Roger nodded to the girl beside Rebeca. He shook the hand offered. Her shake wasn't limp like a fish and actual had a slight grip to it. He noticed the bag on her shoulder. Was she another passenger?

Estella smile came easily. While shaking hands with Bea, she raised a slight eyebrow at the quick comment. Interesting. She hadn't even asked. She didn't catch the suspicious look. "That should be fun. Meeting with friends is always a joy."

Though English was good, her accent was evident. She was obviously foreign. Could even be from the Prussian Empire. Roger didn't want to get paranoid but it seemed odd that they were leaving for a trip regarding Beatrix's father's work and a foreigner just happened to be on the same ship as them. He picked up the slight suspicion Bea had as well. No doubt she was thinking the same thing.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. And seeing you again," he nodded to Rebeca. "But if you excuse, we're going to go catch some breakfast. We want to make sure we get back before your Dad's ready to leave. We don't want to hold him up." He smiled.

He waited until Bea and him were a bit away before glancing at her. "You don't trust her either?" He asked. "Do you think she's a threat?"



Estella watched the two leave before looking back at Rebeca. "They seemed nice." She looked toward the ship's doorway. "Uh you might want to go first. I'm terrible at directions and don't remember where to go. When it comes to a building or airship I am very directionally challenged." She laughed, not afraid to admit her weaknesses. Well at least that one. "I usually have to draw up a schematic to find my way around. And even then I think I've been turned around once or twice."

Her eyes held the amusement evident on her lips. A small part of her worried that Rebeca didn't take it wrong and immediately think they should find someone else. But she ignored it. It was who she was. Besides, if they were willing to bring in someone who hadn't worked a lot on an airship before than her not being able to find her way around wouldn't be an issue. Unless of course they felt like they were going to have to babysit her - in which case, would not be good. But, they wouldn't have to worry. Too much. She had already mentioned what she did to combat her weakness and a time or two of getting lost probably wouldn't bother them. Well...hopefully wouldn't.

“Saying it like that makes it sound like she shouldn’t be trusted,” Bea sighed. “I want to trust her, but we can’t afford to just blindly do so.” She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “You think that the captain is a good judge of character?” she asked, looking over to Roger. “Because if you think he is, then I’m willing to give the girl a fair chance before writing her off as an enemy.”

And honestly, she hated the idea of that. The girls hands had felt like those of a worker, as one that had been doing the sort of work with her hands for a very long time, not just a short time as a cover. So she was inclined to trust that she wasn’t totally a spy sent to find them out. But that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be used to gather information anyways, even if that had not been her intent. “We should still be cautious what we say to her, regardless. The less who know, the less trouble we’re all in.”



Rebeca laughed and went ahead of her “No worries, I’ll draw you up a map real quick. The ship is small after all, so hopefully shouldn’t be too hard for you get down.” She looked over her shoulder for a moment and gave her another bright smile. “I promise no one will make fun of you for getting lost here. I don’t do so well in big cities I’m not familiar with either.” She turned back around, leading the past the bridge where she popped her head in and told her father that she was back. “Taking her to put her things away first though.”

He mumbled his assent and Rebeca kept walking past and towards a different area of the ship. “There isn’t a whole lot of rooms so you’ll be bunking with me. I’m sorry, I’m a tiny bit messy, but I’ll be sure to try and pick up better with you here now.” She laughed as she lead her along and then stopped at a door in a hall with several other doors in it. Crew and passengers were all in the same hall. Her father had his own room, and the mechanic his own as well. Rebeca of course had had her own, but she didn’t mind sharing either. That left two other smaller rooms, both of which were being used with Bea and Roger aboard.

She opened the door into a decent sized room with two beds, one on each side of the room. One of them had clearly been slept in the night before, the other had a few of Rebeca’s clothes and things on. A small desk with a chair along the back wall between the beds also had Rebeca’s things scattered about. Mostly books and a few journals. Rebeca stepped in and started to gather up her things from the other bed to toss them onto her messy one

“Make yourself at home,” she said, gesturing to the now clear bed and trunk at the foot of it for Estella to store her bag and things in.

Roger felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't meant to judge and that was exactly what he had done. "You're right. We should give her the benefit of the doubt. I just heard the accent and thought it strange she was coming on board about the same time." He shook his head. "I shouldn't have judged. Will is a good judge of character. He can usually pinpoint a person done - at least from what I've seen. If he brought her on board than she's probably good. But you're right. We should still be careful. Even with the others. No point bringing them in on this."

