"Mordecai." He said with irritation he couldn't hide. "You're the Bos'n?" Mordecai felt better about being taller than the man, but he could tell that they weren't going to like each other one bit. Man, I've been stuck with a stiff. Maybe Jane got lucky being assigned to the cook.

  The Bos'n didn't respond to his question, but simply looked him critically up and down. "You're a big one," he said, grunting. "You'll be useful around here, once you learn the ropes. Do you know anything about flyin' a stormchaser? Cause if you don't, this next week'll be hell for you," he chuckled darkly.

Mordecai paused for a moment in quick thought while the Boatswain finished talking. Failing to bring up anything from his youth, he shrugged. "Always fly against or away from the wind, or the ship will roll over?"

   The bos'n looked mildly impressed for one millisecond, then he frowned. "Not a problem. We've got a weight system that keeps us in balance. If that's all, then you'd better learn fast. C'mon."
   He set down his clipboard and led Mordecai to the upper deck of the ship where he spent the rest of the day teaching him how to tie knots properly, watch the weights and the sails for any change that could be bad, and to strictly control the temperature of the flight rock with heated lamps. If it got too hot, they would sink. If it got too cold, then they would float too high. "And that's something every good sky-sailor knows," he said, wagging his finger in Mordecai's face. "Never ever fly higher than your longest grappling hook's rope. But our Captain," he smiled, "He's got some mighty long rope."
   The bos'ns name was Wesley, and his teaching style was rough, more of a learn-as-you-go type. He answered all of Mordecai's questions, and was impressed with how quickly he learned and how strong he was. In their hours together, Mordecai didn't meet any more crewmembers, who were all either busy with some work or sitting around talking to each other. They seemed to have a lot to talk about, and they glanced in his direction often.
   When the sun was beginning to go down, a bell rang. It wasn't the bell to announce that an hour had passed, it was different, faster. "Dinnertime," Wes told Mordecai, and motioned for him to follow.

   Brax rang the bell, Jane at his side. She still hadn't finished cleaning, but he had had her stop to help him set out the food for the crew. He also informed her that the Captain would be dining with them tonight, in honor of their two new crew members. Introductions would be made all around. Tonight they would be eating some of the perishable goods. Soft bread, fruit, meat. It was a rare treat for the men to have the Captain eat with them. Usually he ate alone in his cabin, sometimes with Raff or Wesley, but usually alone.
   There were just over twenty members of the Cloudcutters crew. She was large for an stormchaser, which in usual circumstances, could be piloted by a single man. Even the Cloudcutter could be succesfully piloted by less than a handful. But they just kept taking on more and more. Brax sighed. "Our Captain's too big-hearted is what's the problem. Don't tell him I said that. We might run out of room on our old beauty here," he said, rubbing a beam of wood fondly, "Not to mention food. After tonight, it small portions until we reach an undertown."

Mordecai followed Wes to the galley after they finished their work, and when they got there most of the crew was present. The strange Red-haired Captain was no where to be seen, so Mordecai took a seat at the very end of the table opposite the door. He could see most of the room at any moment, and who was coming through the door when they did. He felt pretty uncomfortable until he saw Jane walk out of the kitchen area. He quickly waved her over to his end of the table.

   Jane slipped away from Brax, and took a heavy seat beside her brother. She sighed tiredly, and put her head down with a moan, "If everyday is going to be like this, I won't last long..." she mourned, "My hands are throbbing.

   Brax gave Jane a pat on the back as he walked to his seat, and he and Wes sat down beside Raff, the huge Quartermaster. There was another empty seat on Raffs other side, probably meant for the Captain. The crew were all staring openly at Jane and Mordecai, whispering to each other. There were no hostile looks to be seen, just curiosity. One or two waved when the brother and sister looked their way. One who did was Gunny, the young-looking blonde boy Mordecai had met earlier that day. Another who did was an almost painfully handsome boy three people down on the opposite side of the table from them. He had pleasently tanned skin, dark eyes ringed by beautifully long eyelashes, and chestnut colored wavy hair. He waved at Jane.
   After a few minutes, footsteps were heard on the stairway leading down to the galley. All talk instantly ceased, and Raff, Wesley, and another man with black hair and an eyepatch all stood. Everyone else stayed seated. The red-haired Captain walked into the room, sweeping off a black, wide-brimmed hat as he entered and leaving it on a barrel near the door. He wore a small smile as his eyes travelled over the crew, lingering on the two new additions. As he passed them, every crew member saluted respectfully, murmuring "Cap'm. Cap'm." When he reached his seat, the three standing men saluted at once, and the four of them sat down together.
   "Now," said the Captain, smiling. "Let's enjoy this feast that Brax and his new helper have prepared for us today, because it isn't going to happen again anytime soon." There was a gentle murmur of laughter at that, as the crew looked at each other with rueful faces. "But before we eat," he said, "I have an announcement to make. As you all probably have noticed, we have two new crew members with us tonight." Everybody nodded, and the Captain stood, gesturing to the brother and sister as he did. "Everyone, this is Mordecai and Jane. Mordecai and Jane, say hello to your new family."
   Wide smiles broke out all around as everyone waited for their hellos.

