"Are you ready, Talon?"

The man nodded, resolute and determined.

"As I'll ever be. It's high time they know who I am."

Lawrence nodded, a sort of melancholy pride on his face.

"God, how much you've grown. I'm so proud of you, Talon. I should say it more, but you mean the world to me."

Archer watched the smile on Talon's face grow, saw the adoration in his eyes as he replied to Lawrence.

"I know, Lawrie. I know I do. Now lets do this."

The kindly man walked through the doors with purpose and resolve, a sense that not only was he doing the right thing, but that it was his duty.

Archer thought the man had cleaned up nicely as well. For certain, he'd not looked half bad before, but seeing him in a dress uniform made him acutely aware of the natural charm that the man carried with himself. Similarly, whilst somehow also being the complete opposite to Talon, Lawrence also looked rather dapper in his dress uniform. He clearly wasn't comfortable wearing it, what with how he constantly wrung his gloved hands, but he'd agreed that this meeting required him to look as official as possible. Archer vaguely recalled some comment the man had made previously regarding his dislike of tight uniforms and having to wear gloves, but the specifics of the event eluded him.

Regardless, he still looked rather fine in his uniform, a few medals Archer had never realised the man possessed pinned on his chest. It made sense that Lawrence would have earned a commendation or two across his service, but the man had never spoken of the actions that he had earned his accolades in. There was a medal for fighting as a part of the Grand Fleet, two more for serving with distinction and bravery, and a forth for nothing less than fighting at the Carronade Pass. It might not have been as many as the man deserved, but Archer had no intention of bringing up that topic or the medals in general. Lawrence was clearly uncomfortable already, and given his unwillingness to speak of the medals prior to this point it seemed that there was some level of reservation that the man held on this topic.

Much like the topic of the late twins he had replaced, Archer chose to let sleeping dogs lie. There was little need to stir up unpleasant memories in the last moments before an extremely important meeting began.

Whilst Lawrence may not have enjoyed wearing his dress uniform, Archer had to admit that he was feeling more at home wearing something rather smarter and tighter-fitting than his usual daily slacks. He might not have been able to wear this suit in his day job, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy wearing it where appropriate.

"Talon? The fuck are you in dress for? I didn't even know you had a dress uniform. And the necklace, what's that about?"

Talwynn's voice cut through the silence of the room in an impulsive but not at all inconsiderate manner as she greeted the first one of them through the doors. Lawrence was close behind, with Archer bringing up the rear.

"We're here to update you on your orders given what we now know of Commodore Greyfax's position, as well as a few other factors besides. I need it noted that, and it is not my intention to lead like this, but I am not asking you your opinions on these orders this time. These are set in stone."

Sergeant Rickard spoke up, resolute but a little confused.

"You gave myself and Talwynn here orders a little over an hour ago. Are they to change already?"

Lawrence shook his head slowly, gesturing towards the chairs around the table for everyone to sit. Assembled and seated were both of the Rickards, Talwynn, and Stefan. Archer wasn't exactly pleased to be seeing the weasel again, but the man had been true to his word so far and was technically the second, well, third if princes were counted, highest authority on the ship. Begrudgingly, he accepted that the man did have a right to hear this even if Archer himself didn't like him. He could think of a dozen people aboard the Sunbird who deserved to know before Stefan did, but that was the way life went sometimes he guessed.

As the other four sat down he, Lawrence, and Talon remained standing. Lawrence loomed over the assembled officers, Talon stood beside him at the fore, whilst Archer decided it would be best for him to hang around near the back and support the two of them if needed. Not that he thought he would, of course. Talwynn and the Rickards had been friends with Talon for far longer than he had, if not as close or bound so fiercely.

