“So glad you could join us so quickly, gentlemen,” Willow declared smoothly, her arms still out to shield the girl behind her, “is it with us or these hooligans that you have business?”

Uh, Cap,” Sam drawled through clenched teeth, his weapon now skipping between more targets than he cared to count, “I dunno what kind o’ luck this’n falls under but, if I recollect, clear, we’s done past our three…”

"We got the chance for one solid to bring us full circle and start the cycle over, Sam." Wyatt answered, waiting for someone to make a move.

It is a very tense moment, that Willow receives no answer and the Tong do not look like they wish to talk. Guns are being pointed, shells pumped, triggers cocked and the look of the Tong Guards’ faces reveals nothing of what they are thinking. One of them, the leader you would assume by his demeanor and red sash, commands the others in Chinese so fast you can’t catch all of it. Something about “protect”, “Grandfather” and “kill them all” you caught but the rest you are unsure.

The old Sheppard rights himself upwards and calls out in a commanding voice, “No! No Violence! No killing! Any man who harms another here will no longer be welcome in my house!”

The words have a profound effect as guns are immediately lowered and many of the men bow deeply in respect despite the fact that the priest can not see them.

“Dao!” The old man cries out

“ //I am here Grandfather//” the young lady behind Willow calls out in Chinese.

“Are you hurt?”

“//No Grandfather. But I kicked one of them. I am so sorry grandfather. I was scared and he ..//”

“Don’t worry about it child. They brought it unto themselves as violence only begets violence.”

The old man approaches you and the young lady detaches herself from Willows arm and runs to her grandfather. She swiftly details to the Sheppard the details of you (three men, a woman, they came to our aid etc etc). He listens patiently and then comes forward to stand before you. “Thank you. Many a man or woman are there who would have walked pass and pretended to not notice. Others would resort to guns and killing immediately to make their point. I thank you for your aid and am honoured by your restraint.” He says and bows to you formally as does his granddaughter.

(Assume some conversation here)

Red Sash comes forward. He sees the old man bowing to you and immediately bows to you as well. Then he says, “Honoured Grandfather. What shall we do with these men that bothered you?”

“Hold them but do not hurt them. I wish to speak to them for awhile about the errors of their ways. Only through forgiveness and wisdom will they see a better path to walk.”

The Sheppard and the young lady leave you, heading towards the ruffians who now sit with their backs to the stables, disarmed. The bleeding nose of the one seems to have stopped, but they are kept there as the priest starts into a sermon to his captive audience about the word of the lord and loving thy neighbour.

“Do you gentlemen know the story of the Good Samaritan? It is an important story that all should know and think long and hard upon ….”

OOC: I have left this open for more interaction if you want. Otherwise you are free to continue to the schoolhouse.

Wyatt accepted the sheppard's thanks with a brief, "It was nothin'." Then as the group of Tong, the holy man, the high-kicking girl and the roughians began to make their exit from the scene, Captain Sung motioned along the path with his right arm whike offering his left to Willow.

"That's the Luck o' Three, Sam. Now we're startin' the cycle again, and the bad thing about that is that it could go either way for us next time." Wyatt glanced at Wolf in the process of scanning he streets for any more trouble. "Nice t' see you, Wolf. We was told you might be looking' for work, and as things go, we just had a position open on board Rocinante." Wyatt quickly and quietly puts the offer on the table: a trial period during which time he'll draw a fair wage, after which--providing he wants to stick around and they want him to stick around--he'd have his choice to either continue pulling salary, or work under the same program the rest of them are under.

(OOC: Room for interaction. Assuming that he's game and any specifics as to exact amounts being left for when I have my book in front of me...)

With the deal sealed by a handshake, Wyatt nods his head towards Willow. "This is Willow, the ship medic and communications specialist. Willow, meet Wolf; mechanic, and hopefully a good enough one t' keep us moving through the Black."

All the while, Wyatt continued to direct them towards the schoolhouse.

Fenris waited for something to happen, pistol in one hand, his sawed off in the other though clearly outnumbered he would not go down without a fight. What happened next caught Wolf by surprise.

“Dao!”

The old man clearly in the lead cried out

“I am here Grandfather.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No Grandfather. But I kicked one of them. I am so sorry grandfather. I was scared and he ..”

