"Easy, spook, I won the game! I punch whomever I wish!" Richard then tries flinging something hard and preferably metal at Fleur.

María struggles in vain against the heavy drowsiness on her mind. She lends whatever mental energy she can to her rescuers, then succumbs to the fog and passes out.

Alarmed, Jason bends down to check if Maria is still breathing and has a pulse, before helping Cecil pick her up.

He speaks to him in a low voice, his mental processes hidden away behind his featureless wall.

"Looks like the local constabulary is almost here, how do you want to handle this? I still have that wand if we need it."

"I believe that we need to get this lady to proper medical care, and then decide what to do next." replies Cecil, firmly, as he and Jason carry Maria through the crowd. Please, step aside sir, coming through...

If nobody stops Cecil, he'll carry Maria back to the ship. It's the one place that he considers safest.

Fleur is hit in the chest by the spherical object thrown by Richard, and falls in a heap to the ground. A constable grabs his arm and twists it behind his back. Another takes Tom by the arm, while a third examines Glory's wounds, then pulls out a tablet from a pack at her waist and starts pressing on its screen.

You two, head toward the medi-tent, the fourth snaps at Jason and Cecil, pointing the opposite direction from the ship.

They attacked! Fleur says in a panicky tone. They want to steal my girls! Evil slaver scum!

Terrell and Gil pause at the edge of the crowd surrounding the group as this accusation is announced.

The patia that holds Richard twists Richard's arm a little harder.

Is that true? You working with slavers, you human scab? You two are coming with us, he says, nodding to Tom. Madam, if you'll please follow us to make a statement.

A few patiae appear in the crowd carrying a stretcher as this is said. Glory is placed upon it, and the patiae carry her off toward the medi-tent.

Please, can I follow my girls? Fleur says piteously. I'll make my statement as soon as I'm sure that they're okay.

Wonderful. Just fantastic, Gil says to the group. If we come forward now, they'll pin us as slavers! And Maria's too far gone to tell 'em what happened. Damn, the meeting is about to start!

Cecil heads in the direction pointed to by the officer. An official medi-tent is almost certainly the best place for Maria... for the moment. Especially since the group's healer (Maria) is currently down.

Gil? asks Cecil, quietly, as he passes the Patia in question. He tries to respond as Gil had sent, so that only members of their group will 'hear' him, but he's not sure he can get it at all right, so he keeps his message innocuous, just in case he's broadcasting unintentionally to everyone nearby. Could I ask you to come along with us? I have some questions.

Nononononononono, Richard projects, they were taking our girl! They're the slaver scum! They were going to flay us and other unpleasant things and WOULD YOU STOP TWISTING MY ARM! I'm hardly resisting!

Tom doesn't bother protesting, except to broadcast as strongly as possible a sense of disgust at Fleur's lies. He does, however, say this, in his most reasonable, I'm a human who's had to deal with police before on behalf of a stupid idiot who doesn't know any better voice. Smooth and calm.

"This patiae", he nods toward Fleur, "Is lying. We caught her trying to take one of our crew. We... objected." He then nods to Maria, and her condition. "As you can see, she's quite knocked out now, but when she wakes, I'm certain she will be glad to testify against her abductors." He practically radiates sincerity - not hard, as he -is- telling the truth. "I realize it may be hard to believe, however, do not allow that patiae to leave. She will only escape the justice rightly due to her. We will be glad to come along with you" - he gives Richard a stern look - "so long as that patiae comes along with us."

Jason turns to speak to the closest officer.

Excuse me sir, but if I may be so bold, I believe that it may be wise to keep everyone involved in this incident separated from one another to prevent them from talking or otherwise interacting with each other until everyone's statement has been taken. The wounded included. At least one party is lying, and they may wish to do harm or otherwise influence the others to strengthen their own position.

The closest officer to Jason (the one with Tom) looks at him with contempt, but his irritation eases when he hears what he has to say. And all hear Richard's protests and feel Tom's disgust.

I don't know, Lars, says the patia nearest to Jason. He has a point. Anyway, why would slavers attack so openly?

Lars, who continues to hold Richard hostage, looks at all the people involved.

Right, he says. You're absolutely right.

He looks at Fleur, squinting, suspicion rolling off him. Fleur projects nothing but a weepy bemusement and fear directed towards the fate of Glory and Maria.

Go on to the medtent, Lars says to Jason and Cecil and the patiae attending Glory and Maria. And STAY there! As soon as they've been treated, take all of the humans' statements!

The patiae nod and continue on, presumably with Jason and Cecil along for the ride. Gil steps in line with Cecil, trying to appear as a spectator grown bored with the action. The crowd around Fleur's booth dissipates and becomes once more a stream of people.

What do you want to know? Gil says to Cecil, and only to Cecil.

