Estella was a bit surprised at the comment. True, her brothers could be so frustratingly annoying. But they were mischpache - family. They teased and tortured her endlessly but they had her back if an outsider tried to mess with her. Being the youngest of six, in some ways she had been protected, nurtured. She was her mother's Bubbala - or at least until she left. Thankfully, the arrival at the airship and the mechanic coming down, hid the sadness...and loneliness she felt. Looking back, she would have made the same decision but still... She locked the thoughts and feelings aside, making sure to keep it off her face.

"Ms. Axford," though respectful it was very borderline, almost strained politeness. "I thought something might have happened to you. Did you find your way alright?"

Estella did not like the man. He was arrogant and rude. She easily picked up the condescending remark and insult in the man's words. She wanted to plant her fist in his face but she refrained. The advantage of having five older brothers was she did know how to fight. That brought a small smile to her lips. Yes, she felt she had a good childhood. She was sorry that Rebeca's father didn't seem to have the same feelings - as indicated in the brief statement earlier. Siblings were a blessing - though difficult to handle at times. She couldn't imagine growing an only child.

The mechanic's eyes narrowed seeing Estella. He was obviously NOT pleased to see her. "What are you doing here?" He asked, almost demanding. Seeing the box with the part in her arms he yanked away. "Thank you but your services are no longer needed." He turned almost dismissively. "You probably should go see your father, Ms. Axford." He headed into the ship, the words coming over his shoulder. "You've been gone for quiet some time. He is undoubtedly worried." Not that the man seemed to care.

Estella blew out, keeping herself calm. "Well," she put her thumbs in her pockets in a very unladylike gesture. "He's a pleasant fellow." When dealing with rough circumstances people reacted different ways. Estella was used to rudeness. All her life she had faced prejudice and discrimination - and not all of it was due to how she dressed. Though Denmark was no where near anti-semantic as the rest of Europe there had been more than a fair share of incidents. Not that anyone really knew her ancestry her. Her looks fit her Danish accent and the only thing tying her to her heritage hung on a chain, tucked under her corset. But all those incidents had just taught her to laugh it off. Brush it away. There was no point letting someone's hatred or prejudice of you ruin your own outlook on life. So that's what she did. She smiled, the mechanic already being pushed to the back of her mind. She looked at Rebeca. "To answer your question - siblings can be amazing but they can also be horribly annoying." She chuckled lightly.

Rebeca looked at the man with a raised eyebrow, her obvious annoyance at him growing by the second. It was hard for her to not tell her father that he should just fire him simply because she didn’t like him very much and he didn’t seem to really respect her very much. But if he couldn’t get himself together soon, she might not have to say anything at all. “I highly doubt that, I’ve not been gone that long and he knew where I had gone. I’m a big girl now, Freddrick, I can do as I please.”

She ignored him after that and turned to Estella again. She hummed thoughtfully as she gestured the other woman up after her and in towards the ship. “I’ll just have to take your word for it, I think I rather liked being an only child though. And besides, getting a sibling now would be a little weird.”

Estella paused slightly. She still wasn't completely sure why she was here. Oh she didn't mind. She was fairly laid back individual and was glad to help. But the mechanic had his part and there was no way he would let her into that engine room once. No doubt he felt she had shamed him or embarrassed him or something. He wouldn't let it happen again. She just hoped that Rebeca wasn't going to have her father give her another tip. Once is touching. Twice, a bit annoying. She didn't do it for a tip. Though, if they found out where the tip had gone, they'd undoubtedly want to repay her again.

So with just a slight confusion, she followed Rebeca's invite and headed into the vessel. She quickly found herself surrounded by the tight space of the airship. The hum of the engine, the slight creaking one expected from an older vessel. A smile formed on her face and she was half tempted to run her hand along the wall as she walked. But she refrained. She was weird enough. No point adding to it.

"Yes, siblings are fun but it would be a bit strange to have one a whole lot younger than you. My brothers and I fell within about ten year range. My oldest brother was really out of the house by time I was eight." She paused reaching a split. She realized it was probably not the best idea to have her go first. She had no clue where to go. Stepping slightly aside, she looked at Rebeca letting her lead.

"So um..." she hated to ask. It seemed a bit presumptuous. "Where are we going?" She regretted asking as soon as the words came out. It did sound a bit rude. She probably should have just played it by ear and waited to see. Estella pressed against the cold metal wall to let the other woman pass in front of her.

