Frost pushed through the ornate double doors and slowly walked towards the table keeping her eyes on the ground. She had been told a certain officer was to be here and that she was to present herself for whatever task the officer had in mind. Seeing it as an excellent opportunity, she had managed to secure a letter of reference from the good captain Windsor and was in the process of composing an introduction. As she reached the edge of the table she finally looked up her eyes widening as she did so.

She hadn't noticed them when she came in, but now that she took the moment, they were everywhere. Her mind accelerated as her blood pressure skyrocketed. Her hallucinations had never been this bad before. Actual fully formed ghosts were floating all about the table. Her eye began to twitch somewhat noticeably as her mind screamed at her. -They're not real, They're not real, They're not real!- She took note of the officer sitting at the end of the table drinking tea as nonchalantly as ever, her very presence reminding Frost of why she was here. The words she had so carefully prepared had slipped away at the panic that was now gripping her.

No, she couldn't afford to mess this up. She snapped an all too rigid salute, her hand shaking somewhat in the process. Her eyes focused solely on the officer as she tried desperately to not look at any of the spectral apparitions. -That one looks like Eremes, no! Focus!- Stuttering slightly she attempted to bludgeon through the introduction.

"S-s-s-ir, Ensign Frost, rep-p-p-porting for duty."

She awaited the officer's reply, shaking like a leaf in the wind. -Don't look at them, don't look at them, don't look at them, They don't EXIST!- She repeated it like a mantra in her head all the while.

This worked of course right up until a ghost pulled a chair out for her and lightly patted the seat once. Her brain was already overtaxed but tried to fit this into it's limited mythos. Clearly the ghost was not real, so she must have pulled out the chair without noticing it... without breaking her salute.... She swiftly sat in the chair and found a tea cup before her, no doubt something she had grabbed as there was simply no way the ghosts existed. If they did, clearly the officer would have looked substantially more concerned. As it were however, she sipped the tea idly out with shaking hands hoping the hallucinations would go away swiftly.

If there was one thing Lazarus hated above all about living on the Marine base, it was their stringent control over his sleep schedule. It had been a particular ordeal to rise this morning, especially with the knowledge that he would not be going to the lab where he felt most at ease. It seemed that Lazarus was only getting to spend less and less time there as it was becoming more common to deploy him as a ship doctor. He wouldn't mind it if only there were more interesting things to do on a ship, and the company more to his liking. Instead, he was to report to a yet a new higher up known as Commodore Zepplin. Probably another meathead with whom he'd have to exercise the limits of his courtesy, although at least this time he wouldn't be reporting directly to a ship. Instead the form he had been given indicated by it's location to be some sort of meeting room. Lazarus walked bleary-eyed across across the grounds of the Marine base, searching for the room where he'd report for his next assignment.

The doctor was relieved when he finally found himself outside the ornate double doors that would lead to the indicated meeting room. It had taken him longer than he expected, and hoped that perhaps this Commodore wouldn't be one to gripe about his punctuality. After entering however, Lazarus experienced a myriad of reactions all within a relatively short period of time. The first was relief, once he saw that only two people had arrived before him. This made it more likely that he would not be chewed out. The second, surprise. Of the two Marines who had arrived before him, both were female. This was good though, as he found he had an easier time talking to women. Not to mention most of the female Marines he'd conversed with had about them more tact and wit than many of the men he'd shared a ship with. Finally, Lazarus was left with a feeling of intrigue. The two women sat at a long table upon which sat about a dozen or so cups and kettles all of fine china. The spaces between them were filled to the brim with assorted sweets and pastries. The air was fragrant with the subtle sweet smell of freshly brewed tea. All in all, this was not the intriguing part. What was most unusual were the various milky white specters and apparitions that would glide around noiselessly, filling cups or arranging silverware. One noticed his arrival and even courteously pulled out a chair for him to sit. Lazarus couldn't help but grin goofily at the spectacle. In the wake of suddenly processing all this information, the doctor had almost forgotten to introduce himself.

"I'm Ensign Lazarus Lestrange, reporting for duty"

He supposed that would suffice for now, and took the seat that the specter had so graciously offered. Another of them poured him a cup of tea from the nearest kettle. Lazarus took a sip of the sweet, scalding liquid and decided he'd let it cool down a little more before attempting to partake of more of it. The physician had a good feeling he'd take to this assignment better than those he had been given before.

This morning the blue haired shipwreck had risen early. Having still been given no assignment he decided to follow the Doc around. Perched in a tree outside of Lestrange's quarters whittling intricate markings into a branch Molotov waited. The air was crisp with early morning and the smell of fresh cut wood filled his nose.

Finally Lazarus emerges like mummy from a tomb, lifeless. He shuffles off and Goddard hops down from the tree. He opens his mouth to say 'wait up' but wood filings shaken loose from his sudden movement fill his mouth and all that comes out is "wa-auglp." The good doctor was too tired to notice any of this. Goddard spits the wood filing onto the ground and tries to wipe off his tongue before deciding to follow Lestrange without saying anything to him. "Maybe I can get myself onto his next assignment, I am sure it is more exciting than what they would assign me otherwise," he thought.

Watching as the doctor seemingly finding what he was looking for enters large double doors with ornate carvings Goddard steels his resolve. "Just do what doc does" he says to himself this time aloud before sticking his head int the door to see what he is dealing with. "Ghosts, I knew it," he thought as a smile began to crawl over his face "Definitely more interesting."

