#and so she is introduced to dr Gold (middle-aged with a cane and a dark past)

[notonlymice]

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[shining-red-diamond]

Ch. 5: The Quest

Cast of Characters//Ch. 1//Ch. 2//Ch. 3//Ch. 4//Ch. 5//Ch. 6//Ch. 7//Ch. 8//Ch. 9//Ch. 10//Ch. 11//Ch. 12//Ch. 13//Ch. 14//Ch. 15//Ch. 16//Ch. 17//Ch. 18//Ch. 19//Ch. 20//Ch. 21//Ch. 22//Ch. 23//Ch. 24//Ch. 25//Ch. 26//Ch. 27//Ch. 28 (coming soon)

Words: 1598

Pairing: OT8 x OCs

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: none

A/N: Italics mean they’re speaking in Korean.

One by one, the crew members entered through the bronze door.

“You can hang your coats and hats on the hangers to your left,” the woman instructed, and they followed suit.

The interior of the house had a luxurious aspect to it. The furniture was covered in white fabric, the fireplace had a carved, wooden mantle with a buffalo’s head hanging over it, and the walls were lined with various paintings and marble statues. The floor was a white and black marble with intricately designed carpets covering various spots in the main area. A marble staircase was leading up to a second floor, the railing being a polished wood; and a crystal chandelier glittered from the ceiling.

“Fancy,” Phoebe commented after hanging her coat and setting her umbrella in the umbrella holder.

“I’ll alert the professor you’ve arrived,” the woman said.

“No need, Dalia,” a voice objected from the top of the stairs. “I saw them walking up the path.”

A fairly tall man stood at the top of the staircase. He appeared to be middle-aged with chestnut brown hair and graying at the temples. A dark mustache sat right above his top lip, and his glasses were placed firmly on his nose. He was dressed in light khaki pants, a brown sweater, and a white lab coat with brown dress shoes covering his feet.

“Dr. Steinbeck,” Hongjoong bowed, the rest of crew copying him.

“My goodness, Hongjoong,” the professor smiled as he stepped down the stairs. “How long has it been since I last saw you? Twelve years?”

“I believe so.” He shook the professor’s hand.

“Your father, God rest his soul, often spoke about how you wanted to be the captain of the ship someday.”

“I just hope I am making him proud by doing so.”

“And who are your friends?” Dr. Steinbeck noticed the crew behind the captain.

Hongjoong brought Dahae forward. “This is my fiancée, Dahae.”

“Nice to meet you, professor,” she greeted.

“Pleasure’s all mine, my dear,” the professor returned.

Hongjoong went down the line as he introduced his members. “This is my first mate Seonghwa and his fiancée Grace-Anne. Our quartermaster and medic Yeosang and his girlfriend Phoebe. Our engineer Yunho. Our weapons master and gunman Jongho. The HALA’s pilot Mingi and his girlfriend Taeran. Our physicist Wooyoung and his girlfriend and barrelman Dinah. And our navigation expert San and his wife Celestia.” The captain motioned towards her baby bump. “And this is their daughter.”

The professor’s eyes immediately went to Celestia’s necklace. San took note and scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Quite a team you have, I must say.”

“Thank you.”

“Shall we head to my lab?” The professor began to lead the way.

The young woman, now identified as Dalia, walked up to Celestia and asked, “Do you need to sit down, darling?”

“I appreciate it, but I’m alright,” Celestia politely declined. “I’ll let you know if I do.”

Dalia nodded and walked into another room.

The house seemed like any normal one would be. A few pictures hung on the wall displaying family pictures and some achievements. Awards also displayed some of the professor’s accomplishments, and a few doors in the hallway lead to various rooms. They entered another living room, decorated just as luxuriously as the first one, and they were lead to a pair of double doors. A black screen brightened up next to the doors. The professor punched in a code, and a voice said, “Welcome, professor.”

Dr. Steinbeck turned towards the crew. “Ladies and gents, welcome to the Wonder.”

The doors slid open, revealing a brightly lit room filled with artifacts on tables, stored in shelves and some boxes placed under tables. Some tools littered the tables, and a sparkling crown could be seen up front. Other artifacts displayed were a box full of gold coins, an ancient tablet with Latin writings scratched on the surface, and some Greek pottery. Study equipment were sitting on each table as if ready to be used for exam the artifacts. The crew wandered around the lab, gawking and taking in the entire set up but careful not to touch anything as their captain had instructed.