Rebeca smiled at her before taking the lead and heading back to the bridge again. Yes, she was taking her to her father again, but not for the reason that she was thinking. It was a rather short walk there to find her father lounging in his chair again. It was pretty normal for him to drape his long frame over whatever it was he was sitting on like he had bones made of something more like clay than stone. He looked up from the book he was skimming over, it looked more like a catalogue than anything he might be reading for pleasure. He raised a reddish eyebrow up at his daughter, looking confused as she came in and sat herself down on the edge of a console and gestured for Estella to take one of the other seats in the room.

“Just thought you shouldn’t have to rush back if you didn’t want to,” she said to answer Estella’s question as she crossed her ankles over one another and kicked her feet like a child. “But I thought you’d enjoy talking with my father as well and help me convince him that we should get an automaton.”

“Rebeca,” Will sighed, sitting up and closing the catalogue with a thump before tossing it to the floor in front of his seat. “Really need you do this?”

She shrugged and smiled some. “I know that sometimes you need to hear things from someone other than me. And you’re getting older, whether you want to admit it or not, and you can’t do all the heavy lifting on your own all the time.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I’m thirty seven. I’m not nearly dead. Jesus, child.”

She was directionally challenged when it came to being inside something. And an airship was no exception. When she had been on the Allure she had to create a map and carry it with her so she wouldn't get lost. It had happened more than once and not only had it been a since of embarrassment but almost also got her into a few sticky situations. But thankfully that was in her past. At least the sticky situations part. The not knowing where she was - well, she had a ways to go on that. Estella followed Rebeca as they went through the ship. She was a bit grateful that the other woman knew where she was going because to her, everything looked the same. Oh she could pick up the intricate details but she couldn't tell you how to use it get back.

Entering the bridge, she was a bit surprised that Rebeca had brought her here. Why? She closed her eyes just briefly. She really hoped she wouldn't be tipped again. Keeping a slight smile pasted on her face she re-examined the room. The bridge of an airship was a fascinating - especially for a Tinkerer like her. There was so much to see, so many devices. The first time she was here, she hadn't really paid attention but now - now she took it in. She headed over and sat. Reluctantly she pulled her attention away from the ship as she looked toward her hostess. Her eyes took in the conversation between the two. Biting her lip she wasn't really sure she wanted to get involved. This sounded like a frequent argument between the two.

"Like grabbing a dog's ear, Estella," her mother's voice rang in her ear. "Is someone who steps in to someone else's quarrel." It had initially came from a proverb the wise king Shlomo had once said. Her mother had to mention it to her on more than one occasion. Though in reality, she also said it about several of Estella's brothers as well. Or anyone else who was meddling.

Estella pushed the thoughts aside. She looked from Rebeca to her father and back again. An automaton would be helpful - though they were a bit pricey. Estella had never worked on one of the larger ones but she had tweaked with some smaller ones before. She looked at Mr. Axford. He was a bit older. Thirty-six might not be that old, but for lifting and such it did elevate a lot of work that could stress a body out. "It's not necessarily about age." Darn it. She wasn't going to get involved. Why did she even say that? Estella winced just slightly. Well, she was committed. "They can also be more efficient as they can lift far more than the average male - even one in his prime." Now it looked she was taking sides. "But they do have their downsides." Great. Now she insults the hostess. When was she going to learn to shut her mouth? She should have listened to her mother's wisdom. She was such a shmuck!

Rebeca smirked a little triumphantly when Estella mostly agreed with her. And she did so well enough to favor her father as well. She was a smart girl, even if she probably wasn’t excited about being brought into a ‘family’ argument. But the family part was only coincidence, if she was not family, she’d treat him just the same.

Will huffed and rolled his eyes a little bit. “Fine, I’ll look into Rebeca,” he sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “But you take all responsibility for its upkeep. Yes?”

“That’s all I wanted you to do,” she said with a self satisfied smile. “Do you not trust Frederick to handle maintenance?” When he rolled his eyes again she laughed. “Good. Then maybe we should hire someone else?”

“I dunno Becs,” he said as he stood up, looking towards the door. “Probably should go check on how the part replacement is going…” He looked back to Estella and gave her a little smile. “Thank you, by the way, for your insight.”

