Stranger in a Strange Land [Colton]

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The bridge was a hive of activity, with the holographic image of their next target floating in the middle on the room and various schematics buzzing around it. Dax was checking the weapons in preparation, Irwin was making some last minute fixes to the boosters and Lars was hunched over the computer muttering to himself. Dante herself was leaning back confidently against the console, arm folded over her body and elbow resting in her hand. The other hand was stroking her chin in contemplation of this new ship, whilst the noise from various instruments and gadgets had since drowned out the music.

The ship in question was known as the ‘Starship Titanic’, an archaic looking vessel carrying a rather important set of passengers from the trade hub to a far off holiday planet. Dante wasn’t interested in where it had come from or where it was going; only what the cargo hold held inside it. It seemed they were taking their fortunes with them. A wicked smile graced the captain’s face as she accepted the equipment from Dax and kitted up, fixing the communication device into her ear and tapping co-ordinates into the vortex manipulator uncomfortably attached to her wrist.

They couldn’t just storm this ship in the traditional fashion; no – it was too well guarded. What they could do, however, was infiltrate it. That’s where Dante came in. She was dressed head to toe in a black cape, the hood drawn tightly around her face to obscure her scales and the bottom of it just brushing the floor. Underneath, she was fully kitted out in her usual garb with her pistols holstered at her waist and the charge all around. On her back was a rucksack, filled with devices to pick locks and hack cameras etc. Her job was to infiltrate the ship and systematically take out the guards; whilst the rest of the crew was preparing for a noisy raid on the deck.

There was one time where she would easily sneak aboard. At precisely one o-clock in the morning, the ship received shipments of supplies via vortex manipulator technology. Another signal among the rest wouldn’t be noticed as easily. As the clock neared the hour, Dante waltzed over to the corner of the room and pulled the hood up over her head.

“You’re good to go. Just get in and take them out and stay in contact. We don’t want to have to come and rescue you to find out you’ve just stopped for a drink with the captain – again.” Lars instructed, grinning and taking a step back. Irwin and Dax flanked him either side, Dax looking as stoic as ever and Irwin ever so slightly nervous. The aforementioned incident referred to a raid a few years ago where Dante had challenged the captain of a trade ship to a drinking game and promptly won; despite having had to be helped off the ship and being left with a hangover for days on end.

“Oh, try not to get into any trouble when I’m gone. You know how I worry.”

Dante teased, smirking and activating the vortex manipulator. “To the Titanic” She ordered, the bridge being bathed in a sparkling white light before Dante phased out of the ship and onto the other.

Back on the bridge, the crew were crowded around the screen to watch her progress. The blip that was Dante flickered once, twice and then finally died. “What the..?” Lars cursed, staring at the screen dumbfounded.

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The state room of the RMS Titanic II was bathed in a blinding light before a hooded figure phased into existence. The room was lavishly decorated in a design reminiscent of the Victorian era; though Dante guessed it was to keep in sync with the namesake of the ship and to maintain the user experience. The pitching and rolling of the ship however, did have her concerned; and upon walking over to a window to look outside; where she expected to see space and stars, she was instead met with the rolling waves and a bright blue sky. “The hell?" She muttered, parting the cloak slightly to draw a pistol and pulling the hood back from her head to get a better look. 

She was so engrossed in the outside scenery and trying to work out a way the vortex manipulator had carried her so far off track that for once she didn’t hear the clicking of the door behind her. A timid looking woman dressed in servants attire entered the state room; her arms full of towels and a apologetic look on her face. Despite not expecting guests the woman cleared her throat to announce her presence. The pirate stiffened, before whirling around in a flash of black fabric and red hair; the pistol rising out to point at the intruder.