“Don’t worry about it child. They brought it unto themselves as violence only begets violence.”

With the old man’s approach and Wyatt’s lady friend’s explanation of the previous events Wolf saw that the old man appeared grateful and for the moment not hostile and was proved the next minute with the man’s words.

“Thank you. Many a man or women are there who would have walked pass and pretended to not notice. Others would resort to guns and killing immediately to make their point. I thank you for your aid and am honored by your restraint.”

With his guns holstered, pistol in a shoulder holster, sawed off at his right hip he almost missed Wyatt’s offer of work.

"Nice t' see you, Wolf. We was told you might be looking' for work, and as things go, we just had a position open on board Rocinante."

“Well Cap’n look no further I am more then willing to join your crew, be nice to get the hell off this boring place.”
A pause.
“Thank you for this second chance, Cap’n, you won’t regret it”

His hand out and the deal sealed by a handshake, Wyatt nods his head towards the beautiful lady at his side.

"This is Willow, the ship medic and communications specialist. Willow, meet Wolf; mechanic, and hopefully a good enough one t' keep us moving through the Black.”

Taking the lady Willows hand in his Fenris proceeded to kiss it.

“Greetings My Lady Willow, whatever you need of me I am at your service me lady”

With his gentleman’s greeting of the lady over, he once again turned to Wyatt and Dash.

“So where to now gentlemen?”.........

Willow was thinking hard on what had just happened: an elderly Shepherd who could command the henchmen of a Tong, and command their respect. This was just too unusual to pass by, no matter how much in a hurry Sung was to be paid and jump atmo. Contacts were worth their weight in gold, and an empty transport ship earned nothing, as well.

Good manners intervened, and Willow could be rude as easily as she could be graceless. As she heard the captain introduce their would-be rescuer as their new mechanic, Willow set aside the business of the Shepherd to turn her megawatt smile on the man called Wolf.

“Greetings My Lady Willow, whatever you need of me I am at your service me lady”, Wolf said as he bowed over her hand to kiss it.

“Welcome to the crew, Mr. Fenris,” Willow responded warmly, her face alight with good humour,” What I will require most is that the Rocinante keep flying and you acquire as few holes in you as possible. If you manage that, my dear, we’ll get along fine.”

While not appearing to hurry, Willow turned to Sung,”Captain-san, a moment’s indulgence, please?”

Whether the captain agrees or not, Willow turns and heads over to the old man, presenting her hands to any Tong in such a way that they can see she has no weapons within the wide sleeves of her kimono. When she reaches the old man, she tucks her hands back into the sleeves, as is proper, and bows low before the blind man. While still bowed, she addresses the Shepherd.

“Revered grandfather, this one is Willow Takahara. Your wisdom and generosity of spirit towards those who would harm you is a lesson to us all. May this one call upon you later to hear more of your lessons?”

Once she has a response from the old man, Willow rises from her bow and glides back to her friends, taking Sung’s arm and nodding graciously to his wry “Can we go now?”

As Willow approaches the blind man, the men around him watch her closely but also bob their heads in respect to the honour just bestowed upon these .

Willow bows low, and the granddaughter Dao whispers in his ear a narrative of what is happening. “Revered grandfather, this one is Willow Takahara. Your wisdom and generosity of spirit towards those who would harm you is a lesson to us all. May this one call upon you later to hear more of your lessons?”

The Shepherd moves towards Willow and motions for her to stand. He moves his hands towards her face, slowly, as not to startle her and asks, “May I?“

(assuming Willow lets the old man touch her)

The shepherd’s hand move gently over Willows face, the fleeting of touches but enough for the man to know the face to whom he speaks. He then grasps Willow’s hand firmly, but in fatherly type of grip.

“Anyone who seeks to learn may call upon me, my child. You are a healer; both of body and soul are you not? We perhaps can learn much from each other, for there is much to be healed here, and not enough wisdom to go around.”

With that the old man releases Willow’s hand and turns to his former tormentors with the word of the lord.

With Wolf now walking along with you, the group continues on their way. You pass another set of stables on the left, much nicer with a larger corral than the one where you had your altercation. Horses are wonderful for transportation, but not much to look at so you continue along the pathway.

