Twila froze in place on her way down to the engine room. Every muscle in her body was tense; her shoulders suddenly ached, and when she swallowed, her throat hurt. “What do you mean ‘they took her?’”
“She made sure we could all get across, and then she tried, but they shot something at her–a gizmo, I think–and she fell over. She broke the bridge behind us, but they got shackles on her. I don’t know where she is, Twila!” Rosie said. “They were shooting at us, and Rojir dragged me along until we were safe. Then we came here.”
Twila stayed frozen for a second. Then she slumped. “I dunno what to do, Rosie. What do I do?” Planning to maybe have lost the crew was one thing; it was easy to prepare for a possible disaster. But this? Having actually lost someone, especially someone as important–as knowledgable–as Auntie Charlie? She couldn’t think. Her brain was misfiring worse than Leftie or Rightie ever had.
“Well, we have to get her back,” Carter said. He scratched his neck, then pointed at Henry. “You. Where does the Gibson Company keep their prisoners?”
Henry blinked. He edged toward the gangplank, glancing around at the ship rats. “In the…prison?”
“And where is the prison?” Twila asked. Carter was right. They had to get Charlie back. It was strange that he’d suggested it, though. Ever since the Sable Tide at Iswixel’s monster cliffs, he’d seemed pretty nervous–especially after they’d kidnapped him and brought him on their adventure. Not that she’d paid him much attention.
Henry shrugged. “I’ve never been there myself, but I’d guess it’s…um…maybe in Fort Blackstone? It’s at the top of Seapike, though. And it’s got cannons–ground-based ones, the big carronades, and twenty-eights. This airship couldn’t get close, I promise.” He edged toward the ramp again, and Twila nodded at him to leave.
Twila finally moved. She ran to the engine room and grabbed the first apprentice she could find. “How long until the engines are ready? Hourglass needs to move right now.”
“Go talk to Wainson. I just do what I’m told,” the apprentice said, shrugging off her hand.
Twila glared and started to say something, but Becca intervened. “He’s not lying. He’s got a certain job to do, and he only does that job on engines. You need to talk to the skywright himself for the big picture or find the apprentice foreman. Good luck with that, though.” She pointed at the working apprentices, who’d crowded around the engine and jammed up the whole engine room.
“Fine,” Twila said. “Check everything we can, and get ready to leave.”
She stomped down the gangplank and looked for the muttonchop-wearing skywright. He was standing near the Hourglass’s starboard side, supervising a few very young apprentices as they riveted brass plating to the hull around Rightie. The ship’s stern was a patchwork of armor far from the glistening brass coat Twila had imagined.
“Now you’ve got a good base layer, so we can set the next layer of plates half across these and rivet to both them and the hull. It’ll make it stronger and less likely to come apart under mystshot fire. Don’t cheat at it, though. All the rivets make the wood beneath fragment more easily if it gets hit, so make sure it’s all covered. Two layers are best, but one for sure,” the man said, holding a brass plate against the armor patchwork to demonstrate.
“How long until the engines are finished?” Twila interrupted. “There’s a problem, and we need to get flying.”
“They’re running pressure checks to make sure their seals hold,” Wainson said, not looking at her. “That’s at least half an hour. Finishing the armor is a three-hour job. If you want it all done, you won’t be flying before dusk.”
Twila glared at the young apprentices as they riveted in another brass plate. Then she stomped back up the gangplank. “We’re here at least three hours. It’ll be dark when we can leave. Everyone, come here.”
Once the crew gathered around, Twila pointed at the [Puckle Gun] and the small bag of cartridges beside it. “This is a [Puckle Gun].” She grabbed Marianna and showed her how to operate it. The cylinder chambers, loading it, and rotating the chambers between shots. The tiny ship rat–she couldn’t be called a street rat anymore after the battle at the selkie beach–proved able to operate the gun. At least during practice.
“So, anyone can use these. I’ll teach on the far gun. Marianna, teach on the close one. Cannon crews, let the others learn first,” Twila ordered. Then she stopped. She’d forgotten something. “Actually, Marianna, there’s a building with a needle and thread on its sign. Go there and tell the woman you’re there to pick up a [Platejack Coat]. It’s paid for. Bring it back here.”
Marianna nodded and slinked off the ramp, playing with her music box as she went.
“Okay, who’s next?” Twila asked.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
----------------------------------------
“So, I think we can make the [Puckle Guns] more efficient with a second ship rat loading them,” Becca said. “At least until we upgrade them.”