True to cliché; the maid dropped the towels she was carrying and screamed her lungs out before crumpling into a pile on the floor. Dante’s eyes followed her to where she lay before shifting to look at her pistol. She pulled it back to look at the barrel before pouting and raising an eyebrow and putting the pistol away; still making no move to help the woman. What the pirate suspected might be security burst through the door a scarce few minutes afterwards, staring her down and sizing her up. The pirate was standing exactly where she had been before, and returned their questioning stares with a shrug.

“She just… fell over.” Dante said, with nothing more than mild curiosity in her voice and no concern for the maids condition. As they made a move to comment; they caught sight of the scales on her face and her rather reptilian eyes, causing them to raise their own weapons and shout various instructions at her. The pirate made a point of contempt, rolling her eyes and putting her hands up in the air. “Take me to your leader!” She ordered with a malevolent grin, as two walked warily behind her to secure her wrists. “I’ve always wanted to say that.” Dante commented with a chuckle as she was ferried away in handcuffs towards the bridge; knowing for a fact that she was having much more fun than the boys right now.

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A correct number of crew is on board to run the ship with no problems? Check.. Enough food for crew and passengers combined for in case we have to divert course or get stranded? Check.. The Captain of the RMS Titanic II had these kind of checks going through his head all the time, from the moment he woke to the time he went to bed for the short four hour sleep before rising again. You could never be too confident about how your ship is running, being managed or that you have enough supplies. Because all it takes is one dreadfully wrong event to happen to show just how ill prepared the ship and crew are for it. That was what happened to the original RMS Titanic.. at least that is what Colton believed.

But that was not going to happen on his ship, just to make sure, he had all of his crew members go through drills for every event that could possibly happen on board a ship. As well as one loading drill that passengers must attend when on board his ship.

The Captain at the moment was in the chart room going through the course that the ship was taking, as well as running warnings that were brought to him. And as a precaution, Colton ordered the ship to be stopped until he had gone through all the warnings and made necessary adjustments to the ship's course. All officer shifts were to go on as normal.

Colton had just walked out of the chart room, his hands neatly behind his back, "Alright progress Forward Slow. There is ice nearby. Keep a sharp eye out and let me know at once if you are doubtful about passing the ice." He looked out to the somewhat calm sea, and could see that the sun was going to be down soon. He wondered if he should in fact change the orders again to have the ship be stopped until morning.

He turned to walk to the the viewing deck when a couple of security personel came with a woman. At a distance she appeared to be normal and wondered just how she was causing enough trouble to be arrested. That was when she was close enough for him to see that she had.. scales? Colton cleared his throat, "What's the reason this woman was arrested?" Colton looked to the highest ranking of the two security personel, "Take her to my sitting room.. now. Then leave us."

The Captain followed close behind, leaving the door open until the two security personel walked out of the room, "Stay on the bridge until ordered by me to leave the bridge or take this woman to the Brink." Colton then closed the door and walked around the woman, "So.. why were you arrested Miss?"

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The path to the bridge was a long and interesting one; Dante straining at her shackles now and again to peer inside various rooms and muttering vague observations to herself. Now and again, you would get a reaction from a passer by, the odd curse of disbelief or even a small shriek. The guards were silent, boringly so, and the brisk march at which they walked her got them to their destination a set of keys and a security pass lighter with time to spare.

"Oy, watch it mate!" She protested, pretending to act insulted as they tugged her roughly into the bridge. By any guess, the man greeting them was the captain. The pirate didn't speak or make any move against him; she just studied him with the same curiosity as she had the maid. Humans. Nothing new. They had to drag her away to make the woman break eye contact with the man, before shoving her down harshly into a wooden chair they had moved into the centre of the sitting room. She fixed each of them with a withering glare as they bade a hasty retreat before turning her full attention back to the captain.

"Oh please, you call this arrested?"

Dante teased with a spreading smirk, holding her hands out beside her, the cuffs dangling from one and the keys from the other. With a small chuckle, she sprung up from the chair, throwing the handcuffs back onto the seat and taunting the man with the keys before pocketing them. 

