From: "Rob" <robfrompw@yahoo.com> Subject: [PW!] [SST] The Captain's Gala Dinner Date: Sunday, February 08, 2004 6:43 AM Within the Milotic Bistro on the Restaurant Deck of the S.S. Tidal, which has been decorated quite elegantly for the Captain's Gala, a brown-haired middle-aged man named Marvin is quickly scarfing down his meal consisting of filet mignon and scalloped potatoes. He's eager to speak with Captain Briney, so he wants to be the first in line to shake the old man's hand when Captain Stern, the cruise director, introduces Briney to the well-dressed crowd at the gala event. The other passengers seated at the table stare at Marvin in disbelief. Not only are they disgusted by his eating habits - they also don't like the tacky tuxedo he's wearing. Marvin, however, is extremely pleased with the purchases he made at Gorebyss Fashions and Huntail Hats, two of the stores on the S.S. Tidal's Mall Deck. He's wearing a sapphire blue tuxedo, a ruby red bowtie with a Sea Ruby Badge pinned on it, burgundy penny-loafers, and a leaf green top hat with fire red trim. The Mawile sitting right next to him is simply wearing a small dark blue dress which looks good over her body since her body naturally looks like a dress. She's as offended by Marvin's eating habits as the other passengers are, and that says a lot coming from a Pokemon who can gobble up an entire Watmel Berry in one Bite. "Ladies and gentlemen," Captain Stern, a man wearing glasses and a black tuxedo, speaks into a microphone set up on the Milotic Bistro's small stage, "I hope you all have been enjoying your meals. I'd now like to take a moment to introduce the captain who's been steering this vessel so skillfully that we'll be arriving in Littleroot Town by midnight instead of tomorrow afternoon - Captain Briney!" Captain Stern steps away from the microphone and gestures towards the left side of the stage. A bald old man sporting a white beard approaches the microphone, waving to the crowd as they applaud for him. Captain Briney is dressed in a white tuxedo, and Peeko, a white Wingull, is perched on the old man's shoulder, his long wings folded. "Hello, passengers!" Captain Briney speaks into the microphone in his raspy voice, "There have been clear skies and calm waters all the way from Olivine Port to where we are now, approximately 40 miles south of Dewford Island." Gesturing to his Wingull, he adds, "And Peeko here tells me that there are no storms up ahead, so like Captain Stern said, we should be docked at Littleroot Town's Pier either right before or just after midnight!" "Pihyo," Peeko confirms what the captain just said. Captain Briney then continues, "It's your choice whether you want to leave the ship then, leave the ship in the morning, or not leave the ship just yet. We'll be settin' sail for Slateport City tomorrow afternoon at 6 PM and arrivin' at Slateport Harbor at around 8 PM, so if you'd rather be dropped off in Slateport instead of Littleroot, you can stay on the ship the whole day tomorrow. You can also leave the ship to visit Littleroot Town even if Slateport's your destination, but be sure to be on board by 5:30 PM if you plan on doing that. If you have any questions about the S.S. Tidal, you can come up to ask either myself or Captain Stern, the man who designed the ship, after you finish your dinner. We'll be right here on stage. Thank you for sailing with us and enjoy the rest of your meals!" "Slateport, eh?" Marvin asks himself, his mouth full of chewed potatoes. He swallows the potatoes then tells the Mawile seated next to him, "It just so happens that tomorrow's my birthday and my Ditto, who are like daughters to me, live in a Lab in Littleroot. I'm going to leave the ship for a few hours tomorrow to celebrate with them. Would you like to come with me or would you rather stay on the ship?" "Ile maw mawile," the Mawile replies, pointing at Marvin to indicate that she wishes to go with him. "Great! I'm sure Xerox and Famifax will like you..." Marvin puts down his fork and grabs his Mawile's left hand, "But first, let's go see if Captain Briney likes you. He *should* like you since I'm his friend and you're my friend." As the middle-aged man pulls her towards the stage where Captain Briney stands, the Mawile already knows that the captain doesn't like her. The moment she gave the old man the message that Marvin sent him inside her maw, the captain scowled at her and wouldn't give her a reply for Marvin no matter how much she insisted that he should. When Marvin climbs onto the stage, he sneaks up behind Captain Briney exclaims, "Hi, cap'n! Long time no see!" "That voice..." Captain Briney narrows his eyes, recognizing Marvin's voice and accent. He turns around to verify that the person speaking to him is indeed the man he hoped would never leave Dewford Island's Granite Cave and sighs when he sees the man's smiling face. "Hello, Marvin." "I'm guessing you didn't get the message I sent you inside my Mawile's maw, seeing as how you didn't send me a reply," Marvin comments, genuinely believing his speculation while Captain Briney thinks the middle-aged man's comment is sarcastic, "Anyway, I sent you a message in my Mawile's maw to inform you that..." "Yeah, yeah, I got your message and I told the authorities that Team Aqua was responsible for the food poisoning on the last cruise. Is this about your Net Ball?" Captain Briney reaches into his pocket, withdraws a shrunken blue and black Net Ball from his pocket, and puts it in Marvin's hand, "There you go." "Thanks, cap'n! Actually, I didn't come to ask you for my Net Ball. I came to introduce you to my new Mawile," Marvin motions towards his Steel Pokemon, "But I guess you two met already since you got the message I sent you. Why weren't you able to send me a reply? Or did you just forget to put the message you wrote in the Net Ball and my Mawile accidentally swallowed it before she got to me?" "Uh, yeah..." Captain Briney lies, "Sure. Let's go with that." Marvin's Mawile doesn't approve of Captain Briney's lie, especially since it makes her look bad, but she decides to not tell Marvin that Captain Briney's lying. She figures if Marvin doesn't mind death threats issued by the captain, he must not mind lies issued by him either. "Look, Marvin, people who want to ask me questions are forming a line, so I can't keep talking to you," Captain Briney says, pointing to the two people standing right next to the stage, waiting for Marvin to finish speaking with the captain, "If you're lookin' for a good time, you should head up to the Main Deck. There's an event for singles up there you might like, especially considering how many times you whined to me in Dewford Town about not having a woman in your life." "Thanks for the tip, cap'n! You're such a great friend!" Marvin enthusiastically shakes Captain Briney's hand, waves farewell to Peeko, and recalls his Mawile into her black Luxury Ball. He heads outside of the Milotic Bistro and towards the nearest elevators, eager to mingle with pretty female singles on the Main Deck. -Marvin (( NS: I posted the Gala Dinner late, so I think we should move right along to the Main Deck Celebration. You can still have your character speak with Captain Briney or Captain Stern at the gala, but I'd like to celebration to start as soon as possible. Anyone who wants to start it, feel free. ))