"Captain Theo!" a voice called out in joy as she walked through the shop's door, "welcome!"

Theo nodded in the direction of the person, a boy, taller than she last remembered him, "Von. You've gotten so big, mate. Good to see you."

Theo walked over to where he was behind the counter, "This morning, we heard word that you had docked."

"Gotta be more careful then, can't have the animals know a pirate is in their area," Theo quipped, referring to the swarms of soldiers across the continent.

The boy snorted then pulled out a tray from a display, "My mama prepared this for when you came. Some items we thought you would like. Pick any of them, I am going to go find her for you."

Theo nodded and flashed a smile at the boy as she watched him walk away. Theo looked down at the tray and saw the assortment of pretty items that had been picked for her. She knew she didn't need anything but she wanted it all, she picked up one of the pieces. Theo had told herself that she wouldn't get her hopes up about the possibility of her other crew being okay and part of what was bringing up her hope was purchasing things for her lost crew. Yet every time she went into a new shop or passed by a stand she had an urge to buy her friends things. Xyra hadn't gotten to visit this side of Efriti in about a length so Theo looked out for the items she knew Xyra liked. She also kept an eye out for things for Ava; silk bandanas that she had taken to wearing in her hair, earrings that would match her eyes, a few clothing items for when it began to get warmer. It was something she had to restrain herself from doing but even then she had a small drawer in her room filled with presents for her other crew. Theo didn't want to think about what would happen if they didn't arrive at the rendezvous point. The mere thought nauseated her. It wasn't something she wanted out in the universe, in case the negative thoughts manifested themselves into truth.

Theo set down the small gold chain that was in her hand back down on the small tray in front of her. Xyra would love something like this, her own gold chain had broken a while back. But Theo told herself no, it wasn't necessary to buy. As she set it down, a woman appeared and Theo looked up at her, the shop owner. A tall woman with a shaved head, dark skin, and deep brown eyes. Her arms, hands, ears, and neck were home to intricate jewelry, designs she made herself. Chiali was her name, and her business had been under Theo's protection for about 3 lengths.

"I don't need anything today, Chi," Theo smiled, "I'm away from Xy at the moment and I promised her I would take it easy on the spending."

"I insist you take something," Chiali shook her head and pushed the tray with assorted jewelry back towards Theo, "I can't pay you the full amount that we owe you but I can make up for it in gifts."

"Is everything good?" Theo tilted her head, concerned, "Business slow?"

"Business is great actually," Chiali rubbed her forehead, "but ever since they stationed new soldiers here, they'll come in every few suns and demand money."

"How long has this been going on?" Theo frowned and crossed her arms.

"Two cycles, around there," Chiali began to look increasingly distressed, "they've been taking practically all my profit. What's left is what I use to live for me and Von and what I have been saving for you."

Theo shook her head, sick that she couldn't be there to help fend off the soldiers, "Has this been happening to others?"

"Yure's Apothecary has been under their thumb too," Chiali explained, "I think it's because we make somewhat good money and we are both women that are alone."

"Scum of society," Theo scoffed a bit and pushed the tray back to her, "keep your inventory. How much do you have for me?"

"Just over 700 gold," Chiala said, "I know it's less than last length but I had to tap into it to pay for Von's school. He's been learning a lot and I know you wouldn't have minded as long as it was serving a purpose."

Theo gave her a sad smile, reassurance that she had done the right thing and dipped into Theo's money for her son's education. Theo could only hope that others that were struggling wouldn't go hungry or without what they needed because they were afraid of taking the money they owed Theo.

"Keep the gold you were going to give to me, hide it well," Theo removed a heavy pouch from her side and set it on the counter, "here, this should help to keep you going if they continue to mess with you."

"Theo..." Chiala shook her head and pushed the sack back, "I cannot take this. I have gotten harassed by soldiers but not by anyone else because I have had your protection. I owe you."

"Fine, I accept the money and I am giving it back to you," Theo insisted, "I wish I could help with the army but..."

Theo trailed off and Chiala nodded. They both knew there was no way to get rid of or scare away the soldiers unless they wanted the town burned to the ground. They were in Safriti, which meant the soldiers stationed there would take any excuse to start murdering townspeople and taking away their livelihoods.

"Thank you, Captain," Chiala put her hand over Theo's and looked into her eyes, "This money will go a long way."

Theo flipped her hand over and clasped Chiala's in hers, squeezing it, "I am here to protect you. Even if that isn't always at a profit. Write to me if you need anything, alright? I'm a bit caught up at the moment but I will make sure to get someone to come help if you need it."

Theo saw Chiala's eyes begin to tear up and Theo offered her a warm smile which she returned, "I will."

"Good," Theo let go of her hand, "The apothecary isn't under my protection so I'm not too familiar with where it is. Could you do me a favor?"

"Anything," Chiala nodded.

Theo took a smaller pouch out of her pocket and put it in front of Chiala, "Make sure they get that. A little extra coin."

"Of course."

"Thank you, remember to write if you need something," Theo began to back out of the shop, "start telling your wealthier clients that you'll do house calls. Bring in customers through the back of the shop, they probably have scouts that tell the soldiers how well you do. No customers come in through your front door and the scouts have nothing to report."

Theo gave Chiala a little salute and walked out of the shop before she remembered one last thing. She snapped her fingers and turned back around to pop back into the shop, "Take it from a pirate, burying your coin is the best thing you can do."

