Dead Star Dockyards

"I am sorry, gentlemen, but the tavern is currently full." Bije addressed the group of men gathered before the door with a tone indicative of regret. 

"Oh come on man! Can't you just let us in for drinks? We can stand up if we have to!"

"I must apologize, but Madam Manama has told me that I am not to allow that. She claims it sets a bad example and leads to fights."

"Please man?! We won't fight! Please? We heard Manama just got a new shipment of the good stuff! We can't afford to miss out on that!" The men behind this ringleader began to stir, forcing Bije's hand.

He casually brandished his scimitar, still sheathed, and assumed a less submissive stance. Puffing his chest out, he looked down at the men who had threatened him and silently shook his head. He did not like to use his sword, but he wasn't afraid to. He had received permission from the Enforcers to act in the capacity of a bouncer and security guard for Rize's family and their property on account of his slave status, and he had every intention to use it.

"Geh, fine. We'll go somewhere else . . . can we come back tomorrow?"

"So long as the establishment has enough space." With that, the group tuned tail, disappointed. They would most likely be back later tonight, hopefully when there was enough space to accommodate them. There were many such groups, troublesome collections of men fresh off of work that were craving Manama's cooking and alcohol. Ever since Kilm had been recalled, the frequency at which they showed up increased somewhat.

"Good evening Bije." A feminine voice, something of a rarity for his job at this time of day, called out to him. "I take it you have grown comfortable with working here?"

"Ah. Good evening, Lady Diana." Bije bowed to the blonde beauty. "I feel undeserving of the kindness with which I have been treated in this place."

"Ah-ah-ah," Diana waggled a finger at him. "I'll be having none of that. You have already repented for the crime you were forced to commit. It is certainly good to see that you have become used to your duties."

"Uh, thank you, I suppose." Bije turned his attention to Rize. "Master Rize, it is a pleasure to see you back. Unfortunately, madam Manama is out at the moment, but by my count she should be returning soon."

"Oh? Did mom tell you what she was going out to get?"

"I am afraid to admit I did not ask. I do believe she mentioned the harbor, so perhaps she received another shipment?"

"Hm. Usually everything comes at once." Rize tilted his head, thinking. "Though, hrm, maybe something got delayed on her last order?"

"As I said, I fear I do not know. Please, go inside and take a seat. Miss Pinishi will be ecstatic to see you."

"Haha, I'm sure she will." The party walked inside, each giving Bije some form of nod or curtsy as a form of recognition. "Um, thank you Bije, for protecting mom."

"It has been my pleasure, Master Rize."

- - - - -

"Wab-wab-wab-wab-wab." The sound of Pinishi's gibberish as Donovan bounced her up and down on his knee earned a few laughs from the patrons of the tavern. The little girl was adored by the regulars, who had borne witness to many of her antics as she grew up. "More! Faster! I want to go faster!"

Donovan obliged with an exasperated sigh. Donovan and Diana had made their way on to Pinishi's 'most favoritest people' list, the reasoning behind which was unknown. They were not really regulars of the establishment, and had only met the little girl a handful of times. That said, they were probably approaching the level of 'family friends' with Manama and Kilm given how much they had done or were doing for each other, among those actions being saved lives. Of course, Pinishi wasn't privy to such information, nor would she have understood the importance of it if she was. As far as she was concerned, 'the Terrans' were royalty, a prince and princess more than happy to play with her when Manama was too busy for it. 

Upon noticing that her most favoritest people were visiting with her brother in tow, Pinishi had decided that she wanted to take a break. Manama wasn't there to supervise her, and she had been working since the night rush began. After obliging the request for drinks (she was thirsty as well) she tried to get Rize to swing her around. Rize, ever mindful of his surroundings, refused. The tavern was full of people, and Pinishi was growing ever taller. There was little doubt that her feet would hit someone, even if he tried to stop it. 

Disappointed, she had turned her sights to Donovan. He was a little scary in her eyes, sure, but he wasn't mean. Mama was also scary, and so was Papa. She did realize that her brother was right though, being swung around the tavern was not an option. Instead she pleaded for Donovan to play something that roughly translated to 'Horsey', a game where she would sit on his knee or thigh and bounce it up and down. Her goal was to stay on the 'Horsey', his leg, without using her feet. 

