They said you were a good man, a man who had his own rules, in truth, but not one that would lend him to base cruelties.

[ Stiffly put forward - she hadn't just picked any ship. Though she could feel the man in front of her - hears his sneer. Of course a woman would rely on a good man's softness. She does her best to not stiffen too much at the insult. They need to underestimate her. She needs them to think she's weak. They won't ready themselves for the knife then. Much as it goads her.

For her part though, as they reach the lower decks, she straightens herself out and calls in clipped Hindi. ] 'Daughter, your mother needs you.'

[ And sure enough, a girl, small and scrapped and sharp as her 'mother' appears. Comes forward, warily, before she runs straight towards Lakshmi and wraps her arms around her waist. ]