He led her toward a small diner where they ordered breakfast. "So all you final examinations out of the way, how did you think you did?" He asked changing the subject. No point in worrying about something that may or may not happen. "That leaves how many more semesters left?"

Some guys would probably be jealous or feel insecure by being with a girl that had higher education than them. But not Roger. He was proud of Bea. She was intelligent and would do very well. Besides, he was glad she was able to follow in her father's footsteps. Personally, he was alright working menial labor jobs. He didn't need or want an education. Oh he liked learning. He could read with the best of them. But he was content with his life. It didn't mean he wasn't ambitious. It just meant he had different priorities.



It felt good that someone seemed to get it and not make fun of her. Of course, going through something similar usually gave people better understanding. The fact that Rebeca too felt lost at times, made Estella a bit relieved she wasn't the only one. Though she immediately felt bad. Pushing the thoughts aside, she returned the smile and followed Rebeca through the ship. "A map would be greatly appreciated. Thank you."

They saw the Captain but there wasn't much time. Not wanting to get left behind, Estella followed Rebeca knowing she can thank the man later for hiring her. She had no doubt she'd be seeing him more frequently.

Entering the room, Estella smiled. "No problem. It's nice." And it was. The last room she had on the Aurora had been really a closet almost. But she had been able to lock it - so that was good. This room, she doubted she'd have any issues. There wasn't people on board and she doubted anyone would try to come in here as this was also the room for the Captain's daughter. Nobody was that stupid. She had a feeling the man would toss anyone off his ship - no matter where they were - if they tried to hurt his girl. Which was sweet. Her own Da was like that. And her brothers. She hadn't had to worry about bullies with them around. Minus of course the teasing they gave her.

Turning her attention back to the room, her eyes lit with amusement as Rebeca tried to quickly clean up. "Oh don't clean up from me. After Rufus' store this is nothing." She gave a light laugh. In no way was there complaining in her statement or putting down the man's shop, just a simple fact. Unslinging her backpack, she set it on the bed. She actually didn't have a lot. She usually traveled fairly light. Not having many possessions meant less to worry about. That and if something was stolen or went missing, she wasn't that overly attached to it. Well except for a few things. Her most treasured things were usually kept on her. The main of which - her necklace - tucked under her shirt.

Placing the pack into the footlocker she glanced around, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Very nice. Thank you for sharing your room."

Rebeca laughed and sat herself down on the edge of the bed while Estella settled in some. “Well I'll at least keep it in my side of the room.” She watched her, trying not to look like she was being creepier or something. “Oh I don’t mind sharing my room. It’s nice to have company now and again. It’s mostly just me and my dad and our old mechanic. So it can get lonely at times.” She gave her a few more moments to get her stuff settled in a bit before she stood again and started towards the door. “I’d hate to put you to work right away, but Dad wants to get up in the air some time today.”

She lead Estella back along through the ship and towards the engine room again, the whole time fighting back a smug, vindictive little smile. She obviously didn't like their new mechanic very much. But she wasn't going to use that as a reason to ask her father to fire him. But if he was to quit, then that wasn't something that was her fault. And neither was his being incompetent. Which, she gathered that he was.



"Just the one for my masters," she said with a little shrug of her shoulders. Like it was entirely normal for her to be a woman getting aasters in this field. While the number of women in the sciences and acidamnia in general had increased in the last few decades, not as many women made it this far. "Though really only one class left. I had planned to do it this summer, but now I'm thinking it wise I take a break."

She looked up at Roger and smiled a thoughtful smile. "Have you put any thought into getting a technical masters? You're far too smart to let your potential go with just working what odd jobs you can..." She knew that he wasn't interested in something like she was doing. Traditional schooling wasn't for him. But applying for an apprenticeship for something more practical, like carpentry or something would be more to his interests.

Estella didn't mind at all. She rose and followed Rebeca. "No problem at all. That's why I'm here. Let's see what we can do." Again she was glad Rebeca led. The corridors all looked the same. The twists and turns. She'd undoubtedly would have got turned around a time or two. It brought a slight smile of amusement at herself. She wasn't beyond laughing at herself. It was either that or cry in frustration. Estella had decided on the former. Life could be hard but you couldn't let it get you down. You had to push back and keep going. Otherwise, life would just come down on you and crush what joy you had. And that was something she wouldn't allow.

The smile vanished from her face as she stepped into the engine room, her face showing extreme shock. "Oy gevalt." The Yiddish words slipped out unchecked as she saw the mess. What on earth had the mechanic done? It looked like half the engine had been taken apart and set about. Had the ship been that damaged?