***

Right, says Lars, nodding to the patia with Tom, Take the female as well. This may be a probing situation, if all of them appear truthful. Slaving's a hell of a charge, and --

A surge of power comes from Fleur, knocking out any powers or protection that Lars or the unknown patia holding Tom may have.

What -- Lars says when another surge of power knocks the two patia into a befuddled state. They stand as the crowd surges around them, bemusement wafting from them. Both drop their hands to their sides, standing with very little movement.

Fleur glowers at Tom and Richard.

I don't know who you are, she says with a wave of blue, cold anger, forcing the message into Tom and Richard's minds, and only their minds, the intrusion like many hot spikes mixed with an extreme sense of violation. And I don't really care. But one of my best girls was lost today. I'd demand compensation, but I'm not really in the mood to deal with a couple of idiot humans at the moment. But mark this, fools; both of you and the female will be known to my ring. If I or any of my crew run into you in the future, you'll feel the brunt of my wrath. Are we clear?

She pulls her thoughts from theirs, like a wasp retreating its stinger, and gives them a wave of vicious, sickly sweetness.

You'd best be on your way before these two snap out of it, she says. She walks into the stream of people. The crowd shifts, and she is gone.

Oh, how am I supposed to not punch that? Richard projects to Tom.

Just two questions. projects Cecil, trying to keep his focus on Gil while walking along towards the medtent. First of all, what's likely to happen to those two who got themselves arrested? And secondly, this slaver business - are we talking about a few isolated incidents, or a large, well-organised Mafia-like organisation in the shadows?

Arrested? Heh. The people keeping watch over Black Market are hired heavies and volunteers. If Tom and Richard are slavers, which let me tell ya, is considered pretty despicable among the underground, human happy people that show up at Black Market, they'll probably beat them up within an inch of their lives. Gil shrugs. But they aren't, so don't worry. They'll probably be probed, which hurts like hell, but they'll be found innocent.

As for the slaver ring, yeah, we're talking Mafia circle, if the images of Mafia you have are anything to go on, says Gil. Don't know if it's really big or what. Lots of money in slaving, especially in providing humans to rogue Researchers and to Labor involved in illegal mining or resource collection. Humans tend to belong to people, you know, and if they're under Control or Protection, it's hard to pry them away from the patiae who watch them. Black Market is a good place to pick up strays, though I've heard of them infiltrating big warehouse operations like where we were before and picking off humans who weren't covered very well by their mental and physical protectors.

They reach the medtent. Patiae swarm the stretchers, particularly the stretcher of the heavily injured Glory, and pull them under the tent. Gil wanders a bit from the medtent, keeping it within sight but trying not to look suspicious.

This one's been drugged, says a yellow patia checking Maria's vitals. He opens a box on a table behind him and pulls out a short, shiny, metal tube with a short needle at the end and open at the other, and a thin canister. He slides the canister into the tube, jabs Maria in the neck with the needle, presses on the end of the canister, then removes the needle. Maria's eyes flutter and open.

She'll be fine, says the patia.

Greg! This one needs a Healer, now! one of the patiae over Glory cries. The yellow patia nods and hovers over Glory.

All right, miss, says one of the patia who transported the two women to the medtent. Who are you and what's going on?

Cecil breathes a quiet sigh of relief. Tom and Richard are evidently in no permanent danger, and don't need a rescue.

After carrying Maria into the tent, he stands back out of the way of the medics and lets them do their stuff, but stays reasonably close to Maria. When he sees her eyes open, Cecil quickly tells her "Doctor's tent. Safe." - keeping the meaning of his words behind his mental door.

María sits up slowly with a groan, her head bowed and rubbing her eyes and forehead. Then she rakes her hair out of her face and looks around. She notes Jason and Cecil, and hears the latter tell her where she is, and feels a measure of relief that she hasn't been left on her own. She also notices Gil standing rather nonchalantly some distance away.

She considers briefly behind her mental portcullis. Having heard the plea for a healer for Glory, María's first inclination is to offer to heal her, to demonstrate to the investigating patiae that she has no malicious intent. However, she's understandably a bit paranoid at the moment. It may not be prudent to reveal her powers to people whose intent is unknown to her. She turns her thoughts instead to her statement, choosing to keep it simple, without going into detail. She meets eyes briefly with Gil, hoping he will pay attention to her statement.

Thank you for helping me, she thinks to the questioning patia, the words still feeling slightly heavy and thick in her mind as the effects of the drug wear off. My name is María. I was visiting the market when... that woman--indicating Glory--and the grey patia with her... they began talking to me. They called themselves Glory and Fleur, and tried to get me... to go inside their booth. When I declined, Fleur... she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the booth. Glory followed. After closing the booth, Fleur told Glory to drug me. I... I attacked Fleur to get her to release me, but I couldn't escape before getting drugged by Glory. I called to... to my friends for help, and then I must have passed out. I woke up here.

As she concludes, she glances at Gil. The meaning is hopefully clear: OK? Anything else I should say?