Sebastian shivered under his wool longcoat, tugging at the lapel to try and shut out the gusts of wind that always seemed to meander about the tops of the skydock. His eyes narrowed, but it was too dark to use his farsight goggles, he'd have to find his next employer the old fashioned way. Tugging at his gloves, which were more suited to be an accessory during a research proposal than keep his hands warm properly in the cold, he dipped into a narrow alleyway, ducking and dodging and diving under, around, and over the whistling copper pipes pocking the walls. His bag, made of worn leather and stained with a dozen chemicals named and unnamed, swung in his wake, threatening to hook itself on any of the copper protrusions as he tried to carry on, but he knew the clock was ticking--if he couldn't get aboard before it departed, he was right back on the streets again.

The young man skidded to a halt in the street ahead, the overhead light reflecting conspicuously off of the gadgets he carried as he craned his neck around to get his bearings. Third dock, registered as the Glory, he reminded himself, though the ship's credentials were forged, dashing off with the click clack of his hard leather boots announcing his presence to anyone on the cobblestone streets this night. He wondered if he should have dressed more appropriately for stowing away, but decided it too late to matter. Rushing towards a heavy chain link fence, he looked left and right for any onlookers and, seeing none, reached into his bag to withdraw what appeared to an oversized pair of scissors, reinforced heavily, housed in a brass box with a line of vacuum tubes crowning the device. He tugged at a pull cord and grimaced as the thing crackled to life, tubes sparking to life as electricity arced between them briefly. The blades of the Arkencutter slowly lurched to life, opening and closing with increasing rapidity as Sebastian held them up to the fence. A few seconds and a few chomps from the machine later, and he was running full speed for the galleon as it bobbed in the open air.

The plank had been pulled, Of course it had... he muttered, tucking his little tool back into his back and tightening the strap to hold it tightly against his lithe form. Scanning the ship for obvious points of entry, he spotted a lucky break, an open porthole. Taking a deep breath and begging for some higher power to bless his aim, he took a running start and leaped, arms steepled over his head, eyes shut tightly and dove through the brass dormer, sprawling onto the interior deck inside with a loud crash, his dusty hat (and goggles) skittering across the floor as he came to a stop in the light of a gas lantern. He rubbed his elbow as he grumbled his way to a sitting position, just as he realized he was completely surrounded by the crew...

Avery Coppershade was the captain of the ship, the Glory. Well, that was the name it had in the port cities. Its real name was the ShadowStrike. But since her father had died and his will saying to change the name to that, Avery did as her father wished. But in her heart it would always be the ShadowStrike. Avery had just gotten onto the main deck, her first mate, a Mr. Dante Williams, from getting some goods sold from their last trip. She had Dante put the gold and cash into the vault when a small robotic fox ran up to her, barking with glee. She smiled and bent down, rubbing its head. "Hello Engine, did you miss me?" She stood and called "Mr. Clark! I want a role call in fine minutes, then when everyone is on board, we head out." She heard the reply and headed to her cabin, rubbing her eyes. She was beat. She hadn't slept well lately and the last two week the ship had been attack three different times. They had won of course but it was all starting to wear her out. She shut the door to her cabin and sighed, leaning against the door and closing her eyes. She said "Arachnid? Can you make sure we have no unwanted guests on board?" she heard a chirping and a huge spider landed in front of her, rubbing its face against hers and then climbing back to the higher parts of the cabin and vanishing for sight. The Glory was full of Avery's inventions. The crew didn't mind and most of her machine friends were loved by the men. Avery sat down at the huge table and started mapping out the next course, hearing the steam engines kick into life and start heading out of the port.

The floor rumbled under Sebastian as he scooted himself backwards against a wall, "Ah... Looks like we're underway already..."

A burly looking fellow with a scruffy, but shaped, beard curled his lip into a cruel smile as small pistons in his powered gauntlet hissed and tapped rhythmically. Glancing out the still open porthole, he shrugged, "Don't mean ya can't go out th' way you came in, boy..." Chuckles murmured behind the man from the handful of other crewmen behind him.

"W-wait, wait just a moment! It's not what you thin-"

"Not what I think? I don't think that you know what I'm thinking," he drew his long, curved blade from its scabbard, the serrated edge near the hilt churning to life, buzzing as brass gears spun and whirred with the motion.

"Miles Trimble! Professor Miles Trimble sent me!" Sebastian stammered, his heels pressing into the deck, trying to get away further though the wall at his back didn't seem interested in allowing him to do so. "He said 'third dock, the Glory,' and to speak with Captain Coppershade!"

The lenses on the crewman's goggles spun slowly, obviously trying to focus on some of Sebastian's trappings and discern fact from fiction about the intruder's identity. The bearded man ran his tongue over his teeth, "And why would Captain Coppershade be interested in th' likes of you, exactly?"

