Needing some Spare Change [Mature]

It was nothing more than a small dessert village. Some of the buildings were nice solid sandstone, yet these were, more often than not, imperative. The government building, the inn, or the electrical plant. The rest were a collection of tents, most colored a rich burgundy. It was placed precariously on a cliff, which made it more than good enough for airships to dock and refuel at. From above the low layer of clouds, a sleek grey and blue ship propelled by large jet engines descended towards the docks, stopping as directed so the dock workers could fit the gangplank onto the side. A young women soon disembarked, carrying a sign in one hand and a chair in the other. She set up both on ground, the sign reading in big letters "TRANSPORTATION", and took a seat in the chair, waiting.

OOC: The ship


https://deadtorights.rpg-board.net/t10-jetstream#10

People claim no one can survive in the desert. This was entirely untrue for an ash-haired teenager that was scavenging through the seemingly abandoned town. The boy chuckled through his custom gas-mask when he found a torch with a torch with a whole in undamaged lightbulb in it. The boy took the torch and smashed it against the ground, taking the bounty with him by tucking it into his satchel. He didn't even know what he was going to do with it, but the option was there, which is nice. When this task was done, the scavenging began again. But he had already drained the building dry, so he decided to head to the building across the "road". And he would have barged straight out there, too, if it weren't for that meddling ship he had realised just in time. He grabbed the flame thrower from his back and lit the wick on the end with his match, unaware if this new-comer was hostile or not. What the hell do I do? Acting on pure impulse, he charged right out the building and into the street, in plain sight of the woman.

Jetstream had taken to reading from a book she'd brought along with her when the boy suddenly burst from one of the buildings, sending the people in the street scattering in panic. She calmly closed her book, drawing her pistol in a single smooth motion but remaining seated, idly toying with the weapon in her hands as she watched the boy.

Why are people always afraid of the boy with the gas-mask? I guess I'll never know... Pyro thought. He gingerly approached the ship, refusing to lower his weapon, and went to the girl that was sitting in front of it. What a lovely ship... They won't be needing it anymore, I presume. He levelled the weapon with her head and spoke through the mask he wore. "I'm sorry for bothering you today, but I'm afraid I'll be commandeering this vessel. Any objections?" He hoped he could be heard through his mask. The "business end" of the flamethrower was a few meters in front of the woman's face, easily within range of his weapon. This is when he noticed that she was armed. "And don't try anything, or you're roasted." His free hand was holding a lighter very close to the rag on a Molotov cocktail attached to his belt.

https://deadtorights.rpg-board.net/t35-pyro

She looked up at him, raising a brow. Her expression clearly conveyed her answer: No. "Kid, all due respect, but if you can find anyone else who can pilot this, I will be extremely impressed. As it stands, unless you want the engines to cut out and send you plummeting, you're gonna have to pay for passage just like anyone else." For emphasis, she spun the chamber on her specialized revolver, never once breaking eye contact with him.

Pyro tilted his head to the side. "Is that so? What a dilemma we have here..." He put the lighter away and scratched his head with difficulty. His arms are just a bit too long. "And so far, how many other people have payed for passage? Three? Four? Because if you ask me, I've already seen a few people sneak on. My terms aren't changing. Agonising death or hand the airship to me." His aim had not faltered at all while he was speaking. Honestly, Pyro didn't know why he wanted the airship so much. Why wouldn't you? Little did the teen know, he had accidentally lit the Molotov by his side. It proceeded to explode in flames and small shards of glass. Pyro was engulfed in flames, and decided to play along with it. He faked a scream of pain and fell to the ground, trying his hardest not to interrupt his fake screams with laughter.

Jetstream made no move to help him, crossing her legs and watching him burn. "Nobody's on board right now. The only way on is this gangplank, and the hatches are sealed." She yawned, still watching him burn, and quickly noticing that he wasn't simply on fire, not actually burning. "You can stop now, by the way? I don't charge much, so there's no need to make me pity you."

The boy broke into laughter on the ground, the flames showing no signs if dying out. Pyro staggered to his feet, barely able to do even that. "Pity? Nah. I was just trying to screw with you! You can imagine how much this freaks normal people out." He sighed in his mask, barely even noticing the flames covering his body. "Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it? I guess I'll just have to go legitimately. How much are you asking?" He groaned when he said legitimately. Pyro swung the flamethrower onto his back again and entirely forgot he was even on fire anymore.

Jetstream ran a hand through her short blonde hair, closing her eyes and thinking. "Any precious gems or metals. Or if you've got, say, some piping or bolts for maintenance. I'm not picky, just as long as you can offer something."

Pyro began digging around in his (luckily fireproof) satchel for something of value. "Let's see... I've got a lightbulb, copper pipes, a rock with suspicious carvings on it, and some weird thing that vibrates. I don't really know." He looked back up at the woman through the gas-mask. "Which do you want? I don't really need any of them." Pyro shrugged and started patting out some of the flames on his person. They may not be painful, but they can get annoying sometimes.

Jetstream rubbed her chin, pursing her lips. "I'll take the copper pipes and the vibrating thing. What's it look like?"

He pulled a small electrical device from his pocket. "Eh. Just some weird device I came across while scavenging. You press the button:" He proceeded to press the button. It began shaking in his hand. "And it vibrates. That's all I really know about it. Why would you want something like that?" Pyro asked in curiosity. He had managed to extinguish his left arm, and was now working up the other one. With Pyros free hand, he pulled the copper pipes from his satchel, prepared to hand them over.