Well neither threw her out yet. Thankfully. "Estella," her mother would say. "better to be thought wise and keep your mouth shut than open it and reveal yourself a fool. Her mother was full of proverbs. Moreso than most. And she wasn't shy saying it either. Estella probably got a good several every day growing up. Though not all were aimed directly at her, just noted. Her finger played with the pendent on her necklace. The comment thrown her way, caused her to look up. Dropping the pendent back in her shirt she refused to duck her head. "Hope I wasn't being..." the word escaped her. She knew the word - at least in Danish and Yiddish but the English one slipped her mind. She hated when that happened. She had a good understanding of the English language but occasionally a word slipped her mind or she didn't know it. Her face turned just slightly red in embarrassment as she couldn't come up with the word. She felt like an idiot. Seeing as it wasn't coming quickly she just changed her sentence. "I hope I didn't overstep." She ignored the fact her face was heated, just mentally pushing it off. English wasn't her native tongue. Her accent was obvious on that. Still... she hated not knowing a word and standing there as if her brain was gone.

Rising when Rebeca rose, she gave a nod to the captain. She started to follow before pausing. She looked back. "You have a lovely ship." She confessed before leaving.

Following Rebeca she tried to figure out what the stupid word was. She knew the Danish equivalent - Anmassende. It started with a p. Pre...Presumb? No. It irked her that the word was on the tip of her mind but she couldn't get it. Deciding to forgo it, she followed Rebeca. The girl lead her on a bunch of twists and turns before they found their way back outside the ship. Taking the cue as it was time to leave, Estella turned and smiled at the other girl. "Well, I best be off. Thanks for another tour of your ship." Okay, it wasn't fully a tour but still. "You have a splendid evening."

She turned and started to head off in the night. Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back. She repeated. She had already made herself look like a fool that one time by looking back to admire the ship. And with the moon out, it would have probably made a lovely view. Still...

The walk home in the dark wasn't bad. She was light footed so she heard those out and about before they heard her and she avoided them. From quick glance, most would mistaken her for a male. Her hair was under a cap and she wore pants. However, closer inspection in the moonlight would reveal the corset and her more feminine attributes. Thankfully, though there was no issue and the gun in the small of her back brought comfort.


Tuesday Morning

The engine room was a mess. Fredericks wringed his hands. "It will take another two or three days at least, Captain. I'm still trying to get everything fixed and replaced." Actually he was still working on that darn part that had broken. He was having the hardest time getting to it so he had disassembled another part of the engine to give him better access. Then removing the other part was a hassle. His hands were a bit larger and it was tucked inside the wall. It was bringing him frustration to no end. Stupid part. Stupid ship. How he wished he had a puny little assistant that he could make do the work. He was more of a supervisory individual. Who would have thought this piece of junk would require so much hands-on work?

He kept his face sympathetic even while he cursed the ship, the engine, and that stupid delivery girl who tainted his reputation with the captain.

Will stood in the engine room, arms crossed over his chest as he listened to his mechanic explain why it was that they were not going to be taking off that day. And for some reason, he just didn't believe that it needed to be that long. "It might take you that long, but I'm sure someone could do it faster."

He didn't think of that girl, Stella or whatever, right away. She was not, directly at least, for his new found distaste for the man. It was the way hewed not even considered that someone else might know something that he didn't. And that stubbornness had cost Will money and time. Both of which be disliked. And he was not about to let this man cost them more.

*I'll give you until ten to make us operational, if you don't think you can, you can see yourself out now."

Fredericks looked hurt. Though inside he was fuming. Someone else do it faster than him? Was the man calling him incompetent? He knew far more than this captain did - than anyone in this stupid town. He had the career and medals to prove it. How dare the man insinuate that he was inferior. But, honor aside, he had to kiss up to the man. That was how the game was played. "I'm so sorry, Captain. I know this messes up your calendar. And I am trying." A thought came to him. Maybe he could use this to get an assistant. Someone he could make do the work. It could also be seen as a 'mentorship'. Call it whatever to get some kid to do all the grunt work. He was going to suggest it when the deadline hit him. "Captain!" He protested. He looked around the room. "There's no way we will be operational that quickly." And he was right. In his attempt to change out the part he had dismembered part of the engine. He would have to change the part out, put the engine back together and then tweak everything. And that was assuming that there was nothing else wrong - something that didn't even cross his mind.

He frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe I can get us operational end of day but doubtful." He made his voice as sincere as possible. Really, he just needed to buy some time. He didn't think he'd be able to finish by the end of the day but maybe the Captain would be in a better mood. Right now the man was a bit glaring. No doubt because his daughter had fed him some lie or other. "No mechanic can get this fixed before than." Feeling a bit more confident, he lifted his chin slightly. "In fact, I doubt you'll be able to find a mechanic who you could hire and bring in here in that time." His arrogance had kicked in slightly. The man needed him. Especially if he wanted to go somewhere in the next day or two. Finding a mechanic was difficult. You had to interview, get an idea of their skills, and then you had to see if they even knew the engine. This piece of junk wasn't the newest airship out there. Not many might know how to operate it. Because of that, the Captain needed him. The man could be gruff but when it came down to it, Fredericks held the power here.



At the agreed upon time, Roger rang the bell at the boarding house. Ms. Mortimer would probably have a fit seeing him. He wondered how much pressure she had tried to put on Bea to get her to stay. It wasn't like they were running off to do anything unhonorable. In fact, they would have a bit of a chaperone with William and his daughter. Roger would in no way do anything to ruin Bea's reputation. He wouldn't do that for any woman but especially for Bea.

The door opened and the landlady glared at him. Apparently she had not succeeded in convincing Bea to stay otherwise a smirk would have been on her face. She looked distastefully at him. "I will make it very clear Mr. Radcliff. I do not like this at all and do not think it is proper. Furthermore, if I find you did anything to hurt Ms. Brown's reputation, I will hold you personally responsible."

He tipped his hat. "As you should, Ma'am. But don't worry. I have no intention of anything scrupulous."

The woman huffed. "In that case you should convince her to stay and not run on this foolhardy trip."

Roger almost laughed. Talk Bea out of this? He doubted that would ever happen. "I'm sure Ms. Brown knows what she is doing. She is very intelligent."

Ms. Mortimer narrowed her eyes at him. She still didn't invite him in. In fact her hand remained on the door knob, almost blocking his entrance. "Not enough apparently. She'll be along shortly." And with that she closed the door in his face.

“I can see you're trying,” he said, gesturing around them at the parts that were not where they were supposed to be. “But this isn't like some sudden trip, you have known for days that we would be leaving this morning. If you thought this would have been the outcome it might have been wise to have mentioned so sooner than the morning of.”

Will sighed heavily and pushed off the workbench he was leaning against. “I am fairly certain I could find someone else to do it, and in time. So if you want to keep pushing, I'll happily push you out the hatch with my boot. So either shape up or ship out. Understand?” He didn't like being like this, but he had to be firm, he was the captain. If he didn't, he'd be walked all over and he wasn't having that from anyone.



Beatrix was indeed just a few moments behind Ms. Mortimer. They had already taken most of their things over the evening before so as to not have to worry about trasping through all the morning traffic at the port with their things. It just had made the most sense to her. So all she had with her now was a briefcase that held the most important paperwork that she hadn’t trusted taking over to the ship just yet. Not until they had left London. If someone was still following her and watching her, then they would have far less qualms breaking into the ship to rummage through her things there and she didn’t want anything to fall into the wrong hands. And if someone did, she didn’t want them to think that Will and his daughter knew anything if they found something.

She just hoped she was being over paranoid now.

So at the sound of the knock on the door, she pulled her hat off the hat stand, pinned it into her hair and pulled on her jacket before heading down the stairs to meet Roger. Of course Ms. Mortimer was up before and had beat her to the door.

“Roger,” she said from just behind the older woman, clearing her throat when she didn’t move right away. She grumbled something but finally moved out of her way. Bea stepped over to the door and out the door and turned back to look at her landlady. “I will call when we are safely there, I promise.”

“You had better, younger lady,” Ms. Mortimer said with hands on her hips.

Bea didn't say anything more to her and simply turned and walked away purposefully, knowing that Roger would follow.

Fredericks refrained from scowling. The captain was sure in his head. There was no way he would find someone else. Yes London had a lot of mechanics but finding a good one, hiring them, and then having them fix this mess in time? Ha! He almost wanted to quit right then and there to see how the man took it. But he didn't. He needed the job. He had some money but not a lot. And finding another ship right away would be difficult. Besides, despite his bluffing, the captain needed him. Even if he found a mechanic, where would he get one that was as qualified as him?

"Begging your pardon Cap'n, I know we needed to get out but the ship had more issues than we initially realized. The part itself proved to be difficult. It's almost one of those types that require a week at least to get to, remove, replace, and test before putting everything else together. It's the way it is. I'll move as fast as I can but no guarantees." A sly thought came to mind. "You know though, an assistant would make it go faster." He left it hanging. He almost smiled at his cleverness. He'd get an assistant and make them do all the grunt work. Oh they'd still need him. He'd have to 'mentor' the boy and show him how to do it correctly but the hard labor and tough spots could go to the hired help.

