The morning started like any other at the Iron Smithy & Body Shop. Jethro Mulligan, master blacksmith, had been up for hours with his apprentice, preparing the day’s orders. "Joe-boy! Get me some steel rebar while I get the blazes goin'. And check on those chickens! They’re screaming somethin’ fierce."

"Yes, sir." Joseph Connor--known as Joe--hurried to do his teacher’s bidding. On an ordinary day, the smithy would have had at least a few customers milling about, but today was quiet…except for the chickens?

 He stepped outside of the workshop into the cool air. The chickens were making a racket, but not enough to create the noise he was hearing. He looked to the skies and choked. "Master! Get out of there! Run!!!"

The boy's shout made him drop the bellows he had been pumping and run outside. "What's all the shouting about?" he yelled—or tried to. The horrible shrieking sound swelled from frightened chickens to that of a runaway freight engine, drowning out his words. The first thing he saw was Joseph running away from the smithy with the chickens scattering. (Bless that boy for thinking of the animals!) Then he looked up to see a giant, smoking, metal fish coming straight at the shop.

His feet were in motion--propelling him into a flying leap--before he could fully register the scene. “What the---!”

The ship hit the ground, its nose sinking into the dirt as it plowed a huge furrow across the ground. It sounded as though a giant were gnashing iron teeth. The shockwave knocked him to the ground, blinding him with all the dust and smoke. He rolled for what seemed like ages, but was really only seconds. The engines powered down and the propellors ground to a stop.

His ears rang and the dust stung his eyes. He struggled to his feet coughing. "Joe? You okay, Joe-boy?" he shouted.

At first the settling of the metal and minor explosions from the damaged engine were all that he could hear. Then he heard a faint. “Yes, sir! I’m here. Are you okay?”

“I’m alive. Check for survivors!”

“Yes, sir!” Joseph called, racing towards the steaming ship.

Jethro now turned back to where his livelihood had once stood. Nothing remained of the place he had called home. Now the battered airship was nestled in the smoking ruins.

_________________________

"Navilene!" Jaehyun coughed, fumbling with the harness on the captain’s chair.

In the seconds before landing, Navilene had pinged him on the radio. “The front landing gear is out. Strap yourself down!”

He threw himself into the captain’s chair, strapping himself in. The cushioned seat fit his body like a glove, securing him from being flung against the controls. When the ship finally stopped moving, he hit the radio. “Navilene? Are you there?” There was no response. He quickly unhooked himself from the chair and stumbled from the bridge. “Navilene! Are you all right?” he shouted, voice echoing. The entire ship had listed on the starboard side making the hallways difficult to travel.

"This way." Her voice rang out in the steam just ahead of him. A light cut through as the side door was opened. He saw a small figure vanish into the light. Pulling himself along the grated floors, he carefully climbed out of the ship. Through the smoke and dust, he caught glimpse of green pastures surrounding them. They appeared to have crash-landed on a small farm of sorts.

A massive hand cut through the haze, snatching Jaehyun by the front of his shirt. He found himself face to face with a bear of a man.

"What the blazes d'you think you're doing crash-landing like that?” Jethro’s eyes blazed. “You could have killed us—and yourselves! Is anyone hurt?”

“I’m not sure!” Jaehyun gasped. Everything was so bright and so loud. “Please put me down!”

“Right!” He lowered Jaehyun to the ground. “You did just crash. You okay?” Jethro looked him over. Apart from being shook up, the younger man appeared uninjured.

“I’m fine. I’ll be sore in the morning. Have you seen anyone else? There was a woman…”

Jethro slapped his head. “Right! Survivors! Let’s look for them first, then we’ll sort this mess out. How many of you are there?”

“I don’t know.” Why had he not asked Navilene about the rest of the crew? Were there others? He glanced up at the airship. It did not seem to be in the worse for wear, so maybe they were all right. Then he recalled the half-finished interior. Maybe not.

