Age Of Steam - Ch. 5

Chapter 5

The next morning, Frances awoke to the blaring sun beating down on her brow. She had sloppy drool running down her chin and unto the brownish pillow below her head. Her eyes looked around the small empty cabin and with a grumble under her breath she lifted herself from her bed. This was a rarity for her. Usually the Tigre would wake up drooling over her own blueprints.

She was actually quite upset at herself for not working on the machine she wanted to. She had all the memories of the little contraptions she saw in the thieves' store.  The fan blowing wind over his head was connected to other useful objects that they could use down below. She stopped and looked at the spare parts lying around her room.

After her return from Reger, she placed all of the parts all about her floor. The room was never very neat what with books on engineering laying around and the piles upon piles of blueprints and plans in their respected folders lining her desk it was a wonder how she could find a thing. She began to think of making a robot for herself. As much as she hated relaying on the technology to help her she had to.

She had to let go what her parents taught her about human things. How they were evil. She was on a ship that was being ran by a human so she had to get used to it.  Besides, she would have been a liar if she said she didn't enjoy working with the parts that have always fascinated her. Each gear and each little part of copper was special to her in its own way. They all had a place. Unlike her it seemed. She sighed and made her way out of her room.

Breakfast was usually laid out so whoever wanted some could simply fill up a plate and have their fill. As she made her way down to the dining area, she could see some of her comrades sitting down to their meals.

Jepth sat with Judith while Edna sat alone with her friend Bernie. Allie sat with Cordelia speaking loudly about the latest fashions they saw in Reger. When they had the time to do so was beyond her. Her eyes scanned the rest of the crew but she saw no signs of Erastus. She wondered what he was doing. He was usually the one she would sit with. With a shrug of her shoulders she loaded up a plate with as much food as she could.

They most likely wouldn't be having lunch this day. It was going to be a long day of repairs on the ship and if they are lucky, some pillage. The cannons on the lower deck were to be cleaned and checked for any malfunctions.  She ate her food in a hurry but before she could move Allie walked over to her. During the times when Allie and Cordelia were eating, Sophia would man the ship.

"Frances, since people seem to love you, I have a request," she said.

"Y-Yes?" she stammered.

Allie smiled and took a seat next to her. She sat rather lady like. Sometimes it was a wonder how she survived as a ruthless air ship pirate. Allie's past was one of royalty, politics and fortune. Frances never asked her for the specifics but she knew enough to wonder how a girl like that was to be caught up with pirates.

"It's quite simple really," she explained in her highly posh voice. "We need you to see if you can gather up about five new crew members in the town. Don't worry you won't be alone, Cordelia will be with you. Try to get people with skills." Allie paused for a moment. Being one of the royal family of humans from Ebur she was revered for her magical skills.

Frances waited for her to go on but she could tell that the other girl was having difficulties getting her words out. "You mean skills like you?" she asked her.

"You could say that," she replied. "I'm counting on my two cat girls to get this done. Sophia, Cordelia and myself spoke about it last night. Edna came to us with talk of her brother who seems to be useful to us. I'm sure we won't have a trouble with him but a good five more will help us."

Frances stared at her blankly. "What about today?" she asked.

"Well, we won't be going down the normal trade route. It's straight there at full speed so we should be there soon. A few hours tops. I take it all the repairs should be done by then?"

"What about the cannons and the—"

Allie pressed a long thin finger to Frances' lips. "You need not worry about them. Not for right now. You know how things change around here. They change rather quickly with new orders and new objectives. Let's see what we can do in Copper Gate shall we?"

Frances merely nodded her head at her. Allie smiled brightly and said, "Good! See you soon then." She got up from the table and moved away to the doorway where she disappeared from sight. She was off to pilot the ship once again with Cordelia most likely. Confused, Frances got up from her seat and decided to get to work.

A few hours was not enough for her to get everything working in the time span they wanted.  It was strange how much they wanted from her. She was a hard worker this was true but the ones at the top where the ones that always wanted things to be more and more exact. The quicker the better. She sighed and made her way down to the lowest level of the ship.

The door swung open and there stood Jepth working closely with Judith on the gears that moved the thrust to the ship. Erastus was once again no where to be seen. She scratched the back of her head.  "Where is Erastus?" she asked.

"Top side," Judith replied. "He is working on one of our blimps. He said he should be done fairly soon. He's been up there for hours. Since day break. I'm concerned about him. For the last day or so all he has done is work like a mad man."

"We honestly need another hand down here," Jepth said. "I mean, he's been running ragged and so have I. I finished up all these repairs but now the firebox is acting up. If I had someone else this would go faster." He eyed her carefully to see how she would react to his request.

"Finding a mechanic is going to be an adventure," Frances warned. "There aren't many of us and the ones they do have aren't going to be too keen on joining a band of rogue pirates."

"Is there a way we can get another one of S.P.A.R.E. then? He's been working all night and not much of a complaint from him!"

The small robot was working away at shoveling coal to make the steam engine of the ship move. Frances already could tell that all the gears for the main engine were fixed and in top working condition. She smiled at the robot and was quite proud of herself. She picked up her wrench and got to work helping them with the rest of the repairs. For once, she felt good and not lonely or depressed.