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The shuttle ride over to the Sanguine Dream was one of the most awkward rides Ruby had ever experienced. The silence was palpable the entire journey, with both Ciel and Ilia doing their best not to look at each other. Ruby had never been happier to dock with her ship, hastily retreating to her command centre as Ilia was shown to her new quarters. Taking her seat, she ran her hand over her face as she let out a deep sigh. Closing her eyes, she leaned back and listened to the ever-present thrum of electronics, the life blood of her ship, and considered everything that had happened the last few hours. They had new targets to help with her side project, and picked up a new crew member who was most likely sent to spy on them. A small smile danced across her face at that thought. Oh, she was certain that Ilia's brief display of hatred towards the Schnee name was all too real, everyone knew what Jacques thought of the Faunus. But she also knew that Winter Schnee was a fair woman to her crew, and that she had never had someone desert before. Which meant that Ilia was more likely than not sent here to spy on the pirates operating out of the Valen Expanse, and had been lucky enough to get onto the crew of one of the most wanted pirate ships.

Ruby wasn't worried in the slightest. Ilia wouldn't be the first spy to attempt to infiltrate her crew, and thus far all of them had been converted to work with her. She heard the door open, opening her eyes to spy Ciel walking in with her data-slate, going over the information Mell had retrieved for them. She looked up briefly, raising a brow towards her captain. "What has you smiling so conspiratorially, Ma'am?"

"I'm just thinking about our newest family member, and how long it will take her to abandon her mission and join us properly."

"You think she is here to spy on us, and you still let her board?"

"Ciel, Ciel, Ciel." Ruby tutted, shaking her head with a laugh as she steepled her fingers together, her signature smile spread across her face. "Of course she's here to spy on us. She was onboard The Nevermore ." She paused at Ciel's sharp intake, noting her widening eyes, and quickly waved off the concern. "I'm not concerned. I've got a pretty good track record of stealing operatives and assets from Atlas."

"You said the same thing about Cinder..."

Ruby's smile instantly vanished, turning into a scowl at the mention of Cinder, before she coughed into her fist, smoothing her features. "Cinder doesn't count. She was a triple agent working for a different organisation, not Atlas."

"If you say so, Ma'am." Ciel sighed, looking back to her data-slate, before letting out a small hum. "Regardless, I think I found our next target." She tapped the screen, causing a holo-projector to turn on and show the schematics, flight log, and inventory list of several ships. "There's quite a few freighters and Atlas ships nearby that could work brilliantly for us, but focusing on just your objective, these three are our most likely." A few more taps, and the information shifted until just three ships were shown. "Freighter XJ-53 is lightly defended, but travelling a generally more secure route. We could take it quickly, but would have very little time to search on board for anything of value before the Atlas Military was all over us. The research vessel Icarus is better defended, but it is also operating at a black site. It would be a hard fight, but if we strike fast enough they would not be able to call for help, and we could take our time. But I must stress, it Will be a hard fight." A few more taps, and the schematics for both ships were highlighted, listing their capabilities.

Ruby nodded as she absorbed the information, leaning forward in her seat as silver eyes quickly scanned over the displayed projection. "Hmm. The Icarus is probably the better target. I see it's being funded by Councillor Schnee, so that makes it extra enticing, ruining whatever illicit research he's up to. What's the third option, though?"

Ciel let out a small sigh, tapping her data-slate once more to bring up the third option. The ship was much larger than the other two, packed with deadlier armaments as well as a small convoy of cruisers. " The Void Star . Military trading ship hailing from one of the core worlds of the Empire. By far our highest risk, highest reward target. I would normally write it off as foolhardy but..." She paused as the inventory was highlighted. "It alone would provide you with nearly all the parts needed, as well as help fund future endeavours if we brought it back to Beacon. I would recommend going to Beacon first, and seeing if anyone would be willing to assist us." Ciel looked away from the screen and back to her captain, and immediately sighed at the glee shining in those silver eyes. "Very well, Ma'am. Once the deck crew have arrived, I'll chart a course for Beacon."

"I didn't say anything yet!"

"You did not need to." Ciel turned off the holo-projector, focusing in on her Data-slate again and sending out several messages to crew members not yet on active duty. "The rest of our away team should be returning shortly."

"Thanks, Ciel, you're the best." Ruby stood, quickly giving her right hand woman a hug, before exiting the command centre. "Don't wait for me to return to the bridge before leaving. I'm going to go to my quarters, maybe visit Ilia and see how she's settling in."

“Ruby.” Ruby stopped at hearing her name come from Ciel’s lips, as it happened so rarely. She turned back to look at the other woman, head tilted slightly in silent question. “Are you sure about this? With Ilia. I know you’re confident but… Ilia Amitola was one of the best operatives in the Academy. There’s a reason she was assigned to Winter Schnee of all people.”

Ruby gave a small smile, shrugging slightly. “I’m confident she’ll come to see things from our perspective, especially with you on board. But if worse comes to worse, we can just ship her back to The Nevermore in an escape pod.”

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Ilia set her bag down on the bed, looking around her quarters with furrowed brows. The room itself was sparse, empty of anything that made it feel warm or lived in, but what shocked the Faunus the most was the size. She was a newcomer to the ship, and had expected to be treated like that, forced to share bunks with pirates, criminals, and all sorts of ne'er-do-wells that called the Sanguine Dream home. Instead she had been greeted with warm smiles and shown to a private room, which itself was divided into two further rooms, the actual bedroom and a bathroom with a functioning shower. It reminded her of her quarters back on The Nevermore , but that had required years of work and promotions to acquire, not just given to her on the first day.

