Contributor: SpaceBrown

Helia worked furiously in the dimly-lit area. She sliced through bulging tubers, wilted carrots, and dried meats. She scraped the ingredients into a large black kettle hanging over an open fire. She mopped sweat from her forehead with her dirty apron. It had taken hours to clean the galley, just so she could use it. When Helia had entered the galley, there was a crust of dirt, grease, and bilge at least an inch thick over the counters, the dishes were glued together with old ale and black grime, and rotting garbage was piled all over the floor. The stench almost caused Helia to faint. Jim had only laughed and locked her in. Now that it was considerably cleaner and she had started a stew, she leaned back to catch her breath.

She leaned against the counter and looked up at the dark space above her head; she could hear footsteps on the deck above. She closed her eyes and sighed. She was lost. She had no idea where she was and had no prospects of ever getting back – not even to her horrid old tavern. Lavera had left her to fend for herself and she'd been kidnapped. She'd lost it all. Her money, her clothes, her hopes of adventure and freedom...maybe she should have listened to the others and stayed behind instead of chasing after fantastic stories of helium moons with Lavera.

Finally the shock of the past few hours caught up with Helia. She slid to the floor and curled up, sobs shaking her body. She cried uncontrollably for a few minutes before she heard a loud thump as something hit the floor by her. She opened her teary eyes, expecting to see the repulsive visage of a pirate, sneering down at her. What she saw however, was a tall, slender woman with blonde hair reaching just below her chin. She was dirty, and a bit disheveled, but it was her. Lavera was back.

“How ya' been kid?” Lavera asked, glancing around the galley.

“Oh, Lavera!” Helia cried. She threw her arms around her and broke out into fresh sobs. Lavera pried Helia off. She held a finger to her lips.

“Quiet Helia!” She whispered harshly. “Do you want to get me killed?” Helia choked back her tears.

“But how in the world?” Helia asked quietly. Lavera smiled and climbed up onto the counter.

“Let me tell you, it wasn't my easiest job.” She chuckled. “There I was, watching in the shadows.” She began. There was a creak, and the sliding of a wooden crossbar at the far end of the galley. “Oops. Gotta go.” Lavera stated, leaping from the counter and swinging into the rafters. “I'll find you later. Tonight, if possible!” Helia snapped her attention back to the black pot and dipped a long wooden spoon into it, stirring slowly.

The door opened and Jim came in.

“The grub smells good.” He called. “What is it?”

“Stew.” Helia replied meekly.

“Oh, you been crying?” Jim asked in mock sympathy. “Good. Don't worry, before long you won't even remember home.” He chuckled.

Contributor: Binary Agent

The man was like thousands of other pirates Helia has timidly served for years. He was dirty, unshaven, and wore ragged clothes. He was tall, with tough, stringy muscles and a scar cutting across his left bicep. His dark hair has pulled back, partly hidden underneath a frayed hat. He swaggered over to Helia and the slave. The boy backed away.


“What have we here?” He growled.


“A new slave, Jim.” He squeaked. Jim stared her up and down. Helia didn't back down, by now she was good and mad. They stared at each other for a moment, neither one even blinked. Finally the buccaneer broke into a wide grin and half turned away from Helia.


“Adam was wrong about you.” He started. “You've got plenty of spunk.” Jim laughed out loud. “But, I'm afraid we can't afford to let him take you. Not if you really worked in a tavern.” Helia looked at him incredulously. She thought back to meeting the pirates in the alley, how he had looked at her -- grabbed her dress. Helia's skin crawled. She shuddered. Jim laughed again.


“Now, I suppose that even if you hadn't worked there – you'd insist that you had!” He chuckled.


“What difference does it make anyway?” Helia demanded. “So what? Yes, I worked as a cook and server!” The pirate smiled again.


“We can loot, shoot, burn, rob, raze, drink, sail, rape, pillage, kill, destroy, and keelhaul.” Jim stated. “But a pirate can only live on beer and stale biscuits for so long. If you can cook – you'll be stuck in the galley!”

