Dani races over to the wheel and starts a sequence of twisty maneuvers to shake the damn thing off.

Piloting: 18

If we're within 5 of the DC, will use Flash of Genius to add 5 to the total.

Dani zooms and twists the ship until the monster is unable to keep up, successfully making it someone else's problem. You successfully use the momentum to overtake the Wormwood and cross the finish line! Nestor Gales presents you with the victor's purse containing 8,000 credits, the deed to a recently terraformed moon in the north of the Diaspora, and more importantly, a seat on the Pirate Council. 

Before allowing you to run off and celebrate your victory, Nestor takes a moment to give a bit of instruction about your new moon. “It’s called the Moon of Empty Eyes,” he explains, “for the odd statues that leer it. Uninhabited and fraught with danger, make no doubt, but naught that pirates of your capabilities can’t handle. You’ve landed a seat on the Pirate Council as well, but winning a race don’t make a sailor a captain, nor a freebooter a lord. You’ll need to show the Council you can tame the moon and make it your own, if you want to claim your seat. The lords of the Council will come calling in three months to see if you’re worth the honor that’s been bestowed upon you, and they’ll expect to be feted as befits pirate lords of their stature. Provided you look like you know what you’re doing, they’ll take your oath of loyalty and grant you your seat on the Council. If not... well, you wouldn’t be the first winner of the Regatta who failed to live up to expectations.”

With that, he leaves you to celebrate your victory as you all hit Level 9!

Dani immediately marches off and to her workshop. She takes Kwesi off and gets to work on the suit of armor, making a lot of tinkers to the breastplate in particular.

Then she roots in the absolute bottom of a bag and pulls out a very old, battered signet ring. She stares at it for a long moment before narrowing her eyes in determination and picking up a dagger. She goes to work on the symbol on the ring's face, scratching at it until the symbol is illegible.

"It's time you had this." Tiera sets something on my worktable with a clink. "So you remember who you are."
"I know who I am," I reply tartly as I look up. There is now a ring on my table, the Delani crest blazed on its face. A signet ring. Of course. "It's just not who you want me to be. Despite the fact that it's real similar to who you were as a teenager."
"You're not me. Besides, you'll need that." I recognize that tone of voice. The tone that carries a smirk woven through it. She thinks she's won.
"Why the hell would I need that? I'm not even going to any parties for like. Two months." I roll my eyes.
"On the contrary, you will need it for your engagement part in two weeks." Tiera corrects.
What.
"WHAT?" I shoot to my feet. "I told you I have literally zero-"
"And I told you I don't care. You have a duty to this family. Fulfill it." Tiera turns around and walks out.

Dani picks up the ring and disassembles one of her gauntlets, incorporating the ring into the finger's joints as she tinkers.

OOC: Arcane Modifications level up! Plus third level spells! Modifications: +1 AC and Spell Refueling Ring.

With no orders from his master, Arcade walks and observes the crew of the ship, helping with bringing out drinks to those who desire them. He occasionally asks questions regarding some of their actions or intentions, at one time getting awkwardly pushed out of a room where certain members where getting more physical than he understood. Still, he could understand that the crew as a whole, were happy, and somehow, he to felt a tingle of pride. It felt good to win, to achieve the short term mission objectives...once the majority of the crew had quieted down, Arcade made his way around the ship, cleaning up, checking systems, before finally ending up in the observation deck with his guitar. He wanted to practice, and he recalled a former master telling him once, 'Art is best made with something beautiful to look at.' Settling into the hard floor, he began to strum the strings.

Arcade: 7

At that moment, Arc felt that the stars, while overtly familiar to his sensors, were indeed very beautiful...even if he didn't understand why. Albeit his music didn't show it, as he could only really play one string at a time, making less of a song, than a single echoing sound with a slow tune that resonate around the strange machine.

Toni and Gin trot down to Jeff's cabin, knocking on the door, "Hey, Lucky. I'm going down to Raquell LeBlanc's Parlor, to finally get that tattoo I've been thinking about. Wanna come?"

Assuming Jeff comes along (can always respond to Jeff's response if you wanna have one) the three of them will step on down to the workshop down in the engine room, peeking through the heavy metal doors at the cacophony of crafting and tinkering from their resident Master Inventor. Toni will attempt to call to Dani through the noise for an awkward amount of time before slapping her forehead at her own stupidity, and reaching out with her telepathy to ask Dani, "Going to get a tattoo, wanna come?" 

Assuming Dani comes along (can always respond to Dani's response if you wanna have one) the growing group moves up to the top deck where Arcade is practicing guitar under the stars, Toni will move over to the Automaton and ask them, "I'm going to get a tattoo, wanna come with?"