The mechanic looked up from whatever he was doing. He smiled upon seeing Rebeca, the smile quickly changing to a slight scowl as he saw Estella. "What's she doing here?" He practically demanded. He rose and moved forward. "I didn't order any other parts."

"No but apparently something's wrong." Estella replied calmly. She didn't seem impacted by the scowl or the fact he didn't want her there. In fact, she still seemed a bit surprised at how bad the engine room looked. This would take...this was going to take awhile. Not that she was complaining it was just... she didn't anticipate from what Rebeca said that it would be this bad. Oh well. Roll up your sleeves as her mother would say.



Roger nodded. "A break might be good. No sense in rushing it. You still have a plenty of time ahead of you." He gave her a smile as they started eating. It was very impressive and he was proud of her. One more class and she would be one of the few with a Masters. Something that very few men attained for and even less women. He couldn't wait to see what she did after that. No doubt, like her father, she would conduct her own research. The universities were still a bit biased and might not hire her - except for the fact she was the daughter of the famous Dr. Brown. But either way, he knew she'd be fine.

He chuckled at her comment. Not in mockery or anything just amusement. "No. Not me. Eighth grade education is probably good enough for what I do. Besides, book examinations and I really don't get along." He shrugged. He didn't mind. There was plenty of work he could do without going to a university. Though, trade school or apprenticeship might be interesting.

He sat back and shrugged. "I don't know. I like working with my hands. I don't mind books - you know that," he did read, not a lot but he did read some. "But I like the accomplished feeling of making or building something from my body and not so much my mind, you know? There's a sense of pride in doing something that brings sweat to your brow and makes you physically tired." He laughed. "I know, it's crazy."

Crazy but something he enjoyed. Even security guard had a sense of accomplishment. You went in at times and broke up fights. Which meant you sometimes ended up in one yourself. Though he wasn't overly bulky, Roger was strong and solid. Plus he had that look about him that made even some larger men think twice about getting in a fight with him. Not that he went looking for fights but he didn't shy away either.

He took a drink and looked at Bea. "Would you rather I go to school?" He asked curious.

Rebeca was likewise surprised by the state of the engine room. “Shit, what have you been doing?” she asked to the room. This did not look like they would be in the air today. Not with the engine nearly all taken apart like it was. She wondered if her dad had seen what this looked like just now.

Shaking her head, she looked at the scowling man. “This is the assistance that you asked for,” she said calmly. “If you don't like your options, you can take it up with the captain. But as I'm sure you know, he isn't in the best of moods today. So take that as you will.”

She looked between him and Estella and smiled a little smugly. “I'll go let Dad know then,” she said more to Estella than Fredricks. “Play nicely.” And with that, she turned to leave the room, not caring either way if he followed her to complain or not.



“I want you to do something worthy of you,” she said with a smile. “I know you don't like book learning, but I was talking about applying to like a craftsmen guild or something like that.” She shrugged a little, giving a moment while she took a drink. “I just hate to see you do nothing when I know that you have so much potential.”

She just cared far too much about him to see him not do something. To be stuck in some never ending loop of floating between jobs that didn't fulfill him any. If he ended up as something like security, as long as he was happy, she'd be happy. But she still wanted more for him than just keeping thugs in line. He was so much more than that.

She looked at him for a long moment, just letting her imagination go ahead to what she thought he'd be like in the near future. And maybe further. Thinking of him achieving something that he'd worked for for so long. Him settling down perhaps, having a family with some faceless woman. About how much more handsome he'd look as he aged. She smiled without thinking about it, her look something a little embarrassing if he had a clue what she was thinking about. Bea felt her cheeks flush some and she had to shake her head to clear the slightly surprising thoughts that had come with the little brain exercise.

“Anyways,” she said with a slightly awkward clearing of her throat.

Fredericks looked indignant. "Fixing the ship," he retorted forcing himself to watch his language. What did she think he was doin', just lazying around? He was a bit furious and annoyed that she pretty much insinuated very close to what he had been doing. "I've been working hard to get it up and running in time for your father." His eyes went back to Estella. They took her in, having lewdly and have in disgust. It was obvious he didn't want her here. However, when Rebeca spoke up, he didn't protest. There was no way he was going to talk to the captain. The girl was right, he would probably not be in a good mood. Not that it was His fault. No. It was the darn ship's fault. And the captain's. And this girl.

"No I'll make do." His voice lowered slightly. "Hopefully she won't cause any more trouble." And at least she did have a sort of feminine beauty - not much but some. It was hard to tell in her clothes.

He watched as Rebeca walked out of the room before turning to the girl. "Alright, I don't have a lot of time to waste training you. So I hope you know what your doing."