When Lawrence spoke his tone was almost dangerous, as though he were trying to make clear again that no, these orders were not something that could be opted out of. These were to be the most important orders they'd ever heard, and they needed to treat them as such. Archer thought on it a little. Technically, due to these orders coming directly from royalty, wouldn't it be treason not to carry it out? He shook his head slightly and smiled. He really couldn't see Talon charging them with treason at any point, let alone the immediate future. Even if they hadn't been friends, the man was much too kind to target someone like that. Hell, Archer was willing to bet that if someone committed an actual treasonous offence that Talon's first instinct would be to sit down and talk with them, instead of calling for guards or whatever private security it was that royalty enjoyed in a palace. He soon realised Lawrence had started talking once more, and again he cursed himself for his apparent inability to focus on what was going on in front of him.

"Our mission remains largely the same, save for a major caveat. We are still to maintain our course to Albion, fighting through the flotilla of Commodore Greyfax on our own if needs be, but it is absolutely imperative that we make it to Albion. We're carrying some extremely valuable cargo that needs to reach the capital unharmed. I cannot stress enough the value of that which is aboard this ship."

Sergeant Rickard gave him an inquisitive look.

"And what exactly does this 'cargo' entail? There's nothing aboard that I'm aware of, and I doubt there's much of worth picking through in Occsa. What is this sudden urge to appear formal, to make damned sure we don't get blown out of the sky aside from the obvious?"

Lawrence's eyes swept over the room, and Archer moved to lock the door. There was no harm in being careful, after all.

"Our cargo is this man."

Talwynn looked between Lawrence and Talon, confused.

"Mr Cooke? Really? No offense but that seems a little..."

"Strange? Yes, I understand why it may appear that way. Tell me, Ms Trenholm, when did you board this ship?"

"A little while after the Pass. Can't really remember how long since, maybe three years?"

Lawrence nodded.

"Indeed. Talon has been aboard this ship ever since the Battle of the Carronade Pass. The crew of the Sunbird were able to rescue him from the Leviathan before she went down, and have kept him safe and hidden from rebel forces who may wish him harm ever since. For the last several years I have been the only man alive who knew any of that for a fact."

Talwynn pulled a face, still confused, but it seemed that the First Mate was beginning to put the dots together, judging by the look of fear and realisation on his face.

"Look, I know I've insulted you in the past, but I really am sorry about-"

Talon held up a hand, and the man stopped without hesitating. Not once did Talon speak, instead simply nodding at Lawrence, signalling that the man could continue. With a retaliatory nod in response the captain continued as if he'd never been interrupted.

"Talon has been assumed dead by half of the world for seven years now, but his family have never stopped looking. Now he wishes to be taken home, has commanded me to take him home, and so we will oblige."

Sergeant Rickard sighed. He'd obviously already put two and two together, but seemed to find a small measure of amusement in the situation rather than any real level of shock.

"If I may, Captain, you are not beholden to the head chef."

The small smirk on the man's face told them all that he'd worked it out, and was just giving Lawrence the opening to get to the point. Lawrence, for his part, nodded at him once in acknowledgement before responding.

"Indeed, I am not. May I present to you all Talon Cooke, Crown Prince of all Albion and Ewyng, Heir to the Hithinian Throne, and the Chosen Laird of all the Earldoms of Pictriu."

There was silence for a few seconds, the First Mate looking down in disbelief whilst the sergeant leaned back and sighed heavily again.

"You don't half get us involved in some shit, do you Lawrence?"

His words may have been vaguely insulting, but the older man's smile was audible in his words despite their muffling behind his hands.

"I do seem to have a knack for this sort of thing, yes."

Talwynn broke in, speaking up for what might have been the first time since the meeting began.

"Forgive me here Lawrence, you as well Cooke, but I'll need to see some proof other than just your word."

"Do you think I'm lying? Do you think I would lie about this?"

Talwynn, held her hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"Look, I'm not suggesting either of you are lying. I just need to see a little proof before we run headfirst into Greyfax' flotilla. That's all I-"

Talon all but tore the locket from around his neck and threw it open onto the table with a loud 'thunk'. Contained inside was, unmistakably, a portrait of the king and queen, with a young Talon stood before them. That was all the proof that anyone would ever need, surely. Even though the locket must have been made decades ago the portrait had not faded in the slightest, and the image of the young prince was, age notwithstanding, almost entirely accurate to the man stood before them all.