Assuming Arcade comes along (can always respond to Arcade's response if you wanna have one) the core crew of the Reclaimer will head onto the station down to a neon bathed corridor, one of the trendier spots amongst the free captains, filled up with local artisans, street food vendors, and hole in the wall bars covered in the storied histories of the legendary captains that used to or currently frequent them. Tucked away near the end of the corridor is a small boutique parlor, a large azure crystal window giving a peek inside the storied gallery that was the home of master artist Raquell LeBlanc, a stout, hunched reptilian Vesk, currently finishing almost lethargically on an ornate, multi-colored piece on the side of a mustachioed gnome's face. 
The well past middle-aged reptile gives the impression that when she was in her youth, she probably easily stood well over 7.5 feet in height, her body hunched down a bit with age and seemingly the weight of the vast network of body art that covers almost every inch of the giant woman's iridescent green scales from near the end of her club-like tail, twisting up and around her body, networking and swirling in between bony spikes that run up her spine, and end around her powerful jaw and brow.

An ancient sounding bell rings as the group walks into the cramped studio. the artist doesn't even look up at the crew, flicking her decorated tail over to a small row of chairs along a wall, positively crowded with more of Raquell's artwork, with a low pitch grunt, "Be with you in a second. Hold still, Gary!" she gives the squirming gnome a petrifying scowl, before continuing the final strokes of the face piece, muttering under her breath in the guttural Veskan language, a long tongue peeking out of the side of her toothy maw in concentration.

After a few more minutes, the piece is finished, Raquell mutters a short chant as the gnome's face glows with a soft, warm light, as she quickly heals Gary's face. Gary steps down from the chair to admire his multi-colored parrot that stretches it's wings across his face, the feathers almost seemingly fluttering in motion. the reptilian tattooist washes up, before going over to a small display to square up Gary's commission cost. Gary walk out happily whistling a tune as the hunkered Veskan lumbers over and settles into her rolling stool before the crew, "ssssoooo.." she rumbles, "who's here for me, and what do you want?"

Toni raises a hand "I heard that you have the ability to weave in powerful magic into tattoos to give their wearers certain effects. I want a piece to commemorate our epic battles and adventures thus far." 
Raquell nods along, "Tell me about them, and we will see."
The Lashunta captain recounts the tales thus far of the Reclaimer's crew to the slightly curmudgeonly Lizard artist, at times, assisted by Gin, and maybe even Arcade, with song. At the end of their story, winning the Regatta, Raquell, who had been sketching on a small tech pad smiles a wide, sharp-toothed grin as she shows the sketch. Toni claps her hands over her mouth, stricken silent for a moment, eyes glittering as one hand traces across the design, "It's..perfect. Yes yes yes!"

Toni settles into the tattooing chair, her shirt off, the pale skin ready to be transformed into the canvas for a masterpiece. Over the next several hours, Raquell creates upon her canvas, intoning in a low, gutteral voice a long chant that seems to flow and swirl alongside her tattooing instrument as it glows and pulses with magic. Imagery of the crew's time press-ganged on that first ship, their mutiny on the ship that became the reclaimer, the conquest of Tidestar Rock, their battles that led to the diaspora, the trials they faced to become a free captain and members of the diaspora, their routing out of the chelaxian spy ring, their win at the Regatta, and various other adventures they've had twist and swirl like ocean currents across both her shoulders around the tops of her shoulder blades, up her neck to just under her jaw, and down across her chest ending just above the bottom of her ribcage. they all center around a circle of complex sigils that form a shield centered on her clavicle that turns not unlike the helm wheel of a ship, pulsing with a faint, warm teal glow that radiates out along the ocean current of story like the waves of a teal ocean.  (Barrier Tattoo, AC 15 + Dex Max 2) As Raquell finishes, her eyes close as she place both her hands onto the shield sigil, reciting a final line of chant before her eyes glow brightly and a wave of magical energy bursts out across the design, activating the powerful ward and healing the skin. "Done."

The lashuntan councilor dances around the crew, her tattoo flowing and moving like ocean waves, syncing with her own movements, "What do you think?" Her eyes glittering at her sister and her friends.

On the ship: It definitely takes a while to get Dani's attention. Focused as she is, it may even take a couple telepathy messages to break her concentration, but once she does the hammering stops and she sticks her head out, armorless with her hair sticking out everywhere and streaked with grease. She gives her captain a thumbs up. "One sec. Let me grab Kwesi." She ducks back into the workshop and then comes out a few minutes later in her armor, which looks bulkier than before, with a new gold-colored band around the ring finger of her right gauntlet. "Lessgo."

At the tattoo shop: Dani waits while Toni tells the tale, fighting the urge to activate her helmet and hide from any attention that might spill over her way. She wants the magic of the tattooing with intense curiosity, taking notes on the method, words, and sigils being used. At the end of it, she is almost transfixed by the movement of the ward's sigils, making an approving noise. "That is some goddamn impressive work."

Gin had practically been jumping on her heels since Toni had brought up the idea of getting a tattoo. And now it was happening! She happily followed behind her sister while she gathered up the crew with those who wanted to join in on the journey to the parlor, striking up conversations with them, asking what kind of tattoo they thought their awesome captain would get. She would even doodle a few ideas and show them! Though, she was more a musician than an artist, so the doodles were more cutesy and small, kinda like her!

