Chapter Four Hundred and Sixteen — Talking Shop
Chapter Four Hundred and Sixteen — Talking Shop My friends and I decided to help.It wasn’t that big of a discussion, but it was a discussion, and I was pretty happy with that. Recently, I’d been feeling... well, not bad, exactly, but a bit conflicted.Was I being the best friend I could be?Well, no.I don’t think it was entirely possible to be the very best at something, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t try. That trying meant listening, and talking, and making sure that my friends were happy with whatever came down.So we talked, weighed the pros and the cons, then decided to help Abraham with his latest adventure.On some level, I think we all knew that he was sort of humoring us. But he seemed thrilled to have us along, so I didn't think we were really imposing.Amaryllis and Calamity had gone off to secure the Beaver’s stay for the next couple of days, and to make sure that there was a watch set up. It was important to keep the ship safe, especially in a place that could be so troublesome. I was sure we’d manage though, and we had a massive boogeyman to scare off any evildoers, otherwise known as Abraham.That left Caprica, Awen, and I with Abraham and the Shady Lady.Caprica was probably the last of my friends that I would have expected to get along with Abraham (he was a bit much, even as cuddly as he was) but she was sitting on a tank of some sort down below while Abraham regaled her with a story that needed to be told at high volume and with lots of arm waving and gesticulating.While she kept Abraham and herself entertained, Awen and I went over the Shady Lady.Mostly that was Awen. I was her tool bunny for the moment, carrying a small toolbox in both hands and a few more in some belts that I’d looped around my neck.“How is she?” I asked.All I could see of Awen right then were her legs and behind sticking out of the ship’s engine bay. The Shady Lady’s engineering section was inside the hull, but the hull was so small that there wasn’t really room for anyone ‘inside’ the ship, except for the cabin at the rear, and that’s not where the engine was.“She’s... not that bad, but not as great as she could be,” Awen said. She grunted, then pulled herself out along with a large metal thing with a gear sticking out of one end and some wires on the other.“Is that important?” I asked.Awen blinked, then looked down at the thing she was holding. “Yes?”“Okay,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say.Awen smiled, then held it up to me. “This is the starter. It... well, it starts the engine. See this gear? It gets the engine turning, and once it’s turning, it can sustain itself. But look at this part, here.”“Uh,” I said as I followed her gaze. “It’s metal?”“Yeah, bare metal. No grease, and you can see some gouges along the shaft here. This isn’t the original starter, and it’s not meant for this model of engine.”“Oh,” I said. “So it shouldn’t work?”She shrugged. “I’m sure it does, but it’s not meant to be fitted in there. Then again, nothing is. The Shady Lady has been rebuilt a lot, you know? And a lot of the rebuilds were kind of ... improvised. I said the starter doesn't go with this model of engine, right? Well, that's true of everything in here." She gestured vaguely into the engine bay. "When you're out on the edge of civilization, it can be hard enough to find spare parts for a new engine. So, Uncle used whatever he could find to get moving again. The current engine is secondhand, but the exhaust manifold is brand new — except it's for a different model so someone beat it with a hammer to make it fit. The driveshaft looks like some kind of Sylphfree military castoff; they cut it down to size and ground the ends to fit. Each part of the hydraulic system was manufactured by a different group, even the main reservoir, which is a two-hundred-year-old whiskey cask. The wiring is a customised patchwork. Half the gears are worn down. The propeller is unbalanced, and I am pretty sure it was looted from pirates."I blinked. That was a lot from Awen all at once. "How can you tell?""Mostly the graffiti. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is: there's a lot of room for improvement." She smiled and held up the starter, can you clean this? I’ll see if I can’t find a replacement for the cam on this and then I’ll fit it back into place after greasing it up.”“Alright.” I said, happy that I could do something to help. A quick application of Cleaning magic was all it took to scour the old grease off the starter. It revealed a crack along the metal casing that Awen glared at for a while before sighing.