Chapter Four Hundred and Thirteen - Captain's Duty

Chapter Four Hundred and Thirteen - Captain's Duty

Chapter Four Hundred and Thirteen - Captain's Duty

That sounds like a terrible idea, Caprica said when I first hinted at the race.

I think it sounds fun, Calamity said. But its also not my kind of thing. Sorry Bunch. He shrugged, then went back to resting his feet on the table.

We were in the Beavers dining room, having a quick lunch. Amaryllis was finishing up negotiations with Farrell and his dwarven friend, and we were waiting for the fuel to arrive. It would be awhile, so we had nothing better to do than wait.

At the rate things were going at, it was unlikely that wed be leaving until sometime in the morning. Not unless we planned on flying out of the city at night, which was probably a terrible idea.

Visibility around an airship, especially above and below, wasnt great at the best of times. Airships were amazing, but they didn't have the tools that plans had on Earth. No radar, GPS, or altitude metres to make night flying even a little safe. Flying low at night was extremely risky, and Smoulderglen's busy skies made it even worse.

I crossed my arms and allowed myself to pout a little. But it sounds so fun, I complained.

Yes, but its a needless risk, will slow us down while we participate, and judging by the reputation this city has, it might end up giving us enemies that we dont need, Caprica said. And all that for what? Some prize money? Its not worth it, Broccoli.

She was probably right. But I wasnt thinking so much about the prize money as I was about the fun wed have. Heck, with so little time to prepare, I doubted we could win.

Caprica might have caught on to my mood, because she pushed an open box my way. It was filled with little hard candies packed full of sugar. Mostly as a way to supplement her sylph diet, but they did taste very good.

I took one and popped it into my mouth. Well, if we couldnt race, we couldnt race, it wasnt that big of a deal.

Thats about when Awen stepped into the room, hands rubbing together with a damp cloth between them to get rid of a grease stain. Hey, Broc, can you...

Oh? Yeah, sure, I said as I let some Cleaning magic fly her way, scouring off the grease and oil and whatever else she had sticking to her hands.

Awen sighed and nodded to me in thanks before sitting down hard. Thanks, she said. Whats everyone talking about?

Racing, Calamity said. Hed pulled out a book. An atlas, from the captains quarters. It was a book Id only briefly glanced through, but Calamity had been reading it for a little bit. I think he was mostly just interested in the accounts of foreign food.

Awen blinked. Then she looked down at the table for a moment before glancing at me. Broccoli, can we talk?

Of course, I said. Um, you mean in private?

She nodded, then left the room.

Youre in trouble, Calamity said in a low, sing-song murmur.

I doubted I was in trouble. But maybe Awen was? Did something bad happen? If so, then maybe it was best that I didnt mess around too much and went to help Awen. I jumped to my feet and followed her into the corridor. Ill be right back, I told the others. Then maybe we can start on lunch?

I found Awen waiting by the door to her room, she stepped back so that I could follow her in, then she stood there, looking like she didnt know what to do with her hands and just... didnt say anything for a while.

So I gave her a hug, because hugs could help sometimes. What did you want to tell me? I asked while tilting my head to press into hers.

Ah, Awen said. I dont want to make you angry.

I gave her an extra nice squeeze. Dont be silly. Theres not much you could tell me that would ever make me angry. Especially not at you. Is something wrong with the Beaver? Do we need to fix something?

Oh, I said. I squeezed her a bit tighter so that maybe the pit in my stomach would go away. Im sorry. Do you still want to continue? We can hire someone, maybe. Or get you some help. Or train one of the Scallywags to be your assistant, or maybe we can each do some of the maintenance?

Awen shook her head. I wouldnt trust anyone else with the Beavers maintenance, she said. And I still love what I do. I just... I dont know.

"I think I get it," I said. "My guess is that you're feeling underappreciated. Does that sound about right?"

"Awa, um, I don't really think ... well ..." Awen hedged, but her eyes wouldn't meet mine.

"Then, can you describe what you are feeling?" I asked.

"Uh ..." she looked lost for a moment. "Awa ... okay. As I said, the Beaver takes a lot of work. Which I do. And I ... suppose the rest of the crew doesn't really seem to notice? Except for Clive, I think."

Clive had served on airships a long time, so he probably had a rough idea of how much effort Awen needed to put in. That made sense.

"And, well, I guess that ... not acknowledging my work is ... underappreciation," she decided.

It hurt to have her say it like that. But I think it was the kind of hurt I needed.

The silence stretched on for a minute. "Awen," I finally said, "I don't know how we'll learn to appreciate you more but Ill be sure to do it. Well be appreciating you so much, you wont know where to put all the appreciation youre getting.

Awen giggled as I started swaying from side to side, turning the hug into a rocking hug. Thanks, Broc, I appreciate that.

I giggled right back, then dropped my head onto her shoulder. Id been a less-than-great friend, but I was sure that I could do better. Maybe I could set something up so that everyone pulled their weight, and saw how hard Awen was working too.

Just as I was about to consider ending the hug, the door to Awens room opened up a smidge, Amaryllis popped her head in. Broccoli, Awen, there you are.

Hey, I said. Is something up?

Amaryllis nodded. Yes, something very much is. Youve heard of that ridiculous race? The last was aimed squarely at me.

Yup. But were not participating. Its not a good idea, and Awens working hard to keep the Beaver in one piece, I dont think we could ask her to help us with racing anything.

Of course were not participating, are you mad? The prize is a pittance and the race is only popular to a select few outside of the region. But I did get a list of participating ships from Ferrell.

He gave you a list? I asked.

She glanced away. He might have had it in his office, and I might have temporarily requisitioned it. It doesnt matter, look at this.

She handed something over, a page, with the name of the race, a small map of the circuit, and at the bottom, a list of the airships participating in it.

One immediately caught my eye. The Shady Lady.

Wait! Awen, thats...

Thats Uncles ship! Awen shouted.

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