Contributor: SpaceBrown

Helia shivered in the dark hold, but not so much from the cold as from fear of what was going to happen to her next. Her hands were still tied behind her back, and her feet had been bound too. Her jaw ached from the gag. Sweat dripped from her nose and forehead, running into her eyes. The thick black sack was still over her head. She heard someone thumping down the wooden stairs to the hold – the door creaked open on its rusting hinges. Helia could sense someone approaching her, her muscles tensed and she got ready to strike. Suddenly the bag was ripped off her head. She pulled away and kicked out with her tied feet. She connected with something. She heard a yell and a thud, followed by another shout as the figure hit the floor. She rolled off the crate she'd been sitting on, into the shadows of the cargo. Her eyes were still stinging from the sweat, but she hadn't heard anything else. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her hair. She tried to squirm away but the grip was too tight. Suddenly, the gag slipped from her mouth. She gasped in a mouthful of air. A wet rag passed over her sweaty face. She blinked as the stinging salt water was wiped from her eyes.

A young boy, twelve or thirteen at the most, was kneeling on the floor by her -- the untied gag in one hand, a wet rag in the other. He was thin, with messy, greasy blonde hair. He smiled.

“It's a good thing I'm me, and not a bigger pirate. If you'd kicked a real buccaneer like Pedro Blomar, you'd be dead right now.” The boy announced. Helia stared at him.

“So you're not a pirate?” She asked.

“Oh no! I'm a slave.” The boy replied. “Just like you are.”

“I'm not a slave.” Helia retorted. The boy grinned.

“Of course you are! You're tied up in the hold, gagged, and obviously not familiar with pirates.”

“Oh, believe me. I'm familiar with them.” Helia replied. “I served them at a tavern for long enough to become familiar with them. They're the lowest, slimiest, most perverse group of vagabonds out there!”

“Compliments,” A gruff voice sneered from the stairway. “Will get you nowhere, sweetheart.”

Contributor: BinaryAgent

Lavera crawled from her hiding place. The sun had set hours ago, the pirates hauled off to the gallows, and the officers had confiscated all the evidence they could find. She slowly staggered back to the bar. She limped through the broken doorway and over to corpse on the floor. She knelt by the towering frame of Nigel. A bloody bandage was wrapped around his torso, his face frozen in a grimace of pain. Donovan was sitting nearby.

“By the time the surgeon got here...” He started. Lavera sat back on her heels. She ran her hand over his cold, contorted features. She got up with a deep sigh and sat down at the table. A half-finished drink sat on the table. She picked up the glass and drained the remaining liquid. With a grunt she flopped back in her chair.

“I'm gonna' need at least three of those before I can forget this.” She moaned to herself.

Contributor: ToddGM

“I think they went this way.” A gruff voice said. Helia stared from her hiding place. A group of seven pirates entered the alley. She looked up into the shadows where Lavera had disappeared. The pirates staggered through the alleyway, flipping over crates and smashing barrels. Helia pressed herself against the brick wall. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled herself up into a ball. She heard the pirates getting closer.

“Well, well.” Helia opened one eye. A dirty, unshaven face was inches from her own. She gasped and leaped to her feet, dropping her small suitcase on the ground. Two burly men caught her, latching onto her wrists and forearms. The first stalked over to her. He looked her up and down with an evil grin. “She'll do.” Helia squirmed in the grasp of the two pirates. The first pirate approached and took hold of her dress. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Help!” The pirate clamped a hand over her mouth.

“This way!” Helia heard voices and then footsteps running down the alley. A group of five constables charged down the alleyway, their blue and bronze uniforms glinting in the light of the setting sun. “Stop those scoundrels!” The lead officer shouted, drawing his weapon. “I'll see them hang!”

“Come on!” The pirate shouted. The three pirates with Helia dashed down the alley. The police quickly dealt with the four up front, and three officers ran after the ones with Helia. As the pirates ran, the one holding Helia's mouth pulled out a rope. He secured her hands and gagged her. One of the bigger pirates released his hold on Helia and turned to take on the officers. The other two made a mad dash for the docks. They burst out of the alleyway, only a few yards from where their ship was moored. The ruffians ran across the gang-plank and the captain fired up the engine. In a cloud of smoke and foul-smelling gases, the ship lurched away from the dock. Helia turned back to look at the shrinking port. Her eyes began to fill with tears. As she turned back to examine her surroundings, a black sack was yanked over her head.

Contributor: SpaceBrown

Lavera yanked open the drawer and pulled out a long pistol. She released the safety and fired across the top of the bar. One of the pirates yelped and dropped to the floor. The other patrons were either hiding beneath their tables, or staring at Lavera drunkenly. Nigel was on his feet and over the bar in a flash.