Sebastian's eyebrows rose excitedly, "I'm glad you asked!" he said with a gulp of nervous spit as he jerked his bag up and off his head, sliding it towards his questioner. "I-I'm a man of many talents you see, engineering, obviously." The crewman kicked over Sebastian's bag as the stuttering stowaway waved him on nervously. Parts and pieces from a dozen half-cocked devices clattered onto the floor, along with the arkencutters, a feromonic field detector, a pair of handheld disruptors (which were thankfully not primed to fire as they hit the floor), and several rolls of wire (brass, titanium, and copper, for variety), as well as a travel-sized set of wrenches, ratchets, pliers, and a single hand mallet that thudded more heavily than the size of the thing would suggest it should have. "Uh, avionics, aeroarchiteture, anachropology and anachroarcheology-"

"What?" the crewman growled, kicking the pile of parts across the floor with a crash. "Toss 'im back out the port, boys," he barked to the others behind him, eliciting another round of chuckles as the crew approached Sebastian menacingly.

"WaitwaitWAIT!" the young man shouted, raising his voice and inadvertently alerting Arachnid to his presence with his unfamiliar voice.

The spider jumped down from above, landing infront of the crew and chirped angrily at them. Then they heard steps and Mr. Dante walked into the room. " mr. Niles. I hope you weren't about to toss over a guest on the glory, were you? If you were, you know what arachnid would have to do to you...." The spider hissed at niles, keeping it's body over the young man, shielding him. Dante walked over and said "I beg you pardon for this welcome. We were not told of your coming, but the captain did say we were to expect a guest these few days. Please. Come with me" arachnid moved so the man could get up and the first mate lead him onto the deck and towards the captains cabin. He said once they were alone. "The men aren't blood thirsty. They always do that when someone is new. To show whose the alphas and all that."

Niles immediately settled at the appearance of the captain's pet and the first mate, the pistons in his powered gauntlet letting out a brief hiss before falling still. Habit dictated he tipped his head forward towards the officer, The men behind him fell into some sort of order, moving into loose ranks and silencing their chuckles.

Sebastian crawled out from under the mechanical spider, scooped his tools, parts, and pieces back into his bag, plucked his hat (and farsight goggles) from the floor and followed behind Dante, "I should really be the one to apologize, I was just a bit concerned that I'd miss the opportunity." He cleared his throat and extended his gloved hand out, "Sebastian Benzie, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Dante looked at him and said "mr. Dante, glad to have you aboard. Then men will get used to you quickly. So tell me why you wanted to see the sky's?"

Avery was still working on the maps, yawning as she did. Her shoulder was bothering her but it should be, she had been wounded in the last fight. She hadn't changed the bandage yet. She leaned back, closing her eyes for a moment.

Sebastian subconsciously brought his hand to his belly, giving it a subtle scratch as he raised his brows and tipped his head to the side acquiescently, "We've all got to eat, right?" He smirked, mostly to himself, as he pressed onward, presumably towards the captain. "My mentor spoke of Captain Coppershade fondly, and frankly, it was either this or sign up to be some lapdog for the military." The young man rolled his eyes at the thought, "And how boring would it be to never see your inventions at work? Or being told what to make, ignoring where your mind really wants to go?"

He cleared his throat and gave his longcoat another tug, bringing himself away from his daydream and back to the present, "Anyhow, how has the captain been fairing lately? All well with him?"

Dante smiled and said "first off, fine I guess. A few wounds from the raids and attacks we have been getting. But you should know..." He knocked on the door to the captains cabin and Avery from inside said "enter" Dante opened the door and said "the captain is a women....and you do know this shop is not...well, a transport vessel right?" They walked inside to see captain Avery working hard at the maps, just wearing a tank top and pants. Her shoulder was bandaged and needed to be redressed, the blood on it looking days old. "Captain Coppershade, I present Sebastian benzie. Sebastian, this is captain Avery Coppershade, lady of the glory. Or formally known as...the ShadowStrike..." Dante smiled, knowing the man would know the ship name. You see, Avery's father told them to change the name for one reason. The ShaodwStrike was known as a pirate ship....the most famous and deadly one that sailed the skies.

Sebastian's brow rose sharply as Dante introduced him to the captain, he had expected her father to be waiting in the captain's chambers to greet him. "Ah, yes. I have heard a smattering of what to expect..." He cleared his throat and stepped forward into the light from the gas lamps, pulling his hat to his chest and offering Avery a slight bow, though deep enough for the tip of his striped scarf to sweep the floor at his feet. "At your service, Captain." His eyes ran over the shelves and tables of the room, trying to get a feel for the woman, since he had honestly not heard much about her. He awaited her questions, about him, about his skills, knowing that the ship's exploits were too grand to allow any gear monkey walk on without a proper interview.

Avery looked up and smiled, standing up straight and walked around the desk. "Welcome aboard. I recevied the letter from your boss about you wanting to come along, but I wanted to ask you...what could you gain from sailing with the Glory?" She flinched, her shoudler aching. Dante sighed and said "Captain...your wound needs to be treated" Avery waved her hand and said "It can wait until we get to know our guest, Mr. Dante" Dante shook his head, moving to the arm chairs on the other side of the cabin and sat down.