"You mean the maid?" Dante asked, though the tone of voice showed that she knew the answer. "I think I frightened her half to death. She just... fell over." The pirate repeated her earlier sentiment with a knowing smirk.

A smile escaped her lips as she  clapped her hands and rubbed them together, spinning around on her heel and surveying the room. She stopped as she caught sight of the Captain again, walking over to stand rather too close for comfort, assessing him up and down.

"So you're the captain, eh? Can't say I'm impressed. The captain of what exactly? That is the question. You're dressed in uniform so it can't be a private vessel and judging by the size it could either be a cargo, pirate or a passenger liner. You certainly ain't no pirate and the living quarters and the maids cross out cargo. So that leaves passenger." The pirate paused to let what she had said sink in. "Oh, and tell dumb and dumber to stop whispering will you? It'd hurt my feelings if I had any."

Dante finished with a pout, her eyes glinting with malevolence as she whispered the last sentence. She carried herself with an air of great self importance over to a small decanter in the corner and helped herself to a small glass. "The name's Dante Wilder, Captain Dante Wilder to you in fact." She paused, nodding as if to confirm it. "Now who the hell are you and where the hell am I?" The pirate asked, downing the glass and turning to face the captain with a raised eyebrow and an entertained grin.

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"Oh please, you call this arrested?"

The Captain turned after he had locked the door. And to see the cuffs dangling from her wrists, well this was new. He had never seen a woman break free from the cuffs.. then she revealed the keys that she sneaked from one of the security officers. He barked a quick laugh, "Well you certainly taught me where security needs some fixing." He then regained his previous posture as the man cleared his throat.

Taking the keys out of her hand she unlocked the remaining restraints; tossing them onto the desk behind him Colton stuffed the keys into one of his pockets. Then turned to another table and poured the woman a drink and handed it to her.

"So you're the captain, eh? Can't say I'm impressed. The captain of what exactly? That is the question. You're dressed in uniform so it can't be a private vessel and judging by the size it could either be a cargo, pirate or a passenger liner. You certainly ain't no pirate and the living quarters and the maids cross out cargo. So that leaves passenger." The pirate paused to let what she had said sink in. "Oh, and tell dumb and dumber to stop whispering will you? It'd hurt my feelings if I had any."

Colton nodded, "Yes I am the Captain of this ship." He cleared his throat, trying to avoid getting his guard down as she flattered him, "I am the Captain of the RMS Titanic II and when on board the sister ship Olympic II." The Captain placed his hat on the desk on top of the handcuffs. He looked to her as she mentioned the two security officers, "Well they should have treated with you respect. I will have a word with them personally." He watched as she helped her self to a small glass of the brandy that was sitting on another table. Well that made the one in his hand useless, crew members including officers are not allowed to drink at all while on board. So the Captain set the small glass on the desk next to his hat.

"The name's Dante Wilder, Captain Dante Wilder to you in fact." She paused, nodding as if to confirm it. "Now who the hell are you and where the hell am I?"


Colton looked to her and gave the woman a quick slight bow, "Good evening Captain Dante Wilder." He watched her nod as he straightened himself, "I am Captain Colton McCollen and you are on board the RMS Titanic II who is on route to New York. Meaning you are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."

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Dante, who had been previously eyeing up a rather 'interesting' painting on the wall, turned her head instantly at the mention of the word 'Titanic'. She almost thought she had misheard him, until he repeated it again. The names and places meant nothing to her; but the ships did. Well she never. Suspicions confirmed, Dante's face broke into a wild grin and she chuckled to herself, shaking her head. She was on the titanic, just the wrong one.

"Clever. Very clever. The wrong titanic you blasted thing." She seethed at it, glaring at the vortex manipulator sitting innocently on her wrist. Dante pressed a couple of buttons on the screen, only for it to flicker once and then die. Brilliant. But then again, it had only been charged for one trip. Her return journey was meant to be courtesy of her crew. The pirate huffed and took the useless thing off her wrist and put it beside the brandy. 