“Lavera, what are you doing?” He exclaimed. “I've always known you to be crazy, but this is too much!” Lavera shot at the charging pirates again. This time the shot only grazed the lead pirate's shoulder.

“Actually, they were shooting at me before I got on the ship with you.” Lavera said as she fired another shot. It went horribly wide, blowing a hole in the wall. “Blast this alcohol!” She exclaimed. “I didn't think it was that strong!”

“New blend.” Donovan gurgled. “Good stuff.” Lavera grabbed Helia's arm and dashed for the exit. Nigel was right behind them. Luckily, the pirates couldn't aim any better. Glasses on nearby tables shattered, lamps exploded, and the windows crashed as the group ran for the door. As they ran out into the street, Nigel yelped. He collapsed on the ground. Lavera screeched to a stop.

“Go!” Nigel shouted. As he held a hand to his lower back. Lavera didn't need to be told twice. As the pirates stumbled out into the street, Lavera and Helia dashed into a narrow alley.

Contributor: Binary Agent

The ship slowly pulled up next to the dock. With a scrape and squeak, the doors opened and the crew began unloading the cargo. Lavera and Helia stepped off the ship with their belongings.

“Why are we dragging our bags along, Lavera?” Helia asked. Lavera grinned.

“When you travel with me, you need to be ready to run at a moment's notice.” Nigel approached them, wiping his broad, sweaty brow with the back of his gloved hand.

“I know just the place.” He said as he approached. “Not too far from here, just past the docks on the east there.” Nigel said, pointing towards a few docks in the distance. As the three approached the bar, the door crashed open and a man staggered out the door. He tripped over his own feet and collapsed on the cobblestone street. He laid there motionless.

“Oh my goodness.” Helia gasped, bending down. “Are you alright?” She turned the man over. His eyes were closed. Suddenly, a snore erupted from his partially open lips. Nigel unleashed a bellowing laugh. The man opened his eyes slightly and began to giggle drunkenly.

“It's barely sundown! Drunk already?” Nigel chortled. “Ladies,” he said, motioning to the drunk on the ground, “this is our host, Donovan Dagon.” The man on the ground smiled crookedly. Nigel helped Donovan up and led Helia and Lavera into the bar. Donovan leaned against the bar and filled up three mugs. Nigel held up his mug and smiled. Lavera tipped her mug up with Nigel but Helia stared at the surface of the green liquid. She sniffed it and sipped at it. She grimaced and put it down. She turned to look at the bar's other clientèle. Many of them were crusty, old captains and muscle-bound crew members. She noticed a group of pirates across the room. They were getting up, a few had pistols drawn. They were pointing at Lavera and Nigel.

“Lavera...” Helia started. “It looks like those pirates know you.” Lavera slammed her mug onto the table.

“Pirates?” She asked tensely. Lavera turned slightly. “Excuse me!” She shouted as she leaped over the bar. She pushed Donovan aside and began yanking open the drawers behind the bar. “Come on!” She exclaimed. “What decent bar owner doesn't keep a gun behind the counter?”

"Third drawer." Donovan groggily replied from his position on the floor.

Contributor: BrettB

He was at least two feet taller than either Lavera or Helia. His massive upper body rippled under his linen shirt as he trudged into the engine room. A long scar cut across his face from ear to chin -- the nearly straight line deformed a little by the scowl he was wearing. He carried a large wrench in one hand a large wooden mallet in the other. A thick leather tool belt was cinched around his wide waist. He looked down at the engine upon entering the room and noticed the two women for the first time. A wicked grin replaced his frown, wrinkling the scar into a squiggly snake-like line. Helia gulped.

The man swooped down and, dropping his tools, scooped Lavera into a bear hug.

“Lavera!” He bellowed. “How’ve ya been?”

“Nigel! I haven’t seen you since we were on that convoy with the Sheiks of Agamemnon! What are you doing here?” Lavera exclaimed.

“I’m a deck hand. You?” Nigel asked.

“Engineer.” Lavera replied. “I’m fine-tuning this tub.” They both laughed. Nigel dropped Lavera back onto the floor and turned to Helia.

“And you are..”

“She’s my help.” Lavera interrupted. Nigel continued to stare at Helia. She began to squirm uncomfortably. Without turning to look at Lavera he asked,

“Assistant or Apprentice?”