As they made their way to the shop, Gin had taken note of the vendors around them, knowing that she would definitely be hitting up some of these places for snacks and drinks while waiting for Toni's piece to be completed. Though it wouldn't be till waaaay later that she does, having been so enraptured in the tattooing process, she nearly forgets how hungry she was! The yellow lashunta had done her best in giving Toni and the tattooist space to work, but having been as excitable as she had been, it was a bit difficult. Though, thankfully, after having gotten a snack for the group (even feeding Toni, had she so wished it), she does eventually sit herself somewhere nearby to doodle and write some lyrics.

Once the piece is completed, she would be the first to look at it, eyes wide and shining, with a beaming smile on her face. "It. Looks. AMAZING! The colors and all the, the... Everything!! Those details! How did you do that, Raquell?! You're like a canvas, Toni! A beautiful, wonderful, breath-taking canvas! Does it hurt? How do you feel? What's the caring process? It's magical so does it have a process? I can totally help if there is one!" Gin simply rambles on and on, too excited and happy for her sister for her own good.

Toni lightly runs her fingers along her tattoo, gingerly at first before looking up with a smile, “it’s healed up! It hurt a lot when she was doing it, but not now! It feels like soft waves flowing along my skin, wait!” She turns to face Gin chest first, “punch me!”

If Gin punches her, Gin’s fist hits resistance like half-plate armor made of air as teal light ripples along the tattoo.

Even if she wasn't the strongest person out there, Gin would happily pipe up and say, "Okay!" and proceed to give her best swing at her sisters chest, only to cry out in pain just a second later. "Owie... T-that's cool though!"

With your business taken care of, you fly towards the Moon of Empty Eyes. As you approach the planet, your scanners pick up multiple things on the moon's surface. A giant-sized set of ruins in the moon's highlands, an old military base near the mouth of a bay, and a jungle that contains large, unidentified life forms. Near the military base, there is a platform for ships to land on. Another platform is also present in a valley that's a few hours walk from the ruins.

Toni looks over Arcade's and/or Dani's shoulders at the scanner, then moves dramatically up to the front view screen of the planet, "We should secure the military base, then we can contact our other ship and have them land there and hold it while we expedition out to the jungle and ruins. What do you all think?" The lashunta captain turns to her crewmates for their opinion.

Arcade gives a thumbs up in approval, "I shall make an in-person analysis of the structure. However, I do believe that if time constraints grow to the critical levels, that an orbital bombardment of the wildlife would be optimal." Making his opinion clear, Arcade would help prepare the ship for descent towards the military base, before then preparing his own gear for entering the base itself.

Dani tosses Toni a thumbs up from where she's manning the screens. "Jungle first once we've secured the base. I don't feel like being surprised by whatever's in there."

Jeff had been more than happy to tag along and accompany the sisters through Toni's tattoo, enjoying their charades every step of the way. He'd pour on the genuine compliments, admiring his captains tattoo and her bravado to go through it. He agreed with Gin about her sisters skin being a beautiful canvas.

Having been working with the crew for some time, Jeffery Jefferson's confidence only continued to grow. They spoiled him with all their brains, sense of priorities and taking care of important responsibilities. Lucky for him he was cute? The man moved with an upbeat stride, chiming in with his usual charm and whit when necessary. But nothing became more irresistible than his smile.

Having settled in comfortably for the ride, Jeff was excited to check out their actual moon, but... he had been guilty of dozing off in his seat after a long night. Eventually getting jostled or snorted awake, his eyes would ping open. He'd give his most innocent smile as he'd correct his posture, adjust his belt, run his fingers through his hair and adjust his attire all while trying to get his bearings. Luck would give his captain an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Will it be hot?" Jeff would blurt the first thought associated with the word 'jungle'.

"Great plan, sis! Er, I mean, cap'tn!" The lashtuna gives her sister a salute, then taps her chin at Jeff's question. "Are there cold jungles? I mean, in space anything can exist, right? Ooh, I hope it's cold!"

"Wanna go find out, Jeffy?" Dani asks sweetly, twiddling her fingers over a button marked "Seat Eject".

With her other hand, she pulls up the metrics on the jungle. Namely, its temperature.

(Lol! Books)

“Sure!” Jeff chimes before he actually looks over towards Dani.

The ship's metrics tell Dani that the jungle is warm and tropical, like all jungles.

Dani gives a wicked smile as her hand slams towards the button...and then whooshes right past it, taking the corner of her screen and turning it to face the crew. The jungle's metrics are up on it, showing that it's warm and wet. "It will indeed be hot. Pack your swim trunks. For after we've cleared it out."

Toni nods back at Dani, "I agree, can't let any weird moon monsters get us when we are vulnerable."
She smirks at the others as they chat about Jungles and temperatures, it all flying over her head as she muses, "I wonder if they will be like back on Castrovel, Gin." She shakes of the reverie of the pop duo's homeworld, a life long gone, "Anyway. Now that we are on the same page, let's go capture us a moon. Take her in, Dani!" The Bard-Captain will gesture forward with one hand, "Make it so!" Not one to be too serious, she chuckles a little bit, adding under her breath, "I've always wanted to say that..."