The neighbourhood takes a turn to the fancy ahead. A set of small, but well cared for homes line the curve east of town. Each home has a porch with a rocker or two that rock themselves in the desert wind. No doubt the upper class kind live in this section of town, well away from the doings of the regular towns folk.

On the crest of a small hill before you stands a brand new, freshly painted, slat board school house, adorned with a steeple. A small, neat cottage stands a few yards away. As you approach, you can hear voices inside and the sound of chairs and desks creaking as used.

(Assuming someone looks through the window, and not charges in with guns drawn)

The row of desks faces the front row of the single large room. A woman stands with her back to the class and the window, working at an old-fashion chalkboard hung on the wall. Her hands hold chalk and eraser as she writes out the multiplication table while erasing the previous lesson at the same time. She then turns to face the class and you look into the face of a woman who could charm the stars out of the Black. She has large sea-green eyes with long auburn hair. Her simple prairie dress is cut to emphasize her voluptuous body. If she had been your teacher, your lessons might have suffered but you’d have never cut class.

OOC: Enter? Draw guns and enter? Run away?

Wyatt scanned the interior from beneath the brim of his hat with a calculating eye. There’d been too much chewing on the four leaf clover leaves to allow him the luxury of moseying on in and announcing them with a tip of the hat. He wasn’t altogether sure he liked the idea of a school marm being their ticket—there was something fundamentally wrong about that that left the captain in an uneasy state. Peering in through that window, he wasn’t altogether smitten by her appearance what with his deep seeded devotion to Eden and Summer, but he could definitely recognize her beauty, and he knew that this could mean trouble. He wasn’t so sure about Wolf, but Dash would definitely get some bright idea in his head that would put them in a rather troublesome spot.

“Bes’ behavior,” he muttered as he passed Sam and made his way to the front door. Pausing for a moment, he considered how he should enter, what with the room full, an’ all. After just a brief time he turned the knob, pushed the door open, and ambled on inside. His hat was still tipped low over his eyes, his brown coat hanging loosely about his athletic frame. Entering the room, he stepped just far enough inside to allow his crew to follow.

(OOC: if the following doesn’t fit the reaction, I’ll edit.)

Sung paid the rest of the room no mind, but for a cursory glance to make sure no one was skinnin’ steal. His frosty stare fell on the teacher in all of her country goodness. Lowering his head just a bit, he touched the brim of his hat with the gloved fingers of his left hand.

“Ma’am,” he drawled. “Name’s Wyatt Sung, and I was told you and I needed to talk. This here,” he motioned loosely with his right hand to those who followed him. “Are my crew: Ms. Willow Takahara, Mr. Sam Dash, and Mr…Wolf. If you’ve the time, we’d be mighty obliged to you.”

As Dash, The Cap’n, Miss Willow and he moved deeper into the small town Fenris found himself thinking for really the first time what Captain Sung’s reason for being here was. He had been so excited with the Rocinante landing here and a good chance to get off planet he had given it no thought till now. Thinking to himself how hastily he had signed on not knowing the why’s he was about to ask when they finally came to the school house, Miss Brigit’s school house.

Once again Fenris could not help but think of the totally gorgeous green eyed beauty of a school teacher who he had maybe had a chance with for like 20 minutes when he first arrived on planet until she found out he was not the bad boy criminal she thought he was.
Now she was JW’s main squeeze, in his eyes but not in hers, so rumors hinted. Before Fenris could open his mouth to say anything they were into the school house and the Cap’n was speaking.

“Ma’am,” he drawled. “Name’s Wyatt Sung, and I was told you and I needed to talk. This here,” he motioned loosely with his right hand to Fenris and the rest.
“Are my crew: Ms. Willow Takahara, Mr. Sam Dash, and Mr…Wolf. If you’ve the time, we’d be mighty obliged to you.”

“Ahh we know each other Cap'n Hi, Brigit, nice day huh”

Oh you big oaf, nice day??, all you could come up with is, nice day, no wonder you hadn’t had a chance in hell of bedding her. Who am I trying to kid and then on top of his ‘social’ blunder Sung got his last name wrong.
What a great day this was turning out to be….NOT!!. What he wouldn’t give to be back in the street facing down those tong gunmen.....