Probably more than he did. No, that wasn't fair. Estella kept her face calm. "I'm a quick study," she said humbly.

He smirked. Right. "Fine, I need you to take apart that section right there. Don't lose any pieces." He ordered.

Estella frowned slightly. It made no sense. "What's exactly wrong with the ship?" She asked. She'd rather understand what was off before they made even larger mess.

"Don't question, just obey."

Despite her patience even Estella winced slightly at the harshness. Patience. Endurance. She forced a smile. "Alright. Anything in particular I should..."

"Just do it. I'll let you know." Fredericks snapped.



For a brief moment, Roger let himself think about it. Trade school were usually expensive and very time consuming. You could technically apprentice with little money but basically you'd be working for several years straight without much of a holiday. As much as he wouldn't mind, it would mean he wouldn't be able to take any trips with Bea. And he had made a promise on Dr. Brown's grave that he'd watch over her. Not that she needed it much. She was very intelligent and beautiful young woman. But still... there were people out there who could hurt her. And that wasn't counting those who had killed her father. Roger wouldn't interfere with her life but he wanted to be there to step in if need be to help.

Still... learning a trade. Being able to craft something with his hands, learning right alongside a master. It was fascinating and would be interesting. And he knew what trade he'd like to do: carpentry. It might be considered a bit old fashioned compared to a lot of other things but there was something about the grain of wood, the feel of it against his hands, the feeling of crafting something from it - not that he had before, he whittled but not much more - but the combinations of all that fascinated him.

He knew he would need to learn something, eventually. He couldn't be a dock worker all his life or move from job to job. Eventually he would have a family, settle down, and they would need supporting. He wouldn't ask his wife to constantly move as he looked for work or to put up with bare wages. It wouldn't be right.

Oblivious to the blush on Bea's face, he snapped back to reality at her comment. "It's a thought," he replied. "I do like carpentry." He shrugged. "Maybe eventually. Who knows. But then again, most masters look for someone a bit younger." He turned the conversation back to her. "So have you figured out what you'd do after graduation?"

The rest of their breakfast was less outwardly awkward. Or at least Bea kept herself from saying anything too foolish. But she couldn't stop herself from thinking about where her mind had wandered. She did well in keeping it in check, but she kept finding herself looking at him just the slightest bit differently. Hopefully, it would pass by the time they were on the way back to the airship.

By the time they were finished eating and had returned back to the ship, both Rebeca and Will were standing on the outside deck, both of them smoking cigarettes as they talked to each other. It was very clear from the way they stood and their movements that they were related to one another. It was also very clear that they were both agitated by something.

“That does not look promising,” Bea said to Roger as they approached and made their way up.

When Rebeca noticed them, she nudged her father's shoulder for him to turn. He promptly put out what was left of his cigarette and turned fully to the pair.

“Well, bad news,” he said solemnly, though the anger was clear in his tone as well. It was looking very likely that someone was likely to get yelled at today.

It was fairly obvious that Will was upset. There was a bit of anger in his body language and tone. Roger frowned slightly knowing that whatever it was, it was serious. No doubt it was tied to their departure. The man had said something about them not being able to leave earlier and that it might take a bit longer and now, the fact he was outside with Rebeca indicated that it was probably worse than initially thought.

"What is it?" Roger asked.

Part of him worried sabotage. Thieves. Or maybe something worse. But he dismissed that. His overactive imagination, combined with the threat of what happened to Bea's father made him a bit paranoid. And true to that, the captain confirmed that they still wouldn't be able to leave just yet. Much as Roger had initially guessed.

"Do we know how much of a delay this might be?" Roger asked. He didn't want to delay Bea's journey any longer than it needed to. Not to mention, if they had to wait a day or two, she'd have to go back to Ms. Mortimer's boarding house and the woman would continue to harangue her, using this mechanic issue as a 'sign' that she shouldn't go.

Roger glanced at Bea before looking back at Will. "Is there anything I can assist with?" He was really mechanical but if there was something to help speed the process, he was willing to try.


You knew it was bad when she slipped into muttering in Yiddish. The man was an imbecile, a schmock. He called himself a mechanic? She had seen better mechanics from children. Okay, that might be taking it a bit far. Still...

Estella lay on her back, under the engine trying to put it back together. Fredricks had told her to take another section apart in this area but she wasn't going to. It didn't take her that long to realize that there was no purpose in his commands. It was almost as if he was purposely trying to make the job harder. Either way, she had started to ignore him while she repaired this one section. Of course, as soon as he found out, she'd undoubtedly get an earful and even probably kicked out. But she wasn't going to take anything else apart unless she had a need too.