"But we can do without," didn't want to seem to desperate. "Just takes longer. Telling it like it is, Cap'n." He kept his voice respectful, despite his annoyance with the man.



Roger turned when the door opened again. He smiled and tipped his hat at Bea. "Ms. Brown." Formal. Polite. Anything less and Ms. Mortimer would have his head. Not that he couldn't be formal but they were friends. It seemed a bit silly to always call her Ms. Brown. Of course, if he even tried it on a normal bases, she'd put an end to that quickly.

He hid his smile as Bea started walking away. Tipping his hat, he nodded to the landlady. "Ms. Mortimer."

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. Muttering something under her breath she turned and slammed the door.

Catching up to Bea, Roger casually took the briefcase from her. It was done so simply and without a major fuss. It was something he did without much thought. It was who he was. It wasn't because she was weak. Ha! Far from it. No, it was because he born a gentleman and that was what one did. "She seemed a bit grumpy today." He gave Bea a slight grin. "Annoyed she was unable to wear you down?"

Will raised a reddish eyebrow up at the other man, feeling the hint of defiance in his tone. “You know what, I'll go get you some help,” he said with a sigh, heading out of the engine room. “Lord knows you need it.”

He headed straight for his daughter, huffing and grumbling to himself the whole time. He wasn’t angry just yet, but he was certainly annoyed by this whole thing. It would have been far less so if the man had just said something earlier instead of waiting until the last minute.

“Becs” he said as he came into the galley to find Rebeca cleaning up from breakfast and putting the kettle on for more coffee. “Go fetch that girl, I might have made a mistake.”

She turned to look at him and gave him a very forgiving smile. “Yeah sure, in a minute. You want me to tell her you’re hiring her?” Will just huffed and threw his hands up in the air, letting her decide on her own. With a laugh, she finished up and headed out again to find Estella.



Bea let him take the briefcase from her. She didn't mind carrying it, but she also had no problems letting Roger carry it either. “Of course,” she chuckled, smiling over at him as they walked. “One of these days she is going to have to realize that you are not the devil.”

Looking back ahead of them, she went on, “you didn't forget anything, did you? Now would be the time to remember it.” She was sure she hadn't forgot anything. But that sometimes meant that she actually had. But whatever it might have been couldn't be too important if she forgot it.

As he watched the man leave, Fredericks kept the smirk to himself until the man was completely gone. That had gone so well. In fact, if he had thought about it, he should have done this earlier. Now he'll have some boy to do all the work and he was set. Why work when you could make others do it? Besides, someone of his knowledge and skill did better delegating than actual grunt work. He almost left everything as is. Let the boy put it back but he didn't. The Captain would probably expect something done. Of course, the man had hired him, so he probably didn't know much about mechanics.

So, Fredericks works a little bit here and there. He fixed a piece back but took another off. Made it look like he was actually doing something when in reality he just avoided fixing that one part that needed to be fixed before he could put everything really back. Why hurt himself trying to squeeze in and work on the part when he could get a smaller boy to do it. It wasn't the best fit and he was to dignified to try and get in.



So it had come. Rufus had actually been surprised Estella had stayed this long. He had interacted with her often enough to know when the big city of London started to become to much. Not that she complained - well that he could tell. She was always kind and sweet to him but there was slight signs that showed she was getting stressed by all the people and the city. It had taken some time working with her but he had started to pick up minor cues here and there: slight thickening of the accent, forgetting an English word or just throwing in a foreign word without realizing, falling back onto rapid Yiddish - more so than usual - when talking to herself. Little things that indicated she might be stressed. Though from an outside perspective it was very difficult to tell.

"Please don't fight me, Rufus. I'm very grateful for letting me stay but the work I did for you wasn't really worth more than that." Estella put up her hand slightly cutting off his reply. She wasn't going to accept any other payment. She didn't do that much. "I gained a lot more than you did." She raised an eyebrow.

"Bull..." He caught himself. "No. I doubt I would have gotten some of those gadgets fixed without your help. You got a knack."

Estella glanced down. She was good but flattery and praise wasn't something she preferred. "It was fun." She went on her tiptoes and kissed his grizzly cheek. "See you around, Rufus."

