Theo was standing portside, at the edge of the deck. Her jaw was clenched and her arms were crossed over her chest, making sure Cooker knew that letting the ship approach was against her will. Cooker, who was next to her, didn't seem fazed by the attitude, a slight grin on her lips. Of course Cooker was excited, not only was her old lover aboard but potentially also the beginnings of a full armed revolution. Something she and Cooker had talked about since they were children, something that Cooker had been a passionate advocate for. It was what she lived for, it's what made her do the things she did. Forget about the Head of the Council, this was Cooker's dream. Of course, unless Theo committed to the cause, Cooker wouldn't either.

Although that did sadden her, the fact that if there were a revolution going on that she would be holding Cooker back from it, it didn't change her mind about being involved. They would help where they could but in the end, they were not going to get caught up in a movement that could take everyone from her. She had her own plans. She wanted her own island. A haven away from Baethos where she could make actual concrete change. Not cause cities to burn in the name of freedom from tyranny.

All of her thoughts about an uprising, about Cooker, about the implications of it all were swirling through her mind as the ship came closer and closer. From what she could tell, nothing was suspect. She spotted Sabine on deck, standing next to two men. None of them had uniforms on or any sort of clothes on that would give away who they were or their station. As the other ship came to the side of the Scorned Woman, Theo closely observed what they did, keeping careful watch over their procedures and movements.

The first one over was Sabine, who hopped down from the plank with a large smile and brought both Theo and Cooker in for a hug.

"Good to see you both alive and well," Sabine said as she pulled away. Two other figures had dropped down onto the deck while Sabine had greeted them. One towered over the other but they looked similar, like family. Both of them sported blonde hair pulled back into tight ponytails, the shorter one had a stone glare and the tall one wasted no time in reaching his hand out towards Theo.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said.

Theo looked down at his hand then back up at him before turning her attention to Sabine, "I'm sure you understand, I have to take safety precautions before we grace each other with introductions."

"Of course, Captain," Sabine said with a chuckle and a roll to her eyes. Theo flashed her a smile, Sabine knew Theo played the intimidation game with everyone she didn't know.

Theo glanced over at Iona and gave her a nod. With her cue to go, Iona boarded the adjacent ship with some of the vanguard and began to do what they were instructed to do. After a few minutes of silence- awkward silence for them, plenty fun for Theo- Iona crossed back over to their ship and gave Theo a nod.

"My vanguard leader tells me you're clear, I hope you don't mind but my crew is going to stay on your ship just to make sure nothing funny goes down, " Theo said but they all knew there was no room for discussion, "we'll take this to my office."

Theo began to walk to her office, hearing the footsteps of people following her. Cooker came up next to her.

"Play nice," Cooker said.

"Can't make any promises," Theo replied before slipping into her office and into her desk chair.

The party of three fled in behind Cooker and two of them took a seat, the tall one and Sabine.

"Apologies for the rudeness. Had to make sure we weren't dealing with spies from The Center," Theo gave them a smile, the genuineness of it was muddled, "And you are?"

Theo looked over to the tall blonde that took a seat.

"I am Clay and this is my brother Kao," Clay pointed back to his brother who jutted his chin out in acknowledgment, there was a long pause before he finished his introduction, "we are Kymlies."

Theo leaned forward in her chair with a raise to her eyebrow and she saw Cooker move forward, placing her hand over her sword. Kao, the stronger but shorter one didn't seem to break his stoic gaze but Clay seemed almost nervous. They didn't seem to be there to harm her crew, despite them having a last name, but it still made her uneasy. She had every reason to kick them off her boat and wash her hands of any of the crap associated with these boys but something urged her to relax, to keep her ears open.

"Kymlie, huh?" Theo sat back in her chair once again and crossed her arms, "What's a Kymlie doing aboard my pirate ship? You're a long way from home."

"We're with the rebellion," Kao spoke up for the first time, his stone face still present.

