No Gods, One Master [Vanessa]

[Anton]

Searing 18, 122 Age of Steel

Work with Professor Haber and his chosen circle of researchers had gone quite well in Glade, Anton settling into a valuable but not particularly noteworthy role. That, of course, would never do, and he knew just the thing to raise his station among the academics he had chosen to spend his life working with.

Zaichaeri airships were top of the line machines, the most advanced of their kind in all of Karnor, but they were far from the greatest in the world. Imperial airships were superior in every way, outstripping their eastern competition even when stacked up against those vessels of the Air Defense Corps which had been given special dispensation by the Order to utilize magitek. Examining one was the dream of every scientist and engineer in the field, and with the professor lacking any other pressing research it was not outlandish to say that there was little he would not do to realize it.

Anton had asked, begged, cajoled, and even attempted to bribe Vanessa to permit his colleagues aboard the Every Waking Moment, but didn't make much headway until he pointed out that a band of Institute eggheads were a far less dangerous group to do maintenance on her than Throne knew who working in the employ of the actual shipyards. As soon as consent was given he was off like a flash, racing to inform the others. When the time finally came to bring the cavalcade of researchers, the professor chief among them, to the airfield, Anton had the broadest smile on his face that the former pirate had ever seen.

"Splendidly done Anton, splendidly done," Haber cheered as he looked over the airship's hull, the man in awe of the work of Imperial engineering. "I must thank you again, and you too of course Captain Quill."

"I hadn't known about it myself for quite a while, but when I learned, well... It seemed like we could all help each other. Vanessa, do you think we can go below?" Anton asked, walking on his tiptoes while in her domain.

[Vanessa Quill]

She had put up quite the fight for Anton compared to how easily she acquiesced to him otherwise. Strangers on her ship had always made her nervous, and that didn't stop just because Anton assured her that they would pay the utmost respect to the Every Waking Moment. But the old girl's engine had spent the past few years collecting dust and mothballs, so she finally relented that a cursory inspection wouldn't be the worst thing for the ship before she took her on any serious excursions. Vanessa had practical knowledge on how to diagnose problems with an aether-powered engine, but having a few extra sets of analytical eyes could still prove useful for locating smaller issues that Vanessa might overlook in her more singular goal of keeping the airship flying.

By the time Anton and his assembly had arrived, Vanessa had maneuvered the ship from its far off perch at the end of the airfield to one of the nearest docks. Tied down at fore and aft, the ship floated lazily with her sails neatly tied up to the yards. She was glad then that she had given Anton what he'd wanted, seeing that smile on his face. Though she had no earthly clue why he chose to spend so much time studying, it was enough for her that he found some purpose in it.

She nodded silently at Haber's thanks, not yet sure if Anton intended for her to be both seen and heard. Thankfully she need not wait long to know the answer. "Of course. Welcome aboard the Every Waking Moment." She swept her arm grandly back towards the deck to present the ship, though by now everyone already was inspecting the old girl. "I understand you've got some special interest in her engine. If you follow me, I'll take you right to it." She took a moment, and looked over at Anton. If she was already doing this much for him, she might as well go all the way to make sure this was as glowing an experience as possible for the researchers. "Any questions, feel free to shout 'em out. Don't have to be about the engine."

Then she walked over to the stairs and begun the descent, waving her arm for the entourage of brainiacs to follow her lead. "It's down in the hold, just a short walk. If you're tall, mind your head coming down."

[Anton]

They descended upon the Every Waking Moment like a hoard of locusts. Even with permission to go below, many stayed above decks, measuring and recording every inch of her. Admiration had passed swiftly to a more rational - but no less excited - urge to study, and study they did. Her hull, her masts, her instruments - especially her instruments - were picked over in the most minute of detail.

Haber's students had never once thought that they could set foot on a vessel such as this, and had divided roles among themselves to maximize coverage in case Vanessa kicked them off early. He had assured them that she wouldn't, but it was decided to be better safe than sorry. Besides, if that were true, they'd all have time to fully explore the ship after the most boring part of the work had been completed anyway.