She nodded, jerking a thumb up the gangplank. "Your room is gonna be labeled B2. Second deck. I'll take the machine and the pipes now, you can go and get settled."

"Sweet." Pyro commented and dumped the pipes and device into her hands, then headed towards the gangplank. As he climbed onto the ship, he felt a rush of excitement. Pyro has never travelled by air before, so he was pretty pumped. The interior of the ship was well-kept and clean, with people occasionally going by him to do their job at one place or another. He climbed the stairs to the second deck, finally extinguishing the last if the flames on his torso and removing his gas-mask. Pyro took a breath of fresh air as he reached deck 2, and began the search for B2. Which was right next to the staircase, so it wasn't much of a challenge. The door creaked open at his touch and he collapsed on a chair. "It's good to relax once in a while..."

Almost half an hour later, a loudspeaker in his room crackled, and Jetstream's voice broke through. "Attention all passengers. We are undocking. Our destination is south. Dinner will be held on Deck A in the main hall at 18:00 hours."

His royal blue eyes darted to a small window at the far end of the room when the announcement was made. Pyro wasn't used to air travel yet, so he was quite nervous whether he would enjoy it or throw up. The boy had already stashed his Molotov cocktails away in a small cupboard next to the bed and thrown the flamethrower on said bed. Pyro gently placed his own gas mask ontop of the cupboard, now technically making him a normal teenager with odd proportions. But there was one problem: he was bored. I guess I'll just wait for dinner.

The ship lurched some as the moorings were cast off, and then came the subtle hum or power throughout the entire ship, seeming to move from the fore to the aft. There was another lurch, and then everything seemed to settle, the the only way he would be able to tell that they were moving would've been if he had opened his door. The loudspeakers crackled once more before Jetstream spoke. "All hands, we are under way. Passengers are allowed almost free access to the ship, save for engineering and the bridge. We're holding steady at 45 knots and are expected to make our next harbor in 60 hours."

Pyro shot to his feet. "60 hours?! I can't stay out of off-limits areas for that long!" The shirtless teen snatched his mask again and left the room. But his anger diminished quickly when he saw the view out of his room. "Holy shit. That's awesome." He was dumbfounded by the view above the clouds, and nearly forgot he was going to break one of the only rules on board. Luckily for him, a map of the ship was right next to his room. "Engine room, engine room, engine room... Ah!" He grinned under the mask and headed to the lower decks. People pay well for engineering supplies, don't they?

He would find that, not marked on the map, was the bridge. As he drew closer to the engine room, he would see why. The engine room and the bridge were one and the same, and the only crew member there was Jetstream. She had changed out of her normal clothes and into a tight grey and black jumpsuit. She looked up, catching sight of him. "Oi, what're you doing down here?"

Pyros eyes widened. "You again?! Oh, come on!" He complained and punched a wall. "Agh! Bloody-" He groaned and grabbed his hand. "I just wanted to steal some mechanic parts, but noooo! You just had to suddenly appear in the engine room-" Pyro looked around and noticed several control panels and levers. "Ooor it's the control room. Yeah I think I'll just be going now..." He slowly backed away from the seemingly agitated woman.

She pulled a nearby lever, closing the door he had entered from. She sighed, rubbing her eyes and turning back to her work, effortlessly pulling a lever and cranking a nut. "Listen, kid... I don't want any trouble, and I'm sure you don't. So just don't be a bother, and don't come down here again." She gestured to the large sphere behind the control panels. "The reactor is too sensitive for you to be playing around with it. Do you want us to explode? Or implode? Either's a possibility."

"Look, Hun, I'm way passed all that hijacking stuff. I just came down here to get a few engineering supplies to sell. But seeing that you're the only engineer or pilot in this ship, I'll be on my way." He shrugged, making his rib deformity more noticeable. Well, there is one other reason... Pyro smiled under his mask at the information only he knew. "So if you wouldn't mind opening the door again, and I'll be on my way."

She pushed the lever back up, turning back to her task. "Whatever, just stay out of here. And don't think you'll be able to break in while I'm gone. These are also my quarters."

"So an engineering room, the control room, and the captains quarters? I thought you had enough room on this ship for at least your own quarters..." Pyro shrugged and backed out of the room, making sure she wasn't going to shoot him in the back as soon as he turned. He sighed and stomped back up the stairs, upset he wasn't able to steal anything to sell. But that's not why Pyro decided to take a trip on an air craft. When he was sure nobody was around, he pulled a small piece if paper from his pocket. On it was a picture, a name, a signature and a reward. The heading of the paper: Alaina "Jetstream" Thompson. You guesses it, the paper was a contract, personally signed by one if the big guys of the Resurgance.

Jetstream finally found a moment to herself sitting in her chair and sliding it along its rail across the various control panels. She adjusted a number of settings, speeding the ship up some and causing the reactor to momentarily groan in protest. She smirked some, spinning around and staring up at the ball, talking aloud. "Don't give me that. You're just angry because I had to wake you up..." She paused a moment, not unlike a break when waiting for another person to say something, before adding. "Just put what steam you can on. After we drop off these passengers, we'll make straight for the Black Fleet."