{Under Construction}

Cyril paused before mentioning, “Actually, the cake might be the best thing on the menu unless you enjoy off-brand cereal or MRE’s. We haven’t been back home in about a year and we haven’t docked at our more well-off ally ports in a long while too to get some better food. Archer thinks it’s a waste of time and fuel because he could just live off the cheap booze.”

As he spoke, he nearly just drifted completely from what he was saying, something in her eye caught him. It was felt captivating and inviting. For someone who could have possibly killed him about half an hour earlier, she was seeming more and more…safe.

His attention was snapped back into that moment as she spoke again. He listened with a soft smile, jubilant to hear that he did some good for once. It was a nice change from having someone yell and degrade you all the time. 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a rough universe and we all got to make a living somehow. I get it. We’ve done some things that I’m not too proud of so I understand,” Cyril winced thinking of some of their less-than-kosher expeditions and exploitations. “You don’t have to apologize, you were just trying to survive and do what’s best for your daughter and there’s nothing more honorable than that.”

He finished his sentence with a serious look of admiration towards Maeve. She had a reason for committing these acts, but he couldn’t say the same for himself or his crew.

The gang arrived to the main atrium as Cyril finished his sentence. Pam and Cheryl were already there waiting. The large gray rock monster with dark speckles, Pam looked excited while the fiery redhead Cheryl sat at the table, looking annoyed.

“I hope whatever you have to say or do, it’s exciting enough to have been worth it to interrupt my masturbation session,” Cheryl scoffed, her head leaning on her hand, elbow on the table.

“That’s what that noise was!? Geez not even the noises I make are that…primal. I find myself not getting much sleep being your cabin neighbor these days and I find out that’s why,” Pam said in shock.

Lana sighed before gesturing to the two women - or woman and rock monster - before saying, “And that would be Cheryl and Pam. Guys, this is Maeve, and her daughter Dahlia. They’re going to join us in turn for paying off Maeve’s contract.”

As well as other favours... She thought then, suppressing the urge to frown as she glanced up at Dahlia before looking at him, noting that something caught his attention... What it might've been was lost on her, though.

She noticed his attention snap back and pushed the observation to the back of her head, figuring that whatever it was wasn't that important as she continued talking.

When he spoke her eyebrows rose, doubt written all over her face as she said, "But that doesn't excuse that I've done wrong... And probably just got Dahlia into danger." Before groaning. "I... I had the chance to be a guard, but I fucked that up."

She sighed then, saying, "On second thought... Being a royal guard isn't all that cracked up to be." Before grimacing and looking at him, trying her best to smile. "As hard as I think it is to find the honour in what I've done, I suppose I can only do better..."

She stopped talking as they entered the atrium, almost freezing in her walking as she thought of how disastrous this meeting could go. This isn't high school, snap out of it, Maeve!

She forced herself to walk further into the atrium, looking over the unfamiliar faces and trying her best to gauge how things would go... Until Pam opened her mouth, anyway. That did make her stop, but not out of nervousness, that's for sure.

"Momma, what do those words mean? Especially, uh.... Mastur-" Dahlia started, watching as Maeve quickly raised her hand in a manner that meant she should stop.

"Boring adult words!" Maeve exclaimed, looking pointedly at Cheryl. "Like taxation and.... Bourgeoisie."

Dahlia pulled a face, saying, "Ew! May I have my cake back now?" Before grinning as the plate was placed on the table.

"Yeah, you enjoy your cake, sweet pea. All sortsa boring adult things happening around here; Nothing you'll find fun." Maeve stated, biting back a sigh as she smiled and waved when she was introduced.

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

Letting a relaxed smile appear on his face, he waited in line shifting his gaze between Maeve and the guy in front of them. “Well let’s hope that scenario doesn’t happen. It’s almost 2 o’clock on a work day so the roads should be fairly empty.”

He bent his back slightly allowing her to get better access to his back pocket. “Thanks. You can hold onto it and I’ll pay when we get up,” he said, as the man in front of them finished paying and headed towards the exit.

She went quiet for a few moments, thinking of how she had waded through single parenting with her own financial difficulty - she'd only been lucky enough to have relatives and friends that cared enough about her and Dahlia to pitch in when they needed it. History repeats itself, in a way - first with Mom, then with me.

She shrugged then, saying, "But it's all hypothetical - I've got no intention to quit my job under any normal circumstance, after all." Before smiling, leaning over to press a kiss against his temple. "Besides - with the two of us working, we - you, me, and Dahlia - are able to be able to have fun and get treats... If I were to quit, we'd probably have to reign that back at least a little bit; Which isn't exactly ideal."

Maeve giggled and nodded, saying, "I sure hope so! But LA is weird like that..." Before looking out the window, trying her best to people-watch until he asked for his wallet.

As he bent over, she smiled and said, "Thanks for the assist." Before grabbing the wallet and nodding, keeping it held close to her - better safe than sorry.

Lana sighed and explained, “He’s laughing because you said ‘adult stuff.’”

“Just think of all the implications!” Archer tried justifying, initiating a roll of the eyes from the others.

Cyril adjusted some more out-of-place knick-knacks on Ray’s shelf before replying to Maeve’s comment, “Yeah well hopefully it won’t be nearly as bad as Archer’s. I wish there was a device strong enough to keep his mouth shut sometimes.”

“Oh yeah, you’d like that Cyril!” Archer retorted.

“We all would, stupid!” Ray came to Cyril’s defense with an audible agreement from Lana and Cyril.

Ray instructed Maeve to place the dresser drawers back in their slots and then they’d be done.

As everyone finished their task Lana went to the center of the room to do a double check of everything. “Alright since everything seems good here, how about we introduce you to the rest of the crew. Starting with-”

She looked at Cyril as he talked about how much Archer spoke, rolling her eyes at Archer’s reply hard enough that she thought they’d just roll out of her head before mumbling, “See how chatty he is when I put my strap in his mouth,” and looking at Dahlia, taking her cleaning as a sign that her mumbling had gone unnoticed by the child.