"Faster!"

"If I go any faster you won't even be bouncing!" Donovan was almost going as fast as he could, and still she wasn't satisfied.

"FASTER!!!"

"Fine!" The only way Donovan could have possibly moved any faster was to reduce the height of his bounces, so Pinishi's experience changed from a Horse ride to something of a vibrating massage.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-" Pinishi opened her mouth and slowly exhaled, letting her voice 'vibrate' with Donovan's leg. 

"Alright, I have to stop. My leg is getting cramped." Donovan had caught sight of Diana's desperate attempts to stifle a laugh, and decided that enough was enough. 

"Aaaaaawwwwww." Pinishi made her discontent known, but she didn't protest. Donovan had provided her with a valuable source of entertainment for that short period of time, and she didn't want her mother to barge in and see what she was making Donovan do. He was royalty, remember? Instead she moved to sit next to Diana on the booth, smooshing up close to her and begging Diana to tell her a story.

Her pleas were cut short though.

"Just what do you think you're doin lil' missy!" Manama seemed to appear out of nowhere, grabbing Pinishi by her ear lobe and gently pulling her off of Diana. "You're gettin' Diana all dirty!"

Once the child was sufficiently separated from the beauty in black, Manama scooped her up in her arms. She twirled the little rascal around a few times, Pinishi's feet hitting a few of the patrons as she did so. 

"Its fine, Manama. My clothes are black, so you can't really see it anyways."

"Doesn't matter. She shouldn't be climbing all over a lady as pretty as you in public, least of all when she's grimy from all the kitchen soot. For the Sanctum's sake Pinishi! She's royalty! You can't be doing that!"

"Ueeh!?" Pinishi was quite understandably a bit confused at this. She had done something similar before, and had not been yelled at. "But, but!"

"Nope, no buts! You are filthy! I can't believe you would do something like that!" Manama nabbed a clean napkin from the table and made a few swipes at Diana's sleeve, removing an alarming amount of dirt for how short a time they were in contact. "See!"

"E-eh? I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Oh! And you sat on Donovan's lap too?" Donovan looked down at his pants, noting that the area around his knee was a substantially darker shade of grey. "Oh dears, I-I can compensate you for it if you need to replace it!"

Manama tried to clean him off, but it did little more than spread the dirt around. 

"Hey, Manama, don't worry about it. Just a quick wash and the worst of it will come right off. The same goes for Diana's." Donovan poured some water on a napkin and swiped away most of the grime. His clothing, while somewhat formal, was expected to be worn in an environment that could potentially have lots of grease and oil (such as a hangar) and there was a decent chance he might have to do some work in it. As such, it was made of a material tough enough to provide some protection from jagged edges and coated in a substance that isolated the fibers from any outside contamination. Diana hadn't worn her signature black and gold outfit today, though it was similar. It was made of a similar material to Donovan's clothing, though it was thinner on account of not needing to resist tearing to the same degree. 

Manama sighed in relief, releasing the child and collecting herself.

"So, what brings you here today? Just a meal?"

"Well, we recently received something of a care package from a friend, really nothing more than a collection of goods they thought we might find to be useful as we didn't provide them a list, and we were looking for someone who could help us with the sale of the stuff it turns out we don't really need." Diana hid the fact that the goods were pirated. It probably wasn't the best idea to sell those. "A few of the crates have fruits used in the production of wine. Do you have any interest in them?"

"Most certainly. I have a few friends in the business, and I think they would be more than happy to get their hands on more ingredients." Manama rubbed her hands together, more to get some of the soot off than to express greed. "As for the rest, I must say you've found a spot of luck! Rize, Pinishi, yer grandfather is here!"

"Grandpa's here?"

"Grandpa!"

Rize and Pinishi's responses to this information were drastically different. Rize, the heir apparent of his grandfather's trade company, held a more professional relationship with him. That wasn't to say they didn't have a familial relationship, but as the years went on Rize was pushed harder and harder towards becoming capable of properly managing it. There was a generational gap in play here, so Rize did not have as much time to learn as his grandfather would have hoped.

Pinishi, on the other hand, was spoiled rotten by her grandfather. She practically sprinted out the door in order to greet him, the expectation of a lavish gift likely being a part of it.