"Looks like my only way out of here is having a tantrum so I guess I'll be around for a while longer. Don't mind me!"

Dante grimaced slightly at the thought of leaving the ship in Lars' command for any longer than the raid. Hell, he'd be paying for damages. That is, if they could find her. Most of her stand alone communication devices wouldn't work from so far away without a boost and there was no way to track where she'd gone. She took off the rucksack and delved deep into it to find an energy pulse meter, a device that measure the output of energy from nearly anything. The pirate twisted a few knobs and dials before the screen burst into life and a steady beeping noise, much like a metal detector, filled the room.

"Well then Captain Colton, it really has been a pleasure." 

The pirate intoned almost mockingly, stretching her hand out for what might have been a handshake; but then made a beeline for the abandoned glass of brandy instead. "Ta!" She said, striding away with both the glass and his pass towards the door, rucksack on her back and the tracker under her arm. "Goodbye, Captain!" Dante called over her shoulder with a grin, opening the door with her bum and downing the brandy glass in one gulp before pushing it into one of the security guards hands. "You really ought to think quieter you know. I may be part lizard but I do have feelings." Ignoring the shocked look on their faces and contradicting her other statement entirely, such was her way. The pirate clapped them both on the shoulder before waltzing off the bridge, following the tracker in her hand and down towards the generators; intent on finding somewhere to boost the signal.

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Colton frowned lightly in a mixture of curiosity and confusion as the woman.. alien person spoke to what ever it was that was snugly on her wrist. He watched as she then took it off and set it down beside the glass of Brandy he had put on the desk next to his hat. Just what was that thing? He then wondered if she was a stowaway or if she was a passenger with a mental condition.. but she appeared to be fine to the Captain.. so the second was just not possible.

"Looks like my only way out of here is having a tantrum so I guess I'll be around for a while longer. Don't mind me!"

"Well Captain.. I need to know how you got onto my ship because well.. You would not be that hard to miss.." He hated sounding so rude.. It was just not like him to sound that way. Colton was going to say more but then the woman was digging through her bag and a little bit after that there was a strange beeping sound.. much like the sound a metal detector would give out as it detected something.

"Well then Captain Colton, it really has been a pleasure."

"And the same to you Captain Dante." And of course he held his hand out for hers, and that was when she beelined her hand for the brandy that was sitting on the desk. The man chuckled a little as he dropped his hand back down, "You're welcome to it." He watched as the woman then made her way to the door, picking up her sack.

"Goodbye, Captain!"

Colton turned to face her as she pushed the door out of her way with her bottom, he gave Dante a sorry look, "I'm Sorry Captain but you will not be able to get off the ship until we reach New York in three days.." But she was already out the door. The Captain chuckled lightly as he reached for his hat and placed it on his head. Scooping the handcuffs and keys into his hand the Captain placed them into his pocket before stepping out of the room.

Colton was going to make his way into the Chart Room one more time when he reached into his pocket to find his card was gone, "What?" He searched everyone of his pockets again.. He thought of where it could possibly be as he made his way back to his sitting room. He searched in every drawer and every surface it could have been put. That was when he realized that Captain Dante had it. Oh that sneaky woman.. But just how did she manage to take it with out him noticing?

The Captain walked out onto the bridge, "I will be right back Lieutenant, I will just be checking in on a few things." He then made a quick stop as he wondered just where Dante would have gone. That was when he figured that he could just listen for that strange beeping sound. Grinning as widely as a child who just figured out a piece to a puzzle, Colton stepped into the grand stair case.

And as he thought, the sound of the beeping was a tall tale sign of where the woman was. She was just two flights down at the moment by the sounds of it. Making his way to the stairs, the man started jogging down the stairs for two flights before stepping off the pearly white tiled stairs. Turning the corner to his left where the beeping sound was the loudest. He smiled a little as he saw the woman stopped, as though she was lost, "May I be of service as to where you are going Captain?" Colton asked as he approached her. As she turned to him he quickly snatched his card out of her hand, "And thank you.. I will be taking this back." The man placed the card back into his pocket.