Theo heard Chiala laugh as she walked out for good that time. She still had a few more shops to visit and check-in with so she made quick work at getting to the next one. Only one thing was on her mind, how many people along the way in Safriti would she encounter that had been being harassed by soldiers? The members of the Beathan army were known to be corrupt and exploitative of the populations that were supposed to be their wards but pressuring citizens to give up money that frequently was a little less seen. Safritians were used to the occasional under-the-table extortion but with an increased presence of soldiers, these acts were getting more common. Perhaps the presence of so many others emboldened the soldiers to be more cruel than usual, which didn't imply good things for the citizens of Safriti. More abuse from the soldiers meant more potential clashes, more destruction, more loss. It was only a matter of time before the powder keg exploded, the fuse had already been lit.

-----------------------------------

"I'm going to head out," Theo said, peeling herself out of bed with heavy eyelids, drooping down, and begging her for more sleep, "I'll meet you at the soldier's outpost with the manifest."

Cooker said nothing, she just rolled over in bed which caused Theo to laugh.

Cooker was still upset at Theo for drawing on her face with tint. To be fair, she could have drawn awful things on it, and instead she just chose to put hearts all over Cooker's face. It made her seem happy at all times, to counteract the occasional grumpiness. Well, at the moment it was never-ending grumpiness. Cooker and her hadn't spoken since the morning she woke up with the tint on her face, six suns before. She was insisting on not speaking until the tint wore off and her commitment was impressive. Yet, Cooker still slept in her room and spent time with her. She knew how to be petty but Theo didn't mind, it was entertaining. Theo had begun to say whatever came to mind knowing Cooker was too stubborn to answer, which was a source of great amusement.

The plan they had gone over the sun of the sleepover only spanned two ports and as they were coming up on their third port since that sun, they had no plan in place. With her second not speaking, Cooker had even gone so far as to write Theo a letter for their plan of action for the upcoming port, which was quite hard not to laugh at. This port was no different, they were venturing into Roshapad and she had been given a page briefing her on her responsibilities the night before. With only a few land businesses, none of which had ever given them trouble before, Theo was assigned to go collect information and coin from them alone before heading out to collect the manifest. Cooker was going to check up on their lead in town to see if he was still alive and then keep watch at the soldier's outpost. The lead Cooker had visited in the last port they were at was long gone by the time Cooker had arrived; his whole house cleared out. Hopefully, they would have more luck in Roshapad, these leads were crucial in finding out the most they could about The Center's plans.

With only one person to visit, Cooker had the luxury of having some time to sleep in. Theo would have not a moment to spare between doing her duties and then stealing the manifest in order to make it to the rendezvous point on time. Begrudgingly she got dressed and headed out on her way. The first few shops were a bit short on what they owed Theo, some shop owners had to dip into the money they had set aside for Theo because business was tight. People were saving up before the classifiers came by to assess their wealth so the slightly more expensive, luxury shops were suffering. Theo gave them a pass on the outstanding debt and usually let them keep most of the saved up money. Not all of it though, she had a ship to maintain. Most of the other shops though had no problem paying up. The problem Chiala had didn't seem to affect anyone in Roshapad, thankfully.

Theo had been quite timely with all of her check-ins, making sure not to over-indulge herself in talking with business owners; which was extremely hard because they always asked her questions and Theo loved to talk about herself when people asked. From her interactions, she learned nothing new, there were a lot of soldiers all of sudden and everyone was feeling a bit tense but that was the same for every other city in Efriti. Theo saved the best shop for last, it was a perfume shop but the shop owner's daughter was an alchemist who worked in the back. She was planning on picking a few things that could help her if she was in a tight spot, like she would be in a bit. Theo was trying to enter the dockmaster's office which, being a major port city, was heavily guarded.

A little distraction would help matters and the alchemist, Missy, would be of great help. Theo walked into the shop, a small bell ringing at her entrance. Stocking one of the shelves was a tall, thin person. At the bell, they turned around. Theo recognized the young face, it was the shop owner's son, Ant.

"Captain Theo," Ant greeted her and walked over, extending his hand with a goofy grin.

Theo shook his hand and returned the smile, "Nice to see you, Ant. Your father here?"

"Nah," he pointed out of one of the windows, "he went to the bakery to pick up some bread for dinner."

"And your sister?"

"In the back," Ant nodded his head in that direction.

Theo patted him on the shoulder and began walking towards the back, "Thanks, kid."

She made her way through the maze of displays, careful not to have her sword swinging about as she walked, not wanting to knock anything around. Theo opened the door she knew to be Missy's office and let herself in. After opening the door, Theo knocked on it as she peeked around the room.

"Miss?" Theo called out.

"One sec!"

She heard the voice but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. After a few moments, a cabinet door opened and Missy popped out. She held a glass jar in one hand and a long scroll in the other.

"Damned things were in the back," Missy shook her head, short black hair flowing with the movement. It took her a second to gather herself and realize that Theo was standing in the doorway but once she did, her brow raised and she gave a small smirk, "Captain Theo."

"Missy," Theo tipped her hat and then walked into the room, closing the door behind her, "I have come for some treasures."

"It so happens that I had a few people come and clear me out of most of my things," Missy set the jar down along with the scroll, "what are you looking for?"

"Who cleared you out?" Theo asked, Missy always had hundreds of little bottles of tricks and danger lined up and ready to sell. Whoever it was that took them would have quite a small arsenal in their hands, and quite a lot of money.

Missy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms as she stepped closer to Theo, "What's it to you?"

