Sighing, Sterling was glad for Gate's distraction. It meant he got to avoid another question about his life. As Gate murmured to herself about the tools, Sterling took a long look at her. He flicked his glasses down onto his nose and studied the girl again. Realization struck him that this person was not actually... a person.

He squealed inwardly at the personal discovery of non-organic lifeforms and made a mental note to write this down later. His eyes lit up even more as he noticed the similarities in technology she had muttered about. Very interesting.

Sterling followed the group in silence as the captain lead the group to the strange room and introduced them to another woman. The two chatted amongst themselves, giving the group periodic stares interrupted by public promises of food. He didn't miss the way the women stared at the men of their group, nor did he miss the way their eyes grazed over their bodies as if assessing physical fitness. It vaguely reminded him of the way breeders checked horses before buying them. He broke out of his thought as Noah asked him a question.

"Ah, unfortunately no, I don't know how to make your items work. The south-west key doesn't possess that kind of power so it was never a concern of mine." He gave a smile of apology, and then hearing Noah's stomach growl, smiled a bit more.

"I'd be careful of anything they give you," he said. "There's something not right about the way they've been eying us. If I were you, I'd be more worried for the chastity of our lady friends." He winked at Elise and Gate jokingly before wiping all traces of humor from his features. "But on a serious note, we should find a way to leave this place. Nothing about it sits right with me."

Sterling looked between Gate and Wil thoughtfully. "You're an engineer?" he asked Wil. "And you found tools," he stated, gesturing to the box Gate carried. "This can't have been a coincidence... or if it was, we should be grateful for it. Is there anything you can do with what we have here?"

Gate fidgeted uneasily while "Balsa" assaulted them with her eyes. Even though she didn't spend much time actually looking at her, Gate still got a weird feeling. This vibe just wasn't right, gave her chills...everything weird gives her chills. She hadn't been paying attention to what anyone was saying really, for some reason she couldn't get it out of her head how strange this whole thing was... These tools were all she needed to fix herself and then some, not to mention everything in the bridge, even the systems they used looked familiar, but the people piloting it did not look anything like what she was used to. Somewhat against her normal line of thought, she decided to play this situation safely... There were no others like her here. She looked human, there was no reason for anyone to think otherwise...yet.

For some reason everyone started moving towards the sitting area, Gate followed them but still seemed to be lost in thought until Noah dropped into a seat and started talking about food. Zoning back into what was at hand, Sterling winked at her. Blushing, she managed to pick up "And you found tools."

"Umm...yea, these tools look like the kind I used to use, I actually need some of them... Anyway," she began, sticking a few of the tools into a side pocket,
"What exactly did you have in mind...Wil? I have a few...but nothing that I'd want to try here," motioning with her head towards the captain and her cohort.

Elise watched Gate digging through the toolbox, choosing certain objects after observing them carefullly. She knew what these things were, and that was something. Maybe Gate would be the key to getting out of this mess. Because oh, they were in a mess. The group had managed to inadvertently shift themselves away from the captain and her first mate, which was for the better, because as soon as they were out of earshot Elise broke her fast of silence and began to talk in a low whisper, glaring at Noah and Sterling.

“Chastity? Because you lot are capable of being body guards, I'm sure,” she said to Sterling. “We aren't finished with you yet, anyway. Since you seem to be pretty familiar with this 'multi-dimensional' thing I suggest you be the lead for awhile. In the meantime, we need to get out of here. Between Wil and Gate we may be able to. But for the love of your life, don't eat the food,” she looked at Noah as she said it. “If we find the kitchen later, I can cook something. I've read a fair about what's edible and what isn't and if they have a stash of anything we'll manage.”

Wil picked through the toolbox, an exasperated look on his face. "Aren't you an engineer?" "Can't you make something?" What was next--"Faster!"
Being put on the spot like this, everyone barking orders at him at once... and now--
William spotted the way that the captain had been looking at him. He sighed and kept digging.
"Carburetter, berings, fuel tank and lines, propeller, spark plugs..." he muttered a lot of the words, most of them were too quiet for anyone to notice. After a moment to think and inspect things, he turned toward the others.
"...I can make a motor out of what's here, one maybe even powerful enough to move a small boat, but without any fuel or the vessel itself, we are not going anywhere."

