After finishing his talk with the boy and elderly woman, the Marine with the eye patch looked around, and smiled. Things were going as well as could be expected, by the way he saw it, the preparations were at least a few hours ahead of schedule. To celebrate the man took in a long pull of his cigar. The cherry at the end burned brightly as it made its way down to the nub. "Enough of that." The man said to nobody in particular before flicking the still smoldering remains of his cigar aside. "Time to get back to work." The man took a moment to examine his surroundings, hoping to zero in on a marine slacking or not going as fast as he liked. There weren't any nearby. This was a shame as the marine wasn't one who enjoyed down time. "Damn." He muttered, rubbing some of the stubble on his chin. "Everything's going a bit too well." His frown deepened. Nothing ever moved so easily unless it was build up for something big. "No." The marine shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with nothing wrong." The words made sense but he couldn't bring himself to believe them for a second. "A stroll will do something good. No doubt I'll find someone slacking it. There's always someone slacking it." Faking a smile he turned and headed down a street that led to the docks. If there really wasn't anyone not giving the work in front of them a hundred percent, at least some time looking out into the ocean would calm his nerves. Maybe he'd even be around to personally greet the hire ups on arrival. He was doubtful, but stranger things had happened. **** "That bastard!" The elderly woman said, watching the marine with the eye patch walk away. "I say we kill him first." "Now. Now. Magrat," the boy said, suddenly sounding much older than his tiny body would indicate. There was a gravel to his words that shouldn't exist in his voice for another sixty years. "Don't get your knickers in a knot. We'll get him, and even if we don't get him specifically, it'll be just as good." The elderly woman shook her head. "He's just so smug! He looked at me as if I was an old crone!" "There. There!" Nerdie said, putting his hand on the old woman's shoulder, before he started sliding it down her back. "Not now." The woman hissed, slapping his hand away and forcing herself up as straight as her bent back would allow. "There's too many marines around and I don't like the look people give me in public." The boy sighed. "Well I guess we've figured out all we need to anyways. It doesn't look like they're waiting for us at all. This really does seem like its just a big ego-stroke for the world government. Might as well head back." The woman nodded. "Yeah. Come on." Chewing on her lip she started moving way. "Wait. Maama!" The boy shouted, sounding suddenly ten years old again. "Don't leave me. We need to hold hands so we won't get lost, remember." A glower was all the elderly woman could manage before she snatched the boy's hand and started pulling him along besides her. "Lousy. Rotten." There would've been more but the sounds were quickly replaced by a consistent grinding sound as upper teeth, and lower teeth, rubbed it out. ----------------- "I say it isn't!" A marine with a rifle on his back and goggles over his eyes mouthed, pointed at the new ship on the dock. "Look at it! There's no way that's not a marine ship." "Man." A second marine with hair down to her lower back, and a sword sheath at her side, bit her lip to repress a laugh. "That's not a marine ship. Look at its colors! " "No. It has to be. I swear I've seen that very ship at one of the bases. Come on. I'll prove it." Without waiting for the man's partner to respond he started walking down the dock towards the newly arrived ship. "Hey wait." The woman snapped. "You're going to get in trouble again." Frowning, she looked around to see if any pair of eyes was paying particular attention to the two of them. When she didn't see any, she grit her teeth and hurried after the man. "God damn it, Pill. We're supposed to stay right over there. "