Theo exchanged glances with Cooker. This was the first time they had heard anyone refer to themselves as a part of a larger group. The Kymlie's were from The Twins and several oceans away from home. Sabine was based mostly out of Dove Island and spent some of her summers in Aeliz. To bring together individuals from across different continents meant that whatever group they were a part of was serious. Organized, funded, spanning multiple locations. Theo and Cooker had read enough to know that they were on the precipice of war.

With all of her leads gone, they had been in the blind to Baethan happenings aside from pirate concerns, practically since they had left Gossem all those cycles before. They had missed a lot in the time they had been preoccupied with other threats. Instead of showing interest in that though, Theo decided to ignore directly addressing it.

"How'd you find me?"

"I've been writing to you in Niveal for a while now trying to get a hold of you but it seems you haven't frequented that port recently. When writing to you didn't work, we took to the coast. We've been searching for you for cycles," Sabine spoke up, "You're hard to track down."

"When I don't want to be found, I try and make sure I won't be," Theo shrugged, "my question still hasn't been answered though. How did you find me?"

"Do we not get any questions?" Kao challenged.

"No," Theo said firmly, shifting her view over to Kao

Theo caught a glance at Cooker who gave her a face, one that told her to tighten up the attitude and be hospitable, "I'm sure you can understand my priority as a captain to keep my crew safe and I would appreciate information of how you came to know my whereabouts before we start any sort of mutual back and forth."

Cooker nodded in response and Theo refrained from rolling her eyes, playing nice, and doing something at the behest of someone else were two things she hated but she knew being too rude would damage her ability to get information from them.

"Like Sab said, we've been searching for your crew for a long while," Clay said and crossed his hands in his lap, "we found you by pure luck. We had been going down the west coast of Efriti when we came across Panuth. It had been just over a sun since it had been burned and some of the survivors that stayed back told us what had happened. One mentioned that there was a black pirate ship that took a large group of people down to Qeatam and Malea. We figured if we were to have any chance in finding you, this was it."

Theo narrowed her eyes as Clay spoke, trying to get a good look at his face. Theo sometimes could get a good read on people but she couldn't quite get one on him, she didn't know if he was being honest or not. Her brain told her to keep her guard up, push these people away and not even give them a chance to speak to her. They were with the rebellion, because apparently now there was a group of people calling themselves the rebellion, and that just meant they were here to drag her into it. Against the logic her brain was feeding her, she felt the tug in her gut telling her to find out what they wanted. Find out how she could help.

"Why me?" Theo asked sitting forward in her chair and leaning her elbows on her desk, "All of this effort, for what?"

"We need your help," Clay stated.

"Clearly" Theo laughed and was met with multiple glares, Cooker's included, "sorry."

"No," Kao huffed from his spot behind his brother, "say what you mean and say it like a man."

Theo chuckled a bit at the phrasing and decided to oblige Kao's request, "I just meant that your boarding procedures are sloppy, your deck looks like it will kill three of your men the second wind and waves start to pick up, and you took longer than you needed to catch up to us. Which leads me to the conclusion that the water is not your specialty or anyone in your little rebellion, for that matter."

Kao, expectedly, looked miffed at the comment. Which was expected given that his ego was most likely colossal. Clay looked like he was trying his hardest to be diplomatic but Theo's words were beginning to rub off on him. Theo had a small smirk on her face, subtle but enough for everyone to catch it. Being a dick was what she was intending to do and she was achieving it. Sabine looked unbothered, if not a little amused.

"You would be correct," Clay nodded after giving pause to think about what he would say next, "we have been focusing on our land operations but now it is time we begin to expand and think about our navy."

"And where do I come into that?"

"We want you to run it," Sabine interjected before Clay could say anything, "you would be in command of the navy."

Theo tilted her head to the side and raised a single eyebrow. She steepled her fingers together and put them under her chin in thought. The words had hit like freezing water, under her coat there were goosebumps being raised all over her skin. She just couldn't show the shock. After a few beats, she looked from Sabine to Clay then back to Sabine, "Why me?"

"We need someone that knows the sea well and knows the proper routes to take," Clay explained.