The lab intrigued Celestia the most. Only when she was alone in her room was she able to study her findings, but never in such delicacy as the real archaeologists do. All she had were a few tools and some scrolls she found on her and San’s secret honeymoon in Dubai.

“This is amazing,” she exclaimed as she examined one of the pots, her hands resting on her belly. “And you’ve accomplished all of this in a thirty year time period?”

“It’s only a fraction of what I’ve found,” Dr. Steinbeck claimed. “Everything else is at the main lab by the museum. This is only if I’m trying decipher something big, or if I just want to study something.”

“Is this why you’ve asked us here?” Dahae asked.

“The deciphering part, yes.”

“Lunch is ready, sir,” Dalia announced from the doorway.

“Thank you, but please knock next time, Dalia.”

“Sorry, sir.” She scurried away.

The dining room was just as fancy as the rest of the first floor of the house. A large window revealed a beautiful view of the city, however it was still raining pretty hard. A long wooden table stretched out from one each of the room to the other, and it was able to seat at least twenty people, which was more than enough for the crew. Red placemats were placed at each spot and a plate of salmon, sweet potatoes, and blackberries on top; and a glass of water stood by each meal. Dr. Steinbeck sat at one end of the table, and the crew sitting at the sides with Hongjoong and Seonghwa seated closest to him.

Dalia was in and out of the kitchen and running around the table tending to everyone’s needs. She was their designated waitress for the time being. Yunho couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her, and everyone else could see why. She was a beauty with smooth caramel skin, sparkling brown eyes, and an aura that radiated warmth and love.

“So what is it you need our help with?” Hongjoong asked after swallowing a piece of salmon. “In your email, you didn’t exactly say what was happening.”

“Well, for starters, with all the talk of hackers these days, you can’t be too careful,” the professor chuckled at his own joke.

“Yeah, I don’t feel attacked,” Phoebe whispered to Yeosang.

“In all seriousness,” Dr. Steinbeck continued, “I was on an expedition in the Conga a few weeks ago, and in one of the scrolls I found, it talked about a diamond so rare and precious that it was cut up into eight different pieces and scattered across the world. So far, only three have been found. Two of them are housed in the Smithsonian in the States. The third one has been missing for about seventy-eight years. No one knows how it disappeared, but some speculate it was either stolen or possibly lost in the transport to the Smithsonian.”

“What about the other five?” Dahae asked. “Has anyone else tried to find them?”

“No. As of now, I’m the only archaeologist in the world who has attempted to do so. However, I have been having trouble decoding some of the clues in the scrolls that reveal the locations of the diamonds. That’s why I contacted you.”

“What made you decide on us?” Celestia asked. “We just like traveling and making discoveries. We’re nothing special.”

“Oh, on the contrary, dear.” He took a sip of his drink before continuing. “When I heard of your most recent discoveries in Peru and Guatemala, I knew I had discovered the perfect team to take on this quest. I’d go on the adventure myself, but I hurt my back on that same dig in the Conga. My doctor wants me resting.”

His eyes wandered back to Celestia’s neck.

“Forgive me for staring, love,” he apologized, “but that is quite a beautiful necklace.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “It was grandmother’s, and then she passed it down to me before she died.”

The professor nodded, his wrinkling face showing wheels turning in his mind. “Do you know where she got it?”

“My grandfather gave it to her the night before they got married, but he never told anyone where he got it.”

“I see.”

Taeran sensed something was off, but decided not to jump to conclusions. If he had hurt his back in Ethiopia, how could he have walked down the stairs so well? Maybe he’s going through physical therapy? However, he didn’t have a cane.

“Anyhow,” the professor continued, “would you all be willing to take on this quest?”

Hongjoong looked around at his crew, all of their eyes filled with hope. He knew his crewmates. Something like this could benefit them all financially in their own ways: San and Celestia could rebuild their old house if they wanted to return home, Grace-Anne and Seonghwa could fund their wedding, Phoebe could pay off her grandfather’s medical bills, and the list goes on. The only downsides were, however, this was going to be much riskier than previous explorations, and Celestia’s pregnancy was the cherry on top.

The captain was hesitant to answer; but if they were going to take this journey, then they were going to have to do what he said without question. Their safety and wellbeing mattered the most to him.

“We will go,” he finally answered, shaking the professor’s hand.

[a-rose-for-gold]

I don’t know what that would entail but this needs to be a fanfiction.

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