“Apprentice, definitely.” Lavera said. “She doesn’t know the first thing about Aether or clockwork.”

“Say,” Nigel began. “We’ll get to the next port by tomorrow morning. How about I treat you and…”

“Helia.” Helia squeaked.

“…Helia to a couple of drinks once we’re unloaded?”

“Sounds great!” Lavera chimed.

Contributor: BinaryAgent

Helia gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. The professor clutched his seat with white knuckles. Lavera took a deep breath and reached for a sturdy wrench. She wedged the tool into the wheel and let go. Helia's eyes snapped open when she heard the cockpit whoosh open. Lavera was gone! A wrench, wedged between the dashboard and the wheel held the steering in place, but the engineer had vanished! Helia saw her, on the front of the glider, straddling the engine. The portly old wizard was also outside the cockpit, latched onto the tail of the ship. He was frantically attempting to repair the rudder.

"What are your doing?" Helia shouted at Lavera.

"Making sure we don't all die!" Lavera exclaimed without turning around.

"Are you crazy? We're going to hit that moon any second!" Helia yelled back.

"12.7 seconds, actually." Professor Fleischer responded, crawling back into the cockpit. His clothes and hair were a wind-whipped mess, but he seemed strangely clam. "Lavera! That'll have to do!"

"Just a few more seconds..." Lavera called.

"Impact in 8...7...6...5..." The professor counted. Lavera vaulted back into the glider and kicked the wrench loose. The professor's repair held and the glider buzzed through the dense forest treetops.

Contributor: ToddGM

“They're gaining on us!” Helia cried. The gargantuan black and purple dirigible was indeed gaining on their small glider. Lavera pulled a daring aileron roll into a cloud bank, then turned quickly to the left. She glanced behind at the old wizard, checking his various instruments.

“Professor!” Lavera shouted. The old man looked up.

“They saw right through it!” He exclaimed. “They're still coming straight at us!” Lavera ground her teeth, performed a tight flip, and entered a barrel roll. The tiny glider cut through the clouds and they exited on the bottom right side. Professor Fleischer shook his head. “They're a little disoriented, but their scanners will pick us up before long. We need to go faster!” Lavera bit her lip. She knew the wizard was right. She glanced at a bright red switch on the dash labeled “Turbo.” She had no idea if it would even work. She had thrown it in last second, cobbled together with a few odds and ends from various other mechanisms. It may provide the boost they needed to outrun the Namestnik and his men, or it may send them plummeting to a fiery aether-fueled death. No, as much as they needed to escape – she couldn't risk it. Not yet. Lavera was suddenly aware that the cabin had grown oddly quiet.

“What's going on?” Lavera asked, glancing at Helia. The professor offered an explanation.

“They've stopped. The Namestnik's airship has stopped completely.” Lavera could hardly believe what the old man was saying.

Stopped?

Contributor: SpaceBrown

“The front of the armored balloon's opening.” Helia said. “A large silvery spike is starting to come out...” Lavera kept flying away from the airship. She didn't know what that spike was for, but it couldn't be any good.

“Do you hear something?” Lavera asked.

“Sort of a low hum.” The professor said nodding. “Electrical...” Suddenly their hair began to stand on end. “Electrical...” The wizard continued. “Lavera, take evasive maneuvers!” Professor Fleischer suddenly exclaimed. “They're going to shoot lightning at us!”

“Lightning!?” Lavera and Helia exclaimed.

“The rod must be an electromagnetic superconductor!” The professor shouted over the growing hum. “They're ionizing the air around us, since we're the closest point of discharge, we'll get struck by the lightning!”

BZZZRACK! A thick bolt of blue-white lightning leapt from the silvery spear protruding from the Namestnik's black ship.

Contributor: ToddGM

Lavera spun the wheel with all her might to evade the crackling stream of blue lightning. Their tiny red glider spun to the left, but it wasn't enough. The electricity ripped a jagged scar through the aircraft. Lavera's eyes scanned her instruments. And made a quick glance over her shoulder. The rudder was hanging on by a few melted bolts, the wings were scorched, and aether was beginning to leak from the engine. Her face grew pale as she realized that there was absolutely nowhere to land, nowhere to hide from the Namestnik's giant dirigible. If they wanted to survive, she was going to have to outrun the giant airship. She threw the large red switch labeled, "Turbo." The small plane lurched forward, but more of the blue-green aether began to stream from the front end of the glider. Professor Fleischer called out another warning.