Seeing as he wouldn't win, he sighed. "Alright but take care of yourself, kid. You know you're always welcome back here."

She grinned. "Just make sure you have some fun toys to play with," she teased before heading out the door.



Roger laughed. It was clear and strong. "I doubt she thinks I'm the devil exactly." He shook his head. "Just close." He gave Bea a smile. "Besides, she's got to be careful. A woman like you heading out alone with a guy - a 'evil' one at that," he nodded.

He continued toward the ship as his mind ran through the various things they needed. All of his stuff had also been loaded onto the airship. He didn't have much to take with him. "No, I think we got it all. Clothes, a few supplies, basic needs, yeah we're good." He shrugged. "Besides, I'm sure if we forgot something we could always pick it up."

Life was like that. There wasn't much he really needed that he couldn't pick up if he lost. The most important thing they did need he guessed was in the briefcase. "And I assume this is what I think it is," He didn't hold up the briefcase but he knew she knew what he was talking about. "So we're good."

His smile faded slightly. "Have you seen anything suspicious at all?" He kept his face forward as he spoke quietly.

Rebeca made her way across the docks and down to the shop where she hoped Estella was still at.She knew the girl had the wanderlust like her father. And the dislike of big cities for too long, also like her father. As she walked she thought about how much she was like her father and that was rather amusing to her.

She came up as the other girl was saying her goodbyes and leaving the shop.”Heading off for greener pastures?” she asked as she approached. “Maybe we can give you a lift there, yeah?”



“Well perhaps not the devil exactly,” she agreed with a little laugh. “But certainly a high ranking demon lord of some kind.” But she thought that of most men, less so of younger ones, but he was too close to her age for Ms. Mortimer to feel otherwise.

“It is what you think it is. Didn't want to risk it being taken while we weren't on board.” Nor had she wanted to risk Will and his daughter, but she didn't want to have to say that outloud to him either. She didn't want him to worry any about this, even though she knew that he was already worrying about this and especially about her.

His next question proved that her thoughts were right. “Only probably because I have become very paranoid,” she sighed. “But in reality, I haven't noticed anything out of the norm. Though that doesn't mean that they aren't there and I'm just used to seeing them.”

Her bag over her shoulder, Estella exited the shop and nearly ran into Rebeca. "Oh 'ello." She blinked surprised. She hadn't expected to see the other girl again. A smile formed as the surprise waned. It was always nice to see a familiar face. "Yes, time to move on. London's great but..." How should she put it? The city seemed to grow? The longer she stayed in a place the more crushed and oppressed she felt? Most didn't understand it. Most couldn't comprehend that she couldn't stay somewhere for long - especially a city. One of the reasons she had tried the Aurora was so she could travel while working. The situation hadn't worked out but the concept would be fun.

She contemplated the phrase: Greener pastures. For just the brief moment she wondered what pastures had to do with anything. However, the context that Rebeca used gave her enough clue of what the idiom meant. She shrugged. "Actually, I haven't decided where I'm going yet." She probably would have to find a ship, train, or something to work her way to another location. The offer itself was a bit surprising. They barely knew her. It almost felt a bit like home growing up. People took care of each other and strangers. gemilut hasadim was a major part of her heritage. It was mitzvah - commandment. But after leaving, she hadn't seen it much outside. There were a few but it was also rare. The fact that Rebeca seemed to offer it was touching.

"You didn't come all this way to offer me a ride?" She raised an eyebrow, giving a slight smile. There was no way that she would have known. Estella hadn't even decided until last night on her walk home. The smile faded. "Let me guess, you need a lot more parts." She should have known. She didn't like to put others down but the fact the mechanic hadn't even bothered to verify they needed more parts before sending Rebeca yesterday didn't put him high on her list of bright individuals. She quickly rebuked herself. She was jumping to conclusions. He probably had checked everything out before sending Rebeca. Maybe this was unrelated. Though, if that was the case, why was Rebeca here?



Roger nodded. "You're right. Probably nothing. Though, this trip might cause them to look deeper in it. Hopefully not though. We've been out before. If anything, last summer would have been more suspicious." He didn't note that on a trip, it would be harder to tell if someone was watching them. Here in London, when you only go so many places you see a lot of the same. The ones that stand out are a lot less percentage-wise. But in a new place, everyone is a stranger. They'd have to be extra vigilant.

