Mal had a nice buzz going, taking his time with the rest of the rum, a sip here and there. It was a good feeling, one that kept his mind off other things- his dad, whatever was going on with Duncan, all his friends vanishing on him...

Pirates were something worth thinking about, though, and flintlocks made him think about pirates. "Naw, it's definitely a rule," he said. "Just gotta dig out my pirate hat an' I'll be all set." He grinned.

He mused over the rest, shrugging. "Dunno that they'd be able to pay a whole lot, but I'd at least try to get 'em to fund it, if they seemed interested. No idea how t' go about bringing the idea to them, though..." He'd never had any experience dealing with government projects or funding or anything of the sort.