   Jane smiles shyly, and lifted a hand in a wave to the smiles all around. Especially the sinfully handsome boy with chestnut hair. She found herself blushing and smiled back to the crew members, her new family, and murmered, "Hi..."

Mordecai almost blushed, he certainly did not like publicity. He looked at the rest of the crew in general and nodded. "Hello." He was about to settle himself on his elbows when he caught sight of the tan crewmember with dark hair. What's more, he caught the looks he was giving Mordecai's sister. Mordecai almost glowered in his seat. Oh great, another sleazy dirtbag trying to sweeten up Jane. He better watch himself carefully, or he is gonna regret it! Mordecai remembered the last guy who tried to take advantage of Jane. He also remembered the man's broken leg.

     The Captain nodded. "Alright. Now we'll introduce ourselves. My name is Jackson Knight, and I am the Captain of this vessel." he swept a short bow, then sat down. Next to him, the bulky man who had toted Jane and Mordecai about the ship like kittens the night before stood. "My name is Raff Cox. I am the Quatermaster on this vessel." Raff had cropped short black hair, and very dark blue eyes, so dark they were almost black. He looked to be in his late thirties, and was a solid seven feet tall. He sat back down with a glower.
     On his other side, the bos'n looked like a midgit as he stood. He didn't come as tall as Raff sitting down. "My name is Wesley Abernathy, and I am the bos'n aboard this vessel. That means I'm in charge of you," he said, jabbing his finger at Mordecai and cutting him through with his sharp blue eyes.
     Wesley sat down, and the man with the eyepatch beside him stood up. "My name is Alex Connor, and I am the gunner on this vessel." This man had longish black hair, and a rugged-looking face. Stubble grew on his cheeks, and his one visible eye was a brownish hazel. He was tall and muscular, and his leather vest creaked as he sat down.
    Beside him was the blonde boy Mordecai had met earlier that day. He stood eagerly. "My name is Gunny. Just Gunny. I'm seventeen, and I'm a gunner's assitant." He sat down, smiling brightly as if he was quite satified with his introduction.
    Beside him was another of the boys Mordecai had seen that day, the disinterested-looking dark boy. He stood slowly, his eyes focusing and unfocusing until they rested on Mordecai and Jane, and then he stared at them in incredible intensity. "My name is Beau Amkite. I am a gunner's assistant." With that, he sat back down.
    And then the third boy Mordecai had already met stood up beside Beau. He was grinning widely. "My name is Carson Jules, and I'm a gunner's assistant." He gave a quick bow to mimick the Captains and sat down.
    Next to him was the handsome boy that had waved to Jane. He stood up and cleared his throat. "My name is Connor Fane. Nice to meet you. I am a deck hand aboard this vessel."
    After good-looking Connor there was a young man with white-blonde hair that looked so wispy it was a surprise it didn't float off his head with every gust of air. He stood, blue eyes looking at them nervously yet happily. "My name is J.J. Roller. I'm a deck hand too."
    The next young man on the bench didn't stand up until J.J. elbowed him. When he did, his knees knocked the table and everyone grabbed their glasses, some cursing and some laughing. He had dark brown hair and gray eyes."Uh, m-my name is Dirk Bradford. I'm a deck hand." he sat down awkwardly and J.J. patted his shoulder.
    Then it moved to the other side of the table, and another crew member stood up. The young man had tried to wave to Jane earlier but had probably been out of her sight. He had a bad case of acne and what seemed like a tick in his neck; every few seconds, whether he was talking or not, he rolled his head back on his shoulders then back around to the front. He had light brown hair and nondescript blue eyes. "Hi. My name is Andrew Cannon. I'm a deck hand on this vessel." He sat down.
    Next to him was Brax. He stood up and wiped his hands on his trousers. His long, dark hair swung in its ponytail and the silver wings of hair at his temples made him look like the oldest man present, which he probably was. "I'm Brax, and I'm the cook. Jane is my assistant 'cause Alex has plenty." The crew laughed at that.
    The last person was another older man, about in his late twenties or early thirties. He had a receding hairline and peircing eyes that were bluish hazel. "My name is Damien Eddy, and I am the doctor aboard this vessel. Come to me if you start getting sore during your first few weeks here." he smiled kindly at Jane and Mordecai.