At the schoolhouse, Willow let the captain take the lead, giving herself the opportunity to study the woman before them. She was beautiful, no question, but Willow did not suffer from the sense of rivalry that was the root of jealousy. Instead, Willow was able to admire her loveliness, as if enjoying a flower or a work of art.

“Work of art is more apt,” Willow thought to herself,” as those clothes are not a casual choice. You want to draw the eye, don’t you, my pretty? Is it simply vanity, or is there more to you than pleasingly meets the eye?”

Murmuring about the heat of the day, Willow draws a silk fan from her obi and opens it, fanning herself lightly. The gestures obscures and reveals her eyes, letting her watch the woman closely without seeming to. Few Companions were true Readers, and Willow was not one of them, but the training included understanding a client’s unspoken desires and motives, using body language and other cues. Willow put those powers of observation to work now.

Frisco 12 noon RST
It is a one room class room with desk and chairs. Upon entering, you become the object of everyone’s attention. The Captain may be looking for people holding weapons but there are only children with chalkboards and erasers, hardly a threat to anyone. Near the back and closest to you is a young boy, with black hair and a smile that would make the young girls melt. He is pushing manhood by the scraggly hairs on his lip. His eyes look you all over rapidly before fixating on Willow with barely disguised teen lust.

Near the middle are two twin girls, with done up blond hair and blue eyes. They are prettily dressed up in the exact same frilly white dresses. One has a blue ribbon in her hair, while the other has a pink one, other than that, they are exactly the same. You place them to be about 9 or ten. They look over the party as well and start whispering and giggling to themselves.

Near the front is a younger boy, small with freckles and brown hair while wearing thick glasses that magnify his eyes. His eyes are drawn to the pistol on Wyatt’s hip, but the glasses make it hard to realize whether he’s scared or fascinated.

“Ma’am,” Wyatt drawled. “Name’s Wyatt Sung, and I was told you and I needed to talk. This here,” he motioned loosely with his right hand to those who followed him. “Are my crew: Ms. Willow Takahara, Mr. Sam Dash, and Mr…Wolf. If you’ve the time, we’d be mighty obliged to you.”

“Ahh we know each other Cap'n Hi, Brigit, nice day huh.” Fenris comments.

It is only a moment, but Willow sees the look on Miss Brigit’s face change ever so slightly and then instantly back. Only a trained observer would have spotted it (it’s in the eyes), but then it takes one to spot one. Whoever this woman was, she was trained in a similar fashion as Willow, to read and perceive people. Birgit was planning to turn on the charm to the captain but realize something in his cold stare and decided to change tactics.

“Mister?” The young boy asks suddenly, “Where did you get the antique?” He asks pointing at the pistol on Wyatt’s hip. “That’s an Independence’s Officer Pistol isn’t it?”

(Take this where you wish, it is for RP and the kid can be wrong with the glasses he’s wearing)

“Billy!” the School Marm declares, “Now, you mind your manners. No man likes to have his equipment pointed at!” She laughs throatily.

She turns and puts down her chalk and addresses the class, “I have to talk to these gentlemen, so that will be all for today. Off now to do your chores and mind your parents.”

The children leave, grudgingly.

“Well, pleased to met you all.” Brigit says as way of a greeting, “Since you came to see me, this must be about the …containers.” She smiles prettily, “You all thrown me for a bit of a loop now as I was expecting someone else and sooner than this. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see you and to get the containers, but I plum almost had given up hope. I mean, Wolf, if you knew they were coming, why didn’t you say anything?”


(Assuming you bring up payment)

“Ah, well you’ll have to let me head up to the bank and I’ll arrange a bank transfer. I had the money a week ago, but I didn’t want to be sitting on it here, what with how things are around here. Why don’t you all head back to your ship, wait for bailey and his men to unload to containers, and I’ll make the arrangements.” She smiles all sweet and pretty.


OOC: Blammm, if you are still in, let me know and I will start up with what is happening at the ship. I have been away awhile but should be back now.

Dealing with Brigit. Willow knows there is something about her that ain't right. Wyatt gets the feeling she is nice enough, but Wyatt doesn't trust anyone he don't know well enough. Sam is deep in lust and would do anything for her in hopes to getting into that skirt.

