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The ship itself looked like any other seafaring vessel. Primarily constructed of wood, it was soundly built to withstand the rigors of sailing while also cutting a strong - but careful - trail to its destination. The ship's findings were made of a variety of metals, ranging from iron and copper to tin alloys and even precious metal filigree. Firm masts rose grandly from the deck, holding sturdily-sewn sails that billowed and fluttered with the whims of the wind. Framing this model of a ship were two large booster barrels fastened securely on either side, each puffing out clouds of burnt steam.
And on this ship, gliding effortlessly through the sky above the Singer Sea, the rumblings of a minor explosion grumbled through the corridors.
"It's all right!" came a voice, yelling through the smoke and debris that still clung to the air around her. "I've almost got it!"
The pounding on the stairs to the engine room vividly illustrated that somebody on the boat certainly didn't find it to be 'all right', and the woman swore underneath her breath as she stood to dust herself off. Her enterprising partner did the same, waving his arms through the muddled air in a vain attempt to clear it.
"KAZ!" came the bellowing voice of Captain Rickers. "I'll rip your grease-streaked head from yer corpse and toss it to the sharks if'n yeh ain't dead yet!" The stomping halted at the door as it burst open, revealing a fairly annoyed ship captain with a fish bone stuck in his beard. He took a deep breath to bellow some more curses, but was foiled by the cloud of smoke that had billowed into his face when he entered. His lungs erupted into a vigorous bout of coughing, and Kaz quickly jumped on the opportunity to have her say.
"Cap'n, a few more tweaks an' we got the ship operatin' at a hunnerd-an-thirty-four percent capacity, a full sixty-seven up from where we were after the run-in with ol' Flamebrows two weeks ago." She paused a moment to knock a dusting of ash from her hair before she continued. "Sixty-seven, Cap'n! Yeh can't beat that now, and Wiry here's helpin' me make sure my math's on the money."
Rickers let out one last whooping cough before straightening himself to bear down on Kaz menacingly. "Y'hear me, Kaz, I've had enough of yer improvements. Yer last one set me back a crewmate, remember?" he growled coarsely.
"May be, Cap'n, though there's nothin' ta say that Grimm didn't throw himself off the side on his own, now. But yeh only need two men to crew the sails now instead of the old six! If that ain't improvement, I don't know what is." The woman beamed proudly as she stood at attention, ash fluttering off of her jacket as the air in the room finally began to clear up.
Wiry, the pudgy ship engineer standing a few paces behind Kaz, nodded adamently. "S'true, Cap, her math's on the mark and we'll be goin' twice as fast after she's done with the engine here. Shouldn't take more than another hour or four." His grin tried to match Kaz's, but went askew with his confidence.
The whirring and clacking noises of the ship's engine filled the room as all the occupants ceased talking. Captain Rickers found himself glancing furtively between Kaz and Wiry, while Wiry grinned anxiously and Kaz beamed like a fox in a henhouse. He blinked and a small pop sounded, followed by the wafting odor of burnt grease. A bead of sweat formed on his brow and he steadfastly ignored it.
"FINE!" he roared above the clatter of engine parts. "You fix this ship good, and if yeh don't there won't even be enough of yeh left to toss overboard!" He pounded one meaty fist into the wall for emphasis, then walked out of the engineroom without looking at the dent he'd left in the wood.
Kaz waited a solid fifteen seconds after the door slammed shut before turning to Wiry and grabbing the crewmate by the shoulders. "We've got this!" she crowed before diving into her toolbox. "Let's get this girl zooming!"
-
The clouds drifted by at their normal pace, seemingly littering the sky with tufts of substanceless wool. For several moments, however, they sped up, as two projectiles went flying through them.
Kaz watched the remnants of the explosion lose their outward velocity and start to plummet towards the water. The ship also began to change course into a veritable nosedive at the ocean below. Sighing, Kaz turned to Wiry, who was currently occupied with screaming as the two tumbled through the morning breeze.
"I swear, that totally should've worked."
And on this ship, gliding effortlessly through the sky above the Singer Sea, the rumblings of a minor explosion grumbled through the corridors.
"It's all right!" came a voice, yelling through the smoke and debris that still clung to the air around her. "I've almost got it!"
The pounding on the stairs to the engine room vividly illustrated that somebody on the boat certainly didn't find it to be 'all right', and the woman swore underneath her breath as she stood to dust herself off. Her enterprising partner did the same, waving his arms through the muddled air in a vain attempt to clear it.
"KAZ!" came the bellowing voice of Captain Rickers. "I'll rip your grease-streaked head from yer corpse and toss it to the sharks if'n yeh ain't dead yet!" The stomping halted at the door as it burst open, revealing a fairly annoyed ship captain with a fish bone stuck in his beard. He took a deep breath to bellow some more curses, but was foiled by the cloud of smoke that had billowed into his face when he entered. His lungs erupted into a vigorous bout of coughing, and Kaz quickly jumped on the opportunity to have her say.
"Cap'n, a few more tweaks an' we got the ship operatin' at a hunnerd-an-thirty-four percent capacity, a full sixty-seven up from where we were after the run-in with ol' Flamebrows two weeks ago." She paused a moment to knock a dusting of ash from her hair before she continued. "Sixty-seven, Cap'n! Yeh can't beat that now, and Wiry here's helpin' me make sure my math's on the money."
Rickers let out one last whooping cough before straightening himself to bear down on Kaz menacingly. "Y'hear me, Kaz, I've had enough of yer improvements. Yer last one set me back a crewmate, remember?" he growled coarsely.
"May be, Cap'n, though there's nothin' ta say that Grimm didn't throw himself off the side on his own, now. But yeh only need two men to crew the sails now instead of the old six! If that ain't improvement, I don't know what is." The woman beamed proudly as she stood at attention, ash fluttering off of her jacket as the air in the room finally began to clear up.
Wiry, the pudgy ship engineer standing a few paces behind Kaz, nodded adamently. "S'true, Cap, her math's on the mark and we'll be goin' twice as fast after she's done with the engine here. Shouldn't take more than another hour or four." His grin tried to match Kaz's, but went askew with his confidence.
The whirring and clacking noises of the ship's engine filled the room as all the occupants ceased talking. Captain Rickers found himself glancing furtively between Kaz and Wiry, while Wiry grinned anxiously and Kaz beamed like a fox in a henhouse. He blinked and a small pop sounded, followed by the wafting odor of burnt grease. A bead of sweat formed on his brow and he steadfastly ignored it.
"FINE!" he roared above the clatter of engine parts. "You fix this ship good, and if yeh don't there won't even be enough of yeh left to toss overboard!" He pounded one meaty fist into the wall for emphasis, then walked out of the engineroom without looking at the dent he'd left in the wood.
Kaz waited a solid fifteen seconds after the door slammed shut before turning to Wiry and grabbing the crewmate by the shoulders. "We've got this!" she crowed before diving into her toolbox. "Let's get this girl zooming!"
-
The clouds drifted by at their normal pace, seemingly littering the sky with tufts of substanceless wool. For several moments, however, they sped up, as two projectiles went flying through them.
Kaz watched the remnants of the explosion lose their outward velocity and start to plummet towards the water. The ship also began to change course into a veritable nosedive at the ocean below. Sighing, Kaz turned to Wiry, who was currently occupied with screaming as the two tumbled through the morning breeze.
"I swear, that totally should've worked."
