Swollow resisted smirking at Willow as she heard the reply. She had to admit that this one definitely had something the others didn't however...
"You're not twenty two," she said simply. "That man from before, he mentioned that you were younger than you said you were. I don't have a problem with age. On my ship as long as you don't do anything to endanger the crew and get in the way then you stand a chance of getting a place aboard the ship now, what's your real age?"

"18," Willow sighed. "You're sharp, Captain, real sharp. But I promise I'm good with engines and all kinds of machines! I don't expect you to believe me, but I designed the Oltha #1 Security System. And if you just let me see your engines, I bet I could fix that." She pointed to the smoke coming out of the vents.

Swollow thought for a moment before replying. "We don't plan on leaving this port for at least 3 days, maybe longer. We need to restock on food, fresh water and other suplies. I'll give you a deal. If you manage to fix the ship then I will take you on as the mechanic for my ship. If, however, you are unable to fix the problem then you may choose to join the ship as a deck hand if you choose."

"It's a deal, captain," said Willow, offering her hand. "I'll have that engine fixed in no time."

Swollow held out her hand and took Willow's offered one in a strong grip.
"Come on then," she said. "I'll lead you to the engine room. I'd advise wearing a filter mask before you go in there, there may be some foxins in the air but it's hard to tell with all the smoke."
Swollow released Willow's hand and turned to walk back on board her ship. She made a hand gesture indecating for Willow to follow but did not look back to see if the blonde was following or not, instead walking on board the ship and going below deck through the corridors and then pausing near the engine room.

Willow followed the captain onto the ship and gazed around. Good workmanship, very good. It was probably one of the few Eastern style skyships left - there had been a drought there so production had gone down dramatically. The main engineers had died, she'd heard.
Willow saw that the captain had stopped. "This the engine room?" she asked.

"This is it," Swollow confirmed. "Like I said if you're going in there be sure to use something to cover your mouth. I'd hate for the newest member of my crew to die of either toxic poisoning or smoke inhilation." She gestured to a small row of masks that hung near the engine room door. "We always keep these here in case of an emergency so find one that fits and you can get started."

"Yes ma'am." Willow found a mask that looks the most secure and tried it on. She adjusted it until it fit her, and she stepped into the engine room. It was a mess. A complete mess. She found where the tools were kept and waded through the fumes towards the main steam engine. She opened it up and found that the cogs and gears were all completely messed up and in the center was a glove. Some idiot had dropped a glove into the machine, then tried moving stuff around to get it out. She sighed and got to work.

Swollow grabbed her own mask and quickly placed it on her head before entering the engine room herself. It didn't take her long to find Willow with the engine.
"So," she said, leaning against a wall as she stared intently at Willow. "How badly did Stroud screw up my engine?"

"he dropped a glove inside," said Willow, holding it up. "Then he tried to get it out by moving the primary cogs around, which screwed up the entire thing. I'm going to have to take most of it to pieces and put it back together again."
She looked over the engine. Instantly a plan began forming...

Swollow frowned , moving forward she took a look in the engine herself. She grimaced as she saw some of the damage done.
"Alright," she said finally, stepping back. "You have my permission to take the engine appart. Do you need any assistance ridding the room of the smoke or are you alright dealing with it by yourself?"

"I'll manage, captain," said Willow, getting to work. The engine design itself was good - but she knew it could be better. She worked through various ideas in her mind. She knew she could fix this engine. That was a definite, even though it would take time. But Willow was pretty sure she could make it better.

"I'll leave you to it for now then," Swollow said. She pushed herself off the wall adn began to make her way out of the engine room. "The ship's bridge isn't far from here. Once you leave the room turn right, up the second flight of stairs and then through the door at the top. If you need anything then the ship's navigator, Lucario, should be able to assist you. I'll return here in a few hours to check on you while I go and get suplies for the ship."
Swollow waved goodbye as she exited the room although she wasn't completely sure if Willow saw her through the smoke. It never hurt to try though. She quickly informed Lucario of Willow's presence in the engine room before quickly stepping off the ship and making her way to the market to begin her supply hunt.

It was hard work, but strangely enough, Willow enjoyed it. It was satisfying to be able to built something, to fix something, to make something better. And machines were easy to understand. Easier than people, anyway. Lucario the navigator was nice enough, and her sleeping quarters weren't too bad. Mid-morning on the third day, the engine room was unrecognisable. She'd managed to get rid of most of the smoke and fumes, and the engine itself was like never before. She had taken it completely apart, even more than necessary, and re-arranged everything in a design she'd come up with herself. This way it was more efficient, worked more smoothly, and was less likely to break down again.
Willow herself was a sight though. She was covered in engine grease and dirt, but still wore a tired smile. Nothing made her happier than a job well done.