Reaching the airship, Roger led Bea aboard, finding Will on the bridge. Having already dropped everything off last night, they had been informed to come aboard when they arrived, so he wasn't worried about 'wondering'. The captain did not look pleased this morning. Shaking his hand, Roger raised an eyebrow. "Problems?" He inquired.

He wondered if someone had broken into the ship to go through the positions. Had someone tried to sabotage it? A million different scenarios ran through his mind as he worried that their mission had been leaked. He calmed himself knowing it had nothing to do with it. Or he hoped.

Rebeca’s grin went up some at her reaction. “Yes and no,” she said with a little shrug of her shoulders, stepping back and gesturing for Estella to at least walk with her out of the doorway. “He has actually requested an assistant. I’m 100% sure he didn’t mean you, but you seem to know what you’re doing more than him so Dad sent me to ask if you’d be willing to work for us, under that buffoon. For now at least.

“But if you don’t want to work, we’ll still give you a lift somewhere if you like,” she went on. “We’re headed up to Scotland today, hopefully, if not soon. It’s much less crowded up there than here in London, even in the cities.” She shrugged some. She didn’t exactly understand what it was like for people like her father and Estella, but she did understand that it happened, and that was more than enough for her to accommodating about it. She didn’t love big cities either, but she was much more comfortable in them than her old man was.



“Well at least we know now to be vigilant,” she said with a little shrug of her shoulders. It would be difficult, going somewhere new now. They wouldn’t know anyone, they would have to suspect everyone. Which would make it difficult to find actual allies. But it was the safest thing for them to do.

She followed him up into the ship, looking around her and trying to figure out her own way around in here. It shouldn’t be too difficult, she hoped. She nodded her greeting to the captain as they came onto the bridge.

Will looked up for his maps, double checking their route to give Roger an annoyed smile. “Ah well yes and no. I’m not fully sure we’re going to be departing when I said we would. Engine trouble. And mechanic trouble." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm sorry for the delay."

Estella nodded her thanks and stepped outside. Slight habit had her lift her chin up, inhale and take in the sun. There wasn't a lot of smog today, the air nice and crisp. For that she was grateful. She turned and looked at Rebeca. "An assistant?" The offer sounded intriguing. Though, she wasn't sure how well she'd get along with the mechanic. He didn't seem to like her. She could work with that. She had before. The Aurora had many who despised her. And some that she had to be weary against. Thankfully, having met Rebeca's father, Estella didn't think she'd need to worry about the mechanic trying to take advantage of her. The captain didn't seem the type to allow it. Plus he was a father with an eligible daughter so he might get hard. Not that she was concerned. She could take care of herself and she had always been taken care of.

"I've only worked a bit on an airship before," she confessed. "Other than a short stint on the Aurora I don't have experience." Honestly was her policy. She was the type to figure things out. She liked to study anything mechanical and she had a gift to figure out what was wrong, no matter the technology. But, same time, she wasn't going to claim she could do an airship. So actually, being an assistant would probably turn beneficial. She'd get more experience - provided of course the mechanic was cooperative. "I don't mind." She gave a small smile. "Adversity is not something I shy away from and I love a good learning experience." Her gaze didn't shift away from Rebeca's. "Assuming of course you don't mind my lack of experience. And the Aurora won't give a reference."

Part of her hoped Rebeca was still interested. On the Aurora she didn't have a lot of interaction specifically with the main engine. As a lower tech, she had been assigned to work in other aspects of the ship doing the basic work. Something that she didn't mind. When it came to tech, nothing was below her. Well...life really. You gave whatever you did your all. If you failed, then you learned. If you didn't - you find a way to improve it next time.



Engine problems. There was a bit of a sigh of relief there - though he didn't do it out loud. It was funny. He had been paranoid over nothing. He was going to have to calm down a bit. He wasn't concerned that the engine issues had anything to do with them. The ship was old and every airship that wasn't straight out of the dock had something being worked on. He just felt bad for the captain because down time cut into travel time, which cut into profit.

Roger shrugged. "No problem. Can't be helped." He looked at Bea for a moment before looking at the Captain. "If there's time, we'll head out for a brunch and return. What time do you anticipate leaving?" He actually hadn't eaten at all this morning. Bea probably did - he highly doubted Ms. Mortimer would have let her leave without at least a meal. The woman could be exceedingly annoying but at least she looked after her 'girls'.