Maeve looked at Ray and nodded, doing as instructed before standing up and looking at Dahlia with a smile. “I’m proud of ya, sweet pea! You always do a good job.”

Maeve bristled at the new voice, grabbing Dahlia firmly and pushing the girl behind her in a defensive manner.

“What’s going on?!” Dahlia exclaimed, sounding nervous at the mention of someone being killed. “I-I didn’t do anything-”

“Sweet pea, it’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Maeve replied in a hushed tone, making sure her voice remained calm as she looked at the others in a silent plea; Dahlia doesn’t deserve to be put through this stress. Maeve thought, brow furrowed in worry.

“They’re not idiots.” She started, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I’d like to think they’re all handling it pretty well, given the circumstances.”

She hoped that the newcomer would take the hint, between the obviously startled girl in the room and Maeve’s phrasing, but just in case…

“Dahlia, baby, I want you to plug your ears and hum a tune - Could you try doing… Our favourite song?” Maeve asked, voice a touch above a whisper as she looked at the girl. “You know what I mean…?”

Dahlia nodded, glancing nervously at Malory before plugging her ears with her fingers and starting to hum.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as they heard Malory’s voice. Her presence caused aggravated sighs to ripple through the group. Lana pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling an impending headache.

Malory crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze at the red-head who stuck out from the rest of the group. “So, now we’re just recruiting anybody is that it?” she scoffed.

Lana started to explain, “Malory, this is Maeve and her young daughter Dahlia.”

Before Malory could respond, Maeve was already lecturing her. “Now who are you to speak to me like that? Your kid seems fine to me. Did any of you brain dead idiots even think to search our guest?” she asked, annoyed.

“She’s fine, mother!” Archer exclaimed.

Cyril stepped up adding, “She has a child for god’s sake! can we let this go for now? We’re gonna help her and she’s going to in turn join us, making us stronger.”

“Is that so? Well then she’s your all’s problem and it’s your own fault if she murders you lot in your sleep! Speaking of, you interrupted mine for this! Just know that we’ll discuss this further in the morning…if you’re still alive,” Malory bitched before turning back to Maeve, “And you, if you think you want to be a part of this crew, you’re gonna have to pull your weight and be an absolute waste of breath. We already have so many of those. But for now, goodnight.”

Her body let out a glow before she dematerialized back into a ball of light and passed through the wall

“I’m a concerned mother, ma'am - she may seem fine, but she was already worried when you mentioned killing an intruder… And since she’s certainly not supposed to be here, she’s anxious. If she heard that I was gonna get killed, she would most definitely not be fine.” She explained, gesturing to the kid, who was trying her hardest to ignore what was going on with her humming and all. “And I’m unarmed… Unless the very tie I have in my hair can kill somebody in an efficient enough manner counts, but that’d be pretty damn difficult to pull off, what with the fact that I already have three other people I’d need to take care of, assuming you’re invulnerable to hairtie-related attacks. And I really don’t want to do that in the presence of my young daughter who - by the way - hasn’t experienced death at all in the two short years of her existence. So, yeah, pretty fuckin harmless right about now.”

Maeve groaned, running her hands over her face before adding, “Regardless of the fact that my daughter is here… I’m not interested in killing anybody right now. They’re going to help me, and I may be capable of killing, but I’m also capable of realizing that I shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds.” Before looking at Malory. “Trust me when I say I’m not planning to kill anybody currently on the ship, and I will try and help; It’s the least I can do.”

She watched as Malory dematerialized and went into the wall, waiting for someone to speak before letting out a massive sigh of relief and looking at Ray in disbelief.

“You’re telling me that she’s…? God, no wonder why Archer’s more fucked than a Tigrar thief in the Royal Court.” She commented, saying half jokingly, “Maybe you guys should’ve killed me when you had the chance to.” Before laughing, eventually letting out a sigh.

She opened her mouth to say something, only to pause when her stomach growled… rather loudly, at that. Damn, I haven’t ate since early this morning… She thought, pale cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment as she quickly said, “So, we should get the rest of the introductions out of the way, yeah…?” Before looking at Dahlia and gently tapping her on the shoulder a couple of times.

Dahlia looked up at Maeve and smiled as the redhead nodded, unplugging her ears before hugging her and asking, “Is that scary lady gone…?”

Maeve laughed, nodding and saying, “Yes, she’s gone back to bed. That was Archer’s mom, as it turns out.”

Dahlia frowned, looking at Archer. “I’m sorry for you, Archer! She reminds me of, uhh… That reeeeaaally old earthen movie, where the witch shrieks about how she’s melting?”

Maeve grinned and picked her up, saying, “You remember that, sweet pea? You’ve only seen it once!”

“That and she’s just like that. As long as you don’t directly do harm to her or Archer, you’ll be fine. Plus she could use a verbal kick in the ass. Lord knows just me is not enough,” Lana added with a tired sigh.

Ray began walking toward the call box announcing, “I’ll let the others know what’s going on and we’ll meet y’all in the atrium.” And with that, he began to ring the cabins of Cheryl, Pam, and Krieger, summoning them to the main room for an important meeting. 

While met Ray was met with some tired and annoyed resistance, they all ended up agreeing to meet him there.

“Alright let’s get going they’ll meet us there in a minute or so,” Lana herded everyone out of Ray’s cabin while he hung up on his call.

Archer chuckled at Dahlia’s cute metaphor. “Right?” he agreed, walking beside Lana as she lead. 

Cyril slowed down, letting the others pass him while gesturing Maeve to walk with him behind the others.

Dahlia gave a thumbs up to Lana, gasping and squirming until Lana put her down before going back to the table and getting her plate of cake and her tea, saying, "Momma, can you carry one of these for me?"

Maeve looked at her and nodded, smiling as she took the cake. "Sure, sweet pea, but you know that comes at a price..." She replied, giggling.

Dahlia groaned in a nearly theatrical manner, saying, "I know..." Before sipping at her tea carefully, remembering how Ray had advised her to be careful.