“Mister?” The young boy asks suddenly, “Where did you get the antique?” He asks pointing at the pistol on Wyatt’s hip. “That’s an Independence’s Officer Pistol isn’t it?”

Wyatt glanced down at the boy with an unchanging expression. “Smart kid,” was all he said before turning his attention to the apparently mollified teacher.

“Billy!” the School Marm declares, “Now, you mind your manners. No man likes to have his equipment pointed at!” She laughs throatily.

She turns and puts down her chalk and addresses the class, “I have to talk to these gentlemen, so that will be all for today. Off now to do your chores and mind your parents.”

The children leave, grudgingly.

“Well, pleased to met you all.” Brigit says as way of a greeting, “Since you came to see me, this must be about the …containers.” She smiles prettily, “You all thrown me for a bit of a loop now as I was expecting someone else and sooner than this. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see you and to get the containers, but I plum almost had given up hope. I mean, Wolf, if you knew they were coming, why didn’t you say anything?”

Wyatt glanced at the newest member of his crew and then shifted his hat so that it rode the crown of his head a little closer. “Ma’am, Wolf didn’t have a clew we was comin’ until just recent. I’m sure he’d have let you know had he the opportunity. Now, not to be sounding rude, but we’ve just traveled through a bit of the Black that wasn’t so lonely, if’n you get my drift, and it ain’t likely that our little ruse is gonna stick too much longer ‘fore that other firefly sets dock. I can only imagine what sort of trouble that’ll present me an’ mine, so if you don’t mind I’d like to get paid and git out.”

“Ah, well you’ll have to let me head up to the bank and I’ll arrange a bank transfer. I had the money a week ago, but I didn’t want to be sitting on it here, what with how things are around here. Why don’t you all head back to your ship, wait for bailey and his men to unload to containers, and I’ll make the arrangements.” She smiles all sweet and pretty.

“Sounds right pleasant,” Wyatt tipped his hat once more before turning and leading his crew out of the schoolhouse and back to Rocinante.

Willow recognized the look on the young boy near the door as the hunger that puberty awoke and only love could assuage. She wasn’t offended by his open appraisal, rather, it was refreshingly honest, and oh so achingly young. Being contracted for a client’s first time was always so sweet, and ever so rewarding….

Wyatt introduced the crew and the teacher gave him an assessing look, one a Companion would use, but be better at hiding. She’d either had some training (not getting as far as Willow had) or she traded horses. Out here in the middle of nowhere, Willow mused, it could be both.

“….have to talk to these gentlemen, so that will be all for today. Off now to do your chores and mind your parents,” Brigit said, and Willow noted that she herself was excluded from the conversation. Well, she’d set herself up as ornamentation, so ornamental she’d be, all the better to concentrate without carrying her end of the conversation.

As the kids drifted out, gathering books and toys and the assorted detritus of childhood, the teen boy paused to give Willow his best smoldering look (she figured he practiced in the mirror at night.) Willow kept her expression demure, but slowly dipped one eyelid in a wink, lashes brushing her cheek like a dancer’s fan, and turned away before the boy’s expression could make her giggle. She knew she’d be resident in someone’s dreams for the next few nights at least.

The woman went on to discuss, charmingly, the containers, and tried to charm information out of Fenris…which, of course, he wouldn’t have. The captain intervened and explained, rather abruptly, that he wanted to be paid and leave, causing Willow to sigh a little behind her fan. As much as she’d tried to guide Sung into understanding that you couldn’t just stampede to close the deal without a little foreplay, he just wasn’t willing to invest the time and effort.

Brigit was more gracious than could be expected, noting that she’d have to arrange for a bank transfer and would send Bailey over for the cartons. With that, Sung took his leave, elbow out for Willow to take daintily.

Walking back to the ship, Willow leaned her head close to Sung’s, as if to snuggle. “That one’s more than she appears to be,” Willow murmured, her expression soft for any watchers,” and less, too. Best make sure we get full payment before a single container leaves the ship, Captain-San.”

Walking back to the ship, Willow leaned her head close to Sung’s, as if to snuggle. “That one’s more than she appears to be,” Willow murmured, her expression soft for any watchers, ”And less, too. Best make sure we get full payment before a single container leaves the ship, Captain-San.”