"Don't need me for that," Theo shrugged, as uninterested as she could portray herself. There were dozens of navigators that knew what routes to take.
"And we need someone that has good connections to the underworld," Sabine admitted.

"Ah," Theo chuckled, there was the more honest reason, "Still, bullshit. Any pirate would be good for the job by that logic."

"We have heard many say that you are trustworthy," Clay said.

"I am a pirate. Inherently the most untrustworthy of professions."

"True, but word is you're willing to lend a hand."

"Those are just words," Theo shot back.

"But ones that have been backed up by several people we have met," Clay continued to argue.

"Still though, there are six pirates I can name from the top of my head that can meet all your reasons and would be more than willing to champion your cause."

"We don't want them, that is why we came to you," Clay crossed his arms, getting a bit frustrated with his inability to get through to Theo.

"Aye, but why me?"

"It came from the top," Clay finally spilled, "they insisted it needed to be you."

"Who is 'they'?"

"The ones that united us all," Kao spoke up from his quiet hovering.

Clay offered a more cynical answer, "The ones that funded the start of the rebellion."

"Again, who are they? Who makes them up?" Theo pressed.

"We can't divulge that," Sabine interjected, getting leaps further anytime she spoke compared to the boys, "but they keep insisting you are our best option, our best asset. The people of Baethos, they know you. They like you. We need someone who can pull support from the masses for a revolution."

Theo scoffed a bit and instead of biting her tongue, which she probably should have, she spouted off like she was in a closed discussion with just her and Cooker, "A bunch of rich boys picked up some revolutionary texts while father wasn't looking and imagined up a whole rebellion before realizing they wouldn't get anything done because no one will allow them into the proper circles."

Kao's nostrils flared and he took a step forward but Clay raised his hand to stop him in his tracks. Theo's eyes flitted over to Cooker who was clenching her hand by her side, annoyed at Theo yet unable to say anything.

"Captain Theo, we have travelled a long way to find you and I am asking for just a moment of your time to hear what we have to say," Clay leveled with Theo, "perhaps you and I may speak alone. Maybe over a game of Titan?"

"I see Sabine has let you in on some of my weaknesses, taught you the way to get me to be more diplomatic," Theo chuckled a bit, "I won't ever turn down a game of Titan."

Theo stood up and grabbed the game of Titan that she had resting on one of her dressers. Cooker, without having to be told, escorted the others out of the room. Theo took the game over to the small table she had set up by her balcony door. Once she had set up the game, she walked over to a cabinet with a small selection of liquor.

"Care for a drink?" Theo asked and looked over at Clay who had stood up and walked over to the table. He nodded in her direction, "what's your drink, then?"

"I'll have whatever you're having."

Theo grabbed the rum and poured them both a drink. She walked over to Clay and set the drinks down before peeling off her coat, draping it across the back of her chair, and sitting down.

"Oldest goes first," Theo informed.

"I'm nineteen," Clay said.

"Then it's yours to kick off," Theo took a sip of her drink and sat back.

There was silence as he considered his first move. The silence extended as they both took their first turns. It took three full turns, quiet being present the whole time, before conversation arose again.

"Have I scared you away from speaking?" Theo asked, steepled fingers pressed against her chin, eyes trained on the board.

"If we are being candid, yes," Clay offered a small chuckle as he placed his next piece on a new spot on the board, "you have not been the most welcoming."

"I would apologize for being a dickhead but that would imply I am sorry," Theo leaned forward and moved one piece. It landed in a special spot which allowed her to move another piece out of turn, already taking the upper hand in the game, "As you can see, we are very protective of our crew and I am cautious as to who I do business with. The reaction to my attitude says a lot about a man, it's a way to test the waters."

"All of that was an act?"

"Not quite," Theo shrugged with a sly smile, "I do love to watch people squirm, so it's not really an act."

"Do I have permission to speak freely?"

Theo almost made a comment about how more men should take after his example and ask her for permission before they speak to her but she had already pushed Clay enough. She pocketed the joke to tell to Cooker later, which would probably get her a laugh. Theo nodded and waved her hand in his direction, giving him the floor to speak.