Maeve grinned as she looked at the plate, taking the fork and getting a hefty bite of cake before putting it in her mouth.

"Mmm!" She exclaimed to herself, looking at Cyril before nodding and falling into step beside him. She listened to him, looking at him and making sure Dahlia remained in her peripheral as she smiled brightly and said, "That'd be nice... And as yummy as this cake is, I hope you guys have a little more variety in your diets than that; I think Dahlia's mind would explode if she thought there was a way to live off of just cake."

She giggled then, eyes bright and full of warmth as she looked at him; She couldn't help but find that he had a particularly... Endearing quality to him, but she just didn't know what.

"Thank you, by the way... For everything. I really do mean it." She said then, looking a touch more serious as she glanced at Dahlia. "I... Shouldn't have chose the 'career' I did, but my options were slim at the time." She admitted, frowning. "I put Dahlia through a lot, and I did what I thought was best at the time, but... It's not very honourable."

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

He looked over Maeve’s bent over body; chocolate, cherry cheesecake, Superman, rocky road, mint chocolate chip…too many choices. He paused his reading when Maeve picked something out.

Cyril grabbed the pint from her, to confirm what she had said because it seemed too perfect. Adjusting his glasses he looked at the small print. “Wow, this is perfect. And I only now realized how hungry I am…” he said feeling his stomach growl.

“I can see it now: Maveve, Professional Ice Cream Selector,” he teased before kissing her cheek and handing the pint back to her. He started walking down a ways to the drink section to get drinks for the others. He grabbed a Starbucks mocha light frappuchino for himself and lemonade for the rest of the office. Knowing that it can be mixed with other things, most importantly alcohol, he figured he could satisfy them all with it.

She watched as he looked at the pint, grinning as he said it was perfect, before giggling at the mention of being hungry - she couldn’t lie, she didn’t have a lot to eat since breakfast.

“I know, right? And that sounds way more fun than waitressing.” She said with a giggle, smiling and kissing his cheek back before taking the pint back from him and following him.

As she watched him grab himself a starbucks frappuccino, she said, “Hey, can you grab me a salted caramel mocha iced latte…? Please and thank you~?” Before pointing to the drink a shelf above what he grabbed, which was also labelled with the Starbucks logo.

“Well maybe one day, you’ll be able to quit,” Cyril suggested, “Then we could have more time together and time with Dahlia.

Upon her request, he opened the cooler again, moving in a bit to get a better look at the labels before choosing the one she wanted. “Got it!” he called to her, holding the bottle up.

“Yeah especially at the hottest part of the day. But luckily we have a car with AC,” he assured her. His hands full of drinks, Cyril made his way to the checkout counter with Maeve at his side.

Or... Inconsistently, considering how the members of the agency handled things; Maeve wasn't wrong when she said they had their bright moments, but they were mostly just a mess.

She smiled a little brighter, saying, "Thank you so much, babe!" Before leaning in to kiss him on the corner of the lips in a chaste, quick manner.

Maeve smiled, saying, "Fair point! It'd just suck to get all excited about ice cream, only to get caught in traffic or something and have it be just soup cream when we finally get to eat it." as she walked with him.

Lana sighed and explained, “He’s laughing because you said ‘adult stuff.’”

“Just think of all the implications!” Archer tried justifying, initiating a roll of the eyes from the others.

Cyril adjusted some more out-of-place knick-knacks on Ray’s shelf before replying to Maeve’s comment, “Yeah well hopefully it won’t be nearly as bad as Archer’s. I wish there was a device strong enough to keep his mouth shut sometimes.”

“Oh yeah, you’d like that Cyril!” Archer retorted.

“We all would, stupid!” Ray came to Cyril’s defense with an audible agreement from Lana and Cyril.

Ray instructed Maeve to place the dresser drawers back in their slots and then they’d be done.

As everyone finished their task Lana went to the center of the room to do a double check of everything. “Alright since everything seems good here, how about we introduce you to the rest of the crew. Starting with-”

She looked at Cyril as he talked about how much Archer spoke, rolling her eyes at Archer’s reply hard enough that she thought they’d just roll out of her head before mumbling, “See how chatty he is when I put my strap in his mouth,” and looking at Dahlia, taking her cleaning as a sign that her mumbling had gone unnoticed by the child.

Maeve looked at Ray and nodded, doing as instructed before standing up and looking at Dahlia with a smile. “I’m proud of ya, sweet pea! You always do a good job.”

Maeve bristled at the new voice, grabbing Dahlia firmly and pushing the girl behind her in a defensive manner.

“What’s going on?!” Dahlia exclaimed, sounding nervous at the mention of someone being killed. “I-I didn’t do anything-”

“Sweet pea, it’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Maeve replied in a hushed tone, making sure her voice remained calm as she looked at the others in a silent plea; Dahlia doesn’t deserve to be put through this stress. Maeve thought, brow furrowed in worry.

“They’re not idiots.” She started, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I’d like to think they’re all handling it pretty well, given the circumstances.”

She hoped that the newcomer would take the hint, between the obviously startled girl in the room and Maeve’s phrasing, but just in case…

“Dahlia, baby, I want you to plug your ears and hum a tune - Could you try doing… Our favourite song?” Maeve asked, voice a touch above a whisper as she looked at the girl. “You know what I mean…?”

Dahlia nodded, glancing nervously at Malory before plugging her ears with her fingers and starting to hum.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as they heard Malory’s voice. Her presence caused aggravated sighs to ripple through the group. Lana pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling an impending headache.

Malory crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze at the red-head who stuck out from the rest of the group. “So, now we’re just recruiting anybody is that it?” she scoffed.

Lana started to explain, “Malory, this is Maeve and her young daughter Dahlia.”

Before Malory could respond, Maeve was already lecturing her. “Now who are you to speak to me like that? Your kid seems fine to me. Did any of you brain dead idiots even think to search our guest?” she asked, annoyed.

“She’s fine, mother!” Archer exclaimed.

Cyril stepped up adding, “She has a child for god’s sake! can we let this go for now? We’re gonna help her and she’s going to in turn join us, making us stronger.”

