[h3]James E. Carter[/h3]
[hr]
Carter’s eyes lingered a moment longer on the empty hallways at the edge of the room, neither Arkadios nor Volodar could be seen. That knotted something in his gut. Those two were sharp men, the sort who didn’t waste steps and both had a habit of watching him like they were waiting for him to slip. Maybe it was the gold, maybe it was the fact he wasn’t one of their soldiers, but he could feel it, the distance and distrust.

Part of him itched to go find them and hopefully clear the air before it curdled into something worse. After all he’d done to keep this floating heap in the sky and the gold out of Communalist hands, he wasn’t about to let some silent grudge fester and tear the crew apart from the inside.

But just as he made to leave, a voice like silk cut through the music.

[quote=@Dyelli Beybi]
<Snipped quote by Terrans>

[h2]Zoe[/h2]

"Mister Carter," she said by way of introduction.  There was the not-so-subtly implication she was hoping he would ask her for the next dance.
[/quote]

He paused, jaw tightening a fraction. [i]Of course.[/i] The woman who’d brought them all into this affair in the first place weaving soldiers, smugglers and half a dozen other kinds of trouble into her grand little venture. He’d seen her working the room all night, light on her feet and heavy on charm. Whatever her game was, she was good at it.

For a heartbeat he thought about brushing her off, slipping away to hunt the two missing officers before they could scheme up something quiet. But he caught the glint in her eyes of playfulness and a certain expectation. He exhaled, shoulders loosening just enough.

“Miss Zoe,” he greeted with a similar tone to hers. 

“Seems tonight’s a night for swapping partners. Fair warnin’, though my last dance ended in philosophy so forgive me if I step a bit more carefully.”