Talwynn picked up the locket, looked at it for a few seconds, then at Talon. She repeated this motion three or four times, Archer wasn't sure since he'd somehow manage to nearly trip over his own feet whilst stood still when one of his legs went dead, then she just... well, she just dropped the locket back on the table and reclined in her chair.

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"So that's it then. Our first mission under the command of Captain Lawrence is to fight a suicidal battle against impossible odds, and then a panicked flight directly to Albion without stopping. Because obviously we won't be able to stop for parts or repairs afterwards; every remaining rebel within three-hundred miles will hear of this and congregate on our location, so we won't be able to stop and rest until we reach the capital. Even then we won't be able to stop, not until we're in the palace itself."

Lawrence nodded.

"Indeed, that seems an accurate enough recounting of our outstanding orders."

Talwynn slumped a little.

"Well, at least I won't lack for excuses to use the guns. Right then, you either need to start discussing a plan with us or dismiss us all so we can start training the men on double-time right away. I won't lie and say I'm ecstatic about the course my life has taken, but if we survive it'll make for a hell of a story, and that I'll not risk buggering by letting you all down."

Talon smiled at Talwynn.

"Thank you, Talwynn. If it's any consolation I don't really like it either, but it's high time I go home. You'll all be rewarded for this, I swear it."

Talwynn spat off to the side.

"Piss on the reward! You're my friend, not some fucking cash-cow! If I didn't want to help, if I didn't really believe you wanted to go home, do you really think I would agree to this? Reward or not, I'm in, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Talon continued smiling at her, his voice small and quiet.

"That's fine as well, Talwynn. I don't want to tell you how to feel about it, but thank you anyway. It means more to me than you know."

From the corner of his eye Archer saw the corporal shift in his chair, and when he turned to look he realised that the man and his uncle seemed to be having an unspoken conversation through little more than a glance. The room was quiet, most people seeming to notice this as well, but when the corporal nodded his uncle turned to face the other officers once more.

"Right, well you've got our backing, your Majesty. We'll have you home safe or die trying. We might not be from Albion proper, but you're our prince as well. If ever you wish to tour Ewyng, we'll always be willing to show you around and provide security. You'll get home safe, and no mistake."

Talon nodded his thanks, visibly starting to get a little overwhelmed with emotion at the support from his friends. Archer followed Talon's gaze as he looked over to the man's nephew, who simply nodded his agreement at the sergeant's words.

"He's right, Mr Cooke. It's the truth. We'll see you home and then some, if that's what you want. No God forsaken rebel will get their hands on you whilst there's still blood running under my skin, I'll swear that much to you here and now. The boys in the marines will all feel the same, that much I know for a fact. Hell, most of the crew will if and when you choose to tell them. You're our prince and our friend, and of the two I genuinely can't say which is the more important. On the one hand you matter to so many, but to us you're somehow more important than you are to most of the kingdom. You're our friend, and as such if you want us to charge straight through Greyfax's whoremongers then we'll fucking do it, and no mistake."

Talon quickly dabbed at the corners of his eyes with a sleeve, trying to hide the gathering moisture before he began truly crying again, and then turned to Lawrence.

"Thank you all, truly. Captain Lawrence, I understand you have the basics of a plan hashed out already?"

Lawrence nodded, pulling at his collar a little as he moved closer to the table, the discomfort he was feeling wearing the dress uniform still very much obvious to Archer and, if the man had to guess, everyone else in the room. He may have been an expert at concealing his emotions and feelings where card games were concerned, but when it came to identifying whether something made him feel 'itchy'? That was a far easier game.