Opening her bag, she took out the few personal effects she had brought with her, placing them around the bedroom to make it feel a little more like home. She hadn’t brought much beyond her clothes, and the framed picture she handled with care as she retrieved it from her bag. Once more her features softened looking at her younger self and friend, running her hand along the bottom of the frame. The smile turned into a small frown as she looked around once more. “I wonder if they’re trying to butter me up…or if they just treat everyone this way.” She looked back to the photo, raising a brow in expectation. “Well, Blake? What do you think?”

“I think you’re too suspicious for your own good, Ilia. Not everyone is out to hurt us.” She did her best impression of a young Blake, bobbing the picture in the air as if it was talking to her. She paused for a moment after, before chuckling to herself with a shake of her head, putting the frame down on the side table. “Yeah, look how well that worked out for us. First Him” Her blood boiled at even remembering a certain red haired faunus, scales turning crimson before her blood cooled with a slow exhale. “And then you and your parents vanished.” Shaking her head, she left the bedroom to explore the rest of her new home.

She spent some time examining every potential place to hide a surveillance device, ensuring that no one was spying on her. It was only partly fueled by her training, and greatly fueled by her desire to make sure no one had seen her talking to a photo like it was a person. Once satisfied her room wasn’t bugged, she poured herself a drink of water from the kitchen sink. Lifting it to her nose, she sniffed it experimentally, before taking a small sip, letting the liquid sit on her tongue before swallowing. She waited a moment, ensuring that her water wasn’t somehow tampered with, before nodding and taking a deeper drink, draining the glass in a matter of moments. As she refilled it, she once again turned around to look at the room, leaning against the counter as she took more conservative sips. “What the hell do I do now…” She blanched as she realised she had no idea, before a nervous chuckle ran through her, raising a hand to her forehead in disbelief. “I’ve not even been given a role yet. Congrats Ilia, you got distracted by a pretty face... again."

Her silent bemoaning of her situation was cut short with a knock upon her door. Looking up, she felt a sudden sense of dread as she subconsciously reached for her weapon, finding the holster empty. Panic raced through her again as she looked around for her gun, finding it lying on her bed where she had placed it when looking for bugs. Shaking her head she attempted to look nonchalant as she called out, "Come in."

The door slid open, and Ruby walked into the room with a brilliant smile on her face. "Ah, Ilia! Just the cute ex-operative I wanted to see."

"C-cute!?" The sudden compliment caused Ilia's cheeks and freckles to turn red, before she picked up on the rest of the sentence. "I-I'm sorry. What did you need me for?"

Ruby spared a glance around the room, noting its current spartan state with a quiet hum and muttering to herself. "We'll have to pick you up some decor when we get to Beacon." Shaking her head clear of the thought, she then turned back to Ilia, the brilliant smile returning in full force. "Nothing particular for now, I just wanted to see how you were settling in. Is the room to your liking?"

Ilia took a moment to think, before nodding, chancing a small, shy smile. "Yes, Captain Rose. It's quite a lot nicer than some previous quarters I've been given."

"Please, Just Ruby is fine." She waved her hands, letting out an awkward chuckle. "I can't keep Ciel from calling me Ma'am all the time, but unless I'm giving orders no need to be so formal." Placing her hands on her hips, her smile changed to something almost conspiratorial. "And I can imagine, I've heard quite some nasty rumours about the quarters on Atlas ships." She paused, looking around the empty room as if making sure they were alone, before leaning towards Ilia and stage whispering. "Is it true that sometimes they shove 20 people into a single bedroom, without bunk beds?"

Ilia could only blink, taking a moment to process the absurdity of the question and the 'clandestine' way it was asked, before breaking out in a laugh. Her eyes closed as she bent nearly double as her shoulders shook, completely missing the triumphant flash that spread across Ruby's face, before standing tall again and wiping a tear from her eye. "Oh, no. It can sometimes be 30. Only the really fancy ships get bunk beds." She grinned, feeling herself grow at ease despite her mission on the ship.

"30? Damn, that's too many people for one bedroom. I try to ensure everyone aboard the Sanguine Dream has their own room. Except for the couples of course, they get to share." She nodded to herself, mind quickly getting distracted as she thought about the rest of her crew, before snapping her attention back to Ilia. "Ah, speaking of the crew, the rest of those who went ashore to the station should be aboard again soon. When they are, we'll be jumping into the expanse, stopping at one of our stations and picking up some other crews for a little job."

That information made Ilia focus again, brow raising as her lips pursed. "A job that requires extra crews? From what I heard the Crimson Rose usually works alone."

"Normally I do. Like I said, we're the fastest ship in the expanse, and we strike hard. But our target has some extra protection, so having assistance can't hurt. Besides, I'm hoping Big Sis will be able to help. Will make what I'm wanting to do much easier." She was mainly musing to herself with the comment of Big Sis, but upon seeing the questioning tilt of Ilia's head, she simply smiled again and waved her hand. "Oh, just a lil project I've been working on for someone on her ship. Got most of the parts, and this job should hopefully be the last of them."

"...you have a sister?" Ilia was dying to know about whatever this secret project was, but asking about Ruby's family seemed a safer option.

"Oh, right! That's not common knowledge! She's technically my cousin, but we're practically sisters with how we were raised." Ruby offered a small shrug. "I think you'll like her, she's much more outgoing than I am, very boisterous. Captains the New Dawn ." Ruby was turning to leave, missing the reeling look on Ilia's face as she heard the name of the other crew of pirates Winter had been sent out to hunt down. "But anyway, wanted to give you the heads up. When you're ready, join me on the bridge and we can introduce you to the main crew." She paused at the door, offering her goofy smile again. "Sorry to be throwing you into the deep end so soon after joining us, but a Pirate can't stop for long!"

Ilia stared at her door as it slid close, marking the departure of her new captain. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she walked back into the bedroom, picking up the framed photo of Blake once more. "Oh, Blake. We're really in it now."

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