Mordecai nodded to them all in greeting and appeared to be neutral, not embarrased or angry but certainly not happy. He sat calmly next to Jane, keeping a sharp eye on Connor Fane.

   Jane tried her best to match names and jobs to faces, and she thought about how hard it will be to remember, and frowned. Noticing that a few saw, she quickly began to smile again, "Nice to meet you all." she shrinked back, and clasped her sore hands in her lap.

   The Captain laughed and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, everyone, dig in!" Immediatly a ruckus of voices and laughter erupted as hands reached for food and small fights broke out over particularly yummy looking peices. Several crew members picked up their plates and moved to sit beside Mordecai and Jane. Connor actually got to Jane first, with Dirk and Andrew right behind him. "So you're the cooks assistant." "Wait wait, I was first," "No, hey Jane! Did you help cook this, if you did, it's great!"
  Gunny got to Mordecai first, J.J. and Carson right behind him. "I'm sure you won't be cabin boy for long," said Gunny. "I wasn't!" "Shut up, Gunny, and let the men talk--" "You shut up! I am a man--" "Mordecai! Do you go by anything shorter?"

Mordecai was reaching for his first helping when the boys came over to his end of the table. He smiled and nodded to Gunny and the others as they sat down and was convinced that guys this lively aren't so bad after all. He thought that they could become good friends. Mordecai nodded kindly to Gunny as he mentioned not being a cabin boy for long, and he was grateful for that. He couldn't help but laugh to himself while watching Gunny and Carson argue about mantalk but was somewhat slowed by J.J's question. It got him thinking about his name, and that got him thinking about his past; his father. He didn't think long, he pushed all of those thoughts out of his head quickly. He didn't want to be a downer during a celebration. Mordecai looked at J.J. softly as he sat down, and replied: "I don't go by anything shorter I'm afraid, I like my name as it was given me, and when I think about it... anything short of Mordecai sounds rather strange." Mordecai smiled at J.J., and had a thought. "So why do you call yourself J.J?"

   Jane smiled at Connor, Dirk, and Andrew, and tried to answer all of their questions in order, "Yes, I am the cook assistant, and yes, I helped cook it. And, I hope that it is great." she laughed gently, and quietly ate while all three of the boys kept trying to gain her attention. Mostly, she laughed and listened to them interupt each other.
   She glanced at Mordecai occasionally, and smiled to herself, glad to see that he was smiling again.

  J.J. gave him a blank look that, for a moment, glassed his pale eyes over and brought his brows together as if recalling an uncomfortable memory. Then he blinked, and smiled. "J.J. because... I like it."
  The meal passed with lots of questions plied to the brother and sister, lots of jokes and shoving and laughter. The older crew members talked to each other and watched, and the Captain watched them and laughed to himself occasionally.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:48, Wed 15 Sept 2010.

Mordecai enjoyed himself getting to know the members of the crew who sat near him, and almost forgot about the Connor fellow entirely. He took a swig from his drink, and regarded Gunny oddly. "So, where will we be headed once we stop to re-supply in the nearest undertown?" Mordecai asked, hoping it was at least a place he had previously heard about; certainly not being keen on going to a country or place he was not familiar with.

   Gunny's smile slowly disappeared, which was odd for him. "Well, uh, we're not sure. The Captain... won't tell anyone. Which is as good as saying that he doesn't know," he whispered confidentially. "Beau thinks we're running from something. And Beau never says anything unless he's thought it over a lot." Gunny giggled half-heartedly.