“Is that so? Well then she’s your all’s problem and it’s your own fault if she murders you lot in your sleep! Speaking of, you interrupted mine for this! Just know that we’ll discuss this further in the morning…if you’re still alive,” Malory bitched before turning back to Maeve, “And you, if you think you want to be a part of this crew, you’re gonna have to pull your weight and be an absolute waste of breath. We already have so many of those. But for now, goodnight.”

Her body let out a glow before she dematerialized back into a ball of light and passed through the wall

"I'm a concerned mother, ma'am - she may seem fine, but she was already worried when you mentioned killing an intruder... And since she's certainly not supposed to be here, she's anxious. If she heard that I was gonna get killed, she would most definitely not be fine." She explained, gesturing to the kid, who was trying her hardest to ignore what was going on with her humming and all. "And I'm unarmed... Unless the very tie I have in my hair can kill somebody in an efficient enough manner counts, but that'd be pretty damn difficult to pull off, what with the fact that I already have three other people I'd need to take care of, assuming you're invulnerable to hairtie-related attacks. And I really don't want to do that in the presence of my young daughter who - by the way - hasn't experienced death at all in the two short years of her existence. So, yeah, pretty fuckin harmless right about now."

Maeve groaned, running her hands over her face before adding, "Regardless of the fact that my daughter is here... I'm not interested in killing anybody right now. They're going to help me, and I may be capable of killing, but I'm also capable of realizing that I shouldn't bite the hand that feeds." Before looking at Malory. "Trust me when I say I'm not planning to kill anybody currently on the ship, and I will try and help; It's the least I can do."

She watched as Malory dematerialized and went into the wall, waiting for someone to speak before letting out a massive sigh of relief and looking at Ray in disbelief.

"You're telling me that she's...? God, no wonder why Archer's more fucked than a Tigrar thief in the Royal Court." She commented, saying half jokingly, "Maybe you guys should've killed me when you had the chance to." Before laughing, eventually letting out a sigh.

She opened her mouth to say something, only to pause when her stomach growled... rather loudly, at that. Damn, I haven't ate since early this morning... She thought, pale cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment as she quickly said, "So, we should get the rest of the introductions out of the way, yeah...?" Before looking at Dahlia and gently tapping her on the shoulder a couple of times.

Dahlia looked up at Maeve and smiled as the redhead nodded, unplugging her ears before hugging her and asking, "Is that scary lady gone...?"

Maeve laughed, nodding and saying, "Yes, she's gone back to bed. That was Archer's mom, as it turns out."

Dahlia frowned, looking at Archer. "I'm sorry for you, Archer! She reminds me of, uhh... That reeeeaaally old earthen movie, where the witch shrieks about how she's melting?"

Maeve grinned and picked her up, saying, "You remember that, sweet pea? You've only seen it once!"

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

He looked over Maeve’s bent over body; chocolate, cherry cheesecake, Superman, rocky road, mint chocolate chip…too many choices. He paused his reading when Maeve picked something out.

Cyril grabbed the pint from her, to confirm what she had said because it seemed too perfect. Adjusting his glasses he looked at the small print. “Wow, this is perfect. And I only now realized how hungry I am…” he said feeling his stomach growl.

“I can see it now: Maveve, Professional Ice Cream Selector,” he teased before kissing her cheek and handing the pint back to her. He started walking down a ways to the drink section to get drinks for the others. He grabbed a Starbucks mocha light frappuchino for himself and lemonade for the rest of the office. Knowing that it can be mixed with other things, most importantly alcohol, he figured he could satisfy them all with it.

She watched as he looked at the pint, grinning as he said it was perfect, before giggling at the mention of being hungry - she couldn’t lie, she didn’t have a lot to eat since breakfast.

“I know, right? And that sounds way more fun than waitressing.” She said with a giggle, smiling and kissing his cheek back before taking the pint back from him and following him.

As she watched him grab himself a starbucks frappuccino, she said, “Hey, can you grab me a salted caramel mocha iced latte…? Please and thank you~?” Before pointing to the drink a shelf above what he grabbed, which was also labelled with the Starbucks logo.

Lana sighed and explained, “He’s laughing because you said ‘adult stuff.’”

“Just think of all the implications!” Archer tried justifying, initiating a roll of the eyes from the others.

Cyril adjusted some more out-of-place knick-knacks on Ray’s shelf before replying to Maeve’s comment, “Yeah well hopefully it won’t be nearly as bad as Archer’s. I wish there was a device strong enough to keep his mouth shut sometimes.”

“Oh yeah, you’d like that Cyril!” Archer retorted.

“We all would, stupid!” Ray came to Cyril’s defense with an audible agreement from Lana and Cyril.

Ray instructed Maeve to place the dresser drawers back in their slots and then they’d be done.

As everyone finished their task Lana went to the center of the room to do a double check of everything. “Alright since everything seems good here, how about we introduce you to the rest of the crew. Starting with-”

She looked at Cyril as he talked about how much Archer spoke, rolling her eyes at Archer’s reply hard enough that she thought they’d just roll out of her head before mumbling, “See how chatty he is when I put my strap in his mouth,” and looking at Dahlia, taking her cleaning as a sign that her mumbling had gone unnoticed by the child.

Maeve looked at Ray and nodded, doing as instructed before standing up and looking at Dahlia with a smile. “I’m proud of ya, sweet pea! You always do a good job.”

Maeve bristled at the new voice, grabbing Dahlia firmly and pushing the girl behind her in a defensive manner.

“What’s going on?!” Dahlia exclaimed, sounding nervous at the mention of someone being killed. “I-I didn’t do anything-”

“Sweet pea, it’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Maeve replied in a hushed tone, making sure her voice remained calm as she looked at the others in a silent plea; Dahlia doesn’t deserve to be put through this stress. Maeve thought, brow furrowed in worry.

“They’re not idiots.” She started, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I’d like to think they’re all handling it pretty well, given the circumstances.”