Theo chuckled and stepped closer too, she shrugged a bit, "I like to know things."

"It's really none of your concern," Missy chuckled and closed the gap between them.

"After lengths of friendship, you still don't trust me?" Theo tutted and shook her head.

"Not as far as I can throw you," Missy said and looked down at Theo's lips suggestively.

Theo cleared her throat and took a step back and towards the edge of the room that held some of the shelves. It wasn't her intention for things to go that way but Theo was naturally flirty and some people got the wrong idea sometimes.

"What do you have left?" Theo asked as she inspected the shelves.

"Couple of cracklers, one that sets off smoke when lit, a couple of jars of pretty strong acid. Burns through locks or skin," Missy shrugged and followed Theo, "interested?"

"Sure, I'll take them all," Theo pulled out her pouch of coins but a hand came down to her waist to stop her.

"You know I won't accept your money," Missy said and Theo turned around to face her, "you protect my father and ask him for nothing in return. Keep your coin, pirate."

Theo chuckled a bit and pulled her hand away from her pouch, "Thank you, I'll pay you back for all of this one day."

"I can think of other forms of payment," Missy said and her hand touched Theo's waist.

Theo swallowed and felt her heart drop to her gut, that was the wrong hand on her. She stepped away and offered Missy an awkward smile, "Can't today, sorry Miss."

Missy stepped away a bit with a chuckle, "Never thought I'd see the day when I was rejected by The Captain."

"Can't lose focus and you are very distracting," Theo smiled, "gotta keep on task."

"Pile of shit," Missy said and tapped her nose, "you had three bounty hunters on your tail once and still had time to come sleep with me. Who is it?"

"No one," Theo laughed, trying to pass off that she was lying. People aside from pirates knowing about Ava was even more dangerous than just pirates knowing, "I'm going through a spiritual thing right now. Proving my commitment to Riva and all that."

"You religious type and your trials," Missy sighed.
But
Theo smiled but rolled her eyes, "Are you going to tell me who wiped you out?"

"I'm not getting laid or paid, why should I spill?"

"Because you know you want to brag about what happened."

"Guilty," Missy laughed and sat down on one of her tables, "two men claiming to be from Safriti came by. They had last names though but didn't seem to dress like it. They said something about using it for the greater good and I would be proud of the work that is going to be done with these."

Theo scrunched her eyebrows in thought, "Rebels?"

"Seems so," Missy nodded.

"But with last names?" Theo rubbed her chin.

"That's what it looked like," Missy confirmed.

Cooker was right, things were happening quickly. While the Center was sucking themselves into war with groups on ten different fronts, the people were beginning to band together. Chaos was coming and it was coming sooner than she expected.

"Thanks for sharing with me," Theo walked back over to the shelf with items on it and began to stuff her bag, "I'm sorry to just steal from you and run but I really am busy."

"The less I have to see your face the better," Missy chuckled and opened the cabinet back up as she began to climb inside, "my brain knows I can't have you but my body hasn't caught up with it yet."

Missy shut the cabinet door and Theo shook her head with a deep laugh as she finished grabbing her items. Theo made her way out with one last shout goodbye and said farewell to Ant on the way out. She was ahead of schedule, which gave her some time to scope out the dock master's place before engaging it, which proved to be useful. The uncurtained windows showed that there were guards at nearly every door inside of the house. The back and front entrance were guarded and the only way Theo could think of entering was through the roof, where most Safritian buildings contained a hatch. The only room on the second floor was a storage area and precisely where she needed to go. The hatch would lead directly to it and she could sneak in and out without being seen.

Most other places, she had managed to sneak into their storage rooms by climbing in through a window on the first floor and sneaking around the building but that wouldn't be possible. The roof seemed to be her only option but that would be difficult to pull off without getting caught, climbing to the roof would give them a clear view of her. Theo studied the length between buildings and figured she could be risky and jump it. She had done far worse things before, the worst that could happen was she could fall and break all her bones; at least it wasn't death. Theo scoped out the best building to climb, one far from the dock master's building. In the back of an alley in between the buildings she had chosen, she managed to begin her climb with ease; away from the wandering eyes of passersby or soldiers.

Theo's hands found purchase on different parts of the building and with a nimble hop up from the last place her hands and feet could find a place to grab, her hands grabbed the ledge of the roof and she pulled herself up as quietly as she could. A small grunt escaped her lips but as she tumbled over onto the roof, she laid flat. If anyone had heard her, they at least couldn't see her. She let one, two, three minutes past before she climbed onto her feet, crouching her way to the edge of the roof to see if anyone could see her. When she confirmed the coast was clear, she got a running head start and leaped to the other building. She flew in the air for a few seconds before she crashed into the other roof, having to roll on her shoulder to catch herself.

Her heart was beating in her chest, the bag of goodies clanking at her side was a constant reminder that she could crack one and the treasures could backfire on her. Maybe, there was more risk to roof jumping than she had anticipated. Taking a deep breath and hyping herself up she jumped across to the next roof. The movement pushed her hair out of face and she felt the drop in her stomach for that split second where she wasn't sure if she was going to make it or not. As she landed on the other roof, the bag clanked at her side but she landed on her feet, avoiding another tumble. Taking advantage of the adrenaline, she hopped the next two roofs in succession. Suddenly, she was on the roof next to the dock master's and it was time to execute her plan. Theo was crouching as she carefully looked through the bag, grabbing one of the glass bottles that was round and big with a black powder inside.

