A/N: Hullo there! I couldn't help but notice that this section of the forums is conspicuously empty and so I churned out a brief and rather pointless drabble to fix that. I may continue this in the future if the inspiration for more stories strikes me, just as a general day to day adventures thing with this ship and crew.
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Kora Alyn grunted in pain as the floor beneath her feet rolled, the sudden explosion induced motion proving too much for her ordinarily excellent balance and slamming her shoulder into the skeleton of the Lapis. With an exclamation of anger she steadied herself against the starboard bulkhead not a moment too late as another explosion caused the ship to rock again. “Gabriel's arse...” The mechanic muttered as she reached for pieces of scrap metal and quickly wedged them into the framing, reinforcing the somewhat battered hull of the ship as best she could. Inside her head she was counting seconds, starting from one and making her way upwards. When she hit 'six' she dropped the metal she was holding and braced herself again as another explosion rocked the little 'Squid' class airship. Mercury Cannons. As I suspected... Kora thought to herself, grimacing at the prospect of having to beat out the dents that she knew their armor was collecting from the powerful shells.
When no second explosion followed the first Kora lunged for the stairs, repeating the count of six in her mind as she took the little steps two at a time. Reaching the deck she crouched instinctively, hands scrabbling for the nearest grip to keep her from being tossed about, fingers closing about the edge of the hatchway she had just exited in time to see a the shot from the mercury field guns that were bombarding them sail just beneath them.
Captain Romas grinned as he guided the ship up at the last second, nosing their bow over the 'Spire' class ship's long range shot. While the raiders had been clever in hiding in the low lying clouds and dropping their ship quickly to surprise passers by (He assumed they were raiders anyways, they had attacked him without provocation after all.) they were piloting a slow vessel, more akin to a mobile outpost than an actual ship considering how ungainly it's kind could be in attempting anything but rotating to fire their guns. This particular ship was remarkably accurate though and while he had managed to juke away from two shots through unexpected movements the next shot struck home on their port side engines, pulverizing the armor and causing the propeller to grind to a halt.
“Get back there! Romas shouted, yanking the ship's wheel in a vain attempt to offset the sudden imbalance of thrust that was causing them to turn towards their enemy. An overeager cluster of mortars flew to greet their approach, exploding harmlessly just off the Lapis' port bow but providing a very clear picture of their fate in about six seconds time. Kora didn't waste a second in taking off towards the rear of the ship, flipping the wrench she typically carried about and adapting it's handle for use as a lever as she pried away a beat-up engine casing.
The problem was immediate and obvious, a metallic pipe that had bent by the explosion until it broke, leaking fuel all over the inner workings of the basic combustion drive. Speaking a silent prayer of thanks that the volatile substance hadn't caught alight with the heat of the motor Kora took her wrench in both hands and swung at the out of place part, beating both halves of the pipe back into alignment and plucking a short metal tube from one of the many pouches on her person. Slip the tube over one half, then the other, then tie it all together with a rag; it was an operation that took the woman all of three seconds to do, prompting a smirk from her lips as the motor whirred to life again and turned them away from the slow-moving spire, its reloaded flak mortars exploding close enough that Kora ducked behind the newly functional motor to avoid the zipping shrapnel but far enough that the damage done was insignificant in comparison.
Two strikes from her wrench to return the engine covering to an approximation of it's original shape and a quick fastening later Kora was grabbing the corner of the cabin as another mercury shot struck the Lapis amidships. Frowning, the mechanic moved forwards again. “Lose these guys already Romas! We can't hold up against too much more of this!” The Spire's gunners were proving to be remarkably skilled and it's pilot to be remarkably persistent as the ponderous ship managed to stay in range to fire off a last pair of mercury shots, rocking the Lapis one last time before they lost sight of them in one of the swirling dust clouds ubiquitous to the wastelands.
Romas watched as the dust swallowed the vision of his little ship's pursuers. “Hmph... Who do you suppose they were?” Kora shrugged as she made her way forwards, a pair of goggles snapped over her eyes against the fine particles. “Some idiots who think they have enough firepower to wander around attacking ships this close to Paritus” The captain chuckled. “True, I thought we'd be safe around this part of the wasteland. All the more reason to pick up more crew when we make landing right?”
“Right.” Kora agreed with a nod and a sigh. “You want me to take the wheel for a little while?” A laugh answered her. “No lass, we'll be but an hour till the town in any case.”
The mechanic snorted. “Don't talk like that Romas, makes you sound like you're older than me.” Not that either could lay a particular claim to age. Both were fairly young, the captain bright blue eyes and curly blonde hair giving an impression of innocence that only served to make his youthful face even more so. Meanwhile Kora seemed physically the same age until you looked at her eyes, dark and serious beneath the brim of the aviator's cap that covered her chestnut coloured bangs.
The two stared at each other for a minute before Romas cracked a smile, hiding laughter behind a hand raised to his lips while Kora couldn't help but chuckle. “Alright.” She nodded. “I'll go prepare us to land shall I?”
“Sounds like a plan.” the captain nodded, still smiling as his first mate hurried forwards to loosen the lines that they would use to anchor their vessel when they arrived. Paritus would be a fresh start that both of them needed by now, some new cargo, new crew to join them and new dangers. “Not a new ship though.” Romas patted the wheel of the Lapis fondly. “Not like another could match up to my darling anyways.”