"We need you," Clay said and moved one piece, two pieces, three pieces. Damn, he had gotten lucky that round, "We are offering you a navy. You would have control of our operations at sea and have a seat with the other leaders of the rebellion."

Theo's interest was slightly piqued but the pit in her stomach at the thought of leading a navy outweighed any positive thoughts.

"I have my own problems I'm attending to right now," Theo shook her head as she studied the board.

"I do not think you understand, Captain, my colleagues told me that I should do whatever was in my power to get you to agree to this," Clay tried his hand at negotiating, "I am prepared to offer a lot of things and concede to whatever demands you may have. We need your help. This is the last step before we can truly be strong enough to make a change. "

"Clay, I am sympathetic to the cause. Most of us on the ship are," Theo made her next move before sitting back and looking at Clay who was paying attention to her and not the board, "but I cannot accept any offer you make me. When my own issues are resolved, I will do what I can to help the movement but I will not be at the head of it."

"Why?" Clay leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees staring intently at Theo.

"This is not the first attempt at a rebellion, in fact, there have been dozens, one that occurred in this same classification, and it didn't work for any of them," Theo deadpanned, "I need to keep my crew safe above all and that means I need to keep my distance."

"You have the opportunity to join us and change the pattern. We can be the ones that finally do it, make Baethos free from tyrants," Clay had the look in his eyes that Cooker always had. The passion for freedom for all those under Baethos' thumb, "Do you not believe it can happen?"

"If you want me to speak honestly? No, I don't," Theo shrugged and took a sip of her drink, "I'm well-read, Kymlie; revolutions that start like yours usually fail faster than most."

"What do you mean by a revolution like ours?" Clay crossed his arms slightly.

"Elite- led," Theo stated.

"Are you suggesting that only a revolution started by no namers would be the one to succeed?" Clay asked and Theo could tell this was a slippery slope into a theoretical debate they had no time for.

"No. They would be easily overpowered," Theo shook her head, "a successful rebellion needs both. But last namers are bent on money and power, so sharing the leadership will never happen."

"I have a last name," Clay reminded, "I don't agree with that statement."

"Sure you don't, now," Theo said, the game had been put to the side and now they were engaging in a quick back and forth, "but when it comes down to it, when all the evil is taken down and the rebellion succeeds and power needs to be distributed it won't fall into the hands of the people."

"That is a bold assumption," Clay said, "I would happily give up power so someone with no last name could have it."

Arguing about power distribution after a hypothetical success at revolution would get them nowhere. They had different viewpoints; Clay was under the assumption that those with last names would do the right thing when it came down to it and Theo just didn't believe that people in the upper echelons of society could ever truly give up power. It wasn't something they would agree on, especially after only one conversation.

"Listen, Clay, I hear you but I have to protect me and my own first," Theo put her hand over her chest, "when those that have more resources control the mobilization of the common people, the common people's lives become expendable. I will not send my people to death for your political battles."

"Captain Theo, with all due respect, this is not just the political battle of those with last names. We all have a stake in this fight," Clay responded.

"I agree, which is why I said I will help but not in the way you are asking," Theo conceded, "The next time there is a gathering of the pirates I will let them know that the rebellion is looking for a general for their navy. There are some good strategists there and they will be willing to help."

"The rebellion won't give up, they'll send someone after you again," Clay said but it didn't sound like a threat.

"Who is 'they'?" Theo asked and Clay looked like he was about to say that he couldn't say anything so she interrupted, "you said you were prepared to make concessions. If you want to open a channel of dialogue with me and my crew, my questions need to be answered."

"There are a lot of them. Or us, I should say. My family is not as powerful, not as important. I have had less to contribute which is why I offered to come in search of you," Clay just shrugged, "There are some no-namers amongst our ranks but most of us come from powerful families, some of them even have access to the top. This whole operation is legitimate, that is all is all I can say without getting anything in return from you."

"I want one name," Theo said, firmly. She was not going to budge until she knew who it was that held such an interest in her, "my name has to have originated from someone. Who said it first?"