"Are you done removing the capacitor?" Speak of the idiot. "What the .... are you doing?" The man's face peered down at her. "I told you to remove the capacitor. Are you as deaf as you are stupid?"

Patience. Tranquility. It only could go so far. Getting out from under the engine she glared at him. "I'm stupid? You're the one who's," she rattled off a string of words in a combination of Yiddish and Danish, the tone pretty much indicating what she thought. "You're making this worse by taking every," another string of Yiddish "apart." She crossed her arms and glared up at him.

Fredricks' face turned purple with rage. Shouting obscenities he pointed toward the door. "Get out of here you ---. When the captain finds out how much trouble you're causing me he'll kick your sorry..."

Estella cut him. "Let's go talk to him then." She shot back. "I'm sure after some explanation he'll gladly sort this out."

Fredricks frowned slightly. Pride kicking in, he shot her a lock. "Fine!"

Bea did not like the way that sounded. She had wanted to get going as soon as possible, but she did understand some delay. But this was more than just a delay. She didn't want to go back and stay at her room in Ms. Mortimer's house. She didn't want the overbearing woman to act like that was reason enough for her not to go. She didn't need that sort of thing heaped onto her more. Perhaps Captain Will would let them stay aboard even if they didn't leave that day.

And there was a moment there where she considered that it might have been that girl. And then she hated herself for it. This girl was not to blame, and she should trust the captain's judgements. Roger did, so she could too.

“Honestly don't know,” Will replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “Hopefully we'll be in the air by morning, provided we can get things up and running by tonight. But I say this based on the way the engine room was looking last I was down there. And that was before the girl went down. So things might be sooner than that.”

He turned to Bea and smiled slightly. “I'm sorry to delay you, miss.”

She equally smiled and tilted her head some. “It's quite alright. It wasn't anything that you could foresee coming.”

The sound of footsteps coming out of the hatch made her turn to see the approaching form of both the mechanic and the girl. Bea raised her eyebrow some and stepped back to let them come out.

“What?” Will asked, looking between the girl and the old man. “Please tell me you're here to say that things are fixed.”

It was apparent that the day was not going well, from the Captain's point of view. Roger didn't blame him. As a captain you expected your ship to be ready to go - especially if you had paying customers placing their expectations in you. Not to mention, Roger was familiar enough with Will. This was not something he liked in general - or at least that's what he had picked up. He glanced toward the entrance as the mechanic came out followed by the girl they had seen the other day.

"Captain, this...this girl is wasting my time. Being inefficient and completely disrespectful." It was evident the man was furious. His face was purple with rage. His words clipped. If it wasn't for the fact that there were ladies here, he would have probably used fouler language. "She is a complete imbecile who has no concept of listening to those with experience or even working with a ship. I can't work with her here. She's getting in my way and making the repairs longer than needed."

"Well, if you didn't have me take apart every piece of equipment, it wouldn't take as long," Estella snapped. She visibly calmed herself, taking a deep breath, closing her eyes just a brief second. As much as she wanted to tear into this schmuck, anger and accusations would not help at this time. As it was, she was the assistant and probably had less say - though, seeing Rebeka there, Estella she had at least one person who would actually listen to her. Not that the captain wouldn't. He seemed reasonable. But at the same time, he also didn't seem like the type to put up with accusations and fighting.

A bit calmer, she looked at the man. "With all due respect, the chief mechanic is having me take apart major sections of the engine. Areas that don't seem to be affected. Out of the six tasks assigned this morning, five of them, were perfectly fine - as discovered as I took them apart. I'm not an expert but they also don't seem to correspond with a problem to warrant taking them apart."

"That's right, you're not an expert! You're a ..." The man bit off his sentence and gave her a look that practically telegraphed what he was thinking.

Roger took Bea's arm. The hostility in the air was very evident. It was internal matter but they were stuck there as observers. Though he could have interjected and stated they would leave, he didn't want to interrupt.

Will crossed his arms over his chest as the two mechanics went at it. Finally he held up his hand to stop the two of them from keeping on because it was useless information at this point. “That’s enough,” he said with that tone that was a lot more serious than he’d used in quite a while. Even with the threat he’d used earlier, he was already more irritated now than he’d been then.

Turning to Estella he sighed, rubbing at his face some. “Now, I know you’re a young thing, but you’ve been right before, so I’m inclined to believe you.”