“They're firing another shot!” Lavera yanked on the wheel, and the aeroglider made a feeble turn.

“Just a few more seconds and we'll be out of range...” Lavera whispered to herself. Helia shrieked. Lavera glanced to the right of the cockpit to see a gargantuan shape in the sky next to them, bigger than anything she'd ever even imagined.

Contributor: Binary Agent

By the time Helia entered the room, Lavera had already donned some dark goggles and gloves. She was lying on her back, underneath a large metal mechanism.

“Could you be a dear and hand me that split-handled spreader?” She asked, motioning towards her tool bag. Helia dropped her suitcase and shouted,

“Lavera! You could have been killed!” Lavera stood up, removed her goggles, and dusted herself off.

“Oh, that.” She chuckled. “Those guys couldn't have hit the broad side of this ship!” Helia frowned and picked up the bright blue cloak Lavera had been wearing. There was a charred hole in the material, inches away from where Lavera's liver would have been. Lavera shrugged, “It didn't fit correctly anyway. I was going to have it tailored eventually – I just wouldn't have done it with a laser!” She smiled and pulled her goggles back over her eyes. “Now about that spreader.”

“Quit kidding around!” Helia exclaimed. “Who was chasing you? What did they want?”

“Pirates.” Lavera said. “One of them shouted that we wanted my head.” She cracked a smile. “I must say that I couldn't argue with him. If I was him, I'd trade faces with anyone.”

“Lavera...” Helia started, but she was cut off as a huge crewman entered the engine room.

Contributor: ToddGM

Stark shadows cut across the docks as slanted rays of sunlight slipped beneath the distant horizon. Helia squinted at the leather-bound timepiece Lavera had strapped to her wrist. The crew had almost finished loading all of the cargo, but there was still no sign of Lavera. The captain had stated that he hated to be up without an experienced Aether engineer, but he couldn't be kept waiting for more than five minutes after his cargo was loaded. If Lavera didn't make it, he'd have to find another engineer at the next stop. Helia climbed atop a crate filled with navigational instruments. She nervously glanced up and down the dock. There were only three crates left. A few moments passed – still no sign of Lavera.

Some burly crewmen came by to load the last crate Helia had mounted. One of them helped her down and as he lifted his end of the box he grunted,

“Sorry, Miss. You and your engineer would be a welcome addition, but your five minutes starts now.” Helia watched as the two crewmen trudged back to the ship with the crate. Helia bit her bottom lip. This would probably be her only chance of getting out and seeing the world, but she had secured her spot on the ship as an assistant engineer to Lavera. She couldn't board without her. She didn't know a thing about Aether, and she couldn't just leave Lavera behind after what she had done for her. But this was her only chance! Where was Lavera?

“Helia!” Lavera's voice echoed across the empty docks. Helia looked around for her. “Helia!” Lavera's voice sounded again. “Run for the ship Helia!” Helia glanced around the dock and spotted a small dark figure in the distance. Seconds later, she saw several other, larger figures pursuing the first – golden rays from the setting sun glinting off their blades. Helia had been around pirates and other lowlife scum for long enough to know that this couldn't be good. She took off towards the ship as fast as she could run with her small leather satchel of belongings. Helia slipped in as two crewmen were preparing to shut the doors. Helia pointed breathlessly at the figure sprinting towards them – a heavy tool bag in one hand and a saber in the other. However, the crewmen began closing the doors. Lavera was so close -- she could still make it! Some of the pursuers stopped and were drawing bulky pistols from their belts. Lavera slung her tool bag towards the closing doors. It landed inside, and slid across the floor to Helia. There was an electric crack and a flash of light as several of Lavera's assailants fired. She leapt and tucked herself into a ball, somersaulting through the air, and between the closing doors. She landed on the floor in a heap. She leaped up in a flash and helped the two crewmen throw the doors shut. The heavy doors slammed to and the ship lurched into the air. Helia and Lavera both toppled backwards over her tool bag as the ship thundered out of the docks.