She hoped that the newcomer would take the hint, between the obviously startled girl in the room and Maeve’s phrasing, but just in case…

“Dahlia, baby, I want you to plug your ears and hum a tune - Could you try doing… Our favourite song?” Maeve asked, voice a touch above a whisper as she looked at the girl. “You know what I mean…?”

Dahlia nodded, glancing nervously at Malory before plugging her ears with her fingers and starting to hum.

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

“Other than the AC giving up the ghost, anything else happen at the agency…?” She questioned, smiling when she noticed they were hitting red lights.

When they got there Maeve walked in with him, wincing at the heat.

“That’s usually how it goes, unfortunately.” Maeve pointed out as she hastily opened the door, making sure Cyril had a hold of it before stepping into the building with a sigh of relief.

She headed towards the coolers, looking at the options before saying softly, “I dunno what I want…” As she looked. “Ooh, ice cream!”

She looked at Cyril with a knowing smile, saying, “I did say that I wanted a snack… How about we split it?” And tilting her head. “I mean, the others aren’t gonna find out, either way… Assuming they’re not feeling nosey.”

Once in the cooler section, temptation over took him; arms held up in an “L” shape, he walked until his body and face met the cold glass. Letting out a sigh of relief as the condensation dampened his work clothes, still wishing Malory would let them wear shorts into work.

Turning his head, causing a squeak against the wet door, Cyril looked over at Maeve. “Ice cream sounds really good right now,” he agreed, pulling himself from the cold door. 

Watching Cyril, Maeve raised a brow and watched in amusement, trying to stifle her laughter as he pressed up against the door.

After a beat of silence, she couldn’t help but ask, “I take it that that feels nice…?” And grinning, the amusement evident in her tone. As he turned back to her, she giggled properly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Focusing back on the ice cream flavors and Maeve’s suggestions, he opened up the freezer door to get a better look. “Thanks babe. When you’re surrounded by people who don’t think, you get a lot of practice by doing the thinking for them,” he gloated playfully.

"More like they don't like to think;They have their moments, ya know?" She commented as she read the flavours, careful to not block Cyril's vision as she eyed up a few pints with slightly narrowed eyes, pondering what jumped out at her.

"That banana caramel swirl sounds good! But lemme check to make sure there aren't a few hiding." She said, reaching into the cooler to look at a few of the ones that were further back.

"Butter pecan... Georgia peach..." She said softly, more thinking aloud than actually pointing anything out, before grabbing one that was almost out of reach and pulling it towards her carefully. "Hey, this is perfect for us! Burnt caramel ice cream with almonds, fudge, and bourbon caramel swirl!"

“You say that, but now you’re stuck with us misfits, some say it’s a fate worse than death,” Lana joked before they got to the door.

Upon looking around at the disheveled room Lana gasped. She quickly ignored the mess and her face turned soft as she watched Maeve interact with Dahlia, thinking of her own AJ back home.

“It’s no problem, I’m just upset I turned this place upside down for nothing,” Ray said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Lana was the first to greet her, bending down to her level, “Aww hi sweetie, I’m Lana.”

“Hellooo, I’m Cyril,” he said with a wave.

“Hey kid, I’m Captain Archer but, just Archer is fine.”

“And you know I’m Ray”

The four smiled at the young one as she giggled happily. It was refreshing to have an innocent bundle of joy on board.

Cyril chuckled at Maeve’s comment about Archer to Dahlia but was interrupted by Archer’s palm slapping him upside the head.

“You’re juuuust kinda proving her point dude,” Lana shot at him.

Maeve smiled apologetically to Ray, saying, “On the bright side, it still got found, so it’s not like your efforts were in vain, right? And I’d be more than happy to help you and Dahlia clean this up.” Before looking at the girl. “Riiiiight?”

Dahlia smiled and waved at the three, grinning as she made sure that the feather made its way back into her pocket before saying, “It’s nice to meet you!” And looking at her mom with a nod. “You’re right, momma!”

At the slap to Cyril’s head, Maeve opened her mouth to say something, but Dahlia frowned and said, “Hey, that’s mean!” Before putting her hands on her hips and looking up at Archer pointedly. Maeve stifled a laugh behind a cough, grinning.

At the words however, Dahlia raised her brows, saying, “Space pirates are gonna be here?! Man, I really did mess up by sneaking on!”

Archer sighed in defeat upon being told off by Dahlia. “Yeah sorry about that,” he apologized more to her than to Cyril.

“Well hopefully not here, but we’re gonna give a stern talking to some mean ole space pirates soon.,” Lana explained, hoping to reassure Dahlia that they weren’t in danger.

Another sigh and a groan came from Archer, knowing he was outnumbered and would be defeated if he tried arguing. “Ugh yeah okay fine, we should help clean up.”

"You better be!" Dahlia exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at him for a few seconds before looking at Lana, brows raising in surprise. "Hopefully those buttheads get the message and go home! Hmm... Would offering em cake help?"

Maeve grinned, saying, "The others and I will work out what to do about those pirates... But that's all boring, adult stuff; You're not gonna wanna sit in for it, for sure!"

Dahlia pulled a face, saying, "As boring as those p-puh... puh-lit-i-cul news reports? They're on, like, all the time about Selenia!"

Maeve nodded, saying, "Exactly! Pirates aren't all fun and games."

Dahlia was quiet for a few moments, eventually saying, "I feel sorry for all the adults here; You guys gotta have a boring talk with some pirates." Before starting to clean.

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

“Other than the AC giving up the ghost, anything else happen at the agency…?” She questioned, smiling when she noticed they were hitting red lights.

When they got there Maeve walked in with him, wincing at the heat.

“That’s usually how it goes, unfortunately.” Maeve pointed out as she hastily opened the door, making sure Cyril had a hold of it before stepping into the building with a sigh of relief.

She headed towards the coolers, looking at the options before saying softly, “I dunno what I want…” As she looked. “Ooh, ice cream!”

She looked at Cyril with a knowing smile, saying, “I did say that I wanted a snack… How about we split it?” And tilting her head. “I mean, the others aren’t gonna find out, either way… Assuming they’re not feeling nosey.”