It was a cracker, it kicked up some dust and made a loud noise, an easy distraction and one she had used many times before. She held it in her hand, feeling the weight of it and holding it tightly befores she sent a quick prayer to Riva and tossed it about a hundred feet away from the building. She watched as the glass ball flew through the sky and then crashed into the ground, a loud bang could be heard from the crash site. The two soldiers in front of the house ran in the direction of the noise. With the commotion of people wondering what was going in, she had her opportunity to jump. As she leaped from one building to the next, her feet slipped off the edge of the dock master's roof and she began to fall. With her quick reflexes, she was able to grab into the ledge and slowly bring herself up. Whatever noise caused by her effort was swept up in the shouts of townspeople.

She gave herself only a moment to catch her breath before refocusing. Theo took no risks even crouching and she dragged herself on her stomach over to the hatch, which was locked. Theo rolled her eyes and felt like huffing out a large sigh, but refrained. She had her lock pick tools in her pocket, never leaving the ship without them, but it was still a lot of added time. She wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible and government-issued locks were always hard. Pulling out the tools she got to work, it was cold outside but the sun was still high and bright, burning the back of her head as she fiddled with the lock. The more she went at it, the less progress she made. Theo actually had to stop and calm down for a minute before regaining the concentration to keep going. Eventually, she heard the sweet sound of the lock clicking into place and it popping open.

Theo silently celebrated and sent a glance up at the sky, a thank you to Riva. Slowly, painfully slow, she undid the lock and opened the hatch. The room inside was dark, the only light that was present was what was filtering in through the hatch in the room. Theo left her bag up on the roof and climbed inside. Directly below the hatch was a large structure with many shelves, the top one was empty which allowed Theo an easy way to get inside the room and down on the floor with little noise. Under little light, it was hard to manage her way around but by taking her time she managed to find the section she was looking for without alerting anyone of her presence.

There was a stack of books on a shelf, leather-bound and large. The manifests. Theo carefully went through each of them, checking the first pages for the dates she was looking for. Luckily, it only took three guesses to find the right one. Within just a few more minutes, she located the exact dates that she needed to find and she ripped the pages out, stuffing the paper inside her coat pocket. Theo heard people speaking outside and she froze, careful not to even breathe. The voices ceased and after a few extra moments of silence, she began to move again.

She was up the structure and back onto the roof in record time and she carefully closed the hatch before securing the lock back in place. Gods, she wished Cooker had seen just how badass she had just been. Reaching into her bag, she grabbed another cracker and threw it as far as she could. Again, it got a rise out of people and caused enough of a distraction to allow her to get over to the next roof. Three buildings away from the dock master's, she found an empty alleyway and climbed down into it.

Theo exited the alleyway when no one was watching and blended into the crowd. She weaved past the townspeople as she quickly made her way to the soldier's outpost. She found Cooker perusing some market stands not far away from the building. Theo came up next to her and picked up a fresh fruit, inspecting it for blemishes. Cooker spared a glance over her way then looked back at the merchandise.

"Success?"

"Ah, she speaks," Theo smirked as Cooker cursed to herself for finally spilling. Theo laughed and set a copper down for the fruit once she determined the one she wanted, "Aye, it was a success. Would you expect any less from me?"

"I will refrain from hurting your feelings with a response," Cooker also set some coins down and began to stuff her bag with fruit.

"Any news from you?" Theo glanced around her to make sure no one was watching them.

Cooker shrugged and also did a once-over of the area before tugging her head in the direction of the port. They peeled away from the stand and began to walk in the direction of where their boat was tied up waiting for them. Once they were out of earshot of most people, they were able to speak freely.

"Yolk is gone too," Cooker glanced behind them as they walked and then handed Theo a piece of paper with Safritian words scribbled on it, "found this inside his house. A letter from one of his connections telling him to pack up and run."

"At least they're running and not staying around to make deals with The Center," Theo shook her head, "without leads, we've got barely anything. How are we going to show up back to Corinpse with a few scraps of paper to show for ourselves."

"We just have to hope Xyra finds something," Cooker shrugged, unfazed by the pressure that was on them to find information, "at the very least, we've surveyed how The Center is divvying up their resources. We are doing recon, if you will."

"Well, for the purposes of my own reputation I would like this to be a productive journey," Theo argued and she saw Cooker smirk.

"It will be," Cooker said, "trust me."

"What does that mean?"

"Hush. When we get away from here I'll tell you," Cooker grabbed her hand and pulled them faster.

They ceased their speaking and made haste towards their dinghy. Cooker untied them from the dock as Theo hopped in and grabbed some oars. Soon, they were on their way and Theo wasted no time.

"Tell me," Theo urged but there was no response.

A few minutes passed and they had set their pace and Theo once again said, "Tell me."

Cooker ignored her, going back to once again being mad about her face. If Cooker was going to play a game, Theo would just have to beat her at it.

"Tell me, heart face," Theo challenged with a smirk, trying to get a rise out of her partner.

Nothing.

"Tell me," Theo said, "tell me, tell me, tell me, tell-"

"Gods, shut the fuck up, I get it!" Cooker laughed, "I want to be back with Xyra. You don't act like a child when she's around."

"I act the age that those around me act, since you act like a toddler, I am forced to adapt," Theo defended herself, "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I found something out while hanging out around the soldier's outpost," Cooker was teasing Theo with the information. What was so important it had to wait until no one was around? They were rowing but Theo wanted to let go of her oars and choke the news out of Cooker, "one of their ships got wrecked about ten miles off the coast of here and they were carrying special cargo."