“What do you mean ‘you don’t know?’ Yer the captain, right? Why don’t you know about your own ship?” Jethro raised an eyebrow. “Unless…this isn’t your ship?”

“…It’s not.”

“So…how did you come to be on this ship? Are you smugglers or…?”

“Honestly, I think…I may have been kidnapped.” Saying it out loud made him keenly aware of how truly bizarre this entire situation was. Yesterday he had been denied his wings. He could have sworn he saw the death angel over his booze last night. This morning, he was flying a damaged ship and crash landing on a farm. “Perhaps…this is hell?” he thought, pinching himself. “Or a bad dream?” The answering pain on his arm was inconclusive. There was still a steaming airship behind him and a large, skeptical giant eye-balling him.

“Who’d want to kidnap you?” Jethro snorted. “You don’t look like you’d be worth much as ransom.”

 Jaehyun hated that the more questions this man asked, the less he discovered he truly knew about this situation. “Look. There was a woman on board. She would know everything. Her name is Navilene. Have you seen her?”

“Apart from my apprentice, I haven’t seen anyone.” Jethro looked up at the airship. “Let’s go find ‘er.”

“Thank you,” Jaehyun smiled in gratitude.

Jethro frowned. “Don’t be getting the wrong idea. We are going to have it out about you crashing on my house. You better hope we find that girl of yours.” With that, he started climbing the ladder back into the steaming ship.

“She’s not my girl! I told you I think she kidnapped me!” Jaehyun climbed after him back into the ship.

Jethro burst into laughter. “What kind of man gets kidnapped by a girl?” His guffaws echoed into the empty cavern of the ship. “Better yet, who flies their own kidnapping ship?”

_______________________

Meanwhile, Joe had already climbed into the ship with a headlamp. “Hello? Is anyone here?” His voice echoed off the pipes that ran through the belly of the ship. This ship needed some serious work.

A distant clanking in the underbelly caught his attention. That and the sparking light from a blowtorch. After looking around, he found a ladder leading down. The listing of the ship made balancing interesting. Joe quickly stretched with a grin. It was a good thing his teacher insisted on maintaining peak physical prowess and hard exercise every morning before work.

He hoisted himself over the railing, clinging only with his hands. Rung by rung, he descended towards the glow. By its light, he could see a small figure standing knee-deep in water. She appeared to be repairing a leaking pipe. She had just finished welding the pipe back together and stood back to inspect her work. The ladder placed him almost directly on top of her.

He cleared his throat. “Hell--!”

Wham!

In a blur of movement, she had snatched up a crescent wrench and swung it at his torso.

“Oof!” Joe curled, but did not release the ladder. “Take it easy, would ya?” The steam rising from the water below him helped him keep his grip tight.

“Who are you? And what are you doing on my ship?” she demanded, reaching for a hammer on her toolbelt.

“Um…hi!” he smiled appealingly. “I’m Joe. You crashed into our place. Are you okay?”

The two of them sized each other up in silence for a long minute.

At first, Joe looked like a monster. He was nearly six feet tall and built like a brick wall. Then she took in the baby fat on his face, placing his age as younger—perhaps sixteen. He also had a friendly, round face framed by dark, curly hair. He reminded her of a puppy.

Navilene—for so it was—was the complete opposite. She was petite with warm, brown skin, curly hair with peculiar red highlights and gray eyes. Her size belied her strength—his sore midriff could attest to that. She lowered her hammer.

Then the penny dropped. “You’re Drathinian,” Joe gaped. Drathnia was a were a more recent acquisition for the Ludorian Empire. They lived on a large series of islands to the South. He never thought he would see one this far North. She appeared to be some years older than him but her hair was pulled up into puffy pigtails tucked carefully behind her goggles. It made her look like a child. Slung about her person were multiple tool belts and an assortment of tools--the most noticeable of these included a large, studded hammer and a massive wrench. There also seemed to be several flies buzzing about her head in dizzy circles, but they did not faze her.