Once in the cooler section, temptation over took him; arms held up in an “L” shape, he walked until his body and face met the cold glass. Letting out a sigh of relief as the condensation dampened his work clothes, still wishing Malory would let them wear shorts into work.

Turning his head, causing a squeak against the wet door, Cyril looked over at Maeve. “Ice cream sounds really good right now,” he agreed, pulling himself from the cold door. 

Watching Cyril, Maeve raised a brow and watched in amusement, trying to stifle her laughter as he pressed up against the door.

After a beat of silence, she couldn't help but ask, "I take it that that feels nice...?" And grinning, the amusement evident in her tone. As he turned back to her, she giggled properly. "I'll take that as a compliment."

“You say that, but now you’re stuck with us misfits, some say it’s a fate worse than death,” Lana joked before they got to the door.

Upon looking around at the disheveled room Lana gasped. She quickly ignored the mess and her face turned soft as she watched Maeve interact with Dahlia, thinking of her own AJ back home.

“It’s no problem, I’m just upset I turned this place upside down for nothing,” Ray said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Lana was the first to greet her, bending down to her level, “Aww hi sweetie, I’m Lana.”

“Hellooo, I’m Cyril,” he said with a wave.

“Hey kid, I’m Captain Archer but, just Archer is fine.”

“And you know I’m Ray”

The four smiled at the young one as she giggled happily. It was refreshing to have an innocent bundle of joy on board.

Cyril chuckled at Maeve’s comment about Archer to Dahlia but was interrupted by Archer’s palm slapping him upside the head.

“You’re juuuust kinda proving her point dude,” Lana shot at him.

Maeve smiled apologetically to Ray, saying, “On the bright side, it still got found, so it’s not like your efforts were in vain, right? And I’d be more than happy to help you and Dahlia clean this up.” Before looking at the girl. “Riiiiight?”

Dahlia smiled and waved at the three, grinning as she made sure that the feather made its way back into her pocket before saying, “It’s nice to meet you!” And looking at her mom with a nod. “You’re right, momma!”

At the slap to Cyril’s head, Maeve opened her mouth to say something, but Dahlia frowned and said, “Hey, that’s mean!” Before putting her hands on her hips and looking up at Archer pointedly. Maeve stifled a laugh behind a cough, grinning.

At the words however, Dahlia raised her brows, saying, “Space pirates are gonna be here?! Man, I really did mess up by sneaking on!”

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

“Other than the AC giving up the ghost, anything else happen at the agency…?” She questioned, smiling when she noticed they were hitting red lights.

When they got there Maeve walked in with him, wincing at the heat.

“That’s usually how it goes, unfortunately.” Maeve pointed out as she hastily opened the door, making sure Cyril had a hold of it before stepping into the building with a sigh of relief.

She headed towards the coolers, looking at the options before saying softly, “I dunno what I want…” As she looked. “Ooh, ice cream!”

She looked at Cyril with a knowing smile, saying, “I did say that I wanted a snack… How about we split it?” And tilting her head. “I mean, the others aren’t gonna find out, either way… Assuming they’re not feeling nosey.”

“So much of that whole ‘not a threat thing,’ Cyril!” Archer complained, “You were gonna kill me! How is that as bad as turning in someone who may or may not be wanted!?” 

Lana raised her blaster then shot down, a beam of light zoomed out of the barrel past Maeve, narrowly missing Archer’s foot. “What the-!” he started.

“She has a kid, Archer!” Lana yelled, “I’m not just gonna turn her in.” 

“Well she can’t stay with us,” Archer argued, shaking from nearly being shot.

“Why not? We have room and with her electric power thing she could help us,” Cyril jumped in, not wanting to remain a third wheel between the two ex-lovers.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe this thing called deadly space pirates who will flock our ship in hot pursuit of Electro Gingersnap over here, who might I remind you was supposed to kill me!” Archer raised his voice more, resting his hands on his hips angrily.

“It’s not like she has a vendetta against you personally - although I’m sure she will after this - it’s just a murder-for-hire, kind of thing. What if we pay off her employers?” Lana suggested.

“Or kill them…” Archer muttered.

“That’s the spirit…” Cyril added sarcastically.

“…I need a damn spa trip after this.” Maeve mumbled, looking at Lana. “Thank you, by the way, ma'am… May I put my arms down?”

She attempted to blow a bit of hair out of her face, frowning at it as she commented, “Unless they mistook me for an escort, anyway.” before looking at Lana. “She’s right about the vendetta part… But if I’m going to be staying here, I suppose I can settle for antagonizing you on a consistent basis.”

Listening to their suggestions, Maeve said, “If it ensures my daughter’s safety, I don’t care what you do with my employers; Speaking of… Is she okay?” Before furrowing her brows in worry.

Lana nodded in reply to Maeve’s question, allowing her to put her arms down. Archer folded his arms in a pout as he rested with his back against the wall before adding, “Yeah actually Cyril’s kinda right, being an asshole is a big part of my personality and charm. Oh god did I just agree with Cyril?”

Lana snickered at the thought of another person bossing Archer around; plus she’d love to have another woman around who wasn’t bat-shit-insane, significantly older, or a rock monster.

“Well, welcome aboard I guess. Sorry for the lack-luster welcome wagon,” Lana said with a glare towards Archer and Cyril.

She continued, “It sounded like she was safe with Ray so if we find him, we’ll find her. The worst he can do is hype her up on sugar from those damn cakes he’s always baking. By the way, my name is Lana, and if you didn’t guess right now those, two pains-in-the-ass are Archer and Cyril.”

“The name’s Ray,” he introduced, adding, “And what’s yours? I know it’s not Barbara.” He continued looking under things and on his shelves to no avail.

The quad began walking down the hall toward Ray’s cabin in search of Maeve’s child. Soon they turned a corner and upon Lana pressing a button, the door split in the middle and it’s two halves swooshed into the walls of the ship, revealing a frantic Ray and Dahlia.