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The pirate found herself whistling a small tune as she made her way down into the bowels of the ship, cheerfully using the Captains pass to open the various doors and giving the customary wink now and again to the security cameras as she passed them. She was fully capable of turning them off; it just seemed a shame to spoil the show. And if Dante liked anything, it was to do things in style.

Still, she reasoned it wouldn't be long before the Captain realised she had managed to steal his ID and come looking for her. She wasn't exactly hiding. Humans really did have a knack for being incredibly stupid, in the nicest way possible of course. The pulse metre seemed to have given up at the end of one passage, though which one she didn't quite know. By now she had turned so many corners and descended so many sets of stairs that she had no idea where she was. The pirate grumbled and slapped the side of the pulse metre to try and jolt it back into action. No such luck; the device was still fixated on this one isolated room as being a large source of power. Touché.

A hand reached out nonchalantly into her pocket to draw out the Captains keycard, still whistling softly, yet the tune was getting slower. As she was about to insert it into the door, another hand that certainly wasn't hers snaked out and grabbed it. "Hey!" She exclaimed, glaring at him and pouting slightly. "Spoil sport." Dante huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall opposite the door. The pirate didn't see much point in answering his other question; he'd see his answer soon enough. "Ooh!" Dante exclaimed, feeling around in her pocket for the guards pass she had pick pocketed earlier. Only she could forget about something like that. With a flourish and a rather mischievous grin, Dante slid it through the scanner and made to push the door, ending up stuck against it as the card was rejected. The pirate made a huff of discontent and threw the card aside, pacing up and down outside the door. She needed to get into that room if she had any chance of getting off this godforsaken ship in the next millennia.

It happened so fast that it would nearly appear a blur on the cameras watching them. Dante pulled her blaster from her belt that had previously been hidden by the cloak and aimed one shot at the lock on the door. The red laser beam of blinding light lasted for around a second, but by the time the small puff of smoke had cleared the lock and door handle had been melted away, leaving a charred mess of the rest of the door. "I suppose there is no getting rid of you is there?" Dante asked ever so slightly irritated, holstering the gun and not waiting for an answer before charging through the door.

Dante whistled in appreciation before delving into the bag and bringing out what looked like a small, clear box with two pink tendrils dangling from either side. The pirate got rid of the black cape and stuffed it in the bag before tying her hair back into a ponytail. "This is my ticket outta here. And yes. I can get out of here and I will get out of here. I cannot be stuck on Earth of all places!" She said with a determined tone of voice which gradually turned more exasperated. Dante turned her gaze instead to the room, scratching at her scales absent-mindedly. "Seriously? Ood could have done a better job of the wiring in here. Humans..." The pirate chastised, shaking her head at the technologically deprived room. That done, she took a breath and delved into the sea of cables, the box in one hand and the pulse metre in the other. "If you help me find the main cable I'll tell them to hurry up." Dante offered, crawling deeper into the mess of wires with the pulse metre, tongue sticking out in concentration. "Here cable, cable!"

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The Captain cleared his throat, giving the woman who seemed to be acting more childish a stern look. So far she was not on her good list, she somehow got on board his ship with out his knowledge then she swiped his security card off of him. And now she was standing here as though she is as innocent as a child. No way he was falling for this, "Well it was not polite of you to pick pocket my security card." Colton crossed his arms across his chest as he looked down to the alien woman.

He watched as she tried using a security officer's card that she seemed to have pick pocketed from one of the two that brought her up onto the bridge, "Security personel at their rank.. is not allowed in this room." and with that the card was taken and put into his pocket. He jumped back a little as she pulled out a blaster.. but he was not sure if she was going to threaten him or shoot him right there. That was when she pointed it at the door and blasted it, "Oi! That is.. you will be arrested for that!"

