men? Hyukjae wouldn't be the first, and it only sent Aiden blushing, not to mention the Commander's uniform is mixed in among the pile of clothing on the Captain's sofas. A warmongering pirate? His brother, the Count Lee, is an even bigger one, not to mention other pirates. Hyukjae's only other trademark is the way he carried out his raids with surgical precision. Like the way he wielded his knives, in and out before his conquests even knew they've been hijacked.

---------

Captain Jung Chunghyun's bridge ran on relative silence. Before her lay the view around the miniature floating city of Skye Privateers, Inc. where the Silver Wings is currently docked. It's currently a sunny daytime, so the view outside consisted mostly of white clouds and blue skies. But Chunghyun knew the complex enough to imagine the hive of activity going on outside and below the skyship without needing to actually see it.

The company's CEO, Lt. Lee Donghae, had built a prolific shipping empire while blatantly calling his company what it is - a company of mercenaries who took on jobs for the right price. Young at 26, her "boss" also managed to gain notoriety by using his lieutenant rank when conducting company business, being a naval reservist.

Though Chunghyun had to agree, legally, that is - with the spate of assignments suddenly being handed to Lt. Lee, and ultimately Skye, Donghae is within his rights to use the rank.

"Captain, your coffee - espresso, as you ordered," the soft voice of her yeoman Jin Hana broke the bridge's silence as her requested poison of the hour was served and placed on the arm of her captain's chair. Chunghyun is already halfway into her second shift, still awaiting word from their assets on the whereabouts of the Silver Jewel.

It was barely a month ago when they faced off with the pirate ship, having pursued it days out after their search from Market Square yielded possible headings for the ship. Captain Lee Hyukjae had earned a price on his head, and Skye now operated on government authority (but mainly because of the big credit) to take down Hyukjae and his crew.

But both ships' face-off in the skies over the Muri-ana seas had left both sides sporting scars - the Silver Wings limped back to Skye for repairs and refits. Last Chunghyun heard, she had dealt the pirate ship enough damage for it to risk docking somewhere near the floating city of Terragon, even taking on new crew.

So Chunghyun bided her time, waiting on board the Silver Wings primed to depart anytime she got word on the current location of the Silver Jewel.

Which reminded her.

"You'll be taking furlough starting today?" she asked Hana, eyeing the other woman's frame made heavy by pregnancy. Both women had almost the same height and build though Chunghyun at 5'5" is the shorter one. She was also sporting a short purple bob that went well with her black eyes and tanned skin while Hana had blazing ginger curls, green eyes and pale freckled skin.

Hana gave a dimpled smile while lovingly patting her stomach, a far cry from the mercenary who fought beside Chunghyun on that faceoff with the Silver Jewel. A mere month ago her baby bump was managed with a slow waddle that still didn't stop her doing a sword-dance - these days it took more effort to stay in sync with the skyship's swaying motion, never mind if they were supposed to be docked.

"Yes, Captain. I'll be offboarding once I'm off shift."

"Well, I'll miss you darling," Chunghyun said sincerely, even calling Hana by her favorite nickname. "But I guess Carl will want to have you to himself a few more months before he'll have to share you once baby Jin is out."

Hana just chuckled. "You'd be busy yourself enough, Captain, chasing after that pirate. You won't have time missing a crewmam on furlough," she pragmatically said.

"See, my voice of conscience, I miss you already," Chunghyun replied.

But it was also true. Even Chunghyun herself don't know the fate that awaited her with this assignment. All she knew is that she has standing orders to expedite the capture of Captain Lee Hyukjae, alive at all costs, and detaining him and his crew at the soonest possible time.

"In case we get word earlier, make sure you get yourself off the ship before we need to depart," Chunghyun quietly ordered her. Hana only nodded, understanding that the Captain will have her hands full when the chase is underway, without dealing with pregnant crewmen.

As if harbingering an ill omen, the relative silence was shattered by the unobtrusive chirping on the Captain's chair. Chunghyun noted the quick fingers of her comm officer already rerouting the coded message to her priority channel in the ready room. Chunghyun merely nodded a dismissal to Hana as she stood up and made her way to the Captain's ready room, coffee mug in tow.

Hana her heels, leaving the bridge to cut short her last shift and start offboarding procedures.

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