"There is a plan here." Lawrence tapped his forehead. "The basics, anyway. Scouts have already been sent out to give pinpoint accuracy when it comes to the makeup and distribution of Greyfax' flotilla, which will of course be vital to our plan. The first thing to note is that we're still going to port in Three-Streams as planned, and we'll remain in port for a week. That should give the crew enough time to relax a little, as well as for us to gather supplies for the next leg of our journey to the capital of Occsa, which we bypassed by trudging through the Greenbush Mortuary on our journey here but is a vital stop on our way home. Archer?"

"Yes, Captain Lawrence?"

"I'll need you to run tallies on the money we have on board the ship. Include my wages as you do so. We'll need every sterling to see this plan through."

"What, you want to bribe one of the most extreme rebel leaders to turn the other way?"

The look of disgust on Lawrence's face told Archer all he needed to know about what his boss thought of that idea.

"Not in the slightest. We don't negotiate with murdering scum. No, when we touch down in Occsa we'll be completely painting the ship, and rebuilding the balloon from scratch."

The First Mate did a double take, choking on his drink a little.

"We- huh? Why are we doing that, exactly?"

"Because we are going to be sailing directly into the enemy formation in the middle of the night, under the cover of a new moon, with a black balloon and a vessel that's been painted from deck to keel in jet black. Talwynn, Rickard!"

"Aye, Captain!"

The two experienced officers chorused back immediately, the risk of what was being proposed not being lost on them in the slightest.

"See to it that, on our voyage from Three-Streams to Occsa, the men are trained to carry out their roles in total darkness. I don't care if that's training at night or training blindfolded in the daytime, hell, both would be even better, but at the end of the day we've only got one real shot at this."

Talwynn held up her hand, and so Lawrence stopped speaking to allow her to voice her own thoughts and queries.

"That's all well and good in principle, but why the emphasis on this? If we assume ideal conditions then we'd still be fighting at an engagement range where his fleet will have the advantage. What does this plan hinge on exactly, Lawrence?"

Lawrence nodded at her in acknowledgement. It seemed a reasonable question, and Archer was certain that, had he been more well versed in airship combat, he'd be asking similar questions. As it happens he had exactly zero experience when it came to naval combat, and so instead elected to listen to what was being said by the more important members of this council meeting.

"We will not be at maximum engagement range, nor that which is expected by standard Albionic doctrines. We will be sailing directly into the middle of their formation and then, when the guns are all trained on their targets at point-blank range, unloading everything at once. Everything. Carronades, puckle-guns, rifles. If it can fire a shot, it can be used. The smaller weapons might not damage the enemy, but the noise will still add to the confusion. With any luck we'll be able to get off one or two good volleys into the enemy fleet before they have time to respond, and by that point we may have levelled the playing field somewhat."

Talwynn and Sergeant Rickard looked at one another, a little concerned but still resolute.

"You don't ask for much, do you old friend?" The sergeant said.

Lawrence smiled at them both. It was a strange thing, half genuine and half grimace.

"I'm asking you to turn the men under your commands into the single most elite body of gunners in the Royal Albionic Navy. If anyone I know can do it, then it'll be the two of you."

The two of them shook their heads, strangely looking like they were on the verge of laughter.

"God, well, if our captain says so then I guess we'll have to get it done. Very well then, how long will be waiting in the capital of Occsa for these modifications to the Sunbird to be completed? A month, two months?"

Lawrence made a half and half motion with his hands, indicating that it would likely be sometime between those two lengths of time. Sergeant Rickard nodded.

"Right. So if we split that dead down the middle then that's forty-five days, add that to another month or two to sail from Three-Streams to Occsa, and we're probably looking at somewhere around eighty or ninety days total. If we start today we can probably cram in a few exercises at night before we reach Three-Streams as well. I'll get the boys ready and informed as soon as this meeting is adjourned, unless you need me for anything else immediately afterwards of course."

Lawrence and Talon nodded, one grim-faced and the other grateful, before turning to Talwynn. Archer thought she had been oddly quiet this whole time, but when he turned to her she had a very strange look on her face.