Wyatt’s face remained impassive as he casually took in their surroundings. He wasn’t one to trust easily, and he most certainly hadn’t been swayed by the woman’s obvious attempts to distract through her appearance, but he hadn’t pegged her for a Ching Soh (ruthless or savage person…best bet). Though he had already considered that she was more than she appeared to be just due to the fact that she was apparently brokering the deal that required them to run a blockade while her husband was some sort of Da Gher Da (Faction Leader).

“You know her, Wolf,” Wyatt continued to watch the streets as they made their way back towards Rocinante. “We got reason to think she’d cross us?”

He wasn’t dismissing Willow’s assessment—he was too smart for that. She’d pegged way too many people like a sharp shooter right between the eyes with those readings of hers. He wasn’t about to just up and say, “Sorry woman, but you’re dead wrong.” He’d of been dead a long time ago if he had. All he was looking for was a little native, ear-to-the-ground intuition to compliment the good doctor’s. Besides that, he wanted to see what value Wolf could bring to the mixing pot that was his crew besides fixin’ things. Kora had given input, helped on the guns, and that’s just touching on the tail of the comet so to speak.

As he followed closely behind the Cap’n as he and the rest of the crew walked back to the ship, Fenris could not help but over hear as Willow leaned her head close to Sung’s,. “That one’s more than she appears to be, and less, too. Best make sure we get full payment before a single container leaves the ship, Captain-San.”

Though he had the hot’s for Brigit he still had to agree with Miss Willow in that from what he really knew of her, which was not a lot just rumors and back ally gossip, she was not to be trusted too much. He was caught by surprise when Captain Sung turned to him and spoke…

“You know her, Wolf; we got reason to think she’d cross us?”

“Honestly Cap’n most of what I know of her is maybe gossip and rumors she's JW's fiancée make no mistake but he travels off world a lot, and there’s talk that she's got a wandering eye. But trustworthy….” Fenris had to pause here for a moment

“No I think we need to do as Miss Willow says and not trust her too far. Sorry I can’t help ya more Cap’n but I never got close enough to her know her that well.”

With that said Fenris gave Sung a lopsided grimace of apology and wished he could have been more help.....

When the captain didn’t immediately agree with her assessment, Willow wasn’t offended. Sung liked to ruminate awhile if he had the chance, and it was sometimes best to simply plant a seed and let it grow. When he turned to Fenris and asked about the schoolmarm, Willow could have smacked herself with her fan for being dense.

“Honestly Cap’n most of what I know of her is maybe gossip and rumors she's JW's fiancée make no mistake but he travels off world a lot, and there’s talk that she's got a wandering eye. But trustworthy….” Fenris paused before continuing.

“No I think we need to do as Miss Willow says and not trust her too far. Sorry I can’t help ya more Cap’n but I never got close enough to her know her that well.”

“But I like gossip and rumours, Mr. Wolf!” Willow interjected playfully, though her meaning was serious. “Is Brigit from here or somewhere else? Has she always been JW’s woman, or did she work her way up the food chain? Details, my dear, details!”

Rocinante, Frisco Landing Pad, 12:30 PM RST

Asher looked at the chrono once again. It hadn’t been that long since the captain left, but he was getting bored fast. Trish was off in the kitchen cleaning and sorting stuff out and there was only so much of that a young man could take. He had already cleaned all the guns he had brought up and was putting them back in the case when there was a light tapping on the door to the cargo bay. He had to listen carefully at first, to make sure he had heard it before going over to the hatchway door.

Looking through the glass he could see a lady was standing outside. She was close to his own age, perhaps younger. She was short with long black hair tied black in a single pony-tail, her tanned skin and rugged clothing spoke of a workers life but she sure was purdy though. Them blue eyes of hers seemed to sparkle but she looked like she was hesitant. She was just turning to go when Asher opened the door to look out at her.

(assuming some sort of question as to why she’s here)

“I’m sorry. I was just… I mean I was hoping to speak to..Are you the captain? I need help something fierce and I don’t know where else to turn. I don’t have much money but I can work real hard. But work that is, not anything else! I’m not like that kind of …well you know.” She trails off and looks up at you helplessly.

OCC: Something for Blammm to get into...