He looked to Fredricks and said “You asked for help, I gave you help. I don’t appreciate you coming back up here and throwing that in my face. Especially taking that sort of tone about her. That is beyond not acceptable. So if you can’t deal with the help I got you, regardless of your reasons, you can take your leave of my ship.” His tone now was one that said he should be leaving regardless of if he thought that he could get along with Estella.

Fredericks was not pleased. The very fact the captain seemed to listen to the girl just because she was 'right' on one thing was infuriating. Of course, she was a bit right. What he had been having her work on were fine and irrelevant. However, he was annoyed having a girl as an assistant, and one that had got him already in trouble, that he was going to make her time here wasted so hopefully they'd get rid of her again. Besides, she was supposed to obey without question. It didn't matter what he had her do. He could have been wanting to make sure every part worked - you don't want to go up again in case one didn't. Not that that was his intent.

He looked at the captain wondering how he should reply. The man couldn't do it without him, despite his stubbornness. Fredericks was the mechanic. He knew how to fix it. And if the guy wanted to leave anytime soon, he would have to keep Fredericks on at least until it was fixed - finding another mechanic would be difficult and there was no way the girl would know what to do. She might have gotten lucky but she was an idiot when it came to fixing.

Yet, there was something there. If he pushed it, he knew he would be gone. The question though, was did he risk it and have the captain come back begging for his help later or did he just go back in and fix what he can? Common sense recommended the latter but a bit of pride pushed the former. He pushed his cap up and looked at the captain. "I just might," he warned. "I did rescue help, and I appreciate it - but she'll be more of a hindrance. I can't work with her. Not all help is good help." He said firmly.

Will sighed heavily, feeling very weary all of a sudden. He scrubbed at his face a little bit and thought to himself that a drink was sounding better and better as the moments went by. “No,” he said at last, dropping his hands down to his side for a moment before sliding them into the pockets of his pants. “I’m not putting up with that sort of treatment of other people. Especially women. There are going to be two other women on board, I’m not having you treat my daughter that way or a paying customer either. Get your things, I’ll pay you for the rest of the week too to make it worth your while to leave.”

Rebeca hid her smug smile behind her hand as she finished the rest of her cigarette and flicked the remains of it away as well. She turned more to Bea and Roger now, knowing her father had this well enough in hand. “If you two would like to head in, I’ve got some tea ready for you if you’re interested.”

Bea finally tore her eyes away from the little verbal tussle happening, looking up to Rebeca and then Roger next to her. “Ah yes...that sounds lovely,” she said and nodded to the younger girl to lead the way then if that was what they needed to do just then.

Fredericks stared at the man. He was flabbergasted. He hadn't expected the captain to just go ahead and dismiss him. The additional week's pay was nice but at the same time - almost an insult. Was the man daft? Pursing his lips in anger, he kept it from overtaking him. His voice level, slightly cold, he spoke. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. And don't expect me to come back when you find yourself having issues repairing your airship." He gave Estella a cold look before turning. "I'll have my stuff of your ship in ten minutes." He said.

Estella watched him go surprised and a bit guilty. She hadn't meant to get him fired. She should be the one going. He probably had more experience and despite his seeming incompetence in his orders, might have fixed it up quicker than she. She didn't say anything as he left. Her usual chipper self a bit subdued. As Rebeca talked to the other two, eventually leading them off, she found herself alone with the captain. A bit nervous she waited to see what he had in store for her.

Roger smiled. He glanced at Bea. "Tea sounds good to me." He looked back at Rebeka. "Thank you."

He escorted Bea toward the entrance, letting her go first, bringing up the rear. He was a bit glad that they were excluded for the tussle and that no one had said anything. It was always a bit awkard listening to someone else get chewed out. Of course, he had seen it before and would undoubtedly again. Still...

"So how is the airship doing?" He asked as they made their way through the narrow corridors.

They passed the ex-mechanic who stood in one of the corridors, his bag slung over his shoulder waiting for them to pass. His eyes narrowed slightly at Rebeka but he didn't say anything to her. He did speak quietly though when Roger passed. "Better watch it. The ship will crash without a decent mechanic." He warned before heading back out.

Roger nodded but didn't comment. Will was pretty good and Roger doubted that he'd take the ship up unless he knew for certain it was ready. Especially now that he didn't have a main mechanic.

“I won’t,” Will said with confidence as Fredricks walked away, not waiting because he didn’t want him to hear or anything like that. He smiled down at Estella at her thanks, shrugging some like it was no big deal. She might not be the perfect fit, but she could get them up in the air today, then getting a ‘more qualified’ mechanic was a worry of another day.