Within the bowels of the ship, even those following Vanessa had begun to peel off. The most excited of those who slipped away were swiftly made into the most crestfallen, as they discovered that the ship's gun battery did not consist of modern Imperial artillery pieces that would revolutionize the Defense Corps. Others who had expected less grand prizes more or less got what they were looking for at least, frantically measuring every inch of her interior to match the work their colleagues were doing on the exterior. If they had their way, and so far at least it seemed that they would, Haber and his team would be able to draft the blueprints for and create a sister ship of the Every Waking Moment by the time they were done.

Most of the Every Waking Moment at least. The core team, of which naturally Haber and Anton were a part, had followed Vanessa all the way to the great aether engine, the arcane furnace sitting upon a practical hoard of dragonshards. A pile large enough to fuel such a device was a fortune in its own right, and it was immediately clear to all that the engine was the most advanced and important piece of machinery in the entire vessel.

"Splendid... Basic aerolyth model of generating lift is clearly evident, but this seems to possess the capability to generate thrust in any desired direction. Is that true?" Haber asked Vanessa, Anton standing directly behind him as he did, the younger man gesturing at her as if to beg her to answer. "What else is your vessel capable of?"

[Vanessa Quill]

Vanessa kept an eye on the researchers as they spread through her ship's underbelly, but Anton was proven right in how harmless they ultimately were. Her tension was eased when she noticed how delicate they were being with their research. There was a distinct care to not disturb anything they didn't have to when they took their measurements. Whenever that was untenable, great lengths were taken to ensure that everything was returned back precisely to how they'd been before.

The ship herself was relatively sparse in terms of weaponry, but despite this had been designed clearly with upgrades already in mind. On both sides of what was now a rather luxurious crew deck sat sealed gun ports, eighteen in all. It was not the full weight of Imperial might, but was still a mighty fist. Mighty expensive too, which was why Vanessa hadn't yet bothered.

Then they got to the engine. It hummed with quiet power even now. The vents for aether intake were only open slightly, but the glow of dragon shards within was unmistakable. "Aye." Vanessa replied, stooping down to the vents. "If you adjust which dragon shards are getting the most access to aether, you can move her in any direction." She opened one of the access doors to the engine so that the researchers could get a better look at its innards. There were cutoff valves inside inscribed with negation to limit the passing of aether to different parts of the engine. These valves were attached to metal arms that extended from the top of the engine, ran through the floor and ended up beside the captain's wheel so that she could control the vessel's movements directly from the helm. "Right now the shards all pull in different directions, but with the same strength. That keeps her floating level like she is now. You change that, you move." She suspected they had fancier words for it, but she hoped it got the idea across.

When asked about other capabilities of the ship, the captain was quick with something she knew would interest them. "I'm sure you know it gets harder to breathe the higher you go. Air gets thinner and the body can't handle it for long." Vanessa pointed to a separate compartment of the engine, attached to it but sequestered away from the rest of the navigation components. A generously sized dragon shard sat nestled in a glass cylinder covered in arcane pictograph etchings then filled in with Spellwright's Ink. "This beauty prevents that. Kick it on and you can breathe no matter how high you go. It pulls the air into a bubble around the ship, so a breeze that might otherwise just pass you by is kept in." Explaining magic made her feel a foolish, what with how few specifics she could give. But that was where they came in, she supposed.

[Anton]

In truth, the researchers knew little more about the arcane than she did. For practical matters, Vanessa probably knew more. The Order of Reconciliation zealously repressed magical knowledge and research outside of its own halls, forcing any who wished to undertake such endeavors to join the College of Minders. There would be stifled by the restrictions of the Convocation of Minds, and their work hidden within the depths of the Arcaeneum until it was approved for general - or, far more likely, military - use.

This entire expedition was in fact quite illegal - though for once it wasn't Vanessa breaking the law. Haber was strictly responsible to avoid 'tainting' the minds of any of his students with proscribed knowledge, a prohibition on the arcane that both kept the Minders prominent and stalled research. Ordinarily that was a law he would keep to, for self preservation if nothing else, but his contacts in the College had arranged a quid pro quo in which they would receive the data concerning an Imperial vessel, and he would be able to retain the same for his own work without anyone questioning the trip.

For his part, Anton simply stood still as Semblance did its work. His vision went from merely restored to far beyond any mundane sense, the song of the dragonshards alight in his soul. For the benefit of the others, he wrote down what notes he was expected to as he made ready to play his typical game of hiding all that he actually knew. The scientists had been forbidden from learning about magic to the extent that even the least important revelation he fobbed off as insight would give them much to work with. Not that any of them would ever receive any public praise or academic glory for this work, whatever they produced would have to be laundered back through the College to be made useful.