“Well, that’s an astute observation,” she replied, relaxing. “Thank you for telling me.” She laid the hammer aside. “Call me Navi.”

He flushed. “Navi. Sorry. I’ve just not seen anyone like y--” he stopped himself. “Is there anyone else on the ship?”

“No.” She had finished loading up her things.

“Then how did you manage to fly with only two people?”

“Trade secret,” she said, gathering her tools and turning to look for the next break.

“Oh.” He felt disappointed that the conversation was over so quickly. “…well, do you need some help?”

She glanced back at him. “I…” she hesitated, then smiled. “Yes, thank you, but the water is hot. There are some more rubber waders that might fit you on the upper level. Go left. There should be a utility closet with extra tools.”

Joe climbed back up –hand over hand—and Navi let out the deep breath she was holding. The boy seemed nice enough. He had a disarming way about him. She was just glad he found her before the pilot did. That was not a conversation she was looking forward to having. People were generally not her forte. She patted the newly repaired pipe.

“Let’s get you airborne again.”

_______________________

Jethro and Jaehyun made their way into the ship. They followed a nearby series of noises to find Joseph struggling into a pair of waders.

“Did they make these for children?” he grumbled.

“What in tarnation are you doing?” Jethro bellowed. His voice echoed through the empty ship. “I told you to look for survivors!”

“Ah, sir! I found the mechanic. Her name is Navi and I was going to help her seal the leaks down below. It’s just her, sir. She’s down there by herself…” Joe trailed off as he watched his teacher’s face contort.

“Why are you playing at being chivalrous when there’s a durn fish on my house? Boy, you—” Jethro started to growl, but another noise stopped his tirade. A headlamp bobbed in the darkness as Navi’s small form slipped up the ladder.

“Joe, did you…?” her voice trailed off as the three men turned to look at her.

“Teacher,” Joe said, helping her over the railing. “This is Navi and this is her ship. There isn’t anyone else on board.”

“Hello,” she said quietly, wishing the ship would swallow her whole. Recognition at the sound of her voice crept over the pilot’s face.

“You!” Jaehyun was flabbergasted.

“Her?” Jethro was incredulous, glancing at Jaehyun.

“M-Me…?” Navi looked at Joseph puzzled and slightly intimidated.

“You,” he nodded, shrugging.

Jaehyun stepped forward, suddenly furious. “You’d better start explaining what the heck happened to the engine! Better yet, how did I even end up on this ship?”

“Get your priorities straight, pretty boy!” Jethro roared. “Look what you did to my shop! Who’s going to pay for that?!?”

The two men were shouting over each other. Joseph glanced down at Navi. Her eyes had grown wide and she had taken a step back. She suddenly looked very small. He quickly moved in between Navi and the two upset men.

“Joe-boy, step aside! That woman has got some explaining to do!”

“She can explain, but you’re overwhelming her, sir!” he tried to interject, but his mild statement only enraged the two farther.

“She’s overwhelmed?!? Look what’s on top of my house! A giant, metal fish!” Jethro tried to push Joseph aside to get a better look at the small woman.

There was too much coming at her too quickly. The faces of the men started to blur as they argued. She clenched her fists trying to center herself. “Wait for a pause. Wait for a pause,” she told herself repeatedly. “It’s just noise.” But the noise was roaring in her head—an assault on her inner island of calm. She shut her eyes. But she could not stand the noise. There was not enough air…

“I have explosives!” she shouted the first thing to come to mind.

Absolute silence met her words. Her heart was pounding. She slowly opened her eyes.

All three men were staring at her. Her fists slowly unclenched in the blessed silence.

“You have…WHAT now?” Jethro asked in a faint voice.

“Explosives,” she said, feeling the roaring in her head drain away. “Thanks to our captain here, we’re all still alive.”

The two smiths turned to Jaehyun who looked just as stunned.

“What…exactly is going on here?” he finally asked. “Start at the beginning.”