“If this was on the Beaver I’d insist on replacing it once we got to port,” she said. “Not that I let things get this far. I swear, Uncle does not take care of his stuff. This is probably half the reason he keeps needing to replace things.” She muttered a little more as she disassembled the starter with surprising ease while sitting on the ship’s railing. The parts she undid went on the floor, laid out in a big semi-circle.“Can you fix it?” I asked.“I’m a mechanic, not a machinist,” she said. “But... maybe if I had the right tools? I don’t have much experience making things from scratch, especially not metal.”I shrugged. I really didn’t know much about it. As far as I was concerned, Awen was doing some sort of machine magic to keep things working. “So, what do we do?”“With this? Find a replacement, make sure it works with the engine. I can maybe switch the gears out to make sure a replacement works. Then... well, I barely looked at things before finding this problem, so I bet there’s a lot more down there.”“Oh, shoot,” I said. “So, the Shady Lady isn’t ready for racing, is she?”Awen frowned, then shrugged a shoulder. “Not as ready as I’d like. But she can probably still fly. Uncle has brought the Shady back in pretty bad shape before. There are lots of problems with a ship this old, but she’s tough-tough.”If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.“That she is,” someone said from behind me.I spun around with a gasp to find a grenoil gentleman standing on the deck. It took me a split second to recognize him.“Raynold!” I jumped forward and hugged the slim grenoil. He chuckled, returning the hug with gusto. “You’re here too?”“I could hardly leave Abraham on his own. World knows what sort of trouble he’d get into without someone to keep an eye on him!” Raynold said as the hug ended. “Awen! It’s wonderful to see you as well.”“Uncle Raynold,” Awen said, a lot calmer than I’d been, but she was still smiling and after setting down a last couple parts down, she raised her arms to give him a hug too. “It’s nice to see you.”“And you as well.” Raynold gave Awen a final squeeze, then settled back down with a grunt. Raynold wasn’t the youngest frog around. There were a few wrinkles around the edges of his eyes and mouth that I didn’t remember, and he seemed just a little more stooped, but he still carried himself like a proper gentleman in his vest and cleanly pressed slacks. Only the aviator goggles hanging around his neck hinted at him maybe being somewhat mechanically inclined. “You know, your family...”“I, ah, don’t know if I want to hear about them,” Awen said.He nodded. “That’s fair enough. I’m glad to see you, in anycase. And glad to have someone else around to help me wrangle Abraham. He’s been getting particularly excited about this race, which... is concerning.”“Concerning?” I asked.Raynold nodded, which was a big gesture for a grenoil to make. “The participants aren’t all pirates and criminals and ruffians, but they definitely make up the majority. The rest are airship companies that want to tailor to them. We’re standing out for being so... dare I say, normal?”“So the locals don’t like you?” That was concerning. Someone might try something with Abraham, or the Shady Lady. Or they might fly unfairly during the race.“It’s not all that bad. We balance out the distaste with a respectable amount of fear,” Raynold said with a rueful grin. He fished out a small pipe from a pocket on his vest. “Abraham’s a powerful man, and I’m not so shabby myself. It’s still just the two of us, however.”“That must be lonely,” I said.Raynold laughed, shaking his head all the while. “No, nothing of the sort. There’s no time to be lonely with Abraham around. Now, I have to know, why do you have the engine’s starter in pieces?”“Ah, there’s a crack in the casing,” Awen said. “And the cam is worn out.”“Hmm, didn’t know about the cam,” Raynold said. “But the casing’s been cracked since before we installed it, so that’s nothing new.”“Isn’t that... concerning?” Awen asked. “The crack might grow?”“You do things a bit more by the book than we do,” Raynold said. “But I suppose there’s no harm in that, especially not just before the big race. I have a few spare parts below that I was going to swap out, maybe you could give me a hand with that? I’ll need a bit of time to source a new starter.”Awen glanced down at the open engine bay. “I think we might have to replace more than just that,” she said. “I didn’t have time to look at much down there.”"A fair assessment." Raynold rubbed his chin. "You definitely know what you're doing. So long as you're here, the Shady Lady could certainly stand to have a bit of maintenance done. I’ll help you remove the rest of the engine’s covering, and we can unbolt the cowling while we’re at it. Miss Bunch, I recall you having Cleaning magic?”