“C’mon,” he said with a heavy sigh after a moment and started into the ship again. “I can help you out getting things back into order. I know some things, just not enough to do it myself all the time. I’m good at taking orders as needed too.” It was what he’d been doing on and off for the last few years anyways, when they had need of it.

Rebeca smiled at Roger over her shoulder. “Oh it's fine, aside from the engine being all over the engine room. But the old girl will be up and soaring soon enough, I'm sure.” She lead them through the ship to a little galley with one table and a hodgepodge of seats around it. She had pointedly not looked at Fredricks as they had passed him and acted like he wasn't even there.

There was a teapot with a cozy on it already on the table as well as a stack of cups and saucers. It was something that was very casual and heavily American in some respects. “I hope my tea is up to your standards,” she said in a joking tone to Bea. “I'm better at coffee, but I understand that's not always a preference with Her Majesty's subject's.”

Bea smiled and laughed some. “As long as it isn't burnt, I'll be fine. I have absentmindedly made some bad cups of tea in my time.”

Rebeca smiled more and set about getting cups set out for them before pouring and then pushing over the milk and sugar for them to make it to their own tastes.

Roger hid his smirk behind his hand at Bea's mention of burned tea. Yeah, he had a few unfortunate tastes of that...interesting concoction. His eyes danced slightly mischievously. "Some?" He asked, his face now a bit 'serious', though his eyes still danced. He chuckled at Bea's reaction before sitting down beside her. Accepting a cup of tea with thanks, he indicated how many lumps of sugar (one) he wanted as well as milk (none, thank you) before stirring it. Like all British, he was very fond of tea and preferred it over coffee. He was a bit surprised though that an American had taken the courtesy to make it for them. But then again, Rebeca was a perfect hostess.

"So how is the traveling going?" He inquired. "Last I heard you were on the continent for awhile."

He didn't mention anything about the current state of affairs in mainland Europe. The Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire had signed a mutual defense treaty recently. Both nations had been gearing up militarily, making war machines and enlisting more soldiers. There was talk that there might be war. It was talk now but the treaty between the two nations had the Rhineland League and United Provinces worried. To counter they were in talks the Republic of France to form a mutual treaty as well. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden had already formed a mutual treaty - though more for fear of the Russian Tsardom who also was building up. It was almost an arms race with each nation quickly forming allies and turning out weaponry.

The tensions of all this probably made business for Will and Rebeca a bit difficult. But then again, borders were still open for trade and probably would be so for a bit. Still...not something to really bring up in polite conversation.

~ ~ ~
The engine room was a mess. Fredericks apparently had no rhyme or reason to what he was doing. Estella put her hands on her hips, her lips pursed as she figured the best place to get started. Though not necessarily a mechanic, she was a tinkerer and had the gift to take apart or put together anything - whether she knew how it went or not. Even if it didn't go back the same way, it most always went back improved.

She looped the strands of hair that had fallen loose back into her ponytail. Then she went to work. At first, she was a bit nervous with the captain in the same room. It wasn't like he was looking over her shoulder but it almost felt like it. However, that quickly passed and it wasn't long before she absentmindedly called out for something or had him doing something: holding a part up so she could secure it, grabbing a tool, the works.

Also as she got a bit more into the roll of working it wasn't surprising to have her talking to herself - or the ship, hard to say - in Danish or Yiddish. Occasionally a sharp word would slip off her lips as she hit something a bit more difficult or seemingly insane. The previous mechanic was a complete shmuck. Some of what he did infuriated her. The frustration or anger in her tone was evident.

Sliding out from underneath the engine she ran the back of her hand across her face wiping some perspiration aside but leaving a smudge of grease. She looked at the captain. "She'll be airworthy shortly, Sir. But I wouldn't take her over water just yet. She still got a lot of work that needs to be done. The..." She caught herself before going into a tirade against the previous mechanic. Oh, she didn't hate the guy she just thought he was incompetent. And a schmuck. And a few other things. Her mother would be so disapointed. Taking a breath, she calmed herself. "She'll be fine as long as you don't push her too fast or take her to high. Some of the stuff I can fix while we are in flight. Some will need to be done on ground."

She was definitely not the type to be afraid of getting dirty. In fact, she didn't notice at the moment. Grease on her clothes, bare arms, and face. Hair slipping out of her ponytail. In fact, the only thing she even seemed to notice was the loose strands of hair in her eyes and that was more due to the annoyance. Brushing them aside, she looked up at the captain.