"Details, Cook, details," Theo groaned, Cooker loved to milk every second they had where she knew something Theo didn't.

"There was a navy ship carrying a shipment of supplies with the end destination being their headquarters in Odua," Cooker let the information sit, "included in the shipment? A few crates full of hand cannons."

"Shut the fuck up," Theo almost dropped her oars, "well? That can't be all you know."

"You would be right. I'm good at what I do," Cooker bragged, Theo knew Cooker was living for the attention and the pride of finding out something of this nature, "About half of the men came back to the outpost to get help and half of them stayed back to protect the cargo. The rescue party leaves tomorrow morning."

"How are they traveling?"

"Land, the coastal path."

"Idiots, a ship would be faster."

"They were cleared clean out of ships. Sent them down south to Dove Island for something," Cooker explained.

"How many men?"

"Not sure," Cooker scrunched her face a bit, the hearts along her forehead creased, "About fifteen of the men at the outpost were Navy. There might have been more that I didn't see. If we go by that number, fifteen should be back at the wreck."

"Thirty crew members on a navy ship? Carrying a shipment that valuable?" Theo shook her head, "doesn't add up."

"One of them said that they had lost a lot of crew members during the storm that hit them," Cooker shrugged, "Still, even if we round up our number to twenty or even thirty at the wreck, we could probably still take them."

"For a few crates of handcannons?" Theo said, a smile beginning to form, "that is a risk I'm willing to take. I'm sure everyone else will agree."

Cooker's smile was back on her face and Theo mimicked it, they looked like lunatics. Their pace got faster and they were rowing as hard as they could. Cooker was right, even if they got no information, this alone would bolster her standing amongst the pirates. They rowed the boat back to the ship and wasted no time in calling the crew together. Theo allowed Cooker to take the lead and no soon did the suggestion to go after the cargo leave Cooker's lips did the whole crew erupt into a chorus of shouts and 'ayes.' It didn't even need to go to a vote. Not only did acquiring the hand cannons mean that they now had the most powerful weapon in Baethos, but it was taking them away from The Center.

Theo was getting them on the way as soon as the meeting broke, having decided to take the lead on sailing. Cooker went up to the crow's nest to keep watch. They had no exact location and only limited time to get there. The stakes were high but Theo was ready for a little adrenaline. Besides the occasional manifest heist, there was nothing that was going on. The tension in Efriti was palpable but it resulted in an eerie calm. The thread the continent was hanging by was becoming increasingly more frayed and it was only going to take a small action on either side for it to snap.

This was an opportunity to strike The Center without it falling back on any citizens. It would be clear that they had been hit by pirates, Theo would make sure of that. They would have no one to blame but their own soldiers for leaking the information on accident. Theo was excited for some action but it was nerve-wracking. This would be their first big confrontation with anyone since before Corinspe and there were a lot of important assets missing. With Morgana gone, Theo was going to have to lead the vanguard alongside Iona. Cooker would have to stay back on the ship in the absence of Xyra. Navi's second was good at sailing but hadn't ever taken the lead in a high-risk situation. There was a lot that could go wrong, between the crew and the limited information about who they were attacking, things were bound to get sticky.

Theo was prepared though, and so was the crew. If they were nervous, no one showed it. The time spent sailing to the location of the wreck was spent on the lookout. No plan could be formed because there was no way to know what to expect. Once the beach was in sight, Theo's brain began to think through the possibilities, and like she had done the many times she had led the vanguard in her earlier lengths, she articulated what was to be done.

The boats would be lowered and take the vanguard to the opposite sides of the beach, where they would spread out and flank the soldiers huddled by the wreck. The ship would head straight for shore and stop when it risked getting beached. Their cannons, which had the range, could barrage the beach with cannonballs in the first wave of attack, letting the soldiers scatter and scare before sending in the vanguard.

Theo was lowering herself into the boats before long and keeping an eye on the beach with her spyglass as the others rowed. Things went according to plan. The boats managed to be deployed and rowed to shore, out the sight of the beached soldiers, without getting noticed. The ship began their attack at the right moment, making the soldiers on the beach scramble to get ready for a fight. There were not many there, even less after the ship's attack. Things would have gone flawlessly, had she accounted for the fact that the soldiers would have hand cannons. Of course they would, there was a whole supply of them. Why wouldn't they? Theo beat herself up over the not planning for that. What was adding up to be an easy mission turned into needless bloodshed, four of her women dead on the beach by the time the raid ended.

Theo had yet to see the hand cannons in action and if she was honest, she could have gone her whole life without seeing it. What was fired from the hand cannons easily ripped through some of the vanguard, leaving behind a bloody mangled mess. Only one girl, one the youngest on their vanguard, managed to survive getting hit. The fragments of the small metal ball inside the hand cannon having pierced her leg, but missed anything vital. She was rushed off to Tuni, the rest of the crew wasting no time in beginning the mission to clear the beach's cargo. Theo worked with Iona to gather the bodies of her crew by the water's edge.

She spent time with each of them, saying a prayer to Riva for each one that she said her goodbyes to. It was not always that she was able to send off the fallen women with a proper prayer until she actually convened with Riva. Next time she did, she would still give them a proper send-off but it was nice to be able to do something in the meantime. The women were left for the tide to eventually take them off to sea. The other crew was given an opportunity to say goodbye but Theo left the beach shortly after she had finished her prayers.