"I suppose there is no getting rid of you is there?

The Captain followed her into the room, if anyone was to look at his face and describe it, it would have an expression that no one would want to see, "With your behavior.. no there will not be any getting rid of me. Not until this behavior stops." He watched as the woman started looking for some sort of wire in the wall. Oh this was just frustrating. First she was not a part of the passenger or crew list and now she is taking his own ship apart! There was no way that he was going to allow this to continue any more.

Taking a deep breath Colton grabbed Dante by the upper arm and pulled the woman to her feet, "Nope, no more tearing my ship apart.. I will not allow you to do such a thing to the symbol of the 21st century." He then pulled her out to the hallway, closing and locking the door behind him with a swipe of his card, "I will take you down to the engine room where you can find the wire you are seeking without ripping my ship apart."

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The pirate tensed as he pulled her roughly to her feet, writhing out of his grip and fixing him with a withering glare. "Do I look like a saint to you?" Dante asked, wrenching her arm out of his grip and brushing down her clothes. "Arrested, really? I thought you would have learned by now that that doesn't work." She intoned rather mockingly, a hint of a smile twisting itself over her face. "Humans. You're all the same really." She scoffed, but strode behind him nonetheless.

"Oh, please? My behaviour?" Dante pouted, folding her arms and scuffing her feet along the floor. "I suppose I never finished introducing myself. Cap'n Dante Wilder of 'The Vanquisher'; space pirate and intergalactic trade-route conquistadora." She finished with a flourish, glancing back down at the writhing box in one hand and the scanner in the other before returning her gaze to the other captain. "We were preparing for a raid on the Starship Titanic when my bloody vortex manipulator shot out and spat me out here on the wrong Titanic. My vortex manipulator is now having a tantrum and until I can get this signal out so that my crew can find me I am stuck here with you on this godforsaken ship!" The last part was almost a scream of frustration, the pirate pursing her lips and moving forward swiftly as if stomping through the ship would get rid of the building anger.

"And unless you help me find this wire; they'll make a nasty mess of the cosmos trying to find me." The pirate paused, both literally and figuratively; looking around as if she had forgotten something. Her voice softened to an almost contemplative tone and the next bit was almost added as an afterthought. "I hate it when they do that. That's my job." The woman pouted almost sulkily before shrugging it off and scampering after the captain; taking a moment now and then to peer into the rooms they passed; chuckling at the faces some of the workers pulled when they saw hers.

"So then Captain Colton; what else is there to learn about you?" She asked not unkindly; though if you looked at her eyes at that particular moment you would see something akin to scheming. She didn't really want to harm the little fellow; he was quite amusing actually for a human and had tolerated her; which was more than most had done. The little fiasco with the vortex manipulator had made her rather grouchy; what she really needed right now - was coffee.

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The man continued to pull her by the arm as though she was some child that was caught doing something terribly wrong and being dragged home before being grounded. The entire time he just ignored the woman as she rambled on and on. For an alien she had just proven that women aliens are just as talkative as human women were.. how strange that they were exactly the same in some ways. The Captain then wondered how alien men put up with alien women.

He simply dropped his hand to his side as Dante wrenched her arm from his grasp and continued to walk, he thought that perhaps that maybe if she got the point as to why he was being so silent that she would get straight to the point. Which she did.

"I suppose I never finished introducing myself. Cap'n Dante Wilder of 'The Vanquisher'; space pirate and intergalactic trade-route conquistadora." She finished with a flourish, glancing back down at the writhing box in one hand and the scanner in the other before returning her gaze to the other captain. "We were preparing for a raid on the Starship Titanic when my bloody vortex manipulator shot out and spat me out here on the wrong Titanic. My vortex manipulator is now having a tantrum and until I can get this signal out so that my crew can find me I am stuck here with you on this godforsaken ship!"