Mordecai faked a quick chuckle to humor Gunny, but when Gunny looked away all Mordecai could do was stare depressedly into his mug and hope that there wouldn't be trouble ahead. He took a look at Jane off to the side, and the Connor guy; who couldn't seem to get enough of her. Mordecai puffed into his arms as he lay with his elbows on the table. It's not fun to think about more than one thing when you're feeling depressed.

   Jane talked with the boys in a lively manner, quite aware of her brothers discomfort. She caught Gunny's words and frowned, her attention being drawn away from the boys that were all talking at once to try and get her to respond to them. She bit her lip, and fell into thought, her mind settling on the night that they jumped into the ship in the first place.

   When the meal was over, and everyone was sleepy-eyed, groaning, and rubbing their stomachs, the Captain sent them all to bed, then disappeared up the stairs to his quarters. Raff oversaw the hearding of the boys below-decks, and the hanging of a new hammock for Mordecai, while Wesley the bos'n showed Jane to a small cot in the room where they had been kept the first night, now full of crates and barrels.

   Jane did not want to lay down until Wesley had gone. She felt like she was about to fall over and just sleep where she landed. Once the door closed behind him, she dropped onto the cot and quickly fell asleep.

Mordecai finished off the last knot on his bunk and turned in. Lying in his bunk, Mordecai could only fathom what deep crap he was getting himself into.

   Captain Jackson Knight sat alone in his darkened cabin, leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed, resting his chin on his hand, staring out the smoky glass of his small window. The moonlight dimly lit the small room and put a dark light in his eyes. After a few moments of silence and stillness, there was a soft knock at the door. The Captain sighed, sitting up in his chair. "Enter," he called.
   Raff entered and closed the door behind him, standing with his arms clasped behind him just inside the doorway. "Captain. The new ones are settled in. We'll reach the undertown in eleven days."
   The Captain nodded, and sat forward, resting his elbows on the desk and entertwining his fingers. "They have it. I felt it the moment they came on board." Sighing, he reached into his collar, pulling out a thin chain of some dark metal. On it hung a brass key. Pulling the necklace over his head, he leaned down to the locked cabinet in his desk, and unlocked it, pulling a small, round box out. It's four legs were slender and curved, with clawed feet, each clutching a tiny, clear crystal. The metal was very tarnished, very dark. No light reflected on it from the window. There were strange indentations and symbols inlaid around the sides. A small, intricatly carved wind-up key protruded from the back, between two hinges along a seam. It opened; there was no clasp holding it shut. But no one could open it.
   The Captain held it up to the light, turning it every which way and letting the crystals in the feet sparkle. He didn't touch the wind-up key, no matter how badly he wanted to. "They have the key. I know it."
   Raff looked uncomfortable. "They're so young. How could they have it?"
   "They stole it, of course. I don't think they know what they've got, but the Patrol does. They were after those kids in force, not just the normal few units for a robbery. If I hadn't have high-tailed it out of there, they would have found it, and probably the music box as well." He sighed and sat back, rubbing his eyes. "This is too big for me, Raff. I left Sanctaphrax because I didn't want this sort of responsibilty. I wish I could just drop it on somebody...."
   Raff sighed, and took a few steps forward. "I know you won't do that, Captain. You didn't even take the key from those two. Why?"
   "I don't know, Raff. I'll ask them about it once they're settled. After we restock at undertown. Right after."

   Mordecai and Jane could hardly distinguish between one day and the next. The work was hard and long, the sleep was short and fitfull. The days went by quickly, and soon the crew was getting ready to land in undertown. The deck was busy with activity, but Jane only heard the thundering of barefeet against the boards above. She was washing dishes, with suds up to her elbows that were making her skin itch. Brax was chopping vegetables on the counter to her right, ignoring the noise above, and muttering about getting his food supply restocked.
   Jane sighed quietly, and set about scrubbing burned stew off of the bottom of a large pot. Her thoughts turned to the night that she and her brother jumped onto the boat. The thin silver chain around her neck was hidden by the apron that Brax and dropped onto her that morning. The small pendant that hung on the chain was the whole reason she and Mordecai were in this mess. They had taken it, and the Patrol had chaced them for the longest time. They couldn't understand why this little piece of junk was so important.
   It was just a small pendant in the shape of a flower. It was faded, and looked like it would get a few coins, and nobody would miss it. They had taken it from the velvet pillow it had been resting on, and the alarm went off. Then they ran.