"0h, mASteR, mAsTEr! I sAw SeVEraL bArReLs of FuEL nEAr tHe pLaCE whEre We eNtERed--"
William grabbed Echo out of the air and placed him in his pack at his hip. He glanced at the captain. She seemed to be alerted by the noise, but quickly dismissed any possibility of the group planning to escape. "Stand by mode," Wil whispered through his teeth. Echo immediately obeyed.

"Ahh," the captain sighed with a bit of relief as a person of short stature entered the room pushing a cart of food hidden beneath silver platters. "The food is finally 'ere. Everyone, make yourselves comfortable, please, please." She pulled back a chair and motioned for Elise to sit down. "I'm sure you are all hungry, ain't ya? Eat up while it's hot!" Her smile was ridiculously wide, her white teeth sparkling in the candlelight. Wil had heard Elise's warning earlier, but his empty stomach was begging him to do otherwise...

With a tentative glance, Sterling inched away from the plate set down in front of him. He gave the captain a glowing grin before reaching into his bag.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, ma'am, but I've got myself something to eat right here. It looks delicious, really, but my dear little sister sick with colic made this for me and I just can't seem to ignore her food." With that, he pulled out a large sandwich and a bottle of his favourite wine. He looked between the captain and his sandwich before taking a large bite. As he finished his bite he gasped dramatically.

"Oh! Well, would you just look at the time?" Sterling flicked open Noah's pocket watch before handing it back to the stunned boy. How Noah read that thing was beyond him. "Me and my friends here just really aught to be going." He froze, remembering that they were essentially trapped. He mentally slapped his forehead. "Yeah. Going, um. To the bathroom."

"Together?" The captain asked with a raised eyebrow. Sterling blindly grabbed the wrists of the two people nearest to him and stood, dragging them along with him and motioning for the rest to follow.

"We're, er, really good friends?" he said. He backed away quickly, not taking his eyes off the woman but with the feel of cold metal against the back of his neck he froze. The cocking of guns turned his blood cold and he fixed an even gaze back on the captain.

"I'm afraid you can't do that," she said with a frown, holding a gun to his front. "And I don't care what ridiculous food you pull out of that bag, our cook went through a lot of effort to make you this meal, so sit down and eat," she gestured to the chair with her weapon, and the gun at the back of his head forced him to move forward. He let go of the wrists he was holding and scowled.

As Sterling sat back down in the chair, he looked around him and noticed the rather unusual amount of crew members all pointing guns at him. He furrowed his brow and stared at the meal. It wasn't logical; no matter how many changes they made to this boat, he knew this technology couldn't hide this many people. If they had all been on board when he and the rest of the group came in from the strange door, they would have run into someone. They would have.

But, he frowned deeper, that could only mean that they had boarded the vessel after they had already left. And that meant that there must be other boats nearby or behind this one. If Wil and Gate could sabotage this one, they may have a chance at escaping.

He shot a glance to the other group members. "Well, Team Awesome, anyone have any idea how to get us out of this?"


((OOC: o.O Long time, no post??))

If it wasn't for the situation, Noah would have laughed. "team awesome" was what he had absent-mindedly been thinking of calling the lot of them. Maybe he and Sterling weren't as different as he had previously thought.
He looked around at all the crew members pointing guns at them, there were more than ten of them now. The ship was big, and the captain could have been lying about the crew members but it didn't seem right.

"Well. I would have liked to have avoided all this mess," The captain said pointing her gun in both Noah and Sterling's general direction, "But if you don't eat the food it's going to get messier," she motioned to a crew member near Elise, and before the others could do anything the burly man wrapped his arm around her neck, painfully drawing her away from her seat and the group, he then pointed a gun at her temple, letting the cold metal push her head to the side. "No one has to get hurt if you just do as we say," the captain continued. Balsa came to stand next to her.

"I'd comply with the captain's wishes if I were you. She has a habit of trying to prove a point," Balsa said with no emotion, the smallest hint of a smile on her lips let them know that she was serious.