“Geez, what happened in here?” Cyril asked looking around the disheveled room that Ray usually kept looking immaculate.

She turned to look at the two men, raising a brow at Archer's statement about his charm before commenting, "Last I knew, the words 'being an asshole' don't work with 'charm', but if it helps you sleep at night..." and shrugging.

She looked back towards Lana when she spoke, waving dismissively as she said, "I'm alive, so it could be worse; And to be honest, Cyril wasn't entirely unwelcoming... Or quite as grating." before listening again, smiling and laughing. "That's good to hear! And I can deal with a sugar rush."

She pushed her hair out of her face, adding, "It's nice to meet you, Lana! And... Thank you, really; Letting me live and all is very kind, considering the circumstances."

"I'm Dahlia! It's nice to meet ya, Ray!" The little girl replied, flashing him a toothy grin before going back to trying to find the feather.

Dahlia turned around at the sound of the new voice, lighting up as she spotted the tall redhead with them, and ran over with a, "Momma!"

Maeve grinned as she crouched down, hugging the girl tightly as she breathed out, "Hey, sweet pea." And kissed the side of her head, relaxing.

At the mention of the feather Maeve pulled away, saying, "A feather, huh...? It wouldn't happen to be..." Before reaching into her pocket, pulling out the peacock feather. "This one, would it?"

Dahlia looked at it and grinned, taking the feather and exclaiming, "You found it! Thank you so much, Momma!" Before hugging it to her chest. "Where'd you find it...?"

"When I heard you were on here I decided to look for you, and it was laying in the floor in the middle of the hall." Maeve replied, expression turning serious. "Now... Dahlia Cheryl, I'm not mad at you, but don't you know better than to be sneaking onto ships?"

Dahlia looked sheepish, nodding. "Yes, momma... I'm sorry."

"It's alright, babes, just don't do that again." Maeve said, smiling before looking at Ray. "Thank you so much for keeping an eye on her and helping her try to find the feather... I'm Maeve."

Maeve focused back on the child, saying, "So, how about you introduce yourself to the others, then you and I can help Ray clean everything back up, okay...?"

Dahlia smiled and nodded looking at the three newcomers and feeling a touch nervous. "H...Hi, I'm Dahlia."

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

He sunk into his seat at the thought of Archer being stupid enough to bring AJ into these kind of conditions. He perked up at her last point thinking he might have an arguement against Malory, but realized the lighting and few computers weren’t nearly running the bill up as high as a normal day with AC.

Sinking back into his seat, he looked tenderly at Maeve as she continued. Her perseverance and willingness to help was one of Cyril’s favorite qualities in her.

She focused back on him when he spoke, waiting until he was done before saying, “AC, please - before we both die looking like a pair of raisins.” And standing up. “I might grab a snack, too… But don’t tell the others; Our secret.”

He winked back. “Sounds like a plan.”

She walked with him, looking at the elevator with pursed lips as she entered it with a groan.

“’S it too late to take the stairs?” She asked in a semi-joking manner, sighing. “…Do ya know when it’ll get fixed, at least?”

She watched him and tilted her head slightly, wondering how long it’d take, before trying to come up with some ideas to make the heat less unbearable in the coming days; Quite a few of the people working at the agency were a pain in the ass, but Maeve still didn’t want anybody to be miserable in the heat.

Cyril wanted to put his arm around her shoulders, but stopped forgetting how miserable that would be for her in this heat, so he stuck with having her on his arm.

“Good idea, I can ask Krieger if he has anything…or can make anything we can use for the rest of the day,” he suggested, stepping out of the elevator into the slightly less hot air.

The seconds worth of relief was gone and he was back to feeling miserably hot. He guided Maeve to his parking spot, unlinking their arms to make his way to the driver’s side door. Unlocking both his and the rest of the doors he hopped in.

Once they were at his car she waited for the door to unlock, getting in and sighing in content at the cold air hitting her face.

“So much of that whole ‘not a threat thing,’ Cyril!” Archer complained, “You were gonna kill me! How is that as bad as turning in someone who may or may not be wanted!?” 

Lana raised her blaster then shot down, a beam of light zoomed out of the barrel past Maeve, narrowly missing Archer’s foot. “What the-!” he started.

“She has a kid, Archer!” Lana yelled, “I’m not just gonna turn her in.” 

“Well she can’t stay with us,” Archer argued, shaking from nearly being shot.

“Why not? We have room and with her electric power thing she could help us,” Cyril jumped in, not wanting to remain a third wheel between the two ex-lovers.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe this thing called deadly space pirates who will flock our ship in hot pursuit of Electro Gingersnap over here, who might I remind you was supposed to kill me!” Archer raised his voice more, resting his hands on his hips angrily.

“It’s not like she has a vendetta against you personally - although I’m sure she will after this - it’s just a murder-for-hire, kind of thing. What if we pay off her employers?” Lana suggested.

“Or kill them…” Archer muttered.

“That’s the spirit…” Cyril added sarcastically.

"...I need a damn spa trip after this." Maeve mumbled, looking at Lana. "Thank you, by the way, ma'am... May I put my arms down?"

She attempted to blow a bit of hair out of her face, frowning at it as she commented, "Unless they mistook me for an escort, anyway." before looking at Lana. "She's right about the vendetta part... But if I'm going to be staying here, I suppose I can settle for antagonizing you on a consistent basis."

Listening to their suggestions, Maeve said, "If it ensures my daughter's safety, I don't care what you do with my employers; Speaking of... Is she okay?" Before furrowing her brows in worry.

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest/a bit of cleavage

Maeve couldn’t help but whine a little at the heat, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand before exhaling and looking around the building, feeling bad for everyone else in the building.

As per usual she’d come to the agency to visit Cyril after her own job - given, they had to close early due to the AC refusing to work… but it was still after hours.

And Maeve was glad she decided against picking Dahlia up early.

Malory should take some notes… I hope she’s the one behind this, anyway. Maeve thought, pausing to knock at the door and say, “Babe, ‘s me!” before walking in.