Swollow stayed in a small inn for the three days she was ashore, not wanting to make too many trips from the market to the port to the ship. She'd get it all done at once. She let her crew have their fun for the first two days while she went around differnet venders, organising how much they would need and how much it would cost. Finally it was the third day and she managed to get her crew all together. With them all working together it didn't take them long to cart all the supplies back to the ship. Soon enough they were stored and everything was ready to go.
Now to check in on Lucario and Willow.
Swollow made her way to Lucario in the bridge first. She found him bent over his maps as usual, mumbling and plotting another course for the ship to go once we were out of the port.
"So," she said, looking at him as he met her eyes over the rims of his glasses. "How does the engine look now?"
He grinned widely at her. "Go and see for yourself Captain," he said cheerfully. She raised an eyebrow at his cheerfulness.
"You're in a good mood," she commented.
"Yes Ma'am," he replied.
"I'm not going to get anything else out of you am I?"
"No Ma'am."
Swollow shook her head and turned to leave. "I'll be in the engine room if any of the crew are looking for me."
"Yes Ma'am," Lucario replied. She cast an annoyed glance at him before exiting the bridge and making her way to the engine room.
She knocked on the door before she entered and her eyes widened as she took in the room.
It was so...so different!
Her eyes went next to willow. "I can see you've been busy," she commented.

"Yes, ma'am," said Willow with her tired smile, leaning against one of the walls. "You've got a nice engine here, and a nice ship."

"I just had a terrible mechanic," Swollow replied. She looked around the room. "But it seems like that problem's been taken care of." She peered at the engine, looking at all the cogs and gears. They seemed to gleam and she was thoroughly impressed.
"Well it looks good," she said finally. "And we're ready to take to the air. Come and join me at the bridge with Lucario and we'll see just how good your engine is ne? Come on." She gestured for Willow to follow her and made her way to the bridge.
She was itching to start the ship up again, to take to the air.

Willow put down the spanner she was holding and followed the captain. She was looking forward to seeign how well her new engine would work... she'd never tried actually building a skyship steam engine before, but she knew the theory inside out.

They entered the bridge and Swollow immediately made her way to the controls. She sat carefully at the ship's controls and gestured for Willow to sit in the co-pilot's chair. Lucario wasn't needed for now. She studied the controls, making sure that everything appeared to be in order before she reached out and started the engine.

"Where are we headed, captain?" Willow asked. "I guess I never really asked before..."

"Before the trouble with our engine we were going north," Swollow replied. "There were a few...problems where we once flew." The engine came to life as she hit the final control and she could feel it almost purring. She gripped the controls and, with a firm and steady hand, lifted the ship into the air. She glanced at the compas to the right of the controls and angled her course to north east to resume the journey that had been interupted.
She then turned back to Willow.
"There is a small port that I know of where we should be able to put down for a few days. I gathered enough supplies to last us until we get there but no more as that market is overly expensive and sells mostly rubbish that I wouldn't be inclined to feed a starving roach. I bought the best I could and it should last us until we get something better."

"Aye aye, Captain," said Willow. "Does this mean you're happy with the engine? Have I got the job?"

Swollow paused for a moment, feeling the controls under her fingers and the engine purr in the ship.
"Yes," she said. "You've got the job. I've been on this ship for eyars and this engine's never run this smoothly before. Congratulations. You've got the job as the mechanic of the Silver Sparrow."
From behind Swollow heard Lucario whistle.
"Congrats," he said. "You got Cap's full approval. That doesn't happen often."
"Zip it Lucario," Swollow quipped. "Or I'll take away your maps."
"Yes Ma'am!"

A grin broke out on Willow's face. "Aye aye, Captain! I'll go down to the engine room againt o make sure she stays running smooth, if that's all right."
Finally a job! Finally! She didn't even know for sure what this ship did, though. The recruitment officer never said. It was probably a pirate ship, though. There were a lot of those around. Willow didn't mind, not really. A lot of people had to resort to piracy nowadays - there wasn't a whole lot of choice. The crew on this ship were probably a lot more decent than that rich, spoilt, Hektor Dragon who stole her designs.

"Go ahead," Swollow replied. "And welcome aboard." She smiled at her newest crew member before turning back to the controls and made sure they were headed in the right direction before standing up.
"Once you've done that then I'll show you to your quarters. You'll need a place to stay now that you're staying with us full time after all and I refuse to let you sleep in the engine room."