One: Reassignment

The plump captain whirled back on his desk and shoved his coat to the side, shuffling the mess of papers underneath. "All right, let's see here..."

After several seconds, he put the team's dossiers back in order and nodded. "Hm. Melanie Songwood. Your first assignment, eh? Well, I knew your adopted brother. Chris was a good man around here. They transferred him gods know where, though. He hasn't exactly kept in touch." He flipped the page to the back of the pile and moved on.

"Meara Agnis. Hm. A legacy, eh? Well, doubtless your folks have high expectations for you. Do your job well, but keep yourself alive. I don't appreciate my people taking unnecessary risks. And Geoff Morrison." The captain paused and scrutinized the only man in the room beside himself. "Hm. You prefer a chain, I see. There's uses for those, but be careful not to break out any windows unnecessarily. Our insurance is bad enough. I think I knew a Morrison when I was younger...oh, here it is. Your dad, yeah, he's GBI. I knew him. He used to talk about ya.

He went on to the last two women in the room, frowning at the attractive halfling. "Saphira Oakstaff. Now whose porridge did I piss in to end up with you in my building? Just let me warn you now; you try to do here what you did in Acripole and you'll be parked at a desk so fast it'll make your head spin. And that just leaves you, Miss..." The captain froze, squinted, and then made a face. "Dendara? What's yer last name, honey?"

"My brother speaks well of you, sir!" Melanie says, unable to keep from smiling at the thought of him. "I'll tell of your words."

Mia couldn't avoid it, she straightened her back a bit more in pride and nodded silently at the mention of her father. She was proud of him, and she wanted him to be proud of her.

"A Chain? That's so... girly" she thought glancing at her comrade with the corner of her eye and smkiring, though that expression quickly turned into a confused frown at the Captain's reaction at Sapphira. Trouble? A little woman like her, trouble? "Well, who knows what kind of trouble is she... " she mused half amused, half concerned. A troublemaker is always a wild card, but could come handy in a sticky spot.

"A trouble maker and a flirt... oh Gods... this is goingto be fun" she though with distate at the other woman's reaction and the following from Captain Safkey. She didn't need a woman who was more worried about how many eyes were on her than on her duty... Still, if they were her company then so mote it be, she'll need to keep those two in line

Saphira blushes slightly, her almost black eyes automatically finding the floor. She gazes at it for a while, tugging a small braid slightly.
"Yes, Sir, sorry, Sir, I'll try, Sir," she eventually managed to squeak out, still staring at the ground. Her words seemed genuine, though it was hard to tell. The constant sparkle in her eyes was still nt sated, though.

Dendara winces slightly, responding when she's offered the chance.

"Dendara Ptolemy."

She stands stiffly still, not quite sure why he asked.

"Hmm. Ptolemy. Wasn't on your file. Must be a clerical error." The captain muttered, setting the documents aside. "A couple of ground rules: Stop calling me sir, this isn't basic training anymore. Call me Captain, or just Sakfey. Second, take a good look at the others beside you. From now on, they're your partners. We operate in squads here in Veyranstown: Used to work in pairs, but the fact is teams of four or five are a lot better if things get hairy. Lastly, I expect you all to conduct yourselves well with the general public. We're the most visible arm of the Gatekeepers, and I've worked hard to keep this place out of the wringer."

Sakfey sat down at his desk and opened up a drawer. He dug inside and pulled out five badges, tossing them at the newest Watch Patrol officers. "Welcome to Veyranstown. Your first assignment is to get down to the docks: There's a lot of ships coming in, and the officers we have there already called in and said they were swamped. You get paid at the end of the week. Your badges act as the key for our callboxes around the city. Our Patrol operators are always listening." The old constable nodded at them all grudgingly. "Now get going. You'll want to report in to Lieutenant Parnassus at the dockhouse. Just look for a brown-haired schmuck with a scar under his right eye and a cloak, and you've found him."

Melanie turns to look at her teammates as the captain tells them to. Her reaction is the same as before: a bright smile to each of them. She thinks that they look like fun people to work with. It would be nice to make some friends in this unit, especially since the job so far had not kept her close with anyone else long enough to learn about them. Now she had a chance.

She is brought out of her thoughts by the instructions given, and responds as she believes is best. "Understood, Captain!" She spins around and quickly walks out of the building with her new squad, only pausing to wave goodbye to the secretary.

"I didn't know I'd be partnered with so many people!" Melanie says cheerfully as they walk toward the docks. "This'll be great!"

At the words of the captain to "look at the others around you" Geoff couldn't help but smile. With pleasure, he thought. Taking his badge he asks the captain, "Any idea what kind of things the officers at the dock are facing Captain? Would just like to know what's down there so we know what to expect."

Saphira looks at the four other people in the group when told to, craning her neck to see all the big folk's faces. A bright smile once again dawns across her face.

"Yes, Captain!" Saphira pipes up after Melanie, after the instructions are given. She follows the others out.

[COLOR="rgb(0, 191, 255)"]"I guess it will be,"[/color] she says t Melanie, shrugging.

The captain shrugged. "Mainly, you'll be checking the cargo manifests of the incoming ships and making sure everything's signed and up to date. But keep your eyes peeled for trouble: The docks are next to the Warrens district, and it can be pretty rough down there." He shooed them all out the door; they had work to do, and they could talk to each other on the way.