Clay looked lost in thought, he was weighing his options. It almost seemed like he was waiting for someone to tell him it was okay, like this was his first major decision by himself. Theo knew that if she wanted to, she could pull more information out of him but she had a feeling that the next time the rebellion reached out, there would be time to get her questions answered without putting Clay at risk. Finally, he looked up at Theo.

"The first person to have mentioned your name is Brandon Cooker," Clay said.

"Brandon Cooker?" Theo didn't let Clay know that the name meant something to her. Her reaction had to stay neutral, as hard as it was, "the heir to the head of the Cooker household?"

"Yes, that's him," Clay confirmed.

Theo whistled, "When you said you had access to the top, you meant it."

"So, does that change your mind?"

"No," Theo shook her head and stood up and Clay did so as well, "tell your group that if they want to make an offer, I want it to be extended personally by whoever appoints themselves your de facto leader."

"You'll consider it then?"

"I will not make promises to do anything," Theo replied, "but I will hear them out. Now, get the fuck off my ship."

Theo extended her hand to Clay with a smile and he shook it. A tight smile on his face once he realized that his mission had been somewhat of a failure. He gave her a slip of paper and informed her that if she wanted to write to them, to follow the instructions listed. Theo walked him back out onto the deck. She gave a tight nod in the direction of Kao and gave Sabine a hug, wishing her good luck on the voyage ahead. Theo oversaw the process of the boarding party going back to their own ship and detaching themselves from the Scorned Woman. No sooner was the other ship sufficiently at a distance did she give the command to continue sailing forward.

She looked over to see Cooker intently staring at the other ship as it fell back into the distance. Theo needed to speak with her about the news Clay had just made her privy to. Cooker's brother being in the rebellion was a big deal, not only for the rebellion but for Cooker. Theo wondered if Cooker knew and was just hiding it from her, or if the news would be a shock to her. Theo was hopeful though, that Cooker was not keeping something that important from her, and figured she had been in the dark about it the whole time.

Theo handed the responsibility of the deck over to Juls and Oceane and beckoned Cooker to follow her back into her quarters. Cooker obliged, looking slightly distraught, and closed the door once she entered Theo's room. Theo walked over to where the game of Titan was unfinished and grabbed the drink that she had left there. She poured Clay's remaining drink into her own before walking back to her desk and handing the glass to Cooker. She was about to break the news about her brother and Cooker would probably want the company of rum with the news.

No sooner did Cooker wrap her fingers around the glass, it was being brought to her lips. In one gulp, Cooker swallowed the contents of the glass and then slammed it down on the desk.

"My brother is in the rebellion," Cooker said with almost a grimace as she sat down in front of Theo's desk, "Brandon, the oldest. He is one of their leaders."

"I know, Clay told me," Theo nodded and then poured Cooker another drink, who looked like she needed it, "who told you?"

"Sabine pulled me aside to tell me," Cooker said as she bent forward and put her head in her hands.

Theo tilted her head, "Why would Sabine tell you?"

"She knows I'm a Cooker," Cooker looked up at Theo, "save the lecture. I was extremely drunk and she already suspected that Cooker was more than just a dub."

Theo couldn't help but let out a sigh and roll her eyes. Sabine was trustworthy but one sun, Cooker would get drunk and spill to someone who wasn't so kind, "Did she tell him that you were on this ship? Is that why he's so adamant about us helping?"

"No, thank fuck, she didn't," Cooker pushed her hair out of her face, her sides weren't shaved like usual and it was all growing in which made her look softer than normal, "apparently, he and the rest of the leaders got it in their heads that this is the crew that they want at the head of sea operations. Sabine volunteered herself for the mission because she knows us and when Brandon found that out, he pulled her aside to ask her questions about me. Apparently, there have been long-standing rumors in Elox that one of the officers on this ship was actually from the Cooker family."

"What did she say to him then?"

"To her knowledge, my name was a dub and I was a runaway from some orphanage," Cooker shrugged, "she said he sent her with the specific side mission to find out if I was his sister..."