Noah looked at Elise helplessly, he wanted to do something, anything, but he didn't want her to be hurt. He turned to the Captain and Balsa, glaring. "You bastards play real dirty you know that? You've got us outnumbered and you still take a hostage!?" The captain smirked, took a step forward and smashed Noah across the face with her pistol, she had done it so hard that he slammed his head into the console next to him afterwards from the force. His vision was scrambled for a few seconds and he pushed off of the console to straighten himself, his left temple and right cheek throbbing with pain, a small trickle of blood trailed from his forehead and mouth. He wiped the blood away from his mouth with his hand and turned back to the captain, but she didn't seem to be paying attention to him and was looking towards the rest of the group.

"I believe I've made my point. Next time it'll be one of your women. Now. Eat." She said as the burly man holding Elise tightened his grip, forcing the breath from her. "I'd say she has a few seconds before she passes out, and a few minutes before she's dead, so eat fast."

Noah looked to Elise, panic forming in his eyes as he watched her struggle for breath. As much as he didn't want to there seemed to be no other options. He looked down to the plate near him with the silver cover. He reached over and removed the cover, grasping the tiny silver handle to reveal what looked like a decent meal, mashed potatoes, and meat that looked like turkey, both had gravy, the vapors of heat coming off of the food told you it was fresh, and the smell just added to it. Infact, the food smelled delicious. It didn't look like something you should be forced at gunpoint to eat. He looked to the side of the plate, a fork was sitting by it, for a split second he thought of using it as a weapon, but the captain seemed to know what he was thinking and made a disapproving noise.

"Nuh-uh friend, I wouldn't do that," she said as she pulled back the hammer on her pistol. Noah clenched his hands into fists. He took one last look at Sterling, Wil, Gate, and Elise, "Heh... Don't worry, we'll figure it out somehow," he said with confidence that surprised him a little. He then took the fork in his hand and scooped some of the mashed potato onto it. He stared at it for a few seconds, then ate it. As soon as he swallowed it he felt a wave of drowsiness start to overtake him. It wasn't poison in the food, but some sort of sleeping drug. Soon he couldn't keep his eyes open, and then everything went black.


((OOC: hopefully I'm not moving things too far along here, but I figured we needed some direction since we haven't touched this place for awhile... eheh...))

((OOC: No problems here. I'm just going to say that I assume everyone else was forced to eat and fall asleep also, ok? Now I'm the one pushing people into doing things...))

When Wil awoke his head was throbbing. His hands were burning at the wrists for the rope that bound them was too tight. Sounds of sea gulls and the ocean waves lapping the shore echoed in his head as the sunlight blinded him. He quickly shielded his eyes while they adjusted and rose to his feet, the back of his head promptly met with the top of a wooden cage. He reached for the bars as if to test the soundness of his new confinement. It was held together with thick rope. If he had something--anything sharp, he just might have been able to get out. But he had nothing. Even his pouch that once held Echo was gone. He looked for it and gasped quietly when he noticed its absence.

"Awake already, are ye?" The captain said as she approached the cages by the shore. Within every cage, two or three people were held. There wasn't room inside each for more than that. As she came closer, the large man from before came also. She stopped five feet away from the cages, placed her hands on her hips and let out a loud, triumphant laugh. Wil was a little annoyed by her confidence.

"Where are we? What do you plan to do...?"

She took a crisp bow, seemingly ignoring his questions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Cassida Island! I told ye I'd take ye to the nearest shore, and I am a woman of my word! This be the only dry land around fer hundreds o' miles, and it be MY island, Mates! Hope ye like it because yer gonna be workin' 'ere the rest of yer worthless, miserable lives!"

Wil was amazed that she was able to maintain a smile the entire time she spoke. The large man approached the cage with Wil and two others and opened it slowly, moving one person out at a time, he tied a rope to each to keep everyone together. The captain procured a shovel out of seemingly nowhere.

"What exactly do you mean by all of that?" Wil asked her as he was tied to whoever was behind him.

"This island be full of treasure left by the Angulfs, the ancient race o' natives that used to live here. Since they left, I've been tryin' to dig up all their riches, but, because there is so much and this island be so big, I had to--" she paused to wink at Wil, "...Get a few 'volunteers.'"

"You mean slaves," Wil corrected her.

"Aw, now come on! Ye don't hafta put it like that. It's a lot easier to think of it as a partnership." She laughed again. By this time, the big man had everyone tied together and pushed the last forward to urge them to move onward. The captain lead them into the jungle, waving the shovel in the air like some lunatic. Wil had no choice but to walk for now...