The guilt was eating at her, the way it always did when someone died under her command. What had been worth it before, crates of hand cannons, did not seem as important anymore. Four women had to die for them to be able to get them. But, on the other hand, it was a sacrifice they made to take them away from The Center. Hand cannons must have been expensive and hard to produce, taking away the amount that they had from the army and navy could mean a turning point in the war against them. Theo took the rest of the night to be in her room, alone. She would visit the injured in the early morning, after they had rested. Her isolated time was only interrupted by Cooker, who updated her on the success of the mission. Three crates of hand cannons, two crates of ammunition, four thousand five hundred gold, and some supplies that would go into storage.

Theo really wished it was worth it. With the time she had alone, she took out some paper and began to write something about each of the women. Preparing for what would be said at their celebration of life that would likely occur in the coming suns. Their deaths would not be in vain and their sacrifice would be noted.

------

They rode the high of success for a while. About a cycle had come and gone since their victory with the hand cannons. Unlike what some on the crew had speculated, the heist on the beach did not mark a turning point in their time at sea. There were no great escapades or super stealthy missions aside from manifest stealing. Life was, well, boring. Theo both loved it and longed for any sort of action again. The seas were calm, they rarely saw another vessel on the water and when they did, it was not interested in them, and the times at port were swift and easy. Aside from her slight fluke with that one manifest, she hadn't called attention to them again.

No intense chase, no close calls, no adrenaline-pumping moments.

Theo liked it, oddly enough, craving the calm amongst the other issues on her plate. Only a half a length ago danger was accompanied by excitement and treasure and all of the best of what piracy had to offer. Now, danger was nothing else but that. The threat of the full force of The Center was always looming. There was a war against pirates and half of her crew was several oceans away; the one thing that she welcomed was calm.

For the first time in her life, routine was important to her. Deviation from the routine meant danger and danger meant she might not have lived to see another sunrise. Port was the same every time, Cooker would be unsuccessful in her hunt for any old connections they had and Theo would hop into the shops in business with her. Things were difficult for shopkeepers across Safriti and Theo left town with less money than she came in with more often than not.

Cooker would have had a problem with it had Theo not come back with more than a dozen businesses under her name in the entirety of their trip. She was very stressed about the sudden responsibility of over a dozen businesses under her full ownership and jurisdiction. Cooker did not share the same feelings, she was elated. Some suns, it was all she could talk about. When Theo would take time to practice writing Common on her own, Cooker would work on her plan to manage the business. She had even brought up making a position on the ship that was in charge of managing the land businesses. It would have to be an officer position, having that much control and power over their affairs would mean the shop had to go up to someone that was voted in, an officer. An extra officer would change the balance of things but it wasn't something Theo dismissed outright.

Even when it had been suns since the last time Theo had acquired a new place, Cooker would not stop rambling about possibilities with all the new financial stability they had. It made for long suns at sea, and there were a lot of them. Suns between port grew further apart as the locations of pirate wrecks got further apart too. That meant more time at sea and less time running around land. Again, something she didn't mind.

With their downtime, Cooker and Theo began to pour over the manifests they had collected. Trying to figure out if any of the logged ships were connected. There was no clear pattern that had emerged after they collected enough manifests. One thing stood out though, a handful of the larger cities had two ships with floral-themed names that kept appearing. It was the closest they had to a lead, which wasn't much at all.

Theo's sea routine was as important to her as her land one. It was a comfort, in a way, one she had never learned to appreciate before. Theo also had a feeling that once she had her crew complete and this conflict had blown over she would go back to craving chaos. For the time being though, she basked in the schedule she had set for herself. The mornings she spent training by herself or reading with Cooker. Aftermorning were always set aside to spend with her crew, she made sure to visit a different part of the ship everyday and more than just to check in on people. She got to know the new people she was sailing with but also spent time familiarizing herself with how her veteran crew were holding up. Nighttime was spent working. Making sure they were on course, keeping the ship running at night, and most important of all, sitting atop the crow's nest keeping watch over the horizon.

The sailors on night duty were a well-trained group which made Theo's job way easier at night. That meant, she spent most of her shift up at the crow's nest, sitting in silence. A perfect time to either clear her mind or think about things. It was always truly a toss-up between which one she did. The times she let herself drift into thought, it always turned grim. Thoughts of all of the possibilities to come: lost loved ones, the destruction of Corinspe, complete failure of the underworld, and the fall they could experience at the hands of Baethos. It felt a bit helpless at times, like she was leading the charge on a lost cause. But in times of doubt, when her stomach was churning from the pressure of uncertainty, she turned to Riva. When her thoughts were clear, she would still wind up turning to Riva. It was a win for her god, either way.

Sometimes she would pray, sometimes she would just speak and hope Riva was listening. Sometimes she would hum a song that was a hymn in her honor. No matter what she chose to do, she would climb down from the crow's nest connected to her presence. Dreary thoughts of the future were replaced with reaffirming facts about the present. Those she was supposed to protect were alive, she was getting the information she was tasked with getting, and she was running a great ship. Confidence that they would figure it out, no matter what happened, was something she was beginning to build. She trusted herself and more importantly, those around her.

Her closeness with Riva brought her dreams. Theo didn't understand some of them, others were memories, others she had seen before but they made no sense. Instead of fussing over it though, Theo knew that all of it would make sense in due time. Riva had a reason for things, patience was going to pay off. She might not have been too worked up over the dreams but Cooker was. There were many mornings where all Theo heard for the first hour after waking up was how Cooker wanted to tie her down to the bed to keep her from moving and thrashing. Tuni was the heaviest sleeper Theo had ever seen and would usually come to Theo's defense, being unaffected from the events the previous night. No matter how Cooker acted in the morning though, if Theo's dreams ever got bad Cooker was always there for her.

