“Oi! Eddie! You’ve never been on a long cruise before, have you?” That was Sydney.

“I haven’t had the chance to ride one of these things at all! You’ve got me hauling ropes and crates every day!”

“Yeah—your muscles are a lot better than your head! But, since you’re technically an apprentice too, I should put you on a training cruise.”

My heart leaped. “You mean I get to fly!?”

“That’s right. Vera here will go too, to show you the ropes.” She pointed at Vera, who was standing nearby.

“Awesome! Where are we going?”

“Japan.”

“Huh?” She had said it so simply, like it was nothing, I could hardly believe her.

“You know… Nippon? Big island across the ocean? Lots of silk and rice?”

Was she serious? My longest airship ride so far was just across the city, and she was sending me to Japan?

“Can we really fly all the way there?” I asked.

“Sure, Ride low and south, to catch the Pacific trade winds going west, and that’ll blow you most of the way there. It’s a long distance, but it’s actually easier than crossing the Rockies.”

“And we can get back?”

Vera cut in at this point to make fun of me: “No, we’ll just spend the rest of our lives in Japan. Of course we can get back, idiot! We’ll ride high to catch the jet stream coming back, and get home real fast.”

“I hate to ask but… what if the wind doesn’t blow? Do we have enough fuel get there?”

“Not without losing all our lift and crashing into the ocean. We burn the same hydrogen for motor power that we do for lift. So you might want to lose weight, too.” Vera poked me in the gut.

“Hey…”

“Yeah, probably nothing you can do about that,” Sydney said.

Vera laughed, “We could cut his legs off! He can still haul ropes in a wheelchair!”

“Why don’t you cut your legs off?” I snapped back.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Cut off these sexy legs?” She twisted around to show it off. “Not worth it. It would be a crime against humanity.”

“Neither of you are going to cut off your legs,” barked Sydney. “You’ll be taking a long distance zeppelin, so there’s plenty of lift for the job. Just go slow and ride the winds as much as possible, you’ll be fine.”

“Is it just going to be us two on the trip?” I asked.

“Ha! Trying to get some alone time with me?”

Vera hadn’t answered my question, but Sydney did. “No, you’ll need a third hand to manage the big Zepp and keep it balanced. Akari will go with you, too.”

Vera grimaced. “Akari? Why her? She’s so boring! I don’t want to be stuck on a trans-Pacific flight with a wet blanket like her!”

Sydney spoke back sharply: “First, because she’s an expert aircrew and an experienced pilot. Second, because she was born in Japan, so she speaks the language fluently and can help you once you land. Third, because I’m the boss and I said so! Now get going!”

With that, Vera and I left Sydney’s office and went back to the main airship docks. “What a bitch…” She said, as soon as the door closed.

“Do you really hate Akari that much? What’s so bad about her?” I asked.

“Eh… you’ll see what I mean, as soon as you meet her. Let’s go find her and get the ship ready.”

So I followed after Vera, since I had no idea where to find this Akari woman. The airship docks were as busy as ever, full of tough-looking dockies hauling crates, sewing gas bags, hammering on wooden hulls, and working on machines that I still couldn’t begin to understand.

“Hey, Vera… what’s that thing over there?” I pointed to a particularly strange machine in the corner. It had a series of glass bottles with different colors inside, all connected by a series of winding glass tubes into a large copper tank. There was an open fire bubbling beneath the tank.

“That? That’s our distillation chamber. We use it for making Blau Gas.”

“Blue Gas?”

Vera laughed. “You’re such a himbo. No, not blue. Blau. Named after some German guy. It’s mostly hydrogen but has a dash of distilled coal gas mixed in. We use it to fly on these long voyages—keeps things more level.

I didn’t really understand what she meant by that, but decided not to press for more information, since Vera would just make fun of me.

Before long, we found Akari. She turned out to be a short, slim young Japanese woman with green hair in a bob cut, and a bad attitude.

“Vera,” she said coldly, “why have you come to see me?”

“Believe me, it’s not by choice!” Vera answered. “We’ve been ordered to go on a mission together. You, me, and this idiot.”

“This baka?”

“Yeah, him.” Vera pointed at me.

I couldn’t help but feel insulted. “Uh, hi. I guess I’m the idiot. But it sounds like we’re all going to be riding together on a very long trip, so let’s try and get along, OK?”

“How much flight time do you have?” Akari asked.

I thought about making a joke based on my video game flight experience, but her cold gaze made me be serious. “Well, this is my first flight. So uh, none.”

“Then you are indeed a baka. Perhaps even more so than Vera, and that is a low barrier. But it will be fine. Simply be quiet and don’t interfere—I can pilot the ship by myself. Perhaps you will learn something by watching me.”

“Is she always like this?” I asked Vera.

“Pretty much, yeah. That’s why I really didn’t want to fly with her.”

I couldn’t decide which woman I disliked more—the fiery, abrasive Vera or this ice queen Akari. Nevertheless, I was still looking forward to the trip. My first long-distance trip in a proper airship! And not just any trip—I’d be going to Japan! I could hardly wait to get started.