“Upgrade them? They’re amazing,” Carter said as he spun the cylinder and the ratchet clicked. “They don’t need upgrading; any real skywright could tell you that.”
“Sure they do. We could build a hydraulic-pumped one that spun itself with a good workshop and some time. There’s gotta be a way to build one that self-loads, too, but I’m not sure how. But you never did care for that part of shipwright’s work.” Becca glared back at the boy.
Below them, the skywrights swung another brass panel into place and started running rivets into it. Twila tapped her fingers on the [Puckle Gun’s] barrel. Things were taking too long, and they had to get Auntie Charlie back! Her eyes flicked between the workers below and the skywright’s door. Becca and Carter were in a full-on screaming match, with Rosie trying in vain to stop them and the rest of the crew struggling to ignore them, when the door finally creaked open, and Marianna ran inside.
She wore a silk jacket–it was much too big for her, and it sat stiffly on her shoulders, seeming to drown her. She opened her mouth to say something as she scurried up the gangplank, but Twila shushed her and pulled the [Platejack Coat] off the girl. Then she put it on.
The seamstress–Gwen, she remembered–was good. Very good. Where the myst-powered tape measure had looped around her, the coat fit snugly but not tightly. She adjusted a few straps–it had plenty of room to grow, as long as she didn’t mind the gaps on her sides widening a little. And its dark blue color and high collar were precisely what she’d asked for.
It wasn’t perfect. She could see how some of the stitching had been rushed, and it pinched just a bit at the waist, but maybe that’d loosen with a few wearings. But it was the best piece of clothing Twila had ever owned.
Marianna opened her mouth again. “Before you shushed me, which was pretty mean, I was going to say I think I was–.”
At the same time, Skywright Wainson strode up the ramp. “She’s ready to fly. If you stick around for a bit, we’ll do our final checks, but–”
“–You’re not listening to me, Twi!” Marianna interrupted. “I think I got followed by–”
“‘–Overall, she’s done,” Wainson finished, glaring at the girl.
“–by the Gibson people.”
“By who?” Twila asked.
The door to the skywright’s shed burst open. An officer in a green uniform forced his way through the door, sword drawn. Gibson Marines filed in behind him. They leveled their muskets at the ship rats, the Hourglass, and the skywrights’ apprentices working all over it.
“Twila Tighe, in the name of the Gibson Company and the Principalities, you and your crew are hereby placed under arrest,” the officer shouted.
[Twila Tighe, Ship Rat Mystgineer, Equipment Level 1.33 (Myst 1/12, Hit Points 2/2)]
[Head - Empty]
[Eyes - Myst Lens (lvl. 1) Myst Sight (passive) See own status block and others’ classes]
[Chest - Platejack Coat (lvl. 2) Plated Coat (passive) +1 Hit Point]
[Waist - Apprentice Mystgineer’s Bandolier (lvl. 1) Deep Pockets (passive) - Equip an additional Gizmo]
[Legs - Canvas Overalls (lvl. 0)]
[Gizmo #1 - Loaded Dice (lv. 2) - Roll the Bones (active, 1 myst/roll) - gain a random myst enhancement; Skill - Trickery]
[Gizmo #2 - Anton’s Pocket Watch (lvl. 4)] Redo (active, 5 myst/5 seconds) - redo the last five seconds of time, with knowledge of what’s happening (1 minute to reset); Skill - Piloting]
[Gizmo #3 - Empty]
[Gizmo (Belt) - Mystwork Lantern (lvl. 2): Mystlight (active, 25% failure chance, 1 myst/attempt) - start the light; Adjustable Light Aura (sustained, .5-2 myst/tick) - light a variable area; Skill - Perception]
[Myst Battery - Condensing Battery Mk. 2 (lvl. 1) Myst Storage (passive) - 12 myst maximum, requires condenser to refill; Condense Myst (passive) - Condenses 1 myst/6 ticks]
[Weapon/Pair - Anton’s Paired Pistols (lvl. 2) Smoothbore Myst-Shot (active, 1 cartridge/shot) - fire a ray of heated myst; Rapid Shots (active, 2 myst/shot) - fire twice/tick; Skill - Marksman]
[Weapon #2 - Heatblade (lvl. 2) Heat (active, 1 myst/tick) - cause the blade’s edge to superheat; Skill - Acrobatics]
[Weapon/Pair - Empty]
[Skill #1 - Trickery 2]
[Skill #2 - Perception 2]
[Skill #3 - Piloting 4]
[Skill #4 - Marksman 2]
[Skill #5 - Acrobatics 2]