"He's looking for you," Theo said and Cooker looked stressed, like this wasn't something she had expected to ever happen, "what did you tell Sabine?"

"I told her to stick with the story. To report back to him that the rumors weren't true," Cooker sighed and closed her eyes.

"You didn't want her to tell him?"

"It would just make them chase after us harder."

"He's your family, Cook."

"He's not, though. You are," Cooker said, looking down at her hands as she picked at her fingernails, "and last I had heard, it was a no to joining their navy. So, what good would it do to expose myself? Word will spread and then we are even more of a target."

"Cooker, if you want to join your brother and go straight to the top of this rebellion thing, we will chase the other ship back down and make sure you get to do that," Theo offered, "If this is your calling, if this is what you want to do, I absolve you of your duties to me and this crew."

Cooker stared at Theo, almost unblinking. Their eye contact was intense and Theo couldn't tell what Cooker was thinking, or even if Cooker was considering it. After a while, Cooker licked her lips and let out a deep breath.

"I think this fight is worth it. I think we can do a lot of good by helping in the way they want us to. I think doing more than just a little will go a long way. I think that we could make demands to ensure that this whole thing goes according to our plans, and apply what we have studied," Cooker shrugged, "but if you're not willing to do it, then neither am I. I'm not abandoning you, no matter the riches they dangle in front of me."

Cooker was speaking metaphorically. The rebellion was promising no riches but it was promising a reunion with family and a position in a fight she had been preparing for since childhood. The decision to not take Theo up on her offer looked to be affecting Cooker. It wasn't an easy decision, Theo could feel the tension from within Cooker. She wanted to comment on Cooker's loyalty, perhaps extend a thank you for not pressuring Theo to join, or even just give Cooker a hug but to err on the side of not scaring Cooker off, she poured her a drink instead.

Cooker took a sip, "How did your game go?"

"We didn't finish," Theo motioned over to the game, "he offered me command of the navy, again, and then said that he was prepared to make whatever concession he needed to in order to get us on their side."

Cooker groaned and once again buried her face in her hands, "You're killing me, T."

Theo tried to stifle a laugh but she couldn't. It was a mouthwatering offer, a deal that they could easily exploit to get to the top of the ring of leaders and make the rebellion follow their path, which was arguably the best path. Theo was driving the dagger in further by showing Cooker all the cards that were in their hand.

"I know, Cook," Theo stood up from her desk chair and walked over to where Cooker was hunched over in her chair, "I'm going to go to storage and pull out my good liquor. You deserve a night to blackout."

"Was expecting you to guide me in some exercises that will help me explore my feelings on the 'long-lost brother in the rebellion' matter," Cooker mocked, "to be in tune with my emotions."

"No, I'm an enabler, remember?" Theo chuckled a bit and leaned forward to give the hunched figure a kiss on the back of its head, "emotional exercises are being led by Tuni tomorrow. The perfect hangover cure."

"No," Cooker's head shot up, "please don't tell her. Please. She will actually force me to talk. I'm afraid of her."

Theo laughed, "My lips are sealed. But we are talking about your feelings eventually. I'll give you a break for now, though."

"And strike when I least expect it," Cooker narrowed her eyes at Theo, "you're going to catch me when I'm weak and force me to tell you what you wish to know."

Theo plugged her fingers into her ears, blocking out the dramatics as she walked backward, deciding to ignore the influx of information that was thrown at them in favor of watching Cooker get drunk. Unfortunately, she would not be able to do the same. even though she was itching for nothing else but a momentary break from the sobriety. The beginning of what was most likely gearing up to be a full-out war against Baethos was upon them and she had just turned down the opportunity to lead a part of it. It was a choice she was steadfast in but not one that had been easy to make. Her help was needed more immediately by those she called her brethren.

Regardless of what she thought of the situation, it had already happened. There was no second-guessing her decision. Theo just hoped that she could fix their own pirate problems and emerge in one piece, then she could begin to think of her role in an uprising against Baethos.