"Rize, he'll be stayin' in your room this time round since you're holed up at the Barracks. Is there anything you don't want in there while he's here?"

"Ah, uh, um, yes. It should be fine. I think I brought everything I needed."

"Alright." Manama turned to the patrons of the tavern to address them next. "Sorry for the inconvenience folks, but I'll be needing you to be on yer best behaviors fer the rest of the night. My daddy's had a rough trip, and I imagine he would like to rest."

"Nonsense, Nama!" An elderly individual strutted through the front door, Pinishi firmly attached to his leg. Behind him Bije was carrying a fairly large trunk. "I've naught to do aboard a vessel but rest! A round of drinks for everyone here, on me!"

A round of cheers rang out from the patrons as Manama pinched the bridge of her nose. Donovan swore he could hear her say "And here I was thinking I could get a break."

True to form, that form being a gregarious and wealthy individual, Rize's grandfather threw a sack of coins to the slave working the bar. It was a particularly large bag for what was being bought, merely a round of drinks, which was his signal to the patrons that they could probably get away with more than one.

- - - - -

"Ah, I see. Thank you for protecting my daughter and grandson." The man bowed as much as he dare while seated at a booth, Titanyana having forfeited her own position in favor of a chair. The tavern, while still rowdy, had calmed down enough for them to have a conversation. "My name is Morizo, head of the Mori Trading Company. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Manama had taken the orders of those at the table, deciding to cook for her benefactors (grandfather included) in order to guarantee the best quality. 

"Pleasure to meet you too, Mister Morizo."

"Please, just call me Morizo. The 'Mo' in my name already indicates that I am an adult."

"Does it now?" Diana displayed a modicum of intrigue at this. "Does that mean that 'Ma' is what you would add to a woman's name?"

"One of many. My line conforms to the 'Mo' and 'Ma' additives, though we have been known to change it up when we feel something else may sound a bit better." Morizo smiled as he wiped Pinishi's face with a wet towel, removing some of the grit.

"So . . . Rize's name will be Morize when he grows up?" Donovan made an educated guess, assuming that Morizo had wanted his grandson's name to sound like his own.

"Ah, no. When Rize reaches adulthood, his name will be 'Moze', something we are quite proud of." Morizo looked around, noticing that the majority were expecting something more. "In the kingdom we hail from, fewer syllables in one's name symbolizes a higher status. The fact that he was determined to have a great enough aptitude for Split and a sufficient inheritance of wealth to warrant a promotion of social class is astonishing. Our family has been working towards this achievement for quite some time, you know."

"Hm, that is impressive. So will Pinishi become Manishi then?"

"That is correct." Morizo tickled his granddaughter before setting her back on the ground to help Manama. "I do hope I can find her a good husband."

"Whatever you do, don't give her away to anybody named Kelly." Rize words contained some level of venom. He spat the name out as if it was a bitter herb.

"Heh. I don't think we will need to worry about him or his family. From what I have heard, he's been stripped of his titles for offending the Arboreal Maiden. I can only imagine he is living a pauper's life at the moment."

"Serves him right." Donovan got the feeling Rize would prefer him dead, but he was satisfied with this level of humiliation. His life was over, practically speaking, and there was a good chance his lavish lifestyle and seemingly endless debts would land him a job as a slave. "Hear that Bije?"

"I must say I am satisfied, sir, though I am quite concerned about the status of his other slaves. While I cannot claim to have a close relationship with them, I did consider them my compatriots in suffering."

"That so?" Morizo scratched his chin. "I'll consider purchasing them should they still be on the market. I cannot make any promises though."

Bije bowed, expressing his gratitude. He had no right to ask for such a favor, and yet it was obliged regardless.

"Think nothing of it. I consider it to be my way of getting some revenge against him, purchasing all that belongs to someone can be quite a satisfying display of conquest." Morizo drew a thick tan cylinder from a pocket inside of his vest. He stuck one end of it into his mouth and brought two of his fingers to the other, a small flame setting the cigar alight. Taking a deep draw from it, he blew a puff of smoke into the air. "You would be the chap given the order to kill my daughter and grandson, correct?"

"Regrettably so."

". . . then I thank you for failing."