There were quite a few hours spent with Cooker in the kitchen over tea, Cooker's usually being spiked. Sometimes they would hang out on the balcony. Sometimes together in the crow's nest. When the dreams would be ones she couldn't just shake, Cooker would be there to keep her calm. She never asked about it or pushed Theo to describe her dreams. No questions asked, they would find a place to relax, and Cooker would distract her.

One night, she woke up sweating, her heart racing, and her senses muddled. It was a bad dream, not a dream that Riva sent it was one her own subconscious did. That tended to happen to her, with good dreams and the ones that were messages came bad ones. Times in her life that she had been communicated to through puzzle-like dreams always came with the price of nightmares. It was when she had no control over her thoughts when they took advantage of her most and manifested themselves into ugly scenes from her deepest fears. That night, she had dreamt about waiting at their rendezvous point for the other ship. They waited for cycles, she stood on the dock and waited but they never came. She weathered storms and never moved but no one ever came.

She woke up to Cooker shaking her awake and it took Theo a few moments to get herself oriented. Without having to say anything, Cooker climbed out of bed and Theo followed. It was getting warmer the further south they went and they were finally in a place where coats were not needed. They just walked out of the room and made for the back of the ship. On their long suns at sea, one of the crew had suggested something they now called a relaxation raft. Tied to the back of the ship was a raft they had made with a rope ladder leading down to it. They followed that ladder down and Theo sat on the wood under her.

It was a laborious process to untie it and let it drift behind the boat because they would eventually have to pull themselves back in but Cooker untied the rope anyway, not waiting for instructions to do so. Theo watched the ship fall farther and farther ahead until the line was taut before laying back on the raft and looked up at the sky. It was only about an hour until sunrise and Theo could see the dark beginning to lighten. Every time she blinked, it became harder to keep her eyes open and she felt herself drifting off again. The breeze felt nice against her sweaty skin and she was tempted to just fall asleep there.

"Have you been introduced to the new girls?" Cooker shattered the fragile thread of sleep Theo was chasing.

"I have been interacting with all the people we rescued," Theo responded, "as you should also be doing."

"Save it," Cooker chuckled.

"Have you spoken to any of them?" Theo pushed, knowing it would annoy Cooker, "a single one."

"Aye, I talked to the new ones" Cooker shoved Theo who cracked an eye open, "that's why I'm asking if you have. They seem nice."

"Thank you for the thorough assessment, Cook" Theo chuckled and closed her eyes again. It had been around four suns since they had arrived at the port of Panuth, just to see it burning. They had done what they could do to save some of the townspeople but there was already widespread destruction by the time they arrived. They had taken on around 40 survivors, with six of them staying behind to join the crew, "Was that all?"

"Aye, just trying to make conversation," Cooker huffed at the lack of attention she was getting and laid down next to Theo.

"Sometimes," Theo said with a long pause, "it is okay to be silent."

"Fine," Cooker purposely laid slightly on top of Theo, "be rude to your right hand who has been there for you this whole time."

Cooker wasn't wrong. They had been inseparable, most of their free time was spent in each other's company. But that didn't mean she had to be nice to Cooker as a thank you for the company. Cooker would stay around regardless so she wasn't incentivized to be nice. Theo decided not to answer Cooker and set the example of silence. For a while, her example worked and Cooker was able to stay quiet but of course, it was only a matter of time before the conversation was started again. Predictably, what came out of Cooker's mouth was unpredictable.

"Is Riva hot?" Cooker asked.

"What?" Theo laughed and sat up, looking over at Cooker.

"Is Riva hot?" Cooker repeated, with a chuckle of her own as she sat up.

"I've described her multiple times," Theo was at a loss for words, she threw her hands up, "make your own deductions."

"I know you've told me what she looks like," Cooker shrugged "But is she hot?"

Theo shook her head and laid back down, with a somewhat exasperated sigh, "Cooker, that's sacrilegious."

"Theo, I am asking a very important question. It is crucial for me to know," Cooker pleaded with her, Theo felt Cooker hover over Theo, staring down at her, "Rarely anyone gets to see their god and I know someone who does. Can you fault me for asking? Please, just tell me if she is attractive."

Theo laughed then hit her head against the raft, disappointed at herself for laughing and Cooker's antics and giving in, "Aye, I suppose from an objective standpoint, she is attractive."

"Nice," Cooker chuckled and paused for a second, giving Theo a false sense of quiet before she asked, "How hot though?"

"Cook!"

"Very?"

"Shut up," Theo said firmly but another laugh bubbled in her throat, giving her away.

"You already committed blasphemy, you might as well answer my question," Cooker tried convincing Theo, a sweet cadence to her voice, "how hot is she, exactly? On a scale."

"She's not hot!" Theo let out a frustrated grunt, "she's beautiful. Very ethereal."

"Damn no wonder you've been spending so much time with her," Cooker teased.

"I am devoted to her and I am her servant," Theo was letting Cooker push her buttons by giving into the dumb conversations she led them down, "that's why I spend so much time with her."

"Well, shit's been easy this far. We seem protected, so keep doing what you're doing."

"That is what I was planning on," Theo rolled her eyes, "I always wonder why I let you drink and smoke so much and then I remember it's because you are so much less annoying that way."