Bea stuck her tongue out at him childishly though she laughed still and settled herself down at the table. She let Roger and Rebeca talk and just enjoyed the tea. As she watched them though, she had to push back the little thoughts of what had happened at breakfast, thinking about whether Rebeca and him looked like they would get along well together. But then again, she reassured herself for some reason, it just seemed that Rebeca was the type to get along with pretty much anyone. Just looking at her smile would make anyone want to smile back. It was infectious.

Rebeca shrugged a little and settled herself down as well in one of the other chairs. “It’s been alright,” she sighed. “Took a little jaunt back home for some time, but only a few days really. Things have been...tense other places. Being American is helpful, but at the same time, it’s not uncommon to be snubbed for that too.”



Will sighed heavily as he looked over the state of the room. He was normally such a good judge of people, he didn’t normally make mistakes like this. But his resume looked so nice that he had let the slight nagging he’d felt at the man’s presence slide by. And now he was paying for it. At least, he consoled himself, it had been Roger and not some other paying customer. Roger would understand as he was sure that the girl with him would.

He took off his jacket and started to roll up his sleeves as Estella figured out what it was that she wanted him to do. It took him a moment to get his brain back into the swing of things, but not too long and he was soon enough picking at things that he knew how to fix himself without her telling him to do so. He was glad she was there, as she was smaller than him and could get her hands into places that his big hands wouldn’t fit.

When she seemed done, or done enough, he was sat on the work bench, his own face and hands smudged with grease and dirt, his pants having two dark spots on them from where he’d tried wiping his hands off.

“Good,” he chuckled, smiling at her. “We can stay in Edinburgh a few days and get things patched up then. As long as she’ll make it to Scotland, we’ll be fine.” He stood up, grabbing a relatively clean rag from next to him and handing it to her. “You’re Jewish, yeah?” he asked, his tone clear that he was just curious and didn’t at all mind that she was, or that she was probably from some country that wasn’t playing as nicely with the rest of the world.

Roger nodded. People could be very prejudice. Though, Rebeca's status as an America probably worked for her benefit most of the time. She and Will could go to a lot of regions that Roger would be suspiciously watched. The tensions in Europe were on the rise. And a young man from Britain traveling in some of the other nations might be considered a spy.

Still, Americans were a bit snobbed at times. Not everyone liked them. Though, it was hard to see someone who didn't like Rebeca. She was a sweet woman, kind, and ready with a smile. Her attitude made her very likable. Not that he liked her in any way other than an acquaintance. She was very well endowed and attractive, yes but not his type. Besides, he wasn't looking for love. Not at the moment. He wanted to get a stable job before he found someone. Not to mention, he was going to help Bea out. Until she was settled and found someone, he would be keeping an eye on her. Not only had he promised but she was his friend.

He glanced toward the door. "I'm going to see if they need any help." He grinned. "It was great chatting but I'm getting an itch to do something." He laughed and stood. "Rebeca, thank you very much for the tea. Bea, I'll be back."



"She'll make it to Scotland." Estella was confident of that. She put a hand on the engine, leaning against it. "She's a tough ship. It will take more than a little crash to keep her down."

She accepted the rag with a thankful smile. Brushing it against her face, she nearly froze at the question. It was thrown out, casual and seemingly without judgement but she had been on more than one receiving end of that question where the response flipped from kind to immediate hatred. There was a lot of Semitism, especially in some of the nations.

She lowered the rag and brushed her hair back. Her expression slightly bit guarded, she nodded. "Yes." The Star of David hanging under her shirt become predominant in her mind as she met his gaze. She didn't act defensive or even snap - just cautious. "Will that be an issue?" She inquired.

Though she didn't seem it, she studied him carefully. Her eyes picking up any subtle hints, any slight body language indicating it was. Oh he might say no but in reality mean yes. She mentally sighed as she realized that it was her Yiddish words that undoubtedly gave her away. She really needed to watch herself when working.

Rebeca smiled and waved him off. “Have fun,” she chuckled. “Us girls will be just fine here on our own.”

Bea likewise waved him off with a smile. “We can find plenty of things to entertain ourselves.”



Will noticed the tension in her at his question. He hadn't meant to freak her out any. “Only if you're strictly kosher,” he said with a shrug that was so very casual. “And that's only gonna be a problem for you.” He chuckled softly, leaning back against the workbench, digging into the pocket of his jacket for his cigarettes. “But otherwise, I don’t care what you are or who to pray to. My life choices aren’t always socially acceptable either, so I ain’t got any room to judge anyone.”

He gave up his search and pushed himself upright again. “Well, I guess I’d care if you were trying to kill me or something, but otherwise, don’t care. You smoke?”