“That's okay,” she smiled. “Dad’s got some experience, he's just not super confident about it. So if you can do anything at all, it’s better than nothing, right? Besides, you don’t need references, Dad sent me to get you specifically. He already trusts your judgement.” She shrugged a little bit, starting off towards the docks again because she had decided that Estella had decided to come along for at least a ride. “He’s normally a good judge of character, he was just in a rush with this last guy so he might have maybe made a mistake. Though, don’t repeat that to him,” she added, turning to look at her a little pleadingly. She did not want to upset her father any right now.

“At least you can help get us up in the air today, and we can see about the rest of it later, yeah?” she suggested, giving her a hopeful grin. "I mean, I'll be there too..." she trailed off, her smile a little bit more playful than might have been expected.



Will thought for a moment before nodding his head. “Yeah, there’s plenty of time for you to grab some grub,” he said with a grin. “I’m hoping everything will be put back in place by ten and we’ll be up in the air about noon or so. Rebeca’ll be back by then and probably have some sandwiches for us. If not, I’ll get something together.”

Bea smiled and nodded her head. “Well I suppose we’ll head out of your hair then, we should be back before noon certainly.” Will inlined his head at her in understanding and she turned a little to look at Roger. “Let’s go put that up in our room’s before we head out. No sense in carrying it everywhere with us.” As much as it would be safer for them to do so, it made it more obvious that they were trying to protect something. It was logical if they had left some things behind before really boarding, but not to carry it around all day then if they could ‘safely’ leave it on the airship.

Estella laughed gently. Better than nothing? One could put it that way. Though in actuality, some actually might be worse if they didn't know what they were doing. But not her. Not that she boasted about it or anything. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" - another quote drilled into her by her mother. Shlomo had indeed been the wisest one to ever live.

She looked over at Rebeca. She liked the girl. There was something about her personality that just seemed friendly. A smile slowly formed. "Alright. And thanks." Should be fun. She'd never worked on a ship's engine before. Even if she had to work under the mechanic, her spirit didn't dampen. It was an experience and that would help her continue growing and moving forward. Even the arrogant mechanic would be helpful. It would continue to teach her patience and humility.

Following the other girl, Estella was glad to be leaving the city of London behind. She couldn't wait until they were clear of the city smog and out in the open sky. She ran through her mind what she knew of the airship. The engine, the parts. There probably wasn't much wrong. They had to replace the one part - no doubt already completed. Then a check of all systems. She briefly wondered what the man did that had caused Rebeca's dad to ask for her. She was grateful and a bit humbled. He had barely met her. All she had done was give a little advice.

"I really appreciate this. I hope I don't disappoint either of you."



Roger escorted Bea to her room on the airship. "I'll hold onto the papers if you prefer." He recommended. "I can slip them inside a pocket and no one will be the wiser." He knew she probably was a bit paranoid about leaving them. Even he was a bit nervous. It was all they had and if someone was following them and trying to get the information her father had, they wouldn't hesitate to search a room. And if they actually confronted them, well... then they would deal with that then. But Roger doubted that at the moment. They hadn't revealed themselves at all - that he or Bea had noticed. And that wasn't just this past few months. That was over the whole year.

Slipping the papers into his pocket he and Bea left the airship. He paused as they spotted Rebeca and some other girl near the door. "Rebeca. Good to see you again." He tipped his hat to her and the other girl. He didn't say anything but it was a bit interesting attire. "This is Beatrix. Bea, this is Rebeca. She's the Captain's daughter."

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Rebeca said with a reassuring smile. She didn’t know exactly what the girl was capable of, but she knew that it couldn’t be worse than who they currently had working for them. So she knew that her being there would only make things better. And if her being her was a problem with Fredricks, then Rebeca knew she wouldn’t miss him at all.

Bea shrugged some. She was indifferent on the idea at the moment. She just knew that carrying around her briefcase would look suspicious. And was also rather annoying as well. But she let Roger do as he pleased because it wa probably the wiser idea to drop off the case but keep the important papers at least. As they were leaving though, they ran into two young girls about their age. Roger introduced at least one of them, and as he did, she could easily see the resemblance between the captain and the young woman.

She held out her hand to Rebeca and they shook hands. “It is nice to meet you,” Bea said.

“Like wise,” Rebeca replied. “This is Estella. Estella, my father’s friend Roger and his friend...Bea? Yes, Bea. They’ll be joining us on the way to Scotland. Well actually they’re the reason we’re going there in the first place.”

Bea looked the other girl over a little suspiciously, hating that she suddenly had to be paranoid about everyone new. “Just a trip to visit an old friend,” she said simply, without being asked.