"God, you really are him, aren't you? I know we all looked at the locket, but... Lord, it's real. It's you. I practically worshipped you when I was a little girl. You were hardly any older than me, but you seemed like you might actually help people like me out; I figured that there wouldn't be anyone going to bed hungry when you took over, but when you died- I mean, when everyone thought you died, you aren't actually dead obviously since you're stood in front of me and now I'm rambling and getting off topic-"

"Talwynn. It's okay. Take as long as you need."

The woman squeezed her eyes shut, nodding stiffly. She took a few slow, deep breaths, before continuing.

"When everyone thought you died, it felt like a part of me had died with you. I gave up on the belief that tomorrow's leaders would do right by the needy. And now you're back."

"I never went anywhere, Talwynn. I've only ever been aboard the Sunbird."

She nodded again.

"I want you to make me a promise, Mr Cooke. One promise, and that's all I'll ask."

Cooke nodded once, purposefully.

"Ask away."

Talwynn took one more deep breath to steady herself, and it occurred to Archer in that moment that, while he had been a servant most of his life, he'd been very lucky. He'd never experienced hunger or thirst, never lacked access to food save only when he was a small child that had acted up and been sent to bed without supper. Some of these people, some of his friends, he knew couldn't have been that lucky.

"I want you to promise you'll help people who need it. I know you will, because I've been your friend for years, but I need to hear it directly from you. I need you to promise me that you still feel as strongly about such issues now as you did when you were younger."

Talon looked at her, a deep well of empathy visible to all through his eyes.

"I swear it. A hundred-thousand times over, I swear it. If I abandoned those who needed it then the child I once was would be disgusted by me, and that's something I won't let happen. So long as I am able, I want to help the people. I promise, Talwynn."

Talwynn soaked in his words for a few moments, the other occupying members of the room electing to give here a few moments to make her decision as they would have liked if the positions were swapped. When she did speak there was none of the deep emotional values that the others had found in their words, but instead she simply seemed as though she was back to normal.

"Right, well that's that sorted then. I'll have the lads eating carrots for every meal and training blindfolded every hour the day if that's what it takes to get 'em ready. Let's get a move on, old man! Captain Lawrence has been called on by the crown prince, and he's called on us. Let's get on with our bloody jobs!"

With that she jumped up from her chair, did something that was probably supposed to be either a bow or a curtesy, but it was impossible to tell which one had been intended given the fact that she was also trying to make a beeline towards the door as she was making that strange motion.

Lawrence and Arthur both watched the scene unfold, and then turned to each other with a raised eyebrow and a shrug. It seemed to Archer like everything had gone well, and now all that was left was-

"Right, that's it, the official part is done, I'm not wearing this bastard thing anymore. Get this fucking dress uniform off of me or so help me I'll-"

"You really shouldn't be that forwards with the crown prince, Lawrence! Could get you in hot water!"

The voice of Talwynn rang back towards them from down the corridor, and more than one of the remaining officers had to disguise a laugh behind a cough to avoid bursting out with full-throated laughter.

"TALWYNN TRENHOLM, PRESENT YOURSELF BEFORE YOUR CAPTAIN THIS INSTANT!"

The shouted command was followed almost immediately by a muffled "Oh shit." and the sound of footsteps rapidly retreating down the corridor.

Lawrence let out a deep sigh as both Archer and Talon chuckled, the two Rickards shaking their heads in amusement.

"Anyone up for starting a betting pool on how long it takes Lawrence to throw her overboard?"

"Nephew, that's very inappropriate! Put me down for twenty sterling before the month is out."

Lawrence just massaged his temples with his hands.

"I swear you're all going to be the death of me."

Archer just shrugged towards talon at Lawrence's comment.

"He loves us all really."

"Don't push your luck, Assistant Engineer!"

Despite Lawrence's words, it seemed clear that he was just as amused as the rest of them were. Archer was exceedingly glad he'd signed on to this ship when he did; it had been a very exciting few months so far.