"They've mastered containing air generated from Windstones?" the professor shouted, practically drooling as he examined the cylinder. "It's all magitek, isn't it? The entire ship from prow to stern?"

[Vanessa Quill]

"Exactly right, aye." Vanessa said about the windstones. "You could theoretically keep going forever if you could swap out the power source quick enough." Or by designing a system where power could be diverted to a second dragonshard while the other was switched out or had maintenance performed on it. Vanessa didn't consider such things. She was too practical to see a long term solution when a short-term one was already viable. It made her an excellent captain, but a poor student.

When asked about the rest of the ship, Vanessa nodded. "As far as controlling her goes, aye. Steering her works just like if she were on the sea, except she doesn't need a rudder. The wheel and engine are attuned to each other, which makes controlling her dead simple when you're shorthanded." She stepped over to the hull and thumped it with the bottom of her fist. "The rest, nearest I can tell, has been reinforced by a runeforge. Must've been a massive undertaking, that's all I can say." She was glad that such airships were begrudgingly permitted by the Order because of their relationship with the Imperium. Zaichaer could be as oppressive as it liked to its own citizens, but a measure of care was required when dealing with trade partners.

"Would you like a quick demonstration?" Vanessa then asked. She thought of asking Anton directly, but instead addressed the researchers as a whole. She hoped it would make Anton seem like he had come prepared for this presentation with one last thing to put him over the top. "I'll get her just out of the city and you can watch her engine as I go through some basic maneuvers? It'll be quick and might suit you better to have some specifics how how it all works together."

[Anton]

Vanessa may not have considered a dual dragonshard system, but the eggheads were already excitedly discussing it among themselves. Already they were considering the ramifications of such, the scientists muttering to one another about the possibility of Gelerian inventions that they had maintained in strict secrecy. There was nothing here preventing them from creating vessels that could slip under the sea as easily as an airship sailed the sky, and it seemed there was truly no upper limit on how high their vessels could fly. This was disturbing from the perspective of national security, but fascinating on a purely scientific level - and the university men and women were focused far more upon the latter.

Anton had already been able to confirm that the airship had been worked in a runeforge, but was pleased by his decision to say nothing. Watching Vanessa explain her ship felt right, and he refused to steal her thunder when she was already doing him the favor of letting them aboard in the first place. She had such a spirit about her, cautious and yet proud, clearly willing to kill anyone present to defend her vessel but nonetheless taking the opportunity to brag about her pride and joy.

But all chatter came to a halt as soon as Vanessa mentioned a demonstration. Every single researcher in the room stared at her with a seriousness that bordered upon the religious, none of them having expected more than a brief tour of the airship before being forced off. Even Anton was stunned at the offer, especially with it freely given, but his shock turned to happiness swiftly.

"Absolutely," Haber sputtered out, the man practically falling over himself. "But to watch from the quarterdeck or the engine room... We'll have to take it in shifts to ensure we don't miss anything, we need as many eyes as possible upon this."

[Vanessa Quill]

Make no mistake, Vanessa still did not like that these researchers were on her ship. However, she was certain by giving the researchers a single, thorough inspection of her vessel she would avoid Anton returning to her side weeks later with a meek request of 'just one small favor'. Loathe as she was to admit it too, she did find some measure of satisfaction in seeing the researchers poring over her ship with the sort of respect and admiration the Every Waking Moment deserved. Sure, ships were meant to take a beating from their crew, but there was something to be said for this sort of affection. Not a lot, but something.

Once she had their agreement, Vanessa left them to decide how to split their assembly between the two positions. As she ascended up through the crew quarters once again, she retrieved a few safety ropes. Heavy and thick, they would prevent any clumsy researcher from meeting an untimely end if they somehow managed to send themselves over the railing. Under normal circumstances she would not have bothered. This was meant to be an easy flight, after all. But some of the eggheads had looked unsure just when crossing the gangplank to board, so she wasn't about to take any chances.