"I'm Ensign Lazarus Lestrange, reporting for duty" Go time, Goddard puffed out his chest a bit and walked into the room head held high with an air of purpose. "Ensign Goddard Molotov, reporting for duty," he said sweeping off his cap and bowing to the woman at the head of the table, "and hello again Doctor Lestrange" as he said this he brought his hat back up to his head and gave a quick wink to lazarus as the cap obscured his face to the head of the table. Afterwards he was offered a seat by the most gracious ghost he had ever met, before being served a cup of tea and settling in for what looked like a very interesting tea party. "The host with the ghost" he muttered to himself as he chuckled into his tea.

As each person entered the room Frost kept her eyes on them, taking note of something that they were taking note of. Simply put, they could see the ghosts. Her logical mind had begun to go into overdrive filing away her panic for a moment at this all important discovery. If they could see the ghosts, then the ghosts were real, and therefore not hallucinations of her mind. Thus, they had been here before hand and since the only power she knew of that could create strange effects was a Devil Fruit, this had to be the reason. Pleased with the logic of her findings, her panic descended down to a comfortable defcon 5.

Only once this had occurred could her mind begun to crunch the minor details of the meeting. Both of the new comers were Ensigns like herself, so clearly this was a good place for them to be. Perhaps a stretch of the imagination, but there was always a sense of camaraderie between those of the same rank, the notion that all trouble and responsibility would be distributed equally among them was something of a comfort. That just left the newly introduced commodore and her proposal.

Her eyebrow had raised somewhat at the idea of a trading company while she mulled over the ideas inherent in it. It was.. an interesting idea and she wasn't sure whether she liked the idea or not. On one hand she had just recently learned of the merits and enjoyment of doing something that didn't involve bloodshed, this no doubt would also pad her personal coffers a tad and there was a chance to work with a Commodore of all things. On the other, would this fix the pirate problem or the revolutionary problem she had only heard about so far? Then again. A memory from the most recent foray with the Scholar came to mind. We make a good team, he had said. Together they had pulled through a very difficult en devour, and succeeded. How much further could this company go? She was willing to find out.

"Where do we start?"

She asked more to let the Commodore elucidate on their short term objectives rather than a show of over eagerness.

It wasn't even a minute after Lazarus had arrived that he heard the doors behind them swing open, signaling a new arrival. When he turned to look his mouth fell agape. With all the confidence in the world, this familiar face declared "Ensign Goddard Molotov, reporting for duty." Lazarus immediately directed his gaze elsewhere, as if his initial shocked impression hadn't made it obvious they knew each other.

It was only a few days prior that Lazarus had aided in rescuing this strange man out in the middle of the ocean on his way to Baterilla. He claimed to have no recollection of events prior to being shipwrecked. No home to return to or life to resume. He had however expressed an interest in joining the Marines, although his purported amnesia raised a few eyebrows. It was decided that Goddard would become Lazarus' responsibility, and that they would room together until it had been decided what should be done with him. However, he had not told his new bunk buddy about this new assignment, and so concluded that he must simply have followed him out of boredom and curiosity. With a wink the blue haired Marine acknowledged him and there could be no denying it now. Lazarus looked to the Commodore to see her initial impression of this unexpected guest. He could feel himself relax after it became apparent that she did not mind his presence.

The Commodore seemed to decide that the arrival of all three of them was sufficient to begin the meeting and opened first with "Welcome everyone to the first ever gathering of the newly-established Marine Trading Company!" She had paused before expanding on the thought, telling the assembled about the uniquity of such a project and what it hoped to accomplish. Zepplin was the antithesis of everything he had come to know about higher ups in the Marines and it was an exciting prospect. He could respect someone who understood the importance of progress, and smart enough to gear the power and influence of the Marines towards other equally important pursuits. The doctor grinned. He was happy to have been chosen for such a project. It would allow him to see more of the world, and with a focus on industry he imagined that could conduct all the research he liked. Lazarus felt at a loss for words, but made an attempt anyway.

"I.. I'm honored that I was chosen to be a part of this project. I can only hope I may become a valuable asset for a worthy cause such as this."

Molotov had begun stuffing his face with copious amounts of finger sandwiches, washing them down with large gulps of warm tea. He turned to one of the servant spooks and respectfully asked for more scones to be brought out. The blue mophead was so preoccupied by food that he missed most of his new leader's explanation on what would be happening. Goddard felt confident that he had the gist of it though. "Bring supplies to places in dire need of it... that sort of thing, sounds fun," he thought.

"Where do we start?"

Goddard perked up, "and when can we leave?" He was very eager to get going again, and he was very pleased with his new commodore. "A worthwhile project, a generous host, and a good head on her shoulders. Following her will be easy," He speculated.

The girl who had asked the all important question seemed uncomfortable. Wondering why that was Goddard began to stare, this fact however did not occur to him. "I wonder what her name is. should I ask? I bet she said it before you came in. You can't just interrupt the meeting to ask."
"I.. I'm honored that I was chosen to be a part of this project..." Goddards gaze hadn't waivered, but the break in subject started him off on daydreaming. He thought of airships, sea life, he thought of birds and what they might look like flying underwater. Double D's pupiless eyes would stay rooted on the uncomfortable girl until someone snapped him out of this daydream.

(End)