"Come on, come on, have a drink, my dear short-tempered friend. Look, handsome Murphy's already raised his glass to you. He's a governor appointed by the kings of two countries, you know. In Chardo Port, that'd be enough to earn him special treatment from those damn Steam Lords.
"The warriors under his command are fierce. They've already made a name for themselves at Blackflame Pass.
"I'm telling you, shorty, don't go looking for trouble!"
In the first-class dining room of the Lucky, Claire, the tipsy first mate, was trying to get everyone to drink.
The scantily clad woman was practically draped over Murphy, just short of sitting in the governor's lap. Her enthusiasm was more than he could handle, but damn it, Captain Babro saw his first mate pressed up against another man and merely kept drinking with a grin. He didn't interfere at all.
Hey, were all you pirates this wild?
Still, Murphy couldn't push Claire away, because the Bloodfear first mate was speaking up for him.
At her invitation, Captain Paula, sitting across from Murphy, reluctantly picked up a special glass with her cool mechanical hand. She gave Murphy a light toast, then drained her drink.
For men and women who braved the wind and waves, that meant their old grievances were settled.
Of course, her grudge against Transia wasn't really Murphy's fault to begin with. It was Salokdar, that old bastard, who'd kidnapped her back then and wrecked her ship. But it was too late to get revenge now.
The governor knew, though, that Paula's resentment hadn't faded. She simply didn't want this to sour her relationship with the Bloodfear Fleet. With Captain Babro and First Mate Claire clearly on Murphy's side, Paula didn't have many options. At the very least, she had to save face.
Murphy