"What I can gain?" he asked, letting the question bounce around in his head for a moment as he cocked it to the side curiously. He hadn't really thought about it in such terms. "What I can gain..." he mumbled to himself, an almost inaudible whisper, followed by a long pause and then a shrug. "Freedom," he started with a smile, "A home in the sky, on top of the very clouds that have been floating over our heads since time immemorial." His hands curled slightly, a sign of contentedness at the thought of it, "A place to work on what I want to work on. To build and repair and revise to my heart's content and my imagination's limit without having some rozzers over my shoulder trying to fan my dunnage every time I get a new idea."

He took a deep breath, trying to settle the smile that somehow took command of his lips. "But that's not really what an employer should be asking her employees, is it?" Sebastian shoved a hand into his bag and drew one of the disruptor pistols from within with a sigh, pointing it towards the ceiling as he raised it to eye level and using his free hand to twist one of several knobs that lined its left side. The three tubes on the device, one larger, two smaller, crackled as a bolt of lavender light arced from within, painting the man's face and hair with the odd tint. He pointed it at his hand and pulled the trigger, a beam of the same color charging and releasing before sinking into his skin harmlessly. His eyes went to the officers' to make sure they understood his demonstration: he wasn't going to hurt anyone with the disruptor on this setting. He leveled it at Avery's shoulder calmly, "May I?"

Dante was up and ready but Avery raised her hand. "At ease, Dante....the boy isn't going to shoot me. Well, I ask this question because I like knowing my crews goals in life....so that I can help them find what they are looking for. Freedom I can help you get, master Sebastian." She looked at her shoulder then nodded, removing the stained bandage. "Let me see what you can do"

Sebastian nodded determinedly, squeezing the trigger of the disruptor pistol evenly and firing off a ray of the same lavender shade that filled the vacuum tubes of the thing. It washed over the captain's shoulder as the young man took in a sharp breath and swallowed nervously. He knew that it was designed to stitch and sew flesh back together, to knead and mend muscle and even bone as the irradiated particles kicked the target's regenerative processes into overdrive... At the cost of their metabolism. He lowered the pistol slowly, hoping that the captain had had a big meal, and recently...

Dante stood by as Avery looked at her shoulder, nodding. "Interesting, quite the trick there..." She felt dizzy and grabbed the desk, Dante moving over. "Captain?" She waved him off and Dante looked at the inventor, now looking mad. "What after affects are there?"

Sebastian grinned nervously, tugging at the lapel of his coat and slipping the disruptor back into his bag, "Ah... Well... She'll be hungry," he started, nodding quickly to himself to try and jog the specifics back into his forethoughts, "Likely thirsty too. I've modified this simple ray gun to be a metabolizer. It speeds up the healing process... But you can't create something from nothing, right?" He cleared his throat and shook his head, stopping himself from going into a thesis about the radiation manipulating the cells of the body to make this contraption work, "She just needs a good meal. Mostly meat." Instinctively, he looked over his shoulder, counting the steps between him and the door in case he needed to make a break for it, almost edging his way closer to the exit...

Dante growled but Avery grabbed him. "relax, Dante...a meal would be a great idea, I haven't eaten a big meal in a while..." Dante nodded and said "I will go to the cook now..." He left the room, not looking at the young man again. She sighed and moved to sit back down, looking tired. "His protective of me...his temper will fade in a few minutes" She went to look at the charts again, muttering to herself.

Sebastian raised one hand to the back of his head, scratching his scalp nervously, "I suppose I should get used to tempers, eh? Wouldn't do to have too many peaceful pirates bobbing about, now would it?" He sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his longcoat, "I know... I don't really have any swashbuckling accolades dotting my resumé, but I'm a good shot at least. I can hang out in your machine shop until you think I'm ready for a raid." He approached closer, though not intruding on her personal space, "Where are we headed to next, anyway?"

Avery didn't look up as she said "we are heading to the southern islands...but we only raid other pirates. More of a challenge. And I would rather you safe on the ship for a while before throwing you into a fight..." She whistled and the small fox robot walked, looking around. "Engine, can you get my bag from the workshop?" Engine barked and ran back as Avery sat down, running fingers thru her hair.

"Aye, ma'am," Sebastian replied with a little nod. As the little robotic creature departed, he couldn't help but crane his head around to watch it. His mentor always had a few positronic brains lying around in various states of construction, but he had never mastered the skill to... Create life, as such, despite his fascination. It wasn't for lack of interest that held him back, the lad just had a tendency to gloss over the multitude of fine details required, as the rest of his creations displayed. Surely Professor Trimble could have put together a device to scan the woman and automatically adjust its potency so as not to leave her weakened, but Sebastian's... It only had one setting: full blast.

It was always all or nothing with him, which occasionally brought him a bit of guilt, but more often brought him a bundle of trouble, if Dante's reaction wasn't evidence enough of that.

"Did you want anything else from me? Or should I... Uh... Find a bunk?"

Avery looked up and said "no, we are finished. Go get a bunk then get some food..." Dante came back with a tray and put it next to Avery's desk. "Captain you need to eat." Avery shook her head and said "I'll eat later..."

Engine went onto the deck, sniffing around for her bag.