“Well.” Lavera said as she stood up and sheathed her saber. “Looks like I was right on time, as usual.” She wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and pulled her mug from the clip on her belt. Helia struggled to stand on the moving ship. She rubbed her backside where she had landed, and her stomach where Lavera had hit her as she fell. She grasped the wall with one hand, and picked up her small suitcase with the other. Lavera walked over and picked up her tool bag. “Come on, assistant! Let's check out this tub's engine!” Helia stared at Lavera in bewilderment as she took off down a corridor. Dazed, she stumbled down the hall after her.

Contributor: Amanda Firefox


“Forward!” The Colonel shouted, spinning blade of her clockwork buzzsword eating into the battlecries of her soldiers as they poured into the battlefield like a thousand copper scarabs. Rushing out to meet them, the ragged horde of the Fallen Sultan howled their own desperate sound, blades shining like tiny silver claws in the distant half-light. Kicking her augmented horse into gear, the Colonel rushed out among her men, stirred them on, as eager to take her first head of the battle as the Sultan’s men were to take hers.

Neither side was looking skyward. Neither side saw the aetherstream dragon swooping down toward them, mechanical lungs filling with fire, until it was too late.

Contributor: John Ogden


“By Jupiter’s grace!” the old wizard swallowed. “Why, the very size of the thing defies convention! What madman would construct such a monstrosity and to what purpose!?”

Lavera didn’t answer, only gritted her teeth. With the little aeroglider’s rudder broken and clockwork turbine leaking long streams of glittering blue-green aether, the wheel was hard in her hands, shaking and vibrating as much as the little craft was. The moon, a huge and pale specter of helium and alumino-composite, loomed up to fill every inch of glass. The dark, crater-like smears pitting its surface resolved quickly into the leavings of cannon fire, the scorchmarks of ancient exchanges with weapons far larger than anything modern armies could field.

Beside Lavera, Helia swallowed, gripped the narrow hull with whitening fingers.

“Hang on!”

Lavera kicked the wheel to the quick in one last, desperate gamble to steer clear of the massive, manmade moon, threw every ounce of strength she could muster behind the attempt. The little aeroglider lurched reflexively, and then there was a deafening crack. Lavera paled instantly, swallowed.

“Oh great goddess Minerva, see us safely through this.” She shot a wide-eyed look back at Helia and the wizard.

“Prepare for impact!”

Contributor: Joseph Beardsley


“That’s it.” The Captain leaned in, gloved hands coming up against the hull of the unsuspecting airship as his scow pulled up beneath.

“Hear that, lads?” He grinned, showing off a mouth of broken and yellowed teeth. “She’s soft. Not more than three inch, I’d say.” One hand slid down the polished length of the hull as the Captain pressed his ear against the wood, held his breath. “She practically sings money!” His eyes flicked to one of the swarthy, dirty men crouching in the darkness at his boots. “Fetch the drill! We drain this pretty sow tonight and take all we can carry!”

Contributor: E.S. Wynn


“The men who have been there say that most of our moons are made of helium.” Helia said, half watching Lavera as she took a slow pull from a leather mug. “You hear the airship captains swapping stories about them sometimes, talking about the clockwork wonders of the rich who suspend their castles high above the earth on islands of helium and aluminum.”

“Not that you’ll ever see the likes of them.” An older serving maid shook her head as she passed, pushed a grimy rag into Helia’s hands. “Your life won’t be a far stone’s throw from mine, serving pirates and the like from cradle to grave. Just the way things are.”

“Maybe.” Lavera grinned as the old serving maid grimaced. “But I think as likely not.”

“Where are you off to from here?” Helia asked.

“Dyalla.” Lavera drained the mug, snapped it onto a loop of steel on her belt. “I hired up for a few short runs with a captain who needs an engineer with aether experience. It’s a little vacuum-and-phlogiston tug, but it’s work until I find a bigger boat to sign on with.”

“Sounds exciting.” Helia’s smile dropped at one end.

“You could come with me.” Lavera reached out, caught one of Helia’s hands. The other woman looked at her, fixed her with a stare that was half considering, half doubting. “Come on, it’ll be fun! Better than picking up after this lot.”

“What would I do, Lavera?” Helia shook her head. “I haven’t got any real experience with anything that would be useful on an airship.”

“Galley hand.” Lavera shrugged. “Or maybe you could study under me, learn a few things about clockwork and the flow of the aethers.”

Helia watched the other woman’s eyes for a moment.

“When do you leave?”

“Tonight, sundown.” Lavera grinned again. “North pier, dock nine.”