A Clever Ploy

Oliver nodded solemnly as Riley finished whispering into his ear.

“That sounds lovely, ma’am,” He said, flashing her an easy smile, “I’ll see you later, then.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” The navigator said, strutting to the other end of the room before turning back. “But for now,” She continued, raising her voice, “I’m going to get some reading done in the rear hold. Nobody should need me for a few hours, and I could use some peace and quiet.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Oliver half-yelled back, “I won’t disturb you.”

Nodding, Riley made her exit, walking slowly and purposely towards the rear of the ship. The rear hold was usually used for storing trade cargo, which meant that it was almost entirely empty at the moment. If someone was looking for a place to get away from the crew for a minute, the rear hold was a good option. Of course, Riley has her own private cabin, which would offer actual privacy if she wanted it, but then, that wasn’t what she was actually after.

Riley stood patiently in the middle of the hold, turned away from the door, and made a show of shuffling her stack of papers and pretending to be quite interested in them. She didn’t have to wait for very long, though, until a small hand quickly covered her mouth and something sharp prodded her in the back.

“Scream and I’ll gut you,” A feminine voice whispered, “Not too smart to wander around alone when you- Ow!”

The knife at Riley’s back clattered to the ground, and the hand fell away from her mouth. Sighing in disappointment, she turned around to find Oliver holding up the would-be-assassin at swordpoint.

“I was worried that you were being a bit too obvious,” Oliver said, “But clearly our little stowaway here isn’t very experienced.”

The stowaway in question was a young girl, perhaps 19 or 20, with short hair, grubby clothes, and a bloodied wrist from where Oliver disarmed her. “Street urchin,” Riley guessed, giving her a once-over, “Probably saw that we were undercrewed and figured she could catch a free ride. Toss her overboard.”

“Hey!” The girl angrily took a step towards Riley before Oliver bopped her on the head with his sword, causing her to flinch and step back, “We’re too far out at sea! If you toss me overboard, I’ll die!”

Riley blinked. “Yes,” She said, “That’s the idea.”

“O-oh.” The stowaways shoulders dropped, and the angry defiance faded from her features, “Um, I’m sorry for sneaking onto your ship. Please don’t kill me?”

Oliver chuckled, “I kind of like her.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “If you want to **** the girl before tossing her over, I won’t stop you. ”

The young man and the girl both coughed in surprise, “No, I meant we should keep her on as crew. She’s obviously pretty green, but we could use another pirate.”

The young girl’s eyes lit up at this, “I can fight and climb and steal things and-” Riley covered the young woman’s mouth to shut her up, then turned to Oliver.

“Look, Oliver, if you want to keep her, take it up with the captain. But I don’t trust her, so she sleeps in the brig or with the fishes tonight.”

“Fine by me,” Oliver said, before turning to the girl, “Hey, you have a name?”

“My name is Miri!” She exclaimed, prying Riley’s hand away from her mouth.

“Ugh,” Riley groaned, stalking past the younger woman and leading her up to the Captain, “Now it has a name.”