"Which reminds me," Cooker plopped down on the raft, making some water splash over them, "I'm going to tell Xyra you were enabling me."

"I have nothing to do with your excessive drug usage," Theo scoffed, "in fact, Tuni and I have brought it up many times to you. You started this journey with a moderate intake and you're back up to what it normally is. Actually, it's even worse now and you just blow me off.."

"You've been blown off because your arguments are lazy and not well constructed," Cooker said pointedly, "my duties aren't slipping so why is it bad? I have yet to hear an argument that is convincing enough to make me stop."

Theo sat up once again and looked at Cooker, about to dive into her many reasons to cut back on her substance usage but it wasn't worth it. It was too early. Instead, she just reached out and flicked Cooker's forehead. Theo was going to wait to address the topic once she had backup from Xyra. Cooker was safe for the time being. With the end of the conversation, Cooker had run out of things to say. They watched the sunrise on the relaxation raft, it was a good way to start her morning. As she took a deep breath and centered herself, taking a moment to motivate herself to get back to the ship and start on her to do list, there was a call from the crow's nest.

Ship on the horizon!

Cooker and Theo looked at each other and scrambled to their knees to start pulling themselves back to this ship. Theo was the first one up the ladder, hopping onto the deck and running over to the helm.

"Can we make anything out?" Theo asked and took the looking glass from someone who was offering it.

"Nay," one of the sailors, Juls, informed her, "they're too far out to see their colors."

"Let's waste no time, sails at full mast," Theo instructed and took control of the wheel. It was looking like their peaceful morning would be spent outrunning their friends on the horizon. Theo's wall was going up, her routine had been broken and now the time had come to fight.

They were advancing fairly quickly but as the hours passed, the other ship came closer and closer. It could have just been another ship passing by but as Theo changed their trajectory, so did the others. It was clear that the Scorned Woman was now in a chase. The other ship was smaller than theirs, way smaller, and in exchange was able to gain on Theo. Blasted big ships, they weren't useful for everything.

"We can see their colors!" the girl atop the crow's nest called out after several hours of being tailed.

Theo handed off the wheel to Juls and took the looking glass back to see what could be made out. There were two flags waving in the air, a white one signaling their intention to come in peace and one she had never seen before. It didn't look like it was a part of any merchant guild or roamer family and no traders she knew used the colors on that ship. A large blue flag with a yellow X spanning the length of the fabric. Theo pulled the looking glass away from her eyes with a scrunch of confusion set in her brows. She handed it to Cooker.

"See if you know who they are," Theo said and Cooker did as she was asked.

It was a few minutes before Cooker pulled the looking glass away from her own gaze, "I think we should let them board us."

Theo raised an eyebrow, "Are you crazy? Are you forgetting the last white flag we stopped for?"

They had almost all died because of a surprise attack from some merchants. She was not going to let herself fall into yet another trap. Cooker shook her head and handed back the looking glass.

"Sab is on their deck," Cooker said, her face a bit more pale than usual.

"Sabine?" Theo took the looking glass back with a frown and pointed it back over to the other ship's deck. It took a few minutes but she located the girl. Surely, it was none other than Sabine.

She was never on their crew but spent many cycles at sea with them over the lengths. Sabine was a traveler, never staying in one place for long. She was obsessed with knowledge and information and had taken it upon herself to find forgotten books and bring them to people who ensured their safety. Sabine had accomplished a lot in her time traveling and had brought back long-lost historical and theoretical books. She, and others like her, could be argued to be a part of the reason that rebellion and revolution were on everyone's mind. The books being discovered had led to a resurgence in scholarship revolving around theories of power and how to dismantle it.

Theo watched as the dark-skinned woman paced the deck, small curls where once you could see scalp. Her arms and neck were covered in tattoos, and her signature style was present in her clothing. There was no question that Sabine was on board with them, the question was now who was she with and why?

"Let's let them board," Cooker repeated herself and Theo shook her head.

"Use your head, Cook, not your emotions," Theo reprimanded, "the easiest way to get to us is by using people we are close to. She could be on that ship as a trap."

Cooker and Sabine had a history. Both had a love of tattoos, readings, and theory which meant that they naturally gravitated towards each other whenever Sabine had traveled with them.

"I am using my head," Cooker frowned, "last I heard, she had been hopping around trying to find a group that she could run with that was looking for a fight with The Center."

"And you never thought to mention it?"

"I didn't think she would be successful. I assumed it was a wild dream she had," Cooker defended herself, "no way did I think she would actually find herself a band of rebels."

"Maybe she hasn't," Theo finally put the looking glass away.

"I have a feeling that this is a friendly ship, Theo," Cooker said and stepped in front of Theo, placing both hands on her shoulders, "trust me?"

Theo took a deep breath and then let it out with a sigh, "Fine. I will allow them on my ship. But the vanguard will be ready and we will prepare for a fight."

"I'm not asking for us to not do that," Cooker conceded, "I will get the vanguard ready."

"Aye, go do that," Theo waved Cooker off and waited until she was off the helm before she put her fingers to her lips and whistled to grab the sailor's attention. They were about to take a gamble. One she wouldn't like, either way it went. An organized rebellion showing up on her figurative doorstep was not good. There were a thousand other things she was worried about at the moment, an uprising against Baethos was the last thing she needed. Not then, not when her own kind was under attack. Theo watched as their ship got closer and she sent out a prayer to Riva to make sure they were kept safe.