“Yup!” I chirped.“Then I’d appreciate your help here too,” he said. “We’ll want to slather some grease on everything once we’re done, but clearing it off should help see what needs our attention more. Do you know anything about tuning, Awen?”“Not really, not beyond getting the timing right on the Beaver,” Awen said. She didn't seem upset about her own lack of knowledge. If anything, she seemed a little excited to learn something new.Raynold nodded along. “In that case, let me show you an old trick or two. I did pick up a handy third class just to keep this old bird afloat.”So we got to work, and by we, I mostly mean Raynold and Awen. I got to stand on the side and feel a bit useless while I watched them take things apart and chat between each other. My translation power made sure that I understood the words they were using, but not necessarily what they were talking about, which was kind of annoying.Still, I got to pass them tools and Awen at least seemed to be having a blast, so I didn’t complain.“Ah, Broccoli, can you clean this part here?” Awen asked.“Sure,” I said. “Do you want me to just blast the entire engine?”“No, there might be a few corners where there’s accumulated oil that we won’t easily be able to replace. And since those places are hard to reach, we want to leave the oil there because if they start to rust apart,” Raynold said.“Okay,” I said. It seemed a little weird to me to want to keep something dirty, but the logic did make some sense, so I decided not to question it too hard. “So, are you sure you’ll be okay, just you and Abraham?”Raynold hummed a deep, throaty note. “I’m not worried. Or maybe I am? I’m not worried that the locals could really harm us. Sure, there are more violent ruffians than I’d like around these parts, but most of them are common thugs that bully others and rely too much on their own brawn. It’s rare to find a thug that’s brave enough to delve a dungeon in search of a second class, and fewer still make it to a third. On the other hand, Abraham has a nose for danger, and he tends to go running towards it rather than away.”“That does sound like Uncle,” Awen said.I went quiet for a while as Awen and Raynold continued to work. Sometimes, I felt like maybe I was a tiny bit like Abraham myself. Not the big rotundness and the glorious moustache, but the attitude towards adventure and fun.Was I making my friends worry too?Then again, Raynold seemed to love Abraham, regardless of his nose for adventure. Or maybe even because of it.I sighed. Introspection was so tiring.
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Chapter Four Hundred and Seventeen — Race Against Time
Chapter Four Hundred and Seventeen — Race Against Time The airship race was due to start in about twenty-four hours, and the Shady Lady did not look ready for a race. In fact, she barely looked ready to fly at all.Awen and Raynold had decided that with both of them working on the airship together, they’d have a much better chance of fixing and patching her up here and now, before the race would begin.That seemed rather obvious to me, and I think to the rest of my friends too. Who wanted to race in a ship that wasn’t in good racing condition? But it was clear that that wasn’t how Abraham thought.Awen and Reynold disagreed.Which meant that for a good chunk of the rest of the day, I ended up serving as runny-bun for Awen and Raynold. She sent me back to the Beaver a half-dozen times with lists of parts to pick up, tools to grab, and scraps to return with.Eventually Amaryllis and Caprica were roped into helping too. Awen returned to the Beaver and we temporarily stole the propeller off the Redemption as well as a few other small parts which were just about the right size to fit onto the Shady Lady.Supper came and went, and I think we were all thankful that a few ingenious locals had set up street food stalls near the racer landing pads. It was the only way we’d get anything in our tummies since time was so short.“This was a bad idea,” Awen admitted to me as she stared at a workbench covered in parts.