She undocked the ship in short order after setting up the safety lines, and let the researchers on the quarterdeck watch as she untied the sails then unfurled them with the halyards. She kept the mainsail reefed to less than half, so it was a smooth ride out from the port. The engine engaged, and even with these easy movements there was much to learn. When she pulled back on the first lever beside the wheel, the aether restrictors shifted into position to cut off flow to the rearmost dragonshards. With the fore shards pulling with more strength, the nose of the Every Waking Moment pitched upward smoothly. When observed, it was clear that the system was manually controlled and didn't simply shift from fully open to fully closed. With this degree of possible precision, precarious pivots were possible.

They were out from the city in short order, shearing the sky over sparsely populated but well worked countryside.. The ship evened out now, and Vanessa drew up the sails so that their little jaunt remained so. She looked then to the assembled researchers behind and beside her. She bristled a bit at having so many untested people crowd the quarterdeck. Piracy afforded little room for honor and tradition, but still there was the smallest voice in the back of her mind reminding them that they didn't belong here.

Luckily for them, she was good at ignoring that voice for good or ill. "Looks like we're ready." She raised her voice to a full throated call so those below would have no trouble hearing. Her voice swelled with authority, power and confidence. Her voice was so gruff and penetrating that a couple of the researchers snapped themselves to attention following just those few words, and the others furiously moved to take notes.

"Hold onto something."

[Anton]

For once, Anton was torn. He had made a habit of staying by Vanessa's side whenever they were aboard the airship, learning beneath her tutelage and mastering the quarterdeck. It felt right to follow after her, posting up behind her as they flew out. But... he actually never had examined the engine room himself, and besides, someone had to remain below decks to ensure that the researchers didn't break anything.

It was decided rather swiftly that Haber would go above decks with half of the researchers, and Anton would stay below with the other, the youngest member of their band chosen to watch over the group off of the - correct - assumption that he was the only one Vanessa would trust. With the researchers so split, Anton simply took copious notes along with his colleagues, noting down the physical control mechanisms and positing on the array that must connect the wheel above and the engine apparatus. Above however, Haber was a font of constant questions.

"Incredible, I didn't think it possible for one person to set the sails so swiftly. Please, I presume much of this is due to your own skill, but are there are any particularly inventive mechanisms that make such a feat possible?" He did not stop asking questions. "Does the engine allow full range of motion, or did the Gelerians install some sort of safety limiter? Theoretically one could use this system to fly the airship in any configuration, including upside down, though I somehow doubt the crew would appreciate such."

The call to brace was accepted universally, though many below decks simply tied themselves to something, or looped one arm through a bar, and then continued to write. Discomfort and injury seemed minor prices to pay with such a wealth of data at their fingertips.

[Vanessa Quill]

Vanessa set the ship into smooth, easy turns at first, sailing first in a clockwise circle, and then bringing her around in the opposite direction. Every minute movement of the wheel was reflected by the engine perfectly, the two moving completely in sync. Then she demonstrated the ship's ability to move under its own power, drawing up the sails fully and engaging the engine such that the vessel pulled itself forward through the skies. The ship jumped forward when switching between manual and magical power, and many of the researchers grabbed the handrails for support. She kept herself from laughing, but wasn't able to get rid of the smile.

"Nothing special about the sails, just lots of callouses and practice." Vanessa said proudly, now bringing the nose of the ship down for a smooth descent. She gestured with one hand to the mainsheet that was tied down at the quarterdeck. "Pulling on those adjusts the sail angle to keep you flying into the wind." She then pointed to another set of lines near to the first. "That's the halyard, it runs up over the mast and is fastened to the sail. If you pull on it, the sail raises. Give it slack, and she'll loose to the wind. Dead easy." She could tell he was more interested in the arcane side of things, but couldn't help but explain these mundane things as well. She had done it so many times before with new shipmates that she almost couldn't help it.

"No inhibitors, aye. My crew and I discovered a real good use for it in any dust ups." She pulled then on the second lever, and the ship rolled slightly to one side. "If you roll her onto her side, folks have a hell of a time actually getting through the hull and hitting you. Ain't good for offense o' course, n' the crew hate it, but it's good in a pinch." Vanessa neglected to mention she had used the maneuver to angle herself directly above an ship for an uncontested angle on their deck. She wanted her life to seem interesting, but not so interesting as to warrant investigation.

She brought the ship level again after demonstrating a roll to the other side for research's sake, then looked to Haber. "Anythin' else you'd like to see?" Her voice carried with it the understanding that this would be the only time she would ask.