The Captain of the Titanic II stopped and looked to the alien woman, "Oh.. so you are a Space Pirate then?" He crossed his arms as the man continued to listen to her, "Well then.. perhaps you should have been more precise as to which Titanic you wanted to go to. Then you would not have been stuck on either this ship or the one that is two and a half miles down under the North Atlantic Ocean Captain Dante." He shrugged a little, "Well Karma sure is a pain in the rear end now is it?" He gave the alien woman a half shrug before turning around and continuing to walk down the hallway that was practically empty now that people were heading off to lunch.

"And unless you help me find this wire; they'll make a nasty mess of the cosmos trying to find me."

"I will call up my top engineer and electrician to help look for the wire." That was all that he was going to tell her. Yes he ran the ship but that did not mean he was a genius on how the electric system worked on the ship.

"So then Captain Colton; what else is there to learn about you?"

He looked to the alien woman for a moment before looking back ahead, "What more is there to learn about me? Well there is a lot you can learn about me. Some that I cannot mention out in the open like this." He made a turn towards a flight of stairs and started quickly moving up them, "But right now I can tell you that I am a Catholic, and that I am not married.. I do not have any children either." He stopped at the top of the stairs adjusting his tie before walking on, "The rest I will tell you back at my command room while we wait for my top engineer and electrician."

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Dante almost barrelled into him when he stopped but caught herself and stood tall beside him, looking down at him sideways with a sly smile. "If you like." She said, nodding her head and pouting before walking off again. Already she didn't know where she was going and whilst she had space legs, sea legs were another thing entirely. The ship rocked alarmingly, to her at least, and she found herself just catching her balance. "I don't understand how you humans can like the sea." She muttered venomously, shaking her head and pressing on.

"Underneath the sea would be better, at least I wouldn't have my own personal shadow." Dante pursed her lips, looking at the Captain again with disdain. "You're so polite Captain." Dante fawned, grinning. "Karma? Who's that? I guess they can be a bitch if they want." The pirate shrugged, completely unaware what Karma actually was. "Bloody brilliant." She exclaimed, slapping the Captain on the back and chuckling. "Why don't I have one of those?" Dante muttered, rather put out and confused before shaking the feeling off and scampering after the Captain.

She paused on the stairs when he mentioned religion. To the pirate, it was a pretty alien thing. "Aw, you've got religion, how innocent!" Dante intoned and started up the stair after him, her mouth contorting into a thin line. The woman had no religion, for what religion would allow what she'd seen? His next comment sent the more comedic side of her to the forefront. "And whilst I'm flattered Captain, I'm going to have to respectfully decline." She grinned, her eyes shining with mischief and humour. "We've all got ghosts Captain, some more than most." Dante was strangely serious for once, motioning for him to continue. Dante looked down at the writhing tentacles of the box and the scanner in her hand, thought better of it, and stuffed them back in the rucksack to buy time. That done, she continued to listen whilst she peered curiously through the little port-hole doors as they passed them. She contemplated just wandering off, and whilst she was perfectly capable of it, the less time spent on this ship the better. They had only one shot at the Starship Titanic and it wouldn't do to miss it.

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"And whilst I'm flattered Captain, I'm going to have to respectfully decline." She grinned, her eyes shining with mischief and humour. "We've all got ghosts Captain, some more than most."

Colton laughed and looked to Dante, "What made you think that I was going to ask you what it was that you thought I was talking about?" The Captain started walking again ,"Because I was not going to ask. I was simply stating that I do not have.. a family." Colton got out of the way of a mother and her three children, pressing himself to the wall for a moment before walking again.

He looked to a child who was tugging on his sleeve, getting down to one knee, "Why is she like that Captain?"e Well that was one question for the day that did not relate to the ship.. but how to answer it? The Captain thought for a moment.

Colton leaned back with a small smile he leaned to the kid, "She is practicing a part for a movie." Colton then watched the kid get to his feet and run after his mother. Chuckling, Colton straightened himself and looked to Dante for a moment before pressing on.