“What was?” I asked. I was currently holding onto one metal doohickey so that the hose within it didn’t detach from another metal doodad.Awen gestured at the bench covered in thingywhatsits. “The more we dig, the more stuff we find that needs fixing. It’s a miracle that the Shady Lady could fly at all. But that means that we’re breaking things to fix them and then discovering more broken stuff underneath. If we hadn’t started digging, then things would still be working, even if poorly.”"Maybe the Shady Lady could fly, but would she keep flying halfway through a stressful race?" I patted Awen's shoulder. "You're making her a lot safer."Awen sighed. "Yes, but at what cost? The more we fix, the more things we find that are wrong. We might not be able to fix everything before the race starts.""Just focus on the important parts," I said, trying to be supportive. "Make sure the engine is in the best shape possible. The other stuff can wait until after the race."She gave me a small smile, "Thanks, Broccoli. You always know how to make me feel better." I smiled back, then she continued. “Even if you don’t know a thing about airship maintenance.”I turned in my smile for a fresh new pout.We continued to work into the night. Or at least, Awen and Raynold did. The rest of us did what we could to help, but it was clear that they were in their own little bubble, and the best we could do after a while was make sure they had what they needed as they continued to toil away at the Shady Lady.“Do you think this is good for her?” I asked Amaryllis when we had a moment to ourselves.Amaryllis huffed a ‘are you serious’ sort of huff. “This is perfect for her,” she said. “If it wasn’t for the lost time, then I’d say that this situation was almost entirely perfect for Awen’s growth.”“Her growth?” I asked.“She’s doing the kind of work that her class is made for, under heavy constraints with materials and time, and working on a ship that’s likely only held together by well-wishes and Abraham’s own skills,” Amaryllis said. “I’m no mechanic, Broccoli, but I am an Albatross of the Albatross family. I know airships, and that one shouldn’t be able to fly.”“But... we’ve flown on it before,” I said.“We crashed on it before,” she replied. “I’ll bet a tail feather that the Shady Lady only flies because Abraham is around to keep it afloat. Powerful skills can do powerful things. Powerful skills held by legendarily powerful people can do things that are practically miraculous. What Awen is doing is fixing the issues that Abraham’s abilities are covering for. And Raynold’s as well, I suppose. He’s quite strong in his own right.”I nodded along, mostly understanding. It was true that Abraham was... Abraham, so that kind of thing was probably normal for him. And Raynold had as many classes as someone like Bastion did, which put him amongst the most powerful people around on most days.“So when you say this is good for Awen, you mostly mean because of her class?”“This is the equivalent of you walking into a castle-turned-landfill and spending a full day doing nothing but cleaning it,” Amaryllis said. “It’s the kind of event that’ll boost her levelling for her main class by leaps and bounds. That doesn’t happen everyday, and so... I’ll hold off on complaining too much about lost time.”As the night wore on, it became clear that sleep was going to be a luxury that none of us could afford. Awen and Raynold continued their laborious task with little sign of slowing down. We set up a couple of tents for those of us who were going to stay onsite, then the others left back to the Beaver. That meant that in the end, it was just me and Awen and Calamity from our friend group who stayed. The others returned to sleep in their own bunks, which was entirely fair.I found Awen sitting in front of the Shady Lady's mostly rebuilt engine, her eyes half-closed and her hands covered in grime. She was exhausted, there was no doubt about it, but there was also a glimmer of determination that stubbornly refused to be extinguished.Walking over to her, I gently touched her shoulder. "Awen," I said softly.She looked up at me, a sleepy smile tugging at her lips. "What is it, Broccoli?""You need to rest."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!"But the race—" she began to protest, but a huge yawn cut her off mid sentence."The race is later," I insisted. "You've done enough. You've done more than enough." She opened her mouth to argue, but I held up a hand to stop her. "Awen, you're tired. And if you keep going like this, you'll be of no use during the race."There was a long pause as she looked at me, her gaze wavering before finally, she nodded. "Alright," she said. "But just for a bit."I quickly fetched a thick blanket that we’d gotten from the Beaver and a small mug of hot tea, then helped her settle down in a quiet corner. Abraham had found some ratty old couches and plopped them down to one side, a place for people to sit while he told one of his stories. Now it was a place to lay Awen down and wrap her in the blanket.I made sure she was nice and snug, then sat next to her, and arm wrapped around her back. I thought maybe we could chat a little, but before I could think of what to say, Awen’s head started to dip and I had to carefully grab her mug before she spilled it.As she snuggled into the warm cocoon I had created for her, I couldn't help but