She set her purse down when she had the chance, face flushed as she said, “Lemme take a guess, Krieger’s up to one of his stupid, wacky ass experiments, and that caused this place to become a sauna…?” before reaching for her shirt, unbuttoning the top button in a chance to get some relief.

He sunk into his seat at the thought of Archer being stupid enough to bring AJ into these kind of conditions. He perked up at her last point thinking he might have an arguement against Malory, but realized the lighting and few computers weren’t nearly running the bill up as high as a normal day with AC.

Sinking back into his seat, he looked tenderly at Maeve as she continued. Her perseverance and willingness to help was one of Cyril’s favorite qualities in her.

She focused back on him when he spoke, waiting until he was done before saying, “AC, please - before we both die looking like a pair of raisins.” And standing up. “I might grab a snack, too… But don’t tell the others; Our secret.”

He winked back. “Sounds like a plan.”

She walked with him, looking at the elevator with pursed lips as she entered it with a groan.

"'S it too late to take the stairs?" She asked in a semi-joking manner, sighing. "...Do ya know when it'll get fixed, at least?"

She watched him and tilted her head slightly, wondering how long it'd take, before trying to come up with some ideas to make the heat less unbearable in the coming days; Quite a few of the people working at the agency were a pain in the ass, but Maeve still didn't want anybody to be miserable in the heat.

@cyrxlfiggis

Maeve couldn’t help but scoff - a genuine reaction, given the fact that he would turn somebody in just on the basis that they looked like someone wanted. “What the fuck is wrong with you, you selfish-!”

At the command, she scowled and bolted, looking around as she sped down the hall before glancing back and rounding a corner.

I should’ve just became a guard, dammit! She thought, pausing as she saw a tiny flash of colour from the corner of her eye before approaching it.

Her expression softened as she bent down to pick up the item - a feather from a peacock, and a short one at that.

Princess Solána’s gift to Dahlia. Maeve thought as she gently ran her finger on the side of the feather, carefully pocketing it before starting to explore the halls again with a determined expression. I have to get her off this damn ship before one of us gets hurt; I can’t leave her with that asshole of a captain.

Dahlia looked up at Ray, brow furrowed in concern before perking up. “Oh, good!” She exclaimed, grinning again before starting to follow him.

“Goddamnit, Cyril you’re letting her get away!” Archer scolded, getting back to his feet and wielding his blaster.

Cyril jumped up removing his blaster from its holster too. “How is this my fault!?” he retorted, adjusting his glasses and turning the blaster’s safety off with a ‘click.’

“Just start running after her while I think of a reason!” the other man shot back, pushing past Cyril in pursuit of the intruder.

Cyril hurried behind him, weapon at the ready as they raced down the corridors.

Meanwhile at the end of the hallway where Maeve had stopped to pick up the feather, Lana turned around a corner, coming face to face with her. Weapon drawn she aimed it at the other woman, “Drop it and stick your hands where I can see them!” Lana commanded.

A few moments later Cyril and Archer appeared at the other end of the hallway facing the back of Maeve. Seeing Lana, they mirrored her moves, holding the intruder in the sights of their weapon.

While still holding the talk button, the small kid spoke in response to Lana’s voice. Lana, having already gone racing down the halls didn’t hear not respond.

Hazel eyes flicked around the room as she tried looking for an out, trying to nut display nervousness. If I didn’t get caught, I could’ve crawled through that damn vent… She thought.

“…Listen,” She started after a moment, nearly wincing at the waver in her voice. “Just - Just let me take my daughter, and we’ll go.”

She bit her lower lip at the thought of what would probably happen after that; She’d always made it a point to get the job done, as to not upset her employers. She didn’t want to think about what’d happen to her and Dahlia, if she was being honest with herself.

Dahlia nodded and smiled at Ray, saying, “That sounds good to me! That cake is calling my name!” before going to sit back down.

She put her hand into the pocket of her dress, gasping and looking around in dismay when she found them empty.

“Lana what are you doing!? We have her cornered like a…wait I had something for this,” Archer cursed himself, keeping his weapon focused on Maeve.

Cyril having caught onto what the two women were feeling, he swatted Archer’s weapon out of his hand.

“Hey what the shit Cyril!?” Archer exclaimed, backhanding the other man.

Recoiling and holding his left cheek with one hand, he reasoned, “She’s got her kid on board and she doesn’t seem to be a threat to us.”

“A threat!? Did you just forget the whole zappy kaboom thing she did to our call box? Imagine that happening to your body, which by the way, is like 70% water!”

“Both of you shut up!” Lana shouted sternly. She turned her attention back to Maeve, taking a deep breath she began, “Okay, how about we start with your name and then you can tell us why the hell you’re on our ship and maybe mention why your child is with you.”

Ray managed a smile amongst the chaos at the bouncy little girl’s attitude. It was nice having someone around who wasn’t all pessimistic and looking to make your life a living hell.

She noted the lowered position of the gun and she almost let out a sigh of relief... Until she heard Archer, anyway.

She closed her eyes and focused on breathing before she said anything to antagonize Archer.

She did, however, smile when she heard the weapon hit the floor, glad to see that she didn't seem completely surrounded by jackasses.

"One... I just disrupted the call box to distract you two, and two, I'm not gonna-"

She quieted when Lana yelled, smiling as she said, "Even though Cyril had good intentions, thank you for that." Before nodding.

"My name is Maeve, and I was, well... Kinda hired to kill Archer; Seems like he's made a few enemies... Can't possibly imagine why." She said, sarcasm evident towards the end. "I mean, what if I'd actually been an escort? Would you still turn me in on the basis that I look like a wanted woman?"

She took a deep breath, reminding herself that now was not the time to have an attitude as she sighed.

"As for my daughter... I didn't even know she was on until your friend came on over the call box; I-I try and not talk about my work with her, and I try and spend more time with her than anything, but she must've... Snuck on, honest." She explained, frowning.

"Right now, I just want to make sure she's safe and learn why she thought this was a good idea... God, her sitter must be worried sick!" Maeve exclaimed with a groan.