smile. Even amidst the chaos and stress of the race preparations, there was a certain peacefulness to this moment. Smoulderglen might have had a poor reputation, but it was the quietest city I’d visited. The air was warm, but it was a dry warmth that felt nice, and there was a soothingly cool breeze coming that smelled faintly of wood fires. It was the quiet before the storm, the gentle pause before the thundering roar of the airship race.With Awen safely asleep, I left her to rest and returned to the Shady Lady. There was still work to do before the race and while Awen rested, the rest of us would continue with the preparations.I cleaned up after their work. Raynold had finished up and was happy for the very little bit of help I could give him tucking tools away. Mostly taking tools back off the ship and putting them in their place and sweeping away the debris that was too big for my Cleaning magic to handle.The Shady Lady could probably use a fresh coat of paint, but at least she’d be the cleanest ship in the race, which counted for a lot. My mom used to say that if you couldn’t be pretty you should at least be clean.Just as the first rays of dawn began to break, I heard the familiar sound of my friends approaching. Caprica, Abraham, and Amaryllis trudged toward us, their hands full of steaming containers of breakfast from one of the food stalls. They all wore determined smiles, ready for the day's challenge.“I hope you're hungry, Broccoli,” Caprica greeted, setting down a container of hot buns and a flask of something that smelled suspiciously like coffee. The aroma wafted over, filling the air with a comforting scent.“I could eat,” I replied, taking a seat next to Awen's sleeping form. Amaryllis chuckled, handing over a wrapped parcel filled with some local breakfast pastry, its edges brown and crisp.As we ate, we discussed the plan for the day. Abraham would be at the helm, his expert piloting skills crucial to navigating the treacherous racing course. He had apparently studied the course in depth and had gotten very drunk with one of the organisers and into a fist-fight with some of the other racers.I wasn’t sure how the last helped, but he assured me that it did.Raynold was gonna be onboard too, of course, to do quick repairs and to fight off the competition.“What, uh, sort of race is this?” I asked.“The kind that puts you through the wringer, lass," Abraham responded, his voice muffled as he chewed on a bun. He washed it down with a gulp of coffee before continuing. “The course, y'see, it isn't just a straight sprint. Oh no, it's an avalanche of risks, challenges, and hairpin turns. Think of it as a gauntlet, only those deserving and cunning and quick enough will pass! Haha!” he continued, leaning back and gazing up at the sky. “We'll be racing through cloud clusters and treacherous wind gusts, trying to avoid sudden squalls, and navigating through floating debris. Not to mention the competition! There are no rules against a bit of friendly roughhousing here!”As Abraham described the chaos, it struck me how dangerous this race truly was. There was the excitement of it, of course, the thrill and the glory, but there was also a very real possibility of disaster. One wrong move, one delayed reaction, and it could all come crashing down. We could all come crashing down. Into the ground. Or possibly into a cliffside, or someone's house.“But... what about the officials? The city? Aren't they concerned about safety?” I asked, the nerves clearly audible in my voice.Abraham let out a hearty laugh. “Lass, it's all about the spectacle. People come to see the danger, the near-misses, the dramatic chases. Safety? That's up to each crew to maintain. Besides,” he added, his grin broadening, “there's nothing quite like the thrill of surviving by the skin of your teeth.”I looked around at our ragtag crew — Awen, still asleep but filled with a determination that was almost palpable, Caprica and Amaryllis and Calamity, their faces reflecting a mix of excitement and trepidation, and Abraham, his eyes filled with a fire that was contagious-I found myself smiling, despite the nervous butterflies in my tummy.“So, can we come?” I asked.“No,” Amaryllis said. “Not only is it foolish to even try, the teams are set from the start. There are crew limits, and we couldn’t all fit on the Shady Lady to begin with.”“Well, maybe not all of us, but a few?” I asked.Amaryllis gave me a flat look. “No, Broccoli. We’ve done what we can to help. Abraham and Raynold will have to face the race on their own.”“Haha! Don’t worry, lasses and lad! I’ve lost more races than you can imagine!”“Wait, lost?” I asked.That wasn’t reassuring at all!
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